Two days and many blood donors later, Bill was fully healed. He had a few faint scars on his arms and upper torso from the silver chains and his reduced healing ability, but all in all looked the same as he did before his punishment. At the moment, he was at Fangtasia, slouched in a velvet armchair next to Eric as waves and waves of tourists and fangbangers walked past with wide eyes and disposable cameras.

"Tell me Eric, what is the allure of this?" Bill asked a furiously texting Eric, who was fixated on his Sidekick. "Why do you sit here, night after night, playing like a tiger in a zoo?"

Eric snapped his phone shut and looked at Bill like he asked "Why do vampires have fangs?" "Because we are desired, Bill. We are the most exotic thing most of these pathetic humans have ever seen or, for that matter, will ever see in their miniscule lifespan." He leaned in to lock eyes with Bill and added, "We are the forbidden fruit: so dangerous and yet so irresistible. We are Death; they're going to have to meet us someday, right? Better sooner than later." He grinned, then sat back in his chair as a young blonde woman came to the front, pulled out her Blackberry discreetly and quickly snapped a picture.

In a flash of black leather, Pam whisked the phone out of the woman's hand and smashed it on the table. "Sorry honey, no pictures."

"Hey! I just spent $400 on that phone!" the girl whined.

Pam gripped her bicep and smiled. "Well, the next time you go to the phone dealer, think to yourself: 'What will happen to this phone if I go around to a vampire bar and try to take pictures?'"Pam steered the girl towards the door and pushed her none to gently outside as she also herded the rest of the crowd towards the doors. "Bar's closed! Goodnight!"

Now that Fangtasia was empty, Eric stood to his full height and stretched. He beckoned Bill and Pam towards his office, where he heated a bottle of TruBlood for Bill and motioned for them both to sit. Eric slouched behind his desk and picked up a stack of papers near the edge while Pam languidly lounged on a couch near the door. Bill rolled the bottle between his fingers, suddenly nervous. He had avoided this question since his rescue, torn between wanting to continue living a blissful lie and wanting the truth. He no longer could live with the former and no matter how it hurt him, he wanted to know everything.

"Eric, what did you tell Sookie?"

As if by magic, whatever both Eric and Pam were doing was forgotten. Pam shot up out of her seat and stammered, "Uh, I'm…just…gonna…go torment Ginger." before vampire speeding out the door, slamming it behind her. Eric looked at Bill, calculated the effect that his words would have and said, "I told her nothing."

Bill was up in a flash, eyes glowing and fangs bared. "WHAT?! I told you to tell her…"

Eric looked up at him from his chair. "Bill, what if I told her what you wanted? You know she would've wanted to come with us and if you had come out like we expected, she would've more than likely been killed." He crossed his legs on his desk. "Could you risk that?"

Bill pondered, his fangs retracting back. He could hear the truth in Eric's words but nonetheless did not like it. "So, what did you tell her?"

" I simply said that you were gone."

"Gone? Like away for a business trip or gone-gone?"

Eric looked at his nails. "I did not elaborate and her interpretation of what was said is not my fault. All I know is that after my next few visits, she told me that she did not want to see me again."

"So, you tried to claim her as your own?" Bill could hardly keep the rage out of his voice.

Eric looked straight at his face. "Yes. She was very valuable. However, all my attempts were rebuffed and I didn't force her. I haven't seen her in over three years."

Bill nodded, mentally roaring with joy. "I take it she still lives in her grandmother's house in Bon Temps?"

"As far as I know," Eric replied.

Bill turned and opened the door before Eric could call his name. "Bill!" He stopped in the doorway. "How did you do it?"

He turned back to the Viking. "Do what?"

"How did you stave of the madness? The silver shackles…Odin's beard, you must have been in constant pain. A normal vampire would not have come out of that coffin as sane and in control as you. Hell, many of them would have given up and died inside within months." Eric rested his chin between steeped hands. "So, what kept you from falling into despair, madness and eventually death?"

Bill was still paused in the opening and, not turning around to face the Viking, in a voice almost too faint for vampire ears, whispered, "Her." Eric's eyes widened at this. Bill continued, "I'll once again take up residence in my house." He turned to face Eric. "That is, if it is still vacant, of course."

Eric nodded. "It's all been taken care of."

Bill continued his exit from the office, calling over his shoulder, "Thank you, Eric. For everything," as he shut the door behind him.

Eric sat motionless for a few minutes, processing the conversation that just occurred. Pieces that were once a jumbled mess fell together and his mind clicked them into place. Then, once the full picture was created, Eric smiled a tiny smile. "I should have known…" he murmured before rising from his chair and going to keep Pam from killing the incessantly annoying Ginger.

"Le sigh..." I love this chapter :) Thought not much of an Eric/Sookie fan, I do like to write Eric, he's a trip. Maybe, if ya'll show me love today, I'll post Chapter 4 too. :)