"The Charade AKA Lacroix and the Raven" by Elisabeth H., 1995
- Vignette (8KB)
- G
- Set very soon after "Black Buddha, Part 1"
Summary:
Lacroix's musings reveal that his redecorated Raven and attitude change are a ruse calculated to reclaim Nick.
Recommendation:
Third season walloped viewers with changes, not the least of which came to be known as "Lacroix Lite." Who was this chummy lecher running a sleazy club, in place of our forbidding Lacroix and sophisticated Raven? "The Charade" lets us in on the secret: it's all a pose to win Nick back, in the same war fought by other means. What a relief! This story also presents a memorable alternative version of the club's ownership transfer, written before "The Human Factor" aired. Just a little snarky, "The Charade" rescues Lacroix from his own canonical nonsense, while also poking fun at his self-dramatization.
Characters:
Lacroix, Urs, Janette, Other
"Three Spirits" by Perri S., 1995
- Short Story (54KB)
- PG
- Set after "Black Buddha, Part 2" and before "The Human Factor"
Summary:
The spirits of Christmas past, present and future visit Nick.
Recommendation:
This story rips into Nick and takes him down. Sharp and pointed, "Three Spirits" uses the familiar structure of A Christmas Carol to deal a hand of incisive vignettes illustrating eight centuries of thoughtlessness and callousness by Nick to those who love him best. The relentlessly caustic approach — reminiscent of the inside of Nick's conscience in "Curiouser & Curiouser" — allows Nick no justification, but pounds the lesson home with effective, emotional appearances by most recurring characters.
Characters:
Nick, Natalie, Fleur, Janette, Lacroix, Schanke, Myra, Jenny, Reese, Tracy, Vachon, Others
"Further to Fall" by Valerie M. K., 1993
- Novella (109KB)
- PG
- Diverges after "I Will Repay" and before "Only the Lonely," flashbacks indeterminate
Summary:
An old enemy takes revenge on Nick by making Natalie a vampire.
Recommendation:
Written during first season, "Further to Fall" is one of the first tales (perhaps the very first) to bring Natalie across. It raises all the peril and possibility of a fanfiction racing into existence even as new episodes air. The crisp freshness of that early construction still crackles, with Natalie and Nick's friendship happily platonic, Nick's confession of vampirism to Schanke unburdened by later lies, and Janette's multiple names for Nick telling expressions rather than trivia questions. "Further to Fall" is plot-driven, theme-steeped and character-conscious.
Characters:
Schanke, Nick, Natalie, Janette, Others
"A Fight to the Finish" by Susan G., 1995
(This author died in 2010.)
- Short Story (12KB)
- G
- Set between "Dark Knight" and "Black Buddha," probably after "The Fix" and "Near Death"
Summary:
A medical researcher unintentionally gives both Nick and Natalie new perspective.
Recommendation:
False starts and dead ends in the search for a cure frustrate both Natalie and Nick, with his recalcitrance additionally weighing on her, and the succession of centuries on him. "A Fight to the Finish" confronts these discontents with the analogous but more urgent and dire situation of AIDS research — not to belittle the characters' struggles, but to reignite their striving. This resolute piece foreshadows the later canon of "My Boyfriend is a Vampire" and "Fever," and it does so in the inspirational, indomitable tones of earlier canon.
Characters:
Nick, Natalie, Other
"Render Unto Caesar" by LastScorpion, 2005
- Vignette (5KB)
- PG-13
- Set after "A Fate Worse Than Death"
Summary:
Nick interrupts Janette as she works on her taxes.
Recommendation:
In "A Fate Worse Than Death," Nick learns about a part of Janette's past that she had never previously shared, and he had never deduced. "Render Unto Caesar" revisits the question of what Nick understands about Janette, and how that particular revelation should illuminate of her choices and preferences in new ways, opening opportunities to increase his comprehension and empathy. The story enjoys a strong second-season sensibility, invoking Janette doing her taxes in "Can't Run, Can't Hide," and with passing references to second-season characters Miklos and Aristotle.
Characters:
Janette, Nick
"Valentine Ghosts" by Ell H., 2006
- Short Story (14KB)
- PG
- Set more than a decade after "Last Knight"
Summary:
Nick finally locates Natalie, who has been living a full life far away.
Recommendation:
If neither death nor happily-ever-after come on the heels of "Last Knight" in 1996, what happens next? "Valentine Ghosts" exemplifies the exciting life-goes-on genre that pushes the characters into their future on a wave of activity, discovery and growth. This story shakes off the stasis of canon, while keeping the characters rooted in the past they shared with us on screen. Subtly, the near-disaster of "Be My Valentine" parallels that of "Last Knight" in Nick's preoccupation, while Natalie's modified memory lingers on different resonances. Sequel: "Human Frailty."
Characters:
Nick, Natalie, Others
"Remember" by Jill K., 1995
- Vignette (6KB)
- G
- Set after "Black Buddha, Part 1"
Summary:
Nick and Jenny comfort each other after Schanke's funeral.
Recommendation:
Schanke and Cohen's deaths in "Black Buddha, Part 1" kicked off a season of loss, and launched mourning stories as a significant sub-genre of FK fanfiction. An early example, "Remember" reinforces the reach of the canon universe by having Jenny Schanke tell Nick what her dad said about him. As Jenny sits on her roof and resents Nick's absence from the daytime memorial — such a minor character, embodying such fallout of the major plot — she testifies to the vitality of canon's scope beyond the precinct, loft, morgue and Raven.
Characters:
Jenny, Nick, Myra
"Awakening" by Cousin Lucilla, 2003
- Short Story (28KB)
- PG
- Set after "Last Knight"
Summary:
Nick awakens from a coma mortal, and with no memory of his eight centuries as a vampire.
Recommendation:
The "Memory Challenge" is a perennial FK fanfiction favorite, like the Song Challenge and Forever Not. What if Nick became mortal, but forgot everything since 1228? "Awakening" meets the challenge by matching the indeterminateness of amnesia with the ambiguity of alternatives. Nick falls in "Last Knight" with all possibilities closed, but rises here to find them wide open again, with the choices and consequences as thorny as ever. Additionally, "Awakening" slips in a well-executed surprise as one customary presentation of Natalie flows smoothly into its opposite.
Characters:
Nick, Natalie, Janette, Others
"Coming Home" by Mary Co., 1998
- Novella (178KB)
- PG-13
- Set after "Last Knight"
Summary:
Six months after "Last Knight," Natalie and Nick move in together.
Recommendation:
"Coming Home" releases Nick from the wreck of third season like a hostage or prisoner of war, as the story observes early on. Determined and gentle, Natalie leads him through a careful, healing, and intensely domestic version of their conventional romance. This leisurely story patiently rationalizes the questionable cure used in "The Human Factor" (and abused in "Last Knight") by way of the "Francesca" assertion about blood experience, opening space to explore what Nick's long familiarity with fighting his darkest desires may have meant for those desires that are not necessarily dark.
Characters:
Natalie, Nick, Sidney, Reese, Janette
"Fragile" by Lizbetann, 1995
- Vignette (11KB)
- PG
- Set after "Night in Question," diverges before "Last Knight"
Summary:
Nick arrives too late to prevent Lacroix from attacking Natalie.
Recommendation:
While answering the "Be My Valentine" controversy with Nick's "Night in Question" impulses, the songfic "Fragile" stages a denouement so like "Last Knight" that it pays to remember that this fanfiction predates the finale by six months. But where "Last Knight" hesitates into dependence and despair, the affirming "Fragile" chooses hope and freedom. The attempt on Natalie evokes Lacroix's backfired Sylvaine (LYTD) prank. That closing twist layers the title's meaning, for while the vulnerability of Natalie's life and Nick's soul surprises no one, the fragility of Lacroix's bond with Nick is another matter.
Characters:
Nick, Natalie, Lacroix
"The Art of Deception" by P J, 2006
- Short Story (37KB)
- PG
- Set in third season, flashbacks to 1536 and 1540
Summary:
Nick and Tracy investigate a homicide involving art from Nick's past.
Recommendation:
Almost all Forever Knight episodes embrace a firm formula of police investigation, flashback and personal implications. "The Art of Deception" revives that classic recipe and achieves the feel of an episode on screen. Slotting Janette into a memory and Vachon into a consultation, the story respects third-season's borders, but also casually snaps canon to deflect at least one of the impending "Last Knight" tragedies. And as it uses Nick's passion for painting to unite the traditional episode components, "The Art of Deception" also cleverly extrapolates consequences of that enthusiasm.
Characters:
Tracy, Nick, Natalie, Janette, Lacroix, Vachon, Others
"When She Loved Me" by Megan H., 2003
- Vignette (9KB)
- G
- Set in an alternate future (diverges by "Ashes to Ashes")
Summary:
Vachon muses on why he never bothered to leave Toronto.
Recommendation:
The "Black Buddha" episodes introduce Vachon as a man on the run and, as Urs puts it, "so hard to catch." This changes with Nick's injunction to take responsibility for Tracy's exposure to vampires. But was that charge really enough to revolutionize Vachon's lifestyle? "When She Loved Me" interestingly suggests that constant travel and transition ran against Vachon's nature all along. Without the impetus of the Inca's pursuit, this story speculates, Vachon couldn't be troubled to move on as long as he had any excuse to stay put, and Tracy's genuine friendship is sufficient excuse as long as she lives — and maybe longer.
Characters:
Vachon, Tracy, Others
Please contact an author with feedback after reading her story. You may inspire her to write another! Your readership and responses are precious. Writers depend on readers.
Naturally, these fanworks are entirely fictional (there's no such thing as a vampire). Forever Knight was created by Parriot & Cohen and belongs to Sony. Feedback and suggestions are welcome; please let me know what you think. Thank you very much for reading!
