Author's Note-This is the season finale story for season 8.…the story after this one will pick up after this and be the start of season 9.….thanks for reading

PART ONE

Chapter 1

The letter had been vague and she left some vague information in it telling those in her life who would no doubt worry about her that she would be home. When, she didn't say but she had left instructions, namely that no one come after her. She needed time. Time to process things, time to accept that things had happened that were not able to be undone and though she understood well enough that it had been some insane siren that had been responsible for the drama in their lives once more, the fact remained that she knew something that he had yet to admit to her. That he had liked it. Wanted it. And she knew he was shamed. Of that she had no doubt and it gave her some comfort. But she had trusted him more than anyone else and once more, she found herself hurt. Damaged. Untrusting. She had, however, not left the one thing behind that she had thought about doing and as she paused in her hotel room to look at the ring on her left hand, she sighed, hoping she was doing the right thing. Getting away for awhile, she thought, was for the best. It would give her time to recover and perhaps heal. She hated leaving Arlene short staffed but in the text she had shot her a little while ago, she had poured her heart out to her and in her reply, her boss and friend had been very sympathetic and promised she would, in fact, have a job to return to.

The hotel she had traveled to was a place she had been to before, though it had been some time. using her magic, she had so far been able to keep her identity discreet. That she had not been discovered here yet was surprising because she knew at least two people could track her down thanks to blood shared between them. But to their credit, no doubt owing to his wanting to respect her space, he hadn't come seeking her out, let alone sent Pam to do so. Still, as much as she missed her home, her friends and family, she had to get away from it all for awhile. The fact was that he was truly unforgiving for what he had done, that she knew there was a sliver of…. She shook her head, stopping the perennial train of painful thoughts, instead heading to the bathroom where she would spend a good hour soaking in a foamy bliss. She had to laugh, albeit coldly, that she had traveled half way across the country to escape her life, if only temporarily. This hotel was a place she had been before and though it catered to the undead too, the Hotel Carmella was also a very secure and safe place to be, relatively speaking, compared to her places she had pondered going to. But here she was, on her own, back in Dallas and at least this time it wasn't for helping someone out or getting herself into trouble deep. Though she almost would have preferred if that were the case, rather than stewing in her emotions. With a heavy sigh, she finally got out of the bath and soon was in one of the plush hotel robes, flowing through the channels on the flat screen out of boredom.

"This is fun…" she said as she went to one of the two bags she had so hastily packed during the time she had back at her house. Everything had been literally tossed into the bags and there had been no rhyme nor reason to that which she had packed. All she knew was she had grabbed clothes and had put on the outfit she had arrived here with. And as she pawed through her belongings, she realized a trip to the store was clearly necessary. Luckily, according to some information she had seen in the reception area, there were plenty of shops in town. Namely, a Target. She had also had the good sense to take out some cash before leaving her home state, not wanting to use any credit cards, choosing to pay cash and cash alone. For now, it was pretty late and she tossed and turned for some time before finally falling asleep, albeit a unsettled sleep.

Chapter 2

Dressing in a denim pair of shorts and a plain blue t shirt, she threw on her flip flops and grabbed her purse, departing the safe confines of the hotel and taking the scenic route the short distance to the store. She as glad it was within walking distance, it gave her the chance to do some sightseeing, to try to clear her head. But upon arriving at the store that was her favorite, she saw someone darting into an alley way that led to the rear of the large building and it was a face that was familiar and at this point in time, not one she really wanted to see. But as she tried following, she saw neither a trace or even sensed him and though she knew full well they both had the power to cut one another off, thus leaving them untraceable by one another, she shrugged and proceeded to enter the store. But when she left later, she heard a whistling sound and looking up, she was floored as she saw him standing on the roof of the building, her magic within him allowing him some day walking abilities. A couple hours at most at a time, they had come to figure out. And as she took her bags in hand, she pretended not to note she was so clearly being followed and yet, he was smart enough to keep onlookers from detecting him, a tricky thing to do in the daylight. Nonetheless, no sooner had she entered the lobby of the hotel again, she spun around to face him, seeing his characteristic smirk appearing somewhat subdued.

"I was hoping we could talk…." he said, leaning to whisper in her hear but she stepped back a few paces with a frown.

"Well, thanks for giving me about a day to myself…..if I wanted you around I would have called." she snapped under her breath, stalking towards the elevators, Eric following, unsurprisingly. Sighing with annoyance she stood beside him in the elevator as they went up to the fifth floor where her room was. Sliding her key card in the slot, there was a beep and the door unlocked, Sookie wishing that he couldn't enter, that she could rescind his invitation. Unfortunately, this place didn't work that way as it was not a human owned establishment.

"I wanted to give you your space but I couldn't stand being home on my own and didn't want my…past behavior to rear its ugly head again. I was stir crazy and…." he sat on the couch while she sat gingerly in a armchair, frowning at him, though she was fighting a urge to smile. The fact was, she was glad to see him. She then shut off her side of the bond, to ensure he couldn't; detect these feeling she was having. She wanted to be mad at him and didn't want to break.

"This was one of the worst things to happen to me in my life and though she certainly was to blame…" Sookie went on to admit how she had felt his enjoyment, that he had liked that woman even before the whammy had been put on him by the now dead faerie turned siren. Selena had been a calculating one, to be sure but the bottom line was that he had done things that she knew he had control over. To a point. "I thought I could trust you more than anyone else, after everything…..after we went our separate ways years ago I suppose deep down I hoped to meet up again and never could have imagined this." she waggled the ring on her left hand and noted he was wearing his, she could see the chain it hung upon peeking out from under his navy tank top. But that didn't hold a lot of weight with her at the moment and even he could tell that perhaps he was jumping the gun. Then again, he was nothing if not persistent.

"I did not imagine I could have such a life….I always thought my life would be fighting and fucking and making a fortune. But then I met you and you wore me done. Not in a bad way, far from it….you made me better in so many ways and I know you're angry and wish me gone right now. Even with you keeping me out, I know you too well. If you want me to leave…..well…..I will do whatever it takes to get in your good graces-"

"To get back into my pants." she snapped back, hurt in her voice and again, part of her resented being so angry at him. But she had long ago tired of being the doormat and this time, she needed to make a stand. A point. "I wanted nothing more than to think I could have the fairy tale ending, at least the second time around….but its….." she was failing at keeping her anger and the sorrow instead took over, the tears flowing as she stood up and paced the room, refusing to glance at him. "I thought maybe you would have been different from….him." she said, clearly referring to her first vampire "love", the long dead and duplicitous Bill. Though in the end, he had proven there had been some decency and goodness to him, the fact would remain that he had certainly done things to her far worse than the Viking had done, that he and Eric couldn't have been more different. Still, here they were, she feeling as if she was dealing with her late ex….either of them, actually. Ryan hadn't been a prize either.

He actually looked abashed as she spoke. "I deserve everything you throw at me and then some." he got up slowly, seeing that clearly, she was not about to budge on her stance of remaining her and not going home. " am leaving but I won't be going far." he said curtly and he passed her by fast, leaving her alone once more, leaving her to wonder just where he was going to wait until she was ready to go home.

Chapter 3

It had not been the reunion she had hoped for, none of the touchy feely she had already started to miss greatly and part of her was angry with herself for being as aloof as she had been. Because she knew, from the moment she had first met him, he wasn't human and as such, had different impulses, urges. That she knew there was that darkness in him no matter how much he had changed was something she supposed she should have come to accept and perhaps it was time she came to grips that sometimes, they would find themselves in sticky situations such as this. Then again, she knew he was sorry, that he regretted his actions deeply. And she had a feeling that he would do whatever it took to prevent another tryst like that from happening again. And she herself would be on the look out for any other women who tried another stunt like the siren had. Perhaps try to curb the problem before it turned into a repeat of this latest fiasco. But for now, her stomach was growling and she sighed deeply as she sipped from her glass of water, wanting, needing something stronger.

She had ordered some room service and was waiting ever so patiently, looking forward to drowning her misery and sorrows in a ice cream sundae and a juicy burger. With greasy fries. And some much needed wine. Even though she was all kinds of supernatural and couldn't get a buzz on like a human could, she could still get a slightly floaty feeling and right now, that was what she wanted. Needed. She hated this estrangement and felt it was for the best for them both for now. There was a small part of her that didn't want to ever return home, not with all the bad memories of late but all the past memories. And then there came a knock at the door and with a exasperates sigh, she was about to tear her leather clad man a new one, only to find the last person she ever expected to see. Considering she had offed him with her own hands, she gasped as the cold hands of her ex reached out for her, a gleam of malice in his eyes. How it was possible, she didn't know, questions before he aimed what looked like a tazer at her. A item that normally wouldn't have too much of en effect on her. But this was something different and knocked her to the ground out cold. And things were about to take a twisted new turn unlike anything she had ever endured before. And even as he came to the rescue, seeing his former rival turned friend with eerily glowing red eyes about to take her away with him, the Viking found himself blasted with the same device Bill had used on Sookie and it would be some time before he regained consciousness and found her gone.

TO BE CONTINUED