Overtime (Champagne Challenge #156, PG)

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allegrita
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Overtime (Champagne Challenge #156, PG)

Post by allegrita »

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The plot is the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Author's note: This story was written for Champagne Challenge #156. When the Challenge first came out, I got an idea for a Mick POV story. But when I finally sat down and began to type, it was immediately taken over by someone else. I guess he had something to say. :laugh: When Moonlight characters talk to me, I try to take dictation as well as I can. :type: But sometimes I don't get it quite right, and this story had a few rough spots. I'm indebted to Lilly for her amazing ear for the rhythm and flow of our beloved Moonlight characters' speech patterns, and for her invaluable advice.

Rated PG.

(Quote from the episode “Fated to Pretend” written by Gabrielle Stanton and Harry Werksman.)

Overtime

For most people, time is a precious commodity. Moments are fleeting. Opportunities are easily lost. The clock keeps ticking. Still, it only takes five minutes to change everything.

It’s worse for the mortal ones than for us. They scurry from one thing to another—trying to fit it all into the fourscore and ten or so they’ve been allotted. They’re working overtime from the moment they’re born—and the clock ticks faster and faster, the older they get.

That sense of urgency is one of the human traits Mick couldn’t seem to shake. He wanted so much to stay in that race to oblivion. He never quite got it that there was no hurry anymore. And after Beth came back into the picture, it got worse. Much worse. Fools rush in, and Mick was a fool in love. A fool who didn’t think he was worthy of being loved. By a human girl, no less! Granted, she definitely had potential. But he refused to even contemplate the prospect of bringing her into our world. With his guilt complex, falling in love with a human is a lousy idea, I kept telling him. But Mick is nothing if not stubborn. So this mismatched pair got themselves into scrape after scrape, mostly out of carelessness and haste. Human failings. Unacceptable mistakes. And who got to clean up the mess? You guessed it.

Then Coraline showed up. That woman has caused Mick nothing but grief from the moment they met—his own personal express train to hell. And what does he do? Jumps in with both feet, thinking she’s his ticket back to the mortal coil. But even if the cure had been permanent, what did he think the ex would do, stand around and let him live happily ever after with Beth? Escape her clutches by dying of old age? Not the Coraline I know.

Not that it was even an option. There is no permanent cure, just that masquerade in a jar. Handy for the Ancien Régime trying to hide from a mob of pissed-off peasants, but not exactly a lifestyle choice. I tried to explain that to him, but Mick’s got the selective deafness thing down to an art form. Even I couldn’t steer him away—and believe me, I gave it my best shot. There was no way he’d let it go, even after Beth nearly killed Coraline with that stake. Damn shame… just an inch or so to the left, and that problem would have been solved for good. But as usual, Coraline landed on her feet. And I was distracted by the mess Whitley had made of my life, not to mention my office. So I wasn’t there to protect him. Not that it would’ve done much good, anyway. Mick was determined to be human, and Coraline was happy to oblige.

I don’t know what her motive was for giving him the cure. Maybe she thought she could run away with him and play house somewhere warm and sunny for a few years, till they ran out of the compound. I bet it was a helluva blow to her ego when Mick wouldn’t go with her. But at that point she was in a rush herself, knowing her brother was on her trail. Probably she thought she’d let him get a taste of humanity while she gave her brother the slip, and come back into town in a few weeks, dangling the compound as bait. Things didn’t work out that way, though. Big brother caught up with them, and gave Mick a painful lesson in what it means to lose that instant healing trick. Ouch.

It really shocked me, though, that she sacrificed herself to save him. I don’t pretend to understand why she did what she did that night. But the upshot was, she gave Mick back his heart’s desire, and then she wasn’t there to reap the benefits.

But then, neither was Beth. She wasted Mick’s days as a human, grieving for her dearly departed boyfriend—the one she’d stopped loving quite some time ago. And Mick, being Mick, was too much of a gentleman—or a chicken—to barge in. Dumb kids. By the time they fumbled their way back together, they’d missed their chance. Beth got herself into trouble of the fanged sort, and of course Mick forgot he’d lost his powers and was hell-bent on a rescue mission. Good thing Guillermo called me tonight. When I got to Mick’s place there he was, the heroic vampire hunter, brandishing a silver crossbow and a couple of stakes. As if he could get within ten feet of Beth’s kidnappers, the shape he was in.

So here we go. Those five minutes I mentioned? Maybe I’ve caught the urgency bug from Mick. Stupid, I know. But I never have been entirely rational where Mick was concerned. He asked me to take away the thing he’s wanted more than anything for the past sixty-five years. And damn him, he called me brother. What the hell was I supposed to do?

Five minutes. The time it takes to drain your best friend and pray to all the gods you’ve ever heard of that you haven’t blown it. Five minutes to give him back the gift of immortality he’s finally asked for. Even if it was for all the wrong reasons, at least he made the choice this time. A second chance to be a vampire, on his own terms.

If he wakes up.

Come on, Mick. Rise and shine.
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Re: Overtime (Champagne Challenge #156, PG)

Post by librarian_7 »

Oh, hell, this is great. Josef at his shining best....at the most crucial point in the series.

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Re: Overtime (Champagne Challenge #156, PG)

Post by MickLifeCrisis »

OMG, this gave me the chills. Very good, Alle! And pitch-perfect Josef, IMHO. :highfive:

And this:
Allegrita wrote:Five minutes to give him back the gift of immortality he’s finally asked for. Even if it was for all the wrong reasons, at least he made the choice this time. A second chance to be a vampire, on his own terms.
This means everything, to Josef and to Mick. Mick asked to be turned this time. All the difference in the world eternity.

Awesome answer to the challenge! :twothumbs:
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Re: Overtime (Champagne Challenge #156, PG)

Post by Lilly »

There is so much to love here. :notworthy:

The first time I read it, I was truly caught off guard when I finally realized that this was about THOSE five minutes.

This grabbed me right off the bat.
allegrita wrote:They scurry from one thing to another—trying to fit it all into the fourscore and ten or so they’ve been allotted. They’re working overtime from the moment they’re born—and the clock ticks faster and faster, the older they get.
Tying the concept of "overtime" to the mortals' "tick tick tick" was brilliant. Josef goes on to talk about the mortals' sense of urgency, but it's not until the end that you reveal that he has his own time-related concerns underscoring everything he's telling us. He's not just an observer, giving us his take on things; he's on the clock himself and everything is on the line.

As he muses about Mick's frame of mind, Coraline's motivations, perhaps his own failings as a mentor and a friend, the delicious irony here is that it's Josef's own mind -- analyzing, shifting gears, drawing on 400 years of experience -- that is working "overtime."

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Re: Overtime (Champagne Challenge #156, PG)

Post by Moonlightsonata »

Really good story. Definitely captured Josef's point of view. Thank you.
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Re: Overtime (Champagne Challenge #156, PG)

Post by cassysj »

This is wonderful. What a lot Josef had to consider while he was waiting for him to wake up. Josef had to be the slightest bit afraid, even though Mick was still a vampire was it completely safe to do a re-turning if the body wasn't at death's door like Coraline's? Sarah's went so badly. This is perfect Josef.
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Re: Overtime (Champagne Challenge #156, PG)

Post by choccyterri »

Alle, this is just such a wonderful spin on those five minutes we all know and love so well. Such an amazing scene to build on, and you've done it amazingly. :hearts: All that analysis from our seemingly unshakeable mentor, Josef. While he waits for his new fledgeling. Brilliantly done lovely. Just wonderful. Thank you! :hug:
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Re: Overtime (Champagne Challenge #156, PG)

Post by allegrita »

Thank you, everyone, so much! :ghug: It's rare that Josef talks to me, but man, he sure wanted this story to be his. To put myself in the mood of the story, I retyped that first paragraph...and maybe it was the short sentences, but I just heard Josef speaking. To be honest, I wasn't really sure where it was going, but I just started typing what I heard him saying... and somehow we ended up in Mick's apartment, watching him lying on that table and willing him to wake up. As I was writing, the whole thing felt very disjointed, almost like little jigsaw puzzle pieces. But when we finally got to the returning, somehow the pieces started to fit together. :teeth:

Thank you all for your encouragement. :hearts: It's such a thrill to finish a story, and though I don't write as many as I once did, I am still as hooked on the process as I ever was.
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Re: Overtime (Champagne Challenge #156, PG)

Post by darkstarrising »

Wonderful insight into Josef's thoughts, alle! :hearts:

Love how Josef analyses Mick's actions - wondering how Mick didn't see that the gift Coraline offered this time had strings attached.
Then Coraline showed up. That woman has caused Mick nothing but grief from the moment they met—his own personal express train to hell. And what does he do? Jumps in with both feet, thinking she’s his ticket back to the mortal coil. But even if the cure had been permanent, what did he think the ex would do, stand around and let him live happily ever after with Beth? Escape her clutches by dying of old age? Not the Coraline I know.
Yet for all Josef understands, there is one thing he can't:
It really shocked me, though, that she sacrificed herself to save him. I don’t pretend to understand why she did what she did that night. But the upshot was, she gave Mick back his heart’s desire, and then she wasn’t there to reap the benefits.
Perhaps Coraline's motives weren't as sinister as he thought, but the irony that Mick is now asking to be re-turned isn't lost on Josef. Perhaps Sarah's failed turning is what's having Josef hope that he hasn't 'blown it'.
Five minutes. The time it takes to drain your best friend and pray to all the gods you’ve ever heard of that you haven’t blown it. Five minutes to give him back the gift of immortality he’s finally asked for. Even if it was for all the wrong reasons, at least he made the choice this time. A second chance to be a vampire, on his own terms.
Wonderful answer to the challenge, alle!!
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Re: Overtime (Champagne Challenge #156, PG)

Post by allegrita »

Oh my gosh, I just realized I never responded to your comment, DSR! Thank you so much. :hug: I love to read your story analyses. I swear, sometimes you see things in my stories that I didn't even realize were there! :teeth:
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Re: Overtime (Champagne Challenge #156, PG)

Post by MoonShadow »

oh nicely done!

it took by surprise too, I finally "got" it that you were heading to "THOSE 5 minutes..." sigh...
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Re: Overtime (Champagne Challenge #156, PG)

Post by allegrita »

Thank you, MoonShadow! To be honest, I didn't realize I was going there either, when I first started writing. Josef seems to have known, though, because that's where we ended up. :teeth:
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Re: Overtime (Champagne Challenge #156, PG)

Post by Lucy »

Nothing like a heart that grows feet and jumps in with both of them...... :heart:

This illustrated such beautiful, sweet pain, I loved it.
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Re: Overtime (Champagne Challenge #156, PG)

Post by cassysj »

I so love this story. Josef has thought about a lot of those five minutes.
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Re: Overtime (Champagne Challenge #156, PG)

Post by allegrita »

Lucy, thank you very much! And cassysj, thank you for rereading and commenting again! I'm touched that you came back to this story. :hearts:
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