Promises made
Beth stood unmoving in front of the door, her hand frozen on the doorknob. She took a breath trying to summon up the courage to open the door; the last remaining obstacle between she and her mother. Mick stood strong behind her. He could feel the struggle that was going on inside her. It radiated off of her like some kind of heat. Heat that he didn't need to be a vampire to feel. He knew that to open the door would be the beginning of the end for her.
Mick brought his arm around Beth, lifting his hand to the doorknob where hers rested. He leaned in closer so that there was barely any space between them, Beth's back pressed against his chest.
"I'm right here, Beth." he whispered softly.
He pressed down on the door handle carefully; Beth's hand still beneath his. The door clicked as it opened. and the pair made their way inside.
The dimly lit hospital room was quiet except for the sounds of the TV, the occasional beep of a nearby heart monitor and the scratching of pen against paper. A woman in her sixties; her hair pulled back in a serious bun at the nape of her neck; sat in a chair by the hospital bed where Helen Turner lay.
The woman- Beth's Aunt Liz looked up from her crossword puzzle and rose from the chair she was sitting in. She smiled warmly as she approached Beth and Beth's friend whom she did not recognize.
"Bethy, you're here." Elizabeth greeted hugging her niece.
Beth managed to smile as her aunt hugged her squeezing her tightly and then releasing her. She turned to Mick who was standing beside her.
"Aunt Liz, this is my... this is Mick." Beth replied unsure of how to introduce Mick. She wasn't even sure herself what he was to her. In the past few months he'd gone from her vampire guardian to vampire turned mortal, to so much more.
Elizabeth turned to Mick. "Why hello Mick. Thank you for being here." She then reached for Beth's hand giving it a gentle squeeze. "Both of you. Thank you for coming. "
Beth nodded and put on a brave face. "How is she?"
"Helen's sleeping. The doctors have been in and out of this room all day! They don't say much, which of course you know means, it's not good. Always with their whispering. They think I don't know, but I know. I've seen ER. They think I'm stupid. Do you think I'm stupid?" Elizabeth asked the two.
Mick remained silent. He was confused by how someone who had appeared to be so together could be so not-together. Crisis caused people to fall apart. He'd seen it before. But somehow this woman's nervous, chatty, flighty disposition didn't seem to be caused by the fact that her sister was dying.
"Do you know I have been sitting in that chair all day? My neck is killing me from staring up at the TV. I was watching my stories, told Helen all about what was going on, but the poor thing.. she's just so tired. She conked right out. And I have needed to use the ladies room for over an hour now. I haven't had a bite since breakfast but that's okay, because I want to be here for my sister. " Elizabeth told them cheerily.
Beth smiled. She'd explain Aunt Liz to Mick later.
"I'm just so glad that you're here Bethy." Liz gushed.
Before Liz could say another word Mick spoke interrupting the conversation Beth's aunt was having with herself.
"Beth and I are here now. So why don't you take a break? Maybe get something to eat, use the bathroom go for a walk?" Mick suggested.
Liz's face brightened. "Oh that would be wonderful!" she exclaimed reaching for Mick's hand. "You're such a dear. Such a good friend to our Bethy!" She took Mick's hand between hers and patted it softly. "I think I'll go get something to eat, maybe take a trip to the ladies room, get some air. This room gets rather confining."
Mick nodded and Beth smiled at Liz as she left the room without another word. Beth lowered herself in the chair beside her mother's bed and sighed softly.
"Oh thank the Lord, I thought she'd never leave!" Helen Turner who was only pretending to be asleep, cried from the bed.
Beth turned towards her mother. "Mom!"
"Bethany Grace Turner what are you doing here?" Helen asked sounding slightly irritated.
"What do you think I'm doing here Mom?!" Beth questioned. "Aunt Liz called me."
"She shouldn't have done that. I asked her not to do that. " Helen stated.
"Well I'm glad she did, coz' at least somebody wants me here." Beth replied obvious hurt in her voice.
Mick looked away from the two bickering women the room suddenly feeling small.
"It's not that I don't want you here, Beth. " Helen sighed heavily. "Okay no, I don't want you here. I don't think that you need to see me like this. I don't want you to remember me like this."
Beth tried to keep her composure. "Well, then you should be glad I showed up or Aunt Liz would have never left the room and you would be stuck listening to her go on and on and on about Donovan and Raquel's affair." She gave her mother a knowing smile trying to relax a little.
"That's true. So I guess I should be thanking you for rescuing me." She looked at Beth and then Mick. "Don't get me wrong, I love my sister dearly, but the way she goes on and on about her 'stories' I thought I'd have to listen to them literally, until I died." Helen turned her full attention to the tall dark and handsome man in her room. "Who's the good looking guy? You brought me a gift? How thoughtful!" She smiled at her daughter. "Everyone else brought me flowers but flowers are so overrated. "
Mick smiled at Helen. Maybe she didn't remember him after all.
"Mrs. Turner, I'm Mick. It's very nice to meet you. " he introduced himself.
Helen made a face. "Oh Mick, please call me Helen. I've never been a missus and hearing it makes me feel old." she explained.
Mick laughed softly. "Helen then; and I assure you, you are not old."
"Smart and cute! He's definitely a keeper Bethy!" Helen told her daughter.
Beth grinned at Mick and Helen's natural exchange.
"It's easy to see where Beth gets her beauty from." Mick said with a grin.
Beth stifled a giggle. Mick could be so old fashioned when he wanted to be.
"Why Mick, are you flirting with me?" Helen asked bringing her hand to her chest dramatically. "Here I am on my death bed and I've still got it!"
Helen's words struck Beth hard. "Mom, don't say that." she replied tears forming in her eyes.
"Why not? It's the truth honey. We all die eventually, and the good Lord has decided that my time is up."
Beth began to cry. "It can't be Mom. What am I supposed to do without you? I'm scared. I can't lose you." She told her mother her voice sounding small and scared.
Mick stood beside the chair Beth was sitting in- a silent observer. Even if he wanted to say something, he couldn't. Beth needed this time with her mother.
Helen sat up against her pillows and reached for her daughter's hand.
"I'm not scared and you shouldn't be either. You're going to be fine. You are strong. You're a Turner." She squeezed her daughter's hand gently. "Lose me? Sweetie, you're never going to lose me. You are going to go on and do so many wonderful things... whether it be a new job, getting married, having your babies. I'll be right there Bethy, just as proud of you as I always have been."
"I'm so so-rry that I haven't been here Mom. I sho-uld have visited more. " Beth sobbed softly.
Helen wrapped an arm around her daughter's shoulders carefully. "Beth, you have a life. You left Riverside so that you could go out and do things- see the world. You are supposed to laugh and smile and live.. and love." She glanced at Mick quickly. "You don't have anything to be sorry for. You have been the joy of my life. I love you. You are the best thing that ever happened to me, Beth."
Beth smiled through her tears. "I love you Mom."
Helen motioned for Beth to lean in closer and brought her arms around her daughter in a warm hug.
"I love you too Bethany." she told her daughter trying to suppress a groan of pain.
Beth quickly and carefully released her mother from her hug. She noticed the pained expression on her face. "Mom? Are you alright? Do you need me to get someone?" she began to rise from the chair she was sitting in but her mother's hand on her arm stopped her.
"Beth honey, no. I'm fine. I just need to get some sleep." Helen insisted. "Real sleep. Listening to your aunt's chatter all day long really is exhausting. And I know you have better things to do like work perhaps. I heard all about that report you did on that oil tycoon that off-ed his wife, Frederick something or other." Helen tried.
"Frederick Jacobson. You saw that?" Beth asked making a face. She was surprised that her mother would get on the computer (something she hated) long enough to watch one of her broadcasts.
"Don't act so surprised Bethany. I might hate technology, but I love your broadcasts. I always watch. Well, I haven't watched much since being admitted here..."
"That's alright Mom. You haven't really missed much." Beth admitted rising from the chair. "Mick and I should probably get going, so that you can get some rest. We'll be back tomorrow to visit." she assured her.
Helen smiled at her daughter and reached for her hand again. "Love you sweetie."
Beth smiled and leaned over her mother 's bed to give her a kiss on the cheek. "We'll see you soon, Mom. Love you."
Helen closed her eyes and sighed softly, her daughter's kiss warming her cheek. She leaned back against her pillows and opened her eyes again, watching as Mick and Beth made their way towards the door.
Mick smiled at the exhausted looking woman in the hospital bed as he and Beth began to leave the room. He was eternally grateful that she had not recognized him.
"Where does he think he's going? I thought he was my gift." Helen said with a soft chuckle. "Isn't he supposed to sit on the windowsill over there with the rest of my flowers?" she asked stopping the pair from leaving the room.
Beth shook her head and giggled thinking that the doctors must have had her mother on some pretty high doses of medication. She grabbed Mick by the hand lacing her fingers through his as they continued walking to the door.
"On second thought Mick, why don't you come sit beside me for a minute. Make an old woman look good. Give the nurses and Liz something new to gossip about. " Helen suggested looking directly at Mick.
Mick's human heart rose in his throat. Beth looked at him anxiously her eyes confirming what he had already feared. Helen was on to them. He had been caught.
The two froze where they stood but continued holding each other's hands.
"Beth." Helen said softly.
Beth turned around and looked at her mother her eyes uneasy.
"I'd like a word with Mick if you don't mind." Helen explained.
Beth paled and turned back to Mick who was beginning to look equally pale to her. Mick exchanged a quick glance with her and swallowed hard.
"Beth, why don't you go get us some coffee?" Mick suggested. "I'll be there in a minute." He told her trying hard not to sound nervous. Why was he so nervous? She was just a fragile, sick old woman. What harm could she cause him? He was pretty sure he could outrun her if necessary.
Beth hesitated biting her lower lip.
"Go on Bethy. You know I don't bite." her mother reminded her.
Beth sucked in a breath. She choked on her own spit coughing hard. Mick gave her a small confident smile and squeezed her hand reassuring her that everything would be alright. Beth nodded, smiled at her mother and walked out of the room closing the door with a soft click.
Helen's eyes were fixed on the door for a moment. When she realized it was closed and they were alone she turned to Mick a smirk on her face.
"So... Mick St. John. You've finally stepped out of the shadows. After all these years, sure took you long enough."
Mick walked further into the room watching Helen's expressions closely. He sat down in the chair beside her bed. 'So much for stealth and secrets.' He thought to himself. He gave her his trademark grin, the one that almost always got him out of trouble with the ladies.
"Well, you know how Beth is. She's pretty persuasive." Mick responded.
"So in other words, she dragged you out?" Helen said with a laugh.
Mick sighed and leaned back in the chair. "Yeah well... Beth usually gets what she wants."
Helen smiled. "You'll get used to it."
"Funny. She told me the same thing." Mick stated remembering one of he and Beth's first conversations.
Helen sat upright and looked at Mick. "I guess I don't need to ask what you're doing here... The last time I heard from you, St. John, was when I got that anonymous phone call saying that my seventeen year old daughter had been partying a little too hard out at Perris Beach."
Mick groaned softly. How could he have been so careless.
"I saw you that night, just as I have seen you many nights before; since you brought Beth home to me. Always watching over her protectively, and looking exactly the same as you do now." Helen kindly pointed out.
"It couldn't have been me. I didn't even know Beth then." Mick lied. He had plenty of experience with liars. He tracked them down on a daily basis.
"So, I figure you either have a really amazing plastic surgeon or you're a vampire." Helen stated boldly.
'A vampire?' Mick's mind screamed. 'How the hell could she possibly know that?'
"Pft. Vampire? Vampires don't exist. There's no such thing as vampires" Mick insisted.
Helen rolled her eyes at the man's feeble attempts. "Then why am I sitting here talking to one? Mick, you are a horrible liar. You can definitely kiss any idea of an acting career goodbye."
Mick sighed heavily. There was no use denying it. Although technically he wasn't lying. He wasn't a vampire. Not at the present moment.
"How?" he dared to ask.
"How I know, is a long story and frankly I don't have the time...It's not that important anyway."
Mick made a face. How was it not important? All this time she knew what he was? Knew that he was around Beth- practically stalking her? How much medication were they giving this woman?
"You seem surprised. I'm not afraid of you. Not anymore afraid of you, than you should be of me." Helen chuckled softly.
There were very few things that Mick feared and at the moment Beth's mother was definitely one of them. There was something very intimidating about a woman who was sure of herself.
"Beth knows who I am.. what I am." Mick admitted ashamed.
"I am not the least bit surprised. Nothing ever stays a secret with Beth around. You should try surprising her at Christmas. Not that she can't keep a secret. She just has a tendency to uncover them." Helen looked at Mick seriously. "Besides, secrets have no place in a relationship. No matter how bad they are. I learned that the hard way."
Mick looked at Helen. "I'm finally beginning to realize that. Is this where you tell me you want me to stay away from Beth so she can have a normal life? I'd never hurt her Helen I lo-... care alot about her."
Helen smiled. "You love her. But you haven't told her yet, so I can't expect you to admit it to me either. And no., I'm not going to tell you to stay away from her, just the opposite actually."
Mick was confused. She knew he was a vampire and she was okay with it?
"I want you to continue doing exactly what you have done since you rescued her. I want you to watch over her, protect her, love her. I want you to be her world Mick. And someday when she's ready... I want you to make her a part of yours.. You have my permission."
Mick was outraged! How could she expect him to do that to Beth.. to anyone?
"Helen I can-'t . There's no way! I couldn't d-..."
"Mick." Helen interrupted. "I don't want Beth to know the pain of death. I don't want her to know the suffering that I'm going through right now. I don't want her to be alone. Beth is very good at putting on the whole 'tough -girl I don't need anyone' act. But, we both know she needs someone. She needs you Mick."
Mick sat in the chair overwhelmed by Helen's request.
"Helen. No. This is not the life you want for your daughter. My life is not something any parent should want for their child."
"I want my daughter to be happy Mick. I want her to be loved. I want her to be safe. And you are just the man to give her those things. Are you really going to deny a dying woman her last request?" Helen questioned.
"I am not a man. I'm a monster. I drink blood.. I sleep in a freezer.." Mick argued.
"A freezer? I always wondered about the whole coffin thing. Just in the movies huh? Well that's disappointing ."
"I don't think you understand.." Mick tried.
Helen shot him a look. "I might not know all the details Mick, but I'll tell you what I do know. I know that you are the one who rescued my baby girl and brought her back to me safely, all those years ago. The only one who cared enough to find her. You're the one who has always been there watching over her and you are the one that she has deemed worthy enough to give her whole heart to. That's not my idea of a monster, and you know how particular Beth is. Apparently it's not hers either. I can tell just by the way she looks at you."
"You can't want this kind of life for her. It's a curse she doesn't deserve!" Mick replied trying his best to reason with her.
Helen glared at him slightly annoyed. Mick had seen that look before. Beth and her mother were proving to be more alike than he imagined.
"I don't think you know me well enough Mr. St John, to tell me what I want. I know what I want and can be rather convincing. Where do you think Beth gets it from?" Helen retorted. "What it comes down to is love. You two love each other. You'd have to be deaf, blind and dumb not to see it. But someday Mick, you are going to make a decision. Are you going to watch Beth grow old and die? Are you going to be strong enough to walk away? I think we both know the answer to that Mick."
Mick ran hand through his hair. She was right.
"You're right. I love her. I didn't know I was capable of loving someone as much as I love her. Since I was turned, I haven't thought that I was worthy of love, especially Beth's. But she has this way of making me see myself through her eyes and it makes me feel like I could be worthy." Mick smiled at the thought of Beth. "You're right Helen. I'd never be able to let her go. I'll never be able to just stand by and watch her die- watch her suffer, when I know there's something I could do to prevent it." Hot tears formed at the corners of his eyes threatening to spill. "It's selfish of me to want to keep her with me, but I could never turn her.. unless I was sure that it was truly something she wanted too."
Helen saw the emotions building up behind his eyes. If he loved her so much why was he making excuses? Wouldn't he want to spend eternity with someone he loved?
"You seem to be looking for a loophole in my request Mick. Are you counting on her saying no? How do you know it's not something she's already thought about?"
Mick took a deep breath. It was true Beth had been around vampires. She knew what being a vampire basically entailed but she knew very little about the reality of it. Was it something she wanted to be a part of? They hadn't really discussed it.
"What if something should happen to her before you have the opportunity to ask?" Helen questioned. "Promise me Mick. Promise me you'll do it. Promise me that you will be the one man who can tell my daughter you'll love her forever and truly mean it."
It was Helen's turn to get emotional. She had been able to hold herself together until now. She blinked slowly her tears wetting her eyes and turned her head away from Mick for a minute to compose herself.
"I promise to do what's best for her, Helen." Mick answered knowing how difficult it would be to not only drain Beth but ultimately kill her.
Helen groaned and glared at him. "If I had the strength right now, I'd throw something at you! I know what I am asking of you Mick. I know it's a lot and I assure you I am not hopped up on medication and my mind is still my own, despite what you think. I've put a lot of thought into this request, Mick. I even wrote you a letter. Liz has instructions to send it with my passing. You can't argue your way out of this. This is what I want. I need you to agree Mick. I need you to promise me. I need peace of mind that my daughter is going to be taken care of. I can't leave this world until I get it. So I'm asking you again Mick. Please promise me that you will take care of my daughter."
Mick closed his eyes. He was out of excuses and there was just no reasoning with this woman. He had no choice but to agree even if he thought he'd never be able to do what she asked of him.
"I promise." Mick acceded. "I promise to take care of Beth."
Helen sighed and smiled. "Finally! I thought for sure I was going to have to douse you with Holy Water or something until you agreed."
Mick made a face. "Oh. No. Anything. But. That." he replied sarcastically.
Helen made a face at Mick obviously disappointed. "Holy Water too? Is anything in the movies accurate?" she smiled at him feeling like a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
Mick grinned. "I'll tell you all about it, tomorrow."
Helen's face fell her tone grew serious. "Mick, we both know I'm not going to be here tomorrow." Tears fell down her cheeks her emotions betraying her.
"You don't know that." Mick answered even though he was well aware that this woman knew her death was approaching quickly.
"No Mick, I do know that. I know that today is the last time I am every going to hold my daughter in my arms and it kills me more than this stupid Cancer is!" Helen cried.
Mick looked at the woman. The disease had done a number on her body he could tell by how frail she appeared. For the first time he realized her head was covered with a bandana, hiding her hair loss from the world. Her eyes were red from crying, rimmed with dark circles. She looked worn, tired, beaten. What could he possibly say to her?
"Helen I..." Mick tried to find the right words. "I'm sorry. I know sorry doesn't even begin to cover it..."
Helen took a deep breath and wiped her face. "Don't Mick, just don't. Go, Beth is probably out in the hallway waiting for you."
Mick hesitated. He couldn't leave her like this, But there was nothing he could do or say that was going to make this better for her.
"Mick, please, go." Helen insisted motioning with little strength towards the door.
Mick nodded and rose from the chair. He turned and began walking out of the room.
"Mick." Helen said her voice filling the room.
Mick turned back towards the woman in the hospital bed and looked at her. He would never allow Beth to suffer the way Helen was right now.
"Take care of each other and please don't forget what I said." Helen reminded him.
Mick could do nothing but nod. There was nothing left to say. There was no way he could ever forget what Helen said. He walked to the door opened it and left the room.
No. There was no way he'd ever forget their conversation.
