Layla did not want to spend the morning in a coffin beside Jessica, Tara and Pam. However, she wasn't about to risk going and staying at Sookie's, not with Russell on the loose. According to what Jessica had told them about Bill and Eric going crazy on the Sanguinista movement, so Bill's mansion wasn't safe either.

Layla spent the morning in the Dorchester. As she walked by the large conference room on the way towards her own she shook her head in disgust. Hadn't Bill just been here talking about mainstreaming and tolerance. Was he really THAT weak?

Everything Jessica had said had helped to fill in the gaps from the dream she'd had. This 'Lillith' shit was ridiculous. Maybe God was a Vampire, who knew for certain, but Layla didn't care what religion you chose to practice, as long as you didn't force it on others. The minute someone began pushing their agenda on her body, well, that was when shit got ugly.

Maybe it was being back in familiar territory or maybe it was knowing that Eric was alive and relatively safe, but Layla didn't feel quite as anxious as she had before, and fell asleep easily.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The sun had only been down for around an hour as Layla played with her hair and fixed her makeup. Her hair was big, and straightened. Her makeup was simple, just eyeliner and mascara. She had a nice healthy glow to her skin, which could have been the pregnancy or just a good night's sleep. Her veins were becoming more noticeable through her pale skin, crisscrossing like a roadmap across her body and she was craving spinach, which had to be the babies because she hated spinach.

Her combat boots were surprisingly quiet on the sidewalk as she headed to Fangtasia. She felt stronger than she had in a while and wasn't sure why. She was considerably less glamorous than she had been last night. Black jeans and a long black tank top were the only things she wore beneath her leather jacket, and of course, the necklace from Eric. She doubted she would ever take it off again.

When Layla walked into Fangtasia it was empty. That was not a good sign.

"Tara?" Layla called. "Pam?"

Tara walked out from the office, looking pissed. Layla gestured to the empty bar. "What the fuck happened? Where's Pam?" she asked.

"The fucking Authority took her." Tara spat. "Jessica's gone too." she added as a side note.

"What? Why?" Layla asked.

"Some bitch came in looking for Elijah. Pam took the fall for killing him. They arrested her." Tara said. Layla sighed.

"Alright. We need a plan." Layla said, walking towards the stage and sitting down in Eric's throne. She needed to be diabolical, hopefully sitting in the chair and channeling her inner viking might help.

"Why the fuck do you care?" Tara asked defensively. Layla shot her a look.

"Pam is my friend and Eric's progeny. You are Pam's progeny. You both are my family. I will protect my family." Layla said, placing a hand on her stomach absentmindedly. Tara saw it and raised an eyebrow.

"Pam mentioned your maternal instincts last night?" Tara said. "You having some kind of Vampire baby?"

"Two actually. Can you shut up so I can think?" Layla snapped.

"You're lucky Pam told me not to hurt you, otherwise I would eat you." Tara threatened. Layla was inwardly surprised that Pam had specifically asked Tara not to hurt her, and also annoyed with the baby vamp's over-dramatic style.

"Tara, just go back to the office and try to think of something. If I have a good idea, I'll shout for you." Layla told her. Tara went and Layla sat, leaning on the arm of the throne as she thought hard. The AVL had to be in New Orleans somewhere, if she could find a way in they could find Eric, Nora and Pam and get them all out. It was just the hundreds of bloodthirsty Vampires that stood in her way that made her nervous.

The door opened and Layla glanced up and froze.

"Cause the only thing you ever cared about was rising up the ranks of the Authority." Eric was saying to a brunette woman about Layla's size. As Eric looked up and saw her, Layla stood from her seat. They both walked towards each other and stopped right before they could touch.

Layla opened her mouth to speak but her throat was closing too fast. Eric placed a hand on her cheek and she leaned against his cold skin.

"Jag har saknat dig." she whispered, blinking up at him. It meant 'I've missed you'. It was a phrase her grandmother would say when Layla would visit her as a child. Eric leaned down and kissed her gently and she kissed him back. She was still angry, still hurt, but the loving him, and worrying about him was eclipsing everything else until the only thing left was relief that he was here, safe, in her arms again.

Eric broke the kiss and looked down at her.

"Something's different." he noted suspiciously. Layla made a face. What with the babies having heartbeats now she didn't expect Eric to remain completely clueless.

"We need to talk about something." Layla agreed. Tara walked out of the office suddenly.

"They got Pam." she said flatly. Eric turned to stare at his grand-progeny.

"That too." Layla nodded.

"Hello, I'm Nora." said Nora. Layla smiled and shook the woman's hand.

"It's very good to meet you finally." Layla said with a smile.

"Oh, we're sisters. We can hug." Nora said, hugging her and then pulling back. "You smell odd."

"Yeah, about that-" Layla said, turning back to Eric. "We really need to talk."

"We need to get Pam." Eric said. Layla sighed but nodded. He was right.

"Two minutes, Eric." Layla said. "Just two minutes so I can tell you something?"

Eric sighed and pulled Layla into the office. As the door closed he kissed her hard before getting down to business.

"Layla, Pam is in danger. Can we please sort out the details of our relationship after she's safe?" Eric asked. Layla shook her head.

"Eric, I want to save Pam too. This isn't about our relationship...not really." Layla told him.

"Then what?" Eric asked. Layla bit her lip, suddenly nervous.

"Do you like being a maker?" Layla asked. She didn't want to waste time but she was terrified of what his reaction could be. Still, this wasn't something she wanted Tara or Pam to blurt out at some point tonight. He had to know now.

"It is the most rewarding thing a Vampire can be." Eric said. Layla took Eric's hand and placed it on her stomach. She watched the realization dawn on his face. "That's not possible." he said, his face paler than usual if that was even possible.

"The witches. Marnie's spell to restore life." Layla said quickly. "I've seen Doctor Ludwig, Eric. It could only be you."

"It's too fast for you to know." Eric said.

"Your blood. The night Sookie came home, when I came by and we..." she trailed off and glanced at the desk. It had been in this very room she had conceived her babies. She wasn't sure how she felt about her babies lives starting in the back office of a Vampire bar.

Eric let out a sigh, looking positively ill.

"If you don't want this, I would understand. They'll be halflings like me, so-"

"THEY?!" Eric screeched. Could Vampires faint? Eric looked like he was about to faint. "How many are in there?" he asked, staring at her stomach like some horrible alien was going to explode forth at any moment.

"Just the two." Layla told him.

"This is unbelievable." he muttered. Layla felt her heart being crushed.

"Look, I'll help you save Pam and then I'll be gone. I promise. You won't ever-" she was cut off as Eric grabbed her and gave her a little shake.

"You aren't going anywhere with my children." he snapped angrily. Layla beamed up at him brilliantly. Eric's face softened slightly, but he looked even more worried than before. "Russell knew. I mean, you smelled different but I assumed it was being around the wolf."

"Speaking of Russell-" Layla began but Eric cut her off.

"Dead." Eric said.

"Is that whose blood is all over you?" Layla asked, turning his face to see it better.

"Yes." Eric said with a sick smile that made Layla laugh.

"Let's get you cleaned up and then go get Pam." Layla said, pulling him back out to the bar. "It can be a big family bonding thing." she joked lightly.

"This isn't a game, Layla. They're all insane." Eric said, watching as Layla wet a clean bar rag and began wiping the blood and viscera off of his face.

"Yeah, no shit. I saw you all, high as kites in New Orleans." Layla said. Eric grabbed her hand that held the rag.

"You what?" Eric asked.

"I saw you. You all walked right by me. I hid when I saw you were hanging out with Russell, and then Godric told me to save you both." Layla said, ripping her hand away from him and going back to cleaning him up.

"You saw Godric?" Nora asked. Layla nodded, but she wasn't smiling. The last time she had seen Godric he had been ripped to shreds.

As Layla finished cleaning Eric up she threw the rag in the sink.

"If we get in and actually manage to get out, we won't be able to come back here." Layla reminded him.

"Way ahead of you." he said, heading towards the basement.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Through a hole in the wall Eric was pulling out insane amounts of cash that Layla was sorting into piles while Nora piled it into a suitcase.

"You're insane to go back in there." Nora told him.

"She's my progeny, Nora." Eric said. "She's family." he said, glancing at a smiling Layla.

"She's a former prostitute." Nora argued.

"We're going, just as soon as we stash this somewhere safe." Eric told her firmly.

"You're risking my possible nieces and nephews." Nora chided. Tara had apparently filled her in on what Layla and Eric had to talk about privately. Eric glanced up at Layla again but she steeled her spine.

"My family too. I'm going." she said firmly. "Besides, Bill knows I'm pregnant, and if he's as crazy as you say than I might be a sitting duck all on my own."

Eric muttered something to himself as Tara walked by them with an AVL travel coffin.

"You sure this thing is light-tight?" she asked. "It looks like tupperware."

"It's 100% light-tight and virtually indestructible." Eric said, passing Layla more money to sort.

"Are you kidding? Even I can destroy it." Tara told him. Nora glanced over her shoulder at Tara and even Layla gave her a look.

"Oh, by the way she's family too, so be nice to her." Eric instructed Nora who glanced at Layla and Tara.

"God, you all procreate like rabbits." she grumbled.

"So Bill's running the show?" Layla clarified.

"He's become a zealot, like the rest of them. An extremist." Nora told her.

"I think there's still a chance." Eric said. Layla sighed.

"I'm not going to like this, am I?" she asked, looking to the beautiful Viking.

"No, not at all." Eric said honestly.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Layla held tightly onto Eric's back as he, Nora and Tara raced through Bon Temps and burst into Sookie's house.

"What the-" Sookie began but quickly focused in on Tara. "Oh my god, Tara. Are you okay?" she asked. Layla slid down from Eric's back and stood by his side. If she had been an animal she would have been pissing circles around him, marking her territory.

"Oh, fuck, Tara. I forgot you were one of them." Jason said.

"Well, this reminds me. You still haven't gotten around to transferring the ownership of my house back to me." Sookie said. Layla sighed. It was such a disappointment that after all the time and energy she had sank into restoring it, that Sookie got to live here.

"I'll do it first thing tomorrow night. If we survive tonight." Eric told her.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Sookie asked.

"We need you to come with us into the Vampire Authority. They got Bill and Jessica...and Pam." Eric told her.

"And you owe Pam." Tara said. Layla tossed a glance over her shoulder.

"There ain't no fucking way I'm gonna let her go anywhere with you." Jason said. Layla fought back the urge to roll her eyes. Like Jason Stackhouse could stop Eric Northman.

"Jason, I got this." Sookie said.

"What about Momma and Daddy? Sook, you oughta tell all these fuckin' fangers to go back to hell where they came from." Jason said. Layla was taken aback by how harsh he was. She hadn't really spoken to Jason in months, before Sookie had come home, but he had never seemed quite so rude.

Eric chuckled quietly and glanced at Layla who smiled. She got the joke. Heaven, hell, vampires and all that. She shook her head. Now was not the time to be laughing.

"Something funny, fanger?" Jason asked, turning to look at Eric.

"Yes, bloodbag." Eric countered.

"Leech."

"Breather."

"Dead fuck."

"Meat sack." Eric said.

"Boys, that's enough." Layla snapped. Eric glanced at her and they shared a look, wondering if Layla would be repeating that same phrase in the future.

"Stop acting like children." Sookie added.

"You smell like something I once dreamed of." Nora said, staring at Sookie.

"Eric, please ask your sister to stop looking at me like that." Sookie asked. Layla turned to look at Nora.

"Nora, don't eat Sookie. You don't know where she's been." Layla said, turning back to face the blonde with a saccharine smile.

"Look, I already know Vampires are behind the True Blood factory bombings." Sookie said.

"Bill was behind those bombings." Eric said. Sookie looked like she had just been slapped. "And he did it to force mainstreaming Vampires to feed on humans. We've got to get him out of there before he looses himself completely. Now, if anybody can get through to him, it's you." Eric told her.

"And you owe Pam." Tara added once more. Layla turned and stared again. Damn, Tara was really carrying a torch for her maker.

"Okay." Sookie said.

"Sook, please don't do this." Jason said.

"Don't you wanna save Jessica?" Sookie asked.

"Okay, but I'm coming with you." Jason said, standing up from the couch.

"Oh, sweetie, don't be a fool." Eric said quietly. Layla raked her eyes over him hungrily. Sassy, sarcastic Eric was the one that really got her blood going. She wanted him right now on the floor in front of Sookie, God, Lillith and anyone else who was watching.

"If I wanna be a fool then I will be a fool." Jason said firmly, turning to face Eric. Layla nodded.

"Well said, Jason." she said sarcastically.

"Thank you." he said with a short nod in her direction, obviously missing the sarcasm. "That is my god-given right as an American."

Layla propped her hands on her hips. "Can we sort this out? Before dawn, preferably." she snapped.