The return to Russell's Manor..
Disclaimer: I don't own the plot, characters, settings from SVM or TrueBlood.
She had spent most of the day looking around downtown Jackson, avoiding the apartment at all costs. When she finally returned, the sun was already setting. It was time for her to get ready for her big night. The jeans and sweatshirt she had stormed out in earlier hardly seemed appropriate for Russell's house.
The apartment empty by the time she made it back, which definitely worked in her favor. A long note was taped to the fridge, but she did not really feel like reading it yet. It could be him berating her further, which she did not need at the moment, or it could have been an apology. Her conscience knew she would forgive him eventually, it was kind of her thing, but it didn't have to be right then. She tucked the note in her purse for later when there weren't twenty other things to think about.
Betty Jo had said to return, but a definite time had never been set and no itinerary had been handed out. Sookie decided to go for fashionably late as she rifled through her clothes trying to find something to wear. She wanted to give them enough time to rise and get ready for the evening without being so late they would wonder if she was coming. Otherwise, it would be the equivalent of showing up at 8:00 AM for a human party or three hours late… just rude. Finding some black slacks and a cute sweater top with a low neckline to show off her puncture wounds, she finished it off with a pair of heels and the earrings from the night before to elevate the look. She was satisfied with the outfit, the epitome of dressy casual. Even Pam would have had to agree, and since she was Pam for the night, that was a good thing.
The hardest decision was coats… she had brought her coat, but saying it was ratty was putting it nicely. Sure, the fur was too dressy for her outfit, but at least it wouldn't embarrass her. She slung it over her arm rather than put it on. The sweater would keep her warm until the coat became necessary.
By the time she had put herself together, the sun had been set for a while. Add to that the time it would take to get there, and she figured it would be good to go ahead and leave. Too much later and her lateness would no longer be fashionable. Luckily, the cab company from Janice's yesterday had one of those super easy numbers to remember, 1-800-GET-TAXI. Sure, it wasn't grammatically correct, but she knew the number to call for a pick up.
She was inside the taxi in less than fifteen minutes and incredibly proud of her own self-sufficiency. The older gentleman looked as though he had been driving taxis for quite some time, and the front had several pictures of his grandchildren. It did not take much encouragement from Sookie for him to open up about his family. The stories he told matched perfectly with what she saw in his head. He was a loving and devoted husband, father, grandfather, and soon to be great-grandfather. From what she gathered, he only drove a few times a week, for the fun of it… No matter why he did it, she was glad he did. By the time they arrived at the mansion, she was happy, relaxed, and completely confused by how quickly the time had passed.
"Pam Smith… I'm expected." She told the Were at the front gate. It was a different guy than the one from that morning, and he looked as if he had gotten a proper night's sleep. Apparently, when they weren't running on the full moon, they were Russell's full time security. What would Alcide have thought about that?
The taxi waited patiently while the Were spoke to someone in the main house. Her driver knew exactly where they were and did not approve of such a nice young lady being there; however, her choice did not change his opinion of her. It was a nice change of pace to not be automatically labeled a 'fangbanger.' "Yes, ma'am. Drive on through to the front please." He finally lifted the gate for them to pass through.
Her phone buzzed for a new text as they drove down the long lane.
Your distraction will be there soon. If things fall apart, get out of there. No heroics. –E
She deleted all her texts from him just in case someone got to her phone. She hoped against hope that no heroics would be called for. It would be so nice if for once, things went nice and smoothly for her.
"Miss?" They had stopped at the front steps.
"Hmm?" She had not heard whatever the cabbie had said.
"I asked, would you like me to wait for you?" He had not idea how long "these things" took. She got that quote straight from his head.
"Oh, don't worry about me. I'm actually just meeting an old friend here." She hoped none of the vampires outside could hear her, but she wanted the old man to keep his good opinion of her. "Good luck with the great-granddaughter, I am sure she's going to love you!" Suddenly, Sookie realized she might have to add grand theft auto to her list of mischief if she wanted to get out of here with Bill. She had not planned for a getaway vehicle.
"Thank you, and you take care of yourself."
"Always do," she told him with a wink.
"Pam!" Russell descended the stairs gracefully. Had he been in skirts, they would have made him look like he was floating. In a very un-vampire-ish show of greeting, he air kissed her on both cheeks. "So glad you could come again."
"Thank you so much for inviting me." She replied just as warmly.
"Godfrey was quite taken with you." He whispered conspiratorially, staring at her neck. "I was glad I had Betty Jo speak with you before you fell asleep because he requested your presence today before we even went to day rest. You may have found yourself a permanent position, young lady."
Sookie had no idea there was such a thing, but she tried to look pleased at the prospect. It was exactly what she had been trying to avoid with Eric, being someone's kept women. However, given the current charade, it was something Pam Smith would definitely be interested in. "Perhaps he and I will have a chance to talk about that later." She replied with a wink.
"I am sure some alone time can be arranged. After all, Godfrey had already received a call from that wolf saying he would be in meetings this evenings, so well done!" She had remembered to text Alcide about that, but he had not answered. It was good to know he had been mature about it.
"I explained the circumstances. If Alcide was busy with work, then Godfrey would not feel obligated to meet with him. Godfrey seems like he is all about manners."
"Yes, I have noticed that as well." Something passed over his face, regret, maybe before he perked back up. "If you will follow me, he is waiting in the parlor with Talbot and Betty Jo."
It was a small, intimate party. Talbot made her a drink and some other human men brought in snacks for the two to enjoy. Sipping her drink, she reminded herself that she was not here for pleasure, and she definitely couldn't afford to be tipsy. It felt weird eating in front of the vampires, so that made the appetizers easy to ignore. A late lunch was holding her over for a while, so she could sit back and wait for Eric to make a long distance 'Hail Mary.'
Mostly, it was more of the same from the night before. Godric sat closer to her than normal on the loveseat but did not actually touch her, and regaled them with stories of Europe. She had never heard most of these before, but it was probably safer than speaking of his more recent history. Over the last few centuries, he and Russell had known some of the same people, so they compared experiences. Betty Jo was obviously much younger than the other two, but even she joined in occasionally. Sookie just listened and waited, staying attentive to Godric as was called for by their relationship.
A Were came in, looking very hesitant to be interrupting. Russell muttering, "this had better be important," probably didn't help.
"Sir… I believe Elvis Presley is in the building." Sookie looked just as surprised as the man who said it.
"Bubba." Godric said quickly, trying to hide his surprise. Apparently, Eric had not mentioned who he would be sending to his maker.
"I'm fairly certain it's Elvis. He seems really… confused though." The Were looked between Godric and Russell, unsure who to address.
"No, he goes by Bubba now. Please tell them not to call him Elvis. It upsets him."
The Were quickly spoke into the walkie-talkie on his sleeve.
"You know Elvis?" Betty Jo spoke up, clearly excited by the idea.
"His transition did not go well, so different vampires help to watch over him. I have been aiding in his care for a few months now." Which meant that Eric had known Elvis all this time and not introduced Sookie to him…
"That definitely explains all those sightings." The waitress said to no one in particular.
"He must have followed me here." That seemed like a rational enough reason for the The King to be here of all places. When Eric said he would provide a distraction, he meant it.
"Please bring 'Bubba' in." Russell told his guard.
"Do you think he would sing for us?" Betty Jo was obviously a fan.
"It depends on how he is feeling. I will ask, but if we push too much…" He left it unspoken. Sookie had never met a vampire whose transition had affected them, but an off-their-rocker vamp did not sound like a good thing.
"Bubba!" Godric called happily as that winning smile broke out across the older man's face. He may have looked the older of the two, but Sookie knew that Godric had several hundreds of years on him.
"God…frey." Hopefully, everyone would chalk that up to his mental imbalance. The hesitation was too pronounced to mistake.
"They told me you would be here. When I woke up the other night, you were gone." He sounded genuinely hurt by this, like some child whose parent had gone away on an unexpected business trip.
"I'm sorry Bubba, I should have let you know. This is Miss Pam." Elvis shook Sookie's hand, and she returned his smile. He seemed very sweet, if not quite himself. Bubba shook the hands of everyone in the room as they were introduced, even the vampires. Betty Jo did not seem to mind at all, beaming as she was.
"Bubba, Miss Betty Jo here heard what a good singer you are; would you be willing to sing for some of the vampires here?" The room held their collective breath for his reaction.
He seemed to be thinking really hard about it, but finally, he gave his famous half smile and even winked at his fan, looking more like his old self. "It would be my pleasure, ma'am."
Betty Jo looked as if she might actually swoon. Sookie managed to hold in her laughter at Russell's second. The woman had seemed so tough last time, who knew it would just take a wink from the original rock star to make her melt into a puddle of fan girl.
"Some of the vampires here" quickly turned into most of the compound. A rudimentary stage, complete with sound equipment was erected in record time, and everyone moved outside for the concert. She and the other humans were bundled up tight, but the vampires did not seem to even notice, their eyes trained on the stage as Bubba took the mic. Someone had even found him a guitar.
If there had been any doubt before as to whether or not he was the real thing or an impersonator, it was settled when he started to sing. He really came alive while performing. He had been a little plumper than his early years when he passed away, but being a vampire, his hips could still gyrate with the best of them. Vampires must be huge Elvis fans because everyone there was into it. Even Godric seemed pleased his friend was enjoying himself. Sookie let the ancient vampire enjoy the concert for a moment before catching his attention. They had work yet to do, but he motioned for her to wait when she jerked her head in the other direction.
"Russell, Pam and I are going to go… be alone for the remainder of the concert." It would buy them some time.
"Yes, yes, of course." It was obvious the King of Mississippi simply did not wish to be disturbed, so the two left the crowd without so much as a questioning look from the captivated audience.
"Where to?" He asked once they could be fairly certain no other vampires would hear them.
"I felt some vampires earlier in the garage. I think we should check there first."
"I have not left the manor, so lead the way."
She led him back behind the house, with only a few stops in dark corners. Under different circumstances (and with a different vampire) this would have been quite exhilarating, but every time Godric loomed over her, it meant one of the few Weres left was passing by. They had obviously been told about Godric/Godfrey because they were not stopped once, despite a couple cat calls. It only served to drive home that this was still going to be difficult, even if they had gotten away from Russell for the moment.
Approaching the garage, Sookie did not sense any active minds. It struck her as funny, but she wouldn't be a half bad thief… she would, at least, make a great lookout. Somehow, she had missed her criminal calling in life. The tiny bubble of laughter died away as Godric tilted his head at her. She didn't want him to think she was crazy as well.
Over her momentary distraction, something else caught her attention. While there were no minds that she could read, there was a void. However, where there had been two earlier, there was only one now. She couldn't help her excitement. If her suspicions were right, then Bill was in there, and whatever vampire was with him earlier must be gone, maybe the concert had called away his companion.
"I think he's in there." She spoke so softly that she could barely hear herself, but Godric nodded, walking over to the door.
Another point in their favor: it wasn't locked. Russell probably wasn't expecting any intruders brave/stupid enough to go after someone held prisoner on his property. Obviously, he didn't know her very well.
Sookie and Godric walked in to a scene from some gore film. There were silver chains covered in what she could only assume was Bill's flesh, blood everywhere, devices she had never seen and didn't want to, and in the middle of it all, sat a female vampire, bloody tears running down her face. The puddle of blood around her looked fresh and much too big to be from a single bleeding.
Godric immediately stepped in front of Sookie, but it was too late. She had already seen everything. Human might be slower than vampires, but they still pick things up rather quickly. Her brain was already working overtime to process all the visual information. To come to the inevitable conclusion. "You bitch, you killed him!"
Her chuckle did not even manage to be half-hearted. "He had served his purpose. I brought him in to this world, and I took him out of it." So this must have been Lorena, Bill's maker. Her statement should have sounded cheesy, but her voice broke in the middle. Sookie had to squash the feeling of pity welling up in her. She had been to Bill what Godric was to Eric… and she had killed him. She deserved no pity.
"Do you know what you have done?"Godric looked positively frightening, holding this woman by the neck, fangs bared and snarling with anger. Whether she knew it or not, she had killed his progeny's chance at survival.
The telepath stood in shock as Lorena laughed at him. It took a certain kind of crazy to laugh at a man who looked to be on the verge of ripping your throat out, but then, she had just finished torturing and killing her child. Crazy was exactly what this bitch was.
"Thank whatever gods you worship that we are out of time, or I promise I would make whatever you did to that poor man look like child's play." It felt as though the temperature in the room dropped with every word Godric spoke, and Sookie found herself unconsciously stepping away from him. Every time she thought she had Godric figured out, something new came up to surprise her. He had definitely shown his vampiric side before, but never like this.
She watched as Lorena's eyes began to bulge from the increased pressure around her neck. He couldn't choke her to death… did he plan to pop her head off with his bare hands? That was when Bill's maker began to fight, but even Sookie could tell it was useless. Her nails managed to rake across Godric's flesh, opening a few gashes, and she tried to pry off the single hand that held her. Godric did not even flinch. His blood seeped out slowly, compared to a human's… his blood.
"Godric! Wait!" He turned to her, pain in his eyes over what he was going to do. It left her breathless. Given what this woman had done, part of him still did not want to kill her. "She said he had served his purpose. What if Bill told her where it is?"
"Of course he did, otherwise he would still be alive." His voice was flat, resigned.
It made sense that he had already figured that out, but it left her even more confused. "Then we can't kill her until we know!"
He sighed. "Sookie, there is no time. Russell will be looking for us soon enough. I cannot make her tell us anything without breaking her as she did Bill, and we can hardly sneak out of here with a vampire hostage."
That all made sense, but she still had her big secret. Now, she just had to decide if it was worth the consequences to reveal something that might get her killed. She knew she loved Eric… did he love her enough to not kill her? Or would Godric do it for him? There was not enough time to really list out the pros and cons. For now, if it saved Eric's life, it was worth it. Besides, if Eric died, she would lose her freedom anyway. Maybe it was better to be dead.
"There's another way, but you have to trust me."
"Of course, I trust you." He seemed taken aback that she would even have to say anything. It warmed her heart.
"Hold her still." Godric did as Sookie said, pulling Lorena to him and wrapping his arms around her like a vice. The other woman was struggling, trying to break free, but Godric never budged.
After a moment's hesitation, Sookie got to work. There was no time to waste. She went over to Godric, an apologetic look in her eye. He actually jumped when she licked the blood off his cheek, but held still when she took another gulp from an open wound that Lorena's nails had left. It was heady stuff. When she backed away, Sookie already felt like she had consumed a lot of alcohol in a short period of time. And Godric had no idea what she was doing, but he really did trust her implicitly. She knew that because she saw it, right there in his mind. Rather than delve around, intruding on the privacy of her friend, she latched on to Lorena's immobilized arm.
"Bill told you where the software is hidden, didn't he?"
Of course you little whore, but I'm never going to tell you that. It helped that Lorena was thinking the words right at her, completely unaware that Sookie could hear it all. Taunting a telepath in your mind is never a good idea.
"Just tell us where it is, and we will let you go." She felt Godric's hesitation at her words.
"Go to hell. I've already told the guards here, someone will be picking it up very soon." Just have to make it back to Bon Temps. Sookie saw it all in her head.
"He hid it in his grave? That sneaky bastard!" Lorena and Godric's eyes widened at the same time. The whole thing struck her as terribly funny. Bill using his empty grave as a hiding place, the vampire's expression. She was giggling while standing in a puddle that had once been Bill. Her rational mind knew this was very not funny, but it was quickly being overridden by something else.
"How did you?!" A gasp of realization struck her. "You're Sookie! He told me you couldn't read vampire minds."
A triumphant smile lit her face. "Shhhh, it's a secret. If I told you, I'd have to kill you." Sookie was laughing outright now.
"Sookie." Godric used that calming voice that parents use when talking to a scared child. "Did you really just read her mind?"
"Of course silly, but don't tell Eric or he'll be real angry." It was the vampire blood. She knew it even if she could do nothing to stop the affect it was having on her. No wonder some people used vampire blood like a drug. She felt amazing! Sookie weaved back and forth beside the two vampires, swaying to the music in her head.
It was in a total daze that she watched Godric reach into Lorena's chest as if it were a pocket and pluck out her heart. It was impressive because he managed to only get her blood on the one hand, even when she turned to goo right in front of him. Sookie should have been horrified, but all she could manage was a jaw drop. "I think you broke her." She told him finally, covering the laughter that escaped at her joke.
"She couldn't know, Sookie." It sounded like an explanation to her, but she couldn't process it yet. "Even if she hadn't killed Bill, no one can know what you can do."
That statement meant something to her. The significance was trying to strike her, but it was taking too long. "Sookie, we need to leave now. I need to get you out of here."
That's right. He was supposed to kill her now. She could read his mind. Vampires didn't want humans to be able to see their minds, so she was going to have to die now. Eric would be safe, though.
"Aren't you going to kill me?" She didn't sound scared or sad when she asked, just a little confused. He was holding her shoulders, keeping her still… or maybe upright? She wasn't sure.
"Why would I do that?" It was his turn to be horrified. She reached out and touched him as she had Lorena. Normal Sookie would never have invaded his mind like this, but drugged Sookie had no such inhibition.
"Oh… oh!" It was all she managed before the lights went out in the stable, or had she just closed her eyes? She never got to answer that question for her own mind as she passed out in Godric's arms.
I hope that you all enjoyed that chapter as much as I did. This might actually be one of my new favorites. It changed from my original idea, but I think it came out well.
Feel free to review and tell me if you hate me for killing off Bill!