Chapter Two

Catherine was worried about Vincent, she had not heard from him in a couple of weeks and she dreaded contacting him to tell him that Tony Barns is NOT Tony Barnes and that the mastermind behind JT's kidnapping was still very much alive with very little known about him. She had been working with Dana and Sam Landon trying to find out who was responsible for Sam's kidnapping 5 years ago, but was not having any luck. She had to talk to Vincent, she could not put it off any longer.

JT is having no luck getting Vincent off of his couch.

"I know you feel bad about Tori, but Vincent you need to get off of this couch and move on with your life. The bad guy is gone and you are a free man. You can do whatever you want! The question is….what do you want."

"JT it's not that easy man."

"Why not? Look at me, I am seizing the day and ordering flowers for Tess."

Vincent is surprised.

"Tess? When did that happen?"

JT is uncomfortable.

"Thanksgiving, but that is not important, what is important is I almost died so I am seizing the day!" You have a fresh start too, so instead of moping around this houseboat, seize the day! Tori would not want you to sit here and wallow."

Of course JT had no idea what Tori would want but still…..

"Tori is not the only reason I am sitting here JT, do you know her last words to me were 'You belong with Catherine'."

JT is speechless…..well sort of…..

"Catherine…..you belong with Catherine?"

"Yeah how crazy is that, no matter how I feel, I can't just walk up to her and tell her I love her."

JT is still sort of speechless.

"Love her…wait…..WHAT?"

JT takes a deep breathe.

"OK you need to start at the beginning."

Vincent knowing that his best friend will not leave well enough alone explains.

I barely understood what happened JT. I tried to explain to Tori that what we had was not real, it was just pheromones, but she did not believe me. We slept together, once and it was not good, it was angry and lustful, there was no emotion in it. When it was over, I felt dirty, but she thought it meant we were meant for each other and let's face it, after Catherine shot me, it was pretty clear we were done and Tori stood by me when no one else would. After that it did not matter what I said, she thought we were a couple, that we were destined to be together because we were the only two beasts left."

"Before Tori died I broke things off with her, it just didn't feel right, the more time I spent with Catherine looking for the gem; the more I started to feel like the old me. Tori's power changed everything about me, the way I thought and acted, I felt so aggressive all the time. My head knew that it wasn't right and so did my heart, but my instinct was in the way for a while. The moment Tori died it was like a fog lifted and I could feel again. And right away, right up front is Catherine. So I am sitting here on this couch trying to figure out what to do next."

JT is shocked, but oh so happy for Vincent.

"You have to tell her how you feel Vincent."

Vincent gives JT the "look".

"Exactly what am I supposed to say JT.? Gee sorry I slept with Tori, tried to kill your father, didn't trust you and hurt you more than I can imagine, but I love you now?"

JT, whose stomach over turned at the mere idea of Vincent sleeping with Tori said.

"You might not want to start with Gee or mention the sleeping with Tori."

Vincent shook his head.

"She is better off without me, JT, she deserves to be happy and I cannot make her happy, so I am going to sit on this couch and let her live her life."

This is not how the story ends and JT is determined to make sure of that.

Vincent can sense Catherine as she approaches the houseboat.

"Vincent are you home?"

She opens the door and Vincent's heart clenches when he sees her.

"Right here."

Catherine loses her thoughts for a second, he has always had the ability to rob her of breath. Seems like some things never change. He looks tired and haunted. She thinks that Tori's death has really hurt him.

"I am sorry to bother you but there are a few things you should know." Taking a deep breathe she tells him. "Tony Barnes is not Tony Barnes, he was Frank Darnell posing as Tony Barnes, and also the other prisoner is Sam Landon.

Vincent's head cocks to the side at this news.

"Dana's husband?"

"Yes, he was held prisoner for years and it's a long story, but the bottom line is the man who orchestrated JT's kidnapping is still very much alive and out there and while you recovered the gem, we did not get the serum JT made, so he may have a way to make beasts."

"I am sorry to bother you with this right now, but I need your help Vincent. I am hoping you can see what you can pick up in the dungeon, I know it might be painful for you to go back there, but that is the last place we know Tony Barnes was. Or at least there might be something there that leads to him."

So much for keeping my distance, Vincent thinks to himself.

Vincent is trying to concentrate on anything other than Catherine, but it is increasingly difficult the more time they spend down here. She is quiet and keeping her distance, but he can hear her heartbeat and a small part of him is happy that whenever she looks at him it speeds up a little.

Catherine is trying to focus on anything other than Vincent, but she can't. He seems back to himself now that Tori's influence is gone. Seeing him act like his old caring self, hurts more than she would like to admit. She misses him. But a part of her does not trust that it will last.

"There are too many scents down here, I can't pick out who to track. I can tell you this place is bigger than it looks. There is a weird echo in here. I also think you should call JT down here to take a look at all this science stuff."

Catherine standing in the middle of all the lab equipment thinks that is a great idea.

"Maybe you can come with me to talk to Sam, see if he knows anything more about this place, now that he has had some time to think?"

Spending more time with Catherine is not going to be easy for him, but he can't say no to her either.

"Sure whatever you need."

"I am sorry Catherine, I was not really paying attention to details over the last 5 years. I can tell you that there were a few people who would come in frequently and of course there were the others that Barnes/Darnell would experiment on. I don't know where they came from, but I don't think that they ever left…..."

"We will put you with a sketch artist later to see if you can id anyone. Sam, why did they kidnap you, what did you find out? Did they experiment on you? What does an archeologist have that they could want?"

"5 years ago, I was on a dig in Ireland. I came across some cave drawings that seemed to show human's transforming into beasts. I also came across a skeleton that was of human origin but not exactly Homo sapiens. I thought maybe I had discovered another ancestor to modern humans, but I never got the chance to find out because it was stolen along with some other artifacts."

Vincent is shocked by the mention of the skeleton.

"What other artifacts did you find?"

"There was a shackle around the skeleton's neck, and the shackle appeared to have an oval space in it, it was shortly after I found it that I was kidnapped."

Catherine and Vincent look at each other. Catherine promises to get back in touch with Sam soon.

Outside in the car, Catherine and Vincent are trying to figure out what the hell is going on.

"Call JT we need to be together to talk about this."

Back at JT's Cat and Vincent tell JT about Sam.

"How in the heck did Tori's Dad end up with the skeleton and shackle that Sam found. Why kidnap Sam along with the skeleton?"

"I don't know JT, but I can tell you this, Sam was not being truthful with you Catherine, I don't know what he is hiding but he is hiding something."

"It doesn't make sense to kidnap Sam and keep him alive all this time just because he knew about the skeleton, they obviously had no problem killing people, why not just kill him and be done with it."

It felt just like old times, Catherine looked at JT and Vincent arguing and theorizing about Sam, her heart felt full being around the two of them. She needed to put some distance between her and Vincent or she was going to get hurt again. She loved him and that would never change, but loving him did not mean that she could be with him.

"I have to go, I have an early day tomorrow."

Catherine abruptly grabbed her coat.

"Thanks for your help today, I think I can take it from here."

She took off out of JT's place before either Vincent or JT could react.

JT and Vincent stared at the door she had just left out of and then looked at each other.

"What was that about?" Asked JT

Catherine raced home and slammed the door shut behind her. If only she could shut her heart as easily.

Catherine wasn't lying, she did have court this morning. She arrived at the courthouse determined to put on a bright smile and not think about Vincent.

"Catherine!" Someone yelled her name.

She turned and saw Michael one of the DA's heading her way. He smiled at her.

"Hey how is it going?"

Smile….Catherine reminded herself.

"Great, what's up?"

Catherine had known Michael for years, he was a bit of a player, but he was a sweetheart and one of the good guys.

"I was wondering if you had any plans for this weekend, I know it seems sudden running into you like this and asking, but I knew you were going to be here today." He shrugged his shoulders.

Catherine was stunned, Michael had always flirted with her before, but she had either been with Deke or with Vincent so had never taken him seriously. But she realized….I am single now so why not. Maybe this was just what she needed to get over Vincent.

"I don't have any plans this weekend, Michael what were you thinking?"

"There is a Valentine dance this Saturday, I'd like you to be my date?

Valentine's Day! Catherine thought back to last year when Vincent was making amends after the Alex mess. It seemed so long ago, so much had happened between them since then.

Michael had been standing there waiting for a response from her for a few minutes when she realized she'd just been staring off into space.

"It's ok, you probably already have plans…"

"No Michael, I am sorry, just a bit foggy today"….she nervously laughed…A dance sounds like fun, how about I cook dinner first?"

"What were you thinking, saying yes to Michael and offering to cook him dinner?" Tess is shocked that Catherine would agree to date anyone right now.

"I don't even know how it happened, he reminded me it was Valentine's Day and then I started thinking about last year and Vincent and then I realized I had been standing there like an idiot while he waited for me to say something, so I overcompensated."

"I would say so….Yes to Michael, that boy has been after you for years."

Catherine pulled herself together and shoved her shoulders back.

"Maybe this is what I need, no beasts, no Vincent and a chance to move on with my life."

Tess looked at her sideways.

"Is that really what you want, no more Vincent?"

Catherine could not fool Tess.

"What I want is my Vincent back, what I want is the last 6 months of our life back, but I can't have that. Vincent is a beast and he always will be and how can I trust that he won't run off after the next she beast that shows up. I have to find something else, or someone else, Tess, I won't survive if I let Vincent back in and he hurts me again."

Tess gave Catherine a hug.

"I understand and I am sorry you are hurting like this, I hope Michael is a standup guy and that you have a great Valentine's Day."

The phone rings. Tess answers and as she listens her face changes and she grabs at Catherine's coat.

"We are on our way.'

Catherine asks the first think that is always on her mind.

"What is it, is Vincent ok?"

Tess sadly replies, while thinking to herself that Catherine will never be over Vincent.

"Vincent is fine. Dana has been attacked at her home. Sam is with her now, she is ok, but he wants us there right way. He asked for Vincent too."

The ambulance left just as Vincent arrived. Sam wanted to wait until he was there to fill Catherine and Tess in on why he called them all there.

"First off I am sorry I lied to you yesterday. You have to understand I was trying to protect Dana, I have always been trying to protect Dana." He took her hand in his. "But now I am afraid I need help."

Sam took a deep breath.

"The part about finding the skeleton and the shackle yesterday was true. The part I left out was that they had not held me in that cage or even here in NY all these years. I have been all over the world looking for similar artifacts and proof that beasts exist."

Dana is shocked.

"All this time and you never tried to escape or reach out to me, My God Sam, I am FBI I would have moved heaven and earth to find you."

Sam brings her hand up to his mouth and places a kiss. He smiles at her.

"I know that and that is why I agreed to help them, this organization is huge Dana, they would have killed you and I could not live with that. So I agreed to help them as long as they left you alone."

Sam nodded his head at Vincent and Catherine.

"Now that you rescued me, and now that Dana has been attacked, they have sent me a message that they are not going to leave her or us alone. I have to do something, I don't know what but Catherine and Vincent I need you to protect my wife. You are the only ones who can."

Vincent and Catherine looked at each other….Tess looked at both of them and rolled her eyes.

Catherine spoke first.

"Sam maybe protective custody or witness relocation would be a better idea, it is asking an awful lot of Vincent….."

Vincent jumped in.

"It's no problem I can do this."

Sam was quick to accept Vincent's offer.

I don't want witness protection, I don't want Dana to have to give up her life, and I just need time to figure out who they are and how to stop them."

Vincent pulled Catherine off to the side.

"I can do this Catherine, beasts and skeletons and shackles, this has nothing to do with you, I got this, and you don't have to be involved. JT and I can work with Sam and figure all this out."

Catherine wanted to stay, wanted to fight side by side with Vincent, but those days were lost and being around him was just too painful.

Vincent wanted Catherine to fight him to stay involved, he wanted to see that fire in her eyes when she was protecting people she cared about, like she used to look at him. He could tell right away that was not going to happen. She dropped her head and gave in. It felt like a punch to the gut, he was responsible for this change in her, he had stomped out the fire in her, and he had broken her.

"Fine, sounds like you have it handled, Tess lets go."

Once again Catherine grabbed her coat and took off.

Vincent feeling cold and empty, went back to Sam and Dana to work out the details.

Before heading home, he stopped off a Catherine's and from her fire escape made sure she was home safe and sound, he could hear her on the phone to someone talking about food for dinner. She was home safe and Vincent could do nothing else for her.

"So she said yes?"

Vincent was talking to JT who was trying to figure out what to wear to the Valentine's Day dance he was taking Tess to. He was a nervous wreck.

"Yes, apparently the flowers worked, but now I have to put on this monkey suit and mingle with all of the law and order types."

"Well I will be there, in the shadows of course keeping an eye on Sam and Dana. I am going to take off a little early so enjoy your night with Tess."

"Are you going to check in on Catherine again?"

Vincent had no idea that JT knew about his nightly visits to check on Catherine.

"Well a…how did you….yes."

Vincent hung his head.

"I know I should leave her alone, JT but you should have seen her at Sam and Dana's she gave in so easily, there was no fire in her, no passion and it's all my fault JT and I have no idea what to do about it, but I have to make sure that she is ok."

JT feels for Vincent. His friend is too stubborn for his own good.

"You could tell her how you feel, work things out between the two of you, I am not saying it would be easy, in fact I am sure it would be hard, but the two of you, pretending not to care and you stalking her is not the right way to handle this!"

Vincent just shakes off JT's words as he heads to check on Catherine.

He lands on her fire escape to see the fire going, the table set and Catherine wearing a beautiful red dress, with an apron on.

His gut clenches.

The doorbell rings.

Catherine greets a tall dark haired man at the door with a kiss on the cheek.

Vincent growls, his eyes turning yellow.

At the door Catherine cocks her head, almost as if she heard him. He blurs away to the roof of the building across the street.

"You look beautiful, how you managed that and cooked dinner is a mystery."

Catherine blushed.

"Thank you, I am a woman of many talents, but don't want to give away all my secrets."

She took his coat and hung it up.

"You look good as well, would you care for a drink?"

Catherine walks over to the bar she has set up and take a moment to look out the window. She thought (hoped) she heard something a minute ago, but as she moves the curtain aside, there is nothing there.

Vincent from across the street sees her open the curtain, he knows she is looking for him. He stands statue still so as not to draw her attention across the street. It takes an effort to stand still when his heart is breaking, when every muscle in his body wants to beast out and race over to her apartment and tear her guest apart. He closes his eyes and clenches his fists. When he looks up again she is gone.