Here it is as promised, the epilogue. Many thanks to those of you who have read and reviewed this fic from the beginning. I have loved each one of them and appreciated each one of them. Thank you. Again, all errors are my own and i'd love to hear what you think.

Epilogue.

Two Years Later…

The house is a storm away from falling down around their ears but it's theirs and they love it in an irritated kind of way. The moment Elizabeth saw it, she realised its potential. Mitchell argued with her that it wasn't worth taking on considering that they'd probably have to move at a moment's notice but the landlord had been so desperate to be rid of it that he let them have it for next to nothing as long as they did a bit of DIY. They didn't even have to pay a deposit and Elizabeth begged and wheedled until Mitchell had sighed in irritation and agreed. He'd sulked for days over it.

It's a huge cavernous building in the middle of nowhere and right beside the beach. After leaving George and Nina, they'd headed south west and after a little while moving around from town to town they'd settled at where they are now. They freeze in the winter and swelter in the summer. During the mad autumn storms, the windows rattle and the eaves moan and groan. When the snow falls, they huddle together on the sofa under a couple of duvets, drink lots of tea and complain like crazy but despite it all, they like it. She likes being with him and a close friendship has developed between them. She knows the story of how he was made, and has told her stories of his escapades. She has sat with him when beset by cravings and he has rubbed her feet after she's pulled a twelve hour night shift. She reads him letters from George and he reads her pages from the local newspapers so she can listen to his accent as she falls asleep.

So far they haven't come across any more vampires or werewolves but they're vigilant. They live their lives as best as they can. Elizabeth is working at a small hospital a short drive away and Mitchell works part time at a nearby animal shelter. It turns out that he has patience and an affinity for the abused, neglected animals that pass through its doors and they don't shy away from him. They've even adopted a Heinz 57 variety mongrel called Murphy who follows Mitchell around the house with blind devotion. Elizabeth finds it sweet and Mitchell finds it vaguely irritating but deep down he likes it. All Murphy requires is a bit of love, attention and patience, he doesn't take or demand or judge, he just loves him, the daft mutt.

She parks her beat up old Fiesta outside of the house and gets out. It's a day like this one that she enjoys the most. The sky is pure blue, there isn't a cloud up there, and not a breeze to be felt and the sun beats relentlessly down on her. She has the next couple of days off and she's looking forward to not having to rush around. She goes to the back of the car and pops open the boot and begins to extract shopping bags. The house is silent and she checks her watch. Mitchell was out of the house at the crack of dawn so he's due back soon. She sighs and unloads the bags. She unlocks the front door and goes inside. It's blessedly cool and she smiles to herself.

She's in the process of unpacking the shopping. She hears the rumble of the Volvo engine and knows he's back from work.

"Hey" she turns her head when she hears his voice and she smiles when she sees him come into the kitchen, a couple of bags in each hand. She glances down when she hears the scratch of Murphy's claws on the tiled floor and smiles as he skirts around the table to wriggle a welcome at her. She reaches down and briefly scratches his ears before returning to the task at hand.

"Please tell me you bought beer" he comes to stand beside her and peeks into the bags already there. She sighs and extracts a bottle. He smiles.

"You're a star" he tells her and presses a quick kiss on her cheek. She turns her head and watches him leave the kitchen, whistling for Murphy to follow, which of course he does. She shakes her head and goes back to what she was doing.

They're almost domesticated, for a vampire and a human. They do okay apart from having to be watchful all the time and keeping under the radar.

Mitchell though still has the occasional nightmare. He still has periods of time when he seems to be lost in dark thoughts. He has the entire attic floor of the house, a massive space that takes up the whole of the top floor. All that it contains is a double bed, a wardrobe and a book case, all furnished from charity shops. She often hears the creaking of the floorboards as he paces. His screams still jolt her awake and there have been times when she's sat beside him on his bed as he's shivered and trembled. There have been times where she's lain beside him and listened to him whisper apologies, times when he's allowed her to simply hold him and comfort. He won't talk about Annie though.

She sighs and goes into the utility room to unload the rickety washing machine and hopes that it doesn't flood the floor again.

He's sitting on a sand dune a short walk away from the house. A breeze has kicked up and it tugs his hair away from his face. He lifts the beer bottle to his lips and takes a sip. Murphy is snuffling about nearby and he watches him with mild interest. Who would've thought that he'd have a dog at this time of his life? He half smiles to himself and shakes his head gently. He watches the dog give up on his investigations and come and curl up beside him. He reaches across and strokes his back.

"Want some company?" he lifts his head and squints at Elizabeth who is standing in front of him with a second beer bottle in her hand.

"Sure" he watches her lower herself down beside him.

"How was work?" she asks, taking a sip of her beer. He glances at her.

"Quiet. I think I made some headway with the German shepherd, he doesn't want to tear my fingers off every time I get near him"

"We're not taking him Mitchell, sounds like he'd traumatise poor Murphy for life" she tells him.

"He'd be a good guard dog"

"No. They cost a fortune to feed and we barely make enough between us as it is" she shakes her head.

"Anyway, how is Becky?" he looks at her and he frowns.

"How should I know?" he replies irritably and she smiles at him.

"She has the biggest crush on you…"

"She does not…does she?" she rolls her eyes.

"You can be so blind sometimes…of course she does!" she nudges him with her elbow and he frowns.

"Shit" he curses. She smiles and takes another sip of beer.

"It's okay, she thinks we're a couple anyway" Becky is one of the animal shelter workers, she's just a kid but she watches Mitchell with stars in her eyes. He looks at her.

"Does she now?" He won't do anything to change that opinion, he thinks it's much safer to let her assume. He sighs raggedly.

"Have we heard from George recently?" he asks, changing the subject. She looks at him again and shakes his head.

"It's our turn to write I think, I'll get on to it tonight" It's no use asking Mitchell to do it, if she left it to him then there would never be any communication. He looks at her.

"Maybe…d'you think they'd visit if we ask them?" he watches her eyes widen in surprise.

"You know George would be on the next train if he could. He misses you" A wistful expression crosses his face and he looks out across the sand dunes. He won't admit it to her but he misses him too. She sighs quietly.

"I'm sure with careful organisation, we could do it"

"We should" he decides and she smiles to herself.

"We'd need to get one of the rooms in a decent enough condition first" He nods though secretly he does not love the idea of white emulsion and wallpaper paste in his hair again. It's George though; it'd be fantastic to see him again. His smile is faint.

They wait impatiently at the little train station. The train is late which is nothing new but Elizabeth watches how Mitchell paces and checks his watch almost constantly. The station isn't close to where they're staying at and there's at least an hour's car journey ahead of them. George had been overjoyed at the invitation and had immediately accepted. He also promised that he had a wonderful surprise for them so they were very curious to know what that could be.

Finally the train pulls into the station. Elizabeth watches how Mitchell fades into the shadows as passengers board and disembark. Finally, Elizabeth sees him and she walks towards him. He seems to be taking a while to get off the train.

"George?" she asks as she gets closer to him. He turns and Elizabeth's eyes go wide. She looks over her shoulder to where she knows Mitchell is standing. She looks back at George and sees Nina come into view.

"Oh my God George…Nina…" she breathes. She takes a step back as George slowly, carefully gets off the train.

"Elizabeth, we'd like you to meet Emily" he introduces and hands over the tiny pink bundle, gently placing her in her arms. Elizabeth's eyes are wide. Again she turns her head to see where Mitchell is and he's walking towards them now.

"What's this now?" he asks, coming to stand by Elizabeth's shoulder.

"Meet our daughter" George tells him and Mitchell's eyes almost treble in size.

"What…you never…said" he looks down at the sleeping face and then a soft smile crosses his face.

"Shit George…congratulations man!" Elizabeth takes a step sideways as he throws his arms around his best friend and hugs him tightly. He looks at Nina and reaches out and strokes her arm. Her answering smile is warmer, happier.

"It's really great news…wow…George…"

Nina is taking a nap and George is babysitting with Elizabeth in close attendance.

"He looks really good" George comments. Mitchell is on the beach, throwing a ball for Murphy.

"He is. He seems to be" she looks at him.

"Has anyone been asking about him?" George shakes his head.

"Not to my knowledge but then again, no one knows what we are" Elizabeth nods.

"I never thought I'd see the day that Mitchell would become an animal lover…his own dog, it's almost ironic" George chuckles and Elizabeth smiles.

"He brought Murphy home one day and they're glued at the hip, it's nice. He has a focus now and it's not on anything human and he's good at it"

"It is. How has he been…emotionally? I'm only asking you because he'll just give me his usual brand of bullshit"

"He's been good George; it's been good for him. He still has off days, nightmares that I don't think he'll ever be free of but he's happier here, more comfortable in his own skin"

"That's all I want for him" George sighs and Elizabeth has to agree.

END.