A/N: Things were going good for Eric and Blair for a while, but we all know that, with the introduction of Damon, it couldn't last. Here's the next installment. Thanks for waiting so patiently.

The Runaway

Chapter 7: Con Te Partiro

Eric was really starting to hate the bastard's stench. He'd come back with a flustered Bill with barely enough time to shove the stubborn asshole into the hotel before sunrise and the waft of him was overwhelming. Of course, he only came back to find Blair slumped in the shower with the water running cold.

He needed to get out of this fucking city.

The blinds were drawn shut as the three vampires sat in the living room at nine in the morning, wrapping their heads around the situation. Eric looked worriedly at Blair - she hadn't drank anything and shivered like a wet squirrel in that giant bathrobe. He placed a hand on her shoulder only to watch her shrink away.

That bastard was going to pay for this.

"We need a plan," Bill nearly growled. "What else did he say? What do you remember, Blair?" He crouched by her, his grip hard on her knee and shook.

"Hands, Bill." Eric's quiet warning went unheeded until the blonde took him by the back of his collar and dragged him backward. "Scaring the girl won't do you any good, Compton. Especially not with me."

"Sookie is mine, Eric!"

"You think those laws are in place up here? You think if I just go up to this guy, I can tell him I'm a sheriff and he'll just hand Sookie back with a little bow? Use your brain."

"It's better than sitting around and-"

"I have to go." She was so quiet amidst their yelling but they heard her loud and clear and turned. "I have to go to him. With him." She pulled the robe close to her chest, finding little comfort in the action.

"Now hold on one min-"

"If I don't go, he'll kill y-" She looked up finally, her eyes meeting his own in anguish. "Sookie. He'll kill Sookie." The two men were puzzled, and rightfully so. Blair had always been obvious regarding her disdain of the blonde. "He won't do anything to me. I can protect myself, Sookie can't-"

"We'll think of something else. And no, you can't protect yourself against some maniac."

"At least he wouldn't sleep with me then treat me like a child. He wouldn't drag me away from my friends." She bit down on the back of her jaw, her eyes hard as she closed off her still heart. "Maybe I'll be better off. Maybe we'll all be better off."

"What are you saying, Blair?"

"I'm saying." She paused and sighed as though the entire world rested on her shoulders, crushing her lungs. "That Iwant to go with Damon."

* * *

The ball of tissues were damp in her hand. She wasn't sure she had ever cried this much. "I'm sure he's all right, Blair. Probably just wandering around the hotel somewhere. Pissed, but fine." Bill looked exhausted as well - between looking for and worrying about Sookie and her spat with Eric, he was spreading himself thinner than usual.

"I know. I would know if he- if he-" Another rush of tears fell and Bill handed her another tissue and sat by her.

"You knew how he'd react." He motioned at the door his boss had burst through over two hours ago. "If you're worried about him, why would you tell him you wanted to go with this man?"

She sniffled, her nose red and her puppy eyes in full effect as she looked at Bill. Bill, who had been like an older brother the whole time, who had the loyalty of a golden retriever, who was now patting her head in an awkward attempt to comfort her. "Can you keep a secret?" She knew he would. He nodded. "If I don't g-go with Damon. He'll kill Eric."

Bill drew his hand back, the fear so honest in her eyes that he recoiled. It was difficult to imagine much that could destroy a vampire as powerful as Eric. "Blair, that's Eric's decision to make. He knows what he can take."

She shook her head, chestnut strands flying in every and each direction. "No, no you don't understand. He has this ring, this special ring. He can step in sunlight and- and he could set Eric on fire as easily as you would an ant. I can't lose him but if I told him, he would never back down and I can't- I can't lose him." She looked at Bill fully now. "You can't tell him. You just can't."

Bill took her hand in his and swallowed. He was already feeling guilty about not being able to fulfill that promise.

"When Sookie comes back here, pack up and leave. Forget about me. Forget about all of this. You two have Sookie to fight over. It shouldn't be too hard."

* * *

"I'm going now." He had been staring at the same spot for three hours. Since Eric came back from wherever he was, in one piece without any burns, much to their relief, he was silent and would just stare at a corner of the rug. "I'll make sure Sookie gets back here okay." She held the small traveler's bag in her hand by the door and kept her reactions neutral. Finally, she sighed. "Can you just come over here and kiss me goodbye?"

Nothing. About as much as she meant to him, she supposed.

She sighed and took the initiative as she always did in their relationship. She bent over his chair and kissed his forehead. "Bye, Eric." She hugged Bill and gave him a meaningful look before heading into the cold hallway. The park was four blocks away and it was already 11:45.

"You need to go after her." Bill sat across from his sheriff, not even bothering to attempt to catch his eye. The girl was gone and he could break his silence.

"I can't keep running after her, Bill. Unlike you, I'm nobody's lap dog."

"You know this guy can't be good news."

"You gotta let your kids go some time."

"Yea, but she's not a kid. You love her." Eric glared at him. It wasn't his proudest moment, losing his own offspring, his lover, to some young whelp. It hurt more than he had thought and remembered why it was never a good idea to actually like the thing you're sleeping with.

"That's all over, Bill. From now on, I go back to who I was and she leads her own life. Just like the bitch wanted."

Bill sighed. They were both stubborn bastards were what they were. Complete pains in his ass. "She did it for you."

"Right, before she wanted to set me free, blah all that love crap."

"No, I mean, she did it to save your life."

* * *

Even for a vampire, he was fast and quiet. A born killer. "You look beautiful under the moon."

She turned and glared at him. Stunning as he was, he had ruined everything. "Where's the girl?"

He put a hand to his chest and fell back in jest. "Do you not trust me, Blair?"

"Of course I don't."

He grinned. "Smart girl." He gestured to a bench behind him and she peeked to see a small blonde tied down by ropes and a gag. That was one way to keep her quiet, she supposed. "Now, are you ready to come conquer this city with me?"

"I didn't come here for you."

"Ah, of course. They always come for the damsel in distress." He bent over to the level of her ear. "But they always stay for the devil."

* * *

"You couldn't tell me all of this sooner?" Eric growled, his form hardly casting a shadow under the streetlights as he sprinted. "When we get back to Louisiana, I will kill you."

"She made me promise not to say anything." Bill knew there was no winning when he was stuck in an argument between the two of them.

"She's two! Why would you listen to a two-year-old vampire?"

They ran into the clearing surrounding the fountain and stared up at the stone angel for an instant while they listened to the still silence of the park.

Breathing.

They ran in the direction of the nearly wheezing breath only to find a petite blonde stumbling towards them. Bill caught her in his arms. "Sookie, are you all right?"

"They're gone," she gasped. "Blair and Damon, they're gone."