Annnd welcome to the next instalment, had a bit of a block for a moment, but I'm back on the writing ship again... Yeah, sorry for the chapter it's probably not my greatest, but it ends on a bit of cliffhanger *gasp* (I'm not great at cliffhangers but um...) So. Enjoy the chapter and I'll try and have something happen in the next one.

Florence, 1816

With the Napoleonic Wars finally over, Europe had relaxed somewhat, or at least that was what Hal felt once he had returned from the New World- but it might have been because he wasn't holding back and not drinking blood. The world felt bright and new, and as if nobody could stop him. He hadn't returned to England yet, he was waiting for the right moment to go and see if his other self had sold of his assets in some fit of self-pity. For now he went to the balls in Florence, and saw the Italian Art, and of course courted Italian girls.

As he strolled down the side of the river running through Florence in the mild weather of March, he found himself staring at another man, who had a girl with him, but it didn't take Hal long to recognise what he was. The man appeared to have noticed him too, and it was funny really the reaction he had to seeing the other vampire. Of course, there weren't many vampires in the small city, but there was something to be said for it.

It just stank of history, and the old mediaeval buildings reminded him of the ones from his childhood. There weren't many left in England when, torn down for the new factories or for new houses to be built, and he wondered whether his old home was even still left now. Of course it wasn't, why would an old brothel be kept standing, especially one at the centre of town. There was probably one of those dark satanic mills standing over it, pumping out grey smoke to the atmosphere.

He realised that the other vampire had stopped moving, and simply stared at him. The girl too, but he shooed her off, clearly unnerved by the presence of another vampire. She looked put out, and she walked away, the fabric of her green dress being rustled by the wind. Hal was not one to go to someone, and so he waited for the man to cross the busy street and come to greet him, once he approached Hal studied him more. Relatively handsome, not classically so but girls might see some appeal to him, he looked Slavic, maybe Russian; tall, dressed well. The man held out his hand, and Hal looked down at it briefly before raising his to meet it.

'How do you do?' Hal smirked slightly, this situation was just so ridiculous. 'I am Ivan.'

'Harry.' He looked for a spark of recognition in the man's eyes, but there wasn't any, a flicker of anger ran through him. His other bloody self had clearly ruined the reputation that he had built up over all those years.

''For what reason are you in Florence?'

'Travelling,' he paused, slightly surprised, 'do you not recognise me?'

'Should I?'

'No, I have just been away from the Old World for a while.'

'Have you been in America then?'

'Yes, I was in a bit of a, how to put it... nasty situation.' Well, nasty was not quite the word, being chased out of a small settlement by a dozen angry villagers and then being hunted across North Carolina seemed slightly more than nasty, but then again, it had really been worth it. 'Would you perhaps like to have luncheon with me?' The younger vampire looked slightly surprised, but then nodded.

'Of course.' A smile played its way across Hal's face, perhaps it was time for him to build his reputation back up again. Maybe on his journey back to England.

–/-

The knock at the door surprised everyone, not least because it was nine thirty at night, and also because the amount of visitors the housemates got was minimal, unless of course they were psychotic vampires.

'Annie?' Mitchell called from the living room, he and George were watching The Real Hustle, but neither of them were really focusing on it, George was too wrapped up in his grief, while Mitchell was trying to stop thinking about the man who had been found dead- the man who he had almost attacked.

'Yeah?' She was in the kitchen with the baby, trying to get her to stop crying. Ever since Nina had died, Eve had become a lot more loud, especially at the funeral. But everyone had been crying at the funeral, perhaps not the two new additions to the house, but George, Mitchell, and herself had certainly cried. It was a horrible event, not that funerals were usually nice, but it was the fact that the day was grey, and there was a slight drizzle in the air as they lowered the coffin into the ground. George had let out the most horrific sob a the Priest spoke and had all but broken down. It was strange seeing George, who was usually so calm and collected (most of the time) act in that way, but the funeral had been good for him and had perhaps given him a measure of more acceptance. He and Tom had been planning to seek out the vampires who had clearly taken up residence on Barry, but luckily Annie had managed to talk him out of it.

'Can you get the door?' She looked out from the kitchen to where George and Mitchell were sat, still in their black clothes from the funeral and realised that neither of them were going to get up from the sofa any time soon. Sighing, she looked at Eve one more time and rent-a-ghosted to the door and swung it open. There was a man standing there, she recognised him from somewhere, and he was clearly of the supernatural disposition since he could clearly see her.

'Is Mitchell there?' For a moment she hesitated, but gave in.

'One second.' She said before rent-a-ghosting to the sofa and she put her hand on Mitchell's shoulder. 'Um, Mitchell, there's someone her for you.'

'What? Who?' He said looking up, but shrugged off her hand and walked to the door, he walked quickly when he saw who it was, his jaw almost dropped to the floor. 'Ivan?'

–/-

'Still off the blood then?' Ivan said once Mitchell had invited him inside, and Mitchell nodded silently.

'How are you alive? I buried you.' He then almost shook his head, how could he have not realised, the same way that Herrick returned. 'Who fed you?' Ivan looked at him slightly shocked that he knew what had happened, but then explained.

'Herrick send some vampires back, before you killed him -again- obviously, to resurrect the Bristol vampires.' For a moment Mitchell said nothing, he had committed a mass murder in this man's name. And it was all for nothing?

'Why are you here Ivan?'

'Me? Oh, I'm looking for Daisy, no on-'

'I'm sorry Ivan.' Mitchell cut him off because he couldn't hear his friend say anymore, Ivan was about to open his mouth to speak, when his gaze travelled upwards and Mitchell remembered just who was staying upstairs, he turned his head too and saw Hal looking down at them half-curiously, half looking as if he was about to shit himself. Ivan looked back to Mitchell.

'What the hell is Hal Yorke doing here?' Mitchell could hear Hal coming down the stairs slowly, clearly nervous, before he turned around and looked at the Old One.

'It's a very long story.' Hal had made it to where the other two vampires were standing and he stared at Ivan for a moment. Mitchell turned back to Hal and hissed at him, 'you know you have a bloody talent at walking down the stairs when vampires are around here, second fecking time this week!' Hal ignored him and stared at the man in the doorway.

'Ivan?' Ivan looked past Mitchell and at Hal and slowly stepped towards him.

'I heard you had died.' Hal quickly had to calm himself down, how on earth had Ivan of all people ended up in Barry? It was strange when he thought about it, only a few weeks earlier he had been in Southend thinking that he would never see all of these vampires again, and now he was here standing in a room with a man who had committed such atrocities.

'I hadn't.' Suddenly, Ivan looked from Hal to Mitchell and back again, a look of disbelieving coming over his face.

'You're both clean aren't you?' A sardonic laugh bubbled out of his mouth. 'Hal Yorke and John Mitchell, living together not drinking blood? My God.' He walked further into the house, and noticed George and Annie sitting on the sofa and George briefly looked up and he stared open mouthed at the resurrected vampire.

'What's he doing here?' Although George was surprised, the tone he spoke it in was dulled and Ivan glanced at him curiously.

'So he's still alive then?' For a moment Ivan looked at him, before turning his attention back to Hal. 'I assume you're in one of your 'good' stages at the moment.'

'No this is permanent.' Hal didn't particularly want the others hearing about his past, and his heart beat slightly faster in his chest and pulled out the domino from his pocket and began to twirl it around his fingers.

'Well, the amount of times I have heard that from you have been numerous.'

'Ivan,' he warned, 'please.' Seeming to accept that he wouldn't get much more out of Hal, he looked back to Mitchell.

'Now, what were you about to say about Daisy?' The Irish vampire suddenly stiffened, how on earth was he supposed to tell Ivan about the death of Daisy, for a moment he didn't speak.

'She's dead.' George suddenly said and Ivan's head snapped back to the werewolf, and Mitchell could have sworn he saw a flicker of sadness pass over his eyes.

'What?'

'Some vampire hunters got her a while ago.'

'Who?' Ivan seemed to be unable to speak properly, or at least in long sentences.

'He's dead.' George looked up to Mitchell and gave a roll of his eyes before he pushed himself up from the sofa and proceeded to walk towards the stairs, his eyes were blank and void of emotion as he walked pass Mitchell and climbed up the stairs to his room.

'Ge-' Mitchell began, but Hal silenced him with a shake of his head, and Mitchell realised that it was pointless to call after his friend.

'Would anyone like to explain Daisy's death to me?' Ivan finally said, finally able to process the information.

'She was staked by some werewolves a while ago, there were two of them, it was the older one.' Mitchell declined to mention that the werewolf's surrogate son was in fact right upstairs, but he had grown a fondness for the young man and he did appear to have changed his ways. And another death in the house would be catastrophic. 'Listen Ivan I'm sorry.'

'It's fine.' He closed his eyes for a moment, waiting for the information to sink in slightly more, and felt the sadness wash over him. It had been so long since he had felt anything like that. When he opened his eyes he noticed that the ghost had gone and that the other two were looking at him with what looked like feelings of compassion. It was strange seeing Hal like this, when he had first known he was the impossibly elegant, old, brutal vampire who had massacred his way back home with him, and now he was living in Barry in a former 'B&B' with John Mitchell of all people. 'You realise that this is the place to be at the moment?' The grief he had felt had quickly washed away and he pushed it to the back of his mind for the moment.

'What do you mean?' The younger of the two vampires asked, and Ivan smirked.

'You haven't heard?'

'We tend to keep away from the others.'

'Wyndam's here for one and I just came here to join in the party when I heard that none other than you,' he looked at Mitchell, 'was staying here as well.'

'Why Barry? What would possibly make them come to Barry?' Mitchell said disbelievingly.

'I'm not quite sure at the moment.'

'Where are they all staying?' Hal asked, an idea coming to his mind, as he flicked the domino in his hands over and over again.

'Stoker Imports.'

–/-

Hal had found the place without much pain and went straight there after he had finished the shift with Tom. Ivan had left the house quickly after he had told them where the vampires were staying, and told them he was staying at the Barry Grand Hotel for a while. In some ways Hal cursed his luck, how he had managed to get to what seemed like the centre of all supernatural activity in the UK was a mystery to him, but in some senses he knew that a part of him wanted the others to come. That part of him that he had kept hidden so well for the past fifty-years was beginning to rear its head again and he could feel it. He stopped for a moment and shook his head, he couldn't let that side of him take over again. Once he arrived at Stoker Imports it was obvious it was a hive of vampire activity, vampires were hardly subtle in their dress, and many of them liked to wear black- possibly just to fit into the stereotype. Slowly, swallowing down any nervousness, he walked up to the door and knocked, a little slider opened, and a man was the other side.

'I'm here to see Wyndam.' The two eyes behind the slot widened slightly.

'Who are you?' Hal bit down annoyance, but a slight wave of relief passed over him, the idea of throwing himself into this den of vipers for a werewolf he barely knew was ridiculous. But he forced himself not to be a coward, and looked straight into the two eyes on the other side of the door.

'If you know what's good for you, you'll open the door.' There was a moment of hesitation, but reluctantly the man on the other side of the door opened it, and Hal walked in. It was almost if he could smell the blood that soaked the walls of this place, there were a decent number of people around but they paid him little attention. Looking up he noticed a person in a cage, and looked at the bottles of blood around the place. They almost cried out to him, and it was difficult being around these vampires without wanting to join in. He felt disgusted at the same time as feeling as if this was where he belonged, and he stood there staring at the disused warehouse before he shook himself out of his thoughts.

Slowly he walked through the warehouse, trying to attract a few stares as possible, and he tried to see where the hell Wyndam might be. After a minute of wondering around the surprisingly large building he gave up, and stopped one of the vampires who was walking past him.

'You don't know where Wyndam is?' The young woman regarded him suspiciously.

'Who's asking?'

'Hal Yorke.' She didn't seem to recognise the name, but nodded anyway, and walked off in a direction before she stopped and turned around impatiently.

'I don't have all day you realise?' Hal realised she was talking to him.

'Oh, I-' He cut himself off before he looked any more ridiculous and followed her.

Yes, I know, this does seem like some shitstorm of a fix where I just bring back characters that I miss on the show. It's not. I swear. There's a reason. (Okay, maybe I missed Ivan a tiny bit.)

As for why he can be resurrected, if a vampire can survive having his head torn off, surely it would make sense that they can be resurrected from being blown up. Especially since we see Ivan's body at the end of the episode that the sad event happens (sob).

Next time: Hal sees Wyndam. George is sad. Mitchell and Annie have a drama. Tom continues plotting. Ivan is around, like he should be.