Chapter 16
Catherine let Carson lead her back to her cell. Her mind was so focused on Vincent that she did not notice they way he looked at her.
"Can I ask you something?" Carson said.
"Sure, what?"
"Do you really think Vincent loves you, that he is capable of love?" asked Carson.
"Yes he loves me and I love him, we were separated against our will last year and it took awhile, but I just got him back." Catherine said, struggling not to cry. "I can't believe that this might be the end for us."
Carson opened the cell door for Catherine but did not respond.
As he walked away his conscious started nagging at him as well as something else.
Catherine did not dream of Vincent that night, instead she dreamed of Lucas and of Rebecca, how their love appeared to be doomed and tragic….. All of the things that now seemed to apply to her and Vincent.
The next morning Maxim came to get Catherine.
"Today we are going to test Vincent's power to resist a female beast, as I explained earlier he appeared to overcome Tori's influence before she died, but it deserves more scrutiny. Her death so soon after it appeared that he had made his decision makes it unclear, if he really would have been able to resist her.
"Why does it matter?" Catherine asked.
"Because now that we can control Beasts, thanks to Sam, if we can control who they mate with, we then control the next generation of beasts as well. If that bond ends up being more powerful than your ability. We can pair up male and female beasts without having to worry about someone with your abilities coming along and messing things up. Maybe part of our mistake with Vincent was not pairing him with a female beast to begin with!"
Catherine shuddered, "This does not sound like it is going to be pleasant at all," she muttered under her breath.
When they entered the lab, Vincent was once again shackled to the pole in the middle of the room. Vincent started toward Catherine as soon as she entered and strained against his chains to get to her. Catherine ran up to him, threw her arms around him and they held each other for a moment. They were so absorbed in each other they were oblivious to everything happening around them.
Maxim cleared his throat, "Today we are going to test your connection to Vincent while he is under the influence of a female beast. Helena is our current female beast in residence."
Catherine gripped Vincent tightly, the thought of seeing him react to another woman, even if he could not help it, made her want to throw up and throw things at the same time.
Vincent could sense Catherine's erratic heartbeat and knew she was thinking about Tori and the kiss she had witnessed and she was probably imagining far worse.
Vincent took Catherine's face in his hands. "It's my turn now, I can do this, you are who I love and nothing and no one is going to come between us."
"I love you Vincent." Catherine said as Maxim led her away from Vincent.
Maxim had her stand in Vincent's view but far enough away that she could not interfere with the experiment.
Carson led Helena out, she was beautiful. Long blonde hair (Thank God it's not red thought Catherine) tall and slender, but also powerful looking. She had piercing green eyes that were focusing in on Vincent.
Vincent was looking at Catherine.
Carson was looking at Helena, he held onto her arm for longer than he needed to…. Maxim instructed him to leave Helena there and come stand guard over Catherine. He obeyed but not before one last look at Helena.
Helena approached Vincent and for a moment just stood in front of him, she smiled a seductive smile and reached up to touch his face.
Catherine flinched as she watched.
Vincent could feel the Beast in him wanting to rise to the surface, the aggression; the rage came rushing back as Helena touched him.
Vincent looked at Catherine, his eyes were golden, but he was still in control, all he had to do was look at her, she is his humanity. He loves her and with that love he could beat anything.
Vincent's muscles have become larger and the veins in his neck and forehead are standing out as Helena runs her hands over him, down his arms, across his chest.
He stands perfectly still his eyes on Catherine as Helena tries to inflame him with her caresses. She stood chest to chest with him trying to get him to look at her. Vincent just looked past her and at Catherine.
She is so beautiful, all the love she felt for him was reflected in her eyes, all he had to do was to keep looking at her. She lifted her chin and nodded ever so slightly at him, to let him know she loved him and trusted him.
Helena walked around behind him running her hands around his shoulders and down his back and cupped his ass, purring as she did so, pressing her body up against him.
Vincent just kept his eyes glued on Catherine, he imagined it was her touch and her caress he was feeling, he let the rage go and forgot about Helena just focused on Catherine. The more he focused on Catherine the less influence Helena had. Eventually he calmed down and just stood there, solid, still, not reacting and completely focused on Catherine.
Catherine could see when Vincent had won. He was still looking at her, and his eyes had returned to their normal hazel, he was relaxed, no longer tense, his breathing returned to normal. He actually looked bored.
She turned to look at Carson, and noticed that he looked exactly the opposite; he looked angry, stressed and seething with barely disguised rage. She quickly looked back at Vincent and saw that he had noticed it too.
Helena was becoming increasingly frustrated that Vincent was not reacting to her. It confused her that he did not respond to her, she was panting and her desire for him was causing a deep ache between her legs that needed to be satisfied. Vincent was giving off something that was causing her to react, but she was having no effect on him.
Standing behind him, she reached around and grabbed his crotch while she licked the side of his neck. Helena glared at Catherine as she massaged Vincent through his jeans. Helena wrapped one of her legs around Vincent's and was easing that ache by rubbing herself on Vincent.
Catherine and Carson both made the same sharp intake of breath sound. While Catherine looked like she wanted to kill Helena, Carson just looked hurt.
Vincent was still looking at Catherine, they only reaction he was having was the one in his jaw from clenching it so hard. He grabbed Helena's hand whipped her around in front of him.
Helena thought she had won and smiled. However that smile quickly faded as she found herself thrown across the room.
Vincent turned to look at Maxim, "If she comes near me again, I will kill her."
Catherine could sense Carson's distress. She grabbed his hand, "Not now, not here."
Vincent said to Maxim "Are you finished?"
Maxim responded "For now" He turned to Carson, "Carson take Helena back to her cell and make sure she is OK."
"Catherine I will give you some time with Vincent."
With that… except for the monitors they were alone.
Catherine walked up slowly to Vincent, "Are you alright?" She said tentatively.
"Come here," he said and held his arms open "I need to hold you."
With those words, she flung herself into Vincent's arms.
He held on to her and said "I am sorry you had to watch that. I love you, I hope you believe me."
Catherine lifted her head and looked Vincent square in the face, "Of course I believe you, I love you too and nothing that just happened here changes that. You won! Vincent, I could see you struggling against whatever it was that she was doing to you. You beat it."
Vincent explained, "It was rage and anger I was battling not lust. She had no effect on me sexually, but she was frustrated I could sense that and then she took it too far and it was either get her away from me or kill her. She definitely has the ability to enhance the beast traits but there is nothing primal there, nothing that would turn me away from you."
Catherine kissed Vincent, "Just to give you something to focus on for the next go around, I won't be in here next time and I just want you to remember me."
Vincent kissed Catherine right back, "As if I could forget you. Even when they wiped my memories I recognized you, your heartbeat. It took some time, too long in fact, but you are hard to forget Ms. Chandler."
Catherine and Vincent held on to each other until Carson came back for her.
"I want to talk to Tess, before I leave here." Catherine demanded.
Carson looked toward that damn EXIT sign again and lifted his shoulders as if asking the question. The doors to Tess' cell opened and she rushed out. She stopped at JT's cell to place her hand on the wall and he did the same. She then ran over to Catherine and Vincent and hugged them both.
"Are you Ok?" Catherine asked Tess.
"Me, I am fine", she motioned back to JT, and "We are fine, how the hell are you?"
"Fine considering…..She hugged Tess tightly whispering "I have an idea on how to get out of here, but can't explain just be ready for anything."
Tess hugged Catherine back tightly, trying to convey all the love and support she could. "I am so sorry you two are going through this."
Catherine reached out for Vincent's hand, "We are going to be ok, and we will get through this."
The loudspeaker crackled,"Ms. Vargas please return to your cell, we do have work to continue here."
Tess returned to her cell as Carson brought Helena back into the room.
Maxim returned as well. "Ms. Chandler care to join me in the other room for this test. Helena appears to be unharmed, we shall see if she has any better luck with Vincent when you are not in the room."
Catherine grabbed Vincent's face and kissed him quick. "I love you and you can do this."
He stared at her, "Don't worry Ok…. I promise…..don't worry."
Carson came up and shortened up Vincent's shackles so that he could not hit or throw Helena again. He could move his arms, but not very much.
Catherine turned and left the room with Maxim. He led her into a room full of monitors. Catherine had no idea what all the monitor's measured, all she cared about was the one that showed the room Vincent was in alone with Helena. Carson stepped over to Tess and JT's cells to watch.
This time Helena wasted no time in getting close to Vincent. She pressed her body up against his and grabbed his face in her hands. She kissed him, forcing her tongue inside his mouth. He bit down, drawing her blood. Helena pulled back and looked at him.
Catherine is watching the monitor with her heart in her throat. She closed her eyes when Helena went in for the kiss, picturing a red head in her place.
Vincent's eyes were yellow, his veins standing out, but he was not reacting to her, and he was controlling the extent of his beasting out. Vincent growled and narrowed his eyes at Helena, "Kiss me again and I will bite it off"
"Why? It's clear that I have an effect on you," she purred as she stroked his chest with her hand. Her hand worked its way down to his groin and slid inside his pants, finding him….. soft.
He arched his eyebrow, "Not much of one." He said as he head butted her backwards.
She yelled, stumbled backward and grabbed her face, but came up fully beast and slashed him across the chest.
Watching the monitor Catherine called out "No" and tried to get to the door, but was restrained by Maxim.
Carson ran toward Helena and called out to her. "Helena Stop! Please." Helena whipped her head around at the sound of Carson's voice and tipped her head to the side.
"Calm down Helena, you don't want to hurt him or hurt yourself." Carson said and he slowly walked toward her. Hands open in a non threatening gesture.
Helena snarled at him, but returned to her human form. She fell to the ground holding her head.
Carson picked up Helena as Maxim and Catherine came back into the room.
"I am taking her to the infirmary to get checked out." Carson said as he left with her.
Catherine ran up to Vincent and lifted his shirt to check out the nasty claw marks Helena had made, she turned to Maxim. He needs to see a doctor.
"I will send one to check on him." Maxim declared as he left the room, extremely agitated.
Catherine looked around the lab and found some paper towels and held them on the wounds.
"Catherine see if you can find anything in here to get me out of these shackles, quickly while no guards are around."
"But they will see on the monitor."
"Then do it carefully like you are looking for medical supplies."
Catherine looked around the lab, but did not see anything that could help. "Why can't you just beast out and break them?"
"Sweetheart, I love you, but don't you think I would have done that already if I could" Vincent said looking at her softly to take the sting out of his words. "The shackles are made of something even my strength can't break."
"Right, Sorry, stupid question, just really trying not to freak out here!"
Catherine came back to Vincent, "How bad is it?"
"It's not actually that bad, she sliced me good, but it's only skin deep, probably could use some stitches, but no big deal."
"Maybe while we are here we can make a deal to get your healing ability back?"
"I can't imagine they would go for that, keeping beasts vulnerable is pretty much the only thing they have done right so far!"
Catherine thought a moment. "Why do you think these tests didn't work, or at least not in the way they wanted? I can't really control beasts and you can't really be controlled!"
"Not sure really, haven't given it too much thought, I've been too worried about you to think of much else."
Catherine was quiet, thinking about everything…..the tests, their life before Vincent was kidnapped, and all the stuff that has happened since she found him.
It's Love…..She said softly.
She reached up and touched Vincent's face, "It's not DNA, or brain chemistry or anything scientific, it's just love."
Vincent cocked his head to the side questioning.
She smiled, "Think about it…..That night in the woods when you saved me, I wasn't afraid of you, and you saved my life. You watched over me for 10 years, and you fell in love with me. You were able to control yourself around me and I was able to reach you because you loved me!"
"Ian and Gabe don't love me, and that is why I have no effect on them."
"After you were taken and your memories erased, you didn't remember me and you didn't love me, that was why you reacted and shoved me when you'd felt threatened. That was the reason you reacted so strongly to Tori, we were finding our way back to each other, but you didn't love me yet…."
"But now," Catherine presses close to Vincent her mouth just inches from his. "Now you love me and nothing they do is stronger than that. This has nothing to do with me, it's all you Vincent."
Vincent smiled and leaned into her, closing those last few inches. "It has everything to do with you, because I love you." He said as he kissed her.
As they pulled back, Catherine said, "Speaking of love, I think Carson may help us get out of here."
"Really," said Vincent, "He loves you too?"
She laughed, "No he loves Helena…." They way he was looking at her, his reaction when she was all over you. He loves her. Yesterday he asked me if I really thought you loved me, if you were capable of love."
"So why would he help us?" asked Vincent still skeptic.
"I think seeing us together has opened his eyes to what is possible and I think a life with Helena away from here is something he would want, something we could help him with if we get out of here. What do you think?"
"Makes sense and it's worth a shot."
Carson returned, this time with a Dr. to look at Vincent. It was decided to take Catherine back to her cell and Vincent to the infirmary to get stitched up.
Catherine talked to Carson on the way back to their cell.
"Are you Ok?" she asked him.
"Fine, why?"
"I saw how difficult it was for you to watch Helena with Vincent, and I remembered the questions you asked me last night. You love her?...Don't you?"
Carson stood still for a moment; he looked at Catherine, who was looking back at him with understanding and empathy. No judgment, no guilt, no censure.
"Yes I do," he whispered so softly that she almost missed it. "I am not sure how she feels about me, but I have loved her for some time. You should have seen her when she first got here, she was such a fighter, but over time they did something to her, she changed. Now she is mindless and just does whatever they tell her to. It kills me to watch, they subject her to all sorts of tests, some are physical, some are mental and some are sexual."
"Carson with your help we could escape, all of us, including Helena. I don't know the layout here but you do what would we have to do to get out of here?"
Carson stared at Catherine, he shook his head. "Keep walking…."they started back to Catherine cell. "We would have to gain access to Control and take that. Once you have that you pretty much have control over the facility. Then it's just a matter of fighting your way out. There is not a lot of staff here; the facility is designed to be run with as few people as possible, easier to keep secret."
They arrived at Catherine's cell, "Please help us, help yourself." She said as she entered her room.
"Maxim leaves here around 7pm for the night, fake getting sick around that time and I will come and take you to the infirmary. Just follow my lead."
Catherine was careful not to react due to the cameras. "Oh my God, Thank You." She whispered.
"Don't thank me yet."
Vincent was resting in the infirmary after getting stitched up. Helena was in the bed next to him. Vincent was lying back eyes closed, thinking of Catherine.
"I'm sorry" it was said softly but Vincent could still here it. He opened his eyes. Helena was looking at him. She spoke again.
"I'm sorry for what I did back there, that's not me, that's not who I am. They injected me with something and it causes that kind of reaction." She is blushing, embarrassed at her behavior.
Vincent immediately felt terrible. "It's ok, believe me I understand."
They were quiet a moment, then Vincent spoke up. "Can I ask you a personal question?"
"What?'
"Do you know that Carson is in love with you?" Vincent asked.
"Why would …no he can't possibly…..after all the things I have done, no one could love me."
"But you love him, don't you?" Vincent asked gently, immediately he knew that she did, even if she would not admit it. Her heart rate increased, her pupils' dilated and her breathing changed.
Helena shook her head, "No it's not possible, I don't…he couldn't….What makes you think?"
"I saw him watching you earlier today and the way he reacted when I hurt you. He loves you. Look trust me when I say I know what it feels like to push people away because you don't feel worthy. I wasted a lot of time with Catherine feeling like I did not deserve her love because of what I am. So all I am going to say to you, is…..If you love him, let him know, time is precious don't waste it."
Vincent was wondering just how long he was going to be kept in the infirmary when Catherine was wheeled in on a stretcher, with Carson coming in behind her.
"Catherine! What's wrong with her?" Vincent reached out with his senses but could not tell what was wrong. He pulled at his restraints, trying to get to her. She was wheeled into a treatment room and the door shut behind her. Vincent strained to hear what was going on, but with all the dampening measures he could barely hear anything.
All of a sudden, he could hear bodies hitting walls and people fighting. Then the door burst open and Catherine and Carson burst out and head right for him and Helena.
Catherine gets Vincent's restraints undone at the same time Carson is freeing Helena.
"What the hell is going on?" Vincent is totally confused.
"Don't have time to talk, Carson is helping us just follow our lead. We are headed to the Control."
Carson explained as they went that this time of day was when Maxim left and the shift's changed. They had one shot to gain control of the facility, once they did that they could set Tess and JT free and escape.
Vincent was shocked; it could not be that easy. "Really that is your master plan, Shock and Awe?"
Carson looked back at Vincent, "Yep! Let's Go!
Once they reached the door of Control, Vincent and Helena took the lead bursting in followed by Catherine and Carson, they were quickly able to subdue the guards and take control of the facility.
This is way to easy, thought Vincent.
Carson found the release to JT and Tess's cells and told Vincent and Helena to go get them and bring them back to Control. Carson would track them via the video monitors and warn them if they came upon any resistance.
Vincent and Helena raced back to the lab, not encountering anyone along the way. Once back in the lab, Carson remotely opened Tess and JT's cells. They ran out Tess and JT hugged each other first then Vincent.
Vincent stared into Gabe's cell. "Carson" he said out loud, "Can you make it so I can talk to him."
"Go ahead."
Before he spoke with Gabe, he turned to Helena, get Tess and JT up to Control. I will be right behind you.
Vincent turned back to Gabe, "I said I would kill you the next time I saw you."
"Yes you did," Gabe said staring hard at Vincent.
Catherine was watching on the monitors, she didn't care about Gabe she just wanted Vincent to get back here.
"I am not that man anymore, the old Vincent would kill you and think nothing of it, but I am better than that. So here is the deal, I am leaving here now, when I get back up to Control and before I leave this building I will open your cell. This is your chance, your last chance. If I see you or hear that there is a beast out there hurting people, I will put you down. You have to decide what kind of man you want to be Gabe. Choose wisely."
With those words Vincent turned and walked away, never looking back.
Catherine breathed a sigh of relief, which quickly turned to a shout of joy when Helena returned with Tess and JT. She grabbed them both in a fierce hug. "I am so sorry you got wrapped up in this, are you both ok?"
Carson spoke up, "We have a problem?"