Disclaimer:

All Publicly Recognized Character, Settings, etc. Are the sole property of their respective owners, be it LifeTime Television or Tanya Huff, who's books this show was based on. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or products of any media based franchise. No Copyright Infringement Is Intended. I own nothing and claim even less.

This story may seem familiar at 1st, but I assure you that it is different. I took parts from (Deep Dark) and combined them an entirely different plot and have added much more detail into it.

From here I've pretty much taken the story to where my twisted mind has decided that it needs to be. While at the same time trying to keep the Characters as close to original as I can. I hope that everyone has enjoyed the story so far and will enjoy the chapters that will follow. And please leave me some reviews, let me know what you think of the story and if I'm not doing justice to these characters that we've all come to love so much, please let me know and tell me what you think needs to be changed. And I will change what needs to be changed, add whatever should be added or deleted.

And Love Shall Prevail

Chapter 1--The Fall Out

After both Mike and Henry stormed off in separate directions, Vicki's left not knowing what to do, so she does the only thing that she can do the only thing that she knew to do at that moment. She grabs a cab from Henry's and takes Coreen home getting her settled while making sure for herself that Coreen really is ok then decides to leave, then not wanting to go home herself she decides to go to the office instead. She's took all the pain and heartache that she can handle for one day, so figures that there must be something there for her to do, as she's seriously neglected her work focusing all her time and energy into the mess her life has become. She wonders to herself just how utterly fucked up everything got in just a matter of weeks.

She continues to drink heavily until she ends up passed out on the couch, which is exactly where Coreen finds her the next day. Coreen gently touches her shoulder, "Vicki are you ok, I know that I should have gotten here earlier but found out just how much energy demon possession takes out of you. Is there anything you want for me to do for you or do you just want to go back to sleep?"

Vicki drags her hands down her face and looks up at her, amazed that she actually came into the office at all today, she wouldn't even be here today if she hadn't passed out on the couch. Vicki looks at Coreen with concern, "Are you sure you even want to be here today? You really should be at home resting you know."

Coreen just smiles at her and says, "Well I could say the same about you, but here you are and besides what else was I going to do all day?"

After everything that had happened to her yesterday Vicki is amazed at how perky her Gothette assistant could be. After shaking her head a few times in an attempt to try and clear it, she looks at Coreen and says, "Well if you intend on staying then could you get me some caffeine? And lots of it, please? Just strong black coffee today, after all these years I should really know better than to try to drink my troubles away. Just promise me that you'll take it easy for a while ok? We still don't know what if any last night's experience is going to behind. Especially for you, we have no idea what its effects on you will be so just take it easy, ok."

Coreen gives Vicki that your acting like my mom look, but appreciates the caring behind it so she gives in. "OK Vicki, I'll get you your coffee and promise to take it easy for a while as long as you promise to take a shower, you smell like you fell into a brewery."

Vicki starts to laugh, but stops when her head starts to throb again, "Yeah, you're not wrong there. Hopefully a shower will give me the energy for what I have to do today and the coffee should be done by the time I get finished."

Coreen gives at her a concerned look and asks, "Just what do you plan on doing today?"

Vicki replies on her way to the bathroom, "Oh, not much. Is just going to try to patch things up with Cellucci and do what I can to help him get his job back and on the right track again, I owe him that much."

Coreen can only shake her head as the door closes behind Vicki. Knowing that there is no chance of changing her boss's mind once it's made up she goes about getting the coffee going. With the mood that Vicki seems to be in, she plans to only do what she's told and stay the hell out of the way for the rest of the day.

Fifteen minutes later and Vicki is surprised at how much better she feels, thus proving that taking a shower and putting on clean clothes can do wonders for a person's energy. Leaving her hair to dry on its own, she opens the bathroom door and smells the wonderful smell that is purely strong coffee. She goes to sit at her desk and immediately Coreen brings her a huge mug of the wonderful brew, she smiles Coreen her thanks for that. She takes a long drink of her coffee, ah the wonders of coffee, and starts to contemplate what she's got to do today. It has to be done, there is no getting around it no matter how much she wishes there was, so she tells Coreen not to let anyone in, to lock the door in fact, and to not let any calls to her through. She waits until Coreen has gone back out front to her own desk before she reaches for the phone. As much as she really dreads talking to Mike after everything that happened the night before, she knows that she has to at least try to help. It's her fault that things are so screwed up for him in both is personal life and in his career. With a huge sigh she dials his home number and waits for him to answer, and isn't one bit surprised when he hangs up once he hears her voice. Damnit all to hell this was really going to be one bitch of a day!

Damn his stubborn bull-headed pride! If he wouldn't talk to her on the phone then he should have remembered that she knew where he lived. Knowing she was going to need it, she gulps down the rest of her coffee; damn Coreen did a good job of it too, grabbed her coat and headed out of the office, once again reminding Coreen to lock the door behind her, to call her if she needed her, or if she happened to hear from Henry. The last having been said with more than a hint of wistfulness.

Once reaching Cellucci's apartment she didn't stop banging on the door until he answered it. Looking less than pleased, Mike asks, "I hung up on you when you called, you really can't take a hint can you?"

Vicki just pushed her way past him and walked into his apartment. Turning back to him with a hint of a smile on her face she says, "Ah come on Mike. After all this time you really should know me better than that. Besides I'm here for an important reason so you could at least play at being interested long enough to hear what I have to say."

Having said that Vicki walked over to the couch and sat down, waiting for Mike to either calm down and listen to her or start screaming at her to get the fuck out. Mike chose to calm down and listen, which could either be termed as a good thing or a bad thing. Once Mike was comfortably seated, he looked at Vic and said, "All right, let's hear it! What do you have to say that's so important that you felt the need to barge in here and tell me?" He did not have a pleasant look on his face.

"Ok Mike, just hear me out, I know that your life is in shambles and it's all my fault, this wouldn't have happened to you if I hadn't started asking for help with all those hinky cases that I started getting. I didn't mean for you to get pulled into all this weirdness with me, and I'm sorry that you did. But we can't change the past, and that includes what happened between us." Vicki looked at him to make sure that he was really listening to her, and wasn't sure what to make of the look that he now had on his face. "What Mike? You've got this weird look on your face, so do you care to share whatever it is that you're thinking?"

Mike just smiled and moved, sitting next to her on the couch. Whatever it was, Vicki knew that that smile was not a good sign, but all she could do now was wait and hear whatever it was he was about to say. "You really mean it Vic?" Mike asked as he reached to hold both of her hands in his.

Vicki was majority lost now, "Mike what are you talking about? Do I really mean what?"

Mike just continued to smile at her and started to lean towards her to kiss her, at which point she knew that she's really fucked up another situation. She pulled her hands from his and stood up. "Mike what the hell are you thinking? More to the point what the hell are you doing?" Vicki asked him in a near shout. Mike now looked very confused and with an odd look on his face he replied, "Just what do you think I'm thinking? From what you've just said I assumed you wanted to give us another chance. Vic, you know how much I love you, I've tried not to but can't. I want you! I want for us to give our relationship another chance! Damnit Vic, I love you and want to marry you!" Mike's last words were shouted.

Vicki pulled her glasses off and rubbed the bridge of her nose, wondering how all this had went to hell so very fast. "Mike, that's not why I'm here, I don't know what gave you the idea that that's what I wanted to talk about I'll never know. I care about you Mike, I really do. But marriage? How was that going to work when our relationships never could? Think about it. We've tried and tried to make it work and it just didn't or couldn't. Have you never thought about why that is? That no matter how we've tried it just never works?" She looks at him with sadness on her face.

Mike starts to pace and rant, "Oh this is just fucking great! So what? You're here to tell me that you've decided to go with the Vampire after all, is that it? I mean it makes sense after all, you've thrown all your training down the drain and done things that you know you have no place being in the middle of, all over a pretty face! Vic, he's a Vampire!! Just how long do you think you'll be safe with him? I'm not talking about him being able to protect you from this demon, but how long will he be able to protect you from himself? You've already let him fed from you God only knows how many times now for crying out loud! Once he has you all to himself, how long do you think you'll be safe with him?" Mike's face was read from yelling these words at her.

Vicki just stood there and looked at him wondering how, after all this time, that she'd honestly thought she knew him? Taking a deep breath and doing everything in her power to keep from yelling back she said, "Mike, I'm not going with Henry. You heard me yourself last night tell him that very thing! And since you've brought it up given that Henry's saved my life time and time again I trust him with it, I know that he would never do anything to harm me. And my training hasn't gone anywhere and as for my being in these new supernatural situations, they have nothing to do with Henry! He didn't put these marks on me for fuck's sake! Some weirdo trying to get a girl did! And if it wasn't for Henry I'd have died a long time ago, with that 1st case, the one that Coreen came to me looking for help with. After the police turned her away I might add! You know what, it's a good thing for me that Henry was looking for the same thing I was, and it's because of him that I'm alive and standing here today yelling at you!" She could not believe he was acting this way! It's not she went out looking for Henry and found him after all, he just happened to find her and ended up saving her life. Taking deep breaths to try to calm herself, she realized that Mike was never going to accept that Henry was a part of her life and would always be jealous of him. Nor would he ever let her attempt to help him fix his career. He was just too angry.

Vicki looked at Mike and asked, "We're not even going to be able to stay friends are we? You're not going to let me help you fix your career are you? Jesus Mike, we've been friends for so long at least let me help you do that! Meet me half way here, I'm trying to make peace here and keep our friendship intact."

Mike ran his fingers through his hair and finally looked at her. "No. If I can't have all of you then I don't want any part of you. I'll fix my career myself and my life as well. I don't need you for anything anymore."

Vicki nodded her head, trying to hide the hurt, putting her glasses back on she looked at him, "So then I guess that's that, huh? All those years as friends means nothing. Fine Cellucci, if that's the way you want it, then that's the way you'll have it. Stay away from me and just go ahead and lose my number while you're at it! Oh, and one more thing…Mike, you're an asshole!" Having said that Vicki left before the tears started, she was not going to let him that he'd hurt her that much!

After coming back to the office and having to spend hours listening to Coreen try and cheer her up, thankfully Coreen finally recognizes a lost cause when she sees it and goes on home. Vicki's glad for the quite finally! She sits and thinks about how everything yesterday went, yes she stopped the death of Coreen, but she's also lost both of the men in her life, both of whom she sincerely cares about and counts on. And now there's a demon running loose just waiting for the right time to come for her and she has no one but herself for protection. As she continues to drink she contemplates her situation. Mike, she really cares about, but admits to herself that she no longer loves him like he loves her, and how dare he give her an ultimatum like that! After all the time he's known her and he still hasn't figured out that is the one way to just flat out piss her off? Seriously, just who in the hell did he think he was talking to? Did he manage to forget that while she does care for him, she is way too independent to just agree with whatever it is he wants her to do?

She shakes her head, even after all this time Cellucci just doesn't get her, and she knows now that he never will. While she'll always treasure what they once had together, and the friendship came both before and after the tried and failed relationship, she knows without a doubt that he is not the one for her. Knowing that after the fight that they'd had today he would probably never speak to her again, let alone look at her. And she knows who is; the one that's always been there for her, never judging her only tagging along for support, and in his own macho way, protecting her. It's Henry. HER Henry! How could she not realize it until now just how much he means to her? How much she needs him not only in her life but as a part of her life. She's wanted to say yes too him since the day she met him, she just can not believe that it's taken her this long to realize just how much she loves him. Intent on stopping him from leaving before she can tell him, she stumbles into her coat, downstairs and outside to get a cab to take her to Henry's Condo. She just prays that she's not too late, and that he'll still be there, it's too close to sunrise, so she decides that he's not fully healed enough to make the move yet. At least she prays she's right; for once in her life let her be right about this.