Pre-Edit Count – 2,494 Words

Beta’d by: Black Rose Magick

Song I listened to for this chapter: I Lived by OneRepublic

Previously:

With her nod, Eric zips to the window, and when Sookie moves out of his way, he enters, accepting his tracksuit top from her.  He puts it on, then grabs the bags she had packed.  Eric then exits the window, holding his hand for her to step out onto the porch roof, only letting her dainty feet rest there for mere moments before he has her in his arms, taking to the air and away from Compton.

Now:

Flying over the land, Sookie hides her face in his chest, only answering his one question of why with “It’s very windy!” Eric couldn’t help his laughter feeling her awe and slight fear, but is heartened in hearing the answer that matches the Sookie he had met at his bar almost a month ago.  Hopefully, being away from Bill will let that amazing woman out to play more often.

Finally, seeing the clearing he has hidden this safe house in, Eric lands in the clearing.  He remembers back to when Godric helped him clear it long ago when this area had not even been found.  Even before Eric had become Sheriff of Area 5, he had felt something for this area when he was a traveling enforcer.  Firmly dismissing the pain of missing his Maker, Eric smirks as he knows that this is only one of his more secure safe houses.   Even if Compton finds it, entering the structure hidden in the ground, even with the help of his blood in Sookie, would be a miracle.

Sookie is looking around at nothing but a clearing, and she asks hesitantly, “Umm, I thought you were bringing me to a safe house?” She sees nothing that can even be imagined to be a house.  She has no problem camping, but she would feel more secure inside a building than with just then fabric walls to keep out Bill.

With his smirk only growing, Eric walks over to a ‘tree’ and hits a specific place on it, and quickly enters the code to uncover the door.  He then turns to bow at her, “Your accommodations, madam,” smirking as the door slides up into the tree, exposing a stairway.

Not able to stop it, Sookie starts laughing. “James Bond type of stuff?!?!?  You are freaking James Bond!!!” She can imagine nothing better suiting Eric as her laughter gets louder; picturing him in a suit, saying, “My name is Northman, Eric Northman.”

Seeing her mirth, Eric’s smirk widens into a grin.  Walking to her, he puts a hand on her lower back and escorts her to the door, opening it for her.  When she starts to descend, he hits the lights he installed last month.  When she starts going down the stairs, still laughing, he closes the door and follows her, knowing it all will ‘hide’ again when the door closes.

At the bottom of the stairs, Eric again opens the door in front of him. Deciding that he would start Sookie’s education now, he informs her, “The door is made of iron with silver sandwiched between the two layers to make sure that if someone tries to enter by force, like Mr. Compton, for example, they would have a difficult time doing so. The door at the top has the same composition.” Eric hopes that will make her worry less and inform her of ways to protect herself as he watches her enter the central part of the safe home.

When Sookie enters the room, she blinks, not expecting what she is walking into. The room has brick walls, but the room’s colors revolve around a picture of a rose blooming print.  This is not what she would ever expect Eric to have his house decorated as. The colors are rich; the brick color even worked into the color palette. While the pic might make you think of a woman’s touch, instead, it is masculine. And it tells her something about the man who had zipped off to put her bags elsewhere.

He comes back in, and after staring at her, Eric asks, “Would you like a drink?” He tries to remember his manners since all he has found about the blonde in front of him is that she was raised with manners dating back to yesteryears.

Blinking, she turns back to him, answering, “Yes, please.” And she turns around, still taking in the room.  Her Gran had always told her that you could tell quite a bit from someone’s house and the choices they made decorating it.

He nods, and zipping off once more, he comes back with a Gin and Tonic. “I thought you would like one of these to help calm you.” Eric is watching her, hoping she likes his place, even though it is not one of the more common homes; this is one he has stayed at more often since it is closer to her house. Of course, it being hard for anyone to find is just a plus, but he had updated it in the last couple of weeks while he waited for the sun to go down, on the off chance that Sookie may come to this place.  The other houses that were more public, he had updated them as well.

With that, he waves to the chairs on either side of the fireplace, and once she sits, he is soon zipping around the room and then sits to her left once the fireplace is lit.  He has also gently laid a cashmere blanket on her lap and lets her know as he sits across from her, “It gets chilly in here per the temperature.” He is seated there, slouched, relaxed, but his mind is whirring with thoughts of making her more comfortable. Still shocked that she is now finally his.

Meanwhile, Sookie looks around some more while trying to get her thoughts together. Taking a drink, she finally asks, “Ok.  First off, Lafayette?  And What happened to your hair?  And just…”. She trails off, then finally she admits, “I am so lost.” The last is said in a much quieter voice.  Too much has happened in a small amount of time.

Sighing, Eric resigns himself to the harder of the questions, and he asks her, “What do you know of humans and vampires, Sookie?” He figures if he starts here, then the rest of the questions would be more comfortable.  Plus, it gives him a way to impart with her some of the information that Sookie should have been provided by the idiot.

She blinks and asks, “What do you mean?” What does this have to do with any of the questions she asked?

Trying to make it easier, Eric leans forward, putting his hands together in front of him as he tells her, “Let me put it like this.  Do you know what the maximum punishment is for a drainer from humans?  And if it matters if the drainers killed or not?” Hoping that she puts that compassion that made her ask for humans to be punished by humans instead of by his kind will make her understand what he is going to tell her.

She turns her head slightly as she thinks about it, and she says slowly, “They go to prison?” For that is what happens when you kill someone.

Shaking his head, Eric quietly informs her. “No.  They get a slap on the wrist and let go.  Since we are already dead, there is currently no consequence in taking a dead person’s life.  In fact, many of my kind are dying so that a human can get a momentary high from our life source.  As the leader of this area, it is my job to make some kind of determent to those wishing to take our lives other than a simple slap to the wrist.” He won’t hide how bad it can be, but at the same time, he will try to make it where she can understand why he tries to make it be a deterrent to killing his kind since humans think nothing of killing vampires.

Thinking this through and seeing how unfair it is, she asks, “But what has that to do with Lafayette?” But she has a bad idea. She knew where Jason got his V from.  She had hoped that Lafayette was just a distributor, but it sounds like he might be more.  She never snoops in her friend’s minds.

He sighs, “One of my vampires, a young one, has been missing.  His Maker called me when he felt him meet the True Death.  My investigations have led me to Lafayette.  But there is another piece to all of this, Sookie.  One that I have been having a hard time with.” There is no other way to put this, and he needs to know if she knew and kept it secret.

Eric pins her with his glacier blue eyes. “Your brother is also implicated with his girlfriend.  In addition, he came to my club looking for v and went home with a suspected drainer. So now, I find myself in between a rock and a hard place.  I need to show I am working for the safety of my area, or I will be answering to others higher than me and may meet the True Death if I am not careful enough.”

Rubbing his eyebrow, Eric wryly comments, “On the other hand, I am finding it hard to punish your friends and family.” All because he did not want to ruin his chances with her.  He leans back and runs his hand through his hair as he has many times, trying to find a way out of this conundrum.

He doesn’t want to lose his Sookie, now that she is his.

A hand lifts itself to her mouth as she asks, “What is the normal punishment?” ‘What have you gotten yourself into now, Lafayette?  And why did you drag Jason into this?  You know how he is!’. Her mind is furiously thinking.

“Death.  It is the only determent we accept any more.  Nothing else has worked.”  He watches her and hopes that the quick mind he has seen glimpses of can help him out of this.  Her brain has fascinated him since she came in to find the thief for him, and he hopes she might come up with a solution.

Sookie closes her eyes as she tries to think of a way out of this. But, unfortunately, Amy is dead, killed by Rene.  Then she realizes what she is thinking and opens her eyes to tell him, “Amy.  She is a drainer.  I read it in her mind and told Bill. But, unfortunately, she was killed the following morning by Rene.” She wonders if Bill is why so many died since Amy was not a fangbanger and therefore did not fit into the stereotype for Rene’s murders.

Closing his eyes to hold in the rage, glad that she could not feel him, Eric informs her, “Bill never told me of this. Can you tell me who killed Eddy, the young vampire?” Then, he focuses back on the subject and tries to get closure for the grieving Maker.

Sookie shakes her head, “I would need Jason nearby, and I don’t think he would do it.  But to be sure, I would need to ask him.”  Her eyes fill, but she swallows them down as she tells him, “I will be willing to do whatever it takes to help you and him.” She might lose her brother, or at the least, he will be punished, but at the same time, Eric needs to do his job.  She is caught between a rock and a hard place and can only hope that Eric can find a way to settle this.

Eric is staring at her, thoughts racing through his mind.  He doesn’t want her obligation.  “I don’t feel as if your brother was the one who struck the killing blow if he ever struck anything.” He observes her flinch, and he works to hold in his fangs. Then, of course, he will find out what had caused that flinch, but he would not be surprised if the V is what encouraged that reaction from her brother.

Either way, if he has his way, his little one will be protected. While she is a firecracker and can handle herself very well, he sees no reason for a woman to not have a helpmate. And that is what he is finding he wants.  But until Godric is found and Eric can verify what is going on with Compton and his obsession with Sookie, Eric will not pursue that line of thinking.

“I do not need you to feel obligated to me, Sookie.  Your brother did it, and you are not responsible for his actions.  He is his own person.  Lafayette is the same.   I am working to find a way not to kill them because they are your friends and family.  If this Amy is already dead, I can offer that as well as repayment to the Maker to satisfy him.” He informs her.  Eric’s blue eyes are focused on only her.

She blinks back her tears, “But he is my brother; Gran would want me to take care of him.” Trying to make him understand why she feels this way.  Gran has always wanted Sookie to make sure her brother is ok, encouraging her to clean up after him and find his murderers with her disability.

Leaning forward to clasp his hands in front of him, Eric sighs, then explains, “Sookie.  Taking care of your brother is admirable.  It is something lost in this time and age.  Nevertheless, he is a grown man, and it is more his job to take care of you than him to be truthful.  I have no doubt that between the two of us, after speaking with him, we will be able to find a way out of this mess.” ‘One way or another.’ He tells himself.  And wonders why her Gran was so insistent on Sookie being the one to take care of her brother, and not the other way around.  Sure the Boy was immature and didn’t have many brains rattling in his head. Still, surely the traditional Elder of the family would tell him to take care of his sister as a man should be?

She nods, yet again swallowing her tears.  “And Lafayette?” Sookie is not willing to let go of her friend, who has backed her more than anyone else but her Gran about her ability.  He has always dismissed it as just her ‘thang.’

He smirks, “Lafayette has admitted to his crime, but since he made it enjoyable for a young vampire, we will work it out with the three of us.  I need him to never sell again.  However, he has been a force for us with some actions he has done, I have found.  Seems he likes Hypocrites as much as I do.  I find I am in an odd position.  I like him but need to make sure he does not continue.” Admitting this costs Eric nothing, and he truly enjoys the fight in the man.

He then cocks his head on the side, “Do you understand why he does it?  Anything you can tell me, lover, that could give me a way to stop him from continuing?” With how much she seems to care for Lafayette, she might know why he deals with drugs when Eric can see no reason for the man to do it.

Nodding her head, Sookie hopes that this can give Eric what he needs, “It’s because he takes care of his momma.  She is institutionalized, and Lafayette is the only one paying her bills. Still, he doesn’t have insurance and refuses to put her into a state-run home, so he supplements his work at Merlotte’s and my brother’s team on the parish roads.  He has tried to work honestly for what he needs, but even working all the hours did not give him as much as selling drugs and making porno on his site. He hates every second of it, but he loves his momma more.” And it is the only reason she has never turned him in.

Leaning back, Eric frowns as he tells her,  “I do have to tell you, he was injured this morning.  Ginger shot him as he tried to escape.  We did some rudimentary first aid on him, and we scared him by drinking from him.  We drank less from him than we would from a normal human, so he was not injured. Still, I find it an excellent way to deter one from doing it if they have a taste of it themselves.” Ideas are flowing through his head; most are where he will need to come back to once they are back and Godric is safe once again.

Her own mind trying to understand, Sookie thinks through what Eric is telling her and reads between the lines on what he isn’t telling her.  He is not hiding anything from her, just trying to take into account her limits.  With that firmly in her head, Sookie finally nods.  With what he is trying to achieve, it would be hard to walk the line, and she knows that her being here is just making it harder for him to do what he needs to do.

With that nod, Eric relaxes, feeling some pressure off him, and he smiles as he says to her, “Thank you.  I know this is not easy, and it will seem brutal to you.  Unfortunately, the world we find ourselves in is often more brutal than humans think they are today.  However, humans just put a thin veneer over their cruelness, as I suspect you already know.  The other side of it all is that we live every second of our lives to the fullest extent.  We are both sides of the extreme, but there is logic in what happens.  What I want to do is give you the chance to understand it all.”  If she cannot understand, there will be a rift in any relationship they would have.  He would do all he could to shield her from it, but unfortunately, it will still be in their lives.

She takes another drink from her Gin and Tonic and admits to Eric, “I am scared to be involved anymore in Vamp politics.  Bill made it seem like y’all are bloodthirsty.” Sookie shudders with the little bit she had seen of others other than Bill. But, of course, Jason didn’t help with his memories of Liam, either.

He chuckles, “Oh, we are.  However, make no mistake, Miss. Stackhouse, you are the same.  You are more than willing to do whatever it takes to protect those you think belong to you.  Your friends.  Your Family.  Your town.  Your home.   You are as possessive as we are.  The difference is that society has made you think that they are not possessive.”

“Nevertheless, I can see your hackles every time you hear one of us call you ours.  I will tell you a secret; my kind wants someone to call us theirs.  It is my own honest wish that you will call me yours.” Eric’s voice lowers as he admits the truth to her.  For it is the complete truth.

Sookie is looking at him with her big blue eyes, taking in everything he is telling her, opening up to her in a way she never anticipated he ever did. And it makes Eric feel more than he ever thought he should per Godric’s teachings.

He takes a deep breath, deciding to tackle the next conversation. “You are aware of Makers and their Children from Compton and Jessica, I take it?” He raises an eyebrow, figuring that she may know nothing since Compton hid so much from her already.

“No. Bill won’t tell me much about it since, according to him, I would never understand it.” Sookie bites back, still feeling the anger at how he hid so much from her.  He made her into an idiot in this world he pulled her into, and she is not enjoying it at all. Finally, though, Eric is telling her the information she should have had all this time.

Closing his eyes again as he sees the anger pumping through her, amazed by the pure feelings she has.  He hides the smile twitching at his lips, Eric sighs. Yet, he will not avoid the information she needs to survive in this world she is now part of. “I think I need to start from the very beginning.  I feel that Compton was purposely not telling you information to not know what is going on or options you have open to you.  In fact, I am quite certain that this is what is the reasoning behind not giving you even the basic information that a fangbanger has.”

Eric rubs his eyebrow as he gathers his thoughts.  Then he starts to inform her, “I will start there.  Fangbangers want to be our pets.  They want us to take them, feed from them, and take care of them in payment.  They really don’t understand, or frankly, what most of them don’t care about, is the difference between a pet and a companion. So what I would want from you, to begin with, is to be my Companion.  My equal in the end.  But we will start with being companions.  This affords you freedoms that pets wouldn’t be dreamed of being trusted with.  And it is a place of honor, telling others that I think of you more than most and that I may consider you for more honors as my Bonded or more.” He stops, giving her a moment to go over what he has told her.

Watching her, he tells Sookie softly, “This means especially more in our society. For a Companion is the first step to making the human one of us, giving them the knowledge that we are not the only supernaturals out there.  We also give them more power over us.  A Pet does not often sleep in the same house, let alone the same room as their vampire Masters.  However, a Companion is often trusted with the knowledge of all the resting places of their other half.  A Companion is not touched by any others in respect that the vampire in question may have a pull to the Companion.  The type of pull is never discussed nor if there is any.” He is also giving her a hint why he never did anything really before this.  He didn’t know what Compton wanted in her, a Companion or a pet.  Frankly, with the information he is getting now, he thinks Compton was looking more for a Renfield.

Thinking over what Eric is saying, as well as reading in between the lines, Sookie questions, “And do you?  Since you have said, you want me as a Companion.” She is not sure what this pull is, but if it is anything like what she feels, well, it would explain much.

Knowing how vital this question really is, Eric looks into her eyes, “Yes.  I have not determined what the pull to you is, but I know I never want to treat you as a pet.  Compton has decided that you didn’t even deserve the pluses with you being named a pet.  He has named you a belonging, a possession of little to no value with how he has treated you. In fact, I suspect he would have been happier if you could be glamoured and been his Renfield since that is how he treated you.  If I had known, I would have gone to you earlier.  The fact you are walking around injured is a sign of this.” He snarls the last, hating the fact she is hurt and that Compton allowed it!

Misunderstanding what Eric said, Sookie shakes her head, “I didn’t want to be addicted to his blood.  He has been mad at me for not taking his blood!” He had tried to give it to her a few times, then when she refused, it seemed like he was now punishing her for not allowing him to provide her with more of his blood.

Hearing this, Eric can’t hide his smirk, “That fire is why you captured my interest despite the pull.  You don’t have to take his blood for the healing of the cosmetic injuries.  It would have helped your ribs and any other aches you have, but the black eye can be healed topically, and in fact, I will offer it to you.  As much as I want you to have my blood, I will not force you to take it. But your face is too beautiful to have such a mark on it.” He says the last softly, allowing some of the pain he feels seeing her injured to surface in his voice.

Blinking fast, Sookie is surprised by the information. However, she begins to see what Eric meant that Bill must not want to give her too much information. So she adds what Bill has done wrong to the list, and her conclusion she is getting from that list is not a good one.

But then a question comes across to her, “Why did you come to me tonight?”

Final count: 4,236

Fairfarren ~