Moonlight – Virtual Season 2
Short 14.1 – The Face in the Mirror
Rating: R/M
Writer: Misfit
Beta'd: Writers Group
VS2 Writers Group includes Candomom, ClChen, Conni4, Evilous, Misfit, Mx wwmickd, Night Owl, Phantom Phoenix, Photosue and Sunny.
Disclaimer: Moonlight and its characters are owned by CBS and Warner Brothers. All use of Moonlight and its characters in this venue are for entertainment purposes and completed solely for the pleasure of Moonlight lovers. The original storylines and episodes have been created by the VS2 Writers and Discussion Group. We hope you enjoy.
This short takes place between virtual episodes 14 and 15.
Beth pushed herself up from the backseat, dabbing at her eyes with a fast food napkin. She couldn't sleep, she hadn't been able to since they'd left Arkansas. The tears were always close, she was hurting inside and out, and the car traveled on, west now, toward the setting sun.
Oscar was silent, but she could feel his gaze pass over her occasionally in the rearview mirror. She sniffed and wiped her swollen eyes again. Silence was best, they'd only argue if they tried to talk. It wasn't your fault… but it was and the tears started again. She touched the persistent ache of the bandaged bite and wished for Mick… Mick and home.
The steady beat of Beth's constant anguish and her unspoken accusations throbbed against Oscar's mind with the pulsing of her heart. Centuries of human tears had never given him pause, why did he care what she was thinking and feeling? It made no sense. He was doing the job, she was alive and much the wiser for learning to stay that way. He watched Beth's movement in the rearview mirror; the new fall of tears, her hand on her bandaged arm, stroking TJ's bite and mourning the loss of her blood again.
Oscar's jaw flexed, a tremor across his stoic expression, as he replayed the fight with the parasite who had once been his friend. TJ's betrayal had been calculated and his sentence was death. The blood slaves were free; Beth should accept that as enough. As if on cue, their eyes met in the rearview mirror, Beth's gaze steady and sad. What answer does she want?
"Look!" Beth moved forward in the seat, pointing into the twilight ahead. An old Chevy van, dirty and road worn, sat halfway off the narrow blacktop road, kneeling on a flat front tire. Oscar slowed, swinging the car wide to pass, and Beth slid across the seat for a better look. A lone woman and three small children looked back, the woman's hopeful gaze fading when she realized they weren't going to stop. The little girl at her side reached for her mother's hand and Beth saw her own fears in the child's tear-streaked face. "Stop, Oscar. We need to help them."
"No, it's not safe." Oscar swung the car back to the right as he watched the woman behind them. "Someone else will help them."
"Like who?" Beth turned to look around them. "We're in the middle of nowhere, just who do you think is going to help her? We can't leave them stranded here. She's got kids with her."
"It's not our problem." Oscar's voice was flat and the car began to pick up speed. "She chose to be here, let the woman deal with it."
Beth's eyes flared with anger. "Chose? Like hell she chose to be stranded out here on this road in the dark with three little kids! Nobody would choose that, anymore than they'd choose this!" Beth shoved her bandaged arm close to his face. "Those kids aren't here by choice, Oscar. I wasn't bitten by choice." Oscar slid his sunglasses down to meet her eyes in the mirror and Beth glared stubbornly. "I know it's not our problem, but it's what we need to do. It's the human thing to do. She's alone and right now she needs us. Now turn this damn car around so we can go back and help her. Right now!"
"Five minutes!" Oscar growled and power-braked the car into a turn, flinging Beth across the backseat as they spun back to return. He waited until Beth was upright and indignant again before issuing a command. "I don't want to do this, but you keep the woman occupied and I'll change the tire."
"See, that wasn't so hard." Beth gave his shoulder a little pat as she focused on the dark hulk of the vehicle ahead. "Just don't be all vampire and scare the kids."
"Right." Oscar harrumphed as he pulled the car in behind the van. "Any more orders, boss?"
"Nope, just thank you." Beth was already scrambling from the car and he shook his head as he followed. From one extreme to the other, the demanding Beth was hard to argue with and he nodded to the thankful woman as he knelt beside the tire.
"I couldn't loosen the lugnuts." The woman explained as she smiled tearfully at Beth. "I just wasn't strong enough."
"Well, that shouldn't be a problem for Bob here." Beth laughed gently at Oscar's sour look. "He's pretty strong. Why don't we back up out his way and he'll have your tire changed in no time."
"Thank you, Bob." The woman shooed the two little boys away from the van as she and Beth retreated to the grassy shoulder, leaving the little girl to watch Oscar from a safe distance. "Don't get in his way, Lizzy. Let the nice man get our tire changed."
"Okay, Mommy." Lizzy switched on the dim flashlight and pointed it at the tire. "I'll just hold the light for him."
"Thanks." Oscar spared the girl a glance as he pumped the jack higher to remove the tire and Lizzy smiled broadly. "You do that really fast, Mommy couldn't hardly push it at all."
The flat tire was off and the spare in place when the flashlight began to fade and Oscar took advantage of the darkness to put a little vamp speed into tightening the lugnuts. The speed didn't escape the bright eyes watching him and little Lizzy gaped. "Wow, you're doing a good job."
"Yep." Oscar quickly lowered the jack and pulled it from under the van. The spare wasn't very good and he looked toward Beth and the woman. "You should have this tire checked as soon as you get to a town."
"I will. Thanks, Bob." The woman smiled gratefully and the little boys echoed, "Thanks, Bob" as they ran in circles around Beth and their mother. Beth was smiling, too, as he picked up the flat tire and the jack to put them in the back of the van. The whole group followed, Lizzy leading the way with the candle-glow flashlight and the little boys climbed in the back, running to their carseats as Oscar secured the tire. Lizzy climbed in last, turning to wrap her little arms around his neck and surprising Oscar by giving him a big kiss on the cheek. "Thank you, Bob. We won't be late to see our Daddy now. He's coming home."
"You're welcome." Oscar mumbled, awkwardly returning her hug. He stepped back and Beth thought for a moment he was going to run back to the car. Her big, scary bodyguard and protector was embarrassed and she hurried to his rescue. "Where's your Daddy coming home from?"
"Iraq." The woman answered quietly, close to tears again. "He's finished his tour and he's coming home."
Beth pulled her into a hug as Oscar made a hasty retreat back to their car. "We're happy for you. Tell him we appreciate all that he's done for us."
"Thank you, I will." The woman smiled through her tears as she closed up the back of the van. "He's been gone for fourteen months, it'll be good to have him back home."
"I'm sure it will be." Beth began to back away toward the car as Oscar revved the motor, letting her know it was time to go. "There's no place like home." She gave a farewell wave to the little hands waving inside the van as she climbed into the front seat with Oscar, and after a little nod of prompting, Oscar waved, too. Beth laughed. "See, Bob, that wasn't so bad."
Oscar waited until the van pulled back on the road and the family was on its way before he swung the car back around to head west again. Beth leaned over the backseat to find her bottled water and settled back down in the seat. "That felt really good, Oscar. Really good."
Oscar nodded in silent agreement and reached to turn up the radio. The sounds of Alison Krause singing Down to the River to Pray filled the car and Beth leaned back into the headrest, sipping her water and looking out into the dark landscape. Her change in mood was dramatic and Oscar released a quiet breath as the calm settled over them. Maybe feeling human wasn't such a bad thing.
He almost smiled at the lingering warmth of little Lizzy's kiss as he looked into the rearview mirror, meeting his own eyes. Maybe it wasn't bad at all.
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