DAC, Epilogue Pt. 2

Sookie frowned as Godric pulled the car into the parking lot of Fangtasia.  “Eric’s not here,” she said cautiously.

“True,” Godric replied, easing carefully into two parking spaces, uncaring that the vehicle straddled the line.  His driving was so slow, compared to his Child’s, that Sookie had wondered when they’d ever reach Shreveport.

She stifled her laugh as the ancient vampire contentedly turned off the car and handed her the keys.  “You’re, um…a good driver,” she observed.

“It is different,” Godric mused.  “Traveling so slowly.”

Sookie resisted the urge to remind him that the gas pedal was on the right and smiled. “Are we going in?”  No sooner had she asked the question, than her door opened and Godric was helping her from her seat.

As they walked across the lot, he draped his arm over her shoulders, cocking his head. “You have…admirers here,” he said, pulling her closer to his side.

“Admirers?”  Sookie asked, confused.  “In the club?”  The vampire at the door looked twice at the pair before stepping silently aside, his eyes averted.  She supposed he could somehow tell who Godric was, and she ducked her head at the onslaught of thoughts at his appearance.

“What is bothering you?” he asked, pausing inside the doorway and staring intently at her.

“Nothing.”

Godric gently tilted Sookie’s face toward his, his pale face concerned. Pam had once mentioned that he was almost twice Eric’s age, and in the moody lighting of the club, Sookie could see it.  Perhaps it was that he had been covered in blood or bathwater, that she hadn’t noticed how truly different Godric looked.  Whereas Pam, and even Eric, could probably ‘pass’ with a quick glance, there was no mistaking what Godric was. Had Sookie been the vampire at the door, she’d have stepped aside, too.

“What is it?”  he asked, and she smiled, shaking her head.  His grin matched hers and he chuckled.  “Your happiness is infectious,” he said, taking her hand and guiding her further into the club.

“Does Pam know we’re coming?”  Sookie whispered, sliding onto the barstool that opened immediately for her with one cock of Godric’s eyebrow.

He ignored her question and stared at the bottle of warmed blood placed in front of him, sniffing it before taking a sip.  “Interesting.”

Sookie watched as he finished the bottle, leaning against the bar as if he weren’t the oldest and most dangerous thing in the room.  “Good?” She asked, though it wasn’t a brand she recognized, not that she was familiar with any of the synthetic blood available.

“No.”  His eyes darted from hers, and his face brightened again. “Pamela!”

Eric’s startled Child appeared, to Sookie, to be genuinely shocked as she stiffly accepted his hug, and Sookie suddenly looked forward to watching whatever was about to happen.

“Godric,” Pam said slowly, glancing at Sookie.  “It is good to see you.” When Godric didn’t reply and simply continued to smile, Pam became nervous.  “Is Eric-”

“He is coming,” Godric replied dismissively.  “This is your establishment,”  he asked seriously, and Sookie fought the strong urge to laugh at his version of chitchat.

“Mine and my Master’s, yes,” Pam replied.  “Is there something I can get you?”

“He doesn’t like the bottled blood,”  Sookie volunteered.

Pam frowned.  “A donor, then?  Allow me to-”

“I am not thirsty.”

“Are you certain?  I can have one-”

“Pamela,” Godric said seriously.  “I have not seen you in decades.  Let us sit together,” he suggested.

Patrons scattered as Godric stood by one of the booths, barely gesturing in which direction he expected them to move, and a waitress scurried to clear the table.  “Sit,” he said, “please.”  When Pam moved in across from him, he insisted she take the seat next to him, instead.  “Eric will be here soon, he will wish to sit next to her,” he explained, pointing to Sookie.

“How’s work going, Pam?”  Sookie asked, taking pity on the obviously ruffled vampire. If Godric wanted to play family reunion, Sookie was glad to help, not that she expected to earn any points with Eric’s Child.

“It is going…well,” Pam said, as Godric nodded.

“You are happy here?”  He asked.

“Happy?”

“Do you enjoy what you do, Pam?” Sookie clarified.  She wondered what Eric had bothered to tell Pam about Godric’s recent past, and a part of Sookie felt for Pam, as she was obviously uncomfortable.  “Do you enjoy your life?”

“I do not know what you are asking of me!”  Pam suddenly blurted, her eyes dropping to the table.

“Hey, Pam?”  Sookie asked, shooting Godric a quick smile.  “Could you help me in the bathroom for a second?”

Godric looked confusedly between the two women, his brow furrowed. “You will return?”

Sookie nodded, attempting to pull Pam to her feet.  “You’ll stay here, right?” She asked, and he nodded.  All they would need, was a disappearing Godric, perched somewhere again.

The door to the bathroom had barely shut before Pam started hissing. “What the hell is he doing here with you,”  she demanded.  “And what the hell is he talking about, am I happy?”

“Didn’t Eric talk to you about him?”

“I’m not allowed to ask,” she gritted out, stalking toward Sookie.  “And I could not get ahold of Stan, though I know he’s spoken with Eric.”

They both paused with the sensation that Eric had arrived, and Sookie took a deep breath, knowing she didn’t have much time to explain. “He’s lonely, Pam,” she started, and Pam snorted.  “No!  He is.  Elspeth was his mate, and she killed herself, and her Maker was the one with the hits out on you guys, because he blamed Godric, so Raban went to the Fellowship, and then they attacked Stan’s nest…”

Sookie grabbed onto the sink behind her, trying to gather her thoughts. “Godric was there.  And Stan staked Raban.  And… and…”  Her heart raced faster than her mind, and suddenly she felt dizzy.

Pam took a step back, realizing what she was doing to her Maker’s mate, and who would be furious.  “I should not have…”

“It’s fine-”

“No.  It is not your doing.  I didn’t expect…”  Pam’s voice trailed off and she shook her head.  “It is over.”

“I think he’s here for awhile, though,”  Sookie said, raising her eyebrows, and to her surprise, Pam laughed.  “He is really strange at times,” Sookie whispered, her eyes wide.  “But I think he’ll be okay.”

Pam laughed even harder, and even Sookie had to chuckle.  “Does he really wish to know if I am happy?”  Pam asked, running her fingers under her eyes.

“I think so.”  Sookie watched, as the pretty vampire checked her appearance in one of the mirrors.  “Are you?”

“I suppose,” Pam said, shrugging.  “Eric is happy,” she added, rolling her eyes at the blush on Sookie’s face.  “The three of you,” she huffed, slipping from the bathroom.

Sookie splashed water on her face and sighed as she dried it, wondering how she had become part of what had to be one of the strangest ‘families’ she’d ever met.  Her confusion was short-lived, pushed aside by the happiness waiting for her on the other side of the bathroom door.

“Hey.”

Eric’s eyes danced over her as he leaned casually against the wall outside the bathroom.  “It has been less than a week,” he said, smirking.

Sookie shook her head, beaming.  “I couldn’t wait.”

“I missed you,” Eric admitted, stepping toward her.

“I know.”

He chuckled, scooping her up and burrowing his face in her neck.  “I may not let you go, lover,” he warned, knowing there was no possibility that he would.

Sookie nodded, her eyes warm with tears.  “I think I’m okay with that.” His cool lips found hers, over and over again, and she found herself smiling against his mouth.

Eric reluctantly released her, only to place his hands on the bare skin of her shoulders and neck.  “You are coming home with me, yes?”  he asked, and she nodded.  “You brought your things?”

“Yep,”  she said.  “Just you, me, and Godric.”

“So I have heard.”  His eyes searched hers, and Sookie felt the doubt passing through him.  “He will not…”  It was difficult to explain his relationship with his Maker, and Eric wondered what she envisioned.

“I’m not worried about it, Eric.  He’s your…whatever, I don’t expect to share a room with him.”

“If he wished it to be so,” Eric replied, raising his eyebrow.

“You guys are really weird,” Sookie replied sincerely.  “But he needs you.  And so do I,” she added quietly.  She found herself abruptly pulled tightly to Eric’s chest, and she thought she heard him agree.

“Come,” he said gruffly, leading her back to the booth.

It was interesting, Sookie felt, to observe Eric with his own Maker. Pam seemed more Eric’s peer, or perhaps loyal employee or friend. She was quick to defend him, quick to do what needed to be done, much like an overprotective mother or sibling.  If it weren’t for Eric’s imposing manner and stature, Sookie wondered that someone on the outside would be able to tell who was the boss most of the time.

Though Eric’s hand rested around her thigh, anchoring her to his side, his attention was drawn to his Maker.  Eric was, Sookie realized, deferential and somewhat in awe of Godric.  It was as if Eric carried a debt of gratitude that could never be repaid, and it only pulled Sookie closer to him.  Whatever had passed between the two over the years obviously attached Eric deeply to Godric, and it showed in how Eric interacted with his own Child.

“Have either of you been behind Sookie’s home?”  Godric asked casually, looking to the other vampires.

“Huh?”  Sookie asked.

“No,” Eric answered, looking to Pam for confirmation.  “Why?”

“Have you never wondered what it is, that is different about her?” Godric went on, gazing at Sookie’s confused face.

“Well, I mean, there’s my head-”

“She does not taste differently,” Eric said, interrupting her, wondering what his Maker was getting at.

The ancient vampire leaned back in his seat.  “Tonight, in the parking lot, there was someone looking for her.”

All three vampires looked to Sookie, and she blanched.  “Who was looking for me?” She asked, visions of her ransacked grandmother’s house running through her mind.

“She does not know,” Godric said softly, and he was glad to understand that Sookie had not deceived his Child by hiding an important part of her heritage.

“Know what?”  Eric asked impatiently.

“You are not completely human, Sookie,” Godric explained.  “I can smell it, even if they cannot,” he said, nodding to the others.  “Your human blood is also fae.”

Pam stared at Sookie, while Eric stared at his Maker.  “You believe so?”  He asked.

“Who’s Faye?”  Sookie demanded.

“It cannot be much,” Pam said critically.

“Eric?”

“Fae means fairy,” Eric said quietly, turning to face her.  “You are part-fairy.”  He did not question Godric’s assessment, and it explained her ‘otherness’ that he’d detected the first time they’d met.

“I can’t tell if that’s a good thing or a bad thing,” she replied uneasily. “As far as I know, my family’s all humans,” she joked, though no one laughed.

“As far as you know,” Godric repeated.

“I don’t understand,” Sookie admitted, suddenly feeling very alone.  A part of Eric had pulled away from her, she had felt it.

He suddenly removed his hand from Sookie’s leg, and her heart dropped, until he then wrapped his large arm protectively around her shoulders.  “They were in the parking lot?”  he asked.

“Preston Pardloe!”  Pam suddenly exclaimed.  “The one from the car!”

Godric shrugged.  “I do not know, but they were there, they have been around her house.  Perhaps there is a door,” he suggested.

“Do you mean fairy, as in fairy tales?”  It was absurd to Sookie, despite that she was a telepath sitting at a table full of vampires.  “Are you sure?”  She tried to remember meeting Preston, and it seemed a lifetime ago.  “Does it….does it matter?” She wondered nervously.  Did it matter to Eric?

“No,” Eric said firmly.  “It does not.”  Her heritage, of which Sookie seemed genuinely unaware, did not alter his feelings for her, and they flowed freely to her then through their bond.

“Do y’all not like fairies,” she asked, the word strange on her tongue.

Both Pam and Godric shrugged.  “It is not a matter of ‘like,’” Pam said, waving her hand.  “If that is what you are…”

“I accept it,” Eric said softly in her ear, and she nodded.  “Alright?”

Sookie nodded and swallowed.  “Alright.”  And though she agreed, she wondered if it were as big an adjustment for him, as him being a vampire was for her.  “Alright,” she repeated.

She leaned into Eric’s side and watched as Pam and Godric began to discuss the vampires they both knew in Texas, including Stan Davis. Godric was amused that Pam seemed to have an interest in the Sheriff, and she did not seem to realize he was baiting her.

“I am glad you did not wait,” Eric whispered, kissing Sookie briefly on top of her head.

“Me, too.”

“Sookie,” Pam said loudly.  “You have met Stan, what is your opinion?”

Sookie thought back to the serious, somewhat nerdy-looking vampire who had emerged from a collapsed house to stake another vampire.  “I can see why you like each other,” she said pleasantly, and Pam smiled, nodding.

Godric smirked, folding his hands on the table in front of him.  “And what of you,” he asked.  “Are you happy here?”

“Are you enjoying what you do?”  Pam chimed in.  “Are you enjoying your life?”

Eric’s fingertips tensed slightly on her arm, and Sookie nodded. “Yes,” she said sincerely.  “I am.”

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The End

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A/N:  InvertedMeridian and I thank you for reading this, and for the reviews we received. We had a great time working together, thanks for supporting us!

(Co-A/N:  WHAT SHE SAID!!)..

**Amended Co-A/N:  I used to be InvertedMeridian on FF since Meridian was taken but have since changed it to Meridiean.**

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