Chapter 6

"Catherine!" Catherine hears Vincent call her name as he enters her apartment. He sounds…..Happy?

"Catherine!" He sweeps her up and hugs her tight, dancing around the living room. "It was incredible, they weren't mad at me, they love me, they were happy to see me!" Vincent is so excited all his words run together.

Catherine laughs. "Vincent, put me down."

Vincent sits down on the couch with Catherine in his lap. "They weren't mad….." He says incredulous. "They understood, even Aaron understood why I didn't tell him when I saw him. Grace said she trusted me and knew me, and believed that when I said I couldn't let them know I was alive, that I must have had a good reason."

Catherine places her hands on either side of Vincent's face. "Why does that surprise you so much? You are a good person and you always have been. Putting other people first is who you are Vincent, that isn't new; you obviously have always been that way. Of course the people that love you would trust you."

Vincent looks into Catherine's eyes, he can so easily lose himself in them, but in a way he has found himself too. Without her he would still be hiding in a dusty warehouse with JT and stalking around the city at night. He brushes her hair behind her ear. "Thank You" he says softly and places a tender kiss on her lips.

"For what?" she speaks softly, lost in Vincent's intense stare.

"For giving me my life back, without you I would still be hiding in the shadows, you brought me out into the light, brought me back to my family."

"Oh Vincent" Catherine sighs and pulls him to her, kissing him.

The kiss starts out soft and gentle. Vincent's hand comes up to catch the back of Catherine's head. He adjusts the angle so he can kiss her deeper. That is all it takes, for the spark that is forever lit between them to flare.

Breathless, Catherine pulls back. "It's late… have you eaten? You must be starving."

Vincent stands up with Catherine cradled in his arms. "You have no idea…." He lowers his head and continues kissing her as he heads for the bedroom.

Later on Catherine and Vincent are sitting up in bed, eating the snacks Vincent grabbed from the kitchen. "I want you to meet them. I want them to get to know the woman I am in love with." Vincent says to Catherine as he pops a strawberry into her mouth.

"Mmmm, I would love to get to know both Grace and Aaron." Catherine responds as she savors the strawberry. "But shouldn't it wait until we deal with Sealgairi'?" she takes a bite of another strawberry.

Vincent doesn't respond, he is mesmerized watching Catherine bite into the strawberry and stares as she licks some of the juice off the remaining piece.

"Vincent"

"Uh yeah….what?"

Catherine smiles, "A penny for your thoughts?"

Vincent grins as he leans towards her and licks some of the juice off her bottom lip. "No thoughts, none what so ever….Who can think with you around?"

Catherine squeals as Vincent leans over her causing her to lie back on the bed and squishing the snacks. "Vincent!"

"We will clean that up after…"

"I hate cleaning."

"Me too." He says as he kisses her senseless.

"Are you ready Vincent?" Tori asks him as they stand behind the doors. Doors that once they open will forever change his world.

Vincent looks over his shoulder to Catherine, who is standing next to JT. She smiles at him and he knows he is ready for anything.

Vincent looks at Tori, he is impressed with how far she has come, granted it is mostly due to Gabe's influence, but still she is a far cry from the spoiled brat she was when he first found her. "Let's do this."

Tori and Vincent open the door and Tori steps up to the podium.

"Many of you know that I was kidnapped a month or so ago and my Father, Curt Windsor, was killed. What you do not know is this man behind me saved my life. This man, who until just a few weeks ago did not know who he was, I am proud to tell the world he rescued me and I am proud to now call him my friend." Tori steps down from the podium as Vincent steps up.

"My name is Vincent Ryan Keller."

Catherine's heart is in her throat as Vincent says his name out loud to the world. JT squeezes her hand and she realizes he is just as affected in the moment as she is.

Reporters ask questions of Vincent and he calmly answers them all. He told them he does not remember how he got back to Canada after Afghanistan and that he had been practicing medicine there for the last 10 years.

"I hope the paper trail you left for Vincent is good JT."

"Don't worry, the NSA couldn't disprove Vincent's story, all he has to do is stay alive long enough to practice medicine again!"

Catherine squeezes JT's hand in acknowledgement.

Vincent also explained that getting shot while rescuing Tori caused some of his memories to come back and he has reconnected with several family members who had thought him dead.

"Can you imagine opening the door one day and having someone you thought was dead, just standing there?" JT whispers to Catherine while they watch Vincent.

Catherine, thinking of her Mother, replied "I wish for that everyday JT."

"Oh crap Catherine that was insensitive of me, sorry."

Catherine places her head against JT's arm, "No worries."

Vincent ends with a plea to respect the privacy of his family and the hope that he will be allowed to practice medicine in the U.S. as he plans on making NY his home again.

Vincent steps off the podium and Tori once again steps up to the microphone. "I want to thank you all for coming today and I want to thank Vincent Keller for saving my life and I know that you will all join me in wishing him Godspeed and Good Luck."

Catherine and JT look at each other conspiratorially and mutter "We are going to need it!"

"I think that went pretty well." Vincent says to the gang assembled back at JT and his place.

Tori is all smiles, "It went great, now that you're out there Vincent, you can live your life! We can hit up a couple charity events and get your picture in the paper, that can only help right?" Tori looks to Catherine for confirmation. "You can come too Cat, in fact, you all should come. There is one next week for JDRF, we could make a fun night out of it!"

"Sounds good to me!" JT says grinning sideways at Tess.

"Well, that sounds great, but first we have to survive till then. I think it's time to place that call." Vincent said grimly.

The cheery mood quickly turned somber as they all remembered that they still had to strike a deal with Sealgairi'to keep Vincent and Cat safe.

JT said, "So….. We are going to hang on to the beast skeleton as insurance and provide them with the collar as a peace offering? Is that still the plan?"

That is the plan JT" Catherine said. Turning to Gabe she asked. "Do you think it will work? Do you think this Sealgairi' will just let us be?"

Gabe thought for a moment. "It's a good place to start, the trick is going to be convincing them that Vincent is not dangerous and you are not a security risk. I have to believe that sometime over the last few hundred years they have dealt with a situation like this before."

"What kind of name is Sealgairi' anyway?" asks JT.

"It means Hunter in Gaelic." Vincent says ominously.

At everyone's dubious looks, Vincent shrugs, "JT is not the only one who knows how to look stuff up!"

Vincent and Catherine look at each other. Catherine walks up to Vincent and takes both of his hands in hers. "We can do this."

"You are taking a big risk because of me," he looks at Catherine, and then up at the others, "You all are…..I am not sure I can thank you enough."

This time it is Tess who places her hand on Vincent's shoulder. "You are worth it Vincent, so stop worrying about everyone else and let's get this done!"

Vincent nods his head in acknowledgment of Tess's words. "JT, hand me the phone….."

Vincent and Catherine are alone. Tess and JT have gone off together and Gabe is taking Tori back to the boathouse. Both Catherine and Vincent are aware that this could be the last night they spend together. If anything goes wrong tomorrow, either one of them could end up dead or captured.

"Come take a walk with me." Vincent says to Catherine holding out his hand.

Catherine takes his hand and they leave the Lair.

They walk along the streets of the city; they are each lost in their own thoughts of what the future might hold and what they both hope the future will hold.

Vincent stops when they get to a park. "I used to come here a lot to think before I met you. It was the one place I felt safe enough to be out in after dark, sometimes being cooped up in that warehouse was too much. I needed to feel the earth beneath my feet and fresh air in my lungs."

"After I met you my favorite place was the roof tops across from your building. Even when I couldn't see you, I could sense you and tell if you were ok or not."

"I thought my life was pretty good considering the circumstances. I was alive, I was safe and I had JT and I had you to check in on every once in awhile. But then you found me in that dusty warehouse and my life got a whole lot more complicated….and a whole lot better."

"I loved you and everything changed. It was messy and I was scared something was going to happen to you because of me, but I couldn't stay away from you. I couldn't imagine my life without you in it."

"Then I was taken and even after everything they did to me, you still found me and after everything I have done you saved me again. I love you Catherine and I always will, whatever happens tomorrow….I love you and I thank you for saving me."

Catherine closes her eyes to stop the tears that threatened to fall. God, but Vincent had a way with words.

"Vincent, before I met you I just existed, not really living….dead-end relationships, losing myself in my work and obsessing about my Mom. Worried that I might actually lose my mind wondering what had happened the night she was shot. I was so sure of what I saw that night, but no one believed me and after a while I started to think it was all in my head."

I was afraid to let anyone in, let anyone get close. I kept everyone at arms length. But you just came barreling in; you didn't give up on me either. You were patient and you saw right through me and you called me on it," she said smiling. "You trusted me, with your secret, with your life. You love me despite all my hang ups and you gave me something even better than that."

"What?" asked Vincent.

"You showed me that the most powerful thing in this world is to love someone. My love for you makes me strong and I feel like I can take on the world with you. That is the gift, Vincent; you make me feel strong, powerful and unbeatable all at the same time."

"This is not goodbye Vincent. We are going to win this Vincent, tomorrow we are going to take on Sealgairi' and we are going to win!"

Vincent looks at Catherine, there are so many things he wants to say to her, but the important stuff has been said. It was time to head home and talking was not on the agenda. He took her small, yet strong hand in his larger more powerful one and turned towards home.

Catherine walks up the stairs to his room, Vincent following close behind her. He loves to watch her walk up stairs, the sway of her hips and her ass moving side to side right in front of him has him hard already.

Catherine turns as she reaches his door and he is on her in that instant. He grabs her face in his hands and kisses her, he nibbles on her bottom lip and her mouth opens to him like a flower. She is his nectar and he kisses her until he is drunk with her passion. Catherine runs her hands up Vincent's arms squeezing the muscles as she runs her hands up the back of his neck. She holds him there while he ravages her mouth. She presses herself up against him, feeling the hard length of him against her. He reaches behind her to open the door and he picks her up, his mouth never leaving hers.

Vincent kicks the door shut behind him, he moves over to the bed and sits down with Catherine on his lap. She turns to face him. They are both still fully clothed and both are breathing heavy. Catherine takes her hands and cradles Vincent's face, tracing around his eyebrows, down along his cheek bones, until she comes to his mouth. She traces his lips with her fingers.

Vincent notices that Catherine lips part and her tongue darts out to lick her lips as she has her hands on his lips. He looks into her eyes, they are green pools and he wants to dive in them and never surface. Catherine is looking back into Vincent's hazel eyes. Normally they are kind eyes, but right now there is a storm brewing behind them. Vincent is getting more turned on by the second; he slides his hands around to cup her ass as he pulls her into him. Catherine locks her legs behind him as she lifts herself up ever so slightly so she can rub herself against him.

Vincent kisses Catherine's neck as she lets her head fall back. He nips and kisses his way from just underneath her ear to the spot in her neck where he can feel her blood pumping beneath his tongue. He suddenly understands the appeal of vampires. He can feel her life flowing beneath his tongue. His blood is pounding and he can feel the beast needing to rise in him. He lifts his head and breathes deeply. Catherine looks up and sees his golden eyes and gently places her hand along side his face. The golden eyes fade back to Vincent's natural hazel.

He gently undresses her, stopping to kiss her in between layers of clothing. In no time at all they are both naked, staring at each other. Vincent takes his hand and holds Catherine's face in his palms and brings her forward for his kiss. Catherine wraps her hands around his neck and presses herself up against him. Breasts pushed into his hard chest, her stomach against his evident desire for her. Vincent moans as his hand run down her back to caress her bottom. Catherine runs her tongue and kisses her way down Vincent's neck stopping at the little dip at the edge of his shoulder. Her hands grasp his shoulders as he lifts her up. She wraps her legs around his waist and he impales himself immediately.

Vincent knows he is moving fast, but the need to be inside her, to be consumed by her had to be satisfied, now that he is here, he can take his time. He sits down on the bed, still inside her and she locks her legs around his waist. He buries his face in her neck, sheltered by her hair. He breathes deeply of her scent, the scent that has saved him and haunted him all this time. Catherine is slowly rocking against him and he places his arms around her waist to keep her there. Catherine lays her head on his shoulder. "I love you Vincent" she says still locked in his embrace with him inside her. Vincent's hand moves up Catherine's back to her neck, the other one still around her waist. He pulls slightly so she looks up at him. "Catherine, you are my world, I love you and I never want to be without you again." With that he kisses her and they are done talking, their bodies saying everything that needs to be said.

Catherine and Vincent are standing out in Times Square. JT, Tess, Gabe and Tori are staked out around the square keeping watch over their friends.

Vincent is holding onto the collar. "This thing is heavier than it looks."

"Then it's a good thing you have all that beastly strength to hold on to it." Catherine laughs nervously.

Vincent quickly looks up, beast senses flaring, "Here they come." He nods his head at two men approaching at a steady pace.

Catherine looking at the men can see why Vincent picked them out of the crowd. Most people here are dressed casual as they wander around taking in the sight of Time Square, but these two are straight out of Men in Black, black suits, white shirt and black ties. They are also making a beeline for Vincent and Catherine ignoring all of the activity going on around them.

"Vincent and Catherine I presume?" One of the agents asks them.

Vincent looking at them has the urge to say the same thing he said to Agent Kyle last year, but he holds his tongue, not sure they would see the humor in the MIB reference.

"Yeah" says Vincent stepping in front of Catherine shielding her out of habit. He can hear her grumbling under her breath….."Move it Vincent."

He steps back to the side so she can stand next to him, equal to him.

"If you would please accompany us?" says the agent.

"Yeah nah, I think we are good right here, it's a nice quiet place to talk don't you think?" Vincent says looking at Catherine.

"Yes, it's quiet and cozy….." Catherine said looking around busy Time's Square and giving a look to the agents daring them to correct her.

"Mr. Keller, we have very important and private things to discuss with you, so lets start this again…..My name is Kevin….Kevin Smart and this is…."

"It doesn't matter who he is, what matters is that I have something you want." He holds up the collar. "And something that your employer doesn't want the public to know about," Vincent hands Kevin a picture of the beast skeleton. The first is a peace offering and the second is insurance. You can have the collar and the skeleton will stay safe and sound as long as we are safe and sound." Vincent put his arm around Catherine as if to drive home the point.

"May I," Kevin held out his hand for the collar.

Vincent hesitated, but Catherine put her hand around his waist and gives him some much needed reassurance, as he hands over the collar.

Kevin holds the collar reverently as if it were a holy relic. He beckons to the other agent and they both look at it and run their hands over it.

"Do we have a deal? "Asks Vincent, suddenly having a very bad feeling about this.

Kevin and the other agent are mesmerized by the collar and begin to talk in a language that neither Cat nor Vincent can understand, although Vincent does hear one phrase that sticks in his mind.

"Jewel chun rialu' a dheanamh ar an Beast," Says Kevin, talking to the other agent but nodding his head at Vincent.

He will have JT translate it later, but he recognizes the Gaelic language.

A few more minutes tick by and the two agents are going back and forth. Finally Agent Smart says, "It is a good deal Mr. Keller there is just one problem….."

"And that is?" Catherine interjects.

Completely ignoring Catherine, he continues. "There is a gem that fits into this collar, while the collar is extraordinary in its workmanship and for its history; it has no purpose and is no use to us without this gem."

"Sounds like you have a problem."

"Mr. Keller, I am prepared to guarantee you and your girlfriend complete protection from the Sealgairi once you bring us this gem. Work with us, instead of against us. Show the powers that be that you are not a danger and that your girlfriend is not a threat to all that we hold secure."

This offer took Vincent by surprise; he looked at Catherine who is just a shocked as he is. Trying to regain his composure, he says, "I wouldn't even know where to find this gem or how to go about finding the gem."

"Leave that part up to us, Mr. Keller, we have reason to believe that the gem is in New York, go and think about it Mr. Keller and contact us when you have made your decision…..I pray you choose wisely….."

And with that the agents walked away with the collar and left Catherine and Vincent standing in the middle of Times Square stunned and speechless.