Amtrak is our chosen method of getting back home. Who would have thought that I'd ever find myself on a passenger train? I am in no hurry to get anywhere now that I know Eric is okay, that Dawn is safely back on her way to Tennessee and that I'm with Forrest. It was his idea to take a train. He's always wanted to, he told me stories of how he and his brothers, in their youth, would hop onto boxcars and ride the trains to the next town over. One of Eric's newly acquired day men dropped us off at the Oklahoma City station and within less than an hour we were boarding this train bound for Staunton, Virginia. From there the plan is to rent a car and make the four hour drive home since the train doesn't run any closer to Tennessee.

I'm alone in our sleeping car; Forrest has gone to the Café car to get food. Neither of us has eaten anything for over a day and I feel like I could eat a whole cow. Knowing Forrest he may bring back enough steak to make a whole cow. He has a way of overdoing everything when it comes to me. He'd carried me like a baby from the mansion to the car, refusing to let my feet touch the ground. We found out on the way to the train station that his blood doesn't have the same healing properties as a normal vampires blood does. He might have drained himself dry trying to heal all my war wounds if I hadn't stopped him. The way that he'd touched my face gently as he'd surveyed the damage had been so tender and loving that it'd almost brought me to tears.

Back in the day Eric and I would have been fucking like rabbits in the back seat of the limo to desperately celebrate the fact that we survived yet again. Forrest simply held on to me like I was the most precious thing in the universe. He whispered to me how he would never let me go, that he would spend forever making sure that I had everything I ever wanted and needed. Forever; something inside me had clicked when he'd whispered that word. I'd realized that we wouldn't have forever. But we could possibly have forever and it wouldn't mean that I would have to give up the sun to get it.

Everything Eric had said to me about asking for eternity had all made sense in that one moment. I had never even imagined asking Eric to turn me because I abhorred the thought of never seeing the sun again. I hated the idea of having to drink blood, even the synthetic, to survive. I despised the idea of becoming a predator that craved killing and devouring and had to spend eternity fighting the most basic of vampire instincts because it would mean taking a life or possibly getting staked. It's not that I had never wanted a forever after with Eric; I just hadn't wanted to be like him. I was always afraid that if I were turned I wouldn't be me anymore.

I don't know how Forrest is going to feel about this though. He's already pretty guilt ridden with what happened to Maggie and with his brothers being traditional vampires. And I'm not even sure my mind is made up about this; this isn't the sort of decision you make in the heat of the moment. I'm all caught up in the good feelings of being reunited and having Forrest look at me with such love. But can love like this last forever? Do we have a solid foundation to base an ever after on? This whole thing has been such a hurried affair; we've fallen in love with each other beyond a shadow of a doubt but love fades, it always does. If we stayed this intense about each other forever we would surely wear ourselves out. There has to be more, there has to be a solid friendship that can stand the test of time so when the passion fades we can sit comfortably beside each other and not have the silence be awkward.

I sigh loudly and throw my hands in the air with exasperation. I'm overthinking again like I always do. This was one of the main causes of the problems with my relationship with Eric. I spent far too much time thinking about all the things that could go wrong that I never relaxed enough to enjoy all the things that were going right. Maybe it's time I let go of trying to control every little thing. Maybe it's way too soon in this relationship to be thinking about forever. Maybe I shouldn't even be worrying about if this is built to last or not and just go with the flow of things. So many maybes…

I hear the door to our compartment slide open and I turn to see Forrest, his arms loaded with more food than two people could eat in one sitting.

"They didn't have anything hot but I grabbed two of each kind of sandwich, some chips, three or four different kinds of cake and a couple slices of pie and…" he stops midsentence, his forehead crinkled into lines, his eyes bright with the overhead lights reflecting in them, "what?"

"Nothing," I laugh as I cross the short distance and start helping him to unload his arms onto the small table. I giggle as I notice that his jacket pockets are laden with about six different bottles of soda, juice and flavored tea's. "I was just thinking that you might come back with way too much food."

"Well I have a devious motive for doing that very thing."

I feel a tingle shoot straight up my spine as his voice takes on a huskier than usual tone. "And what might that reason be?" I ask and my voice is as equally insinuating in tone.

"It's nearly a three day, scenic trip and we have a sleeper car with really huge windows to enjoy the view. I really don't want to leave this car or get out of bed more than I have to. I can actually look forward to two more sunrises with you, feeling the heat on my skin before it's back to the daylight defense system routine."

My heart hurts to realize that Forrest intends to keep up his charade with his brothers. Although I understand the reason why, it makes me sad that he can't just be honest with them, that he can't be himself.

"Sookie, I just can't tell them," Forrest says as if he can read my mind. "I don't think you have any idea how much that would hurt them, Jack more so than Howard. For me to still be able to live a normal life while they're literally stuck in the dark is the greatest injustice. I just can't…"

"But how much is it going to hurt you to keep this secret, how much is it going to hurt us?" I ask, my stupid voice going all trembly like it does when I'm fighting tears.

"When you were with Eric you never saw a sunrise together did you? Think of it this way, it only applies when we're at home but no one says we have to stay at home all the time. I plan on finally taking a trip to anywhere and everywhere now that I have you to share it with. Where have you always wanted to go but never thought you could? I swear to you that's the first place we'll travel to."

He's placating me and it's almost working. But I keep thinking about how lies have teeth, how no matter the noble reason behind it, an untruth can rip people apart and I can't shake the sadness.

"Well," I start after plastering on my best smile to hide my sorrow, "I have always wanted to go to Niagara Falls."

"Here I was thinking you'd say something like Scotland or Hawaii but nooooo; you want to go see a waterfall!" He's mocking me; his smirk gives away his intent even though his eyes are trying to be serious. I throw a packet of chips at his head and he ducks with super speed causing the bag to burst against the wall and rain down greasy flakes of deep fried potatoes all over our bed.

"Well excuse me but it's not just a waterfall, it's one of the Seven Wonders of the World I'll have you know!" I say as I head over to the bed to clean up my mess. Forrest grabs me from behind and spins me around, his face very near mine, his pupils wide and the color of pitch.

"Where ever you want to go is where I want to be. It doesn't matter to me as long as we can be together."

He kisses me and instantly my body responds like it's been plugged into an electrical socket. My skin burns for his touch, my mouth can't taste him fast enough or kiss him hard enough. Clothes fly in every direction and soon we're pressed flesh to flesh my back against the door of our compartment.

"I can never get close enough," Forrest moans into my neck as his lips make love to the sensitive skin there. "How can I please you? Tell me and I'll do anything, anything…"

He falls to his knees and pulls my panties down. I step out of them as he looks up at me, never breaking eye contact as his tongue finds its way immediately to my center. His hands knead my ass as he slowly moves his tongue in circles. My knees are shaking and I feel like I might collapse but I'm mesmerized by his intense stare. He moves his right hand to my front and I feel him slide fingers inside me, moving them in time with his tongue. It's all I can do not to cry out and I can't say for sure what's bringing me more pleasure, his mouth and hands or the look he's giving me.

I can't wait anymore, I need him inside of me, I crave that closeness and I'm not waiting for it another second. I grab his shoulders and urge him up, kissing him deeply the minute his mouth is near mine. He grabs my right leg with his left arm and hooks it under my knee. I feel him pressing at my entrance, asking permission. I cry out, impatient to have him fill me and he presses upwards into my center. The feeling as he stretches me is bordering pain but agonizingly beautiful instead. I cry out and clasp my arms around his neck. He hooks his free arm under my left leg and now he's supporting me entirely, thrusting into me as I'm suspended in the air. This angle gives him a deeper penetration and he's hitting a place inside of me that's been untouched, I'm feeling a sensation that is completely new to me and before I know it I'm crying out, shaking like I'm having a seizure and kissing him so hard that I feel like my lips might bleed.

He doesn't even slow down, his thrusts speed up and I feel that tension building again, feel the muscles in my abdomen tighten with the impending release of another orgasm dangerously close.

"Please, oh god, don't stop!" I cry out and feel the muscles of his arms contract around my legs. He's close and I want to finish with him.

"Tell me you love me," he breathes roughly into my ear, his voice ragged and sultry with desire. I'll tell him anything, anything at all. I put my hands on both sides of his face and make him look at me. He's thrusting, breathless, waiting on what I'm about to say. I look him deep in the eyes and say with every ounce of conviction in my body, "Forrest, I love you."

His eyes close and he squints as he finds release deep inside of me in time with my second. I can't stop kissing him as he collapses on the bed with me on top of him.

"Please tell me there was a turkey sandwich somewhere in that shitload of food you brought," I laugh. I'm looking forward to the rest of this trip home to say the very least.