Sorry for the long wait for this Chapter, i wont bore you with reasons why but their is an upside to it, which is I am further along in future chapters... Now a big Thank You to everyone who reviewed the last time, i really do appreciate it, just as i appreciate my wonderful Beta, who does a sterling job, and helps me learn a few things about grammar and punctuation along the way too.

So enjoy...

The hand he held out to her had fallen away back to his side, and now motionless, Conrad stared up at the night sky. For the moment, the only answer he was able to give her was his silence, as he battled the near undeniable urge within himself to give in to Sookie's plea. Though he believed in every word he had just told her, the reasoning for leaving Richard and Lucian, to not stand and fight, still went against his very nature, the complete opposite of who he was, and the more she spoke the more he found himself wavering in his decision.

What ultimately kept him still however, was not only the awareness that allowing Sookie to go back would be close to suicidal, but also that this was the right thing to do. This was what Richard had wanted, what they had planned for, what needed to be done if they were to be successful in their goal to free Eric, and release his brother from the centuries old debt he owed the Viking. With an unnecessary breath that only served to bring more of Sookie's unique and unnerving scent weaving around him, Conrad blocked out the calling of his blood that commanded his return to his brother, and set his mind to the woman humming with suppressed magic beside him.

As he lowered his eyes to meet hers, the blue still flecked with the gold held him captive and he was reminded of just a day ago when she had held his gaze so steadfastly. She had asked him then if she could trust him, and he had returned her question with one of his own. It was the answer she had given then, the confirmation of her love for Eric, which gave him all the answers he needed now.

"Is that what you think Eric would want me to do? Would he have me take you back there, or take you to safety?"

The impact of his words, or rather Eric's name, was immediate, and for a moment it felt as if he was seeing more of Sookie than he had allowed himself to in the weeks he had known her. After a minute her mouth opened, only to close with a snap as she took a cautious step, turning away to stare back in the direction they had left his brother and Lucian. Her shoulders dropped, whatever internal battle she had been fighting had come to an abrupt end, and before he realised what he was doing he had walked up behind her. Surprising himself, he placed both hands on her shoulders and guided her around so she was facing him again.

"I made a promise to Eric…"

Sookie murmured, her words falling away, and for an all too fleeting instant, it was as if she was back with him last night. Eric had reminded her of the promises she made to him, and yet here she was twenty four hours later close to breaking them until Conrad said Eric's name with such intent that it was as if he had chucked a bucket of ice cold water over her.

It had wrenched her back from the compulsion to go to Richard's aid and reminded her of the trust Eric had placed in her. Trust which Eric had insisted wasn't about the responsibility of his freedom, rather the one thing that mattered beyond that. Sookie hadn't needed him to say more, the meaning behind his words had been enough, and it was that thought that had her turning back to Conrad.

"I won't break that…I'll come with you."

"Good. This is the right thing to do Sookie. I know it doesn't feel like it, but believe me it is. Tomorrow we will go on to Karin as planned, and I will contact Aimery…he will no doubt join us there."

Sookie stared back the way they had come from for a moment longer, and then turned and nodded to him.

"And tonight?"

"Tonight I am afraid we have to count on the hope that for once in their existences Karl and Aimery may have done as they were told, and after having met them both you know how slim that chance is."

"So you have a plan?"

"You really have spent too much time with the wrong brother. Your opinion of my bloodline is sadly lacking in admiration. Do you honestly think knowing how jeopardy friendly both Richard and you are, that we didn't consider the possibility this might happen?"

Conrad didn't wait for an answer and instead watched her face closely for any sign of rebuttal before he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her back against his chest, taking to the air with more ease than he had the last time. It was twenty minutes before he found what he was looking for, and only once he had asked her to scan the house below them for signs of life, did he bring them down.

He could feel her hand clutching the back of his jacket as he led her from the back yard into the house, and knew she was relying on his superior vision in the darkness he didn't dare break in case of alerting the neighbours. Once he'd made sure the house was as secure as possible, he settled on the smallest of the bedrooms at the back of the house, the only one with a built-in closet. She listened in silence as he explained how before arriving in Louisiana, Aimery and Karl had scoured the route through Oklahoma, glamouring humans into taking out short term leases, using numerous aliases for places for them to rest, or in this case to use as a bolt hole. How all the houses were in built up residential areas like this one, away from any known Vampire-owned properties or businesses.

"I have never shared my resting place with a human before,"

Conrad told her as he pulled some spare blankets stored in the closet and tossed them onto the single bed. He set two aside to take into the closet with him and watched her face as she digested the information, and her lips twisted into what would pass as a smile.

"Or a part Fairy either, I bet. Are you certain you will rest easy with me so close?"

Sookie's smile widened as he accepted the hit with a nod, his silver eyes shining with undisguised humour, amusement lacing his voice.

"What is it my brother calls you…his Dear Delight?"

Confused by the sudden change in conversation, Sookie nodded mutely.

"Then unless he is using it sarcastically, it is only further proof my brother is insane."

"So I won't be sending you a welcome letter to the Sookie fan club then?"

"Oh I don't know… If you continue to do as you are told, and can resist the urge to punch me again, then you may make a convert of me yet. Stranger things have happened."

Sookie found she was laughing along with him and it only served to remind her that it was these moments when Conrad seemed to forget who her Great Grandfather was, when the mistrust slipped away, that there were some similarities between the brothers.

"But I suppose an apology for you hitting me would be too much to ask for?"

Conrad queried as she settled down on the bed, and watching her, he knew if his brother was here he would have claimed the place beside her. As if she was somehow following his thoughts, she glanced as the space his attention had settled on, and any remaining traces of laughter fell from her face.

"I made promises to Eric that I don't want to break, and I believe you that this is the right thing to do, but I can't help thinking how he would have never left me there…"

Sookie faltered, remembering how after Conrad had mentioned Eric earlier when she had turned away from him to stare back towards Una's businesses, she had felt torn between keeping her word and the awful sense that somehow by leaving Richard she was abandoning a friend, one of the few true friends she possessed.

"No, he wouldn't. I am not one for dramatics, but we both know he would have met the true death rather than see them take you, but I think that wouldn't be something you would want any more than he would want for you to risk your life tonight to have gone back for him."

Conrad moved her bag to the floor so he could sit on the end of the bed, and allowed himself to admire the bonds of loyalty that seemed to influence her actions as much as they did those of his blood. It was what his brother had described in Arkansas as her very human heart when he was trying to make him see the differences between her and her Fairy kin, and as much as it went against every fibre in his being, he had to appreciate that perhaps Richard did have a point, at least in this instance.

"Lucian did tell me only tonight that I needed to remember whatever I do, whatever situation I run into, Richard will be there behind me…that I put his life at risk as well as my own, and I know that, I do…it's just-"

"Your emotions take over," he finished for her. "I had noticed. It was why I used Eric's name. I believed you when you said you loved him, and I wanted you to step back and look past your immediate emotional response, and concentrate on the bigger picture. Your loyalty to my brother is admirable, and I am not dismissing your fears. It was not easy for me to leave either, and unlike the two of them, my feelings for you don't stop me from appreciating the power within you or the use you could be, but my ultimate duty was to protect you, Sookie."

"Eric was the right choice," she admitted.

"My fallback plan was to threaten you with Pam."

A rare grin brought animation to his handsome face that it sometimes lacked in its more usual brooding expression, and Sookie smiled with him, sharing his humour as she thought of her old friend. It slipped away however, as she remembered the look on Richard's face when he told Conrad to take her, and her fists clenched in her lap.

"They will be okay, won't they? If it is Freyda, I mean…you said she has no reason to hurt him?"

"In the over eight hundred years my brother has existed in this world he has managed to escape worse than this, and I would be sorely disappointed in him if he allowed a jumped up baby Vampire Queen be his downfall."

There was a level of determination in his voice, as if through his own force of will and belief, Conrad could pull Richard through this himself.

"Surely, you have spent enough time in his presence to know there is little anyone can do to stop him once he has set his mind to something. He is a force of nature in himself, and leaves destruction and mayhem in his wake when something or someone gets in his way. Even as a human Richard was the same…it was what drew our maker to him. I think perhaps he saw something of himself in some of Richard's less admirable qualities…"

"It's why we're here now. What started all this was Eric preventing him from facing the true death as punishment to Durst, and now Richard is trying to repay that."

"He has told you about Durst?"

Conrad's words may have been filled with surprise at first, but then a look of what she could only think of as resignation settled over his features.

"When he brought Lucian to me after New Orleans, I asked him why he was doing this for Eric and he told me. He wouldn't go into detail…it's not something he seemed to want to talk about for obvious reasons, I suppose…"

Conrad sat in silence for a moment and thanked whatever powers-that-be that had stopped Sookie, firstly from being able to see what he could, and secondly that had made it impossible for her to read a Vampire mind. Richard had not even shared what Eric had done for him with his own progeny and yet he had shared it with the woman he had known for a matter of weeks. Whatever denial his brother made in the future, this was all the proof he needed to confirm everything Conrad had suspected since he had seen the way Richard looked at her in New Orleans.

"You were once taken by enemies of your great grandfather, and you met Ocella, so I imagine you can fill in most of what likely happened to him before Eric got to him, and what would have come after. Both of you realistically shouldn't have survived either ordeal, but you did."

"Because Eric was able to heal us both with his blood…"

"And you sense that in him, don't you?"

Sookie stopped herself just before she demanded how he knew, and instead she nodded in simple acceptance. There had been too many chances for him to pick up on the fact she could differentiate between Vampires, and it wouldn't take much to piece all of that information together, especially for a Vampire as old as Conrad who seemed to know the Fae so well.

"Yes," she confirmed.

"Maybe it is what draws you to him?"

"No!" she snapped. "You cannot tell me one minute that you admire my loyalty, only to try to cheapen it by saying it is all because of blood he ingested once centuries ago."

The words Sookie spoke were impulsive, but ones she wished she had considered back when she had been so set on the ridiculous, but persistent thought that somehow the blood bond between her and Eric had manipulated her feelings for him. It might not have changed what happened, but it could have saved so much heartache and time if she had just accepted sooner that she loved Eric by her own free will.

"I didn't mean to offend you, "He assured her, but when her only response was an arched eyebrow he allowed for a little humour to lighten his expression. "For once."

"Richard told me Sunday night that time in your company would only make me appreciate him more," she retorted. "I can see he had a point. Or maybe, this was the plan all along…force us to spend time together, and hope we don't murder each other?"

Conrad openly laughed, and before his better judgment could stop him he reached out and awkwardly patted her hand. He hadn't actually meant to offend her, yet it was clear his comment had hit close to home. There was a sudden urge to probe further, to see if he could learn something more about her, but there was something closed off about her even as she laughed that stopped him.

"You should get some rest. It is too late to hear from anyone now, and I am not sure Eric is in Oklahoma City anyway…he could still be tied up in Area Two." He paused then nodded toward the closet where he would spend the day. "We stick to the same rules as before, whether my brother is here or not. If you are disturbed through the day…anything happens that could place you in danger or draw attention to you…no heroics, you leave."

Sookie watched him move to stand in front of the window, his head bent and his fingers working over the screen of his cell phone.

"I imagine I will find that a lot easier that I might have done before," she responded. "Goodnight, Conrad."

A few hours ago in the motel she had been ready to sleep, with Richard there beside her, but now she felt more alone than she had in months. There was still the lingering sense that she'd abandoned him, and closing her eyes she reached down within herself and felt for the remnants of the bond with Eric. The threads wrapped around her just as his void did, anchoring her with his comfort and strength. She could almost believe he was sending his own message to her and that somehow he knew she needed him.

"Goodnight, Sookie."

Conrad listened for the change in her breathing, and when he was sure she had slipped into sleep he moved to cover her with one of the blankets. He refused to allow his eyes to linger on her…the past had no place in his thoughts tonight, and if she awoke to find him watching her, the same way she had caught him in the car, he knew she would ask questions he had no desire to answer.

oooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOooo

Sookie had barely left the room since she'd awoken in the late afternoon, and when the door to the closet opened minutes after sunset, she was relieved to see Conrad had no plans to stick around longer than necessary.

"Karin is about sixty four kilometers south west of Oklahoma City, in a place called Chickasha. It should take us little more than an hour."

"And Eric…? Richard…?"

"No, not yet. I suspect Freyda will call sometime today to inform me of recent events. Karin may know more."

"And if he isn't with Freyda?"

"We will cross that bridge when we come to it."

Whether she had expected some kind of restless energy in him as Richard would have displayed in the same situation, Sookie wasn't sure. The only real difference she could discern was that he was even less talkative than usual, saying little more than to remind her to not forget to change her appearance. The surprise she felt when he had at the last minute grabbed a blanket from the bed and wrapped around her shoulders as they stepped into the back yard, must have been written over her face as a low gravelly chuckle tickled her ear when his arms wrapped around her waist. Tension in his shoulders kept them rigid, and Sookie knew it came from the close proximity to her. For a moment she felt him hesitate before, with a command to hold, they were off.

The way she was held, she could see little more than the base of his throat, and by the time they landed her head was resting against his shoulder. He released her the second he was sure she was steady on her feet, and bent slightly to study her face.

"Am I at risk from being smacked, or did the service meet with madam's approval? And thank you for not trying to burn me alive tonight."

"There's always time yet,"

Sookie murmured, trying to gauge from their surroundings where exactly he had brought her. It looked like a park of some sort, and with her mind wide open she scanned for Vampire presence, but there were none. They walked slowly along the path, with Conrad keeping close to her side, his hand hovering over her arm as if any moment he was ready to grab her and whisk her back into the night. She didn't realise she had stepped ahead of him until his hand clamped down on her arm. Sookie gestured to the nearest exit, moving more quickly toward the familiar maroon void, like a much needed piece of home being handed to her on a plate.

"Karin?"

Her name was little more than a breath, and he wasn't sure Sookie had heard him until she turned with a smile, which breathed some much needed life into her blue eyes.

"Yeah."

Karin stepped out from shadows just as they reached the sidewalk, and wrapped her arms around Sookie, pressing cool lips against her cheek. She pulled away to nod briefly to Conrad before returning her attention solely to Sookie.

"Father won't believe you are safe until he speaks with you himself. He is travelling back to Oklahoma City now; I need you to talk to him before then."

"It's confirmed she has them?"

Karin nodded once in response to Conrad's question, and Sookie watched Conrad turn away, pulling his cell phone from his pocket. The expression she caught in his silver eyes made her want to reach out to him. However, he was already talking briskly into the handset. At the same time, Karin pushed a cell phone into Sookie's hand and guided her toward a car parked at the curb.

"Talk to Eric…"

The rear door closed behind her with a click and alone in the back of the car nerveless fingers swiped the screen to activate the call. With her eyes closed Sookie gloried in the sensation of his blood calling for him, how the instant the call she was making connected she could feel an answering pulse in response. The tie she had once taken for granted, unappreciated, even resented over the years she now revelled in. Though weak into comparison to when they were together, it was enough to soothe her as nothing else could. Whether he was conscious of it or not, Eric was pulling on the strands, calling to her, and Sookie responded instinctively to give him what he wanted the only way she could. When she had last done this they had been together in Arkansas, and he had taken her breath away with the emotion to be found there in his eyes, but tonight she knew this was more about confirming her safety, reassuring himself that she was real more than anything else. What else she was sure of was that once his relief subsided it would leave room for other emotions to take its place, one of them would be anger, and another his desire to protect her.

"Are you hurt? Karin could tell me little more than you were with Conrad, that you had escaped… "

"No I'm fine, not a scratch. Richard had us leave the instant he realised the premises were being searched, whether it was what I wanted or not. and Conrad gave me little chance to argue."

"And you I imagine Lover did not want it one bit, I on the other hand find I am in Conrad's debt. He has managed to do what not many can claim to have accomplished and tame the stubborn woman that is my Lover."

"I punched him for his trouble,"

For a moment she thought she had actually shocked Eric in to silence before a loud bark of laughter sent warmth spreading throughout her body, her lips twitching in response.

"And still he kept you; he has more tolerance than I thought. You didn't go back for Richard, you weren't tempted Lover?"

"I wanted to and I would have, except Conrad seems to know me better than I thought; he asked what would you have him do, and I couldn't break that promise to you… "

"It was the right thing to do Sookie, and I am not just speaking for my own sake. If you had been seen there, then there would be no way out for the both of you, you would have condemned you both, and there would be little I or anyone else could do to save you..."

"I know… Is Richard safe?"

"Yes, for now neither he nor Lucian is in immediate danger. Freyda is not foolish enough to take any action without proof of an actual takeover attempt, despite whatever it is she may suspect. Neither is she in a hurry to go to war with Conrad, and his allies."

"Then that's a good thing… Does she suspect you are involved?"

"No… My biggest concern however isn't Richard or even myself; it is that he was betrayed. Betrayed by someone who must know you are there with them, and that puts you in danger Sookie. If Freyda becomes suspicious that you are here, she won't rest till she has you, and that cannot happen. I will not watch you die, I will not be responsible so..."

"No I am not going home. That isn't an option, not now and you know it isn't… You can't ask me to Eric..."

Sookie had cut him off before he could finish his thought, fear spreading through her veins as Eric's voice rose close to a shout.

"You are too vulnerable here… I should never have agreed to this, that was my mistake!"

"You said you trusted me…"

"Conrad could have you back with Pam before dawn and…"

"And I would be no safer there. Instead, I would put Pam and Christopher at further risk as that would be the first place anyone would look for me."

"I told you I have provisions in place."

"No. This wasn't what we agreed… I won't leave you, and I won't leave Richard when he only allowed himself to be captured so I could get away. I know you want to protect me I appreciate it, but I am not walking away from you again. I can help."

For a long moment there was silence, and she knew he was trying to reign in his emotions. His anger, the frustration she could hear behind his words just as it had been in New Orleans was fuelled by his fear for her, his inability to control the situation, to protect her, and there was nothing she could do to assuage those feelings, not if the only way to do it would be to return to Louisiana.

"Eric…?"

"Release the bond Sookie."

It was a shock to realise she had a tight clamp on the thin thread and pulling herself back she saw to her surprise she had lit the darkened car with a faint glow, the air around her shimmering with magic. It was her emotions influencing the magic, and with deep breaths she brought it under back under control.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean too… I wouldn't do that to you on purpose."

"I thought I could feel you last night, calling me to your side. It was weak, but there, pulling at the back of my mind… I was terrified you were in danger or hurt, but i had no way to contact you surrounded by Vampires who would have been more than happy to hand me over to Freyda, as I punished one of their own… So I sent two of my own men to find out what had happened, but no one knew, except for that Richard had been found with Una, and I couldn't risk contacting Conrad…"

"You tried to comfort me. I felt you; your strength as if you had wrapped the bond around me, anchoring me the way your void does when we are together… I thought I was imagining it,"

"When was this?"

"After when Conrad had taken me to the house we stayed at. I felt so alone and then you were there."

"Do you resent it? I know how you felt before, and we have never discussed…."

"No I don't, how could I?" Sookie had cut him off quickly "I'm not the same person who asked Amelia to break the original blood bond between us, I had to learn the hard way about loss, and regret to learn I couldn't do it anymore, and if that means refusing you, and not going home then that's what I will do... We are in this together, or not at all Eric."

"No you are not the same person. You are still however sometimes foolishly brave and loyal to those you love, and in this instance I wish that wasn't so… "

There was a note of resignation in his voice, that matched his words and Sookie let out a breath she hadn't been aware she had been holding in.

"You won't regret this Eric."

"That is one promise I am afraid you won't be able to keep… Is Conrad close?"

"He's talking with Karin on the sidewalk. Do you want to talk to him?

"I have to, but first listen to me Sookie, if I am right and Richard has been betrayed then now more than ever you can trust no one… I want you to stick close to Karin or Conrad, do not leave their sight. If anything happens, something that makes you think you are in danger and I don't care who it is, then you attack first and ask questions later. Now is not the time for mercy or blind faith, whatever happens you cannot let Freyda capture you, do you understand me?"

"Yes. You don't think it was Karl, Aimery or Alec?"

"No, the ties of their blood are too great for deceit of this magnitude to be possible, but there are more close to them that will not have that problem… Pass me to Conrad now dearest one, before I change my mind, and give in to the temptation to order Karin to take you back herself…"

"Be safe Eric," Sookie breathed attempting to copy his actions from last night to send waves of comfort and love through the bond.

"And you Lover."

oooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOooo

As the double doors leading into Freyda's state room flew open, Richard lowered his eyes enough from his idle study of the ornate ceiling to watch Eric confidently stride in and approach his Queen. With his sword strapped to his back, his blonde hair loose he looked every inch the Viking warrior he had been, and slowly as he studied his old friend Richard felt the fingers clenching around his long dead heart ease. He hadn't needed the barest nod of Eric's head as he had bent to talk to Freyda to know Sookie was safe, it was there in the set of his friend's shoulders, the blankness of his expression, and his ability to even be in the same room as Freyda without showing a hint of emotion.

Richard returned his attention to the ceiling, allowing his eyes to close hiding from prying eyes the relief currently crashing through his body like a tidal wave, and sent a silent prayer up to a god he had long stopped believing in to do just one more thing, and keep her that way.

"Are we boring you?"

Freyda's voice rang out and Richard could feel every Vampire in the room focus on him, including the three armed guards stood to the back, and side of himself and Lucian.

"You have been ever since you dragged me here last night, and you should be warned I am not one to forgive such a thing as boredom easily let alone being forced to do anything I don't want to, and time in your company is not a past time I enjoy… Now have you decided to bring an end to this tedious interlude, or do I need to find my own entertainment with a few of these useless fucks you have guarding me?"