A/N: This chapter begins with another familiar scene from season 2, episode 9, before continuing on with my AU story line.
Thank you, CR, for being a wonderful beta! ;)
Legal: Not mine, but I can dream, right?
~xoxo~
He traced a finger down her neck and over her shoulder. Sookie took a breath and rolled over on the silk sheets to face him.
"Finish your sentence."
"What was I sayin'?"
"You were telling me why you'd be a terrible vampire and I was disagreeing."
"Well, I don't feel right without a tan."
He chuckled softly and took her hand.
"It's true," she continued, "And I'd rather be alive than undead. And then y'all are always killin'," she finished, while he placed tender kisses on her knuckles.
"You've killed a man," he reminded her.
"That was for self-defense, not for lunch."
"You'd adapt, like we all do. Trade the sun for moon and stars."
"Uh-uh, not me. I want 'em all."
He grinned at her and chuckled again, "Oh, greedy."
"Yeah, I am."
"I love it."
He kissed her knuckles again before raising himself up on his elbow up a bit and looking down on her with a more serious expression.
"You have the right temperament for a vampire."
"What? I'm high maintenance, blood thirsty, and old as dirt?" she retorted with a flirty smile.
He nodded. "Uh, blood thirsty, yeah."
"I am not," she shot back in an indignant tone.
He smiled again and that sexy chuckled filled her ears.
"Everybody thinks you're a darling, don't they?"
"I am a darling."
"Yeah, but you're ruthless when it comes to the people you love," he said, skimming his fingers lightly down her back. "You'd do anything for them. Your brother. Your friends," he continued, tracing those long fingers delicately down her hip. "Me," he whispered, leaning down to kiss her before a woman's voice distracted her.
"Bill."
Sookie giggled a questioning, "Bill?" and sat up to look at the vampire who'd spoken, as Eric leaned in to kiss and nibble her neck. "Where's Bill?"
Lorena leaned forward and asked, "What do you care? You've already abandoned him."
"I have not," Sookie responded, Eric still nuzzling at her neck. "I love Bill," she told Lorena before Eric's hand caressed her cheek and guided her back down to the silk covered bed.
Lorena chuckled softly and sat back into the shadows.
Eric continued caressing her skin and said, "I used to think you had no sense of humor."
"I used to think you were made of cold hard stone, and empty inside."
"And now?" he asked, getting that serious look on his face again.
"You're a big faker," she chuckled and smiled up at him. "You're deep. You feel. There's love in you."
"Only for Sookie," he replied before pulling her face back down for a searing kiss.
"You don't want Bill," Lorena accused. "He means nothing to you."
Sookie broke the kiss with Eric and sat up again, "No," she told Lorena before Eric slid a hand around her neck and pulled her back down on the bed.
He leaned over her, all serious again, and said, "This is the beginning."
They continued to kiss and caress, a fire threatening to consume them both, as Lorena's evil laugh washed over the room.
Sookie's eyes shot open. She took a deep breath and looked around the room. She was in the bed alone, having sent Bill away the previous evening.
A moment of worry settled on her. Was the Lorena in her dream right? Had she abandoned Bill?
He'd tricked her. He kept secrets from her. He lied to her. Yeah, he'd told her when she drank his blood that a side effect was an increased libido. What he'd not told her was that it would be focused on him. For chrissakes, she'd given her virginity to him!
What she wouldn't give to have Gran around to talk to... Jason had been really sweet yesterday. He'd held her and put her to bed. They even talked about Gran a little. It was nice that he was finally coming around, but he wasn't exactly someone she could talk to about all this. He barely seemed able to follow a conversation sometimes and she didn't imagine he'd be full of sage advice on how to deal with vampires, especially since he'd only just started accepting them as people instead of monsters.
He was the only family she had left though. She realized that they were the only living members of their line. It was a scary thought, especially if she combined it with the thought that her own life seemed to be in constant peril.
She took a deep breath and let a little wave of self-pity sweep over her. She wondered idly if her cousin Hadley was still alive. The last she knew, her cousin had run off from a rehab center. She'd pretty much given her up as dead when she never showed up asking for anything again. Sookie promised herself that when she got home, she'd look into finding out what happened to her cousin. She might not like what she found, but at least she'd know.
Who could she talk to about all this? Sam might understand better where she was coming from but God knows that friendship was on the rocks and besides, he'd undoubtedly be biased because he wanted to date her. Tara and Arlene had always hated Bill for what we was.
Sookie had never considered it a problem to have so few close friends. It was hard to be around other people with her disability. Now she just wished there were more people waiting for her at home.
Of course, she had to figure out what to do about the vampires before she could get back to Bon Temps. She wondered for a moment where Bill had gone to rest for the day. A glance at the clock told her that sunset was not too far off and she'd most likely find out soon, whether she was ready to or not.
With a sigh, she climbed out of bed, determined to at least get a shower and get dressed before she had to deal with the dang vampires. Stripping down and letting the water warm up, she took a moment to look at her body in the mirror. Bill and Eric might be wrecking havoc on her psyche but their blood was doing wonders for her body. She looked good, really healthy and strong. Her skin seemed to glow.
She allowed herself one more sigh of self-pity before stepping into the steamy shower. So far, this was one of her favorite parts of this trip. The water beat against her skin with a delicious pressure that made her relax, and want to stay in there forever. Unfortunately, even though she doubted that the hot water could ever be exhausted, she had to get out and get dressed before one or both of her vampires showed up. She would not have them finding her in such a compromising position.
Sookie dressed quickly and put her hair up in a bun out of the way. Just as she stepped out into the sitting room, there was a knock at the door. She sighed. It was barely sunset and here they were; at least they had the decency to knock. She took a deep breath and pulled the door open.
"Miss Stackhouse, forgive me for disturbing you."
Sookie smiled at Godric. She was genuinely relieved and even pleased to see him.
"You're not disturbin' me at all, Godric. Please call me Sookie. Won't you come in?"
"Thank you, Sookie. I was hoping to ask you for a favor."
"Of course. I certainly owe you one after you saved me like you did last night," she told him, directing him to have a seat on the couch. "Can I get you a Tru:Blood?"
"Thank you," he responded with a smile as she moved over to heat a bottle from the minibar. "Though you would not have needed saving had I not been so foolish."
"If you don't mind me asking, what were you doing with those crazy bigots over at that church?"
Godric smiled at the girl. She had a disarming charm about her that he couldn't help but admire. It was no wonder that she had vampires fighting over her.
"I do not mind at all, Sookie," he told her, taking the offered bottle of blood as she sat in the chair across from him. "I'm afraid I may not have a very good answer though. I had hoped that in some way, it might fix things."
"Fix what?"
"They way they, you, humans see us. I'm tired of perpetuating the cruel lifestyle so many of my kind choose. I hope we can evolve, become more enlightened and live in peace with humans."
"Those are noble goals, Godric, but I'm still missing the part where you burning helps the cause."
"I'm not sure if I can explain it. I told you I was being foolish. I guess I thought I could take Mr. Newlin's vengeance for my kind and hope it would help everyone to heal."
"But vengeance is never satisfied. And it's not like his family didn't preach hate before they were killed."
"You are very wise for one so young."
Godric found himself smiling at her once again and Sookie felt a little better for the compliment.
"You wanted a favor?" she reminded him.
"Yes. I have an important meeting in a few hours. Since my home was destroyed and the hotel is so booked up, I'm having trouble finding a secure place to hold it. Your suite has the largest sitting area and I was hoping you would allow me to use it."
She gave him a curious look. "I'm surprised you didn't ask Bill or Eric, instead of me."
"Bill is not here. This is your room. Why would I ask one of them?"
"Because I am only human."
"Sookie," he admonished with a gentle smile, "If I do not treat my own human friends as equals, how will we ever make any progress toward a peaceful existence?"
Sookie gave him a genuine smile. He seemed very sincere.
"Of course you may use my room. And I'm glad that we're friends."
"As am I. Now, let me leave you in peace for a while before I have to impose upon you again."
Godric stood to leave and Sookie followed him to the door. She couldn't resist asking him something before he left. After all, he did say they were friends.
"Godric?"
"Yes, Sookie?"
"Would you tell me honestly what you think of Eric's interest in me?"
He smiled at her again. She was too charming to refuse and he realized he had not smiled so often in such a short span of time in longer than he could remember. How rare it was to find a human who spoke her mind with such honesty and conviction. He was truly glad she was his friend.
"I will tell you a secret, Sookie, but you must never repeat it. Do you agree?"
"Cross my heart," she responded, making the motion across her chest with her right hand.
"That is as sacred an oath as you could make to me," he told her with a friendly chuckle. "Eric has a great capacity for empathy, but he stays in a cold shell and that is all that most people see but, in his way, he's a very compassionate creature. His position requires him to be the tough Viking that he is but I would trust him, were I you. Of course, he is my child and I am quite biased."
Sookie leaned forward and hugged the old vampire. It was awkward for Godric at first, but nice, and he gently returned the hug.
"Thank you," Sookie whispered to her new friend.
"Thank you, Sookie," he replied, disengaging from the hug and leaving her alone with her thoughts again.
Neither was all evil. Neither was particularly good. Both had manipulated her. Sookie couldn't decide if she was relieved or more troubled by Godric's endorsement of Eric. One thing was for sure, she was still angry with them both.
Her stomach growled, reminding her that she hadn't eaten yet. So she grabbed her room key and headed down to the lobby to find something to eat.
~xoxo~
E/N: And before anyone asks, this is not a Sookie/Godric story. I'm just sayin'. ;)