Chapter 1 A new beginning

"I cannot believe you would do this." I murmured to Eric a few night later as we sat next to each other in the empty first class cabin on a night time flight to England and I reached out for his arm to tug him closer. "I can't believe you dropped thousands of dollars just so we could have the entire first class section to ourselves. It wouldn't have been enough to simply have these seats? You had to buy out the entire cabin?"

"Have you not met me before? You know I always do stuff like this." He smirked, looking around the empty section like it was no big deal. None of the flight attendants had dared to come back to see if we needed anything because they were terrified of Eric, which seemed to sit well just fine with him. "And besides, I like having privacy especially when it involves you."

"You are so bad sometimes." I rolled my eyes, pushing at his chest as he snaked one of his arms around me but I couldn't stop the smile that had come over my face since we stepped foot on the plane. Actually, the smile had been in place for days now since we decided to take off for England rather quickly. But it was the getting away part with just him and I that seemed to have brought about a new sort of relief to our lives that we never had before. For the first time in over a year, we were completely and utterly at ease and we wanted to enjoy every minute of it. I looked up at his face and smiled again. "But I love you when you are like this. It's so incredibly hot."

"And I love when you are relaxed. You are so much more fun when you're not freaking out over something." He teased back, flicking my hair off my shoulder with his long fingers. "I do believe this is the first time when we are going to be able to just have fun and enjoy ourselves."

"What are you talking about? The first time?" I pretended to be offended but I only ended up laughing because of what I said next. "You enjoyed yourself with me right before we left for the airport."

"Oh yes, that was particularly fun for me." Eric's lips twitched slightly as we both remembered the encounter we had right before leaving the house which included a very sensual moment of him bending me over the back of the couch. An action that really got him aroused and in turn excited me even more. Eric's hand reached over and cupped my crossed knees. "You have been a feisty little kitten these last few nights. And I'm really liking it."

"Of course you are." I rolled my eyes before they caught sight of something that made me sit up with a mischievous smile on my face and grab his hand. "Come with me for a second."

"Oh God, you have that look on your face again and that never means anything good." He pretended to resist but the moment I got up out of my seat he followed me out into the aisle and over to the door my eyes had spied from 10 feet away. "The bathroom? What do you need me for in..."

"You know very well what I need you for in there." I stated before opening the door and doing my best to push him into the small cramped space that would have been barely enough for one person let alone someone as tall as Eric. But somehow we managed it when I was able to hoist myself up on the sink counter and pull him right between my legs before looking into his eyes, feeling serious for a moment. "I love you Eric."

"I love you too." He said, touching my face with his fingers, also looking serious for the first time in days. "Things are going to be good for now on. We will finally find peace with each other."

"As long as I'm with you..." I looked down at the engagement ring sparkling on my finger before my eyes were back on his face. "As long as we are together, then I'll always have peace."

Back in Shreveport

"Um, can we talk?" A timid voice asked from deep within the tree line of the woods, tearing Louie's attention away from the stars he had been staring at for the last 30 minutes and over to the figure that was now emerging at human's pace even though he was a 2000 year old vampire. Godric, although one of the oldest vampires around, approached him looking almost nervous as if he were expecting a lashing. Ironic though was his arrival since it was only moments ago when Louie had been thinking of the battle and how close they had all come to losing their lives. It had been a long a tense night that felt incredibly human to them all and it was something that he was sure would definitely stay with him for a long time to come. Mostly because he was amazed that he had evolved so much in such a short amount of time that he would go charging into battle for a girl he had only known for a few months. And risk having his long life ended or watching his former friend die before his eyes. And apparently Godric must have been feeling sentimental tonight too as judging by what he said next. "I kind of have something to say that I should have said a few nights ago."

"A few night ago? You mean when Helen was telling us the truth?" Louie asked after waving his old friend over and watching him sit down on the steps next to him. He wasn't sure he was ready to talk about Helen with Godric, not when they had their own unresolved issues between them. "I don't really want..."

"It doesn't involve Helen. It's more related to us then to anything." Godric interrupted, sitting with his back against the porch railing and his hands resting on his knees. "I wasn't actually intending on coming here. But I was thinking about the battle and how close we all came to death that night..."

"That's so odd, I was just thinking about the war too." Louie cut in, almost about to laugh at how their minds still seemed to work on the same wave length after all these years. That didn't mean they always got along even when they were friends but they had been turned by the same maker at the same time and have always looked at each other as brothers. And sitting here right now with Godric, Louie wondered if they would ever get back to that point. "I never really gave it much thought after that night, but tonight it just sort of caught up to me."

"I've been thinking about it pretty much every night since it happened and that kind of got my thought process going. And that in turn brought me here to you." Godric explained, his usually calm face going a little serious. A look that Louie recognized from the past whenever Godric was gearing up for some big huge tirade. It was almost amusing to see his vampire former brother revert back to his old self. It sort of gave him a flame of hope that he cold fix this broken bond. "I know we both hurt each other in our own ways and as much as we did that and as separated as we have been, I still hated thinking that one of us might die in that battle without anything being resolved."

"I will admit that it went through my mind too at least a few times while it was going on." Louie confessed, running his fingers through his short blonde hair and thinking about what Godric had just said. It was obvious that he was hoping things could go back to normal, the way they were a thousand years ago. But Louie would be lying if he said it were that easy. Despite knowing the truth, Louie couldn't let bygones be bygones. At least not any time soon. Until then, he would just have to be honest. "Look, I logically understand that you weren't completely at fault because Helen didn't technically die. But you were still suppose to be watching over her so this didn't happen. And I can't seem to let it go."

"I get that. I can't deny that I let you down when I didn't do what I was suppose to do and I have only myself to blame."Godric nodded, backing up his claim that he wasn't going to write off his wrong doings and Louie could see that the younger looking vampire was remorseful. But Godric wasn't going to let himself off the hook so quickly. "And we also just found out the truth a few nights ago and she appeared only 2 weeks ago. So we can't expect to just have everything return to the way it was a thousand years ago."

"That's certainly true." Louie agreed without hesitating. The pace in which Helen had shown up and the truth had come out was just a whirlwind, even for vampires. So it was going to take some time before they could work through it all. "So much has happened and too much time has been spent being angry that it won't be easy to get back what we use to have."

"Is that even possible?" Godric questioned, raising his eyebrow in doubt. "I mean, do you even want to do that?"

"I've been alone for the last thousand years without friends or even a progeny and I'm only realizing now how much that sucks." Louie found himself confessing fairly easily. He probably would have only said this to Allison, as he felt more at ease talking to her but there was change in the air right now with Godric and he felt the urge to open up like he had never had before. He looked at his old friend and sighed. "I don't want it to be like that anymore."

"That's good to know." Godric's face broke out into a smile, bringing to the surface a brief image of the vampire Louie had grown up with. "As frayed as our friendship is, it can be fixed if we both try."

"Then..." Louie didn't have to think too much about it before answering with his hand extended. "..here's to trying."

Back in London

"Holy...crap!" I whispered out loud after Eric had pushed me through a doorway and removed his hands from over my eyes like he had insisted on doing the entire ride to the apartment building. He said I wouldn't see too much anyway since it was so late at night, so I had complied and allowed him to have his fun. And now when we were finally upstairs in the penthouse apartment, he had taken his hands away and let me take in the sight of his home in this part of the world and my jaw dropped open in shock. "You live here too? This is amazing. I can't believe you own this."

"It's just an apartment." He said nonchalantly, shrugging his shoulders as if the richly navy blue carpeted floors and the floor to ceiling windows and leather furniture were no big deal as he dragged our luggage inside and locked the door before saying. "And besides, once you and I get married then all of this is yours too."

"Ah yes, the benefit of marrying such a wealthy vampire." I replied teasingly turning my wide eyes away from the stylish room and went to wrap my arms around my fiancee's waist. Fiancee, I could never get tired of saying that word. I stood up on my tip toes so I could press my lips against his and when I pulled away, I just sighed in contentment. I loved my life right now, for once it was as close to perfect as it could get. "Can you believe we're finally here? Not in England, but in a great stage in our relationship?"

"And to think you use to hate me in the beginning. My how things have changed." He smirked, bringing his hands up to cup my face and messing his fingers in my hair to draw me closer. "I like to think you adore me a little bit more now."

"Only a little bit." I giggled, leaning my forehead against his chest with a smile. I had never felt so carefree and lighthearted as I did right now. It wasn't just because I was in a country I always wanted to visit or in an apartment that was more extravagant then most houses in Bon Temps. It was because for the first time in what seemed like forever, I was finally at peace with myself. Things were in place like they never had been before and I was able to breathe a rare breath of air that didn't come at the end of a hard day. I was happy tonight and I was with the man I loved more then life itself. It couldn't get any better then it was right now. But when I tilted my head back and looked into his eyes, I grinned and grabbed his hand. "Come on, show me to the bedroom."

"Seriously? You want sex again?" His voice tried to hold on to it's teasing tone but I could tell from his thoughts that he was beyond excited and if anything, that only thrilled me more. "Damn, if proposing to you got me this much sex I would have done it the night I first met you. Maybe then it wouldn't have taken me so long to get you in my bed."

"Our first time was in my bed you moron." I pointed out before Eric swept me up in his arms before I could say another word...

2 hours later

"So I've been thinking..." I said to Eric quietly as I laid wrapped up in the black silk sheets of his bed watching him as he stood leaning completely naked against a dresser with a wineglass of blood at his lips and smiled. He had just made love to me in a way that I could only compare with being on par with the first time. It was gentle and sweet and I felt such love coming from him that it didn't seem like the same vampire. He would stroke my hair and whisper things in my ear that I couldn't decipher because it was in another language, and was just genuinely so considerate of how I felt that after he had rolled off me, I just laid there staring at him thinking I had never been happier then I was right now. And that brought me full circle to what was on my mind right now. "...about our engagement and I was just wondering when you were thinking we should get married."

"Well, if we're being completely honest..." He began to say, setting down the now empty glass and flashed over to the bed where he threw himself down beside me and grinned. "...then the sooner the better."

"Oh really?" I asked, sitting up and tucked the sheet more tightly under my arms and looked over at him curiously. " So if I said we should get married tonight, that would be ok?"

"Actually it would be." He smirked, swinging his feet back down to the floor and tugged on my hand. " Let's go and do it."

"You are crazy and I was just kidding." I squealed, pulling on his arm so he was down beside me again. But what I said had kind of struck a chord with me. "But then again, I do like the idea of not waiting too long before we get married."

"The benefit to waiting would be that we have more time to plan." He pointed out, even though his face showed the last thing he wanted to do was get swept up in wedding plans. "And I would be willing to give you a big wedding if that's what you want."

"No way. I mean its sweet that you would do that but no. I would hate to have all that attention on me." I shuddered at the thought of having a huge ceremony where all faces would be on me. I may have changed a lot in the last few years but I was still very much a shy and timid person at heart and being in the spotlight is not something I would want. Even if it was for the most important day of my life. But the fact that Eric would spend money on a huge wedding if I wanted was touching. "It's nice that you would do that, but I would be perfectly happy with a small ceremony."

"Are you sure?" He questioned, eying me suspiciously like he had been so certain that all women wanted a big, crazy wedding the moment they became engaged. But that was so not me and Eric knew how I felt about him spending too much money on me. The engagement ring was one thing. But a ceremony was another. "I don't want you to have regrets."

"Hey, as long as we get married then I will never have regrets." I told him, reaching up to touch his face with my fingertips. It was true, as long as he and I ended up making this official then I wouldn't regret not having a big ceremony. And besides, if I ever did want something like that, then we could always do it for a vow renewal. But right now, it wasn't what I wanted. "The only regret I would have if we waited too long to take the next step like we did the last time."

"Trust me, that will never happen again." He said with another devious smirk before he closed off the conversation by climbing back on top of me.

In Shreveport

"Not to disturb you or anything, but can I join you?"

Louie looked across the yard towards the tree line to the source of the noise and saw Helen's blonde hair emerging out of the woods with a slightly nervous expression on her beautiful face. He had been staring up at the stars since Godric had left him alone but now that Helen had made her presence known, he allowed his eyes to linger on her, amazed that she looked just as flawless as she had been back then even though she was a vampire. She approached him slowly, almost as though she were expecting him to tell her to go away but he had no intention of doing that. After making some sort of progress with Godric, he had been in the frame of having an open mind and with her showing up, he was fine with her sitting next to him and as he waved her over, she did just that.

"I wasn't expecting to see you tonight." He said when she had settled on the top porch step next to him with a good 12 inches of space in the middle of them which he suspected she had done on purpose but he wouldn't comment on it. Instead he chose a lighter subject. "And especially not alone. Why isn't Gabriel with you? Aren't you two usually attached at the hip?"

"I sent him off to Fangtasia for the night." Helen answered back with a little bit of a smirk on her lips that he hadn't often seen before she was a vampire. She had always been this sweet, darling little Faerie and her expression since she had revealed herself as a vampire were more feisty then he had ever seen on her. She cocked her head in his direction before saying. "I think it will be good for him to be around humans and other vampires who aren't me."

"You're a good maker for doing that." Louie found himself smiling at her, an action he couldn't imagine doing just days ago. He had done plenty of thinking since that night and he knew that at some point down the line he would think of rekindling things with her. But right now they just needed to get to know each other again. "You must really care for him."

"He's my child, I love him with whatever remains of my heart." Helen said with all the conviction he had ever heard in anyone's voice. He saw it in her eyes when she said this, it would have been the same look a human female would say about the child she just gave birth to. It was a look he didn't think he would see in her eyes. A maternal, protective instinct. She really had changed. "Didn't you ever think of making a progeny?"

"Not really, I was pretty ok with just being on my own. At least until Allison kind of charged into my life and reminded me it was good to have other people around." Louie explained with a frown, not liking to admit that he was forced to change his way of thinking. But it was the truth. He had been alone for a long time and when Godric started coming to him for help and then Allison walked into his life, he was starting to realize that being alone was just not going to cut it anymore. But he had never been driven to change that before any of this happened. He looked at Helen, who he had once shared everything with and asked. "Do you want to know the real reason why I never kept friends or turned another vampire?"

"Because you didn't want anyone else to be like this?" She asked with a shrug, her hair falling over one shoulder and catching the moon light like it had so many times before this. "You didn't come across anyone you liked enough to turn into your progeny?"

"No. It's because I knew that if I ever created a child then it would create a bond and love that overrode anything before it. Including the love I had for you." He explained, seeing just how much his honesty shocked her as she pulled back with a frown on her pale face. "I didn't want that to happen. I didn't want you to be replaced."

"I never forgot you, you know. I was always keeping tabs on you, Godric too. I could never completely let go." Helen's face turned away from him but not before he caught a glimpse of a lone red tear rolling down her smooth cheek. "I don't think I ever stopped wanting you, even when I was trying to stay away."

"I know you loved me then and I know you probably even love me now. And I wish I could tell you we can just go back to how it use to be between us,but I don't think its possible just yet." He told her, reaching over to turn her face back to his and before he could stop himself, he was wiping the blood from her cheek with his thumb. It felt wonderful to touch her again, just like it had the night she had told them all the truth. She felt the same to him and she sparked the same electric current in him that she had before any of this happened. He could feel the want he still held for her, the desire he had for the intimacy they had shared. But he wasn't willing to go there yet. He dropped his hand back to his lap and said. "I don't want to lead you on, I just want to be honest."

"Not being honest is what got us to this point, so I welcome your honesty." Helen smiled back even though her eyes showed a slight disappointment at the disappearance of his touch. But it was soon replaced by a look of determination. "It will be different this time around. I promise."

"I'm going to hold you to that." He retorted, sitting back so not to overstep this invisible line they had set between them. But as they turned their eyes to the sky, Louie couldn't help but think this may have been the first step in the salvation of their relationship.

Back in Bon Temps

Knock...knock...knock..knock

"Who in the hell is that?" Sookie found herself snapping as she sat up on the couch where she had been curled up with her husband for the past hour and frowned towards the front door where she could faintly make out the movement of shadows from under the door. She looked at Bill who had also sat up with a guarded look on his face, and said. "Who would be here this late at night?"

"Someone who knows where we live and who couldn't have come at an earlier time. It has to be a vampire." He replied, his already serious face turning more serious as he got off the couch and headed to answer the knocking before she could even move. She had just gotten to the doorway of the living room when Bill had the door open and a figure dressed in black breezed on through before he could invite her in. Bill slammed the door shut with an angry frown and turned to face the severe looking blonde with his arms crossed. "Miss Flanagan, how terrible it is to see you."

"That's sweet Bill, but save the pleasantries for another night. I'm here on a business matter." Nan waved her hand through the air, Bill's obvious disdain for her arrival not affecting her in the slightest before she turned and set her eyes on Sookie. "Well, I see he has kept you around for the long haul."

"Being that we are now married, I would say that I am definitely here for the long run." Sookie replied, her voice tinged hard as it always was whenever Nan dared to show up in their lives. She never had anything good to say about anyone and being that it had been over a year since she had come to see any of them, it meant that whatever she was here for was serious. Sookie crossed her arms as Nan removed her leather gloves and said "Can I ask why you are showing up here at our home out of nowhere?"

"As I said to your husband, I have a business matter to attend to. One that involves him." Nan replied, shooting a look over her shoulder at Bill who had left his spot by the door and walked into the living room to join her and Nan. The older vampire looked around the place with disgust, obviously the surroundings not living up to her taste before she turned to face Bill with a tight lipped smile. "I have a proposition for you."

"No disrespect intended, but I do not want to hear it." Bill immediately shook his head, already closing off the conversation before it could continue which was usually the best way to deal with Nan. "I have no interest in any kind of business opportunity. I am quite content with my life right now."

"You may be for now, but I insist that you hear me out. Trust me when I say it will change your mind." Nan grinned, putting on the look that she usually reserved when she was in front of the cameras and was trying to convince the human public they had nothing to fear. But Sookie knew better then to trust that look. Nan always had some hidden agenda. "It would be a great benefit for you."

"I'm still not interested." Bill was trying to remain steadfast in his resolve, Sookie could see that. But Nan also seemed determined to be heard out with whatever she wanted Bill to know and if the much older vampire was that adamant, then it might be for the best to just let her say it and get it over with. And Bill seemed to be picking up on that. "Fine. Say what you need to say and then leave."

"You're too kind." Nan rolled her eyes, clearly thrilled that she was getting her own way and she crossed her arms and stood there with her hip popped to the side before saying with no warning. "I'll make it quick. The Queen is dead and the AVL wants you to be King of the state now."

"Sophie Ann is dead?" Bill asked, his face giving away how shocked he was and that didn't happen often. "And the AVL wants me to do what?"

"How did she die?" Sookie dared to ask, curiosity getting the better of her. She knew the now former Queen of Louisiana was hundreds of years old and not much could be done to take her down and if she was dead, then there was something off about it. "Was it murder?"

"Actually it was. Nice guess Mrs. Compton." Nan said with a very sarcastic roll of her eyes at that last part and if she wasn't so good at putting on a good face, then Sookie was sure Nan would have been sneering at her. But she turned her attention back to Bill. "But that's all you need to know. We have no clue who is behind it but it doesn't matter now. What we need is someone to take her place and that someone is you."

"You really expect me to accept this sudden position right after you tell me the Queen was murdered? No I don't think so." Bill was suspicious, as he rightfully should be. Something wasn't right about this visit. A power and old vampire was suddenly and mysteriously murdered and Nan just shows up and offers Bill the chance to be King? No, something was definitely up. "I refuse to take this position on account it would put me in the middle of a political agenda and I do no wish to be there."

"I figured you would say that, but I have to tell you that it would be in your best interest to accept being King. You don't want to turn this down." Nan was not budging and that made Sookie even more suspicious as Bill reached her side and they reached out for each other. But it was their embrace that seemed to spark something in Nan because what she said next shook Sookie down to her toes. "It would also keep your newly acquired wife safe and sound."

"Is that a threat?" Bill's face twisted darkly and he stepped forward as if to get in Nan's face but Sookie had the brains to hold him back, knowing that if Bill attacked her then there would be hell to pay. "Answer me. Did you just threaten my wife?"

"Take it however you want Bill, I'm just stating the facts." Nan maintained her calm and neutral expression as she spoke. "But if you want to remain untouched, then I think you will find agreeing to be King is not the worse decision you will ever make."

"Do you know who is behind the murder?" Bill suddenly asked, his eyes narrowing as he appeared to have picked up something. "You seem to have an idea that someone is targeting vampires in authority."

"I have my suspicions, but none I care to share." Nan retorted with a singular raised eyebrow that suggested she had more then just a suspicion to run on. "So what's it going to be Bill?"

Bill turned away from Nan and looked down at her, his eyes silently communicating his thoughts that she wished she was able to hear. If only Allie hadn't gone off with Eric on vacation, then she could have possibly helped them with this. But Allie wasn't here and they had to make a decision now. And as much as Sookie didn't want her and Bill to be involved in this, it seemed that more harm would come from refusing then from accepting. So she just sighed and nodded to Bill, who in turn sank his shoulders before sealing his own fate.

"Fine...I accept the position of King."

Back in the woods

"Well hello stranger. Funny meeting you here." An amused lighthearted voice spoke out from the darkness of the trees and interrupted Helen's solitude of thoughts and caused her to look up just in time to see the owner of that voice stepping out in front of her. His calm and friendly face still apparent after the passage of a thousand years. "Nice to see you haven't decided to take off again."

"Hey Godric." Helen felt her lips part in a smile as she took in the sight of not only her former lover but also her former friend who she was still happy to see on this night. She sat up straighter on the fallen tree trunk she had settled on and watched as Godric moved across the grass and took a seat beside her, glad that he had come across her after she had parted from Louie. "What are you doing out here?"

"I guess I can ask you the same question." He said back, his arms covered in white sleeves rested on top of his knees as he tilted his head to look at her. "I'm out here because I have nothing better to do now that my progeny is no longer in the country to annoy me and mostly because I like the quietness of the woods when I'm trying to think."

"Yea, I know what you mean. I needed some time to think as well." She murmured, running her hands through her long blonde hair as fragments of her talk with Louie came flooding back to her and she found herself sighing. "Is it just me or does talking to Louie..."

"Make you feel less human then you already are?" Godric finished with a smile, his eyes lighting up further in amusement as he shook his head. "Yea I know how that feels. It's not intentional on his part. He's just one of those lucky vampires, who even though he has lived as long as he has, has never really committed true evil like some of us has. And when he talks to vampires, he doesn't realize it, but he makes them remember just how much they don't live up to his goodness."

"It never really occurred to me just how dark of a history I have, at least not until I was talking to Louie tonight." Helen replied with a frown, her forehead furrowing in thought. Of course she was aware of what she had done, it was just not something she could ever forget. But it had never been so glaringly obvious and made to look so much more horrific until she was able to look at Louie and see without him saying it, that he had never been the monster she was. And being next to someone so different then herself only made her feel more ashamed. "I wish I was as good as him. I wish I hadn't done the things I have done."

"Do you remember when you said you were a monster the night you told us the truth? And how you have forever hated yourself?" Godric asked, his voice showing he was trying to be as tactful as possible with this question. "I was just curious as to why you would say such a thing."

"I don't know. I guess it's because I stopped being that innocent, sweet girl you and Louie loved the night I was turned. And there would never be a point of turning back. This was who I was and who I was going to be. It may not seem like it, but I have a dark past and I was very lonely and sad for a long time." Helen explained, feeling a break in the wall she had put up earlier in her conversation with Louie. She had been trying to put on some kind of perfect facade when she saw how much his soul was still in tact and she hadn't wanted to divulge any secrets. But with Godric it was different, he was much more easier to talk to about her past because it was obvious he was harboring his own darkness deep inside him. If there was anyone she could confess to besides her own progeny, then it was Godric. "I'm not proud of how I acted that darkness out."

"You're right, it is hard to believe since I did know you as this angelic Faerie. But then I have to remember that you're a thousand year old vampire and when you're that old, before the creation of synthetic blood, of course you would have to have killed some humans. It was survival in those times." Godric nodded in understanding just like she knew he would. Even a thousand years ago, when she saw him in his darkest and most violent times, he still had been more open minded then almost any one she had know. And it was a trait still found in him today. "It's nothing to be ashamed of."

"Actually it is. I didn't just kill humans to survive. Sometimes I did it just because I could." Helen turned her head away so she couldn't see his expression as she said this. She knew it wouldn't be something he would want or expect to hear coming from her mouth. He had this idea in his head of how she was and before she was turned, she had never done anything wrong or improper in her life. He had always seen her as this sweet and kind person. And the last thing he would want to hear is of her killing humans just for the fun of it. " I was bad Godric. And I'm so ashamed of what I did those first few hundred years."

"That's who you use to be, not who you are now. No vampire has a clean past, not even someone like you." Godric pointed out, shaking his head after she had turned back to look at him. "And besides, I can vouch for that statement because I too did a great amount of things in my early years that I regret."

"Wow, I almost forgot that side of you existed." Helen sat up in surprise as what he had done came back to her and she was amazed that it had slipped her mind. But it just wasn't as important as who he was now and who he had been with her. Yes she had been shocked when he had revealed the children he had hunted and the humans he had also killed just for the sake of doing it. But that side of him had often been forgotten because he was also very often kind and considerate with her. "It's hard to think you did anything bad when you've always been so calm and proper..."

"I was always on my best behavior with you even after you knew about my past misdeeds." Godric laughed with his fingers running through his short hair.

"It's nice to know you don't judge me because I wasn't always so good." Helen let him know, feeling like she had a confidant in her old friend. It was something she had a feeling she would need in the weeks to come. "It makes me feel better to unload it."

"Talking about what happened and what we've done is the only way to let this go so we can fix it." Godric reached over and circled his fingers around her wrist and squeezed it as gently as if she had still been human. " We all have our own demons. All 3 of us."

"I don't want him to know that side of me, that's not the girl he once loved." Helen frowned at the mention of Louie being brought back into the mix and knowing her as this once evil person. "He would never look at me the same way again."

"You're still in love with him aren't you? After all these years..." Godric sat up suddenly, a grin taking over his face as he seemed triumphant that this idea was correct at least to him. "I can see it in your eyes."

"You don't know what you're seeing." Helen shook her head, turning to look at his face with a raised eyebrow. "I don't even love myself. The only vampire I love is my progeny. That's the extent of my ability to love."

"Who are you trying to convince? Me or yourself?" Godric asked, clearly not convinced as they both ended the conversation and turned their focus to the sky just barely visible through the tree branches.

Back in London

"So I have a confession to make." Eric said to me in a hushed tone, in what was almost a whisper as we walked arm in arm through the dark and nearly empty streets of this beautiful city where for once we did not have to look over our shoulders constantly for an unseen enemy. It was such a refreshing change that I found myself walking closer to Eric with my cheek against his arm in a near sleep walk as I was so relaxed. But at his statement that he had something important to admit, I stood straight up and pulled him off to the side of the stone walkway and looked up at him curiously. There was no one within hearing distance when he spoke again. "I want to get married soon, like really soon."

"I know that. We've already discussed this remember?" I asked with a smirk, but I couldn't help but feel the same flutter in my stomach any time one of us mentioned our impending marriage. It was everything and the only thing I wanted in my life and I was going to get it sooner rather then later. I smiled up at him again. "I want us to get married soon too..."

"No, you're not getting what I'm saying. I want to get married soon, as in like while we are here." He said without even the slightest hesitation, shocking me not only because of the words, but with the certainty he said them. "I don't want to wait. I want us to do this now."

"Ok, what the hell just happened here?" I demanded, breaking away from him and crossing my arms in confusion. "What brought this on? I know we were talking about it earlier, but I thought we were just joking."

"I wasn't completely joking. I was mostly being serious." He admitted, scratching his slicked back blonde hair with one hand before saying. "So what do you say?"

"About what?"

"Getting married while we're here." He insisted, raising his eyebrows in question as he reached out for me. "You do still want to marry me right?"

"Of course I do. I just think we're jumping into this a little fast." I told him, running my hands through my hair, trying to make sense of all this. "I mean, we haven't even been engaged a week yet and you want to get married within the next few days? Even if we waited a few months, that would still be really soon..."

"I told you I don't want to wait. Waiting any longer could rock the boat and ruin this perfect rhythm we have going on. And you know I'm right. When have we ever had too much calmness in our lives?" Eric stared me right in the eye in such a way that I couldn't even begin to start to argue with him. He was right, things were never calm all that long in our world and it wouldn't be long until something else came along to rock our lives up. And the next time could really make things permanent in taking one of our lives. And I did not want to come close to death again without getting what I want and that was marrying Eric. But to do it this soon? In another country? With no one besides us there? It was crazy. But he didn't think so. "This is the right time for us, because it's now. And we want to be together forever, so what does it matter if we do it tomorrow night or 3 months from now?"

"I guess it doesn't really matter." I mumbled, biting on my bottom lip in earnest as I tried to calm my racing nerves. It's not that I didn't want to marry Eric soon, it was just all happening so fast and I couldn't see or think clearly. "I just think we should talk about this more thoroughly."

"Yea, I wish I could do that. But if you look at the sky, you will see that it is lightening up and that means the sun will rise soon. So talking? Yea, its a no go." Eric said almost triumphantly, turning me around and nodded to the sky where it was getting lighter and I stomped my foot in frustration at Eric getting the last say before he would have to go and hide for the day. He was laughing at me as I turned around to look at him. He didn't waste any time in scooping me up in his arms, intending on bringing me with him as we rushed back to the apartment. But before he took off, he looked down at me and said. "Do something for me then. At least think about it. Take the day and look at all sides of it and if you really think it through and you still don't think its a good idea then I will let it go."

"When have you ever let anything go?" I asked stubbornly but I couldn't hide the smile on my lips. Eric was trying, that was obvious. He had evolved so much since the beginning of our relationship and the least I could do was at least take his suggestion into consideration. I sighed and nodded. "Alright, I will spend the day thinking about it."

Was I crazy for wanting to go through with it?