A/N: I know I shouldn't be writing a new story while actively working on two others, but this baby has been in my brain for years and I just had to put the pen to paper! Starts from the True Blood episode "I Will Rise Up" but this is an all new story and will be in the SVM, not True Blood universe. This storyline was too amazing to let it end the way it did, so I'm fixing it. Yes, Sookie is somewhat OOC because if I wanted a whiney asshole Sookie, I'd just stick to the books Enjoy!
*Picks up with Godric and Eric on the rooftop of the Hotel Carmilla in Dallas*
"Two thousand years is enough."
"Father this is insanity! I can't accept this!" Eric wailed at his Maker.
"Our existence is insanity… we don't belong here." He answered calmly.
"But we are here!"
"It's not right. We're not right."
"You taught me there was no right or wrong…just survival or death."
"As it turns out, I was wrong."
"I will keep you alive by force!" Eric growled, desperation setting in.
"Even if you could, why would you be so cruel?"
"Godric don't do it." His voice cracked, his still heart gripping him tightly.
"There are centuries of faith and love between us."
[Speaking in his mother tongue] "Please, please!...Please Godric no." He fell to his knees, blood tears streaming down his face.
"Father….brother…..son. Please let me go." Godric soothed, tenderly rubbing his child's cheek.
Eric steeled his resolve. "I won't let you die alone."
"Yes, you will. As your maker I command you.'' Eric felt the weight of his thousand year existence slam into his chest, almost knocking him over. He stood, and with one last look at his Maker, he turned to leave the rooftop.
Sookie was standing there watching their exchange, hot tears gently rolling down her cheeks. Her pain for the tortured being in front of her, as well as the palpable pain rolling off Eric had her trembling with grief. Her instincts told her to wrap Eric in her arms and soothe him as gently as a baby. She wanted to hold his head against her bosom and run her fingers through his hair while whispering words of solace. Instead, she lightly took Eric's hand and looked in his glacier blue eyes.
"I'll stay with him, as long as it takes." She said gently. Eric nodded almost imperceptibly and went in the building.
"It won't take long, not at my age." Godric said peacefully.
"You know it wasn't very smart, the thing with the Fellowship of the Sun."
"I know. I thought it would fix everything somehow, but I don't think like a vampire anymore. Do you believe in God Sookie?"
"Yes." She said softly.
"If you're right, how will he punish me?"
"God doesn't punish, he forgives." She said stepping forward and taking his hand.
"I don't deserve it, but I hope for it."
"We all do."
"You care for him, Eric?"
She hesitated, not knowing what to say. She certainly did care for him; big, confusing, encompassing feelings that scared her to death.
"Yes." She finally said. Godric smiled and released her hand, stepping away.
"I made mistakes with him, but he is a good man. I love him above all others."
"Are you very afraid?" She choked out, her throat burning trying to hold back the flood of tears.
"No, no. I'm full of joy."
"But the pain…" She choked out.
"I want to burn."
Sookie couldn't hold it back anymore, her sobs came out raggedly. Her heart was breaking in two for the man who had done so much wrong in his long life but was clearly ready to atone. In the short time she had known him, she was bewitched by his wisdom and compassion for all beings. He had saved her from Gabe's brutal attack and that psycho Lorena. She couldn't fathom he was ever as evil as he seemed to think he was.
"I'm afraid for you." She gasped.
"A human with me at the end, and human tears…two thousand years and I can still be surprised. Take care of him Sookie." He winked at her before throwing off his shirt and facing the dawn.
"Goodbye Godric." She whispered.
The sun lit up Godric's body in a blue blaze, the daylight taking its vengeance on this ancient creature of the night. He disappeared into the rising dawn, erasing the man who had walked this Earth for over two thousand years. She fell to a crouch, rocking back on her heels, the tears flowing rapidly. She knew right then and there that she would never be the same. You don't just witness something as powerful as she just did and expect it not to change you in some way.
She stayed on the roof for a few minutes, trying to quiet her sobs and gain her composure. As much as the event had hurt her, she couldn't even imagine the pain Eric was in and she wasn't going to abandon him. She wiped her face one last time and turned to go back into the hotel. Her mind was focused and clear, she didn't need to think about where she was going or what she was doing, her feet led her exactly where she needed to go.
She reached the door to his room and found it slightly ajar. Her hand trembled as she opened it slowly and peeked in the room. She looked around but didn't see him, but it was no matter…she knew he was there and that he needed her. She walked slowly to his bedroom, and her breath caught in her throat as she saw him sitting on the edge of the bed, his face and chest covered in his tears. She had never seen him look so broken; so human. She approached him gingerly, unsure of what she was doing but compelled to do it nonetheless.
As careful as if he were fine china, she reached her small hand to his cheek and gently pulled his face up to look at her. His eyes told a story of pain that she recognized well; she had been through it enough herself. Finally, he spoke in a soft tone.
"My Maker is gone." He stated.
Tears pricked at her eyes again, but she willed them away, determined to be strong for him as he had been for her many times. She didn't realize what she was doing before she did it, her body moving on instinct. She leaned forward, still holding his face gently, and placed soft kisses on each side of his face over the treacherous tear tracks before brushing a kiss lightly beside his mouth.
He looked at her with wonder in his eyes but didn't speak a word. Instead he lightly grabbed her hand as she took it from his face and pulled it over his heart, clutching her for dear life. She sat down beside him on the bed and using her free hand, pulled his body into her chest. He relaxed as he nuzzled his face between her neck and breasts. They sat in silence as she stroked his hair lovingly and peppered his head with kisses, as he never let go of her hand against his chest.
Time didn't seem to exist in those moments; it was just the two of them, her anchoring him to the present and trying to soothe his badly wounded soul. She didn't know how long they had been there; she only knew the sun was shining brightly outside. Here in Eric's light-tight room, time stood still, and he was safe from the deadly rays. As if waking himself from a dream, slowly he began to move around her. His head moving fractionally against her chest, his fingers intertwining with her own, he inhaled deeply while barely grazing her neck with his nose. She didn't need to read his mind to know that she was his peace; his stable center in the midst of his chaotic feelings.
If an outsider were looking in, it would seem as if the two of them were in their own world, oblivious to the world around them… and maybe they were. She slowly slid out of his embrace, causing him to flinch from the loss of contact.
"It's alright." She whispered.
She walked towards the bathroom and he heard the sound of running water before she returned and leaned down to him as she had earlier, only this time she meticulously wiped the dried blood off his chest and face. The act was so innocent and yet intimate in nature; it was an alien feeling to him.
Standing beside the bed, she slid off her shoes and pulled her hair out of its tight ponytail. His gaze never left her. To his surprise, she kneeled back down on the bed beside him and crawled up to the pillow, lying her head down before holding a hand out to him. Without hesitation, he settled himself in the bed facing her; each of them lying on their side. He reached for her hand and clasped it before he would surely blow away…as Godric had done.
Holding their hands together between them, he leaned his forehead against hers and relaxed his tortured mind. The steady sound of her heart beating beside him, the gentle air moving in and out of her lungs, and her smell; her honey and sunshine smell….it comforted him in a way he had never known. Finally feeling some sense of peace, he let the sun pull him under.
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
EPOV
After finally letting go of consciousness for the day, my daytime rest was plagued with dreams of my lost Maker. My traitorous brain showed me images of Godric screaming in pain as flames ripped him apart on the rooftop. In one of them, I pounded on the rooftop door, trying to reach him…save him… but I couldn't get the door open. No matter how strong I was or how hard I tried, it wouldn't budge; I could hear his screams of pain as I stood there helpless and weak.
In another image, I was back in the Fellowship Church searching for him. As I came upon him in the rectory, I saw him shackled to a giant cross with silver chains in the middle of the room. I ran to free him, but Steve Newlin tore open the large curtains and sunlight blazed into the church, setting Godric on fire. He screamed for me to help him and as I tried desperately to get him down, we both burned to ash.
Through the cold panic, I saw a bright shining light. Unlike the sun's deadly rays, this warm light beckoned me to come forward. I tried to hide myself from it, but it washed over me like a cloud and smelled like the golden wheat of my homeland.
Eric….Eric it's ok, I'm here….please Eric, come to me….
My body jerked into consciousness, as I gasped and yelled for Godric. Immediately, warm arms wrapped me in an embrace and that familiar scent of honey enveloped my senses. I heaved an unnecessary breath, confused at my state of wakefulness.
"Shh Eric, it's ok. I'm here." She soothed, holding me against her.
I looked into her face and registered that my fierce protector was Sookie. She was still here beside me, even during my day rest. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her small body against me so tight, I had to restrain myself from crushing her. She ran her small hand through my hair while the other stroked my back tenderly. I eased some of the pressure I had on her and took her face in my hand, drilling holes into her with my gaze. I knew she couldn't be glamoured, but I'd swear that's what she had done to me this morning. She had lulled me into a trance with her gentle ministrations and comfort and now she was here; she had been here with me all day.
"You stayed." I said simply.
"Yes."
With the beginning of a blood bond forming between us, I tapped into her emotions. They were faint but they were definitely there. She was sad, confused, content and yet hopeful… she was a mix of emotions. I looked at her intently, hoping to discover the meaning of the Universe, or at least why this woman was quickly becoming the center of mine. I hadn't figured out where her supernatural origins came from yet, but I was leaning towards sirens or angels.
"You were crying and yelling for Godric." She said quietly.
"I was dreaming of him… or rather having nightmares I guess." I decided she had seen me at my worst, might as well not lie to her now.
"I know, I could tell. Actually, I think I saw what you were dreaming." She said just as awestruck as I felt.
"What do you mean saw?"
"While I was laying here with you today, I had dreams too, but they didn't feel like my own dreams. I felt like I was seeing them through someone else's eyes; your eyes."
"You had my blood yesterday." I said quietly.
"Eric, the things you saw in those dreams, it wasn't real. He wasn't in pain; he was at peace. His last thoughts.." She inhaled sharply and I smelled the tears forming in her eyes. "He was thinking of you and how much he loved you."
The pain of everything I had lost squeezed my dead heart like a vice grip. I searched inside me for my link to Godric, but it was futile, he was gone.
"Eric, I want to try something." She said nervously.
"Yes?"
"I've never done anything like this before, but I have this strange feeling like I could." She was nervous and I didn't know what she intended on doing, but I trusted her completely.
This was the woman who almost got herself killed to save Godric, fought for me at the Church, sucked bullets out of my chest to heal me, and spent my Maker's last moments on Earth with him. I would rip my very own heart out of my chest if she asked for it.
"I'm certain you could do just about anything you set your mind to Sookie Stackhouse."
"Open your mind to me Eric, I want to show you the truth… I don't want you thinking those horrible things as your last memory of Godric." Her eyes pleaded for me to trust her and I nodded silently in resolution.
She put her hands on either side of my face and closed her eyes. I could see the concentration in her face, and feel her determination to help me; to heal me. She was the most incredible woman I had ever met. After everything she had been through in Dallas, here she was in my bed, trying her damnedest to comfort and heal me in any way possible. I tried to relax and open my mind to her will. I could faintly sense my blood inside her and tried calling to it to bind us but there was nothing.
I opened my eyes and saw her beautiful face scrunched up as she tried so hard to show me her memories. All the feelings I had felt for her since the night she walked into my bar overwhelmed me. I fisted her golden hair in my hands and pulled her to me, devouring her mouth in a kiss. I heard her tiny yip of surprise before she snaked her hands around me and pushed her body against mine, kissing me feverishly. I ran my hands down her back and up her sides, wanting to consume her in every way possible. She was the most the beautiful, courageous, bewitching woman I had ever touched. Her body felt like hot electric sparks, firing on me as I ran my hands over her. My instincts told me to fuck her and bite her and drink her down like a man in the desert finding a glass of water. My head and my heart told me to hold her, cherish her, and make love to her for the rest of my undead life.
Finally coming up for air, she gasped and drew in a ragged breath. I could hear her heart racing and smell her sweet arousal in the room. My fangs were fully extended, and it took deep concentration not to be drugged by her intoxicating scent and rapidly pumping blood. She looked at me with an unreadable expression. I dropped my face as to not scare her with my fangs bared at her. Slowly she reached up and ran her finger over my fangs. I froze at the intimate touch and watched her closely. No one dared touch me in such a personal way as she had, and it thrilled me to my core.
We were snapped out of our little moment by a loud knock at the door. Sookie instantly froze in fear.
"Bill." She said trembling.
More knocking… "Eric! Answer the door!" Bill said furiously.
Being wrapped up in our own little world today, I hadn't even thought of Bill and more importantly, neither had Sookie.
"He'll kill me." She whispered. Something in her face and the way he invoked fear in her made me want to open the door and rip him apart.
"Never." I said deadly calm. "Do you wish to stay here with me?" I breathed the words barely loud enough for her to hear.
"Yes."
I rubbed one finger down her cheek and whispered for her to stay quiet before leaving the room, closing the bedroom door behind me. I opened the main door to my room just as Bill was about to knock again. I kept my large body blocking the entrance so he understood he would be going no further.
"Where is Sookie?" He spit out angrily.
"Since when is it my job to keep up with your companions Bill?"
"I know she came to see you before dawn, and she has not returned to my room." His nostrils flared as he scented the air. "I can smell her on you." If I had been a much younger vampire, I might have actually been scared at his anger. Of course, I could crush him like a fly before he ever even registered my movement, so I found his rage laughable.
"I smell of her because she gave me a hug this morning. She has been a good friend to me." I answered evasively.
"Sookie is not your friend, she is mine."
"Well Bill, if she's yours, then why don't you know where she is? Are you that insecure that you can't let her have her own time? Does she need to be at your every beck and call? Seems to me that Sookie likes being her own person. I find that quite refreshing actually." Now I was just fucking with him.
"If you have done anything to her, you will pay dearly. There are forces higher than you…" He stopped, realizing he over spoke in his anger.
"What was that?" I asked dangerously, my fangs shooting down.
"She is mine Sheriff."
"Billy boy that sounded like you were threatening me, like you're working with someone to defraud your Sheriff in some way. Why would you say that when you're supposedly looking for your girlfriend out of concern for her wellbeing?"
"You will not interfere in my relationship with Sookie. She is…"
"Don't say mine again you idiotic fuck!" I growled and grabbed him by the throat. "If she were yours, she would be with you. Maybe she doesn't want to be with you…maybe she ran away to get away from you because you're obviously hiding something that has to do with her. I've suffered a tremendous loss that you can't begin to understand and the last thing I want to deal with is your insubordination and that stupid fake accent! Now get the fuck out and leave me alone."
I dropped him in a heap a few feet away from the door before closing it behind me and trying to calm down before I went back to the bedroom. My mind was replaying what he had said, and I considered the implications of his words. I knew Bill landing in Bon Temps and immediately meeting one of the only telepaths in existence was too big of a coincidence to be true. I had long since suspected that the Queen's little lap dog had ulterior motives for his sudden return to his ancestral home. Even for a self-loathing cuck like Compton, vampires don't typically return to their human homes. I vowed to find out everything he was hiding when I got back to Shreveport and protect Sookie from whatever that stalker had planned for her.
I walked back into the bedroom and found Sookie sitting on the bed, her knees pulled to her chest. Her obvious distress was the only thing that kept me from staring at her bare legs as her dress had rode up to thighs.
"Sookie do not be afraid." I said wrapping myself around her protectively. "Bill will do nothing to harm you, I promise."
"Eric it's not just about me wanting to break up with him… when I heard you talking to him out there, something happened. I got this flash in my mind, like a memory, only it seems kinda like a dream too…" She was confused and trying to make sense of something she had seen in her mind.
"What was the memory?" I asked, pulling her close to my chest.
"I think I've broken up with Bill before." She said in a strange voice. "I told him I wasn't in love with him before…"
Her words came out choppy, like she was trying to lift the fog in her brain to recover some sort of buried memory.
"What's happening?" She murmured.
"Sookie look at me."
I held her gaze and tried to pull her mind under my influence, as I had done to thousands of others. Sookie was supposed to be immune to glamour, but it certainly sounded like that's what had been done to her.
"Can you feel me Sookie?"
"I feel you pushing on my will but it's not working, I'm still me."
"Ok so you still can't be glamoured, that's a good sign." I was running through other options in my head.
She looked like a lightbulb had just come on in her mind. "Not when I'm in my right mind at least." She said angrily.
"What do you mean?"
"Before we came to Dallas, I remember thinking that I was going to talk to Bill about not having the same feelings for him anymore…" Well that was news to me. She continued, "I asked him to come over to talk and while we were talking, he made me a cup of tea. I thought it was a little weird because he's grossed out about human food and drinks, but I figured he was just sucking up to me…."
"I don't understand."
"I remember getting sleepy after I drank the tea and then I don't know what happened. It's like I forgot what I was going to tell him because everything went back to normal. I didn't start questioning our relationship again until…"
"Until what?" I said, barely holding onto my rage.
"Until after I had your blood last night. I started getting weird little moments of clarity and couldn't figure out what it meant, until now. I think he drugged me and glamoured me or hypnotized me or something!"
She was starting to get frantic and jumped up to pace the room, her hands on her head.
"Why can't I remember? I can only see bits and pieces." She shrieked.
I zipped over to her and turned her firmly against me, holding her back in the same protective stance she had held me in.
"It's ok, it's ok." I soothed her. "I'll help you figure this out."
"Eric I'm scared." She said weakly. "I don't want him to have that power over me, I want him out of my head and my blood; I need him out of me completely."
"You will. When we get home, I'll hire a witch to come break your tie with him. I will keep you safe."
"I know you will." She said wrapping her arms around me tighter. "Eric can I ask you for something?"
"Anything."
"I didn't even start to remember any of this until I had your blood last night. If it weren't for you, I'd still be under his control." She shuddered.
"I tricked you Sookie and I shouldn't have."
"No you shouldn't have, but if you didn't…" She couldn't finish. "I want to take your blood again… if you'd want me to. I think I'll be able to remember more clearly if I did. I mean if you would be willing." Her nervousness apparent.
I pulled her from me where I could look into her eyes, not believing what she was asking me. The woman I had been absolutely spelled with; the woman I had dreamt of finding ways to get into my bed and my life, had just asked me to deepen our blood tie.
"Sookie it might not work though, and there would be side effects."
"Go on."
"You would feel more attraction to me, you might dream of me." I said, sliding my arm down her side, caressing her softly. "I would be able to feel you more acutely than I do now."
"You think I'm not already attracted to you? You think you could force me to feel things for you that I don't already feel? I hate to break it to you Eric, but I already feel those things. You told me if I ever came to you of my own free will then Bill would concede…well I tried to do that. But by some combination of his blood and whatever he's been doing to my mind, wouldn't let me. After having your blood last night and my head starting to clear, where did I end up? Here; with you. I wanted to be there for Godric, and I wanted to be here for you. This is not something that's being forced on me."
"If this is real… if you care for me and want to be mine, I would be honored to claim you, but I don't want to play games anymore Sookie. I've lived over a thousand years and this morning I lost the most sacred part of me; the very reason for my existence. Everything ends Sookie, even the immortal. I want to feel something real again." I pressed my forehead to hers, rubbing my hands over the small areas of her bare skin, luxuriating in the feel of her warmth. The thought of her giving herself to me fully was almost breaking my control.
"Eric, I don't know what I'm doing here. I'm young and naive and I have a temper as bad as yours." She snickered. "I know that I have a lot to learn about this world, about my place in it. I'm not stupid either, I know I can't hide what I am anymore and just simply being me puts me in danger in your world…our world. I may not fully understand my heritage yet, but I know that I'm not entirely human and I've got to learn how to live in both worlds, instead of trying to run away from everything that's hard. But I can't deny that when I'm with you, I feel more alive than I ever have. I feel excited and brave… when you look at me, I feel beautiful." She said shyly.
"So beautiful my Sookie." I murmured, kissing below her ear.
"I don't just want your blood to try to wipe out any trace of Bill, I want to be yours Eric. You terrify me and sometimes you make me madder than a hornet but god damn it I feel something! You make me feel things I never thought I'd be able to."
She stopped talking and crashed her lips to mine, her tongue dancing in rhythm with my own. Her soft lips and hot mouth traveled down my neck, making my cool skin burn. Gripping her ass, I lifted her up and her legs wrapped around my waist, pushing her breast against my bare chest. The need to consume her was overwhelming me. Her body, her blood, her love, they would be mine. I would erase every possible trace of Compton or anyone else from her.
I walked us over to the bed and slowly unzipped her dress, trying to calm the beast inside me. Sookie was a rare treasure, not some used up fangbanger and I wouldn't treat her as such. She coyly kicked her dress out from under her feet and stared at the ground.
"Do you want this?" I asked softly.
"Yes." She said, trying to look me in the eyes. I knew her nerves were getting the best of her.
"Look at me lover. You are so beautiful, don't hide yourself from me."
"I'm just… I don't want you to think I'm…"
"Never." I finished for her. "You are the most loyal and respectable woman I know. You aren't doing anything wrong. You were meant to be mine lover. If it makes you feel any better, say it out loud; say the things you wanted to say before you lost your memories."
"I don't want to be Bill's. I don't love him. I am not his." She said with conviction.
"Sookie I need you." I rasped against her throat. "Let me make love to you. Let me care for you how you've cared for me."
"Please." She moaned.
Quickly I had her on her back on the bed, crouching between her legs, running my hands behind her knees and up her soft thighs. I slid her panties off and felt a quiver run through her body and had to force my fangs to stay in my gums for now. Taking one hand and softly running it down her wet center, I pushed a long finger inside her before lapping at her core with my tongue. I couldn't help the growl that escaped me as her sex tasted even better than I had imagined; and I had imagined many things. By the Gods, everything about her smelled and tasted of wheat and honey. I didn't know how a young vampire like Compton hadn't drained her already.
She was arching into my tongue and moaning my name like a prayer. EricEricEric my little siren sang to me. Fuck I needed to be inside of her now. I sped up the rhythm of my finger inside her and flicked her nub with my tongue in harmony. The little vixen tangled her hands in my hair and started bucking against me, fucking my face and filling my mouth with her sweet juices. A deep rumbled started in my chest and purred in ecstasy at her. She was absolutely intoxicating.
Placing my cock at her entrance, I stilled myself for a long moment, calming the urge to drive myself into her. Sookie was still very inexperienced and had only taken one lover before me; I knew my size would be difficult for her.
"Sookie, is this what you want?" I asked permission.
"Yes Eric, I want you so much." She moaned, still coming down from her orgasm.
"Try to relax lover."
As slow as I could manage, I slid into her only an inch or so at a time, letting her body adjust around me. She was so fucking hot and wet, it melted my sanity. With great restraint, I gently pushed into her to the hilt and sat still. She made little gasps and moans but didn't tell me to stop.
"Look at me." I commanded lightly.
Her eyes were hungry and wild, her body aching to be pounded but there was still some fear in her. I could feel her trying to be brave and wanted her even more because of it.
Moving slowly inside her, I ran my tongue over one of her taut nipples and pulled it into my mouth, sucking and licking it into submission before doing the same on the other one. Her hands were running up and down over my ass, trying to pull me in deeper to her.
"You're playing with fire silly girl." I laughed at her.
"I want to get burned." She replied.
She was driving me mad with her body and hot hands all over me. How many times had I sat at Fangtasia and imagined this very scene? I could resist, I could be sweet… this time. I knew she needed it and I knew without a doubt that she would be in my bed from now on; there would be plenty of time to show her how she tested my control.
"Wrap your legs around me."
Good girl I thought as she quickly obeyed. I lifted her up and sat back on knees, bringing her face to face with me. She threw her head back moaning and her ample breasts bounced as I pushed her up and down on me. She was magnificent. My own release was building as she clenched down like a vice grip on me with every stroke.
"So tight…so wet for me." I growled.
"Yes baby, it's all for you.. you feel so good inside me….Eric" Her panting was getting erratic and I knew she was about to explode again.
I quickened the pace, slamming her down on my length.
"Sookie!" I yelled, biting deep into my wrist and pushing it to her mouth.
She grabbed my arm and sucked possessively as I exploded inside of her and bit the soft flesh around her pert nipple. The sensation caused her to clench tighter around me with her own pleasure as she sucked deeply on my wrist, milking the last bit of my orgasm with hers.
I laid her down on the bed and put my arm and leg over her warm body possessively. She looked like a goddess lying there naked and glistening with sweat. Her rapid breathing entranced me yet again as I listened to her heart slow and her breaths become softer. I ran my nose along her neck, playfully nuzzling her and sampling the air. The beast inside me roared in pleasure as I realized she smelled of me, inside and out. My seed inside her, my blood inside her, her body smelling of me completely. She was truly and finally mine.