"Hello Mick." Alana said with a smile. "Yer here."
"Mick?" Beth's face lit up when she saw the vampire. She pushed all her worries, about the baby and telling Mick, aside for a moment.
Mick, thinking only of Beth, ignored the red head and quickly moved past her to the middle of the room where the blonde was laying.
Alana moved out of the way. She stood in the doorway watching the two, a grin on her face.
Mick sat down on the gurney beside Beth, gently took her in his arms and kissed her deeply. Beth kissed him back, throwing her arms around him despite the pain it caused her.
Alana turned away giving Mick and Beth some privacy. "I… think I'm goin' ta jest go find Josef.." she told the vampire and the blonde who were preoccupied with their reunion. She quietly slipped out of the room, closing the door behind her.
Both Mick and Beth were oblivious of Alana's presence in the room. It wasn't as though they were trying to be rude, it was just, well, they were together, something both of them feared would never happen again.
They stayed that way, wrapped up in each other, their mouths fused together for a few moments until Beth's need to breathe became an issue. At some point during their reunion, Beth had begun to cry, for probably the thousandth time that evening.
"Beth." Mick said her name as if it were a prayer. He gently took her face in his hands and looked at her, examining her face for injuries. He noticed the bruise on her cheek and moved his hand as not to accidentally brush against it. "Oh, Beth."
"I'm so sor-ry. I should have listened to you." Beth cried.
"Shh." he soothed. "It's okay. Everything's okay." He wrapped his arms around her again.
"I'-m s-o s-or-ry." Beth sobbed, lowering her aching head to the vampire's shoulder.
Mick rubbed her back softly in slow circles. "Shh. Shh, Beth. It's alright."
She sobbed into his shirt, clinging to him like a scared kitten.
"Don't cry sweetheart. Don't cry." he soothed.
Beth sniffled and took a deep shaky breath. "I was s-o sc-ared. I th-ought I was ne-ver goin-g to see you ag-ain."
"Everything's fine now. You're safe. I'm never going to let anything happen to you, ever again." Mick assured her. "God Beth, I love you so much."
"I lo-ve you too." Beth managed to reply. She lifted her head to look at him, groaning softly.
Mick brushed a strand of hair away from Beth's tear stained face. "Are you alright?"
"I'm okay," Beth insisted snuggling closer to Mick. "now that you're here."
Mick saw a box of tissues on the counter behind him. With the hand that wasn't currently wrapped around Beth, reached for the box. He dropped the box on the gurney, pulled out a tissue and handed it to her.
Beth accepted the tissue, blotted her face with it and balled it in her fist. "I'm sorry. I'm such a mess. I told Alana that I'd get myself under control by the time you got here."
"You're not a mess. You're beautiful as always."
Beth smiled through her tears. She hadn't seen herself since earlier that morning, but she had some idea of what she looked like. Her hair was probably a disaster, her face was red and her eyes were wet and puffy from crying.
"I'm sorry it took me so long to get here." Mick apologized. "There was an accident on the highway. Traffic was backed up."
"Josef and Alana said you had to take care of some things." Beth interrupted. "By things, I'm guessing that you had to take care of Hayden?" she asked her voice low. "He's responsible for killing those girls Mick, and the teacher. He killed his father right in front of me. He killed Willa too, but the cops are going to find her body with a fake suicide note saying she killed the cheerleaders."
"I know." Mick replied. "It's being dealt with. I don't want to talk about it right now. I want to talk about you." he insisted. "The whole way here all I kept thinking about was you, and how badly I wanted to see you. I needed to see for myself that you were alright." He scooted closer to the blonde.
"I'm fine Mick." Beth replied tersely. She didn't want to talk about her. She wanted to talk about what happened, and what Mick was doing about it. Instead of starting an argument with him, she dropped the subject, and decided they would talk about it later.
"That's not what Josef tells me." Mick replied quirking a brow.
Beth sat up, moving away from him a little. "W-hat did Josef tell you?" she asked trying to hide the anxiety in her voice. Had he lied to her when he said he wouldn't say anything? If Josef had told Mick about the baby, he sure wasn't acting as if he knew.
"He told me a lot of things. He called me a few times." Mick said with a grin.
"I think the hospital makes him nervous." Beth commented.
"I'm sure it has nothing to do with the ridiculous story he came up with to explain why you're here." He smiled. "You fell on a barbecue fork?"
Beth shrugged. "Thirty- two percent of household accidents happen while grilling." she informed him with a small smile. "It's believable."
"As about as believable as you and Josef being married." Mick carefully turned the clear plastic hospital bracelet on her wrist so he could read it. "Mrs. Kostan"
Beth couldn't help but grin. "Yeah, I've been meaning to tell you all about me and Josef. I'm sorry you had to find out this way."
"I hope you two aren't planning on running away together, because after you get out of here, I'm bringing you home and never letting you out of my sight again." He took her hand in his.
"What about my husband?"
"Sorry, but I'm not sharing you with him. He'll get over it, he'll move on. He told me he only married you to get to your sister, the pretty redhead with the Irish accent."
"Oh he did, did he?" Beth asked feigning a hurt expression. "What else did Josef tell you?"
"That you have a concussion," Mick replied.
"That's just a fancy word for bump on the head." she insisted wiping her eyes with the tissue she held in her hand.
"some bruises, a puncture wound." Mick lifted Beth's arm and looked at it. Seeing her wrist wrapped with gauze and white medical tape, Mick brought his free hand to his lips and touched his fingers to the bandaged wound carefully.
"You must be furious with me."
Mick shook his head and scooted closer to Beth. "Not furious. I was terrified. When Josef and I got to the house… I didn't know what we were going to find." he told her.
Beth couldn't think of anything to say in response. Sorry didn't seem like a strong enough word. "I don't know what to say, Mick. I know that what I did was stupid and foolish and I'm lucky to be alive."
Mick sat there silently, just looking at her as if she might disappear at any second.
"If you're going to yell at me, can it please wait until I no longer have a headache?" Beth asked softly. "Josef already read me the riot act. I don't think I can handle another lecture right now."
"I'm not going to yell at you, Beth." Mick replied.
"You're just sitting here staring at me like I'm going to vanish."
"I'm just so relieved that you're alright." the vampire answered reaching out to touch her. He pulled her into his arms again holding her closely.
"The doctor says I'm going to have a headache for a few days, but that's just a headache. It could have been a lot worse…" she said softly.
"But it wasn't, so let's not talk about it." Mick interrupted.
"I know Mick, but-" she tried.
"Let's not even think about it." the dark haired vampire insisted.
Beth lifted her head and looked up at him, her eyes serious. "I need to say this. Please."
Mick nodded and patiently listened to what Beth had to say.
"Right before I woke up, I couldn't move. I couldn't speak, but I could hear what was going on. I thought for sure I was dead and all I could think of was you and that I'd never see you ever again." She lifted her hand to his face. "I don't ever want to feel like that again."
"I'm never going to let anything happen to you, Beth." Mick assured her.
"You don't know that Mick. Neither of us knows what's going to happen from one day to the next." she replied. "I could choke on a pretzel tomorrow." she reasoned.
Mick swallowed hard and brought his own hand to rest over the warm hand on his cheek. "So we won't buy pretzels."
"If anything ever happens to me…" Beth interrupted. She took a deep breath trying to work up the courage to say what she wanted to say. "I don't want death to separate us." she told him bravely. As the words came out of her mouth she realized how selfish they sounded. She couldn't just make a snap decision like that, not when there was another life to consider now.
Mick stared at her until his sight was out of focus and dropped his hand. 'Had she just said that she wanted to spend eternity with him? Did she even know what she was saying? She was probably delirious from being hit on the head and the pain; concussions were painful. That was the only explanation for why she'd said what she'd just said.' he reasoned.
"I think I know where you're going with this Beth, and I have to say, while I think we do need to have that conversation," he took a breath. "now is not the time."
Beth bit her bottom lip and looked at him, her hand still on his face.
"You've had a long night. You're probably overwhelmed and exhausted and in pain." he maintained.
"You're right." she replied without argument, removing her hand from his cheek. "It's just not something to jump into." She had to find a way to tell him about the baby. Then once he knew, they could talk about what forever meant for their family, not just for her. She had to start thinking like a mother.
Mick shook his head. "I'm not saying that its not what you really want, but we'll talk about it some other-"
"You're right Mick." she repeated cutting him off. "I shouldn't have brought up such an important conversation under the circumstances. I got scared. It just made me think about some things."
"I understand, Beth. We both had a scare today." He lifted his hand to her hair. "I'm glad you changed your hair back. Not that I didn't like the red, it's just, I like you better as a blonde. It's more you."
"I didn't even think you noticed." she replied a small smile on her lips.
"I noticed." Mick said as he leaned in to kiss her softly, carefully wrapping his arms around her.
Beth kissed Mick back. Their mouths separated after a few moments, but they still held each other, just gazing into each other's eyes, until a knock on the door interrupted them.
They turned to the door which opened to reveal Rose with her wheelchair once again.
Beth quickly untangled herself from Mick and brushed her hair back from her flushed face. Mick rose from the gurney, but remained at Beth's side.
Rose smiled at the blonde woman, who was just moments ago, wrapped in the arms of her brother. They had looked more like lovers than brother and sister. "I'm sorry to bother you Mrs. Kostan." She said her patient's name as if to remind her she was a married woman and she should behave that way. "I have to move you to your room now. The emergency room is filling up and we need the exam room."
"Oh, I'm sorry." Beth replied sitting up and scooting over to the edge of the gurney. Mick spotted her making sure she didn't fall.
"Oh, please don't try to get up on your own Mrs. Kostan. You're probably very dizzy from the concussion and we wouldn't want you to fall and hurt yourself." She bought the wheelchair to the gurney where Beth was sitting.
"I'm fine actually. Not dizzy at all." Beth insisted as she rose to stand. She took hold of the back of her gown, making sure it was closed and tried to set her feet on the floor. The minute her stocking feet touched the linoleum, the room began to spin around her. She fell forward into Mick's waiting arms.
"Are you sure you're not dizzy?" Mick, who had anticipated the fall, asked the blonde in his arms.
Beth looked up at the vampire. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." he said with a grin.
"If you wouldn't mind just helping her into the wheelchair…" Rose instructed.
Mick carefully settled Beth into the chair and stood beside it.
"Thank you for your help." Rose grinned at the hunky dark haired man.
Mick smiled.
"I'm just going to grab Mrs. Kostan's paperwork and I'll be right back. Will you be accompanying her to her room?"
Mick nodded. "Yes, I'll be staying with her overnight."
"Oh, Alright. In that case, I'll order two dinner trays, a cot and an extra pillow and blanket to be sent up." Rose replied before she left the room.
Beth looked up at Mick. "You're staying overnight? Do you think that's such a good idea? They're moving me to a room that most likely has windows and what about your freezer time and don't you have to eat?" she rambled.
"Beth, lots of places have windows, our apartment being one of them." he replied with a chuckle. "You worry too much, I'll be fine." Mick leaned down and gave her a quick kiss. "I'm staying with you."
Rose reentered the room a few minutes later, a file in her hand. "I've got your paperwork. We're all set to go."
"Alright, I'd just like to wait a few more minutes for my husband." Beth stated looking at Mick who was trying not to laugh.
"Oh, Mr. Kostan? I saw him earlier in the hallway. He and your sister looked like they were having an argument. She headed to the cafeteria and I think he took a phone call outside. I could go look for them after I've brought you upstairs if you'd like."
Beth shook her head. "That's alright. Mick can go look for them. Can't you oh big brother of mine?"
"I could, but I'd rather follow you up to your room." he insisted. "I'll find them as soon as we get upstairs. That way, I'll know what room you're in and I can bring them back up with me." He smiled. "Besides, you know how angry Josef gets when you interrupt a business call." He made a face.
Beth tried hard not to laugh. "True." she managed. She then looked at Rose. "My husband is a workaholic." she explained.
Rose nodded and began pushing the wheelchair out of the room, Mick following behind. There was something very strange about Mrs. Kostan's family.
Alana walked through the hospital corridor back to Beth's exam room, a small, Styrofoam, to-go container and plastic spork in hand. Her feet felt heavy as she walked across the linoleum. She was upset with Josef for his foolish, uncalled for reaction to Beth's pregnancy. He'd acted like a whiny child when she'd confronted him about it, something she wasn't going to stand for. It was probably a good thing that he'd received a business call in the middle of their conversation, or he may have been returning home to his freshies in a brand new hamster cage.
Even though, now was not the time to be eating anything, Alana had found herself to be suddenly starving. Thankfully, the hospital café conveniently had New York style cheesecake, which always made a wonderful dinner. Besides, Mick and Beth needed their privacy, especially if Beth was going to tell him about the baby.
Alana sat herself down in a chair outside the exam room. She set the Styrofoam container down in her lap, unwrapped the plastic spork and dug into her dinner. Alana enjoyed the creamy, sweet, decadent slice of heaven until Josef appeared at the end of the hallway.
"Alana," Josef called her name. "Mick and Beth just went upstairs with Rose."
Alana sighed and licked the spork before she stuck it in the Styrofoam box and closed the lid. She rose from the chair and carrying her dinner with her, walked towards Josef. "Do ye know what room?" she questioned securing the purse on her shoulder.
Josef shook his head. "I can ask someone."
"Ye go do that." she instructed.
"Can we talk first?" he asked carefully.
"I really don't think it's safe fer ye ta be speakin' ta me right now." she warned.
"Not even to apologize?" Josef asked shoving his hands in his pockets.
"That depends on how good yer apology is. If it's sincere, I may not turn ye inta a guinea pig."
"Didn't you say something about a mouse earlier?" Josef questioned with a grin.
"I said rodent companion; guinea pig, mouse, hamster, ferret, rat. I'll let ye choose if ye'd like." She glared at him.
"I'm sorry for what I said to Beth and to you. I over reacted. Vamp-" he looked around. "We're not supposed to be able to have children."
"Aye, ye said it's not possible." the red head reminded him.
"It's not." Josef argued.
Alana quirked a brow at him. "Ye know it's happened before. Why are ye doubtin' it now?"
Josef took a deep breath. 'Because it's not me.' He wanted to reply. "I'll apologize to Beth. What I said was hurtful and uncalled for. I don't believe any of the things I said about her. I know she would never cheat on Mick. They love each other. I'm happy for them."
Alana couldn't read minds, but she could read Josef like a book. She knew exactly why he'd reacted the way he did to Beth's pregnancy. It was jealousy, something Josef didn't often show. Beth's news hit a sore spot with the older vampire. Something Josef would probably never share with anyone. Thankfully, Alana knew most everything there was to know about Josef Kostan.
"Hmm." Alana responded. She looked at the vampire. "Yer lucky, Josef Kostan."
Josef grinned. "Really? Why's that? Because I have the sweetest, most beautiful, nicest secretary in the whole world?"
"Aye, there's that," She couldn't help but grin. "but yer lucky because I like ye and I happen ta think yer cute. Besides, I'd miss ye if I turned ye inta a guinea pig. Not ta mention I'd no longer have a job. I'd have ta spend everyday at home with me cat, gettin' drunk on Irish whiskey and watchin' reruns of Montel."
"Does that mean I'm forgiven for being a stupid ass?"
She could forgive him for his behavior. How couldn't she forgive him his anger and pain?
"Yer apology seems sincere. Maybe, jest this once, I can forget about turnin' ye inta a rodent." She shifted the container in her hands. "But I'm warnin' ye now Josef, if ye cheese me off again, I might not be so quick ta forgive ye." she informed the vampire wagging her finger at him.
Josef smirked. "You are very scary when your angry. Must be the fiery red hair." he commented. "I'm trying to remember if I know whether or not Beth is that scary."
"Yer afraid of Beth?" Alana questioned.
Josef shook his head. "No, I'm afraid of what you'll do to me if I upset her again."
Alana chuckled in response.
"Let's hope I never piss you off to your full temper. You'd probably wipe out the whole west coast."
"Nah, I'm not that powerful." she said giving him a knowing grin. "Before I ferget, I assured Beth we wouldn't be sayin' enythin' ta Mick about her bein' up 'a duff. So, jest whist."
Josef made a face. "Huh?"
"Don't say anything about Beth being in the family way." Alana explained with a laugh.
"Oh right. Beth gestating, hormonal mood swings, weight gain, late night cravings. I hope Mick knows what he's in for." Josef smirked.
"If I know Mick, he'll love every minute of it." The expression on Alana's face changed suddenly. "There's jest somethin' about bein' a parent. Ye change. Ye lift cars, face mountain lions. Ye'll do enythin' ye can ta protect yer snappers."
Josef grinned. "That's interesting. You say that as if you know what it feels like to be a parent. Do you have any magical children flying around out there Alana?"
Alana turned away from the vampire. She took a breath and swallowed hard, choking on air. She coughed lightly, masking it with a laugh and turned back to Josef. "Me, a ma? Can ye see me with a galya? If it weren't fer me cat pretty much takin' care of himself he'd probably starve ta death." She laughed again. "I'm not speakin' from experience, jest common knowledge."
"Oh." Josef replied. "That's kind of a shame. I think you'd make a great mother."
"Ye do?" Alana asked quirking a brow at the vampire.
Josef nodded. "Yes, I can see you running around with a couple of little ones. Beautiful children with big, green eyes and red hair like their mother."
Alana smiled. "Well, ye know if I had these imaginary wee ones, I couldn't be yer secretry enymore."
"Sure you could. You'd just bring them to work with you. I'd love to shape their young minds; teach them the meaning of the words hostile takeover." Josef replied with a grin.
"Funny Josef. Remind me, if I ever do have these imaginary children, not ta let ye baby-sit." Alana said rolling her eyes at the vampire. "I'm goin' ta go find out where they moved Beth ta."
Josef made a face. "What am I supposed to do while you go ask? I'm not sitting in those chairs again."
"Ye can guard me cheesecake." Alana replied handing him the container. "After that, I was thinkin' maybe we could see if this place has a gift shop and buy Beth some flowers."
Josef shook his head. "I don't buy flowers from hospital gift shops. I have people at Haute Bouquet for that."
"Flowers are flowers Josef." Alana argued. "What difference does it make where they come from?" she asked as they walked towards the nurses desk.
"I'm thinking Mokara Orchids, bright colors; pink, orange, yellow and purple." he informed the redhead, completely ignoring her comment. "Did you know that Mokara Orchids are a multi-hybrid of the Ascocentrum, Vanda, and Arachnis orchids."
"I did not know that." Alana replied rolling her eyes. She was tired and hungry. She really didn't care to have an in-depth discussion about Mokara Orchids right now. All she wanted was to go check in on her friend and head home for a bite to eat, a long, hot shower, and a restful night's sleep.
"They're known as the smiling orchids." Josef continued, sure he was impressing Alana with his knowledge of flowers. He pulled out his phone to call Haute Bouquet .
Alana snatched the cheesecake back from the vampire. "Fer pity sakes, Josef, go find out what room Beth is in before I shove yer phone up yer nose."
"Crank-y. Did someone else skip lunch today?" Josef asked as he walked off.
Alana sighed and sat down in a nearby chair. She watched as Josef approached the desk and began chatting with a pretty dark haired nurse.
The nurse, whose nametag read Daphne, reached out and touched Josef's suit jacket. She smiled and batted her eyelashes at him.
Josef behaved as his usual charming self flirting back with Daphne.
Alana glared at the nurse, who was laughing hysterically at something Josef had said. He was just supposed to ask what room Beth was in. He hadn't even attempted yet to do so. Instead, it looked as if he was busy propositioning nurse Daphne to join his harem.
Alana thought herself foolish for believing Josef could change overnight. Just because they were kind of, sort of dating, didn't mean he was ready to give up his playboy, businessman ways. Alana very rarely got jealous, but this was one of those rare occasions. She watched for a few more minutes and then rose from her chair. She'd waited for him for far too long to share him with the likes of Daphne. Tucking her cheesecake into her purse, Alana removed her hair from the bandana it was tied in, shook her red locks free from her ponytail and approached the nurses desk.
"Can I help you?" Daphne asked the unkempt looking red haired woman.
Alana didn't even think before she acted. She shot a look at Daphne, took hold of the front of Josef's dress shirt and kissed him deeply as if to say, 'He's mine and I'm not sharing.'
Josef, shocked by Alana's sudden display of affection, kissed the redhead back, his eyes smiling. He pulled her to him and kissed her until she was breathless.
Alana separated herself from the vampire, her breath coming in short pants, and turned to the dark haired nurse. "We're lookin' fer me sister's room. Beth Kostan." she managed taking a deep breath.
Josef just smirked and smiled.
Daphne looked at the red haired woman and then back at the gentleman she was just flirting with. "I'm sorry, who did you say you were looking for?"
"Beth Kostan." Alana repeated. "K-O-S-T-A-N."
Daphne typed on the keyboard while looking at Alana strangely. "She's on the third floor. Room 307."
"Thank ye." the red head said with a grin. She turned to Josef, grabbed him by his tie and pulled him towards the elevators. "If yer quite finished interviewin' nurse pick me up, I'd like ta go see Beth now." She released him.
"I wasn't interviewing her, we were having a conversation. Are you jealous Alana?" he questioned as the elevator doors opened and they stepped inside.
"Ha!" she snorted. "I don't get jealous."
Josef smirked and pressed the number three on the elevator panel
She looked at him. "Do I have a reason ta be jealous?"
Josef smiled at the red head. He contemplated pulling the emergency stop on the elevator and showing her she had nothing to be jealous of.
"Well?" she urged a response.
"Alana, would you like to have dinner with me tonight, after we leave here?"
"I'd love ta, but I'm not really dressed fer dinner." She motioned to the clothes she was still wearing from earlier. "I have some errands ta run once I leave here, and by the time I change, it'll be too late."
"What if I said, I know this great place where you can wear whatever you want, and the kitchen's open all night long?" Josef asked.
"Sounds good ta me. As long as they have food. I'm so hungry I could eat the lamb o' Jaysus through the rungs of a chair!" she exclaimed.
"I'm not sure the chef serves the lamb o' Jaysus. I could ask." he said with a grin as the elevator dinged and the doors opened.
Alana shook her head and laughed as they stepped out of the elevator. "Tis only an expression. Like when people say they're so hungry they could eat a horse. They don't actually eat a horse."
"Oh. Well, they did in my day." he replied with a shrug. "This place does have Italian. I know how much you like tiramisu. I'm told the chef makes a mean Fettuccini Alfredo."
"Oooh!" She moaned sounding like one of those girls from the old Herbal Essences shampoo commercials.
Josef looked at the redhead. "Is that a yes?"
"That sounds incredible. I'd love ta have a late dinner with ye tonight, Josef." Alana said with a smile.
They walked together down the hallway. Alana glanced over at Josef who was smiling. Was their dinner later that night a date? No, it couldn't be a date; he wasn't ready for that yet. He probably just wanted to feed her so she'd quit threatening him. She assured herself.
They paused at the door of Beth's room.
"It's a date then." Josef said with a smirk as he pulled out his cell phone.
"Brilliant." Alana said with a nervous smile before turning to enter Beth's hospital room. She raised her hand to the heavy wooden door. "Is everyone decent in here?" she questioned before stepping inside, leaving Josef standing in the doorway.
"C'mon in Alana." Mick said with a laugh. He had heard most of she and Josef's 'date' conversation.
Rose, who was leaving the room as Alana entered, smiled politely at the redhead, but said nothing. She hurried past her to the doorway where Mr. Kostan was standing.
Alana ignored the nurse and took a seat across from the bed. "She certainly took off like a blue-arsed fly." the red head commented.
Rose stepped out into the hall, behind Mr. Kostan, who was speaking to someone on his cell phone about flowers.
"I want an arrangement of two dozen long stem Mokara Orchids, pink, purple, orange, and yellow. I need them delivered to Beth Kostan at White Memorial Medical Center as soon as possible. Charge it to my account." Josef ended the call and slipped the phone back in his pocket. He turned around to walk into Beth's room and almost knocked over the emergency room nurse, Rose.
"Mr. Kostan." she greeted.
"Rose." Josef replied trying to walk past her.
"Mr. Kostan, may I speak to you for a moment?"
Josef sighed. "I'd really like to see my wife. Can't I sign whatever it is you want me to sign later?"
"This will only take a second." Rose assured him.
Josef reached inside his suit jacket for a pen.
Rose shook her head. "No, Mr. Kostan, I don't need you to sign anything. I just wanted to… Well, you see, it's not really my place to say this but…"
"But?" Josef questioned looking at the woman.
"You're wife and her brother, they seem to be…" She tried gesturing with her hands. "I couldn't help but notice that they have an interesting relationship."
"They're close." Josef smiled. "We're a close family." He explained. "Now, if you'll excuse me." He stepped away from the nurse and marched into the hospital room closing the door behind him. "I want a divorce!" he announced loudly upon entering the room.
Rose, who was still in the hallway, heard her patient's husband's declaration and quickly went back downstairs, her cheeks hot from embarrassment.
Beth, who was sitting up in bed looked at Josef trying not to laugh. "Alright, alright. You don't have to shout. I'll give you your divorce, but I want half of all the assets acquired during our short marriage."
Josef stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled out a shiny quarter. "I found a quarter on the floor in the waiting room. It's yours." He placed it on the table beside Beth's hospital bed.
Mick grinned and shook his head. "I thought you two crazy kids could beat the odds. Such a shame when a marriage ends." he said as he wrapped his arm around Beth's shoulders carefully.
"Was it my cooking?" Beth asked.
Alana covered her face with her hands and laughed. "I think it was his mistress. I've seen them together a few times, Beth. She's short and has red hair. She's a laudy daw and speaks with a very fake accent."
"Oh that witch!" Beth said laughing along with her friend until her sides hurt. She took a deep breath and looked at Josef. "I hope you'll be very happy together."
Josef just grinned. "We will. We're having dinner later this evening."
"Yeah, Italian, we heard." Mick informed his friend.
Josef shot Mick an annoyed look.
Beth smiled at Josef. "Don't be mad. I asked Mick to go look for you guys, and instead he picked up on your voices. He didn't hear anything embarrassing."
"Hmph." Josef responded, pulling out his cell phone to check his flower order.
Alana rose from her chair, her cheeks red from embarrassment and walked over to the window. "So this is a nice room. Has a lovely view." She opened the curtain to the darkened night view of the parking lot and cafeteria dumpster. She closed the curtain and took a seat near the window. "Okay, so the view isn't that great. How's the food?" she asked walking to the tray table at the foot of Beth's bed.
"I don't know. I haven't had anything yet. I've never found cafeteria food appetizing. You're welcome to it. I know you're probably famished. They sent up an extra tray for Mick, but since it doesn't suit his dietary needs, it's probably going to go to waste." Beth offered.
"Well maybe jest a few bites. I bought some cheesecake from the cafeteria earlier, but I'm gettin' sick of cheesecake. I'll trade ye."
Beth's eyes lit up and she looked at Mick. "See honey, now you don't have to go get dinner for me."
Alana took the Styrofoam container out of her purse and lifted a clean, wrapped spork from the tray. She handed them to Beth who accepted them with a smile on her face.
"I don't mind going out, Beth. I've got to get a few things at the loft, and I have to figure out what to do with your car. Besides, cheesecake isn't dinner." Mick argued.
Alana glanced at the vampire. "Says ye, Mr. I enjoy A positive." She reached into her purse and handed Mick the two bags of blood she'd brought for him. "Yer welcome."
Mick took the bags from Alana and slipped them beneath his coat, concealing them from hospital staff that could walk in at any moment. "Thank you, but cheesecake is still not dinner. "
Alana made a face and lifted a soft roll from Beth's tray.
"It's my dinner." Beth said as she unwrapped the fork, being careful of the closed IV line in her hand.
Josef stuck his phone back in his pocket, rose from the chair and walked over to Mick. "I suggest you don't argue with the ladies. Alana might turn you into a rodent companion for Lysander if you do." he said loud enough for only the other vampire to hear.
Mick smiled at Alana nervously. He wasn't really sure if he believed she was capable of witch craft. Then again, he had no way to explain what had happened at Josef's party, and he wasn't taking any chances.
Josef turned his attention to the blonde sitting up in the hospital bed. "I need to apologize for what I said to you earlier. I was scared for your well being, and I'm sorry. I over-reacted. I'm very glad that you're alright." He gave the blonde a knowing look.
Mick watched the scene with interest. Beth had told him that Josef had yelled at her earlier, but she wasn't clear on the details. Whatever it was, must have been pretty bad for him to feel the need to apologize.
"Apology accepted." Beth replied reaching up to hug the vampire.
Josef, who wasn't really in the mood to be a touchy feely vampire, allowed Beth to hug him for a moment, reminding himself that she had, had a rough night.
Beth separated from her friend and looked at a concerned Mick assuring him everything was alright.
Josef's phone vibrated in his pocket just as the blonde released him. Seeing it was the flower shop, Josef quickly hurried out of the room where he almost ran into a pretty blonde haired nurse. "Sorry." he apologized before disappearing through a door marked third floor stairwell. Remembering what Mick had said, Josef moved to quickly get out of vampire hearing range.
The nurse, whose ID said Lynn, held a plastic medicine cup containing a single dose of acetaminophen. She knocked on the door to her patient's room and entered when she heard Beth's voice say 'come in'. Lynn smiled at the scene in the room. "Looks like there's a party going on in here. Cheesecake. Yum."
Beth smiled at the nurse. "Lynn." she said. "This is Alana, my best friend." She turned to Alana. "Alana this is Lynn, my nurse."
Lynn smiled at the redhead.
Alana, who was chewing part of a dinner roll, swallowed her food and managed a polite, "Hello."
"You've already met Mick." Beth continued.
Lynn smiled at the gorgeous, dark haired man. "Hello again, Mick."
Mick smiled.
"You just missed Josef, a very good friend of mine, who also happens to be my husband tonight." Beth said with a laugh.
Lynn turned to her patient. "My, My, you're certainly having a busy night. I won't keep you from visiting. I just wanted to see if you were interested in some Tylenol. Dr. Randall said you could have it for your headache."
"Oh um, sure." Beth replied nervously.
Alana, sensing Beth's nerves smiled at the blonde.
Beth turned to Mick. "Mick, honey, why don't you go see where Josef ran off to in such a hurry?"
The dark haired vampire quirked a brow at Beth. "He probably just got a business call."
"I know, but maybe you should go check on him anyway. He was acting strange earlier." Beth insisted.
"Strange?" He looked at Alana. "Strange how?"
"Oh, he hasn't had a bite all day. So he was jest narky." Alana explained. She turned to the nurse. "Josef's hypoglycemic."
"Well, I think the cafeteria's still open. I can have another tray sent up for your friend." Lynn offered.
"He's on a special diet. He has lots of food allergies." Mick replied.
"But thank you." Beth added. She turned to Mick again. "Why don't you ask Josef if he'll drive my car back to the apartment? Then you won't have to drive home and find a ride back here."
"How's he going to get home though? He drove my car here." Mick informed his girlfriend.
"I don't know. Why don't you go ask him?" Beth questioned.
Mick gave Beth an odd look. "I'll be right back." he said kissing her forehead softly before leaving the room.
Alana rose from her chair and shut the door behind the vampire. She then sat down at the edge of the bed.
When Beth was sure Mick was out of earshot she turned to Lynn. "I'm sorry to behave so strangely. It's just… I have to ask you something, and well… I haven't told Mick about…" she motioned to her stomach.
Lynn nodded. "No problem hon." she assured the blonde. "This is your first?" she asked.
Beth nodded.
"It's normal to have a lot of questions and concerns." Lynn smiled warmly.
"I'm still trying to process everything." Beth said returning the nurse's smile.
Lynn sat down in a chair beside her patient's bed. "How can I help?"
"Is it okay to take the Tylenol? Is it going to hurt the baby?" she asked mouthing the last word.
"Tylenol is perfectly safe. It's pretty much the only thing you can take. That and Tums." Lynn informed Beth.
"Well in that case, yes, I'd love some Tylenol. I feel like I got hit by a bus."
Lynn handed her patient the medicine cup, and then rose from the bed to get her a drink. "Anything else I can get for you Beth?"
Beth took the pain medicine and handed the plastic cup back to the nurse. "I'm fine right now. Thank you, Lynn."
"You're welcome." the nurse said with a smile. "If you need anything, anything at all, just press the call button." she told the blonde as she left the room.
Alana got up to close the door and quickly made her way back to the bed. She could sense that Josef was downstairs somewhere, hopefully with Mick, both of them far enough away that they couldn't hear anything. She grabbed a pudding cup and a plastic spoon from one of the dinner trays and climbed back up onto the bed with Beth. "So tonight's been an interestin' night."
Beth looked at her friend. "I'll tell him when you and Josef leave." she assured her friend.
"Good." Alana said with a smile as she removed the foil lid from her pudding. "Are ye comfortable? Can I get ye anythin'?"
"You wouldn't happen to have an extra pair of pajamas in that magic purse of yours would you? This hospital gown is driving me crazy. Mick was going to go home and get me clothes, but he'd have to find a ride back here."
Alana took a bite of her pudding, swallowed and pointed the spoon at her friend. "I don't have a pair of pajamas, but…" She set her pudding down on the table and rose from the bed again. She walked over to a wardrobe in the corner of the room and opened it. Inside were a pair of clean, blue hospital scrubs. She pulled them out of the wardrobe, did a little magic, and with a smile on her face, brought them over to Beth. "One pair of pajamas. They're completely original, not enother pair in the world." she said proudly.
Beth grinned at her friend. "I didn't know you could make clothes."
"I can't." Alana said sadly. "I can alter somethin' that already exists, but I can't create it from scratch." She shrugged.
"Thank you. I appreciate it. Now Mick doesn't have to leave." Beth smiled as she took the soft cotton pajamas Alana had made for her.
"Did Mick mention somethin' about yer car? I can drive it back ta the loft." Alana offered.
"Oh, no, Alana, thank you, but I can't let you do that. You've already done so much for me." Beth insisted.
"Tis not a problem Beth. I don't mind." Alana replied.
"Isn't your car here?" Beth questioned. "If you drive my car back to the loft, then your car will be left here. You'll have to get a ride back to the hospital to get your car."
"Or..?" Alana's face lit up, a light bulb going off in her head.
Josef and Mick reentered the room as the girls were talking.
"What are you two doing? We leave for a few minutes and there's pudding." Josef said with a smirk.
"It's chocolate Josef, not speed." Alana defended her pudding. She rose from the bed to make room for Mick. "We're tryin' ta figure out how ta get Beth's car back ta the loft. I had an idea. Ye can't expect me ta come up with an idea on an empty stomach."
"What's your idea Alana?" Mick asked, sitting down beside Beth in the spot the red head was occupying earlier.
"Well, Josef can drive Beth's Prius ta the loft and I'll follow in me car. We'll leave the Prius at the loft and I'll drive Josef home."
Beth nodded and looked at Mick. "I like that idea."
"I'm not driving the Prius!" Josef protested. "It's a woman's car! It's a hybrid. It goes what, 25 miles an hour? Why don't you put a pink poodle in the passenger seat while we're at it!" He looked at Beth. "No offense Beth."
Mick brought his hand to his mouth, stifling a laugh. "It's a car Josef."
Alana rolled her eyes. "Fine. I'll drive the Prius, ye big pain in me arse. Ye can follow me in me car, if it's not too girly fer ye."
Josef's eyes widened. He'd kill someone to get behind the wheel of that car. It was a 2008, Lexus, LF-A Roadster, the only one in existence. "I'll drive your car." he answered flatly trying hard to hide his excitement.
"Good. I'm glad that's settled." Alana said with a sigh. She turned to Beth. "Josef and I should probably get goin'. Tis gettin' late and visitin' hours are goin' ta be over soon." She walked around to the other side of the bed and hugged her friend carefully. "If ye need anythin' at all, please call me."
Beth hugged the red head back. "I will. Thank you so much Alana." She turned to Josef. "You too Josef… for everything."
Josef smiled a little. He too walked around to the other side of Beth's bed and dropped a kiss on the top of her head. "Feel better." He then turned to Mick who handed him the keys to Beth's Prius. "Call me after you get some rest."
Mick nodded.
Alana and Josef said their goodbyes and exited the room, leaving the vampire and the blonde to talk.
When Beth was sure that she and Mick were alone, she snuggled close to him and laid her head on the his shoulder. Now was the perfect time to talk to him about the baby. "Mick." she said his name softly.
"Yes sweetheart?" Mick asked looking into her eyes.
She took a deep breath. "I wanted to talk to you about something."
"If it's about the case Beth, I don't want to talk about it." Mick replied. "The only thing you need to know is that everything is being handled."
"It's not about the case." she responded, lifting her head from his shoulder.
"Okay, then what did you want to talk about?"
"Last week, when we were talking about kids, you said it's not possible for vampires to have children."
Mick nodded. "Yeah."
"Ever? It's never happened?" she questioned. "It couldn't ever happen?"
"No Beth, it's just not possible. I'm sorry." he apologized.
Beth bit the inside of her lip to keep from crying. "Oh."
"Why do you ask?"
"No reason. Just curious." she said trying to hide the fear and disappointment from her voice. There was no way she could tell him right now. She had gotten the impression from Josef and Alana's conversation that it ( a vampire\human pregnancy) had happened before, that she wasn't the only one. It seemed Mick had no knowledge of the rare occurrence. It was something she was going to have to talk to Josef about first.
"You okay?" Mick asked noticing that Beth was deep in thought.
"Yeah." she smiled. "I'm fine."
"Are you comfortable enough? Do you want me to get you anything? An extra blanket or pillow?"
"Actually," Beth sat up. "Alana made me some pajamas." She reached towards the end of the bed and showed them to the vampire. "Would you mind helping me change into them?" She was sore and stiff and dizzy. The last thing she wanted to do was to fall again.
Mick got up from the bed. "Not at all." He took the pajamas from Beth, helped her out of bed and carefully undressed her. He bit back his anger as each bruise was revealed to his eyes. "Did you say Alana made these?" he questioned slipping the shirt over Beth's head.
She stepped into the pants with some help from Mick and climbed back into the bed. "Yeah. She made them. They're so comfortable." she commented sliding beneath the covers.
"Alana's full of surprises." Mick said with a laugh as he kicked off his shoes and climbed under the covers beside her.
"She's not the only one." Beth said softly.
"What do you mean?" Mick asked hearing what she'd said.
Beth sat up against her pillow. "Josef. His reaction to driving my car. It was surprising. You've driven my car. You'd think he'd be more secure in his masculinity." she lied.
"Don't take it personally Beth. He wanted to drive Alana's car. It's a concept car. There's only one of them, and she owns it." Mick explained.
"Wow." Beth said with a laugh. "I don't blame Josef. I covered a car show once for the newspaper I worked at before Buzzwire. I got to sit in a race car. I wanted to drive it, but I couldn't for insurance reasons. I thought that was cool."
"Did the car belong to anyone famous?"
"I don't remember." Beth said closing her eyes. "I'll have to go through my portfolio and look at the article again. Oh and I have to call Mo." she said sleepily.
"Right now you have to sleep."
"I have to tell her that I'm in the hospital and I hurt my head and I can't broadcast tomorrow morning." she babbled. "I have to tell her the good news ."
"I'll call her." Mick assured her not really sure what she was talking about. The only good news he could think of, was that Beth was alive. "You sleep."
"Okay." The blonde replied snuggling closer to Mick.
Mick wrapped his arms around her carefully.
"Goodnight Mick. I love you." Beth said before she fell asleep.
"Goodnight Beth. I love you too." Mick replied softly pulling the blanket up over his sleeping beauty.