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Chapter 20

Just a Flesh Wound

SPOV

I had already seen myself being crushed under my giant Viking and I closed my eyes, preparing myself for pain but before anything happened, Eric was in Godric's hold. Vampire speed was an amazing thing.

Meanwhile, the chaos started around us. Arlene was standing at the door, screaming at the sight of whatever was left of Bud's head. Andy was still waving his gun around and I swear, he would have shot someone else if Terry hadn't have finally yanked it from his hold.

I inhaled with relief when our fine detective was disarmed. I could not do much for the Bon Temps residents that were currently running around and heading for their cars but I could have done something for Eric. And Eric looked bad.

Godric had him lying prone on his stomach and I kneeled next to them, watching while an ancient vampire was ripping his child's jacket.

"What's wrong with him?" I asked shakily.

"He was shot with a silver bullet; he will be fine," Godric answered simply but I wasn't feeling that assured. Eric's eyes were closed and even though he wasn't unconscious, I could tell that he was in pain. I glanced at Godric's face and I noticed that his jaw was clenched and his eyes were… There was something dangerous shining in them, something I couldn't precisely place.

"Can I do anything to help?" I whispered and Godric surprised me again, when he rudely shoved the car keys into my chest, barely giving me any time to react.

"Just drive to his place, I'll take care of him." I cringed a little at his tone. It didn't need a rocket scientist to deduce that Godric was damned angry. I wasn't sure if his anger was directed at me, at Andy, at Bud or at himself, but I wasn't willing to test my luck. I simply nodded, watching Godric lifting Eric's giant body from the floor, like it weighed nothing. He vamped outside before I could muster up another word.

"You fine?" I jumped when Terry's voice sounded next to me and I nodded to calm him down. He was doing surprisingly well, considering his post-traumatic stress. "You can go home. He," Terry nodded at Andy "will take of things."

"Okay…" I was already on my way outside when the anger at the fact that Eric had been shot shielding me, hit me like a car and I turned back, walking straight into Andy. I couldn't just leave it like that. The detective raised his gaze at me from his sitting position under the wall. "You shot my friend," I told him with venom and he lowered his gaze. I barely registered the fact that I had just called Eric my friend, but that wasn't the point. Andy had fucked up royally. Of course, it would be uncommon to him to just admit his fault and apologize. No, he was a damned Bellefleur and their stupid pride would have never allowed them to be humble.

"I was just doing my job," he spat and I felt another wave of anger suffocating me. I gave Andy no chance to say anything more because my hand got in contact with his chubby cheek. Hard.

"You're a shitty police officer and that's why nobody respects you," I hissed and marched away, feeling everybody's gaze on my back.

I took a deep breath when I got into Eric's car, adjusting seat and mirrors and trying to figure out how to drive a car with a damned stick shift. A few moments later I was on the road and driving to Eric's house, being, to my surprise, scared because I couldn't get rid of the feeling that Godric's anger had been directed at me.

EPOV

"I am not an invalid," I hissed in Old Norse when Godric gently put me down. I took my position on the couch, lying on my stomach and cringing. That fucking silver was burning my chest like Hell. Uncomfortable, but I have lived through worse wounds.

"Can you feel it moving out?" my maker questioned and I closed my eyes, trying to will a bullet to get the fuck out of my wound. All to no avail.

"No," I groaned. "It's stuck," I admitted, bracing myself for what was to come. There was no way that the bullet can stay in my body for very long. Silver poisoning wasn't something I was willing to experience in the near future.

"It can be stuck in one of your ribs."

"Yeah," I murmured. "In a front one," I added. That silver bullet had run straight through my lungs and heart to finally get itself stuck in the bone. I was unlucky because I couldn't get rid of it all by myself, and at the same time, I was as lucky as fuck. The bullet could have smoothly moved through my body and ended its trajectory in a different target – in Sookie's skull. My chest clenched when I remembered the position we had been in when Andy had shot me – my telepath had been snuggled into my chest, her cheek pressing into my unbeating heart. "Fuck!" I hissed and turned on my side. "Where's Sookie?" I demanded and I noticed that Godric lowered his gaze for a fraction of a second.

"She is driving your car. She should be here soon…"

"You left her alone?" I asked angrily and my maker lowered his gaze once again.

"Yes. I… I was extremely rude, I admit. I will apologize when she arrives." I watched him for a moment and finally Godric sighed. "I guess I was blaming her for a moment for what had happened. Sookie had promised not to leave our sides and then she just walked after a killer- all by herself."

Godric had a point; there was no arguing with that fact. "On the other hand, I got distracted by a bloodbag and you, by that phone call," I reminded him softly.

"I know," he said, sounding a little like a petulant child. I rarely had a chance to scold my maker and I decided to take as much satisfaction from it as possible.

"She is not the only one to blame; maybe we should have considered our usefulness if…"

"Don't push it," Godric warned and I chuckled quietly. It made the bullet move a little and I groaned. Fucking silver.

"Why did this fucking half-brain come to the party with a gun loaded with silver bullets?" I asked rhetorically and Godric shook his head. I waited for him while he walked outside to bring in the instrument needed to pull the bullet out of me, but I was not expecting him to operate on me with a 'sterile' scalpel.

I heard the front door opening and a moment later, Sookie ran into the living room, right away spotting me on the couch. I moved a little, propping myself up on my elbows and she was beside me in a second, showing impressive speed for a human and gently pushing me down.

"No, no – you lay down, mister!" Sookie told me firmly. "How are you?"

"Good," I said honestly. "But it may change in a moment," I added and Sookie's eyes filled with tears. Please, just not this…

"I'm so sorry," she whispered and I could tell she will be full of sobbing and sniffling in no time. "It's my fault!"

I rolled my eyes at her pity party. "We are all equally responsible for tonight's events, lover. Of course, if you feel responsible, you can always kiss me better to buy my forgiveness," I teased her, expecting to hear her typical huff of outrage, but Sookie surprised me by nodding shortly. Well, I will be holding her to that promise later.

When Godric came back into the room, the mood changed. In the bond I sensed that my maker felt guilty and Sookie was avoiding his gaze. They didn't say a word to each other and I would have sighed at this stupid tension between them, if sighing hadn't have been potentially painful.

"You have to turn over," Godric ordered and I did so with a soft groan. When I was lying on my back, I could see more clearly both Godric and Sookie. He was tensed and expressionless, while she was chewing on her lower lip and staring at the carpet. Ridiculous.

"What are you doing?" Sookie asked sharply, completely dropping her submissive act, when Godric rolled a big-ass knife in his hand, pushing with his fingers on my chest to gauge my reaction. Me and my maker exchanged looks.

"I have to cut the bullet out," he explained and Sookie's eyes widened with fear.

"With a butcher knife?"

"It's stuck in the bone," I added to explain but Sookie was still watching us like we had both lost our minds.

"Have you ever heard of an X-ray?" she questioned and Godric put the knife down with a thud. I cringed.

"There is no time for an X-ray, Miss Stackhouse," he hissed and she scoffed once more. He was angry, although, one look at Sookie's face told me she was equally pissed.

I was finding the situation far less amusing that I would have expected. Typically, it was me and Sookie arguing and it was fun. It was Godric's job to act as a peacemaker ; I wasn't so sure how to stop my superior and my little Southern spitfire from fighting.

"So what? You're just gonna cut his chest wide open and send in a search party?" Sookie raised her voice a little and Godric's eyes flashed dangerously.

Fantastic.

"I would have asked for your advice if I'd needed it!"

Sookie inhaled at Godric's harsh tone. Any other person would have backed down but not Miss Stackhouse. She put her hands on her hips and stuck her nose high in the air.

"You may be pissed at me – fine, but don't…"

"I'm suffering down here!" I interrupted before they were able to go any further. Sookie glared at Godric and he just remained stone-faced in return. "It may seem barbaric to you, but it's really nothing new," I said as gently as possible, smiling at Sookie. "Although, your concern warms my heart, lover."

Without any further disturbances, Godric started his job and I would have lied if I'd said it wasn't painful. We located the bullet in the fourth rib and my maker did a quick job with making a cut and putting his fingers right under it in search of a piece of silver. At his first attempt my body jerked involuntary and the bullet slipped from his fingers. At his second attempt, he was struggling with keeping a hold of the bullet, elongating my suffering. There was no third attempt though, because Sookie snapped and ordered Godric to "move his undead arse".

I was skeptical when our little telepath took my maker's place and shoved her own fingers into the wound. Surprisingly, she did the job splendidly. She worked quickly, with a steady hand and as gently as possible. I was impressed with her cold-bloodedness, but my admiration didn't last long. When Sookie put the bullet on the coffee table and excused herself to "puke, because that was the most disgusting thing she's ever done".

I waited for her to walk outside and I turned to Godric. "What are you doing, Master?" I questioned. Showing emotions, being angered – it was very unlike him, especially now, when he was a fan of this whole 'love thy neighbor' bullshit.

"I don't know," he hissed and I arched an eyebrow at his answer. I could sense something in our bond, and oh – I knew this feeling very well. It has been haunting me ever since I met Sookie. It was frustration.

"Well, I have an answer for that, but I'm not sure if there's a chance to help you to get out of this… hard place." I murmured and Godric scowled, turning to the table to fetch a washcloth. I allowed him to clean the blood from my chest without any complaints. Actually, I was so smug with myself that I crossed arms behind my head and smiled.

"I think you have to admit something, Master." He didn't comment on my provocation, methodically cleaning me up. I was continuing nonetheless. "You need to get laid," I summed up, earning myself a shove into my chest. I scowled, because the place was still a little bit tender. Godric's remaining silent only gave me more ammo. "If I have to play Freud, I would guess that's one of the reasons why you're so mad at Sookie."

"She acted reckless, jeopardizing both herself and you, my child."

I was opening my mouth to call that bullshit but Sookie chose that exact moment to come back and sit down next to me on the couch. She was still avoiding Godric's gaze and as much as I was finding it amusing, it was rubbing my Master the wrong way. I could not have it.

"Could you please stop acting this way? It's completely childish and unbecoming." Yes, I was satisfied with being the patronizing one, at least once.

"Fine!" Sookie huffed after a long moment of silence. "I admit that I acted… hastily. I should not have gone after Bud," she told me, but at the end of the sentence, her gaze traveled to my maker and he visibly relaxed. "I'm sorry. If I am ever again in such a situation in the future, I will do nothing without notifying you."

I grinned, hearing her planning a future with us. Sookie probably has done it subconsciously, but she's been getting more and more at ease with the thought of being ours.

"I also apologize for being so rude with you earlier. I believe I was not only slightly disappointed with you, but also with both of us," Godric added smoothly. "We should have watched you more closely."

I was watching them with a surge of satisfaction. Clearly, I was as capable of being a peacemaker as Godric. It was fun to just lie there and observe the changes appearing on their expressions when they stopped acting bitchy.

"Wonderful," I chuckled, resting my head on my elbow and getting ready to tease them just a bit. "Now, you should kiss and make-up as a sign of peace," I added with a smirk and Sookie used a pillow to punch me in the stomach.

She was the only one considering it as a joke though. Our little telepath gasped when my maker moved with vampire speed, stopping a mere inch from her face. Sookie seemed to be shocked when he leaned a little closer, touching her cheek with the tip of his nose.

"I must admit that I like this idea..." he whispered and covered her lips with his. I sat up on the couch to give myself a better angle of watching the spectacle taking place in front of me. Godric completely dominated that kiss, backing Sookie onto the back of the couch and claiming her lips slowly.

She was hesitant at first but with every passing minute, the tension was leaving her shoulders and our Southern Belle waved her fingers through Godric's short hair, pulling him even closer. I growled, extremely aroused, when the scent of Sookie's excitement attacked my nostrils.

There was only one way this night is going to end, and tonight I won't allow Miss Stackhouse to slip through my fingers.


AN: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please, let me know what you think and leave a review.