WARNING: this story is rated MA as it will contain adult themes; meaning lemons, violence, blood play etc. That said if that kind of content isn't your cup of tea or if you are underage, kindly please find something else/age appropriate to read.

Disclaimer: I do not own TB or SVM, the series were Allan Ball's baby and the characters and the main plot belong to Charlaine Harris, capice? Okay then…

CHAPTER 2


ONE WEEK EARLIER – SHREVEPORT


He gritted his teeth in anger and a muscle in his jaw started ticking uncontrollably as he stared vacantly at the remains of the vampire at his feet, lost in the sudden and quite debilitating onslaught of memories of his younger days when, with a feral grin on his lips, most nights he'd bring unwitting human bodies to just such a state as this poor sap splattered all over the filthy alleyway mere feet away from Fangtasia – Shreveport's local Vampire Mecca – where the undead gather nightly…to prey.

And oh, he could remember quite vividly, the feeling of holding a still beating human heart in his hand as he – so very new to un-life – had killed for the first time; he could still remember how the boy, so much younger than Godric himself and yet a slave for his master as well, had tasted. The warm, rich ambrosia sliding down his throat like liquid honey; sating him, warming him…

Startling as a cold drop of water splashed onto his face, the ancient vampire looked up skyward, taking in the heavy rain clouds looming above the city, as though threatening to pop open at any moment to leave everything and everyone drowning in their wake.

The first drop is then swiftly followed by the second and then one more until it's raining or more like pouring as it seems to be, the almost torrential waters drenching everything in their path in mere moments.

Watching the storm wash away all traces of the crime committed, he frowns; the itch for justice intensifying even as the last rivulets of scarlet red course down the storm drain, leaving behind only a pile of soaked-through clothes the victim had been wearing.

His pale lips pull into a thin line as he comes to a decision and swiftly kicks the pile of rags towards the chain-link fence on the other side of the alleyway which, as usual, is lined with numerous thrash bags and reeking dumpsters and he is quite sure no one will question such a find in a place like this.

The scents of the drainers still fresh in his mind, Godric vows to himself to put a stop to the their crimes tonight. Legs bent at the knees, he prepares to take off into the night when a heavy hand lands on his shoulder.

"Master, it is almost dawn. We should head to ground".

Eric's voice is soft and somewhat reverent, as it always is whenever he speaks to his maker. And though the sentence, innocent sounding as it would be to someone who didn't know his precious, ever-scheming Viking, Godric's shoulders slump because he does know better – 'tis not a question nor a request, oh no; it is a plea.

With a tired sigh, the ancient one faces his wayward childe: "…of course, my son. You are right – it is much too close to sunrise. This can wait until tomorrow, let us go to ground for the day."

And upon seeing the stark relief in Eric's eyes, Godric feels a sliver of guilt squeeze his long-still heart but his mind is well and truly made; once he finds the two vile creatures responsible for such atrocities committed against the vampire kind – and probably worse still against their own kind – he will leave Shreveport and Eric behind so he can finally end his miserable, lonely existence and repent to his one true maker…


A MONTH EARLIER: STACKHOUSE FARM


She woke slowly that morning, her consciousness returning to her at leisurely speed, as though surfacing from the bottom of a lake after a dive into the cool waters on a scorching summers day.

A soft exhale left her slightly parted lips and she subconsciously swallowed before slowly peeling her brown eyes open to the harsh glare of sunlight invading her room through the eastern-most window.

Squinting her eyes against the light, Sookie finally became aware of the very slight but also very present weight on her chest.

With a wince at what felt like the beginnings of a building headache, she lifted her head off the pillow and squinted at the general area of the weight. To her surprise, she found herself locking gazes with two sharp green eyes watching her intently.

''Tina...'', the blonde girl murmured, her voice soft and still husky with sleep, ''...hey sweetness'', she greeted her little companion, gently petting her.

Sharp green eyes closed in pleasure at the tender touch of her mistress and the little cat started purring, the nails of her front paws sinking into the light sheet covering the human below her.

Sookie grinned.

''...you hungry baby, huh? That why you treatin' me as your personal bed..?''

A rather loud mreowrr was the answer to that question and with another grin, the young waitress gently pushed the cat off her chest and onto the bed proper before peeling the sheet off herself.

Adele Stackhouse looked up from the morning paper she'd been reading while enjoying her breakfast of eggs, bacon and toast when a grey-furred torpedo skidded into the kitchen - her small padded feet scrabbling at the linoleum floor and tail raised high and straight up - with a loud mewl of greeting, shortly followed by her widely yawning granddaughter.

''Good morning, Sookie. You up already dear? I thought today was your day off, thought you might wanna sleep in a bit...''

''Mornin' Gran'', the blonde answered as she entered the kitchen behind her furry companion and approached Tinas' feed bowls which she promptly started refilling, ''...um, yeah I am. I'm working an 8 to 5 today - I thought I told you..?'', she frowned, trying to remember whether she had or not.

Adele frowned: no, Sookie hadn't told her that, it's why she thought it was her day off but... seeing how she had the closin' shift yesterday and how late she got back home and how early the girl was up again, the older woman wasn't all that surprised.

''No my dear, you didn't'', she answered as she took a dainty sip from her coffee cup, her wise blue eyes on her granddaughter who was still beside her cat, although her eyes were closed and she was leaning lightly against the wall.

''Oh...'', Sookie murmured, her eyes opening and meeting the gaze of her grandmother, ''...sorry Gran, I musta forgotten...I've just been feelin' so tired lately.''

Adele assured her girl that it was alright and beckoned her to the table: ''come sit down honey, have some breakfast if you're gonna go off to work again - you'll need the energy''.

With a feeble smile, Sookie took her seat at the kitchen table and scrunched her nose up at the plateful of food her gran had placed before her - she really wasn't feeling all that hungry, truth be told - and so she poured herself a cup of coffee from the percolator and, pushing the plate of food aside, she started doctoring her drink.

The blue-eyed woman frowned again: 'well, this ain't right', she thought, '...I know Sookie hasn't been sleepin' well again but she's never refused a home-cooked meal before - my girl has always had a healthy appetite...'

Growing worried, Adele really looked at her beloved grandchild; the girls soulful brown eyes seemed cloudy and just a tad blood-shot today and there were rather deep dark circles under them yet her cheeks were slightly flushed. Her sun-kissed skin seemed a little pallid too and even her usually lustrous blonde locks looked limp and lifeless.

''Sookie...'', Adele started hesitantly, her wrinkled hand - decorated generously with age spots - brushed gently against the younger woman's cheek: ''...my stars! You feel rather warm my dear; I think you might be comin' down with somethin', maybe you oughta call in sick today honey...''

The girl in question winced when the slight headache she felt stirring in her head as soon as she woke suddenly morphed into a rather steady throbbing. Biting her lip so as not to give herself away to her eagle-eyed grandmother, the blonde waitress quickly brought the cooling cup of coffee to her mouth and proceeded to finish off her drink.

Swallowing the last bittersweet mouthful, Sookie faced the worried looking older woman: ''I'll be alright Gran, don't you worry. It's probably just a case of me needin' a bit more sleep, that's all''.

''But honey-'', Adele tried to argue but her granddaughter cut her off when she quickly set the now empty cup down next to the untouched plate of food and leaned over to kiss her grans age-weathered cheek.

''Thank you for the coffee'', Sookie smiled, ''...but I've gotta go get ready for my shift now''.

She rose from her chair quickly then and upon seeing the older woman gearing up to argue, she sighed: ''...gran, I don't want to miss work today; it's Friday and it's gonna get busy, which means great tips...we need the money gran''.

Adele's shoulders slumped in defeat: ''I know we do dear'', she whispered, ''...but not at the cost of your health''.

Wanting to avoid getting upset on top of suffering an unrelenting headache, Sookie relented: ''...alright, how 'bout this - if I start feelin' worse, I'll try to leave early and ask Arlene and Dawn to cover my shifts for the next few days..?''

Her grandmother finally smiled.


THREE DAYS AGO – FANGTASIA


He knew it had been but a few nights since the incident in the back alleyways of Shreveport, but those few nights felt almost like a century has gone by as Godric stared listlessly at the mixed crowd of humans and vampires from his perch on Eric's ''throne'', his Viking sat beside him in the other, less ostentatious chair.

Pamela, as usual, was on door duty but her ears and big blue eyes were glued on him; following every gesture, move and sound he made - all under the guise of 'keeping him safe' from the wandering hands of the braver fang bangers, of course.

The ancient vampire sighed tiredly. For the last four nights after the incident where Eric caught up to him just before he could take off into the pre-dawn skies, he found himself being coddled by his recalcitrant childe. Every step he took, Eric was just a couple of steps behind him, watching him with a sharp gaze of a deadly predator, ready to pounce and put a stop to his maker ending himself…and Pamela – the faithful little lap dog that she is – was right behind her own master, helping him watch over her Grand-Sire as well as throwing more-than-willing fang bangers his way to entice him to feed...and fuck.

...and well, when it came to feeding, it had been a very long time since any one human managed to work up his appetite...they were all the same these days; their natural scent hidden deep by layers upon layers of chemicals - deodorants and perfumes and cigarette smoke. Cheap liquor and pharmaceuticals, 'make-up' caked on by the pound...it was enough to make his stomach twist unpleasantly and the other...well, after over two millennia of walking this Earth, most of everything has become meaningless and unimportant and he did not want such a thing constantly in his personal space.

In other words, Godric hadn't had a spare moment to himself in days and while he loved his childe very, very much; he'd had enough. His temper flaring for the first time in many, many years, he swatted at Eric's outstretched arm, making him drop the bottle of freshly heated True Blood brought to them by Ginger.

The bottle shattered upon contact with the hardwood floor, the synthetic blood splattering everyone in a three feet radius. Most of the humans in attendance grimaced in disgust as the hot red liquid splashed onto and marred their clothes or shoes and some exclaimed in righteous indignation and anger. The vampires though, quickly silenced their companions, not wanting to incur the wrath of the most ancient being the majority of those gathered here tonight have ever laid their eyes on.

"Mind your own damn business!", Pam snapped at the vampires surrounding them when the bar fell into a hush following the incident. Thoroughly cowed, the attendees were quick to resume their activities, knowing better than to disobey even as a low growl rolled through the room, reverberating in their very bones.

Another growl building in his chest, Godric glowered at his son.

"Master…" Eric started, quickly lowering his eyes and bowing his head at the look on his makers face.

"That is enough, Eric…" the older vampire spoke simply, his words carrying even though his voice remained level "…if you insist on playing games – do so with your own childe, she is young enough for that. I, however, tire too easily these days to want to keep up with all the silly charades."

His glare softened somewhat when Eric winced faintly and Pamela moved closer to him in a show of support.

"Tonight, I have business to take care of…and I shall do so alone", he added when his son finally raised his eyes to meet his gaze, surprise and curiosity in his blue orbs "…I have been away from my territory long enough and I am to return to Dallas as soon as possible. Pamela, please book the first available flight."

He didn't wait for the protestations that were sure to follow his orders, choosing instead to leave and track down the vampire drainers from earlier in the week like he was ready to do for the last couple of days before his plan was inevitably ruined.

"Yes, Grand-Sire…" The blonde whispered in acknowledgement, her own blue eyes – so much like her makers – following Godric's retreating figure until he stepped outside and flashed away into the night.


A MONTH EARLIER: MERLOTTE'S BAR & GRILL


Her eyes squeezed shut tightly as she leaned against the kitchen window while waiting on Lala to finish loading one of the big trays with her next order up, Sookie gritted her teeth as yet another pulse of pain lanced through her head.

'Oh good Lord in heaven...', the blonde telepath thought, barely able to hear herself over the din of the bar and the constant stream of thoughts assaulting her mind as - a scant few hours ago - she'd lost control of her mental shields and haven't been able to put them back up again.

'I should have listened to Gran and just stayed home today...but we really do need the money - the darn roof leaks something awful every time it rains and the driveway...well, that's more like a minefield of potholes than driveway'. Her own thoughts continued to race against the onslaught of the ceaseless chatter she was unwittingly picking up from the rest of Merlotte's clientele; until, that is, a warm hand grabbed her shoulder and shook her gently.

Sookie's brown eyes popped open to see Laff leaning precariously over a slim workbench just below the drop off/pick up window that - as usual - was laden down with extra condiments, unopened napkin packets and kitchen spice jars while he balanced a pretty heavily loaded black tray on one hand.

''Bitch'', Lafayette started with a clear emphasis on one of his favorite slurs, ''...I said, order up!''

She threw the flamboyant man a quick apologetic smile that was a borderline grimace, ''...'m sorry Lafayette...'', she apologized just as quickly as she took the tray from him, ''...just been a long day''. Carefully balancing the tray on the palm of her right hand, Sookie grabbed the edge of it with her left and carefully turning, she made her way out onto the floor of the bar not catching Lala's carelessly thrown - ''...whatever you say, hookah''.


Sookie swallowed down the involuntary gasp that almost made its way to freedom as soon as she stepped out onto the bar floor proper; the noise of the place - both vocalized and mental was simply insane. She stopped and squeezed her eyes shut while trying to push all the mental chatter out of her head so she could raise her shields but once again she found herself struggling - there was just so much noise... so many voices, talking and laughing...all at once.

'Just let me have just one more beer tonight, Jesus. One beer, that's all I need. And if you just give the strength...'

'-without a second thought, so don't you gripe at me 'bout eatin' them fries!'

'Naw man, this ain't right! ...I just don't understand what the hell's wrong with her!?'

'WHAT-the-heck is this place..? And what kinda music even is that!?'

'...I don't know, but I'm not gonna pee. Nope, I'll probably pee in my pants...'

Her closed eyes started to sting with her growing despair. Taking a deep breath in through her mouth, she slowly exhaled through her nose and tried to raise her shields again but she was still unable to raise them and then it happened: a very weird feeling encompassed her whole being - it was as though she were only a marionette and all her strings had just been cut...and then she was falling and her heart was racing like it were beating its last as a wave of nausea washed over her.

Her head hit something cold and hard and it hurt - oh, good Lord did that hurt - the blonde waitress felt like screaming but found herself unable to muster the strength needed under the continuing onslaught of thoughts and...feelings, she thought as the nausea retreated and then she was being bombarded by discontent and anger and...rage?

Sookie gasped when the invading feelings culminated with a mother of a-a vision..?

Sitting at a table at Merlotte's, a middle aged rotund woman wearing a rather ugly mottled pink wrap dress is glaring at her companion - a middle aged man with watery hazel eyes and close-cut balding head - while twisting her left index finger around a strand of lanky dark brown hair. 'How could he do that to me?', she thought, her heart constricting in her chest tightly. '18 years together, 12 of those married...I gave him all of me; even birthed him FOUR kids when I wanted none! And he went and did that - betrayed me in the worst way possible when he fucked that little blonde cunt from his office...'

She could feel the sting of gathering tears but she blinked them swiftly away when the man in question smiled at her like everything was hunky-dory: ''Marcy baby, what would ya like?'', he asked, gesturing at the menu.

Sookie could feel the woman's rage engulf her senses like a tsunami - it was like she was suddenly dropped into a stormy ocean and drowning; unable to surface to catch her breath under the weight of the other woman's emotional turmoil.

'What I'd like!?', Marcy's inner voice hissed like a wounded animal. 'What I'd like very fucking much would be for you to have stayed faithful, you no good son of a-', the angry brunette grabbed a fork of the table and struck, going straight for her cheating husband's throat.

Her head pounding, Sookie snapped out of it to the feel of someone shaking her. Peeling her eyes open, she was greeted to the blury sight of two familiar figures of Arlene and Dawn standing by her, their faces reflecting their worry for their co-worker and friend. But there was another person there - the young telepath frowned - Sam. Yes, that was Sam Merlotte bent over her prone form, gently holding her wrist in his hand...'checking my pulse', she realized as she slowly met his very worried gaze.

His lips were moving. Sookie frowned and tried her best to concentrate.

''...okie? Sookie...cher, can you hear me?''

It seemed almost like one of those moments when you've just had your TV on mute and were now holding the sound button of the remote pressed down to the bottom while the sound line grew on the screen as did the actual sound...

Sookie swallowed and tried to lift her head up of the floor but found that she couldn't when another intense flash of pain zinged through her brain.

She felt something warm tickle its way down her face.

Arlene gasped and Dawn covered her mouth with her hand, her blue eyes wide while their boss quickly but gently turned their friends head to the side so she wouldn't choke, ''Terry!'', Sam shouted with alarm in his voice, ''...get an ambulance out here! Now!''

As Terry Bellefleur skidded round the corner on his way to Sam's office, Sookie frowned and slowly managed to bring her hand up to her face; gently brushing it under her nose, she frowned again when it came away stained deep, dark red.


THREE DAYS AGO - FOUR TRACKS CORNERS, BON TEMPS


It was well past nightfall now, approaching 9 PM if he weren't mistaken, and he was standing still in the Bayou area of Bon Temps; a small town in the middle of nowhere, just twenty odd miles south of Shreveport which - once upon a time was a trailer park but now it was more swamp than anything else.

Looking around at all the trees and nature, Godric thought it might not be such a bad place to live at: the gators could be hunted down and the dilapidated trailers either renovated or knocked down so something better could be built on the grounds - 'that is, of course, only if unsavory characters such as these two-', the vampire thought, his steely grey eyes fixed on the trailer inhabited by his current query - a Mac and Denise Rattray - '...were not present on the grounds'.

' ...and buying and building on these grounds was a sure-fire way to give Eric, and especially Pamela, a conniption fit', he thought with a small sardonic grin on his pale lips that dissipated as fast as it appeared. 'Perhaps in the next lifetime, if we do meet again...I've had quite enough of this one, so there is no point in setting any such joke up now'.

Once again having gotten lost in his despondent thoughts, Godric did not notice the couple leave the premises until the female - Denise - slammed the front door shut carelessly, ignoring her husbands loud bitching about the noise.

Snapping to attention, the ancient vampire took a delicate whiff of the scents wafting from the two humans; the female smelled of cigarette smoke, cheap perfume and something else - something sharp and rather foul and the male...well, now he smelled of stale sweat and cigarette smoke and booze...and days old vampire blood.

'Well, it seems like Eric's day man is really good when it comes to finding out who's who and what they get up to', Godric thought, '...no wonder he is getting paid so well if he always brings my childe such accurate information'.

Stance shifting as he prepares to pounce while the unaware human couple is now arguing about where to go for the dinner - some hole-in-the-wall place in Mansfield or Merlotte's - he freezes upon catching the sound of a truck trundling down the rough driveway leading to the vampire drainers' property reaches his sensitive ears and within the next minute, he can see the approaching vehicles lights bounce off the rickety house as whoever is behind the wheel gets closer.

''...ah, what the hell now?'', the male grouses when he too notices the nearing vehicle, rubbing the back of his bald head as the car finally comes to a stop next to their own.

''I don't give a flying fuck as to what kinda hell it is!'', the female starts shouting, quite clearly irritated with the turn of events. ''I'm fuckin' hungry Mac...and I want my damn onion rings!''

The lights and the engine of the blue truck cut off and the driver's side door is thrown open rather angrily. A second later, a man - perhaps in his early to mid thirties, wavy brown hair and dark brown eyes and slightly unkempt goatee - steps out, his rather baggy jeans dirty and the red muscle tee he's wearing clearly doing nothing to help him fight off the stifling heat of the evening, the vampire thinks, as the new arrival too reeks of stale sweat.

''Well look who the cat dragged in! If it ain't ma man Rene'', the vampire drainer crows in greeting and the newcomer grins and extends his hand for a shake.

Mac grasps the appendage and shakes vigorously. ''So, what can I do you for..?''

Rene tousles the hair at the back of his head in a nervous gesture before speaking: ''...ah you. You know what I want...''

The other man grins. ''Well, come on in then'', he invites, ''...the goods are all inside'', and as the two men head on in, Mac stops to playfully slap his wife's ass.

''Come on baby, we can order in tonight and tomorrow - I promise - I'll take you out wherever the hell you wanna go and I ain't gon' complain 'bout it''.

Denise continues to glare for a moment and Mac waggles his eyebrows at her while grinning and she gives in. ''Fine! You're takin' me to Merlotte's tomorrow and better be getting me them damn onion rings or else its your balls on the line, Mac!''

''I promise baby, whatever you want...Now come on, woman! let's not keep our guest waitin'...''. With that, the two quickly enter their home.

Godric sighs. 'Well, there goes my plan...', he thinks before taking off into the night.


NOW: MERLOTTE'S BAR & GRILL


Sticking close to the tree line where the overgrown tree branches hang quite precariously low over the parking space of the establishment in question, Godric watches intently as the human couple he had been following for the last few nights lazily peruse their menus while they wait for a waitress to approach them.

Quickly glancing down at the lit up screen of his cell phone, he once more scans the photograph of the confidential information files on active and suspected drainers and other such illicit affairs taking place in Eric's Area, meticulously gathered and kept updated - as per usual - by his day-man.

There isn't much there, not on this particular duo – no more than a last name and an address for a middle-of-the-swamp Bon Temps trailer park, that was shut down years ago; he should know, seeing how he'd been staking that particular piece of southern bayou out not a couple of nights ago...

'all that time wasted and nothing to show for it too', Godric closed his eyes and sighed - his plans to bring the drainers to justice kept on getting thwarted; first, by the drainers themselves and the constant trickle of 'clientele' the two kept on providing for and entertaining...which meant that even though they spent most of their time at home, they were hardly ever alone.

Two: Eric. Even now, after he explicitly forbade him from interfering in his little outings and refused to answer his phone calls, he could feel his childe's...mounting anxiety. It was disconcerting, to say the least and not for the first time this night, he found himself doubting his plan and entertaining thoughts of just heading back to Shreveport, just until he could get his hands onto more substantial information, he kept telling himself.

But then again; turning back now would mean that he most likely would have to deal with Ginger – Eric's personal Renfield, as Pamela had so graciously introduced the woman to Godric upon his arrival – again...this, on top of already having to deal with his own childe and grand-childe.

If he were being honest, there wasn't much wrong with the woman, especially if one was into the whole sycophantic fang banger thing…and the ceaseless screeching he could put up with. What was wrong was that the already heavily over-glamoured woman was a nuisance to glamour the first time around she'd caught him snooping around Eric's office for a shred of information that could aid him in quest.

He involuntarily shuddered at the thought of having to deal with her again as both Eric and Pam had been continuously scrambling the poor woman's mind for years, perhaps even decades, since Ginger was not only blindly loyal to the two but also – as some humans might say – so fucked up in the head, she couldn't actually tell what year it was anymore and thought herself much younger then what she actually is.

With a sullen sigh, he quickly shoved his cell phone into his jeans pocket and resumed his previous activity of watching the rather rude couple sat at one of the window booths of the establishment. After all, it wasn't like he had anything better to do with his night as he most certainly did not want to head back to Fangtasia where Eric would keep on hounding him…so, human-watching and hoping for the best it is.

And by God's grace, he didn't have to wait long for something to happen as a mere couple of minutes later, a waitress approached the suspected drainers table.

Godric's long-still heart lurched in his chest when he finally caught sight of the woman; she was young and pretty…no – beautiful, he decided when she shifted were she stood while waiting for the couples order, offering him a better view of her. But there was something not quite right with her big brown eyes – they were beautiful, just as the rest of her, but there was a deep sadness there in that gaze that wasn't supposed to be present in someone so young, even as she smiled tensely while quickly jotting down the order when it was given to her.

He frowned when he realized that, for the first time in centuries, he felt a compelling need to get closer to a human being. Not the same kind of closer he felt when he first encountered Eric…or Nora, no. He did not wish to simply abscond with her into the night and turn her at earliest convenience…

No, this was so much more; he wanted to know her, to keep her safe – always…he wanted – needed – to erase the sadness in her eyes, he wanted to-

A sudden whooshing sound followed by slow, deliberate footsteps heading towards the entrance of the bar, halted his thought train and brought him back to the here and now with a jarring efficiency.

Swallowing past the lump at the back of his throat, Godric subconsciously inhaled and his head snapped towards the entrance of the bar with speed that would have given him whiplash had he still been human: there was a new scent lingering in the air and he knew that scent – it was the unmistakable scent of a fellow vampire…


A/N: Thank you all so much for all the favs, follows and reviews for last chapter. To be honest, I didn't expect any as this story was kinda a 'spur-of-the-moment' thing. So truly, thank you and I do hope that you enjoyed this chapter just as much.

Edited: 28/11/2023.