A/N: Again I want to thank my lovely wonderful beta Aragorns Arwen. She helps me make sense of all my late night writing! And thank-you to those who have reviewed! My ego was sufficiently fluffed for today!

Disclaimer: I own nothing. WB and Joel Silver own the world of Moonlight, and everything contained within. I just borrow it to play with. I promise to return it after I'm finished playing… maybe…

On with the story and enjoy!

Sleeping Beauty

Chapter 1 - A Search for Answers

14 Feb 2008 - Mick's apartment (aka FOS: Fortress of Style)

Mick and Beth were at his apartment, sitting on the couch, Beth curled up against him.

"So… What do you have planned for us today, Mick?" Beth asked, looking up at him.

"What do you mean?" Mick asked, trying not to grin.

Beth laughed, picking up a couch pillow and hitting him in the face with it. "You know what I mean!"

"Hey! Just for that, I won't tell you!" Mick laughed, snatching the pillow from her, and lightly hitting her back with it. "Actually, I was thinking about going to see Josef. He's always in such a funk on Valentine's Day. And his freshies always trying to cheer him up just annoyed him even more." He laughed, thinking about all the things Josef's freshies have attempted to do to cheer him up in the past.

"But what about us?" Beth asked, annoyed at Mick who didn't seem to have anything planned for them.

"Well, after saving Josef from his freshies, I do have a lovely evening planned for us." Mick smiled.

"Do you think Josef's attitude has anything to do with Sarah?"

"Yeah… now I do. Before he always blamed it on spoiled women and greeting card companies, But now that I know about Sarah, I think it has more to do with her failed turning."

"You know… After we learned about Sarah, I started doing research in my free time, looking for answers," Beth confessed. "I figured if I could put my investigative skills to work, I might come up with something."

"Yeah? Did you find anything?"

"Yes, I did. There's a lot out there on the net and in books, but it's hard to separate vampire fact from fiction. Do you know of any vampires in LA older than Josef?"

"Yeah… well, not personally. I've never met the man, but I know a member of the Vampire Council lives here in LA. To be a member of the Council, you have to be at least 1,000 years old, and I know none of the members are younger than 1,200. The guy who lives here is at least 2,000 but probably older." he explained.

"Wow… that's old… who is he?"

"Promise to believe me?"

"Of course."

"Julius Caesar. Although he goes by a different name with humans. I think Andrew Sinclair."

"Julius Caesar? As in, 'et tu, Brute'… that Julius Caesar? But I thought he was killed?" Beth asked stunned.

"Yeah well, apparently Brutus was a vamp and he stuck around after Julius was killed and turned him as a way of making right a wrong." Mick explained, "Or so they say."

"Wow… I had no idea vampires went back that far... or that there were any that old still living. Do you think we could go see him? Together?" Beth asked.

"Maybe. I could try. Vampires that old usually don't bother with vamps my age. To him, I'm a toddler, if not an infant," Mick pointed out.

"Maybe if you say it's for Josef? Or that you know Josef?" Beth suggested.

"Maybe. I'll see if I can get a hold of him or his assistant. It's a little early for most vamps," Mick said, going to his office with Beth. He sat down at his desk and looked through his rolodex, stopping at Andrew Sinclair. Mick dialed the number he had and hoped it still worked.

"Sinclair Incorporated, Diana Young speaking. How may I help you?"

"Ms. Young, my name is Mick St. John. I was wondering if Mr. Andrew Sinclair was available to see me today?"

"Do you have an appointment, Mr. St. John?"

"No, but-"

"I'm sorry, without an appointment, Mr. Sinclair will be unable to see you."

"Please! I need his advice and expertise."

"May I ask what it's concerning? If you give me a bit of information about what this is concerning, I'm sure I can help you further."

"It's personal. Not business. I'm not even sure if he'd have the answers I'm looking for."

"Well then, I'm sorry to hear that."

Mick sighed, unsure how much his personal assistant would know, or not know. "A friend of mine is…" Mick stopped unsure how to continue. "It's sensitive subject matter, and I don't want to say too much to the wrong person. My friend doesn't know I'm inquiring. I don't want to give him false hopes. Please Ms. Young…"

"Well… Mr. Sinclair is taking a personal day today but… since you said it's not business, that it's personal, I'll call him at home and see if he'd be willing to give you a call. If you could give me your number, I'll pass it along. If there's a message I can give to him that might help clue him into what this is about…"

"Tell him… Tell him, it concerns an influential member of the tribe. He'll understand that," Mick said cryptically and left his number.

"I'll pass on your message," she said, ending the call.

"Well… now we wait and hope he calls."

"I suppose that's all we can do." Beth sighed. "Is tribe code word for vampire?"

"Yeah, sort of. It's what we call our community."

"Is Josef really influential in… in the tribe?"

"Yes. He's a community leader. We have a system of government. The Vampire Council is comprised of Elders, spread throughout the world. Members need to be at least 1000 years old to gain entry to the council. Each country has a member. Depending on the size, there can be 1 to 4 in any given country or area. Some of the smaller countries are grouped together and have one Elder to represent all of them. Bigger countries, like America, have one per time zone," He explained.

"There is a hierarchal structure. Younger vampires, around 200 years old, are placed in charge of certain cities and surrounding towns. Josef is one of those community leaders. Each country sets up their own system of local officials, usually mirroring the system humans have in place. Think of Josef like a mayor." Mick continued, "Each state then has a representative, whose age varies to around 600 years, and that would be like the governor. Josef and the other community leaders in California meet with our state representative every 6 months, unless there's a problem, then emergency meetings can be called." he added, "The state representative then reports to the Council member assigned to their area. There is a Head of Council who lives somewhere in Europe, who nobody knows her exact age. All we know is that it's a woman and she's the oldest living vampire. The Head of Council is always the oldest of them all. The Vampire Council also makes the rules we follow. Those rules are our laws."

"Wow… it sounds… complex."

"Just as complex as any system of government. And even though there is a Head of Council, getting a hold of Julius Caesar or any Council Member, is like trying to get a hold of the President of the United States - unless you have the right connections. Probably less channels to go through, but just as hard."

"So if it's so hard to get a hold of him, how did you get his number? Or at least his personal assistant's number?"

"Josef got it from California's state representative, who gave it to me."

"Why would Josef give it to you?"

"I do more than help humans find missing children, murderers and catch cheating spouses." Mick grinned. "I'm sort of… Josef's right hand man. If anything happens in the community, I'm the one he calls to sort it out. He uses me to investigate those who are threats to our community, among other things. He gave it to me so that I'd have it if… I think his exact words were, 'if there's ever a vampire apocalypse'."

"Ah… so now you're using it to your own advantage, to help the friend who gave it to you."

"Basically. What sort of information did you find about vampire turnings gone wrong, that you think could be legit?"

"Um… a lot of stuff, but really not much in the grand scheme of things." Beth sighed. "I read that it is very rare and there are theories upon theories why something like that would happen. But the few things I found out about how to bring a fledging out of a coma-like state seem… outlandish at best. I read one that said they needed to feed from the blood of a slayer." She told him, "I read another that said the sire had to turn them again… another that said if that happens the most humane thing to do was end their suffering with death… not that that's a viable solution. There were others that just seemed less and less likely to be the truth and more the work of fiction."

"I don't know where we'd get the blood of a slayer… I know Josef often talks of torch bearing mobs but I doubt that they were slayers in the 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' sense. Turning them again sounds like that could be our one option, but could it be that simple? Surely Josef would have investigated this theory? He's got unlimited resources."

"I know. Do you think it's possible Josef has already talked to a Council Member about this?"

"As much as he wants to find answers, I doubt it. He's a proud man. To admit he failed to a Council Member would be... embarrassing at best and bruise his ego. I think he'd feel too much shame to go to somebody like Julius Caesar."

"Oh," said Beth. Before she could ask another question though, Mick's phone rang.

"Mick St. John."

"Mr. St. John, Andrew Sinclair. I received word about you needing my help for an influential member of the tribe?"

"Yes, Sir. I need your advice, but I'd feel more comfortable talking about it in person."

"What kind of advice, Mr. St. John?" Julius asked. "I'm a very busy man."

"Yes, I understand that, but this isn't for me. It's for my friend, Josef Kostan."

"Josef Kostan…?"

"Yes, Sir. He's my best friend. I've known him for 52 years now."

"I see… You're part of the tribe?"

"Yes, Sir. And I need your help." Mick said.

"Meet me at my offices."

"Thank you, Sir. May I bring my… girlfriend? She's… not… part of the tribe, but she knows of us." Mick asked. Beth grinned, hearing Mick call her his girlfriend.

"You may. What is her name?"

"Beth Turner."

"I will see you both in an hour," he said, then gave Mick his address.

"See you soon, Sir." They both said their good-byes, and then Mick grabbed his coat and car keys. "He'll see us in an hour at his offices. His building is in the same area as Josef's offices." Mick smiled. "Come on, I'll let you navigate."

"Okay." Beth smiled back, picking up her coat, purse, and laptop.

The pair climbed into Mick's car and drove to Julius Caesar's offices. They arrived with about 10 minutes to spare. They were shown to his office and told he would be in shortly. A few minutes later, Julius Caesar walked in, moving to sit behind his desk.

"Mr. St. John, Ms. Turner… What can I do for you?"

"Um…Mr. Sinclair… Have you ever heard of, or witnessed, the turning of a new vampire go wrong?" Beth asked.

"Yes, many. I take it you are talking of a specific turning?" Julius guessed.

"Yes. She's in a coma. Her Sire drained her, fed her his blood, but she never woke up."

"I've witnessed that a few times in my life."

"Is there a way to wake her up?" Beth asked.

Julius looked at the mortal in front of him, intrigued by her questions. She certainly was tenacious.

"Yes. But it's risky," He answered. "How long has she been in a coma?"

Mick replied. "He attempted to turn her in 1955."

"And the Vampire's age at the time?"

"Um… About 350ish." Mick guessed.

"Josef Kostan?"

"Yes, Sir." Mick replied.

"He has turned others successfully before. There is hope for this young lady."

"I've tried to find answers, doing research. I've found a few things, but it's hard to know what is fiction and what is truth… What does Josef need to do to wake her up?" Beth asked.

"He needs to turn her again."

"That was one thing I read… but how? Forgive my ignorance, but I've seen her. She hasn't aged, she's kept alive with blood transfusions, she has no pulse, she doesn't breathe… I thought she was already a vampire," Beth said with confusion. "She just hasn't woken up…"

"She is caught between immortal and mortal, vampire and human. She is neither and both," Julius explained. "She is a paradox."

"I see. And Josef must be the one to do it?"

"Yes. Although the risk is great. It doesn't always work. He must not doubt himself," Julius warned. "He must be confident in himself and have faith he can do it."

"Why must he not doubt himself?" Beth asked.

"Because when there is doubt, you hesitate. Turnings are tricky, timing is everything. There is no room for hesitation, there is no room for doubt. If I had to guess, as with each turning I've seen go wrong in this manner, the Sire had doubt and there was hesitation." Julius explained, "The sooner this young lady can be turned again, the better her chances, not that her chances are good now."

All three stood, Beth and Mick shook hands with Julius, thanked him again then said their good-byes and left for Josef's.

A/N: And so ends Chapter 1... Please Read and Review! JosefMuse and I need our fragile egos fluffed daily… (why do you think he has so many beautiful freshies falling all over him?? I don't have that… so I need your reviews to fluff my fragile ego. R&R!

As Always… Take What Ye Can… Give Nothin' Back!
VAMPIRE SOLIDARITY, RAH RAH RAH! (and all that!)
Mrs. Capt. Jack Sparrows