"Come on," Sookie said gently.

Godric had slumped to the floor after his outburst, pulling her with him, and she struggled to her feet while attempting to drag him to his. They were both a mess, her dress now streaked with blood, the pale skin of the broken vampire's face and bare chest not much better.

Wordlessly he followed her, allowing Sookie to lead him by the hand, downstairs to the bathroom, where he stood idly by and watched as she filled the tub. Eric hovered outside the door, and Godric surprisingly found himself smiling in genuine amusement as his Child's irrational emotions.

"Be nice," Sookie quietly admonished, knowing full well how Eric was feeling, and Godric's grin grew wider. "I'm not getting in with you," she went on, raising her voice above the running water as Eric hung on her every word.

"He loves you," Godric replied.

She turned off the tap and gestured to the tub. "He loves us both."

Godric unceremoniously dropped his pants and gracefully slid into the hot water, hissing in pleasure before submerging himself as Sookie averted her eyes from the extraordinary view. Were she not already firmly attached to the beautiful Viking vampire in the next room, she had to admit to herself that the slight, wiry male in front of her would be hard to resist.

She kneeled by the tub and waited patiently for Godric to resurface as she dipped a washcloth into the water. The heat was barely tolerable to her, but she'd figured it wouldn't matter to him.

"It is good," he rasped, slowly rising to sit cross-legged in the water.

Sookie nodded and dragged the washcloth along his back and shoulders. There was nothing unpleasant about Godric's odor, but she could see from the mop on his head that he hadn't bathed in some time. Finding only a small bar of soap, Sookie doubted he cared much what she used, as she started working it into his hair.

"So you all purr," she mumbled, and he smiled.

"When pleased."

Sookie doubted very much that Eric was purring. "Okay, rinse," she said, gently pushing down on his shoulders, and he obediently submerged himself again. She had to admit it was fun to take her time, as Godric could indefinitely stay under until she was finished clearing away the soap. It saddened her, though, the barely mature body visible stretched out in the tub, to realize how young he must have been when turned. The urge to hold him, to share his troubles, was strong, though she resisted it.

Sookie tugged on his hair, and Godric once again rose. As she rubbed at the few remaining flecks of his blood around his eyes, he stared at her. "What?" she asked.

"You care."

"I do," she replied shakily, nodding as she swallowed.

Godric quickly stood in the tub, carefully observing himself. "I have not…" he started, but didn't finish.

"Bathed?" Sookie joked, handing him a towel.

He grunted and held the towel to his face after sniffing it. "Cared," he said finally.

There was nothing, Sookie figured, that a two thousand year-old vampire hadn't heard before, and at his age, Godric was certainly her elder. "It's hard to, sometimes," she replied. Were Eric so apathetic, or depressed, she knew she'd be in a different frame of mind, but this one…

"Is it difficult for you?" Godric asked as he pulled on his pants. She had cried with him, she had held him, she had accompanied his Child to seek him out, and he marveled at her commitment.

Sookie shrugged and bent to drain the tub. As she straightened up, she realized he was directly behind her.

Cool fingers fluttered against her back, and she guessed he was toying with her long hair. "Are you a healer, Sookie?" he asked. "A mother?" She had the admirable figure for one, and the touch for both. His Child has chosen wisely, and for the first time in months, Godric felt a flicker of happiness.

While she was sure his touch wasn't sexual, she was more concerned for Eric's feelings than her own. "Neither," she managed to say, shaking her head.

"I must go," Godric whispered. His fangs, dormant for so long, had begun to ache, and he begrudgingly admitted, he wanted to feed. Not from the enchanting creature in front of him, but from something warm...perhaps even willing. A familiar twitch between his legs raised his eyebrows, and he chuckled. "You are not a witch, either?" he joked, and Sookie gasped.

"No!" she exclaimed, confused.

He knew she was not, but he also knew, she was something more than human. "I will return," he said, and Sookie whirled around to grab his hand.

"Wait...please," she added. "Raban-"

"My loss is also his," Godric said, smiling as he cupped Sookie's face in his hands. He was still confusing her, though she could swear she felt something like affection from him. "You share my blood, as well, child," he added softly, something Sookie hadn't considered.

She supposed it explained the level of comfort she felt with him, something she definitely hadn't experienced in Stan Davis' nest, and she nodded. "Be careful. Raban wants you dead," she warned.

Godric dropped his hands and looked thoughtful. "He wishes to break me," he said. "And then probably kill me." His matter-of-fact way of speaking, even more brief and stilted that Eric's, was disconcerting.

"Either way-"

"I will return," he promised again, slipping from the room before she could protest.

Sookie did the best she could with her own appearance and sighed heavily, before leaving the bathroom. She felt dirty, and hungry, and if it weren't for Eric's blood, she reasoned she'd probably fall face-first back onto the bed.

"Your things," Eric said cautiously, eyeing her as he pointed to her bag on the floor by the bed.

"Thanks." Mentally, she felt tired. Throughout the evening, while Godric had occupied her time and attention, it had been Eric who had occupied her heart and mind. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked over her shoulder while rooting through the bag, hoping secretly to find a large breakfast nestled in her clothes.

"Sookie," Eric said, seriously enough that she turned around.

"Yeah?"

He smirked, and had her in his arms in two strides across the room. His voice was tense as he murmured heatedly in another language in her ear, gibberish as far as she was concerned, though it had her heart pounding in her chest. She may not have understood the words, but his intentions were clear.

"Alright," she said uneasily, her voice cracking, and he laughed.

"I can feel him," he said, nestling his face into her neck.

"I figured," Sookie answered distractedly, recognizing what she was 'feeling' as Eric pressed her against him. "He said we share the same blood." So when she'd felt Godric, she knew Eric could, as well.

Eric didn't answer, examining her instead, her blood-stained dress, and he allowed his fangs to drop. "You were not aroused," he said, ignoring her comment as he dropped to his knees in front of her. "Though you are now," he added, grazing her from hip to hip with his nose.

"Oh, Christ," she mumbled, wondering if she should stop him but knowing that she would not. "E-Eric?" she stammered, wobbling as he easily separated the fabric of her dress down the front with just his fingertips.

**A/N: To read the rest of this chapter, go to one of the links located in our profile. And yes, they do...**