I thought my gut would do a little happy dance as we left the bar, but that wasn't the case. David had left my crutches in the limo, giving Idi an excuse to scope the parking lot as he fetched them for me. I had even silently asked Sookie to do a mental sweep of the area to make sure that there weren't any overly hostile minds in the parking lot. When both Idi and Sookie came up blank, David looked triumphant. "I told you this would work," he said as he held my crutches out for me. I noticed, however, that he wasn't feeling triumphant enough to insist on carrying me. He didn't want my burden in case he had to fight. That frightened me ever more than my instinct.

The three of us exited the bar in a single file line, leaving Eric, Pam, and Sookie still in the bar (Eric wanted to watch DeCastro's response as we left). Idi went first, hand ready and under is black leather jacket (presumably on the handle of his favorite weapon). Then I went, moving slower than really necessary to give myself some extra time to have any helpful visions, followed by David, who was close enough to me I could feel his presence behind me. For a vampire who has perfected the art of sneaking up on people, that is very close. Idi had asked the limo driver to pull right up to the door, which helped to make the trip from the bar into the limo uneventful. Still, my gut wasn't happy. If anything, it was yelling at me ever harder. "Something's still wrong."

I had caught both David and Idi's attention. "What?" asked Idi.

I shook my head in frustration. "I don't know, but it still doesn't feel right." I was starting to shake again and it was getting more and more difficult to breathe. I was having an honest-to-God panic attack, complete with tremors and hyperventilation.

David leaned against the door of the limo and pulled me against him so my back was against his chest in his favorite calm-me-down position. He wrapped his arms around me and started to breathe slowly. "Just relax." I was getting very tired of him telling me to relax. If it were that easy, wouldn't I have tried that by now? "Focus. You can summon the information you need to know, you just need to ask for it." He had a point there. I closed my eyes and tried to ask for what I needed to know. A vision similar to the one I had earlier, where I saw from present forward, would have been very helpful. I felt the car pull away from the curb as I mocked David's breathing with my own.

We were at a stoplight as the vision I was asking for hit. For a split second, I did an internal happy dance at my achievement. That is until I realized that I didn't have time for my happy dance. "Get out of the car, NOW!"

Without a question, Idi practically ripped the door off of its hinges. David grabbed me and followed Idi out of the limo at full vampire speed. Before we could get far enough away, there was a large bang behind me, loud enough to make me scream. Milliseconds later, David froze with me in his arms. I looked into his eyes to see what the problem was. He wasn't looking at me; he was looking down between us. Before I could follow his gaze down, he dropped to his knees and let go of me. When I didn't fall flat on my ass, I followed his gaze down to between us. A scrap of metal with a diameter the size of my fist had shot all the way through him and part of the way through me, holding us together like a giant toothpick. Only then did the pain rip through me. I screamed in pain as he pushed me off of our toothpick and fell onto his side on the damp pavement. "Run," he whispered.

I was suddenly very weak and very cold and in a whole hell of a lot more pain. Is it possible it actually hurt worse without the metal sticking out of my stomach? "Not without you," I responded in a whisper. Shakily, I tried to ignore the pain and pressed one hand over the hole in my stomach to stop gushing blood. I dropped to my knees beside him. After struggling to pull the scrap of metal from David's chest, I extended my other wrist over David's mouth. "Drink." He shook his head no as his eyes closed involuntarily. Thick red blood started to pour out of either side of his wound. I panicked; I really had no idea what kind of trauma it took to kill a vampire. Painfully, I rolled him onto his back and grabbed a shard of glass that had landed near us to slit my wrist open. When I put my bleeding wrist to his mouth, instinct forced David to automatically latch on, pulling deep throatfuls of blood from my wrist. Now that he was in full bloodlust, he bit the already bleeding wound hard, making me scream as hard as I could, which came out more like a pathetic whimper. I pulled my blood-covered hand from the wound in my stomach and grabbed my cell phone from my back pocket. With the last bit of energy I had, I dialed Sookie's number. "Eric," I managed to utter before collapsing next to David, mortally wounded and almost completely drained of blood. I could hear Sookie frantically talking into her phone, but I couldn't quite make anything out. Time slowed as black crept into my vision, pulling me deeper and deeper into the rabbit's hole. That same sickening sinking feeling that I had when I collapsed in my backyard all those months ago was back. Oh, God…was I dying?

I was jolted back to the here and now as excruciating pain shot through my body. I opened my eyes to see Sookie leaning over me, shoving a balled up jacket into my stomach and pressing another hand to my wrist. "Stay with me," she said frantically. "Eric!" Tears were running down her face.

Pam's face suddenly appeared over Sookie's shoulder. "Move." Sookie quickly moved out of the way, allowing Pam to lift me off the wet ground. I surveyed the area as she spun me, looking for David or Idi. Neither of them were in sight, only two pools of blood where they had been.

I must have lost consciousness again because when I opened my eyes, we were moving quickly through the lobby of the hotel. "David? Idi?" I mumbled.

"Healing," Pam said shortly as she started up the endless flights of stairs. I closed my eyes again, too weak to keep them open any longer. I focused on the sounds going on around me.

In less than a minute, she climbed 15 flights of stairs and knocked on a door. A flurry of activity was hiding behind that door. Someone, most likely Eric, was barking orders as soon as the door flung open. "Put her on the bed next to O'Hara." Faster than I could track, I could feel myself being lowered onto a soft surface. Only moments after that, a very cold hand enveloped mine just before I lost consciousness again.

SYDNEY'S POINT OF VIEW:

I couldn't help it; I primped myself slightly in the large mirror above the console table before answering the knock at the door. Sloane and David had only left for the bar an hour or so ago, so I wasn't expecting to hear from her again for another hour, at least. If it wasn't Sloane, it had to be Gary. He was the only other person here I knew.

I got quite a surprise when I answered the door, seductive smile on my face. Instead of Gary, Sookie was standing at my door. She was frantic and covered in blood, blonde hair unraveling from its previously perfect ponytail and a trail of mascara running down her cheek. Panic shot through me. "Oh my God, Sloane?!"

Sookie was still shaken, apparently too shaken to form a coherent sentence. I turned to the console table to grab my room key. When I turned back to Sookie, she was holding Sloane's phone out for me. It was covered in blood.

I was about to break down. "Where is she?" When Sookie didn't answer, I grabbed her shoulders. "Where?!"

"His room," she answered finally.

I rushed past her, up the stairwell, and to David's door at a full sprint. Before I could pound on the door, it opened, a very pale and scarred giant standing in the way. He had a gash on his forehead that was healing almost before my eyes. In his hand were two True Bloods. He stood aside and pointed to the bedroom with his twin bottles.

I froze when I saw her. She was pale, drawn, and covered in her own blood. Her eyes were closed and her limbs were absolutely limp. Tears started to run down my face as I realized I couldn't see her chest rise and fall. "Why do the humans leak so often?" asked the pale blonde vampire woman (I think Sloane called her Pam) as she noticed me standing in the doorway. She was holding Sloane's head, pouring a bottle of True Blood down her throat as David held her mouth open.

David. He was the bane of my existence; I would bet money this was his fault. "You," I accused, pointing a finger in David's direction. He was also pale and drawn, but at least he was conscious. That was better than Sloane. He sat leaning against the headboard, his torn and bloody shirt a pile on the floor next to him. His entire chest was covered in a thick, red, syrupy concoction that made my stomach turn.

He pulled a bloody towel from his chest to reveal a gaping but healing hole about the size of a silver dollar in his chest. He ignored me, instead asking to no one in particular, "Is that enough?"

Eric, who was standing at the end of the bed just surveying the action, answered him. "I do not believe so. At any rate, you are not strong enough to heal her yet."

I walked to the side of the bed and grabbed Sloane's hand. When I was up close, her condition looked even more dire. I glared at David, hate for him in my eyes. "You couldn't just listen to her, huh? You had to parade her around, even though she knew it was a bad idea. She told you! She told you it was a bad idea! What the hell happened, anyway?"

"The limo was rigged with a bomb." David's voice was low and monotone, almost sheepish. I sounded like I was chiding a small child and surprisingly, David sounded like a small child being chided.

I rolled my eyes. "So this went from you getting impaled to Sloane getting impaled. Great job, jackass."

"Silence, woman! You are speaking to the King of Michigan. Show proper respect," Eric yelled. Now and forever, he was no longer attractive to me. I am more than done with vampires, no matter how devastatingly hot.

I turned to him and sneered. "Oh, shut up. I don't give a damn who he is. And I don't see you doing anything helpful." I turned back to David and continued my rant, ignoring the anger on both Eric's and Pam's faces. "Did you know what happened last time she ignored her intuition? She was in a coma for a week. She crushed her arm and cracked her skull."

"I did not know that," he replied. When Pam finished pouring another bottle of True Blood down Sloane's throat, David closed her mouth and laid her head back on the pillow. My anger melted slightly when I noticed the love and consideration with which he handled her now. He treated her like a porcelain doll. I was still angry enough to wish him a horrible, painful death, though. If Sloane didn't love him, I'd be gathering silver and stakes it right now.

Before my anger at him could escalate again, Sloane's hand twitched. "Sloane, sweetheart?" I took a second to reevaluate her condition. She was still drawn and limp, but she had more color in her cheeks. Her breathing has stabilized and was getting stronger. Seconds later, her eyes fluttered open.

"Syd?" She weakly squeezed my hand.

Tears of relief started to fall from my eyes. "Yea hun, I'm here." With a single slight nod from David, Eric and Pam disappeared from the room, closing the double doors behind them.

Feeling the tension in the room, she attempted to lighten the mood. "This really hurts. I suggest not trying this at home." She tried to smile, but it came out as more of a grimace when David lifted the bloody towel from her stomach. The hole in her stomach was much larger than the one in David's chest.

"I need a donor," David said authoritatively. I stared up at him, shocked. Was he really going to just drink from some fangbanger while his whatever-the-hell-she-is-to-him lay right next to him, bleeding to death? He must have seen the shock on my face. "Vampires make two different enzymes for when we feed. If I clean her wound before I bite someone, I will thin her blood and she will die. I need to bite someone first, only then will I release the right enzyme."

I cocked an eyebrow at him. "Call room service, they'll send you a whore." I stared David down while trying to simultaneously avoid eye contact.

A slight movement out of the corner of my eye caught my attention. Sloane had turned over her other hand to reveal a bloody and mangled wrist. "Here," she whispered.

I squeezed her hand as her eyes started to close again. "Sloane, open your eyes. You have to stay awake. Come on, Sloane." It was no use, her eyes fluttered shut and her hand went limp again. I looked up teary eyed at David. He was staring down at her with the same panic in his eyes. I shoved my own wrist at him. "Only for her."

He nodded in understanding and thanks. "You will want a towel of your own to stop the bleeding. I will not be able to spare any healing." After a second's hesitation, I let go of Sloane's hand and rushed to the bathroom for a towel. I grabbed a hand towel and approached David's side of the bed. Without any explanation or even a simple 'ready?', he grabbed my wrist and bit. I was surprised to find that the bite didn't really hurt that bad; more like a slight pinch, then a kind of giggly euphoria kicks in. He fed for just a few seconds before releasing my wrist and going straight to work on Sloane's. I wrapped the hand towel around my wrist and went back to Sloane's side of the bed, grabbing her hand. I was starting to feel a little weak myself. I laid my head next to Sloane's shoulder and watched her rhythmic breathing.

When he was done with the gash on her wrist, he tore open her sweater and started on the hole in her stomach. He licked around the circumference of the wound several times before stopping. I shuddered as he licked the remaining blood from his lips. Ew. I had never actually seen a vampire feed before, and now I knew I never wanted to see it again. There was something very primal about it, something very raw. It was almost like watching a lion lick its chops.

He retracted his fangs as he smoothed the hair from her face. "My Love, you need to wake up now. I need your help." He was whispering in her ear, encouraging her to wake up. Miraculously, after a few words of encouragement, her eyes fluttered open again for a split second before snapping back shut. He lifted her so her back was leaning against his bare chest, holding her up with only one arm and biting a hole in his other wrist. He held his bleeding wrist to her mouth, but she didn't respond. "Drink, Love. You need to drink." He reopened the closing hole and pressed it to her mouth again. This time, she started to suck the blood from the wound. When the wound closed again, he opened it for a third time and pressed it back to her mouth. She started back up again, eyes still closed and body limp. I looked away as he started to squirm behind her. I wasn't sure what was going on back there, but I'm sure I didn't want to be a witness to it. I closed my eyes to wait for the whole ordeal to be over.

SLOANE'S POINT OF VIEW:

I woke up with my back pressed against a cold slab of skin. I opened my eyes slowly to give them a chance to equilibrate to the light. When contrast returned to my vision, I could see what looked like a triage center around me. Bloody towels were strewn across the room. A bloody comforter was wrapped around me. I could see a green scrap of material that used to be my sweater hanging from the corner of the bed covered in blood. Several six packs worth of True Bloods were empty and lying everywhere. There was enough blood in this one room to convince a coroner that several people had died. I couldn't for the life of me remember what had happened that had caused this much bloodshed.

It all started to come back as I saw Sydney next to me, fast asleep and holding my hand. She was here earlier, she was yelling at David about something. Pam and Eric had been here, too, but I wasn't sure why. I tried to sit up, but a painful jab radiated out from my stomach. "Not yet, Love. You're not strong enough yet." I could hear and feel David's words as his chest vibrated with them.

"What happened?" I was somewhat afraid to ask. If my mind was specifically forgetting the traumatic parts of the evening, I wasn't sure I wanted to be reminded.

"The limo we were in exploded on the way back from The Purple Moose. We were hit by shrapnel as we escaped," David explained in a low voice.

Everything came rushing back. My anxiety the whole night, DaCastro's mind games, the vision that came just in time. I remembered the piece of metal that held us together, I remembered my panic as his eyes slowly closed. Without thinking, I pulled the blanket back and looked down. First of all, I was not happy about being shirtless. At least he left me my bra. But more importantly, where a gaping hole had been was now a large scab already in the process of healing. "You should be fully healed in a couple of hours," David whispered into my ear as he soothingly rubbed a trail up and down my arm with his long fingers. "Although your situation would not have been as calamitous if you did not force your blood on me. I almost drained you dry." His tone should have been reproachful, but instead it was just soft and loving. He kissed the top of my ear, then my earlobe.

"I couldn't just sit there and watch you die." I intertwined my fingers with his and wrapped his other arm around me as well. We sat in silence for several minutes before all the questions I had been dying to ask came back to the front of my mind. "Who is Emma's vice president?"

He waited a second before answering that. "I do not understand what you mean."

I considered how to best explain what I meant. It made sense in my head, but I wanted to make sure someone else would understand, too. "Well, Eric's got Pam, and Filipe has Victor. So, which one of you is Emma's Victor?"

I could hear the smile in his voice. "I am afraid it is not that simple for Emma." I twisted my head up, urging him to explain what he was talking about. "A second, as we call them, is generally a trusted child. Emma has no children."

"So who does all that stuff for her?"

"Lee and I do."

My curiosity was getting the best of me again. "Do you have any children?" I don't know why, but for a second there, I was really jealous of any children he had. Maybe he had a long list of former lovers out there, still pining away for him. That would be the worst situation I could imagine. They would literally be the ex girlfriends from hell.

"Two." I cocked my eyebrow, waiting for him to explain. A small sly smile covered his face as he kissed my forehead. "Do not be envious, my princess. My only children are Emma and Lee."

His princess, ha. Does that mean he thinks of himself as a prince? That's ridiculous. However, in the interest of keeping him talking, I ignored the several comments about his little nickname that flooded to mind. "That has to be weird. You're Emma's maker, but she's your Queen. If you get in a fight, who wins?"

"Politically, our situation is very complicated, and Emma and I rarely fight. But to answer your question, I do."

"So maker trumps royalty?" At this point, I was just trying to get this all straight in my head. Maybe I should have been an international relations major.

"No, royalty 'trumps' all." He smiled again as he emphasized my choice of words.

Wait a second. "That makes no sense." He could only have it one way. If royalty trumps all, then Emma should always win, not him.

"Royalty is a designation for life, or I suppose death. In the technical sense of the word, I am still King. However, as DeCastro so delicately put it, I abdicated my responsibilities to my second, my sister. Should I ever want my title back, she would have no choice but to step down."

Vampires and their rules. "So she's not really Queen?" This was more complicated than anything I ever learned in civics class.

"Yes and no."

And now I was completely confused. I dropped the subject and moved on to something a tad more pertinent. I forced my mind into analytical, problem-solving mode. I needed to see this from the outside in. "I don't think DeCastro was behind the bomb."

He sounded like a proud father, amused at his daughter's latest scheme. "And what makes you say that?"

"DeCastro wants me right? Why would he try to kill me?"

"So who do you believe is behind this?"

I took a deep breath before I explained my logic. "Well, I don't think it's anyone necessarily after Michigan. I mean, Emma and Lee aren't even here. What would someone gain by killing you and me? This is your world, so correct me if I'm wrong, but no one wins if you die. No power changes hands, everything just reverts to Emma. So who gains if I die? Well, Emma wouldn't have a psychic anymore. That would rebalance some power scales. That's big, I guess."

He kissed my hair. "Should you choose it, you would make a smart and cunning vampire."

"Don't sound so surprised." I smacked his hand playfully. "So who would feel threatened if I'm still in with Emma?"

His voice was playful and light. "I thought you were 'quitting vampires cold-turkey'?"

At that statement, the analytical side of my brain switched off and the reality of my situation hit. DeCastro wanted to kidnap me and keep me for himself, and someone else, I don't even know who, wanted to kill me. Beyond that, I was tied to and seemingly in love with an abusive vampire. Tears started to fall, no matter how hard I tried to hold them in. "Who's after me? I can't do this again." I couldn't be another pawn, another target. It never ended well. I can't be beaten again, I don't think I'd come out nearly as unscathed as I did the last few times.

David pulled my hand out of Sydney's and gathered me into his arms. "I do not know, but they will not get you." He let me bury my face in his chest sob quietly until I fell asleep.