So this is my next story.

Its all human and I will be swapping between the present day and the past to explain the events that have happened before. If you've read my other story Dead, In Love you will know that I'm a fan of angst, and this is likely to be a rough ride - so don't say that I didn't warn you.

I hope you like it, however!

I was exhausted, physically and emotionally, but as the nurse placed the tiny bundle that was my son into my arms I realised how worth the last 27 hours of labour had been. He was perfect. Ten tiny fingers, ten tiny toes, the cutest button nose, a covering of blonde hair and beautiful big blue eyes. Eric's eyes. I felt like I had a wooden stake driven through my heart when I realised just how much he looked like his father. It was a cruel irony that this beautiful little man in my arms would look exactly like the man who had spurned me. When we first started dating his younger sister, Pam, had taken delight in showing me the baby photos of Eric along with many other embarrassing photos of him as a child, but it was evident just quite how much like his father my son looked.

As I contemplated this irony the tears spilled from my eyes at an almighty pace, running down my cheeks and pooling at my chin before dripping onto my dressing gown and forming a damp patch. I was going to be a 27-year-old single mom. I looked up briefly as Amelia re-entered the room looking as chipper as ever.

"Hey, Sookie, you should be happy! Your son is perfect, you have done so well! I know there's no way I could have done what you just have! Hell, after seeing that there is no way I'm ever having children, possibly ever having sex again! They should show videos of that in elementary school, it would halve the teenage pregnancy rates immediately!"

I appreciated Amelia's attempts at cheering me up, and I could not help a smile as she said her piece. She leaned over to the pair of us and wrapped an arm around me while fawning over the boy in my arms.

"He really is beautiful. Have you thought of a name?"

I had decided the name I wanted as soon as I knew I was going to have a boy, yet had kept it to myself for the fear of something going horribly wrong.

"I'm going to call him Oskar James Eric Stackhouse."

Amelia smiled, "That's cute. He looks like an Oskar." She leaned down closer to him and put her little finger in his tiny hand, shaking it gently. "It's nice to meet you, Oskar. Welcome to the world. I promise you that Aunt Amelia will always be here for you." She leaned back in her chair and turned to face me, her face serious again. I knew what she was going to say. "He's not Northman then?"

I let out a deep sigh. "No. I'm not going to name Eric on the birth certificate. He's refused to believe me that our baby is his, so I'm not using his surname."

"You're calling him Eric though as a middle name …" She trailed off not knowing how to finish that sentence.

"I know, I just … I just want some part of Eric to be in him if I can't use his surname."

"Isn't Oskar a very Swedish name?"

I had deliberately chosen a name I knew that Eric would approve of, even though it was not something we had ever discussed. He had been born in Stockholm and moved to the States when he was eight years old but had always been proud of his heritage. "Yes, I wanted to give him a name Eric would like. Assuming he ever talks to me again, that is." I was feeling sorry for myself and couldn't help pouting a little.

"You should call him."

"I know that. I just need to compose myself first. I'm not looking forward to that phone call. But he's also made it perfectly clear that he will not acknowledge Oskar as his son until I've done a paternity test. I'm just not sure that I can go through all that again. I know that I haven't slept with anyone other than him. Ever. Yet he can't believe me. He thinks that I cheated on him, that he's the wounded party. I don't want to do the paternity test, I want Eric to believe me that I didn't cheat on him, and that Oskar is his son."

My tears were falling hard and fast and my breathing had become ragged as I sobbed into Amelia's arms. "Of course you do, Sook, but he's been led to believe that you cheated on him. It's not totally his fault. You need to do the test so he believes for sure that Oskar is his. That way the two of you can restart a relationship and work out what is best for your son."

She was right, my boy needed two parents not one who had no idea what she was doing and no close family. At least Eric had his parents and sister, I had no one since Jason had abandoned me for the same reasons that Eric had. But the problem was that I knew Eric did not want the relationship we used to have. He honestly thought that I had cheated on him, and even though this was his son it was not going to change the fact that in his eyes I was unfaithful to him.

I can remember being in love with Eric since I first really started noticing boys, and had known him since I was five years old. He was a friend of Jason's through school although were both three years older than me. He'd always been much taller than the other boys and stood out from the crowd. I think every girl at our school was in love with him, not just me, and he never had a shortage of girlfriends. I always felt privileged that he used to come over to our house, my Gran making home cooked meals for Eric, Jason and I. I used to relish those days as he had no option but to talk to me when I asked him a question, as Gran had told him off more than once for not being civil to me. But he never offered anything to me without me asking him first, and in general I was invisible to him.

I was devastated when Jason and Eric left to go to college at LSU, the house feeling empty with just Gran and I. My parents had died when I was just seven in a flash flood and we had been living with Gran ever since. But after a few weeks of moping around I threw myself back into my studies and after a few years started working part-time at Merlottes washing dishes and clearing tables to earn a little extra cash. I also had a brief high school romance with the Sam Merlotte who was the son of the owners. He was only a year older than me and I knew he'd always been sweet on me, but I never had eyes for anyone other than Eric Northman. Sam was opportunistic to say the least, and with Eric out of the way he moved in to subtly seduce me. But it didn't last long, Sam was always like a lost puppy wanting attention. He was constantly vying for my attention and I soon got very fed up with it and ended our relationship before it had ever really started.

I lived my days for weeks when Eric and Jason would return to Bon Temps, though I never saw that much of him as Jason made a point of going out when he was with Eric, or being at his house which was much larger and more expensive than our own farmhouse. And if Eric was around it was remarkable how popular I became. I had always been fairly quiet with a few close friends such as Tara Thornton, but as soon as Eric came over the likes of Dawn Greene and Selah Pumphrey (neither of who I'd ever liked) wanted to be my best friend. I was glad, however, that Eric saw through their false façade. In general, things hadn't changed. Whenever I saw him he was civil enough, but I was always just Jason's younger sister.

I was desperately trying to get over my infatuation with him, and I was looking forward to going to college, even if I was going to the same place as Eric and Jason. I was under no illusion that me being at LSU would affect anything between us, and as I was going to be freshmen with them seniors I certainly didn't expect them to take any notice of me. I was looking forward to being independent of my family, and although I would miss Gran hugely she knew how much I was looking forward to going to college and supported me the whole way. Jason and I had been lucky that our parents life insurance money would pay for us to get through college, with some left over for each of us. Jason had already spent most of his on various cars, but I had always wanted to travel through Europe when I graduated so saved my money for that.

I quickly found that I absolutely loved the freedom of college, being out in the world on my own. I enjoyed studying, making new friends and partying. I always knew my major was going to be English, but I also loved psychology and studied French, which I was surprisingly good at. It was towards the end of my first year at LSU that I met John Quinn. He was a senior, incredibly tall and broad, and had the most unusual purple eyes and shaved head. He was strangely beautiful and very charming and I found myself drawn to him immediately. I first met him in the library one evening when I was studying late for an essay that was due at the end of the week. I couldn't draw my eyes away from him, and after chatting quietly for a few minutes we agreed to meet and grab a coffee at the weekend. Even though my mind immediately made comparisons between him and Eric, he faired a lot better than every other male I had ever met.

We hit it off straight away, he was smart and he made me laugh. We had a few lunch dates, meeting on campus when we both had classes, and our first 'proper' date was going to be to a house party of one of his friends the following Friday night. I was a little wary about going to a senior party, but as my friends were very jealous that I was going I was determined to enjoy myself.

I put on my trusty little black dress with a pair of fabulous blue pumps and minimal accessories. My hair was softly curled around my shoulders with a few matching blue hair clips. Quinn came and picked me up at nine and we drove to the house, chatting along the way to calm my nerves. As soon as we entered the house Quinn got me a drink of a rather strong gin and tonic and we sat down and chatted to some of his friends. I was instantly incredibly uncomfortable, and I did not like the way that his friends were looking at me – it was almost predatorily. I looked to Quinn for some comfort or assistance, but got none. Instead, Quinn kept on supplying me with drink and when I tried to refuse him saying I'd drunk enough and just wanted water he got a little angry and was insistent on me drinking more. I knew that things were not going well, and I tried to leave but was held back by Quinn as he kissed me hard, pinning me back against the sofa.

When I awoke the next morning I was in an unfamiliar bed and I had a thumping headache. As I looked around the room I realised that I wasn't at home and I was no longer wearing my dress but rather a large man's t-shirt. I instantly panicked trying my absolute best to try and remember what happened the night before. The last thing I truly remembered was being roughly kissed by Quinn on the sofa as he manhandled me, groping my breasts through my dress and running his hand up legs. Did I have sex with him? Wouldn't I remember if I did? I was disgusted that I may have lost my virginity to Quinn when I was not sober. Was it rape if I didn't know anything about it? I curled up into a ball under the covers within the huge bed and could not stop my body convulsing as I sobbed. How had I got myself into this mess? I should have known not to come to a senior party – Jason had warned me that seniors sometimes see first year girls as some kind of sport.

My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door being opened and shut again. I tried to stay quiet to pretend that I was still asleep so I could have some time to work out what the hell I could do to get out of there.

"Sookie, I know you're awake. I brought you some coffee." The voice was deep and baritone, but it wasn't Quinn's. "Sook, its okay. It's Eric. Come, drink your coffee. I also have some Tylenol for your head."

What the hell was Eric doing here? Was Eric a friend of Quinn's? Whose bed was I actually in? I tried to compose myself and dried my face on the sleeve of the huge t-shirt as I peered out from underneath the covers to see the one and only Eric Northman looking down at me with kind eyes. I sat up in the bed and tried to smooth my hair down, I could only imagine what state my face was in considering I hadn't removed any of my make up. He handed me a cup of much needed coffee along with the two tablets to help cure my hangover.

Eric said nothing but rather stood rooted to the spot watching me drink from the mug. I had never felt more exposed then I was at the moment under Eric's eyes. After a few gulps I summoned the courage to look back up at him to see concern in his eyes. I knew then that I was safe with him but I had no idea what had happened the night before. He sat down on the end of the bed facing me.

"Eric, what happened? Why am I here?"

"You don't remember?" I shook my head. "What's the last thing you do remember?"

I explained the last thing I could remember was Quinn somewhat forcibly kissing me on the sofa, but I left out the bit about him groping me. For some reason that was not something I wanted to tell the man I had known since I was five years old and who I was crazily in love with. Eric was looking at me with compassionate eyes, and I had a feeling he was going to tell me something I didn't want to hear.

"Sook, this is my room you're in. You spent last night here with me, but before you panic, I can assure you nothing happened. I put you in one of my t-shirts before removing your dress and I its a big bed, I promise I didn't touch you." Tears were already rolling down my cheeks – I really did not remember any of this – but he carried on regardless. "The party was going on in the house but I was late in coming back as I was on a date."

I tried not to let myself get bothered by that piece of information, but as I was lying in his bed in his t-shirt I couldn't help it. "So, was the party at your house?"

"Yes, it was a party to celebrate the end of our college life before our finals. Sook, I'm sorry I didn't get here earlier and I'm sorry I never warned you about John Quinn." I gasped slightly as he spoke about my date. "Quinn has a reputation amongst seniors for bedding any attractive first year he can find. I should have known that if he ever met you he would set his sights on you. Did he know your surname?"

I thought for a moment. "No, I don't think I ever told him. Does he know Jason?"

"He does, and Jason has always disliked him as much as I do. Now I want to kill him and I'm certain your brother will."

I needed to know what happened. "Eric, please tell me what happened." I took another sip of my coffee as I looked at him grimace slightly.

"When I came in I saw that Quinn had half removed your dress, his hands all over you. He was kissing you, but he also had quite the audience. It was obvious that you were by no means aware of what was happening and I felt my blood boil. I'd had words with him before about him treating women in this way, and I certainly didn't want it happening in my house, at my party. As I went to kick him out I realised that it was you he was doing it to and I saw red. I pulled Quinn off you and kicked the shit out of him before pushing him out of the house. I'm afraid I caused a scene and drew attention to you, and I'm sorry for that, but I was not going to let Quinn touch you in that way."

His eyes were burning as he spoke, his anger reignited from the night before. I was shocked to hear his words, and terrified of what might have happened had Quinn not been interrupted. I was also amazed that of all people it was Eric who was my saviour. Sure, I had known him for a long time, but we had never really spoken to each other when Gran or Jason weren't around. But that reminded me, where was Jason? I knew that Eric and Jason had shared a large house with a bunch of other seniors, so why was it Eric not Jason that came to my rescue? I asked Eric this question.

"Jason is in New Orleans for the weekend with his girlfriend, Amy. It was Jason that originally planned this party, but Amy had also planned a surprise get away for him and he didn't want to upset her by telling her he couldn't go. I haven't told him yet what happened, I thought I'd check with you first."

I was grateful that Eric hadn't told Jason as I was worried that he'd want to leave New Orleans straight away to come to me, and I wanted him to have his fun. "What happened after you kicked Quinn out?" I asked softly.

"Well, my outburst was a rather sobering event on the festivities, and I brought you up to my room as I explained. Once I knew you were okay I did go back downstairs for a while but I was concerned about you. I can't say my date was too impressed, and I think she may have left with someone else." He had a satisfied smirk on his face.

"I'm sorry Eric. I didn't mean for my stupidity and naivety to ruin your …"

He interrupted my words. "Don't be silly, Sookie, your well-being is much more important than than dunce I was with last night. I'm just glad that you're okay. I wouldn't have been able to have forgive myself if anything had happened to you. I wouldn't have wanted John Quinn to be your first, particularly in those circumstances."

I was traumatised and felt my face flush. I did not want to talk about my sex life, or lack thereof, with the subject of my fantasy for how ever long I can remember. And I really didn't want to know exactly how he knew I was a virgin. I tried to hide my face in my hands and suddenly felt very exposed sat in Eric's bed wearing only my panties and one of his large t-shirts. I pulled the covers up closer around me and scooted to the edge of the bed against the wall.

He almost had a flash of hurt in his eyes as I moved away from him. "Sookie, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to embarrass you. You've always been Jason's kid sister to me, I've always felt quite protective towards you as I would my own sister. I would never want anything to happen to you. Please come here?" He held open his arms and when I made the move towards him he met me half way and pulled me close to him in a tight embrace. He smelled incredible, manly and earthy with a slight smell of his spicy aftershave. As I breathed him in I was almost sure that he did the same to me, but I could not be certain. As I was hugging him I was committing the moment to memory to be ever replayed in my fantasies where Eric and I were together. I rested my head on his shoulder as our embrace lasted longer then it necessarily needed to, neither one of us seemingly wanting the moment to end. We were interrupted, however, my Eric's phone going off and he pulled away to answer it.

"Jason, how's New Orleans? … she's okay, I promise … I kicked Quinn's ass for what he did to her … I haven't spoken to her about that … here she is."

Eric handed me his phone with a gentle and almost apologetic smile, and I take it from him expecting a barrage from my brother.

"Sook, are you okay? I'm going to kill him for doing that to you. Are you sure you're alright? Eric's been looking after you right?" Jason's voice was anxious as he spoke to me but his anger was also apparent.

"I'm fine Jase, Eric got to me in time. Quinn didn't do anything …"

"Sook, he was feeling you up and probably would have raped you if someone hadn't stopped him. I don't call that nothing."

Jason was furious, but as his words sunk in of how bad things with Quinn could have been I started sobbing, my breathing laboured as a I struggled for breath between sobs. Eric came and sat next to me on the bed and wrapped his huge arms around me, my tears staining his t-shirt as I buried my face into his chest.

"Sook, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you more. You're going to need to go to the police. He can't get away with this kind of thing. There are plenty of other girls who haven't been so lucky."

"Are … are you coming back?" I didn't want to ruin Jason's weekend away but I didn't think I could face going to the police station on my own.

"I'll be back tomorrow afternoon, but Eric will go with you. No one expects you to have to do this on your own. I love you, Sook, I'm sorry I wasn't there. I'll see you tomorrow, and you may also want to call Gran, I called her before I called you, she's probably having a fit. Put Eric back on"

I looked up at Eric and handed him the phone. They chatted quietly but I zoned out, not listening to what Eric was saying. I just couldn't believe what had happened to me, and now I had to recount my story to the police with Eric sat there as well. I was incredibly grateful that it was a friendly face that had rescued me, and I dreaded to think what would have happened if Eric hadn't arrived. I was interrupted from my thoughts by Eric calling my name.

"Sookie … Sookie, are you in there?" He smiled softly at me. "Come, lets get changed. I'll drive you back to your dorm so you can shower and change and then we'll go to the police. I probably have some clothes somewhere that will fit you." He ruffled through the bottom of his huge closet before pulling our a pair of women's tracksuit bottoms and a plain black t-shirt.

I was intrigued. "How exactly do you have women's clothes in your closet? They don't look your size!" I smiled for the first time in what felt like a very long time.

He pulled an innocent expression, but it was obvious he was guilty as hell. "A girl may have left them here once. I can assure you they're clean. I kept that as I have a little bit of a habit of ripping clothes in the heat of the moment! I guess I figured they would be useful to have. I never imagined they would be used in these circumstances though." His face went a little sombre as I looked up to him. However I also noticed that I had clearly ruined his own t-shirt from my tears.

"I'm afraid I've ruined your shirt!"

He looked down at his t-shirt, shrugged his shoulders and then removed it in one fluid movement. His chest was incredible, and despite the events of the previous night I could not help myself but ogle him. I watched as his taught arm muscles moved under his tanned skin, and down to his perfect pecs and abs that looked like they'd been sculpted by a master craftsman. I had never seen a man so perfect even in fashion magazines, and I was quite certain that they were digitally altered. The man was a God.

He laughed when he saw me staring at him and threw his dirty t-shirt at me. "Seriously, Sookie, you'd think that you've never seen a man before!" In that instance I seriously felt like hadn't seen a man before him. Before I knew it he had put on a new t-shirt and leaned over to a small mirror on the wall to check his already perfect shoulder length, thick, blonde hair. "The bathroom's through there, I'll let you get ready in peace."

He held out his hand to me and I scooted to the edge of the bed and took his hand, feeling a little unsteady on my feet. Eric's t-shirt nearly came down to my knees, so my modesty was covered as I made my way to his en-suite bathroom. After closing and locking the door I leaned against it trying to gain some composure. The events of the last night and morning were somewhat shocking, but here I was in Eric's bedroom having spent the night in the same bed with him, even if I couldn't remember any of it. I looked into the mirror with trepidation, scared of what I might find. However I was quite relieved to see that I didn't look as horrific as I thought I might have – had Eric removed my make-up? I cleaned myself up as best I could and stole some of his mouthwash before pulling on the clothes. They were a snug fit and I imagined that most of the girls Eric entertained did not have my curvy physique, but were rather stick-insect thin model wannabes.

Eric was waiting for me as I exited the bathroom and smiled as he handed me my heels and handbag. He took my hand and led me out of his room, and to my luck we didn't meet any of his house mates as we left the house. It was a large, three-storey place with Eric's room being at the very top. Once outside we got into Eric's flashy red corvette and he drove me to my room where I had the world's quickest shower, got changed and phoned Gran to let her know that I was okay. When I got back outside to where Eric's car was waiting I wasn't surprised to see that about six girls had congregated around his car, and I felt strangely smug when I got to push my way past them. Eric opened the door for me from the inside to let me climb in and he rolled up his window to end his conversation abruptly with an attractive brunette who was fawning over him.

"You shouldn't do that,"

"Do what?" He looked genuinely surprised at what I was asking.

"Just end a conversation like that. That poor girl was hanging on your every word."

"Of course she wasn't" He started up the car and we left the parking lot.

"I can assure you she was. You have no idea the effect you have on women." I was almost snapping at him and I had no idea why I was sticking up for that girl, but she looked so heart-broken when he ignored her. And I was absolutely certain that I'd had that same expression on my face many a time when it came to him.

"I know that I affect women in a very positive way," he had a huge smirk on his face as he drove, but he looked so absolutely beautiful I could not fault him for it. He'd probably slept with hundreds of women and I was sure it could have been thousands if he'd had every woman that threw herself at him. "But what affect do you I have on you, Sookie?" His voice was pure sex and I was certain that my heart stopped for a brief second. I looked over to him to see if he was serious, and the look on his face proved to me that he was.

I didn't know how to answer that one. Did he know that I'd been in love with him since day one? I'd always imagined that Jason would have embarrassed me by telling Eric that I liked him. What the hell was I going to say? I knew I had to say something.

"I … uh … well, I …." I was stuttering, hoping that Eric would change the subject.

But Eric had pulled the car in and turned to face me. "Tell me, Sookie. Please." I was shocked by his words, by the look in his eyes as he regarded me and by the fact that he took my hand in his huge one and held it securely in his hands, stroking his thumb over the back of my hand. My heart was racing and I could feel my blood pulsing through my now hyper-aware sex. "Please don't be shy with me, Sookie, we've known each other a long time."

I had absolutely no idea what was happening. Why was Eric so interested in what I felt for him? I took a deep breath to compose myself, looked up into his eyes and forced myself to answer. "Eric … I like you. A lot. I've liked you for as long as I can remember. I …" I didn't know what else to say and turned away from him to face out of the passenger window, pulling my hand from his grip. I couldn't believe I had just done that, embarrassed myself in that way. At least now I knew he would never talk to me again.

"Sookie. Sookie, please, look at me?" He took my hand again and brought it to his mouth. His lips were soft and gentle on my hand as I turned to him, a solitary tear dropping down my cheek. "When I saw you with Quinn I realised it wasn't just hatred of him, but jealousy that he was with you. I've never felt jealous before, I've never had to, but in that instance I was green with envy. I wanted you to be with me. I've always cared for you, even if I haven't especially shown it to you. I'm sorry, Sook, I know I was never pleasant to you when we were growing up. But please know that I like you too, a lot, and I'd like us to get to know each other better. And I understand that this really is incredibly bad timing considering what happened to you last night, but I will take it slow if you will agree to spend time with me."

Agree? Was he crazy? I honestly thought that I was going to pass out, and was glad when Eric opened the window to let a bit of air in to the increasingly small corvette. Was Eric Northman seriously asking me out? His perfect sapphire blue eyes were intent upon my own and I felt like he was hypnotizing me. I finally found my voice.

"I'd like that, Eric, thank you."

He smiled a beautiful smile, and leaned in to kiss me softly on the cheek. "I look forward to that very much." He restarted the car and we drove to the police station where we both gave statements about what happened. I was concerned that Eric was going to get in trouble for the beating he gave Quinn, but he underplayed it slightly and they were more interested in what Quinn did to me than what Eric did to him. After a few hours at the police station Eric drove me back to my dorm and walked me to the door, giving me a tender kiss on my head as he pulled me into a hug.

"Take care, Sookie, Jason will want to see you tomorrow to make sure that you're okay. I think we should keep this between us for now, I think Jason may try and kick my ass if he knows I'm moving in on his sister." He grinned at me and gave me a sexy wink. He was quite right that Jason would hit the roof if he knew about anything happening between Eric and I, but I also feared that Eric would completely destroy my heart if I got closer to him and then he was to hurt me. But I looked forward to something happening with Eric and wondered what the future would hold for us.