Chapter 9 – Pools of Sorrow, Waves of Joy

Words are flowing out like
Endless rain into a paper cup
They slither wildly as they slip away across the universe.
Pools of sorrow waves of joy
Are drifting through my opened mind
Possessing and caressing me.
[The Beatles – Across the Universe]

She looked stunningly beautiful.

Not within the meaning of prettily dressed or skillfully made up – which she undoubtedly was – but more like the beauty radiating from the first blooming flower in spring. Like the warmth of a single candle in an otherwise cold room. Like a word of comfort, after a long period of silence and heartache.

It was something Godric had come to take for granted – enjoying the sight of her beauty, that is. Being allowed to watch her graceful everyday movements and lend her a supporting hand whenever she yet threatened to falter, was something he had found himself enjoying immensely during the last weeks.

But never before did she show such an obvious, almost aggressive sort of beauty. It was, as if Pamela had not only shown his little bird how to spread her wings and fly, it nearly felt as if she was diving down and attacking him frontally. As if she wanted to provoke him. As if she would say "I'm here – take me. Now."...

The mere thought was absurd, let alone offensive towards her usually coy nature.

Still, he felt as if he was completely and utterly at her mercy, whenever he caught a glimpse of her honey-colored hair, dancing lightly upon her delicate shoulders, or the creamy complexion of her left leg, sneaking out between the fabrics of her dress. Whenever he dared to examine the reflexion of the lights in her blue-grey eyes, he felt a longing for her attention and a rigid ache in his gums, whenever his glance flickered towards her alluring lips.

But none of these feelings was as prominent, as the urge to claim her then and there – especially now, for she was presently situated in the arms of the young lawyer, which displeased him profoundly. Being condemned to watch them glide across the dance floor, closely pressed against each other, caused a totally new quality of envy to well up inside of him.

He should have known that this barnacle would take his chance, as soon as Laura was beyond his immediate reach. He had lingered too long, obviously lurking for the first opportunity to force his company on her...

The night had turned out to be anything but what Godric had planned – more and more policemen had appeared at his side and all of them required to talk with him. At first, Laura had patiently listened to their discussions and tried to partake in them, but as time passed, it became obvious how bored she was and he encouraged her to stroll around on her own for a bit.

This McCarthy-boy had immediately been at her side and as far as he could tell, they had spent most of the night observing other people and spinning stories about their lives – and dancing, of course...

What would he have given to be in his place right now, holding her delicately and leading her across the floor. But no, he had to listen to these self absorbed policemen and their annoying stories about their heroic feats. Some of them were not nearly as heroic, as they seemed to think they were, one or two officers even mentioned cat-rescues.

Cat-rescues!

And he had always thought the fire department would be responsible for this sort of thing – at least he had learned something. Although he doubted that he would ever benefit from this knowledge...

Somewhere between three and four o'clock in the morning, the clingy lawyer finally bid goodbye and soon after that, Godric was able to get rid of the few lingering officers as well.

Because he had kept a close eye on Laura the whole time, he did not need to look for her and immediately approached her, standing in the inner yard and warming her hands on the expiring fireplace.

"How can I ever make up for leaving you alone half of the night?", he asked her gently, as he reached her side. She turned her head and eyed him in surprise, before a faint smile spread on her lips. Her hair had lost some of its volume and the color of her lipgloss had faded, but she still was the most beautiful being he could think of.

"It's no big deal, I had company anyway", she reminded him and averted her gaze again, to examine the flames. The light of the fireplace danced across her face and caused shadows to spread upon it, contrasting the illuminated parts with shaded ones. It made her look older than she was, enticing him even more into actions he would probably have regretted soon after he had performed them...

"Of course. Mr. McCarthy was a pleasant company I hope?"

Well, to be honest he did everything but that – but he knew enough about women, to know that telling her how he really thought about the lawyer, would be a rather unwise decision.

"Yes, he actually was – we had a lot of fun, so there's really no need for you to feel sorry", she told him nonchalantly, her eyes still lingering on the flames. "I just hope I didn't keep you from doing your job, while you still spent time with me?", she asked carefully, when she finally faced him again after a few moments of silence.

"No, you did not, Laura", he assured her softly and put a hand on her bare shoulder – which was quite cold, as he had to realize – to emphasize the statement. He withdrew it immediately, for she should not have to endure even more coldness than she already did, but that action only earned him a perplexed glance. "I wish I could have spent more time with you. Your company is so much more refreshing than these officers' has been..."

She chuckled about that and the sound of her charming voice, caused him to smile in return.

"I'm glad to hear that", she noted, while a lopsided grin spread on her face, "Otherwise I'd have to be jealous."

Now it was his turn to chuckle, while he slid out of his suit coat. If she only knew what he had felt, while he watched her dance with this pest...

"I hope this will warm you a bit", he stated, while he carefully draped the cloth around her bare shoulders. Laura gave him a grateful smile and grabbed the material to wrap it even closer around her delicate body.

"Thanks Godric", she whispered and a slight blush on her cheeks betrayed her embarrassment, "I completely forgot to take a jacket with me..."

"You are welcome – I do not feel the cold as you do", he noted and shrugged unfazed, to make her feel better. And again she smiled at him with such gratitude, as if he just had saved her from a snowstorm. It was bewildering and charming all the same.

"Maybe we should risk a last dance and head home afterwards?", she suggested, after they had stood there in silence for a few minutes – she clutching his jacket tightly against her petite frame with one hand, warming the other over the flames and he standing wordlessly beside her, with his hands buried in his pockets, his eyes glued to her all the while. "I haven't gotten much sleep the last day, I'm quite tired already. Sorry Godric..."

"There is no need to feel sorry, Laura", he assured her immediately and smiled gently at her, "We can leave right now if you want to."

"... but I'd really like to dance one last time", she muttered and bit on her lower lip, as she did so often and he had to banish the thought of how it would probably taste, if it were his teeth biting down there, even if just his blunt ones...

He didn't trust himself to reply something appropriate, so he simply laid his hand on the small of her back and ushered her inside again. As soon as the warm air of the great hall surrounded them, he reclaimed his suit coat and gently grabbed her hand to lead her onto the floor for their last dance.

The band from earlier, had been replaced by a pianist and the melody he played was slow and delicate – everything he could have asked for. He enclosed her in a tight embrace, guiding her arms towards his neck, where she wrapped them around the next moment. A content sigh reached his ears when she closed her eyes, leaning her head against the crook of his neck. Without paying much attention to it, they swayed to the music and enjoyed each other's closeness until the song ended.

"I think we should head home now. You really look tired, Little One", Godric whispered into her ear, when they had stopped moving.

"Just one more dance...", she muttered against his neck and he had to stifle a laugh at that statement.

"If you really enjoy dancing with me so much, we can repeat it the next night", he told her gently and allowed his fingers to glide through her soft hair, while he caressed her head, "But you seem to be half asleep already..."

"You're probably right", she admitted and reluctantly let go of his neck, "But I won't forget, what you just said – I'll take you up on it!"

Now he really had to chuckle and shook his head disbelievingly, as they made their way outside the building. They took one of the cabs waiting there and headed for Laura's apartment.

"Laura?", Godric asked with a low voice, as they already had been on their way for a few minutes. She had immediately curled herself up into a ball and rested her head against his shoulder. Her deep and steady breath caused him to believe that she already fell asleep.

"Yes Godric?", her muttered response surprised him and she closed her fingers around his biceps to bring his arm in a different, obviously more comfortable position for her. He wordlessly allowed her to move it and waited until she settled against him once more, before he broke the silence again.

"You asked me if this would be a date", he started carefully and waited for any sign of reaction, but continued when he received none, "Now that the night is almost over – I am quite curious myself: has this been a date?"

She stirred and the next moment she lifted her head to face him with an astoundingly thoughtful glance, considering her drowsiness.

"I suppose it was quite silly to ask you something like that", she replied after a while and sighed, but when she caught Godric's confused look, she averted her gaze and tried to explain, "I think it's something like an unwritten law, that it's only a date, if the man kisses the woman goodbye before they part. For lack of romantic feelings I suppose that won't happen between us – so it was probably not a date."

He felt his eyes widen involuntarily and his mouth was about to form a surprised 'o', when he became aware of his expression and immediately forced his usual impassive mask upon his face.

It had been a while, since he had lost control over his countenance and it was somehow embarrassing that it happened at all, considering the amount of practice he had invested over the years, to always keep in charge of his emotions.

But to be fair, it had also been a while since he was caught off guard like this.

He had started to hope that there was indeed more than friendship between Laura and him – as Eric had claimed. Especially the fact that she had been touching him, while he was dead for the day, when she had slept at his place, had been a hint – or at least he had thought so.

But obviously he had read more into it, than was healthy for him – as his loss of control just a moment ago had plainly shown...

"That's exactly what I meant...", she murmured and chuckled, while she settled against him again, but it didn't sound warm and contagious as usual. "There is no need to look so shocked – I just told you that I don't expect you to kiss me. I'll find someone else for that score on my list."

"Kissing is on your list too?", he asked, baffled and didn't even try to conceal the shock in his voice.

"Of course. I've never been kissed before, but it's definitely something I want to feel before I die", she answered honestly, sounding a bit saddened but it probably was just ascribable to her tiredness. It was odd, how she always used to stay unfazed, whenever she or anyone else talked about the fact that she was going to die soon...

"Hm", was all he had to contribute to that matter, as he was sure, she wouldn't exactly be delighted to hear that the mere thought of someone touching her – let alone kissing her – made him livid. Did she plan to allow this young lawyer to undertake it?

Why did he not just skip out on these clingy policemen and pay his full attention to Laura, as she would have deserved? This bothersome boy would not have had any chance to approach her and she would not even think about kissing him.

But no. As usual he had put business before pleasure – how incredibly idiotic of him...

The remaining ride to Laura's apartment proceeded in silence. It was not the usual comfortable silence that often settled between them when everything had been said, but rather a disconcerting one, where neither of them dared to voice what they thought.

When the cab finally came to a halt, Godric paid the driver and led Laura wordlessly to the entrance of her apartment complex. She dug the keys out of her purse and needed a few attempts, until she hit the keyhole in the dark.

"Would you like to come round to my place in the late afternoon? I always perceive the hours before sunset as rather boring...", Godric finally broke the silence between them and eyed her expectantly.

She turned around to face him and hesitantly bit on her lip.

That was a first. Up until now she had always been eager to spend time with him, but now this was obviously not the case anymore. When exactly had he lost control over their delicate relationship?

"I'd really like to entertain you, but I already have other plans. I'm sorry...", she told him and despite her excuse, she sounded rather nonchalantly.

Was she mad at him? She had told him that she had had quite a nice time, while he had been otherwise occupied, so that couldn't be the reason for her flippant answer. But what else had he done wrong tonight?

"And what will you be doing then – if I may ask?", he carefully tried to pry information out of her.

"James asked me out for dinner – and we're also going to a party of some of his friends afterwards", she told him in an even tone and shrugged, while she turned to open the now unclosed door.

He should have known that this damned lawyer had his part in this! Why for crying out loud did he let her spend her time with him? Why the hell had he allowed her to dance with him?!... and when – for fucks sake – had he started to think that he had any say in her doings at all?

"Well that is a pity. I was already looking forward to finally spend a whole night in your company again", he admitted when she was halfway inside the building, "I had hoped I could finally show you the garden..."

She had stopped in her tracks, as he had started to talk and eyed him warily over her shoulder, before she gave him the first smile, after what had felt like hours.

"Maybe I can come by after the party – I suppose we won't stay much longer than 'till two or three o'clock", she suggested with a regretful expression on her face and now she sounded as if she were really sorry that she would not be able to spend the next night with him.

It was unreasonable, but he had to admit that he felt much better now.

"There'll still be a few hours left – if that's enough for you? If you have other plans, that's certainly totally OK with me – you probably don't want to wait such a long time and surely have better things to do..."

"Well – I will take, whatever I can get", he noted and felt a small smile form around his lips, while he turned around to take his leave, "I am looking forward to seeing you tomorrow."

The next evening crept by with the breakneck speed of a lazy snail.

He tried to occupy his mind with reading some of his older records and listening to music, as long as the sun was still dangerously intense and switched to playing music on his own, as soon as he was able to set foot on the third floor, without being burnt.

But an almost irresistible urge to destroy something kept welling up inside of him not just a few times and the nagging thought of Laura spending time with this clingy lawyer, that kept pestering him constantly, did not really help his state of mind either.

And as if that had not been enough, there was also Pamela's voice still ringing in his head, rehearsing the rant she had scolded him with the last night, before she had left for Shreveport, over and over again.

How could he have been thinking of his job, when he went to the ball with Laura? How could he have had the audacity to do his job and ignore Laura? How could he have allowed this little boy to come close to Laura, let alone dance with her?

Those questions drove him mad, for he did not spare himself the disgraceful answer: because he was an idiot, simple as that.

If he had acted differently, he would not be forced to sit there – alone – and think of hundreds of possible scenarios, wherein Laura and this lawyer came closer. If he would have done what he really had wanted to (with certain restrictions, of course) – just for once in a century – he would not have to constantly think of him touching, or even kissing her. It was maddening!

By the time the clock showed 02:38, he had already been pacing impatiently up and down the hallway between kitchen and front door, for almost an hour, sneaking a peek outside whenever he approached the windows beside the door. But it took close to another hour, until a cab parked in front of his gates at last.

Godric was already about to head outside, when he recognized that this barnacle was there too, seeing Laura to the door, while he steadied her petite frame with his oversized, clumsy body. They both seemed to sway a bit, but to Godric's immense relief, it did not take them very long to reach the front door, despite zigzagging over his pathway.

"I really enjoyed your company Laura... I'd love to repeat this", he heard the lawyer murmur and he couldn't resist the urge to roll his eyes, while he tried to get a glimpse of them through the window, without either of them noticing him. Was this really necessary? He was not sure if he could deal with another night spent like this...

"I quite enjoyed it too – thanks for this wonderful night James", Laura's lovely voice reached his ears and his eyes widened involuntarily.

Wonderful. She had said wonderful, had she not?

"I'd like to repeat this too – your friends are really funny – and talented! Gosh – I'd give my left foot, to be able to paint like Mike!", she gushed and seemed to lose her train of thought. Did she drink alcohol? Now that he thought about it, that would at least explain why they had been swaying on their way to the door...

"So I've got your permission to call you", the damnable lawyer noted with glee and he could see Laura nod enthusiastically, although it obviously had not been a question, "Then you'll hear from me soon, my crafty little fox"

What the fuck was that about? His 'crafty little fox'?! They had spent a single evening and only half of the night together – they could not possibly have some sort of nicknames for each other yet, could they?!

But every further thought about that was brutally nipped in the bud, as soon as Godric realized in horror, how this poor excuse for a man leant forward and touched his impertinent lips to Laura's. He really dared to kiss her! On his doorway – for fucks sake!

A sudden and definitely tempting urge to rip this lawyer's throat out, boiled up inside of him and he had to muster all his willpower to restrain himself from doing exactly that. All of his accomplishments over the last century – particularly the work of the past few decades, which contributed quite a great deal to render the Great Revelation possible – would have been for naught if he gave in to his inappropriate instincts now.

But still – it was tempting.

Especially considering the fact that Laura entwined his neck with her delicate arms at that very moment, intensifying the kiss with that action and leaning into it with a content sigh. No, it almost sounded like a moan – could that have been a moan?!

Well, that particular question caused a different kind of urge to well up: the urge to cry out in pain. And if his subconscious would not have reminded him of who he was – a former sheriff of Dallas, an over 2000 year old vampire, with a certain amount of dignity, nota bene – he would have fucking done exactly that!

"You should probably go now...", he heard Laura's voice whisper, when they had finally let go of each other, after a few excruciatingly long minutes. These were the first delighting words Godric had heard that night and he enjoyed them immensely.

"Yeah, you're probably right", the boy replied dumbly and scratched the back of his head, as embarrassed men often did. And yes, he had every right to be embarrassed – having the audacity to kiss his Laura directly in front of his house, required a particularly generous amount of stupidity! "As they say: Always leave them wanting more..."

What?!

Godric just watched dumbstruck, as the lawyer winked at her and leant forward once more – but fortunately only to give her a peck on the forehead this time (though, bad enough!) – before he turned and started to stroll off his property, while waving goodbye.

Laura also observed his departure and did not make herself felt, until he was out of sight. When Godric finally heard the sound of the knocker, he opened the door as if he were remotely-controlled.

How would he be able to act normally, after he had witnessed such an intimate moment between Laura and another man?

"Hi Godric, how was your night so far?", she immediately greeted him and entered the house as if nothing had happened, placing her shoes on the foot mat in the vestibule.

"Stressful."

"Oh, why is that?", she asked and eyed him concerned. She had the same red blouse on, she had worn when she first visited him at his new home, but her skirt was a different one. It was black and the light material swirled beautifully around her long legs.

The thought that she had prettied herself up for this fool, caused a sudden anger to rise up inside of him...

"Oh my god! Your hand is bleeding – what happened?", she suddenly exclaimed and stepped into his direction to inspect it more closely, but he withdrew said hand before she had the chance to grip it.

He had probably dug his nails too hard inside his palm, while he had watched the two of them kiss. Venting his displeasure by clenching his fists was an old habit of his and it had not been the first time that it ended bloodily.

"Did you drink alcohol tonight?", he asked bluntly, completely ignoring her questions. Of course he knew the answer already, but he wanted to know if she was confident enough to admit it.

"What?", she asked bewildered, but bit on her bottom lip a moment later and a faint blush developed on her cheeks. "Well, there's no use lying to a vampire, is there? Yes. I have been drinking alcohol tonight – I had the opportunity and I took advantage of it. It's really not a big deal – I didn't drink too much, just enough to feel a difference, which really was nothing compared to the amount of drinks, the others at the party consumed..."

His eyes were glued to her lips, his thoughts constantly replaying the scene he just had witnessed. Their lips touching, her delicate arms enveloping his neck, her relishing moan...

"Are you drunk then?", he inquired more precisely, hoping he had found a plausible reason why she had allowed this pest to touch her.

"No, I wouldn't say that. I feel different, sure – a bit funny", she admitted and giggled girlishly, "But I feel legally sane, mind you. Why – do I slur?"

"No, not really."

"How did you figure it out then?", she asked in confusion and eyed him expectantly. They still stood in front of the now closed door, neither of them making a move to change that.

"You allowed him to kiss you", he stated emotionless, ignoring her question once more.

Her eyes went wide in shock and her hand immediately moved to her mouth, to hide the surprised 'o' it had formed.

Had she really thought he would not notice them? They had not been very subtle...

"Did you spy on us?", she demanded to know, her voice almost a bit shrill, while her other hand moved to her cheek in horror.

"I would not declare it as spying. I was rather checking if everything was in order – you two have not exactly been quiet", he noted sourly and although his face undoubtably showed the usual, impassive mask, he had not been very successful in hiding his displeasure, for his voice betrayed how he thought about it.

"And that gave you the right to watch?!"

"You were in front of my house – on my fucking doorway, Laura!"

"Did you really just curse? -I've never heard you curse before..."

"Concentrate on the subject!"

"What exactly is your problem, huh?", she asked, her voice thick with anger now and her glance displaying an adamant coldness he had not witnessed on her before, "Just because you don't want to kiss me, doesn't mean that nobody else will!"

"You reek of him! His smell is all over you – especially clinging to your lips!", he shouted at her, at least equally furious and watched in horror as she took a step backwards, obviously scared of him.

And that was exactly the moment he had feared the most: that she finally became aware of what he really was, because he lost his temper. He had hoped it would take longer before he would show her his other face the first time, but apparently he possessed less self-control than he had thought...

"I think I should go now, it was a bad idea to come here in the first place...", she murmured and put her shoes on again, without so much as looking at him.

He would lose her if he did not intervene now. He had to do something – anything!

"Laura, I am sorry. I-", he made an attempt to explain, but was rudely interrupted, as she lifted her hand, gesturing him to stop. He gulped, when he discovered the hard and unforgiving look on her face.

"No. Drop it. I'm not interested in your excuses."

And before he had the time to persuade her to stay, she had turned on her heels and rushed outside, slamming the front door shut behind her, with a loud bang.

The next nights were a sheer torture.

First, he received an alarmed call from his meddling son in the evening after the argument, telling him that it had been "the absolute worst possible way to approach the subject", that had resulted in Laura's early departure and that she was still "incredibly mad" at him. He cut the conversation, before Eric had the chance to lecture him any further, with his valuable and profound knowledge of women, by telling him, that he did not need a fucking Viking to figure that out, and curtly hung up on his son.

Furthermore, Laura did obviously not intend to answer his phone calls, so he was forced to visit her place, night after night, begging for forgiveness through her closed apartment door and trying to explain his actions as best as he could, without mentioning the fact, that he simply had been immensely jealous and somewhat hurt (as he had started to acknowledge to himself at least).

Yes, he really begged and yes, a few of her neighbors sneaked a curious peek at him, but he could not care less at that moment. Everything that mattered was that Laura would give him a chance to explain his point of view face to face – but that was something he had not much luck with, the first two nights.

Each time he gave up after about two hours and called Isabel to ask, if she had any mind numbing tasks for him to perform. So he spent the first night chasing a newborn through half Dallas – relieved to know that Laura was safe and sound behind her locked apartment door – and the second patrolling through three districts.

But the third evening, Laura was not there when he arrived at her flat to try his luck once again. Every other night, he had at least heard the distinct sounds of her steady heartbeats and breaths through the door, but now he could not detect either.

Did she leave for another date with this moron? She would not be so reckless as to sing on the streets again, would she?

He immediately left, to make sure his second hypothesis had been far-fetched and shot up into the sky, to survey the city from a bird's-eye perspective. But as he had hoped, he did not find her on the streets after two hours of intense search.

That only left option one: she was currently in company of the clingy lawyer and eating a fancy dinner, or having fun at a party. Well, if that was not something to improve his mood...

He decided to return to her apartment and wait for her, but it was almost two o'clock in the morning until she finally appeared. She wore a black dress of fine silk with the lance of her petticoat peeking out at the bottom. The red jewelries she had received from Eric, accented her outfit marvelously and left him speechless for just a moment too long, for she had disappeared inside her flat faster than he could have reacted.

He thought he had seen a short glance of surprise or even pity cross her face, but she had soon replaced it with the indifferent expression he used to wear.

Being beaten at his own game was nothing he fancied much, that much he knew now...

Deciding it was time for a change of plans, he left her place immediately after she had shut the door in his face – and did not return the next few nights. He hoped she would come to her senses while he was notably absent, for she could only start to miss him, if he was gone for some time.

But as they had made arrangements to start their world trip in five days, he would only grant her two or three nights – then he would be forced to adopt other measures...

He spent his time mostly at home, planning their journey in detail. Mrs. Freeman was sort of a dark horse, for he did neither know how agile she still was, nor if it would be possible or reasonable for her to stay up the whole night. It made matters more difficult to arrange – but such a sort of challenge was highly welcome at times like these, when he was glad for everything that helped keeping his mind occupied for a while.

But when he awoke in the afternoon of the second night he had intended to spend plotting their trip, something was different, odd – horribly wrong.

Automatically he deactivated the basement's security system and rushed to the front door, which he opened in such a hurry, that he nearly unhinged it. The still remaining sunbeams hit him with full force and he immediately felt their heat burn his skin, but he ignored it and concentrated entirely on the huddled mess, sitting in front of his door, sobbing as if her world had just caved in.

"Laura?", he carefully tried to get her attention and when she lifted her head, facing him with forlorn eyes, it caught him so heavily off guard, that it took him a moment before he was able to continue, "Little One, please come inside and tell me what happened!"

Her eyes widened in horror, when she realized that he stood there in daylight, his skin already red and forming burn blisters where the sun-rays directly touched it. She hurried inside, as fast as she could and Godric closed the door shut behind them.

The healing process started almost instantly and it took only a few moments, until nothing would have betrayed his encounter with the sunlight just seconds ago.

"Laura – what happened?", he asked with a low voice and approached her hesitantly. She sat curled up in a ball on the floor, slumped down against the nearest wall.

Only now did he realize that she had taken several bags with her – a big trekking rucksack, a travel bag and two shopping bags. They lay scattered beside her, showing that whatever had caused her upset state, had obviously also forced her to leave her apartment for some time too.

When he slowly got to his knees, to be on her eye-level, she did not even flinch, when he placed his fingers under her chin, to lift her head up with gentle force.

The desperate look in her eyes, hurt him almost physically and he was once again astonished, in how many ways this young woman surprised him. He would never have thought, a mere human's feelings could affect a vampire so profoundly, as he experienced it right now – and they were not even bonded...

"She called-... a-and told me that-...", she tried to explain, but was obviously too upset to concentrate on the task. Her wide eyes were glued to him, as if she hoped he would save her from whatever miserable situation she was in at the moment. And he definitely would – if he just knew how!

"Laura, calm down...", he told her in a soothing voice and used his ability to make her do exactly that. Her erratic heartbeat immediately decreased to her usual steady one and her expression seemed to become less tense too.

"Thank you" she whispered and closed her eyes, before she rested her head against the wall, "Sorry that I'm such a confused mess..."

"Do you want to talk about it?", he asked carefully, while he sat down beside her, also leaning against the wall.

He would have been lying, had he claimed that he did not enjoy the fact, she was close to him again. But he had hoped it would happen under different circumstances...

"My Gran died this morning", she openly explained in a cracked and barely noticeable voice and Godric couldn't prevent inhaling sharply at this news, "She obviously overdid her workout – she had a heart attack while she jogged through the neighborhood. The doctor said she had had problems with her blood pressure for some time now, she just refused to tell anybody, because she didn't want anyone to meddle in her lifestyle..."

"I am sorry for your loss Laura. I wish I could have come to know her", he whispered and carefully put his hand on hers, which rested on her knee. He squeezed it softly, letting her know that he was at least there and would listen to her, if nothing else.

"She wanted to take the train to Dallas today. She would have been here tomorrow and we could have packed our bags for our trip together...", she murmured absentmindedly, while she stared at the ceiling. Her eyes started to fill with tears and she quietly began to sob again, but immediately averted her face when she became aware of it. "I'm so sorry Godric – I acted horrible and now I come running back, totally messed up. I didn't know where else to go – I couldn't have stayed in her apartment, not even for another minute..."

"Hush, Laura – I'm glad you came here", he admitted and turned her head with his other hand to face her, smiling half heartedly at her, "I wish the situation would be different, but I am glad you trust me enough to seek my company under such circumstances."

"You're way too kind to me", she cried and withdrew her hands to bury her face in them, "I couldn't really be mad at you, after I saw you waiting in front of my – her – apartment, but I wanted to let you dangle for some time... I'm the worst!"

He couldn't help but chuckle alleviated, while he laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I am relieved to hear that you are not mad at me anymore. And you had every right to 'let me dangle', Laura."

"Oh, just stop being so nice – it makes me feel even worse", she exclaimed between sobs, while her whole body trembled. And so he stopped talking and sat silently beside her for a while, caressing her back with soothing movements, until he realized how uncomfortable it probably was for her to sit on the floor.

"Do not be startled", he warned, before he scooped her up in his arms without further hesitation, to carry her to a more appropriate location. She just voiced a surprised "wha-", before she wrapped her arms around his neck, clinging tightly to him.

The warmth of her body, caused the tension that had been bottled up inside of him over the last few nights, to disappear immediately and it afforded some restraint to prevent a sigh, when he buried his nose in the crook of her neck, while he climbed the stairs to the first floor.

He sat down on the grey couch, which faced the still closed window front, while he held Laura carefully in his arms. She sat on his lap and clung to his neck as if her life depended on it, just reluctantly letting go after a few moments.

Only now did he realize how close their faces were. It would only have been a matter of inches to touch her lips with his, but the mere thought of taking advantage of her wounded state right now, disgusted him.

"You're right, it's much more comfortable here", she admitted with a tired voice. Her soft face was tear-stained and her eyes were red from crying. While he closely took her appearance in, he also realized that her lower lip was bleeding, probably due to her habit of biting down onto it, whenever she was upset or embarrassed.

"Would you let me take care of that?", he asked and gestured to her mouth. Her eyes went wide in surprise and she touched her fingers to her lips, as if she also just had recognized the state they were in.

"How?", she breathed barely noticeable, but the curiosity was still clear in her voice.

"I could heal it with a drop of my blood", he explained softly, while he tucked a few strands of her honey-colored hair behind her ear in a flawless movement, lingering at the spot just below it, where her head merged into her neck. "It would react directly with your wound, leaving nothing for you to digest – so there would not be any side effects."

"You would do that?", she asked in a disbelieving tone, examining him with an odd look.

"Yes. It is the only thing I can think of to help you with right now..."

"You already did more than I could have ever asked for!"

"Did I?"

"Of course! You rushed outside and didn't even bother to shield yourself from the sun to get me inside – you comforted me – you brought me here-", she explained in a stream of words and paused suddenly, tilting her head while she intently took his appearance in, "You're a saint, you know that?"

He could not help but laugh out loud at that statement and Laura nearly fell off his lap, as she jumped in surprise.

"I am sorry Little One", he told her in a soft voice, after he had grabbed her shoulders to steady her, "I did not mean to startle you. You just caught me off guard – there is barely anyone still existing, who would deserve that title less than me."

"We don't share that opinion then", she noted and just shrugged, while she still eyed him intently.

"Am I allowed to heal you now?", he asked carefully and let his hands slip down to her hips, to pull her a bit closer.

"Of course", she whispered instantly and he was painfully aware of her increasing heartbeat. He lowered his head, before he allowed his teeth to click out and bit on his thumb. It was not the right time to show her his untamed face the first time. In the hurt state she was in right now, she would probably be all the more irritated or even afraid of him – and that was something he would try to prevent, as long as possible.

When he lifted his head again, his wound had already closed, but a single drop of blood still lingered on his finger. He examined her expression for a moment, before he slowly moved to touch his thumb to her lower lip, where he carefully massaged his blood into the wounded parts.

All the while Laura held her breath, staring at him, as if she expected him to try something else. He did not look her in the eye while he was occupied with healing her lip, but he was totally aware of her suspicious demeanor.

But as soon as her skin had closed, he let go of her mouth, licking the remaining blood off his finger and relishing the taste of her clinging to it. He had trouble suppressing a moan, but fortunately he mustered enough self-control to prevent it.

"Thanks", she stated, sounding a bit breathless and licked her lips, as if to inspect the state they were in.

"Satisfied with the result?", he asked her with a slightly mocking tone and cocked one of his eyebrows. She immediately blushed and just nodded hurriedly, before she averted her gaze in an embarrassed manner. But then she suddenly looked up at him with a shocked expression on her face and jumped up, as if he had just burned her.

"Oh my god, I completely forgot!", she exclaimed upset and hurried to the stairs, but stopped to address him once more, "Promise me you won't come down – I'll be back in a few minutes!"

Godric just nodded completely baffled and stayed put until she reappeared again. He had heard her scurrying through one of her bags and rushing to the kitchen immediately afterwards, to put whatever she had fetched into the fridge.

But as she had asked him not to look, he would respect her wish and not pry at the first possible opportunity. Though... his True Bloods were in the fridge too – if he happened to stumble upon whatever she had put there, when he needed to feed the next time, it could not possibly be considered as prying, could it?

By the time Laura sat down beside him, the window shades had automatically rolled up to reveal the garden, lit by the last remaining sun-rays. They simply sat side by side, silently enjoying the beautiful view.

"She would have loved your garden", she noted quietly and bit on her lip again. Godric reached out, taking hold of one of her hands again and caressed its back with his thumb. As he felt her eyes well up with tears again he closed in and simply put his arms around her. He felt so absolutely helpless in this situation, it was pathetic...

"She wanted to meet you so bad", she told him between quiet sobs and he lifted one of his hands to caress her head and simultaneously guide it to his shoulder, where she gratefully buried her face. She had grabbed the front of his shirt with her slender fingers and clung to it, as if it was a life vest, keeping her from drowning.

"I am so sorry Laura. I wish I could change the course of events for you, but unfortunately that is beyond my power...", he whispered into her hair, while he pulled her onto his lap again.

"What you're capable of is more than enough, Godric", she answered in a tiny voice, readjusting her legs, to straddle him now, pressing her whole body flush against his with this movement.

"Just keep holding me, please", she begged while her small form began to tremble again, overwhelmed by the flood of emotions drowning her.

And that he did.

AN: Hey there :) I hope you liked the this chapter, despite it's rather sad ending and although it's a Godric-POV again. I just thought it was necessary to show his perspective at this point and I hope it's not too much out of character.

Thanks again to Guest, Pelawen Night, tanseynz, Daydreamer003, Arenola, downbelowgirl and The Dreamer for your lovely reviews!

Guest: the '!?' & '?!' I often use don't necessarily mean, that the sentence is yelled - it merely means, that it is emphasized, often with a disbelieving undertone. I'm really sorry, if it bothers you, but I'm afraid, it would subduct some of the emotions I want to show, if I replaced them with a simple '?' or '!'

tanseynz: thanks again, for your encouraging words - I'm relieved to read, that you liked Pam how i portrayed her. I hope you're happy with this change of view as well - as I don't feel as comfortable writing out of Godrics position, as I feel when writing out of Lauras. I suppose thats due to the fact that I'm not a 2000 year old vampire ;)

The Dreamer: thanks for your reviews and I'm glad you liked the story so far :) - I hope you kept reading till the last chapter? ;)

Thanks for reading - and I hope some of you'll leave me a few words ;)

Till the next chapter :

last update: 05/2021