Disclaimer: Charlaine Harris owns everything in the Sookie Stackhouse/Southern Vampire Mysteries universe. I am not Charlaine Harris, so I don't own any of it.

A/N: Back to Eric's point of view with this chapter. On the short side, but I really like the ending.

Theme 6: Break Away

POV: Eric

Rating: T

No Turning Back

When I told her she was killing me, I wasn't kidding. Granted I had managed to convince the king that I did not need to meet the sun this time, but one way or another, I was going to meet my final death because of her unless she decides to let me turn her but I'm not holding my (unnecessary) breath on that one. And there is no turning back for me at this point.

I had tried to distance myself from her before. The first time, I'll admit, I didn't try very hard. That was after Jackson. I knew, though I hated to admit it, that she needed to work through her issues with Compton. Then one night, I woke up in her house, wearing clothing I had never seen before and was met with the sadness I could not explain in her expression when I spoke to her. Not knowing what had happened during the time I spent with her brought me back to her. I couldn't rest until I found out what had happened.

When I was finally able to force the answer from her, it greatly disturbed me and I turned away from her again. It was still not a serious attempt; I merely needed to think through what I had been told. Then I found out the exact specifications of the curse that the witch, Hallow had placed on me. I knew then, but I still kept my distance, especially since she ripped out my undead heart by choosing to date the weretiger. I did not, however, ignore her completely. I was there to tell her the truth about Compton and to save her during the celebration in New Orleans.

Then I formally bonded with her in Rhodes. I could feel her conflicted feelings and it hurt me to a degree to realize that she had no idea how she felt about me. When she saved Pam and me, though, I knew. She had not yet figured it out for herself, but I knew I held a bigger place in her heart than the tiger did. It was that event that once again brought me back to her. It was becoming more difficult each time to try to break away. I was convinced that I would never try again.

On the night of the takeover, I regained my memories of the time I had been cursed. What I remembered blew me away. Though I had told myself that I would never pull away from her again, I soon found it a necessity. Not only was I under constant scrutiny by the new regime, but she and I both needed time to figure out what needed to be said about my regained memories.

As the Fae War began, before she was kidnapped, we resumed a relationship similar to that we shared during the time I was cursed. She was magnificent. I could not believe I was finally going to have this girl as mine, no matter what I told her.

Then it happened. I failed to rescue her. I would have given anything to be there for her, but it was not possible. I was incapacitated by the pain she felt. I felt every bit of it, and it hurt me worse than any pain that had ever been inflicted on me, directly. I was afraid then, that my loving her had become a mute point. What good was it for me to give up trying to stay away from her, when she wanted nothing to do with me?

The night she showed up at Fangtasia to cry in my arms over all that she had lost (a/n: see previous chapter) became the real turning point in our relationship. Both of us have given up trying to run away from the other, or give the other space, whichever way you wanted to look at it.

Still, I say she will be the cause of my final death, for I will either receive punishment for disobeying orders to save her or I will willingly meet the sun when she inevitably parishes.

Maybe in the long run, it would have been better for both of us if I had managed to break away from her the first time I tried but there's nothing I can do about that now. Now there is no turning back. We have reached our understanding and confided in each other our true feelings. From now on, she will be mine. And I will be hers.

A/N: Next theme is "Heaven."