Reuniting Tornedalians

He smiled more at seeing her smile.

"We should probably go check on everyone else."

He nodded.

Marie took his hand and headed inside to where the others were.

He followed.

She had him sit down so she could sit on the arm of his seat.

He sat with her. "Where's Eric?"

"He's gone to bed daddy." Angel told him. "But I think you and mum might want to go and see him."

Marie sighed softly. "He's heartbroken... I'll go speak with him," she rose to her feet and went to Eric's room knocking on his door.

Eric was lying on his bed, throwing a tennis ball, with a bit too much force, against the far wall. "Come in."

She walked in and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Talk to me. Go on."

"What is there to talk about?" He asked, catching the ball. "Every person I like tries to kill our family."

"You trusted her Eric. That's something to talk about, you liked her as well."

"Yeah and she tried to get us all killed, why do I always fall for the psychos?" He asked.

Marie laid a hand on his in comfort. "Now I know what I'm about to say is going to sound completely insane and it's most likely the tiny ounce inside of me that still thinks as a human....but maybe there was a deeper reasoning behind all this?"

"In no world does it count to sacrifice someone else's family for their own needs." He told her, throwing the tennis ball and watching it be embedded into the wall opposite him.

"To us that's true but not everyone feels that way."

"I give up on love, mother." He told her. "It causes nothing but heartache and pain for the family."

"I do believe you father, uncle and brother all stated that very same line as well."

"But they found proper love eventually." He told her. "I have tried, but no one has loved me for me, only for dad's power, our family's power or my own power...The only woman who didn't is about 90 years old now, and I doubt she would recognise me."

"She just might. Where does this women live? Tell me about her?"

"She lives in this town, it's one of the reasons why I came back...About three streets away with her daughter and grandchildren....I come back every few years to make sure that she's okay."

"Eric...why haven't you mentioned this before?" She asked softly.

He shrugged. "Never seemed that important...But I had to keep her safe."

"And her family, do they know about you?"

He shook his head. "I was her secret."