A/N: Sorry for the delay in this chapter... I managed to go into labor the night I posted the last update, so things have been a bit busy around here :) Hopefully it's worth the wait! Thank you to all of you for reading and for posting reviews!


Disclaimer*** No copyright infringement intended. These characters are exclusive property of Charlaine Harris, Alan Ball and HBO.


Sookie was in heaven... the only thought on her mind was Bill and how he felt under her fingers. She had missed his smooth skin, the way it was cool to the touch, how it warmed under her hands. She was fumbling with the button on his jeans when she heard him growl, his hands pulling at the back of her dress.

"Sookie, where on earth did you find this outfit?" he stopped kissing her to ask, still trying to figure out how to unfasten it.

"It's from the fairies... I had to fit in." She explained, ignoring his questioning look and refocusing her attention on removing his pants. "Just rip it, Bill... I don't care."

Apparently, he didn't need to be told twice, because that's exactly what he did. His lips trailed over her neck, down her shoulder and she felt him tighten his hold on the back of the dress. With a quick tearing sound, the pink material pooled at her feet. She had finally managed to unfasten his jeans and after shoving them down over his hips, she put her arms around his neck and pretty much jumped him... her legs wrapped around his waist and she could feel his arousal pressing against her, just a thin layer of lace separating them.

He turned them so her back was up against the door, managing to kick off his boots and jeans as he built an amazing friction between them and continued to ravished her mouth. Her hands were everywhere, feeling the muscles of his back and shoulders flexing as he held her... the softness of his hair as he kissed a trail to her breasts. He sucked gently at first one nipple and then the other through the lace of her bra. She was glad her new fairy outfit had come with cute underwear... although she was even more excited for Bill to rip those garments from her as well. She wanted all of her skin on his skin.

Though it had actually only been a matter of days since they had been together, the emotional roller coaster Sookie was on made it seem like it had been years. Like she had been longing for him, needing him for so long.

"Oh, Bill." She moaned, trying to catch her breath. She loved the way he could make her breathless with just his touch, his kiss. She moved her hips against him, already on the edge of orgasm just from the feel of him. Her hands fisted in his dark hair as she guided his mouth to her neck. His fangs scraped over the soft flesh there before his lips once again found hers... Oh can he kiss, she thought as he moved backwards, so they could tumble back onto the bed.

Sookie found herself straddling his hips, she sat back for just a moment, taking it all in... she studied every inch of his naked chest, the line of his jaw... the blue of his eyes as he looked up at her with heavy lids, his lips turned up in just a hint of a smile. She had missed his smile, while he had never been one to give them easily, his smile was a thing of true beauty.

While Sookie enjoyed the view, Bill's hands hadn't stopped moving. Tracing her skin... finding their way up her back to finally relieve Sookie of her bra. His hands cupped her breasts, his thumbs tracing over her hardened nipples, sending a shiver of delight down her spine. From her position on top of him, she began moving her hips again slowly, teasing them both.

He breathed her name before pulling her down, holding her against the hard muscles of his chest, kissing her as if his life depended on it. Sookie could feel how much he wanted her, how much he loved her. It made her feel powerful... bold. She had missed him so much... every inch of him. Knowing they only had a few precious hours before dawn, and before they were going into yet another dangerous situation, Sookie was determined to make the most of the time they did have. She placed light kisses over his face, along his jaw... down his neck. Her hands traveled over his chest, leaving trails of heat that she followed with her mouth. She loved the feel of his chest hair under her hands, the way it tickled her face as she kissed her way down to his abdomen.

She followed the trail of dark hair leading to his waiting erection, but instead of continuing her journey downward, she detoured to kiss the line of his hip, earning a groan of frustration from Bill. Though Sookie's level of experience had been essentially zero when she had first met Bill, she turned out to be a very quick learner with Bill as her guide. She had figured out just how to tease him and make the fire between them burn even hotter. A necessary skill, since Bill was an expert at driving Sookie right to the edge and tormenting her until she thought she'd go mad with desire.

She smiled up at him from where she sat, still straddling his legs with her mouth hovering just over him. His blue eyes darkened with lust as they made eye contact. He couldn't hold back another moan as she licked her lips and trailed her fingers over his hips before wrapping one hand around him. She stroked his full length and leaned closer. With her eyes locked on his, she traced her tongue around the tip of his penis, unable to hide her satisfied smile as he closed his eyes in pleasure. She teased him with small licks, like she was enjoying a lollipop before finally taking him fully into her mouth. His moans spurred her on, the heat of anticipation building within her. His hands found her hair, tangling in it as she continued to suck and lick. She could feel the tension building, she knew he was getting close, so with a final stroke of her tongue, she released him and slid her body up his to capture his mouth in a kiss.

His arms locked around her, his kisses more urgent, it seemed her teasing had earned her the desired affect. Within seconds he had changed their position so he was on top of her, his hands traveled all over her body in a frenzy. With a quick motion her now ripped panties joined the pile of clothing on the floor and she could feel him pressing against her. He hesitated then, breaking the almost desperate kiss to look into her eyes. Sookie didn't want to wait any more, she wanted to feel him inside her, filling her completely. She placed her hands on his face, pulling him down to kiss her while she lifted her hips in silent invitation. He slid into her, the feel of him almost pushing her over the edge with one single thrust. Her legs found their place around his hips as he began to move within her.

"I love you, Sookie, I love you," he said into her ear, almost chanting. She knew it was true, she could feel it in everything he did. Every touch, every whisper spoke of his love for her. It was an amazing feeling to be that loved, to know the person you loved with all of your heart and soul felt the same way. It took Sookie to a whole new level of ecstasy as he continued to love her with both his body and his mind.

With her own cries of love for him, Sookie fell over the edge, pulling Bill with her. His lips fastened to her neck as he joined her in release, but to Sookie's surprise, the sharp pierce of his fangs didn't follow. She would have pondered it further, but she remained quite distracted by his naked body still on top of her.

It took some time for her to finally catch her breath as she lay cuddled next to Bill. Her head pillowed on his shoulder while she watched the rise and fall of his chest as he took unneeded breaths just for her. Neither one spoke for awhile, they just enjoyed the silence... for Sookie, it was the complete silence that she could only find with Bill... and they enjoyed being close to each other. Sookie didn't want this to end. She didn't want to face the danger of whatever this authority thing was, but she knew she couldn't let Bill face it alone either. Sookie wasn't one to run away from her problems, but this was one time when it would be so nice to just disappear with Bill. To spend every night in his arms... to not have death knocking on her door constantly...

"Sookie," Bill finally broke the silence. "You should stay here, the Authority is far too dangerous."

Sookie sat up on her elbow, pulling the sheet over her chest ready to protest and argue. He stopped her words with a kiss before he continued, not allowing her to speak. He sat up, leaning against the headboard as he continued to plead his case.

"The vampires there a vicious, they think nothing of human life... the things that happened there..." he shook his head, she could see the fear in his eyes, the sadness and guilt, "I couldn't handle it if something happened to you. Sookie... I just can't let anything happen to you."

"Bill, I have to do this... I can't let you go back there alone, and I have to help Sam." She was the one who initiated the kiss this time, hoping that he would feel what she was feeling, that he would understand. They were in this together... from now on, they had to face these things together. He had told her a lot of what happened while he was in the authority, but she wondered if there was more... if there were other things, even worse things that he didn't tell her.

"What happened at the Authority, Bill? What aren't you telling me?" She asked, wanting him to talk to her. He had always been a man of few words... which was probably part of their problem the first time they had been together. But she really wanted him to trust her, to tell her what was bothering him. She could see it in his face, he was holding something back. Normally, Sookie would be getting angry, feeling like his keeping things from her was almost like lying, but something about the look on his face told her this was different. She reached up, touching his cheek with the palm of her hand, hoping he could see everything she was feeling. How much she loved him, how much she wanted him to share with her what he was thinking.

x


x

Bill hated feeling this way, that his time with Sookie was being overshadowed by what had happened at the Authority and what was yet to come. He had managed to push it all aside with the distraction of Sookie in his arms, but as he lay there just holding her, realizing that he would be back in that place by nightfall, he could hold back the rush of guilt and anger and, although he hated to admit it, fear that he felt about going back there. He wasn't afraid for himself... He had lived far longer than he would have had he remained human, and although he did not wish to meet the true death any time soon, he wasn't afraid of it. He was afraid for Sookie... afraid for what might happen to her there... afraid that something could happen to him, exposure to the blood or who knows what that could take him once again down that path he and Eric had fought so hard to get off of. But he was a vampire, damnit, he shouldn't have to fear anything.

He had explained to Sookie a lot of what had happened... but, perhaps as a matter of habit, he hadn't given her all of the details. He hadn't explained about the blood or the bar full of people they had massacred... or the fact that she was the only thing that had kept him from abandoning his humanity and becoming a vampire far worse than what he had been when he was fully under the influence of Lorena. Maybe he needed to share some of that with her, even if it made her turn away from him... She should know, he could see the pleading in her eyes as she touched his cheek. Her hands were on him so gently, there was so much love and concern in her caress.

He reached up, taking her hand in his, pulling it to his lips to place a kiss on her knuckles. He had to tell her. Had he been human, he would have sighed before he began speaking. Instead, he closed his eyes for a moment, trying to figure out just where to start... how to explain.

"Sookie, you remember how I explained about the book of Lilith?" he began, looking at her, into her eyes. She looked up at him from where she sat, her eyes wide. He was stunned yet again with how beautiful she was. Her hair was tousled from their lovemaking, she was lying almost halfway in his lap, facing him with a sheet pulled up to cover her. She was radiant, her tan had not yet faded with the colder weather, her blonde hair like sunshine. He may be trapped in only the night, but she had brought the best parts of the sun back into his life.

"The vampire bible thing?"

"Yes, the vampire bible thing," He couldn't help but smile, it was much easier than being frustrated and angry. "Like I explained earlier, it's based on the belief that Lilith was a god, and the first vampire."

Sookie nodded her understanding, urging him to go on.

"In addition to the book, the authority also has a ancient vial of what they think is Lilith's real blood. They worship it and while we were in the Authority, we were forced to partake in a ritual that involved drinking a small amount of that blood."

"You had to drink some old vampire blood? Do you really think it was her blood... I mean, is this Lilith thing real?" Sookie had a confused look on her face, and Bill wasn't sure how answer her questions... he still didn't know what he himself believed.

"We did have to drink it, and I'm not sure what it was... but what I do know is that it had an effect on all of us, and it was not a positive effect."

"What kind of effect, Bill? What happened?"

"Sookie, I told you that you had saved me while I was in the Authority, and I meant it... the blood we drank, whatever it was..." he hesitated, trying to find the right words to explain, "It was like being on drugs, there were hallucinations and no sense of right or wrong... Sookie... we massacred a bar full of innocent people... just for fun... just because we could."

He couldn't look at her, he turned his head away staring at the flowered wallpaper adorning the bedroom walls. He waited for her to move away from him, for her warmth to disappear from his lap. She knew that he was a killer, but Bill recalled her revulsion and how she had always struggled to accept that part of him. Not that he blamed her, while he had to admit some satisfaction in taking the life of people like Sookie's pedophile uncle, the innocent lives he had taken still haunted him at times.

To his surprise, she placed her hand on his chest, settling into him even more. There was a moment of silence before she spoke, Bill waited... he wasn't going to make excuses, he couldn't. Yes, he had not been himself, but he still did it, and he had reveled in it with the other vampires. "So what does that have to do with me?"

"There was a hallucination or a vision... it was Lilith, we all saw it. It was almost enough to convince me, to believe that she was real, that her way was the right way. But then I saw you... it was just a glimpse of you, but it was enough."

"Enough for what? Bill, I don't understand."

"I'm afraid I am not explaining it very well." He paused, trying to come up with a better way, "Sookie, you believe in God, right?"

"Well... Gran always taught me to believe and that we had to do what's right. I still believe that, even if I've seen some crazy things since vampires came out of the coffin."

"I believed... when I was human. When I was made vampire, I had felt like God had forsaken me. Like I was somehow wrong... over the years I have tried to let those feelings go, leaning more towards believing that God never really existed, but it has been... difficult."

"Gran told me once that she believed that God put everything on this earth for a purpose... even vampires."

Bill thought about that for a moment before he continued... He hadn't known her long, but Adele Stackhouse had seemed to be a wise woman, she was certainly a kind soul. Bill knew that was where Sookie got a lot of her kind and generous nature.

"When we were in that bar and Lilith appeared... it made me question everything I had believed in, I was ready to believe in Lilith, that God was rewarding us, that the killing of innocents was the right thing, we were the right thing. That humans are nothing more than food." Bill cringed inwardly at the frightened look on Sookie's face as he explained how he had felt that night. But to her credit, she stayed where she was, she stayed with him, waiting for him to continue. In the past, this would have been the moment her temper and sense of right and wrong would have overtaken her and she would have run from him.

"But you saw me, and that changed things?"

"Yes... I saw you, you had turned away from me, you were leaving me and I felt so empty. I knew then that what I was doing was wrong... somehow whatever vision I had of you made the vision of Lilith disappear. It broke whatever hold the blood had on me, at least for awhile."

"What do you mean for awhile? Bill, what else happened?"

"You have to understand, I was surrounded by other vampires... vampires who were fully immersed in this belief that humans are not more than food. Remember when I explained to you about vampires living in a nest? This was like that, only worse."

"It must have been horrible, Bill. How did you manage to stay you?" she looked up at him with such big, dark eyes. No judgment on her face, just worry and curiosity.

"Well... it was mostly you, knowing that I had your love helped me far more than you could ever know. There was also Eric."

"Eric? What does this all have to do with Eric?"

"Somehow, when I was seeing visions of you... he was seeing visions of Godric. Somehow that broke the spell over him so we at least had the strength of each other to keep us from falling back under it's influence." He looked down at her, touching her face with his hand, "I know it sounds crazy, having visions and drinking strange blood, but it was so real."

"But you and Eric are better now, the effects from whatever you drank are over. It's okay Bill."

"I don't know, Sookie. That's why I don't want you coming with us... even though I know it wasn't real... it was still enough to make me question everything. I don't know what to believe. There were other moments, after we returned to the Authority where I could hear her calling me... as if she were choosing me," Bill did sigh then, the weight of everything that had happened and that was yet to come wearing at him. He closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the headboard. His mind racing with all of the events leading him to this moment.

"Hey," He heard her say as she sat up and away from him. He missed her warmth immediately. He opened his eyes as she reached for his face, holding it between her hands so she could look into his eyes. "Bill Compton... you believe in me, in us. That's what you need to believe in. God will sort everything else out later. And I don't care what terrible things you've done... I'm not perfect either. I love you and you need to remember that. We've gotten through worse things, we can get through this too. But you are not leaving me behind."

"Sookie, it's too dangerous..." she shushed him with her fingers on his lips.

"From what you're telling me, it's too dangerous for you to go without me. I'm what saved you, remember? And I won't take the chance of losing you to some vampire hallucination." He could see the fire in her eyes. He knew he wouldn't win this battle... he knew that from the start, but he had at least needed to try. He kissed her fingers as he reached for her hand. He pulled her into him, his forehead resting against hers. She was truly a miracle in his life.

"I love you, Sookie Stackhouse," was all he said before capturing her lips with his. He lost himself in her kiss, her warmth. She shifted so her body was in contact with his, heat spreading across his skin. He knew she was right, this is what he should believe in, this is what was real. His love for her was one of his greatest strengths in facing what was ahead. He wanted to show her just how much he loved her. Faster than Sookie could follow, he had flipped them so she was beneath him. After another soul-searing kiss, he trailed his lips down her face, her neck... kissing her along her collar bone to her shoulders.

Bill took his time worshipping her entire body with his mouth before he slowly made love to her until he was dangerously close to not leaving on time. He had to make it to Shreveport before dawn so Sookie and Jason could collect them later in the day. How he wished they had more time, there was never enough time.

With a last kiss, Bill left Sookie staring after him from the front door. She had pulled on a short pink robe to walk him out. He wouldn't forget the look of love on her face as they said their goodbyes. He had some time on the short drive to Shreveport to think about what was coming, how he was going to bring the true death to Salome and the others. He wanted this over once and for all. While Bill knew he and Sookie could never have a 'normal' life together, he wanted to at least try for some semblance of a regular relationship. He knew that would never happen if things at the Authority continued to spin out of control.

x


x

Sookie looked behind her one more time, checking on the small travel coffins that they had loaded into the back of Jason's pick up truck. She wanted to make sure they were still securely covered and in place. While the chances of something happening before the sun went down were very small, she couldn't help but worry.

Jason had taken them to a place called the Stake-House, some sort of anti-vampire store. It was currently shut down as a crime scene. Jason explained that some of the group that had been shooting the shifters owned the store... in fact one of them had tried to kill Andy when he came in to ask questions, his life saved because of Sam. They assembled a veritable arsenal of anti-vampire weaponry from the shut down store. Sookie still didn't like guns, but sadly, she had come a long way to appreciating their usefulness over the past year with all the times her life had been in danger.

Hopefully she wouldn't be the one needing to use the weapons, her role in the plan was to get Sam and Pam out of there, Jason was the designated cover. A role he had been happy to take, since it meant he would be in charge of killing any vampires they came across at the Authority. Sookie was surprised with his eagerness to kill vampires, he still just didn't seem like himself and that had Sookie worried.

"Sookie, are you sure we can trust Bill and Eric? They are vampires after all." Jason had been quiet for the first portion of the drive, aside from occasionally mumbling to himself. Despite Sookie's best efforts to stay out of his head, she had been assaulted with a lot of negative thoughts from him but nothing that she could put together to figure out what was going on with him.

"Jason, of course we can trust them. Well, Bill anyway and I at least trust Eric in this situation. They need our help... why did you agree to help if you don't trust them?" Sookie had been getting more and more concerned about Jason, and this wasn't helping.

"I wasn't gonna to let you go by yourself... not with those vampires. You think you know them, but how can you really ever know someone? And if there's one thing I'm good at, it's killin' vampires. From the sounds of things, there are a lot of vampires that need killin' at this authority place." he was holding tightly onto the steering wheel, staring straight ahead as he ranted at Sookie.

"I know them, I know Bill. Jason, where is all of this coming from? I know this Warlow whatever and learning about our parents makes vampires seem really bad, but you know they're not all like that. What about Jessica?"

"What about her?" he still would look at her, and his tone didn't sound like the guy who just a few weeks ago was wondering if he was in love with a vampire.

"Aren't you seeing her? Like dating and love and all that stuff?"

"I don't love her... I could never love a vampire, and she cost me my best friend. I know dating has been real hard for you with normal guys, but I still don't like you bein' with a vampire."

Sookie wasn't sure what else to say. She knew for sure that something wasn't right considering the things he was saying were almost completely opposite things he had told her in the past. Heck, he was ready to embrace Bill as part of the family what seemed like so long ago when Bill had gone missing after proposing to her. Jason was the one who had risked his own life to save Jessica from that day when there was the sun spell. This change in attitude just didn't make sense. Sookie wasn't sure if this was the right time to deal with Jason's new way of thinking... but after they finished things with the Authority, assuming they would all get out of there alive, she was going to get to the bottom of this.

"Jason, Bill loves me, and I love him. You know that... you used to be okay with that. All vampires aren't the same." Sookie felt like a broken record, she'd said this so often.

"You think that, but deep down... you just can't know who someone really is. I've been thinkin' about this. All of the women I've been with... the ones I thought I loved, I didn't really know them, and I paid the price for that. Amy, Crystal... Jessica." he shook his head, sadness creeping into his voice. "I'm sick of it... maybe we just aren't meant to be happy. I know you think things with Bill are all fixed, but he's bound to just hurt you again."

"Jason, you can't look at things like that..." Sookie's sentence ended with a squeak as she was startled by a head appearing from the roof next to Jason's window.

"Pull over... Pleeeease." Eric said with a smirk and a syrupy sweet tone from his upside down position. She hadn't even noticed that the sun had finally set. While she was annoyed with Eric's sudden appearance, Jason was even more agitated. I can't wait to start killin' those fuckin' vampires, she heard him think. She just stared at him as he pulled over to the side of the road, she hoped he wasn't including her friends in the group of vampires he couldn't wait to kill. This was becoming an even more dangerous situation than Sookie had expected.

They were only about sixty miles away from New Orleans, so they'd be arriving very soon. As Sookie got out of the truck, she was met by Bill climbing down out of the bed of the truck, Jessica just behind him. There was an awkwardness between Jessica and Jason that had Sookie wondering if more had happened between them than just Jason's new anti-vampire attitude. Jason stood off to the side, avoiding eye contact with Jessica, he just glared at Eric who had grabbed the keys from him.

"You've made good time," Bill said as he walked up to Sookie. He placed his hand on her lower back, just a light touch... a little bit of contact.

"We were able to get on the road on schedule and there hasn't been much traffic," Sookie replied.

"You seem to have found quite a supply of weapons," Eric chimed in as he looked through the black duffle bags that they had stashed between the coffins.

"We wanted to be prepared... it sounds like there are a lot of vampires that need killin'" Jason said from where he stood, his hands on his hips his face a stony mask.

"We'll need to make it look like you and Jason are our prisoners, like we talked about last night, if we're going to get back into the compound. Are you ready to do this?" Bill asked, turning to face Sookie. His blue eyes burning into hers, the concern obvious.

"We don't seem to have much choice. We need to save Sam, and you need to stop whatever crazy stuff those other vampires want to do." Sookie nodded with finality as she spoke. There was no turning back now.

"You and Jason should ride inside until we get closer," Bill angled her back towards the cab of the truck, no doubt concerned that it was a bit cold for a human to be riding in the back of a truck, "We'll pull over again and switch places once we get into the city."

"Oh, Sookie... that means you can sit in the middle." Eric said with a wink, earning not only the continued glare from Jason, but also a warning look from Bill. Eric simply shrugged and walked around to the driver side. Though his smugness tended to grate, Sookie was glad to see him acting more like himself. His concern for Pam and his sister had him out of sorts the night before, and that made Sookie worry even more. So if he was back to cocky Eric, he must have some confidence in their plan.

Sookie took a moment to put her arms around Bill. Once they arrived at the Authority, there would be no time for final tender moments. And though she was determined to come out of this in one piece, you just never know. She lifted her face to his waiting lips, receiving a tender kiss as he pulled her into his embrace. She could almost hear Eric's eyes rolling from the other side of the truck, but she didn't care. But this wasn't goodbye... it was just a kiss between two people who loved each other. At least that's what Sookie told herself as she broke the kiss.

She smiled at him, earning a breathtaking smile in return as he nodded, telling her to get in the truck without words. She climbed in and slid over the bench seat until she was next to Eric, leaving room for Jason to get in beside her. Jason got in without saying a word, the look on his face grim. These were going to be tense and, Sookie secretly hoped, silent final miles into New Orleans.

x


x

Bill climbed back up into the back of the truck, making room for he and Jessica to go through the bags of weaponry as they leaned against the cab. It would also serve to block most of the wind. As they got moving, he was glad for his vampire nature, in that the cold didn't really bother him. Not that the weather was freezing, but it would have definitely been uncomfortable for a human, especially at the speed Eric was going.

He and Jessica didn't say much as the miles passed by. He had spoken with her briefly the night before, filling her in on what had happened at the Authority and thanking her for getting his message and making sure Sookie was safe. She had shared with him a little about what had happened with her and Jason, but Bill knew from how heartbroken she had looked, and the tension between them during this brief stop that there was more to it than just a normal break up. He didn't push her for details, knowing that they had bigger things to deal with first, but he hoped they would be able to talk about it a little bit more after this was all over. He didn't like to see his progeny hurting.

Despite the goings on with Jason, Jessica had been eager to help. In addition to wanting to help her maker, she had also grown quite fond of Pam and wanted to help her too. Bill remained overly proud of the fine young woman and vampire that Jessica had grown into over the last year. She had come a very long way from the petulant teenager she had been.

"Jessica, I want you to stick close by Sookie and Jason. Your task is to free Pam and Sam Merlotte. We'll direct you to the holding cells when we arrive, but Eric and I must go deal with the rest of the Authority." He told her. Thanks to their vampire hearing, the whipping winds were no deterrent to their conversation.

"But I want to go with you, Bill." She said, frowning.

"I know, but Sookie won't have your strength or speed, which may be required to free Pam. And we want you all to get in and out. It's too dangerous to expose you to the rest of the Authority vampires."

"How are you and Eric going to get past them? Didn't you say they were all really old? How can you kill them?" Bill could see Jessica's concern as she questioned him.

"As I have learned over the years, as a younger vampire, I must rely on brains instead of brawn. We will have to outsmart them, I do have a few ideas in mind." Bill had been thinking about this since he had been freed of the influence of Lilith. It was going to take something clever to take out a vampire such as Salome. He carried a vial in his pocket, that should things be playing out in the Authority as he suspected, would hopefully aid him greatly in bringing her the true death.

"A few ideas?" She gave him a confused look.

"Do you recall how I explained about that strange blood Eric and I had been forced to drink?"

"The blood that made you see things?"

"Yes... the other authority members are also under it's influence, so it is unknown exactly what has happened in our absence. Under those circumstances, I thought it wise to have several options in mind." He offered her a reassuring smile, linking his hand with hers. "We'll take care of them, Jessica. Just get to Sam and release Pam, Eric and I will meet you all outside as we discussed."

She squeezed his hand in return, nodding in agreement. They fell into silence then, having already gone through the bags of weapons Jason and Sookie had collected. They were as ready as they could be, now it was just waiting for those last few miles to fly by.