Eric sat on the bed next to Pam's prone form as he studied her for any sign of distress or physical injury. Due to her catatonic state their link had been severed, which had its advantages as he no longer felt her agony and he could only hope she was equally numb.
He turned away from her, resting his elbows on his knees as he held his head in his hands. Now that it appeared the worst was over he could admit to himself that he had been frightened, an emotion he had not felt in a long time.
Panicked and desperate? Yes. But frightened? No.
Never.
Leave it to Pam to find a way to scare him out of his wits.
He wiped at the moisture on his face and was surprised to find that he was crying. He hadn't cried since Godric died, when he last lost someone he loved.
He glanced across at Pam that was what had frightened him: that he might lose her, that for the first time in his existence he would be alone.
Oh, he'd have Fangtasia and he wouldn't lack companionship, either mortal or vampire. But he'd be missing a part of himself.
The loss of a child is the deepest of despair and tonight Eric had had a taste of what it would be like to lose her.
Even when she was being tortured by the Magister he had still felt in control of the situation, confident of his ability to get her out. Despite his concern for her safety, he had never feared that he would lose her.
Tonight had been completely out of his control and when he had tried to help he had only seemed to make it worse.
He made a silent promise to himself that, once she was herself again, he was going to find whoever had done this to her and kill them.
No one hurt his Pam without answering to him.
For now, though, he contented himself with crawling into bed beside her and holding her in his arms. He buried his face in her hair, trying to reassure himself that he hadn't lost her.