Chapter 21

Pivot Point

Intro Song: Kings of the Weekend, Blink-182

Sorry for the long delay in posting a new chapter, but, you know...life... Seems that the last chapter - my favorite so far in the book - wasn't really a big hit with readers, but that's OK, can't win them all! My ABSOLUTE favorite chapters are still to come but they are much...darker...than Distractions. When times get tough in the story, however, I will choose to think of Mick playing guitar on-stage at Babe & Ricky's...

NYC, Friday evening

Sean Reynolds had a problem. The pudgy man had raced home to check on the security breaches outlined by Judy Albert from the safety and anonymity of his small Brooklyn apartment. The evidence was clear. The system had been compromised and confidential information extracted...including personnel records for Rebecca Bledsoe.

"Shit, shit, shit!" he exclaimed to the room, jumping up so quickly he knocked his desk chair over. Agitated, he started pacing, casting glances at the computer screen every time he walked by, as if hoping the information might have magically changed since the last pass. Don't panic Sean, think!

He knew he was prone to 'catastrophizing' as his mother used to put it. A college roommate had disparagingly called him 'Chicken Little' whenever he panicked over a real or imagined crisis. He didn't think he was doing that this time, though – this was a mess of potentially gargantuan proportions.

John and I can sort this out. The thought that he wasn't alone in this mess calmed him slightly. He stopped pacing, retrieved his chair from the floor where it lay, and sat back down at the computer, waiting for rescue.

"Are you sure this is a smart thing to do, Victoria?" Gabby stopped prowling the room to eye her mentor, her concern evident in her face. She was tired and irritable; it was just before dawn and the night had been a busy one.

"You don't think it will work?" Victoria, comfortablyly ensconced on her couch, took a sip of wine as she coolly eyed her subordinate.

"No, I actually think it has as good a chance to succeed as anything. I just think it's risky."

"Risk comes from not knowing what you're doing, darling." She smiled slyly at the young woman. "That's a quote from my good friend, Warren Buffet. I believe it applies here as well as in business, don't you think?"

Gabrielle shook her head incredulously at her friend. "Is there anyone worth knowing that you don't know?"

"No." Victoria stated emphatically. "If they are worth knowing, they are probably in my phone. I have no time to waste on the rest. And - I do think we know what we are doing. So! Let's discuss Sunday evening. You have invited everyone on the list?"

"Of course, Victoria." Gabby threw herself down in a convenient chair and pulled the list out of her pocket. "I believe they are all coming." She had spent most of the night contacting the various members of the vampire tribe in New York City - a daunting task, given the size of the community.

"Including Durin?" Victoria raised one elegantly arched eyebrow. Scanlin's presence was crucial.

"Yes. Including Durin." Gabby made a distasteful face as she said his name as if she had just ingested bad-tasting medicine.

"All right then. We have made our plans and it is now out of our hands. I do not believe in second-guessing myself, Gabrielle. Even the best-laid plans can go awry."

"Speaking of plans, Victoria, have you spoken to Josef? Let him in on our little scheme?"

"No, I have not." Victoria's lovely face clouded. "And, quite frankly, it's really none of his business, I still have a hard time understanding why he left so suddenly - and why he hasn't called me since. That's not like him." She shrugged, her thick dark hair swirling on her shoulders, then continued briskly, "However, we women spend way too much of our lives sitting around a phone, waiting for the man to call. He needs to call me, not the other way 'round."

After a long silence, heavy with Gabby's unspoken disapproval, Victoria tried again. "I know you don't agree, Gabrielle, but that's the way it's going to be. Now, I don't want to talk about Josef anymore. Let's enjoy this excellent wine and leave the rest to fate, shall we?"

She raised her glass in toast to the younger vampire, who caught up her own crystal goblet and touched it to Victoria's. Gabby thought about what she had said as she gloomily sipped at her wine. Victoria's counsel may be wise, but it was damned difficult to put into action.

Oh man, Sunday night was going to be a bitch!

Los Angeles, Saturday morning

Saturday morning came way too early – and loudly - for Beth Turner. Sleeping again on the soft leather sofa, she was awakened by kitchen sounds. The rattle and clink of cutlery, augmented by the glorious smell of coffee brewing tempted her to crack one eye open…reluctantly. She was only slightly surprised to be wearing one of Mick's silk pajama tops. It certainly wasn't the first time that had happened. She was even less surprised to have a pounding headache. What had possessed her to drink all that scotch the night before?

"I don't even like scotch that much," she muttered aloud, yawning and wincing at the pain the act generated in her temples.

A sound somewhere between a laugh and a snort emanated from the kitchen area. "Could have fooled me," an amused vampire editorialized. Mick poked his head around the corner. "Good morning, sunshine."

Beth groaned and buried her head in her hands. "I've never felt less like sunshine. I don't suppose you have any aspirin in this place." She raised her head hopefully. "You don't, do you?"

"Actually, you're in luck - I do keep some on hand for clients. I could probably spare a few. Here, this will help." He handed her a full glass of water, squeezing her shoulder encouragingly as he passed her on his way to his office area to dig out the much-needed medication.

Beth drank greedily, the fluid almost immediately helping to ease her headache. Mick returned, handing her aspirin and fetching a large mug of black coffee which she immediately began to gulp down. Sitting down next to her on the couch, he rubbed her leg. "Poor Beth." The sympathy in his words, however, was belied by the amused smile on his face.

"Don't tell me, let me guess. Vampires don't get hangovers." She glared at him as if he were personally responsible for vampire physiology and its quirks, both good and bad.

"Not that I know of. But, then, I don't know of many vampires who drink as much scotch as you did last night," he retorted with a grin. "How much of last night do you actually remember?"

Having to be put to bed - or, in this case, on the couch - did not allow for much in the way of pride, but Beth tried. "I'm not that bad, Mick St. John! I did go to college, after all, which does prepare one for nights of debauchery." Beth replied haughtily, then shook her head ruefully, wincing at that foolhardy gesture. Any head movement was definitely a mistake, at least not until the aspirin kicked in.

Tucking her feet up under her, she leaned over to kiss him on the cheek, sparing him her morning-after breath. "I remember having one of the greatest nights of my life - eating the world's best fried chicken, meeting Miss Mickey, listening to great music, and..." she paused dramatically and grinned wickedly, "...having sex with the hottest musician I've ever met!"

"I thought you said you'd never slept with a musician before." He cocked one eyebrow at her.

"I hadn't - but that doesn't mean I've never met any!"

He laughed out loud. "Okay, I believe you. I would have let you sleep longer, but it's after eleven and I know you have lunch with Alison and Marissa today. And -"

"And, you need to talk to Josef." Beth finished for him.

He nodded. "Yeah. Wouldn't hurt."

"Well, I need to get up and take a shower as soon as my head will cooperate. I'm not meeting them until three, thank god. I guess it's stretching things to call it lunch. Thank you for making me coffee!" She took another large gulp of the rich, dark brew, savoring the taste and smell. "I'm sorry you can't have any. I feel terrible drinking this in front of you."

"It's all right, Beth. I came to terms with all that a long time ago. I don't want you feeling guilty every time you have a bite of food or a cup of coffee. Okay?" Mick stared intently into her eyes.

"Got it." She smiled up at him. "So, are you going to be in your freezer while I'm gone?'

"For a while. Your bed is coming today though, so I need to be up for that. I gather you do think that's important... right?"

"Definitely!" she exclaimed, excited by the thought of a real bed in the penthouse. "And, it's our bed, by the way, Mr. St. John. I expect you to spend a lot of time in it with me. Should I be here when they deliver it?"

He threw up his hands defensively. "Okay, okay, our bed. And, no, you don't need to worry about being here. I'll take care of it. I can come pick you up after your lunch is over if you like." He stood and relieved her of her coffee mug again, already almost empty, and took it to the kitchen for a refill. He grinned when she grabbed the brimming mug from him as if it were a lifeline - which, this particular morning, it might be.

Beth mouthed 'thank you' up at him before gratefully taking a swallow of the fresh coffee. "I'd really like that, Mick. I'll just have Alison pick me up here." Just for a moment, Beth envisioned the fun of having him join her after lunch with her friends. She only hoped that Marissa's heart could take it.

NYC, Saturday evening

People lie... but not computers. Thank god for that! Reynolds had worked late Friday night from home, then, after a few hours sleep, the Renaissance IT head had driven to the office. He'd been working on the company's intranet system ever since.

His efforts the previous night had made today's work easier, but the outcome was no better. He had managed to isolate incidents of breaches occurring over the course of several hours on Tuesday night, with the last one ending about six A.M. He felt confident that, given enough time, he could identify the location of the invaders. The question is, Sean, old buddy, will you get enough time? He had shaken off the thought and concentrated on his work. He'd done his best and if they weren't happy with the outcome, he still had his boring job at Renaissance.

Now, long hours later, he was forced to concede defeat. He had tried every trick he knew - plus some suggested in on-line geek forums - but none of the IP addresses were complete enough to be of help in identifying the intruders. His 'Iron Box' and EHS threat alert had failed him, the experience humbling him in the process. The invaders had just been too quick and too skilled. Dammit! With a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, he grabbed his desk phone and dialed a number he had committed to memory. "Hello... John..."

Los Angeles, Saturday afternoon

"So - before we hook up with Marissa and neither one of us has a chance to get a word in edgewise - just how serious is this, Beth?" Alison Lin glanced over at her friend, then shifted her gaze back to the road in front of her, squinting slightly into the afternoon sun.

"What do you mean?" Beth's eyes were wide in a face that was working hard to appear innocent.

Her friend tossed her wavy auburn hair and snorted. "Oh, don't give me that sweetness and light act - I've been your friend way too long to fall for that! You know what I mean - with that hunk of man up there. You may be able to distract Marissa, but it won't work with me. Oh, and by the way - next time I want the full tour of that place. It looks fabulous and you barely let me past the front door!"

Thinking fast, Beth came up with an excuse for the lack of hospitality. "Sorry, Alison. I thought Mick had a client coming in and his office is pretty open to the main apartment area. We'll do it next time. As for dodging your question about our relationship - you're right. I guess I was just practicing for lunch with Marissa." She brushed her hair back from her face thoughtfully and continued. "I'm just not sure where this is going. Really - I'm not!" she reiterated after intercepting a glare from her friend behind the wheel. "Look, you know me well enough to know that I'm obviously serious about him or I wouldn't be sleeping over. But..." How do you talk about the unthinkable? You don't... "It's just that it's... complicated, that's all."

"Beth, sweetie... what relationship isn't complicated? You show me one and I'll show you the fairy tale book it came from!" Alison shrugged. "Okay, I'm not gonna be Marissa and pry. Let me just say one thing. I've seen you and Mick a few times now - and I talked to Mick a little when he came to my lab by himself. He's certainly smart, obviously successful from the looks of his place, and he seems to really care about you. I mean, he couldn't take his eyes off you up there. I just don't want you to get hurt, okay?"

"What? You aren't going to tell me how gorgeous he is?!" Beth teased her friend, choosing to ignore her last statement.

The lack of response was not lost on her companion, who decided not to pursue it... for now. She clearly doesn't want to talk about that. Instead, she resorted to their tried-and-true method for changing the subject - mentioning Marissa.

"Well, first of all, I'm a scientist - and scientists do not feel a need to restate the obvious. Secondly, I feel pretty confident that Marissa will be all over that aspect - she's already mentioned it to me on the phone several times." Alison placed special emphasis on the word with a sympathetic smile toward Beth, who groaned and theatrically dropped her head into her hands.

A muffled voice came from behind those hands. "Yeah, she's all over it, all right. I think I'd be afraid to leave Mick alone in a room with her - I'd fear for his safety!" Beth peaked at her friend from between her fingers. "Please help me."

Alison burst out laughing. "Good call, Beth. Good call. As for helping you…I don't think there's a strategy I could come up with that would save you from Marissa, given the situation. And... speak of the devil..." They pulled into the parking lot at Tengu, a trendy sushi fusion restaurant in Santa Monica. Alison had picked the restaurant, insisting that lunch was her treat - and she was a well-known sucker for sushi. Standing in the sunny parking lot with a scowl, her arms folded like a teacher about to scold a student, was their friend, Marissa.

"Really, Alison? Sushi again?" Marissa greeted her friends from across the crowded lot in her usual low-key style.

Alison winced as she locked arms with Beth to start over to Marissa. "Oh, that's really good for business. They're gonna loooove us!"

Beth laughed and tugged Alison toward Marissa, who threw her arms around both of them. "Wow, it is so good to see you guys! It's been ages since just the three of us got together! Great idea, Alison! Well, except for the sushi part, that is!" Marissa tended to talk in exclamatory sentences when excited - which was most of the time.

"It was no secret that this is a sushi restaurant, it's been open for years - you should have told me if you wanted to go somewhere else." Alison chided as they walked into the welcoming reception area. "Now that we're here, BEHAVE Marissa!" She pointed a finger in her friend's face - a face that smiled innocently back at her.

"No problem, Alison my dear. No problem. Now, Beth -" Marissa turned her attention to her other friend, linking arms with her as they walked toward their table on the shady patio. "Tell me, how is our 'man-god'?"

"Marissa, you promised not to call him that, remember?" Beth protested, knowing she was not likely to get very far in coercing Marissa to change Mick's nickname - for his sake, however, she felt she had to try.

"You're right," Marissa surprisingly agreed... then dashed Beth's hopes with her next comment. "Just as soon as you come up with a suitable alternative, I promise to quit." She grinned across the table at her friend as they took their seats.

"Marissa, you are incorrigible," Alison commented dryly.

"True - but at least, I'm consistent. You gotta give me that!"

The three friends burst out laughing at the accuracy of that statement. Beth had to admit that Marissa was, if nothing else, true to herself.

They had all met their freshman year at UCLA, living on the same floor in their dorm. From the first, they'd been an unlikely trio of friends - Alison, so serious and studious, Marissa, the bubbly life of the party, and she, Beth, the one in the middle. In point of fact, that was the role she often played - that of the middle man, the buffer, smoothing over and negotiating the ups and downs of their friendships.

They had decided to room together in on-campus apartments their sophomore year, an arrangement Beth, in particular, approached with trepidation. Things had gone surprisingly smoothly, however - surprising not only to the three young women, but to friends and family of the trio as well. Despite the distractions of jobs and 'significant others', they had stayed in close contact ever since – a task made easier for Beth when Marissa had landed a job alongside her at BuzzWire. She hated being on-screen however – even a small one – so she had buried herself in the incredibly fast-paced environment of digital and social media stories. Beth had no idea how she stood it. The threesome still tried to meet at least once a month for lunch or dinner.

I wish I could tell them the truth about Mick, Beth though longingly as the they laughed and joked, settling in for an afternoon of catching up. The restaurant was a shady oasis, with trees flanking the perimeter of the brick patio. The musical notes provided by water splashing down over a ten-foot tall slate wall created a peaceful backdrop to their conversation.

Marissa had them in hysterics over the goings-on at BuzzWire, under the new 'leadership' of Grant Lewis. "Mr. 'shoot-first-ask-questions-later' Lewis. I tell you, he is single-handedly destroying the credibility of on-line news. Sleaze is the order of the day!"

"So, why don't you quit, like Beth did?" Alison asked mildly, setting her menu aside as their drinks arrived.

Marissa snorted. "Me? I'm not like Beth, Alison. I like sleaze! I thought you knew that about me by now."

"We did!" her friends chimed in simultaneously.

"Gee thanks, guys! Hey, speaking of sleaze, I have to tell you what happened to me on Wednesday. Did you notice I was out of touch all day on Thursday?"

Without waiting for an answer, Marissa continued with her story. "I had to completely shut down my computer late Wednesday! It was overrun with viruses - including a porn site that attached itself to my toolbar!" She had her friends' attention now - both women sitting across from her had their mouths hanging open, waiting to hear more.

"Oh, it gets worse! When one of our techno geeks came from Tech support, he got there just in time to see the words 'HOT WET PUSSY' plastered across my screen in three inch high letters!" She gestured dramatically in the air to emphasize the words.

Her friends were now laughing too hard to speak, Beth hanging onto Alison for support so that she didn't fall out of her chair.

Marissa looked from one to the other and shook her head at them. "Oh yeah, funny! He had to put it in 'safe' mode and it was still scanning on Thursday when I got back to work. They ended up having to wipe my hard drive clean. Clean! Beth, you know all the stuff I had stored on there - none of it backed up, of course. I was in big trouble. And, I had a hell of a time convincing Grant that it wasn't because I was trolling on those sites!"

Alison, holding her sides in agony, pleaded with Marissa, "Stop, please. I can't take any more. You have to stop 'Rissa!" Beth had already given up and sat with her face buried in her arms on the table top, still shaking with laughter.

"Well, I'm glad you guys find this amusing. It was a traumatizing experience for Mr. Geek, I'm here to tell you. I'm not sure he'll ever recover! I mean, the guy has probably never even seen a hot, wet pussy! Traumatizing for me too! I may never be able to use the Internet again without twitching and looking over my shoulder. And my reputation at BuzzWire is, of course, completely shot," Marissa announced dramatically.

"What reputation?" Alison asked drily.

Beth regained her composure, wiping at her eyes as she looked up at the waiter who had appeared at their table and was patiently waiting on them to regroup. "I'm so sorry to keep you waiting; we'll order right away."

"Yeah," Marissa said dryly, handing her menu to the young man. "I'll take a pineapple sake and... give me the midnight shooter. You do have that, don't you?" She pronounced the dish seductively, batting her eyes at the young man, who blushed furiously. This was enough to send Beth into gales of laughter again.

Trying to catch her breath, she waved her hand at Alison, who ordered the 'Zen' menu, prompting a raised eyebrow from Marissa. Beth managed to choke back her laughter long enough to order her meal and, against her better judgment, pineapple sake.

"So!" Marissa said, eyeing Alison curiously. "Zen, huh? Since when don't you order sushi?"

"Since I have an upset stomach, okay?" Alison snapped, then caught herself. "I'm sorry, Marissa. Don't mind me, let's enjoy our day. Catch us up on your love life."

That request was enough to prompt a half-hour of funny stories and devastating character studies by Marissa Giacoletto, who had a long history, going back to their college days, of dating inappropriate men. The conversation took them through the serving of their entrees and fresh sake drinks for Beth and Marissa. When she finally ended her saga of life as a single woman in L.A., Beth took advantage of the pause to catch up on Alison's life.

"How is Dara?" she asked, referring to Alison's partner of several years.

"She's great, Beth, just great, thanks for asking." Alison was enthusiastic. "She just finished defending her dissertation and they want her to stay on at the university in a research capacity. She is so relieved because she didn't think she would be invited. You know how political university positions can be."

"Well, that's certainly something to celebrate! Tell Dara congratulations for me - I know it's been a long, hard road." Beth leaned over and hugged her friend, while Marissa echoed her comments.

Alison had anxiously 'come out' to both Marissa and Beth shortly before they moved into the apartment together in college - anxious because she valued their friendship and wasn't sure how her disclosure would affect those relationships. She needn't have worried - neither had missed a beat.

Both young women had met Alison's partner on numerous occasions and thought they were a wonderful match. Alison had been especially appreciative of their support when Dara's parents, unable to come to terms with their daughter's sexual orientation, withdrew their financial support for her education. Dara had temporarily dropped out of college to work and save the money she needed to finish school. They had taken the step of moving in together when she started graduate school, four long years ago.

"There's more..." Alison said, looking down shyly.

"Did you get that research grant you put in for?" Beth tried to stay abreast of her friend's career - difficult to do when she had no idea what Alison was talking about most of the time.

Alison looked from one woman to the other. "No, I haven't heard about that yet - but it is another project... Alison looked from one woman to the other before blurting out, "I'm pregnant." Both Beth and Marissa shouted their surprise. "What?!" "No way!" They competed with one another in firing questions at their flustered friend.

"Guys, guys, give me a chance!" Alison laughed, delighted at the positive reaction from her best friends. "I'm about fourteen weeks along, to answer your question, Beth. And, Marissa, yes, I - we used donor sperm. And, I got pregnant on the very first try!" she finished triumphantly.

"I knew it!" Marissa almost shouted. "I knew something had to be up - you always order the raw eel!"

"Oh, please don't even mention raw eel to me right now," Alison begged, looking green. "I couldn't even spell it right now without throwing up!"

"This definitely calls for champagne!" Marissa signaled to their waiter.

"Marissa, Alison can't drink it!" Beth protested, punching her friend lightly in the arm.

"Hey, no violence!" Alison was almost giddy with happiness. "I can have one glass! I feel pretty confident that you two can handle the rest."

The champagne came, was poured and sampled, and the three young women continued talking excitedly about the changes soon to come for one of them. Marissa and Beth were both thrilled at the opportunity to have a baby to play with, and spoil.

"Okay, Beth, now it's your turn!" Marissa blurted suddenly.

"What are you talking about, Marissa?" Beth sputtered, coughing on her champagne, caught off-guard by the comment.

"Why, babies, of course! You got the man-god's key in record time. I would assume that marriage and babies are the next step."

Beth protested. "We haven't even been together that long. Give us a chance, okay?" You are so off-base...

None of them noticed the solitary figure strolling slowly up the street toward Tengu.

"With a guy like that, you have to grab the gusto, sister - along with one or two other things I won't mention. Tell me you haven't thought about what your kids would look like if that man were contributing to the gene pool." Turning to Alison, she continued. "You work in genetics, Alison. Don't you think that man would make gorgeous babies? Especially with our Beth here. I mean, I know you're gay but still..."

"Marissa, I'm gay, but I'm not blind!" Alison interrupted. "And yes... he's gorgeous. But, you know what? He'll probably be just as gorgeous a year from now - I don't think he has an expiration date. She can take her time..." She glanced at Beth, who smiled at her gratefully.

"Thank you, Alison. And, no, Marissa, I really haven't thought about what children with Mick would look like." Liar. "I'm not ready to be a mom. I have a new job, a new relationship... there are a lot of things I'm dealing with." If you only knew. "Babies just aren't a part of that equation."

Marissa sat across from Beth, her mouth open. "Not ever?! I don't believe what you just said. I don't know anyone who was more looking forward to a family than you! I'm almost surprised you don't already have kids!"

"That was a long time ago. I - I'm not sure I still feel that way, Marissa. I love children; I just don't know if I want to have them myself."

Marissa looked to Alison for support, who shook her head warningly back at her - a signal that Marissa, predictably, ignored. "Did I hear you right?! Ever since you lost your mom, you've always talked about having a big family... Hell, Beth, I've listened to you go on for hours on how to have a career and a family. What, may I ask, has caused this sudden change?!"

Beth shook her head firmly. "Marissa, I am not having this conversation right now! Let's focus on Alison's news and help her celebrate!"

Marissa suddenly straightened in her chair, her eyes huge. "Oh my god! The 'man-god' can't have kids, can he?" She took one look at Beth's face and blurted, "Holy crap! He shoots blanks! I knew there had to be something wrong with him!"

Beth's protests went unnoticed. Alison, who had been silently watching the back-and-forth conversation, kicked Marissa frantically under the table in a futile attempt to shut her up.

"Ow! What the hell?!" Marissa reached down to rub her tender ankle as Alison caught her eye with a furious glare - finally getting through to their less-than-sensitive friend, who attempted to make amends. "Oh... well... okay. Beth, it's your decision, of course. And I would just add..."

Both Alison and Beth braced for what might be coming next.

"I would just add... that man is worth any amount of compromise, so I'm behind you all the way. Cheers!" With that final statement, Marissa picked up her champagne flute for a toast.

"What are we toasting?" a deep male voice questioned.

"Mick!" Beth jumped up to lean over the patio railing to hug the vampire, standing on the walk on the other side of the elaborate wrought-iron railing that encircled the patio. I hope he didn't hear any of that!

"Nice to see you again... Mick." Marissa looked him up and down appreciatively. He was dressed in a dark gray, well-tailored silk-and-wool suit, and black shirt with the collar open, eyes guarded by sporty sunglasses. "Say, is that a potato in your pants or are you happy to see me?"

"Damn, Marissa! They're gonna have to hood you like a falcon." Alison rolled her eyes in exasperation.

Beth whispered in Mick's ear, "Sorry about this." He whispered back, "It's OK. Kinda good for my ego."
To her friends, he said, "It's okay, Alison, really. Hi, Marissa - and yes, I am glad to see you!" He smiled wickedly at her before continuing. "Did you all have a... productive... lunch?"

"Actually, Mick," Beth said with a quick smile, her hand still on his arm, "Alison has been the most productive one; she just told us she's pregnant! I'm going to be an aunt - sort of."

"That's wonderful news, I assume, Alison. Congratulations!"

"Thanks, Mick. Dara and I are very excited. And, yes, it was planned. Are you going to join us?"

He hesitated. "Well, I really just came to steal Beth..."

Beth noticed his reluctance, and glanced up to gauge the amount of sunlight making its way to their part of the patio. Too much for Mick, she thought to herself, realizing, in that instance, just how complicated her life had become.

"Mick, I know you'd love to hear more of Marissa's charming comments, but I think we'd better go if we are going to get everything done on our 'to-do' list."

Alison groaned. "Mick, she hasn't got you involved in her 'To-Do' lists, has she? We used to call those 'Beth's Forced Marches'. She would crack the whip on us on the weekend to get everything done before we could have any fun."

"Hey, they worked, didn't they?!" Beth protested. "At least no one could accuse us of sub-par housecleaning!" She thought back briefly to Coraline's apartment when she had broken in to look for information. She may have had designer shoes, yes, but Mick's ex-wife also definitely had sub-par housecleaning skills.

"Will you all think less of me if I tell you that Beth's 'To-Do' list is one of my favorite things about her?" Mick asked, grinning.

"Oh god, there are two of them! You really are a match made in heaven then," Marissa exclaimed, provoking more laughter from the group as they made their goodbyes.

Mick insisted on picking up the check for the lunch as his apology for breaking up their gathering. As the two walked off, arm in arm, Marissa sighed. "Isn't true love wonderful?"

Alison frowned after the couple. "I don't know, Marissa. There's something not quite right there, but I can't put my finger on it. For Beth's sake, I really hope Mick is one of the good guys..."

NYC, Saturday early evening

"You're sure about this, Sean? Absolutely sure you can't retrieve anything useful to help us figure out who hacked into the system? I want to be clear about this." John Giles stopped his pacing to glare at the man seated in front of his computer. Gone was the meek, nervous persona Giles had presented to the two vampires who came to call on him. This John Giles was decisive and aggressive, even...menacing.

The IT manager swallowed hard, registering the implied threat from the man who gave him his orders - and his bribes. "I- I've tried everything I know to do, John. I told you that over the phone. One of these processes should have captured the information we need, but it's just not there. They must have been on the lookout for security systems and known how to circumvent them."

"How does that happen?!" Giles demanded.

Reynolds bristled. "Hell, I don't know! Maybe you should tell me! Who would want to go to this much trouble to get to the personnel records of one measly home health care nurse, John? This was supposed to be an uncomplicated deal! I set up extra security in our system and monitor it without letting Judy or anyone know - and you pay me for it. The next thing I know, we have an employee and a patient dead, and another employee has disappeared! I didn't sign on for anything like this! So, why don't you tell me how this happens?!"

Giles sighed and dropped heavily into the office chair across from the young man. "Okay, okay. Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it the way it came across. I'm just trying to understand how this could happen - and who did it - because it's for damn sure my superiors are gonna ask me."

"Tell me the truth, John. How much trouble am I in?"

"With us? None, Sean." Giles lied smoothly. "If I understand you correctly, you did your job. You don't have any control over the abilities of the criminals trying to hack into the system, right?" He smiled at the younger man, trying hard for a look of sincerity. "You're in no trouble at all."

Los Angeles, Saturday early evening

The ride back from the restaurant had been quiet with the car's occupants each lost in thought.

Beth went back over the conversation she had with her friends before Mick's arrival again and again in her mind, hoping against hope that he had not overheard any of the discussion. She was afraid that Marissa's comments, alone, would have been devastating to him. If he were a 'normal' male, there wouldn't have been any possibility of his hearing the conversation, but Mick was anything but normal… That damn vampire hearing!

She glanced his way frequently but his face betrayed nothing. Instead, she caught a quick smile, and felt his free hand caressing hers, their fingers finally interlocking. She stroked the back of his hand affectionately, running her thumb back and forth across it. Something was off, but this was not the time to discuss it.

Mick stared at the road ahead, his expression concealing his inner turmoil as he reviewed the women's conversation. He did not let on that, thanks to his amplified senses, he had overheard the discussion between Beth and her friends. He'd read the expression on Beth's face before she realized he was there, her pain palpable to him. She had fooled no one with her statements regarding children - not her friends, and definitely not him.

He had always suspected that having children was more important to Beth than she had ever been willing to admit to him. He knew her history – and lack of family – almost as well as he knew his own. His sense of frustration over his inability to perform the most human of tasks - share a meal, sleep in a bed all night with a loved one…father a child…ate at him more in that moment than at any time since he was first turned and had accepted his fate.

He didn't want to acknowledge what he knew, especially since that would reveal that he had eavesdropped on her, but it was something they needed to address - and soon. He couldn't help the resentment that gnawed at him. Why is nothing in our life together ever easy? he thought bitterly as he drove them to the penthouse. There was no quick solution, however, so rather than dwell on it, Mick purposefully turned his thoughts to something more positive. Like the bedroom. He was thrilled with the results of the makeover of his bedroom; it took supreme control to hide his glee and anticipation.

"Do you want to see the bed?" he asked casually as they entered the apartment.

"Of course!" Beth bounded up the stairs ahead of him, stopping in front of the closed door, Mick right behind her.

"Okay." Mick took a quick breath, and swung the door open. "So, what do you think?" He anxiously awaited Beth's reaction to the beautiful room in front of her.

"Oh Mick," was all Beth managed to get out. Drifting into the room, she touched the polished wood surface of a large armoire as she made her way to the bed. The headboard, blanket chest, and side tables all matched the armoire – solid walnut in a simple Shaker style, the clean lines giving it a contemporary feel without being sterile. And looking nothing like the plain bed frame they had supposedly picked out. The tables on either side of the bed held graceful, stainless steel reading lights, one of her favorite books resting on one. The polished hardwood floor, the only part of the room she recognized, was partially covered by an intricately-patterned, woven silk rug, the design subtly defined in varying shades of gray. A final touch was a cozy-looking upholstered velour chair with a matching footstool, a sleek, contemporary floor lamp positioned nearby for reading.

Sitting down on the king-sized bed, Beth ran her hand over the luxurious gray silk duvet covering a thick down comforter and caressed the soft silvery wool blanket draped at the foot of the bed. She looked up at the vampire in confusion, her eyes bright. "But we didn't pick this out…"

A look of satisfaction crossed Mick's face as he watched her. Beth had had no idea that he had secretly arranged for one of Josef's decorators to come in and provide her expertise to quickly turn the unused master bedroom upstairs into a cozy oasis. It was all this that had delayed the delivery of the mattress and bed frame, and he had been looking forward impatiently to surprising her with the finished room.

"How did you..." she began. "When did you… do all this?!"

"Well, you have been working most of the time, you know. And, I didn't exactly do it alone." Mick grinned at her. "So... you like it?"

"Mick, this is the most beautiful bedroom I've ever been in. I- I'm just overwhelmed!" The thoughtful gesture, representing many hours of work on his part, touched her beyond words.

He sat down beside her on the bed and put his arms around her. "You okay?" he whispered, thinking again of the overheard restaurant conversation with her friends.

Beth struggled to get her emotions under control before facing him. "I'm fine. More than fine. I just... I don't know what to say. You've already done so much to accommodate me in your life."

"Just say you're happy. That's all I need to hear." He kissed her shoulder, then her ear, finally making his way to her mouth.

Beth returned Mick's kiss passionately. "I'm happy," she whispered, sinking down onto the soft silk cover and pulling him down with her. "I'm happy," she breathed, kissing him again and running her lips down his neck to the triangle of flesh not covered by his shirt, giving rise to a gasp of pleasure from him.

Unbuttoning his shirt and pushing it off his hard torso, she used her hands and lips to explore his bare skin. The feel of his cool body, so different from any other man, excited her. She slid her hand down over his muscled abdomen into his pants, smiling at his reaction. "I'm happy. Now, I'm going to make us both happy."

After that, there was no need for words.

End Song: Trouble Over the Weekend, Betty Everett