The Other Path ~ Season 1
By Thomas Mc

Once Upon A Time In The City Of New York

As Catherine made her way to her father's office, she greeted all the familiar faces. It had been a week since her father had returned to work and, thought everyone thought he had come back too soon, he seemed to be doing just fine. She opened his door to see him on the phone. He waved her in. "Hal, let me call you back." He hung up the phone and leaned forward. "Hal Sherwood is coming up from Atlanta tonight. Will you have dinner with us?"

At that moment, Jerry stuck his head in the door. "Tom Gunther is having a party for the architects of the new project." He shrugged. "Another excuse to wine and dine the planning commission." He smiled at Catherine. "Hi Cathy. Tom asked about you. I think he would like to get to know you better."

"I'm afraid Tom just isn't my type." She shrugged and turned to Charles. "I would love to have dinner with you and Hal." She paused before continuing. "In the meantime, how about lunch?"

Jerry left to go about his business. Charles glanced at his watch then his desk calendar. He reached over and hit the intercom button on his phone. "Christina, I'm going to be out of the office for lunch. I should be back in about an hour and a half."

"Sure thing Mister Chandler." Replied the voice from the intercom.

Charles stood up and smiled at his daughter as he grabbed his coat. "Shall we go?"

~ o ~

It was after dark and Vincent was in the park, his leonine features all but invisible within the deep hood of his cloak. He had become restless waiting for Catherine to return from her dinner with her father and his friend. Just as he sensed that Catherine was approaching, he heard the screech of tires coming from the direction of the nearby road. A dark van came to a screeching stop near his location and the side door slid open. He caught a glimpse of shadowy figures inside the van then something that looked a lot like a human body was thrown out of it. The body landed on the damp grass with a thud and rolled down the slope away from the road then another much smaller object flew out the closing side door as the van pulled away. Vincent heard a faint groan and felt a great deal of pain and despair that was rapidly fading into unconsciousness as he raced over to where the body had come to rest.

She was lying face down on the wet grass. Vincent gently turned her over and gasped in horror at what he saw. Her face had been badly slashed up. There was also a nasty looking wound in her side. There was a lot of bleeding from all of her wounds and Vincent knew that he had very little time to get her to help. Father wouldn't like it but his infirmary was the nearest source of help and her best chance of survival. With a quick check Vincent also discovered that two ribs in her back were also broken. He quickly weighed his options. He couldn't carry her in front of him because it would put too much pressure on those two broken ribs. He also couldn't risk her waking up and seeing his face which might cause her to struggle. He also needed one hand free for safety since he would be descending those spiral stairs as quickly as he dared. He had to settle for the fireman's carry though it was far from ideal. As gently as he could, he lifted her and draped her over his shoulder then headed below at a fast trot.

Catherine had just started for home when she felt Vincent's presence in the park so she directed the taxi driver to take the park route. As the taxi entered the park they were nearly run off the road by a dark van speeding out of the park. At that same moment she felt Vincent's sudden distress and ordered the cab driver to let her out in the middle of Central Park where the road was closest to the north secret park access. The driver thought she was crazy but he let her out. Catherine ran to the tunnel entrance and then raced down, following her sense of his presence and spurred on by the depth of his distress. She burst into the infirmary to see Vincent standing there stained with blood and looking a bit dazed.

Vincent looked up at Catherine then spoke. "Catherine it was horrible. They cut up her face 'til she was unrecognizable and beat and stabbed her. They threw her out of a dark van and left her there in the park to die." He looked over at the tapestry covered doorway to Father's little surgery chamber. "I don't know if she is going to survive."

Catherine took one of Vincent's blood smeared arms and pulled him out of the infirmary. "Come on. Father will probably be working on her for a while yet. Let's go get you cleaned up."

~ o ~

A while later Catherine and a cleaned up Vincent were back in the infirmary. Vincent was talking. ". . . Her size and shape, even her hair color was so much like you. Her face was so badly cut up that I couldn't tell what she really looked like. Even with our bond, for a moment I had this terrible feeling that it might have been you."

Catherine caressed his cheek. "Well it wasn't me but I will find out who she is and who did this to her." There was a fire of determination in her eyes. She and Joe were particularly passionate about prosecuting this type of crime.

Father came out of the operating chamber, his face grim. "I did the best I could for her." He took a deep breath. "She will live but the scaring on her face will be pretty severe. There was nothing I could do about that."

Catherine gripped his forearm. "You saved her life, Father and once she has had a chance to heal, I know some excellent plastic surgeons that can probably fix up her face." She glanced through the opening at the deathly still, mummy like, figure. "You've completely wrapped her face, even her eyes. Was she blinded?"

"No." Jacob responded as he glanced back at the poor woman. "Her eyes are OK, but one eyelid was sliced and I don't want her opening her eyes until that eyelid has sufficiently healed." He looked back at Catherine. "That should take about sixteen days. I wouldn't recommend removing the bandage before then. Meanwhile what are we going to do with her?"

Catherine responded. "You could put her in that unoccupied chamber next to our chamber. That way, she will be safe from whoever did that to her. Vincent and I will look after her. Then when she's well enough we can move her to one of the spare rooms of our brownstone before removing the bandage. She'll never know she was ever here."

~ BB ~

Carol awoke from a nightmare filled with flashing blades, searing pain, the taste of blood, the stink of sweat and the sound of her own screams . . . to a new nightmare of darkness, dull insistent aches, dry swollen mouth, the smell of earth and the irregular clanking of metal on metal. The seemingly unending fear threatened to overwhelm her. Fragments of memories of the attack swirled through her mind, accompanied by the erratic clanking sound that seemed to permeate her dark environment. On top of that she felt weak and slightly woozy. With a weak hoarse voice she expressed her denial. "No . . . No."

From out of the darkness floated a kind gentle female voice. "You're safe . . . Your safe now."

Carol swallowed as she tried to get control of her voice. "W . . . where . . . am I?" She barely managed to get out.

This time a male voice came out of the darkness. "No one will hurt you . . . you're safe here." The silk over gravel voice had quality that reached down to her very core. It was the most beautiful male voice she had ever heard and just the sound of it soothed her mind. Despite her pain and the oppressive darkness she wanted, more than anything, to hear it again.

"Hospital?" The weakness of her voice frustrated her.

"No." Replied that male voice.

"But you're going to be alright." The female added.

She tried again this time her voice was a little stronger. "Why aren't I in a hospital?"

Again that wonderful male voice responded. "There was no time . . . you were bleeding."

She brought her hands up to her aching face and found it covered in bandages. "What did they do to me . . . My eyes!?"

The soothing male voice responded. "You're eyes were not hurt; of that we're sure." Again the female added. "You must Rest now."

She wanted to say more, but her body was so tired and she slipped back into sleep. Her dreams were filled with flashing knives in the darkness but this time there was a dark shadowy figure with a kind voice standing between her and the knives.

~ o ~

She awoke to the awareness of the sounds of movement, the rustle of cloth, barely audible voices and the still ever-present clanking. "Who's there?" The voices stopped. "Who are you?"

"Vincent." Replied the male voice. It had not been her imagination. The voice was real.

"Vincent." She repeated the name.

Then the kind female voice returned. "I'm Catherine."

The voice now identified as Vincent continued. "My father treated your injuries." There was a pause and she thought she heard whispering then he continued. "My wife and I are taking care of you 'til you are strong enough to return home." Pain shot through her side when she tried to sit up and Vincent's voice gently admonished her. "You have broken ribs, you need to be still."

Carol asked again. "Where am I?"

Catherine's voice responded softly. "Where no one can hurt you."

Then a twinge in her cheek reminded Carol of the dull ever-present pain in her face and side. "My Face hurts."

To divert her attention, Vincent responded to her comment with a request. "Tell me your name."

"Carol . . . Stabler." She was distracted by a shift in the erratic metallic tapping sound. "That tapping, it never stops."

Vincent replied to her comment. "It's just people, talking to each other by tapping on the master pipes."

"They're messages!?" She responded.

Vincent spoke. "Carol, try to rest."

Catherine added. "If you need anything, one of us will be close by." Carol felt her bed shift as a heavy weight lifted from it. Vincent's voice returned. "Don't be afraid. Please don't be afraid."

"I'll try." She replied as she felt herself now being lulled by the ever-present tapping, wondering what messages they conveyed.

~ BB ~

Over the following, darkness shrouded, days, things seem to settle into a routine. Catherine usually fed her and tended to her needs. There was always someone there to talk to when she was awake. Vincent and Catherine took turns reading "Great Expectations" to her. Twice she had been fed and entertained by someone with a very young sounding voice that identified himself as Geoffrey. Once she was attended by a new male voice full of brashness and humor that identified itself as Devin, brother to Vincent. He entertained her with wild, first person, tales of adventure in faraway places all around the world. Several times she asked them where she was but they always avoided the question or they told her outright that it was a secret. Finally after several days, Catherine told her that they were underground beneath the subways of New York.

The days seemed to run together until she lost count. On this particular day she was being fed a delicious soup by Vincent when she reached up to touch the hand that belonged to that beautiful voice. Her hand touched fur. She gasped in surprise as she jerked her hand away. All that day she couldn't get that moment when she had touched Vincent's fur covered hand out of her mind. She was confused, uncertain. That was the last time Vincent came near her. It was almost like he was keeping his distance because he sensed her uncertainty about him.

Two days later Catherine had been reading to her and had gone to get her some of that tea that she had developed a taste for. Carol began brooding about her situation and what had happened to her. Finally she could no longer stand it. She had to know what they had done to her. She began to unwind the bandage that covered her head and face. Once she had the bandage off, she looked around the chamber, almost totally oblivious to the strangeness of her environment, and spotted a small vanity with a mirror.

She looked into the mirror. "Oh, God . . . No!" It had felt horrible. It looked worse. Her face was covered with stitches. She looked like Frankenstein. Then she heard her name and a frightening creature appeared in the mirror behind her. She turned, screamed and fell back against the vanity. The creature turned away from her then after one quick glance back at her, it started moving away from her.

The next instant a very beautiful woman, dressed in elegantly tailored clothes, ran into the underground chamber. The woman barely paused glancing over at Carol, taking in the situation, then rushed into the arms of the fearsome creature. The woman gently caressed the side of the creature's face. "Vincent, it's OK. I'll take care of this. You go fetch Father." Then as Carol looked on in stunned surprise, the woman - kissed the creature, on the lips!? - and released him from her embrace.

As the creature left the chamber two thoughts hit Carol like a ton of bricks. She had recognized the woman's voice as the voice she had identified as Catherine . . . and Catherine had called that creature Vincent. That gentle, very masculine, voice that often touched her to her core and sent shivers of desire up her spine had come from that creature. For a moment she thought she was losing her mind.

Then Catherine stepped up to her and gently took her arm. "You've just had a few shocks, Carol. Why don't you come over to the bed and sit down 'til you can regain your equilibrium." She led Carol over to the bed and eased her down.

Carol looked up at Catherine. "Was that really Vincent?"

"Yes, that was Vincent." Catherine replied.

"How? . . . What? . . ." She shrugged when she didn't know what to say.

Catherine cocked her head. "What he is, is my husband. How he came to be, is simply that he was born that way. Why he was born that way is anybody's guess." Catherine pulled the chair over beside the bed sat down and took hold of Carol's hands. "Who did this to you, why did they do it?"

Carol looked down at her hands a moment before answering. "I . . . I was working for this, ah, escort service." She reluctantly looked up at Catherine. "It's called Mayfair. They've got a pretty good clientele, you know businessmen from out of town." She shrugged. "That sort of thing."

Keeping her voice neutral, Catherine remarked encouragingly. "And you'd go out with them."

Carol nodded without looking up. "Yea, more or less. But it's run by this man, Marty Belmont, a real bad character. He was using the service to shake down his customers. Sometimes he would have the girls carry tape recorders. Sometimes he'd, ah, get it on film."

"I see. And how did you get into trouble?" Catherine inquired.

Carol shrugged. "When I wouldn't go along with it, Belmont got it into his head that I was going to spill everything to the cops so he sent his men . . . to get me."

Catherine knew she was coming to it. "So the men that attacked you, they were Belmont's men."

Carol nodded. "Yea, I recognized two of them, Ralph Manconi and Lyle Van Gelder."

Catherine pondered for a moment. "If those three men were arrested, would you be willing to testify against them?"

Carol reached up touched her cheek feeling the prominent stitching as a single tear slid down it. She looked up at Catherine and her eyes hardened. "Yes."

They were interrupted by an unfamiliar male voice. "Catherine, may I come in?"

Catherine glanced at the tapestry covered door and smiled. "Yes Father, you may come in." Then she looked back at Carol. "Father is the doctor down here. He saved your life."

An older man dressed in layers of patched together clothing with a rough wood cane in one hand and a black doctor's bag in the other, entered the chamber. He set his bag on the bed and scowled at Carol a moment then spoke. "Those bandages were not supposed to come off for another two days young lady." Then his expression softened as he gently touched her chin and tilted her head, left then right. "Close your eyes please." She closed her eyes and felt a very slight pull on her left eyelid. "Ok now open them." She complied and saw him nodding to himself. "Good, good. I was afraid you might have pulled the stitches in your eyelid but it seems to be healing well. Removing the bandages early doesn't seem to have done you any harm after all." The 'doctor' that Catherine had called Father checked the rest of Carol's injuries and pronounced them all healing well.

At this point Carol looked down at herself and realized that she was dressed in very much the same style as the doctor. She touched the strange patchwork clothing that she was wearing, it felt so soft and warm, and then she looked up at Catherine. "What happened to my clothes?"

Catherine shrugged. "I'm afraid your clothes were ruined." She cocked her head appraisingly. "You appear to be very close to my size and I have plenty of spare clothes. You're welcome to pick-out something more appropriate for your return above."

Carol ran her hands over the soft warm fabric. "I guess it's OK for now but I don't think it would be very appropriate in public. They might think that I'm a homeless person." Her brows furrowed as she again looked at Catherine. "You asked me earlier if I would be willing to testify. What has that got to do with you?"

Catherine nodded. "I wondered when that question would occur to you. I work for the New York District Attorney's Office as an ADA. If we file charges and you do agree to testify, there is a high probability that I will be involved in the case." Catherine paused looking Carol straight in the eyes. "Carol, are you sure you understand the risks?" Catherine shook her head. "Don't do this for me. I don't want you to do anything that doesn't feel right."

Carol gazed back just as seriously as she again touched the stitches on her face. "I'm doing this for me."

They were interrupted by a voice that Carol recognized as Devin coming from the direction of the tapestry that apparently served as a door. "May I come in?"

Catherine seemed to be watching Carol to see how she would respond. Carol thought back to that time Devin had watched over her and remembered that he had called Vincent his brother. After a moment she shrugged. "I guess it's OK."

A tall rather handsome man entered the room. The first thing Carol noticed, however, was the three prominent scars on Devin's left cheek. He came over and stood before Carol a moment before speaking. "I hear my little brother gave you a bit of a surprise earlier."

Carol lowered her head, as much to hide her embarrassment as to hide her scarred face. "I . . . He scared me."

"He's been watching over you for two weeks and he was the one that found you and brought you to us." Devin remarked with just a hint of asperity in his voice. "He really is a very nice person once you get to know him."

"I know that now." Carol snapped back then a little softer she continued. "I just didn't know what he looked like and he surprised me." She looked down a couple of seconds. "Do you think he will come back?"

"If you want him to, he will. Otherwise he won't come near you." Devin replied. "He won't go where he's not welcome." There was just a hint of displeasure in his voice. Catherine gave him a quick admonishing glare over his tone.

Carol looked over at Catherine. "Would you ask him to come back . . . please? I, ah, I really want to thank him for all he's done for me."

Carol noticed that Catherine's eyes seemed to momentarily lose focus. Devin also noticed it and remarked. "I think Vincent will be here shortly."

Catherine smiled "He's on his way."

Carol glanced curiously from Catherine to Devin and Back to Catherine wondering what that was all about. A minute later Vincent's voice called from outside the chamber asking if he could come in. "Please come in." Carol called out as she tried to mentally prepare herself for what she would see.

Vincent entered the chamber and Catherine introduced him to Carol. "Carol, this is my husband, Vincent."

This time she knew what to expect and decided that he actually looked rather magnificent.

Vincent stopped when he was about halfway between Carol and the doorway, and nodded his head. "It's good to see you are feeling better, Carol. I apologize for frightening you earlier. I was afraid that you might cause more damage to your injuries by removing the bandage too soon."

Carol felt that familiar feeling deep inside at the sound of his voice. At the mention of her injuries she remembered her face and lowered her head. "I'm sorry I screamed at you."

"Please don't worry about it." Vincent replied.

Carol glanced up to see that Catherine had moved over next to Vincent and put her arm around his waist. Vincent had his arm around her shoulder, his fingers curled around her upper arm. Her eye was drawn to his very sharp looking claws that were resting against Catherine's upper arm. Catherine was leaning into him, apparently completely unconcerned about those deadly looking claws. It occurred to Carol that it could feel very safe and protected within those arms if you were not afraid of those claws, and how could any woman resist that voice. Carol looked back down at the ground, her hair falling across her scarred face.

Carol felt an arm across her shoulder and glanced up to see Devin seated beside her, sympathy clearly showing on his face. "I know you feel like your life is over because of what happened to you but, I assure you, you still have a lot of good living ahead of you."

Catherine spoke up. "Tomorrow morning, if you feel up to it and still wish to testify, I will take you above to the DA's office where you can give your statement."

Devin was looking at Carol's lowered head as he spoke. "I'll take care of her until then."

She looked up and saw that bit of mischievous sparkle hidden in his eyes that she had half expected would be there since the day he had spent with her. She smiled tentatively at him. He smiled back.

Catherine tilted her head and her eyebrows arched. "Right . . . In that case, Vincent and I have other things to do so we'll leave you in Devin's hands."

Vincent added. "Watch out for my big brother. He can be a bit of a character sometimes."

With that Catherine and Vincent exited her chamber leaving Carol alone with Devin. Carol was a bit surprised by their rather sudden exit and looked over at Devin. "What happened?" She asked perplexed.

Devin shrugged. "I guess Vincent sensed that I wanted to spend some time with you and decided to give us some space." That mischievous sparkle she had seen was a little more pronounced.

She hung her head. "Why would you be interested in me? I look hideous."

She felt his hand on her chin as he gently forced her to look back up at him. "If there is one thing that I've learned in my rather chaotic life, it's that true beauty comes from inside." He touched his own scars with his other hand. "Besides I'm not exactly unmarked myself."

"How did that happen?" She asked a bit unsure how her question would be received.

"Vincent and I got into a fight as kids. I was really mad at him and I hit him, knocking him down. He struck back. When he realized what he had done it took the fight right out of him. It was the only time we ever came to blows and we were both devastated by what we had done." Devin shrugged.

She shrugged shaking her head. "You're scars give you a kinda rakish look, more like the hero of an adventure movie." She would have dropped her head again as tears formed in her eyes, but his hand on her chin prevented it. "I look like something from a horror movie. The monster that the hero battles."

She stared uncomfortably back at him as Devin cocked his head to the side and studied her face for a long time then he shook his head. "No . . . the stitches may stand out at present but you really do not look all that bad. I can still see the beauty that is there." He tilted his head the other way. "Besides there are several excellent plastic surgeons in this town that could fix you up as good as new, if that's what you want. I was talking with Catherine about it a couple of days ago. She told me that after a couple of months, once your face has healed up, she was going to take you to one that she knew was very good."

Carol shook her head dejectedly. "I could never afford anything like that."

"Cathy can." Devin replied simply. "It would be pocket change to her and I know that she has already talked to the surgeon about your case."

Carol felt the stirrings of hope at Devin's words. "But why would she do that for someone like me?"

"Because that's the type of people Cathy and Vincent are." Devin responded. "Vincent could care less about money and Cathy sees her wealth as a convenient tool for helping others." He smiled. "All of us that live and grew up down here are like that." He suddenly stood up and held out his hand. "Why don't I give you a quick tour of our little world down here."

After a few moment's hesitation, she stood up and shyly took his hand.

~ BB ~

Carol awoke to the ever present sound of the tapping of the pipes. She stretched and smiled remembering the time she had spent with Devin yesterday. He had been so sweet and considerate to her as he had shown her around this amazing underground community while occasionally regaling her with more tales of his adventures all around the world. His life sounded like heaven to her. It had been her own adventurous spirit that had brought her to New York. Unfortunately she had been a bit naïve and had fallen in with the wrong people. Now Devin was telling her that she could start fresh. She had not felt this happy and alive in a long time. Even the pull of the stitches reminding her of her face could not banish her good feelings this morning.

After a moment she got out of the bed and got ready for her first morning back in the world above. She put on the clothes that Catherine had given her for this return. It was actually a rather smart and sophisticated outfit, much better than anything she had ever owned. Then she saw her face and the effect was lost as she touched the stitches.

She heard the sound of a throat being cleared from beyond the tapestry covered doorway. "Carol, it's Cathy and Vincent. May we come in?"

Carol smiled, glanced once more at herself in the mirror, shrugged and responded. "Sure, come on in."

Catherine and Vincent entered the chamber. "It looks like you're ready to go." He remarked

Carol shrugged. "I guess so."

Catherine nodded. "Good. Our first stop will be to see a doctor friend of ours. He will then take us to a specialist on your type of injuries. The specialist will examine you for the official record and probably testify at the trial." Vincent held back the tapestry and Catherine indicated that they should go. "You have to understand that the doctor that Peter will be taking us to, knows nothing about Vincent or this place. In fact, once we get above it is best if you assume that no one you meet is aware of this place."

"What do I say if someone asks where I've been?" Carol asked.

"If it comes up, the simplest thing is to say that you were found and helped by a group of homeless people and I came for you once they informed me that they had you and that it was the doctor we are seeing first that removed your bandages. That way you can claim that you don't know exactly where you were before the bandages were removed. Other than keeping the secret of Vincent and the tunnels, just answer any questions as honestly as you can. For instance all you know about the doctor that fixed you up was that everyone else called him Father and you don't know where you were because of the bandages."

Carol nodded her understanding. She glanced at Vincent. She could imagine how bad things could get if knowledge of his existence ever got out.

~ o ~

After nearly an hour of walking through the complex maze of various types of tunnels they ended up in a very nice home where they were met by a tall distinguished looking gentleman. "Catherine, Vincent, good to see you." He looked at Carol. "And this must be the young woman you mentioned." He gave no indication that he even noticed the damage to her face.

Vincent responded. "Peter this is Carol Stabler." He then addressed Carol. "This is Doctor Peter Alcott."

Peter responded. "Pleasure to meet you. The doctor I'm taking you to is Doctor Keysha Turner. She is a trauma specialist. She will be examining your injuries and making a report for the police and the court."

After giving Catherine a quick hug and kiss, Vincent handed Carol his hooded cape, telling her that he understood that she might not want other people staring at her, then he headed back below. Peter drove Catherine and Carol to another brownstone on the other side of the park from his home.

~ o ~

They were greeted by a tall elegant dark skinned woman who introduced herself as Doctor Keysha Turner. Carol followed Doctor Keysha into the examination room where her injuries were very thoroughly examined as the woman questioned her about what had happened.

Carol told her more or less the story that Catherine had suggested. She had been attacked, lost consciousness when thrown out of the van, woke up with her head and face completely bandaged so that she was blind while they cared for her for two weeks, Then she was turned over to Catherine who brought her to Doctor Peter Alcott who removed the bandages covering her face.

Doctor Keysha then took a few pictures of her injuries. Carol dressed herself while the doctor wrote up a report on her examination. Once she was dressed Carol asked the doctor how bad it was.

Doctor Keysha replied. "I won't lie to you. The injuries were very severe. I suspect that the only reason you are alive is because these unknown people got to you so quickly. With those injuries, I doubt an ambulance could have reached you in time." She studied Carol's face a moment then continued. "Fortunately the doctor that fixed you up did a very careful and skillful job so the scaring won't be as bad as it could be." Touching Carol's chin and adjusting her head first left then right Doctor Keysha continued. "With the exception of this one next to your left ear, most of the scaring can be easily removed by a good plastic surgeon."

A few minutes later Doctor Keysha escorted Carol back out to her parlor where Catherine and Peter had been waiting. She handed Catherine a folder containing her report and the pictures. Doctor Alcott and Catherine thanked her and the three of them headed for the district attorney's office.

~ o ~

Catherine took Carol in to meet Joe and he took her statement which was the same story she told the doctor. Joe pulled up the police reports on the three attackers while Carol's statement was being taken down. Finally it was done.

Joe shook Carol's hand as he complemented her. "We really appreciate your willingness to help us with this case Miss Stabler." He glanced at Catherine. "These men are all very bad characters, have you made arrangements for Miss Stabler's safety?"

Catherine nodded. "She's staying with some friends of mine until the case is finished."

Joe nodded in response, giving Catherine a knowing grin. "Very good. I'll see to it that the arrest warrants are issued right away. We should have these men in custody by tomorrow." He smiled at Carol as he continued. "I'm going to recommend that they be held without bail on the grounds that this attack was to eliminate a potential witness and they are a danger to everyone involved in this case."

After Carol and Catherine left Joes office. Carol pulled up the hood to hide her face when the plainclothes detective that they met at the elevators did a poorly concealed double take. The officer escorted them out of the building to a car that was waiting for them. As they passed through the building's lobby they did not notice the rough looking character that was standing in the half hidden alcove.

~ o ~

The officer dropped Carol and Catherine off at Catherine's apartment. A fairly ordinary looking sedan pulled over and stopped a short distance up the street.

As they entered Catherine's brownstone the first thing Carol noticed was the understated elegance of the place and the furnishings. She was a bit startled by the sight of Vincent coming out of the kitchen at the back of the brownstone a second after Catherine closed the front door. "I'm sorry I jumped." Carol remarked after a moment's hesitation. "Even though I have become used to you, I still never would have expected to run into you in a place like this."

Vincent nodded as he smiled at Catherine. "Why not, after all it is our home."

Catherine chuckled as she approached him. "Makes sense to me. Where else would you expect to meet a fantasy than in a fantastical environment?" She put her arm around his waist. "You're my greatest fantasy and I still am amazed to find you beside me when I wake up." She stretched up as he kissed her.

Carol glanced away quietly mumbling, "Get a room," under her breath.

Carol was surprised by Vincent's chuckle. "Actually we have a room. It's upstairs. And I have very good hearing."

Catherine giggled at Vincent's comment. "His acute sense of hearing can be a bit frustrating sometimes." She patted Vincent on his chest. "I don't know about you two, but I'm hungry. How about lunch?" At a nod from Vincent she headed back to the kitchen.

~ o ~

Carol pushed back from the table with a sigh. "That was a very good meal." She glanced over at Vincent as he picked up his plate and started toward the kitchen. "And I really enjoyed your company."

Vincent paused at the kitchen door and smiled back at her. Then he frowned and his attention switched toward the front of the building. An instant later Catherine jumped up and grabbed Carol. "We have to move now!" Then the sound of gunshots rang out followed a half second later by the thud of something heavy hitting the front door.

Three men burst through the front door as Catherine pulled Carol toward the back staircase then a shot rang out.

Time seemed to slip into slow motion as Carol glanced back at the three men running toward them. Martin Belmont and Lyle Vangelder were carrying guns; Ralph Manconi, as usual, had a knife. There was no way they could make the back stairs before they were shot down. They were trapped. Then Carol caught sight of Vincent just out of the invader's sight in the kitchen. There was a wild, feral, look on his leonine face.

Martin was speaking as he moved in rapidly. "Uh, Uh, Uh." Then they were right in front of them. "Say good night." Ralph was moving in waving his knife in front of Catherine's face as Martin pointed his gun into Carol's face

Then everyone was startled as the room was filled by a roar of primal rage. Carol stared in horror as the next instant Vincent was among the three men and bodies flew in all directions. In less than a second, two of the men lay crumple unconscious on opposite sides of the room. Vincent stood over a cowering Martin Belmont poised to strike again when Carol issued a squeak of fear turning away. A second later as Martin's frightened blather continued, Carol looked back to see the positions unchanged. As she watched she saw the fire slowly fade from Vincent's eyes.

Catherine entered the kitchen and a short time later she returned carrying a roll of duct tape. As Martin cowered before the overbearing mass of a glowering Vincent, Catherine got Carol to help her tie him into one of the dining room chairs. Next they secured the two unconscious men to other dining room chairs. Catherine then quickly checked over all three men. There were plenty of bruises and abrasions but there wasn't a claw mark among them.

She breathed a sigh of relief and turned back to Martin her eyes as cold as ice as she spoke to him in a low controlled tone. "Something to consider," She glanced over at Vincent, and Carol saw a hint of a smile flash across her face before she turned back. "The only thing standing between you and him . . . is me." She then turned her back on Martin and approached Vincent. At that moment everything that Carol had been through came together in one irresistible need and every bit of it was released in a single punch that sent Marten, chair and all over backwards with a loud painful grunt.

"Wow, Stabler, remind me never to get on your bad side." They looked over to see Devin approaching from the back basement stairs.

Carol looked at Martin then back to Devin, her eyes slightly glazed over. Then as she started to shake in reaction to what had happened, Devin stepped up and put his arms around her. The tears started to flow as she clung to him.

As Devin held the severely shaken Carol, Catherine checked out Martin Belmont. He was dazed, there was a large bruise forming on the side of his face, and he had a bloody nose. Catherine then went over to her phone and called Detective Henderson. She told him that there had been a break-in at her home but the attackers had been subdued and were currently tied up in her dining room. Next she called up Joe and told him what had happened. By the time she got off the phone with Joe, Carol had regained control of herself.

Catherine turned to Vincent, her manor a bit subdued, and spoke to him quietly. "I'm sorry for what I said."

"It may have been harsh," Vincent glanced at the three invaders, looked down then back into her eyes. "But it was essentially the truth."

Catherine glanced over at the three invaders. Martin was groaning and gingerly shaking his head. The other two were still out. She looked back at Vincent taking his hands. "You had better make yourself scarce before the police arrive."

After a quick kiss, Vincent headed below. Just before Detective Henderson and the police arrived, Winslow came up and was there representing himself as the big man that took out the three invaders. Henderson gave Catherine a suspicious look and received a grin and a wink from her in response. With a nod he ordered the police officers to take the three men away while he took the witnesses statements. After the other officers were gone, Vincent returned and gave his version of what had really happened. Henderson then took down the edited version with Winslow substituting for Vincent.

~ BB ~

Three months later :

It was late evening when Catherine and Vincent stepped out onto their rooftop garden. They both smiled at the sight that greeted them. Devin and Carol were cuddled up on the outdoor chase and watching the brilliant colors of the sunset spread across the sky. Vincent politely cleared his throat and the two lovers turned to face them as they approached.

Catherine spoke. "I hear that you saw the plastic surgeon today. Was it good news?"

Carol smiled. "More or less. He has me scheduled for next month. He said that he believes he will be able to fix most of the scars." She shrugged. "No guarantees."

Catherine nodded. "The court cases are all over now and Belmont and his men are going away for a very long time, so what do you plan to do until then ?"

Devin replied. "We thought we'd spend our honeymoon down under with Mick and the gang at Never Never Safaris.

"Honeymoon?" Vincent cocked his head as he looked at Carol. "You sure about this? You know, Devin will never be the type to settle down, whether you follow him or not. He will drag you over half of creation if you stay with him."

Carol broke into a big grin. "I'm kinda counting on it and I will follow wherever the wild goose takes him."

Devin added. "It's already done. We got the license and saw the justice of the peace before we went to see the doctor."

Catherine and Vincent looked on in surprised shock. Finally Vincent spoke. "Congratulations big brother, Father will kill you when he hears, assuming he survives the heart attack."

Catherine merely shook her head. "It ought to be an interesting life."

The End (of episode 1)

'Beauty and the Beast' and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures. No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.