Chapter 38 Because of you

2 days later

"Ok, Ok. I think I have reached my limit for tonight." I called out to Eric from my spot across the yard where I had skidded to a stop and waved my free hand as my arm curved around my midsection. "I'm starting to get dizzy and out of breath."

It was 2 nights after Eric and I had awkwardly started to put the pieces of our relationship back together again, when I decided to take a giant leap of faith by asking him to practice with me out in the yard again so I could strengthen my abilities. It was a real test to see how much he had taken our fight seriously and I would be honest when I said I was scared about doing this. Eric was unpredictable at best and it wouldn't be the first time he went back on his word after we had talked. So when I brought this idea up to him, I was feeling a little uneasy about how it would go. It was one thing for him to say he wouldn't act like that again when we were talking about it. And it was an entirely different thing to be in the moment and see if he would harness his own opinions and keep it to himself. But then again, even if he did try and pull a fast one, I was completely ready to push back at him. I was refusing to be the meek girlfriend any longer and if I thought Eric was stepping out of line, then I would have no qualms about telling him to back off. He had no control over me, no one did. I was my own master and he couldn't force me to do anything I didn't want to do. So I knew if it came down to that, I would have the strength to stand up to him.

"Don't you think you are quitting just a little bit early?" Eric asked upon rushing across the yard and over to where I was now sitting on the steps of the back porch trying to catch my breath. He put one foot on the wood and leaned over with his arms on his knee so he was looking right at me. "You've only been at this for an hour. You should keep on going for at least another 30 minutes."

"I can't do that, I don't have the strength tonight. I'm trying my hardest but sometimes I just can't keep going. It's harder when I'm trying to use two abilities at once, it wipes me out faster." I told him, running my fingers through the ends of my hair as I kept my stare level. "So I'm going to need a break right now."

"I still think its best if you practice a little longer." Eric pushed further his opinion because I knew he just couldn't help himself. If he thought he was right then he would stop at nothing to make sure everyone believed it too. "You can handle 30 minutes."

"Eric, I say this with love. Please, back the fuck off!" I shot back at him with a smile as I watched the effect my words had on his and he actually stood up in shock, the surprise evident in every part of his face. And I couldn't help but laugh at this. "What? Didn't think I would be more assertive this time around?"

"Honestly, no. Because you usually let me get my own way, so this is a change." He nodded, not looking exactly pleased that I was calling the shots but his expression did relax into a more soften look as he moved over to the steps and sat beside me, leaning back on the porch with his elbows. "But sometimes, when you tell me what to do...it's kind of hot."

"Really?" I started to smirk widely at his comment, knowing I had hit a tiny soft spot in him that liked when I was the dominator in our relationship. "I may have to tell you what to do more often since you seem to like it so much."

"Not a chance. And I said sometimes I like it, not all the time." He retorted, sending me one of his famous snug looks as he laughed. "I like being the one in charge."

"Of course you do. You wouldn't be you if you didn't say stuff like that." I pointed out, thinking of all the times he had been his stubborn self and how I had always hated it. But then there were those rare times when I actually was amused by it, and right now was one of them. "You can be such a hard ass when you think you are right. You know?"

"What can I say, when I am in that frame of mind...I like to go hard." He chuckled, raising his eyebrows at me the moment I rolled my eyes. "What did I say?"

"Nothing except typical Eric Northman lines." I sighed happily, surprised that things had made such a turn around since we were last out in this yard. It hadn't been easy coming back from that, but we were slowly started to heal each other again, and I was actually finding strength in this relationship again. I wanted to have as many of these care-free and fun moments as I could before everything changed. I liked it when Eric was spitting out these playful comments so I decided to throw one in myself. "Should we have sex?"

"No...I'm not the mood."

"You? Not in the mood? Now there is something I really never thought I would ever hear you say." I said teasingly, trying to appear innocent when he glared at me. "What? I know that was a joke because you are always in the mood."

"Ok, that may be true..." He grudgingly agreed, turning on the steps to face me and I was a little taken aback by the softened expression he sent my way. "But you also said you were tired and I didn't want to exhaust you even more."

"Well look at you getting all nice and considerate for a change." I laughed moving closer so I could place my hand on his face in amusement. "Godric would be so proud of you right now."

"Oh yes, I love bringing up my maker when you and I are alone. That just makes everything even better." He said sarcastically, leaning over and captured my lips with his, kissing me deeply and causing me to shudder before he pulled back with a grin. "But you do have a point. He would be happy that I'm not being a dick to you for one night."

"I miss him." I said, thinking of my best friend who had been standing by me through everything this year and now he was off doing something that I had no idea about and neither did Eric. "It's been 2 days. When do you think he's coming back?"

"Am I not enough of a distraction for you?" He asked with a fake frown. "Do you prefer my maker's company over my own?"

"Not really. Because you have sex with me, Godric doesn't. Trust me, I've asked and he keeps shutting me down." I grinned, watching Eric's face be momentarily overcome by a look of honest rage before I quickly cut back in. "Uh, I'm kidding. I could never sleep with Godric even if you and I weren't together."

"Good to know." He looked relieved which only further served to make him more human in my eyes. Eric Northman, a jealous vampire. Who doesn't love that?

"Don't worry Eric, you will be the only person I ever sleep with. There will never be another to take your place."

An hour later

"Hello my child."

"Godric, its been two fucking days without any contact. Do you know how unacceptable that is?"

"Why Eric, this is a surprise reaction. Are you missing me?"

"You're my maker and I was worried, even if I didn't feel anything through our bond. But mostly because of Allison, she's wondering where you are and just a few minutes ago she was saying she missed you."

"That girl feels so intensely for everything around her and we have a bond like no other in existence. Of course she would be missing me."

Godric grinned slightly to himself as he replayed his conversation with Eric in his head from earlier and he couldn't help but find amusement in his child's lack of small talk when it came to the two of them. Or more accurately the three of them, because at that point in their lives it was no longer just him and Eric, it was now Eric, him and Allison. And hearing that he was being missed while he had been away would have warmed his heart if he had one. Eric would never flat out say that he missed his maker but Godric knew he did because he felt nearly everything his child felt and then some things he really wished he didn't feel. And Allison had no trouble saying what was on her mind even if there hadn't been a blood bond to begin with. She didn't hold back from what she was thinking like she did with her actions and it pleased him to know that she held their relationship in the same regard as he did. Granted, he knew Eric wasn't pleased when Allison brought him up because even though he assured his child his feelings for Allison were always going to remain friendly, Godric knew Eric still went through the motions of feeling jealous when her mind was occupied by any other vampire besides him.

"So Eric..."

"So Godric..."

"How are things with Allison? Have you two been getting along while I have been gone?"

"What you're really asking is if I have apologized yet and whether or not I am behaving myself now. Am I right?"

"You might be...I just don't want to see her more hurt then she already is."

"Already taken care of that and I was a good boy. I said I was sorry and that I wouldn't hurt her anymore."

"Wow...that's impressive, especially for you."

"Oh I know..."

Godric was beyond pleased to hear that things were working out for his child and Allison. He had been fearful that a prolonged amount of time together so soon after such a huge fallout, would end up being detrimental to the both of them. But he really didn't have much of a choice. He had to go out of town to do something that was essential and he couldn't take Allison with him. It would give those witches too much of an opportunity to attack when they were at their most vulnerable. And he couldn't just leave her on her own, even if she were surrounded by other vampires. It was the safest if she were by Eric's side where she would be the most protected. As long as Eric was around, her life was safe. Even if they had been going through a tough time lately, but luckily it seemed like that was changing and he couldn't have been more thrilled about it. At least he wouldn't have to worry about anything concerning Allison and could just concentrate on what he had come here to do.

When he had decided to make this sudden trip, he knew it could possibly be a long shot of getting it to work. Even if you thought you knew a person, asking them to do something so life changing as to fight in a war could bring on an answer that you may not expect them to give. So he had set out with the mind frame that he would not be getting the help he was seeking. And he couldn't be upset if that turned out to be true. Because you can't just force people to lay down their lives and fight in a war that didn't affect them. Sacrificing your own life was not something you take lightly in deciding and Godric wasn't able to give these vampires much time to decide. But thankfully, a lot of time was not needed and he would be able to return home as fast as he could manage and get back to the two most important people, Eric and Allison.

"Where are you anyway? You never did give me any indication where you were headed."

"I cannot reveal where I went until I am in standing in front of you again, it's not safe to do it over the phone. But I will tell you this though, it won't be long until we are all reunited again."

"You're on your way back?"

"Yes I am, I did what I set out to do and now I'm coming home. I'm still a couple of hours away but I will be back tonight."

30 minutes later

"Ok, remind me again why you are dropping me off at Bill's house without giving me the chance to decide what I want to do?" Allison demanded up at him as they stood together in the middle of the yard outside the younger vampire's home while he prepared to say good bye to her, but she wasn't making it very easy. "The whole reason I left Bon Temps and moved in with you is because we all agreed it was the safer option."

"It still is the safer option, but I have to go to Fangtasia for a while tonight and I don't feel right about leaving you all alone. At least if you're here, Bill will be around to watch over you until I return." He explained, touching a piece of her hair that had blown across her face when they had been flying. "And no one knows you're here. So as long as you stay at the house while I'm gone, then you will be just as safe as you would be if you were at our home."

"Our home, I love that you call it that." She grinned up at him, her mood suddenly shifted at his words and she moved forward to wrap her arms around him with a happy sigh. "It sounds so nice."

"Well that's because it's true. It's not just my house any more, it's yours too." He shrugged, not understanding how humans could get so tickled by something as trivial as this. But then again, Allison wasn't human and she knew what it meant for a vampire like him to share his possessions and living space with someone else. Vampires were selfish by nature and they tended to keep to themselves a lot and he was already more possessive and territorial then most immortals. But here he was, inviting her into his home and asking her to make it her own as well and now he couldn't imagine not having her there. And it was because of this that he understood why she was so moved by his statement. And it was also what led him to jokingly make this next point. "Now if you just agreed to marry me then a lot more could be yours too."

"And there goes the real Eric Northman.." Allison rolled her eyes but she was obviously amused by this because her green orbs were sparkling. "You can be charming for like only a minute at a time."

"But that's why it works, because its good in short bursts and it leaves you wanting more." He pointed out, smirking when she actually nodded in agreement. "See? I told you I was right."

"On this point you are. But a lot of the time you're wrong." She shot back, tucking her hair behind her ears before she looked up at him pleadingly. "And you're wrong about leaving me here. Why can't I just go with you to the bar? I promise to behave myself and not get into any trouble."

"Why do I believe that will never be true?" He asked, crossing his arms over his chest while he awaited her answer, fighting back the urge to laugh in her face as she looked aghast.

"I don't go looking for trouble, trouble just seems to really like me these days." She shrugged, looking towards the house where Sookie and Bill were inside for her. "It's not that I don't want to be here, it's just that I'd rather be with you."

"You women can't get enough of me." He shook his head, placing his hands on her shoulders to hold her in place as he spoke. "If I thought it was safe for you there then I would bring you with me. But being out in the open at a bar with vampires and humans and who knows what else, it would just provide the ample opportunity for someone to attack."

"But I would..." She began to protest, but she fell silent when he placed a cold finger against her lips.

"I don't want you in the midst of any possible chaos, even if it has nothing to do with you." He told her, feeling a flash of love towards her and he immediately gathered her in his arms in a more touching way then he was use to showing. "I don't anything to happen to you. So just do me this favor and stay here without protest."

"Fine, but you better hurry back at the first moment you can." She said, poking him in the chest with her finger as a smirk spread across her face. "Because I would really like to have some dirty sex with you at some point tonight."

"Then I will most definitely get make as soon as I can." He grinned, placing a hand at the back of her head and drew her forward for a kiss which she happily returned with the same passion he was exhibiting onto her. When he pulled back, he saw the look on her face and laughed. "Now that will have to last you until I get back."

"You're such a tease." She groaned, moving towards the house in a backwards fashion.

"No my dear, you are the real tease." He smirked before launching himself into the air and flew away from her, already counting down the minutes and seconds until he could be with her again.

2 days ago

"Are you ready for this? Are you ready to do this mission that we have called upon you to do?" Steve Newlin asked the tall vampire that sat before him, strapped to the chair in silver chains, courtesy of the witches that also were scattered around the room. It unnerved him to be this close to a vampire after what happened a year ago, but the coven had assured him his life was not in danger and that they were controlling the dead man's every move with their unique abilities. So he felt a little bit more at ease about addressing this abomination in any matter that he saw fit as long these witches held up their end of the bargain.

"Perhaps I should lift the silencing spell so he can answer you Mr. Newlin." The head witch pointed out with an expression of fake innocence. She then proceeded to lay her hands on the vampire's shoulders and mutter something in a foreign language before she dropped her hands to her side. "There, that should loosen his tongue..."

"YOU FUCKING BASTARD! YOU'RE LUCKY I'M IN THIS GOD DAMN CHAIR, WRAPPED IN SILVER OR ELSE I WOULD BE KILLING EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU FUCKERS..."

"Ignore him, he's just a little on edge because he hasn't fully accepted his fate in life." The witch said, quickly whispering another chant before the vampire fell silent again and she looked up with a smile. "Sorry about that. He wasn't too happy when we kidnapped him and now he's just being rude and taking it out on you."

"As long as he fulfills his purpose, then he can speak in any manner he chooses. But I prefer that you keep him silent until we send him on his way." Steve told the witch, stepping back to his desk and leaned against it with his arms crossed as he thought about the next mission they were about to pull off. "Can you guarantee that this will work? That the spell will stay in place and do what it's suppose to do?"

"Mr. Newlin, I have been a master of my craft for a very long time." The witch assured him, smacking the imprisoned vampire with her silver glove. "So when I say I will get something done, then rest assure that it will happen just like I told you."

"Remind me again why you don't just take the girl."

"Because as I explained to you once, she is too powerful to simply take by force even if she doesn't realize it yet. And she now has the power to see the future and she would know when we were coming for her. So me must go about this in another way."

"Hence the reason for kidnapping a vampire."

"Exactly, because the vampire we can control to do things that we want. And when we send him to sniff out the Faerie, he will cause enough panic to emotionally devastate that girl to the point where she will be begging us to take her. It's much more fun this way if she comes to us willingly to give us what we want rather then fighting for her."

"And how can you be sure that she will come to you? This may just push her to stay even more hidden."

"Not if we take away the most important thing in her life..."

Back in present time

"...I still can't believe you didn't tell me all this as it was happening.."

"I know...but it was all getting so crazy that I just wanted to forget it ever happened."

"You were in a car accident...attacked by a werewolf.."

"Yea and injured in the process, which shouldn't surprise anyone.."

"And then Eric decides to be an asshole to you over training and takes everything way, way too far.."

"Won't disagree with you on that one."

"And then you and Godric get shot and you feed him your blood, which only pisses Eric off even more...and then the most important thing of all out of everything..."

"Oh I know where this is going to lead." I said with an amused smile as I turned to look at Sookie from my spot on Bill's front porch as she paced back and forth in front of me, as we continued to talk about all the events that had happened in the last few weeks that we hadn't been able to talk about until tonight. So in a way it was a good thing that Eric had left me here with Bill and Sookie. It gave me a chance to get my cousin really caught up with what was going on in my life. And it was just occurring to me how much we had failed to keep doing that lately. So I looked at her as she sat down beside me and I finished her thought. "You're talking about the proposal, right?"

"Well of course I am, I mean it is the biggest news of all." Sookie exclaimed, looking more excited and animated over this then anything else. "And I still can't believe you turned him down. No one says no to Eric Northman."

"Well I did and I had a good reason to say no." I told her, thinking back to that night when Eric had tried to take our relationship to the next level without even really giving it all that much consideration. "I mean, you know I love him and yes I did say that if he were to ever ask me that I would say yes immediately. But it wasn't for the right reasons that he was asking me."

"And what were those reasons?" She asked me as a breeze blew through the yard and porch and ruffled our loose hair.

"This happened the night Godric came back and told us the witches wanted me for me powers" I of course jumped over the real truth at this point, not able to divulge it to my cousin. "And that it would lead to war. I didn't want Eric to propose to me because there was a chance neither of us might live because that's what it felt like he was believing, at least to me. And I didn't want to say yes if he was only doing it because he was afraid of losing me."

"But if everything does turn out alright, and it will...what do you think will happen?" Sookie watched me intently for my answer, a happy shine in her eyes because I honestly think that she wanted me to have what her and Bill had even if Eric wasn't exactly the ideal candidate. "Do you think he will ask you again?"

"I told him to wait until we live through this war first and if he was still serious then he could ask me for a second time and then I would say yes." I grinned, thinking that if that moment could come true then it would be so wonderful. I never thought I would find someone who would ever want to marry me and Eric was trying to do just that. And I wished with all my heart and soul that I could have lived to see the look on his face when I said yes to his proposal. But that would never happen, so I shouldn't even be dwelling on this subject for too long or else it would depress me. "Look me and Eric aren't talking about it anymore so maybe..."

"Speaking of the devil, look who just arrived." Sookie said suddenly just as the sound of wind ripped through the yard and she pointed out in front of us to where a tall figure was coming across the grass. Sookie turned to me with a smile. "I guess he will be taking you away from us now."

"I guess he is." I shook my head with a grin as I stood up and walked down the steps slowly, strolling towards Eric as he looked me over intently with his ice blue eyes. "Eric, you're back so soon. You said you would be gone for at least a few hours.."

"Well, it turns out that I was not needed for the entire night, so I decided to come back for you." He said, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his black slacks and sent a smirk my way. "Aren't you glad to see me?"

"I'm always glad to see you." I assured him, closing the distance between us and wrapping my arms around his midsection, desperately wanting to be close to him. I would have kissed him right then and there but Sookie was still standing on the porch and I didn't quite feel right about acting on my urges in front of her. "So does this mean we can get out of here?"

"Whenever you want to." He agreed with no resistance and that made me grin because when Eric didn't fight me on something that usually meant he had more amusing activities he wanted us to indulge in.

"I'm just going to say goodbye to Bill and Sookie and then I will be right back." I told him, unlocking my arms from around him and stepping backwards with a grin, surprised that one little minute of interaction was having such an effect on me. I had barely taken a few steps when I was unable to resist the urge to kiss and was just turning back to do that when my whole world changed in the matter of a few seconds.

I had just spun around on my heel, prepared to close the distance between us and kiss him even though Sookie was on the porch watching us but I never got the chance to even take a step towards the man I loved. It all happened so fast that my heart and lungs were struggling to catch up to what I was seeing before my eyes. One moment Eric was standing there with his hands in his pockets staring at me with his trademark smirk while he waited for me to come with him. But the next second changed everything. Because that next second I was watching as out of nowhere, out of the darkness, a sharp wooden stake was flying through the air towards Eric at a speed I couldn't even begin to fight against. And to my utter horror, it plunged into his chest and then... he just was no more. He exploded into a cloud of blood and guts, not longer the tall figure I had loved for so long.

The blood had barely finished splattering on me before I fell to the ground at Eric's bloody remains, the only thing left of the man I loved.