Pre Edit Count –   3,677 Words -Before Edit

Song I listened to for this chapter: Lullaby by Nickelback.

Previously:

Her owl rubs his head on her then shudders, settling his feathers.  He quirks his head to the side and stares at her, until she meets his eyes and he shows her the recent happenings in a small Louisiana town.  She sighs as she watches the vampires try their petty ways to gain control of something they have no way of containing.  She also laughs at the banter between Eric and Sookie as they try to make everyone believe that she hates him.

After seeing the newest update, she sends her appreciation to her avatar.  She tells him, “Soon, I can be moving around, not worrying who may see me.  There are too many players on the field that need to be found.  For now though, we will keep our plans as they are.”

The owl nods, softly hooting at her. He does an awkward jump to her wrist and closes his eyes as his mistress takes him inside their home, knowing he will be able to rest for at least the day.

Now:

Godric is working below in their room, perusing his emails. He watches his mate on the bed and smiles slightly as he hears Leigh purring.  He is relaxed, no longer feeling his mate in pain.  It was nothing he wouldn’t enjoy normally, but with their bonding, he is actually feeling it.  The relief is allowing him to get some work done, but only because she is not needing him. His senses are completely tuned to one of the two beings on this world that he cares about.

He is going through his emails, answering those that deserve an answer while forwarding others to Isabel to take care of.  He looks up as his mate gets off the bed and moves to him, climbing into his lap and curling up. His arms go around her automatically.

He kisses her temple as he asks softly, “Was ist los, meine Liebe?” (What is wrong, my love?)

Emails are forgotten, nothing matters but the woman in his arms.

Sookie has her eyes closed and, not realizing it, answers him in his head. ‘Nothing.  Everything.  I cannot wait until we do the last Bond and then I can work on my shields.  I feel as though something is happening.’ She rests her head against his shoulder, seeking the comfort that he gives her unconsciously, ineffably.

His eyes widen as he realizes what she has just done. Carefully he thinks in her direction, ‘Sookie?’

Her eyebrow arches as she answers him the same way, ‘Godric?’

There is no indication of her answering him in a different method than normal, in fact, there is a slight irritation over why is he acting like this when all she wants is some peace.  But her love, as always, is there in overwhelming waves, letting him know she is not really irritated.

Not able to help himself, he rubs his nose on hers. ‘Well, let’s just say Leigh should be happy.’  He smiles, happy to be able to communicate with her this way.  Then his mind turns to other ways which communicating this way would be better, especially when both their mouths are busy elsewhere.

Sookie’s mind starts trying to make sense of it, and, unbeknown to her, Godric hears it all.  ‘What does he mean Leigh will be happy?  Dammit my head hurts; I had to let down all the shields. When is Niall coming back and why do I always feel better when he is around me? It makes no sense.  He aggravates me but I love and trust him more than Hades.  Nothing like Eric and Godric, I love them so much.  Hey Leigh said something about us talking mind to mind?  What is it about Niall?  Something tells me there is more to him.  Mind to mind… Is that is what Godric means?!?!?!’   The last thought is said with shock and wonderment, all wound together.

Godric can’t help the chuckles that come from him as he tells her, ‘My love, my everything.  Yes, that is what I meant.  I wonder if Eric is hearing this or are the wards enough to shield him?  And darling, I heard all of that.  Why have you never mentioned Niall to us?’  He is curious why she has never said anything to either of them, as far as he knows.  But if she is wondering, then it is his place to find out some information.  He cannot do this if she does not let him know.  Sometimes a funny feeling is all the warning you get before hell breaks loose.

Still cuddling into him, Sookie sighs. ‘I wonder if this will be like this after we finish Bonding and I put back my shields?  Either way, I can’t explain it; Hades has always been friendly and I get the vibe he is happy to be my father-in-law —in fact even more as Eric and I are now his children— but Niall… I just can’t explain it.’

By the time she is finished, she looks as if she was ten again in Godric’s lap.  Many times Eric had come to find them like this, Sookie curled up in Godric’s lap, the two of them so wrapped up in each other it was hard to find a start and an end.  As Sookie got bigger, it never stopped.  Godric had told him once that Sookie, when they were both human, used to do the same thing when they were growing up and afterwards.  It is soothing to both of them.

Godric is rubbing her back as he thinks over what she is saying.  He notices the run on sentences, just as she had told Eric and him, are how people actually think.  He has a small smile on his face as he tells her, ‘It’s because Father believes in the old ways.  Once I mated to you, and he joined the two of us, you became his daughter.  So to him, you and Eric are his children.  He has told me before that he loves the fact that he gained a son and daughter, though hating the circumstance.  And now that I know how you feel about Niall, I will see what I can find out. Don’t dismiss your thoughts because you can’t figure them out.  It may be the simple fact that we do not have all the information, love.’  The last thought was more strict than the others, but was sent with love towards her.

Sookie notices, that unlike when he speaks, Godric thinks with his emotions coloring everything.  They are interwoven with his very thoughts, and, at the same time, in the back of his mind, is a running commentary of how to keep her safe.  Plans and other such things rapidly run through his mind.  She has only rarely encountered a mind like this, it is as though their brains are working out problems while other parts are participating in other things.  She wonders if Godric has always been like this, or if it has to do with him being a vampire.

The two of them sit there, Godric nuzzling her and kissing whatever parts of her skin he can, as he turns back to his work, exchanging thoughts with her about the emails he is going through.  Some of her ideas surprise him, but as he turns them around in his mind, he cannot see any reason they wouldn’t work.  He praises his little one, making sure she sees that he is using her ideas to solve the issues.  The two are content in the rare alone time they are sharing, their minds actually blending as they are wrapped in each other.  The only thing that brings them out of it is when they feel Eric’s anger and then the door slamming as he appears in front of both of them, seething.

Sookie cries out as his thoughts invade her mind, ‘That’s it! He won’t tell me, saying it is none of my business, that he will tell me, us, when it is time.  Sookie is my business!  Both Godric’s and I’s!  He is hiding things from us that may harm her!’

Eric’s mind is actually seething with anger as his fists flinch as though he would be clenching them.  His mind reveals that with Niall’s words, he had been driven to Sookie and making sure she is ok. Seeing her in Godric’s arms calms him minutely, allowing him to focus back to what the Fae had told him.

Godric, feeling Eric’s anger and hearing his mind actually bearing down and hurting Sookie with his pure emotions, verbally tells him, “My child!  Calm down!  We both are hearing everything you are thinking, and you are screaming it in both of our heads!” He stares down at Eric, ready to command him to silence his thoughts, if it will only stop the pain that Sookie is feeling.

Taken aback, Eric blinks, shocked.  He falls to his knees in front of Sookie, as his mind asses what Godric is saying. His head dropping her lap as he tells them, begs them mentally, ‘So sorry, please forgive me, my lover.  I am so sorry; never ever want to cause her pain.  My job to protect them both, can’t let them hurt, they both hurt so much.’ Eric’s thoughts are rambling, his mind seething as he realizes he hurt Sookie.

Godric puts a hand on his other Mate’s head as he tells them both, ‘Shh my mate.  You didn’t know.  She is fine now that you are not yelling.  Now tell us why you are so upset.  Let’s see if we can solve the problem.’

Sookie is amazed to find out how much both of the vampires’ minds are wrapped around her.  With the three of them together, the murmuring in the background of both Eric and Godric’s minds of how they will protect her, love her, and make sure that everything is ok, is constant.

Eric’s mind whispers, catching Sookie’s attention, ‘Godric will tell us what to do, my job is Sookie.  My job has always been Sookie.  To love her, treasure her.  To guard her.  To never allow what has happened in the past to ever happen.  Not only will I not survive it, but neither will Godric.  I cannot allow that to happen.  Niall not telling me potentially adds danger, because it will divert both Godric and I to wonder what it is.’

But even more shocking are Godric’s thoughts. ‘Eric will protect Sookie, but the fact that he is upset is not good.  We cannot have either of us distracted from protecting her!  Eric is the one who will be close to her, the obvious one to take out the threat, but I am the one hidden in the darkness, the one who will take care of them both.  No, Eric is right to be upset; he is the one to protect Sookie.’ And those thoughts cleared up any mysteries of their triad.  Godric is their alpha, and also their defender.  But Eric —her Eric— is the one who is prepared to be the first line of defense for her, knowing that Godric will come out of nowhere to defend them both.  It fit what happened that night, so many years ago, Eric was just there and had been depended on Godric defending them both.  But because of the sequence of events, they had to switch places, and neither had anticipated it.

Eric is rubbing his head on Sookie’s lap, catlike, and only relaxes as he feels her hand on him as well as her love for him flowing through.  He tells them softly, ‘I am sorry, I had no idea.  Something somebody said upstairs made me think.  You know how Jason always insists that Niall is Sookie’s father?  Well, how do we know she isn’t his daughter? When I asked him directly, he told me it was none of my business.  Sookie is our business.  It is not right that if this is true, that he keep it from her.  She suffered so much at the hands of those she thought of as her parents. Why wouldn’t he admit it?  And how did this development happen?’

Eric’s love for her threads through his thoughts, the same as Godric’s.  At the same time, she is feeling the love of both of them through the bond.  This is never something she could explain to others, how the emotions of some people can seep through their thoughts, sometimes coloring the thoughts, while others are more like flavors.  But it is not a constant, and only after most of her life can she tell.

Not with Godric and Eric.  Their thoughts are saturated with their emotions.  But this could be because they are bonded with her.

While this is running through the back of her head, not knowing nor making the connection of how alike she is to both of her mates, Godric and Sookie laugh at the plain befuddlement in Eric’s mental voice at the last part.

Sookie leans down and kisses Eric on the head, grinning at him when he looks up at her.  She tells him verbally, “I did it by accident.  It may have happened because I have all my shields down because it hurts to have them up.  My brain feels raw.” She gives him another kiss, this time on his cheek, smiling at his pure delight in her affection.

Godric frowns at the mention of the pain she has been in all night and looks down at Eric. “Do you have anything else you need to do tonight?” At Eric’s shake of his head, Godric tells him, “Get the Chalice and knife.” His mind is set, and working on not worked up.

Rising, Eric gives Sookie a kiss, then Godric one, before making his way to where he had the knife and cup.

Godric moves Sookie and himself to the bed, smiling when Leigh shimmers out.  He tells Sookie, “If your head hurts, then the sooner we can finish the Bonding, the sooner you can heal and learn to put up the shields.  Unless something comes up, tomorrow we will spend the time here until you are ready to deal with everything.  You have mentioned a couple of times that you need some downtime.” His hand is cupping the side of her head, his thumb moving along her jaw as he speaks with her.  At the same time, he is sending his love and adoration of her, figuring that it will help sooth her.  It soothed Eric when he had been in pain from his oversensitive senses when he was a newborn.

Sookie looks up at him in gratitude, making both vampires swear to ensuring that she has nothing but downtime tomorrow.  If something happens, they will take care of it.  The rest of the world can burn as far as they are concerned.

Eric brings the knife and chalice to the bed, handing both to his Maker, as he bends his head down to kiss his other mate.  Hearing and feeling her moan makes his lips upturn as he lays claim to his mate’s mouth, pulling her towards him as he tastes her unique flavor on his tongue.

Watching the two before him, Godric swears again that he will never allow anyone to separate them as they did in the past.  Sookie is both of theirs.  If he has to start a bloodbath to make sure that they will never be separated, he will.  These two will never know the actual pain he had lived with for millennia.

Smiling as he confirms the vow to himself, he uses the knife to open a wound on his wrist.  He watches the blood drip into the chalice and notices that both the knife and chalice are starting to glow.   Once the cup is a third full, he wills the wound to close.  ‘Eric.’

Lifting his head from Sookie’s at his beloved’s words, he takes the knife and Sookie takes cup from their mate.

Godric tells them both, ‘Fill it only a third. And then we will add Sookie’s blood to it.’ His mental voice has an odd echo to it.

Eric does as he is told as asks, ‘Godric?’ He is unsure of the feelings coming through the Bond and through the mental link that seems to be easier and easier for them all to sink into.

Godric doesn’t answer, but watches as both knife and cup glow brighter.  He takes the knife, indicating Eric to hold the cup while he cuts Sookie.  Before cutting, he licks her wrist in preparation of the cut, not wanting it to hurt more than it has too.  He looks into her eyes as he cuts her wrist, their marriage ceremony a millennia ago flashes in his mind. The room vanishes behind the memories, becoming his father’s temple in all of their minds.

Eric’s eyes widen as he realizes that he is seeing his mates’ first marriage ceremony and realizes that Godric is mimicking it.  He is giving both his mates the ceremony they may never get in reality. He bows his head, his will giving into the memories pounding in from Godric’s and, strangely enough, Sookie’s minds.

In a flash, Niall and Hades appear in their room and minds, their hands over the full cup as Eric closes the wound on Sookie’s wrist, his tongue gently laving the cut until it seals.  The two beings then chant in unison, the words echoing in the Triad’s souls:

“May your Love be like the earth
Rich, natural, and deeply rooted
Strong as rock yet soft as sand
Always growing and always patient
May your love be like fire
Passionate, intense and energetic
A flame that never dies
As radiant as the morning sun
And as warm as an evening embrace
May your love be like water
Moving, constantly changing
Never still, never stagnant
As vast as the ocean
And as fresh as a spring’s rain
May your love be like air
The sharing of dreams, thoughts and emotions
Always fragrant, always carefree
Found in the breeze of a whisper
Or in the breath of a kiss
May your love be like all four elements
Physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually intertwined
To create the perfect balance
And to craft the perfect ribbon
For to bind these three hearts into one”  (Non-Christian Prayers for Weddings)

With those words, the cup glows brightly as the two lift their hands and Godric takes the cup.  He stares into the eyes of his Mates as he drinks his share, his glow brightening to the point a mortal would be able to see it, then hands it to Eric to drink.  Both Eric and he lift the cup to Sookie’s mouth and watch as she drains the last of the cup. The glow brightens as each drink —Sookie being the brightest when she starts— each of the three glowing brightly as they finish the blood.

The three can feel each other to the point it was hard to tell where one starts and the other stops.  Their minds linked to be as one.

Watching the three in front of him, Niall says solemnly, “It is done and you are one.  Many blessings upon you all.”  With that he bows to them and disappears, none of them seeing how bright his eyes are as he fades out.

Hades looks on them with a soft smile. “I am proud to claim you all as mine.  I cannot wait until the Mating, but until then, may this Bond soothe your souls.  You will always find the others, since how can the soul deny the other parts of it?”  With this he smiles once more and disappears.

The three look at each other, feeling the others as though they were a part of each, which they are.  But without warning, Sookie’s eyes roll back as her body and mind are overwhelmed.  Eric and Godric, moving as one, catch her, laying her to rest between the two of them. Their attention is fully on their mate as the night retreats, making way for the dawn of the new day.

Final count, 5,849 words. – Before Edit

Fairfarren~Wendy