Loyal Until the End

Josef swallowed and cleared his throat again. It shouldn't be this difficult. But he'd been hiding this for a long time.

"I was there that night," Josef admitted.

"What?" Beth and Mick asked in unison.

"I had a suspicion she was back and…I wanted to see for myself. I didn't know what she'd done," Josef continued. Mick couldn't believe what he was hearing. Josef had been at the hotel that night.

"You're telling me you helped her?" Mick demanded. Josef could only nod his head. For a vampire with considerable power and prestige, he could be a real wuss sometimes.

"Josef, why…what possessed you to help her?" he yelled. Beth took a step back. She wasn't used to seeing Mick react that way. Apparently Josef wasn't expecting quite this reaction either.

"She was a friend, Mick," Josef replied, his voice steady.

"You knew what she was and you still helped her escape," the younger vampire spat. He turned his back on Josef. This couldn't be happening. Josef couldn't have saved her life and kept it a secret. Friends didn't keep secrets like that from each other.

"I thought maybe saving her would give her a second chance…to move on," Josef finally said. Mick just glared at Josef. Beth let out a breath, having watched the argument. She didn't want to get in the middle but she didn't want to see it escalate any further. She'd already witnessed what happened when two vampires went at it.

"Mick," she said softly, trying to place a gentle hand on his arm. He looked at her and she couldn't help but let a small gasp escape her lips. He had changed and it scared her.

"I think…we should go," she stated, pulling her hand away. Maybe if they just got away from Josef, Mick would be able to calm down and think a little more clearly. Then again, it seemed he didn't think too clearly when Coraline was involved. Mick couldn't speak. He didn't know what he felt right now. He wanted to be angry at Josef. He had ever right to be furious with Josef. But he also knew that those children needed to be rescued.

Beth stood back as she watched Mick calm down a little. He still didn't say anything as they walked out the door. Beth sent a fleeting glance back at Josef. She felt a little guilty leaving him there. But he'd betrayed Mick…and her. Maybe she hadn't been as safe as either she or Mick had thought the last twenty two years.

"Mick…are you ok?" Beth asked as they climbed into his car. At first Mick didn't respond and that worried Beth. She didn't know what he would do.

"He saved her…after all he knew I'd been through with her," Mick ranted as he just barely paused at a stop sign.

"You can stop her…for good Mick. But we need to have a plan," Beth murmured.

"I want to help," she added.

"Help me get the kids out….and thee call the police," Mick said, his voice stiff and cold. Beth merely nodded her head. She didn't like this Mick very much. They drove on in silence until they reached the property. The house was mostly dark and it looked quiet enough. Mick listened as carefully as he could. He could discern four erratic heartbeats within the house.

"They're here," he said as they stepped from the car.

"How are we supposed to get them out of here without her noticing?" Beth hissed as they inched closer to the front of the house.

"You focus on getting them out. Let me worry about Coraline," he said. He pulled the front door open and crossed the threshold. He had no doubt Coraline knew he was here. He listened for the heartbeats and turned left. They slowly navigated through the dining room and kitchen.

"Down there," he whispered, pointing to the door in front of them.

"You've got to be kidding me," Beth groaned. Mick pulled the door open and slowly headed down the stairs. When he reached the bottom he couldn't help but feel a sense of déjà vu wash over him. It felt so familiar. Beth gripped his shirt, feeling the same feeling, looking at the dark surroundings. The children had heard their footsteps on the stairs and crowded together. Beth saw them and her heart broke. She knew how scared they must be. She pushed past Mick and bent down in front of them.

"It's ok. You're going to be ok. We're going to get you out of here," she said, extending her hand to Michael.

"I want to go home," he whimpered. She picked him up and held him close. A little girl clutched Beth's free hand and she let them up the stairs. As they reached the top of the stairs, Beth felt a strange feeling, the small hairs on the back of her neck prickling.

"Come on," she said and led the kids out the front door and back to Mick's car.

"Is the lady coming back?" the little girl asked.

"No. You're safe. I promise," Beth answered and pulled out her cell phone. Just as she was about to dial 9-1-1, she saw a blur whiz past her. None of the kids had seemed to notice it. She hesitated. Maybe she should wait until Mick came out to call the police.

Back in the house Mick was looking around, silently daring her to show herself. He knew she was there. He could feel her presence, just like he could that night years ago.

"I know you're here," he called out. From behind the staircase a figure emerged, dressed in a soft light green dress. Coraline gave Mick a small smile.

"I knew you'd find me," she said.

"You put those kids' lives in danger, Coraline," Mick said.

"They were safe," Coraline answered.

"You haven't changed," he shot, looking away from her.

"Mick…we can still be together," she whispered, reaching a hand up to turn his face back to look at her.

"No, Coraline. We can't. You should have died that night," Mick replied.

"And I'm not going to make the same mistake again," he said, pushing her away from him. Neither of them noticed the footsteps on the stairs until a voice spoke.

"Neither am I," Josef said, causing both vampires to look up. He held a canister in his left hand. He descended the last few steps and walked right up to Coraline.

"I made a mistake that night, saving you," he said softly as he began to empty the canister's contents onto her.

"What are you doing?" she coughed.

"Making sure you don't survive this time," Josef replied, stepping back. He looked at Mick. Mick was still trying to process what had just happened. Had Josef really just poured gasoline all over her? Was he now giving Mick the 'ok' to light her on fire? Mick swallowed but pulled the lighter from his pocket. It wasn't much of a flame but it would do. He tipped it forward and it sparked on her dress. He watched her face as the flames rapidly consumed her garment. She fell the floor, her mouth open but no sound passing through her vocal chords.

"Come on," Josef yelled, dragging Mick up the stairs and out of the house. Just as they reached the car, smoke began to billow from the downstairs windows.

"Did you call the police?" Mick asked. Beth nodded.

"Is the bad lady gone?" Michael asked. Mick looked down and couldn't help but give the boy a smile.

"Yes Michael. She's gone and she isn't coming back," Mick answered, shifting his glance to Beth. She gave him a warm smile.

Shortly several police cars arrived and began to load the kids into cars. Mick knew he'd be talking to Michael's parents in the morning. Right now, he had other things to worry about. He went and stood by Beth after they'd both given brief statements to Carl.

"So she's really gone this time," Beth sighed.

"Yeah…When they put the fire out, I'll go back and make sure there are remains, just so I know," Mick answered. Beth glanced over her shoulder to see Josef standing there, watching the house burn.

"You going to forgive him?" she asked. Mick let out a breath.

"He shouldn't have done what he did…but he came through in the end," Mick sighed. Beth took that as her cue to leave . She gave Josef a small nod as she passed him and he took Beth's spot next to Mick.

"I should have told you a long time ago," Josef muttered.

'Yeah…you should have…but you made up for it tonight. Thank you," Mick said. He and Josef shook hands. The last few weeks had been trying for them all. Beth and Mick had relieved their first meeting and Josef had managed to redeem himself. It is the small things that remind you why you work so hard at being a good person, the small things like the innocence of a child.