Disclaimer: By now, I'm sure you all know the drill... I own nothing. Believe me, if I did…I'd be a Jason Alexandwich right now. I do, however, own this plot and any characters I decide to throw in. Yayz!
"So what do you think Mick called about that was so urgent?" Rory asked Dante as they entered the elevator to go up to Mick's loft. Dante shrugged.
"I have no idea. But at least he could have waited until a halfway decent time tonight before he disturbed us." He complained. Rory grinned.
It had been just under two days since the abandoned bakery warehouse incident. With the exception of feeding, Rory and Dante had spent the last two days sleeping, recuperating from what had happened. It was currently 6:00 p.m. At about 5 that evening, they'd received a call from Mick, asking them to meet him at his loft as soon as they could. Grudgingly, they'd left the comfort of their freezer and headed to Mick's. They still weren't sure what was so urgent that he couldn't wait a few hours to call them.
As they stepped out of the elevator, they were even more confused to see Josef waiting outside of Mick's apartment. As he watched them leave the elevator, Josef shot them a puzzled look.
"Why are you here? I would have thought you'd still be asleep right now." He asked.
"You and me both…" Grumbled Dante. Josef suppressed the urge to laugh.
"What's his problem?"
"Oh, he's just a little moody…having been dragged out of the freezer and such…" She smiled. "He's not exactly a morning person."
Dante scowled at her. Rory and Josef both burst into gales of laughter. Just as their laughter was dying down, the door to the apartment swung open unexpectedly.
"Hey!" Mick greeted them, smiling warmly.
"This better be important…" Dante grumbled. Rory gave him a playful smack on the arm.
"So what's so urgent?" Josef asked. Rory nodded.
"Yeah…I thought something might be wrong. Are you and Beth okay?"
Mick grinned. "Yeah…we're both fine. But it is urgent…" Mick trailed off. He stepped away from the door with a grin and opened it, gesturing for them to come in. Rory, Dante, and Josef stepped into the apartment. Immediately, all three of them could sense that something was different.
A grinning Beth came walking down the stairs. All of her injuries had disappeared as though they'd never even existed. The cast that had been on her foot only days before was gone. There was a definite change in her appearance…there was a new vibrancy to her, not to mention an almost unearthly glow to her skin and an extra shine to her hair. There was also something different about her scent…at least to Josef and Rory. Dante hadn't been around her long enough after he'd been turned to have been able to distinguish a difference.
Rory stared, wide-eyed, at Beth. "You're a…I mean, Mick…"
"Yeah." Beth said, smiling widely.
Rory stood for a moment, staring at Beth, unsure what to make of this. Finally, she rushed over and enveloped Beth in a tight hug. "Congratulations! I'm so happy for you. You finally got what you wanted."
"Yeah, I did." Beth agreed, hugging Rory.
Josef just looked at Mick, clearly astonished.
"You did it…you actually, finally did it."
"Yeah. I did." Mick said, a grin on his face. Josef smiled and shook his head.
"I just can't believe you actually turned her."
He stuck his hand out, and Mick grabbed it, pulling Josef into a half-hug. Josef looked distinctly annoyed.
"What have I ever done to even suggest that that was the slightest bit okay!"
He would have been positively frightening, if he hadn't ruined the effect by smiling.
Mick just laughed. He turned to Dante. Dante smiled and hugged Mick.
"Congratulations Mick."
"Thanks Dante." Mick said, and then added, "Look…I never got to say…at the warehouse and all…thanks for looking out for Beth."
Dante smiled in understanding. "It was nothing…after all, she's family."
Rory let go of Beth and stepped back so she could look at her.
"Well…" said Rory, a slightly evil grin on her face, "Welcome to the dark side."
They shared a laugh, then walked back over to join the men. Mick wrapped his arm around Beth, pulling her close to him, and smiled as he looked around at the people in the room with him.
"This definitely calls for a toast." Said Mick, bustling into the kitchen and returning a moment later with five glasses filled with blood. He passed each a glass of blood, keeping one for himself. Raising his glass, Mick began the toast.
"To new beginnings."
Josef quickly raised his and toasted, "To immortality."
Dante raised his and said, "To family…we may be an odd one, but that doesn't make us any less of one."
Beth raised her glass. "To eternity."
Rory looked around at the faces of the people around her…the people she cared most about…and decided on the perfect toast to finish the toasting.
"To spending it together."
Everyone smiled, clinked their glasses together, and drained their glasses. They spent the rest of the night chatting animatedly, simply enjoying each other's company.
Rory couldn't help but think, as she sat snuggled up to Dante, that eternity didn't seem so dark and empty after all. Not now that she would be sharing it with the love of her life along with her best friends. As she looked at Josef, sitting in a chair across from them, and over at Beth snuggled up to Mick on the other end of the sofa, she realized that there was nowhere else in the world she'd rather be.
They talked late into the night about what they planned to do with their immortality. They talked of how nice and peaceful it would be now that both Jeff and Scott were out of the way. They talked about taking a break from adventure for a while…having had more than their fill over the last two years.
What they didn't realize was that, as was the norm with this particular group of people, adventure wouldn't leave them alone. Eventually, adventure would find them and once again wreak havoc on their lives…but that's another story, for another time.
THE END!
AN: Okay…in answer to your two immediate questions: 1) Yeah, I CAN do that, and 2) Yeah, I DID do that. Lol. Yay! I'm so proud of myself! I finally finished a story! And with five minutes to spare before Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles comes on. Yayz! (Dances) Anyway, I just wanted to extend a warm, heartfelt Thank You to everyone that has read along and have sent such wonderful reviews. Your reviews have often been the highlight of my day, and have helped me through more than one bad day. Thank you again so much…and I definitely intend to write a sequel. I have a few other ideas floating around that I have to get written as well, but I won't forget about all of you wonderful, supportive readers…and I will write a sequel. I already have many ideas. Anyway…you've all been so wonderful to me. I definitely won't forget it…and you've done so much for my confidence as a writer…and just in general. So once again, thank you. And I'd like to dedicate this story to all of you wonderful readers…without whom this wouldn't have been possible.
Love always, Cat.