Story: Eros

Chapter One: Ruy Lopez Opening

"Tara, Tara, oh god Tara!" Sookie's voice was cracking, her fingers shaky as she reached out to lift up her friends shoulders and look at the large wound on the right side of Tara's head. Like tiny chains lines of blood and gore hung from her cheek and hair, still connected to the growing pool of crimson on the pale tile. "Oh god Tara. No."

"Tara! No-o-o!" Shaking the unmoving girl her voice was shaky and uneven though she managed to gain a bit more volume. It didn't seem to matter to her injured childhood friend. The screaming, the shaking, wasn't reaching her. The tears started, Sookie could feel them welling, burning her eyes. Yet she was powerless to do anything to help the girl in her lap except for hope that someone that was capable of aiding her friend would come. "Please...somebody help!"

"Please..." It was barely more than a whisper as she gasped for breath, eyes pressed shut as she rocked with her friend, not wanting to look at her and the nasty gap still bleeding out on her hands. The liquid deceitfully warm as it flowed over her legs. "...somebody help us!"

She let her eyes open just enough to see the gore beneath her and gulped down as she looked away again. The moonlight showed all too clearly how horrific and extensive the damage the shot Tara took to the head had been. "Oh god...no..."

How many people will bleed out in this kitchen that I love?

There were footsteps on the stairs; Lafayette must have heard the shots...

"Oh shit..." Yep, Lafayette was there. "Oh god Tara...Sook...911..."

He vanished again, having a clearer head than the part faerie did at the moment. She could hear him dialing the phone and saying; "My cousin, someone shot her, and the attackers dead but we need help now."

"No, not you too, no Tara please! Someone..." She felt a hand cover her mouth and Sookie's eyes popped back open, staring into a pair of green eyes she'd grown intimately familiar with over the past few weeks. Eric was there, in a black shirt covered by a leather jacket of the same color, those grey-green orbs colder than they had been only a few days ago.

In the next room she could hear Lafayette impatiently listing off her address. Her own eyes drifted down to her friend helplessly. She sucked in breath but even managing a whisper was painful around the lump in her throat. "...help her..."

Eric bit his wrist, holding it to the girls mouth. "Hold her head back."

He didn't argue or attempt to barter anything with her. Shocking as that was, she couldn't help but appreciate his lack of searching for payment this time. That didn't mean he wouldn't, but he at least understood the need to react now.

Sookie was still shaking but she managed to tilt Tara's head back enough that the blood would able to be swallowed more easily. Eric muttered something in his own language, Nordic she would guess, and it didn't sound pleasant. She didn't protest however as Tara started to drink the blood, it was feeble at first but she was moving - her wounds were barely starting to close.

"Eric..." Sookie couldn't quite finish without swallowing, sniffling a little. "...thank you."

"Were you injured?" Even his tone had taken a more refrigerated air, perhaps it may have been him just coming back into his memories. Though that excuse was pushed away a moment after she made it. She knew full well why he would be cold toward her now, not even twenty minutes had passed since she'd told both him and Bill she didn't want them in her life anymore. She couldn't blame him for the reaction.

"No." She shook her head once, wiping at her face with her sleeve. She was about to say something else when she felt the body in her lap move. "Tara!"

Slowly, groggily, Tara opened her eyes and attempted to pull away from Eric but he reached out and held her firm to his wrist. Tara's eyes wide in shock and pain as they shifted between Sookie and back at the vampire. She obviously wanted to scream but had thought better of it.

"Drink. You will drink until you are fully healed." Eric commanded his voice gentler than a moment before. Sookie recognized the dreamy glaze that covered Taras expression before she relaxed and started to drink actively.

Sookie felt a pang of irritation at seeing Tara at Eric's wrist, she pushed it aside immediately, she knew it was all that could have saved her friends life. She didn't have time then to dwell on it. Eric was old, and his blood worked more quickly to heal than any vampire she'd ever seen. The open wound closed, then changed from a gash, to a scar, and then finally faded to nothing - as if she hadn't been hit in the skull minutes before.

Though as she healed Tara pushed herself away from Eric, spitting what little blood was still in her mouth to join the rest of hers on the floor. Her voice mortified as her mind returned to her after the glamour. "What the hell! What are you...oh my god...I think I'm going to be sick."

"Tara no...Eric saved you!" Sookie reached up toward Tara but the other woman backed out of her grasp. "You were...and oh my god Tara...I thought we'd lost you!"

Tara pushed herself up and ran from the kitchen, Lafayette yelling a moment after her and two pairs of footsteps running up the stairs. She heard her rooms door slam a moment later, open, then shut again.

"A 'thank you' would have sufficed nicely." Eric commented dryly, rubbing his wrist as the bruise was vanishing from it already.

"Eric...thank you." Sookie said, glancing up after her friend. "I...where's Bill?"

"He didn't want me to come either." Eric replied. "You asked to be left alone and he wants to honor that."

"He chose a bad time to finally listen to me." Sookie half-sobbed her comment. Still shaken from nearly losing her friend she could only glance around her kitchen quietly. She got down to the floor after finding a rag and a bucket. Looking at the blood and trying not to remember finding her grandmother in a pool just like it, and then glancing at the other body.

Following that glance Eric paused to consider the second victim. Given the brain matter still dripping along the cabinet behind the body it wasn't likely he could recognize what was left of her face if he cared to look. The smell now that he was focused however was something he recognized.

"She's a werewolf...a werewolf broke into my house and shot your friend in the head?" Eric wasn't sure what exactly lead up to this and didn't like that Sookie was still involved with the weres. Sadly it wasn't his business and she would have been quick to point that out so he couldn't express his distaste.

"I know." Sookie replied, eyes considering Debbie only a moment before she looked away. "I killed her...she was trying to hit me with that shot and Tara got in the way. I thought Tara would die...and she tried to kill me before. I..."

"Do you want me to get rid of it for you?" Eric interrupted. "You don't have to clean that up either, I can have someone come over and take care of it."

"No. I don't want to owe you anything else." Sookie was having a hard time not seeking solace in his arms. She'd become so familiar with them lately. It was good Bill wanted to respect her decision but she couldn't fault Eric for ignoring it - if he wouldn't have come as quickly as he had Tara would probably be another body being taken out of her kitchen. "I...can't thank you enough for Tara but I don't want to lead you on Eric."

She could hear sirens in the distance, even if she wanted to be held, she wouldn't have time for it soon. They had beautiful moments, but those were gone now, her life was all blood, and death, ever since vampires had entered it. She did love Eric, she still loved Bill, but it would be too much for her to choose one over the other...that hadn't changed just because he'd helped her again.

"Go talk with your friends Sookie." Eric interrupted her train of thought. "I'll get this dealt with and be on my way."

"Eric..."

"It's my house isn't it? Best I'm the one that speaks to the authorities so they aren't poking about finding places that are suspicious." A single glance toward the living room gave away he meant the sleeping cubby he'd built himself. She finally nodded, too tired and scared to argue with him anymore.

"Tara, you okay?" She managed after entering the room, both her friends staring at her made Sookie nervous. "I know that you healed but..."

"Sookie, couldn't you have called Bill or Jessica...or someone else?" Tara said, smiling lightly. "I can't believe you made me drink Eric's blood. You do remember what he did to Lafayette?"

"Well it wasn't like there was an immediate selection of vampires with cut wrists…but I'll remember that." Sookie managed to smile back, hugging Tara.

"Okay, everyone's fine, more or less." Lafayette looked over Tara. "Can you bitches get out and let me rest. I have to work tomorrow."

Even Lafayette's usual flare was diminished, he hadn't had some instant savior for Jesus and he still needed some time to himself after the danger had passed. He was grateful his cousin was with him but he still needed time to mourn that his boyfriend was not.

The two girls left him to rest and Tara shook her head, lying back on Sookies bed, tears still in her eyes that didn't quite fall. "Sook, I dunno what to do...there's so much bad shit in this town, it's like everyone in Bon Temps is just cursed. Nothing good happens to us."

"That's not true Tara." Sookie said, though she didn't have much to back up her argument with. "You're alive aren't you?"

"Only thanks to some bastard vampire." Tara muttered. "He tastes like shit Sook, I dunno how you can handle that...and damn, I'm gonna have fucking dreams and all sorts of crazy shit happening now aren't I?"

"Well, Eric's not all bad Tara. I know you don't like to listen to that sort of thing, but I've seen a part of him that's sweet...and gentle. I know he's not normally like that but deep down he's still got humanity." Sookie said, trying to reassure her friend.

"So you with Eric now or not, you're confusing Sook." Tara asked, never sure what was going on with her own best friend.

"I...I love Eric and Bill...but I don't want to hurt either one of them so I told them I won't be with either of them." Sookie said, sitting down next to Tara, tears in her own eyes. "I don't know what else to do. I know they both love me...but I can't hurt one of them by choosing another one so I chose neither."

"Sookie...you are damn crazy." Tara laughed, leaning up on one elbow. "I ain't judging you, I wouldn't want to be with any vampires either, but it seems like you are gonna need to pick one sooner or later."

"Well...there's a werewolf that's interested in me too but I don't think I love him. I like him, he's a good guy, the sort of guy I'd of liked to fall in love with...and I want to give him a chance." She said, hesitating.

"But?" Tara prompted. Talking about Sookie's love life was a lot better than thinking about her near brush with death. Tara was still in such shock she wasn't sure she could.

"But I don't think I'd love him and don't want to hurt him either." Sookie said with a sigh. "It's crazy...I don't think he'll even want to be with me now...once he finds out what I did to Debbie."

"Debbie."

"The bitch I shot downstairs."

"Oh. Well I don't feel sorry for her. I think you should sleep for now, and not think about it tonight. Eric said he'd clean everything up for you. If he likes you as much as you seem to like him then I doubt he'll lie to you." Tara replied.

"I know but I just can't rest knowing that woman's body is still there. Will you sit with me up here and watch movies?" Sookie asked. "I understand if you don't want to, what with nearly dying and all...but I'd like to just spend some time with the two of us. I miss not spending much time with you."

"I didn't really want to be alone either." Tara admitted; glad to stay with Sookie. "...but screw the movies, I think you should finally tell me where the hell you were for Bill this last year...I earned it."

Downstairs Eric was listening while he let his underlings work; it was easy enough to eavesdrop on a conversation in the same house. She loved him yet Bill...it was enough to make him want to conspire even more against the 'King' of Louisiana. It wasn't as if he couldn't remove Compton from the picture...and yet, he knew if he was ever caught Sookie would hate him forever. So he was left not knowing what he should do...not a feeling he was accustomed to or cared for.

Still, all he could do was to let her find her own way, he couldn't dwell heavily or try to control every aspect of her life or she might just decide to pick Bill. Tonight he'd put a few more weights on his side of the scale but the balance was still being made. He had to tread carefully or he'd lose her. Despite what anyone else said, as far as Eric Northman was concerned, Sookie Stackhouse was his and would remain his.

He needed these things put in his favor before he left. 'King' Bill had him investigating a small coterie of vampires that was rumored to be mass killing in another tiny suburb even smaller than Bon Temps. It was on the opposite side of Shreveport and made him uncomfortably far from Sookie should another issue arise. If there were werewolves after her he didn't want to get incredibly far off. Still, Bill had spared a unit to guard her home once the situation had been explained.

Eric planned to leave without talking to her, as he'd rather she be pissed at Bill for that particular invasion of her privacy. This was probably the last time he'd get to smell sunshine for a while so he decided to suck up having to save that irritating side kick of hers. At least the girl named Tara was willing to take a bullet for Sookie...he would have to comfort himself with that given he didn't plan on focusing much on the connection the blood would leave.

Waiting just long enough to allow the workers to finish what they were doing before locking up and speeding off on his way. The sooner he started this silly job, the quicker he'd finish and be back here.

End Chapter

Don't be too harsh with me, this is my first attempt at a True Blood Fiction. I just finished season four and felt a need to give one a try. That and I like Sookie x Eric way better than Bill and have to sigh that she gave him up.

-Aura

P.S. I love feedback, hope I hear some.