The Final Chapter

Cat knocked at the hotel where Vincent was hiding out during the day until he and JT could work out a new safe house, Muirfield might be distracted by the explosions at their offices but Joe was still on the hunt for his brother's killer so Vincent was far from free. Vincent bounced to his feet with excitement, he'd been slouched on the bed watching TV, bored and cagey but finally sick of doing push ups. He listened carefully, then, when he was sure it was her and she was alone, he opened the door. "Hey," he greeted warmly.

"Hey yourself," Cat grinned.

Vincent pulled her inside the room and closed the door behind them, pushing his back against it and pulling her against him. Cat obligingly pinned him to the door and allowed herself to enjoy Vincent's enthusiastic greeting for a few moments before she pulled away. "So, it went well, with Evan, or as well as it could be, Joe's still mad and you're not out of the woods, but I'm feeling better, almost optimistic. We have the support of our friends. We'll find a way out of this."

"I'm glad you're feeling optimistic because I'm not, I hate hotel rooms. I know I should be used to small spaces but this place makes the warehouse looks like a park."

"Sorry, but it's worth it isn't it. I mean, upside, we have privacy," Cat teased.

"That I could get used to," Vincent grinned, kissing her again.

"So you know I love this..." Cat began reluctantly. They were in bed and she was lying in his arms, comforted by his strong arms around her.

"But you need to be somewhere."

"How did you know?"

"Your phone buzzed a couple of times. I'm guessing Tess?"

"Hey you're pretty smart Keller, anyone would have thought you went to med school or something," Cat teased. "I should check it," she admitted and scrawled over to her her phone. It was indeed Tess, but to her relieve, they weren't 9-1-1 texts, they were where-are-you-I-ordered-the-first-round-already texts. "She needs me. I'm sorry I have to leave you here. I know it sucks."

"It sucks a lot less now," Vincent smiled. "And it turns our your friends are pretty cool. So go, have fun, maybe I'll give JT a call and he can bring over some video games or something."

"You're the best."

"I love you."

"I love you too," Cat responded with a peck.

"Don't get too drunk," Vincent teased. And while it was still hard walking her to the door and watching her go out without him, feeling that he was still cut off from the real world, her world, he knew that he was more a part of her life than he had ever been before. Her friends knew him and were being to trust him. It was beginning to seem possible that Muirfield might one day be gone. But most importantly he had her trust and her love and at the end of the day that was the one thing he needed most. To know that in Catherine Chandler's eyes he was more than a Beast. He was a good man. Catherine had helped him cling to his humanity and together he felt more and more like the man he should have been. He might not be a doctor or a solider anymore, but he had found ways to help people and be in the world again. He was no longer the ghost he had been when she'd first walked into the warehouse. He too, could be hopeful. Whatever the future held they would face it together.

A/N okay so that was a pretty corny end, but after a lot of angst and tension and action I think you earned it! Sorry this update is a bit of a cop-out, I wanted to finish this and provide closure but I really didn't have the time or inspiration to continue the vigilante storyline or tie things up with Joe and the taskforce because the show did that so well and we've all moved on so much now with S2. I did like going back and reading the last chapter and seeing Evan alive and being nice-Evan (as opposed to stupid, annoying anti-Vincent Evan). I hope everyone is enjoying S2, thankyou to everyone who has reviewed, please don't ever think there's no point of reviewing if an author has finishing or stopped writing, on a bad day there is nothing better than seeing a review in your inbox and realising that someone, somewhere, appreciates your words).

Another thing I like, looking back at this fic, is the version of Vincent we had in S1, so much more innocent and sweeter. I miss that. I like the complexity of S2 though and I will be attempting a new multi-chapter fic set during S2, I'll be uploading some soon, the focus will be more on Gabe and Cat because that's where we are right now.