Chapter 1 Going home

"It's so peaceful out here." Godric's calm voice floated across the dark night air to me as we stood on the banks of the rolling river and watched the water drift by lazily, moved along by the chilly breeze that had picked up since we had gotten out of the car over an hour ago. He turned towards me and in the light from the full moon, I could see his face clearly. He smiled gently at me and crossed his arms before saying "It's like everything is alright in the world. Like nothing bad has happened and all is calm and good. But it's fleeting, because underneath all the cloud of serenity, I know it's only the..."

"The calm before the storm." I finished for him, stepping closer to where he was and stuck my hands in my coat pockets with a sigh. "That's exactly what it is. By this time tomorrow night, we will be back in Bon Temps and we will have to confess everything. And that's when the shit is really going to hit the fan."

"Then perhaps we should have delayed this return by another week or two." He stated, his pale arms wrapping around his mid-section as he braced his feet against the grassy river bank and stared at the black water. "I find myself not quite ready to face all of this just yet."

I smiled at him and joined in on just looking out at the river as the thoughts of the past few days on the road hit us both and we fell silent for the next couple of minutes as we got lost in them. Ever since we had left Mystic Falls, it seemed like every night was spent like this, standing outside in the night discussing what the reaction was going to be like when we showed our faces for the first time. And it should have been tiring to always talk about it but it wasn't. Each time we got to the point where we had the same conversation, it always felt new like we were having it for the first time. And in some ways, it was a good thing, because we both had so much fear and apprehension about going back that we needed to get it out in some ways. And Godric was so easy to talk to about this since our fears mostly had to do with seeing Eric. It was one thing to talk to my friends or to even Sookie about how scared I was to see him again, but it was another thing entirely to talk to the vampire who had created Eric and who was just as terrified to see him as I was. It lent a closeness to our already close bond that no one would be able to understand even if there were words to describe it. And that made it slightly more easier to travel back home, knowing I had Godric at my side who was a much stronger being then I could ever be and who I could easily confess my fears to. He had quickly my closest confidant and I was beginning to realize that with all that had happened to us over the last couple of months and how bonded we were for our futures, he was really my best friend now and I couldn't have asked for a more suitable candidate. He was loyal, kind and understanding to the point where it was almost like our minds were one. There was nothing I couldn't talk to him about.

"It's ok if you don't feel ready to face this because I don't think I am either." I told him, tilting my head to the side to look at him. "But I also think that no matter how much time we put between the reunion, it's still going to be just as tough. And actually, the more time we delay it, the tougher it is going to be. I know first hand what it is like to know that others knew something about me and didn't tell me for months. That's what hurt the most. So as much as I want to put this off, I know we can't. We did it long enough and now we have to face up to it."

"You are much wiser then you think you are." Godric's face turned to meet mine and I saw there was a slight smile playing across his lips. "You have such an old soul for someone so young."

"I think it's just common sense but thank you." I grinned at the 2000 year old vampire as I moved closer and then sat down on the soft grass with my arms wrapped around my legs and my long hair blowing around my face. But it doesn't matter how logical either of us are, because nothing is going to prepare us for what we have to face."

"I just wish I could foresee what the reaction is going to be. It would make things easier if we knew for sure what to expect." Godric sighed heavily, sounding more down and lost then I had ever heard him sound before. He took a spot next to me and stretched his legs out in front of him and then said "Eric is not going to remain calm when he sees me and that is what I fear the most."

"I'm just so completely terrified about seeing him for the first time in months. I all this time trying not to think of him and ignoring his calls and messages and anything that had his name attached to it. I just carried around so much pain because of his screw up and I never wanted to see his face again. But now I'm returning home to do just that and it scares the crap out of me." I confessed, looking down at my feet as I spoke. I had so many conflicting emotions going off inside of me at once that I was almost dizzy from the pace of it all. "I don't know how I am going to do this. The last time we saw each other it was such a complicated goodbye and I don't know how I am going to feel when I am back in front of him again."

"It's because you still love him." Godric pointed out suddenly, giving voice to the very thing I had been keeping a secret even to myself. But now that it was spoken out loud, it all came flooding back to me and I was beginning to remember the extent of my love for Eric, a love that made been tainted by his mistake. Godric looked at me for a good long while and then said. "And that's ok. You can still love him despite what he did. It was his fault, not yours so don't feel like you have to forget how you felt about him. It's not wrong."

"How can I still love him when he doubted who he wanted at the time?" I asked Godric, frowning because I did not want to be dealing with this new complication. I did not want to remember just how much I had loved Eric because it would just remind me of that morning when I had heard him saw my cousin's name rather then my own and I certainly did not want to remember those first moments of pain. But no matter how much I wanted to just erase my involvement with Eric, I couldn't do that. Eric was in my heart whether I liked it or not. "How can I just pretend like it doesn't still hurt me?"

"No one is saying for you to forget that because there is no way that will happen. But don't carry around this pain forever, find some way to let it go and move on with or without him. That's your choice and your choice alone." Godric said to me with a nod of his head as we both continued looking out at the fast moving water. "But Eric made a mistake and from what I have learned,he regrets it and that's not easy for him to admit to. I know deep down that he is still very much in love with you and would do anything to make it right. And that makes it ok to still love him, because he has learned from his mistake."

"I don't want to talk about my future with Eric since I don't even know if I want a future with him. So let's just forget it for now." I said, closing off the topic of Eric and I for the time being and turned it to Godric. "What are you most afraid of when you see him?"

"His anger." Godric answered right away without hesitation, his face growing tight with concern. "I am most terrified of how angry he will be when the truth comes out. Eric takes things very hard and when he learns that I have been technically alive this whole time, he will become unhinged and that worries me."

"It worries me too." I agreed, already picturing just how violent Eric could possibly become. It reminded me of that one night in the kitchen when I mentioned how I had found out about Godric and their past together and he had thrown me on the floor and bit me. That had been terrifying and it scared me to think he would lash out like that again. "What if he attacks us out of anger?"

"Do not fear about your safety little Fae. I will protect you should the situation turn dangerous." Godric assured me in that calm way of his that made me hopeful that everything would eventually be alright. "I will handle Eric. No harm will come to you."

"Thank you." I told him, moving over to his side and reaching out so I could wrap my arms around his left arm and I leaned my head against his shoulder, grateful to have someone like him in my life. "Thank you for being my friend."

"I should be the one thank you. It's an honor to be considered your friend." Godric replied, and I could feel him turn his head before he pressed his cool lips against my forehead and whispered "It's going to be alright. I promise you that."

"I hope that's true."

Back in Bon Temps

"So this is finally it. We are actually done with wedding plans. I never thought we would finish." Sookie told her fiancee with a wide smile as she put down the phone after confirming a final flower delivery and turned her body to face him before sinking back against the couch cushions with a happy sigh. "And we finally get to get married next month. Is that incredible or what?"

"What's incredible is the amount of money we've spent for this ceremony and reception. Now that is hard to believe." Bill said back with a devilish grin as he ducked when she moved to whack him across the head. "Hey watch it, that's going to be spousal abuse once we are husband and wife."

"You're a vampire, you can handle it." Sookie teased, shaking her head playfully at him, feeling more happy then she had in a very long time. "I just can't believe that in 4 weeks, all this fighting for equal rights is going to culminate in our wedding. I can't think of a more perfect way to celebrate it."

"Well, I think the obvious thing to do would be to call Allison right now at her apartment and tell her the good news." Bill pointed out with a carefree smile on his pale face. "She will be so excited to hear this. And now we can finally entice her to come home."

"You are so right. I knew I was marrying you for a good reason." Sookie smirked when Bill's eyes widened in mock offense as she grabbed her phone again and flipped it open. "I can't wait to talk to her, I haven't spoken to her in a while."

"She will be thrilled to hear from you I am sure." Bill nodded, turning to the paper work in front of him while she hit the speed dial for Allie's land line and held the phone to her ear to wait for the pick up. Bill kept on glancing at her with this smile on his lips that reflected the one on Sookie's face and she just couldn't wait to be able to call him her husband. This was a turning point in their lives and Sookie was excited to share the news with her cousin. But when the line stopped ringing, she was shocked by the voice that came on the other line.

"..I'm sorry, but the number you have dialed has been disconnected and canceled. Please hang up and try your call again..."

"That's strange." Sookie muttered, pulling the phone away from her ear and pressed the end button before looking at Bill with a frown. "It says the line has been disconnected. What the hell is that about?"

"I have no idea, but maybe she just had it canceled so she only had to deal with one phone bill." Bill suggested, not looking worried and therefore she didn't feel the need to. "Why don't you try her cell phone? She always picks up when you call that number."

"That is true." Sookie nodded, the smile back on her face at this suggestion. Allison did indeed always pick up her cell phone when Sookie called so this is what made her mind go to ease when she looked for Allie's cell phone in her contacts list and hit send. She once again put the phone to her ear and listened for the ringing while reaching for Bill's hand and squeezed it happily. Any second now Allie would pick up and Sookie knew she would be finding herself screaming the good news. Any second now it would happen...

"This number is no longer available. Please try your call again."

"Ok that is not right." Sookie frowned even harder then before as she shut the phone and tossed it on the table in front of her. "That number is also canceled. What is going on?"

"Don't worry, I'm sure it is just something minor." Bill said, his hand instantly returning to her hands and he held them in his palms while looking at her intently. "I wouldn't read too much into it."

"But you know me and you know how my mind works. If I can't get a hold of her then I am always going to assume the worse and right now is no different." Sookie retorted with a deep frown as she sat there with her future husband and silently fumed. She didn't want to automatically jump to conclusions but the evidence was there to support that something was out of sorts. Allison was so adamant about picking up her cell phone every time she got a call, especially when it was Sookie calling. So for her cousin to not only not pick up and to have her number canceled, something had to be going on. It just had to be and that was the point she tried to make to Bill. "Something has to be wrong if both numbers are not working."

"I know you are starting to get yourself all worked up which is why I am going to cut you off at the pass." Bill commented, moving across the couch and wrapping his arm around her. "But honestly I wouldn't get all freaked out just yet. It's probably nothing to worry about. She may have just lost her cell phone and was just doing the right thing by canceling the number until she gets a new one. That could be all there is to it."

"I hope that is the case." Sookie grumbled, still not entirely convinced that all was right with her cousin. It made her very nervous to not have a way of getting in touch with her. Especially when it seemed like Allie's mind was more locked up then normal these days so she couldn't even read her thoughts. "I hope it's not something more serious."

"I'm sure it's not. So please don't worry yourself about it. Allison is fine and she will be in touch soon enough."

Later that night

"I still cannot believe you threw my phone out the window." Allison said to him as they sat inside her car on the side of the road while she ate her late night dinner and he sat there behind the wheel drinking his 3rd bottle of blood. She took a sip of her ice tea and raised her eyebrow at him. "Now I know where Eric gets his anger problems from."

"I apologize for that. I will buy you a new phone when we get back." Godric promised the girl next to him as he watched her giggle at his actions from just an hour ago. "But your phone annoyed me and I got frustrated."

"It's a touch-screen phone Godric, get with the times already." She teased, pushing her hair back out of her face as she continued to laugh at him. "Sometimes you are so old fashioned when it comes to modern day technologies like cellphones."

"Perhaps I am." He agreed, not having all that much interest in these silly little gadgets like humans and some vampires did. But the situation had turned out to be something they both could laugh about and it helped put him at ease when he saw the smile on her face. And he made a point to mention it to her. "You know, it helps to see you smile. It puts me in a more relaxed state so I can prepare myself for the trials that are waiting for me when I reunited with Eric."

"I have to say, being around you has made my stress and anxiety levels go down considerably so I too feel more ready for whatever is awaiting us." Allison told him, throwing her garbage in a plastic bag and started tying it up while she looked at him suddenly and sighed. "But you're still scared. I can feel it in you."

"I was hoping to hide that from you." Godric admitted, pressing his lips together tightly in a firm line. He didn't want the girl to be worrying herself over his feelings of nervousness about going home to see his child. But with their strong blood bond, it just wasn't logical for him to expect that he could keep this hidden from her. So that was why he decided to confide in her. "I still find myself worried about Eric's reaction."

"You still fear the onslaught of his fury when you finally emerge back in his life?" Allison's young face twisted into a saddened expression at his words and she reached over and surprised him when she placed her hand on his. "He's going to be angry but you said yourself that he would get over it eventually."

"I did say that, but I was wondering just how much of that is going to end up being true." Godric found himself frowning down at his lap as he spoke to the very deepest fear he had since being resurrected. He hadn't wanted to dwell on it too much because it was a worry that had been threatening to overtake him for weeks now. But he had to get it out of his system before it forced itself out in another way. "I worry that even when Eric does let go of the anger and hatred that he has for me, that we may never reclaim the former closeness we used to have as maker and child. And we were not like any other vampires with that bond. Our bond was special and I fear that I may lose that forever."

"I honestly don't think you will. Eric and I may not have ever really talked about you all that much, but I know how much he cared for you and how badly he mourned your passing. And even though he will be angry, he will come to accept your place in his life again. I just know it." Allison assure him in that innocent, almost naïve way of viewing the world. Still, he took her words to heart when she spoke again. "Besides, you're still Eric's maker and you have some control over what happens."

"That is true." Godric agreed, knowing there was truth in her statement despite his doubts about the situation. He was Eric's maker and therefore he had the power to insert over his child if he needed to make Eric do something to ensure that there was progress made. "I just don't know what I would do with myself if I lost that closeness."

"You won't lose it. I say that with complete certainty. Eric would be an idiot and a complete asshole if he pushed you out of his life." Allison told him with a carefree grin that seemed to echo the amusement in her tone. "Oh wait, Eric is an idiot and an asshole. My bad."

"And once more, you have quenched my fears with your assurance and humor, like a true friend would. Thank god you have entered my life." Godric said to her, truly grateful that she had been the one to bring him back to life and that he was now connected to by way of blood. He had gotten lucky when she popped up in both Eric's life and her life. She was kind and giving and sweet and would do anything to ensure the happiness of those around her, including him and he had never come across a girl like her in all his years. She was something else alright and she rebuilt his trust in his faith that life would take care of itself in the best possible way. He was grateful for her presence in his life. He smiled at her again and then turned his hand over so their palms were connected before saying "I have a strong feeling you and I will be tightly bonded for the rest of our lives even if we weren't bound by blood. I can't explain it, but it's one of those rare things that I feel certain about."

The next night

"Eric you have to get a hold of yourself. This way of thinking is not healthy and you know that. You have to see how crazy this all is and sounds."

"I'm not crazy. I'm perfectly sane."

"I don't think you are crazy, just this situation you have concocted in your head is crazy. I mean, you are claiming to feel something from your bond with Godric. And that's not possible and I know you know that. Godric is dead Eric and I know it hurts you to remember that but he is dead and he is not coming back. He can't come back. So I don't understand why you are doing this to yourself."

"I'm not doing anything. I know very well that my maker is dead and that all bonds should have been cut off when he met the sun. But I know what I felt and I felt something from that bond. And nothing you can say is going to make me think otherwise. Something happened to have made that bond suddenly come alive the way it did. And I want to understand why that is."

"I get that you are stressed out right now with Allison being gone but thinking that you are feeling Godric's bond grow is not the way to deal with it. And I'm really starting to worry about you."

"I told you before that there is nothing to worry about and to drop this. So do as I say."

"But Eric..."

"Don't make me command you Pam."

Pam tapped her fingers along the edge of the bar counter inside of Fangtasia as she thought back to her conversation with Eric from the night before and she grew even more concerned as she relived it inside of her head. It wasn't often that she thought about the same thing night after night, but when it came to her maker, she found herself doing just that. Eric's behavior had been troubling to say the least. He was already tough to deal with when it was just about Allison being gone, at least then he was acting like his normal stuck up self. But ever since that night she had seen him in his office when he said he felt something, it had all started spiraling downward. Almost every night he sat up on that stage with his chin in his hand and glared at anyone who came within 2 feet of him. The customers were already scared of him on a normal basis, but now they were completely terrified to the point where no one was coming into the bar. In fact, there was absolutely no one in the bar tonight at all. And that was very bad. Eric's behavior and attitude was scaring away the customers and if they didn't have customers then they didn't have a business, and if they didn't have business then that meant no money coming in for either of them. So now she was sitting there in the empty bar with no stupid humans to scare and she was getting annoyed. It was time to fix things and she knew just the right way to do it.

In a flash she grabbed the phone from behind the counter and dialed a familiar number, waiting for it to be picked up while she scratched a deep line into the shiny wood of the counter that Eric would never even notice. He barely noticed anything these days. But she did notice when the line connected and was picked up by an annoyed female voice. Pam grinned, her mood instantly rising as she said "Well hello Sookie, nice of you to answer my call."

"What do you want Pam?" The blonde telepathic waitress didn't even bother to waste time with a greeting and just immediately wanted to know what she was needed for since it wasn't normal for anyone from Fangtasia to call without a specific reason. "You never call unless you need a favor. So what is it?"

"Oh but Sookie you hurt my feelings. Maybe I just wanted to chat with a hot piece of ass like you." Pam said, knowing it would disgust the girl immensely which is why she had to say it. But then her tone switched and before she allowed Sookie to come up with a response, she spoke again. "You're right, I do need a favor. It's about Eric."

"What has he done now?" Sookie demanded, already sounding like she wanted to say no which didn't surprise Pam at all since the older Stackhouse girl had a huge hatred for her maker.

"He's acting crazy again and I'm getting concerned that he is going to wind up doing something more stupid then usual. He keeps insisting that he's feeling his bond with Godric but we both know that's not possible and its time we put a stop to this insane idea he has come up with." Pam explained, glad that Eric hadn't shown up yet to overhear her saying this to the human. He would be furious and his punishment for her would come swift. But she needed to do this, his sanity was at stake here and she was willing to do whatever it took to make him the bad ass that she had known. "This obsession he has with thinking that bond is alive again is just not healthy."

"Well what do you want me to do about it?" Sookie asked, sounding like she was pacing across a wooden floor as her steps came clear through the phone. "How am I supposed to help Eric?"

"Call Allison and get her to come home." Pam bluntly said, knowing that it was the one shot she had at getting Eric back to his old self. "I don't care what you have to do or say to get that girl back to Bon Temps but do it. She's the only one that can restore Eric's sanity."

"That's going to be a bit of a problem."

"Why is that?" Pam immediately went on the defensive at the idea that her solution may not even be able to be put into action.

"Well you see, I was with Bill when I actually tried to call her but as it turns out, both of her numbers have been disconnected so I can't get in touch with her." Sookie explained, her news stumping Pam and bringing that idea to a screeching halt. "Bill says its nothing to worry about and it is probably something minor like she lost her phone."

"What about entering her mind and reading her thoughts?" Pam suggested, just as the idea flash into her head. "Maybe that's how you can talk to her."

"I already tried doing that and it failed. It's like she is blocking her mind from me more intensely then she ever has before."

"Well that just fucks up the whole evening." Pam hissed, not at all accustomed to being at a loss of what to do next. She always had something up her sleeve when other plans failed. She liked having backup but in this case there was no back up and she was furious at that. "This is just perfect. Allison was the one person who could have gotten Eric out of his head. And no one can contact her. Just perfect. I don't know what to do now."

"You really are worried about Eric aren't you?" Sookie's voice had taken on a more soft tone that suggested she was warming up to the possibility of taking a different approach to the problem. "Do you really think it is that bad?"

"Yes or else I wouldn't have called begging you for help." Pam muttered, her manicured hand gripping her dark blonde hair tightly. " I need to do something about him. It's been going on for weeks and it needs to stop or else something bad is going to happen."

"Look, I don't really like putting myself in that place any more then I have to but what if Bill and I came by Fangtasia in like an hour and see if maybe we can get through to Eric?" Sookie suggested and in the background Pam could make out Bill's voice protesting the idea but Sookie chose to ignore him. "I don't like Eric for obvious reason, but I know he still means a lot to Allison and she wouldn't want him to be in any kind of pain. So we'll come by as soon as we can."

"It's the only other option we have. So get here right now."

60 minutes later

"Wow, I can't believe I am actually back in Bon Temps." I mumbled mostly to myself as Godric drove down the roads I told him to and looked around at the scenery that was unchanged since I had left over 4 months ago. I don't know what I expected to see when I finally returned but I thought it would feel or look different then when I was here last. But it wasn't. Nothing had changed in the slightest in all this time. And in fact I felt like I had only been gone for a few days rather then a few months. I felt right back at home on these dirt roads as we passed by the familiar houses I used to walk by with Sookie on our days off. The roads were the same as were the houses and building we drove by, nothing out of place and nothing updated. We even passed by the graveled path that lead up to Merlotte's but I tried not to think about that too much since I still felt the sting from Sam's mean spirited goodbye. I instead managed to push away the lump that had risen up in my throat and directed him to the house that Sookie and I lived in. As he drove I fell silent, knowing that it would only be another few minutes until I was officially home and that was freaking me out. I could feel my blood rushing through every vein and artery in my body and my heart pounding so hard in my chest that Godric had to place his hand on my wrist to calm me down so I could practice breathing normally. I wasn't prepared for this. This was such a bad idea. Any second I would be showing up at my house and seeing my cousin for the first time in months and I just didn't know how to explain why I had come home suddenly.

"It doesn't appear that she's home." Godric said, breaking me out of my thoughts with his voice and the sound of the car turning onto the graveled driveway in front of our house. I had been silently freaking out so much that I hadn't even realized how quickly he had followed my directions and got us here. But now he had pulled my car to a stop on the side of the house and turned the engine off, putting us into silence as I stared out the window at my old home and saw that he was right. Sookie was indeed not home.

"The lights are all off and her car isn't here." I mumbled, reaching for the door handle and letting myself out into the much warmer air of Bon Temps but where it was still cold enough to the point where I didn't shed my coat. I looked up at the two story house and looked for any sign that I might have missed but there was none. It wasn't like Sookie parked her car any where else on the property. She was a creature of habit and always parked her yellow car on the side of the house where mine currently was. So if it wasn't in that spot then she definitely wasn't here. I looked over at Godric who had also gotten out of the car and was currently disconnecting the trailer from the back of my car with ease. I wrapped my arms around myself and went over to him. "She's not here."

"Perhaps she is working." Godric suggested as he easily ripped off the connecting chains and dropped the bar attached to the trailer on the ground so my car was now free from it. "Should we go by Merlotte's?"

"It's a Wednesday night and she never works on this night unless something changed in her schedule and that almost never happens." I said thoughtfully, tapping my fingers to me chin. "Where else would she be?"

"She might be with Mr. Compton at his residence. Didn't you say they were engaged to be married? She is most likely there." Godric stated, his hands going to his pockets as he looked around at the property with a curious eyes. " We could check his house next."

"That seems to be the most logical option." I agreed, turning back to the car and taking Godric place behind the wheel while he hopped into the passenger seat. "Alright, let's just hope that they are there when we arrive."

"I'm sure they will be aware of visitors, or at least Bill will, by how hard your heart is pounding." Godric pointed out with a grin as I pulled out of the driveway with a squeal of my tires. "Any vampire in a 10 mile radius will hear that racket. You need to calm down. It's going to be ok."

"You know, it wasn't all that long ago when I was the one assuring you of that." I reminded him, driving down the darkened road at the fastest legal speed I could crank out. I suppose we could have just gone across the field and through the cemetery. But if Sookie and Bill weren't at the house then I didn't want to waste any time having to go back for my car. If I wasted time, then I may never be able to have the strength to go through with the events of tonight. I didn't want to face them, but I also didn't want to hide from it any more. "But I guess we will find out when we get there."

"Look at it this way..." Godric began to say, turning his face to look at me in the dark interior of my car. "At least we are trying to make progress. That has to count for something. Right?"

"That remains to be seen."

At Fangtasia

"You know, in all the times we ever came here, it has never looked quite like this." Sookie found herself saying to Bill as he pulled her car to a stop along side the fence in the Fangtasia parking lot and turned off the engine as he too took in the empty space around them. Sookie frowned, feeling something odd hanging in the air as she and her fiancee stepped out and slammed the doors behind them. "There's no cars besides mine here. There's no loud music that we can normally hear through the walls. And there's no line of fang bangers standing outside the door. What's that about?"

"Perhaps Pam wasn't exaggerating when she said Eric's behavior was off these last few weeks. So maybe that drove away business." Bill replied, placing his hand on the inside of her elbow and started leading her to the door. "Maybe Eric really does need us to pull him out of this funk."

"I wish I had said no. I don't really have a desire to help Eric." Sookie grumbled, honestly wishing she could go back on her promise to Pam to snap Eric out of his own head but she couldn't. "But I know Allie would be upset if I didn't attempt to put that aside. She still cares for him."

"You sure about that?" Bill wondered, his hand leaving hers to pull open the front door for her. "The last time Allie and Eric were in the same room together, she was very upset and angry. I don't think she would hold it against you if you didn't want to help him."

"You obviously have no idea how a woman's mind work do you Bill?" She asked, shaking her head at his lack of understanding and stepped through the doorway and out onto the floor of the bar. She immediately spotted Pam pacing on the other side of the room, so caught up in her head that she never noticed their arrival or their movements across the floor and around the empty tables. Sookie had almost reached her when Pam looked up and finally spotted them, relief flooding her pale face as Sookie stood before her. "Hey, we're here."

"It took you long enough." She muttered, her eyes very obviously moved up and down the length of her body in a very amused way but still made Sookie feel incredibly uneasy. "I thought you two would never get here."

"I said we would come as soon as we could. Our lives are not going to stop just because you need help with Eric." Sookie replied, feeling safer when she stepped closer to Bill's side and stared back at Pam. "So be grateful that we came at all."

"I will hold that off until some actual progress is made. And then we'll talk." Pam rolled her eyes so fast that it didn't even look like there was color in them, it was creepy.

"Why is this place so deserted?" Bill questioned, motioning with his hand around the room that was completely void of any one, vampire or human. It was just them three and it had never been like that ever before. And that was exactly what Bill pointed out. "I can't remember a night when it has had less then 40 people and a full line waiting outside. Not only is there no one here, but there is no car to be seen anywhere near here. Why is that?"

"Have you not been paying attention to what I have been telling you about Eric's behavior for the past 3 weeks?" Pam snapped, her eyes turning to slits as she glared at them. "Eric has been scaring everyone off with his charming attitude as of late."

"Even more so then usual?" Sookie couldn't help but push and she ended up with Pam almost in her face because of it.

"Do not push me tonight. I am not in the mood to deal with your backtalk." Pam hissed, her fangs shooting out in flash of white and Sookie grabbed onto Bill instinctively when she saw this sight. Pam seemed pleased and stepped back to a more comfortable distance but her fangs remained out. "And yes, Eric is more tough to be around then usual. And the customers are picking up on it, hence why no one has come in. Something has to be done."

"I don't know what you expect me to do." Sookie sighed, rubbing her hand across her face as she and Pam locked eyes. "If Eric won't listen to you, then what makes you think he will listen to me?"

"I don't know, but you have to try. Maybe hearing that this is all crazy from someone else will change things. Maybe it will get through to him." Pam shrugged before nodding behind her to a door in the wall behind the bar. "He arrived 20 minutes ago. He's hiding out in his office."

"I guess that is our cue to go start talking sense into him..."

At Bill's house

"What the fuck? He's not here and neither is she. Damn you!" Allison said from her spot up on the front porch as she stood there with her hands on her hips and stomped her feet on the weathered wooden planks while he just leaned against the car and grinned.

They had arrived at Bill's house 10 minutes ago and even though Sookie's car was no where to be seen, Allison still insisted on checking out the whole property. She found the spare key and let herself into the house while he waited outside, not feeling like it was proper for him to go inside another vampire's house without permission even though Allie said it was ok. He could hear her footsteps even from out here as she ran from room to room on the first floor looking for whatever it was that she was hoping to find. And then she raced up the stairs and ran around some more before she came back outside after locking the door, only to tell him there was no sign of them anywhere.

"This is bullshit I tell you." Allison shouted, stomping down the steps with her hands tucked under her arms as she came across the grass and stood in front of him. "Is the universe getting pleasure from watching me run around like an idiot?"

"I don't know about the universe, but I am certainly being amused by this." Godric teased, a laugh escaping his lips as her face filled up with annoyance.

"Not funny Godric, not funny at all." She hit him in the shoulder with the heel of her hand before turning around and leaning her back against the car like him. "But seriously, this has to be one cosmic joke. We finally decide to come back and tell the truth to the people closest to us and when we finally get to town, no one is around. What the heck?"

"It does seem like fate is intervening and preventing us from spilling the truth." Godric agreed, managing to keep a serious look on his face despite the urge to laugh. "But we will find out where they are and take it from there."

"I mean I know I am freaking out about seeing everyone, but frankly this is just pissing me off." She told him, her smalls hands reaching up to grab her hair. "I just want to get this all out of my head and we can't find anyone to tell it too."

"You need to just relax or we will never be able to go through with this. So just breathe already and calm the hell down." He urged her, his words seeming to get through to her as she nodded and dropped her arms down to her side while forcing out long, steady breaths. Godric smiled. "Ok, now that you are somewhat less frantic, lets put our heads together and think. Where else would be they be?"

"Well, if her car is gone and I know she isn't at work, then she is most likely with Bill. And if they aren't here together, then they are out somewhere. But where?" Allison asked more to herself then to him but he still paid attention in case she was asking him. She hadn't stopped talking for more then two seconds before her face lit up and she said. "I know where they are."

"Where?" Godric stood up straight, having a feeling that this was the lead they needed after seeing the look on her face.

"Shreveport." She answered simply, her lips pressing together as her hands came back up to her hair and began tugging on the long strands. "They must be at Fangtasia with Eric and Pam."

"You think?" Godric felt stupid for asking because he knew that had to be it. There was no other answer.

"Yes, they have to be. It's the only other place I can think of. So let's go." Allison said to him as she rushed back around the front of the car to jump behind the wheel at the same time he got him. They were off within a few seconds and Godric knew that they were on their way to finally facing their pasts head on.

Back at Fangtasia

"Um Eric, can we talk?" Sookie asked hesitantly as Pam lead her and Bill into the office where the viking was hiding out by his desk and sat down on the chairs in front of him while Pam stood by the door with arms crossed waiting for them to get started.

"If you feel the need, then go right on ahead." Eric replied like the smart ass that he was, only he didn't look nearly as arrogant as he sounded. And Sookie could see what Pam meant when she said Eric was driving away business. Part of Eric's appeal was that when he was out on that stage he was sitting there scanning the crowd looking tough and smug and completely above everyone in the room. But the vampire sitting in front of her was hunched over, weak looking and looked like he could care less about being the center of attention. That wasn't what people were used to seeing and it must have thrown them for a loop. Especially at the sight of the blood trickling down from Eric's ears and nose.

"Have you rested at all in the past couple of days?" Sookie asked, glancing at Pam who shook her head in answer for her master. She turned to look at Eric who was just sitting there with his chin in his hand and a glazed over look in his eyes. "Eric you need to rest. This isn't healthy."

"I have no time for rest." He said, his voice not sounding like his own and to be honest, it made her nervous. It just wasn't like Eric to be this sulking, weak mess. "I have things to figure out. Meanings to learn."

"Yea, um Pam mentioned that to me earlier." Sookie pointed out, looking at Bill who nodded at her to continue as he and Eric never got along enough to have a serious conversation. "I just have to know why you are torturing yourself like this."

"It's not torture when I know for certain that something is going on." Eric responded, turning his blue eyes on her with a glare. "I'm not crazy."

"I never said you were." Sookie quickly said, knowing that any moment the situation could take a turn for the worse and Eric could snap just like that. And no one wanted to be on his bad side. It was the most dangerous place to be.

"I know that look. And it's the same one Pam has been using on me for weeks. So don't think I don't notice it." Eric hissed, life returning to his eyes and he actually sat up when he talked, almost making himself look like his old self. "So just say it."

"Alright fine. This whole idea you have cooked up in your head about feeling your bond with Godric is insane." Sookie shot back, raising her eyebrows at him without a second thought. "Even you have to admit that this isn't all that possible. It's not right."

"I'm not wrong. I know what I felt and I am not wrong." Eric insisted, pushing back from the desk with his feet and gripped the arms of his chair. "If it's not possible then explain why I felt it from the bond in the first place."

"Honestly, I think you just imagined it because you are angry that Allison hasn't come home yet and this is your way of getting it out of your system. By putting it all into this new obsession." Sookie told him, looking at Pam again who was staring at Eric with sadness in her eyes, a look that had never been present on her face except for one time. She was worried about Eric and Sookie could see that and that was why she had to be brutally blunt with Eric in the hopes that it would get through to him. "Eric, you need to understand that you are not feeling Godric's bond. Godric is dead. I saw him meet the sun, remember? So it's not possible that you are feeling his bond. I wish you could but its not a possibility. And it never can be. He's dead and he's not coming back. The sooner you accept that the better."

"Believe what you want, but I know I am right and I will prove it to all of you." The viking's eyes were filled with a look of determined to figure out the answer to something that Sookie, Bill and Pam knew did not exist. Godric was gone and there was no way that Eric could be feeling a flicker of that dead bond. He was making something out of nothing and it was beginning to make him look unhinged and that was more dangerous then when he was himself. But it didn't stop him from trying to make his point. "Something is going on. I just know it is and I will figure it out. And then you won't be the ones calling me crazy."

"Oh I think we still will be." Pam groaned over by the door as they had to sit there and listen as Eric's words turned to madness.

Outside

"That's Sookie's car." I said to Godric as I pulled into the empty parking lot of Fangtasia with my blood rushing inside of my ears as my eyes landed on the vehicle we had been seeking out all evening. She was here just like we had suspected and Bill couldn't be far behind. They were in the same building together with Pam and Eric, all the people we needed to talk to in one spot and that made me incredibly nervous. I managed to put the car in park and yank the keys out of the ignition before proceeding to drop them on the floor at my feet without making any move to retrieve them. Godric was the one who leaned over and scooped up the keys, setting them in the cup holder in the middle of the seats while I sat here with my hands in my lap and my entire body shaking with frantic nerves. "Oh god, this is really it. This is really going to happen. I'm going to walk in there and see everyone for the first time in months. Oh dear god, I can't handle this."

"It will be fine, you just need to remind yourself of that." Godric told me, his hand instantly going to mine and squeezing it tightly to comfort me. "You know what to expect. You know there will be shock and anger and hurt feelings. We have discussed this and you know what is likely to happen. So just keep that mind and you will be ok."

"I'm just so scared even knowing what is going to happen. It's still terrifying." I whispered, gripping his cold hand tightly as my other hand grabbed at my long hair. I never thought I would be as nervous as I was right now despite the strong mask I had been keeping up from time to time. It was one thing to pretend that everything was going to be ok when we were out of state and on the road. But now we were sitting in my car right outside of Fangtasia, knowing that my cousin and Bill were inside with Eric and Pam. That knowledge brought on a whole new set of flurries inside my stomach. I turned to Godric and asked desperately. "Do you think I can do this?"

"I have no doubt about this." Godric said with confidence in his voice that I wished I could steal some of for myself. "I have told you time and time again that you are much stronger then you give yourself credit for and you need to hold on to that. You have so much power in you and I have seen it for myself."

"Just because I am a full blooded Faerie doesn't mean I am some all powerful being that never gets scared of things like this." I told him, motioning to the building in front of us. "I can over power vampires and bring dead vampires back to life so I know I have a power in me. But the idea of facing my cousin and Bill and Eric and Pam terrifies me to the point where I feel like I am just some normal human."

"You're not the only one who is scared here." Godric reminded me, his hand leaving mine to run through his short brown hair. "I have more at stake when I reveal myself to them. Especially when everyone is under the assumption that I am dead. This will be more of a shock to them then when they see you."

"It will just be a night of shockers then." I sighed, sitting back in my seat with my arms crossed as I stared through the windshield at the building. "I wonder if they know we are here."

"If they saw your car on the security monitors then I think they would have been out here by now." Godric said, also staring at the bar's front door and it made me wonder how long it had been since he had stepped foot in there. His face showed that he was calm, but obviously with a blood bond as strong as ours, I could feel his nerves beginning to take hold. He turned to me with a tight lipped smile. "I will go with you if you need me to."

"You have no idea how much I would love to say yes to that because it would be great to have someone to lean on. But I can't let you do that." I reluctantly replied, wishing more then anything that I could just let him go in with me. But the logical side of me knew that the two of us popping up at the same time would just make the situation more volatile. And I told him this. "It just may make things worse if you show up at my side the first time they see me in months. I mean, its one thing to spring one surprise on them but to shock them with an even bigger surprise would just not be good. So I will go in alone and try and prepare the others for you. And hopefully that way, they will be more receptive."

"We don't have to do this right now." Godric said suddenly, his bond with me flaring up with an idea. "We can put it off for a while longer. We can take more time and ease into it another way."

"That is so tempting but if I don't do it now, then any time away may make me not do it at all." I sighed, releasing my hands from where they had been gripping my knees and stretched out my fingers. "I can't put this off any more. I did it for too long and it's time to put myself back where I belong. No more hiding No more keeping this a secret."

Inside the bar

"Oh boy, I knew he wasn't going to let this go." Sookie muttered nervously to Bill as they followed Pam and Eric out of the office onto the main floor of the bar where Eric stomped over to the counter and began pulling out bottle of true blood and started chugging them down as if he were a human male drinking a beer. When he was done with one, he went for the next without stopping until all of them were empty and lying on the counter on their sides. "Eric can you take a chill pill and just calm down."

"And why should I do that?" He asked, turning his eyes on her in such a way that Bill felt the need to step in front of her out of protectiveness. Eric paid no attention and just went on talking. "None of you seem to grasp the seriousness of the situation."

"Eric, the only situation here is the one of you seeming to have lost all sense of your sanity." Pam snapped, speaking up from her spot against the wall where she had settled. "You need to get yourself together."

"She's right, as much as that hurts me to admit." Sookie agreed, ignoring Pam's triumphant smile. "You can't keep clinging to this idea that you are feeling Godric. You know that isn't real."

"Don't tell me what is real and what isn't." Eric demanded, slamming his fist on the counter. "I know what happened and it doesn't matter what any of you say. There is a reason why I felt a flicker from my bond with Godric and instead of giving me a hard time about it, you should be worrying about what it means. Call Allison and tell her, she would think this was something to..."

"We can't do that Eric." Pam said, looking between Sookie and Bill and then over to Eric. "Both of her numbers have been disconnected. No one can get in touch with her."

"And you didn't think this was something I should know about?" Eric questioned, his voice going dark as his hands gripped the counter so hard that it began to splinter. He then turned his focus on Sookie and said. "Get into her mind and talk to her. I want Allison back here as soon as possible."

"I tried that already, I really did but I couldn't forge a connection." Sookie explained, remembering all the times she had tried to enter her cousin's mind and it had failed time and time again. She didn't want to tell this to Eric but she had no choice when he was the one who brought it up in the first place. "She's blocking me from reading her thoughts."

"So no one can get in touch with her?" Eric demanded, coming from behind the bar and before anyone could even blink, he rushed over to a nearby table and promptly picked it up and threw it across the room where it hit the wall and shattered until it was nothing but a pile of woods. And then he grabbed the chair and tossed it in the same direction. "You all are useless. What if something happened to her?"

"She may have just lost her phone Eric. I doubt this is anything to worry about." Bill tried to say but Eric sent him such an evil look that he immediately clammed up. No one else said anything while Eric continued to scream and shout about the situation from start to finish about their disbelief that he felt his bond with Godric all the way to them not having a way to speak with Allison. Their worries had come true and Eric was slipping off of the edge and losing the remaining parts of his sanity. And as he went to throw another chair across the room, Sookie worried that this was it and no one could bring him back now.

But that theory ended when their attention was captured by the front door of the bar opening and a pair of footsteps walking across the floor and stopping in their tracks on the opposite side of the room. All four of them shoot their heads to the side to lay their eyes on the one girl they had just been yelling about. The girl no one had been able to contact and who hadn't been seen in months. And there she stood with her arms wrapped around herself and a nervous smile on her face before opening her mouth and saying.

"Guess who returned home."

A/n: and there you have it...the first chapter of the 3rd fic...hope it was as good as you all were expecting...and now you will push that review button and freak out...cant wait to write the next chapter