Epilogue:

SPOV

"I have made mistakes before, with you, with our relationship. I believed that I knew what was best, for me and for you. Many would have fallen in line, blindly trusting me. But you are defiant and full of fire. You fought me, made rash choices – you never considered the long game, only the short-term results."

I could have been knocked over with a feather. Eric wasn't wrong, and nothing he said was from a place of anger. I suspected there was more to his speech. More to hear, if I waited to hear it. I realized then he had paused to see if I might run from him, from us, as I had always been inclined to do in the past.

He had seemed genuinely surprised that I not only remained, but that I nodded to him – for him to continue. To Eric's credit, my self-preservation instincts had previously sucked; looking back, I'm not sure how I had managed to not die – prior to asking for it, being turned.

"You seem different now, and yet the same. I love you, Sookie. I always have. Human Sookie, Fairy Sookie, Fairy-Vampire Sookie. I love each and every part of you."

"Eric, you kept things from me. You were high-handed and conniving. You left me in the dark as a human, never treating me as a partner, or an equal. You ignored me and left me alone, showing up only when I needed to be saved."

He simply lifted on eyebrow inquisitively in response, and nodded for me to continue.

"I never recognized how much love you had for me. How much you sought to protect me. You left me to keep your enemies from lining up at my door. You guided my path because I was not mature enough to find my own way. You steered me from trouble – and then saved me from it when I managed to walk straight into it. You've had my heart for so long, even when I was too foolish to admit it. I love you Eric Northman. You are my soulmate, my other half, and I would be blessed to walk the earth with you side by side for the rest of eternity."

"And now it is time to exchange rings and blood. To bind your souls in the eyes of your communities and your gods," Thalia had become ordained with the intent to perform just one marriage ceremony – ours. After exchanging rings, Eric and I slipped our fangs into each other's throats, our hands intertwined.

"I am proud to pronounce the Northman and the little telepath, husband and wife."

And with that, our happily-ever-after was complete.

Fate/Omniscient POV

***In the years after "Beyond the Veil"***

Karin continued to rule as the Queen of Oklahoma, turning it into a profitable state. One hundred years into her reign, she met a human, much to her surprise, who ignited a spark of humanity in her that she had never thought possible. They lived several happy years in each other's company before he asked her to turn him, committing himself to her. She had never been happier in her entire life – alive or undead. She felt that she finally understood what it felt like to be in love.

Thalia took Brandt under her wing once his eyes had fully regenerated, showing him the ways of the vampire. She teased him at every chance for being less controlled than his cousin, now step-mom Sookie. Thalia had been forever affected by her time with Sookie. Even after Brandt's tutelage was complete, she continued to reside in the same area as the Northman and his family. She was no longer a lone wolf, her vampiric family had grown.

Pam returned to Louisiana to reign as Queen. It took little time for her to secure the state since she had the gained the respect of the vampires after acting as Sheriff of Area 5. She continued her relationship with Heidi and together they were a force to be reckoned with. Less than a year after Sookie and Eric were reunited, Pam surprised Heidi with a 3-carat diamond ring, proposing they seal their commitment with a 400-year pledge – a contract four times the usual length for a vampire marriage. Both expected the contract would renew once its term was up.

Brandt became a formidable vampire. He used the blood on his sword to lay claim to Nevada, turning Felipe's other kingdoms over to well-chosen allies. He was revered, and feared, but he never lost what had made him human. He began work on improving fairy-vampire relations, an important task since Niall's death had reversed the fertility difficulties in fairy females. With fairies more plentiful, Brandt found himself taken with a beautiful fairy – like father, like son – he asked Eric to issue a command that he would never hurt her. It wasn't always an easy relationship, but they were happy.

And Eric and Sookie? They lived out their eternity outside of any politics that could distract them from one another. They were elated to discover that Sookie's fairy side not only allowed her to survive on what equated to very little blood, but that it allowed her to become Eric's primary source of nutrition. They remained monogamous, needing only each other for satiation. To satisfy primal urges. There was never one moment that Sookie's orgasm jar wasn't overflowing.

A/N: If you enjoyed this, please take a look at my other writings. If you love this story, help me get to 600+ reviews! :)

In Progress:

Running in the Moonlight – Eric/Sookie pairing, multi-chapter, pre-great reveal

Conceptualized One-shots to go with "Beyond the Veil":

Sookie tests her glamour

Sookie and Thalia's travels in Europe

Brandt's time with Karin and Pam

Niall's time with Hadley

Eric's favor to Freyda (to let Brandt travel)

Eric and Sookie's time in the dungeons (the lemons version)