A/N: Okay everyone, just some fair warning, this story will have some cannon adjustments to the show, and yes the main couple will be different. Even though I love this show and the couple, I also love the fairytale premise behind it and wanted to write my own spin, so, here it is. The main cannon adjustments is that Catherine will be a lawyer with the District Attorney's office and her younger sister Kaitlynn (my original character) will be the homicide detective and have her own partner based off a character I created with my sis DemonGirl123. Anyway, hope ya'll will give this a chance. Here it goes...

Saved By A Beast

"She was never afraid of his darkness or the demons that danced in his eyes.

He thought no one could ever love him if he revealed what lurks inside.

He always knew he was different, how could anyone understand?

But she was never afraid of his darkness or the beast within the man..."

~author unknown

Fall, 2003

The air was crisp on a cool, fall night. Three young women were all that remained in the local bar, and were laughing amongst themselves. "Dollar Lemon Drops, and all of Westchester shows up." laughed the woman with tan skin and brown hair in two low braids, wearing simple dark jeans and a dark pink t-shirt.

"Yep, never underestimate the power of cheap booze." added the blonde female, in a black corset-like top and jean shorts. "And a pair of hot sisters-"

"You want us to close for you, don't you Lila?" asked the youngest of the three, a female with olive-toned skin and brown hair in low pigtails, wearing a pair of skinny jeans and a red crop top, holding a bin of dishes under her arm.

Lila shook her head, "No." she rebuked.

"Yes." the two sisters, Catherine and Kaitlynn, corrected.

"Okay, maybe a little bit." Lila shrugged her shoulders.

The two Chandler sisters exchanged a look, "Go." Kaitlynn waved her hand as she adjusted her grip on the bin. "We don't have much waiting for us."

"Just a bunch of LSAT practice tests for me." Catherine muttered as she counted the tips from the night.

Lila grinned, "You two are the best." she giggled, as she took her cut of the night's tips. "Bye Cat, bye Kait."

"Bye!" the two sisters replied in unison. Catherine separated her own tips from her sister's, who went into the back to load the dishes into the dishwasher.

After organizing the now-clean dishes, Kaitlynn met her sister in the main area of the bar and helped with taking out the trash. "I got the bags, you lock the doors." Catherine said as she shrugged on her light pink sweater and grabbed the trash bags.

"Got it sis." Kaitlynn winked, taking her night's tips and shoving the bills in the pocket of her black leather jacket before grabbing the keys. She followed Catherine outside and turned off all the lights before locking the doors. She jumped when she heard Cat let out a scream when a racoon jumped out of the dumpster. "Damn Cat, give me a heart attack why don't ya?" Kaitlynn sighed, pulling her jacket around herself.

"I hate racoons." Catherine exhaled, slamming the dumpster lid down. "Now, let's go home."

"Agreed." Kaitlynn nodded, looping her arm through her sister's as they walked towards Catherine's blue Volkswagen. Catherine put her keys in the ignition and turned, but the engine stalled. She tried again but the car still didn't start. Kaitlynn glanced up and realized the passenger vanity mirror was down, "Oops." she shrugged her shoulders and gave her sister a small smile.

"Seriously Kait?" Catherine deadpanned, glaring at her younger sister.

"Okay sorry." the younger brunette held her hands up in defense. "I needed the light to change shirts after that one drunk spilled beer all over me. Guess I forgot."

Catherine sighed heavily and dug out her cell phone, scrolling through her contacts until she came to her mom's number. "Sorry Cat." Kaitlynn apologized as her sister put her cell to her ear, "Hi, Mom." she said into the speaker. "We kinda need your help. My car won't start." She nodded her head as she listened to her mother on the other line. "Okay thanks. Love you."

Kaitlynn sighed and leaned back into the passenger seat, glancing out towards the woods.

About twenty minutes later, Vanessa showed up to her daughters' rescue with a pair of jumper cables. "I'm like AAA, but with outerwear." the older woman joked, handing two coats to her daughters. "Put these on, it's freezing out." She went back and hooked up the jumper cables to her engine.

Kaitlynn took the red coat and shrugged it on, "Sorry to drag you all the way out here." she apologized. "It's my fault. I'm the one who left the vanity mirror open. Honest mistake." she directed the last bit at her sister, who shrugged on a blue coat.

"But, good news, we made a lot in tips." Catherine added, trying to lighten the mood.

"Enough to cover tuition?" Vanessa asked.

Kaitlynn chuckled, "Mom, we work in a dive bar, not a strip club." she pulled her coat tighter around her. "So no."

Vanessa just smiled at her two daughters, "You two are lucky I was on call." she noted, hooking the other end of the cables to the Volkswagen's engine. "Your father would've killed you."

"It's not luck mom." Catherine rebuked, shoving her hands in her coat pockets.

"Yeah." Kaitlynn nodded in agreement. "You're always there when we need you."

Vanessa smiled, "Well, that's what mother's do." she reminded.

Just then a black car approached the three girls, stopping a few inches from them with the headlights still on. "What are they doing?" Kaitlynn asked, moving closer to Catherine and grabbing her arm, letting out a shaky breath.

A man in a black jacket and white shirt stepped out of the driver's side. "Hey!" Catherine called out. "We're closed!"

"We're good here." Vanessa assured, waving them off. Another man stepped out from the passenger side and they both shut the doors. Vanessa stood in front of her daughters, "Get in my car." she whispered to them. "Now." The two men pulled guns from their waistbands and held them up, " Get in my car!" Vanessa ordered, putting herself between the two men and her daughters. "Now! Go!"

Shots were fired and Vanessa fell to the ground, making Catherine and Kaitlynn shriek. Both girls knelt next to their mother, calling out to her but she didn't move. The two men fired more shots, but missed the two teenagers. Catherine grabbed Kaitlynn's arm and they took off into the woods to escape the gunmen, who still fired at them.

As they ran, Catherine tripped and hit her head, taking Kaitlynn down with her. Kaitlynn shook off her momentary daze, her eyes landing on her unconscious sister. "Cat?" she breathed out, shaking her shoulder. "Come on Cat, wake up. Cat!" She cried out, tears falling from her brown eyes.

The sound of leaves crunching behind her caught her attention and Kaitlynn looked back, seeing the two shooters approaching her. She tried to move but winced when a sharp pain radiated from her ankle and up her leg. Through her teared-up eyes, she could see the guns pointed at her, "Please." she begged. "Please don't-don't hurt us."

From behind the trees nearby, someone was watching the events unfold. Just as the two men cocked their guns and held their fingers on the triggers, this man jumped out from the shadows and attacked them, mauling the two gunmen. Kaitlynn gaped at what unfolded before her. Soon, the attacker turned his eyes on her and moved towards her. A sliver of moonlight revealed glowing gold eyes and Kaitlynn's breath hitched in her throat, but something inside told her not to be afraid.

Kaitlynn took her eyes off whatever saved her to check on her sister, who was slowly coming around. "Cat?" the younger brunette croaked out, helping to steady her sister when she came to. "Cat, you okay?"

"I think so." Catherine groaned, holding the side of her head. When her vision cleared, she saw the two mauled bodies of the gunmen. "What happened."

"Um he-" Kaitlynn glanced to where the dark figure with glowing eyes was standing, only to find him gone. "Wait, he was just here." Both sisters got to their feet, with Kaitlynn scanning the area. "Where'd he go?"

"Who?" Catherine asked, bracing her hands on her knees. She got a closer look at the bodies, "That doesn't look like a human did that."

"No but he was." Kaitlynn informed. "Mostly. I mean, his eyes were different. They glowed." She exhaled, looking around. Her hand went to her head, as she was just now feeling a dull ache. Catherine sighed and wrapped her arms around Kaitlynn, who returned the hug and started to cry as she also remembered that their mother had just been murdered right before their very eyes.

"Shh." Catherine soothed, tears falling from her eyes as well. "It's gonna be okay."

Kaitlynn opened her eyes and stared at the bodies of her mother's killers, replaying the image of the figure with glowing eyes mauling them to death. "Everyone told me it was a wild animal – a coyote, or a bear. That this thing I thought I'd seen was just the result of a concussion or post-traumatic stress. You know, the men who'd killed my mother were beasts. I believed them...until now...."

To Be Continued...