Many thanks to those of you who continue to read and review this. I've slowed down slightly with this one as another character has temporarily taken over but normal service will be resumed shortly. Jessie needs to make her decision, Mitchell has a moment of sorts and it ends in a rather interesting place. All errors are my own and unintentional, with thanks to Lady Athenais for her invaluable advice as always. Love to hear your thoughts. :)

Chapter Fourteen:

As Mitchell parks the car outside of her building Shannon unfastens her seatbelt and turns in her seat to look at him.

"Will you stay?" she asks him.

"Excuse me?" he stutters, his brain going suddenly blank. She shrugs awkwardly.

"It's just that you haven't since the weekend…I'd like you to unless you have plans?" he thinks of his depressingly poky little flat and the long sleepless hours of loneliness that lie in store for him.

"No…ummm…okay." she flashes a smile at him and gets out of the car. Mitchell sighs slowly and shakily and slowly uncurls his fingers from the steering wheel. Nerves bounce around in the pit of his stomach. He can do this. He had been feeling reasonably calm lately but the encounter with Flynn at the hospital earlier has thrown him off a little bit. He takes a breath and gets out of the car. He pauses by the door and as he locks it, he looks up and down the street. His gaze takes in the cars parked outside of various properties and he scrutinises them for a moment. There doesn't seem to be anyone around at this time of the morning but he doesn't let down his guard.

"Mitchell?" he starts slightly when he hears her call out his name and sees her standing beside the front door. He smiles faintly and follows her.

He stands in the middle of the small living room and takes in his surroundings. It's tidy; everything has its place in this room. His looks like a grenade has been thrown into it and the after effects left where they fall. Maybe all she'll want to do is sleep. He turns when he hears her footsteps. He watches her approach.

"There's a spare toothbrush in the bathroom and plenty of towels if you want to grab a shower." she tells him. She walks towards him and she stops when she's close enough for him to reach out and touch her. She smiles and his is tentative in response.

Maybe she just wants to sleep.

She stands on tiptoe and she kisses him. His response is automatic. His hands reach for her. She's warm, she smells amazing and oh Christ she's sexy as all get out. Her mouth is soft and warm on his. He feels need rise inside of him.

Maybe she doesn't.

He sleeps like the dead.

Shannon climbs back into bed and for a moment she just watches him. She has got up once or twice to use the loo, she has actually climbed over him and he hasn't stirred. He hasn't moved at all. He lies on his back with his head turned slightly away from her and he is sound asleep. He hasn't got up to go to the toilet or anything, it was lights out and he was gone. She envies him that ability. It takes her a little time to wind down before she can actually get to sleep but it seems as though Mitchell doesn't have this. She lies down beside him but she's awake now, her mind is buzzing. She rolls onto her back and stares up at the ceiling.

"Hey," his voice is low and sleepy. She turns her head and looks at him again.

"I thought you were asleep." Slowly he turns his head and he regards her. His eyes are drowsy.

"I was." He slowly turns onto his side to look at her directly.

"What's the matter, can't you sleep?"

"No, my brain is wide awake and it's ages til I have to get up again." He reaches for her and he scoots a bit closer and she rests her head in the hollow of his shoulder. He slips his arm around her.

"Shut your eyes."

"I've just told you I can't sleep Mitchell, shutting my eyes isn't going to help." She replies.

"Then don't make me sing to you, my lullabies have been known to maim." He answers and he smiles slowly when he hears her chuckle. He looks at her.

"What? it's a fact." Her golden brown eyes are sparkling and it makes him smile all the more. She reaches for him and she feels emotions stir when he responds. He rolls onto his back and takes her with him. His hands grasp the hem of the oversized t-shirt she's wearing and he pulls it over her head.

"Or there are other ways to help you sleep." His eyes are solemn for a brief moment.

Her skin is so pale. He watches her red hair tumble untidily around her shoulders. He sees that purple tattoo once more. He wants her; oh God he really wants this, this time with her. He waits and he prepares himself for that internal battle. He's done it before, he can do it again. Need rises inside of him and his eyes close when he feels her mouth cover his. He just needs to be careful, he needs to try and stay in control. His hands touch warm skin and he feels how she responds to him. He can hear how her heart accelerates, how her breathing changes. It's the most powerful of aphrodisiacs to him.

Ah Jesus there he is… His fingers tighten briefly on her hips.

No. No. No.

His eyes open as she moves her head to kiss the side of his neck and he knows that they're black. He takes a panicked breath and they slide shut when she moves her head again.

"Mitchell…" she whispers. Mentally he counts to three.

"Hey…" he feels her hands stroking him and it feels nice, actually it feels better than nice. Her mouth feels warm against his skin and he feels the softness of her hair brush his chest. Something else swells inside of him, something calmer.

"Mitchell…" she repeats and he hears the concern in her voice. Slowly, experimentally he opens his eyes. He looks up at her and watches the mild frown dissipate.

"Where did you go to before?" she asks in a low curious voice. He stares at her. He lifts a shaky hand and lays his palm against the side of her face.

"Nowhere." He whispers and he draws her head down to his again.

He watches her battle with her choice.

"I don't know what to do." she whispers. Cutler sits forward once more and he reaches for her hand. He slides his fingers in between hers and lifts her hand.

"I'm not one to push or force choices on other people. If you want to tell Eleanor what I've just told you then by all means do it. All it means is that she'll keep her eyes open for me and that I'll be an extra player in her game, one that she really won't want. She knows me, she knows I won't give up and it may make her think again."

"But you don't think so?" he slowly shakes his head.

"If you weren't so intent on ending Mitchell then you could always leave Eleanor and come here. You could be with me." He watches how her eyes slowly widen. He looks away and instead concentrates on their entwined hands.

"But it has to be your choice completely and on your own terms. I don't have an ulterior motive except harbouring feelings that perhaps I have no right in harbouring. Ultimately I want you to feel safe and you will be safe here I promise you." Her mouth drops open at his confession.

"But you're an Old One…aren't you above…" words fail her. He shrugs.

"No, I'm not." He replies simply and slowly he lowers her hand onto the table and releases his hold on her. He stares at her hand and then gently pats it. He sits back in his chair and he gets to his feet.

"I'm going to go back to work for a bit now. Why don't you take a look around and make yourself at home?" he invites with a sweep of a hand. Jessie can only nod and she watches him stride out of the kitchen and towards his conservatory. She sits absolutely still feeling completely dumbstruck. She's overwhelmed by his confession that he has feelings for her and also that he thinks that he feels unworthy of them. She turns her head in the direction of the conservatory and she can see him standing in front of an easel with a deep frown on his face.

He lifts his head slightly when he sees her walk towards him. His eyes are wary but they don't leave her face as she pauses. She's standing in his line of vision but behind the easel that he's examining. He draws the cloth over it as she steps around it and her eyes don't leave his face.

"Nobody has ever told me that they had…feelings…for me before." She confesses.

"How does it make you feel?" he asks his voice becoming husky. He watches how her expression changes. A slow smile emerges.

"I…like it." She whispers. She sees the surprise cross his face.

"R…really?" she nods. She takes another slow tentative step towards him. The expression remains on his face for a moment and then just like that it disappears.

"Just a minute…this isn't you having me on is it?" he asks suspiciously. She halts in front of him and her eyes widen with shock.

"You're joking right? After everything we've talked about…" she exclaims and regret at his hastily spoken words flashes across his face. He reaches for her, his hands resting on her shoulders.

"I'm sorry…sometimes my mouth engages before my brain, it's been a while you see, since I've had anything like this happen to me. It makes me foolish." He watches and he hopes. Instead she sighs noisily.

"Honestly I don't know…" she begins and then squeaks as he suddenly pulls her towards him and he kisses her. She exhales as they pull apart and she stares at him with wide eyes.

"Jude!" she whispers. He frowns.

"Shouldn't I have done that?" he asks and a softer, more knowing smile slips across his face at her silence.

When she opens her eyes, she's alone in the bed. She sits bolt upright and her eyes are wide. Where has he gone? She turns her head as the door opens and she smiles in relief when she sees him appear. He's carrying two cups which he places on the bedside cabinet. She remains still as he slides back into the bed and then hands her one of the cups. She accepts it with a shy smile, her initial fear beginning to subside.

"I thought you'd left." Jessie confesses and he frowns at her.

"And gone where, this is my house remember?" His tone is gently teasing and she feels a blush begin. Instead she takes a sip of her tea.

"After what we did…and that I was…" she stutters and she looks away.

"And that you were what…a virgin?" It isn't an accusation and she shrugs awkwardly, embarrassed.

"You're shocked aren't you?" she retorts, lowering the cup. She steals another glance at him. He shakes his head.

"So Eleanor keeps you on a tight leash, after what went on with Lily then no, I'm not shocked."

"But I was…"

"Darling Jessie, no you weren't. You were everything and more." He whispers and watches her smile.

"So what happens now?" she asks him and he regards her carefully.

"What do you want to happen?" she shrugs again.

"There's so much…you're an Old One and you're forsaken and I'm…not." Her words stumble over themselves and she feels herself going hot and cold.

"Do you want to be?" he asks and her expression is wary. Once more she shrugs.

"I don't know…what does it mean?"

"It means giving up blood permanently, choosing not to feed. I'll be honest, it's not for everyone and it certainly isn't easy but if you want to, I can help you, I'd be with you every step of the way." He watches the unease cross her face.

"It has to be your choice Jessie, I won't place conditions on what we have but what I am is a big part of who I am. I haven't tasted human blood in over five hundred years." He tells her and he sees her look of shock.

"But you said Matthew was one of the original Forsaken…wouldn't he have kept you away from blood?"

"He used his blood to change me but he didn't force his belief onto me. He guided me, he mentored me but what I ultimately chose was my decision alone. I'd only been clean for fifty years when he was…taken from me."

"So you…"

"Fed? Killed? Oh yes. I suppose in a way I was like Mitchell. At my peak I felt invincible." A smile ghosts across his face at the ancient memory.

"So what changed?" the smile vanishes as he looks at her once more.

"I got bored. It sickened me and there was Matthew, patient Matthew who was just waiting for me to come to my senses and I did. He knew me well."

"If you decide…well I want it to be of your own free will but imagine what we could accomplish, what a life we could have. It could be wonderful." He smiles hesitantly. He then sighs noisily and pulls one hand through already untidy hair.

"This is new for me too. Drink your tea; I'm sure we'll figure it out as we go along." He flashes that smile at her again.

It's much later and the sun is sinking in the sky. Jessie has spent a little while sitting in the garden, listening to the breeze rustle through the leaves of the tree and letting the peace envelop her. She knows that she has to return home, Eleanor will be wondering where she is. She knows that she isn't happy with her disappearing acts and she wonders how she'll react when she discovers who she's been spending time with. She turns her head when she sees Jude emerge from the conservatory, a jacket in his hand.

"There you are. Let me drive you home." She watches him slide his jacket on. She gets to her feet and turns to face him.

"Not yet…" her voice falters and he pauses and he looks enquiringly at her.

"Why not?" he watches her walk towards him. She pauses and looks into his eyes. She reaches for the lapels and she holds onto them. Her eyes drop down and she stares at the buttons of his shirt for a moment before they track back up to his face.

"I want to be with you Jude…but I need to choose my moment. Eleanor has Mitchell fixed in her head like a target and she won't welcome any kind of distraction."

"You need to walk away from that Jessie and you need to walk away from it now."

"I can't. For seventy five years he has been my target too, I can't just switch it off just because you say so, because of my feelings for you." she shakes her head. His hands gently grasp her shoulders and he gives her a little, impatient shake.

"What if I can get you both together in a room to talk?"

"He doesn't even know I'm a vampire Jude."

"I can tell him, I can explain." Jessie slowly shakes her head.

"I don't want you to."

"Then he will kill you. Has nothing I've said to you even registered? What are you going to say to him, hmmm? And how do you really think he'll respond to you? Do you want him to say sorry to you, for what reason? Mitchell is one of a kind and just because he is on the wagon does not mean that he will spare you or show you any feelings of remorse, or guilt or sorrow. You go at him with the intent of ending him; he will take you out without another thought or question asked." He takes an impatient breath.

"And if Mitchell doesn't end you then you can be guaranteed that Wyndam will and he is much worse." He glares at her.

They stare at each other. He releases his hold on her.

"Fine." He begins to turn away.

"Jude…" she reaches for him but his arm comes up, a clear signal for her not to touch him and hurt she pauses.

"Okay…I'll tell you. I'll tell you why I have it in for him." she conceded and slowly he turns back and he regards her and he waits. She sighs tiredly.

"I read my youngest brother's obituary in the local newspaper just after Christmas. When I…left, he was just a child. His name was Albert and he was such a baby but I adored him. After Eleanor recruited me, I missed him so much but gradually that faded and he was just an ache in my heart, someone I thought about from time to time." She pauses and Cutler watches her expression become so sad.

"He lived such a grand happy life. The obituary listed all of his achievements; he got married, had children, grandchildren and great grandchildren and they all loved him. It just got me thinking that I should've been there, I should've been part of that." She blinks away encroaching tears. Cutler takes a step towards her.

"I should've had all of those opportunities. I wanted to be an actress, work my way up you know, tread the boards and be discovered that way, become a big Hollywood star and I would've if it hadn't been for him."

"Who…Mitchell?" Jessie nods and she frowns.

"Yes Mitchell. He came into the teashop where I worked and he made a beeline for me. He charmed me, courted me and invited me to this wonderful party that he promised me would be attended by all of these bigwigs who could help my career and like a fool I believed him." He listens as her voice becomes bitter, he hears how it trembles with it.

"A vampire party." His voice is faint with recognition and remembrance.

"And I was the entertainment. They drugged my champagne and they fed from me…well Eleanor did…to the point of death…I remember being so scared, seeing their black eyes, those fangs, it was terrifying. Mitchell took me there and he left me there and it was then that I realised what he was, what he really was." Tears well in her eyes.

"And that was when Eleanor recruited you?" she nods again. Cutler sighs and bridges the gap between them.

"So you hold Mitchell responsible for what happened to you?" he draws her into his arms and just holds her against him for a moment. He frowns.

"The first few days after recruitment are hazy days for the best of us, we don't know where we are, who we are never mind what the hell is going on. We're ripe for manipulation, in those days all we do is hunger for blood and we're so vulnerable" he draws her back and looks into her eyes. They're still so sad, so tragic.

"Eleanor lost her prize twice over; she lost her to Mitchell, in love and in death. She thirsted for revenge and you my darling were the perfect pawn. She's been biding her time, working to this conclusion but reading your brother's obituary brought it all to a head for you didn't it?" she moves away from him.

"What are you going to do if you do kill him Jessie? It won't make those empty feelings go away, you might think that it will but it won't. I've dreamed about taking revenge on Wyndam so many times, it used to eat at me like a disease. Then I decided to seek a different kind of revenge."

"By not feeding?" he hears the scorn in her voice. He shrugs.

"It's one way and another way is for me to take Wyndam's star pupil and turn him into something Wyndam will hate."

"Someone like you. How do you know Mitchell would go for it? You keep telling me that he's very headstrong and independent."

"He might and then again he might not, I won't know until I talk to him. You could help me; we could talk to him together."

"But I'm not forsaken."

"You could tell him what you told me."

"And he'll laugh in my face." Cutler inclines his head.

"He probably will but would you be willing to find out? I need to find him Jessie and I need to warn him about Eleanor. If he's got even half of the intelligence that I think he has, he'll already know something is up. There was a vampire attack a couple of days close to where his lady friend lives." He watches Jessie's eyes widen with shock and then change as something obviously occurs to her.

"What do you know about it?"

"Eleanor and Jimmy went out that night, didn't tell me where they were going or why and previously they were talking about Mitchell's nurse girlfriend and laughing about it."

"Eleanor is going after her...somehow I'm not in the least bit surprised and it was after that that Flynn showed up?" Jessie just nods. Cutler sighs and scrubs at his face with his hands.

"I need to find Mitchell…"he mutters to himself.

"And tell him what?" Cutler stares at her, his eyes widening slightly at her sharp tone.

"I need to tell him what's going on, to warn him and his girlfriend." He drops his hands by his side.

"I have no idea where he's living, my network have so far been unable to discover that piece of information but I do know where he works but not what shift…is he on nightshift still…when do their shifts switch?" he sees the baffled expression on her face and he shakes his head.

"Never mind, I can find out. Come along, where can I drop you off?" he pats down his jacket pockets and takes out a set of car keys.

She lets herself into the house. It's early evening and so quiet. She listens but doesn't hear any movement, or voices or signs of occupation. She sighs quietly.

"And where have you been?" Flynn's voice makes her start violently. She turns her head and she sees him standing on the bottom step and she glares at him.

"None of your business." she retorts. He raises a sceptical eyebrow as he comes down the last step.

"Really?" he watches as she goes to move past him and at the last minute his hand clamps around her upper arm.

"You're stunning do you know that? Mitchell had exquisite taste when he chose you and obviously Eleanor knew that too otherwise she would've let you die at that party. I wonder whether she knows how you're repaying her kindness."

"Excuse me?" he tightens his grip very slightly and watches her wince.

"Keeping company with Jude Cutler…oh very well done my darling…Eleanor will be very proud of you when she finds out." he smiles "because she doesn't know does she, that you're sleeping with an Old One…and don't deny it sweetheart because I can smell him on you." he closes his eyes and he inhales deeply.

"Oh yes, he's had some of you alright." He murmurs and she shudders. His eyes open and fix on her.

"She won't be happy at all when she finds that bit out." He threatens and he waits a beat.

"But she won't if you help me out with something tonight." He slowly smiles.

"How are you fixed for a night out?"