Just Us Chapter 36

I do not own these characters. I think this far down the track anyone who loves Moonlight can lay some sort of claim to them. Still love them after all these years.

I was reminded recently how long ago I started this story and I can't believe that anyone would still be interested in reading it. Thanks so much for your continued support.

The difficult, dangerous and complicated wasn't just going to go away.

There are a few holes in this chapter but it gets me to where I want to go.

penni :)

Ben Talbot sat back in his office self indulgently watching himself on the late news and he couldn't wipe the smile from his face. The coverage showed him on the steps of the courthouse at the end of another day of the highest profile case of his career. Things were going well and the press couldn't get enough of the handsome prosecutor who was going to send corrupt property developer and womaniser, Eric Martinez, to the big house. He had lobbied hard to be given the chance at this case. He and his team had worked hard to prepare an airtight case for the DA. Long hours spent working meant he had little time for any kind of life outside the office.

Since he had moved here from Boston he had done very little socialising. A hectic work schedule in a town such as this was a given if he was to make any kind of mark here. He didn't particularly like LA, but a promise to a friend and the chance to get some interesting high profile cases under his belt had brought him to town. At the very least it would look good on his resume. His real ambitions swayed more towards the political and he was determined to get were he wanted to go, even if he had to forfeit any kind of private life to do it. With his future in mind he had always been careful to associate with the right kind of people, steering clear of any thing that could come back to bite him in the ass at a later time. He was lonely sometimes but he had learned from an early age that you had to make sacrifices to get what you wanted. His parents had worked hard to get him an Ivy League education. They were very proud of him and he wasn't going to let them down.

He sighed a little remembering the nubile blonde haired, blue-eyed starlet that he had just left in a very upmarket hotel room in Beverly Hills. He knew it was a big risk hooking up with women he met in bars but he wasn't a machine. He was a young, good looking single guy who never had any trouble getting a date. He may not have time in his life for romance but he could find time for sex. While casual sex didn't do anything to assuage his feelings of loneliness, it sure did scratch an itch. He couldn't help but think of another blonde haired beauty that had come to mean more to him than he cared to admit. A few alcohol and lust driven invasions of her personal space made him think of her more and more. He closed his eyes remembering how she felt crushed up against him at the DA's charity dinner. What would have happened if Chris Barrett hadn't shown up when he did? He was pretty sure that he would have kissed her. He had wanted to. Ben Talbot was cocky enough to make a play for Beth Turner if he thought he stood any chance of winning her away from St John. How solid were they as a couple? They hadn't been together that long. How attached could they be?

Talbot's smile turned to a frown as he picked up the remote and flicked off the TV. He scrubbed a hand across his face feeling the high that he had been on all day slowly replaced by exhaustion, could actually feel it taking over his body. He needed to watch the skipped meals and the alcohol that he relied on to help him wind down and relax enough to get some rest. It had been a long day and he really should go home and get some sleep.

As he turned off the light, his mind wondered to Beth again. Was St John keeping her bed warm tonight? He couldn't stop the twinge of jealously he felt every time he saw them together. He shook his head to clear the image from his mind. Overhearing that phone call made him hope that maybe things between Beth and the PI were cooling off.

Maybe it was time for him to test the waters a little.

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An hour or so later, Mick hesitantly woke Beth to tell her that he wasn't feeling the best and that he needed to go back to the loft to feed and hit the freezer. Beth chuckled when he sheepishly told her that he didn't have the energy to walk home and that he needed to borrow her car. Feeling that she hadn't been taking proper care of him and not wanting to be without him, Beth decided to go with him. She didn't bother getting dressed, she just put Mick's suit jacket over her chemise and quickly packed a bag so that she could stay for a couple of days. Once back at the loft they both managed to grab a couple of hours of much needed rest.

Talking over a light breakfast of toast and coffee, Mick told her exactly what had happened at the cleanup the night before. Beth had to tamp down her reporter's urge to keep interrupting him with questions and let him tell the whole story in his own time. He didn't leave anything out and Beth knew that he found it very difficult to tell her about the horrific injuries to the pregnant young woman. They sat there for a moment huddled close together.

"What are you going to do?" Beth brushed back the hair that had fallen into his eyes when he looked up at her and smiled sadly. The sadness she saw in his eyes was unmistakable.

Before he could answer Beth's phone buzzed. She kissed his cheek before reaching out to grab it, looking back at him when she saw who was calling. "It's Carl."

Mick listened as Carl told Beth that she was being seconded from the DA's office to help with a case and that he had gotten the all clear to bring St John in as well. He smiled a bit when she gave him a look. He hadn't mentioned that part of the story preferring to let her be surprised. Carl joked that he wouldn't waste precious tax dollars on making another call since he would bet his house on the fact that they were together. Carl signed off arranging to meet them in his office in an hour.

Despite the nature and seriousness of the situation, Beth could not dampen her excitement at the prospect of working with Mick on a case again. He had made it clear to her that he needed her, which in turn made her feel included and appreciated.

Beth raced upstairs and quickly changed out of the charcoal grey pinstripe suit and killer heels that she had chosen for another boring day by ADA Ben Talbot's side. She swapped her corporate clothes for her preferred work attire of blue jeans, crisp white shirt, tailored black jacket and stylish yet practical boots. Beth couldn't stop smiling as Mick helped her on with her coat before heading out to meet Lt Carl Davis downtown.

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Walking into the police station, Beth greeted a few familiar faces. On the way to Carl's office they stopped in at the break room so that Beth could get another cup of coffee. Leaning up into an overhead cupboard, Beth pulled out a coffee mug that had been stamped with her name in bold red letters with gold stars all around. 'Beth Turner, Star Reporter' had been the joke at the time.

"You have your own coffee mug?" Mick asked a little surprised.

"It was a Secret Santa thing." Beth said as she held up the coffee pot and pointed it in his direction for the benefit of the other humans in the room that appeared to be listening in on their conversation. "Do you want some?" She smiled at her silly show of pretense.

Mick smiled back. "No thanks. You must have spent a lot of time here."

Beth poked around in a box of pastries with a spoon not finding anything yummy enough to tempt her.

"Yeah, I hung out here a lot when I was just starting out. I made a lot of good contacts that way." There was always a steady stream of all sorts of emergency workers, lawyers, and media types. It made for a good source of inside information if one was resourceful enough to take advantage.

They walked down the hallway to Carl's office. Finding it empty they took a seat to wait for him. Beth boldly chose to sit at the desk, putting down her coffee so she could poke around. She opened a draw, peeked into a file here and there. It wasn't long before Carl joined them.

"Make yourself at home Turner." Carl quipped from the doorway watching in amusement as Beth blushed at being caught snooping. She looked over at Mick who sat there not feeling sorry for her one little bit.

"Hey Carl." she said casually. To cover up her embarrassment, Beth took a sip of her coffee and almost spat it back out again. "Eeeww, that's disgusting."

"This isn't a Starbucks Beth, get take out like everybody else." Carl shooed her out of his chair wanting to get things moving. There was a lot to do today.

They ran through of what they knew so far, which wasn't much. The woman was twenty three year old Paige Nolan. She lived a seemingly normal life in the suburbs with her younger sister Chelsea who had just started college.

"Ms Nolan worked at a catering company called …" Carl paused to check his notes. "Nectar, over in Beverly Hills."

"I know them, they did the catering for the DA's fundraiser. They do all the big Hollywood functions." Beth caught the look on Mick's face as she was talking. He looked slightly uncomfortable when his eyes met hers.

"Mick, you head over there and see what you can find out about this girl. Talk to her boss, her colleagues. You know the drill. Beth, you're with me."

Mick nodded taking a sheet of paper from Carl that supplied details that he already knew. Josef had sent him a dossier overnight with the little information his team had been able to find out so far. He had scanned it briefly but he needed to let the investigation run it's normal course. It was a little frustrating for him to be so tied to human constraints but he was willing to go with it for the time being.

"What?" Beth protested. "Why can't I go with Mick?"

"We have to go see Talbot before we do anything else. He's not going to be thrilled that you ditched him for this. The DA approved your re-assignment but we need to square things with your boss."

"Great." Beth replied gloomily.

"Come on Beth, I need you to bat your baby blues down at the morgue. Your boyfriend Greg is dragging his feet with the toxicology report. Somehow, some samples got contaminated and they have to run them again. The Coroner is understandably pissed and now he's making us wait for the official release. I need that information."

Mick and Beth swapped a knowing look. A simple but effective way to stall the police perhaps? It was more likely an opportunity to plant evidence.

"Mick, we'll be at the Nolan's apartment after that so you can meet us there. The forensic team will be finishing up but I'd like you to take a look. I hear it's a specialty of yours."

Great, the last thing he wanted to do was wrangle with forensic know-it-alls who didn't appreciate a PI sticking his nose where it wasn't welcome.

"They're expecting you and their orders are to fully co-operate, so, let me know if anyone gives you any grief."

"Sure, no problem."

Beth had to smirk at the idea that anyone would give Mick St John grief and get away with it.

Carl strode out of the room pulling his ringing phone from his coat pocket as he went. "Beth, outside in five minutes."

Beth gathered up her things. Her disappointment was obvious. "I guess I'll see you later then."

Mick wanted her with him but they had to play to Carl's game plan. He looked around and listened out to determine if anyone was nearby. The corridor was empty outside the office. He lowered his voice nonetheless.

"Beth, it's better if I go by myself. Nectar is a front for a business that supplies freshies to vamps."

"Oh."

"Yeah. Oh."

"They are a really successful catering firm, pretty elaborate set up for a front. Could it be a co-incidence?"

"I hope so but probably not. They are pretty low key about that side of the business. They only deal with a limited clientele, vamps who want exclusive access on a short term basis."

"Nice." Beth mumbled.

Mick frowned as he walked up to her his hands caressing her upper arms.

"It would explain how she came in contact with a vamp. I'll call Josef and see if he has anything new. If you get a chance ask G what that report is going to say. We need to make sure that all the bases are covered. "

Beth nodded her understanding of what he was telling her.

"Turner!" Carl hollered from down the corridor.

"Wow, and I thought I was bossy." She kissed Mick goodbye, lingering over the kiss as long as she possibly could. It wasn't very professional, they were at work, in the middle of a police station after all but she just couldn't help it.

"Isn't this usually the time you tell me to be careful?" she said as he did his usual sweep of his mark on her neck when he was leaving her.

"No, you promised me that you would and I trust you to keep your word." Mick leant down to kiss her one more time. "Besides, you are with Carl."

Carl poked his head in the door just as they broke away from one last kiss. "Don't make me regret getting you two involved with this."

There were wide smiles all round as they walked out together making plans to meet up later.

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