A/N: This is the next to last chapter of this story. I originally planned this to be THE last but it took me a little bit longer to get to where I wanted to go, so I split it into. One more to go!

Special thanks: I've told you how awesome EtheHunter is, right? She totally is. Go buy her books. She's tons better than me.

Disclaimer: I do not own or make money off these characters. Do you?

Previously...

He had to say goodbye. Let her live her life, short as it may be. Have children. A husband. Things he could not give her. She'd be a weakness to him, and he would only make life more dangerous for her. Yes, he would say goodbye. His throat felt tight.

After one last lingering look at her, he reached for the window.

"Eric."

He froze. His heart didn't beat; it hadn't for over a thousand years, but it had just done... something. He could still feel the vibrations of it in his chest as he peered over his shoulder at her. Fear that he'd find her awake made the tiny motion difficult.

Exhaling in relief, he watched as she rolled over. Her arm extended to the empty side of the bed, reaching, searching. Was she looking for him? He could lay beside her for just –

Eric shook his head. Sookie's eyes were closed, that was all that mattered. She still slumbered. It was only a dream.

He stepped up to her bed and very carefully laid a gentle kiss on the corner of her mouth. Just that tiny taste was enough to make his eyes burn. He squeezed them tight before he moved to the window, lifting it gently.

"Live happy," he whispered on the breeze as he flew, and he hoped she did.

SPOV

It took nearly a month until I made a decision: more than likely it was going to be me that made contact. I hadn't heard a peep from Eric since the night the witches' curse was lifted, and to say that stung was a huge understatement.

At first I'd kind of expected Eric to be insistent that I tell him what happened while he was cursed, and that wasn't something I was looking forward to. Every night for that first week, when day settled into night, a bit of apprehension would take root against my spine. It wouldn't let me go until the sun had risen the next day, and even then it would just start all over again. I was a big ball of nerves.

I wasn't sure I wanted to tell Eric anything, especially not of what had transpired between us. I'd planned conversations in my head, leaving out those details, and included only what pertained to his situation and the resulting battle.

Even in my mind the conversations went badly. Eric always pressed for more than I was willing to give. He always came across angry and resentful in my thoughts. Not that I could blame him. If I'd lost nearly a week of my life, I'd want to know what the hell had happened too.

My fear stemmed from the fact that I had no idea how Eric would take it if I did tell him. Would he be boastful or caustic? He'd professed things to me that I had no doubt the real Eric would take a rancor to, and I didn't want to get caught up in the backlash of his hostility.

I couldn't afford the hope that Eric would react positively. My heart couldn't take it.

Jessica called me a few days after the fight, letting me know how the clean-up had turned out. At least someone remembered I was still alive.

"A few died," she said. "An old man from New Orleans died with no sign of a struggle, but he was the only human. It could've been a stroke or heart attack, I don't know. There were a few others taken to hospitals with injury but nothing life threatening."

The man I'd thought should have been on oxygen, I assumed, was the one to die. The thought made me sad. He'd lived a full life, I had no doubt, so a part of me was grateful it was him and not the twelve year-old I'd seen who still had so much life to live. Then I felt guilty for categorizing them like that.

"So the rest were Were's?" I asked. I couldn't change things, much as I wished I could, so it did little good to fret over them. "Were any of them Alcide's?"

Jessica made a noncommittal noise. "I'm not sure who they belonged to, to be honest. We left the wolves to their own kind."

I decided I'd wait a few days to call Alcide. He probably had plenty to deal with. "Thanks, Jessica."

She must've heard the grief in my voice. "You saved most of them, Sookie. That's gotta count for something, right?"

"I guess," I said, though I didn't agree. Not really. All that hurt over supernatural BS and I'd been smack dab in the middle of it. I wasn't superhero material. I let her go when I started choking up.

By the time the second week was in full swing, I started getting angry. My feelings the week before didn't matter (and I could admit that my emotions weren't exactly logical) but I was mad I'd expected Eric to give two shits about me or us.

Not that I'd sat around the house and waited for him or anything, but I had thought he would care enough to pester the truth out of me. I'd been wrong, and he obviously wasn't losing any sleep over it – or whatever it was that vampire's lost when they worried – so why had I?

To fuel my already burning anger was the fact that I missed him so damn much. I couldn't seem to stop thinking about him and that just pissed me off. I even dreamed about the bastard, imagining he came to me as I slept or watched over me. I'd wake up and pull him into my arms before making love to him.

Then I'd really wake up and be irritated all over again. It was a vicious circle.

The annoyance was clear in my voice one morning when Alcide finally called. "What?" I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, trying to press hard enough to erase the dream I'd just had with it.

"Did I wake you?" Alcide said hesitantly.

"I worked the closing shift last night," I grumbled, squinting at the clock. "It's seven in the morning. Of course you did."

I felt bad even before he spoke. "I'm sorry. I'll call back later."

"No, I'm sorry, Alcide," I sighed and got up out of bed. May as well get my day started. I didn't want to dream anymore. "I haven't been sleeping good. I shouldn't have taken that out on you. I'm sorry. How're you?"

"I'm getting along, I suppose." I could hear his stress over the phone and remembered myself.

"I'm so sorry. Jessica told me a few Were's didn't make it." It was as eloquent as I could get that early in the morning. I just hoped the real concern in my voice was enough to make up for my lack of finesse. "Were any of them yours?"

"Three," he answered on a breath. I could hear his shifting on the phone and imagined him rubbing his face. "Six others were pretty bad off there for a few days, but it looks like they'll all pull through."

"I'm sorry," I repeated. I didn't know what else to say. More lives lost, tacked on to my guilty conscience. "How's Debbie?" I asked warily.

She'd been in a bad way when I last saw her, and I'm ashamed to admit I hadn't cared enough either way to stick around and find out if she was okay.

"She's doing good, actually. Your vamp friend, the red-head, she fixed her up alright." I heard the smile in his voice and was happy for him. And worried too.

I hoped Debbie realized what a good man Alcide was. He deserved to be happy. I hated and ignored my covetous feelings toward them. I deserved to be happy too, damn it.

"That's good. I'm glad," I said.

"There was a spell there where I was afraid she'd go back to abusing the V, but she hasn't. I'm real proud of her." I could tell he was.

"That's great, Alcide. I should let you go. Get my day started, I guess." Before I broke down in tears. "I'm sorry about your friends. Wish I could've done more to help them."

"No, Sookie, you were amazing. Jessica told me what you did, and I am more grateful than you know. I owe you for saving Debbie. Thank you."

I tried to take his words for the compliment they were, but it wasn't possible. Too many others had been hurt, and my own petty emotions were getting in the way of me. "I did what anyone else would've done."

"I mean it, Sookie, I'm indebted to you," he said with all seriousness. "You're a friend of the pack. Anything you need, just ask. Anything at all."

I wasn't sure what to say to that at all. Three of his friends were dead and several others were seriously injured and he was making it sound like I was some sort of heroine. "Thanks, Alcide. Talk to you later."

Imagine my utter surprise when Debbie showed up at my house three days later. She knocked four times and when I peeked out the door I was shocked to see a vase of flowers in her hands.

I'm sure I looked as suspicious as I felt when I opened the door. "Debbie."

"Hi, Sookie," she said shyly. "Alcide thought you'd like these," she affirmed as she passed me the flowers. They were daisies. I loved daisies. "As a thank you," she continued. "From both of us."

"You didn't have to do that," I said, even as I took the flowers. I opened the door a little wider. Manners were too deeply ingrained in me, I think. Even as leery as I was of her intentions, I couldn't not extend an invitation. "Would you like to come in?"

"No," she said a little too quickly. I had to dip into her head then because, naturally, I went on high alert around Debbie. Last time I'd seen her conscious, she wanted to kill me.

"I mean, I know we're not friends or nothing," she pressed, "so you don't have to pretend. But maybe one day we can be. That's my hope, at least." She bit her lip and looked at the porch. Equal parts shamed and repentant.

I cocked my hip a little, holding the flowers to my chest. "Forgive me if I'm a bit skeptical at your sudden change of heart."

It seemed everyone was going to suffer from the rage I felt at Eric. Even the people at work had started to avoid me. Sam too, which was almost unbelievable.

"I know," Debbie said softly, "but you saved my life, Sookie. I owe you for that." She looked into my eyes fully then and I could hear her sincerity. "I know Alcide thanked you and told you he owed you, but it's me that needs to do the thanking. I owe you my life."

"Did Alcide put you up to this?"

I could tell from her expression she was hurt by my accusation. She was also innocent. She'd come all on her own. Alcide had only suggested the flowers. Daisies were also Debbie's favorite. That, I gleaned, from her thoughts. "It's alright," she whispered as she saw my face soften. "I deserve that. I hope you can forgive me one day."

"Well," I began with a gentle smile, "I can't say it's forgotten, but I will try to forgive you. It might take some time, but if you're willing to try then so am I."

She beamed at me. "Thank you. You saved my life, Sookie, I'm never going to forget that. Whether we're ever friends or not, you'll never be my enemy. Alcide was right: You're a really good person."

"Not near as good as I should be," I admitted.

"I should get going. Call us anytime." She started backing down the steps. "Like Alcide said, anything you need; you're a friend of the pack now."

"He loves you, you know?" I said as she reached the door to her car. "Alcide? He really does love you."

She gave me a wistful smile. "I know. I'm a lucky woman. I'll never do enough to deserve him."

I nodded. "Don't waste it. Don't waste your new life by ever doubting him. If you're going to make it, you'll need to remember that. Love is a powerful thing but it doesn't solve everything."

"I won't," she agreed. "I love him too. I want him to be happy."

I realized, as Debbie drove off down the street, that I wished happiness for them both. As I'd told her before, I hadn't forgotten the way she'd treated me, but I had already forgiven her for it. Love could change even the nuttiest of people.

I went inside and cried all the way up until I had to work the next night. It was the breaking point I'd been dreading, I think, and it was even harder to deal with than I imagined. Much of week three was spent battling bouts of tears and sorrow.

If it didn't end soon, I was going to invest my savings in Kleenex.

My heart was breaking and it seemed the only way to release that grief was by crying my eyes out. It didn't make the pain lessen at all. Not at all. In fact, it seemed to feel worse every time I teared up.

I didn't wear make-up for that whole week, not even to work. That I'd been crying my heart out in the employee bathroom would've only been made more obvious by raccoon eyes.

When Pam left me a message Friday night while I was at work, I delayed playing it for hours after I'd settled in bed. Sleep evaded me. It didn't make me feel any better when I finally did listen to it, but it didn't make me feel any worse either, so that was something.

"I've been too busy to call and let you know how much I enjoyed the other night."

Enjoyed? Really? Also, it had been three weeks, that wasn't exactly "the other night" as she'd said. Vampires sense of time was really skewed.

"You looked positively delicious covered in the blood of that bitch. Be glad you left when you did, or perhaps not. Maybe I could have changed your taste in women."

Oh, boy. Did she have a point in calling? Or was sex all she thought about?

"I do have a talented tongue. I would have licked you clean. You would have enjoyed it, I know it."

God, was this really my life? I shook my head and buried my face in my hands as Pam's voice continued.

"Anyway, I've gotten off track. Eric is being a pain in my ass. I thought you might like to know."

What the hell for? He was being a pain in my ass too. An absentee pain in my ass and in my heart. He knew where I was. He could've came to see me at any time.

"His favorite color is red. Maybe you could come visit? I'm sure seeing you in something red, though honestly it won't be nearly as exquisite as my vision of you in blood red," here she purred and maybe moaned a little. Gross. "Perhaps a dress?"

What was she even going on about? I stood up, walking over to the machine, ready to press delete.

"Yes, a red dress, a visit to Fangtasia. Maybe lay a kiss on his cranky ass. Oh, and one more thing. Could you possibly fuck him already and get it over with? I'm tired of this game."

I did delete the message then. Even if I hadn't heard the click of the phone as Pam hung up, I would have. She'd gone way too far.

A few days later I was still replaying Pam's message in my head. Could Eric really be just as miserable as I was? I'd only felt a few blips from the bond we shared, and I could judge nothing from what little I had felt.

Apparently he could shut down the bond at will, and I'd been grateful, hoping since I couldn't feel him he couldn't feel me. I'd been a veritable roller coaster on the emotional scale. It was kind of embarrassing.

But her message had got me thinking. Was I being just as much of a stubborn ass as Eric? Could the answer to my broken heart be something as simple as a trip to Fangtasia? Not that I was just going to waltz in and "fuck him already" as Pam'd suggested.

But maybe, just maybe, I could be strong enough to take that first step. It took me another few days to talk myself into it, and then I could hardly wait.

One way or another, I was going to know for sure if my feelings were reciprocated. If Eric wanted to give us a try. An honest-to-God try. No more of the pussy-footing we'd been doing around each other since we'd met.

I was mature enough to make the first move. I just hoped Eric didn't slam the door in my face, breaking my heart for good.

It took some doing, but I convinced Sam I needed some time to myself, so he'd given me the next three days off. I figured, if it all went well – hell if it all went bad – I'd need a couple extra days.

If it went bad, I'd spend those days crying and putting myself back together. But if it went good? I smiled to myself. If it went good, I'd spend the next three days in bed next to Eric.

I was going to get him back.

A/N: ONE more chapter left, and I can't wait. It's been a long ride. SO, what did you think of the chapter? Do you think she'll succeed? I'm excited to hear from you. You guys are like my crack. I love you all dearly.

Thanks so much for reading!