A/N: Not too much to say. Just a big thank you to everyone who continues to follow this story.

And major props to my awesome beta Northman Maille, who's THE BEST!

Disclaimer: I own nothing….

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The first thing he felt, as he made the journey back to consciousness, was the soft fall of her hair, spread out like golden silk across his chest, tickling his skin. Eric opened his eyes to find Sookie, lying on her side, her beautiful face hidden in the crook of his arm. Her own arm was thrown possessively across his stomach and one leg, bent at the knee, rested over his thigh while her little foot lay wedged between his legs. She was wrapped around him like his own personal Vampire Fairy blanket.

They had rested the day in her bedroom. In the years she'd been gone he had not only taken loving care of her home, preserving it for her, but also made changes that would allow them to sleep there in safety and comfort.

When all this was over, when he had his freedom again, could make her his wife once more, they would live here. He imagined them now, spending endless nights, recreating the simple happiness they'd found when he was cursed. He'd meant every word he'd said to her on those wonderful nights. He would have happily given it all up for her then and he still would, perhaps now more so than ever.

He wanted nothing more than to leave his duties behind, spend a few of their endless centuries together holed up in this little house: doing nothing more than loving each other. After everything they'd been through, and everything he knew they would still have to face, they deserved it.

Kissing the top of Sookie's head, he left her. He retrieved his phone on the way to the kitchen and, as he warmed two True Bloods, he dialed Pam. He could tell she was just coming out of her daytime rest, and wanted to get her before she was distracted by Miriam and their newest pet.

"Eric," Pam yawned into the phone, "Sookie is back now. Why are you calling me at the crack of dusk instead of burying your mouth between Sookie's thighs? I know it's been a decade since you cared about pleasing a woman, but still, you can't have forgotten everything." He never failed to be amused by how irritable she was when she first rose.

"I couldn't resist the opportunity to start my night out by hearing your sweet, adoring voice. Has any maker ever been blessed with such a reverent, respectful child?"

"Something is wrong then, I take it." She asked, still crabby.

"Your powers of perception are all but mystical Pam, truly. How could you possibly have guessed? Our existences are always so quiet and uneventful." He deadpanned.

"I must be coming into new gifts." She snarked back, between more yawns.

"Indeed, you should jump off of Fangtasia's roof tonight and see if you've finally been gifted with flight." He couldn't help but goad her.

The hiss from the other end of the phone was beyond satisfying. Normally he wouldn't poke a grumpy bear, but he felt, after hauling her new wardrobe across an ocean, he was owed a little something in return.

"Was there something you wanted or is this simply a case of no pussy for you no pussy for me?" She asked, the pique clear in her voice.

"Yes and yes." He answered, feeling her exasperation palpably, even from Shreveport. "Freyda called just before dawn this morning, we have a Felipe problem. I need you to send a car and make arrangements for me to fly back to Oklahoma right away."

"It will be there in an hour." She answered back, becoming serious.

"Good. I'm sending Sookie to Shreveport for the time being. Until we know what's going on, I want her with you."

"Of course. Should I send breakfast along in the car?" Eric could hear the smirk in her voice.

Looking with distaste at the two True Bloods he'd warmed, he decided to take Pam up on her offer.

"That would be lovely."

"Only because you brought me Dolce. It's the least I can do…even if you are a dick first thing in the evening."

"Pot and kettle Pam." He chuckled.

"Be careful." She said, after a moment, her voice earnest.

"I always am."

With that he disconnected and made his way back to Sookie's room, bottles of blood in hand. She was just stirring as he set them down and climbed back into bed with her.

"How long do we have?" She asked taking a bottle reluctantly and sipping at it.

The sour expression that crossed her face was just as adorable now as it had been all those years ago, and he couldn't stop himself from taking the bottle out of her hand and placing it back on the nightstand, before climbing on top of her.

"The things you make me feel, Sookie." He breathed softly into her neck, laying little nips all along her throat.

Sookie could only laugh as she wrapped her arms and legs around him. He felt so good!

"You're still so soft, and you smell delicious. I wish I could eat you all night." His lips had made their way down to her breasts and he couldn't resist giving each of them a thorough tonging before pulling away. "But Pam is sending a car for us within the hour."

Sookie couldn't help her sigh of disappointment. Nodding her head, she reluctantly crawled out from underneath him, but then had another thought.

"Shower then?" She asked, a hopeful smile lifting the corners of her mouth.

Eric's answering smile was all fangs and leer.

Exactly an hour later they were just finishing dressing, as the car pulled up the drive.

Climbing into the back Eric had to stifle a groan. Apparently he'd poked the grumpy bear a little too hard. Sitting in the middle of the back seat, taking up the majority of it was a bearded, middle aged male fangbanger, dressed in only a pair of nearly bursting leather pants, and wearing a sweaty bandana over his mostly bald head.

"I'm Snake. Ms. Pam sent me for you." He said to Sookie's breasts.

Sookie and Eric looked at each other and Sookie was all but biting her tongue off to keep from laughing.

"You pissed Pam off, I see." She giggled.

"I really should know better by now." He grumbled, attempting to fit himself into the backseat without making any kind of physical contact with their 'breakfast'.

For all of Snake's physical 'charms' he was AB negative, which turned out to be the only thing to save him, especially when he tried to cop a feel of both Sookie's cleavage and Eric's, for the moment, ungracious plenty, as they fed.

After dropping their meal at the first possible place in Shreveport, they made their way to the airport. As they pulled into the Anubis terminal, Sookie slid over and wrapped her arms tight around Eric's neck.

"Call as soon as you can." She whispered before kissing him hard and long.

"I will. Stay close to Pam and be careful." He instructed her, stealing one last kiss before getting out of the car, forcing himself not to turn and look at her one last time. He knew if he looked back he wouldn't be able to leave. From the emotions she was sending him, he knew she felt the same.

He vowed to himself then, whatever this new mess was, it wouldn't sway him from finding a way to end his marriage. He'd felt Sookie's hesitation last night, her worry for his safety. He knew she would be willing to wait for him however long it took. But with Ocella gone, and the threat of his power over them removed, there simply wasn't a single chance Eric would wait another ninety years to have his life back as it should be: he and Sookie together in every way.

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Freyda's limo was waiting for him when he touched down two hours later.

"Thank you for coming back so quickly." She said as he climbed into the backseat sitting beside her.

"What's going on?" He asked, foregoing the usual pleasantries, not wanting to wait a second longer to find out what happened.

"It appears Felipe has been running his mouth off in front of the wrong people. He's managed to make an enemy of the King of California. It hasn't progressed passed words yet, but Felipe is certain there will be war eventually. He asked us to Venice hoping it would appear, to the right people, as though I supported him and would back him in a fight."

"A direct violation of your agreement with each other when our marriage was made." Eric interjected, his voice carefully neutral.

"Yes, although it hardly matters. One way or the other Felipe may have drawn us into war. If California believes I'll get involved then it's possible he may attack us as a preemptive strike. He's very powerful, as you know, and has many, many allies. Such an outcome would mean certain disaster for Oklahoma." She paused there for a moment, her face taking on an even more sour expression. "And there's more."

"What?" He prompted her softly.

"When Felipe saw how…covetous of your bonded the Doge was, he took the opportunity to try and gain another ally. He has offered Sookie to Marco as a reward for his assistance. It's why he let you both leave so easily. The Duke hasn't given up. He's just… biding his time."

Eric felt himself stiffen internally and it took all his strength to hold back the force of his anger.

"He told you this?" He bit out incredulously, his voice barely more than snarl.

"Oh yes. He was quite eager to tell me. He felt if you…resisted his ruling in this matter, I would be more than happy to step in and help force you to give her over. You're far too valuable to lose Eric. He wouldn't want to end you just to give Marco what he wants and of course, he assumed this would make me happy and therefore more willing too."

"Then why are you telling me this?"

At first Freyda said nothing, only looked down angrily at her pretty turquoise dress, viciously picking at imaginary fabric pills.

"Don't you know why?" She answered quietly, still not looking at him.

His only response was a raised eyebrow.

"If I helped him, what would I gain?" She began, finally raising her eyes to his, pain clearly written across her face. "I might have you physically here with me, and her gone again, but knowing I'd helped him would put your heart further from me than ever. Instead of winning you, it would make you hate me.

I know now you will never feel for me as I feel for you. But I could not bear for you to despise me. Nor will I play Felipe's puppet and put my people in danger in the blind hope that hurting what you love will somehow win me what I desire. I am not a fool, Eric, nor am I a monster. No matter what you do or don't feel for me, you should know that by now."

He did. There were others, many others, who would have taken Felipe's offer without hesitation, if not in the hope of gaining his love then to punish him for his rejection. Instead she proved once again that honor and wisdom were what drove her.

And in doing so, she had won in him an ally for the rest of her existence. No matter what passed between them he would always be loyal to her. Felipe might rule his state, for the moment, but Freyda was his Queen.

With a cold kind of clarity, Eric began to realize the answer to both of his problems lay in one simple solution.

"It seems to me," he began cautiously, "the only way any of us will be safe, is for Felipe to meet his final death." Eric's words were barely a whisper but nothing more was needed.

Freyda's head shot up and her eyes widened, her pupils nearly eating her irises, in shock. They were just approaching the palace grounds at that point. Without responding to him, Freyda hit the button for the intercom that connected the back of the limo to the driver's portion of the cabin.

"We're not done yet, Williams. Drive around town for a little longer." She said sternly before taking her finger off the button and looking at him again, her face still stunned. "What are you suggesting Eric?" She asked, her voice equally quiet now.

"I'm suggesting we give Felipe the final death and make you Queen of four states, Majesty." He replied no emotion whatsoever tingeing his voice.

"If you failed, Eric, it would be treason. Felipe wouldn't even bother wasting the time on a trial." She knew he was already aware of this, but she couldn't help reminding him. He wouldn't simply be sentenced to the final death. Felipe would kill him slowly and painfully. The thought made her flinch.

"I will not fail." This time his words held nothing but confidence. "I will make you Queen of Nevada, Louisiana and Arkansas and in return I ask for only one thing."

"And that is?" She asked shakily.

"My freedom."

She'd known of course. She was too smart not to have guessed it before the words were even half out of his mouth. Still it stung. How many other men would have given anything to be with her, if not for love of her then for the power and the position she'd given him? She could have had any one of them at any time, but instead she'd somehow fallen for the one man who would forever be beyond her charms or her affections.

She'd made this marriage to spare her people from Felipe's greed. Now the only way to protect them from his hubris was to give away the husband she'd gained. After centuries on earth she was well acquainted with fate's rather callous sense of humor.

"Very well. You have my word, kill Felipe and keep me out of it, and when I am Queen of his territories I will give you your freedom before witnesses." She said, forcing herself to take on the regal voice she used before her subjects, if only to hide the deep well of desolation her promise created.

Freyda held out her hand to him, to shake on their agreement, but instead Eric took it gently and turned it. He placed a soft kiss on the back before dropping it and pushing the button for the driver.

"We're ready to return to the Palace now." He said, his voice bored, as though they'd been talking about anything but assassinating a fellow Monarch.

"Yes, your Highness." The driver responded before cutting their connection once more.

When they reached the palace Eric got out of the car first and held his hand out to help Freyda from the back. As she stood up beside him, he bent to her ear. To anyone observing them it would have looked as though he were merely kissing the column of her neck.

"Go in, I will join you shortly."

Freyda nodded, giving his hand a hard squeeze before stalking proudly into the palace, head held high.

Once she had gone Eric shot into the sky, not stopping until he was a mile above the ground. Taking out his phone he dialed Pam's cell.

"Sookie says Snake was a big hit." She laughed.

"Hmm yes, he was delightful. For some reason, I find myself suddenly eager for your upcoming birthday. Now, put your sister on the phone." He said, giving a single second, as he waited, to visions of all the lovely ways he intended to pay her back.

"Eric," Sookie's voice came through only a moment later. He could tell she was anxious.

He quickly explained what Freyda told him and what he intended to do in return.

"We can't make open rebellion against Felipe." Sookie said when he'd finished.

"No, you're very right about that. We have neither the time to plan such a thing nor the people. We will need to find a way to lure him unawares, and with as few of his retinue as possible."

There was silence for a long moment, then suddenly he could feel Sookie light on an idea, almost like a bulb going off over her head.

"What if we made him believe we'd discovered someone else plotting rebellion? How many people would he bring to a treason sentencing?" She asked.

"If it were proven beyond the need for a trial, just enough to witness him putting a stake through the traitor's chest. What are you thinking Sookie?"

"Pam has been regaling me with tales of Victor and Bill all evening. It seems neither of them have changed much in the last decade." She began.

"No, you heard Bill last night. They both continue to be thorns in our sides, albeit far more covertly than before. Victor is not dim enough to challenge me outright when I am the King's current favorite, even if Bill shows far less restraint with his tongue than he should." He could see the thread of Sookie's logic quite clearly, and he was pleased her returned memories had not snuffed out her more Vampiric instincts. He had feared she might forgive Compton all his insubordination and underhandedness, now she remembered the brief moment in her life when they'd been lovers. Still, her plan had too many pitfalls. "Sookie in order to frame Victor we would need to know too many things we still do not. He's managed to keep much close to the vest despite the number of spies I have surrounding him."

"I know. We'd need to have someone close to him give up everything they know about his strengths, his weaknesses, how many of his people are truly loyal and how many would change sides if given the opportunity. We'd need someone like…Bill." Her voice had taken on a shaky quality at the end, but Eric could tell it had nothing to do with the idea of using her former lover.

"Bill might still want you for his own Sookie, but I doubt even he's witless enough to give up that kind of information, even for a price." And I wouldn't allow you to touch that sick fuck for all the tea in China, he added silently, not quite willing to start that particular argument…yet.

He knew quite well how Sookie would react to his forbidding her to do anything. He still would though if it came down to it. He was not his Maker. The thought of allowing Sookie to trade herself for anything, even coveted information, was sickening to him. And he had no doubt it would take nothing less than an offer of Sookie's body to get Bill to give up what he knew…maybe not even then.

Bill was a coward and a turncoat but he wasn't a complete idiot. He knew there was no going back, no atoning for what he'd done a decade ago. He would never be safe from Eric with Victor out of the way.

"Calm down Eric. I have no intention of even suggesting what you're thinking." Sookie's voice had an adamancy to it which immediately quelled his worry.

"Then what are you suggesting?" He asked.

The other end of the phone was silent for a long moment, and Eric felt Sookie's fear suddenly rear up within her and then be ruthlessly pushed back down. By the time she spoke again he felt that, now familiar, wall of determination squashing down any other emotion.

"That night in Baden, I found more than my memories. I felt it Eric, my telepathy, it's there too. I…when I was Human, sometimes, I used to catch snippets of Vampire thoughts. It only ever happened a few times, but it felt like… cold snakes slithering around my brain.

In Baden, when my shields fell back all the way, there was a minute where it felt like everyone was screaming at me at once and I felt like there were hundreds of things crawling all over me. I didn't understand it at the time, but now I remember, it felt just like the snakes. I was hearing the Vampires in the room too, I just didn't know it.

I haven't tried again to push my shields all the way back, but…but I could. And I think if I did, I'd be able to hear anyone. I wouldn't have to offer Bill anything, I wouldn't even have ask him much of anything, all I'd have to do is sit with him and open my mind, and I could find out what we need."

Her words were shocking and Eric almost jumped on them without thinking first, but the fear she felt, it didn't make sense. Sookie had always hated her telepathy because it gave her no peace, but it had never frightened her. Now it seemed as though it had become the perfect gift, she could listen when she wanted to and effortlessly block it out when she didn't. Why then was she purposefully keeping it blocked off?

"There's something you're not telling me. What is it Sookie? Why haven't you used your gift again?" His voice was gentle as he pushed calm, love and acceptance to her.

"I'm afraid." She answered, sounding angry at herself for the emotion.

He had seen it in the few nights they'd been together again. Perhaps it had been her lack of memories through her Vampire existence, or perhaps it had been Ocella's gift to her, the total extinguishment of such a worthless and inhibiting emotion, but he knew fear was something she was no longer familiar with.

"Of what Lover?" He asked softly.

"If I pull them back up wrong, I might forget everything again? I don't want to forget my life again. I don't want to be a monster again and I can't forget you again. Loving you is the only thing that makes me…human anymore."

Eric felt his gut twist at her simple admission. How often, in the beginning, had he felt the same way? Of course, in the very beginning, when he'd felt loving Sookie made him Human, the thought had often been accompanied by distaste and anxiety. But by now, he'd long understood their love for each other to be the great gift it was. He wouldn't let her lose herself, or him, again…he couldn't.

"I won't allow any of that to happen love. I promise." The certainty in his voice seemed to calm her somewhat. "What if you and I practiced beforehand, so you could get used to pulling your shields in and pushing them back out?" He offered after a moment, a thought striking him. "With just the two of us there wouldn't be a deafening roar of voices, you could get used to it slowly. And if you explain to me what it feels like to use your shields, I could use my Maker's command to help you push them back if you pulled them up too far. When you can do it with ease, we can practice with more people."

"You'd let me read your mind? You aren't angry?" She seemed genuinely surprised by his offer.

"I have never had anything to hide from you Sookie. You might not like everything you hear, I have done many things you may find repellant, but you are my bonded and my child. There is nothing of me I am unwilling to share with you."

"I love you so much, Eric. You've always accepted all of me haven't you? There isn't anything I could hear that would make me love you any less."

"Then I will speak with Freyda and hope to be home again tomorrow. I'm looking forward to our practice sessions lover, there are a good many things I would love for you to 'hear'."

The leer in his voice was unmistakable and Sookie found herself laughing, despite her trepidation over what they'd just decided.

"What's my rule about dirty talk?" She teasingly reproved him.

"I'm well aware of how you feel about dirty words, Lover. But I don't believe we've ever established a rule on vivid, filthy thoughts and I promise you, after tomorrow night, you won't want to!"