Chapter Fifty-One:
The distance between Dallas and Shreveport felt like an eternity to Godric. He had shot to the sky the moment he received Pam's call, pushing against his own limits to ensure he arrived in time. He couldn't lose Mackenzie. He couldn't let her slip away with him without even so much of a goodbye.
He didn't even stop when he landed outside of the hospital, dashing through the hallways faster than a mere human could have. Only when he discovered a pacing Pam and a worried telepath did he slow to a stop.
"How is she?"
Both heads popped up at the sound of his voice. Relief flooded Sookie, her shoulders slumping, while Pam's gaze hardened as she motioned Godric out of the room.
"You need to talk to him," Pam glanced down the hallway where Mackenzie's room lay. "You need to get through to him."
"How bad is she?" he tried to brace himself for the worse, but he wasn't prepared for the look of defeat that fell on Pam's face. "We're losing her, aren't we?"
"We don't need to," she lowered her voice as a group of nurses passed them. "We can fix this, Godric. If we turn her…"
He stopped her, holding up his hand before she could continue. He had contemplated it, he had to admit. A part of him was against it, against turning her into what he had been for two thousand years. He wasn't sure if he could live with himself. But he certainly knew he couldn't live without her. He needed her. They all did. Even if she no longer had a beating heart.
"He's refusing?" Godric already knew the answer though. Eric had been just as hesitant to give Mackenzie his blood.
"He tried giving her his blood, but it didn't work. She's dying, Godric. We need to turn her. Now."
Godric sighed as he nodded, assuring her that he would speak with his progeny. He was not thrilled of the idea of turning her, but they needed to do whatever it took to keep her theirs.
Reaching Mackenzie's room, Godric hesitated. He wasn't sure he would ever be prepared for what he was about to witness. He still remembered when Eric had first called him to inform him of her illness. He had been so hopeful at the time that they would be able to fix this, that they could find a cure somehow. But now, as he stood there, Mackenzie's dying form just on the other side of that door, he wasn't as optimistic.
Inhaling sharply, Godric slowly drew the door open. Eric's form grew rigid as he felt his maker's presence, his hand growing tighter around his sleeping daughter's hand. He refused to meet Godric's gaze, keeping himself entirely engrossed in Mackenzie. Godric couldn't blame him. He had felt the pure anger that he held for him after learning about what had transpired between him and Mackenzie. He had betrayed his own child, sneaking around behind his back and he knew he shouldn't have. Godric deserved the anger, the fury that Eric held. He only wished Eric would be able to put it aside for the time being, for Mackenzie.
"My son…" he began, stepping into the room, his orbs flickering over Mackenzie's form. He had to close his eyes for a moment, the sight nearly too much for him to handle.
"Don't," Eric snapped in a low voice.
"I'm…"
"Don't," the Viking repeated with a hiss.
Godric bowed his head but didn't push the subject. "May I sit with her?"
Eric wanted to refuse. He wanted to demand that he leave. But he didn't want Mackenzie to detest him. Not now. Not when she was scared and dying. He would do whatever she wanted, just as long as he could have a little bit longer with her.
"You have ten minutes," Eric placed a kissed on her hand before regretfully letting go.
"Thank you."
Eric didn't even look at him as he stood and moved towards the door. He stopped at his maker's side, however, feeling nothing but hatred for the vampire he had once adored without question.
"Not matter what may happen, after this, we're done," Eric kept his voice calm, though his fists were curled into tight fists at his side.
"Eric…" Godric attempted to press his sorrow and regret through their bond, but Eric had blocked the link that once connected them.
"I want nothing to do with you. You are my maker, and I will respect that. But after this, that's it."
Eric stormed from the room before Godric could plead with him. He was not only losing Mackenzie, but his child as well. He would never allow a day to go by that he would not feel for their losses.
"Oh Mackenzie," Godric did his best to focus on the sleeping teen as he took Eric's place at her side. He wanted to reach out, to caress her, to hold her in his arms one last time. But the thought of bringing her any unnecessary pain stopped him. He would merely hold her hand if need be. It would be enough for him. "I'm so sorry this is happening to you."
When she had finally answered his call only nights ago, he had had the worst sinking feeling that something was about to occur. He couldn't shake the feeling as he took meeting after meeting with Nan in order to prepare Isabel to take over as Sheriff. All he had wanted was to rush to her side every night, just in case. And he should have. Because perhaps he would have been able to stop this, to delay the inevitable for a little while longer.
Now they were all at a crossroads. Did they let her go, or did they turn her? Did they take away the peace and happiness she may finally find after death, or did they keep her for their own selfishness? What if being vampire was not what she desired? What if she hated them all and only sought out the true death for the rest of her existence? Godric wouldn't be able to bare it, and he doubted Eric or Pam would either.
What were they supposed to do?
"I can't lose you. We cannot lose you," he ran his thumb across her knuckles, frowning at how cold she felt. They needed to come to a decision quickly, Pam was right. They were losing her with every passing moment.
He couldn't simply just take her life, however, not without trying everything. It had worked before. He had healed her twice now. What if he were able to do it again?
"I must try," Godric didn't waste a moment as he rose from the chair and placed himself on the edge of the bed. "I can't lose you, my sweet."
He brushed his lips across her forehead, pausing briefly before biting into his wrist. He gently opened Mackenzie's lips, adjusting her head so his blood could slide down her throat easily. Coaxing the sleeping girl to swallow, Godric squeezed his own wrist to force the blood out quicker. When she didn't reject the blood, he grew hopeful.
After another mouthful of blood, his wound began to heal. He didn't hesitate to rip the flesh back open. He was raising his wrist for a third time when Mackenzie began to shift on the bed. When her hand flew to his wrist as he placed it at her lips, a long, heavy sigh of relief escaped his lips.
She was returning to him.
The beeping of the monitors quickened before falling to a steadier rhythm as the colour began to return to her cheeks. Her eyes flew opened, startled at first when she found Godric feeding her his blood once again. She went to move his wrist away, realizing what was happening, but he only shook his head, caressing her cheek in encouragement. He wasn't going to take a chance of not giving her enough. He had failed her in giving her his blood days ago. He would not do so again.
Only when his wrist healed did Godric pull away, moving himself back to the chair as he watched Mackenzie cautiously. It took her a moment to get her bearings, her breathing heavy as she glanced around the room. She briefly remembered waking to find Eric at her bedside, but everything else was hazy. The last thing she truly remembered was falling unconscious on the stairs in Eric's arms. She did, however, remember the cold grasp of death, and she shuddered in hopes of ridding the chill that encased her body.
"Mackenzie?" Godric grew concern. Her emotions were a whirlwind as she slowly sat herself up with ease. Her eyes widened when she found herself no longer aching or queasy.
"You…" her gaze finally fell on the vampire. "You gave me your blood."
"I did," he nodded slowly. "How do you feel?"
Her forehead wrinkled as she searched for any indication that she was still sick, that she was still dying. But she found none. She felt perfectly healthy, just as she always did after a dose of Godric's blood.
But how long would it last this time?
She almost didn't care, though. She had been so petrified, so frightened of dying. She didn't want to just fall asleep into darkness, to just be floating in nothingness for an eternity. Not when she had so much to live for now.
Before Mackenzie could answer Godric, the door opened to reveal Eric's form. He didn't notice her healthier appearance at first, his glare settled instead on Godric.
"You can leave now."
Mackenzie chewed on her bottom lip as she shot Godric a quick look. "Eric?"
At the sound of her voice, Eric's head snapped towards her. His eyes grew as wide as saucers as he saw her sitting upright, her cheeks a light pink and her heart beating at a normal pace.
"How?" he was in disbelief. Only ten minutes ago she had been near death. "How is this…" when he noticed the blood staining her lips, his stare immediately turned to his maker. Godric lowered his gaze, uncertain of his child's reaction. "You did this?"
"I had to try." Godric admitted.
"And it worked?" Eric was suddenly on Mackenzie's other side, grasping onto her chin as he turned her head from side to side. He searched for any indication that this was a dream, that he was merely seeing things. But as he sniffed the air, searching for the stench of death, he was met with nothing. She was perfectly healthy.
Mackenzie nodded, offering the tiniest of smiles as relief flooded her guardian. She didn't even care about her own happiness. All that mattered was not to see that broken Viking ever again.
"You feel fine?" he questioned, a part of him still doubting this could be true.
"Perfectly."
"Thank god," a long sigh sounded as he drew her into an embrace, laying his cheek on the top of her head. "I wasn't ready to lose you yet."
"Ditto," her eyes fluttered close, her own arms working their way around him.
Godric watched in content as father held daughter. It was this sight that he had so desperately been trying to retain. Eric would never have been the same had he lost Mackenzie. Godric feared none of them would be.
"What the fuck?" Pam stood in the doorway gob smacked. Was what she was witnessing even real? "What the actual fuck?"
Mackenzie couldn't help but giggle at her reaction as Eric slowly drew away and glanced at his progeny.
"How is this possible?" her eyes were bugging, an unusual state for the blonde. She didn't even care how ridiculous she looked. Mackenzie was not supposed to be sitting and laughing. Not when she was supposedly dying.
"Godric gave me his blood," Mackenzie explained, trying desperately not to smile.
"But Eric's never worked," Pam shot a look between Eric and Godric. "How did…"
"I'm not sure," Godric answered honestly. "I wasn't even sure it would work. It was a desperate act."
"One that worked, apparently," Pam eyed Mackenzie, ensuring that she was indeed perfectly healthy. She was. "We can't keep her here. If someone came in here and saw her like this…"
"Pam's right," Godric nodded, knowing the risks. "It's not safe. They'll wonder how she's suddenly well."
"Home?" Mackenzie asked hopefully. She was tired of waking up in hospitals.
Eric hated himself as he shook his head, destroying her hope. "I'm sorry Mackenzie," his heart ached as her brightened expression crumbled. He needed to focus on Pam or else he would have succumbed to all of her wishes. "Call Dr. Ludwig. We'll take her to the clinic."
"Clinic?" Mackenzie didn't like the idea of more doctors, of more hospital rooms and beeping machines. She just wanted to go home.
"Of the supernatural variety," Eric explained as Pam dashed out of the room. "You're healthy, and you will never understand how relieved I am. But we don't know how long this is going to last."
"Ludwig can help us understand why my blood has worked and your father's has not," Godric offered an encouraging smile.
Her shoulders slumped forward but she nodded compliantly. "I'm demanding a long stretch of never leaving the house after this."
"Well you are grounded, after all," Eric reminded, gently tugging the wires from her before lifting her up into his arms.
Mackenzie protested, wiggling in his arms. "I can walk."
"It'll be quicker this way."
Mackenzie squeaked as Eric took off out of the room, Godric hot on their heels. She had to squeeze her eyes shut to keep from throwing up from the sharp turns Eric took before reaching the Hospital parking lot. She sighed in relief, beginning to open her eyes as suddenly, Eric pushed up into the night sky. Mackenzie screamed, digging her head into Eric's shoulder as she clutched onto him dearly.
"How the hell did I not know you could fly!"
Mackenzie wasn't sure what she was expecting as Eric landed, but she certainly wasn't expecting the run down warehouse.
"Are you sure this is where you want to take someone who was just dying?" she eyed the building with uncertainty as Eric placed her feet on the ground. "I think I'm going to catch something else."
Eric rolled his eyes as he nudged her towards the entrance. Or at least, she thought it used to be an entrance.
"It reeks," her nose scrunched up in disgust. "I think you made the wrong turn or something. Lets just go home and…"
"It's a spell to keep unwanted visitors away," Godric explained as he came to rest beside them.
"Spell?" her eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Seriously?"
"Yes, now hurry up," Eric took her by the shoulders and ever so gently began pushing her forward.
It took a great deal of strength for Mackenzie not to back peddle or dig her heels into the ground. She was shoved through the double doors before she could voice her displeasure, however, and she was speechless as she took in her surroundings.
"Holy crap!" Mackenzie's jaw dropped open.
It was as if the warehouse has transformed before her very eyes, decrepit walls breathing with a new, stark white life.
"Spell," Godric reminded, smiling slightly at her reaction.
"This is insane," she breathed out, shaking her eyes, expecting for it all to just a hallucination. Instead of dirt, the floors were tiled, leading towards a receptionist across the room. The walls, while empty, looked cleaned and nearly brand new. Even soft jazz music was playing in the waiting room to the left. It didn't even seem real.
Eric wanted to smile, to find amusement at her wide-eyed surprise, but he hadn't been able to shake the grim feeling that coursed through him despite the fact that she was perfectly healthy. He wanted to believe it would last, that if he looked away, she wouldn't drop dead. But the doubt was growing with every passing moment. He had nearly lost her twice now; he wasn't sure he could do so for a third time.
"Go sit," he nodded towards the waiting room. "I'll get Ludwig."
Her shock immediately came crashing down as he began towards the receptionist. Her hands quickly reached out, grabbing his arm like a scared little girl. She was surprised by her own reaction, her hands immediately snapping back to her side when Eric froze in place.
"Sorry," Mackenzie mumbled, her cheeks flaming. She didn't know why she was suddenly acting like she couldn't be without Eric. She wasn't five. She wasn't that little girl anymore. And yet the thought of him going anywhere out of sight frightened her.
Godric, feeling her confliction emotions, laid a hand on her shoulder and squeezed comfortingly. "Allow me."
Mackenzie shot him a grateful glance as he moved around the still frozen Eric.
"I, er…" she chewed on her bottom lip. "Sorry."
Eric finally gazed over his shoulder at her and his face fell. She was just as scared as he felt, and a part of him was comforted by this fact.
"Come here," he held an arm out, Mackenzie not hesitating before tucking herself at his side.
She felt instantly better being at his side. She felt comforted having his arm around her, as if he were protecting her from the world. Nearly dying again had given her a new perspective. She needed her father, now more than ever before.
"Sorry," she felt embarrassed that she was acting no better than a child. Despite her embarrassment, however, she never moved out of his embrace.
"Stop apologizing," he ran his fingers through her locks, toying with the ends.
"I just…" she sighed heavily, her forehead resting against his chest. "I feel like such a baby. I'm not five anymore."
"I don't mind," Eric admitted, a small smile forming on his lips. He didn't care why she needed to be close to him. He only cared that he could still hold her in his arms. "This is a far cry from demanding me to check for monsters under your bed."
Mackenzie couldn't help but snickering at the memory. "Of course I would have a monster checking for monsters."
His smile transformed into a smirk. "You used to make me get down on my knees to look. You wouldn't go to sleep until every nook and cranny was checked."
"I wanted to be thorough," she defended with a mumble.
Eric snickered as he pried her away, putting her at arms length as he tucked her hair behind her ears. "I will always defeat your monsters, Mackenzie."
She almost wanted to cry at the look of love in his eyes. When she was a child, she had always dreamed that he would look at her like that, that he would give a damn. There had been brief moments, rare times that he would shed his mask for her. But he had been so distant that they had never had the opportunity to bond. Now she finally had everything she always wanted. She had a family. She had a father that loved her.
She just prayed that she wouldn't succumb to this illness.
"Eric?" her voice was tiny, her mouth going dry at what was about to ask of him.
"Hm?"
"I ah, I heard you and Pam earlier," she chewed on her bottom lip nervously. "Before I woke up? I, er, I heard the two of you talking."
That emotionless mask was settled back in place just like that. "I see."
"Well it's just…" she didn't know how to ask him for this. "I don't want to die, Eric."
"And you won't," Eric assured. "Ludwig will determined why Godric's blood will heal you and then we will fix this."
"But what if there's no solution?" she hadn't had much time to think about it. She had never thought about it before, the other option. She had always just assumed there was no other way, that she was going to die. But then Godric had given her his blood multiple times, and there had been hope. Yet it didn't last. She doubted it ever would.
But there was another way.
"If there's not, if Godric's blood can't fix this, I want you to turn me," she quickly blurted out before she lost the nerve.
Eric stared down at her, his mask faltering. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "No."
She tried not to let his rejection sting her, but it was difficult. "No? You're just going to let me…"
"You won't die. This will work," he insisted, shaking his head as he moved around her. "Godric is taking too long. I'm going to find Ludwig."
"But Eric…"
"Enough, Mackenzie. That's enough."
He was gone before she could even argue, leaving her alone in the waiting room. She felt helpless and lonely, just standing there waiting for what her fate may be. She knew Eric wouldn't approve, that it would be difficult for him to agree. But she had been hopeful. Now Mackenzie started doubting everything. All she wanted was to live, even if that did mean she would be the undead.
She just didn't want to die.
A/N: We are super close to the finish, and I hate that I have to say I'm not sure when the last couple of chapters will happen. I just started my summer placement this week and it's already crazy hectic. I'm going to try and find some time at night to write, or on the weekend, but I can't promise anything. So keep with me. I promise this will end off with a bang. Which brings me to...
I need major help decided on exactly HOW I'm going to end this. I have two options that I need some help with.
1) There is a sequel. This likely wouldn't happen for awhile. Like a long while. I want to work on my other fics for a bit, and jumping into the actual PR world is insane. I do have an idea of what I would do with the sequel though, it just wouldn't be in the near future.
2) A juicy epilogue that would happen much much sooner that would have the same end result, just without everything in between (aka, smut, Daddy Eric bonding, etc etc). But would be crazy packed with greatness.
So, what do you guys think? I cannot for the life of me decide, so give me your opinions! This is your fic just as much as it is mine.
