Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I don't own Moonlight, anything that occurs in this fanfic from the show, or any of its characters. I do, however, own this plot and any characters I decide to throw in. Yayz!

AN: Okay, so I'm really sorry for the evil cliffie. Yeah, I end up doing a lot of those. I decided to end the last chapter where I did, though, because I was slightly pressed for time when I was writing it, and I wanted to get it up and posted ASAP. Besides, I didn't want the chapter to drag on any more than it already did; I think it might have been the longest chapter I've written for this fanfic so far. Anyway, here's part two (finally!) so enjoy, and please R and R. Oh, and just a heads-up, I may or may not write a sequel to this story after I've finished. It depends on how well the ending of the story is received, and how many requests I get. Anyway, no more babbling. Enjoy!

The strange man seated on the couch immediately jumped up to his feet.

"Hi…I'm…uh…I mean, my name is…" Seth tried desperately to finish his sentence, but somehow found he couldn't. He had somehow forgotten his own name, completely mesmerized by being in the presence of the girl whose face had plagued his every waking moment and had haunted all of his dreams. Her face was even more beautiful than it had been in his memory, and seeing her eyes for the first time only intensified his immediate attraction to her.

"This is Seth." Mick finally said, taking pity on the poor babbling mess that was standing directly in front of him.

Rory stared at the man named Seth for a few minutes, looking him up and down. He was about her age, twenty-three, with auburn coloured, somewhat curly, chin-length hair and brilliantly green eyes. He had soft, handsome features and a certain kindness about him. When he smiled, he displayed a mouthful of perfect white teeth. He was tall, about three inches taller than she was, and even through his loose-fitting T-shirt, he gave the impression of having an extremely well defined body. He looked as though he could easily be an actor or a male model. She then examined his clothes, black jeans with tears at the knees, a chain extending from his back pocket to his belt loop, and a black faded "Rocky Horror Picture Show" T-shirt. The room was silent as Rory continued her careful scrutiny of the man. She could sense his nervousness, his excitement. She also recognized his scent off the clothes she had been wearing on the night she had been attacked. And when he had spoken, his voice had stirred something deep within her memory…

""HEY! HEY, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!"

"He-" Mick began, but Rory finished for him.

"Rescued me."

"Yeah…" Mick said slowly, shooting Rory a quizzical expression. He had told her about the man who had saved her, but he had never told her his name, and she had never seen him before or after the night he'd saved her.

Rory caught his expression and answered simply, "I recognized his voice." She decided that, after Seth left, she'd also tell Mick that she'd recognized his scent off her clothes from the night of the attack…the clothes she had yet to dispose of.

Seth felt that somewhere, some part of him was overjoyed that she had somehow remembered him. In fact, he felt excitement and thrill flood through him at the thought that she had been able to recognize him so quickly. He wasn't even sure she'd been conscious at all when he came to her rescue. "I came by to see how you were." He finally managed to get out. He shot Rory a smile.

Rory continued to stand rooted to the spot, mesmerized by Seth, until she came to her senses and realized that she had been standing in that same spot at the bottom of the stairs for nearly five minutes. She moved over to one of the chairs across from the sofa, where she sat down, still looking straight at Seth, who was looking back at Rory.

Mick sat off to the side, watching the entire scene play out. He was made slightly uncomfortable by the tension in the air, by the way Seth and Rory were staring so intently at one another. Clearly, there was some sort of chemistry between them, that much was obvious, but Mick was disquieted by the nagging voice in the back of his mind that reminded him that Seth was a stranger, that he had reason to believe that Seth could very well be a hunter. After all, he barely knew Seth, having only met him twice, and despite a sense that Seth was a trustworthy sort of character, he was still suspicious of him. Mick was always suspicious, even when it came to people he had no reason to distrust. That was just his way.

After standing for a moment after Rory had taken her seat, Seth finally thought to resume his own place on the sofa behind him. He slowly at, not taking his eyes off the beauty seated in front of him. He gazed intently into her eyes, her amazing, mesmerizing eyes. From a distance, they had appeared to be a deep shade of blue, but from where he sat now, only a few short feet away, anyone could tell that her eyes were a blue-green shade, with a distinct deep blue ring running around the outside edge of her iris, which gave the impression from a distance that her eyes were blue.

Rory continued looking at Seth's face, taking in every detail. Simultaneously, she began to focus on his scent. He smelled deliciously of Irish Spring soap, mixed with a barely distinguishable musk scent. She also could have sworn she could smell Vanilla Mint gum. Even from a few feet away, she was surprised to find that she was clearly able to distinguish his scent. It must be the vampire senses kicking into gear, she thought, startled to find that, for the first time since she'd been turned, she'd found one aspect of being a vamp that she didn't completely dislike at the moment.

Still watching the scene before him, Mick recognized the looks of wonder and attraction in their eyes. Even though they had just become acquainted with each other, the immediate attraction to one another was evident. It was, Mick supposed, love at first sight. These expressions mirrored exactly the expression he had witnessed in Beth's eyes during their meeting in the fountain.

Although it hadn't exactly been his and Beth's first meeting at the fountain, it was their first meeting as adults. Even as they stood talking outside in front of the fountain, he had found himself attracted to her. Over the years, she certainly had grown into a beautiful woman. He knew he shouldn't feel this way, knew it was wrong, knew it could never possibly happen. But he felt connected to her nonetheless. He had seen a curious attraction reflected in Beth's eyes, a yearning to discover his mysterious appeal. It was clear she felt a distinct connection to him as well, despite the fact that she did not remember him. Things between them had evolved so quickly after that, and despite Mick's best intentions, he had fallen hard for her. It had been, for all intents and purposes, love at first sight.

He sighed, knowing somewhere deep down that he should end this before it started. It had little to do with the fact that Mick suspected Seth of being a hunter, although that did play into his decision to send Seth on his way, but rather, he wanted to spare Rory the pain of falling in love with someone that she would never be able to have a relationship with.

"Listen, Seth." Mick began, startling both Rory and Seth from their trances. Apparently they had both forgotten Mick was there, wrapped up in their own thoughts. "Thanks for stopping by, I'm sure Rory appreciates your concern as much as I do, and we definitely appreciate all you've done for her. Thanks to you, she's perfectly fine. I'm pretty sure she owes you her life. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave now, though. Rory and I need to go run some errands."

"Oh…sure, of course. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you." Seth got the distinct impression that Mick was trying to tell him to stay away from Rory. Taking the hint, he turned to speak to her. "I'm glad to hear you're alright. The best of luck to you." With that, he gave Mick a nod, glanced back at Rory once more, attempting to sear the image of her face into his memory, and turned to leave.

Rory sat for a moment before jumping to her feet. She knew at that moment that he was walking out of her life for good. She ran over to Seth, who turned around just as she reached him and threw her arms around him, enveloping him in an embrace. "Thank you." She murmured in his ear.

Mick watched as Seth stood uncertainly for a moment, then brought his arms up slowly and returned the embrace. Mick sighed to himself, feeling guilty for doing this. He knew that he was only trying to protect Rory, that this was the best way to do so, but he felt guilty regardless.

Seth squeezed Rory tightly for a minute, enjoying the feel of her in his arms. He knew he had to leave, but he tried to prolong the moment. He gave Rory a last squeeze before uttering "It was my pleasure." He let go, opened the door, and left.

Rory could sense that he was walking out of her life forever. She felt a sinking feeling in her stomach, turning and walking up the stairs and into the bathroom without looking at Mick. He had been the reason Seth had left, the reason she knew Seth wasn't coming back. She had known Seth a mere hour, yet she had felt an unmistakable connection with him. And now he was gone.

Mick sat alone in his chair for a while, wondering if he had done the right thing. He felt badly. He realized that Seth might be her only connection to the humanity Rory had lost and was desperately trying to regain. That was how he felt about Beth. He'd felt that way even from the beginning. He considered going upstairs and talking to Rory, trying to explain himself, but decided against it. He knew she'd be far from willing to listen at that particular moment anyway. Besides, he had other things to look into.

He silently rose from his chair and grabbed his coat and sunglasses. He grabbed a file off his desk that contained a picture of Seth he'd had one of Josef's associates dig up a week prior and then, feeling for the umpteenth time that day like he was probably making a mistake, he left.

Mick arrived at the BuzzWire office building around three in the afternoon. He stood in front of the door for about fifteen minutes debating with himself before he finally decided, against his better judgment, to enter. He rounded a corner, secretly hoping that he would be met with an empty desk. He felt a sinking feeling in his stomach when he found himself face-to-face with the back of a head of blond locks. Sighing to himself, he approached.

"Hey, Beth." He said, causing her to jump. She turned around hurriedly, her look of surprise fading into an angry expression. She looked at him silently. Mick wished that she would say something. Anything. Even it she started yelling at him, it would be preferable to this. But she remained silent. "Beth, I-"

"It's been three weeks, Mick." She said quietly as she shifted her glance to the floor, her comment betraying her intense hurt. "I mean, three weeks, and you can't find the common decency to talk to me? I tried to give you space. I tried to have Rory talk to you, trying to get you to talk to me. And you call me once, just to hang up without saying a word. Do I mean that little to you?" She looked up into his eyes, and Mick was startled to find tears forming in hers.

"Beth…it's not like that." He insisted, trying to undo the damage he'd done by avoiding her for three weeks. He knelt down on the ground, taking her hands in his. "I guess I thought that, after the attack, maybe you'd be better off without me in your life. I thought that maybe if I weren't around, you wouldn't get hurt anymore. I'm sorry." He spoke the truth. He hated not having her around, had been miserable the whole time he had been avoiding her. He should have known better than to think that he would be able to stay away from her forever. He'd tried avoiding her once before, and knew that there was no possible way he could live without her in his life. But he knew that there was no way they could be together. He couldn't ask her to sacrifice everything for him. He wouldn't let her.

"You were wrong, Mick." Came the quiet reply from Beth. She was silent for a moment, before continuing, in a louder, more steady voice. "Mick, you run hot and cold. One minute you're kissing me, the next, you're pushing me away and ignoring me for three weeks. I need to know what you want. If you want more than just friendship, Mick, I can give you that. I want that. But if you want to be just friends, that's fine, Mick, I'm content with that. But I need to know where we stand." It was a lie. Beth wasn't content with being just friends. But she figured it was better to have Mick in her life as a friend than not to have him in her life at all.

Mick sighed, preparing himself for what he had to do. "I want to be your friend, Beth." This was also a lie. He wanted her for himself, wanted her more than anything. But he couldn't subject her to a relationship full of complications, a relationship where he couldn't give her everything she deserved. He could tell by her expression that she was disappointed. It was his turn to look at the floor, ashamed of himself for causing her more pain. The moment of silence stretched on until Mick finally decided to break it.

"So…" he began awkwardly, "I'm investigating Rory's attacker…Jeff, I think she said his name was. I could really use your help." He gave her a weak smile.

"Is that the reason you came here? You need my help?" Beth asked, and Mick was afraid she might get upset again.

"That was part of it…" he said truthfully, "but I also came because I missed you." He looked seriously into her eyes. A weak smile graced Beth's face for the first time since Mick had gotten there. Mick couldn't help but let his own smile widen. More than anything, he'd missed her smile. He hadn't realized until now how much he loved her smile. It took all of his strength not to throw his morals out the window and kiss her right then, to say to hell with it all and give in to what he knew they both wanted. The only thing stopping him was his determination not to let her get hurt again, especially because he knew that if he gave in, he would ultimately be the one to end up hurting her again by pushing her away, by trying to save her from himself. He had hurt her more than enough already.

"Well?" Beth asked. Mick pulled out the file and showed handed it to Beth.

"This is Seth. He was the guy that brought Rory to my apartment the night she was attacked. He came to my house today looking for Rory." He hesitated before continuing. "They ended up meeting today. It was the strangest thing. They'd barely known each other for five minutes but…I don't know how to explain it. I think there might have been something there. Like some sort of…"

"Chemistry?" Beth finished for him. He nodded grimly before continuing. He knew she understood completely what he was talking about.

"Yeah. It was like they'd known each other forever. There was a definite attraction between them. But I-" he hesitated. "I sent him on his way." He looked down at the floor, afraid of what Beth's reaction might be. Sure, he'd made Rory unhappy, but he'd had his reasons.

"But…why?" Beth asked. Mick looked into her face, registering her look of bewilderment. Beth continued, "and what does this all have to do with Rory's attacker?"

"I'm getting there." Mick assured her. After a moment's pause, he continued. "You see, on the night of the attack, Seth told me that he'd stabbed Rory's attacker as he came at him. A week later, it occurred to me; the attacker was a vamp. He could easily have killed Seth, so why was he stopped by a pocketknife?"

"It does seem kind of illogical." Beth agreed. She was thankful to finally be talking to Mick again, to be back helping with his investigations. She reveled in this moment, in being able to be close to Mick again, and in being back to what she did best and loved most.

"So when he visited my apartment today," Mick continued, snapping Beth back to reality, "I was able to take a look at his pocketknife. It was made of silver."

"So?" Beth asked, unsure of what was so special about a silver pocketknife.

"So…" Mick said, "Most pocketknives are made of stainless steel. I've never, in all my 85 years of life, come across a pocketknife made of pure silver. There could only be one use in mind for a knife like that. It would have to be specially made."

"You mean…" Beth began, looking at Mick in wonder, "you mean, it's meant to kill vampires?"

"Yeah." Mick said simply. "That's why I sent him on his way. I don't think he suspected either Rory or me of being vamps, but I couldn't take the risk. The strange thing was, he didn't even seem like he knew vamps existed. And I didn't sense any dishonesty on his part, even after I baited him with the fact that his knife was silver. He said he figured it was special because it's worth a lot. But still, I figured it was worth looking into. Word is, there's a hunter on the streets, and someone like him could be dangerous to us vamps."

When Mick had finished, Beth let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "I see…so you want me to try and find some info on our potential hunter."

"Exactly." Mick said. He watched s Beth opened up the file folder, and her face changed completely. "What is it, Beth? Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she said, staring at the picture in front of her. "It's just…I've seen him before."

"Wait, you know him?" Mick asked, excitement and anxiousness rising within him.

"Well, I met him once…at a Christmas party last year." Beth said. Mick waited for her to continue, eagerly hanging on to her every word as she spoke. She continued. "He's the younger brother of Josh's best friend, Rick. Apparently he and Rick don't get along too well. Their parents died in a horrible car accident when he was ten, and Rick ran off to Michigan, leaving Seth to be raised by his grandfather. I talked to him at the party. He seemed like a genuinely nice person. The complete opposite of his brother, in fact. Rick was a pompous asshole. Even though I only ever talked to him once, he didn't seem like the type of guy who'd spend his nights killing the undead."

"Everyone has secrets, Beth." Mick said, although he couldn't help but get the same vibe from Seth.

"Well…" she said. "There's only one way to find out for sure." She ran off, leaving Mick sitting confused at her desk. She returned five minutes later with a piece of paper in her hand. She passed it to Mick. "I had Sam, my computer whiz, find his address." She said as he glanced at the sheet of paper.

Mick caught on to her idea. "You wanna do a little B and E, for old time's sake?" Mick asked her, grinning.

Grinning back at Mick, Beth replied. "Always."

Grabbing her coat, phone, and keys, Beth ran out of the BuzzWire office, followed closely by Mick. He was glad to have Beth back, glad everything was back to normal. Or at least, as normal as things got when it came to him.

AN: Okay, so I'm really sorry it took so long for me to write this chapter. I ran into some serious writer's block and had to force my way through this chapter, running into a creative brick wall every second sentence. So if things seem really off in this chapter, or if it seems rushed or unrealistic, I apologize. My muse, it seems, has run off to Hollywood to go and strike with the writers (sigh). Anyway, now that I've got this chapter is done, I hope that my writer's block is over. I've got two weeks to write, so damnit I'm gonna take advantage of every second of it. So enjoy, and R and R and tell me what you think. Personally, I think this chapter didn't quite turn out how I wanted it to, but, C'est la vie! As always, thanks for reading, and any suggestions as to how to improve are more than welcome.

Luvz, Cat.