Synopsis:

Because I do not want to ruin the story, I will not provide a synopsis this time! This will hopefully be a moving story and I find that synopses can ruin that for some people. All you need to know is that this will be a story of Vincent and Catherine's past.

Warning:

B/c this takes place in VinCat's past, there will be some VinLex moments. Though the moments will ONLY BE kissing on cheeks/foreheads…NOTHING ELSE! I SWEAR! It's unfortunate for me to write them since I'm COMPLETELY a VinCat shipper but sometimes sacrifices must be made when writing stories. I still hope you enjoy it just as much.

Another warning:

There will also be a slight Cat/OC for part of this fanfiction too!

Don't HATE me!

Beauty and the Beast

The Day Before…

Written by Keiko Fujiwara

Disclaimer: I do not own CW's Beauty and the Beast in any way!

Beauty and the Beast

7 A.M.—New York City

"Congratulations team! The procedure went successfully and the patient will recover in due time!" Doctor Richardson exclaimed to his ER medical team at St. Benjamin's Hospital in New York City.

While the team cheered and high-fived each other, one doctor; however, was not up to celebrating.

"Keller, may I have a word?"

Vincent Keller, one of the leading team doctors, looked up towards Doctor Richardson and nodded. He walked to his co-worker and said, "Yes?"

"Why aren't you smiling? You helped save a life!"

"I know. I just have a lot on my mind." Vincent replied.

"Does it have anything to do with your wedding?"

"Partly." Vincent smirked. "It's super early in the morning; I think I'm going to bounce."

"Alright. Remember, you have a full day off. Doctor Phillips is switching shifts with you." Doctor Richardson replied and patted Vincent on the back. "Hang in there, okay?"

"Right." Vincent chuckled a little before making his way to the locker room. He removed his operating coat when a beautiful red-headed nurse caught his attention by wrapping her arms around him from behind.

"Hey there!" she exclaimed. "I missed you last night."

"I know. Sorry…duty called." Vincent replied. "It's too bad you normally have the day shift and I normally have the night shift. We hardly have time to see each other."

"Hopefully all of that will change." Alex smiled. "I've gotta get to work but I'll see you tonight!" she kissed his cheek before leaving him in the locker room to gather his thoughts. For some reason, Vincent felt as if his life was going to change in the upcoming days. He doesn't know if it is intuition or just wishful thinking. He and Alex still have yet to decide on a date for the wedding but, even if getting married to Alex Salter would be life changing enough, he doesn't think the pit in the bottom of his stomach is nauseous of marrying her. He's loved her almost his whole life. Yet, something, whatever it is, keeps nagging at him.

He sighed, knowing that worrying about it wasn't going to help. He finished pulling out his belongings from his locker before disappearing into the depths of New York City.

Beauty and the Beast

9:15 A.M.—Princeton, New Jersey

"How are your classes?"

"They're going fine. They're just harder than I originally thought. Who knew Dad could survive memorizing all of those different laws." Catherine Chandler laughed as she walked down the street, talking with her mother.

"Well, he IS your father, Catherine." Mrs. Chandler smiled. "How is work?"

"Work is work. Who DOES like working as a bartender in order to pay for college?" Catherine replied. "No matter how many drunken college students I have to deal with, I'm in for the money."

"With that attitude, I'm sure you'll go VERY FAR in life." Her mother rolled her eyes. "I'm glad you're having a good time, though."

"Yeah. Me too." She smiled.

"So, how is Geoffrey?" Mrs. Chandler asked. "Are you two still together?"

"Yeah…though, as of late, I'm thinking about breaking up with him. He's too much into drugs and I really don't want to deal with that kind of drama—ESPECIALLY since I'm going to be a lawyer."

"Good. I never liked him anyways."

"Since when did you ever like my boyfriends?" Catherine chuckled. "I seem to have a rep for picking the bad ones, don't I?"

"Sometimes it takes ten horrible guys before you find the right one. Just be careful and stay true to yourself. Alright?"

"Thanks. I will." Catherine smiled. "The LAST thing I need is another boyfriend like Zachary."

"Don't get me STARTED on how terrible that childish young man treated you! I'm glad he finally received jail-time. No offense, Sweetheart, but out of all of the guys you've dated, he was by far the worst."

"I know. I won't let my guard down again." Catherine replied. "It's been nice chatting with you Mom, but I've gotta scram. Class at ten and I really do not want to be late!"

"Okay…just wondering, what time does your late afternoon class finish?"

"Around 5 PM. Why?"

"Your father, sister and I are having a nice dinner out at Le Bernardin around 7:30 PM. We assumed two and a half hours would give you ample amount of time to change." Mrs. Chandler answered. "So, shall I tell your father to bump reservations up to four?"

"Of course! I haven't seen Heather since the school year started! It will be nice to see how she's doing as a junior in high school."

"I'm sure she'll be delighted to tell you, too. She's had a pretty great year."

"That's good. I can take a cab to Le Bernardin, alright? If I am ready by 6 PM, I should be able to arrive at the restaurant around 7:15 PM. I will call if there's a traffic delay or anything else that would slow the cab driver down."

"That'll be fine. See you then, Catherine." Mrs. Chandler waved as she watched her daughter speed up her pace in order to make it to her first class.

Beauty and the Beast

12:30 PM—New York City

After sleeping for the past five or so hours, Vincent felt refreshed. He stretched his upper body as he rose from his bed. He hopped out of bed, quickly took a shower, got dressed and ate some lunch. He looked at his phone and realized what Alex meant by saying "I'll see you tonight." It's the anniversary of when they started dating. Luckily, he had already arranged for reservations at Le Bernardin several weeks prior, knowing he would most likely forget about making them if he didn't call any sooner.

To make use of his day, he dialed his best friend—JT Forbes.

"Hello?"

"Hey. Mind if I stop by for a while?" Vincent asked into the phone's receiver.

"You're asking me, a PhD-to-be, if you can come over to my lame man-cave when I could easily come over and actually enjoy myself more at your Five Star Bachelor's Pad?"

"That sounds about right." Vincent chuckled. "You want to come over here instead?"

"Nah…I'm the one with the Nintendo 64. Tell you what, you bring over a Six Pack and I just might allow you to compete in Super Mario 64 with me. Do we have a deal?"

"Sounds perfect. I'll stop by the store and be at your place in thirty or so minutes." Vincent replied, rolling his eyes. "Had lunch yet?"

"Nope. I've been too busy grading papers. Since it IS your lucky day, I happened to have finished grading when you called. Now, I'm hungry and ready to fight." JT chuckled. "Bring some pizza too. I need a nice dose of Italian to make it through the rest of my day."

"Deal. And then maybe, afterwards, we can watch Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope." Vincent suggested.

"You're on." JT challenged. "Now HURRY! I'm hungry and you know how I don't like waiting for my food."

"Yes sir!" Vincent chuckled. "Until I arrive, May the FORBES be with you."

"Haha. Yeah, like I haven't heard that one before." JT said before hanging up the phone. Vincent laughed as he grabbed his wallet and license, knowing he was going to look forward to his semi-productive day.

Beauty and the Beast

1:30 PM—Princeton University

"Don't forget to read Section 2.3 for tomorrow's discussion on Civil Rights." The professor said as Catherine gathered her belongings. Luckily for her, she was almost done with her school day. Her first two classes were relatively easy and her last class will be a cinch.

"Soooo…what're you doing during your two-hour break?" Ashley Roberts asked as she walked with Catherine out of the classroom.

"Hmmmm…I think I might nap. I seriously need to catch up with my sleep if I want to look even half-decent tonight."

"Oh! Are you and Geoffrey going somewhere special tonight?"

"No. I'm meeting my family for dinner at Le Bernadin in New York City." Catherine replied. "Look, I don't mean to sound rude but I need to get going. See you later?"

"Sure! Oh and by the way, I don't know if you got the memo but tomorrow evening, around 8 PM, the group is planning on seeing that new movie, Rock Star. You in?" Ashley asked.

"Hmmmm…tomorrow at 8? Well, I have an examination on Wednesday to study for so I don't think I'll be joining the group this time. Rain check?"

"Of course! See you around!" Ashley smiled before dashing off to find her boyfriend, Mark. Catherine, however, wanted nothing to do with Geoffrey at the moment. All she wanted to do was sleep until she had to show up for her next class.

"Hey Baby!" a voice exclaimed as he pulled her close to him.

Catherine rolled her eyes, realizing she was foolish for thinking wishfully. "Geoffrey, we need to talk. Let's go outside. Okay?"

He gave her a weird look and said, "Okaaaay?" The two of them walked out of the building and sat on a bench outside. "What's up, Kitty-Bird?"

"First of all, how many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?" Catherine retorted.

"Sheesh! Snippy, are we?"

"Geoff…I don't know how to say this except for just saying it sooooo….I want to break up." She said bluntly.

"What?"

"You heard me. I don't want to date you anymore." She stated.

"No one breaks up with Geoffrey Parker!" he exclaimed.

"Sorry, but, I just did." Catherine said before standing up to walk away. He grabbed her arm and yanked her down.

"Oh no you don't!"

"Let go of me!" Catherine demanded.

"Not until you tell me why you're breaking up with me!"

"I don't have to tell you anything! Now let go or I'll kick you so hard; you'll forget how to stand!"

"I'd like to see you try!" he challenged.

Just as she was about to jam her foot into his crotch, she heard a "Chandler! Parker! My office! Now!" coming from the building they had just left. Without complaints, Catherine yanked her arm away from Geoffrey's firm grip and made her way into the Dean's office with her ex-boyfriend in tow.

"What is the meaning of this?" Dr. Albertson, the Dean's assistant, asked.

"She was threatening to kick my balls, sir." Geoffrey replied.

"And with good reason too!" Catherine exclaimed.

"Care to explain?" Dr. Albertson raised his eyebrows at Catherine.

"I…erm…I was breaking up with him because I did not want to get involved with his excessive illegal drug use. He didn't like the fact that I was done with him so he grabbed my arm and pulled be back to him. I told him to release me or I was going to kick him where it counts." Catherine answered with conviction.

"You bitch! I knew I should have never showed you my stash!" Geoffrey exclaimed as he slapped Catherine in the face right in front of Dr. Albertson.

"MISTER PARKER! I will NOT tolerate physical abuse nor drug use on this university's campus! Miss Chandler, you are free to go. As for Mr. Parker," He turned and looked at Geoffrey, "Do not even think about moving a single muscle while I go and fetch the Dean." Dr. Albertson stated as he left the office.

Catherine started leaving then Geoffrey said, "You'll regret this one day, Chandler. If I get expelled, I'll find you in your sleep and f*** you so hard, you won't be able to ever f*** again." With that, he spat into Catherine's face and punched her eye. "Take that as a starting souvenir."

Catherine winced as his fist made contact with her eye but did not falter. She simply slapped him in the face as hard as she could, send him falling to his feet. She used this chance to leave the office before he could get up and attack her again. As fast as she could, she hurried to her dorm to assess her newly formed black eye. "To hell with sleep; I've gotta find a way to cover this shiner instead."

She sighed and pulled out her makeup kit, hoping to find something to help cover up her bruised eye. The last thing she needed was her father getting involved with her personal affairs.

"Great…just when I thought the day was going to be a good one." She muttered through her teeth, wincing when her fingers made contact with her blackened skin to apply facial foundation.

Beauty and the Beast

3 PM—New York City

"You cheated!" JT shouted as Vincent won for the third time in a row.

"I don't think distracting your best friend with a conversation validates as cheating. I'm just better at multitasking than you." Vincent chuckled as he put down the game-controller. "Ready for some Star Wars?"

"Hmmmm…What time are your reservations?"

"7:45 PM" Vincent replied. "Alex doesn't get off of work until 6 PM and I thought I should give her a decent amount of time to get ready if I don't want to hear her complaining about how silly she looks for not having enough time to "properly" look her part."

"Smart thinking. If I know Alex, which I do, she HATES it when she doesn't have ample amount of time to get herself ready. Remember that time, in high school, when you, Alex, Gabby Davis and I went to see Apollo 13 in theaters? Man, I thought Gabby was a crazy woman."

Vincent laughed. "Yeah, Alex was pretty bitchy that night, if you ask me. I only gave her, what, fifteen minutes to change from her high school outfit to a different one? I definitely learned my lesson."

"Yeah…Who knew that women have to wear more than one outfit during the day? Luckily Gabby had that free hour to go home and change before the movie." JT replied. "Good times. Good times."

"Speaking of Gabby, do you know what became of her after she moved to Kansas to live with her father?"

"Well….she and I broke up about a month before she left and she simply told me she was leaving. She never sent a card or a letter or anything. So, no, I don't know what's become of her. For all we know, she could be living as a billionaire with a husband twice her age. As I remember, she WAS always attracted to our high school teachers." JT said with a shiver. "That's mainly why we broke up."

"While we're still bachelors, she's probably taking care of her husband for his rheumatism." Vincent chuckled.

"Yeah and planning his funeral." JT snickered.

"Oh boy, we are soooo bad, aren't we?" Vincent laughed. "If Alex had come walking in right now and heard us talking about her used-to-be best friend like this, she'd ring BOTH our necks!"

"Which reminds me, are you two going to hit it off tonight after your dinner?" JT asked.

"Naaaahh…Since we got engaged, Alex has established this celibate policy where she refuses to have sex before our wedding night. I think she's trying to ward off bad luck."

"And how is that working for her?"

"Well…I can tell there's sometimes some hesitation on her part. As for me? I'm perfectly fine with her decision—especially since the hospital has me working more nights than during the daytime."

"Doesn't that make you miss her though?"

"Well yeah, but just because I miss her doesn't mean I want to have sex with her every time we see each other. If our relationship only involved sex, our marriage life would grow pretty boring after a while." Vincent replied. "Anyhoo, enough about my love life, let's watch Star Wars before I have to leave."

"Sounds good!" JT exclaimed as he got up to pop the VHS into the VCR.

Before they started the movie, Vincent's cell phone went off. He gave JT the "One Minute" finger and walked away for a moment to answer the call. "Hello?"

"Hey Vinnie! Excited for your big night?"

"Well, looks like SOMEONE has good memory." Vincent laughed as he rolled his eyes. "How are you, Michael?"

"Life's good in the neighborhood. I just wanted to give you a "Congratulations!" call for surviving another year with the notorious Alex Salter."

"Haha, very funny." Vincent shook his head. "In case you're brain-damaged from all of the smoke you inhale when saving a damsel in distress, Alex and I don't do the same things we did as high school teens. We're not stupid anymore."

"Surrrrrre and I'm the Tooth Fairy. Listen, William and I won't be able to make it to the brotherly gathering tomorrow. We are scheduled to work so I just wanted to ask for a rain check?"

"Yeah…sounds good. I have to work also tomorrow so I'm glad you did the calling rather than me." Vincent laughed. "Thanks for the heads up. I'll see you and Will sometime later. Okay?"

"Yup! Ciao!" Michael Keller Jr. said before Vincent heard the line drop dead. He walked back to the sofa and said, "Brothers…they can be so silly at times."

"What? Something wrong with Mike or Will?" JT asked.

"Nope. Not at all. Mike just called to let me know that he and Will will be AWOL tomorrow during our "supposed-to-be-Brother-Catch-Up day."

"Well that works out for you considering you have to go into work tomorrow anyways." JT replied.

"Yep. Now, how about some Jedi magic?" Vincent asked.

"Just sit back, relax and enjoy the show!" JT smiled as he pressed the play button. "And may the FORBES be with you!" he laughed, causing Vincent to join with him. Who knew the day would turn out to be pretty great?!

Beauty and the Beast

6 PM—Princeton University

"Taxi!" Catherine called out as she stood waiting for a cab driver to pull up. Luckily, a yellow car pulled to the curb and she got in.

"Where to?"

"Le Bernardin in New York City." She replied.

"Alright. Sounds good." The cab driver said as he pulled back into traffic, sending Catherine into a daze.

7: 00 PM—New York City

"Damn! I can't believe I allowed the time to pass like that! Alex is going to kill me when she finds out I'm going to be late!" Vincent cursed as he ran into his bathroom, stripped his clothes and took the FASTEST shower of his life! By 7:15 PM, he was ready for his dinner date and he darted towards the restaurant, thinking running would be faster than New York traffic.

With five minutes left until 7:45 PM, he was half a block away from the restaurant. As he turned the corner, bumped into something—or rather someone—knocking both of them down.

"I am so sorry!" Vincent exclaimed, helping the woman up.

"No, it's okay! I was not paying attention to my surroundings. I should really learn how to walk and text at the same time." The woman replied.

"Don't we all?" Vincent teased. "Sorry, ummm…"

"Catherine." she smiled, extending her arm out to shake his hand.

"Vincent." He replied. "Look, I'm super sorry about knocking you down. I was in a hurry to get to Le Bernardin."

"You're going there too? Thank GOD! The cab driver had to let me off out here because of insane traffic. I thought I knew where I was going but the city looks entirely different at night." Catherine explained. "Do you mind showing me the way?"

"Not at all! I wouldn't want to be responsible for keeping your date waiting." Vincent said.

"Oh, I'm not on a date. I'm meeting family." She smiled. Vincent couldn't help but notice Catherine's beauty. Unlike Alex, there was something about this woman that seemed different to him—like she wasn't trying to look beautiful. She naturally was. Suddenly, he mentally slapped himself. 'Keller, you're ENGAGED! Remember?'

"Come on." He said. "I'll show you the way. Luckily, we're pretty close to the place."

"Oh good! I didn't know how much longer I could take to walk in these God-forbidden high heels. They're murderous, you know!?"

Vincent chuckled, "Actually I wouldn't know. I don't wear high heels, but I think I understand where you're coming from. My fiancée may not complain about them but she certainly hisses every time she takes them off."

Catherine laughed. Vincent noticed her laugh was lively and joyful but he could sense a hint of sadness within it. Suddenly, he noticed the patchwork she had done over a black eye. "You know, if you want to know a fast way to get rid of that shiner, drink some fruit cocktail. It might sound like a weird solution but the cocktail has enzymes that will allow the blood surrounding your eye to absorb more quickly."

Catherine gave him a weird look so he continued. "I'm a doctor. I can usually notice when someone uses makeup to cover up a bruise of any kind. No matter how much you conceal it, you can't hide the fact that one eye is squinting more than the other. Nor can you hide the fact that the rest of your facial pigment is slightly lighter than the cream you must have used to cover it."

"I-is it that noticeable?" Catherine asked.

"Oh no. I have to say, you did a great job in hiding it. Only a trained eye can notice your black eye. Unless a family member is a doctor or a police officer, I'm sure you have nothing to worry about." Vincent smiled. He looked at his watch. 7:45 PM. Oh well. He can afford to be a few minutes late. He quickly sent a text to Alex, telling her he's caught in traffic and hopes to be there shortly.

"Thanks…I think. But, now that I think of it, my mom IS a doctor at New York General and my father is a lawyer…who works with cases concerning domestic abuse…not that my black eye was from domestic abuse…" her voice faded, not wanting to finish the statement.

"You don't have to explain." Vincent replied. He took off his trench coat and said, "Here. There's a tear on the back of your dress. Wearing this will prevent others from seeing it."

"Thanks." Catherine replied as she took the coat and wrapped it around herself—an almost perfect fit.

"Anyways, as much as I would love to stay and chat some more, I really shouldn't keep my fiancée waiting." Vincent replied. "Keep the coat, by the way. I have others at home."

"Thanks…oh and it was nice meeting you." Catherine said and he smiled gingerly at her before walking into the doors of Le Bernardin. She waited a few seconds before walking in herself, so no one would get the idea that they were/are together. She saw her family and waved as she apologized for being late. She took her seat, ordered her drink and couldn't stop thinking about Vincent…She mentally cursed. Not only did he not give her his last name but she remembered the fact that he's engaged. For all she knew, she would never see him again.

Beauty and the Beast

8:30 PM—Le Bernardin

As Vincent was silently eating his meal with Alex talking in the background, his mind could not erase Catherine from his mind. He knew he most likely would not see her again but who knows, maybe life would be humorous and he'll get to meet her again someday in the future. She did say her mother was a doctor at New York General so there's a possibility he might know Catherine's mother. When Alex wasn't looking, he looked towards Catherine's table and noticed she was looking at him too. He smiled before glancing towards Catherine's mother. She certainly looks familiar and, using the Hospital's database, he could easily look her up. That way, he'll be able to figure out Catherine's last name. They could become great friends; she seems very social and they seemed to have connected thirty or so minutes ago.

"Vincent? Did you hear what I was saying?"

"What? No. Sorry…It's been quite the day." he defended himself.

"I said: Must be nice to be her."

"Who?"

"You DO realize who is sitting at the table you're staring at, right?"

Vincent gave her a confused look, so she continued in a whisper: "That's Dr. Chandler! She's the head of her division at NY General! Not only is she married to a prosperous lawyer but she has two daughters—one of them studying to become a lawyer like her father!"

"And…?"

"I overheard Dr. Richardson talking over the phone the other day, saying that Dr. Chandler is leaving for Afghanistan soon. She's going to assist over there for several months. Now that's dedication, if you ask me. I hope to be like her one day." Alex replied.

"Yeah…that is something great." Vincent replied. "I hope her work over there will be worth it."

"I'm sure it will be." Alex replied. "Listen, I hate to do this but Abigail just broke up with her boyfriend and I told her I'd be there for her after dinner. Do you mind if I leave now?"

"No. Of course. Do what you need to do." Vincent replied. "I'll see you later?"

"Yep." She smiled, kissing him on the forehead. As she left, he looked back over towards Catherine Chandler. He placed a large sum of money on the table before standing up, noticing her watching him as he did so. He nodded her direction with a smile on his lips before leaving the restaurant, wondering if he'll get the chance to see Catherine again. As he walked out of the restaurant, he looked towards the sky, seeing the two World Trade Centers in the distance. He looked at his watch, reading the time and date, "8:46 PM—September 10, 2001," not knowing that his life as well as the rest of the world would change forever when a passenger plan would strike the North tower exactly 12 hours later.

Beauty and the Beast

Well I hope you liked it!

I tried to limit the VinLex stuff for total VinCat shippers like myself.

Let me know what you think via review! :)