A/N: Takes place immediately following the final episode of Moonlight.

It's not necessary to read every chapter chronologically but if you want to, Guy Talk, The Rest of the Story, and the crossovers are collected in one story here:

archiveofourowndotorg/works/2834711 (replace 'dot' with a period)

Their third time was in the shower. After that they napped for awhile. Actually, Beth slept and Mick lay watching her and feeling happy. He wasn't exactly uncomfortable but even with the covers off it was far warmer than he was used to. Beth woke up an hour later and kicked Mick out, telling him to go home to his freezer for some real rest. He started to protest but she wouldn't hear it, she said they were taking care of each other in this relationship. He was reluctant to leave her but secretly pleased about her concern for his comfort.

At his apartment he had some blood and hit the freezer. Before he dropped off the thought came to him that if Beth moved in at least they would be in the same apartment instead of across town from each other. Slow down, he thought, you're moving too fast ...

He woke up earlier than usual but feeling refreshed. It was late afternoon with several hours of daylight remaining. More blood, then a shower, and he thought about seeing Josef. With all that was happening the last few days, Josef hadn't been taking care of business and might have gone to his office early to catch up.

He was at his desk and seemed to welcome an interruption. "I didn't expect you to be so cheerful after that barbecue we attended last night."

Mick felt a pang of guilt at having forgotten the execution so easily but he couldn't stop smiling. Josef picked up on it right away. "Actually, I never expect you to be this cheerful." He studied Mick a moment. "Is Beth also happy and relaxed?"

"Yes, she is." No point in denying what Josef had figured out already.

"It's about time. It must have been a success if ..."

Mick flashed back to bed with Beth. After the first time, she offered her blood and he could tell she meant it. God knows he wanted it and with that first sexual frenzy satisfied he had the control to bite her neck gently where her hair would hide the marks. He didn't take much but the blood seemed to go directly to his groin. That and the movements and little sounds of pleasure she made led pretty quickly to round two. After that they talked for awhile, getting comfortable as lovers, relieved that the awkwardness was over. Mick was amazed how easy it was after all that worry. His concern for Beth's safety was valid but his own personal fears had made the whole thing more complicated than it needed to be. But all that was private, just between him and Beth, not to be shared even with Josef. Gotta give him something, though.

... if Beth is alive and well."

"The only casualty was a pillow."

"You bit a pillow? Good choice if you're not sure of your control. Did you consider your arm?"

"That was my plan but when the time came the pillow was closer. Have you bitten a pillow?"

"Mick, every vampire who has slept with a human they didn't want to hurt has bitten a pillow or mattress or some type of bedding. There was a girl who had a bunch of throw pillows on her bed and we didn't take time to take them off. One of them was that little tube pillow called a neck roll. Catchy name, don't you think? It fit perfectly between her neck and shoulder. I ruined a lot of neck pillows with her."

"You didn't feed from her?"

"Inner thigh only, which isn't convenient for most positions. She was an actress and didn't want marks on her neck or arms."

"You like actresses, don't you? You told me about Jean Harlow, and Beth mentioned a party with Garbo. Did you love this one?"

"No, but I was fond of her and we had a good time for awhile."

"What happened?"

"The usual. She met someone else. Got married." Josef paused a beat. "Moved to Monaco."

Mick's jaw dropped. "Grace Kelly was your freshie?"

"And one more time when she was Princess Grace. I hadn't seen her since the wedding. Twenty-five years later I got a letter asking me to come and see her. Her secretary announced me as the son of an old friend from her Hollywood days. She gave me her hand and I kissed it. She dismissed the secretary and offered me her hand again, wrist up. I took a sip, we had a nice talk, and I left. She died in the car crash a year later. She was my last princess."

"But not your first."

"Of course not. Europe was littered with princesses for three hundred years after I was turned. But borders were redrawn, countries came and went, and a lot of royal houses died out. The herd was thinned considerably."

"That's a charming analogy."

"But true. So actors and actresses became the new royalty."

"Who else did you have?"

"Well, JFK isn't the only one Marilyn sang 'Happy Birthday' to."

"What about Hepburn?"

"Audrey, yes. Katherine, no."

"Oh, yeah, Audrey had that swan neck."

"Exactly. Katherine had a nice neck, too, but I never tapped it."

"Lauren Bacall?"

"I didn't even try. She was devoted to Bogey."

"I never hear of you with actresses now."

"Not for thirty years. Their lives are too public."

"Like Tierney Taylor."

"Yes. It's not worth the risk. Besides, a lot of actresses now are girls. And I don't mean age, I'm not into jailbait, anyway. A lot of the adults still seem like girls. And I prefer women."

"Why haven't you told me about your Hollywood days until now?"

Josef leaned forward, suddenly serious. "Mick, you hated being a vampire. I wasn't going to taunt you with tales of my famous freshies."

Mick noticed the wording. "You said hated, past tense."

"Because I don't think you hate being a vampire anymore. Maybe you don't love it, but you don't dislike it, do you?"

"Not so much. I enjoyed being human but in that week I came to appreciate the advantages of being a vampire."

"Good. I'm glad I was wrong about you and the cure. I was afraid that after being human again you would hate being a vampire so much it would destroy you."

"I guess it was because I chose to be turned. It was for Beth, and now we're together."

"That's something I was right about. I always thought you just needed to get laid."

"I knew I could count on you to be vulgar about the best sex I've ever had."

"I could have been much cruder than that."

"And you have been. Usually at my expense."

"It takes practice. Natural ability, of course, and then plenty of practice."

They smiled at each other, enjoying the banter.

"So," Josef said, "Best ever, huh? Is it mutual?"

"I think so."

"You want me to find out for sure? I'd be glad to check with Beth."

"Over my undead body."

"I need confirmation. I can't just take your word ..." Josef's personal cell buzzed. He glanced at the caller ID and grinned. "Hello, Beth."

Mick's eyes went wide and he started making gestures that Josef correctly interpreted to mean 'I'm not here and you haven't talked to me'. Josef knew Mick would be able to hear Beth through the phone.

"I'm fine, how are you? ... Wonderful, hmm? That's good to know."

"Mick and I worked out some problems."

"I'm glad to hear it."

"So, I was wondering what you think of double-dating."

"Double-dating?"

"Yeah, you and Simone and Mick and me. I thought we might get together sometime."

"Sounds like fun." Josef was so amused watching Mick's reaction that he was barely aware of what he was saying.

"You think Simone would like to?"

"I bet she would. Why don't you call her and you two can set it up. You have her number? ... Good. What about Mick, has he agreed?"

"Oh, I'm sure he will. Why would he object?"

"Why, indeed?"

"I'll let you go now, Josef."

"Thanks for calling, Beth. See you soon."

Josef ended the call and looked at Mick. "You are so whipped."

"She's already arranging our social calendar. Is this a record?"

"No, but she isn't wasting any time. You don't seem displeased."

"I kind of like it. Wonder what they'll want us to do."

Suddenly Josef looked uneasy. "I should call Simone and give her a heads-up, maybe suggest something."

Mick shook his head. "Sign of weakness. Besides, it's too late. Beth called her two seconds after hanging up."

"This could get ugly."

"How bad can it be? We're friends, they seemed to hit it off, we all like each other."

"I'm not sure why but I'm a little afraid."

"Face it, we're couples now."

"That's it. That's the fear."