I'm uploading this update via mobile because it's been in the Doc. Manager for a while, however I can't respond to individual reviews this way, but thank you to every reviewer! Of course, as you know by now, I had to rearrange certain dialogue to allow for fitting Godric into that scene and keep its meaning the way it was in the show. If Godric had to die, Russell should've died too, in my humble opinion, so poof, he's gone. Let's just keep this train moving right along then...
Crystal was in a fit of laughter at Sam's stories of his encounters with strange customers at his bar. She finally caught her breath and couldn't help laughing again. "She really started taking off all her clothes?"
"I put it on everything I'm worth she did. I had to ban her from the place! But not before everyone's eyes were burned right out their sockets." He said as he drove. "I'm tellin' you, when that dress came off I thought the Hoover Dam busted open the way she was flowin' out every which way."
She started laughing harder. "Oh my God Sam, stop it I'm actually crying!" She wiped her eyes and took a breath, calming herself. "Ohhhhh man. Why am I not working at Merlotte's? I would've gotten a kick out of that." She said, shaking her head as he pulled up in front of the Holiday Inn.
"I'm sorry about Godric, he's very protective of me sometimes. Though he generally doesn't act that way with normal humans, he has a thing against Weres though." She shook the image of him decapitating that one in Sookie's home out of her head. "You aren't a Were, are you?" She asked.
"God no." Sam replied, "I'm not a Were." If only she knew what he really was...
"It's alright, I'm not offended. Vampire or not, I can see why someone would get protective of you."
Crystal was about to respond, when she realized what he had said. She gave him a look of circumspect before replying, "What's that supposed to mean?"
Sam became visibly uncomfortable, averting his blueish grey-eyed gaze down as he readjusted himself in the driver's seat. "Nothin'" he finally said.
"Doesn't seem like nothing." She reached over and nudged him with her hand, causing him to look back up at her again. She couldn't put her finger on it but something about him was deja-vu'ing the hell out of her recent memory. "Tell me?" She asked, hopeful that he'd speak up.
He finally shrugged, "I'm way outta line sayin' this but...you're a beautiful woman, to me at least. I'd be protective over you too if I were him. Don't want anyone steppin' in on his territory."
"Aw Sam, you think I'm beautiful? That's nice of you to say, don't feel bad about it." She smiled, feeling her cheeks growing hot, which was not a good sign. Her skin tone had no qualms against reddening as proof of giddy-ness, and she was just not in a good situation right now. The SoCos had her loopier than usual, she wondered why she wasn't falling all over on her face by now. She had only had two of them, however.
"I'd better get going." She finally said, reluctantly putting her hand onto the handle of the truck that Sam drove. She wasn't ready to turn in for the night, plus what would she do all night alone? She was so used to sleeping during the day thanks to Godric's schedule...and all of a sudden it felt all too familiar, like Jackson.
"Don't be a stranger whenever you're in Bon Temps. You're always welcome to Merlotte's." He said, watching her as she pushed herself out of the truck. He could have offered...but as pretty as she was to him, she was taken. Just like Sookie. Tara was emotionally taken. He just had to look elsewhere.
"I'll stop through next time I'm in town." She said, walking towards the hotel. She glanced over her shoulder to see him watching her carefully, making sure she got inside safely, but to his bewilderment, after she turned back around, she stopped dead in her tracks, standing there for a few seconds.
"You alright?" He asked, wondering why she was standing there so frigidly. Crystal whipped around and ran back to the car, leaning into the window.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry Sam, I know we just met and all but...I can't be alone tonight. I'll find my way to Fangtasia and get myself into some shit, I just know it. I can't take it, I'll drive myself crazy." She breathed, rambling in a run-on sentence. He blinked in surprise, just staring at her. Crystal wanted to kick herself, she was so stupid. Why would this man be interested in wasting his entire night entertaining her? He didn't know her from a can of paint.
"I'll find a parking space." He said, shifting the gear out of Park. She stepped back, relieved as he drove off around the back to the parking lot. Suddenly, she felt more at-ease. Her anxiety went down tenfold. She walked around the back where there was a smoking area. Nobody was there, so she pulled out he cellphone and started to dial Godric.
"I can check in, if you'd like." Sam walked over to her, noticing she was about to take a phone call.
"Could you please? I'll only be a little while out here." She appreciated his gentle understanding of her circumstances.
"I'll wait in the lobby." He said with a small smile. He left her and ran his hand through his messy locks, amazed that she had a sudden change of heart. He told himself to think nothing of it, however. He glanced over his shoulder and saw her stamp her foot in frustration and redial a number again.
'She's probably trying to call that vampire.' He thought to himself. It was dark and the back lot was seedy and dangerous for someone like her. Once he was safely around the building and out of eyeshot, he pulled his clothes off and stuffed them behind one of the potted plants, and he dropped to his knees, effortlessly transforming into the beautiful border collie from earlier that evening. He dashed around to where she stood, and laid down out of her line of vision, listening to her intently.
She sighed, "Godric, what's going on? You never just ignore a phone call that's important, and I'd think me calling you is important enough. I just-" She looked around before she continued hopelessly, "I just want to make sure everything is alright with you, and Eric and everything. So...call me back alright?"
She pressed end and rested her back against the brick wall, shoving her phone into her back pocket. "God, I may as well have kept my powers since nothing went back to normal."
"Well look what we have here..." A man rasped as he noticed Crystal. He was of average height and thin. He had a buzzcut and appeared to be missing a couple of teeth, along with a nice row of yellow ones too. "How much you charge?"
She scoffed, "I'm not a prostitute, asshole." She pushed herself off the wall and rolled her eyes, walking past him.
"Not so fast honey, why don't we get to know each other a little better?" For someone who looked sickeningly skinny, he sure did have a nice tight hold on her arm. She yanked it but he pulled tighter, causing her to stumble into his body.
"Get OFF me." She was getting more angrier than frightened. She swung her elbow around and successfully hit the man in his gut. He let go of her and fell backwards.
"You little bitch." He grunted, getting to his feet and preparing himself to go after her, when in a brilliant show of timing, Sam, in his border collie form, lunged for the man and sunk his teeth into his thigh. Crystal gasped in shock at seeing the dog again.
The man howled in pain, falling to the ground. Sam growled, ripping at the skin and snapping at the man's ear, leaving bitemarks and wounds wherever he could. Finally the man was able to grab the dog's ear and yank it roughly. Sam whimpered in pain and the man crawled off, getting to his feet and sprinting off into the distance. Sam started to chase after him, but Crystal stopped him.
"Sammy! Come here boy! It's alright!" She called the dog by the name she remembered Sam told her. She was blissfully unaware of the fact that the dog actually was Sam. He turned around and darted back towards her, licking all over her face. She laughed.
"How'd you find me out here Sammy! This is pretty far from Merlotte's!" She ran her hands through his fur. "Thank you for saving me, and saving that man. If Godric would have felt me in danger, that man would be dead right now. Though he rightfully deserves it. Good job." She kissed his forehead.
Sam wagged his tail and nestled his head against the side of her leg. "Wanna hear something funny?" She asked, and Sam sat down and looked up at her expectantly. "I always thought that dogs made the best boyfriends. They nearly hit the roof every single time you come home, they always give you love and affection, and they're always ready to forgive."
He barked and ran around in a circle, sitting down again.
"You agree huh?" She kneeled down and ran her fingers underneath his chin affectionately. "Well let's keep this between you and I then, you can be my boyfriend. I won't tell Godric, okay?" She giggled as the dog enthusiastically jumped around in a circle, barking. Suddenly, he came up to her and licked her right at her mouth.
"Oh God Sammy, you could have warned me for that!" She sputtered, laughing as she hugged the dog. "Fuck...Sammy! Sam! I forgot about Sam, shit." She realized she had kept the kind man waiting who decided to keep her loony ass company all night. The collie sprinted off around the building.
She wanted to go off after him, but thought better of it and rushed into the hotel lobby. She looked around, however, and saw no Sam Merlotte. Where had he gone? She then started to feel embarrassment seep into her mind. He probably left. He probably realized how crazy she was and decided it'd be better if he wasn't involved with her. That was it, he stood her up.
She went to the counter to check in, when she felt his hand on her lower back. He was breathing heavily, like he had just got done running laps or something. "I was looking for you!" He exclaimed.
"For me? I was looking for you! I thought you went back on my offer." She said.
"Of course not, I wouldn't think of doin' such a thing Crystal. I just got a little worried because you were takin' a while, but once I got out there I couldn't find you." He lied, albeit convincingly. He wasn't trying to deceive her, but he wasn't necessarily trying to scare her off either.
'Hi, my name is Sam Merlotte. I'm a Shapeshifter and I was that Border Collie who stuck it's nose up your skirt earlier this evening. Wonderful to meet you.'
It sounded nuts.
"I was being harassed by some jerk, but Sammy came and saved me!"
He gave a faux look of surprise. "Really? The border collie? I wonder how he found his way out to the Holiday Inn!"
She shrugged, signing the papers as she checked in at the front desk. "I have no clue! But boy you missed it, he went right after this guy who had his hands on me. Ripped him a new one, several times over I swear!" The clerk handed her a small plastic card as her key and she walked down the hall with Sam.
"Looks like you have a secret admirer." He joked...well at least partially.
"I have such a soft spot for dogs. A dog can make me melt like butter no matter how angry I am, especially one as beautiful as Sammy." She opened the door and turned to him, but noticed something on his jaw.
"What's that?" She pointed to what looked like a bit of smeared blood.
Sam immediately touched the spot and wiped it off, wanting to kick himself a dozen times over for missing a spot when he was hurriedly cleaning himself from the attack. "I ran into the side of the buildin'...made too sharp of a turn." He quickly said as he followed her into the room.
"Oh, I do that sometimes. Most times I trip over my own feet and just eat massive shit-" Just as she said that, she tripped over a small wrinkle in the carpeting and nearly went down to eat shit, until Sam caught her.
"Careful, your vampire is gonna be lookin' for any signs of pain on you soon as evenin' hits. I value my life." He smiled his charming smile and she found her cheeks growing hot again. He noticed this and immediately returned her to her feet, so as to break their physical closeness.
"Thanks for that." She remarked kindly, going over to the bed and kicking off her flats. She pulled the blanket up and got underneath it. He followed, but sat on the edge of the bed.
"Am I making you feel awkward?"
"No, not at all. I just don't wanna overstep my boundaries, that's all." He assured her. If it were up to him, he'd be right under those blankets with her, feeling her heart race against his own, feeling her touches across his human body.
"You're too polite Sam. I'm not asking you to have sex with me, trust me, you're fine." She patted the space next to her, and he threw caution to the wind and decided to crawl up next to her. He did, however, remain on the outside of the blankets. As soon as he laid his head down, she moved closer to him and laid her head on his chest. He looked down at her, watching for some kind of reaction, but she just stared at the nothingness in the corner of the room. Slowly, he wrapped his arms around her, and she sighed softly in contempt.
"I can hear your heartbeat." She finally spoke. "It's nice."
"He holds you, doesn't he?" Sam asked.
"Yeah...but I don't hear his heartbeat. I don't feel his chest rising and falling with oxygen." She realized she was comparing them, when she really shouldn't be. "Just saying." She added, as if that was going to make things any less wrong. She had to face the facts, if Godric was all hugged up in bed with Itza, she'd drive a stake through the both of them. Godric wouldn't appreciate what she was doing, but she tried to tell herself it didn't mean anything. She kept repeating those words in her head until she believed them.
Sam Merlotte told that it didn't mean anything. It must have just been a sexual attraction. He would inevitably be left in the dust when she runs off with that vampire tomorrow, and probably never hear from her again.
Godric could not believe his own ears. Sookie was of faerie ancestry? Even he had not encountered faerie in his whole existence. He waited for the opportune moment to involve himself, rather than to just bombard inside, baring all.
Itza was growing impatient. "Sookie's screaming. They're draining her." She whispered, but Godric gave her a look that made her quiet down. She closed her mouth and had faith in her Maker to see things through. There was a moment of silence before they heard anything.
"Unchain me, I have to feed Sookie." Bill urged.
"There's faeries...fucking faeries." Russell said in disbelief as he and Pam watched Eric emerge into the sunlight on the surveillance, unharmed after drinking Sookie's blood. "Who knew!"
Pam was simply mesmerized by the fact that there would be an opportunity to walk in the sun again. She was amazed that the plan worked, and Eric was out in the sunlight, looking around at the scenery in front of him. He turned to the cameras and gestured for Russell to follow.
A few exchanges followed.
"What are you waiting for?" Pam said to Russell, who immediately staggered out into the sunlight. It was at this point, Godric vamped from the back room, and Itza followed.
"Godric!" Pam turned to him and exclaimed, suddenly she was worried for Eric. Godric approached the bar in sheer awe, watching his progeny stand out in the sunlight, Russell standing next to him. Itza watched the monitor and even though she was newborn, she understood how magnificent this event was. She quietly watched, silently grateful that he was alright.
"I cannot believe what I am seeing." He knew not what to do himself. He had longed to see the sunlight again, to feel it warm his cool skin once more. Suddenly, they witnessed Eric hooking silver handcuffs on himself and Russell, and they both went down on the cement together. Itza gasped and vamped to the door, but when Godric pulled her back.
"You cannot go out in the sunlight!"
"I need to do SOMETHING!" Itza screamed, vamping back to the monitor and trying to think. Godric followed.
"If I do not give Sookie my blood, she will die!" Bill struggled in his chains, wincing at the burn.
Watching the scene unfold struck a chord inside of Godric. He understood his child's vendetta against Russell, but look at what it was costing him. His hatred was costing his own life, and the life of his own Maker; for the death of a progeny is like death for his Maker, who feels a horrible pain that words can never begin to explain.
"He can't do this." Godric uttered. Within seconds, he unchained Bill and hurriedly, the now released vampire bit into his wrist and fed Sookie.
"What are you doing?" Pam asked worriedly, her attention unwillingly turned to the quickly recovering Sookie.
"This will not solve anything Pam. This hatred has no meaning." Godric gestured to the television, where Eric was bellowing out in pain, his face peeling from the burning heat. "My child is going to die because of something that I considered dying myself in an attempt to end: hate."
"But Russell killed Eric's family..." Pam started to explain.
"As Eric did to Talbot. There is no need for this to go on any further." Godric countered. He would go out and rescue his child himself, but he being so old, he would quickly be consumed by the flames of the sun. His only hope was the telepath who was slowly slipping back into consciousness.
Sookie came to and once she sat up and was revitalized, the first thing she did was slap Bill.
"You fucking betrayed me, again!" She yelled.
Bill stood up angrily. "I only pretended to betray you so that I could save your life, again! And it worked, Russell is gone."
Sookie looked around. "Godric...? Pam? Where's Eric?"
"Outside..." Pam sniffled, watching the monitor, "Burnin'."
Godric vamped over to Sookie, "He's bound himself to Russell by silver, believing that was the only way to kill him."
"I can't let him do that!" She exclaimed, running for the door. Godric vamped in front of her.
"I know Eric. He will refuse your help. He wants to avenge his human father, but please, Sookie, please ignore his pleas and save my child. He has to learn forgiveness, to let go of what has happened in the past. To release his hatred. There is not much time." He stepped aside and Sookie gave him a sure-fire nod and rushed outside to where Eric and Russell lay.
Godric sat at the bar, watching the monitor closely, his fists curled tightly. Itza turned away, unable to take anymore. There was arguing that could be heard, Russell was yelling and all of a sudden Sookie lifted her hand and a bright ball of energy emerged, breaking open the silver link between the two vampires. She expelled another force and sent Russell flying against the fence. Immediately, she grabbed Eric and dragged him back into the safety of Fangtasia.
"He needs blood." Pam stated urgently, "Human blood. He's too weak to draw fang."
Sookie looked at Bill and dared him to challenge her as she commanded with her wrist held up, "Bite me."