This is actually the first ML story I ever wrote.------------------------------------------
Title: Delicate Flower
Author: Cat Moon
Rating: PG13
Genre: Mickbeth
Warning/spoiler: doesn't quite follow show canon. Early in their friendship, but Beth knows the dreams she's been having are real and it was Mick who saved her.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Just for fun, no profit involved.
Summary: just another Mick and Beth "dance"
DELICATE FLOWER
By Cat Moon
“You know, the Chinese believe that when you save a man’s life you become his blessed protector, and it’s your duty to do that for the rest of your life.”
--Blair Sandburg.
Some people believe that the whole universe is basically just one huge cosmic coincidence. We’re all here because of a freak accident of nature. Then there are the others, who see patterns and meaning in everything. Even the clouds. Chance encounters in the city morgue. Things like that. I think we probably each believe what we want to. Whatever’s most convenient at the moment.
Until the world turns upside down, and the rules you believed in and lived by change on you.
I think the universe is a bitch.
XXX
Beth was having the nightmare again. It might have lasted until she finally awoke, Mick’s name on her lips even as the confusing jumble of images faded into the past. It might have, but this time was different.
It was just another strange coincidence when the telephone rang right in the middle of her nightmare. Beth jumped up as if shot, blindly groping for the receiver. “H’llo?”
The silence itself announced the caller to her, as clear as if he had spoken. “Mick?” she breathed, glancing over at the other side of the bed. Thankfully, Josh wasn’t sleeping over that night. Things had been strained between them lately. And she couldn’t blame him, not really.
“I know it’s you,” she told the receiver, settling back against the pillows.
“How do you know it’s me,” he told her, sounded amused despite himself. “It could be an obscene caller.”
“What, it can’t be both?” Beth quipped. Upon hearing his voice a calm had come over her, the nightmare banished. It wasn’t a new occurrence.
“I’ve been thinking…”
“Uh oh,” she teased.
He took a deep breath, obviously deciding to just jump in. “Listen, I know you think… probably feel like you owe me, for saving you when you were a kid. That’s natural. And I know it can be confusing, the past and the present all mixed up. It is for me too. But after what happened in the desert…”
“You mean when I saved your life by giving you my blood,” she said dryly.
“Yeah. Well, we’re even, y’know? And then some.”
She wondered what she was supposed to do with this “revelation.” While she was pondering it, he spoke again, soft voice still hesitant.
“I just wanted you to know that."
“Thanks.”
“… You’re welcome.”
More silence. She imagined they were listening to each other breathing, as if there was no space between them at all. Or was it imagination?
“Well, good night.”
“Good night, Mick.”
“Sweet dreams,” he whispered just before hanging up.
And, incredibly, they were.
XXX
Mick sat in the darkening apartment, staring at the computer screen. At her face. He suspected he was probably doing way too much of that, but he couldn’t seem to stop himself. It was bad enough the past haunted him; now the present did, too.
He was startled out of his introspection by the ringing of the telephone. He knew, just knew who it was, before looking at the caller ID screen. Beth. He waited, not making a move to answer. Too dangerous, now. He waited breathlessly for the machine to beep and to hear her voice. She launched into her message right away, didn’t even bother to say her name first, as if he would know immediately who it was and what she was talking about. Of course he did. The shorthand they shared was damned scary. It felt like they’d known each other for years. Or an eternity. Okay, so he had more or less “known” her since that fateful meeting when she was only young. But it had been one-sided, up until recently.
It was just one sentence, and then she hung up without waiting for a reply. “Actually, you also saved me from that psycho serial killer, the first case we worked together. So I still owe you.”
The first case we worked together? Oh, crap.
XXX
Beth let herself into her building, Chinese takeout bag clutched in one hand, files for a story she was working in the other. The meal was to be both lunch and dinner – again. Sometimes, finding time to eat could be very inconvenient… but she guessed not as inconvenient as it was for Mick… she didn’t want to go there, really. She’s been thinking about him all day at work as it was. Wondering if he’d call, but fearing he wouldn’t. She’d even made an excuse to Josh so he wouldn’t come over. It hadn’t been as difficult to convince him as it should have been.
As she unlocked the apartment door and let herself in, she saw the white piece of paper on the floor just inside. She put everything else down and picked it up. The tingling sensation she got handling the note was imagination, had to be. Ignoring it, she unfolded the paper and read the message there, in Mick’s scrawl.
But you shot Lee Jay, right before he was about to burn my face off. You killed for me. So we’re still even. You don’t owe me anything.
She gave a very unladylike snort, then gathered up her stuff to go have dinner in front of the TV.
XXX
This time when she called, he picked up the phone before the first ring was through. Didn’t know what he was going to say, but that was okay because she didn’t give him a chance, taking up the conversation as if there had been no break.
“Yes I did, didn’t I? And I also pulled out that stake that was paralyzing you. So technically, I’m way ahead in saving your life.”
Mick smiled, relieved that because she understood that she didn’t “owe” him, the problem was solved. His smile faded at her next words, however.
“Jeez, Mick – what would you do without me there to pull your fat out of the fire? You obviously need me around to look after you.”
His plan had backfired. Should have had a Plan B. “But, that’s not what I—“
“In fact, after those first two times when you saved me, I saved you three more times.”
“Beth…”
“Now you owe me.” Click.
And he had a strong feeling she wouldn’t let him forget it.
XXX
Mick knew Beth was coming; he’d tracked her all the way from her car, with all of his senses. Still, it wasn’t enough time to decide how he was going to handle her. Especially when he had no idea what to expect. He opened the door for her before she had a chance to knock.
She walked in, not waiting to be invited. Then, in a move that startled him with its unexpectedness, she reached up and slapped his face.
He stared at her, rubbing the offended cheek. Was it human women, or just humans he didn’t understand? Maybe just women.
“You think that’s what this is,” she motioned between them with her hand. This wasn’t easy to do, since there wasn’t all that much space there. He stepped back a few. “all about? Owing? Obligation?!”
He opened his mouth to speak, but never made it.
“Let me tell you something, Mick St. John, I may not know exactly either, but I’m not too much of a coward to find out!” She abruptly spun around, heading for the door.
Then he made one of the stupidest moves of his long life. He stopped her.
“Maybe we should sit down and talk.”
Beth seemed surprised by his suggestion, but nodded and followed him into the living room. They took their usual spots; her on the couch and him in the chair opposite. He laced his hands together and took a moment to collect his thoughts and find words. She allowed it.
“Are you going to deny that me saving your life when you were little hasn’t…” he groped for words, “complicated our, uh, friendship?”
“Oh, I see. It’s not an obligation. I’m a complication!”
He sighed. “Yes. And pretending this isn’t complicated isn’t a good idea.”
“Newsflash, St. John: life is complicated. And messy, and can be unpleasant. Humans do vicious, horrible things to each other. And they also do beautiful, meaningful things together. Vampires don’t have the exclusive on any of those things. And whether you like it or not, fate keeps bringing us together for a reason.”
“I like it too much,” he whispered.
“What was that?” she pounced on his barely breathed words.
“Nothing.” But the look on her face suggested that she’d heard, even if it shouldn’t have been possible. “To what end?”
“I don’t know yet. But I have a feeling it’s going to be a wild ride finding out.”
“Is that what you want?” he asked sharply, challengingly, aiming to cut, “a wild ride?”
She stared at him for a moment, but he only saw the brief glimpse of anger before it quickly faded. Incredibly, the corners of her mouth turned up towards a grin, and he was even more amazed to find himself responding in kind.
“You can be a real asshole, Mick. And by the way, you really don’t want me to answer that.”
And just like that, they were sitting there grinning at each other. Good grief, he thought, they couldn’t even sustain anger for more than a few minutes before they were simpatico again. How could they be so connected, right from the start? If he was being honest with himself, he knew it had begun way before he’d taken her blood. That just made it harder to resist. But he was good at resisting temptation. He’d had a lot of practice.
“I’m still mad,” she pointed out.
“Okay,” he agreed, opening smiling now.
“You know what I think? I think you’re the one who feels obligated. Because you saved me when I was young, you think you’re responsible for me. And maybe you still think of me as that little girl. But I’m all grown up now.”
“Believe me, I’ve noticed,” he said in a voice turned husky.
“And just looking at the facts, it seems like it’s an open and shut case. We’ve saved each other; we’ve helped each other on cases. We make a good team. Maybe we need each other.”
He admired her honesty, the guts it took to admit so much. But he didn’t answer, because really, there was nothing he felt he could say about that. Maybe we belong together… So much unsaid between them. He never could tell when they were on the same page, understanding each other without words, and when they were misunderstanding.
“I…”
“I understand how hard it is for you to trust, after what your wife did to you. I think maybe we’re all afraid of getting hurt -- humans and vampires alike. I think we have more in common than you think.”
And less in common than she knew. He had to keep reminding himself of that, or she was very likely to make him forget it.
Beth continued. “You need time to get used to the idea. I get that. I’ve got time, I’m not going anywhere.”
“Um, literally?” He wondered, as he always did, if he’d be able to resist her, this time, if he had to. Knew one of these days he wouldn’t.
“Is that a hint?” she asked, obligingly rising. “Guess I should get going, we’ve probably done enough talking for now. Unless there’s something more you want… to say?” Inviting him.
He turned her down gently as he knew. “It’s getting late,” he murmured.
She nodded, accepting. “Do me a favor, Mick?”
He should have said if I can. “Sure,” came out instead.
“Don’t avoid me this time.”
“If I do, we’ll only run into each other,” he answered ruefully.
“Probably in the morgue,” she agreed, with one of those smiles that he would have sold his soul for, if he had one.
He walked her to the door, and they both paused there as if reluctant to part. Kidding himself again, there was no as if about it. Lying to himself was getting to be a habit, but like Beth had told him, vampires make lousy liars.
“Thank you,” he told her as sincerely as he could, trying to convey all he couldn’t say with his eyes. He kept his hands tightly clenched into fists at his side, so as not to reach out.
“For what” she asked quizzically.
“Everything.” Willing her to understand the wealth of meaning in that one word.
He stood very still as she reached over and patted the cheek she’d slapped earlier. Then she kissed it. It was just a peck, but it moved him beyond all reason.
“Good night, my delicate flower.” She turned and fled down the hall.
Mick rolled his eyes dramatically at her parting shot, but he was grinning like the idiot he knew he was.
END.
11/4/07
:curtesy:
