Digging (M/B, PG-13 - Champagne Challenge #103)

[francis]

Allegrita, this is great. I love the detail, the emotion you give them, and you have them so much in character it's scary. Because Beth is rarely written like this, tying everything into her penchant to dig around, to want to know, to deal with stress by thinking, to walk away and to run into problems stubbornly. When I saw the title I already knew this would be great.
Beth isn't squeamish when necessary, but when she took the stake out in episode 3 she made that cute "ugh" face. I can see her do it here, too.
And then she went home and tried to pretend it didn't happen. Like she did with her childhood trauma. It makes a lot of sense.
But who can forget such a back and chest, even when drenched in blood and sweat?
And who could forget the chivalry of Mick even when he is half dead?
So, she comes back to him to ask questions. Full circle.
This should have been in the show. I can almost see it before my eyes, but it's just not the same as repeating the scene in my DVD-player. Pity.

[Fleur de Lisa]

Wonderful, alle. I found myself holding my breath while Beth was removing the pellets! I was so into the story, I literally forgot to breathe--a mark of a great story teller!

I love when Beth is written as strong and no-nonsense. She is thrust into this surreal situation and just deals with it.
Fantastic adaptation.

[Missy]

This is wonderful, Alle. It makes me wish it had been written this way in the original show.

[janicevictoria]

Alle, this is the perfect continuation to the "I'm a vampire" scene. I really couldn't see Beth just leaving and with her inquisitive mind and depth of feeling for Mick, I know she would want to help him. You really convey their new found closeness to one and other in this story- Love it!

[allegrita]

coco, thank you so much--I know how much you love Mick and Beth and I'm thrilled that you liked this story.

francis, I'm so completely honored and touched by your incredible comments, I really don't know what to say. Thank you so much! You absolutely "got" this story the way I was trying to portray it... and I'm thrilled that you enjoyed it.

Fleur, please breathe... but I'm so happy you forgot to breathe while Beth was digging the silver out of Mick...that's just what I was going for. And I love that you liked her no-nonsense response. I really do see our Beth as being prone to compartmentalize things to the point of pretending they didn't happen. I believe strongly that she wouldn't allow Mick to suffer...not when he was so sick. But then she'd tell herself it was all her imagination, or that her nerves were overwrought, or something like that...
But she'd go back, because her curiosity would just kill her till she did!

Missy, thank you!

janicevictoria, thank you so much. I agree--Beth just wouldn't leave, not without being sure Mick was going to be OK. And as I said before... there's no way Beth wouldn't ask Mick about his miraculous healing at the beginning of the next episode... unless she already knew that he healed once the silver was out.

Thanks, everyone--it's such a pleasure to read all of your comments.

[Phoenix]

Brilliant, Alle.

[allegrita]

Thank you Phoenix! I'm so glad you liked it.

[Kade1301]

Very nice story with a very nice, down-to-earth Beth ("What’s he doing—trying to give himself a transfusion?" and "but not too close, ready to jump away if he attacks me")! I don't think it ties in with the beginning of the next episode (when Beth says: "I need you to tell me that I didn't see what I think I saw" - seeing a guy heal instantaneously might convince even me that he's not human) but I don't care - I really enjoyed reading it!

I especially liked that Beth wants to help Mick (normal reaction) and is willing to take the buckshot out (a bit of a stretch but a half-way logical consequence), but doesn't know how to do it (that would have been to much...)

Bye, Kade

[Liana]

Alle, loved the story very much!! :thumbs:
And I agree, I can't see Beth just running off after "I'm a vampire" too.
It's so not like her. But I don't see her digging out the bullets either.
(btw, remember the scene after she pulled out the stake in the next epi, she touched the healing wound in wonder, curious. So I'm thinking the healing thing was new to her in epi 3.)
Though I wish your version was in the show, it's so much more interesting!
I think she made sure that Mick would be ok before she left, anyway.

You've filled in the blanks so perfectly. And kudos to you for portraying Beth how I see and understand her in the show!!
Loved the awkwardness before she left, really so very natural! In the beginning of epi 3 when she comes to talk, you can see Beth being jumpy when Mick opens the door and then when she goes in through the door and Mick steps a little too close to her to push the door closed, invading her personal space, she's a little jumpy again. And Mick looking down the hall, if there's someone else with her, watchful, not trusting her yet...

I think the fact that Mick saved her in the very first episode made her trust him, he wouldn't hurt her. It was her time to prove him he can trust her too. The only thing I'm sorry about you didn't include in this fabulous story - is Beth keeping the secret. Mick didn't ask her to here, and didn't in the show... So I gather she knew intuitively not to tell Josh, her boyfriend, or anyone else. It also shows the level of her trust in the relationship with Josh, I think.

I even had a little laugh too! At this part:

I breathe in slowly through my nose, cut into the next hole, and extract another piece of shot. Mick and I both exhale at the same time, and I realize we’ve both been holding our breaths as I pulled out the pellet. I start to laugh, a nervous reaction, I guess, and I figure I’d better stop laughing, or I won’t be able to stop.

I looked at my reflection, saw my face scrunched like I was the one digging out the bullets,... and yep, holding my breath, too...

Thanks for the story!!

[allegrita]

Thanks Kade1301 and Liana. I agree that I stretched things a bit (OK, a lot)... but I didn't actually break anything...

Liana, I think Beth kept the secret in the couple of days after it happened, because the whole thing was so utterly dreamlike to her. She killed someone, she walked in on Mick drinking blood and twitching, she found out he was a vamp, she (at least in my story) dug silver pellets out of him... none of it seemed possible. So she kind of rolled it all into a ball and stuffed into the "pending" file in her head. You know that file--the place you stuff concepts that you just can't deal with right now?

The next couple of days would have been filled with the necessities of dealing with the shooting, and doing the story for BuzzWire. So she really wouldn't have time to drag the concept of, "OMG, Mick's a-- a-- VAMPIRE?!" out of that pending file in her head, or deal with the buckshot thing, either. And when she DID pull it out, she didn't tell anybody. She went looking for answers, because that's what Beth does.

I do agree with you that she appeared not to have seen Mick healing before the stake thing. BUT... maybe she was just amazed that he could heal from such a horrific wound. And that it didn't heal right away, like the little pellet wounds did (after she took the silver out, anyway).

See how I can justify all of this in my head?! yeah, my scenario is unlikely... but it IS possible in canon. With a stretch. And if you close one eye and squint the other one a little bit.

[Moonlighter]

Another fantastic “fill in the gap” fic. And I love how you made this able to flow right into Dr. Feelgood with Beth returning to Mick’s apartment and saying “I know what I saw—what I think I saw…” etc. And the double meaning of digging here was done so well –- Beth digging the silver out of Mick’s back as well as digging for more information on him. Clever lady, very clever.

I walk numbly along, looking for my car, until I realize—shit—we came in Mick’s car. I’m stranded. Damn it.

“Come on, get it together, Beth.” I take a breath and blow it out slowly. Then I dig my phone out of my purse and call Steve.

You know Alle –- I never thought about that! Beth was stranded at that warehouse once Mick left. But you bring his comment from NSTAV back to the forefront here –- Beth’s resourceful. And she indeed finds a ride home.

I finally gather enough courage to touch him. He jerks and tries to scoot away from me, but he’s trapped against the table. He has nowhere to go.

Man, this was just crushing to me. I never think of Mick as a monster or an animal, but this just reminded me of a poor wounded animal that doesn’t realize when a human is just trying to help it. He just cowers in fear.

I have to agree with you about Beth's reaction to Mick's wound in DF if it follows your story. I just chalk it up to her curiousity and incredulity at actually seeing a wound that bad heal up in a matter of minutes. She would simply be trying to believe her eyes, so, not that much of a stretch.

I can’t remember who first posted it, but I love that they wrote “You had me at ‘Please leave’” as their signature. So much desperate emotion from Mick in those 2 words.

I also like how you used that little alcove across from Mick’s apartment for Beth to wait out the 20 minutes. So she was already familiar with it by the time she hid there in TMC. And one last thing –- were you projecting when you named the concierge Stan? I just laughed out loud when I read that!

Another quite enjoyable Allegrita fic! Thank you!

[allegrita]

Another fantastic “fill in the gap” fic. And I love how you made this able to flow right into Dr. Feelgood with Beth returning to Mick’s apartment and saying “I know what I saw—what I think I saw…” etc. And the double meaning of digging here was done so well –- Beth digging the silver out of Mick’s back as well as digging for more information on him. Clever lady, very clever.

I walk numbly along, looking for my car, until I realize—shit—we came in Mick’s car. I’m stranded. Damn it.

“Come on, get it together, Beth.” I take a breath and blow it out slowly. Then I dig my phone out of my purse and call Steve.

You know Alle –- I never thought about that! Beth was stranded at that warehouse once Mick left. But you bring his comment from NSTAV back to the forefront here –- Beth’s resourceful. And she indeed finds a ride home.

I finally gather enough courage to touch him. He jerks and tries to scoot away from me, but he’s trapped against the table. He has nowhere to go.

Man, this was just crushing to me. I never think of Mick as a monster or an animal, but this just reminded me of a poor wounded animal that doesn’t realize when a human is just trying to help it. He just cowers in fear.

I have to agree with you about Beth's reaction to Mick's wound in DF if it follows your story. I just chalk it up to her curiousity and incredulity at actually seeing a wound that bad heal up in a matter of minutes. She would simply be trying to believe her eyes, so, not that much of a stretch.

I can’t remember who first posted it, but I love that they wrote “You had me at ‘Please leave’” as their signature. So much desperate emotion from Mick in those 2 words.

I also like how you used that little alcove across from Mick’s apartment for Beth to wait out the 20 minutes. So she was already familiar with it by the time she hid there in TMC. And one last thing –- were you projecting when you named the concierge Stan? I just laughed out loud when I read that!

Another quite enjoyable Allegrita fic! Thank you!

Moonlighter, thank you so much for your great comment! I see you've been doing a little digging yourself in the library. You've bumped a few stories up to the top, bless you!

I didn't even remember using the name Stan in this story till you mentioned it, but I went back and checked dates. Believe it or not, I wrote this story before we knew (BUP) Stan's name! So I guess I just had ESP.

I agree with you--Beth is resourceful and smart, and stubborn. She wouldn't let the fact that she didn't have a car keep her down. And the delay while she waited for Steve would give poor Mick a chance to stagger home. And she wouldn't just turn around and leave if Mick needed her help.

Thanks for noticing all the little things I threw in... I love to put in little things like that alcove, and see if anybody connects it... and you did!

[diane31]

Oh I love this version of what happened Alle!!! I fear I am mostly going to echo everybody... I love the fact that it is Beth's POV, and the level of detail that makes it so realistic... and I definitely wish we could have seen it in the show!!!
I love the way you capture her uneasiness. That really renders the MickBeth tension we love so much
I actually never found her off during the scene itself, somehow I found it natural that she was kind of dazed out and confused, I suppose partly because that's already her state of mind when she walks away from Carl outside the warehouse. But at the start of ep.3 I was all but shocked; I couldn't believe she would have just left him right there after he told her the truth when he was clearly badly hurt. (I have to say though, there is clearly a positive side to the show having left such gaping holes: they make for great fanfics to try and fill them!!! )

And generally speaking, you make the whole scene feel so believable, they reactions ring so true. I'm especially partial to these tidbits:

I finally gather enough courage to touch him. He jerks and tries to scoot away from me, but he’s trapped against the table. He has nowhere to go.

This just rings so true, that's both the most likely thing and such a beautiful way to describe his situation! That's just become canon for me!!!

“Please, I— please leave,” he says again. The tone rises at the end of the sentence, like he’s asking a question.

I love the way you put this, as someone else said one can almost hear him say "please stay"!!!

Thank you so much for this wonderful fic Alle!!!

[susieb]

I never believed Beth could just leave Mick there wounded and bleeding, no matter how shocked (or frightened) she was. And her shock did ring true to me given the whole of Ep 2 and all the strange and unanswered questions she had about Mick. I always felt her natural compassion and curiosity would have kicked in through the fog of shock and almost become a part of the sort of dreamlike (nightmare like?) fog she was feeling. Plus, unconsciously, she was feeling connected to this guy, whoever / whatever he was. Remember after he rescued her from the grad student, she knew he was the man who rescued her as a child. And she was dreaming of him. In a nightmare she'd been having for over 20 years.

As far as the scene in Dr Feelgood, when she touched the stake wound, I felt a sense of wonder from her. Proof positive to her that what she'd seen when helping Mick in ep 2 actually was real? I think so. I know if I'd been Beth, I'd have had a hard time believing anything I'd seen the night of Julia's kidnapping was truly real. The fast healing of the stake wound would have been welcome and awesome confirmation.

I also liked this because it helped explain why Mick would tell her more (beginning of ep 3). He doesn't wholly trust her... but he has very good reason to believe he can.

Just love your take on this!

[allegrita]

(I'm really tickled at your comments, diane 31 and susieb.)

I'm thrilled that you could accept this take on the story. I know that a lot of people have felt it was too much, that there's no way Beth could have seen what she saw, done what she did in my story and then gone to Mick and said her lines in the beginning of Ep. 3... but to me, it's all about that pending file in her head. She doesn't deal with her traumas very well, she just shoves 'em down and goes on with her life. But eventually, curiosity gets the better of her... which is why she's such a good reporter.

Thanks again!