2. Out of the Closet - PG13

[Lilly]

Well, it took long enough, but this it the second in my series of sixteen dialogues between Mick and Josef set after each episode of Moonlight. (My original explanation is here: http://moonlightaholics.com/viewtopic.php?f=865&t=9996)

Disclaimer: I do not own Moonlight or any of its characters. Occasionally one or two of them speak to me and I take dictation. No disrespect or copyright infringement is ever intended.

Rating: PG13.


2. Out of the Closet


“How the hell did this happen, Mick? Instead of 'erasing a regret,' you come out of the closet to Miss ‘Vampire Killing Rocks LA’??”

“I didn’t exactly ‘come out,’ Josef... she walked in.”

“Semantics. You got careless.”

“I got shot.”

“I told you this girl was dangerous.”

“She saved my life.”

“She what?”

“She shot Lee Jay. He pumped me full of silver buckshot, had a blowtorch inches from my face... I should've been ash, man. But— she shot him. She killed him.”

“Just like that?”

“Yeah.”

“Impressive. So she took him out. To save you. Interesting...”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, yeah, you've got a certain appeal... but maybe somewhere under all that blonde ambition, something else is going on.”

“What’re you saying?”

“I’m saying – maybe you're starting to come into focus, Mick. You got a better haircut, but you haven’t changed that much in 22 years. Maybe she’s starting to recognize you.”

“Dammit, Josef! How long have you known?”

“That you and Ms. Turner have history? It's my business to know. She's always been a concern. Since she was a kid. Granted, she was off my radar for a while, but you weren’t in direct contact with her then, were you?”

“All this time…”

“Loose ends, Mick.”

“I know. You don’t like them.”

“So – you OK?”

“Thanks for the overwhelming concern. But, yeah, Guillermo came by after she left....dug out the silver. Restocked the fridge.”

“So now what? You let her out of here with Pulitzer bait. She better not start casting that line or she’s not going to like what bites.”

“Josef—”

“Are we clear?”

“Listen, she was scared, repulsed… I told her to get out. She’s not coming back.”

“You’d better hope not. Because once that door is open, there’s no way to put the monster back in the closet.”

[librarian_7]

I always adore seeing any writing from you, Lilly. You know that. But this conversation is so spot on--we all know he had some sort of comversation with Josef at that point. And this does sound right for that.

[allegrita]

Oh, this is awesome! I can hear them talking (which always happens when I read your stuff ). I love this whole conversation, but the part that I love best is that Josef knew about Beth all along! And Mick was totally clueless. It makes so much sense to me, but we never found out on the show, exactly when Josef knew that Beth Turner, Amanpour wanna-be, was the grown-up version of the little girl Mick killed his wife to save. (Although I suspected that he knew all along, 'cause that's the way Josef is.)

This is just deliciously spot-on, Lilly. I'm so glad you're continuing this series!

p.s. I can't tell you how much I adore Josef's little "blonde ambition" dig.

[cassysj]

I love this! You always have a perfect tone for the characters and this is incredible. I can absolutely picture this conversation.

[Lilly]

Lucky, Alle, Carol -- thank you all so much! I'm thrilled you like my take on the next after-episode conversation.

When I posted the first one, I honestly didn't think it would be THIS long until the second. Josef was very clear about what he wanted to say but I had to reconcile for myself that he really did know about Beth at this point. I feel very strongly that he never shows all of his cards, as it were, so I had to look a couple of episodes into the future to make sure that I could justify what he was about to put on the table.

[MickLifeCrisis]

Although personally I'm not convinced that Josef knew about Beth at this point, you sure have Mick and Josef spot on and I could see (and hear!) this conversation happening. I went back and read your first dialogue as well, and enjoyed the reread.

Looking forward to more!

[myimmortal]

I love this! And also the first part, which I just discovered. You have a fantastic ear for dialogue and the rhythms of speech.

[Lilly]

MLC -- Believe me, I thought long and hard about it. When Josef saw Beth interviewing Julia on TV at the beginning of the episode, he asked Mick, "Is that your friend, the blonde?" and then said he'd like to meet her someday. He had a bit of a smirk and I had the sense that he was testing Mick, trying to push his buttons. But, honestly, it took me quite a while after the show first aired to even consider that Josef knew. At any rate, I'm so glad you could suspend your disbelief enough to enjoy the chat. Thank you.

myimmortal,thank you so much for having a look at both dialogues! I'm glad you enjoyed them.

[choccyterri]

Oh Lilly, this is just wonderful!! I'm hearing them speaking!! Josef's wit shining through. His underlying concern that the proverbial cat is out of the bag... It's as if they're back in my living room. Thank you so much for giving us this lovely snippet. I haven't read the first one, but will go and find it, and look forward to more of these conversations! Just brilliant. Thank you!!

[Lilly]

Thanks you so much, Terri! I'm so glad you liked this and I hope you enjoy the first one, as well.

[HotMicks]

Wow, this is such a spot-on Josef reaction that I actually saw Josef's reaction in The Ringer when Mick said that he never saw Coraline's ashes.

I wondered if this one would have a more serious tone because the episode did. NSTAV was flirty and sexy and mostly lighter in tone. This one is where the sh-- hit the fan, so to speak. And you really did it justice, because I always felt it was kind of never addressed how risky it was for Mick to let Beth leave that night, no matter how bad off he was. Especially given the look of horror on her face, which was the last we saw of her that episode. So it is terribly fitting that you have Josef take him to task for that loose end. I wish they had added a scene like this. I remember being relieved when she was knocking on his door in the next episode.

And as for Josef knowing... I can totally see that. He was always knowing more than he was letting on. You had him reveal it similar to how casually he let the Jean Harlow info slip out.

I am going to have to check out some of your other stuff.

Thanks for this!

[Shadow]

Oh, how excellent! I missed a new Vampire Dialogue.....but now I've found it.

As always with your stories, Mick's and Josef's voices are just perfect. I love being able to read these long sessions of pure dialog without ever wondering whose voice is whose. They're so marvelously distinctive.

The tone of the conversation was a little more serious this time, which perfectly fits the interval. And Josef knows who Beth is! Well, of course he would.

And your story titles are simply inspired.

[darkstarrising]

The banter between the two men is spot-one, Mick with his no-frills straightforward replies to Josef's more colorful verbal parries. This whole piece is absolutely fabulous, Lilly but these two had me giggling

“How the hell did this happen, Mick? Instead of 'erasing a regret,' you come out of the closet to Miss ‘Vampire Killing Rocks LA’??”

“I didn’t exactly ‘come out,’ Josef... she walked in.”

I could see Mick's momentary pause before he answered that one

and

“So now what? You let her out of here with Pulitzer bait. She better not start casting that line or she’s not going to like what bites.”

Fabulous double entendre on Josef 's part.

Off to read the first one!!

[Lilly]

Ladies, thank you so much for your kind words!

HotMicks - I'm so sorry I somehow missed responding to you comment. I'm thrilled this hit the right notes for you.

As always with your stories, Mick's and Josef's voices are just perfect. I love being able to read these long sessions of pure dialog without ever wondering whose voice is whose. They're so marvelously distinctive.

Thank you, Shadow! It really is a huge goal of mine that these voices stand on their own -- the rhythm and phrasing need to be distinguishable for it to work. I'm so glad you think it does.


dsr - Thanks so much! I love that you felt the "pause" between those lines! Sometimes, it's so tempting to explicitly write in the silences, but it's more fun to trust all of you who know these guys so well.

[MickLifeCrisis]

Another great reread! (and I DID remember this one from before! )

And this:

I love being able to read these long sessions of pure dialog without ever wondering whose voice is whose. They're so marvelously distinctive.

YES. Couldn't agree more!