A/N: This story ended up nothing like I set out to make it. Originally meant to be Eric and Pam trying to find a house in Shreveport in 1986, it took on a life of its own. I realize that a lot of my stuff is kind of angsty but Hurt/Comfort is my favorite type of fanfiction! I will probably post a second chapter to this that is more about them house-hunting but I thought I'd go ahead and post this.
TRUE BLOOD
It had been a few days since their video store had opened and Pam still was not speaking to him. He supposed he deserved it for getting them into this mess but it still bothered him when she gave him the cold shoulder. He would never admit it aloud, but he felt a little lonely when she froze him out.
They had been staying in the basement of the store for the last few days. In addition to being angry about their punishment, Pam was also pissed that he wouldn't let her put a coffin down there for her to sleep. There was nowhere to store them for when customers were present and it would look too strange to have a pair of caskets there. So, for the time being they were sleeping in blankets and pillows on the floor.
It was nearing dawn and so the two were going to ground for the day.
"Let me just lay down on my nest," Pam said snarkily. She gave him a glare as she lay down on her pile of blankets on the floor, watching him do the same on the other side of the room. She hadn't wanted to be anywhere near him lately, and so he had been forced to set his own pile of bedding in the far portion of the basement. It was less than ideal. There were lights glowing in his corner that he had not yet figured how to turn off and despite the fact that he did not really sleep but rather died, they still disrupted him.
He did not respond to her comment but he didn't need to because she wasn't finished.
"I can't see why we can't have coffins, Eric," she complained once more, fluffing her bedding like a dog might.
"Because there is nowhere to store them," he reiterated, summoning all the patience he had left in his body.
"We could put them in the storage room!"
"The day shift would see them and there is not enough space for two coffins in there," he explained.
"There's enough space for one! I don't give a fuck where you sleep."
"Pamela!" he snapped. "Go to bed."
"Don't you mean 'Go to your area of the floor'?"
He was about ready to strangle her but instead turned away so that he was facing away from her. He heard her huff once more before she was blissfully silent. Her irritation was justified, but she was pissing him off in the process.
He needed to come up with a solution before he staked her in her sleep.
TRUE BLOOD
The next night Pam said nothing to him as they went to ground for the day. He lay there silently before he decided to test the waters.
Getting up, he dragged some of his blankets and pillows over to her side of the room and lay down beside her, just a hair away from touching her.
"I'm still mad at you. Go away," she told him.
"You're about to forgive me," he told her, ignoring her eye roll.
"I doubt that."
"Just listen," he said. She finally turned on her side so that they lay face to face. "We're not gonna sleep in the basement forever."
"Just for the next hundred years till you're granted a pardon!" she interrupted.
"No," he shook his head. "Just until we find a house to buy."
"What?" she asked in confusion. "You want to buy a house?" she said the words slowly, like she thought he was stupid.
"What's wrong with that?" he asked a bit defensively.
"Why can't we just glamour someone out of their house? For that matter, why don't we just eat someone and move in?" When they were travelling that was exactly what they did but usually they did not stay for very long so it was never a problem. Eventually someone would notice if a neighbor went missing. Also, he felt like Pam would enjoy shopping for a house of her very own.
"We may be here for longer than normal," Eric told her. He didn't want to tell her it may very well be several years, if not decades. "So we should get a house of our own. You can pick out the perfect one, shop around instead of just picking someone to glamour. Just think about how much you would get to decorate a blank canvas," he appealed to her.
"You'd let me decorate?" she asked skeptically.
"Of course."
"Any way I wanted?" she clarified.
"Within reason." That earned him another eye roll but he could see that he had her. Shopping and decorating were her things, and this would be a fun project for her.
"Alright," she said. He kept staring at her. "What?"
"Are you going to speak to me now?"
"I am speaking to you right now."
"Pam!" he snapped. "I'm sorry about this, okay? But I'm trying to make it better. If you would prefer I could toss you out on your ass and leave you to fend for yourself."
It was exactly the wrong thing to say, he realized, as her face showed her surprise and then became a blank mask. He had momentarily forgotten that they had met when she was a prostitute and she had once told him that her parents had kicked her out, leading to her circumstances. He hadn't meant anything by his comment but it seemed it had taken her back to that time.
"Pam-," he went to apologize.
"Do what you need to, Eric," she said. She stood up, gathering her bedding in her arms and moving to the other side of the room as gracefully as she could. She was so pissed and hurt she didn't want to lie beside him a moment longer than necessary.
She wasn't ashamed of her past, by any means. She'd done what she'd needed to in order to survive, and in some ways she was fucking proud. But he had always treated her as though she was worth more and yet here she was, on the floor in fucking Louisiana. And now he gave her a half-assed apology and then threatened the one thing that she was terrified he might one day do. She relied on him for everything and she had been afraid for several years now that he might one day send her away or release her, and then what would she do? She had known for a while that progeny did not normally stay with their makers for very long, so how long would it be till he felt her training was over and it would be fine for her to go on her way?
Eric could feel the hurt rolling off of her in waves although he didn't understand why. Anxiety flowed through their bond and he felt worse, though he felt she had taken his comments too much to heart. Still, Pam was complicated and he didn't even pretend to understand half of the things that she thought or felt.
He left her alone for the remainder of the night, and watched as she eventually fell asleep for the day.
TRUE BLOOD
"Where are we going?" she finally asked. She hated surprises. She hated not knowing what was happening.
"You will see," Eric said, patience wearing thin. It had been difficult enough to get her into the car and now she would not stop with her questions.
"Eric, I hate this," she whined, fidgeting in her seat.
"We are going to see a house," he cracked. "It was going to be a surprise but you are too much of a fucking brat to be quiet and let me do something nice for you."
Pam was surprised, both at where they were going and his tone. He rarely snapped at her and when he did it made her feel like dirt.
"One you'd like to buy?" she asked tentatively.
"That is very much up to you," he told her. He turned onto a remote road and came up to a large house, more of a mansion. He had given the real estate agent some specifications and it seemed that this is what she had come up with.
"It's pretty," she said. Eric said nothing and the tension between them increased. Not being able to take it anymore, she got out of the car and noticed a petite brunette woman standing on the porch.
Pam heard Eric's door close and the woman came up to greet them.
"I'm Lilah," she said. "You must be Eric?"
"Yes," Eric told her. "This is my… fiancée, Pam," he introduced her. Pam felt a zing of pleasure go through her at the descriptor, though she was sure he said it because it was the most plausible scenario.
"It's nice to meet you both," she said. "It's late, so why don't we go ahead and go inside?"
She unlocked the front door and allowed them both to walk inside into the foyer.
"It has 6 bedrooms, 5 baths," Lilah said, flicking on the light. "6000 square feet."
"Wow," Pam gasped, taking in the entryway. A staircase off to the side spiraled up and led to the second floor. To her side were large windows, from floor to ceiling of the second level.
"That could be a problem," Pam whispered, indicating to Eric the giant windows. She frowned as he ignored her and continued on through the house.
If Lilah noticed the tension between them, she didn't comment. "There is a nice big living area," she said. "And then through here," she said as they began to follow her, "is a beautiful updated kitchen."
They continued on through the house, the only speaker being the real estate agent. It was a beautiful house, but Pam didn't think that she would be willing to live there. There were far too many large windows and skylights to be practical, and the bathrooms were tiny. She appreciated a good bath and would never get one in this house. Plus, there was absolutely no closet space.
"Thank you," Eric told the woman as they all exited the house for the night. "We will discuss it and get back to you."
On the way home she broached the subject with Eric. "It was a nice home. But the closets were the sizes of suitcases! And the windows were everywhere."
"I agree," was all he said, and Pam was about to burst. Despite the fact that she got annoyed at him all the time, it drove her crazy when he turned the tables and froze her out.
"I'm sorry I ruined your surprise!" Pam said as they entered their store.
"I tire of your attitude, Pam," he said. He could understand her frustration, but he'd had enough. She had not been speaking to him for weeks at this point, and he was beginning to wonder if he'd given her too much latitude. He always appreciated that she spoke her mind, even to him, but perhaps she was too accustomed to getting her own way. "I have taken care of you for 81 years and yet at the first misstep you become an ungrateful, selfish brat."
Pam was surprised by his words, not used to him ignoring her or criticizing her. Unfortunately for her, his ire only seemed to grow with each word he spoke.
"Maybe it would be better if you remained here in the basement while I moved out. Perhaps that would teach you a lesson in respect and gratitude!" he yelled.
Her mouth fell open, though no words came out. She felt tears begin to form in her eyes and looked down before he could see them. He stalked out of the room, not even bothering to wait for a response. He slammed the door to the basement behind him.
As soon as he was out of her presence she began to cry. She felt like a scolded child. Worse, she knew he was right. She'd been angry at him, but she'd taken it too far. He was her maker and she had done nothing but treat him with disgust. Not only that, it seemed as though her worst fears were coming true; maybe he would tire of her and send her away, leaving her with nothing and no one. She wasn't sure she could do it again, now knowing what it was like to have someone's love and companionship.
She felt ashamed and humbled, not having realized how much she was getting to him until he called her on it. She wished to go speak to him but knew that he was too angry at the moment. She was also afraid he would say or do something worse and did not wish to anger him further. Instead, she made her way down the dark hallway to an interior room that had no windows. It would be uncomfortable to lie on the floor, but she figured she deserved it.
TRUE BLOOD
Eric laid down though he knew there were still several hours till dawn. He had been harsh with Pam, he knew, but she had pushed too many of his buttons lately. She would be fine.
He waited for her to come down to bed, dawn being only an hour away. She would begin to feel its effects soon. Still, when she didn't come down he began to wonder what she was doing.
He debated with himself before deciding to go see where she was. He had slammed a door on her earlier, after all, and maybe she was hiding from him.
He looked in the main area before checking the back rooms. Sure enough he found her in one of the rooms, huddled pathetically on the floor. She had already fallen asleep and was using her cardigan as a pillow. The rest of her was pressing into the tile and he knew it couldn't be comfortable.
He felt a little bad when he saw the bloody paper towels beside her, knowing he was the reason behind them. While she had been over the top recently, she wasn't wrong in thinking that this was his fault. If he had only taken the Authority seriously or heeded her advice, she would not be in this situation suffering from his choices.
"Pam," he called, shaking her shoulder lightly. She startled awake, looking at him uncomprehendingly for a moment before eyeing him warily.
"Come down to sleep where it's more comfortable," he said. She assessed him silently before getting off the ground to follow him downstairs.
He had just laid down when he heard her voice from across the room.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
He turned to face her and saw that she was staring at him, eyes wide and glistening.
"Come lay with me," he said and she obediently dragged her blankets and pillow over. He faced her and waited for her to speak.
"I'm sorry," she repeated. "I do appreciate everything you have done for me. I will accept whatever punishment you deem fit." She looked down at his chest, too ashamed to look into his eyes. She let out an unneeded breath of relief as he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close so that their chests were nearly touching. His hand stroked between her shoulder blades and down her back in a path it had taken a hundred times before.
He contemplated her apology and her body language now. He could also feel how sincere she was being and knew that he had no desire to punish her.
"I take part of the blame," he said. "I am sorry that we must be here."
"Forgive me?" she asked anxiously.
He kissed her cheek in response. "Always."
He began to stroke her hair and could see the wheels turning. She had something on her mind, but he knew better than to press her.
"Has Godric released you?" she asked.
He certainly wasn't expecting that. "No," answered. "Why do you ask?"
"Why are you no longer with him?" she asked instead.
He wasn't sure where this was going but decided to answer her questions, deciding it was only fair considering how much he knew of the short time she'd been on the earth before he'd known her.
"I was, for several centuries," he explained. "But then I wished to venture out on my own." He neglected to mention that Godric had had a new companion in Nora. Though he had known he was always welcome, he'd also known Nora would benefit from having Godric's attention undivided. And then when she, too, had wished to leave to go make her own path in the Authority, Eric had become accustomed to being on his own. Until he met Pamela, that is.
"Do you enjoy being a maker?" she asked next.
"Where are all these questions coming from?" He pulled back to look more closely at her face. She was chewing on her lip, something she had a tendency to do when stressed or nervous.
"Do you?" she persisted. "I know you didn't want me, not at first, at least," she babbled in a very uncharacteristic way.
"I did not think I would," he admitted. "But I am glad I turned you."
Apparently that did not satisfy her, because she asked, "Would you like to make another vampire?"
"Not any time soon," he said. "With you still being so young and a pain in the ass."
"I am not that young," Pam disagreed and he noted with amusement that she did not dispute his second claim.
"Pam, I was 700 when I left Godric's side. You are the vampire equivalent of a teenager."
She sat up and his hand fell away. "When you make another vampire, what will happen to me?"
He finally realized why he had fallen into her game of twenty questions. His little Pam's insecurities were coming to light at last.
He tugged her down to his side once more.
"If I ever make another vampire, I will still want you at my side. Although I am sure you will make a vampire before I make another. You are handful enough." She thumped his chest good-naturedly and he caught her hand in his.
"I won't ever want to make another vampire. The first time was enough of a disaster," she said. He couldn't disagree with that. Her brief stint as a maker had been a surprise, to say the least, and had soon ended with her progeny's death.
"For so long as I am alive you will have my support," he reassured her. "And my love." They did not normally give voice to such emotions, but it was sometimes nice to hear the words spoken. Especially for Pam, who seemed particularly insecure and paranoid.
"Thank you," she finally said. She leaned in to give him the most chaste kiss in history though he could feel her gratitude and love for him flow through their bond.
"Are you satisfied now?" he asked, stroking her cheek.
"I am," she said. Suddenly the video store basement, even with the fluorescent lights signaling the available porn, did not seem so bad with Eric at her side.
"Go to sleep, then," he said, snuggling her close. "Tomorrow we have more houses to look at."
She found herself excited, this being the first time they had settled down in a location permanently. They had travelled a lot in her time as a vampire, staying no longer than a couple months at a time and always having their next destination in mind. It might be nice to have a real home with him.
Shaking the sentimental notions from her head, she turned her thoughts instead to walk in closets and large bathtubs with jets as she fell asleep.
