Disclaimer: I don't own Being Human, and I don't wish I did because it wouldn't be anywhere near as good as it is, and it would get cancelled when I made sure Damien Molony was in every scene!

Chapter 2: Cause of Death

"So, what was she?"

"What do you think she was?" Hal asked quietly, still not comfortable with the idea of revealing the truth to this girl.

"A vampire." Bethan answered after a few moments. "No, she can't have been. They don't actually exist. I mean, we'd know about it if they existed wouldn't we? The world would have found out about it by now. No, it was just some hoax. Students or something." She rushed, shaking her head dismissively. Hal kept his face blank, but Tom looked down at the table. Hal hoped she wouldn't notice, that they could let her make her own excuses and go back to her uncomplicated, simple human life. "Shit. She was wasn't she? She was actually a vampire." She stared at Tom, the beginnings of tears forming in her eyes.

"Yes." He answered forlornly. She stared straight ahead and nodded her head in quiet acceptance, then swallowed the lump in her throat.

"And she killed that man so she could..."

"Drink his blood. Yea." Tom confirmed, glancing at Hal to check he was still calm at the mention of the word. Hal inclined his head slightly, just enough for Tom to notice.

"Right. And where do you two come in? I mean, you know these creatures exist, and you obviously know how to kill them, so... who are you?" she asked, looking at them both inquisitively.

"A couple of good Samaritans, that's all." Hal smiled, oozing charisma and trying to keep his voice pleasant. He wanted her to go away, forget she had seen them and forget about what had happened. She didn't know the mess she was getting herself involved in.

"What, you just happened to have a... what was it, a spike in your pocket? Completely out of the blue?" she raised an eyebrow at him disbelievingly. He pursed his lips in irritation.

"A stake. Look, it's all over now. What's done is done. You were in trouble, we helped you, the end. Now trust me, you're better off not knowing any more than that. So why don't you just go back to your life, arresting hooligans or whatever you do, and forget you ever found out that we exist." He closed his eyes and sighed, realising his blunder as soon as the words were out of his mouth.

"We?" she asked quietly.

"They. I meant they."

"But you said we." They sat in silence for a moment, none of them knowing what to say or do next.

"Alright." Tom started, earning himself a warning look from Hal. "Well we might as well tell her now mate. Just, do you promise you won't tell anyone else? No one else can know, do you understand?" he looked at her, his eyes pleading. Hal got up and turned away, feeling his anger rising. Tom was his best friend, but his astonishing naivety could be intensely frustrating at times.

"Yes." Bethan nodded hesitantly.

"Right. Well then he's a vampire and I'm a werewolf." She laughed, thinking he was joking. He frowned in confusion and her face fell suddenly.

"What, you're serious? You're really serious?" Tom nodded. She sat back and took a deep breath, trying to process it all. "If he's a vampire, why hasn't he, you know, attacked me or anything? Not that I'm complaining." She asked him confusedly.

"Hal's a good vampire. He doesn't drink... that stuff, do you mate." Tom smiled at him. Hal bit his lip to stop himself from berating the werewolf.

"Ok, and you're a werewolf." She said disbelievingly.

"Yes." He smiled. "But only once a month, on a full moon."

"And why should I believe you? How do I know you're not just taking the piss?"

"Does this convince you?" Hal spat, his fangs showing. She flinched and he backed away, finding the domino stored safely away in his apron pocket to calm himself. "Sorry." He said dejectedly. "I'm still recovering." Tom stood and patted him on the back, trying to comfort him.

"It's alright mate, you're doing good." He said encouragingly. Bethan watched them blankly. Hal wondered why she was still sitting there. He had expected her to have fled by now, but she just sat there looking puzzled and altogether rather unconcerned. It unnerved him slightly.

"You gave up blood? Why?" she asked him.

"Because I don't want to be a monster anymore." He answered simply.

"You don't sparkle in the sunlight do you?"

"No, why?"

"Just checking. So, if people like you exist, why do I not know about you already? How have you managed to stay hidden?"

"The efforts of vampires mostly. We've tended to want to stay concealed, it's safer that way. The attack last night might be different though. There used to be vampires infiltrating the police force here, but I believe they're all gone now." Hal answered, sitting back down in his chair.

"Gone?"

"Dead."

"Was one of them called Fergus? He disappeared a while ago." She asked after a moment, remembering a rumour from the staff cafe a few months before.

"Yes." Hal said coldly, biting his cheek. She sensed that she had hit a nerve and decided not to push for more detail. She had never worked with him herself, but she had heard he was a bit of a twat, and kept largely to himself. Hearing that he had been a vampire was a shock, but it did explain a few things. It was more difficult to accept that these creatures had been living and working so close, and that they had managed to gain a position of such responsibility.

"I haven't told anyone what I saw. Well, not about the woman... the vampire, or about you two."

"Well then, that might take care of it. These things have a funny way of wrapping themselves up." Hal shrugged.

Bethan stood up, picking up her coat and tea. "This is a lot to take in. I don't want to take up any more of your time, I can see this is making you uncomfortable. But look, thanks. For rescuing me last night and for explaining things. Even if I've got more questions than answers now."

"You'd be surprised how much that happens in our world." Tom grinned.

"Right, well I'm just going to..." she nodded towards the door and sidled through it uncomfortably.

"She was nice." Tom said once she had gone.

"She was terrified. You shouldn't have offered to explain."

"I thought she took it pretty well actually. And anyway, you're the one who let on you're a vampire."

"That's beside the point. Let's just hope she doesn't come back. That'll be all we need." He grumbled, making his way back into the kitchen.

"Do you always have to be such a miserable sod?"

"Yes."

"Fair enough."

"Evening boys. Good day at work?" Alex called from the sofa as Hal and Tom made their way through the front door. She noticed the look they shared and assumed the worst. "Oh no. What happened?"

"We had a visitor." Tom said, flopping down on to the sofa next to her.

"Well I should hope so, otherwise the cafe's gonna go bust." She joked, grinning at him. "What sort of visitor?"

"A girl." Alex stared at him, waiting for him to elaborate.

"Right... and this is significant because..?"

"Because Tom felt it was acceptable to tell her all about us." Hal grumbled, picking up a nearby newspaper and sitting in the armchair.

"Only after you managed to tell her what you were!" Tom chuckled.

"Uh, how?" Alex grinned and sat forward interestedly.

"A simple slip of the tongue that's all, nothing to get excited about." Hal answered irritably.

"It was the girl we saved last night. She recognised me voice. She just wanted to know what happened, and I thought it was only fair to tell her the truth." Tom answered.

"Fair? We saved her life, isn't that enough?" Hal muttered.

"Well I saved her life, you just watched."

"Let's not get bogged down in specifics."

"I thought you were meant to be a gentleman anyway? What happened to helping out damsels in distress?" Alex smirked at Hal.

"Rescuing them is one thing. Talking to them is entirely different."

"And what about drinking their blood?"

"Are you ever going to let that go?" he sighed, looking up from his paper.

"Nope." She smiled back at him sweetly. "Oh well, so what if she knows? She's not exactly going to tell anyone is she."

"Well she's a police officer so I certainly hope not." Hal said, getting back to reading.

"Hey, you could ask her about my body."

"Alex, there are so many issues with that sentence, I don't even know where to begin." Hal shook his head in dismay.

"Alright, try me." She answered defiantly.

"Ok. First off, we saw your body being taken away, and it certainly wasn't by the police. Secondly, as I've mentioned before, asking police officers about murders is ever so slightly suspicious. And third, I'm pretty sure after the events of the past twenty-four hours, we won't be seeing her again."

"Do you two ever stop arguing?" Tom whined.

"Fair enough." Alex said, ignoring Tom. "But if she does come back, you have to ask. Deal?"

"Deal." Hal smiled, confident that he was right. He glanced at his wrist, checking his watch. "Well, delightful as your company is, it's time for my evening sit-ups. See you in an hour."

"See ya." Alex and Tom said uninterestedly. As soon as he was out of earshot, Alex turned to Tom.

"So, how is he getting on really? Any problems?"

"Nah. He's fine, he just worries too much. He even served a few customers today. He's getting there, slowly. We just have to be patient. Help him get his confidence back." He smiled at her, positive despite the trauma of the past few months. It had been a struggle, having Hal going through rehab in the living room. At first he had been wild with rage, almost feral and completely unpleasant to be near. As soon as that had passed, the withdrawal symptoms had kicked in, and that had been horrendous. He'd been sick for days, bright red turning to dark green bile as he purged the blood from his system. He had become skinny, weak and depressed. Fragile. But they had been there for him every step of the way, and eventually, he had told them that he was grateful for what they had done, and they had known that the worst was over. Now it seemed they trusted him more than he trusted himself.

"At least he's safe now. The sooner he realises that the better."

Four days after her bizarre conversation at the greasy spoon with Tom and Hal, Bethan finally decided that she couldn't take it anymore. She headed to the police station, determined to return to work whatever her supervisor said. Despite the fact that her cosy human world view had been shattered, she had been surprised to feel a sense of relief after her visit to the cafe. It turned out that knowing the truth was better than knowing nothing at all.

She had had a lot on her mind in those four days. Where had these creatures come from? Had they been here a long time? Had she had dealings with them before and simply been unaware of it? Should she tell anyone about them? She had considered going back to cafe to get her answers, but she had a feeling she wouldn't be welcome. Well, not by Hal anyway. He had seemed uncomfortable with her questions at best, and she didn't want to rile him. There was a danger that seemed to hang in the air around him. But Tom had said that he didn't drink blood any more, and he hadn't exactly been aggressive, just evasive.

So after lying awake for hours for yet another night, she had come to the conclusion that she was just going to have to accept it, and forget about it. If she hadn't heard about them, they couldn't be that much of a threat. She couldn't go on with the obsessive wondering at any rate. She needed a distraction, and work beckoned, appealing to her more now than it had since her first day on the beat. She would have to keep hold of that, the feeling of actually wanting to go to work in the morning. It had been a foreign concept for years now.

Getting on with her life without a second thought for the supernatural had sounded straightforward at first, but upon arriving at the station, she was greeted with news that made her wonder if she was just fooling herself. There had been an assault in the last few days. Nothing strange there, except the victim was adamant that his attacker had had fangs. The other officers were still laughing at his account, particularly as a set of plastic fancy dress vampire fangs had been found nearby, but the case was still a little too close to home for Bethan's liking.

Sitting at a vacant desk to catch up on her previous week's paperwork, it wasn't long before she was drifting off deep in thought again. Without really knowing what she was looking for, she had logged onto the computer and was trawling through the electronic records. What she found was disturbing. Crime reports of animal attacks, strange murders, invisible men, that now seemed more than just a compilation of Barry's weirdest incidents. Now they seemed frighteningly real. She shut the computer down, trying to convince herself that she was just seeing things with different eyes now, and that the reports were probably unconnected with anything supernatural.

The day passed without incident, and with all of her paperwork completed, she headed out of the office to make her way home.

"Here comes trouble. What are you doing here? I thought Perkins had you on leave?" A familiar voice called from behind her.

"You know me, I just can't keep away." She smiled. Rhys jogged to catch her up, and she resisted the urge to sigh, wanting only to be home and tucked up on the sofa with a big glass of wine.

"How have you been? It was a pretty gruesome scene, how you been bearing up?"

"Oh, you know. I'm alright, just got bored at home."

"Well, if you feel bored and alone tonight, or you want me to transport you to paradise to distract you, I'd be glad to be of assistance." He smirked, trying to look innocent. Bethan shook her head amusedly. They had gone through training together, and had become friends quickly. However, Rhys had never exactly been subtle about the fact that he wanted more. It had become a good natured joke between them, but despite the fact that he played up to it, she knew he meant it. Not that she was the sole object of his affections. He had amassed quite a reputation around the station, and quite a collection of one night stands.

"I think I'll be fine, but thanks for the offer." She chuckled.

"Going solo then. No worries. Just make sure you're thinking of me yea." he grinned, winking. She shook her head again, smiling. He might be crude, verging on offensive, but he had a knack for making her laugh when she most needed cheering up. A thought suddenly occurred to her, stopping her in her tracks. Rhys had been working on the murder case. He was only community support, the same as her, but he might have heard if there had been any breakthroughs.

"So has the verdict from the coroner come through yet on the murder victim?" she asked, trying not to sound too interested.

"Yea, haven't they told you yet? Cause of death has been confirmed as catastrophic blood loss," she nodded, the news just what she had expected, "from a knife wound to the throat." She froze and swallowed hard, only just managing to keep her composure. An ice cold chill flooded the pit of her stomach, making her feel vaguely queasy.

"A knife wound?" she questioned.

"Yea, you know. He was stabbed." He emphasised his point with a Hammer Horror style slasher gesture. "CID found a knife in the alley. No prints on it, but it was a match for the wound. Are you alright? You've gone all pale." Bethan shook herself back to reality.

"Yea, I just didn't eat lunch."

"Do you want me to take you home? You know, not in a shag your brains out kind of way, just in a helping out a sick friend way." He smiled, though she could see that he was concerned.

"No, honestly, I'm fine. Thanks Rhys. See you tomorrow."

"No problem baby cakes. Catch you later." He winked before carrying on down the corridor.

So it seemed that Hal had been wrong. This wasn't just wrapping itself up, someone was behind it. And not just the coroner either, someone with access to CID's records, the crime scene, and potentially even the evidence room. Could there still be vampires working alongside her and her fellow officers? Whether or not that was the case, she still had plenty of questions that needed answering, and there was only one place she could go to get those. She would have to go back to the cafe.