Here is ending number 2.

Happy endings don't come to everyone, there is no pattern. Some get a happy ending who don't deserve it, others that do, some work hard to get their reward, others it falls in their lap, and sometimes, only sometimes, happiness comes to those who just need it.

I own nothing. But am so grateful that I have been able to play with these characters for a little longer.

Chapter 17 Ending 2

'This horror will grow mild, this darkness light.'

John Milton, Paradise Lost

That night Alex and Hal lay in Alex's bed together. Sometime around three in the morning, Hal signed, kissed Alex's sleeping head and whispered. 'I think I should go sleep in my own room. Tomorrow, we will start facing our issues, in the open.'

Alex had nodded. As Hal went to leave Alex called out 'Hal?'

He turned around, 'We're going to get through this?' She asked.

Hal smiled in the half light of the outside street lamp. 'We all have a path, now at least, we can start to find it.'

Tom had gone straight to his room like Hal had asked, he hadn't stayed to listen on the stairs.

Hal had left Alex's room, sat on his bed and stayed there the whole night.

Alex had slept.

Alex woke to a bright and clear morning, the sun streaming into her room. She had woken to a light knock on her door. As she turned, the covers up around her neck Hal slowly moved into the room a gently if apprehensive smile on his face.

'Good morning' he said as he came to sit gingerly on the bed. Alex smiled, pulling herself up and leaning forward she kissed him on the lips. As she withdrew she looked at his face and frowned.

'It don't look that good for you.'

Hal smiled again and raised his eyebrows in defeat, 'I didn't exactly have a calm night.' He said.

'I know I was there.' Grinned Alex running her hand down his chest.

Hal twitched as she reached his ticklish spot on his abdomen. Grasping her hand away with a cursory grin. 'I meant after.' His face becoming serious as he brought her hand up to his mouth for a kiss.

'Oh,' Grimaced Alex, her optimism sinking. There was a pause as she searched his face, his brown eyes were looking deep into hers, she could tell he wanted to say something, and for the first time in months, she felt strong enough to accept whatever he said. 'Just tell me Hal.' She whispered to him. 'We promised; no more lies.'

Hal smiled sadly and sighed. 'I almost left last night.' He said finally. Alex blinked.

'What?' She asked.

Hal looked down, 'It seemed the easiest option. And I'm ashamed to say I've always been a bit of a coward.' He stopped, sniffed and brought his eyes back to hers. 'I have been trying to rationalize to myself my behavior, coming up with solutions that made sense at the time, but skirted the main issue.' He gave a grim smile 'Rather effectively actually.'

'What Hal?' said Alex. If this had been a day ago, she was sure she would have pulled away from him, but instead she brought her other hand out to cover his. 'I'm ready to hear it now.' She said. For a brief moment a stab of fear gripped her spine, she swallowed and pushed it away.

'A couple of days ago, I realized,' Hal faltered, his face going hot, his body close to panic, 'That is to say, I finally understood that-'

'Hal,' Interrupted Alex as gently as she could. 'Please, just say it.'

'I-I… need it.' Hal whispered. His eyes began to fill and she felt his whole body vibrate through his clasped hands. Alex stared in shock at Hal a familiar chill starting to creep through her spine.

He wasn't seeing her any more. She looked down at her hands in his, but she didn't withdraw them, instead she gripped harder. 'Hal, I'm sorry, I know this is hard, but I don't understand; what do you need?'

Hal shook his head, his own humiliation at the revelation removing all courage. He shook his head shamefully. 'Hal, you have to say it.'

Hal looked up at her, his eyes filled with shame; 'I need, that is, I miss the… I need blood Alex. And the fact that I can't, not ever again, makes me want to… makes me… miss…'

There was a pause. How was she supposed to answer this? How could anyone sit calmly and listen and try to understand this? The familiar panic and recoil came back to her; she could feel herself pulling away.

'What?' She whispered, her own voice trembling at the effort to stay where she was.

''E misses the monster.' Came a voice from the other side of the open door. Alex started, distracted and startled out of her alarming train of thought. Both looked up as Tom shuffled in, he was in the same clothes as last night, and he couldn't meet either of their eyes.

'Tom,' Began Alex, all thoughts of Hal's revelations put aside as she tried to get out of bed, then remembering she had nothing on apart from her vest. Hal got up and moved around to the other side of the bed. 'Tom, Oh God Tom. Please, please come here.' She pleaded, leaning towards him, Tom moved forward slowly.

'am sorry Alex, ah shouldn't a done what I did.'

'Oh shut up you miserable mutt.' She said pulling him into a bear hug that brought him thumping down on the space Hal had vacated. 'Don you dare apologize fer anything.' She said, tears coming into her eyes. 'What I said last night Tom, was cruel, evil and a bloody bastard thing to say.' She took his face in her hands and looked into his eyes. 'And I am never gonna stop being sorry for it. Ever.'

She looked back at both of them, placing herself at the head of the triangle. Tom understood what Hal meant, and Hal had always understood Tom's needs, it had been her that had stubbornly, rigidly refused to show either of them any inch of compassion, and now she knew why. 'I have been so selfish. I've been unwilling to listen to anything you two have to say and' she took a breath, 'I've been too scared to even try and empathize.'

She took a breath. 'You can tell me now. 'She looked at Tom again, 'Tom, please.'

Tom's blanched, he wasn't ready for this. If they had known how close he was to running away back to the woods he was last night. He looked wildly at Alex, then helplessly at Hal, hoping that his friend would once again step in to save him, like he had before.

'It's alright Tom,' Hal said with a smile. 'Do you want me to go first?' Tom nodded feverishly.

Hal swallowed, he had half hoped the former werewolf would refuse his offer; right now he felt more vulnerable and helpless than he had on the battlefields in Belarus. This is your last chance.

Hal bowed his head, took a large breath, it felt like every since being human, he had struggled, going from one gut-wrenching experience to the other while getting nowhere. Perhaps this will finally will lead to peace.

'You have no idea, what blood tastes like to a vampire.' He said, again avoiding their eyes, he licked his lips, his throat had gone so dry. 'It is, indescribable. It's like every ecstasy you could experience in one. Better then food, wine, drugs, sex, everything one could possibly know; and yet it's more, like describing a Holbein to someone who'd only seen a stick-figure drawing.' He blinked, he was losing them, and himself. He had to bring it back. 'When I was 'bad' I gorged on it, reveling in every glorious part. It drove me to the vicious heights and evil lows and I welcomed it.' He paused, forcing out the memories that threatened to entice him. 'When I was 'sober', I abstained as long as I could, but it was never forever and I knew it. The cycles were exactly that; going round and around, always returning to the… bliss I always knew I would have again.' Hal paused again, this was too hard, voicing it was too hard. 'But now… but now I know that I won't, that I can't and, and that fact makes me want to be the monster again and… the horror I feel at that realization,' Hal's eyes blinked, tears starting to fall as his voice broke, 'Paralyses me.'

Alex and Tom stared. Sitting across from them was a man in pieces that they realized had never been fully whole; so filled with self-horror and loathing and so completely lost. Alex wanted to say something. Her heart was breaking at the struggle her love was going through that she hadn't even wanted to notice; He has always thought himself incurable, unworthy and unwilling to accept his second chance.

'Ah never saw the wolf as a curse.' Tom said quietly, breaking the silence from Alex and wracking breath from Hal. 'It weren't no burden for me, it were me.' He swallowed too, raising his hand to his chest, 'McNaire said it made yer stronger, and what is one night running free, where ya one with nature anyways? Why's that bad?' He looked at Alex and Hal – who had raised his head to study him, 'An we did a lot of good. We killed vampires, we saved hundredsa people from being eaten by em. How's that a curse?' He was getting upset, his voice getting faster.

'I were helpin people. I didn't want it gone, it were a parta me. The wolf was me.' He turned to Alex. 'Hal takin me along on those hunts, it were helpin me. Ah was helping people again, getting rid a vampires, ah hava purpose. It may not be servin up milk with scones or foldin a napkin into a swan normal, but it's my normal.'

There was silence. None of them wanted to say anything. Alex had never felt so wretched, she saw now how her own problems were self-centered; she had a family still, she had a normal life that she not only could remember, but she knew she could return to as easy as breathe. She looked at Hal and Tom; she didn't have to mourn the loss of the monster inside; they did. If she was honest, she knew she had never been a monster like them in the first place.

Tentatively, she reached out to both of them. 'You two need to think about what you want, have time to… grieve for your old lives. Without interference from people like me who have no idea what you are going through.'

'Alex, We didn't mean that.' Said Hal.

'No, but I do. I thought that being a ghost, we were all monsters together, but we weren't. I was still always me.' She put her hand in one of theirs and squeezed. 'Ah wanted us to be normal and human. But maybe being a vampire hunter is the new normal,' she said looking at Tom, ' and maybe the path back to being human is going to take a lot of time, and support, and understanding,' she said looking at Hal, 'If that's what you decide you want?'

Hal looked at her. He couldn't believe how close he had come to giving in, to running away. He saw her now and he saw the years melt together, he saw her smiling as he presented her with a ring, of laughing as he rubbed her expanding tummy, walking hand in hand with their children, of seeing their children grow up. He held her hand and knew he was going to see her face age, wrinkle and fade, and he wanted to see that happen as much as he wanted to see his face change.

'Of course it's what I want.' He said, tears coming down his face again. The blood would become a memory, one that he would maybe talk to Alex about, sometimes Tom, but never his children; and there would be children, and laughter, and happiness and harmony.

All three smiled.

Later that day, Alex was in the kitchen while Tom and Hal moved silently around the house. Hal came through the doors without making a sound, watching Alex' back as she made another cup of tea, sniffing loudly.

After a moment, he cleared his throat making her jump.

'Jesus. You gotta stop that, and here I was thinkin it was a ninja vampire thing.' she said with an angry laugh as she rubbed her hands into her eyes. 'Look at us; we're human for less ten months and we've already cried more than alcoholics in AA.'

'I think therapy will be a good start.' Ventured Hal.

Alex laughed, but the sound died in her throat as the validity of his words hit her. From behind his back, Hal reached around and lay very delicately on the kitchen table a small black mobile. Alex looked down at it.

'I couldn't fix your old one. But the man at the phone shop was able to find your ah, 'simmer' card when I brought him the pieces which he put into this.' Hal's eyes looked at Alex. 'I think it's time you went to experience normal life with your family.'

Alex looked down at the phone, slowly releasing his hand to pick it up. She nodded. 'I think you're right.' She looked up 'but what about you and Tom?'

'We'll be fine.' Said Hal. 'Everything is in the open now. And you were right, Tom and I need to mourn our past, not you; you have to get back into touch with yours.'

'I'll come back though.' She said, wrapping her arms around him.

'I know you will. And we will be here. And maybe we will find another place and make new memories, or maybe we will stay. But,' he said, bringing his head to rest on hers, 'we will do it together.'

'What about Tom?' Asked Alex, 'What if he keeps killin vampires?'

Hal looked up and shrugged, 'Then if that is best for him, then let him. I have met many humans that were, he can live that way if it is the right path for him.'

'And you?' Alex searched his face. 'What about your path.'

Hal paused. 'I see it being longer than yours and harder than Tom's. But blood in now my past; I see you as my future.'

'And wanting it? Will that go?' she asked tentatively.

Hal thought for a second. 'Our torments... may in length of time; Become our Elements.'

The End.

So here are both endings. One sad, one happy.

But there is an epilogue. An 'extra scene' – Being Human style.

If you like this ending, or the one before, you can see what happened next. Or you can end here.

References:

Two Milton quotes – lucky you!

'This horror will grow mild, this darkness light."

John Milton Paradise Lost

'Our torments also may in length of time; Become our Elements'

John Milton Paradise Lost

Okay so I chose this one because it is ambiguous. It can be interpreted (out of context as it is) like dealing with a death – you never forget, but you learn to live with it and move on. Or, that they, over time become all consuming and powerful, until they will take over.

Like Hal, deliciously uncertain.