WriterFreak001: This is the second to last chapter….sooooo enjoy!


Title | A Matter of Time

Fandom | Beauty and the Beast (CW)

Description | What happens if Gabe turns out to be hiding more secrets than Catherine or Vincent ever realized? What if one of them found out about it? What would he or she do? More importantly, how would Gabe respond in order to keep control of the 'situation'? This is my little masterpiece in which my mind created as an addition to the ending of BATB 2.13 "Till Death."

Rating| This fanfiction will be rated T for language, suggested themes and anything else T-rated I might throw in it. If anything, read at your own discretion.

POV | Third Person Omniscient

Disclaimer | While CW owns Beauty & the Beast, I am the owner of this Masterpiece.

Claimer | I am human; there are bound to be mistakes. If you feel like something should be changed, you have the power to send me a review/private message. I can't guarantee if I'll change it every time but I do read all of my reviews and all of my private messages!


A Matter of Time

Part 9

Written by: WriterFreak001

~Beauty & the Beast~

As if on cue, the guards dragged ADA—or rather, former ADA—Lowan into the medical examination room where JT Forbes prepping the room. JT pretended not to notice the shouting and the ludicrous 'accusations' Gabe was yelling when he saw the professor standing in the room. Once this was all over, JT was definitely going to have a laugh. When he finally turned around, Gabe charged at him, forcing the guards to take necessary action and tranquilize the inmate.

"Just make this quick so we can take him back to his cell." one guard was certainly not in a good mood based on JT's observations.

"I promise I'll be brief." JT nodded, holding up a syringe. "See? I have what I need right here so all I need to do is…." His voice trailed off as he bent down and placed the needle in Gabe's forearm.

"Excuse me," He heard Tess say as she suddenly walked into the examination room, "I heard Officer Greggory and Officer Yang are in here." JT turned to look at the tall detective who was flashing her badge. She was glancing at the two officers before him. "You them?"

"What's it to you, Vargas?" Yang—the only man of Asian descent, save for Gabe—replied.

"Flattered you know who I am. You guys have a sec?"

"What for?" Greggory frowned, folding his arms in front of his chest.

Tess sighed. "You two worked that Mallory case back in '09, right?" Tess shifted her weight to her right and tapped her foot, waiting for their answer.

"Yeah. Why?" Yang asked, getting impatient with the detective.

"Well, I was looking over the case because I thought it would be relevant to another case I was working on and found out that five of the witness statements do not corroborate. Since you two were in the rotation back then, I figured I might as well come to the source. You know, confront the two of you before taking it up to the captain." Tess was not going to take any BS from the officers. She might have lied about the case she was working on, but she did find some invalidation in the report. Figured they would jump at the chance to leave with her.

"What do you mean?" Officer Greggory raked a hand through his hair. "I wrote the report; there shouldn't have been any errors."

"Then why don't you two come with me, and we can sort this out. I'm sure it will only take a few minutes—five max. What do you say?" Tess loved it when she got to put her female charm in the mix of her job. They'll take the bait for sure—even if it is true bait; it's bait nonetheless. They looked at JT. "Don't worry about four-eyes over there." Tess started pushing them out of the room. "I'm sure he'll be fine taking blood from an incapacitated inmate. The worst he can do is prick his finger with a needle."

The officers left the building with Tess right behind them. JT waited a few seconds to make sure they were gone before pulling out his vial of de-beasting serum and drawing the antidote out with a syringe. He decided to inject the juice into the same arm he was going to draw blood from; that way there would only be one hole and one Band-Aid.

He poked the little sucker into Gabe's skin and pushed the serum into the former ADA's body. "Take that, Gabe." JT smirked. "All is fair in love and war." When everything was done, he waited a minute for the serum to spread further into Gabe's body before drawing his blood out with the vacuumed syringe. Afterwards, he pressed gauze on Gabe's arm and then trapped the flimsy material with a Band-Aid. When he heard the officers coming back, he hid his empty vial in his coat pocket and clapped his hands as if nothing else happened. He held up the vial of Gabe's blood and smiled at the officers. "See? Your detective lady friend was right; no harm, no foul. You can take him back now; I'll take care of this for you guys."

As they hauled the hopefully-soon-former-beast back to his cell, Tess briskly walked in and gave JT a "Well?!" look.

"Yes…. It's all done. Now can we get out of here before someone figures out I'm not on payroll here?" JT asked as he wiped his head with a red handkerchief.

"Sure thing." Tess nodded as she led JT out of the examination room. "What are you going to do with that vial?"

"Well….since I injected the serum into Gabe's blood first, this little sucker—no pun intended—contains both the properties of Gabe's blood and of the antidote. That being said, I won't have to sneak in again and take a sample. I can just use this one instead." JT beamed as if he had thought of the next best invention for the world. "I can't wait to test this baby when I get home! Stallone took about half an hour to de-beast…so….I'll give Gabe about two hours before he starts losing his beastie abilities. Now…if only I could switch the antidote with all of Sam's beast vials. If that could happen, I would consider this to be a very good day." JT sighed and relieved a heavy sigh when they exited the precinct.

"Look, I've got work still yet to do, JT, but go home, wait two hours and test the sample. If everything seems good, call Vincent and let him know. I'm going to track that SOB we call Sam down and arrest him for harvesting drugs." Tess smirked.

"He doesn't carry drugs though."

"So?" Tess laughed. For a man who is as smart as JT Forbes, he doesn't seem to have a lot of common sense at times. "No one needs to know Gabe was given beast juice. I could convince the coroner to claim the properties in Gabe's blood are a result from drugs. Then, he'll order for another blood sample; if Gabe is beast-free, he won't have those marker-thingies in his system. See? Drugs!" Tess was proud of her idea. She might not be JT or Vincent, but every once in a while, she comes up with some pretty damn good stuff. This was obviously one of those times.

"I like the way you think!" JT grinned, prompting the detective to give him a high five. However, to his dismay, she shook her head and rejected his friendly gesture. "I guess I'll see you later then. Good luck finding Sam. Let me know if you need me to fire up my equipment, all right?"

"Sure thing."

~Beauty and the Beast~

During those two hours in which JT was waiting to test Gabe's blood sample, Vincent and Catherine were still in the hospital, enjoying each other's company. Catherine was wide awake when Vincent woke up several hours earlier; in fact, she told him that if she fell asleep again, she would probably go insane because she needed to keep her mind awake. She hated being hospitalized, but with Vincent's company, the thought of being on bed rest for the next several days didn't seem quite as bad.

"So, let me get this straight…" Catherine's voice dampened and her mind suddenly melted into goo when Vincent attacked her neck with his lips. Even though they were in a public hospital, he was on fire for her. Her eyes rolled upward from his tender touch; the electrifying feeling he gave her whenever his lips feathered soft kisses along her skin was almost too much. "Vincent, I'm trying to talk here." She wiggled in his arms, hissing when her stitches—her newer stitches from the surgery—grazed his arm. He immediately drew back.

"Sorry. I go get a doctor!" Vincent started to run off, but Catherine called him back. He turned around and sauntered towards her. "Are you okay?"

"I'm all right, Vincent. Just a minor twinge of pain. That's all." Catherine reached for him. He took her hand in his and sat down on the chair next to her bed, respectfully keeping his distance. "Perhaps," she pulled his large hand to her lips and kissed his knuckles, "we should hold out on the heavy stuff until after I'm cleared to move more than just my arms and legs again. Okay?"

"Probably a good idea." Vincent smiled bashfully. "I'm sorry for earlier. I should have been more careful. After all, I was once a doctor; I shouldn't have let my feelings cloud my judgment." Vincent placed his cheek on her shoulder and closed his eyes. "I'm just glad you're awake."

"Don't worry about it, Vincent. Believe me, if the situation was reversed, I'd probably find a way to be all over you too." She laced her fingers with his and placed their hands against her chest. "Let's just get through this in one piece first."

Vincent nodded. "Just to be clear—once you are able to engage in more strenuous activity, I'm going to definitely make things up to you for lost time." Vincent closed his eyes and relished in her presence. Waking up to her smiling down on him was the best moment of his life. If she hadn't made it, he didn't know what would happen to him. He would most likely jump off the Empire State Building or something. There was little that could kill him nowadays. Catherine surprised him by weaving her fingers though his course hair. He looked up at her. "What?" He flashed his dimples.

"I don't know if I've said this enough, but I love you Vincent." She caressed his face. "I don't know where I'd be if you hadn't found me when you did."

"Let's not think of that then." Vincent replied, leaning his face into her palm. He suddenly pulled back, slipped his hand into his pocket and dangled a silver chain in front of her. Without a word, he released her hand and lifted another chain—this one being gold—off of his neck. He unclasped the golden chain and slid off one of two charms—from what Catherine could see—before sliding it onto the silver necklace. Once he clasped both chains again, he slipped the golden one over his head and placed the silver chain in Catherine's palm. "This is for you."

She unraveled the silver chain and gazed at the charm—a silver ring. Her eyes widened as light from the window revealed tiny sparkles twinkling off of the diamonds embedded into the silver. "It's beautiful, Vincent." She looked at him. "What's this for?"

He took the necklace out of her hand and straightened its chain. Before she could object—if she wanted to, he slid it over her head; the ring fell between her breasts underneath her hospital gown. "It's sort of a promise ring slash engagement ring. I have one too, see?" Vincent revealed his golden ring that was hidden underneath his own shirt. "After what happened, Catherine, I don't want to live without regrets. I know…at this point in time…, it's impossible to get married now; we just sort of got back together and you need to recover from your injuries…and let's not forget there's the Gabe issue to worry about—for now. I mean, we have a lot of obstacles in our way at this moment, but someday, I want to be able to call you Mrs. Catherine Keller."

Her eyes twinkled as much as the ring between her breasts did. She thought about the name, Catherine Keller. It had such a beautiful sound to it. He was right about a few things—she did need to recover and they did happen to re-establish their relationship only days ago, but based on what he told her about JT's plan concerning Gabe, the former ADA shouldn't be a problem in their life anymore. In the grand scheme of things, these so-called obstacles shouldn't matter. Catherine knew where her heart belonged. Even when dating Gabe—thank God she didn't pass the point of no return in that relationship, she always loved Vincent. She merely wanted to try something new—date someone who wasn't or didn't seem to be a bad boy. Look how well that turned out.

No matter what her mind tried to do, she couldn't convince her heart otherwise. Vincent was always hers, and she was always Vincent's. The perfect halves to a flawless whole. Unlike her Gabe-rebound, because that's what he was—a rebound, Vincent completed her. He was her everything, her morning, her noon and her night. Even when he wasn't around, she couldn't help but think of him. She tried convincing herself she was just trying to get over an old flame, but that was hardly the case. Her heart simply knew all along what her mind wouldn't wrap around—that she was unconditionally in love with Vincent Keller.

"This is where you say something, Catherine." He was nervous. What was going on in that beautiful woman's mind? Surely she wasn't thinking of how to reject his offer, was she?

Catherine tried to lean down to him, but when her actions were causing her too much discomfort, he decided to meet her instead. He stood up and leaned over her; she cupped his cheeks with both of her hands and pulled him down for a kiss any couple would envy. Tongues flicked. Teeth nibbled. Lips twisted and turned to accommodate each other's needs. Wants. Desires. She gently pulled away from him and gazed into his love-filled, chocolate eyes. "Yes."

"Yes?" Was that an answer to marry him? To wear the necklace? An affirmation of her love? A promise to a better future? Vincent's mind was all over the place; he didn't really realize that all of those questions were pointing towards the same goal.

"Vincent," Catherine kissed him once more, savoring his taste. She nipped his bottom lip, tugging it gently until it slipped out of her mouth and popped against his upper lip. "When my da—when Thomas married Brooke, I realized a lot of things that could very well be applied to our relationship now." He leaned his forehead against hers and closed his eyes, wanting to hear every word that flows out of her mouth. "Like Thomas and Brooke, you and I are very different people—to some people, we shouldn't even be together. We may not have an age difference—well not much of one, anyway, but you and I both know we aren't exactly from the same world—at least, not DNA-wise, if you know what I mean." She paused and closed her eyes as well. "But…despite those differences, despite those obstacles and the people who don't want us together, you and I find ways to ignore them. At least, we have in the past, and I hope we will continue to do so in the future. What I'm trying to say is that I also don't want to live without any regrets, Vincent." Her nose burned; they opened their eyes and bore into each other's souls. Tears fell from both lovers' eyes as Catherine continued. "I almost died. Again," she laughed, "and I realized I don't want to feel like I did in my apartment again when I was praying you'd show up. You had no right to, Vincent. I pushed you away, and yet you still came to my rescue."

"I'll always b—"

"Shhh," she placed her index finger on his lips. He kissed the pad of her finger. "I'm not done." She kissed him once more and continued. "When I was clutching my gut, wondering whether or not you'd arrive, I was afraid…not of me dying, because I face that every day on the job…. I was afraid I would never see you again—that the last image burned into my mind was of you walking away. I don't want to wait until after the next bad thing to happen for us to get married; if that happens, we might never get the chance to say "I do." I know where my heart belongs, Vincent. And I know you do too." Her lips curled to a smile. "After I heal from my injuries, I want to do it." Her nose wrinkled upward as Vincent smiled and kissed her dozens of times.

To be sure, Vincent had to hear her say it again. "Really? You want to get married?"

"Yes, Vincent." Catherine nodded. "Let's get married."

He pulled her in for another kiss. Slowly but surely, all of this dreams he wished to fulfill with the beautiful woman kissing his lips and clutching his hair was coming true.

~Beauty & the Beast~

JT placed the sample underneath the microscope and placed his eye against the eyepiece, when…

"JT," Tess whisked her way through the guild, causing the professor to jump off his chair. "Have the results yet?"

"Don't. DO. That." JT slammed his hands on his desk and glared at Tess. She pressed her lips together and muttered a 'sorry.' JT sat back down and repeated the same process when…

"So…have the results yet?" Tess swallowed and stifled a laugh when JT inhaled a deep breath as he took his glasses off and glared at her.

"In order to get results, you have to let me look at the results." JT released a sigh and slid his glasses back over his nose.

Tess clamped her tongue and watched him look into the microscope. She tapped her fingers against the sofa and bounced her legs up and down, waiting impatiently for JT to tell her what the hell was going on. She immediately jumped to her feet. "Okay, it doesn't take that long to look at a red glob, JT. Just tell me what I need to know!"

JT sighed and rubbed his temples. "For the love of Pete's sake! I'm the scientist here, Tess. Now, please, let me do my science!" JT suddenly pushed back his chair, circled over to the bar and grabbed a beer. "Here." He sauntered over to Tess and handed the bottle to her. "It's going to be at least ten minutes. Might as well drink this while you're waiting."

"It takes ten minutes to look at a glob of blood?" Tess smooshed her lips together, not sure if asking that was the best thing to do at the moment. JT was already hyped up as it was; she was just adding fuel to the fire. The annoyed look he gave her was enough. "Right. Beer. I'm gonna gulp this," she swung the bottle in front of his face, "and…let you do your thing now." Tess took the beer and opened it before taking a sip of the cold alcoholic substance.

"Thank you." JT smiled.

When he walked back to his desk, Tess sighed. At least he couldn't hold a grudge forever. She watched him work diligently, writing things down, comparing globs with other globs. She didn't really understand how intricate analyzing DNA was, but she couldn't help but see JT in a new light. For the longest time, she saw the man as a science nerd who did all the techy stuff to help his best friend, Vincent. But, today, he was willing to go above and beyond for his best friend, just as she would for Cat. In a way, she respected JT more. He did so much more than anyone ever gave him credit for. Not to mention, she did think he was adorable back there at the hospital when he got all excited before telling Vincent the news about the antidote. If they hadn't been interrupted the other night due to being called to Gabe's around 1 AM, she was sure they would have had some sort of awkward one night stand. Yes, she kissed him crazily several weeks ago. She tried to deny her feelings because she didn't believe the two of them were a match made in heaven, but the more she hung out with him, the more she grew to appreciating the man.

JT was different than any of the men she's ever dated. He's sweet—when he's not in a foul mood. He's considerate of the people closest to him—and that's a very small circle of friends too. He's pretty intelligent—for your average biochemist, of course. Ever since he told her that he was the one who signed Vincent's name on the Muirfield recruitment list, she started to notice how much the toll of that memory had on him. His best friend's very life was changed—maybe for the better, in Cat's eyes—and there's nothing anybody can do about it. Besides, even though there is turmoil every once in a while, she did notice how Vincent has taken accustomed to his beast. If he didn't have it anymore, would he see himself the same way as he did before he was injected?

Perhaps that's a realm Cat would have to discover herself if it ever happens.

Suddenly, JT jumped from his chair and leapt for joy. "YES!"

Tess spat out her beer and looked at the overjoyed scientist. Now look at who was surprised that time. "Could you tone down your enthusiasm? I nearly choked!"

"Now you know how I feel." JT deadpanned before running up to her and giving her a tight hug. "Vincent and Cat are going to be so thrilled! They'll finally have a chance at a normalish life together!"

"See?" Tess patted JT's shoulder. "See what we can all do when we put our heads together?"

On impulse, JT gripped her shoulders and kissed her hard on the mouth. If anything, Tess was very surprised. It wasn't exactly what she had in mind when she said "put our heads together," but whatever!

It was going to be a while before they tell their best friends the good news.

~Beauty & the Beast~


WriterFreak001:

Felt like I should have added some JT&T fluff. :)

What did you think? Only one more chappie left!