Author's Note: When I watched this particular part of True Blood I couldn't help but think that it would make an excellent fic. What if Sookie had been standing just outside Eric's door? What would her decision have been? Plot of the book has been tweaked for my own enjoyment but hey! It's fanfic where's the harm in that? This is my first forray into this particular fandom so be kind, thank you!

DISCLAIMER: Any recognizable characters are not mine, don't bother to sue I'm really really poor.

Summary: "I'll take the girl." Borrows a bit from True Blood but mostly based off the books. In an attempt to rescue Bill, Sookie accepts Eric's offer. Life is going to get even more complicated now that the Sheriff of Area 5 has been thrown into the mix.


Prologue: Trade


Long Shadow's blood soaked through my once pristine dress and I knew there would be no chance of salvaging it. With a small sigh I continued to wipe the visible blood off my body, yet still I felt it seeping through the fabric as if to consume more of my skin. I shuddered in slight disgust as I tossed the used paper towel into the nearby waste basket. Where the hell was Bill? Pam had lead me to the employee bathroom to wash up and after that had disappeared, probably to glamour Ginger. Eric and Bill had also vanished, to where I was not sure though. Hesitantly I stepped out of the bathroom glancing around in hopes of catching Bill, no such luck.

I walked through the back hallways of Fangtasia, listening intently with hopes of finding out just where Bill was. Hopefully I would be able to find him without running into Eric or Pam along the way. The two Vampires made me more then a little uncomfortable, although admittedly Eric made me more uncomfortable then Pam. Even when I had first come into Fangtasia I had noticed how he almost absorbed all the energy in the room. It was impossible not to notice the blonde, as Bill had pointed out. Pam was a bit of an anomaly to me, that first night she had been dressed like a stereotypical Vampire. Tight corset and lots of black, yet today the soft pastels she had worn made her look more like a primary school teacher then a Vampire. I was torn from my thoughts when I heard the slight ping of a microwave going off and slowly walked towards the direction the noise had come from. There was a door barely cracked open at the end of the hall, I walked as quietly as I could and strained my ears to hear what was going on in that room.

"I don't think about it, it's sustenance that's all." Bill said and my heart skipped a beat, I had found him! Just as I began to move my hand to open the door a wry chuckle not belonging to Bill also drifted out and I froze, "What?" Bill asked in response to the laughter that I assumed most likely belonged to Eric.

"If you're their poster boy the mainstreaming movement is in very deep trouble." Eric's tone was smooth and amused, "True Blood...it keeps you alive but it will bore you to death."

"Let's cut to the chase shall we?" Bill's tone was a little sharp and I frowned slightly, cut to what chase?

"You killed a vampire Bill...for a human. What are we going to do about this?" My eyes widened, that's what the problem was? That Bill had staked Long Shadow in an attempt to protect me?

"What do you have in mind?"

"I'll take the girl." Anger and a hint of fear flowed through me at that moment, Bill had told me that Eric was his superior but there was no possible way for him to just say that I was his! I was a person, not some object to be passed around the two Vampires.

"No!" Bill's rage echoed my own and my heart leapt at how quickly he rose to my defense. There was another moment of silence before Bill spoke once more, "You can have anyone you want, why do you want her?"

"Why do you want her?" Was Eric's quick response to Bill's anger and I tried to quietly sneak even closer, "Ms. Stackhouse it is rather rude to eves drop, please join us." Obviously I hadn't been quiet enough, I thought as I scowled at the mostly closed door, Vampire's with their heightened senses. But he was right, Gran would have boxed my ears for such behavior. My heart tightened slightly as I thought of Gran, and how I would no longer ever come home to a warm smile and a kind word. I slowly gathered my courage and pulled open the door. Both Vampire's turned to look at me, Bill looked like he was trying to keep his expression blank but he was obviously tense, while Eric was leaning back in the chair behind his desk with an amused grin playing at his lips.

"Sookie..." Bill began his voice slightly strained.

"Bill." Eric spoke his name as if it were an order, which I supposed it was because immediately Bill's lips closed forming a tight line. "Please take a seat Ms Stackhouse." He smiled at me without flashing fang and gestured to the chair beside Bill.

"I'd rather stand thanks." I said crossing my arms across my chest looking over at the ancient Vampire, "why would Bill get in trouble for protecting me?" It made no sense to me, people who killed in order to protect others were not charged with murder. Why would Bill killing Long Shadow be a problem?

"The murder of another Vampire is a very serious offense Ms Stackhouse," Eric said, "particularly in these rather volatile times since the Revelation. We can not afford to have our numbers depleted."

"But he did it to protect me! Long Shadow was going to kill me!" I said outraged, "couldn't I say something to your court or whatever? Testify on his behalf?"

"No." The answer was simple and so final, I looked back and forth between the two Vampires. My mind was racing and I wished that there was some way I could figure out what to do. Bill had gotten himself in a great deal of trouble in order to protect me, there had to be something I could do to protect him.

"What...what will they do to Bill?" I asked Eric, how did one punish a Vampire anyway? They were already immortal and their only weaknesses seemed to be sunlight, silver, and garlic.

"If he were given the usual punishment he would be placed in a coffin wrapped in silver for five years. In which time he would starve, whither away to the bare bones, and ultimately go insane." My eyes widened in shock, that was absolutely barbaric! I had seen the effects that silver had on a vampire, and it was not a pretty. But to be encased in a coffin surrounded by silver for 5 years? Being unable to feed? I couldn't let something like that happen to Bill, not after all he had done for me.

"I heard you talking," I said hesitantly unsure of how to approach the subject. I had bargained with Eric earlier on in the evening about whether or not he would turn the person responsible for stealing from his business to the police, and here I was about to try once more. If there was one thing I'd learned in the short time I'd known Vampires was that they were extremely slippery and that I would have to choose my words carefully. "What did you mean by 'I'll take the girl'?"

"No!" Bill said standing so quickly I didn't even see him move, "Sookie don't--"

"Shut up Bill." Again Bill's mouth closed immediately, but still he looked into my eyes and it was almost if I could read his silent mind. His gaze begged me to not say anything further, pleaded with me to stay away from Eric. Yet how could I say nothing and let Bill suffer when he was just trying to protect me. I looked at him apologetically before returning my attention to Eric as he spoke once more, "when we first met Bill claimed that you were his and you acknowledged this. Should you agree I will take you."

"Take me?" I asked hesitantly, I had an idea of where all this was going but I knew one thing for certain, I definitely did not like the look of amusement on Eric's face.

"You would be mine." Eric said simply flashing me a charming smile with just a hint of fang. I have to admit that it most certainly made me a little weak in the knees, but how could it not? As much of a bastard as I thought Eric was, there was no denying that he was indeed a very fine example of masculine beauty.

"I'm not some possession to be traded around Buddy!" I snapped glaring at Eric who looked visibly surprised by my choice of words. Hah! Take that!

"Buddy? Buddy!?" His tone was incredulous as if he had never had anyone speak back to him. Which was probably the case I supposed, the way that Bill had immediately yielded to his orders and the description Bill had provided me of Eric. He was the oldest Vampire in 'Area 5', whatever that really meant.

"You heard me!" I snapped wondering if this tirade was such a good idea, "I won't have you, either of you." I added looking down at Bill before turning back to face a very annoyed blonde vampire, "acting like I'm something that can be traded! I'm not--"

"Then Bill will go before the magistrate to face his judgement," Eric's statement cut through my tirade. I closed my mouth and bit my lip remembering just how serious the situation truly was, "I would not treat you poorly if you were mine Miss Stackhouse, make no mistake you will be very...very well taken care of." I could feel his leer raking across my body and there was no doubt in my mind how he intended to 'take care' of me. Part of me wanted to protest that I would not be spoken to in such a way, but I couldn't bring myself to say something against the obvious sexual undertone of his words.

"I'm my own woman I don't need to be taken care of." I said frowning at him, he simply continued to grin at me obviously amused by my words.

"We can discuss the terms at a later time Miss Stackhouse, however I need to know now. Shall I call the magistrate or can we avoid that rather...unpleasant bit of business." Eric asked and once more all eyes in the room were on me, the decision was now firmly in my hands. Maybe I should have just stayed in the bathroom as Pam had directed and waited until Eric and Bill had finished talking. Had I done that though I definitely would have condemned Bill to the coffin. I shut my eyes for a moment, just a few weeks ago I'd never imagined I would have gotten mixed up in such a mess. I had been just crazy Sookie Stackhouse, waitress at Merlotte's. Now I was Sookie Stackhouse in the middle of a tug-of-war between two vampires. With my first boyfriends life (or un-life?) on the line.

"Alright." I said turning my head to the side not wanting to look over at Bill and see the expression on his face. Nor did I particularly want to look over at Eric who I imagined was looking extremely smug. As silence filled the room Pam stepped inside holding what appeared to be a piece of vinyl in her left hand. She looked at me and then at the other two vampires with a raised brow, yet she too remained silent.

"Please go change Sookie," Eric said dropping all formality, "we will discuss terms after you have cleaned up." With that Pam thrust the vinyl...outfit I suppose one could call it into my hands. With a hesitant glance back I walked out of Eric's office and back towards the employee bathroom, wondering if I'd just made a bad choice. Had I sold my soul to the devil? A six foot four blonde vampire who was just as dangerous as he was gorgeous?

Probably.


AN: Please leave me a review and tell me what you think, I apologize for the short length of this chapter but it is just a prologue. If the response is positive I'll be sure to try and have an update up before I begin finals! Thank you very much!