Disclaimer: I don't own the Southern Vampires. Sole copyright belongs to Charlaine Harris. Most of the characters are Charlaine Harris's... but some are mine! All the mistakes are my own.

Chapter Twenty-six

XOXOXOXOXOXOX

Shane

"The babies?" I asked Ludwig through narrowed eyes before setting my gaze back on Sookie. I had not spent time around a pregnant woman in a long time and I did not recognize Sookie's injuries. So many questions plagued my mind.

"Oh shit!" Ludwig muttered and looked to Eric, but he was lost to his grief. I don't think he would have noticed if the roof caved in. It was a heartbreaking sight. Eric's torment was palpable as he cradled Sookie in his arms, whispering to her, begging her to come back. His face was a bloody mess and the look it held was one of pure agony. My own thoughts were a mess as my eyes slid back to Sookie's lifeless corpse. I had dreaded the day Sookie would be lost to us, and it was a loss that would be felt by so many, not just Eric The tightness in my chest became too much and I had to look away.

"Tell me." I growled at Ludwig. I opted for anger instead of pain. My patience had run out and all I wanted was to get out of this room.

"Sookie was pregnant with the Northman's child, and before you interrupt and ask "how", it is a long story. I will just say it was magic for the most part." Ludwig shook her head. I had not noticed before, but it seemed the little hobbit was feeling the loss of Sookie as well.

"Get to the point. How did Sookie die?"

"It started when amniotic sack broke. The babies latched onto the walls of Sookie's uterus...she was almost completely drained before we were able to dislodge them and get them out. We had no idea this would happen. She seemed to be getting paler by the moment, as if she was losing blood, but I didn't understand how until I saw the ultrasound. Between the babies feeding and the surgery to get them out...we could not transfuse the blood fast enough to save her."

"IMPOSSIBLE!" I roared in the doctors face. A baby could not drain a full sized woman. Two babies could not drain a full sized human.

"One would think, but these are no normal babies. They are part vampire and human...and Fae. But it was where the babies took the blood that caused this catastrophe, not how much they took. They had managed to find and feed from the uterine artery. What the babies did not manage to drink was left to drain out. It was not like they could close the wounds."

"But their fangs? They must be too small to penetrate..."

"They have no other teeth and when they are fully extended they are around one inch long."

"MONSTERS!" The word burst from my mouth and when I looked back over to where Eric had been sitting with Sookie to gauge his reaction, he was gone. He had left Sookie on the bed, now posed with her hands over her abdomen and covered to the waist in a sheet.

It took me a second to process where he was going. "Where are the...babes now?" Eric is going to the place I needed to go. I wanted to see the monsters for myself.

"Down the hall on the right, five doors down."

I was out of the room as the words left her lips. When I arrived, Eric was looming near one of the small bassinets. His fangs were out and he turned to face me as I entered. "I want to kill them. I want to reach down and break their little necks. They killed her, they killed me, and for that they should die." Eric's voice was laden with fury, his eyes were wild, and he was covered in Sookie's blood.

I was not sure what to say. I too wanted to rip apart the ones responsible for the death of Sookie. I moved closer and Eric let out a warning hiss. I couldn't tell if he was protecting them or if he wanted to kill them himself.

I had gotten close enough to one of the bassinets to see the little baby girl inside. It was such a small thing, the thought of it being responsible for Sookie's death seemed so far fetched. The babe turned its head and looked right at me. What I saw brought me to my knees. Her features, even as small as she was, were undoubtedly Sookie's. Her eyes were exactly Sookie's color, her nose an almost exact duplicate, her lips were the same shape. There was no question this was Sookie's daughter. There was no way I could kill her, anymore than I could kill Sookie herself, and I could not imagine Eric being able to when he saw her.

"Eric, look at her." I gasped and bloody tears ran from my eyes. Sookie had died to bring these babes into the world. There was no doubt in my mind I would protect them.

"No! I...I...won't!" Eric sputtered, "I...I...can't do this. I won't go on without Sookie."

...

Pam

When I finally arrived at the clinic, the guards would not let me enter. Apparently, Shane had ordered that no one was to enter but Eric and himself. I ended up having to break the neck of one of the guards and sever one arm and one leg of another before I could gain entrance. I knew something horrible had happened to Sookie. I couldn't imagine what else could make him feel this way unless the babies died, but even then, I could not see that having this effect on Eric. Eric's emotions were beyond words, but at least he was alive.

I was relieved that Sookie's plan had worked. I had contacted Reece as soon as I had spoken to Eric, right before the sun set. Reece was awake when I called (since his time with Sargon he had not yet adjusted back to a normal schedule) as he had been underground for so long.

"What is wrong." Reece said as soon as he answered. He assumed there was a problem since I had not spoken to him since we made the plan a couple of weeks ago.

"I have no idea, but do it now."

"Are you sure? I can not undo it once it is done. It will take another blood exchange to undo the block." he warned.

I was about as sure as I was going to get. "Do it." I said before hanging up.

I hoped Eric would forgive me. Hell, he might even stake me for this. I had no idea how he would react, but I knew I would do whatever I had to do to keep him alive. I loved Eric and I loved Sookie, but I would not want to see the night that I lost them both. Sookie and I talked about the possibility of her not making it through the pregnancy or delivery. Ludwig gave her a fifty-fifty chance, and Eric had refused to face that. The avoidance was not normal for him and it took almost constant nagging on my part to get him to talk to me about it. When he finally gave in he said, "Pam, the subject is moot. I will speak of this only once, next time you bring it up you will be punished. If Sookie leaves this world than so will I. It is the way it should be. I refuse to live in a world without her. That is all. The end."

That was the last we spoke about it and now I was storming the clinic looking for my maker. It did not take long before I found him. I simply followed the strong sense of devastation that was oozing from our bond. It was so overwhelming tears ran from my eyes as I approached the room.

"No! I...I...won't! I...I...can't do this. I won't go on without Sookie." Eric nearly shouted as I threw open the door. I did not hesitate. I moved to him, ignoring his hiss, and wrapped my arms around him.

"Eric...?" His name came out no louder than a whisper. I was afraid to ask what happened. Eric's clothes were covered in Sookie's blood and his face covered in his own. His normally sparkling blue eyes seemed dull and lifeless.

Eric stiffened in my arms for a moment before slumping against me. "Why am I still here? Why?" he sobbed.

"I'm sorry...I'm so sorry..." the words didn't come. The words that would explain why he lived when she didn't. I could not force them through my lips. I never felt so selfish in all my long life.

Eric released me and dropped to his knees in front of me. I placed my hands on his shoulders, not sure how to comfort him. His hands moved to cover his face as his body shook. I had never seen my maker so broken. "Please Pam, please," Eric muttered when he looked up at me. "just end me now."

"Eric...NO...I...NO! You can't ask that of me!" I would sooner end myself than him. I jerked myself away from him.

"Eric," Shane interrupted. I had not noticed he was even in the room. I whirled at the sound of his voice, a growl ripped from my chest. Shane took a step forward with his hands raised in submission. "you must live on. You have two children to take care of. Think about what Sookie..."

Eric's mood shifted to fury at the sound of her name. He moved so quickly he was no more than a blur before my eyes. Eric's hands wrapped around Shane's throat and he lifted Shane several feet off the ground. Shane's hands frantically clawed at Eric's. "DO NOT SPEAK HER NAME! DO NOT PRESUME TO KNOW WHAT MY SOOKIE WOULD THINK! DO NOT THINK I DO NOT KNOW WHAT SHE WOULD WANT!" The babies began to cry, but I do not think Eric even noticed.

I sped over to Eric and tried to pull him off of Shane, but he only took one of his hands off of Shane's neck long enough to pull me off of him and toss me aside. I slid across the floor, slamming into some medical equipment, before I pulled myself up and went at Eric again. "STOP THIS!" I screamed at him and punched him square in the jaw. He barely flinched. If Eric didn't stop soon, I was sure he would sever Shane's head with only his hands. Eric was so far from his right mind, I was sure he had gone mad.

"You know she would want you to stop this!" I was desperate. I knew he could turn his anger on me, when he finished with Shane. 'Will this be the end of us all? Would the death of one woman bring down the entire state of Louisiana?' "WOULD YOU DISRESPECT HER MEMORY BY KILLING SOMEONE SHE CARED ABOUT?" Eric's eyes flashed to mine, and for the first time I saw my own death in his eyes, before he dropped Shane to the floor and took off out of the room.

I thought about giving Eric chase but instead I slumped to the floor. Shane was only a few feet from me and he was gasping for air as if his life depended on it. "This is my fault..."

"It's not." Shane rasped, "He is crazed with grief. If we don't stop him, he will meet the sun and who knows what kind of damage he will do between now and then." Shane got to his feet and walked over to one of the bassinets the killers were in. I hated the little murderers before I ever laid eyes on them.

"What are you doing?" I spat, disgusted as I watched Shane carefully pull the executioner into his arms.

"I know Eric only needs to see them and he will change his mind." Shane said as he rocked the baby in his arms.

I was surprised to hear Eric had not already inspected the killers of his wife. "He did not look upon them?" My voice sounded dead, even to myself.

"No. He could not bring himself to do so. I think he knows Sookie would have never forgiven him for ending the lives of their children...and he does not want a reason to stay."

I moved closer Shane to get a better look at the savage creature that had so thoroughly fucked up our lives. Shane held the little boy in his arms, one that looked so much like Eric there was no way to deny the child was his. Only his eyes looked like Sookie's, the rest was all Eric. "The girl, she looks like Eric as well?"

"No, more like her mother. She will be as beautiful as Sookie." Shane said as I walked over to the other bassinet to get a good look at the girl. Shane was right. She was all Sookie and the boy was almost all Eric.

"I have to go to him. I have to stop him." I could not stand idle while everything hung in the balance, but before I left, I had to know the children would be taken care of. "Shane, you'll guard them..."

"With my life. They will be safe. Do what you need to do."

I took off without a second thought. I would have taken my car, but I was faster on foot. If only I could fly, I could catch up to him. I followed our bond, letting my instincts take over as I ran, ran towards the pull of my makers blood. I ended up on the waters edge on the outskirts of New Orleans. It was then I realized where he had gone...to the last place he had been with Sookie while she lived.

I stole a small fishing boat and made my way across Lake Pontchartrain. It was not long before I spotted our boat. I pulled up carefully and l climbed the small ladder that hung off the side of the craft. When I got on board, I made my way to the bow of the ship. Eric was standing completely nude, silently facing the water. All I could hear was the sound of the crashing waves, and in the distance a soft crying sound that I knew must be an animal of some sort, although I couldn't tell you which one.

"It is as if even the animals feel the loss of her to this world." Eric said quietly, startling me. I had been standing there not sure of what to say. I should have realized he would feel me behind him.

The calmness of his voice was unnerving. "Eric, please..."

Eric turned slowly his body glistened in the moonlight, the only thing he wore was the small ceremonial knife pendant Sookie had given to him when she proposed marriage. He had never taken it off and I had no doubt he would wear it to his final death. "It's my time, Pam. My time to bow out of this world, to meet Sookie in the next." Eric did not raise his voice, it came out even and slow. He had made up his mind to leave. I could feel it as sure as he could feel my fear and pain at the thought of losing him.

"No! You can't leave me Eric! I need you...your children need you. Hunter will need you." A fresh wave of pain hit me when I thought of Hunter. 'How would I tell him that we had lost them both?' I dropped to my knees in front of him, my head bowed, and he rested a hand on my head.

"You will survive my child. I have taught you all that I know, and I am nothing but proud of the vampire you have become." Eric gave me a strained smile when I looked up at him.

"The children..." I said weakly again. 'If he had only seen them, he could never do this.'

"They are not mine. They are Niall's abominations. I should have never allowed her to keep them." Eric's voice caught in his throat.

"They're not! They are you and Sookie. They look like you and smell like you and her. Please put this off! See them. Hold them. The sun will rise the next day as well. Don't leave before seeing the gift that Sookie left you."

Eric gripped his chest as if I had staked him dropping to his knees, but when I looked at his face he was not looking at me, but behind me. Tears flowed freely from his eyes, as a bittersweet smile spread across his face. I turned around slowly to see a sight I had never thought I'd see: Sookie was standing before us with a huge jaguar at her side. I could tell she was not here in body, alive in front of us, but it was her spirit. She appeared like a shimmering fluid, like tinted water, looking ethereal in a long white gown, and her hair down around her shoulders. Her skin glowed like the moon, a brightness in the darkness of the night.

Eric and I were on our knees in front of her as she approached. Sookie stopped in front of me first and reached out her hand to stroke my hair. I felt a cold chill run through me, before Sookie said, "Thank you my friend. I will forever be grateful for what you have done."

I sat back on my heels as Sookie moved over to Eric. "Min Gudinna..." he whispered.

"My love, I am sorry I have to leave you." Sookie said with such sadness in her voice. Eric tried to grab her but his hands slid through her body.

"Why, why did I not follow you?" Eric bellowed, his voice was like torture to hear.

"Because, my love, you are needed here. I had to make sure you would be here to protect them." Sookie looked at him with such love that my heart ached.

"No. I can not live on without you."

"You can, you will." She reach out and touched him. His hand went up over where it rested on his cheek, but seemed to go through it as he touched his own face.

"Why would you be so cruel? Why must I go on when I have nothing left to go on for? I am broken Sookie. I am nothing without you. Nothing but alone with an eternity in front of me."

"You are my strong viking warrior, my heart, my everything. I promise you will not be alone forever." Eric's expression was startled, I saw a flicker of hope in them, but it disappeared quickly.

The jaguar, who had been quiet up until now, slinked up to stand next to Sookie. Her jaws did not move but I could hear her words. It was utterly bizarre. "Sookie is to be reborn tonight. I have given her a gift and will again. Years from tonight, when she comes of age, she shall return to you. The great Goddess Epona has ruled it so, and so it shall be. We must go."

"Wait for me, my love. I promise I will be back. Take care of our children and tell them I love them." With one last smile, Sookie and the jaguar shimmered and disappeared, like apparitions in the night. Every hair on my undead body seemed to stand on end.