Chapter 36 The night it all ended

"I still can't believe Eric did this...I can't believe we actually agreed to let him do it."

"I know. It seems barbaric but at the time it seemed like the only thing to guarantee to keep her from following after him. At least now they're gone and she can't find out where the battle is."

"She is going to be so mad at him when he shows his face again."

"If he shows up...who knows who is going to survive the war this time..."

It was this statement from Molly that I heard through my haze of thoughts that finally forced me to open my eyes and focus on the room surrounding me. I was lying on the couch where Eric must have laid me after drugging me and although I still felt a little shaky from the sedatives, I was awake and I immediately sat up and brought my feet to the floor with a loud thud. My eyes went to the doorway where both Molly and Sookie had appeared in looking both relieved and nervous at me being awake and as we all stared at each other, I didn't quite know what to feel first. I wanted to yell and scream and be furious that they had allowed Eric to go to such a drastic length to keep me out of this battle. I wanted to cry out of betrayal for them all ganging up on me. I wanted to sit there in relief that I wasn't being forced to go through another battle this year. But the relief left me the moment my cousin and birth mother took a step towards me looking like they wanted to speak. And I wasn't about to let that happen.

"What...the...hell?" I demanded, my hands running through my hair to get it out of my eyes as I listened to the sound of quiet that filled the house when it didn't seem that long ago that it was filled with my yelling. "Eric fucking drugged me!"

"I told you she would be mad." Sookie said pointedly at Molly before setting her eyes on me sheepishly, her hands inching forward as if to touch me. "Allie, please don't take this personally..."

"Don't take it personally? Are you serious right now?" I snapped, rubbing the final itches of drowsiness from my eyes and sent a glare at the two of them. "I just got drugged to keep me out of a war I have every right to be fighting in but not before I find out that everyone else was in on it except me. How could you do this to me?"

"It was for your safety Allison, not to purposely hurt you." Molly took a chance to cut in and speak, her green eyes filling up with concern and a maternal protectiveness I had seen only a few times before. "Eric was adamant about keeping you alive and the only way to do that was to join together and plot against you. And when keeping you out of the house for the night failed, we had to resort to the next plan."

"So you let him drug me, oh that's so nice. Remind me to thank you." I replied sarcastically, spitting out the words so harshly that Molly visibly winced as if I had hit her. But I couldn't care about that right now. Manners were not high on my list of priorities. "So why are you two still here? Why haven't yo gone off to join the fight?"

"Because Eric didn't give you enough drugs to keep you unconscious for hours. You've only been out for 45 minutes." Sookie explained, taking a seat on the couch across from me after I sent her a look to avoid contact with me at all costs. "And he wanted us to stay here so that when you did wake up, you wouldn't go charging out the door trying to find out where they were and joining the fight."

"Wow, he really though this one through didn't he?" I wanted to yell so badly at that moment but I couldn't quite manage to summon the energy. I'm sure that once Eric came back then I would tear him a new ass hole, but until then I was stuck here with the knowledge that I had been kept in the dark and out of a war against my will. And I was pissed. But as I had felt previously, it all went quickly away when it settled on me heavily that Eric and the others were out there in the night, facing down the enemy alone. And at any moment, one of them could die and I was just sitting here doing nothing.

It was this thought that now brought me to my feet as I tried to shoot over to the door.

"Oh no you don't." Molly suddenly appeared in front of me, blocking me from going any further towards the front door. "You're not going anywhere. You're staying right here."

"Like hell I am." I growled, whirling around, intending to go out through the back door and escape through the woods but I fond that the other doorway out of the living room was being blocked by my cousin. I came to a stop, my hands clasping my hips furiously. "Sookie, don't do this to me. Get out of the way."

"I'm sorry Allie but I can't do that. I gave Eric my word that I wouldn't let you leave this house and I fully intend on keeping that promise..." She insisted and even though her voice was shaky and unsure, her face showed her determination. "I won't let you die again."

"That's not your decision to make." I grumbled, turning back to face Molly and tried to move passed her to the door but every time I side stepped, she was blocking my way each and every time. I pivoted on my heel, thinking it might be easier to get through Sookie, but just like with Molly, my cousin was keeping me in the very same place I had started in and this went on for quite a few minutes until it finally dawned on me that neither of them would budge. And once that hit me, I could already feel the tears start to well up. "You guys don't understand. I have to be there with him. I have to fight at his side, I can't sit here while he goes and risks his life for me. It's not fair and yea I may get hurt, but it will be nothing compared to the pain I will feel if he dies and I'm not there."

"Unfortunately, I do understand. Bill's fighting in this battle too and if I'm strong enough to let him go and know he will come back then you should be the same as well." Sookie said gently to me when the tears started falling and my shoulders sank in defeat. "Allie, I know it's hard..."

"Fuck you, you don't know shit." I hissed through my clenched teeth, trying to conjure up my fury and frustration so I could take it out on them. But it seemed once I gave in to the realization that I was stuck here in this house, then there was no turning back. "I could lose him because of this. Because these witches are after me. If he dies, it will be all my fault..."

"I know you feel responsible and scared and I would do anything to take that away for you but I can't do the thing you want me to do." Molly shook her head sadly but determined as I made my way back over to the couch and fell down onto the plush cushions with the hot tears still rolling. "No matter what happens,we can't let you go. This is the path we chose and we're sticking to it."

"I hate you. All of you." I yelled even though there was only the three of us here. Molly must have taken Susan home while I had been unconscious and now I was alone with her and Sookie, wanting to yank them both around by their hair. I hated them and the others for not respecting me enough to let me decide this on my own. Didn't they get how much it would hurt me to not be there and have to sit back at the house and wonder what was going on? How could they be so cruel to force this on me? I looked at my two family members through my fog of tears and shook my head. "I ….I..."

I couldn't even think of anything else to say so I just gave up and leaned over with my face in my hands and let the tears flow even harder. I didn't really hate them. I knew they were only doing this out of concern and love, but it didn't stop me from feeling beyond angry that they decided this between them without me. I was mad and scared knowing that Eric and Godric and the others were all out there fighting and I couldn't help them. This was about me, this whole war and I was trapped in my own house. I was powerless. There was nothing I could. I had no choice but to sit here and wait to see what the outcome would be from this battle.

And more importantly, who would come back to us by the end of the night.

15 minutes later

"This is it. We've come to it at last." Eric found himself saying to Godric as they stood together in the shadows on the edge of the field and stared across the barren grass towards the warehouse where the witches were congregated and unaware of the vampires that now surrounded the building on each side. He had been standing by his maker's side for the past 30 minutes, not saying a word until just this moment when he realized that this truly was going to be the decide all night. He turned to see Godric looking up at him as calm as he had ever been and Eric could only shrug. "This is the night it all ends."

"There will not be a repeat, I won't allow it." Godric nodded to back up both their sentiments as he crossed his arms and arched his neck to the side to catch sight of the others standing hundreds of feet away. "I don't relish taking lives, but I know what must be done to ensure the safety of our loved ones."

"I can't do this for a 3rd time. It has to end tonight or else I will go even more crazy then I already have." Eric mumbled, his eyes leaving his maker's face and drifting back to the warehouse to the spot where his progeny was standing at the ready on the other side. "We made the mistake of letting the remaining witches live after what happened last time. But I will not make the same mistake again. It's either us or them. And I much prefer it to be them."

"It will be, you just have to have faith." Godric reminded him of the mantra they had repeated since leaving the house as he too kept the others in his line of vision. They were all just waiting for the right moment to descend on the building, it wasn't owned by a human, so they wouldn't have to be invited in. "Doubting yourself, even in the slightest could be an advantage to them. You know that."

"I can barely concentrate." Eric admitted, his eyes narrowing as his mind flashed back. "All I see is Allison being stabbed and dying right before my eyes and I couldn't do anything about it..."

"It's not the same situation, she's not here and she can't be hurt." Godric had to point out the obvious in such a tone that the images of his dead and bloodied girlfriend went clear out of his mind at the notion that she was safe and sound. And it was their group that he should be worrying about. "It's all going to turn out right this time. We're all going to walk away from this."

"I wish I could be as sure as..." Eric heard how his voice trailed off so suddenly as he felt a sudden flare up through his blood bond to Allison and he had to close his eyes for a second as he felt the agony his lover was feeling right now. It came at him, emotion after emotion, wave after wave, pain after pain. She was hurting emotionally right now and as he looked at Godric, he said the reason why. "The drugs wore off, Allison's awake and I think they told her everything. And she's upset."

"You can't think about that right now Eric." Godric replied sternly, his calm face twisting darkly. "You have to put her out of your mind this very instance and block her 100%. Or you will never be able to fight to your best degree."

"I know that, it's just hard. It came so suddenly." Eric stammered, feeling like he could be knocked over by the flood of emotion he was feeling. It was a little bit of everything, anger and sadness, betrayal and fear, love and loyalty. Anything and everything she was feeling was ringing loud and clear to him to the point where he could barely concentrate on anything. But he knew Godric had a point, if he allowed himself to feel Allison then he would be distracted and it cold end up beign fatal for him or one of the others. And although it would be tough as he had never completely blocked their bond before, he knew it had to be done. He needed his focus to be like tunnel vision on this warehouse. He couldn't be torn away by anything until the very last witch was dead, including Anna at his own hands. And it was this image of ripping Anna's head off that gave Eric the boost he needed to seal himself off from Allison. He could still sense the bond, but he could no longer feel anything from her and that's when he turned back to Godric and said. "Ok, let's do this. Let's get them."

Godric only smiled before they each turned their bodies to the rest of the field and snapped their fingers, a sound that could only be heard by vampires from any distance away. And once he could spot each of the others nod in response, that's when they finally left their spots and rushed across the dusty ground towards the warehouse. There was no sound besides the quiet wind of the night and nothing to give heed to their impending arrival. But something must have set them off in some matter because just as Eric was within10 feet of the front door, he was suddenly brought down to his knees by a sharp pain in his chest and he could barely gasp as a large bubble of blood exploding down the front of his shirt.

He had been shot. With silver bullets. They had been prepared. They had been expecting an attack.

Oh it was so on, right now.

Back in Shreveport

"Allie, I really wish you would calm down and stop pacing."

"There's nothing we can do but wait and you dwelling on this so hard is just going to make it more of a torture to you."

"I know you can't help but think about it, but at least attempt to distract yourself. I'm worried about what this could do to you."

I continued to ignore both Molly and Sookie as I went ahead with my frantic pacing that had moved from the living room and now to the kitchen. I was trying and failing to keep myself calm and being that I wasn't allowed to leave their sight and go find the battle for myself, the only thing I could do to stop myself from throwing a chair through the window was to pace back and forth the entire length of the kitchen. I couldn't seem to stop doing it, it was the closest thing I would come to being distracted by. Since the conversation in the living room over 20 minutes ago, my mind had been going at warp speed to come up with some logical or insane way to get through to them so they would let me leave. But nothing had worked. I cried, yelled, sulked, and pouted but every argument was shot down with a resilient no and I was getting to the point where my anger was starting to be turned on them. Hence why I had resorted to pacing. At least if I was concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other then I would direct my fury on them in a destructive kind of way.

But I had a feeling it would come to that, sooner rather then later.

"Ok, I get that you guys are worried about me and all that, but can you please just shut it?" And there when the fury, unleashed as my pace was grounded to a halt and I turned to look at them where they had been seated at the table since we came in here. They both look startled that I had finally spoken but I didn't want to put too much attention on that as I was now starting to shake out of frustration. "If you're not going to let me go fight with them, then stop talking about it."

"We're just trying to make the best of things..." Sookie tried to say but I was so annoyed by her continued sunny attitude in the face of a possible tragedy that I cut her off.

"For Christ Sakes, there is no possible way to make this situation ok. So stop trying to be all positive." I said sarcastically, knowing it was a low blow to take a swing at my cousin like that. But I was still feeling the effects of her involvement in this plan to keep me in the dark and if she was going to plot against me, then I wasn't going to be in the happy mood she wanted me to be in. "I would be way less stressed for the rest of the night if you would just tell me where the battle is."

"I'm sorry, you know we can't do that." Sookie's face twitched as if she were considering for just a moment to tell me the location. But then the determination resurfaced in her features and she was back to be stubborn. "Please don't make this harder then it has to be. You know how hard it is to be loyal to Eric, don't put me in a position to break a promise."

"Oh please, don't feed me that shi..." I was going to yell at her just as I felt my frustration boil over, but my voice was stolen away from me just as I was filled up with a sudden pain that I knew was not my own. I had come to a stop by the center island counter and my hand reached out to grip the edge as I felt my bond to Eric opening up to the worse kind of pain I had ever felt. "Oh my god."

"What is it? What's wrong?" Molly was the first to reach my side and I felt her hands on my back as I felt my throat let out a gasp. Molly grabbed me by the arms and stood me up straight to look me in the eyes. "Please don't tell me they are casting a spell on you from afar..."

"It's Eric, he's hurt." I managed to say, pulling away from her just as my vision swam with fresh tears. "I can feel his pain."

"Oh Allie." Sookie's face appeared in front of me, her arms going around my shaking form in an attempt to comfort me from the pain attacking my body. I could have handled it if the pain was my own. But feeling Eric being hurt was a million times worse then any kind of brutality I could be put through. I may have been angry that Eric had gone to such lengths to keep me out of battle, but I loved him more then life itself and knowing that he was now hurting was killing me.

And when the pain got worse a minute later, I knew just how much I couldn't stand this.

"They're torturing him." I said quietly, the realization hitting me far more harshly then the pain itself. This was what I had been fearing when talk of a second battle had come up. Not that I would die again, not that I would be hurt, but that Eric would now be the one to go through the worse kind of pain and it was happening. There was no denying the flashes of pain, it was torture all right. If any one knew that then it was definitely me. I struggled against Sookie as I said. "I have to help him, I can't leave him there."

"I know, I know you feel that way but the others will take care of him." Sookie tried to assure me, her hands rubbing circles on my back. "If you're feeling his pain then so are Godric and Pam. And they won't let the witches keep on doing this. They'll stop them."

"She's right. The others are more then capable of taking care of each other and fighting back the rest of the coven. That's why they didn't need a bigger army, they can win this battle with just them." Molly added in, leaning against the counter and her hand covered my wrist gently. "They may have hurt him now, but it will subside."

"I hope you're right..." I began to say but like before, I was cut off as my body jerk from a second round spasm of pain. My eyes watered and my breath caught in my throat, making it hard to get air into my lungs or take notice of anything around me. It was this pain that cut just a little bit sharper because it was a blood bond that came about from using my blood. I looked up at Sookie and whispered. "It's Godric now too, he's hurt."

"Block it out. Block your bonds right now." Sookie ordered me, her hands tightening on me but I pushed passed her as my body instinctively tried to drive me towards the door. I didn't get very far as Sookie was far more focused then I was and she was able to step back in front of me before I could reach for the handle. "Allie no! I know its hard now that you're feeling their pain but you can't let that take away your common..."

"Get out of the way." I growled, surprising myself with how nasty I sounded especially when I was feeling more scared then angry. I tried pushing at her but she was unrelenting in her stance and even shoved me backward to the counter. I felt my jaw drop open right before I said something I never thought I would say to her. "I mean it Sookie, if you don't move then I swear to God I will throw you across the room with my powers if I have to."

"Just wait a second, don't get all pissed off at your cousin when she's just trying to keep you in line. You may be able to get away with threatening her, but I will not stand for it." Molly was the first of the two to actually show anger towards me and when she pushed Sookie out of the way and looked down at me, I saw just how much was she was not going to budge. "I'm a Faerie too but I'm a witch first and foremost. And I will not hesitate to kick your ass and fight you back if it means keeping you from running out that door and getting yourself killed."

"You are such a bitch." I snapped right up at her, not feeling any regret for letting those words leave my lips. I didn't really think she was a bitch but I was so mad and so upset that neither of them could see how important it was for me to go to this battle that I was just saying whatever came to mind. "I seriously hate you both."

I felt my legs finally refuse to hold me up any longer and I slid down to the floor with my back against the counter and my arms wrapped around my legs. I felt my tears chock me as I leaned my head on my knees, allowing my hair to hide me from view. I knew they were only trying to help, but the more they kept refusing to let me do what I wanted, the worse it felt to know I was no closer to getting it. I felt Sookie and Molly both sit down on the floor on either side of me, each of them sighing heavily and making it apparent this battle was taking a toll on them and not just me.

"I know this is hard. My husband is there too and I'm worried about something happening to him also. But staying out of this is the best thing we can do." Sookie's hand landed back on my arm, her fingers squeezing gently but I refused to look at her. "We would only be a distraction to them and you know that. Leaving them on their own is the right thing to do."

"But if we were there, then they wouldn't be alone if they died." I said before my tears got the best of me and I found myself falling apart all over again.

5 months ago (before the first war)

"Is this really happening? Are we really going to war?"

"You say that like you've never been through a war before." Godric made a point of saying to his child as the two vampires stood together on the roof of the Shreveport house and looked at the clear black sky with only the moon to offer any visibility. Godric turned his head up to look at his progeny's tall form and frowned. "But this is different for you isn't it? More so then any other time in the past?"

"Of course it's different, the circumstances are different and so am I." Eric grumbled, showing that he didn't like to admit that he had evolved in his thousand years as a vampire but it was only obvious to those who knew him the best. And there was no hiding the change from his own maker. Their bond would tell the truth even if Eric tried to lie. "I wouldn't be questioning a fight or a war of any kind before. But now..."

"Now Allison's in the picture and you know what its like to have to fight for something that important to you." Godric couldn't help but smile at the thought that after all this time, his progeny had finally encountered someone who was changing who the former viking use to be. Granted it was being ruined by these witches but still, in a way it forced the change in Eric more then it would have just on it's own. And yet, Godric couldn't help but pity his child for what he was being forced to go through. "Do not worry my son, she will be alright. As will all the rest of us."

"You can't guarantee that." Eric hissed, finally turning his eyes away from the moon and looked down with a wrinkle in his pale forehead. "We're dealing with witches and as much as I hate to admit it, they are powerful. We don't have a good chance here."

"Now that is something I can guarantee is not true." Godric shook his head, crossing his arms with a flourish. "We have an entire vampire army going with us and Holly and her coven are fighting against the Dallas witches. So I say we have a pretty good shot at coming out of this alive."

"Your positive thinking is making me sick." Eric sneered, his face showing just how much doubt he had in the outcome of this battle. "You live in a fantasy world if you think there won't be any fatalities."

"I never said there wouldn't be deaths. I'm not so delusional to think that every one on our side will make it out alive." Godric had to tell his son the truth even though it was against his personality to think in the negative. But it was the reality they were facing. War meant death. And it wasn't always the bad guys who died. So they had to be ready that they were going to lose some of their numbers. "But Allison is not going to be one of those lost lives."

"I want to believe that but after all the ways the witches have tried to break us down and almost killed us in the past couple of weeks, it's hard not to think that Allison is going to be one of the first to die in this battle." Eric muttered, his face briefly clouding over with a frown that reflected the turmoil he was fighting on the inside and that he was refusing to show in full on the outside. "This war is about her, they want her. And they will go through our entire army to get to her. So even if we give it our best shot then she could still die."

"I know, I know." Godric saw just how much this was affecting Eric. It wasn't often that Eric let down his guard long enough to let someone into his life and he had done that and more when Allison walked into his world. And it almost seemed like a slap in the face by the universe. Everyone wanted Eric to be different then he was his entire vampire life and then when he finally started doing that, he was threatened with having the person responsible for that taken away from him. Of course Eric was agitated and prone to instability right now. Their entire existence was bound to this war. But Godric knew that didn't scare Eric as much as a life without Allison did. "It's stressful for all of us, but we're going to make it. I say that with complete confidence as a vampire."

"I'm scared of losing her." Eric quietly admitted in such a vulnerable voice that Godric found himself reaching out for his progeny's arm. "I can't lose her this soon. I just got her back and even before now I haven't had her all that long. I need more time. I can't watch her die in this battle. It will kill me."

"I won't let that happen my son, I won't let her die." Godric squeezed the much taller vampire's shoulder in an attempt to bring peace to the night's end. He wasn't saying this to simply comfort his progeny, he was saying it with the knowledge that if it came down to it, he wold do anything in his power to ensure the girl's safety. "If I have to die in her place then I will. You won't lose her. I promise."

45 minutes later

It was torture, pure torture. Waiting here to see what happened from this battle taking place was the worse kind of agony I had ever experienced and the night wasn't over by a long shot. And that only made me feel worse.

I hadn't said a word since I had collapsed to the kitchen floor almost an hour ago and had instead chose to express my frustration through the longest crying spell I had ever had. It was exhausting and painful and I thought the longer I went on doing it then it might make me feel better. It always had in the past, it always felt like I was unloading when I cried and I could let things go if I let the tears flow. But instead of it making me feel more at peace, I only lost more energy and now I was just sitting here, completely worn out and staring at the wall as I had for the longest time. Sookie and Molly were still sitting next to me but they weren't making any kind of noise at all, I think they were waiting for me to say something first. I guess I kind of made them nervous from my previous outbursts and they were scared to say anything for fear of sending me into another tail spin.

But it was too late for that. I was already spiraling out of control and not in the way I'm sure they thought I would.

It was my thoughts that were betraying me and I hated myself for giving myself over to such a darkness I had been trying to avoid. But it couldn't be taken back now. Once I gave voice to the possibility of anyone I knew dying, it was like a snowball effect and I couldn't fight back the image of seeing Eric dying in my mind's eye. It was more horrible then when I saw the fake Eric dying months ago. It was worse because it could actually happen tonight and I wasn't able to be with him if it did. I knew it was for my protection, that all of this was done to keep me safe. But I couldn't be grateful that they were trying to keep me alive. I was too hung up on the thought that Eric might die and I would be left with nothing.

"You know..."I began to say as I leaned my head back against the counter, my voice breaking the silence and brought both their faces whipping in my direction but I barely noticed as I kept on staring at the wall. "If something bad happens tonight, if Eric dies then nothing will ever be the same. I will never be the same."

"That's not true Allison." Sookie said, her voice sounding strained even to me as I could sense her stirring beside me. "You shouldn't talk like that. You don't know what's going to happen."

"She's right. None of us know for sure what the future holds after tonight. If you still had your visions, then that would be different. But you can't see what will happen and until you know there is something to be upset over, then you shouldn't hurt yourself like this." Molly nodded, her hands clasped around her knees as she spoke. "Please Allie, I know this hurts but try to..."

"I can't lose Eric. I can't." I didn't even know my own voice as I heard those words being spoken but I knew it was me because those words were resonating inside my head. "If he dies, then my life will be empty forever."

"Allie that's not going to happen." Sookie said this in such a way that I knew if I looked at her then I would see her eyes getting misty. She was always highly emotional when I was going through a tough time and if she saw that I was on the verge of having a break down, then she wouldn't be far behind. "Eric's not going to die. He's tough, they all are. But him especially. He's going to make it."

"I love him. I didn't want to love him in the beginning but now I can't imagine life without him." I shrugged off her fake confidence in the light of my current statement. I had never really ever admitted out loud that I didn't particularly like Eric in the beginning, and while I had been attracted to him physically right off the bat, I had always found him way too arrogant and possessive to be in a relationship with. But he had wormed his way into my heart and he had refused to leave. Even after the whole Mystic Falls and Damon coming back situation, Eric still had a hold on my heart and I suspected that was how it was suppose to be. The first person I ever loved was suppose to be the one I spent my years with. And now I may not get that chance because he was off fighting in a war that may end up taking him away from me. "We were suppose to have more time."

"You will." Molly tried the assuring thing again, her hand reaching out for me but something shuddered through my body at that moment that made me flinch and caused her to pull her hand away in scared anticipation. "What just happened?"

"It's gone. My bonds to Eric and Godric are gone." I felt those hot, boiling tears return to my eyes again once I said this. I wasn't stupid, I knew what this meant. When a bond to a vampire is suddenly broken, then that only meant one thing. "I just felt them a minute ago and now they just disappeared."

"That doesn't mean anything, you know that right?" Molly grabbed my face in her hands, turning my head in her direction as her voice filled with a frantic desperation. She was clinging to something, anything to keep me from thinking what I was thinking. "These witches are powerful, they could have done a spell that cut off any bonds the vampires had to anyone. It doesn't mean anyone has died."

"I want to believe that, but I don't." I didn't have the energy to even fake lie, I felt too run down and tired like I could fall asleep any moment and never wake up. Just like I assumed Eric and Godric were doing right now. I looked into my mother's eyes and said. "I could have lost them both just now."

Flashback

"So you want to hear something funny?" I asked Eric as we laid side by side out on the moonlit balcony of our bedroom and I turned my head to look up at him with a sheepish grin, amazed I hadn't brought this up sooner. It was just so comical. I rolled over onto my side with my hair hanging down on one side of my face and grinned. "You and I have never had a first date."

"And that's a problem?" Eric raised his eyebrows at me, quickly flipping over on to his stomach with a devious smirk on his lips that said he wasn't taking this serious at all like I was. "You've never brought this up before."

"I know, it just never really dawned on me until now. Especially after all this talk about marriage and our lives together. It got me thinking about everything that has happened to us and I just remember that we never had an official first date." I explained, running my fingers through my hair and watching his eyes as they watched me, his face only inches away from mine. "And actually, we've never had any kind of date at all."

"That's not true." Eric protested, sitting up immediately. "I've taken you out before.."

"No you haven't. You are such a bullshit liar." I giggled, drawing my body upwards and tucking my feet under me. "All those nights we spent together, at the bar, at the house. They don't count. You have to take me out in public in a place that doesn't include your business."

"Geez you act like I'm ashamed of you." He rolled his eyes sarcastically and I knew he wasn't at all ashamed of being seen with me. If he was, then he never would have brought me to Fantasia, where he was always recognized as the head honcho even by strangers. If he was ashamed, then he wouldn't have me at his side when he went there but he had. But still, that did not count as a date. "Come on, why is this such a big deal?"

"I never said it was, I just thought it was funny." I felt my lips twitch at Eric's obvious uncomfortable body language. He didn't like when mistakes were pointed out at him and even though I didn't see this as a mistake, to someone like Eric it was. "I mean, we want to get married one day and yet we've never actually dated like normal couples have. We haven't done it the right way. Normal people date and then get engaged..."

"When are you going to realize that we are not normal people?" He asked, his mouth turning upwards again as his hands reached out for me to pull me closer. "I'm a vampire, you're a faerie. And we've never done things normally."

"Yea, that's true." I nodded, having to give him points for that one. Because it was the truth. Eric was different from most vampires and I was different then the usual women he went for. So when you put us together, it was a highly unusual pairing and we didn't exactly play things by the norm. Our relationship has always been filled with the most unexpected twists and I was beginning to realize that this was how it was suppose to be. But the most important factor was that even if things weren't normal with us, Eric had stood by me through all of this and that was the more important aspect. I looked at him with a shrug. "You always said you would give me anything I wanted right?"

"I still stand by that, yes." He smirked in response, tugging on my arm so I was yanked into his lap and up against his chest. "If it's in my power to do then I will do it."

"Can I have your word that you will give me a first date with the almighty Eric Northman?" I asked, wrapping my arms around his neck. "And anything else I ask of you? Can I have you?"

"You can always have me." He stated with that oh so devious smile that said he was up to no good before touching my face and saying. "Now and forever, you will have me."

A few hours later

It's been hours. And I was still waiting. Waiting for a sign that he would come back to me. Waiting to see if they had all been killed. Waiting to see if I had lost every vampire that meant something to me in every kind of way. But there had been nothing. Nothing at all.

I had left the kitchen after feeling my blood bonds disappear and took to the living room and surprised myself when I actually fell asleep. I guess all that crying and emotional upheaval took a toll on a person and my body was just pulling to me close my eyes and rest. So I did. It didn't last long though, the nightmares of what cold have happened already started to play and they always woke up me up before I could get too far under. I tried to think positively but it didn't work and I just gave up any hope of resting until after I knew one way or another the outcome of this battle. Sookie and Molly were sitting on the couch opposite of me, each in their own world of thinking as I was and the air hadn't been filled with a noise any louder then a shuffle of feet or a shift of their bodies. Not one of us was willing to break the silence after my meltdown in the kitchen. I knew we all realized that no amount of comforting or kind words could possibly help me now and it was probably best to just stay quiet. Talking hadn't worked and I doubted it would. If Eric was dead or close to dead, then nothing they said could ever or would ever bring me peace. I would just be empty, and empty shell. Nothing would ever be the same...

A sudden bang at the front of the house brought us all out of our stupor and we jumped up almost in unison and tore out of the small living room located near the kitchen and fell out in to the hallway with a clear view of the closed front door. Only it wasn't closed anymore, it had hanging wide open and was filled with two bodies that I didn't think any of us were expecting to see. Out of the group, Louie and Bill were the last ones I thought I would see show up here.

"Oh my God you're alive!" Sookie was the first to say something and we all winced when it came out in a loud scream, watching as she rushed forward to meet her husband in a clash. Bill didn't grab on to her as tightly as she was grabbing him, but Sookie was the one giving the death grip as it was evident only now just how scared she had been that he wouldn't return. "I was so scared that you were going to die."

"It almost came to that, I won't lie. Those witches came prepared and they were shooting at us with silver. I think we all got shot at some point." Bill said, wrapping his arms around Sookie and motioning to his leg where it was clear there was a blood splatter that belonged to him. But it seemed like the bullet had been forced out long ago as he no longer seemed to be in pain. However, for just the tiniest of seconds, I saw Bill's eyes look at me and before I could decipher what it meant, he turned back to my cousin and smiled. "But I'm alright. Louie and I met up on our way back and we arrived here at nearly the same time."

It was then that I remembered Louie was even here as he had been quiet since entering the house. But now as I was standing alone in the hallway, he suddenly appeared in front of me and before I could say a word to him, I found myself locked up in his arms as he squeezed me tightly to him. It wasn't until we were touching that I realized just how scared I had been of losing him as well. In the short time we knew each other, he had become a great friend to me and if he had been killed, I knew just how much it would have hurt me. So I was being flooded with all kinds of emotions as we stood there, wondering if this was how it was always going to be in my life. I pulled back from him, wanting to ask where Eric and the others were. But before he or I could speak, the doorway was filled again with two more figures and I found myself stepping aside to see that their arrival had been followed by Pam and Godric. But no Eric.

"Where is he?" I demanded, feeling my eyes getting misty and I forgot all about my previous issues with Godric and once he was within reaching distance, I grabbed him and shook him as best as I could. "Why isn't Eric with you guys?"

"We got separated from him in battle." Godric said, never being one to blatantly lie to my face when it came Eric. But as soon as those words left his lips, I felt all the waves of panic and fear come crashing down on me and caused my legs to shake. Godric held on to me, his gentle eyes on my face as he spoke again. "After we all got shot, we were able to make it into the warehouse and really start the battle but it wasn't easy. They were ready for us and it took a while before we were able to get close enough to kill any of them. And then Eric decided he wanted to be the one to kill Anna himself. So he went after her towards the end and we haven't seen him since."

"We tried to find him." Pam spoke up, leaning against the wall and squeezed the blood out of her blonde hair as she spoke but it was her face that showed just how much she was scared and was trying not to let it show. "But he was no where to be seen and neither was that bitch. So we came back to the house in the hopes that he would already be here."

"Well he's not." I muttered, feeling a heavy stone sink into my stomach at the realization that not one of them had seen Eric in the final moments of this battle. And it took everything I had in me to not fall apart until I had some kind of answer. "And why did I feel my bonds to you and him disappear?"

" The witches must have done a spell to block our bonds to each other." Godric said, using the back of his hand to wipe off the blood that had been splattered across his cheek. "Because even when I could see Eric, I couldn't feel him."

"Neither could I." Pam backed it up quietly, her eyes cast downward to the floor but I knew hat despite her reluctance to look at anyone, she was feeling worried. I could hear it in her thoughts. "It was like the bonds didn't exist. I didn't know witches could do that."

"Witch craft is as different as the witch themselves." Molly explained, standing next to Sookie and Bill with her arms crossed. "A witch can be capable to doing anything if they have enough power."

"Including destroying blood bonds." I clenched my hands into tight fists and backed away with my back against a wall as it dawned on me that I was no closer to a true answer now that everyone else has returned except for the one I most wanted to see. I could feel the panic begin to set back in and it took all my remaining energy to stay standing and remember to breathe. "So he might be dead and we don't know..."

"I'm not dead." Eric voice came through the open doorway so out of the blue and for a second I thought it was just a figment of my imagination because there was just no possible way that the tall figure covered in blood standing there was the man that I loved. It just couldn't be. I still felt no bond to him, so he had to be dead. But I saw the way the others were staring at him and Pam actually threw herself into his arms and when he caught her, that's when I knew he was truly the Eric I had loved for over a year now. He was bloodied and ruined, but otherwise he was uninjured and it showed by what came out of his mouth. "You assholes actually thought I wouldn't walk away from this?"

It was this typical statement that finally brought me down to my knees as the tears I had been fighting back finally won their battle and started chocking me as I sank to the floor. I thought I had used up all my tears but I guess there were still some on reserve because they came rolling down my cheeks as rapidly as they had when I first cried hours ago. I was so relieved, so happy that this nightmare was over. That every one was alive and the man I loved had come back to me just like I had been hoping he would. He was alive, they were alive. The witches had been defeated or else they wouldn't have returned. If one thing was certain about all this, they were bound and determined to see every last one of them dead and they wouldn't have come back unless that was true. The nightmare that had been plaguing all of us for so long was over and I couldn't even contain myself long enough to express my happiness other then cry loudly.

"Ok, you need to stop this. I can't take any more tears." Eric's hand was on my face before I could even look up to meet his eyes. But it was already turned up to meet his and instead of seeing the effects of war in his features, I only saw his normal expression of playfulness and I was amazed that he could resort back to that so easily when I was falling apart. "Hey, why are you still crying? Everything's ok. I'm alive and I came back to you like I said I would. I thought you would be happy."

"I am happy." I leaned forward, needing to wrap my arms around him before I could truly believe he was alive. And once I felt his solid form against me, I had to tuck my head under his chin to avoid him having to see me cry again. "I just was so certain you had been killed and I was..."

"I know, but I didn't die. I'm right here and the witches are all dead, even Anna. It's finally over." Eric couldn't keep the merriment out of his voice as he pulled me back away from him so he could look into my eyes. And for a moment, he didn't say anything and stared at me. And I stared at him, needing to confirm that I wasn't dreaming and he really was here with me. I didn't even notice the others around us, it was only Eric and me. And I had a feeling that the way he was looking at me, Eric was trying to figure something out for himself. I tried to read his mind but he must have been blocking me because I didn't hear a word. But when he cupped my face and spoke a second later, I found out exactly what was on his mind. I barely heard the two words when he said them. "Marry me."

"What?" I felt my eyes welling up even harder, not quite understanding what he was getting at even though I knew what the words meant. "What are you saying?"

"I said marry me." His fingers were messed in my hair and I could see the others shuffling out of the room without saying a word to us, wanting to give us the privacy we needed even though they all heard what Eric had just said. "Please, marry me."

"What?" I felt like an idiot. It was the only response I could come up with even as I was beginning to get my focus back. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"Oh my God, will you just marry him already!" Godric exclaimed in exasperation, his face peeking out briefly from around the corner of the doorway before it disappeared again and Eric and I were staring at one another.

"I asked you to marry me. I want you to be my wife and I made a promise to you a long time ago that when this was over, I would ask you again. And this is that time." Eric drew me closer to him, his hands pressing on either side of my face as our lips met in the first kiss in a post war kind of world for us. It was breath taking and full of the kind of love I had come to expect from Eric. And it was exactly like how I dreamed it would be when he proposed to me again. It was messy and unexpected and unconventional, but that was us. Eric pulled back and looked me in the eyes more seriously then he ever had before. "Now you need to give me an answer before I reconsider."

I laughed right then, only because it was so like Eric to make a joke in such a serious situation. But then again I couldn't expect anything less then that. Eric was himself and he would never apologize for that and I wouldn't want him any other way. I loved him through and through and any part of him that he would show me. There was nothing about him that could make me not want to take this next step with him and spend our lives together. It was everything I ever wanted and to know we had finally reached this point was the epitome of happiness for me. Nothing could tear us apart now. I reached for Eric's face, my thumbs going across his face before I finally said what my heart was screaming at me to say.

"Yes...I'll marry you."

A/n: there you have it..the last chapter before thr finale...i cant believe its just about over...weird...seems like i just started it...but at least there are two more fics coming up for this series and boy is the next one awesome...as for the last chapter of this fic, it is filled with drama, emotion, confrontations, decisions and a few more secrets no one saw coming