A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who followed, favorited, reviewed or even just read my story. It means so much to me to see that people are interested :) As you will see, I've decided to continue switching POVs, though I will probably be using Sookie's most often in later chapters. I really appreciated the feedback you all gave me there. Now I hope you enjoy the next chapter!
SPOV
Sookie stood, frozen in Eric's doorway as she waited for him to react. She wasn't sure what she expected him to do, heck she wasn't even sure what she wanted him to do, but waiting here like this, her body tense with anticipation and her lungs apparently unable to work properly, felt worse than any of the scenarios she'd imagined on her drive over.
When Sookie had realized Eric had left while she'd been talking to Bill, she didn't know what to think. Why had he left so abruptly? How had she not even realized he'd gone? Where had he gone to? Did he leave because of her or did he have some sort of top-secret vampire business he needed to attend to? Regardless, upon realizing he'd gone, Sookie had resolved to find him and tell him what she'd meant to say at Bill's, no matter how hard doing so might be for her. He needed to hear her out and she needed to do this right. She couldn't just leave things the way they were now.
She hadn't known for sure that Eric would even be here; really, it had just been a lucky guess on her part. But after checking her own home, the only other place she could think to go was Fangtasia. Of course if he wasn't at his bar, Sookie had no idea where she would turn to next. She had no doubt Eric owned multiple estates sprinkled all over the globe, none of whose locations she knew or could get to even if she did.
But luck had been on her side tonight, for Eric was indeed here in his office, currently staring at her with an impassive look on his face. His eyes however were a whole other story. While every other part of his body betrayed no emotion whatsoever, his eyes were a sea of dozens, some of which Sookie could identify and others she could not. Among them she saw surprise in the way his eyes widened as well as annoyance in the slight furrow of his eyebrows; there was a flash of what looked to be pain in the darker specks of blue and, for a moment, she spotted something else – a strange intensity in the way his pupils dilated that made Sookie's breath hitch. But her attention was diverted from the many conflicting messages in Eric's eyes by the sound of his voice.
"What, bored with Bill already?" he drawled, projecting only disinterest and a tad of hostility towards her.
Sookie sighed before stepping further into the room and closing the door behind her. This had been one of the many scenarios she'd envisioned on her trip to Shreveport and while it wasn't necessarily the worst, it certainly hadn't been one of her favorites. Well, she supposed she now had her answer to the question of why he'd left: it had been her after all. In retrospect, Sookie figured she should have been more clear about what she was getting at when she gave her rejection speech to Bill. To Eric, it probably did look like she was taking Bill back, so she really couldn't blame him for leaving.
"I'm not with Bill," she stated simply, allowing Eric to digest that little tidbit of information he clearly had not been expecting. Hey, maybe if he stopped being mad at her for supposedly getting back together with Bill, he would actually listen to what she had to say.
"Oh?" he asked, his curiosity evident in the inflection of his voice and the raising of his eyebrows. Well, she had his attention now.
"Yes, and that's actually what I came to talk to you about. I would've told you this at Bill's but you left, so…" she trailed off, not missing the way Eric sat a little straighter in his chair and cursing herself for the way his eyes lit up with what she recognized to be a spark of hope. Cheese and rice, she sucked at this. As it was, the look in his eyes alone was enough to make her question, not for the first time, whether she really was making the right decision here. 'You have to do this,' she told herself, gathering up every ounce of inner strength she could find to pull through with it.
"Eric, this past week… it's been one of the best of my life," Sookie began, walking forward with deliberate steps until she was directly opposite him with only his cluttered desk standing between them. "And I wish I could say that this week, falling for you, was just a momentary thing, just a fling that I could happily lock away in a little box before continuing on with my life. I wish I could tell myself that it wasn't really you who I fell for, that it was this other Eric, only that other Eric, who I grew to love, and actually believe it. That would undoubtedly make everything so much easier. But I'd be lying to myself if I did. If I'm being honest, there's a part of me that's always wanted you and the part of me that's loved you has been there for longer than I'd care to admit as well. I love you Eric, and you deserve to know that," she paused, steeling herself to finish the sentence. "But I can't be with you."
The change in Eric's face was so drastic and happened so fast, it was alarming, the effect it had on her heart rendering Sookie temporarily speechless. For an instant, she wanted nothing more than to take back her last words. Every fiber in her being was screaming at her to forget everything she'd decided at the cemetery, just take Eric's hand in hers and kiss away her final sentence. But she couldn't. She'd promised herself she would go through with this. So all she could do now was hurriedly jump into an explanation before Eric said something to test what little resolve she had left.
"Earlier today, someone asked me what I thought my Gran would tell me if she were still here, and it got me thinking. Thinking about who she was and what her life was. She got married, she had kids and eventually she had grandbabies as well; she got to sit on her porch every night and watch me and Jason grow up, and honestly I don't think any other life could have brought her the happiness she found there. But then I also realized just how badly I want to experience that happiness too. I want that porch. I want to be a mother, live a normal life and just be normal. I want to grow old watching my grandbabies grow up. And –"
"And I can't give that to you," Eric finished for her, a weary finality to his voice that made Sookie's blood suddenly feel like lead weights pushing down on her body from everywhere within.
She smiled sadly as if to say "you guessed it" because he had. For a moment, their eyes locked, Sookie's trying to give an apology and Eric's conveying a reluctant acceptance. But then Sookie was left to watch as something in his eyes shut down, blocking her from reading him entirely.
Eric lounged back into his chair, cocked an eyebrow at her and said in a clipped tone, "So let me get this straight, you came all this way just to dump me a second time? I got the message loud and clear two hours ago, Ms. Stackhouse, don't worry. But thanks for stopping by."
With that, he picked up the papers on his desk, clearly telling her to get the hell out of his office. She opened her mouth to speak and say what, she did not know. But the damage was already done. Eric had closed himself off to Sookie, and she knew there was nothing she could say or do to undo it. So shutting her mouth, Sookie walked towards the door, pausing for a second with her hand on the knob to face Eric once more.
"I'm sorry," she said softly, knowing her apology would do him no good, but figuring she owed him that much at least. Before he could react, she turned the knob and walked out of his office, forcing herself to keep it together and not break down in the middle of Eric's bar.
BPOV
'Well, that's it then,' Bill thought, straightening his tie as he looked himself over in the mirror. Sookie had chosen Eric, and there was nothing he could do about it. He knew that technically, he'd already agreed to give them his blessing, but as he'd stood in his living room watching Sookie run after her new beau, Bill found that saying something and doing something were two very different things. Somehow even when he'd said it, something in Bill had believed Sookie would choose him. And for one shining moment, Bill even thought she had. He saw the love she had for him in her eyes, despite what she'd learned a year ago, and he'd thought assuring her she was the love of his life would be it – the final nail in the coffin that would bring Sookie back to him for good.
He thought he knew her, knew exactly which buttons to press to get the precise response he wanted. Not in a manipulative way, per se. Merely in the way one fully understands a person they know completely. And he was good at it; learning and using those traits was a crucial part of his old job. Yet even after pulling out all the stops – returning Eric to her, saving her from the bullet wound, sacrificing himself for her at Moon Goddess – Sookie had still picked Eric. He must have missed something, messed up some minute detail somewhere. But where he had failed, Bill simply could not figure out.
Suddenly, he stiffened in the midst of pulling on his jacket as he heard footsteps approaching his home, knowing immediately who it was. The sound of their walk was unmistakable: assured, professional and with an air of impatience that indicated someone who was perpetually pissed off. Nan Flanagan and her assemblage of guards.
Well, let the games begin.
Greeting her at the door before she could so much as knock, Bill forced a smile. "Miss. Flanagan. I figured you would be dropping by."
"Yes, well you managed to stir up yet another shit storm and I was sent to clean it up. What else is new," she stated dryly, inviting herself in. "Our dear Sheriff wouldn't happen to be here, would he?" Nan inquired, turning in the middle of the foyer to face him.
At Nan's question, Bill paused for the smallest of moments as he shut the door. Forcing himself to maintain his composure and act naturally, he responded, "No, I'm afraid not."
She narrowed her eyes and Bill prayed she didn't notice anything strange about his behavior. It wasn't like he'd even done anything wrong; he would just rather not think about or discuss Eric Northman with anyone at the moment, least of all with Nan Flanagan. Luckily, she seemed to decide to drop whatever suspicions she had against him, for a second later she whipped around again and made straight for his office, calling behind her, "That's a shame. Looks like I get to take yet another hour out of my already busy schedule to stop over at his pathetic excuse for a bar and deal with his brat of a progeny after all. Yipee."
With a sigh, Bill followed Nan, closing the doors after him and walking around to stand behind his desk to face his guest. Giving her another tight smile, he tried to direct the conversation away from his only remaining Sheriff. "And is there a reason I've been graced with your company this evening? The Marnie situation has been resolved, if that's what you are here for."
Nan scoffed. "Do I look like I could give two shits about your little Harry Potter problem? No, I was supposed to come here tonight to deliver the True Death to you and Eric Northman. That was to be my last assignment."
At Nan's words, Bill immediately tensed, his mind already on the stake he had hidden in his drawer. If Nan thought she was going to just waltz right into his home and kill him, then she was sorely mistaken. She may be nearly six times his age, but if he could develop a plan that played to his strengths and her weaknesses, with a little bit of speed and a lot of luck he might be able to put an end to Nan before she put an end to him. And of course he'd be saving Eric's life in the process, a debt he would gladly hold over Eric's head for some time, however petty.
But his plotting was put to a halt by Nan's next sentence.
"Until I quit."
Bill's eyes widened ever so slightly as he was rendered momentarily speechless. "What?" he managed to sputter out, still gaping at Nan.
"You heard me. I quit the AVL," she repeated impatiently. "And the fucking Authority," she added, a definite venom in her voice.
Bill studied her for a minute, trying to piece together what this all meant. So, Nan was originally supposed to kill him, but instead was here telling him she had quit the Authority. Which begged the question: why? Why had she quit? Why was she telling him any of this? Why was she even here in the first place? Was she still going to kill him? Bill half expected she might.
"Nobody quits the Authority," he said slowly, watching her like a gazelle watches a lion, cornered by its predator, unsure if each passing second would be its last and all the while plotting its last desperate bid at freedom and safety.
"Quit, fired. Same difference," Nan spat in response.
"And they let you live? I didn't think it was the Authority's style to simply give its employees a pink slip and watch them walk away," Bill commented dubiously. He'd always been under the impression that joining the Authority was like joining the mafia: once you're in, you're in for life and if you're out, you're dead.
"That's why I'm here you moron. Once I received the order to terminate the both of you, I knew I was next. I've been alive for eight-hundred-and-sixteen years. I refuse to be retired like a fat first-wife," she barked, her face now betraying some of the hate and wounded pride she'd been trying to keep buried throughout their entire conversation.
And suddenly everything became clear to Bill.
"So your solution is to go rogue on the Authority? And you expect me to join you?" he asked incredulously. Nobody defied the Authority; even with Nan at the head of such a mutiny, it would never work. She had to be delusional to think he would actually go along with her little suicide mission, and absolutely batshit to believe Eric would so much as consider assisting her. The whole thing was mad.
"Well it's either that or the True Death. Your choice," she stated simply, not seeming to care which option he chose. But Bill knew otherwise. She wouldn't be here asking his support if it wasn't something she felt she either needed or wanted. Or both. "And we wouldn't be alone either. There are factions within the Authority who have never been on board with its current agenda."
It seemed Nan was just full of surprises tonight. Bill took a moment to consider this information before voicing his next inquiry.
"What about my progeny, Jessica? Will she be safe here? Or will the Authority target her next?"
"Hell if I know. Honestly I highly doubt the Authority could give a fuck about a two year old, even if she's your two year old," Nan answered dismissively.
Now that Sookie was with Eric and his rule as King undoubtedly terminated, Jessica was the only real tie he had left here in Bon Temps. If Nan could assure Jessica's safety, Bill supposed there truly was no reason for him to stay. Of course he didn't want to leave Jessica behind without any friend or mentor to turn to, but he wouldn't be much use to her dead and he couldn't be sure she would be safe accompanying him and Nan. Which only left one more question.
"And what exactly would we be doing should I agree to join your cause?"
"Does it really matter? Look, do you want to live or not? If not, I can promise you the Authority will be knocking on your door any minute now with a wooden stake in hand, all too happy to rid themselves of you."
Bill thought over his options. It didn't really look like he had many. If Nan was telling the truth, staying here in Bon Temps would make him nothing more than a sitting duck. He could always turn Nan down and flee on his own, but that was risky and he could only hide out from the Authority for so long. Not to mention, Bill preferred to have allies, no matter how temporary those alliances might be. He'd long since learned that as long as you were always a step ahead of your partners, it was always better to have connections to turn to should things get messy than be left without. And Nan had already proven herself to be a very useful connection to have.
Leveling his gaze with Nan's, Bill resigned to make the only decision he could.
"I suppose I really don't have much of a choice then, do I?"
In answer Nan raised an eyebrow, nodding her head to the side as if to say, "No, I suppose you don't."
EPOV
Eric had long since abandoned all pretenses of working after Sookie's visit, resigning instead to do what he always did when his head was swimming with thoughts he needed to sort through: pacing. It gave his body something to do and provided an outlet for his pent up frustration while his mind was at work.
Somehow Sookie's visit had made him feel both better and worse simultaneously. How that could even happen was beyond him, but Sookie always did manage to do the impossible, at least where he was concerned.
Call him shallow, but the fact that Sookie had not gone running back to Bill tonight definitely took some of the sting out of her rejection. Couple that with the fact that Sookie had finally admitted to loving him, all of him, and Eric would have been the happiest he could remember being in his undead life – if it hadn't been for the small detail that, well, her speech was a rejection.
Even her reasons for rejecting him aroused conflicting feelings. At first, it was honestly something of a relief not to hear yet another "I love you, but I love Bill more" rationale behind Sookie's "no". But much to Eric's frustration, her real explanation may have actually been worse than any Bill-related one he'd been expecting because her reasons weren't something that was ever going to change. Her reasons, when it came down to it, weren't even about him. They were about her and the lifestyle she wanted to have, the one lifestyle he couldn't give her. And there was nothing he could do about any of it.
He hated feeling helpless; in Eric's opinion, it was the most useless and crippling emotion of them all. It was an emotion he had grown accustomed to living without since he had been made, an emotion not fit for the vampires like himself who sat at the top of the food chain and should have all the power in the world. And right now, Sookie Stackhouse was making him feel helpless.
In the next second however, all thoughts of Sookie Stackhouse were completely eradicated from Eric's mind as his eyes snapped to the office door in alarm. The sound of Pam's hair-splitting scream penetrated through even the soundproofing of his office, filling the bar which, up until a moment ago, had been empty having closed an hour earlier. The warning he had been about to call to his progeny still stuck in his throat, Eric instinctively raced towards the door, prepared to face what or whoever had raided his bar and attacked his child. He knew from the heavy sounds of their footsteps that at least a dozen of them were out there, but twelve was still a manageable number.
What he hadn't accounted for, however, was the silver net that shot at him so fast, even he, a thousand year old vampire, did not have enough time to react. This wasn't just a group of random looters. These were trained professionals.
Eric fell to the ground, the silver weakening his body considerably upon impact. Through the burning of the net cutting grid-lines into his face, he managed to squint through the metal at the door directly ahead of him as it swung open. While he lay on the floor, the silver prohibiting him from tilting his head enough to see the face of whoever had just entered, Eric could only catch sight of a pair of sharp black heels marching confidently across the room. But it turned out those heels were all Eric needed to identify his attacker.
He had to resist the urge to roll his eyes upon his discovery. What a fan-fucking-tastic night this was shaping up to be.
A/N: I'm sorry! I know you all wanted to see Sookie come to Fangtasia and change her mind about rejecting Eric, but I couldn't make it that easy. Don't worry though, Sookie will come to her senses soon enough. I also apologize if this is moving a little slowly right now; I just need to set everything up for all the fun that is to come later~
What'd you all think of the Bill passage? I know most of you (me included tbh) are far from Bill fans, but I felt his scene was necessary for the story. Plus I had a blast writing Nan's dialogue. She's almost snarkier than Pam… I love it! And yes, Sookie has got some serious communication issues she needs to work on when it comes to making clear to both Bill and Eric just what and who she's choosing.
I'll try to have Chapter 3 written and posted within the next week :) Thanks as always for all of your feedback!
