Decisions, Chapter 15

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**A/N: OMGodric, when did this little story grow to 15 chapters?? Thank you everyone for your kind reviews – they really do help! Also: see the A/N at the end of the chapter for information about my nominations in the You Want Blood… the TB/SVM Fanfic Awards – yup, yours truly is nominated for *9* awards!!*

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Cara glanced over at her two vampire guests, and promptly sneezed again. She almost felt bad for not getting up to escort the doctor to the door, but somehow she was pretty sure the doctor herself couldn’t have cared less – she was just glad to leave. What she did wonder about as she reached for yet another tissue was this blood thing Godric had mentioned…and why both those women had given him that look.

Blood? He wanted me to drink his blood? Did he have a tap somewhere that I need to know about? Ew. Yeah, she thought, I want to know more about it, but no, no I am so not going to be…doing that. Blood is for vampires, mosquitoes, and hemophiliacs…not colds. Or humans.

“Well,” Pam said to interrupt the momentary silence, her drawn-out, flatly-spoken word perfectly conveying her complete and utter boredom with the current situation. She still had to feed for the night and there was a delicious set of blonde twins…plus she needed to check on her Ebay bid for that “antique” purse – it it really was an antique…and she needed to have a conversation with her Maker about his Maker’s behavior here.

Before she could say anything else, Godric leveled an extremely displeased glare at his grandprogeny who immediately glanced down to the floor in contrition. Besides her own Maker, Godric was the only other vampire on the planet whose good opinion she actually craved more than her own, and not just because he was Eric’s Maker. And, although he had never physically punished her as was a grandMaker’s right, a glare of disapproval from him was more discomfiting than corporeal punishment could ever be.

She hated when she earned that glare, and knew it might be a while until she managed to get back into his good graces. And with the way his mind seemed to work, or rather, not work, these nights…

So, she mentally huffed, since he seemed to take this pretty but common little bloodbag so seriously, she peevishly guessed she’d have to as well. When she glanced back up, her heart sank a bit lower to discover that he had literally turned his back on her.

Godric subdued the hot flash of anger he felt toward Pamela as he sat down beside his Cara. He would deal most sternly with his grandprogeny’s disrespect later – after he had a chance to cool down and think more fairly. She wasn’t a bad sort, and he truly did feel a familial bond with her, but she could be such a spoiled, disrespectful brat. Perhaps some public service would help her grow some…patience.

“Cara, you heard what Dr. Ludwig said about taking my blood, that it will heal you immediately…” his quiet voice trailed off when Cara started shaking her head.

She had turned to face him more directly now that he was seated beside her and was also, for better or for worse, able to see that Pam woman more fully, and she looked oddly forlorn all of a sudden. She’d caught the woman’s derogatory tone but was just too sick to really give any damns, but she had a suspicion that an exchange of some sort had taken place between the two vampires.

Oh, well, whatever it was, it wasn’t her problem. Godric, however…

She raised a hand to his shoulder. “Nope, sorry,” she said with a weak grin. “While I appreciate the offer,” she made a point to look him straight in his concerned blue eyes, “and I really do appreciate the offer, my answer is no.” She couldn’t help but see the flash of relief on the blonde vampire’s face, and wondered what was up with that. “It’s just a cold, honey, so please, don’t worry so much. If things do get worse,” she continued with a tired twinkle in her eye, “I’ll be sure to whine appropriately.”

Even though he kept his face stoic, she could tell that he was disappointed in her refusal. At that point she wanted nothing more than to just crawl into his lap and be cuddled while she was sick, but she didn’t feel comfortable enough to do that sort of thing with Pam watching every move she made like a hawk. She stroked her thumb over the top of his shoulder then lowered her hand self-consciously as she straightened in her seat to recline against the back of the couch.

Some of her discomfiture must have leaked to Godric because he placed his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer into his side.

Knowing that she was blushing from the contact but unable to do anything about it, Cara mentally shook her head then offered raspily, “Would either of you like a Plasma? I stopped at a store on the way in day before yesterday so I could have something on hand just in case any gorgeous ancient vampires came to visit,” she paused to playfully bump up against him, and added, “and they said Plasma was a much better choice than the other brand. I’ve seen it advertised on tv, too,” she ended on a cough into a tissue she didn’t remember having in her hand.

Godric frowned about the cough, but was also elated – his inner beast was crowing! His Cara had been thinking of him, and had kindly and considerately gone out of her way to see to his comfort! It was a small thing, he knew that, but hope, satisfaction, and a primal joy were firing through is system, bursting with the knowledge that not only had he been on her mind, but that she cared enough to want to ensure his hunger was met. That she was even comfortable enough in his presence to allow herself to be playful was an extraordinary bonus.

He was also silently gleeful over how his simple touch could move her to blush so deliciously.

She thinks she can hide that warm, beautiful blush from me…as if I can’t see her face from the corner of my eye, he thought somewhat smugly.

Instead of dragging her onto his lap and smothering her flushed face with kisses and nuzzling his cool nose into the warmth of her neck, he simply looked down into her tiredly beautiful face and replied, “Thank you Cara mia, but we are fine. You, however, need to feed.”

He grinned at her moue then faint nod of acquiescence, then leaned down to kiss her forehead, and frowned when it found it warmer than he thought it should be.

“Pamela, bring Cara the provisions which have already been prepared,” he ordered without turning to face his grandprogeny, “and some of the liquids.”

Cara was surprised to note that the expression on Pam’s face somewhat brightened with his words even though they were little more than an order. She watched as the blonde vampire sped from the living room to the kitchen, then turned her head so that she could rest it against Godric’s firm shoulder. While she enjoyed his company, being both awake and upright were highly overrated…even if his arm tightening about her shoulders felt so nice.

Within a minute, the vampire returned carrying several of the plastic grocery bags. After she arranged a couple of containers on the table, she sped back to the kitchen.

In short order her living room coffee table became a veritable, if mismatched, buffet. A meat loaf dinner carry-out plate, complete with mashed potatoes, green beans and a roll, was displayed beside a large container of what she thought might be hot wings – she had to go by smell since the clear top was steamed over. There were two other large containers of…something, and six to-go packets of the all-important plastic utensils…complete with miniature salt and pepper packets.

On the far side of the table now rested a large box of assorted donuts (she really hoped some were plain glazed), a smaller box of muffins (cranberry almond, according to the label), and a carrot cake of all things. They were all from a highly-touted local grocery store that stayed open all night and was known for expensive, quality items, so she had high hopes as to their freshness.

Four varieties of red-colored juices held down the end of the table along with four glasses. Maybe Pam didn’t approve of mixing juice types, Cara wondered as she shook her head in awe.

Pam appeared very proud of herself as she explained her selections, “I remember being told by a pet once that a plate with different colors of food on it was healthier, so you have brown, white and green on that one, and red things in that container,” she pointed toward what Cara had suspected were chicken wings.

“There are green things in this one,” Pam leaned forward and opened what turned out to be approximately four huge servings of fried okra. “Green things are considered healthy according to several sources,” she firmly stated with a nod as if she were trying to convince both herself and her audience.   She opened the last covered container to reveal beets – more beets Cara had eaten in her entire life. “And here are more red things. They smell vile, but red is the healthiest food group, of course.”

Glancing out of the corner of her eye, she spied the slightest upturn to the side of Godric’s mouth before it quickly disappeared, and managed to stifle her own grin. Pam certainly seemed to have her own way of looking at things.

Without waiting for an answer, the blonde vampire pointed toward the cardboard pastry boxes. “You can tell what those are. I have never tasted a cran berry,” Pam assured her audience as she split the name of the berry, “but I vaguely remember carrots and know that they are healthy, so I got you a carrot cake.”

Cara caught Pam’s furtive glance toward Godric and something told her that the vampire was desperate to earn his approval. Huh, her little snide comment earlier must have pissed him off much more than he’d shown…

Shaking her head in both amazement and…amazement at the odd collection of edibles now gracing her living room coffee table, Cara replied, “Wow – this looks amazing, Pam. Thank you! I couldn’t have done better if I’d picked it out myself,” she added with what she hoped sounded like sincerity as she looked directly at Pam. She didn’t dare try to pull that one off while looking at Godric. But really, all that okra? All those beets? She quickly added with a lot more honesty, “And I can’t wait to dive into that carrot cake.”

Pam preened at the praise, and sincerely hoped this helped smooth things with Godric. She had noticed the less-than-thrilled expression on the human’s face at some of the choices, however, but she didn’t think HE had noticed. Suddenly, she realized that this…this Cara was trying to, for some reason that she could not fathom, help her. Huh…

She looked over at the human still leaning on her grandMaker, and, meeting her eyes, gave a slow nod in acknowledgement. “You are welcome.”

Cara smiled, and then inclined her head in reply. With a small sigh she gathered her energy to straighten up and lean forward for the meatloaf plate, and was surprised when Godric’s hand on her shoulder tightened a bit to still her movement.

Sensing her intentions, Godric gently eased her back against the couch with his hand on her shoulder, then brought her food and a packet of plastic utensils to her, then held them for a moment as she placed a small couch pillow on her lap as a “table”.

He liked seeing evidence of her ingenuity, and waited patiently while she arranged things. She looked so tired, and he hoped the doctor’s assistant would arrive soon.

As he glanced over the table, he had to give Pamela a small bit of credit for doing an acceptable job of selecting foods for his Cara even if he had been able to tell exactly which items were not as much to her liking. I will also need to tell my Cara that she is a terrible liar, he thought with fondness. She can’t lie for naught. Pamela’s voice brought refocused his attention.

“For juice you have more of that cran berry, pomegranate, tomato, and cherry. They offered some sort of fruit and vegetable blends but those did not sound natural. And, from Godric’s description of you, you do not sound like a raspberry person.”

With a brief shudder, Cara replied, “Oh no, no, good call, Pam. I absolutely detest anything raspberry, and you’re also right about the fruit and vegetable juice blends. I’ve tasted them before and they remind me of mutated vegetable candy…and that’s not a good thing.” With a sincere smile, she added, “You did good, my future friend. Can I have some of the cherry, please?”

With her first true smile of the evening, Pam immediately poured and handed her a glass of cherry juice, and didn’t sneer at either the task or the smell once.

As Godric placed the now half-empty glass on the table as his Cara thanked Pamela, he realized that he truly was impressed with his grandprogeny’s selections and her corrected attitude. While in the food store overseeing her selections, it had occurred to him that he should have his Cara fill out something detailing what she liked and what she hated when it came to comestibles, and wondered if there were forms of some sort already devised for this purpose.

“Cara, is there a sort of form that you could fill out detailing your likes and dislikes when it comes to foodstuffs?”

Pausing in the middle of lifting a bite of green beans to her mouth, Cara thought for a minute, then shook her head. “I…I don’t think so, why?” As she shoved the loaded fork into her mouth, she wondered why on Earth he’d want to know something like that.

He opened his mouth to answer, then turned his head sharply toward the door. Pam immediately vamped over and arrived just as they heard a knock.   She glanced at both Cara and her grandMaker and, once she received a nod from the human, which was very subtly seconded by the vampire, she jerked the door open.

“I have a delivery from Dr. Ludwig?”

From what Cara could see around Pam, who was blocking the doorway, the delivery lady didn’t appear to be surprised to find the door answered by a vampire. She took another bite of green beans as she was determined to finish them before they were completely cold. She figured she’d down the mashed potatoes next, then tackle the meatloaf. Maybe.

By the time she looked back up, the door was closed and Pam was bringing the bag to her. One more bite finished up the beans, so she took it and placed the plate back on the table. She reached for the bag and, sure enough, found a bottle of cough syrup – she hoped it was the good “chewy” kind that actually worked – and pills for, as simply written on the outside of the bottle, congestion. Apparently she was supposed to take one pill twice a day. The last bottle simply had the word “Vitamins” on the outside with instructions to take two a day for two weeks, then one a day. There was a note reminding her to take ibuprofen for any aches or fevers.

Now more curious than ever about the strange little doctor and her ‘pharmacy’ that gave out meds and ‘vitamins’ with handwritten directions, she just shook her head and, under Godric’s approving gaze, took one of the congestion pills and one of the vitamins.

Pam, having gone to the kitchen without her notice, returned proudly brandishing a serving spoon and proceeded to heap a pile of fried okra into the part of her plate now empty of the beans.

After sputtering out a surprised ‘thank you’ to Pam, who once again appeared very pleased with herself, Cara took a bite of the fried okra and hummed her delight. The crispy, slightly salty goodness just hit the spot.

Godric felt his cock jump at her low moan of pleasure. Even when obviously sick, she was still the most beautiful person he could ever remember seeing. And it wasn’t even just her physical beauty that called so strongly to him…there was a light, a life, in her eyes that drew him in as surely as a moth to flame… a tilt to her brow…a soft curve to her cheek…

A throat being cleared so quietly that human ears couldn’t detect it drew his attention back to the present, and he finally acknowledged his grandprogeny in appreciation.

He then cleared his throat, too, and spoke as Cara took another bite of the browned pieces of fried vegetation.

“Pamela, you have done well this night. Refill her glass, then you may take your leave.” Godric was pleased that his voice relayed none of his impatience. Yes, Pamela had done well, but it was past time for her to go.  His entire body thrummed with needful excitement to be alone with his Cara.

Pam’s entire continence brightened with her grandMaker’s praise, and she quickly filled the glass and left the container near it. She had a feeling her Maker’s Maker was now the human’s nursemaid. She couldn’t wait to tell Eric what she’d seen, but she also needed to make him aware of the other things she’d seen, too. She dreaded having to tell him that she maybe somewhat almost liked the bloodbag…a little. He would tease her for decades.

Barely a moment after the door closed behind Pam, Godric hooked a strong hand under the rim of the large, laden coffee table and pulled the entire piece of furniture diagonally closer to him. He then easily lifted a startled Cara over onto his lap without jostling either her or the plate she still held. After he ensured that she was resting comfortably back against the couch arm, he slid one hand over her stomach around her side to hold her closer into him, and exhaled a sigh of relief.

He was finally alone with his girl who was nourishing her body with food and drink he had provided, and she was safely ensconced in his arms on his lap. Now his evening could truly begin.

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**A/N: And don’t forget – Cara is up for the ” Who the hell are you Award – Best OC” Award, and both Decisions and Anticipating are up for “The Maker Award – Best Godric Story” Award in the You Want Blood… the TB/SVM Fanfic Awards. (I’ve also been nominated for 9 other awards!!) So: go vote!! You can vote for up to three nominees in each category, and you can vote as many times per day/night as you want through May 29th!**

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