Chapter Fourteen:

He wanted to strangle that stupid little girl. He wanted to wrap his hands around her shoulders and shake her until some sense was knocked back into that brain of hers. What the hell was wrong with Mackenzie? Why wouldn't she just tell him damn it! He didn't want to get angry, he didn't want to lose his temper and scream, but he no longer had control of his patience. He needed to know what was wrong with her, and he needed to know now.

"Why won't you just tell me?" Eric growled grumpily as he glared across the parking lot of Merlotte's. He hadn't travelled far after storming out of the bar, and instead had just ripped apart several trees before finding himself leaning against his car with his lips forming a thin line. He had tried being patient. He had tried letting her come to him, but none of it seemed to be working. Mackenzie was still being secretive, and he wasn't any closer to finding out what was wrong with her.

And he knew something was wrong.

She wouldn't have bruises littering her body for no reason if nothing was wrong. She wouldn't look like death itself if nothing was wrong. There was something, and he just couldn't figure out what. It was frustrating him to no end. Why wouldn't she just tell him? Didn't she trust him? After fourteen years, did she still think that he didn't care? That she was just his charge? Was this punishment for sending her away?

"God damn it, Mackenzie." He sighed, running his hand through his hair. All he wanted was to help her. He may have been going about it the wrong way by bringing her here, by having Sookie use her gifts to determine what Mackenzie was keeping from him, but it was his last resort. It was either this, or glamouring her, and he had promised himself too many years ago that he would never do such a thing. Even if he desperately wanted to.

"Eric!"

His head suddenly snapped up at the cry of his name. His frown deepened as he straightened, taking a look around before flashing inside of the bar. His orbs darted around the bar, searching for the source of the cry, but found nothing out of the ordinary.

Until Sookie came bursting out of the bathroom as pale as a ghost.

"Eric!" her eyes were wide, tears forming in her eyes as she hurried around the tables until she reached him. Pam, who had been watching with narrowed eyes, reached Eric before even Sookie did. "Eric you have to come quick."

"What?" he cringed at how harsh he sounded. Sookie never even noticed, however, as she just grabbed his arm and started tugging him.

"It's Mackenzie."

Those two simple words were all that he needed. There wasn't even a moment of hesitance as Eric peeled his arm out of Sookie's grasps and ran at full vampire speed into the bathroom. He had smelt the blood before even ripping the door off its hinges. It was a foul smell, the smell of rotting flesh, the smell of death. It filled his nostrils with disdain, and nearly pulled him to a stop in the doorway. He shook his head, however, and shot into the room and to Mackenzie's side.

"Mackenzie?" his hand flew to her cheek, hissing at how cold she was. It was like there wasn't even a hint of warmth left in her body. "Mackenzie can you hear me?"

There was no response as Mackenzie just laid there lifelessly. Eric started to panic as he tried to shake her awake. This couldn't be happening. This could not be happening.

"Wake up, Mackenzie. You need to wake up now." He pleaded with her in the softest tone that had ever escaped his lips. "Please Mackenzie, wake up."

"Eric…" Pam was frozen in the doorway, gaping at the sight before her. The heart that had been dead for over a hundred years now twisted painfully. "Her heartbeat…it's weak."

"I know." His fingers were pressed to her pulse, as if willing her heartbeat to strengthen. "Come on, Mackenzie. Wake up for me, please."

"We should call 911." Sookie suggested. "We need to get her to the hospital."

Eric looked torn. If he took her to the hospital, the last fourteen years he had spent protecting her could be wiped away just like that. If word got out that Mackenzie was here, her family would come looking for her. And if anyone knew the Sheriff of area 5 had a…a daughter, well her life would forever be in jeopardy.

"Eric?" Sookie was looking between Eric and Mackenzie's unconscious form nervously. "You have to…"

"I know!" he snapped at her without lifting his attention off of Mackenzie. He could fix this in an instant. He could revive the teen with only a few drops of his blood. It would be so easy. And yet he knew the consequences if he did. No, it would only be a last resort. She was still breathing, Eric tried to rationalize. There was still time.

With that in mind, Eric lifted Mackenzie's lifeless form into his arms and stood in only a blink of an eye. Sookie had to shake her head in order to piece together what was happening. It was so strange to see Eric like this, to see his fear, to see the vampire actually panic. She knew the arrogant, cold hearted vampire well. This other side to him, however, it was startling.

"I'll call 911." Sookie offered, already digging into her apron to find her phone.

"Don't bother." Pam interjected, her icy cold orbs focused entirely on Mackenzie as Eric carried her towards the door. "He'll be faster."

It took a moment for Sookie to realize what Pam meant, and mentally slapped herself. Of course Eric would be faster. The nearest hospital was at least a good twenty minutes away. Even in an emergency, the ambulance may not get here in time.

"Eric." Sookie attempted to grab his attention as she shifted so Eric could make a quick exit. "Eric!"

"What!" he roared, his orbs blazing as he glared down at her. He didn't have time for this. He didn't have time for her. All that mattered was Mackenzie and her dwindling life. Nothing else.

"I know what's wrong with her." Sookie chewed on her bottom lip as she gazed over the girl. She still couldn't believe the eighteen year old was dying. How could someone so young be battling something so terrible as cancer? It almost didn't seem fair.

Then again, there was a lot in this world that didn't seem fair to Sookie.

Eric couldn't help but be pulled to a stop at her words. He tried to mask his curiosity and fear as his eyes bore right through hers. "What is it?"

"It's…" Sookie sighed heavily, her shoulders slumping forward. Despite her hatred for him, she couldn't fault the girl for his wrong doings. She hoped it wouldn't be too late to help her. "It's cancer. She's dying of cancer, Eric."

It felt like someone as driven a stake right through his heart. He wondered if this was how every parent felt when they were being told their child, their only daughter, was dying of cancer. He didn't want to believe Sookie. He didn't want to think that the bruises, the sickly complexion, meant that she was dying. But what else could it mean? He should have come to the conclusion sooner, he knew that. He had watched her over the last few days as she barely ate, as her frail body seemed to weaken. He knew something was wrong, something much worse than a disgruntled boyfriend.

He just hadn't wanted to admit whatever was wrong with her was fatal.

Pam's eyes widened as she nodded at Mackenzie's form. She had known it the moment she laid her eyes on the kid. There had been so much more to those bruises than what met the eye. But now, that seemed like the last thing they needed to worry about. "Eric! Mackenzie…"

Eric's head snapped down, his own eyes growing wide as the unconscious girl started convulsing in his arms. He cursed in his native language before taking off out of the bathroom. He sped through the bar so fast, not a single patron even had time to blink an eye. One minute they were there, the next, they were gone. Pam just prayed they would make it to the hospital in time.

"Hang in there kiddo." She muttered under her breath as she shot Sookie one last glance before following quickly after her maker.

"What's taking them so long?" Pam scowled as she paced the length of the waiting room. Her eyes narrowed and she would shoot the nurses station dark looks every so often. "We've been waiting for two hours already. Where's the damn doctor?"

"I don't know." Eric answered numbly, his eyes focused on the ugly patterned carpet. His hands gripped one another so tightly, small wounds would form every few minutes before disappearing nearly immediately. He couldn't think straight. Days could have passed and he never would have known the distance. He felt numb, so far away from the rest of the hectic hospital.

Pam frowned as she stopped to take her maker in. He was a mess; she could see that with her own two eyes. He was worried sick, and rightfully so. Just after handing Mackenzie over to the doctors, her heart had stopped and she had to be revived. They had no idea if Mackenzie was even alive or not. All they could do was wait for answers.

"I'm going to tear all their faces off soon." Her hand's curled into fists as she tapped her foot impatiently. "This is ridiculous. Lets just glamour them all and get it over with already."

Eric just continued to sit there, acting as if he hadn't heard a single word that had come out of her mouth. Pam suspected that was true.

"She's going to be alright, Eric." Her expression softened as she came to stand directly in front of her maker, kneeling before him. "She'll pull through. She's a tough girl."

Eric raised his gaze to meet hers, his orbs glazed over. She spied bloody tears forming in the corners of his eyes, tears he was doing everything in his power not to shed.

"Hey," she raised her hand to cup his cheek, offering him a small forced smile. "She's the strongest human I know. She is a Northman, after all."

When he didn't respond, Pam sighed and rested a hand on his knee.

"She'll be fine, Eric."

He was struggling, she could see that. He was always struggling when it had to do with Mackenzie. He had been turned at a time where human emotions just weren't acceptable. His own maker had taught him that. But over the years, especially the last fourteen, that ice that had surrounded his heart had begun to crack. And he didn't know how to manage the new array of feelings. He didn't know how to handle the fear that crept inside of him, the worry that iced his veins. His heart clenched tighter with every passing minute. For the first time in over a millennium, he felt utterly helpless. And he didn't like that feeling at all.

"Should we call Godric?" Pam wondered as she situated herself in the chair beside him, frowning as she shifted in the uncomfortable plastic contraption. "He would want to know."

"Would he?" Eric grunted bitterly, his frown deepening.

Pam raised an eyebrow. Eric rarely was disrespectful towards the maker his idolized. But six years have passed since Godric had abandoned not only Mackenzie, but his own progeny. Pam didn't blame Eric one bit. If he ever thought about vanishing on her without even a goodbye, she would never forgive him.

Not unless he bought her a closet full of Louis Vuitton shoes, of course.

"Do you want me to call him?" She offered.

"No." Eric suddenly stood, his hands curled into tight fists at his sides. "I will."

"Are you sure?"

He didn't respond, and instead, stormed towards the sliding exit doors. Pam sighed as she ran her fingers through her hair before standing as well. She was damn well going to get some answers, even if she had to torture someone.

Eric gazed down at his phone for a good ten minutes before punching in the familiar number and raising the phone up to his ear. He glared at any human that passed by him, hissing at anyone that even glanced in his direction. He wasn't in the mood for this. He wasn't in the mood for this damn call.

"Hello my son."

"Godric." Eric grunted, a fire rippling through him.

"What do I owe the pleasure of this call?" He sounded so calm, like they talked every other week instead of once every few years.

"It's Mackenzie." Eric gripped tightly onto the phone, the plastic groaning as it threatened to crack.

Silence.

"She's in the hospital." Eric continued, his jaw clenching.

"I see."

He wanted to reach through the phone and slam his maker's face against the closest wall. Seven years of helping to raise Mackenzie, and this was Godric's response. How could he just not care? The bond Godric and Mackenzie had shared, it was one even Eric had been envious of. They had been everything to one another. He was the one she turned to, the one she ran to whenever she was upset, whenever she was hurt. It had never been him. Not once. It had always been Godric. Always. And this was how Godric was treating her? Like she was nothing but some silly human that meant nothing to him? Eric knew just how important Mackenzie was to Godric. He knew the turn for the worse his maker had taken over the last century, since they had originally parted ways when he had turned Pam. Godric had changed significantly, and he feared what would have happened to him had Mackenzie not popped into their life.

But she had.

And she had changed everything.

"She's sick, Godric." Eric tired to control his rage. He closed his eyes, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he forced his inner monster from unleashing.

"I see."

"She collapsed tonight." Eric tried desperately to push at the bond they shared, to try and understand what his maker was feeling. But Godric was pushing him back out.

"I see."

"If you say that one more time, Godric…" Eric growled, his fangs threatening to escape. "She's lying in a hospital bed dying, and all you can say is 'I see'?"

He waited. He waited for a reaction, for a response to ensure that his maker hadn't lost the compassion he had fought so hard to keep. But the silence spoke louder than anything Godric could have possibly said.

"She's dying, Godric. She's dying and you're sitting behind some stupid desk like the coward that you are." He didn't care that he was disrespecting his maker. He didn't care at all. This was so much more than that now. "You cared about her once. You loved her once. I want to believe that you still do, but…" he trailed off with a long sigh. "I need you father. I need you here."

"Eric…"

"I don't know what to do. I don't know what I'm supposed to do. She's dying and there's nothing that I can do. I don't know how I'm supposed to do this, Godric. You were supposed to help me. You were supposed to be here." Eric ran a hand down his tired face. "I need you now more than ever."

"I'm sorry."

"She has cancer." He glanced back at the hospital with a frown. "Apparently she's been hiding it from us. I don't know how long she's had it, but she's dying. Pam thought you should know."

When his maker remained silent, the hope Eric had that Godric would return to their lives in Mackenzie's lifetime began to vanish.

"She needs you right now, Godric. She needs someone that will hold her hand through this. I don't know how to be that person for her. You've always been there for her. It's you she wants, it always has been."

"I don't think that I can…"

"I don't know how much longer she has. I don't even know if she's going to make it through the night."

"I'm truly sorry, Eric. Please know that."

"Pam was so certain you would want to know." Eric's patience was starting to waver. He needed to end this conversation before he tore apart the nearest human. And there were far too many potential victims around him. "But I knew. I just knew you wouldn't. I don't know why, nor do I care. You and I…well we have an eternity to figure out why you've just given up. But she's dying, Godric. She's dying and the last thing she'll remembers is that you're not here. And I will never forgive you for that. I will hate you till the day we meet the true death for this."

He hung up before Godric could even apologize, before he could offer his support.

Eric didn't want to hear it. He didn't have time for it. He had a sick little girl waiting for him. He was all she had, and had been for too long now. He wasn't about to fuck this up. Not again.

"Her heart failed twice, but we were able to stabilize her eventually…"

"Your daughter is very ill. The leukemia has spread rapidly in the last month alone…"

"I predict a few months at the most. But that will be entirely up to her. If she fights…"

The Doctor's words kept circulating Eric's thoughts. He had hoped, prayed even, that Sookie had heard wrong, that Mackenzie didn't have cancer and wasn't dying. But the Doctor had provided evidence to Sookie's discovery. Mackenzie was very much dying.

At the sound of rustling, Eric raised his gaze to the shifting girl. They had only just been able to take the tube from her throat that had been helping her breathe. That was the only change in Mackenzie's status. They had predicted it could be a day or two until she woke, her body working harder than normal to function. She was both physically and mentally exhausted. He had seen that. He had witnessed it for days. And yet he still forced her to go to Merlotte's tonight. He berated her relentlessly. He single handily had put her in that bed.

"Daddy?"

It struck him right in the chest to hear that tiny little voice call out to him. She was still asleep, still lost in her dreams, and yet it was as if she knew he was there, just sitting with her. He wanted to reach out to her, to take her hand in his, to reassure her everything was going to be all right. But he couldn't. He didn't know how. This wasn't what he was good at. He could deceive hundreds, manipulate thousands, kill human after human. But comforting a sick, human girl that had been his for fourteen years now, that was the most difficult task he had ever been faced with. He'd rather rage war day after day than to do this. It was easier. He knew how to fight. He knew how to kill. It was all he had known even in his human life. But this, this was so new to him, so strange.

"It's nearly sunrise, Eric." Pam mused as she walked into the room, laying a comforting hand on Eric's shoulder. "I know you don't want to leave her side, but…"

"I know." Eric sighed, raising his gaze to meet hers. "We need to go."

Pam nodded as she stepped back, watching as Eric rose and leaned over Mackenzie's form. He brushed his lips across her forehead, pausing for a moment to caress her cheek. There was no denying the love he had for her.

"Come back to me, Mackenzie." He murmured. "I can't lose you just yet."

Sighing, Eric straightened, slipping his hands into his pockets as he led the way out of the room without a second glance.

"What are we going to do, Eric?" Pam wondered softly as they strode out of the hospital. "We can't just let her die."

"We'll think of something." Eric promised.

"We could always…"

"No." Eric suddenly snapped, knowing exactly where Pam was going. "That will never be an option."

"But if it's the only way…"

"I won't turn her into one of us, Pam. I won't do that to her." Eric refused. "I won't turn her into a monster."

"We might not have any other choice." She pointed out. "It's not exactly the worst thing in the world to be a vampire, Eric. I've never felt more alive."

"I don't want that for her." Eric shook his head, sending a short glance back at the hospital. "Not now, not ever."