A/N: For headfilledwithbirds who gave me the prompt, although this is more the aftermath of what I was given rather than the actual prompt. Hope you like it anyway! The Nora/Pam relationship is AU as my head canon is that Pam knew who she was but not that she was in the Authority.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

As They Should Be

"We procreate because we want to and one day he will find someone that he wants to turn, where will you be then?"

Pam's lip curled in anger as Nora's words came back to haunt her.

"You want to be Eric Northman's punching bag for the rest of eternity, that's up to you, but I didn't sign up for that shit!"

Tara's words elicited a snarl of anger, even after all this time.

Her progeny had been against Eric from the start and her hatred, fuelled by her jealousy, had led to several heated exchanges between the pair.

Pam had eventually grown tired of her incessant whinging and insubordination and cut her loose, but that didn't mean that her words hadn't affected her.

"Get out of my sight before I kill you."

"You made another vampire?"
"I did."

She hadn't realised it at the time, but those two brief exchanges had spelled the beginning of the end for her.

It was bad enough that he had completely lost his head over Sookie, but his turning Willa had been a whole other ballgame.

He'd made another vampire within days of releasing her; to say that she felt replaced was an understatement.

No matter what feeble excuses he'd tried to make, the moment the danger had passed she'd left.

For the first time since her turning she was a free agent, Eric had no power to command her and Tara no longer had any claims on her.

It was liberating.

At first.

No matter where she went or what she did, the ache of losing him never really went away. After everything he had said and done, her traitorous heart still loved him.

And she missed him.

Which was why she was now standing in the middle of her walk-in wardrobe, freshly made up and naked as she tried to find a suitable outfit.

She frowned, what exactly did one wear when they returned to the Maker/lover/soul mate/best friend they hadn't seen in over fifty years?

Ex-lover, she corrected herself, ex-best friend.

She stopped her corrections there, unable to deny that – despite everything – he was still her soul mate and he would always be her Maker.

The problem was she couldn't decide what kind of impression she wanted to make and a part of her, one that was bigger than she cared to admit, was terrified that he hadn't missed her at all.

In the end she settled on a midnight blue dress, one that had absolutely no connection to her Maker or their life together but still showed off her figure to perfection.

She wasn't going to return with any outward sign of wanting to make amends, but that didn't mean that she couldn't look her best.

That resolution in mind, she gave herself a final once-over in the mirror and left her house.