Saving Grace
Summary: Mitchell meets someone who helps him realize that it's not what you are that makes you good or bad, it's what you do. (Set in season 1 between episodes 1 & 2)
Disclaimer: Alas I do not own any of the Being Human characters, I am merely borrowing them to play in my sandbox.
A/N: This is dedicated to my UK buds who introduced me to the show. They knew I'd love Mitchell! Thanks for encouraging me to write this and being my cheerleaders all the way! Special thanks to Rae my Britness coach, who helped me make these characters sound right! And B, thanks for watching all the epis just so you could read this fic and know who I was talking about! Course now you're just as obsessed about Mitchell as I am...*grins* Hope everyone enjoys! Feedback is actively encouraged and happily (greedily) accepted!
Chapter 1
Mitchell huddled into his raised collar against the blast of cold air that accosted him as he left the hospital. With his head down and his hands dug deep into his pockets he trudged away from the doors as they slid closed behind him. He tossed a few quid to a girl sitting at the corner begging for change as he passed, but didn't look at her.
Since Becca's death he'd kept his distance from humans. At first he'd barely left his room, overcome with guilt over what Lauren had done. He'd created her, he'd turned his back on her, and she'd lashed out at him in the one way she knew would hurt him most. A million times he'd replayed it all in his head, all the things he could have done differently. But all the what-ifs and should-haves couldn't change what had happened.
Finally, he couldn't bear to have Annie sit at the end of his bed, watching him brood all day while George was at work. So, he'd returned to work, but it was not like before. He didn't smile or socialize. He did his work and went home to George and Annie, grunting or muttering a word in response to their greetings before heading straight up to his room.
Mitchell stiffened as he crossed the street, sensing the presence of another vampire. He scanned the shadows and found Seth skulking in an alley between two closed shops. As he approached, Mitchell could see the predatory grin on Seth's face and found himself imagining the other vampire hungrily licking his chops as he gazed across the street. Mitchell followed Seth's line of sight to the girl he'd just passed.
"What about tactical recruitment?" he asked, leaning against the wall next to the salivating vampire. "Thought you said no more tramps."
"Can't you smell it, then?"
Mitchell frowned at Seth's obvious excitement about a street beggar. "Smell what?"
"You really have strayed off the reservation, haven't you?" Seth shook his head like a disappointed parent. "Is it true what they say about pregnant women?"
Mitchell looked from Seth to the girl again, disgust warring with horror in his expression as he read the sign in front of her. 'Pregnant and Homeless' "Y-you, you stay away from her." Mitchell grabbed Seth by the neck and slammed him against the wall as he chuckled maniacally. "Pregnant women are out of bounds, you know that. They draw too much attention."
"Ahh, but this one is different."
Mitchell knew Seth was right. There was an unwritten rule among vampires that pregnant women were off limits. Their deaths stirred up too much unrest among their families. It was much harder to cover up with explanations of heart attacks when pregnant women were followed so closely by their doctors. But this was a homeless girl, who would miss her if Seth killed her tonight?
Mitchell's eyes went jet black and his fangs descended as his anger boiled. He leaned menacingly close to Seth's neck. "I'm warning you to stay away," Mitchell growled, his fangs grazing Seth's neck as he spoke. "Do I make myself clear?" He slammed Seth against the wall again.
"If you wanted her for yourself, all you had to do was say so," Seth called just loud enough for him to hear as Mitchell moved to cross the street.
Mitchell ignored Seth's laughter as he stepped up to where the girl sat, oblivious to the danger she was in. She gazed up at him expectantly as he stood there for a moment, before he moved to sit beside her on the sidewalk.
"Is it true?" Mitchell asked, nodding at the sign she held.
The girl nervously bit her lip and pulled away barely perceptibly, Mitchell's close proximity making her uncomfortable. She gazed at Mitchell for a long moment, her eyes searching his face as though deciding if he were a threat. After a long moment she simply nodded.
Mitchell's forehead puckered as he frowned at this, trying to understand how this girl who barely looked like she was out of school could be in such a predicament. "How about I buy you a coffee and you tell me how you ended up in such a messed up situation?"
She hesitated a moment, her gaze drifting across the street to Seth's lurking form before returning her attention to Mitchell and nodding again. Mitchell smiled as he pushed himself to his feet and held out his hand, realizing that this girl might not be so oblivious about the danger she was in after all.
Mitchell smiled encouragingly as he set the cups down on the table along with several goblets of cream and packets of sugar. He slid into the seat across from the girl who eyed him warily. "I wasn't sure how you took yer coffee so—"
"Look mate," the girl interrupted as she added cream and sugar to her coffee before meeting his gaze. "I appreciate the cuppa, but that don't mean I'm gonna spill me guts to ya."
Mitchell's lips quirked into the closest thing to a real smile they'd seen in weeks as he chuckled and stirred the fourth packet of sugar into his coffee. "Fair enough." He held the cup for a long moment, letting it warm his hands before finally lifting it to take a sip. "I just wanted to get you outta the cold, really."
The girl nodded absently as she stared down at her cup. The silence stretched between them and Mitchell wondered if he should say something, but couldn't think of anything. He was usually better at this. "So, that guy across the street," she began, her gaze flitting up to meet his as she broke the silence. "Do you know him?"
Mitchell frowned, considering how best to answer her question. She'd obviously noticed Seth watching her and had probably witnessed his exchange with the other vampire. Though he was fairly certain she hadn't heard what had been said or she wouldn't be sitting there across from him. Or would she? "He's not a good man."
The girl bit at her cheek and nodded as though he'd made the most obvious of observations. "I kinda figured you weren't his biggest fan when you slammed him against the wall."
Again Mitchell's lips twitched at the girl's sarcastic attitude. "Yeah." He chuckled, taking a long sip of coffee as silence fell between them again.
"He said he could help me," she stated offhand with a shrug, watching Mitchell as though gauging his reaction before she continued. "I said no." She frowned as she shivered and Mitchell knew it wasn't from the cold. "He creeped me out."
"How did he say he could help?" Mitchell reached across the table and touched her hand reassuringly.
"He…he offered money and a place to stay."
"You have to stay away from him, promise me." Mitchell realized his voice was a little too urgent as she pulled her hand away from his and placed it against her cup. "Sorry, I just…he's not a good man."
"Yeah, you said that." She studied Mitchell intently. "And are you a good man? I don't even know your name."
"I," Mitchell's voice caught in his throat as part of him warred to tell her to run away from him that he was not a good man. "I'm Mitchell."
"Mitchell." She studied him as she spoke his name, like she was deciding if it fit. "So, are you a good man?"
"I try to be," Mitchell replied, feeling it was the only honest response. He couldn't call himself a good man, not with all he'd done.
"I see, not exactly the answer I was expecting."
Mitchell could feel her gaze on him, but couldn't meet it with his own. "Yeah, that's me, not what people expect." Biting his lip, he hazarded a look across the table and saw the girl smiling at him. "And what about you?" She frowned at the question, but he continued before she could speak. "I don't know your name either."
"Oh," she smiled realizing he wasn't judging her or asking if she was a good person. "I'm Grace."
Mitchell took a long sip of his coffee and nodded at her cup for her to do the same. "Well, Grace, where are you staying tonight?"
"I…there's a shelter a couple of blocks away. It's not the Ritz, but it's a bed and it's warm."
"Alright, c'mon I'll walk ya there."
Grace hesitated at the entrance to the shelter, turning to look back at Mitchell. "Thank you," she mumbled as she stared down at her hands. Mitchell could tell that behind the sarcastic façade, Grace was just another young girl in an overwhelming situation.
"It's no problem," Mitchell replied, giving her shoulder a squeeze. "It's on my way home anyway," he lied. Grace looked up at him and shook her head.
"No, it's not. You head in the opposite direction every night."
"It is when I take the scenic root." He winked at her and watched her roll her eyes as a smile played at her lips. "Meet me for lunch tomorrow." He wasn't sure why he was inviting her. He reasoned that it was to be sure that she was safe, but part of him knew it was because he enjoyed her company. She didn't know anything about Becca and wasn't constantly watching to see if he was going to crack. This made her almost enjoyable to be around, except for the nagging dread in the pit of his stomach that everyone he touched ended up hurt.
"I don't—"
"I work tomorrow, at the hospital. Just have me paged and I'll treat you to some passable food in the cafeteria," he clarified as he sensed her hesitation. "No strings."
Grace studied his face for a long moment as though sizing up his intentions. "Maybe." She shrugged indifferently as she looked away. "See you around, Mitch."
"You're late," George called from the kitchen as Mitchell entered the house.
"Sorry Dad, didn't realize I had a curfew."
"Very funny," George grumbled as he emerged with a cup of what Mitchell assumed was tea. "You barely say a word to either me or Annie for weeks and now you are making snide remarks. Very nice."
"George," Annie hissed from the couch, giving him a meaningful look that Mitchell didn't miss.
"Look, I know I've been—"
"Broody," Annie chimed in. "I have to say I was starting to worry that you were turning into one of those television vampires all broody and pained. I mean don't get me wrong it's not that I want you not to feel bad about things. I just kinda like the happy, smiling Mitchell who wants to embrace his humanity."
"Duly noted." He winked at Annie as he shook his head unable to suppress a smile as Annie went on.
"So what's brought on this change, then?" George asked taking a seat on the couch next to Annie and trying for a supportive smile.
"I dunno, I guess I feel like I'm on the right side again."
"Well, that's not cryptic at all," George chortled. "What? It's true. What does that even mean?" he defended as Annie sent him a death stare.
"I just, I ran into someone who reminded me how far I've come."
"I'm glad for you, Mitchell. It's important that you look at things as a whole and not just at the bad." Annie smiled up at him, patting the seat next to her on the couch.
"Yeah, thanks that clears everything right up."
"Shh, The Real Hustle is starting."
Mitchell watched George from the corner of his eye. His friend crossed his arms and looked ready to press further but then seemed to think better of it and turned his attention to the television instead.
Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think!
