No Boundaries - part eight, conclusion (PG13)

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Shadow
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No Boundaries - part eight, conclusion (PG13)

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Disclaimer: Moonlight is not mine and no copyright infringement is intended.


IN BETWEEN
sixteen and . . .






No Boundaries
part eight




Jacob flung the door open only seconds after Beth rang the doorbell, and Mick dropped awkwardly to his knees to give the boy a one-armed embrace. He was so small, so warm, so full of energy – Mick pressed his face against the top of Jacob’s head, feeling the rough texture of the boy’s hair, so sweet against his skin. And then Jacob stepped back, his eyes wide, staring at Mick’s bandaged arm. Robert and Julie came up behind him, looking just as dismayed as Jacob did.

“My God, what happened?” Robert asked. “Come in, Mick . . . Beth . . . please, come in.” He stared at Mick in confusion as they entered, and led them all into the kitchen.

Mick hadn’t even thought about how he was going to explain the injury, and he could hardly tell the whole truth – but Beth said simply, “Mick got hurt a couple of days ago. He was burned pretty badly.”

“Are you gonna be okay?” Jacob said anxiously.

Mick smiled at him and sat down at the kitchen table, taking the chair by the window, where the light came through. “I’ll be fine,” he told Jacob, as Beth sat down beside him.

“But – how did that happen?” Robert asked.

Over Jacob’s head, Mick looked up at him. The man looked more hauntingly familiar than ever, and so did the boy – was that because Mick was human now, the way he’d been with Lilah?

“I was in a fight. Against a guy with a . . . welding torch.” That was about all he could say about it, and still speak the truth.

“Wow,” Jacob said, sounding impressed, and Mick quickly shook his head.

“I didn’t want to,” he said. “And it was dangerous. I almost got killed. I only got into that fight to try to help someone who was in trouble. You understand?”

Jacob nodded solemnly. “Was it someone who was kidnapped?”

“Yeah, it was.”

“Did it – turn out okay?” Robert asked hesitantly. Mick nodded, and Robert slowly sat down beside him. “I hardly know what to think, Mick,” he said. “I mean, I’m grateful every day that you’re the kind of person who’ll face down a man with a gun just to help someone. But at the same time, it scares me to death to think of you getting into that kind of situation. I can’t help but wish you could be more careful.”

“Believe me, I’m going to be a lot more careful for a while. At least until this heals.”

“You’d better be,” Beth murmured, so low that he could barely hear her.

“Dad, Dad,” Jacob said, hurrying over to his father. “Can I go get the box?”

“Okay, Jacob, but be careful with it. Don’t run.”

“I won’t!”

Jacob hurried for the stairs, not quite running, and as soon as he was out of sight, Mick asked, “How’s he doing?”

“Better, a lot better,” Robert said. “I mean, he’s still having nightmares, still having trouble sleeping, but he’s so much more confident during the day.”

“It’s as if he’s started to feel safe again,” Julie put in. “He’s really been doing better ever since the last time you visited.”

That's because he knows someone’s watching over him. Mick was intensely thankful that he hadn’t had to leave town – he didn’t want to think about what that might have done to Jacob. He felt a momentary qualm; he wouldn’t be as much protection to Jacob as a human as he’d been as a vampire. But the monster haunting Jacob’s mind was only human himself, and a human in L.A. could protect the boy far more effectively than a vampire who’d had to flee the city.

“And your niece? Is she okay?” Mick remembered to ask.

“So far. She’s still in rehab, so we’re hoping for the best.” Julie’s face darkened when she spoke of this, so maybe it really wasn’t going so well, but she put on a smile and said, “Well! Would you two like coffee, or tea?”

Beth grinned at Mick and said firmly, “Coffee, for both of us. Thank you.”

Jacob burst back into the room, a small wooden box in his hands, and then he self-consciously slowed down to a measured walk. He put the box down carefully on the table in front of Mick, and Robert reached across to open it.

“I came across this in the attic when we were having Jacob’s ceiling fixed,” he said. “I thought you’d like to see it. This box was with my mother’s old things, but I never got around to looking through it before. Funny, I don’t remember ever seeing it when she was alive.”

Because she kept it hidden away, Mick thought, gazing into the box, which was full of old photographs, creased and faded and worn. Not just for Ray’s sake, but for her own. She put away all her memories of me, just as I did with my memories of her. His own face looked up at him from the photograph on top, young and happy, and Ray was standing beside him with a broad grin on his face. Had Lilah taken that picture herself? He lifted out the photographs and carefully spread them on the table, aware of Beth leaning closer to him to look. He didn’t remember seeing any of these pictures before, but as he looked at them, he found himself remembering the moments they’d captured. There he was with Ray, both of them dressed up for a high school dance, and though he was smiling for the camera he remembered the hurt and disappointment he’d felt, because Lilah was going with Ray, not with him. The other photos spoke of happier times, innocent times, Mick and Ray together when they were kids, long before either one of them had fallen in love. And there, at the bottom of the box . . .

“My God, is that Rosie?” Beth whispered.

“Yes. With Lilah.” In the picture Rosie looked about eight, tiny and adorable, and Lilah, at sixteen, was serenely beautiful. Lilah was sitting behind Rosie, tying a ribbon into her hair. Mick stared at the photograph. He’d forgotten. He’d completely forgotten that Lilah had sometimes been Rosie’s babysitter. Vampires are supposed to lose all their memories of being human, until the memories fade into nothing. He’d sworn that that would never happen to him . . . but it had been happening. Could being human, for however short a time, spare him from that loss? He thought of the memories and flashbacks that had overwhelmed him the last time he’d been human, of the way this house seemed so much more familiar to him now . . .

“Rosie?” Robert asked curiously. “I wondered who the little girl was."

“She’s my -- ” Mick swallowed, coming back to himself, and tried to remember who he was supposed to be. “My great-aunt. I’ve never seen this picture before.”

Or if he had, he didn’t remember seeing it. Mick’s gaze drifted back to the other pictures, the bittersweet history of his friendship with Ray. He’d left behind almost everything when he’d been turned; the photo of their troop was practically his only memento of that friendship. Unconsciously he touched the ring on his finger, tracing the cross – his only memento of Tyler.

“What did you look like when you were little, Robert?” Beth asked abruptly. “I’ll bet you looked exactly like Jacob.”

Mick caught his breath at the question. What had Robert looked like as a child, or even as a young man? Mick had missed out on his entire life.

“Jacob does take after his daddy,” Julie said with a smile, putting their coffee mugs on the table. “Robert, you should show them your mother’s album.”

“Oh, they don’t want to see that, Julie.”

“Actually, I’d love to see it,” Beth said hopefully, with a little glance at Mick. Oh yes, she knew exactly how much he would like to see it.

“Well – all right then.” Robert rose and left the room, and Jacob bounced up into his empty seat, peering at the photographs. “I still think those pictures look like you,” he told Mick. “Just like you.”

“They really do,” Julie said, sitting down with her own cup of coffee. “It’s hard to believe that’s really your grandfather. The family resemblance is amazing.”

Mick, feeling uncomfortable with this turn of the conversation, slowly gathered the photographs and put them away in the box, on the pretense of protecting them from his coffee. A little flustered, he picked up his mug and took a sip. The coffee was good, incredibly good, and he closed his eyes, savoring the rich flavor and aroma. He’d only taken a couple of sips when Robert returned with a thick photo album, which he put down on the table next to the box. He opened it, looking a little embarrassed, and Mick found himself gazing down at Lilah – Lilah, looking almost the same as the day he’d left her, but holding a little boy by the hand. Holding her son by the hand. My son. He felt so sure of it. He looked up at Robert, clearing his throat, but couldn’t find anything to say.

“You were a cute kid, Robert,” Beth said in a casual tone, and she reached over to flip through the book. “I think Jacob looks a lot like you.” As she turned the pages Mick gazed down at Robert’s life, watching him grow from a baby in Lilah’s arms into a young man headed for college, watching Lilah and Ray grow older alongside him. He sighed when Beth reached the end of the book, and grabbed his coffee mug again, trying to conceal his emotions.

“Mick, Mick,” Jacob said, tugging at his good hand. “Will you play a game with me? Can you stay for dinner? I helped Mom make a cake, and it’s really good.”

“Yes, we’d love to have you stay for dinner, if you can,” Robert said, and he sounded hopeful too.

Mick hesitated, meeting Beth’s gaze. He’d picked this time in the afternoon because it was midway between lunchtime and dinnertime, an hour when he wouldn’t be expected to eat. But he’d already succumbed to the coffee, and the thought of a family dinner – with his family – was incredibly appealing. It wouldn’t be a good precedent to set, since he would be a vampire again soon, but it was possible now, and he wanted it. He saw Beth give him a small, encouraging nod.

“Then we’ll stay,” he said simply, and smiled.














It was getting dark when Beth drove away from the Fordhams’ house, the car’s top up against the evening chill. Mick, beside her, was holding the wooden box and the album in his lap, his hands caressing them. She smiled. It hadn’t been hard for her to convince Robert to let her borrow the pictures to copy them, even though he’d been bewildered by her request for the album. Mick had seemed a little dismayed by her pushiness, but she was sure nothing could be better for him. Vampires lost all their human memories, he’d told her once, though he’d been determined to hold on to his. These pictures could only help him keep his memories clear in his mind, and it was right that he should have them.

Just as it was right that he should have this time as a human. He was simply Mick to her, now and always, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t see the change in him. She thought of the way he’d picked the kitchen chair closest to the window, so he could sit in a beam of sunlight; the way he’d stolen an extra, amazed touch of Jacob’s hair after giving the boy a hug. Being human was so new to him, even now. It eased Beth’s heart, more than she could have imagined, that he’d gotten this second chance. He’d given up his first chance for her, after all, and she’d been carrying a dark knot of guilt about that. She’d known how much pain had been hidden under that casual life is short. She hadn’t handled it well, afterward, and she’d gotten so many things wrong – but she’d known.

And Mick’s humanity wasn’t going to last. Josef’s planned research was a glimmer of hope for him that hadn’t been there before, but it was a faint hope indeed. Beth hadn’t needed Mick’s cautions to realize how unlikely it was to work. Even if Josef succeeded, it wouldn’t be any time soon; it would be years from now, or decades. We’ll be right back where we started soon enough. Vampire and human.

But for now he was as human as she was, and as she pulled up by the stop sign at the corner of the street, Beth found herself thinking again of Mick’s human memories. “Why don’t we go by your old house?” she asked. “You said it was near here, right?”

Mick hesitated, then said slowly, “Yeah, let’s do that. I’ve been wanting to for a long time. Though I don’t even know if the house is still standing.”

“I’ll bet it is. Which way?”

“Turn right here.”

She turned right, and then right again, onto another street of old and stately Victorians. As she drove slowly along the street, Mick suddenly caught his breath and said, “Stop here.”

Beth pulled over in front of a pretty blue two-story house, and parked the car. “This one?”

“Yes.” Mick was already halfway out of the car, pulling on his coat, and she quickly followed him.

“Is anyone home?” she asked, looking nervously at the darkened windows. She didn’t see any lights on in the house, and there was no car in the driveway, but it would be good to know for sure if they were alone here.

Mick gave her a wry grin. “No idea.”

“Oh. Right.” She flushed, embarrassed that she’d forgotten. Mick, of course, didn’t have his vampire abilities any more.

“It looks so much the same. Even after all these years. The paint’s a different color, and the shutters are new, but otherwise . . .” Mick pointed up at the second-floor windows. “That was my room. And that was Sam’s.”

“What about Rose’s?”

“She had the room at the back of the house, on the first floor.” The excitement had faded from Mick’s voice, and he stood lost in thought for a moment, shivering a little, his hands pushed deep in the pockets of his coat. Beth wished she hadn’t mentioned Rose’s room. Some memories were better faded and forgotten, and she knew how haunted Mick was by the night he’d gone through Rosie’s window. And something else seemed to be affecting him too; he looked up uneasily at his own window, as if something terrible had happened there as well.

But then the mood passed, and Mick’s enthusiasm returned. He tore his gaze away from the house, looking appreciatively at a huge tree that filled half the front yard. “The old tree’s still here. Good Lord, but it’s grown. I wonder if it’s still a good climbing tree?” He walked over to it and put one hand on the lowest branch, gripping it experimentally.

“Don’t you dare,” Beth hissed. “Not now!”

“Well, no.” Mick gave her an apologetic look. “I guess I’m really not up to climbing trees just yet.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” she said dryly.

He grinned over his shoulder at her, heading for the porch. “The porch swing is still here too. Sam put it up when I was eleven. I helped him. Or at least I thought I was helping – more likely, I just got in his way.”

“It looks like it's still in good shape.” Beth climbed up onto the porch and checked out the swing, sitting on it and letting it sway back and forth. She imagined an eleven-year-old Mick trying to help install it, his young face intent with concentration as he handled the tools . . . some of the photographs in the box had showed him at that age, and it was easy for her to picture the scene. Mick sat beside her after a moment, letting his eyes fall closed, and she found herself imagining him as a teenager instead.

“Did you court your sweethearts here, when you were in high school?” she asked mischievously.

“Sometimes. Couldn’t do too much here, of course. There were always parents around. And curious little sisters.”

Beth smiled. “I never had to worry about little sisters, at least. It was hard enough keeping things from my mom.” She felt a twinge at that, thinking of what she was keeping secret now. She’d never breathed a word about Mick to her mother, not even before she’d known who he was. And that couldn’t change. Or could it? We told Rose . . . Her smile faded into thoughtfulness, and she wondered if she would have to shut part of her life – or even her whole life - away from her family forever. If I have to, I will.

“Oh, there was plenty your mother didn’t know,” Mick said.

“But . . . you did?” Beth asked, glancing sideways at him. How closely had Mick watched her, for all those years?

“Well,” he said uncomfortably, “I knew more than your mother knew. But only enough to make sure you’d be safe. I – I kept myself apart, out of your life, as much as I could.”

“You were always keeping yourself apart, weren’t you?” she said sadly. “With me, with Rosie. It’s strange, though. I know being a vampire has always isolated you, and I know how much you’ve lost . . . your friends, your family. But when I thought we were going to have to leave L.A., I realized that you actually have more connections with other people than I do.”

Beth’s parents had moved apart, and then away; both her best girlfriends had left Los Angeles, and after that, the only person she’d been close to had been Josh. And now Josh was gone. She had plenty of other friends, but none who were truly close. If they’d left L.A., Mick would have lost far more than she would have.

“Yes,” Mick said slowly, “but that all comes back to you, Beth.”

“What do you mean?”

“I always had Josef, but before I met you, he was all I had. Everything else happened after you came into my life. You were the one who made me see that I could be a part of Rose’s life, and part of Robert’s and Jacob’s. And you – you showed me how to reach Elaine. I had nothing for so long. But you gave me everything.”

Mick pulled her close, and she leaned against him, her eyes suddenly burning with tears. His words meant so much to her. But there was more she wished she could give him. Watching him tonight had pulled at her heart . . . the way he’d held a sleepy Jacob in his lap, rocking him gently, as the boy curled up so trustingly against him. Mick’s hair had fallen over his eyes as he looked down at the child in his arms, and Beth had felt a sudden terrible jealousy of Lilah. Not just because she'd known Mick for so long, or because she'd been his lover . . . but because she'd given him a child. “Mick,” she said softly, “you told me that vampires can’t have kids. But what about vampires who’ve turned human with the cure?”

Mick abruptly went very still, his body tense against hers. “I – I don’t know,” he said. “I truly don’t know. It seems unlikely, but . . .”

“But not impossible?”

He looked at her almost shyly. “Would you really want to have my baby?”

“Yeah, I would.” She’d realized it the last time she’d talked to him about kids, and though she’d tried to hide it from him, she’d felt so much regret that it would never happen. She’d never been in a hurry to have children, and hadn’t given it much thought before, but the idea of having Mick’s child felt completely different.

“Oh, Beth.” He drew her back into his arms, holding her tightly, dropping a kiss into her hair. “There’s nothing I’d want more. But even if it could happen, I don’t know if it would be the right thing to do. I’m going to turn back, and unless a miracle happens, I’ll stay that way. A kid shouldn’t have a vampire for a dad.”

“Why not?” Beth countered. “Vampire or not, you’d be a wonderful dad. I mean, honestly, you already are.”

“I don’t know. Maybe . . .” Mick looked more hopeful than his words implied. She knew how much he longed for a child, even though he considered himself to be a father already. But he’d never had the chance to properly be a father, never had the chance to raise a child. He’d discovered Robert so very late, as an older man. Elaine had been seventeen when he’d found her, and she would always be seventeen. It wasn’t the same as him having a baby of his own, and knowing it. And while being a vampire dad to a child would undoubtedly be complicated and difficult, she was sure it could work. Still, she faltered a little – on the other hand, a kid should probably have at least one human parent, which would mean if they had a baby, she could never be turned herself. Beth blinked, a little startled by her thoughts. When did I start thinking so seriously about being turned?

It wasn’t actually hard for her to figure that out. When everything was falling apart. It had been the same moment she’d realized she would give up anything and everything to be with Mick, that she wouldn’t hesitate to leave her old life behind, that she didn’t even care who the mysterious Elaine was, or what she meant to him. I don’t want to leave Mick. Not ever.

And what does that mean for me?

















When Beth pulled the Mercedes back into the parking garage beneath Mick’s apartment, she suddenly stiffened and put her foot on the brake. Mick looked up, wondering what was wrong, and then he saw it too. Coraline was standing near the lobby, very close to the spot she’d been before. When she caught Mick’s eye she walked away, disappearing into the shadows, and he stared after her. Then he turned to Beth, who slowly let up on the brake, found a parking place, and maneuvered the car into it. She was breathing hard, but she was far calmer than he would have expected her to be. She turned off the engine and said quietly, “Go on. It’s okay.”

“Beth, are you sure?”

“What do you feel, now, when you think of her?” she asked.

Mick didn’t know what to answer. His feelings about Coraline had always been too complex for him to understand, and that was one thing that hadn’t changed. His confusion must have showed on his face, because Beth smiled a little and said, “I mean, what do you feel most strongly?”

He glanced down at his aching arm, unconsciously touching the bandage. Beth’s second question wasn’t nearly so hard to answer. “Guilt,” he said simply.

Beth nodded, her eyes downcast. “I’ll go on up to the apartment. I’ll see you in a few minutes?”

“Yeah.” He leaned toward her and kissed her, and after a small hesitation she kissed him back, putting her hand to his cheek. Then he got out of the car and headed for the shadowed corner where Coraline had disappeared. A moment later, he heard the car door close, and saw Beth walking toward the lobby, carrying the album and the wooden box. Beth vanished through the doors, and as soon as she did, a dark shape emerged from the shadows and came toward him.

Coraline stood in front of him, a strangely hesitant smile on her face, and looked him over. “Hi, Mick. You look better,” she said, and he nodded.

“The cure was exactly what I needed. I’m glad you were willing to give it to me.” To his surprise she looked down, and didn’t answer. He said, “I really don’t know why you helped me, after what I did to you. Coraline, I – I’m sorry. I didn’t know what else to do, back then, but . . . you must hate me for that.”

"The way you hate me for turning you?" Coraline's voice was both wry and sad. "I didn’t mean to destroy your life, you know. I wanted to give you something special. I was starting to realize what I’d actually done to you, and I thought I understood how you felt about it. That’s why I gave you the cure in the first place, to try to make up for it. But I really didn’t know. At all.” She took a deep breath. “And now I do.”

Mick shook his head, not understanding.

“I felt it,” she said. “Oh God, Mick. Your feelings, your memories, just as if I was feeling them myself.”

“You met Esme.” Mick suddenly knew what she was talking about. Josef had brought Coraline and Esme together to try to find him, and he could only imagine what had happened when they’d met. All those memories clinging to Esme, his own crazed feelings that had made even Esme flinch away from him . . . they must have all flooded over Coraline. Could she really understand, now, how he felt? She’d never been able to before, not remotely, but she’d never been forced to look through anyone else’s eyes before.

“Yes.” She was looking away from him now, as unsettled as he’d ever seen her. They were both silent for a time, and then Coraline took a deep breath. “I’m getting out of L.A., Mick. Josef told me I was on some damned vampire list that was in a hunter’s hands, and I don’t see how anyone can possibly be sure that information won’t get out again.” Coraline didn’t know that it was Talbot who had the list; that information hadn’t gone past Marguerite. “I'm going back to Europe for a while. Not to France, of course. Switzerland, for now.”

Mick nodded. He wondered how long she’d stay away, how long Esme’s vision would affect her. No way to know, but he suspected it would be quite a while. And he was starting to suspect that Esme had inflicted the vision on Coraline deliberately, with great care, for that very reason. As a gift to me. And to Beth.

Coraline reached out to take his hand, and he let her. “You’re on that list too. But you won’t come with me, will you?”

“No, Coraline.”

“We have a bond. We belong together.”

“We did once. But nothing lasts forever.”

She flinched at that. Was she remembering their wedding night, even as he was? I love you forever . . . “So you’re staying here. With Beth.”

“Yes, I am.”

She forced a smile, and said, “Well, you said it yourself. Nothing lasts forever.”

He didn’t answer. He didn’t want to talk to her about Beth, not even to tell her she was wrong, and after a moment she let go of his hand and started to walk away.

Impulsively he called after her, “How long were you watching over me? Before we met?”

She spun to face him, her face almost looking pale. “What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean.” There had always been more tying them together than the sire-fledgling bond; he’d always felt it, and the look on her face confirmed it.

And so did her words. “Since you were a child,” she answered at last.

He took a shaky step back, trying to steady himself. It hadn’t been chance that they’d met; it hadn’t been simple bad luck that he’d stumbled upon a beautiful vampire and fallen in love with her. It had been something more like fate, and that frightened him. “Then you were there during the war. You were at the hospital in Italy.” The voice he’d heard in his dreams, in his memories of that time, had really been hers.

She nodded, not speaking.

“If I hadn’t been able to survive that, would you have turned me then?”

“That’s why I was there, Mick.”

“But why? Why were you watching over me?”

She shrugged helplessly. “Because of the way you felt to me. You weren’t meant for a normal life; you needed something more than that. That’s what I was trying to give you.”

She turned around again and walked away, and this time Mick didn’t stop her. He was shaken by what she’d told him, yet at the same time, some part of him seemed to have known this all along. Fate. He’d thought of fate so many times, as he’d come to know and love Beth. It was fate that brought us together, and if I’d never been a vampire, I’d never have known her. And fate had drawn him into the vampire world to start with. The memory of it had come to him tonight, when he’d looked up at his old bedroom window . . . he’d dreamed one night, when he was ten years old, of a mysterious dark-haired woman in the street outside his window. But it hadn’t been a dream. Coraline really had touched his life that night. She’d watched him all his life, just as he had watched Beth.

He went back to the Mercedes, got into the driver’s seat, and rested his head on the steering wheel. He didn’t mean to drive anywhere; he just needed a moment alone, to try to think. But when he finally looked up, the passenger seat was occupied. Elaine was sitting there, curled up in the seat, looking at him gravely. He hadn’t heard her get into the car, of course, and he hadn’t seen her either. So strange, to be so blind and deaf.

“Did you hear all of that?” he asked.

“Most of it.” Elaine wrapped her hands around her knees. “Beth came in and said you were talking to Coraline. And since you were human and all, I wasn’t sure you ought to be alone with her.”

She sounded so protective, Mick couldn’t help smiling. “So you’re looking after me now?”

“You need looking after. You were dealing with a vampire, and you didn’t even have a weapon on you.”

He hadn’t even thought about it, with Coraline, but Elaine was right. If Coraline had wanted to take him away with her by force, he couldn’t have stopped her, not as a human. Soberly he said, “Being a vampire for so long, you start to take the speed and strength for granted. Last time I was human, I never did get the feel for human reflexes. I kept thinking I could move faster than I actually could.” Rose had gotten hurt, in San Francisco, because he’d misjudged that.

“Maybe you’ll have long enough, this time, to get the feel for it.”

“I hope so. But even then, I’m still not sure how I’m going to do my job. Or if I can do it.”

“You’ll figure it out, right? I mean, there are plenty of human private investigators around.”

“Sure, but – I’ve always relied on vampire abilities to do my job. Always. I can still do the job without them, yeah . . . but not the same way. I’m gonna miss a lot of things I wouldn’t have missed before.” Like Jacob, he thought, suddenly feeling cold. He would never have found Jacob in time if he’d been human, back then. Just as he could never have saved Beth as a human. He rubbed slowly at his arm. He couldn’t even change back, if something like that came up . . . not yet.

You weren’t meant to have a normal life, Coraline had said, and maybe that was true. He still had so much to make up for, and as Esme had said, he could do so much more as a vampire.

Elaine sighed, watching him spiral deeper into his thoughts. “One thing’s exactly the same, whether you’re vampire or human. You always let Coraline get to you.”

“She watched me all my life, Elaine. Just the way I watched over Beth.”

“Mick -- ”

“Maybe we’re not so different.”

“I was right,” Elaine muttered. “It doesn’t make any difference. When you’re with Coraline, you lose every last one of your brain cells.”

“You think so?”

“I know so. Coraline never gave you any kind of choice, Mick – she forced you into this world. But you’ve given Beth all the choices that you can. She may be partway into our world, but that’s because she wants to be there.”

Elaine’s words calmed Mick, easing his soul, but – he hadn’t offered Beth all the choices. He hadn’t told her about Esme’s offer. There hadn’t been time, but that wasn’t the only reason he hadn’t told her. And was holding back a choice any better than forcing one?

“It’s really pretty simple,” Elaine said. “And there’s a simple solution to the problem with your job, too.”

“Oh yeah? What’s that?”

“Well, you’ve got all the skills and knowledge you need, right? All you’re missing are vampire abilities. So it’s easy. While you’re human, hire a vampire to help you.”

So simple, so practical, and it hadn’t even crossed his mind. And there was something about the way she’d said it . . . slowly, he turned to look at her, and she hesitantly returned his gaze.

“I’d – I’d need someone who lived in L.A.,” he said, his voice suddenly a little hoarse.

“Yeah, I guess you would.”

“Are you . . . going to be living here?”

“I thought I might give it a try.”

He wanted it so much. He wanted her help, so that he could help others, and if she was working for him, she wouldn’t leave L.A., wouldn’t disappear from his life. But he found himself thinking of his little jar of bullets, and he frowned. “It can be dangerous, sometimes. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

Elaine shook her head, rolling her eyes. “Mick, do you realize how that sounds, coming from you right now?”

He had to smile. “Okay, okay.” And somehow he was sure she’d be safer working with him than she would be out in some other city, all alone, where she might fall into despair again. “Just don’t take any crazy chances.”

“Like somebody else we know? Don’t worry, I won’t. I learned something the other day.”

He nodded, thinking of the utter terror he’d felt from her when she’d been dragged from her freezer. If it had happened a few months ago, he might not have even felt her reaction. She wouldn’t have cared, back then. But she did now. She didn’t want to die any more.

“I know,” he said, very softly.

She bit her lip, her head down, and opened the door to get out. Mick looked past her, and saw Logan standing by his little blue car, waiting for her.

“Are you, ah . . . staying at Logan’s tonight?” he asked.

“Yeah. He wanted me to come over. So he could try to talk me into staying here. Guess he won’t have to now.” She stood up, ready to close the car door, but then leaned down to speak to him again, this time in a conspiratorial whisper. “Oh, and Josef went home a while ago. So you and Beth have the place to yourselves.”

She turned to go, but he called after her. “Elaine.”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.” For helping me, for being there, for staying, for wanting to live . . .

She nodded awkwardly, closed the car door, and walked quickly away.
















He found Beth on the roof, leaning on the parapet and gazing out. She didn’t turn to look at him, and his heart sank a little. She hadn’t wanted him to talk to Coraline, whatever she’d said – but he hadn’t really had a choice. He stepped up beside her, looking out at the city, grateful to still be here. There were so many people he cared for here. And so many others farther away . . . Rose in San Francisco, Bonnie in Seattle, Leni . . . he didn’t actually know where Leni was. He hadn’t heard from her for months. Had she had her baby yet? He looked down at Beth. She wants to have my child. It might even be possible. Gently he reached out to take her hand, and after a moment she sighed and leaned against him.

“I’m sorry about Coraline,” he said softly.

“I know you had to talk to her. But I can't stand it when you’re with her.”

“She’s on her way to Europe. I don’t think she’ll be back for a very long time.”

“Good.” Beth’s voice was tight. “She really makes me crazy, Mick. I was just thinking how much I don’t want to grow old and die while she goes on. But I guess that’s not the best reason for wanting to be turned, is it?”

Wanting to be? “But you said . . .”

“I said I wasn’t ready for that, and I’m not. But in a few years . . . well, things might be different then.” She turned to him, her brow furrowed, her gaze very intent. “Is it something you would consider? For me? If I wanted it someday, would you want it too?”

He looked down at her, not knowing what to tell her. He wanted her by his side always, he didn’t want to lose her, yet he didn’t want her to come any farther into the vampire world. He didn’t want her to lose the world of light; he didn’t want her to leave behind her family and friends. But it isn’t my choice. It’s hers. “Not long ago, I would have said no. But the worst thing Coraline did to me was not giving me a choice. I can’t take an option away from you just because – because I want to protect you from it.”

“I want to be with you, Mick. Whatever that means for me.”

“It doesn’t mean you have to be turned.”

“I know. And I can’t say the idea of it doesn’t scare me,” Beth said. “Because of Sarah, because of the things you’ve told me about what it was like for you. But Josef says it doesn’t have to be that terrible.”

“You’ve talked to Josef about it?”

“A little. Is he right?”

Mick nodded slowly. “There’s always a risk, but - do you remember when I told you about Tyler?”

“Yes.” Her gaze moved down to his hand, to the ring on his finger. “He was your best friend once, wasn’t he?”

“He was. And when he was turned, it was nothing like what happened to me. He had to struggle to come to terms with his senses, with his strength, with needing blood . . . but not with death and darkness. He was always under control, from the beginning.”

“How did that happen?”

“He was turned by Esme.”

“Oh, that’s right. I remember. You told me about it when we were taking Jacob to the beach.” She frowned suddenly, looking up at him. “Wait a second. Are you saying you’d want Esme to turn me?”

He nodded.

She shook her head disbelievingly. “Mick . . . if I ever decide to do it, I want to be turned by you. Only by you.”

“Beth. Look at what happened to Elaine, what she went through. I can’t let that happen to you.”

“But that wouldn’t happen to me. With me, it would be different. Because we’re already connected. Mick, we’ll always be connected, no matter what choices we make.”

Would it be different? Could their connection really make it possible for him to safely turn her? Maybe if he had Esme on hand to help . . . but after Elaine, how would he even dare to try? Still . . .

Beth suddenly laughed, startling him out of his thoughts. Smiling, she said, “You know, I think we’ve gotten way ahead of ourselves. It’ll be a long time before I’m ready to make that choice. We don’t need to decide right now who’s going to turn me, if I ever do want to come into your world.”

She was totally right, of course, and he had to laugh too.

Much more seriously, she said, “It’s strange, isn’t it? Just a few days ago I couldn’t see any future for us, any way for us to be together. I said that you couldn’t ever come back into my world, but here you are . . . and there’s even a chance that you could stay here. And I’m not ready to join your world now, but I might be someday. We might be human together. We might both be vampires. We might just go on as we were, vampire and human. We might even have a child. There are so many possibilities.”

So many possibilities. The wall between their worlds had grown thin, and it wasn’t just because he’d turned human. He could reach through that wall to touch her, as if there were no boundaries between them. Beth, who was so like him, with a shared past and a life shaped by trauma. Beth, who was so different from him: so bright and outgoing, so stubborn and exasperating. Beth, so passionate and loving. She would never let him fall into the shadows again; she would always pull him out of the darkness of his soul. In New York he’d dreamed she’d been there for him, and she had been, in her heart. Here and now, she’d held him to life and light with the sheer force of her will. Hold on to me, she’d whispered to him, and with her blood in his veins, giving him strength, he had.

“As long as we’re together,” he said, his voice almost breaking. He drew her in closer, putting his arm around her, and they simply held each other. She’d been up on the roof so long that her body was chilled, but as he held her, she slowly began to grow warmer. God, but it was good to have body heat to share . . .

A long time later, muffled against his coat, Beth asked, “Did Elaine find you? She went out looking for you.”

“Yeah, she did. We talked for a while. It looks like she’s going to stay in L.A.”

Beth pulled back a little, in pleased astonishment. “She is? Oh, that’s wonderful. I didn’t think she would.”

“Well, I was worried about doing my job as a human, and . . . she decided to stay and help me.”

“Help you with what?”

“With all the things I need vampire senses for. I mean, it wouldn’t be Mick St. John Private Investigations without the mobile vampire lab.”

“Oh my God, you’re right. And she can even do the vampire jumping thing for you.”

He had to laugh, imagining the look on Elaine’s face if he told her that was part of her job. “I guess. She’s not too much into that kind of thing, though.”

“Really? It looks like a blast to me.”

“I shouldn’t admit it, but - yeah. It is.”

Beth grinned. “I’m so glad she’s staying, Mick. I really am. And I’m glad you’ll be able to keep up with your job. I know how important that is to you."

“What about your job, Beth?”

Her smile faded, and she sighed. “I really don’t know what will happen. I’m going to go in on Monday and put together a report on the Monaghans . . . I want to be sure to steer the investigation away from Josef. Ben wants to wrap up all his cases here before he leaves, but there won’t be any way to wrap that one up. Nobody is ever going to find Emma.”

“No, they’re not.”

“After that, I’m planning to take sick leave until Ben is gone. I don’t want to quit outright. I love the job – it makes me feel like I can really make a difference. And I might be able to keep working for whoever takes Ben’s place.”

“I hope you can.”

“And if it doesn’t work out, there’s always reporting. I really liked that, too.”

“Well, after all, you were the most beautiful woman on the internet.”

Mick gazed down at her, smiling, and he knew he’d pleased her, even though she rolled her eyes and laughed, shaking her head. Then she turned serious, and said, “You know what we should do now?”

“What?”

“Forget about our jobs. Forget about the future. You were right, you know. All that matters is this moment, and the way we feel about each other.”

Mick gathered her close and she leaned up to kiss him, sighing as he moved from her mouth to her throat. Her head fell back, and he tenderly traced the veins of her throat with his fingertips. He had no desire for blood now, no ability to bite her, but he had all his memories of being a vampire with her; they were part of him now. He kissed her throat again, savoring the feel of her pulse against his lips – he’d never felt that before – and moved back to her mouth, lost in her warmth, in her touch, in his own sensations. But then she pulled away, her hand gently resting on his arm, and murmured, “Are you sure you're ready for this yet?"

She was talking about his injured arm, of course, but he found himself thinking instead of the possibility, faint as it was, that Beth could get pregnant. Was he ready to face that? Did he dare take the chance, when he’d be a vampire again soon?

But how could he not take the chance, when fate had given him this time to be mortal?

He moved his hand slowly down her body, finally bringing it to rest against her belly. "Are you?"

She nodded, her eyes very bright.

He took her by the hand and led her off the roof and into the apartment, to the bedroom. Thoughts rushed through his mind, of all the things they hadn’t talked about yet, all the things he’d meant to do for her and hadn’t yet, all the things he wanted for the future. His guitar, leaning against the little sofa, reminded him that he’d promised himself he'd play for her. He still wanted to write a song, just for her. He'd meant to bring her ice cream, to replace what she'd sacrificed for him. He wanted to spend time in the sun with her, while he could. And if she was going to stay here longer than a few days . . . if she wanted to move in . . . he would have to find a way to make the entire apartment home to her. Could I ask her to marry me, someday? His own commitment issues had vanished somewhere in the last few days, and he’d seen the wistful way she’d looked at the marriage certificates on the Monaghans’ wall. Would she want that? I’ve known her for six months, I’ve watched her for twenty-three years, but I still have so much to learn about her.

Then they were on the bed, coats and shoes off, and Mick forgot every thought that had been going through his mind. Nothing existed but this moment. Beth’s hair was like silk under his hands and she was kissing him, her hands at his chest, unbuttoning his shirt as she fell with him against the pillows. She clung to him as he kissed his way down her throat to her breast, trembling under his hand just as she had when he was a vampire.

He’d lived long enough to know that everything changed, that nothing lasted forever. But he was just as sure that there was a constant in his life now. Whether he was mortal or not. Or whether she was.

Beth would be with him.











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Re: No Boundaries - part eight, conclusion (PG13)

Post by susieb »

Conclusion?! Say it isn't so. I wanted you to go on... and on... and on... Excellent!
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Re: No Boundaries - part eight, conclusion (PG13)

Post by maggatha3 »

Amazing! How smoothly and tenderly you got us there! And such a promising ending! :rose: Rereading it, to savour it and back for a proper comment! :hearts:
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Re: No Boundaries - part eight, conclusion (PG13)

Post by jen »

Shadow

What a wonderful, satisfying and hopeful story!!!!

Worthy of muliple rereads in and of itself, but it holds such promise!

I really, really hope you choose to continue this! You have done a truly fabulous job here.

Brava!

Thank you!!!

Jenna

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Re: No Boundaries - part eight, conclusion (PG13)

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Wow! Our beautiful wonderful epic finally ends. :sigh: :happysigh: :sigh: :happysigh:
And not just any end. A perfect ending, as not any end at all. :blinksmile:

So many possibilities. I am so pleased you left Elaine in LA, with Mick and with Logan. I am so pleased that Cora still pines, and waits, for him. But with more understanding now.

I am so delighted that Mick had his human day in the sun with his grandchild... and received a photo album to cement his memories. I reeeeealllllllly enjoyed this day. :cloud9:

And will he and Beth succeed in making a baby? How will their relationship eventually turn out? Will he or won't he? Those are the big questions of course. :biggrin:

Well, for now, he is happy and whole. This was better than the show, honey... and as you know, your own created characters are as beloved by us as Josef, Logan, or Beth.

You have given Mick, and us, maaaaaaaany exciting thrill rides. I love this series to death. I am in awe of the complex enthralling heart-stopping heart -warming narrative you have woven for us over the last couple of years. You have woven a new canon into the existing one and succeeded in enriching the original in doing it.

I thank you for it, honey. From the bottom of my heart. :clapping: :notworthy: :heart: :rose:
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Re: No Boundaries - part eight, conclusion (PG13)

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Shadow,

What an awesome part eight! :thumbs: I like how you gave us some closure on some of the story's themes, and yet provided so very many directions your story could go, on into the future. Most of all, I liked your conclusion where Mick is finally able to define/see Beth as "the one constant" in his life, even when he knows that everything else will eventually change.

While I'm sad to read that this is "the conclusion", I must say that your story of In Between and No Boundaries has certainly been inspiring, entertaining, and could easily have been a direction that the show itself could have taken.

Thank you for sharing it with us! :notworthy: :twothumbs: :notworthy: :clapping: :clapping: :clapping:

P.S. Of course I'd read more if you decide to write it! :pray: :winky:
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Re: No Boundaries - part eight, conclusion (PG13)

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susieb wrote:Conclusion?! Say it isn't so. I wanted you to go on... and on... and on... Excellent!
It really is the end . . . but it is delightful to know you wanted this to go on, Susie! :biggrin:

It was really great to know you were reading this. Thanks so much.
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Re: No Boundaries - part eight, conclusion (PG13)

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maggatha3 wrote:Amazing! How smoothly and tenderly you got us there! And such a promising ending! :rose: Rereading it, to savour it and back for a proper comment! :hearts:
And thanks to you for bringing the muses back, Maggatha! It was so wonderful of you to send them something from the homeland . . . :happysigh:
And I'm so pleased you liked this ending . . . and will be rereading. :cloud9:
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Re: No Boundaries - part eight, conclusion (PG13)

Post by Shadow »

jen wrote:What a wonderful, satisfying and hopeful story!!!!

Worthy of muliple rereads in and of itself, but it holds such promise!

I really, really hope you choose to continue this! You have done a truly fabulous job here.

Brava!

Thank you!!!

Jenna
Thanks so much, Jenna, I am so pleased that you've liked this! And that you've mentioned re-reading . . . :biggrin: . . . that's so great!

I don't have any plans to continue this . . . but it's wonderful to know that you'd like it to go on. That is such a compliment. :hug:
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Re: No Boundaries - part eight, conclusion (PG13)

Post by Shadow »

wpgrace wrote:Wow! Our beautiful wonderful epic finally ends. :sigh: :happysigh: :sigh: :happysigh:
And not just any end. A perfect ending, as not any end at all. :blinksmile:
I am sooo happy you liked this ending so well, Grace! It took a lot longer than I'd planned to get it down . . but thankfully Maggatha finally bribed the muses and got them to cooperate. ;)

There are a lot of questions still left open, but I was happy to get Mick and Beth to the point where they were actually acknowledging them. :laugh:
wpgrace wrote:Well, for now, he is happy and whole. This was better than the show, honey... and as you know, your own created characters are as beloved by us as Josef, Logan, or Beth.
:cloud9: :cloud9: :cloud9: I can't tell you what a thrill that is to hear!!

It's been such a delight to get your comments on these stories - and to find out all those fascinating things you saw in here that I had missed! Thank you so so much! :smooch:
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Re: No Boundaries - part eight, conclusion (PG13)

Post by Shadow »

MoonlitRose wrote:Shadow,

What an awesome part eight! :thumbs: I like how you gave us some closure on some of the story's themes, and yet provided so very many directions your story could go, on into the future. Most of all, I liked your conclusion where Mick is finally able to define/see Beth as "the one constant" in his life, even when he knows that everything else will eventually change.

While I'm sad to read that this is "the conclusion", I must say that your story of In Between and No Boundaries has certainly been inspiring, entertaining, and could easily have been a direction that the show itself could have taken.

Thank you for sharing it with us! :notworthy: :twothumbs: :notworthy: :clapping: :clapping: :clapping:

P.S. Of course I'd read more if you decide to write it! :pray: :winky:
:hearts: That is wonderful to hear, MoonlitRose! I'm really glad you liked the way this ended, with some closure but with many other things left open. It seemed the only way to end this particular "interval" - as Mick and Beth are still in an early part of their relationship here. (Although I did want to get Mick to the point where he'd think of Beth as a constant in his life . . . so it is really great o know that you liked that!)

Thanks so much!!
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Re: No Boundaries - part eight, conclusion (PG13)

Post by allegrita »

Ohhhhh, Shadow. This is the perfect ending, or more like stopping place... they have their future stretching before them, filled with possibilities, and they have each other to depend on, no matter what comes. They have family, old and new. And friends, near and far. And Elaine is staying in LA... at least for a while... which makes me so very, very happy.

I could copy and paste what grace said, because I agree with every word; but that would be cheating. So I will just say thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for undertaking this enormous project, for the beauty and care with which you've nurtured it, for the brilliance of your imagination and storytelling, and for bringing the tale to a strong, vivid, loving, believable, and joyful conclusion. I can imagine their story going on--maybe forever, maybe not... but that's the beauty of this story. The opportunities are endless, and the constancy of their love is at the center of every single one. :heart:
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Re: No Boundaries - part eight, conclusion (PG13)

Post by Shadow »

Alle, I am so, so pleased that the ending was satisfying! This was meant to be "in between" the last episode and the future, so I wanted to leave that future open and full of possibility . . . and yet still bring the story to a proper stopping place. Which turned out to be quite a lot harder than I'd expected. :laugh: So I really couldn't be happier at your description of the ending.


It's such a delight to know how much you've enjoyed this whole huge project! I love that at the end you can still imagine their story going on. Thanks ever so much for your comments and encouragement along the way. I can't even describe how much those meant to me. :hug:
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Re: No Boundaries - part eight, conclusion (PG13)

Post by maggatha3 »

Shadow..this last chapter let me just...hanging! I didn't even want to come and write my thoughts about it...It felt as if that would make it final...But, after reading it for a few times :snicker: I knew better!

What a strange, but so complete declaration of love, devotion and..dependence
!!“I always had Josef, but before I met you, he was all I had. Everything else happened after you came into my life. You were the one who made me see that I could be a part of Rose’s life, and part of Robert’s and Jacob’s. And you – you showed me how to reach Elaine. I had nothing for so long. But you gave me everything.”
When truth strikes Beth it isn't like a thunder.
When did I start thinking so seriously about being turned?
It wasn’t actually hard for her to figure that out. When everything was falling apart. It had been the same moment she’d realized she would give up anything and everything to be with Mick, that she wouldn’t hesitate to leave her old life behind...
I love Esme. She is such a female Mick in her essence!
And he was starting to suspect that Esme had inflicted the vision on Coraline deliberately, with great care, for that very reason. As a gift to me. And to Beth.

She’d watched him all his life, just as he had watched Beth.
Ahem....I really could never see Cora as Mick's guardian angel..never! :no: He does seem to lose all his brain cells around her! :yahoo: Way to go Elaine! Plus she is willing to give it a try in LA! :yahoo:
He moved his hand slowly down her body, finally bringing it to rest against her belly. "Are you?"
She nodded, her eyes very bright.
:thud:

Sooo...our journey is over. Or maybe it is just now beginning..and let's go with that, 'cause that's comforting! So far, reading through your In Betweens has been a ritual for me and going through the No Boundaries has been like exploring a river and its many branches, Mick as a vamp, Mick as a human, happy Mick, broken Mick, scared Mick, astonished Mick, those that scarred him and those that healed him...all to be admired and cherished. It seems though that I have been going down the river, since after all the brilliant agony of the previous chapters,that last one has brought us right in front of an amazing sea...


It is not always to be calm...it is not always to be rough..As I owe to my vampire Odysseus, I have only to thank you for the trip so far...and hope for more..After all, I have some new bribes for the muses :winky: who knows what they may come up with..'Cause as a Greek poet implies..it is the voyage that is worth, not the arrival.

My Sire :rose:
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Re: No Boundaries - part eight, conclusion (PG13)

Post by allegrita »

I just want to say that I don't think I've ever read a more wonderful comment on a story series. :notworthy: :hug: (Nor one so well deserved.) :clapping:
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