The Sun and the Moon (One-shot) New 1/27/09 PG

[skbnjgirl]

‘We're all mortal. Our time is limited. It's part of what allows us to love and hurt. And in the end it inspires us to make the most of the time we are given.’

Carpe diem.

At that moment she understands. This is life. This isn’t a dress rehearsal. You only get one chance and it was time to take it. Glancing once again at the man she loves, she knows she'll take it.

So I do believe my first post is with you

A perfect interpretation of what quite possible transpired aside from the snippets visible to us on the show. The ending sums it up perfectly. Life is not a dress rehearsal. Go get 'im Beth...

Tessa

[darkstarrising]

‘We're all mortal. Our time is limited. It's part of what allows us to love and hurt. And in the end it inspires us to make the most of the time we are given.’

Carpe diem.

At that moment she understands. This is life. This isn’t a dress rehearsal. You only get one chance and it was time to take it. Glancing once again at the man she loves, she knows she'll take it.

So I do believe my first post is with you

A perfect interpretation of what quite possible transpired aside from the snippets visible to us on the show. The ending sums it up perfectly. Life is not a dress rehearsal. Go get 'im Beth...

Tessa

Tessa,

I'm very honored to be the recipient of your first post!!! Welcome!! *hugs* . And as we saw in FTP, she did just that. Too bad things got in the way.

[Liana]

Karen, that was beautifully written! I loved how you got into Beth's head!

Beth was very uncertain about Mick and Josh in the show. And she had a good reason to be.
She was falling in love with a vampire, for goodness sake... Josh held her sanity while Mick held her heart...
All this time she was dipping her toes into vampire world... and she was going only deeper, but each time something big happened she stopped to think and process, as she said... but after that she always came back to Mick... I imagined her standing in the middle of a river with Mick on one riverside and Josh on the other... the more she walked towards Mick, the more far away from Josh she was getting, but each time she looked back - Josh was there for her, she would go back to him when common sense overtook. Then Josh was gone... and now if "Beth-in-the-middle-of-the-river" looked back there was emptiness where Josh once stood... hehe, and a very human Mick on the other side...

But in the end it all comes to one thing... if you don't take the chance - you will regret it all your life... can you imagine Mick dealing with "what ifs" for all HIS life?! That's just horrible!

I liked how Beth told Mick in FTP "... and it's time he figured out what he's gonna do about it"... it was up to Mick to take the chance... I'm sorry they didn't have more time together while Mick was human, but maybe it was better this way, he would have returned eventually anyway... and Beth still wanted him as a vampire, that's the real choice he needed to make - to be with her even as a vampire. Besides he was giving her mixed signals all this time... and no good reason to make Beth think that MAYBE he loved her...

I loved how you showed Beth dealing with her grief. It wasn't her or Mick's fault that Josh died. Josh would have done the same thing even if there was no Beth, he said so himself.

[redwinter101]

Liana, I know this isn't my thread (sorry, dsr) but I just wanted to say what a *beautiful* analogy that is. Stuck in the middle of the stream indeed.

Red

[darkstarrising]

Karen, that was beautifully written! I loved how you got into Beth's head!

Beth was very uncertain about Mick and Josh in the show. And she had a good reason to be.
She was falling in love with a vampire, for goodness sake... Josh held her sanity while Mick held her heart...
All this time she was dipping her toes into vampire world... and she was going only deeper, but each time something big happened she stopped to think and process, as she said... but after that she always came back to Mick... I imagined her standing in the middle of a river with Mick on one riverside and Josh on the other... the more she walked towards Mick, the more far away from Josh she was getting, but each time she looked back - Josh was there for her, she would go back to him when common sense overtook. Then Josh was gone... and now if "Beth-in-the-middle-of-the-river" looked back there was emptiness where Josh once stood... hehe, and a very human Mick on the other side...

But in the end it all comes to one thing... if you don't take the chance - you will regret it all your life... can you imagine Mick dealing with "what ifs" for all HIS life?! That's just horrible!

I liked how Beth told Mick in FTP "... and it's time he figured out what he's gonna do about it"... it was up to Mick to take the chance... I'm sorry they didn't have more time together while Mick was human, but maybe it was better this way, he would have returned eventually anyway... and Beth still wanted him as a vampire, that's the real choice he needed to make - to be with her even as a vampire. Besides he was giving her mixed signals all this time... and no good reason to make Beth think that MAYBE he loved her...

Liana,

thanks...I like the analogy of Beth being in the middle of the river...with a very human, steady man on one side, and a very not so steady but exciting one on the other. You said it very well Josh held her sanity while Mick held her heart. But now, things have changed, there is no one to run back to and she has to make up her mind - live in the past or take a chance with the man / vamp who loves her. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[darkstarrising]

Liana, I know this isn't my thread (sorry, dsr) but I just wanted to say what a *beautiful* analogy that is. Stuck in the middle of the stream indeed.

Red

Heavens....don't be sorry... you just beat me to it!!!

[Moonlighter]

This was wonderful, DSR. I love when authors "fill in the blanks" for us -- and there were a lot of blanks to be filled, unfortunately. But I love you taking us through Beth's thought process as she grieves, because as someone said earlier, we all grieve differently, and this gave us a chance to see that she didn't completely cast Josh from her mind -- she just made the decision to live.

Now let me go see what Mick was thinking.

[darkstarrising]

This was wonderful, DSR. I love when authors "fill in the blanks" for us -- and there were a lot of blanks to be filled, unfortunately. But I love you taking us through Beth's thought process as she grieves, because as someone said earlier, we all grieve differently, and this gave us a chance to see that she didn't completely cast Josh from her mind -- she just made the decision to live.

Now let me go see what Mick was thinking.

Moonlighter,

We only saw a little of her between the time of Josh's death and the funeral, but what we did see showed that she was progressing from total anger and hurt, pushing people away from her, to finally talking with Mick about how she was dealing with it all. I enjoy filling in the blanks like this and I hope you like Mick's reaction as well.

[Kelly]

Wonderful piece! So sad...but so beautiful.

[darkstarrising]

Wonderful piece! So sad...but so beautiful.

Kelly,

thanks....Josh's death was tragic, but it forced Beth to face a number of things she had hidden from, namely her own feelings for both Josh and Mick.

[jen]

Wonderful, Karen

There is a quote that is bandied about from time to time,

In the midst of life we are in death, and in the midst of death, we are in life

This story illustrates this truth. Thank you for sharing your wonderful gift with us


.

[Luxe de Luxe]

Oh dsr, this is just so sad and lovely and sweet and real. you really convey the detachment Beth must have felt at that time. I came to this via the fanfic recommendation thread and it was worth it.

[allegrita]

I don't know how I managed to miss this lovely story till now. Thank you, dear DSR, for doing Beth such justice. As you might know, I'm kinda partial to Beth... and I could believe in her here. You drew her in a way that made perfect sense.

Josh's death was obviously a horrible blow to her--both to her heart, and to her conscience. She had to mourn not only the loss of this man who had loved her so truly and faithfully, but also the loss of her faithfulness to him. Guilt makes it hard to move on. It drags us back, makes us play "what if" games. I can easily imagine Beth spending a week processing these feelings, going through the motions of dealing with Josh's effects, signing paperwork, making arrangements... and going around and around in her head, wishing things had been different.

But Beth's not a brooder; she's a person who copes and moves on. And the funeral would be the perfect day for her to choose to move on from her ties to the past, embracing what (and who) the future held. Human Mick's wounds are visible, and Beth's are hidden below the surface, but they're both battered here. I imagine her looking at Mick during that service, hearing those words, and making a private vow to seize that day with both hands.

This is one of those stories that have fascinating comments--I enjoyed reading them so much. They added to my appreciation of the story, and I agree with so many of them. This is obviously a story that touched many hearts and provoked many deep insights from the brilliant readers here.

[darkstarrising]

Oh dsr, this is just so sad and lovely and sweet and real. you really convey the detachment Beth must have felt at that time. I came to this via the fanfic recommendation thread and it was worth it.

thanks, Luxe I'm glad you found it and I appreciate what red did with that thread....it will make finding all sorts of stories a lot easier.

I don't know how I managed to miss this lovely story till now. Thank you, dear DSR, for doing Beth such justice. As you might know, I'm kinda partial to Beth... and I could believe in her here. You drew her in a way that made perfect sense.

Josh's death was obviously a horrible blow to her--both to her heart, and to her conscience. She had to mourn not only the loss of this man who had loved her so truly and faithfully, but also the loss of her faithfulness to him. Guilt makes it hard to move on. It drags us back, makes us play "what if" games. I can easily imagine Beth spending a week processing these feelings, going through the motions of dealing with Josh's effects, signing paperwork, making arrangements... and going around and around in her head, wishing things had been different.

But Beth's not a brooder; she's a person who copes and moves on. And the funeral would be the perfect day for her to choose to move on from her ties to the past, embracing what (and who) the future held. Human Mick's wounds are visible, and Beth's are hidden below the surface, but they're both battered here. I imagine her looking at Mick during that service, hearing those words, and making a private vow to seize that day with both hands.

This is one of those stories that have fascinating comments--I enjoyed reading them so much. They added to my appreciation of the story, and I agree with so many of them. This is obviously a story that touched many hearts and provoked many deep insights from the brilliant readers here.

Thanks, alle, Yeah, I'm partial to Beth as well and we get to see her run the gamut of emotions in LLF (feeling torn between two men, then the horror of Josh's murder and her subsequent grief/anger/guilt) and TMC (still angry with Mick, dealing with everything she had to, then finding out about the ring.) For me, from the time of the murder until the funeral she was put through an emotional wringer. But Beth being who she is, on the day she says her final farewell to Josh, she ends one part of her life and begins another.

I like your observation about Mick's wounds being visible, while Beth's are hidden. I hadn't thought of that, but you're right. I'm with you on enjoying the stories that fill in the blanks....and there were soooo many blanks to be filled in.

FWIW, there is a companion piece to this called 'The Moon and the Stars' and it portrays the day of Josh's funeral from Mick's POV

[Lucy]

you've cast both sides of the "coin" and they are unmistakeably ringing true.....

so bittersweet.

Thank-you