A/N: So its a few days late, but here is that one-shot I promised. It was going to be about Godric and Alex, but Eric decided he wanted a part as well. This takes place when Alex is almost seventeen and after the Chicago arc and about 5 months before the Barcelona one begins.

Hopefully, this will give a glimpse into the developing relationship between Eric and Alex (platonic) and Godric and Alex (definitely not platonic).

Enjoy!

Alex watched as her father and brothers congregated in the front parlor of their nest in Berlin, Germany.

She wolf-whistled, giving them a cheeky smile and a thumbs up. "Looking good, guys. Very penguin-esque. The chicks, or guys, will love it."

Bennet laughed and with exaggerated movements pranced over to stand in front of her. "Compared to the fashions of centuries past, a tuxedo is practically like wearing pajamas. Any human male that complains about bow-ties needs to spend some quality time in a properly done cravat. I remember Beau Brummell once giving Josiah a nod of approval, but totally cutting Gabriel at the Dowager Duchess' soirée. Our older brother was much … perturbed."

Gabriel growled and shot Bennet a nasty look. "Brummell was a moron who died in exile."

From behind him Josiah rolled his eyes at his brother's behavior and loudly scoffed. "Yes, although it didn't help that you glamoured the Regent into publicly cutting him. The poor man was forced to flee England between that and his complete lack of gambling ability. Which you also caused via glamour."

Alex smiled while listening to her bickering brothers. She loved it when they spoke about famous historical figures, amused at just how often vampires had influenced the rise and fall of societies through the ages. Oftentimes because of petty revenge.

She still couldn't believe it when Eric told her whose 'snake bite' really killed the part-fairy Cleopatra. 'Never piss off The Ancient Pythoness' was the one truth she learned from that debacle.

She glanced over at the clock, biting back a huff of impatience. It was her turn to call Godric, and she wasn't sure how long they would be able to talk considering it was New Year's Eve and she was sure he would have some important vampire function that required his attendance.

Ten months ago she would have been eaten up with jealousy at the idea of him dancing with others, but their weekly talks since Chicago had deepened their relationship to the point where she completely trusted him. He would not hurt her, just like she would never hurt him. The others at the party may have his attendance, but it was with her that he smiled and joked.

She smirked and looked down at her fleecy pajama pants. It also helped that Isabel flat out told her that she had never seen Godric so happy.

"—ok, Alex?" her dad asked.

Startled, she looked up to see all four members of her nest staring at her, as well as a smirking Brian. "I'm sorry, Dad. What did you say?"

"I asked if you were sure you did not wish to come to the party. I remember not so long ago you arguing with me for five days straight over being left behind on such an occasion."

Alex huffed and crossed her arms. "Dad, that was over five years ago."

"So?"

She rolled her eyes. "I was eleven. Eleven. Besides, you would only make me leave once the orgy and sexcapades started, which seems to happen about five minutes after the dancing ends at these things. No offense, but I have absolutely no desire to see any of you getting your grove on or to spend my night standing in a corner."

Her father just chuckled, rubbing a fond hand over her hair. "As you wish, Daughter. What are your plans for the evening?"

Alex shrugged. "Work on some of my artwork, I guess. I'm not a huge fan of New Years so I really don't care about watching the ball drop. I'm just going to have a nice, quiet evening. Maybe rent a zombie movie from Amazon. The new Resident Evil movie is coming out soon, so I'm re-watching them."

She also planned to call her vampire. She didn't exactly hide the fact that she and Godric spoke twice, and sometimes more, times a week. She just tried to always make sure those conversations happened when she was alone in the nest. The last thing she needed was her nosy brothers giving her hell about her future mate.

Her father pulled on leather gloves and a coat to better blend in with the humans in the cold weather. "We will be back just before sunrise. George is running some errands for our move to Barcelona in a few days, but Brian will be around if you need anything."

With that, her family finally left the nest. Alex bounced to her feet, moving quickly towards her bedroom.

"Going to go flirt with your crush?" Brian teased.

Alex whirled around and stuck her nose up in the air. "I'm going to go talk to my friend," she stressed.

"Right," Brian said dryly. "That's what kids are calling it now. A friend. And you having your hair down and out of your typical braid, plus the fact that you're wearing actual eye makeup and lip gloss is because you've just been watching youtube makeup videos again and, what, wanted to practice?"

She flushed, feeling her cheeks literally sizzling with heat. "Does it look bad?"

Brian's teasing smile softened. "No, you look great. I just think its sweet how head-over-heels you are. Dinner will be ready in two hours. Go get'em, tiger."

Before she could take his advice, her nest's landline phone rang with an unidentified number. She mentally switched gears and had to remind herself to answer in German and not the Japanese her father had been tutoring her in all day.

"Hello?"

The man who answered her had the most eerily monotone voice in the world.

"This is Doctor Albrecht from the university hospital Charité. Is this the Makhaira residence?"

Alex shot a startled glance at Brian. Why would a doctor be calling her, and why did he sound like a robot?

"Yes, I'm Alexandra Makhaira."

"We have a patient in the hospital that came in from a car accident near the airport. Unfortunately, he is unconscious and the bruising across his forehead leads up to think he may have a concussion."

Alex frowned in thought but before she could ask anything the doctor continued in that strangely flat inflection. What did that remind her of? The memory was niggling at her …

"Can you come to the hospital?"

He's been glamoured!

That's why he sounded so weird. He had been mind-whammied not to let anyone near the has-no-heart-beat-but-is-still-walking-and-talking medical mystery that had landed in a human hospital's lap. The Great Revelation wasn't for another month, and if this vampire knew her family enough to have their landline number … then she needed to go do some damage control.

"Hold on a second." She held the phone to her shoulder and looked at Brian. "Hey, can you drive me to Charité? And call George. I think we might need some backup to deal with the paperwork and make the matter go poof."

"Of course. Should I try to call your father?"

She nodded and then turned her attention back to the phone. "What are your orders?"

"To not let anyone near the patient's room. It's a busy night, so thus far he has been easily overlooked."

"Good. We will be there in ten minutes. Um … don't get too close to your patient, ok? You might catch, er, germs. Or something."

She hurriedly hung up. She ran to the kitchen and grabbed some supplies, shoving them into her messenger bag as she slipped on Godric's leather jacket. Within minutes she and Brian were out the door.

"Germs?" he teased.

"Shut up, that's better than saying, 'don't get too close unless you want to be had for lunch.' Could you get my nest on the phone?"

"No, it kept going to voicemail. Perhaps George can contact the vampire Sheriff for this Area?"

"She'll be at the New Year's Eve party tonight with all the other bigwig Sheriffs. Besides, it's really not a good idea for even a marked human to contact a strange vampire. Especially not in Europe where they still follow the old ways so closely. Not all Sheriffs are like Godric, or even Eric."

At the older vampire's name, she felt a pang of guilt and quickly pulled out her phone. She was late to their Skype chat, and so sent him a quick text saying she was dealing with something, but may need to get his assistance later.

Before she could read his reply Brian pulled up to the doors of the hospital. "Go. I'll park the car."

She walked quickly to the receptionist and followed his directions to a private room at the very edge of the emergency room. She had to dodge running doctors and nurses as ambulances carrying accident victims seemed to screech to a halt every few minutes.

"Damn, seems like everyone and their brother is having fun celebrating tonight," she muttered.

When she rounded a corner she saw a single doctor standing at the end of the hall, staring blankly at a wall.

"Doctor?"

Nothing.

Great. The vampire had probably fried his brain by using too strong a glamour.

She reached out and touched his shoulder. "Doctor Albrecht? I'm Alex Makhaira, we spoke on the phone."

He immediately turned to face her, his eyes blank as he answered in that same monotone voice. "Yes?"

"Is he in that room?"

"Yes."

"Can you get me two bags of donor blood and warm them? And keep anyone away from this area?"

"Yes."

"Then go. And, er, try to act normal."

She took a deep breath and pulled Godric's gift from her hair. Her fingers brushed lovingly across the well known notches and groves. He had bathed it in his blood, and it would smell like him. Very few vampires in the world, even hurt ones, would be willing to go up against the blood-scent of an Ancient. Hell, she had seen plenty of semi-old vampires practically fall over themselves to get away from her. Not even her nest tried to touch it.

It always made her want to preen when she saw her vampire's badass reputation.

"Damn it, I really wish I had brought patchouli," she muttered. There was nothing better to hide one's personal scent since vampires hated it.

She reached into her bag, fumbling for a bottle of the new True Blood that would be sold as soon as the vamps came out of the coffin, and a thin silver chain she wrapped around her fist.

She was as prepared as she could be.

"Here, Mr. Nice Vampire," she said as she cautiously opened the door. "I'm Alex Makhaira, so don't eat me, oka—"

She stared at the blonde figure on the bed. He was so tall that his feet hung off the bottom, and someone had put him into a pale yellow hospital gown that had dozens of little dancing green bears.

Quickly, she took out her phone and snapped a picture before texting and emailing it to her various accounts for safekeeping. This was perfect bribery material for the next time he got on her case. She then quickly sent it as a text attachment to Godric.

"Why, hell-o, Eric," she said in a sing-song voice. She moved quickly into the room, shutting the door behind her. The bruising across his forehead told her everything. Only one thing would leave a lasting mark like that on a vampire and would also slow their immediate healing. Still, he wasn't goo, so he would be better once he went to ground.

"It's no wonder that it would take silver to bruise that big head of yours," she muttered. She stood a few feet away from the bed, considering her options.

"Shit," she said. Her phone buzzed, and without looking she knew who it was. "Hey, Godric."

"Alex."

His normally calm voice held whispers of tension. "My son's side of the bond is muted. Where are you? Is the room secure?"

"He's in a hospital in Berlin. My nest is at the King's party tonight, but I have Brian with me and George is really good at hacking records and cameras. Nobody will know he was ever here."

A soft groan from the bed caught her attention. "Shh, Eric."

She moved to sit next to him, gently pushing his hair back from his forehead with the hand holding her hair comb. She hissed when she saw the small, unhealed cut. "Shit, I think he has silver poisoning. No wonder he's passed out."

Godric's voice was alarmed. "Alex, I want you to leave the room. Now."

She was too busy trying to tip the bottle of True Blood down Eric's throat to pay much attention. "He won't hurt me, Godric. He's practically grey. Besides, I have your comb and a silver chain. I'm fine."

She yelped when Eric suddenly grabbed her wrist but relaxed when she saw his nostrils flare. "That's right, smell your Maker's blood ..."

He let go of her, an odd growly sound coming from deep within his chest.

"Alex!"

"I'm fine, Godric, he had my wrist but then let go. I told you he wouldn't hurt me."

"Perhaps not, but at any moment he could snap. He's dangerous."

She had managed to coax the full bottle down him, gently rubbing his throat to get him to swallow. She watched as the bruising slowly began to turn yellow at the very outer edges. "He's healing. Sort of."

"Alexandra!"

She fumbled the phone. Godric had never raised his voice to her before. Before she could answer she saw a shadow through the frosted glass of the door.

It was too tall to be the doctor and was definitely too bulky to be either George or Brian. She reached for her boot, soundlessly pulling the short switchblade blade and flicking it open.

"There's someone at the door," she hissed to Godric. "I need to put my cell down for a minute. Don't freak out."

"Alex—!"

Her voice was hard and determined. She wouldn't let her Godric deal with the painful loss of a Child. She saw that happen to another Maker in Japan, and she wouldn't let that happen to him. "Don't worry, I won't let anyone hurt your Child. I promise."

She tossed the phone on the bed, moving to stand between it and the door. When the door handle turned, she crouched into a fighting stance.

"What the devil are you doing here?" came a surprisingly deep voice in flawless German. The obviously surprised man in the doorway was at least as tall as Eric, but twice as broad with so many muscles he looked like one of those professional bodybuilders. She took him in from his worn combat boots to the brown driver's cap that sat low across dark curls. For a moment, she could have sworn she saw something behind him … something stretching high above his head … something that looked like … wings?

She shook her head, and the hazy image faded. Stupid shadows.

She flipped the handle so the blade ran along her forearm and she tried to remember everything her brothers and father had taught her about fighting. He would have a longer reach than her, and if he hit her then she doubted she would be getting back up. His fists were practically the size of three of hers!

"What do you want?" she asked harshly in the same language. "This is a private room. Please leave."

The man just stared at her out of golden eyes, the look in them making her feel weird. Uncomfortable. And even more protective of her vampire's Child.

Much to her confusion, his gaze landed on her wrist. At first, she thought he was eyeballing her blade, but it almost looked like he was staring at her charm bracelet. For some reason, he looked sort of surprised, then understanding crossed his face before it once against went calm and emotionless.

No human had eyes that golden color. Crap. Humans were at the back of the line when it came to speed and strength, and she was shor— er, she was still growing— even for one of her kind. She eased a little more in front of Eric's bed and tightened her grip on her knife.

"Be calm, youngling."

Her eyes narrowed. Only Supernaturals ever called her that. "What are you? If you think I'm going to let you hurt him or take his blood I swear to all the gods that I will gut you like a trout a-and I'll feed your heart to Eric like it's a yummy juice box!"

His eyebrows rose, drawing attention to his craggy features as he casually crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe. "I have no interest in your vampire, although I think you need to work on your threats. Have you not met my kind before?"

"Um … no? I don't think so. You don't move like a Were and you're too tall to be a pixie or dwarf. You can speak, so I doubt you're an ogre. They're barely smart enough to remember to eat and anyway they don't like to leave their bridges."

She contemplated him and his bulky frame for a minute. "Maybe a mixed-breed?"

He was quiet, his eyes on her evaluating and looking for something she didn't understand. "At least some things are following the correct procedure, then. I'm sure one day you'll learn about my kind, but I have not walked with my brothers and sisters in over a thousand years. Apparently," he mused softly as if to himself, "I have missed much. Is this vampire your mate?"

She almost gagged at the idea. "Ewwwwww, no! That's disgusting! He's my, I guess he's my … sort-of brother? Arch prank enemy? Person I most like to annoy? Yeah," she nodded her head decisively, "all of that. But he is definitely not my mate. Disgusting."

The man went to step into the room and she raised the knife again, her amusement melting away as she fiercely glared. "Don't get any ideas. I have his Maker listening on the phone and he will rip the world apart to find you and he will make you regret ever being born if you hurt his Child. He's the toughest and strongest vampire in the world and he will end you! So if I were you I would leave. Now."

He looked completely unconcerned. Perhaps even a trifle amused. "Well, since I doubt the injured bloodsucker would hurt one such as you, I will let you be. I wouldn't want to anger his Maker or take on such a fearsome opponent." He raised his fingers to his cap. "Be well, youngling. Keep your wits about you."

She watched him leave, completely confused by the entire experience. She heard a muffled noise from the bed and turned around to find Eric looking at her out of hazy eyes.

"Hello, Sleeping Beauty," she teased. "Your bruising is better but you still look like someone kicked your ass."

Eric gave a pale imitation of his normal smirk, his entire body shivering from the silver poisoning. "So I'm your 'sort-of brother' then?"

She flushed a little bit, feeling sort of shy. "I don't know what you're talking about. In fact, I think that maybe you're hearing things, you do have a head injury and—"

Eric's hand across her mouth muffled her voice. "It's fine, Little Valkyrie. I suppose I can deal with you being my sort-of little sister."

"Cool," she said and pulled away from him affecting nonchalance. "Well, I guess I should let you know that I took pictures of you in your rather fetching gown! Very sassy. You're a total chick magnet."

For the first time, Eric looked down. "Odin's tongue-bathed nut sack! Where the fuck are my pants?!"

She shrugged gleefully. "Don't know, don't care. I'm thinking that you might need to travel home with me to my nest dressed like that. Although we might want to make sure the back flap is tied shut. No offense, Viking, but I'm not interested in seeing your 'full moon.' You might even cause a Were to suddenly shift and change if they saw it."

She suddenly remembered her phone when she heard a muffled noise. She went to answer when Eric's cool hand grabbed her forearm, his grip surprisngly light.

He locked obviously still hazy eyes on hers. "Did you really try and defend me with just that little boot knife?"

She pushed her shoulders back and lifted her chin. "Yep. I was feeling very much like your white knight, defender of the weak. Which, by the way, would make you the damsel in distress, dontcha think?"

He stared at her, his face completely blank and still. Finally, he nodded down at her phone. "Isabel is trying to get your attention."

She lifted the phone to her ear, wincing when she heard the female voice cursing in Spanish.

"Alexandra!"

"Hi, Isabel. Er … Happy New Year?"

Isabel growled and her words came so quickly that Alex had a hard time keeping up. She did learn some new curse words though.

"Isabel, where's Godric?"

"The Sheriff is currently on the phone with contacts he has in the Area. You should have several Were guards there momentarily. They will escort you back to your nest." The female vampire paused for a moment to listen. "The codewords for you to verify their authenticity is 'Ferris Wheel.'"

Butterflies fluttered in her belly at the memory. "Ok."

"He also wishes to inform you to expect a call from him within the next three hours. He is not pleased with you, young lady. You went against his direct orders in regards to his Child. You know that is a violation of some of our most sacred beliefs of The Code."

Alex scowled. "Fine. Tell him I look forward to it."

She looked up at the door and saw that several large men as well as the doctor, George, and Brian were all standing there. "I gotta go."

Alex fluffed the pillow and put it behind Eric's head and then carefully placed his donor blood within easy reach. She could only remember one instance where a member of her nest had been hurt by silver, so she wasn't sure exactly how to help him since he didn't have Maker's blood on hand.

Man, she would totally freak— in a good way!— if Godric suddenly showed up. Granted, he would be rightfully concerned and focused on Eric, but she was sure he would spend time with her too.

"You can stop babying me now," Eric said dryly. "And stop hovering! I will go to ground and I should be fine by tomorrow night. I survived a thousand years before you were born, and I'll survive a thousand more without your help."

She would never admit that his words hurt a little bit. "Stop being a jerk. You have silver poisoning, so excuse me for being concerned for your big, fat head!"

Eric snorted, turning his attention away from the huffy teen and back towards the tv that showed the various New Year's Eve countdowns around the world. "Humans. So dramatic."

She flopped down on the couch. "You're one to talk about drama. Why were you in Germany, anyway? I would think you would be super busy in BFE Louisiana considering The Great Revelation is happening soon."

"It is none of your concern," he said dismissively.

She shot him a scathing look. "I'm so sorry. Am I bothering you after saving your pale ass?"

She could feel him staring at the side of her face, but she stubbornly kept her gaze on the tv. She was concentrating so hard on not paying him any attention, that when the pillow smacked her upside the head she flailed and fell off the couch.

"Eric!"

Eric just laughed and laughed. Whenever it started to slow, he just had to look at her pissed off expression and ruffled hair to start again. "Don't be like that, Little Valkyrie. You are indeed rather fierce … for a human. At least there is more to you than just a silly teenager."

She rolled her eyes at the nickname, even though she was secretly kinda pleased. Especially since he finally left off the 'cupcake' part of the nickname.

She heaved herself back up onto the couch. "I think I was better off with only three bothers," she groused good-naturedly.

Her phone suddenly beeped, and she saw that Godric had texted her telling her he would call in fifteen minutes. She struggled to hide how happy that made her since the last thing she wanted was Eric giving her crap about her relationship with his Maker. She still couldn't wait for the day when she was could ask, probably in front of Stan, if Eric needed to call her 'mommy' now.

It was going to be fantastic.

"He's really pissed," Eric said. "What did you do?" He was watching her closely, but it was hard to concentrate considering how much his head throbbed. He honestly just wanted to forget this horribly embarrassing evening had even happened. Pamela was going to give him shit about this for years.

Saved, by a human teenager.

"Yep. Probably. And I didn't listen to him about you." She shot him a glance. "He thought you might hurt me, but I knew you wouldn't."

Eric sneered and looked away, refusing to admit how that made him feel. "Idiot. I doubt your father ever let you near his eldest when he got silver poisoning a few years ago."

"No, he didn't. But I also had a silver chain I would have punched you with if you went all emo vampire on me. So no biggie."

"Good luck explaining that to my Maker. Safety is a big deal to him. "

Alex sighed but then shot him a smirk. "Brian dug a hole for you in the backyard right next to the Pussy Willow Tree, actually. I figured it would make you feel right at home."

She got up and walked towards her bedroom. "Sleep well."

"Little Valkyrie?"

She paused in the doorway. "Yeah?"

He seemed to struggle for a few minutes before finally gritting out, "Thanks."

She shot him a bright smile and shrugged. "Our nests are allies, besides, who else would I piss off if something happened to you?"

She had just walked into her room and shut the door when her phone rang.

"Alexandra."

She sighed and readied herself to deal with a grumpy vampire. "Hey, Godric. What's up?"

His voice would have made an iceberg shiver. "You went against my orders."

Okay, she was nipping that crap in the bud. "First, I'm not of your Line so you can't tell me what to do. Second, why are you so pissy? I told you Eric is completely safe!"

An impressive growl was her answer and she flopped down onto her bed. "Godric, chill. Eric is fine and currently getting dirt shoveled on him in the backyard next to the Pussy Willow Tree."

She winced when she heard something shatter in the background. Maybe she was being a tad too cavalier? "Hello?"

"Do you think," he sad his voice low and fiercely controlled, "that all I was worried about was Eric?"

"Well … yeah. I mean, he's your progeny and was hurt. Dad flips out when one of his Line is in physical danger. He's all fang-and-snarls, and body parts tend to fly. I get it," she hurriedly soothed him. "The bond between Maker and Child is sacred and the most importa—"

"Alexandra."

Her mouth shut with a click. "Yeah?"

"Do you not understand why I am displeased?"

"Yes, because Eric was hurt. Why is it," she said with a huff, "that you can't just say, 'thanks for saving my son from being eaten like steak tartare by some unknown Supe. I'll send you a nice fruit basket as thanks, and here's some lovely chocolate, too.' I like Lindts, by the way," she added sarcastically. "The bar in the red wrapper, or those peanut butter and chocolate truffles."

"Alex, it is not that I am not grateful—"

"But noooo," she said raising her voice to speak over Godric, "let's just yell at me instead for not doing, in your opinion, a good enough job!"

The silence between them was filled with frustration.

He finally broke it, his voice chillingly soft. "You could have been hurt or killed by my Child when you went against my own decision in regards to my Line. Silver poisoning on any level muffles a vampire's senses and exacerbates their nature and need to feed. He would not have known you until it was too late. Then, you were forced to stand against an unknown enemy, your only weapons a small knife and the reputation of a Maker who was half a world away. I have not felt so helpless in centuries, Alex. It is not a feeling I wish to experience again. You know us as if you were a vampire yourself, and you know better than to act as you did today."

Her lips trembled at his words. "I was fine. I am fine. I promise, Godric."

"This time, yes." He paused for a moment and then continued. "But, Alex, you are worth as much to me as Eric. Your life is not interchangeable for his, and if you had been hurt I would also have 'ripped the world apart' to find the one who dared harm you. Do you understand? I would be very … displeased … if something happened to you."

Heat bloomed in her chest, her heart filling with so much love for this man. He cared for her as much as his progeny. That ... was amazing. She had thought he loved her, but even then ... Nothing and no one was as important as a vampire's Child. Not even a lover. Maybe ... maybe he felt the call to Turn her when she was older? She sometimes dreamed of him being her Maker. It was her deepest and most hidden desire. "Oh. Um. Yeah. Me too. For you, I mean," she said shyly. "You're my best friend."

She wanted to hit herself. Best friend? Really? How lame was that? She wished she had the guts to go against The Code and vampire traditions. It was so stupid having to wait until she was older and could formally approach him, but at least it gave her time to work up her courage.

There was another moment of silence, this time almost comfortable and ringing with everything that she knew was left unsaid.

"Alex ... did you say Eric was buried next to a Pussy Willow Tree?"

She giggled lightly. "Yeah. I thought it sort of fitting since he's a player. Man, it's been one heck of a start to a new year. Can you believe I'm going to be seventeen in a few months? We're finally moving to Barcelona, too."

She glanced at the clock and did the math in her head. "How come you're not at the King of Texas' party? It's almost midnight where you are, and everything here is fine now."

"Since there was an incident tonight in my Area it is very unfortunate that it requires my personal attention, and thus I was regrettably unable to attend the gathering," he said calmly.

Alex's lips twitched. She loved the way he spoke. "So what you're saying is that you're playing hooky."

"More or less, although I prefer to think of it as being a good Sheriff."

She laughed and smothered a yawn as she curled up on her side, snuggling into his jacket.

"You should rest."

"But we've barely been able to—" she hid another yawn "—talk the last week."

"What if I read to you from our latest novel?"

"You do have a pretty voice," she teased. "Very restful." She had never tried to deny how much she loved his voice, having once jokingly asked him to send her a mp3 of him reading her favorite book only to get it a week later. As far as she was concerned, he didn't hear often enough how wonderful he was from people who actually meant it and didn't want anything in return. "But I think I want to hear the rest of the story about what you did in Damascus in the 800's. It's still your turn, ya know."

"Is it, dear one?"

"Yep. Four memories to one of mine, and you're only on your third."

"I do not believe," he teased, "that that is an equal exchange."

"Nope, it's completely fair since you're so old. Otherwise, you'll know everything about me and I'll have learned almost nothing about you."

His soft laugh ran like velvet across her skin. "As you wish."

She wondered if he had ever seen The Princess Bride, and if he knew what that phrase meant in the movie. She hoped so.

Happily, she settled down and listened to him tell her stories of his time in Ye Olde Damascus.

The next day she woke up a few hours before nightfall. She stretched and had to make a hasty lunge for her phone as it tumbled towards the floor.

Several minutes later she staggered into the living room, coming to a halt in front of the coffee table that held a huge basket over-flowing with fresh seasonal fruit and cleverly placed Lindt chocolates.

Red Lindt chocolate bars and chocolate peanut butter truffles. Her absolute favorites.

There was no message, but then again, she knew exactly who had sent it to her.

Sometimes it really surprised her just how romantic and thoughtful her Ancient vampire could be. For a man who had admitted he no longer thought like either a human or vampire, he really did know how to make a woman swoon.

She ripped open the wrapper on one of the chocolate bars and popped a piece into her mouth, sliding her thumb to her phone and opening up the messenger app.

I was only joking about the fruit basket, but thank you.

Clicking Send, she moved towards the kitchen, eager to start packing for their move to Barcelona. Maybe, if she was really lucky, she would get to see Godric soon.