Sookie, still shocked upon seeing that strange image, let the vampires (and the cute little baby) in her house. They placed the... unsconscious? asleep?... well, unresponsive Eric in the couch and Sookie, being a good hostess, offered Pam and Chow a couple of bottles of blood.
"No, thank you." said Pam a bit angrily while the baby played with her hair "just do your thing. And quick." she added, throwing a killer glare in the baby's direction, who giggled loudly.
"OK" Sookie said.
Right then Sookie knelt before the couch were Eric was laying and tried to catch the thoughts dancing in the vampire's mind. Normally she could listen to his thoughts without any problem, but this time there seemed to be a kind of misconnection between them, some sort of interference. He was there, Sookie could feel it, but somehow she couldn't get to hear him.
"So?" asked Chow, impatient.
"I can't hear anything." Sookie said. Then she saw Pam's expression, her killer look having gained strength while the baby gleefully chanted her name, and decided to give it another shot. "I'll just... I'll try again."
The mind reader concentrated, and then concentrated harder. Slowly she started hearing something, like a far-away echo. She focused on it, until she finally made out a clear word in Eric's grave voice.
"Help!"
And just then flash of pain coursed though Sookie and she screamed, and fell to the living room floor. It had been a stabbing pain, intense and mind-numbing, and it had came directly from Eric. The other two vampires were behind her inmediately, looking at her with expectant expressions.
"What, what it is?" Pam asked.
"I don't know what's going on" Sookie said "But he is in a lot of pain."
The two vampire's looks mirrored their concern. The all-powerful Eric unable to wake and in a lot of pain couldn't be a good sign. Pam and Chow felt even more confused than when they entered and at a loss to find an explanation. Eric was the one with knowledge of centuries, not them! He probably would know what in hell was going on... but whoever did that made sure no one could acces that information.
Feeling quite worried herself, Sookie sat in the armchair of the couch were Eric lay, and started fiddling with his hair, hoping to comfort him a bit. Even if she'd had her ups and downs with the blond vampire, the thought of him hurting so much pained her. She also couldn't avoid thinking that whoever (or whatever) had done that to him might want to come back and finish the job... which only increased her worry.
And what relation had that baby with the whole thing? An idea came to her. If she wanted to find clues about what had happenned, maybe the baby was a good place to start.
"Pam, pass me the baby, will you?"
"He's all yours." the vampire said, incredibly relieved. She'd been taking care of him because he seemed to be happier with her, but the feeling was not at all mutual. She handed the tiny human to Sookie, who looked utterly disappointed. Disregarding that, Sookie asked him softly:
"Hey, honey, what is your name?"
The baby just smiled.
"Are you lost? Where are your mum and dad?"
The little one looked at her, but didn't seem to grasp anything that she was saying.
"Eric und Pam?" he murmured, suddenly shy that this unknown person was talking to him.
"Yeah, honey, you certainly look like the lovechild of Eric and Pam would have, but we all know that is impossible."
"Eric und Pam! Meine freunde, Eric und Pam!" he chanted.
Pam couldn't help raising an eyebrow.
"A german baby. Our only lead is a german baby. This couldn't get any better." Pam said, pacing through the living the living room in her high heels.
Right then Sookie had a flash from the baby, a memory. It was Eric, towering over the baby and telling him:
"" If anything should happen to me, you go to Pam, she is your friend." And then, somehow realizing his mistake, he repeated the sentence in German, and continued to speak in German.
"But how did you get there, little thing?" she asked, and yet another image appeared. This time, he was sitting in the woods, eating some earth, when a familiar voice started speaking. The words weren't too clear (the baby probably didn't remember them) but the person who spoke was clear as day. Sam Merlotte, picking him up from the floor and singing a lullaby to him.
"We got a lead. Sam, my boss, found him in the woods, maybe he knows something about how did he get in Eric's office. Better start moving while it's still dark." Chow and Pam's expressions seemed to lighten up a bit.
"But.. Pam, I think you should better wait here, take care of the baby, and of Eric, in case he needs anything. You know, I'd do it myself, but you need my... talent, and, besides, that baby is very fond of you. You know what you should do? You should name him! Give him a nice german name while we figure out his real one."
The rage and indignation in Pam's face were untranslatable in words.
Sookie and the quiet Chow arrived quickly at Sam's place, and were greeted by an unpleasant sight. A red sight.
A whole wall covered in blood.
A/N: Sorry, sorry for the delay! And I hope this doesn't disappoint too much, it's not easy witing second chapters... Anyways, thank you veeeeeery much to all those whose reviewed the first chapter, I hope you continue doing it! You know you want to review!
