I've actually had the letter written for a while, it was just a case of filling in the gaps before it that took me months to get down to lol

The Days That Followed, The Letter: "The girl with a future avoids the man with a past." – Even Esar

It was another long day at the café for Tom and Hal. On their return to Honolulu Heights they expected to find Annie smiling and fussing over baby Eve, or perhaps folding up the washing while the baby watched. Elizabeth might be there making idle conversation or reading a book in her room. However, Annie's face was the complete opposite when Tom and Hal found her apparently waiting for them by the bar. She was sat cross-legged on one of the stools, her hands clasped about her knee.

'What's the matter?' Hal asked, concerned.

''As somethin' 'appened?' Tom added.

'It's nothing to worry about, not really,' the ghost reached to an envelope beside her and passed it to Hal. 'She wanted to say goodbye in person but you two were at work.' Gingerly, the vampire relieved Annie of the envelope. It was weighted by something inside it. Tom watched Hal with interest as he opened up the envelope. Inside was a folded sheet of paper and Elizabeth's silver necklace.

'What does it say?' Tom queried, pointing at the letter. Hal didn't reach to unfold it.

'If you'll excuse me, I'd prefer to read this in private.'

'All right, mate,' the werewolf said, patting Hal awkwardly - albeit reassuringly - on the shoulder before he went up to his room. Annie nodded understandingly and rent-a-ghosted from the front room. Left alone Hal pulled the letter from the envelope and took up the seat Annie had evaporated from. The hand-writing was elegant as it had always been on letters from Elizabeth. He was reluctant to read the letter, but eventually he convinced himself to get it over and done with.

Dear Hal,

I am not running away this time. I plan to never do that again. Once again, it is coincidence that I had to leave before you returned from work with Tom, as it was coincidence that I found you in Honolulu Heights. But I did not want to leave without a proper letter to explain things to you, as I have failed miserably to do such a thing in the past.

Letters written by my own hand rarely mean anything good, but this time I assure you the subjects contained within are not as morose as they have been in the past. I would firstly like to thank you for inviting me into your home. Annie and Tom are wonderful people, as you can undoubtedly concur. And baby Eve…well, even with her title of the "War Child" is very loveable.

I do not want this letter to take a downward spiral, but I feel the need to explain – really explain – why I originally left. I know for a fact I have never explicitly told you, or anyone for that matter, the real reason. This is for your eyes only, Hal. It would be easy to assume that it was the arguments which convinced me to leave, but in fact there was something else which was the catalyst. I had reached a point where I wanted to have a family but knew I couldn't and I didn't want to sire unsuspecting humans just to achieve this. I know vampires aren't supposed to feel emotional attachment in any way, shape or form but when I saw families – children especially – it…upset me. It reminded me that through my own choice I was sterile. So, you can imagine how I reacted when I saw Fergus murder a child. (This happened about a week before I moved to America). The human girl was no more than twelve; a poor child who Fergus killed just because she was there. Although I did not confront him on this point, it did bring an end to my bloody rampage. This act finally highlighted to me that I could not continue as I was; I wanted to regain my humanity to whatever extent possible. It is why I became a teacher. To surround myself with children, when I could have none of my own.

Now. Back to the present day.

I must admit that over the last two nights I used you. Not to intentionally hurt you, but for my own selfish ends. I hope and pray that you can forgive me for the self-seeking actions, because they were not completely the reason why the occurrences did happen. It was not anything like love which spurred me on to take those actions – as I would not credit such a thing to exist after the long length of my life – but something closer to sating a need which had been stagnant between friends. (Do not say we do not have that relationship, as you would be lying to yourself). It was evident, from the moment you entered the cellar in 1855 and I turned to you instead of Fergus, that something like this was inevitable. And – this is going to sound horribly cliché – it had to wait until the right moment. (I feel disgusting having written that, but I could not think of another way to phrase it!)

Yet, despite all this, it is best I leave sooner rather than later. We are both addicts on the road to recovery; being in each other's company for a lengthy period of time could cause adverse effects. We are both still volatile.

My insecurity has been so long standing that it cannot simply be eradicated with a kind word from an old friend. Although, please know that you have aided partially in spurring me to manage the long standing problem of my diminished self-confidence. And, so many times I have had the chance but never really thanked you for how you have treated me through the years, Hal. That small margin of respect you always seemed to have for me (even imploring me to stay on the day I was departing for America). My maker abandoned me, as did Fergus. I can safely say that I was the one who left you (maybe a mistake in hindsight). Anyway, I shall say it now: Thank you. And although you said I did not need to apologise for my past misdemeanours, I shall do so anyway.

It is not impossible for you or me to live a human life – or as near to one as we can get. Take chances like a mortal would. Continue your routine (I may have to set up one of my own, seeing how much Leo's regime has helped you). As I said before, the gentleman you are now is an improvement tenfold from the vampire I knew back in the 1800s.

Who knows, if circumstances had been different from the outset maybe it would have been you and I walking the streets of London, rather than myself and Fergus. But then I would not be able to say now how dear a friend you are to me. Again, it is not love, only a superlative friendship. Because of this fact, I would not want us to be separated for such a great length of time as before.

To reiterate my first point, I am not running away. In fact, I have written this letter on paper which is manufactured for the school I work for (the phone number is in the top, right-hand corner. Just ask for Miss. Jefferson) and Annie took great pleasure in writing down the Honolulu Heights phone number for me to add to my contacts diary. I do not know what we might say over the phone, but just in case there is some sort of emergency…Who knows?

However, I know for certain that I will miss you, Hal, and I hope you will miss me in equal measure. Take care of yourself and Annie, Tom and Eve.

Yours sincerely,

E. Jefferson