CHAPTER SIX – "Questions"

I sat stunned, looking at Mick. "Excuse me? What did you just say?"

He looked a little uncomfortable and resettled himself in his chair.

"I just suggested that maybe tonight isn't a good night for wine for you. I mean, you had some when Josef and Simone were over—maybe you've just had enough. . ."

"Oh! What! You think I'm turning into an alcoholic or something? Is that what your vampire sensibilities are telling you Mick?" I was angry, and he was nonplussed.

"Beth! Of course I don't think you have a drinking problem! I'm just saying—"

"You're just telling me not to drink anything. Why?"

He looked over his shoulder, as if he was afraid someone would hear us. "Beth—I'm sorry--order something else if you want to. Maybe you just don't like this stuff—I mean, what we had today back at my place was really good wine! This is pretty—ordinary! By-the-glass. Nothing special! You're palate might be more discerning than mine!"

"And I might also be the Queen of England, but I'm not stupid, Mick!"

"I don't think you're stupid! For the love of. . .Beth! What is this! You're really mad at me!" His eyebrows wrinkled as he gave me a look of bewilderment.

I sat there wondering why I felt mad at him. I looked at him, looking puzzled and concerned, and so at a loss as to what to say to me. That face! I actually began to feel sorry for him!

"I don't know what's wrong with me, Mick." I sighed and played with my bread, picking the crust off and letting it fall onto my plate. "I guess it's just what you said, how you said it. I keep thinking you know something I don't know and you're keeping it from me. So--there it is. Tell me if you're not being totally up front with me, okay? Honesty, remember?" I looked up into his eyes. "We can tell each other anything, right?"

Now he looked sheepish. It looked good on him. "I'm not withholding anything from you Beth—I guess it's wishful thinking on my part!. That's all, I swear." He looked at me and blew a breath out, then held his hands out in a gesture of submission.

"You think I'm pregnant, don't you? That's what this is about?"

His eyes popped open in surprise. He hadn't expected me to be so blunt, obviously.

"Ah, not exactly, Beth, I guess I was kind of hoping, when the wine didn't taste right, you know? I mean, a man can always hope!" He looked like a lost puppy and I just wanted to hug him.

"So your mobile vampire lab isn't letting you in on any secrets?"

"Beth. I'd let you know."

"Well, you're the one who told me you could smell my hormones! What happened—you can't smell me anymore?" I was trying to speak in a whisper, but it came out rather loudly.

A salad suddenly appeared in front of me. The waiter gave me a very strange look. I guessed I shouldn't be sitting in a public place asking a handsome man if he could smell me! I started to turn a little red, thanked the waiter, and looked back at Mick with a look that said, "Huh?"

Mick still looked uncomfortable. "Of course I can smell you!" he whispered loudly. "You smell wonderful to me! I could eat your scent for dessert! I just can't be your early detection pregnancy test! You'd know better than I would--I have no clue. How do you feel, Beth? That's more telling. Do you feel any different physically?"

"Right now I've kind of lost my appetite. . ."

"Well—there you go."

"It means NOTHING, Mick. It's probably because I'm irritated with you and I don't want to be, so what do you mean, 'there you go?' Is this significant?"

"There you go—you've lost your appetite. Maybe it means something—maybe it doesn't. What do you want me to say, Beth? What do you want me to say?"

I began to rummage through my purse. I found what I was looking for and took it out.

Mick looked concerned. "What is that?"

He was looking at my little mending kit that I always carried with me in case of emergencies. "You'll see," I said as I opened up the little snap. I pulled the needle out and jabbed my finger, watching as the blood came out in a little bubble that began to run down my finger. I reached across the table and held out my bleeding finger. "Here's blood, Mick—can you tell me anything from this?"

"I doubt it, Beth! I haven't taken the Bloodhound course on pregnancy hormones!" He looked at me warily, then reached for my hand, pulling it toward him, sniffing my finger. His eyes changed from wary to something else. "Ah, Beth, you do torture me—you smell so sweet! I think I'm the one who's starving now!" He eyed my salad, then smiled at me.

"Well? What's the verdict? Am I pregnant?"

"I wish I could tell you, sweetheart, but it's too early to know. I do appreciate the appetizer, though," he said as he stuck the tip of my finger into his mouth, sucking it, making my stomach flutter and contract. When it had been sufficiently cleaned off, he pulled it out, pressed a kiss onto my palm, and said, "thanks—that was really good." His eyes were dark and smoky-looking. I almost wondered if he'd go vamp on me at a public restaurant.

I pulled my hand back. "Oh, I should have known you'd make light of this!"

"Beth! You'd be about 24 hours pregnant! Even I'm not THAT good!"

I smiled and took a bite of salad. "Well, I think you ARE that good!" I smiled as I chewed. "You will let me know if you catch a whiff of something, right?"

"Absolutely."

We got back to my place, and Mick opened the door for me, carrying his duffel bag over one shoulder, ushering me inside with his other hand. I flipped on a lamp. "Make yourself at home, Mick. What do you want?"

He smiled. "Well you, for one, but I guess I should put some things in your refrigerator."

I led him into the kitchen and moved some things around in the refrigerator. "Here—is the meat drawer big enough? I don't really need it."

"That's great. Now I could use a glass."

We were both a tiny bit uncomfortable. His blood in my refrigerator, drinking it out of my glasses. Merging our lives was interesting--more than just having an extra toothbrush in the bathroom, I thought! I pointed up to a cupboard. "Glasses up there—do you want anything else?"

"No, I'll be fine. Hey—do you mind if I use your computer?"

"Oh, not at all—I'll set it up for you so you have your own log-on and password. I'll be back in a few minutes."

I left him to do whatever he needed to do, and set up the computer. I checked out what was happening on BuzzWire, but no big news tonight! Mick strolled in and put his hands on my shoulders, then began to massage, gently at first, then more firmly. I groaned under his touch. "Oooh. That feels great!"

He massaged me for a few more minutes, then said, "I'll continue the full body massage a little later, if you'd like that?"

I groaned again and kissed him. "Oh, the things you do for my body! Go ahead and get your computer time in—I'm going to just clean up the kitchen a little. I'm really tired, too!" We exchanged looks that said it all—we had both been missing a LOT of sleep lately!

"I think we should get to bed early. . ."

I kissed him on the mouth. "That is definitely a date!"

I woke up the next morning in a tangle of arms and legs and sheets and blankets. Mick was actually sleeping! I hardly dared to breathe. I just watched him, so peaceful in slumber, his angel face only inches from my eyes. I had actually slept last night too, in spite of the time we had spent making love, maybe three times? Four? I couldn't remember, but the memory flashes were lovely. Mick's long eyelashes began to flutter, then his eyes opened reluctantly, squinting at me, focusing on my face. I got to watch as he came to full consciousness, causing a big smile break out that lit his beautiful face up from the inside out. He reached over and touched the tip of my nose with the tip of his finger.

"Good morning, Sunshine," I said softly, touching his cheek. He picked up my hand and kissed it.

"Good morning, love of my life!"

"Good comeback!" I laughed. "How did I live before you?" I thought out loud. His eyes got serious.

"I don't know how both of us denied ourselves this happiness for so long—I'm just so grateful that the denial is over and we're finally together, right where we belong."

I leaned over and kissed his cheek. "I have to get up. I have to pee really, really bad!" I shoved off the bed, grabbed my robe and hurried to the bathroom. Sure enough! I was very tender again! No time for ice, though. I turned on the shower and let it warm up for a minute while I brushed my teeth. Then I stepped in, and almost screamed. Mick was in there! "Are you trying to give me a heart attack? How did you get in here?"

"Just used my crafty vampire abilities, my dear. I'm just glad you didn't have that nasty mace in your hand. . ."

"Yeah! It's probably only a matter of time!" My heart slowed down a little, then sped up again as he began the slow process of soaping me up, and when I was all full of lather, I started on him, and then he washed my hair, and pretty soon, it became a very long shower. Very long.

Mick was at the computer when I came out of the bedroom, dressed and ready to leave for work. I halted a minute, just watching him work. He looked so good right there, at my desk, in my place. I walked over and kissed him good-bye. "Will you still be here when I come home?"

He turned around to speak to me. "I think maybe you should come to my place tonight. I'm going to have a surprise for you!"

"But the bed is here, Mick—"

"Well, we can always come back here, but come to my place first, okay? I want to make you some dinner."

"You don't need to cook for me! That's too much of a good thing, Mick! You don't even eat!"

"But I love to cook—when I have a reason."

I smiled. He looked so cute sitting at my computer. "Okay! You talked me into it! I'll see you around six then." I kissed him again, hating to leave, but tore myself away and left. I thought about him all the way to work.

Talbot noticed something as soon as I walked into the office.

"Well, well! What's been going on with my favorite employee? Beth—you look—different somehow--is it your hair?
Did you do something different to it?"

I smiled and shrugged, "No, didn't do a thing to my hair, Ben. I did have a great weekend, though!"

"Oh? Anything you'd care to share?"

"Maybe later." I picked up a stack of papers from the basket, which was bulging from a busy weekend. "I'll start looking up the priors on these guys." He looked at me with a kind of perplexed scrutiny I wasn't used to.

"Okay. That's good. Come talk to me when you're done with that. Gosh, Beth, you just look great today!"

I smiled broadly and went to work.

The day dragged. The coffee maker was on the blink—I couldn't even stand the smell of what was coming out of that thing! Talbot kept me in his office for at least an hour, talking about a case, but mostly looking at me sideways, as though he suspected ME of some heinous crime! Well, maybe some of the things Mick and I were doing over the weekend were against the law, but Talbot didn't need to know about it! I couldn't wait to get out of there, and that was unusual. I loved my new job! Talbot was a great boss. I was just really off my stride today, and besides, my stomach lurched every time I thought of going home to Mick St. John!

I thought about him all the way back to his place, too. I thought about his face, his smile, his eyes when he looked at me, the way his hands felt on my skin, the way his lips felt on my mouth, the way. . .Oh, wow! I just went through a stop sign! I'd better keep my thoughts on driving! But Mick was SO distracting! I had a strange feeling like I had somehow hit a cosmic jackpot and I'd never be the same again. I pulled into his outdoor parking space, since his car was in the underground lot. He'd given me an opener to his door, but it felt strange in my hand—everything felt so strange now, like going up to his loft in the same elevator that last week was HIS elevator, and now I guessed it was mine as well. I stood outside his door, hesitating before I pushed the button. It felt somehow odd to have such easy access to him like this! I felt like I should knock! My stomach was fluttering.

Inside the door, Mick watched her on his wall monitor as she paused in front of his door. He smiled. Of course she'd be feeling a little strange about this—it was all so new—then he saw her push the button that opened the door. As she walked in, he was there waiting, arms open. She stepped right into them. She was home.

Mick hugged me for several minutes. Of course, I hugged him back! Just knowing he was mine gave me such a feeling of security, the likes of which I had never known before. I wouldn't be able to put it into words, but I loved it so much that I didn't care how long we stayed in the doorway, clutching and cuddling. I loved how my head fit right under his chin, and how he let that beautiful chin rest on the top of my head while he just held me close.

"Mick," I murmured against his chest, "I really don't ever want to let go of you, and I'm serious. This could be real trouble for both of us, since we have to work, and since I don't think I can stop touching you for even a second! I missed you all day long! I don't want to miss you like that tomorrow! How do I get over this feeling that I just need to be with you every minute of th day? Am I really crazy? Maybe you're involved with a woman who's completely insane!"

I felt him laugh into my hair as he continued to hold me close. "I feel exactly the same, Beth, and believe it or not, there is a remedy. . ."

"Oh? There's a remedy for loving somebody too much? Please tell me—as long as it doesn't involve splitting up!"

"Far from that, my Beth. In the 'old days,' couples in love resolved this problem by going on what's called a 'honeymoon.'"

I stayed very still in his arms and listened.

He continued. "You see, that way, after a nice, long honeymoon, where they could escape from the world for a week or two and be with each other every minute of the day, the hope was that they would be able to get enough of each other so that when they went back to their normal lives, they weren't constantly obsessed with just getting through the day so they could be together again. The idea of a honeymoon is that the couple who can't keep their hands off of each other could get that constant craving sated enough that they'd come home and be able to live a more-or-less normal life, and could get back to being able to work a full day without that 'going crazy' feeling."

I didn't move, but stayed very still, taking in what he was saying. Not that I didn't know it was coming—he' d told me that he wanted to marry be before we had even slept together! This was just kind of quick! But surprisingly, I wanted it—I wanted him—I wanted a lifetime and more of him! I had to be sure he was saying what I thought he was saying!

"A honeymoon, Mick, that's for people who. . ."

"Yes, for people who get married." He pulled away and looked me in the eyes, raising an eyebrow. He pushed the door shut and took my hand and led me out to the balcony. As we passed the kitchen, I could smell something wonderful baking in the oven. My stomach growled a little. I hadn't really eaten much. . . Mick picked something up off of the counter and led me out onto the balcony. I looked up to the sky, which seemed especially bright and sparkling tonight.

"Oh, the lights are so beautiful!" I sighed, looking out over the city from the high vantage point on which we stood. "And the air is so clear you can see the stars! Look at the moon, Mick—it's full!" I was so happy and taken up with the beauty that surrounded me. Could I be any happier?

"Beth—look at the moon and the stars—I'd give them to you if I could, but all I can offer you is myself, and life with me, for better or worse." He opened up his hand, and a little robin's-egg blue box sat there. The box had a blue ribbon tied in a bow. I couldn't believe it! I knew where that box came from!

I let out a little gasp as I saw what he had in his hand, but that didn't seem to throw him at all. He was a man with a purpose.

"I guess I should do this right," he said to himself, but I heard it. He got down on one knee, holding the box in one hand, holding my right hand with his other. His eyes looked straight into mine.

"Beth—I love you," he said simply. "I think maybe I've loved you all of my life, but it took me a long time to find you, and even then I didn't recognize what I had at first, but when I saw you walking in the cold fountain that night we met again for the first time, and you were barefoot and beautiful, I felt something catch in my chest—it was very strong—I didn't know what it was right then, but I know now." He stopped and swallowed. "Beth, I fell in love with you right then and there. Now, after so much time has passed, with both of us trying to deny what we knew was happening, well, here we are, and here I am, down on one knee!"

His eyes were looking into my soul and I drank that look in until it touched my heart. What a beautiful man—how had God and the Universe ever decided that I deserved a love so complete with a man I adored so completely! I wiped a tear with my free hand without breaking that eye contact that was literally filling me with love and thankfulness--and amazement!

"Beth—it means so much to me to know that you feel the same, and that you love me back, and that we share something so special!" He paused, and I smiled through my tears. He smiled back. "Honey, I need to ask you something very important—would you please marry me? Just as I am, so different from you, but would you agree to spend the rest of your life with me? The rest of OUR life together?"

His face wore the vulnerability I had only seen a few times before. Once again, it was for me to accept him or reject him. I got down on both knees, kneeling with him, able to see into those dark, smoldering eyes. The love I felt emanating from him pierced my heart. Dear God, how I loved him!

"My darling Mick, I can't think of anything I've ever wanted more, so yes, I will absolutely take you as you are—I wouldn't change a thing about you! I love you more than I love my own life, and whatever time I have in this world, I want to share that with you. I want you to be my husband."

He sighed and wiped his eyes quickly. He pulled the ribbon off the little blue box, and inside of the blue box was a little velvet box, which he opened and held out to me. I saw a beautiful ring sparkling against the dark blue velvet in the light of the moon and the stars, a large, round diamond completely encircled by smaller stones. It sparkled brighter than the brightest star! It nearly took my breath away! Mick took the ring out of the box and put on my finger. It fit perfectly, of course! Depend on Mick to have found out my ring size!

"Oh, Mick. It's just beautiful! I absolutely love it! It's perfect!"

"The large stone belonged to my mother, and Tiffany's found the setting--I hope you like it."

"I really love it, Mick, and the stone was your mother's! That's so special!"

"I've had my mother's ring all these years, since she died when I was only eighteen. I've never wanted to give it away until now—to you—my friend, my lover, my life." He kissed me and I kissed him back. I thought back to my life just a week ago. If someone had asked me if I'd consider getting married soon, I'd have said no—but Mick had changed everything just by telling me he loved me! Now, here I was, kissing the man of my dreams under the canopy of the twinkling stars, and I knew my secret wish, so secret that even I hadn't known what it was, had come true.

"You know what this means?" he asked, voice full of emotion.

"Ummmm--we get married?"

"Uh-huh! And—we get to go on a honeymoon!"

"Oh yeah! I can definitely use a honeymoon! I wonder how long it will be before we get to go on one!?"

"How about as soon as possible?"

"How soon? Don't we have to do some planning?"

"Well, I have, actually! Come inside. I'll tell you all about what I'm thinking while you eat. I don't want my masterpiece to burn while we stay out here and kiss the night away." He smiled sweetly and kissed my fingers, looking at the ring sparkling in the light of the moon. "It looks perfect on you. My mother would be thrilled to have you wear it."

"Well, I'm thrilled to wear it. I wish I could have known your parents—I'd want to thank them profusely."

"Oh? What would you thank them for? The ring?"

"No, silly—I'd thank them for you."

"Ah." He smiled shyly. We got up and headed for the kitchen, his arm firmly around my waist. It would be interesting to hear what he had in mind!