Pairing: Mick/Beth
Rating: PG-13ish
Warnings: nothing too explicit (at least, not yet), but I do warn for sexual situations & suggestions and mild language
Summary: Set after "Fever." Beth gets into trouble and runs to Mick for help. Things happen.
Disclaimer: If I owned them there'd be more Josef, no Coraline, Mick and Beth would live happily ever after, and we'd have a 24 hour Moonlight channel. Sadly, they belong to CBS...who better pick them up for a full season before the fans go crazy.
A/N: This is the first fic I've written in awhile, and it's definitely not what I normally write turns red. Comments are always appreciated : )
Note: Mick's voiceovers are in italics
Let Go
Chapter 1
Sometimes, you can try your hardest to do the right thing, even if it's killing you inside. But in the end, it's not just up to you. I haven't seen Beth since that night in the motel and even though it's been a week, I can still feel her blood singing through my veins. I know that's impossible, but I feel it nonetheless. I feel her. It's made it even harder to stay away, to not answer the door when she knocks. I can feel her hurt each time she walks away but I know it's for her own good, so I force myself to stay strong. I console myself with her nightly BuzzWire reports, convinced it's the closest I can allow myself to get to her. But I lie. If she needs me, I'll be there…just like I always have.
Beth stood and stretched. It was 2 a.m. and she'd spent the last 3 hours hunched over her laptop writing a follow-up for the night's breaking story. She was the last in the office again but she didn't mind. She'd developed a real fondness for solitude lately, a trait she blamed entirely on Mick. He was avoiding her, dodging her calls and visits. She needed to talk to him, to know he was okay and wasn't blaming himself for biting her.
Bite. Just the memory sent a shiver through her body. It had been the most indescribable, life-altering experience of her life. She'd been afraid. Not of Mick, she'd never be afraid of Mick. But she'd been terrified that she was too late, that he was too far gone and she'd have found him alive only to lose him again. She'd thought it would hurt when his teeth slid into her skin but all she felt was a slight pulling, like he was pulling her inside of him until they became one. Until she could feel everything he was feeling.
It had been amazing, like a journey through the stars, and that had scared her. Almost from the first, she'd felt a connection to Mick St. John that she couldn't even begin to explain. And then, in their shared heartbeat, a part of her had wished he would turn her. It would have been so easy to let him, so easy that she hadn't been able to stop him. It was Mick who had pulled away, drawing a small whimper of protest from her. He had looked up at her with his beautiful blue-green eyes again and she'd had the feeling he had heard her thoughts.
She shook her head, trying to dislodge the memory. It was late and she needed to get home. She'd spent long enough standing there lost in thought, something she found herself doing a lot more often these days. She packed up her laptop and grabbed her keys, all the while wondering if she should stop by Mick's again. She carried on a silent argument with herself as she walked to her car, even though she knew it was pointless. She'd stop, just as she had every night this week, and hope he was finally ready to open the door.
She was so lost in her ruminations that she almost missed the click of shoes on pavement coming from behind her. She didn't think, didn't turn around. She exploded with a burst of speed, going on instinct. She heard the person speed up behind her and felt a hand brush her back. It twisted in her jacket, almost yanking her back but she gave one last lunge towards her car and broke free, hitting the automatic lock just as she reached the door handle.
She dove inside and quickly closed and locked the door behind her. She saw the shadow close in as she fumbled with her keys, missing he ignition a few times before finally getting it started. She pealed out, not bothering to look behind her. All she knew was that she needed to get somewhere safe, and she needed to get there now. She didn't think about where she was going. She just drove.
Luckily, the streets weren't busy this time of night and she never had to slow down. She kept looking for lights in her rearview mirror, sure that whoever had chased her would suddenly appear, but there were none. She had almost reached her destination when a new thought struck her. What if they were waiting for her? What if they grabbed her as soon as she got out of the car? She hastily parked, still not sure what she should do. Then she spotted another shadow stepping away from the building.
Mick was watching Beth's latest report, as he did every night, when he got the feeling something was wrong. He felt fear, and it was close. There was only one person he'd ever felt like that. Beth. He ran out the door without even bothering to put shoes on. He went to the stairwell, leaping over the railing and landing on his feet three floors down. He hurried outside, trying to decide which way to go. She was close. He could feel it.
He sniffed the air, catching a whiff of the smell that was uniquely Beth. That's when he spotted her car, parked right in front of his building. He stalked forward, praying she was inside and that everything was okay.
Beth saw the shadow moving forward. Her heart froze for half a heartbeat before she recognized Mick. She still couldn't see his face, but she knew. She flung her door open and he was there.
"Mick," she meant to yell but it came out as a whisper. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her head on his shoulder. She needed to tell him what happened and they needed to get inside, but all she could do was hold on to him.
Mick wasn't sure what had happened but Beth was terrified. He could hear her heart fluttering rapidly and feel the slight tremble in her body. He offered the only comfort he could, holding her tighter and whispering, "Shh, it's me. You're safe."
"What happened?" Mick softly growled, angry that anyone would dare to attack Beth. He kept an eye on their surroundings while trying to ignore Beth's soft skin against his neck.
"Someone was waiting for me…chased me." Her warm breath heated his skin and only Mick's vampire hearing allowed him to make out her muffled reply. She felt him stiffen then, in one swift motion, she was in his arms.
He nudged her car door shut and used his vamp speed to hurry her inside. His eyes were alert for the slightest sign of danger, but hers were locked on him. She stared up in wonder, amazed by his speed and strength and tenderness. He was prepared for attack and moving at superhuman speed, yet his hold was gentle and he was careful not to jostle her.
Somehow, they'd made it up the steps without her noticing and were inside his apartment before she knew it. She suddenly felt light-headed, almost like she'd just given blood. She didn't know whether it was from the fear and adrenaline rush or the ride on Mick's Vampire Express scrambling her senses, but she was grateful Mick didn't immediately set her down.
Instead, he stopped in the middle of the apartment and finally looked down at her. Her eyes were slightly glazed, which worried him. She was afraid, that much he knew, but did all her fear come from being chased? Or was she afraid of him too?
How could she not be? After all, she knew firsthand now what a monster he was. He frowned and quickly moved to set her on the couch, but she didn't let go. He looked up in shock and she could see the hopeful wonderment in his eyes. It reminded her of the first time she touched him, only now she understood his reaction. He wasn't used to human touch and still didn't think he was worthy of it, and that broke her heart.
He tried to move away again but she held on, keeping her arms locked around his neck and pulling him towards her. "Don't," she whispered and he immediately froze. They both knew he could easily get away if he wanted to. Just like the both knew he wouldn't.
Mick swallowed hard, already knowing he was fighting a losing battle. He wanted nothing more than to sit next to her and pull her into his lap, but he was a monster who had fed off her and he needed to remember that. Beth was scared now and he was the lesser of two evils. Being with him was preferable to being left alone, and it was nothing more than that.
Beth could see the hatred and self-doubt swirling in his eyes even as he tried to reassure her. "I'm not leaving you. I promise. You can let me go."
"No, I can't. I know you, Mick, and I think you're the one who needs to let go."
"I'm not the one holding on." He shoots back with a sarcastic smirk even though he knows exactly what she's getting at. Josef had told him pretty much the same thing only a few weeks before, but that was before he'd fed on Beth. Everything had changed since then.
"You know that's not what I mean. You're the only one who thinks you're a monster, Mick. You need to let that go."
"I. Fed. Off. You." He draws it out, trying to make her understand. But she doesn't flinch and it's Mick who looks away, still ashamed of what he'd done. He continues more softly, his voice thick with emotions that are threatening to spill out, "Only a monster would do that."
"No! A monster would have killed Leni before he ever got that bad, or he never would have tried to help in the first place. You were dying and you could still only think about saving others. I know you would never hurt me, and I know you never would have asked me to do that. I wanted to. I'd already thought I lost you once. I couldn't let that happen for real. I would have hated myself if I'd just sat back and watched you die, so you can't hate yourself for living."
Mick was silent, thinking about what she'd said. Maybe, by some miracle, she didn't see him as a monster, but that didn't change what he was. He was still a danger to her.
"Hey," Beth scolded, seeing the way his thoughts were going. "You're a good man, Mick St. John. Being a vampire doesn't change that. It only changes your appetite." With that said, she let him go. He slowly stood but she gently touched his hand before he could move away, and that small touch was enough to stop him in his tracks. Instead of moving away from her, he found himself sitting next to her. He knew it wasn't right, but then she smiled and he couldn't bring himself to care anymore.
Mick leaned back on the couch and Beth leaned into him as if it were the most natural thing in the world. He hadn't laid like this with a woman in more decades than he cared to count, but his arm still immediately tightened around her. It felt right, which was entirely wrong. Being around Beth could make him feel too much like a man instead of a monster, and he might start thinking it could work between them. To get his mind back on track, and off Beth, he forced himself to focus on why she was here in the first place.
"What happened tonight?"
"I was working late. I heard someone behind me on the way to my car, and I ran. Then they started running. I got to my car and took off." She shrugs, "That's pretty much it."
"Did you see who it was?"
Beth shakes her head. "I didn't look back. All I could think about was getting away, getting somewhere safe." She leans back to look at Mick so he can see the meaning behind her words. And he does.
She shouldn't feel safe with me. It goes against every natural law and common sense. But the fact that she trusts me that much, that she'd run to me, means more to me than anything in my 85 years. It's one of the greatest gifts she could ever give me, but I don't deserve it. Still, I can't bring myself to tell her how wrong she is. Because, as much as I want to warn her away, I can't bear the thought of her seeing me as monster.
"You should go to bed. It's late and you've had a rough day. We're not going to figure this out tonight, unless you've had a slow week and only managed to tick off one person." That earned him a playful smile.
"This from the guy who's gotten stabbed, staked, and shot with poison bullets. And that's just the past month. Besides, I'm getting used to near death experiences and traumatic situations. I'd rather just stay here, like this." She snuggles closer, resting her head on his chest.
So would I, but I can't say that. He looks down at Beth, enjoying a warmth he'd forgotten existed. She looked so peaceful. Then again, I can't deny her either.