Author's Note: Moonlight is not mine. I'd have much more fun if it was. Also things that are not mine: WalMart.

Again, ErisFury's work "The Fledgling" is the backdrop of characters and relationships.

I seem to have some trouble uploading anything containing the number "7", so I apologize as its taken me a few days to sort out my issues.


Chapter 7: Preparing for a shopping trip

Sara looks up at the clock on the wall "Beth, hon, its two in the morning. I don't know much about baby shopping, but most stores are closed in general. They just don't seem to want to cater to a vampire society tey know nothing about."

Beth massages her forehead for a moment, odd times like these used to give her a headache when she was a human, but she's found that rubbing her forehead is just a habit she can't give up when she starts herself into a situation more than she's sure she can handle.

"You've never been to WalMart, 24 hours a day, discount prices, whatever on earth we need and then some" Beth says, knowing full well that out of everything that Josef has shared with Sara, that WalMart or any discount store is probably not high on the list.

Sara seems surprised at the mere thought of a store like WalMart. "It definitely doesn't sound like any boutique, but if it'll have things for the baby that we need, lets get going."

Beth turns to Mick, aware that Josef started making coughing noises about the point that she mentioned taking Sara to WalMart. "Mick, do you mind if Sara and I borrow your car to do a baby supply trip? I know you probably need to get back somewhere", her eyes flicker towards Josef and she grins coyly "I'm sure Josef would have no problem lending you the Aston Martin if you need to get around while we're gone."

Josef groans, while he generally allows himself to be chauffeured around as needed, he does have a soft spot for fast European cars and the Aston Martin is his newest toy. Mick gives a wicked grin to Josef. "Thank you Beth, I think Josef wouldn't mind parting with one of his mere fleet vehicles for an evening should I decide I urgently need to be somewhere."

Beth looks down at little Alisa, now fast asleep in her arms, then looks over at Sara, who is already putting on her coat and shoes. She suddenly feels like she's trying to orchestrate a battle she hasn't had to deal with in awhile. The last time she attacked WalMart in the middle of the night was with her sister, two carts, two screaming teething sleepy kids. She sighs softly. Thank goodness Anne didn't leave twins at Mick's doorstep, or Beth would be close to losing her sanity shortly.

Beth walks over to Alisa's car seat, straps her in and wraps her gently in a blanket, placing the stuffed giraffe in with her. Beth pulls her hair into a ponytail and walks to Josef's front closet, looking for a hat. Even though its been five years since her reported 'death', getting 'sighted' still hurts her in a way she could never share with anyone, even Mick. She hopes that her family doesn't cling onto these reported 'sightings', torturing themselves with the hope of all hopes, that she isn't really gone. In Josef's front closet, she locates a black ball cap with an Oakland Raiders emblem, hoping any controversy will stem around the hat instead of her.

She takes the infant seat, tosses her own gym bag over her shoulder, and picks up the diaper bag, and walks over to the car, Mick walks behind her and unlocks it with the buttons. Beth carefully buckles the little girl in, and puts the diaper bag on the floor of the car, then places her gym bag on the far side. As she stands up, Mick wraps her in a hug and kisses her softly, while handing her his car keys. She turns around to face him, and returns the kiss. "Thanks-" she started, suddenly not sure how to express her gratitude, his accepting her help, his lending the car. Her eyes flicker with gratitude "Thanks for everything."

He wraps her into a passionate kiss, that could have gone further, had Sara not shown up. Mick gives her one last kiss. "Thanks for the excuse to use the Aston Martin, I'll get better time with that thing headed up to the Bay Area. I'll be heading to our place to grab a few things, and I'll probably head up tonight, getting there by morning so I can talk to Tom Cudelli's staff and coworkers first thing. I'll give you a call when I know what's going on. You're welcome to keep the kid at our place, but you may be more comfortable at the cottage."

Beth wraps her arms around him "I love you, Mick. This doesn't sound like a dangerous case, but be careful."

Beth kisses him goodbye, then walks around to the drivers seat, noting that Sara has already buckled up in the passenger seat. She starts the engine, adjusts the mirrors, makes sure the GPS volume is on low, and sets the machine to navigate them to the first Super WalMart between Josef's home and Mick's loft.

She then starts driving down the driveway, looking forward to an impromptu shopping trip with her friend.


This is a short chapter. Next one is longer. I love to hear your thoughts an opinions