Peggy opened the door to Eric's room with the key he had given her around sunset, expecting him to have risen already. She was slightly drunk, having been out around town for most of the day with Sookie, Anne Marie, and Sam. She was flying high, having a good time, but missing Eric desperately.

"Darling!" she cried as she opened the door, but her face fell immediately. There were two beds in the room, as well as four coffins. Bill was in one bed, and Eric and Pam were curled up in the other.

All three vampires sat bolt upright at her entrance, and had they all not recognized her at once, she would have been dead before the word finished leaving her mouth. Bill stretched and yawned once the alarm had passed, and Eric smiled at her invitingly.

"Eric!"

"Yes, my dear one?"

"What exactly are you doing?" Peggy glared at Pam, who rolled her eyes. Was it possible to wake up looking bored? If so, Pam had mastered it.

"I was sleeping, until you burst through the door… though I suppose it is time to get up anyway. I can feel that the sun is almost set."

"Why is Pam in your bed?"

"Because there are only two beds and none of us were in the mood for a coffin," Eric said, his voice suddenly pitched low and sharp. She knew he didn't want any jealous nonsense from her, but the liquor she'd had spurred her on.

"Why didn't you let Pam have her own bed? You could have shared with Bill."

"No," Eric and Bill said at once.

Bill, very wisely, rose from the bed and slipped into the bathroom with his clothes. Another moment later he left the room, undoubtedly to go find Sookie, who was passed out in the other hotel room, more unused to liquor than the rest of them.

"Calm down, Margaret," Eric said. He slipped out of the bed and went to her, but that only angered her further when she saw what he was wearing.

"You're naked!" she gasped. Pam chuckled, and Peggy glared at her.

"Ah, young love," she drawled.

"I always sleep naked," Eric said reasonably. "You know that."

"But not with Pam!"

"Well…not in a while." He laughed, which spurred Peggy to make a fist and punch him in the chest. It didn't faze him and was like socking a brick wall. He caught her hand when she drew it back and unclenched the fist, then stroked her fingers.

Pam got out of the bed and Peggy saw that she was wearing a full-length pink nightie. That made her feel marginally better, though she still glared at Pam.

"Eric is my maker," Pam said directly to Peggy. "You know this, and you know what I share with him is no longer sexual. But if it were—"

"If it were, we certainly would not have made love in front of Bill," Eric pointed out, pulling Peggy against him, mollifying her. "You have been drinking."

"Yes," she admitted.

"Those shifters are a bad influence," Eric said, but he sounded amused.

Peggy peeked past him over at Pam. "I'm sorry, Pam."

Pam shrugged. She didn't hold grudges long, in Peggy's experience. She sauntered into the bathroom which Bill had vacated. A moment later, Peggy heard the shower running.

"Why don't you apologize to me?" Eric wondered.

Peggy glared at him. "Because you're naked," she replied stubbornly.

He chuckled. "Normally, you quite enjoy me in this state." He began kissing her throat, nipping gently.

"We won't have any privacy for that on this trip," she said, gasping.

Eric growled against her flesh and lifted his head. "Pam takes long showers."

"Eric… I couldn't."

He tilted his head. She didn't think she'd ever denied him anything before. "I could take away your choice."

She gasped, and her heart began to pound in her chest. "You wouldn't!"

Eric smiled wickedly. "You are titillated by the thought, though."

She put her arms around his neck and kissed him. Damn it, but she wanted him so badly, and she could both feel and see that he felt the same way. She stroked her tongue over one of his fangs, giving him a little taste of her blood. He moaned.

"I am coming out of the bathroom now," Pam announced loudly.

"I thought you said she takes long showers."

Eric cursed softly in Swedish, which made Peggy giggle as Pam emerged in a pink track suit, with wet hair. "All right, all right. I had better find something to wear. Shall we see the parade before we go to dinner? I would like to know what a Mardi Gras parade is like. I have to know what I'm getting myself into."

He strolled over to his suitcase and rifled through it for his jeans and a black Fangtasia t-shirt with a red logo. She watched him put on his clothes, not bothering with underwear. The way his body moved drove her wild. She glanced at Pam, who was fixing her hair and didn't even glance at Eric.

"How can you be immune to that?" Peggy asked her.

"If I wasn't, you'd be over here trying to knock my fangs out," Pam drawled.

Eric chuckled. "If you were more evenly matched, I might enjoy watching that. Margaret, perhaps you and Sookie could brawl over me."

Peggy laughed. Her mood had lightened considerably. "Pam, are you coming to the parade with us?"

"I'll save that pleasure for the one Eric's riding in," Pam said.

"But you will join us for dinner," Eric said.

"What could be more fun than drinking True Blood while watching humans eat?" Pam sighed.

"See what a good sport she is?" Eric smirked as he slipped his arm around Peggy's waist and led her out of the hotel.

"I'm sorry I was jealous," she said as they strolled arm in arm towards Canal Street. "I know it's foolish of me."

"It is," Eric agreed softly. "You know there has not been anyone but you since you were left in my care."

"I suppose it is too much to hope it will last," Peggy said wistfully.

"It might," Eric said. "I have not even come close to tiring of you."

"How romantic," Peggy said sourly as they turned the corner. The crowd was growing thick as they approached the large thoroughfare where the parade would roll through.

"I could turn you, and we could be married," Eric mused. Peggy's heart nearly fell to her feet. She stopped dead in her tracks and grabbed his arms, staring into his eyes.

"What?"

"It would not be fair to marry you as a human," Eric said.

"But, it's legal now! Sookie and Bill—"

"I know it is legal, and I know Sookie and Bill intend to do it. I just do not think it is fair. We would not be balanced. Marriage should be among equals."

"You don't wish to turn me, then?"

"That's not true at all. I desire it greatly," Eric said, and such fervor showed in his eyes that she knew if he decided on this course of action, she really would have no choice. "Vampire marriages only last a hundred years."

"That would not be long enough for me," Peggy swore.

"But what if it was?" he asked softly. "What if we grew to hate each other, and were utterly bound by blood?"

"So what you're saying is… you don't want to risk what we have for something that might be better, or might eventually be worse." She felt deflated, sad…and yet hopeful at the same time.

"We have time to think on it," he said. "Meanwhile, do not worry, Margaret."

Peggy nodded as they made their way into the crowd. People seemed to naturally step aside for Eric, whether they recognized him for what he was or not. Her head was swimming from the drinks she'd had earlier and from the intensity of their conversation. Then the parade began to pass and there was no time to speak, only time to yell and cheer and put their hands up in the air to catch the beads and doubloons that rained down on them, thrown by the riders on the floats in the parade.

Eric's vampire speed combined with his height gave them an advantage over others in the crowd. He seemed to catch every string of beads in their immediate area, and soon he and Peggy were festooned with dozens of them. It was too much fun, and Peggy quickly forgot her pique. Down the street a little ways she spotted Sam and Anne Marie in the crowd. They had a great many beads as well, but Eric doubtlessly had the most.

Later tonight she would see Christopher, she remembered, and she warmed at the thought. She hoped he would not be too busy running his bar to come and chat with them. Being with him always lifted her spirits. She had missed him, she realized. She remembered his offer of protection, and a blush stained her cheeks. Even thinking about it seemed a betrayal of her feelings for Eric. Yet sometimes she wondered if her feelings were real, or if they were born of their blood bond. At least she knew her fondness for Christopher wasn't manufactured.

The parade ended and they stepped out of the crowd, caught up with Sam and Anne Marie. Eric herded them all back to the hotel to change for dinner. As they walked back to Conti Street, he caught her hand and beamed at her. His lightness of heart caught her at last and she felt her unease lifting.

How foolish she was, to think there could ever be anyone but Eric.