Bless The Broken Road: Chapter Five

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Chapter Five

“Sook…Sookie?!” Eric said barely believing his own ears. He swore if his heart still beat, it would have been beating out of his chest when he heard the sweet voice of the woman he loved for the first time in over four years. When he had given the letter to Willa earlier in the evening, he had no idea if Sookie would call him. He was half expecting her to tear it up without reading it.

“Yeah, it’s me,” Sookie replied, happy to hear he was just as affected as her. “I…um…um… got your letter… obviously,” she added the last part in a whisper. “Of course he knows ya got his letter, ya idiot,” she chided herself unaware that Eric could hear everything she was saying.

“Sookie,” Eric repeated, a smile tugging at his lips as he listened to her ramble.

“Yeah, right,” Sookie continued, clearing her throat and running a hand over her dress, brushing out any wrinkles, and making herself look presentable, despite the fact that Eric couldn’t see her. “I got ya letter, and I think you’re right. We do need to meet face to face to talk.”

For a minute, Eric wondered if he was hearing things. Sookie couldn’t have said he was right and that they should meet face to face. As much as he wanted to see his beautiful fairy again and tell her everything she wanted to know, he hadn’t expected her to agree. He had expected her to tell him to go to hell…

“Go back to hell where you came from you dead piece of shit…”

Eric had never forgotten Sookie throwing those words at him the night he told her the truth about Compton. While he hadn’t been in love with her that night, or at least he hadn’t yet admitted to himself he was in love with her, those words had caused him a great deal of pain. Since that night, he had feared hearing them from her again. He feared hearing her tell him she wanted nothing more to do with him. He was expecting it, but once again his little fairy had done the opposite of what he had expected.

“Eric, ya still there?” Sookie asked when he remained silent for too long.

“Yes, I am here. I am just a little surprised that you are agreeing to meet with me so quickly,” Eric told her truthfully. “I was…”

“Expectin’ me to tell ya to go to hell and leave me alone,” Sookie finished for him with a small laugh. “Four years ago I might’ve, but I’ve gone through quite a bit of change since then,” she added with a small shrug even though he couldn’t see her. “Actin’ like a brat ain’t gonna do me any good. It ain’t gonna change the fact that we do need to talk, so, what’s the point?”

“Does this mean you don’t want to fight with me anymore, Miss Stackhouse?” Eric purred, unable to stop himself. He was a natural flirt.

A smile crept across Sookie’s face at Eric’s playful tone. “I doubt it,” she replied, a teasing lilt to her tone. “I enjoy fightin’ with ya too much to stop and play nice.”

“Trust me, Sookie, you can be naughty with me anytime you desire,” Eric said, his voice practically dripping with sex.

Sookie blushed scarlet at his words and she gripped her phone tighter. The meaning of his words weren’t lost on her, and she couldn’t help but picture the image of her and Eric in bed together in her mind. “That’s…um…” She stumbled over her words as she searched for the right ones to reply. As much as she would have loved to scream, “I wanna be bad now,” into the phone, she knew it wasn’t the right time. They had way too much to discuss before anything could happen between them. “A conversation for another time,” she finally said. “We need to have another one first.”

“Of course,” Eric replied, sobering at the thought. He took a small amount of assurance in the fact that Sookie definitely seemed interested in being bad with him. She still held an attraction for him and, for now, that would do. “I can meet you whenever you like, wherever you like. Just name the time and place.”

Sookie was touched that Eric was willing to drop everything just so he could meet with her and discuss their problems. He always has been though, Sookie reminded herself. He had always been willing to drop everything for her. I was just too stupid to see it. “How about after Jason and Willa’s weddin’?” She asked. Neither of them would really have time before the wedding as there was too much for both of them to do. They were both involved in it. Eric was giving his child away, while Sookie was standing up for Jason. Sookie grinned while she remembered Jason asking her to be his best sister at the wedding.

“That is fine,” Eric answered. He would have liked to have talked to, or seen her before then, but realistically he knew neither of them would have the time. Jason and Willa’s wedding would not be a conventional one. The bride was a vampire, the best man was a woman, and the bridesmaid was a man. The happy couple were doing things their way and didn’t give a damn what anyone thought.

“Okay,” Sookie said with a smile. She couldn’t believe how easy it had been to talk to Eric. It was almost as if four years hadn’t passed and they had just spoken the night before. “I should get goin’ before Lafayette sends a search party lookin’ for me.”

Eric laughed at her words, believing the flamboyant chef would do just that. He believed Lafayette might have missed Sookie almost as much as he did. Eric knew from Willa that the man was always eager for news about his little fairy. “I will see you soon, Sookie.”

“Yes. So… Bye,” Sookie said reluctantly, not actually wanting to end the call.

“Goodnight, Miss Stackhouse,” Eric replied. “Oh, and, Sookie,” he added before she had a chance to end the call.

“Yes, Eric?” Sookie said, curious as to what he was going to say.

“I missed you…”

Sookie felt tears well in her eyes when she heard his words, and she blinked them back. “I missed you, too,” she replied softly before disconnecting the call.

OoOoO

“Sook! Where ya been?” Jason cried when he saw his sister re-enter the bar area. “Ya just missed Andy’s round.”

“I was in the bathroom,” Sookie replied while she slid back into the booth. “It looks like ya had one for me anyway.” From the way he looked, Jason was well past his way to being drunk.

“Course,” Jason said, banging his hand on the table. “Had to toast my baby sister bein’ back… or was that round for my weddin’?”

Sookie chuckled at Jason’s confused look. “Don’t ever change, Jas,” she said fondly.

“Right, boys and girls,” Lafayette said, drawing everyone’s attention to him. “It’s time we all got ta movin’. Y’all,” he flicked his finger at Jason, James, Andy, and the rest of the bachelor party, “has naked women ta go and watch dance. While us,” he nodded to Willa and her friends, “has got party games ta play, alcohol ta drink, and sex ta talk about. So… shoo… Off ya go!”

“Ya not goin’ with the guys?” Sookie asked, angling her body so she could face Lafayette.

“Hells no, hookah!” Lafayette replied. “I ain’t interested in seein’ no naked women shakin’ their titties in my face!” He shuddered at the thought. “Now, if it be male dancers, I’d be all up in that shit. Now boys, off ya go. Y’all ain’t welcome ‘ere no more!”

Sookie couldn’t help but laugh as she watched Lafayette get up and start shooing the men out of the bar. She could hear Arlene shouting at him to leave her customers alone. It was nice to see some things never changed.

Willa slid into the booth opposite Sookie while Lafayette herded her fiancée and his friends out of the bar. She shook her head at the noise they were making. It seemed Lafayette was going out of his way to piss off Arlene.

Turning her gaze to her future sister-in-law, Willa smiled when she saw the happy look on her face. It was a look she hadn’t seen much in the time she’d known her. She had gotten quite close to Sookie during the six months Eric was away, and she had always noticed a sadness behind her smile. She always thought Sookie smiled and pretended to be happy because it was what everyone else expected of her. She played the dutiful girlfriend to Alcide, but it was clear to Willa that Sookie’s heart wasn’t in it. She wondered how no one else had noticed. She hadn’t known the telepath nearly as long as some of the people in Bon Temps, and even she had seen that Sookie had been miserable.

Willa chuckled when she saw Jessica sneering at them while sitting over at the bar alone. “Did she give you any trouble?” she asked, jerking her head toward the redhead so Sookie knew to whom she was referring. She had seen Jessica come racing out of the bathroom not long after Sookie had entered, and she assumed Jessica had attempted to bully Sookie. She had been running her mouth since the night Sookie left, blaming Sookie if Bill so much as stubbed his toe.

“Not really,” Sookie replied, shaking her head. “She just threw a tantrum ‘bout me abandonin’ Bill in his hour of need. She basically repeated the same shit Bill said.

“So the same thing she’s been doing for the last four and a half years,” Willa snorted.

Sookie laughed. “Yeah, she…” she trailed off when she felt some angry snarls bang against her shields. Tilting her head to the side, she dropped her shields and tried to lock on to where and from whom they were coming.

“Sookie, are you…”

Sookie held up her hand silencing Willa as she scanned the area around the bar. There was definitely something out there, she just couldn’t get a lock on them or tell what they were doing. There was no clear pattern to their thoughts; it was just a feeling she got that told her something was wrong. Pushing her mind out further, she finally located a small band of red snarly minds. Weres… Sookie realized, recognizing the snarly minds for what they were. These were different though, she realized. They weren’t regular Were minds, they were redder, angrier…

“Fuck! What’s takin’ ‘em so long? They shoulda been gone by now.”

“Why the fuck did I agree to this? Bitch said it’d be an easy job, but that’s a fuckin’ vamp with ‘em.”

“He should be fuckin’ out of it by now. Why the fuck ain’t he?”

“Fuck, I need a hit. Maybe I can get a bite of that vamp…”

Sookie’s eyes widened as the last thought entered her head, and she jumped out of her booth. “V Weres are in the parkin’ lot,” she told Willa while she raced to the door. Bursting through the door, Sookie felt her heart seize in her chest when she saw a pack of V-addicted Werewolves come running out of the trees, around the bar, and heading straight for her brother and his friends.

“Not been back a full day and already got trouble… It’s so good to be home,” Sookie snorted. “This is gonna be painful,” she groaned while she made her way to Jason and the rest of the guys, hoping she would get to them before the Weres. She was relieved they were all still in human form and hadn’t yet shifted into wolves. It was much easier to hit them that way, although as she eyed the Weres, she knew that wouldn’t last long. They were all hopped up on V and it made them all the more unpredictable.

“Just gotta grab the guy and get outta ‘ere.”

Sookie’s eyes narrowed when she saw Jason’s face flash through the man’s mind, and she knew without question they were there for her brother. Why they wanted him, she had no clue. What she did know was no one was taking her brother anywhere. “They’re after Jason,” Sookie whispered, alerting Willa to why the Weres were there.

A growl tore from Willa’s lips when she heard Sookie, and she bared her fangs and hissed at the Weres who were advancing on them. She swore she would kill anyone who got near her fiancée. Jason was hers, just as she was his. No junkie Weres were going to take him away from her!

She waited until the Weres were close to them before vamping forward and attacking them head on. Eric had determined her vampire gift was increased strength. He detected her strength was equal to that of a vampire around three-hundred years old. Eric had trained her with both him and Thalia to hone her strength and taught her how to fight. She was nowhere near as strong or talented as either of them, but she could hold her own in a fight; something Pam had learned before she had been banished.

“Christ on a cracker!” Andy exclaimed while he watched Willa beat the crap out of one of the Weres. “What the fuck is goin’ on?”

“Bad guys wanna cause trouble,” Sookie replied, breaking it down to the simplest of terms. Catching James’ eye, she added, “They’re also on V.”

James growled at the information. He had heard all about the pack of Weres in Jackson that had been addicted to V and the vampire who supplied it. He found the whole thing disgusting. He may have been young in vampire terms, but even he knew how stupid it was to give Weres vampire blood. It just made them crazy and extremely dangerous. Seeing a second Were about to attack Willa, James growled as he threw himself into the fight, tackling the Were.

Sookie frowned when she realized the other Weres had come between them and the bar. There was no way they could seek shelter inside. They wouldn’t make it there before the Weres attacked. Grabbing her brother and Lafayette, she pushed them back toward a car hoping to keep the vehicle between them and the Weres. “Stay down,” she whispered before making her way around the car again to grab Andy who was standing in the middle of the parking lot watching the fight.

“Cut it out ya bunch of yahoos!” Andy shouted, grabbing his belt and yanking his pants up. “I’m the Sheriff in this ‘ere town, and I’m orderin’ ya to knock it off… Willa! Stop bitin’ that man! I ain’t tellin y’all again!”

Sookie reached Andy just as he was about to grab his gun. “Andy, don’t shoot anyone!” she cried, placing her hand over his to stop him from unholstering his weapon. “With the amount ya’ve had to drink you’ll probably hit Willa or James by mistake.”

Turning her gaze back to the fight, Sookie let out a cry when she saw a third Were creeping up behind Willa with a broken tree branch in his hand. “NO!” She screamed, darting forward. Lifting her hands, she sent a blast of white light at the Were. The light slammed into his chest and sent him flying backward. Turning to a fourth Were Sookie sent a burst of light at him as well. She snarled when the Were jumped out of the way and shifted into his wolf form.

“What the fuck, Stackhouse!” Andy exclaimed, at a loss to explain what he was seeing. “What in tarnation did ya just fuckin’ do?” In the heat of the fight, he forgot about his own little half-fairy daughter and her light.

“Stopped that bastard from stakin’ Willa,” Sookie retorted, sending another blast of light at the wolf. “Fuckin’ Weres!”

“I’m just gonna pretend I didn’t see it,” Andy decided with a nod. “Can I shoot the wolf?” He asked after a moment’s thought.

Sookie couldn’t help but laugh at his question. “If ya do, it’ll turn back into a man,” she told him. “So ya probably shouldn’t.”

“Sookeh!”

Sookie groaned when she heard Bill butcher her name and come running to her. “Him, you can shoot if ya like,” she said to Andy, only half joking. In no mood to have Bill play a Knight in tarnished armor, Sookie aimed at the wolf again and sent a final burst of her fairy light at him. She grinned when the light hit its target.

Realizing they were outnumbered and outmatched, the Weres all shifted into wolf form and made a run for the trees. They hadn’t been expecting any resistance. They had only been prepared for a quick grab and run.

“Sookeh, are you okay, darling?” Bill asked, reaching for her as he got closer. He wasn’t sure who the Weres were, but he wasn’t above trying to use them to his benefit. He had been watching from the woods near the bar and was preparing to step in to protect Sookie when she had to go and defend herself.

“Do not call me darlin’!” Sookie snarled, shaking him off her. “Don’t you ever touch me. In case I didn’t make myself perfectly clear earlier, Bill… Stay the hell away from me!”

“Sookeh, there is no need to be rude,” Bill chided. “I was only…”

“Interfering in things that no longer concern you,” a cool voice said, interrupting Bill before he could spew his latest in a long line of lies.

“Eric,” Sookie whispered as she watched him step out of the shadows. She felt her heart start to beat faster while she ran her eyes over him. She couldn’t believe she had forgotten how stunning he was. The man was sex on legs.

“Good evening, Sookie,” Eric replied, his voice smooth. It took a thousand year of restraint for Eric to stop from going to her and sweeping her up in his arms. In that moment, he wanted nothing more than to feel her next to him, to breath in her scent, and to just hold her. Words alone could not describe how badly he had missed her. For over four years, Eric had felt as if a part of him was missing, and as he stared at the telepathic blonde who owned his heart so completely, he knew he had found that missing piece. It was her. It had always been her.

Everything around the two estranged lovers seemed to fade into the background and disappear while they gazed at one another. You could almost feel the electricity in the air as they devoured each other with their eyes. Sookie might have expelled all of Eric’s blood from her body, but as she stared at the vampire she had never truly gotten over she realized it was more than just the blood. They were connected on a far deeper level.

“Anything that involves Sookie concerns me,” Bill said stiffly, breaking into their little bubble. Bill wasn’t happy to see the way Sookie reacted to Eric and he swore he wasn’t going to lose her to the Viking. He had gone out of his way to break them apart in the past; he wasn’t going to give up now. Sookie would be his again if it was the last thing he did.

“Like hell it does,” Sookie emphatically retorted before Eric had a chance to say anything. “Nothin’ and, I mean nothin’, ‘bout me or my life concerns you anymore. The sooner ya get that through ya thick skull, the better!”

“I think the lady has made herself clear,” Eric said with a smirk. Oh, how he had missed his little spitfire.

“She is just confused,” Bill argued, refusing to back down. “She will…”

“Cheese and rice!” Sookie exclaimed, finally exasperated with Bill’s attitude. “Andy, can ya shoot him?”

“Not without reason,” Andy replied. “Self defense, or if he committed a violent crime and was resisting arrest…”

“I have done nothing wrong!” Bill snarled while he listened to Andy recite a list of reasons why he could shoot him without fear of reprisal. He couldn’t believe the Sheriff of Bon Temps was siding with Sookie! The town should have firmly been in his corner. He was the hometown hero! He was Bon Temps favorite son! He was the vampire who had been a God!

“You keep tellin’ yaself that, Bill,” Sookie snorted. Turning back to Eric, Sookie smiled up at him and asked, “What are ya doin’ here? I thought ya were at your new club tonight.”

“I was,” Eric replied, ignoring the scowling Bill and taking a step closer to Sookie. He knew they had much to discuss but, now that he had seen her, he wanted to be as close to her as possible without actually being inside her. “I was catching up on some work when I felt Willa’s fear, anger, and then blood lust. I flew here as quickly as I could but, unfortunately, it seems I missed all the fun.”

“If ya call a pack of Weres hopped up on V fun, then yeah, ya did,” Sookie snorted.

“They were on V?” Eric questioned, hoping he had heard mistakenly.

“Yeah,” Sookie nodded. “I could tell from their minds. One of them was thinkin’ he needed another hit soon.”

“That is most troubling,” Eric murmured pensively. He had hoped that the packs of Weres taking V would have died out after Russell Edgington’s death. He hadn’t heard of any new Weres in the Area, not that they were required to check in with him. He was a vampire King, not a Packmaster.

“Willa is over there checking on Jason,” Sookie said, pointing toward the car where she had shoved Jason. She knew she didn’t have to tell Eric where Willa was; he would have known through their Maker/Child bond, but manners dictated she did. “She wasn’t hurt.”

“I can tell,” Eric replied with a smile. He could tell from the cadence of her voice that Sookie cared for his child, and he couldn’t have been happier. After the nightmares of Pam, he was pleased to see Sookie wouldn’t tar his children with the same brush, not that he expected that of her. “She is fine and feeling quite… lusty.” Eric chuckled when he saw Sookie’s eyes widen.

“Ya can feel that?” Sookie asked. She had never really put much thought into what a Maker could feel from their child and vice versa.

“A good Maker can…” Eric started.

“Of course you would know what her lust feels like after your little affair,” Bill cut in, seeing an opportunity to sabotage whatever they might be trying to build. He smirked as he looked at Sookie. He was sure she didn’t know about Eric’s little relationship with Willa. Let’s see what she thinks now that she knows her precious Eric was fucking his child while she was away. He knew His little Sookie and she would feel betrayed by Eric fucking someone else.

Sookie rolled her eyes at Bill’s blatant attempt to sour her against Eric. “Really, Bill? Ya’re tryin’ to poison me against Eric already?” She shook her head at how pathetic he was. “Just for the record, Bill… I am already aware of the relationship they had. I know all ‘bout it; the same way I know ‘bout all the women you’ve been with…” She laughed at the surprised look on Bill’s face. It was obvious he expected her to be in the dark about it. “Didn’t anyone ever tell ya…? People who live in glasses house shouldn’t throw stones!” She wasn’t lying when she said she was aware of Eric and Willa’s brief relationship. Willa had told her personally. It hadn’t been an easy conversation to have, but Sookie had been oddly grateful to the young vampire when she told her.

Willa had been completely honest with Sookie. She had told her the reasons behind it; the rebonding ritual and the connection they shared. Willa hadn’t wanted Sookie to be uninformed or unprepared. She had known a lot of people… vampires were aware of the relationship she and Eric had engaged in, and she didn’t want anyone to use it as a way to hurt Sookie. Seeing the way Bill had tried to do just that, Sookie was happy she had told her. Willa also hadn’t wanted Sookie to think she was anything like Pam.

Sookie had taken the news of their relationship in stride. She couldn’t fault Eric for it seeing how they weren’t together. She wasn’t so petty as to lash out at him for getting involved with someone else. She had certainly done the same thing time and time again. She hadn’t spent the last four and a half years alone, and she wouldn’t judge Eric for doing the same.

Sookie had engaged in her own brief relationship. It had only lasted a year, but it was a year she hadn’t spent being lonely. In many ways the relationship had been much like a first relationship was supposed to be. She had gotten to experience a relationship free of blood and manipulation. She got to experience young love in the way she had always imagined. It wasn’t all consuming, it didn’t leave her feeling miserable, and, most importantly, she had survived without a gaping wound in her heart when it ended.

She looked at Bill with disgust. How she ever found him attractive, she didn’t know. “Give it up, Bill, cause I’m never comin’ back to ya. You abused me mentally, emotionally, and, at times, even physically. You lied to me over and over. I will never trust ya again. I will never love ya again… Hell, I don’t even like ya! Your little games ain’t gonna work.”

Eric smirked while he listened to Sookie lay it down to Bill. He doubted the Civil War vampire would listen to her, and it was clear to him and everyone but Bill that Sookie was done with him. He was extremely grateful that Willa had told Sookie about their brief relationship. He had no intention of hiding it. Willa had been right when she had told him honesty was the only way to go if he ever wanted a future with Sookie. Eric had been slightly upset when he found out Willa had told Sookie, but Willa had told him that after what went down with Pam, Sookie didn’t trust him and she might have been more confrontational if the news had come from him. Pam had really fucked up his relationship with Sookie out of her jealousy and spitefulness. Eric wasn’t fooling himself into believing he didn’t own a portion of that blame, but Pam’s behavior toward Sookie hadn’t helped them in the slightest.

Sookie was just about to say something more when the door to Bellefleurs was yanked open and a flash of red came racing out.

“Jason!” Jessica cried as she raced toward the semi-passed out man. “Oh God! Are you okay?”

“Is it a gift of your line that you only show up after the danger has passed?” Sookie said while she watched her future sister-in-law snarl at the redheaded vampire. Jessica was reminding Sookie more and more of Bill by the minute. It was seemingly quite apparent to everyone except Jessica that Jason didn’t want her anywhere near him.

Jessica huffed when Willa pushed her away. Turning around, her eyes narrowed as they landed on Sookie. “This is all your fault!” she snapped.

“How did I know that was comin’?” Sookie snorted with a laugh.

“Maybe you are telepathic,” Eric replied jokingly.

“This ain’t a joke!” Jessica hissed while she advanced on Sookie. “You’ve only been back a day and already we’ve got attacks in the parking lot. You should have stayed away. You only cause trouble! Everyone would be better off if you weren’t here!”

“Like I already told ya, Jess. I ain’t lettin’ a little girl with a set of fangs tell me what to do,” Sookie replied irritably, not intimidated in the least by the infant vampire. “As much as I know y’all like to blame me for every little thing that goes wrong, this…” she waved her hand around, indicating the mess in the parking lot, “ain’t got nothin’ to do with me. They weren’t here for me. It would’ve happened whether I was here or not…”

“Sookie, what did you see?” Eric asked. He was ready to step in and put Jessica in her place if the need arose, but it seemed as if his beautiful fairy was more than capable of standing on her own.

“Of course it was because of you!” Jessica spoke up before Sookie had a chance to reply. “It always is. You’ve caused nothing but trouble since…”

“Jessica! Shut up before I shut you up!” Sookie interrupted as wisps of light danced along her fingertips. “It wasn’t me they were after. It was Jason. I saw it in one of the Were’s minds. They had a picture of him. They were supposed to grab him. They weren’t expectin’ to face any resistance. I don’t know why they wanted him, but it was definitely Jason they were after.”

“I’ll kill anyone who comes near him,” Willa snarled as she joined the group. She had her arm wrapped around Jason’s waist, practically keeping him standing.

Sookie frowned as she stared at her brother. “How much did he have to drink?” She asked. She had seen Jason drunk more times than she cared to remember, but she had never seen him so out of it before. He was barely coherent.

“I didn’t see him drink that much,” James answered, joining them. “Maybe three or four beers and a couple shots.”

“He used to be able to hold his liquor much better,” Sookie replied suspiciously. Dropping her shields, she brushed against his mind, but she couldn’t hear or see anything wrong. His mind reminded her of someone who was drunk. “I think you should probably take him home, Willa,” she added. “He ain’t in any state to go to another bar.”

“Be careful, Willa,” Eric said, eyeing his Child and her fiancée with concern. “If those Weres are after Jason they might come back. I will contact Thalia and have guards to you before sunrise. They can protect him during the day.”

“Thank you, Eric,” Willa replied sincerely as she tightened her arm around Jason’s waist and carefully walked him to their car.

“Baby, you so pretty,” Jason slurred, trying to grope her. “I love ya so much…”

Sookie shook her head while she watched Jason hit on his fiancée. She was happy to see he wasn’t affected by the attack. Then again, she doubted he was even aware it happened; he was that out of it. “I guess that means the party is over… and there goes my ride,” she frowned as she watched Willa’s car pull out of the parking lot.

“I will be happy to escort you home, Sookie,” Bill said, seeing his chance to play the gallant gentleman. He knew Sookie was always a sucker for that, and he had so much experience playing the role.

“I’d rather walk over hot coals in my bare feet,” Sookie replied with a snort. “Enough already, Bill! You’re just embarrassing yaself now.” Turning her attention to Eric, Sookie gazed at him, a thoughtful look on her face, “You’re King now, right? That’s what Willa told me,” she asked.

“I am,” Eric replied with a nod. He had a good idea where she was going with it and he was just waiting to see if he was right. He hoped he was. He would love nothing more than to do that.

“Right,” Sookie flicked her eyes between Eric and Bill as she ran her tongue over her teeth. From the glint in Eric’s eye, she realized he suspected what she was going to say and she smiled at him. “As King… As his King, can ya make him stay the hell away from me?”

“I could if that is what you want,” Eric answered, grinning at the noise of displeasure Bill gave.

“Sookeh! Darling, please, you don’t want to ask Eric to do that!” Bill cried, appalled that she would even joke about it.

“Oh, I do, Bill,” Sookie replied almost giddy at the prospect. “Shouldn’t you call him ‘Your Majesty’? Never mind,” she added, waving it off. Taking a step forward, Sookie squared her shoulders and looked up at Eric. “King Northman, as the reignin’ monarch of Louisiana, I am formally requestin’ that you command the vampire William T. Compton to stay away from me. I have repeatedly requested him to do so and he keeps ignorin’ me.”

“Sookeh! No!” Bill shouted. He was sure she didn’t know what she had done. She couldn’t have. “Eric, she doesn’t know what she’s saying, and doesn’t mean it…”

“That is ‘Your Majesty’, Compton,” Eric growled, interrupting Bill. “I believe Miss Stackhouse knows exactly what she is saying and very much means every word. I have personally heard her tell you to stay away from her. Seeing how it seems you are unable to heed her words, heed mine. As King of Louisiana, I am ordering you to stay away from Miss Stackhouse. She is no longer your concern, not that you ever showed her any concern. She is not yours, Bill. She does not wish to be yours. Leave her alone! If I so much as hear you looked at her, I will throw you out of my state. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Bill replied through clenched teeth. He knew he couldn’t challenge Eric. Even if he wasn’t King, history had proven that the Viking was stronger and more powerful. He wouldn’t give up on Sookie. She was His; he would just have to be smart about it.

Eric eyed Bill with contempt. He knew the younger vampire wouldn’t let it go that easily, and he suspected before everything was said and done, Bill would end up meeting the True Death. “Get out of my sight,” he ordered. “Take her with you,” he added, pointing to Jessica.

Sookie rolled her eyes when Jessica glared at her before leaving with Bill. “You know he won’t listen?”

“I know,” Eric nodded. “Fortunately for you, I am always one step ahead of Compton.”

Sookie smiled at Eric before letting out a breath, “Not exactly the homecomin’ I expected,” she snorted. Turning to face her friends, she ran her eyes over them. “Are y’all okay?”

“We good, hookah,” Lafayette answered for them all. “We gonna take off now the parties are over.” Flicking his eyes between Sookie and Eric, he smirked while he asked, “D’ya need a lift home?”

Moving her gaze to Eric, Sookie bit her lip as she stared at him. “Can ya take me home?” She asked with a calm tone. “If ya’ve got time, maybe we can have that chat tonight.”

“I always have time for you,” Eric replied sincerely. “It would be my honor to take you home.”

Sookie’s lips curled into a smile and she turned back to face Lafayette. “I’m good. Thanks, Laf,” she said. “I’ll see ya tomorrow?”

“Ya sure will,” Lafayette replied as he grabbed Andy so he and James could drop him off at his place first.

Sookie couldn’t control her nerves when she turned to face Eric again. She knew they had to talk, but she was a little anxious about how the conversation might go. She knew what she had seen, and what he said had happened, and now it was time to lay it all out on the line.

Eric smiled at Sookie. He could tell she was nervous and, truthfully, so was he. He feared she wouldn’t be able to forgive him for what happened all those years ago. He had been without her for over four years, he didn’t want to be without her any longer, but that was what he was facing.

“Shall we?” He asked as he held out his hand to her.

Sookie nodded as she placed her hand in his. She gasped when she felt a spark shoot through her body at the contact; one look at Eric told her he felt exactly the same thing.

Pulling Sookie to him, Eric fought the urge to lower his head and brush his lips over hers. “Hold on tight,” he whispered as he lifted her into his arms bridal style. He flashed a quick grin at her before shooting up into the sky and heading toward the farmhouse. He wasn’t sure how their talk would go, but, in that moment, he was simply happy enough to have her in his arms. He only hoped after they talked she would want to stay in them.

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