Disclaimer: I own nothing related to True Blood.

Much later that night, after making several phone calls to headquarters and getting a few more hours of rest, Paige and Gary walked silently behind Bill and Sookie as they headed toward the elevators, both of them dreading the meeting – or rather, ass-chewing – they were about to be involved in. It had been a tumultuous couple of days already, so this was surely just going to be icing on the cake – Nan Flanagan was notorious for her quick temper and cut-throat attitude, which meant she wouldn't have any qualms handing them their asses on a silver platter. Plus she and Gary had managed to catch a glimpse of her as she first arrived about an hour previous when they'd been down in the bar trying to wake themselves up and mentally prepare themselves from what was to come. When Nan and her posse had arrived and come tearing through the through the lobby, they had looked anything by pleased.

Needless to say, it hadn't been encouraging.

"Just…try to stay quiet during this meeting and let her do the talking." Bill gently instructed Sookie, Paige, and Gary as they filed onto the elevator – he had a bit more experience with Nan (though how, Paige wasn't sure), so he'd been giving them pointers on how to leave this meeting unscathed. "Say one wrong thing and she'll make you regret it, that you can be sure of. So unless she addresses you personally, it's probably best not to say anything at all." Gary nodded his understanding while Sookie just clicked her tongue unsurely and asked if the vampire was really that bad – the look Bill gave his girlfriend told her everything that she needed to know.

Paige sighed and leaned against the metal wall of the elevator car, gazing out at the hotel hallway absentmindedly until the doors began to slide closed. They were almost shut, however, when a pale hand slipped between them, forcing them to stop and open back up.

Her breath caught in her throat at once as Eric came into view, his gaze bypassing everyone else in the elevator and landing directly on her. She tried not to feel too excited at the sight of him, knowing he would be able to sense it through their new blood bond, but it was hard to hamper down the feelings, especially so seeing as he was all she'd been thinking about all afternoon. She had a feeling Eric could still sense her giddiness at seeing him anyway, though, despite her attempts to play it cool – she saw the tiniest of smirks appear on the corner of his mouth before he stepped into the elevator and turned his back to them all to stand and wait for the doors to slide closed. The other three occupants all conspicuously looked back and forth between them with interest, interested to see what might transpire between the two.

"Good evening." Eric finally said to no one in particular.

"Good evening, Eric." Bill responded cordially.

Gary's response, however, was a little gruffer. "Yeah, hey." He said huffily, obviously still angry with Eric for not allowing him to see Paige while she was healing from her wounds. Eric looked toward Gary and quirked an eyebrow at his tone, but otherwise said nothing before turning his attention forward again.

No one spoke after that and Paige could feel more than one gaze on her the entire ride up to the floor their meeting would be taking place on. She tried to ignore the way her friends watched her and stared at Eric's back, admiring the way his broad frame looked in his black sweater, but after a few more seconds their scrutiny began to annoy her and make her uncomfortable, so she finally shot a pointed look toward her friends that was hard to misinterpret. Though it was obvious Sookie was fighting back a smile, she, Bill, and Gary finally turned their attention elsewhere. Paige, satisfied with herself for getting her message across, smoothed her hands over her clothes and sucked in a deep breath before letting it out as a sigh, eyes turning up to the digital numbers overhead – their floor was swiftly approaching and it made nervousness zing along her spine.

The elevator dinged a few seconds later to signal their arrival. When the doors slid open Sookie, Bill, and Gary all filed out, but Eric didn't seem as though he was in a hurry to follow their lead – Sookie glanced back curiously and opened her mouth as though she were going to say something, but Bill quickly grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her along, leaving Paige and Eric alone.

Paige held her breath as Eric turned to look at her, then motioned her forward with a wave of her hand. She flushed a bit and did as he had instructed, and as soon as she went past him Eric moved to walk with her, standing so closely beside her that his arm brushed hers as they left the elevator and turned onto the hallway, headed for the room they were meeting Nan Flanagan in.

"You were not in my room when I awoke." Eric commented as they followed behind the other three at a much slower pace.

Paige looked up at him, unsure what to make of the expression on his face – was he upset that she had left? Had he wanted her to stay and still be there when he woke up? "I had a few things to take care of – I needed a shower something fierce and needed to put in a call to headquarters back in Houston, then I caught up on some much needed rest." She quickly explained. Plus she had been certain that if she stayed that she would have pounced on him at one point or another, but he didn't need to know that. "I didn't want to be a bother or anything so I just decided to leave you be and let you get your rest."

While the other three reached Nan's room and disappeared inside, Eric suddenly wrapped a surprisingly gentle hand around her wrist and pulled her to a stop. Paige gulped, her skin immediately feeling as though it were on fire, and craned her neck to meet his gaze. He was looking down at her with scrutiny in his eyes, his expression the slightest bit concerned. "I can feel how troubled you are." He observed, making her chew on the inside of her cheek and shift underneath his intent stare. "Has something happened?" He then asked, his eyebrows coming together a bit.

Paige quickly shook her head. "No, I've just…" She trailed off and sighed, rubbing her forehead. "I've just got a lot on my mind right now. With what happened at the Fellowship and at Godric's place and now this meeting with Nan Flanagan...not to mention a few other personal things…" Paige added pointedly, sharing a meaningful look with him. Eric's expression shifted at that, became more intense. It made butterflies flap nervously around in her stomach and suddenly she couldn't stop the question from tumbling past her lips. "What did you wanna talk to me about, Eric?" She suddenly asked. "Does it have to do with…us?" She added, putting on as brave of a face as she could.

Eric blinked at her for a second before he nodded. "Yes." He confirmed, the tiniest of smiles appearing on the corner of his mouth. Paige immediately felt her heart leap into her throat as her thoughts raced a hundred miles an hour, filled with the possibilities of where this conversation could go. Eric then grabbed her by the hand in the next moment and pulled her closer – Paige tried to ignore the pounding of her heart and looked up at him expectantly, hoping beyond hope he would say the words she wanted to hear so badly. "I have been doing a lot of thinking over the past few days, especially so last night after what happened at Godric's." He began to explain. "Paige, I want to – "

He didn't get to finish his statement though, much to Paige's dismay. Gary chose that moment to stick his head back out in the hallway, a blatantly uncomfortable look on his face. "Uh, you guys might want to get in here." He suggested, eyes filled with what looked like a hint of fright. "Like now."

Eric seemed annoyed that they'd been interrupted, but nodded at Gary in understadning. There was a look of regret on his face that she was sure she mirrored on her own when he looked back down to her. "We'll continue this conversation later." He promised her, not releasing her hand as he then led her towards the door Gary had just been in.

Paige resisted the urge to sigh, hating the fact that she and Eric kept getting interrupted but at least feeling somewhat encouraged by the fact that whatever he wanted to say seemed to be something good. She smiled to herself for a moment, squeezing his hand and causing Eric to look down at her with raised eyebrows. She offered a smile but said nothing as they had reached the door by now – Eric finally released her hand so he could place his hand on her back instead, gently ushering her through the door ahead of him.

At once, her eyes fell on a very annoyed looking Nan Flanagan. The blonde haired vampire quirked an eyebrow at Paige and Eric as they walked in, her arms crossed over her chest. "Sorry to break up the little love fest, but in case you've forgotten we have some business to take care of." She reminded them snappishly.

Paige flushed, apologizing quickly, and moved further into the room with Eric right on her heels. Since they were the last ones to arrive the only seat left available was a white, cushioned ottoman near the couch that Sookie, Bill, and Gary were all sitting on. Eric motioned for her to take the seat but she shook her head, motioning for him to sit instead. When he refused and insisted that Paige take it again, Nan reached the end of her patience. "One of you take the fucking seat so we can get this meeting over with."

Paige plopped down onto the seat at once, sure she heard a distinctly annoyed growl leave Eric's throat as he came to stand directly behind her – if Nan heard it, though, she either didn't care or just chose not to show a reaction to it.

"Do you have any fucking idea of the P.R. mess you've made?" She asked angrily now that she had command of the room again. "And who has to clean this fucking shit up? Me. Not you – me." She continued with an annoyed glaring, taking a moment to glare at each individual and let them feel her animosity. "I should drain every last one of you bastards." The vampire went on to threaten.

Eric was the first to speak up in their defense. "Stan went into the church on his own accord." He said, forcing the tone of his voice into a calm one. "None of us knew anything about it."

"Oh really?" Nan asked in sarcastic disbelief. "Because everyone who's met Stan in the last three hundred years knew that he had a kink about slaughtering humans. But you – his nest mates, his sheriff – had no clue?" Her tone was full of skepticism. Isabel started to speak up, wanting to jump to the defense of herself and her sheriff, but Nan held a hand up to silence her before turning her gaze on Paige and Gary. "And what were you humans thinking? I was under the impression that you people have been trying to make sure a war between our two species doesn't break out, yet you joined Stan when he decided to try to overthrow the Fellowship? You willing exposed your group and attacked the church members?" She was glaring in obvious disapproval by now, making Paige feel like a two year old getting scolded by their parents after being caught with her hand in the cookie jar. "Just what were you looking to fucking gain out of your allegiance with him?"

"That's not how it was – " Paige tried to explain, trying to protect her comrades and tell Nan that while they had entered the church with Stan, they had not moved to attack any of the Fellowship members. In fact, Paige had tried to stop Stan.

Nan wasn't having any of it, though. "Save it." The blonde vampire cut in sharply, making Paige clamp her lips together and fall silent. "The last thing I want to hear are your pitiful excuses. You," Nan continued, pointing at Paige, "and you," she added, this time addressing Godric, "both fucked up."

Eric growled behind Paige and placed a large hand on her shoulder. It she dared to think it, it almost felt as though he had done it to let Nan know she was with him and under his protection. "Don't talk to them that way." He threatened, his voice dripping with anger.

Nan turned an unimpressed glare in his direction. "Don't talk to me that way." She countered. "I'm the one in charge here, so I'll talk to your maker and your pet however I damn well want." It was a rare occasion indeed that Eric Northman was berated into silence, but that was exactly what Nan Flanagan had just done – he didn't remove his hand from Paige's shoulder, but he wisely fell silent under the female vampire's glower. Nan gave him that intimidating look for one more second before finally speaking again. "Let's get to the point." She said, turning her attention back to Godric. "How did they manage to abduct you?"

Godric looked to Nan with resignation in his eyes. "They would have taken one of us sooner or later." He said with a small nod. "I offered myself." Godric then confessed, much to the astonishment of everyone in the room.

Paige's eyes flew to Gary's in surprise. Never, not once, had she suspected that Godric might have turned himself over to the Fellowship of the Sun. Paige and Gary both had been convinced that it was a betrayal from within Godric's inner circle, a theory she had that had been proven to be true when Hugo was outted by Isabel. To hear that he hadn't been kidnapped after all, that Godric had been willing to sacrifice himself, stunned her.

"Why?" Nan questioned in blatant confusion.

"Why not?" Godric retorted with a shrug.

Nan looped at Godric as though he had grown another head. "They wanted you to meet the sun and you were willing?" She asked incredulously.

When Godric didn't deny it, Paige frowned and looked up at Eric to see how he was taking this information. His grip on her shoulder had tightened a bit and he was staring at the ground in stunned silence, eyes wide and filled with disbelief. Paige immediately felt the need to comfort him in some way, knowing how much he cared for Godric and that this couldn't have been an easy thing for him to hear – she reached up to place a hand over his and squeeze it comforting for a moment, not really caring if anyone else saw. The move made Eric meet her gaze, and her heart went out to him when she saw the hurt and confusion in his eyes.

"What do you think?" Godric asked Nan, wanting her thoughts on the situation.

"I think you're out of your mind." Nan said matter-of-factly. She shook her head, heaved, then moved on with the conversation. "And what's this I hear about a traitor?" She demanded, throwing her hands up disgruntledly.

Isabel immediately tensed at the mention of her human lover, but Godric interjected before anyone else could say anything about him. "Irrelevant. Only a rumor." He insisted. "I'll take full responsibility."

"You bet you will." Nan agreed coldly.

Eric finally found his voice again. "You cold bitch." He said in a low, dangerous tone, his gaze now locked unwaveringly on Nan and filled with loathing.

"Listen…" Nan said, turning her irritated gaze on Eric. "This is a national vampire disaster." She reminded him with a glare. "And nobody at the top has any sympathy for any of you, human or vampire." She made sure to stress, glaring at both Gary and Paige for a second. Nan only hesitated for a moment before looking back to Godric. "Sheriff, you fucked up – you're fired." She announced bluntly.

Godric immediately nodded his head. "I agree, of course." He said adamantly. "Isabel should take over – she had no part in my disgrace." He said, nodding at Isabel.

"Godric." Isabel said incredulously, clearly not believing what Godric was saying. "Fight back!" She urged.

"She's a bureaucrat!" Eric added, waving an incredulous arm. "You don't have to take shit from her!" He exclaimed.

"Do you want to lose your area, Viking?" Nan asked quite suddenly, making Paige cringe – she knew how much Eric prided his position within the vampire community. It would be a devastating blow if he were to end up losing his area.

Eric, however, didn't look nearly as worried about the threat as Paige currently felt. "You don't have that kind of power." He shot back challengingly, though when Paige glanced up at him, she thought she saw the slightest hint of apprehension in his eyes.

"Hey, I'm on TV." Nan reminded him with a condescending smile and shrug. "Try me." Eric glowered at her in response.

"I'm to blame." Isabel suddenly spoke up, trying to diffuse the situation some. "I should have contained Stan the second Godric went missing."

"And we should have known better than to let him and the other vampires enter the church." Gary finally spoke up, making Nan immediately look to him with bored eyes. "We didn't know about his volatile past, but we should have been able to pick up on it – that's our fault. We also followed him into the church under the pretense of rescuing Godric, not killing the Fellowship members. We should have been able to see through his lies – that was our fault, too."

"Please, stop." Godric asked of both Isabel and Gary, silencing them before they could place any more blame on themselves. Once he was satisfied that they would remain silent, he nodded to himself before turning his gaze to Nan. "I remove myself from all positions of authority." He agreed.

Nan nodded her head, clearly satisfied with his decision. "Works for me."

Sookie suddenly leaned forward to speak, apparently having something she felt she needed to contribute to the conversation. Bill grabbed her arm at once. "Sookie..." He said in warning.

"I owe him." Sookie told her boyfriend matter-of-fatly. When Bill backed off, she turned her attention back to Nan. "Ms. Flanagan?" She asked, making Nan look to her with raised eyebrows. "Godric rescued me from a really large rapist, who probably would have killed me, too. And – "

"That's nice." Nan interrupted sarcastically. "Moving on."

"No, listen!" Sookie pleaded, refusing to back down. "And then he rescued humans in that church," she proceeded to list off, "plus a whole lot of vampires. You think it's a P.R. mess now? It could have been a hundred, a million times worse." She said with a surprising amount of authority.

"It's true." Paige spoke up in support of her friend. "Godric did stop what was sure to be a massacre – that has to count for something."

Sookie immediately shot Paige a grateful look – Nan, on the other hand, glared at her in what was obviously annoyance. Eric, who had yet to release her shoulder, suddenly made a low sound of warning in his chest, catching Paige a bit by surprise – she'd heard him make that sound on a few occasions in the past, and never once had it meant anything good for the person it was being directed at. Nan looked up at him, quirked an eyebrow, then sneered at him with disdain. Paige didn't dare look up to see what kind of look he was giving Nan to cause that reaction.

"Anyway, you should be thanking him." Sookie continued, breaking the momentary silence that had just filled the room.

Nan tore her gaze from Eric's to scowl at Sookie. "For what, getting kidnapped? For attracting a suicide bomber? For piss poor judgment?" Nan scoffed. "I think not."

In the next moment, Eric finally seemed to reach the end of his patience and released Paige's shoulder so he could take a few threatening steps in Nan's direction. Paige, knowing this could be a very big mistake on his part, jumped to her feet to stop him and just barely grabbed onto the back of his black sweater. At the same time, both Isabel and Bill moved to restrain him, making sure he couldn't get to Nan. The two vampires that had arrived with Nan straightened up and went on alert, but Nan herself simply stared up at Eric with bored eyes, clearly not threatened.

"Eric, don't!" Paige said, wrapping her hands around his arm instead while Bill blocked his path.

"Eric." Godric said loudly, making everyone – Eric included – freeze. "It doesn't matter." He said, urging the tall vampire to calm down with his eyes.

Eric stared at Nan for a very long moment before finally turning around and heading back toward the ottoman. Paige followed him, noticing how stiff his spine was, and, once he had shot her a sideways look, pointed for him to sit in the chair – this time he did so without argument. Paige went to stand next to him and placed a hand on his tense shoulder, ready to intervene should he decided to make a move toward Nan again. She knew she'd never be able to physically stop him because he was a thousand times stronger than her, but she also knew that if he went to attack and she was in the way that he wouldn't go through with it.

As everyone resumed their previous position and got settled again, Paige noticed that Godric was looking towards Eric. There seemed to be sadness on his face, though why, Paige couldn't be entirely sure. In the next moment Godric's eyes turned up to meet hers – he offered the tiniest of smiles before shifting his gaze over to Nan when she finally began speaking again. "Tell me about the bombing please. And I want every single detail." Godric quickly explained what had happened at his house, and when he was finished, Nan shook her head with a heave. "What a fucking fiasco. You're lucky I don't send you all to the magister." She said irritably. "Godric, come to my suite and fill out the forms."

"Soon." Godric agreed with a nod. "But first I have something to say." All eyes turned to Godric as he paused for a long moment, seemingly collecting his thoughts. Finally, he spoke. "I'm sorry." He said sincerely. "I apologize for all the harm I've caused…for our lost ones, human and vampire." He paused to look at those around him and then nodded his head. "I will make amends. I swear."

Though a rather somber filled those who was been involved in the incident at the Fellowship of the Sun, Nan merely brushed off his apology, patting him on the shoulder before telling him to take it easy and reminding him that it was 'just a few signatures'. It was more than that, though, and Paige smiled sadly at Godric as Nan stood to leave before glancing down at Eric – there was a troubled expression on his handsome face and it had her squeezing his shoulder reassuringly. He looked up at her for a moment before turning his eyes to Godric and shaking his head with a heavy sigh. When Nan paused next to her, Paige focused in on the blonde vampire.

"I trust you've learned your lesson." She said, giving Paige a once over. "But know that I'll still be having a chat with your superiors." And before Paige had a chance to respond, Nan strode past her and headed for the door with her posse in tow.

The room was deathly silent for a moment as they all processed what had just happened. As soon as Nan and her group were out of the room, however, everyone came to life at once and stood from their respective seat. Eric quickly moved to stand in front of Godric, leaning down so he could peer directly into his eyes.

"No." He said simply.

Godric had that same sad expression on his face again. "Look into my heart." He told Eric, a pleading gleam to his eyes.

"You have to listen to me." Eric argued.

"There's nothing to say." Godric countered.

"There is." Eric growled in aggravation, refusing to give up.

Godric paused for a moment to think it over. "On the roof." He finally said before striding past the taller vampire and heading for the door – Paige was surprised when he paused next to her for a brief moment and placed a hand on her arm. "Take care of him." He instructed in a voice so low and quiet that she almost couldn't hear the words. She frowned, not sure what he meant by that, but never had the chance to ask him before he was releasing her and leaving the room.

As a feeling of dread crept in on her, she was only barely aware of the fact that Bill and Sookie were leaving the room, anxious to get far away from Nan Flanagan and back to the safety of their own hotel room. Gary came to stand next to her but she only spared him a glance, much more concerned about Eric as he stood staring blankly at the spot that Godric had just been standing in.

"You comin'?" Gary asked, glancing in Eric's direction.

Paige shook her head. "You go on – I'll be down in a minute."

Gary nodded and then left, finally giving Paige and Eric some privacy. She still wasn't sure why Godric had felt the need to tell her she needed to take care of Eric, but just judging by his overall demeanor alone, it left her with the feeling that something was about to go horribly wrong. Paige was under the impression that Eric had picked up on this as well and went to his side, placing a gentle hand on his back. "Eric?"

"I don't understand." He murmured, shaking his head. When he finally met her gaze, he looked nothing like the tough, intimidating vampire she knew so very well – he looked more like a lost, confused little boy. "Why does he not fight?"

Eric was looking at her as though she had all the answers in the world, but no matter how much she wished she could help him make sense of everything Paige was just as clueless – if not more so – as he was. She barely knew Godric, so she could think of nothing to offer him for reassurance or advice. "Go talk to him, I'm sure he'll explain everything." Paige suggested gently. Eric hesitated for a moment and then nodded. When he went to move past her, however, she grabbed him by the hand to make him pause. "Please be quick." She said worriedly. "It'll be daylight soon."

Eric stared down at her for a moment before closing the space between them and leaning down to kiss her on the forehead. It might not have seemed like much of anything to most people, but the small, affectionate gesture immediately had Paige's heart racing and her skin feeling as though it had caught on fire. With a gulp she found herself closing her eyes and clutching to his sweater for balance, her knees suddenly feeling a little unstable. Eric pulled back to look down at her again, the two of them standing only inches apart, and the way he was watching her made her heart pound hard against her ribs. Paige couldn't help herself – she reached up to push back a stray piece of hair that had rebelliously fallen across his forehead. Eric closed his eyes for a moment, a soft sigh escaping his lips, before opening them again to stare at her with a look that she hadn't seen from him in a very long time.

"Go." She urged, finally finding the willpower to step back. "I'll be waiting for you in my room." Paige promised him.

Eric nodded and then finally turned to leave the room, leaving Paige to stare at his broad, retreating back until he finally disappeared from sight altogether.

"Man, that Nan Flanagan is a bitch." Gary said as he came toward her with two cups of coffee in his hands and offered her one.

Paige, who was pacing the room impatiently, mumbled out a quick 'thank you' and took the coffee from him but didn't take a sip from it yet, more concerned with her watch as she checked yet again to see what time it was. It was daylight, she knew that because the windows in her room, though thicker and more sun resistant than normal ones, were glowing a bit with the outside sunlight. Yet despite the morning hour, Eric still hadn't turned up. What was taking him so long? Why was his conversation with Godric taking this much time? And why were they talking on the roof of all places?

She sighed and looked at her watch again, then glared at the window untrustingly – the feeling that something was wrong hadn't dimmed yet, having grown stronger with each passing minute instead. She just couldn't shake the knot of dread in her stomach, just knowing that something had happened. Paige just wished she knew what.

"Paige, have you listened to a word I've said?" Gary asked, his voice finally breaking through her jumbled thoughts.

"Huh?" She asked in confusion, turning to look at him. He was sitting on the couch and had casually propped his legs up on the coffee table, his eyebrows raised at her. "Sorry, I was a million miles away." Paige excused with a sigh and shake of her head, finally taking a drink of her coffee.

"I noticed." Gary said with a snort. "I was reminding you that our flight back to Houston is at noon and that you might wanna start getting packed up. We've only got a few more hours before check-out." He repeated himself, knocking back the rest of his coffee and eyeing the disheveled state of her room.

Paige frowned at hearing of their impending departure, knowing that meant leaving Eric behind and knowing she was nowhere near ready to do so. They still had so much to talk about, so much to discuss, and yet, it seemed, no time to actually do so. Once again she looked at her watch – only about five more hours until check-out. Five hours to spend with Eric and then they'd be parting ways again. It didn't seem like nearly enough time, but then again, no amount of time felt like enough time when it came to Eric.

Finally, just as Paige's worry became too much to ignore anymore and she was starting to consider just going to search for Eric herself, a light knock finally sounded on her door. She wasn't sure how, but Paige knew without a shadow of doubt that it was Eric. Almost at once, she set her coffee down before waving her hands at Gary in a shooing fashion. "That's Eric." She said, practically shoving her friend off the couch and directing him toward his conjoining room. He frowned at her less-than-gentle pushes but let her steer him toward his room without argument. "Go, I'll be ready to go by check-out."

Once Gary was in his room and had shut the door to give them privacy, Paige rushed over to the door to her hotel room and wasted no time to jerk it open. It was indeed Eric, but when she saw the state that he was in her jaw dropped and worry flooded her.

"Oh my God…" Paige murmured, taking in the sight of the bloody teas staining his pale cheeks and the complete and utterly defeated look on his handsome face. "Eric, what's wrong?" But he couldn't answer at first, merely heaved in response. "Come in." She quickly urged, stepping aside so he could enter her room.

Eric did as he was told and stepped inside. Paige closed the door behind him and turned to face him, but before she could ask him what had happened, he was wrapping his arms around her waist and burying his face into her neck, his shoulders trembling as he began to sob. Paige froze in surprise for a moment and then wrapped her arms around his neck, confused as to what was going on but willing to comfort him no less. Eric merely clung to her tighter.

"Eric, tell me what's wrong." Paige urged gently as she smoothed a hand over the hair at the back of his head, wondering what had happened to make him act this way.

"Godric…" He finally said against her neck, his voice hoarse. "He's gone."

Paige frowned and placed her hands on his shoulders, gently forcing him back so she could meet his gaze – he looked like a lost little boy again and it made her heart wrench. "What do you mean he's gone?" She asked him in confusion. "What happened?"

Eric stared at her for a moment, fresh tears sliding down his cheeks. "He's dead." He finally revealed, making the blood in Paige's veins run cold. Dead? But how? "He…he decided to meet the sun after all." Eric managed out.

Paige gasped in disbelief and then immediately hugged him again, wrapping her arms around him tightly while Eric once again hid his face in her neck, shoulders shaking with fresh sobs. So that was why Godric had told her to take care of Eric – he had known all along that he was going to end his own life and that his progeny would need her love and support to overcome his death. Paige felt tears well up in her own eyes and rubbed Eric's back soothingly, whispering comforting words in his ear. Eventually Eric was too weak to support himself and sank down to the ground, bringing her with him as she continued to hold him and console him. Finally, after a few minutes, his sobs ceased enough to where he could talk again.

"I cannot believe he is gone." Eric said in a thick voice, finally lifting his head so he could meet her gaze. Paige looked to him with sad eyes and wiped at the blood on his face, trying to clear the red mess. Eric allowed her to do so and simply stared at her, his grip on her never loosening. "He was my maker, my oldest friend, one of the few individuals I trusted completely…" He continued. "And now I shall never see him again."

Paige moved to brush some hair away from his face. "Godric has moved on to something bigger and better than this world, Eric." She told him reassuringly. "He may be gone physically, but he will continue to live on in your memory." Again Eric was looking at her as though she had all of the answers in the world, so Paige continued, hoping her words would be enough to ease some of the heartbreak he was feeling. "It may not seem like it now, but everything will be okay, Eric." Paige promised him with a gentle nod. "It hurts to love someone you love, I know, but Godric would have wanted you to move on and live your life. He wouldn't want you to wallow in misery over him."

Eric gulped, his eyes roaming over her features for a moment as he struggled for something to say in response. "I…I offered to…to stay with him." He then admitted in a shaky voice. "To die with him so he would not be alone."

If she had thought the news of Godric's death was stunning, the revelation that Eric had offered to die with him was even more so. Paige pulled back in her shock, feeling as though her heart had just dropped into her stomach or that she might be sick. She was at a loss for words, stunned into silence by the fact that she'd come very close to losing Eric again – this time, forever. "I don't understand…" She said slowly, eyes filling with tears again. "I…you…" Paige shook her head, struggling to get the words out. "What?" She finally blurted out, letting Eric see exactly how shaken she was by what he'd just told her.

Eric shook his head and unwrapped his arms from around her so he could place his hands on either side of her neck, forcing her to meet his now determined gaze. "I offered, but he and I both knew I couldn't go through with it, not while you are still here." He said urgently, interrupting her babbling. "I needed to remember what I would be leaving behind, just how much I still had to live for in this world, and I just…couldn't." He explained. "Godric is gone, but you are still here, Paige," Eric said, something other than sadness finally showing in his gaze. "And you are all I need."

Paige smiled then, his confession making the tears in her eyes overflow and go sliding down her cheeks. Eric offered a small smile, catching her tears with his thumbs so he could wipe them away, before he suddenly leaned in and pressed his lips against hers. It was a bit strange, the taste of his bloody tears and her salty ones on her tongue, but she was kissing Eric again and that was all that mattered. Paige forgot about the world around them, forgot about anything by the vampire who's lips were claiming hers with fervor, and returned his kiss eagerly, sighing when he pulled her as close as he could and held on to her as though she were his life-line, as though he were terrified she would disappear if he loosened his grip even the slightest. She felt dazed when he finally pulled away and pressed his forehead against hers, eyes staring intently into hers.

"I love you, Paige." Eric said quietly, his gaze unwavering as he caressed her cheek with his. "I tried not to for so long, tried to stop caring about you…but I never did." He admitted. "I still love you, and I always will."

They were the words that she'd been desperately wanting to hear from him for nearly a year and half, and as soon as they reached her ears, it felt as though a weight had lifted from her shoulders. Paige smiled at him, brushed her fingers along his cheek, then leaned forward to give him another kiss, which he returned enthusiastically. "I love you, too, Eric." She said against his lips, making him smile. "Always and forever."

And they kissed again as though sealing the deal. And for the first time in nearly a year and half, Paige felt as though everything was right in the world again.

A/N: Yay! Review.