OMG! I cannot believe all the reviews I have gotten for this story! I don't think I've ever gotten that many for one single chapter ever! Thank you all so much. Also thanks for the adds to alerts and favorites. Those make me happy too! Keep it up please! I totally beg you!

First, I'd like to let you know that I am not doing any research for this story. I don't know or care if all the legal stuff is accurate or not. That is not what this is about so I'm not waisting my time on research. It's more about the other stuff that is happening that I want everyone to focus on.

Second, I want to let you all know that next on my agenda is to finish my next chapter of One Year Later. It's almost done and I'm hoping to have it up by tomorrow. After that I am going to work on the new chapter of Forbidden Pleasures. My plan is to update each one at least once a week. Sometimes maybe twice depending on how much time I have. I'm hoping to be back to this story by the end of the week.

Finally, enjoy the chapter! It's a long one. I generally like to do about 3000 word chapters and I thought about splitting it in two, but decided that it was better as one chapter.

These characters belong to Charlaine Harris.


When Gran passed away she had left Alex a college fund in his name. It was good to know that college wasn't something that I needed to save for but I still saved as much as I could. I was glad I'd managed to save the money I had because a few months ago I realized that I wasn't going to remain content working as a waitress for the rest of my life. I wanted more. I wanted to go to college and thanks to my savings account I finally could.

It was my first day as a student at LSU Shreveport and I was both nervous and excited. On Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays I had Marketing 101 and on Tuesdays and Thursdays I had English 101. I chose to take English 101 because it was a required general studies course and I had always loved English all through school. I chose Marketing 101 because I intended on majoring in Marketing so it was the first class I required for my major.

I was running late because getting my son and myself both ready for school was more challenging then I thought it would be. I dropped Alex off at school and sped all the way to Shreveport. By the time I found my class the professor was already calling roll. I managed to slip in unnoticed right as he called out my name. "Present," I said as I pulled my notebook and pen out of my backpack ready to take notes.

Surprisingly the professor said, "I'm Professor Compton. Today I don't plan on keeping you long. I believe we will go over the syllabus and of course I will answer any questions you have, but first I would like to tell you about your main project for the semester. You will be paired up; I will let you know who you will be paired up with after I go over the syllabus then once I've answered any questions you may have I will give you time to meet up with your partner and then you'll be free to go."

Professor Compton began to pass out copies of the syllabus to the class as he continued, "As a team you will come up with a product or service and a complete marketing plan for this product. Each week there will be a different assignment involved with the process. The assignments will be outlined in the syllabus and we will go over them in a little more detail as to what I expect at the beginning of each week. The assignment this week is simple. By next Monday you must turn in a paper outlining your product or service. It should be no more than a page in length. Just a brief description of what it is you're selling. Does anyone have any questions about the assignment?"

Nobody had any questions. It all seemed pretty straightforward to me. He continued going over the syllabus explaining how he calculates our grades, his attendance policy, how many tests we'd have and when we'd have them, and luckily he told us that the only papers that would be due would be the papers due each week as a part the project.

Once he finished going over the syllabus he said, "So are there any questions about what we just went over?" Again nobody had any questions so he continued, "Well since there are no questions I will let you all know who your partners are for the semester. When I call your name stand up and meet with your partner. Once you've met and made whatever plans you feel are necessary you may leave."

As he went over the list of names I noticed that although Professor Compton was in his forty's he was a handsome man. There was something about his Louisiana born and bred accent and his dark hair and eyes, but I quickly snapped out of it when I heard, "Sookie Stackhouse you will be paired up with Eric Northman."

As I heard my name being called I started to stand, but when I heard the name of my partner I almost fell over. Eric immediately walked towards me with that damn smirk on his face. "Sookie, when he called your name during roll I couldn't believe it was really you, but now that I see you; fuck Sookie, how have you been?"

I felt like I was about to start hyperventilating. I was standing face to face with the father of my son and I had to tell him. Fuck me. I was fucked. How am I supposed to tell this man that he has a son?

"Sookie are you okay?" Eric asked concerned. "You look a little pale."

That brought me out of my thoughts and I said, "Oh, I'm fine Eric. Things are good for me. How about you? Where have you been all of these years?"

I had to go there. I know he didn't exactly know he had a kid, but on some level I housed some resentment that he never came back to us and I wanted to know why.

My directness must have taken him aback a bit because he nervously said, "Uh, Sookie, that's a really long story. Why don't we go for some coffee? We can talk about our project and if you have time we can fill each other in on what we've been doing."

Shit, he wants to know what I've been doing. I've been raising his son on my own that is what I've been doing, but I am not at all prepared to tell him that today.

"Uh Eric," I said, "It's really nice to see you again and I know we really need to talk about the project and catch up, but today is not a good day for me."

Disappointed he said, "Well how about tomorrow? We could have coffee after my class; that is if you're free. My class is over eleven. We could meet at fifteen after if you want."

I had to meet with him at the very least to talk to him about the project and that did buy me a little time to wrap my head around the whole "telling him he has a son thing" so I said, "That's fine. I get out of class at eleven, too. I'll meet you at the Starbuck's across from campus."

He smiled and said, "I'll see you then Sookie. It was really good to see you again."

****

When I got back to BonTemps I had a couple of hours until I had to pick Alex up from school so I drove straight to Tara's house. I pulled into her driveway, ran up to her door, and stormed into her house like a crazy person.

"I SAW HIM! WHAT AM I GOING TO DO? HOW AM I GOING TO TELL HIM? WHY DID I HAVE TO CHOOSE TO GO TO SCHOOL THIS SEMESTER? WHY THAT CLASS? WHY DID I EVER DECIDE TO USE THAT DAMN MONEY FOR SCHOOL? I SHOULD HAVE JUST CONTINUED SAVING AND BOUGHT A NEW CAR OR SOMETHING! A NEW CAR DOESN'T TURN YOUR LIFE UPSIDE DOWN!" I shouted frantically.

"Now calm down girl. Who did you see? Who's in your class?" Tara asked. She reached out and took my hand trying to calm me.

I was freaking out; crying, shaking, shallow breathing; the whole nine. I felt as if my whole life had been turned upside down. We were fine without him. We didn't need him. Would he want to be a part of his son's life? Did I want him to be a part of his son's life? I didn't know.

"Sookie," she said, "What is going on? Come over here and sit down." She led me over to her couch and we sat down.

"Tara," I said with tears streaming out of my eyes, "Eric Northman is in my Marketing class."

I watched as her mouth dropped open. Suddenly she understood why I was flipping the fuck out.

"Oh, it gets worse. He's my partner for a semester-long project."

"Oh Sookie," was all she could say for about fiveminutes. Well, it felt like five minutes, but it probably wasn't that long. Finally she regained the ability to speak and said, "Did you tell him about Alex?"

I sat quietly for a few moments trying to gather myself before answering her. I needed to calm down. I was in need of some serious advice in the worst way and I needed to be calm to figure this all out. I finally stifled my tears, took a few deep breaths and said, "Of course I didn't tell him. I couldn't. Not then. We only saw each other for like five minutes."

Tara shook her head. I knew she knew I was making excuses. I should have told him the minute I saw him. He has a right to know.

"Sookie," she said, "I don't care why you didn't tell him, but you need to tell him ASAP!"

"I know I need to tell him, but Tara; Alex and I, we don't need him. We are fine without him," I said looking down at my fingernails. I was ashamed I was even suggesting it.

"Sookie are you saying you would consider not telling him he has a son. That is so fucking wrong on so many levels. He has a right to know that he has a kid and beyond your rights or his rights, you need to think about Alex and what's best for him. That kid needs a dad," she scolded.

She gave that a moment to sink into my brain then she continued, "Now I'm not saying you should run to him and beg him to be a part of your life, but you should tell him. Let him know you don't expect anything from him and that it's his choice what to do. If he chooses to be a part of Alex's life then let him know you have your own reservations and he'll have to play by your rules."

She made it sound so easy. I wished it were that easy. "Do you really think it's going to be that easy? What dream-land are you living in? I want to live there too," I said smugly. She scowled at me. "Tara, I know I need to tell him. I know it's the right thing to do. I agree with you, but you have to see that it's not that easy to tell a man you haven't seen for ten years that he has a ten year old son."

"Sookie," she said, "I know it's not going to be the easiest thing you've ever done, especially not knowing how he'll react, but you just have to do it. I know you can do it."

Tara was right and it was getting close to time to pick up Alex from school. "Tara," I said as I stood up and started gathering my things, "I have to go get Alex now. I am meeting Eric tomorrow after my class. I don't know what I'm going to say to him, but I'm going to tell him then. I'll call you sometime tomorrow and let you know how it goes." She hugged me and I walked out her door.

As I started to back out of her driveway she said, "You're doing the right thing girl." I nodded and drove away.

****

That evening Alex and I went out for dinner. My little man actually suggested we go out to celebrate my first day of school. And if that wasn't enough, it was his treat. Apparently he had been saving his allowance just for that night. He was only ten and already so thoughtful. I cringed as I thought about what a great catch he was going to be for some girl someday. I wasn't quite ready for those thoughts yet. I knew when he was older girls would be beating down our door for him because he was the spitting image of Eric. Luckily I had blond hair and blue eyes as well so most people assumed he looked like me, but I knew the truth.

After he asked me to dinner, my little man said, "Mom, where do you want to go? You have to choose."

I knew his favorite place was McDonald's and I knew it would be cheap if he ended up paying, although I had no intention of letting him pay. "Let's go to McDonald's, baby. Mommy's been craving a Big Mac all day," I said. I had to make it convincing so he'd think I suggested McDonald's for myself and not for him. He was a smart kid. If I wasn't good, he'd know.

Finally, we were driving off to McDonalds. When we arrived I got out of the car and walked around to his door. I tried to help him out of the car, but he was getting way too big for that and he let me know it. He actually said, "Mom, I got this. I'm ten. I can get out of the car on my own." When he said that, he was so Eric that it brought my thoughts back to what I had to do tomorrow. I was not looking forward to it.

I guess Alex noticed that something wasn't quite right with me because he said, "Mom, are you okay? You seem sad."

Upset now, with myself, for allowing my son to see me upset I said, "Baby, I'm fine, I just had a long day. Let's go get some dinner."

Hand in hand Alex and I walked into McDonald's. I was forced into getting a Big Mac because that was the first thing that had come into my mind earlier when I was trying to convince him that I wanted McDonald's. He got a double cheeseburger and fries. I managed to convince him to let me pay, but once we finished our dinner, I allowed him to treat me to a hot fudge sundae.

As we ate he said, "Mom, did you like your class?" Damn, he brought up class which sent my mind straight to Eric.

"Class was good, sweetie," I said with my nervous grin plastered on my face. I just couldn't get away from the fact that I had to face him tomorrow. I was hoping that for just a few minutes I might be able to think about something else, but I was quickly seeing that it wasn't going to happen. "How was school today, sweetie?"

"Okay, I guess," he said quietly.

"Baby, what's wrong?" I asked concerned.

"Nothing mom; it's just that some of the guys and their dad's are going on a camping trip next month. They asked me to go, but I'll be the only one there without a dad," he said as he played with his last few French fries.

My mind quickly went to Eric which I knew wasn't good. I couldn't get my hopes up for something that I didn't know if either of us wanted. I also, for the first time truly noticed that not having a dad had had an effect on Alex. I had been in denial for ten years. Denial seemed like a pretty good place to be so I decided to remain there for the rest of the night until I had to face the music tomorrow.

"You know baby, I'm sure that Lafayette or Sam might be able to go on that camping trip with you," I said. I knew that didn't help and probably made things worse, but I had to try to make it better for my baby. He was quiet for the rest of dinner.

On the way out to the car I said, "Alex, thank you for the wonderful dinner."

He smiled and said, "No problem mom."

I could tell that he was now trying to hide the fact that he was upset from me. I knew now that he needed Eric more than ever and I was not going to be the one to keep them apart. If Eric chose not to be a part of his life then that was on Eric, not on me. I was going to do what was right for Alex.

After we arrived home Alex went straight to his room to play video games before bed and I lounged on the couch with a glass of wine and watched TV. I watched Heroes on Mondays so for an hour I was able to escape into a world other than my own, but too quickly the show ended.

I was exhausted so I went into Alex's room and said, "Baby, get too sleep. You got school tomorrow."

"Okay mom; can I leave the TV on?" He asked.

I felt bad after how upset he was earlier so I gave in. I said, "Baby, you know I don't like you sleeping with the TV on or staying up too late, but I guess its okay this one time. Don't get used to it though."

He smiled and said, "Thanks," as I tucked him into bed and kissed him on the forehead.

Once he was in bed I went through the house and turned out all the lights. I also locked the door and turned off the TV. Once the house was secure and everything was turned off I headed straight into my bed. The emotional toll the events of the day had laid on me was huge and I was exhausted. Every part of my life I had gotten used to could potentially change tomorrow and I had no real control over any of it. Surprisingly when my head hit the pillow, my mind no longer wandered and the thoughts stopped. I was so exhausted from all that had happened that I fell right to sleep.

Eric's POV

It was my first real day of college. I was so excited. I had taken several online college courses during my time away, but it was nothing like the real thing. I had only enough money in my budget for two classes after my moveand I was a bit unsure of what I was to do. I still needed to find a job and real place to live, but I was sure that I'd made the right decision to move to Shreveport.

That decision was only made surer in my head when I heard the professor call out the name Sookie Stackhouse during roll. Certainly it couldn't be her, I thought, there is no way she would have stayed here. Hearing her name, I found myself being drawn out of reality and into my own thoughts as he finished calling roll.

I thought back to the day I met Sookie and what meeting her did to me. The minute I saw her I knew she was the one. I fell in love with Sookie Stackhouse; well, as in love as you can be when you are sixteen. We had so many plans back then and I ruined all of them. Not that I truly believe that we would have actually run away together or anything. I'm sure that even if things had been different, we would have eventually broken up. We were just kids.

Next, my mind drifted to that day. The fucking day that everything changed. I never wanted her to see me like that. It was just a little weed and I wasn't supposed to get caught. When I saw the look in her eyes as they led me out of the school I was ashamed. I had promised her I would take her away and although I know now that would have never happened I didn't then and in that moment as they led me out of the school I broke every promise I had ever made to her. I was the world's biggest ass.

They had caught me with a little over a pound of pot, baggies, scales, a gun, and two rolls of ecstasy. The rolls were supposed to have been for me and Sookie's day at the lake. Luckily, I was a minor and they decided to treat me as such. They sentenced me to Juvenile Detention until I was eighteen.

Now, all of this must make me sound like a pretty bad guy, but I'm really not. I wasn't the best I could be back then, but there were reasons for my behavior. I'm not trying to make excuses, but my life wasn't whipped cream and cherries either.

My dad had been in the Air Force his whole life. He was a career man and until I was fourteen we moved around a lot. Every time I would make new friends, we would have to move on to the next place. It sucked. To make matters worse he treated me like one of his soldiers, not his son. Everything had to be done a certain way and if it wasn't I would get the wrath of dad. There was never any love in his voice. Actually there was never any emotion in his voice unless you counted the "I'm in charge here, listen to my orders and do as I say" tone of voice he would use as an emotion.

When I was fourteen he retired, but his ways didn't change. We settled in Miami. His family was from there and since we didn't have to go where the Air Force said we had to go anymore he decided to be with family. Once there, things got really bad. He didn't have a job anymore and was always around and in my face. Nothing I could do would ever please him. Finally, I did what any kid my age would have done. I rebelled.

That rebelling eventually ended up causing us to move to BonTemps, Louisiana when I was sixteen. When I got in trouble the first time at school for selling weed they went easy on me. It was Miami and things were handled a little differently there. It was only a few ounces of weed; it wasn't like it was coke or heroin. All they did was kick me out of school. They didn't even involve the police because the police in Miami have a little bit more to worry about than a sixteen year old selling dime-bags.

Mom and dad took it a little harder. They decided that they needed to get me away from the big city and away from drugs and violence. Dad took a civilian job at Barksdale Air Force Base and we moved to a small town called Bon Temps near the base. Unfortunately the move didn't turn out quite the way they'd plan because within two months of moving I got arrested.

Once I was arrested, as I said I was sentenced to Juvenile Detention until I was eighteen. Mom and Dad decided to move back to Miami to be with family. They had spent most of their savings on my legal issues so they felt like they needed to be with family I guess. Plus, it wasn't like I could get in any trouble being in a Juvenile Detention center. Luckily for them the judge agreed to transfer my case to Miami and we moved back within a week of me getting arrested.

I never had a chance to talk to Sookie because everything happened so fast. For most of the week that I remained in Bon Temps; Mom and Dad left me in jail. They said it was for the best. I was unable to call Sookie and I couldn't have any visitors other than my parents and lawyer. When they finally got me out I was pretty much grounded from everything and we moved within a couple more days. I thought of her a lot, but eventually dealt with the fact that it wasn't meant to be.

When I turned eighteen I was finally free, only I had no money and nowhere to go. My parents were finished with me and they had nothing. All of their money had been spent on my legal problems and since moving back to Miami, dad had been unable to find a job. I had no place to go, no money, and only the clothes on my back so what did I do? I went right back to doing what I knew how to do; I sold weed.

I got hooked up with the cousin of a guy I'd met in Juvee. His name was Carlos Garcia. I moved weed for him for a little over a year. I was one of his top guys and I was making tons of cash. I had just bought a nice place and had plenty of nice clothes. I even had a phatty ride, a 1998 Cadillac Escalade.

Everything was great until Carlos said, "Hola hermano, I need you to do something for me."

"Yeah, whatever you need Carlos," I said. I wasn't one to question Carlos knowing that he could kill me and make it look like an accident. Plus, we were actually pretty good friends.

Carlos continued, "I need you to do a job for Antonio. He was supposed to run a kilo to a new buyer I've been dealing with, but he had to get out of town quick, if you know what I mean.

"Ah Carlos," I said. I wasn't sure if that was the greatest idea. I was a weed man. I didn't mess with any hard shit, but this was Carlos. I had to do it. "Man, I guess I'll do it."

"Gracias hermano, you know you will be rewarded greatly for this; mucho dinero! You're the only other person I would trust this to other than Antonio."

That was the next big mistake I made. That night I arrived at the address Carlos had given me with a kilo of cocaine. Something the whole time was trying to tell me to just drive away, but I couldn't. I had a job to do. I got out of my car, went inside, and did the deal. When I left the house I left the house in handcuffs. It had been a setup. Not only had I been arrested, but Carlos got arrested as well. I was so fucked. If I thought Juvenile Detention was bad, I was in for a big surprise when I got into the Florida State Prison System.

I was sentenced to fifteen years for distribution of a controlled substance and for breaking the terms of my probation. I was really lucky that they didn't give me longer and I was glad they didn't. Prison was the worst place I had ever been. It didn't take long for me to realize two important things. The first was that I needed to do whatever it took to get out of that place as quickly as possible. There would be no more rebelling against authority and second, when I did get out, I was never going back. That meant that I would have to get a real job and completely change my life.

As I served my time I kept those two things at the forefront of my mind everyday. After being in a year I decided to start taking online college courses. That was one of the perks, if you could call anything having to do with prison a perk, of being an inmate. As a part of your rehabilitation you were allowed to take online college courses. I took all of the general studies courses I could. I had no clue what I wanted to do when I got out of here, but the required courses I took were a start.

After being in for a little over five years my case finally went up in front of the parole board. I hoped that they could see the progress I'd made while in prison and give me a chance to get out of that place and prove that I had changed. It almost didn't happen because of my past indiscretions, but after a long deliberation they decided to give me a chance.

I was twenty-four when I was let out. Well, I wasn't exactly let out. I was on probation for two years and I had to live in a halfway house for a year after being set free. I was still determined to finish college, but for the time being it would have to be put off. It wasn't going to be free anymore so I focused on finding a job. That was a stipulation of my parole and my being free. To not go back to prison I had to "successfully assimilate myself into being a productive member of society" which in English translated to get a job.

I found a job working in the kitchen of an upscale restaurant. The job sucked, but it paid better than most that were willing to give an ex-con a chance. I worked there and saved every dollar I could for the first year while I lived in the halfway house. When I was completely set free and on my own, I still couldn't leave the state for another year so I continued working at the restaurant and moved back into my house. Luckily I owned it outright before I was busted so I got to keep it as well as my car. Thanks to Carlos'speople everything was just as it was when I left when I got home. He had actually been very supportive of my decision not to get back into the business. He actually told me I was destined for better things.

I had few expenses because my only debt was my massive amount of legal fees. Everything I owned I owned outright and had paid for with cash because cash was all I had to work with when I sold drugs. For the remainder of the year I was on probation I worked, paid my bills, and saved.

When I was finally let off of probation I continued just what I had been doing as if nothing had changed. Since I was no longer restricted by the terms of my probation I was able to take a promotion to bartender at the restaurant which enabled me to make and save even more money. On top of the fact that there was more money involved I loved what I was doing. I quickly realized that being behind the bar was what I wanted to do. I was going to open my own bar.

I planned and planned, finally deciding that to open a bar in Miami was too big of a risk. I thought about other places and my mind went straight to the little town I lived in for two months when I was in high school. That town was too small, but Shreveport was nearby. It was bigger and I was sure that with it being northern Louisiana I could probably start a business a lot cheaper than in a place like Miami.

My mind was made up. I was moving to Shreveport. I was going to get my college degree and open my bar. There would be no going back to the life I had led before. I put my house on the market and within six months it sold. As soon as it sold I took the money from the sale and my savings, packed up my car, left Miami, and never looked back.

By the time my thoughts returned to the class I was taking I heard Sookie's name being called again. I hadn't thought about her often over the past ten years. Like I'd said I had realized that we were kids and nothing would have ever come of our relationship even if I would have never been arrested. I couldn't believe she still lived around here. We had always planned on getting away and I guess I always thought that was what she would have done. I guess I was wrong. The next thing I heard out of the professor's mouth took me a little by surprise. I heard him call my name. I was going to be Sookie's partner for the entire semester.

I couldn't help but smirk and grin like a child as I got out of my seat and walked over to her. It was definitely her and she was just as beautiful as she was the last time I saw her. We talked for a few minutes and I asked her out for coffee, but she turned me down which for some reason disappointed me, but she did look a little ill so that was probably the reason. I did get her to agree to meet me tomorrow. I left class feeling like I was walking on air. Not only was I in college, but I was in class with an old friend. Things couldn't have felt like they were any better.

With the realization that Sookie was still around I couldn't help but wonder if anyone else was still around. Sookie, Lafayette, Tara, and I were quite the team when I lived here before. The knowledge that I may have friends around made me sure beyond any shadow of doubt that I had made the right decision moving here. Good things were really going to happen for me.