Fallen Angel - Challenge 120 9/11/10 (PG)

[darkstarrising]

Really beautiful story. I can definitely see Josef taking care of the John Whitley loose end. The fact that his hit man followed him to Sarah's Sanctuary alone would be enough to kill him.

Josef sees clearly what Beth is feeling and I'm glad he spelled it out for Mick. I'm just a little sad to see Sarah gone, although it makes perfect sense especially with the Sonata episode and the Sarah Whitley Memorial.

I like the take of falling off a pedestal.

Thanks, carol I'm glad you found this a beautiful story and the allusion to falling off a pedestal. I really think that that's where Beth had placed Mick and that's why she was so stunned when he refused to turn Josh.

Josef had to deal with Whitley. Even as old as he was, he might still try again, or worse 'out' Josef and that's not a risk Josef is willing to take. I didn't like that he had to let go of Sara either, but he realized finally that it was time.

[darkstarrising]

This makes so much sense, DSR! It's like a deleted scene from the show that hit the cutting room floor and we have been unable to view it until now! You've filled in this gap in the storyline perfectly!

Josef was able to give Mick the perspective he needed to "go on living", and help himself come to grips with his loss of Sara in doing so.

I too found this to be such a memorable exchange:

Mick: "..All I know for certain is that her heart lies with a dead man.”

Josef: “Yes, my friend, it does. It’s just that she’s not ready to admit that yet. How can she, when another man who once held her heart lies in the morgue this night?”

Loved it! Thank you DSR!!!

thanks, MoonlitRose I take it as a high compliment that this could have been a deleted scene and you're right, it would have taken only a few minutes of air time but would have filled in a gaping hole.

Glad you liked how Josef got Mick to open his eyes and see the truth of where Beth's heart truly lies. They're each in pain, but they know they can rely on each other for help.

[francis]

This makes perfect sense, dsr. Josef coming to Mick in this situation, and ending his things in New York, would be just what he would do. He was ready to resolve this situation. And Mick is in a similar transitional timeframe, and was really devastated when Beth rejected him. You made a great jump from one episode into another into a glide. The emotions are just right.
What strikes me is that you have not only Mick fall from Beth's pedestal, but also Josef fall from Mick's, and Beth fall from Mick's. Their whole perception of reality is shifting, and it's for the better. There is more honesty here. Josef is so very honest here, so earnest. I missed his snark a bit, but he's going through transition too. No longer can he deny to Mick that things affect him deeply.
Very well done!

[darkstarrising]

dsr, this is a tightly written little masterpiece full of insight and compassion. I knew I was in for a treat when I read this line:

Tonight, I’d fallen from the lofty pedestal Beth had put me on and the landing was hard.

Yes, Mick really did have to face a disillusioned Beth that night. It would have been an incredible shock to his system and you've conveyed that beautifully.

You weave the insights you mention from those episode discussions in so seamlessly, every line rang true.

You know, the true work of literature is to make a reader think, offer insights into the human condition (ironic in vamp fic, I know) and yours does this in spades. I really reflected on what his visit to her apartment that night meant, and how his refusal and her stinging rebuttals would have impacted upon them. I think you have it totally right. This is only the beginning for them if Mick will allow it, and perhaps he may even come to the same conclusion that I did after reading this... that a real woman can't love a guardian angel, because real love means loving the flaws in equal measure as the strengths, and that perhaps experiencing his 'human' failings for the first time is the one breakthrough they both needed to allow a deeper love to grow.


thanks for the experience.

Wow and thanks, Luxe The episode discussions we had on SB and LLF recently really got me thinking about how each of the main characters reacted to loss (Beth losing Josh, Mick thinking he's lost Beth and Josef losing Sara). Each of them has been a bit selfish (Beth not being honest with Josh or Mick, Mick wanting absolution from Beth, grieving over losing Josh, and Josef keeping Sara around for five decades). Each of them eventually comes around and decides to let go of the past and go forward (although in Josef's case, the series was incredibly ambiguous about what happened to Sara).

What I tried to do here was to prtray how Mick and Josef came to grips with the loss of the women they loved. In Josef's case, his loss of Sara was real, while in Mick's case, it's a perceived loss, but one which might become real if Mick doesn't take a chance with Beth. I like your thought about Beth not being able to love a guardian angel, an idealized creature without flaw. She realizes her own flaws and perhaps seeing Mick's finally comes to understand where her heart truly lies.

BTW - awesome new banner!!

[darkstarrising]

This makes perfect sense, dsr. Josef coming to Mick in this situation, and ending his things in New York, would be just what he would do. He was ready to resolve this situation. And Mick is in a similar transitional timeframe, and was really devastated when Beth rejected him. You made a great jump from one episode into another into a glide. The emotions are just right.
What strikes me is that you have not only Mick fall from Beth's pedestal, but also Josef fall from Mick's, and Beth fall from Mick's. Their whole perception of reality is shifting, and it's for the better. There is more honesty here. Josef is so very honest here, so earnest. I missed his snark a bit, but he's going through transition too. No longer can he deny to Mick that things affect him deeply.
Very well done!

Thanks, francis That's a great compliment about gliding from one episode into the next. While Josef's absence in LLF isn't odd, his reappearance in TMC with nary a mention of Sara was. The only explanation I could come up with is that the writers weren't sure at that point whether Sara was going to reappear in later episodes. By the time they were gearing up for the second season, they had decided that Sara wasn't coming back and introduced Simone as Josef's new love interest - hence the Sara Whitley Memorial Auditorium dedication in Sonata.

Your thought about Beth falling from Mick's pedestal and Josef's falling from Mick's makes perfect sense as well. Mick had idealize Beth as much as she had idealized him and finding her with Josh, then being pushed away by her hurt Mick deeply. Josef having decided to let Sara go must have changed Mick's perception of him as well.

As for the snark, I intentionally toned it down because each man was in pain and each was seeking comfort...but every once in a while it came through. And you're right, Josef has opened his own heart to Mick and there is no denying that he, too, is mourning a woman he loves.

[janicevictoria]

Ooooh, that was such a beautiful back story,DSR. Yes, our dear Mick certainly is a fallen angel, and the fact that he realizes this is one of the reasons we love him so much,

[darkstarrising]

Ooooh, that was such a beautiful back story,DSR. Yes, our dear Mick certainly is a fallen angel, and the fact that he realizes this is one of the reasons we love him so much,

Thanks, janicevictoria Yes he is, and now Beth realizes it as well. Still, she loves him. I'm glad you enjoyed the story

[redwinter101]

This is so lovely, dsr. I'm one of those who always struggled with both Mick and Beth's reactions to Josh's death and this piece (and the discussions that presaged it) have given me so much insight and made everything make a lot more sense.

I love wise Josef and this passage in particular is a stroke of genius:

"... All I know for certain is that her heart lies with a dead man.”

“Yes, my friend, it does. It’s just that she’s not ready to admit that yet. How can she, when another man who once held her heart lies in the morgue this night?”

Red

[darkstarrising]

This is so lovely, dsr. I'm one of those who always struggled with both Mick and Beth's reactions to Josh's death and this piece (and the discussions that presaged it) have given me so much insight and made everything make a lot more sense.

I love wise Josef and this passage in particular is a stroke of genius:

"... All I know for certain is that her heart lies with a dead man.”

“Yes, my friend, it does. It’s just that she’s not ready to admit that yet. How can she, when another man who once held her heart lies in the morgue this night?”

Red

Thanks, red The episode discussions on SB and LLF just got me thinking that there was perhaps a reason to have Josef reveal his human love, and in the very next episode, Beth lose hers. It was totally unsatisfying to have Sara revealed with no real explanation of her fate, and so, this story came to be.

[fairytoes]

lovely story dsr and absolutely beautiful written!! I adore the conversation between Josef and Mick. although, I have to admit, I always hoped that some day Sarah would wake up and Josef would get his happily ever after. But that's just silly, old, romantic me. Actually your take makes much more sense.

Thank you for this wonderful story.

[darkstarrising]

lovely story dsr and absolutely beautiful written!! I adore the conversation between Josef and Mick. although, I have to admit, I always hoped that some day Sarah would wake up and Josef would get his happily ever after. But that's just silly, old, romantic me. Actually your take makes much more sense.

Thank you for this wonderful story.

Thank you, fairytoes, and you're very welcome .....and there's nothing silly about being romantic.....after all, that's part of the attraction to Moonlight. It's just in this particular story, Josef doesn't end up with a happily ever after.

[jen]

[Moonlighter]

Hey DSR! I simply love all the references made to idols falling from pedestals because it means they can only land firmly in reality. Although Mick's perception is ill-conceived, thanks to Josef, he can now see Beth as a true skin-and-blood human who is reacting from guilt by being angry with him when he refused to turn Josh; Beth can see that Mick may be her guardian angel, but that he is also able to stick to his moral compass and did not turn Josh on a whim because she wanted him to; and Josef has come to realize that his failed turning of Sarah was just a tragic complication, and that him keeping her alive was not for her sake but for his. You tie this mess up so neatly in nice little bow, and that's just further testament to your superb writing skills. Loved it!

[darkstarrising]

Hey DSR! I simply love all the references made to idols falling from pedestals because it means they can only land firmly in reality. Although Mick's perception is ill-conceived, thanks to Josef, he can now see Beth as a true skin-and-blood human who is reacting from guilt by being angry with him when he refused to turn Josh; Beth can see that Mick may be her guardian angel, but that he is also able to stick to his moral compass and did not turn Josh on a whim because she wanted him to; and Josef has come to realize that his failed turning of Sarah was just a tragic complication, and that him keeping her alive was not for her sake but for his. You tie this mess up so neatly in nice little bow, and that's just further testament to your superb writing skills. Loved it!

Thanks, sweetie Moonlight had periodic inconsistencies, discontinuities or gaps (but we loved it anyway). The ambiguity around Sara's fate and what happened after Mick left Beth alone to grieve were two of the larger 'holes' in the storyline (which bothered me no end). Hence, this story.

Beth really idolized Mick in a way....believing he could save her or in this case, save someone she loved, without consideration of the consequences to either Josh or Mick. His refusal hurt her, but as Josef predicted, in the end she did come to understand that Mick was right to refuse her. One of the other things in LLF that bothered me was Beth taking Josh to bed, letting him think all was well between them. The more I thought about it, the explanation given in my story seemed to make sense. Again, Josef, who from his own experience, is the only one who can explain Beth's behavior to Mick, giving him hope that once Beth overcame her grief and guilt, she'd come back to him.

Glad you enjoyed it!!

[jen]

Fabulous.

It gets even better on the reread--I see new insights and more wonderful details.

Brava!!!

Jenna