A New York Night: Part 1

Summery: What if Beth had said yes to Mick's invitation for a night out on the town in New York?

Disclaimer: I own nothing. If I did, this would have happened on the show.

Mick had a spring in his step as they exited the building. Josef, his best friend, the one who had always told him a vamp and a human could never have a relationship, had himself fallen in love with a mortal. Mick had known Josef for over 25 years and had never seen him express such emotion towards anyone, human or vampire. To suddenly find out that Josef was capable of loving a mortal woman was a shock, but a good one. It didn't matter to Mick how it ended, it still gave him hope. Hope that maybe, just maybe, things could work between him and Beth.

Beth walked mutely alongside Mick. Reading the diary had been a complete shock to her. It mirrored her exact feeling for Mick. The unconditional love and understanding. Knowing someone's true self and accepting them as they were, the good, the bad and everything in between. At first, Beth had been so happy to find out that someone else had once fallen in love with a vampire. It gave her even more hope that she and Mick might have a chance. But Beth had never considered that a Turning could go wrong. She had spent many nights running over and over in her mind the things that could go amiss in her relationship with Mick, but a messed up Turning had never crossed her mind.

Seeing Sara lie there on the bed, eternally beautiful, ageless, and never to awaken had been frightening. The thought of that happening to her made Beth very afraid, but oddly enough the fear wasn't for herself, it was for Mick. After seeing Josef so heartbroken over Sara, Beth knew there was no way she would ever let Mick turn her. She wouldn't risk it, for Mick's sake. Beth knew that if he ever turned her and it went wrong, Mick would take care of her, just like Josef did with Sara. But she didn't want to leave Mick like that. With time, he might be able to accept her mortal death and move on, but having to look after her, century after century, would be too much for him. It would turn him into an empty shell, and Beth couldn't do that, she loved him to much.

"Hey," Mick said as they reached the bottom of the stairs, snapping Beth out of her morose thoughts. "You all right?"

"Yeah," she said distractedly as they strolled along the sidewalk. She shoved her hands in her coat pockets so she wouldn't be tempted to hold Mick's hand as they walked. "I just can't stop thinking about Sara." Beth paused for moment, "She was so in love with him." It should have been a simple comment, but it made Beth uncomfortable, as if she had just confessed her own undying love for Mick.

"Yeah, it's terrible," he agreed. But the way he said it sounded almost offhanded, even to his own ears. What had happened to Josef and Sara truly was terrible, but Mick was feeling too joyful to input much despair in his voice.

Beth looked at him. Was is just her or did Mick seem different tonight? Happier maybe? How could he be happy after seeing what happened to Sara? "Do you really think there's a cure?" she asked.

Mick shrugged, "Coraline made herself human. Is that a cure? I don't know, I can't say." He sounded unaffected when he said it, as if he was no longer obsessed about the cure. And truth be told, he wasn't. Sure, he would love a cure; love to become human once again. But Josef had shown him that you didn't have to be human to love someone, and have them love you back.

Mick stepped off the sidewalk and with a raised hand, summoned a taxi. He looked back at her, grinning, "Come on, let's go do something."

Beth followed after him, confused. "Like what?" she questioned. She'd been right, Mick was happier tonight. Was it because he had learned his best friend had been in love with a mortal? Beth didn't know too much about Mick and Josef's friendship but from his emotional breakdown outside his apartment a few days prior, she knew Josef meant a great deal to Mick. Had knowing Josef could love someone somehow freed Mick from his idea that they couldn't be together?

"I don't know, something fun. Something… quintessentially New York." He was grinning wider now, his voice filled with enthusiasm. "We'll catch a set at the village vanguard. A couple of martinis. A steak for the lady. Just you and me, on the town." He looked so cute, and his excitement was so infectious, that Beth couldn't help but grin along with him. "Come on," he said, pulling her towards the waiting taxi.

"I don't, but our flight leaves in a couple hours," Beth said as Mick hurried forward to open the taxi door for her. He stood back to allow her to enter first, leaving one hand on top of the door. "So we'll take a later flight." He told her. It didn't matter to him if they missed a flight, they could always get another one. But a night spent with Beth in New York, that would be priceless.

Beth walked to the taxi and stood with the door as a barrier between them, trying to think of an easy way to turn him down. She told herself she shouldn't do this, it would only end in pain for both of them. Without thinking, she covered his large hand with her much smaller one. 'So much for a barrier' she mused. "Look, I don't know...I..." A lame excuse about finalizing things with Josh was on the tip of her tongue, and she knew if she said that, Mick wouldn't question it, being the gentleman that he was. But he was still looking at her as if she was the only woman on earth, as if her answer meant more to him than life itself. She couldn't bear to deny him anything when he was looking at her like that. And truth be told, she didn't really want to.

Beth tightened her hold on his hand and pulled him into the taxi with her, "What do you want to do first?"

A/N: Stay tuned for part two! Coming soon to a screen near you :D