SB 14 - Fighting (Josef's POV) (PG-13)

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francis
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SB 14 - Fighting (Josef's POV) (PG-13)

Post by francis »

I came back to Sarah in the morning, the sun was just starting to crawl up from the sea. I loved the quiet freshness of early morning and took some unnecessary but refreshing breaths before entering the house. I gave Sarah a tentative kiss, then left her to get some more freezer time. Around noon I awoke with a start. Something was up. So I dressed and went over to the biggest room of the house and watched out for Sarah. She was of course lying there, unmoving, unbreathing. Polly was there again. There were three nurses who cared for Sarah 24/7, they scheduled their time on their own and were fiercely loyal to Sarah and me. Polly had been employed for nearly 20 years now, since she was driven from nursing school because she was pregnant. I made sure she could keep her daughter and get a babysitter for work hours. She never betrayed my trust, and I would trust her with my life. Most times you have to earn a loyalty like that.

In the late afternoon the doorbell rang. Polly had just opened the blinds of the northern windows to let in some air, and went to get the door. She was instructed to deny that anybody was home. But when she opened the door I could smell Mick even from the corridor. I smiled to myself. Gotcha. Actually I was glad he found me.
When he and Beth insisted that I would be here, and asked for Charles Fitzgerald, I couldn’t stand it anymore to torture them, and Polly. I walked to the door, excused Polly and smiled at Mick. Beth’s smile was triumphant. I should have known that she would go with him and help him find me. I greeted her with a nod and a smile.

Mick had questions, of course. He found Whitley, he talked to him. I didn’t talk to him, but guided them through the corridor to Sarah’s room. There was no other way, I had to show them. I wasn’t sure what it would do to Mick, to Beth, but they were here, and I was tired of evading. I needed them to understand, I had lost enough already.

When I opened the door I couldn’t look them in the eye. I let Mick and Beth go first, then told them „This is Sarah Whitley.“
I released Polly to her dinner break to be alone with the love of my life, my best friend and the love of his life. It was a curious situation, and I was tentatively taking small steps to get through this conversation. I needed to be open with Mick after all, but my habit of denial and hiding was hard to break. Beth stared at Sarah and started with the questions. „What is wrong with her?“

I couldn’t take my eyes from Sarah when I told them how we met. Out of the corner of my eyes I could see that Beth was moved and shocked about the situation that unfolded in front of her. Mick stayed silent all the time, while I opened my heart to him. I wasn’t really talking to Beth, I was talking to Mick. He watched me with a guarded expression, unmoving.

Beth still didn’t understand what happened, but Mick had comprehended and told her that I tried to turn her. That was my cue to tell the rest. Telling them felt like going through it once again, the dread, the apprehension, the failure, the despair, the guilt, the rage, the loneliness afterwards. I spared them the details, but the images in my head and the emotions in my heart would swirl around until I was almost nauseous. While I talked, and moved away from them to the other side of the bed to be able to watch their faces and Sarah at the same time, Beth was giving sideward glances to Mick. He still didn’t react.

Mick finally opened his mouth to tell me it wasn’t my fault. Huh? Mr. Guilt-ridden himself told me that? It didn’t help, and he knew that. But it helped that he obviously understood me, talked to me again. Beth tried to comfort me, telling me that I cared for her, as if that would make it better. But I understood that there was a question behind her words, the question why I didn’t give up on her. I just couldn’t give up hope that Sarah would wake up some day. I moved back around the bed, getting closer to Mick, trying not to cry, squeezing my nose, needing some sort of contact to pull myself together.

Then suddenly everything went crazy. A man bolted through the window, shattering it. The noise of the splintering glass and wood was resounding in the quiet atmosphere that being with Sarah always created.
I took only a quick glance at the black-clothed attacker and turned towards Sarah to shield her. I heard Mick tackle Beth to the ground. The man shot at me and two bullets hit the mark. It was silver, not very concentrated, but it took my nerval system out for a moment and I theatrically clenched and tilted to the side as far as my precarious control would go. I didn’t want to fall onto Sarah, to make sure he wouldn’t hurt her. I didn’t fear for myself. I could have taken the man out in fair combat, but silver wasn’t really fair. With Mick on my side there was no chance in hell the attacker would succeed.
I hadn’t counted on him having a stake in addition to his silver bullets, and before I could overcome the silver and move again, the wood was forcefully driven into my chest. He missed the heart. Squishy thing, that, it tended to move to the side if you didn’t tackle it in the center. On the other hand, the stake strummed some spinal nerves that made my body convulse in a very undignified way, especially as Martan was moving the wood around wondering why I wasn’t dead. The pain was a bitch. I couldn’t get up, couldn’t talk, couldn’t breathe. And still I was laughing internally when Mick emerged behind him and told him that it wouldn’t work that way.

This time Mick made short work of him, a few punches, lifting him from the ground, a swift twitch of the neck, and Martan fell to the ground, heartbeat efficiently stopped.
Mick kneeled down next to me, unharmed, and watched me as I struggled in place. He pulled the wooden stake out in one swift movement. The first breath I could take I thanked him. This was a close call after all.
He tilted his head and said „You’re welcome.“ in this calm, cool tone he used when something worked his way.
We didn’t need to say more. He had saved my ass, again, and we were fine.

Beth slowly stood up from where she was crouched and surveyed the damage. I did the same once I regained enough strength to get up. The dead killer was lying in the debris of the shattered window. There was blood on the carpet, my blood, where I had been staked. And Sarah was lying still in her bed, as if nothing happened.
Beth’s heartbeat was slowly going back to normal. But now that I concentrated, I could sense Polly’s panicked state. She had taken refuge in the kitchen when she heard the gunshots. I knew she wouldn’t have called the police, she was smart enough to know that was out of the question, but of course she was freaked out. I asked Beth to look after her, and she complied.

Once alone with Mick, I asked him to take the bullets out for me, and slowly divested myself from the ruined shirt. I couldn’t reach back there, and the silver tips hurt like hell. He asked if we should take that procedure away from Sarah, but I told him I didn’t want to leave her out of my sight yet. We couldn’t know if Martan was the only killer that Whitley sent. Mick believed that Martan worked alone. While he took the first aid kit out of a cabinet I indicated to him, I asked him how he found me, and as I had guessed it was the limo service, and Beth’s hacker friend. He told me about Tom’s betrayal and death, and about his talk with Whitley. Whitley had searched for me for two years, and I told him it might have been dumb to donate a sports arena in the name of Sarah Whitley. He huffed at that, and murmured „Mr. Paranoia“ under his breath. I could hear it, of course, and he knew that I could hear it, but we both pretended it never happened.
He apologized for bringing Martan on track, as he was probably followed and didn’t notice. I apologized for running away in the first place. I guess we were even.

For the rest of the painful procedure of extricating the bullets from my spine we bantered like we used to. I drank some blood so the wounds would close. Then Mick asked the question that must have been going around in his head for some time now. „All those years, Josef, you’re ranting about how it can never work between us and humans.“
That made me go serious again. The events had affected not only our friendship, but also Mick’s realationship to Beth. He seemed to be even more guarded now not to let her in too far, afraid to hurt her. And I only wanted to protect him from getting hurt the way I was. But I had to admit that love changed me for the better. Because of that I tried to reassure him. I was at peace with what I was, there was no regret. Even though I have been hurt by falling in love with a human, I still thought it was worth it. We both looked at Sarah.
While I buttoned up a fresh shirt I asked Mick if he was going to try to make his relationship with Beth work. He didn’t answer, but his face was not so tense anymore. Beth came in and asked if I was okay. I tried to lighten the mood, not wanting her to pick up on what had transpired between Mick and I.
She asked if I was coming back to L.A. I hadn’t consciously made a decision yet, but I knew that I would definitely come back. I told her I would stay in New York for a few more days. I needed to decide about a story why I was alive, and make sure that Sarah was indeed safe. I might have to pay Whitley a last visit to make sure of that. And I had to take Martan’s body to the Cleaner. I didn’t want her team here, I actually kept Sarah a secret to the local community. Maybe I should relocate her, take her to L.A. with me. Food for later thought.

Then Beth gave me a small, old book, bound in leather. It was Sarah’s diary. I had seen her write into it when she sat on the swing in the garden, and I sat in the shadow, just watching her. I couldn’t even talk. Today I showed Beth and Mick my true face, and I couldn’t and wouldn’t take it back. I trusted Mick with my life, and I understood now what he finds in Beth. She understood us. A kind of respect was growing towards her.
The feeling of the leather in my hands, the sight of Sarah unmoving in her sleep let me drift away from the present to that happy place where she was awake. I was lost in thoughts and memories about the day I gave her the locket, and promised her forever, soon.

Mick and Beth left silently, and I let them go without a word. For the first time in a very long run I had hope for the future. This would be worth to live, watching Mick and Beth come together, bantering with friends, building a new office, and pissing off the police. This was going to be fun.
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Re: SB 14 - Fighting (Josef's POV) (PG-13)

Post by mitzie »

Wonderful chapter!

Off to read more!

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Re: SB 14 - Fighting (Josef's POV) (PG-13)

Post by Fleur de Lisa »

Finally, Josef bares his heart and soul to Mick. I love how you specifically wrote that he was speaking directly to Mick.
Also love how they both immediately protect their women when the bad guy busts in.
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Re: SB 14 - Fighting (Josef's POV) (PG-13)

Post by moonshine »

loved it!! You really have Josef in the right spot!
This is still very sad for him though...
I liked very much that you added that his respect for Beth grew a little more. That's what happened I think, he was surprised by her and it played an important part for the next episodes.
Great chapters! Sehr gut!! :clapping:
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Re: SB 14 - Fighting (Josef's POV) (PG-13)

Post by jen »

And Josef is indeed correct. This is :hearts: :flowers: :hearts: :flowers: fun!!

Once again, your emotional content and exposition is wonderful.

Off to read more!
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Re: SB 14 - Fighting (Josef's POV) (PG-13)

Post by maggatha3 »

francis wrote:Mick and Beth left silently, and I let them go without a word. For the first time in a very long run I had hope for the future. This would be worth to live, watching Mick and Beth come together, bantering with friends, building a new office, and pissing off the police. This was going to be fun.
Such a lovely image...Josef is almost back on his feet. You have reminded me why Sleeping Beauty has made me see Josef under different light! :hearts:
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