Sorry about the overly extended hiatus, it was in no way premeditated. School has been crazy, writers block has gotten much worse, and I find my time with my beautiful laptop has been diminishing quickly by the second since other things require my attention of late. So again I apologize.

Thank you everyone who has shown their support and reviewed thus far, i very much appreciate it. At times when I feel like completely giving this entire escapade up, i look at the reviews and find motivation every time, so thank you so very much for keeping me on track.

Chapter 22: Mercy

I don't know what this is but you got me good

just like you knew you would.

I don't know what you do, but you do it well

I'm under your spell.

You got me begging you for mercy,

Why wont you release my?

You got me begging you for mercy,

Why won't you release me?

"Then, why-"

"We don't know why." Aurora interrupted Eric, answering his question. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked at Celeste. "Why they always try to kill each other whenever they get the chance, we don't know. . ."

"Speak for yourself." Harrison scuffed.

"You know I'd be nice if you didn't act like such a prick all the time, Harrison." She spat back. "Not all of us try to get into everyones' business, especially when it has absolutely nothing to do with us."

Harrison gave her the middle finger with a fake smile and left the bedroom, going to the living room. "Such an asshole." Aurora muttered. Georgina handed her a warm washcloth and left the room, leaving Aurora, Eric, and Celeste alone. Eric watched as Aurora dabbed Celestes' forehead with the cloth, picking up small droplets of sweat and cooling her at the same time. The room was quiet excluding Celestes' heavy breathing.

"I would tell you, Eric. But then Celeste would kill me." Aurora sat back and smiled at the weak woman in the bed. "Besides, I think you should hear it from her. She's a good story teller anyway."

"Vampire blood, does it help?" Eric asked suddenly. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye then back at Celeste. She let out a deep breath and grabbed a cup of water on the night stand Georgina got for her and put it to Celestes' lips. Slightly opening her mouth, she let in a few drops, tilted her head back, then closed her mouth.

"Only temporarily; it's the only reason she's been able to survive this long without the medicine. It doesn't cure it Eric . . .nothing can."

A thought came to Eric Northmans' mind, a simple thought, but even the simplest things can be the most significant. Would, Eric thought, would it be cured if I turned her? Would she thrive if I drank her dry and replaced her blood with my own? If I spent a day with her underground, waiting for her to transform into my child? My lover? My Celeste?

Eric kept this thought to himself. That's when he noticed it was suddenly extremely quiet. Aurora had stopped breathing. Something was stirring in the air, then, like the entire world was dropped on him, he was at Celestes' side, his hand gently holding hers. It was warm.

"She's waking up." Aurora smiled. A silent tear ran down her cheek from the sheer joy she was experiencing. "She's waking up." Seconds later Georgina and Harrison were in the room, standing above the bed, looking down at Celeste. Eric could see her eyes moving under her lids, searching, searching. Her fingers twitched in my hand, which began to grip it slightly. She was very weak.

"Celeste." I spoke out, resting my other hand on top of her head gently. "Celeste, it is time to wake up." He continued. Nothing happened. Her eyes continued to search in darkness. I tried again, hoping my voice would awaken her. "Ms. Monroe, I believe you and I had a deal." I said. I could feel the others watching, but didn't care. "You swore that you would have me, begging on my knees, at your mercy. But you're a fool you know that? You won all along."

Aurora looked at him.

"You've had me at your mercy since you walked into Fangtasia, you had me begging since that little stunt with Bill Compton. You've dominated me from the very beginning, but you were to stupid to realize it." He could feel blood swelling in the corners of his eyes. He felt her grip tighten in his hand. Eric searched her face for some kind of acknowledgement, but there was none. "Do you have any idea of what you've done to me? The year I spent without you; not seeing your face; not hearing your voice; not feeling your touch; clutching at the memories and the picture of you in my mind was torture, agony . . .I wanted to face the true death. I swore that when I got you back I would never let you go." A bloody tear ran down my face, followed by another, then another. "Here I am, Celeste, I'm right here. I'm not letting you go; do you understand that? You can try to run away, you can to kill me, but I'll never let you go. I-I-I . . ." I what? Eric thought. I . . .I don't know what I feel. Look at me, making a fool of myself in front of these humans. What am I doing?

Eric stood up and turned to leave the room, but a tight grip on his hand kept him in place. He stood there, his feet steeled to the ground, his body suddenly tense. He felt the fingers from the hand gripping his tickle the inside of his wrist, calling his attention. Like a fixed statue, Eric struggled to turn around, but managed to crane his neck to look at the hand holding his. It was warm. He followed up the arm and finally found her. Celeste looked at him with those gorgeous big brown eyes, and a thin smile.

"Eric." She said is name and his legs turned to water. He turned to her, taking one step before descending to his knees.