Eric didn't come home that night. Or the next night. The night after that, I decided to go to Fangtasia looking for him, but had no such luck. Pam said that he had called and left a message while she was still asleep, but she was under strict instructions not to say anything to me that would give away his whereabouts. Just that he was okay and I'd see him soon. So I sat at the bar for a couple hours with Pam and nursed a True Blood, quickly growing cold and wishing that I could still drink alcohol. I'd kill for a good beer buzz right now. After most of the fangbangers had called it a night (they were so interesting to watch) I decided to do the same and perhaps run the vacuum through the main floor- I couldn't remember the last time I'd done that. I gave Pam air kisses and waved to Chow and Thalia, the only remaining vampires I knew by name, and dug through my new D&G bag (gift from Eric and Pam) looking for the keys to Eric's corvette, which I had driven to Shreveport because I was angry with him and couldn't think of anything meaner than to mess up his seat settings and change the radio stations. That, and leave the gas tank on empty. I took the long way home.

I maybe had two complete thoughts on the way home, which only made me angry as they interrupted first the Styx and then Alabama on the radio, but I returned home to find the lights on and a tall blonde man pacing around the kitchen, his cell phone glued to his ear and his voice raised slightly louder than normal. I was truthfully a little afraid of what I was about to walk in to, but this was my home, and Eric had some explaining to do. I put his car in park behind the house, and climbed up and out of the low seat, causing the security lights to turn on as I opened the door of the car and made my way to the back door. I saw my own pale arm in the washed-out light behind my house, and was a little mesmerized by how quickly I had started to adopt the stereotypical paleness that eventually catches up with all vampires, no matter how dark or tanned their skin had been in life. That thought left my mind as quickly as it had entered, and I continued up the small gravel path to the house. By the time I had opened the door, Eric had ended his angry conversation and was sitting at the table with a small deep green box in front of him on the kitchen table. I tried my best to ignore and put on my best fight-face. He read it as my best attempt, and put his large hands on the table, fully hiding the box underneath, and lowering his face, waiting for all of hell to break loose. He'd done this before.

"I'm not going to yell." I told him, as nicely and as justly as I could. I wasn't entirely convinced of this myself, but I was trying my best to be the good one here.

"You should." He said, head still down. For a tall, strong and very intimidating ex-Viking, he was looking an awful lot like a puppy that he left a mess on a rug.

I wasn't expecting this at all. "Yes, I probably should. But I'm going to sit down and we're going to talk. And then we're going to talk some more. And then you're not going to leave tonight." Boy- when did I get so pushy? He looked at me in the face, halfway confused and halfway looking like he has escaped the guillotine by a fraction of an inch. I tried my best to stay calm, but my temper had become even harder to suppress than my hunger since he had turned me.

"Ask away." He sank back in his chair and his hands left the green box, which was looking rather like a box that would be holding something small and sparkly. He wasn't getting off that easy.

"Eric, I don't know where to start." I began, and twiddled my thumbs like I was the one in trouble. "Where were you?"

"In London," he said, as though I should have known that. "And then a night in Uppsala." I must have had a strange look on my face, because he added, "that's where I was born, in Sweden. I went to London first to learn more about this conference in a place where I would not be recognized, and then I went to Sweden to try to persuade other vampires like me to attend this conference and represent Scandinavia, which has not been sufficiently represented for many decades in conventions such as this."

"You could have at least told me where you were going, or answered your phone, or left a note…" I rambled on a little more and he waited until I had run out of things to say.

He acted as though he wasn't sure how to phrase his next words. "I made a deal with the people that took us this week. They want me to do something for them at this convention in London, and my part of the deal was that you only know what you need to know and only attend what is necessary. I did not see a reason to danger you unnecessarily."

"Wait a minute there. You're not going to tell me what I'm doing from now on?!"

"Yes. I know you won't like this, but the best way to keep you safe is to keep you oblivious. You won't know what we're doing until we do it and that's the best way to keep you out of harm's way." He looked terrible, like this thought had tortured him for years instead of a few days.

I was showing my anger now. "Really Eric? You think a VAMPIRE can't protect herself?"

"You didn't do such a great job the other day!" He retorted, and it hit hard. So I picked up a vase from the table and threw it with all my vampire-strength, cutting his face open across his cheek.

I gasped, just now realizing that I had actually thrown an antique vase at my boyfriend and cut his face open. This was too Jerry Springer, even for me. "I'm sorry." I said softly, and was surprised to hear his voice uttering an apology to me after I hit him in the face. He pulled a piece of broken glass out of his face, and the gash was already on its way to healed. You could really only hurt Eric for a minute.

"I'm sorry." He started again. "I was doing it to protect you and Hunter and that other telepath that's working for the Dallas vampires."

"Barry." I reminded him.

"Yes, Barry. If you really want to know, then I will tell you. But I told them I'd bring you and Pam to the conference in London and you would report anything suspicious to me, then I would relay that information to FBI agents that would be outside the conference. That is your only responsibility."

"You're taking me to London?" I'd never even left the South, not to mention the country. London was a whole other world to me. "But what do I wear?"

"Pam is going to take you shopping once we get there. All of the major stores and tourist attractions are going to be open during night hours for the duration of the convention."

Any anger I might have been harboring two seconds before this had totally been lifted, and I jumped on Eric and wrapped my legs around him so tight I'd have killed him if he weren't already dead. I kissed him once and then wrapped my arms around his neck and breathed him in. "I missed you so much." His hand made its way to my hair and his fingers traced my curls. "I thought you had left for good." I confessed, and he turned and kissed my forehead softly.

"Never. I've waited a thousand years for you, and if you'll have me, I'd like to spend the rest of forever with you."

Eric may have been in the doghouse five minutes ago, but he right now he was too perfect for words. "This doesn't have anything to do with that little green box there, does it?"I pulled my face out from his neck and put my nose right to his, looking very deeply into those beautiful blue eyes.

"Not if you don't want it to."

"Then it doesn't." I kissed him lightly on the lips. "At least not tonight."

Then, that little wicked smile I loved so much. "Shall we go upstairs?" he asked, most suggestively.

"Mr. Northman," I began, "I thought you'd never ask."