Author's Note-it has been a little while since my last story, sorry! As always, thank for your support and please read and review this story as well as the others I have posted. Thank you!

Chapter 1

He awoke with a start as a pair of small hands was shaking him hard, trying to wake him from his day rest. He could tell right away something was seriously amiss and as he sat up and gently took the hands of their daughter into his, Eric felt a sick feeling enter him, feeling something in the bond he had with Sookie. The night before, when they had returned from dealing with a warlock and a doppelganger of Eric, both of which had threatened to destroy his family as he knew it, Sookie had blamed herself for having fallen for the false Viking. And that she had nearly killed the real thing as she struggled to fight off the enchantment she had been under was not easy for her to cope with either. The last thing he had said to her was to not blame herself and that was hours ago, when she had drifted off to sleep. But she had looked despondent, more depressed than he had ever seen her. He had stoked her head gently, played with her hair in the soothing way he knew she loved and it had broken his heart as he knew how hard on herself she had been being. Though they had all survived and the double and the warlock now dead, he had thought it would just be another day in their more than interesting lives. Instead, though, it seemed all her fears and worried had taken a toll on her.

"Come on, mommy isn't waking up…I mean, she's awake but she's not listenin'…won't play dollies with me….." Aurora, in her excitement, had accidentally made her own small but still deadly fangs pop out and with a simple arched eyebrow and frown from Eric that couldn't help but smirk a bit, she bashfully put them away and took him by the hand, leading him straight to where Sookie was laying.

She was in her two piece pink silk pajamas and barefoot, a blanket covering her that the child had placed over her, knowing that she wasn't well. As young as Aurora was and as fast as the faerie-vamp child had grown over the past weeks, she was quite attuned to things around her, perceptive. She was far wiser than her five year old appearance would lead one to believe her as being and yet she was still quite young and prone to be scared and saddened like any normal child would be. This was certainly no exception. Tears were coming down her face as she rushed to the side of her stricken mother. "Mommy, mommy, wake up…daddy's here, wake up!" her pleas went unheard, Sookie remaining unblinking and pale looking. Taking the little one by the hand, he knelt at the side of the almost comatose-like Sookie. Though her eyes were open, he knew not if she could see, concern was etched on his face as he too tried to get her to snap out of it. Something was seriously wrong and there was but one person he though may know something of what was happening.

And of course, the fairy king had appeared before his name had managed to escape the lips of the Viking and though a little taken aback by the sudden appearance of Niall, Eric was nevertheless relieved as he impatiently gestured for him to come examine her.

"I sensed something was terribly wrong, which brought me here…..ah, little Aurora, you aren't as little as you were the last time I saw you….."

"Hi grampa Niall." Aurora said as he knelt down to hug him. "I got a good memory, I remember seein you when I was littler. Guess I got a smart brain, huh?" she said with a grin on her face as he returned the smile.

"You are quite unique, little one…." he replied as he ruffled her mane of long blonde hair and turned back to the couch to where his granddaughter lay.

"What happened to her? She was so depressed last night and the next thing I know I am woken up by Aurora and she brings me up here…..she shouldn't be sick, she can't get sick, being what she is…." Eric was kneeling at her side and fingering her hair, hoping somehow he could break her from this. But she remained motionless, lethargic. But he saw tears were falling and that she blinked gave him pause, hope. But still, she said nothing, did nothing. He let Niall get closer and as he watched the fairy king run his hands slowly over her body, hovering over her a few inches, there was a energy emitted, a soft light and Niall was muttering to himself.

"It is what I expected and worse." Niall said as he rubbed his face in distress. "Faeries are emotional beings and attuned to those around them. It is a rare thing but sometimes they can become so overburdened with not only their own emotions but those that they care for. Her fears, her worry, everything has manifested into her falling into this state. Her body, as strong and as powerful as it may be is no match for the burdens upon her mind and spirit. She can hear and see everything around her but can not react and unless we can heal her…." Niall didn't want to say anything in front of the little one but Aurora was astute.

"She'll die." Aurora said matter of factly, though her face was pained as she looked from her grandfather to her father to her ill mother. "How can we make her all better?" she asked with bright blue eyes, looking from one relative to the other and back to her mom again.

"Do you want to sit and talk to her for a few minutes while I talk to your dad? It may help your mom feel better." Niall crouched down to be closer to Aurora's height. It was clearly a diversion but the child didn't seem to mind and if she did, she showed no sign and instead was careful to crawl up and snuggled up with her mother and started rattling off things, mostly how it felt to be a big girl and not need diapers anymore. Simple, inane comments to be sure but the two others in the room couldn't help but appreciate the innocence of a child.

Niall was led into the nearby kitchen, Eric not wanting to be too far from the rest of his family and though he knew Aurora had supernatural hearing herself, he believed she would be too occupied with talking to Sookie to try to overhear the two in the kitchen. Leaning against the Italian marble counter where the sink was, the Viking hung his head as he had his back to Niall. He didn't want to let him see how troubled he was but knew he couldn't fool him. Turning to face him, the vampire was shaking his head. "One thing after another…..she felt so guilty…as if she was to blame for what those psychos did."

"From what I understand, that warlock wielded some seriously dark magic and even one as powerful as Sookie is, with her faerie power deriving from light, even she was vulnerable and shouldn't have been so hard on herself. But it doesn't change what we are dealing with now."

"So how do we deal with this, how can we snap her out of this?"

"WE can only do as your daughter us doing. Be with her, speak to her. Coax her to fight back, to live. I know it is not the fast answer you would like…..I would prefer to be able to use my power to being her back but no one can undo this save for Sookie herself. She has to want to keep moving forward, to forgive herself." Niall said wearily. "And to be honest, this has been a long time coming, from the day her faerie powers were awakened and all the traumas she has dealt with….something had to give and she has always been hard on herself. More so since she got together with you for the long haul. I have always peeked in on the two of you and know she loves you and the little one more than anything. That she has fallen into such a state says how badly she feels, the heavy guilt she feels." Niall walked over to the vampire and patted his shoulder. "I always wanted the best for her and I know that she got it. As rough and as bloodthirsty as you can be. As cruel….lately it has only been to protect those you love. It wasn't really all that long ago when you would have used her for her powers and tossed her aside after draining her, now was it?"

The bitter truth of his words stung Eric but he had to admit that in the beginning, when he had first met Sookie, he had though her powers interesting, as something to exploit for his own gain. Then, he cared not about knowing the woman behind the powers but as time went on, she had piqued his curiosity. "I am better for her entering my life…..that I was ever so cold, so….." he trailed off. "I am still someone to be reckoned with, no one should make that mistake."

"And there is that pride of yours, never wanting anyone to know the best of you…" Niall mused. "Pride is not going to get us anywhere, what we need to do is get anyone and everyone that is close to her in order for them to say their pieces in the hopes that she will respond and return to us. Our timeframe, I am afraid, is limited."

"Of course it is. How much time do you think we-she-has?"

"After reading her body energies with my own magic, I think we have a matter of hours. I have never seen this illness move so fast and it can only be because of the burdens, the guilt, the emotions she is feeling. And humans don't believe that emotions can make one ill…." he returned to the living room where they had left Sookie and Aurora and he stopped dead in his tracks by the heart wrenching sight, the youngster curled up asleep against the all but lifeless body of her mother and as he turned to the figure that he knew was close behind, Niall was unsurprised to hear the shattering of glass behind him, the anger and the frustration of the situation being unleashed by the still exhausted Viking. There was a flash of light and Eric was down on his back, looking up into the frowning face of Niall. "I believe your home has suffered enough damage as of late and it wouldn't do anyone any good to have more of a mess when she awakens, correct?"

He said nothing as he got up on his feet again, raking a hand through his hair. He could only stare, "I am willing to do anything to save her…."

"Then start. Go to her and tell her…everything you have ever wanted to. Things you have held back. You have changed, that there is no doubt and part of you wants to hold on to that violent persona. And I am not telling you it is wrong to keep that part of you alive. Fir it has certainly helped save you and your own numerous times. But unless you can truly reveal your deepest thoughts, feelings to her, then you cant possible reach her and thus bring her out of this. It is through the bond you two share-both physical and emotional-that you must use to save her. You and you alone can save her, even if I had all your family gathered around her, the bonds she has with them are not the same. It is the uniqueness, the past you share that has made it have to be you. And so I ask you now….are you ready to do this?"

Saying nothing, Eric moved back towards the couch and asked Niall to take the sleeping Aurora to her room. Alone with the fallen figure upon the couch, he could feel her slipping from him through their bond and that he seemingly was the only one who could pull her out if this? All the smugness, the arrogance and the swagger that ha still carried with him was being stripped from him as he sat at her side, humbled by the situation before him.

To Be Continued