*Author's Note-This is my first fan fiction story in over 5 years, so I'm a bit rusty. I also don't own Twilight. I'm just borrowing some of the concepts created by Stephenie Meyer. So no infringement intended. Please be kind and send reviews my way. :-) Thanks*

Beth glanced around the DA office as she stepped inside frowning slightly. There was a lot of activity going on for a Wednesday afternoon. It had been two months since Emma Monaghan's escape. She knew she couldn't tell Ben to stop hunting for her, but this amount of activity seemed a little excessive in her opinion. As she approached Ben's office he spotted her and waved her inside.

"Hey Ben, what's going on? I haven't ever seen it this crazy around here."

"Hey Beth, we're investigating a string of disappearances in conjunction with the LAPD."

"Why is the DA office concerned with disappearances?"

"I'm not at liberty to say. I'm sorry, Beth."

"Okay. I thought working for you meant I was in the loop when you're working a case?"

"You are but not with this case."

"Why?"

"You can't work a case if you have a conflict of interest."

"What are you talking about, Ben?"

"I'm talking about Mick St. John, Beth."

"What about him?"

"I'm sorry Beth, but I can't say anymore. I've told you too much as it is."

"No, Ben, you haven't told me anything. What does Mick have to do with these disappearances you're investigating?"

Ben sighed before giving her what looked to her like a cold stare. "I don't know yet. Now, that's all I'm saying."

"You don't know yet, but you're sure Mick is somehow involved."

"Beth, please leave this alone."

Beth nodded her head as she spun on her heels. She could hear Ben behind her calling her name, but she ignored him. There was no way she would leave this alone. If Ben was investigating Mick, then it wouldn't be long before he put two and two together and possibly learned Mick's secret. She couldn't allow that to happen.

She made her way toward downtown LA with one goal in mind. She needed to talk to Josef Kostan. She arrived at Josef's office building fifteen minutes later. The building was completely deserted much to Beth's disappointment. She sighed as she made her way to Josef's office. The least she could do was wait patiently for Josef to arrive.

"Beth…Beth, wake up."

Beth jumped in surprise as she rubbed her eyes. When had she fallen asleep? She didn't even realize she was tired. She smiled up at Josef as she accepted his help to her feet.

"Hi Josef, when did you get here?"

"I just arrived. How long have you been here?"

Beth glanced at her watch then raising her eyebrows in surprise. "It looks like I've been here for a few hours."

"Why," Josef asked as he unlocked his office door.

"I'm worried about Mick. I went into the DA's office today to find my boss coordinating multiple investigations."

"That's nothing new for the ADA," Josef replied giving her a smile,

"Normally, I would agree with you Josef, but this is different. According to Ben, they're investigating a string of disappearances with the LAPD."

Josef pulled out a chair for her before taking a seat behind his desk. "Why is that different?"

"Because Ben thinks Mick is somehow involved with the disappearances," Beth replied sitting down in the offered chair.

"So, Talbot is investigating Mick after he and I saved his sorry ass."

"Yeah, he's still wanting to know how you guys did that. I've been able to evade those questions so far, but I really don't like this, Josef."

"Okay, so how do you want me to handle this?"

"I don't know. Killing an unscrupulous photographer is one thing, but killing an ADA is completely different. I admit it would make things easier, but we don't know what exactly Ben knows."

Josef nodded his head then leaned back in his chair. "So, you don't want me to kill Talbot. Instead, you want me to investigate him and learn what he knows?"

"I think that's our best plan."

"And are we keeping this from Mick as well?"

"No, I'm going to tell Mick about this tonight. He needs to be careful while Ben is investigating him."

"I agree. Okay, I'll see what I can find out."

Beth smiled but noticed Josef's eyes suddenly cloud over. "Thanks, Josef."

Josef's eyes cleared as he focused on her. "You're welcome." He smiled slightly as his cell phone rang. "Kostan…What? When? I'll be right there."

Beth frowned as she slowly rose to her feet. "Josef, what's wrong?"

"I don't know yet," he replied as he rose to his feet.

Beth shook her head as Josef's frown deepened. "No, I don't buy that. You're concerned about something.

"You know me to well, Beth," Josef said smiling again, but Beth noticed it didn't reach his eyes. "It's nothing you can help me with, but I appreciate the concern. Why don't you head home and talk with Mick when he comes by tonight."

"Sure," Beth replied nodding her head.

She left Josef's office more concerned than when she arrived. She'd seen Josef concerned once before while he stood over Sarah's bed in New York, but this was something different. He looked worried. As she stepped into the elevator, Beth's mind drifted back to the end of her conversation with Josef. Why did his eyes cloud over? The doors opened and Beth catches herself suddenly feeling faint.

She took a steady deep breath as she exited the elevator, but if she was honest with herself she did feel a little run down lately. She also noticed that she was more tired than before as well. She hadn't really thought about it much since she'd been focused on the last case she was working before Ben's investigation into Mick. She rushed into the Ladies room a moment later as a bout of nausea suddenly hit her.

She slowly rose to her feet a couple minutes later. Her mind was a blur of thoughts as she exited the stall and washed her hands. No, it wasn't possible. Mick said it wasn't possible. She couldn't be pregnant could she? When was her last period?

Beth bit her bottom lip while climbing into her car. "It was two months ago. I had it a week after Josh died.

A small part of her had wanted to be pregnant after Josh's death. A baby would have kept a part of Josh with her thus extending his life. But after seeing Mick at the funeral, she knew having Josh's baby would have only made things harder for her and Mick. So when her cycle began a week later she felt relieved.

Now that left the current situation she found herself in. Her symptoms could be explained away if she was sick. Her missed cycles wasn't as easy to ignore. Deciding she needed to know for sure, she made her way to the closest drug store. Twenty minutes later, she found herself back at her apartment. But she wasn't alone.

"Ah, you must be Beth."

Beth gasped as the man slowly turned around revealing a solid black eye and a slight smile on his face. "Who are you, and what do you want?"

"I only want to help, Beth."

"I'm sure you do, but who are you?"

"My name is Lance. You knew my sister Coraline."

Beth took a step backwards hearing Coraline's name. "Oh, God, you're a…"

"Vampire…Yes, I'm afraid I am."

"Stay away from me," Beth said keeping her eyes on the vampire.

The vampire…Lance laughed and clasped his hands behind his back. "Beth, I have no intention of hurting either of you. But Mick is by not heading my warning."

"What are you talking about?"

Lance smiled and shook his head as he watched her. "So, Mick didn't tell you about my visit. He thinks he's protecting you from this. He has no idea how wrong he is."

"Stop talking in circles, and get to your point."

"You are like Mick. You don't like games. I can understand that after the game my sister played with you and Mick all those years ago."

Beth couldn't keep the look of shock off her face as she stared at Lance. "What…"

"Yes, I know all about my sister's failed attempt at keeping her marriage together. If only she had been a complete mortal, and Mick was my true blood brother. Things might have worked out differently for them. Alas, if Mick had been raised by the same sire as Coraline, he wouldn't be the man that you love."

"So, you know about my past. What did you want to tell me?"

"I only came to give you the same warning I gave Mick two months ago. He's in danger. The Vampire Council is coming after him because of the compound Coraline gave to him. But after hearing your child's heartbeat I'm going to extend a warning to you as well. Do what you must to stay far away from the Council or any vampire working for them. If they learn about your relationship with Mick, they'll stop at nothing to kill you and your child.

Beth laid her hands on her abdomen and frowned slightly. "I don't understand. Why are you telling me all of this? I mean you're from this Council's world, so why do you care if I live or die?"

"Because in the very beginning of my existence as a vampire I was like Mick. I was a vampire in love with a mortal woman. My sire wanted to keep our bloodline pure, so I was forbidden to turn her. But it was also during the time of the vampire hunts. While under the influence of the compound she became pregnant."

"What happened?" Beth couldn't help being curious since it appeared there was a way for vampires to have children.

"The Council killed her and my unborn child in front of me. And gave me this." Lance pointed to his solid black eye. "It was my punishment for not accepting what I had become. They also destroyed the compound and started over to prevent this from happening again."

"What are they afraid of?"

"The unknown, Beth. Your child is half mortal and half vampire."

"Wait, you said they destroyed the original compound. So, how did I get pregnant?"

"They thought they had destroyed all of it, but my sire hid some of it in case the Council ever decided to seek out the unknown."

"And what Coraline had was some of the original compound."

"Yes."

"Did she know about the side effect?"

"No, she didn't. It was kept a secret from the rest of the coven. But even if she had known it wouldn't have worked for her. It only seems to work with male vampires."

"But Mick is a vampire again."

"Yes, but the compound is still in his system. It's not something you can flush out. It was absorbed by his body not just his blood."

"So, how long will it last?"

"It'll be out of his system in the next four months. If you want another child, you'll have to per cur more of the original compound."

"I see," Beth said nodding her head. This was a lot of information to absorb. She had so many questions but no time to ask. Mick would be there at any moment. Her head snapped up as Lance took a small step toward her.

"For a rainy day," Lance said pulling a small metal box from his coat pocket and placing it on her coffee table. "I have two last pieces of advise for you, Beth. The first is keep this safe," He said pointing toward the metal box. "The second is you need to start drinking blood."

"What?"

"The baby is half vampire. It will start draining you to feed itself. Mortal food isn't going to be enough. If you start now you should be able to survive to full term."

A split second later, Lance was gone. Her eyes fell on the metal box still sitting on her coffee table. Why had he really given it to her? She had no answer for the question, but she knew she needed to hide it in the last place anyone including vampires would think to look. Mick knew about her tampon box hiding spot, but he'd think it was nothing more than a full box of tampons or her good jewelry. With the decision made, Beth quickly grabbed the box and headed for her bathroom.

"Beth! Where are you?!"

She jumped in surprise at Mick's sudden entrance, but she could also hear the terror in his voice. Damn, she forgot he'd know she had a visitor of the undead kind. She flushed the toilet and washed her hands before replying to his call. "I'll be right out."

When she entered the living room she found Mick pacing. His head quickly snapped in her direction, and before she could say hi she found herself in his protective arms. She smiled and returned his hug, but she knew she had a lot of explaining to do. He gently pulled her back from his hard chest forcing her to look up into his hazel eyes. Beth saw questions in his eyes, and she took a deep breath reading herself for the onslaught. But it was the first question that threw her for a loop.

"Beth, are you pregnant?"