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Chapter Text

Sookie snarled at the curl of hair that always fell over her face and shoved it away before her opponent could swing at her again. She dodged nimbly and struck out with her light, directing the blast squarely into the other’s chest. There was a grunt and a stumble and in that time, Sookie had launched herself to the side in a flanking maneuver and touched the point of her blade against their back. A chime sounded in the air. She smiled.

The pair danced away from each other, going back to their starting positions to begin anew. Bladework in combination with her light, her feet fast and balanced as a cat, the stubborn lock of hair falling over her face once more. She blew it away and blinked sweat from her eyes. Thrust, dodge, parry, duck, strike! This time her opponent’s blade was at her throat while hers was at their ribs. There were two chimes, one for each of them.

Again. And again. And again.

By the time the final chime sounded – the one that denoted the end of the bout – she was heaving for breath, had sustained a minor cut along her arm and had the grim satisfaction of drawing even with her instructor.

“You’re improving,” Claudine said with a smile. “Good.”

Sookie grinned and pulled out the tie of her long, messy ponytail so she could finally get the damn curl out of her way. She accepted the cup Claudine offered her and drank deeply, feeling the crisp water go down her throat and soothe every parched nerve. It tasted pure, like snowmelt. If she tried, she could probably trace it back to the glacier it had come from.

“When do you go back?” Claudine asked.

“Soon,” she replied. “Grandfather says the time is stretching.”

That isn’t the only reason, is it? Claudine thought at her. Sookie couldn’t ‘speak’ telepathically with everyone here, but it was useful with those she could. Especially now.

No, she thought back. But it looks better if the decision appears to be mine.

True enough.

“I could use a swim,” the fae said aloud. “Join me?”

“Just gimme a minute to put these up.” She brandished the blades they’d been dueling with and crossed the field to the store house.

Subjectively, Sookie had spent nearly a decade in this realm. It was one of several the fae used to keep themselves hidden, from other supes and each other. In that time, she had learned what it meant to be fae. How to harness her light, how to cloak her scent, to use her telepathy only when she chose. And in between all of that, she’d learned combat, both offensive and defensive, the history of her race and why they’d retreated from Earth, and enough of the language to get by.

She didn’t know how much time had passed for everyone else. It wasn’t supposed to be very long.

She did know that time had essentially stopped for her. She still looked 26, still felt it, too. At least physically. But she felt different in her mind. She had command of herself now. She had control and discipline. Maturity. She hadn’t considered herself a waitress from Bon Temps in a long time. Going ‘home’ was going to feel strange, more like starting over than returning. But she had to leave.

It wasn’t just the passage of time in her birth realm that had grown long enough to raise suspicions when she suddenly reappeared. Things were moving beyond her great-grandfather’s ability to stop them. Factions within the houses of the fae were splintered and turning hostile. She was half-caste, it was true. Well, more accurately, she was a quarterling. Among some of her kin on this side of the portal, that wasn’t enough.

Her spark made her an heir of Niall, a fully accepted member of the royal sky fae. Susanna Brigant. She still hadn’t gotten used to that. Plain old Sookie Stackhouse was good enough for her. And that human side made her an abomination in the eyes of others. One that should never have been allowed to live regardless of how deeply rooted her essential spark was, or the strength of her connection to it. She was in danger here. She was of bearing age and Niall no longer wished to risk her. She was going home by his decree.

She put away the blades and tried to gather up enough concentration to ‘port herself from here to the lake. But it didn’t happen. It was not a skill she was strong in, even rested. The best she managed was a sort of sidestep of a few feet. It was useful in combat, and even then just against a single opponent, but not much else. She shrugged and walked the distance, watching the horizon slope away from her to where it met the sky. Evenings here were a glorious riot of color. The sunset painted the sky in every hue of blue, gold and red. There was still something deeply satisfying in watching the sun go down without worry that things in the night were just waiting to come out.

Much of this realm was wide open meadows and seemingly distant mountains. One could reach that boundary of peaks, but it took focus. It was populated by few these days. There had been more when she’d first arrived with Niall all those years ago. Many had been here for decades according to their own internal clocks, resting in a place where time stood nearly still. It was considered a healing realm, where one might recuperate from whatever they needed to without putting too much of their life outside on hold. It had been perfect for Sookie to learn and grow into herself.

She admitted that she also had used her time to recover from all she’d been through back on Earth. It had been years since she felt any pangs about Bill. Or Eric. The scar on her belly from the stake had long since healed and disappeared from her skin, just like the tears in her neck. Every mark and claim was gone. The unfinished bond with Eric had dissolved like a sugar cube left in the rain. She was no longer conflicted about what she was. About who she was. Her head was perfectly silent if she wanted it to be. She could barely remember the girl who’d been overwhelmed by everything and covered it with a crazy smile.

Claudine had already started swimming laps across the lake and Sookie watched her for a while as she undressed. Fae were not modest, she’d learned quick and early on, and over time she’d lost that habit herself. She lifted her arms to the last rays of the sun for a moment, soaking it up like a flower, then jumped into the water, bringing its heat with her until she adjusted to the frigid temperature. She dove under and shook her hair loose so that all the sweat rinsed away. She and her cousin swam back and forth, more leisurely than competitively. The sun had dipped behind the mountains before they decided they’d had enough and clambered to the shore to find their clothes. In the gloaming that would last for hours, Sookie saw the tall figure of Claudine’s twin coming and nudged her cousin.

“Here comes trouble.”

Claude lifted an eyebrow but didn’t deign to reply. He had a tendency towards surliness with her. She had never figured out why. He spoke internally with his sister, shutting her out of the conversation with a shield. She didn’t let it bother her as she wrung out her hair and dressed again. She rarely let Claude bother her these days. It was Claudine who turned to her.

“You’ve been requested. By Grandfather.”

“At the Great Hall?”

“Yes.”

She strode off, leaving them at the shore, and made her way to the only large dwelling for any distance around. Her home away from home, as it were. It was a sprawling estate, full of nooks and crannies and strange passageways and false doors. And it was the seat of her great-grandfather when he was here. Which wasn’t that often. She hadn’t actually seen Niall Brigant in nearly two years. She wondered sometimes how he managed to keep all the various timelines he lived in straight. Or if each place he went suddenly reverted to his subjective time, so none was missed elsewhere. It wasn’t the sort of thing she felt like she could ask him. Not because he’d take offense, but because the lesson on how fae space time operated would be totally beyond her comprehension. She had enough trouble understanding how her light worked.

Two guards stood at the door of the estate – only present when their ruler was – and they bowed to her as they let her inside. She nodded back and walked into the Great Hall to find an uproar going on. Fae of every size and stripe were dashing around, some carrying weapons or bundles or trays of food, others bearing messages. From the snatches of thoughts she could catch, it seemed something had escalated in the never ending troubles with the other clans.

“Granddaughter,” Niall called to her when she crossed the threshold into a smaller hall where he was gathering a council. “It is time.”

A decade ago, she would have balked and bristled and been stubborn about it. Now she just signaled her understanding and made her way back through the cacophony to her room to throw together her pack. This was not her war. And even if it was, she hadn’t had the training the rest of his warriors had. A single decade was barely enough to scratch the surface. She might have pulled off a draw with Claudine today, but she was well aware that her cousin continued to hold back her true strength.

She packed up those things she wanted to keep from her life here – trinkets, books, clothes – and was back in the Great Hall less than fifteen minutes later. Some of the urgency of the fae had lessened, become more organized. Niall was waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs that led to the private apartments.

“Come. I will escort you to the portal.”

“Can I ask what’s happened?”

“You can ask. But that does not mean I will answer.”

I do not wish to keep you in ignorance, but it might be better if you do not know what is planned, he added.

“Fair enough,” she said, to both statements. They left the Great Hall behind and he ‘ported them together into a distant part of the realm where the portal to the House of Gates lay. From there, she could find the entry back to Earth.

“I have made arrangements for you. My lawyer will contact you about them. Others will be waiting upon your return. And I will try to be in touch as soon as I am able.”

“Yes, Grandfather.”

The portal shimmered, just slightly out of step from plain sight. Even after so long, Sookie could only see it in her periphery rather than head on. Niall turned to her and laid a kiss on her forehead. “Be well, Susanna.” He smiled at her scrunched up face at the name. “Sookie.”

“And you.” She bowed to him and he brushed it off. He hugged her instead, holding her tight for a breath before releasing her. The intensity of his warmth and love flowed through her in the brief contact, as it did with all fae. She cherished it, assuming it would be a long time before she felt it again.

“Go, now. Give me one less thing to worry about.”

She stepped into the portal.

---

It was a glorious sunny day when she emerged into the cemetery and she blinked at the change. The air was warm, heading towards oppressive with the humidity. But it was the kind of day that she couldn’t necessarily place into a season on first glance. Muggy weather in northern Louisiana didn’t narrow it down much. She walked towards the farmhouse, seeing if any of the flowers blooming would tell her more. But she was distracted from her search when the house came into view. It had been repainted, and had a new roof. The driveway bore a bed of fresh gravel. Her old yellow compact was gone and in its place was a cherry red hatchback she’d never seen before. Had she been gone so long?

Had Jason sold her house?!

She admitted, if she thought back to the day she left Earth, that she might not have given him the best impression of how long she’d be gone. She hadn’t known, after all. But it wasn’t like she was disappearing into thin air. Well, figuratively speaking anyway. She very much was disappearing from the face of the Earth. She’d told people she needed to get away for a while. That she would be back sooner or later. To not worry if they didn’t hear from her. She’d expected it would be a few weeks on this side. Maybe a month. It was going to be weird getting back into the rhythm of Earth after ten years in a fairy realm. She’d known that. But to have so much be different just in her first minute!

She’d reached the porch. An envelope was tucked into the screen with her name on it. Inside it was a key. Only then did she notice that the door was new too, and had a deadbolt as well as the handle lock. The key slid into it like a glove and she stepped inside.

The furniture was the same. The TV was new. The kitchen had an updated refrigerator and a larger microwave tucked under the cupboard. But her old double oven was still there, as well as the scarred table she’d eaten at for half her life. She turned around and saw the pantry that masked the cubby entrance. The light on it was green.

And suddenly it fell into place. She reached out with her mind, easily finding the void below her feet. Its signature was still familiar, even after ten years.

Eric Northman.

She looked out the window, gauging how much daylight was left. Hours yet. He was of an age that he could wake before it was fully dark, but he couldn’t move around much unless…

She went to the window and pulled back Gran’s old lacy curtains. Accordion style folding shutters had been installed. They looked mechanized, like they would close over the windows automatically without any need to be pulled by hand. She exhaled heavily in instant frustration. Not even ten minutes back on Earth and vampire bullshit was already creeping up to her eyeballs. She was half tempted to stomp her foot on the floor, like he’d hear it in his sleep. Day death, whatever.

Ten minutes back on Earth and he’s already got you acting like a petulant child, she chided herself. She twitched the curtain back in place and took her pack upstairs with her to see the rest. If nothing else, she should probably change out of these clothes. No one here would recognize a Sookie dressed in heather colored leather pants and tunic.

Every window had been outfitted with light-tight shutters, she saw when she entered her old room. Gran’s room. It still felt more like hers than Sookie’s. She’d only slept in it for a year before leaving. But all her clothes were there, neatly folded or hung up on the kind of hangers that would prevent wrinkles or stretching. There was no dust, no smell of disuse. She wondered if Eric actually spent time here or if he simply hired a crew to keep things tidy. She laid down her pack and got undressed. First thing first, she would shower, she decided. She walked naked from the bedroom to the en suite and found that all her old toiletries had been replaced with new. Fresh towels hung on the bars. Everything was so clean it sparkled. As irritating as he was when he was high-handed, at least he was thorough.

She stood under the spray for a long time, washing away the scent of Faery and relearning what her human self smelled like. Besides, the high-pressure shower head was delightfully relaxing. And she’d yet to run out of hot water, something else she assumed he’d had a hand in. By the time she stepped out, the sun had moved a considerable amount. She toweled off and wrapped her hair up and stepped back into her bedroom. The light was wrong. Lamps instead of sunshine. For the first time in nearly a decade, she jumped to cover her nakedness.

“Hello, sweet,” Eric said.

Chapter Text

He looked the same. Well, of course he did, he was a vampire. They didn’t age or change weight unless they’d been starved for years. But he’d kept his hair shorter, and was still wearing what she’d always thought of as his Fangtasia uniform. Black tank top, dark jeans, slim boots. There was no way to gauge the passage of time by looking at him.

“What are you doing here?” she asked before she could get too caught up in the jumble of subjective and objective time for each of them. “And how did you get in, anyway?”

The last time she’d seen him, she’d rescinded his invitation.

He dug in his pocket and withdrew a set of keys. The smirk was the same too. Just as her reaction to it was. She wanted to kick him in the shins.

Or kiss him until you can’t breathe, she finished the thought to herself.

“The house is mine.”

That shocked her out of her inward thoughts like a flash. “What?”

“I bought it.”

She blinked at him, becoming increasingly aware that all she had on was a damp towel and her hair was dripping onto her shoulders and down her back. But that was less important than finding out just how he’d bought her Gran’s house. “Was I declared dead or something? Jason knew I’d be back.”

Eric arched a brow at her and dropped the keys back in his pocket. “Your brother found himself in some trouble. He needed the money, and I…”

“You what?”

“I was doing as I was told.”

I have made arrangements for you , Grandfather had said. Others will be waiting upon your return.

“Niall?” she guessed aloud. “How do you even...no, you know what? I’m not having this conversation naked.”

“I’m not complaining.”

She made a face at him as she crossed the room and dug into her pack for a robe she could throw on quickly. She slipped her arms into it and dropped the towel while her back was still to him. He growled low and she heard his fangs drop. She breathed deep and realized what had happened, then clamped down on her scent so it no longer permeated through the air. There wasn’t much she could do about the robe. When she turned back to Eric, he’d cocked his head at her, looking her over like he’d never seen her before.

“You’ve changed.”

“That was rather the point.”

“You are in control of your magic,” he clarified.

“That was also rather the point. How long was I gone, Eric?”

“Thirteen months, two days and fourteen hours,” he said promptly, as if he’d been counting every second of it. She did the math. She’d left at the end of May. That meant it was now the beginning of July.

“Well, damn.”

He looked amused and sauntered closer to her, noticing that she didn’t back away or do more than cross her arms. “How long has it been for you, sweet?”

“Almost ten years.” She didn’t allow any sign that the endearment affected her cross her face.

All the levity dropped out of him like a stone. “You are full fae.”

“Not quite. I’m just...aligned with my light. I can mask my blood. I can’t change my face.” She shrugged and shook her head, remembering then that her hair was still all wet and straggling. She’d thrown it all over one shoulder just to keep it somewhat tidy. She hadn’t missed how he measured the length of it, how it now fell nearly to the small of her back. She stepped around him back to the bathroom and picked up her comb. “Enough about me, why did you buy my house?”

“Niall requested that I keep it ready for you. As you said, you were always going to return. I take it he never said anything to you.”

“No, he didn’t.” She could spit she was so mad, but at the same time, there were plenty of things her great-grandfather never told her. For instance it was Claudine who’d told her how they were related. She’d had years to come to terms with it, but the thought that her Gran had been in some kind of triad still took getting used to. Not to mention that the ‘Grandpa Earl’ who’d been like her was actually Fintan Brigant in disguise so that no one would know. Her cousins were descended from another of Niall’s sons, Dillon. Her family tree on that side had rather more branches on it than she’d ever suspected.

She’d been so lost in thought that she jumped when Eric took the comb from her hand and turned her bodily so he could work the knots from her hair himself. The action brought with it a number of memories, most of them good. She closed her eyes and let him.

“It’s gotten so long.”

“Too much for a year?”

“I wouldn’t know how to tell.” Of course not. Vampires didn’t pay much attention to those kinds of details. Once upon a time – for Sookie, anyway – Pam had carded her at the door of Fangtasia, claiming she couldn’t gauge ages by faces anymore. Although these days Sookie thought that was also an excuse for Pam to file away the identity of every person who walked through the door. Vampires had good memories. Sookie thought that might also be a magic thing, since her own memory was like a steel trap now. She could recall perfectly things that happened ages ago, like stepping into a photograph of a moment.

“Hmm.”

“Did you miss me?” he asked softly.

“I didn’t really think about you.”

“And yet I smell no other on you.”

Sookie snorted. “What’s that got to do with anything?”

“Do you expect me to believe that you’ve spent a decade of your life alone?”

“I did it for 25 years before I met Bill. It’s not actually a hardship when you have self control.” He grumbled and she wanted to laugh. In truth, she had missed him. And at odd moments too, missing his humor every bit as much as...well. His gracious plenty. But his ego was big enough that she didn’t need to be adding to it. “There was someone, but it was...a long time ago.”

“Tell me about him?”

“Like that’s any of your business.”

“I can’t feel you anymore.” His voice was so low she almost couldn’t hear it. But he wasn’t teasing or being snide. He sounded genuinely interested. “I don’t know anything about you now.”

“He was half-caste like me. The day I beat him in the ring was the last time I saw him.”

“Beat him?”

“Hand to hand. We trained together. It was...my second year there.”

“Some men take issue with a strong woman.”

“I was raised Southern, you think I don’t know that?”

It was his turn to scoff. He’d finished her hair and stepped in front of her to hand her back the comb, and to look her in the eye. “I was born a Viking. Strong women are best.”

Almost against her will she smiled at him. “Still trying to get in my pants?”

“Well, you aren’t currently wearing any, so…”

“Eric, it’s been ten years for me since I saw you. Did you think my legs were going to magically open for you when I got back?”

“That was saucy.” He grinned. “I like fairy Sookie.”

“Of course you do, you crazy Viking.” She decided it would be best to change the subject before she did give into the urge to climb him like a tree. Some things would never change, it seemed. “How’s Pam? Do you have any news from around here? A year, I can’t believe it. I thought it would only be a couple weeks.”

“My progeny is, as ever, doing her best to drive me to the true death. Or bankruptcy. But while she’s at it, she’s fine. The same. Your brother became a sheriff’s deputy, got married, and had it fall apart. Your friend Tara has also married. From what I can tell, he’s considered a buffoon, but I suppose there’s no accounting for taste. She seems happy. The shifter remains with his bar. The Were took back his junkie girlfriend.”

“Jason’s a cop? He got married?! To who?”

“A cat.” Sookie stared at him blankly, not sure whether or not he was serious. With a twinkle in his eye he explained. “A woman from Hotshot. A werepanther.”

“Would this be the financial trouble you mentioned he was in?”

“Yes. Apparently his blushing bride immediately engaged in an affair with her own cousin. Not surprising in that...community. He’s been extricating himself ever since.” He looked her over, noting that she hadn’t flown off the handle yet. “You’re taking this all well. You seem to have grown up while you were in Faery.”

“Oh screw you. I have about as much attachment to this town now as you do. Although I do feel bad for Jason. He never had much sense when it came to women. So, Tara married JB. I’m assuming ‘the Were’ is Alcide?”

“Yes.”

“Huh, speaking of no sense.”

He smirked at her in agreement. Then he dropped the bomb he’d been holding back. “Bill Compton survived his inquiry with the AVL, and still nominally resides in his ancestral pile across the cemetery. His progeny lives in the town with her pet.”

Sookie shrugged. The news didn’t upset her as much as he was hoping, but she didn’t exactly look forward to any meetings between them. What was done, was done. “Good to know.”

“Don’t worry, sweet. This property is now warded. No one may set foot upon it with harmful intent.”

“Another one of Grandfather’s edicts or did you decide to do that on your own?”

“I did that for you.” He advanced on her, looming over her like he always had. She refused to be cowed by it, just like always. “You are still mine.”

“I beg to differ. I’m fairly certain at this point no contract remains between us.”

“Then we’ll make a new one.” He dropped fang and herded her against the wall. Sookie raised her hand against his chest and called on her light. The power of the sun resided within her and she could harness it as easily as drawing breath. Eric started at the heat that burned through his shirt and pulled back across the width of the room before it blistered his skin. “Nice trick.”

“Isn’t it? And before you think about just tying up my hands, I can make any part of my skin do that. You want me back? You gotta earn it.”

If she expected him to be angry, she was disappointed. He grinned at her and stripped off the ruined tank top. If he was expecting her to pant after him just because he was shirtless, he was the one who would be disappointed. Although she had forgotten just how broad his chest was, and just how much she’d loved to touch it. She stayed against the wall, watching him. Collecting herself.

“I look forward to the challenge, lover.”

A subject change was needed, just for her own peace of mind. “Tell me how you, of all people, are doing my great-grandfather’s bidding.”

“The Prince was acquainted with Godric.” Which told her far more than just his words. That would have been a relationship dating back literally thousands of years. It was entirely possible Niall had known Eric as a baby vamp, which was a somewhat distracting notion. “He contacted me about six months ago. And that reminds me…” He used his super speed out of the room and down the stairs. He was back before she could do more than take a few steps away from the wall. He handed her a large folder. “For you.”

The letterhead had three names on it in a stylized font, and appeared to be an introduction to the portfolio Niall had set up for her. There was a business card under a paperclip, and a post-it note that said she should call at her convenience to set up a meeting. Grandfather’s lawyer, she presumed. Before she could ask him, Eric was holding out a phone. She gave him a questioning look.

“Your old one was pitifully out of date. Your contact list has been transferred, and the number is the same.”

“I see you’ve covered all the bases here. Unless the refrigerator is empty.”

“Still clever, I see.”

“Did you expect otherwise?” she retorted.

“Not at all. If you like, I can take you shopping for your human needs as soon as the sun goes down.”

It was on the tip of her tongue to refuse. He’d been high-handed enough for one day. But she had no cash, and she was sure all her credit and debit cards had been frozen in her absence. “And how long will that be?”

“About an hour,” he said, without even looking away from her to think about it. Vampires always knew intrinsically when the sun would set. Or rise. Especially at his age. She gave him a broad smile just bright enough to give him hope before she dashed it.

“Then I have time to read through this.”

He surprised her again. He laughed.

---

The car was also apparently for her, but Eric pointed out that driving at night for the first time after ten years, in an unfamiliar vehicle to boot, was probably not the wisest decision. Even though she didn’t like it, she had to concede him the point. So he drove. He took them out of Bon Temps for the shopping, since no one knew she’d returned yet and running into someone at the local Piggly Wiggly was not high on either of their agendas. She thanked him for not getting her something outrageous like his corvette.

“Well, it’s still red,” he said.

“You always did like seeing me in that color.”

“Yes, I did.”

She remembered the last car ride she’d taken with him. It was coming home from the debacle rescuing Bill from Mississippi had turned out to be. She remembered asking him who the real Eric was, the one that wasn’t Sheriff of Area 5 or the owner of Fangtasia. She remembered him saying that such a man didn’t exist. She remembered telling him she didn’t believe that.

She wondered if she was seeing a glimpse of the real him since she’d thrown the gauntlet of making him earn her affection. Eric had always been thoughtful in the sense of seeing moves and countermoves well ahead of anyone else. But he hadn’t necessarily been thoughtful in a considerate way like this. Then again, it might all be a ploy to lull her into relaxing. She wouldn’t put it past him.

She bought staple supplies, some fresh produce and meat, and some meals she could heat up in the microwave. That was enough to start. Grocery shopping with a vampire was an interesting experience, she had to admit. She found herself watching him more than the aisles. He moved with the confidence of one who had done this before, even though he couldn’t eat food and had no use for things like toilet paper or toothpaste. But she supposed it made sense. Vampires had been living under the radar of human detection for millennia. The ones that survived best were the ones who were successful at blending in. The only difference now was the four pack of fancy non-synthetic blood sitting in the cart with her things. She caught sight of the label; it looked French and claimed to be a blend of ‘cruelty free donations’. She wasn’t surprised that it nearly doubled the total of the bill and he hadn’t flickered an eyelash. Eric detested TrueBlood. At least he wasn’t expecting to feed on her, or was making the attempt for it to appear that way.

It felt strangely domestic, opening the door for him while he carried all the grocery bags on his arms. The feeling grew stronger when she tucked the rest of the four pack on the shelf in the fridge with her oranges and lettuce and deli meat. It struck her hardest of all when she turned around and he was sitting at the kitchen table like he used to do, long legs stretched out, his arm hung over the back of the chair. A warmed bottle of Le Sang rested in front of him. She sat across from him, cradling a bottle of water in her hands. It was too late for coffee.

“Are you still placating the vermin in the club these days?”

“On occasion. Perhaps you’d care to join me and drive them all off again?”

“Not tonight,” she said, far more gently than she’d planned.

“Soon,” he said in a conciliatory way that was unlike him. “Pam will want to see you, I’m sure.”

“I’m sure. I don’t know how long it will take me to get used to human company again.”

“Or vampire?”

She toyed with the label on her water bottle. “That too.”

“Did you find what you were looking for, Sookie?” The question was soft. Sincere. She raised her eyes to him, basked in the blueness of his gaze. She’d forgotten that. How many shades of ice and sky and stone were in his irises.

“I found some of it. And that’s enough to live with.”

He saluted her with his bottle and drank it down. He got up and set it on the counter by the sink, which was at least an improvement over just leaving it on the table. He walked around to her side and pressed a kiss into her hair.

“Then that’s a place to start,” he corrected. “I’ll see you again soon, sweet. Lock up after me.”

He stepped out the back door to the yard, and despite her best intentions she followed him. She could get to like this more decent version of himself, assuming it was legitimate. They could fight like cats and dogs, but they’d always been friends. There had always been some real affection and mutual respect. She gave him a small smile and a wave goodbye as he stood in an open patch of lawn. He gave her a final smirk before flying straight into the air.

Chapter Text

She’d never been hugged so much by so many people. Arlene, Terry, Sam, Lafayette...on and on. She was never so glad to have gotten better at shielding. Most of them thought she must have been working for Eric in some distant, undisclosed location, and she let that stand since it was easier than explaining. And with it being vampire business, regardless of that being a fiction, no one pried too deeply into it. Sookie hadn’t thought she’d honestly be grateful to use vampires as an excuse again.

The only one who didn’t buy that was Sam. But he was a shifter; he could tell something was different about her besides the length of her hair. She’d twisted it up to hide its length, but there was still more of it than there should be if she’d only been gone a year. She made a mental note to go get it cut somewhere closer to where it had been before she left. “As long as you’re all right, chere.”

“I’m fine. I don’t know what my plans are yet.”

“If you need work, I can only start you part-time. Arlene and Holly, they got kids. They need the hours.”

“Thank you, Sam. I have some...things to take care of before I think about a job. I’ll keep it in mind though.”

“Can you tell me where you were?”

“I could, but you wouldn’t believe me. Let’s just say I have a broader understanding of the supe world.” He wanted to press the issue, but the look in her eye stopped him. He nodded. They were in his office, which still looked the same. “So Tara married JB?”

“Yeah, about four months ago. It was a nice wedding. They’re living closer to her shop.” Tara’s Togs had been Sookie’s go-to for years, since Tara often kept things aside for her when they went on clearance. It had been strange to go through her closet earlier and see all the sundresses that now felt entirely too juvenile for the woman she’d become. In a way, she missed her, that younger, more innocent Sookie. But in others, she didn’t.

“And Arlene married Terry. And had a baby.” Sookie shook her head. “I didn’t see that one coming.”

“None of us did,” Sam laughed. “But they’re real happy. You know Arlene, she’s a force of nature when she wants to be. The Bellefleurs are lucky to have her as part of the family. And Bill, I suppose. You know they’re kin, right?”

She nodded. She’d also known that Bill had been financially supporting the impoverished family since he’d discovered their connection, albeit anonymously. It seemed that had changed since his return from the inquiry if Sam knew about it. Not that it mattered to her particularly since she and Bill had parted ways long before she’d left. But she liked Terry Bellefleur. She even liked Andy when he wasn’t being suspicious of every out of the ordinary thing. She was happy for them. Thinking of Bill made her remember what Eric had told her.

“So Jessica lives in town now?”

“With Hoyt. I didn’t think you two knew each other.”

“Not too well. Bill and I were on the way out when he...made her. But she seems like a nice girl.”

“For a baby vamp,” Sam added with a sardonic look. Sookie smiled. Sam wasn’t overly fond of the fang. She didn’t know if that was the typical distrust supes tended to have for each other or something more personal. She wasn’t about to ask now.

“What about you? Anyone special?”

“Chere, the only ‘special’ in this town is you.” God bless him, he even said that with a straight face. Whatever interest he had in her had never been reciprocated, and he knew it. But he was bold enough to still say it aloud, and she guessed she could appreciate that, even if it was never going to happen. “Now that you’re back…”

“I need to remember what it’s like living in a small town again,” she said, cutting off his line of thinking immediately. “I have enough on my plate.”

“Are you still with…?”

“I’m not with anyone, Sam. I intend to keep it that way.” I look forward to the challenge, lover, went through her mind and she pushed it away. “Anyway, I just wanted to stop in, let everyone know that I didn’t get abducted by aliens or anything.” She grinned. “I’ll be around, although I have a trip to New Orleans coming up.”

“What’s in NOLA?”

“My lawyer, evidently.”

“Well, have a good trip. See some sights.”

“I’ll try. No sense going down there for a weekend and not getting out and about. And before you say it, I’ll be careful. I know there’s a lot of vampires there.”

“More than anywhere else.” His tone had dropped. He knew as well as she did that the court of Sophie-Anne LeClerq was in New Orleans. And he was at least somewhat aware that the Queen of Louisiana had wanted to procure Sookie.

“I’ll have all the daylight hours, Sam.”

“True enough.” He hugged her again. “It’s good to see you again, chere.”

“Good to see you too.” She realized she actually meant it. Sam wasn’t perfect, but he’d always been a friend.

---

She thought she’d drive south to New Orleans, but apparently other arrangements had been made. Instead, fuming, she drove to Shreveport and met Eric at the airport. He grinned at her scowl and took her bag from her without so much as a by your leave. The air still held the heat of the day and she followed him into the air conditioned terminal and kept her thoughts to herself. At least until they were settled into the private AnubisAir plane. Sookie hadn’t flown since Dallas, and the takeoff was anxiety inducing. Eric kept his eye on her from where he lounged – sprawled, more like – across from her.

“Do I even want to know why you’re babysittin’ me?” she asked as soon as the plane leveled off. The flight was short and they would touch down in less than an hour. If they were going to have this out, they needed to do it now.

“I have business in the city. It made sense to combine it.”

“With what? I’m not exactly hanging on your every word like a desperate fang-banger, in case you hadn’t noticed.”

“I noticed,” he replied mildly, the smirk small. “Your lawyer thought it prudent, since you’ve…”

“Never been anywhere and have vampire bait apparently tattooed on my backside?”

“Now there’s a thought.”

She rolled her eyes. “And I’m already sorry I said it.”

His smirk widened, but then he grew more serious. “At the risk of incurring your famous headstrong wrath, I would point out that having your first foray into the heart of vampire politics in this state so soon after returning from Faery, alone, I might add, is not smart. Mr. Cataliades agreed with me.”

She glared at him. “So you volunteered? That’s sweet.”

He laughed at her tone, which was anything but. “I’ve missed your blade of a tongue.” She had nothing to say to that and crossed her arms. She knew she looked like she was sulking, and furthermore, she knew he could tell how much she wasn’t internally. His expression turned sly. “This is the part where you say you’ve missed mine.”

“I thought we didn’t lie to each other.”

“I thought we didn’t,” he growled. His eyes had grown sharp and focused. In the enclosed cabin of the plane, he could no doubt smell her. And hear her racing heart. She scowled some more, hoping to make him think it was just anger that had spiked all her body’s reactions. He let it go with another highly amused smirk in her direction, then pulled out a folder from his briefcase – which had been quite the sight to see, she had to admit. He looked almost professional. “As Sheriff of Area 5, how do you want me to present your return to the queen?”

“You mean you really do have business with Sophie-Anne?”

He gave her a look from under his brows. “I have to report it, Sookie. Trust me, I wish it hadn’t been this quickly. I know you’re pretending that you’re not interested in being under my protection, but you aren’t stupid. You should remain my asset for your own safety.”

He was right, as much as it galled her. “Let me see the contract.”

He handed her the folder and let her thumb through it. It was the same one she’d signed for him, so long ago in her own life, but less than two years for him. She noticed it was dated for a week ago, the day of her return. Eric was nothing if not sneaky. She held out her hand for the pen he put in it and signed her name without thinking. Susanna Brigant Stackhouse. Then she realized it.

“Shit.”

“What?”

She handed it back to him and let him see how she signed it. A strange look passed across his face, but it was gone before she could truly figure it out. “It’s fine. It’s your legal name, now, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. But will she recognize it?”

“Possibly. If she does, then she won’t be foolish about you. Vampire politics are one thing, crossing the fae is another entirely.”

“You told me once that most vampires thought they were extinct.”

“At the time you didn’t need to know otherwise.”

She arched a brow at him, a tacit reminder that they didn’t lie to each other. She wasn’t actually mad at him though. In many ways, Eric kept things from her for her own safety, no matter how it had chafed her younger self. She was wiser now, or maybe that was just more mature, and well aware that not knowing things could save her life. And at the time, no, she didn’t need to know. At the time, neither of them had known that she was not just a scion of House Brigant, but an heir of direct lineage.

Eric leaned back against his seat and regarded her with merriment all over his face. “Look at you, not trying to rip my head off.”

“I’m sure you’ll do something to provoke me, you usually do.”

Like that charming, boyish grin. There was that kick him in the shins feeling again. She refused to entertain the other idea she generally had when he did that. Getting tangled up with him again wouldn’t do her any good. She turned away from his stupid beautiful face and looked out the window. Already she could see the city lights. They would land soon.

---

Eric dropped her off at her hotel, which was only a couple blocks from the law office. It was a fairly human place to stay. Meaning the rooms were not light-tight and the catering was less designed with vampires in mind. She’d put her foot down about that and he hadn’t argued. New Orleans was a hotbed of vampire activity – the Mecca, it was only half jokingly called – and Sookie was vulnerable, no matter how much combat training she’d done. Or the contract she’d just signed. It simply made no sense to throw her into certain danger when such a simple precaution could preclude much of it.

She knew he was on his way to Sophie-Anne’s ‘palace’, an outwardly unremarkable complex in the historic district. One could only tell it was the home of an important vampire by the heightened security that patrolled the grounds. They might be out of the coffin, but that didn’t translate into advertising themselves like celebrities. The AVL had a single spokesperson. Sookie had met her. Nan Flanagan was a bitch, in her opinion.

She checked in, ate a late dinner – just because they didn’t cater directly to vampires didn’t mean they were unaware that their clientele did, therefore they kept nighttime hours – and finally collapsed into bed somewhere around midnight. Her meeting with Desmond Cataliades was scheduled for 9 AM. She would have enough time to have a shower and get dressed and maybe have a cup of coffee before she presented herself.

And all of that went to plan. She didn’t know where Eric had gone to ground for the day, and figured it was probably at the palace. It wasn’t like he could have escorted her to a morning meeting anyhow, so she put him out of her mind as she dressed in the simple wrap dress she’d brought with her. It was fae made, something she’d brought home from the timeless realm. She’d debated on that at first, but realized she no longer felt comfortable in the sundresses of her relative youth. And she didn’t own a suit.

She knew she turned heads as she walked with purpose down the block, but she ignored it. She kept her shields high so she didn’t overhear even the loudest broadcasters. She arrived promptly at the office and signed in.

“Miss Stackhouse?” a deep rumbling voice called to her. She looked up from the magazine she’d been idly thumbing through and saw a portly man smiling at her. For a moment, his teeth had appeared too sharp to be human and she cautiously dropped her mental defenses in his direction. It was like hearing radio static from another room. He was shielded from her, but not completely.

“Mr. Cataliades?” she asked, getting up to take his hand when he offered it. He was very warm, but not sweating. His clasp was firm and brief and he moved with precision and grace for one so bulky. It wasn’t until they were in his office, with the door closed and tea being poured into delicate china that she got up her nerve.

What are you, if I may ask?

He smiled at her benignly and handed her a teacup. I am a half demon. “It’s good to finally meet you, Miss Stackhouse. I’ve longed for this day.”

“You have?”

He stirred his own and smiled wider. It was a perfectly normal smile over perfectly normal teeth. “I was close friends with your grandfather.”

“Earl or Fintan?”

He beamed at her, that was all she could think. As if he was incredibly proud of her both for making the connection and being easy with expressing it. “Fintan.”

“Did you know my Gran?”

“I did. Adele Stackhouse was a strong woman, and remarkably progressive for the time. Not many could accept the arrangement she made, nor lived with its consequences. May I offer my belated condolences for her loss?”

“Thank you.” It was strange to think that in this timeline, she’d been gone a little over a year, but for Sookie, it had been long enough that Gran’s memory no longer stung. The half demon lawyer was looking at her as if he knew precisely what she was thinking. “Are you in my head?”

“Forgive me, it’s a terrible habit. As I’m sure you’re aware.”

“I’ve gotten better at keeping others out.”

“I noticed.” He sipped his tea and nibbled on a cookie that she hadn’t noticed a platter of. He offered her one and she didn’t think twice about it. As if it wasn’t at all strange to have cookies for breakfast while seated with a supernatural lawyer. Her life was a madhouse. “Now, Miss Stackhouse…”

“Call me Sookie.”

“As you like. Sookie, I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but I have served your family for many years, and have stood as sponsor to you because of your spark.”

“I...no, I didn’t know that.”

“I suppose you could look upon me as a kind of godfather. It is from me, you see, that you have your gift. Telepathy is not traditionally a fae trait.”

“But...I was able to communicate with some fae in the timeless realm.”

“Yes, those who are your kindred in the House of Brigant. But not those who were not, correct?” He waited while she thought about it and realized he was right. He was still wearing a jovial smile. “The gift passed to you from Fintan, and Adele too. At their joining, I offered them my blood. It is a useful tool for keeping track of those with the essential spark in your human line. The scions of Brigant have a different connection that allows them to communicate telepathically. To you, of course, it must seem one and the same.”

“I guess so, yeah.” The tea was very good and she drained her cup before she knew it. Cataliades poured her another cup. “But that’s not why I’m here, is it?”

“No, indeed not. Your great-grandfather has made me aware that you are to be added to several of his earthly accounts, upon which you may draw a substantial amount of money, should you need it. As well as a trust in your own name. I have some figures for you, and some papers for you to sign.”

He handed them over and waited quietly as she read through them. Again she felt a sort of pride come off him that she was so thorough. But dealing with Eric had taught her to read everything, especially the fine print.

Your vampire has taught you well, he thought at her.

“He’s not mine, Mr. Cataliades,” she said aloud without looking at him.

“If you say so, my dear.”

Meaning? She thought it before she could stop herself.

I have never known him to show such interest in a mortal being, the lawyer answered. Even mentally his tone was gentle.

I think that’s mostly because we fight like cats and dogs. N o one else stands up to him. He likes the challenge.

Cataliades chuckled. That may be so. It’s good for him that you do. “Does everything seem to be in order?”

“When you say substantial, you aren’t kidding.” The number of zeroes was staggering. She would never have to work again if she didn’t want to. But there was something about the whole arrangement that didn’t sit well with her. Sookie had never wanted to be kept or coddled. She was independent and proud of it.

“Niall Brigant wishes for you to be comfortable, my dear.”

“This is more than comfortable, this is...ridiculous. I feel like there’s a catch.”

“None that I can think of. He does not expect you to live largely, as that is not in your nature, nor does he expect that you will abuse your position as his heir. He asks only that you continue to use the name of your House as part of your own, and that you will communicate any changes you wish to make to either lifestyle, location or…” Well , he continued in his head. If you decide to be turned.

She looked up at him at that. I have no intention of that , she thought sharply. Ever .

“Good.” He visibly relaxed. “You are a creature of the sky and sun, my dear. Becoming vampire would not go well for you.” His thoughts implied that that was an understatement. She wouldn’t likely survive the transition as long as she had her spark. Which then implied that she could give it up if she chose. Not something she thought about these days, but she remembered a time when she’d have given anything to be ‘normal’.

“What if I am injured to the point of death?” she asked, since she was thinking about the past when the possibility had occurred. After Bill had nearly drained her, Eric had said something about not being able to heal her with his blood because of the risk. Had he known it would be futile?

“Fae logistics have some loopholes,” Cataliades said gravely. “If you wished it, it would happen. Or at least, the chances would be greater for success. But in your present state you cannot be turned without your will or consent.”

“Huh. So I would just die?”

“You would go to the Summerlands.”

Sookie let a small smile cross her lips. “Same difference.”

“Yes and no. Death as a finality is a human notion.” He waved a hand, as if dismissing the whole thing. “Nevertheless, that is why the caveat of your desire to turn is included. Naturally, your great-grandfather does not wish this for you, but if you did, he would not prevent it.”

“I get the feeling that Grandfather hopes I’ll settle down someday and have a brood of children.”

“The fae are few, my dear. The future is uncertain.” Again he spoke gently, as if the topic was not one he wanted to push. “It will, as ever, be your decision.”

She nodded. At least there wouldn’t be pressure on her. “What must I sign?”

Chapter Text

New Orleans had been a pleasant escape for a few days, but she was happy when she touched back down in Shreveport. She hadn’t spoken to Eric, since their return was during the daylight hours. In some ways that was better, she thought. They would go their own ways with nothing left dangling between them, as was so often the case. Deeper, she knew she’d missed the banter during the flight. Barbed as it usually was, their verbal sparring was exhilarating. She remembered what Mr. Cataliades had said, about how it was good for Eric to have her stand up to him. She wasn’t afraid of him. She imagined it was rare that anyone treated him like a person and not the powerful vampire he was. Bully for her, she supposed. It was nothing more than how Gran raised her.

She saw his travel coffin into the hands of his dayman – who had some interesting thoughts about her in regards to her relationship with their mutual boss – and finally pointed herself back towards Bon Temps. It was time for her to figure out what she was going to do with herself.

For the first few weeks she puttered, for the lack of a better way to put it. She moved things to where they belonged in the house, spent time in the garden re-familiarizing herself with all of Gran’s flowers. She laid in the sun to replenish her light and read so much that she was often going to the library every other day. She saw her friends, and spent time with Jason.

New credit and debit cards were issued to her from Grandfather’s banks, and she activated them. She was now a woman of independent means, if a bit unsettled by the wealth she had ‘inherited’. She got her hair cut, remembering how light and bouncy it could be when it wasn’t pulled by its own weight. The season was turning – it was suddenly October and she could barely believe it – and she laid in a stock of wood for the fireplace and made sure the order for the oil had been filled to her satisfaction. Not that she should have been worried about it. Eric had taken over a fair amount of the niggling things she’d always struggled with back in her younger days when money was always tight.

Which led her to thinking about how she felt that he owned her grandmother’s house. And how long it might take to get it back now that she could afford to.

There was certainly a big part of her that wanted to rail against his domineering ways and literal ownership of her life. But Eric seemed content to leave her alone, and it felt almost petty to force the issue when nothing was happening because of it. She certainly couldn’t complain about the improvements and updates he’d made, the light-tight shutters notwithstanding. There was a time when she’d welcomed him into her life, into her bed, even. But she felt like that chapter of her life was closed. Left behind when a little girl took her fairy grandfather’s hand and disappeared into the Land of Nod.

She was a different person now. And while she suffered no conflicts within herself, her relationships had taken more work to smooth out. Jason accused her of being cold. Tara thought she’d changed so much she was afraid they had nothing in common now. Sam worried that she was going to get herself killed by poking her nose where it didn’t belong. That last one made her laugh, since Eric hadn’t even called her in for a single use of her talents since she signed the new contract. Lafayette had gotten himself a partner, and she liked him, although she wasn’t too sure she approved of her friend joining a coven with him. Superstition, she supposed. She’d spent so long thinking herself a good Christian it was hard to let go of some of her ingrained prejudices. But Holly was part of that group too, and she was good people.

At the end of the day, Sookie felt like all she was doing was going through the motions of living. She hadn’t found her place yet back in this world, mundane or otherwise. And Eric was still leaving her alone. Perhaps she didn’t have to wait on him. A trip to Fangtasia on her own might be a good idea.

---

It wasn’t until she got out of her car and saw the wide array of costumes that she realized it was Hallowe'en. Fangtasia was packed. She waited in line, feeling a bit out of place in her jeans and dark slouchy sweater, but when Pam saw her, she actually smiled.

“Look what the cat dragged in.”

“Don’t let your Maker hear you say that.”

Pam chuckled. “You look all grown up, fairy princess. Welcome back.”

“Thank you,” Sookie said sincerely. She and Pam hadn’t always gotten along, but they had forged something of a grudging friendship due to Eric. It might be nice to start off fresh, she thought. “You look the same, as wonderful as always.”

“I know change is supposed to be good and all, but why mess with perfection?”

“Indeed,” Sookie laughed. She offered the cover charge, but Pam waved it away.

“For old times sake.”

“Uh huh.” They smiled at each other, each a little false but also a little genuine, and then Sookie was through the door, barely registering the tingle along her spine before it was gone. There was magic in place, and she didn’t mean the kind that happened when little kids dressed up and went door to door begging for candy.

Lafayette and Jesus were at the bar and she stepped up next to them to get a gin and tonic, still her drink of choice. Chow recognized her and inclined his head a fraction. She returned it. It was only then that Lala looked her over.

“Well look at you, hooker. Then again, you always did clean up sexy.” He added a little hip action up against the bar to his words.

“Baby, please,” Jesus scolded him. Sookie grinned.

“Gone are the days of me showing up here in a sundress.”

“More’s the pity,” Lafayette said. “This place could use some sunshine.”

“Well, it is a vampire bar. That might make a mess.” Jesus snorted into his beer. “What are you two doing here anyhow? I didn’t think this was your kind of hangout.”

“I set the wards on the doors,” Jesus said, nodding his chin towards the entrance. “The owner didn’t want any trouble tonight.”

Sookie and Lafayette exchanged glances. She wasn’t sure, but it seemed that her friend hadn’t told his partner how intertwined their lives were with Eric Northman. “Well, that explains the zing I felt coming in, then?”

“You knows it, hooker.” He looked her over again. “He know you’re here?”

“Probably.” Lafayette gave her a look and she returned it with perfect innocence. “I’m not his keeper, Lala, nor is he mine.”

“Wait,” Jesus interjected. “You know Northman?”

“Boyfriend, does you even listen to half of what I tells you?” Lafayette was building up a good head of steam, but Sookie could tell it was mostly just air. “Sookie been trailing that vamper behind her for years.”

“Now, you know that isn’t true, Lafayette,” she said. She turned to Jesus. “I work for him. On occasion.”

Lafayette made a noise, something that was meant to express that wasn’t all she did for him and she glared at him. He fluttered his false eyelashes at her. Then he looked over her shoulder and the playfulness dropped. “Oh here we go. Speak of the handsome devil hisself.”

Sookie didn’t turn, but she could feel him behind her. The void of his mind was too familiar not to. She let herself bask in the silence of it for a moment, then turned sideways so she could still see Lala and Jesus. He was wearing his usual uniform, with the addition of his leather jacket. The pendant he often wore was on display over the low neckline of his tank top. It took her a second to drag her eyes away from it. At least, that’s what she told herself she was staring at.

“This is a nice surprise, Miss Stackhouse,” he rumbled. His gaze raked over her, from her tousled curls to the pointed toes of her fuck me shoes. One thing she’d learned – and it wasn’t even from Pam – was that a good pair of shoes could make any outfit better, no matter how dressed down. “You look...delicious.”

“I recall once telling you that wasn’t a compliment,” she retorted. Moments after they’d met, in fact. When she was terrified and running away from the man she’d been on a date with, and Eric had just saved her from a fate worse than death. It had become something of a running joke since. She wasn’t sure how she felt about it being among the things that hadn’t changed.

He smiled, both playful and taunting. “It is, however, the truth.”

Next to her, Lafayette and Jesus seemed to realize that there was a deeper conversation going on and wisely stayed out of it. From the corner of her eye, she saw Jesus take Lala’s hand in a tight grip. So, he would set the wards for a vampire, but he feared them. She supposed that wasn’t much of a shock, all things considered. Eric had noticed it too and turned smoothly to the two men.

“Thank you, gentlemen, for your fine work tonight.”

“No problem, Mr. Northman,” Jesus said. “Your patrons will be safe.”

“They always are, when everyone abides by the rules.”

Sookie dared to raise her eyebrow at that, knowing just how false a statement it was. But this was the owner of a nightclub, not the Sheriff of Area 5, speaking. “It’s a good crowd tonight. I’m guessing lots of folks get into the holiday spirit at a place like this.”

“Indeed.” Eric’s eyes roamed around the bar, but his attention was still firmly on her. He was worried about something, she was sure of it. “Gentlemen, do you mind terribly if I steal your friend for a chat?”

Naturally, neither of them was going to object, and he didn’t give them much chance to anyhow. Sookie tucked her hand in his proffered elbow and let him lead her away from the bar. They slipped through the door that led to his office but he didn’t let her go until she was deposited on the old sofa. He leaned against his desk.

“You picked a bad night, sweet.” The old endearment slipped out naturally and she decided not to pick on him about it since he was so obviously concerned. And anything Eric might allow to show meant business. Deadly serious business.

“What do you mean?”

“There is a reason I engaged Mr. Reynolds’ little nurse tonight.”

“You’re expecting trouble.” It wasn’t a question. He nodded.

“There is...a visitor to Shreveport. She and her brother are well known in the supe community. She is not to be trifled with.”

“And what does she want with you?”

“What do the greedy always want? Power and money.” He looked her over again, his gaze intense. “You should go home, Sookie. Stay in the house.”

The old Sookie would have fought him, tooth and nail, and he was holding himself still as if he was prepared for it. Instead, she stood up from the couch and moved until she was close enough to touch him. “How worried are you? Be honest with me.”

“I would be less worried if I knew you were safe. Hallow is...unpredictable. If she knew there was a fae telepath here, I think she would try to take you.”

“Kidnap or fight?”

A ghost of a smile touched his lips. The distinction was an important one, and not one the younger version of herself would think to ask about. “I do enjoy fairy Sookie, have I mentioned that recently?”

“Yes, you have. Answer the question, Eric.”

He shrugged. “Either. Both. She might hold you hostage to make me pay her. She might just torture you for the fun of it because it would hurt me.” That was more than he’d planned to admit, based on the face he made, but she didn’t let on that she noticed. “She might just kill you outright as a precaution. I’d rather not give her any opportunities for anything.”

“The last time you thought something was about you, we went on a wild goosechase.”

“And I’ll remind you that you nearly died, twice. Let’s not go down that road again.”

“All right. I’ll go home. And I’ll text you when I get there.”

“Thank you.”

“Lafayette and Jesus?”

“I’ll keep my eyes on them. Or Pam’s eyes.”

“Jesus didn’t know why he was setting those wards, did he?”

“No. I’m not in the habit of explaining myself to anyone. You know this.”

Except to her. She chose not to point that out. “Let me make my goodbyes, at least.”

“I’ll go with you, so they don’t think you staked me.”

“Now why would I do something like that, Eric?” she asked sweetly as they headed back to the floor. He grinned.

“Perhaps I got handsy.”

She couldn’t help it, she laughed. She was still cackling when they rejoined the partners at the bar. Lafayette looked relieved to see her in one piece, quickly hiding it behind an apologetic look for thinking she might not be safe with the vampire who tended to bend over backwards for her. Jesus simply looked like he had caught on to something, and was scowling at Lala for not telling him.

“I’m heading home, I think,” Sookie said when they were close enough to hear each other over the music. She even managed to fake a yawn. “I’m just not used to late nights anymore.”

“You good to drive?” Jesus asked, always a nurse.

“I only had one drink. I’m fine.” She looked up at Eric where he loomed over her. In her heels, there wasn’t as much distance between them as usual, although that wasn’t saying much. He had over a foot on her. Still, she couldn’t escape the thought that he looked like he wanted to kiss her. She gave him a pointed look. “I’ll text you.”

“Do that, Miss Stackhouse.”

“Goodnight, Sheriff.”

As she walked away, she thought she heard Jesus asking him what she meant by that and Lafayette shushing him, but then they were drowned out by the club noise. Pam was still at the door, but knew that she’d come back through it. The line had sort of dissipated, since the club was at capacity and any newcomers would have to wait for it to clear out.

“Leaving so soon, princess?”

“I hear it’s not a good night to be wandering,” she replied. Pam’s eyelids flickered, but her face didn’t otherwise change.

“Get home safely now.” It was saccharine to the extreme, but Sookie also detected a note of real concern.

“I will. Pam…”

“I always take care of my Maker.”

Sookie nodded once and made her way to where she’d parked. She felt eyes on her, from seemingly every direction. But when she opened her mind, she didn’t sense anything out of place. Still, her awareness was kept high as she drove home. She dutifully texted him once she was inside, but didn’t get a reply. That didn’t upset or surprise her much; it was a busy night after all.

---

The pounding on her door at 4 AM woke her. She threw on a robe and shuffled down the stairs. She looked through the peephole before flipping the deadbolt.

“And because I take care of him, I’ve brought him here to hide,” Pam said as if they were simply continuing their conversation from earlier.

“What?” Sookie asked, still shaking sleep from her head. Eric stood behind his progeny, staring blankly at everything. Something was very, very wrong. “What happened?”

Chapter Text

Sookie shook two bottles of Le Sang to disperse the heat evenly and set one in front of Eric. Pam was still pacing, too distraught and agitated to drink hers. She set the other bottle down on the table and watched as Eric slowly uncapped his and took a sip. His eyes lit up like a kid in a candy store. He seemed delighted. It was weird.

Of course, it was just the latest in a line of weird since Pam pounded on the door. Sookie no longer wondered why she hadn’t just let them in herself – Eric had a key of his own since he’d bought the place. This was not something she could just drop in the cubby and be on her merry way. Even if she didn’t feel like explaining herself to Sookie, Pam would never do that to her Maker.

“Ooh, I wish I’d killed that witch as soon as she opened her ugly mouth,” Pam snarled.

From what Sookie had gathered, that was a literal witch, and not derision. Eric had been cursed. “Why didn’t you?”

That stopped Pam short. Sookie couldn’t tell if that was because of the question or because she had asked it. She, who used to abhor violence of any kind. Pam gave her a look of new appreciation, although Sookie noticed she didn’t exactly answer.

“If I kill her now,” Pam said, enunciating every word as though they hurt, “the curse will be permanent. I need the bitch alive to reverse it. But that means I need to find her first.”

“Wait, which is she, bitch or witch?”

“She’s both! She’s a Were.”

“Shit.” Sookie sank into one of the chairs. Eric kept drinking his warmed blood, letting the conversation move along without him. When they’d first gotten there, he’d said something in Old Norse. Pam had replied and then reminded him that he spoke English. So far, he hadn’t tried it. Or anything else. It was like he was an empty cup, tipped over so everything had spilled out.

“No kidding, ‘shit’,” Pam yelled. “What do I do with him like this?” Eric gazed placidly at her, a drop of Le Sang still on his lip. Pam sneered and pushed hers at him. “Go on, take it. I can’t eat right now, I’m too pissed off.”

“You said you needed to hide him?”

“It would be best. No one knows he’s here, or that he’s gotten this place warded ten feet down on all sides. Enduring ones,” she added, jabbing a glossy fingernail at Sookie. “Not like that weak shit the brujo cooked up tonight.”

“Tell me what happened, Pam. Start at the beginning.”

The petite vampire gave a final screech-growl of anger, then sat herself down at the table very carefully. Every motion controlled and deliberate. She looked at her Maker for a long moment and Sookie thought she might actually see Pam cry. “After the bar closed, Hallow and her coven showed up. They broke through the brujo’s work like wet tissue paper and demanded Eric pay up. He said no. Hallow cursed him. Ginger started up her infernal screaming. The coven scattered like she was a police siren. I brought Eric here.”

The clock on the wall of the kitchen read 4:54. Thankfully, being now November first, there were still a couple hours of darkness remaining. But Sookie knew they needed to wrap this up. “Okay, so you want him to hide out here while you track down Hallow. He isn’t going to try and eat me, is he?”

For the first time since their arrival, Eric showed some life. He seemed affronted. “I have self control.” He paused and looked almost bashful. “But you do smell good.”

You look...delicious. It was all wrong, hearing him so meek after seeing him just a few hours ago being so...Eric.

“The house can be made light-tight, plus there’s the cubby. As long as he behaves, he can stay.”

“It’s his house, princess!”

Sookie shot out of her chair before she even heard Eric’s surprise at that. She got right in Pam’s face. Pam, in turn, actually leaned back an inch, surprise showing plain. “Dammit, it’s my house. You want me to do this, you will respect that.”

“Fine. Just...make sure he stays put.” She got up and began to pace again. Her voice was wobbly, and it seemed that even more than Eric – in his usual state, not this present one – she fought against her emotions. “I need to get back to Shreveport. I don’t even know if the club is locked.”

“I’ll need some money to keep him fed.”

“He’s turned you mercenary. Ordinarily I’d be proud of you. Why can’t you do it yourself, princess?” Sookie glared at her hard. She didn’t know exactly what kind of venom was in her expression, but Pam looked as close to intimidated as she’d ever seen, then mildly impressed. “He’s got cash in his wallet. He usually carries big bills. I hope that’s not going to be too much of a problem for you.”

Speaking of venom. The tone was sweet, but sweet like arsenic.

“Pam, I know you’re worried, but taking it out on me isn’t going to make either of our lives easier.”

She seemed to be working herself up to saying something truly nasty, but Eric spoke again. “Be nice to her.”

Pam took an unnecessary breath and smoothed her hands over her skirt. “Let me know if you run out of cash. I’ll see what I can do.”

“I appreciate it. I’m only pointing it out because I assume you don’t want me having credit card receipts out there for really expensive blood while we don’t know what we’re dealing with. That seems to be the opposite of hiding.”

“You think fast, for a breather. Maybe he’s right and you have changed.”

Sookie smiled in spite of herself. “Thanks, Pam. Now, go on, get going before the sun comes up. I’ve got it from here.” She walked the vampire to the door, leaving Eric still sitting at the kitchen table. Now that he couldn’t see her, Pam let a single blood tear drop from her lashes. She cried pretty, for a vampire. Sookie figured it would be better not to tell her that. “Hey, we’ll get it figured out. In the meantime, he’ll be here.”

“Don’t let him leave. We can’t afford for anyone to know.”

And not just Hallow, Sookie realized. No one on any rung of the political food chain could know the Sheriff of Area 5 had lost his mind, literally. “I won’t say anything. And I won’t let him leave.”

“Throw your fairy snatch in his face, that’s always kept his attention in the past.”

“Pamela!”

“What, it would work.” But she was laughing. Whether it was that easy for her to switch gears or it was the same kind of coping skill misdirection Eric used didn’t matter. It broke the tension. Sookie shook her head in reluctant amusement.

Pam stepped out onto the driveway and leaped into the air. Well, now Sookie knew why she hadn’t heard a car. That was probably also safest, now that she thought about it. There was no evidence of a late night visitor, and none that he was staying here. She closed and locked the door, then went back to the kitchen. Eric was examining the Le Sang bottle like it was fascinating.

She sank back into her chair and watched him for a minute. He eventually looked up at her, and the smile he gave was so sweet it made her ache. “What’s the last thing you remember?”

He started off in Old Norse and when she snapped her fingers in his face, he remembered that was the wrong language. “Aude’s pyre. No. The sea. Blood.” He looked at his hands as if he could still see it. “We were ambushed on the road. I’d taken down many of them, but had a gut wound. It’s a slow death. Hours. I was waiting for the end. There was a boy, a wild boy. His teeth, he was a...”

He stopped again and Sookie was frozen in place. She’d never asked him the circumstances of his turning. That simply wasn’t something one did if they wanted to live. But it was obvious to her that this was what he was recounting.

“Father, brother and son,” he whispered. His eyes went red rimmed and he looked at her helplessly. “Why does that make me sad?”

“The boy was Godric. Your Maker. You loved him. He...he met his true death about two years ago. You miss him.” She was choking back her own grief at her memories of the Gaul, even after what was far more than two years for her. He’d had a profound impact on her in their short acquaintance. His was simultaneously the most peaceful and most senseless vampire death she’d ever witnessed. Before she could turn the conversation away from such a topic, Eric wiped a tear from her cheek with his thumb. He looked startled at how fast he’d caught it, as well as his automatic impulse to drink it.

“You mourn for him. Did you know him?”

“Only at the end. I was...I stayed with him when he met the sun.”

“Oh.”

“Who’s Aude?”

“My wife. She died in childbed. I was...I was on my way home that night. From meeting with a neighboring chieftain. He had a daughter. I was going to marry her. Maybe.” He looked around the kitchen again. “It was a long time ago, wasn’t it?”

She put aside the feeling that rose in her at the thought of Eric as a husband and father. Even though she hadn’t considered it before, it was only logical. As a human he was a Viking adult, the son of a chieftain. Of course he’d been married. She focused on his question. “More than a thousand years.”

He looked stricken. Sookie stood up and pulled him into her embrace. It didn’t matter all the things that lay between them, all the barbs and promises and trouble. He didn’t remember any of it. It had been wiped clean from his mind. Everything he knew, everything he was. All he could remember was the night he died and sorrow for the vampire who’d turned that into rebirth. Sookie couldn’t bear to see him suffer. She never could, even when he drove her nuts. Just as he had always hated her tears, claiming they made him feel disturbingly human. It dawned on her that without a thousand years of memories in which he’d buried his emotions, this Eric was close to human again.

“We’ll fix this,” she murmured into his hair. He’d clutched her to him with his arms around her waist. But he was careful not to squeeze her too tight. If nothing else, he still seemed to know his own strength. Outside the house, she could hear birds beginning to chirp. Dawn wasn’t far off. “C’mon, we should get you in the cubby.”

“You said the house was light-tight. Can I stay with you?”

She wanted to say no, but he was breaking her heart with the way he looked at her. It was hardly the first time they’d slept next to each other, she reasoned. Even if he didn’t remember it. If she had suddenly lost all memory of who she was and someone was treating her kindly, she’d probably not want to leave their side either. “All right. I just need to get the remote first.”

She opened the pantry doors and lifted the latch that swung the shelves out of the way of the ladder. Eric watched her go down into the cubby. The remote control for the shutters sat on the bedside table and she put it in her pocket. When she climbed back up, he had his hand out to help her. It was odd to see him so helpful. So...polite. He’d even taken his empties to the sink and rinsed them in the few seconds she’d been down there. She closed the cubby back up and gestured for him to follow her upstairs.

She got him out of his leather jacket and remembered at the last second that he didn’t tend to wear underwear. Compassion was one thing, being naked with him was another. “Hang on a sec.”

Eric, she’d discovered, had left himself a whole bunch of clothes in her closet. She hadn’t yet had a chance to blister his ears over it, regardless of the fact that he probably felt every right to since he owned the house. The urge passed now that it was going to be a necessity for the near future, she realized. Certainly while he was like this. She’d probably still tear him up one side and down the other when it was all over and he was restored. It was the principle of the thing, after all.

“Here, you can wear these.” She tossed him a pair of soft lounge pants.

And of course, he was still Eric enough to have no shame about stripping right then and there. She made herself look away before he could see the hunger in her eyes, but she was sure he heard her heartbeat kick up a notch.

“They fit,” he said. He looked around the room with the same kind of wonder he had in the kitchen. “It really is my house.”

“Well, you bought it. But it was my Gran’s. It’s...a long story. I’ll tell you some other time.”

“Oh. All right.”

She distracted herself from his truly altered demeanor by slipping to the bathroom with a nightshirt since she had nothing on under her robe. She was just tugging the large tee over her head when she realized which one she’d grabbed. The old red Fangtasia shirt. Oh, the irony.

He was waiting for her in bed when she came out. On the side he used to sleep on, no less. Funny how muscle memory remained intact. She didn’t comment and simply pointed the remote at the shutters so they closed over the windows. They barely made any noise and the mechanism was smooth. The room would be black as pitch once the lights were out. Then she got under the covers and switched off the lamp.

In the dark he found her hand and laced their fingers together. When he rolled onto his side, he drew her with him to rest against his back, their joined hands held over his chest. He was still a cuddler, although she couldn’t remember the last time she was the big spoon. She laid a comforting kiss on his spine and felt him shiver, his fingers spasmodically tightening on hers. She made a mental reminder to pull free before he died for the day, or she’d have a hell of a time getting up later. And then she closed her eyes.

Chapter Text

Sookie woke like a shot.

The room was pitch dark and she fumbled for the lamp switch before remembering why. Eric. He was still next to her, his body turned away from hers and slack with his day death. She lay there for a moment, remembering everything from last night. Pam’s fear that manifested as anger, Eric’s sweet smile and blank expression. The circumstances that led to it.

She found her phone and looked at the time. It was just past two in the afternoon, and she had a headache, either from lack of food or a change in the weather. She couldn’t tell with the shutters closed. She wondered if all of the windows had been covered or just here in this room. She supposed there was only one way to find out, and heaved herself from the bed. She ducked into the bathroom and attended to all her needs, pulled a pair of jeans on with the tee shirt and slipped out of the bedroom as quiet as a mouse. Even though she knew she didn’t need to. Nothing short of a bomb would wake him.

The rest of the house was bright with daylight, although it was muted through clouds. Still, it was good to know that the shutters were room by room. As much as she lived part of her life in the dark with vampires, she needed the sun. She looked out and saw a heavy bank of clouds rolling in, gray and threatening rain for later. It was warm enough, however, to let in some fresh air for an hour or two. Which she did while she put together a couple sandwiches and sliced up an apple. She sat at the kitchen table and ate, her gaze on the empty bottles from last night. There was one left in the fridge. Tomorrow she’d need to go out and get more. Today they would manage. Eric was old enough that he didn’t require a lot of blood to sustain himself. And Le Sang wasn’t synthetic, which meant it held more of whatever magic vampires needed to live. Hence its hefty price tag.

It occurred to her that it was strange that this was her life, that she knew all of that.

She felt restless and couldn’t quite pin down why. A cup of coffee had taken care of most of the headache, but she still felt something was off . Like there were eyes on her. Like someone had been by or she’d missed a phonecall or...something. It’s only paranoia if they’re not actually out to get you, she thought. She’d forgotten what it was like to live with one eye over her shoulder. Pam said the wards on the property sank deep into the ground, and Eric had told her that they were designed so that no one with ill intent could cross them. There shouldn’t be anyone around that wasn’t welcome. The feeling didn’t dissipate, though.

She decided to go out and take a look around. The yard seemed the same, the flowers and shrubs waving in the breeze of the oncoming front. The quality of the light told her it would be a good soaking rain when it came, and they needed it. She sensed no minds around other than the small animals that lived in the trees between the house and the cemetery. No threats, no danger. As she walked around the house, she found herself falling into the pattern of footwork she used to do with Claudine. Wolf walking, they called it. Each step in the last one’s print. Before long she was moving her arms into the positions that went with the steps. By the time she reached the driveway again, she was doing whole forms and stances.

She decided it wouldn’t be a bad way to expend her paranoid energy, to train. She’d been slacking on it. She had no practice weapons, but she didn’t need any to put herself through her paces. Muscle memory kept the motions alive in her mind’s eye. She lost herself to them, one after the other. Dodge, parry, duck, swing, slice, roll, block. Her hands curled, her arms bunched, her body twisted. It was like a dance, this type of fighting. Graceful and lethal, as all things fae were. She was so immersed in it that she didn’t notice when the rain began.

She called light to her fingertips, but didn’t expend it without an opponent. It helped her concentration to keep it there, kept her mindful of where she put her feet, how she was grounded to the earth, how the energy moved within her. She was a conduit, and proper alignment with her spark should feel effortless. But that still took practice.

When the void appeared on the porch, she felt it. She opened her eyes – when had she even closed them? – and saw Eric watching her. It had gotten dark while she’d been out there. Her light grew in intensity, an automatic response. Rigidly controlled. He hadn’t moved, but his fangs had dropped. She hadn’t been masking her scent and he no doubt could smell her from where he stood, twenty feet away. She pulled the cloak of her magic around her, cutting off the intoxicating sweetness of her blood to his senses.

“You’re a warrior,” he said. It wasn’t a question, but an observation. Furthermore, he didn’t sound surprised. She shook her head and let the light recede.

“No, only a pupil.”

He was still dressed in nothing but his lounge pants. No shirt, bare feet. He stepped off the porch into the rain and turned his face up to it. Sookie blinked. She couldn’t remember ever seeing him look so beautifully at peace. His hair was plastered to his face, water running in streams off his cheekbones and jaw, down his arms. He raised them, hands palm up, exposing as much of himself to the rain as he possibly could. It was a glorious sight, and she knew she was witnessing something no one had seen since he’d been turned.

He tilted his head towards her, looking at her steadily. He didn’t squint as the rain hit him, and it was disconcerting, a reminder that he was no longer strictly human. “Do you spar?”

“I...yes.” The question had been unexpected. “Wouldn’t be fair, though. I can’t match your strength or speed.”

He grinned, the same boyish, charming smile he’d let loose on her from time to time. The one that made her breath come short and her heart flutter. “I can hold back.”

“All right. But if you throw me across the yard, I will unleash my light on you.”

He nodded, accepting the terms. “I can see that you don’t fully trust me, but I promise I will not hurt you.”

And then he advanced on her. He was all brute strength and powerful swings, while Sookie was finesse and suppleness. They were oddly well matched in that. She ducked under his arms, turned his momentum against itself, even flipped over his back to land behind him and give him an undignified shove with her foot on his ass. He laughed, free and joyful, as he stumbled. Then he pivoted around and was on her again. Now she was forced backwards while she blocked and redirected. He paid no attention to the gravel under his feet, but she felt it through the soles of her sneakers. It was well packed and not likely to turn her ankle, but she began retreating from the driveway and into the grass just the same. No need for him to cut himself up.

The rain was heavier now, as she’d thought it would be. The grass was slippery and they were churning up mud. But neither of them stopped. He tried to pin her and she twisted out of it. She tried to kick out his knees but he rolled. She would be sweating if she wasn’t soaked from the rain. But he wasn’t even breathing at all, much less hard. Their grins had turned fierce. His fangs had run out. She kept her scent cloaked. They grappled.

He finally got her arms caught up with his in a way that she couldn’t get out of unless she actually wanted to damage him and he leaned over her, his face just inches away. They’d come to a stop with the maneuver, letting the rain beat on them as they stared at each other. As always, his skin was cool under her hands. Her own was boiling up. It occurred to her that she could have just ‘ported out of his grasp, but that was the kind of secret weapon she felt would be better kept tightly held. Besides, her concentration was shot.

“You don’t entirely trust me, but you’re not afraid,” he said. Again, it was an observation, not a question. “My house. My things. Yours.” He cocked his head at her. “Are you mine?”

“I’m not.”

“Would you like to be?”

She opened her mouth to give him an automatic ‘no’, but the phrasing made her pause. His tone was so genuine, so earnest. He was actually asking, as if her opinion mattered to him. As if he would respect her wishes, no matter what they were. He seemed to realize that this was something more serious than an offhand inquiry, and let her go. But he didn’t move away, and neither did she. He always loomed over her, he was so tall and broad. And he was accustomed to using his size to intimidate. In all their years of acquaintance, she’d never let it bother her, and that had always seemed to entertain him. So many people feared Eric Northman. She often wondered if that was part of her appeal to him. She had never been one of them.

She then thought about the question. Did she want to be his? Could she go back to that era of herself when her life had revolved around him? Theirs had never been a smooth sailing relationship, but there were plenty of times when it had been happy. In some ways, she missed that. She missed knowing that he would be there if she needed him. She missed knowing what he was feeling, even when it was annoying or distracting. God knew she missed the sex.

But she didn’t miss the secrecy. The intrigue and politics and never ending presence of danger because of who he was and the minefield that being involved with him entailed.

And he was still waiting for an answer.

“I think...not. But, thank you for asking.” She swiped wet hair out of her face and suddenly felt bedraggled under the weight of the rain. She took a step back from him and he let her, but his eyes were intent on her face. His fangs retracted and no matter how much he had forgotten about himself, he was still a shrewd, intelligent man and it showed in his expression.

“I have not always done so,” he stated. Again, it was not a question.

“No, you didn’t.” It was cowardly, and she knew it, but she needed to get away from him before she did something stupid. Like kiss him. Or climb him like a tree and take Pam’s advice. “I’m soaked through. I’m going to shower and change.”

He watched her go up the stairs onto the porch, where she kicked off her sneakers so she didn’t track mud all through the house. He vamped behind her before she could get the door and while she didn’t startle, she did give him a look over her shoulder. He was smirking, as if he’d been testing her.

“Don’t you even think about putting those dirty feet on my Gran’s clean rugs,” she snapped. He looked down as if he hadn’t even realized how filthy he’d gotten. The look in his eye was guilty now. Helpless against such an unimaginable expression from him, she laughed. “Go around to the kitchen door, I’ll open it for you.”

He sped away, but not before pinching her backside. She gasped in surprise and moved through the house to unlock the back door, the scowl already back in place. He was grinning like a child through the screen at her. She turned her body so he couldn’t do that again as he came in and started taking off his lounge pants before he was even halfway through the room. She shoved him in the direction of the other bathroom.

“As much as I do enjoy ogling your perfect ass, I don’t need to see it right now. Git.”

Eric was cackling as he went in and Sookie was left wondering what the hell had just happened. He poked his head back out. The wet lounge pants dropped from his hand with a plop. “Thank you for sparring with me.”

“I’ll...just get you some dry clothes. Crazy Viking.”

---

Later, when she was clean and dry and dressed in comfortable clothes, and after she’d made herself dinner and he’d had his Le Sang, she curled up on the couch and watched the fire burn. He’d laid it in the grate as if he’d done it countless times and it struck her again that he was so much closer to the human he’d been this way. He sat next to her, eyes on the flames, thoughts distant. She wished she had hot cocoa, and remembered one of the last times she’d had it with him present. It was just before they’d gone to Mississippi, before she’d gotten staked. Before Bill had nearly killed her and...everything else that had happened that night. When they’d settled into something of a rhythm together that wasn’t quite a relationship, but was more than merely casual. It was so long ago for her, and now for him it was gone. It was a rather melancholy thing to think about.

“I have done terrible things to you, haven’t I?”

She blinked at him and thought about how to answer. It wasn’t so much things he’d done himself, but more situations he’d put her in, or allowed her to put herself in. But that was more complicated than she wanted to get into on a night like this, when they were cozy and warm and at peace. “Why would you ask that?”

“Tonight was good. I enjoyed it. But it felt…” He seemed lost in thought for a moment before he hit on the right words. “It felt new. Not something we’ve done before. Together.”

“You’re right.”

“I would be proud to have such a warrior at my side. But I get the feeling that that is not the way we are.” He looked over the room, and her, and his own hands. “Or should that be ‘were’?”

Sookie sighed. “No, we weren’t like that. But then again, when we were...whatever it was, I wasn’t like this. I didn’t know how to fight. Or control my light. Or any of the things I know now.”

“Oh.” It was a small sound. “Where did you learn them?”

“I’m...part fae. I lived with my kin for many years of my time. I only returned a few months ago.”

He nodded as if that made sense. Apparently not remembering his own history as a vampire hadn’t taken away his knowledge of what other kinds of supes there were. “And for me?”

“A year’s passed.”

“So we are out of step.” He gave a self-deprecating laugh. “As I am with myself.”

“I guess.”

“Thank you. For taking me in. It must be...hard for you, to see me like this.”

She drew her legs up and turned on the couch to face him. His behavior was so different than she was used to, it was like he was another man entirely. And yet, she’d seen his eyes like that once or twice. When he didn’t know she was looking. A slightly sharper version of that look would be on his face when he talked with Pam. It was admiration. Or maybe something deeper. Something closer to devotion.

“Did you love him, the old me?”

The question threw her for a loop. Aside from the oddness of him asking it in the first place, she didn’t know if what she felt for him could be defined by such a concept. Which only went to show how much she’d become like vampires when it came to emotions, she supposed. They drove each other crazy, in good ways and bad. They had stepped into the line of fire for each other, again and again. They held each other as important. Sometimes she thought they held each other sacred, but she’d never been sure. It certainly wasn’t the kind of thing they discussed.

“I don’t think that’s what he wanted from me.” That was a good answer, wasn’t it?

“Why not?”

You have a lot of love for him, she remembered saying about Godric the night they escaped from the Fellowship of the Sun. His response had always stayed with her, too.

Don’t use words I don’t understand.

She looked at the Eric in front of her, the one with such a soft expression on his face, who was curious to know about them, their history in all its beauty and ugliness. “He...you no longer have a framework for love. It’s not something a vampire who has survived everything that you have gets to keep.”

“That sounds like a terrible way to live,” he whispered. Like it hurt.

Privately, she agreed. It had been one of her biggest frustrations in dealing with vampires as a whole. They had different rules for themselves, for what they considered weaknesses and strengths. Sookie had always been a person who loved. Even when the world was awful, she still managed to find joy in it.

“You have a light in you that’s beautiful,” he went on. “I couldn’t bear it if I snuffed it out.” He looked away from her, back to the fire. She couldn’t move, could barely breathe. He was still Eric. He couldn’t remember anything about himself, but the core of himself hadn’t been erased. If anything, it had been brought into jagged, bare relief. It was all he had. He wasn’t lying to her. “I don’t think I like myself very much.”

And then he was gone, vamped out of the room. She heard the latch of the pantry doors as they closed behind him.

Chapter Text

By morning, the rain had gone. Sookie drove to Monroe to pick up more Le Sang for Eric. Aside from not wanting anyone in Bon Temps to know she was harboring a vampire, it was probably also smart to buy it from a range of places since it wasn’t the sort of thing kept in stock in any great amount. The store in Monroe actually sold it by individual bottle rather than in a pack. The clerk had given her a long, assessing look and had many thoughts on the kind of splurging she was doing for a fanger, but said nothing aloud. God bless customer service persona, she thought to herself. She remembered it well.

The rest of her day passed, albeit slowly. She’d woken in her own bed, but the shutters were open. Which meant Eric must have come back upstairs to move her from the couch in the living room, but decided not to stay. It was incredibly odd to think of him as having some kind of depressive episode. That was not in his character at all. Still, the cubby light had been green, so she knew he was down there and hadn’t run off to sleep in the ground.

She made herself dinner, filling the house with the scent of herbs and pan frying. She remembered after Gran’s death that she’d had a hard time adjusting to cooking for one, but now she was used to it. In the timeless realm, she’d often been alone in the large estate. In other parts of Faery she knew the society was much more communal, fae being creatures that needed frequent touch and interaction to remain healthy. But the whole point of the timeless place was isolation. Being part human had served her well there; she could be comfortable in her own company for long stretches without adverse effects.

It was only after she’d finished eating and doing the dishes that she realized Eric hadn’t emerged from the cubby yet. It was full dark outside and while she knew he was awake by the signature of his mind, he’d stayed perfectly still. She thought about just leaving him to it, but he must be hungry, and letting a vampire go too long was just asking for trouble. Even one his age, who didn’t have to consume as much blood as a younger one. She straightened her shoulders and opened the pantry doors.

He had been laying there so still that the lights had gone off – or never turned on in the first place – and she blinked at the brightness when they flashed in her eyes as she went down the ladder. She stepped off the last rung and turned to look at him on his bed. He was on his side, facing the wall. He hadn’t acknowledged her presence. It was starting to worry her.

“Eric, is everything all right?”

He made no response. She didn’t think he was in downtime, that state where his body was sort of shut down but his mind was still active. She reached out and lay her hand on his arm, letting the seething jumble of his thoughts touch hers.

She didn’t ‘hear’ him precisely, but when they were skin to skin and her shields were down, she could get impressions. His mind was a constantly shifting labyrinth, layers upon layers of thoughts all happening simultaneously. She’d often referred to it as a nest of snakes, hissing and twisting. When they’d been bonded, as incomplete as it was, his emotions bled into hers enough that she could more or less put together what he was thinking. He’d been able to do the same with her. She supposed, looking back at it, it was a measure of how well they’d once known each other that they could do that.

“C’mon now, I know you’re awake.”

The angle was awkward, leaning over him with her hand on his arm. The bed wasn’t particularly large, since it had had to come down here in the first place in one piece but, with him on his side, there was just enough room for her to sit against the wall and not feel like she was going to end up on the floor. Her leg was pressed against his spine, his head against her hip. But otherwise she wasn’t touching him anymore. No more hissing snakes.

“I don’t like feeling things,” he mumbled, sounding sullen. Sookie cracked half a smile. That wasn’t anything she hadn’t heard from him before, although never in that tone. “Tell me about the house.”

“You mean how you came to own it?” He nodded. “All right. I suppose I need to start at the beginning, then. My parents died when I was seven. Their car was washed away in a flash flood. Jason – that’s my older brother – and I came to live with Gran then. The house itself was built over a hundred years ago, and has been in the family the whole time. After Gran was...after she passed, it came to me. You and I were just getting to know each other then. We weren’t…” She paused. That was more than she wanted to untangle right now. “Anyway, when I took up my great-grandfather’s offer to leave and get some perspective and training, I made arrangements with Jason to keep track of the house. But he’s had some trouble, according to you. And I was gone longer from this realm than I expected. You bought it from him.”

“I didn’t give it back to you when you returned?”

“No.”

“That wasn’t nice of me.”

“Well, to be fair, I haven’t asked, either.” She wanted to laugh at the notion of Eric considering himself nice or not, but managed to keep it inside.

In a flash of vamp speed, he rolled over. She half expected to see blood tears on his cheeks considering how despondent he sounded, but his expression was just broody. He was close enough to lay his head in her lap, but he held himself slightly raised so he could see her face. “Are we lovers, Sookie?”

She saw no reason to deny it and nodded. “From time to time. For me, though, it’s been like a decade.”

“And for me?”

“A little over a year.”

She gave in to the urge to tug him closer, putting her arm around him so he was half on her legs. Eric, for all his high-handed ways and ruthless demeanor, was much more physical than most other vampires she’d met. He didn’t let his guard down often, and she suspected only with her and maybe Pam honestly, but when he did, he liked the comfort of touch. It was something she’d noticed from the very first time she got in bed with him, the day Godric met the sun. He’d held her then, and he’d held her every time since. Even Bill had been fairly hands off once they were done doing what she now classified as just feed and fucks. And they had ostensibly been a couple!

“Why do you think I bought it?” He sounded at least curious now, so she figured that was a step in the right direction. She had no idea how to deal with a vampire, who normally enjoyed his undead life, being unhappy.

She also remembered him saying that he was doing the bidding of Niall Brigant but didn’t really want to get into that when he no longer remembered it. “To keep it safe for me. You knew I’d be back someday.”

“I knew where you’d gone,” he said, as if coming to a conclusion. “But your brother didn’t.”

“Jason is…” Not that bright , she wanted to say, which was somewhat unfair. He hadn’t inherited the fae spark like she had. His gifts were in good looks, athleticism and a charisma that had let him surf through life to the point where brains hadn’t been required. He wasn’t stupid, it was just that few had ever given him any sort of indication that he could think if he wanted to. And so he didn’t. “He isn’t involved much in the supe world. It’s safer for him that way.”

Granted, Jason’s wife – ex-wife, whatever – was a werepanther. He was involved, he just wasn’t aware of how far down the rabbithole went. And he understood the rules and politics of it even less. He was the sort of person that the less he knew, the less he could blab about it. But it also meant that he had a habit of putting his foot in his mouth. It was a dangerous combination, in her opinion, that had led him to make some truly dumb choices. She knew it was harsh to think of her own flesh and blood that way, but who else could be brutally honest but family?

Eric lifted himself from her lap and gazed at her, his expression shrewd. “You trust me more than him.”

There was a trace of the familiar prideful man she knew lingering there and she poked him in the shoulder before she thought twice about it. “I wouldn’t go that far.”

“Am I not worthy of trust?” Now he seemed hurt. Affronted, at least. Sookie snorted.

“Only to a point. You are a vampire.” Throughout their acquaintance, Eric had been there for her in many, many ways. But he also had an ego the size of an elephant. He tended to think his way was best, that he knew everything and never made mistakes. He hardly ever explained his thought process to anyone. Violence as the first option was common. It made him equal parts infuriating and arrogant. It was the source of his high-handedness. It made him powerful and rightly feared. It was also a good deal of his attractiveness, if she had to be honest.

She realized they were still face to face, inches apart. The moment stretched and had started to turn into something else. The inevitable urge to smack him or kiss him built inside her and she held her breath, waiting to see what he would do. This man in front of her was not nearly as much of a stranger as he seemed. Having a canny, quick mind was obviously not something he’d gained upon being turned, but something inherent. She could see plainly why Godric had sired him.

“Was I happy as I was?” he asked finally. Sookie blinked. The insight wasn’t surprising, but the fact that he would articulate it was. She wasn’t sure how to answer. Because she did think that Eric was a shameless hedonist who made no apologies for being a bloodthirsty predator. But that was not the same thing as happiness.

“You...you revel in being what you are.”

“That is not what I asked.” He was watching her closely, noting how she found it difficult to say anything to that. He looked as if that was answer enough for him. His head tilted, just slightly. The thoughtful angle he wore when he was calculating something to his own advantage. Sookie knew it well. A shoe was about to be dropped, she’d bet on it. “If you kiss me, I promise to be happy.”

Eric could be devious to the point of inscrutability. But he could also be incredibly predictable. She’d called him on it before, that he wasn’t as slick as he thought he was. She’d often resisted his more blatant manipulations just for the sake of it, but there had been plenty of occasions where she’d let him get his way because it benefited her too. One way or the other. It had saved her life more than once.

Her hands lifted of their own volition to frame his face. She leaned towards him until their lips met. She’d only meant for it to be light and chaste, but the moment they came together it was like something escaped containment. Her fingers slipped into his hair and she was suddenly tugging on the roots. She felt his teeth in her lip, then his tongue on hers. His own fist had bunched in her hair and before she could think, he’d shifted them so she was straddling his lap while he sat on his knees. She didn’t care and drew herself closer still, holding him tight with both arms and legs.

The kiss turned hotter, with both of them nipping and making little noises and never getting enough. Oxygen was barely a consideration for her, something to be gulped whenever their heads turned to get a new angle on the kiss. His knuckles ran down the side of her neck and she thought she might cry. It had been so long since she’d felt that from him. She hadn’t realized how much she missed it until now.

He pulled away, his ear cocked towards the upstairs. Sookie was left panting and swirling with too many thoughts to focus. “Your phone is ringing.”

She could picture it, sitting on the kitchen table above them, forgotten when she’d come down here. She didn’t care, didn’t want to stop kissing him now that she’d started. But then it occurred to her that it was pretty late for anyone to be calling. It must be important. She climbed off Eric’s lap and up out of the cubby. She caught the phone just before it went to voicemail. It was Merlotte’s.

“Hello?”

“Sookie? It’s Sam. I got an odd question for you.”

She glanced at the clock. It was nearly 9:30, well into the evening shift. She tried not to sound breathless. The last thing she needed was for Sam to wonder what she’d been doing to delay her reaching the phone. “What’s up?”

“Have you heard from Lafayette recently? He didn’t show up for his shift. And he’s not answering his phone.”

“I saw him the other day, on Hallowe'en. At Fangtasia. He was with Jesus.”

Ice poured down her spine as she finished speaking. She glanced at the cubby entrance as if Eric could contribute anything to this. Well, any more than he already had. The night the witch cursed him. The night Jesus had warded the doors of the bar. She could put two and two together. Those wards must have been meant to keep Hallow out. Lafayette missing now could not be a coincidence. Sookie never got that lucky.

“Tara hasn’t heard from him either,” Sam was saying. “I know you have...contacts. Maybe you’ve heard something?”

“I haven’t. But I’ll check with them. Thanks for calling, Sam. I’ll let you know as soon as I hear anything.”

She put down the phone and looked up to see Eric standing at the door of the pantry. He might not remember being the ruthless Sheriff of Area 5 at the moment, but he could still pull off an impressive stoic stone-face.

“Something’s happened.” It wasn’t a question. Vampire hearing was so acute he’d heard both sides of the conversation with no trouble. She nodded.

“More than likely.”

She hardly knew where to start. She was still off kilter from the mood change. But she figured the first thing to find out was whether or not Lafayette and Jesus had still been in the bar when Hallow had shown up. Eric wouldn’t be able to tell her in his present state. But Pam could. She went through her contact list and called her.

“What,” Pam answered in lieu of a greeting. This was her private number, so Sookie hadn’t expected much more politeness than that. The vampire knew it was her and social niceties were not Pam’s strong suit in the best of times. She’d learned years ago not to take it personally.

“Were Jesus and Lafayette still at Fangtasia when...when the witch got there?”

“Who?”

“The brujo and his partner.”

“No, they’d left. Said something about going back to their little coven’s meeting place.” She sounded distracted, as if she was doing a million things at once. This wasn’t unusual for her, Sookie knew from previous phone conversations. But there was an undercurrent of stress that could only be from having to do Eric’s job as well as her own right now.

“You know where that is by any chance?”

There was silence at the other end of the connection for all of three seconds before Pam spoke again. Now she sounded like she’d turned her undivided attention to Sookie. “What happened?”

“Nothing here,” she hurried to assure Pam. “But Lafayette didn’t show up for work and isn’t answering his phone. I was just wondering if maybe this Hallow has something to do with that?”

There was another pause, and Sookie could just about see Pam’s facial expression twisting into a sneer. “Hallow took over the place during the day. I can’t get close to it without risking myself being caught. But it’s possible.”

“All right. I’ll check it out. For what it’s worth, I have a feeling the coven isn’t exactly there voluntarily.”

“I don’t care whether they are or not. I just want my Maker back.” She sighed, a very un-Pam like thing to do. “And I suppose you want your breather friends back.”

“I would, yes. Eric said Hallow is greedy. Sounds like she wouldn’t think twice about coercing the locals if she didn’t get her way.”

“Fucking witches,” Pam swore under her breath. “You humans had the right idea a couple hundred years ago, burning them at the stake. They’re more trouble than they’re worth.” Sookie decided not to point out that the same could be said for working with any kind of supe. They simply operated by a different set of rules than mere humans. “The coven meets in some new age shop, downtown.”

“I know where that is.” It wasn’t like Bon Temps had many places that fit that description. “I’ll let you know when I find something out.”

“You do that. As much as I hate to say it, you should wait until daylight. Otherwise he’ll try to go with you.”

They both knew she meant Eric. And they couldn’t let him fall into Hallow’s hands. “Got it. Thanks, Pam.”

Pam grunted something that might have been an acknowledgment, then the line disconnected. Sookie looked at Eric. He was frowning, although it didn’t seem to be in anger.

“I don’t like it,” he said. Sookie gave a helpless laugh. Nothing could ever be simple, could it. Sometimes she thought maybe she should have taken her chances by staying in Faery.

“Join the club.”

Chapter Text

Sookie and Eric had put together a plan. For a Viking who’d forgotten a thousand years of vampire machinations, he still had an agile mind when it came to strategy. But it would be up to her to execute it. She was wearing one of her old sundresses with a little sweater over it in deference to the cooler weather, the better to hide in plain sight disguised as her younger self. They didn’t know how much Hallow was aware of his other assets, and they didn’t want to give away the fact that Sookie was no longer a simple barmaid with a telepathic ‘disability’. So she would pretend to be the girl she used to be, at least outwardly.

Moodgoddess Emporium stood in the same block as Tara’s Togs in Bon Temps’ small business district. It was from her friend’s shop that she would carry out her reconnaissance. There was no one else around, it seemed. The neighboring cafe with its outdoor seating was empty and the street was quiet. Too quiet. Sookie parked her car and checked her makeup and hair in the rearview mirror before she stepped out and then immediately felt why. There was something in the air like the sense one got while watching a thriller. Eyes around every corner, something ominous in the shadows. An oppressive sense of being unwelcome. She wasn’t well versed in witchcraft, but to her it had a similar flavor, for lack of a better word, as the wards Jesus had placed on Fangtasia. She figured it must be some sort of spell to make people stay away.

She did a wiggle in the sundress, pretending she was adjusting it in the reflection of her car’s windows. What she was really doing was seeing how far the spell’s range was by opening up her mind to find the edges of it. It was akin to pinpointing the voids of vampire minds; she could feel where the magic was and wasn’t. Then she took off at the brisk clip a young woman with nothing on her mind would use until she got to Tara’s Togs. The bell over the door rang and Tara came out from the back, her scowl immediately disappearing when she recognized her friend.

“Sook! What are you doing here?”

“I’m looking for your cousin,” she replied. She noticed Tara’s gaze go across the street to the Emporium, then slide away as if it wasn’t there. Even in her mind it seemed she’d ‘forgotten’ it. It was almost like glamour but clumsier. So, not only had Hallow set up something to keep people away, she additionally had tried to make the place sort of mentally invisible. Sookie figured it didn’t work on her because of her nature. She’d have to tread carefully if she didn’t want to give that away. “You seen him?”

“Nah, not since before Hallowe'en. I know he and Jesus had some kind of party thing they were doin’ together.” The Fangtasia wards, Sookie knew. Evidently Lafayette hadn’t told Tara what it really was. “Why would he be here?”

“Oh, I didn’t think he was. Just thought I’d ask you in person, is all. Maybe do a little shopping while I was at it.” Sookie smiled, something friendly and sociable. She was still getting back to what it was like to be friends with humans after years of being around nothing but various forms of fairies. She and Tara were out of step with each other, to use Eric’s phrase. She felt like she was pretending in more ways than one.

Tara immediately fell into customer service mode, which was unlike her. Was this the spell’s work too, or had they simply fallen that far apart from each other? That gave her a pang, thinking about the latter. She let Tara guide her to the new arrivals and then left her alone to look through them to see if there was anything she’d like. Years ago, Tara would have set anything she thought Sookie might like aside in the clearance rack. That had mostly been to let Sookie have her pride, since she was much less affluent then. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that no longer being the case. Either the affluence or the indifference.

Whatever you’re really doing, be careful, girl, she heard. Distinctly in Tara’s voice. Beneath it was an impression of feeling like she was being watched. Sookie felt relieved more than concerned. Their friendship hadn’t shifted; Tara was just being careful herself. She knew more than she was saying. Or was allowed to say.

“Anything new in the neighborhood?” Sookie said aloud, in a conversational tone.

“Nah. Same old.”

“How’s married life?”

“It’s good. JB just got a promotion.” He don’t know anything about this, and I plan to keep it that way.

Sookie nodded and pulled out a dress that was in her size. It didn’t matter if she liked it or not. She just knew she needed to get into one of the changing rooms. Whatever surveillance Hallow had going on was not likely to extend there. Although it might. She’d have to keep up her charade. “Think I could try this on?”

“Sure, right this way.” As if Sookie was not fully aware of where everything was in the shop. When they reached the curtained off area, Sookie was able to lean close enough to barely whisper.

“How deep are you in this? Just think it.”

Deep enough. Lala and Jesus haven’t been home in two days, and I got a message from that witch shop ‘inviting’ me to join their circle. It wasn’t worded nicely. I want nothing to do with whatever is going on over there. I got more than me to think about.

Tara was pregnant? Sookie’s eyes flashed to her friend’s, who looked terrified now that she was close enough to see it. She took her hand and squeezed, then slipped into the changing room. “I’ll just be a minute.”

“Take your time,” Tara said.

Sookie went through the motions of trying on the dress, but her mind was cast wide, trying to reach inside the Emporium. Years of training had honed her telepathy until it was sharp and strong. But she couldn’t get more than the impressions of the human minds inside. There were many present, Lafayette and Jesus included. They were nervous and scared, but it was muted. Like someone had thrown a blanket over their thoughts. There were other minds there too, fuzzy and snarled. To read them she’d need to be closer. She put her own dress back on and left the changing room.

“On second thought, I don’t think this one is for me. I’m looking for something with a little closer fit.” She hoped Tara understood.

“Just leave it there, I’ll get to it.” Didn’t get what you need? Sookie met her eye and shook her head slightly. “The bookstore is having a sale, you know.”

The bookstore was next to Moongoddess Emporium. That would be close enough.

“Thanks, I’ll check it out.”

“No problem, have a nice day.” Please get my cousin out of this shit, he’s all I got.

“I will,” Sookie said, answering both statements.

She left Tara’s Togs and crossed the street to the bookstore. Once inside she made a show of looking around before maneuvering to the shared firewall with the Emporium. She picked up a book and idly turned its pages like she was looking through it, all the while extending her telepathy across the space. She picked up several Weres, all of whom were either bored or scared shitless and hiding it. Some weren’t there willingly, but were too afraid of Hallow to back out. There was more of that blanket feeling. Was Hallow using some kind of mind control? Was that even possible aside from vampire glamour?

One of the minds impinged upon hers like a memory and Sookie realized with a jolt that she recognized it.

She promised me V if I helped her, but this nonsense is more than I signed up for. I don’t see why she didn’t just tie him up in silver so we could drain him and sell that if she wanted money so bad. Now he’s gone and his people are gonna come in here and kill us all. Witches are fucking stupid. I can’t stay here, Alcide will abjure me if he finds out. I should never have said yes.

It was Debbie Pelt.

Sookie closed the book in her hands with a snap and dropped it. She left the store before the owner could say a word and went back to her car like the hounds of hell were on her heels. She drove away, not feeling any better once she was beyond the range of the witch’s magic. Hallow was definitely there. Lafayette and Jesus were definitely there and not happy about it. And Eric was definitely in danger.

She needed someone who knew about witches and what they could do. She didn’t want to bother her Grandfather or any of her fae kin. They had too much going on in Faery to drop everything for her. But she had other supe contacts now. As soon as she got home, she would put in a call to her lawyer.

---

She had to leave a message for Mr. Cataliades. She went about the rest of her day, but her anxiety kept spiking. She tried to remind herself what Eric had said, that the property was warded and no one with ill intent could cross them. But it didn’t help. She kept waiting for something to happen. She kept thinking that Hallow knew she’d come through today, and was watching her every move.

She made herself dinner and ate it mechanically. Then she tried to watch TV on the couch in the living room. Nothing kept her attention, however. She didn’t start to feel better until the doors of the cubby opened. Eric found her and settled himself at the other end of the couch and it was all she could do not to crawl across the space and burrow into him. He wasn’t her Eric. He wasn’t the one who exuded enough confidence and danger that she felt immediately protected just by breathing the same air. But, he was still her Viking warrior, and he knew something was wrong.

He didn’t ask any questions, he just opened his arms. Like he knew what she really needed was to be held. She didn’t have to be invited twice and launched herself at him. He enfolded her against his chest and let her rest her head in the crook of his neck. It was only when she realized the position wasn’t uncomfortable that she noticed she was in his lap. She lifted her head and looked into his eyes. The blue snared her as it always did, and the look in them shattered any misgivings she had. He wanted her every bit as much as she wanted him. She drew him close and kissed him.

One of his hands cupped her face before slipping into her hair while the other held her securely to him. Now the position wasn’t enough, she needed to get closer. She broke away from him to pivot herself so she was straddling his thighs and dove back against his lips. One of them was growling and she wasn’t positive it wasn’t herself. He didn’t know who he was, but he hadn’t forgotten how to kiss. Their hands were everywhere on each other and before she knew it she felt skin as she parted his shirt. She hadn’t changed out of her sundress from earlier and the coolness of his hands on her legs under the skirt made her shiver. She rocked in his lap and felt him getting hard.

He’d gotten the back of her dress loosened and in a flash he pulled it over her head to land somewhere on the floor. Then she was flat on the couch cushions and he was hovering over her, moving his kisses down her neck, tugging the cup of her bra away so he could reach her breast. She contorted herself, trying to help get free of it, and he hummed when she spilled into his waiting hands.

“You have the most beautiful breasts I’ve ever seen.”

She cackled. “That’s because they’re the only ones you can remember seeing.”

“Doesn’t matter.” He lowered his head and nipped all around her nipple before sucking it into his mouth. She gasped and arched into him, her hands scrabbling to reach the button of his jeans. A distant part of her brain knew it was going too fast, but they weren’t stopping to think and she didn’t want to.

She got her hand around his cock and stroked him and she thought for sure he would just tear her underwear right off her, but he didn’t. He tugged them down so they sat under the curve of her butt and two fingers slid into her heat. The sound she made was strangled with surprise and gratification. She knew she was tight, it had been so long since anyone had touched her like this, but he didn’t comment. She was slippery already and he sank his fingers deep, his thumb curled against her clit to put pressure on it. Her body pulsed and he groaned softly. He pulled back enough to shove his jeans down and she was going to finish kicking off her underwear, but he didn’t give her a chance. He lined himself up, keeping her legs together against his chest, and sank his cock into her, slowly, letting them both adjust.

With her legs pinned closed and braced on him, the angle made her feel so much fuller and all she could do was hold onto the arm of the couch over her head. He rested inside her for a long moment, just feeling her twitch and spasm around him. There was a look on his face that she knew well, so satisfied, so superior. For a second he was the old Eric and she nearly cried. She missed that look, missed this. She knew she whimpered, trying to urge him on, and he grinned. That too reminded her of how he used to be.

He pulled out of her, almost completely, then sank back in with a small sound. He did it again and again, keeping his movements slow and controlled. Sookie didn’t want controlled, she was ravenous and wanted him to be too. Folded in half, she couldn’t really reach him, but she tried, digging her nails into his upper arms, trying to drag him closer. He let go of her hips to glide his fingers down her thighs, catching her underwear as he went, pulling them off to join the rest of her clothes on the floor. Her legs finally fell open, cradling him, and he was kissing her again before she knew it. She yanked and shoved at his shirt and heard it rip before it went flying. They were both laughing until he pushed into her so hard she gasped and he groaned. She was already hovering on the edge of climax, her body remembering the fall even as her brain fought to catch up. She wrapped her legs around his waist and lifted her hips into him.

“I want to feel you come apart,” he murmured, his hand sneaking between them to circle and tease her clit. Faster, faster, blindingly fast until she couldn’t help but surrender to it and she shouted as she came.

He was so deep she knew she’d be sore, but she didn’t care. With her legs around him she beckoned him to thrust harder, to pound at her. He kissed her again and she could feel his fangs. She licked one, careful not to pierce her tongue on it. It had the effect she was hoping for and she could barely get enough air into her lungs as he plunged into her with abandon. She was elastic around him, taking him deep so that his pelvic bone hit hers. She could feel herself winding up again and smiled against his lips. One orgasm was never enough for either of them, they were too greedy. He’d always said it made her blood sweeter, and she just craved the feeling he gave her, a deep seated overflow of pleasure that wiped her mind clean.

He sat up, keeping her spread open beneath him, his hands on her hips again, pulling her into his thrusts like she was a ragdoll. She writhed and sobbed and reached for herself to come again. He watched, eyes intent, fingers digging into her hard enough to bruise. She could feel the spiral spreading outward from where they were joined to her limbs and bit her lip to keep from screaming as she went over the edge again. Eric growled deep in his chest, feeling her squeeze him from the inside, and leaned over her once more, so close she could see the shades of blue in his eyes shift.

“Bite me,” she whispered. “I want you to.”

He didn’t need further encouragement and his fangs sank into her neck, drawing on her hard as he continued to pump into her body relentlessly. She held him close, her nails in his back, her ankles crossed. She shuddered as another orgasm rolled through her. She’d never been one to mix pain with pleasure, except for this. Only this. Eric’s thrusts faltered out of rhythm as her blood filled his mouth, and then he was releasing into her. It went on for a long time.

He settled himself atop her, his weight perfectly balanced so she wasn’t crushed. He licked her neck to get every drop, then pushed his finger against a fang to heal the marks he made. Sookie just lay there, trying to reassemble the scattered parts of herself in the afterglow.

They probably shouldn’t have done this. In a minute it was going to crash in on her, she knew it. She would feel the creep of guilt like she’d taken advantage of him. He’d obviously wanted it, she had no qualms there, but he wasn’t himself. When he was restored, would he remember this? Would he be upset? She couldn’t imagine a world where Eric Northman felt ashamed of fucking. But she also wouldn’t have imagined a world where he’d curl up against her, nearly in tears, because he didn’t like who he was.

“You’re thinking too much,” he murmured into her neck, his face still buried there after he’d healed her up.

She held him tight, trying to get her thoughts in order. “Just hoping we don’t end up regrettin’ this.”

He pulled back enough to see her, and he was grinning. Lopsided and cocky. Beloved, she realized with a jolt. “Never, lover.”

The endearment pierced her. It was a sweet sting, but nevertheless it hurt. Some things were just a part of him, evidently. And she knew she was in trouble. She could all too easily fall in love with this version of him. But that was a worry for another time.

“Take me to bed, Eric,” she whispered. He grinned again and lifted her right off the couch like she weighed nothing at all. Keeping her wrapped around him, he vamped up the stairs.

Chapter Text

A knock at the front door woke her. The dark confused her for a second, but then she remembered it was the light-tight shutters keeping out the sun. She hauled herself from the bed and staggered to her robe to stuff her arms in it. She hurt in places she had forgotten could get sore, but she couldn’t help the smile that crossed her lips. No, Eric had not forgotten everything.

The knock came again and with it a gentle mental ping. That shot her straight out of her musings over last night and down the stairs to open the door. “Mr. Cataliades! I didn’t expect you to come calling in person. Please, come in.”

“Thank you, Miss Stackhouse. I apologize for simply arriving, I have been traveling and…” He stepped across the threshold and stopped speaking. He inhaled deeply and then gave her a look that said entirely too many things for this hour and her state of dishevelment. “Well, that is one mystery put to rest.”

Sookie opened her mouth to say something, anything, but he put up his hand to stop her. He set down his briefcase and took off his coat.

“As your lawyer, and his, by the way, there are some things I do not need to know.”

“I didn’t know you were his too…”

“Why would you? It was not pertinent until now.” He smiled at her, and it was a human smile, full of warmth and gentility. Sookie remembered her manners.

“Can I offer you some sweet tea? Anything to eat?”

“Tea would be lovely. And a light nibble wouldn’t be amiss.”

She led him into the kitchen and glanced at the clock to see what time it was. Nearly noon. Close enough for lunch. She put together sandwiches and sides and poured the half demon a tall glass of sweet tea before she joined him at the table. For a while they simply ate and she tried not to think about how strange it was to share a meal with a man she’d met only once before. While she sat in her bathrobe with marks all over her, most likely.

Mr. Cataliades gave her another look, as if he picked up that thought in her head and she raised an eyebrow at him for snooping. She thought she’d be mad to have her own talent turned on her, but to be honest, it was just refreshing. Most folks didn’t know when she dipped into their heads unless she said something. But she’d spent years among her fae kin, where telepathy as a form of communication had become second nature. It was almost comforting being on the receiving end of it more than it was upsetting.

When they finished eating, and Mr. Cataliades had wiped his mouth, he folded his hands and assumed a more lawyerly expression. “Now, my dear, your message said something about witches?”

“Yes. Without going into too much detail…”

“For which I’m grateful, and not because I’m prudish,” he interjected. Sookie nodded, figuring that there should be a level of client confidentiality observed if he was lawyer to her and Eric both. Supe senses being what they were, there was no doubt he knew Eric was here, and he knew what they’d been up to. But as long as she didn’t specifically say so, the lawyer could plead plausible deniability if he needed to.

“I need to know more of what they can do. Or maybe what I can do against them. Like, can I break a ward? A curse? Can I protect myself from falling under their power?”

“Is that what we’re dealing with here?”

She cocked her head at him. It seemed a leading question following on the heels of saying he didn’t want to know details. “Yes.”

“Witch magic is different from fae magic. Its limits have different...parameters. I expect your light could be used to break a ward, or disrupt an ongoing circle. But the only way to reverse a curse is to have the one who cast it remove it. That said, I suspect your other gifts will easily prevent you from falling under any witch’s power.”

She got the feeling he meant the gift he’d given to her family. Dae telepathy. Sookie no longer had any preconceived notion that fairies and demons fell into categories like good and evil. She’d seen monstrous behavior from fae and had had nothing but good counsel and help from dae. But she found herself wondering if demons had gotten their reputation for malignancy because they couldn't be controlled by witches, who tended to be human. Hallow was the first one she’d ever heard of who was a two-natured.

“I am not entirely unaware of the circumstances,” he went on. “Miss Swynford de Beaufort acted quickly in bringing her Maker here and placing him in your care. And I have heard of this ‘Hallow’. She has troubled the world in many places. I believe you are in a position to end her reign of terror. But you could stand to have some help. Allow me to call your kin. Someone will come.”

“All right.”

“It could be a day or two, possibly more. Time differences.” He didn’t mean like timezones. Faery existed in another plane and moved at a pace that didn’t match Earth. She knew that all too well.

“Of course. We won’t make a move against Hallow until help gets here. Well, hopefully. I’m not the one calling the shots here.”

Mr. Cataliades nodded and hefted himself out of the chair. “Sookie, be careful. Stay on your guard. Inability to be influenced by the witch’s power does not translate into safety. She is a Were and capable of physical violence like the rest of her kind.”

“I know.” She saw the lawyer to the door, where he turned around and gave her an avuncular smile.

“It was good to see you, my dear. Let me know if there is anything else you need.” He reached out and cupped her cheek. He was quite warm, which got her thinking about other things she’d learned about demons. They were drawn to elements like the fae, but instead of sky or water or earth, they were more primal. Fire, ice, lightning. They didn’t have the same vulnerabilities as her relatives, like iron. It was why they could maintain themselves in this realm with less trouble. Not to mention, they were wholly unappealing to vampires. “I look on you as my responsibility. Fintan was my dearest friend, and you are his descendant. I have not had much to do with your life, and for that I beg your forgiveness. Know that you can call upon me for anything, should you need it.”

“Thank you, Mr. Cataliades.”

“Desmond, please. In a strange way, we are kin too.”

She smiled. For an orphan girl with only a single brother, she sure had collected a lot of family since coming into her own. “Yes, Desmond. Thank you again.”

“We shall speak soon, Sookie.”

She watched him go to his car, moving with the same kind of grace she attributed to most supes, and waved from the door as he pulled away. Then she looked at the sky. It would be hours before dark, and there was nothing she could do until then in terms of calling Pam and making a plan. They didn’t have much time to waste, however. The full moon was coming in a few days. The Weres would have to shift during that time, and the humans around them would not be allowed to live if they saw it. Vampires might be out of the coffin, but other supes continued to guard their secrets close. And usually to the death. Indeed, if Hallow and her coven were all Weres, with nothing to chase while hiding out in Moongoddess Emporium, the humans would suffer bloody and horrible ends. And on top of it, they had to make sure they took Hallow alive if they wanted to restore Eric to himself. It was going to be complicated.

Last but not least, Debbie was there. Sookie wondered if Alcide had figured it out yet. She toyed with her phone, debating on whether or not she should call him. They had been friendly once, she and the werewolf. He’d been instrumental in saving her life in Mississippi. Granted, he’d also put her in danger because his then breakup with Debbie had made the V addict aware of her existence in the first place. Debbie was the one who’d shoved her in the trunk of a car with Bill after Sookie had ‘rescued’ him from the palace of Russell Edgington. Eric had said at the time that Russell wouldn’t hold any grudge over the mess she’d made of Lorena, Bill’s Maker. And he hadn’t. She’d saved the King of Mississippi’s life too.

What a tangle that whole thing had turned into. The aftermath of it had made Sookie withdraw from supe business, withdraw from Eric. She’d nearly died twice in the span of three days. And she’d been raped. She’d needed time to heal and get her head straight about it. Only weeks later she’d met her great-grandfather for the first time, and a week after that she’d left Earth for the timeless realm. She hadn’t intended to be gone for so long, but she’d enjoyed the peace and quiet and relative safety of the life she lived there. She’d learned so much in her decade of restoration and training. She was still adjusting to being back. To being out of step with her human friends and how much they were the same when she was so different. She’d told only a precious few that she was leaving, well, more specifically that she was going to a fae realm. Everyone else just thought she was going to take a long overdue vacation.

Eric wasn’t wrong when he said she trusted him more than Jason. If it came right down to it, she trusted Eric more than she trusted anyone else in the world. Even Niall Brigant. Grandfather had his interest in her, sure, but she’d never believed that it was interest in strictly her own good. She was a fae bearing female of the royal line. Her fairy kin were riddled with fertility problems, given their exposure to Earth and all its iron. She knew the Prince of the Fae had plans for her. He played a long game, her great-grandfather. She assumed at least a portion of why she’d ended up in the timeless realm was to make her a part of it. Life in Faery and the honing of her spark had molded her into their image. She had their longevity now, and more than a few of their abilities. She would never be fully fae, but she couldn’t in good conscience call herself human anymore either. It meant she had literally all the time in the world, in any world, to take her place in the grand scheme.

Well, that was neither here nor there at the moment. She picked up her phone and thumbed through her contact list. She lifted it to her ear and listened to it ring. The line connected quickly.

“Alcide? It’s Sookie. I wondered if we might talk. I know where Debbie is.”

---

The conversation with Alcide had gone about how she expected – namely full of growling and swearing and promises to uphold honor that she wasn’t sure she cared about – and once it was done, she was tired. The afternoon was waning and she didn’t feel like puttering or starting anything productive. She hadn’t even gotten dressed for the day. She slipped back into the darkness of her bedroom and let her eyes adjust before dropping her robe and getting back into bed next to Eric.

He stirred, his age allowing him to come back to awareness well before the sun set. “Is everything all right, lover?”

“Yeah,” she said, although she didn’t sound convincing even to herself.

She rolled on her side to face him, wishing she’d turned on the lamp. She could still see the glow of his skin and the shine of his eyes in the dark, though. Most people couldn’t detect that much of vampires, which she supposed was how they’d blended in so well for so long before the Great Reveal. It was yet another gift of her heritage, that ability. She pasted on a bright expression for him, knowing he could see her much more clearly. He traced the shape of her face with his thumb, tucking her hair behind her ear and running his knuckles down her neck. Without thought she arched into his touch, like a cat being pet. It continued down her shoulder and arm, her skin tingling everywhere he passed. He didn’t stop until his hand came to rest on the curve of her hip.

He had a fascination with her shape, she’d discovered over the years. One that went deeper than his outward expression of meaningless carnality. He liked curves, and he appreciated that she wasn’t waif thin and emaciated. In her younger days it had been a confidence boost, knowing a man like him liked his women fuller than society’s current standards. Now she thought it might have something to do with the amount of give her body had when he bit her. She could understand that, from the perspective that the best steak had a little fat in it to make it richer. She wasn’t offended by it either. It honestly made her want to laugh.

“What would make it better?” he asked softly. His accent was strong, as it could be when he wasn’t thinking about holding it back. Hearing the clipped cadence of his Scandinavian origin made her smile. It was a thing of intimacy, to hear his true, unfiltered voice. Before, when he was himself, when she was still a small town waitress moonlighting as a vampire asset, she’d heard it only rarely. She’d treasured it as the mark of trust it was. She did so now.

She reached for him, nestling herself against his body and tilting her head back so she could see his face. She nipped his chin with her teeth, feeling the immediate change in him from sleepy to interested. “You would.”

Chapter Text

“Tomorrow night,” Pam said over the phone, her drawl more pronounced than usual. Like with Eric, Sookie knew it wasn’t her real voice, but it was the one she used most these days. “With or without your fairy grandfather’s reinforcements. I’m not waiting any longer.”

Sookie sighed but couldn’t argue. The longer this went on the more dangerous it would be to the humans being held hostage. Not that she thought Pam was thinking of them at all. She was only thinking about Eric and how long he’d been under this curse. “All right. Where are we meeting?”

“At the farmhouse, of course.” Before Sookie could bring up that she was in no position to play hostess for a number of unknown vampires, nor did she especially want said number of unknown vampires on her property, Pam spoke again. “I know it’s not ideal, but it’s closer to the damn witch’s shop. I thought the least I could do was not make you drive all the way here and back again.”

“I appreciate that,” Sookie said dryly. And she did, honestly. There was little point in her driving to Shreveport only to turn around and come straight back to Bon Temps. “I’ll at least be able to give y’all some Le Sang. Eric still has a couple, and I can get some more in the morning.”

“Don’t worry about it, Sookie. I’ll make sure the troops are well fed before we arrive.” She laughed lightly, only sounding a little suggestive. “I’ll see you tomorrow night. Is my Maker enjoying you?”

“None of your business, Pam,” Sookie reminded her. The vampire laughed again, much more freely.

“I can tell, you know. He’s not blocking our bond right now.” Pam grumbled something under her breath. Sookie thought it might be ‘since he doesn’t seem to know he can’.

She thought about letting herself get indignant, but then she just snorted. Served the interfering woman right, having to deal with all of Eric’s emotional highs and lows. Sookie wasn’t the same 25 year old mostly innocent who’d blush at the drop of a hat anymore. A decade in Faery would cure that from a girl. “Well you have fun with that, then.”

“Atta girl. I knew that fairy blood was good for something other than giving you super snatch.”

“Goodnight, Pam.”

The call disconnected and Sookie shook her head, reluctantly amused at Pam’s antics. There was a time when they’d be spitting at each other like scalded cats, but now they seemed to be getting along just fine. Albeit with slightly different senses of humor. Still, their verbal sparring had a more affectionate undertone than it used to, and she was happy enough to take that without complaint.

“Was that my progeny?” Eric asked from behind her as he came down the stairs.

“Yes, she’s going to meet us here tomorrow night with…” She trailed off as she turned to face him and saw what he was wearing. Plain blue jeans and an honest to God plaid button down over a graphic tee. He looked ordinary. Not like himself at all. This was a man who could walk down Main Street in Bon Temps and be nearly indistinguishable from the locals. It was...unsettling. She was so accustomed to expensive, tailored suits, Fangtasia uniform black and leather or couch potato lounge pants, with no in between. She hadn’t even known he owned a plaid button down.

Why would he have something like that here? she thought to herself. It spoke of blending in with the environment. Of mainstreaming. Eric didn’t do that. Well, normal Eric didn’t. But he must have been the one to put the clothing here and he did nothing without a reason. She just couldn’t figure out what that reason might be. It seemed preposterous that he would have intended it because he planned to spend time here with her. Socially. She tried picturing him sitting at the table with Jason and Tara and JB.

She felt something lurch in her chest and realized she hadn’t taken a breath for more than a few seconds.

“Is something wrong?” he asked, seeing her stare and probably hearing the uptick in her pulse as her body screamed for oxygen.

“No,” she replied weakly. “Nothing’s wrong.” Why are you dressed like a regular person? Why do you look like someone’s boyfriend? Like my boyfriend? She gave herself a strong mental shake and got back on topic. Once she remembered what that was. Oh, right. “Anyway, Pam will be here tomorrow, with some others. The plan is we’ll storm the Emporium and, with any luck, capture Hallow before there are casualties. I’m expecting some of the Shreveport pack to join us as well. There are Weres in there.”

He nodded, although it was in a vague way. It was equally as unsettling to her to see him not be in charge, she thought. “So we have nothing to do tonight?”

He sounded so hopeful. She smiled at him and nodded. He smiled back. Sookie got a hold on her emotional reins before her heart carried her away. This humanized version of him was temporary. She couldn’t let herself get too used to him. She couldn’t let herself mourn him when he was gone either. Because they were going to be successful and break the curse. Which reminded her, she had something she wanted to check, and figured it needed to be done now before she was overrun with vampires.

“I did want to do a perimeter walk, see how far the wards go around the house. You wanna come with me?” The last bit was out before she could veto it. He brightened up like she’d offered him the moon on a platter. Now she couldn’t help but grin. “Well, come on then.”

It was a crisp evening, but not cold, and Sookie needed only a sweater over her shoulders to stay comfortable as they left the house and headed down along the driveway. The wards ended on that side where it turned towards Hummingbird Lane and she followed them along the edges of the property until the house was behind them.

The Stackhouse land had once been more than 20 acres, but over the years Gran had been forced to sell off bits and pieces of it to pay the taxes when the natural gas ran dry. Now all that was left was a fraction of the original. Still, there remained a good sized chunk bordered on two sides by fields and the final side by trees where the cemetery – and the fae portal – lay. She looked out across the rolling land that had been her place to run as a small child. It lay fallow this late in the year, stretching out to the next farm in a neat plain. Where she was standing, she could feel the wards end. Eric must have followed the deed down to the last inch.

“You grew up here?” he asked, looking out over the fields as well. There was a distant look on his face, as if he was seeing a completely different rolling landscape, one that smelled of the sea half a world away.

“I did,” she replied quietly. “Once this was my whole world, these fields. These woods.”

She turned to look back at the farmhouse. It glowed with all its lights on, a little spark of warmth nestled between the trees. When she’d left it to go to the timeless realm, she’d missed it every single day. The house had been the heart of Gran. And in turn, the heart of her granddaughter. The grass was tall here where she never managed to get the mower and she heard crickets between the sibilant hiss of the breeze moving through the blades. At least it was too late in the season to be bothered by other insects. She soaked in the feeling of being home like a balm. She would never tire of the feeling, no matter how much she’d changed from the child who’d run here. No matter how strange it had felt to come back here after ten subjective years.

Eric’s hand cupped her cheek, turning her face up to his. There was sympathy and commiseration in his eyes. She wondered what he was remembering of his childhood, gone for over a millennium. His thumb brushed her cheek and it came away wet. She hadn’t realized she’d teared up. He lifted the drop to his mouth and tasted it.

“Don’t cry, lover.”

All at once she knew what the lurch in her chest had been earlier. She loved him. So wholly and completely she couldn’t even tell where it began. Or how long it had been since she didn’t feel this way. It was like it was already in her marrow, a part of her as intrinsic and necessary as the blood that flowed in her veins. That felt apt, considering how often she shed it for him.

“Eric…” she got out before her fists were hauling on the collar of his shirt and her mouth was opening to his. He curled over her, but she still had to get on her tiptoes to reach him. He chuckled and lifted her up against him with one arm. She lost no time wrapping her legs around his waist, crossing her ankles behind his back. His free hand was in her hair, holding her head where he wanted it while he ruined her ponytail.

And then she wasn’t paying attention to any of those details because they were tearing at each other’s clothes, some wild desperate thing clawing out of them until they were naked under the stars and the waxing moon. She was laid down in the grass on his shirt and his mouth was ravenous on her skin, down her body, between her legs. There was no one around to hear her cry out when she hit her first peak, no one to stop them from rolling on the ground like giddy savages.

He held her spread wide, one leg on his shoulder, as he drove into her. The scent of earth in her nose competed with the windswept salt of his skin. Vampires didn’t sweat, didn’t usually have any kind of smell, but to her he’d always reminded her of the ocean in winter. She didn’t know if she imagined it or if he’d carried the memory of his human life with him every night of his undead life. But in a darkened room, she swore she’d be able to find him.

He rolled them so she was on top, his hands on her hips guiding her as she leaned back. Her hands were braced on his thighs and she looked up at the stars as he hit every place inside her that made her come undone. They didn’t stop, didn’t let completion be the end. They made love in the grass until the moon slipped behind the clouds and the first raindrops fell. Sookie laughed, the chill of the rain making her skin pebble even as her body burned from within.

Eric scooped her up without withdrawing from her body and raced the rain back to the house. She clung to him, unable to see the passage from field to house even if he hadn’t been using vamp speed. He might have been flying for all she knew. All she could see was him.

He braced her against the door to kiss her again, one hand leaving her to open it. They fell through it and she landed on the floor with him still inside her, his rhythm never faltering as he drove her higher and higher. She wanted to laugh at how ridiculous they were, but all she could do was cry out for him for more, deeper, harder. Never stop, never stop. The rug was scratchy under her back but she didn’t care. Eric was hers, and she was his. Nothing else in that moment mattered, and nothing could change that.

---

It was near dawn before they finally collapsed in their bed, having christened every surface they could think of in their frenzy for each other. At one point they’d showered, but that had only led to them fucking against the wall of the tub enclosure. The room filled with so much steam they could barely see, due to the on-demand hot water. That made them laugh all the harder as they slipped and slid against each other. But at last the maddening desperation was sated. Sookie held Eric as he listened to her heartbeat thumping away under her ribs. Outside it was still raining. She giggled.

“You know, we left our clothes out there.”

“I could go back for them,” he offered lazily, not meaning it. She ran her fingers through his hair and he just about purred. They’d closed the shutters already, and the only light in the room was from the bathroom. She wished she had candles lit. She wanted to see him in that glow, soft and delicate against all his sharp angles. “Will you still want me when this is over, lover?”

“Yes,” she said firmly. There was no doubt in her mind.

Eric lifted his head from her chest and looked at her intently. “You are so sure of it.”

“Yes,” she repeated. She tugged on a lock of his hair, making him grin. “I have always wanted you, fool Viking. I love you.”

He leaned up to kiss her. It was sweet and simple, asking for nothing and giving everything. He would never say it, she knew. But it was in every action and had been for years. She didn’t need the words. When he pulled away, he propped himself up so he could see her without craning his neck. He looked quite serious all of a sudden.

“Sookie, I want you to have my blood while I take yours.”

“You know what that means, right?”

“I do. We will be one. I want it. I need to know that I can feel you, that I will always feel you. A piece of me is missing without you there.”

Her eyes stung; it was the closest he would probably ever come to telling her how he felt. And she didn’t need any reminders of the safety net being bonded with him would give her. They had been bonded before. In Dallas, in Jackson. He’d closed off his end of it before leaving her that final night, when they’d returned from Mississippi and she was still half dead from being drained. He’d offered to heal her then, as an apology for it all happening, and she turned him down. She had already been running.

She wasn’t running anymore.

“Do you want it, lover?”

“Yes.”

He shifted them around, getting her to straddle his lap so they were face to face. She pulled her hair out of the way of her neck and smiled at him. He grinned back, too charmingly boyish for the moment, but perfect just the same. He bit his wrist and twisted it so she could reach. The second her lips landed on him, he sank his fangs into the meat of her shoulder. They drew on each other like they were each other’s air. The connection woke, letting them fall into one another. It was blinding, dizzying. She was free falling but could still feel his arm around her. She could feel him filling her up, hard from the moment they began. They weren’t in her room anymore, they were somewhere else. Somewhere infinite and imagined, but so real she could feel the sun on her skin and smell the air. He was beautiful in that light.

They came simultaneously and it felt like it would go on forever. His blood in her healed every scrape and bruise, every sore muscle and strained joint. It went on and on until she couldn’t breathe. They collapsed to the bed in a heap but she didn’t feel the sheets under her. She didn’t hear the morning chorus of birds or the rain she knew was falling somewhere beyond the windows of the old farmhouse. She knew he should have been slipping away from her into his day rest, his mind a void of thoughts. They stayed entwined there in their dreamspace and made love until their bodies gave out.

Chapter Text

Alcide was the first to arrive, his truck rumbling up the driveway as dusk settled over the farmhouse. Sookie saw another truck following it, and half a dozen Weres were then standing in her yard, looking twitchy. It was the first night of the full moon. They would be able to hold it together for now. If Pam had waited just one more day, it would have been impossible.

“Sook,” Alcide greeted her with a nod. “I can’t say I’m pleased to see you under the circumstances, but…”

“I know. I get it. Still, it is good to see you.”

They made smalltalk for a while and she could feel when Eric emerged from the bedroom and smelled the werewolves outside. He bared his fangs but didn’t growl or otherwise attempt to make them back off. They’d discussed this part...more or less. Between bouts of having each other everywhere. Not long after that, an SUV pulled up. Pam was behind the wheel. In the passenger seat sat a petite vampire whose scowl was clear from across the yard. In the back sat Chow and another vampire Sookie recognized from rotations at Fangtasia long ago. These were the enforcers of Area 5.

She stepped down from the porch to greet Pam and the others. Tensions were high and the vampires didn’t say much. A few minutes later, all the heads turned towards the woods. Sookie followed their line of sight and registered the mind approaching.

“Y’all be nice, she’s my kin.” Pam glanced at her but managed to pull back her fangs. The small vampire was nearly smirking, her arms crossed over her chest as she leaned against the hood of the SUV. Claudine stepped into view.

“Sookie, I am here as requested.”

The pair hugged tightly, and warmth and security flooded Sookie’s overwrought system, letting her take the first deep breath in what felt like weeks. The Weres looked on curiously, while the vampires seemed to be restraining themselves physically from launching at the fae in their midst. For her part, Claudine seemed unaffected and ignored them. Save for the small one.

“Thalia, I did not foresee us being on the same side of any conflict.”

“Do not presume we are.” Her voice was strongly accented and Sookie took another look at her in the light coming off the porch. She had a stillness about her, both in her psychical presence and in the void of her mind, that spoke of centuries of self control and tightly leashed power. She should have guessed this vampire was ancient, just from her short stature. Humans had been much smaller once. Every vampire she’d ever met who topped a millennium had been short. Russell, Godric, and now her. The only exception was Eric, but then again, he was an exception to many things.

“You know each other?” she asked, just to break the silence that had fallen.

Thalia turned her head like a hawk and met her gaze. Sookie had the impression that she should be either genuflecting or running away screaming. She did neither. She also realized that she’d seen her before. She was among Eric’s rotation, although it was rare and she always appeared to be doing it under extreme duress and was surlier than he was on a bad night. After a moment of the two of them staring each other down, the vampire’s lips lifted, just a tick. It wasn’t a smile, but it changed the look in her eyes.

“You are brave, halfling. Or foolish. And yes, we are acquainted. It was long ago.” Her gaze slipped past Sookie’s shoulder to where Eric was now looming. She regarded him placidly, not at all intimidated or thrown off by his hissing. “I know you, North Man. Though you do not remember me. I am here to rectify that.”

“Well, as entertaining as this all is,” Pam drawled, “we need to get this done.”

The Weres and vampires returned to their vehicles and Sookie went inside to get her keys and coat. She figured it would be chilly later. Eric followed her, still unhappy but calmer away from all the strangers. The fresh bond was roiling with his anger and frustration as well as her attempts to soothe him and keep him to his word. “Promise me you’ll stay here.”

He looked mulish but nodded.

“Say it, Eric Northman,” she insisted. “Let me hear you say it out loud.”

“I will stay here, though I do not like it.”

“I know, honey. But it’s safer. We don’t know what we’re walking into and I’d rather not let that witch get her hands on you again.” She hugged him for a moment, pushing her love at him, then reached up to cup his face. “Let me do the saving for a change. It’s my turn.”

“You have already saved me, lover. Every second that passes, you save me.” He stooped and kissed her. It was hard to leave him, but she straightened her spine and turned towards the door. She couldn’t feel him now; he’d drawn back his end of the bond so he wouldn’t be a distraction. But he could still feel her, and would know if she needed help. “Be well, my Sookie.”

“I will,” she said at the threshold, looking at Claudine lounging against her car rather than face him again. “I’ll see you when I get back.”

---

They ranged out in a line outside Moongoddess Emporium, the Weres on one side, the vampires on the other. Sookie and Claudine stood between them. Hallow had to know they were there. But there was no sign of activity inside the shop, no lights, no movement.

Claudine approached the building, her hands outstretched. They landed against an invisible force and brightness surrounded her. She laughed. “Oh, such silly things! Look, Sookie, it is the power of the sun harnessed.”

Sookie joined her and laid her hand against the ward. It would likely have scorched anyone else, but to her it was merely warm. She imagined for the vampires it would do a great deal more than just feel hot. It would burn like daylight. To the final death.

“How do we get through?”

Claudine grinned like the Cheshire Cat. It was all the more appropriate since her illusory mask slipped and her teeth were no longer human. “We are sky fae, cousin. We take the sun into ourselves.”

She stretched out her arms and stepped directly into the path of the barrier. Light hit her from every angle, but she didn’t burn. Sookie followed her lead. It was everything a summer day was, radiance and heat and the feeling like she was a flower blossoming, revitalizing. She drew it into her like breathing and within minutes the barrier spell gave a pop and collapsed around her and Claudine.

Use your light to break down the doors, her cousin thought at her . Let the others go in ahead of us.

They both called their light and shot it unerringly at the double doors of the shop. They exploded in a shower of glass and woodchips. The vampires took this as their cue and all of them used their super speed to get inside. The Weres were right behind them, already growling and gnashing their teeth. Claudine held her back, approaching the shop at a leisurely pace as if they were just strolling down the street.

Inside was mayhem. Howls and screams, two of the Weres shifted and snapping at the coven. The vampires had been held up by something, another spell it felt like. Sookie and Claudine stepped around them and for a second Sookie met the gaze of Thalia, who was watching and not fighting the bonds of whatever held them, unlike the others. The small woman blinked at her, a deliberate action. Usually one she attributed to surprise.

Inside the circle of the coven, Hallow stood over Jesus, who seemed to be bleeding freely from a stab wound. The witch had a manic gleam in her eye and she licked the knife she’d used. Sookie felt sick just watching it and shot her light at her, throwing her backwards out of the protection of the circle to the far wall. Whatever spell she was attempting to conjure up with human blood stopped in its tracks and the next thing she knew, Pam had vamped across the space and slammed the witch to the floor.

“This is all I need,” she snarled at the others. “I’ll take her, you mop up the rest.”

She vamped out, carrying the unconscious Hallow by the scruff of her neck. Alcide’s Weres hadn’t wasted time laying into the others who were in various forms of mid-shift. Thalia, Chow and the other vampire that Sookie couldn’t remember the name of were taking on the humans one by one. Inside the circle, Lafayette had laid Jesus flat and was applying pressure to the wound. He was shouting for help, that Jesus wasn’t dead, he had a pulse.

It was over very quickly. The coven Weres had all either been killed or had surrendered save one. He was Hallow’s brother, evidently. Chow had him in a stranglehold, fangs out. The humans who hadn’t attacked were huddled together in a knot of fear. They hadn’t all escaped unscathed, but Sookie was relieved to see that no one among the hostages had died.

“Sook, please,” Lafayette called to her. “Call an ambulance. I can’t…”

Claudine stepped around bodies and blood and kissed her fingertips before laying them against the wound in Jesus’ chest. Her light passed from her touch into his body and he took a breath. He took another and blindly reached for Lafayette’s hand.

He will live , Claudine thought at her. I must go before the tide turns on me.

And then she was gone, ‘ported away from the three vampires happily ‘mopping up’ with their fangs. Realization hit, and Sookie cloaked her magic within herself before they smelled the fairy on her and were driven to further bloodlust.

She looked around the scene and saw Debbie kneel before Alcide. They were too far away to hear, but the look on his face was terrible. When he was done speaking, he looked through her as if she wasn’t there, then turned his back and rejoined his packmates. He saw her watching and gave her a single nod. The Weres filed out without another word. By now the hostages were beginning to come out of their stupor and understand it was over. Sookie met Lafayette’s gaze and something passed between them that needed no telepathy. So much carnage in so few minutes. And none of them would be the same again.

Pam had disappeared, probably flown away with the witch. Sookie knew the others were supposed to head back to Fangtasia to see what they could get out of her. In the meantime, she looked for Chow. She found Thalia instead.

“You did well, halfling.”

“Thanks, I think. I don’t feel like I did much at all.” The vampire gave her an assessing look, head tilted. She didn’t share her observations. Sookie noticed the humans who had been held trying to get themselves together to leave. “Hey, you think you and the others could do something about them? And I don’t mean drain them. Just…”

“Wipe these memories like a slate?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

There were a number of reasons Sookie could think of, all of them probably too altruistic for an ancient vampire who didn’t seem to like anyone, much less breathers. But she’d seen the way Thalia looked at Eric and met her eyes squarely. “Because he will have enough trouble keeping this quiet as it is.”

“And what favor do I receive for this?”

“I won’t tell him that you were all caught in the witch’s trap like flies on sticky paper when you rushed in.”

Another silence ensued as the two stared at each other. At last, Thalia’s lip curled. It certainly wasn’t a smile, but the tension drained out of her like dry sand. She inclined her head and turned away, her step heavy yet simultaneously graceful as she approached the huddled group of humans. She walked like a solider, one not seen in thousands of years. Sookie had no doubt that, even as a human, Thalia had been formidable. She decided she liked her, perverse as it might seem. Coldness didn’t bother her in vampires, she was used to it. But the honorable ones were worth respecting, and it seemed Thalia was that. She didn’t stay to watch the glamouring happen, but went out through the destroyed shop to the street.

Outside the Emporium, it was quiet. It wasn’t even that late. But that was life in a small town, and she was sure the repulsion spell was still breaking down. Funny, she hadn’t even thought about it when they got there. She spotted Chow stuffing the witch’s brother into the back of the SUV, trussed up like a Sunday roast. Sookie looked up at the stars and the full moon peeking out from behind wispy clouds and shivered. The Weres were likely all running the woods somewhere, burning off the excess energy from the battle. Hell, it wasn’t even a battle! It was barely a skirmish. She’d seen longer bouts in a sparring ring in the timeless realm. She’d fought some of them herself. Of course, it wasn’t truly over, not until Hallow reversed the curse she’d put on Eric. Who knew how long that would take.

“Sook.” She turned and saw Lafayette helping Jesus out the smashed doors. “You gots some wicked fucking timing, hooker.”

She smiled. “You’re welcome.”

“What do we do now?”

“First, go home. Then, call Tara. She’s been worried sick. After that…” She shrugged. “Get blitzed?”

“Sounds like a fabulous idea,” Jesus said weakly. Claudine had stopped him from dying, but he had still lost a lot of blood. He needed rest. He probably should be in the hospital, but they all knew they didn’t want to get the authorities involved.

“Hey,” she called to the pair as they shuffled off. Now that Hallow’s magic had been dispersed, she could see their car parked right where it had been since the night of Hallowe'en, hidden from view so no one would get suspicious. “Tell Sam the truth when you talk to him about all the shifts you missed, Lafayette. You were held hostage by Hallow. He should know what that means. And if he doesn’t, have him call me.”

“You got it, Sook.” He looked at her for a long moment, his patented ‘this was all bullshit and there are not enough drugs or booze in the world to cope with it’ look. She smiled and waved him off.

She didn’t look back into the Emporium and got in her car to go home. She had someone waiting for her, after all. She didn’t see Debbie Pelt watching her leave.

Chapter Text

She pulled up to the farmhouse and rested her forehead on the steering wheel for a minute before going inside. She knew Eric was waiting for her, and that he must have guessed that she wasn’t ready to come in, since he let her be. She’d gotten a text from Pam as she hit Hummingbird Lane, but all it said was ‘I’ll keep you informed’. Sookie didn’t feel a shred of sympathy for what the were-witch was about to suffer. Hallow had earned every stripe Pam was going to take from her hide tonight. She didn’t feel guilty about that either.

Especially since she didn’t know what she would be facing when she walked back into her house. Which Eric would it be? Was she honestly thinking about which version of him would be better? As much as she loved the sweet, human side of him, there was no comparison to be made. The world she lived in needed Sheriff Northman.

“Oh, this is ridiculous,” she spouted at herself. “Just go inside.”

She got out of the car and marched to the back door. She was right that the night had gotten colder and she was glad she’d brought a coat, even for the short walk from car to door. She found Eric at the kitchen table, a half empty bottle of Le Sang in front of him. He looked up as she came in and she couldn’t help but smile at him.

“Hi, honey, I’m home.”

He didn’t get the reference, but he brightened just the same. “I can feel your success. Yours and my progeny’s.”

Sookie nodded and then went around the table so she could lean on him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and laid his head against her chest. She dropped her chin in his hair. She felt like they were waiting for something awful to happen and could tell he was feeling it too. Whatever triumph they felt at having captured Hallow and stopping her lunacy was overshadowed by the understanding that things would be different once his memories returned. The last few days were already beginning to feel like a vacation from her life. She couldn’t imagine a way for this to be her life. Eric as a simple man who loved her and was perfectly content to mainstream in a small town had never been in the cards.

“Why are you sad, lover?” he asked. She wanted to laugh but couldn’t. She could ask him the same thing.

“We don’t have a great track record with endings, you and I. I’m just…” Waiting for the axe to fall on your humanity, she finished in her head. Preparing for grief.

“I’m still here, Sookie.”

She held him tighter, trying to take comfort in that. But the way he said it, like he knew that too was coming to an inevitable end, made it worse. “I know.”

“I don’t know if I want my memories back,” he said after a while.

“Why?”

“It will change me, once I know who I am.” He burrowed deeper into her embrace. “With everything you’ve said I’ve done, I couldn't possibly be the same. I wouldn’t be the man you want.”

“You will always be the man I want, Eric,” she said vehemently. “The old you, even with all the things you’ve done, all the things you had to be...I still wanted him. This side of you, this good, kind part, it was still there. You didn’t always hide it from me.”

It wasn’t an empty platitude. Even when he was sneering at the world, when he was using his merciless influence to manipulate and intimidate to get his way, he was still there for her. Eric had always done anything for her, right from the start. He might twist things to get outcomes to suit himself, but he bent himself over backwards for her in a way that he did for no one else. His actions spoke so much louder than his words. And always had.

“We could leave this place,” he said, softly like he wasn’t sure he wanted her to hear it. “Just run away. You are all I need.”

“You’re one of the most powerful vampires I know, and a Viking warrior. You don’t run away. You would never forgive yourself if you did.”

“I just want to be with you. Forever. I love you.”

She didn’t get a chance to reply, and honestly she didn’t know what she would have said if she did. His head lifted from where it was buried in her chest. He sniffed the air and his fangs dropped. At the same time, Sookie felt the impression of a red, snarly mind. It was much, much too close for comfort. Before she could do more than turn towards the door in the circle of his arms, it was kicked in.

Debbie Pelt stood there, a shotgun aimed at them, a maniacal look in her eye. “Look at this! How sweet! I should have guessed you had him here all along. I should have told that crazy witch everything.”

“How did you cross the wards?” It was the first thing Sookie could think of. A small voice in the back of her head told her that was a relatively unimportant detail considering she was staring down the barrel of a loaded gun. But Sookie had had entirely too many instances of life threatening danger to react the way she knew she should.

Debbie sneered and pulled a cord from inside her shirt. At the end of it was some kind of amulet. It looked like a river rock with a hole drilled in it, but it was etched with symbols that Sookie was too far away to read. “That witch was crazy, but she wasn’t stupid. She had a whole bunch of things in that shop. I took them all and tried each one until I could get close. Now shut up! I just want him.”

“Well, you can’t have him,” Sookie said before Eric could. How was this her life? What god had she pissed off enough that she kept getting into these situations? It was unbelievable!

“You have taken everything from me, bitch,” Debbie hollered. “You told Alcide where I was! He abjured me, right there in front of everyone. I can’t go back, and I got nowhere to move on to.” She racked the gun and lifted it back at the pair of them. It was steady in her hands, even as the rest of her shook like a leaf. “The way I see it, I got nothing left to lose. I might as well take something down with me.”

The shotgun went off, and Eric was a blur of motion. The table slid across the floor, the chairs went flying. Sookie felt wetness land on her front, too cool to be her own blood. “Eric!”

He was down, bleeding from the mess the buckshot made of his shoulder and torso. But he was whole. He wasn’t disintegrating into a pile of goo. In fact, he was already healing, the pellets dropping from him to plink on the floor. Sookie didn’t wait for him to recover and threw her light at Debbie. It was a little off the mark, but it hit the Were squarely enough. She stumbled back with a cry and Sookie was across the kitchen, wrestling the shotgun from her, in the blink of an eye. The thought crossed her mind that this wasn’t the first time she engaged in a tussle with a madwoman intent on killing a vampire close to her. Her fight with Lorena had been much like this too. The difference being that this time, the vampire in question was one she wanted to keep.

The gun came free of Debbie’s hands and Sookie had her pinned on the floor, the barrel under the Were’s chin. She saw fear in the woman’s eyes. And tears that made her makeup run. Debbie’s thoughts were clear and loud for one moment, all of her mind focused on how much she didn’t want to die like this. But she didn’t want to live like this either. She was babbling, begging for her life, promising she’d leave, that she’d clean up her act. Sookie felt all of her pent up rage and frustration and terror coalesce into determination. She was tired of people threatening her and only backtracking on it because she’d gotten the upper hand in the moment. She was tired of letting people escape the consequences of their choices. It was going to end, right here.

She squeezed the trigger.

The blast was loud and the spray of gore was everywhere. Up the walls, across the cupboards, out the open door onto the back porch. Sookie was splattered with it too. And this blood was warm. For a long moment she sat there, staring at where Debbie’s head used to be. More blood was pumping from the body since the Were’s heart hadn’t quite stopped yet. Like it hadn’t gotten the memo. Sookie felt nothing as she looked down at the body. She thought she might be in shock. Staking a vampire was one thing, but shooting someone was something else entirely. This wasn’t just death, it was a slaughter.

“Sookie,” Eric said. He sounded totally calm. She didn’t know why that surprised her. Even without his memories he was still a vampire, still a predator. Murder was not outside his purview. “Sookie!”

“What!”

“We need to take care of the body.”

He was right. She got up off the floor, dropping the shotgun with a clatter. It landed in the still spreading puddle of blood with a wet smack. She was a mess, she realized. Her kitchen was a mess. There was a dead body in her kitchen.

One task at a time, Stackhouse, she thought.

“Bring me the shower curtain from the bathroom down here,” she said. “We can wrap her up in that.”

He moved in a blur, vamping to the bathroom. She heard ripping and jangling and added new shower rings to her list of things to do. Then he was back, rolling Debbie onto the plastic. Sookie made herself useful and grabbed a pair of gloves from under the sink. Together they gathered as much viscera onto the shower curtain as they could, bits of bone and brains and clumps of hair. Her mind was shutting down and she moved mechanically. Gran had died here too. There had been so much blood then too. Somewhat idly Sookie wondered if she should just paint the kitchen walls red. That would hide so many more sins than the bright creamy white.

“I’ll take her,” Eric said, lifting the bundle that used to be a person like she weighed nothing. He picked up the gun too.

“I’ll get to cleaning.”

Eric left, disappearing into the dark. Sookie looked at her hands. The gloves were already covered in gore like the rest of her. Her brain was moving sluggishly and she couldn’t decide if she should get herself clean first or the walls. Her gaze landed on Gran’s lacy curtains that hung over the sink window. Splatters of blood had reached them. The sight of it galvanized her; they would need to be washed. She would not sacrifice them because some insane, V addled bitch had come into her house with violence planned. She took them down and put them in a cold soak. Then she stripped herself and added her coat and clothes into the washing machine. She went back to the kitchen in just her underwear and the rubber gloves and filled a bucket with hot soapy water. She got to work.

---

It would have taken longer without Eric. He returned from disposing of the body and immediately began to use vamp speed to help her scrub down the floor, walls, cupboards and door. He sprayed off the porch with her garden hose, washing the blood down the steps and into the dirt. At some point Sookie stopped and checked on the washing machine to see how the soak was doing. Then she ran the wash cycle. All she could smell was bleach. Eric was silent and she figured he’d stopped breathing so he wasn’t overwhelmed by the fumes that would be so much more caustic to him. To her mind, it was better than the scent of copper, but she was positive he wouldn’t agree.

They got everything as cleaned up as they could, which was an impressive amount with a vampire’s assistance. Sookie wanted to drop into bed and forget this whole night. But she still needed to see to herself. She let Eric do the final touches, put the laundry in the dryer and got herself in the shower upstairs. She turned the water as hot as she could stand it and scrubbed herself raw. It was a long time before the water ran clear down the drain.

She didn’t know how late it was. She hadn’t checked her phone to see how Pam was doing with her interrogation. She only saw Eric waiting for her in their bed, still alert and calm. He’d cleaned himself up too and no evidence remained that he’d been shot. She climbed over him, kissing him hard, nicking her lip on his fangs when they dropped. He pulled her to him roughly and she let him, let him push inside her without preamble. But that was all right, her body adjusted quickly. She was so used to the feedback loop of release with him that she grew slick in seconds. They set a punishing pace with each other, and she wanted it. She craved it. She needed to feel something other than numb.

She urged him on to leave marks and bruises on her skin, to pound at her until she was screaming. She clawed at him too, wanting to leave some imprint on him that this was real. She knew they wouldn’t last but it didn’t matter. She needed to have him feel her as much as she felt him. Even just for now. They rolled around, changing positions, straining for each other, licking, sucking, driving each other ever higher, ever more desperate. She crashed headlong into climax after climax but didn’t want to stop. It hadn’t purged her mind yet.

Eric flipped her over onto her hands and knees, his fist in her hair, his cock buried deep enough inside her to hurt. She writhed and cried out for more from a throat already raw and torn. Even after he felt the pull of the sun, they didn’t stop. He’d bitten her twice, and offered his own blood when she’d cried out in pain rather than pleasure. The bond sparked to life, renewed. It was like setting tinder to coals and they started all over again once the shutters were closed. In the end, sheer exhaustion was all that ended it.

They lay together in the gloom of the shuttered room, and didn’t speak. Sookie had no words anyway. Eric held her, her ear resting on his chest, hearing no rhythmic thump because he had no heartbeat. She could hear hers, though, pulsing in her head, crowding out her thoughts. He’d told her once that he liked listening to her pulse. That if he was still enough, he could pretend it was his own. That they were one. It made her want to cry because she could never have imagined him saying something like that without making it about her intoxicatingly sweet fae blood.

He died for the day with her still in his arms, although he remembered to loosen them so she could get up later. In time, she slept.

Chapter Text

It was four in the afternoon when she got up. The day was gloomy and sharply cold, unseasonably so. The big thermometer hanging on the front porch column read between 45 and 50. She shivered and stocked up on wood for the fireplace and made sure the furnace was set to a good, comfortable 70 something. When she went into the kitchen, she saw the bare window over the sink and remembered the previous night.

Everything in the dryer smelled like detergent and fabric softener. No blood. Granted, she knew her nose wasn’t anything like a supe’s. Still, Gran’s lace curtains appeared clean enough and she spent some time rehanging them while the coffee maker chugged along. She didn’t remember Eric putting the table and chairs back to rights, but she supposed he must have since she was able to sit there cradling the mug in her hands. She stared at the door, at the splinter in the frame where Debbie had kicked it in. Thankfully it hadn’t been locked at the time, so the damage was minimal. Nothing a little wood glue and sandpaper wouldn’t fix.

She drank her coffee and felt...well, she wasn’t sure what she felt. Jumbled. Restless. Hollow. She didn’t know what to expect now. It didn’t feel like the last few days, where she sat waiting in anticipation for Eric to emerge with dusk. But she did feel like she was waiting for something. She poured more coffee and made herself choke down a muffin. When her mug was empty she decided she couldn’t just sit here anymore, staring at the spot where she’d killed a woman. She went into the living room and started a fire so she could stare at that instead.

It was about an hour later that she heard movement upstairs. Despite everything, she got a thrill in the pit of her stomach that he was awake. He was here with her. The movement in the bedroom came to a halt. She knew, because she knew every creaky board and loose nail of her floor. Where he was standing should have been squeaky as all get out. Confusion rippled through her, not her own.

And she knew Pam had been successful in getting Hallow to undo the curse.

She should get herself up, she thought. Go upstairs and face him. Find out how much he remembered, how much he had changed. Again. She didn’t have the energy. After a moment, she heard his footfalls, heading towards the closet. They were surer, confident. Long strides. ‘Eric Northman owns the fucking world’ kind of steps. He was himself again. She tossed another log on the fire and wiped her cheek before the tear could track down it.

She didn’t know why she was crying; this was what she wanted, wasn’t it? For him to be whole, himself. Back to normal.

It isn’t fair , her mind screamed, a frantic bird trapped in a cage. To have him in a place where we could be happy and have it snatched away by circumstance. Again.

She listened to him come back out of the closet, heard him cross the floor and the bedroom door open. It was dark enough outside that she didn’t need to close any of the shutters for him to be safe, although it wasn’t quite sundown yet. The clouds were so thick barely any sunlight had gotten through them all day. Eric came down the stairs, one at a time. Human speed. She consulted the bond and found he was a swirl of things, moving too fast for her to pick out and analyze.

“Sookie,” he said, a slight querying lift in the way he spoke. She closed her eyes as pain lanced through her heart. He even sounded different already, his native accent once more subdued beneath a millennium of masks. He stopped behind the couch and he didn’t touch her. “When did we bond?”

“The day before yesterday, and again last night,” she said. No reason to lie. Certainly couldn’t hide it. It was so fresh, so deep, he could already tell how new it was. He likely had only asked to see if she would answer. She heard the tiniest clicking sound as he checked his phone. Probably for the date. Sure enough...

“The last thing I remember is Hallowe'en night. I seem to have lost several days.”

She nodded glumly. It was gone. This past week of him being sweet and considerate and human . It was gone. No, it isn’t fair!

“The witch…”

“She cursed you. You didn’t know who you were. You’ve been here, so you would be safe.” She was careful not to word that as ‘you were hiding’, because her Viking would take offense to such a notion. Hers. She scoffed internally. No, he wasn’t hers.

“You took care of me.” It was a statement of fact, obvious in every way since he was here, and she was here, and they were both alive. And he was restored.

“Yes,” she replied anyway.

He lifted his head and sniffed. She hadn’t showered. The scent of him was all over her, inside and out. Well, it wasn’t the first time. Probably wouldn’t be the last if the universe was at all kind. She was a little surprised he hadn’t figured that part out already since they hadn’t changed the sheets. Even she could smell them when she’d gotten up. Then again, if he hadn’t needed to speak to her, he wouldn’t have been breathing at all.

He chuckled quietly. “That’s not all you did.”

She tried for cavalier but wasn’t sure how well it worked when her throat was closing up. “Well, you know how it is with us.”

“Hmm.”

The ghost of a touch landed on the back of her neck, pulling down her collar. There were still bite marks there. Elsewhere on her body were his fingerprints in blue and purple. The imprint of his teeth on the side of her breast, no fangs. On her hip. Another set of punctures on the back of her thigh. They were all healing, since she’d had his blood again. Not as instantly as they normally would, which led her to believe that whatever he’d done to her insides had warranted the greater portion of the magic. That should have been a terrifying thought, but it wasn’t. She’d suffered worse. What was bodily harm to a girl when she had a vampire to heal her?

Well that’s a spiral better left untouched, she thought to herself.

“I am not typically so careless with you,” he said. Just how good were his senses that he could tell? Or was it the bond?

“I wasn’t complaining.”

“You should have been.” The rebuke was clear. She snorted, a half exasperated sound. How very like him to criticize her for wanting it a little rough. Okay, more than a little. But he certainly hadn’t turned her down. “What happened, sweet, that you would want me to hurt you?”

He didn’t remember, and she was suddenly glad of that. She didn’t think he’d hold it over her head or anything, she just wanted to put it behind her. “Nothing you need to worry about now. There’s still Le Sang in the fridge if you’re hungry.”

He didn’t call her on the subject change, but she could feel his disapproval through the bond. She lifted a shoulder in a half shrug. The bond would also tell him that she wasn’t lying, and that she wasn’t feeling like her life was in danger. Let that be good enough. It occurred to her that she had yet to even look at him since he came down the stairs. No doubt that wasn’t lost on him. He went to the kitchen and was in there for a long time. She heard him make a phonecall and the microwave beeped and the back door opened. She remembered the rest of the laundry. Well, he was clever. He’d figure it out. Especially if he was talking to Pam, as she suspected he was. She hadn’t checked her own phone to see if there were messages from her. She hadn’t wanted to see them, to have it confirmed that her house of cards was going to fall down around her. She preferred wallowing in misery over it instead, evidently.

She stayed where she was, so mentally and physically tired she didn’t think she could get up if she tried. The only light in the room was the fire, and it was dying down unless she could stir herself to put another log on. He finally came back into the living room. He put his bottle down on the coffee table and crouched at the fire to poke at it and add more wood. She made herself look at him.

Fangtasia uniform. Black jeans, muscle shirt so tight she could just about count his ribs through it. He’d brushed his hair back so it framed his face rather than letting it fall forward in soft tendrils the way he’d been doing. He was looking at her from his periphery and she was transported back in time by years, to the moment they met. The bluest eyes she’d ever seen, on a face that could have been carved from marble. She was so hopelessly in love with him and the knowledge was painful. She couldn’t even keep it to herself, because she knew he felt it.

He stood up, seemingly torn by indecision. She tilted her head up to look at him, wondering what he saw sitting there on the couch. If she looked as pathetic as she felt. He didn’t say anything but reached for the Le Sang and drank it down in two big gulps. He put the bottle back on the table and she saw a dribble slide down the neck of it. Didn’t that just encompass everything right there? Drained, empty. Nothing but the dregs left. It’s not fair! Her inner child stomped her foot.

“I don’t want to leave you like this,” he said.

“I’m all right, Eric. Just worn out.” A clean break would be better, right? Let him withdraw and reassess and see where the chips had fallen later. Let them both do it. No need to hash it out now while her heart was still shattered into a million pieces. It didn’t even make sense, it’s not like she lost him. He was right there!

This Eric can’t love you the same , her mind said, as if she was somehow unaware. He doesn’t know that kind of love anymore. She wanted to call bullshit, but couldn’t quite manage it.

“That’s not what I meant.” His voice drew her back from her internal argument.

“I’m sure Pam is waiting for you. She’s been worried.”

“You should probably get rid of that coat,” he said. “Burn it, maybe. Those clothes too.”

Well, that answered that.

He went around behind the couch again and she could hear him slipping into his leather jacket. She wondered if he would say anything else, or if he would just go. She wondered which one she would prefer. His knuckles traced down the side of her neck, and then he was out the front door. She waited until the bond loosened its grip as he got further away from the farmhouse before she let herself cry.

---

It had been days since he left. Days where Sookie had wandered through her house in a stupor before forcibly snapping herself out of it. At first she’d slept a lot. She only made herself eat when she realized how long it had been between meals. She cleaned when she had the energy, showered when she felt gross.

But little by little she put herself back together. She’d ventured out and replenished her groceries. She almost felt normal again. The sun came out, watery and low in the sky, but she basked in it like a cat. It healed more than just her light. A large box was delivered to her door, holding a new coat. Against her better judgment, she smiled and let herself accept that it was perfect. Perfectly Eric. Cranberry red. He liked her in red.

And then he texted her.

Come to Fangtasia. We need to talk.

She drove to Shreveport and parked in the customer lot. There was already a line, and Pam was working the door. Sookie didn’t bother waiting and just walked up to her.

“You did good,” Pam said. “I don’t often say this to breathers, but thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” The vampire hesitated before letting her in, like there was more she wanted to say. Sookie was doing better, but her patience was thin. “Just spit it out.”

“Just thought you should know. Before the witch expired, she told me what the curse was.” Sookie pasted on a mildly interested expression. Pam saw through it immediately, and her eyes got soft. It was remarkable how much it changed her face. “That he would gain his heart’s desire, but not know it.”

Sookie wasn’t sure how to take that. It had so many ways to go with how he’d been. He’d forgotten who he was. Was that his heart’s desire? To not be Eric Northman, the Sheriff of Area 5? Or was it about her? To be near her, to have her, without the politics and facades and baggage. Both were hard to think about. “Thanks, Pam. Is he on the floor or in his office?”

“Office.”

The music was loud and the crowd was enthusiastic in their gyrations to it. She blocked them all out and made her way through them to the back. Chow glanced at her but since she didn’t stop, he didn’t speak. The employee entry closing behind her dropped the decibel level enough that she felt like she could breathe again. Eric’s door was open and she walked to it. He was behind his desk, going through paperwork at a clip that was blinding. She wasn’t surprised, he had a week to catch up on after all.

“You rang?”

“Close the door.” He sat back in his chair and watched her. She hadn’t dressed up in any kind of way and he took in her jeans and sweater and the new red coat without much interest. He looked almost bored, in fact, but she could tell that he wasn’t. “I find myself troubled.”

“Oh?”

“I do not remember what happened while I was cursed, but we obviously had some...intriguing situations occur.”

“That’s one way to put it,” she said with a light scoff. He smirked, but it wasn’t the usual one. Too small, too tight on his lips. It didn’t reach his eyes.

“If I asked you to tell me, would you?”

“Does it matter now?”

“It might.”

“Why?”

The look he turned on her now was stormy, but not in anger. At least, not aimed at her. This close, the bond was a live wire between them. He wanted, and he hated that he wanted. He couldn’t reconcile it with himself, with his image. And he hated that too. “You know I don’t like feeling things, lover. But I can’t get you out of my head.”

A younger Sookie would have run from this conversation, and he would have let her, laughing at her cowardice. Even two weeks ago she would have taunted him that he would get over it soon enough so that she could protect her own heart from it. She did neither of those things. It was a little frightening to think that she was ready to face this. And that he was too.

“What do you want from me, Eric?” she asked. It was a gentle question.

“Everything,” he snarled. He waited for her to respond, to snap at him, to put her back up and pick a fight. But she didn’t. She let the bond speak for her, let it grow warm and hopeful. She could feel his surprise at that. It lingered, filling the space between them with all the things they wouldn’t say aloud. But she was still getting her reserves of patience back, and eventually they ran out. She lifted an eyebrow at him.

“Go on then, ask me for it. Make it good. Make me believe it.”

He got out of his chair and stepped around his desk to loom over her. Desire poured through the bond. Not just the lustful kind either. The kind that one got curled up on the couch watching some terrible old movie. The kind where waking up together was a highlight of the day. Well, night. The kind that had permanence attached to it.

She felt a smile starting and didn’t try to hold it back, even though he was trying to look forbidding and cold despite what he was letting her feel from him. The bond couldn’t lie; she could tell just how much he wanted to throw her over his shoulder and fly off with her. Or maybe just slam her against the wall and fuck her until she passed out. It was a tossup. But he just looked at her, noted the way she stood there, their personal space blended into one. Her arms crossed, her stance both belligerent and challenging. At last, his lips curved.

“Sookie Stackhouse, will you be mine? Will you stand beside me, as I stand beside you?”

“Yes, Eric Northman, I will.”

She had barely a split second to prepare before his kiss stole all her breath.

~FIn~