We arrived at Eric's home with a little time to spare before dawn. Eric, however, wasn't home. And Sookie had apparently finally gone back to her own home in Bon Temps. Michael was in the living room waiting for us. "I saw the news," he greeted vaguely.

"Which part? The one where we assured America that all vampires want is equality or the one where Russell Edgington ripped out some poor news reporter's spine?" I asked darkly.

"Both," he replied. "The network has been running your segments ever fifteen minutes though. Even during commercials. So I'm hoping that some of the other networks pick up and do the same."

I sank into the couch beside him while Godric went into the kitchen for a True Blood. "Do you think they will?"

"It's hard to say. I can't see their futures as clearly because I've been so closely tethered to yours," he admitted. "But it's a possibility. A very strong one." I sat beside him on the couch, my eyes focusing on the channels he was flipping through. Most of the daily broadcasts had been interrupted with the breaking news of Russell Edgington. I don't think that the President even gets this much attention.

"Then let's hope that humans are smarter than any of us give them credit for."

"One of our greatest downfalls is our pride," Godric mused as he came back into the room. "We never think anyone else is capable of doing things as well as we ourselves." He handed me a bottle of cream soda—my favorite. God, even in one of the worst situations he's still pretty damn near perfect. I smiled a bit at the thought. Before I could make any sort of comment, the front door opened.

A rather pleased looking Eric practically skipped through the front door. Yes, that's right. Our mighty, towering, blood-thirsty blond Viking was practically skipping through his front door with glee. "I'm half afraid to ask why you're so happy, Eric," I eyed him carefully. Asking questions like that was a very dangerous thing with Eric. I've already made the mistake of learning one too many things about the man that I was much happier not knowing. (Not that my silence would really stop him, anyway.)

"That's King Eric," he winked. Godric grinned at him.

"Congratulations, my child." The two began speaking in Swedish while I turned my attention back to the TV. I was happy for Eric—but I was a little spent. How exactly do we recover from this kind of blow? It was hard enough for people to believe we were peaceful without public retaliation from within our masses.

I rubbed my temples as I thought things out.

"You're not going to save the world in a day, kid," Michael reminded me. "Go get some sleep." When I seemed to ignore him, he sighed. "Stubborn, are we?"

"I'm not tired," I lied. I didn't have to look at the archangel beside me to know that he was giving me a look of disapproval. My eyes remained trained on the television, effectively blocking out everything he was saying. It wasn't until he got up to leave that I began to pay attention. And, by then, it was too late. He had already thrown me over his shoulder and was dragging me upstairs. "Michael, put me down!"

I caught a glimpse of both vampires stopping to stare at the commotion before resuming their conversation. Well they're no help. So much for Godric being perfect.

"Goodnight, dear," Michael grinned at me as he put me on the bed, closing the door behind him. I scowled. Though Michael was really the cause of my problems at the moment, I vowed to get some sort of revenge on Godric and His Highness. I mean, after all, they did just stand there and watch until Michael took me away.

When I woke the next morning, however, I was a little less inclined to make all of them pay for forcing me to sleep. I had needed sleep. Godric hadn't even woken me up when he finally came to bed at dawn. And I didn't wake until well after noon—event that was only because the phone had been ringing in my ear. My fingers clumsily reached for the phone beside the bed, knocking several things off in the process. When I finally found it, I answered groggily: "Hello?"

"Aline," Sookie questioned from the other end. I wriggled out from Godric's grasp and sat up straighter. "Sorry, I hope I didn't wake you."

"Eh, I should be up by now anyway. What's up?"

"Well Sam gave me off today and I was hoping that you might want to go shopping with me?"

I sat up a little straighter. Shopping? I hadn't gone shopping in forever. A little voice in the back of my head reminded me that I was supposed to speak to my faery relatives today. Screw it. It's daylight right now. What can the vampires really get into right now anyway? They're all dead to the world.

"I would love to," I grinned into the receiver. I was about to tell her that I would have to tell Michael but something stopped me. A smirk crossed my lips. I'll teach him to manhandle me, I decided.

"Awesome, how about I pick you up at Eric's?"

"No, I'll meet you at Merlotte's? We can do lunch there." She agreed and said she would meet me there in about an hour and a half. I got up, getting a quick shower, and refusing to speak to the archangel. He didn't press me for anything, probably assuming that I would try to rip his throat out if he tried.

I gathered up a few books and rested my hand on the back door, drawing his attention. My voice was harsh as my eyes narrowed at him: "I'm just going to read—or can't I do that by myself either?"

"Sorry," he muttered quietly, turning his attention back to the newspaper he had been reading. I closed the door roughly behind me, heading out into the warm Louisiana air. After settling down for a few minutes, I got up, stretched, and made it look like I was going for a walk around the property. When he didn't come looking for me, I took off at a dead sprint in my human form, finding my way to Merlotte's with ease.

Now, if anyone had seen a woman dressed like I was sprinting through the woods without breaking a sweat, they would have known that something was amiss. But they already do, I realized as an afterthought. Werewolves and fae were now common knowledge among humans. I wondered how the people in Merlotte's would react. Sookie was brave for not being worried about being seen with me.

"Aline!" Sookie waved at me as soon as I got inside. She had already procured a booth as far away from people as possible. God I'm really starting to love that girl, I decided as I headed over to her with a grin. I slid into the seat across from her. "Uh, how on earth did you get here?"

When I gave her a quizzical look, she pulled a leaf out of my chocolate hair. I laughed. "Oops. I, uh, kind of ran away. Literally."

"Ran away?"

I nodded, explaining what had progressed last night and then how I had planned on getting even with Michael.

"Your family is going to kill you," she shook her head, a smile playing at her lips. "Eric might, too."

"Hell, so will Godric," I grinned. "But that's half the fun in life. And, since I've gotten back from the faery realm, they haven't let me have much fun here. So I'm very glad that you called."

"Well we're just going to have to have lots of fun today then." I flashed a credit card. "And I just so happen to have Eric's card."

"Aline!"

"Don't worry, I can cover the damages. He said I could use it when he first took me into his care. And he never took it back. I never used it but it sure will be nice to see the look on his face," I grinned. "Mr. King of Louisiana has quite the temper." After that, we quickly dropped the topic of the serious matters that were at hand and began talking about the boys in our lives. Apparently she had agreed to let Eric take her out on one date. They were going to live happily ever after I decided with a grin.

We finished eating and paid Sam before leaving to go to the mall. As we were about to drive away, Alcide's truck began to pull into Merlotte's parking lot.

"Oh shit, go!" I squeaked, hitting Sookie in the arm. She jumped in surprise, her eyes wide. "Sookie!" I hissed, pinching her arm.

"Ow! Ali," she glared at me. I gave her a pleading look. "For a wolf, you're a coward," she grumbled, pulling out of the parking lot. It was too late, though. Alcide had already spotted us. And man did he look pissed. I slouched down into my seat helplessly. He was already following us out of Merlotte's.

"Just keep driving. He might get bored."

"He's been convinced that you're dead for the past two-and-a-half years plus the time after you glamoured him," she hissed at me. I gave her a sheepish smile. With a shake of her head, she put on her turn signal and pulled over.

"Traitor!" I declared, jumping out of the car before it was even fully stopped. I heard her yell after me as I took off running.

"ALINE!" Alcide yelled after me, taking off.

"What the hell am I supposed to do?" I heard Sookie call after us. She would probably be waiting there for us when we got back. If we got back. Alcide might actually kill me this time. Just as I thought this, I was tackled to the ground by my brother's larger mass.

"What the hell, Aline!?" he growled, pinning me there under his weight. I looked up at him with narrowed eyes.

"You're supposed to still think I'm dead."

"Still?"

My face froze. Shit. My glamour hadn't been undone. I bit my lip.

"You glamoured me?"

"For your own good!"

"I'm your brother!"

"Michael said you would die," I held up my hands defensively as his nostrils flared, his eyes flashing a startling shade of yellow. That made him stop growling and stare at me.

"What?"

"Michael said that—oh, can you at least get off of me first?! We both know you can outrun me. You're bigger." He got off of me, yanking me to my feet and beginning to walk with me back to Sookie. I explained what had transpired the last time I had seen him and Jackson.

"I understand why you did it," he resented, "but I still don't like that you did it. I'm supposed to protect you, not the other way around."

"But I don't want you to if it means I'm going to lose you," I admitted. "I can't stand the thought of you being dead let alone dying for me."

"Little Optimist," he said sternly, "I'm not going to die. Neither will Dad." He put his large hands on my slender shoulders. "Michael's been wrong before, hasn't he? You weren't supposed to disappear."

"Yeah, but—"

"You've done more dangerous stuff for me before."

"But—"

"I'm not finished. It's mostly my fault that Debbie's been trying to kill you for the past five years. She wouldn't try so damn hard if you weren't my sister. Blood or no blood, you are my sister. And I will be damned if I'm gonna let you go up against that fucking fanger on your own. You aren't the only one with friends in high places any more." His face softened. "Aline, I love you. And I'm not letting you do this without me."

"Alcide," I said softly, my face faltering as I threw my arms around him. "Why are you such a jerk?"

He hugged me back with a chuckle, resting his chin on top of my head. "It's a family trait."

"You're still a bigger jerk." He laughed, hugging me tightly before planting a kiss on my forehead.

"That may be, but I'm your big brother. It's my God given right." He said goodbye to Sookie and I, informing us that he would be sticking around the area for a bit. There was a job he had to do in Bon Temps. That meant that he would be checking in on me a lot. Crap. I'm going to get away with a lot less now. Or a lot more. Depending on his mood and how good of an idea he thinks I have. (I could always just glamour him into going along with it. But I hate glamouring him and Jackson or anyone else I love for that matter.)

"Let's hope the rest of the day isn't as eventful," I declared, climbing back in Sookie's car. As soon as I did so, she pinched my arm before smacking me upside the head. "Ow! Hey, what was that for?!"

"Payback," she said smugly, pulling back onto the road.

Thank you Noctornal Rose and Pixiecropse for reviewing! And to everyone who's continuing to read this despite my brief hiatus. :)

~ Lynn