Pre Edit Count – 2,516 Words

Song I listened to for this chapter: Face Down by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

Previously:

So she was here, trying to figure out why her waitress was the interest of the Queen’s procurer. Then she watched the man enter into the building for the first time. Show time.

Now:

Later that night Bella hovers in the air above the bar and watches the incompetent Compton be drained by the resident drainers. She had put in a call earlier leaving a note for her brother that there were drainers in Bon Temps, but as Pam was the one who took the message, it looked as though she might have to rescue the idiot herself.

Then, to her amazement, she sees her cheerleader of a waitress come out to save him. She watches as the woman throws a chain around the throat of the male half of the drainer duo after they exchanged words. She raises her eyebrow as the spunky woman then goes after the female half. She has enough when the drainer-whore starts insulting the waitress and comes down and grabs the woman from behind.

Sookie is shocked when the woman she had been serving earlier appears out of nowhere and grabs Denise Rattray by her arms, and she can hear the pop as the woman’s shoulder is dislocated. The idiot Rat screams out as she falls to her knees from the pain.

Bella looks at the woman as she drops the Rat onto the ground, then looks back as she hears the vampire behind her groan. “Oh, please. If those chains actually can hold you, then you truly are a pathetic vampire and need to be erased as the failure you are to your Maker.” She is irritated and knows that it is a sign of needing to feed, and realizes that she will have to let Eric know where she is.

Bringing her mind back to the here and now, Bella turns her attention to the woman in front of her. “Thank you for the defense of the vampire, but I think there is something more to this than what it appears to be. I think you need to go inside.” Bella’s little hovering trick has drained her more than she expected., so she needs to get the female out of the way of the idiotic Compton. The weeks of going without of feeding are not helping either.

Sookie frowns as she again gets nothing from the woman in front of her. “Oh my Stars! Why can’t I hear you?” She cocks her head to the side.

Bella raises an eyebrow. That is interesting to hear. It makes her wonder what Sookie is because the only telepath she knows of is Edward, and knowing that the woman had heard her speaking just fine, that could be the only other answer – one that is not hard to guess with her experience with Edward and how he had reacted to her. She starts to answer, but the pain in her body pulls her to the ground.

Sookie rushes forward to catch the woman, and finds her somewhat lighter than she expected. If she had known that the woman was this light, she would never have served her so many drinks!

As she holds the woman, Sookie hears a curse as Sam comes up behind her. “Sookie, go into my office.”

She started to say something, but then hears her brother and Hoyt come out of the bar. “Sookie, I’ll take her in. Just go, please.”

Sam shakes his head at the other vampire. “I don’t know who you are, but if I were you, I would stop the act and follow me. Her brother is coming, and I am not defending you to him.” Sam has no wish for the King of Texas to see him here.

He had left there in a hurry, and is pretty sure that the woman on the ground is the reason he had not been hunted since then. But with her being who she is, he can’t just leave her where she is. Either way, he has no time for the fool on the ground.

Compton growls in frustrated anger. He has no idea why everyone is saying that he is free to move. The scenario is believable; he has staged many like it. Even vampires have fallen for the ruse so why won’t these fools?

Sam shrugs as he lifts the woman into his arms. “Suit yourself. If I find you hurt these boys, I will sick the Sheriff on you.” As the two boys walk up, he tells them, “Grab the Rattray’s. There is rope in my truck. Make sure they don’t get away; the man coming is going to be plenty mad when he gets here.” Once he is sure the boys are following his instructions, he turns around.

He then carries the Queen of Texas to his office and places her on a chair. He wishes he had a better place, but he doesn’t feel comfortable letting the Sheriff of Area 5 into his home. So, he sits in his chair as he thinks of how bad of a clusterfuck this night has become. Either way, the jig is up. Maybe he can save his ass if he plays this right.

With that in mind, Sam calls Fangtasia, his lips lifting into a sneer as he listens to the Sheriff lieutenant spiel, “Fangtasia, the Bar with a Bite, how may I help you?” He has heard rumors that this idiot tries to get between the woman in front of him and her master. He admits he would like to see the uppity bitch put into her place.

Sam shakes his head at the thought of how much of an idiot she must be as he asks, “I need to speak with the Sherri-ff.”

Pamela sighs. “I’m sorry, he is out right now.” Her mouth says the words, but he could tell she is bored and telling him whatever she thinks will get him off the phone.

Not playing the game, Sam states, “Then I need his cell phone number.”

Pamela lifts the phone from her ear, frowns at it, then answers the demand, “The Sherriff doesn’t give out his cell phone number to anyone.” Her voice is not as bored now, rather she seems entertained with the idea that a mere shifter would need her master’s number.

Growling with the level of idiocy she is showing, Sam tells her, “He will want to get this call. I am calling about his sister.” He hopes this will give her the motivation she needs. She can’t be stupid enough to go against her maker and Godric, can she?

Pamela smirks. “His sister is in Dallas. Everyone knows that. Now either tell me a message or I will be hanging up.” Feeling safe in her assumption, she just waits to see what else the idiot will come up with. She hopes it’s something good.

Shaking his head at the foolishness of the woman since everyone knows that no one messes with the Viking’s sister, Sam says, “Look, I don’t know why she is here, but she has been here for a couple of days. She needs him right now. So give me the number or call him yourself, I don’t really care. I am not being blamed for not contacting him when she is hurt.” Nope. He will use what he can to save his ass, and right now, this game of hers is making it likely that he will find himself in a grave with no hope of rising in three days.

Leaning back in Eric’s seat, Pam shrugs. “It doesn’t bother me what happens to the little bitch. She needs to learn that Eric is not on call for her. She can call her maker as well as I can call mine. She-“

Sookie had followed Sam into his office, and is sitting there quietly, but when she is about to ask Sam about what’s going on, the door slams open and then there is a blur that stops at the woman’s side.

Eric is seething. He had felt Bella’s pain on his way over, and he rushed to her side as the drainers were nowhere as important, but then he heard his Child’s words. Unable to rein in his anger, Eric holds his hand out and Sam puts the receiver in his hand. “Pamela.”

Pam’s eyes widen. “Eric.” ‘Oh shit.’

Eric looks over his sister as he orders his Child, “Stay there. And pray that my punishment is enough. You do not want Godric involved. And Pamela, if someone says they need my number because of Bella again, you will give it immediately. If Godric calls for any reason, have him call me.” With that, he hands the phone back to the shifter. He is furious with his Child, and at the same time with his sister, too. She has waited too long to contact him.

Sookie watches the tall man in front of her. She cannot deny that her whole body tingled when he appeared, and she has no idea why. His words on the phone are cold and hard, however his actions are anything but.

He sinks to his knees beside the woman and pushes her hair tenderly out of her face as he looks her over. Then he says something in another language, and Sookie flinches as he tears his wrist open and puts it to the mouth of the woman he had called Bella.

Eric can see the signs that she has been starving herself. She has found that drinking alcohol does nothing to her but helps her delay the thirst for a small while. But…he had no idea she was in the area. He asks the shifter, “How long has she been here?” The words are harsh, but his actions are caring towards the young woman.

Sam shakes his head. “I’ve seen her around for a few days. I had no idea you didn’t know she was in town, though. I recognized her but I haven’t said anything.” He shrugs, not wanting to get into the whys and wherefores.

Eric opens his wrist and feeds her again. She latches on, and he breathes a quiet sigh of relief. Finally.

Sam watches. “So it is true?” His eyes are wide in reaction. A vampire who can only drink from two sources? How does that work? And how could she drink alcohol?

Eric looks up at him, and sighs. “We don’t want it known, but she can only feed from me or Godric. I have no idea why she is here, and I am shocked she is here without one of her Guardians.” He keeps a lock on his extreme emotions, as he has since his arrival. No need for Godric to be even more worried than he undoubtedly is.

He looks at her and asks, “What happened?” He will need to know when the call comes. His sister will be in trouble, but he can understand her need to be away from Godric, especially with the media circus his Maker has told him about. But why not tell him?

Wanting to answer the stranger, Sookie speaks up, “I was rescuing a vampire from some drainers. She appeared when Denise went to attack me.   She did something that made a popping noise and Denise just collapsed. She said something to the other vampire about “stop faking it” and then she fell.” She feels some need to have the man look at her as she feels more and more drawn to him.

Eric looks up and his eyes widen as his meets hers. “Knulla!” This is why he had to be here?

Bella rouses to his statement and she wryly comments, “It can’t be all that bad.”

Eris looks back to her, and he grins. “Oh lillasyster, you are going to be in for it. Why haven’t you checked in?” He is careful with her. His sister is very important to him, and he cannot understand why she hid from him. Did she think he would forbid her from anything? The most he would have done is ask Peter to stay close to her. Or Charlotte…

Bella coughs as he helps her sit up. He is watching her carefully when he comments, “And you are going to be coming with me. You are nowhere near as well-fed as you need to be.” He can see the signs, and he is even more concerned.

She glares up at him.

Sookie had frozen when the man stared at her, but when she hears his statement, she holds her hand to her mouth. “Oh my Lord! You’re both vampires!” Why she hadn’t she seen it before? Well, she has been hidden in her small world here.

Eric chuckles as he teases his sister, “Verkar vår Freyja hade mer i åtanke än att du är den enda att gå vid min sida för åldrarna. Träffa min kompis.” (Seems our Freyja had more in mind than you being the only one to walk by my side for the ages. Meet my mate.)

Bella’s eyes widen when she takes in the woman before her. She says to Eric, “Compton var intresserad av henne och fejkade en förvånansvärt verklig dränering hånar upp. Han har varit miljöprövningens henne ut, och en del av anledningen till att jag är här. Intelligensen angav han sänt drottning. Jag tror att din partner på något sätt har flugit under Radar, men jag misstänker att hon är mer än människa. Hon uppgav att hon inte kunde höra mig, och det påminde mig om Fuckward. (Compton was interested in her and faked a surprisingly real draining mock up. He has been scoping her out, and it’s part of the reason I am here. Intelligence indicated he was sent by your Queen. I think your mate has somehow flown under the radar, but I suspect she is more than human. She indicated she couldn’t hear me, and it reminded me of Fuckward.)

Eric’s jaw clenches. He turns around and, looking at his mate, tries to decide what to do.

Bella advices him softly, “We can see her home, and then talk. I can tell you now that I didn’t mind, but a lot of the reason why is because I was given the choice.” She is trying to hint to him without giving away the woman’s importance to anyone else, especially not with what they suspect about the Cold Ones.

And she is trying to relieve the tension she feels rolling off him. Eric is everything she ever wanted in a brother, in family. She loves him on a different level than Godric, but she does love him deeply.

He looks at his sister, then looks back at his mate. He finally nods.

Bella grins, then looks to Sookie and informs her, “I am Isabella Northman, and this is my brother, Eric Northman.” She is watching the woman, and her grin widens as she can see the signs of the mating bond surface.

Right then, Eric’s phone rings, and he grins wolfishly at his syrra. “I am shocked it took him this long.” He can’t wait for her to hear it. Then he will comfort her, and try to find out why she hid from him.

Bella frowns, then reaches into her pocket. She cusses as she holds out the remains of her phone. She must have fallen on it.

His grin broadens as he answers his phone, “Godric.” Oh yes, this will be entertaining.

The voice is quiet, but Sam grins while Bella collapses back into the chair. She holds out her hand for the phone.

Eric smiles as he discloses to Godric, “Hold on. She fell on her phone but she is right here beside me.” He never throws his syrra under the bus as they say now. Nope. He is the good cop in these situations. As Eric has told Godric, he has a way to get on her good side. Eric should never need to be anywhere else.

Bella takes the phone with a sigh. “Dia duit, mo ghrá. Tá brón orm, bhí mé ina amadán. (Hello, my love. I am sorry, I was a fool.)

Sookie just stares at them, realizing there have been more languages spoken in here than she has ever heard in her life. She lifts an eyebrow as the tall blond looks at her again. He runs his hand through his hair, which reaches his shoulders, and after glancing at his sister, he sighs. “I’m going to need to get it cut again or she will say something.” He likes it better cut, he has simply been too busy lately. Work has piled up, and trying to pass some of it to Pam has been a process in itself.

Sookie can’t help but giggle. The tone of his voice shows his love for the woman, but the exasperation shows that he knows he’s going to be ragged on about it.

Eric lifts an eyebrow to her, then comments, “Thank you for helping with my sister. I take it this is where I should have been heading to begin with?” He takes drainers seriously. Too many of his area have been hunted and he has no idea why, but he is determined to get to the bottom of it.

Sam looks from Eric to Sookie and back. He closes his eyes, realizing he has no luck in this, not unless he can convince Sookie of how bad vampires are while managing to keep the two from touching.. He suspects if he tried that, however, Eric would hunt him down, and a simple touch would ruin anything he tried to do anyway. Not only does he worry about his own life, but now he also worries about the woman he had wanted to share that life with. Maybe his life expectancy being lower is now a good thing?

“There are two drainers in the back. A new vampire is in town, I have smelled him around, but he didn’t come in until tonight. He had set up a fake scenario of needing to be rescued from those drainers.”

Sookie frowns as she asks, “How do you know it was fake?” It had looked real to her.

Bella hands her brother his phone. “Because the chains were too small. They wouldn’t hold a newborn, and he is older than a century.” She is subdued, but Godric being calm and reasonable has upset her more than if he had just yelled.

Eric lifts his eyebrow as he asks, “Who and where is your Guardian?” He had heard the conversation, and he is not happy that the Guardian has not showed themselves yet. This is sloppy, and he has no use for it. Although he has a bad idea who it is…

Bella looks out the window. “Paul, and he is currently on his way back to Dallas. Jasper is on his way. Until then I am not to leave your sight until he is here. Even then, I need to move in with you.” She is sad to have to be treated like a newborn and instead of the adult she is. She ignores the voice that tells her that if she had been responsible, none of this would be needed.

But dammit, she needed the freedom to think!

Sookie shakes her head, “You look old enough to take care of yourself?” She doesn’t understand why they were upset.

Eric laughs. “Oh, she is more than able to handle herself. The issue is that she is one of the most recognizable vampires in the world, well except for here obviously, and she has enemies. The only things my maker, who is also her mate and maker, had requested of her was that she check in with me since she cannot drink from any but the two of us, and to never leave her Guardian behind. Instead, she does both. This is his way of punishing her.” He smiles at his mate, but watches his syrra worriedly. This is not something he would have ever have thought she would do. She is normally very responsible, and he usually would have been proud of her. However, not when she pushes it this far.

Bella doesn’t look at him, but nods.

Sookie shakes her head. “I don’t get it.”

Eric looks at her, thinking in his head, ‘Oh, but you will, Little One.’ Aloud he tells her, “She had been poisoned as a human. As a personal favor, my patron goddess made it possible for her to live. She became my sister in blood before she changed. The consequences are that when she was Turned, she could only drink from her mate and her brother – me. But mates are rare, so we found she had been blessed even then, since the female mate can only drink from their male mate.” Concerned, he caresses his sister’s face when she doesn’t look at him.

Bella stands up and informs Eric, “Make the calls you need to, then we can escort Sookie home and talk to her some more. Godric wants me to stay here longer, seems the FotS have made some moves toward us. He thinks I will be safer here for now. But to make sure, he is sending Jasper. I suggest you call for Charlotte. I bet this is the reason you have two Guardians.” She is now the woman who rules a state by her mate’s side, the one who helps them both plan.

Eric smirks. “Oh I know it. Good thing I opened the other club now, huh?” He is happy she is choosing to return to her normal self, but he will be talking with her later to find out why she acted out this time.

She rolls her eyes as she orders, “Call. And see if that numbwit you call a dayperson can get me a phone. If not, I will ask Jasper.” She shrugs; either will work, but she hates Bobby with a passion.

He just laughs then bows a little to Sookie. “My lady, I will be back. If you can watch my sister, I would appreciate it. Then we will escort you home as she has requested.”

Sookie can’t help but grin at his playfulness – a grin that turns into a full blown laugh when Bella yells after him, “And get your hair cut!”

Final count:  3,751 words.

Fairfarren~