A new chapter of this fic.

Have a nice week.

:K

Chapter 26

Sookie POV

"You two are doing very well, but remember that zombies will not remain still. They will move, try to attack you, and if you're not careful, they'll bite you." Eric's speech was not exactly encouraging, but he was being honest. "Guns give you advantage, but they're noisy. Zombies feel attracted by noise and the smell."

The baby hadn't let me to rest too much for the last few days and I was exhausted. That day I slept until late and went outside to see Eric with some of the girls, teaching them to shoot.

"The knife is more effective, but dangerous. You have to get too close to the zombies, but once you dominate it, it'll be your first choice." Eric saw me sitting on the steps, and told Jessica to continue with the lesson. "Hi, baby. How did you sleep?"

"Better than I slept for the last couple of days." I rested my head on his shoulder and he hugged me to his chest. "This little Northman hasn't let me to rest too much." I muttered, drawing circles on my belly.

"Do you want to give the baby my last name?"

"Well of course. You are the father, and I'd like to have your last name as well if we could get married." I always thought I'd be married to a good man when I was expecting.

"Who says we can't get married?" Was he serious?

"Well, I don't see many churches around here, and we probably wouldn't find a priest in a hundred miles, so it's impossible." I said grinning, but the truth is it made me feel sad to know that I could never marry him.

"We don't need a priest or a church, Sookie. If you want to get married, let's get married." I thought he was joking, until I looked into his eyes.

"Are you serious?"

He took my hands, trapping them between his, and gave me one of his most honest smiles. "You're the best thing that ever happened to me, Sookie, and I'm not willing to lose you."

"Eric, you're not gonna lose me…"

"You can't know that, but I want you to know that I'll fight for you until the end, and I will protect you with my life." I was beginning to get worried. "I want us to get married, Sookie. I want to start a family with you, and I need to do it right. I wish to be a good father."

"And you will, Eric. You are going to be the best father a child can imagine, because you already are. Pam and Felicia are alive thanks to you, and they will learn to keep safe because you'll teach them well."

"I hope to do it right."

"You will."

"She's good." I said, looking at Jessica.

"She has managed to overcome the circumstances, although she's unstable. She knows how to defend herself, proved it in the woods, but she let herself go by her emotions. She tried to kill Bill, and nearly did." Would I become a bad person if I said that wouldn't have been so bad? "I put myself between them, to prevent it, but part of me wished for her to do it. For a second I couldn't stop thinking how easy it'd be to get rid of him forever, and I was tempted to grab Jessica's gun and do it myself."

"But you did not." I muttered, looking at Jessica. "And she neither."

"It was very close, Sookie."

"All that matters is that she didn't, Eric." And it was true. "I know Bill made her suffer so much, and she wants to take revenge on him, but killing him wouldn't have solved anything, don't ya think?" He nodded, but neither of us was very convinced. "We must continue thinking and acting like civilized people, although it's hard. Because if we lose our humanity…we'll lose everything."

"We may have another problem."

"What is it?"

"A red-haired woman, Sophie-Anne, cut Amelia's face because she stole a shirt from her. She's crazy." Yeah, I had heard something. "Sookie, we can't allow them to fight each other like that."

"And what are you gonna do? Punish them in a corner like little girls?" Eric looked me with an arched eyebrow. "They're adults, aware of what's right and what's not, and we have no power over them." He was about to complain, but I didn't give him a chance. "But you're right, there must be a way to control them, and I believe we know the right person for it."

"Amy?" He asked and I nodded.

"She knows them, they have lived together enough time to know how to talk to them without threatening or make them to feel used." I hated these methods, but I'd do whatever necessary, like Eric said. "They're two little girls with us, and a baby soon, so the last thing we need is to have them fighting each other. The world is already pretty screwed, so I don't think it needs our assistance to screw it even more."

"I'll talk to Amy. I'll explain everything to her, and find a solution."

"I know."

Eric got back with the girls, instructing them in the weapon use as I sat down there, looking at the terrified faces of some of them when they had to hold a gun in their hands. It was probably the first time, and I could see the fear in their eyes. They seemed a reflection of me when I shot at a zombie for the first time.

"He's a good teacher, and Jessica looks to be delighted being his second in command." Amelia said, sitting next to me. "I should be there, learning, but I'm not in the mood."

"How are you feeling?" I asked, pointing to the cut in her face, and some bruises on her arms.

"I will survive, Sookie. Don't worry."

"I feel terrible about what happened with Sophie-Anne," I confessed. "I should have realized that…"

"Sookie, it doesn't matter, really. Besides, it wasn't the first time, I know how she is and I should have known she'd cause problems."

"Do you think she's dangerous?" I asked, trying to gather more information about that woman. "Eric and I said that you all could stay as long as there was no problems, and she's causing them."

"I don't know, Sookie. It's not my responsibility to control her." She looked at me with her deep brown eyes, and I nodded. "But I understand you're concerned. We live in a world where we must do whatever it takes to keep going, and I guess there is no place for people like her." We both looked at Sophie-Anne, who kept winking at Eric.

"She's a bitch…" I muttered, and Amelia laughed.

"Yeah, she is. She flirted with all the guards in the mansion, as if being raped every night wasn't enough. It looked like she enjoyed it, and may be true, because she always smiled as she left a bedroom, and that creeps me up."

"We have to keep things under control." I said no more, and Amelia agreed with me. "We're safe here. Eric and I found this place and saw an opportunity to survive. No one, apart from us, knows this cabin, and its location must remain secret."

"I get it, Sookie. And I'd never say a word."

"I know you won't, Amelia. But I'm afraid," I said, looking at the girls, "that I can't say the same about the others. Especially Bill Compton."

"He's a bastard." She muttered, and I couldn't agree more.

"Yeah, he is."

Victor POV

I burned Lorena's remains in the backyard of the mansion, and picked up her ashes so she could always accompany me. It was the only way for us to stay together, even after death.

"What?" I felt the presence of one of my guards, but I didn't turn around. My eyes were fixed on the spot Lorena's dead body had occupied minutes before.

"We found traces of blood in Compton's bedroom."

I looked at him for the first time, or rather glared at him. "It was him!" I hissed through clenched teeth. "I suspected it, but I had no evidence. I always knew he was trouble!" I picked up the gun I kept in the back of the pants, and fired against one of the zombies that hit the fence. I put the bullet between his eyes, and saw him collapse on the ground. He would rot, without leaving a trace.

"He wrapped the body in the sheet we found, and then he made sure to clean up everything." I nodded silently. "He did a good job."

"I'll kill him…" I murmured, feeling the anger came over my body. "And I'll do it slowly. I will make him suffer like he did with my Lorena."

I looked at Quinn, who was grinning, but the smile disappeared from his face as soon as it showed up.

"Prepare everything, and tell the others that we'll go hunting."

"Yes, sir."

Very soon Bill Compton would have what he really deserves, and I'd recover all the women who had dared to escape my fortress. I am Victor Madden, lord of a great manor, and with power enough to crush my enemies.

Eric POV

"You have to do it, Eric. There's no other option."

"No…"

"Brother, you know what is going to happen. There is no going back. I have been bitten, and we both know this is the end." Johan looked at me with tears in his eyes, but his voice was firm. "You're my little brother, Eric, but you'll be alone very soon. You have to take care of yourself. You must survive."

"Johan…don't say that. You'll be fine." We were both crying, but instead of feeling ashamed we didn't give any importance. "I'll look for help…"

"You can't help me. You can't save me. But there's one thing you can do for me, and you must do it." I shook my head, knowing full well what he meant. "I can't, Johan. I can't kill you. I can't kill my own brother!"

"You can! And you will!" He grabbed my wrist and put the gun in my hand. "Do it, Eric!"

"No…"

"Do it! Just do it!"

"Eric…Eric, are you okay?" I blinked a few times, and saw Sookie in front of me, looking at me and frowning. "Do you hear me? What's wrong?"

"Nothing, baby. I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" She was still frowning as she sat beside me on the bed. "You seemed distracted."

"I was thinking, that's all." I knew Sookie would never ask, so I just told her. "Johan."

"Who is Johan?" I forgot completely that I never pronounced his name.

"Johan was my older brother." I said no more.

"Oh. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to gossip…" She started getting up, but I grabbed her and sat her down on my lap. "He always bragged of everything, even when he was much shorter than me, saying that he could beat me without sweating." We both laughed, but only lasted a second.

"I miss him. Every single day." I whispered. "I think if he had died in a car crash or otherwise, it'd have been different. Or at least that's what I like to believe."

"Eric, don't torture yourself…"

"It's not about that, Sookie. But…I don't know, guess I feel responsible because I was the one who pulled the trigger and finish it. I killed him."

"You had to, Eric." She assured me, but that wouldn't change what I felt in that moment. "Do you think it'd have been easier if he had turned into a zombie? Could you have pulled the trigger without thinking it was your brother?"

"No…"

"So, I think…I think at least you had the chance to say goodbye, Eric. And that's something most of us couldn't do. And I just don't mean people who were important in our lives, also friends, and even strangers who were so frightened like everyone else. So…I don't know…" she said, shaking her head. "Actually I can't give you an answer, because I have none. I don't think there's a right one, or if it should exist. We are what we are, Eric, and our choices define us. You made the decision to finish your brother's suffering because he begged you to, and you did. Tell me, would you have let him die without fulfilling your promise? Is that what you have done?"

Sookie got up from my lap and walked to the door. "I can't imagine what you suffered, and you're still suffering, when you had to face that situation. But this world in which we live is not fair or nice. It's cruel, bloody and violent, but we can't do anything about it. Just live our lives in the best way possible."

She left the room, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

"Where are you going?" Sookie asked me, when I was getting out of the room.

"I need to clear my mind. I'm going for a walk."

"Be careful." She told me with a smile, and handed me a gun.

"Always am."

I walked through the trees, enjoying the silence and peace flooding everywhere. It was…peaceful being on the outside, except for the zombies that might show up at any time.

"Do you really believe you could have saved me?" I froze at the voice of my brother, leaning against the trunk of a tree, with his hands in the pockets.

"You are not real." It was the only thing that occurred to me.

He chuckled, exactly how my brother would have done. "Of course I'm not real, Eric. You're not that crazy. I'm just a product of your imagination, and I'm here because you want me to. Tell me, what am I doing here, brother?"

"I don't know." I said, shrugging. "I don't know why you're here, and why I'm talking to someone who no longer exists. But here we are…"

"You did what you had to, Eric."

"I put a bullet into your head, Johan. How can you agree with it?"

"Do you think I would have preferred to be a zombie? Undead, crawling among other half rotten beings, and feeding on human flesh. Believe me, Eric, that's not what I would have wanted."

"I hate you! I HATE YOU! WHY DID YOU ABANDON ME?" I screamed over and over, hitting the nearest tree trunk I found, until my knuckles began to bleed and wood chips scratched and pierced my skin. "WE WERE A TEAM, JOHAN! YOU AND ME!"

"I never wanted to abandon you, Eric."

"I SHOULD DIE! ME, JOHAN, NOT YOU!"

"What would have changed, Eric?!" I didn't know my own imagination could yell at me "I'd be in the place you are now, talking to myself, Eric. Nothing would have changed."

"You died in my arms, Johan, and I stayed with you for hours. I was unable to leave you…" I started mourning, and there was no one to comfort me. "We were supposed to be together always, that we'd take care of each other, and I did not do my part."

"Do you really believe that, Eric? All this is because you think you did not fulfill your part of the deal?"

"It is…"

"There was no deal to accomplish, brother. It never was."

"You were a jerk when you were alive, and now you're a dead jerk." I muttered, chuckling.

"I know, Eric."

I got off the ground without looking away from the figure of my older brother, who was still wearing the same clothes as when he died. "Why are you here? Why can I see you now, Johan? It's been a long time, months in which I haven't stopped thinking about you and what happened. Dreams, nightmares, frustration…that was all in the beginning, until…"

"Until she showed up, right?" He cut me off, with a big smile. "Sookie Stackhouse. That girl has changed it all, hasn't she? She has put your world upside down, and you couldn't do anything to stop it."

"I love her. She is…Sookie is everything I need."

"So why are you here talking to me? I'm not even real, Eric!" He shouted, laughing. "Wandering through the woods, at zombies' mercy and chatting with your dead brother, is not the answer."

"And what is the answer?"

"I don't have one, brother." I rolled my eyes, tired of hearing the same thing over and over again. "But if you go back to that cabin, with the woman you love, you may find it."

"She's pregnant. I'm going to be a father, Johan, and I have no idea of how I'm going to protect them. I also have two little girls in my charge. How will I do it?"

"You always wanted children, Eric. It's your chance."

"I know, and I couldn't be happier, but…"

"Eric!"

I turned around and saw a flashlight in the distance.

"Eric! Eric, where are you?"

I turned again to say goodbye to my brother, but he was gone. Was he ever there? I remembered our conversation, but the rest seemed madness.

"Goodbye, Johan," I whispered.

"Eric, are you alright? I've been looking for you everywhere. Were you talking to someone?" She pointed the flashlight around her, but she wouldn't find anyone. "You left hours ago. I was so worried for you."

"I'm okay, baby," I said as I hugged her against my chest. "I'm sorry I scared you, guess I lost track of time. Come on, let's go home."

"Wait…who were you talking to? I heard voices."

"I was talking to myself."

We stopped in the middle of the woods, with the only company of the flashlight, and Sookie stared at me. "Are you sure you're all right, Eric? You worried me when you left. What's going on?"

If I told her, she'd probably think I had lost my mind, but who else could I talk about it to?

"Would you believe I'm crazy if I said that I've been speaking to my brother?" I asked with no more, hoping Sookie was honest with me.

"I think…I think we all need to go on one way or another." She answered after a few seconds. "If talking to Johan helps you, then you should continue doing it. It's that simple."

"I love you, Sookie. You have no idea how much I love you…"

"Yes, I know." We kissed passionately for minutes, in the middle of the woods, enjoying the calm. The flashlight was off, so no one would find us. "Come on, Eric," she whispered against my lips still touching hers. "It's time to go home."

We walked hand in hand in silence. I kept remembering Johan's words in my head – actually I don't think I'd be able to forget them – as I thought again and again how much I missed him. Why did he have to die? Why couldn't I save him?

I guess those question will remain unanswered forever, and although I'd like to think it wasn't my fault, a part of me will never stop feeling guilty for not being able to help him.

"You know, I'd have loved meeting him." I looked at Sookie, we both smiling. "I'm sure you wouldn't have flirted with me if he had been present."

"What?" I asked, arching an eyebrow and pretending to be offended. "I think I wasn't the only one flirting, Miss Stackhouse."

"It's Mrs. Northman now." I stopped, surprised at her answer, and I didn't utter a word until she did. "What? I don't care if I don't have a church or a priest. I'm going to have a baby with you, and I wanna marry you, Eric Northman. If I can't do it the traditional way, then we'll do it in some other way." I didn't know what to say, if I should say something. "I wish we had known each other long before, Eric, or at least before this madness started. Things between us would have been much more…I don't know if simple it's the word I'm looking for, but I guess we wouldn't be on the run, hiding from zombies as we do now. I like to think that our relationship would have been different, but I believe just as passionate."

"I agree." I answered, giving her a soft kiss on the lips. "That's why I took this on our last trip." I showed her an engagement ring, and she stood there with her mouth hanging open. "If you don't like it…"

"Eric, it's perfect." She cut me off.

When I saw it reminded me of her. Instead of a huge diamond, my attention was directed to the ring with two beautiful sapphires set. It was as if I was seeing Sookie's eyes just looking at it, and although I didn't know she was pregnant by then or we wanted to be married, I had to take it. I know I'd have regretted to leave it behind, so I put it into my pocket without thinking twice.

"I want to do things right." I grabbed the ring Sookie was holding in her hand, knelt before her, and asked her directly. "You have become the most important person in my life. I knew it since the first time we kissed, and I almost can't believe how lucky I was to find you. You are perfect, and a beautiful baby is growing inside you. It is our future, our legacy, and will prevail when we are gone. Sookie Stackhouse, will you marry me?"

Tears clouded her vision, and she kept wiping them off her cheeks with her right hand while I held the left.

"I love you, Eric. You…you're the perfect man, the man I wish I had met when our lives were normal." She sobbed but didn't lose the smile. "Of course I'll marry you, Eric. I can't imagine a more generous, good and brave man than you. And our baby will learn from the best teacher in the world." I placed the ring on her finger, and we kissed passionately, hugging each other a few seconds later. "We should leave, because I'd hate being interrupted by a zombie."

"Yeah, let's go."

I didn't think I'd gone so far from the cabin, but guess when I was so focused on my thoughts, didn't even realize. It seemed we'd never arrive, and the wind rocking the treetops began making me nervous. It looked like we were being watched, although I know that's impossible. Bill Compton was safe at the cabin, and he was a coward to go out at night without company.

"Are you okay?" Sookie's hand squeezed mine, and I told her yes with a nod. "I think we should walk a little faster." I agreed, but it wasn't easy. The flashlight was helpful, but avoiding the tree roots was a bit more complicated.

"Johan." She pronounced his name, but I didn't know what she meant. I even looked around me, waiting to see my brother, but I didn't see him anywhere. "The baby. We agreed Adele was a good name for a girl, but I believe Johan is perfect if it's a boy. What do you think?"

I felt tears threatening to fall from my eyes, but blinking a few times was enough to make them disappear.

"Are you sure? It's an important decision." I muttered, not rely on the tone of my voice.

"I told you that I liked Adele because my grandmother was a strong woman, someone who never gave up, and guess it is like a tribute to her. I miss her very much, and I feel that if my daughter wore the same name, I'd always have a reason to remember her by saying her name." I understood perfectly. "So if it's a boy, we should call him Johan. We both had two important influences in our lives that gave us strength to go on, or even inspired us somehow. You deserve to pronounce your brother's name without meaning his death for the rest of your life. Johan, like Adele, would mean a tribute to the memory of a person you loved, and you miss. A person who will never go away completely."

"I believe the people who love us never leave completely. They're always with us. That's what I told Pam, and I think it's true. After seeing my brother, or have that vision or whatever, I've understood. He may no longer be physically with me, but I feel he will never leave me alone, and that's something that comforts me."

"Johan Northman…" she whispered. "I like…" Sookie did not finish the sentence when a zombie lunged at her.

"Sookie!"

Hope you like this one.

:K