...
"From my window
I saw two birds lost at sea
I caught our reflection
In that silent tragedy
But with hope prevailing
I draw galleons sailing
In full sail billowing free"
[Patrick Wolf – Teignmouth]
...
They stayed for another four days until they were able to witness the aurora borealis. It appeared at about 1am and lasted for almost an hour.
Under different circumstances she would have loved to spend more time there with Godric, as they weren't as dependent on the sunrise and sunset times there, as they usually were. But he was especially distant since she had voiced her wish to return home and not a very fun person to be around...
It hurt her how he reacted. Of course she was aware that he had gone out of his way to make this journey possible for her, but she had thought he would understand that she had responsibilities as well – responsibilities she had ignored far too long already!
She had tried to reason with him, told him about the time, when her father had drifted away after one of his best friends died in a car accident about ten years ago. It had taken the ruthless candor of her Gran and a quite loud 'discussion' with him (which his mother had to force him to) until he finally admitted, that he couldn't deal with the loss alone and accepted his family's help. Everyone of them had been more than willing to listen to his troubles and was ready to comfort him until he slowly managed to cope with the loss.
But this time, her Gran wouldn't be able to intervene. And even more problematic: one of the two reasons that gave him a hard fight, hadn't even happened yet.
She explained to Godric, that she needed to talk to her father, to address his fears, to tell him that not everything was lost yet – and even if it was for her, she had to remind him that his life would go on. It simply had to – not only for his own sake, but also for her mom's...
But Godric didn't understand.
Or he simply didn't listen to her – she wasn't sure, as he never showed any sign of acknowledgement. He was in a trance like state where he couldn't be bothered to answer her questions even less to talk on his own accord. Only the fact that he did whatever she asked him to, showed her that he at least partly listened to what she said.
To be honest: his behavior scared her. And she had to admit, that she was relieved when they landed directly at the little airport of her hometown, were her mother already waited for her to pick her up. Hopefully a few days apart would calm him down again.
Or rather return him to normal – there wasn't any way he could've become much calmer unless he'd truly be dead...
But her fathers behavior wasn't much better. They hadn't seen or heard each other for almost three weeks but the night of her arrival, he came home at about 2 am and though he seemed positively surprised to see her when she greeted him at the door – probably because he hadn't really listened to his wife when she told him that his daughter would be arriving in the evening and maybe also because he hadn't heard or seen her for more than three weeks (as he was always busy or still at work when Laura called) – he didn't pay much attention to her afterwards.
Her mother had already gone to bed, but he obviously didn't intend to do the same and collapsed on the couch instead, zapping calmly through the channels until Laura finally lost it.
"Mom's been waiting for you!", she snapped, not caring that her raised voice could possibly wake said person, "She stayed up till about an hour ago because of you – and you have the audacity to sit here and watch TV instead of at least snuggling up to your wife?!"
"She's asleep now anyway", her father just muttered and didn't even bother to look up at his daughter. Furious she stalked from her position beside the couch towards the TV screen and planted herself directly in front of it, with her hands on her hips.
"Oh – don't make such a fuss, Laura", he muttered and shifted his weight on the couch in an attempt to look around her at the screen. But as she stood so close to it, it didn't help. With a grim but defeated look he turned it off and got up to head to the staircase instead. But other than she had hoped, he took the way downstairs.
"Where are you going?", she demanded to know, while she hurried after him.
"What does it look like?"
"It looks like you're about to go to the guest room and watch there!"
"I've always found that you were a bright spark..."
Though he wasn't exactly slow, she still managed to pass him somehow and ran ahead of him to the basement door, where she stopped in the same stance as earlier in front of the TV. Compared to his tall frame, her rather small and admittedly not exactly healthiest body probably looked more like a bad joke than an intimidation, but she at least had to show her irritation about his behavior somehow.
"What's the point of that?", he demanded to know – his voice finally sounding a bit annoyed – when he stopped in front of her and looked her up and down with slightly furrowed eyebrows.
"What does it look like?", she retorted with a smirk and cocked her eyebrow in a challenging manner, while he just stared at her incredulously for a moment, before he simply grabbed her at her shoulders and pulled her out of his way without much effort.
"With a few pounds more it might have worked", he remarked dryly before he grabbed the handle to pull the door open.
But it wouldn't move.
"What the...?", he muttered.
"Well, maybe someone told me that you like to watch TV instead of going to bed and I took precautions", Laura chimed sweetly and grinned at him, before she dropped the act and frowned, "That was rude by the way – you know that I'm not in the best of health!"
"That's an understatement...", he muttered and took at step back, before he turned on his heels to head upstairs again.
"We need to talk, dad!", she informed him firmly, while she hurried after him, forced to take two steps at a time, to keep up.
"I wouldn't know what about", he spat when he abruptly halted on the top step, "You made your decision and we have to live with it – don't pretend that you care, because you obviously don't!"
"What?", she whispered in shock and froze in her step. Her head spun around to eye her father with a disbelieving glare, but all he did in response was straightening his posture and narrowing his eyes a little.
"You heard me."
"Yes – but I don't understand-..."
"Well – then I take back what I said earlier...", he muttered and turned to leave, but she caught the sleeve of his shirt in the last moment and clung to it with all she had.
"Dad – I love you, but it's my life. Don't forget that."
He stared at her with a piercing glare for a few torturous seconds, but turned his head then to face in another direction as if he couldn't stand to look at her anymore.
"Yes. It soon will have been your life."
She sighed at his response, but was glad that he talked to her at all (not like a certain vampire) and took a step closer. Without warning she wrapped her arms around his torso and simply hugged him. Soon she almost clung to him as if her life depended on it and before she knew it she felt tears running down her cheeks.
She couldn't even recall when it had been the last time that she hugged her father, without one of them leaving for some time – which told her that it definitely had been too long.
"Just because I refuse the surgery doesn't mean that I've given up, dad", she told him and squeezed him even a bit tighter, when he still didn't respond like she had hoped. But he remained stubbornly stiff, his own arms dangling at his sides casually.
"What do you mean?", he demanded to know and by the sound of his voice he seemed quite pissed still.
"I have a few vampire friends now and they have connections. Surely one of them will find a way – and if not I can still become one of them", she chimed, totally aware how disgusted he probably was by that thought.
"You'd honestly choose to be a vampire over a surgery?!", he exclaimed and finally moved his arms, but only to grab her shoulders and shove her away. It was refreshing to see emotions so blatantly displayed on a face again, after those last days with Godric – even if it was a blend of utter disapproval, disappointment and disbelief (and she quite disliked those feelings...).
"Yes – at least my body would work flawlessly", she stated calmly and stood his hard glare without much effort.
"You mean apart from the fact, that it would be impossible for you to go into the sun or digest a normal meal?!", he pointed out with a raised voice and when she just shrugged he seemed to loose it.
"What the fuck is wrong with you!? You can't be serious about this?! – this is your life we're talking about!", he shouted in her face while he shook her shoulders violently as if he wanted to shake some sense into her.
"I am totally aware of that!", she spat back and wiggled out of his grip, scowling at him now, "I don't want to experience that again – you weren't the one who wasn't able to talk for almost half a year! I can imagine that it was hard for you as well – but it was nothing compared to what I had to go through and I refuse to do that again. Not. Ever."
She hadn't even realized that she had balled her hands to fists, until her palms started to sting from the force she pressed her nails into with. Her whole body was shaking in anger – how dare he question her decision?! This was her life – for fuck's sake!
"Just because there were complications last time it doesn't mean there would be this time!", her father pointed out, still with a slightly raised voice, but definitely calmer than before. "It could work without any problems at all – and you could live! … Why don't you at least try it?!"
He had become quieter with every word until his last sentence was only a whisper. But she still understood him clearly and sighed. His posture was unusually slumped for his standards, his head slightly bowed and his shoulders slumped. To see her father like that immediately caused her anger to blow over.
"You don't listen to me. The possibility of experiencing that again is reason enough for me not to try it", she explained patiently, "And this time the chances that it would work without complications are much lower. Not to mention that they told me from the beginning, that they probably won't be able to get everything out..."
"But-...", he started tiredly, but seemed to come to the conclusion that it would be a waste of time to debate with her. She had made up her mind and he wouldn't be able to convince her of the contraty. "I can't force you to do it. But don't expect me to stand beside you and watch you while you die, Laura."
She felt her eyebrows furrow in concern, not the least offended by his words, but rather worried about him. He glared at her with such fierceness, that she had the feeling he tried to intimidate her into complying with his wishes – contrary to his previous statement.
But then his piercing stare started to falter and became softer by the second until he looked just as worried as she probably did at the moment.
"I can't loose you as well!", he finally growled and one of his hands reached up to his face to cover his eyes. By the way his voice had trembled, Laura was sure that he was close to tears and this move just confirmed her suspicion. Without a word she closed the gap between them and wrapped her arms around him again – and this time he accepted her hug.
That seemed to do the trick. She heard and felt him inhale in short and jerky breaths while he wrapped his arms even tighter around her body and released a relieved sigh. Finally...
"Don't be such a worrywart...", she muttered in his chest and closed her eyes, when she felt them sting suspiciously again, "Godric and Eric will find a way – otherwise you'll have to become acquainted to the idea, that your daughter is going to be a vampire soon..."
He just grunted – not necessarily in a negative way – before she felt his chin resting on top of her head. It had definitely been too long since she last had been in her father's arms...
"You really sure that they'll turn you?", he asked her softly after they had stood in front of the staircase like that for a while, "Don't raise my hopes for nothing, Laura."
"I'm relatively sure. Eric wouldn't have suggested it, if he hadn't meant it", she explained and now that she'd said it out loud, she realized that she really believed what she'd said.
If nothing else worked, the Viking would turn her!
The next three weeks were rather busy for her. Though she was sure now, that she wouldn't die – at least not permanently – she still wanted to accomplish the last tasks on her list – the one concerning gifts for her loved ones being one of them.
If she indeed became a vampire, her life as it was, would end, which definitely meant that her relationships with the people who were important to her would at least change – if she liked it or not.
She wanted them to have something that would remind them of her, as she was now – a human. She wasn't sure if the turning would have an effect on her character and she wanted them to at least think back how she was, if she'd end up being a bitch later...
The easiest were her parents. They had always loved to make music with her (as her father played cello and her mother piano as well) but they had also loved to listen to music and go to concerts – not necessarily classical ones.
Her father for example was a huge fan of The Beatles and Simon and Garfunkel. Her mother was more of a Rock fan and still shrieked like a pubertal girl whenever she could see a concert of The Rolling Stones on TV (she'd only once seen them live).
So what Laura did now was simple: she recorded covers of particular songs of her parents favorite musicians and filled the gabs between the songs with a few words directed at them.
Patrick was quite easy as well and she didn't even need to do much for his gift, as most of it was already there. She had gathered all of the doodles she had drawn to communicate with him in the time she was in the hospital, as she had planned for a while now, to give him some sort of tribute for all the time he had spend there with her. She only had to color them nicely, before she bound them into a book and decorated the cover with photographs of them.
Irene and Katy were a bit harder though, but as Katy was a full time musician now and had always loved her 'redecorated' ukulele, Laura heavy-heartedly parted with it to give it to her. It had given her pleasure for almost six years now – she just hoped her friend would have as much joy with it as she had had.
As Irene had been a bit jealous that Laura seemed to draw people and their expressions and demeanors so easily – which wasn't entirely true, as she had practiced a lot (because she had actually been forced to do so for several months...) she decided to write her something like a little tutorial with tricks she had figured out over time and also bought her one of those little puppets to practice different stances and keep the proportions right.
Pam was rather easy again, as she had obviously instantly fallen in love with this plum-colored coat she had retrieved from her Gran's dresser on the day they met. Laura simply sewed her a similar one in rose. They had bought the fabric together – in Paris – and Pam had been very pleased with her choice. If she had known then, that she purchased it not for herself, she would probably have been even more thrilled.
She contemplated a while what she could give to Eric, as it had to be something special – after all he had changed her life that night he hammered on her Gran's apartment door. But as he was rich as Croesus, he probably already owned everything he could have ever wished for.
But when her thoughts scurried to Godric once again – which they did quite often lately – the scales suddenly fell from her eyes. She would give Eric her notebook – the one she wrote her favorite songs into!
The toughest brain-twister was Godric himself. She had called him every second day (as she didn't want to bother him too much) though he still barely talked to her. He didn't even tell her where he was at the moment (but as he was still not exactly on friendly terms with Eric she supposed he was in Dallas again). But she was glad that he at least answered her phone calls and that caused her to hope.
Laura had first thought that it would be a good idea to record a song for him as well. Of course 'Bowl Of Oranges' had been on her mind, but the more she thought about it, the more she felt, it would deprive this special moment of their first encounter of its magic.
She could still remember as if it had happened just a few minutes ago, how out of this world he had looked when she sung it for him – and that was, when it hit her.
She had spend hour after hour thinking of a way to illustrate 'Bowl Of Oranges' for her notebook, but nothing had seemed good enough. And the whole time she had the answer directly beside her...
By the end of the second week she started to draw a portrait of him – like he had looked that first night she met him. How he had sat in front of her with his hooded sweater and wide pants, his face dimly lit by the street lam above them. How sinister this sparse light made him appear but how calm and at ease his expression was. She remembered as if it had been yesterday, how very relieved and even delighted she was when this faint smile finally appeared on his lips by the end of the song – faint, but a smile nonetheless.
She didn't draw all of this on paper – she drew it on canvas and colored it with oil as this was the best way to shade him realistically in her opinion. It took her a whole week to finish it, but she was quite pleased with the result in the end.
The most important part of the present, would be the note though. He'd certainly look at the picture and be a bit underwhelmed – if he'd show any emotion at all, he'd probably just wrinkle his nose minutely, as it was – again – a rather dark portrait of him and she remembered that he hadn't been very thrilled about the last one.
As a vampire he'd surely find the message hidden between the canvas and the wood it was stretched over within seconds. She'd definitely have to make sure that he'd find it when she wasn't in the room – she wouldn't be able to keep a straight face and would probably turn red like a tomato...
When she handed the CD's she'd recorded to her parents, both immediately went to the living room to listen to them – and both were moved to tears. Her mother had a brief meltdown as she thought this would mean something like 'goodbye', but when she managed to assure her that that wasn't the case, she smiled brightly at her and thanked her for this 'wonderful gift'.
Patrick's reaction wasn't much different. He tried to suppress them, but she could still see one or two tears escaping his eyes before he had the chance to wipe them away, when she handed him the 'doodle-album', as he called it. He was obviously taken aback by the fact that she had kept all of them over the years, but he was very touched that she had and glad about the present.
As neither Irene nor Kathy would have come home within the following weeks, she sent them their presents via mail (though she had to ask Kathy's mother for her address first).
To deliver the rest of her presents, she took a bus to Shreveport, silently hoping that she'd find Godric there as well – which she of course didn't. He and Eric still hadn't exchanged a word – not even a single one.
She had a car now, a Fiat 500 – as her parents had gotten her one for her birthday – and if they wouldn't have protested so much (which she herself had done as well by the way), she would own two now, because Eric had had the same idea – only that his choice would have been a BMW convertible...
Fortunately he was understanding enough to realize that two cars were too much for her – and that she couldn't refuse her parents gift as the purchase had hurt their wallet probably much more than the BMW had Eric's. So they agreed on a sound system for her Fiat instead – which was probably the best and most expensive he could have found.
But as this special sound system needed a few more days to be installed and she didn't want to waste even more time than she already had, she simply took the public transport to get to Shreveport. It took a few hours more than if she had driven with the car, but she supposed that the gas would have cost her more than the bus tickets, so she didn't really mind.
Pam was immediately on fire for her present and even hugged her enthusiastically (for her standards). Eric on the other hand was not so excited. He only skimmed slightly curious, but otherwise not very impressed in her notebook.
"That's all?", he asked in a bored tone, after he had closed it again and cocked his brow to give her a reproachful glare. They were both in his office at Fangtasia and he leant against his huge desk, while she sat comfortably on the couch opposite of him. "Am I not worth a bit more effort?!..."
Of course she could have been hurt by his reaction, but to be honest she had already expected something like that. He was rather materialistic after all...
"There's a ribbon in it on a special page", she told him unfazed and grinned when he opened said page immediately. His eyes had suddenly a glint of excitement in them, as if there was a hidden treasure that had to be found.
"It's just a poem or song lyric – like all the others", he muttered obviously disappointed but looked up at her with a questioning glare.
"It's a special song, Eric. That was the song I sang for Godric the first night we met...", she told him and his eyes widened a fraction, before he looked down at the book in his hands again to finally read it.
"I'm impressed...", he muttered in a low voice when he faced her again, "You saw him and immediately knew?"
"Honestly Eric – everyone who really looked at him, would have seen that he was depressed. He didn't bother to hide it."
"Still. No wonder that he reacted the way he did..."
"Well – how did he react?", she asked curiously and tilted her head to eye him questioningly. Now she was the one who was curious.
"I already told you. He opened the bond for the first time in what felt like centuries for me. He was... happy. At ease. I can't really describe it...", he muttered and looked down at the still open notebook absentmindedly. "Why aren't there any illustrations as on the other pages?"
"I inserted this one only recently – and I think this 'painting on the wall' is something else for you than it is for me", she told him gently.
"What is it for you?", he asked in a low voice and looked up at her with a rather neutral expression. There wasn't really curiosity in his eyes any more, if anything he seemed only a bit tense.
"I think you know that...", she just muttered and felt her cheeks heating up, which caused her to avert her face in embarrassment when she thought about the painting and the hidden message she had for Godric.
"Are you content with your present now?", she asked carefully when she heard him sigh and hesitantly looked up to him again. He smiled faintly, though it looked a bit forced, but nodded nonetheless.
"Of course. Now I understand – it was the best gift you could have come up with", he told her with such a sincere voice, that she felt her eyebrows rise in surprise. Just when she wanted to ask if he was sure – as his demeanor seemed a bit uneasy – he spoke again. "I have some business to attend to – please stay in here until Pam or I come to pick you up and bring you home."
"You're aware that I intend to stay?", she asked a bit unsure and tilted her head to eye him questioningly. He already stood at the door with his hand on the handle, but turned to face her again when he heard her question.
"Of course, your luggage spoke volumes – my home is your home. But for your own safety please stay in here while we're at Fangtasia. Just call for Pam if you need anything – she'll hear you", he told her firmly and gave her a long glare that probably should have meant 'don't dare to defy me' or something like that.
"Okay, okay – I'll stay inside your office", she assured him and lifted her hands in surrender, "Don't worry about me – I have some phone calls to make anyway."
He just nodded, before he turned and literally vanished from the spot he had stood in. How he managed to close the door behind him at such a fast pace, but without any sound was beyond her.
After she had stared for a while at the close door in slight confusion, she attended to her purse to dig for her phone. As soon as she had found it, she scrolled through her contacts and hit on the one that said 'Godric' without hesitation.
"Hey Godric – how are you?", she greeted him when the beeping sound stopped and a static in the background told her that he had answered.
"..."
"I hope you're well? … I was wondering where you are – I would like to see you", she admitted and bit on her lip in anticipation. She really hoped he'd finally tell her where he was and as this was the first time she had actually voiced her wish to see him again, she hoped he'd finally grand her that...
"I am in Siberia", he told her dryly and her heart skipped a beat when she finally heard his voice say more than just "yes", "no" or "hm". She was happy that he'd answered her question – for the first time in over three weeks – but she wasn't so happy that he was much farer away than she'd thought.
"What are you doing in Siberia? Are you continuing our trip alone now? Have you been in Asia the whole time?", she couldn't help but hit him with one question after the other. But when she realized what that implicated she muttered in realization, "This will be a quite expensive phone bill."
"No – I am not continuing our trip alone. I am looking for her and I finally got a trace. I should be able to determine her current location within the next few days", he informed her in a neutral, if not even bored voice but she couldn't help but think he sounded a bit gloatingly when he continued, "But yes, I have been in Russia the whole time."
She sighed deeply at his revelation and rubbed her free hand over her face in a frustrated manner. He could have told her that a bit sooner.
But it probably wouldn't have kept her from calling him anyway...
"Well, speaking to you is worth the money – even if you weren't exactly wordy", she admitted and shrugged, though he couldn't see it. He obviously didn't consider her statement worth of a response, as he still kept quiet stubbornly, which caused Laura to sigh again.
"Could you come back soon?", she asked meekly and couldn't help but feel like a little girl asking for christmas gifts though she knew she didn't deserve any because she hadn't always acted like a 'good girl' should have, "I have something for you..."
"..."
"Please Godric..."
"..."
"I miss you...", she muttered and bit embarrassed on her lip when she realized how much her voice trembled. She knew her begging sounded pathetic and that it probably would have been better to leave him alone for some time, as he didn't exactly show any interest to talk to her anyway. Maybe he'd start missing her as well if she'd just manage to not call him for at least a week?
"... Where are you at the moment?", his question suddenly ripped her out of her self-pity and she couldn't suppress the huge smile that appeared on her face then. This had to mean he intended to come home, didn't it?
"At Eric's", she hurriedly informed him, but when she realized that he probably wouldn't like that answer, it was already too late and she banged her head against the wall behind the couch she was still sitting on. How could she be so dumb and tell him that?!
"I will be there as soon as I have found her", he told her tonelessly and hung up without a warning. She stared at her phone with a blend of disappointment and shock, not really able to believe that he had been that rude.
With a huff she went through the list of her contacts again and first called Pat – to inform him that she'd arrived safely in Shreveport (which she had already told her parents when she took the cab from the busstation to Fangtasia) and would be staying at Eric's until Godric appeared.
Next she called Sookie, who sounded quite surprised to hear from her, but Laura had to admit that she would probably have been just as surprised, if it would have been the other way around.
"I plan to stay here for a few days and wanted to ask if you'd have time and be in the mood to show me around a bit", Laura explained with a chuckle after Sookie had asked her if something happened and if she needed her help, "And I wanted to ask if you perhaps know a tattoo-studio. I don't plan to get anything very detailed – the artist just needs to be able to draw straight lines, nothing special."
"Of course Laura – I'd love to show you around. I don't really live in Shreveport though – so it's probably better if you ask someone else for showing you the city. But I can show you the area around Bon Temps – it's a really lovely place, I'm sure you'll like it!", she told her enthusiastically, "And I don't know any tattoo studios, but I can ask around – surely some of my customers will have suggestions."
"Great! Just tell me whenever you have time – I think I'll be quite bored here so I'm available whenever you want", Laura informed her with a grin, but couldn't suppress the yawn that escaped her lips next.
With the time difference from Iceland and the fact that she wanted to spend as much time with her parents as possible – which meant getting up early to have breakfast with them, before they drove to work and helping her mother prepare their meal in the late afternoon when she came home – Laura had reverted to a normal sleeping pattern again and already felt quite tired (though it was only a bit past 11 pm).
This quite regular daily routine had done wonders to her body in the previous three weeks. Though she got her appetite back after having some of Eric's blood, spending most of her time with a vampire was probably not the best to gain weight, as she forgot about eating quite often. Hadn't Godric always cared for her meals – which he also did the last few days, even if he was disturbingly silent – she'd probably lost even more weight.
But the regular and quite extensive meals at home had helped her gain it back in the right places – and even her bras fit again! This fact would surely give her the confidence she needed to finally approach Godric for this last task on her list. He had offered to 'help' her already, but what she wanted was a bit more than he had probably thought of...
She just hoped she had read the signs right and he was interested in her in that way and she wouldn't make a fool out of herself.
But first she should bother about getting this tattoo anyway...
When they met at Merlott's the next day – the place Sookie worked at – the blonde immediately tried to grill her about her relationship with Godric. Laura tried to evade her questions as unobtrusively as possible, but she had to at least answer some of them and that was probably enough to disclose her feelings for the vampire in question.
When she asked her about her own relationship in return, it turned out that Sookie and Bill (Laura was glad she'd been able to phrase her question without requiring to say his actual name, as she hadn't for the life of her been able to recall it) had broken up after this whole Edgington ordeal. He had apparently almost drained her on their escape and afterwards he'd helped Eric to trick her – which were two moves she couldn't forgive him.
"I have to admit I'm glad you two broke up. I can't really bring myself to like him after what Eric told me", Laura admitted with a sigh and took a sip of her ice tea, "Did you know, that he tried to kill Eric like he killed the Queen of Lousisiana? If it weren't for Pam and her alert ears he wouldn't have known about it beforehand and probably wouldn't have been able to prevent it. He'd be dead now!"
Sookie sighed deeply and gave her a halfhearted smile. "They never really got along. I suppose partly because Eric didn't really bother to hide the fact that he wanted to claim me, but I think they have a history as well – Bill never wanted to tell me..."
"'Never really got along' is an understatement – but I can ask Eric what Bill's problem with him is, if you want", Laura suggested and just shrugged when Sookie shook her head. They sat a few moments in awkward silence opposite of each other, before the blonde remembered the question she'd asked her.
"One of the customers gave me the address of a tattoo parlor", she told her with a bright smile and fumbled around at her hip until she pulled a tiny piece of paper out of the pocket of her hot pants and unfolded it before she placed it on the desk in front of Laura. "It should be a really good one, because the guy had several tattoos – which looked quite well done – and he said he always goes there, whenever he want's to get a new one."
"Wow – thank's Sookie, you've been a big help! I wouldn't have had any idea where to go as there are so many in Shreveport...", Laura admitted and suggested, that they should start their tour around the area then.
The blonde seemed to be shocked, that Laura drove Eric's corvette, but agreed that it would be better to drive with the sports car, than with her little yellow jalopy.
Fist Laura considered to let Sookie drive the car, but as she knew how much the Viking hung on it and how hard it had been to convince him of letting her drive it, she supposed it was better not to betray his trust by handing the key flippantly to someone else – even if Sookie didn't look like a speeder to her.
So the blonde played the GPS – quite literally, as she took delight in using phrases a navigation system would have. She showed her the police department, the church and the high school. Next they drove by the hospital and Jason's house (yes – he had his own house, but only because he inherited the house that had belonged to her parents) until they turned into the Hummingbird road.
Sookie's house was nothing like Laura had imagined, as Eric had complained about it on some occasions. It looked completely new and at least the facade had been repainted recently.
"I was on -... vacation for a few weeks. Actually i just came home a few days ago, so you're really lucky that you caught me", Sookie explained with a forced grin, that told Laura, that this 'vacation' had probably not been like the one she had spend with Godric, "Apparently Jason thought I was dead – with all that happened before I disappeared – and had the audacity to sell Gran's house. Now guess who bought it! – Eric!"
Laura felt her lips forming a silent "oh" before she nodded in understanding. That explained why everything here was so neat and meticulously clean and nowhere near the ramshackle hut Eric had ranted about.
But the blonde didn't seem to be overly happy about the fact that it wouldn't need a new varnish or a few new roof tiles anytime soon.
"You don't like that he renovated it?", Laura asked a bit confused, "I think it looks lovely – and he obviously made some effort because from what I've seen of his own mansion it's nowhere near his style. He didn't change much, did he?"
"No, but- ... Argh!", Sookie tried to explain, but obviously lacked the right words and ended grunting in annoyance instead. "You're much too close to him, he's already twisted you round his little finger! Don't you see that this is his way of binding me to him? I told him I didn't want to have anything to do with vampires anymore – and what's the first thing he does? He buys my fucking house!"
Laura's eyebrows furrowed in disbelieve as she eyed the upset waitress warily. "Eric is a much better man than you give him credit for, Sookie. And I understand that you're upset because you think he 'tricked' you – but don't you see, that this is his way of showing you how much you mean to him?", she asked the blonde, but only received a frown in response, which encouraged her to elaborate her thoughts a bit more carefully, "I mean he bought your house and renovated it for you! How long are you back now – four days? Have you seen him since? Did he tell you to pay rent now?"
This seemed to set her thinking, as her eyebrows slightly furrowed in a thoughtful expression. "No...", she admitted after some time and eyed Laura confused, "Do you think he's up to something?"
"No! – I think he simply wanted to help you, that's all", she answered but it was definitely possible, that her voice sounded a bit annoyed by then and she couldn't help but mutter a suggestion, "You could call him to thank him, though – I think that would be the right move... Actually it would have already been the right move three days ago..."
Sookie's expression changed to a worried one and she bit on her lip guiltily. "You think it was rude not to thank him immediately", she stated when they had entered the living room, which looked bright and comfortable. Laura merely confirmed her suspicion with a simple nod and took the time to examine her surroundings.
Yeah – she could definitely feel Pam in this house...
"I'll call him in the evening", Sookie gave in with a sigh and gestured her to sit down on the couch, before she disappeared in what Laura supposed was the kitchen. When she returned, she had a tray with two glasses and a huge carafe of ice tea in her hands, which she placed carefully on the couch table in front of her.
"I hope you don't think too bad of me now", Sookie muttered when she sat down beside her and poured them their teas, "I know a different side of Eric, you know. I'm aware that he's a charmer, but he can be a manipulative, selfish a-hole as well..."
"I think everyone is a 'manipulative, selfish a-hole' at times", Laura responded with a shrug, when she took her glass from Sookie and gave her a thankful nod, "But don't worry – I don't think 'bad' of you just because of that. Though I don't really understand, why you told him you didn't want anything to do with vampires any more – you can't project one vampire's character onto all of them, Sookie!"
"I know that", the blonde sighed and stared thoughtfully at her tea for a moment, "I just didn't know how to handle the situation. It was just too much for me then – the kidnap, the escape, the almost draining, the next kidnap, the next almost draining. My life was so boring before I knew them and I didn't even appreciate it! Now I wish I could just go back to this time and enjoy it as I should have in the first place..."
A bitter chuckle escaped Laura then, which earned her a confused gaze from the blonde beside her. "Trust me Sookie – you know nothing about being 'bored'...", she told her in a serious tone and took a sip of her tea, "And you don't really want that – I mean what would life be without a bit of drama every once in a while? At least you know you're living your life to it's fullest."
"If this drama could possibly cost your life, it's another story altogether!", Sookie pointed out, but had a thoughtful expression on her face nonetheless.
"Some drama is worth the risk I think...", Laura muttered and absentmindedly brushed her thumb over the bite marks on her wrist before she sipped on her sweet tea again...
Eric was already sitting on the couch in the living room when she arrived at his house that night. He immediately looked up from the paper in his hands when she entered the room and laid it down beside him, all the while staring intently at her as if he waited for something, which caused her to stop in her tracks.
"What?", she asked confused when this situation started to creep her out and she shifted her weight from one foot onto the other uncomfortably. Her face probably showed how uneasy he made her feel, because his demeanor suddenly changed and his lips turned to a lopsided grin.
"I just got a call from Sookie", he informed her while he slowly stood up and stepped into her direction, "She told me that she liked what I made of her house and if I wanted her to pay rent now."
"Oh", was all Laura could manage to say to that and had trouble to keep herself from grinning. Her lips were pressed to a thin line and pursed a bit – but her eyes probably gave her away anyway.
"You don't happen to know why she suddenly called although she's been back for four days already without any intention of calling me before?", he asked with an amused voice and cocked an eyebrow at her.
"No – absolutely not. Maybe she lost your phone number and just found it again?", she suggested innocently but couldn't suppress a slight grin anymore.
"Fangtasia is in the phonebook."
"..."
"... Thanks, Tiny", he just muttered before he turned to head to the couch again. Her grin turned to a smile while she followed his tall frame with her eyes before she realized that she still stood in the middle of the room rather awkwardly and approached the sofa as well to sit beside him.
He silently handed her the cultural part of the paper without looking up at her and her smile grew bigger when she realized how comfortable this felt. If was just like home, only that a Viking handed her the interesting part of the paper instead of her father – and of course it was several hours later than the usual time she browsed through it.
When she was through with it, she laid it down on the couch table and took the time to inspect the bonsai sitting there. He had taken really good care of it – the leaves looked as healthy as ever and the earth was damp, as if he had just watered it.
"I'd never thought you'd have a green thumb", she mused and took a side glance at the vampire beside her, who's face was mostly hidden by the paper he read in, just his eyes peeking over it. After her statement they had darted into her direction with a piercing glare.
"I don't – Pam's taking care of it", he claimed and huffed slightly before he concentrated on the article he had read, but Laura couldn't help but feel as if he somehow had been a bit embarrassed – or even caught.
"And what about the time she was with us?", she pointed out innocently, "There's no way it would have survived more than three weeks without water!"
But all she received as reply, was that he lifted the paper higher, so she couldn't even see his eyes anymore and she had a hard time to keep from laughing at this move.
No answer was an answer as well in this case...
When she came home from the tattoo studio the next day, her arm still stung a bit. She hadn't expected to get it done immediately and just planned to drop by and make an appointment, maybe look over one of the artists shoulders if they'd let her.
But when they asked which design she wanted to get, Sylvia – one of the tattoo artists – said it wouldn't take long and as the person she should be tattooing was late, she could squeeze her in and well – now she had a tattoo around her left upper arm.
Eric was already pacing back and forth in the living room when she entered it and as he immediately stopped then, she suspected he'd waited for her.
"Who the fuck hurt you?!", he growled and towered over her a split second later, leaving her only to stare at him in shock. His face looked frighteningly angry and the fact that there wasn't much space between them didn't exactly add to her wellbeing.
She was glad that the dreams about him had become less intense and frequent by then, otherwise she'd probably have reacted a bit... excited about this closeness. And she really didn't want to deal with a cocky Eric right now...
"It's nothing Eric", she assured him and covered her arm as if she wanted to protect it from his wrath, "I just got a tattoo. I'm sorry if it woke you..."
"I was already awake anyway – but you could have warned me", he stated still quite pissed but definitely more relaxed than before. "Does Godric know about this? He called me earlier, by the way. I should tell you that he will arrive soon."
He buried his hands leisurely in the pockets of his black trousers and started to pace again, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like 'he'll kill me' while she followed his movements with her eyes.
"What are you talking about? Who will kill you?", she asked alarmed, disappointed that she hadn't been informed about another lunatic wreaking havoc or some other threat, but also worried about the vampire in front of her. She just hoped it wasn't this idiotic Bill again...
"Godric of course! And of course you didn't tell him!", the Viking spat when he stilled for a moment to pierce her with a hard glare, only to increase the speed of his restless pacing the next second, "He won't be amused and he'll blame me, because I didn't keep an eye on you! Please don't tell me you got one of those tramp stamps or silly little flower tattoos!"
Laura's eyebrows rose in surprise and relieve washed over her when she realized there was no new King of Louisiana after him or something equally threatening. "Well – not that it's any of your business, but I can assure you it's none of that", she told him dryly, which caused him to stop and stare disbelievingly at her.
"It became my 'business' the moment you decided to stay under my roof", he informed her through gritted teeth, "Show it to me!"
"No."
"I said: show it to me!"
"I understood you the first time – and I said 'no'."
"For Odin's sake Laura – show me your fucking tattoo or I swear I'll rip this shirt off of you!", he threatened and was suddenly in front of her again, his hand dangerously grabbing the hem of said shirt. She inhaled sharply but otherwise didn't react to his statement or move.
'Rip this shirt off of you' my ass – as if he'd really dare to do that...
"You'd risk Godric waltzing in here to a scene like that?!", she asked in a honeyed voice and tilted her head to the side. She bet he wouldn't dare to really do it – and she was right. He backed off with an absolutely unamused face but gave in nonetheless.
"I just hope you know what you do...", he muttered and stared at the floor absentmindedly, "He won't like this. You better prepare a good speech why you did something so stupid..."
"It's not stupid! I always wanted to have a tattoo and it's not like I just went to the studio and got the first best pattern I saw there", she exclaimed a bit angry now, "I gave it a very deliberate thought – trust me!"
This seemed to gain his attention again, because he lifted his eyes to hers again. "Now you've made me curious", he mused, "What could you have possibly inked into your skin you'd want to have there permanently? – which we both know could very well be a looong time..."
He looked her up and down as if he hoped to get an idea what kind of motive she chose and Laura couldn't suppress a smirk when he returned to her face with a slightly disappointed expression on his own.
"No flower – so maybe an animal. A bird?"
She shook her head.
"A cat."
"Why would I want to have a cat on my upper arm?", she asked incredulously.
"So you're a dog person! – that's a surprise..."
"No. I'm not a 'dog person' – I like cats better, but that's not the point. No cat on my arm. And stop guessing – I'll show you as soon as it's nice to look at."
"Hm. A Horse?", he tried again, obviously ignoring her last statement and she groaned in frustration.
"Now it's getting ridiculous!", she exclaimed and convulsed her face in disgust. "If you really think I'd ink a horse on my shoulder you're very much mistaken!"
"A snake then?"
"I always had a soft spot for reptiles but it's not a snake either."
"But-", he started, but was interrupted by a sound that reminded Laura of someone coughing. She immediately wheeled around in surprise, to find the source of this sound and her eyes widened when she spotted a vampire standing in the doorway to the living room.
"Godric!", she exclaimed happily and before she knew it, her feet already moved her towards him, first a bit hesitant, but the last steps almost running. As her headache had slowly reappeared about a week ago, her head hammered profusely from this fast movement, but she didn't give a damn in that moment. As soon as he was within reach she flung her arms around his neck and deeply inhaled his pleasantly familiar scent.
Though she was aware that he didn't respond and even became a bit tense under her touch, she didn't intend to let go any time soon and just enjoyed his closeness. When she finally felt him wrapping his arms around her as well, she was even a bit startled at first, but silently smiled in the crook of his neck then and snuggled even closer to him.
"I missed you...", she mumbled against his skin, but he seemed to understand her nonetheless, as he squeezed her slightly in response. He didn't say anything, but at least he showed her that he listened to what she said.
She knew she should probably be embarrassed about her behavior, but she couldn't feel anything beside joy and relieve to finally be with him again. Though their parting hadn't been very emotional and she had even been a bit relieved about not having to face his indifferent mask for a few days, she had already started to miss him a few hours after he left. And of course this feeling increased exponentially during the following three weeks...
"I have a present for you...", she told him in a low voice when she reluctantly let go of him and lifted her eyes to examine his expression in slight embarrassment, "I've already placed it in your room – I hope you'll like it..."
His hands still rested on her hips, while her fingers absentmindedly played with the collar of his shirt. He didn't seem surprised by this revelation, as she had already told him as much on the phone, but a faint smile indicated, that he at least appreciated her effort, even if he might not like the present itself.
"Then I should probably go and look for it", he mused in a low voice which caused the small hairs on her neck to stand up in delight, but she shook her head vigorously.
"No – not yet! Please wait until I'm asleep – and I'd like you to sleep over it as well before we talk about it", she explained, but could feel heat creeping into her cheeks. No, she really didn't want to discuss that letter right now...
"I'll leave you some privacy. I'm heading to Fangtasia", Eric suddenly informed them and Laura couldn't help but feel that he had sounded a bit bitter. When she worriedly turned to look at him, he already headed past them and didn't bother to spare a glance at either of them before he disappeared though the door behind them.
"What have you been talking about earlier?", Godric's question distracted her, before she could have developed a guilty conscience for ignoring the Viking since his maker appeared.
"You mean before you got our attention?", she tried to make sure and when he just nodded she began to explain, "He tried to guess which motive I tattooed on my arm."
A mild chuckle escaped her lips when she recalled his ridiculous guesses and her hand absentmindedly reached to her left shoulder.
"So that is why it faintly smells of your blood here – you got a tattoo?", Godric asked, but if he was surprised he didn't show it. Maybe it was because she had already mentioned that it was on her list. She definitely hoped it wasn't because he just didn't give a damn...
"Yes – just a few hours ago. It's still a bit swollen and red, but I'll show you as soon as it's nice to look at!", she assured him with a careful smile, "I hope you won't feel offended when you see it..."
"Why would I be offended?", he asked with slightly furrowed eyebrows and eyed her carefully.
"You'll understand my worries as soon as you'll see it...", she just muttered and bit on her lip.
"Then I hope the swelling will fade away soon", he noted while he deliberately tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, "You have made me curious." She swallowed, totally aware that he intently observed her every move and that his fingers still lingered below her ears, just where her jaw merged into her throat.
"I have good news, by the way", he informed her with a faint smile when he withdrew his hand, just to place it on her hip again. He still loosely embraced her, while her hands continued fidgeting with his collar. Only when she realized how that had to look like, she forced her fingers to keep still and laid them flat on his chest instead. "I found her."
"You did?", she asked a bit baffled, as his appearance only two days after her phone call had caused her to believe that he rather lost the trace than found her. To be honest, she had already become accustomed to the idea of becoming a vampire and the thought of simply being healed didn't sound that tempting any more. This would mean that she'd age and die eventually – not a particularly appealing thought...
And who knew if this woman would help her anyway? Just because he found her didn't mean that she was willing to heal her, just because she asked her to...
"Yes – but we should be on our way rather sooner than later", he informed her promptly, "How soon could you be ready to leave?"
A bit taken aback by that question she bit on her lip and lowered her gaze to his chest again, while she contemplated her answer. "I still have something to do here...", she started hesitantly and her glance scurried briefly to his face before it rested on her hands again.
"And what exactly are you planning to do?", he asked with a low but distinctly displeased voice, "She is known to change her location every few weeks. If we come there too late, my search was for nothing."
"There is still one goal on my bucket list I haven't accomplished yet...", she muttered meekly and stared at her fingers in embarrassment. According to the heat she could feel in her cheeks, she had to look like a tomato...
"And that would be?", he asked and his voice sounded almost a bit alarmed. When she didn't answer immediately, she felt his fingers grab her chin to tilt her head upwards like he did so often. Like this she was forced to look into his face, if she didn't want to make this whole situation even more embarrassing for herself.
His eyebrows were slightly furrowed and his lips formed a thin line, leaving no trace of the faint smile that had been there only moments ago. By the way she suddenly felt his chest rise under her hands she knew that he inhaled and as this movement was so prominent in that situation, she concluded that it was the first time he actually took a breath since she had practically jumped into his arms.
"Tell me what exactly this last task of yours is."
She couldn't help but avert her eyes for a moment, when she only muttered "I want to loose my virginity..." and felt her cheeks turning an even darker shade. He immediately let go of her and even took a step back, as if he had burned himself and the sudden loss of physical contact caused her to sway a moment before she found her balance again.
"Then you should do this as soon as possible. Inform me when you are ready to leave", was all he said in that matter and turned his back to her, "I have a few errands to run – have a good night Laura."
"Wha-", was all she could blurt out before she realized that he was already gone and stopped mid word. With her eyebrows furrowed in concern she slowly approached the couch to sit down and recall the scene that had just proceeded with as much composure as she was able to must in that situation.
Laura had hoped to tell him this with a bit more tact, though she had never intended to ask him right away. She had expected him to react a bit more emotional – not as highly reserved as he did – and she had hoped he would have enough interest in that matter, to ask her more about her plans. Who she intended to do it with, for example.
She had hoped that his reaction would confirm or at least encourage her suspicion that he wanted to … upgrade their relationship.
But all she had now were even more doubts. How the hell would she ever be able to approach him directly with her wish – and to top it all, even 'as soon as possible'?
AN: hey there :)
I hope you liked this update though there is not much Godric in it - but I can assure you that the next will be interesting...
As S. Rune pointed out that a playlist of all the songs mentioned in the one or the other way would be nice (a wonderful idea by the way - I would never have thought of that) I arranged one on youtube - you'll find it under "Painting On The Wall" if you're interested - and you'll recognize the username ;)
Only now I realized how often I used Aqualung -_- his texts just fit much too well and easily ^^' - but I'm glad that I was finally able to use a Patrick Wolf song :) I would have liked to insert more of them - or more of Beirut - but that's unfortunately not that easy ^^'
Thanks to all the reviewers again! sammiesealface, galwidanatitud, Royal Ember, Arenola, Pelawen Night, Cotille S, bridget237, S. Rune and 3mily - I really appreciate it!
Thanks for reading and till the next chapter :)
~ Orange