Disclaimer: The following is my original scene for season 1 of Moonlight. I do not own these characters.

Author's Note: Thanks again to all of you who are reading this. This scene got stuck in my head and wanted to put it out there.

Please let me know your thoughts. :)

As always, Thanks!


8.5 Josef's House

Mick was standing in front of the glass doors leading into Josef's Beverly Hills home. As he waited he reached up to rub his eyes with his left hand. He desperately needed blood then sleep. Both had been in short supply over the last forty-eight hours while he dealt with the mess that was Donovan Shepherd.

Josef appeared at last, padding across the living room, wrapped in a burgundy silk bathrobe. Mick had surmised he had disturbed Josef's rest with his phone call, and judging by his current state of dress he had been right.

Josef eyes met Mick's through the glass. Mick thought he detected a hint of a gloat playing across his friend's boyish features. At this moment Josef's self-satisfied teasing was the last thing Mick was in the mood for. He opened the door to let Mick enter.

"Don't even say it Josef." Mick waved a warning finger at his friend's nose as he passed.

Josef's eyes were wide with innocence. "Why Mick, whatever do you mean?"

"Just don't okay? Later maybe, but not now."

Josef chuckled a little but refrained from commenting further.

Mick crossed the wide living room area toward the floor to ceiling windows and sank down into a high backed chair. He tilted his head against the back rest and raised his hands to his face. He dug the heels of each hand into his eye lids and kept pressure there. Josef's footsteps had retreated in the direction of the kitchen and he could hear the hiss of the refrigerator being opened, followed by the clink of glassware.

When Josef returned to the living room he was carrying a tall glass of thick red liquid. He held it out to Mick who accepted it.

"Thanks," Mick told Josef.

Josef continued to stand in front of him as he drank. "You do realize that I have a perfectly lovely brunette freshie sleeping in the guest bedroom?"

"I assumed as much Josef, but no thank you."

Josef gave a shrug and turned away, crossing the room to the long low seating area. "Can't blame me for trying. You look terrible by the way. I thought you could use some fresh stuff."

Josef arranged himself on the red leather couch, leaning back and spreading out his arms, draping them over the top. He was watching Mick with a slight look of amusement on his lips.

"He came in through the skylight, huh?"

Mick exhaled a breath through his nose. "Yes Josef." There was a pause. Mick stared back at his friend before lifting his eyes to study the elaborate pattern on the ceiling.

"Alright Josef, fine, I know you're dying to say it, so go ahead."

A grin broke out over Josef's face. "I told you so."

Mick met Josef's eyes again. "Yes Josef, you were right. I'm having the skylight replaced with bulletproof glass this time okay?"

"Better late than never I guess." Silence filled the room and Josef's face shifted, growing solemn. "How's the girl?"

Mick raised one palm up in a gesture of uncertainty. "She's alive, more than that is hard to say. Beth was going to drive her to her grandmother's house to stay for a while."

"Do you think we can trust her to keep quiet?" Josef questioned, concern written on his face.

Mick nodded. "Beth thinks so yes. Shepherd's dead and won't be coming after Audrey. Beyond that, I don't think any other detail about me concerns her."

His answer seemed to satisfy Josef who didn't say anything, just looking away, over Mick's shoulder toward the vista beyond. Josef's home was perched high on a hillside, affording him a spectacular view of the city below. Mick glanced over his shoulder out at the panorama. The sun was creeping higher into the morning sky. He really wanted nothing more than to continue answering Josef's questions later, after he'd rested. Maybe then he'd be better equipped to give Josef the best responses. He was currently too tired, both physically and emotionally, to contemplate what he should or shouldn't be revealing to his friend about last night's events.

"Is Beth alright?" If Josef was aware of Mick's desire to end the conversation, he was choosing to ignore him and continue on. "You said she tried to fight off Shepherd alone?"

A wave of nausea flipped Mick's stomach at the memory. He stared down at his now half empty class, swirling the contents, not answering right away.

"Yeah, she'll be fine. Bump on the head. She got lucky." His voice was low and its tone registered with Josef.

"What happened?" He sounded uncharacteristically concerned.

There was a long silence. Mick looked up out the window again. Down below in the city, the day was churning along, and with it people were out there living their lives, going to work, going to eat, doing what humans did during the day. Most of them unaware of the world he existed in, and the challenges it presented.

"She knows." Mick's voice was barely audible.

Out of the corner of his eye he could see Josef do a double take with his head. Mick looked over at him and Josef leaned forward, his brows narrowing.

"Know what? She's known you're a vampire for a while now. A fact I'm quite grateful for today, given what a disaster this thing with Shepherd could have been if she hadn't been on top of it and thought to call you."

"Not that." Mick told him.

"What then?" Josef shook his head a little. Mick stared back at Josef until his friend's eyes widened. "Ohhhh… about the you… and the her… and the Coraline? That thing? That's what she knows about?"

Mick sighed and gave Josef a terse bob of the head.

"And she's mad I take it?" Josef's voice had softened.

I almost wish she was. Mick swallowed, looking down at the floor. Josef waited for him to collect himself. He let out a short huff of a bitter laugh. "She kissed me on the cheek and called me her guardian angel." He met Josef's eyes.

Mick thought he could see a rare reflection of emotion, a hint of something wistful captured in his friend's gaze. After a moment Josef nodded a few times. "She's right. She's lucky to have you."

A flare of pain lit up Mick's chest and his face contorted with disgust. He shut his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to force the feeling away. "She is not Josef. I should have stayed away from her, given her a chance to have a normal life." He opened his eyes. "She should be out there." He shot up from his chair and stalked over to the windows. "Living her life during the day, have a chance for a normal future. She shouldn't be wasting her time on me when I can't give her any of the happiness she deserves."

"Who says?" Josef asked him.

Mick wheeled around toward Josef. "Are you kidding?" He stabbed the air in Josef's direction with his right hand. "Says you for starters! You have said over and over that relationships with humans don't work, can't work." He was shouting at Josef but he really didn't care about his friend's feelings right now. "Forgetting the separate sleeping arrangements, or that she eats food and I subsist on blood, that I can't be out in the sun without getting sick, or even that she will age and DIE and I will still look like this… never minding all that… I don't even know if I can…" Mick stopped and sucked in few shuddering breaths. "I don't even know if I can physically be with her without killing her Josef."

Mick's eyes were locked on Josef's. His whole body was shaking with fury. He could see Josef clench his teeth together and his eyes moved away, looking in another direction across the room. At last he turned and stood, adjusting his bathrobe. He approached Mick, crossing and stopping directly in front of him.

"So what was it? That was your ace in the hole then?" Josef cocked his head to one side. "You just thought that when you needed out, you could tell her the secret you've been keeping? That you rescued her as a child? That it was your wife who took her and traumatized her? You figured when you wanted to, you could tell her all that, and she'd be so angry she would walk away from you for good? Save you the trouble of leaving her alone, since you haven't been able to force yourself to give her up?"

Mick eyes jerked up toward the ceiling as Josef's words hit home. His friend was right and it stung. If she wouldn't walk away from him with what she now knew, would she ever?

"She's lucky to have you," Josef repeated. Mick's eyes shot to Josef's face. "And you're lucky to have her." Josef paused before continuing. "You know I don't say that lightly about a human in a vampire's life, so take that for what it is." Josef reached out and grasped Mick's shoulder with his hand. He raised his eyebrows, wordlessly questioning if Mick understood.

Mick didn't know if he could agree, but he knew how much the sentiment meant considering who it was coming from. The muscles of his face worked as he swallowed and he gave Josef a quick nod.

Josef's face morphed, a light smile touching his mouth, his cavalier attitude returning. "Well good, glad we could have this conversation." He released Mick's shoulder and began to walk away. "I know it is past my bedtime and judging by the looks of it, you could use some serious freezer time yourself. I take it you remember where the guest bedroom with the freezer is?" At this last statement Josef paused for Mick's answer, standing with his hand on the back of the couch.

"Yes, I think I can find my way Josef."

"Alrighty then, I'm going to blissful cold oblivion for at least eight hours. Good night Mick."

"Night Josef," Josef resumed his walk toward the master bedroom. "Hey Josef," Mick called after him.

Josef stopped short and turned around to look at Mick.

"Thanks man." Mick told him.

Josef smiled. "Any time Mick, any time." And with that, he turned away and continued his walk down the hall.