A/N: I am sorry I haven't updated in a while. I really wanted to wait tell the season finale to see if I could incorporate anything in this story, and I was pleasantly surprised. True Blood's over, and I am sad. How will I survive without Sundays filled with my favorite characters? What did you guys think of the finale?

Anyway, this is the last chapter. I never intended for this to be very long, and three chapters sounded good to me. Hope you enjoy!

No More Heartache, No More Regrets

by Xernes

Sookie had no idea how she managed to get Eric's body into Fangtasia. She remembered watching something on The Discovery Channel once about how, when people were faced with a grievous threat, their bodies pump with bouts of adrenaline, and for a moment or two, they have super-human strength. Maybe that happened to her, or perhaps God was just on her and Eric's side. Whatever the reason, Sookie's thankful. While Eric put her in danger yet again, he didn't deserve to die out on the hot parking lot while handcuffed to the monster who killed his family.

"He's not getting any better!" Sookie yelled to Pam and Bill as she tried to push Eric into the deepest, darkest corner of the bar. "What do we do? What does he need?"

Pam's face was still stained with blood; not from the bleeds, but from numerous tears she shed for her maker. "He needs human blood to heal."

She thrust her wrist in front of Bill's face and narrowed her eyes at him. "Bite me," Sookie instructed, daring him to deny her of this. She knew that this was the last thing that Bill wanted to do—if it was up to him, he'd let Eric die—but Sookie really didn't care. "Do it or give me a fucking knife."

There was extreme pain behind Bill's eyes as he lowered his teeth, not gently at all, into Sookie's wrist. He pulled his fangs out of her skin without getting a proper taste.

Sookie dropped down onto her knees next to Eric and pushed her two puncture wounds against his burned lips. After a few drops of her blood fell into Eric's mouth, he finally responded. His hand gently held Sookie's arm in place as he suckled on her wounds, drinking from her deeply as her sweet blood started to heal him from the inside out. Eric's severe burn marks evaporated from his flesh as if they were water on hot pavement, and Sookie took the opportunity to stroke the side of Eric's face affectionately.

Eric's eyes finally opened, immediately found Sookie, and her whole face broke into a smile. No one had ever looked at her the way that Eric did then; his expression was one of shock, gratitude, praise, adoration, and a hint of arousal all at once. Sookie's breath caught in the back of her throat, and she almost forgave Eric for all the wrong he'd ever done to her in the past. "Thank you," he whispered, only loud enough for Sookie to hear before he asked in a louder voice, "Where's Russell?"

"I left him outside," Sookie said, shrugging.

"We need him. He cannot die yet," Eric said, pushing himself off the floor, making his way towards the door.

Sookie hustled after him, and with her palms pressed to his chest, she held him back. "You can't go out there again. I'll get him."

Eric looked like he wanted to argue, but he finally nodded and grabbed a chain of silver, handing it to Sookie. She quickly yanked it out of Eric's grasp so his hands wouldn't burn too much.

She ran outside with the heavy silver chain in her arms. Sookie wrapped the chain around Russell's charred neck and heaved him into the building. He weighed far less than Eric; perhaps because he was so much smaller, or because he was so close to the true death. Sookie deposited Russell on the floor of Fangtasia before slamming the door shut behind her.

"Let's get out of here," Sookie said to Eric once she was in front of him again, far away from Pam and Bill who, together, chained Russell to one of the stripper poles. "We need to talk. Where can we go?"

"My office is available," Eric told her thoughtfully, scratching the last healing burn mark on his face.

Sookie sighed and put her hands on her hips. "You got any place that's nicer?"

"My house isn't far," Eric offered. "We can take the SUV; it has tinted windows, and since I've had your blood, I can make it there without burning, probably."

Well, Eric's house was by far a better option than his dingy office that always reminded her of bad things that happened there in the past. She tossed one last look over her shoulder at Bill; he was staring at her, looking helpless and empty, and she didn't feel not one bit sorry. He did this. He was the one that fucked up, not her. "That works," Sookie said finally. "Where's the SUV?"

Eric led her to the garage that was in the back of the bar that was used mainly for toting in alcohol and Tru Blood. Eric's expensive black SUV was located in the corner, and the two of them climbed inside. He started up the car up, looked back over at Sookie and said, "Perhaps a bit more blood to ensure I'll make it there alright?"

Sookie rolled her eyes. "Just drive, Eric. I'll give you my wrist if you start to sizzle."

His house wasn't far away at all; in no time, Eric was pulling into his garage, his skin perfect as ever. Eric did not step outside of the SUV till the garage door was completely shut. He led Sookie into his house silently and waved his hand in front of his refrigerator. "Help yourself, although I don't have a lot."

"I'm not hungry," Sookie said, shrugging. "Where can we talk?"

Eric sighed and led her into his living room. He gently lowered himself onto his opulent couch. Sookie sat next to him, studied her hands for several moments, and then finally said, "I saved your life, now you owe me an explanation for all this bullshit."

She could tell that Eric did not want to explain anything to her, but she also knew that it wasn't because of some selfish notion to keep her in the dark—it was because he didn't want to hurt her. How did she know that? Were they bonded now, just as her and Bill are? "I needed a way to kill Russell Edgington, and after learning about your blood, luring him into the sun seemed to be the best option," he started, placing his hands in his lap. "I couldn't tell you. He'd know if I did, and he picked up on the plan, then he'd kill us all. It hurt me to do it, but I had to in order to save us—to save you."

"You put me in danger again," Sookie said in a hushed voice. "What if he killed me?"

Eric's whole body tensed up. "That wouldn't have happened. I would sooner meet the true death than let him kill you," he admitted.

Sookie stared at Eric; she could feel her heart pounding in her chest, and her mouth was slightly agape. Eric told her that she meant nothing to him back in Jackson, but here he was, still so vulnerable after almost burning to death, telling Sookie that he would sacrifice himself for her. She couldn't believe it, and definitely wasn't sure if she should. Sookie sat back and asked, "Why? And don't you fucking lie to me, Eric Northman."

"Because," Eric started; the longer this conversation lasted, the more he hated it. He despised talking about his feelings—even admitting that he still had them to begin with pissed him off. "You make me feel something that I haven't felt for a long time."

"What's that?" Sookie asked.

Eric shrugged. "Love or at least some semblance of it," he said, not meeting Sookie's glance. "Maybe it's just compassion, or concern, or even sympathy. I'm not really sure."

Sookie chuckled and shook her head. She knew she wasn't going to get much else out of Eric tonight on this topic, so she asked, "And Bill? Why did you tell me not to trust him?"

"I didn't want to be the one to tell you this," Eric admitted, leaning back on the couch and placing a pillow behind his head so that he could rest against it comfortably. "Bill ought to be the one to tell you. It'll hurt you, and I don't want to see you suffer, but you'll just be mad at me if I don't." He paused again, wondering how he should phrase what he must admit to Sookie, and then continued, "Because of your fool cousin, the queen of Louisiana had a fairly good idea of what you are, and she wanted you for her own personal collection. Bill was her subject, and had a fairly decent resume of completing her every demand almost flawlessly. So, when she decided that she couldn't live without you and your blood, she ordered Bill to collect you. He was to seduce you, give you his blood, and make you fall in love with him so that he could bring you back to the queen."

Sookie was certain that her jaw was on the floor. She couldn't believe it, but it had to be true. She had a lot of Bill's blood the night the Rattrays almost killed her, and Sookie was no stranger to how a vampire's blood could affect someone. She remembered having naughty dreams and fantasies about Bill after that night—why did she never put one and two together, especially after having Eric's blood? Was her love for Bill even genuine, or was it all because of his blood?

She couldn't take it anymore. This was all too much, too fast, and Sookie needed to make it stop. But before she could do that, before she could even say another word, she slipped off Eric's overstuffed chair and fell to the floor, passing out cold.

##

When she woke up, the first thing she noticed was that she was resting in Eric's lap. He was leaning over her, his expression one of total concern and worry as he pressed a wet towel to her forehead. "Are you okay?" Eric asked, handing a tall class of water to Sookie.

Sookie didn't answer Eric's question. She took a big gulp of water, and then asked, "What happened?"

"You passed out," Eric explained, running his fingers through Sookie's blond locks affectionately as he cradled her in his arms. He repeated, "Are you okay?"

Quickly, like water breaks its way through a poorly built dam, everything came back to her—everything that Eric told her about her first love, the first man that she could now honestly say she hates. "I'm about as good as I can be right now," she said in a flat voice, nuzzling her head into Eric's chest.

"I think you ought to stay here for now. You're not well enough to drive, and it's still light outside, so I can't take you," he explained as he wiped the blood that dripped out of his ear away.

"I don't know if that's such a good idea," Sookie admitted. She wanted to be alone, but more than that, she wanted her revenge on Bill—and there Eric was, tall and sexy, and Sookie knew she could have him any way she wanted, all she had to do was say the words.

Eric held onto her tighter. "I am not letting you go. You saved my life, and this is me saving yours," he told her before he scooped Sookie up in his arms and brought her back to his bedroom. He gently set her down on one side of his king-sized bed and tossed her a Fangtasia t-shirt that was far too big for her before he fished out his own pajamas. "Would you like to change out here or in the bathroom?"

Sookie was too tired to protest, even though she knew she ought to, but a nice warm bed was far too inviting right now. "I'll go in the bathroom," she said before she slinked in. Sookie quickly yanked off all her clothes except for her panties and pulled on the Fangtasia t-shirt that came down to her mid-thighs. Immediately, she thought of that night that she went home with Bill from Fangtasia, only wearing this same t-shirt, and mentally slapped herself for thinking about it.

Without thinking, Sookie made her way out of the bathroom and walked in on a completely naked Eric who was pulling on his pajama pants. Sookie gasped, blushed a fierce scarlet, and dropped all of her clothes all in the space of about a second. "Oh God, I'm sorry. I forgot you were changing," she quickly apologized, and tried to get back into the bathroom.

"It's okay. Don't bother going back in there, I'm almost done," Eric explained, smirking at how embarrassed Sookie was. He pulled on the rest of his clothes and said, "All done," he said before he climbed into his bed.

Still blushing bright red, Sookie crawled into the other side of Eric's large bed and tossed his thick covers over her body. She rolled over onto her side, facing Eric, and closed her eyes.

"Why are you so far away?" Eric asked.

Sookie was certain that her heart skipped a beat at that question. "Uh, because…I ought to?"

Eric chuckled and slithered closer to Sookie, closing the space that separated them as he pulled her warm body into his cool one. "This is better, don't you think?"

In his arms, she felt safe; she felt like her whole world wasn't crashing around her, she actually felt better. "Yes," Sookie said in a small voice, allowing Eric to wrap his arm around her lithe waist and his fingers to press against the small of her back, drawing small, soothing circles on her skin till she fell asleep.

##

It was dark when Sookie woke up, and Eric was on top of her.

"You dreamt of me," he told her, pressing down against her thigh, and Sookie gasped when she felt that he was hard.

"How do you know that?" Sookie asked.

He pressed against her a second time, hoping that she'd make that sweet sound again. "You were moaning, and you kept saying my name." Eric smiled wide, and Sookie saw his extended fangs.

She blushed five shades of red, wanting nothing more than to melt into the bed. "Well," she started, trying to think of something, and finally, it came to her. "If it wasn't for your damn blood, then I wouldn't have this problem."

"You need to stop blaming the blood," Eric said, rocking his hips against her. "And admit that you have feelings for me."

Well, that was no lie—she did have feelings for him. Several times when she was with Bill, she wanted to cheat on him, and every time she wanted to do it with Eric. It took her a while to realize that it wasn't just lust because he was gorgeous, but because she actually felt something for him. It was all because of that night on the roof when she was able to see Eric's true side and look into the heart that Sookie mistakenly thought he didn't possess. "We can't do this, Eric," Sookie finally said although she did not want to.

"Why can't we? We both want this. Why must we deprive ourselves of things we crave?" he asked, working his hand up past the hem of the Fangtasia t-shirt, pressing his cool palm against her stomach. "Why should we waste another second of our lives doing things we don't want instead of doing what we desire?"

Sookie released a stifled moan when she felt Eric's fingers graze over the swell of her breasts. "Because…it's not the right time."

The pads of his fingertips found Sookie's nipple, and he rubbed the sensitive bud till it hardened beneath his touch. "Why not?"

She hated him and loved him all at the same time. "Because it'll just be a re-re-rebound."

Eric laughed, and Sookie felt it on her flesh. "You underestimate me, and the feelings you have." His hand slithered down Sookie's frame and he pressed his palm to the warm flesh he found in between her legs through her panties. Eric smirked and said, "Seems like a good time to me."

Sookie was out of excuses; she wanted him too bad to think up anymore half-assed ones. She threw her arms around Eric's body and pulled him down to her in a rough kiss. In that kiss, Sookie released all her pain, all her frustration, all her anger, all her sadness, and Eric chased away every bit of it for her. Without breaking apart from her, Eric worked off Sookie's clothes as well as his own, and Sookie loved the way his bare flesh felt when it was molded into hers.

He hitched his hand beneath each of her kneecaps and lifted her legs up to rest around his waist as he slid into her moist heat. Sookie gasped and grabbed fistfuls of his sheets; he was large and unyielding inside of her, filling her up completely and then some. Eric remained motionless till Sookie relaxed around him and gave him to go-ahead. He pulled almost all the way out and then slid back into her, and Sookie threw her head back, digging it into the feather pillow. He felt amazing; she could make out every single centimeter of his cock, and she could feel him throbbing deliciously inside of her. Nothing she ever experienced felt as good as this; sex with Eric should be illegal, and in that moment, she realized why manic fangbangers were so obsessed with him.

The pace Eric set was steady at first; he wrapped his strong arms around her, pulling her close as if he never wanted to let her go as Sookie dug her fingernails into his bare back, leaving ten tiny red marks that'll heal in a second or two. Once Sookie started to meet his thrusts, Eric sped up, tapping into his vampire-speed. He pounded into her so fast that there was no way in hell that Sookie could keep up, and what were once nail marks on his back were now bright red scratches all down his spine as Sookie bit down on Eric's shoulder softly to keep from screaming.

"Bite my neck instead," Eric told her over the sound of skin against skin, sliding together quickly. "It's tender there, drink from me."

"W-What?" Sookie managed through a deep, guttural moan. "But it's blood."

"Please?" Eric asked, almost begging as his seeking fingers found her swollen clit.

Sookie gasped when she felt Eric's fingers working at her fast as he moved inside of her, and she brought her mouth up to Eric's neck, licked it, and then bit down on his flesh. She heard Eric plead to bite her harder; she sunk her teeth into him until she finally broke his skin and tasted his glorious blood on her tongue. Sookie lapped her tongue at the tiny wound she made before she hollowed her cheeks and sucked. The sensation of drinking from him mixed with him pounding her into the bed was enough to do Sookie in; her loud moan was lost against the curve of Eric's neck as she came hard, her walls clamping down in a series of fast-paced flutters.

Eric sunk his fangs down into Sookie's neck, drawing up her blood as he spilled into her violently. He only took a small amount of her blood since he had so much earlier, and licked her neck until the small wounds healed. With red lips, he kissed Sookie, sealing their bond.

He gently slid out of her and rolled over, lying next to Sookie before he pulled her close. Eric pressed soft kisses all over her face, loving the sound of her excited heartbeat pulsing through her veins. He was victorious; he got everything he wanted and so much more.

"This better not be a one-time thing," Sookie finally told him, propping her head up on the palm of her hand.

"Don't worry," Eric said, grinning. "It won't be."

A/N: Keep your eyes peeled for a sequel!