Disclaimer: I do not own Moonlight. I have unofficially adopted it.
I wish to thank everyone who has taken the time to read my story.
Chapter 29
It was late on Wednesday afternoon when Mick and Beth headed to LAX to meet the Duvall jet coming in from France. The International arrival area was rather quiet and Mick held Beth's hand while they waited for Philippe and Cynthia to clear customs. Josef and Rayna would meet Robert's coperated jet later in the day.
Ten minutes later Philippe and Cynthia came up the ramp, smiles on their faces and arms around each other. Beth ran to Philippe and hugged him tightly.
"I am so glad to have you here," she said happily.
"It is good to see you as well my petite," Philippe said hugging her in return. He kissed her cheek fondly. "I heard you had some trouble recently?"
"Nothing we couldn't handle," Mick said releasing Cynthia from his brief hug of greeting. He extended his hand to Philippe as Beth went to welcome Cynthia. "We just had to deal with an old flame of Rayna's who didn't realize the flame had never been lit. Josef took care of him."
"I'm sure he did," Philippe laughed as he shook Mick's hand. "I'm beginning to think that Europe is much safer than America." He looked at Beth sternly. "You seem to attract trouble all the time."
"Not by choice," Beth sputtered. "Trouble just seems to show up."
Philippe gave her an indulgent smile. His young descendant had a special place in his heart and he was greatly relieved to find her all right.
"Just like her great-grandfather in his younger days," Cynthia laughed. "When he became a vampire he behaved as if he were indestructible."
Before anyone could respond, a voice called out from across the room in French. They turned to the vision of Coraline heading towards them, determinedly dragging Dimitri along by the hand. The Russian did not look happy to be there.
"I'm sorry," Cynthia breathed. "I never thought she would show up here when I gave her our arrival time."
"Cynthia, Philippe, it is so good to see you," Coraline gushed as she hugged first her brother and then her best friend. Turning to the other couple she surprised Mick by completely ignoring him and brushing past him she enveloped Beth in a tight hug.
"Oh my dear Beth, I am so happy to see you are all right. I was so worried when I witnessed the kidnapping. My arrival was too late to help you," she cooed as she kept her bear hug grip on the blonde.
"You've made your point Coraline," Mick said coolly when she didn't release Beth.
"Oh….sorry. I'm just so relieved to see you were able to rescue her……once again," Coraline said with a smug smile as she let go of Beth.
"Thanks for your concern Coraline," Beth said dryly as she stepped beyond the brunette's reach. "Mick told me you were worried."
"I had no idea he all ready knew when I called," Coraline said with wide eyes as she rejoined Dimitri, linking her arm firmly through his. "I just wanted to help."
"Of course you did," Cynthia said quickly, not at all sure she liked the vibe she was picking up from Coraline. She knew her friend's moods all too well and she did not want a confrontation in the public airport. She glanced anxiously at Philippe to see if he also noticed how Coraline's behavior rang false. Mick had moved to Beth's side and draped his arm around her shoulders possessively.
"Coraline, here is not the place to deal with this subject," Philippe said in warning.
"I understand," Coraline said trying to look contrite. "Philippe, you and Cynthia will be staying with Dimitri and I won't you? I have the house ready," she begged.
Philippe glanced at Mick and Beth trying to judge their response to that request and quickly decided his answer. He could tell that his sister was up to something and he needed to discover what she had planned. Perhaps Dimitri could enlighten him. The look in Cynthia's eyes told him she was thinking the same thing.
"All right Cora, we will stay with you. I am sure that Mick and Beth have many details to deal with before Friday night and would appreciate being able to get on with them now. We will have a chance to catch up with them tomorrow night at Josef's," Philippe announced giving Beth a pleading look to forgive him.
"That will be fine Grandpere," Beth said using the endearment she had started using when she had learned of her connection to this member of the Duvall family. She had understood his reason for agreeing to Coraline's request and did not want to make a scene. It gave her great pleasure to see how Coraline flinched when she brought up the blood relationship that she shared with Philippe. "You and Coraline have a lot to catch up on since New Orleans. We will see you and Cynthia tomorrow night."
Philippe went to Beth and kissed her cheek once more. He whispered in her ear in a voice so low that even Mick almost missed what he said.
"I will try to learn what she is up to."
Beth nodded, her smile still fixed on her face.
"Let's collect your luggage," Coraline interrupted impatiently. She continued to cling to Dimitri but Cynthia could see that her gaze kept straying to Mick. "Did you bring a red dress Cynthia? Beth has requested that we all wear red. I have the perfect dress all picked out," she added slyly her eyes gleaming in delight.
"Yes, I have a lovely one," Cynthia said quickly. "I believe it will be a beautiful commitment and red is so right for Valentine's Day." She was worried what was cooking in Coraline's head. It was not difficult to see that Dimitri was very uncomfortable with this conversation and Coraline did not appear to care.
"Until tomorrow then," Philippe agreed wanting to break the tension. He nodded to Mick as he gave Beth a final hug and then went to Cynthia, taking her hand. "Okay Cora, let's go."
Mick watched as the four vampires walked away. He looked at Beth in puzzlement.
"Now that was strange," he said when the others were out of sight.
"She is up to something," Beth mused. "I was convinced that she had changed but now I'm not so sure. She said she wanted to make Dimitri know that she cared for him but she sure didn't act that way today. I feel so stupid Mick, I wanted to believe her."
Mick hugged her to his side and kissed the top of her head.
"Of course you wanted to believe her. You are so different from her, you care for people. We can still tell her to stay away," Mick suggested.
Beth's eyes lit up for a moment then she shook her head.
"No, as tempting as that thought is, I think we need to know where she is and what she is up to during our commitment. I trust Granny's promise that it will be okay," Beth replied. "And I really can't hurt Philippe by changing my mind and putting him in the middle of this. You know Coraline would take it out on him."
"All right then, we will trust in Granny," Mick agreed and taking her hand he led her out of the airport.
*o*o*
Four hours later Josef and Rayna were waiting in another part of the airport. The comfortable lounge for the unloading of private US jets was quiet and they were alone when the landing of Robert's jet was announced.
Laughter preceded the arrival of Robert's party. Granny strode along, her arm linked with Robert while Anthony and Charity followed right behind holding hands. When Granny spotted Josef and Rayna, she waved in greeting.
"Rayna child, you look lovely," she said gathering her close. "I was worried about you. Then I read the cards again and they said all would be well. And so you are."
"Josef had to take Jefferson's head, there was no reasoning with him," Rayna said sadly. "Granny, I was so wrong about him. I didn't understand."
"You couldn't have known," Granny said firmly. "Cole chose his own path to destruction. There was no saving him and you had no say in how he behaved." She let Rayna go.
"Ray, do I need to move back here to keep you out of trouble?" Anthony scolded as he took his turn hugging her. "You never got into these messes when I was with you." Rayna could see the sparkle of laughter in his eyes that took the edge off his words.
"No, no, I would never dream of taking you away from Granny or Charity," Rayna grinned back at him. Charity blushed deeply at the jab.
"I thought for sure that Tyson would have come along," she said quickly trying to cover her embarrassment.
"They were going to come but Tyson decided they needed some "alone" time," Rayna answered. "After Savannah's exposure to Jefferson's mad scheme he felt they needed to do some serious talking. They will join us tomorrow night."
Granny nodded thoughtfully. She was worried about her boy and his lady. In spite of Savannah's adaption to and acceptance of their world, there were roadblocks to the couple's happiness. It was clear to Moriah that she would have to sit Tyson down and have a long talk. Troublesome warnings had been appearing in the cards recently and she felt the need for a more personal reading. The fact that Tyson did not put much faith in the cards would not deter her from looking into this deeper.
With an effort she shook off those thoughts for the moment, knowing that she would get her talk with Tyson later. For now she planned to concentrate on Mick and Beth's ceremony. She wanted to be sure that the young couple experienced all the joy that went with a commitment. Moriah was well aware that she had an uncontrolled former wife to supervise and she would not let Mick and Beth down. Coraline Duvall had to be watched and not allowed to disrupt this happy night.
End chapter.
There, the guests are in town. And one final mystery has to be solved. Just what is going on in that woman's head? I hope you are still with me. Thanks for reading. Reviews are always welcomed.
