Chapter 37

EPOV

I quietly exit our bedchamber and make my way to that of my maker. I could already feel that he was awake and worried. Not a good sign.

The entrance to the vampire quarters was on the opposite side of the palace from that our non-vampire guests. Although the wings were identical, the vampires slept below the rooms that can be used for entertainment purposes. This same area, on the day-walker side, held the dungeons and had very limited access by those guests.

Before I can knock on his door, it is swung open revealing my maker wearing only a pair of linen pajama pants. He steps away from the door to allow me to enter, I have to duck my head to fit through the threshold.

"Good evening, Master." I greet.

"Good evening, my Child. Please tell me that Sookie has talked to you about our new found knowledge during your absence?" I nod and he immediately relaxes.

"I hope to have an opportunity to discuss those things with you later on this evening; however, we have more pressing matters." He raises an eyebrow and motions for me to take a seat. I, instinctually, take the largest chair in the room which earns me a laugh.

"Lay it on me." He says and I must have looked weird because he shrugs his shoulders.

"I brought back three hostages, one of which was Tara Thorton. She was tortured; beaten, stabbed, raped, and is now dying. Through Sookie, she has made the decision to be turned. I plan to have Pam do this. It is her time." I tell him.

"How did the little one take this?" he asks, worried about my mate as much as I am.

"She was beyond upset, but has accepted the decision. I am so proud of her. She already had a plan for it as if she thought that this would be happen. She is becoming more pragmatic everyday." He smiles and I can feel his pride for my Sookie.

"She is an amazing creature. She will be a much loved ruler. Even my maker adores her." Now it was my turn to smile. "I agree that it is Pam's time to be a maker. Does she know this human?" he asks.

"Yes, although that knowledge mainly came from Sookie by allowing us to know our pasts. Pam and Tara have not had contact in this time." Before he can respond my naked child walks into Godric's room from the adjoining door. Ignoring our presence, she walks to the refrigerator and grabs a bottle of Tru-Blood.

"Good evening, Pam. I am afraid that you will need to drink donor blood tonight." She looks at me with a raise eyebrow and slight tilt to her head. She put the bottle back and replaces it with a bag of blood. She promptly puts it in the microwave. "Here" I say as I throw the shirt to Godric pants at her.

"What the fuck do I need this for? You both have seen me naked before" she admonishes.

"That is very true, but I need your full attention and you can be a distraction to yourself." She smiles wickedly and I sigh. She gets the point that I am being serious and quickly puts on the night shirt. I grab her hand and pull her to the couch to sit next to her grandsire. He nods at her as she stretches her long legs across his lap. Once comfortable, I have her undivided attention.

"Tonight is going to be a tremendous moment in your undead life. The time for you to become a maker has arrived." Her jaw drops and she freezes. Godric begins massaging her feet, but they are quickly snatched away as she stands.

"WHAT THE FUCK?! You haven't been back a whole 24 hours! And now you are telling me that I will become a maker? Tonight?! I wanted us to spend time together now that you are back; you sharing stories of captivity while we plan on the next way to ruin their plans. Not me going to ground for three Fucking DAYS! Who the hell am I turning anyway?!" she screams as she paces in front of us. I thank the Gods that these rooms are sound-proof.

"Tara Thorton." She stops pacing. She gives me the angriest glare she can. I feel that she is torn; knowing that in the past, she and Tara had came close to killing each other on several occasions. And the fact that Tara was Sookie's human best friend and that she would do anything for her sister (or mother as we all like to tease). She retakes her seat next to my maker. Godric drapes his arm over her shoulders and pulls her close.

"Sookie would not have wanted anyone else to do this. We all know how much Tara meant to Sookie as well as how hard Tara has fought for, and sometimes against, us. Can you deny that she will make a formidable progeny?" Godric says this in a fatherly tone that makes us both calmer.

"I cannot deny this, but it is so soon" she whines until I interrupt her.

"Tara is currently on her death bed as we speak. Our enemy committed horrendous acts against her. Sookie had to go into her mind to find out if she wanted to die as a human or live as a vampire. She chose immortality to avenge her own death against those who robbed her of a mortal future." She looks down defeated, knowing that she has no choice and I find myself a little sad that it had to be under these circumstances. "You have to admit that we have let you skirt around this long enough." She nods and we watch as a lone blood tear drips down her cheek.

I rise and cup her face in my hands, "Godric and I have taught you everything we know and now it is time that you do the same for another. She will make a great addition to our bloodline. Do not worry. You will be a magnificent maker. You learned from the best as it is." She looks up into my eyes and I finally see some of our 'Pammy' coming back.

"I always wanted a life-size doll" she says and we all laugh."

SPOV

When I woke up and realized that I was alone in our bed, I became very sad. Our sons immediately sent me love and calm while Eric sent me love and amusement. I sent my love to the three of them and made my way into the bathroom.

As I finished brushing my teeth, my helpful handmaidens appear. Mari was on my left with an ambrosia fruit in hand, offering it with a bow. Kaitlin was on my right with a tall glass of donor blood.

"Thank you, guys. You both are wonderful. Is everything ready?" I ask, already knowing that it was.

"Yes, Milady" they reply in unison.

"Good. I'm just going to eat my breakfast and take a shower. Go do the same. Manuel has your favorites ready for you as we speak." Their smiles brighten my mood and they exit the bathroom using the door for once. As it opens, I see my husband standing on the other side.

"Good evening, your Majesty" they greet him.

"Good evening, ladies" he says right back as they slip pass him and out of the room. He comes up behind me, wrapping his long, strong arms around my waist to rub my huge belly.

"Hey" he says in that sexy hot throb kind of way.

"Hi. Where were you? I missed you" I say as I chug my blood. A little dribbles down the side of my chin, causing Eric to turn me at vamp speed and lick the wasted blood before it could fall. His tongue is so cool and velvety that I moan slightly from the contact. He chuckles.

"I was with Godric and Pam."

"And what did Pam say?" I ask, scared of her answer.

"Pam has mixed feelings about this, but it is only because she has always been reluctant to become a maker. Now is the time and she has accepted it." He is so sure about this and knowing how high-handed he can be, I can't help but need to hear this acceptance from her lips.

"Ok. Can you go check on Tara? I want to talk to Pam alone before we leave." I was expecting him to criticize or be upset with me, but he doesn't. He nods and gives me a knowing smile, before kissing me deeply.

"I will send her in, lover." He gives me that sexy smirk that makes all my lady bits moist and leaves our room. Within moments, there was a brisk knock at the door.

"You rang, mommy." Pam drawls as she saunters into the room. She is wearing blood red cat suit with a deep V to showcase her amble cleavage. I just finish pulling my cow neck top over my head and sliding into my ballet flats.

"I need to know how you feel about this. Forget about Eric, for a moment. I want your honesty" I tell her.

"When have I ever been dishonest with you?" she asks.

"Never, but we also haven't had a situation like this before." She nods and is thoughtful for several minutes.

"As you know, I never wanted the responsibility of being a maker. I have been avoiding it like the plague. I knew my time would run out, but I hoped for another 50 years. And…I kind of hoped that I would have the honor of…becoming your maker. I know, I know. That would and will never happen now because it doesn't need to happen. Tara, though? I remember our 'history' and she was a first-class bitch."

"And so were you." I remind her. She waves me off and continues.

"You are my best friend and my sister. I know how important she is to you and if me doing this will fulfill my obligation as a vampire and make you happy, then let get this show on the road." The relief I feel at hearing this is music to my ears. Before anything else can be said, I envelope her in a hug. She hesitates in hugging me back, but eventual she does. We hold each other for who knows how long, but Eric walks in to find us like that.

"Tara's condition is deteriorating rapidly. We need to go now." He comes and hugs us both. The three of us hold each other tightly before he pulls away. Taking a hand from each of us, he leads out of the room.

PPOV

I have never been an emotional person, even when I was human. So the fact that I am feeling particularly loved and appreciated by my maker and his mate as he drags us both down into the basement is very disturbing.

Since she entered our lives, she has slowly changed me. In some ways, I hated her. He was mine before her and I was able to get what I wanted out of him relatively easily (not to say that he was ever a push over because he can be sadistic in his punishments, this I know from much experience). That all changed the moment their eyes met. I should have known it then. The way she stared him down, never wavering like all humans do under his scrutiny, as she defiantly challenged a being who could snap her like a toothpick. The glimmer of awe that flashed at that same moment, something deep within him knowing that he had met his match, was the tell-tale sign that he would never be the same again. What I couldn't have fathomed was that I would be affected by her as well.

The woman that Sookie was in the past is dead. Good riddance. There were too many times that the weakness of her mortality threatened to take all of our lives. Yet, somehow, we all would have sacrificed ourselves for her then as we would most certainly do now. If I am honest, then I would have to admit that along with the hatred and jealousy I felt there was another emotion; respect. She had a very hard life, especially growing up in that bump-fuck town with the lowest form of vermin that disrespected her at every pass. She overcame most of it and was determined not to let anyone downgrade her. That aspect alone made me finally accept her as a part of our bloodline.

Now is a different time. When she returned to us, she was not weak and vulnerable, but powerful and more determined to see her goal to fruition. That night, she and I sat in Eric's booth and talked the night away as if we were sisters separated at birth. Every time I think about that evening, one specific moment plays in my mind…

"I can't believe this. We have spent years together and I didn't know it until tonight. You are not the same." I say, dumbfounded and shocked.

"You're right about that. I'm far from the person you once knew. Then again, you aren't the same either. Knowing our past has already changed you. We have loved him and bled together. Being around you made me realize my own worth, even if I didn't get to tell you then." The Sookie I once knew would have become a blubbering idiot by now, leaking and giving me puppy dog eyes. However, the woman before me has a strength that even I envy and hope to achieve for myself someday.

"Well, I wasn't easy on you and you stuck it out. Most would have crumbled. What stopped you from becoming one of my many 'whore trophies'?" I asked her.

She laughs and it brings a smile to my face, despite me trying to keep my features blank. "First of all, I would have had to be a whore, which I never was in the first place. Secondly, and most important, is Eric. The only reason I fought him in the beginning was because I was insecure and refused to believe that he would want anything more from me than a feed and a fuck. But, that all changed in Rhodes. By the time I made it home, I knew he had me. Then, Bill's bullshit blood started to fade as Eric's overrode his and I began to see what was really going on. Then, the witches' and that curse happen. I fell in love with him during that time and I knew I wouldn't allow anything to come between us, not even you."

My eyebrow rose involuntarily at that last statement. Although I could have argued that I could have squished her like a bug with one of my Dior pumps, I didn't. I knew that she wasn't going anywhere when we fought the witches and I got all emotional and tried to kill all of them, her included. The anger my maker had towards me for my actions was the most astonishing and scariest thing I ever faced living on this earth. I would never risk it again, especially knowing what I know now.

"I know. And…I respect that. Besides, Eric needs both of us to balance him. Otherwise, who knows what his undead life would be without us." I reply. We both ponder on that for a few moments, but we are interrupted by the man in question.

I'm ripped from my thoughts as we enter the basement. Godric, Carlisle, Esme, Dr. Ludwig, and Rachel are all gathered around Tara's bed. Her face is swollen, much like to little blueberry bitch for Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Although she has been cleaned, I can smell her blood and sense that there isn't much time left.

Sookie releases Eric's hand and runs over to Tara's bedside. She kneels, grasping her hand and closing her eyes. After a few moments of silence, she speaks.

"She is sure in her decision. It's time to go." Sookie declares.

"I would like to offer myself as a potential maker for your friend, if you have no one to do it. This is the type of scenario that almost all of my children were turned in, so I have basically perfected the process." I couldn't hold back the growl that leaves my chest as his 'offer'. Eric squeezes my hand, sending reassurance through our bond and I calm.

"Thank you Carlisle, but I believe that her maker is more than accepting and ready. Besides, Tara has to be a part of our bloodline. We are family and have a deep history." She glances at Eric and I. We both nod.

"Very well. We have done all that we can to stabilize her. It is in the hands of the Fates now. We wish you well." Both he and Esme bow, which Sookie acknowledges with a bow of her own.

"Every time I see you, little girl, I become more and more impressed" Ludwig says to Sookie. This is the first time I have seen a genuine smile on the doctor's face.

Sookie smiles at her, but then it turns into a frown as she thinks about something. She steps in close to Ludwig, enveloping her in a hug. Although none of us can hear what words are exchanged between, they pull away from each other with looks of understanding on their faces. After giving Eric a quick nod, which her returns, Ludwig vanishes.

"Karedon" Sookie calls. The fairy appears, immediately kneel in reverence. He rises and awaits her commands.

"I need you to take Pam and Tara to the Farmhouse. Mari and Kaitlin have prepared an area within the cemetery for us, so go there directly. I let go of my maker's hand and moved to Sookie's side. She grabs my hand before I can speak.

"I can never express how much this mean to me, Pam. I love you, sister."

"I love you too." I tell her as I squeeze her hand. She steps back and her place is taken by the fairy. I take an unnecessary breath before I and my soon-to-be progeny are teleported to the Stackhouse cemetery.

EPOV

I wrap my arms around my wife's waist and hug her. I know that this moment is weighing heavy on her and I send her as much strength as I can. She leans her head back against my chest and sighs.

"Carlisle. We will be gone for three days. Call me if you need us. Our staff are at your disposal." He nods and pulls his own wife into a loving embrace.

Godric comes over to us, his eyes filled with love and wonder.

"I will stay her and make sure that everything stays as it should. I will come to you both on the third night. Our entire bloodline will be there to welcome the newest member." He grabs both of Sookie's hands and looks into her eyes. They share a moment before she leans forward and kisses him on the cheek.

"Thank you, Master." He waves me off, but smiles at my gratitude. I feel his pride in the bond and it makes me happy. As he takes a step back from us, I blink us to my lover's ancestral resting place.

Author's Notes:

The next chapter will finally be Tara becoming a newborn vampire. I know that you all have been patiently waiting and I promise to make it well worth the wait. I have a couple of surprises (which were mentioned earlier on), so be ready.

I'd also like to hear your thoughts on the dynamic between Pam and Sookie. Any guesses on how Dr. Ludwig will make an impact? Speak your minds.

*The characters in this chapter belong to their respective authors.

**I OWN NOTHING**