I don't own Beauty and the Beast.

Thank you for the feedback, you all. This is chap 18. :)

I hope u like it.

And thank you guys for the reviews!

To Julia: Thank u for your concern. And yes, everything in my life worked out fine. Hugs & kisses back at ya! :)

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"Vincent… please leave?" her voice a mere whisper, while it trembled heavily.

As Vincent heard the words leave her lips, his heart dropped and broke in pieces. Catherine was sobbing and all he wanted to do right now, was pick her up and put her in his pocket so nothing and no one could ever do her any harm. If that were possible, but it wasn't. The reality was harder than what he wished for.

"Catherine… please, I can't leave you like this. You do know that I would never do anything to hurt you, right?" he pleaded, trying to swallow the huge lump in his throat.

She kept sobbing, her arms still wrapped around herself.

"Vincent… please go." She whispered.

He ran his hand through his hair out of frustration and got up. Vincent picked up his shirt from the floor and wore it. Before he walked out her bed room door, he picked up her white blouse from the floor also and folded it. He then placed it gently on her bed and watched her one last time.

"Catherine, I don't know what happened to you. All I know is that I am here for you if you decide to confide in me. I am not going anywhere, okay?"he pleaded.

She looked up, catching his gaze. Her eyes were teary and the look in her eyes made him feel a gut wrenching pain. It pained him to see her this way… Vincent ignored the gnawing pain in his heart and told her one more thing, before walking out the door.

"Catherine… sweet, beautiful Catherine. Please remember this: life won't always be easy , but you will always be safe in my arms…" his voice very shaky and a mere whisper.

()

The next morning Vincent woke up, remembering what happened between him and Catherine. The ache in his heart returned, the second he thought back on how Catherine was sobbing on the bed. He got up on his own; the last few days he refused to use his crutches like before. While walking to the bathroom, he paused a couple of times because of the pain. After he had taken a shower, he walked back into his bedroom.

He saw that Calinico had already taken out his clothes for the day out of his closet and had placed them on his bed. He also saw a note from his butler.

'Don't forget to swallow your medicine and if you go out, please bring your crutches and do not push your body to it's limit.' The note said.

After he was dressed, he combed his dark hair while looking in the mirror. Sighing deeply, he studied his face. It had been a long time that he had really looked himself in the mirror. These last few years, after Demetrios' death, he refused to really look in the mirror cause he didn't want to see the failure that he had become.

Vincent had blamed himself for what happened to his son and was disgusted by himself. In his eyes he had failed his son and that's why he didn't have the courage to look at himself… really look in the mirror. But now that Catherine was in his life, he felt like life had given him a second chance. This time he wasn't going to fail the one he truly cared about. No. Vincent was determined to take away her fears so that they can be together…

()

Catherine woke up, by hearing a constant knock on her door.

"Come in!" she said.

Heather walked in and had a huge smile on her face. Cat was lying on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. Her little sis walked towards the bed and lied down next to her, grabbing her arm and held it tightly.

"Morning, sis." She said.

"Morning, Heather." Cat replied.

After a couple of minutes, Heather sat up and watched her big sis. Her right eyebrow was raised, while she waited for Cat to say something.

Catherine frowned."What is it, Heather? Do you have something to ask or tell me?" she said.

"No… yes! Yes, I do… I thought that Vincent would be in your bed right now…" she said.

"Heather! Why would you… nothing happened last night, ok? Well… some things did happen, but…" Cat tried to explain.

She sighed deeply and shook her head.

"Heather, I … uhum… I thought that I was over it… I thought that I had moved on from the pain that Philip had caused me… but uhum… I am so not over it…" she said and began to cry.

Tears were pooling in Heather's eyes and she wrapped her arms around her big sister, holding her tightly.

"I … I thought that I was okay with being touched by a man… Vincent is wonderful, but… uhum… I just couldn't help how I reacted… I panicked and asked him to leave! That was the last thing I… I wanted! I didn't want him to leave, but… yet I asked him to…" she sobbed uncontrollably.

"Shhhh, its okay, sis. I am here and so is dad. Its okay." Heather whispered.

"Do you think that Vincent hates me now? Maybe he thinks I am damaged, just like I told dad once before… Vincent doesn't deserve a damage woman… I, I have to get outta here!" Cat said and got up.

She was about to pack her stuff, when Heather stopped her.

"Hey, sis. Why are you running away? I don't know Vincent very long, but I do know that he is not a coward or a jerk or a moron… and I am sure he is nothing like Philip. Talk to him. Tell him what happened to you. He will listen. Do you know why? Cause he is in love with you…" Heather said.

She then kissed her big sister on the top of her head and walked out the room, leaving Catherine confused behind. Oh, her little sis had given her so much to think about…

()

At the moment, Vincent was having breakfast and was reading the news paper. Mr. Chandler had joined him and began a conversation. They were discussing the profits of Vincent's marble company, when an idea hit him.

"Didn't your daughter tell you on the first day here that she wanted to see fresh, uncut marbles up close in one of the mountains?" Vincent asked.

Mr. Chandler smiled."You remembered that?" he asked, surprised that Vincent didn't forget.

"Well… you know me. I try to remember important stuff…" he replied.

Mr. Chandler chuckled."You mean, you remember every little detail of everything. As long as it has to do with my older daughter?" he stated.

Vincent nervously ran his hand through his hair and tried to explain.

Mr. Chandler held his hand up and shook his head." It's okay, Vincent." he said and sighed.

"I know you like my oldest daughter. You like her very much, do you? I can see it. Well, she likes you too. I don't know exactly what's going on between you two. If it's serious or not? But I know that you are a good guy and you would never do anything to hurt her. And besides… it's her life and she's a grown woman. So there you go… whatever it is the thing between you two… you both have my blessing." He said.

Vincent had been holding his breath the whole time that the older man was speaking, so after hearing the last sentence, he let out that breath.

Mr. Chandler began to chuckle and so did Vincent. After a few minutes, Vincent looked at Cat's dad and decided to ask him about what happened to her.

"Mr. Chandler, I am sorry to put you in this position. But… uhum… you told me before that you wanted to bring Catherine here, because she had to deal with a lot of stress back home in New York. That… uhum… Catherine had been through something horrible in her personal life. May I ask what happened to her?" he said.

Mr. Chandler swallowed hard, trying to keep his composure. Anger always rose from him, whenever he was reminded of what his oldest daughter went through. After a few moments, he got up and looked at Vincent.

"She uhum… doesn't wanna tell you?" he asked.

"No. She was too shaken up. She didn't tell me." Vincent said, feeling very uncomfortable right now.

Cat's dad shook his head."I think that uhum… that she should tell you herself. I'm sorry, but its her life and she should be the one to tell you… if she wants you to know." Mr. Chandler said.

Vincent sighed deeply." I… uhumm, I understand." He replied, sounding very dissapointed.

()

Catherine walked out her room, wearing a tank top and a dark blue skirt. Her straw hat was in her hand, her sunglasses on her nose. Her bathing suit was of course underneath her clothes and her bag over her shoulder. In the hall, she saw Heather so they walked down the stairs hand in hand, like they used to.

"So, I see that you aren't running away?" Heather stated.

Cat smiled."No. I am staying, baby sis. Why should I go? You're right, instead of running away, I should be facing my own demons. I shouldn't let it bring me down." she said, self assured.

Heather smiled and squeezed her big sister's hand lightly for encouragement. She was so proud of Cat. They walked towards Vincent and their dad.

"Oh! Dad likes Vincent, Cat. That's one obstacle you don't have to overcome." Heather said, making Catherine shake her head.

Vincent looked up and instantly locked eyes with Catherine. His gorgeous eyes were full of love and she felt like it was boring into her soul. Like he begged her to let him in. Into her heart, mind and soul. She wanted to look away, but she wasn't able to. He had caught her gaze and was determined to hold onto it as long as possible. Her heart fluttered in her chest, her stomach doing the infamous flip flops. All Catherine could think about was how close they were last evening. How he was making her whimper and moan. How he had been making her feel so good with his fingers and his lips… well until STUPID, STUPID Philip popped into her head that is…

God, she hated Philip! And boy, did she care about Vincent...

()

They all sat at the table, talking and eating the fresh fruits from Vincent's garden.

"So, what are your plans for today, girls?" Mr. Chandler asked.

"I am going sightseeing with JT!" Heather said.

JT frowned for a few seconds, but received a 'look' from Heather, so he nodded in agreement.

"Aaaaaah, yes! Heather and I have plans. We are going into town, taking pictures, trying to speak Greek." He said.

Everyone began to laugh, cause they all knew JT's Greek sucked.

"Well, I think I should go along with you two. Cause I do not want to bail you 2 outta jail, cause JT's Greek is horrible." Mr. Chandler said.

"Hey! That was a misunderstanding! I wanted to BUY the fruit from the woman of the market place. It's not my fault that she thought that I was harassing her!" he tried to defend himself.

They all laughed out loud, making JT shake his head." You all are mean! Mean, I say! I'm outta here!" JT mumbled and walked away.

"I better follow him, before he leaves without us, dad." Heather said and walked away.

"And Catherine… what are your plans for today?" Mr. Chandler asked.

She had her hands in the air, not sure what to say.

"Catherine, there are some mountains nearby, full of some of the most beautiful green marbles in all of Greece. Would you like to see it up close and personal? The marbles are untouched by man." Vincent asked, his voice sounding very hopeful.

The wheels in Cat's head was turning, not sure what she should say to him. She looked at her father than back to Vincent."Yes, I'd like that very much." She replied, making both her dad and Vincent sigh in relief.

"Okay then. You both have fun, okay?" her dad said and kissed her on the forehead, before walking away.

()

At the moment, Catherine was in the jeep with Vincent with the radio on. He was driving on a dirt road and telling her some Greek history. He was concentrating on the road, his eyes fixed on it. So Catherine had the opportunity to watch Vincent. She studied the features on his face and was just in awe. God! He was so handsome… From his gorgeous eyes to his well defined nose to his small scar to his talented lips to his strong, attractive jaw and his thick, dark hair…

'He looked like a Greek God… Was he a descendant of one?' she asked herself.

"Are you listening to me, Catherine?" Vincent asked.

"Huh? Yeah, of course I am…" she said, her cheeks turning a shade of pink.

"Really? Then what did I ask you?" he tested.

"Huh? You were asking me… okay, I wasn't listening to the last part… sorry. My mind was somewhere else." She explained, while running her hand nervously through her dark, shiny hair.

He sighed."May I know what you were thinking about?" he carefully asked.

Cat laughed at herself mentally; oh she didn't want to tell him that she was gawking at him! She had to think of a lie… like really fast.

"Uhum… well, I…" she began, but then she heard a song on the radio.

She pumped up the volume and smiled widely.

"Hey, this is my song! I love it!" she said, looking at him, a twinkle in her eyes.

Vincent watched as she was singing along with a huge smile on her face and dancing in her seat. God! She was so endearing… and beautiful… and amazing… and God, he loved her!

"So, what's the name of the song?" he asked.

She looked up at him."The world is ours. And the group is called Eleven past one." She answered, the smile still gracing her face.

"Nice tune." He said and listened how she was singing along, like she didn't have a care in the world.

Vincent looked at the Beauty who sat next to him. He promised himself that he'd do anything to keep her safe from harm. And he was determined to keep his promise…

()

At the moment, Catherine was staring her eyes out. She and Vincent were up and close looking at the green marbles. They had been walking the tunnels and ended up in a cave full of green marbles. Shiny, precious marbles. Cat also had a helmet on top of her head and a flashlight on her forehead. It was a bit dark in the cave. She was admiring the gems, her mouth was slightly open, her eyes almost falling out of their sockets. She was too afraid to touch them, afraid that they would lose their value.

Vincent smiled."Go on. Touch it." He said.

"No! I'm not gonna. Their so beautiful and so…" she began.

"Untouched?" he finished for her.

"Well, yeah. God! Thank you for bringing me here, Vincent. This place is a paradise." She complimented.

"Thank you." Vincent croaked.

"So, there are no other people in here?" she asked.

He shook his head."No, not on this side of the mountain." He replied, his face had turned red.

Catherine heard in his voice that something wasn't right with him. She took a good look at Vincent and saw that his face was strained.

"Vincent. Are you okay?" she asked, worry and concern washing over her.

He was panting and almost lost his balance, so Catherine helped him to stay on his feet. He held onto her, his fingers gripping at her soft flesh.

"Vincent! What's wrong?" she asked, panic in her voice.

He looked awful and very exhausted!

"I… uhum… this morning I didn't swallow my pain killers. My knees are killing me." he said, his breathing labored.

"Okay, so where… where is your medicine? Tell me, is it in your back pack or in the car?" she asked, her voice trembling.

"No, I didn't bring any." He replied, looking at her very dazed.

"Vincent, you are scaring the hell outta me! What must I do? Did you bring your crutches?" she asked.

He shook his head, while gasping for air. Vincent was still gripping her tightly, making Catherine break down in tears.

Here she was alone with Vincent in her arms, in a cave with no one else around! On the other side of the mountain were workers, but she and Vincent were so deep in the caves. There was no signal on her phone, so she wasn't able to make a phone call. What to do?!

Catherine could leave him here, so she could run for help. She knew which path to take to reach the mine workers. But she didn't want to leave Vincent alone! No! She was not gonna leave him!

She had no other option, so she did the only thing that she could.

"HELP! SOMEBODY HELP ME! HELP!" she yelled as loud as her lounges were able to.

A/N: Oh my... will someone hear her cry for help?

Review Please?

Ruby.

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