AN: Hi guys! Glad you enjoyed the last chapter, lol. Here's the next, and the last of my pre-written ones. It might take me a little longer to come up with new chapters, but hopefully no more than a week. That whole "memory" thing is giving me a hard time. Anyway, I hope you'll let me know what you think of this one and, as always of course, enjoy!

Chapter 22

"What the fuck is going on?!"

Pam's voice turned almost shrill when it hit a certain volume, and now was no different. Maria couldn't pay attention to it, however. She had to get Eric inside.

"Don't touch him!" She said the instant she was human again. "We have to wash off the powder."

Naked and covered on blood, Maria raced for Eric. She immediately threaded her arms under his and lifted his limp body. He was bleeding from everywhere and looked like someone had thrown battery acid on him. Most of his skin had melted away revealing the muscle beneath, and still the powder ate. Maria might not have known what it was exactly, but she knew it only affected the dead, and that she had to get it off of Eric before it managed to kill him.

Fangtasia had a shower, but it wasn't like the ones in a person's home. Instead, it was more closely related to those in a locker room –an opening with a curtain, drain, and showerhead. There was room in it, and that was what she needed.

Pam held open whatever doors she could despite the state her hands were in. Maria was grateful the blond didn't try to touch Eric again because she most definitely would be even more infected.

The moment she had him in the shower stall, Maria turned on the water and began to strip off his clothing. She could see everywhere the dust had landed, and it was a substantial amount of real estate.

His shirt was shredded and discarded quickly, and while Maria struggled to do the same with his slacks, Pam removed his shoes, then tugged them down, leaving Eric in his boxers. She'd washed her hands beneath the torrent of water cascading from the showerhead afterward and calmed a bit when her wounds began to heal, but the instant her eyes landed on Eric, the anxiety returned.

The water was strong enough that it washed away not only the powder, but the affected skin. It made him look so much worse and Pam's panic only served to amp up Maria's.

"Why isn't he healin'?" She asked desperately.

"He can't." Maria said.

She put her back to the cold tile wall and pulled Eric into her lap, securing him between her legs with his back to her chest so they were hit by the majority of the water.

Blood, degrading muscle, and broken skin peeled away and flowed into the open drain. It was a heart wrenching sight, stomach-turning even for the two hardened women.

He was so weak that he wasn't even trembling, something he'd done before when burned severely by the sun, and that scared them both. Maria knew blood was all that could help him and he wasn't able to bite, so she cut into her wrist with her thumbnail and placed it to his parted lips.

"Come on," She growled in frustration, but he wasn't drinking. Maria couldn't even be certain the blood was making it into his mouth with the sheer volume of water that was falling over them. "Goddamn it, you stubborn ass, drink!"

Seconds ticked by and nothing changed. Pam was pacing with her hands on her hips. It was nervous energy and Maria understood. She wished she could do the same.

"If you don't save him, so help me God-"

"Shut up," Maria hissed hatefully as she glared up at Pam. The towering blond glared back. "I need…" Maria's mind raced as she struggled to come up with a plan. "A glass, big, and a knife… and a hose."

"The fuck are you goin' on about?"

"If he can't eat, we'll force-feed him."

Pam left, but not without muttering a few angry words under her breath about her disdain for Maria. Again, she didn't blame the blonde. If Pam loved Eric half as much as Eric loved Godric, she knew Pam was reacting out of fear, something Maria felt, too.

While Pam searched frantically for the supplies Maria needed, she continued to try and force any blood into Eric's mouth. The longer he went without showing any signs of healing, the closer she was to crying. If he died because of her, Maria knew she wouldn't forgive herself.

High tension situations like the one she currently found herself in had a tendency of bringing emotions to the foreground, emotions that the individual had probably tried to hide. It revealed the truth of things, really.

And the truth was, Maria was afraid to lose Eric. He was arrogant, an asshole, didn't know when to shut his fucking mouth, self-centered, only did things for his benefit no matter who it hurt or pissed off, he was greedy and possessive, and borderline obsessive, too. He had every terrible characteristic a person could possibly have, but it didn't seem to matter to her. Not right then, at least.

Maria had been inside Eric's head. A benefit to what she could do (if someone was so inclined as to look for one) was Maria knew a person fully and completely. She knew them better than they were willing to admit they knew themselves. She could see everything from the first memory formed in childhood until the millisecond she made contact with them, so everything was laid bare, and it was no different with Eric.

Maria had seen and felt how he loved his parents, and how he adored his little sister. She'd seen every important relationship he'd ever formed, and how each subsequent death affected him. She saw that, even though he was jaded by a thousand years of life, Eric Northman still cared as deeply as he did when he was human when someone managed to break their way in.

Because of that, Maria foolishly saw beyond the dick-ish exterior sometimes. She didn't appreciate it, really, because in moments like this, it made her care so much.

"I swear to whatever God there is," Maria whispered sternly into his ear while she kept her bleeding wrist to his mouth, "if you die because of me, I'll kill you."

He didn't react, nor did she expect him to. Although, it genuinely wouldn't shock her completely if, despite the flesh-eating powder, he was coherent enough to hear what people were saying about it.

An instant later, Pam reappeared with a pint glass, a giant butcher's knife, and a beer bong. The beer bong was the most surprising bit. Maria couldn't remember ever seeing one in Fangtasia.

"I think you can turn the water off, now." She said.

After setting everything down, Pam smacked the water off almost hard enough to break the tap. Maria watched Eric closely, watched for the fizzing and bubbling to return. When it hadn't, she was relieved, but didn't let herself relax.

"Now what?" Pam snapped.

Still cradling Eric with her right arm, Maria offered Pam her left. "What do you think?"

Pam arched a brow at Maria's cold, demanding tone, but said nothing. Instead, she knelt by Maria's side, grabbed the knife and positioned the glass beneath Maria's arm. She looked up at the brunette.

In her usual tone, she said, "This'll hurt."

Maria stared back sarcastically. It was the only warning Pam gave, and she gave it with her typical sass. Maria was almost relieved by it. Somehow, Pam's tone was reassuring.

Holding onto Maria's wrist, Pam brought the blade angrily across Maria's arm, slicing so deeply into her skin that Maria was fairly certain the blond hit bone. Before the cut, Maria had clenched her fist. Afterward, she lost all motor function. Pam had sliced through her muscles and tendons.

Blood poured from the wound and into the glass. It took a couple of moments, but when it was filled, Pam took it and the beer bong in hand. Maria helped as best she could, bleeding all over the place as she held Eric's head back. Together, they guided the tube down his throat. Pam promptly dumped the contents of the pint glass into the funnel. While it slowly drained, she bent down and put the glass back on the floor, holding the tube up with the other. Maria put her bleeding arm over the glass to fill it again.

Two glasses. It took two full glasses of fresh blood taken from the vein for Eric to show even the slightest hint of recovery. It was minimal, but happening. Pam and Maria continued to force-feed him.

By the fourth glass, Maria had trouble keeping her head up, and her eyes open. She felt dizzy, which wasn't entirely surprising, but Eric's muscles had reformed and his skin was slowly but surely doing the same. The visible damage was still substantial, though.

"You need blood."

Pam's level, deadpan voice drew Maria's attention up. The blond was standing overhead holding the beer bong in place and watching the blood within trickle out of sight.

"I'm fine." Maria replied, barely able to hold her bleeding arm over the glass as it refilled.

"You're heartbeat's slowed down." Pam said, turning an annoyed gaze on the young woman. "A lot."

She didn't sound worried or interested, which made Maria grin for some reason.

"I'll heal." She said. Her voice, however, sounded much heavier than normal. "Just this last one, and he should be fine."

"Hm," Pam muttered.

But she did as Maria said. When the glass was filled once more, she dumped the contents of it down Eric's throat and set the glass aside.

Maria looked down at her arm. It was still cut open, but the cut had healed a little. The blood flow had slowed, at least, so she knew she'd be alright –possibly. The way it ran across the tile was interesting to her, though. It was thin and sparse, trapped in puddles of water from the showerhead, or diverted into paths dictated by the grout.

It was beautiful, in a way –hypnotic- and the last thing she saw before she passed out.

Eric didn't expect to wake up, let alone wake up with skin on his body.

Slowly, and still feeling heavy, Eric sat up. He was in his boxers, lying on a bench which he stuck to briefly as he rose. His body ached, but it ached in the way exhaustion tended to affect someone. It wasn't actual pain.

His skin was damp, what little clothing he wore was just plain wet, and he had no idea what was happening. The last thing she remembered was seeing Maria's heart being eaten.

The door that led to the back opened. It was Pam, stunned into silence the moment she saw him standing.

"Oh," She said on a breath. A smile began to spread across her lips. "You're awake."

Pam approached and immediately wrapped her arms around him. He smiled softly to himself and returned the affection before they parted. When they did, Pam returned to examining him again.

"You still need a little more blood, but, you're lookin' better." She told him, gently touching his cheek.

He smirked again, but his mind raced as he began to put things together. He remembered what had happened in clearer detail than before and his jaw hardened.

"Maria," He said.

"She's in your office." Pam said with a small nod.

Eric's brows pulled together. He hadn't expected that to be the answer and reacted instinctively. He stepped around Pam and quickly made his way to his office. There, he found not only some clothing waiting for him to change into, but Maria asleep (or possibly dead) on the couch beneath a blanket.

She was naked save the fabric draped over her, and she looked terrible. There was a large gash in her arm that had bled through the wrapping around it, and across her shoulder was the tail end of an angry slash mark. She bore clear signs of the fight that had happened outside and more, and it filled him not only with relief, but anger.

Pam entered the office behind him and soon joined his side. "Why didn't you heal her?"

"She wouldn't let me." Pam replied. "I put some in the cuts, though."

"Hm," He grumbled. "Leave us."

He felt her cast him an annoyed glance, but she complied as she always did. When he heard the click of his door close behind her, Eric moved to the couch. He lifted Maria into his arms and positioned her in his lap, cradling her gently to his chest.

As he looked down at her, he felt both pride and relief. He couldn't express how glad he was that she'd not only survived, but killed her nightmare. That she'd saved him was simply a byproduct.

Eric bit into his wrist and pressed it to her lips. As it tended to, it took a moment before he felt her begin to drink on her own, but when she did, Eric was able to watch the slashes and gashes across her skin slowly shrink away. When they were finally gone, she opened her eyes and looked up at him. Eric smirked a little as he tended to, and arched a brow.

Maria let go of his wrist and attempted to sit up on her own until she realized she was barely shielded by a blanket.

"Oh god." She scrambled to cover herself. "I'm still naked."

"Yes, you are." He didn't bother removing the thick innuendo-type tone from his voice.

Maria instantly blushed, turning a vibrant shade of red beneath the blood still smeared across her skin. He chuckled a bit.

"Shower?" He asked.

"Um, yeah," Maria mumbled the words.

She immediately scrambled out of his lap, still holding the blanket close to her body, and scuttled away. Eric couldn't keep from musing over the whole ordeal.

Maria was glad for the shower. She felt a bit disgusting, really. Not only was her body covered in dried blood, but she felt gross because of what she'd done. There was a sadness that came with killing one of her own that she hadn't expected, a sort of emptiness because she'd contributed to her species' extinction, but the relief was very real, too.

Still, now that she wasn't being hunted, and never could be again, she wasn't sure what to do.

When she emerged from the shower wearing the Fangtasia shirt she'd taken in there with her, she was greeted by Eric sitting not far off wearing his own clothing. She was surprised to see him because the clock behind the bar said it was nearly nine-thirty in the morning and she could see traces of blood in his ears. Then again, the blood was a better alternative. His skin still had patches of open sores. For whatever reason, it seemed as though the powder Rasputin had used on him wouldn't allow him to heal without blood in his system. He'd have to feed again.

"You need to go to ground." She told him.

"I'm fine."

"You're really not." She was blunt. "You look like shit still."

Eric grinned, which she found a little odd. He didn't even remark on her comment. Maria began to shift on her feet.

"I'm uh," She was uncomfortable for a few reasons, but couldn't quite land on one. "I'm going to go home and get some sleep. I can," She motioned to her face, silently referencing his, "I can heal that tonight."

"Okay," He nodded.

A short bought of silence moved between them. He seemed entirely at ease, which annoyed her a bit.

"So… bye."

"Bye,"

"Right," She mumbled. Maria turned on her heel and left.

The sun felt good on her skin and just before running toward home, Maria caught sight of a large blood stain on the ground. There was no body, though, no remnant husk of the creature she'd killed. Maria only wondered briefly if Pam had been the one to dispose of it before she left.

She felt something trail down her cheek, a soft sort of touch that brought her only partially into the world. It still, somehow, left her in a daze. When she opened her eyes to see Eric was the cause, she knew immediately she was in another blood-fueled dream.

He leaned over her, one hand planted on the bed to keep him propped up, and the other touching her cheek. He smiled down at her a bit.

"You're still sleeping." He told her in a soft voice. "It's late."

"How late?" She asked, adjusting herself to lie on her back. He barely adjusted himself to allow her, still remaining close.

"Past eleven."

"Hm," Her eyes drifted over him. "You still look terrible."

He smiled. "Then maybe you should do something about it?"

She said nothing more and simply rolled her head to the side. As she knew he would, Eric closed the distance between them. No sooner than she felt the weight of his cold body against hers, his fangs pierced the side of her neck. Maria took in a sharp breath, but relaxed shortly after.

As he fed, Maria threaded her fingers through his hair. Her eyes drifted shut and a soft sigh left her lips.

The shift happened like it always did, gradual while at the same time suddenly. Just the same, it was always there and always strong when it happened, and given she was in a dream, Maria always allowed it.

Eric fed for a moment longer. When she felt his tongue sweep over the wound, she knew he'd healed it, and that he was finished. He drew back from her, but only just. He was sure to keep his forehead against her skin until it was pressed to hers. Maria was breathing heavily, filled with a number of emotions that always accompanied a feeding as well as having so much of his blood in her system.

"Thank you," His voice was barely above a whisper.

"For what?" She asked just as quietly.

Maria expected him to say any number of things, but he didn't actually offer an answer. Instead, Eric brushed his lips across hers only a second before he kissed her. Maria returned the sentiment despite tasting her blood on his tongue. The coppery flavor bothered her less and less as time went on. She'd grown so accustomed to feeding from Eric through the months that it was hardly noticed.

She continued to kiss him, deeply and passionately, when she felt the sudden brush of air as Eric threw her blanket aside. He slid onto the bed, taking its place over her, and sending an immediately chill through her body.

An undeniably strong and icy hand slid beneath her shirt. It caused her to gasp, breaking their kiss. Eric instantly chuckled at her expense, filling her with a small wave of agitation. Whether she wanted to "teach him a lesson" or not, Maria threw her weight into him, rolling them on the bed until she was on top.

He could have overpowered her. He could have stopped her. But he didn't. Instead, he grinned up at her with a distinct glint of pride in his eye. With her hair hanging around her face, she smirked back, a wicked smile curling her lips.

Eric held her hips firmly, pressing her against him before gliding them up her sides and beneath her shirt again. Maria ran the tip of her tongue across her top lip, barely able to suppress a giggle when she leaned forward and kissed him again.

The desire between them was growing by the second, filled with everything they (or at least she) kept hidden every day.

Eric's hands continued to explore her, his fingertips digging into back while he raked his blunt fingernails down her skin. She felt a bulge growing in his lap, one he had no issue grinding her against, sending shocks of pleasure through her each time.

Everything was hitting a fever pitch when, suddenly, Maria shot up. She was breathing heavily as she always was, her heart racing faster than a speeding train.

"Oh, holy shit," She mumbled in shock. "This is real, isn't it?"

Eric, smiling arrogantly from his place on the bed, arched a brow at her. He sat up, his face mere inches from hers.

"Looks that way."

"Oh…"