- As Beth mourns for Josh, she suspects he was having an affair, but soon realizes how devoted he truly was. A vampire comes to Mick asking him to find Coraline. Mick refuses, but starts his own quest. He'll soon learn what the cure is, and a heavy price will be paid.—Jesse Sanchez
- Returning home the night of Josh's death, Mick picks up the unmistaken scent of an unknown vampire waiting for him inside his apartment. The vampire sports a stonecold, jet black, glass eye and is looking for Coraline, claiming that she took something from him. Mick denies knowing Coraline's whereabouts, so the vampire leaves. When Mick tells Josef of the encounter, Josef recognizes him and warns Mick to steer clear. Lance is old blood, medieval, noble bloodline, legendary, dangerous, and whatever Coraline took from him should be left between the two of them.
Mick decides to find Coraline. Reviewing the video of the hospital corridor during the two minutes between the last time the nurse checked on Coraline and the moment the nurse found her missing, Mick spots an empty gurney being wheeled down the hall. Under the sheet-draped gurney, he sees fingers peeking out. On closer inspection, he recognizes the nurse pushing the gurney as Cynthia Davis, one of Coraline's oldest friends. In a manner of minutes, vampire computer geek Logan tracks down Cynthia, learning that she has recently earned a Ph.D. in Biochemistry, imports agricultural products from France, and is currently residing in Los Angeles at the Hardwick Hotel. A surprise visit to her room, and Mick learns that Coraline is still in L.A. When he receives a text message from Logan with the address of the laboratory where Cynthia's imports are being delivered, Mick hurries over. Peeking through the skylight, he sees Coraline and her assistant attempting unsuccessfully to clone a cell from an extinct plant species in an unnamed compound and inject it into a plant from a similar phyllum. He also sees that Coraline is a vampire again.
As Mick watches, Lance suddenly enters the lab and asks Coraline to give back the compound. Coraline refuses. Lance calmly beheads her assistant and tosses his body aside where it hits a counter and starts a fire. Then Lance turns his knife on Coraline and asks her again for the compound. Unable to hold back any longer, Mick leaps through the skylight, landing on Lance's back and knocking him off Coraline. Coraline jumps up, grabs the box containing the compound, and runs out the door. Lance's hand is burned by the fire, and Mick watches in amazement as it instantly heals. Lance laughs at Mick, then easily tosses him aside and goes after Coraline, leaving Mick to put out the fire and call the Cleaner. From the Cleaner, Mick learns that the Cleanup team has been called multiple times to this address, mostly to pick up the bodies of newly-turned vamps.
With the memory of Josh's death still raw in her mind, Beth has been avoiding Mick. When the D.A.'s office delivers to her Josh's personal items, Beth notices that Josh had scheduled a dinner engagement at the Cafe Metro that evening with someone named Celeste. Wondering whether Josh was cheating on her, Beth decides to keep that appointment. When she arrives at the Metro and is seated across from a beautiful brunette, Beth begins to read her the riot act, telling her that Josh is dead and asking how long this has been going on. Celeste is confused at first, then realizes that Beth suspects she was seeing Josh romantically. Celeste explains that she is a jeweler and that she was meeting with Josh to reset the stone from his mother's ring into an engagement ring for Beth. Josh was intending to propose marriage to her.
Now totally confused about her feelings, Beth goes to Mick's apartment and waits for him to come home. As they are seated on the couch, Beth pouring out her heart to Mick, there comes a knock on the door. It is Coraline, and she wants Mick's help to get away from Lance. Beth excuses herself, leaving Mick and Coraline to speak privately. Mick refuses to help Coraline unless she tells him about the cure and how it made her temporarily mortal. The cure is mortal, Coraline explains. Its effects are temporary. It was developed from local plants by seven vampire "siblings," all turned by a cousin of French king Louis XVI, during the Reign of Terror, the French Revolution (1783-1784). People had discovered the existence of vampires and developed the guillotine to destroy them. Vampires were identified by burning a finger. If it blistered, they were mortal. If it immediately disintegrated, they were staked and sent to the guillotine. The mortal cure masked the vampirism for a short period of time and allowed the vampire to pass the finger test. Lance is one of these siblings, Mick deduces, and Coraline concurs.
Mick asks to see the compound and how to use it. Coraline explains that it is placed in a wound and allowed to be absorbed by the body. Mick wonders whether there is a way to make the effect permanent. That's what I've been working on, Coraline admits. She's been testing it on rogue vampires before putting them down but, so far, has been unsuccessful. Coraline offers to let Mick try it. She cuts his arm and applies the salvelike compound. As the effects start to take hold, Mick agrees to help Coraline get away. While they walk down an alley, however, they are suddenly stopped by Lance. "Hello, sister," he greets Coraline, and Mick understands right away that Coraline was one of the seven "siblings." Mick tries to defend Coraline, but his vampire capabilities are virtually gone and he is easily overpowered. As Lance prepares to drive a stake through Mick's heart, Coraline suddenly agrees to return the remaining compound and go with Lance if he will spare Mick. Lance agrees, stakes Coraline in order to immobilize her, and carries her off.
Mick returns to his apartment to dress his wounds, take a sample of blood from his arm, order out a tableful of fast food, and sleep on a couch for the first time in over 50 years. The next morning, he awakens to the morning sun and his reflection in a mirror. Still human, he attends Josh's funeral, where he runs into Beth. Noticing the wounds on his face and the fact that the sun isn't bothering him, Beth realizes that Mick is mortal...but for how long? [Full synopsis by BJ Kuehl]
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