Work Text:
TWO TO TANGO
Josef opened the door himself before his visitor had time to ring the bell. He just happened to be passing by the front room when he detected the presence walking up the sidewalk.
Beth was standing there when he flung it open, her hand paused in mid-air. She looked as startled as he was, to find her there unannounced. He narrowed his eyes as he took in her appearance; her hair was mussed, her eyes were puffy and her nose red. Not her usual glowing self.
Alarmed, Josef took her by the arm and pulled her inside as gently as he could, immediately barking questions. “What happened? Are you okay? Do you need a doctor? Should I call Doc Margo?”
“I—no, I’m fine, well, uh, that is to say…” Without warning she burst into tears and threw herself into his arms, sobbing. “I had a fight with Mick!”
Damn hormones, Josef thought, helplessly regarding the alien woman in his arms that he used to know. He wondered what she’d done to send Mick into a tizzy this time but wisely knew better than to voice that aloud. He’d been through this with Sara, and still vividly remembered the time Shane had come home from the market with Cool Whip instead of Ready Whip. The poor vampire had been totally confused by her ire; who knew there was such a huge difference? It wasn’t like they had such things when he was alive.
On the other hand, in many ways, the men were worse than their women. Most of the time Beth was still totally Beth. Which was most of the problem, really. Josef dearly hoped Mick hadn’t been stupid enough to actually tell Beth of his fantasy about handcuffing her to the stairs for the duration…
“Let’s get you inside.” He sighed, keeping a supporting arm around her shoulder as he went to close the door – only then spying the suitcase sitting beside it, at the same time that she asked,
“Can I stay here for a while?”
With another sigh, he scooped up her bag and regretfully closed the door with her on the inside. Hopefully, the St. John’s would mend their rift quickly. Even though he’d gotten somewhat used to pregnant women with Sara, they still made him slightly uncomfortable.
“Of course. You can stay as long as you need to,” he assured Beth, mentally making a note to call Mick and have a talk with him as soon as she was safely tucked into bed for the night.
XXX
Beth was up early the next morning. She hadn’t slept well, thoughts of her argument with Mick keeping her tossing and turning. She hated that they were so at odds these days; they’d always been so in tune with each other. Things had changed so drastically once she became pregnant that it left her hurt and confused.
She sat at the Bistro table in the kitchen, having a cup of tea and nibbling at some crackers, trying to get past her emotions so she could attack the problem logically.
One of Josef’s freshies came in, startling to see Beth there. Beth struggled to remember her name; she hadn’t had much contact with them over the years. She wasn’t sure why that was. Was it her who was reluctant to examine that aspect of vampire life too closely, or was Mick keeping them separate? Probably a bit of both, if she were honest.
“Oh, hi, Beth,” the woman greeted. “I didn’t know you were here.”
“Hi, uh, Candice, isn’t it?”
Candice smiled, nodding. “How are you?” she asked, looking conspicuously at her stomach.
Beth hated when people did that. She wasn’t handicapped for Christ’s sake, she was just pregnant. That reminded her of Mick’s attitude which only soured her mood further. She forced a polite smile. “Fine. And you?”
“Wonderful,” the girl replied, as she turned her attention to making coffee.
Oh, the tart is not going to drink coffee in front of me, is she?! How rude. Okay, so it’s not like she knows Mick won’t let me drink coffee. Mick won’t let me. I’m going home and punch him. Okay, so technically they’d negotiated that particular concession, and she’d agreed to compromise in order to win in another area. Beth watched the freshie as she tried to decide whether to fume or cry.
Candice finished putting the coffee on, glancing at Beth. “If the other girls wake up and there’s no coffee there’ll be hell to pay,” she explained in a voice that sounded apologetic. She moved to the fridge and started pulling items out, putting them on the counter. “I always have a high protein fruit smoothie in the morning myself; it really energizes me for the day. I can make you one too if you’d like?”
“Um…” Beth looked at the assortment of fresh fruit. “That sounds…great.”
Candice beamed and then turned her attention to cutting up fruit for the blender. “We can go out to the patio if you want, it’s a nice day.”
Beth felt slightly ashamed; she might have to reassess her uncomplimentary opinions of the woman. “How did you know the coffee would bother me?” she asked, curious.
“My sister couldn’t stand the smell of coffee when she was pregnant,” Candice explained.
“It’s not the smell that bothers me, actually the opposite,” Beth confessed, warming up to her some. “I’d kill for a cup right now, but I’m not supposed to have it.”
“Being pregnant’s pretty lame, huh?” the freshie said with a commiserating grin.
Beth suddenly decided she loved Candice.
XXX
Once the two women were sitting at the table on the patio sipping their smoothies, the conversation seemed to stall. It wasn’t like they had much in common, this live-in freshie and the vampire’s wife. Normally Beth would have had a head full of questions ready to take advantage of this opportunity to grill the freshie, but she was preoccupied.
“Mick’s a great guy,” Candice ventured hesitantly, and the sentiment was so opposite of what Beth was thinking that it made her ashamed again. “I mean, I hope you don’t mind me being so forward, but most vamps aren’t really into the whole ‘family’ thing.”
“Mick’s really into the “family” thing,” Beth said ruefully. “He doesn’t want to let me out of his sight.”
“That’s so sweet,” Candice began but seeing Beth’s look darken she hastily backpedal. “I mean, it’s probably frustrating for you. They can be very territorial and protective.”
Beth wondered if this expert in vampires might be able to help her with her problem after all…if she could bring herself to open up about it. Making up her mind, she leaned forward resolutely. “He’s driving me crazy. I’m nowhere near ready to take maternity leave yet, but if he had his way he would’ve had me locked up in the house for nine months. We had another fight over it,” she admitted. “I came here for a while to cool off. Is there anything I can do to get him to… chill out?!” The rest came out in a rush. “Before I’m forced to keep him staked for the duration??”
Candice was quiet while thinking over her response. She regarded Beth as she laced her fingers together. “You know that expression about how it ‘takes two’?” she began carefully.
“Are you saying I’m also to blame?” Beth asked, hackles rising again. She really couldn’t decide whether she liked or hated this chick.
“I’ve been with Josef for a long time,” Candice told her. “Been around a lot of vampires over the years. And one of the things I’ve seen close-up is the way they think about humans. They’re so strong Beth, almost invincible. They live for centuries, top of the food chain, as Josef likes to say. And here’s us fragile humans. The vamps that don’t keep their emotional distance and view us as more than just food, they have to watch us get sick, seriously injured in accidents that wouldn’t leave a scratch on them, grow old and die. They lose their human friends over and over. They know how vulnerable we are. Compared to them, we’re one step away from disaster every moment we’re alive. Throw in the fact that you’re carrying a baby in there,” Candice nodded toward Beth’s stomach, and Beth found herself involuntarily putting a protective hand on her belly. “A tiny life that’s not even born yet.”
“Not so tiny,” Beth had to admit with a laugh, and Candice joined her. Not just one either, but she didn’t feel like sharing that detail with the girl.
“I remember seeing my niece for the first time. God, she was tiny! When you hold your baby it’s going to hit you how helpless he or she is in this dangerous world. That’s how we are to vampires. Does that help you understand how Mick might be feeling right now?”
Beth’s pride wanted to argue, it was still condescending… but she knew more than anyone how much pain Mick had gone through since being turned, and how hard he’d fought to make as much progress as he had. Was she really that much of a hard ass that she couldn’t try to see things from the perspective of the man she loved?
Candice smiled kindly as she rose from her chair. “I’ve gotta get going, I’m doing some volunteer work for one of the KI-sponsored charities this afternoon. If you’re around tonight, maybe I’ll see you then.”
“Bye,” Beth said. “And uh, thanks for the uh, perspective…”
“Nobody said it was going to be easy,” were Candice’s parting words. “These vampires – even for us freshies -- talk about high maintenance!”
Beth laughed too, but it faded as Candice left. The truth, if she was big enough to admit it, was that she really hadn’t been ready to have kids yet. She was so caught up in her career that the idea of putting it on hold was frustrating. And sitting at home doing nothing wasn’t her style, she’d go nuts before long. Knitting baby booties wasn’t going to cut it, either. But Mick… Mick was really wonderful and loving, and he would do anything for her and their babies. There wasn’t a better husband or father in the entire universe. She was so lucky, and here she was taking that for granted…
“Not to mention that your situation is very different,” a gentle voice surprised Beth, as Josef walked out and took the vacated chair opposite her. He’d obviously heard the entire conversation.
“What are you doing up this time of day?” she asked. Even wearing dark sunglasses, Josef was rarely outside at the height of daylight.
“Not been to bed yet,” he explained. “Long conference call overseas, just ended.” Then he got back to the topic, his voice automatically lowering since the subject was a secret that only those closest knew. “This has never happened before that we know of, Beth. A half-vampire having a baby with a vampire. It’s new territory. Mick is terrified that something’s going to go wrong. Hell, we’ve only just got him believing he deserves to be happy. We’re just going to have to put up with him for the next several months.”
“Might be kinder to keep him staked,” Beth joked, although she realized she needed to try harder. It was only a few months, she could learn to deal.
Josef barked a laugh as he rose, giving her a kiss on the forehead. “I’ve gotta hit the freezer. I’m taking the freshies out on the town tonight, we’re gonna hit the clubs till dawn. Oh, and Mick will be stopping by around eight,” he added as if it was an afterthought.
“Thank you, Josef,” Beth told him sincerely.
“What are best friends for?” he asked rhetorically. “Oh, and rest assured that I will get Dice back for that ‘high maintenance’ crack,” he warned with a jaunty grin as he disappeared into the house.
XXX
Beth heard the door open and close quietly, even over the music playing on the stereo. She didn’t turn around, her eyes glued to Josef’s beautiful view of L.A... She still wasn’t sure what to say yet. She felt her visitor come up behind her.
“I’m sorry,” Mick said hesitantly, and the pain in his voice had her turning immediately, throwing her arms around him. The babies were between them in the embrace, as if they were hugging them, too.
“Me too!” she told him, fighting back the tears.
She really did hate the mood swings she’d been subject to. It turned her from a hard-boiled reporter to a weeping sap in zero point two seconds. More than once she’d wished she could ‘enjoy’ them the way Sara had. That girl knew how to use a mood swing. For the normally stoic girl who hated to show vulnerability, it was an excuse to be emotional and could be written off as to blame. Just as Beth suspected Josef had viewed the ‘breakdown’ he’d had a few years ago. Maybe she should take a lesson from them.
Mick’s hands framed her face. “I’m not trying to… I don’t want to change you, I love my feisty, pushy, tough Beth,” he told her earnestly. “I just…” Maybe he was having mood swings too because she could see his eyes glistened a bit.
And in an instant of perfect clarity, Beth got it. Mick didn’t want to admit to her that he was afraid, and it made him seem harsh and unreasonable instead. He was trying to be strong for her, didn’t want to worry her. So he took it upon himself to shoulder the burden for both of them.
“Like a wise lady recently told me, it takes two to tango,” Beth said. “It’s my fault too. I think we need to have a long talk, and renegotiate this thing.”
“I love you, Mrs. St. John,” Mick whispered, kissing her softly on the lips.
“I love you too, Mr. St. John,” Beth responded with a smile. “And it’s going to be okay,” she assured him with certainty. “Everything is fine, and it’s going to stay that way.” There was no doubt in her mind, she just had to try and convince Mick of that fact. “We’re fulfilling the prophecy, remember? The Oracle said the half-bloods and vampires would have children.”
“I don’t care about Oracles or prophecies. I just care about you and them,” Mick said, putting a hand on her stomach.
“And we’ll be fine,” she insisted in her ‘brook no argument’ Boss Beth voice. If one of them was going to be the comforter, the strong one, she was the best person for the job anyway. Maybe, if she looked at it that way, they'd both make it through the next months with their sanity. “I promise.” The smile she received from Mick made it all worth it.
As an upbeat song with an adequate tempo came on the radio, Mick swept Beth up into a very loose version of tango, dancing around the room with her.
The end
10/27/09