I'm horrible for not posting anything in such a long time. School took over my life in a big way.

This is more or less the end. I'm just really done with this story, and unfortunately don't have the time to do much else besides this. Hopefully the length will appease some of you?

This takes place just between seasons four and five. Because Eric spends all of season five with the Authority, it seemed like a good stopping point.

If you have any questions at all about absolutely anything, please feel free to ask.

Edit 3/24/2013: This is a temporary ending. I have hopes of creating a sequel later this summer. Season 5 gave me nothing to work with besides personal growth for Cameron. Idk if you guys want that, maybe you do, but that wasn't really my goal. As a writer, I like to stick to canon as much as possible. Hopefully season 6 will give me more opportunities. Until then, you have this. Its open-ended. Deal with it.

As soon as Cameron got home, Melanie shoved her into the car to leave for Dallas. Jackson was already asleep in the backseat of Melanie's BMW and Cameron's bag had already been packed for her. It took them a while to actually get on the road because Melanie was running around the house, trying to get everything together. She was close to tears couldn't keep her focus.

Not wanting to get in a car wreck or hopelessly lost, Cameron insisted on driving. It would give her something to focus on for the three and a half hours. She didn't exactly want to reflect on her night with Eric and Sookie.

Once on the road, Melanie was a nervous wreck. She talked Cameron's ears off about funeral arrangements and who to call, who to invite to the funeral, what would happen to the estate, and when she should meet with the lawyers. Their father wasn't even dead yet and Melanie was already acting like the body was cold.

There was a lot that Cameron needed to think about, but she refused to let anything cross her mind. She kept is as blank as she could- only focusing on the road. As it was too late to call anyone, Melanie started shooting off e-mails. Cameron didn't really know who she was trying to contact, they didn't have much of a family left, and what members they did have, Cameron did not want to see any of them.

Because she was so focused on driving, Cameron was able to shave about forty minutes off the drive. They went immediately to the hospital and waited forever for a nurse to give them any sort of information. Melanie too the lead there while Cameron sat down in waiting area with Jackson.

After arguing with a nurse for fifteen minutes, Melanie came back to gather her sister and son.

"We can go see him now," she said, pulling Jackson to his feet.

"I'll leave you to it. I'll go make sure the hotel is ok," Cameron said while slumping down in her seat, indicating that she wasn't going anywhere.

"Like hell you're not seeing dad. Get up and let's go," Melanie nearly snapped. She was in no mood to be fucked with and Cameron wasn't sure she had the energy.

Frustrated with Cameron's indecision, Melanie grabbed at her sleeve to try and pull her up. Cameron pulled her arm back out of her sister's reach but stood up. They exchanged brief glares before they headed towards the ICU.

Melanie was explaining the situation to Jackson, telling him what to expect and how to act. Cameron was too busy trying to figure out how she was supposed to act. There was hardly anything that she hated more in the world than seeing her father, especially now that she knew the truth.

He could have saved her the misery of her teen years. He could have told her that she wasn't alone and that she wasn't crazy. Now he couldn't even apologize for that.

When they got to the room, Melanie quietly and gently ushered Jackson into the private room with Cameron reluctantly following. It wasn't an unfamiliar sight, seeing her dad in a hospital bed. In fact, the image had replaced almost all of her memories of her father. Every time she thought of him its what she saw. She had to actively remember happier memories from her childhood. As far as she was concerned, the body in the bed was just a shell and her real father had died a long time ago.

Melanie and Jackson spoke to the unconscious body, while Cameron hung back in the corner. There was no point. He was gone, and had been for a while. Medically, he was still alive, but there was a very slim chance that he would pull through. If he did, he'd still be an incoherent borderline vegetable.

Melanie refused to let anyone leave, and mandated that they had to stay until visiting hours were over. After a while, Jackson passed out in the only chair, and Melanie took to sitting on the floor on top of a sweatshirt next to the chair. Not long after she sat down, Melanie fell asleep with her head against the armrest of the chair. Cameron took her chance to sneak out of the room.

She wandered around the hospital, staying out of the way and avoiding high traffic areas. She made sure to never look into rooms with open doors.

There wasn't much for her to do. The gift shop had closed and she wasn't hungry enough to go to the cafeteria. There was a garden outside of the main entrance of the hospital, but when she looked outside, a bunch of workers were occupying the only benches and smoking. Cameron turned around and continued walking around the hospital.

Eventually Cameron realized that she had the car keys in her back pocket. She could leave any time she wanted to. Though, she didn't think Melanie would be too happy if she did go to the hotel.

Instead, Cameron decided that maybe she could leave for a little while and come back with food, and then Melanie would forgive her. It was a transparent plan, but the inescapable smell of cleaning supplies was starting to bother her.

Following all of the signs for the nearest exit, Cameron ended up in the waiting room of the ER. It was early in the morning, so very few people were there. A few tired looking nurses, a bored looking receptionist, and a few people sitting around the room, filling out paperwork or dozing off.

Cameron walked up to the receptionist's desk to ask for directions to the blue parking garage, and to see if she had any suggestions for breakfast when she was able to pick up on the distant sound of sirens approaching. It wasn't uncommon for an ambulance to visit an emergency room. The nurses stood up and started preparing themselves, and the receptionist looked up at Cameron expectantly.

"Where's the blue garage?" she asked. The receptionist rolled her eyes and pointed towards the door.

"Out there and to the right. Can't miss it," she said. Cameron nodded and turned away from the desk in time to see the ambulance pull up to the automatic doors. EMTs jumped out and started unloading a gurney. As they approached the door, Cameron stepped to the side to let them pass.

She tried not to look, to mind her own business, but the bloodied and mangled mess of a person strapped to the gurney was too much to ignore. The bright red mess grabbed Cameron's attention and wouldn't let go.

Blood was smeared everywhere and the flesh of the victim's chest and neck was absolutely shredded. Blood was matted in their hair, and Cameron was having a difficult time figuring out if it was a man or woman.

"Christ, what the hell happened?" one of the nurses who rushed to greet them asked.

"Another fangbanger. Someone found him in the street near that fanger club in Deep Ellum," the older looking EMT answered gruffly.

The nurses, EMTs, and gurney disappeared around a corner and the ambulance drove off. The ER waiting room was once again quiet.

Cameron wondered just how many people like that came through hospitals. Were vampire attacks really all that common? Were they usually that savage?

She tried to shake off the newly forming doubts and questions as she walked to the parking garage, but she couldn't help but wonder if she was heading down a similar road. If she kept hanging around vampires, would that be her fate? Either go crazy or have her throat ripped out by vampires?

As that thought occurred to her, Cameron panicked. She spotted Melanie's car and ran towards it, throwing herself into the driver's seat and locking herself inside. As soon as she was seated, fat tears started rolling down her cheeks.

She didn't want to end up in an emergency room and she didn't want to end up in a nursing home twenty years prematurely. No matter what, it seemed that her life would end in a hospital. She'd either be like her father, suffering from severe Alzheimer's or dementia, or whatever they decided to label it, with stroke after stroke, or being savagely attacked by a vampire.

The pressure of the situation was finally cracking Cameron's protective shell. She was starting to lose her grip on reason, and suddenly everything seemed so hopeless. She wanted someone to tell her that everything would be fine, that she would live a long and healthy life, free of violence and mental institutions. But she was alone in a hospital parking garage, and knew that both were false.

For a long time she was worried that she would die by Eric's hands. Somewhere along the line, that fear faded away. He gained her trust, but whether or not he really earned it was questionable. For as long as Eric was a vampire, he would be a threat. For as long as he was in her life, Cameron's safety was at risk.

It may not have been fair to judge Eric against the actions of some unknown Dallas vampire, but Cameron was looking for a sign. Her biggest worry was whether or not to leave Eric with Sookie, or continue on with him in her life. Both options were unbearable. Choosing between a broken heart and constant worry and danger was a tough choice that she wasn't sure that she was ready to make.

As she worked through only hours earlier, Cameron really did love Eric. It was a strange idea to her, but it seemed true enough. It wasn't the traditional sort of romantic love that is idealized by teenagers reading Jane Austen, but she did deeply care for him.

Cameron wanted the best for Eric, even if that meant that he remained with Sookie. Even though she wanted to be selfish and keep him to herself, she was also afraid. If he stayed with Sookie, then she wouldn't have to be. She could live out the short remainder of her life as best she could. She could be as normal as possible, hold a real job at a company that operates during the daytime. She could hang out with humans and her only connection to vampires would be news reports.

Allowing herself a few more minutes of hopeless crying, Cameron finally managed to calm herself down with a few deep breaths. She did her best to think of something else because she couldn't keep crying in the hospital parking garage.

She shot Melanie a quick text that briefly explained that she was running errands and would be back later. Then she pulled out of the garage and drove away from the hospital. She did her best to stall, but eventually she picked up some bagels so that she would have something to show for her time when she arrived back at the hospital.

All signs of the vampire attack victim in the emergency room were gone, though the image was still fresh in Cameron's mind. When she got back to her father's room, Melanie was awake and reading a newspaper.

"Why do you look like you're gonna be sick?" Melanie asked her sister.

"What?" Cameron asked, too deep inside her own head to hear Melanie the first time.

"You look awful," Melanie restated.

"I'm fine. I just have a lot on my mind."

"Wanna talk?" Melanie offered. The two sisters rarely shared things with each other. The offer was nice, but Cameron didn't think it would be a good idea to unload.

"No."

"It'll help," Melanie pushed.

Cameron shook her head and leaned against the door jamb, arms crossed across her chest to signify that she did not feel like talking.

"Is it about dad?" Melanie guessed. Cameron rolled her eyes but said nothing.

"OK, didn't think so. Work?" Melanie guessed again. Cameron did her best to not respond. It wasn't exactly work that was bothering her.

"Whatever it is, you can tell me. If you can't tell your own sister, who can you tell?" Melanie tried to reason. "It always helps to talk about things. You've been acting differently for a while now I worry about you. You're my baby sister and I just don't understand you sometimes."

"I'm in love with a vampire," Cameron responded sardonically. It was an absurd truth, and saying it out loud made her feel uncomfortable and foolish. Was she really in love with a vampire?

Yes, and she had just admitted it to her sister.

Melanie scoffed and rolled her eyes. "If you won't be serious, then fine."

Cameron gazed across the room at her sister with such a serious expression that Melanie's face instantly dropped and the air in the room started to feel heavy.

"You?" Melanie accused, unable to believe that her sister even knew a vampire.

"It's my boss. He hired me to redesign his website and then we started fucking and now shit's weird and I don't want to go back to Shreveport," Cameron babbled.

"Are you in danger?" Melanie asked before she even tried to make sense of Cameron's elaboration.

Cameron had to think. Was she really in danger? Definitely in the beginning. But Eric was relatively safe. As far as vampires go.

"No," she finally answered.

"OK. So, your boss. His website. What kind of website?"

"He owns a bar and it looked like it would have been a cutting edge website in 1999. I also helped with the books," Cameron explained. She made sure to keep clear of the seeing the future detail. She may have had a case of word vomit but she was able to afford some discretion.

"Christ, Cam. Is he hot?"

"What the fuck, Mel?" Cameron blanched. Out of everything to discuss, her sister chose to talk about how attractive Eric was.

"Well, I don't know what else to ask! Usually when your baby sister tells you that she's seeing someone, you ask if they're hot! I don't know the protocol for vampire boyfriends!" Melanie defended herself.

"Yes, he's hot. He makes People's Sexiest Man look like a bowl of chili."

"Well, good for you," Melanie shrugged.

"He also has some baggage."

"Baggage?" Melanie prodded.

"A sort of ex who is part fairy and he was pining for her for a while. Then it seemed like he got over her, and as soon as that happened, she came back and I don't know," Cameron tried to explain the sequence of events without getting into too much detail, but her thoughts were becoming jumbled.

"Part fairy? Does she live in a toadstool?"

"No but she has powers and shit and she's pretty and has a charming Louisiana accent and they have history I guess."

"Do you want to borrow my pushup bra?" Melanie offered.

"No. I just don't even want to see either of them. It's his thing that he needs to work out," Cameron said.

"Don't be such a martyr and take what you want. If you love someone, don't let them go," Melanie advised. She was being surprisingly supportive, which caught Cameron a little off guard.

"I thought that if you loved something, you let it go," Cameron argued.

"I think you should do whatever makes you happy. Screw this guy and forget the home wrecking ex. What do you want?" Melanie posed a good question. What did she want? Cameron had no idea. All she could do in response was shrug her shoulders.

"I don't think it matters what I want," Cameron finally muttered. For as long as she'd known Eric, she never really had a choice. Not really. He called the shots and she went along with it. Whatever he wanted, she would be fine with.

Melanie sighed. She looked like she wanted to get up and hug her sister, but she decided against it at the last minute.

"I'll give his address to the Fellowship of the Sun if you want me too," Melanie offered with a playful smirk, attempting to cheer up her sister. Cameron returned the expression, but even just joking about Eric in danger bothered her.

The sisters fell into a comfortable silence, both too caught up in their own heads to carry on conversation.

Cameron knew that the Fellowship of the Sun was no threat to Eric. They were simply a nuisance, and were too unorganized to get anything done without a leader anyway. Eric was way out of their league. Or at least the Eric she knew and loved was. She wasn't so sure about this new version of him. She was having trouble remembering that it was still him.

She hoped that Sookie was taking care of him, and that he wasn't getting too attached. She worried that in her absence, he would turn to Sookie to fill her place. In the small amount of time that she had spent with him, it seemed as if he preferred her over Sookie, but how long could that possibly last? Especially if she wasn't even there? Out of sight, out of mind.

But perhaps that was for the best. What could she reasonably expect from a relationship with Eric? Assuming he got better, that is. It's not like they'd ever get married or have kids. Cameron didn't even want that with a normal human. He was the only person who knew about her ability, and she wanted to keep it that way. What normal guy would want to be with a crazy girl anyway?

And she certainly didn't want to become a vampire. She didn't want to live forever. She didn't want to be a slave to blood. The power seemed cool, but it was hardly a consolation prize. She liked daylight and pizza, not having to worry about silver jewelry, or when the sun was going to come up.

After several days of no contact, Cameron grew anxious. For once in her life, she was desperately hoing for visions, but hardly any came. She would see flashes of things, but nothing that seemed relevant. She saw a crowd dressed in black, a tombstone with her father's name on it. Neither were earth shattering revelations. She saw the interior of Fangtasia with chairs and barstools stacked on top of the bar and tables while Ginger mopped the floor. There was a quick image of what seemed to be a large bonfire.

"Jesus! Quit bouncing your leg!" Melanie shouted, slapping Cameron's thigh.

"Ow, bitch!" Cameron cried out in pain. The sisters glared at each other in frustration. After spending practically every single moment together in close quarters for several days, Cameron and Melanie were at each other's throats.

Melanie slapped Cameron's leg again in response to the name calling.

"You're being a total pain. You know that, right?" Melanie complained.

"I'm so sorry that you're not having fun at the hospital," Cameron muttered. Melanie sighed dramatically.

"Seriously, though. You've been on edge for days. Just go," Melanie finally said.

"Go where? The waiting room makes me sick and the hotel room makes me want to claw my eyes out."

"No, I mean go claim your guy. I don't need you here and I can tell that you're miserable, so go get your fella," Melanie said.

"My fella?"

"You know what I mean. Look, it's weird and I don't entirely get your situation, and I probably never will because let's face it, you're kind of mysterious. But I'm not going to stand in the way of true love," Melanie explained.

"I wouldn't call it true love," Cameron said, "and I'm not mysterious."

"Yes you are. You remind me a lot of dad. It seemed like he always knew everything. I snuck out hundreds of times in high school, and I never got caught. But I swear he knew. Things like that. You always seem like you know so much more than I do, like you're in on some cosmic secret," Melanie rambled, her voice taking on a reminiscent tone.

Cameron knew her sister was talking about her visions, but she wasn't about to own up to it. Admitting that she hung around a vampire was enough. She figured that the less Melanie knew, the better off everyone would be. She didn't want her only sister getting caught up in any kind of trouble.

She struggled to come up with something to say in response, but came up short.

"Anyway, I think you should go. You've never been normal, and I don't mean that as a bad thing," Melanie finally said after a few minutes of silence.

Cameron looked hard at her sister, trying to read her. She didn't think that she knew anything, but Cameron could tell that she genuinely believed what she was saying.

"What about dad?" Cameron finally asked, ignoring the claims of being different or special.

"You and I both know that he stopped being dad a long time ago," Melanie answered honestly, shocking her sister with her answer. But Cameron had to agree. She had said goodbye to her father a long time ago. The body in the hospital bed was nearly unrecognizable.

It didn't take much more of an effort for Melanie to get Cameron on the road and back to Shreveport. At times Cameron found herself driving well over the speed limit. She was in a desperate hurry to get back. She hadn't realized it back at the hospital in Dallas, but she was worried for Eric. She was far more concerned than she anticipated.

Once she drove past Shreveport city limits, she slowed down. She had no idea where she was going. She had just assumed that Eric would be with Sookie at her house in Bon Temps, but suddenly she was doubting that. The sun had set a few hours ago, so he would be awake. Maybe he was watching TV with Sookie, or maybe she had missed some major drama and he was back to his old self.

Cameron did a drive by of Fangtasia, but as soon as she turned onto the street, she got a feeling deep in her gut that she was in the wrong place. He wasn't there.

Cameron had no idea where he lived, or spent his daytime hours. She didn't even know if vampires had homes. She couldn't imagine Eric with a kitchen or bathroom. She couldn't picture him watching TV or doing anything remotely domestic. If he had a house, he surely had a maid.

Eric's home life wasn't what she needed to be concerned with, though. Cameron quickly passed by Fangtasia and decided to head straight to the source of the problem at hand- Bon Temps.

She drove considerably slower to the small town. The roads were narrow, dimly lit, and a bit rough. Typical country roads. A stray possum in the road nearly caused Cameron to swerve into a ditch. She then and there decided that she detested the country.

Sookie's house looked empty. No lights were on and everything seemed still. Not even bothering to turn off the car, Cameron stepped out of her car and called Eric's name. She waited a moment, but nothing happened. With a huff she got back in her car and went back down the gravel drive to the road.

Once at the end of the driveway, Cameron paused. She didn't really know where else to go. Sookie's house was been the only place she had been to in Bon Temps.

Cameron let out a cry of frustration, suddenly overcome with the horrible feeling of helplessness. She slumped against her steering wheel and sighed. That wasn't enough to let out her pent up emotion, so she screamed, expressing her anger, frustration, and vulnerability. There was nothing she could do.

Before she could even think about crying, her car door opened.

"Somehow, I didn't imagine your screams to be so shrill."

Cameron had thrown up her firsts in desperate defense before she recognized that it was Eric who had frightened her.

"Don't make me laugh," Eric smiled, and gently pushed Cameron's fists down.

"What the fuck?!" was somehow the only thing Cameron could think to say.

"Why did you come here?" Eric asked, ignoring her curses.

"For you, asshole!" For some reason, anger was the only feeling that Cameron could express.

"You should leave," Eric told her. He removed his hands from on top of her loosening fists. It wasn't until he pulled away that she even noticed that his hands were there.

"I just got here. I did not drive all the way from Dallas for this. What the fuck happened?" Cameron demanded.

"That's a story for another time. Right now, you need to go home," he instructed her again.

"Not until you tell me what's going on. I'll help you. I can tell something's wrong. Let me help," Cameron offered, though it sounded more like begging.

"You can't. You'll do more good if you stay completely uninvolved. I promised that I wouldn't let anyone find out about you, and I intend to keep that secret. I can only do that if you're gone," he said.

"Where's Sookie?" Cameron asked, changing the topic, which had become rather ominous sounding.

"I don't know. It's none of my concern now," Eric said, filling Cameron with a warm feeling of satisfaction. He didn't seem to care where Sookie was.

"Does Pam know you're OK now? I bet she's been just as anxious as I have," Cameron asked, trying to hide her contentment, though it was pointless because of Eric's blood within her.

"It will be better if you unconcern yourself with me," Eric said, taking a step back and grasping her car door, preparing to close it on her.

Cameron twisted in the car seat and stuck out her leg, bracing her foot firmly against the door. If Eric tried to close the door on her, he would break her leg. It seemed like a good enough security to keep him there a bit longer.

"Well tough shit because I'm already here and it is very much too late to unconcern myself with you," Cameron told him earnestly. It was almost as good as a real admission of love in her book.

Eric attempted to stare her down, to break her resolve with a warning glare, but she kept steadfast. She was determined. Cameron returned his hard stare, and pretty soon his gaze softened.

"Bad things are about to happen," he warned.

"Hey, it's my job to tell the future," Cameron joked, trying to lighten the suddenly somber mood. It didn't work.

"I won't be able to protect you. You need to go home, pretend that we never met, that you have never heard of me."

"Don't let this further inflate your ego, but I don't think I could forget you," Cameron confessed.

Eric's expression suddenly hardened.

"I'm not sure what you don't understand about this. There are things that are stronger and more powerful than me. I won't take you down with me," Eric tried to explain as vaguely as he could, hoping to convey the stress of the situation to Cameron without revealing anything. The more she knew, the more trouble she would be in. That much Cameron could see. But she just couldn't let Eric go that easily. Not without answers. She had been through too much to just let him go like that.

Eric could feel her conflict. He firmly grabbed her ankle and moved her leg away from the car door and prepared to shut it on her.

"Are you expecting to go down?" Cameron asked, allowing him to herd her back into the car.

"It's out of my hands. Now leave before you get involved," Eric ordered, reaching around Cameron to buckle her seatbelt for her.

"You think you're going to die and you don't even tell me goodbye or anything?!" Cameron shouted at him, overwhelmed with a horrible feeling of dread. Eric was the strongest thing she knew. It was impossible to imagine anything that could threaten him or take him down.

"You're just going to send me on my way home and walk to your death and I'll never see you again? Fuck you! This is so typical! The second I decide that I might love someone they fucking die!" She continued to yell. Eric silently took the abuse.

"You don't love me."

"Fuck you. I might!"

"You need to leave. Go home, live a normal life. Get a daytime job, marry a human, get fat."

"And then what? Pull a Virginia Woolf? I'm not normal!" Cameron was getting frantic. The conversation was starting to feel a lot like rejection.

How could Eric suggest she live a normal life? He of all people knew that she was far from a normal human. She had no hope. It seemed as if her only options were die alone in a loony bin or die by vampires.

Eric's face grew dark. He was quickly losing patience. Time was sensitive.

"I don't care what you do! Stay here and get killed, marry an accountant, kill yourself, it doesn't matter to me. If you won't listen to me, then your life is no longer my concern." Eric stepped away from the car, slammed her door shut, and disappeared into the night, leaving Cameron stunned to silence.

Cameron wasn't sure if she should cry, yell, drive into a lake, or go home and wait for something to happen. She was feeling confused and conflicted. But mostly she was hurt. She knew he probably didn't mean what he said. He was trying to protect her. But Cameron couldn't help but wonder what had him so worried.

Whatever was about to happen, Cameron hoped that Eric would be OK. He was clever and strong. Surely he could take care of himself. He would certainly be able to find a way out of whatever trouble he was in. And until then, she would wait.

"Fortune Teller" by Forest Fire

"Trouble Comes Knocking" by Timber Timbre