Chapter Thirty Three: Worth Fighting For

"You don't owe him anything." Quinn pointed out through the phone as I drive quickly through the streets of Shreveport. I had jumped into the car almost the moment Eric had vanished, determined to search for the vampire. I hoped that he would show up at his house in Shreveport so we could talk. Quinn was right, I didn't owe him anything. He had left; he had ripped me to shreds. We weren't together; I was allowed to be with anyone I chose to be with. He couldn't be mad at me for this. Except, I still loved him, and a part of me desperately wanted to forgive him and be with him again. And this was putting one big wedge between the relationship we were slowly beginning to fix. Sure, Eric should have been the one apologizing to me, not the other way around, but it wasn't my intention to search him out and apologize. I only wanted to explain to Eric that it had meant nothing, so he knew that while I had slept with another man, which I was perfectly allowed to do, it didn't mean that I didn't love him.

Because I stupidly did.

Try and figure that one out.

"I know, Quinn." I sighed as I pressed my foot down harder on the gas. "But things were going so well for the last few days and I..."

"You don't want to ruin the chance of being with him again. Even if you shouldn't go back to him in the first place." he muttered bitterly.

"I know this is stupid. He hurt me. He damaged me. I mean, the reason I got drunk in the first place had been because of him." I held onto the steering wheel tightly. "But I...I just want to explain it to him. I'm not apologizing; I'm just going to explain to him what happened. I don't owe him anything, your right, but I also don't want him thinking the wrong thing."

"I still don't think you should have just run off like that. What if..."

"I'm turning onto his street right now." I assured Quinn, reaching over to my phone on the passenger seat. "Look I'll call you after, okay? If he's here I don't want him to hear me talking to you."

"Just be careful, babe." Quinn pleaded.

"I will." I promised him before hanging up and turning into Eric's driveway. I couldn't tell by the state of the driveway if Eric was here or not, but I took my chances as I pulled the car to a complete stop and jumped out, not even bothering to grab my keys as I did.

"What are you doing here?" Godric stepped out of the house with a raised eyebrow as I raced towards the house.

"Is Eric here?" I asked, pulling to a stop and gasping for air. "Is he?"

"No." Godric shook his head. "What's wrong?"

"I...I let it slip that Quinn and I slept together." I admitted sadly. "I thought he knew. I mean you said that he..."

"He closed his bond off." Godric cringed. "I should have told you, I just forgot with everything that's happened."

"Yeah that would have been something good to know." I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "Now he's pissed at me and..."

"I thought it didn't matter what he thought?" Godric reminded me of what I had told him after I had done the deed.

"Well that was before the guy came back and professed his love for me!" I shook my head. "And it doesn't matter, not exactly. He just...he thinks I slept with him because I wanted to."

"A part of you technically did." Godric pointed out. "Even though you were intoxicated, you still did what you did because a part of you wanted to sleep with Quinn."

"So not the time for this, Godric." I sent him a dirty look. "Do you know where he might be?"

"He could be in a number of places." He shrugged.

"Let's try helping me here, Godric." I planted my hands on my hips. "You wanted Eric and me to be together, remember? You were pissed off at me for that reason. So just tell me where he might be so Eric and I can talk this through."

Godric sighed as he nodded, running a hand through his short hair. "I assume he has returned to his safe house, the one he resided in while he was..."

"While he was not exactly gone." I nodded. "Okay, where's that?"

"Here? Really?" I raised an eyebrow as I leaned against the red corvette as I stared up at the large country home. I tried to imagine Eric living here compared to the Shreveport home, and it just seemed like a complete contrast. This house was deep into the country, nothing around for miles. It had taken me half an hour to get here from Shreveport, and I had hardly passed a single car on my journey. It was peaceful, I would give it that. There were just fields of grass and wildflowers around the house going on for ages until a line of trees encased the property. It almost reminded me of the realm of phoenixes, except I knew that I was wide awake and in reality. The house itself was large and an off white colour. It looked worn, but still had that southern charm with the blue painted shutters and front door. It just seemed so normal, so average for a vampire the likes of Eric Northman.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Eric stepped out onto the porch, a glare on his face. "I have nothing to say to you."

"Well I have something to say to you." I sighed and began towards the porch. "Eric I wanted to..."

"Don't. Just leave." He crossed his arms over his chest stubbornly. "I don't want to hear it."

"But I need to say it." I stepped up onto the porch, only stopping a foot away from Eric. His eyes were narrowed as he glared down at me but I didn't let that stop me. I had come out here for a reason. "Look, Eric, you have no right to be mad at me right now. You left me. You broke my heart and just left. Sure, the second time you were hiding here, but that's even worse because you lied to me."

Eric scoffed and looked like he was just going to storm back into the house.

"I had every right to be with someone. We weren't together and it didn't look like you were ever going to come back." I grabbed onto his arm to stop him. "You told me yourself that you weren't ever going to come back to me. What did you expect me to do? Go through life alone and unhappy?"

"I never said that." he hissed.

"Right, you didn't I'm sorry. But that's what it seems like. And I just wanted to be happy. So I tried to move on. I tried to shove you out of my life. I burned all of my memories of you, I worked my ass off to try and pretend like you never existed in the first place. And I thought it worked for a little while." I admitted. "I thought I was moving on with my life, I thought I was finding happiness."

"Is that why you went to Dallas?" He glared at me over his shoulder.

"Partly, yes." I nodded. "I just wanted to get out of town and start fresh, just for a weekend. I needed to let loose and have some fun. And I did. I had the most fun I've had in years that didn't include you. And that was big for me."

"Is that when you slept with him?" he growled.

"No. I did get drunk that night but no, I didn't sleep with him then. We talked though. He's the first person in so long that I felt like I could trust, like I could talk to. There were times I could never do that with you. Actually most of the time I couldn't."

Eric growled again as he shoved my hand off and tried to stomp into the house. But I quickly squeezed myself passed him and stepped into the doorway to stop him.

"Just listen to me, Eric, please. You owe me that much." I pleaded with him.

He just crossed his arms over his chest, not saying a single word.

"Quinn and I became close that weekend, and when we came back home, the whole werewolf attack happened. Everything happened with that and I had to move back into your house because it was no longer safe at Sookie's. That was...it was hard for me, Eric." I gazed down at the ground as I remembered that night clearly. "Going back into that house, your house, it just held a lot of memories for me and it was hard. I had thought I had gotten over you, but that night, when we talked, we I walked back into that house, I realized that I had just been lying to myself and everyone else. I didn't get over you at all. I still loved you."

"So?" He sounded like a child.

"So the next day, I drank. It was unbelievable stupid and not the person that I am. But I was upset, I was broken, and I just wanted to forget about loving you for one minute. So I did. I drank and drank and eventually convinced Quinn to drink too. One thing led to another and..."

"I don't want to hear this anymore." Eric grunted, trying to push me out of the way. "Move, Ellie."

"No just let me finish, Eric." I shook my head, refusing to move. "We slept together, yes. Quinn and I were drunk and weren't thinking clearly. We slept together and the moment we realized what we had done, we regretted it."

"I'm sure."

"I did, Eric. Because I knew right away that it was stupid. I knew right away that I could never be with someone as nice as Quinn, I could never be with someone so perfect because I still loved you." I moved my hand up to rest on his chest, trying to make him understand. "It was a stupid mistake, one that I regret. When I realized that I slept with him, I hated myself for it. Because it's not fair to either of you. I love you, I still do. I never stopped. I wished I did. Even now part of me does. But how could I possibly stop loving you? You're my soul mate Eric Northman, that will never change. No matter who I sleep with."

He looked away, refusing to meet my gaze. I sighed as I raised the hand on his chest up to his chin and forced his gaze to meet mine.

"I'm not going to apologize for sleeping with Quinn, because you had left, you had broken my heart and I had the right to sleep with whoever I wanted to." When I saw that he was going to pull away I used my powers to freeze him in place. I needed to say this. "But I will apologize for hurting you, because I realized even then that whenever you found out, it would hurt you. And I'm sorry for just blurting it out like I did tonight. That wasn't my intention at all."

We just stared at one another for what felt like the longest time. I sighed and was about to drop my hand back to my side when he grasped onto it, his fingers intertwining with mine and holding my hand in his. His eyes closed for a moment as he breathed in deeply. It wasn't necessary of course, but I think it in a way it helped calmed him down. I didn't say a word as I watched his anger slowly disappear, at least lessen that is.

"I still hate him." he mumbled, his eyes opened to stare down at me. The disgust and hate that were mixed into his beautiful orbs earlier was now gone and instead replaced by that love I had witnessed the last few nights.

"You can hate him all you want, just don't kill him." I offered him a smile. "I think you owe me an apology for what you said to me."

He grunted in annoyance. "Must I?"

"Yes." I rolled my eyes. "We're being mature and working through things. It's something we obviously have never done in the past. This is what happens with couples. They fight, someone storms off, and then they make up."

His eyes suddenly brightened. "Does this mean we can have make-up sex?"

"No!" I snorted, swatting at his chest as I tugged my hand from his, but I was glad that his attitude had changed so quickly. "At least not tonight anyways."

"So there's a possibility of it in the future then?" that smirk slid across his face.

"Maybe." I teased him playfully, feeling more like myself than I had in a very long time. And it happened to be because of the vampire before me. The same one who had caused me so much pain in the past. Who would have figured?

"I will accept that." he drew his arms around me and pulled me against him. "And I'm...I'm sorry."

"That wasn't so hard, now was it?" I chuckled as I held onto him tightly, enjoying the feel of his arms around me. I hadn't thought I would have been able to calm Eric down tonight, for us to return to how we had been the last few days. Sure, I didn't forgive him, not yet. But part of me really did just want to be able to forgive him. And if Eric had decided to just leave because he thought I wanted to be with someone else, well it would have been my own damn fault. Because I didn't want to be with another man. I had to learn that the hard way, we both did. But maybe it would all work out this time. Maybe I would forgive Eric, he would learn how not to be an asshole, and once this whole new regime was taken care of, we could live happily ever after.

I knew it was a long shot, but hey, I could dream.

"What?" I frowned and gazed up at Eric as I felt him tense suddenly. "Please don't tell me there's something wrong."

Eric pulled away and my face paled when I saw the fear sweep across his face. "It's Pam, she's..."

"What's wrong? What is it?" I reached out to him, only he was no longer there. He was already halfway across the grassy yard when I realized I was alone on the porch.

"Do not leave, Ellie." He ordered me. "Stay here until I get back. Please. I'm asking this of you. Just please stay."

I was speechless; I didn't know what to say and instead just nodded. That look on his face told me not to argue with him.

Something was going on.

Something bad was happening.

"Where is she?" Eric seethed as he burst into Fangtasia.

A few humans were startled and jumped away in surprise at the sudden appearance of the vampire they had all been used to seeing in the bar. The vampires barely gave him a second glance as he stormed through the bar and to the stage where Bill and Victor sat with amused grins on their faces. Vampires dressed in black with guns held in their hands quickly approached Eric in an attempt to hold him back. He merely flung them all away, sending some flying across the bar, and others into the patrons. He didn't care. He didn't give a crap about anyone else. He wanted to know where Pam was. He needed to know why he was feeling this pain, this agony through their bond. The last time he had felt this she had been held captive by the magister, and he had promised both her and himself that he would never let another hand be laid on her with cruel intentions. She was a skilled fighter, he had ensured that, but she was only over a century old. There were so many vampires that could over power her.

"Where is she?" Eric growled, his fangs extending with a click as he stood before the stage, ready to rip every vampire in that bar to shreds if he didn't receive an answer.

"Now is that any way to say hello, Mr. Northman?" Victor's smug smile rubbed Eric the wrong way, and he only growled in response. "We can't possibly know who you're speaking of."

"Where is she? Where is Pam? Where the hell is my progeny and what are you doing to her?" Eric demanded to know, flashing onto the stage and grabbing Victor from the front of his suit jacket. "I swear to god if you've hurt her in any way, I will kill you. I don't care who you are, I don't care who your king is. I am older than you. I can kill you like a human can kill a fly. Do you understand me?"

"Loud and clear, Mr. Northman." Victor brushed Eric off of him, his smile faltering. "But we don't know where your precious progeny is. Perhaps you should keep a tighter leash on your pets."

Eric stepped forward but two of the vampires he had sent flying appeared behind him and pressed silver to his arms. Eric hissed in pain, the smoke rising off of his burning flesh. He snarled in anger as he flung the vampires back away from him, only for a silver chain to wrap tightly around his neck, yanking hard on the other end until he was forced down to his knees.

"That's better, isn't it?" Bill smirked down at the now kneeling Eric. "It's only respectful to bow before your sheriff and regent."

"I will kill you." Eric threatened, trying to pull the silver chain from his throat, only for his hands to burn in pain. But he refused to allow the agony to stop his struggle. Pam was his family; she was his progeny, his daughter. He would give his life for hers without hesitation, just like he knew she would do for him. He knew they had her. He could feel their bond pulling him here, to the bar he had never once feared to be in. she was in pain. She was in so much pain that it drove him insane. He wanted to rip them all apart for bringing pain to his child, to his own kin.

"That's no way to act, Mr. Northman." Victor leaned down, his own smirk widening. "How will we ever trust you enough to give your progeny back to you if you show such blatant lack of respect?"

Eric tried to grab him, but the vampire holding onto the chain around his neck pulled roughly and left only an inch between Eric's outstretched hand and Victor's neck that he just wanted to snap off like a twig.

"Now, I'm sure we can come to an agreement." Victor straightened, pressing down the wrinkles in his suit. "Don't you agree Sheriff?"

"Of course, Victor." Bill nodded.

"What do you propose? Perhaps giving us complete access to his Phoenix? I think that will be sufficient." Victor glanced back at Bill. "And of course the fae, I know you have a soft spot for that delectable creature."

"That sounds like it will do." Bill nodded, a look of excitement in his orbs. "That will do nicely."

"Well then perfect." Victor stared down at Eric. "Did you understand that Eric? You will ensure that we will have full access to your Phoenix and Faerie or else I just might accidentally kill your progeny. You wouldn't want that now, would you?"

Eric made an animalistic growl in his attempt to rip him apart limb by limb, only to be pulled back once again.

"Of course, I will hold her, to ensure that you hold up your end of the bargain. I expect Miss. Cole to be in here tomorrow now with Miss. Stackhouse. They may sit up with us, to ensure that everyone knows that they belong to us."

"Never." Eric hissed.

"Well then I guess I'll just have to kill your progeny. She was a delight, I'll miss her dearly." Victor waved his hands at his men. "Go take care of..."

"Stop." Eric growled, hating himself for what he was about to do. But he wouldn't follow through with it, not like Victor and Bill wished. He would never hand Ellie to these bastards. He would never put his sweet Phoenix, the love of his life, in danger again. But he had to lie, he had to make them believe the opposite if Pam was to live. He'd have to come up with a plan later to ensure all of their safety. "I...I agree."

"Wonderful!" Victor clapped happily. "You can release him now. You can run off and tell your Phoenix and Faerie of their new ownership, I'm sure they'll want to know."

Eric gritted his teeth, his anger peaking. He wanted to kill someone. He wanted revenge. He wanted to get his hands wrapped around their necks and just destroy them. But he had to wait. He had to bid his time until he could do so without risking all of their lives. So as the silver was pulled from him, as he was freed, he hissed but did not attack Bill or Victor. Instead, he flashed them a single glare before leaving Fangtasia in a flash, determined to exact revenge.

I was sitting out on the porch of Eric's country home for what felt like ages before Eric suddenly just came out of nowhere and sped into the house. I almost thought I had been seeing things, but the moment I heard the distinct sound of furniture breaking, I knew he had returned. I sighed, bracing myself for whatever had happened to cause Eric this much anger. I was almost glad we no longer had a bond, as I wasn't sure I wanted to know just how furious Eric was right now. As I stepped slowly into his house, I watched as Eric destroyed the entire living room and dining room. I didn't even have a chance to take in the beauty of the country decor before it was destroyed right before my eyes.

"Eric?" I tried to call out to him, to calm him down.

I didn't dare step into the room to stop him, in fear that he would forget that I was even there and accidentally hurt me. so I stayed by the front door, watching helplessly as he destroyed everything around him until finally, he came to a stop in the middle of the living room, his eyes seething in anger, his hands covered in his own blood. I sighed as I slowly began across the room until I stood before him. I lifted his hands, watching as his wounds closed quickly, only the blood staining his pale skin. I risked looking up at Eric, and it pained me to see that look on his face. He looked helpless, and that was not something Eric hardly ever felt.

"What happened?" I asked softly, slipping my hands into his, showing him that I was there, that he wasn't alone.

"They have her." His voice was barely above a whisper as he stared down at me in fear. He was scared. Eric Northman was actually scared.

And that worried me.

"They have Pam?"

He nodded, his hands squeezing mine a bit too hard, but I didn't dare pull away from him. "They...they refuse to let her go unless..."

"Unless what?" I held my breath.

"Unless I hand you and Sookie over to them." He wouldn't look me in the eye. "And I...I agreed."

"What?" My eyes grew wide as this time, I did pull away from him. Eric quickly caught my arms though, holding me in place as his fear filled eyes bore down into mine. "Why would you do that, Eric?"

"It was a lie." He assured me, determination in his voice. "I wouldn't...I would never do that, not to you. I just...I needed to ensure that Pam would not be killed."

My heard was racing in my chest, and Eric must have known that I was still sceptical as his expression softened and he pulled me in for an embrace.

"I love you, Ellie. I would never do such a thing. I won't hand you over. I won't allow you to be theirs. Nor will I allow that fate for Sookie. I promise you, you must believe me."

And I did believe him. Because I knew he would never do that to me. But he also had to say something, anything to ensure that Pam would remain alive, at least for now. So he said whatever they wanted to hear.

"Where is she now?"

"They still have her. They won't release her until I bring you to them." He sighed in defeat. "I...I don't know what to do."

"We'll figure something out, Eric. I promise." I held onto him tightly, trying to comfort him. There weren't many times when I had to be the one to comfort him. Usually he was the one holding me tight and telling me everything was going to be okay. But this was one of the rare times he needed that assurance, and I would willingly give it to him.

"I will kill them."

"Believe me, Eric, I so want you to." I pulled away from him so I could reach up and cup his cheek. "We'll think of something. We won't let this happen."

He looked unsure, so I surprised him by standing on the tips of my toes and capturing his lips with mine. He didn't respond at first, his hands dropping to his side in shock. But as I began to pull away, he pressed me against him, grinding into me as suddenly I was shoved into a wall. I shuddered at the initial impact, but our lips never parted one another as his hands roamed over every inch of my body that they could. I moaned in response, my eyes closing as I enjoyed this moment. I knew we wouldn't have any others like them in the near future. And while even this one wouldn't last, I couldn't let it, not just yet anyways; it was nice to know that the passion we once had, it was still there, strong as ever.

"I love you." Eric whispered huskily into my ear as our lips parts and he brushed them along my jaw and to my neck. "I will always love you."

As if a light bulb just went off in my head, an idea struck me, and I knew exactly how I was going to rescue Pam.