A/N: This story is written by Lycanlove and Lilbrokendolly.
Beta editing: Whyt Wulf
Disclaimer: We don't own any of the characters. They belong to Alan Ball and Charlaine Harris.
"Dammit to hell, Eric, you can't do this!" Sookie cried out, falling to her knees in front of the ancient Viking.
For the second time in as many nights, telepath Sookie Stackhouse found herself on the same rooftop overlooking the city of Dallas, in the company of a distraught-and-hellbent-on-self-destruction vampire.
Eric's eyes refused to meet hers and his shoulders slumped forward. He was already on his knees as he waited for the sun to rise.
"Godric did not want this, Eric...he wanted you to live. Don't you dare give up now, Eric Northman." Sookie took a shaky breath, almost afraid of how the distraught vampire would react to her next quiet utterance. "Don't dishonor Godric's memory like this, please."
When the killing blow didn't come after her slight toward Eric's honor, she knew the situation was both genuine and dire. Was he truly so occluded in the fog of his loss that she could never even hope to reach him? No, she thought defiantly, I will not give up on hope…not now, not ever. I'll find a way to bring him back to himself.
Sookie reached forward and cupped his face in her hands. His eyes met hers and she wanted to cringe and look away. The cerulean eyes that once sparkled with so much mischief and joie de vivre were now mirthless and full of despair. She gently brushed her thumbs across the rivulets of red that rolled down his high cheekbones.
When he finally spoke, his voice was quiet and hollow:
"Tell me, Miss Stackhouse...why should I not meet the sun? Why should I stay?"
Sookie inhaled quickly, grasping at straws in her mind. Was there anything that was important to Eric, aside from himself and now Godric? Up until a few days ago, Sookie hadn't imagined that anything was important to Eric Northman besides Eric Northman. His concern for Godric had been a revelation to her…the cocky, heartless, controlling vampire bastard showed that he did have a heart, and that he had love in him. Maybe not for many, but certainly for Godric, his maker. Was there anyone else Eric might care about? A thought came to her, and she spoke quickly, afraid of wasting even a second of the short time left before the sun cleared the horizon.
"Pam...think of Pam. She cares deeply for you, I can tell. Would you want to put Pam through the same thing you're going through now? Things will get better with time, Eric. I know this from firsthand experience. You're grieving but it's not the end of the world, even if it feels like it is," Sookie replied softly, her eyes still holding his bleak gaze.
"Pam does not need me. I released her long ago. She is more than capable of surviving, even thriving, on her own. Compassion for Pam is not a good enough reason to endure this emptiness. Godric is the reason I am here today, otherwise I would have perished on that bed over a thousand years ago. He snatched me from the very clutches of death itself. Godric taught me everything I know. He promised he would be my father, my brother, my son, and he was." He closed his eyes against the pain for a moment before resuming his gaze and continuing. "As a human, you cannot fathom the depth of the bond between maker and child. Despite time, despite distance, a child always has a sense of their maker within them, as real as blood and as constant as the beat of your human heart. But now…there is an…agonizing emptiness…where Godric lived in me. What is there for me without him? Tell me that."
Sookie had really thought playing the Pam card would prove to be her ace in the hole. Damn it.
She wanted to kiss the man, to pull him close and wrap her arms around him, and to strangle him simultaneously. She'd been arguing with the stubborn vampire sheriff for at least forty-five very intense minutes now and nothing she said had gotten through to him. Exhausted, she was nearly ready to stand and just let the idiot go through with his asinine plan when Godric's voice replayed in her mind. "You'll care for him? Eric?" She damned her conscience and closed her eyes for a moment before offering the one thing she knew he'd wanted before the madness in Texas changed everything.
"If you walk off this roof with me, I'll sleep with you. You'll finally have me in your bed. You've made no secret of wanting that."
Eric snorted.
"And how long would that last? How long would it take for you to despise me more than you already do?" he asked while reaching up and pushing her hands off his face. His eyes turned to look at the horizon.
"Dawn is in an hour, Miss Stackhouse. I suggest you head back to your boyfriend unless you want to watch another vampire go up in flames." His voice was once again distant and cold, as if he were already unreachable, in a realm far removed from the physical plane she inhabited.
Sookie's body jerked in shock, fear, and an unexpected bit of hurt when she realized she hadn't gotten through to him. He's determined, just like Godric... Nothing she said had affected him or motivated him to stay alive, or as alive as a vampire can be. She was not going to lose this vampire like she had Godric. At least Godric had given some thought to meeting the sun; he had lived for two millennia and wanted an end to his ennui and his constant inner struggle about the inability of humans and vampires to peacefully and respectfully coexist. He had said that he no longer thought like a vampire, yet he still had no choice but to live like one. Sookie had known what it was like to be different for twenty-six years…what would it be like to be different for a hundred, or five hundred, or two thousand?
Eric had not had an epiphany like his maker had. Eric had lost something, perhaps for the first time in his undead life, Sookie realized. Eric Northman was used to being in control and Eric Northman was used to winning, yet in the single most important battle he'd yet experienced, Eric had lost. He had not been able to triumph in a battle of wills with Godric, not been able to control his maker the way he effortlessly did nearly everyone else. He had been able neither to convince nor to force Godric to leave the roof. In her mind's eye, Sookie once again saw Eric on his knees before his maker, broad shoulders bent and shaking as he pled. She once again heard him begging, voice breaking, surely preternaturally aware of her presence on the roof yet indifferent to the witness to his defeat.
Eric did not deserve to die this way, his body engulfed in blue flame that would turn him to nothing but ashes on the early morning breeze, the telepath contemplated. Eric was a Viking, damn it, and he was meant to die with honor, in battle, not in surrender on his knees! Where was the glory in this?
She stayed, kneeling in front of him for what seemed like hours as she frantically thought of something, anything that would get him off this roof and into the sunless safety of the hotel.
"Eric…is there anything I can offer you, or do for you, that would stop this insanity? Because really that's what this is. Insane."
"What I want I know is not possible. There is nothing you can do or say to sway me from this path." His tone was firm.
"Tell me what it is that you think is impossible. You might be surprised." Sookie wanted to growl at him. Even in the depths of desolation, he still thought he knew everything, had thought of everything, and damn it if he still wasn't the most high-handed creature she'd ever met. Or at least, he still pretends he is, she thought. After those moments right before dawn yesterday, the only thing I know for sure is that there's far more to Eric than meets the eye. Though she was only a telepath and not a psychic, she got the feeling that he wasn't quite the monster he wanted everyone to believe he was.
His azure eyes glanced down towards her neck and then looked back up to her face. He waved his hand in a dismissive manner.
"It is of no concern anymore."
She knew immediately what he was referring to. Her mind flashed to the dream she'd had the night before, the dream of Eric stroking her, kissing her, loving her…and telling her that she had "the right temperament" for a vampire. Could she trade the sun for the moon and stars?
Was there anything really left for her back in Bon Temps, anyway? Gran was gone, Jason was…well, Jason, and nothing she did would change who he was. Sure, she had her job at Merlotte's, but really, how long could a telepathic girl works as a barmaid?
And then there was Bill...was there really anything with Bill? Sure they had some good memories, but wasn't it just tonight that Bill was telling her Eric's blood would cause her to become attracted to him? After Bill had gone to bed, Sookie had thought about that. She had ingested a copious amount of Bill's blood so soon after meeting him, so wasn't it possible that the same thing might have happened then? Was her attraction to Bill a result of her heart or his blood?
And…things had seemed strained between her and Bill lately. After Jessica's making, Bill seemed to close himself off emotionally. He hardly ever smiled anymore and when he did, it didn't reach his eyes. She had thought maybe things were starting to get better and then he had taken that cheap shot at Eric last night. Sure, Bill had every right to be angry over the sneaky bullet sucking episode, but seriously, hitting a man while he was down was never right in her book.
Was she really considering this? Could she really do it?
Watching Eric yesterday with Godric had shown her that there was another side to the vampire that not many, if anyone, got to see. Perhaps Eric had depths not even Bill had.
Yes...she could do this. It wasn't something she would really have envisioned for herself …but sometimes you made sacrifices for the people you cared about. And now she realized that yes, strangely she did care about Eric. And she would do this.
Her decision was made.
"Turn me," she whispered softly while raising her hand and laying it on his chest.
His blue eyes darted to meet hers and they pierced her, straight through to her soul.
"I mean it, Eric. Turn me. I'll be yours forever if you want me. You'll be there to teach me how to feed, you'll teach me all there is and can be between a maker and his child. Teach me about a world I don't understand. Become my father, my brother, my son. Teach me pleasure like I've never known." Despite feeling by turns both mortified and excited by her boldness, her tone was a little louder and filled with no uncertainty.
"Sookie, do you love me?" Eric asked while his right hand reached forward and weaved into her hair. He tugged back gently so her face was lifted to look at his.
"At the present time…no, I don't love you…but my heart tells me that someday I could." Her fingers gripped the front of his black sweater and she tugged it forward, hoping his body would follow the cloth.
He let the small human tug him forward but didn't respond as her lips met his. She knew he was still trying to fathom all the angles in this unexpected turn of events.
"Come on Eric...please do this!" she thought as she wound a hand into his hair, her fingers tangling in the golden locks.
Suddenly, his grip on her hair tightened and he returned her kiss. His tongue slowly moved over her bottom lip, seeking permission to enter. She sighed softly, opening to him, and his tongue swept inside. She knew she'd won this battle with him then. He was going to turn her, to keep her, and to stay alive.
Eric's free hand reached forward and grasped her hip, tugging her up against him. His lips released hers and moved down to her jaw, nipping softly. His mouth placed soft kisses along her slim neck and over to her ear where he whispered.
"Wrap your arms around my neck and your legs around my waist, Sookie. I'll accept your offer, but we won't do this here. I'm afraid there would be far too many distractions."
He never said the word Bill but she knew exactly what he was referring to.
She nodded and wrapped herself around his tall, well-muscled frame. His long arms wrapped themselves around her waist and he tucked her head under his chin, pressing her face into his chest. After a moment, he placed a surprisingly soft kiss onto the top of her head and took off into the pre-dawn sky.