Eric shivered...he couldn't figure out what he was doing in the river, only in a pair of black boxer briefs. It was freezing against his own cold skin. The sky was dark...such a rich dark but not the same dark he remembered it. The last dark he remembered had been lit by fire-The stars burning bright behind the red glow of the fire. The last sky he remembered had been a sky covering the screams of men at war.

Of course, he knew it had been a long time since that sky had existed-That sky...well, it must be over a thousand years gone by now, and yet, it was still the last thing he could remember. He felt like he was young again, just a boy who was scared to die but not scared of death-No, the death didn't scare him. He wanted to see his family again, to hold his little sister and weep in the arms of his mother. For his father to brush the hair from his eyes and tell him he would be a great warrior and king one day.

It was the dying that had scared him. The thought of taking a final shuddering breath as he tried to push the life out of himself, releasing his soul to join whichever God's he was sure had taken his family in. They were good people. His parents had been good-Soft on him, perhaps. They hadn't taught him not to cry, nor had they taught him to be ashamed of weakness. He recognised this was not the usual way to treat a warrior. He had already been rough at the edges and burly by the time he was 19 years old…

19 years old; He had met death when he was 19 years old, turned by an 18 year old boy who had been at least a couple hundred years older than himself.

Memories of his childhood were pouring into his head, causing him to whimper in what could only be described as pain. It was hurting him to remember, to think about so much time lost. He was still standing waist deep in the rushing river and he quickly began to walk towards shore, pulling awkwardly at his boxers to keep the drag of the water from stripping him of what little clothes he appeared to have left.

As he reached shore he allowed himself to fall back into deep thought, trying desperately to remember, sitting down on the muddy bank of the river, pulling his dirty blond waves into a knot at the back of his head though it quickly fell undone around his shoulders again.

He couldn't remember who he was...I knew who he had been, but who was he now? Surely he was not still the same boy who had been bitten all those years ago, but not for the light in him could he remember the thousand years that had past. Only the very beginning of his past, now present.

Suddenly he heard what sounded like a huge animal growling behind him, and on instinct he jumped to his feet, beginning to run alongside the road. He ran quickly, but not at his vampire's pace. He couldn't think clearly enough to figure out running like a vampire-He had to think hard to make himself run like that. Had to concentrate on where he was going, and right now, he couldn't do that.

Headlights flared up behind him, the noise growing closer and he chastised himself...of course that had been the sound of a car, not an animal trying to kill him. He was a thousand year old vampire...or he thought he was, anyway. He slowed his pace looking pointedly away from the car as it pulled up beside him. It was 'if I don't look, it can't see me' logic, but honestly, Eric didn't feel much better than a four year old and that moment.

"Eric Northman! What in the name of Jesus Mary and Joseph are you doing out here in the dark without your clothes on?" said a blond woman from behind the wheel of the car. She looked at him suspiciously, like she thought he might eat her...well he might, he reminded himself.

"Eric Northman?" Eric repeated, surprised that this woman knew his name. She looked at him with familiarity, like he was someone she was friends with and they had just had a fight-Like she was looking after him but a little scared of him, also.

"Eric, stop it. I am so not in the mood for this tonight," The blonde said, looking at him with annoyance in her eyes, her lips puckered in a sneer. He sensed disdain and annoyance radiating off her. "Just...why the hell haven't you got your clothes on?"

Eric shook his head in confusion looking at her with huge blue eyes, bloody tears obviously eminent.

"I don't know who you are," Eric said, a quiver in the back of his voice. He sounded delicate, and possibly cracked already. His shoulders began to shake as he sat down on the side of the road, his head falling into his hands. "I don't know who I am, I don't know where I am…"

Sookie looked in utter confusion at the viking sitting on the side of the road. He looked fucked up, that was for sure. He was nearly naked and looked confused and sad and more than a little scared-A plethora of expressions that Sookie was certainly not used to seeing on Eric Northman's face.

Eric Northman who was so cruel, even manipulative, but no doubt cared deeply for certain vampires and people and places and things. Eric Northman who had been so rude and cruel to her.

Sookie pushed the thoughts away, grabbing a blanket from the back of her car and climbing out next to the sitting man. His shoulders were taught...he was crying. She gently wrapped the blanket around his shoulders, putting her arm around him protectively.

Sookie Stackhouse may have no idea what is going on, but she certainly wasn't one to let her sometimes friend suffer alone. He did seem to be suffering, somehow. He seemed to have finally been broken, and Sookie didn't know how.

"Eric, I'm taking you home," Sookie mumbled, trying to heave the massive man to his feet, sighing as she realised how futile the gesture was. "Common, whatever's happened you're a grown-ass man, deal with it like one," she said in exasperation, hitting his shoulder with a flat hand.

Eric looked up at her, his blood stained cheeks off putting to say the least.

"Who are you?" he asked, his breaths shaky as he took her in. "You smell...beautiful," he told her, his breathing still shaky though it seemed that concentrating on her was calming him down.

"I'm...I'm Sookie, I'm your friend," Sookie whispered, taking in Eric's full form, taking the blanket closer around him, pulling him carefully towards her body, careful to keep his mouth away from her neck his previous comment about her scent (as well as their history) making her rightfully wary of his teeth.

"Sookie...friend, Kamrat," Eric mumbled, reverting back to a language which felt more comfortable in his mouth. It rolled off his tongue, feeling warm and soft like the heartbeat pressed against his ear. This blonde woman, sookie, was his friend. He trusted her. "Sookie, min kamrat," Eric mumbled, letting her guide him to the car and push him in without much care.

Sookie looked him over carefully-He seemed unharmed, though it seemed his head and finally been done in...unless this was a trick, and she wouldn't put it past him. It might well have been a trick, and like the well-meaning fool that she was at times such as this she was taking him in.

"You ok?" she asked, starting to drive back towards her house. Eric still looked like a deer, with ridiculously blue eyes, stuck in the headlights.

"I don't know who I am," Eric answered, shaking his head, looking at her like she had answers. It was a look Sookie could get used to, she must admit.

"You're Eric Northman," Sookie told him reassuringly, reaching across the seat and taking his big hand in her own soft one. "You're gonna be right as rain, you'll see."