Wow, my very own office - this is so exciting! So here are my fics, written with much love if not talent!
This is the third fanfic that I have written and the second one for Moonlight. It is set after the warehouse scene in 'Out of the Past' and it gives my take on what happened during the missing hours before Beth turned up at Mick's place.
Title: Silver Blaze
Rating: PG-13 (or PG)
Pairing: none
Spoilers: for episodes 1 and 2
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
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Chapter 1Mick was seeing red. Red from the flames of the welding torch just inches from his face, and from the searing pain in his back and shoulder. The poisoning effects of the silver buckshot were starting to spread through him as he lay defenceless on the warehouse floor.
After fifty five years of immortality, this was it, his time was finally up. All he could do was watch as death came closer, closer still...and then struck where it was not expected. Suddenly, the heat of the fire was gone and so was his adversary.
In his weakened condition, it took Mick's brain a few seconds to catch up with what he had seen. Lee Jay was lying on the ground, a bullet hole in his neck and his heart was no longer beating. Dead on impact. Trying to ignore the pain, Mick looked over to the source of his deliverance and was not surprised by what he saw.
Beth stood, apparently rooted to the spot, his gun in her shaking hand and a stunned expression on her face. She must have heard the shots and come to help him. Exactly what she would do, rushing in and risking her own safety.
"I thought I told you to stay in the car!" Mick admonished, his concern for her momentarily overriding his own predicament. Beth didn't react, but continued to stand like a statue, her eyes fixed on Lee Jay. It didn't take medical training to see that she was in shock. She had probably never shot anyone before.
Mick knew that she would be all right in a while, but for the moment she seemed to be completely unresponsive. This was a problem. He was going to need to find help before the silver paralysed him, but he would have to get her out of the way first. When she snapped out of it, she would want to get him to a hospital, which would definitely complicate matters and involve the kind of explanations he didn't want to get into right now.
"Beth," he tried, hoping to get her attention. The only answer was a loud clatter as his gun fell from her hands onto the floor. The sound didn't seem to register with her and Mick realised he would have to be more emphatic.
"Come on Beth!" he ground out, "I need you to go and find Julia."
Still no reply. It looked like shouting was his only option if he was going to get her to move.
"Listen to me! You have to do as I say, OK? Julia's around here somewhere and you have to go look for her. Come on, I need your help."
He seemed to have got through to her at last. She blinked and looked over at him, her eyes unfocussed, before moving automatically in the direction he indicated.
"And call the police," he added, watching as she pulled out her cell phone and disappeared into the warehouse. She was still in shock, but she would recover before long. He wasn't so sure that he would. Fighting against the waves of pain, he dragged himself to his feet and stumbled towards the door.
He passed by his pistol, lying on the ground, but left it there. The police would want to see it when Beth told them what had happened. Mick felt an urge to look back at the body of his would-be killer, an unnecessary confirmation that Lee Jay was truly dead, but he had no time to stop. He could feel the blackness pulling at the edges of his mind and he knew he had to get help soon, or it would be too late.
Leaning heavily on whatever came to hand, he made his way laboriously to his car and fell into the seat. He didn't have enough strength to drive very far, but he needed to move away from this building which would soon be crawling with cops. Forcing himself to concentrate, he fished his key out of his jacket, almost dropping it as his fingers fumbled at the ignition.
Starting the engine, he managed to manoeuvre the car round the side of the warehouse and further up the alleyway, until he found a suitable place to stop. He pulled into a covered entrance, hidden in the shadows. His hands were shaking badly as he took out his phone, pushing the speed dial button for the one person he knew could help him.
"Hey, Mick," came the reply in a worried tone, "what's all this about you turning yourself in? You've gotta know that's not a good idea, man. I'm not sure even my lawyers can get round a confession, but I'll send someone over if you..."
"Josef," Mick interrupted, and the raw note in his voice must have been audible even over the phone, as his friend's manner altered immediately.
"What's wrong," he demanded in obvious alarm.
"Been shot," Mick bit out, speaking as little as possible. It was getting more and more difficult to keep his mind on what he was saying, as a kind of languor began to spread through him.
"What?" Josef's confusion was understandable. Usually, being shot was not a problem for a vampire - not with normal bullets, anyway.
"Silver."
That one word was all the explanation Josef needed. "Where are you?" he asked, getting straight to business. By now, Mick wasn't entirely sure where he was but, with the last of his energy, he managed to concentrate enough to give an intelligible answer.
"OK, hang on in there, buddy. I'm coming to find you." The line went dead and Mick slumped in his seat, letting himself slip into the darkness.
The next thing he knew, someone had grabbed him by the shoulders and was shaking him insistently. The movement made his head flop from side to side and Mick moaned as the pain dragged him back into consciousness. He could hear a familiar voice calling his name but it sounded very far away.
"Come on, man, you're not going to die on me."
He struggled to open his eyes but, when he finally succeeded, everything seemed blurred and disjointed. Blinking a few times, he managed to recognise his friend and tried to speak.
"Josef," he mumbled, the name coming out so slurred that it made little sense. It had the desired effect, however.
"That's more like it," Josef approved, then turned to order, "get that blood over here now." Mick couldn't make out who the other vampire was talking to and the rushing sound in his ears was confusing him. He felt his head being lifted up and a tube pushed into his mouth, followed by the sweet, pungent taste of blood on his tongue. He swallowed automatically, gulping at the life-giving liquid.
"I don't like the look of this," Josef continued, still addressing the unknown third person. "There's a lot of silver in there. We're gonna need to get it out pronto."
"I can't do that here, I need to be able to see what I'm doing. We have to move him."
It was a man's voice that replied. Mick was sure he should know who it was, but he was having trouble focussing on anything except the fire that was now burning him from inside. His thoughts all jumbled in his mind as he tried to work out where the heat was coming from. Oh yes, he had been shot.
"We don't have time for that," Josef was saying angrily. "Just get on with it."
The other man was not backing down, though. "If I try removing the bullets here, there's a chance that the silver might get pushed further into his body. Now that he's had some blood, he'll be strong enough to make it to your office - or to the morgue if you'd rather."
Josef growled in frustration but he didn't argue. "OK, but if he dies, I'm holding you responsible," he warned.
After two bags of blood, the darkness had begun to clear a bit more and Mick realised that it was Guillermo who was talking with Josef. He had obviously decided to ignore the other vampire's aggressive tone and stick to the matter in hand.
"All right," he said, "we should get him out of here as soon as possible."
Mick made another attempt to speak and managed to mutter a few words incoherently. "Don't worry, Mick," Josef responded with false confidence, "you're going to be fine. And when I find out who did this, I'll kill them."
It was no idle theat, as Mick knew from past experience, but he didn't have enough energy to tell his friend that the job had been done. Besides, Josef was already giving orders again.
"We'll take him to my office," he decreed. "You'll have to drive him in this car and I'll follow."
Josef and Guillermo had to lift Mick to shift him over to the passenger seat and he couldn't repress a groan as a burst of pain shot through him. The sound seemed to emphasise the urgency of the situation and the two cars sped out onto the highway in less than a minute.
You've explained how Mick 'got away' from Beth after the shooting and all that occurred until the time they reconnect in his apartment. I, too, am a fan of filling in the blanks or missing moment and you've done so beautifully!!
