Chapter 53: Music is My Hot, Hot Sex

What his eyes saw was far beyond his understanding. He had woken up in an entirely different world, another dimension, perhaps another life. Maybe he had died, and somehow heaven was real. If that was the case, he was definitely here by mistake.

It was full of light. Moments ago he was heavy and hollow, his consciousness sinking into death as the sun's golden aura rose. Then they were joined at the bottom of the pool. His heart was broken into a million pieces, knowing she was about to leave the world with him and he was undeniably to blame. But a little shred of him, a very selfish one, was glad to have her until the very end. There was solace in knowing they would hurt her no further. He could just die if he ever heard her cry again.

Olivia then did the unimaginable, as she always did. She brought him back. She promised he could stand out in the sun and unlike Icarus, he would not plummet into his own death. Olivia had given him, an immortal, the ironic gift of time. Time to walk in the forbidden realm of light and live.

But he had no idea how much longer he would have. One moment he was fading into the darkness, the next he carried her tiny body flying above golden cornfields. The light touched everything everywhere, all at once. It was warm and terrifying and vast. The warmth of the sun soothed skin, without hurting. It was exactly as he remembered, but it was an experience he would never, not in another thousand years, imagine feeling it again.

When you live in the darkness for so long, everything is static. Modern light is mostly artificial, binary. Off, or on, always making colours fixed. Fire always had its own kind of glow and made the shadows flicker as it burned. Moonlight casted shadows over the course of the night, but its silver hue of light never changed. But as each minute passed during sunrise, its celestial light slowly transformed all colours around him. The greens became vibrant, the reds became warmer, the blues brighter and the whites, iridescent. The clouds, which were always solid smokey grey, now blossomed cotton candy pink, buttery yellow and mauve, the non-existent night horizon changed to a perfect ombre from yellow to tangerine orange to pale blue. The colours literally transformed in front of his very own eyes, blooming, awakening. The sun was blinding still, too bright to look at. The whole world looked different, yet the same.

He glanced at her small sleeping body, featherlight in his arms. The second the Newlins were dead, Eric scooped her drained body from the bottom of the pool and fed her as much of his blood as he could. She barely swallowed. Her heart barely beat. Call me when she starts dying.

Eric wasn't sure of much at the moment, but he was sure as hell he wasn't about to reach into the bottom of the Red River and pull out Bill fucking Compton from his muddy slumber for help. No, Eric promised her he would take care of her, he promised no one would hurt her and live, and owed her. He fucking owed her this. So dashing into the cerulean blue sky, he sailed among the clouds towards the one person he knew who could save her.

All of these beautiful colours around him, a gift from her, as if she had drained herself from it and painted the world. She looked pale and dead, half departed from living. When he landed at the small old school house Dr. Ludwig ran her private hospital in, and he kicked the ruby red front door wide open. He didn't know how much longer he had. Olivia had told him minutes. Olivia had told him many things.

"Patricia!" He called out, his voice hoarse from fear.

The old dwarf woman waddled out of her office, from a small stuffy room to his immediate right. Her sleepy eyes looked up, taking a moment to understand what she was seeing.

"Jae mot hallanarr-" she cursed, leaning back against the hallway wall, too stunned at the sight of him.

"Help her!" He demanded.

Hearing the commotion, another woman appeared down the narrow hallway. She looked human, 25 at most, with a brown pixie cut that accentuated her big round blue eyes.

"Over this way!" She pointed at the third door on the left.

Eric ran into the room, laying Olivia's limp body on the bed. She looked frail and small, and her heartbeat was faint, but it was still there. Her hair was knotted, her dress torn to shreds and covered in blood - his and far too much of her own. With the precision and quickness of an ER doctor, the lady made the hospital bed flat, and pressed her finger on her carotid, trying to catch a pulse while looking at her watch. That's when she noticed the gouges on her neck. "She's been drained-" the woman told Patricia, expecting an alert reaction.

But Dr. Ludwig didn't move. She stood quietly by the door, still shocked, staring at Eric as if he were a ghost. And maybe he was. He had no idea where he was, how this was possible or how much longer he had. Eric had spent the last little while replaying every word he remembered her saying, just in case they were her last. Trust me. Olivia told him he would have minutes. But he couldn't leave her now, he had to know she was okay. Absolutely nothing else mattered. There would be no rest until he knew. The young woman started hooking Olivia up to monitors, and cutting her dress off with scissors, assessing the damage. Her stomach was one large purple bruise. Not good.

"Do something! Now!" Eric growled at the doctor. "I gave her almost all my blood and she didn't wake up. Don't make me bury her, Patricia. Don't make me…"

Turn her.

"Step away, Amelia," Dr. Ludwig spoke firmly, now glaring at her assistant. "She will be okay, Miss Carson just needs time."

"She barely has a pulse, doctor-" Amelia protested, reading the faint soft curves on the monitor, which showed a heart beating rate of 41. Not good.

"She has joined Mr. Northman. There's nothing we can do for her, other than make her comfortable for when she wakes up."

Amelia looked at Eric's face, confused. "Northman? As in…"

The woman's lips thinned and her eyes widened as she slowly backed away from Olivia. And second glance, she was backing away from him. Amelia joined Patricia at the door, looking far more scared than her boss.

"This is impossible, Eric Northman is a vampire-" she whispered under her breath, eyes unblinking.

"Help her," Eric growled, showing his very real, very possible fangs. Someone had to. Somebody had to save the last fairy, his Olivia. He made her a promise. He wasn't just worthy of her, he wasn't worthy of anything if he broke that promise."Now!"

"Amelia give us the room, please," Dr. Ludwig turned to the woman, giving the girl her famous side eye from down below.

"This is unnatural and down right blasphemous, doctor. Vampires are forbidden to roam during the day for a reason-" she looked at Eric as if he were an aberration.

"Go summon Lilith yourself and make your complaints with her then. Now, shoo! Go! Before Mr. Northman actually gets to bury someone," she waved her tiny hands, commanding the woman to get out. The assistant scowled at him on his way out, and Dr. Ludwig closed the door behind her. "Witches, am I right? As if they don't fuck up the natural order of things every once in a while."

Exhaustion hit him all at once, but not like he was used to. He could feel warm sunlight bathing the small hospital room through the large window, rays of light beaming on his right bloody arm. He hadn't seen this shade of blood red in a thousand years. None of it mattered. "Please, help her-"

"Yes, yes, I am helping her! For someone as old as you, you are very impatient," she complained, pressing a button to lower Olivia's bed all the way down so she could work.

The doctor hooked her up to oxygen, and wiped the blood off Olivia's skin with a wet cloth, examining all the cuts and abrasions on her body. Dr. Ludwig stuck the back of her left arm vein with a needle and added God knows what drugs into her IV drip.

Glancing at the monitors every once in a while, she examined the rise and fall of the numbers. With a stethoscope, she listened to Olivia's lungs and shook her head frustrated. She walked over to the cabinet and pulled a kit of surgical tools. She pushed an emesis basin against the side of Olivia's ribs and made a deep cut with a scalpel. A burst of blood shot out of her body, and the doctor managed to catch most of it in the metal basin. Olivia's lungs were filled with blood. Who knows for how or how little she had been breathing. Not good.

After the blood stopped flowing out of her body, Dr. Ludwig glanced at him. "You want it?" She asked, raising him the bowl.

He shook his head. "I've taken enough."

Maybe he had taken too much. She had offered herself and he had taken everything like the fucking animal he was. Maybe he made everything worse. Fearing she was going to die because of him was worse than being covered in silver. He deserved watching it happen. He deserved every fucking awful thing that had ever happened to him.

"Are you sure? Because there are vampires out there willing to kill for it," she said, putting it down on the bedside table.

He frowned at the words. "Bill Compton's been through here?"

She shuddered at his name. "Yes. He tortured and killed my last witch, Amelia's the replacement."

Eric sat down in the armchair in the corner, resting his elbows on his knees. "He's been taken care of."

Dr. Ludwig looked at him through her bottle thick glasses and sighed with relief for a moment before returning her attention to her patient. She patted down Olivia's arms, legs, and torso firmly with both hands. Every time she focused on an area for a little longer, she did a violent twisting motion, setting Olivia's bones back into place. Her heart rate and blood pressure spiked on the monitors, setting off alarms that she ignored. Not good.

Cold chills ran through his body every time he heard the bones grind and move. She may be part fae, but she was very much mortal. Her right calf, right knee cap, right forearm, ribs on both sides, left clavicle. He vaguely remembered her voice thundering her wrath at the Newlins. The amount of pain she must have fought to even speak must have been inordinate. But she did it anyway. She had fought for him, she had begged for his life. How he wished he could beg for hers right now. Eric would gladly trade places with her if he could.

The Newlins - that was on him. He knew they had skipped bail, he knew they were in town and were gathering intel on her. What he had failed to discover, however, was that they had partnered up. The trucks belonged to those religious nutjobs, yes, but the rest? Those weren't your run of the mill motorcycle gang who were chasing them. Those were Patrick Furman's men. Those were Long Tooth pack werewolves. He wondered if Steve and Sarah knew what they were partnering with, or if they even fucking cared. Eric only knew one thing: this was certainly the last time he would ever underestimate his enemies. The last time let himself become distracted by all the other petty bullshit he had to deal with. He had Olivia to protect. He swore her he would. Who would Eric be if he couldn't do this? How else could he possibly be worthy of her?

Olivia looked dead. Not like a vampire, just dead. Lifeless like an object.

Gods, if only he could go back in time, he wished would never have danced with her. He imagined himself back at that party, standing at the edge of the crowd. Her beautiful green gown showed the perfect lines of her shoulders. Her amber hair tied off in a loose bun. Her sun kissed skin, and her delicious honey scent. Brown eyes that shined brighter than her diamond earrings. Eric Northman came from a long line of Viking warriors, was made a vampire by what he was pretty sure to be a demiGod, and lived a thousand years on this Earth, killing, drinking, fucking and taking life at will, never once defeated. But how could he have been strong enough to have denied her hand?

Those thoughts gnawed at him, poisoned his mind, consumed him to the verge of tears as he watched Olivia's body jerked and convulsed with the strain of Patricia's moves. But she did not make a sound or open her eyes. Olivia was far stronger than Eric ever would be.

All he hoped is that she did not feel a thing. She had gone through enough pain. Finally, the doctor pulled the scraps of her ruined dress out from under her and got rid of Olivia's shoes, tossing everything into the garbage bin next to her, filled with bloody rags. She dressed Olivia in a light pink hospital gown, and covered her body with a sheet and blanket, tucking her in.

"Is that it?"

"No, Mr. Northman. That is not even remotely close to it," she barked. "I really thought you two would be more prudent than this. But no! Just reckless and chaotic behaviour, no less-"

"I didn't do this to her!" Not intentionally anyway.

"I know you fucking didn't, you dimwit!" Dr. Ludwig was angry and scolding him for some reason. "But here you fucking are, aren't you? Golden like Ponyboy."

Eric wasn't exactly sure what he was supposed to be defending himself from. "What the hell was I supposed to do? Let her die?"

"You sure as hell shouldn't have joined her! Does she even know what she's agreed to?" She gave him a stern look. "You can't fake this kind of magic, but I know you, Mister! You and your sly, treacherous ways."

The joining? "I'm not even sure what I agreed to at this point-"

"I told you what she was!"

"A fairy-"

"Yes, Mr. Northman, a fairy! And now you two have joined. How else do you think you are walking around at 7:48 AM on this bright and sunny Sunday morning?"

He looked at Olivia, still lying unconscious on that bed. The bed that he put her in because he had failed on his promise. He asked her, begged her to be his so he could protect her. And now look at her. Look at what he had done. Was this the price to be joined to him, whatever that meant?

But the question remained. Somehow Olivia knew something he did not - she knew he would not burn if he drank from her. Trust me. How did she know? "I haven't gotten that far."

Dr. Ludwig blinked once and then blinked twice, staring at his blood soaked shirtless body, not a scab left to tell the story. "Bullshit! Why else would a vampire want to own a fairy?"

Because he loves her.

Eric had always known everything. He had lived a thousand years with wide open eyes and ears, hearing gossip within castle walls, collecting precious secrets and knowledge, having spies to be his presence everywhere. He had made a living out of it. But when it came to Olivia, he seemed to be the last one to know anything about. Bill was right. He did not quite know what he had, and his ignorance was starting to cost him. And irritate him.

"I seriously have no fucking clue what you're talking about, Patricia. Just tell me what the joining is!"

"You stupid, stupid child…" The doctor exhaled, shaking her head low. The old woman's brows creased, and then her look changed. Pity took over. "Was this morning your third time?"

Third time. A bond between a vampire and a human doesn't solidify until the third time both drink from one another. No one ever knew why, it was old magic and unquestioned by vampires. Eric had forced her to take a sip of him in Dallas. They drank from one another in his bedroom. Oliva gave herself to him in front of Bill Compton. Then this morning they both shared blood at the bottom of that pool.

"Fairies don't bond like humans do. You didn't just join blood, you two joined souls, your very essences. She is a part of you, and you are a part of her. That's how you are daywalking right now."

He looked out the window, seeing white butterflies and bumblebees fly swirl overtop the grassy fields, kissing tiny wildflowers in the clearing. He watched the moss sway from the branches of the trees. The clouds were white now, still crossing the stark blue sky. Maybe he was dead and instead of Valhalla, this was the meadow of Fólkvangr. Any moment now Freya would come for him. It was certainly more plausible than having a piece of Olivia's soul and essence in him.

"How?" He asked, looking at Olivia again.

He couldn't tell if it was just wishful thinking or not, but her skin seemed to be a bit pinker than it was before.

"No one really knows," the doctor took her gloves and threw them in the trash, before tying the bag off. She shuffled to the door and stuck her head out. "Oy!"

Her assistant walked in hesitantly. "Yes?"

"Burn this," Patricia handed her the trash bag. "And down this in the sink, along with a whole gallon of bleach," she then gave her the basin with Olivia's half coagulated blood.

Amelia took the items and left, but not without shooting him a dirty look first. They were alone again.

"Ever heard of the story of the sun and the moon?" Patricia asked.

He shook his head.

"When the sun and the moon fell in love with each other they walked the sky together. This confused the people and angered the Gods greatly as no one could tell whether it was day or night. So the Gods banished them to be forever apart. Still, their love was greater and the age of dawn and dusk was born. The sun and the moon would die each day and each night, just so they could spend moments together. Their love painted all the colours in the sky,"

Eric grew very quiet and very still, thinking of the Light Ceremony for whatever reason. Light was supposed to take him out of this world, but yet, she kept him here. He could see the pieces slowly coming together now, and it terrified him more than standing in the light. An old voice spoke in his head.

What she can do… It scares me. It was her, it was the Queen. She had walked in the sun too. That's how Olivia knew.

"But their love was stronger, and every so often they would meet," the doctor continued. "The moon would stand in front of the sun, protecting her against the Gods' wrath. And that same kind of magic can be found when vampires and fairies fall in love with each other. It's unlikely, forbidden and even grotesque, as Amelia would probably call it. It may be even the real reason Niall Brigant recalled all the fairies back to their realm. But the joining is real nevertheless."

Eric looked at Olivia laying in bed. The reason this old archaic tale of the sun, moon and Gods had anything to do with them was staring straight to his face, and yet he refused to believe it. Surely this was all a mistake, a flaw in nature. Because that would mean… Gods. Exhaustion turned into weakness. He had never felt more undeserving of her as he did right now.

"And Compton knew about this? This joining?"

She nodded. "Yes. Bill Compton would not have harmed Olivia. He would keep her prisoner, but it would not have worked-"

Do you know what happens when you trap a fairy?

"Because you can't trap an unwilling fairy," Eric spoke, thinking of his Maker. There was a very important piece of the equation missing in Godric's story.

She wanted to stay. She wanted to be his.

His heart shattered all over again. He understood now why Sophie-Anne had sent her away. Presuming she didn't know about the joining or about Olivia's true bloodline, the logical assumption any vampire would make would be that draining her, or continuously drinking from her like a fountain would grant her more time under the sun. The implications of that would slowly break this woman, turn her into a slave, reduce her to a bloodbag, chain her to the palace well past her contract was due. Sophie-Anne did not send Olivia away to unburden herself from enemies. She had sent her away because she loved her.

The vampire who was so famously obsessed with the sunlight, who built a whole palace emulating her deepest desire, had given her up. The vampire who was soulless enough to kill her own Maker, who became helplessly reckless spending millions gambling in a desperate attempt to fill that void inside her after giving up the one thing she really wanted. That vampire was still strong enough to keep Olivia safe from herself. Still strong enough to keep her promises.

What did that say of him?

"Don't tell her." Eric decided.

"Tell her what?"

"About the moon, the sun or any of this. About what the joining really is."

Patricia frowned. "She's gonna notice-"

"She won't. I'll go to ground now, and she'll never see me during the day again. Nothing will be different. She'll just think we are blood bound, she'll believe whatever I tell her," those words did not feel good in his mouth. He knew the taste of betrayal well. "As you said, no one really knows how this stuff works."

"Mr. Northman," Dr. Ludwig walked closer to him, with an odd expression on her face. "This is not only different for you. It's different for her too."

"How so?"

"As long as you two are joined, she has a part of you too. It's the only reason why she didn't perish from these very fatal wounds," she looked at him intently, hoping he would understand on his own the seriousness of what they had done.

Eric looked at Olivia once again, colour had returned to her lips and her chest slowly moved up and down on its own. He hadn't just healed her. He saved her.

"Mr. Northman, she's immortal."

There were metallic noises, hushed voices, scurrying footsteps, and the gentle buzzing and beeping of machines. Bird calls, and dogs barking in the distance. A hand touched her, always there, large fingers interlacing with hers. Sometimes a gentle pucker of lips on her forearm, sweet whispers assuring her she wasn't alone. It was nice not being alone. A heavy sleep covered her like a heavy blanket, too heavy to take off, too encompassing to slip out from. Time shrunk itself into meaninglessness.

When she managed to open her eyes, he was right there, sitting on the edge of a chair pulled by her bedside, watching her with calm blue eyes. There was so much sadness in them, she wanted to ask him what was wrong. But she knew there was plenty wrong without asking anything. The dim orange light of a sunset shining through the open curtains of this strange vintage hospital room. The rosy blush of his cheeks. The liveliness of his skin. The dream-like version of Eric, looking up at her. Except Olivia could always tell when she was dreaming, and when she was awake. This did not make sense. It should be a dream, yet it wasn't.

"Ah! You're awake," a raspy voice entered the room, and she had to look down to follow it. It was Dr. Ludwig. "How are you feeling? Like shit, I bet."

Olivia's mouth was too dry to answer, and her body felt as if it was moving in slow motion. The doctor waddled over and stepped up on a small stool on the other side of her bed. She handed her a styrofoam cup filled with water, ice chips and a straw. Eric silently straightened up, eyes still on her. How was he here? How was he still here? Her hands weakly grasped the cup with great effort not to spill it all over herself. The relief of feeling water in her mouth was immense, but it felt strange to swallow.

"You can blame your stiff joints on Amelia. She avoided coming in here to turn you over with this one keeping watch," she nodded over to Eric.

Was this even Eric? He looked much cleaner than he did last she saw him but was wearing an oversized dark green flannel shirt, and denim jeans. Dr. Ludwig took the ice cup away from her heavy hands, and Olivia's neck rested on the soft pillows. And who was Amelia?

"I don't… Understand," she whispered, her voice scratched her throat like glass.

Her mind was trying to make sense of what she was seeing. Olivia had an unfortunate habit of never forgetting pain. Watching Sophie-Anne step into the light and then be betrayed by it, was a kind of pain she could never quite explain. It was as if she had inflicted a nightmare on a person she cared for. She still didn't quite understand how her blood allowed vampires immunity to the sun, but she knew it was very finite. It was minutes. But he was still here. Not-

"How long-"

"Not long. It's 5:30 in the afternoon. You've been out since this morning," Eric explained. It's not what she had asked. How long had he been in the sun? How was he still here?

"This is what I meant last time we met, Olivia," Dr. Ludwig spoke, looking at the two of them through her thick glasses. "This is what Bill Compton was after."

The sound of that name made her world spin again, just as if she was in her car on that dark winding road. Their eyes met, as the room was darkening now.

You have no idea what you have.

"It might be the drugs slowing me down," Olivia's voice was hoarse as if she had spent the whole night screaming. "Can someone just tell me what is going on?! How are you here?"

Eric did not say a word. He just sat there, massaging a small circle on her palm.

"The joining, my dear! Look at him!" Dr. Ludwig said firmly, almost mocking her. "What do you think it is, my sweet girl?"

"What, he can walk in the sunlight now? Like, all the time?"

What could he possibly want with me that he's willing to pay millions for?

The sunlight. The collector wanted the sunlight. The ultimate treasure to collect. But what hit her in full force was something else entirely. Eric was right here. Just like her dreams. Her eyes widened, taking all of him in. She didn't know how, but he was even more beautiful than before. She could barely take his eyes off of him.

"Oh, you thought I was cocky then? You bet I'm going to be unbearable now," he smirked, completely at ease. But there was still pain in his eyes.

"I get this is what Bill wanted, but you told me it wouldn't work," Olivia reminded the doctor, voice faltering. It was all her throat could muster. She said it would have just killed them both. But yet they were both still very much alive.

"Yes, the joining of a vampire and a fairy would not have worked if Bill Compton had done it."

The joining of what? Olivia's brows creased, trying to piece together the bits and pieces of her, scattered all over the room. Her body felt as if it had exploded and someone stitched it all back together. "Wait, what the fuck does that even mean? Why did it work now?"

"I think it's best if I take her home now, doctor," Eric told her, clearing his throat and getting up. But she felt like he was hurrying her away from Dr. Ludwig, away from whatever it was she was going to tell him.

"No. Tell me," Olivia's voice suddenly came back in full. No one said anything. "Will somebody fucking tell me what the fuck is going on!"

Eric's eyes avoided her, looking down. Her mind was spinning out of control, spiralling with scary thoughts, one after the other. Are you going to ascend her?

Holy fucking shit-

Her hands slipped away from his and flew to her chest and pressed so tight it hurt her ribcage. She could feel it still, her heartbeat. She had not turned into a vampire. She was alive. The relief almost made her cry.

"Maybe it's best if you give us a moment, Mr. Northman," Dr. Ludwig spoke after a moment. "While I get her dressed and ready to be discharged."

He nodded at the doctor, looking taller and bolder than ever. "I'll be waiting outside."

She wanted to stop him. She wanted Eric to look her in the eye and tell her the truth. What happened last night? What happened to them? But he left quietly instead, not looking back. He didn't want to be here when she found out. He didn't want to watch.

"Sit up dear," the doctor asked.

Dr. Ludwig then walked out to a white wooden cabinet in the corner of the small room and pulled out a pair of soft grey sweatpants and a man's white undershirt.

"I'm afraid I don't have shoes for you," she put the clothes on the bed, and Olivia was already waiting. She was lucky the doctor had anything for her actually. She remembered the state her dress was in after the accident.

Her body ached and noted her skin was covered in dull yellow and brown bruises as if they happened days ago. She realized now Eric must have given her blood to heal.

"You're lucky, in a way," the doctor said. "If you two hadn't joined, you'd most likely have died in that car crash."

"People keep saying that word, but I don't know what that means."

"You ever heard the story about the sun and the moon?" She asked, taking away Olivia's pink hospital gown.

She paused for a moment, trying to remember if it had been one of her bedtime stories. But her brain got nothing. "Uh, no. I don't think so."

The dwarf's lips pressed together, and she shook her head, unfolding the t-shirt. She motioned for Olivia to lift her arms, and she obeyed, though her arms felt heavy and did not move much higher than her shoulders. The doctor gently put her arms and head through the holes and Olivia pulled down the rest of the shirt over her torso. The fabric was soft and smelled slightly of lavender and eucalyptus.

"There really isn't an easy way to tell you this," Dr. Ludwig confessed. "And no one, not even me, is entirely certain of how it works-"

"The joining?"

"Yes. It's a bit more than just being blood bound to a vampire, as you probably already figured out," the doctor then pulled the sweatpants over her legs, stopping at her mid thighs. "It's more than the dreams, and the connection humans share with their vampire."

Noticing her wolf scratch had gotten a new bandage. Dr. Ludwig extended a hand to help Olivia get up in order to pull her pants up. She followed, feeling unsteady for a second on her feet. With pants now on, she sat back down.

"It joins your bodies, and perhaps even your souls. It is said to be forbidden, like the sun loving moon, but the two are always chasing one another across the sky. But the joining allows the vampire to enter your world, and for you to remain in his, as long as you both wish for it to be."

Sun, moon, sky, love? She didn't know if it was the brain damage or if what she was hearing made no fucking sense. Olivia repeated each word carefully in her head. The joining allowed a vampire to enter her world, and for her to remain in his. For as long as both of them wish for it to be?

For as long- "Am I…"

"Yes dear, for as long as you two are joined," the doctor stepped away, officially discharging her. "You are immortal just like him."

The sun dipped slowly behind the tree line as he stood outside the red doors of the old school at the end of a gravel road, leaning against the old wooden structure. The sunset painted the sky with fire, covering it in orange and red as if it was refusing to let the darkness come, fighting every minute of it. As if the sun wanted to stay and see the moon. Watching the sky turn, he saw the greens of the trees and the yellow of the tall grass darken to their natural state. It felt like coming home. The day was truly beautiful, but he couldn't help but feel like he belonged to the night. The stars were here. The quiet was here.

Then he heard it. Her weeping, her confused questions, her fear broke the serene silence around him, masking the sound of his own denial shattering into pieces.

Everything everyone had told him about him was true. He had no idea what he had. He did, in fact, break her. And no, he did not deserve her nor could he ever even fathom a world that even he could. All because he dared love her. How could he have forgotten how cruel his love was? What his love did to people?

Strong footsteps full of anger approached. It soothed his heart in the strangest of ways. She was angry at him. That was good. Like the dark night taking over above him, this felt comfortingly familiar.

"Tell me you did not lie to me!" She busted out the red wooden door, looking as beautiful and furious as ever. "Tell me whatever myth you think Bill had believed wasn't… This!"

"I did not," he told her with a heavy heart. "And if I had known, I would not have believed it."

And if he had believed it, he would like to think he would not have accepted it. Because this went so much beyond turning Olivia into a vampire, into his progeny. Something that he knew now, from her reflex of checking her own heartbeat, was not something she wanted. But joining was something else entirely, something so much bigger than him or her. She was part of him now, in a much deeper way he thought she ever would. Olivia was his equal.

"But it seems that part of you knew."

"Minutes Eric!" She yelled. "I've seen it work for fucking minutes! Minutes was all I needed to save you," Olivia shook her head, taking a deep breath, looking out the last rays of the sun behind the trees. "When she stitched my leg she told me what Bill wanted to do wouldn't work. But here you are."

"Here I am," he nodded, spying the stars being born above.

The dark night enveloped them once again. There was no moon tonight. Everything looked just like it once was, yet everything was different. Eric had seen the day today. He would tomorrow. She would see as many tomorrows as she wanted.

She raised her chin, her brown eyes going straight through his very soul. "Don't get used to it. This changes nothing, do you understand? Our deal? I do not want to be-"

His? Immortal? Part of him?

"I know. I will release you whenever you ask. You still have my word."

Immortality was a double-edged sword. It's infinite and lonely and cruel. He would only give it to those willing to die for it, like Pamela. Olivia was never meant to be his forever. It was hard admitting Olivia was heartache from the moment he met her. Eric would release her, but he didn't know if he could ever find the will to forget her.

"Why did the joining work with you?"

Because two souls can only join if they both wish to belong together. The sun and the moon loved each other so much, they defied the Gods to be together. Eric knew for a while now what he felt for her. And if Olivia wasn't ready to admit it yet, he would not be one to say it for her. She had to be the one to say it. Gods, how he wanted her to say it.

"You know why."

"I don't know how any of this works!"

"We'll figure it out together."

For as long as she wished. Just like he promised.

A.N

I know what you're gonna say.

"But Spicehoney, if this is supposed to be a happy resolution, why is it so sad?"

Cause I like suffering obviously.

Hello bonjour sweet babies!

To those who guessed the werewolves were involved, 10 points to you because they motherfucking were! The Newlins did not pull this one off alone!

Thank you so much for all the lovely comments I've received lately! This fandom is always so lovely, I'm absolutely ride or die for the TB fandom

On that note, I have good and bad news. The good news is that I have resurrected by Tumblr spice-honey. Feel free to follow me, DM me, ask me anything

Oh and that bad news is that I have major writer's block, so regular updates may pause in a couple of weeks (but the next 2 chapters are FIRE, it's what comes after that that I'm hella struggling)

I've rambled enough LEAVE A COMMENT LOVE U BYE