Okay, this is the last of the preliminary updates. The rest of the story will be updated as I write. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy where this story is going! Please don't hesitate to review; I would love feedback.

Disclaimer: Moonlight and characters don't belong to me; I'm simply a fan having fun with the characters.

Beth pushed her food around the plate listlessly. She should have told Josh to give her a few more hours. She had wanted to. But then she had realized how it would sound when he asked her why. Because I promised Mick I'd wait for him. Definitely a bad way to start the evening; it would only delay their much needed talk… again. She felt queasy thinking about Mick arriving at Buzzwire to find Steve, instead of her, waiting for him. What would he think? That her leaving with Josh rather than waiting for him just proved his point that things would never work between them? That this was exactly why he never let her get close? She tried to tell herself that it was no big deal, that Mick would understand. But the matter kept gnawing at her, making it hard for her to work up an appetite. She hoped Steve was gentle. Finally, Beth put her fork down and pushed her plate away.

Across the table, Josh looked at her, eyes raised. "Something wrong?"

"I'm just… not hungry."

Josh frowned. "You haven't said anything since we got here."

"I know. I'm sorry. It's just… I just…" Beth sighed. "Look, Josh. This is sweet, you taking me to dinner and all but… I just… I think… I don't think this is what we need; I don't think this will help fix things between us. I think we what we really need to do is just talk."

Josh stared at her for a moment. Then slowly, he set his knife and fork down and nodded. "Okay," he said. "Okay. I'll take you back to your place and we'll talk."

Beth blew out a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

Beth slipped out of her coat and let Josh take it from her. She made her way to the loveseat and sat, body angled, back straight, waiting for Josh to join her. When he did, she wasted no time. "We need to talk about Mick," she told him firmly.

Josh looked surprised that she had brought Mick up but he didn't protest. "You're right," he agreed quietly. "Ever since you met him… we've drifted apart."

"You don't like him, I get that. But—"

"It's not that I want to, Beth," Josh interrupted. "He's a good P.I. and I won't deny that I respect that… but beyond that, he's… he's—"

"Josh, I don't care what you think of him. What matters is, I want us to work. But for that to happen, you have to accept that Mick is part of my life. I know you can't make your feelings towards him disappear but can't you try not to hold it against him when we work on cases together, or spend time together?"

"So you're saying…?"

"I'm saying that I won't give Mick up."

"Even at the price of us?"

"He needs me, Josh. He doesn't have anyone else."

"That's ridiculous. What about friends? Family? Colleagues?"

"It's hard for him to get close to people," Beth replied guardedly. "He has… trust issues."

"Even his own family?" Josh argued, voice laced with disbelief.

Beth met his gaze without faltering. "He had to give them up a long time ago."

Josh was silent. "He has no one, Beth? No one?"

"You don't have to believe me Josh… given the way things have been between us, I understand if you don't. And I don't mind… it hurts, but I don't mind. We can work on that. But I need to know that you'll try… with Mick, I mean. So will you try?"

"I'll try… but I have a condition too."

"Fair enough."

"We've been together for over a year now, Beth. So if I agree to… accept Mick, I need to know that we're going somewhere. I need to know that we're not going to continue going in circles."

"You mean you want us to move in together?" Beth looked at him, hands suddenly cold.

"I want more than that, Beth. I want you to marry me."

"What?!"

"Marry me, Beth."

"Wh… bu… but… Don't you think this is kind of sudden?"

"Look me in the eye and tell me that this isn't where we were headed if St. John hadn't come into our lives and created all these problems between us. Look me in the eye and tell me that."

"Maybe we were. But the truth is, we are having problems and we can't just ignore that."

"So we'll work through them. We've had problems before but here we are. We're good together."

"We were good together," Beth corrected. "Now we're… a mess."

"I thought you wanted this to work…"

"I do. It's just… if we're getting married, I want it to be because we're in love and happy. Not because you're feeling threatened by Mick or because we're having problems and this is your idea of a quick fix. I want us to want to get married."

"So you're saying no?"

"I'm saying I need some time to think about it."

"I can wait."

"And I need some space…"

Josh sighed. "I understand…" Reluctantly, he rose and bent down to kiss the top of her head. "Good night, Beth."

"Good night, Josh." She forced a smile and watched him leave, feeling a little faint. She suddenly wished they hadn't talked after all… their problems could have worked themselves out…