Sookie Takes Charge, Ch. 6

Sookie placed a hefty tip under her empty cup and left the little outdoor cafe. Restless with the direction of her thoughts, she decided to wander around for a bit, hoping that the walking would use up some of her agitated energy.

Considering the events of the day and evening as she ambled along, she found that she was oddly glad that Bill had stopped by after Eric. If that asshole had shown up first, she might have just crispy’d his critter and been done with him, but having it out with him had actually made her feel a little better. Plus it tickled her to think about how very pissed off he must be that “li’l ol’ her” had fairy-whooped his ass…which was probably still smoking…

For some time now, while she had been in Fairy at any rate, she had thought that she was over him and the humongous amount of shit he had pulled on her, but now she realized that all she’d done was just bury it deep so that she wouldn’t have to think about how he’d used her and…she sighed…and abused her. Like she told him, every time she turned around he had that nasty bleeding wrist of his up under her nose begging and/or commanding her to “Drink, Sookah”, and like the fool she was, she had.

Well, maybe she wasn’t as much of a fool as she thought, though. For all she knew, one of the powers of his blood was the ability for him to cut off her fucking brain.   She snorted. And it wasn’t like he’d tell her about that, now would he…

Annnnd that was one of her missions now that she was back in the human realm. She needed to expose the darker side of even the ‘good’ vampires to the world so that they could defend themselves. Humans also needed to know just how bad the bad vamps could be, too.

Before she had met her first vampire, she knew exactly what the general public still knew, which was only what the AVL wanted them to know: not fucking much.

Tomorrow she was going to buy herself a laptop, a desktop, a tablet, pens, paper, sticky notes and anything else she might need to set up her home office. She had a pseudonym to create – several, in fact; some websites to set up, and some books to write – the sooner, the better.

Deciding that she’d had enough of the damp night air, she returned to her vehicle and drove back to the hotel. She tossed the keys to the cute valet, and grinned as she pointedly entered the same elevator Crispy Bill had taken. That…that had been so much fun.

Later, after she had taken her shower and the late night snack she’d ordered from room service had arrived, she kicked back in her large, comfy bed. She wondered why she kept doing things the human way when, with her magic, pretty much anything could be done much more efficiently with a single wave. It wasn’t like she could use up her magic. So long as the sun shined, her magic would not only remain, but would grow as she aged. But she had been raised without fairy magic and the habits acquired over a lifetime were hard to break, and since the human contingent would probably never officially be told of the existence of fairies, it was definitely better to keep her ‘skills’ hidden.

As she flipped through tv channels of bad late night programming, she read the descriptions, and laughed at all the campy “silly human falls for dramatic vampire who falls for the human’s blood” crap shows, then finally settled for the least biased over-night news program she could find.

While in Fairy, and she snickered at her continued use of that name instead of the one Niall preferred, she’d made a point to stay current on news from the human realm. The politicians were still liars on acid, big business was still determined to ruin the planet’s health, and wars were still being waged over the flimsiest of excuses.  So little had actually changed, sadly.

She wasn’t sure why she kept an ear to the ground concerning activities in Louisiana, though. Half the time she was firmly convinced that she was not going to return at all, but there was a small part of her that knew that she would come back someday, but she also knew that if she returned, it wouldn’t be for anyone she’d known before going to Fairy.

Not only did she have unfinished business, but she had a mission driving that return. Even if vampires were ‘out’, humans were still sitting ducks…tasty, gullible sitting ducks, and they needed to be warned that while a few vampires really were good people, most would stab you in the neck in a heartbeat because of their supposed “nature”. Frankly she thought that was just a cowardly, pathetic excuse. They fang-raped and abused and used humans simply because they wanted to, and their glamour just made it all the easier to get their way.

Oddly enough, it was Godric who most supported her cause even though he was the one truly ‘good’ vampire she had ever met. Granted he was part fairy, but then, that was probably the part that had made him ‘good’.

As she turned over on her side, she thought back to when she had first seen him in Fairy. She’d been there for two fae days, and was still getting her bearings. Naturally she had gotten lost again, but never in her wildest dreams would she ever have expected it to be Godric who found her.

Having just crested yet another beautifully green-grassed hill with golden boulders strewn hither and yon, Sookie looked around and, while enjoying the softened appearance of the landscape – the atmosphere outdoors in Fairy truly did have a softened, almost dreamy quality – she was tired and just wanted to get back to the castle. She fake-corrected herself: Palace, according to Niall. Unfortunately the hill wasn’t quite high enough for her to see much of the lay of the land, and as she was about to descend, she heard a noise behind her, and turned around to investigate.

And her mouth fell open.

“G…Godric?” She couldn’t believe it – Godric!? Eric’s Maker who she had seen with her own eyes go up in flames was standing whole and complete before her.

“Yes, my child. Are you lost?” He smiled easily down upon her, his handsome face no longer weighted with earthy agonies. His eyes were bright blue, shining with humor and intelligence, and…more humor.

“No, but it looks like you are!” Sookie immediately covered her loose lips with her hand, embarrassed to have blurted out such a thing, but still – he was a vampire! At least, he’d been one…

Godric threw his head back as he laughed loudly for what seemed like ages. Just as he had thought, the beautiful fairy-hybrid was a joy.

“Come, let us return to the Palace, and I will tell you of my journey, then you may tell me why you are here instead of with my Child.” He held his hand out and, without pausing to consider, Sookie took it. To her vast astonishment, he ‘popped’ them into the Palace courtyard.

She knew that while several other creatures could teleport, only fairies could pop into the highly-secure Palace and surrounding area, and was even more confused. Godric then calmly escorted Sookie to one of the small private rooms off the royal dining hall, and waved his hand. When a full, if simple, dinner suddenly appeared before the both of them, Sookie glanced at the elder vampire in wonder.

“How,” was all she said as she watched him cut into then take a bite of well-seasoned steak. To this day she still couldn’t get over the shock of seeing him actually eat.

He had simply waved his hand to indicate her own food, and replied, “Eat, dear Sookie, eat and then we shall talk. It appears you have been gone for hours, and you must be hungry. Eat.”

She did. She ate her own steak as he finished his, and enjoyed her own strawberries from the shared bowl of fresh fruit between them, and by the time she had eaten several of the small, delicious breads smeared with the sweetest cream, she had almost regained her composure…until Godric ate a small bowl’s worth of sweet baby peas.

As she sat gaping at him across the table, he looked up at her with devilry dancing in his twinkling blue eyes.

“Did I just break your brain?”

Numbly she nodded.

With a happy guffaw, he completed his meal, rose, then held his hand out to Sookie, who was still staring in disbelief.

Godric had just eaten peas.

Why she had the most difficulty believing that part she would never know, but by this point she refused to trust her eyes. Surely they were lying to her. Surely.

A few steps away from the table, Sookie looked back and all evidence of the meal they had just shared was gone. This must be how Alice felt in Wonderland, she thought.

Her hand still in his, he ‘popped’ them to the sitting room outside his quarters, and made appear on the table before them a glass of sweet iced tea for her, and a cup of coffee for him.

He cleared his throat to gain her attention, then spoke.

“First, I would like to say that you did, indeed, see me die that morning, and I will forever hold you dear to my heart for your kindness. Thank you, Sookie, for standing with me, for bearing witness to my passing.”

Seeing the wonder and gratitude that still graced his face when remembering her actions that painful morning, Sookie reached across the inches between them and grabbed his hand. “While I wish you hadn’t died, I’m glad I could be there with you.”

With a nod he accepted her words, but then he said, “I am glad I did, though. If I had not chosen to leave that earthly realm, I would never have been able to come home!” There was no denying the joyous relief that spread across his face with his words.

“Home?”

“Yes! Sookie, I was half-fae when I was turned. During my youth, the portals between our realms were often left casually open, and along with my father, one of Niall’s second-cousins, I was able to freely come and go between these realms. Once I was turned, that was no longer an option.”

Sookie’s heart broke with the expression on his face with those final words.

“No, I guess it wouldn’t have been,” she agreed softly as she held his hand tighter.

“But when you…died…” she began, hoping to lead the conversation back to an oddly better topic.

“No one knows why I came here instead of going to The Summerlands as would have been my right,” he replied, his face clearly showing his confusion, “but I did. That hilltop where I found you? That is where I…woke up. At first I was terrified of the sun, of course, but then I recognized where I was. After more than two thousand years, I still knew my home.”

Together the two sat in companionable silence as Godric relived the memory of finding himself at home after such an incredibly long absence.

Finally he broke the silence. “And I still have my fangs!” He smiled and even though she knew it was coming, Sookie still jumped when his fangs suddenly erupted.

She laughed at her reaction, then instinctively reached out to lightly trail a finger down one long fang.

His entire face subtly changed as resulting desire flooded his strong body. “Careful, Sookie. I am still fully vampire – a fully male vampire at that,” he said, his voice deep and sensual as his eyes burned into hers.

With a gasp Sookie quickly removed her finger from his fang and blushed furiously. While she would never have admitted it to either Eric or, much less likely, Bill, she had found herself attracted to the ancient vampire during the very short time she’d known him. Now with his hair a little lighter and longer and his skin tanned a warmer golden color, and with the light of both humor and devil in his eyes, there was no resisting him.

“Sorry?”

His quiet laugh sent chills through her body.

“No apology necessary, my dear, but how do you not know of these things?”

That one question lead the two into a conversation that lasted many hours as Sookie told him of her relationship with Bill and her almost-relationship with his own Child. With questions both guiding and pointed, Godric finally had a true idea of just how Sookie’s relationships with vampires in general and in specific had gone, and his heart bled for her.

If he ever saw Bill fucking Compton again he would rend him limb from limb in the blink of an eye, but he had no intentions of returning to the human realm. He had put in his time as a vampire, and did not want to waste whatever miracle it was that enabled him to come home after all those centuries of being stuck in a world, and in a body, not his own. He had more than done his duty by his precious Children, had ‘raised’ and trained them as well and as thoroughly as he possibly could, and now…now he was free.

Once again he could live the simple joys of…of eating. Of breathing. Of feeling his heart beating and his blood pumping through his strong, hard body. Of walking in the sun without fear of blistering his flesh. He could once again sleep when he wished, too, and dream. He could dream again. While he still had his vampire gifts and abilities, and could easily feed his vampire needs with blood gladly donated from the many “one-eighth” fairies living on the Palace grounds, his fairy powers were once again enabled, as well.

He now had the best of both worlds.

He had no desire, no reason, to leave.

And she certainly couldn’t blame him.

Sookie whisked the remains of her snack out into the hallway, clicked off the suddenly annoying television, and settled herself to sleep after magically ensuring that no one could intrude into her suite. She didn’t trust Bill for shit.

As she sank down into her pillows and relaxed under her comforter, she wondered how Godric was doing. They had become quite close, and while they had never ‘shared flesh’ as he called it, their emotional bond and grown quite strong, and she missed him dearly.

She wondered if she should tell Eric about him.

It’s not like Eric bothered to tell me that he and Russell were going to use me as an all-you-can-drink sunlight fountain, a part of her sneered, so why bother telling him about his Maker?

His betrayal still stung quite badly. In a way she hadn’t wanted to tell Godric about how Eric had used and abused her, and held her down for Russell to abuse and use as well, and it had taken the ancient vampire several attempts to draw that tale from her. She hadn’t wanted to tattle the information to him, hadn’t wanted him to be disappointed in his Child, and he was.

The force of his anger at Eric’s actions, and his disappointment in how his Child had treated her, had truly surprised Sookie. At most she had thought the ancient vampire would be moderately put out over it all, but he had been truly livid. For his own protection, a small part, a very small part, of her had been glad that Eric hadn’t been around during that time. An enraged Godric was a sight to behold…

No, maybe it was for the best that she not tell Eric about where Godric was and what he was like now. It wasn’t like he could go visitin’, she thought with a snort.

But…ever compassionate no matter how unwarranted the feeling, she also knew that if she were in Eric’s place, she would want to know that her Maker was actually quite happily alive in another realm.

With a groan she decided she’d think more about it tomorrow. Today had been long enough as it was.

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**A/N: Whatja think? Does Sookie’s thinking make sense? Should she tell Eric even though he can’t go see him? Should she keep it to herself to save reopening the wound of Godric’s leaving?**

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