"I'm sorry, Eric," Pam said, watching as the ancient Viking paced the Fangtasia basement. He was deep in thought for a long time, then stopped.
"Untie her," he commanded, waving a hand at the squirming Sarah Newlin.
"I'm sure Sookie will be... wait, what?" Pam paused, unsure if she'd heard her maker correctly. "You're letting her go? Eric, the Yakuza aren't messing around!"
The air in the basement was charged, and when Eric turned to face her Pam could feel any anxiety melt away. He had the face of a man with a plan. "Pamela, do you really think I'm going to let our cash cow go free?" he asked, giving her a tiny smirk. "It won't take long for Gus to realize we've double crossed him, and in less than 24 hours he will bring the wrath of the Yakuza. You're going to go through the tunnel and take Ms. Newlin to Sookie's house. Wait for me there. If I'm not there by sunrise, use the bed beneath the living room and I will meet you at dusk."
He spun to go out the tunnel himself, but Pam grabbed his arm. "There's going to be men at Sookie's, what should I do with them?" she asked, causing him to clutch her in a one armed hug and deliver a kiss to her forehead.
"Use your imagination," he told her, an idea she loved, and after he was gone she wandered over to release Sarah's restraints.
"Looks like we're going on a field trip, I'd keep my mouth shut if I were you."
XXX
It would have been just as easy to run or drive to Bill Compton's house, but when you were a thousand-year-old Viking flair was everything. Eric touched down lightly in Bill's yard, then walked up to the front door and tapped his knuckles lightly against the wood. There was no motion inside the house. Finally he had to twist the knob and let himself in, eyebrows lifting as he peered around into the foyer.
"Bill?" he called, and there was a rustling in the office. Bill appeared in the doorway, looking pale and drawn, and Eric sighed. Perhaps this wasn't such a good idea after all.
"Eric, what are you doing here? Did Sookie inform you of my intentions?" Bill asked, in his old fashioned way. Eric never could understand why Bill couldn't just... get with the times. Perhaps it was because Eric had seen more of the world, but ever since Sookie had seemingly chosen Bill over him the younger vampire's genteel manner really grated on his nerves.
"Finally going to make an honest woman out of her?" Eric couldn't keep himself from sneering, causing Bill to wince.
"I've asked her to use her light. When she uses it to kill me, she'll be human and we'll both be free," Bill explained, a dreaminess covering his expression that Eric envied for a moment. If only things were really that simple. Still, if Sookie did agree to put Bill out of his misery, that meant he might have a chance... Eric had to shake the thoughts away, filing them for examination at another, less urgent time.
"Your Fairy assisted suicide will have to wait. We've got a small problem," Eric said, leaning his long form against Bill's desk. "That Hep-V cure you so cavalierly dismissed has turned into a real problem. I've... backed out of a deal with the Yakuza, and they're not going to take it very well."
Bill laughed a little, then coughed and slumped down into his desk chair. "Double crossing the Yakuza is not one of your more brilliant schemes. I suggest you leave Bon Temps as quickly as possible, if there's any place you can hide from them."
"Your concern is touching, but I'm sure you'll be interested to know that they're headed toward the house across the cemetery as we speak," Eric said, watching as Bill sat straight up in his seat.
"Sookie?"
"Yes, Sookie."
Bill slapped the desk, surging to his feet before remembering how weak he was. "Damn it, Eric, this is precisely the reason we must let her go, don't you see? Our very existence puts her in danger time and time again. I'm finished bringing darkness into her life."
"You'll have to save your noble sacrifices for later. I need..." Eric faltered, not wanting to say it, and he ground his teeth to keep the words coming. "I need your help. To protect her,"
He wanted to help, Eric could see it plainly in his face, but his shouldered still sagged with the defeat he'd seen in the Fangtasia basement. "I won't be much good to you in my current condition, I'm sure you realize that."
"I don't have a choice. We need all the help we can get, once Pam gets done slaughtering the first wave they will send everything they have to wipe us out. Particularly since we've got Sarah Newlin tied up in the Stackhouse basement," Eric explained in a flippant tone, twirling a paperweight between his long fingers and waiting to see if his plan to get Bill fired up was working. The younger vampire growled, a deep guttural sound from the base of his throat, and Eric had to hold out a hand to restrain him. "The sun is nearly up, Bill, and in your condition you'll just exhaust yourself racing over there. Pam will protect her until the sun goes down again. In the meantime we have calls to make."
XXX
Sookie had just put on her favorite worn pajamas and scrubbed her face clean when there was a knock on the door. She glanced at the clock, it was already 11:30. Who on earth would be calling at that time of night?
When she got to the living room she peered through the curtain, shocked to find a blood spattered Pam holding the arm of a tied up Sarah Newlin. She threw open the door, eyes going wide.
"Evening, Sookie, mind if we come in?" Pam drawled, pushing herself up from where she had been leaning against the door frame and pulling Sarah in behind her. The gagged woman stared at Sookie with pleading eyes, cries muffled by the strap stuffed into her mouth. Pam pushed Sarah into one of the kitchen chairs, turning to examine herself in the hall mirror.
Sookie simply gaped at her. "Pam, what are you doing here? Why are you covered in blood, where's Eric?"
Pam had finished re-applying her lipstick and turned to the shorter girl, a barely tolerant smile playing in her eyes. "There were some Japanese gentlemen in your yard that were planning on killing you. Don't make that face, I'll clean it up tomorrow night. Mind if I borrow something to wear?"
Without waiting for a response Pam grabbed Sarah by the arm again, practically dragging her up the stairs. Sookie looked at the phone, considering calling Eric or Bill, or maybe even Jason, but instead she followed the vampire up to her room. When she caught up with them Pam was rifling through her closet, an annoyed look on her face.
"Don't you own anything without a daisy or a kitten plastered on the front of it?" she complained, holding up a dress of Sookie's that would basically be a shirt on her.
"I still don't understand what you're doing here. Eric told those guys that I was just some fangbanger and pretended to glamour me," Sookie said, feeling that familiar tickle of dread that always accompanied a vampire emergency. When was she going to learn her lesson and just stay out of things?
Pam laughed, grabbing out another handful of clothes and tossing them onto the bed. They nearly hit Sarah, who was sitting obediently at the end. "Yeah, and it was so convincing. Don't ever take up acting. No, Gus didn't buy it, and now he knows you're the only other human who knows about Blondie here."
"So they're going to come kill me? Why am I not surprised?" Sookie huffed, sitting down next to Sarah and trying to ignore how bizarre the situation was. If anyone was used to the strange and awkward, it was Sookie Stackhouse.
"You're a danger magnet. In over a hundred years I've never seen anyone glide so effortlessly in and out of the jaws of death. 'Cept maybe me," Pam said, inhaling deeply as she reached in and pulled a dress from the back. It was red, and shiny like snake, and much too big for the petite Sookie. The tags were still on it. "Now this, I like."
She was naked before Sookie could react, stripping down without an ounce of shame and pulling the dress over her head. It fit like a second skin, and Sookie could feel a pang of sadness pulling at her lungs.
"That was Tara's. She tried to get me to wear it to a party at Arlene's a few summers ago, but it was just too much. I guess we both forgot about it."
There was a suffocating silence, and if Sookie didn't know better she would have thought there were bright red tears gathering in the corners of Pam's eyes.
"I know you miss her," Sookie said softly, standing up and moving in behind the blonde vampire. The words broke the spell, and Pam gave her an icy look before grabbing Sarah up by the arm and starting down the stairs.
"You don't know anything. It's time we got you situated for the day..." Sookie heard Pam tell Sarah, and she sat down on the bed with a sigh. How was she supposed to get any sleep now?
XXX
a/n: i know i shouldn't be starting a new fic when i've got two others in the works, but damn it, i can't stand it! i hate hate hated the ending, and i know just how i want it to play out. i'm going to give us the big bang of a finale we all deserve!