A/N: Hello everyone! Please, please, please bear with me. This chapter follows the show very closely, but I promise it will branch out on its own again soon. I'm sorry it took so long to post, but it wasn't exactly fun to write, so it took a lot longer than the other chapters. I didn't get to really flex my creativity here, you know? I seriously thought about writing "watch the first half of episode 8, season 2, and pretend Lexi is standing in the background." Lmao. But I couldn't force myself to do it. Anyway, enjoy, and hopefully the next chapter won't take so long.

Chapter 6

Lexi pushed up against the wall and tried to make herself as invisible as possible. She did not want Gabe to notice her, he would tell the Newlins for sure, and her family would never be safe. She watched as Godric brought his freehand to the front of Gabe's throat, who was choking out a desperate appeal. With a quick twist, Godric had snapped the man's neck, and let his body fall to the floor with a thud. Lexi felt sick. She had never seen anyone die before, and she was taken aback by how swift and… indifferent Godric had been about it. Although she supposed now she didn't have to worry about him telling anyone he had seen her. Godric looked down at Sookie sadly.

"You should not have come."

There were muted screams from upstairs, and Sookie looked up, alarmed. "Bill…" She said as she scrambled to stand. Godric closed his eyes and shook his head.

"No." He said softly, and then louder; "I am here my child, down here." He almost smiled.

Before anyone could blink, a tall, blonde vampire appeared at the bottom of the steps. Lexi jumped, she was having a hard time coping with the whole vampire speed thing. She watched carefully as he walked toward Godric. She knew from the look on Godric's face that this had to be Eric. When she looked at him, she was stunned by the amount of devotion written across his face. When Eric spoke Godric's name, and fell to his knees, Lexi was enthralled by the scene in front of her. It was evident that Eric cared for Godric very much, and she mentally added to the growing list of things the Fellowship had wrong about vampires.

"You were a fool for sending humans after me."

Without looking up, Eric responded. "I had no choice, these…" He shot Lexi an angry glare. "These savages seek to destroy you." He looked up at Godric's face.

"I am aware of what they have planned." Godric looked toward Hugo. "This one betrayed you." Lexi looked at the unconscious heap that was Hugo, and listened intently as Sookie described his treachery. With this news, she felt her world change once again, she didn't know Hugo, so his betrayal was nothing to her, but the lines were not clearly drawn anymore. It wasn't humans versus vampires or good versus evil, it was every man for himself, and Lexi wasn't sure she could keep up.

"How long has it been since you fed?" Eric asked, turning his attention back to Godric, who glanced quickly at Lexi.

"I require very little blood anymore." He said dismissively. Lexi and Sookie both jumped when the alarms started to sound. "Save the humans, go on." He was annoyed when Eric protested.

"I am not leaving your side until-"

"I can take care of myself. Spill no blood on your way out." Eric hesitated. "Go!" Godric ordered. Eric put his arm around Sookie ushering her toward the stairs, he turned and made a face at Lexi. She realized he was waiting for her.

"Uh, no thanks, I'll stay here." While she no longer believed what the Fellowship taught about vampires, she still wasn't comfortable going off into the night with one she'd never met before.

"Lexi, go." Godric looked at her. "Eric will keep you safe." He turned a meaningful glance toward Eric.

"You're going to stay?" She knew the answer before he spoke it.

"I still have things left to do here." He watched the tears come to her eyes, and looked away.

"You are the stupidest vampire I have ever met." Godric chuckled at that, but Eric bristled.

"Do not speak to him that way." Lexi rolled her eyes at him, and his glare turned murderous.

"Eric, take them, and go." He watched as Lexi reluctantly walked towards Eric. She flinched when he grabbed her arm.

"Let's go."

Stealing one last look at Godric, Lexi let herself be steered up the stairs. She was aware, as they snuck down the hall, that Erik and Sookie were having a heated discussion ahead of her. She caught snatches, and wondered briefly who Bill was. When they came to the end of the hall, she heard Eric say something about just following Godric's orders. Lexi wished she had gotten to ask Godric more about himself.

"He's your maker, isn't he?" Sookie asked. Lexi didn't know what that meant, but she leaned forward to hear the answer.

"Do not use words you don't understand." Eric replied smoothly.

"You have a lot of love for him." Sookie countered. Lexi thought of the look on Eric's face when he had seen Godric in the basement, and felt Sookie was right. Apparently, Eric did not.

"Do not use words I don't understand."

Eric made to walk into a group of Fellowship members. Sookie urged him to stop. "Eric, no!" He leaned in close to her ear, and whispered "Trust me." Lexi became uncomfortable, she felt like she was intruding on something intimate. He whirled around, and walked toward the small group of humans. Lexi held her breath and hoped he had a plan, one that was a little more intricate than simply asking them to open the door. She was pretty sure that wouldn't work, even if he said 'pretty please'. Then he was talking to them, and Lexi wondered if he was trying to glamour them. She remembered what Godric had said about it being difficult to glamour two at a time, and there were four of them. They were beginning to surround him, and Lexi and Sookie shared a worried glance.

Just before the big guy behind Eric was beginning to attack, Sookie yelled "Stake!" Lexi wondered how she had known when the man was going to attack. Eric defended himself against the four humans without effort; though only Sookie's reminder of Godric's command not to spill any blood made him release the last one without killing him. Lexi breathed a sigh of relief; she didn't want anyone to get hurt.

Pulling the door open just enough to look outside, Eric saw a mob of armed Fellowship members advancing on the building. The man that he had spared earlier looked up and sneered. "Silver and wooden bullets… you'll never make it through." Lexi thought he was being extremely ungrateful, having been spared a painful death and all. She motioned to her companions.

"Come on, we'll go through the sanctuary." Hopefully, everybody was following the disaster procedures. The Fellowship made them run drills about every two weeks, and everyone was supposed to move to a 'vampire proof' shelter. The church itself was an absolute no-no, because it was a public building, which meant any vampire could enter without an invitation.

They entered through the big double doors, and walked quickly down the center aisle. Eric looked at Lexi, and asked where the exits were. Just when she was about to breathe a sigh of relief and answer him, Reverend Steve Newlin stepped out of the darkness, and up onto the pulpit.

"There are many exits, actually. For you, the easiest one takes you straight to Hell." He seemed to notice Lexi for the first time. "And for traitors, Hell burns especially hot."

Lexi snorted, and then fixed him with a deadly glare. "I would think for murderers, the punishment would be much worse, don't you?"

The Reverend's eyes grew wide at her subtle accusation, but he recovered quickly. "I guess we'll both find out eventually, right? Though, I imagine that you'll find out about Hell a lot sooner than I will." The back door opened, and the Fellowship's army (such as it were) poured through the door. Lexi briefly noted that someone had re-armed the poor idiot from the front door incident. She had hoped he had learned something, and gone home, but apparently, that was just too much to hope for.

"Let us leave; save yourselves… no one needs to die!" Sookie tried to appeal to their better nature, but Lexi knew that there was no hope for that. These weren't just your run of the mill congregation members, these were Reverend Newlin's 'soldiers of the sun', they had been chosen for their willingness to follow blindly, and their ruthlessness.

"The war has begun you evil whore of Satan." The Reverend's response was full of spite. Lexi wondered at the fact that she had ever looked to this man for guidance in any capacity. "You vampires cast the first stone by killing my family. The lines have been drawn…you're either with us, or against us. We are prepared for Armageddon."

"The vampire you've been holding prisoner got away…he's a sheriff, he's bound to send for help." Sookie was grasping at straws, trying to buy time. Lexi's heart was suddenly in her throat; Sookie didn't know that Godric was ready and willing to meet the true death, but she seemed to know everything else about him.

"I'm not concerned about Godric; any vampire will do for our grand celebration, and we got one right here." The Reverend gestured toward Eric. "Brothers and sisters, there will be a holy bonfire at dawn."

Eric looked at Sookie and whispered "I'll be fine." He walked calmly toward the Reverend, and both girls watched in disbelief as the Reverend had two of his people bind Eric to a table with silver. More people came forward to restrain them as well. Lexi was impressed by the fact that Eric barely made a sound, even though she could see where the silver was burning his skin.

"I offered myself, in exchange for Godric's freedom, and the girls', as well." The pain clipped his words, and his breath came in quick gasps. Whatever reservations Lexi had had about Eric, vanished in that instant. The fact that he was willing to sacrifice an endless span of life… it was both beautiful, and stupid. Lexi knew before the Reverend even spoke that he wasn't going to let them go.

"That's noble, but they're just as culpable as you are. They are traitors to their race, the human race, they hardly deserve mercy. Especially that one." He pointed at Lexi, who flipped him off. "The claws of evil are sunk so deep into her, that she has lived among us for over a year, and hasn't been able to find the light. Maybe we should tie them to you, and then you can meet the sun together." One of the men holding Lexi laughed, and began to drag her towards the table.

Before she could even work up a good struggle, the doors burst open, and a man, no, a vampire entered the room, hollering Sookie's name. This must be Bill. The Reverend pulled out a gun and pointed it at Sookie's head. You have got to be kidding me!

"One more move vampire, and the girl dies."

"If you shoot her, everyone in this room dies." He snarled. Lexi believed him, and wondered if he knew they were on the same side.

The Reverend ordered Bill be tied up too, and just as Lexi decided this whole mess was getting out of hand, it got worse. Out of nowhere, she heard "Newlin!" and the Reverend dropped… no, the gun he had pointed at Sookie was shot out of his hand.

"Let her go Fuckwad!" Lexi realized it was the boy Jason yelling just as a green splat appeared on the Reverend's forehead. Wait, he has a paintball gun? And he's supposed to be on their side, he's the one that built that damned platform. The vampire that Lexi assumed was Bill took advantage of the Reverend's distraction, and went to Sookie's side. At that point, the men holding Lexi were so confused about what was happening, their grip was half-hearted at best, and she wriggled free.

Sookie ran to the table where Eric lay prone. She began to unwind the silver chains that bound him, and Lexi ran to help. Before anyone could spit, he was up and had Steve Newlin by the throat. The Reverend was positively blissful at the thought of becoming a martyr to his cause. Lexi shook her head, and pitied him before she remembered the lives he had taken. Then, as if the whole episode wasn't ridiculous enough, the doors opened again and a dozen or so more cowboys entered the room. Cowboys that were also vampires. Vampire cowboys. Lexi stifled a giggle, and she wondered vaguely if she was in shock.

The cowboy in the front was talking loudly, but Lexi couldn't pay attention to what he was saying. She kept waiting for him to pull out a six-shooter and yell "Draw!" Her amusement came to an abrupt end when she caught the tail end of his speech. "Destroy them, all of them." In the next instant, a large hand clapped across Lexi's mouth and jerked her head back, exposing her throat. In that moment, for whatever reason, the only thought she had was of her Bible, still in her backpack in the basement. She wondered if, after she was dead, anyone would find it and return it to her family; that is, if they were still alive by then. With a muffled appeal, she looked up at her assailant, and plead with her eyes. He was big, bald, and his hand smelled like gasoline. He sneered at her, and his fangs came into view with an audible pop.

"Enough." Godric's voice rang out through the sanctuary. "You came for me, I assume. These people have not harmed me. You see, we can co-exist." His eyes flicked to Lexi, still in the grip of the large vampire, and then addressed the Reverend. "Mr. Newlin, I do not wish to create bloodshed when none is called for. Help me set an example; if we leave you in place, will you do the same?"

"I will not negotiate with sub-humans. Kill me. Do it, Jesus will protect me." He undid his tie to expose his neck, and Lexi bit back a sarcastic retort.

"I'm actually older than your Jesus, I wish I could have known him, but I missed it." There was a collective gasp at that bit of information, and Lexi decided if she lived through all this, she and Godric were going to have a very long talk. "Good people, who of you is willing to die for this man's madness?" No one spoke. "That is what I thought. Stand down everyone. People, go home, it's over now."

The big vampire that had a hold of Lexi shoved her away roughly, and she stumbled away from him. After she recovered, she stood hugging herself, and watched the people file out of the church. She became unaware of the happenings around her; she stared blankly, and tried to pin down a coherent thought. The vampires all began to stride purposely toward the door. For a moment, Lexi stood undecided. She hadn't really been invited along with them, wherever they were going, but she couldn't stay either. She felt suspended in an indeterminate gray area; unwanted by vampires and humans alike. It wasn't until she realized she was about to be left alone with Steve Newlin that she strode quickly after them.