A/N: Sorry this took so long. RL was a total bitch last week!
Not much else to say except to again thank everyone who's been reading, reviewing, alerting and favoriting! Y'all rock my world! And to thank my beta, Sheknitsnicely, who is the awesomest beta ever!
Disclaimer: I don't own them, but after it was conclusively proven that Mr. Ball and his attorneys were indeed attempting to "stack" the jury, the judge in this case called for a mistrial. It was decided that any future trial should he be held on more neutral ground. Therefore the abuse charges against Mr. Ball will now be heard in Forks, WA where it was felt that the misfortunes of hunky vampires and they're human lady loves would get a fairer hearing! (Thanks VALady for the awesome idea! You so totally rock!)
After Eric finishes his story, we just lay there for a little bit holding each other, enjoying the silence and the solitude, shoring one another up with the other's presence. It feels wonderful and restorative after everything that's happened so, of course, it can't last. I've barely snuggled my face completely into the crook of his shoulder, intent on doing nothing for the next little while but breathing him in, when there's a loud knock at the door.
"Eric," a familiar female voice calls, dripping in sarcasm, "your session with the magical, feel good Fairy vagina needs to come to an end, for now. We've got revolts to wage and Vampires to stake." Whether or not Pam actually knows the code to get into Eric's room I have no idea, but if she does she's smart enough not to actually use it at this particular moment.
After a curt reply, Eric and I untangle from each other, rise from his bed and begin to dress. I'm about to ask Eric what exactly I should put on, since I didn't actually have time to pack a bag before we came here (having been kidnapped and nearly killed and all), when he emerges from his airplane hangar of a closet dressed in his usual outfit of a wife beater and tight, dark, drool inducing, designer jeans, holding a bundle of decidedly feminine looking clothes. I watch dumbfounded as he walks up to me, an unreadable expression on his face and holds them out for me to take.
"If these aren't to your liking there are more things in the closet." He says quietly, making me think that, if he could, he'd be blushing bashfully right now.
Taking the clothes from him, I look down and see that he's handed me a pretty, baby pink sundress, a little white cardigan to go over it and a set of beautiful, matching lacy underwear. My first thought is to ask whose they are but, before I can say anything that will either get me mad or offend him, I see that everything still has the tags on it. They're brand new, all in exactly my size and all in my style. Looking up at him, knowing that a blush is most definitely staining my own cheeks, I ask the obvious without being able to stop myself first.
"You bought clothes for me? When?" Eric looks down at his feet for a moment before raising his eyes to face mine, almost as though he's readying for an argument.
"I had Pam take care of everything you might need in the last week and had things sent to each of my houses." I can tell through our bond that Eric is waiting for me to say something, probably expecting me to start a fight. Looking down at the clothes, I see instantly that the tags might still be on them, but whoever unpacked this stuff was smart enough, or devious enough since it's Pam we're talking about here, to have ripped the actual prices off.
"Eric…" I'm not sure what I should say. My first reaction is to give the clothes back to him and tell him that I can't accept such things. The fact that the price markings are gone just proves that I could never ever afford them or probably even imagine how much they cost.
It's an ingrained response after years of being raised never to accept charity from people and I'm just about to do it when something stops me. Maybe it's the glimmer of hope I feel from him that I'll accept what he so very badly wants to give me, or maybe it's the little voice in the back of my head repeating those words from just a few nights ago, that this is what people who love each other do: they take care of each other.
Eric didn't have these things delivered to my house. He didn't try to ply me with them as gifts, or insinuate that my Wal-Mart chic was no longer good enough now that I'm with him. He had them brought here in case I would need them, which as luck or his infinite foresight has proven, I actually do. Swallowing down my first instincts (which time has proven again and again I probably shouldn't listen to anyway) I lay the clothes on the bed and wrap my arms around his middle, holding him tight.
"Thank you for taking care of me." I say softly, pulling away just enough to smile up at him. Eric bends down, planting a soft kiss on my lips.
"Thank you for letting me." He answers.
~*E*~
Ten minutes later, Eric leads me through the secure lock at his bedroom door, up the stairs and into his huge open living room where we find Pam and Sigmund sitting across from each other, Pam in a huge arm chair and Sigmund on the even more enormous couch, giving each other the stink eye as Sigmund's men stand guard at the front door.
I can literally feel the change in Eric as we walk into the center of the room. The vulnerable man that made love to me just an hour ago, the devoted, fierce lover who would have and did nearly give everything to find me and win me, is suddenly pushed into the background, masked by the persona of the cold, deadly thousand year old Vampire as he prepares to face our problems head on once again.
"Where are we going tomorrow?" Eric asks authoritatively, taking control of the situation before Sigmund has a chance to. Sigmund looks up from his disdaining of Pam to give us a frustrated glance. It's clear that he's unhappy to have been given the job of babysitting and transporting us and is in no mood to be helpful.
"Bettmeralp." He answers flatly. I guess I'm the only one who doesn't automatically know where that is, because all Eric does is nod.
"And what will we find when we get there?" Eric continues. Sigmund just lets out a put upon sigh.
"I'm not at liberty to give you any information, Northman." He answers shortly. I hear Eric growl and I notice the guards by the door start to stand up a little bit straighter.
"That may be, but you're still going to. I am far older than you and your guards." Eric says, his voice softly menacing. Sigmund lets out an exasperated puff of air.
"And if you kill me you'll still find yourself hunted by both the Authority and by Ilina. So don't make empty threats." Eric's arm comes out, taking hold of me and pulling me firmly behind him.
"On the contrary, thanks to Ilina the Authority thinks I've met my true death. You know me and Pam and you saw last night what my bonded is capable of. How long do you think you'll live if I decide I'd rather take my chances on my own than help you out with your little rebellion against the empire?" I can actually see the wheels in Sigmund's head turning and the exact moment that the little light bulb above his head goes off and he realizes that we could actually take him and his two guards pretty dang easy. Sure, we might be condemning ourselves to a life on the run after that, but they'd still definitely be goop stains on the floor first. Giving us both a dirty look, Sigmund makes the right choice.
"That is the location of our compound. Those of our allies that have joined the fight are waiting for us there." Eric gives a put upon sigh of his own. It's probably not because Sigmund is either too dense or too square to get his previous pop culture reference, but I'm thinking that's a pretty good indication we're not dealing with the great thinker of this little revolt.
"Who are your allies?" He asks slowly, as if trying to help a simple child get the right answer, which I guess is exactly what he's doing.
"There are several Sheriff's from both America and Europe and their loyal Vampires as well as the King of New York and the Queen of France." Sigmund answers back proud of himself. Eric just stares at him blandly: apparently that don't impress him much.
"I may be able to bring two more monarchs to your banner if you allow us to make a stop on the way to Switzerland." Eric says flatly. Sigmund raises an eyebrow. If Eric is right about Ilina's motivations for wanting him on her side she clearly didn't share them with Sigmund.
"Who?" He asks, bouncing one of his knees in a ridiculously human gesture of nervousness, clearly uncomfortable with the thought that he might have to do something other than follow Ilina's orders.
"Scandinavia." In addition to not being the sharpest stake in the bunch, Sigmund must not be a very good poker player either cause both of his eyebrows go straight up into his hair when he hears that. He looks momentarily lost, but then pulls his cell phone out of his pants and makes a quick call.
Pam, who's been sitting there relatively quietly through all of this, just snorts as she sees the burly German Vampire calling his tiny little boss for permission.
"Hopefully she has him on an extend-o leash and not one of the old fashioned ones." Pam snorts, before looking back down at her fashion magazine. Sigmund speaks a few words into his phone, gets a reply and then says a few more things before hanging up.
"Make your arrangements." He says snippily, before turning his head away from us and ending the conversation. Eric just nods his head.
"Pam, go pack our things and help Sookie pack hers." Pam nods her head and stands up, ready to take me back downstairs, when it suddenly dawns on me that we're leaving town - hell, we're leaving the country for God knows how long, maybe not to return.
"Wait." I say, suddenly panicked. "I can't just leave without talking to Jason or Sam or Tara or Lafayette or…somebody first. I need to call someone!" I blurt out. Eric looks down on me sadly for a moment before reminding me exactly what kind of pickle we're in.
"Lover, you cannot let anyone know that you're leaving or that you're even alive. The Authority believes you're dead. If they should decide to attempt to verify this they'll go looking for your friends and family first and they'll be able to glamour anyone of them into giving up the details of your conversation. If we are to succeed at this then the story Ilina told them must stand." I swallow hard at that, remembering exactly what it is that she planned to tell them and I feel a knot growing in the pit of my stomach. It feels wrong to just up and leave again after everything that happened and yet Eric's completely right: if anyone comes looking for us, my friends can't know where I am, for our safety as well as for their own.
Another thought bites at the back of my brain too, one that whispers that no one missed me much before so they probably won't miss me again, but I tamp down on that hard. We won't be gone that long and we will be coming back. I'll deal with it all then. Nodding my head that I understand, I follow Pam downstairs and back into Eric's room. Pam pretty much just sits me on the bed and lets me watch as she starts packing for Eric and me at once.
"So what does one wear to meet a King or a Queen?" I ask off handedly, playing with the white ribbon that's sewn into the hem of my pretty pink dress, trying to distract myself. The only monarch I ever got to meet was Russell and I'm pretty sure that I shouldn't use any of those encounters as templates for future introductions to Vampire royalty (at least I'm really hoping not). Pam is bringing things out from the closet so fast I barely see her or them as they go into the suitcase, but I can hear her just fine.
"Well, you don't need to wear an evening gown if that's what you mean, but I'd leave the Target brand jeans and purple sweaters with pink and white hearts at home." She replies, snarky as ever, as she comes out of the closet holding several pretty dresses in a variety of colors and fabrics that must also belong to me.
"Gee, thanks so much, Pam." I answer back. Pam is probably the last person that I should be confessing a weakness to, even if we are closer now than we were before the whole joint abduction thing, but I just can't help myself.
"Will they like me?" I whisper into the space between us. Suddenly the blur that was Pam comes to stand still right in front of me. Taking my chin by one finger she lifts my head so that we're eye to eye.
"They're not Human, Sookie. They won't greet you with hugs and kisses and tell you how overjoyed they are you've made their grandson happy before launching into embarrassing tales of his awkward tween years. But they know how immensely he loves you and they know what he was like while you were missing. When they see how much you love him back, when they see how much more…alive he is with you at his side, they will accept you. Besides, what are you worried about? You don't need their acceptance one way or the other. You have mine." Pam winks at me mischievously and then gets back down to packing.
~*S*~
When I come back upstairs later Eric is walking out of what looks like his office, holding three small booklets. He hands one to me. Looking down at it, I realize it's a passport. Opening it up, I see that it has several stamps in it already, before coming to the ID page. There, clear as day, is an extremely recent picture of me next to the name: Anna Thorvalderson. I look between what is clearly a falsified document and my Vampire a few times before closing it in a huff.
"You weren't joking when you said you had Pam get me everything I might need." Eric just shrugs his shoulders.
"It never hurts to be prepared, lover." Eric puts his passport into my hand as well, before laying a quick kiss to the top of my head and turning to lock his office and set the security code.
"What exactly were you preparing for?" I ask, wondering how he managed to do this so quickly, and why.
"I admit to being concerned with Bill's continued interest in you even after you made yourself quite clear. I thought it best to be ready for all contingencies." I flip though Eric's passport as he says all this and try to tamp down on the warm, gooey feeling spreading though my insides when I notice that his fake passport reads: Alexander Thorvaldersen. We're traveling as husband and wife.
Deciding not to think too much about how I'm actually getting emotional over the fact that my boyfriend had matching illegal documentation made for us to ease our flight from the country after faking our own deaths, then that we're fleeing the country after faking our own deaths or the fact that it probably means I couldn't see that boat to normal with the help of satellite technology as it's now on a completely different planet than me, I choose to be dog with a bone about the Bill thing.
"You were afraid of Bill?" I ask, raising my eyebrow and trying to keep the sarcasm out of my voice all at the same time. Eric looks at me with a cocked eyebrow of his own before snorting loudly.
"Hardly. I was afraid, however, that after ending him, in any number of enjoyable ways, we would need to flee the country so that I was not either arrested for treason or made King in his place." That Eric's not actually sure which one would have been the consequence of his actions is a little chilling and maybe not such a bad reason these Authority people need to go. But before I can make any kind of response, Eric excuses himself and heads downstairs.
He's only gone for a moment or two but, when he arrives back upstairs with Pam in tow, I'm shocked at both their appearances. It's not that much has changed - we're not dying hair and putting on fake plaster facial prosthetics or anything - it's just that they're really dressed not like themselves.
Pam, who not a half hour ago was mocking my "Target brand" jeans and ugly sweaters, emerges holding a rolling suitcase and wearing an actual pair of jeans, a pink Hello Kitty t-shirt and, honest to God, pink, sparkly converse sneakers with her hair pulled back into a pony tail and Eric…well Eric looks pretty much like the sophisticated version of his amnesia self: loose fitting, low slung jeans, soft-looking, crème colored cashmere sweater and hair flopping all over the place.
Eric sees my raised eyebrow and smiles sweetly at me, looking for all the world like he's going to ask me to go swimming in the pond with him after dawn, and answers my unspoken question.
"Pam and I thought we'd attract less attention dressed this way." I suppose that's a good thing. With all the video cameras all over the airport, without all the black and leather people might not even notice they're Vampires (at least not right away). Of course we're still traveling with Sigmund and his two goons, who are wearing nothing but black and leather (well Kevlar), but I guess they still don't look like Eric Northman and Pam Beaufort this way, which is hopefully good enough to keep us from being noticed and caught.
"We should leave now." Sigmund says curtly, before opening the front door and walking out. Eric just smirks a little at our jailer's obvious pissiness and then holds out his arm for me to take. Winding mine through his, we walk out to the car with Pam behind us. This time, Eric joins me in the backseat, giving Pam the pleasure of riding shotgun with Sigmund, as we make our way to Shreveport Regional Airport.
The drive is a short one and we're at the airport in about a half an hour, but I'm a little shocked when we breeze past the Anubis terminal, headed for American Airlines instead. Eric must sense my question because he chuckles a little bit.
"Most Vampires will only travel Anubis now, but it costs a great deal of money. We're more likely to stay off the radar screens of those who might look for us if we travel a normal Human airline." Once again, there are a lot of different things going on in Eric's one simple sentence, but as usual I latch on to the thought that's probably least relevant at the moment.
"Are there Vampires without money?" I ask, genuinely curious. This time it's Pam who makes the derisive sounding snort.
"Only the stupid ones." She answers, as we park in the long term lot and start walking over the bridge to the terminal.
"So, even though you guys will probably still stick out like a sore thumb on a plain full of Humans," cashmere sweaters and sexy floppy hair notwithstanding, I add silently, "you'll be less conspicuous to other Vampires because they'll assume you guys are nobodies if you're forced to pack in with the…vermin?" Gah, I'm liking that Pam and I are getting closer and all but I'm really afraid, if I'm not careful, she's going to start rubbing off on me. Pam actually laughs triumphantly at the sound of me saying that word and I contemplate, for just a moment, maybe stabbing her with a number two pencil during the inflight movie.
"Ding, ding, ding, give the lady a prize!" Pam answers back. Oh it's going to be a lovely flight!