Chapter 8

Vincent and Catherine managed to get a few more hours of uninterrupted sleep. After stopping for coffee, they meet up with everyone at JT's.

JT immediately takes charge.

"I think the first thing we have to do, is find out what this gem can do. Both on Catherine and you Vincent."

Vincent is not keen on being anyone's guinea pig, but the more they know the better off they will be.

"Sounds like a good idea, but I am not putting that collar around my neck!"

JT hands up exclaims.

"Whoa buddy I don't think that will be necessary, after the hostage situation at the precinct, we already know you can't beast out while holding it. I wonder if it does anything else."

Vincent cocked his head to the side.

"Like what?"

JT explained.

"I wonder if it makes you susceptible to suggestion. Cat told you to get rid of the necklace that night, did you do it because you believed her or did you do it because you had no choice?"

Vincent looked at Catherine, remembering how angry they were at each other just a short time ago. She had come through for him that night and that was really the start of his journey back to her.

Catherine felt the weight of Vincent's gaze and wondered what he was thinking. It was not too long ago that they were at odds. The night she was taken hostage was the first time he acted like the old Vincent, he came back to save her and all the hostages, he'd trusted her to protect him and once again he had saved her life. She stepped toward him.

"No time like the present…. JT, hand me the gem."

JT handed over the necklace. Vincent looked at it and deadpanned.

"I can tell you I have nothing to wear that with."

Everyone laughed and Vincent placed the necklace around his wrist. He attempted to call to his beast, but nothing happened.

"Well I definitely can't beast out with this thing on. Someone want to order me around a bit?"

No one moved.

Tess finally got up enough courage to ask.

"Vincent! Drop and give me 15…..but take off your shirt first….."

That got everyone laughing. Vincent smiled and put his arm around Tess.

"I could but I don't think your boyfriend would appreciate the competition."

JT rolled his eyes and snorted.

"Well I guess we have the answer to the control issue. So all the gem does for you is prevent your beast from expressing itself."

JT took the necklace from Vincent and turned to Catherine.

"Your turn."

Catherine looked at the necklace. She wanted to take it, but she didn't. She stood there staring at it. She could not explain it, but for some reason she did not want to take it. She looked up at her friends who were all looking back to her. Eyebrows raised and questioning.

Tess asked.

"Cat, what is wrong?"

Catherine answered.

"I know this sounds crazy, but I don't want to touch it. I can't explain it." She continues to stare at the necklace."

Tess takes it from JT.

"Look it's just a piece of jewelry, it doesn't do anything to me. I don't feel any different." Tess holds the necklace out to Catherine.

Vincent is watching her and can sense how agitated she is, her heart is racing and she has broken out in a sweat. Catherine struggles to swallow, her mouth suddenly dry. She reaches for it.

"WAIT"

Catherine's hand stops just before she touches the necklace. Vincent turns to JT.

"Something is going on, Cat's heart rate is off the charts. He turns to Tess. "Get the necklace away from her."

Tess backs away and the farther away she gets, Vincent can sense Catherine calming.

"Wow, I can feel the difference already." Catherine is calm again.

JT looks surprised. He checks with Sam and can see the wheels turning. Sam gets an idea. Racing over to the shackle and chain, he brings it under the microscope. He examines it.

Dana is not surprised.

"Catherine, I told you that the gem was connected to you, maybe it's more than just a family connection."

Vincent takes Catherine as far across the room from the gem as he can. His concern for her is palpable.

"Tell me what you felt."

Catherine puts her hand on Vincent's arm. She can see how concerned he is for her.

"It was weird, it made my heart race and my mouth dry, and it didn't feel dangerous, just powerful. I was not afraid, Vincent, just surprised. Does that make any sense?"

Vincent smiled, "Does anything ever make any sense with us?" He kissed her.

Desire swamped through Catherine, Vincent's kisses were like oxygen, infusing her system with energy. She wanted to crawl up into his strong arms and have him blur away with her. Their reconciliation was recent and she needed much more time alone with him, to get back to where they were before his kidnapping. She was also worried about what he had been through, his nightmares scared her. She would talk to JT and see what he thought. Turning her thoughts back to the gem, Catherine took Vincent by the hand and approached JT and Sam.

"I am really OK, it just freaked me out a minute. Are you finding anything?"

Sam is showing JT something with the chain and they are both clearly excited. Tess and Dana exchange a look, they both understand the men in their lives and there is something adorable when they get all geeked up about a discovery.

Catherine raises her voice.

"Guys, I don't mean to break up the nerd love fest here, but can you tell me what is going on!"

JT and Sam are too excited to be offended. JT yields the floor to Sam, since it is his discovery.

"The chain or leash looks like it was designed to" He searches for the right word. "Channel, energy from the gem to the person holding the leash. Look here…'

He rolls the leash around and they can see a fine indentation running from the collar into the handle.

"Not to get all science fictiony on this, but if the gem has the ability to control beasts, maybe it has properties that allow it to be controlled by someone as well. He looks excitedly at Catherine. "This may explain why you have a physiological reaction to it."

Vincent is looking at them both, eyes narrowed.

"So you think it would be safe for Catherine?"

Sam did not know Vincent as well as JT and had a moment of fear. If something happened to Catherine, what would Vincent do? "Well…I…..it should be ok." His voice dropped off.

That was not exactly filling Vincent with confidence. He stared down at Sam, letting the beast show through a little. "Maybe you should do some more tests, before you try it out on Catherine."

Catherine was not letting Vincent get all caveman on her. "Enough, Vincent…..Sam he would not hurt you, he is just teasing." She shot Vincent a look, daring him to argue with her. "Let's see what this gem does."

Vincent however remains unconvinced and is determined to protect her no matter how foolish she acts.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" He holds out his hand to her. His expression one of concern.

Sighing and dropping her shoulders, Catherine puts her hand in his as he leads her into the vault. Vincent closes the door to give them some privacy.

The first thing he does is press her up against the security deposit boxes and kiss her…deeply, passionately and thoroughly. Breathing deeply he pulls back and places his forehead against hers.

"You are killing me."

Catherine is still pinned against the wall by his body, his arms on either side of her head. One hand come up to curl around his arm and with the other she reaches between them and places it on his heart. She can feel it pounding.

"Vincent I am going to be ok, everyone is right here with us, and what are you so afraid of?"

Vincent closes his eyes, briefly letting the nightmare return to him. The insults his captor's hurled at him, the threats they made to Catherine. Her Father had been responsible for his capture. He knew that Catherine loved him and that he in turn loved her. He claimed his agenda was to protect her from beasts, but then why put Vincent back into play in NYC?

I am afraid, that this gem will change you, or hurt you. Your Father told you that everything he did was to protect you from beasts, from me. But why did he release me back into New York?" He shook his head. "Yes it's a big city, but you're a cop, we ran across each other once, why take a risk that you would find me. He had to know that you were still looking for me. If he really wanted to protect you from me, why not send me far away from here? Somewhere nothing would trigger any memories for me. It doesn't make sense. Does he know about the gem, does he know what it can do? Is this all just a big set up to get to you?"

Catherine is quiet a moment, trying to take everything Vincent said in.

"You may be right, but Vincent we have to know what the gem does, if we are going to put an end to all this. As for my Father's motivation…I have given up trying to figure him out. I am also not going to live my life afraid of everything. Finding the people responsible for creating beasts…that is what I want to focus on. We need to make sure that you are safe and that Sam and Dana are safe. That is who we are Vincent, we can't walk away from them and hide away in some remote cabin forever."

Catherine places both her hands on Vincent's face and kisses him tenderly.

"Trust me Vincent, trust yourself…I know you will protect me if needed."

Vincent closes his eyes, letting go of a huge sigh, he says.

"Your right…Let's do this!"

While Vincent and Catherine are in the vault. Sam and Dana along with JT and Tess are also talking about the gem. Tess is also concerned for her friend.

"How do you know this won't hurt her?"

Sam responds.

"If the gem is a family heirloom, like Dana thinks it is, it doesn't make sense that it would hurt her."

JT offers his two cents as well.

"Tess, we would never let anything harm Catherine, Sam is right, if she has a connection with the gem, it's not going to hurt her."

Tess then asks.

"What about Vincent….will Cat hurt Vincent because of this gem? Because I don't need to tell you that she would never forgive herself if she hurt him."

Both Sam and JT are stunned speechless. This was something they had not thought of. They looked at each other and then back at Tess.

"I have no idea." They both respond at the same time. Sam then turns to Dana.

"Do you think you could find more info on the gem and its connection to Cat?"

"I can try, but the last time the gem was mentioned was 150 years ago when Rebecca was looking for it. I couldn't find out anything more about it."

As their friends now worried about Vincent's safely and the gem, Catherine and Vincent came out of the vault.

"All right let's do this!" Catherine says eager to see what effect the gem would have on her.

Tess fills Vincent and Cat in on their discussion about Vincent's safety and the gem.

Vincent is not about to let Catherine experiment with the gem without him in the room.

"No way…..I am staying right here….I trust you Catherine." Alluding to their conversation in the vault.

Catherine has a moment's hesitation, but realizes Vincent is right, they have to trust each other. Looking at Vincent, but speaking to her friends she says.

"Everything will be ok, let's see what the gem can do."

JT clears the room, giving Catherine some space. Catherine laughs as she stands in the middle of the room.

"JT I don't think I am going to explode!"

JT standing back about 10 feet from her with the others, shrugs his shoulders.

"I don't think you will, but you can never be too careful."

Vincent is standing in front of Catherine about 10 feet in front of her. Catherine drinks the sight of him in. He is still, barely moving a muscle, trying hard to respect her decision. He is undeniably sexy and she can't believe sometimes that he is hers. His gaze penetrates her and infuses her with a steady warmth. No matter what he will not let anything happen to her.

Tess walked up to Cat and hands her the gem.

At the first contact with her skin, Cat exhales sharply. Vincent watching her from across the room sees her eyes flash green. His own eyes yellow in response, but he does not move toward her. It is taking all his will power, but he does not go to her. Standing firm he waits.

Catherine looks at Vincent.

"I can feel it"…she breathes deeply….."It's like taking a shot at a bar, you can feel the warmth moving through your body."

Vincent nods his head at her…. that is how it felt for him during the Murfield experiments. His anxiety for her ramps up, but still he doesn't move.

Catherine looks down at the gem lying in her palm. She closes her fist around it.

"I feel strong." She raises her arms, looking at herself in wonderment. "It's powerful."

JT can't see Catherine's eyes, but he can see Vincent's. JT is watching Vincent for any sign that he would become aggressive. Vincent senses JT's worry and his eyes go hazel as Vincent asserts control over the beast.

"It's just a reaction to Catherine, JT. You can't see her but her eyes are glowing green."

Catherine's head shoots up to look at Vincent. Her eyes blaze green.

"I can see your beast. I have never seen him like this….Oh Vincent he is beautiful."

Catherine's eyes are unfocused, her breathing becomes shallow and fast, she arches her back and tilts her head. Her chest is heaving, heart pounding. Suddenly she hears Vincent's voice.

"Catherine, drop the gem now."

Hearing the command and fear in Vincent's voice, Catherine immediately drops the gem and Vincent is there scooping her up into his arms.

"I'm sorry….You scared the shit out of me….I tried…."

Catherine's arms come around Vincent.

"It's OK…..I am OK Vincent."

Vincent holds her a moment longer. Head down buried in her hair, his eyes closed. He whispers in her ear.

"I have never been so afraid for you."

Catherine pulls back so she can look into Vincent's eyes. Her hands come up to his face, she holds him there.

"I am ok….really look at me Vincent….I am fine."

He sets her down and everyone rushes at her all at once.

"What happened?"

"What did it feel like?"

Their voices are all mixed together and she can't tell who is asking the questions. Putting up her hands and stepping back away from everyone she answers them.

"It was amazing….Vincent, I could see your beast…..He is magnificent! I could see better and hear better and I felt like I could take on the world. I had all this energy and….."

JT interrupts her.

"What do you mean you can see Vincent's beast?"

Catherine answers JT but is looking at Vincent.

"It was like a shimmer….but I could see him, I could see the beast. He was regal and beautiful!"

Vincent looks decidedly uncomfortable as Catherine keeps describing his beast in such glowing terms. He is quick to point out to JT about Catherine's eyes.

"Her eyes were glowing green, the same color as the gem."

JT is shocked.

"Whoa, I did not see that coming."

Catherine is also confused.

"My eyes were glowing?"

Vincent explains.

"Yes, your eyes were glowing, just like mine, only they were green instead of yellow. I suspect that is why you could see my beast, even though I was not a beast. I have to tell you it freaked me out and to be honest, it was kinda hot too."

Catherine blushed but she was intrigued.

"I wonder what else I can do, I felt so strong." Looking at Vincent she asked him.

"Care to spar?" She arched her eyebrow at him in challenge.

Vincent rolled his eyes to JT.

"Great, now you have created a monster." Turning to Catherine. "I am not sure that is a good idea just yet. Your pulse was elevated, your breathing was labored, and I ordered you to drop it because I thought you were going to have a stroke!"

Catherine bristled at the term 'order', she raised her eyes at him, arching her eyebrows and putting her hands on her hips. Vincent tried to cut her off before she could get too worked up.

"Look, I am sorry, I am just freaking out right now, because ten minutes ago my girlfriends eyes were glowing and while you all may be used to it, this is kinda new for me."

Catherine walked over to the gem and picked it up again. She concentrated on staying calm. Standing still and using tactical breathing she allowed the power of the gem to flow through her, but not control her. Turning toward Vincent.

"Vincent…..How about now…am I glowing?"

Vincent turned around. "Dammit Catherine"…He stopped he could feel her calm. His fear for her lessened….a little.

"No you seem fine…can you see my beast?"

Catherine looked at him. The way she was staring at him sent heat rushing through him. As she looked him up and down, wherever her eyes roamed, heat followed. Vincent struggled to remember there were other people in the room. He licked his lips and swallowed with difficulty.

"I can see him, but I can also turn it off…..This is just about concentration, I didn't know what to expect at first, now that I do…" Catherine smiles at Vincent. "Don't worry Vincent, I am fine."

All of a sudden all of the worry Vincent had for Catherine is gone. He smiles, which looks weird considering how worked up he is…..was?

"OK" He says putting his hands in his pockets.

JT and Tess are dumbfounded.

"OK…OK…..Vincent how is this all OK?"

Sam is the one to figure it out.

"Catherine is holding the gem…

Everyone is confused.

"So?"

Sam smiles.

"Catherine is holding the gem and just told Vincent not to worry…So now he is not worried!"