Disclaimer: Moonlight and characters don't belong to me; I'm simply a fan having fun with the characters.
"So tell me about your case," Beth said as Mick navigated his car out of the Buzzwire parking lot. "I've told you everything I know about my case and all I know about yours is that you were hired by a woman named Anna. This is not what the definition of working together is, Mick."
"I was hired by a woman named Anna Worrester," Mick corrected, smiling. "Where do you want me to start?"
Beth contemplated his question for a moment. "Since we're looking for the baby, tell me about her."
"You already know Gilly's three months old; besides that, there's not much to tell. She's an easy sleeper, a fussy eater, and plays with just about anything; nothing that would distinguish her if we were to find her among a group of infants."
"Okay. What about the husband? Does he drink? Get caught in meaningless brawls?"
"Better. Actually, I think Shane's your kind of guy; he's a mystery." Mick's eyes twinkled behind his sunglasses.
"What?!" Beth choked out, pulse quickening. Mystery?! Mick thinks I look for mystery in a guy? "What do you mean?"
"He disappeared three months ago. Isn't this the kind of story you thrive on?"
Beth relaxed—he hadn't been talking about her personal life after all. "Very funny, Mick. But three months. That's interesting. So you're telling me he disappeared after—"
"After Gilly's birth? Yes. Great guy, isn't he?" Mick's voice seethed with an undercurrent of anger, shifting the mood in the car.
Beth glanced at him, surprised at the intensity of his anger. "You think he walked away from them?"
"Newborn first child, first-time parent—it wouldn't be a surprise."
"But if he did walk away, isn't it absurd to remain 'missing'? He couldn't have just disappeared without a trace."
"If you want to disappear enough, you can," Mick replied softly.
The regret in his voice made Beth ache, but it also triggered something in her mind and she felt a sudden burst of understanding. "That's what you did, isn't it? After you were Turned? No warnings, no goodbyes. You just 'disappeared', left all the people you cared about behind."
"I had to! I couldn't risk hurting them. If I could have stayed, I would have. I wouldn't have chosen to walk away; I would have given anything to not walk away." His voice had risen several pitches and was harsh with self-hatred.
"Maybe Shane didn't walk away. Disappearing is certainly elaborate if your only motive is to escape parenthood."
"Maybe," Mick conceded with a shrug. The lights turned red and he brought the car to a stop, dropping his hands from the steering wheel. "But wherever he is, he can start over, build a new life. He can afford the luxury of company, real human company, but I couldn't—I can't. I don't even have a choice; I have to do it alone."
Beth shuddered at how impassive his voice was, as if he had rehearsed the line over and over until he had convinced himself that it was true. She was glad that she couldn't see his eyes and the self-loathing that must have been there. Still, Beth tucked the moment away with all the other moments she clung to because they had brought her closer to Mick St. John, if only by the merest fraction of an inch.
Beth slid her hand over Mick's and intertwined her fingers with his. "You are not alone," she said firmly. Or at least you don't have to be…