Disclaimer: All characters, places, objects, concepts etc. that you recognise from the Southern Vampire Mysteries or True Blood belong to Charlaine Harris or their respective copyright owners. This story is not meant to offend anyone and I do not make any money with it.

Author's Note: Well… I'm not really sure what I was thinking when I started to write this story. All I know is that I was looking through my chest full of plot bunnies and abandonned story ideas and none of them seemed to catch my attention – so what's a girl to do but to bring home a completely new bunny? (Which, as I hope you realize, is not the right modus operandi for actual pets.)
Anyway, this story introduces an original female character into the True Blood universe, firstly because I never really warmed up to Sookie Stackhouse and secondly because I wanted Godric to live. Period. I can only hope that you like her as much as I do (and that she isn't just another Mary Sue).

Universe: For obvious reasons, this story is set mostly in the universe of the TV show True Blood. More specifically, it picks up at the end of episode 2x08 "Timebomb" and then veers off from there – while following the general framework of events. I've also taken the liberty of borrowing a little from the books, namely in regards to one character who didn't make it onto the screen.

Warnings: Blood, obviously. Violence, death, suicidal ideation and mentions of violence, suicide and rape.

Chapter Note: This is the only chapter written from Sookie's point of view, but then, as advertised, the story stops revolving around her...

1. Dream of a Witches' Sabbath – Symphonie Fantastique – Hector Berlioz

The scream was sudden and piercing and cut off as abruptly as it had erupted into the quiet murmur of conversation and the mental chatter that Sookie had been hard pressed to ignore. A moment of silence – then a new clamor of voices and thoughts.

Sookie looked around, trying to filter through the cacophony of information and find the source of the scream. She almost missed her, hidden as she was behind Stan's hulking frame, but then she spotted a slender arms clenched in the vampire's iron fist, scrambling legs behind his cowboy boots and dark jeans. It was by far not the first time Sookie had seen a vampire feed, but she had never seen a blood donor who looked quite so unwilling, terrified, an image only reinforced by the way Stan had silenced the girl with his huge paw pressed over her mouth. Sookie took an instinctive step forward, absently wishing that Jason had not just dragged Bill outside to apologize. She would have appreciated Bill's reassuring presence next to her (even if the vampire still owed her some answers).

Before Sookie could even take a second step, Godric was suddenly between them, his hand wrapped in a deceptively light hold around Stan's throat, forcing the cowboy away from his meal. "Retract. Your. Fangs." His voice was as calm as a cloudy night sky and his tone merely conversational, but the larger vampire looked like he had been placed on the electric chair. "Now."

Stan's incisors retracted almost soundlessly and his back bowed under the quiet force of Godric's grip. "Sheriff, …"

"This is the second time you've attacked my friend," Godric finished for him, trailing his hand down Stan's chest as he released the other vampire. "Or do you contend that she consented to this?"

"We came to an agreement while you were away, Godric. Right, sweetheart?" Stan defended himself, making a valiant effort of regaining his bravado.

The threat in his words came across loud and clear, but the girl hardly seemed to notice, her legs slipping out from under her and her head lolling to the side as if she was a marionette with its strings cut. She was still half hidden behind Godric's and Stan's legs, but Sookie thought the girl looked around her own age, maybe a bit younger, with long dark hair that fell in messy waves around her shoulders and exposed the vicious bite mark on her pale neck. Sookie inched a bit closer, trying to get a lock on the girl's mind. If she could just take a peek and find out how the girl had landed in this situation, she might be able to help her better. At the moment though, with everyone crowding close, craning their necks and speculating on the cause of the disturbance, there were just too many human minds sending interference.

"A little shy, that one," Stan offered and surreptitiously tried to wipe the blood out of his beard. "But -"

"That is enough," Godric interrupted him. "I am your sheriff and you will not lie to me. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sheriff," Stan grit out between human looking teeth, doing his best to look smaller than he actually was.

Sookie had by now squeezed through to the front lines, almost within touching distance to the girl, though she could still not pin down her thoughts. She was about to speak up and remind Godric that improving vampire-human relations should certainly include actually helping humans and not just lecturing vampires when the ancient vampire preempted her.

"Is she yours?"

"Yeah, she's mine," Stan answered immediately, straightening a little and making to grab the girl's shoulder again. He reconsidered quickly, though, given Godric's protective stance, and settled on a mulish expression instead. If Sookie had been able to hear his thoughts, she was certain they would have included quite a few bad words.

Godric continued unperturbed, "And has she accepted your claim?"

Stan affirmed the question with a rather notable pause of hesitation, but Godric wasn't even looking at him anymore. Instead, his gaze was focused on the trembling girl as if willing her to look up at him and deny Stan's words.

Her eyes were wide and unfocused, though, and her hands were pressed to her mouth in a desperate attempt to contain the sobs that broke free as a low, insistent keening sound and Sookie had had about enough. "She's in pain and whatever agreement she gave was clearly given under duress! He probably glamoured her and she certainly doesn't accept his claim now."

"I do see your point, Miss Stackhouse," Godric agreed softly. "But unfortunately, our laws do not recognize glamouring as an impediment to a successful claim. Nor a human's word as more credible than a vampire's." He raised his hand appeasingly when Sookie made to interrupt. "Therefore, Stan has a choice to make."

"Choice?" Stan asked with barely contained fear in his voice.

"I believe I already outlined your punishment should you once again be found engaging in activities without the consent of your partner," Godric pointed out, absently picking a discarded jacket from the back of a chair and gently settling it over the girl's quivering shoulders. "I will not tolerate this kind of behavior in my area, and certainly not in my home."

Stan's eyes widened in something like panic. "Sheriff, please…"

"I wish you out of my area before dawn. You can either take this human with you - or your fangs," Godric said so very gently that the room took a collective moment to register the meaning of his words.

"Godric… you can't. Not for something like this!" Stan half-pleaded, half-argued, and Sookie winced internally at his choice of words. Telling the oldest vampire in the area, maybe in the state, if not the country, what he could and couldn't do seemed an exceptionally stupid thing to do.

"This is the second time you have questioned my judgement tonight," Godric pointed out mildly and the gathered vampires seemed to straighten into readiness, Eric and Isabel moving to flank him on either side and the others closing ranks behind them. Sookie felt Bill's cool hand come to rest on her shoulder and had to admit that it was comforting to know him at her side, even if she still didn't know why he had taken so long to come to her rescue. "I have no patience left for a third time. So make your choice. And leave."

Stan hesitated only a second before he bowed his head and ducked away from Godric's calm stare. "I rescind my claim on the girl and humbly accept your verdict, sheriff."

"Then go." Godric nodded his acceptance and the sea of vampires parted to let Stan through.

They're going to die. It was no more than a flicker of a thought. There and gone again, and before Sookie could make any sense of it, another voice, an actual voice spoke up.

"Excuse me, everyone, if I could have your attention, please," the speaker looked vaguely familiar, but there had been so many new faces this evening that it was hard to place him. "I have a message for y'all, from Referend Steve Newlin." And then he pulled down the zipper of his jacket and Sookie had just enough time to suck in a horrified breath at the mess of chains and wooden spikes and explosives that crisscrossed his torso before everything around her exploded into death and chaos.

v-v

When Sookie could make sense of the world again, she was buried under Bill's deader than usual weight, which caused a second wave of panic to crash down on her.

"Bill! Bill! Wake up! Bill!" she shouted, pushing on his shoulder until she managed to slip out from under him. "Bill, can you hear me?"

"Sookie. I'm fine." That was clearly a well-meaning lie, though, for Sookie could see the bleeding holes in his chest where he had been hit by shrapnel – shielding her fragile human shell in the process. If she hadn't been in love with him already, this would have been the moment he won her over completely. "Are you unharmed?"

"I'm a bit shaken up, but we can worry about that later. Why aren't you healing?"

"Silver," Bill grunted and tried to sit up, but Sookie rested a hand on his sternum and pushed him back down. "I'll recover once it's removed. Sookie… what are you doing?"

Sookie had leaned over Bill's chest and fastened her mouth to the nearest bullet hole with every intention of pulling the silver out this way. It seemed the most natural and reasonable thing to do. Sure, there was a difference between sucking on a smoking wound and nursing on the neat puncture marks Bill would tear into his own flesh, but this was still her Bill and his blood. She felt no compunction to be squeamish and Bill, after his first startled reaction, relaxed and let her do her work until she had drawn enough silver from his body that the rest was pushed out by his supernatural healing powers.

When Bill was almost completely recovered, Sookie managed her first real breath after all hell had broken loose and promptly used it to call out to her brother, screaming Jason's name and swiveling her head from right to left until he finally stumbled into her view and gave her a shaky thumbs-up.

With all her immediate loved ones accounted for, Sookie allowed herself a moment to gather her strength and build up her shields before she took a look at the destruction. Parts of the ceiling had collapsed, metal support beams sticking out at odd angles and the ceiling material raining down in clumps and crumbs. The pristine white chairs had been overturned and were now as blacked as the rest of the room. One of the wall lights was still illuminated, but with the torn electricity cables sending off sparks that seemed like a small miracle. And between all that, the air was filled with dust and the smell of blood and the moans of wounded humans and vampires. She couldn't tell how many were dead, truly dead, but she saw at least one puddle of dead vampire goo. From the location, it might have been Stan.

"Everyone, please," Isabel called for attention, Jason stepping up next to her and raising his arm, the way he would have done on the football field to call his team to order. "Hey, y'all listen up."

"They may come back," Godric added and Sookie was glad to see him unharmed. "Go to the Hotel Carmilla. They have been alerted. Security is in place."

Vampires and humans alike began to shuffle out, some leaning on each other for support. Bill grasped her hand to tow her out as well. She followed along for a few steps, almost stumbling over the remains of a chair, before she remembered. "Wait, where's the girl?" she demanded, twisting around and craning her neck to where the girl had been.

She saw an overturned table instead, its legs cracked and twisted, shards of glass embedded in the surface and dotted all around. They must have come either from the window or from the picture frame that had crashed to the floor. The picture had been some modern piece that now looked torn and slightly singed but strangely still went rather well with the décor. A sofa had somehow ended up blocking Sookie's direct line of sight; its upholstery was dirtied and torn from the bomb splinters and one side sagged lower than the other.

"Eric," Godric said and whether they had some way of communicating mentally or if Eric was just so attuned to his maker's wishes, the Viking immediately stepped around the sofa and scooped the unconscious girl up into his arms.

"She knew what was going to happen," Sookie whispered to Bill as they followed Godric and Eric outdoors. "Do you think -"

"Miss Stackhouse, my driver will take you and Mr. Compton to the hotel," Godric interrupted her, motioning to the sleek black car that was waiting for them on the curb.

"But she -"

"This is not the time or the place for such a discussion," Godric interrupted her again, pointedly opening the car door for her. "You're welcome to join us in our rooms after you've had a chance to freshen up."

With that he shot up into the night sky, Eric following close behind with the girl still in his arms, leaving Sookie and Bill on the pavement in front of the smoldering remains of his home. "What -"

"We can talk about this later," she was interrupted for the third time as Bill bustled her into the car and pulled the door closed behind them.

He refused to answer her questions for the rest of the short drive, instead checking her over with such thoroughness that she was glad for the partition that separated them from the unseen driver. And truly, she had to admit that there were worse ways to spend the time than with her lover utterly focused on assuring her wellbeing.

v-v

An hour later, Sookie smoothed down the red and white checkered summer dress she had changed into, brushed a curl of her blond hair back over her shoulder and exchanged another look with Bill before she knocked smartly on the door to Eric's room.

Godric swung the door open before Sookie even had the time to drop her hand and motioned them inside. "Miss Stackhouse, Mr. Compton, please come in."

The hotel room looked almost exactly like their own, down to the black and white décor, the glass-fronted fireplace and the leather furniture, though the layout was perhaps a little more spacious with an additional few feet between the seating area and the walls of the room. Eric was seated on one of the low, quadratic footstools, somehow managing to look just as graceful and at ease on this non-descript piece of furniture as in any other given situation. He glanced up briefly at Sookie's entrance and acknowledged her new ensemble with an appraising up-and-down look. But then he once more focused his attention on the girl, who was now sat in one of the armchairs, Godric hovering protectively behind her. She had changed into one of the fluffy hotel robes and her hair was still slightly damp from the shower, curling over her back in a long dark waterfall. Sookie thought that she still looked a little shell-shocked, her gaze fixed on Godric as if he was her only salvation and her legs tucked up underneath her to present the smallest possible target.

Falling back on her good upbringing, Sookie strode across the room to introduce herself, gently extending her telepathy as she did so. She found the three black holes - vampire minds - immediately, but the girl's mind was somehow harder to grasp. She knew it was there, she could feel it, but it was like her thoughts were hidden behind a milk glass wall – no, behind a waterfall. Somehow, the girl's mind was surrounded by water.

"Hi, I'm Sookie. And you are?" she held out her hand expectantly, feeling her mouth stretch into her familiar crazy grin.

The girl looked up at her, finally tearing her eyes away from Godric, but actually shrank back from the offered handshake. "Liv. I'm sorry I don't like to be touched."

"Oh, of course, you poor thing," Sookie agreed, pulling another footstool over so that she could sit down close to Liv. "But Stan won't hurt you anymore. You're safe now."

"Of course he won't. He's dead," Liv answered dully. "As are the others, Abigail and Catherine and Turner and that vampire with the neck tattoo – I don't even know his name."

"Paolo," Godric supplied, hovering rather uncertainly at her shoulder. "He went by Paolo Conte."

"Were they your friends?" Sookie asked softly, wanting to reach out but refraining at the last moment.

"No, not really," Liv answered, irritably rubbing her teary eyes. "I only met them a couple of times… Abigail wanted to be a lawyer; she was worried about passing the bar. She was just looking for a way to relax, distract herself… I'm sorry, I thought I was done crying."

"You don't have to apologize for that," Sookie assured her. "I think we're all still in shock after everything that's happened…. Oh my gosh, those bite marks look deep! You must be in pain!"

Liv's hair had fallen away from her neck as she had tried to staunch her tears, revealing the deep red puncture wounds that Stan had torn into her flesh, and Sookie reached out without thought to give Liv's hand a comforting squeeze. Her fingertips only made the lightest contact, barely a touch, but the other girl immediately went rigid, the water in her mind churning up, swirling and darkening dangerously until it seemed more like a flashflood than the almost serene waterfall it had been before.

Then Godric was between them, easily scooping the other girl into his arms and carefully setting her down when Liv sucked in a harsh breath and twisted in his hold. She stumbled a few steps away from him before she came to a halt with her back pressed against the wall.

"I think Liv might need a moment," Godric suggested mildly, never even turning to look at Sookie. "Please remain seated, Miss Stackhouse."

Bill's cool hand slid into hers and he pulled her over to the couch to sit down next to him, but Sookie was far to rattled by the images in Liv's mind to sit and wait quietly for the answers to the many questions she had. "What's going on? How did she know about the attack? And why can't I read her mind?" If she had been standing, she might have stomped her foot, but as it was she settled on skewering Godric with her glare. Not that he did her the courtesy of noticing – his attention was completely focused on Liv and Liv alone. Sookie was starting to revise her idea of how well they knew each other.

Liv had sunk down with her back against the wall and her legs pulled up to her chest, looking small and miserable. Godric was at her side in the blink of an eye, holding out a small bottled water in offering. He remained as still as a statue, patiently waiting for her to accept the bottle, before he shifted to sit down next to her, a modest hand's width between them. Liv unscrewed the bottle cap and took a small sip. "Thank you."

"Well, is no one going to answer my questions?" Sookie demanded at the end of her tether and honestly wondering why Godric had even invited them to his rooms if not to discuss what had happened in a more private setting.

Liv murmured something, too soft for her human ears, but it made a smirk appear on Eric's face.

"Excuse me?" Sookie questioned and turned expectantly to Bill, hoping that he would explain, but he just pressed his lips into a constipated frown and squeezed her hand tightly.

"Liv just pointed out that if you wanted your questions answered, it would only be fair of you to tell us why you were expecting to be able to read her mind," Eric finally answered with a mocking arch of his eyebrows. "So tell us, what makes you so special?"

"You know perfectly well that I'm a telepath, Eric Northman," Sookie snapped, feeling suddenly on the defensive and not liking it in the least. "But I didn't think 'They're all going to die' moments before someone detonated a bomb, so I don't think I should be the focus of this discussion."

"I thought you couldn't read my mind," Liv asked, calmly meeting her angry gaze across the room. "Do you need skin contact, too? I don't remember if you touched me at Godric's house."

"No, though skin contact sometimes helps me focus," Sookie replied, staring back with more interest. "What did you mean with 'too'? Are you a telepath as well?"

"Oh, no. No, I'm… clairvoyant?" her voice lifted at the end and she seemed to look to Godric for help. "Only not with crystal balls or cards or palm reading."

"That must be useful," Sookie blurted out before she could think better of it.

"Not really," Liv replied, a shadow passing across her deep blue eyes. "I only see how people die."

"Jesus Christ, shepherd of Judea!" Sookie exclaimed. "That's so much worse than hearing how the guy waiting behind you in line at the bank wants to suck your toes."

She wanted to bite her tongue as soon as the words had escaped her mouth, but at least she had managed to startle a small laugh out of the other girl. "I'm sorry I've been pestering you with all these questions. You must think me a right bitch."

Liv smiled sweetly. "You were protective of your friends… and curious. I can respect that."

"On that topic, I'm sure you can understand why it's best to keep such information confidential," Eric said, sending her a pointed look that Sookie found honestly quite offensive. She didn't need Eric to lecture her on keeping secrets, thank you very much. She could fill a library with all the secrets she heard and never told another soul.

Before she could tell Eric exactly that, the vampires in the room seemed to perk up simultaneously, intense looks of concentration on their faces. "Miss Stackhouse, Liv, I apologize, but it seems we have been summoned," Godric explained as he walked at a human pace towards the door. "Please feel free to call for refreshments or something to eat."

"Godric," Liv called, quickly pushing to her feet and intercepting the vampire before he could open the door.

"I'm sorry you got hurt today, Liv," Godric murmured, almost too softly.

"You already said that and it's still not your fault," Liv reminded him with a soft sigh, lightly caressing his arm. "I'm glad you're back. Are you –"

Sookie missed the rest of their conversation as Bill, bless his undead heart, took the time to bid her a proper goodbye. He stepped close and brushed a strand of hair back behind her ear, dusting a soft kiss over her rosy cheek.

"Will you be alright here with your new friend?"

"We'll be just fine," Sookie assured him. "But who summoned you? Shouldn't I be coming with you?"

"These are vampire matters. I fear your presence would only complicate things," Bill explained, consoling her with another kiss. "I won't be long."

Eric and Godric had already disappeared by then and Bill followed them quickly, leaving Sookie alone with her new friend, as Bill had called her, this strange, sad girl whose disability was even worse than her own.

"I'm just going to get dressed. I think the menus are over there," Liv said, motioning vaguely towards a Tru-Blood-stocked minibar before disappearing into the bathroom.

When Liv came back, she had changed into clothes that obviously weren't her own. The linen pants and the grey long-sleeve looked like they might belong to Godric and hung loose on her fine-boned frame. Still, she was undeniably beautiful, slender, with gentle curves in all the right places and wavy hair the color of dark chocolate that lent a striking contrast to her creamy complexion and large blue eyes. It was easy to see why Godric was so taken with her.

"How about some sandwiches?" Sookie suggested after a short perusal of the one page menu that was attached to four pages of drinks and drinks. "Or we could order something from the 24-hour breakfast menu."

"Sandwiches sound good. I know they have human staff here, but with how keen vampire noses are, the food is sure to be a little… bland," Liv answered and picked up the room phone to order something for both of them.

"You seem to know a thing or two about vampires," Sookie noted, sitting back down on the couch and waiting for Liv to take a seat as well. "Was Stan your first?"

"Stan wasn't mine and I certainly wasn't his," Liv retorted before sending her an apologetic smile. "Sorry."

"Oh, honey, of course you're still a little tetchy after what happened to you!" Sookie tried to soothe her. "I can't even imagine what it must feel like to be glamoured and made to do something that you would never agree to otherwise. I'm so glad it doesn't work on me."

"He didn't glamour me," Liv replied, absently rubbing the fang marks on her neck. "I don't think Stan was one for charm. Why should he bother to sweet talk me when he could squash any of my attempts at resistance with the strength of his little finger? I'm not sure how to feel now that…"

She broke off and they sat for a while in silence until there was a knock on the door, accompanied by the call of "Roomservice". Sookie got up to accept their meal, quietly relieved that it wasn't Barry on the other side of the door. She didn't have any money on her for a tip, so she gave the young man her brightest smile and thanked him profusely. She could tell that he wasn't impressed, though, and valiantly ignored his less than flattering thoughts on her person.

Instead, she focused on the sandwiches, which were cut into triangles, arranged in a tidy stack and looked very good to her hungry mind. She took a pastrami sandwich for herself and for a few moments, they quietly munched on their respective meals.

"Is anyone else in your family telepathic?" Liv asked timidly after she had finished her own turkey-avocado sandwich.

"My grandpa was like me, but no one else in my family," Sookie answered softly, choosing not to mention her recent encounter with Barry just yet. "Sometimes I really wish someone was there to tell me what to expect or how to deal with peckish vampires."

"I know what you mean," Liv said softly. "Though you seem to have found yourself a good one. Is he kind to you?"

"Yes, Bill's a true gentleman," Sookie replied, feeling a loving smile spread over her face. "And I could never be with a human man – with someone whose every thought I can hear. Being with Bill is exciting and dangerous at times, but when it all gets too much I can wrap myself in the quiet of his mind and just… recharge."

"You can't hear the thoughts of vampires?" Liv asked. "That must be quite a relief."

Sookie took a large bite from her sandwich, trying not to chafe at the insinuation that she was only attracted to Bill because of his lack of readable brainwaves. She'd gotten good at ignoring these thoughts when they crossed the minds of her friends – Sam, Tara, even Jason – it wasn't fair to read them into Liv's words just because she couldn't peek at her thoughts. "Vampires must be a relief for you, too, seeing as they're already dead, in a manner of speaking."

"I still see how they died, how their human lives ended," Liv answered softly. "Or how they will find the true death if it's imminent. But I suppose it's… easier. With humans it's a barrage of possibilities, one more horrible than the next, slowly narrowing down until there's only one option left – and I can't prevent any of it."

"So when I touched you…"

"Don't ask me," the other girl pleaded. "You do not want to know. Believe me."

And the expression in her eyes was so earnest and sorrowful that Sookie couldn't help but believe her. "And when Stan grabbed you, you saw the explosion." Sookie concluded and Liv gave a tight nod.

"Do you want to talk about what he did to you? How you ended up in this mess?"

Liv shrugged lightly, putting the remaining half of her second sandwich back on the plate. "It's really not as bad as you seem to imagine. I only met Stan twice and Godric intervened both times before anything worse could happen. I don't know why Stan attacked me – he said I smelled fantastic, that he would make me his and all that nonsense, but Godric has very strict rules about treating the humans in his area with respect and he warned Stan the last time that he would have his fangs if he ever found him feeding on someone without their consent again."

There was a brief silence as Liv took a sip of water, but Sookie had a feeling Liv would continue on her own. She once again tried to sneak a peek into Liv's mind, but only encountered another wall of water.

"Godric was really sweet to me afterwards. He made sure I was alright, even offered to take me to the hospital, and he apologized," Liv picked up her story, seeming lost in thought. "And then he went missing. When Isabel called me tonight to tell me that he was back, I just wanted to see with my own eyes that he was okay. I didn't expect to run into Stan before I even made it past the hall, but… I guess you know the rest."

"Godric rescued me from a really large rapist who probably would have killed me too," Sookie offered her own confidence. "And then he rescued humans in that church plus a whole lot of vampires. Without him this evening could have been a hundred, a million times worse."

"I'm sorry that happened to you. It must have been frightening to be held hostage by those fanatics," Liv said with soft compassion and Sookie found herself recounting the whole sorry tale of her failed reconnaissance mission, just glad for Liv's sympathetic ear and comforting company.

I would love to read your thoughts and comments (I think).