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 over the next little while, my updates may become less frequent. I just feel obligated to warn you ahead of time. You see, writing fanfics is kind of my crack, and I've become addicted to my computer lately. I've spent practically the entire Christmas break holed up in my bedroom hammering out chapters, which is pretty unhealthy when you think about it. So, (sigh) I'm going to have to do some detox, which means giving up my computer for a while. Or simply limiting the time I spend on it. This, unfortunately, will affect the rate I update at, so please forgive me. But for my own good, I must do this. Seriously, I'm losing all pigment in my skin. I haven't seen the light of day in God knows how long. Lol. Anyway, sorry to those of you who idolize me for my speedy updates. But after this, they won't be so speedy anymore. So, now we've got that all cleared up, on with the show! (I mean story…please don't sue! I'm scared of lawyers!)
Over the next few months, Mick had to come to terms with the fact that Rory was dating a suspected hunter. He hated to admit it, but he knew he really had no say in what she did in her private life. Still; Mick didn't quite trust Seth, despite the lack of evidence against him. And though he may not have been able to stop Rory from dating Seth, that didn't mean he couldn't keep an eye on Rory. Which was why, whenever Rory went on a date with Seth, Mick would find out about it and follow them.
He would often bring Beth along on his stealth missions, simply because he enjoyed her company, and oftentimes, he had a lot of downtime when watching them. Seth and Rory usually just went and had dinner in restaurants or watched movies, so Mick would park outside waiting for them to exit.
Beth would often tell Mick that he was overreacting, and that what he was doing was borderline obsessive. If Seth really were dangerous, he would have done something by now. Not to mention the fact that Rory had been in Seth's apartment many times, and she had never seen any silver there. Other than her constant reminders that he was slowly becoming a stalker, Mick and Beth's conversations were always enjoyable.
Mick also found himself keeping an increasingly close eye on Beth as well. Beth often told him that Josh never really spent any time at home anymore, because he was always working on a case that took him out of town. Mick would even offer to let Beth stay at his house while Josh was gone, but she would always politely refuse. So he would park outside her apartment building at night. There were a few times when she'd actually come out and talked to him while he was sitting there, and occasionally they would go see a late-night movie or just sit there and talk about anything and everything that came to mind.
After a while, Mick stopped monitoring Rory's dates with Seth. When he stopped doing so, he realized just how alone he was now. Rory had some weeks ago moved back into her own apartment, and although she visited Mick often, she didn't need for him to constantly look after her anymore. And since he had stopped following Seth and Rory wherever they went, he really had no reason to call Beth up and ask her to go somewhere with him. After all, they were just friends. Even if Josh was becoming increasingly distant from Beth.
Rory heard a knock on her apartment door. It was going on three in the afternoon, and She and Seth were going to see a movie tonight. But first, Seth had said that he had a surprise for her.
Rory opened the door. A bouquet of deep red roses greeted her.
"Hey Gorgeous." Grinned Seth, walking through the door and giving her the flowers.
"Oh, Seth! They're beautiful." She smiled, taking the roses and putting them in a vase of water. She walked over to him and placed a gentle kiss on his lips, which very soon intensified, until it became passionate and heated. They broke apart for air, grinning at one another. "I'll be ready in a minute." Rory assured Seth, rushing into the bathroom to apply some forgotten makeup.
Seth settled down comfortably in a chair and, after a moment, was greeted by Rory's cat. He purred and rubbed up against Seth, his sleek black fur glistening in the light of the fluorescent bulbs that lit the room.
"Hey Lucky," Seth murmured quietly to the cat as he stroked him. Lucky settled down in Seth's lap, still purring contentedly, in answer. After about five minutes, Rory came bustling out of the bathroom, grabbing the little black bag she kept her belongings in as she prepared to leave. She paused a moment and rubbed Lucky behind the ears, thankful that she was once again able to do so.
It had taken a long time, but Lucky had finally come around. It had happened about a month and a half earlier, when she had been preparing to feed him. He had come close to her, slightly hesitant, but close all the same. Rory had reached out a hand to him, hoping that by some sheer miracle, he might come close enough for her to touch. Miraculously, he came close enough to sniff her, and apparently deciding that she was no threat to him, he rubbed up against her hand. She cried tears of joy, and spent the rest of the day petting him, making up for lost affection during those long and uncertain weeks.
"You ready to go?" Seth asked. Rory nodded, slipping on her jacket, shoes, and polarized sunglasses. Rory and Seth left the apartment, hand in hand.
Beth was standing in Josh's office, in the midst of an argument with him. Because of his increasing absence over the past few months or so, their relationship had become strained. Josh was preparing to go on yet another out-of-town business trip. Beth was struggling to hold together the pieces of their deteriorating relationship.
"…But Josh, you said last time that you wouldn't need to go back!" Beth almost yelled. She looked at Josh, a forlorn look on her face. Josh sighed.
"Look, I know what I said. But there were some complications that arose that I need to attend to in Miami. I won't be gone long. A week at most."
"That's what you said last time. And you were gone for two! Josh, I love you, but I'm just not sure how much more of this I can handle!" Beth sighed, looking away from Josh. It wasn't just Josh's constant absences that were upsetting her. She was also plagued with guilt about the fact that she had been spending so much time with Mick while Josh was away. Not to mention the few kisses she'd shared with Mick in the past. Before she and Mick had agreed to keep things on a friends-only basis.
Josh sighed and, moving from behind his desk, approached Beth and wrapped his arms around her. She pushed herself from his grip and turned around to face the wall.
"Beth…" Josh said softly. "Is this really just about how much time I've been spending in Florida lately? Or is there something else bothering you?"
Beth sighed. The time had come. She needed to admit her mistakes to Josh.
"No. There is something bothering me. I need to come clean. I need to put my conscience at ease so we can move forward. I kissed Mick. More than once. And since you've been gone, I've been spending a lot more time with him." She said. "Just as friends, though." She added quickly. "We decided that it would be best for us to just remain friends."
Josh just looked at her for a moment, shock clearly registering on his face. He backed up to sit on his desk. He was silent for a moment, staring at the floor and worrying Beth. Then he looked up at her and spoke.
"I see…and why exactly are you telling me this?" He asked, a dumbfounded look on his face.
"Because I need to get it off my chest. I need to be honest with you for once." She looked at him, sadness reflected in her eyes. It killed her that she was hurting him like this, but he had a right to know. She wanted to save their relationship if possible, but she also knew that she had to be honest with him.
Josh looked at her for a moment and sighed. "It's okay." He said. "I forgive you."
Beth was shocked. "Wait…what?" She asked. "That's it? I just told you that I've kissed another man, a man I've been spending an increasingly large amount of time with, and you forgive me? Just like that?"
"We all make mistakes, Beth." Josh said, getting up and walking over to her. He rubbed her arm reassuringly with his hand. "I just…I don't want something as petty as that to ruin our relationship. You realize you were wrong, and you've admitted your mistake. So let's just forget about it and move on with our lives."
He smiled reassuringly at her and leaned in to kiss her just as a knock came on the door. He sighed heavily and said, "Come in!"
It was an office assistant. "Mr. Lindsey? You're needed in the conference room."
Josh smiled apologetically to Beth and said, "I'll be back in a minute."
With that, he followed the office assistant out of the room. Beth stood around for a minute before walking over to Josh's desk and taking a seat in his comfortable office chair.
Seth and Rory grabbed a taxi and headed off to Seth's surprise destination. Getting out of the taxi, Rory realized that they were in front of an apartment building, although it was an apartment she'd never been to. Grinning, Seth pulled Rory out of the taxi and brought her inside. They got in an elevator and went up to the fifth floor. Exiting the elevator, they followed a long hallway until they reached a door labelled "507". Grinning, Seth explained what they were doing there.
"Well…surprise." Seth said. When Rory quirked an eyebrow at him, he continued. "Okay. Well I've been doing some thinking lately. About us. And I realized that you're a major part of my life now. So I wanted you to know jut how much you mean to me. I wasn't sure quite how to do that at first, and then I realized; I could introduce you to the one other person that means the most to me in this world."
Rory smiled widely. "Seth…you're so thoughtful. You know, you really don't have to-"
"Yes I do." Seth smiled, taking her hand in both of his. "I wanted to show you just how committed to this relationship I am. I want to make you a part of every aspect of my life. I want to introduce you to my brother. Well, he's not actually my brother. But he might as well be. We grew up together." He grinned. After a short silence, he continued. "I just want you to know how big this is. Hanna never even met him."
"Seth…I'm honoured that you want to include me in your life like this." She smiled, and then kissed Seth gently on the lips. After they broke apart, Seth raised a hand and knocked sharply on the door. Rory quickly grabbed Seth's hand. Seth squeezed it reassuringly.
After a moment, there were footsteps coming from within the apartment. Then the door swung open to reveal a handsome, rugged-looking man of about twenty-five, with chin-length, dark blond hair and hazel eyes. His face was covered in short stubble, and over his left eye he had a small linear scar. He wore a plaid, flannel button-up shirt and torn blue jeans. Around his neck he wore a set of dog tags.
"Seth! Hey, how are you doing, man?" The man grabbed Seth in a bear hug, which Seth happily returned.
"Hey Scott." Seth said, letting go of the man and returning to his place at Rory's side. "It's been a while."
"Yeah, it sure has." Scott agreed, beaming at Seth. Scott's gaze then wandered over to Rory. "And this must be Rory, right? You must be some girl. Seth here just won't shut up about you." He grinned and extended his hand. Rory smiled politely and took it.
"Yeah, that would be me." She glanced over at Seth and had to suppress a giggle. Apparently Scott's comment that he never shut up about her had embarrassed Seth. His face and neck had gone beet red. Rory gave him a reassuring smile and took his hand. Rory could sense him relax when she touched him.
"Well come on in, and make yourself at home." Beamed Scott, stepping aside and allowing them into the apartment.
As Beth sat waiting for Josh to return, the phone sitting on the desk rang, startling her. She looked at the caller ID, and was startled to find the name of a woman Josh had never mentioned there. She tried to rationalize it, saying that it was probably just one of his colleagues. But Josh usually mentioned his female colleagues to Beth. She sat staring at the phone, biting her nail, debating whether or not she should answer it. She knew she probably shouldn't, but a voice in the back of her head kept screaming at her to do it. So, listening to the intrusive reporter voice in her head, Beth quickly reached out and picked up the phone.
"Hello, Josh Lindsey's office." Beth answered, doing her best to try and sound at least semi-professional.
"Who's this?" Asked the female voice on the other end of the line. Beth hesitated for a fraction of a second, trying to think of a believable lie.
"I'm…I'm his secretary." Beth answered. There was silence on the other end of the line. For a moment, she was sure she'd been found out. Then…
"Oh, I see. Well, when you have a chance to talk to Josh, tell him Vanessa called, and that I'm looking forward to seeing him. I'll be picking him up at the airport when he arrives." Said the woman. "Oh, and one more thing…tell him I love him and that I've missed him while he's been away."
Beth's breath caught in her chest. She found herself unable to breathe. Here she was, on the phone with living proof that Josh had not, as she'd believed over and over again, been away on business, but had in fact been meeting with some skank on the other side of the country.
"Hello? Are you still there?" Came the voice on the other end of the line. Beth was drawn out of her thoughts.
"Yeah…of course, I'll let him know." She managed to get out. With that, she hung up the phone and, feeling the rage rising up within her, waited once more for Josh to return. Apparently, there were a few things they needed to discuss…
"So…do you want anything to drink?" Scott asked.
"Yeah, I guess I'll have a beer." Seth said.
"I was asking the lady, jackass. You know where the fridge is." Scott replied with a grin.
"Uh…No thanks, I think I'll pass." Rory replied, a polite smile on her face. Scott looked at her questioningly.
"Are you sure?" He asked, "I've got coffee, tea, beer…"
"No thanks." Rory said simply.
"Alright. But if you change your mind, just let me know. Don't hesitate to ask." Scott said, flashing a smile. There was something about the way he looked at her after that, however, that left Rory somewhat disquieted.
For about an hour, the apartment was filled with animated conversation. Rory felt a little uncomfortable with the situation overall, but she didn't want Seth to know, because he seemed to be having a wonderful time, sitting in a room laughing and talking with the two people he cared about most. Rory didn't have the heart to ruin this for him. So she laughed and talked animatedly, masking her own insecurities for Seth's sake.
Seth glanced down at his watch to discover that an hour had gone by and, remembering that their movie would be starting in about an hour, decided that it was time for he and Rory to leave.
"Well, Scott…I had a really good time. We should do this more often. We'd love to stay longer, but unfortunately our movie will be starting soon so we've got to run." Seth said, standing up. Rory did the same.
"Yeah, of course…" Scott said. He rounded the coffee table and grabbed Seth in a huge bear hug.
"It was nice to finally meet you Rory." Scott said, extending his hand. Rory shook it.
"It was nice to meet you too, Scott." Rory couldn't help but notice that Scott was rather intently studying her black jacket, Fedora hat, and big, polarized sunglasses.
"You know, it's getting late. I doubt you'll be needing those sunglasses now." He commented.
Rory didn't much like the intent stare that he was giving her now. And she really hadn't liked the looks he'd kept giving her throughout their conversation when Seth hadn't been paying attention. All she wanted now was to leave there as quickly as possible. There was something more than slightly unnerving about Scott that she just couldn't ignore.
"Unfortunately I do." She replied. "I'm rather photosensitive, you see. Bright light wreaks havoc on my eyes."
"I see." Scott said, giving her another of his intense looks. Then, all of a sudden, his attitude seemed to change, and he seemed to perk up. "You know what I just realized I forgot? I never did introduce you to Rex."
Smiling at her and Seth, Scott made his way down a hallway to a closed door.
"Rex?" Rory questioned in a whisper, just loud enough that Seth could make out what she was saying.
"Rex is his dog. Relax, you'll love him. He's a German shepherd, but he's a total marshmallow. Wouldn't hurt a fly." Seth wrapped an arm around her shoulder and squeezed her tightly to him. She smiled nervously.
Just then, a huge dog came bounding out of the room he'd been locked up in and into the living room. Rex stopped instantly in front of Rory, still and silent for a moment.
Scott came into the living room just as Rex, completely unprovoked and for no apparent reason, began to growl and bark viciously at Rory.
Rory's face took on a fearful expression as she quickly backed away from the enraged animal. Just as the dog reared back, clearly preparing to attack Rory, Seth stepped in the dog's path and jumped on top of it. Seth wrestled the dog roughly to the ground.
All the while, unbeknownst to Seth, Scott had been watching as the whole scene played out. Seth was preoccupied with Rex at the moment and couldn't see what was going on beyond his own struggle with the animal, but as Rory looked over she could have sworn that, very briefly, an expression had crossed over Scott's face as he stood looking at her that had chilled her to the core. It was a look of pure hatred.
Seth had finally managed to pin Rex to the ground with immense effort, although the animal was still barking and growling and writhing beneath him.
"WHAT THE HELL HAS GOTTEN INTO REX!" Seth shouted, still struggling to keep the dog subdued.
The look had passed so quickly across Scott's face that Rory began to question whether or not it had actually been there in the first place. Perhaps her insecurities involving him had caused her to imagine it. Still, there was a certain coldness in the air that just wouldn't seem to go away.
"I have no idea." Scott said, grabbing the collar around the dog's neck so that Seth was finally able to get up off of it. Rex continued to bark and growl, struggling against Scott's hold to get at Rory. "He doesn't usually act this way." Scott assured Rory.
Deciding that he should get Rory out of there because Rex had clearly targeted her for some unknown reason, Seth said a final hurried goodbye to Scott and whisked Rory out of the apartment.
"I'm so sorry." Seth kept repeating to Rory over and over again as they made their way outside onto the busy Los Angeles street.
"It's fine," Rory repeated for the fifth time. "You had no idea things were going to turn out like that. Now, let's just go to the theater."
Seth agreed. Both of them just wanted to put this disastrous evening behind them. Rory even more so than Seth could ever possibly imagine.
Josh walked into the office and was startled at the look on Beth's face. Apparently something had happened between the time he'd left the office and now that had upset her.
"Beth?" He asked softly. She looked up from where she had been staring determinedly since she'd answered the phone call and into his face. Anger and hurt filled her eyes as she looked at him. "Beth, what's wrong?"
Beth was silent for a moment, gathering herself together, before answering. "Vanessa called. She wanted me to tell you she's meeting you at the airport when you arrive tomorrow."
"Oh. I see." Was all Josh could manage to get out. He collapsed into the seat in front of is desk, facing Beth.
"How long?" Beth asked simply. Josh didn't answer. "How LONG has this been going on, Josh?"
"I met her in Miami a little over two years ago." Josh said, looking at the table. Somehow, he couldn't bring herself to look into her eyes.
"Oh, so you've been cheating on me with her the whole time we've been together, then. Or have you been cheating on her with me?"
"Beth, it's not like that." Josh said, "We broke up just before I met you. We've only recently started seeing each other since I've been working the Thomas case in Florida."
"But you've still been cheating on me." Beth said coldly.
Josh lost his temper. "You know, I don't understand why you're so hung up on this. You just admitted to me not twenty minutes ago that you kissed Mick St. John! The guy you spend so much of your time with nowadays. People in glass houses-"
At this, all of Beth's self-control went out the window. "Yeah, but I didn't FUCK HIM, JOSH!" She said, leaning forward in her seat. There was silence as she took a few deep, calming breaths. Then, looking him straight in the eye, she said, "I came here today to try to save what was left of our relationship. Now I see that it's just not worth saving. We're done." She said coldly. She got up out of Josh's office chair and walked toward the door.
"Beth, now hold on a minute!" Josh said, but Beth continued walking as though she hadn't heard him. She let the office door slam behind her as she went out.
Rory and Seth emerged from the movie theater laughing and talking animatedly with each other. It was about nine o'clock at night, and the streets were packed. Rather than take a cab back to Seth's place, he and Rory decided to walk back to Rory's, as it wasn't that far from the theater.
"Here…let's take this shortcut." Seth suggested, pulling Rory down a deserted side street.
"Seth…are you sure? I mean, it's pretty dark out here."
"Yeah, we'll be fine." Seth assured her, grinning. "I won't let anything happen to you. I promise." With that, he leaned in to kiss her.
They had been walking down the side street for a while, still talking animatedly when, out of the shadows, jumped a tall figure dressed in black. Over his face he wore a black ski mask, which made his face unrecognizable. He pulled from his belt a small 45-calibre handgun and aimed it at them. Without saying a word, he fired five shots.
"RORY!" Seth yelled, his giddiness turning to fear in an instant. He watched helplessly as four shots were fired into her. One, it seemed, had missed her. Everything had just happened so fast that Seth had not been able to shield her in time. He fell to his knees as she dropped to the ground. "RORY! RORY! Oh shit. Oh god, no, please! Rory!"
Seth looked up in time to see the gunman retreat into the bushes. His first instinct was to chase after the son of a bitch, to tear him limb from limb, but he couldn't leave Rory. Miraculously, she was still somehow breathing, but how long would that last?
Seth bent over her, blood seeping all over him as he tended to her. She began to convulse in his arms. She seemed to be having a reaction to the bullets. He pulled her into his arms, and what he saw made him drop her and back away in alarm. Her face had changed completely. Her canine teeth had instantaneously grown into long, piercing fangs, and her eyes had clouded over and were now completely white, save for her pupils.
Every instinct in Seth's body told him to run away. He was instantly transported back to the night he'd rescued Rory, to the image of the man who had attacked her. Rory's face had now taken on those same fearful qualities he'd seen in the man's face. Fighting his urge to run, Seth gathered Rory up in his arms and began to run. Rory may have been frightening, but he loved her more than anything in the world. He couldn't just leave her to die like this.
Running, he found he recognized the area. He knew that, not too far from where he was now, there was a building he knew. A building he'd visited twice before. It was in this building that Mick St. John resided. Seth knew that Mick didn't exactly like him, or even trust him, but Mick was a good friend of Rory's, and he wouldn't refuse her. Praying to god that Rory held on long enough for them to get to Mick's and call an ambulance, Seth set off running in the direction of Mick's apartment building.
AN: Yup…another cliffie. Anyway, hope this has met your addictive needs for now…Luvz always, Cat.
P.S. I have revised chapter 11 because I ended up messing up the timeline with it…their first date they went to see 'The Mist', not '28 Weeks Later'