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3. Troldtog – Lyric Suite, Op. 54, No. 3 – Edward Grieg

"I promise this is safe. Nothing will happen to you or Kylie," Liv assured the scared woman next to her, giving her six-year-old daughter an encouraging smile and waiting for them to slip through the door.

She felt a deep sense of relief when they were all inside, surrounded by the familiar sounds, smells and sights of Fangtasia. She could see, though, that it had the opposite effect on Becca, who looked ready to grab her daughter and bolt. Liv caught the other woman's frightened gaze and waited for her to take a few deep breaths before she led them the short way to Eric's office, knocking lightly on the door.

"My door is always open for you, Liv," Eric said from behind her, a smirk in his voice, though when she turned around she could see that he was studying her two companions with concerned interest.

"This is Becca and her daughter Kylie," she said softly. "I know you're busy, but do you think you could spare a few moments for us? Please?"

In response, Eric reached around her to push the door open, waving them inside. Liv was glad to see that he had toned down his amusement and had assumed a calm, non-threatening demeanor. She still wished Godric was here because being reassuring just didn't come as naturally to Eric.

"Godric is running an errand for me, but he should be back in a few minutes if you want to wait," Eric offered softly, handing Liv two bottles from the mini-fridge he kept in his office and nodding towards their two guests, both of whom seemed to be trying to disappear into the sofa cushions.

"I think this is something we have to discuss with you, as sheriff," Liv replied even quieter, then turned around to crouch down in front of the two humans to offer the apple juice to Kylie and the sports drink to Becca. From this close and in the harsher lighting of Eric's office, the bruise on Becca's face and her tear-red eyes were even more apparent. "Do you want to explain?"

Becca shook her head, throwing Eric a fearful glance and pulling Kylie tighter against her side.

"Okay. You don't have to," Liv murmured soothingly.

She turned around to Eric, keeping her voice soft and low as she started to explain the situation to him, "Becca is in a bad situation at home and she came to the clinic for help. Normally we would contact one of the organizations we work with or call the police, but in this case they might not be able to protect her because…"

"It's a vampire," Eric concluded for her, acknowledging her nod with a light exhalation. "Name?"

"Richard," Becca whispered, speaking up for the first time, her hands twisting together in her lap. "I don't know his last name."

"Does he have dark hair, a stocky build and a scar above his right eyebrow?" Eric asked gently.

Becca gave a jerky nod that turned into a wild flail when there was a soft knock on the door. Godric slipped into the office a moment later, sending Becca an apologetic smile as he waited for a tiny, elderly woman in blue, flowery scrubs to follow him into the room.

"Please, there is no need for alarm, Miss," Godric murmured, carefully moving around the two humans on the couch and lightly caressing Liv's arm before he positioned himself next to Eric. "No one will do you or your daughter harm here. And if you allow it, we would all like to help you and make you feel safe again."

Eric nodded in agreement, giving Becca an encouraging smile, and whether it was due to Godric's calming aura or Eric's mellowed charm, Becca seemed to relax a little. She absently ran her hand through Kylie's wild brown hair as they both watched the tiny woman's off-gaited, yet purposeful approach.

"What have you done now?" the woman demanded angrily, throwing Eric a glare as she set down her heavy doctor's bag and then straightened as much as her hunched back would allow.

Her stance softened only marginally as she turned towards Becca, assessing her with a practiced, critical gaze. "Let me see your wrists."

"I already dressed her wounds," Liv interjected, moving a little closer so that she would be able to intervene before this strange woman decided to undo her bandages and irritate Becca's injuries.

"Diagnosis?" the small woman demanded shortly, releasing Becca's wrists and turning her attention to Liv.

"I think you should first tell me who you are, ma'am," Liv argued, lightly resting her gloved hand on Becca's shoulder and rubbing it in small, soothing circles. The woman's diminutive height didn't exactly lend itself to being threatening and Becca seemed to be holding up okay for the moment, but Liv still didn't want her to feel harassed or cornered.

"I'm Dr. Ludwig," the apparent doctor replied with an impatient hand-wave and something like a hint of approval in her watery blue eyes, handing Becca a small, white business card. "Do keep up. I charge extra for wasting my time."

"It's okay, Liv," Becca murmured weakly, barely glancing at the card before she passed it on to Liv. "Just tell her what she wants to know."

Liv scrutinized the card for a moment longer, though really the only information on it was the name "Patricia Ludwig, MD" above a telephone number and a local address in clear silver font. She turned back to Dr. Ludwig, still a bit surprised that for once she had to tilt her head downward to meet the other woman's penetrating stare. "Second-degree friction burns, minor bruising on the face and torso and severe anemia."

"You've cleaned and disinfected her wrists before you put the bandages on?" Dr. Ludwig demanded further, peering at her through her thick rectangular glasses.

"Of course."

"Antibiotics?" Dr. Ludwig asked next.

Liv shook her head. "No. Becca knows what symptoms to look out for in case of an infection, but as it is her injuries should heal well."

"And the anemia?" Dr. Ludwig wanted to know, still studying her with laser-sharp eyes that were starting to become a little disconcerting.

"Intravenous administration of isotonic fluids," Liv stated. "And she needs rest and to know that she's safe, which is why I was hoping for Eric's help."

"Good," Doctor Ludwig declared with a satisfied nod, reached for her bag and turned towards the door. "I will see you on Monday, 8 o'clock – in the morning, mind you! I don't set my business hours by the dead. And don't be late."

"Excuse me, but late for what?" Liv asked, patting Becca's shoulder one last time before she drew back.

"Did you expect me to hire you based on a vampire's recommendation?" Dr. Ludwig retorted with a derisive snort, sending Eric another glare as if she expected him to shrink down to her size. "I have questions for you. So if you want the job you better bring answers – and your references."

Liv still felt that she was missing some key bits of information, but Dr. Ludwig didn't give her a chance to reply, hobbling towards the door and banging it shut behind her with surprising force. Becca winced at the sudden, loud noise and Liv decided that she had more pressing matters to attend to. She threw Eric a quick look, hoping to communicate that they would discuss this confusing byplay later, and then turned her focus back on Becca.

The two vampires seemed to catch on immediately and Godric softly cleared his throat. "Would you feel comfortable with answering a few of our questions, Miss?"

He sighed a moment later, and even Liv could see Becca tense up, her breaths coming in panicked gasps as her hands shook.

"Mom?" Kylie whispered worriedly, timidly patting her hand. "Mom? What's wrong? Do we have to run again?"

Liv's heart clenched at that question, helpless anger and sheer devastation rising in her throat at the thought of what their lives must have been like these last few weeks for Kylie to go there. She kneeled down in front of the small six-year-old, keeping a modest but still safe distance between them, and did her best to sound calm and reassuring.

"This is all pretty scary, huh?" Kylie looked at her with wide brown eyes and nodded jerkily. "It's scary for your mom, too, you know? But I think I know how you can make her feel better. I need you to give her a really tight hug - can you do that for me?" She smiled encouragingly when Kylie nodded with a little more confidence. A moment later, Kylie slipped her thin arms around Becca's waist, who reacted immediately by pulling her in against her side and wrapping her in a tight embrace. "Good, that's very good. Just keep holding her and I'm going to talk to my friends for a moment so that we can figure out how to keep you and your mom safe, okay?"

She got to her feet again and quickly closed the distance to where Godric and Eric were still waiting, knowing that they could read the plea in her eyes by the way Godric gently took her hand and Eric straightened almost imperceptibly.

"You said you needed more information?" she asked quietly.

"How long has this been going on?" Eric asked.

"About five weeks, I think. She used to work at a gas station and he would come in and buy Tru Blood and try to chat her up. She says he was always polite and respectful, as far as she can remember. Then one night her car wouldn't start and he offered to drive her home."

"She invited him inside?" Godric asked, lightly squeezing her fingers.

"She says she doesn't remember it, just as she doesn't remember how she got her injuries or why she was fired from her job," she answered, throwing a cautious look at Becca and Kylie, who were still huddled together. "I think he's been glamouring her, erasing any memories of him being an abusive jerk.

"But she still remembers some of it, enough to be afraid. She tried to get away several times, but he always caught up to them and dragged her back. She tried to seek help from the police and other hospitals, but…"

"Does he sleep at her house?" Godric questioned, his cool body pressing reassuringly against her side.

Liv shook her head. "She says he always shows up shortly after sundown. She tried changing the locks, but of course that didn't stop him."

"Has he claimed her?" Eric wanted to know, continuing in an even softer tone when he saw her hesitation. "We need to know, Liv."

Liv sighed, then gave a small, reluctant nod.

"That complicates things," Eric admitted, almost absently reaching out to squeeze Liv's shoulder.

"Please," Liv whispered, hoping that Becca and Kylie had not heard Eric's last words. "He's been hurting her for weeks and just because he can it doesn't mean he has any right."

"We know that, Liv," Godric murmured.

"Unfortunately this isn't the first report about Dick's misconduct around women," Eric added with a frown. "That's why Sophie-Anne sent him to my area. She was hoping I could stop him from returning to his old ways, but I must say I'm getting rather tired of this task. It might be time for a more permanent solution."

He stared at Godric as he said it, a whole, wordless conversation unfolding between them over the next few minutes. Liv still wasn't quite sure how that worked and Godric's attempt at an explanation, which had started reasonably enough with Morse code, had quickly derailed into a comparison to pantomime where Godric was moving Eric's hands and had not helped to clear things up for her.

Since she didn't know how long their non-verbal discussion would take, she went to check on Becca and Kylie instead. She smiled slightly when she found the little girl fast asleep in her mother's lap and Becca looking at least a little calmer.

"Are you sure they will help?" Becca whispered as soon as Liv had sat down, throwing a worried glance at the two vampires. "Maybe we should have run instead."

"I am sure," Liv answered without hesitation. "And I understand that you find it hard to trust vampires right now and you have every right to be wary. But this isn't something we can handle on our own."

"But they're not handling anything!" Becca argued, still in a whisper, carding a trembling hand through her daughter's hair. "If he finds us… I can't go back to… to…"

She broke off as tears sprung to her eyes. Liv bit her own lip, resisting the urge of offering Becca a hug and instead offered her a handkerchief. "That won't happen. I promise we will keep you and your daughter safe. I promise, okay? Let me just check in with Eric and Godric so that we can get you to a safe place for tonight."

She waited for Becca's hesitant nod and then went back over to the two vampires, slipping back into her previous spot.

"No," Godric protested, staring up at Eric even as he put an arm around Liv's waist.

Eric sighed and they exchanged another series of speaking looks that ended when Eric turned to her.

"How would you feel about being bait?"

"I think I need you to be a bit more specific," Liv answered cautiously, noting the unhappy look on Godric's face.

"You know that vampire law doesn't include provisions for the safety of humans, and since he has claimed her, we have no legitimate reason to intervene on her behalf," Eric explained quietly. "But if he were to approach you…"

"I could intervene," Godric finished. "I would be perfectly within my rights to defend you in whatever way I saw fit."

"And with that you mean…"

"He was here when Eric introduced us and he heard my warning," Godric confirmed gently. "I was not speaking in hyperbole, Liv."

"Or I could warn him away from your friend and probably scare him straight for a while - but it probably won't last. And the next woman might not be lucky enough to wander into your clinic," Eric added, not unkindly.

Liv took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment, feeling both Godric and Eric rest a hand on her shoulders in support. It didn't help, not really, but she was still grateful to them. She opened her eyes again and glanced over at Becca's huddled form, the small six-year-old cradled in her lap, and tried to take resolve from that. "What do you need me to do and what about Becca?"

"I will take her and her daughter to a hotel for the night. With any luck, we should be able to settle this before sunrise so that she can return to her own home tomorrow," Eric offered, getting out his phone to make a reservation.

"Could you ask Pam to accompany you?" Liv asked carefully. "I know she is… well, Pam, but I still think Becca would feel better if there was another woman with you."

Eric nodded and exchanged another look with Godric.

"Did he give her his blood?"

"No, she doesn't think so," Liv answered, which seemed to align with their impression. "And I went through the drive-thru at KFC so that he wouldn't be able to follow us – or at least not as easily."

Godric smiled approvingly at her, though there was still a somber look in his eyes. Or maybe that was just Liv projecting her own worries onto him.

v-v

Liv had been sitting on Becca's stoop for less than twenty minutes when the flimsy light of the single entrance lamp was suddenly obscured by a looming shadow of a man - a vampire, with muddy brown hair, heavy brows and a stocky figure.

"Well hello there. What's a pretty thing like you doing sitting out here all alone?" he greeted her, his jowly face stretching into a welcoming smile. He was about what Liv had expected from Eric's description and although there was not much of a physical resemblance, something in his deep set eyes still reminded her of Stan and more strikingly of Claudius, Godric's maker. It did not help her nerves.

"I'm waiting for a friend," Liv replied, getting to her feet and taking a step back. Richard moved closer again. "Becca? Maybe you know her?"

The name threw him for a second, Liv was almost certain, though he refitted his smile a moment later. "Oh, yes, Becca. Sweet girl. Just like you."

He slinked even closer, all but crowding her against the door and very obviously inhaling her scent. "My name's Richard, by the way. And you are?"

"I think we've met before. I'm Godric's," Liv replied, partly because she still didn't like the idea of tricking someone – even someone as despicable as Richard – into signing their own death warrant and mostly because she was by now so uncomfortable that she just wanted to leave. "I should go. Would you let me through, please?"

"Oh, I remember," Richard declared with a smile like a hyena, shifting into her path when she tried to slip past him. "You shouldn't waste your time on a man-child like that. You deserve to be with a real man. Come inside with me, doll. We'll have a good time."

He was staring intensely into her eyes as he said it, his own eyes dark and promising, his voice smooth and hypnotic, like a caress. Liv swallowed against the sudden urge to gag and pressed her back against the door, the door knob digging almost reassuringly into her side. She slid her hand into the pocket of her jacket for the silver spray Eric had pressed on her.

"You know you want to," Richard continued, his fangs peaking over his bottom lip. "Oh, but you're asking for it, aren't you? I can hear your heart pounding in excitement, all that delicious blood just waiting to be tapped. I'm going to enjoy breaking you in."

"Godric," Liv whispered with her last breath, her heart slamming in her throat as Richard pressed even closer and just grinned wider.

"Forget about him. He'll never know that I took you out for a test drive – and neither will you."

His hand landed heavily on her neck, his eyes still glimmering with faux charm, another threatening promise on his lips. Her scream ripped from her throat, drowned out everything else just as her vision overlaid reality. She still noticed when he was torn away from her, maybe just a second later, but then her world turned to blood and darkness, the ripping, tearing, shredding of a horror movie, more sound than sight.

After it was over she slid bonelessly to the ground, pulled her knees up to her chest and just tried to blend everything out while she focused on her breathing. Inhale. Hold. Exhale. Repeat. Repeat.

She didn't know how long she had been sitting there when Godric softly called her name and very carefully touched her knee. It took her a while before she managed to open her eyes and turn her head enough to find Godric kneeling at her side. He would have looked merely young and worried if it hadn't been for the red splatters on his skin and clothes. Liv didn't need to ask whose blood it was.

Godric had killed Richard, probably torn him apart in mid-air from what she had seen in her visions; and she knew that this was exactly what she had signed up for, that it wasn't even a slight variation of the plan they had laid out for her. But it still felt like a punch to the gut, a deafening clamor from her guilty conscience that didn't care one wit about vampire law or Godric's protective intentions or even that Richard had proven to be exactly as vile and odious as she had been told to expect.

It would have been easier, somehow, if looking at Godric's blood-soaked appearance had made her fear for her own safety, if it could have been as straight-forward and logical as that. But that wasn't it. She knew without a shadow of a doubt that Godric would never lay a harmful finger on her, would in fact do everything in his power to keep her happy and safe. And yet. She was so used to thinking of Godric as her gentle giant, larger than life in everything but his actual stature, that she didn't know how to handle this side of him, the joyful savagery and atavistic bloodlust with which he had ripped Richard to shreds. Perhaps she had been naïve in thinking that she could just ignore the flashes of violence she had seen in her visions, the crimes and atrocities Godric had confessed to, that she could relegate them to his past and separate them neatly from her sweet and perfect gentleman.

"Liv," he said her name again, and she could read the fear in his eyes, fear that she wouldn't be able to accept this, that she would turn away now that she had seen his vampiric side.

It gave her the push to unfold from her cramped position, swallow her nerves and gently rest her hand on his cheek. "I still love you, fangs and all."

Godric leaned into her touch immediately and scooted a little closer. "I would ask if you're okay, but I know you're not. What can I do to make this better?"

"I don't know," Liv admitted in a whisper, closing her eyes. "I'm sorry. I know you're a vampire, but maybe I never quite thought that through to the end."

"It's okay not to be okay with this, Liv," Godric assured her gently. "I've always admired your clear sense of right and wrong – and you don't have to shield me from your opinions."

"But my sense of right and wrong doesn't apply in your world, does it?" Liv asked, feeling Godric softly shake his head against hers.

"I'd still like to hear your thoughts, Liv, especially if there's something troubling you."

Liv curled up more firmly into Godric's careful embrace, whispering her confession against his chest, "I hate that you killed someone. And I hate even more that it was my decision. That I used you like that. That he's dead because I made that choice."

"He's dead because he made a career of abusing women and because he tried to hurt you," Godric corrected her gently. "His death is only the last consequence of the many bad choices he made."

"And is that justice?" Liv asked in a pained whisper.

"In my world? Yes," Godric admitted after a moment of hesitation, pressing a careful kiss into her hair. "He should never have dared to approach you in such a manner, Liv. Never. There're very few iron-clad rules in our society, but this is one of them. And for good reason. There was much strife and bloodshed before it was agreed upon."

He sighed before he continued in an even softer tone of voice, "It takes a certain temperament to survive as a vampire, something like ruthlessness for lack of a better word, and I think most of us have learned not to give too much thought to guilt and remorse. Those are dangerous emotions when you've lived an eternity in darkness and shadows."

Liv opened her eyes again, reaching out to rub her thumb over Godric's cheekbone. "Like they had been for you when we first met."

Godric nodded, smiling carefully at her. "You and Eric helped me to find my way back, both in your own way. I still have many regrets, but I no longer hate myself for things I can't change. And I cannot regret this; I cannot regret protecting you or your friend."

Liv sighed quietly, finding that her heart was beating a little easier in her chest. "Promise me this won't be the solution to all of our problems."

"I promise, Liv," Godric vowed immediately.

"Then will you take me home and hold me for a while?" Liv asked.

"I can do that. Let me just…" Godric blurred into motion and a swiveling, disorienting second later he was back with her – sans his sweater and most of the blood. "Are you ready to go home, cridiíon imon?"

She nodded and he gathered her to his chest, carefully making sure that any and all physical contact was completely up to her. And in the end, Liv decided, those were the things that mattered. Not that his idea of justice was rather different than hers or that a part of Godric thirsted for blood and enjoyed some sporadic outbursts of violence, but that he chose to keep that side of his personality well in check, instead treating her and others with thoughtfulness and respect, compassion and gentleness. He was still her gentle giant, after all.


Puh, this chapter gave me a lot of trouble, but I think I'm happy with the way it turned out. I hope that goes for you as well...

This chapter also concludes the "Halloween" timestamp and since the next few chapters will be set around "Christmas", I will take a short break from updating. I hope to see you back here at the beginning of December!