Title | For Her

Fandom | Beauty and the Beast (CW)

Description | A continuation of BATB's Episode 2.02. This story will be something I think should have happened after the ending but didn't. (Note: this story will contain spoilers).

Rating| This fanfiction will be rated T for language, suggested themes and anything else I might throw in it. If anything, read at your own discretion.

POV | Third Person Omniscient

Disclaimer | While CW owns Beauty & the Beast, I am the owner of this Masterpiece.

Claimer | I am human; there are bound to be mistakes. If you feel like something should be changed, you have the power to send me a review/private message. I can't guarantee if I'll change it every time but I do read all of my reviews and all of my private messages!

For Her

Written by: Keiko Fujiwara

~Beauty & the Beast~

Catherine slowly walked from her car to her apartment, still in pain from the incident. She knew Vincent didn't mean to strike her—it was an impulsive reaction—but it didn't erase the fact that he still did it. Before his capture, her boyfriend never forced her down like he did a few hours prior—if he was still her boyfriend after the end of the night. Honestly, she didn't think he was dangerous because of who he was or what Muirfield did to him; she was afraid of what he could do if he ever lost control.

Her plan was simple: take the elevator to her apartment's floor, enter her apartment, take a shower and go to bed. But, with the crazy things that happen in her life, she should know that simple never worked in her favor.

Never.

After reaching her destination, she locked her apartment door and headed to her bedroom, ready to pass out for the night. However, she still wanted to take a shower so passing out would just have to wait its turn. Piece by piece, she removed her clothing and tossed each garment into her hamper before walking into her bathroom. After Catherine turned on the spigot, she walked over to her mirror as she waited for the water to warm up. She hissed in pain as she moved her body in different directions to examine the large, black bruise covering her abdomen. She had been hit by men before but never was the damage so great.

The instant she stepped into the shower, she clenched her teeth as the pressured water smacked her discolored skin like mallets hitting a drum. She was definitely going to feel the pain in the morning; that's for sure.

When she was finished with her shower, she dried herself off and slipped on her bathrobe—not sure if she could even get into her pajamas without wailing in pain. As she stepped into her bedroom and turned off the bathroom light, she nearly jumped out of her skin to find her window open and Vincent standing on the fire escape. "What're you doing here?" she asked him, hoping she could hide her fear from him.

She watched him as he bit his lip as if he was struggling to find the right words to say. "Just hear me out, okay?"

She nodded but didn't dare move from her stance. "I'm listening."

"I promise I'll stay out here…and keep my distance…" Vincent said. She could tell he was already trying to regain her trust again. At least he was trying to make amends…. "I'm sorry."

"About what." Catherine demanded. She wanted him to be forthcoming and completely straightforward for once. After what he did to her, he owed her at least that and more. She folded her arms across her chest and turned to face him. However, she still didn't move closer to the window.

"Everything…For losing my memories, not remembering you, for ditching you a few nights ago to kill off Zhao and for what happened earlier. I don't…I don't know why I lost control like that. But the fact is—I did." Vincent confessed. "I know I can't make up for what I've done to you so I came here to tell you I'm sorry…and to say goodbye. I think…for both our sakes, it would be best if we take a break…from whatever this is." Catherine could tell Vincent was torn up about it and she was too. Even though he crossed a line a few hours ago, she still couldn't give him up cold turkey.

Taking a deep breath, Catherine took a few steps towards the window and stopped. "Vincent…I can't…I can't lie and tell you I'm perfectly fine with what you did earlier." She pressed her lips together and laughed dryly, "I kept telling myself you wouldn't hurt me based on our past history together…. However, as we both know, I was a fool in thinking you were still the same Vincent who left me three months ago." She blinked back a few tears and continued, "I just…I don't know what to do now…."

Vincent nodded slowly. He, too, had no idea what to do from this point on. "First of all, you weren't foolish, Catherine. Believe me; if the situation was reverse, I'm sure I would believe the same thing about you too. Second, if anyone was foolish—it was me."

"Why?" Catherine asked, her lip slightly quivering. "Because you keep coming back?"

"No," Vincent shook his head. "Because I keep pushing you away…." He rubbed his hands together and licked his lips, "If I had just…I don't know…let you in on a few things…, we wouldn't be in this situation right now."

"Vincent," Catherine took another step towards the window, "It's a two-way street. I was the one who kept pressuring you into telling me things about your whereabouts and your new life! I thought I was reaching out to you like a girlfriend but, in reality, I was still trying to use the cop angle. If anything, I had that attack coming." She mumbled more to herself than to Vincent. However, he heard it loud and clear.

"No." Vincent stated. "You didn't. It's only natural for you to be curious…and even though I can't answer any of your questions, I still shouldn't have gotten hyped up like that. Believe me, I know how frustrating it is to ask questions and not be able to obtain the answers." Vincent leaned forward a little bit but didn't dare go any further than the window.

Catherine sniffed and pushed her hair back as she responded, "And I know how annoying it is to hear the same questions over and over again. But Vincent, if you think an apology is going to fix all of th-"

"I don't." he answered honestly, "and I don't expect it to."

"Then why are you here?" she had to ask. "I mean, I appreciate the gesture and the attempt but if you knew an apology wouldn't fix things…then why did you come?"

"Because," he paused, "I can't stop thinking about you, Catherine. After…what we did earlier tonight…it made me realize how much I do want to learn about my past. And call me crazy but…I want…I want you to be the person to fill me in on the details."

Catherine sighed. "Vincent, I've tried. We had sex for crying out loud! Even then, nothing worked!" She was frustrated beyond frustration. Without realizing it, she marched straight to the window, knelt to her knees and splayed her hands onto the ledge as she looked directly into his eyes. "What makes you think I'm the best person for the job? Obviously a sexual approach didn't work so what will? Besides, like you said, I don't have proof you were ever my boyfriend!"

Vincent stared at her in bewilderment. First she said his memories will return in their own time, then she practically tried to force his memories to come back (excluding the sex part because that was as much his blame as hers) and now she didn't want to help him even when he had asked her to! "Look," Vincent paused but didn't break eye contact with her. "If we're going to have this…mono y mono…in order to attempt to patch things up, I need to be honest to you about something."

"That's a first." Catherine muttered coldly.

Vincent inhaled a deep breath and calmed his nerves. He deserved her cold glare and icy words—especially after hurting her earlier. "Anyway, as I was saying, I wasn't honest with you from before." Catherine opened her mouth to say something but he cut her off, "I…kinda do remember you…."

"What are you saying?" Catherine shook her head with disbelief. "All this time, you've been lying to me?"

"No!" he shouted—a little louder than he had wanted to. Seeing her unnerved look, he softened his voice, "No. I don't remember…anything we've done together…or how we met…or anything concerning personal experiences. However, during my capture, as you put it, I could see flashes…. I can't tell you if they're flashbacks because I wouldn't know. But, after intense and excruciating training, your face…your face would flash into my mind. But, until a few days ago, I couldn't put a name to the face. Hell, I didn't even know if you were real—for all I knew, the flashes I had seen were a figment of my imagination. You know, to help me get through the tough days? But now I know…that you are real and I was seeing those flashes for a reason. I think…I think my mind was trying to remember you but the memory-wipe was too strong for my memories to seep through."

"Why are you telling me this now? Why didn't you tell me when we were…you know…at your new place?" Catherine was furious! How could he do this to her? First he said he didn't remember her, but after a little heart-to-heart, he claimed he did? What was his problem? Did he seriously not trust her enough to share even a small part of his emotional self?

Realizing how mad Catherine was, Vincent stood up and walked back to the stairs to give her more space. "I guess…for once…I was afraid."

"You're a super soldier, Vincent. What is there to be afraid of?" An honest question but an inaccurate observation.

"I was afraid that if I got too close…if I actually recognized that there is something going on between us…I would be seen as weak. I was told to never allow my emotions to get in the way but here I am, doing just that." He confessed—the most honest thing he had said since their reunion.

"Vincent," Catherine bravely stepped onto the fire escape and walked towards him but still kept her distance. "Before they captured you, your emotions were everything to you. It was what kept you at bay and helped you stay in control. In that respect, you were the strongest guy I knew—and I'm not talking about physical strength either."

"You don't get it." Vincent said, very direct. "It's not a matter of why or what, it's a matter of whom. To answer one of your continuous questions, yes, I am working for someone. I can't tell you who but I do receive orders from a higher power. He was the one who told me to stay away from someone named Catherine Chandler. I didn't know who you were at that time but it's obvious he knows about you and about our past history together."

"Who is he?" Catherine asked even though she knew Vincent wasn't going to answer her.

"You know I can't answer that."

She bit her lip and nodded. "Okay…then what can you tell me?"

"I've told you too much already," Vincent said almost compassionately.

"Okay…okay…" Catherine inhaled a deep breath, "So apparently 20 Questions isn't working in my favor so I'm just going to stop with the cop angle and hope that eventually, you'll learn to trust me in your own time. But…it's frustrating…." She took another deep breath and decided to sit next to him. One step at a time, right?

Vincent nodded. "I can't argue with you there. There are things I want to tell you, but…but it's for your own protection that I don't."

"And we've had this conversation before." Catherine said but immediately added, "I know you can't remember, Vincent, but one time, you held a secret from me—a pretty big secret, actually—and your reasons were pretty much the same as they are now. When I finally did find out, I was furious but we managed to work things out. We consented to tell each other everything because I finally convinced you I can handle myself."

"What was the secret?" Vincent asked, surprising Catherine. She realized that all along he had wanted to learn of his past but she hadn't picked up on all of the hints.

"Well, the first time I took you to my mother's gravesite, you found out…through your senses, that she wasn't six feet under. When I found this out about six months later, I had high hopes that my mother was still alive. However, on the tenth anniversary of her death, we found her final resting place near an old farm area out in the middle of nowhere"

"Sounds like a heartfelt memory…" his voice trailed off, furious at himself for not being to remember ever being with her.

"Yeah," she smiled, feeling a little more comfortable around him, "It was…" Realizing that she was ogling him, she shook her head and stood up. She spun around and said, "Which…by the way…brings up another point. I wanted to apologize to you…for being so pushy about your memories."

"If pushy leads to what happened in the boathouse, by all means, continue." He smirked, causing her to laugh. "But really, thanks."

"And," she combed her fingers nervously through her hair, "I'm sorry for always asking you too many questions…about where you've been…what you've been doing…who you work for and et cetera. I can't…I can't make any promises but…but I'm willing to try to stop asking so many questions. I mean, that's the first part of trust, right?"

"Yeah…but," he licked his lips, "just because I can't answer any of your questions doesn't mean you don't have the right in asking them."

"Uhhh…" Catherine cocked her head, "Run that by me again?"

Realizing how many negatives he put into one phrase, he chuckled. "Sorry…I don't think I ever was…very great with small talk. What I mean to say is: you have a right to be curious, but Catherine, I'm going to be honest…" his voice paused as he rubbed his hands together and tried to figure out how to phrase his next train of thoughts. "…based on certain factors…it would be better…safer…if you and I end things here."

"Oh…I see." Catherine blinked back a few tears, hoping Vincent wouldn't notice. He did.

"Hey," he thought about reaching out to her but figured it was still better not to have any physical contact considering what happened earlier on the roof, "You didn't let me finish."

"What else is there to say?" Catherine smiled sadly as she continued to refrain herself from crying, "You don't remember me and you're clearly not the same Vincent I fell in love with so…maybe you're right. I mean, you seem to have a comfortable life without me in it so…maybe it is for the best I step aside and let you be." She couldn't look at him anymore. She knew that if she did, she wouldn't be able to stop the tears from falling.

"Catherine," Vincent whispered, "I didn't say that's what I wanted though." She still didn't look at him but she continued to listen to him, "I won't lie; I have a dangerous job—dangerous on both ends. Mess with the wrong people and you pay the price. That's what I fear might happen if you continue to learn about what I do. Like I said, they know who you are. I don't know how but they do and if they find out I've been seeing you on my own accord, they will see me as distracted and I have a strong feeling they'll do whatever it takes to eliminate the problem. That's why I think it's best we stop things here. However," he added quickly so she wouldn't start babbling off again, "as much as I keep saying stay away, I keep showing up too."

Catherine's eyes widened as she forced herself to look at him. "What did you just say?"

"I said: as much as I keep saying stay away, I keep showing up too. Were you not listening to me the first time?" he raised his eyebrow, utterly confused.

"No. I mean," she shook her head violently, "Yes, I was listening but no, that wasn't it. Vincent, I'm sorry I keep asking this but are you sure you can't remember anything?"

"Aside from your face? No."

"It may be just a super coincidence or your mind might be trying to remember things without your knowing because you said that exact phrase to me the night of our second official encounter…on the ballet roof after I returned the photo of your platoon back to you." Catherine knelt down. There might be hope after all!

"Who knows?" Vincent shrugged, "Maybe I am slowly recovering bits and pieces of my memories. As I was saying, if…we can somehow manage to meet in secret, I wouldn't mind you helping me rejog my memory. I feel like there are lots of experiences I didn't want to ever forget—especially the ones with you."

"I'm flattered, but…like I said, we've already had sex. That didn't work. So what will?" An honest question, he thought.

He opened his mouth to say something but nothing came to mind. "Ehhh…I'm not sure."

"Well," Catherine looked at him and pursed her lips together before saying, "if I consent into helping you regain your memory, there has to be some conditions…and everything cannot be on your terms only."

"Understandable. What do you have in mind?"

The more she actually spoke with Vincent, the new Vincent, the more she realized that the Vincent she fell in love with was still there somewhere. He seemed gentle…much like the time in the boathouse when he offered her a sandwich. For the first time, she realized she wasn't speaking to the soldier Vincent but the human locked inside of him. Did striking her open his eyes? Was it a waking call of some sort? She hoped so. She hoped him sending her across the roof was worth it.

"First," she stated firmly, "you can't just pop in when you want to or when it's convenient. I understand you have a schedule you have to abide to and I'm willing to work around that. However, I'll have to know when and where ahead of time. I don't think I can handle any more surprises."

"If that's what you want, I guess we can figure out a way to contact each other. I could…leave notes on your door or something."

"No." Catherine stated firmly. "If your boss knows about me, he probably keeps tabs on me at times. Communication must be by phone…untraceable phones. We can get burner phones and communicate like we used to."

"Or," Vincent said, "Or we can use aliases. You can keep your phone and pick an alias for me. I will purchase a phone under a different name and choose an alias for you. This might sound weird but you choose a girl name for me and I'll choose a boy name for you. My bosses may be tapping into your phone so they won't think you talking to a Jenna or a Victoria suspicious. We will also use code words to signify the places to meet. I suggest hotels."

"Hotels?" Catherine raised her eyebrow.

"Yeah…because if you helping me remember leads to anything like what we did in the boathouse, we're going to need the necessary materials. A soldier never goes anywhere unprepared." Vincent smirked.

"Naturally." Catherine rolled her eyes. "Second condition: I don't require you to tell me anything about your missions, unless you want to, but I want you to at least trust me. If…If y-you need any help, I have resources. And, from what I've observed by following you around today, I noticed you went after a rogue beast. Now I don't know if that's what your boss wants you to do all of the time but…I do want to help you. I, too, want to help. I can offer you my resources; JT has facial recognition software that searches off the record. No one will have to know."

"As great as your offer is, Catherine, I have a feeling my resources are much better than a police's resources. However, I'll remember the offer in case I do get stuck on something and need your help." It wasn't a promise or a confirmation but it was definitely a start.

"Third, but not least: we've gotta do something about your control issue so it doesn't happen again. If you can't agree to these conditions, then I'm out." Catherine folded her arms and waited for Vincent's answer.

"I'm in." Vincent immediately answered.

"All right…details can be figured later. I'm tired so I think I'm going to go to bed now." Catherine stretched but immediately clutched her side in pain. Vincent looked at her remorsefully. He had done that to her. She stood upright and told him she was fine but he didn't believe her. "I'm okay."

"You don't look okay." Vincent observed.

"I'm fine, Vincent. I promise." She lied and he knew it but he wasn't going to say anything.

"All right." He nodded as he stood up to stretch his own muscles.

Before slipping back inside her bedroom, Catherine turned back around. She needed to know one thing and one thing only. "Umm…did you…did you mean what you said earlier?"

"Did I mean what?" he asked, clueless.

"Never mind." She shook her head. "It's not important." As she started walking back towards her fire escape window, Vincent impulsively grabbed her arm, causing her to jerk at his touch.

"I'm sorry." He immediately apologized as he drew back his hand. "but Catherine?" his voice was pleading and hear heart was listening. "Whatever you have to say is important…to me at least." He was honest. Purely honest. He rose to his feet and walked towards her until he was right in front of her. "What is it, Catherine?"

"Did you mean it…when you referred to me as a one-night stand?"

"No." he replied as he trapped her against the wall between his arms. "I didn't mean it."

Catherine gave him a fierce look and muttered two spellbinding words that literally made his legs feel like jelly, "Prove it." She was daring him to make a move on her. She should be afraid to be around him but…after everything she's been through with past boyfriends, she wasn't. Vincent slipped up—that's all. At least, that's how her mind was assessing the situation. She didn't want to believe he was as dangerous as she thought he was a few hours ago. So, if he was up for the bait, she wanted him to prove himself to her—prove to her he isn't as dangerous as she previously decided. "I dare you."

Vincent wasted no more time and kissed her hard on the mouth. He received an open invitation and he wasn't going to turn it down or leave early this time. He planned on using the full length of the night to his advantage. Catherine responded to his kiss and molded her lips against his as he clumsily carried them through her fire escape window.

~Beauty and the Beast~

"I could definitely get used to this." Vincent whispered to Catherine as he combed his fingers through her sweaty, stringy hair.

"Did you remember anything this time?" she asked, hopeful.

"No…unfortunately. However, I have a theory." He muttered before kissing her again.

"What is it?" she asked, noting the wonderful feeling she felt as his hand gently caressed her bruised abdomen.

"Well, earlier, you mentioned me saying something I once said before, right?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, well," he paused, "what if the sex is working…but the memories are slowly finding their way to throw hints at me?"

"If that is what's going on, then you better start finding more free time in your schedule." Catherine smirked. "I have a feeling we're going to have to have a lot of sex in order to bring back all of your memories."

"I have no complains here." Vincent chuckled before kissing her again and again and again and again. She snaked her arms around his torso and held him against her, allowing him to rekindle everything once more.

Vincent and Catherine continued to make love well into the late hours of the night but they didn't seem to care. Vincent's ability to caress her and not hurt her injury any further was astounding. Making love to her was proof enough that the control issue wasn't a problem—it was his anger. Catherine had realized that, when angry, it's harder for him to control his temper tantrums. She will just have to work on that too.

"I wish we could do this all night," Vincent muttered into her ear before he started feathering kisses along her jaw, causing her to scrunch up her neck.

"You keep doing that," she giggled in response, "I won't let you leave this damn apartment." To put truth to her statement, she wrapped her legs around his buttocks indicating she had no plans of letting him go anytime soon.

Suddenly, he noticed the scar above her right breast. He grazed his fingers over it and asked, "What happened?"

"Oh this? I got it from a pissed off, vengeful bitch who couldn't handle life outside of perfection. Let's just say, I told her off, left pretty proud of myself, attended my father's…" her nose started to burn, "…attended my father's wedding, got to slow-dance with you for two songs, we had a little disagreement, you left, I followed, tried to call you, you didn't answer, and the next thing I knew, a car was speeding up behind me and then the driver purposely rammed her car into my sister's, flipped me over, totaled the car, stepped out of her vehicle, told me I ruined her Cinderella fairytale as she whipped out a gun, I pulled out mine and we both fired. She died instantly and if not for your timely arrival, I wouldn't be here right now."

"So I swooped in and saved the day?" he asked, somewhat proud of himself.

"Something like that." She smiled before pulling him in for another kiss. "Memory or no memory, Vincent, I'm glad you're here."

"Are you still mad at me for striking you earlier?" he asked as he placed his hand gently onto her side.

"Yeah…that was another weakness of mine…. I could never be too mad at you for long." Catherine wriggled her nose. "However, I think we've established that…aside from this…things are going to be different between us. I mean, some things are the same. Other than your ability to go wherever you want to, you and I still have to be a secret to the world. So that's the same."

"I'm sorry things can't be different between us." Vincent replied while he cupped her bare shoulder.

"And there's another thing that hasn't changed…"

"What?" he asked.

"You keep apologizing." Catherine laughed but then added, "Which, contrary to popular belief, I find very sexy. It shows you have a sensitive side." She rubbed her hands across his broad shoulders and slid them towards the back of his neck. "Oh!" she suddenly exclaimed.

"What is it?"

"I just remembered! I do have photos of us!"

"You do?"

"Yeah," Catherine smiled, "Hang on, let me go and fetch them!" She unlocked her legs from around him and slid out from underneath him before sauntering over to her dresser drawer. "I had to snatch these scans away from my sister because she had scanned them onto her USB. I deleted the digital scans but kept the actual prints in secret. I can't believe I completely forgot about them!" She dug through her underwear drawer because only God knows whether or not her sister would ever look for them in there and found it! "Here we are!"

As she walked back to Vincent, he could see every beautiful aspect of her body (when using his night vision)—the perfection in her curves, the smoothness of her body, her Chinese complexion and much more. "You know," he smirked, head resting on his hand, "I'm really likin' the view right now."

Blushing, Catherine grinned and slipped back into the bed. She reached over and turned on her lamp, giving Vincent a better glimpse of her flawless body but she quickly slipped a cover over herself before handing Vincent the picture.

Instead of looking at her, he focused on the photograph. It was of them dancing, as she had said. He was wearing a tux and she, a stunning, purple dress which, in his opinion, complemented her quite beautifully. "We look…" he paused, trying to find the right phrase to use.

"What? Contented? Comfortable?" Catherine tried to guess what he was going to say but he shook his head.

"No…we look…very much in love." He finished as he placed the photo on her nightstand. He looked back at Catherine—into her eyes—and could see as much love in her eyes as she had looking at him in the photo. As limbs tangled back together and bodies realigned, Vincent nibbled on Catherine's bottom lip. "And that was at your father's wedding?" She nodded but he noticed her lip starting to quiver. "What's wrong?"

"He…uh…He passed away last month." Catherine blinked back her tears. "I was meeting him because he wanted to talk to me but when I see him about to cross the street, someone pushes him into the middle of the road and a car hits him. People kept telling me it was a freak accident but I knew better. It was definitely premeditated. Someone didn't want my dad to tell me something that day. Unfortunately, I have no idea what he wanted to say…and now I'll never know." She could feel tears falling out of the corners of each eye but she wouldn't sob like she did the first night Vincent came back into her life.

Noticing her salty tears, Vincent wiped them away and leaned his head against hears. "Is there anything I can do?"

"I don't think there is." She shook her head. "Just…be here with me?"

"Okay." He consented before leaning in for another kiss. Oh how much he wished he could remember her! He may be a super soldier but he still wanted to regain those experiences he'd lost. He wanted to remember their first kiss, their first date and their first time making love. The question is: how?

Eventually, Catherine fell asleep, coiled inside Vincent's arms. Her hand was splayed across his chest as he held her against him. Occasionally, he would kiss the top of her head to reassure her sleeping self that he was still around. However, he knew it was only a matter of time before he had to leave—to report and find out his next mission. But, for now, he was just going to enjoy the beauty within his arms.

He may not remember her but he knew, deep down, she was his soul mate. And, eventually, with her help, he will be able to remember her. As he watched her sleep soundly within his arms, he could already tell he was starting to fall in love with her…all over again.

And supposedly like the last time, they would somehow make their relationship work. Even if it means they have to make love in secret…in a place where no one would think to look…Vincent was willing to try to make it work.

For her.

Keiko Fujiwara: And there it was! My one-shot! Let me know what you think?! :)