AN: Oh my god this chapter wouldn't END! I'm sorry for the delay, but Mitchell and Annie and Ambriel wouldn't shut up. I even started to break this into two chapters but it just didn't lend itself to that. But at least the rest of the plot has fallen into place. :-) Bless Season 3 and it's many many layers... but for now, I hope you enjoy the therapy session!

DISCLAIMER: Not mine, 'cept for Ambriel, so don't sue.

Moving out of the corner of the couch to crouch before them, she places a hand on either's knee and speaks softly. "You two have a lot to workout. Annie, you were right that Mitchell pulled away after George killed Herrick. And Mitchell, you were right that George and Annie weren't reconciling their understanding of you with what they learned of vampires." Turning fully to Mitchell, she continues. "But Mitchell, you never gave them the chance. All that pontificating you did to George about keeping things seperate and you were ten times as bad as him." Once again looking earnestly between the two, she removes her hands and moves back to take up Mitchell's abandoned spot on the couch.

"So," Ambriel starts with a bit more spirit. "Who wants to start?"

"Am I a ghost?" Mitchell asks.

"Really? That's what you want to start with?" Ambriel shrugs, "Well, why not dive right in to the heart of it, and this'll actually explain a lot, so good question!" Ambriel rewards him with a smile and sits back against couch. "Yes, you're a ghost."

"... and..." Mitchell prompts when it's clear she's not planning on saying more.

"And what? You can't build from there?"

"How does confirming I'm a ghost explain anything? I thought you were here to help!" Practically yelling by the time he's done, Mitchell's anger and fierce glare are ruined by the fact that Annie is still wrapped around him like a lifesaver.

"So, no. You can't build from there." Clapping her hands together, Ambriel leans forward and rests her elbows on her knees. "What do you know about ghosts? Annie?"

Startled by the direct inquiry, Annie answers hesitantly. "Ah, we can't eat or drink anything?"

"Go a little deeper..." Ambriel encourages with a roll of her hand.

"Well," casting a quick glance at Mitchell, Annie states more firmly, "most of us are souls with unfinished business, typically caused by a brutal or untimely death."

"Brilliant!" Ambriel applauds. "Got it in two!"

"I still don't see how that helps!" Mitchell bursts out in frustration. "I don't have a soul and I didn't have an untimely death, so again, what does me being a ghost explain?" Clearly at the end of his rope, Mitchell releases Annie and slides out from under her legs in order to get up and pace. Annie and Ambriel watch with respective looks of concern and fascination as Mitchell steeples his hands in front of his mouth and paces for a few minutes, deep in thought. Both start a bit as Mitchell whirls mid-pace and points his steepled hands at Ambriel.

"You say some big evil has us in it's sights. I've been a vessel of evil for longer than most people on earth have been alive." Tapping his still joined fingers against his chin, Mitchell resumes pacing. "That explains what I was doing in Purgatory in the first place. Hell's a one-way trip so I'm no use to them there. They need me here, with you three, where I can finish off any goodness you have left!" Sharing a look of horror with Annie, Mitchell drops to his knees beside her and buries his head in her lap. "I'm so tired of bringing pain and darkness to the ones I love. When will it end?"

Unable to bear the abject misery in Mitchell's voice, tears pool in Annie's eyes as she runs a comforting hand through his hair. The unexpected sound of applause startles both of them out of their commiseration and they look up to see Ambriel giving them a standing ovation.

"Bravo! I knew you were good but I never expected something on the level of this!" Placing her hands on her hips, Ambriel laughs before continuing in a wondering tone. "Here you are with an obvious answering staring you in the face... and you're completely blinded by your self-loathing and conceit. Instead you draft a convoluted and frankly asinine situation where once again you are the villain responsible for the downfall of everyone!" After shaking her head at Mitchell, she points a finger at Annie. "And you! Where were you just now? Mitchell's ready to hang himself and you're might as well have been tying the noose for all the help you were. No." Ambriel catches herself and puts her hands up. "Hold that thought. Mitchell first."

Sitting back down on the edge of the couch, Ambriel adopts an air of seriousness. "Mitchell, I'm going to ask you some questions and I want you to answer them as though we are discussion someone else."

"Someone else," was his flat reply.

"Yes. Answer as though we are discussing... Bernie. You remember Bernie, don't you?"

"Of course I remember Bernie," Mitchell grumbles. "And don't talk to me as though I'm a bit touched."

"Fine. Sorry. I just know a lot has happened since then and I wanted to be sure you knew who I was talking about." Ambriel replies in defense.

"You don't forget something like that..." Mitchell begins, but a soft tug on his hair cuts him off. He looks to see Annie frown at him, a clear hint to shut up and move on.

"Tell me. Are you inherently evil?" Ambriel asks slowly.

"Of course..."

"Mitchell!" Annie interrupts, "Surely you don't believe that!"

Ambriel saves Mitchell from having to reply. "Let me rephrase: is Bernie inherently evil?"

"... No." Mitchell admits grudgingly.

"What makes you say that?" She presses.

Brow wrinkled in confusion at the turn of inquery, Mitchell explains. "Because contrary to what they tell you in the beginning, the monster doesn't kick you out; it shares a space. Bernie's a good kid, and he's got him mom to remind him of who he is when he forgets."

"Does Bernie have a soul?" Ambriel continues, her obvious satisfaction with his answer giving way to surprise and Mitchell's next response.

"Not with him anymore."

"Really? Why do you say that?"

"Because he's dead," Mitchell explains like it's the most obvious fact in the world. "Because the mortal coil has been shucked! The only reason his body is walking and talking is because a soul-less monster that thrives on blood and death has taken up residence. A vampire's soul, wherever it is, isn't hanging around with it's body."

Maintaining eye contact, Ambriel leans back against the seat and taps her pointer finger against her lips as she contemplates his words. "But didn't you just say that the monster doesn't kick you out?"

"It doesn't!" Mitchell insists angrily, "But that's your personality! Your headspace! Your soul is tied to your body, not your brain, and it's long gone by the time the vampire gets behind the wheel."

"Wow. That sounds entirely reasonable." Ambriel says conversationally. "It certainly explains a lot."

"Well it still explains nothing to me." Mitchell says with disgust. "How are you going to help us if you don't know even the basics of vampirism."

"It explains that I really can't leave this up to you." Ambriel says with a touch of sadness before getting up to kneel in front of Mitchell. Taking his hands in hers, she says without any hint of levity, "John, I need you to listen to me on what I'm about to say. I need you to turn off that justification machine of yours and accept that what I'm saying is truth. Ok?" She searches his eyes and continues after his small nod.

"Your soul never left you."

Pausing to make sure he's still with her, she continues on. "No vampire's has. Sure, it went through an out-of-body experience, but it snapped back in when you woke up dead. Your soul was with you the whole time, going through everything you did. This is a huge deal that I need you to accept. Can you do that?" Once again searching his eyes, Ambriel waits for his response.

Mitchell drops his eyes. "I don't know," was his whispered reply.

"Mitchell," Annie says acerbically, "there's an honest-to-god angel kneeling in front of you, holding your hands and telling you you have a soul. Believe her."

Unable to contain a small huff of laughter, Mitchell looks up at Annie then Ambriel. "Fine. I'll do my best."

"That's good enough for me," Ambriel says with a gentle smile as she releases his hands then returns to her seat on the couch. Annie threads her fingers back into Mitchell's hair once he settles himself on the floor beside her seat.

"So... if vampires still have their souls, why have there never been any vampire ghosts before now?" Annie asks as the silence lengthens. She continues when Ambriel looks up from watching Mitchell realign his understanding of the world. "I mean, most vampires die a pretty awful death, and given the previously stated recipe for ghosts doesn't that mean the world should be littered with them? Herrick, at least, should be haunting about."

"Another good question; have you heard the phrase 'use it or lose it'?" Ambriel asks.

"Of course." Mitchell and Annie reply in unison.

"That's a close approximation of what happens to vampires. Take John and Herrick, since you brought him up. Hard as it is to believe, you both still had your souls all the way through to the last confrontation. The difference between you two is that yours has been slowly nurtured over the past decades while his has been all but obliterated. Herrick embraced his vampire and determinedly beat down any hint of humanity that tried to rise. He repressed his soul, and so at the end it was a tiny shriveled thing with barely enough strength for a glimmer. I think it might actually have disintegrated along with him, honestly." Ambriel says the last quietly to herself, as though feeling pity for whatever remained of Herrick's twisted, feeble soul.

Snapping out of it, Ambriel looks back at Mitchell and continues brightly. "You, on the other hand, have a hale and hearty soul! It grew tougher as you battled your monster into submission and was strengthened by your friendship with George." Pausing, Ambriel gives Annie a considering look while addressing Mitchell. "Tell me, Mitchell. Did you love Josie?"

Mitchell stiffens and straightens away from Annie's chair. "I don't see how..."

"I know you don't," Ambriel interrupts, looking back at him. "and I know it's uncomfortable, but you need to answer the question. Did. You. Love. Josie?"

Unhappy with this turn in the conversation, Mitchell scrubs his hands over his face before replying. "I thought I did."

"Do you still think that?"

"I love her now. In a completely different way," he hurries to reassure Annie before turning back to Ambriel, "but I love her now."

"But back then..." Ambriel presses relentlessly.

Mitchell sighs and looks to the floor. "Back then I thought I was in love; I didn't know any better. But no, I wasn't actually in love with her. I was desperate for relief from the mindless cycle of blood and death with Herrick, and she gave me an out. I'll love her eternal for giving me back the first pieces of myself, but back then... No. I didn't actually love her. I wasn't capable of love at the time."

"Do you feel the same way about Annie?" Ambriel asks gently.

"NO!" Appalled, Mitchell jerks his head up to meet her gaze. "God no! I love her in spite of myself!"

Any response Annie has to that is diverted by Ambriel's next question. "What do you mean by that, John? In spite of yourself?"

"Falling in love with her was the most selfish thing I could do." Mitchell answers. "I had just killed those poor people on the tram, and those bastards at CenSSA, then been told that there was a wolf-shaped bullet with my name on it, giving me what... a month or two tops? The last thing in the world I should have done was let Annie fall in love with me. But I couldn't help myself. And I don't regret it." Turning to look up at her, he continues fiercely. "I don't. Loving you and having your love - even though I knew I didn't deserve it - has been the highlight of my long and stolen life."

Unable to respond, Annie cradles his face in her hands then leans down for a lingering kiss. Ambriel looks away and lets them have their moment, quickly dabbing at the corners of her eyes.

"So no." Mitchell says softly but emphatically after breaking away and turning back to Ambriel. "To answer your question; I don't feel the same way about Annie."

Smiling at his defiance, Ambriel moves on. "And how do you think that's possible?"

"What, love Annie? It's impossible not to." Again he looks up at Annie, but this time it's to grin.

"Good answer." Annie says with affection as Ambriel bursts into laughter.

"I can see why he's so hard to resist." Ambriel shares a grin of appreciation with Annie before getting back to business. "Seriously, John, think about the question. How do you think it's possible for you to truly love Annie?"

Mitchell opens his mouth for another quick reply but stops, considers Ambriel for a moment, then looks to the rug and slowly answers.

"...Because I have a soul... I'm not just a vessel for evil."

Ambriel interrupts Mitchell's second major revelation of the day with a crow of joy. "Finally he gets it!" she says to the ceiling before looking back at both of them. "You're a ghost because you have a strong soul, and your soul became strong because you sought love and humanity. Evil cannot love. Evil sees goodness and wants to destroy it. Evil sees the world and wants to possess it. Evil simply cannot comprehend or experience love. You are not inherently evil, you never were; you just had a bigger fight on your hands. A fight you didn't even know you were in, and one you won. Remember that. No matter what else comes, remember Annie and remember that." Shifting forward to rest her elbows on her knees, Ambriel points a finger at Mitchell in emphasis.

"Well that doesn't sound ominous at all," was Mitchell's almost idle response, as he was busy processing this new understanding of the world.

"Wait." Annie says emphatically as she removes her hand from his hair and wraps both arms around her now-drawn-up knees. "I'm sorry; Mitchell I'm really, really sorry," she says to him with a sad look before looking back at Ambriel, "but... Mitchell having his soul this whole time... doesn't that make things worse?"

"Depends on how you see it," Ambriel casually replies with a shrug.

"Let's assume I don't have the vision of a millenias-old angel," Annie snaps, clearly getting fed up with the vague replies. "How does Mitchell having a soul make things better? Shouldn't that make things worse? I mean, if he's had his soul the whole time, that means..." Annie pauses as she looks at Mitchell in dismay, "Mitchell killed all those people on the Tunnell..."

Mitchell hangs his head as Annie's words trail off; missing Ambriel's quizzical look to Annie. "What are you going on about? You already know about him having a hand in the BT20."

"But that was when I thought he couldn't help himself! That there wasn't anything inside him to hold the monster back! But now?" Annie's brow furrows with agitation as her understanding becomes re-aligned. "Well. Now you're saying he has a strong soul that's been struggling to the surface. So that means he chose to become the monster. He chose to let go and become the vampire that brutally murdered 20 people."

"First of all, Mitchell isn't the only one responsible for those deaths; Daisy was in that car with him." Ambriel cups her chin in her right hand as she continues. "Daisy was the one who hatched the idea and spurred him on. He actually spent quite a bit of time trying to prevent it before Lucy's betrayal broke his tenuous grip. Didn't you two talk about any of this?"

Annie looks down at the top of Mitchell's head, then back up at Ambriel.

"There wasn't really an opportunity," Mitchell says quietly, still not looking up, "and it doesn't matter. I was there, I participated, and I was merciless. I have no justification for what I did, and Annie's right. The fact that I did it while having a soul just makes it that much more horrific."

"Stop it. Both of you right now. Stop it. Ugh, we were doing so well!" groaning, Ambriel leans back on the couch and covers her face with both hands for a few seconds before sitting up again and pinning Mitchell with her eyes. Gone was all previous softness, in its place was a rigid implacability. "John, did you ever rely on yourself to make a change?"

"What do you mean?"

"Did you ever believe that ultimately you were in control of your actions?"

"I'm always in control of my actions!"

"Really? You certainly don't talk like it. Every bad, terrible, and awful thing you've ever done is because you're a vampire, and every good thing you've done is because of someone else." Dropping her voice and continuing in a poor imitation of an Irish accent, Ambriel starts ticking off on her fingers in time with her sentences. "'Josie saved me and gave me a reason to get off blood.' 'The only reason I didn't become a raving mass murderer sooner was because of George and Annie' 'I got a coven off blood so that i could keep my housemates.' Reverting to her normal voice, Ambriel drops her hand and glares at Mitchell, "Even with Lucy you looked outside of yourself for a reason to change; or don't you remember begging her to run away with you and be your reason for staying off blood."

"What?"

Ambriel doesn't break eye contact with Mitchell as she holds up a finger. "Not now Annie; bookmark that thought."

"I will paraphrase the question: did you ever believe that you were the sole controller of your actions?"

"...No. I always knew the vampire was there, undermining everything. I knew I needed someone or something to give me a reason to fight, and even then knew it was just a matter of time before I would slip and fall again."

"So no matter what, in your own head you always had the expectation of spectacular failure."

"Eventually, yeah." Mitchell admits with a sigh.

"And the reason you didn't feel you could do it on your own was..." she prompts, no less severe.

"Because I didn't think I had any humanity left, because I didn't know I still had my soul."

Ambriel turns her glare to Annie. "Do you understand the implications of that statement?"

"Ah..." Annie draws out, intimidated by Ambriel's fierce intensity.

"Tell me the implications of that statement."

"Well... I guess..." Annie's voice firms, "it's hard to fight the monster inside when you don't know there's any hope or goodness within you and there is an expectation of failure."

"Right." Ambriel nods, but doesn't lessen her glare. "Now add that with the following: an explosion that kills a close friend and the coven you've just saved; a psychotic vampire insisting on vengence; and discovering that the woman you thought you loved, you thought was the key to your humanity, the one you were going to run away with, has secretly been plotting said bombing, your death, and the capture of your friends for nefarious purposes. Am I starting to build you a picture?"

Annie gives a wide-eyed nod and Mitchell finally looks up at Ambriel, surprised by her vehemence.

"Good. Then maybe you can be a bit more understanding about how Mitchell came to be a part of the Box Tunnel 20, soul or no soul." Ambriel stands up as she finishes and does a bit of pacing of her own. Annie and Mitchell share a look of confusion at the angel's agitation.

"You want me to understand what happened? Why?" Annie asks, completely bewildered by the turn in the conversation.

"Because you need to understand what he was going through in order to forgive him for it." Ambriel stops pacing directly in front of the seated pair.

"Forgive him?" Annie repeats, shocked.

"Yes, Annie, forgive him." Ambriel crosses her arms and looks at her impassively. "You need to forgive Mitchell for what he did."

"Wait. Just..." Annie closes her eyes and holds up a hand, "Stop." She opens her eyes and asks, "You, the angel, are telling me, the ghost, that I have to forgive him, the vampire... ghost... vampost... ghospire?" Annie shakes her head and gets back on topic, "Whatever... for the brutal slaying of 20 innocent people? No judge, no trial, no closure for the families, just me... forgiving him.' She crosses her arms, leans back, and looks Ambriel up and down. "I'm sorry but what kind of angel are you? Because I've seen an episode or two of Touched by an Angel and you know what?" Annie points a finger at Ambriel and circles her with it, "This doesn't match."

Mitchell looks up at Ambriel to gauge her reaction. She didn't disappoint, taking a step back and letting out a disbelieving laugh. "Ok, 1. Did you really just compare me to a cheesy 90s american tv show? B. To err is human, to forgive divine. and 3. I'm the angel of communication; who did you think you were going to get?" Ambriel's good humor seems to be somewhat restored by Annie's challenge, much to Annie's irritation.

"But what I did isn't forgivable," Mitchell cuts in, looking up between the two. "And it's certainly not Annie's place to forgive me. We all know the families need justice and I need to be punished; forgiveness is not on the menu." He hangs his head again, but Ambriel's pointed response brings his eyes back up.

"Nooooo, you want punishment. What you both need is forgiveness."

"I just don't understand why we're talking about this!" Annie jumps to her feet and stands firm in front of Ambriel. "Punishment, forgiveness, soul, no soul, none of that changes what happened. It doesn't alter the fact that twenty lives were brutally ended..."

Ambriel deflates and cuts her off with a sad acknowledgment. "You're right. Understanding and forgiveness don't change what happened. Nothing will ever change what happened." She lowers her eyes for a moment of silence before straitening and meeting Annie's gaze. "But they do change things for you, Annie. To you." She tilts her head to the side and continues softly. "Mitchell's a ghost now, so there's not much worry about him repeating his rampages of death and destruction, and being free of the vampire will let the truly good person he was return. You, on the other hand, are still in anguish over the knowledge that you fell in love with a man capable of committing atrocities like the Box Tunnel 20." Taking the other woman's hands in hers, Ambriel gently explains, "It's important to understand what happened to him because it helps you understand yourself. And by providing some understanding, hopefully you'll be able to forgive him and yourself a bit faster." She smiles and gives Annie's hands a squeeze before looking down to Mitchell. "I'm here to encourage the redemptive powers of love and forgiveness, not affix judgment or punishment. So can we get back to that?"

Annie takes a deep breath then also looks down at Mitchell, who is gazing up at both of them with a look of timid hope. "Can I..." she looks sideways at Ambriel, "can we take a pause? To process some of this? Maybe talk in private?"

"Of course!" Ambriel claps her hands and takes another step back. "It has been a crazy hour or so, hasn't it? Unexpected second chances, a combative house meeting, gate-crashing angel... I'll leave you two alone for a while. Just..." She puts her hands together and rests her forefingers against her chin as she entreats, "don't undo what I think we've managed to do here so far? Talk, please, talk it all out, but keep your love and new understanding in the front of your mind? Please? We're not working with unlimited time."

And with that, the angel is gone.

Annie blinks at the empty space, then after a few seconds slowly turns to look at Mitchell. She wordlessly holds out both hands, intent on helping him off the floor. He grasps them and gives a hard yank, pulling her off her feet and into his lap. "Much better," he murmurs into her hair, savoring the feel of her in his arms.

"Mitchell," Annie begins, rubbing her cheek against his red shirt.

"No. Not yet. That crazy angel was right about at least one thing: I never thought I'd see you again; can't we just take a few minutes... hours... and just be before the sun comes up and reality returns?" He lifts his head enough to peer into her face, smiling when he sees her eyes are closed.

"That sounds perfect." Annie whispers with a smile. "But can we do it on the couch?"

He laughs and they resettle on the couch, Mitchell stretched out on his back with Annie tucked under his arm, half on top and half in the space between him and the back of the couch. And there they remained until the sun began its rise.

Up next, Nina and George meet Ambriel. I'm looking forward to seeing how Nina handles the irritatingly spritely ghost. :-D

Reviews are love, people.