Disclaimer: Just a kid in Alan Ball's candy store. I own nothing.
Occurs after the events of episode 4x04 when Pam is cursed and just before she goes to Bill's mansion. It sort of spins away after that.
The night Pam came to check on Eric for the first time in days, Sookie opened the door with hesitation. The vampire's normally very well done-up face was masked by a veil and her entire body covered in black fabric. It appeared as though she were stopping by after a funeral, though it was hard to imagine who Pam would go through the trouble of mourning over.
Black wasn't Pam's preferred color especially considering it was a requirement of what could loosely be thought of as Fangtasia's 'uniform'. This made her specific fashion choice for the evening that much stranger. Sookie moved aside to let her in but kept a suspicious eye, sensing something wasn't right.
"Mourning something?" she asked, not quite sure if she wanted to know the answer. Pam paused, back still turned, blocking everything but the excessive dark material from view. "You have no idea." Her voice was slightly off kilter from what Sookie remembered but couldn't put her finger on what had changed about it.
"Is everything…okay?" Sookie questioned curiously but cautiously, yet again weary of the response and wondering if she should be setting herself up to be in the middle of it. The lace distorted her facial features even as Pam turned toward her.
"What's the status on Eric?" The quick diversion was not lost on Sookie and it only served to heighten her curiosity.
"He's fine. He's upstairs watching Buffy. Why are you wearing a veil?"
The sentences were strung together so cohesively that Pam almost found herself answering without thought but stopped before she could fall trap to the Fae's sly technique. "He's watching Buffy? The Vampire Slayer? Doesn't sound very Eric…then again, I guess that's to be expected." Pam backtracked, forgetting that this man wasn't the Eric she knew and comparing the two was futile.
Sookie looked at the woman sadly for a brief moment before her head cocked to the side and she took a few steps toward her. "What's-…did you burn your cheek?" Motioning to the area, her eyes squinted slightly, trying to somehow penetrate the veil optically in order to uncover what was underneath.
"Something like that." Bringing a hand up to stop her from moving any closer, Pam added forcefully "Now, drop it." The other woman, however, didn't seem to be paying much attention; instead eyeing the hand Pam had extended. Grabbing it, Sookie's eyes widened. Large black spots were placed sporadically across the skin and in some places it cracked and bled. "Oh my god, what happened-" Before the statement could be finished, Pam's hand jerked swiftly away, covered by the other which appeared unharmed. Realizing the black gloves which completed her ensemble were still lying on the passenger seat, Pam inwardly scolded herself. "If we're done here, then I-"
"Pam" Sookie cut her off, eyebrow rising and tone turning serious as if she were reproaching a child and not a vampire a hundred years her senior. "I'm trying my best to keep Eric safe for you. You asked me to do you this favor and I am. The least you can do is tell me if something's going on that'll put me in more danger than I already am."
"I'm paying you to take care of Eric." Pam corrected pointedly.
"I could've refused."
"Actually, since this is Eric's house, he can stay here whenever he deems fit and there is very little you can do about it."
"Ugh, Pam!" The vampire really could be stubborn but Sookie was persistent. "If you don't tell me then I am going to resend your invitation." All she received was silence, as if the threat were meaningless. With a growl of frustration, Sookie added "And Eric's." Then he would have no place to hide and the witches, or Bill, would be sure to find him.
This seemed to have the desired effect. "Fine" Pam sighed, not looking forward to what she was about to do. "Don't scream." Her half-warning, half-demand, made Sookie swallow as the vampire raised her hands to lift the veil. Making an attempt to keep the noise in her throat from slipping from her lips, Sookie covered her mouth with both hands. A muffled noise, like a squeak, came from beneath her palms regardless of how hard they pressed down.
The right side of Pam's face was all but caved in, the skin which used to cover her cheek was completely abolished and the muscle inside black, appearing to have rotted away. The surrounding flesh was darkened to a royal purple, deep cracks spreading under her eye and down her neck, fractions were red with a mixture of irritation and blood. It was easily one of the most horrifying things Sookie had ever had the misfortune of laying her eyes on.
For a moment, they stood in that way, Pam gauging how utterly grotesque she must appear by the other woman's reaction and Sookie's hands glued over her mouth, fearing their release would liberate the scream Pam had asked her not to give.
It was almost an entire minute before Sookie blinked repeatedly, grasping the situation and clasping her hands to press against her chest. "Mother of God, what happened to your…face?" She didn't want it to come off offensive but Pam had to know what she looked like and the curiosity and concern got the best of her.
"That fucking Witch-Bitch, Marnie, is what happened to my face…what's left of it anyway." She spat Marnie's name as if the mere mention of it brought out a fire in her, which Sookie didn't doubt.
"But…why?"
"She was supposed to fix Eric. At least that's what Lafayette and his bitchy cousin promised me."
"Hey, that's my bestfriend!" Sookie defended automatically, not even noticing the words leaving her mouth until after the fact.
Incredulously, Pam made a sweeping gesture to her marred face. Sookie's hands waved in front of her in apology "Okay, okay, point made."
"Marnie or whoever the hell that was put a spell on me." She was practically growling with anger and it was understandable to say the least.
"Will it wear off?" Sookie asked hopefully.
"Not likely. Not without a reversal spell. Of course, the wiccan cunt is nowhere to be found."
"Oh..." Temporarily taken aback by the harshness of the other woman's words, she hesitated, not quite sure if Pam would appreciate her next question. "What exactly is happening to you?"
"I understood part of the spell. It said something along the lines of 'unsanctified corpse that walks, behold your true self' or some other bullshit. Basically, it's turning me into what I would be today if I wasn't a vampire."
"But…you'd be dead for like 100 years now."
"Exactly." Pam said as the girl put two and two together. "The walking dead technically."
Sookie grimaced "That's…awful. Maybe Bill knows someon-"
Before the thought could even resonate in her human mind, Pam cut it off. "Do not under any circumstance go to Bill. He can't know about this. I can't do what I have to if he has a part in it. We are still on no-kill status and that is not within the bounds of my prospective plans." Basically, Pam was going to fuck up every witch she came into contact with, King be damned.
"If they're dead they can't help you." The moral part of her wanted to save as many lives in this process as possible, even if what they were doing was beyond reprehensible.
"I don't need all of them alive." A wicked smirk pulled at the corner of her mouth before turning serious once more. "Hopefully one of them will know how to help Eric."
Realizing Pam hadn't been talking about getting vengeance for herself but for Eric, Sookie shook her head. "Eric's good, really, he's a rascal but he's not going anywhere. You should focus on you and this" she motioned to her face to symbolize Pam's current issue.
"It is rather horrifying isn't it?" Pam asked, knowing the answer, looking around for a mirror.
Trying to make sure she didn't find one, Sookie continued. "That's not what I meant. It looks…painful. Is it?" That was a stupid question and she knew it the minute it left her mouth.
"Have you ever had your body slowly decay while you were still living inside of it?" The question was rhetorical but it held no self-pity, only the attempt to explain.
"'Nuff said." Sookie waved the conversation away, not wanting to think about it. She understood and wished to leave it at that.
A chocked off scream came from the doorway. The two woman's eyes snapped over to meet Eric's dropped jaw and panicked expression.
Pam turned away with vampire speed. On one hand, she didn't want to frighten him. But on the other, she couldn't stand the way he was looking at her, how revolted he was by her.
Almost as quickly, Sookie was by his side, pulling him toward the living room.
Eric's eyes never wavered and Pam could feel them boring holes into the back of her head. "But-She's-How-But" His words ran together, no clear sentences coming through. It was obviously scaring him and Sookie tried to relocate him to his cubby.
"Come on, dear. It's okay." She tried to calm him while guiding them to the wardrobe.
"But her face-she looked-" Eric couldn't understand why the sight caused a pain to blossom in his chest, an ache that was strange since he didn't recognize the woman whatsoever.
"I know, I know" Sookie replied. "Let's go to bed. It's almost dawn. Come on."
Resisting the futile attempts to maneuver him, Eric felt something deep inside of him pull toward the kitchen, needing to fix her somehow, yet he held no desire to witness what he just had ever again. It played tricks with his consciousness. Was he disturbed or distressed? But then, was he scared for her or for himself? She was a stranger it had seemed. Yet, he always knew when she was at the door, even if he was safely tucked away in his cubby or up the stairs and out of sight. Sookie had informed him the vampire's name was Pam but had not spoken much more on the matter. Then again, Eric had not questioned it for the sake of his own sanity. They both seemed to silently agree that the past was not something either of them was fit to discuss much less hear. It struck him as increasingly odd, however, that when Pam was around he experienced emotions that were not his own. It was impossible to miss but he kept his mouth shut tight for fear of what the truth would reveal. It was hard enough for Sookie to take care of him; he didn't want to bring this Pam woman down with him too. Plus, if he was honest, she scared him a little. The emotions rolling off her in waves were always fraught with fear and anger, both of which frightened him. Now they were muddled with pain and despair, making it almost too much to stand to have her around at all. Why couldn't he block her out?
"Is she sick?" He asked, finding himself concerned over the answer.
"Yes, but she's not going to hurt you." Every creature that posed a possible threat made Eric jumpy so that was what Sookie immediately related his panic to.
The struggle died as she opened the wardrobe doors. "Is she dying?" His wide, sad eyes met hers, searching for honesty in her reply.
Sookie hesitated momentarily "Course not" She saved "Now, get in the cubby. You don't want to get the bleeds again." She ushered him in, waiting until he was safely at the bottom of the metal stairs before closing the doors.
When she finally made it back to the kitchen, Pam was gone. In her place was a slip of paper with her personal cell phone number on it.
