Chapter Fifty Four:

"How mad do you think he'll be?" Mackenzie asked as she traced the length of each of his fingers with the tips of her own. Ludwig had left after her declaration that she wanted to live, and she couldn't help but be worried. Eric wasn't going to like this at all, even if it was their best shot.

"Do you want an honest answer?" Godric chuckled, a smile playing on his lips as he watched her dancing fingers. Her touch sent twitch after twitch to his arousal, and it was taking every ounce of strength not to want to take her right then and there. A mere touch was all it took with her to stir his desire.

Her nose scrunched up. "He's going to be beyond pissed."

"He'll understand, I'm sure," he tried to assure her, grasping her chin and gently raising her gaze to meet his. "My blood will allow you to lead a healthy, normal life; this is exactly what he wants."

"I'm not so sure your blood is what he had in mind," she sighed. All she wanted was for Eric to understand. She didn't want to leave it up to chance anymore. If this 'treatment' could give her her life back, give her the opportunity to keep her family exactly how it was, then she would take it. As much as she would gladly accept being turned over the alternative, she just wasn't ready yet. If there was a fight, she was ready for it, just as she always has been.

"He will come around," Godric promised.

"What if he doesn't?"

He leaned forward, his lips ghosting across her forehead. "You are one of the most important people in my child's life. He loves you, and he has for quite some time now. He would do anything in his power to ensure you lived."

"Even if it meant me having your blood?" she just wasn't so sure. She had seen the look of hatred of Eric's face when he had walked into the hospital room to find her healthy last night.

"Even so."

Mackenzie sighed, her shoulders slumping as she moved closer to the vampire to lay her head in the crook of his neck. "I really really hope so. I don't want another moody vampire around."

A small laugh slipped from his lip as he drew an arm around her waist, his fingers toying with the ends of her hair. "That I cannot promise, unfortunately."

And he surely couldn't.

A raging vampire storming into the room quickly drew the two apart, Godric immediately on the other side of the room as Mackenzie sat with wide eyes at her guardian.

"E-Eric…" her heart was thumping away in her chest as the murderous glare Eric wore.

"No," Eric hissed, his fangs baring at his maker. "No!"

"You heard what I said, Northman," Ludwig came trailing in after the Viking with a roll of her eyes at his dramatics. "Without his blood, she will die."

"She will have mine. Or Pam's," Eric insisted, his glare never leaving Godric. "Just not his."

"Eric…" Mackenzie slowly stood, only to return to her seat as the glare was now directed at her. "If you would just…"

"This will not happen. This is not happening," Eric seethed, his hands curling into tight fists at his side. Mackenzie could even spot blood dripping to the floor.

"Your blood isn't strong enough to help heal her. Maybe later, but not now. His is," Ludwig reasoned with a calm tone as if she dealt with homicidal vampires on a daily basis. Mackenzie reasoned that she probably did, though no one ever had a temper like Eric did. "This is her best shot. Unless you'd like your daughter to die."

Eric twisted on his heel and towered over the doctor that was truly not giving a shit.

"Stand down, fanger," Ludwig narrowed her eyes. "You paid me a great deal of money to find you an answer. Here you are. This is the answer. If you'd like for your daughter to live, this is it. If not, well I can direct you to someone who can arrange a funeral."

Mackenzie's mouth dropped open at the doctor's words.

"You think this is funny?" Eric roared. "You think this is some kind of game."

"I am deadly serious, Northman. She will die if she does not follow this treatment. Without his blood, she will die."

When Eric didn't answer immediately, Mackenzie's cheeks paled of all colour. "I don't want to die, Eric," she squeaked out.

The slight waver in her voice caused Eric to turn back towards her, though his fangs had already retracted. He took one glance at her frightened form and he knew. He just knew.

"Fuck!" he was out of the room without another word, leaving a shaking Mackenzie in his wake.

Ludwig shook her head, muttering about retiring and spending the rest of her days on the beach, as she slipped from the room. Godric sighed as he watched Mackenzie, eying her closely.

"Mackenzie?" he stepped forward, though wary of the distance between them. Should Eric return, he didn't want to make matters worse. Even if all he desired was to take her back into his arms. It just felt right when he comforted her. It felt right when they were smiling in unison.

"I think him being pissed is an understatement," she breathed out, raising her gaze to meet his. "So much for him coming around."

"Give it time."

She sent him an incredulous look. "Give it time? I feel like giving it time isn't going to do anything."

"He just needs to process this, that's all." He assured. "he just needs to…"

"One condition."

Mackenzie's head snapped back to the doorway where Eric stood once more. She gulped as the anger radiated off of him. "What?"

"One. Condition," his tone was low and dangerous as he turned his stare onto Godric.

Mackenzie wasn't sure if she should be relieved at Eric's reappearance, or concerned. "O-okay."

"You will not touch her. You will not look at her. You will not even go near her unless it is to give her your blood," it took every ounce of control for Eric not to leap across the room at his maker. "You will give her blood and that's it. Nothing more."

"No!" Mackenzie stood this time, ignoring Eric's glare. "No you can't just take him away from me. That's not fair!"

Was he trying to torture her? Did he want her misery still? She thought all he wanted was to be alive and happy? She certainly couldn't be happy without Godric. She had tried that once, for six years, and it hadn't gone well. She couldn't just lose him again, not when she had only just gotten him back in her life.

"Those are my terms."

"You're being unreasonable," she shook her head angrily. "You can't just take him away from me. He's my friend. I need my friend back. Please don't make me lose him again."

Eric had to look away, her round orbs maddening him. He would crack if he stared at her for too long, and he couldn't let that happen. He would do whatever he could to keep her alive and well, even if that did mean allowed for her to consume Godric's blood. But he couldn't just stand by as his daughter and maker grew closer and closer.

Godric felt divided as he gazed between the two. He was the singular cause of the distress in their relationship. Eric and Mackenzie had argued countlessly over him, over what he had done with her. It was the last thing he had ever wanted. He just wanted the pair to be a family, to be how they were supposed to be. He didn't want this.

Closing his eyes, Godric knew what he needed to do. He just hoped he would be able to follow through with it, for all of their sake.

And he hoped she would forgive him.

"I will not touch her in that way," he began, his eyes opening to find Mackenzie's tear filled stare on him. "I will not look at her in that way. I will not even think about her in that way. You have my word on this, Eric, you have my honour."

"But…" she began.

"She is right, however," Godric ignored her, cringing internally at the hurt that crossed her features. "She needs all the support she can possibly get right now. I want to be there for her. I left once, and I would like the opportunity to right those wrongs. But only as things once were. Nothing more. What I did to you was a mistake. What I did with her was a mistake. And I'm truly sorry, Eric."

She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "But you…you said you didn't regret it."

He smiled sadly at her. "I'm afraid I made a mistake in saying that."

"Godric…"

"I will accept your terms, Eric, if you can accept mine."

The Viking considered his maker, shooting Mackenzie a quick glance. She looked devastated at the thought of being torn away from the eldest vampire once again. She looked defeated. That was the last thing Eric wanted. He didn't want her sadness. He didn't want her pain. He merely wanted to protect her, to keep her pure innocent heart.

With heavy reluctance, Eric nodded his head. "You will be supervised at all times."

"What! Am I five? I do not need a babysitter whenever I'm with him!" Mackenzie argued.

"Unless you'd like to never see him besides your treatment, I would suggest getting used to it," Eric advised.

"You're being unreasonable."

"I'm being a father," he retorted.

She was caught between a rock and a hard place. If she didn't accept his terms, then she was back to where she began. She would end up getting sick once again, and would likely die. That was the last thing she wanted. But if she agreed, she would never have the opportunity to know if her feelings were true or not. She would never taste those lips again, or feel his gentle touches across her body. That was it. Sure, she would have him around. And maybe things would go back to how things used to be. But was that what she wanted? Did she just want to go back to the old way? How was she supposed to go on pretending they hadn't had sex, that she didn't find herself madly attracted to him?

"It's better this way, Mackenzie," Godric coaxed.

She didn't see how that could possibly be true. But she didn't want to die, and she wasn't ready to be a vampire just yet. What else could she say? "Okay."

"Good," Eric was already twisting on his heel. "Now come; Ludwig wants to go over a few things before releasing you."

Eric was already out of the room, leaving Mackenzie and Godric alone together likely for the very last time.

"How are we just supposed to go back to how things used to be?" she asked. "How?"

"You should go, before he returns," he nodded to the doorway.

"But Godric…"

"I'm not leaving you, Mackenzie. If this is the only way I can stay, that you will remain alive, then I will do it."

She felt so frustrated. "But…"

"It will be torturous for me as well, my love. Now go."

But she had so much more she wanted to say. She just wanted to run into his arms one last time, to feel secure and safe. But Eric's voice stopped her before she could take a single step in his direction. Sighing, Mackenzie slowly turned and began towards the hallway. She shot Godric one last look, but the vampire had already turned away. She supposed she should have been happy that she didn't have to worry about him disappearing on her again, that he would be around for the long haul this time. But she just couldn't see the upside just yet.

"For the record, Mackenzie," Eric stopped her as she joined him in the hallway. "I am relieved that Ludwig has found a way to heal you."

"Are you really?" she muttered under her breath.

"Yes," he turned her by the shoulders, forcing her to gaze up at him. "Yes, Mackenzie I am. I'm sorry that I seem to have to be the one to hurt you, but I'm only trying to do what's best for you. I'm trying to be your father."

"An overprotective father for no reason," she crossed her arms.

"Rather an overprotective one than an absent one," he pointed out, cupped her cheek. "I don't want to keep going through this cycle with you. At some point we deserve some peace and quiet without drama."

"You're the biggest drama queen I know."

Despite everything, Eric couldn't help but smirk. "Have you met Pam?"

Mackenzie sent him a glare.

"Come on now, Mackenzie. Give me that smile back, please. Let us go home and start fresh, yes? I'd like not to fight with you just once," he tried to reason with her. He knew what he was taking away from her, and perhaps one day he would reconsider, but for now he knew he needed to stand his ground. He only hoped Mackenzie would come to forgive him. "You'll have plenty to be angry with me over soon enough, I'm sure. Lets just have tonight."

Her shoulders sagged. She was tired of fighting. She was so tired of arguing. "Can we fight about this later?"

"I wouldn't expect anything less," he leaned down and pecked her forehead. "Now lets hurry it up and get out of here before Ludwig tries to murder me."

"She really doesn't like you," Mackenzie knew Eric was right. There was no point in fighting about this tonight. Everything was confusing enough as it was. She was hurt, and heartbroken, but a part of her was still relieved and excited that she had another option other than death. It was a struggle to decide what exactly she was even feeling. Maybe it would just be best to put it all aside and have one night of not thinking.

"Not even the slightest," Eric chuckled before drawing an arm around her shoulders and leading her down the hallway. "Come, Mackenzie. Lets go home."

Mackenzie lingered by Eric's office door, peeking inside every so often. Eric was so concentrated that she didn't want to interrupt. She knew she had taken him away from his Sheriff duties with her drama, and she didn't want to get him into any more trouble with the Authority.

"You know I hate it when you linger, Mackenzie," Eric's voice called to her.

Her cheeks flushed as she shuffled into the doorway. "Sorry."

She could have sworn she heard a light chuckle from the Viking as he set his pen down and leaned back in his chair. "You should be resting. It's been a long couple of nights."

She shrugged her shoulders as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "Couldn't sleep."

"Couldn't or didn't want to?"

"Both?"

Eric sighed before motioning her in, nodding at the chair across from him. "Perhaps you should speak to Ludwig about a sleeping aid in your next appointment."

Her nose scrunched up as she hurried across the room and settled in the chair, pulling her knees up to her chest. "I'm fine, I just…I don't know. I'm sort of scared?"

His eyebrows furrowed. "Scared?"

"Sort of," Mackenzie began chewing her fingernails anxiously. "I'm just worried I'm going to wake up and all of this be some sort of dream and I'm still sick in the hospital. Or what if…what if I don't wake up at all? What if I get so sick that I…"

Eric's heart broke to hear her fear voiced. He knew this simple treatment wasn't going to ease her worries. She wasn't all right, like she had claimed to be when they arrived home. She was still just a frightened little girl.

"You heard what Ludwig said; as long as you have a healthy dose of Godric's blood, your body will continue to heal," he had to stomp away his anger at the thought of his maker. He would love to be able to force the two apart, to keep Godric far away from her for the rest of her life, but he knew that he now forever couldn't. Godric was a permanent fixture in Mackenzie's life now. It was necessary.

And the sad round eyes he received when he tried to keep him from her had torn him apart enough to make him reconsider.

Those damn eyes.

She learned far too much from Pam, that was certain.

"I know," Mackenzie sighed heavily. "I'm just being paranoid."

"You're worried, and you're allowed to be," he offered a small smile. "But let me be the one to worry about this, okay? I'm the parent; let me worry."

"Can't promise that. I have a habit of thinking too much."

"Well stop that," he did chuckle this time. "Now is there something you wanted? Or were you just lingering for fun?"

Her arms curled around her legs as Eric went back to work. She noticed him shuffling a few papers around, hiding one particular document. She tried to strain her neck to see what it was, but Eric quickly hid it away. "Just restless. If I'm distracting you then I can just…"

"Stay," he glanced back up at her. "I could use the company."

"Okay."

They fell into a comfortable silence. Mackenzie watched Eric work, only offering comment whenever Eric muttered his disdain for paperwork. This went on for an hour until Eric glanced at the time and noticed how late it was.

"You really should try and rest."

"But sleeping," she shook her head, her fear still at the front of her thoughts.

"Would you like me to hold your hand?" he teased.

A small pout formed on her lips. "Shut up. You're supposed to scare away the monsters, not make fun of me."

"My apologies," he snickered, a smirk started to slide across his face. "But you do realize how ridiculous that sounds."

"If you're going to be a jerk I'm just going to go call Godric," she stuck her tongue out at him, knowing full well Eric would jump through hoops to ensure she didn't run off to Godric.

And she was right.

Eric grumbled an apology and she couldn't help but grin. Pam was right; she did have him wrapped around her finger. Just like any daddy's girl, she supposed. Her grin only grew wider at that thought.

"So what are you working on, anyways?" her gaze swept across his desk before falling onto where a carefully placed folder was covering the document he had hid earlier.

"Paperwork for the Authority. Just mundane tasks," he shrugged. "Nothing you need to worry yourself over."

"So then what did you hide?" an eyebrow raised. "Earlier, you hid something. What was it?"

"Nosy, aren't you?"

She reflected his smirk back to him. "Ludwig did say you had rubbed off on me."

"I don't believe that was a compliment."

"Depends how you look at it."

Eric snorted and shook his head. He couldn't exactly blame Ludwig for thinking that she had inherited some of his personality traits. She certainly was a Northman, even without the blood tie.

But name, name was what mattered.

She was a Northman, or at least, she soon would be.

Contemplating, Eric sat back and eyed Mackenzie. He had wanted to wait for a better occasion to bring it up. He had started the paperwork not long after they had gotten back from Dallas, not wanting to delay things any longer. There was no longer any denial that she was his daughter. They were a family. He wanted to make that legal now.

But was now that time? She had just left the hospital – both of them – and was still processing her new life. It would be long before she adjusted into this new blood treatment with Godric's blood, before she adjusted into as normal of a life as she could possibly get. Was now the right time?

As he caught her curious gaze, however, he knew that it was. He knew that nearly losing her twice taught him to treasure every moment. He wanted to treasure this for as long as he could, and he wanted to do so as her legal father.

"I wanted to wait before I brought it up," he admitted, flicking away the folder before pushing the hidden document towards her. "But I suppose now is as good of a time as any."

Confusion littered her face as she quickly snatched the piece of paper up. She scanned it briefly, her head immediately hurting from the legal jargon she was met with.

"I wanted to major in English Lit, not Law," she waved the document. "What is this?"

"Read it," he couldn't stop the smile from spreading across his lips. Yes, this was exactly the right moment. He had screwed up enough as it was; he wanted to right that as soon as possible.

So Mackenzie did. It took reading it nearly three times before her orbs caught a single word that threw her entire world upside down.

Adoption.

Adoption.

"What is this?" she repeated barely above a whisper, her eyes as wide as saucers as she stared at her guardian.

"Exactly what it says it is."

"Are you putting me up for adoption? Because I'm 18, you know. Legally…" Mackenzie suddenly started to panic. Was he sending her away again?

Eric rolled his eyes. "You are never going to let me live down the fact that I sent you to New York."

"You sent me across the country!"

"To the best private school," he countered.

"You still sent me away!"

"For your well being," Eric huffed, waving his hand at her. "Just keep reading, will you?"

She muttered under her breath but forced herself to figure the document out. What other reason would there be for adoption papers unless Eric was sending her…

It hit her.

It hit her like a pile of bricks.

The tears immediately welled up as she looked back up at the Viking, her hands clutching the document so tightly she was certain she was going to accidentally rip it in half.

"You want to adopt me?"

"We never really made it official," Eric explained, noticing her confusion. "When I brought you home after that night, we forged documents. We did everything possible to make it appear as if you were a Northman, and not a…"

"Don't say that name," she shook her head. She didn't want a single association with those people.

"I realized when you were taken that I never made it official. When we were in Dallas, when you were doing the interview, I realized that I wanted to," he admitted. "I had the paperwork drawn up just after we left. The last few days before you got sick I was getting everything prepared with my lawyer. Now of course a vampire technically isn't allowed to adopt a human child, but there's ways around that."

Mackenzie couldn't breathe. All of her life, all she had wanted, all she had wished for, was a family. She loved Eric dearly, but even as a child, a part of her knew that he could never be the father she always wanted. She of course, didn't understand why back then. But she still loved him. She still saw him as a fatherly figure. He was the closest thing she had to a dad and she gladly accepted that. He raised her, after all. He had given her everything she could possibly ever desire.

And now, all of her dreams seemed to be coming true. They really were going to be a family. Legally. He was going to be her father. He wasn't just going to get rid of her when he grew tired of her. He wasn't just going to abandon her. He was willing to adopt an 18 year old girl 14 years after first taking her in.

When she didn't react, Eric grew concerned. Was this not what she wanted? Had he interrupted everything wrong? Was he an idiot for even offering this?

Mackenzie's springing form caught him by surprise as she jumped from the chair and dashed around the desk until she was able to throw her arms around him. Eric was startled by the teen, not sure what to do as a muffled sob met his ears.

"Hey now," the fatherly instincts he never new he had suddenly kicked in as he ran his fingers through her hair soothingly. "Enough of that. You know I hate it when you cry. I thought I banned tears."

"You can't ban tears," she mumbled, her arms tightening around him.

Eric couldn't help but sigh as he gently raised himself to his feet, adjusting Mackenzie into a more comfortable position as he drew his own arms around her.

"Come on now, Mackenzie. No crying. We don't have to go through with this, if you don't want to. I can have the paperwork destroyed," he just wanted her to stop crying.

Mackenzie suddenly stiffened in his arms, drawing back just enough to send him a teary eyed glare. "Don't you dare!"

He raised an eyebrow. "Then why are you crying?"

"I'm happy, you idiot," she grumbled in response before placing her cheek back on his chest. "We cry when we're happy too, you know."

"How about no crying over any emotion," he suggested, though relief flooded through him to know she wasn't upset at his offer. He wanted it official – needed it. He wasn't afraid to admit that she was his any longer. He wanted that to be true as much as possible. "Are you certain this is what you would want?"

She nodded against him. "I always saw myself as a Northman, even though I knew I wasn't really. Those people aren't my family; they never have been. But you have. You, Pam, Godric, you are my family. I don't need you to be adopted to know that."

"I know," his arms tightened around her, his chin resting on the top of her head. "Selfishly I want it known that you are mine, that you are my daughter. I cannot be your father by blood, but in the eyes of the law, I can be."

Mackenzie had never felt happier, never felt ore loved. She didn't need a piece of paper to tell her she was a Northman, but to know that Eric would go to that length to make it official, she was overjoyed.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"For what?" his eyebrows furrowed. "For wanting to adopt you?"

"No," she shook her head. "I mean, yes, for that. But I mean for everything, Eric. Thank you for giving me the chance to grow up. Thank you for giving me everything I could possibly ever want. As much as I hated being away, I did like being at that school. You've saved my life so many times. You've…you've cared about me when you never had to. Thank you."

Eric couldn't help but chuckle, earning a frown from the teenager. He quickly composed himself, clasping a finger under her chin as he brushed his lips across her forehead. "I should be thanking you, little one."

"Thanking me?"

"I never knew it was possible to love one being as much as I do you. I never thought I wanted to be a father. I never thought I ever wanted to care for someone other than myself. You changed me in many ways you don't even realize, Mackenzie. Should anyone learn of the vampire I've become, I'm sure I'll become a laughing stock. The great Viking Vampire, wrapped around the finger of a tiny little human," another chuckle sounded from his lips. "It's ridiculous to even think about. But it's true. And I wouldn't have it any other way."

The tears returned. "Shut up, you're going to make me cry more."

"We can't have that, now can we?" he started brushing the tears away with his thumbs. "Now now, Mackenzie, no more of that. Keep this up and I will have to keep you grounded."

She nodded, sniffling as she tried to pull herself together. She suddenly stopped, however, realizing what he said. "Keep me grounded? Does that mean I'm no longer grounded?"

"I suppose considering the circumstances, you've been punished more than enough."

Her eyes grew wide, a grin reaching across her face as she squealed and quickly returned to his embrace. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Eric rolled his eyes. He only knew she was thrilled because of one reason.

"Key please!" she was back out of his arms, just like he knew she would be.

"You and that damn library," he snorted, but fished the key out of his pocket anyways. "Now behave, Mackenzie. No more stealing my car."

"I was borrowing it!"

"Thief," he handed the key over. "Try not to overwhelm yourself tonight, Mackenzie. You do need to rest."

"No promises," he couldn't help but smile at her growing grin. The minute the key was in her hand, she was darting out of the room without even a second glance. Eric snickered as he returned to his desk, shaking his head at her antics. Where she had gotten her obsession for books from was a mystery to him.

"Oh, Eric?" Mackenzie popped her head back into the room.

"Hm?" he sent her a glance.

"I love you. A lot. I hope you know that."

It was his turn to grin as she was already back down the hallway.

"And I love you, my daughter."

A/N: Writing that very last sentence of this fic was the hardest thing to do. There WILL be an epilogue, don't worry. We can't just leave it here just yet. But damn, this is actually over. 2 years and just like that, it's done. I'm super proud of this fic, and super proud that I'm actually finishing it. But mostly, I am just in love with you all. You just gave me a whole lot of inspiration to write these chapters, and you have no idea what it means to read your reviews and to see all of you favouriting and following this story. I'm just so awed that anyone would enjoy reading something that I wrote, especially when I have a habit of disappearing every so often. So thank you. THANK YOU. You are all super fantastic.

Make sure to keep an eye out for a sequel. I will try and post an update when it is posted so you will all be aware. I have eight days left of my internship before I'm out into the real world and job searching, so I feel like I'll have plenty of time to write. I will of course, also be trying to focus on my other unfinished stories, so no exact promises when the sequel will be up. But it WILL happen.

Enjoy the epilogue and PLEASE do not send angry riots to my house. That just makes writing the sequel extremely hard!