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!

Beth woke up just a few hours after she had finally gone to sleep. She kept her eyes closed, afraid that if she'd opened them, she would discover that it had all been a dream. Right up until the point where Seth had brought an injured Rory to Mick's apartment, it had been a wonderful night. She had finally persuaded Mick that it was possible for them to be together.

Then again, perhaps it was all just a dream. Perhaps she would open her eyes to find herself in her own apartment, in her own bed, in the same frustrating situation as she had been in for months now.

She turned over and felt around beside her. The other side of the bed was empty. Her heart sank. Last night, Mick had lain down in bed with her as she had fallen asleep. If it hadn't been a dream, he would still be there. With a heavy sigh, she opened her eyes. She immediately felt excitement flare up within her once again. She was in Mick's apartment! In Mick's bed! She looked over to where a large freezer had been moved into the room while she had slept. She smiled to herself, looking down to find herself wearing Mick's shirt. And, reaching up and placing a hand on her neck, she felt the fresh wounds from where he had bitten her last night. Yesterday actually had happened!

Flopping back down on the bed, Beth closed her eyes and relaxed, still smiling to herself, knowing that today would be the beginning of something wonderful.

Mick was on his way back to his apartment with food. Actual food. He hadn't been to a grocery store in god knows how long; after all, what use did he have for one. He couldn't help but reflect on how he missed the trivial things such as trips to the grocery store. People went on and on about it as though it was some sort of horrible, disgusting chore. But what they didn't realize was how, once it was no longer necessary, it became almost pleasurable.

He had stayed with Beth in his bed and held her until she had fallen asleep. Even after she had fallen asleep, he had stayed with her, simply revelling in her beauty as he watched her sleep. When he himself could no longer stave off exhaustion, he reluctantly pulled himself away from her, brought the guest freezer out, and fallen asleep.

He had woken up around 8 a.m. and found that Beth was still sleeping. After dressing, he crept out of the room and down the hall to where Rory was sleeping in his freezer. He peeked in to find Seth slumped over in his chair, fast asleep, and crept over to the freezer to check on Rory's condition. She was still unconscious.

There was no doubt in his mind that Seth was trustworthy. He had proven so to Mick last night. But Mick couldn't help feeling like he had to check in on Rory to make sure she was okay. Sure, he was overprotective. But he was Rory's friend. Her mentor. He had sworn to protect her.

Realizing for the first time that he had no food in the fridge and was entertaining humans who would no doubt wake up hungry, he had decided that he needed to make a trip to the grocery store to make sure that there was food available for when Seth and Beth finally woke up.

Mick grinned and looked over at the assortment of bags in his back seat. He hadn't been sure as to what they might like, so he'd bought an assorted variety of breakfast foods, hoping that they might eat at least something he'd bought.

Rory stirred, drawing in a deep, gasping breath. She wasn't quite sure exactly where she was or how she'd gotten there, but she did know that, wherever she was, it was cold. And comfortable. The last thing she remembered before she'd lost consciousness was seeing a man leap out of the bushes and pull a gun. He'd fired several bullets into her, and they'd burned. She'd felt like her entire body was on fire. The pain had been excruciating and agonizing. She had vamped out against her will. And Seth had seen! She remembered the fearful look in his eyes as he'd looked at her. Then, darkness enveloped her…

Rory sat up suddenly, opening her eyes as she did. As she hit her forehead painfully on something hard, she immediately wished she'd opened her eyes before sitting up. Bringing a hand up to rub her head, she looked down at herself. From what she could see, she was naked. She put her hand up to feel the glass she had hit her head on, and immediately realized where she must be. She was in a freezer! Pushing upward on the heavy glass door, Rory watched it swing open and heard it thud on the floor. She looked around her. She was in Mick's room, in Mick's apartment. But how had she gotten there?

Hearing a banging noise, Seth jolted awake. He looked around him, trying to figure out where the noise had come from, but couldn't see anything that might have made such a noise. He rubbed his eyes and looked at his watch. It was nearly ten in the morning. He was confused for the briefest of moments, looking around him, and in an instant everything came flooding back to him. Rory had been shot. He had brought her to Mick's. She was a vampire. Mick was a vampire. Mick had explained everything to him.

Seth rubbed the back of his neck, which was painfully stiff, and looked over at the giant freezer that stood before him. Rory apparently hadn't woken up yet.

Just as Seth was beginning to become concerned at the fact that she was still unconscious, the door of the freezer swung open unexpectedly, and Rory sat bolt upright. She seemed confused as she looked around the room. She seemed not to notice him.

"Rory!" Seth said, elated that she was, as far as he could tell, perfectly alright.

Rory looked over, surprised by the voice that had suddenly addressed her. She turned to look and found that the voice that had spoken was that of Seth.

"Seth!" Rory nearly yelled, shocked. "Wh-What are you doing here?" She crossed her arms over her bare chest, clearly mortified that he was there. Seth gave her an apologetic look and handed her the blanket he had used during the night. Rory reached out and grabbed it quickly, throwing it over herself.

"I had to stay with you to make sure you were okay." Seth said, looking at her. His eyes were concerned, and, she noticed, somewhat fearful. She mistook his concern and surprise for fear.

Coming to a sudden and horrifying realization as a strong wave of hunger hit her, Rory brought her hands up to her horrified face, only to find the sharp tips of her long, piercing fangs meet her fingertips. She immediately covered her face completely with her hands and turned quickly away from him.

"Don't look at me!" She cried, desperation and fear making themselves apparent in her voice. "Just stay away from me!"

"Rory…" Seth began, getting up from his chair and walking around the freezer. Her face had startled him initially, and it had shown in his eyes. He'd realized his mistake too late. He gently took hold of her wrists and brought her hands away from her face. She didn't fight him, but she turned away as soon as her hands had left it.

"Please, Seth! Go away!"

"Rory, look at me." Seth softly commanded. When she refused, he gently took hold of her face and turned it toward his. Her eyes were clamped tightly shut.

"Seth…don't look at me…I'm hideous; I'm…a MONSTER!" She said, her voice filled with self-loathing and sadness. A single tear escaped from one of her tightly closed eyes. She couldn't bear to look at him, to see the look of fear she'd seen in his eyes only moments before.

Seth took her face in his hands and used his thumb to wipe away the tear. "Rory, please look at me." He asked softly. He watched as she slowly opened her eyes, and gave her a smile as she did so. "Rory…you're not a monster…and you're not hideous. You're the most gorgeous creature I've ever seen in my life. I'm so sorry if I did anything to make you think any differently. It's just…" He paused. "…I'm not used to seeing you like this. It's going to take me a while to get used to. But believe me when I say this: It doesn't make me love you any less. You're still the Rory Callaghan I fell in love with. You're still the girl I just couldn't get out of my head after I rescued you that night. And no matter what you are, what you look like…you'll always be that girl."

Seth had thought long and hard about all of this last night. He had been unsure of how he'd felt after discovering that she was a vampire. But after he'd sat and thought long and hard about everything that had happened, he realized that he couldn't imagine his life without her. Human or vampire, she was still the girl of his dreams, the love of his life. No matter what, she would always be his Rory.

Rory looked at him, seeing the sincerity etched in his eyes. She smiled through her tears. "Really?"

"Of course." Seth soothed her. "Nothing in the world could ever possibly change that."

Seth leaned forward and pulled her into a hug. After a moment, he pulled away and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. Then he smiled at her.

"Well," he said. "I'm starving. How about you?"

Rory nodded. Seth pulled out a stack of clothes Mick had gone to get from Rory's apartment earlier that morning. He had watched as, around 8:30 a.m., Mick had crept into the room with the clothes. After that, he had gone back to sleep.

"Here. Why don't you get dressed, and I'll meet you downstairs. Okay?"

Again, Rory nodded at Seth. After he had left the room, Rory climbed out of her freezer and dressed quickly.

Making her way quickly down the stairs, Rory found that Seth, Mick, and Beth were already up and in the kitchen. Mick leaned against the counter, sipping away at a glass of blood. Seth was devouring some waffles with chocolate sauce and whipped cream, while Beth was eating a ham and cheese omelette. All of them looked up as Rory entered the small, crowded space.

"Glad to see you're feeling better." Mick commented with a grin, placing a tall glass of blood on the table in front of her. Rory knew Mick well enough to know that, despite his seemingly joking nature, it was actually a front to keep him from revealing too much emotion. Rory picked up the glass and gratefully downed half of its contents in one gulp.

"You gave us all a pretty good scare last night." Beth commented with a smile, though Rory could hear the seriousness of her tone.

Rory looked over at Seth, who simply smiled warmly back at her. He didn't say anything; he didn't need to. He had already said all that he'd needed to say.

For the rest of the morning, the four of them sat and chatted animatedly about anything and everything that came to mind. Rory looked around her at the room full of people laughing and joking and smiled to herself. She couldn't help but think that there was no place on earth right now that she'd rather be than right here; surrounded by people she cared about, who accepted her as she was, laughing and chatting without a care in the world. For the first time in months, she felt as though she had nothing to hide from.

AN: Don't worry people…this is not the end…there's still quite a bit to come. I felt that this was an important chapter to get in, though, because the next chapter takes place nearly a year into the future. I know it may seem a bit unrealistic that Seth and Mick just automatically became friends, and that Mick just instantly trusts Seth, but hey, this is my story, and I can do what I want with it. I like to think that Mick and Seth come to a mutual understanding, which is what helps them to form their immediate friendship. Now that Mick knows he can trust Seth, there is nothing really standing in the way of them becoming friends. So yeah, I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and please tell me what you think. I look forward to your reviews!

Luvz, Cat.