Pre-Edit Count – 1,837 Words

Song I listened to for this chapter: Greek Tragedy by Wombats

Previously:

Bill growls at her to shut up, and she shrinks from his action, but it makes her look at Eric.  With his offer to her, as well as the fear she is feeling right now, she tells Bill the words that will change everything, “I am Eric’s!”

Now:

Those words resonated through the universe at that moment.  The words that changed fate, no, not just changed fate, but in fact, it yanked it off course to a new possibility.

But at that point in time and space, repercussions are happening from those words being uttered.  For those words make it possible for Sookie to be free, which makes it so that when Bill yanks Sookie around to face him, instead, he finds Eric between himself and Sookie.  Eric is growling even though his blood is singing with the victory of Sookie finally saying that she is his.

He has what he wanted. He understands that she only made her declaration out of fear, but he will do everything he can to make her his in fact, as well as word.  It is an enormous first step, and he will do anything, even get down on his knees and beg, for her to never leave him without giving him a chance.  And if he fucks up, he will shower her with anything she wants in order to show how repentant he is, as long as she doesn’t leave.

Even if she asks for the moon.

Right now, his instincts are screaming for him to take her to his home and show her how much better he is than anyone else in the world at giving her pleasure, to talk with, to do anything with. He wants to do so much. However, he is aware that Compton has fucked up everything so much.  Eric can’t just take her to his home and show her physically how much better he is from Compton.

Not that it would take much.

Unfortunately, that is not something which can happen right away since Compton fucked up with Sookie so horrendously, plus the mess he has to clean up in the house in front of them. Nevertheless, he will take what he can right now.  As his, the only people who can take her away is his Maker and the Queen.  And he will fight for this blonde, this sunshine in a pretty blond bottle.

She is HIS!

It will not be so easy to take her from him.  Especially with what he suspects to be true for the two of them. She wouldn’t have proclaimed herself as his if she and Compton were mates, not from what he can remember.  Eric needs to call Alexi and check with him to see what he remembers of Godric’s teachings. And even if he is wrong, there is something seriously wrong if Compton’s mate rejects him like Sookie has!

On the other side of the coin, Compton is scrambling, trying to figure out what happened.  He can’t sense any of Eric’s blood in Sookie, so how did she defy him?  He has almost drowned her in his blood, as he had been ordered to.  Without a Bond, he was limited in what he can do, but so far she has been heeling nicely.  The no glamor issue had been daunting at first, but she had been easy enough to manipulate with his blood.

And now the dumb bitch had done it!!  She had said she was Eric’s; his only chance now is to get her to retract her statement.  He needs to get this fixed as soon as possible.  As it is, he is thinking of just taking her any way possible and get her to New Orleans to the queen.  He may have fucked up, but she can’t complain if the bitch is in front of her.

Hell, she can have Andre bond with her, and they can all take turns with her to break her in for their enjoyment.  Soon enough she will be just like her cousin.  First, he has to get rid of Eric for the night.  If he has to tear apart her house, he will.  No big deal on his part, he will be protected from any consequences of his actions soon enough.

Beside the shocked and sadistic Veteran, Jessica is numb.  She had hated her father and had been more than willing to kill him.  But what Bill did to the rest of her family horrified her.  And then his order to never tell Sookie nor anyone else had tied up her options.  All Jessica can do is hope that Sookie doesn’t block what happened.

She knew the gentle southern lady in front of her would never accept such a murder for any reason.  In fact, Jessica had heard the fighting about someone named Bartlett being killed.  She had left then came back after Bill had left. It had made her feel better to know that Sookie cared enough about her to take her to see her family.

Then there was the façade that Bill has put on of a southern gentleman.  He had fooled her, Jessica who had lived under her father’s thumb for so long: her father and her maker are too much alike for comfort.  There is no way Sookie will see through it! She is so naive about what life can really be like: she won’t have any idea about what is possible with sadistic minds like her father and Bill! So, right at this moment, she feels as though Sookie’s best route is exactly what she has done.  It is what Jessica wishes she could do! Eric and Pam had treated her better than anyone else!

And finally, the last person of this play, Sookie, is leaning against Eric’s back, his arm gently holding her there.  Her body is awash with emotions, and she is no longer able to even rely on being able to differentiate between what is hers and what is being forced upon her.  She remembers how Bill has done so much, including killing her Great Uncle and she had makeup sex with him earlier!

That is not her!  She is a lady, not some loose woman who has sex with anyone that easily!  Gran would be rolling in her grave at her actions!

She hates anyone dying, and that Bill had just killed him without any guilt, nor had he discussed it with her!  Too many things are filtering through the shock she is in, along with all the feelings running rampant inside.  Unable to deal with it, Sookie leans into the strong back which is in front of her, tears falling down her cheeks.

Bill growls out at Eric, “What have you done to Sookeh?” He had to have done something.  Maybe Eric’s blood is too old and hard for his own to find?  But he has never had this trouble with any of his other acquisitions, no matter whose blood they’d had.  Bill could always sense it.  It is thought to be one of his ‘gifts’: that he could control his blood so well, better than one three times his age in fact.

A growl is heard from behind Eric as a muffled voice cries out, “It’s fucking Sookie!  Say it right!” The anger that runs through her, Sookie has no doubt it is both of theirs.  But seriously, how hard is it to say her name?

Not inclined to hide anything that might rile up Compton, Eric smirks at the fire that attracted him to her in the first place and the fact it is nowhere close to being put out.  And if he has anything to do with it, it never will be.  “Why Bill, you heard what my Sookie said.  She wishes you to say her name correctly.  This should not be difficult for someone of your age,” he says tauntingly. He is thoroughly enjoying this.  And he will love rubbing in the fact that Compton did this all on his own.  Eric didn’t even have to talk to Sookie any more than he had, and somehow, she had gained the ability to throw off the shackles of William Compton!

When Compton growls at him for his comment, Eric’s eyes go hard, his body is more than willing to kill the vampire in front of them. He has Sookie, and nothing is stopping him from teaching a lesson to the baby monster, except for the fact that there is so much for him to do because of the incompetence of Compton. “Enough.  She has declared herself mine.  Unfortunately, I have to clean up the mess you made in the house.  Since apparently you cannot be trusted to clean up.  That is what got you and Lorena caught in the first place isn’t it?”  Eric cannot help the jab and is even contemplating a way to rub it in as well.

As soon as he feels another shudder running through Sookie, Eric is all business. “I will take care of this mess you left in your Child’s family’s house.  While I do this, you will take my Sookie home after I have a word with her.  Then you will not bother her again.” He is not worried about Compton ignoring his orders since now it will mean his True Death if he fails his superior.

The time for lenience is over, which is why he is willing to cover up this mistake, since he is to blame as much as Compton.  Eric didn’t keep him in line, nor did he bring Compton to task for not covering up this loose thread for his Child. IT should have never gotten to this point.  Jessica should have never had any inclination nor any chance to be around her abusive father as a newborn. They have no control, just like a human newborn.

But all this comes to a stop when Bill sneers at him, “Don’t think you will have her for long.”

While Sookie presses closer to him, Eric is looking at Bill as he tilts his head to the side. “Why would you think that, Bill?  There are very few who would contest me for her.”  Then his quick mind starts connecting dots.  Dots that had been lining up for a while, but with Bill suddenly being so sure of Sookie being taken from Eric, everything suddenly makes sense.

With a growl ripping out of him at the implications, Eric turns around and tells Sookie softly, “Hold on tight.” He is going to take no chances.  There is no way he is leaving her alone with this idiot and what he thinks is going on.

When she just gazes at him uncomprehendingly, he picks her up bridal style, and he leaps into the air.  When she shrieks, he holds her closer and tells her gently, “Shh.  I have you, and I promise I will never let you fall.  Something is wrong, and we needed a moment.” He thinks they may need more than one, but he needs to get Pam working on containing this as much as possible.  They need to plan, and right now, there is no time for his original plans.

Eric lands gently in a clearing on an island in the swamp a few miles away from where they had been, putting Sookie down but keeping her in his arms as he is immediately on his phone, “Pam?  Get someone to Compton’s place.  I need them to turn it upside down looking for anything about Sookie.  I also need human food to be brought to my safe house.”  He pauses, and when she says a word, he smiles, “Good girl.  Yes, that one.  I need a cleaner brought to Ms. Hamby’s parent’s house.”

Listening to Pam’s response, Eric laughs, “No, it wasn’t her, but I would agree.  No, Compton has made a mess.  Take care of all of this, and have tickets to Dallas ready for tomorrow night.”  Then he pauses and looking down at Sookie, “I will be taking Ms. Stackhouse to her home to gather some items, but I am not to be bothered again tonight.”

With that, he hangs up and slides his phone back into his pocket as he tries to think of what all needs to be done to get them out of the state, as well as thinking how little time there is left to be outside.  Thankfully he can stay up for a while after the sun rises, but if they move fast enough, they can get everything done, and be hidden before Compton is forced to go down for the day.

With his excellent hearing, he can hear Compton making his way to them a couple miles out.  Not that it was hard to hear with him crashing through the underbrush, but Eric had picked this place wisely.  It is a small island in a bayou, and not as easy for Compton to get to him.  He would have to jump into the water, and that would be all that Eric would need to take Sookie away again.  He could play this game much longer and better than Compton.

Turning his attention to his Sookie, Eric looks at the blonde in his arms, thrilled to have her there and of her own volition.  Smiling at his Sookie, Eric tells her, “Sookie, it is not safe for you to be anywhere around Compton. I was going to have you go home, but I suspect that he would have made problems for you.” He thinks of all the changes this means, and sighs inwardly.  Sookie is worth it all, but who knows what will happen now.

He looks down at her, but before Eric can think of a way to tell her everything, Sookie interrupts him, “What’s going on?” She is calm, well as calm as one could be with another vampire jerking her emotions all over the place.  It seems Bill has given up on being subtle and is being like a bear crashing in the woods with her feelings.

She is still a flood of emotions. Some have faded, but now some are getting stronger. Swallowing audibly, she says, “I think he is getting close, so tell me as much as you can.” There is no other answer for how her emotions had been calming down and now they are a jumble of anger, guilt, shame and many others.

A gentle smile spreads across Eric’s face, and he informs her softly, “You are amazing.” Then the smile fades, “This is hard to say in the short time we have, but I think Compton is doing the job the queen hired him to do several years ago.   I need to keep you safely away from everyone, and get us out of the state as soon as possible while Pam looks for the proof needed.” What a cluster fuck.  Not only does he need to find out where Godric is, but he needs to get Sookie and himself out of the state just to be safe.

Sookie shakes her head slowly as if she is trying to understand, but nothing is making sense. “What?” What does he mean a Queen?  Here in America?  Since when?  And what the heck does he mean Compton is doing his job? She backs out of his arms as she tries to understand what this means for her.

He sighs, rubbing his eyebrow as he puts his thoughts in order, “I think Compton is here to eventually take you to the Queen.  I am not sure how or even if I am right, but I do know the only people who could take you away from me, are either my Maker or someone who is my better:  Either by age or by higher authority since most would not even think about doing it unless they know about you being a telepath.  Even then my strength and age would deter most from attempting this.  To keep you safe, I am taking you to my Maker.   From there we will figure out a way to keep you safe and allow you to come home.” Wishing she was back in his arms, Eric just slides his hands back into his pockets as he waits for her to understand.

Shuddering, wrapping her arms around herself, she is startled when she feels the track suit jacket around her shoulders, Eric is now wearing a black tank top. He has his hands back in his pockets, waiting for her.  If it wasn’t for the jacket, there is not much that tells her he moved at all.

With a small smile, Sookie thanks him then asks him the first thoughts in her head. “Thank you.  But I feel him getting closer.  Can’t I just stay in my house? Uninvite him?” She tilts her head to the side to await his answer.  She wants to throw a fit, but she can feel how asinine that would be.  Why has she been acting so infantile lately?

Smiling at his little one, Eric answers her, “It would work for a Vampire, but if he is determined, he could just destroy a wall of your house, which would make it so he can enter without an invitation. Or he could just hire others to come in and take you.”  He gives her the facts and hopes she can make the decision that he wants her to make.

Sookie turns away from him and thinks.  She thinks about how she went from someone who had no issues making her own decisions in life, to where she feels she needs Bill here to make the decisions for her.  What the Hockey Puck?  She is a Stackhouse!  When…How did she turn into this?

Her mind is still presenting her with examples of what has been so wrong with her relationship with Bill.  The way he has been treating her since Renée attacked her has truly bugged her.  He had been so very insistent on healing her, as well as treating her like she has no brain cells to rub together.

Irritated with all the conflicts, and not being able to decide anything, she tamps down the instinctive response to all of it, to take it out on Eric.  He is the one helping her find solutions, and it is time for her to get her life back.

No, her being instinctive since she met Bill that night in Merlotte’s has evidently made it so she is in this Greek tragedy.  She needs to be smarter.  She may not be the sharpest pencil, but she can see what needs to happen.

Turning to Eric, Sookie tells him, “Yes, I need some time to think.” She will put her trust in him, and hope that she is not making another mistake as she had with Bill.

But there is so much inside of her that seems to find it right to be here with Eric and to trust him with her safety, none of which had wanted her with Bill, in fact, it had warned her away from him from the very beginning.  There is a difference between impetuous, which is acting without thinking, and listening to her instincts as she thinks through what is going on.

It is time for her to relearn the difference.

Final count: 3,232

Fairfarren~