Layla raced down the hallways after Alcide who was being dragged by a wolf. As she ran another wolf jumped from somewhere she didn't see and tore at her arm. She punch the thing in the face and wrestled with it. It was strong, almost certainly on V, but she had become stronger after months of sharing blood with Eric.
It snapped and she dodged. It bit and she clawed, even going so far as to sink her teeth into it's neck but it wriggled free and bit back. Eric grabbed the thing and tossed it across the room where it transformed back into a human as it lay lifeless against the wall. A blast of light blasted Russell away from Sookie. Layla had been so preoccupied with the wolf she hadn't even seen him follow them.
Eric pounced and placed his stake right above Russell's heart, but Bill was instantly standing behind Eric with his own stake pressing against Eric's back.
"He dies, we die most certainly." Bill reminded Eric. "But if we take him back alive, maybe we don't have to die."
"Unlikely." Eric growled.
"But not impossible." Bill countered, and then repositioned himself to look at Eric. "Maybe you're ready to die, maybe you're just bored after a thousand years, but you do not make that decision for me."
"FREEZE!" someone yelled and Layla froze where she had been sitting against the wall holding onto her bleeding arm. A group of men wearing all black and carrying guns entered, all with little red laser dots pointed at Russell's chest.
"We'll take over from here." one of the men said.
They placed Russell in silver handcuffs as Layla stood up from where she had been sitting and stood beside Bill and Eric, her fangs now safely tucked away...wherever it was they went when they weren't out. As Russell was being led away he suddenly turned to face the Vampire SWAT commander.
"You had better hope you are not around when I am fully restored, and oh I will be. Authority!" he said and then spit on the ground in distaste. "What fucking authority do you have? Given to you by what? Lillith? You idiots! You're no better than humans with your absurd, magical thinking. There is no Lillith!" Russell raved.
The commander punched him right in the face.
"That is blasphemy." he said cheerily. Layla knew about the story of Lillith. Adam's first wife, before Eve. It was said she was the mother of all Vampires. It had been information found on the internet when she had been researching Vampires for her book, before she had actually befriended any. She had always liked the idea of Lillith personally, but more as a feminist symbol as opposed to a Vampire one.
Russell continued to complain and shout as he was dragged away and Alcide came into the room, hitching up his pants. They had probably come off after he had shifted to wolf.
"JD put up a helluva fight until he heard those two wolves dying. He ran like a fuckin' squirrel." Alcide said.
"Wolf and humans are here." the commander said, looking at Sookie, Layla and Alcide.
"Doug led us here." Sookie told him.
"We found them parked in a van outside of Shreveport." Bill lied.
"Humping each other like livestock... while the wolf filmed." Eric added. Layla cringed. The thought was an unpleasant one.
"We took the van to get here with them in it." Bill finished. Eric gave Layla a look that said quite clearly to go along with it.
"You could cover that much distance by yourselves much faster than by driving." the commander told them.
"We had another human with us that we needed because he remembered coming here before." Bill added smoothly. "Doug."
"They know too much." the Vampire said.
"But nothing that a little glamouring won't take care of." Bill offered.
"Do it." the commander said and then left them all. Bill went immediately to Sookie who looked shocked that he was actually going to glamour her. Eric touched his ear gently, indicating that they were being listened to. Eric walked over to Alcide while Layla waited patiently for her turn to be fake glamoured.
"We owe you, wolf." Eric said, pricking his thumb and healing the wounds on Alcide's face. It was clear instantly that it was a diversion and that Eric had well and truly glamoured Alcide. "You will remember nothing of us showing up tonight or anything that happened afterward. You will always protect Layla, with your life."
"Yes." Alcide agreed hazily. Layla opened her mouth to argue, but didn't dare risk being overheard.
"And you'll keep your hands off Sookie. Romantically speaking. She kind of disgusts you." Eric added. Layla's jaw hung slack. "And Layla, you think of her as a sister."
"Okay." Alcide agreed. Eric then turned his gaze on Layla.
"You will forget all about me. You will not remember this night or your dealing with the Vampires here. You will continue to have a normal, human life free of interference from Vampires." he told her. Layla stared at him. Why couldn't he have given her a sweet heartfelt speech like Bill had given Sookie. Eric suddenly leaned in and whispered in her ear so faintly it almost felt like just air.
"But you will never forget how much you are loved." he added. Layla felt her heart melt at the words. She realized that this could be the last goodbye he ever gave her, but she had said her final goodbyes before and he had always come back. He had to come back. This couldn't be the last thing he would ever say to her.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Sookie cried the entire ride back to Bon Temps. Alcide had no idea why she was crying or where they were and Layla couldn't even speak, too overwhelmed by the thoughts rushing through her head and the feelings coursing through her heart.
She and Alcide slept at Sookie's because they were all exhausted. Layla tossed and turned all night on the couch and finally gave up as morning hit. As she fixed coffee, Sookie came in.
"Hey." the blonde said weakly.
"Hey." the brunette said back. "You want coffee?"
"Please." Sookie said. Layla poured her a mug and then sat across the table from her. "Does this mean we might be able to be friends again." she asked hopefully. Layla looked at her without any emotion on her face.
"No. This just means I'm too tired to be a bitch right now..." Layla paused and sipped her coffee. "Whore." she added with a smile. It made her feel better. Sookie looked like she wanted to say something but then shook her head and looked out the window. Layla stared at the table and sipped her coffee. The silence didn't break until Alcide came downstairs.
"Morning." he said to the girls.
"There's coffee over there. If you want something to eat you'll need to make it yourself." Sookie told him.
"Are you guys okay?" he asked after he walked over to the coffee pot.
"No." Layla said rubbing a hand across her eyes, trying to rub the sleepiness away.
"Honestly, I can't even remember the last time I was okay." Sookie added.
"Anything you need?" he asked them.
"A fucking normal life." Sookie said. Layla raised her coffee mug halfheartedly.
"Here, here." she agreed. Layla drained her coffee and put the mug in the sink, rinsing it quickly before grabbing her box of things and heading towards the back door. "Sookie, I'll be by later in the week for the rest of my stuff."
"Fine." the blonde said calmly.
"Layla-" Alcide began.
"Still mad." Layla reminded him sharply, without even glancing his way as she walked outside.
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Layla was beginning to feel like a nomad as she piled her suitcases into the trunk of her car. She was swiftly realizing that there was nothing keeping her in Bon Temps anymore. She could write from anywhere, and after all the pain Eric had put her through and all the shit she had experienced, she had more than enough research for her novel. She was only going to have a few more months left to herself before a new little person showed up.
She would travel with the last of the money she had, try to get her day job back and then raise this kid by herself, whether it turned out to be human, vampire or a little of both. Layla checked herself into a motel for a nap and slept till almost sundown, grabbed herself a true blood and headed for Fangtasia. She needed a few things from Pam.
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Pam led the way back to the office as Layla followed. Layla was wearing jeans and an old sweatshirt with her combat boots on and her hair thrown up on top of her head.
"Thanks for seeing me." Layla said as she closed the door.
"Don't thank me. I took you back here so no one would see you. You're a fucking eyesore right now." Pam said flatly. Layla nodded with a smile.
"I'm gonna miss you, Pam." Layla said. The blonde vamp arched a brow.
"Going somewhere?" she asked dryly.
"Yeah, but I need a favor." Layla admitted.
"Do I look like your fairy fucking godmother?" Pam asked, propping her hands on her hips.
"No. I've seen fairies. You look nothing like a fairy." Layla said smiling, but Pam didn't seem amused. "I need a doctor."
"I am not the goddamn yellow pages." Pam said, going to walk past her.
"Pam, I'm pregnant." Layla blurted.
Pam turned to stare at Layla. "Who's the father?"
"It's mine. Doesn't matter who the father is." Layla said defensively.
"You cheated on my maker?" she asked menacingly. Layla's spine straightened.
"No. Your maker cheated on me." Layla reminded her stiffly. "I never betrayed him."
Both women paused awkwardly. Pam was obviously expecting an explanation, without which she would never give Layla the number for the doctor. There were at an impasse. Layla sighed and took a step closer to Pam, keeping her voice low so there would be no chance she was overheard.
"I was with Eric before Marnie cast her first necromancy spell...right before." Layla said, putting emphasis on it so there was no mistaking what she meant. "She did a spell to restore life. It must have rubbed off."
"That's fucking ridiculous." Pam snapped.
"Well, it's the truth. At least, I think it is. I peed on a stick and it came up positive, but I need to be certain. I don't want to go to a regular doctor because I don't know if this baby will be human or Vampire or what. God forbid they find a human woman pregnant by a vampire. Do you know what they would do to me? To the baby?" Layla asked. Pam took a deep breath.
"This can not be happening." Pam said, going and sitting behind the desk. "If you are lying to me-"
"I'm not!" Layla groaned. "Do you think I'm so delusional as to think we're friends? I mean, I think you like me more than Sookie, but that's about it. I wouldn't be asking for your help if I didn't absolutely need it."
"So what is it that you want?" Pam asked. Layla sighed in relief.
"I need the number and address for that doctor that fixed up Sookie's back after she was attacked by the Maynad. Eric said she was kind of like a supernatural surgeon." Layla said. "I just need to see her and figure out what's going on."
Pam sighed and quickly wrote something down on a piece of paper, talking while she did so. "If this is a lie I will eat you for dinner and use your baby as dessert, got it?" Pam asked, holding out the piece of paper. Layla reached forward to take it but Pam held onto it tightly.
"Does Eric know about this?" Pam asked, narrowing her eyes.
"Of course not." Layla said. "What good could come from that? Would there be a shotgun wedding? Can you picture Eric playing 'Daddy' to a human baby and changing diapers and heating up bottles of milk?" Layla asked. "If it's a Vampire, then all he would do is put us all in danger and make us targets. I'm a halfling, I'm not going to be repulsed if I need to feed my baby blood, and you can be damn sure that if I need to kill someone to keep my kid alive, whether it be for food or self-defense, I'm going to do it. I don't need Eric."
Pam released the piece of paper and Layla folded it up, sticking it in her back pocket. As Layla walked out Pam spoke.
"You know that if this baby is Vampire, it might have the same effects as a progeny." Pam reminded her. Layla turned.
"Which are?"
"The bond between a vampire and their progeny is stronger than anything else in the world. It's in the blood. If this is anything like that, Eric is gonna know whether you tell him or not." Pam told her.
Layla shook her head. "Nope, that's totally different. That involves the whole being dead and buried with the maker thing-"
"Look this is completely unprecedented, so you don't know what the hell it could be." Pam said quickly, going to leave the room.
"Don't tell him, Pam." Layla told her.
"I don't keep secrets from Eric." Pam told her.
"Yeah, well, now you fucking do." Layla snapped. "I will tell Eric eventually, once I'm sure that it's either safe for him to know or I need his help or something, but this is between me and Eric. He never has to know you were involved." Layla told her and then put on a playful smile. "C'mon, Pam. We're family now. Do me a solid."
"Fine, just stop talking." Pam said, rolling her eyes.
"Does this make me, like, your step-mother now?" Layla continued with a huge smile.
"Go away before I eat you." Pam threatened. Layla paused in the doorway.
"I still like you, Pam." Layla said, beaming. Pam only bared her fangs in response and Layla laughed as she left.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Layla had checked out of the motel right after calling and setting up an appointment with Dr. Ludwig. The Dr. said she would see her in a few hours since Layla was such a close friend of Eric Northman.
Layla had a true blood with a straw in it that she sipped as she drove and was singing along to the music playing in the car, drumming her fingers along steering wheel.
"I won't let love disrupt, corrupt or interrupt me, anymore." she sang as she checked out the road signs, making sure she was heading the right way.
NEW ORLEANS - 16 MILES
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A.N.: The lyrics are from Love Interruption by Jack White.