The Northman rise: prequel to making it all worth it
E-pov
We are all sitting around the bar and Sookie is wearing a ridiculous hat covered in gift bows. I was under the impression that men did not attend baby showers; however, I find myself far too possessive of Sookie now that her pregnancy is nearing its end. As a result, I had Pam extend the guest list to all of our close friends.
I look back at Sookie who is laying a little one-piece baby outfit on her stomach, as if envisioning what it would look like. I can't help but smile. I really hope our son is born soon because I can hardly wait. She just entered her seventh month and we really have no idea how long she will go because of the unusual nature of our child. Ludwig has been saying for two months that it could be any day and I am losing my patience.
I look up and see the witch walking up to me. I set down my phone to try my best to use the "Southern manners" Sookie has been trying to teach me and say, "Are you having fun, Amelia?"
"I'm having a great time, Eric! I got you a present." She says, as she thrusts a box into my lap. If she was not Sookie's best friend and Pam's lover, I would snap her neck for being so pushy. But in the end, she is quite loyal and seems to like me despite my best attempts not to be chummy with her.
"I believe it is customary for all of the gifts to go to the Mother and child-to-be." I say, turning the box over in my hands and gazing back at Pam who is trying to suppress her laughter. I have a feeling whatever is in this box has had Pam's touch also.
"Oh, just open it ya big lug!" She says, as she gives my arm a small shove. I don't like to be touched (except by Sookie), but I will let it slide.
"Fine." I begin to open the box and I can see it is a black t-shirt in my size and a baby sized t-shirt. I shoot the witch (who is now vibrating with laughter) a warning look that she is very unlikely to take seriously. I unfold the shirts and look at them side by side and read what mine says, "I don't bite", and the baby shirt says, "That's not what Mom says".
I just look up at her and she says, "Flip them over!" Now she is jumping and giggling and I can see Sookie waddling over, leaning on Stan for support. Oddly enough, I trust him enough to be in contact with my bonded.
"Am I going to have to kill you?" I ask, in a bored tone.
"You are going to want to, but ya won't!" I just roll my eyes and turn them over to see that they both say, "Property of Sookie Northman: MINE!" I can't help but crack a smile, it is a funny joke because I know very well how Sookie feels about the whole "mine" thing. But she is Mine and she can stuff it, I will say it all I want, to whomever I want.
I say, "Thank you, Amelia. They are actually quite funny. My son and I shall have to wear them for you sometime." She squeals and throws herself at me in a hug.
I just pat her back awkwardly and say, "Yes, yes, that's enough, return to Pam, now." I peel her off of me and turn her in the direction of my progeny who is still laughing.
I suddenly see Sookie stand and clutch her stomach. I am instantly by her side and ask, "What is wrong? Is it the baby? Should I call Ludwig?" I am on my knees in front of her, easing her back into the chair.
"Oh, I'm fine. I have had a stomach ache off and on all day and now it seems like it comes and goes every few minutes." I just smile at her and rub her hands when I hear someone clear their throat behind me. I turn to see the fucking fairy twins.
"Sookie, you're in labor," says Claude in an almost teasing tone that I do not care for.
"How would you know, Claude? When was the last time you had a baby?" Sookie snapped back. Then it hit me, I can't smell them and it seems neither can any of the other vampires.
"Why can I not smell you?" I ask. Then, Claudine pipes up.
"I can answer both questions for you. First, we know you're in labor because as your fairy godmother, I got the call as soon as you got close. Second, Claude and I turned 400 this week and it seems our newest gift is that we can now mask our scent like Niall." She rubs Sookie's stomach and I have to suppress a growl.
"IT'S BABY TIME!" Claudine shouts.
"No…." Sookie says.
"It's okay, Lover. We are prepared for you to give birth here. I was ready for you to go into labor in any location." I say, trying to soothe her, but I am jumping with excitement at the prospect of the birth of my son.
"No, Eric, there are 70 voids surrounding the club, two of which are very familiar." I have a feeling what this is and I was expecting it, just not tonight.
"Sookie, go to my office with the twins, they will protect you. I will take care of this." I pick her up and carry her in, followed by the wonder twins, Pam, Amelia, Russell, Bartlet and Stan.
"Oh, Eric, I can't deal with Vampire shit tonight. Can you make them try back tomorrow?" she says, starting to cry.
"I'm sorry, lover. I must end this tonight. You will be safe, nothing will happen to you."
"BUT WHAT ABOUT YOU!" She screams, clutching my shirt, trying to keep me from leaving.
"I will be fine, lover."
"Yes, he will be fine," says Stan, "Texas stands by King Northman and his queen."
"As does Mississippi and Indiana," says Russell and Bartlet.
"See lover, this could not have happened at a better time, now we have back up. I will return to you soon, but we do not have time to waste." I stand up and grab my sword off the wall.
As I go to leave the room, Sookie props herself up on her elbows and says, "What the fuck! King Northman? Fuck this shit! I SAID FUCK IT!" I just walk out with a wink and say, "Language, my dear, language."
I leave my office ready to get Felipe and Victor off my back and to their final deaths once and for all. They were warned when my area succeeded from their kingdom that if they continued to pursue us it would be to their end.
Oddly enough, Area 5 flooded with hundreds of Vampires swearing fealty to me from both Nevada and Arkansas, not to mention almost every vampire in Louisiana is now crammed in my area. Looking back on it, we should have succeeded two years ago, right after this shit happened because it seems his kingdom was anything but loyal to him.
"Pamela, set out the call. It has begun." She quickly leaves to summon all of the vampires in my area to come fight. Soon, I will be king. I never wanted this, but it seems I have no choice to protect my family.
"Witch, can you cast a spell to mark any that may mean Sookie, me, or Alex any harm?"
"I'm all over that, captain! Oh and P.S. I swear fealty to you and your family."
"You're not a vampire." I say, to which she just looks indignant.
"I don't care. I do what I want!" I just roll my eyes as she begins to chant. I walk onto the main floor and see one of Stan's vampires begin to glow. I growl and prepare to charge him, but before I can Stan cuts his head off with one clean swipe. Then, he shouts, "All of Texas will defend King Northman of Louisiana and his Queen and Prince!"
"As will Mississippi and Indiana!" yells Russell, who is loading his quiver with really bad ass silver-tipped arrows.
"Aye!" yells every mouth in the room. No sooner did we establish loyalty then Felipe burst through the front door followed by Victor and their squad of idiot vampires. As it seems the only ones who stayed with them were not worthy to have been vampire in the first place, killing them will be no loss to me. There shall be no survivors tonight and no chance for mercy. Felipe starts to talk and it is everything I could do not to kill him right there, but a perverse curiosity in me really wanted to hear his reasoning for this.
"Northman! You shall surrender the telepath! She is rightfully mine and belongs to my kingdom. As for the creature growing in her womb, I think I will just rip it out with my bare hands." He begins to laugh like some sort of mad man.
"You will do nothing of the sort. My WIFE will stay with me. You were warned about entering my territory and now you and your men will all die." I look around the room and say, "Tonight we take no prisoners, all must die. Kill any who glow, for they mean us harm!"
With that, the fight broke out inside the club. I am killing vampires right and left and it feels amazing! Soon I could hear the others from my area start to arrive and kill all who were still waiting outside. As the fight begins to thin out, I am looking for Felipe and Victor because until they are both dead, this will never be over. I see Sandy on top of the bar, wrestling with Victor. She had obviously arrived with them, but had no intention of fighting for them. 'Good Girl,' I think. I am trying to make my way to her because Victor is almost a full century older than her and she will not last long against him.
I am having a hard time fighting my way to her and I see she is beginning to really struggle. I fear I will not get there in time; until I see Pam fly onto his back, grabbing his head.
She then shouts to me, "Master, may I?" I have never been so proud. I will let her have it, as he has wronged her just as much as me.
"Take your kill, my child." I say, as I approach her. With one swift tug, she rips his head off and spits down his neck that is now flaking to ash. Sandy thanks her and grabs her knives off of the floor.
I ask her, "Where is Felipe? Has he perished yet?"
"I don't know. I'm sorry." She says, as she drives a piece of broken wood into a vampire trying to attack me from behind.
"We must find him!" Then, we all hear a scream and see the green glows begin to flicker. Pam looks up and says, "Amelia!"
We run towards the back where she was casting her spells. This fight has gotten far too close to Sookie for my taste. We see Felipe with his hand around her neck. She is desperately trying to continue her chant, but I can see the light leave her eyes and she is now just faintly mouthing the words. Pam's eyes streak red from tears and she launches at him. He drops the witch and she takes a few deep breaths before beginning to chant again. She is strong and I can respect that.
I can't get to him because his goon squad is holding me back. He punches Pam into the shelves of booze and she goes limp. I can tell from our bond that she is hurt, but not dead. Then I watch as he strolls up to my office door and kicks it open while looking me straight in the eye. I am filled with a level of rage I have never felt before and I need to close my side of the bond so as not to accidently kill Sookie with my anger.
When I finally get to the door, I hear Felipe say, "You are mine and will come with me!"
I then hear Sookie, my precious angel, yell back, "I'm Eric's and I'm not in the mood for this shit!" I watch as she summons a sword and takes off his head. As his body turns to ash, her water breaks all over his remains, as if in a final fuck you from my son.
"Where are the twins? When did you learn to summon? Oh my Gods, are you okay?" I ask all at once.
"Iron powder. I don't know, this is the first time. And no, I want this baby out now!" She screamed, pointing at the twins lying helplessly on the ground. She is now leaning on my desk sobbing. I pick her up and sweep everything off of the desk.
"Where is Ludwig? We called her before they even started the attack." I say, as I gently lay Sookie back and grab a pillow from the now mostly ash covered couch to support her head. Then I hear a "pop" and see the little demon doctor sliding on her gloves next to me.
"I had to wait until the fight was over. I have to stay neutral, King Northman." She says with a slight bow. She lifts Sookie's dress and says, "Oh my, you are moving right along, aren't you?"
"Baby… out… now… PLEASE!" Sookie screams, causing the little doctor to chuckle.
"Always such good manners. Northman, spray this on the twins to render the iron powder inert." I give her a slight scowl as I snatch the little spray bottle from her and proceed with my task. I soon see the twins begin to return to their normal color and start to stir. Next, I see Pam being walked in by Amelia who is holding her wrist to my child's mouth. I really don't know why Pam has not turned her already.
"Master, it is done. They are all dead, you are King." She sits down on the couch and I see her start to heal at a rapid pace.
"Indeed," I say, as I turn back to Sookie screaming.
"I WANT THE DRUGS!" the little doctor shakes her head and says, "My dear, you are too far along and we already discussed you could not have them anyway because you are Fae and it could kill you."
"I'm only a smidgen Fae, please gimmie gimmie?" Sookie sobs, hands extended her and eyes closed, as if someone could place relief in her palms. I stroke her hair away from her balmy forehead. "Lover, may I use the bond to take the pain on myself?" I ask, honestly how bad could labor pains be?
"Please, Eric do it!" I take her pain and put it on myself. At first, it is not that bad and totally manageable. 'Sookie must have very little threshold for pain,' I think to myself. Then about a minute later a contraction starts and I am brought to my knees. My eyes start to tear up and I clutch my back and stomach, not able to decide what is worse. It feels like my organs are being ripped apart.
"Oh Master, it cannot be that bad." Pam says, laughing.
"Oh, you want to see how bad it is?" I ask, before sending the pain from Sookie and I's bond through to my maker/ child bond causing Pam to scream and fall down.
"OH MY GOD, MY VAGINA IS BEING RIPPED APART! I am so sorry, Sookie!" Pam yells as she crawls to hold Sookie's other hand.
"You're crowning. It is time to push on the next contraction," Ludwig says.
"Eric, let me have the pain back. I want to feel him being born." Sookie says, completely calm now.
"Are you out of your mind woman? This is worse than growing back a limb! But if you want it, you got it." I stop taking her pain into the bond and give a sigh of relief. Men were not meant to have babies and now I know why.
I see Sookie wince and start to bear down.
"Breathe Sookie, just breathe, my lover." I say, remembering my instructions from the Lamaze class she made me take with her.
"This is all your fault, Eric Northman!" she screams as she pushes.
"I'm so sorry, lover. I love you so much and soon we will have our son." I say, trying to send her calm through the bond.
"Fuck you AHHHHHHHHHHH! I never want your dick near me again!" she yells as she pushes again.
"You don't mean that." I say, praying to any god that will listen that she does not really mean that.
"One more push, Sookie," says the little doctor. I can no longer suppress my fangs, as the smell of her blood has become far too rich. I look and see Pam's have come out as well. She looks at me and says, "I'm fine," as she continues to stroke Sookie's hand.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Sookie screams, then the world seems to stop. Everything slows down when I hear the cries of my son for the first time.
"Would you like to cut the cord?" the doctor asks me. I'm in a little bit of shock, just staring with a gaping mouth at the little being sitting in her arms. "Northman?" she says again. I lean over and cut the cord with my fangs and watch as she puts a small clamp on his stomach.
"I had scissors, but whatever works for you," she says with a shrug. Then, she wraps him up and sets him on Sookie's chest.
"He's perfect," she whispers.
"Yes, he is." I say, stroking her hair and giving her a kiss, then a kiss to my son.
"I didn't mean it… I like your dick being near me." I let out a little laugh and have an internal happy dance.
"I know, lover." I was just watching my son… this is something I thought I would never get. It almost feels like a dream and I am frightened that I will wake up and this will all be gone.
"What's his name?" Amelia asks, wiping both her and Pam's tears away.
"Alexander Leif Northman," Sookie says with a wide smile.
"Leif, that's hilarious," Claude says, as he and Claudine begin to recover quicker.
"We thought so," I say, stroking my son's head while looking at my wife.
In this moment, everything is perfect, everything is right.