Author's Note:

I just can't stand the fact that Sooki killed Bill and STILL didn't end up with Eric. What is wrong with these people? Eric and Sooki are perfect for each other. So...ado', to Eric and Sooki. Sort of a different time line. Sooki never did get married and never did end up pregnant at the end.

Sookie Stackhouse stared up at the one place she shouldn't be. Just one of the many places she didn't want to be. The morning sun glared down at her, reminding her that the Vampire bar was closed. Well, that made sense, didn't it? Why she was here, just a little bit tipsy and in her pajamas—that was a good question.

Jason was probably going to have her ass when—if—he found out she'd taken a late night drive with the slightest amount of alcohol in her system.

Staring up at the sign that read Fangtasia, Sooki told herself to turn away. She imagined her legs working and making the steps back to the truck but they didn't obey her fogged mind.

The thought from the night before came again, unbidden and unwanted.

She was lonely.

Sooki Stackhouse—Fairy, trouble seeker, lover of vampires and apparently everything paranormal, was lonely. She couldn't sleep at night anymore. Vampires had changed that. Fairies had changed that. Werewolves, Shifters and pain in the ass Gods, too.

No, that wasn't it. She had Jason and Jessica. She had Andy, Sam and Arlene. They had moved on with their lives, but she still had them. She had Eric and Pam in a sort of twisted kind of way, if that made sense. She was just...missed. She missed a lot of things.

She missed Gran and she missed Tara. She Pam and her bitchy attitude. She even missed Eric. How or when that had happened, she really didn't know. Everyone was moving on without her and she seemed to be stuck in time.

Sooki almost laughed at the thought. She wasn't the one stuck in time. It was just...moving on without her. It was just one of those times where she was thinking too much and there was no one to stop her. She didn't want to think. She wanted to numb the boring reality of her life and what it had become, of everything she had lost and gained in return.

The pads of her slippers protected her feet from the hard pavement as she walked to the door and pulled. It didn't budge. Well, of course it wouldn't.

"What the hell are you doing, Sooki?" Sooki muttered to herself.

"Getting a drink free of charge. Duh." Sooki responded back and was she really having a conversation with herself?

This was what happened when she drank alone and the world closed in on her. She felt as if she'd given up everything...everything...Bill, Tara...Eric...

She slapped her palm up against the door. "Hey Ginger, it's Sooki!"

Where was the dumb blonde that Eric and Pam had spoken so unfondly of? They weren't very fond of her, but they were fond just enough to trust her with their business in the daylight hours. She perked up as she heard movement inside and then the door cracked open and she caught a glimpse of Gingers blonde hair through the cracked door. "Sooki?"

"The one and only." She pushed against the door with one hand but Ginger stood firm. "Can I, ah, come in?"

"Oh, ah, of course."

Sooki sailed past the shocked Ginger and headed straight for the pristine bar across the room. It was odd to see it so empty. She moved behind the bar and reached for for a bottle of Tequila and then opted for the Whiskey.

She was already buzzing and thankfully the liquor blocked any wayward thoughts from Ginger. Sooki wasn't so sure she would have been able to take the thoughts coming her way. She was suddenly tired of it. The feeling of loneliness, of the thoughts she couldn't control. It just wasn't fair.

"Ah—what are you doing, Sooki?"

Sooki looked up from pouring the whiskey into a shot glass. "Oh, don't worry. Eric said I could." The lie slid from her lips smoothly. What was one bottle of whiskey? What was a shot of tequila? What was a little fruity squirt added?

"Oh...okay."

Sooki downed the whiskey in one swallow and then winced as it burned a path down her throat. "God, I hate whiskey." She gasped out, bracing a hand against the bar top.

"So...Eric said you could come here and have a few drinks?" Ginger asked again.

"Yes." Sooki said and filled the shot glass again just for the hell of it. "It's better than having the place filled with vampires who smell me and then want to eat me all at once." The bar was clean and clear of any empty bottles or napkins and Sooki lifted herself up onto the bar top and then sank down length wise along the smooth counter top, staring up at the dimly lit ceiling. "Sometimes I miss the days before vampires...life was so much simpler then. But then I remember, Jessica, Pam and Eric. So it's not so bad."

Sooki leaned up partially to down another shot of whiskey before falling back. Not so bad this time around. "Eric's a complete asshole." Sooki murmured.

"He's not so bad once you get to know him." Ginger responded.

Sooki turned onto her side, folding one arm beneath her head. "Oh, I know...he's just an asshole. Going around and claiming things. You're mine, Sooki." Sooki lowered her voice on the last sentence, mimicking Eric as best she could.

She remembered in vivid detail when Eric had shown up that night with the keys—his keys—to her house and claiming that she was his. He fucking owned her. The sexilicious vampire didn't own shit except for Fangtasia and New Blood. She sighed, closing her eyes.

She rolled onto her back and brushed her fingertips over her collarbone. "He's just...oohh." She was angry. She'd moved on from her Werewolf shifter and she'd even moved on from Bill. "He doesn't just kiss, he kisses." Sooki said suddenly and Ginger giggled. "I couldn't walk straight for a week without limping." She murmured.

Sooki turned her head and noticed the empty bottle of liquor. Oops. Had she really already drank a whole bottle? She sat up and swung her legs over the edge of the bar and then leaned forward. She remembered that exact moment she'd had to make a decision between Bill and Eric. Eric had looked so hopeful at first. She'd chosen neither. She really hated that the memories were suddenly so fresh in her mind. She hated both vampires for having taken over her life so easily. She'd fallen for Eric just as hard and she hated him for it.

"You know when a Vampire bonds?" Sooki asked Ginger.

"Not really."

What good was the blonde if she couldn't answer any of her questions? She hadn't really asked any questions, had she? And why was Ginger so calm but she felt so out of control in the world right now? She sniffled.

"It's just...a bond. It never goes away." Sooki lowered her voice to a near whisper. "Sometimes I swear I can still feel him."

"Eric's still Eric, you know. He wouldn't bond with someone he didn't truly care for."

Sooki recoiled. She knew Eric had cared for her. She didn't want him caring for her. She didn't want to care for him. She covered her face with her hands. "Thanks a lot." She peeked out from between her hands. "Can I ask you something?"

Ginger nodded.

"Does he still smell like Eric?"

"Excuse me?"

"Good? Like Eric? He always smelled so...good." Sooki murmured, her words coming too close together.

"What. The. Hell?" A familiar feminine voice spoke, breaking the paused silence.

Ginger jumped clear off the table she'd been sitting on and Sooki lowered her hands a fraction of an inch. Pam stood across the room, a baffled expression on her face as she took in the shot glasses and three empty bottles on the bar top. Eric stood to the left of her with an amused expression on his face.

Sooki gave a small squeak and fell over backwards behind the bar.

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