I'm still trying to work out weather the pairing should be Sookie/Eric or Sookie/Eric/Pam. Review what you think it should be.
The Healing of Sookie Stackhouse
For the first time in one month, thirteen days, nineteen hours, and forty six… err… seven minutes, Sookie Stackhouse glanced in the mirror. To say she was surprised by the hollowed look to her usually round face and the dull, lackluster film that seemed to have taken residence over her eyes, would have been an understatement. The fact that she was wearing Jason's beat up old sweatshirt, bearing the Bon Temps football logo didn't help the overall feeling of neglect for her appearance as she gripped the counter in her Gran's old bathroom until her knuckles turned white with the effort.
She hated this. She hated that face, that sad listless look, all of it, it was just awful. She looked like a victim. If one thought about it, she was a victim, considering the actions of her ex lover Bill Compton in the trunk of a certain Lincoln. Sookie shook her head. If she started thinking about that now she would cry and she had done more than enough of that in the past month.
A foreign feeling rose in her chest, a huge, swelling feeling, leaving no room for grief in that moment just frustration and the need for change. The white hot rage surging just under skin left her almost breathless and she fisted a hand in her long blond hair. A memory flashed before her mind's eye, of Bill caressing the aureate strands, taming them and lovingly tying them into a long plait. Bill had loved her hair. Tears refused to come as the anger washed away the upset and hurt. Well fuck Bill.
Sookie reached for the small pair of hair trimming scissors resting in one of the drawers behind the mirror. If Bill could do what he did and blame it on his thirst then she could damn well do this and blame it on her distress at being … hurt. After all this time she still couldn't bring herself to say, or even think, the word. It had a certain frightening power over her now and she couldn't bear to acknowledge it.
With hardening resolve, Sookie gathered her long golden locks into an angry fist and started snipping. She felt the tense swelling feeling recede slightly when she caught sight of the yellow bits of hair covering the ground and she realized that what was left was a bit of an awkward looking, uneven, and very very short hair style. As the strange feeling backed off, Sookie became aware that she was panting and covered in a thin sheen of sweat, just enough to make her feel uncomfortable and sticky.
With embarrassment burning her cheeks, Sookie realized that she would have to visit the hair dresser, or at least get Lafayette to work some of his magic. With a heavy exhale she rolled her head around on her shoulders, trying to get a feel for how light it was, considering the amount of hair surrounding her feet and falling off the sink. It felt good.
Sookie descended the stairs and reached for the phone, dialing the flamboyant chief's number and worrying her bottom lip nervously.
"This is the goddess speaking baby." Lafayette's sultry voice announced, grainy from the bad quality of the ancient land line phone.
"Lafayette, it's Sookie, I was wondering if you could drop by and help me out with my hair. I got a little snip happy." Sookie said, hoping she sounded like her usual perky self.
"Ooh, Hooker, everybody's been lookin for you. I ain't never seen Sam Merlotte in such a tizzy." The cook exclaimed excitedly. Apparently he was pleased to be in on the latest news. "I'll be right over." He said before Sookie was standing, staring at the peeling wallpaper of her kitchen, listening to a dial tone.
Absently the young woman put the phone on the receiver, deciding to try to be presentable before her friend arrived. She removed her clothing layer by layer, leaving it on the floor on the way to the bathroom, assuaging her guilt at making a mess with a promise to pick it up as soon as she got out.
This image in the mirror was slightly more shocking to the little telepath. She could see her ribs, in all her life, she had never seen her ribs. It was strange, almost surreal. She had only lost a few pounds, it wasn't much, she was still curvy but it was unnerving seeing the outline of those little bones. Sookie ran a finger down them, tracing the raised areas with a stern frown.
More food for Sookie she decided on the spot, resolving to eat a proper meal when her hot shower was done. As she turned the little glass knob in her shower all the way to the hot side until it scalded her, turning her pale skin a dark pink. Just another little thing she hadn't noticed about herself in the time she had been back from Mississippi, she really needed a tan.
The hot water beat down on her head, running in rivulets down her spine to pool for a moment in the small of her back as she tried desperately to forget the violence inflicted upon her at the hands of Bill Compton. It was as if the scalding water could wash away any trace that it happened. Pushing her face into the spray, Sookie realized that it was far beyond time to fix this, beyond time to move on. With one final brutal scrub down, the little waitress stepped out of the shower to dress in a T-shirt and a pair of fitted jeans.
The damp hair was left alone and Sookie walked into her kitchen, opening the refrigerator without much excitement. It was almost sad, the contents of her fridge, five unopened bottles of Trueblood, a little plastic squeeze bottle of mustard, and a tub of chunky monkey ice cream. Well that was just damn depressing.
Sookie shook her newly short cropped blond locks and gave a weak half-hearted smile when the water droplets landed everywhere, including on the phone. There was a knock at the door and Sookie almost jumped out of her skin, flashing back to every time Bill had knocked on her door, before realizing that it was early afternoon at latest and the knock was probably Lafayette here to fix the mess she had made of her hair.
Calming her tense nerves and trying to still her shaking hands, Sookie opened the door nervously. Lafayette was clad in his usual wear, a leopard print head wrap and more makeup than Sookie had ever even thought about wearing. His face was a mixture of relief and surprise.
"Bitch, you look like you need a cheeseburger, and a good pair of scissors." Lafayette muttered, pushing his way through the door with a black bag hanging from his purple tipped fingers. Settling his hands on Sookie's thin shoulders he steered her toward a kitchen chair and pulled a pair of glinting silver scissors out of the bag, along with several other tools she didn't recognize.
After a few moments of the man combing through her hair, she heard the snipping begin. The tall man seemed to respect her need for quiet for a little while but she could almost hear his curiosity growing.
"Um, Lafayette, how is Sam? Do you know if I still have a job?" She requested in a small voice, more afraid of the answer than she expected to be. Lafayette was quiet for a moment; all that could be heard was the snip of the scissors until he sighed heavily.
"Sam is confused, hell Sook, we all are. What the fuck happened to you? Why do you look like you haven't eaten, and why aren't you at work?" The floodgates had opened and now Sookie felt about two inches tall under his scrutiny. He was standing, staring at her with his hand flicked out at the wrist, scissors dangling.
"Um… Lafayette, I was away, on some… um… vampire business, and some upsetting things happened, I haven't felt right since." She answered, picking at the hangnail on her thumb. Lafayette froze for a moment before placing his large hand on her shoulder.
"Darlin, talk to Sam, you know you got that man wrapped around your pretty little pinkie." The man said, jealousy clear in his voice. "What I wouldn't give to have Sam Merlotte wrapped around my little finger for a little while." He added wistfully. Finally when there was a bit more hair on the ground and Lafayette pronounced her finished and Sookie reached up to run her hand over her very short hair.
"It looks good baby, the pixie suits you." Her impromptu hairstylist steered her to the bathroom with his hands on her shoulders and peered into her fascinated blue eyes. Her hair did look good, with the product Lafayette had put in it, the golden strands stuck up in a charmingly messy manner.
"Lafayette, it's perfect." Sookie said smiling and ruffling her new short hair. Without long bangs falling in her face, the focus was brought to her wide blue eyes. They were dewy with unshed tears and seemed much more expressive without the hair constantly flopping into her eyes. Lafayette was inspecting his nails and looking quite smug with himself.
Quite abruptly the man pushed himself off the wall and started packing up his supplies. "Look girl, go talk to Sam Merlotte, that man worked himself up into a tizzy. Now, I gotta go, I'm meeting someone in an hour but you take care of yourself and call me if you need me." Lafayette spoke as he walked out onto her homey porch, looking completely out of place as he smiled and blew a kiss at her before climbing into his convertible and kicking up dust down her drive way.
Running her fingers through her hair once more, Sookie sat on the porch, her thoughts miles away and for once, she wished that Bill Compton had never set foot in Louisiana, or her section at Merlottes, and especially not onto the well worn rug at the door of her Gran's house.
The young woman stood once more and brushed the dust off her pants before leaning back in the door to grab her purse and slip into a pair of worn sneakers. After digging for her keys for a moment, Sookie got into her small yellow car and sat for a moment, breathing deep. She would have to talk to Sam, and it probably wouldn't be pleasant. She fought the urge to cringe as she imagined the usually mild mannered bar owner's reaction.
Her hand shook as she put the key in the ignition, her nerves only growing as she drove to Merlotte's. By the time she arrived, she was a nervous wreck, breathing heavy and shaking like a leaf. Sookie cut the engine, leaning her head against the cool leather of the steering wheel. Sam was rational; there was no way he would actually… hurt her.
With this thought in mind, her shaking stilled and she took a few deep breaths before stepping gingerly out of her car and realizing that it was already the busiest time for Merlotte's, the light was fading and it was nearly dark but the bar was booming. Standing in the light of the glowing Merlotte's sign, Sookie wrapped her arms around her torso, realizing that soon, the vampires would be rising for the night.
A shiver tickled down her spine and the small woman hurried into the chaos of the bar. Waitresses were shouting drink orders and people were yelling, but Sookie was frozen like a deer in the headlights among the din of voices, in her head, and aloud. After being holed up in her house alone for so long, she had forgotten her shields. She wrenched them up, blocking out half of the noise.
It was difficult, like flexing a muscle that had borne little use over a long time. As she scanned the crowd, searching for the familiar head of her boss among the patrons she felt a headache gaining purchase on her brain. She spotted him speaking with Andy Bellefleur at a table in the corner and immediately pushed her way through the crowd of squirming people.
"Hey, Sam, Uh… I was wondering if I could talk to you for a sec…" She uttered nervously, clutching at her large purse and nibbling on her lower lip. Sam whipped around, clearly surprised and angry. He looked ready to lay into her right there, in front of everyone until he seemed to rethink it and drag her by her arm into his office.
Sam slammed the door and pushed her up against it, both hands on her upper arms. Sam's emotions slammed into Sookie's head, mostly anger, tiny parts relief and happiness. She started shaking again, quite uncomfortable and even scared.
"Sam… you're hurting me…" She squeaked, quite sure there would be finger marks on her arms. The shifter looked surprised at himself and he quickly released her, staring at his hands with displeasure.
"Sook, I'm sorry, I just… I was so scared. You just up and left with vampires, I thought something awful happened." The man expressed, clearly distraught, as he sat in his desk with his head in his hands. Sookie breathed a sigh of relief, glad to have the distance and the barrier of the desk between them.
Taking one last deep breath, Sookie pasted on an uncomfortable smile and reached for the doorknob.
"Uh, Right, I just wanted to see if I could still work here… but… I guess we know the answer to that…" She muttered, doing her best to sneak out the door. Sam glanced up.
"Aw, Sook, of course you still have your job, just don't ever scare me like that again." He responded, his eyes serious. Sookie ensured her shields were firmly up, even against a broadcaster like her boss. Sookie nodded, her unnerving smile still holding up. Sam looked dejected at being on the receiving end of that smile but she wasn't willing to sit around and figure out why.
As soon as Sam looked back down she muttered her thanks and slipped through the door, nearly running down the hall and out the back. As soon as the night air hit her face, Sookie felt much better. She leaned back against the door, heart pounding, and pressed a hand to her chest, trying to catch her breath.
When Sookie looked up she was almost sent into another fit of nerves by a tall figure standing under the lone streetlight in Merlotte's parkinglot. Sookie blinked and when she opened her eyes, they were filled with the image of a familiar blond vampire, looming over her. He was looking at her strangely.
"I leave town for a moment and I come back to you stinking of death." Eric seemed irked.
"I don't know what you mean..." Sookie trailed off, unsure of his intentions, even of his presence here. It wasn't like Eric to leave Fangtasia for a simple check up, even on his favorite little telepath. Eric looked her up and down for a tense moment before he grimaced.
"Sookie, you need to feed." He uttered quietly, seemingly appalled by the loose fit of her clothes.
"Eric, I believe the term is eat." Sookie responded with a wan half-smile, rubbing her left arm with her right. The corner of Eric's mouth quirked up with the hint of a smile, it wasn't much but she never expected to draw humor from vampires anyway so it was a pleasant surprise. Sookie smiled in response.
"Come. You need to eat." Eric muttered, taking her arm and making to lead her to his car. He stopped for a moment at the weak resistance that was given, like a moth's wings beating against a brick wall. When he glanced over his shoulder, he saw the wide eyed, horrified look he was being given and released the small woman immediately.
"Sookie?" He inquired, unsure what to do with the shaking, gasping girl staring at him through those wide eyes no longer hidden by stray strands of blond hair. She bit her lip, not at all comfortable with Eric touching her and pulled her arm from his lax fingers, pleased that he decided to let her have the appendage.
"Ah… yeah, let's go." She muttered, embarrassed about her inability to handle her emotions and worrying over being in Eric's company for any longer than necessary. The man was known to exploit any weakness he sensed. Eric narrowed his eyes suspiciously at her strange behavior and her significantly thinner frame before responding.
" Yes, let's." The walk to Eric's car felt like the longest of her life, and as she slipped into the sleek red corvette, mumbling about conspicuous vampires and their egos. Eric gave that hint of a grin again and turned the key, coaxing the engine to life.
"Oh, Sookie, I like your hair." He expressed so subtly that she wasn't sure she had heard him at all. Her hand instantly reached up to touch the soft strands and she gave a small grin at the memory of the scissors snipping.
"Thanks. I know this all night diner, if you're up for that." She suggested, not wanting to force him into anything uncomfortable or inconvenient.
"Your wish is my command." He assured her with that cat ate the canary grin, putting the car into gear and following her muttered directions to the diner.
"What were you doing here anyway?" Sookie demanded of him as the warmth from the heated seats seeped into her tired bones.
"I can't just come to visit?" Eric brooded, the dark look that passed over his face, enough to tell her that there was more.
"No, now tell me. If you need my services why not just say so? It's not like you don't pay me." Sookie argued, trying not to think about the bitterness that had reared its ugly head in the payment department, she hated to accept money from him. Money worries in general made her uncomfortable enough, not to mention money arrangements with a vampire.
"If you must know, we can discuss it at Fangtasia where I can be sure that no prying ears are waiting to crash our party." The Viking admitted. Sookie looked up and realized that they had stopped and Eric was coming around to open her door and offer his hand to help her up. She ignored it and got out of the car on her own, smiling as he seemed miffed.
Sookie walked up the gravel walk way to the glass door of the beat up old diner and stepped into the fluorescent lights. It was empty aside from a haggard looking young woman at the counter talking on a corded phone who waved them to a booth in the corner as they walked in. She must not get many night customers.
Eric glanced at the young woman accompanying him and frowned at her unhealthy state. When humans didn't eat properly, the stink of decay set in around them like an early warning system to vampires, this blood is unhealthy, find another source. She didn't even seem to notice how different she was from the vivacious woman who had accompanied him to Mississippi to face off with Russell Edgington, and how she flinched and panicked when he touched her, it was disconcerting.
Eric took her elbow gently and helped her into the seat across from his in the tacky red booth. There was only a minute jump when his cool skin touched hers before she managed to reign in the panic in her eyes and send him a washed out smile.
"Miss Stackhouse, when was the last time you had a meal?" Eric inquired, his pale eyebrows lowered, framing those inquisitive blue eyes. Sookie lowered her eyes, honestly seeming to think about the question for a moment before realizing that it had been a piece of bread the day before. Surely if she was honest with Eric he would laugh at her weakness and make some lewd comment about her newly slimmed body.
"I don't remember." She snapped simply, picking up the menu and waving the waitress over. The tired young woman rolled her eyes and put the phone on hold, popping her gum and staring moodily at the couple. Her gum popped and stuck to her nose when she got a look at Eric in his huge Viking glory. He had the audacity to grin at her, flash those sweet baby blues, and give that poor, dumpy, little waitress the thrill of her life.
The poor little woman flushed a splotchy red on the apples of her cheeks and the pen she was playing with fell from her slack fingers. Sookie rolled her eyes and cleared her throat loudly, much to Eric's amusement.
"I want the breakfast platter with a waffle instead of the hash browns." The small woman expressed, her face a mask of perfect courtesy and a wide smile stretching her face. At the sound of her voice, the waitress tore her eyes away from Eric, who was still playing kissy face with her, and wrote down the order.
"Yes ma'am, it'll be about ten minutes." She stuttered, her eyes constantly straying back to the vampire in the booth. She stood there for a moment before she seemed to remember her where she was and what she was supposed to do and stumbled back to sit at the bar again, picking up the phone. She still hadn't given up her 'look at Eric until he eats me' game.
"Sookie, you ruin my fun." Eric pouted looking not the slightest bit regretful at his loss of… uh… what would she be, his meal… or his… entertainment? Sookie shuddered a bit at the thought.
"If you are chilled, take my jacket." The Viking extended his hand, clutching the great leather jacket he had been wearing moments before, in one of those unsettlingly fast vampire movements. The telepath took the jacket slowly, draping it over her shoulders and trying to get used to the strange feeling of being around a vampire who was making no effort to mainstream.
It felt like a constant case of whiplash, never quite having the right equipment to grasp every movement in its entirety. It was like watching a film that kept skipping forward.
"Err… thanks." Sookie murmured, smiling weakly at the kind gesture and wishing that she could take it at face value, just Eric being a gentleman, however, after being involved in the supernatural world for as long as she had, she knew better than to take anything for what it seemed.
"So, how are things at Fangtasia?" She asked, feeling the pressure of the silence and the vampire's intense inspection. Just as Eric was opening his mouth to reply, a plate of food plopped in front of her, wafting the scent of warm maple syrup up to the woman's face. Her eyes closed of their own accord and she inhaled, the delicious smells awakening her long suppressed appetite. Sookie's stomach growled loudly, protesting to the sad diet of cheese sandwiches she had subjected it to over the past month.
The small woman blushed pink and threw a hand over her stomach to muffle the offending sound.
"I… uh… sorry." She sputtered, quickly filling her mouth with a bite of sweet waffle pastry. As soon as the warm bread touched her tongue, she was sure she let out a little moan of pleasure. It had been so long since she had had real food that she had almost forgotten what it was like. All of the sudden, a rumbling growl made itself known in the tiny diner and brought her back to the present.
Eric's icy blue eyes were focused so completely on her lips that he was unknowingly, it seemed, growling to the empty restaurant. Sookie swallowed the bite slowly, licking her lips clean of syrup and clearing her throat gently.
"Eric… focus… polite conversation mean anything to you?" She reminded the enormous vampire across the table. His eyes snapped to her face and she was pleased to see that something akin to embarrassment flit through those thousand year old orbs, though since it was Eric she was dining with Sookie was almost certain that it had to be surprise at being caught.
"Forgive me, after a thousand years of not tasting human food, watching you enjoy it… it is…the next best thing." Eric admitted grudgingly, he actually seemed a bit uncomfortable.
"However, if you'd like to taste something else…" He flashed that fanged grin that made her giggle on the inside and roll her eyes on the outside.
"Absolutely not Eric, I'm actually kind of relieved that you don't think it's gross… Bill always used to hate it when… Anyway I always wondered if you guys could eat human food." She shook off the fact that she almost brought up her ex lover and responded with a genuine grin and equally genuine curiosity. Eric looked a bit disgruntled at the question but responded anyway.
"Human food tastes like nothing, like solid water if you can understand this, and it does nothing for our bodies." He asserted, irritation heavy in his voice. Sookie nodded, chewing thoughtfully on a piece of waffle.
"Oh, I see." She grumbled, putting her fork down after only a few bites of waffle and nibbles of bacon.
"I used to be able to eat all of this, and come back for more." Sookie groaned, pushing the food away from her and resting her hands on her stomach. Eric looked dissatisfied but Sookie yawned, and broke his stare.
"Sookie, I think I have respected your silly human sensibilities for long enough. Why are you not taking care of your human needs?" The Viking demanded, straightforward and to the point, like always. He leaned menacingly over the table and was still in that vampire way where it was beyond still, he became a marble statue, all of that preternatural awareness and attention focused on her.
Sookie put down her fork slowly and purposefully, wiped her mouth gently with the cheap paper napkin and thought out her next statement carefully.
"I didn't mean to. I just sort of had a lot on my mind and that energy I usually use for takin' care of myself just got all used up for a while." Sookie said, staring pointedly not at the large vampire currently trying to mentally bore a hole in her skull. Eric seemed to accept this explanation for now and leaned back in the booth, the plastic of the seat squealing with protest at his large frame.
"Sookie, I must insist that you keep yourself healthy. We wouldn't want you to lose those lovely curves now would we? I will be checking in on you periodically to ensure your physical state is acceptable." Eric said, looking self-satisfied and certain that this was the right answer to the problem. Sookie on the other hand looked incredibly irked and indignant.
"Eric Northman I will not have you dropping in to my house to "check" on me." She sputtered angrily.
"As much as I appreciate you worrying about little ol' me I can't just have you showin' up out of nowhere whenever you like! It just isn't polite and I'm not your responsibility." She clarified, seemingly happy with ending the conversation there until Eric had to flash his stupid grin and open his big mouth to say something else.
"Oh but you are still in service to me Ms. Stackhouse and that means that I will be dropping in whenever I find the smallest task for you to complete unless you can find a way to assure me of your health on a regular basis." Eric said, his frigid blue eyes burning into her with an intensity she wasn't sure he was capable of.
"Eric if you come to my house I will rescind your invitation." Sookie exclaimed in a high pitched clipped tone that made her discomfort known. Eric narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips in irritation.
"Ms. Stackhouse, make this easier on yourself, I would not enjoy it if my actions brought you distress but I will do things that you won't like if I must to ensure your safety. Besides, Pam was worried for you as well." He spat as if it left a sour taste in his mouth to have to threaten her.
"Pam was worried? I find that hard to believe. Now I know you're just messing with me." Sookie snorted, tossing her head in a defiant manner. Eric's face was wiped of any emotion and he frowned.
"Sookie you should not assume that simply because we don't wear it on our sleeves that we are incapable of feeling. You of all people should know better than that." He offered stonily. He was displeased with her uppity, dismissive attitude in the face of their concern. Eric noted that Sookie was unlikely to finish her food and stood to leave.
"That business at Fangtasia must be attended to immediately Sookie, regardless of your less than appreciative disposition when it comes to Pam and myself." He said reaching out a hand to help the small woman from her chair. Eric walked to the counter to settle the check and as they walked out the door Sookie was left feeling strangely guilty about her assumptions regarding the Shreveport vampires.