I couldn't let this stand the way it was between Mick and Daryl. I had to do something, even if Mick would be mad at me later. It was about midnight, and since Daryl's bar was still open, I took my car and headed that way. I'd been in the Stake and Fang once before, to watch Mick and his friends play in their jazz quartet, and it was an Irish-style pub, with a small-town feel. I parked and went in, and immediately saw Daryl at the bar. He wasn't happy to see me. Carrie emerged from the supply room, carrying a bag of pretzels to refill the bowls on the bars and on the booth tables. They had a mixture of vampire and human clientele, unbeknownst to the humans, of course. Carrie didn't seem too surprised to see me.

Hi Beth. This is probably not a good time.

I walked over to her. "I know he's mad. Rightly so. But he didn't even listen to Mick's explanation. I know it's none of my business—"

"No, it isn't Beth, with all due respect," said Daryl tightly. He was now standing right next to Carrie. It was disconcerting when vampires moved so quickly without you realizing it. "I frankly don't give a rat's ass about his reasoning. It is a cardinal sin to not take responsibility for your sire. You're welcome to stay for a drink, but this topic is off the table for discussion." His handsome face did not show his usual lighthearted personality.

I looked pleadingly at Carrie. She shook her head. I'm sorry. I warned you.

"Carrie, you promised you would talk to him."

Daryl walked back around behind the bar to take someone's order. Carrie looked back at me, and I could tell what she said next in my mind was for me only.

Meet me at your car in about fifteen minutes.

I had to try with Daryl one more time. I went to the bar.

"Please, Daryl. Don't let this ruin years of friendship. Mick already hates himself enough for the both of you."

"Good-bye, Beth," he said with finality. I shook my head sadly and went back out to my car. I got inside, locked all the doors, and waited. Exactly fifteen minutes later, Carrie slipped silently up to the passenger side and lightly tapped on the window. I jumped in surprise, even though I'd been expecting her, and unlocked the door. I figured now I'd be pretty safe with a vampire to protect me. Unless…well, she was pretty mad too, I'm sure. She could hear the sudden fearful accelleration of my heartbeat.

She smiled despite herself. Beth, I'm not going to hurt you. Calm down.

"Sorry. I know you must be upset about this too. And well, we really don't know each other very well…"

True. But Mick loves you, and in spite of his recent confession, I love Mick too, so I wouldn't want him to feel the pain of losing someone. And Daryl loves him too, Beth. That's why he's so angry. He's been betrayed by one of his best friends. I'm sure you can understand.

"I do, believe me. But I wish you would tell Daryl the whole story for Mick. Mick is on such a guilt trip and took that beating like a martyr, he's too full of self-loathing to try to justify anything right now. You've know him a long time. I think you know, deep in your heart, that there has to be a logical explanation for what he did."

She sighed. Strangely, she didn't make a sound; I heard it clearly in my head. Okay. Give me the details. No guarantees here, but I guess it might help. And I for one would like to hear it.

"Thank you. Mick had been supressing the identity of the man he found near death on the docks that day. A dream about it triggered his memory of seeing Daryl's Pearl Harbor tattoo on that man's chest long ago. He put two and two together, and it all came back to him. That, plus the coincidence of how they were both turned in the same year. I guess the horror of what he'd done, of what he'd become, caused him to forget all the details until now."

Alright, I guess I can believe that could happen, though highly improbable—it's possible. Did Mick tell you why he just left him there? Why he didn't take responsibility?

"Mick said he and Coraline—do you know his ex-wife?" She nodded. "Well, he and Coraline found Daryl already near death from a head wound at the docks. Mick uh, drank from him, but, being so inexperienced as a young vampire, he wasn't able to stop feeding until it was too late. He felt so badly about what he'd done, he decided that to save him, he would turn him. He thought it didn't work. He thought Daryl was dead for sure."

So he just left him? Didn't dispose of the body? Didn't wait to see for sure?

"No, and he feels terrible about that. But Coraline convinced him it was a lost cause. She wasn't very responsible herself, and I bet she knew she would have to take this additional new vampire under her wing, so didn't want to bother with poor Daryl. What she did was cruel, Carrie, to both of them."

We both sat in silence a moment, thinking of my words. I was praying strongly that she would believe me, would see Mick's side.

Carrie looked ahead out the windshield, into the blackness of early morning, remembering.

I found Daryl on the docks that morning, just after dawn. I was on my way home, and the scent of fresh blood attracted me. I smelled vampires too, but I saw no one else but this beautiful, broken man, a new set of bite marks on his neck. I was mad that no one had called the Cleaners, so I was going to take care of it myself. But you've seen Daryl—his perfect face and body seemed to enthrall me. I was pretty sure he was dead, but I had to look at him before I found a phone. I just had to. Then, he opened his eyes. His vampire eyes. And I knew right away what had happened.

She paused, as if trying to find the right words to continue.

When he saw me, he was crazed with fear and pain. I saw his head wound, and it began healing at once as his new blood took hold. Then he attacked me. He was so strong! I was able to fight him off, while trying to talk some sense into him at the same time. I told him what he was, and that he needed blood quickly. I got him to come with me, but he was still in shock. I had a freshie I kept on retainer, and when we showed up on his doorstep, he kindly agreed to allow Daryl to feed. I had to pry him off the poor guy before he drained him. I don't think I ever used that freshie again.

I could see her smile a little at the memory.

I took him home with me, and he told me he didn't remember who'd bitten him. He just remembered walking home from work, and suddenly being hit over the head. His wallet was missing.

She stopped again and looked right at me. Something monumental seemed to have occurred to her.

I guess he had no idea Mick had come later and turned him. And there's something you might want to tell Mick about his sweet little ex-wife. Right after I found Daryl, I went to all the vamps I knew in LA, to see if they knew anything about a bite and run down at the docks. Coraline was one of the first I'd asked. I knew her socially, but that bitch was a little too into games for my taste. I saw how she treated humans and vamps alike—like they were her playthings. I didn't know about what she'd done to Mick, how she'd married a human under false pretenses. Anyway, she denied any knowledge of what had happened to Daryl.

"I knew it!" I interjected. "All roads lead back to Coraline where Mick is concerned! So you see, Mick was just young and ignorant. Coraline took advantage of that and he and Daryl both have paid the price for her selfishness." I reached out and touched Carrie's arm. It was cold but femininely muscular; I could feel the harnessed power there. "Please, Carrie. Tell Daryl Mick's story. I hate to see what it's doing to both of them."

She put her hand over mine. "I'll try, Beth. It may take a while until he's ready to listen, though. Thanks for coming over here." She hesitated. "Is Mick okay?"

"His face was a mess, but he fed and got into the freezer. He assures me he'll heal physically, but I don't know if he's going to ever stop hating himself for what he's done. Unless Daryl forgives him, then maybe he can start to forgive himself."

Daryl is a proud man. And a moral one. He's accepted that he's a vampire, but has never gotten over the bitterness associated with being turned without his knowledge or permission. I did the best I could for him, and eventually we fell in love. Things are great for us here. He has friends and the bar. He didn't deserve what happened to him. None of us who didn't have a choice deserved it. That's why neither of us has ever turned anyone. I know Mick feels the same way.

"He does. I know he does." I thought of how he wouldn't turn Josh when he was dying. It had taken me awhile to forgive Mick for that. But I know now he was right. Josh would have felt the same way that Daryl did about it. As Mick did about when he was turned by Coraline.

I'll do my best, Beth. Just be there for Mick in the meantime. He's going to need you. And I will take care of Daryl, as I always have.

And before I had a chance to thank her or to say goodbye, she was gone. I had done all I could. It was up to Daryl now.

I went by Mick's on my way to work the next morning. I hadn't gotten much sleep, so I fortified myself with half a pot of coffee. I knocked on Mick's apartment door, and looked up into the surveillance camera. No answer. I used the remote key he'd given me and let myself in. The living room was as I'd left it the night before. No sign that Mick had been up. I imagined he'd needed the extra sleep to heal. I moved to straighten the pillows of the couch that had been jostled in the fight. I saw Mick's blood on the couch, and tears sprang to my eyes. What a sad mess this all was. Just then, I looked up to see Mick coming down the stairs. While his wounds of last night were gone, he still looked haggard and weak. His eyes were lifeless, and for once he looked almost looked like he was nearing ninety.

"I hope I didn't wake you," I said when he caught my eye, pausing at the end of the stairway.

"No. But I heard you and came down." I went to him and encased his bare chest in a hug. His blue pajama bottoms hung low at his waist, and his feet were bare. This was one of my favorite looks he had—just getting out of his "bed", his curly hair tousled boyishly, his face a little scruffy since he hadn't yet shaved. Too bad his eyes and demeanor were so bleak. I felt my love for him nearly overwhelm me.

I pulled back to press my palm to his cheek. "You look a lot better today. It amazes me how fast you heal."

"Yeah, well," he said noncommittally. Suddenly, he was kissing me. I was taken totally off guard, but I sensed at once that this was what he really needed from me. He backed me to the nearest wall and pressed me against it. His hands and mouth were seemingly everywhere at once. I'd worn a skirt for work, with no pantyhose, so it was quick work for him to pull my panties down, while I helped him with his pajamas. He lifted me up to meet him. He took me passionately and almost roughly, and I wrapped my legs around him, the excitement building in me until I could barely breathe. I held tightly to his shoulders as he moved within me. Then I felt his fangs at my neck, and though I knew I would pay for this later, I moved my neck to accommodate him. As his fangs sunk in, I shuttered and went over the edge. He drank from me, and soon followed me over with a long moan.

I think I may have blacked out for a minute, what with the passion, the blood loss, and lack of sleep. Next thing I knew, I was on the couch, and felt him readjusting my underwear and skirt. I looked up into his eyes, and while they no longer looked lifeless, I realized the roughness of our intimacy would be just another thing to blame himself about.

"Are you okay?" He asked, slipping my shoes back on. I hadn't even realized they'd come off. I pulled him down on top of me. What the hell—my clothes were already hopelessly wrinkled.

"I'm more than okay, Mick." I brought my lips to his. "That was wonderful. And totally unexpected, I must say." I smiled at him in what I hoped was a sexy manner. I was certainly feeling sexy.

"I'm sorry about that. I just felt this overwhelming need for you." At last, a small smile tugged at his mouth as he surveyed the damage. "Sorry to have taken it out on your dress. I guess you were on your way to work."

Work. Crap. "That was better than a good breakfast to start my day. But, speaking of breakfast…" I reached up to touch his bite gingerly. "You got any Band-Aids?" He grinned sheepishly.

"Yeah. In the bathroom. I still have some left over from when I was human last year." He helped me up, and I was a little dizzy, but I'd be fine. I kissed him again and hastened to go clean up. I was definitely going to be late today.

When I got back to the kitchen, he had a glass of orange juice waiting for me. And a cookie. Just like at the Red Cross. He kept these things on hand for me when I stayed over.

I drank under his watchful eye, and took a bite of the cookie. Chocolate chips for breakfast. I smiled at him to help pave the way for what I had to tell him. "Thanks. Well, in the interest of our pact about not keeping secrets…I have a confession to make." I took another drink of juice to stall a minute. He wasn't going to like this. "I went to see Daryl and Carrie at the bar last night."

"Beth, you shouldn't have done that. Daryl was angrier than I'd ever seen him. He might have taken things out on you."

"He was perfectly civil, but also perfectly stubborn. He didn't want to talk about it." Mick sighed in exasperation.

"Well, what did you expect? I had just dropped a huge bombshell on him. I betrayed him. He's not going to get over this." He moved closer to me and took the glass and the cookie from my hands. He tilted my chin up to insure he had my complete attention. But he really never had to worry about that.

"Look at me, Beth. Stay out of this. If Daryl and I are meant to be friends again, it will happen. If not, I'll just have to accept it and get on with my life." Well, that attitude was certainly better than blaming himself.

"Carrie was a little more forgiving, Mick. I uh…I told her how it happened. How you had tried to save Daryl, and didn't know his turning had even worked."

"Beth—" he growled.

"I know you didn't give me permission to tell anyone, but I couldn't just stand by and watch this ruin both of you. And before you yell at me, there's something else you should know."

Despite his annoyance with me, it was good to see him so animated. I secretly liked it when we argued, if I felt it was something we could recover from, that is. "Carrie told me she had talked to Coraline after she'd found Daryl at the docks. Coraline had denied knowing about him. So you see, this wasn't all your fault, Mick."

"What?" He let it sink in a minute. "That traitorous bitch! My God, how was I so obsessed with her that I couldn't see what she was, even before we got married? That's just the kind of thing she would have done, I've no doubt about it. When I think of what Daryl must have gone through because of her—I wish you would have killed her that time you staked her. Hell, I wish she'd burned in that fire." He turned to face me, his eyes going silver with rage. "If I ever see her again, I swear I'll kill her." He meant it, I was sure.

"Okay, Mick, well it's all out in the open now. Forget about Coraline, and concentrate on getting Daryl to understand this. And you know now, you aren't to blame here."

A little of his anger slipped away. "Beth, I'm still the one who turned him. Even if Coraline had never done anything else to me, I'd still hate her for turning me. I know exactly how Daryl must be feeling. Again, just stay out of it now. You've done all you could, and I appreciate the thought, but there's nothing else we can do." He kissed me on the forehead, then moved to my mouth for a gentle kiss full of forgiveness. If only he could forgive himself.

"Hmmm…" he said, and licked his lips. "You had a lot of coffee this morning, didn't you?"

"I'm sorry," I said, embarrassed. "Do I have coffee breath?"

"No. Coffee blood. I got a good jolt of caffeine from you this morning. Among other things…"And he nuzzled my neck near the Band-Aid.

I laughed. "Glad I could help. But sadly, I must get to work. Ben will be wondering where I am."

"Okay. Go on, then. Can I call you later?"

He escorted me to the door, and I picked up my discarded purse along the way. "I hope you do. I love you. Thank you for the lovely uh, hospitality."

He smiled. "The pleasure was all mine. I love you too, sweetheart. Have a good day." And with one last kiss, I left. But I had the feeling he was using the camera to watch me walk down the hall to the elevator.