A/N: This chapter is dedicated to Habbia A. (I almost did it again… ::shakes head:: ) and to being a more carefree person J
Previously on NOT A GAMBLE:
The unshed tears poured out now, leaving acid trails of fire down his face. "I know Beth, I know." She was gasping for air. She muttered something that neither Josef nor Mick could quite make out. "What, love?" He leaned closer to her and she whispered, "Turn me Mick." He looked at her shocked and then looked up at Josef. His only reaction was to nod… She heard footsteps outside the door and shot up, slipping off the bed… making a mental note to come back later. Just then, Mick burst into the room, a look of love and happiness, mixed with relief on his handsome face. "Beth!" And like that, before she could blink, she was in his arms. "Thank God." Beth shook her head and pushed him away from her slightly, instantly missing the warmth from his body. "What are you talking about? You're acting like a crazy person." Mick's face fell. Josef had said she might have some memory loss. Mick took a deep breath…"Beth, you've been unconscious for a year."
As soon as Josef came through the apartment door, he sensed that something was off and then he heard a loud thud and bolted into the upstairs bedroom, ready to kill whoever dare come here and… He flung the door open and laughed at the site he saw. Beth was sprawled out in the floor and Mick's face was contorted in a mix of amusement and confusion. "Josef?" He just shook his head. "I thought…" He trailed off and shrugged, fighting for his lost composure. "Beth, it's nice to see you awake finally." She smiled at him and took his offered hand to help her up. "So…" He started but Mick cut him off. "She knows." He only nodded. "That explains it then." Mick nodded and Beth rolled her eyes. These two could have conversations without having conversations at all, and she felt left out. It was something she would have a lifetime to get used to. A lifetime. For me, that's an eternity. The word eternity struck her as strange for a moment, but then it seemed to fit. Just then her stomach growled and caught the attention of the silently communicating vamps in the room with her. They're my new family. She smiled broadly and started towards the kitchen, hoping they couldn't sense her every emotion.
She was apprehensive, afraid, and confused and Mick wanted nothing more than to take it all away. He knew he couldn't yet, so he followed her into the kitchen, Josef in tow. "Should I inject it or drink it from the bag?" She looked up, ever confident on the outside, but both vamps could see right through it. "Let's start with the needle." She nodded and smiled, rolling up the sleeve on her arm to give him access to it. He smiled back at her and quickly injected it, watching her carefully. She vamped out quickly, then as soon as it started it was gone. She picked her head back up and looked up at him, smiled and then stepped into his arms, enjoying the warmth from his body and the scent that was purely Mick. They momentarily forgot about Josef, getting lost in their own moment, much to Josef's amusement. After a moment, he cleared his throat, startling them both back to reality. "Alright then I'm leaving. I'll be back in a few days. Call if you need anything." Before any questions could be asked, he was already out the door. They'd call him later. For now, he had somewhere to be.
Back inside the apartment, Beth moved back into Mick's arms tentatively, testing the new waters between them. They could talk later. Right now, she needed to be near him. She took his hand and looked up at him, and started towards the couch. He looked at her confused for a moment, and then it finally registered. He nodded and laid down, letting her small frame come to rest atop him and he wrapped her securely in his arms, inhaling deeply. "I love you Beth." She looked up at him and smiled broadly. "And I love you Mick." She snuggled deeper into his arms. And then she looked back up at him. "Is there such a thing as a double freezer?" Mick laughed then, at the randomness of that question. "We can look into it." She nodded and snuggled back into his embrace, falling asleep minutes later.
Welcome to New York. He had seen the sign a thousand times before. He took a deep breath. He could feel the pull of their connection. Something was wrong. Everything in him was screaming for him to go even faster and push his car to the limit, but some smaller part of him was dreading walking in there to that room seeing her that way, knowing it was all his fault. But his body finally won out and the speedometer read 110, the whole world zooming by. He had to get to her, and he had to get to her now.