Waiting for the Moon (ML XO,UC,Mature) Part 7 12/6/08 [WIP]

[X-tremer89]

I guess it's time to repost this, due to the board restore





Title: Waiting for the Moon

Author: X-tremer89

Pairing: UC; Liz / Josef

Rating: Mature (just to be safe)

Category: Roswell / Moonlight Crossover

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything Roswell or Moonlight.

Summary: What if Liz isn’t who she pretends to be? And what happens when her old life catches up to her?

Additional information: The story begins before Tess kills Alex in Roswell. No specific episode for Moonlight. Liz moved to Roswell when she was 15 years old, she then became friends with Maria and Alex. As for Moonlight, Sara never existed. I moved the Roswell happenings a few years later, meaning that the shooting happened in 2006 instead of in 1999.



The lyrics used in chapter one are Forty Foot Echo - Brand New Day

The lyrics used in chapter two are Johnny Cash - I Still Miss Someone




Chapter 1

Arundel House, England, 1610

“Just you wait Lizzie, I’m going to get you!” eleven-year old Josef Konstantin shouted at the departing back of his friend Elizabeth Howard, called Liz by her family and Lizzie by him. He had known her since the day she was born and had been friends with her from the moment she could talk. Lizzie meant everything to him and he wanted to protect her, so he spent as much time as possible with the petite dark haired girl with the big brown eyes that could get her everything she wanted. He could tell her everything and vice versa, she was his confidant and simply a person Josef never wanted to miss, no matter what happened. While the young boy had been lost in thoughts, he hadn’t paid attention to what happened around him, so he missed Liz sneaking up behind him. “Got you!” Liz screamed, laughing while she started to run away again. Josef took off after her, sure that he would be able to catch her this time.

Arundel House, England, 1620

“I can’t believe they are doing this!” Liz was pacing the room.

“You’re going to leave a mark in the carpet if you don’t stop walking back and forth.” Josef had his arms crossed in front of his chest, watching his fiancée as she tried to work off some of her anger. He wondered why there wasn’t any smoke coming out of her ears.

“I don’t get how you can be so calm about this!” Liz looked at him, pressing her lips together after her words so they were only a thin line.

“And I don’t get why you are so angry about this.” Josef replied, taking a few steps towards Liz. As he reached her, he put his hands on her upper arms, trying to calm her down at least a little bit. “Lizzie, I love you. I know that and hopefully you do as well. We would have talked to them some time in future anyway. Why are you so angry about our parents deciding that we should get married? It is what we wanted, just sooner than expected.”

Liz closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. Josef always had this calming effect on her, no matter how angry she was. “Of course I know that. And love you just as much. It is just … they always made me believe that they would not intrude on my decision who I want to marry. Now they do the exact opposite! They decided who I am supposed to marry without even asking me.” Liz took a small step towards Josef, who put his arms around her instantly. She leaned her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of being so close to Josef. “Don’t misread my anger; I really want to marry you. It’s just the circumstances this was decided in that madden me.”


Los Angeles, 2007

Josef’s eyes snapped open as he heard something - or rather someone - knock on the lid of his sleeping-place. He pushed the enormous freezer open, not saying a word to Mick St. John, the person freeing him from the nightmare he just had. However, it wasn’t exactly a nightmare. It rather were memories that still haunted him. Liz. He still loved her, nearly 400 years after losing her. Josef shook his head, tried to get rid of her image. “Mick, haven’t I told you not to wake me up? Your ugly face is not what I want to see first thing in the morning. Or at dusk, depending on the way you look at things.” Mick decided not to answer a cranky Josef who hadn’t had anything to eat - or drink - yet.

“Since I’m not interested in the reason for your particularly bad mood tonight, I’m going to get straight to the point. I need your help with the case I’m currently working on. A girl has been shot in the café her parents own in the middle of the day. There even was a bullet hole in her uniform; at least the police record says so. However, the girl seems to be unharmed. Don’t you think that’s a bit strange?”
Josef rolled his eyes, sighing while he climbed out of the freezer. “You think it’s a vampire?” He really wasn’t interested, but his upbringing got the best of him, forcing him to ask. Even if it was only by courtesy.

“I’m pretty sure that she is one. But I have to be sure. That’s were you come in. I’m going to go to Roswell and …”

“Wait a minute. Roswell? As in Roswell, the alien capital of the world? You’ve got to be kidding me. You really want to check out something out of the ordinary that happened in Roswell? Why don’t you go searching for those little green men with the antennas on top of their head while you’re there?”

“Funny.“

“That’s what I thought.”

“Are you finished?”

“I think so.”

“Good. As I was about to say … while I’m in Roswell, I want you to look after my stuff.”

“That’s what you woke me up for? Mick, you could have left me a note. Do you have any idea how important beauty sleep gets when you’re 400 years old? Of course you don’t. You’re only 90.” It was Mick’s turn to roll his eyes at his best friend’s behavior.

“Don’t be such a drama queen. You were about to wake up anyway. So? Are you going to look after my belongings while I’m away?” He knew that Josef would do him this favor, but he wanted to have an answer.

“Sure. Now go before I start to think twice.” Mick couldn’t help but grin at Josef’s immature act and decided to do as he was asked - just this once. A mysterious shooting was waiting for him to clear up the mess anyway. After Mick was gone, Josef went back into his freezer. He still had about two hours of sleep left until it was time to get up, no matter what Mick was thinking.


Osbourne Hall, England, 1617

“I want to see him!” Josef could hear Liz screaming on the other side of the door, but the maid in front of the door was persistent.

“You can’t. He is seriously ill and nobody except the doctor is allowed to see him. There is too much of a risk that somebody could catch the sweating sickness.” The 15-year-old girl in front of the maid started to cry. Nearly nobody survived this illness. Just another reason for her to see him. If he died, than she would as well. They had promised that to each other in the carefree spirit only children had.

“I don’t care if he passes it on to me. If it happens, so be it!” After saying that, Liz pushed her way past the maid and entered Josef’s bedroom.

He looked at her, his eyes dull and paler than she had ever seen him. “Are you out of your mind?! Get out of here Liz!” It took a lot of strength to tell her to leave, not only physical strength but emotional since she was the only person he really wanted to see.

“I don’t think so. I am not going to leave you alone. I made a promise and I intent to keep it.” Josef knew very well which promise she was talking about, but he wouldn’t have it. Therefore, he decided to do what was necessary to make her leave.

“But I don’t want you here! Just go away, I can‘t stand to look at you, healthy as you are, while I‘m on my way to Hades!” He could instantly see the hurt covering her face while new tears entered the brown eyes he loved so much.

Never thought I'd say I'm sorry
Never thought I'd be the one to bring you down
Now when I look out my window
But there doesn't seem to be anyone around

“Fine, I’ll go.” She backed away, slowly, tripping over her own feet. Finally, she turned around and ran out of the room. Josef closed his eyes. It hurt him just as much to say these cruel words as it had hurt Liz to hear them. However, it was only in her best interest. She did not need to catch his disease and suffer as he did. He wanted her to have a long, happy life. Not a short and painful one. He felt a tear slowly sliding down his cheek, but it didn’t matter to him. He just drove away the person he loved more than anything in this world. Nothing mattered to him anymore.


Los Angeles, 2007

Josef woke up for the second time on that evening. Why in the name of god was he dreaming about Liz again all of the sudden? He didn’t have a rational explanation. Once again, he shook his head and got out of what was his version of a bed. He had a business to take care of; there was no time to dwell on thoughts of times long gone. Or people long gone in this case.

[X-tremer89]

Chapter 2

Roswell, 2007

“So this is the girl that can’t be harmed by a bullet.” Mick muttered to himself. Nobody in Roswell talked about that incident anymore since it had been over a year ago, but to Mick the story wasn’t old news and he wanted to get to the bottom of it all. His gaze followed the petite waitress as she talked to some customers, always presenting a friendly smile that would surely get her a tip, before she went back to the counter to get some French fries for a guy named Alex she had talked to earlier. He seemed to be one of her friends, so it would be wise to talk to him later to get more information about the bullet-proof girl.
While Mick made that mental note, he hadn’t seen Liz approach him.

“Welcome to the Crashdown, my name’s Liz and I’m your waitress. What can I get you?” She looked at him expectantly first, but then she seemed to realize who - or what - he was. A confused look crossed her face, but it was gone again as fast as it had appeared. Mick himself wasn’t surprised at the realization that she was a vampire. He had assumed that she was one from the moment he read about the incident.

“Just some water.” Liz nodded and quickly left his table. What she didn’t realize was that Mick took a few pictures of her with his mobile phone while she was getting his water. He would send them to Josef later to see if he could find out anything about Liz Parker.


Los Angeles, 2007

Josef stared at the screen of his laptop, unable to form a coherent thought, let alone a correct sentence. It couldn’t be. The picture that captivated him couldn’t be real. Liz was dead and nobody could look like her, it was simply impossible. There was no way that anybody could even bear a faint resemblance to this angel he loved and lost 400 years ago. Suddenly the vampire with the normally tough and distant act was glad that he sat down before looking at the picture Mick sent him. He even forgot about the phone he still clutched in his right hand.
“Josef? Hey, Josef! Stop giving me the silent treatment. Do you know her?” Mick finally managed to get Josef out of his thoughts, but the answer the older vampire was giving him didn’t exactly satisfy the private investigator.

“I’m gonna call you later.” With that, Josef ended the conversation, something Mick didn’t approve of. Josef could be certain about this circumstance since the phone he still held in his hand started to ring again.

“I told you that I’ll call you later Mick.”

“No, you are going to talk to me now. What is it? I mean, it’s obvious that you know her.”

“It’s complicated.”

“As if our life is ever easy.”

“You don’t understand.” “Then help me understand. Josef, what is it?”

“She … she can’t be alive.”

“Well, obviously she is. Why did you believe she was dead? Was she a snack a few years ago?”

Josef growled lowly, telling Mick without words to shut up. “She was my fiancée.” He finally admitted. “Back when I was human. We were strolling around the gardens of her parents’ house when we were attacked. When I woke up as a vampire, she was gone. I have never seen her again. Until now, that is. I thought she was dead. I can’t believe that the thought never occurred to me that whoever turned me could have turned her as well.” Josef was not talking to Mick anymore; he was talking to himself, completely unable to cope with the situation. “I have to see her with my own eyes. I won’t believe that it’s her until I’ve seen this girl.”

Mick had a vague premonition that this wasn’t going to end well, so he tried his best to keep Josef away. “Josef, you don’t have to come here. Remember, little green men with antennas? They are everywhere in this town. It would drive you mad. As well as the tourists. I’m sure that this girl isn’t who you believe her to be. You saw her the last time 400 years ago. Images blur as the time goes by. Don’t do anything stupid.”

“Her image didn’t get hazy, believe me. And it is her.”

“You can’t be sure of that.”

“Damn it Mick, her name is Liz! My fiancée was called Elizabeth, Liz for short.”

“Josef, I hate to break it to you, but there are more girls called Liz out there.”

“Oh really? Stop treating my like a moron. It has to be her. Same hair, same eyes, same nose and lips, same name, the same smile… ” Josef got off the track for a moment as he stared at Liz’ picture and the slight smile gracing her features and making her eyes shine. “… This cannot be a coincidence. There are too many similarities. I’m coming to Roswell.”

Mick sighed, knowing that arguing with Josef wouldn’t get him anywhere. It would only jar on his nerves, something he could easily live without. “Fine. I don’t know what you expect of coming here, but fine. But do me a favor and find somebody to take care of my business while you’re out of town chasing ghosts.”

“I’m going to give your keys to your little human friend Beth. I’m sure she won’t mind.” Without waiting for an answer, Josef hung up the phone for the second time. He just then realized that the radio was playing an old song by Johnny Cash.

At my door the leaves are falling
A cold wild wind will come
Sweethearts walk by together
And I still miss someone

I go out on a party
And look for a little fun
But I find a darkened corner
'Cause I still miss someone

Oh, no I never got over those blues eyes
I see them every where
I miss those arms that held me
When all the love was there

Josef turned the radio off. Just what he needed right now. It really couldn’t get any cheesier. He looked at Liz’ photo again. The song came to his mind. “You were wrong, Johnny. Here eyes are chocolate brown, not blue.” It was stupid to answer to a song, but he did it nonetheless. Josef shook his head, trying to focus. He then booked the next flight to Albuquerque where he would rent a car to get to Roswell.

[X-tremer89]

lizandzackfan
LizMichael 4ever
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KiaraAlexisKlay (thanks for the advice =) I wasn't sure about the whole formatting thing anyway, so thanks for pointing it out ^^)
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Thanks to all of you for your amazing feedback. It's kinda overwhelming to see how many people actually read this *lol*


The lyrics used in this chapter are Forty Foot Echo - Brand New Day


Chapter 3

Arundel House, England, 1617

It was Christmas Eve and Liz’ parents decided to throw a big party with all their friends as well as inviting people they wanted to impress. Liz herself was sitting in a corner, trying her best not to look bored, but she failed terribly. At least Josef thought so as he watched her play with the fabric of her dress. The dark red tint made her olive colored skin look a bit paler than it actually was, but she looked beautiful nonetheless. Her long dark brown hair had been curled and some strands had been pinned up, but the rest cascaded down her back in a waterfall of chocolate colored tresses.
She had not spoken to him since he had pushed her away, believing that he would die soon. However, fate had different plans for him: he survived. Josef had tried many times since he got better to talk to her, knowing that it would not be easy. However, he really underestimated the thick skull Liz had. At most attempts, he wouldn’t even see her because her parents or a servant sent him away. And when he got to see her, Liz simply ignored him, talking to a maid or just answering his words with deafening silence.
However, tonight this was about to change, he would make sure of that. He had waited long enough for her to comprehend why he acted this way. Tonight he would make her understand, whether she liked it or not. He was about to walk over to her as he saw a young guy approaching her. Thomas Hastings, if he remembered the name of this redheaded pale bloke correctly. He couldn’t hear what they were talking about, but finally Liz put her hand in his and let him lead her towards the dance floor. Josef couldn’t believe what was right in front of his eyes. Why in god’s name did she agree to dance with Thomas? Soon enough Josef felt something at least close to satisfaction as he saw that Liz clearly wasn’t enjoying herself. Thomas kept her in an iron-like grip, dancing as if his legs were stiff.
As soon as the dance was over, Liz excused herself and went outside the house. Josef followed her, wanting to make sure that she was okay. He watched her close her eyes as she took a deep breath, obviously enjoying the feeling of the cold air filling her lungs. He slowly approached her, not wanting to scare her.

“Do not think that I didn’t see you watching me, Josef.” He should have known that she had noticed him already.

“Well, I just wanted to make sure that Thomas didn’t crush you. His grip on you didn’t exactly look comfortable.”

Liz looked downwards, noting that the snow already began to freeze the hemline of her dress. She couldn’t care less. “You’re right, it wasn’t. Now if you’ll excuse me …” Liz wanted to go back inside, not because she missed being among all those people but because she couldn’t stand to be alone with Josef. Her heart still hurt badly and every time she saw him, his words rung in her ears. Words that still cut her like a knife. But Josef grabbed her arm as she walked past him. He wanted to fix this mess. Every day without Liz was torture for him and he couldn’t live like this anymore.
“Josef … let go of me, please.” Liz’ voice was weak, not really meaning what she said.

“Not until you let me speak.” Liz sighed, slowly turning around. The begging expression on the face of her childhood friend was enough to make her go weak in the knees.

“Fine. Speak.” She wanted to say more, but her voice wouldn’t let her. Josef led her towards a bench under a big tree that wasn’t covered in snow and took her small hands in his bigger ones, warming up her fingers as he held them.

And I, I think I'll change my ways
So all your words get noticed
Tomorrow's a brand new day
Tomorrow's a new day

“Lizzie, I’m …”

“It’s Elizabeth.” She didn’t want him to call her by the nickname he used since they were children. Too much had happened to still hold on to old terms of endearment. Josef felt like she had just stabbed him, but he tried to cover his hurt.

“Fine. Elizabeth it is then.” He took a deep breath, trying to get ready for what he was about to say. “I’m sorry. I am sorry for hurting you, for pushing you away. But I had to.” A bitter laugh escaped Liz’ lips, but she didn’t say anything. “Because I made a promise as well. I promised that I would not let anything harm you. Ever. And I could have harmed you. You know how easy it is to catch the sweating sickness. I just wanted to protect you. But I knew that you wouldn’t stay away if I simply asked you to. I had to hurt you to make sure that nothing would happen to you. I thought I was going to die and I didn’t want you to suffer the same fate because I failed to keep my promise.”

We said we'd take a little time
For both of us to see
And wonder what it'd be like to carry on
Yeah, I know I got crazy
Well, I guess that's just me
If I could turn back time before the wrong

Liz couldn’t stand it anymore. She jumped to her feet, freeing her hands from Josef’s grasp at the same time. It might not be the way to behave for a lady, but Liz couldn‘t care less. “Did you just listen to yourself? Everything you told me was about you. What you wanted. You didn’t even ask me! What if I chose to suffer the same fate? What if I decided that I want to be harmed if it means being near you? Those thoughts did not even cross your mind, did they? Of course not, because it doesn’t matter to you what I want!” Liz turned around and started to walk back to the house of her parents, but she didn’t get too far since Josef easily caught up with her.

He grabbed her arm once again, forcing her to stay. “Let go of my arm or …” Liz didn’t get a chance to carry on with her threat because Josef silenced her with a kiss. She wanted to fight it, really wanted to get away, but her mind clouded over more and more as the innocent kiss - her first kiss - continued. This was the least thing Liz had expected tonight and caught her completely off guard. And whether she wanted to admit it or not, it felt good. She’d even say that it felt right.

After a few moments, Liz stopped fighting against his hold and let the soft touch consume her. When the need for air became too much, Liz pushed Josef away, leaning her head against his shoulder. He put his head on top of hers, slowly stroking her back. “Elizabeth, I would rather have you hate me than suffering because of me.”

“It’s Lizzie.” Her words made both of them smile, knowing that everything would go back to normal.


Roswell, 2007

Liz was confused that her past chose this time to haunt her. Another vampire was in Roswell and she didn’t know what to make of it. Now this memory of her mortal life. What did all of this mean? Was there a connection between this guy and her remembering her past? Did he maybe even turn her? No, that was absurd. Thomas did it, she was almost certain of it.
She would remember this new vampire in town if she had seen him before. He was what people would call tall, dark and handsome. Just what Liz made herself believe she liked in a guy, leading her to date Max, which was the biggest mistake in her life. She had enough problems on her own before, no need for all the alien abyss she got sucked into. However, that was a mistake she could not fix anymore, she was in too deep to just walk away.
She had dragged Maria and Alex into this mess, the two people she relied on, even if she never told them about her vampire status. Liz chuckled as she tried to imagine Maria’s reaction if she had told her. Most likely Maria would run away screaming as she did when she had been told about the aliens, but this time she would cover her neck while running. Then a somewhat sad thought crossed her mind. In a few years, she would have to disappear from the radar of her best friends before they started asking questions why she didn’t look a day older than 18 years. Liz shook her head, not wanting to think about it. She’d have to deal with this soon enough.

A knock on the door of her room caught her attention. “Liz, are you ready?” It was Maria, waiting for her to come out of her room so they could go to the cinema.

“Just one moment, I have to fix my hair!” Liz called while she put her hair in a high ponytail. After she put on some lip-gloss, she was ready to go and opened the door.

“Let’s go, they won’t wait for us.”

“Maybe they will, because I’m not that sure that anybody else wants to watch another rerun of ‘Gone with the Wind’ on the big screen.” Liz laughed and linked arms with Maria as soon as they had left the house. Tonight she would have fun with a friend and be carefree, like any other 18-year-old girl in Roswell. Neither of the girls realized the dark figure around the corner taking photos of them.

[X-tremer89]

Maiqu
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Thank you for the feedback. It really gave me a boost and my muse actually kicked me to write faster *lol*

The lyrics used in this chapter are:
Counting Crows - Goodnight Elizabeth
Snow Patrol - Make This Go On Forever


Chapter 4

Roswell 2007

The impatient knocking on the door of his motel room caused Mick to swear. He didn’t even have to think about who this could be. There was only one person he knew that was so eager to get to Roswell, not necessarily see him first, but Josef seemed to have cooled down at least a little bit, which was good because now he wasn’t as likely to do something stupid. On the other hand, if he saw his former fiancée face to face … who knew what Josef would do?

“Mick, open the damn door, I don’t have all night.” Mick rolled his eyes before finally opening the door. Josef stormed past Mick into the room.

“It’s nice to see you, too, Josef.”

“I wanna see the rest of the photos.”

“I’m fine, thanks for asking, how are you?” Josef growled, signalizing Mick that he was walking on very thin ice.
Mick opened his laptop and a few clicks later, Josef was pushing him out of the way, staring at the photos his friend had taken of Liz. There she was, waitressing, laughing, talking with some people about the same age who he assumed to be her friends, at least according to the content look on her face as well as the small smile lighting up her eyes. Josef didn’t notice the smile forming on his own lips. The more pictures he saw, the more he realized that Elizabeth, his Lizzie, really was alive. At least as alive as a vampire could possibly be.

I woke up in pieces and Elisabeth had disappeared again
I wish you were inside of me
I hope that you're ok
I hope you're resting quietly
I just wanted to say
Goodnight Elisabeth

The next pictures made him laugh. Liz was walking with a blonde girl, arms linked and laughing. “400 years and you haven’t changed even a little bit.” He mumbled while tracing the contours of her face with his index finger.

“What?” Mick decided to bring Josef back to reality. Josef turned around, still smiling, something that had Mick wonder if Josef just might have lost it. He had never seen Josef smile like this. Carefree, not plotting anything … simply happy. There was not much that could scare Mick, but seeing Josef like this was definitely one of the few things that could.

“This … Liz linking arms with a friend while walking … she already did it in the beginning of the 17th century when we were still alive. We used to walk like that when we were strolling around the gardens of her parents‘.” Josef’s eyes suddenly tarnished. “This was about as close as we were before were attacked.” Josef closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to gain control over his emotions. As he looked at Mick again, there was a completely new level of determination in his gaze. “I have to see her. Now. Give her address to me.”

“No.”

“What do you mean, no? Mick, give it to me or I swear I’ll tear this town apart until I’ve found her.” Mick had the suspicion that Josef wasn’t joking, so he sighed before giving him the address of the Crashdown Café.

“She lives in the apartment above the café with her parents. But she’s still in the cinema; she and her friend Maria went to watch ‘Gone with the Wind’ about an hour ago.”

“I’ll wait for her.”

“Sure, and when she comes back, you’re going to give her a heart attack.”

“Which would be so bad since her heart is still beating and everything.”

“Who says that Maria won’t come home with her? She’d call the police in an instant, reporting a burglar who might have even worse intentions since he waited for a young woman to come home.”

Josef slumped down on the sofa, hiding his face in his hands. “And how do you suggest I should approach her? I’ve waited 400 years to see her again; don’t expect me to be patient about it.”

“You certainly can’t just turn up in her room and say “I’m back, let’s throw a party!” It doesn’t work that way. It’s been 400 years, Josef. You should talk to her friends first, getting to know her again through them. Then you can think of a way to let the girl you loved …”

“I still love her.”

“Fine. Then you can think of a way to let the girl you love know that you are still alive as well.”

“This takes too long. I can’t wait that long, not when I know that she is just a few minutes away.”

“You have to, otherwise somebody might get suspicious. I mean, imagine this: a guy nobody has ever seen before turns up in Roswell, goes straight to the Crashdown Café, knowing you in the dinner rush, walks up to one of the waitresses and is all over her. Nobody would notice that.” Josef didn’t like the sarcasm underlying Mick’s last words. He gnashed his teeth, knowing that Mick was somewhat right. Not fully, at least Josef didn’t want to admin it, not even to himself.

“Fine. Who do you think I should talk to?” He wanted to get this over and done with as soon as possible.

“I’d say Maria, but there’s always the slight chance you might kill her because she talks too much. Alex Whitman, the guy you saw on the photos from the Crashdown, would probably be sparing you some nerves. It seems like he is just as close to Liz as Maria is, so there shouldn’t be any important information lost when you talk to him instead.”

Josef nodded, getting up from the couch. “And where does he live?” Mick took his laptop and after a few minutes, he gave Josef the address he needed. “Thanks. I’ll see you around.” Without waiting for an answer, Josef left the motel room, leaving Mick alone again. The younger vampire shook his head at the enthusiasm his best friend was operating with. He had never seen Josef like this and hopefully this would be the first and the only time.



A few blocks down, Josef silently swore under his breath. There was no light in the whole house he was standing in front of, meaning that either everybody was out or everybody was asleep. And since the car of the family was parked in front of the house, the second possibility seemed a lot more likely. He’d have to wait until the next day. Waking someone up wouldn’t exactly add to the level of trust he needed to get information about Liz.
He went back to the motel Mick was staying in. It seemed to be the best Roswell had to offer, which was the reason Josef took a room there as well. Arranging a sleeping place was a completely different story, he would have to improvise on that because he didn’t have his freezer here. After looking around the room, Josef decided that it would be best to fill the bathtub with cold water and throw some ice in it. Not the most ideal solution, but he’d survive. After he got rid of his clothes and got into the tub, he quickly fell asleep, but not before looking at the picture of Liz again that he printed out and put in his wallet.


Osbourne Hall, England, 1620

“Do you really think that this is a good idea? My father is going to kill you. And put me in a convent. Just because our parents want us to marry does not mean we are safe from them getting other ideas.” Liz looked at Josef doubtfully as they rode into the woods. Josef had told her about a clearing he had discovered a few days ago and had gotten her to agree to watch the stars with him there. Josef simply laughed at her concern and brought her hand up to his lips, softly kissing her fingers. He then put her hand back to his waist so she could keep clinging to him. Horses scared her, he knew about it, but it was necessary to ride here because they would have taken a lot longer if they had walked.

“I’m positive that this is an excellent idea. Or don’t you want to watch the stars with me, my heart?” In response, Liz pressed a soft kiss to the skin of his neck.

“Of course I want to. I’m just scared, that’s all.”

“You don’t have to be. I will not let anything happen to you, ever. I told you this before and I will tell you this until the end of days if it is necessary for you to believe me.” Suddenly Josef made the horse stop. “We’re here.” He loosened Liz’ grip on his waist and got off the horse before helping her off it.

Liz looked around the clearing. “You were right … it really is beautiful.” Josef took the blanket he had in the saddlebag and spread it on the ground. Liz took him up on the wordless invitation and sat down, keeping her eyes on Josef.
As he sat down, he put his arm around her, pulling her close to him. Liz didn’t fight him, instead she leaned against him, closing her eyes. Deep in her heart, she knew that this was the place she always wanted to be. In his arms. She felt his lips on her forehead and smiled at the soft kiss. “You are everything to me Josef. Everything I could possibly wish for.” Liz opened her eyes again as she felt Josef softly tugging at her chin so she would look him in the eyes.

“You know that I feel the same way. You are my world. I would die for you", he said, looking straight into her eyes.
After those words, he pressed his lips to hers, kissing the woman he loved so much it sometimes drove him insane. Liz put her arms around his neck, pulling him a little closer. Josef believed this to be an invitation and slowly lowered Liz on her back, still kissing her. She broke away as soon as her back hit the blanket.

“We can’t go any further than this, not yet”, she whispered before wetting her lips with the tip of her tongue. Josef shook his head, smiling.

“Nobody is ever going to find out, I promise.” With this, he bent down again, silencing Liz again with a kiss.

The last girl and the last reason to make this last for as long as I could
The first kiss and the first time that I felt connected to anything
The weight of water, the way you taught me to look past everything I have ever learned
The final word in the final sentence you ever uttered to me was love

Arundel House, England, 1620 - the next morning

“Where have you been Elizabeth?” Liz cringed at the thundering voice of her father that echoed off the walls, which made it sound even more frightening.

“We … Josef and I … we were watching the stars and fell asleep.” It wasn’t even a lie, just not the whole truth. Her father seemed to sense that something about her story wasn’t what really happened.

“Don’t you dare lying to me!” He raised his hand, only to slap Liz in the face a moment later. Her head turned at the force the blow held and she put her hand on the hurting cheek. Josef was frozen in his place next to Liz. He couldn’t believe what he just saw. It was his fault. He shouldn’t have taken Liz to the clearing. He broke his promise to not let anything happen to her.

“Please, don’t …” he tried to talk to Liz’ father, but to no avail.

“Don’t what? Hit her if she has done something wrong? I have every right to hit that little wench! She is my daughter and I might do as I please!” It took every ounce of willpower Josef had not to say “not much longer”. There was no need to anger William Howard anymore as they already did. Instead, Josef tried to swallow his own anger. However, William’s next words did nothing to calm him down, on the contrary.

“You are going to a convent Elizabeth. You put shame on our family with your reckless behavior. This will teach you to think first.” Liz felt her whole world crumbling down in the matter of a few minutes. When she had gotten home, she had been the happiest girl in the whole universe, she was sure about that. Now she had a death wish.

“Please … father … don’t do this to me …” she sobbed and tried to reach out for her father’s hand, but instead she got another slap in the face.

“Don’t say one more word or I swear that you won’t live to see the walls of the convent.” With that, William grabbed Liz’ arm and dragged her away from Josef who had to watch helplessly as his dreams seemed to come to a sudden end.

[X-tremer89]

lizandzackfan
garcia88
orphyfets
pandas2001
Synera
SnowyOwl-17
Maiqu
Lullaby
alexceasar

Thanks to all of you for the feedback. And special thanks to my betas lizandzackfan for the creative input and LittleBit

The lyrics used in this chapter are:
Counting Crows - Goodnight Elizabeth
Butch Walker - Mixtape


Chapter 5

Roswell, Motel, 2007

Josef woke up the next morning, cursing as he looked at his watch. He had no idea when he had woken up at 8 A.M. the last time. It sure had been at least a century ago. But now he had to wait until school was over. He hated teenagers. Why were they so willing to learn? When he had been 18, he’d been fully educated for years. Sure, that had been in 1617, but nobody was looking at the details anyway. Since he had nothing to do, he decided to pay Mick a visit. Josef got out of the tub, towelled himself and put on some fresh clothes before going to Mick’s room.

When he found the door locked, he started to knock on the wooden barrier. After a few minutes, Mick opened the door, dripping wet and looking like he’d been asleep until a few moments ago. “I see we’ve had the same idea.” Josef walked inside, not waiting for an invitation that wouldn’t come at this time of the day.

“You didn’t come here to tell me that did you?” To say that Mick was annoyed would have been an understatement.

Nonetheless he closed the door and went to the bathroom to clean up the floor that had been flooded when he got out of the tub in a hurry. Josef watched with an amused smile as Mick used a towel to dry the floor.

“How Martha Stewart of you, drying the floor and all.” It would have been better just to ignore Josef’s comment, but Mick simply couldn’t.

“I wouldn’t have to do this if someone had decided to sleep longer and not get on my nerves so early in the morning. What do you want anyway?”

“You, my dear friend, are going to keep me company until Alex gets home from school.”

“Just what I wanted to do.”


Alex’ House

A few hours (and threats by Mick to kill him) later, Josef left Mick’s room. It was time to find out how much his fiancée had changed over the course of four centuries. As he arrived, he saw that Alex seemed to have ordered some food. Josef didn’t think twice and went over to the delivery guy, telling him that he would take the food to Alex since he went to see him anyway. Jerry - as the name tag on his uniform said - didn’t agree at first, but after he was given 100 Dollars as a tip, he couldn’t care less. Josef inwardly smiled. It sure had its advantages to be filthy rich. He approached the house, determined to find out how Liz’ character had changed over the last 400 years.

I will wait for you in Baton Rouge
I'll miss you down in New Orleans
I'll wait for you while she slips in something comfortable
And I'll miss you when I'm slipping in between
If you wrap yourself in daffodils
I will wrap myself in pain
And if you're the queen of California
Baby I am the king of the rain
And I say
Goodnight Elisabeth

But before he had the chance to ring the bell, he heard two female voices on the other side of the door. One of them was a voice he’d recognize anywhere. Liz. Josef thought about disappearing for a moment, but his curiosity got the best of him, so he waited for the door to open. Liz looked at him wide-eyed, unable to say anything.

“Liz, are you okay?” Maria interrupted the moment of recognition and Liz shook her head lightly.

“Yeah, I’m alright.” She had just seen a ghost.

“Is this Whitman?” Josef asked, finally regaining his voice. He saw the goose bumps Liz had and wanted to do nothing more than to pull her close, but he couldn’t. Not yet.

“Oh, yeah.” Liz had to control herself. Down girl, you’re only imagining things. “Alex, you’re food’s here!” She called for Alex. Maria then let the guy, who was the mirror image of a person long dead, in and said goodbye, while Liz was only able to wave. She really had to calm down.
Her mind was playing tricks on her that was it.

You say hello, inside I'm screaming I love you
You say goodnight, in my mind
I'm sleeping next to you
You drive away from my car crash of a heart
And I don't know

Josef had to control himself just the same. The moment he saw Liz his brain stopped working all together. Sure, he had seen her pictures, but seeing her with his own eyes was a whole different story. She was even more beautiful than he remembered her to be, the photos Mick took didn’t do her any justice. He let his eyes follow her as Liz left with Maria, surprised as Liz turned around once more to look at him. Did she recognize him? They locked eyes for a moment before Josef got distracted by Alex who arrived at the door. He took the food which had already gotten cold.

“Dude, it’s cold.” He stated the obvious.

“I know, I’m sorry. We … have this new policy. You get the food for free when it’s cold.” Josef suddenly was glad that he had had 400 years time to practice his lying abilities.

“Hey … who was that dark haired girl that just left? She’s pretty hot.” Nothing he’d normally say, but Josef knew he had to sound like a teenager in order not to sound suspicious.

“Liz, a friend of mine. You should stay away.” Alex simply warned while mumbling something about being sick of everything. Josef frowned, not sure what to make of it. For the time being, he ignored it.

“And why should I stay away?” He was curious. Something must have happened for Alex to be protective of her.

“She just got her heart broken. Needs some time to fix the mess her ex left behind.” Josef suppressed the desire to growl. He had a jealous streak when it came to Liz and other guys; it had been like that in his mortal life and obviously hadn’t changed when he was turned.

“Shit … what an idiot, this girl should be treated like a princess, nothing less.” The thought of someone hurting Liz made him careless for just a second.

These words confused Alex. “Why would you say that? You’ve only seen her for what, a minute? You don’t even know her.” Josef inwardly cursed. He had to be more careful or he would blow up his cover.

“Well … that’s how every woman should be treated, isn’t it? I don’t think she’s an exception.” It was worth a try to save his neck, and judging by the look on Alex’ face, it was working.

“You’re right … I guess.”

Alex was still suspicious, Josef could tell by the tone of his voice, but he seemed to calm down again. The vampire found it amazing how quick Alex had gotten defensive, like there was a big secret about Liz he had to keep. Did he know that she was a vampire? Josef wasn’t sure, but he couldn’t just ask the boy, either.


Crashdown Café

In the back room of the Crashdown Café, Liz had to fight Maria off. “What was that back at Alex’? You looked at the delivery guy like you’ve seen a ghost.” Liz inwardly sighed.

“I thought I had seen someone I’ve known when I was younger. But it was nothing. Can we drop it?” Maria’s left eyebrow shot upwards.

“No. Because I don’t buy it. There’s more to this little story, I know it. Spill. Did you meet him in Florida when you visited your aunt?” Liz rolled her eyes while she closed the top buttons of her uniform.

“No Maria, I didn’t. I don’t know the guy, okay?” She was getting annoyed. Her mind had played tricks on her and Maria wasn’t buying it. Just great.

“Okay! Don’t get all bitchy, it doesn’t suit you.” Maria checked her outfit in the mirror before she went to the front of the café. Liz rolled her eyes and took a deep breath before she followed her best friend. This was going to be a very long shift.


Alex’ House

“You said that she had her heart broken. What did the idiot do?” Josef tried to sound casual, just looking for some small talk. Alex seemed more relaxed at the tone of his voice.

“He kissed another girl although he took her to prom. But they weren’t an item anymore. It was kind of complicated, but this … well, let’s just say it was a real eye-opener for Liz. I think she’s really trying to get over Max Evans now.” Alex cursed himself for spilling Max’ name while Josef wanted to hug him. This was easier than he thought it was going to be.

“Max Evans … doesn’t ring a bell.” He needed to know what the bloke looked like so he could tear him to shreds for hurting Liz. And for daring to touch Liz at all, but that was a different story. He had to control his jealousy, at least a little bit.

“You sure saw him. Works at the UFO center. He’s got the whole tall, dark and handsome thing going on while he’s more the brooding type. I never got how he does that, but it attracts the girls.” When Alex talked about tall, dark and handsome, Josef had to think of Mick. He sure was the same type of guy this Max Evans seemed to be. And thinking of Beth, Josef had to agree with Alex. It really attracted the girls.


Crashdown Café

“Come on Liz, you can tell me! You have to tell me! It’s your duty since you are my best friend. And I know that you knew the guy back at Alex’!” She should have known that Maria’s anger wouldn’t be existing very long and then she would go back to getting on her nerves.

“Maria, I really didn’t know the deliver guy. I thought he was someone I knew, but he wasn’t. I just had to take a second look at him to make sure, that’s all. I swear.”

Liz was desperate. She gave Maria her best begging look with the puppy eyes she had perfected over the course of centuries. Maria looked at her with one raised eyebrow and her arms crossed in front of her chest. Then, finally, she dropped her arms.

“Okay. Fine, I believe you. I know what I saw, but if you insist on your story, I have to believe it. And now we have to start working, otherwise your dad will get his knickers in a twist.” Liz had to laugh at this.

“Maria!”

“What?”


Alex’ House

“So … now that this Max guy is out of her life … what does Liz like in a guy?” It really was ridiculous how he was questioning Alex, but Josef for once did what Mick had told him to do. Love really made a person do strange things that was for sure. Alex put his hands up in defeat.

“Dude, I have no idea. That is a line I never crossed in conversations. As much as I love Liz and Maria, I really don’t want to hear them gossiping about guys. You … you should ask Kyle. Kyle Valenti. He should know what you want to know since he dated Liz before she left him for dumbo ears.”

“What?” Josef looked at Alex confused.

“Oh sorry. I meant Max.” Josef understood now and had to laugh.

“Nice nickname, dude. Well, thanks anyway.” He left, not needing to talk to Alex any longer than he had. And just after he had left, Alex realized how much he had told this stranger without even knowing his name.

[X-tremer89]

pandas2001: Your questions will be somewhat answered in this chapter =)
December: The fact that Jason Dohring played the delivery guy somewhat made me write this story, even if it sounds crazy *lol* I saw some screencaps and suddenly the plot of this story was forming in my head
Ellie
orphyfets
alexceasar
SnowyOwl-17
Synera: Those questions will be answered later on, but I'll tell you this much: her parents know that she is a vampire.
garcia88
Amelia


First of all: thanks to all of you for your amazing feedback. I'm sorry that it took me so long to post the next part, but I've started college and moved out of my parents' house, so things were pretty hectic around here.


The lyrics used in this chapter are:
Pete Yorn - Vampyre
30 Seconds To Mars - From Yesterday
30 Seconds To Mars - Attack


Chapter 6

Motel

“Mick, you have to get me the address of one Kyle Valenti.” Josef barely had closed the door before he spoke. He didn’t care that Mick was currently on the phone, either.

“I’ll call you later Beth. I have to take care of one lovesick Josef Kostan next to me; otherwise he’s going to turn this room upside down.” After he waited for an answer, Mick closed his cell phone. “So I guess Alex didn’t have the information you needed.”

“He was quite helpful, but he didn’t have it all. Now get me the address.”

“Okay, okay, calm down, all right? She’s not going to vanish into thin air if you don’t go to see her today.”

“I don’t want to take any chances. Now get to work. You are a private investigator after all.” Mick had opened his laptop by now. He decided not to answer Josef because he wasn’t in the mood for insults right now.

Some time later, he wrote Kyle’s address down and gave the piece of paper to Josef. “Here. Now get out.”

“Gladly. Just one question. Did I interrupt something dirty between you and Beth when I came back?” The smirk on Josef’s face was taunting.

“Just go, Josef.” Mick opened the door for the older vampire and pushed him outside. The sun was already going down.

“Have fun, Mick”, Josef said before leaving. There was an ex-boyfriend he needed to talk to.

Mick shook his head as Josef left the room and shut his notebook again. He took his phone and dialed Beth’s cell phone number. He really wanted to finish the conversation they had started before Josef came in, disturbing them.


Kyle’s House

“Oh come on, you have to be home”, Josef mumbled as he rang at the front door of the house where Kyle Valenti was supposed to live. He knew that there always was the possibility that nobody was home, but Josef wasn’t going to give up easily. Suddenly he heard some people arguing inside, and Josef recognized one of the voices. It belonged to Alex. Josef was confused when he heard them talking about mind warping and manipulating memories and he first put it off as the weirdness growing up in Roswell caused. However, when he head Alex screaming, sounding like he was in dire need of help, he decided to act. He looked over his shoulder, making sure that nobody saw him. He really didn’t need to be sued because somebody thought he was a burglar. A funny thought actually since he had more money than most people could imagine. After he made sure that the coast was clear, he forced the door open.
Following the smell and sound, he didn’t need much time to find the persons he had heard arguing. Josef saw a short blonde girl who seemed to be in deep concentration while Alex looked ready to pass out. Josef didn’t know what was going on, but whatever this girl did, Alex suffered from it. Without wasting time, he rushed over to the teenagers and knocked the girl down, forcing her out of her concentration, but Alex collapsed next to them. Although he didn’t really know the guy, Josef knew that he was one of Liz’ closest friends, meaning that he was important to him as well. She struggled, trying to get out of his hold. Josef let his vampire face show, shocking her to the point that she held still. At least there was one advantage of going in vampire-mode. The second guy in the room, who Josef assumed to be Kyle, rushed over to him and the blonde, whose face was covered by her curly hair. He looked at Josef, shocked and unwilling to believe what he was seeing.

In the beginning
They had valuable traits
Just don't mention anything to him
All we ask of you
Is to break both his legs
For the trouble caused as vampyre

“What the hell are you?” Kyle asked, his voice shaking.

Josef silently cursed. One more person to explain himself to, great. “Later. Keep her in line; I have to check on Alex. Just trust me, okay? You saw what she did and what I did; I think that should make that one a bit easier.” He didn’t have time to talk to Kyle now because he heard Alex’ pulse getting weaker. The joy that there even was a pulse he was able to hear was only short-lived. “His pulse is getting weak”, he stated, informing Kyle about the condition of his friend.

Kyle panicked at that. “I’m gonna call an ambulance!” He was ready to jump up and run to call for help.

“They won’t be here soon enough. Keep watching Blondie over there so she doesn’t get any funny ideas.” He nodded towards Tess who thought that Kyle was too preoccupied. She tried to slip out from under him, but he pushed her back on the floor, holding her hands in a firm grip.

“You won’t go anywhere Tess.” Kyle’s voice left no room for interpretation. He was dead serious.

Josef closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He was able to save Alex, but he would take away his life at the same time. Was surviving worth losing your mortal life? He had to decide fast. As he looked at the unconscious boy in his arms, the decision wasn’t a hard one anymore.

On a mountain he sits, not of gold but of shit
through the blood he can look, see the life that he took
From the council of one
He'll decide what he's done with the innocent

“Forgive me for what I’m about to do Alex.” Josef whispered these words as he bent down. “Kyle, right? I want you to stay over there, no matter what happens now.” The tone of his voice left no room for protest. He hadn’t even turned around as he addressed Kyle. Instead, Josef revealed his fangs before he sank them into Alex’ neck in one quick motion. There was a sickening noise as Alex’ skin broke and Kyle closed his eyes, trying to wake up from this nightmare. The only thing that was missing was the black cape and an old man with cross in his hands, storming into the room to save the day.

“What the hell are you doing?!” Kyle wanted to tear Josef away from Alex, but he didn’t want to let go of Tess at the same time. It was her fault. If she hadn’t tried to kill Alex, this … thing wouldn’t drain him dry now. “You will pay for this Tess. I’ll make sure of that.”

She only smiled at him, a cold and calculating smile. “Are you sure about that, Kyle?” she said, knowing that it would hit a nerve.

Kyle pushed her harder against the floor. It took all his restrain not to hit her. She wasn’t the girl he and his father had taken in anymore. She was a cold-blooded murderer. “I’m sure”, he simply said before looking at the scene across the room again. He had to watch helplessly as whatever this guy was drank the blood of one of his best friends. When Josef finally moved away from Alex’ neck, Kyle saw it was covered in blood with two small holes in the middle of the red liquid. What the hell happened here? He had seen enough horror movies to know that vampires drank blood, sure. But there was no such thing as vampires. Every kid knew that. However, what he saw told an entirely different story.

Josef bit his wrist, causing some on his own blood to stain the floor. He then brought his bleeding wrist towards Alex’ mouth. “Come on Alex, you have to drink this. It’ll help.” After a few drops of blood covered Alex’ lips, Kyle watched his friend come back to life. The dark haired boy grabbed Josef’s arm and started to drink the dark red liquid that smelled like copper. A smell that seemed to fill the entire room and that made Kyle sick. Suddenly, Josef pushed Alex away. “That’s enough.” He sat down, trying to catch his breath.

Alex looked at Josef curiously. There was no fear in his eyes, only confusion and curiosity. It was as if he knew that he would have died if Josef hadn’t taken action. “What have you done to me?” The teenager asked and Josef slowly turned around to look at Alex.

“I saved your life.” The answer was simple and obvious, but it wasn’t what Alex was implying. Josef kept himself from adding “I saved it by taking it.” There was no need for any more confusion.

“I noticed that. Thanks by the way.” He touched his neck, which felt wet. When he looked at his fingertips, they were covered in blood. What was strange was the fact that this sight didn’t shock Alex or make him uneasy, although blood was one of his least favorite substances.

“That’s what I meant.” He showed his fingertips to Josef. “What have you done to me?” he asked once again, but then another thought entered his mind.

Faster than a...
kill off this thinking
It’s starting to sink in
I’m losing control now

“Wait a minute …” Alex slowly turned around and fixed his gaze on Tess, who was still held down by Kyle. “You tried to kill me. You little bitch tried to kill me! You destroyed my mind just to get me to translate this stupid book for you!” He wanted to pounce on her, but Josef caught him in time. He had to get Alex out of there to prevent the boy from creating a bloodbath.

“Let’s go and you’ll get your answers.” He didn’t know what Kyle was going to do about Tess, but he had a different problem at hands: a young vampire who wanted revenge. There was little to nothing on the scale of what was even more dangerous.

“Don’t think this is over Tess. I’m going to find you.” Alex looked at her, his eyes as cold as ice, but he let Josef lead him away nonetheless.
Tess, who had kept quiet the whole time, closed her eyes. Kyle let go of her. “Do you need my help Tess? If we clean up the house together, we’ll be done in no time.”

“Don’t worry Kyle, I got it all covered.”

“Okay, I’ll see you later then.” With that, Kyle left the room, not remembering what he just witnessed. Tess went to the living room and sat down on the couch. She had to get rid of Alex before he told anything to anybody. And she had to make sure that the intruder, whoever it had been, didn’t tell anybody what had happened, either.


Motel

For the second time that day, Josef came into Mick’s room without knocking first. “Mick, we have a problem. Or rather several problems.” Mick turned his gaze away from the TV screen. He frowned as he saw that Josef wasn’t alone this time. His frown got even deeper as he noticed the blood that was all over Alex’ shirt and on his neck. That’s where the smell had come from.

“Who …”

“This is Alex.” Josef’s introduction was simple, but sufficient. Mick simply nodded. Then he remembers Josef talking about several problems.

“Wait a minute. What did you do?” Mick asked, looking at Josef with one raised eyebrow.

“Do you want me to write you a list?”

“Josef…” There was a warning tone in Mick’s voice that told Josef to be serious. The older vampire sat down on the bed since Mick occupied the only armchair in the room.

“Can I go to the bathroom and clean this up?” Alex pointed towards the drying blood on his neck.

Mick fixed his gaze upon Josef while answering to Alex’ question. “Go ahead.” There was no need for more words.

After Alex had closed the bathroom door, he leaned against the wooden surface. He didn’t know what was going on and it scared the hell out of him. Damn, even this guy named Josef scared him, but he somehow seemed to have saved his life, so he couldn’t be one of the bad guys, right? That was what Alex kept telling himself, otherwise he’d go mental. Alex pushed himself away from the door in front of the mirror. He took off his shirt, which had also some blood stains on it, and put it in the vanity basin. He watched as the water slowly rose higher and darkened the fabric of his shirt. It turned slightly pink when the first dried blood came off and mixed into the water. Alex took a face towel, put it in the water, and then he started to clean his neck. He leaned closer towards the mirror as he saw two small round scars he didn’t have before.
He jumped backwards, nearly knocking a shelf over as he did. This had to be a strange dream. He had to wake up any moment now.

“Are you done in there? You wanted to have answers.” Josef called from outside the door.

“One moment.” His voice sounded a bit weak, he noticed. He pressed as much blood into the water as possible before wringing out his shirt and putting it back on. After taking a deep breath, he went back into the living room.

[X-tremer89]

Hi guys!

I am SO sorry that it took me so long to post the next part. College needs more time than I first expected, but I promise to get the following parts out sooner =)

And of course there are the people I want to thank for their amazing feedback:
force
garcia88
Maiqu
alexceasar
Ellie
Synera
SnowyOwl-17
orphyfets
Amelia



The lyrics used in this chapter are:
Spooks - The Things I’ve Seen
30 Seconds To Mars - From Yesterday



Chapter 7

Motel

While Alex tried to clean up the mess Josef created, Josef himself had to explain to Mick what had happened. “I went to Kyle’s house, but nobody opened the door. Then I heard an argument and recognized Alex’ voice. He seemed to be in trouble, so I went in. I guess that’s what started the whole mess. As I said before, we have several problems. I turned Alex into a vampire. I know how you think that you can’t save somebody by turning them, but in order to keep him alive, I had to change him. He was dying. So please, don’t judge me for doing this. And I didn’t do it because I was hungry, don’t worry about that. There was this blonde girl who tried to kill him. It was the only way to save him, his pulse was getting weak. The ambulance would have taken too long. But I don’t think that she is going to give up that easily. She surely wants to take care of Alex so he doesn’t tell anyone. We have to get her out of the way. I’m on her hit list now as well.”

Mick sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. For someone who had survived 400 years, Josef sure knew how to get in trouble. “Okay … we have to talk to Alex first. Explain what happened to him.”

Josef nodded. “That’s what I thought.” He then turned around towards the bathroom door, but stopped in his movement to look at Mick again.
“Mick … thank you. For all you’ve done so far. For helping me with this and keeping me in line.”

Mick was surprised about this sudden outburst of feelings Josef showed, but he appreciated it. “What are friends for?” He simply replied, smiling slightly.

“To keep the other one from tearing a whole town apart, just to find a girl”, if you looked at this way, Josef had to admit that it sounded a bit ridiculous. On the other hand, his motivation in finding Liz was simple. She still meant more to him than anything else. He finally turned around towards the bathroom to check on Alex. “Are you done in there? You wanted to have answers.” The vampire waited a moment and was about to get up to check if everything was okay, when he heard a faint “One moment”. Alex was true to his word and came out of the bathroom a minute later, his shirt soaked, but with less blood on it.
“Sit down Alex, believe me, its better if you do”, Josef said before making room for Alex to sit down on the bed as well. The teenager reluctantly agreed and sat down.

“I’m not sure anymore if I really want to know what happened”, he mumbled, causing Josef to smirk.

“So you rather want things to stay uncertain.”

“Yes … no. No.” The second time, he tried to sound more determined, but Alex failed terribly. Mick looked at Josef, wanting him to stop playing with the nervousness that oozed off Alex.
“What are those scars on my neck?” Alex blurted out. He regretted it the moment he shut his mouth, but he couldn’t take the words back.

“That was me, sorry. Alex, I don’t want you to freak out now, okay? This day has been too long for you to go mental on me. I turned you into a vampire to save you from that blonde … what did you call her? Bitch?” Josef tried to distract Alex, but to no avail.

“WHAT?!” He jumped to his feet and started to pace the room. “This … no. There is no such thing as vampires. This is a dream. One hell of a weird dream at that. I’m gonna wake up any moment now.” He was talking to himself. Mick and Josef looked at each other, trying to get the other to talk to Alex. Mick finally stood up.

“Alex, you have to calm down.”

“Are you a vampire as well?”

“Yes.”

“Then don’t tell me to … what?” Alex had expected Mick to say no.

“Alex, I know how you feel. I felt the same way when I found out. But freaking out isn’t going to help you. You have to stay calm, think straight.”

“What do you want me to do now? Keep living like before? Oh my god, I’m dead! I’m a walking corpse!”

Josef sighed. It didn’t confuse him anymore that this guy had two girls as best friends. If he were able to get a headache, he’d sure get one now.
“We have more important issues to take care off. Remember? This girl wanted to kill you Alex. What was that about, anyway?”

Alex stopped pacing in an instant. Josef had reminded him of the aliens. When there were aliens, why shouldn’t there be something like vampires? “Tess … she has this gift to manipulate people’s thoughts. She can make them see what she wants them to see. She can make people do … well, things. She made me translate a book for her. The thing is this gift she has, its extraterrestrial. 1947 wasn’t a weather balloon. There are four survivors, one of them is Tess. They were born here on earth. Or something similar to being born. It doesn’t matter I guess.” Alex stopped rambling and watched the vampires carefully. It sounded crazy, he knew that. He didn’t want to believe it at first, either. But he had come to terms with the whole thing.

If Mick and Josef were shocked, they at least kept it to themselves. Josef slowly nodded. “Okay … so they are a little greener than the average citizen.” He was thinking along the same lines as Alex. If vampires existed, why not aliens as well? In his opinion, it would have been a waste anyway if there only existed life on earth. “You said four survivors. Who are the others?” He wanted to know who he had to fight if it came down to it.

“Max, the guy I told you about earlier, his sister Isabel and another friend, Michael.”

“Liz dated one of them?”

“What is up with you anyway? All those questions about Liz are creepy, dude.” Alex looked at Josef expectantly.

“It’s a long story. Let’s just say that I haven’t seen her in a very long time.” This had Alex coughing.

“You mean … oh my god. Liz is a vampire?!” A hurt expression crossed his face. Why didn’t she trust him enough to tell him?

“Yes she is. But can we drop it? We have to tell her about Tess. What she tried to do. Kyle might be in danger. And if he is, we need every help we can get.”

Alex took a look at his watch. “She should be at the Crashdown. They are about to close, so there won’t be many customers I think.”

“Let’s go.” Mick said before looking at Josef. “Do me a favor, okay? Don’t jump her the moment you see her. It would cause an audience we really don’t need.” Josef rolled his eyes.

“I’ll remind you about that when you see Beth again.”

“Oh shut up Josef.” Alex waited for them at the door, watching them with a doubtful expression on his face. If those two bickering like an old couple were the guys to save Kyle, he should go home to check his closet for a black suit. And for a clean shirt. But since they wanted to go now, this would have to wait.

“Wait a minute. You can’t go out like that Alex. There is still some blood on your shirt. I’ll borrow you one.” Mick said while eyeing Alex’ shirt.

“Thanks man. I was thinking about getting a clean shirt right now.” Mick went to his suitcase and pulled out a black t-shirt. It would be a bit too big for Alex, but it was better than walking around in a shirt with blood stains on it nonetheless.


Crashdown Café

You won’t believe the things I’ve seen
Far beyond your wildest dream
I’ve seen chaos and order reign supreme
I've seen the beauty of the universe
So peaceful and serene
In seconds turn to violence and screams

Liz was cleaning the floor while singing along to the song the radio was playing. She really had seen things people wouldn’t believe if she ever told them. She had witnessed so many - now historical - events. Chaos was the perfect term to describe the French Revolution in 1789. Paris sure wasn’t the nicest place to stay at that time. Liz slightly smiled and shook her head. People really wouldn’t believe her if she told them that she had been there when the French killed their former king Louis XVI. only to crown Napoleon as an emperor a few years later.
She had told Maria to go and spend some time with Michael. Maria didn’t want to let Liz clean the Café on her own at first, but Liz insisted and finally convinced Maria to leave. On the counter stood a half-empty glass with blood, the reason Liz wanted Maria to leave so badly. She was hungry, but she didn’t exactly want to explain to Maria why she drank blood. She’d rather clean the Café alone and spend another hour with the penetrating smell of fries and burgers.
When the now three male vampires arrived at the Crashdown, the Café sign on the front door already said ‘closed’. It didn’t keep them from going in. Liz didn’t turn around when she heard the bell. “We’re closed”, she called over her shoulder. Then she caught Alex’ scent, but it was mixed with the smell of blood. His blood. Liz turned around, her gaze traveling first to his neck before she eyed him from head to toe. He seemed unharmed, but why could she smell his blood? Finally, she realized something else. His heart wasn’t beating. Liz looked at the two men who accompanied him.
One was the vampire she saw in the Crashdown the day before. The other … Liz gasped. She took a step backwards, stumbling over her own feet. The only thing that kept her from falling was the counter she grabbed onto for support.

He's a stranger to some
And a vision to none
He can never get enough,
Get enough of the one

For a fortune he'd quit
But it's hard to admit
How it ends and begins
On his face is a map of the world

“That’s impossible … you’re dead. You died 400 years ago.” She whispered, staring at Josef the whole time.

A small smile appeared on his lips as he took a step closer. “So did you, my heart.”

Alex’ eyes grew wide. He wanted to say something about those 400 years Josef just mentioned, but Mick stopped him. Josef had waited long enough for this reunion; there was no need to spoil it. Although they did have some business to take care of.

“Josef.” His name came over her lips as nothing more than an exhale of breath. Hearing her say his name broke his last restrain and he moved towards her in vampire speed, taking her in his arms. He could hear Mick in his memory, telling him he shouldn’t rush things, but this was just too much. Seeing her, hearing her voice again … it overwhelmed him completely.

Liz stood still as Josef crushed her to his body. She hadn’t fully comprehended that he was still here as well. That he had been turned. That they now had the chance to be together. She finally relaxed and leaned even closer into his embrace while putting her arms around him. Liz closed her eyes and put her head on his shoulder, enjoying the feeling of being close to him again. She wanted to burn this moment of reuniting with Josef into her memory. If there would have been a way to stop time, Liz would have done it without thinking twice.

Josef couldn’t believe that he actually held Elizabeth in his arms. His Elizabeth. He pulled her slightly closer into his embrace and put his head on top of hers, closing his eyes. It felt just as right to hold her as it had felt in 1620. He had the feeling that it would always feel this way. But as much as he wanted this moment to last, there was a question bothering him since he saw her photo when Mick sent it to him. “Why did you go away after we were turned? Why didn’t you wait for me?”

Liz pulled back a little to be able to look into his eyes. Those amazing brown eyes that captivated her every time she looked into them. “Let’s go upstairs. I don’t want anyone barging in while we talk”, she said. While she spoke, Liz had held Josef’s hands in her own, not wanting to let go of him completely. Too big was her fear that he’d vanish into thin air if she did.

“Okay, let’s go”, Josef agreed. He’d agree to just about everything if it meant spending time with Liz.

Alex started coughing, reminding the lovebirds about his and Mick’s presence.

“Oh my god, I’m sorry Alex”, Liz said before looking at Mick. “And who are you anyway? I saw you at the Crashdown the other day.” She looked at Mick expectantly, but Josef answered before Mick had a chance to.

“That’s Mick St. John, a really good friend of mine. He read about you getting shot a year ago, so we basically have to thank him for learning that the other one is still around.” After he explained this, Josef looked at Alex. “Listen, I know this is a lot to ask, but could you leave with Mick? He can give you the answers you’re looking for, or at least most answers.”

It wasn’t a request but sounded more like an order. Mick understood why Josef wanted to have some time alone with Liz and put his hand on Alex’ shoulder.

“Come on, let’s go. They have some catching up to do.”

Alex sighed, but he remembered how Liz had reacted when she saw Josef, so he didn’t disagree. They really needed some time. And although it still hurt him that Liz didn’t trust him enough to tell him her secret, he wanted her to be happy. So Alex simply nodded before leaving the Café.

“We’ll see you tomorrow”, Mick said before following Alex.

Liz turned back around and looked into Josef’s eyes. “Let me lock the door, then we go upstairs and talk.” She let go of his hands and locked the door of the Café before going back to Josef and taking his hand in hers, leading him to the apartment upstairs.