New chapter, it seems that when I have revision and things to do my writer's block just fades away... Anyway, enjoy the chapter. It's not the best, but it covers some ground in the plot. Oh, and there's Hal&Mitchell flashback, since I know a couple of you were asking.

As per usual, I apologise for the mistakes and shitty writing, but leave a review if you want to say what you thought, they (and procrastination) really help me to get the motivation to write. Maybe I should be like one of those first time fanfiction writers and claim 'I WON'T UPDATE UNLESS I GET 15 REVIEWS!111!'.

...Only joking.

Wyndam was staring at the world map when Hal walked in, and he turned around with an expression of boredom.

'Ah, Harry, I was expecting that you would come.' Mock thoughtfulness passed across his face for a moment, 'Or don't you like to be called Hal now?' Hal found himself speechless, he really shouldn't have come to the bloody warehouse, he should have just let Mitchell deal with it. They were his friends after all. Wyndam seemed surprised at his lack of speech and crossed further towards him, but Hal was trying to focus on anything but the blood in the centre of the table, it was almost as if it were calling out for him. He reached into the pocket of his trousers and pulled out the domino reminding himself of Leo and the others, the people who he needed to remain strong for. Wyndam was practically in front of him now, inspecting his face. 'You know, I went through this stage too, a while ago, maybe when I was about two-hundred or something.'

'It's not a stage.' Hal finally managed to bite out, and Wyndam gave a slight laugh.

'It's always a stage, back and forth, back and forth, good to bad, bad to good. It doesn't do anyone any good.' The older vampire dug in his pocket for a moment before he pulled out a packet of cigarettes, and offered one to Hal.

'I don't smoke.' He had given up long ago, Leo had said if he could give up smoking, then he could give up blood.

'It's not as if it's going to kill you.' Hal stared at the cigarette. One wouldn't hurt, maybe it would take his mind off the blood. Slowly he rose his hand, and took the proffered object and placed it in his mouth, before Wyndam lit it.

–/-

'Mitchell, it's your turn to look after the baby.' Annie called up the stairs.

'What?' He called down, and Annie gave a slight shake of her head, before she rent-a-ghosted up to Mitchell's room, where he was putting on a shirt. She averted her eyes, but couldn't resist taking a little peak. It was difficult between them now, she didn't want to get back together with him, not after what he did, but at the same time she still felt attracted to him. Once he had put his shirt on he looked at her with a curious expression. 'What was it Annie?'

'Baby, it's your turn.' He closed his eyes in frustration.

'I can't.'

'Mitchell, no one else is looking after her, and I've been doing it for days, and so has Tom, it's reall-'

'She's not my child. Anyway, there's a chance that I'll go all snappy-snappy at her.' Annie couldn't resist rolling her eyes, before she realised what he was talking about, and she couldn't help the feeling of disgust that rose up through her.

'You won't okay.' For a moment she looked slightly flustered. 'I mean, you wouldn't would you?' Something she couldn't quite pinpoint crossed Mitchell's face, but he shook his head and smiled.

'No of course not.' He gave up. 'Alright, fine I'll look after her. What are you doing that's so important anyway?' Annie did the thing that she usually did when she was nervous and her voice went a slightly higher pitch than usual.

'Well, um, Tom and I are going to the pub.'

'You and the werewolf?'

'Yeah, just trying to get out of the house you know, it's been a bit doom and gloom with everything that's gone on.' Mitchell nodded, trying not to get angry. 'Oh, have you seen Hal at all?' The change in subject was obvious, but Mitchell ignored it.

'No I haven't, why?'

'No reason.'

'Alright. Perfect. So you know what to do then?'

'Annie, I have't been around babies much.'

'Well, you know, keep her happy, give her milk if she starts crying the usual.' She paused for a moment, and was about to rent-a-ghost out of the room, before she remembered something. 'Oh, and no smoking around her.'

'Annie, I've told you, my father used to smoke around me all th-'

'Yes Mitchell, and that was also a hundred-years ago. And you're a vampire.' This time, it was Mitchell's turn to roll his eyes.

'Fine.'

–/-

Hal inhaled the cigarette slowly, savouring the taste, it had been such a long time since he had smoked, and it still had the same calming effect on him. Slowly he raised his eyes from the floor and looked at Wyndam.

'I want you to leave them alone.' Wyndam laughed.

'Who? Your pets?'

'Yes Wyndam. They have't done anything to you.' The other vampire cocked his head, and Hal took another puff on the cigarette, watching the smoke as it rose up in the air.

'Well, they have actually. Tom was quite the little vampire killer.' Wyndam paused to light up his own cigarette and accidentally-on-purpose blew the smoke into his face. 'And George has killed a fair few vampires in his time. It's only fair that they should have retribution.'

'Just leave us alone.'

'I'm not the one who's still in the hub of vampire activity in Britain at the moment, nor am I the one who wondered into the HQ. I mean, it's almost as if you want to see us.' Hal didn't have a response to that, of course he didn't want them to see him, it was just that it was the only place he could be at the moment.

'Please Wyndam. You don't need to kill them, they're harmless.'

'George killed Herrick. I didn't like the sod of course, but that's still an attack on us. You think that you coming in here and demanding that I stop is going to do anything? You're harmless. Both of you are.' Hal couldn't stop the annoyance from bubbling up within him. A hundred-years ago he probably could have got away with staking Wyndam for speaking to him like that, and here he was trying to protect a couple of hound- He took a breath, and then another drag on his cigarette, he couldn't think like that, that wasn't him.

Anymore.

'You know what, I don't care what you're playing at. But if one of them get's attack I'm coming in here and staking one of yours.'

'Go ahead. They're all idiots.' With a huff Hal stubbed the cigarette out and began to walk away. 'You know, just like Cutler.' Abruptly he stopped walking, but didn't look back at Wyndam.

'Cutler's here?' He felt like he was tightrope walking he was so tense.

'Yes.' Trying to play it cool, he gave a shrug of his shoulders and walked off.

–/-

When Hal got back to the house, he saw Mitchell sitting in the front room with the baby in a cot next to him. He looked up briefly at the sound of the door opening, and Hal gave a nod of greeting to him.

'Where's Annie?' The other vampire didn't say anything for a moment.

'Out.'

'With Tom? I didn't reali-'

'They're not together if you were thinking that.' Mitchell cut him off, and Hal stared at him for a moment without talking.

'Are you and Annie, together then?' He felt strange prying into this man's life but he had to know, the dynamic in the house was so strange since Nina died, even though the woman hadn't liked him.

'We were, and then I killed twenty people on a train with Daisy.' Hal made a chocking sound and Mitchell looked up to him.

'What, Daisy as in Ivan's Daisy?' Mitchell didn't say anything but responded with a nod, but he cocked his head slightly to the side.

'You know what I find so fucking annoying though?' Hal didn't speak. 'You know, I do one thing like that once and I lose everything, yet you.. You used to do stuff like that practically everyday, and they don't treat you like some kind of monster!' A sardonic laugh escaped Hal's mouth.

'I was under the impression that you had told them about my exploits?' He couldn't help feeling slightly nervous at the idea of his new housemates knowing about his chequered past, and yet he hoped that Mitchell hadn't.

'No, no I haven't.' He remained silent for a few seconds before continuing. 'Look, I'm sorry. It's just that...' Mitchell trailed off, not saying anything, but Hal gave a sympathetic nod and cross the room to sit down nearer Mitchell and Eve. Neither were any good at expressing their feelings, but in a sense the two seemed to understand the struggle that the other was under.

'Look, God knows that I've done some terrible things in my past, and that person's just bubbling under the surface, and they're never going to understand. Pearl and Leo didn't, and I'm afraid the others won't either.' Hal shuffled awkwardly in his seat as Mitchell stared at him.

'You know the when I first saw you, I couldn't imagine you being like this. You seemed like the last vampire on earth who would try and go clean.' A grimace passed over Hal's face.

'When was it?'

'Paris, 1921' Mitchell fell silent, remembering the times.

He and Herrick had gone to Paris after the First World War, and this was the first time that he had been back since. It was incredible he thought, when he went off to war he was just a young Irish man now he wasn't even human and he was cavorting around Europe. Living a life he couldn't have dreamed of when he was human. When he had first reached Paris this time he was slightly nervous, perhaps some of the patrons of his favourite haunts would recognise him.

But in reality the trip had gone off almost perfectly, Herrick rounded up business that he needed to take care of, whilst Mitchell enjoyed the bars and girls of Paris. It was their last night when he met him though.

'Where are we going Herrick?' He asked impatiently, he had arranged to meet with a girl named Aimee to-night, but Herrick had forced him to cancel the arrangement, and come with him to some fancy part of town.

'The Ritz. Why Mitchell?'

'Why I was perfectly happy to st-' The English vampire turned to him and fixed him with a harsh stare.

'You have to see a different part of Paris at some point Mitchell. It's all very well hanging around with whores and ungentle folk but I refuse to spend my last night in one of those grotty little bars again, not when we've been invited here.' Mitchell bit back annoyance, he hated how Herrick treated him like a child sometimes. The carriage stopped outside of the famous hotel, and Mitchell looked up at the impressive outside, people passed in an out, glamourous women with their short hair and well dressed men in tails. He was secretly glad that he had taken Herrick's advice and put on his tails now.

Once they were inside, Herrick found his friend immediately, and introduced Mitchell. Jonathan was an old acquaintance from the Boer War apparently, and the two had bumped into each other the day before. This being Herrick's last night in Paris meant that Mitchell was dragged along to the little meeting. But the man was nice enough, and plenty of war stories were exchanged between the men.

'And it was at this point that the guy had his gun pointed at me, you know threatening to shoot, but I say to him, go ah-' Jonathan suddenly went quite pale and looked at something beyond Mitchell's head, and Mitchell turned around to look at who was there. When he did he saw a well-dressed man, who held a cane in his hands, who was talking to one of the waiters. The waiter looked quite nervous and hurriedly went to sit him at a table, but this was before he noticed Herrick and his cohort and moved quickly towards him. When Mitchell turned back to Herrick he could see that he too was nervous, and he had his eyes focused on the ground refusing to even look up to acknowledge the man. Mitchell didn't know whether to look back, but the man spoke before he could decide.

'Ah, Herrick, it's been a long time hasn't it. And Jonathan too? What a nice little crew?' Herrick looked up, and swallowed nervously.

'Lord Harry.' He gave a nod of acknowledgement. 'How come you are in Paris?' Lord Harry smirked, and looked at Mitchell briefly.

'And who is this then?' He addressed his question to Herrick, dodging the one that had been aimed at him.

'Oh, this is Mitchell, he's my new recruit.' The man looked down at him.

'How do you do?' Mitchell wasn't nervous, but he took his lead from the other's and only nodded at the man, he looked at him for a moment longer and then looked back to the other two vampires.

'We're having a dog fight if you want to come to-morrow?'

'Herrick's leaving to-morrow.'

'Shame. What about you Mitchell?'

'I'm going too.' Lord Harry gave a sarcastic smile, and tapped his cane on the floor.

'Well you have to break away from your master at some point don't you?' At Mitchell's torn expression he gave a laugh. 'Ignore me, I did not really meet the person who recruited me. Well. I suppose I did try and kill him, so he did not really want me to stay around.' He smiled menacingly, showing all his teeth. 'It was nice to see all of you. I'm afraid I have a couple of other people I have to see, but you're all very welcome to have a drink in my room later.' None of them missed the hidden meaning behind his words, and mumbled their goodbyes, but the man had already strolled off before he could have heard.

'Who was that?' Mitchell hissed at Herrick, and Herrick grimaced.

'He's an Old One. Pretty infamous really. He's probably killed more people than you've met.' Herrick paused for a moment, and took a sip of his wine. 'Apparently one time he and Fergus went into a house and slaughtered everyone in it, God knows what else he has done.' By the end of the night, the three did not take up Lord Harry's offer, but when Mitchell had turned back as they were leaving, Lord Harry raised a glass up in a mock toast to Mitchell, and he couldn't shake the feeling of jitteriness until they had left the hotel.

'I was a different person.' Hal said, unwilling to remember the times in Paris. He was so torn, of course he had enjoyed it, or at least his other side had, but now when he thought about it, he reviled the idea of what he had done.

'We both were.' Hal didn't know what made him say what he did next, but it was nice to have someone who understood just exactly what he was going though.

'You know though, there's still a part of me that enjoys it you know. God, the last time I drunk anything at all was when I attacked a budgie in 1959 but I still dream about it sometimes.' Mitchell gave a snort, and a ghost of smile appeared on Hal's face.

'Does it ever end though?' Mitchell's previous amusement had faded and Hal gave a slight shake of his head.

'I don't think so. I've done this enough times to know that I'll probably always go back, but in my mind what makes it better is that I have tried to be better. I think that's what it is.' Hal stared at the floor not saying anything for a while, before turned to Mitchell again. 'You don't happen to have a cigarette do you?'

No George this chapter. I'm not really sure what to do with him really, it gets so boring to write a depressed character. Ah, and Mitchell Hal bonding time, yay.

Next up: Ivan. Wyndam. People. Stuff happens. Revenge. You're probably not even reading this are you?