SquidgeWorld Archive

DISCLAIMER: I'm not sure if Talia and Cole belong to me or not?!? I'm not terribly worried about it. Sony and JP can have 'em. However Janette and LC DO NOT belong to me. I am only borrowing them.

WARNING: In this story LK did happen, everyone did die except Janette and LaCroix. Yet it's still a happy ending of sorts. You have to read it to figure it out! This is an experimental story, it happens occasionally when I try to incorporate LK into my personal timeline. You see my personal belief is that fiction shouldn't have unhappy endings. Real Life has too many of those and fiction is meant as a release from RL. Hence, I don't like unhappy endings and I don't think that FK should have had one no matter how dark things had gotten. Look at David Eddings' "Belgariad" series if you want my idea of a perfect, rabbit out of the hat, happy ending. - Rogue Cousin Tammy * Dyed In The Wool 'Polgara' Fan *

~~~

Talia plucked out the notes to the cover version of the song she intended to resurrect on her old fender. Her agent was against it, he said her fans expected more from her than a cover of a worn out, old Celine Dion tune, somehow she didn't care. There was a hole in the middle of her life and this tune seemed to be written as though custom made for the alien feelings and thoughts that invaded her sleep.

~~~

There were nights when the wind was so cold
That my body froze in bed
If I just listened to it
Right outside the window

~~~

Cole sat at his typewriter trying feebly to continue the mystery novel he'd received an advance for three months ago. He had to finish it; he owed it to his fans. After that, no matter what his agent said he had to write the tale that haunted his dreams, dreams of true love that never had a chance. True love that ended in a tragedy of hope.

~~~

There were days when the sun was so cruel
That all the tears turned to dust
And I just knew my eyes were
Drying up forever

~~~

LaCroix and Janette wandered the world idly these days. Without his son, Lucien had little interest in mortals around him, save as a source of nourishment. Long ago he'd ceased caring, and one day he'd just snap and bring enforcement down on himself. He hadn't had the courage to go to the sun after -that- night. He was far too old and powerful.

Janette traveled with LaCroix mostly out of habit and partly out of a death wish. She too had never been brave enough to go to the sun after her brother, turned father, had chosen death in Natalie's arms. Nichola had never loved her that much, and he hated herself for not loving Robert enough to die for him. She had chosen to come back to Nichola and LaCroix and hated herself for her cowardice. Her heart had long since frozen again; in fact the 'ice' had finished forming when she felt Nichola die. She didn't let herself waste her time on those -fools-, at least that's what she had told herself. Inside, however, she longed for the day that LaCroix would become what Divia had and would give her the release she craved.

~~~

I finished crying in the instant that you left
And I can't remember where or when or how
And I banished every memory you and I had ever made

~~~

Talia tossed and turned in her silk sheet covered bed in her loft in Toronto. She had bought the place just before it was about to be demolished and high class apartments built on its ruins. After that she had had it refurbished to what it had been before, a dungeon of a loft apartment. When people asked her why, she replied that it matched the darkness in her soul. She woke up in a start, a glitter of golden eyes; those golden eyes had invaded her dreams again. A knight on a white charger, then the knight became a monster with glittering gold eyes and cruel sharp fangs. Him kissing her wrist, then her neck, then... She shuddered.

Her legs slid from beneath the blood colored sheets, and she stalked to the bathroom where she kept her stash of single malt whiskey. She shook her head and downed the last of the bottle, there went six months in that treatment facility. Maybe she should take AA, she thought. Yeah right, if 'Betty Ford' couldn't help me what makes me think a twelve step program can. The only way to fix your problem is to fill that hole or to...

Talia looked at herself in the mirror confronting the person it reflected - pretty package, junk for contents. Reddish brown, wavy hair flipped to one side, a heart shaped face, full lips, and huge blue eyes. She was short with a slender figure, smallish breasts and flared hips. Cute in a way that most people had to have surgery to get, cute in a way that was popular this decade. She looked as though she'd walked out of one of those Japanese cartoons. Yeah, it wasn't hard to see that her talent hadn't made her the pop singing sensation that Talia Sheppard was. She wandered down to the kitchen to fix herself a hamburger.

Talia opened the fridge and pulled a pre-made meat patty from the first shelf, threw it into a fry pan, turned on the burner and started it cooking. Then she pulled one of the pre-mixed health shakes her trainer was constantly demanding she buy and popped the top of the can. It was supposed to be chocolate, but it tasted more like chalk. After taking two or three swigs, she poured the gunk down the sink; it made her sick to her stomach. She pulled the burger out of the pan and dropped it on a plate. Sniffing it experimentally, she poured half a bottle of ketchup on the stupid thing, shunned the bread and waited for it to cool. After a few minutes she picked the thing up and bit into it. She chewed on the bite experimentally, and then spit the masticated remnants into the garbage and the rest of the burger followed. Talia walked to her gothic looking fireplace, moved aside the dragon's head, and pulled out the bottle of whiskey she'd hidden here for emergencies. As she sat down at the piano, she decided she preferred to drink her lunch and took a pull from the bottle as she began to play the tune that wouldn't leave her alone.

~~~

But when you touch me like this
And you hold me like that
I just have to admit
That it's all coming back to me
When I touch you like this
And I hold you like that
It's so hard to believe but
It's all coming back to me
(It's all coming back; it's all coming back to me now)

~~~

Cole woke in his apartment with a start. The dream again, he was a knight or was he the monster. It always blurred when he woke up. He remembered being with his true love, kissing her, loving her, killing her and finally dying for her. He pushed his blonde locks out of his eyes, the shaggy 'wolf' cut, which his agent had pressured him into because it was stylish, annoyed him. He didn't mind his hair longish, but these long bangs over one eye had to go. It was time to shave out the sides of his goatee again, too. Since sleep was evading him he decided to try to write. To exercise the demons in his soul.

The book he was currently working on was a mystery novel, one of a series he was writing, and his all time favorite character, Dr. Catherine Bennett, was the heroine. She was a forensic pathologist who worked with a Metro homicide squad in Calgary and she was the only reason they solved any cases. She was also in love with one of the detectives, who he had modeled on himself, Gerald Davidson and she always let him take the credit. At the end of this one, they were going to finally get married. A happy ending: too bad life didn't have happy endings the way his books did. He sat down in front of his computer and typed the password to get past the screen saver. The screen saver cleared and he was greeted with Gary Oldman's voice saying, "Ah, the children of the night, what beautiful music they make!" He pulled up the fourth chapter on his word processor, and began to type. After a few minutes, he highlighted the text that he had just typed in and deleted it. He sat motionless until the screen saver and its starry nightscape came on to the screen and then he could see his blue eyes and the tears that leaked from them reflected in the screen.

Forcing himself to move, he got up and went into the kitchen pushing past the wooden slat doors that separated it from the small living room. He swung open the fridge and pulled out the cold chicken chow mien from the take out he'd ordered last night. Then he fished around in his dishwasher until he found the forceps one of his fans had given him in tribute to 'Dr. Cathy'. In one of the books, he'd jokingly had Catherine eat her Chinese food with a set of sterilized forceps, the fans had grabbed hold of that and had run with it. So when he'd been given a set, he'd decided to try it. Cole had to admit it was easier than chopsticks, and it did serve to thrill the fans and freak out the 'mundanes'. He shoved the take out container into the microwave and set the timer then picked up the remote and activated the stereo in the living room. Talia Sheppard's voice blasted out over the airwaves singing a cover version of a song that she'd done a few years back, before she'd become a mega-star. Cole had been a fan of her's even then; those crystal blue eyes seemed to call to his soul. The song they were playing was called, "The Dark Side of The Glass" and he could hear that it sang to her as much as it sang to him.

Too bad she'd never done a concert he could afford to go to or where he could get to, when he had the money. The microwave binged and Cole pulled the hot container out, quietly singing along with Tail's beautiful voice. He'd heard horrible things about her, how she drank and used people up and threw them away, but somehow he knew that the monster that people talked about wasn't the real 'Talia'. Somewhere inside there was a beautiful soul, dying to be free. "This is Wildman Murdock," the announcer's voice brought Cole out of his reverie, "on CERK radio and that was Talia Sheppard singing, 'Dark Side of the Glass'. You may not have heard but CERK radio is hosting a Halloween nightclub concert for Talia at the New Raven club, here in downtown Toronto. So if you can tell me who first sang that song and are the thirteenth caller in, you win tickets and a backstage pass. Call now, our prize line is 555-6666!"

Before Cole could consider what he was doing, he'd picked up the phone and dialed the number. "You've got CERK radio and Wildman Murdock... You're lucky caller thirteen... Now if you can tell me who first sang that song..."

"The singer's name was Rebecca, and she died here in Toronto onstage in '92." Cole gasped out, his voice didn't even sound right.

"Whoa, big fan of the oldies, eh? But you're right, it was Rebecca. You've got your tickets for the 2028 CERK Halloween Haunt at the New Raven..." Murdock was waiting for the caller to provide his name.

"Cole... Cole Landsknecht," Cole said.

"The mystery writer... Too cool. Just come by and pick up your tickets at the CERK station office." Murdock said as the phone was switched to a receptionist who took all of Cole's vital information, then proceeded to rattle on about how much of a fan she was.
Finally, Cole was able to hang up the phone and he stood there rattled. "I've never heard of Rebecca before in my entire life."

~~~

There were moments of gold
And there were flashes of light
There were things I'd never do again
But then they'd always seemed right
There were nights of endless pleasure
It was more than any laws allow

~~~

Janette and LaCroix had made their way to Toronto. She knew it wasn't wise but she wished their interminable existence over. Perhaps insanity was hereditary in their line. So when she had heard that the 'Raven' had been re-opened and that CERK was hosting a party there, she looked at it as 'fait a compleat'. However messy this got, it was time to be done with it all. No amounts of good memories could hold her to this living hell. Even if she were condemned to the pit that Nichola feared, it would be better then an endless existence of shepherding a half crazed, more powerful than god vampire over the wretched planet. She hoped that, Janette DuCharme, his first child would also be LaCroix's first kill when their little side trip pushed him over the edge.

~~~

Baby
Baby
If I kiss you like this
And if you whisper like that
It was lost long ago
But it's all coming back to me
If you want me like this
And if you need me like that
It was dead long ago
But it's all coming back to me
It's so hard to resist
And it's all coming back to me
I can barely recall
But it's all coming back to me now
But it's all coming back

~~~

A woman was in his arms, as everything she was was entering his body. His lips were at her throat sucking out her vital essence. A whispered, "I love you," rang in his mind, and the truth of it was backed up by emotions and memories.

"You just have to love me as much as I love you..."

A man's voice asked, "What's the matter with him?"

"I don't know, ask him..."

"Make love to me, Nick..." He wanted to so much, but it was so hard to resist, to control. He heard his own voice, "No matter what, we'll be together forever." Cole sat up bolt straight in his bed as Talia Sheppard's voice sang to him from the alarm radio. She was doing a cover of that old Celine Dion tune... Damn, he couldn't remember it's name. As the song ended the CERK morning man, informed him of what he already knew, that it was Talia Sheppard and a cut from her new album, "Lost in The Shadows" due out tomorrow on Halloween. Cole hit the off button hard and pulled himself out of bed, while he pulled on a white terry cloth bath robe. He fumbled his way downstairs and put his coffee on. Raleigh, his old tomcat, was waiting patiently to be fed and Cole happily obliged while patting the beast's head. Cole made his way back upstairs, entered the bathroom, adjusted his shower, then he pulled off his robe, and stepped in and began to scrub his body down with the puffy and some mango body wash he'd bought his last girlfriend.

His relationships never lasted; he always tried to turn them into someone they weren't. Someone who only lived in his dreams. He finished and shut down the shower. He stepped out onto the bath mat and began to towel himself dry. Looking at himself in the full length mirror, he had to admit that he wasn't bad looking although he was no steamy hunk-love interest that you'd expect on a primetime cop show or something. His girlfriends had all been attracted to his 'boy next door' image, never expecting the cart load of baggage the writer carried with him. He combed his hair and sighed as the bangs draped over his left eye as they were designed to do. Then he shaved and trimmed his beard. After all, he had to make it to the record store and pick up Tail's new CD before picking up his costume he'd reserved for the concert at the Raven tonight.

~~~

All those empty threats and hollow lies
And whenever you tried to hurt me
I just hurt you even worse
And so much deeper

~~~

LaCroix knew Janette's plan, but he didn't care. If she'd ask him to kill her he would, gratefully. She'd become an irritatingly dull companion in recent years. His one time daughter didn't have that kind of courage though, not like his Nicholas. How many times had he and Nicholas lied to each other? How many times had he manipulated his son for his own good? Nicholas had never been good at lies, unless they were to himself. The threats that had passed between them, all empty, never going past the point of no return until that woman had stolen his Nicholas, his son. He had hurt Nicholas tenfold for every imagined slight his son had dealt him. In the end the deepest cut Nicholas could inflict was the truth.

"So I am the devil in your eyes," he heard his own voice ask.

"No, you're my best friend..." He was brought back from his memories of his beloved Nicholas by Janette telling him they'd arrived. He looked at her blankly, the indifference on his face no longer a mask but the state of his existence now. She shook her head and pulled their carry on luggage from the racks overhead on the airplane. LaCroix smirked.

Perhaps he'd indulge his daughter one last time, "After all whatever my Janette wants, my Janette gets..." A quirky, disturbing laugh emitted from his throat, and Janette turned to glare at him. He silenced himself, but began to plan how he'd rip her throat out for wanting rid of the gift her brother, his dear Nicholas had bestowed on her.

~~~

The hours that just went on for days
When alone at last we'd count up all the chances
That were lost to us forever

~~~

She was riding up in an elevator, an elevator like hers.

She was wearing pink. -Pink?- Her brain asked, -I hate pink-. This guy was sitting at -her- piano, a green wine bottle sitting on the top. Da, da dant dant da, da dant dant da, the tune filled the empty crevasses of the loft and echoed in her mind. "You were just going to leave," her own voice asked. Things were a jumble. Everything was going topsy turvy. "I had to find out from a desk sergeant..." "Their are people here who need you, who care about you..."

Then suddenly Talia was being awoken by a loud thudding on her door. "You're supposed to be at the Raven for sound checks." Her agent's voice rang out from the other side of the elevator door. She could -hear- the mental 'dumb bitch' as though he had voiced it out loud.

"Yeah, I know Murray. I'll be right out, okay?" Talia said placatively.

"Alright you got ten, count 'em, ten minutes. Or I break in there and haul your drunk ass out..." Murray's voice grated on her nerves.

"Sure thing, shit head," Talia mumbled as she made her way to the shower. Who was he to complain? He was the one who got her started on the booze in the first place. She sneered as she remembered him handing her her first shot of Scotch and saying, "For your nerves." It was after she started drinking that the dreams had started. Of course, it was the darkness in a so pretty package everyone longed for. She never had a chance at some nice guy, a normal life and music as a hobby. No, this career, this life, had become her cross to bear and the drinking made it a little bit of a lighter load. It was all gone, lost in a badly made choice somewhere back of beyond.

~~~

But you were history with the slamming of the door
I made myself so strong again somehow
And I never wasted any of my time on you since then

~~~

"You never loved me that much, Nichola," Janette sat in her and LaCroix's posh five star hotel room. She had made 'arrangements' to acquire tickets and backstage passes to the bash at the Raven for herself and her master. She glanced at LaCroix who sat staring blankly, emptying bottle after bottle of bloodwine. They would have been celebrating Nichola's 800th year if he hadn't taken himself from her and LaCroix. Despite what Nichola had done, LaCroix was her master still, for she did nothing without considering it's affect on him, and in turn the code and the community. Even if LaCroix failed to do what she hoped he would, enforcers would be here sometime tonight to deal with her for defying the edicts.

After Nick and Natalie's spectacular demise, Toronto had become off limits to their kind and was only now open again. To her and LaCroix, it was forbidden. To enter was death. She had signed her death warrant when she had stepped off the plane. She sighed and sipped at her glass. "Or did I never love you enough..." Janette's mind wandered back to a time when she had left Nicholas, told him she was bored. The door had slammed behind her and she had reconstructed herself.

Then her memories jumped forward to her leaving Toronto for Montreal. Then again to the final leaving, the last time she had left Nicholas... "WHAT DID YOU DO NICHOLA?" Janette screamed in fury, her nails dug into his flesh as he held her.

"I couldn't let you go, I'm sorry..." Nichola looked at her with sad eyes.

"Well I -can- let you go... Goodbye Nicholas. I am dead to you!" Janette had stood and stalked to the elevator, closing the door behind her so hard that it had crashed in it's housing. Her last act had been to return the painting, which had been a source of trouble between them before, to it's -rightful- owner. This she had done while Nick had been out; investigating her two first kills of her new life. He had been dead to her, until he had really died. Then her heart had frozen hard in her body while her soul cried a torrent of tears for her departed love. And when her soul had died from it's sorrow, she hadn't thought of him again until just before coming to Toronto. She had known of LaCroix's obsession with him, but she hadn't wasted her time.

~~~
But if I touch you like this
And if you kiss me like that
It was so long ago
But it's all coming back to me
If you touch me like this
And if I kiss you like that
It was gone with the wind
But it's all coming back to me
(It's all coming back, it's all coming back to me now) \

~~~

Talia's makeup and wardrobe were done now. She sat backstage waiting for her cue to go on. She could hear the fans chanting for her, as she sipped her cola. "It's not your fault," she whispered aloud to them, "but I wish you'd go away." She stood and inspected herself in the mirror. She was dressed as a vampire but in a Egyptian outfit complete with the heavy gold collar around her neck and a see-through gauze body cover. Her hair was pulled underneath a black wig which was braided and beaded into hundreds of tiny, perfect braids. The color of the wig washed out her already pale complexion and only added to the image. Her eyes were accented with heavy black kohl, which made their blue stand out even more and her lips were painted a bright, blood red. She had fang caps in, which she luckily could sing past.

As her musical cue was hit, she stepped onto the stage and began to sing. She moved from song to song in a daze, her mind lost in a flood of fantasy *memories*, pushed to the surface finally.

"What can you do for this 800 year old body?"

"Like for, say, a sister?"

"Bring me across..."

"It's complicated..."

"You just have to love me as much as I love you..."

"Forever..." Then as she moved to the last song in her set, she saw him. The monster, her knight in shining armor, her killer, her lover... The person she'd been searching for to fill the hole in her life.

~~~

There were moments of gold
And there were flashes of light
There were things we'd never do again
But then they'd always seemed right
There were nights of endless pleasure
It was more than all your laws allow

~~~

Cole watched Talia in a trance. There was something so familiar about her voice. It mesmerized him, it wrapped him in the mists of time and led him down a path, he'd almost forgotten.

"What do you get out of this?"

"Yeah, like for a sister..."

"I can't..."
"Does it matter?"

"Make love to me, Nick.."

"Forever..." This was her, his dream lady, the woman he'd wronged, his true love. The woman he'd killed, the woman he'd died for.

~~~

Baby, Baby, Baby
When you touch me like this
And when you hold me like that
It was gone with the wind
But it's all coming back to me
When you see me like this
And when I see you like that
Then we see what we want to see
All coming back to me
The flesh and the fantasies
All coming back to me
I can barely recall
All coming back to me now

~~~

The singer on stage launched into the most emotional version of "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" that Janette had heard since Celine Dion had sung it back in the 90's. Janette realized that this must be the final song of the night, and there was something familiar about the singer. Her eyes, perhaps? Janette dismissed it, unfortunately LaCroix had not done as she had hoped, so she would have to wait for a rather unpleasant demise at the hands of the enforcers. There was a hiss of delight from her deranged -once- father and he said almost sounding like his old self, "It's him, Janette. He's come back to us. It's Nicholas."

Janette looked at the ancient, wondering if his time to break had finally come but then followed his gaze to a familiar figure moving towards the backstage entrance. He was dressed as Gary Oldman's Dracula, from the scenes where Dracula had become young again and was romancing Mina Murray, but it was indeed her Nicholas. Her heart sang, perhaps there was hope for them all yet.

~~~

If you forgive me all this
If I forgive you all that
We forgive and forget
And it's all coming back to me

~~~

Talia, *No, Natalie*, she told herself as she rushed off stage the minute her song was done. She found Nicholas waiting for her in the wings, having left his wooden cane near the backstage entrance. "Nat?" Cole asked quietly.

"Nick?" Talia asked in response as she removed the wig and allowed her chestnut curls to fall loose around her shoulders. They both nodded gently, then rushed into each other's arms.

They held each other for a few moments then Cole asked, "How can you forgive me? I killed you."

"You had faith, Nick. I wanted to be with you, I asked for it. The responsibility for what happened belongs to us both." Talia answered.
"Forever, I promised you forever." Cole looked down at his true love.

"Can I hold you to a promise you made in a different life?" Talia looked scared.

"Can I hope that you would?" Cole answered sweetly. Talia smiled gently, and Cole pulled her tight to him again.

"You know my name this time, Nick.. What's yours?" Talia asked gently.

"His name is Nicholas, no matter what he or fate chooses to call him." LaCroix's evil voice rang out through the backstage area, and they both looked towards their nemesis.

~~~

When you see me like this
And when I see you like that
We see just what we want to see
All coming back to me
The flesh and the fantasies
All coming back to me

~~~

"How accommodating of Clothos, Lachesis, and Atropos... To provide me with my son. And my revenge... again." LaCroix moved forward, "I am certain that you will not make the same foolish mistake twice, Nicholas..." The ancient vampire glared at Talia. Janette gasped. That was who Talia's eyes reminded her of... Natalie! The vampiress had entered behind her elder and now watched in horror as true love tried to once more withstand the onslaught of LaCroix's possessiveness.

"I won't, LaCroix. I didn't come back for -you-. And my name is Cole, now!" Cole stood firm, "True love called me back, don't make me regret naming you my best friend. Let me go, LaCroix."

"Then you should not have come back..." LaCroix's fangs descended and he rushed the pair. Cole stood between the enraged monster and his found-again true love knowing that he couldn't prevent their demise at the fangs of this beast. Then suddenly as the first blow should have fallen, LaCroix stopped. Protruding from his chest was the pointed end of Cole's cane. The oldest living vampire fell forward then and Janette knelt on the floor behind him, hands covering a bleeding hole in her chest.

Both Cole and Talia rushed to the vampiress' side, but she was a vampire no more. Clear tears ran down her cheeks. "I had to ram through him with all my strength and I impaled myself in the process, cherie." She addressed Cole.
"Drag his body into the alley... Dawn is approaching and his body will be consumed that way. The stake will not hold him long. Quickly!" Cole nodded and hauled the body outside, he imagined that the party in the main room must have been muffling the sounds of their struggle.

"Hang on, Janette." Talia said quickly, "I'll go get an ambulance."

"Non, ma petite." Janette fumbled, her voice growing weaker, "I will die anyway." Talia's face was covered with tears, "Do not cry, cherie. You and Nichola have given me faith. Robert awaits me on the other side. I have only one regret, that we did not become friends, but then there may be other chances for that too." Janette's hand weakly brushed at Talia's face. Cole returned to Janette's side, "Take good care of her, my love. Remember you have been given what so many would die for, a second chance at true love and life. Live every second for me, my Nichola." Then her eyes closed and Janette DuCharme finally passed from this life to the next.

~~~

I can barely recall but it's all coming back to me now
(It's all coming back to me now)
And when you kiss me like this
(It's all coming back to me now)
And when I touch you like that
(It's all coming back to me now)
If you do it like this
(It's all coming back to me now)
And be free

~~~

Epilogue: Toronto Sun - Nov. 1, 2028 "FAN KILLER STRIKES"

In an event reminiscent of the killing of singing star, "Rebecca", popular music idol, Talia Sheppard was nearly killed last night at her concert at the new club 'The Raven'. Only the efforts of two other fans, Cole Landsknecht and Janine DeChevaliers prevented her certain demise. Unfortunately, Janine DeChevaliers was mortally wounded in the struggle to save the singing sensation and died before ambulances could be summoned. The fan killer escaped the nightclub, and police are putting every effort into tracking down this dangerous psychopath. Sources close to the singer say that she has decided to retire and has moved away from Toronto with Cole Landsknecht, her rescuer who happens to also be the author of the popular mystery series, "The Coroner's Reports."

Calgary Sun - Nov. 29, 2028 "Local Author Marries Singing Sensation" Cole Landsknecht, author of the popular mystery series, "The Coroner's Reports", has married singing idol Talia Sheppard. The author moved here with Ms. Sheppard after the recent attempt on her life in Toronto. They were married in a small private ceremony at a church in downtown Calgary.

~~~

Talia and Cole's love did last forever. Life wasn't easy though. Despite her retirement from singing and finding her true love again, Talia Sheppard Landsknecht was an alcoholic for the rest of her life and fought a continuous battle to stay off the bottle. Cole Landsknecht never won many awards for his writing, but he remained quite popular. His most important role in life as far as he was concerned was helping Talia the way she had once helped him. They had three children; Janette Fluer, Richard Nicholas and Lucas Donald. Janette and Richard outlived their parents. Lucas ran away one night and was never heard from again. Talia fell off the wagon after that, but they worked it out and Cole helped her back on. Cole nearly lost Talia to hemorrhaging after a miscarriage. They were never able to have another child after that. Talia died at the age of seventy of liver failure. The years of alcoholism had finally taken their toll. Cole died two years later. The doctors said it was natural causes, Janette said it was a broken heart. They could never convince her elsewise. They fought, they screamed, they loved, they lived. It wasn't a fairy tale, but after all they had been through it seemed as though it was. After all, it was a normal human life and they were free.

Finis.