Other than it being the end of Jan term, I have no real excuse for not updating for a long while. I apologize for that greatly and I hope that you won't hold it against me.

That being said, this is part one of a three shot (more or less so) that I'll be writing. It's AU from my AU (does that make it normal?) where Mick and Beth are just friends, as are Josef and Beth. Josh and Beth were dating up until the point where he was killed (I cried when he died. I actually liked the guy, just not with Beth). So yeah, no romantic relationships in this one... Sorta. More of a JoBe bonding time plus it's full of PissedOff!Mick and SaveTheDay!Beth. Oh, can't forget DamnSexy!Josef. Drools Who wouldn't love a good dose of that? Raises hand I certainly would. Yum.

Don't own anything that you recognize unless it's from a previous chapter. Oh, and I make up a few words. Poetic license. Sue me. Actually – don't sue me. Please.

--

HAZEL BROWN EYES turned to a glacialesque light blue as he felt the annoyance coursing through his system. There was no way that he was having this conversation right here, right now. In fact, he had hoped to avoid it at all costs. But like all things good in his life, it had to come to an end soon.

"Mick." Josef willed his vampire side away and clenched his eyes shut, "I said I'm sorry. There's nothing else I can do for you." Mick's challenging stare fueled him more and he exploded, "Coraline's GONE Mick! I don't know how many times I have to tell you that! And I'm not about to waste any of my resources trying to track her down! Ryder is the only one who has the ability to do this, but he's in South America right now in hiding for hacking the US government, it wouldn't be safe for him to be here. In fact, it wouldn't be safe for anyone – you, me and Beth included. Taking the 'cure' was a bad idea in the first place! Sure, during the French Revolution it was the only way to save ourselves, but do you know what happened to the vamps after they took it?"

Mick merely shrugged. No, he had no idea. Coraline never told him the side effects, only that it would make him human for a bit, depending upon how much of the 'cure' was taken.

"Do you ever wonder why Lance is so different from us? Why Coraline seems so alluring?"

Again, the younger vampire shook his head, signaling he had no clue. It never really crossed his mind why they seemed so different. To him, they didn't seem different. To him they just seemed like two normal vampires. They were his family, and families often over look things that they shouldn't. But Mick didn't know that.

"They turned mutant! They turned Mutant, Mick! And that's what's going to happen to you if you keep taking it. You won't permanently turn back into a human – ever. Vampirism is a one way street, trying to go back is impossible even with this so called 'cure.' It just makes things worse." Josef's icy blue eyes started to fade as his voice softened, "Look, you're one of my only true friends. I can't do this for you. I won't let one of my friends hurt himself just to try to become mortal again. I'm sorry, but I can't let you do this to yourself. If you are going to do it, don't let me stop you, but also don't expect me to help you out."

Obviously not the answer that Mick had been looking for, he shook his head in disappointment. "Yeah, some friend you are. I need this, Josef. I just know that if I get more of the cure, I'll be able to somehow make it permanent. If I put it in the blood I drink then maybe –"

"NO." Josef said with a note of finality, "I'm not going to help. If you want to try to find a way to become a human for the rest of your life, however long that may turn out to be, far be it from me to stop you. Just don't come crying to me when you need help."

Mick huffed, "Fine. I had plane tickets set for Paris for the two of us, but I guess I'm going solo." Josef nodded to agree he was, "Alright. Fine. If Beth asks where I am, go ahead and tell her. It's not like she'll come looking for me right now."

Josef's brow furrowed, if something was wrong with his mortal, he should have been the first to know. Nicolai, the vampire he hired to keep watch on her, had some explaining to do. "Why's that? I thought that you and her were good friends."

Mick rolled his eyes, "Barring the fact that my ex – wife, her kidnapper, has come back, I also didn't save her boyfriend when he was dying. She asked me to Turn him, but I didn't. I refuse to put someone through this, no matter who it is."

The older vampire narrowed his eyes, "Her boyfriend's dead?" Mick nodded slowly and unhappily, "Huh. Well, that makes the sporadic calls make a hell of a lot more sense."

"Sporadic calls?"

"Yeah. She's been calling me out of the blue, just wanting to talk to someone. To be honest, it was a little worrisome at the beginning. But no matter. I'll see to it that she's taken care of while her lovely ex – knight is off, trying to end his own life."

Now Mick's eyes were beginning to take on their icy blue hue, indicating he was not pleased with the comment. "I'm not trying to end my own life. I just want to end this immortal one."

Josef raised an eyebrow and deadpanned, "What's the difference?"

He pulled out his phone, "I have some calls I need to make. You know where the door is. Oh, while you're in Paris or wherever the hell you're going to be there, try not to hurt anyone else. The French have had it bad enough. They don't need you messing around with them as well."

BETH FELT THE familiar feeling coming on again as she looked through the photo album. Grabbing a tissue, she prepared herself for another bout of tears. To her surprise none came. It seemed that she had simply run out of tears. For her, the one who rarely cried, that was a difficult feat. Sniffling a tiny bit, Beth reached for the phone. If she couldn't cry, then she'd at least talk to someone.

Hands hesitating over the speed dial, she contemplated who to call. Number one, Allyson. Pros – She never failed to make her smile and always seemed to know the right thing to say. Cons – Beth didn't want to smile, also – Ally was never a good listener. She had one of the personalities that just seemed to overpower a conversation. Number five, Josef. Pros – Dose of reality. And he'd let her talk. Cons – Dose of reality. A cold dose of reality after she was done talking. Plus, he was best friends with Mick and if she said something against him... Well, that certainly wouldn't go well.

Taking a deep breath, she dialed the number.

The voice on the other lined didn't seem surprised to be hearing from her again, "Hello Beth."

"Josef..." Her voice trailed off and she bit her lip, unsure of the decision. Perhaps it would have been better to call Ally. "Ugh... I feel so pathetic right now."

Across town, Josef's lips quirked up slightly, "Really? And why's that?"

"I wanted to talk to someone, and I actually started weighing the pros and cons of each person."

Josef barked out a laugh, "I can understand why that would make you feel pathetic."

Beth frowned, but hearing his voice caused her spirit to lift up, "Can I come over?" The question surprised even herself, that was not what she had planned on saying. "Um, what am I talking about? Why would you let me come over..." She mumbled to herself, "Never mind."

"I'll send a car over to get you. It should be there in twenty or so minutes. Nicolai I believe will be driving you." The slight intake of air coming from the other line led him to suspect that she was going to fight him on his decision. "Not up for discussion, Beth. I'll see you soon."

The line went dead in her hands. Stupid Vampires.

HIS EYES STAYED a frosty blue up until the airport ticket counter before quickly changing them back. There was no real point to it, other than pure courtesy to those around him. Plus, mass hysteria, in an airport of all places, is a bad idea no matter what. He would, without a doubt, miss his plane.

"Name?" The woman, Laura Whitford according the nametag, asked him lightly.

"Mick St. John."

"Passport?" He handed her the card and her hands flew over the keyboard, "Yes. Two tickets to Charles de Gaulle International in Paris through JFK and Frankfurt International." She looked up and he gave her a curt nod, "Any bags?" Mick shook his head no. "Enjoy your trip, Mr. St. John." She handed him back his passport and the one newly printed ticket.

A slight nod of the head and a muttered, almost inaudible, "Thanks," was all she got in return.

PARIS WAS A beautiful city during the day. But that's not what Mick had been looking for. No, he spent his time in search of someone who could perhaps point him towards his dear brother-in-law's home.

So far his quest had accomplished nothing.

Not wanting Josef to be correct, and have it be that he was truly wasting his time, Mick doubled his efforts and finally, finally got a lead. It came in the form of a twenty something girl named Analise Deveaux who supposedly had been a gardener for Lance a few years ago.

"Will you take me there?" He asked slowly and clearly, as it seemed, she spoke little English, and he spoke little French.

The dark haired girl bit her lip, concentrating hard to translate it to English as best she could. "Oui. I show..." Analise furrowed her brow slightly, not able to come up with the words. She improvised and grabbed his hand, "Oui."

The walk was relatively peaceful, and Mick tried to fill the time with getting as much information from Analise as he could.

"How did you first find him?"

Analise bowed her head shamefully, "I was... How you say it... Call girl?" She made an unhappy face at that, "He had me garden. I quit call girl. Stayed working for Lance for two years. He fired me after. We should not talk." She walked a bit faster, in an attempt to get away from the questions.

Mick stayed quiet for the rest of the trip.

Twenty minutes later, Analise stopped in front of a large gate. She gestured to it, "Lance." Mick looked on in stupor at Lance's fortress. How the hell was he going to get in? He shook off his worries and smiled at Analise, thanking her profusely. She just smiled shyly in return and walked off. He watched her until she was out of sight, and then turned to the problem at hand – how to get in, how to find Coraline, and where he could find more of the cure.

Tackling the first part was easy, he merely jumped the fence and landed on the grass as softly as he could. However, that only took care of getting on the grounds. His biggest concern lay with getting inside the palace undetected.

He had been caught off guard. Too busy taking in the sight of where the key to the cure could be, to busy wondering how he wasn't going to get caught in this near suicidal attempt and he had let his guard down and it had come back to bite him in the ass.

Or, rather, the heart.

A wooden stake was plunged into him, and he went completely limp, crashing to the ground beneath him. Only by concentrating was he able to flicker his eyes to the side, and in doing so, noted the fact that there was a small, mouse like, girl hurrying off to the entrance to the palace. She smelled nothing of a vampire and Mick wanted to huff in indignation, he had gotten jumped by a human!

But, as he lay there paralyzed, children with stakes were the least of his worries.

He could smell him well before the other senses kicked in. The rotten stench of more than 400 years of decay rolled off of the old vampire like the waves on a beach. The soft crunching of gravel coming from the general direction of the palace was what Mick next sensed. The footsteps were hard, fast, and the movement was calculated. Although he could not directly see the man, the shadow loomed onto Mick's face. At last a sardonic chuckle was heard, followed soon by eight words spoken in a smooth, low voice.

"Welcome to the family was not an invitation."

--

Thoughts?