They lay on the couch, arms and legs tangled together but perfectly comfortable. The only sounds that had drifted through the apartment in the last while were the beautiful sounds of her steady breathing, her sometimes racing heart and the soft strings of jazz from the stereo that Mick had turned on hours ago. He loved that they could just be laying here, enjoying each other's presence and he could STILL make her heart race. For a brief moment – and not for the first time – he wished he were human, if only so that she could feel his own heart race for HER. But that was impossible. Beth was human. He was a vampire. Nothing would ever change that – or at least nothing would ever change HIM. Despite how he may wish it not to be so, there was no cure for vampirism, no way to go back to being human and right now, Beth wasn't ready to be turned. Maybe she never would be but it didn't matter to him. He would love her and be at her side for eternity. If she chose to grow old and die, he would be at her side until that day came and would still love her for eternity.
She shifted in his arms that were wrapped loosely around her and looked up at him through her lashes. He smiled down at her, brushed a lock of perfect, golden hair from her face and finally leaned down to take her lips in a kiss that was just as lazy as they'd been for the last several hours. They weren't complaining, though; finally they'd had a night that neither of them had a pressing case or story to deal with. It was the first time since she'd moved in with him – the first time ever – that they hadn't been on the way to or from something; they had no meetings to attend or cases to solve. They could just be together. He had no interest in doing anything but spending every moment with the woman he loved and for that, neither of them had any interesting in rushing the night away. To be able to just lay entwined in the arms of the woman he loved, the woman who loved him, to enjoy just BEING with her… it was something he'd never had before. It was something he'd never realized he wanted until he found her – found her walking through that fountain almost two years ago. It was when he realized she'd grown up; she wasn't someone who needed protecting. She was someone he wanted to spend his life with.
As he ran his hand through her hair again, he mused that he would be happy to stay like this all night – forever, even. Nothing could compare to this… He smiled at that thought. Well, almost nothing. He loved to simply hold her, talk to her, as they had been doing so far tonight, but… other things were very enjoyable as well. She'd once joked that 'it' might not be any good. They'd proved that thought wrong many times since they'd both finally worked passed their fears and gotten together.
"What are you thinking, Mick?"
He looked down at her again; that knowing smirk on her face, tough he still tried to fool her. "I was thinking… what a beautiful night it was out." She'd once told him vampires were bad liars. He knew that wasn't true. It was more that he simply couldn't lie to HER. Of course, this time, he wasn't even trying; his smile was turning more and more into a grin and his eyes were twinkling with mischief.
She smirked back at him and turned in his arms to see him better. "Sure you were. I know that look too well, Mick St. John. You're busted. Of course, that doesn't mean I'm against the idea." To prove her point, she leaned down to take his lips in a kiss much rougher, more passionate, than the others they'd already shared tonight. How was he to deny such an invitation? As he began to return her kiss, however, there was a strange buzzing coming from the coffee table. Before he could even register that it was a phone, let alone who it belonged to, Beth was pulling away with a colourful curse, diving for the phone and sending the call to voicemail almost before she even saw who was calling. It must not have been Maureen – Beth always took her calls – so it couldn't have been important. For that, Mick was happy, though he wouldn't have gotten upset if it had been work calling her away; annoyed perhaps, but never upset. They both knew that while they loved each other, their jobs were important to them. He would never make her choose.
The phone dealt with, she returned to his arms, looking sheepish. "I'm sorry, Mick."
VvvV
A few days after his interrupted night alone with Beth, Mick got his own phone call. That had been yesterday and now he felt his client make her way down the hallway and he heard the shaky breath, the tentative knock at the door. He went to the door, opening it to welcome the woman into his office. She was tall; long, dark hair falling down her back. As she entered his office, her arms were wrapped tightly around herself, keeping the sweater she wore – much too warm for this time of years – tightly closed. Dark circles were under her eyes that held a sadness Mick was certain hadn't always been there. She held a notebook in her crossed arms. Mick helped her to the couch and pulled a chair close by.
"Can I get you anything?" She shook her head 'no', so he sat in the chair, leaning forward and placing a soothing hand on her shoulder. With his touch and soft eyes, along with just a bit of vampire allure he tried to reassurance her. "We're going to find him, Kelly, OK? I'm going to find him." She nodded, sniffed and wiped tears away with the back of her hand. "Why don't you tell me what happened? Start from the top."
After another shaky breath, she looked up at him. "We were – are – suppose to get married in three days. Everything's been going so well – the planning, I mean. We've been together since high school." She smiled at the memories that Mick could only imagine were going through her mind. "I even get along with his parents – they've been like a second family to me. I just… I don't know…"
Again, Mick rested a hand on her, lending his strength to her. Not enough to make her forget – he would never want to take that from her; to take her pain away would be to take HIM away and the love they had for each other. It would take away everything they were to each other. Mick simply wanted to help her work through her pain so she could tell him what he needed to know… so she could breathe and at least go on existing. "Take your time, Kelly." He sat there with her for several minutes as she collected herself and her thoughts.
After those few minutes, she stood and started pacing the office. Mick simply leaned back in his chair and watched her. Some people needed to do that; it made them feel like they were actually doing something. "On Monday, we were out doing things for the wedding – you know, approving arrangements, things like that. We'd been out all day and finally got home around supper time. We were so tired, so I ordered in some pizza, but before it got there, he got called in to work." Her eyes started to glisten with tears again, but she held them back. "He kissed me and apologized and went out and that was the last time I saw him."
Her pacing had taken her close to his desk, where she stopped. Mick stood and went to her once more though he didn't invade her personal space; he wanted her to feel safe here. "Have you received any strange phone calls since he went missing, or maybe just before?" Her long hair fell into her face as she shook her head 'no'. "Does he have any enemies? Anyone he's gotten into a fight with lately?"
Kelly's eyes went wide. "Oh, no! Everyone really seems to like him. He likes to help people. That's one reason why he became a journalist – he wanted to be able to get to he truth behind things. He thought it would be the best way."
A reporter… Mick thought about that for a moment. Beth was a reporter and she always seemed to be pissing off the wrong people. Perhaps Tom had gotten too close to something and he needed to be 'taken care of'. "Kelly, did Tom ever talk about the stories he was working on? Were any of them something that worried him?"
It was her turn to think now – she seemed to be mentally going through his assignments in her head, sorting them out and seeing if any fit the bill. Her brow was furrowed and she bit her lip in thought. Finally, she shook her head again.
"We only moved here a few months ago. He had a pretty good job before, but he's had to start at the bottom again. In LA it seems to be a lot harder to work up the ladder – too much competition and too many celebrity stories. Those are pretty much the only assignments he's been given. I think, though, that he HAS been working on something… but I don't know what. He always get kinda secretive if he was working on a really important story." She smiled slightly. "I don't mind though. I know he's only doing it to protect me."
Mick smiled in return. The look on her face – the love he could so clearly see shining in her eyes through those tears when she spoke of him, the way her lips twitched into a slight smile when she thought of him… Mick was certain, she did it without even knowing about it. It was clear they were very much in love. Any human would have been able to pick that up, and with Mick's vampire senses – his ability to sense her emotions so much more clearly, hear her pulse and her breathing, pick up the visual clues that were too subtle for human eyes… there was no denying it. Mick would make sure he did everything in his power to ensure the pain and fright that also marred her features was short-lived.
"Do you have his files, his notes, on any of these other stories?"
"No, he always kept everything at the office. But they've been very worried about him, too. I'm sure they'd let you see whatever you need."
"I'll do that, thank you. You said you just moved here?"
She sighed and then nodded. "We moved here eight months ago from North Dakota. Even though he's young, he'd pretty much gone as far as he could go as a journalist there. We moved here hoping he would be able to become even more successful. I mean, we don't need to be rich, but he's so good at what he does, he just wasn't being challenged in the middle of nowhere, you know? Turns out, moving here hasn't been any better."
Those tears finally started to fall silently down her cheeks. Mick took her hand, led her back to the couch and passed her a tissue. She whispered a thank you and dried her tears slowly. A country boy moving to the big city... Mick hoped this wasn't a case of lack of street smarts. He'd seen it so many times before. Maybe it would make him easier to track down; perhaps he still had that 'tourist' mindset. They almost always flocked to the same places. "I understand, and I'm sorry, but I have to ask: you're sure he didn't just get cold feet?"
"No!" She was angry with the question, but he could tell she wasn't angry at him. He knew she had to be sick of the questions, sick of the assumptions, but Mick wouldn't be much of a PI if he didn't explore all the options. "He's been so looking forward to finally getting married. We've been engaged since college, but he wanted to wait until he'd 'made it' before we got married. So he could really provide for a family." She managed a small chuckle. "He hasn't yet, but he wanted to finally make an 'honest woman' out of me. He's really close to his folks and they haven't heard from him either. They're coming out on Friday… for the wedding."
He stood and looked down at her. He placed a gentle hand on her should and smiled at her as she turned her glistening eyes toward him. He poured all the truth, all the commitment he possessed into his voice, his eyes and repeated his promise. "We'll find him, okay?"
She stood and wrapped her arms around him, finally letting her tears flow freely. "Thank you, Mr. St. John. Please, whatever it takes, whatever it costs… bring Tom home to me."
VvvV
Mick sat in the leather easy chair, an abandoned glass, half-full of blood on a nearby table. His eyes were closed, trying to relax, trying to work through this new case. Kelly had been gone about half an hour. After she'd calmed, he'd walked her over to his desk and taken down all the 'vital stats' for both she and Tom before she left. Then he'd gone straight to the kitchen and poured a drink, leaning against the island for a few moments as he sipped the thick liquid before finally moving to the chair he now occupied. There was something about this case that made it feel different from most. He hadn't quite figured out what.
Despite the thoughts, the case, running through his head, he broke into a smile. Beth was home. He felt her presence as she made her way down the hall. Through she was human, though he'd only fed from her that once in a bathtub in the middle of the desert, their connection was so strong it amazed him. It seemed it had always been that way. He often wondered if it was because of Coraline's, and therefore his, influence in her life as a child, or perhaps they'd always been destined to be together. He didn't know and frankly, it didn't matter to him. It was there and he couldn't imagine living without it now that he'd found it; didn't know how he'd lived without it before. But he had it – and he had HER. His life couldn't be any better.
The security system announced that she'd entered their apartment – he absolutely loved that he could call it THEIR apartment, THEIR home – but still he did not open his eyes. Her scent – her natural scent mixed with the subtle rose perfume she wore, so subtle in fact that most humans would miss it completely – drifted closer and closer to him. He could almost taste her. Her soft footsteps grew louder on the carpeted floor as she approached him. They both knew she could no more sneak up on him than an elephant could sneak up on her, but her silence as she entered, her shallow breathing as she tried to keep it even and quiet, her pounding heart – all told him that she'd seen his closed eyes and wanted to play at it. And he let her of course. He'd let her do anything she wished.
Finally, he could sense that she was next to him, felt the heat of her body warm his own from her closeness and hiss smile grew. Only another moment and his wait to feel her hands on him was over. She moved behind the chair and covered his already closed eyes. Her hair tickled his neck as she bent to whisper in his ear.
"Guess who."
He could feel the smile on her lips against his skin. He didn't answer at first, pretending to think hard about the question. "hmm. I think it must be an angel." She had called him her Guardian Angel so many times, but she was an angel to him as well. She'd saved him from himself, made him see he could do so much more than simply exist. Her soft laugh – filled with happiness and love and just a little bit of self-consciousness at the nickname – made its way to his ear as it always did during this game and he finally opened his eyes to darkness, his long lashes fluttering against the palm of her hand, making her giggle. The fact that Beth Turner giggled was a secret entrusted only to him and one that, on threat of staking, he kept safer than most state secrets. She pulled her hands away as he reached behind him to pull her around the chair and down into his lap where she finally greeted him 'properly' with a deep, lingering kiss.
"Mmm, hey Mick."
"Hey, yourself."
Mick ran his hand up and down her back soothing himself more than she. Their brief game had taken his mind off Kelly and Tom for a few minutes, but those thoughts quickly resurfaced. With Beth in his arms, he knew now why the case bothered him so. Kelly'd had the one person she loved more than anyone or anything else in the world torn from her… and despite his promise, there was to guarantee Mick would be able to bring him back. His grip on Beth tightened ever so slightly, but he looked up at her with a smile.
"How was your day?" He asked her that question every day. He'd gone almost his whole life not having anyone to ask that to.
"Oh, you know Maureen… still upset about the Brangilina thing. But there were two shootings at the WB studios today, so that's kept me out of the office. Hollywood and crime – keeps us both happy." She grinned and, with her arms wrapped around his neck, she twirled locks of his hair between her fingers. That grin faded, though only slightly. She may not be a vampire, may not be able to sense Mick's emotions as well as he could sense hers, but she KNEW Mick. Something was bothering him. "What about your day?" was all she asked.
He sighed and held her even closer, running his hands through her golden hair. "This new case… a woman came in today to see me. She's planning to get married in three days but her fiancé has gone missing. The cops won't do anything… they just think he got cold feet and ran off." He scowled in frustration.
Beth ran her hand along his cheek to soothe him and, as always, it worked. "But you don't think so?" He covered her hand with one of his own.
"God, I hope not. Beth if you saw her… you'd see how complete in love with him she is. She's devastated. If he did run off on her, I think it would crush her completely." He moved that hand to her own cheek, tracing his thumb across her jaw. "Beth if I ever lost you… I'd tear this city apart to find you and anyone who got in my way, if I could even think." His hand around her back tightened on her and it was only the almost silent hiss of pain that told him he was hurting her. "And it if was only days before we were to marry; days before I could declare you mine in front of everyone… Beth, I couldn't live without you."
Before she could say anything, he crushed his lips against hers – a possessive, desperate kiss. His hands tangled in her hair, holding her to him as she returned that kiss. He didn't want to let her go; didn't want that kiss to end, though he knew it must, if only to let her breathe. Through that kiss, he could feel her shock at his words. He'd kept many of those thoughts to himself over the time they'd been together. He'd never wanted Beth to have to feel the weight of his need for her, never wanted her to feel like she had to stay; but it was out now. He just hoped it wouldn't change anything.
Little did he know, that wasn't what had caused her shock. She knew all this without having to hear the words come from him. No, it was something else he'd said, something he hadn't even been aware he'd let slip. She broke their kiss and looked at him, amazed and cautious and just a little bit hopefully. "You want to marry me?"
He licked his bottom lip and sucked it between his teeth and looked at her with that sheepish hand-caught-in-the-cookie-jar lop-sided smirk. He brought his hand up and rubbed that lip with a thumb. Beth suppressed a laugh at all his nervous habits.
"Well… um... maybe?" She didn't' seem like the marrying type and that had always been fine with Mick. Sure he was a bit traditional at heart, but he was also a vampire and it wasn't the 1950's anymore. He wanted Beth. He needed Beth. He didn't care how he had her, as long as he did.
She grinned at him, giving off only excitement and happiness, perhaps a bit of nerves. She kissed him, hard and quick, and pulled back only enough to look in his eyes. When she spoke, her lips brushed against his. "When you make up your mind, let me know."
Mick looked at her, open-mouthed and he thought that maybe his inadvertent slip had been a good thing. Before he could do or say anything, she took advantage of him, tightening her arms around him and pressing herself even harder against him before taking his lips once more, exploring his mouth. Finally, he began to kiss her back. His hand moved down her back to her ass he lifted her, using his vampire skills that he knew she loved so much to easily walk them out of the room; Kelly and Tom completely out of his mind for the time being.
He kissed her forehead, running a hand along her jaw. "Don't worry about it, Beth." That smirk returned. "Now, where were we?" He rolled over so she was beneath him on the couch and kissed her. He started with her bare throat – still free of his marks – and kissed along her jaw to finally take her mouth, exploring as if it were the first time he'd kissed her – on his roof more than a year ago. As they kissed, breaking apart only enough so that she could breathe – that had taken some getting used to on his part – his hands slowly travelled down her sides and, his vampire abilities the only thing stropping him from falling on her and completely embarrassing himself. Just as slowly, he untucked her t-shirt from her pants. His thumbs slipped beneath the hem and teased her soft skin just above the waistband of her pants. She arched into his touch and his smile grew against her lips.
As her shirt started to travel further up her body, he broke their kiss and started to move down. Keeping his eyes on hers, his tongue and then his lips met the skin that he'd just uncovered. As her shirt moved up, his mouth followed and she rewarded him with sighs of pleasure. Her shirt was just about to expose her lace-covered breasts when some part of his brain registered the sound of his security system and someone coming through the door.
"Ah, there's my favourite couple! MickBeth, how do I love thee? Let me…" having seen his friends… otherwise occupied… he'd continued on into the apartment and was almost to the kitchen before he stopped and feigned thoughtfulness with a smirk. "No, wait, those are two different works, and it was MACBeth." He shot them a grin. "Forgive me; I got bored of Shakespeare two centuries ago. You know the only thing he was really good at was business? Just look at all the money he and his heirs made off those plays and sonnets and he hardly paid the REAL writer—"
"Josef is there a reason you're here?" While Josef had been rambling on, Mick had ensured Beth was 'decent', growling in annoyance and muttering about the manners of 400 year old vampires to which Beth had barely managed to stifle a laugh, though Mick could easily see she was annoyed as well. They now sat together in the corner of the couch. "I think I was pretty clear about the fact that Beth and I were going to have a relaxing night. ALONE."
Josef tossed a grin in Mick's direction as he continued to the kitchen and his friends' hidden fridge. "Of course you were, Mick. That's why I had to come over. Beth is entirely too good a person to be subjected to your boring excuse for entertainment." He grabbed the remote that happened to be on the counter and switched off the music, then moved the glasses and vases aside to get out the bottle of 'blood' – or at least what passed for blood at Mick's place. Getting a champagne flute from a nearby cupboard, he started to pour himself a drink. "Jazz? Seriously? You know that stuff wasn't even good when it was popular. Really, my friend, I thought you would have developed some taste by now."
"Josef!"
"What?" Satisfied with his drink, he replaced the bottle in the fridge and closed it, moving the glass items back to their places. He carried the glass over to the comfortable chair across from the couple and set his feet up on the table, taking a sip – and making a face – before continuing. "Telling me you're going to have a nice quiet night in with the lovely Miss Turner," he smiled at her, "and implying I'm not invited," now he gave a slight pout, "is like showing me a big red button and telling me not to push it. It's not going to happen, boy-o."
Mick rolled his eyes and sighed. It really was his own fault for confiding in his BEST friend, how excited he was for a whole night alone with Beth.
"Of course," Josef continued, "if you WOULD invite me along sometime, I'm sure I could teach you both a few things, spice up the bedroom a bit, hmm?" He waggled his eyebrows with that mischievous smirk.
"No!" Mick and Beth both yelled in unison.
Josef pouted even more, albeit through a smile. "Party poopers."
Just then, Beth's phone vibrated once more. With a loud sigh, she dealt with it again – checking the caller ID and then sending it to voicemail. As she did so, Mick glared at Josef. "Our bedroom is spicy enough." His brow furrowed at his own words and even Beth raised an eyebrow at him as she settled back against him. Growling under his breath, he again addressed Josef, repeating his earlier question. "Why are you here?"
Josef finally came, well, mostly clean. "I was in the neighbourhood? No, really, I was at some benefit at the mouse place and—"
Mick raised an eyebrow. "You mean the Disney Concert Hall?"
Josef waved a hand dismissively. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Anything named after an aging cartoon mouse, or any of its relatives, should not expect to be taken seriously… Mickey."
'Mickey's' eyebrow travelled higher and he pointed to the door. "Out."
"Aw, but we were just starting to have fun!"
"Out." Of course Mick wasn't upset with Josef… well, not completely. This was just the way his friend was – completely obnoxious. Normally Mick wouldn't have it any other way. Josef had been the only person to stick by him through everything, to at least try and understand him, even if he didn't agree with him. But tonight, he just wasn't interested in Josef's choice of 'entertainment'.
Josef made a show of being put out – letting out a long sigh, setting his glass on the table… for Mick to clean up, naturally – and stood, smoothing his tux jacket and fixing his bow tie as he did so. "I should leave anyway – I'm not hungry enough to settle for this vegan blood." He made his way to the door, opening it before turning back to the couple. "Later… Mickey. Have a good night, Daisy." He walked out into the hall, but against turned back to them before closing door. "And before you say anything, you're not nearly annoying enough to be Minnie and you're much too good for him. You belong with Donald." With a wink and yet another smirk, he was finally gone, leaving Mick and Beth to wonder just how many times Josef had watched Disney Cartoons.
VvvV
Josef had barely left when Beth's phone demanded her attention a third time. Frustrated, she'd picked it up and that time had finally decided to switch it off completely – which was what she SHOULD have done at the start of their night. This time, though, she saw that this time it was actually Maureen. She sighed again – in that last hour or so, it had seemed to become a habit. She looked at Mick apologetically and all he did was smile, kiss her quickly and nod, completely understanding. Completely… Mick. She smiled back at him and mouth an "I love you" as she stood and walked away from the couch to take the call. Even as she did so, she'd been able to feel him watching her as he lounged there waiting for her return. Even before Maureen started to talk, however, Beth knew she wouldn't be able to tonight, at least not until much later. She knew Mick had to know that as well. Sometimes she wished they could both quit their jobs to spend every moment together. But they couldn't. Not yet. They both loved their jobs too much; it was too much a part of who they were. She wondered if Mick had ever had those same thoughts…
That phone call had been two hours ago. Maureen had reamed her out for not returned people's calls; softening only slightly when she found out WHY Beth was 'hiding'… and a bit more when Beth pointed out that at least she answered HER call. Finally the order was given: come to the office; something 'juicy' was coming down the pipe-line.
'Juicy' happened to be waiting at Buzzwire for almost an hour before her sometimes-photographer-partner finally decided to show – the one, mind you, that had something so juicy, she'd called Beth twice before having Maureen track her down.
"Finally," she muttered under her breath as she started to walk toward the tardy brunette. "There you are, Morgan. What's the emergency? Maureen wouldn't tell me on the phone."
"Oh Beth, you're gonna love this!" Beth raised an eyebrow. Whenever anyone started a story pitch like that, she was usually sure to NOT love it. "It's got sex… scandal… what more could a girl want?"
"Oh, I don't know… crime, corruption and murder? C'mon Morgan, just tell me and let's get going. I… was in the middle of something."
Morgan started to lead her out of the office and toward her own car. It wasn't until they were in the car and pulling away from the building that Beth finally got her answer – through the fact that the answer didn't come until she had no way to escape it was another pretty big blue that she wasn't going to like this assignment.
When the answer came, Morgan was practically 'squeeing' with excitement. "So it turns out we've got another kink in the Brangelina story…" Beth groaned and leaned back in the passenger seat, wondering if she clicked her heels together three times she could wish herself back to her apartment… and Mick's arms. Wait, she didn't have ruby slippers… damn, she really needed a better paying job. "Yeah," Morgan continued. "It turns out Angelina and Jennifer have someone new in their lives – each other! Our task is to find out what Brad thinks about Angie's cheating ways. Of course, my money's on him orchestrating it. Threesomes are always hot, don't you think?"
Beth was quiet for several moments, though Morgan seemed to show no signs of really caring if Beth was interested in the story or not. "This is the story? THIS was so important that Maureen had to pull me away from my quiet night with my boyfriend? I'm a crime reporter, not a gossip columnist! Why could you have done this on your own, Morgan? Or with a report who actually LIKES these kinds of stories?"
"C'mon Beth, you're the best reporter Buzzwire has!" She spared a glance and a smile to Beth before concentrating on the road again. Beth did not give the same courtesy to the woman next to her. The compliments were nice, but they didn't really explain anything. Obviously Beth's silence was telling because Morgan continued. "Okay, okay, fine. The truth is, we haven't worked together for a while and I thought it was time we had some girl time together. You know, catch up?"
Beth again raised an eyebrow. "And you thought a fluff piece – worse than a fluff piece actually – was the way to go about it? We couldn't have just gone for coffee or something?"
Morgan shrugged. "Okay, so maybe it wasn't the best choice, but at least we get paid for this… and what's better than stalking Brad Pitt?"
Finally, she got a laugh from Beth and the blond looked over with a smile. "You know, a year or two ago I would have agreed with you, but Mick is SO much better than Brad Pitt. I'd rather stalk him." Of course, she left out the part about Mick essentially stalking HER since she was four. The other woman's smile changed slightly at Beth's girlish comment; unreadable.
Morgan pulled the car over to the side of the road. Dozens of other cars and vans and even more reporters and cameramen lined the street in front of the gated estate. Beth wrinkled her nose at the thought of joining the group – some of which she knew to be the worst of LA's paparazzi; another sigh as she pulled out her bag and stepped out of the car.
Morgan grabbed her gear out of the back seat and rounded the car to meet Beth on the other side. "Speaking of which, tell me all about Mick." She grinned, wide-eyed, as if thirsty for gossip. "Are you guys still going hot and heavy?"
Beth normally couldn't shut up about Mick, but tonight she didn't want to talk about him, she just wanted to get this damn story done so she could get BACK to him. She was about to reply to Morgan, however – though she wasn't' sure if it was 'dish', or to tell her to mind her own damn business. When they met up with the rest of the press, however, she could see they all looked pretty bored – not nearly as excited for such a 'huge' scoop as Morgan had been. "What's going on?"
One of the reporters recognized her and called her over. "Hey Beth, they've set up camp inside. We're waiting to catch sight of them." The reporter lowered his voice to a whisper. "Frankly, I don't think they're in there. I saw a car pull away from the back about half an hour ago. But 'sources' say they're in there and will come out to make a statement soon." He rolled his eyes. "And you know how the boss is." Beth nodded. She knew his boss; he was just like Maureen: if there was even a chance of getting the story, they had to stay on scene.
With a groan, Beth closed her eyes and leaned against the fence, settling in for the inevitable all-nighter.
Morgan smiled.