Hi there! I'm back with the new chapter. I so enjoyed your comments and the muse is full of beans now. Thank you so much for them!
Scfifan: Yeah, the meeting is now the most important thing and it won't be easy for Mick to handle this.
Lucretiareadsall: He, he… so you don't want any more cliffhangers? Sorry, but I love to write them! ;0) And Beth and Mick really need to make an appointment for their 'resting'. There's no real time for happy togetherness.
Sandra Fegan: I hate it when in series or books the bad guys don't have a reason for being that bad. This will never happen with my stories. I don't believe in pure evil and pure good. Everyone has several sides and everyone has their reason for their behavior. And this I wanted to show with that last flashback. I'm glad you liked it. And you're right with Mick and Beth: They not only need to talk, they also need a bit of intimacy, some time with each other to find their balance in their relationship again. And you were that often in Germany? Wow! You've seen places I've never seen in my life here. And thanks that you want to ask your friends about American breakfast.
Betsal: Hm, talk after 'resting'… maybe it's really better that way. *insert broad grin here*. But first there has to be time for 'resting'. About your question: There's always a bond between Sire and Fledgling. The only question is how strong it will be with a re-turning. We'll see this soon. And the meeting will for sure be very strenuous for all of them.
Moonjat54: I'm really happy that you liked that flashback. When I wrote it I wasn't quite sure if my readers will like it for sometimes people need a really evil person and don't want to hear that also the badies have a background story and their reasons for acting like they do. But most people liked that feedback (also on the German site) and even started to feel sorry for Coraline. And that's what I wanted. And Josef… yeah, he can't handle the situation with Simone. He's not used to that and doesn't know what he can or even wants to do. The meeting will be hard for Mick but you're right there's no time for playing nice.
Loveyoujar: I love to write Mick-Josef-moments. They are so great together and I love how they tease each other and nevertheless you always feel how deep this friendship is. Concerning the flashback: I felt the same with the show. I really wanted to know more about Micks and Coralines relationship and had the same questions you have. I'm also sure they would have answered them if there had been a second season… sniff. But now I try to do this and I'm glad you like the way I do it. I love Mick and Beth so much too. And I love to write them. Would love to write only Mick-Beth moments. But there is this huge plot I have to write down… sigh…
Borntobemybaby: Beth indeed thinks Mick has PTSD and he has. Who would not after that what happened to him. But I also think that she needs time to rest and calm down. Great to hear you also liked the flashback and feel sorry for Coraline. And I also think she loves Cynthia dearly. So, yes, there will be hard times for her with that meeting. The same is for Mick.
Judy Albert: Coraline indeed carries around a dark past and there's still so much to reveal about her and also Mick… We'll see if Mick can handle the meeting and what will be revealed there…
And now I wish you all much fun with the next chapter and will be back at Thursday again! Have a great Sunday!
Translated by Draco
Beta read by Sg6169
Fights
"The aim is always to fight, but not against the people, but for the people."
Sonja Metthes (*1930)
To be in a relationship with a traumatized human-vampire-hybrid was, understandably, a challenge that demanded a lot of strength and commitment and always brought her to her limits – that Beth had already had to learn on several occasions. It was particularly hard whenever she was forced to reprimand herself, to suppress her own needs for Mick's benefit, and to not ask too much of him all at one time. Some wise person once said that the hardest battle one had to fight in life was the struggle against oneself and she had to agree. How many times had she been tempted to yell at Mick, to rant and rave and vehemently ask for what she needed from him: trust, confidence and clarity. That she seldom got that from him and then much too slowly, was difficult to tolerate and it cost her a lot in strength and nerves. However, she was often able to regain her strength during quiet moments, to motivate herself to persevere, to keep fighting, and again and again remember that this wasn't a permanent condition, that their relationship had actually developed quite positively considering the circumstances, and she needed to deal with Mick with patience and understanding while he was still so unstable psychologically.
It had also been that way the previous evening, after Mick had fallen asleep sitting on the couch and it had clearly showed her how much the last mission alone had taken its toll on him physically. He simply wasn't back to his old self yet, still had to fight with physical and especially psychological problems. That he was usually pretty good at hiding that from others wasn't good for him or anyone else, including her, as this could easily mean he was pushing himself beyond his limits, overtaxing himself. Basically, they just had to make sure that that didn't happen anymore, and that Mick wasn't necessarily involved in every operation. Why had she even bothered to look up all that information on PTSD and its life impairing effects if she wasn't going to apply it, didn't try to counteract Mick's harmful behavior with himself and others in a subtle way?
Although it was sometimes incredibly difficult, Beth had to continue to look for the signs of stress and strain that Mick would unconsciously exhibit and to let up on her questions at the moment – no matter how urgent or important – to put them off to a later date or even look for someone else to get her answers from. Not everything that concerned Mick had to necessarily be clarified with him. This thought had come to her last night and had comforted her immensely. There were a few people close at hand that could answer her questions at least as good if not better than Mick, when it came to specific issues. As luck would have it, these people were even here right now.
There were two important things she wanted to clarify today: One, the question of whether and why Coraline had chosen her and Mick to… yes, actually, to do what exactly? Until recently, Beth had had the impression Coraline had wanted to transform her to give Mick a family. Now with all the new background information about her blood type and the inherited Nigong-DNA this concept was becoming considerably shakier - not only for her but also for Mick.
Her second important question was actually related to that: What exactly was going on with her right now? Was she about to turn, even though she couldn't really? And if so, how had it happen? And what did all this have to do with her blood type? When Beth really thought about it, she only needed one person to clarify all these important questions: Gabriel. Only he was so busy, so occupied at the moment she would probably have to wait quite a while before she could catch him alone to ask him. That wouldn't be good for her or her nerves, even though she had recovered a little overnight, she was still pretty frazzled, and it didn't help that her thoughts kept going back to the same issues, stirring up her fears and concerns, which did nothing to help her recover further. Distraction… A distraction was what she needed now and that was why Beth now turned to Seth, trying to give this constantly babbling boy her full attention.
"I think I even surprised Gabriel when I conjured up this tiny thing. And considering I didn't even have the right materials on hand and I was under considerable time pressure, I actually succeeded in coming up with a small miracle," he just finished his long and very excited narrative, Beth had only been half listening. She gave him an appreciative smile, although it wasn't really clear to her what he was talking about.
"And this transmitter you have, where is it installed now?" she asked out of the blue, hoping she was right in asking that, as she followed him and Logan from her apartment out into the hallway. Josef had separated from them earlier, with the excuse he needed to hit one of the freezers that had been placed in an apartment accessible to all, for at least ten minutes. After twenty-minutes of Seth's rambling, he had really given a pitiful impression, so much so that Beth almost believed he actually needed to cool off for a few minutes to regain his strength.
"Gabriel didn't really want to tell me," Seth answered her question now. "I think it's because it has something to do with one of the people he suspects of being a traitor. In fact, the transmitter can be easily attached be simply touching the clothes of another person without him noticing. It's far too small to be discovered so easily."
"Even smaller than the one you put in the lid of the fake-cure?" Logan asked with wide eyes and Seth nodded proudly.
"Did that one actually bring in any results?" Beth asked now really interested. Josef had told her about this strange, fake cure that this Jason together with Cynthia had wanted to pass along to the Legion. So far none of them had figured out what was going on with this whole story. That would probably change if Cynthia were to actually appear here today.
"Well," Seth looked around briefly, as they continued down the hall, "at some point the signal died, so it may have been discovered, but at least it made it as far as South-Arizona, in the vicinity of Casa Grande."
South-Arizona? Hadn't the doctor at the hospital mentioned that Gallagher's new laboratory was here in Arizona?
"Gabriel's pretty sure the Legion has a hidden laboratory somewhere in that region," Seth confirmed her thoughts. "He may bring it up at the gathering. If you ask me, I think it's just a matter of time before we find Frank. The question is, whether we'll be able to free him then. There's no doubt he'll be well guarded."
"Gabriel can do it," Logan replied full of confidence. "I'm sure. He's already prepared and planned so much… I'm always amazed at how he manages that…"
Seth nodded in agreement. Beth, however, was distracted again, because they had reached the stairs and a clearly subdued looking Simone was approaching them. She responded to Beth's questioning look with a restrained smile and then continued on without a word, but Beth couldn't let her go that easily.
"Excuse me," she said quickly to Logan and Seth, "I'll be right back, I just need to check something out."
She didn't wait for a reaction from the two, just turned and quickly hurried after her friend. Although they didn't have time for a long talk between them, she at least wanted to share a few words of comfort with her.
"Simone," she called quickly, before she could disappear into her room and the young lawyer stopped, looked at her with a mixture of resignation and mild annoyance.
"Beth… I'm really not in the mood for a lot of questions right now," she let out very tired. "I just have to work all this out for myself first."
"You mean the thing with Sarah," Beth responded sympathetically, when she had caught up with her.
Simone gave her a sad thoughtful look. "So you knew about her too…"
Beth nodded a little guiltily. "I… I found out about her just after the assassination attempt on Josef."
"Did Sarah have something to do with it?" Simone asked a little surprised. Apparently she had heard something about this too – it was no wonder with all the fuss the press had made about it, without even coming close to the truth. And Simone might have even worked for Josef at the time.
"More like her father…" Beth replied evasively, "but you should really talk with Josef about it, I'm sure he'll tell you everything."
"I'm not so sure I want to hear…"
Beth looked at her friend worried, saw that the resignation in her eyes was so great that it threatened to overwhelm Simone. The young lawyer took a deep, halting breath, tucked with her trembling fingers a strand of her rich, chestnut brown hair behind her ear.
"I… I've been fighting for so long for this man to return my love, Beth, for so long. Again and again he's demonstrated in one way or another that there are areas of his life he's not willing to share with me, things he excludes me from that he only shares with Mick, or even you. And just when I get the feeling that our relationship is developing and that he's finally going to let me get close to him, I find out about this other woman… this woman that's in a coma, and even in sleep she still holds his heart and refuses to let go." Her voice was trembling and her eyes slowly filled with tears. "I saw it in his eyes, Beth, and even though he was so drunk, I could still see how deeply in love he is with this woman, how much he misses her and longs for her - even though I'm the one by his side…" She took another quivering breath. "And I know I can't compete with her, although I'm awake, talking with him, I'm there for him…"
She let out a desperate laugh and caused the lump in Beth's throat, the knots in her stomach to become even larger. This resignation, that seemed to flow from every pore of her friend, was hard to bear.
"What if… what if a miracle were to happen and she woke up?" she asked a question Beth couldn't answer. No, if she was really honest, she knew the answer. She only needed to recall the look in Josef's eyes, as he stood by the side of the bed of his deeply sleeping beloved. But she still couldn't answer Simone's question, knew it was the wrong thing to do. Instead what softly came from her lips was, "She's not going to wake up."
"You can't know that," Simone said sadly. "And I can't bear this uncertainty. Not in this situation, not under all this stress. I… I just don't have the strength left, Beth."
"What do you mean?" Beth asked alarmed and her heart began to beat faster immediately. She had grown so fond of Simone, and didn't want to loose her. Were they all going to have to pay now for Josef's mistake?
Her friend looked down, let out a soft sigh. "I… I don't know. The only thing I know right now is that you can't keep a relationship alive when you lie to each other about such important things as we did. This can't continue. And I have to figure all this out for myself, what I want and what my options are." Her eyelids lifted again, and her brown eyes reflected so much of what she felt inwardly: deep disappointment, sadness, anger and helplessness. "I just need a little time to rest and think… And I need that now."
"Does that mean you won't be attending the meeting?"
Simone confirmed Beth's assumption with a slight nod and then opened the door to her apartment. But she didn't go in immediately, but stopped hesitantly. "Please don't be mad at me…"
Beth shook her head even before she had finished the last syllable. "Of course not. I just wish there was something I could do for you…"
Simone raised her hand and shook her head. "You already have enough to take care of Beth, so I'm not going to take up the last bit of your strength with my worries and relationship problems. Just take care of yourself and Mick, fight for your relationship and be happy together. Then maybe, I can only hope, that someday I'll be able to work this out with Josef somehow."
"I'll do my best," Beth promised fervently and a small smile lit up Simone's pale features for a second, then she disappeared inside the apartment and closed the door behind her.
Beth's own smile faded immediately and she needed a moment to collect herself enough to go back toward the stairs. Simone's words had moved her deeply, awakened her own anxieties, one thought she'd been successfully able to push back last night. Her fear of losing Mick to her rival - Coraline. Well, Mick had often told her how terrible his relationship with his ex-wife had been, how crazy this woman was, but he had also admitted that he had left her repeatedly, and had always returned again and again, even though he knew perfectly well she would only hurt him again. And yesterday he had not been able to say whether he still loved her or not, wasn't sure what he felt for this woman.
Beth had to stop, breathe deeply and quietly for a moment, because her intestines wanted to knot up again unpleasantly. 'Mick loves you,' she told herself. 'He's told you this so often... and proved it. How many times has he already saved you, putting his own life at risk? How often has he showed you in moments of deep despair how much he needs you, from both sides of his existence? He had fought Coraline, cursed her, and even killed her – was that something you could do to a person you truly loved? Probably not.'
Beth nodded to her own thoughts and felt much better already. She had felt herself how much deeper, more intense her relationship with Mick had become – especially in recent weeks. They had found a connection to each other and had built upon it, enough so that no power in the world could affect it, and certainly not a Coraline DuVall, no matter how beautiful and cunning she was. If Mick still had any feelings for his ex-wife, then it was most likely pity. Maybe even the urge to learn what foul play, even before her marriage to him, drove her to be interested in him. But that was all… it had to be. And maybe Beth could even help him out with this research. Maybe it would even be beneficial for her to speak with Coraline… this… this…
Coraline, there she was. Beth caught a glimpse of a dark-haired woman while passing an open door and she knew it was her, just felt it… and stopped. Of course it was a stupid idea. The meeting was going to start at any moment and time was short. Then, on top of that, she would be all alone with Coraline - for the first time since finding out that she was the woman who had abducted her as a child. She didn't know how this knowledge was going to affect her, nor how Coraline would react to the situation, knowing that Beth and Mick were a real couple now. Well, at least Gabriel was in the house and Coraline did seem to be somewhat afraid of him. Beth knew from Mick, that this woman could sometimes have real blackouts and was thus potentially dangerous. But she also knew there was no way that Mick would allow her to speak with Coraline alone, which made this opportunity even more favorable, one that Beth couldn't afford to pass up. So, she pushed back her fears, straightened her shoulders and moved with firm steps back towards the door. She was there, this dark-haired so dangerous beauty, still worriedly pacing back and forth in the room behind it. But then she paused in her movement and turned around slowly, looked directly at her with a light, almost pleasant smile on her lips.
"Beth, dear, come in," came her voice, that like so often wore this air of coldness in itself. "We really haven't had the opportunity to talk. If we did, maybe we could even put a couple of old disagreements behind us."
Beth couldn't help it: her heart started beating faster after she hesitantly stepped into the room, carefully leaving the door opened behind her. The last time she had seen Coraline was just before Mick's abduction, she had thrown herself into Mick's arms and Beth had retreated with a lump in the chest and tears in the eyes. It had been a difficult time for her back then, so soon after Josh's death and with the fear in her heart that she had driven Mick with her own negative, so deeply hurtful behavior back into the arms of his ex-wife and had robbed herself of the affection of the only person, that has been her last safe harbor in this ever confusing world. She had hated Coraline at that time more than ever and only wished the worst for this woman. Now that she was face to face with her, she noticed at once, how delicate and fragile her biggest competitor was and how little was left of the nightmare of her past. After all the terrible things that had happened, the woman standing in front of her now had lost a large part of that dangerous aura. There were more dangerous predators roaming the earth, and worse things that could happen than being kidnapped at the age of four by a crazy female vampire.
"I don't believe a short conversation is going to make the things that have happened in the past just go away," Beth said with a coolness and calmness in the voice that she never thought herself capable of in this situation.
"Oh, that's not what I want at all," Coraline said and moved towards her in this splendidly smooth way of walking. "I think the little 'accident' with the stake has made it quite clear that you're not open to reconciliation. But I'll take your willingness to come here to my apartment as a small step forward in our difficult relationship."
Beth wrinkled her brow thoughtfully, but then nodded slowly. "I can live with that, for now…"
Coraline gave a little laugh, looked her over briefly and then went to the small couch in the room. "I think, however, it was more your curiosity that has brought you here, than your desire to have a little chat among women," she stated and elegantly took a seat on the couch. "So, what exactly is it that concerns you so much that it's causing these unsightly little wrinkles on your ever so smooth face?"
Beth took a moment to cope with the scathing reference to her mortality, and was then able to respond to this open-hearted invitation to a serious discussion. "Let's start with one of the most current issues," she replied and then went without haste to the couch. "When we were down in the hospital and the soldier threatened my life… Why did you save me?"
Coraline tossed her thick, dark hair back with a mysterious smile, and then leaned back on the sofa. "Why, wouldn't I?"
"Because I staked you?" Beth gave right back blankly and the soft laughter of her opponent confused her even more."
"I'm sure if I were in your place, I would not have acted any differently," Coraline said and Beth was really surprised to actually hear respect in her voice.
"Or, maybe because I've won the heart of the man that you could never quite give up?" was Beth's next proposal to Coraline to force her to give up her masquerade, and show how she really felt about her. This time, she'd probably struck a nerve because the smile Coraline had kept up bravely now seemed much more cramped, fake and there was such a dangerous glint in her eyes.
"We're on the same side now, Beth," Coraline said after a brief moment to collect herself. "We've to join forces to fight an incredibly dangerous opponent - because of that, no one can afford to hold onto old conflicts and quests for revenge in this community. Whatever I may feel concerning yours and Mick's relationship - it doesn't belong here. I'm going to do my utmost to ensure we win this war."
"I don't think I'd have been that great a loss for this war," Beth said back with a smile that wasn't entirely convincing and immediately disappeared, just as a strange smile appeared on Coraline's lips once again, along with an amused twinkle in her eyes…
"It seems some people in our community see things differently," she said, and consequently forced Beth to now sit on the same couch but keep a certain distance from Coraline. This woman really had an amazing ability to know which words she needed to choose, to get her opponents attention. Beth's heart began to beat faster again and suddenly there was a pressure in her gut, a premonition that this beautiful female vampire sitting before her was actually in a position to answer some of her burning questions.
"Who?" It immediately shot out from Beth and she was annoyed that she couldn't hide her excitement better from Coraline.
Coraline picked up her eyebrows. "Well, Mick, of course," she replied, and enjoyed it immensely keeping Beth dangling.
"Anyone besides Mick?" Beth hooked impatiently.
"I think, you already know," smiled Coraline.
"Gabriel," Beth now felt compelled to answer her own question. "Why? Why does he need me? What makes me so special?"
"That you should perhaps ask him," Coraline avoided her question again and Beth shook her head vehemently.
"I have no idea when he'll have time for a conversation with me and I know very well that you're one of the few people who know some of his secrets, know what all this has to do with my blood type. That was also the reason you kidnapped me, when I was a toddler!"
Coraline looked a little surprised for a moment, but caught herself quickly, and it was now her turn to shake her head. "I wanted Mick back, Beth. I wanted a new start for our relationship. I wanted a family with him and for you to be our child. That's all…"
"You're lying," said Beth with firm conviction. "There's much more to it. You've had hundreds of years to adopt a child - but you never did."
"How would you know?" Coraline's voice was suddenly fierce, almost angry. "Just because I didn't do it with Mick, doesn't mean I never had the desire to start a family!"
Beth was speechless for a moment. Coraline's reaction really surprised her - especially because the woman before her wasn't maternal in the least. Hard to imagine that she ever had a desire for children.
"Have you ever turned a child?" Beth questioned further with great unease.
Coraline looked past her, seemed for a moment to delve into old, incredibly sad memories. "No," she uttered so softly that it was difficult to hear and continued to stare absently into space. "I had a biological child when I was a human. A daughter. She died of pneumonia before reaching her fifth birthday…"
Then she looked at Beth and the warmth and tenderness, mixed with the sadness in her eyes, shook Beth more than her words had. She had really loved her child.
"You looked so much like her back then… It really felt like I had suddenly rediscovered my family, and I wanted to give Mick what he had always wanted…"
"But you… you wanted to bite me… make me a vampire!" Beth stammered, confused, struggling to not develop some sympathy or compassion for this woman.
Again there was this strange smile, but this time Coraline wasn't able to continue to look her in the eye. She lowered her gaze, looked at her soft, manicured fingers. "You just don't understand. You know so little about our world."
Beth took a deep breath, trying as quickly as possible to sort her thoughts and focus on the really important questions. "I know at least that my and Mick's blood group plays a pretty significant role in your world, that it even has something to do with what's going on around us," she replied now with vigor. "And that's the reason I don't believe you, Coraline. I know there's more to my kidnapping, than you're admitting, and Mick knows it now too."
Beth's words forced Coraline to turn back to her and although she continued to try and smile, Beth saw in her eyes, in her whole posture that she was becoming nervous that her cool facade was crumbling once again.
"I also know that people with my blood type can carry a gene that protects them from being transformed into a vampire," Beth went on easily, all the while studying Coraline's facial expressions. "And that the vampire world has long been aware of that. And as a result, there's a book…" Beth said no more, but stared at Coraline, who paled noticeably, with a meaningful look.
"You… you know of the book of the Sangsujet?" The vampire cried out with eyes wide in horror. "Who told you about it?"
"So there really is such a book!" Beth exclaimed with unintentional force. She had not expected Coraline to fall so easily into that trap, and wasn't sure whether she should be happy about her success or be appalled by the new information.
Coraline, who had noticed her fatal error immediately jumped up with a mixture of anger and fear, and moved away from her a bit. She took a deep breath, shook her head and let out a soft chuckle. "It had to happened to me of all…"
Beth now stood up too, with firm determination that she would no longer be shaken off so easily. "The Sangsujet… are they people like Mick and me. Humans who have the same blood type, A0-negative? Humans like you once were? Were you a Sangsujet…?"
Coraline didn't respond to her question, turned from her and even went across the room to the large windows.
"Sang means blood…," Beth went on, and followed her. "And sujet…?"
"Subject," it came barely audible from Coraline's lips, while she absently stared out the window. "Blood-subject?" Beth put together the word for herself.
"Or subject of the blood," Coraline corrected her quietly. "Gabriel prefers it that way…"
Beth frowned thoughtfully, fighting down her rising unease and excitement with a vengeance. "Is that another word for 'special Freshies'?"
Again a low chuckle escaped Coraline. "That's not so far off," she replied softly, and finally looked at Beth again. "But I'm not allowed to talk about it. Gabriel wanted to do this himself. He's afraid you and especially Mick might completely misunderstand and that you'd lose your confidence in him."
Beth closed her eyes, took a deep breath and fought back the strong urge to immediately march up to Gabriel and confront him. "This book belongs to Gabriel - is that right?" she asked Coraline instead, after she was again able to look at her again.
Coraline hesitated for a moment. It was obvious she was weighing exactly how much she could still tell Beth, without getting herself into trouble. Finally, she nodded.
"Why does he need this book? What does he need the Sangsujet for?" Beth kept on asking.
"He had once needed them to produce the cure," Coraline betrayed after another moment of apparent hesitation, and Beth stood open mouthed.
"This… this cure is made of… of blood?" she stammered.
"Of two different blood types and the sap of one of the rarest species of lilies known on this planet," Coraline said quietly.
"Then… is this a book of ingredients?" Beth asked, almost in disgust, and her resentment against Gabriel grew.
Coraline gave a bright laugh. "That's a bit exaggerated…"
Beth shuddered inwardly, admonished herself to get a grip on her emotions and to keep the facts in mind. Coraline was a skillful liar, because of that it was quite possible that she was just trying to instigate trouble against Gabriel.
"Gabriel said he'd stopped trying to research and produce this a long, long time ago," Beth went to the next important issue. "Why are people with my blood type still being listed there?"
"Not all people with your blood type are listed," Coraline replied with a small smile. "The volume of the book would be astronomical with time."
"That means there are only certain people out of this blood type," Beth concluded immediately. "A specific bloodline?"
Coraline's smirk was transformed once more into this strange knowing, provocative smile. "I will not say another word, Beth. I told you I've already revealed too much. Gabriel will not be happy about it."
"My name is in that book!" Beth uttered with audible anger in her voice. She didn't like it that Coraline was now suddenly refusing to discuss it further. "I have a right to know the reason behind all this!"
"Is that so?" asked Coraline back with raised eyebrows and Beth was tempted to jump at her throat. How could this woman dare to leave her dangling after all these new findings?
"Not only mine – but also Mick's!" Beth growled back. "And somehow you managed to get your hands on this book and decided to chose both of us for… for… whatever you had planned. But something went wrong…"
"I did not chose Mick," Coraline replied unusually harsh. "He wanted me! He wanted me so badly that he almost went crazy, when I rejected him! He was crazy over me - so crazy that he proposed to me after only a few weeks. Wanted me to be his - forever! And no matter what has gone on between us in recent decades and who's entered his life - he has, in the end, always returned to me! Always!"
Coraline's beautiful eyes sparkled with rage and she took a deep breath, lowered her eyelids in order to calm down, while Beth had to fight hard to control her own emotions, doing everything in her power to keep Coraline's message from reaching her, from touching her. 'Don't get distracted! Don't get distracted!' the little voice of reason pounded in her temples.
"You mean he wanted you even when he was still a child?" Beth said with a coolness which contradicted her turbulent interior completely. Coraline's confused look, the twitch of terror in her eyes was a wonderful reward.
"What… what do you mean?" stammered the otherwise so controlled, confident woman before her.
"As far as I know you've been spying on Mick ever since he was a child," Beth helped Coraline's memory and the expression on the delicate features of her rival, confirmed Mick's conjecture and brought back a little peace to Beth's battered soul.
"This… this isn't true," Coraline brought out, anything but convincing, and Beth could see that her pale complexion became even a shade lighter. Wonderful!
"Mick and I met in the fifties at one of my parties."
"Sure," Beth said with a smile that once again brought highly visible anger to boil in Coraline.
"He was…"
"…crazy for you - I know," Beth cut her off in a cold manner.
Coraline stared at her for a heartbeat with open anger, but then bit her teeth together, turned away from her and walked back to the center of the room. Beth watched as she shook her head and then slowly turned back to her. The few seconds that had elapsed were enough to give her back the ability to smile falsely. Beth was already excited about what Coraline would come up with next to try to get to her, to make her feel insecure.
"We shouldn't do this, Beth," she said now, and came closer again. "Divide us even further because of Mick. We too must learn to work together. Not only in relation to the war, but also in relation to Mick. He never was a simple, harmless man - and now after all the horrible things that have been done to him…" She shook her head. "Instead, you should try learning from my experience with this man, I might even be able to give you some advice if he gets worse…"
Beth let out an angry laugh. "Hardly," she replied tartly.
Coraline put her head a little to one side. "Of course, Mick and Josef told you that I'm the evil one and caused the destruction of our marriage - that doesn't surprise me. But you as a journalist should know that there are always two sides, two different should listen to both sides before you come to a conclusion. Mick's no saint."
Aha, now it was the 'make her afraid of Mick story'. How pathetic.
"Yeah, but unfortunately we don't currently have time your wonderful version," said Beth back with sarcasm dripping from her voice and saw a flash of anger again in Coraline's eyes that were fixed on her. She started to speak, then paused however and looked over at the door.
As Beth turned also, Logan's curly head appeared in the doorway. "Oh, there you are," he said in relief. "We'll be starting soon!"
"I'll be right there," Beth replied with a gentle smile. Logan nodded, but remained a moment to look at Coraline with a critical frown. Then he disappeared again and Beth turned back to Mick's ex-wife. Ex… What a wonderful prefix…
Coraline said nothing for a while, just looked at her extensively.
"I'm actually a little worried about you, my child," she sighed finally, with an overly solicitous gaze that betrayed the lie behind her words to Beth. "I don't think you're going to be able to handle Mick, should he ever lose control in one of his violent moods. He's become so strong that he could easily smash your pretty little face with one swing…"
"He would never lay a hand on me," Beth replied full of conviction and it was getting harder by the second not to let it show how quickly Coraline's words upset her again. Why was she just so mentally unstable?
Coraline's smile was no longer just strange, it also clearly held a coldness. "It's really sweet how much faith you have in Mick's heroic side Beth, but you're forgetting that every man has the potential for raw, uncontrolled violence and Mick… in his new state he exceeds anyone else."
Beth shook her head vehemently. Her nostrils flared with suppressed rage. She wanted so much to just pounce on this woman, to drive a stake into her cold heart again. "Mick is not like that! He has learned to control himself and he would never do anything to harm a weaker person…"
Now Coraline was also laughing lightly, making her feel like she had said something incredibly stupid.
"It seems he hasn't told you very much about his former life," she added to her outburst with an evil glint in her eyes. "In certain situations he's really no different from other men. Believe me, I've lived many years with him and he has shown me repeatedly that there are no exceptions among men. In the deep down they're all the same: dominant, impulsive, and violent. Perhaps Mick has tamed himself for you so far - he managed that for a while with me too - but at some point there will come a time when he can no longer do it, and the anger will overflow and in this moment it will be very dangerous for you, Beth. Your human body won't be able to tolerate such brutality mine could…"
"I understand," Beth pressed out from between her teeth. "What you're now trying to say is that you're the only one who could live with him and you're hoping to scare me away with your words… But let me tell you something. There's nothing in this world that could scare me enough to leave Mick. Nothing."
Coraline tried to keep smiling, tried to pretend as if Beth's words had no effect on her, but the hate-filled glint in her eyes betrayed her.
"And do you know the reason why?" Beth continued quite a bit more courageous. "It's the fact that we love each other - in such a deep, intimate way that your mind could not even grasp. Otherwise you would not try so pathetically to sabotage our relationship. You can't destroy it. No one can."
With that she turned and made her way out of the room. She felt Coraline's piercing glare in her back and knew full well that this woman would not forget this conversation. She would continue to try to unsettle her, to try and win back Mick's love for herself, no matter how many times she said that they had to stick together in this situation. And this knowing made Beth a little afraid, afraid of the future because she knew, without wanting to, that a few of the things Coraline had said had burned into her memory.