A/N: First of all, I am so sorry I didn't get this posted last week as planned. Life has been crazy-hectic this week. I'm just so glad to have the time today to relax at last.

Secondly, I am thrilled with all the feedback this is getting! :D Thank you guys so much! I'm just so glad you're enjoying it so far. Hopefully, I won't disappoint with the rest of the story.

Thanks to htbthomas for the beta!

Enjoy!! :D

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Links to Summary/Prologue and Chapter 1

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Chapter 2: Making the Most

They were third in a line of three couples waiting to go in to be married on the spot. One young couple was surrounded by what looked like were their parents. It looked like an old-fashioned “shotgun” wedding, since the teenage girl was just starting to show in pregnancy. The second couple was an odd match; him, tall and skinny, her, short and chunky. Beth inwardly thought of that childhood rhyme: Jack Sprat could eat no fat; his wife could eat no lean. She wondered if that would be true in their future marriage.

But most of her focus was on the man she was to marry. Since they’d filled out and turned in their paperwork, all they had left to do was wait. They waited in silence, with Beth’s arm hooked around his, leaning into him. At one point, she had her chin propped on his shoulder, just staring at the way his five o’clock stubble was beginning to appear on his face. She reached up with her free hand and ran it along his jaw, garnering his attention. That’s when it occurred to her to whisper, “I love you. I don’t think I said that before.”

“No, you didn’t,” he divulged. “And since you agreed to marry me, I thought it didn’t matter.” He paused and she saw his mouth curve up on her side. “It does.”

“When you met me as a child,” she wondered, “did you think then that we would someday fall in love?”

“No,” he answered honestly. “You were a child. I just wanted to protect you, especially from Coraline. After that, watching over and protecting you became a habit. But doing that changed who I was.”

“You started helping people more,” she recalled him saying that once before. Then she furrowed her eyebrows, thinking out loud, “What did you do that was so terrible before?”

“Oh.” He seemed to be taken aback by the question slightly, but appeared that he didn’t want to hide anything from her. “Well, you know, with the way I had to live,” he knew she’d understand what he meant, “I got what I needed fresh.” He made sure the understanding was in his eyes before moving on. “I lived a lot like Josef still does.”

“Egotistical with a side of hunger for human blood?” she teased. She’d made sure to drop her voice a notch, even though they were across the waiting area from the other people and it was unlikely they’d be heard.

In spite of himself and his friendship with the other vamp in question, Mick chuckled. “Yeah, exactly.”

She peered at him thoughtfully. “I could see that.”

“I’m glad you didn’t,” he confessed, reaching up with his free right hand to rest it on hers on his arm. “There were other things I’m not too proud of… But we can talk about that another time.”

She knew what he meant; since it was evident he still carried so much guilt about the events of his life before Beth came into it. And why would they want to bring down their wedding day?

The first couple and their entourage of parents were called back to see the judge, and Mick waited until they’d passed before asking Beth, “Are you having any second thoughts?”

“Surprisingly, no. I thought that once we were sitting here, waiting to go in, I’d think of a thousand reasons why we shouldn’t be doing this.” She smirked. “But all I can think about is how much I want to get this over with so we can go back to your apartment and find out how comfortable that new mattress of yours is.”

He stared at her with his eyebrows raised and smiled. “Sounds great.” Then he corrected, “But, uh…after we do this, I hope it’ll become ‘our’ apartment.”

“Oh,” she realized. “Yeah, of course.”

The large group that had gone in the back soon came back out with the older women crying and the bride and groom looking shell-shocked. Beth and Mick watched as the elder men shook hands and took their wives by the shoulders to lead them out the door. Meanwhile, the groom scratched his head, as if wondering what he was supposed to do, until the bride’s face brightened, she whispered something in his ear, and the two shot out of the room with some destination definitely in mind.

Once they were gone, Mick and Beth shared a chuckle, communicating what they think had just transpired, when there was a commotion across the room. The heavyset woman had stood up, but had knocked her chair over in the process, and the couple was clearly arguing. Their names were called, but they ignored it until she finally dug a set of papers out of her purse and slammed them on the counter, yelling, “Oh, forget it!” And she stormed out of the room. The groom sheepishly followed behind, but it appeared he didn’t look regretful by her decision not to get married.

“Turner, St. John?” the clerk called out and Beth and Mick glanced up. It was their turn.

They followed the clerk down the hall to a type of conference room and were told to wait just a moment before being left alone. In less than a minute, before they could even think about sitting down to wait, another door opened, and a judge wearing his typical robe stepped through with a smile on his face. “Are you ready to get married?” he asked like a game show host, and the couple answered affirmatively. They passed over the paperwork and he scanned it for something, nodding when it all appeared in order. “Do you have rings?”

Mick nodded and dug the box from his pocket. On the way to the courthouse from Bionalysis, they’d stopped at a jewelry store and mutually chose a set without having to search for too long. Since Mick was used to wearing white gold and Beth preferred silver against her skin color, they settled on a white gold plain band set that had three small diamonds inset in the center. Beth had decided to forego having an engagement ring since their engagement had been so short before their marriage, accepting a pair of diamond earrings instead when Mick insisted she needed something else. She wore the earrings now in honor of the ceremony.

“Alright, if you’re ready…” Judge Stone began once another clerk came in as a witness, giving them one last opportunity to back out. Neither made a sound. “We are here today to join you, Mick David St. John and you, Elizabeth Anne Turner in holy matrimony.” He went on making sure that they were not under duress to make the decision, and went through their obligations as husband and wife, leading up to the vows. Then he had them repeat them, starting with Beth first.

She faced Mick and held his hands when it hit her – the enormity of the decision they were making. But she didn’t hesitate when it was her turn to speak, “I, Elizabeth Anne Turner take you Mick David St. John, to be my lawful husband. To have and to hold, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, ‘til death do us part.”

Mick squeezed her hands on that last part and waited for his turn, repeating what she’d said with all of his heart. It was so different a feeling from when he married Coraline; he’d been so young and naïve then, when all he could think about was physical relations and passion and how that brought about love in his eyes.

But with Beth, he’d fallen in love with her over time; he just hadn’t realized how much until he began associating with her as an adult and the love quickly fell into place. And here she was standing in front of him, promising to be his until one or both of them came to the end of their lives. He hadn’t dared to hope that this day would ever come, especially so soon. He’d only known her as an adult for four months, but so much had transpired in that time. And they had yet to become intimate, unknowingly saving that for their married life. How special their first time would be as husband and wife!

He knew it was selfish to take a wife with the expectation that she would understand if and when he “died” and turned back to vampirism. What if she refused to let him go? No, he wouldn’t stand for that. He could disappear, just as all vamps do eventually to stay off of the radar. Yes, he would miss her, but that’s the price he’d have to pay for this beautiful and memorable event.

“Do you Elizabeth, take Mick to be your lawfully wedded husband, to love, honor, and cherish until death do you part?” the judge was asking when Mick came back to his senses.

“I do,” she vowed, never breaking eye contact with Mick.

“And do you, Mick…”

He honestly meant each and every word, even if he didn’t hear them all. “I do,” he replied at the right time.

“Her ring,” Judge Stone offered, handing it to Mick to put on her finger. “Repeat after me. With this ring…I thee wed.”

“With this ring, I thee wed.” Mick slipped the silver-colored ring onto her left hand.

“And now you, Elizabeth,” he handed her the bigger of the two circles of silver. She was shaking as she took it and he assured her, “We’re almost through. This is the last step.”

She chuckled nervously and listened and repeated the significant words, staring deep into Mick’s eyes, meaning them.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

Still holding hands, the couple giggled anxiously, but took that step forward to seal the marriage with a kiss. Then they parted and stood back to look at the judge for his final words.

“Congratulations,” he told them. “May you have a long and happy life together.” Then he signed the papers, handed them a copy and passed the rest over to the clerk. “Goodbye now,” the judge said hurriedly, and he slipped out the door with the other woman in tow.

Alone, Mick and Beth stood facing each other, and for a moment, Beth understood how that young couple before them had felt. But there was no regret present and she smiled up at Mick. “I guess that’s it.”

He nodded, feeling that same kind of stunned bliss for a moment. Then he realized exactly what he wanted to do next. Squeezing her hand in his, he suggested softly, “Let’s go home.”

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The apartment was eerily quiet when the couple stepped inside and Beth set her small, overnight bag down on the floor. The quiet ironically matched their mutual, unplanned silence. They weren’t cold to the commitment they’d just made; on the contrary, Beth had snuggled up to Mick for the entire car ride home, sitting in the middle of the bench seat, staring down at her ring and happily twirling it. Now, regardless of the fact that neither was inexperienced in the bedroom and intimacy was what they both ultimately wanted, they seemed as though they were a little nervous about consummating. Beth was contemplating the reasons why as Mick closed and locked the door behind them.

He spun and smiled and reached out for her, and she stepped into his arms, allowing him to plant kisses on her neck and face. “Mick?” she inquired before he reached her lips. “Are you hungry?”

“Famished,” he teased as he started down the other side of her neck leading toward her shoulder.

“I was thinking maybe we could order in; have a nice candlelight dinner first…?”

His kisses stopped and he lifted his head to meet her eyes.

“It might help take some of the pressure off the evening,” she offered and he understood.

He reluctantly pulled away, smiling to reassure her that everything was fine. “I’ll get the menus and we’ll decide what to eat.”

Fifteen minutes later, the food was ordered and the couple was working together to set the table up as a romantic setting. Mick pulled out a bottle of red wine he had stashed away, and he opened the bottle to let it breathe while they waited. With everything in place, Beth retrieved her bag and told him, “I’m going to go change. I’ll be down in a few minutes.”

He nodded and watched her go, reminding himself that he loved her, she loved him, and they had all night to go to show it.

The food arrived before Beth was back downstairs, so Mick accepted it and paid, shutting and locking the door once more. But he wasn’t prepared for the sight in front of him when he turned back toward the kitchen. Standing on the second to the last step was Beth, dressed as scantily as she had that night she’d been high on Black Crystal, wearing the very same, thin, black dress that he’d thought for sure was a nightie, and maybe it was. And even though he was even more attracted to her now when he was finally free to be, he did notice that there was something a little different and sexier about that dress than the first time he’d seen her wear it.

“If you really wanted to eat, you should’ve worn something that covered a little bit more,” he openly flirted. “I cannot hold myself responsible for my actions during dinner.”

She was grinning. “I wore this again for a reason. I have a confession to make – well, two actually. First, I shortened this dress since you saw it last,” – that was the difference – “and two,” she paused for effect, “I wasn’t completely out of it that night.”

He stopped a couple of feet in front of her and laughingly asked, shocked, “What?”

Beth gestured for him to continue on to the table with their food while she followed behind. “I would’ve never come over if it hadn’t been for the drug, but…once I was here, I knew exactly what I wanted.”

Setting the plastic bags with the styrofoam containers down on the table, he turned to face her. “Well…that’s in the past,” he reminded her. “Let’s start our future.”

He pulled out her chair and sat down at the end of the table beside her, and they worked together to serve their plates. Once that was done, he poured the wine and picked up his glass, and she followed his cue. “What should we drink to?” she asked.

He could only think of one thing that summed up all of the merit he wanted to honor in one word: “To life.”

“To life,” Beth repeated, clinking her glass against his. Then they each took a sip and picked up their forks to begin to eat. Beth watched Mick take his first bite with interest. “It just occurred to me that I’ve never seen you eat.”

He waited until he’d chewed and swallowed before answering. “I have to remember my table manners because it’s been so long. I hope you’ll forgive me if I slip up.”

“Why not? You’ve forgiven my need for more time before we…” She couldn’t seem to finish the statement, even though they both knew where the evening was headed.

He lifted her hand and kissed the back of it, sensing her thoughts. “We have a lot of time.”

“What if we don’t?” she suddenly realized. “What if you get into a car accident or someone on a case catches you—”

“I’ve already promised that I’ll be careful. No more dangerous cases. You come first.”

She hadn’t quite made her point. “We could’ve died on the way here, Mick, and then we never would’ve been able to share our love.”

“What are you saying?” he asked confusedly. She still had yet to take a bite of her food.

She squeezed her eyes shut, feeling overwhelmed by emotion and random thoughts, but the gist of them told her what she needed to do, for both of their sakes.

Rising to her feet, she held Mick’s gaze as she reached back to unzip her dress. His line of sight dropped to her chest as she pulled down the straps and slipped the dress off, down, revealing her bare breasts. “Beth,” he tried to stop and assure her that she needn’t rush for his sake, but she shushed him, continuing her striptease.

When she pushed the dress past her hips to drop it to the floor, he got a real surprise, in that she was wearing absolutely nothing else underneath. He set his napkin down on the table and rose to his feet in response, gingerly taking her into his arms. There he kissed her, pulling her tight against his body, responding the only way a man knew how.

She began fumbling for the buttons on his shirt until he pulled his body away just enough for her to get both hands in position to do so. She undid each one, making her way down; and when she reached his jeans, she didn’t stop, pushing the button through its hole and carefully unzipping the fly.

The mood quickly changed from desire to need to fiery passion and the rest of the clothes were pulled off on a short but stumbling journey to the couch. Their first time was hurried but feverish and full of love, and they soon lay in a twisted pile of sated bliss. Mick was still out of breath when he began to chuckle, garnering Beth’s curiosity.

She asked what he was thinking, and he replied, “I bought a bed, thinking and dreaming of the moment we would finally be together…and we made love for the first time on this couch,” he spoke lightheartedly, and she saw the humor and laughed with him.

“Yeah, well, look at me. I was hungry, made you order food for our first dinner as a married couple, and didn’t even take one bite, and let it get cold while we made love on the couch.” She added, “And I’m still hungry!”

“Well, at least we got the first time out of the way – dinner should be a lot easier to get through,” he thought out loud, lightly pushing a strand of hair away from her face with his fingertips. “We’ll reheat the food and eat it, and then go upstairs for the rest of the night. How’s that sound?”

“Wonderful,” she admitted, keeping her arms around his neck and closing her eyes. “But…let’s wait just a couple more minutes.”

He was thrilled to be able to forever please her.

When they did eventually get up, Beth took his shirt to wear instead of her tight dress, so Mick slipped on his jeans again, sitting back down at the table shirtless when their meals were reheated. And he was right: eating their dinner was a lot more comfortable than it had been before they succumbed to the passion in spite of themselves. They managed to eat it all and clean up, and Mick caught up to Beth as she was picking up her dress from the floor where she’d left it.

He spun her around in his arms, holding her by the waist. “You shouldn’t bend over like that in front of your husband.”

Her heart warmed and she bit her lip as she slipped her arms around his neck and the realization hit her for the first time. “You’re my husband,” she blinked in amazement.

“You’re my wife,” he stated likewise, swaying with her in his arms, lightly kissing her lips. “At least for as long as I’m a human.”

She closed her eyes, holding her forehead against his. “Mmm, let’s not talk about that now. I want to go upstairs and finish what we started, and check out that new bed.”

“Mm,” he practically growled. “So do I.”

“Well, come on then,” she spoke in a teasing voice, and moved out of his arms to coerce him up the stairs.

But unlike the last time she’d done that, he didn’t wait until she was out of sight to follow her, and instead captured her only a couple of steps up, spinning her around to kiss her deeply. She moaned in his kiss, and he knew she wanted him as much as he did her. So he scooped her up into his arms, causing her to gasp in his mouth, and he carried her up the stairs, where the two would become one as God had intended.

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Thanks for reading!

Link to Chapter 3!!