Ten Thousand Miles

O my Luve's like a red, red rose,
That's newly sprung in June:
O my Luve's like the melodie,
That's sweetly play'd in tune.

As fair art thou, my bonie lass,
So deep in luve am I;
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
Till a' the seas gang dry.

Till a' the seas gang dry, my dear,
And the rocks melt wi' the sun;
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
While the sands o' life shall run.

And fare-thee-weel, my only Luve!
And fare-thee-weel, a while!
And I will come again, my Luve,
Tho' 'twere ten thousand mile!
Robert Burns A Red Red Rose

“You are going back to Bon Temps aren’t you?” I asked Bill.
“Yes,” he answered.
“You won’t be here for Samhain or Yule,” I said.
“Yes,” he said. “I would ask you and your husband for a favor.”
“Me and my husband?” I asked. “Is this a writ of divorce between us? I have been your sister wife for a while, you could at least say the words if you are done with me.”
“Renee was not pleased with me either, and no, this is not a break up of our relationship,” he said. “I have to go back to Bon Temps.”
“Why? What do you have left in Bon Temps?” I asked.
“Bon Temps is my home and Sam needs me to come and help him with something for both the human and the Vampire community,” said Bill. “I have finished the book and I already have an agent and he has Simon and Shuster interested in it.”
“That’s great Bill, but tell me something, why do you have to go back?” I asked.
“I am still king of Louisiana, I have to go back and help everyone get through this, Sam and I have a plan and we have to work out how to get it in place,” he said. “He is running for Mayor and I am going home to vote.”
“Absentee ballot, ever heard of it?” I asked.
“Aslinn, will you and Barrister please do this for me?” he asked.
“Do what Bill?” I asked, more than a little annoyed.
“Take care of Jessica and James for me,” he said. “Here is my credit card, spend it on her and James needs, let her shop from time to time.”
“Keep it Bill, Jessica is Barrister’s Vampire companion,” I said. “We will care for her needs, just as we cared for yours and Eric’s and everyone else in this house with fangs.”
“I am sorry,” he said.
“No you aren’t Bill, you have been itching to go back there since you got here,” I said. “I’m selfish; I just want you here where you are safe, among friends. I mean, you are worried about who will take care of Jessica but you are not worried about who will take care of you.”
“I can take care of myself,” he said.
“Great, just don’t call us if you get in trouble, I won’t be back,” I said. He looked at me. “You are going back for her aren’t you?” He looked down and pursed his lips.
“You always knew I was in love with her,” he said.
“Oh I know,” I said. “And I was willing to let you go when the time came, but you are just going, leading me and Renee on. Eric is not doing that.”
“I am sorry,” he said again.
“I know you are,” I said.
“Aslinn, I have to go, and this is not all about Sookie, some of it is, but is not all about her,” he said.
“Go Bill, go, and do what you have to do, but please don’t call me when you are heartbroken and you find Sookie is with someone else, and you know she could be, I mean, she wasn’t broken up with you five minutes and she was with Eric, and then she was with Warlow, and now she could be with anyone. Danger whore…strike the danger part and you have it,” I said.
“That is enough,” he said. He zipped up the suit case he’d been packing. “I don’t want us to leave on bad terms, but good terms or bad, I will be leaving.”
“Go, good luck Bill, you are going to need it,” I said.
He came up to me. “Can I kiss you good bye?” I didn’t speak but I didn’t give him much of a kiss either. “Not much of a kiss.”
“I’m better at hello,” I said.

He picked up his suit case and went out of his light tight room and went up stairs to the main floor where Barrister’s driver was taking him to the train which would take him to London to Heathrow. I sat down on the bed. I don’t know how long I sat there when I heard someone knocking on the door frame. I looked up.
“Oh great, the Norse Lothario, come to give me comfort,” I said.
“I can go, I just heard you two talking,” said Eric, leaning against the door frame.
“Anything with fangs heard us talking, and I am sure it entertained everyone,” I said.
“No, Renee and Bill’s scene was far more entertaining, she called him filthy names and I think she slapped him,” said Eric.
“She should know better,” I said. “Slapping you guys is like slapping a brick wall. I ought to know, I slapped you enough.”
“Yeah but you are trying to save my soul, which you should know better than to try, as I have no soul I am aware of,” said the handsome blond Vampire. “How about some revenge sex? It would really piss Bill off to know you have replaced him with me.”
“No thank you,” I said. “Eric, would you do me a favor?”
“If I can,” he said.
“Could you leave me the fuck alone so I can cry,” I asked. Eric frowned and shook his head and came over to me and pulled me up to his chest. I began to cry and he held me and rocked me.

“You are my best friend,” he said. “I am sorry Bill has broken your heart. You really should have listened to him when he said Vampires always hurt those they love the most.”
“You have never hurt me,” I snuffled, snotting on his clean tee shirt.
“I am going to have change tee shirts aren’t I?” he said. He pulled me back a little. “Yeah, you know Renee cried on me too, so that is okay.” He pulled me back against him and he said nothing. “I have hurt you Aslinn, I am always on the make, I made fun of Bill and I did things to try and make you like me more than him. I should have left him alone.”
“You did all those things to him because of Sookie,” I said.
“I don’t like Bill Compton, so I would have done that anyway, without Sookie Stackhouse,” he said. “I have been at Bill’s throat since I met him.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Because he doesn’t like who he is, and he is too much of a coward to end it,” said Eric.
“You are a happy Vampire,” I said. He chuckled.
“Yes, I am. I do love my being Vampire. I sacrificed a lot being who I am, but I am content and unashamed,” he said. “It makes life interesting to be who you are with no apologies, to live and know the world at night. But Bill will be back, he loves you and Renee.”
“Not as much as he does Sookie, and I don’t want to be a substitute for her,” I said.
“Then don’t,” he said. “Be yourself, don’t let him bring you down. I am working up a story for Samhain to tell at the fire. Are we really giving candy away to little humans who come begging?”
“We are,” I said. “What are you dressing as?”
“What I always dress as,” he said. “A Vampire.”
“Boring,” I said. “Dress up as something else.”
“How about a Viking Vampire?” he asked.
“How about the Frankenstein monster,” I said. He shook his head.
“Grey green is not my best color,” he said.
“I think that grave yard green is kind of hot,” I said.
Oh yeah? Maybe I will give it some thought if you and my sister wives will paint my whole body that color,” he said, grinning.
“You only need your face and neck and hands,” I said.
“I want to go for realism, get into the character,” he said, leading me out of the room.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“Well, I have to change my tee shirt,” he said. “Barrister’s house keeper is going to have wash two more tee shirts than is necessary, this was my fresh tee shirt after Renee got my first tee shirt snotty, now you have done it to this one.”
“Easy Eric, I just cried on yours a little, I could blow my nose on it,” I said.
“Please, just use the tail of my tee shirt,” he said. “I hate that warm gooey sensation on my chest.”
“No thanks,” I said.
“So what are you dressing up as for Samhain?” he asked.
“I was thinking of embracing the stereotype,” I said.
“Boring…you could be a Vampire,” he said. “In fact, it would please me to no end to help you get into character.”
“What like join the Monster Squad for real?” I asked.
“Sure, wouldn’t that be a hoot?” he asked.
“Did you really say that?” I asked, as we went into his room.
“Yeah, I heard James say it and I have been trying it on for size,” he said. “Expanding my vocabulary.” I stopped at the door as he walked on into his room.
“Don’t do that, your vocabulary is fine as it is,” I said.

“It would really bite Bill’s ass,” he said, going into the closet and selecting another tee shirt, this one with Black Sabbath on it.
“Nope, he already knows that if I take the immortal plunge that you would be the one for me,” I said. “You know what to do.”
“That I do,” he said, walking into the bathroom. He threw the used tee shirt on the bed and came out and was stretching the tee shirt over his shoulders. “Are you through crying, because if you aren’t I will keep my shirt off.”
“Yeah, you don’t want me to snot on your bare chest,” I said. “God, Eric, you are a beautiful creature.”
“I am,” he said. “So what else can you be for Samhain?”
“How about I be Frankenstein and you be the monster,” I said.
“We could do it Rocky Horror style…I have gold colored speedos,” he said.
“See, why did I know you did,” I said. “I don’t think Barrister would like for me to wear a corset and stockings.”
“He could too,” said Eric.
“Nah, you look like you would enjoy it too much,” I said.
“Barrister has nice legs,” he said nodding in agreement. He fiddled around in the room, brushing out his hair and straightening his shirt. “Renee could dress up in a corset and stockings and her stillies,” said Eric. “Then we could take a picture of us all gadded up in our underwear and send it to Bill.”
“Now that would be a hoot,” I said. He came up to me and cupped my face in his big hands.
“You still love him, don’t you?” asked Eric. I nodded.
“Till a' the seas gang dry, my dear, And the rocks melt wi' the sun; And I will luve thee still, my dear, While the sands o' life shall run.” I quoted the Robert Burns poem I had read so long ago.
“My poor little Aslinn, what shall I do with you,” he said. He leaned down and kissed my cheeks. “Come, we should watch the Rocky Horror Picture Show and get inspired.” He and I walked out of his room and headed for the stairs. “How about priest and naughty nun?”
“You already did Father Wattawaste,” I said.
“Oh yeah, I did,” he said. “How about….”