Entry for a New Chapter Contest

Title: Unexpected Surprises

Characters: Sookie, Eric, Pam

Word Count: 3976

Pen Name: MellyKen

Beta: CarolinaGirl96a and A Redhead Thing

Status: New Writer

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, they aren't mine. They belong the Charlaine Harris, but I'm going to play with them for a little while.

To see all the other entries please visit the C2: http:/www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/community/A_New_Chapter_Contest/84745

Author note:

Thanks so much to both of my awesome betas. I was rushed at the end and you guys made sure I got this done on time, you are made of win. Special thanks goes to EtheHunter, without her prompting I never would have entered this.

I hope you all enjoy it. :)

I walked through the office floating above cloud nine. I'm sure the smile I was wearing was ridiculous, but I didn't care. I felt great. I dropped my bag on my desk and headed to my best friend's office. When I knocked on the door, Pam waved me in from where she was on the phone. I snooped around her bookcase, while I waited for her to finish her call.

I grinned when I heard her tear into whoever she was talking to, you did not want to get on Pamela Northman's bad side.

Finishing my perusal, I sat down to wait. Looking at Pam, with her reputation as a ball busting no nonsense bitch, you'd never know that she hated the black suits and 3inch heels that she wore to work. They were camouflage, what everyone expected from a tough bitch. No one would believe that when she went home, she'd be changing into a a twinset and pencil skirt.

Finally hanging up the phone, Pam took a second to stare at me before leaning forward.

"Sookie Stackhouse, you got fucked."

It wasn't even a question.

I blushed and nodded, a grin splitting my face.

"Finally!" Pam crowed.

See, it had been over a year since I'd been with anyone other than myself, and a few toys. That's how long it'd been since my fiancee left me.

John Quinn and I met in college. He was my first, and we were together for several years. After we got engaged, we decided we wanted a family. Not feeling the need to wait for the wedding, I went off the pill and we started trying.

I had no problem getting pregnant. It was staying that way that proved difficult.

I had three miscarriages. With each one, Quinn became more and more sullen. I knew he blamed me.

He made sure I knew it was my fault, that I was "defective," and that he couldn't spend his life with a woman who even God didn't see fit to give children to, before he left me.

Pam was there for me through it all.

So it was no surprise that she cheered me on, when I decided to go with my friend Amelia, to a club this weekend.

Which is where I met him. He was just what I needed. Tall, gorgeous, and looking for a simple, no complications, one night stand. Hell, it didn't even last the night. We had sex in his car, something Quinn would never have done, before heading to my place. He stayed a couple of hours, and then left before sunrise. It was just what I needed.

"So, are you going to see him again?" Pam asked, after dragging all the juicy details from me.

I shook my head. "I only got his first name." I was just a bit disappointed, seeing as he was FAR better in bed than Quinn was.

"Well, at least you are getting back into the game." Pam was always my personal cheer leader, at least as far as my sex life was concerned.

Wanting to move away from my own drama, I asked "So, what happened with you this weekend?"

Pam just rolled her eyes. "Asshole was back in my spare room this weekend."

Asshole is how Pam refers to her brother.

He was, from what I have heard, a piece of work. Apparently, he's something of a manwhore. Recently he was supposed to be living with a woman, Sophie, in New Orleans, but they had some sort of open relationship where they frequently slept with other people. I'd never be able to understand that sort of thing.

So every now and then, his girlfriend would kick him out and he'd show up to crash at Pam's house. Before you get any ideas, Pam insists her brother is not a bum. He runs a few very successful clubs in New Orleans, and has been thinking of opening one here in Shreveport. He just has a love for women, and can't seem to commit.

"I swear," Pam was saying. "One day, that boy is going to go toe up for a girl who won't take his shit, and I just pray I am there to see it happen."

I had to laugh. From all Pam had told me, that was something that would probably never happen.

"It was weird though, he went out Friday and Saturday, then went back home on Sunday, saying he was leaving Sophie and moving back." She shrugged. "At least he's finally leaving that skank. Although I do wonder what happened this weekend to make him decide to move here."

"Really?"

"Yes. It was weird. But I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth."

Later that afternoon I was back in Pam's office, dropping off the latest project file. As I turned from putting the file on her desk, I knocked over one of the pictures she had sitting on the corner.

I glanced at the photo of Pam and what must be her brother, before I took a double take.

Oh shit. Pam's brother... is Eric. The guy I slept with two nights ago.

I started to hyperventilating just as Pam walked in. "Sookie? Sweetie? What's wrong?" She rushed over and knelt in front of me.

"I...I..."

"Sookie? What?"

"I slept with your brother." I whispered. I could feel the tears pooling in my eyes.

She looked from me to the picture and back again, before she started laughing.

"Oh my god!" She wouldn't stop laughing at me. "Oh my god, I can't believe it!"

After a few minutes, she finally managed to wipe the tears from her eyes and calm down.

Her head jerked up, as if she'd had a sudden epiphany. "Shit. It's you."

"What's me?" I was very confused.

"You're the reason he's moving back here." She shook her head. "Damn, girl. You must be a stellar lay."

I grabbed a pillow from her couch and chucked it at her head. "Not funny Pamela! And I am not the reason he's moving here, so you just get that thought out of your head."

She ducked and laughed. "Okay, but maybe you are what he needs."

I shook my head. "I will not be your brothers next love 'em and leave 'em, got it? One night was great, but he's not the type of man I could ever have a relationship with."

"So I guess inviting you to the 'welcome to town' dinner I was thinking of having for him would be out of the question?" She smirked.

"You bet your ass it is. I doubt he even remembers me. But I'd be too embarrassed to even be in the same room as him, right now."

Pam just shook her head. "Well, you'll get a few months reprieve, I'm sure it's going to be a couple of months before he moves." She grinned. "And I'm sure you'll sleep with many men who will drive all thoughts of my brother from your head."

I shuddered. "No thanks. Who knows whose brother I'll sleep with next."

It was 8 weeks later when I realized I'd missed my period. Twice. Shit. There is no way I can be pregnant. We used a condom... I'm on the pill!

I was a mess during the day, and with Pam in meetings outside the office, I had no one I could talk to. No one knew that I had slept with her brother. Not even Amelia, who had gone to the club with me. All she knew was I had gone home with someone, she hadn't even seen him, being too absorbed in her "entertainment" for the evening.

I decided to leave work early and get a pregnancy test, or three, from the drug store on the way home.

I was a nervous wreck. Praying those little sticks wouldn't show a plus sign/smiley face/turn pink.

Three minutes.

The longest three minutes of my life.

I thought the waiting when you wanted to be pregnant was bad; it had nothing on hoping you weren't.

Shit. All three were positive.

What was I going to do?

I needed to talk to Pam.

I left what I am sure was a frantic message on her voice mail, and spent the next hour waiting impatiently for her to call me back.

Even not wanting to be pregnant, I couldn't in good conscience drink. But boy did I wish I could.

Finally, the phone rang.

"Pam!"

"What's wrong? You sounded psycho on your message." Pam was never one to sugar coat things.

"I need you here. NOW!" Not wanting to argue, I hung up the phone and resumed my pacing.

Thankfully, Pam didn't believe in speed limits, so she arrived within minutes.

Not bothering to knock, she barged right in. "What the hell, Stackhouse?"

She stopped dead at the sight of the three tests on the living room table.

"Tell me you are not?" She looked at me.

I had to roll my eyes. "Do you really think I am freaking out over a NEGATIVE PREGNANCY TEST?"

Pam shook herself before she grabbed my hands and pulled me to the couch. "Alright, girl. Take a few deep breaths."

She waited until I did as she said, then she smacked me in the back of the head.

"Hey!" I glared at her.

"Now it is time to think this through calmly. I assume the baby is Eric's?"

"Pam! Of course it is! I haven't slept with anyone since him."

"Good. Now, do you want to keep this baby?"

I closed my eyes and leaned back against the couch.

That was the question, wasn't it? Did I want to take the risk that I would loose this baby too? Could I really "take care of it" if there was even a chance I could keep it?

I finally looked at her. "I can't kill this baby." I said, the tears started streaming down my face as I rested my hands on my abdomen.

Pam reached over to hug me. "Okay. So now you need to tell Eric."

I felt the panic start to creep back in, at her words.

Shaking my head, I made a snap decision. "No. I'm not telling him until I know I won't loose this baby."

"But-"

"No, Pam! If I loose this baby too, I will not let it break his heart as well. I'm not telling anyone else, until I know I have a chance at keeping this baby."

Pam stared at me for a minute, then reluctantly gave in. "Okay."

With that decided, I made an appointment to see my doctor the next day.

Pam came to all of my appointments with me, she was my rock every time I spotted and for every twinge that I was sure was my losing the baby.

After fifteen weeks of doctor's appointments and ultrasounds every second week, my doctor was cautiously optimistic about my chances of carrying the baby to term. I had never made it to week fifteen before.

As we left the doctor's office, where he told me I could scale back my appointments from weekly to every two weeks, Pam turned to me expectantly.

"So now we're going to tell him, right? You are starting to show, and I think it's only fair that he know." Pam was gearing up to argue with me, when I interrupted her.

"Pam. I know." I smiled and rubbed my barely there bump. "I want him to know. I don't know if he will want to be a part of this baby's life, but either way, he has a right to know."

I was more than ready to let other people know about this baby. As the weeks progressed, and I got further and further into my pregnancy, I found myself anxious to tell others of the joy I was feeling.

I was healing from all the hurt Quinn had inflicted on me. I wasn't defective.

I was helping Pam set the table when the doorbell rang, causing me to nearly drop the plates.

"It's just Eric, Sookie."

Pam decided the best way to do it was at her place over dinner. Eric had moved to Shreveport a month prior, and Pam was sure he wouldn't ask when he received a dinner invitation from his big sister.

Pam smiled at me. "It will be fine. Go sit in the living room and I'll bring him in."

I nodded and checked to make sure my cardigan covered my barely there bump, not wanting him to see it right away, before I went to sit down.

I heard Pam open the door and the murmur of voices as she greeted her brother. The father of my baby. Oh god. I had to take a couple of deep breaths before they came into the room.

"So where's this friend you want me to meet? What was her name? Sookie?" There was his voice. A voice that I hadn't heard in months. The voice that had been haunting my dreams since I found out I was pregnant.

"She's in the living room."

I looked up as Pam led him into the room.

He stopped short as soon as he saw me. "Susanna?" I'd forgotten that I'd given him my full name the night we met.

I smiled tentatively. "Actually, everyone calls me Sookie."

Eric looked between me and Pam a few times. No doubt confused as to why I was in her house.

"You- you work with Pam?" He narrowed his gaze at me.

I nodded as Pam pushed him into a chair. "Yes, but I didn't know you were her brother until after we had... hooked up." I blushed at the reminder of our night together.

"Oh."

Pam took a seat beside me on the couch, no doubt for moral support. I had decided to get the big stuff out in the open, and tell him right away.

Taking a deep breath, I jumped right in.

"Eric. There is something you should know." I cleared my throat. "Um... I don't know how to say this, so I'm just gonna put it out there. I'm pregnant, and, short of immaculate conception, you are the father."

He just stared at me. It was making me uneasy.

After a few minutes of silence, even Pam was starting to get antsy.

"Eric?"

He turned to her and after a minute started to laugh.

"Oh god. You are good. I mean, that was a dirty trick to play, sister mine. But you definitely had me there!"

Pam rolled her eyes at me. "Denial, thy name is Eric."

She threw a small cushion at him to get his attention. "Its not a joke, dumbass. Look."

She pulled me to my feet and opened my cardigan so he could see the bump that was highlighted my the tight t-shirt I was wearing.

That stopped his laughter abruptly.

"Shit."

Pam snorted. "Yeah."

"And you're sure-?" He was at a loss for words as he gestured between himself and my stomach.

It was my turn to roll my eyes. "Yes, Eric. I am sure you are the father." No need to get into my complete lack of experience in this area.

Without another word he got up and left the room. A moment later we heard the front door slam.

It took a moment for it to register that he'd just left like that.

I turned to Pam as the tears started to form. "What-?"

"It's okay. I didn't hear his car start, so he's probably just outside. Let me go see if I can get him back in, okay?" She gave me a tight hug before heading out after her brother.

I slumped down onto the couch.

Of all the reactions I had expected, that wasn't anywhere on the list.

I couldn't believe that he'd just walk out like that. Is that was he did when things got tough? Nothing Pam had said about him gave me that impression, but maybe she was glossing over some things when she told me about him.

During the stress filled months leading to this day, Pam had been filling me in on her brother, telling me about their childhood, and what their family was like.

It was just the two of them, and she was so excited to be Auntie Pam. Even without her brother being the father, I know she would have been just as interested and supportive of me and the baby; but knowing it was her blood relation I was carrying made it all the more special, for both of us.

I just hoped her brother would come to feel the same.

It was twenty minutes before Pam came into the house. Alone.

She sat down and pulled me into a hug. "He's going to go home for the night."

I couldn't help it, I started to cry.

"It's okay, hun. He just needs some time. This is not something he ever thought he'd get to have. It's a little overwhelming."

I sat back and looked at her. "So, is he okay with it? I mean, I don't know what to think here, Pam. Of all the scenarios, him walking out was nowhere on the list."

Pam sighed. "He doesn't hate the idea. He doesn't seem to know what to think. But, I think he will be really excited once he wraps his head around the idea. You need to understand, he's had girls say they were pregnant before, and they never were. So now he has to try and get his head around to the idea that this time it's real. And he's going to be a daddy." She grinned at that thought. "He's going to be a great dad. Trust me."

I had no other choice. Here's hoping she was right.

It was three days before I heard from Eric.

I answered the knock at my door and was shocked to see him standing on my doorstep.

"Eric. Come in." I tried not to let my excitement at seeing him show too much. I had been starting to lose hope that he would come around, as Pam swore he would.

"Hi, Sookie." He followed me into the living room and sat beside me on the couch. "Look, I am sorry for the way I acted the other night. It was... inexcusable and not something I would normally do. I don't run away from problems." He shook his head and chuckled. "You really threw me for a loop though."

I had to laugh with him. "I know. Trust me. I don't know if Pam told you about my history..."

He nodded. "Yeah. She didn't think you would mind, and I wanted to know more about you, without the awkward conversation."

"I figured she would. Anyway, I was really scared about this whole thing." I gestured to my belly.

He nodded. "Yeah. I was a little upset when I realized how far along you must be. But I can understand wanting to wait. Though, I do wish I had known sooner. I would have been there for you... both of you." His eyes stayed locked on my stomach, so I took his hand and placed it on the bump.

He looked up at me and swallowed hard. "There's really...?"

I laughed. "Yes, Eric. There is really a baby in there." I had an idea. "Hold on one sec."

I got up and went back to my bedroom, quickly finding the item I wanted on my bedside table.

"Here." I handed the picture frame to him when I got back to his side.

He stared at the series of pictures for a few minutes. "Wow."

I couldn't help but grin."That's our baby."

"Can you tell what it is yet?"

I shook my head. "Probably in a few weeks. I've been calling it peanut." I looked at him in question. "What do you want? Boy or girl?"

He still hadn't taken his eyes off the ultrasound photos, running his fingers over the grainy images. "I don't know. I'd be happy either way." Finally he looked back up at me. "How about you?"

I shook my head. "After everything I've gone through, peanut could be purple with six toes and I'd be happy."

He laughed, and went to hand me the frame back.

I just pushed it back into his hands. "Keep it. I made it for you." I grinned. "Auntie Pam has one too."

He laughed. "Oh god. Auntie Pam. That is almost scary."

"She's been really great, actually. She's the only other person who knows. And she's been with me through it all."

"Good. I'm glad you had someone." He glanced back at the pictures. "And everything is okay? I mean, Pam said it was, but..."

"I'm fine, Eric. And so is peanut. The doctor is monitoring us very carefully. And so far, everything is right on track. Actually, if I weren't so sure about when we conceived, my doctor would think I was farther along than I am. This is going to be a big baby." I looked him up and down, then mock scowled. "For which I blame you."

He laughed heartily. "Yeah. I was a big baby too. Pam was tiny, long but thin."

"Apparently I should be having a baby with her." I joked.

"So... what are we going to do?" He asked.

I raised an eyebrow. "Well, we are going to have a baby."

Rolling his eyes he glared at me. "I mean, when the baby is born. What does this mean for us, other than the fact that we are quite compatible in bed." There was the eyebrow waggle Pam was always talking about. "We don't know anything about each other."

I sat back and looked at him for a minute. "Well, I think we should just get to know each other, before we make any major decisions like that. You can come to all the doctor's appointments. We'll make decisions together from here on out. And when we get closer, we can figure out what we want to do. You could come over and see the baby any time you want, or we can try getting a place to raise the baby together." I took a deep breath. "And if we decide somewhere along the way that we want to be together, for us, and not just for the baby. Then we can do that too. I just... I'm not the kind of girl who sleeps with strangers. You were a one off for me, and while I will always care for you, because you gave me this amazing gift, I don't think I am the kind of girl you are used to dating."

Eric stared at me for a minute before abruptly swinging his body around, and moving to lay his head on my lap and press his lips to the bump.

"Hey, peanut. What do you think? I think your mom makes sense. We're going to be stuck with each other for years now, and you still have lots of growing to do in there. So maybe everything doesn't need to be worked out right now."

He rolled his eyes up towards me.

"I think you and I are going to be fine."

I grinned and wiped the tears from my eyes. "Yeah. I think we are."