AN: Hey guys! So, yeah. I wrote three chapters and... none of it saved. There was something wonky, apparently, and I lost chapters 25-28. I am pissed! I have to write it all again. Hopefully, I can get everything back down. Jesus, I'm annoyed, but what can you do? So, here's 25. I hope you guys like it, and let me know what you think Enjoy!

Chapter 25

Night One:

Bill had come by to see Sookie when he could. As soon as he could, really. She was surprised to see him, but glad, too. She liked that he was so worried about her, so scared about her wellbeing. It served him right as far as she was concerned. It might have been a year since they broke up to him, but it was less than twenty-four hours for her.

Night Two:

After storming out of Fangtasia when she found out that Eric owned her house, Sookie went for a drive. It was the only way she could think to clear her head, and it worked until she made her way back home. She was surprised to see Eric, topless and shoe-less, walking on the side of the road.

At first, she thought the memory-loss-thing was a ploy. It had to have been a joke, surely, but the longer she talked to him, the less certain she became. When he attacked Pam, Sookie was all but certain something was seriously wrong.

Damn witches.

Night Three:

Sookie got little to no sleep that day. She spent so long trying to pawn Eric off on someone (anyone!) but she had no takers. Then again, maybe she wasn't totally shocked by that. No one really wanted someone like Eric Northman in their house.

When she made it home that night just before he woke up, talked to him, and saw how lost he looked, Sookie decided to keep him anyway. A thought, a bit devilish and possibly mean, entered her mind. This Eric, this lost, sad, childlike Eric, was nice. She liked him better than the previous version. He was tender and a blank slate. That was the most important bit. He was empty.

Sookie had always thought Eric was an attractive vampire. He was tall, muscled, intelligent, ancient, powerful, and rich. He was everything she could want in a partner, but up until that point, his personality got in the way. With him like this, however, she could make him hers. It wouldn't take much.

Night One:

Eric looked thoroughly annoyed when "King" Bill called him. It wasn't the first time the monarch used Eric to run some useless errand since taking the crown, and Maria doubted it would be the last. But, he had no choice. He had to be the loyal subject despite the fact that he didn't want to be.

Maria worked the rest of the night alongside Pam while Eric was gone as she had every other time. It wasn't out of the ordinary at all, though there was something a bit strange. For some reason, in the middle of the night, Pam fled Fangtasia, a blur of red and blonde, and when she returned, she was furiously anxious. Maria had watched her return, eying the odd behavior, which Pam noticed as she stormed towards the offices again.

"The fuck you lookin' at?" She snapped angrily.

Maria said nothing, but arched a brow at the temperamental vampire. Shaking her head, she went back to work until her shift ended. When it did, she went home.

The fact that she hadn't heard from Eric in the meantime wasn't surprising, nor was the fact that she went to bed alone that morning. It wasn't as though he spent every night with her.

Night Two:

Maria checked her phone when she woke up that night, and there was no message from Eric. It was a little strange, but not enough to raise her suspicions. Again, he had his own life, his own things to do that didn't include her, so like she knew she had to, Maria went to work.

The familiarity of her job, of slinging drinks for the people willing to pay for them accompanied for the first few hours of the night until something else odd happened. Pam, wrapped in a denim jumper that accentuated every curve she possessed, stalked out of the back. The moment she saw Maria, her path diverted.

"Go home." She said plainly.

"What?"

"Go home." She repeated. "Take the night off, okay?"

"But-"

Pam crossed the space in seconds and soon loomed over Maria to the point she had to lean back or risk her forehead meeting the blonde's chin. Her fangs were out as she hissed down at the dark-haired young woman.

"I said, go home." She said angrily. "Now."

Maria glared up at her, but decided against the fight that would ensue if she ignored her command. It wouldn't be worth it.

"Fine,"

Maria tossed down the rag in her hand and walked out of the nightclub. If Pam didn't want her there, it was fine by her, but she could tell something was wrong. Pam was acting strangely, stranger than normal at least.

Protestors shouted their chants, the same tired rant that they'd chosen weeks ago. They targeted her the moment they saw her, which they did to everyone who left the club, but she ignored them. Maria instead reached into her pocket and retrieved her phone. She called Eric's number.

It rang and rang until she finally heard the sound of Eric's voicemail. She didn't leave a message before hanging up and stowing the phone in her pocket once more. Pam was acting off, anxious, which wasn't the blonde's norm. It bothered Maria.

Pushing the feeling down, she text Eric, asked him if there was something she needed to be worried about, and then proceeded to go home. The last time things felt this strange, Russell Edgington was an issue.

Night Three:

Maria went the rest of that night, the day, and half of Night Three without a word from Eric. She was beginning to worry. She'd called him twice more. The first time it rang until it reached the voicemail once again. The second time there was no ringing. It went straight to voicemail, something it never did.

The longer she went without knowing what was happening, the more her imagination began to take over, and there was no limit to the horrible things she could imagine. Drawing on personal experiences, perhaps.

Eventually, unwilling to remain in the dark, Maria returned to Fangtasia where she knew Pam was likely hiding. To her surprise, Fangtasia was closed. Protestors remained, for some reason, but the door was locked when Maria finally made her way through them. Having a key, it was no obstacle and she was inside soon enough.

The stench of rot and decay was strong, nearly enough to knock her off her feet. It made her scowl and grimace. Bile threatened to rise in her throat, but she managed to push it down in favor of looking for Pam.

She was nowhere to be seen, so Maria called her. Pam didn't answer her phone, and Maria knew her calls were going through because the amount of rings before her voicemail would change. That meant she was glancing down, saw it was Maria calling, and ended it instead of picking up the line.

Maria was growing more and more anxious, and angrier by the hour. Something was going on, but she was being left in the dark. Given everything they'd been through together (all three of them) over the last year and a half, Maria knew she didn't deserve to be ignored. They should trust her at this point, whether the problem was vampire business or not. She'd proven herself on multiple occasions, proven that she was on their side, so to be left out frightened her.

She took a seat at Eric's desk and waited. At some point, Pam would have to return to Fangtasia, and then Maria would confront her. No more ignoring phone calls. No more sending her home. If Pam refused to answer her, Maria would rip the thoughts out of the blonde's head by force.

Night Four:

The front door smashing into the wall brought Maria to the moment. She stood from Eric's chair and slowly began to tug off her glove. Pam's heels clicked against the tiled floor. They brought her through the hall and closer to the office. The moment she stepped through the threshold, Maria was hit again with a strong odor of rot. The bile returned, stronger than before, yet somehow she managed to swallow it. The fact that Pam was wearing something a nineteenth century mourner would wear barely registered with her beyond that stench.

"The fuck do you want?" Pam snapped after she shook off the surprise of seeing Maria.

"Where's Eric?"

Pam sighed loudly from behind her veil. "Get the fuck outta here. Now."

"Where is he, Pam?" Maria wasn't willing to back down this time. She'd spent the last four days not knowing what was going on, and that was more than enough.

"Look," Her voice was cold, but as smooth as ever when she spoke. "Just because the two of you spent some magical nights together doesn't mean you get to start making demands, kitty. You're not the first random girl Eric's stuck his dick in, and ya won't be the last. Now, go away."

Maria was shocked, but more by the way Pam spoke than her actual insults. Insults were simply part of the game when it came to the Victorian Madame.

It was the last straw for her. She was done being shoved aside, so she reacted. Maria launched herself at Pam, smacked the veil out of the vampire's face and touched her rotting skin before she knew what had happened. It only took an instant for Maria to glean someone else's life, so the fact that Pam shoved her away quickly didn't matter.

Pam smashed her hand into Maria's chest which sent her flying across the room. Her back hit the wall hard, but she managed to get her feet under her before she would have hit the floor.

"What the fuck?!" Pam shouted angrily.

"God damn it, Pam! His memories are gone?!"

Pam suddenly went still halfway through shoving her veil back into place. "What'd you just say?"

"Christ. Why didn't you tell me?" Maria was furious as she tugged her gloves back on. "Blondes being fucking retarded is supposed to be a stereotype."

With nothing left to say to her, Maria left Fangtasia with every intention of racing to Sookie's house.

An amazing wave of clarity was brought with touching Pam. She understood why the blonde was so worried about what happened to Eric that she tried to keep his situation a secret, but that didn't meant Maria wasn't furious. Pam should have known better. She should have known that Maria could have helped, if anything help keep Eric safe even if Pam was completely unaware of what Maria could do.

Miles flew beneath her feet. Maria ran and ran and ran to Sookie's house, guided by the directions she'd taken from Pam as well as everything else. Sure, she didn't want to know the blonde that well, but desperate times and all that.

Maria turned onto a dirt road that brought her ever closer to the Stackhouse estate. In the distance, she could see the freshly-painted yellow farmhouse and ran even faster. Within seconds, she was skidding to a halt in front of it.

Eric spun with his teeth bared, hissing at Maria, but she already saw it. She already saw him passionately kissing Sookie on the front steps and it made her scowl.

Her eyes landed on the Viking standing in what could only be described as workout clothes. His angry expression faltered almost immediately. He stared at her strangely, but Maria was relieved. She was so grateful that he was alright that her eyes actually prickled and welled with possible tears.

"Eric," She breathed his name. She couldn't help it.

He looked at her strangely and, hesitantly, he began to advance. Maria did the same. She wanted to hug him, but when she looked into his eyes and saw nothing reflected back, she refrained.

They met one another in the middle of the yard and stood perhaps four or five feet from one another.

"Are you alright?" She felt compelled to ask.

"Yes," He nodded slowly. "Do you know me?"

Maria felt her insides jerk. It was true. He was entirely empty.

"Yeah," She nodded as the sinking feeling grew. When she blinked, Maria felt tears trickle down her cheek. "I do."

Eric took a single step closer and reached out. With the back of a curled finger, he wiped away one of the trails of tears on her cheeks.

"You're sad." He said as he swept away the second trail. "Is it my fault?"

The sweet, innocent way he asked the question, the clear worry in his voice, made her heart sink further.

"No," She forced a weak smile. "No, it's not your fault."

He nodded slightly.

The sound of footsteps drew their attention. Sookie was approaching, slowly making her way closer to the pair. Maria's face instantly hardened and a low, threatening growl echoed in her throat, a sound Eric must have noticed because he looked at her strangely.

Sookie reached for Eric's arm and held it tightly to her body.

"You don't like Miss Stackhouse, do you?" He asked Maria with genuine curiosity.

"No," She answered tightly. Her expression didn't relax until she looked up at Eric again. "I don't."

Eric shifted a little. "She is my friend. She saved me."

Maria fought the urge to reach out and grab Sookie, to throw her across the yard because she could see how certain Eric was in his declaration.

When she opened her mouth to speak, to ask Eric what he could remember or if he knew what happened, they were surrounded. Men in tactical gear descended on them in an instant and they were immediately guided to Bill's property across the graveyard. Everything happened so quickly that Maria could do nothing else but go along for the ride.

Sookie and Bill shouted at one another like a pair of moronic teenagers who'd just broken up. Their voices made Maria cringe, from Bill's thick drawl to Sookie's shrill tone. Maria, leaning against the wall of the foyer in the background, rolled her shoulders and her neck from side to side to try and alleviate the tension it caused.

Maria had to physically keep herself from getting involved, but it was difficult. The entire ordeal was giving her a headache, one that only got worse the longer Sookie spoke. Don't' you dare speak to me like that and the second I move on, you arrest him were to phrases that nearly sent Maria through her skin. She was berating Bill for talking to her the same way she spoke to him, but the piece de resistance was soon to come.

"If you ever really loved me," She said with a tremble in her voice, "Then you won't hurt him."

Are you fucking kidding me? Maria thought to herself.

No one said that. No one in real life ever said that. If you ever loved me was something simpering little girls said in movies. It was one of the most manipulative things to say to anyone and maybe Maria should've have been shocked to hear it from the blonde, but she was a little.

"It's business." He told her. "Vampire business. So, for once in your life, stay out of it."

Sookie flinched. Her eyes were welling with tears and she looked genuinely hurt by his cold words. How the hell could she be surprised by his reaction?! She just yelled, insulted, and was all around confrontational ever since setting foot in the mansion, and yet, she was shocked that he was unwelcoming? What a stupid cow.

Bill gave his attention to his guards and told them to escort Sookie from the property. She was furious and fought against them, but he was sure to tell them that she was forbidden from setting foot on the property.

Sookie fought against the men in black, but they were bigger, stronger, and easily shoved her out of the house. Maria and Bill were on their own when the door was closed. He seemed to have forgotten about her until he surveyed the scene.

"Leave," He told her sternly.

"I want to speak to Eric."

He clearly wasn't willing to put up with her, likely high on his status, and charged for her exuding authority.

"You will leave this property or I will-"

Maria's arm shot out. She grabbed him around the throat, spun, and slammed him against the wall she'd previously leaned again. Maria squeezed his throat hard, harder than she ever had before. Back in Dallas, the last time she'd held him by the neck, she'd held back out of some strange act of respect. No more.

Maria's lips curled back over her teeth and a growl crackled in the back of her throat. She could see him struggling to think of a plan. He was likely trying to decide if his guards, who she knew were human, could reach him in time, or if they'd be able to subdue her. They wouldn't and after a moment or two, he seemed to realize the same.

"I want to speak to Eric." She said again.

"Why?" He managed to choke out.

She formed an excuse quickly. "Because he and I have a bargain and if you plan to keep him, he needs to release me from it."

Maria loosened her grip just enough he could speak. "If Mr. Northman meets the True Death, the surely, your bargain is finished."

Her stomach sank and a pit formed in her chest, a pit that was slowly filling with fear and rage.

"That's not how I work."

Again, Bill seemed to think about what to do. As an act of 'respect', Maria released him and took a few steps back. Bill, glaring hatefully back at her, jerked his suit sharply into place. She remained silent and waited.

"Five minutes." He said finally. "I will give you five minutes."

Maria nodded. Bill gave her a wide berth as he approached the door that Eric had been ushered down. He pressed a few buttons, Maria heard the second door open, and before she made her way into the basement, Bill was sure to reiterate that she had only five minutes. She didn't reply, but rolled her eyes.

As she made her way downstairs and to the cells, she could hear Pam and Eric arguing. It was easy given the walls were concrete. Sound traveled.

"We can get your life back." She said desperately.

"I don't want it!" He yelled back. Maria heard Pam gasp. When he spoke again, he sounded a bit broken and sad. "The vampire I was… I don't want to remember."

"You don't know what you're saying." She was pleading, and her voice shook as she spoke. Maria pitied her.

He didn't speak again. As Maria rounded the corner that brought them into view, she saw Eric taking his seat on a cot while Pam lingered in the background. He must have heard her or sensed they weren't alone anymore because he looked up.

"Maria," He said, acknowledging her. It felt wrong, though. There was no recognition to her name. Instead, he might as well have been reciting a word from the dictionary. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to help you." She said, ignoring the itch that was forming at the back of her throat.

"No," He shook his head. "King Bill thinks that we are a danger. We need to be in here."

Maria scowled. She didn't like the way he spoke, the way he referred to Bill. It was simply more proof that Eric wasn't in there anymore. He sounded so meek…

As calmly as she could, she continued. The last thing she needed to do was lace her words with the same anxiety Pam had. It clearly wasn't helping.

"Eric," She said, drawing his eye. "Let me show you the past. I can do that, show you some of what you lost."

"What?" Pam's voice was soft, distant, though that might have been because there was a buzzing in Maria's ears.

"No," Eric shook his head firmly and turned his eye back on the floor. "No, I don't want to know who I used to be."

"That's not fair." Her jaw was tight when she spoke again because her frustration was growing. "What about what Eric wants, hm?"

He looked up at her with confusion. "Isn't that who I am?"

"The other Eric, the Eric that this happened to. What about what he wants?" Maria grabbed the bars and squared herself on his as best she could, ensuring they had eye contact. "That man you're showing nothing but respect, Compton, he wants to kill you. He wants you to meet the True Death because he's jealous."

"He is my King!" Eric snapped.

"He's a fucking bureaucrat!" She shot back just as angrily. "He wasn't born to his title like you and I were. It was handed to him. He has done nothing to earn your respect, but you're still willing to roll over. You're willing to kill Eric Northman and you don't even know who he is, how important he is to the people around him." Maria clenched her jaw to keep it from trembling. Angry tears had gathered in her eyes again because she couldn't believe how hard it was to convince him.

"Miss Stackhouse has told me what I did. She told me that I was an evil person. I don't want to remember that."

Pam growled hatefully, grumbling a dozen insults about the fairy witch under her breath that Maria wholeheartedly agreed with.

"Miss Stackhouse," She spat the name, "Doesn't know a fucking thing. I have seen everything that's ever happened to you, all one-thousand years of it. I know you better than anyone walking this earth."

Maria knew Pam wouldn't like her saying that particular bit, but it was true. As she looked at him, Maria could tell she was losing Eric. He was slipping back, finding footing within his refusal to know the truth.

"Look," She said, drawing his reluctant eye again. "It won't be the same as remembering. I can't undo the spell. It'll be more like a movie, but…"

Her voice fell off and her head dipped. The bars were cold against her forehead, but it was a sort of relief. Her head was beginning to ache, she was emotionally stretched thin, run ragged, and afraid. As sad as it was to say, Eric was the only friend Maria had. He was the only person she had a connection with now. They'd been through so much and she didn't want to lose that. She didn't want him to die.

She felt drawn and exhausted. What was the old fable of the man who'd been cursed by the Gods to push a boulder up a hill for eternity, never allowed to reach the top? That's how she felt trying to explain to Eric that he should accept her offer.

"You're so selfish," She said with a sigh. Maria forced herself to look up at him. Eric stared back sadly, but with confusion as well. "I can't believe you're going to kill a man when you don't even know who he was."

There was nothing else to say, at least nothing else she could think to add. It was all out there in the open now, all she could offer.

Eric let his head dip like before. He returned to staring at the floor, probably thinking about what she'd said. The longer he went without giving an answer, however, the more worried she became. In the back of her mind, Maria could hear Bill's voice telling her that she had a time limit, a time limit that they were closing in on quickly.

When he finally showed a sign of life, he stood, gliding easily to his feet. He approached her, still oozing uncertainty.

"What do I have to do?"

Maria's heart leapt. At least, if he did die, he'd have some inkling as to who she was. There was a small bit of comfort in that, as much as there could be given the situation.

"Just give me your hand." She said as she began to tug her glove off. Eric offered his hand. "It'll be a little confusing at first, but you'll be able to sift through it eventually."

He nodded. Maria wrapped her hand around his and held it. He took in a short gasp of breath.

"You're really warm."

She smiled softly. "Close your eyes." He did as she asked, and Maria did the same.

She concentrated, called on everything within her, and poured it into her contact with Eric. She let loose every memory, every emotion –literally everything inside her. It flowed out of her and into the Viking. Within seconds, it was finished, and she let him go.

Eric, with eyes wide and breathing heavily through his nose, he stumbled back from her. He fell back onto the cot he'd been sitting on previously and looked out of sorts. She understood. It must have been intense to go from nothing to over a hundred years of memories in seconds. She hoped it helped, though.

Maria hoped he'd be able to see some of his own memories, but the chances were a bit thin. It was more likely he'd see hers instead, probably not even getting any of Pam's. The fact of the matter was, anything she'd taken from someone else was little more than white noise if she shared her memories, like a photo-copy of a photo-copy from one of those mid-90s copy machines.

He remained still, with his elbows on his knees and his hands clamped together. He looked lost, which she understood. But, before Maria could ask if he needed help, if he had questions about anything, footsteps drew near. She instantly let out an annoyed sigh. Sure enough, Bill revealed himself.

"Time's up." He told her.

Maria's gaze drifted back to the cell. Pam and Eric were both looking at her. Jesus, Pam looked horrible.

"Thank you, Miss Romanov." Eric told her kindly.

She forced a smile and gave him a nod. When she looked at Pam, the blonde returned the action. Silently, Maria left the basement, followed closely by Bill.

When she reached the front door, Maria opened it with every intention of leaving, but Bill spoke up first.

"Maria Romanov," He said. Holding the door open, she turned to look at him. He had a skeptical, sarcastic grin on his bird-thin lips. "The Maria Romanov." She nodded. "Aren't you supposed to be dead?"

"Yup," She said.

Maria left, slamming the door behind her.

Without the need to be anywhere soon, Maria walked across the cemetery back toward the Stackhouse property. She knew how to get home from there.

Ten minutes or so after leaving Compton's mansion, she was outside the yellow farmhouse. Maria was in her own world, her mind racing with a thousand different thoughts when she heard her name called. An instant chill raced down her spine and, reluctantly, she looked up. Sookie had apparently been sitting outside on the porch and called out the moment she noticed Maria.

The dark-haired young woman stood there, for some reason, while Sookie jogged forward.

"What?" she snapped meanly.

Sookie paused. She stared back at Maria in surprise.

"What's going on?" She asked, ignoring Maria's angry word. "Where's Eric?"

"What do you care?"

"Hey!" Sookie snapped. Maria arched a brow at her. "I want to know what's happenin', so you're gonna tell me."

Maria scoffed, a cruel sound that held no mirth whatsoever. She walked toward the little girl and while Sookie tried to act calm and brave, Maria could hear her heart racing with fear.

"You don't get to demand shit from me, Fairy." She said angrily. "Christ, you make it sound like you're in love with him or something."

Sookie flinched. It was subtle, but Maria noticed it immediately. When she did, Sookie crossed her arms over her chest in that way that –presumably- the blond thought made her look powerful.

"Jesus, you do, don't you?" Maria instantly let out a mean-spirited laugh. "You really do jump from man to man on a whim, don't you?"

"Shut up!" Sookie said angrily. "Bill and I are over, and Eric loves me, too. It's not my fault that he isn't interested in some animal."

Rage flashed in her eyes, temporarily blinding her. Maria reacted instinctually. She instantly grabbed Sookie and threw her to the ground. The fairy screamed. Maria was on her in an instant.

"Yes, I am an animal." She growled in an inhuman way. "A very dangerous animal and you are nothing. You're a burden on everyone. You know what it was like while you were gone? Bliss. For a year, everything was great, and the second you come back, everything goes to shit. You are a plague and everyone was better off without you. And I promise you, one of these days," Maria closed the distance between them until her lips were inches from Sookie's ears. The blonde trembled beneath her and was so afraid that Maria could taste it. "I will kill you."

The soft whimper that left Sookie's lips followed Maria as she raced off toward Shreveport.

She was shaking, so angry that the lion inside her was scratching, clawing, to get out. Eric was in love with Sookie? It'd been three days. How could they be in love with someone in three days? That wasn't how it worked. Love, real love, didn't happen that fast.

When she made it home, Maria didn't stop. She began to peel off her clothing, yanked off her jewelry and every adornment she could because the lion wanted out. She barely managed before it won the fight. The lion tore through her skin, bursting into the world.

Maria, now fully transformed, threw her head back and let out a loud, ear-splitting roar that echoed through the air. Some poor bastard somewhere would probably mistake it for a Bigfoot or some other type of cryptid. Perhaps they weren't wrong.

Still racing with energy, Maria tore off into the distance. Her claws ripped into the dirt and her massive paws flung it into the air as she ran. The wind ruffled her fur and whiskers. Maria darted into the woods with every intention of running until she couldn't anymore.