Edit: v. prepare for publication or presentation by correcting, revising, or adapting.

A/N: This has proven a greater undertaking than I previously thought. I never moved so much forward plot wise in one place so I am not sure how well it flows. Hopefully the next chapter will be better.

Also, there is a bit of language. I wasn't sure if I should change the rating since it isn't frequent. If anyone is offended I will be happy to change the rating for you, just let me know.

She stared at him in utter incredulity. Unsure of whether or not to trust him she stood there trying to rationalize the situation unfolding before her. It had always been a blessing not to read vampires, but the subtlety of body language and the nuances of nonverbal communication were often lost on someone who mainly relied on her mind to interact with people.

"Are you fucking with me?" she asked in a cautioned tone. But he only stared blankly into her eyes. Her Eric would have had a comeback, a nasty remark at the very least. This version of Eric stood there and quietly observed, without any hint of mirth and not even a ghost of a smirk on his face. It was unnerving her since she had never seen him behave this way especially given an opening like that. Marveling at him as if he was suddenly someone completely different and then realizing what that entailed, she backed away just a fraction.

"You are Eric Northman, sheriff of area five."

"And we know each other?" He was tense; anxious, and it was making her anxious. Although he had never given her any real reason to feel safe in his presence, what with the threatening and endangering her life all the time, she had always felt as though he had a certain restraint that would prevent him from ever permanently ending her. She was an asset to him after all and it would have hardly behooved his political agenda for her to come to harm. However, that was her Eric. If this Eric really had no idea who she was then he had nothing vested in her survival. There was nothing saying that he wouldn't end her out of sheer boredom.

"Do you know you are a vampire?" She wasn't sure what kind of stupid question that was. She had a sneaking suspicion that when one finds themselves dead it is pretty obvious and when that is accompanied by a desire to drink blood the conclusions could not be easily overlooked.

He only seemed surprised. "You do not fear me?"

She forced herself to appear relaxed, though she was almost completely certain she reeked of terror and that is why he said that. After all, who in their right mind would stop and talk to creatures on a dark road, unprotected and by themselves in the middle of the night if they feared for their safety. Hesitantly she looked into his eyes and felt the faint tingling of a glamour at the back of her neck. Shivering almost undetectably she pushed it off, "Not normally, no. But I don't know if you will harm me."

Regarding her with confusion he slowly shook his head. "I will not harm you."

Relaxing, she offered a something faint smile and gestured towards her tiny yellow car. "Come on, we can go to my house and figure this out."

"Do you live near?" While she had managed to relax he was still wound like a spring.

"Down that way," she waved noncommittally in the direction of her house. "Get in, I'm cold." With that she got back into her vehicle and waited as he slowly approached her passenger side and climbed in.

As they made the short journey down the darkened road neither made an attempt to speak. Sookie felt as though the entire situation was bizarre and surreal. It was so very typical of the supernatural world to invade on her personal bubble in exactly this way. Months had passed without word from Eric or any vampire, for that matter. Now one has shown up practically on her doorstep and she is expected to deal with it.

Who was this sitting next to her? As a direct result of his appearance she could answer that question, but what had happened to him and how had he gotten there, in Bon Temps, of all places. Considering she had not seen hide nor hair of any vampire for quite some time his sudden cameo on her road was unexpected to say the least.

Easing her car into its usual parking spot she softly put it into park and pulled the keys from the ignition. Turning in her seat to properly look him in the eyes she once again marveled how his spark, much like her own, was gone.

"You really don't remember anything?"

The look of loss and desperation on his face made her regret saying anything. She got out of the car and without another word makes her way to her front door watching Eric follow hesitantly behind in her periphery. Unlocking the door she stepped into the entryway and turned to face him as she remembered rescinding his invitation.

"I need an invitation?"

She was caught off guard by his question. Looking down at her porch she casually mused on what a good cleaning would do for the look of her home. Finally, she met his unwavering gaze. "It's a long story. Come in."

A look of intrigue passed over his face, but he stepped into the house without further comment. As she watched his long, lean body stride around her house she began to wonder if she was making a mistake. Eric had always been manipulative and opportunistic, but the pieces just didn't fit. This all seemed just wrong. He seemed wrong. The last time she had seen him he had been tender with her. Uncharacteristic, sure, but it had felt sincere. So sincere, in fact, that she had very different expectations of her next encounter with him. Then again, she hadn't seen him in months. Perhaps they had just run their course, he had lost interest now that she didn't belong to Bill. This was all a bit much, though, even for him.

She made her way to the kitchen as he continued to explore her house. She couldn't even remember the real him having seen that much of her house so she seriously doubted anything would jog his memory. One never knew, though, what would help, so she stayed out of his way and let him linger and explore. Pulling a True Blood from the fridge she popped off the cap and put it into the microwave. Then she took a seat at her kitchen table and dipped her head into her hands. As she enjoyed the slight relaxation it brought to her weary body she heard the faint ding of the microwave, but chose to ignore it. Despite her young age the combination of being on her feet all day and trying to block out the thoughts of dozens of drunk, loud patrons wore heavily on her body and many nights after a long shift all she wanted was to lay down and shut out the world. She was so absorbed in her exhaustion that she didn't notice him approach and stand in her kitchen, quietly appraising her.

"What is your name?" In all the confusion she seemed to have forgotten the important details.

"Sookie Stackhouse."

"You live alone."

"Oh, my friend Tara lives here," she paused for a moment, mentally checking herself, "lived here. She took off a few months ago." Sookie remembered how concerned she had been when Tara had first gone missing. It could not have happened at a worse time and for many nights she lie awake staring at the ceiling and willing Tara to call and prove she was still alive. About a month ago she had gotten an ominous postcard assuring her safety, but it didn't make her feel any less horrible about her being gone. She wondered how she could have missed the signs that Tara was planning on packing up and moving on. Sometimes she thought she spent so much time trying to keep the world out of her head that it must have made her incredibly selfish. She felt Eric slowly approaching where she sat and she jumped away from him before he could touch her.

"Are you alright?"

She smiled weakly. "Yeah I'm fine, just tired, I guess." Walking around to the far wall she pulled the phone from its cradle. "I'm gonna call someone who I think will be able to come get you."

A guarded look entered his eyes and he pulled back and stood tense. In that single moment the Eric she knew stood before her and she was bereft. Alarm then took the place of his untrusting features and she began to laugh and shake her head dismissively.

"Who are you calling?" His untrusting tones stabbed her heart once again. How pitiful to miss someone who you were not even aware you liked. She hadn't even thought much about Eric for the past few months. Instead, choosing to pretend that vampires had all disappeared. Somewhere in the back of her subconscious, though, lay the hope that Eric would sweep in and confess his love. That never happened, but she kept a True Blood on standby for just the occasion. Standing there in her kitchen was a man who she wanted nothing more than to find comfort in and who had absolutely no idea who she was.

"Pam, your um…child?" she finished uncertainly. He nodded slowly, just once and she took that as the go ahead before dialing the number for Fangtasia.

"Fangtasia," came the curt greeting through the phone. Pam, even more laconic than usual, was without her usual snappy tag line. Sookie was fairly certain that this indicated she was in the midst of the apocalypse because Pam never got shaken. And for Pam a lack of sarcasm means panic.

"Pam."

"Ah, Sookie, usually it's a pleasure, but I am rather in the middle of something. If this is not a matter that needs immediate attention I am afraid I will have to ask you to call back at a later time."

"Well, actually, Pam. I was calling to see if you had perchance lost some…thing?" Her usual southern hospitality was laced with sarcasm and ambiguity. One could never be too cautious about these types of things. Not that Eric appeared in her life out of nowhere with absolutely no recollection of his identity or how it is he came to be at that exact spot, but she assumed all vampire related problems fell into the same category.

"You found him." She expelled air deeply into the phone. Sookie assumed this would be the equivalent of a sigh of relief, though she knew vampires didn't breath.

"Yes and no." This was going to be fun.

"What does that mean? Let me speak to him."

"Okay, so now the fun story, Pam. You need to get here immediately, no questions asked. Like ten minutes ago." A beat passed. "Please". In hindsight it could have been a poor choice to rattle off orders to a vampire and Sookie was not about to toe that line with Pam right now. She didn't hear the phone disconnect, but after realizing there was no longer anyone at the other end of the call she gently replaced the phone on the wall.

"I guess she's coming," Sookie said to no one in particular and went to retrieve the blood from the microwave. Handing it to Eric with a napkin he took it unquestioningly and she sat back down at the table.

"Pam? My Child? Is she trustworthy?" He took a small, hesitant sip from his True Blood and sat down in the chair across from Sookie.

"Oh, well," she started, unsure of the correct answer. "I figured you could just sort of feel her. You know?"

He gave her a look of uncertainty. "Well, yes, but I was wondering from your dealings with her has she proven trustworthy?"

Fumbling to recall anything at all she stuttered out, "Yes, when it comes to you." Not only was this a difficult situation to begin with, but also having them both be so timorous and untrusting of one another was making everything ten times more difficult. She longed for Eric's blunt honesty and his finesse in sidestepping things he did not want her to know. Well, she longed for an Eric who knew anything at all.

In order to distract herself from the ache of missing Eric she allowed her thoughts to wander. She thought back to the rooftop in Dallas where she witnessed a side of Eric she had not seen before or ever again. On his knees, pleading desperately for his maker not to end his own life, was a sight that had broken something in Sookie. Always a nurturer, that moment had led her to see him in a whole new light and as ridiculously as it was she felt an immense need to comfort the thousand year old vampire. That moment between Eric and Godric had led her to believe that no child was ever capable of harming their maker, thus Pam was their only ally.

Without a word he got up from the table and when to stand in the living room looking out the window. Getting up to stand beside him she peered out from behind the curtains to find a questioning Pam staring at her. Dressed in a soft beige pencil skirt, peach blouse and nude platform pumps, she appeared as though she was not on duty at Fangtasia that evening. Did she just know Eric had gone missing, Sookie wondered, or was she there?

"Anything?" she quietly asked him while still looking back at Pam. An imperceptible shake of his head was the only answer she got.

Leaving his side she wordlessly went and opened the door. Barging in with a grand, classy sweep of her arms, as only Pam could, she immediately went to her maker and stood before him. Without a word she turned back to face Sookie. "What have you done to him?"

Shocked by Pam's accusation and outraged that she thought Sookie had it within her to harm Eric she felt herself grow immediately defensive. "I didn't do shit! You're the one who lost him. What did you do to him?"

Pam's ever-present vampire calm found her again and she turned back to inspect him. "Eric, Master, what is wrong?"

On edge and apprehensive, Eric looked over to Sookie for assistance. "He doesn't know who you are. He doesn't know who he is. Hell, he doesn't know where he is right now."

Scowling at her response he looked down at Pam and carefully inspected her features. "I am not an invalid, I seem to be having some difficulty recovering my memory. I can feel the bond, I know you're my progeny, but I cannot remember you."

Pam stared at Eric a moment longer and said something in a language that Sookie couldn't understand. The same did not seem true for Eric, who answered Pam without missing a beat. Whatever was exchanged seemed to be enough for both of them and Pam turned to Sookie with a look of boredom and resignation of her face. Sookie chalked it up to being a vampire thing, how Pam could appear to remain calm even in the direst of circumstances. Her maker and the vampire she owed fealty to were gone and in his place was someone without his killer instincts and devious strategic mindset. She could only imagine the vulnerability caused by such a situation and there was a very great possibility if someone found out about Eric's current state that it could lead to an attack.

"He will stay with you." It wasn't a question.

"Like hell he will!" Only Pam's eyebrow moved almost indiscernibly. "No way, Pam. I am done with the vampire political bullshit. I did the nice thing, I found him on my road, I took him home, I fed him." Pam's eyebrows both shot up. "Not like that! Geez, who do you think I am? I gave him a True Blood and I called you. That's it. The end of my good Samaritan duties and I want him and you both gone. I'm tired, I want to sleep and I am not in the mood to jump back into your crazy supernatural world especially not at this moment in this manner." When she finished Sookie's panting was the only sound that could be heard in the room. Within moments, though, Pam was in Sookie's face growling.

"First, my little fairy friend, might I remind you that you are a part of this world whether or not you want to be. Second, my master saves you time and again, shows you more kindness than even I think necessary, protects you without you even having to ask him and you would dare to refuse to assist him the first time he actually requires your assistance? Not to mention the fact that you trample all over the pathetic human feelings he has developed for you by keeping your distance, rescinding his invitation and making him feel things!"

"He cannot stay here, Pam." Sookie stood her ground against the admittedly terrifying Pam. Eye to eye they stood in a deadlock until Pam gave a feral hiss into Sookie's face.

"Enough," came the barking order from Eric, who up until that point had remained completely silent across the room. Putting himself in-between the two women he looked down at Sookie and gave her a pleading look. "I do not know her."

"You don't know me," Sookie replied exasperatedly.

"I feel safe with you. Please."

Sookie sighed. How could she say no to Eric Northman, in any form, begging to stay at her side? "Fine," she mumbled and went to plop down onto the couch, hating how much she was resembling a petulant child, but not knowing what else to do under the circumstances.

"Wonderful," Pam deadpanned. "Do you have somewhere for him to stay?"

"I will dig a hole in the cemetery out back," Eric offered. Sookie wondered how Eric knew that there was a cemetery back there. After all, he had only looked about her house for several minutes. She didn't ask though and instead gave an obviously forced smile so Pam would take the hint and leave if she wasn't going to take Eric with her.

"I will be back as soon as I have any news. I will fix this." As Pam spoke to Eric she noticed her features grow soft and she remembered once again Eric kneeling of the rooftop in Dallas. She imagined it must be distressing for Pam to not know how to help her maker.

"Well, if that's all, I want to go to bed." Sookie made a big production out of getting off of the couch and stretching her arms skyward in an exaggerated yawn. "Some of us are human," she added for good measure. If she was going to act like a brat she might as well push it as far as she could. Pam said something in the foreign language to Eric and was gone before Sookie could blink.

Alone once again with Eric she felt herself relax. Trying to think optimistically she considered it might be fine spending a couple of days with someone other than herself who had no knowledge of her rocky emotional state at the moment, pleasant even.

"I hate to leave you alone, but I really need to sleep. Will you be alright by yourself?" She wasn't even sure she wanted to leave him alone, but her body was not operating with her mind any longer.

He shoved his hands deep in his pockets and smiled a soft, gentle smile that Sookie had never seen before. "Good night, Sookie Stackhouse."

She began to mount the stairs, chuckling to herself. Some things you simply couldn't change. Hesitantly turning back to find him standing in the same exact place in the middle of her living room she tilted her head to the side before sheepishly asking if he would know when sunrise was. Once he assured her he would she turned back and began to drift off to sleep before she even made it into her bed.