Hey everyone!

Thank you so so so much for all your reviews they mean so much to me and really keep me motivated when I feel less creative.

In this chapter the plot moves along a bit further, and we start getting some explanations about vampire saving events that happened before the story started, and, most excitingly, the romance between Milia and Godric starts to heat up a little more.

Rated M: strong language, discussions of suicide, violence and sexual references.

As always constructive criticism is welcome.

Enjoy!

Chapter Eight

I was pretty damn exhausted. It had been the longest three days of my life and I was just about ready to go home and finally, finally get into my soft bed. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be.

The sound of yet more sirens pulling up outside Godric's house filled me with fear.

Shit. It was chief. Time to make my great escape.

I swiftly started to edge out of the room, ducking around people and pretending not to notice Jesse and the vampires' amused gazes following me and to my surprise it was working, the exit was so close, I could almost taste the freedom when –

"Kent! Stay where you are."

I sighed deeply and looked at the ceiling, feeling a deep sense of betrayal from the universe. "Busted."

I looked away from the ceiling in time to see Chief storming up to me, eyes blazing. He stood towering over me and glared furiously.

Chief was a big, burly, forty five year old man, with a thick moustache and dark skin. He was the authority in Firehouse 28 and he ruled us with a benevolent but iron fist.

The whole room had gone silent and everyone was turned to watch the show. Great. I sighed deeply; I had been on the receiving end of this whole shebang more then a few times. Actually that probably didn't reflect very well on me at all.

The rest of Firehouse 28 had showed up to watch as well, but I detected sympathy in their gazes – everyone in our house had experienced the humiliation of being scolded like an eight year old by Chief at least once. Being a fire fighter is often similar to being in the army in some ways – there is a lot of waiting around. When you have house full of bored, mentally questionable, adrenaline junkies, very stupid and very dangerous things tended to happen.

"Why is it, Kent," Chief bellowed, "that I always find you in the middle of some life or death situation?"

I stared at him. "Um, because its our job?" I was confused.

"No – goddammit!" He was frustrated. Uh oh, that did not bode well for me. "I meant when we are off duty! Actually now that we are on topic you are always at the centre of the drama when we're on duty as well."

I was offended. Offended! In a gesture reminiscent of a two year old, I stamped my foot in frustration. "Hey! Jesse was shot just last month on the subway," I pointed at Jesse accusingly, shamelessly throwing him under the bus to save myself. "I have never been shot!"

Someone coughed and Mckinnely, the traitor, spoke up. "That was such a blatant lie! Yes you have, Milia, we were all there!"

Shit, he was right. I had mentally blocked that one. We had been called out to a really bad part of town where one of the local gangs had set fire to a rival gang's base of operations. I had gotten too pushy with one and they had shot me. In the leg. It was not fun, let me tell you, but it was hardly life threatening. They had also shot one of our paramedics who had been trying to persuade them to go to the hospital to be treated for a stab wound. It was one of the worst calls we had ever gotten and I had forcibly tried to forget it.

I whipped around to glare furiously at him, "Shut it, Mckinnely!"

I turned back to Chief and froze. He was wearing his I'm-two seconds-away-from-exploding face. Time go.

"Okay, byeee." I put as much cheer into my voice as I could and started to slowly back out of the room. Chief rolled his eyes and to my shock, pulled me into the most bone-crushing hug I had received yet – and that was saying something, I had received a lot of bone crushing that day.

"Just don't ever do that to us again, Kent, or you will be washing that truck until the day you die."

I pretended to huff and hugged him back. My father had left us when I was about four years old – I didn't remember him so it had never really bothered me. Ever since I had moved to Dallas three years ago, Chief Jones had become my father figure. I sniffled slightly against his shoulder; the emotional roller coaster I had gone through that day had left me feeling weepy and sentimental. Being in the arms of a parent, or a parent-like figure, made me realise, for the first time, just how close to death I had been. In his embrace, I felt like a small child again, scared and looking for someone to tell me it was all right. I allowed myself one, small sob against his shoulder and then tried to pull myself back together again. I didn't have long to wait until I could go to bed and cry all I wanted. Chief allowed me to hide against his chest as I pulled myself together before he pulled away, and for that I was grateful.

He patted me on the back. "We will talk about this later, for now, go home and get some sleep."

I gave him a watery smile, and let Jesse gently guide me to the head detective to give my statement.

After taking my statement, the police officer said that I may have to go down to the station for follow up questions but that for now, I was free to go. I breathed a sigh of relief.

I could go home! I could curl up in my soft, pink sheets and I could wear my oldest and most comfortable pyjamas and sip hot cocoa.

At this point, I should have expected it – I really should've seen it coming. When has anything gone my way in the last few days? Since meeting Godric, my life had become a thousand times more difficult.

I really wanted to go home but I also felt like I had to say goodbye to Godric and thank him, for, you know, saving my life and all that. Although, by stopping the bomb I had kind of saved his, right? So we were pretty much even. It still felt incredibly ungrateful to just leave though. Despite our bet – I still didn't think we would see each other again. The biological difference and the travel distance between us just made it seem very unlikely.

I knew he was suicidal but at this point – I had tried my best, there was nothing more I could do for him. His fate was in his own hands now, as dramatic as that sounds.

"Milia, hey, I asked Chief if he would let me take this shift off to take you home – lets get going." Jesse wrapped me up in a warm blanket, trying to steer me in the direction of the car.

"No, wait, I need to say goodbye." I pushed past him, trying to find Godric.

"Why? He is just a vampire." Jesse frowned in concern, and I turned to smack him.

"Don't be rude! He saved my life. And when have you ever cared about vampires or had a strong opinion on them?"

He sighed, "I'm sorry Milia, you're right – I just don't like the way he looks at you. He could have taken you straight home – to your worried loved ones who had no idea where you were - but instead he takes you to his house where your life is put in danger again. I'm just worried about you."

I stared at him shock – now he had laid it all out there like that, Godric's behaviour was pretty strange and very inconsiderate. But then again, he didn't see it from my perspective – Godric had healed me when he didn't have to and its not his fault that a suicide bomber had decided that his house was the perfect vacation spot. He took me to his house to get cleaned up so my friends didn't have to see me covered in blood, looking like I had almost died, which was more than generous of him. I wasn't stupid enough to think he didn't have ulterior motives that I couldn't even begin to guess at, but I truly believed that, in this situation anyway, he had been putting my health and well-being before whatever need he had of me.

"I understand where you're coming from, Jess, I do but he has done nothing but look out for me when he didn't have to. If it weren't for him I would have died in that church. I promise I will explain everything properly later, but for now I just want to say goodbye to him and get to bed." I looked at Jesse pleadingly, hoping he wouldn't decide to push it – Jesse can be very protective of his friends, too protective, if you ask me.

He looked reluctant but after a few seconds he gave in and nodded, giving me a small hug before going to get the car while I tried to find Godric.

I really didn't have to look far for him – it was almost like he had a radar for me or something, but I guess that's just how his vampire senses worked.

"Milia." Godric always said my name weirdly but I couldn't really place how it was strange – it was just different to the way everyone said it, like he saw me in a different light to everyone else.

"Godric!" I exclaimed. "I just wanted to say goodbye – I'm going home now for some well earned rest. It was…" I looked for the right words, "interesting meeting you."

His eyes darkened and he stepped closer to me. "Goodbye? Have you already forgotten our bet, vacker?"

"Did you just call me fucker?" I asked, appalled, and quite hurt. If Eric had called me that, I would have thought nothing of it but I thought I had shared something with Godric – that we were friends.

He laughed, and I felt my blood boil.

"No, little one, I said vacker."

"Huh? What is that, German? What does it mean?"

He only smiled at me. Ugh, I was too tired for this shit.

"Anyway," I continued, "I wanted to say goodbye and to thank you for all your help." I wasn't sure whether or not I should hug him – did vampires think it was rude? Would he assume I was trying to attack him or something?

I decided to just throw caution to the wind and go for it and I practically jumped on him (its as embarrassing as it sounds), throwing my arms around his neck. I felt him stiffen and immediately panicked. Abort, abort – mission compromised! As I hastily drew back, I felt his hands settle on my hips before sliding around my waist. I shivered and bit my lip. This stupid dress (I hated it so much oh my god it had caused me so many problems, it was going straight in the bin when I got back) was so thin Godric might as well have been touching my skin and I felt my insides sing at the feeling of his hands on me. Goddamit, body, why would you betray me like this? I honestly didn't know what was wrong with me – I was acting like a horny teenager!

However, those feelings soon settled down and I pretty much melted into his arms. Who knew a vampire could hug this well? I had read something on the Internet once about professional huggers, like; people you pay to cuddle with and I think Godric had a really promising career ahead of him if the vampire thing doesn't work out.

The hug was lasting a really long time and things started getting really awkward, really fast and as I slowly tried to pull myself out of his arms, it almost felt like Godric was holding me tighter.

"Um, this was nice and all but could you maybe let me go? Human hugs don't really tend to last this long."

He abruptly let me go, and I stumbled back, surprised.

"That is strange, considering your earlier hug with that human male lasted for a very long time," he bit out, seemingly very pissed off. I don't really know what had made him so angry and I didn't care – he had no right to be angry with me.

"So? Why does that matter? He has been my friend since, well, since before I can remember and up until that moment he didn't know if I was dead or alive! Of course my hug with him would last a very long time compared to the hug I gave you – I have only just met you!" I had had it up to here with these vampires – I was done. Their confusing behaviour, weird looks and strange demands were something I no longer needed to bother myself with – he could take his stupid bet and shove it up his ass for all I cared! I had been through too much in the last few days to be dealing with vampires as well. Jesse had been right to be distrustful of them – they were only going to bring me a world of hurt and trouble, I didn't care how nice their hugs were. "You know what? I don't need this. You don't have to worry about our bet anymore – you won't be seeing me again."

And in my head I turned around, stormed off, found Jesse and went home to bed. In reality, however, I turned and tried to storm off but was instead stopped dead in my tracks when what felt like a vice clamped down on my arm.

I turned back to Godric, a fierce glare in place and faltered.

Godric was wearing a very dangerous look on his face. His eyes were burning into me with such intensity that it almost hurt to look at him. He looked furious with me.

"What – I – you –"

He cut off my awkward, confused stammering.

"You will honour our bet, Amelia." He still didn't let me go, his eyes were boring into me as though he were trying to see inside me, trying to see my soul. His eyes held so many complex emotions in them that I didn't even try and identify them.

I gaped at him, "uh – um, what?" I know, I was a picture of sophistication and coherency.

But all he did was stand there, searching my eyes for something and then vanished. I guess he found whatever he was looking for.

I sighed deeply and wearily made my way over to Jesse, who had by now brought the car around, looking at me worriedly.

By the time we pulled up at our shared apartment, Jesse and I were dead on our feet and were sluggishly making our way up the stairs.

I almost started crying at the sight of our blue door, with the small chip near the handle and by the time I made into bed I was all out sobbing.

Tap.

I opened my eyes blearily, unsure as to what had woken me but feeling pretty pissed about it. It had taken me a long time to get to sleep; I couldn't stop thinking about everything that had happened to me. Seeing nothing in my room I tried to lie back down.

Tap. Tap.

Sighing in frustration, I stood up, peering around my room more carefully but I still could not see anything out of place. Maybe I was paranoid.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

It – it sounded like it was coming from the window? But we lived on the fifth floor.

Now very, very scared I contemplated my choices – did I go to the window and risk death or bodily harm? Or did I simply leave the room and wait it out?

I decided to risk death and bodily harm because the sooner I dealt with this, the sooner I could go back to sleep – it was probably a bird or something.

Irritated, I drew back the curtains and stared in silent horror. It was a woman.

There was a woman floating outside my window.

What. The. Fuck.

I immediately started to back away, eyes wide with horror. The woman was very familiar – weirdly familiar. And then it clicked – it was the vampire I had rescued from the fire all those months ago.

I froze. Stared. She smiled charmingly, like she wasn't floating sixty feet in the air outside my apartment building, and pointed at the latch, telling me to open it.

And because I was so, so done with all this vampire bullshit I opened it. To be fair I was planning to tell her to fuck off. The one thing I knew about vampires was that they needed an invitation to come in so I was perfectly safe telling her to fuck off through the open window.

She smiled widely. "Amelia, darling, it's so good to see you."

"Fuck off."

"Oh," she pouted, "that's rather rude, Amelia, dear."

I sighed deeply. "Look, lady, I have had a hell of a night, well, last few days actually, and I just want to sleep."

"I know – I am actually here to check up on you."

"What?"

"Yes. Look, it would be easier to sit you down and explain all this inside – invite me in."

I gave her a very unimpressed look. She rolled her eyes.

"If I wanted to kill you or drink your blood, I would have already done it by now – I have been keeping tabs on you."

"This is meant to persuade me to invite you in how? That isn't very reassuring – you basically just told me you have been stalking me."

"Don't be so dramatic. If you invited me in I could tell you why I have been keeping tabs on you." She looked at me expectantly and when I still didn't budge she sighed deeply. "You saved my life – you're the last person I want to hurt."

I sighed deeply as well. "Come in."

Maybe it was stupid, maybe I was about to die, but at this point I was too tired to care. She had seemed genuine and sincere and I believed her.

I opened the window as wide as it would go and she slipped inside, as lithe and graceful as a cat and just as silent.

She straightened and it was a struggle not to blush. She was honestly one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen. Long blonde hair that cascaded down her back in artful waves, big, green cat eyes and plump, soft, blood red lips. She had the kind of beauty men died for. She was dressed like a rich heiress; all designer labels, tall heels and a willowy dress.

She noticed my staring and winked, lowering her lashes and staring at me through hooded eyes – like I wasn't wearing baggy Batman pyjamas.

"I would offer you a seat in the kitchen, but if we talked in there we would wake up my roommate," I stuttered.

"Ah, yes, Jesse, is it? The delicious fire-fighter," she purred, draping herself across the armchair in the corner.

"Yeah, him." Everyone always reacted that way to Jesse and his abs.

We sat in a comfortable silence while she examined my room, eyeing my work clothes with clear distaste.

"You're looking awfully well for someone who was burnt practically to a crisp the last time I saw you," I commented after a while, once again in awe at the vampire ability to heal.

She gave me a dry look and acted as though I hadn't spoken. "You're probably wondering why I am here, correct?"

"Well, yeah – you don't have to act so mysterious. You're being kind of annoying actually; you demanded to be let in so you could tell me something and then you just sit there in silence."

"I apologise," she said, completely unapologetically, "I just haven't been in a human's bedroom for a few centuries and curiosity got the better of me. Let's get to business, shall we?"

"Please."

"The reason I have been keeping tabs on you is rather a… delicate situation. You, my dear beautiful, brave, hero, pissed off a lot of people off when you recused me from that fire. It took a lot digging for me to get to the truth of the matter, but what I found is very concerning and I owe it to you to warn you."

"Thanks?"

"Don't interrupt. You see, I was the beautiful, charming and excellent leader of a small nest of vampires here in Dallas and my second in command was, understandably, jealous of my good looks and skills. He hired that fire fighter, what was his name again? Oh, yes, Johnson –"

"Hotshot. We all called him Hotshot."

"Yes, him, to set the fire in my apartment then order his men not rescue me. Your kind aren't particularly fond of us so my right-hand man figured no one would risk their lives to go into to a burning building to save a monster. He was wrong, of course. Incredibly stupid of him, if you ask me, not to have a contingency plan in place for that very scenario – but that's why I was in charge and he wasn't. Anyway, my old nest mates are very angry that I'm not dead and now I am hunting them down, one by one, they're going to want revenge, and you, my pretty, little redhead are an easy outlet for that."

I felt my heart rate pick up in fear, but swallowed it down. "That was an awfully convoluted and complicated way to kill you – couldn't they just stake you instead?"

"No – I am much older and therefore much stronger than them – they had to kill me during the day when I could not defend myself. Cowards."

"Then why not hire someone to stake you during the day? Why go to all that trouble, setting a fire and making it look like an accident – like they were almost victims themselves?"

"Because the vampire Sherriff," she rolled her eyes at my confused look, "the vampire in charge of this area, is very strict and plays fair – in the last fifty years he has been cracking down on human and vampire murders alike. He is far older and far more powerful than me, and therefore, my old nest. If I had been staked in my own home, during the day, there would have been an investigation and they would have been caught. No, I hate to admit it, but their plan was clever."

It was all too much. I had almost died so many times in the last few days, and now to be told that there would very likely another attempt in the future just sent me right off the edge. I couldn't breathe, I felt like I was going to be sick, it was like the room was closing in on me and my heart was going to beat right out of my chest.

To my surprise, the vampire lounging in my room was by my side in a flash, coaching me through the panic attack and guiding my breathing. I had thought she would have been out the window and gone faster than I could blink at the thought of having to comfort a scared human.

Eventually I calmed down, and she settled back on the bed with me, stroking my hair. It was nice.

"I have been keeping an eye on you for the last few months to keep you safe – I felt like I owed it to you but the one night I decide you will be ok on your own, you get kidnapped. Typical. You really are a magnet for disaster, you know – far more trouble than you're worth."

"So I have been told."

I turned to look at her and was caught in her heated gaze, my eyes dropping to her plush lips.

Sex was a really good way to distract myself from my problems and here I was, cuddling a beautiful woman in my bed. There really wasn't a better opportunity than this. I leaned forward to kiss her and as my lips brushed hers (they really were as soft as they looked) she pulled back, placing her hand over my mouth.

"I would love to, kitten, trust me, I really would. But, alas, you have already been claimed."

I blinked up at her in confusion. "What?"

She rolled her eyes (again, Jesus, how many times was she going to do that?) and sighed in exasperation. "Claimed, taken, spoken for – whatever you want to call it; I can't touch you without inducing the wrath of someone who smells very, very powerful."

"What does that even mean? What is going on? No one has claimed me! How can you even tell?"

"I can smell their blood."

What? "What? What the hell does that mean?" I was getting frustrated now and very cross. Why are vampires so complicated? What does being claimed mean? I don't belong to anyone!

She stared at me contemplatively. "Tell me what happened to you. Don't leave out any details."

So I did. By the end, she was staring at me like I was a complete and utter moron.

"You're an utter moron."

'Thanks," I grumbled sarcastically, crossing my arms and pouting. "So what does all this mean? Who claimed me and how?"

"I am not completely sure. You fell asleep in the car on the way to Godric's nest?"

"Yes."

"And you woke up completely healed?"

"Yes."

"Tell me their exact words."

"Well, I woke up and was obviously confused and I asked what had happened. Godric shared this weird look with Eric and said that he had healed me with vampire magic but that he couldn't tell me how because vampire law forbids it. I don't see what any of this has to do with someone claiming me or whatever."

"No, you wouldn't," she muttered, still looking thoughtful. I waited in silence while she thought. "I'm sorry, sweet pea, but I don't think I can tell you either."

"What?" I demanded, outraged. "But someone has claimed possession of me without telling me! I deserve to know."

"And I agree," she sighed, "but by telling you I risk potentially pissing off someone very powerful and I'm not willing to do that, no matter how much your pretty doe eyes plead with me."

I huffed, once again too exhausted to put up much of a fight. "Whatever – I will just tell Godric what someone has done and he can fix it for me."

For some reason, that made her laugh. I gave her a disgruntled look but she continued to laugh at me. Fucking vampires.

"What even is your name?" I asked, only just realising she hadn't actually given me one. When I rescued her, she had been a little too… burnt to tell me her name and she hadn't introduced herself when she had climbed in through my window.

"Oh, yes, how rude of me. My name is Leanna Caswell." She mockingly held out her hand for me to shake, which I did, giving her a wry grin.

"Cool. So what are you going to do now? Make a new nest?"

And then, strangely, a very sad look came across her face and to me she looked almost… lonely.

"I don't know. I had thought they were my friends but, I guess not." She laughed bitterly, "their loss. I don't really have anyone else."

I stared at her hesitantly, biting my lip indecisively before deciding to just go for it – she needed someone. "Well, you have at least one friend."

She glanced at me, surprised, before snorting elegantly. "You? If I hang out with you I will end up in my grave far faster than any of my old nest could send me there."

I scowled at her and she laughed again, ruffling my hair condescendingly. "I suppose I could put up with you, if you didn't wear that ghastly uniform of yours in my presence."

I pretended to think it over before grinning widely. "I can live with that."

She sighed. "I'm probably going to live to regret this."

Leanna had left shortly after our newfound friendship had been formed – citing the inevitable approach of the sun as her excuse. I had fallen immediately back to sleep – too emotionally drained to think.

I woke up at midday and spent the rest of the afternoon on the couch, watching children's cartoons and snacking on junk food to take my mind off of everything. Jesse had gotten up hours before and left for work, but had stuck a very sweet note on the fridge for me, offering support and someone to talk to. Cecily, our third roommate, had also left a note on the fridge saying she was glad I was safe, which, for her, was a pretty big gesture. Cecily didn't really like us – we were loud and dramatic and constantly pulling dumb stunts – we didn't blame her.

Cecily worked as a stripper at a local club at night and slept during the day. Her loud snoring had always really irritated me but now, as I sat in the living room, it was a comfort, something familiar and safe.

By the time the sun had set, I had watched so many cartoons that my eyes were beginning to blur and I took a shower, which turned out to be a good choice when my phone rang moments after I had stepped out.

"Hello?"

"Hello, is this Amelia Kent?" The woman on the other end of the phone sounded influential and professional.

"Yes?" I answered suspiciously, eyeing the front door warily. Could this be Leanna's old nest mates?

"This is the AVL and we are requesting your presence at the Hotel Carmilla to discuss the events of yesterday evening."

I sighed deeply, covering the phone so I could groan loudly. "Is my presence necessary?"

"Yes."

"Fine. I will be there. What time should I arrive at?"

"As soon as possible – just give your name to the receptionist when you arrive." The woman then hung up, without so much as a goodbye.

"Rude," I mumbled under my breath before slowly dragging myself to the closet and picking out a deliberately casual outfit. I knew they probably wanted me to turn up in something semi professional and decided that yoga pants and a baggy crop top was the perfect outfit to spite them with.

It didn't take me long to reach the hotel and as soon as I stepped into the lobby I almost hightailed it out of there – it was obviously designed purely for vampires and all the black and red leather was ridiculously cliche.

I took a breath and steeled myself before marching over to the receptionist, my head held high. She gave me directions to the penthouse suite (nice – I had never seen the inside of one before) and I took the lift up, feeling increasingly nervous.

The lift seemed to take forever and by the time I reached the top floor, the palms of my hands were slightly sweaty from fear. I nervously wiped my palms on my pants and stepped up to the room door, raising my fist to knock on it. Before my hand could make contact with the wood, however, it was swiftly opened and I jumped back in surprise.

Godric was standing there, staring intensely down at me – eagerly drinking me in like I was going to disappear on him or something. Weird.

"Amelia, come in." He held the door open for me and I smiled broadly – what a gentleman.

It was a struggle not to let my jaw drop at the size of the hotel room, or its opulence – man, rich people really knew how to travel in style. I looked around and immediately felt irritated – most of the people here were dressed casually and my small act of rebellion was now entirely useless. I huffed silently to myself and Sookie smiled with amusement at me, almost like she could hear my thoughts. I chastised myself for having that stupid thought again – clearly all this vampire shit was getting to me.

"Amelia Kent, is it?" A very glamorous lady asked, wearing the kind of professional attire I expected. Two men stood behind her like bodyguards and I guessed that she was important somehow.

"Yes. Nice to meet you." I held out my hand for her to shake but she just gave it a disdainful look and carried on talking.

"Am I to understand that it was you who disabled the bomb?"

"Yeah – it was a very crude device. If it had been made by a professional I wouldn't have been able to disarm it so easily."

"Yes, yes, whatever – do you mind going through the events of that evening in your owns words?" She asked me, looking incredibly bored.

I gave her a weird look, "who else's words would they be?"

She pulled out that disdainful look again – the one all vampires have perfected.

I sighed deeply and recounted the events of the previous day for the second time – leaving out the more embarrassing and personal parts. I also made sure to leave out anything to do with Godric's suicidal feelings when I spoke, instead making it sound like I hadn't the slightest idea why he was at the church.

Both Eric and Godric were seated around the coffee table, as well as Sookie and her boyfriend and a very beautiful woman named Isabel who I understood to be Godric's lieutenant or something similar.

As I spoke, I could feel two sets of eyes burning holes into my body – more specifically my exposed midriff, making me realise what a stupid mistake it was to wear a crop top to meet a vampire. Damn – I just couldn't do anything right – it was meant to be a sign of my irritation that they had dragged me down here but instead it seemed to say "eat me!" in flashing lights, which definitely had not been my intention.

By the time I had finished my side of things, everyone was looking very bored – it seemed like they had all recounted their version of things and were getting very fed up with hearing the same story over and over again. I didn't blame them – I was pretty fucking bored as well.

"Can I go now?" I asked the woman, desperate to get back home to my comforter and cartoons.

"No. Sit down."

I sighed and collapsed onto a sofa, slouching as low as I could in the hopes of irritating the woman. My childish attempt went unnoticed by her, but Godric was looking at me with amusement from the corner of his eye.

"Miss Kent, how would you feel about doing a televised interview about what happened?"

I stared at her for a moment, "that's how I know you! You tried to get me to do one after the whole vampire fire incident!"

She raised a delicate brow, "that was you? You sounded a lot more put together over the phone."

My jaw dropped at her blatant disregard of manners and I could feel myself getting angry, and mildly spiteful, but only mildly. "Yes, that was me and I'm telling you now what I told you then – I'm not doing an interview so you can take your nine inch stilettos and shove them up your—"

A hand clamped down over my mouth and dragged me back, forcing me to shut up and back into my seat. I turned to Godric, indignant, but his hand was still over my mouth. His eyes twinkled with mirth, which appeased me.

The lady only looked slightly irritated, like she didn't have time for my shenanigans and I realised she probably didn't – I was just a fly to her, buzzing in her ear annoyingly. It was a sobering thought.

"You are free to go," she drawled, waving a hand at me dismissively and I jumped up, straightening my clothes haughtily and stalking out the room. I tried my best to ignore Eric's smug smirk, but couldn't stop myself from pulling a childish face at him on my way out. So sue me – I deserved to let out my frustration.

Just as I opened the door to leave, there was a slight breeze and it slammed shut. I jumped just as Godric lightly turned me around. He smiled softly at me and pushed an errant curl behind my ear.

"Would you mind waiting for me? Up on the roof – we will not be long."

I eyed him for a bit – torn between wanting to leave and not disappointing him. I stared into his eyes; they were like a cool stream, trickling gently and smoothly, asking me to stay. I couldn't say no.

He looked pleased and gave me that soft smile again, which made insides go all wriggly and warm. That was not a good sign and like any emotion I didn't want to deal with I shoved it away and pretended it didn't exist.

"Not long my ass." I muttered to myself, sitting on the edge of the roof, letting my feet dangle over the edge as I softly swayed them. It had been half an hour and there was still no sign of Godric.

The loud noises of the city below echoed up to me – drunken shouting, car doors slamming and loud pumping music from a club. I felt removed from it all – like I was sitting on a cloud and observing everyone from above – it was peaceful.

Which was why I almost went plummeting off the roof and to my death when Eric suddenly appeared next to me. I screamed and felt myself start to fall. My heart jumped straight into my throat and it felt as if my blood had frozen, dead, in my veins.

Just as my body completely left the ledge, I felt a strong hand grab me by the waist and drag me backwards away from the edge.

I sucked in a deep breath and took a moment to orient myself. Eric didn't even look mildly guilty as he set me back down on the ground, like he hadn't just been seconds away from committing manslaughter and sending me to an early grave.

I turned to thank him for catching me but flinched back at the look on his face.

"You knew." He snarled, seemingly furious with me and my small brush with death was forgotten in the face of his anger. If I had thought Godric looked scary when he was angry, it was nothing to how truly deadly Eric looked. His eyes were searing, burning with a fury that had been fuelled for centuries.

"What?" I asked, backing away from him rapidly, my eyes wide with fright.

"You knew Godric was suicidal and you did nothing!" he was yelling at me now, slowly stalking towards me, in no hurry to catch up, safe in the knowledge that he could kill me before I could even open the door to the roof.

I was terrified now and took a deep breath, fiercely trying to clamp my fear down – I would not be cowed by this jackass.

"Yes, I did know," I said softly, as though I were speaking to a wounded animal, instead of a rational being. "I did try to stop him but he was very adamant that he would die at the Fellowship of the Sun."

"You're lying." His voice sounded dead now, erased of all fury and his face was a stone mask. In less than a second he was effortlessly holding me up in the air by my throat, cutting off my air supply.

The pain was like nothing I had ever experienced before; it felt like he was crushing not only my throat but my ribcage and lungs as well. It burned.

And then I felt myself hit the concrete of the roof with a loud thud, cutting my elbow open as I coughed and gasped desperately for breath – water streaming from eyes and blurring my vision.

Alarmed and confused, I looked up, expecting Eric to swoop down at any moment to finish the job and instead found Godric standing over him, foot planted firmly on the blonde's chest as he spoke too quietly for me to hear.

Relieved, I lay back on the floor, still gasping and coughing. Whatever Godric was saying to Eric, it sounded very angry - I would not like to be Eric right now.

"Little one, are you all right?" Godric asked, appearing before me and gently helping me stand. He took my face in his hands and examined my throat, delicately brushing my hair from my cheek.

I nodded shakily, resisting the urge to fling myself into his arms and bury my face in the crook of his neck. He made me feel safe, like he was a roaring, strong fire enveloping me in warmth on a cold winter's day.

He stared at me with soft concern for a few more moments before scooping me up in his arms in a matter of milliseconds. I squeaked and felt his chest rumble with a chuckle and then there was a sudden rush of air. The world turned blurry, and not from my tears; it felt like I was flying.

I looked around me in shock. Less than a second ago we were on the roof and now we were standing in a dark hotel room. Godric switched on the lights and I blinked, adjusting to the change.

"What the hell?" I whispered, looking down at my body, half expecting to be missing some limbs.

There was a pause.

"That was awesome!" I squealed, jumping on Godric and shaking his shoulders, or, well trying to, I was too weak to actually move him so instead I just kind of gripped him.

He laughed, seemingly very pleased with himself but I was too hopped up on the adrenaline of moving at super speed to notice.

"Do you move like that all the time? That was honestly one of the best moments of my life!" I gushed, still attempting to shake him. My voice had turned all breathy from exhilaration, my cheeks felt flushed and I knew my eyes were wide and excited. Adrenaline junkies like myself lived for that kind of shit.

Godric's eyes turned heated and he moved into me, his face so close to mine that when I blinked my eyelashes ever so lightly brushed his cheeks.

"One of your best moments? I think we could find something that could top it…" he whispered into my ear, his lips brushing the shell of them. I shivered, my eyes fluttering closed.

He moved away from me and I had to bite my tongue to hold back my groan of frustration. When I opened my eyes again he was smirking slyly at me. I glared mutinously.

He motioned for me to sit down and I did, collapsing back onto the sofa in relief.

Why the fuck were people constantly trying to kill me? Why was Eric trying to kill me despite Godric's request? I was done with the world – at this point someone could swoop into the room and kill me and I would thank them.

Godric sat opposite me, watching and expertly reading the emotions that flickered across my face.

"He did not intend to kill you."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Really, he merely intended to scare you into revealing all you knew of my time at the Fellowship of the Sun."

"Tell that to my bruised throat." Every breath I took burned, every word I spoke was like a knife being dragged down my windpipe.

His eyes softened. "I know you're in a lot pain right now, I can feel it, but if he had truly intended to hurt you, you would not be in such good condition – this is positively gentle by Eric's standards."

"He needs to re-examine his definition of gentle," I muttered, "dude needs some anger management therapy or something." I frowned. "Wait, what? You can feel my pain? What the fuck does that mean?"

He paused for a moment. "Vampires have a very good sense and idea of the emotions that humans in their surrounding area experience," he said smoothly, smiling reassuringly. Huh.

Horror coursed like snake venom through my blood, momentarily stopping my heart and making me tense up. If he could sense our emotions – did that mean he could feel it whenever I got turned on by him? Could he sense it when I get those mushy feelings for him? God, I was so embarrassed.

I sat there in a cloud of humiliation and buried my face in a soft cushion, deciding then and there I was never going to speak to Godric again, let alone look him in the eye.

I heard him laugh and his footsteps lightly approaching me. He attempted to pry my face away from the cushion but I was adamant that I would rather suffocate myself with that cushion than ever face him again.

After a few minutes of muffled grunts and intense struggling, he gave up. Realistically, I knew that if he really wanted to he could have forced me to look up very easily and I appreciated his restraint.

"Little one, I can feel your embarrassment – you assume I would think badly of you for your emotions but that is the opposite of what I think. You feel everything so intensely, so strongly – it is intoxicating. What you feel is beautiful." His voice soft, light, but there was an edge to it, an undertone to it that I couldn't understand and I didn't bother trying.

I froze at his words, slowly raising my head to look at him sceptically. "Really?" I asked doubtfully.

He looked me directly in the eye, holding my face firmly in place. "Really."

I didn't want it to matter, I didn't want to care what he thought but I still felt relief flood through me at his words – he didn't think I was some weirdo creep who awkwardly lusted after him. Thank God.

"Milia, you cannot possibly understand how glad I am for you and your emotions. You gave me hope. You are so brave, so full of life and fire and love, that I cannot help but feel optimistic, an emotion I have not felt for so long I did not know what it was at first. If humans like you and vampires like me can be… friends, then maybe the world is not doomed after all – maybe it is not as dark and corrupted as I thought. You're actions prove that humans and vampires can co-exist."

I stared at him in utter shock. "What – I – what are you saying?"

"That you have inspired me – I have decided that I do not want to leave this earth just yet, you have persuaded me to stay for a good while longer."

I did not know how to feel. "I- Godric, you are giving me too much credit and I am flattered and all but no one can convince you to stay but yourself. When you feel the way you do, or did, the only one who can save you is you. I did not do anything." I looked at him more intensely now, willing him to understand. "You – you are this immense, powerful force of nature and I'm just an irresponsible fire fighter from Bon Temps who cries at children's cartoons – I am nothing special."

His eyes flashed dangerously at my words. "You are wrong."

Godric had held my face unshakeably in place throughout our entire exchange and slowly, without my realising, our faces had moved closer together until they were almost touching and, oh, how I noticed it now. Now, it was all I could feel. I had assumed he would let me go after our conversation ended but it seemed as though he couldn't bring himself to do it. We continued to stare at one another. My heart started beating wildly in my chest and it felt like he was reaching inside my ribcage to grab it. My stomach clenched almost painfully and I felt everything too fast and too strongly. This was not supposed to be happening.

He looked just as overcome as me; his eyes were literal storm clouds, great swirling masses of power and emotion. His lips had parted and my eyes dropped to them; they looked so kissable, soft and an eerily bright red against his pale skin.

Distantly, my inner voice was telling me that this was not a good idea, like, holy fucking shit get it together, Milia, what are you doing but I was too far-gone to care.

I started to lean into him, as though I were in a trance, all I could think about was him – his eyes, his lips. It was as though someone else was controlling my body, pushing me towards him and I don't think I could have stopped myself even if I had wanted to. But that was the thing – I wanted to. I wanted to kiss him, to touch him, to feel him in every way – to practically mould myself to him – so much that it actually hurt. It was like a physical ache in my chest.

Bang.

A door slammed somewhere down the hall and I snapped out of the stupor I had been in, like a bullet had gone off in the room. I was breathing heavily, as though I had run a marathon, and my face was so flushed I was sure there wasn't any blood left anywhere else in my body.

A brief, agonising expression that I could not determine burst across his face before he quickly shut off – letting his normal blank, if slightly serene, mask fall into place.

I took a deep, stuttering breath and darted out the room, sprinting away like I was running for my life. It had all been overwhelming, exhilarating. I had felt as though I was standing on the edge of a cliff, looking at the whirling and roiling ocean, riptides clawing under the surface, waiting to drag me into the depths, while rain, lightening and thunder whipped around me, threatening to push me over the side. Diving in would be the most dangerous, electric and foolish thing I could ever do.

I wanted to though. And that terrified me.

Dun dun duuuuun!

Vacker - Swedish - meaning beautiful, pretty, sweet, young.

We finally got to see a small hint of a jealous and slightly possessive Godric but he was really restraining himself this chapter - he doesn't want to scare her off.

We finally got to meet Leanna, the vampire Milia saved! I was honestly so excited to introduce her you guys, you have no idea! I can't wait to show you her backstory either - its awesome, if I do say so myself.

And yes, Milia is bisexual! However, her relationship with Leanna will purely be a kickass friendship in this story - in this chapter Milia was just feeling vulnerable and lonely and Leanna is smoking hot - can you blame her?

Poor Milia - I feel slightly bad that Godric is so smoothly lying to her about how he can feel her emotions but I want to play with her lack of vampire knowledge a bit more.

I would also like to say that while Milia played a large part in Godric's decision not to commit suicide, it is all entirely his choice. If someone you love has depression do not expect them to magically get better because of your relationship - that's not how people or depression work. I have taken a few liberties here because I think depression, or suicidal feelings, for a 2000 year old vampire would work far more differently to our normal human reactions. To me, I do not think that Godric was completely committed to dying before the bomb scene in True Blood - he avoided telling anyone about his feelings or why he was at the Fellowship and found ways to lie or omit the truth. After the bomb scene, however, and when discussing it, he became perfectly candid about his suicidal intentions and appeared to have just given up. I have always thought that the bomb and its effects were the turning point for Godric and drove him over the edge - until that moment it always seemed to me like he was still holding on to hope. Which is why, in this story, Milia risking her life to save a house full of vampires by diffusing that bomb has had such an effect on Godric; it is the tipping point for him deciding to live.

Thank you so much for reading!

Next chapter: Milia and Eric have a Moment and Godric and his progeny take advantage of Milia's ignorance concerning vampires to have a lot of fun at her expense.