Hi everyone! Please enjoy chapter 22. If you notice a massive improvement to my writing, you can go ahead and thank Fundamental Blue as she has beta-ed this chapter. As per the usual let me know what you think. I love to hear your opinions and anything you think about the chapter, the story itself, or the characters!

I've been thinking of maybe taking a slight detour from the main storyline to check in on some of the other characters in the story. Namely Sookie and Eric. Would anyone be interested in reading a chapter centered around them?

I woke up late the next day, stretching my limbs with a groan. Part of me wanted nothing more than to simply roll over and bury my face in a pillow until nightfall. With the way things were going it seemed like every time I got out of bed something happened to screw up my good mood. Everything was so peaceful in Godric's quiet bedroom. I had even gotten used to waking up next to someone who was for all intents and purposes dead.

But, I also knew Anthony was going to show up at some point in the day and I would need to be ready for it. So I pulled myself out of bed and made my way to the bathroom. The hot water felt like heaven on my skin and I ended up staying under the spray for much longer than I had meant to. After I towelled off, I quickly braided my still wet hair down my back. I couldn't be bothered to dry it and the braids would mean my curls would be less messy than they could sometimes be.

When I stepped back into the bedroom, the clock on the nightstand caught my attention. It was already quarter after two. That meant I had less than an hour to get myself together to meet with Anthony. With a groan I quickly pulled on a pair of leggings and a baggy top that hung past my butt.

My stomach growled as I dressed, so I quickly made my way downstairs and into the kitchen. I had to hunt around a bit in search of something to eat. I wasn't in the mood to actually make anything so I was hoping for something easy. The sight of a frozen pizza in the freezer was a small blessing. I puttered around the kitchen as the oven heated up, doing up the small pile of dishes that had gathered in the sink. Once the oven was at the proper temperature it was a short, though impatient, wait as the pizza cooked. The smell of it filled the room and had my stomach growling hungrily. When the timer dinged and I pulled it out, the sight of melting cheese and crispy pepperoni had my mouth watering. I quickly cut a large piece and left the rest to cool on the counter. It would make good leftovers for the next couple days.

As per the usual Evan was already up. I wondered what she did all morning while the rest of us slept the day away. She was sitting in the living room, a laptop balanced on her lap. It was definitely not ours since our computer was an old piece of shit. The laptop she was using was sleek and shiny. It looked very new.

"Where did you get that?" I asked, flopping onto the couch beside her.

Evan looked over at me and curled her nose as she watched me eat. I knew she thought the way I ate pizza was weird, but it really was the best way. Sure pizza as a whole was an amazing food. But the melted cheese and pepperoni was the best part. Why spoil such a delicious combination with dough and pizza sauce? So I dissected my slices, eating the toppings first before biting into the bread and sauce left over.

"Pam let me borrow it. She came in pretty close to sunrise. It woke me up so I came down to check on her. I asked before she went to sleep if there was a computer I could use," Evan explained.

I hummed in response. Pam and her seemed to get along pretty well. Not that they spent a whole lot of time together. Evan still kept as normal hours as she could. But the two women seemed to like each other when they were together. I wondered if it was because otherwise they were alone in a house of two other couples. But I hoped not. Pam seemed like a good person though I didn't know her as well as I thought I probably should at that point. And Evan really didn't have many friends. I would have to wait and see if it was genuine though when we weren't all under the same roof. Would Pam visit her otherwise? Would Evan seek out Pam?

I still wasn't sure where I would fit into the new arrangement, and I pushed that thought from my mind.

"What are you up to?" I asked, peeking at the screen.

Evan shrugged, her cheeks tinging pink. "I'm just messing around. Nothing important." But I had finally managed a look at the screen. Evan was looking at universities. My stomach twisted uncomfortably. On the one hand I was ecstatic about the idea. Evan deserved a good life and she couldn't stay at her job forever. But on the other hand we really didn't have any money. How could we afford to put Evan through school? It made me anxious just thinking about covering tuition and her books. We'd probably have to move closer to the university. We were on the other side of town as it was. Rent was more expensive there and if Evan wasn't working as many hours she wouldn't be able to help with the bills as much. I would have to pick up more hours and schedule more photo shoots. Which reminded me that I had one scheduled for the next day and I would need to get my gear from the apartment before then.

"I know we can't really afford it, Aly. It's fine. I was just curious and bored. I thought maybe they had grants and stuff for people in our situation ya know?" Evan mumbled, clearly embarrassed.

I shook my head "no, Ev. You should go to school. If you know what you want to do, we'll figure out how to make that work" I found myself reassuring her, though I really had no idea how we were going to do that.

Yet seeing Evan's face light up was enough for me to know I'd have to figure it out.

"Really? Are you sure? I can apply for scholarships and they have financial advisors that can help too."

I shrugged "yeah, good. You should talk to them and I'll see if we can get a loan or something too."

Evan bit her lip, eyes trained on the screen in front of her. The mouse hovered over the 'apply online' button. I reached over and easily clicked on it for her before she could start to second guess herself.

"What are you going to apply for anyway?" I asked, watching her fill in the information.

Evan sighed, "social work I think. I want to help kids in situations like ours." I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face. I was so proud of Evan. She was such a strong, smart woman. I don't know how she had managed to come out of our childhood so well. Sure, I had managed too, but Evan walked tall, confident and strong for the both of us. I had done my best when we were little to keep her out of the worst of it. But there hadn't been anything I could do for the steady stream of verbal abuse our father had maintained for most of our childhood. It had been a long time before either of us had been able to move past what had happened to us. Evan was going to make something of herself though. Of that I was sure. She would be able to help children in similar circumstances persevere. She was going to make a difference in the world.

I was brought out of my proud mental rambling by a light knock on the door. Evan looked confused and not just a little bit worried. I realized she had been asleep the night before when Anthony had come into the house. I pat her shoulder easily as I got up to answer the door, a quick attempt at easing her fears. If Evan knew I was expecting someone then she wouldn't have to be too worried about who it could be.

I let the door swing open and smiled politely at Anthony. "Come on in," I made a sweeping gesture with my arm and stepped back.

Anthony was dressed in a similar fashion to the previous night, with worn jeans and a faded t-shirt that had some sort of logo on it. He toed off biker boots that he hadn't tied and shrugged himself out of a leather jacket, draping it carelessly over the railing of the stairs.

I led him back into the living room more so I could ease Evan's curiosity than any particular desire for them to meet. I would prefer to shield Evan from any more potential danger and the more she was involved with the supernatural world, let alone demons who openly professed that trouble was coming, the better.

Evan's eyebrows rose and her mouth popped open at the sight of the tall figure behind me. Her eyes flicked over to me, questions swirling rapidly in them. She seemed to remember herself a moment later and forced a more polite expression on her face.

"Evan, this is Anthony...my cousin I guess," I explained uneasily. Cousin still seemed a strange concept. Even more so in the light of day. Bael had always made it seem like demons didn't keep track of their relations. So either 'cousin' meant a close family friend, like you might call your parent's friend an 'aunt' or 'uncle', or for some reason Bael had kept particular track of his familial ties to Anthony and his mother.

"Anthony this is my sister Evan." Anthony swooped forward and held his hand out to Evan. She placed hers in his own, his long fingers making hers look childishly small. I raised an eyebrow in surprise when he bent over her hand in a dramatic bow.

"A pleasure to meet you, Evan. Will you be joining us for Alyssa's training?" Anthony asked as he straightened up.

Evan had flushed a warm pink and she had to try several times before she found the words to speak.

"I'll come watch, if you don't mind Aly." I shrugged. Having Evan around always made me feel better and I could hope it would make things less awkward between Anthony and I. I didn't know what to say to the man, or what to think.

Anthony seemed satisfied with her answer and asked that we go to the back yard. He wanted to be able to test what abilities I had already developed and see where I needed work before we started testing for other abilities.

Evan settled into the thick grass and called out encouragements as Anthony had me lift various things with my mind. We started small, using items I knew I could move and then moved on to larger objects.

"It's like any muscle, cousin. You have to keep using it and it will get stronger and stronger," Anthony encouraged.

I hadn't noticed but Sookie had stepped out into the back yard at some point in the afternoon and had settled down with Evan to watch us. They were chatting with each other and I tried to catch what they were saying, but the majority of my concentration was being taken up by my lesson. The more time I spent with Anthony, the more questions I had. I knew there was a lot he wanted to get done and he seemed like he was in a bit of a rush to do so. But I wanted to make sure I got the chance to ask him a few things.

Anthony made me feel uneasy. Even though Bael had given him the thumbs up and Godric had allowed him to come into the nest despite how unsure I knew he was, I didn't trust him any further than I could throw him, physically or otherwise.

I called for a break a short time after.

"I know we haven't moved much, but I am absolutely drained. Can we take a break for today?" I asked, though I didn't wait for his response before I walked over to flop onto the lawn beside Evan. Anthony shrugged and moved to join us.

"It can be taxing at first. It will get easier the more experience you have."

I nodded to show I was listening and threw my arm over my eyes. It was late in the afternoon but the sun was streaming down bathing us all in a bright, warm light.

Anthony took the initiative to introduce himself to Sookie, whom he had ended up sitting beside. She was the polite southern bell she always seemed to be and if she was as surprised by Anthony kissing the back of her hand, she hid it well.

"So Anthony, you're half demon right? But when Bael met me he said we were pretty rare," I voiced after a long stretch of silence.

Anthony hummed in agreement.

"We are fairly uncommon. Demons do not interact with humans in a romantic fashion often. It is even less common for those unions to bear young. You are the only other half blood I know of that knows from which demon they came."

"Why is that?" Sookie questioned, "does no one take a look at the half demons parents and remember sleeping with them?"

Anthony let out a short laugh, "it is as you say Sookie. Many demons do not pay much mind to the humans they have had relations with. Do you think your vampire could point out every human he has slept with?"

Sookie's grumbled "probably" was almost low enough to miss but I caught it anyway and had to bite back a laugh.

Anthony knew better than to comment any further and returned to answering the original question "Bael cared a great deal for your mother, as my mother cared a great deal for the man who sired me," Anthony explained.

I snorted, "too bad he didn't stick around, right Ev?"

Evan's laugh was humourless, "even a demon would have been better than dad."

It had become something Evan and I were, on some degree, able to joke about. At least with each other. But rather than put Sookie and Anthony in the somewhat awkward position of figuring out how to respond to our joking, I moved onto another question on my list.

"Is it because your mother is a demon that you have...well, horns?" I asked, hoping I wouldn't be offending Anthony.

He shook his head, "not necessarily. There are other half demons with more physical manifestations of their heritage. They are usually the ones recognized as being partially demon, though horns are exceptionally rare. Usually it is in the eyes or the pallor of the skin that one is seen as other. I am a rarity among rarities in that my heritage has manifested in a very physical sense," Anthony explained, making a motion to encompass his whole body, a smirk on his face that said he was most definitely not insecure of his appearance.

"Part of that may be due to the early age in which I was brought to Sheol- the realm of the demons."

"How old are you?" Evan asked curiously, cocking her head to the side as she looked at him.

Anthony quirked an eyebrow at her, "don't you know its rude to ask someone their age?" He teased.

Evan rolled her eyes at him, "that's just old women. Are you an old woman?"

Anthony chuckled and shook his head, "fair point. I was born sometime in the 1800s. Time moves slower in Sheol so I cannot say for sure. I am, physically, perhaps 23?" His voice was unsure as he guessed his age. It seemed like a reasonable guess, I considered it as I looked him over. He was young looking certainly, but not in a way that I would suspect him to be a teenager. Nor did he have a particularly mature look about him, if you ignored the dignified, graceful way he carried himself. Sprawled out in the grass as he was I could picture him with a beer in hand, having a barbecue or something with a bunch of college kids.

Evan seemed satisfied with the answer at any rate. Anthony in turn began asking Evan questions. He seemed to know a great deal about me from Bael and it made me wonder how much the demon really talked about me. Was he like a proud father, whipping out pictures every time someone vaguely mentioned children? Or was it just because Anthony was another half blood like me, and was close to Bael? Part of me wanted to ask but the other part of me wasn't sure how I would feel if it was just that Bael was a proud father. So I kept my mouth shut and let Evan go on about our lives and her new excitement over applying for school. Sookie seemed just as excited for her, offering us both any help she could in getting Evan into school. Maybe, like me, Sookie wanted Evan to make something more of her life than being like her. I knew Sookie wasn't ashamed of her job, nor was I, but it was one thing to be happy with what you had and another to wish it on someone else. Either way, it made me happy to know someone else was supportive of my sister. We could use all the family and support we could get.

"What about you and Eric?" I didn't know what had turned the conversation in that direction, but Anthony's question piqued my interest.

It was obvious the two of them had become...something over the past several weeks. She had, after all, been staying in Eric's room since this whole ordeal had started. There was no way Eric had failed to convince her to sleep with him by then. Sure Sookie was a strong willed, independent woman. But she had feelings for Eric whether she would admit it or not. Add to that the charm and seductive persuasion of a determined Eric, and she was done for. Not to mention Eric had literally carried her, wrapped around him, to their room when he had come back from the tribunal.

I looked over to see Sookie blushing and biting her lip shyly, "it's really nothing. This is Eric we're talking about."

I couldn't help but to snort at her words, "Eric would give you the moon, if you asked for it Sookie. The boy is practically drooling at your feet."

Sookie out right laughed at me, she shook her head sending blond locks swirling from her face. "Don't be silly. Eric is all talk. He'll do anything to get a woman in bed and he loves a challenge."

Evan easily jumped on my side. We had been waiting on the two of them to get together ever since Evan had met them. Anyone who saw them in the same room would have a hard time denying the connection between them. Anyone except Sookie, apparently.

"Right. So Eric just rounded up every woman he wanted to sleep with when this whole Nathaniel thing went down? I don't think so. Nathaniel was going to target the people Eric and Godric cared about the most and you were the only person Eric brought here. God, even that Ginger chick was left to fend for herself."

Sookie shook her head again, "it's Eric. He doesn't do commitment and he knows that's what I would want."

I pursed my lips at her. For someone who could read minds she was awfully thick sometimes.

"If he just wants in your pants, why hasn't he brought you back to Bon Temps? 'Cause I know you two have slept together by now."

I could see Sookie trying to find some way to deny that Eric had feelings for her. She was trying to convince herself that there was no way someone like Eric would want to be with someone like her. The whole situation felt very familiar and I cursed myself for ever being as deep in denial about Godric as Sookie was about Eric. At least Godric had gone about pushing me away at one point or another. Eric was shamelessly after her from the time the sun went down to the time he died for the day.

"It sounds like you need to have a conversation with the viking," Anthony supplied. I had all but forgotten he was there, having been caught up in the conversation, "sometimes it is best for both parties to be blunt and open, leaving no room for miscommunication."

I couldn't help but nod in agreement. Anthony was completely right. If Sookie didn't lay it out for Eric and get his response one way or another she probably wouldn't ever believe that he actually wanted to be with her rather than just getting in her pants.

Sookie groaned and scrubbed a delicate hand down her face.

"He's just so hard to have a conversation with. He gets this look in his eyes and I lose my train of thought."

None of us could hold back the amused chuckles at her comment. Sookie had it bad. I could only hope Eric wouldn't be an insensitive prick about it. He had come a long way in how sensitive he would be with us so I had my fingers crossed that he wouldn't revert back to being a cocky ass hole when he was forced to discuss his feelings with her.

The sun was beginning to set by the time we stopped talking about Sookie's impending confession. Anthony excused himself, asking that I tell Godric he sent his regards. He disappeared from the yard a moment later. It was a very disorienting sensation and the first thing I wanted him to teach me. I could just imagine how handy that would be.

I knew Godric rose just before sunset so I excused myself from Sookie and Evan to go find him. It was nice being with him when he rose for the evening. I liked being able to watch him suddenly come alive and with the start of a bond between us, I got to physically experience it as well.

Part of me was eager to bond again and see what new sensations would come with it, but another part of me wanted the time to explore the bond as it was before we added more to it. I couldn't make up my mind. There were too many factors to know for sure what was the right decision.

I had just walked through the bedroom door, a soft smile on my face at the sight of him sprawled out in the bed when our bond jumped to life. Godric's eyes opened and landed on me standing just inside the room. The corners of his lips tilted up and he held out a hand to me.

"Love, why aren't you in bed with me?" he groaned.

The smile on my face broadened and I crossed the room to crawl into bed with him. His arms enveloped me and he nuzzled into the side of my neck. I carded my hands through his hair and pressed a kiss into his temple, contentment sweeping through me from the bond.

"You're always here when I rise. How do you do that?" Godric hummed into my skin.

I shook my head and shrugged, "you always wake up just before the sun actually sets. It's pretty easy to come up around that time."

Godric didn't respond, only nuzzled closer into me. "How was your meeting with Anthony?" he asked several minutes later.

I shrugged against him, "it was good. It took a lot out of me, honestly. It feels like I'm really out of shape or something. Anthony seems nice enough. He seems to think there's a lot to teach me. He sends his regards by the way."

Godric huffed against my skin, "I am glad you had a good afternoon. I know Bael spoke for him, but I did not like the idea of him being with you when I am dead for the day. If something had gone wrong..." Godric trailed off grimly.

I nodded against him "I know. Bael said he can be trusted but that doesn't mean I do."

Godric seemed glad that I didn't automatically trust him. We laid contentedly in the bed for a while longer before Godric finally decided he should get up. I stayed in the bed while he got dressed then followed him as we made our way down into the rest of the house. The rest of our nest were there crowded around the island. Evan and Sookie had made food and Evan wordlessly handed me a plate. I smiled my thanks and dug in, a stir fry with chicken and vegetables. The vampires seamlessly fell into talking about business and the club.

Eric insisted that they needed to start making appearances at Fangtasia again. I could understand where he was coming from. Eric had a business to run and part of his business had to do with impressing the people that came to Fangtasia. Sookie shifted uncomfortably and I wondered if it was about going to the club with him or if it had more to do with the idea of Eric sitting on his throne getting propositioned by the patrons all night long.

Godric's arm fell around my shoulder and he pressed a kiss to my cheek, "you'll come along, little one?"

I agreed easily before I realized that Evan would be left in the house by herself all night. Sookie had already agreed to go even though she was technically going to be working. It had been a long time since she had sat down at Fangtasia and scanned the other human employees. There weren't many but Eric liked for her to check in on them every couple weeks. Not to mention she had proved time and again how useful having a telepath around was. She had pointed out a handful of drainers and undercover cops to Eric. It made everything much easier for him to run when he was able to find any problems before they even happened.

Evan, though, seemed relieved at the thought of having the house to herself. "I'm going to take a nice long bath and watch Netflix or something all night. It's been awhile since I've actually had alone time at a reasonable hour."

I couldn't blame her. One of the perks of me working at a bar was that she generally had a couple hours to herself in the morning and in the evening when I was sleeping or working. Lately though, the entire night was taken up by vampires and she ended up going to bed later. Sookie, despite keeping a vampire's hours was an early riser which meant Evan at most got a couple hours in the morning to do her own thing.

We were out the door shortly after, splitting up into a couple of expensive looking sports cars. I glanced back at the house a final time as we left, hoping Evan enjoyed having the whole house to herself.