Twists of Fate - Chapter 1 (PG-13)

[francis]

This is a fairly long story that deals with the events of the show from Josh's POV and will incorporate more and more AU until it leaves canon totally, but for now it's more missing scenes and Josh's thoughts.
Pairing: Josh/Beth, Mick/Beth, Josh/?

Betaed by redwinter101 (Thank you, dear!)
Disclaimer: I don't own Josh, or Beth, or Mick, or anything in this fic, but I like to play with them, so bear with me.

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He was sound asleep when the door to his apartment opened and the petite woman tiptoed in. She was smiling, excited over the success of her first broadcast, but she tried not to wake him up.

In most relationships it would mean trouble to have your girlfriend sneak into the house at three in the morning. Not in this one. Beth was a reporter for a news website called Buzzwire, and she had promised to come to Josh’s place after work so they could at least have breakfast together. With Beth’s crazy work hours and Josh’s demanding job they tried to make time for each other whenever they could.

So Beth silently shook off her shoes, left her purse and jacket on the couch, and shed her pants and blouse on her way to the bedroom. She went into the bathroom and carefully closed the door before turning on the light. She brushed her teeth, splashed some water on her face, and then crawled in at the left side of the queen size bed. She felt a curious mixture of exhaustion and adrenaline-fueled agitation. Her first live story had been sent tonight, and Mo had already called her to give her seal of approval. And she had met a strange and intriguing man.

Josh turned to her, mumbling contentedly.

„Sorry,“ she whispered. „I tried not to wake you.“

He smiled at her. „It’s okay, darling. How was the live broadcast?“

„I was so nervous before we went on air, but then I was just calm and did it. I think I’ll really get into this. The case is intriguing, too.“

„You can tell me all about it in the morning. You must be tired.“

„Actually I am way too excited to go to sleep. But I’ll try.“

„I could make you some tea.“ Josh was concerned about her. She didn’t sleep well at the best of times, her nightmares were frequent, and she stayed up later than was doing her good. But it was obvious that she already felt guilty for disturbing his sleep.
She shook her head. „Really, thank you, but don’t. Let’s try to sleep, okay?“

She melted into his arms and closed her eyes, while he kissed her lightly on the brow. Josh could sense her tension slowly easing up, but it took some tossing and turning for her to settle down. He understood that she had a long day with emotionally draining experiences. When she finally stilled her movements and fell asleep, Josh was already snoring lightly.

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Josh got up early, showered and dressed without waking Beth. She had slept better than usual; at least he wasn’t woken again by her thrashing around as he was almost every other night they spent together.

Silently he made coffee and put two matching cups and plates on the counter. He fetched orange juice from the fridge, made toast and collected the newspaper from downstairs. Then he sat down to wait for Beth to wake. When he had finished with the paper he looked around in the dim light of the rising sun. His apartment was very similar to Beth’s, he thought to himself, a small bedroom with bathroom, the living room with a kitchenette. But his home was in Sherman Oaks, and hers was in Santa Monica. Their tastes were very different, his stark decor compared to her warm, welcoming home . He wondered what their house would look like if they finally decided to move in together. He tensed at the thought. He definitely wanted to have a family with her, but she seemed to be at a very different place in her life. He told himself once again that they had time, but a nagging voice in the back of his mind wondered if she would sacrifice her career for his wish. In her place, would he?

He heard Beth turn in bed and went over to the bedroom. She was sitting up, stretching her arms, yawning. She looked so cute. „Morning, sleepyhead.“

„Morning. How are you always so chipper?“

„You missed me grumbling around and waking up by half an hour.“

„Why didn’t you wake me, I wanted to help with breakfast.“

„Not much to help with. You need your sleep. Coffee?“

She jumped out of bed and gave him a squeeze. „You sure know how to get a lady out of bed.“

„I hope I know how to get a lady into it, too.“

She punched his shoulder and grinned. „You did, didn’t you?“

They sat at the counter in companionable silence, she in his bathrobe, he in a suit, while she enjoyed her first cup.

„You wanted to tell me about your broadcast.“

She gave him a short summary of the happenings, including her excitement over the fact that Mo trusted her with something that big.„The sight of the body wasn’t as gruesome as I had anticipated. It was just a dead body, blood at her neck, but nothing to get upset about.“

He took a sip of his coffee. „You take things like that in your stride, like it’s a halloween display. I’m not sure if I should be worried.“

She huffed. „But then there was this weird person at the side. He was standing there, just watching, and I had the strange feeling that he was watching only me.“

Josh paid close attention now. „What did he do?“

„That’s what makes me think so much about him. Nothing. He was standing there in the shadows and watching. I went over and asked him why he was there. I was thinking another reporter, a cop, whatever, but he just shook his head. He looked so familiar, as if I had seen him before, but I cannot for the life of me remember where I know him from.“

„Maybe he just has one of those faces.“

Beth looked up. „Odd. That’s exactly what he said.“

„What did he do?“

„He just vanished when I turned to look back at the scene. He was so quick, I thought I’d looked away just for a second, but it must have been longer. “

Josh started to pack the food away and stack the plates in the sink. He had to get going.
„Well, if he is so interested in that case that he stands there in the early morning, maybe you will see him again somewhere. Maybe he’s some kind of undercover cop and didn’t want to say.“

„Yeah, I’ll probably never know. You need to go. I don’t have to be at Buzzwire until noon, so I’ll go home and try to sleep some more.“

„Why don’t you stay here a little longer?“

She nodded. „I’ll let myself out.“

He gave her a quick peck on the lips, grabbed his briefcase from the desk and left.

Beth snuggled back under the covers, inhaling Josh’s scent. He was so attentive to her needs. Sometimes it made her feel bad, he was trying so hard, and she didn’t really reciprocate. His life was kind of mapped out for him, and she was still on the move, searching for something to sink her teeth into, something fun and exciting, maybe even a bit dangerous. And with tonight’s events she thought that she probably found it. But how would the job of a hard-hitting crime reporter fit into their plans for the future? She just couldn’t plan that far ahead.
With that thought she fell back to sleep, dreaming of murder victims and live reports.

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link to chapter 2: viewtopic.php?f=75&t=540&p=2705#p2705

[Raven]

Josh was not a favorite character and I felt a pinch of resistance starting a Josh story...but the "written by francis" squelches all preconceived notions!
This is SO Josh (for some reason it brought back the "but I made you chicken" comment in epi 5)...

„Actually I am way too excited to go to sleep. But I’ll try.“
„I could make you some tea.“

Josh is really sweet and he loves Beth, but he's so...ordinary in his home life.

He was so attentive to her needs. Sometimes it made her feel bad, he was trying so hard, and she didn’t really reciprocate.

Beth already acknowledges the domestic chasm that exists. And now, the phenomena called Mick has begun its emergence...
I'm hooked francis!

[francis]

Thank you so much for the praise, Raven. I'm glad you decided to try this story. I promise it will be worth it.

[jen]

Wonderful!

They are so real. Each very much into their own paths and trying to work the other into their lives.

Nicely done.

[francis]

Thank you, jen! It means a lot to me that you are reading this and commenting on every chapter!
Love ya!

[jen]

Hi, Francis. Just me again. Stopped in for a reread.

This is a wonderful new perspective on what we saw on screen in 'No Such Thing As Vampires'. It is entirely reasonable that Beth may have mentioned the enigmatic stranger who stood apart, watching the crime scene activity at the fountain, and the first person she would mention him to would be Josh. Did she later talk to Steve or Maureen about the mysterious figure who said he 'just had one of those faces' and perhaps even ask Carl?

Who knows?

Anyway, I am looking forward to taking this journey again!

Thank you!

[francis]

Thank you so much, jen! You made my day just brighter!!!