Fever Redux (or, No-Star Cell Service) [ch. 3] PG13

[NocturneInCMoll]

Author’s Note: Okay, HUGE apologies for the delay. I know that Beth informing Josh that Mick was a vampire was a big, bad cliff to leave you all hanging on, but it wasn’t intentional. At the beginning of the summer, my Moonlight Muse deserted me and I went off the boards for a while—but the muse has returned, it seems--let’s hope she sticks around for a while…and that I have time to write! With my new full time job, I’m very far behind in my reading, too.

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are 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.


Fever Redux (or, No-Star Cell Service)—Chapter 3

An incredulous giggle escaped from Josh’s lips. “What? Beth, you’re kidding.”

Beth shook her head slowly.

Josh gently removed her hands from his cheeks and held them firmly in his as he looked into her eyes. “Okay…Beth…vampires don’t exist. I think, that with everything that’s happened lately—that college blood cult case, your…resulting obsession, your shooting a man, Mick’s death—it’s all come together, and—”

“I didn’t believe vampires existed either, Josh,” Beth took a shaky breath. “But they do. I’ve seen the proof with my own eyes.”

His brow furrowed. “But…how…why…”

She sighed. “After I shot Lee Jay to save Mick, Mick disappeared. One minute he was there; then I looked away for a second, turned around and he was gone. I knew he had been injured, so I left the crime scene as soon as I could and went to his apartment to see if he was all right. The door was open. Mick was inside. He was sitting on the floor, his back to me. I couldn’t see what he was doing. He refused to look at me—just begged me to leave. He was hiding something in his hand. I walked around, trying to see him, but he kept turning away from me. Finally I got a glimpse of what he was holding—it looked like a bag of blood.

“At first I thought maybe he’d lost too much blood from getting shot and was trying to give himself a blood transfusion. I kept trying to talk to him—I knew he’d been holding something back from me, but…I didn’t expect…when he finally looked at me,” she took a deep breath, “his irises were a pale blue, so blue they were almost white, and there was blood dripping down his chin.” Beth took one of her hands from Josh and trailed her fingers down her chin, then used her index finger to curl up one side of her upper lip. “When he opened his mouth to speak I could see his fangs. And that’s when he said it—that one phrase, just three little words, that have changed my world forever: ‘I’m a vampire.’”

Josh stared at her. She returned his gaze, unwavering. He expelled a breath and released the hand he still held to rake his fingers through his hair. “What—I can’t—”

“Lee Jay knew what he was—just as Mick knew what Lee Jay was. But Lee Jay was the true monster. Mick was trying to protect one of the women that Lee Jay killed.”

“A vampire? Protecting people? I thought vampires went around attacking and killing people in the dead of night!”

“No!” Beth said quickly. “Well, I mean they do—or they can. Sometimes. But they don’t have to! Mick says he gets most of his blood from the blood…bank…” she trailed off as she saw Josh’s raised eyebrow.

“So you’re saying the Red Cross just…”—Josh waved his hand around—“gives out blood to vampires?”

Beth winced. “Mick said they don’t actually know…”

“Well, no wonder they’re always short!”

“Excuse me?” Beth drew her brows together.

“The Red Cross—no wonder they always desperately need more donations, they’ve got vampires draining—literally—their reserves!”

“This isn’t funny, Josh!” She crossed her arms and looked away.

“Beth…” he touched her shoulder. “Beth, I’m sorry. It’s just, well, it’s a lot to…to take in. I’m trying to,” he paused a moment, searching for the right word, “assimilate this new information into what I know—or what I thought I knew—and it’s not going very well at the moment. Even though it sure does explain a few things.” He frowned suddenly.

“I know, Josh…I know…and I’m sorry I had to tell you. But I just really needed—someone,” her breath caught in her throat.

“No, Beth, I’m sorry. I’m not being very sensitive—again. I know you’re going through a lot—and you’ve obviously been through a lot. Much more than I have. I’m just so sorry you’ve had to go through this…discovery…alone. I at least have you.” His hand tightened reassuringly on her arm.

“But I wasn’t alone! …I had Mick. He’s been explaining things to me. Until now…” She looked away.

“Yeah, but he isn’t—I mean, he’s a…how could you…weren’t you…” Josh trailed off.

“Yeah, I was scared at first. I left right after he said the words. I couldn’t believe it—but I had seen it. After a few days, I hadn’t heard from him, so I went back to his apartment with a whole whack of questions. I wasn’t sure if he’d see me, but he did. And he answered all of them...eventually. I…I can’t promise you that he’s never killed a human being since he became a vampire. But he would never hurt an innocent now, and that’s what matters. He died trying to save your witness! He’s not a monster, Josh. A monster wouldn’t do the things he does…did,” she qualified with a slight quiver of her lip.

“Yes, but does it follow that all vampires are not monsters?”

**********************************************************************************************************************

“Stop worrying about me now, Leni—think about yourself, and the baby. I’ll be all right; you need to get some rest.” Mick patted her arm as he rose, then started to pace the room. “How are you doing with those chips? I wish they’d been cookies—cookies would’ve been better.” He stopped and turned to look at her. “—Are you sure they didn’t have any cookies in the mini-bar?”

She cocked her eyebrow at him. “Mick. Are you sure you’re all right? —You’re babbling. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you needed to eat some chips.”

“Yeah,” he sighed. “I’m just…restless, now that I’m up and about.”

Leni sat up a little with a gasp. “You’re still…hungry…aren’t you. You’re restless because you need to…I dunno, hunt, or something.”

Mick’s eyes flicked to hers in surprise. “How—?” his question hung in the air.

She leaned back against the pillow with a droopy, smug smile. “You’re not the only one with superior observational skills and deductive reasoning.”

Mick sighed. “After my overexposure to the sun, I needed lots of blood to recover. But I—I couldn’t take enough blood from you to satiate myself; not without harming the baby,” he stared a large stain on the carpet. “My ‘inner vampire,’ as my friend would call it, is still demanding to be fed. But don’t worry—I can control him now.”

Leni shrugged her shoulders slightly and shifted against the pillow. “I’m not worried.”

He started pacing again. “It’s because of the blood you gave that I can control myself again—but it’s also why I’m on edge now. Vampires survival instincts are very strong. If you hadn’t offered, but had stayed in the room with me, I don’t know how much longer I could have held on before I attacked you. It’s those same instincts that are telling me to hunt now, to finish the healing.” He eyed her anxiously. “But I promise you, I’ll be fine. It’s nothing I can’t handle.”

Leni twisted around to pull the pillow out from behind her back. “I’m not worried.” She fluffed the pillow, replaced it on the bed, and scooted down farther so she could lay her head on it.

“You saved me, despite the risk to your baby. I wouldn’t forget that, even if I could. I swear you’ll be safe. I’d go back outside and stand in the sun before I hurt you again.”

“Well, that’d make you a dumbass! But Mick—I’m not worried. What I am is really sleepy now, so if you could just shut up—”

Mick stopped and stared at her with mouth agape. “You’re going to be sleeping in a room, completely vulnerable, with a hungry, antsy vampire recovering from severe heat stroke. You should be worried, Leni. Think of yourself now—and the baby!”

Leni furrowed her brow. “Perhaps I’m confused—are you the expectant mother, or am I?”

He chuckled involuntarily, but looked stricken as he said in a low tone, “You. Definitely you.”

“Then I’ll decide what constitutes a threat to me and my fetus, thank you—and You. Are. Not. It.”

Mick pressed his lips together.

“Now…putting aside your itch to hunt, you are fine, aren’t you?”

“I’ll survive. You need rest now. Try to go to sleep—I swear I won’t…attack you…again.”

Leni rolled her eyes. “Yeah, because, as we established, I was really worried about that,” she snorted. “You haven’t ‘attacked’ me yet, Mick—and you wouldn’t dare unless I was awake to argue you into it. Why don’t you channel all your energy into keeping watch for the guy who’s trying to kill me?”

Mick shook his head with a hint of a smile. “Go to sleep, Leni…I’ll keep watch.”

“That’s better…” she said smartly as she lay back and drifted off. A shadow moved back and forth across her feet as she slept.

*********************************************************************************************************************

“No.” Beth answered frankly, to Josh’s surprise. “It doesn’t follow that all vampires are not monsters, and I know it doesn’t. I helped him track down a rogue last week.”

“A rogue,” Josh repeated. “You helped him track down a rogue vampire.”

“Yes—he needed my police contacts to get some information.” She smiled slightly at Josh’s expression. “Mick didn’t like me tagging along any more than I can see you do. But you know how I am. He figured it was better to keep me close where he could keep an eye on me and protect me if he needed to.”

Josh had no reply.

Beth continued, “The rogue had been turned accidentally. His sire abandoned him. The poor guy didn’t know what he’d become or what was happening to his body—he ended up running around tearing people’s throats out and draining their blood.”

“Wait,” Josh gasped, “are you talking about—was that Carl’s case? I heard about that! That was a vampire?”

“A rogue, yes,” Beth nodded. “—Makes more sense than a wild animal running loose in LA, doesn’t it?” She didn’t wait for a response, “—But now you can see that obviously the majority of vampires don’t run around killing people or this wouldn’t be the first you’d heard of it.”

“Point taken. So what you’re saying is, vampires are just like humans: some are monsters, some are not. They’re just misunderstood because of their dietary habits.”

“Josh…” Beth said warningly as she removed her hand from his.

Josh took her hand back. “Beth, I’m sorry. You know this is how I deal with things sometimes.”

“Yeah…I know,” she smiled slightly at him, but it wavered a little. “It’s just worrying me a little.”

He tilted his head questioningly.

“Josh, this has to remain a secret. People have been hunting vampires for thousands of years. If they knew, a lot of people—I mean, vampires…and humans—could die. Do you understand?” Beth looked at him and set her jaw. “Josh…do you understand?”

“I need some time to…process the implications of vampires existing,” he said slowly.

“I know that…believe me,” she smiled slightly. “—But you will keep it between us?” She laid a hand on his knee

Josh covered her hand with his. “I said I would.”

“Good,” Beth’s smile faltered slightly. “Because I don’t know what would happen to us if…if…”

“—I see.” Josh cut her off grimly.

She tilted her chin up defiantly. “Well, could you blame them?”

He sighed. “No, I suppose not—but I can’t like it. It goes against everything I believe in; everything I swore to uphold!”

“Well, up until a few minutes ago, the possible existence of vampires also went against everything you believed in, didn’t it?” she said pointedly.

“Yeah,” Josh admitted. “Like I said, it’ll take me some time to process all the implications.”

“I know,” Beth smiled wryly. “I had to struggle a tiny bit with my reporter’s instincts at first. But I couldn’t forget that Mick had saved my life, and Julia’s life. I quickly realized it was better this way—for me to work with Mick, instead of against him—and not just because I didn’t know what would happen to me if I didn’t agree to keep his secret.”

Josh nodded slowly. He was silent for a few moments. “Beth…what do we do now? About Mick?”

“What do you mean?” She bit her lip.

“Well, Mick’s…body.”


To be continued…

[redwinter101]

I'm so happy to see this update - I love this story and this is a wonderful chapter. I loved both conversations - between Mick and Leni and Beth and Josh - each in their own way so very touching. Leni was one of my favourite guest characters and I love that she still lives in this story - and so perfectly written.

Lovely, lovely, lovely, Julie.

Red

[wollstonecraft61]

You updated this marvelous story!! Yahoo!!! Oh, no, Josh knows the secret, and I am not sure he can keep it. Oh, boy, Mick is going to be pissed, not to mention Josef, when they find out. Oh, boy....

[NocturneInCMoll]

Thanks so much, Red! I'm so glad you enjoyed this chapter--I was a little worried I'd lost the flow after not posting for so long. Josef writing himself in threw things off a little, but I think it'll be okay in the end.

Thank you, Woll!! I think Josef will find out long before Mick will...we'll see what he thinks about Josh, and what Josh will think about him.

Next chapter is well on its way to being completed.

[allegrita]

Nocturne, I'm absolutely thrilled that you're continuing this great story. I love the parallel conversations, and I'm really glad that you're giving us a chance to get to know Leni better. You have captured her strength and gutsiness really well. I love the way she sasses Mick. And I love the way you've made him so antsy... just the way I imagine a hungry, hurt vampire would act. And I love the way that you've expressed Beth's and Josh's personalities through their conversation. It's fun to go back so far in the story and remember what Beth knew (and didn't know) at the time Fever aired. She really is groping in the dark here, and I imagine that helping Josh understand things is a good coping mechanism for Beth here. I can see all this coming back to haunt them later, but it's completely understandable under the circumstances. And Josh's response is great. I loved that Beth got kind of annoyed at him, and he realized it and backpedaled. Such a "couple moment"!

[darkstarrising]

Julie,

I'm so happy you've updated this story, a wonderful take on 'what if' Beth hadn't gotten the call. It seems your muse is back with a vengeance I don't know about Josh, though. He keeps talking about 'processing' everything he's just heard. I just hope in the end he makes the right decision.

Looking forward to the next update

[NocturneInCMoll]

Alle--Wow, thanks so much for the thoughtful & in-depth comment. I love those, and I love that you're analyzing things. I'm really glad you like how I'm portraying the characters. What Beth knew/didn't know at the time was one of the causes of this story--it all started when I rewatched Fever and started thinking about Beth's grief at hearing Mick was dead. I figured it wasn't just the death of a new friend, but also had to be--at least a little bit--that she was now all alone in a world where vampires existed, and had no one to talk to. Mick, the only vampire she knows and the only one she can talk to about this big secret she so recently discovered, is dead (she thinks). Enter Josh--who else is she going to trust? We'll see how he handles things.

Karen--Why, thank you! My muse may be back, but I'm finding I don't have much time to write at the moment, and less for reading. Josh IS talking a lot about processing, but that's what Beth basically had to do after she saw Mick as a vampire--it took her a couple days after she found out to go back to him for questions (it's a lot to "get"). I figure that Josh, being a DA, is very logical and very by-the-book, and he'll definitely need time to figure out how this revelation about vampires fits in with the way he thinks the world works and should work.

[greenleaf9]

Hey Nocturne! I know I already left you a comment over at FFN, but I had to comment here too--to feed your muse!

I loved this chapter, as I love all your writing!

[mitzie]

Excellent chapter!!!! I love the evolving of each of their individual personalities and the progress in each of duos. I love Leni as you've written her here, very realistic. I love this story and can't wait to see where it goes from here...


mitzie

[NocturneInCMoll]

GL, I ain't gonna complain about more lovely comments from you! Thank you very much! Glad you're still loving the story.

Mitz--Yay, thank you! Glad you enjoyed. I think Leni's good for Mick at the moment. She's not putting up with his "I'm a monster" shtick.

[francis]

This is such a great take on the story. It's what I expected or feared to happen while the show was running, that Leni would be bitten and that Beth would one day tell Josh. Leni was a wonderful character and really underused.
Your dialogue is spot on, especially Mick worrying a hole into the carpet.

I'm glad your muse is back.

[NocturneInCMoll]

Thanks so much, Francis! I'm glad you're enjoying, and especially pleased that you think the characters and dialogue are coming out right. Ch. 4 is well on its way to being completed, and Ch. 5...well, that's the chapter that Josef comes into things and he's trying to take over the entire chapter and maybe more, which would ruin the scene-switching between B&J and M&L. I'll have to see what I can do about that. Stupid Josef!

[francis]

Yeah, Josef tends to do that. Maybe you can distract him with a short oneshot about him.

[NocturneInCMoll]

Ooh, was that a sneaky attempt at getting one more story towards meeting the 1,000 goal?

I still haven't finished my last one-shot (due MOONLIGHT)--let me try and get that completed, and then I'll see what I can do.

[draco]

I loved the conversation between Leni and Mick. She got him and his self loathing under controll
I'm a bit worried about Josh though... I'm not yet convinced that he can keep the secret... and what he'll do when Mick reaturns is another matter