A/N: hope I didn't keep you waiting too long!
When we left our sexy vampire:
"Mick," the voice came from behind him, and he felt a rough hand on his shoulder. Turning around, he thought he must be hallucinating.
--
"How the hell…" Mick started.
"There's no time to explain. An ambulance – one for our kind – should be here soon. They'll be able to handle this. Until then, I think I can help Beth."
Mick watched as Coraline bent down next to the lifeless form of the woman he loved. Taking a deep breath, she sank her fangs into her own arm. When the blood was flowing freely, she slid a small vial out of her dress and poured it onto her arm. The two liquids mixed together and turned dark purple.
"I need a cloth," she said.
"What?"
"A cloth, a rag. Anything."
"Where do you –"
"Just tear of part of your damn shirt Mick."
He obeyed, and she soaked the t-shirt in the mixture and wrapped it around Beth's neck. A moment later, Mick picked up on her heartbeat. He couldn't believe it.
"Okay, she's stable."
Coraline sat down Mick and crossed her legs. At that moment, he almost loved her again. She had just saved Beth's life and even though he had no idea how, he knew that he owed her. But the one thing running through his mind now was how the hell she had come back from the dead.
"But Lance decapitated you," he said, "This is impossible."
She shook her head, "You know my brother. You stake him, he doesn't become paralyzed. He invented a Cure. He's brilliant."
"He's dead," Mick put in before he could think better of it.
Coraline faced him, "I figured as much," she replied, "I can't say I'll miss him. But the point is that in the time I spent with him I picked up on a lot – more than he ever knew. I learned that a Vamp can use their blood mixed with oil that comes from poppies to stop bleeding and temporarily heal mortals. Of course, they have to have the same blood type. Luckily Beth and I do."
"Lance created something like that?"
"It was an accident. He never would have used it. I mean, I never thought I would either…"
Mick suddenly felt fear grip his heart, "Wait," he said, "If you picked that up from Lance, is that where you got the surviving decapitation trick? Because if he's about to come out of that tunnel I'll –"
Coraline put a hand on his arm, "I didn't get that one from him. Don't worry. I never told him about it either. I don't even understand quite how it works. I spent a few weeks in Northern India with a Vampire doing experimental work on those who had been decapitated. There were so many dead bodies." She paused for a moment, and Mick could tell she was remembering something bad. "Anyway, I started taking injections of a drug he was testing out that stretches the vessels in your neck and gives them an electromagnetic charge linking them to neurons in your brain. It also allows them to repair themselves."
"So what exactly are you telling me?"
"After I was decapitated, I wasn't really dead. Really it was a technicality that allowed the treatments to work. Lance didn't finish the job – he left me hanging by a thread. Almost comical really. He was a brilliant fool. But the vessels in my neck repaired themselves. I knew I couldn't risk him knowing I was alive, so I left to get help. And took care of Phillipe on the way."
Mick sat in silence, trying to soak in what he was hearing. Coraline had betrayed him and left him for dead earlier that night, yet she had just saved Beth's life. It didn't make any sense.
He stood up with her and watched as she brushed off her dress.
"Well I have to be going. As far as anyone knows, I'm dead. I have to keep it that way."
She turned, but Mick grabbed onto her arm and spun her around to face him again.
"Why?" he asked.
There wasn't any other question but that. There never had been for them. Why had she turned him? Why had she lied? Why had she betrayed him? Why had she saved Beth? So many 'why's.
"I have my reasons," she replied, "But don't worry. I can promise you now that you'll never hear from me again. I've done horrible things to you Mick," she placed her hand on his face, "But I've always loved you."
A tear slid down her cheek.
"You know I have no reason to believe you," he said icily, turning away from her hand.
Coraline nodded and gave him a rueful smile, "I know. You would be a fool if you did – and you learned not to be a fool with me a long time ago. But I won't ever be part of your life again. I've done enough wrong by you. Good bye."
Suddenly, she was gone. Mick stared at the empty space she'd occupied, his hand still out where he'd been holding onto her arm. Anger still lingered for what she'd done, mixed with gratitude for saving Beth's life – a life she had almost ended years ago. Shaking his head, Mick knew he couldn't afford to think about those things right now. Coraline would always change her loyalties, and she would always be dangerous. But she was finally gone.
He could hear and feel the ambulance coming, and he knelt down next to Beth again to wait for them. Brushing a few strands of hair away from her forehead, he leaned down and kissed her.
"You're safe Beth," he said, "It's going to be all right now. I'm here."
Holding onto her hand, he whispered a quite 'I love you' before lapsing into silence.
A/N: Sooo I brought Coraline back – I promise she's gone for good now though! Only another chapter or two to go. Reviews are lovely!