I do not own any True Blood characters. Are we cool with that? I am almost certain that this is the last chapter of this story, since I know how I want it to end and I am ready to lay it to rest. So here you go…Eric and Carli.

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Eric only stayed in her mouth for a few deep thrusts before he slid down her body and rested between her legs. His blue eyes captured hers and she almost spoke to stop what was about to happen, but her words froze in her throat. She wanted this man, loved this man no matter what had happened, and she could not convince herself to stop him as he entered her. She moaned and slid her legs up so that her feet were near his shoulders, raising her hips to meet him as he thrust in earnest. He grunted as she moaned and whimpered, memorizing him as she watched his face contort with pleasure. How could he feel so good but be so bad for her? She didn't recognize herself anymore now at times, and she felt like the old Carli was gone. She was driven by her lust when she was with him, and she let out a strangled cry as he fucked her harder. He murmured dirty words to her, making her wetter as she heard them, and letting him slide in even easier. They didn't last too long before they came within seconds of each other, and he closed his eyes and hissed as she watched him during her own recovery from the scream she had let out. He took a deep breath and looked down at her, taking in every detail of her body with his burning eyes. She was still shaking, and he stroked her legs as they trembled under her hands. "You feel so good." His words were spoken in a soft murmur, and he lowered her legs and moved beside her. "How long are you here? How long do we have together?"

"A week probably. I suppose it depends on how long it takes me here." Carli said softly, trying to regain her composure. "I don't know that we should see each other too much though."

"Why not? This is right, Carli. We both feel it." Eric insisted, capturing her lips again as she moaned in both protest and pleasure. They both jumped at the doorbell, and he lifted his head and glanced at the clock. "Damn it. I made the mistake of mentioning to Pam that you're in town. Why wouldn't she rush right over and interrupt us?"

"What?" Carli asked, her eyes wide. "I can't see her like this."

"She can guess what we'd been doing, Car. I think that is a given." Eric gave her a pleased smile as he stood and pulled on some jeans and a tight tee.

"My clothes!" Carli hissed, and he ducked into the living room calling out that he would be just a minute to the door. "Fuck, shit, hell!" He stepped in and handed her the clothes, and she pulled them on hurriedly. She popped into the bathroom and fixed her sloppy hair as best she could, and cursed at the flushed face that screamed that she had just had sex. Eric was right about Pam guessing, but still. Carli sighed and went to the bedroom door, hearing more voices than Eric and Pam. She poked her head out, seeing a brunette standing close to Pam before she looked at Eric's tense face. He glanced at her, and she bit her lip as she stepped forward.

"Well, well. Don't we look nice and flushed?" Pam said, turning around and smiling knowingly at her. "It is good to see you, Carli."

"Yeah. You as well." Carli replied, seeing how the blue eyes focused on her just a moment too long with that flicker of sadness in them.

"This is my girlfriend Nikki." Pam presented the other women with a tight squeeze of her small hand, and Carli looked at the woman that she had heard with Eric that night over the phone. She was petite with dark brown hair and deep green eyes, and was beautiful. Carli imagined his hands stroking her full breasts and down her small waist, and she shuddered slightly. Nikki blushed slightly and tried to smile as she held out her free hand to Carli. Carli heard the moans in her mind, and she blinked as she managed a small hello.

"Good idea, Pam." Eric said, shooting a glare at his business partner. Nikki dropped her hand and looked awkwardly at her lover, and Pam rolled her eyes.

"I am sure she gets it. She was leaving, and it was not as though she has not done the same thing herself." Pam said, and Nikki looked down at the floor. She had dropped her hand the moment she saw it register on Carli's face that she knew, and she took a small breath. "You guys are back together, as it should be."

"No. Not together." Carli muttered, shaking her head.

"It smells like it to me." Pam said directly, and Carli blinked. "Just a fuck buddy while we are in town? Seems you have made quite a home back in Chicago."

Chicago. Carli never should have left, and she looked around the apartment as she began to feel dizzy. She stepped to the counter and grabbed her purse, and shot a look at Eric. She had dressed fully in the room, and she tried to think if she was remembering everything. "I have to get out of here." Carli pushed past Pam and Nikki, not looking at Eric as she hurried to the elevator. She heard his voice rise in anger as she pushed the button and she glanced that way to see him looking after her with pain filled eyes as he leaned out of the door. Carli stepped onto the elevator and pressed the close button over and over until it closed, and she closed her eyes as it descended. She practically ran through the lobby and out onto the street, taking a deep breath as the tears finally slid down her cheeks. Carli ducked her head and hurried the few blocks to her own apartment, locking the door behind her as she slammed it shut. She started to really cry then, knowing that she had just fucked Travis over badly. He didn't deserve any of this, and she hurried back to her room to take a shower and wash every trace of Eric off of her body. She was in there for a long time, and got out and pulled on a robe once she had dried herself off. Carli heard her phone beeping, and she took a deep breath. The tears were gone for the moment, and she felt weak and sick. She checked it, seeing calls and texts from Eric. Carli didn't answer them, and went back to hide under her covers. She heard Travis's ring and sighed, answering it to ease her guilt. He asked her about her work there, and talked about his own stuff that had been postponed due to a friend's illness, and she explained the hoarse voice by telling him she had a bit of a sore throat. He told her to take care of herself and that he missed her, ending the call by telling her how much he loved her. She responded in a hollow voice, and hung up as guilt overtook her. "Fuck!" Carli screamed into her pillow, giving up for the moment and just hiding in it. She finally moved enough to shut the ringer off of her phone and fall into a restless sleep.

Studio time was early the next day, and she dragged herself to Starbucks before taking a cab to the studio. She had only showered, and had skipped make up and pulled a hat over her hair. They went over the song and she watched him record his parts as she made small talk with the band and his girlfriend. She could still smile and pretend it was all okay. Carli went in to do her parts, relieved that she managed to pull it off despite her rough night. She was working on three songs, and they focused on that one for the day before calling it a wrap. Carli took a cab to a corner near her place, and glanced at the late afternoon sun as she ducked into an eatery for her favorite salad. She took it home with a hot tea, and ate on the couch as she stared blankly at the television. She fell onto the cushions after on her side and closed her eyes as she blissfully fell asleep and escaped her mental pain. She woke up to the sound of knocking at her door, and she blinked wearily as she opened her eyes. "What?" Carli called out weakly, and closed her eyes again.

"I need to talk to you, Carli." It was Eric's voice, and she could hear the urgency in it.

"No. I'm sleeping." Carli said, longing to go back to sleep so badly.

"Open the door. We need to talk about last night." Eric insisted, and she sat up slowly.

"Why?" Carli asked weakly, glancing down at the barely there cotton dress she had pulled in when she got home. It had been hot in her apartment and she had only thought about comfort. "Shit." She went back and pulled one of her loose tees over it, and walked to the door almost painfully. She opened it and looked out to see him practically pacing the hallway, and he stopped and pushed his way inside. "Hey!"

"You look awful, Carli." Eric informed her, and she raised one undone eyebrow.

"Thanks." Carli sat on the couch and sipped her water as he sat in the chair across from her. "What did you want?"

"You ran out on me last night, and didn't get back to me." Eric pointed out, and she yawned. "I see it was not due to a good night's sleep."

"It is always like a slap in the face with you, Eric. I already feel guilty being with you at all for so many reasons at this point, but then it seems like they always seem to come up again. I just want it to strop." Carli told him, rubbing her head as the pain set in her temples. "I want to go home and just be normal."

"You are still you there just as much as you are here." Eric told her, and she blinked painfully.

"We can just agree that this is a train wreck and move on. Please." Carli pleaded, and felt tears in her eyes. "Last night was a bitter reminder of that."

"I do not know why Pam chose to do that. I suppose she was rubbing in her own happiness, not thinking about…other aspects of it." Eric said, pausing to find the right words. "I told her as much after you left, and I have to wonder if those two even have a shot now. Pam said things that she should not have."

"You fucked her. She is beautiful and probably nice, and she spent the night with you. I can't take it anymore, Eric." Carli said, feeling the tears finally drip down her face. "I am going to go back and get rid of this place."

"I can come to Chicago. We can start over there." Eric suggested, and she stared at him as he got up and sat beside her on the couch. "I hate that we get so fucked up together here."

"You cannot move there." Carli told him darkly, and she tried to turn away from him.

"Pam can have this city. I will open there and we can be together, without everything that seems to happen here." Eric kept going as he turned her face to look at him by cupping her cheek. "I love you. I am tired of acting like I don't, or running away from the face that I do. I want to make this work and if that is how, then I will go." She looked at him with wide eyes, and he gently wiped the tears with his thumb. "You look so sad and I hate that I do this to you."

"It wasn't rape last night, Eric." Carli reminded him, and he let her look down and instead slid his hand up to massage her neck. The touch triggered a sensation inside of her that threatened to make her explode as she closed her eyes and leaned her head forward. "I was there like any willing adult." She started to have trouble breathing, and she bit her lip. Desire began to pump through her body and she longed to push it away so badly, but she focused on it instead.

"A very willing adult." Eric agreed in her ear, his voice low as it vibrated through her skin painfully. She whimpered and he nibbled on her ear.

"Stop." Carli whispered, feeling her resolve weaken and form into something else. "We can't keep doing this."

"You can go home and end things gently, and I can move out there. We can find a great place together, and everything will be fine. We can be happy." Eric spoke between nibbles and long sucks, and she tilted her face up as he moved his lips to the line of her jaw and then her sensitive neck. She took his free hand and slid it up her thigh, and he growled softly as he slid his fingers lightly over her soaked thong. "You are as wet as I am hard." Eric told her, moving the cloth aside and stroking her eagerly. She moaned and turned her head to meet his lips, and there was nothing gentle about it. Their tongues crashed together, and she cried out with the force of it. He pushed her back onto the cushions and she spread her legs as he pumped a long finger inside of her as he leaned down to kiss her again. She cried out against him as he expertly stroked her favorite spot inside of her, and she came within a few moments. She heard herself begging Eric to fuck her, and he told her to wrap her arms around his neck. She did and he lifted her by her ass and lifted her. They kissed hungrily as he walked them to the bedroom carefully, and dropped her onto the bed horizontally slowly. He reached down and lifted off her dress, and she blinked slowly up at him. She reached out and unbuttoned his jeans and he smiled seductively at her as she pressed her bruised lips together. She slid them down and he kicked them off and she pulled him down on the bed with her. He kissed her deeply and she felt him slide her into his lap with one hand as he cupped her bare breast with the other. She pressed against him and moved over his erection slowly and teasingly, and he stared at her and pinched her nipple harder as she grunted. She pushed him back on the bed and he gazed up at her with darkening eyes as she pressed his cock between his body and hers, sliding over it slowly as she tried to stimulate her clit. She whimpered and he gripped her hips as he watched her body.

"I want to cum again." Carli whispered, and he told her to move over his face. She complied and he licked her clit slowly before sucking it into his mouth. She moaned and felt him add a finger to wherever his tongue was not pleasing her, and soon she was riding his long tongue as he teased her clit with his thumb, and she cried out as she came against his mouth. He attached his lips to her and sucked, extending the orgasm, and she moaned loudly as she closed her eyes.

"On your knees, Carli. I think I need to fuck you now." Eric told her, and she moved into position as she took a deep breath. She felt him grip her hips and she lifted her ass as he slammed into her, making her cry out hoarsely. "You're so fucking sexy, Carli." Eric murmured, driving himself deeper into her. "I love you." She could not hold it off and she exploded again, weakly moaning as she shook with it, and she felt him thrust one last hard time before he grunted her name. "Fuck, Carli. You feel so good. Let me into your life, baby. Let me be the one that gets you all of the time." She heard something in his voice and she rested her head against her hands. "I can't go between having you and you being gone. I can't. I love you too much and I want things right."

"Eric." Carli murmured, and felt him push her down and lay against her. "I love you."

"Fuck you, Carli." They both heard the voice and the door slamming, and her head whipped around.

"Travis." Carli said in shock, realizing what he had just seen, as well as heard. "Fuck! Travis." She pushed Eric off of her and ran to the door after grabbing her tee, opening her front door and calling his name. He was gone, and she closed her door and slid to the floor. This was what she had worried about since meeting Eric. This was the part where her life went really wrong. "Oh, god. I really fucked up."

"It'll be okay, lover. I am here for you." Eric told her, dressed only in his jeans as he walked over to her and held out his hand.

"Don't you get it? Everything I know might be gone now. That was not supposed to…..happen." Carli began to cry, knowing he had come out of concern for her. He instead had walked into her acting like a complete whore with another man as she told him that she loved him. "I am so scared, Eric." He knelt down and took her into his arms, and she shoved him away. "Get out. Please go."

"You should not be alone." Eric told her, his eyes full of pain as he stared at her. He didn't want to lose her.

"I need to be." Carli said, staring at the floor as tears slid down her cheeks. He stood silently for several minutes and she finally looked up into his pleading blue eyes. "You have fucked up my life, Eric. Just go."

"I love you, Carli." Eric muttered as he walked out, and she fell down onto the floor and curled up. At some point, she tried to call Travis to talk. He would not answer other than by text to tell her not to come back to Chicago for awhile and that they were through. She could practically read his hurt in the words. Jimmy called the next day to discuss the situation, and she only cried as she babbled. He was always honest and he told her how much this could affect everything, and two days later he called to say that Travis had decided to take a long time offer with another band in a very tense voice. He was not happy at all, and he discussed who to ask to replace him slowly and painfully. Their album was near ready to be released and he didn't see the point in it at this time. Carli backed out of the project she had been on due to personal reasons, and just slept and stared at the wall in her bed. Eric tried to contact her, but she ignored him. She dreamed of Ryan and that he was there to guide her, and she felt so alone again after she woke up alone. She didn't go back to Chicago. It would have hurt too much knowing the pain she had caused. After a few weeks, she finally managed to leave to go to Starbucks for a few hours, or just walking. She didn't write and refused to listen to their music at all. She knew that it was over. Jimmy confirmed this in a phone call two months after Travis's discovery, saying that they all had opportunities there in Chicago. She sobbed when she hung up, feeling like she had nothing or nobody.

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Three months later

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Carli was getting around town a lot more now, and had some hope for the future. She had done a lot of soul searching and had found a band to consider, but it was on hold for now. She had spoken to Travis to apologize, and he had grudgingly accepted through her tears and told her that he needed time before they tried to be friends. She lived one day at a time and grew to love New York again, since the frenzy of the break up had calmed down and fans seemed to move on, more or less. She was leaving a store one day and glanced to her right to see a familiar figure, and her heart stopped beating for a moment. She glanced down, hoping she had not been seen, but she heard his voice. It had haunted her this whole time. "Carli?" Eric stepped up to her, and she held the pale yellow bag with clenched hands as she tried to smile at him. "I…it has been forever. How are you?" His eyes flickered over the name of the store, and he glanced at the window with painfully curious eyes. "How are you?"

"I'm alive." Carli said, and blinked away the tears in her eyes. "I am learning to go on after everything."

"I read about the band and everything. I am really sorry." Eric told her, tilting her chin to look into her eyes as she let the teats slide down her cheeks.

"Once Travis left, I knew it was over." Carli replied, and tried to smile. His eyes deepened as he stroked her cheek, and he let his gaze slide down her body. They rested on her stomach, which was noticeably growing and his eyes tried to understand. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing passed between her lips.

"I am sure that he is thrilled." Eric said hesitantly, and she laughed without humor.

"He never trusted me enough to not be very careful. It isn't safe to sleep with whores unprotected." Carli said sarcastically, and he stared at her.

"You were never a whore." Eric assured her, and she tried to look down. "I…do we need to talk?" He was trying so hard to process her appearance, the bag of baby stuff in her hands, and the reality of the timing. "Carli…..is it mine?"

Carli closed her eyes and felt the hot tears sliding down her cheeks, and he pulled her aside by the hand as another customer moved to enter. "I…."

"I am going to take you somewhere to eat and we are going to talk." Eric told her, and she realized that she could not keep running. She nodded slowly and they went to her favorite eatery and they talked for a long time. Eric learned that he was going to be a father to a little girl in a few short months that day, and the many emotions that his eyes showed made her smile and cry again. He looked so happy, yet so angry that she had not told him. She explained to him that she was dealing with the band splitting up, as well as where to go now, and the prospect of a surprise pregnancy. She had tried to tell herself that she could do it on her own, but the look in his eyes told her that she didn't need to. She felt him take her hand and hold it gently as she looked at him, and she still saw the love for her in his eyes. They left that day, and glanced at each other during an awkward moment. "Can we…..try and see each other? I want to see the rest of this through with you and I want to know you again." He touched her stomach gently and wonder shone in his eyes. "I am going to be a dad." Carli felt him lean down to kiss her, and she gasped as she felt the tingle in her own lips as they touched.

"I would like to know you again." Carli said, and their eyes met and locked. They kissed again and he slid one hand around her back as he kept the other firmly on her stomach. She realized something in that moment. She realized that there just might be a little hope out there for her, her daughter, and for Eric. There might be a chance they could really be something, and Carli smiled against his lips.

THE END

At last the abomination is over. I liked this story in the beginning, but somewhere along the way it got all crazy and very gratuitous to me. I felt it deserved some sort of ending though. I thank those few readers that actually got through it for sticking with me.