Title: Betrayal and Love
Summary: Bill may have chosen to die from Hep V but neither Sookie nor Jessica will let him go that easily. Will he be able to forgive them their lies and see their love instead?
Rating: PG-13, at most, I should think
Disclaimer: I own naught of True Blood or its characters. I am merely borrowing them and making the finale better.
Author's Note: Okay, y'all. I'm sorry but I count let TB end like it did so I decided to rewrite it with a bit of h/c for my Bill as well as some angst for them all. This is my first foray into the TB fandom so I hope y'all like it.
M
Day was turning into night quickly. The last rays of the sun were nearly gone, barely peeking through the shutters in the foyer as they went down. With the wedding day over, Jess and Hoyt were now free to begin their honeymoon. But Jess didn't feel like celebrating anything this day and wonderful, sweet Hoyt had understood. He'd let Jason take him out for the bleated bachelor party so that Jess could stay and watch over Bill. Her maker was fading fast and she wanted to be there for him as long as she could. Hopefully once Sookie got back his time would be much longer on this earth but until the human returned, Jess held no delusions about Bill's fate.
A commotion from the foyer brought her attention out of her dismal thoughts in the parlor and she turned her head to look at the closed door. She'd heard that sound many a time over and she knew it to be someone having fallen down the stairs. Normally she would have ignored it, not really caring about many in the house, but she'd also recognized the grunts that had been given as flesh and bone had met each and every stair. In a blur she went out to check on the man whom had made her into a vampire.
Bill lay in a heap on the floor, his pallor paler than was usual and pain written on his features. He seemed to be in the process of trying to get up and Jess went over to help him.
"Are you alright?" she asked as she wrapped an arm around his waist and slung his right arm over her shoulders. Her worry increased ever so slightly when she felt his muscles shaking and redoubled her hold on him so that he didn't fall again.
"I am fine," he assured unconvincingly. When she turned him in the direction of the parlor, he fought her, saying, "I am to meet Sookie. I must not be late."
Jess knew of his plans of course. After the ceremony Sookie had taken Jess aside and told her everything. She'd wisely started with how much pain Bill was in. Though Jess had subconsciously known that, it had still hurt to have had it stated as fact. When Sookie had explained how she'd known that, Jess had been stunned but the human hadn't waited and had delved into Bill's plans for his death and her involvement in them. Jess had been devastated and furious all at once. Even though she'd told Bill that she would learn to accept his death, she had still held onto hope that Bill could be saved. She refused to admit defeat until he was a pile of blood on the floor.
It was then, as Jessica had seethed and tried not to cry anew that Sookie had come up with another plan. Since she didn't truly want to see her father die, Jess had jumped on the plan and agreed wholeheartedly with it. Not long after they'd agreed, Sookie had gone and talked to Bill and then she was gone. Where Bill assumed she was going, Jess didn't know but the relief on her maker's face said that he expected to be released from his torment tonight and that Sookie had left to prepare for her part in it. Of course Jess knew the real truth but she wasn't about to share that with Bill. This was going to be a secret that Sookie and Jess shared until it became so obvious that Bill could no longer ignore it.
"I know," she admitted as she helped him slowly limp over to the couch. He seemed to have injured his leg somehow in the fall and was moving slower than usual so Jess was patient with him. She probably could have carried him but she didn't dare tread on his pride in that way. "I will call her and tell her to meet you here instead."
"No," he weakly argued through grit teeth. "Don't want to do it here."
"Do what here?"
Feigned ignorance was never her thing but either Bill was too sick to notice or she had gotten better at it because either way, he seemed to accept it at face value. "Never mind," he dismissed, grimacing as he sat down and laid out on the couch. "It doesn't matter."
Deciding to let him be with his supposed-secrets, Jess sat down on the table which sat opposite the couch. She nibbled on what little was left of her thumbnail as she watched the man she loved like a father rest. His brows furrowed and his hand tightened into a fist and Jess watched as the black veins of the virus lazily crawled their way to complete their claim on his flesh. There was now no part of Bill that was untouched by the disease, and all Jess could do was sit and watch as it slowly finished him off.
As Bill lay there, pain tightening its loving coil around his body, he dreamed of Sookie. He imagined the life that she would now have without him in the picture to drag her under and he smiled. Two blond-haired beauties ran themselves around her legs, their shining curls dangling around their shoulders as their mamma pretended to chase after them. For once Sookie had a lovely smile on her face that wasn't chased away by the dark he brought with him. It lit up the dream he was in like a super nova and warmed the air around him.
Out of the woods came Jess and Hoyt, happy as ever and carrying one child each. Clearly they had decided to adopt and both kids looked the healthier for it. Hoyt looked the proud papa that Bill knew he would be but it was Jess that beamed the brightest of the two. Her smile warmed her cheeks and gave her complexion a bit of added color which the lights in the yard did not.
This was the life he wanted for the two women that he loved more than anything else in the world. And having seen his wish fulfilled, Bill gave in and let himself be pulled into the abyss that waited for him.
Alcide's old truck had barely stopped before the Sookie was flying out of it. She'd only been a few minutes away when Jessica had called to say that Bill was getting worse. Her panic had instantly taken over, making her finish the rest of the drive like a bat out of hell. There was no way she was going to let Bill die on her. No fuckin' way.
The front door was only the merest of obstacles as she ran onto the porch. As if sensing her will, it opened on its own - although in hindsight it had probably been Jess who had opened it - and she jogged into the parlor where Bill lay. He looked so horrible and pale there, laying on the couch, that she stopped for the briefest of seconds, sure that he was already gone for good. But then her brain kicked in, rationalizing that he wouldn't still have a body of that was the case, and she quickly went to him.
"Bill," she quietly called as she unstoppered the vial of blood in her hands. "Bill, honey, I need you to open your mouth for me. Okay?"
Sookie? Sookie what are you doin' here? You should be at home with your family.
Confusion briefly wrinkled Sookie's brows as she heard him. She still wasn't entirely sure how she could hear him; she only knew that she could. Still, it wasn't that which had her puzzled. Bill should know that she doesn't really have much of a family to speak of so why did he think that she would be home rather than here, saving his sorry ass?
An image of her in the front yard of her house sprung into her mind and it a took a minute before she realized that it was coming from Bill. It was nighttime but the yard was lit up as brightly as was possible. Everyone was there and happy and healthy. Hoyt and Jessica had a couple beautiful little boys and she, herself, had two adorable children. Sam was there as well with Nicole and his daughter, and Jason and his wife plus their two children were there. Goodness gracious, it seemed that everyone in the town had shown up!
Was this what Bill envisioned for her? A life full of happiness and love. Without him in it, Sookie wondered if either were possible but that was an argument for another time. For right now, she needed to get the blood that she'd brought into him. Lord knows she'd fought hard enough to get it.
Bill's head lolled to the side so that his face was to her but he didn't open his eyes. His brows wrinkled again as a new wave of pain seemed washed over him and Sookie fought her need to comfort him. Losing miserably, she placed a gentle hand on his arm and began rubbing it soothingly.
"Sookie?" he rasped as though waiting for her touch to prove that she was truly here.
"I'm here," she assured as she continued her ministrations. "Can you swallow some blood for me? It'll help you keep your strength up."
"We need to go," he mumbled, pain creasing his face some more. "The cemetery."
"And we will. But first you need to drink. Otherwise I'm not sure you'll be able to make it there."
Sookie hated that she was lying to him but she thought it better than the alternative. She would much rather that he were alive and angry with her than him being dead.
At her logical reasoning, Bill nodded and opened his mouth. As the blood hit his tongue, one blue eye wearily opened and looked at her. Sookie gave a shaky smile and poured a little bit more down his throat, refusing to give in to the urge to look away. Bill's gaze was penetrating at best when he was healthy. But right now he seemed to be silently trying to glamor her into divulging her true intentions and she was on the verge of giving in.
When it seemed that he had had his fill, Sookie took the vial away, stoppering it and tucking it into her pocket before he could ask where it had come from. The blatant Fangtasia sticker on the glass would be a dead giveaway of where she had gone and whose blood she had just given him and right now he needed to rest. Nothing more.
If she had expected the little drops he'd taken to instantly heal him, she would have been disappointed. In fact, from what she could see, they hadn't done a damn thing except make him sleepier. As soon as he had finished, Bill's eye had closed as he became as still as he'd been when she'd first entered.
"Why isn't it doin anything?" Jessica asked from behind Sookie, her worry for her maker evident in her voice.
"It is," Sookie assured while hoping she wasn't lyin through her teeth. "He didn't take that much is all. He just needs some rest now."
"Should I carry him up to his room?"
Sookie stood to look at the redhead, surprise raising her eyebrows as she did. "You could do that?" Normally she wouldn't have believed Jessica strong enough to carry Bill and she wanted to make sure that the younger vampire wouldn't hurt him if she tried.
Jessica looked down and nodded somewhat sadly. "He fell down the stairs earlier and he felt so light as I helped him in here." She shrugged. "I know that he hasn't lost any weight since we can't do anythin like that but it had felt like all of his strength was being used to remain conscious."
"Was he alright?" Sookie hadn't noticed any new injuries on Bill but then again they could have been hiding under his clothes and she wouldn't have known it.
Again Jessica nodded. "I think he hurt his leg somehow but he said that he was fine and refused to talk about it further. I figured, you know, given his condition, it was best not to push."
Sookie snorted but Jessica had a point. Still all that was a problem for a different time. For right now they had to decide if they would try and get Bill into bed or leave him here on the couch.
"Are you sure you can do it?" she checked, wanting once again to make certain.
Resolve seemed to straighten the younger vampire's spine and she fixed such a look of determination that Sookie had almost taken it for a glare. "He'll be fine."
Whether that was a statement on her ability to get Bill upstairs or on Bill's overall long-term health, Sookie couldn't be sure. Either way, she felt comforted by it and so she nodded her consent.
In a blur, Jess grabbed Bill and took him upstairs. Giving a sigh, Sookie followed up the stairs and headed towards Bill's bedroom, content to keep watch over him and Jess until he was healed.
Laying her burden gently down in the bed, Jess watched his face to make sure that she wasn't hurting him in any way. Now that she was upstairs, she could admit that he was a bit heavy but she wouldn't have let him fall. Or if he did, he would have fallen on top of her.
Bill groaned and writhed a little and Jess instinctively climbed into the bed with him. It was stupid to think that her presence could provide some comfort to him but she still hoped it did. Her mouth dropped open as she watched the black veins recede a little, as though they had decided to release their hold on her friend. Almost absently Jess caressed his cheek, making sure to keep her touch light so that she wouldn't wake him.
She decided that she wanted to be useful and so she got up and took his shoes off to get him more comfortable. Given how weak he seemed to be feeling she was still surprised that he'd managed to get himself as impeccably dressed as he always was as well as get his shoes on. Then again, perhaps he simply hadn't undressed from the wedding earlier in the day? It would make sense, for sure.
"Need any help?" Sookie offered from the doorway. As Jessica turned around to look at her, she could see that the human looked almost timid. But that couldn't be. Sookie had never been timid when around Bill. At least, not that Jess could remember.
"Nah, I was just takin' off his shoes," Jess answered with a shrug. Saying it out loud, she felt a little embarrassed about it but it was too late to take it back. "I didn't want to wake him by trying to get his coat off."
"He any better?" Sookie asked as she came further into the room to join Jess in her watch over Bill.
"A little. The veins are slowly goin' away."
As she spoke, she folded her arms over her chest and rubbed them, the action an effort to reassure herself that everything would be okay. Logically she knew that he would be. But until he was walking around being all suave and commanding again, Jess knew that she would never fully believe it.
Through the silence that followed, Jess heard her cell phone ring. Knowing it to be Hoyt - or Jason - she knew that she should go and answer it but she didn't want to leave Bill. When the phone finally went silent she breathed out a sigh of relief. But then it started up again and the relief turned into annoyance. With a roll of her eyes, she blurred downstairs and answered it.
"Hello. Hoyt?"
"Hey Jess," he greeted sounding completely drunk. "Hey, baby, I jus' wan'ed t'let y'know that I gonna be stayin' with Jason for the night. Day. Whatever it is."
"Uh, yeah, okay," she answered somewhat blandly. her mind was definitely not paying attention and her heart was still upstairs with the man in the bed. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea." Belatedly, she added, "It sounds like you're a little drunk."
"A little," he granted. "Hey, how's vampire Bill?"
Jessica looked up to the ceiling where her father was slowly healing and she found her feet moving to be with him once again. Even so, she gave a little smile. She loved how Hoyt always seemed to call him "vampire Bill" rather than Bill or Mister Compton. Much like Andy did, she noticed. She wondered if that title would change now that Bill was, for all intents and purposes, Hoyt's father-in-law.
"He's, uh, he's okay, I guess. It's a long story but I think he's gonna be okay."
"But I thought he refused to take the cure."
"He did," she said, her heart sinking at the reality that she'd gone against his wishes and force-fed him the cure. Well, he's already released her, what more could he do to her?
"Then?"
"I'll explain it tomorrow," she assured. There was a commotion on the his side of the line and she pulled the phone away from as the sound of it hurt her ears. "It sounds like you should go."
"Yeah, I probably should." She was pleased to note that he didn't sound particularly pleased at the idea of hanging up but she didn't comment on it. "I'll talk to you tomorrow."
"Yeah, talk to you tomorrow."
She hung up before he could say more and keep her talking. Turning her phone on silent, she slipped it into her back pocket and then went back into Bill's room. She paused upon seeing both him and Sookie curled up, sleeping peacefully. Resisting the urge to stay there and be a creep, she tip-toed back out of the room, closing the door behind her on her way to her room for some much needed rest.
TBC