I do not own Beauty and the Beast.

Hallo, my lovely readers. Oh my God! Thank you so much for reading my story, for following it, for putting it up as your fave, for following me, for putting me as one of your fave authors and for the AWESOME reviews! Oh my.

This is chapter 5, you guys. I hope you enjoy reading it. :)

To : Ashley, funny dj, RealMcCoy17 and Kath: Thank u so much for the reviews! It really means A LOT to me! :)

And PLEASE review! The more reviews, the faster I update! Reviews inspire me to write and they make my day! :) REVIEW!

IN THIS FLASHBACK, THE ONE IN CHAP 3 WILL CONTINUE:

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The sun was slowly, but surely rising on the horizon.

"What a beautiful sight." Catherine whispered.

When she answered Tess' call, her ear had to endure the punishment that Tess' yelling was producing. Luckily she let her off the hook, after 15 long minutes. To her, it seemed like 1 hour instead of 15 minutes. Tess was a bit angry at her, but Catherine totally expected that she would react that way.

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In the past hours, Catherine had been driving and driving. At one point, she began to feel the exhaustion. Her body began to ache and slowly she began to feel that slumber wanted to take over her. Driving without someone to talk to and the activities from the day before, had taken its toll on her body. When her arms got very heavy and her eyes were about to close without her accord, Catherine decided to take some rest.

After the next intersection, she saw a Bed and Breakfast and decided to sleep for a couple of hours. Catherine parked her car at the lot and walked into the small building. A very nice, old lady greeted her; she had gray hair and her name was Meg. She had a very kind smile and was super friendly. After Catherine paid for the room, Meg led her to it. The room was gorgeous! The curtains were yellow and the walls were painted green, lighting up the room. The bathroom was also in the colors green and yellow. Catherine immediately took a shower and jumped onto the bed.

"What a comfortable bed." She murmured. She was so exhausted that she fell asleep, the moment her head hit the pillow.

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It was lunch time, so Meg brought food for Catherine.

"Hallo, my dear. Lunch is served." She said, almost in a whisper.

Catherine opened her eyes slowly and smiled widely.

"Thank you so much, Meg." She answered.

While Catherine enjoyed her lunch, Meg told her stories about a lot of stuff. She really enjoyed chatting with the nice owner of the Bed and Breakfast. After lunch, Catherine decided to get on her way.

"I know that you can't tell me much about yourself, because you don't know me. But let me tell you this: Sometimes you search so hard for something, thinking that you need it to move on. When in reality the thing you really need is right in front of you, but it's so close you don't see it." Meg said.

Those words, made Catherine feel the pain again and tears were pooling in her eyes.

"I heard you calling for your mom in your sleep. I don't know what's going on in your personal life. But I can see in your eyes that you are carrying a heavy burden, my dear. You have people in your life, who care about you. Let them in, share your feelings with them. You'd be surprised how much that can help." Meg pleaded.

Catherine smiled through her tears and gave Meg a hug. She thanked her for the hospitality and the advice and got in her car. With a small smile on her face, Catherine drove away and thought about someone very important. Someone she cared about a lot.

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*FLASHBACK*

"Nice outfit, Catherine."Vincent said.

It was then, when she realized that she was naked underneath her towel. Her face immediately turned crimson red and within the next minute she disappeared into her bedroom.

As fast as she could, Catherine grabbed some clothes out of her closet. She immediately pulled a pink shirt over her head and a pair of skinny jeans. She applied some pink lip gloss and combed her wet hair. While combing her hair, she saw how her hands were trembling. Vincent! That man almost gave her a heart attack! She closed her eyes and felt her cheeks still burning with embarrassment. Vincent saw her in a towel! She shook her head furiously and wanted to hide under the covers of her bed. But, she knew that she had to face him sooner or later. So with her heart almost beating out of her chest, she walked with bare feet into the living room.

She saw Vincent sitting on her couch.

"Hey." He said, while grinning deviously.

"Hi." Catherine answered.

"I am really sorry that I startled you, but I wanted to make sure that you were okay." He explained.

"It's okay, Vincent. I had a feeling that you'd be worried about me." she answered.

Vincent sighed deeply and smiled at her. There he was: Vincent with his smoldering, hazel eyes and throaty, deep voice. She didn't want the situation to be awkward, so she jumped up and said.

"Have you had dinner, yet? I am famished!"

Vincent shook his head and said."I already ate, Cath."

"Well, then it's your loss. I am going to order some Chinese food." She stated with a smile on her face.

Catherine dialed the number and ordered the food, while Vincent turned on the T.V. They were watching some movie, when the delivery guy brought the food. She paid the guy and put the food on the kitchen counter.

"The food smells delicious, Vincent. Are you sure you don't want any?" she teased, while chewing on some noodles.

"No, thanks Cath. I am good." He said.

"Do you want something to drink?" Cath asked.

"A soda, please." He said, while watching the movie.

With a soda in one hand and in the other a bowl of noodles, Catherine walked towards Vincent.

"Here you go, Vincent." She said with a smirk on her face.

He accepted the drink and thanked her, while Catherine took a seat next to him on the couch.

She was eating and watching the movie, but her thoughts were not focused on the food or the T.V. Her thoughts were focused on the man who was sitting next to her. Vincent. For a moment, she watched how he brought the soda can to his lips.

'God! He had such nice lips.' She thought.

She immediately stared back at the T.V. and tried to focus on the movie, but it was too late! Images were forming in her head: naughty images. She imagined how soft those lips would feel on hers and how good they would taste. She mentally slapped herself, but it did not help at all. A shiver went through her spine, thinking about him and his lips.

Vincent saw her shiver and asked.

"Are you cold, Cath?" he asked with a worried tone in his voice.

Catherine shook her head and denied."No, not at all."

She felt a blush coming up and wanted to prevent him from seeing it, so she stood up. And just as she was about to walk away, she stumbled and almost fell to the ground. But… Vincent saw it coming and caught her in his arms. Catherine closed her eyes and tried to calm herself down. But the feeling of his warm hands on her waist and neck were making her heart speed up. The parts on her body that he was touching, while holding her, were deliciously on fire!

"Are you alright, Cath?" Vincent asked, trying to look her in the eyes.

She avoided his gaze and immediately got up and said that she was fine. And with an empty bowl in her hand she sped away to the kitchen, trying to catch her breath. Catherine closed her eyes and told herself to calm down, because Vincent could hear her heart beating faster and he could also hear her breathe.

While mentally slapping herself, she thought.' This man will be the end of me! I'm so in deep shit right now. Am I falling for him?'

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The rest of the evening went by without embarrassing moments for Catherine. Vincent might have noticed that she was acting weird around him, but he thankfully didn't ask her about it. Relieved, she sank on her bed and pulled the covers over her head. Vincent. Ruggedly, handsome Vincent was outside, sitting on the fire escape. She asked him to sleep on the couch, but he refused. What if Heather returned? He had asked.

So here she was in her comfy bed, while he was outside sitting in the cold. Suddenly she heard thunder and heard that it was raining! She jumped out of her bed and opened the window to the fire escape.

"Vincent, please come in! It is pouring outside." She pleaded.

He tried to refuse, but she grabbed him and dragged him inside. Luckily his clothes didn't get wet.

He looked at her with his gorgeous, hazel eyes and asked."So, what now?"

She rolled her eyes and said."Now you are going to sleep on the couch. End of discussion!"

They were locking eyes; neither one of them wanted to give in.

"Alright, I give up." He growled and took a seat on the couch.

Catherine went to her room to get him a pillow and a blanket. When she returned, she saw that he had taken off his T- shirt. Oh, lord have mercy! He was shirtless, giving her the chance to look at his beautiful, beautiful body. His chest, his six pack. Her breath hitched in her throat, when she realized that he noticed that she was admiring him.

"Are those for me, Catherine?" he asked, while smiling devilishly.

Without answering him, she handed it over to him.

"Good night, Vincent." She said with a shaky voice and disappeared into her room.

"Good night, Catherine." He answered, sounding very amused.

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Catherine woke up startled! She heard someone saying her name. Walking out of her room, she realized that it was Vincent. When she arrived at the couch, she saw him sleeping. But he didn't have a peaceful sleep. His blanket laid on the floor and he was frowning. Catherine brought her hand to his face and caressed his cheeks. She wanted to wake him, but was afraid. When she touched the scar on his face, a wonderful shiver went through her whole body. From her fingers to her head and her toes.

He was beautiful... Inside and out, he was a beautiful, beautiful man.

Then she heard those words, coming from his lips. At first she couldn't make them out, because he was mumbling and the sentences were incoherent. But after trying hard to listen, she got a huge lump in her throat and tears were pooling in her eyes. The words were."Catherine, you don't ever have to worry. I would die protecting you. That's my mission in life."

*END of FLASHBACK*

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From that moment on, she knew some things: She knew that he'd always be there for her. She knew that he would always come for her. She knew that he would always, always save her.

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Ruby.