A/N: Well, here it is, the conclusion of another fic. I hope you've enjoyed this. It has been so gratifying to see some of the old gang of readers chiming in, as well as some newbies. Thanks for coming back for more.

Chapter 4: Conclusion

"Jesus, Mick," said Josef softly. "Now? Really?"

I looked around at all my friends, totally confused at what I was doing, wondering what I was about to do. But Josef was right. I couldn't do this in front of everyone. I took Beth's hand.

"Could you give us a minute, please?" I said to the gathering at large. "Excuse us."

I walked her down the beach a ways, mindful that of course the vamps we'd left waiting would be able to hear us for up to a mile in any direction, but they were all pretty honorable (except maybe for Josef) and I hoped they wouldn't listen and try to respect our privacy. But as we walked, I could hear their concerned mutters, which only increased my nervousness.

"What is it?" Beth was saying as I pulled her along through the sand. "What are you so afraid of?"

She literally dug her heels in the sand, forcing me to turn and face her. I suddenly was at a loss for words. How do you tell the woman you're about to marry that you kissed and felt up some random freshie in a club?

"Did something happen at the bachelor party?" she prompted, then her face grew stern. "What did Josef do?"

I suppose I could blame everything on Josef. He probably wouldn't care. He did take me to that blasted club in the first place.

"Well…he took me to a vampire club last night—"

"Vampire club? You told me there weren't any clubs like that."

"I didn't know about them. Anyway, at this club there was a lot of blood—"

"Can I join?"

"Beth—"

"Okay, so there was blood. Don't tell me. There were freshies there and you couldn't control yourself."

"Yes. Well, sort of. It was…" I hesitated.

"Spit it out, St. John."

I guess the Band-Aid approach was best, so I decided to just rip it off.

"I kissed a freshie."

Her eyes narrowed. "Did you like it?"

"Yes," I admitted softly.

"Was there tongue?"

I swallowed hard. "Yes," I managed.

"Did you bite her?"

"No." Somehow that always seemed a big issue with her, so I was at least happy to give her that good news.

She stared at me, and then her eyes swept my body, no doubt trying to read my aura.

"Did you do anything else with her?"

My guilt was showing. "Yes. I. Well. I…I cupped her…her breast."

"Is that all?"

"Yes."

She assessed me one more time, nodded, then turned her back on me, looking out to the sea. I stood there helplessly, waiting for the guillotine to drop.

"Why, Mick?" she asked finally.

"A few reasons, I suppose. None of which has anything to do with not loving you, or not wanting to marry you."

"Well, you've admitted this much, let's have it all." She turned reluctantly back to me.

I sighed. "For one, I felt a little crazed by all the blood from the blood wrestling."

"The blood what?" she said, eyebrows lifting.

I closed my eyes, briefly rubbing the bridge of my nose. "It's just what you think. An entire vat full of human blood."

"What the hell kind of place was this?" she asked.

"I really don't think you want to know. The important thing is, it's really no excuse for what I did, just an explanation of why I acted so…out of character. Then, it occurred to me that this was my bachelor party, that I was supposed to have fun, get the single life out of my system. So…I guess that's what I did. I want you to know that it meant nothing. All it's done is made me feel guilty and mad at myself."

"Is that all you have to say?" she asked calmly. Oddly calm, really. I began to become suspicious. Was this the calm before the storm? Was this the final straw, even after all we'd been through?

"Yes, except that I love you, and I'm begging you to forgive me." It was my Hail Mary pass. "I'm not ashamed to admit I'm begging. I can't go on without you, Beth. I swear to God nothing like this will ever happen again."

She stared deeply into my eyes—frantic and frightened, I'm sure—then looked me over, likely reading my aura.

"I believe you," she said at last, and I felt my entire body nearly drooping with relief. "And, I can forgive you. If…if you can forgive me." She averted her eyes.

"What? What for?"

I felt like she'd kicked me in the gut. Here I'd been suffering and castigating myself over a kiss and she'd been up to no good too?

"I wasn't going to tell you this. Well, maybe later—much later. But, since we're playing true confessions…Last night, while you and Josef were out, Simone invited me over to their place. I had no idea that she'd planned a little party for me, even though I'd asked her not to. I guess it wasn't a party exactly, but—"

"What happened?" I ground out impatiently, conscious that people were waiting for us, but wanting her to get to the point so I could figure out how I was supposed to feel.

"She'd hired a couple of freshies. Male freshies. Attractive male freshies."

"Oh," I said tightly, not liking where this was going. "Go on."

"I know we agreed that we don't partake of freshies, but this was my bachelorette party, and I admit I was curious. I mean, I'd never used one before."

"I can't believe Simone did that," I said angrily. "Josef, I'd expect. But Simone?"

"Don't blame her. She was like Eve with the apple, but remember, Adam had a choice too. I uh—partook because I wanted to."

So many things I wanted to say. I couldn't be a hypocrite about this—I'd used my share of freshies in my day, even used Beth like that when we first got together. But the idea of her sharing so intimate an act with a good-looking guy made me feel decidedly…hypocritical. What could I say? Did you like it? Did it turn you on?

"Wrist or jugular?" I asked instead.

"Jugular," she replied sheepishly. Not what I wanted to hear.

"Okay. Did you touch him anywhere else?"

She regarded me a moment, no doubt seeing the hypocrisy in that question.

"You mean did I fondle him? Feel him up? Gee, Mick, what if I did?"

"Did you?" I persisted.

"No," she answered, leaving me hanging a few frustrating moments. Punishment I suppose for my own freshie encounter. "But he touched himself."

"Jesus, Beth, I didn't need to know that."
"Sure you did. You probably also want to know if I got off on it."

"No."

"Liar."

"Did you?"

"No," she said. "I hated every moment of it, just like I always knew I would."

I didn't believe her.

"I don't believe you," I said aloud.

She shrugged, then her face contorted in despair. "I liked it, Mick. Dammit, I liked it. It was so sensual, so erotic. And his blood was so sweet…I'm sorry," she was crying now. "I feel awful about it, and I don't want to do it again, but honestly Mick, it was so hard to resist—"

Her body was trembling now, and I did what I always did with Beth—forgave her instantly and took her into my arms.

"Shh…it's okay, sweetheart. It's natural for a vamp. What we do normally, heating up blood from bags? That's not what we were made to do. Don't feel bad about this. It was instinct, nothing more."

She held onto me, the scent of the single lily she held wafting around us. I rubbed her bare back, smooth beneath my hands.

"So," I said, the humor creeping back into my voice. "We are two imperfect beings. I guess we don't have the right to get married."

"No," she concurred ironically. "I don't suppose we should."

I pulled back from her, reaching down to cup her sweet chin. "Will you forgive me?"

"You swear you won't kiss any more freshies?"

I nodded.

"Then, yes, of course you're forgiven. What about what I did? Can we get past that?"

"There's really nothing to forgive there, Beth. You are a vampire. You're free to get blood however you choose. It's not what I want to do, but it's your decision. I won't look down on you if you'd rather go the freshie route. I'll be uncomfortable about it, especially if you always pick attractive men, but that's my problem. I'll deal."

"I'm not sure," she said hesitantly. "Can I think about it?"

"Of course. All I ask is that we both stop with the secrets. We can't get married unless we agree to be open and honest."

"Okay," she said, looking up into my eyes, hers blue and watery and beautiful. "Deal."

"Deal," I whispered, before fusing my mouth to hers.

The kiss went on another minute or two, when suddenly we heard a familiar voice from the direction of the wedding party.

"Aren't you two putting the cart before the horse again?" It was Josef, of course.

I pulled away reluctantly from my bride and looked in my best man's direction.

"Yes," I called back. "Now quit eavesdropping!"

There was spontaneous applause, and I grinned down at my Beth.

"Shall we?" I held out my arm, which she took without hesitation.

The rest of the wedding passed with a blur. There were vows said, rings exchanged, and a deep, wet kiss that was the reason for the blurriness of the rest of it.

Inside Simone's house, we had a simple reception with blood and champagne- Vamp banquets aren't very expensive. Josef gave his expected witty toast, and Beth and I mingled with the guests while all I could really think about was getting my wife alone for our honeymoon.

Amid congratulations from my friends, Josef stopped, champagne in hand.

"You just couldn't stop yourself," he sighed. "You almost ruined everything."

"A secret like that was no way to start a marriage, Josef."

He shrugged. "Well, in the interest of full disclosure, and now that you are so happily chained and Beth soon to be balled, I feel it's my duty as your best man to let you know that I had your back all along."

"Really?" I asked suspiciously. "How so?"

"I made sure that while you had a bachelor party to remember, your ass was covered at home with Simone's very tempting freshie party."

I looked at him in shock. I don't know how he can still take me by surprise, but my jaw literally dropped at his admission.

"You son of a bitch," I murmured angrily. Several of my friends heard, of course, and turned to look at the two of us, about to embark on one of our legendary disagreements, to put it mildly. Daryl took a pre-emptive step toward us, should he need to hold me back from killing my best man. I actually felt my eyes going silver and my fangs beginning to drop at the prospect. Josef merely raised a laconic eyebrow.

"Don't go all ballistic on me, Mick; this is supposed to be a happy occasion, remember? What I did, my friend, is what is known as mutually assured destruction. In other words, since you have equal ways of destroying one another, neither of you has the guts to do it."

I stood there, hands clenched at my side, just aching to punch him in the face. But this was my wedding day, and I wasn't going to ruin it for Beth. I literally counted to ten, and caught Beth's eye across the room and immediately felt calmer.

"You know what, Josef," I said at last. "I'm not even going to hit you. I'm going to take my wife, hop your jet to Sweden and enjoy our honeymoon in that awesome ice hotel, and forget all about you for awhile. But when I get back…well, it'll sort of be like what my mom would do when I screwed up. She'd say, 'wait till your father gets home,' and I'd spend the whole day, sweating and stewing in fear over the whipping I would get when he came through the door."

Josef grinned and took a sip of champagne, not ruffled in the least by my ire.

"Will I have to call you Daddy?"

"You will when you're begging for mercy," I growled.

By that time, Beth had made her way to my side, prying open one of my hands so she could hold it consolingly. Of course, in a room full of vamps, nothing was sacred, and everyone knew what was going on. I had no doubt they were all on my side in this one.

"That was pretty low, Josef, even for you," Beth said acidly.

My so-called friend only shrugged. "Satan only gave Eve the idea, Beth. He didn't bite the apple for her."

I felt her hand tighten on mine. Why did Josef bring out the worst in people?

"I just want you to know though, Goldilocks," he continued. "My lovely wife had nothing to do with this. I invited those freshies over."

"I don't blame her one bit, Josef," she told him coldly.

He nodded in relief. "Good, because I fear the wrath of my wife much more than your simmering hubby here." Simone was staring daggers at him, and I knew when the party was over, Josef would have a whole new meaning of assured destruction. The thought made me feel much better, and I grinned.

"I think it's time we left," I announced, downing the rest of my drink. "Thank you all for coming, for standing by our sides through all the ups and downs that led us to this day. We couldn't have gotten through it without you guys."

There were scattered calls of congratulations and jokes about the honeymoon, and I squeezed my wife's hand. We said our good-byes, inundated with hugs and kisses and well wishes.

Outside, in the moonlight beside my car, I drew my bride into my arms, kissing her soundly.

"You look beautiful in that dress, by the way," I whispered. "I can't wait to take it off."

She smiled, and drew my head back down for a follow-up kiss.

We'd taken out the "till death do us part" section of our wedding vows, and substituted "from this day forward." Death hadn't parted us. On the contrary, it had actually brought us to this moment.

No man—and certainly no vamp—would ever separate us again.

The End?

A/N: Thanks for reading this! So glad there are still "Moonlight" fans out there, and fanfiction to keep the show alive. I don't know when or if I'll write another fic for this fandom, but I'm keeping the door open. You never know about me. Meanwhile, if you are a fan of "The Mentalist," I'm pretty active in that fandom too. If you like my writing, I'd love for you to give those fics a try. Thanks again!