...
That's why I'm singin', baby don't worry,
'cause now I got your back
And every time you feel like cryin',
I'm gonna try and make you laugh
And if I can't, if it just hurts too bad,
then we will wait for it to pass
And I will keep you company
through those days so long and black
[Bright Eyes – Bowl Of Oranges]
...
"Remind me to keep an eye on her while we're at this man's house", her father muttered behind the palm of his hand. Laura had to chuckle when she noticed Eric darting a mischievous glance in their direction, before he concentrated on the traffic again, just as he should – he was their driver after all.
Together with the Viking she had picked her parents up at the airport and currently they were on their way back to his mansion. They had agreed that he'd have to remove their memories concerning its location, but other than that, they all intended to celebrate a totally normal Christmas; or as normal as it could be – with three Vampires (whereas two of which had nothing good to say about Christianity) and her formerly rather vampire-wary parents under one roof.
"You're aware that he can hear you Dad?", Laura reminded him with an amused tone, still just happy to spend the next few days with her parents again and let her head rest on his shoulder. It had only been two and a half weeks since Godric had asked her to come to Shreveport, because he'd found a trace of Greta, but Laura had still missed them – especially since she felt even closer to them after they'd talked things out. The thought of how things might have turned out had Godric not glamoured them, still nagged a bit at her, but she supposed their relationship would never have turned out the way it was now, had he reacted any other way…
"Of course- but I don't see a problem in that as long as she doesn't hear me...", her father whispered and darted a meaningful glance to Laura's mother. She was sitting in the front beside Eric, deep in conversation with the Viking, telling him how much progress she'd been able to make with her research since he'd started to supply her with Vampire blood and how thankful she was for his help. Apparently she was absolutely oblivious to the fact that her husband and daughter were speaking about her behind her back...
"...I see what you're getting at – and I'll remind you; though I doubt that it'll be necessary", she whispered back with a smile and the wolfish grin her father gave her told her he knew what she'd been getting at.
"I love it when she's wearing that dress", he agreed, „It still fits like the first day I laid my eyes on her, almost 25 years ago." They fell silent again, listening to her mother's enthusiastic elaboration of her branch of science. Laura noticed that her dad had a fond smile on his lips whenever she glanced up at him, all the while until they finally arrived at Eric's house. It made her feel childishly happy to see how deeply in love her parents were after all those years they had already spent together. She just hoped she'd be just as happy with Godric, but only time would tell...
As Laura had expected, her parents were obviously surprised by the house in front of them, and probably a bit overwhelmed by its rather modern looking style in the middle of nowhere. They'd probably expected something a bit more modest or old fashioned – but they should've known better; she'd told them the man was a Viking...
"Welcome to my humble abode Mr. and Mrs. Freeman – make yourself at home", Eric told them, when he had opened the door and held it open for his guests to step in. Laura scurried in before her parents, to be the first one inside and hurriedly stepped out of her shoes and into the fluffy red slippers she'd bought with Pam about a week ago. Just when she'd heard Eric closing the door and activating the security system, the other two stepped beside her.
"Just pull off your shoes here – I got you some slippers just like mine the other day", she informed them with a grin and fetched a cloth bag she'd placed beside the shoe mat, before she extracted said slippers and handed them to her parents. When everyone had fluffy feet (even Eric, who had accepted the shoes with a heavy sigh and a nasty glare at Pam a few days prior) they made their way into the living room, where Pam still decorated the already much too overloaded Christmas tree. Godric was probably just in a crucial stage of dinner preparation, otherwise he would've been there to greet them by then.
"Wow – this is-... wow", her mother finally said after a few awkward moments of silence, obviously commenting on the tree she was staring at with big eyes. Laura wasn't entirely sure if it had been meant as a compliment, but according to the huge smirk on Pam's face, at least the female vampire interpreted it as such.
"Thanks", she said in her usual, smug voice and finally (finally!) put the decorations away that (miraculously) hadn't yet found their way onto the tree, before she strode towards them. "My name is Pamela Swynford De Beaufort. Welcome to our home – I hope you'll enjoy your stay in Shreveport!", she introduced herself when she'd come to stand in front of them and offered her hand to Laura's father.
"I thought it wasn't common for vampires to shake hands?", he stated a bit surprised, but accepted the hand nonetheless. Polite as always, he even bent forward to place a kiss on the back of Pam's hand, which she allowed with a lopsided smirk.
"You're right that it's not common among vampires, but we usually adapt our habits to our company – and it's been a while since I had the pleasure to meet such a gentleman", the female vampire informed them and turned to Laura's mother to repeat the gesture – minus hand kiss of course.
"I'll just flit to the kitchen to see where-", Laura started, but stopped mid sentence, when she felt the telltale wisp of air announcing the approach of a vampire at high-speed, only seconds before two cool hands settled on her shoulders and her lips involuntary curved into a smile.
"Please excuse my belated arrival – I was preoccupied with your dinner", he politely explained and continued before anyone had the time to comment on that remark. "My name is Godric DeGaule – I'm honored to meet you in person, Mr. and Mrs. Freeman." The hands on Laura's shoulders disappeared for a moment, only one returning, while the other greeted first her father, then her mother.
"Laura told us we already met before – but unfortunately I can't remember anything about that encounter", her Dad pointed out, sounding a bit sheepish, "I apologize for whatever we did back then – I hope you can forgive us. I can see now what a positive influence you have on our daughter. She looks much livelier since she's back from your trip to Europe – and now that the differences between you are obviously settled again, I'd even go so far as to call her mood radiant!"
When Laura glanced up at Godric over her shoulder, she couldn't help but smile when she saw his startled expression. He'd made an effort to show his emotions more openly in her presence and she was so glad to finally be able to gauge his feelings and thoughts more properly, but she wouldn't have thought that he'd allow himself to relax like that in front of – for him – strangers.
"There is no need for forgiveness – I can hardly blame you for something you cannot even recall", Godric pointed out, his calm deep voice caressing Laura's ears in a way that she had to make an effort not to unconsciously close her eyes. She wondered briefly if her parents felt the same, if his soothing tone affected them just as much, but she quickly dismissed the idea – it was disturbing to complete that train of thought...
"I'm glad you feel that way", her mother noted and heaved a relieved sigh, "and please, just call us Charlotte and Walter – you three have done so much for Laura, I think it's high time we're on first name basis!"
"Well, some of us already are", Eric remarked with a grin, causing her mother to giggle (yes, giggle – like a teenage girl and Laura hoped the ground would just open up and swallow her whole...).
"This is fine with me, if you call me just Godric in return – I come from a time when last names were not overly common anyway", Godric accepted the offer with a small smile and a nod.
"And of course you can just call me Pam as well", the female vampire tossed in and taking a glance at the paper bag her father was still holding, she continued, "I couldn't help but notice that you didn't leave this bag with the rest of your luggage – I suppose it contains presents? We've decided to gather all under the tree – you can just place it there!"
She gestured to said tree (as if anyone could've missed it…) and had her arm already linked with Laura's dad, ready to drag him with her, when he stopped her actions with the low rumble of his chuckle.
"I completely forgot about that – I'm sorry, we're horrible guests", he admitted with an apologetic smile and reached into the bag to produce... a bag of banked blood?! "Normally we would've brought a nice bottle of wine, but as you'd hardly be able to drink it, we thought this was the right thing to go with?" He looked a bit uncertain around himself. "It felt wrong to just bring 'True Blood'... I don't know – if it was a stupid-"
"No, this is just fine – you're really a gentleman", Pamela practically purred and whisked the paper bag from her father's fingers, "I'll just place them in the fridge."
Just when she'd disappeared Eric gestured to the big couch in the center of the room. "Please take your seat – I'll just fetch something to drink. Is champagne as aperitive okay?"
"Champagne is always 'okay', Eric", her mother laughed while she headed to the sofa and took a seat beside her already sitting husband. The Viking flashed them a smile and nodded before he disappeared as well.
"I am afraid I have to return to the kitchen – otherwise you probably will not enjoy your dinner", Godric sighed, regarding Laura's parents with an apologetic glance.
"So you're really cooking tonight's meal?", her father asked in disbelief, his slightly skeptical expression betraying that he doubted that anything tasty would end on their plates that night.
"He's a damn good cook!", Laura immediately felt the need to defend the vampire beside her, "He may not be able to taste it, but his nose helps him to know which ingredients harmonize best. Trust me – you'll be surprised how wonderful it'll taste!"
"Now you're exaggerating a bit mo ghràidh", Godric muttered with a faint smile but gently squeezed her hand as if to tell her a silent 'thanks'. She could've sworn she heard her mother stage-whisper something like "They already have pet names for each other – how cute!" and rolled her eyes in slight annoyance. The vampire beside her only chuckled and pecked her on the cheek, before he vanished with a wisp of air. Standing alone in the middle of the room, Laura decided to make herself comfortable as well and made her way towards the couch.
"They're really very nice people", her mother stated while her eyes roamed about the room, certainly making a mental list of the things she'd decorate their own house with soon and Laura just nodded with a smile, before she flopped down on the sofa beside her father.
"I'm so glad I met them – I don't know where I'd be without them", she replied honestly and just then Pam and Eric entered the room with a bottle of Champagne, and three glasses.
"Awww – we're just as glad to have you here with us Tiny!", Eric informed her in a singsong voice, the annoying nickname causing her to roll her eyes, but she still couldn't contain a smile. At least he refrained from calling her 'darling' or – even worse – 'honey pie' as long as he knew that Godric was within earshot…
"We can't all be hulks", she retorted and couldn't help but stick her tongue out at him.
"Now, now – behave children!", Pam demanded with a much too strict voice to be taken seriously, the almost fond smile on her usually only smirking lips making it even harder.
„Won't you drink anything?", Laura's father asked, and gestured to the glasses – the three of them.
„Oh – we don't need much, and we've already had our meal for the night", Eric assured him with a polite smile and seated his impressive frame gracefully in one of the armchairs opposite the couch after he had poured his guests the champagne. Laura had the impression he was a bit stiff, but she was probably just reading too much into his behavior.
„But if you're offering…?", Pam asked sweetly and was biting suggestively on her bottom lip, while she smirked at Laura's dad with a meaningful glance. The man was obviously taken aback – if his slack jaw was anything to go by – and Laura would probably have chuckled, hadn't Eric cut in with a harsh tone.
„Stop it, Pamela!"
The Viking was glaring at his progeny with a reprimanding look and she visibly shrunk on her chair with her head ducked in a submissive stance. „Don't mind her – she obviously needs to polish her manners", he told Laura's father and his voice almost sounded like a purr now, in total contrast to his former hiss.
„I'm sure it was just a joke, Eric", her mother tried to calm the waves and darted an uncertain glance in her husband's and daughter's direction, as if to ask for support.
„Yeah – and even if it wasn't, it was just a simple question", Laura pointed out, eyeing Eric with a concerned frown. The Viking looked briefly at her but quickly averted his glance to her mother again. Just when he opened his mouth to reply something, Pam leant over to him from her armchair and rested her temple on his shoulder, her hands softly curling around his biceps.
„My maker is just looking out for me – in another company my behavior may have cost me my teeth, or even a few months in a silver coffin", she defended him with an almost sheepish glance. „I shouldn't have put you on the spot like that – I'm sorry Walter."
The addressed man only blinked in surprise and quickly pointed out that no harm was done. Fortunately the conversation proceeded a bit more relaxed and soon Laura found herself snuggled against her fathers side while her mother was shown to the bathroom by Pam.
„I have to say your home is really impressive", he tried to make polite conversation while the two most talkative persons were absent. Laura could've rolled her eyes at the direction this was without a doubt heading, but she was just happy that her father even made the effort to keep talking.
„You are? I've been to your home once or twice and it is rather impressive as well – and you didn't have centuries to accumulate the necessary money", the Viking countered with a lopsided grin, „As far as I'm informed you inherited some of your fathers wealth, but most of it found it's way into your possession only recently."
„You did your homework."
„Just like you, I suppose."
„Unfortunately there wasn't much to dig up", her father admitted with a grin, „Of course there is Fangtasia and its commercial account, but other than that I wasn't able to find any investments or registry records in your name. Neither here nor anywhere else – not even in Sweden!"
When Eric quirked a questioning eyebrow, Laura ducked her head guiltily. „I told him about our stay at your house", Laura explained sheepishly and gave him an apologetic grin. The viking just chuckled and looked up when Pam entered the room again, slowly making her way towards the armchair she'd sat in.
„Charlotte wanted to – ‚look a bit around on her own'", she informed them with a smirk and marked the quote with the crooking of her fingers in the air. A meaningful glance towards her maker however, told Laura that there was probably something else going on and when Eric suddenly started to smirk like a lunatic, she was certain there was something cooking…
„I'd never have thought anyone would ever dare to give him The Talk", he remarked and if his strange expression was anything to go by, he was probably struggling to keep from laughing.
„Laura has to have got her guts from someone", Pam pointed out and now it was official – they had lost Laura completely.
„What the hell are you talking about?", she demanded to know and forced herself to let go of her father, to straighten up in her spot. Pam only cocked an eyebrow and was obviously too amused by her cluelessness to offer any explanation. The Viking fortunately had mercy with her though.
„Your mother is currently in the kitchen – informing Godric about the consequences he has to face, if he ever fails to cherish you as you deserve to be cherished, or disrespects you in any kind of way", he informed her with a grin, "I wish I could see this..."
"What?!", Laura exclaimed dumbstruck and jumped up from her seat while her father simultaneously grumbled something along the lines of "damn – this woman!" and "that wasn't what we agreed upon!" and seemed to have the same in mind as her: to get to the kitchen as soon as humanly possible.
Without a word she grabbed his arm and pulled him along while she made her way into the direction they could already faintly hear her mother's voice from. Luckily the kitchen wasn't situated all too far from the living room, so her mother had probably not come too far before Laura barged in with her father in tow with an irritated "what's going on here?!"
Her mother seemed a bit taken aback by their unexpected company, but at least that took the wind out of her sails and caused her to stop lecturing Godric for whatever the hell exactly...
"Your mother just informed me how much she loves you and reminded me to always treat you respectfully", Godric offered helpfully, an almost amused smile playing around his lips. Thank God – he wasn't angry because of her mother's overprotectiveness...
"Well, in essence… yeah", her mother agreed and just shrugged sheepishly when she met her dad's reprimanding glare.
"As if he'd needed that input – Godric is a perfect gentleman", she informed them, still a bit irritated and stepped beside her vampire to give him a quick peck on the cheek.
"What was that for?", he asked with a small smile and tilted his head slightly to the side, looking down at her in mild surprise.
"Do I need a reason?", she asked a bit baffled but gave in and shrugged her shoulders. "For being you I guess? You could have reacted differently – but you didn't and I'm grateful for that."
He just hummed in acknowledgement and Laura turned her attention back to her parents who where talking to each other in hushed voices, her father apparently still not exactly amused by her mother's actions, if his grim expression was anything to go by.
"I guess we should head back to the living room – we're mixing up Godric's schedule", Laura informed the both of them bluntly and stepped between her parents, grabbing each of them by the arm before she headed back to where they'd come from, mouthing a "sorry" to her vampire, before she stepped through the kitchen door.
"Well – you're a spoilsport Tiny", Eric remarked upon their arrival in the living room, which Laura only acknowledged by sticking out her tongue at him.
With Pam and her mom back in the picture, the conversation flowed seemingly effortlessly and Laura resumed her comfortable position beside her father once more.
When Gordic asked them to come to the dining room about half an hour later, Laura noted that her mother tried to choke a surprised gasp. If it was because of the many deliciously smelling dishes littered upon the table, or because the room had been excessively decorated by Pam (she probably felt the need to make up for all the years Eric had forbidden her to do so), she didn't know – it was probably a mix of both.
Dinner itself was a slightly awkward affair – Laura was used to vampires watching her eat by then, but her parens obviously weren't and it was easy to see that it made them feel slightly uncomfortable. But just as in the living room, Pam kept the conversation flowing and even Godric made an effort to take part of it. By the time the dessert was served Laura's parents had both vowed for several times already, that they'd never doubt Godric's cooking skills ever again.
For obvious reasons, they had decided to move the unpacking of the presents up to after dinner, which is why they gathered under the horrendous Christmas tree, feeling almost uncomfortably filled with the delicious food Godric had prepared for them – which was probably the reason why Pam was the first to hand out her presents.
Eric – in his wild Viking manner – made short work with the wrap and couldn't suppress a grin when he found a golden Viking helmet inside. There was a chain attached to it, probably to hang it somewhere and as Pam had often criticized the fact that his Corvette lacked a good luck charm on the rear mirror, Laura had already an idea where it would end up.
As Godric had forbidden both other vampires to get anything for him, that left only Laura, who received some sort of rolled up document, only kept together by a red strap. Unable to tame her curiosity, she immediately opened the ribbon and unrolled the paper to see what she'd written on it – and for a moment all she was able to do was blink disbelievingly.
There – in black and white – it said that she, Laura Freeman, was owner of a fashion company with a float 200 000 $. Pam and Eric were listed as partners, Eric as financial manager while Pam would be head of marketing.
"Are- are you serious?!", she stuttered disbelievingly and looked up at the both of them.
"Well, of course Tiny", the Viking grinned, "I have a feeling that this will be a good investment and my intuition when it comes to money seldom betrays me."
"You mentioned you wanted to enroll in some sort of fashion school in Dallas? Forget that! You don't need a school – you just need someone who knows how to run a business and sell your product", Pam interjected before a smirk appeared on her lips and she pointed a thumb at the Viking beside her, "and we happen to have experience with that!"
"But of course it's no obligation – it's merely an offer", Eric informed her with a shrug, his face almost bored, as if he couldn't care less one way or another, "We're sure that you could become pretty famous in the fashion industry though – if you wanted that, that is."
Laura just stared at her parents as if to ask for their opinion, but realized that they weren't in the picture yet and handed the document she'd received from Pam, to her father. His eyes immediately skimmed over the written words and widened a fraction – probably when he saw the amount of money they intended to invest in the… project (she couldn't bring herself to name it anything else yet), but other than that he was able to maintain a pokerface. Her mother on the other hand – who had read the document over his shoulder – seemed pretty shocked, if her open mouth and wide eyes were anything to go by.
"Well Laura – this seems to be a once in a lifetime opportunity. The only question is: Will I be able to get my next suit there as well – or are you planning on concentrating on female customers?", her father asked when he finally looked up from the document. His serious expression left Laura speechless for a moment, but when she finally had been able to process his question she could only stare at him in disbelieve.
„So you think I should do it? You don't think it's a bit fast? I don't even have any qualification to speak of!", she pointed out, her eyes hopping from her father to her mother and back.
„That's really not true! You've been tailoring your own clothes for years now – and the dress you sew for me last christmas is one of my favorites", her mother pointed out with a reassuring smile – obviously already past her first shock. Laura heard her father mutter something like 'one of mine as well…' before he darted a meaningful glance at his wife who playfully boxed his shoulder and told him to shut up.
„Of course you still can go to that fashion school, like you planned to. The offer stands, no matter if you accept it now or in however many years it'll take you to be ready", Eric intercepted, obviously trying to calm Laura down again, „We didn't want to upset you. It's just a chance we thought you should have – and we're here. We'd help you. You wouldn't have to do it alone – in fact you can completely concentrate on the creative part alone, if that is what you want – we'd take care of anything else."
Laura nodded mutely and bit on her lip for a second. „I'll have to think about it – but thank you! I'm sorry I reacted like that – I was just a bit shocked", she pointed out and glanced forlornly at the document her father had handed her back a few moments before, „This is just so much money…"
„Do not worry about the money mo ghràidh – we had a lot of time to accumulate it. Now seems to be a good time to spend some of it – and trust me: this amount is nothing for Eric", Godric suddenly spoke up as well and the cool hand rubbing circles over her back immediately managed to calm her down a bit.
"I think it's time for our present", her mother stated in a rather obvious attempt to change the topic and tugged on her dad's sleeve, "You have it, right?"
Laura's father just nodded and slipped his hand in his pocket, retrieving a key with what looked like a mini guitar as pendant. "We've been to your grandmother's apartment recently and well... it's a beautiful flat but it's a waste if nobody's living there, so we thought it would be a good idea to give it to you", he told her with a nonchalant shrug and tingled with the keys in his fingers, "You can either live there yourself or rent it out – it's up to you now. It's yours – your Gran would've wanted it that way..."
Laura stared baffled at the keys still dangling in front of her face, only now realizing that she knew their shapes, that she'd used them on a daily basis a while back.
"Are you serious?!"
"Is that you default response to receiving gifts now?", Eric asked dryly and cocked an eyebrow at her, which she only answered with an annoyed glare. She was pretty sure the question was pretty justified, considering how opposed her parents had been to her staying there only a few months ago...
"Yes – we're serious. We are aware that this is a 180 to our previous stance on that matter – but honestly, we can't really remember anything of that and also couldn't come up with a logical reason why not", her mother explained with a thoughtful expression and gave her a small smile. "We're aware that you'd probably want to stay in Dallas with your boyfriend now – is that the right term? – but even if you plan to live with him in his house, it can't hurt to have a place to turn back to for a few days, should there ever be trouble in paradise..."
Laura could feel tears forming in her eyes but she just couldn't help it. Her grandmother had been one of the most important people in her life and the fact that she'll have the right to enter the place she'd lived in for so long whenever she wanted, meant the world to her. Everything in the apartment wore her signature and reminded her of the kind and understanding person she'd loved so much. It was reassuring to know that even if her gran wasn't with her in person anymore, she'd still left so much behind that would always remind Laura of her.
"Thanks Mom, Dad", she managed to choke out between soft sobs, "You have no idea how much this means to me!" She had no idea when she'd stepped towards them, but she found herself in her fathers strong arms the next moment, her mothers gentle hand rubbing comfortingly over her back.
"It's the right thing to do – and like your father said: your Gran would've wanted it that way", the woman whispered in her ear, causing Laura to sob pathetically.
They stayed like that for several minutes, and Laura was aware that at least two vampires where eying her skeptically – but after a while she fortunately managed to get a hold of herself again.
"I believe it is my turn now", Godric announced when Laura had finally gotten rid of the last few tears and wiggled herself out of her father's embrace. He was holding a small box that looked suspiciously as if it contained some sort of jewelry, his eyes studying her.
"Godric – I thought we wouldn't do this! You said it was a silly custom!", she reminded him with a frown and watched as his lips moved to form a lopsided grin.
"I know for a fact that you have something for me, regardless – it would be quite rude not to have anything for you, would it not?"
One of his eyebrows was cocked in a challenging manner now and Laura could only huff in defeat when she reached for the box. It wasn't wrapped, so she made to open it without hesitation. When her eyes fell on the three pedants and the simple necklace she first didn't think much about it, other than 'thank goodness- it doesn't look too expensive!'. But when she realized that each of them was apparently a little vial she looked up at the vampire with questioning eyes.
"The silver one contains my blood. The reddish Eric's and the blueish Pamela's. Should you ever be in trouble and no one of us is there to help you in person, drink at least one of them", he instructed and continued with a small frown, "I hope it will not be needed, but should you have been harmed, it would even be wise to drink all three. It accelerates the healing process if the blood comes from more than just one vampire, though mine should still be the most effective."
Laura stared at him for a few moments, took a brief glance at the pedants and looked up at him again with a slightly confused expression. "Are you sure you want me to drink Eric's and Pam's blood? I mean – what about the bloodbonds?", she reminded him and kept a keen eye on his reaction, though he didn't seem fazed in the least.
"Your wellbeing has the highest priority – if that means you need to form a bloodbond with my son and/or grandchild, I will gladly accept it", he explained patiently and the small smile appearing around his lips assured her to accept his present without further questions.
"Thank you, Godric – and Eric and Pam!", she told them and briefly averted her gaze to make eye-contact with the other two vampires. "I'm really lucky that you all look out for me that much – thank you!"
"Don't mention it", Eric just muttered and if she hadn't known better, she would've thought he almost looked a bit embarrassed. Pam on the other hand only winked at her and showed a self-satisfied smirk.
"I believe it's my turn now", Laura realized and quickly hurried to get the presents she'd placed under the tree earlier. The biggest parcel was for Pam, who immediately unwrapped her gift and Laura knew it had been the right thing to give her, when the woman couldn't contain a girlish squeal.
"This one's like the dress we saw in Paris!", she exclaimed excitedly and inspected the cloth closely, „Just without this hideous pattern – thanks so much Laura!"
„I'm glad you like it – I came as close to the original design as possible, but I could only find a handful of pictures on the internet", Laura explained with a somewhat sheepish shrug, but happily accepted the hug she was pulled into. She'd seldom seen Pam so affectionate and it made her feel stupidly proud, for causing such an OOC move.
When the woman had let go of her again, her attention still concentrated on the dress in her hands, Laura handed the next gift over. Just like the last time it didn't look like much, but she hoped he'd like it anyway. Eric carefully unwrapped it – in total contrast to his earlier eagerness – and frowned at the unlabeled CD case in his hands.
"What's that Tiny?", he asked slightly confused, "Blackmail material?"
She couldn't help but give him an incredulous glare at that comment. Why would she give him blackmail material (of whichever nature...) as a Christmas gift?!
"Really Eric?", she asked wryly and cocked an eyebrow at him, "It's a CD – so take an educated guess."
"Well – it could be data of any kind – documents, pictures, videos, music-"
"Right!", she stopped him when he'd finally guessed right, "It's music. You said you wanted to hear me sing but I never got around to do so – so I thought I'd give you this. I didn't know which music you liked so I just covered some songs I like at the moment – I hope you don't mind..."
The Viking just stared at her for a few seconds, then his eyebrows furrowed slightly and his gaze dropped to the CD in his hand. When he looked up again a moment later he wore a faint smile and inclined his head. "Thanks – I'm looking forward to listen to it later", he assured her. Glad that he accepted the gift without a fuss she turned to Godric with a small smile.
"I don't know how you knew, but I do have a little something for you as well", she told him, to which he only hummed in response, his lips twitching upwards at the edges just a notch, "Do you already know what it is?"
Eying the vampire in front of her with a slight frown she waited for his answer, but when he shook his head and told her he'd merely found the box between her clothes (she'd put it in her underwear drawer – why the hell he'd looked in there was beyond her; they didn't share it...). Fortunately he'd listened to the little post it she'd put on the lid, telling Godric specifically not to open it (with several ! For emphasis) – just in case – so he was still oblivious when she handed him the neatly wrapped parcel.
He gave her a questioning look as if to ask if he was allowed to open it now and she couldn't help but chuckle at how adorable he acted – a 2000-something year old vampire making sure he had permission to open a gift. "Of course – it's yours, so open it whenever you feel like it", she assured him and just when she'd closed her mouth again she heard paper being ripped and the next moment the jewelry box lay opened in Godric's palm.
By the puzzled look on his face he had no idea what he was looking at though. "I am sorry mo ghràidh, but you will have to tell me how to wear this", he stated in a confused tone – if Laura wasn't completely mistaken he even sounded a bit embarrassed – and took the gift out of the box to inspect it more closely. "Is it a ring? – or a necklace?"
Laura chuckled lightly and stepped a bit closer to reach for the piece in his hand and open the lid of the "ring". The bottom was made of stainless steel – as she was 100% sure that Godric had no problems with that sort of metal, after watching him handle all those pots and knifes in the kitchen for the past several months – while the walls encircling it were of artificial resin and see-through. The case was formed especially to accommodate a ring and a clasp on the lid would ensure that it couldn't drop out on accident. It was meant for the very ring that was most important to Godric, but he was unable to wear because it was made of silver.
It had been a pain to get him to hand it to her for a day without feeding him too much information or lying to hi, but she was glad she'd managed it, because the result looked nicer than she thought it would. The jeweler she'd asked to craft it had fortunately only needed it for a few minutes to make an imprint and handed it back immediately after he'd polished it clean again. Godirc had given her a strange look when she gave it back in the evening, but he didn't question her (which she was quite thankful for).
As Laura kept a close eye on Godric's reaction, the subtile lift of his eyebrows didn't go unnoticed by her and she knew he already had an idea, now that she showed him how to open his gift. "This is why you needed the ring – and why it smelled of silver polish when you handed it back", he concluded and his eyes darted from the pendant in his hand to her face. "You made this so I can wear it!"
Laura sheepishly scratched the back of her head and chuckled. "Yes and no – I didn't make it myself, I have no experience with working with these materials so it wouldn't look nearly as good if I did ", she pointed out and shrugged, "But yes – the idea was to make this, so you can wear your mother's ring. I'm still stunned that you didn't loose it over all this time with no real means to keep it on your body..."
"Well – it is important to me", he stated softly and gave her a small smile before he reached into the pocket of his trousers to fish said ring out. As always it was only wrapped in a handkerchief, until he carefully placed it in the case and closed the lid, making sure the clasp was closed as well. "Would you help me Laura?", he asked and gestured to his neck, so she immediately understood and closed the necklace in his neck.
"Why didn't I have that idea?", she heard Eric's slightly irritated grumble in the background, but was too happy seeing Godric's very pleased expression as he examined the ring inside the case while already wearing it, to react to it.
"Thank you Laura – I really appreciate this gift", he told her and grabbed her hand to gently squeeze it. "But I think it is high time for the last present, is it not?", he asked and tilted his head to the side while a small grin emerged around his lips.
Realizing that he was referring to the pictures she had for her parents, her eyes lit up once more and she eagerly nodded before she scurried over to the tree again, to fetch a simple cardboard tube with a ribbon around it.
"This is for the both of you – it's not much but I'm sure you'll love it!", Laura grinned when she handed it to them. "But I have to admit it was Eric's idea... Well hurry up, open it!"
Her parents regarded each other with a slightly confused look, but then her mother shrugged and opened the top of the tube without further ado. Her slim hands reached into it and pulled two MRT pictures out, which caused her, as well as her father to frown almost immediately.
"Laura, what-", her father was about to ask, but her mother had already opened one of the sheets and was studying them, drawing his attention to the pictures as well.
"Who's head is this – it seems to be completely normal and healthy", her mother asked after she had inspected the second scan as well, her weary glance returning to Laura's face.
"It's mine, mom – Eric made me do the scans last week, just to make sure it worked", Laura informed her with a huge grin, "Godric found the woman he'd been looking for and she really helped me – I'm healed! I won't be dying anytime soon – at least not because of a brain tumor!"
Again her parents exchanged confused looks and when they faced her again her father asked, "Are you serious? – this isn't something to joke about!"
Laura only snorted. "As if I wouldn't know that – I was the one dying", she reminded him dryly, "and of course I'm serious! I'm healed – and you hold the evidence for that in your hands!"
And just like that the almost cheerful facade both of them had put up until now crumbled down in a flash. Before Laura knew it, her mother had flung her arms around her and sobbed into her shoulder, babbling some unintelligible none sense. The only thing she was able to understands were snippets about 'not the last time we celebrate Christmas together'. Her attention briefly shifted to her father when he ruffled her hair affectionately, and she noted with some shock that he had silent tears running down his cheeks as well. Had she known this information would affect them like that, she'd told them another time – and in private. Just because Laura had no problem with three vampires seeing her cry anymore, didn't mean her parents felt the same...
"It's okay mom – I'll still be here for a while. You won't get rid of me so easily", she assured her mother with a small chuckle and rubbed her back soothingly until she'd put herself together again.
"I'm sorry I lost control like that – you must think I'm pathetic...", she stated when she finally let go of Laura, looking embarrassed in the vampires direction.
"No – we think you must love your daughter very much", Eric stated calmly and after a hesitant pause he continued softly, "And I know the feeling of possibly loosing someone who means the world to me – it's impossible to keep control in such a situation..."
"We were very concerned for Laura as well – and we didn't know her for her whole life", Pam put in with a small sincere smile – which was a rather rare expression for her, "We can only imagine how it must've felt for the people who have been close to her for such a long time."
"Thanks for being so understanding – and for caring so much for Laura", her father muttered while he handed his wife a handkerchief. "She wouldn't have anything to laugh about, if it weren't for you...", he muttered while his eyes found Godric's and he inclined his head in a thankful manner.
"I suppose her state of health would not have stopped her from seeing and appreciating the beauty in life, so I like to think that she would've laughed until the end regardless', the obviously addressed vampire pointed out, while Laura could only roll her eyes at the way they spoke about her as if she weren't present at all.
"There's no use in thinking about such things now", she interrupted before this conversation could've turned any gloomier, "I'll live now – so let's celebrate that with some more of that Champagne!"
"… technically you shouldn't even drink yet", her mother pointed out in a careful tone, when she'd regained her composure.
"Don't be such a killjoy!", Laura whined, which only earned her amused chuckles from anyone around, but when Eric later handed her another glass of the drink she had requested, nobody objected and they sat talking animatedly in the living room until four o'clock in the morning (which was pretty late for her parents).
When Laura went to bed that morning – only two hours later – she fell asleep which a content smile on her face and cool arms wrapped protectively around her body.
Life couldn't have turned out much better. A pretty beautiful painting on the wall indeed...
AN: Here is the long awaited last chapter. Sorry that it took me so long - I kind of delved into other fandoms recently and also got a job, so I didn't have much time either...
I hope you liked how everything turned out and maybe I'll write a spinoff/sequel with Eric and Greta as main characters but if and when that will happen is still unclear ^^'
Thanks to everyone who ever reviewed this story or added it to their favorites - I really appreciate it. I'm sorry that I didn't take the time to answer the ones I received since the last chapter, but as I already mentioned - I'm pretty short on time at the moment :/ But I'll try to get back to it later!
As always, thanks for reading and sticking to this story for so long - it was a pleasure writing it with all the lovely feedback I received from you guys!
~ Orange