Dead Daddy

A/N: I don't own the Southern Vampire Mysteries or any of the characters. Sole copyright belongs to Charlaine Harris.

Chapter 1

"I love you so much Eric. I am so happy." He pulled me up his body so that I could nuzzle into his neck.

"I love you too, minn sváss [my beloved]. That was incredible. You are incredible but what is wrong? Why are you crying?" I pushed up on my hands to look down into his worried face.

"I am crying because I am so happy. I found out what number three is, we should get it in nine months." His eyes widened even more and he swept me on my back so that he was now looking down into my face. He swept his hands delicately over my face. He was smiling broadly and I felt his excitement and glee race to catch up with mine.

"You mean?"

"Yes Eric. I'm pregnant." He smiled down at me with complete adoration. I could feel the combination of love and excitement flowing between us.

"Every time I think that I couldn't possibly love you more you surprise me. I never thought I would love and you awakened my heart. I never thought I would see the sun again and you bathe me in light. I never, ever thought I would get a family. Sookie, thank you. Thank you for picking me. Thank you for being so perfect. Thank you for coming back. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for making me this happy. I swear I will find a way to repay you. I will do whatever I need to do to make you as happy as you have made me." I started laughing and I lifted my hand to his face.

"Eric, you already have. I love you." He took my hand from his face and kissed my palm before kissing my lips softly and pulling me back into his arms.

We lay on the beach until the sun went down. We watched the sky turn orange and then slowly dim as we held each other. We didn't speak. We just cuddled together and let the joy overwhelm us. As soon as the sun had fully set Eric dressed us both and picked me up in his arms to carry me inside. I let my head rest in the crook of his neck.

"Can't have you getting cold," he crooned as he kissed me. We were so delirious with joy it was like nothing I had ever felt before. I silently prayed that others could be as happy as us and I thanked fate for bringing us together and making all my dreams come true.

"Do you want to stay for the rest of the week or do you want to go home?" Eric was getting changed as I lay on the bed and watched him. I knew he wanted to leave even though we only had three days left of our vacation. He was desperate to get me to a doctor but he was trying to hide how eager he was to check our health. I had seen a vision of me giving birth so I was fairly confident everything would be alright. I tried to remind myself that in his day pregnancy was often fatal but I still found his sudden panic slightly entertaining. It's not often that you see a thousand year old Viking vampire king have a panic attack. If he could breathe I bet he would be hyperventilating. The image sent me into a fit of hysterics that made his panic even worse.

"What?" He demanded as he knelt on the bed beside me. I was curled up and laughing so hard that tears were running down my face.

"We can leave tomorrow if you want to Eric," I choked out in between giggles. He was frowning down at me in confusion and I started to hit the mattress trying to slow the laughter.

"Why are you laughing at me woman?" He sounded really angry but I knew he was just putting it on to try and get me to stop laughing. I couldn't answer him. "Fine! I will give you cause to laugh yourself silly." He began tickling me in all my sensitive areas causing me to laugh and cry and scream.

"Stop Eric!" I gasped trying to get away from him even though it was futile. He was a thousand times stronger than me and he had me pinned beneath him. I suddenly reached that point where it goes from being funny to absolute torture and my laughter abruptly stopped.

"Please Eric, Stop." I begged. He immediately pulled away and I lay quietly for a moment as I tried to get my breath back.

"Now will you tell me what you found so amusing?" He had a smug grin and I could feel how pleased he was with himself at having me submit. I rolled my eyes. Once a vamp always a vamp.

"I'm sorry Eric but watching you have a panic attack after knowing for six hours that I am pregnant was kind of hilarious. I don't see you 'lose it' very often." He pulled me up onto his lap and nuzzled into my throat.

"That's because there is only one thing I care enough about to 'lose it' over. My love, I must warn you. I was already having trouble with the thought of something harming you before I got to turn you and now that you are pregnant I am going to become even more protective. I hope you can understand because I cannot help it. I have felt what it is like to be without you and will not go through that again. I cannot." I sighed and reached up to kiss him.

"I know Eric. I will try to understand and if you really want to leave tomorrow and race me to the doctors then that's what we will do. I don't want you to worry about me."

"That, my love, is unavoidable but seeing a doctor will help put my mind at rest, thank you." Kissed me and it quickly grew heated. He pulled the covers down and placed us both under the sheets before turning out the light.

It was four o'clock in the afternoon as the limo pulled up in front of Dr. Ludwig's hospital. I had expected something different. I'm not sure what but I had not expected the grand plantation building that was located just outside of Shreveport. Eric took my hand and helped me out of the car and we walked inside together. The lobby had been turned into a reception area and there were a number of creatures sat around waiting to see the doctor. They all nodded to us as we walked in and I tried to give them each a friendly smile. There was a short woman with curly hair and glasses sat behind the reception desk.

"Mrs Northman it is an honour to meet you. The doctor has been waiting for you to arrive. If you just go on in there she will be in with you shortly." Eric pulled me through the door she had pointed to and I frowned up at him.

"I called ahead," he said defensively. He knew I was annoyed at being treated like a queen. I may have become royalty but I still liked to treat people as equals, something which never ceased to irritate Eric.

"I didn't even get to say thank you," I moaned as he sat me down on the bed.

"You didn't need to." He said dismissively. I saw red and slapped him across the face as hard as I could. He snarled and his piercing blue eyes bore into me as his fangs extended.

"What was that for?" He demanded with a growl.

"You pissed her off," Dr. Ludwig said as she scurried into the room. "Don't you know that pregnant women are volatile at best? And your lovely wife is going to be even more prone to mood swings as her powers will enhance the hormones." For the first time in my memory the doctor smiled up at me. It was a scary sight that sent a shiver down my spine. "Now let's see what we have?" She did her examination and I was pleased that I didn't have to put on one of those nasty hospital gowns.

"Well? Is everything alright?" Eric enquired nervously. He moved out of the way as the doctor went from one side of the bed to the other. Eventually he settled by my head and he held my hand lacing our fingers together. I began to feel bad that I had over reacted and tears started to roll down my face.

"Now don't go feeling guilty young lady. It's not your fault your vampire has no manners. Nor is it your fault that your emotions are out of control. It's going to take you some time to get used to it and learn to control yourself. I am sure he will understand." She scowled at Eric and he wiped my tears away and whispered in my ear.

"She's right. I love you." He kissed my cheek and then turned to glower at the doctor. She was frowning which made both of us begin to panic.

"The good news is that you both are very healthy. The bad news is that this is going to be a very difficult pregnancy."

"What do you mean?" I could feel Eric's fear and I squeezed his hand to help calm him.

"You have so much power and the baby will have power too but as I said, your powers enhance your hormones. You are going to get bad cravings, mood swings and sickness. You will also find that you are going to be much weaker than normal so you need to take it steady. You can do anything you would normally do but be aware of how tired you feel. If you use your powers you will drain much faster than normal as your body will protect your baby with most of your power. Now, it is important that you give your body what it needs so if you crave blood, drink blood. If you want sex, have sex. If you are tired, sleep. We will need to have regular checkups as there has never been a pregnancy like this before so we don't fully know what to expect. I do, however, anticipate that you start to feel the effects of the pregnancy much faster than normal. You have eight months to go and I will see you in two weeks. Any questions?" We both shook our heads and the doctor walked out of the room without looking back.

Eric helped me off the bed and hugged me for a long time. I pulled back to look up into his face but I couldn't read his expression and he was blocking the bond.

"What is it Eric?" I was just trying to work out how the hell I am supposed to get you to take it easy. I smiled up at him and he smiled back but I could feel his angst.

"You just have to ask me nicely," I said and I kissed him before pulling him to the door.