AN: Thank you to TheLadyKT, B-Rock525, ljhjelm49, fondie0280, vilannh, mindy781, charhamblin, AlphaSprout, The Vikings Succubus, ILoveVikings, ashmo2000 and TeaCupHuman for reviewing xx

ALL RIGHTS GO TO CHARLAINE HARRIS!

Chapter one hundred and thirty

Sookie's POV

"What language are those two jabbering on in?" Sam inquires with a bemused expression. He is very unsure as to why the twins are even yelling at each other. One minute they were laughing and now they are threatening to tear each other's heads off in three different languages, the variety of language confusing poor Sam to no end.

"Well they are flicking between Swedish, Norwegian and Danish,"

"But why? What's wrong with just arguing in one language? Or is that too taxing for the young'uns these days?" I can't help but smile as I laugh a little.

"Don't mind them, they'll be fine in a moment, where's little Angie?" I probe while glancing around the room to try and hunt down the little girl, I even break down my walls in order to try and locate her somewhere in the house. Little Angie is only about three years old and she is Sam's pride and joy, and so she should be, she is his only child.

Sam met the love of his life, Maria, about five years ago, I believe, and they were very happy, but unfortunately she did die giving birth to their little girl. Sam was heartbroken, he struggled to function without her, so I came back from Sweden to help him out for a couple of months, he needed the support and I was his closest friend. He's better now, but he does still miss her, but instead of the memories being sad and causing grief, they are happy and they make him look back on them fondly. He will never stop loving her, he told me that himself.

"Has Amelia been round to see ya lately?"

"Yeah, she brings Jake with her whenever she does. Her and Tray have been a God sent, that little boy of theirs keeps my little Angie amused for hours,"

"You think she's hard to handle at her terrible twos and threes stage, wait until she's a teenager, that's a whole new bucket of fun,"

"I can tell," Sam chuckles while looking back at the children who are still screaming at each other, but to be fair it is only in one language this time. It would seem they have opted to Danish, just to make sure I don't understand anything they are saying. Although I can pick up on a few of the words.

The twins are now verging onto the age of sixteen, in fact, it's their sixteenth birthday in only a couple of weeks, and they are resorting right back to how they were when they were in the terrible twos. It's never ending that stage, I'm sure. Both of them have come a long way since they were that age though. Hope is a beautiful young lady, her eyes bright and entrancing; her blond hair is no longer just pure wavy, it is now a combination of waves and loose curls. She does wear make-up, but only light make-up like me. She is of a healthy weight, as is Nikolaus, and Hope has taken after me for her feminine body shape. She does gain a lot of male attention usually, but she is wise enough not to be dragged in by a boys compliments or crooked grin, she knows to wait for the right person. In fact, at this very moment in time she is in a relationship with a sweet young boy called Cody. He is not the type of boy you would expect her to date, in fact, he's quite the opposite. He wears glasses, is extremely tall, however he is not lanky, he is well built and he has the kindest personality you have ever witnessed. He treats her like she is a princess, and that alone makes me approve of him. She even confided in me by telling me that he has never once pressured her for sex or anything of that sort, and she has expressed to me that she does not plan on doing anything of that sort until she is at least seventeen. I pushed for eighteen, well, twenty-five actually…

Eric, on the other hand, disapproves of her boyfriend, he has many a time threatened to pay him a little visit and warn him. I keep telling him to put his fangs away. He's going to have to accept that our little girl is growing up. Nikolaus is not like his sister though, he is currently single, but he has had a few relationships in the past, all of them fairly steady from what I could tell. Nikolaus takes after Eric for his height as our son is around about six foot one at least, he has shaggy blonde hair that falls around his face, just like Eric's, and he is well built, too. In fact, our son is already in the making of building up some muscles along his arms and body. Eric has been mightily good to them, he has been spending years helping our children remain fit and healthy, he has been training them to sword fight and has helped them with many other sports they have expressed an interest in. But as of now, all three of them share a very deep passion for sword fighting. I believe they will all be doing a display for us all later on today at some point. I must admit I am excited, I have often watched them train, but it will be exciting to see a routine being performed. I guess its Eric's way of sharing something with his children; it's like father and twin time.

"Where's Eric, then?" Sam probes, making me sigh.

"He's at Fangtasia with Pam; she requires his help apparently,"

"Do you think she's still jealous of the twins?"

"I do, but I don't believe it is as serious as before, I think it is more about her feeling abandoned, which I can understand. After all, we did all move to Sweden and leave her here, it can't be easy for her to have so little contact with Eric, not to mention her Maker is so far away from her after spending years close together,"

"I see what ya mean," Sam nods, thinking about the situation himself. It is a difficult situation, one that Eric is aware he needs to sort. It's been going on for sixteen years almost now; he needs to deal with it before it gets out of hand. But even though Eric knows that the situation exists, he still doesn't like to believe it.

"You two, stop arguing right now," I yell at them, getting fed up of hearing their bickering.

"But, mom, he called Cody a nerd! And he said I was ugly,"

"Actually, I think you will find I said that Cody was an intellectual to whom I can talk to, and I did not call you ugly, I called you unsightly. There is a difference," Nikolaus points out in his intelligent voice.

"No there isn't! One just sounds more posh than the other,"

"I believe you mean more cerebral,"

"See! You're just trying to sound smart, but in actual fact you sound like a dickhead,"

"Hope! Language, young lady, you should not use such foul language," I scold her, Hope apologising as she bows her head in shame, Nikolaus goes to chuckle, but the second I give him my look he backs down and apologises as well. Sometimes Nikolaus does use his intelligence for the wrong reasons.

"It's not my fault he swallowed a dictionary," Hope mutters.

"I did not eat nor swallow any dictionaries. I may have read it several times in many different languages, but never have I had the urge to eat one. Anyway, I believe you mean a thesaurus,"

"Nikolaus, Hope, stop," I warn them, both of them nodding.

"You two, there are some cookies and cake in the kitchen, go help yourself, just make sure ya leave some for Angie for when she wakes up from her nap," Sam sends them off, both of them acting like children as they race to the kitchen.

"I love your tactics," I giggle.

Eric's POV

"Pamela, may I inquire as to why you are acting in this way?"

"Whatever do you mean?" Pam looks at me briefly from her paperwork. She has done nothing but sit there and work, she has barely spoken and has only thrown work at me to complete for her. I have been very patient with her, I have assisted her, looked over the bank accounts, the orders, I have given her everything, and yet she has given me nothing in return.

"You are being silent and distant, I also may have some suspicions regarding how you act towards my children," I tell her, Pam dropping her pen before she looks at me harshly. I cock an eyebrow at her – challenging her in a way.

"How do you expect me to act? I barely see you! You're my Maker, you are meant to guide me, but you are never around!" She yells at me.

So Sookie was right. This is jealously. She is jealous that my children see more of me than she does, but that is how it should be. My children are still in need of me, Pamela, well, she should be able to cope without my watchful eye prying on her. Whereas my children need constant surveillance.

"Pamela, you talk of me as though I am meant to be your chaperone, your guardian, a father in a way, but like you said, I am your Maker. I turned you and fed you the knowledge you needed to know to survive as a Vampire; I have given you two states and my bar. You do not need me, Pam, no matter what you think. My children, they need me. They are naïve and do not yet understand the world around them, without me they are at risk, you are not. You are strong, you can go about life on your own without my assistance,"

She stares at me, gawping almost, as she stands completely still, my own eyes holding hers.

"You talk about how your children need you, but I need you as well, sure, maybe not in the same way they need you, but I do need you. You turned me, you are all I have,"

"You have Sookie,"

"It is a fine chance if I ever get to see her,"

"Pam, I apologise that you feel as though I have neglected you, but when my children were born you were aware that they would be the centre of my world,"

"What I didn't realise was that you were going to move to Sweden where I couldn't contact you,"

"I phone you regularly and I come to visit every few months during the children's half terms,"

"Oh, wow, you visit me, what, four, maybe five times a year?"

"You are not a child, you are a Vampire. I taught you so that you would be independent, so that you would be able to progress without me. You did well when I released you, you moved away yourself and did spectacularly well on your own, what has changed?"

"I feel as though you are more attached to them than me,"

"To whom?"

"Those two things of yours,"

"Oh, you mean my children,"

"Yeah, them. Eric, we have a Maker/Child bond, we have been together most of the time since you turned me. That's almost two hundred years, and yet they have only been in your life for sixteen years almost, and you prefer them to me,"

"They are my flesh and blood, I created them with Sookie. That bond is already sealed right from conception, our bond is not as intense as the one I have with my children,"

"What does intensity have to do with this?"

"A Maker's bond to their Child is strong in some ways, but it is not as strong as that between a father and his child. In fact, the bond I share with my children is much more than that, there is a bonding link between us, a bond like what I have with you and Sookie. I can tell what they are feeling, I can locate them if necessary, I can even send them things such as comfort through the bond,"

"A bond created at conception. But when did you discover it?"

"I had felt the odd flicker of a bond for many years, but it was when they reached about the age of five when the bond truly set in, that is why I was able to comfort Hope quickly. My blankness was not only comforting to her head, but the fact I could soothe her through the bond only furthered our closeness. I love my children, Pam, I will not abandon them because my almost two hundred year old protégé wants a little attention,"

"This has nothing to do with attention, it is to do with loyalty,"

"And you are not being very loyal to me, you are practically throwing an ultimatum at me,"

"I won't make you choose, I am only suggesting that maybe you would come see me a little more often, especially considering that you have dumped all this shit on me,"

"I dumped nothing on you, I offered you some opportunities and you took them,"

"You just don't get it,"

"I do 'get it', Pamela. Look, I am sorry that you feel abandoned by me, I did not mean for that to happen, you know you are my favourite protégé, you hold so much potential. I am helping you to find that potential and enlighten it. I will visit you more, Pamela, not just because I can see you require my company and help, but because I do rather miss having you around as well. I have missed you, Pamela, but I will only do this if you will try to be closer and kinder to my children,"

"I'm sure I can give it a go,"

"Good, now do you care to join me and Sookie? We are witnessing my children perform a sword fighting routine which I taught them,"

"I better not, I've fallen behind. I have been enjoying myself a bit much lately," She smiles, her fangs shining in the light.

"Many women between your legs and yours theirs, no doubt,"

"No complaints so far," She grins, making me chuckle. I must admit I am relieved this business has been dealt with; I do not enjoy conflict between me and my Child. We have been together for many years, so having something like this tear us apart would be ridiculous. She relies on me for my wisdom and company; I rely on her to support me when I am struggling, like when I struggled with Sookie's pregnancy, the aspect of fatherhood and the premature birth of the twins. I will repay the debt to her, and I will begin to do that by assisting her in her hour of need. She has indeed fallen behind in her work; I can see that from the profit margins and unfinished work.

"How long will you be sticking around for before you disappear again?" Pam probes as she tidies away some of her paperwork, the completed papers from what I can see.

"Six weeks, no more, no less. School is currently out for the children, so we are free to remain here for that length of time," I assure her with a smile, one that will hopefully comfort her in some way.

Sookie's POV

"Oh, God," I whisper as I cover my eyes through the pure fear, but despite my reluctance I still find myself peeking through the gaps between my fingers. I have seen my children fight on many occasions, but never in such a manner. It was always words and snide comments, but now it's with swords. Eric keeps assuring me that this routine is well practiced and that the chance of injury is minimal, but that doesn't stop me worrying.

"I'm their mother for Christ's sake! Of course I'm worried!" I would shout at him unintentionally. I never mean to sound harsh in my tone, so I always feel guilt afterwards, but Eric always assures me it is okay and that he understands. I squeak lightly while clamping my eyes shut when I witness the sword's sharp blade only just missing my little girl's cheek. They aren't even wearing much protection! They have on special body gear, but nothing to protect their heads.

"Lover, watch, this is the best part," He encourages, causing me to crack my eyes open just in time to see my daughter accidently slice my son's face, causing him to stumble back and fall down. I immediately rush over to him, but Eric soon beats me what with his Vampire speed.

"Are you okay, son?" Eric probes while observing the damage. The slash is very deep and it is across his cheek bone where it skew down his cheek.

"He's going to need stitches, Eric,"

"Nonsense, he can have some of my blood,"

"Eric, he can't, remember what happened last time?" I remind him. The last time Nikolaus had Eric's blood he broke out in a rash, he ended up in hospital with a severe allergic reaction. He had to have all sorts of jabs to help him recover. We couldn't understand why he reacted in the way he did, he was fine having Eric's blood when he was a baby, but then again he only had it in small amounts. A couple of drops in his milk at the most. He never had Eric's pure blood.

Ludwig did investigate into it further and found that due to Nikolaus being more Fae than Vampire, his Fae side defends against the Vampire blood. When I found out I couldn't understand, what with me being okay with Eric's blood and I'm part Fae, but we soon discovered that Nikolaus is more intact with his Fae side, he is synced with it. According to Ludwig, Nikolaus is more Fae than human or Vampire. I believe that may have been the work of Niall, one of my kin whom I have not spoken to since my children were born. I believe he still wants to lure my children to his Fae world, but I refuse to let that happen. Eric and I have both been protecting our children from that.

"I do detest that allergy; it prevents me from even healing my own child when he is injured. Fine, I will just have to call Ludwig," Eric concedes as he stands up and pulls out his phone, leaving me to grab a damp cloth and press it to Nikolaus' wound. I need to try and slow the bleeding.

"I said fighting wasn't a good idea!" I yell over at Eric who waves his hand in dismissal. He is in the middle of a phone call to who I hope is Dr Ludwig,

"I'm real sorry, Nik," Hope apologises as she sits beside him, assisting me in trying to slow the bleeding down. I still find it odd even to this day how different these two are from each other. What with Hope being more Vampire than anything else, but Nikolaus being more Fae than anything else. They are two completely different Supes practically.

"There is no need for worry; it only felt like a small scratch. Not too excruciating," Nikolaus assures her. I could tell that if he could smile at her, he would. Soon enough Ludwig is arriving with her little black bag of wonders. She places herself beside Nikolaus who is still sat firmly on the floor, he is complaining that his "gluteus maximus is becoming numb".

Hope and I both flinch in turn at the hisses of pain he makes when Ludwig sterilisers the wound before grabbing out her stitching needle. It was the stitches that were the worst. I had never heard so many curse words used so colourfully in one sentence before. But after the stitches were finally finished she allowed him to relax, but I could tell he was still cursing under his breath, but luckily in Danish so I am not exposed to it.

"My poor, boy," I hug him, Nikolaus hugging me back awkwardly.

"Mom, I'm okay, really, no need to fuss,"

"No need to fuss? You've just had about twenty stitches, if not more!" I point out, my son only shrugging as though it is an everyday occurrence. I sigh.

"His pain fresh hold is higher than you think, Lover," Eric tells me, all I do is roll my eyes at him.

"Tell that to the stream of curses he threw out," I mutter, making Hope giggle and Nikolaus chuckle lightly before he apologises for the profuse language. I assure him that it is perfectly acceptable after what he has just had to go through without any morphine or numbing injections.

"May I inquire as to where it went wrong?" Eric asks, Ludwig stood beside him nodding in agreement, she, too, is curious. I find it rather funny seeing their height contrast.

"I tripped slightly on the step forward," Hope admits, looking down at the floor.

"It was only an accident," I assure her, trying to make my little girl feel better as I wrap an arm around her in comfort.

"It was indeed an accident, she did not mean to cause me harm," Nikolaus tells us both; we both nod, already knowing that for ourselves.

"Maybe we should avoid these fighting classes for a few weeks, take a break. You two have been working awfully hard," I note thoughtfully, the twins agreeing, all of our eyes darting to Eric who eventually agrees to hold off of the training for a while, but instead he offers to replace it with rope climbing. All I do is shake my head with a small smile. My husband and bonded will never change, but I find that I'm overjoyed at that, I wouldn't want him to change; he's perfect as he is. Just like our two children.

"How about we all go to the cinema to watch a film and relax?" I suggest once Ludwig is gone, the twins both cheering enthusiastically while Eric contemplates it thoughtfully. He moves up beside me after agreeing, the children vanishing to get ready as he wraps his arms around me from behind, his lips nearing me ear after he has kissed my neck.

"We can only go if we sit away from everyone else, just me and you. I'm sure we can be naughty if we try," He breathes, making me blush deeply.

"Not with the children in the same room,"

"Then when we return home I want you in our bed with me between your thighs. Any protests?" he spins me around to look at him, I lean up and kiss him softly in acceptance. I can hardly say no to such an exhilarating offer.

"I love you, too," I laugh lightly, Eric kissing me more deeply.

"I will always love you, Lover, until the world itself ends, but even then I will never stop,"

"I hope to always be around for you to love me and me you,"

"Does that mean…" He trails off, leaving me to finish his sentence.

"Yes, Eric, I want you to change me, I want to be a Vampire with you, but only when the twins are eighteen, not a moment before. Can you wait for that?

"I can wait for a thousand years if that is what it takes," He assures me, sealing the deal with a deep meaningful kiss. To think that this one man has changed and completed my life is unbelievable, but he has and I don't regret a day of it.

AN: Unfortunately, my dear readers, this is the end of this story! But I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your support throughout this story; I appreciate it all very much. Thank you so much and I hope to have your continuous support for many more stories ahead. Thank you again! xx