Author's note: This is a "what if" story..what IF this had happened instead of what DID happen?
"Let me love you, Vincent..."
He paced in his chamber, the words echoing in his head. Right now, Lena was sleeping with the baby by her side and he was restless. He loved Catherine, but..Lena had been right. Catherine was up there, free to live her life and do as she chose and he was down here. He was free..but not free in the same sense that she was. If she wanted to go out with another man, kiss him, make love to him..he would feel every second of it but be unable to stop her. And it was starting to tear him apart. Vincent growled in frustration and slammed his fists down onto his desk. Throwing on his cloak, he left his chamber almost at a run, headed for the tunnel he knew was closest to Catherine's apartment. He scaled her apartment building like Spiderman and pounded on her balcony door.
"Vincent..what's wrong?" Catherine asked, pulling her robe tight against the chilly night air. Vincent didn't say a word but instead pulled her to him, kissing her hard. At first, she struggled but eventually gave in to her own passion for him.
Eventually, he pulled away, embarrassed at behavior, his loss of control.
"Vincent, can you tell me what's wrong?" Catherine asked, sitting in one of the wrought iron chairs that stood on her balcony. He paced back and forth, running his hands through his reddish gold mane of hair.
"I'm sorry, Catherine. I..lost control. I'm sorry." he said softly, turning to look at her with regret in his eyes.
"Don't be sorry..not for that, Vincent. Don't ever be sorry for losing control of your love for me." she replied with a hint of a smile. Vincent tried to smile back but didn't quite make it.
"Catherine I..this has been a difficult night for me. Lena..came to me. Asked me to let her love me. The girl is in love with me and I..for the first time, I know what it's like to be some one's possibility." he explained and she sat back, a little startled by his confession.
"She's..confused." Catherine frowned.
"I know that. But..it does make a certain amount of..sense. We love each other, very much, Catherine. But we cannot be together except in a few stolen moments. We cannot be together the way we ought to be! And it's tearing me apart." he said, sinking down into the other wrought iron chair on her balcony, his head in his hands, tears rolling down his nose. "And I find that, without wanting to, I am falling in love with Lena, too."
This confession rocked Catherine and she stood up and turned away from him. She'd always enjoyed knowing that no matter what happened, Vincent was there waiting for her when she came home every night and that even though they couldn't spend a lot of time together, he would still wait for her. Forever it had seemed. Now that didn't seem so certain.
"What are you telling me, Vincent?" she whispered, biting her lip.
"I'm telling you, Catherine, that we need to spend some time apart. You are free to live your life up here, in the sun. If you wanted to go on a date with another man, kiss him, hold him..make love to him..I wouldn't be able to stop you and yet I'd feel every moment of it through our bond. And knowing that is tearing me apart, Catherine. I think..if we were not together, I could find some way to sever the bond. At least partially. I love you, Catherine, but our relationship is a doomed one. We always knew that." he said and with a sweep of his cloak, he disappeared over the side of her balcony into the dark of the night. She just stood there, staring out at the blinking lights of the city, her body trembling as she fought back tears. "I'm sorry.." she whispered, even though she knew he couldn't hear her.
