As always I own nothing and owe everything.

Thank you so much to the Viking Trubie for the fantastic beta-work

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"Thank you very much for lending me this."

Sookie tentatively stroked the crisp white jacket that currently covered her mangled dress. She was grateful for the generosity of the woman standing in front of her. It was a small framed woman with dark hair that was pulled up into an elaborate bun on the back of her head. The woman shrugged and smiled politely.

"Well, you were all muddled up and I had this clearing jacket. It was obvious that you needed it. So it was my pleasure. I just hope it's strong enough in itself." Her smile expanded.

Sookie thought it was a strange choice of words but the woman did have a strong accent, so she just chalked the strange wording up to inexperience with the English language. She probably meant the jacket was bought on a clearance sale or something.

"I understand you were mixed up in that mess at the FoTS. What's your profession?" The woman asked, obviously not understanding what a human girl was doing rescuing an ancient vampire. Sookie understood her conundrum.

"Yeah...actually, I'm just a barmaid." Sookie threw the woman an apologetic smile; she was not going to elaborate. Keeping her manners in mind, Sookie asked the woman a question.

"What's your occupation?"

"Oh, I right." She answered.

"You write?" Sookie clarified thinking she heard the woman saying "Right" and not "Write."

"Yeah, I right wrongs." The woman said and smiled a megawatt smile. It didn't make any sense to Sookie but again she just chalked it up to the woman's strange accent and inexperience with the English language.

"I travel the world and Right; going from place to place, and now I'm here." The woman let her eyes wander the room lingering a short moment on both Eric and Godric before returning all of her attention on Sookie.

"That must be interesting but I'm not sure I could do without colleagues in my line of work." Sookie trailed off.

"I understand what you are saying, but I have a lot of colleagues scattered around the world. We do sometimes cooperate in righting wrongs. That is so much fun. We have a whole community." The woman looked almost gleeful as her smile broadened even more as she patted Sookie's arm.

There was a significant change in the woman's conduct as Bill appeared at Sookie's side. Her smile suffered an instant power failure. She kept her eyes off Bill as she made a hasty goodbye to Sookie then disappeared. Sookie thought it odd but didn't really know the woman and forgot about her almost as soon as she was out of her sight.

She let her eyes wander around the room.

The house was open planed and big windows dominated the rooms facing an extensive garden. The rooms would be bright and airy in the day in sharp contrast to Bill's moldy dark mansion. This didn't scream vampire in the way most preconceptions went.

Sookie contemplated the difference between a human party and a vampire one. The level of noise certainly was different. Vampire hearing was exceptionally good so there was no need to speak up. Then there was the underlying feel of power-circles emitting from the oldest vampires in the room. It manifested itself in the way people moved around the area.

Everything moved in circles with the oldest vampires in their midst like moons round planets and in this, one vampire was the sun in which everything revolved. Sookie felt her eyes persistently moving towards her savior. The thought of Godric getting to her rescue just a few minutes later sent shudders down her spine and an underlying nausea lingered in her throat.

Scoping round the room, she caught a stray thought from the man manning the bar.

So fucking stupid! How can we run out of ice this early in the night? It will take at least 20 minutes to get some more. Damn it, I think I blew this gig.

Bill was still by her side and she tried to engage in the conversation but somehow she just felt detached, answering yes and no in hopefully the right places. In an attempt to concentrate on Bill, she hadn't seen him in two days after all, she added a question to Bill's endless chattering.

"It's a beautiful house Godric has here, so bright an airy. I thought vampires liked the dark and gloomy?"

"Oh, I doubt that his dungeons in the basement are bright and airy." Bill volunteered.

"Dungeons?" Sookie looked fully at Bill for the first time that night. Where was he going with this?

"Yes, dungeons filled no doubt with the poor people that have rubbed the Sheriff the wrong way. Godric is one of the most feared vampires in this world. Supes and vampires would best not get on the wrong side of the Gaul." Bill looked positively gleaming with that information.

"The nickname, Boy of Death has proven a little too true for a lot of our kind in the past." Bill was almost bursting with smugness which looked odd on the face of the vampire that usually sported a facial expression that looked constipated.

Irritated by his blatant attempt to discredit Godric in her eyes, not unlike the way he usually did with Eric she realized, Sookie searched her brain for a way to get Bill out of her hair for just a little while.

"Bill, I need to sit down and I would really like some water with ice, would you get it for me, please?" Sookie was aware of her not so nice motives for wanting the water with ice. But he actually was acting like an a-hole and hadn't even tried to explain why he didn't come to her rescue and had yet to enquire in regards to her wellbeing.

She had been restrained in that basement for two days hoping; no, counting on his ability to find her through the blood. Now, she just wanted him gone so she could do the thing she had felt like the whole party, watch Godric in peace. Gran had brought her up better but she almost got raped and killed today so she was entitled to a bit of indulgence in bad behavior, was she not?

"Of course, Sookeh. It will take a bit of time as I hear from the commotion in the bar that we are fresh out of ice." Bill steered her to the nearest sofa which as it turned out had a direct view of Godric, exactly as Sookie had observed while scooping out the room. Bill left and Sookie sighed in relief slamming up her shields completely to focus entirely on the ancient vampire with the gentle demeanor. Focusing her eyes and mind on him Sookie felt the peace she had initially felt the first time she met Bill, a feeling that had for some reason escaped her for a while now.

Vampires and humans were paying their respects, all of them stopping in a respectful distance nodding their heads. Godric spoke with them all and even patted a few humans including Jason on the shoulder, a very un-vampire thing to do. Godric was standing in front of an armchair dressed in soft fabrics in almost the same shade of gray as the armchair. He was maybe only two to three inches taller than her but despite his small frame he exuded strength and in that sense even Eric looked somehow smaller than Godric.

Sookie let her eyes travel from the light brown hair with blonde highlights to the gray-blue eyes incased in thick black eyelashes. The eyes were deep and sad and only lit up with humor a few times when he spoke with Jason and with Stan. The mouth was strong and full-lipped with corners that crinkled simultaneously with the appearance of light in his eyes. Sookie caught herself licking her lips as she studied the curve of Godric's bottom lip. She felt an urge to touch the lips with her own.

The jaw was strong and the overall impression was a beautiful young face. Sookie guessed he was turned around his late teens or early twenties. The neck was strong and shoulders broad, a witness no doubt to hard manual labor and Sookie suspected that wielding a sword had something to do with it too.

Sookie clenched her hands and placed her surprisingly sweaty hands on the bottom of the jacket rubbing them gently to wipe off some of the moisture. It grounded her and made her somehow see Godric clearer. At that moment Godric sat down on the armchair and didn't seem to notice her scrutinizing but to her mortification someone else did.

Eric had stayed near Godric all evening and his eyes locked with Sookie's with a knowing smirk on his lips embarrassing Sookie to look away a few seconds but her eyes kept returning to Godric. She couldn't help herself.

His tattoos that peeked out from the shirt collar intrigued her, trying to guess the extent of the artwork she stood up a moment to try peeking under the shirt. She felt a tingling in her fingers wanting to trace the ink around his collarbone. She slumped back in the sofa sighing heavily. She asked herself why she acted like this. And why Godric had this effect on her?

Her eyes back on Godric, she studied his hands, they are expressive hands conveying the same sorrow as his eyes, almost cradling nothingness in front of him. Sookie's palms twitched and a strong urged to fill his empty hands with hers almost brought her to her feet again. Sookie shook her head disbelieving her own thoughts. What was wrong with her? An ancient vampire didn't need her comfort; it was delusional to think so. She didn't know him and he didn't know her. They had met briefly and although he had saved her from rape and possibly death, why should he have any interest in her concern for him?

Isabel approached Godric and bent down close to his ear whispering something. Sookie looked on in fascination as Godric whispered back in Isabel's ear, almost feeling the wisps of air on her own ear sending delicious shivers down the pit of her stomach.

The sofa dipped beside her and she figured Bill was back but kept her attention on Godric waiting for Bill to initiate contact.

She felt Bill leaning in close to her ear and whispered, "See something you like?" It wasn't Bill, it was Eric. Sookie flushed beat red in seconds, deeply embarrassed.

"Um, I….." Was not a very articulate answer, but she managed as she looked away from Eric and in the opposite direction of Godric trying to get a grip on herself.

"Don't play coy with me Sookie. I have seen your interest in my Maker." Eric stated bluntly with an obvious leer in his voice. He leaned closer putting an arm behind her to rest on the back of the sofa.

"I'm sure I don't know what you are talking about." Sookie huffed. This was humiliating to say the least but she was able to gain control over her blush and looked at Eric.

"He saved my life and I'm just keeping an eye out for him. He looks so sad. I'm concerned that he didn't try to escape earlier himself." Sookie was surprised at her own openness towards Eric and realized that her concern was real and deep.

"What are you saying? That he was there of his own accord?" Eric looked angry with fangs threatening to come all the way down. His voice was low. He had now turned his body around and encircled Sookie in the sofa. Whether it was meant as a threat or a warning Sookie didn't care, his closeness and anger exhilarated her to the point she could feel the emotion shine through her eyes. The emotions surprised her but didn't make her stop and think, it was pure instinct.

Eric looked surprised at her for a split second before his face went blank.

"Um, I don't know. But it's the feeling I'm getting." Sookie offered as they both calmed down. Eric softly laid his left hand on her right shoulder and took her left hand in his right. Sitting there with Eric so close and intimate, Sookie had no trouble shutting everything else out. Calm and contentment spread through her like the warmth from a fireplace on a cold night. She offered a small smile and it was reciprocated by Eric to her and his surprise. How long they sat there smiling in silence she didn't know but it solidified her feeling of calm.

"Have you talked to him?" Eric broke the silence mentioning towards Godric.

"No."

"Come."

Eric stood and pulled Sookie to her feet and directed her towards Godric. She suddenly felt like a teenage girl going up to a boy she liked; excited, embarrassed, scared and determined.

"Eric I don't think…." She trailed off as he hauled her towards Godric who in turn sat totally still in his chair. No one was approaching the temporarily missed Sheriff at this moment and he was sitting there in solitude.

"Godric, you remember Sookie Stackhouse." Eric took a bow before Godric and pushed Sookie in front of the ancient vampire.

"Um, hi!" Sookie exclaimed nervously. Godric rose to his feet and stepped forward stopping only five inches from her, way to close for a vampire and way to close for a human, effectively invading her personal space.

"Hello, little one, I'm pleased to see you here with my Child by your side." Godric's soft baritone voice filled her ears and her hands automatically went forward and grabbed Godric's filling the emptiness with her slightly trembling hands. She saw Eric's large frame twitch in the corner of her eye. Godric didn't remove his hands but his eyes went wide and he leaned in closer and inhaled near her neck.

"Did you have some of my Child's blood Miss Stackhouse?" He asked from somewhere near her neck and she saw a curious expression spread on Eric's face.

"Eww! No." The experience of taking Bill's blood always gave her an unsettled stomach and the thought of having Eric's blood, someone she was not even on very friendly terms with, irked her. Godric chuckled softly in her ear before straightening up and looked into her eyes. He examined her with a concerned expression on his face.

"We need to have some privacy. Come, little one." Without hesitation Sookie followed. Godric led her into what looked like an office, Eric hot on their trails.

"Leave us, Child." Godric said with a gentle voice but with an underlying influence that filled the office with a faint humming.

"Yes Godric." Eric complied but not without sending Sookie a raised brow and a knowing smirk before leaving and shutting the door. She realized what Eric was implying but had a really hard time imagining Godric overstepping his boundaries.

Sookie studied the office as Godric led her towards two recliners placed in the corner of the room. The office had white walls, big windows and a modern interior. By the windows there was two giant chili plants filled with ripe red fruits. Godric followed the direction of her eyes and smiled.

"I like the smell of freshly cut chilies. They scratch the nose and make me sneeze…Vampires don't sneeze." Humor penetrated the sadness in his eyes and he shrugged his shoulders; another thing that vampires didn't do, as far as Sookie had experienced. She couldn't help but smile back as she sat down. Godric grabbed her hand and focused all his attention on her making her feel very self-conscious.

"We need to discuss two things of importance little one. First of all, I fear you are in some kind of danger." Sookie's heart started to pound harder at his words.

"There is a dark interference in your blood. Someone is trying to control you. I fear my kind is going to hurt you gravely, Miss Stackhouse. Have you ingested any vampire blood to your knowledge and in that case, do you know the source of the blood?" Godric looked apologetic and a bit disgusted as he relayed the facts as he saw them. He keenly observed her reaction.

The ability to observe a vampire's blood intentions in humans was one of the ancient vampires many hidden abilities. One that had only just developed in the last fifty decades and as such one that not even his child knew about.

Sookie looked shocked. Her eyes widened as she unconsciously shook her head while strengthening her hold on Godric's hand.

"No! What? I don't understand…Bill…" She couldn't compose a coherent response as the thoughts in her head were in chaos. She gave up and looked down at her feet. Godric quietly rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb waiting for her to compose herself. After a few minutes she sighed and looked Godric in the eyes.

"Yes, I had vampire blood. The source is Bill Compton, my neighbor and sort of boyfriend." Then she went on telling Godric about the drainers and the beating.

"Does my child know of these drainers and the beating?"

"I don't think so, why?"

"As the Sheriff of the area it is his duty to handle those kinds of problems as its every vampire's duty within the area to rapport such incidents or crimes." Godric's face had moved closer to hers as he spoke keeping his eyes locked with hers.

"I'm afraid that you have been the victim of deception from the point of that incident. You cannot fully trust any emotions or feelings you may have experienced towards others in that period." Godric leaned in further and brushed her cheek with his free hand. He was brushing away tears. Sookie realized they were falling heavily from her eyes.

"So this dark interference in my blood is from Bill. I'm positive I have not ingested blood from others but why did you ask if I had any of Eric's blood? Do you suspect him of deception as well?" The initial shock had subsided and Sookie's underlying robust psyche was making itself known and she wanted answers.

"I would not put it past him to try and lure you into some kind of mischievousness…" Godric chuckled. "…but my child would never use the blood to control or other despicable usages. The blood is sacred to us." He took an unnecessary breath and continued answering her questions.

"I feel a connection to you that I would normally associate with a connection by blood and as Eric is my child I would have a faint connection to you. That would explain the connection and as you do not, the connection must be of another nature." Sookie raised her brow urging Godric to go on.

"The connection feels muddled by the dark interference and therefore it's not possible for me to be certain of the nature of our connection." Sookie was now holding on to Godric's hands with both of hers squeezing harder and harder as he conveyed the situation.

"Have you experienced any kind of connection or pull towards my child or me, Miss Stackhouse? I noticed your interest earlier this evening." Sookie immediately felt embarrassed thinking back at her blatant starring earlier.

"I guess I kind of did, towards you I mean." She reluctantly volunteered and blushed yet again and let go of his hands.

"You shouldn't be embarrassed little one, but I must admit I enjoy your blushing immensely, it makes your smell even more profound. Ah, and what a delight it is." He said giving her a smirk with a little fang showing. At that moment the similarities between Godric and Eric shone through loud and clear and giggles started to escape Sookie.

"Oh, my god! That's such an Eric thing to say." She let out between the giggles.

"Where do think he picked it up?" He said and raised a brow and at that moment her giggles turned into full on laughter. Godric started laughing with her and she felt relief spread in her body and the tension of the situation fizzled out.

"Can I do anything against the influential blood in me?" Sookie asked sorry for bringing the light hearted moment to an end.

"Only death or an older vampire's blood will eradicate the power of the blood." At that Godric looked as though Sookie's problems were his personal responsibility.

"It is not your responsibility. I brought this on myself." Sookie sighed. "Is there nothing I can do on my own?" She continued; finding the thought of killing Bill off-putting and the thought of ingesting another vampire's blood just as bad.

"There is a slight possibility that with some practice you are capable of distinguishing between your own feelings and imposed ones, even overrule the foreign ones." Godric offered but Sookie could see the doubt in his eyes. There was some commotion outside the office door and suddenly the door flew open and Bill charged in with Eric in hot pursuit.

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