Like a painting on the wall Chapter 4: Shift, a true blood fanfic

Chapter 4 – Shift

Baby, I've got silver and I've got gold
But when push comes to shove,
this is getting old
I wouldn't have it any other way
No, I wouldn't have it any other way
And when you call I'll be there
There...
[Grizzly Bear – Shift]

Laura was glad that Sookie supported her, because she couldn't completely rely on her knees at the moment. They felt shaky and weak and she was sure she would have stumbled down the stairs, if the blonde hadn't been there to steady her.

It also took her eyes some time to adjust to the darker environment, after they had closed the door to the roof and the fact that one of her hands was occupied by Godric's white shirt didn't really help as well.

She had already managed to descend half the stairway, until she finally recognized that Sookie indeed had been right: the young looking vampire stood at the bottom and obviously waited for her.

His expression was as indifferent as ever, but he seemed paler than usual (which also could be due to the neon lights illuminating the corridor) and his eyes were bloodshot.

The white shirt he had worn on the roof felt heavy in her hand now, but she hadn't any intention to return it any time soon – it would just be stained with blood if he put it back on... And his naked torso was a vision to behold – to say the least – so she wanted to prolong the opportunity to examine his tattoos more intently and as long as possible.

Automatically she started to fumble around with her hair, to make sure that it looked at least half-decent. Subsequently her hands swiped hurriedly over her cheeks as well, to get rid of the last remaining tears, while she stumbled down the few steps she still had to take.

"No offense Godric, but you look as shitty as I feel...", she joked to enlighten his mood, when she came to a halt in front of him and gestured to his nose, where a small trail of blood dropped from.

"Laura!", she heard Sookie exclaim behind her with an indignant voice and watched as the blonde put her hands on her hips – like her mum used to, when she had been a kid – and took the last steps. That had obviously not been the right way to talk to a sheriff, huh?

But as she turned her gaze into Godric's direction again, she just saw him getting rid of the blood with a simple swipe of his index finger. He didn't seem to hold her harsh words against her, but honestly: his face was hard to read, she had better chances to decipher hieroglyphs...

"Would you please be so kind, as to tell me what you meant earlier?", he ripped her out of her thoughts with his low voice and glared at her inquisitively. A tired sigh escaped her mouth when she proceeded to the elevator and pressed the button to call it. The other two had followed her silently, but a look at their faces told her that they both seemed to wait for her answer.

"Can't we speak about this tomorrow? I'm too tired to think straight and we still need to tell Eric that you didn't... Well, that you still exist", she told them with a gentle voice and hopped in the elevator as soon as the doors opened.

"He already knows. He would have sensed my death", the young looking vampire stated matter-of-factly, as if he would speak about his plans for the next evening or something comparably ordinary.

Had this ability to 'sense' him, to do with the fact that he was Eric's maker – whatever that meant?

As soon as everyone was inside, Godric pressed the button to Eric's and Laura's floor and turned to examine her quietly. It felt odd to be eyed like that, but she could understand why he did it and endured it without a word. He certainly searched for any sign of disease he could detect, any anomaly, anything that could give him a hint of her illness – if she had told him the truth.

When a 'bing' disclosed that they had arrived and the doors opened, all three stepped out on the corridor and the two humans stopped to orient themselves. Only when he realized that he hadn't been followed, Godric came to a halt too and turned to look at the women questioningly.

"Well, I'll return to my room now", Sookie informed them hesitantly and shifted her weight from one foot to the other in an uneasy manner, "Bill's surely waiting for me and I don't want him to get the bleeds..."

After a curt nod from Godric, she bid them goodbye and disappeared in one of the rooms. Laura hadn't known that they all were situated on the same floor, but as she knew Eric at least a bit, it made sense that he would have preferred to have an eye on everyone...

"Which room exactly is Eric's?", Laura questioned, but when she just received an 'I-already-told-you-that's-not-necessary'-look from the now quite irritated vampire before her, she sighed tiredly. "I get that he already knows, but I think he deserves to see you – I bet he can't sleep if he isn't 1000% sure that you're still alive!"

Godric stared blankly at her for a moment, but nodded finally. It seemed, as if he slowly started to realize how enormous the impact of his act just half an hour ago was – especially for the ones close to him.

And Eric was without a doubt one of his closest friends – and if she had understood him right, Godric had even called him his father, brother – his son. Their relationship had to be something very special – and it definitely had suffered a cruel set-back when the gloomy vampire had insisted on meeting the sun.

It was beyond her, how he had managed to dismiss Eric without batting an eye, but at least he seemed to understand that the situation called for an apology, because he had stopped to knock on one of the doors – the one opposite of her suit to be precise.

It took the person on the other side not even a second to rip it open and as she had figured, Eric was standing before them. His cheeks were clean – she couldn't detect the tiniest bloodstain – so he had obviously taken the time to wash his face. But he still looked unhealthy...

He glared at his maker in disbelief and hesitantly stepped to the side after a few moments of silence. His gaze was pinned to the smaller vampire striding into the room as if he still couldn't believe his eyes and Laura wasn't sure if he had realized that she was there at all. But when she stayed in her spot, unsure if she should follow or not, he reluctantly averted his gaze from its former target, until it stopped on her face.

Insecure, she looked down at her feet for a moment and that was about the time when she realized that she had ruined the beautiful tights Eric had bought her. Obviously the concrete floor on the roof had been too rough for the filigree material...

"I'm so sorry for ruining them Eric!", she started babbling and pointed at her toes, which looked through a hole in the fabric, "I haven't thought I'd need to hurry – I didn't have time to-"

But her next words got stuck in her throat as The Giant embraced her in a tight hug.

He hugged her.

The tough, narcissistic, unapproachable vampire she had come to know only a few days ago showed affection – for a human!

"Thank you...", he whispered so quietly that she would've had problems understanding him, if he hadn't breathed it directly into her ear.

But as fast and surprisingly as he had embraced her, he also parted from her. "Well, hurry up Shorty, we're just waiting for you!", he told her in a cocky tone and maneuvered her into the room, with the soft pressure of his hand on the small of her back.

"You know, I don't like that title – Giant!", she grumbled, but had a smirk on her face nonetheless. She was glad that he was back to normal – she didn't really know how to deal with a serious Eric...

Godric was sitting on the couch and apparently had observed the scene before him, because Laura could swear, she had glimpsed the faintest smile scurrying over his face, when she and Eric approached to sit down beside him.

"Shouldn't you two rest?", she asked hesitantly after a few moments of silence, "I mean – I wanted Eric to know that you're still alive. He knows now, so you can sleep for the day – blood running from your nose and ears doesn't look good on either of you..."

She darted a concerned glance at the two vampires beside her. Both had swiped the blood away, after she had mentioned it, but they still looked like they had just gotten out of their own grave. Well, that wasn't too far fetched for a vampire, she supposed...

"There is still a matter to discuss..." Godric reminded in a demanding tone and glared at her from the corner of his eye. The expression on his face gave away that she wouldn't stand a chance escaping his questions this time. "Did you tell me the truth?", he asked bluntly and in a rather harsh tone, when she hadn't said anything for a few moments.

"What is it about?", Eric interrupted with furrowed eyebrows and let his eyes switch back and forth between the two of them. She could see how the muscles of Godric's still naked torso slightly tensed, while he closed his eyes and exhaled.

He obviously had to restrain himself, but why? Was he mad, because he thought she had lied to him? As if she could do that – she was a horrible liar...

"Laura spoke of her impending death on the roof and is not very forthcoming about it since we are inside again", he told Eric through gritted teeth, while his fingers dug into the fabric of his trousers. He was angry, that much was obvious now...

"She told you the truth", the tall vampire stated simply and stood up, "I'm going to sleep for the day now – what are your plans?"

The Giant stared questioningly at the two sitting persons in front of him and crossed his hands over the chest, when he didn't get an answer right away.

Laura was grateful that he had only told Godric what he really had to know. It was her story to tell after all and now was not the right time for such serious conversations. They all needed to rest. And she still owed Patrick and her Gran phone calls...

She coughed uneasily and slowly turned her head to find out what Godric's reaction would be. But he just sat there and stared at the floor beneath his bare feet.

"Please forgive me my distrust", he muttered in a hushed voice and slowly turned his head to look at her with this remorseful look on his face she had seen way too often already.

As if to ease the pain his expression caused her, her hand pressed against her chest and she had to take a deep breath to calm herself down before she allowed herself to look at him again. Without thinking she grabbed his hand and squeezed it lightly. "There is no need to forgive anything – but please stop looking at me like that..."

He stared at her for a moment, while his expression changed to a disbelieving one and she wasn't able to avert her gaze until his thumb started to gently sweep over the back of her hand in featherlight caresses. Her eyes darted to their still entwined fingers and stuck to his repetitive movement.

"What about sleeeeeping?", Eric's teasing voice ripped her out of her daydreams and she couldn't prevent the heat spreading in her cheeks, as the handsome vampire beside her reluctantly let go of her hand.

"I'll stay with Godric", she declared and leaned back against the couch, observing the person in question out of the corner of her eye, "I don't really trust him not to do anything stupid yet..."

A dry laugh escaped Eric's mouth and with his hands still crossed over his chest, he slightly furrowed his eyebrows and looked questioningly at her. "And what do you intend to do, if he really did 'something stupid'?", he asked genuinely interested.

Laura allowed her head to rest against the cushioned backrest of the couch and closed her eyes to think for a moment. She could not only feel Eric's glare on her, but Godric's as well and as it gave her the creeps to be eyed like that, she soon sat up straight again to stare challengingly into the ice blue eyes of the blond vampire. "I still have a silver necklace in my room", she told him matter-of-factly, "And if I have to, I'll chain him to the bed with it!"

A smirk spread on Eric's face and his posture lost a bit of its tension. "I bet he'd like that...", he mused with a wolfish grin and eyed his maker. "Eric!", the smaller vampire exclaimed with a reprehensive voice and darted the Giant a dark glare. He got to his feet with one swift motion and came to stand beside him.

Thankfully Godric obviously felt as uneasy with that matter as Laura and had nipped the topic in the bud – otherwise it would certainly have become rather embarrassing for her.

Why the hell had she mentioned a bed? Why not the armature in the bathroom, or something like that?

Well – if she thought about it, that one could have backfired just as well...

"I appreciate your concern, but I believe you have to rest as well", Godric addressed her with a concerned expression on his face and swiped a blood trail away that had only just started to drop. And truth to be told: she was tired. But she wouldn't be able to sleep, with her thoughts endlessly circling around him possibly committing suicide.

"Let that be my problem", she requested and stood up as well, but immediately let herself fall back, as the room began to spin around her. These equilibrium problems really sucked...

She closed her eyes and tried to relax, but looked up again, when she felt someone sitting down beside her.

"Is this caused by your disease?", the handsome vampire beside her asked warily and slightly furrowed his eyebrows. His concerned grey-green eyes examined her intently and once again reminded her of fern leafs on a sunlit clearing in an otherwise dark and heavily vegetated forest.

"Yeah... But that's not the really bad part", she told him honestly and her eyes roamed about his even face, before she averted her gaze, "It's the epileptic seizures – every time I get one, I can only hope to get a hold of the injection in time. Otherwise it's possible that I severely hurt myself – or that I even choke. They are caused by my brain tumor – see, now I told you about it and we can let this topic rest, can't we?"

Godric's face immediately turned expressionless and he stared at her blankly. "And where is this injection you talked about right now?", he asked with an equally indifferent voice.

"Huh – I hadn't had the time to grab my purse, so it's still in my room, I suppose", she answered meekly and ducked her head, as if she'd expect him to lecture her. But all she heard was a sighed "I thought as much", before she was lifted up by two strong arms and found herself in front of her suit within the blink of an eye. The hallway still spun around her, but she was able to detect her room number nonetheless.

"Your key?", he asked politely and looked expectantly down at her. That was about the time she became aware of her hands, which clung to his neck as if her life depended on it. She had no clue, when they had decided to move there – they obviously had a mind on their own... and he still wasn't wearing his shirt...

The dark blue pattern of his collar tattoo was just inches away from her face and in the center of her field of view. She had to put all her willpower in restraining herself from skimming her fingers over the smooth looking skin...

"It's inside as well, but I bet Eric has a card too", she mumbled absentmindedly and as expected, the Giant was standing beside them within the next second and swiped said card through the slot on the door. With a click the lock unclosed, Eric opened the door and stepped to the side, allowing his maker to get inside with Laura still in his arms.

A few quick strides later, Godric carefully sat her down on the couch and grabbed the purse she had mentioned, to look for the syringe.

"I suppose this is this important injection you talked about?", he asked as he fished a plastic-wrapped injection-pen out of her bag and held it up representatively. She shortly looked at it and nodded once before she closed her eyes and relaxed back against the couch for a moment.

"You really should rest, Little One", she heard the gloomy vampire's calm voice say, "At least for a few hours."

A small smile spread on her face when she realized that he seemed to be genuinely concerned about her well being. "I'll sleep as soon as I'm sure that you're dead for the day", she stated stubbornly with her eyes still closed. She heard him sigh and move around until she felt the touch of his hand on her knee. Her eyes shot up wide and stared shocked at his crouching posture before her, because she hadn't expected it.

Immediately he withdrew his hand again and a pained expression briefly crossed his face, before he put on his indifferent mask again before he stood up.

"Eric wishes to rest with me", he stated curtly and turned to leave the room, "Have a good day."

Perplexed, she blinked a few times and watched as Eric darted her a quick, disappointed glare before he followed the young looking vampire. "How do you know that?", she blurted out, without thinking, "You didn't talk to him at all!"

The blond vampire nearly crashed into Godric, as he stopped in his tracks and stared at her over his shoulder, with his hand resting on the doorframe. "I can feel it", he declared matter-of-factly, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. But when he noted her confused expression, he sighed and turned on his heels to face her again.

"It is a special feeling – very distinctive in his case", he explained patiently, "I remember it well from his first few years as a vampire. He always felt like this, whenever he knew he had disappointed me and wasn't sure if I would spend my day-rest beside him, or not. As a young one, you always feel the need to be with your maker, especially when you are as vulnerable as we are during our day-rest. Therefore I know that he seeks to sleep beside me today – it's the same blend of longing for something and uncertainty I can detect now, as it has been over 1000 years ago..."

The young looking vampire's gaze slowly broke away from her and turned to Eric's. A barely detectable smile flashed over Godric's face as he took in the tall vampire's appearance. His blonde hair was slicked back as always and his eyebrows were slightly furrowed.

"Are you finished talking about my feelings?", the Giant asked in a dry tone and glared tauntingly at his maker. He looked like an offended little boy, not like an over 1000 year old vampire.

And then it hit her.

If Eric was that incredibly old, how old was his maker then? How long had Godric wandered about this Earth? How many historically important and unimportant persons had he met during his long life? How many wars must he have seen or been part of?

Godric's smile only grew a bit wider and he raised his hand to carefully swipe a blood trail away, that had been dropping from the Giant's nose for a while now.

"You cut your hair", he noted offhandedly and examined Eric more closely.

"There was a bloody accident and Pam had to cut it shorter than intended...", the Giant explained, almost sounding a bit apologetic. The way the two interacted with each other, caused a warm feeling to spread inside Laura's chest and she had even more problems understanding the older one's wish to meet the sun.

"I didn't change my mind about keeping an eye on you", she stated as the situation turned back to normal and the vampires had turned to leave, "I'm coming with you"

She hurriedly grabbed the purse Godric had laid back down on the couch and got up. Her head was still a bit dizzy, but she would be able to walk without further problems.

The vampires had halted in the doorframe again and watched, as she closed the gap between them and eyed them expectantly. "Well hurry up Giant – you're already bleeding again", she exclaimed and gave said vampire an impatient clap on his shoulder, "You two should really adopt the horizontal..."

She just earned a raised eyebrow from Eric before he shook his head and proceeded to his room again. Godric followed shortly after him but glanced a few times over his shoulder, to make sure if Laura would need his help, or not.

As soon as she entered Eric's suite again, she closed the door carefully behind herself. But when she turned around, she found herself alone.

Hesitantly she stepped towards the room, she figured would be the bedroom and recognized that the door was still ajar. Taking that as an invitation, she grabbed the handle, opened it and hesitantly stepped inside.

Godric already lay in the middle of the bed with his naked torso leant against the cushions, his head resting on the headboard and thankfully he was still wearing his trousers. He eyed her intently while Eric sat on the bedside and got rid of his shoes. The Giant neither stripped, nor changed to a more comfortable wardrobe – which she was also very grateful for.

Though she was sure the smaller vampire was the most handsome being she had ever laid her eyes on, the taller one wasn't ugly either and she surely would have felt uncomfortable, if he had shown more skin than needed. It was difficult enough to have Godric's bare chest constantly staring in her face – she didn't need Eric's too...

The giant swiped the blood trails under his nose and ears away one last time and lay down beside his maker, leaning on his arms and glaring at the young looking vampire questioningly.

Godric was still watching Laura, who slowly started to feel like an intruder, but apparently he had recognized Eric's glare, because he nodded once. The blonde vampire allowed his head to sink onto his maker's chest and embraced him with one of his long arms. A peaceful expression crossed his face, when Godric started to run his fingers through his blonde hair and he closed his eyes.

Laura shifted uneasily from one foot to the other and wasn't quite sure what to do. There was no chair in this room, she just had the option to sit on the bed, or the floor...

"I have no intention to bite you, Little One", she heard Godric note with a smooth voice, but a hint of amusement, "You may at least sit beside me while you mount guard over me"

He had already closed his eyes, but the continuous movement of his hand showed that he was still quite awake, contrary to the vampire resting on his chest. Eric seemed to indeed sleep already.

Hesitantly she stepped to the bed and sat down on the bedside, with her back turned towards the two vampires. "You want to see Venice and the Chinese wall", his soothing voice reached her ears once again, "What else is on your list?"

"Actually these two aren't really on my list", she sighed and looked at her feet absentmindedly, "I wanted it to be achievable and I wouldn't be able to afford as many journeys as I'd wish to make. It would be quite depressing lying on my deathbed with a nowhere completed list in my hand – just telling me once more how fucking short my time had been..."

Silence settled in the room. She still could hear Godric's fingers running through Eric's hair, so she was sure he was still awake. When she hesitantly turned her head to look over her shoulder, her eyes widened a bit as she recognized that he apparently had been watching her the whole time.

"You should consider extending your list", he stated, still observing her from the corner of his eye, "I have more money than I would ever be able to spend – feel free to use it."

"I can't accept that!", she stuttered with wide eyes, "That would be way too much!" She had turned to face him fully, with one of her legs resting bent on the bed.

"If I remember correctly, you asked me for help", he reminded her and lifted his head to turn it into her direction, "How shall I help you, if not with my money?"

Her jaw dropped in disbelief and she blinked a few times, as if she thought it would change the situation if she closed her eyes and opened them again. But he still looked questioningly at her face, requiring an answer.

"You really think I meant it like that?", she asked him with a cracked voice and bowed her head, "I didn't mean to give you such an impression..."

"That was no insult Laura", he told her with a gentle voice and she lifted her eyes again to look at him, "I honestly would like to know how I can help you otherwise."

His eyebrows were slightly furrowed and a concerned expression written over his face. A small smile spread on her lips.

"Actually you already helped me with a few ones", she told him and the smile grew to a wide grin. She pulled her legs onto the bed and moved to sit beside Godric, resting her back against the headboard as well.

"How come?", he asked genuinely surprised and lifted his eyebrows. His head was still turned in her direction and she could see how his gaze quickly scurried over her body once.

"Our first encounter was quite a special day for me", she admitted and let her eyes wander about his body as well, to let him know that his examination hadn't been unnoticed, "It earned me three hooks for my list!"

"And which scores would that be?", he asked interested and chuckled, while slightly shaking his head. Blood was starting to drip from his nose again, but before it had the chance to drop on his chest or Eric's hair, Laura's hand shot forward and swiped it away carefully with her index finger. She just wanted to withdraw her hand again, when Godric suddenly grabbed it and licked the blood off.

An awkward silence settled around them, as he released her hand again and leant his head back against the headboard. He hadn't been licking up his blood, when he had swiped it away himself, so he obviously considered she would be tempted to taste it and wanted to prevent that.

Perfect. He thought she was a money-hungry and blood-thirsty 'little one'. What a nice impression he had of her...

"In this order it has been: 'Meet a vampire and talk to them", she started to list, in an attempt to distract her thoughts and simultaneously counted with her fingers, "'Sing in front of an audience' – though it was just a one-man audience it still counts! And the last one was 'Make a stranger smile', because back then you still were a stranger!"

She rested her head on the headboard and stared at the ceiling for a while, because she didn't really want to be confronted with Godric's piercing gaze right now. It took a few minutes until she realized that the room was completely silent and when she turned her head to look at the two vampires, a small smile appeared on her face.

Godric's hand rested on top of Eric's head and both men were sleeping with a peaceful expression and a faint smile on their lips.

Chapter 4 – Shift Baby, I've got silver and I've got gold But when push comes to shove, this is getting old I wouldn't have it any other way No, I wouldn't have it any other way And when you call I'll be there There... [Grizzly Bear – Shift]