This chapter is dedicated to all the Sookie/Eric shippers. Enjoy. Also, thankyou for the reviews! You know who you are =) They are very rewarding and encouraging!
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I sighed. A long, dismal sigh of utter desolation. I longed for Bill's cool presence by my side, always insisting that I remain wrapped in a blanket while we watched crappy late night TV, for fear of my catching a chill. Whispering sweet nothings in my ear in that voice that sent shivers down my spine - in a good way. Sweet nothings that would quickly turn into something much less tame as soon as he noticed my attention wavering from the screen, which would lead to...
Memories flooded my consciousness, and I sighed again. Oh, that things could be like that again. Ever since Jessica became a part of our life together - apart from that first memorable night of make-up sex - everything was tense, strained, as if we were walking on eggshells, sidestepping the real issues as we tried to be parents in two completely opposite, conflicting ways.
I thought Jess should be treated as a teenager which, for all intents and purposes, was exactly what she was. All the things Bill described to me, every problem she was having and all the emotional changes she was going through, I could remember going through when I was 17. The fact that she was a vampire made no difference at all, at least to me.
To Bill, it made all the difference - he kept reinforcing the fact that she wasn't human anymore and therefore couldn't be treated as a normal teenage girl. However, I didn't see this as the real reason our parenting techniques clashed. My main issue was this: Bill was being too conventional; too traditional. In the face of something new and somewhat disorienting, i.e. a newly made, teenage vampire, Bill had reverted back to the parenting methods he was familiar with.
Those methods may have been effective in the 1800's, but in the 21st century, they were nothing short of disastrous. Bill's idea of discipline - a sound reprimand and a couple of nights grounding - was not the problem. It was the things he disciplined Jessica for that really caused the disputes. Bill didn't seem to be able to grasp the concept that teenage girls were allowed to do a lot more these days than they were two centuries ago. Coming home late was no longer an issue - and neither was making out with your boyfriend on the sofa in the lounge.
This was when Bill drew the vamp card again. I knew Jess could control her more vampirish desires - she would never hurt Hoyt, of that I was sure, and as she had never tasted human blood anyway, she didn't really know what she was missing. But Bill put his foot down and announced that anything more than holding hands was too dangerous - which is why Jess and Hoyt usually ended up spending most of their nights together back at the Fortenberrys'. All in all, there were just too many conflicting elements, and even when we did get a moment free from tension, we always ended up talking about Jessica, and then everything would start all over again.
I was lost in thought when the knock on the door came. I hadn't heard a car pull up, and I couldn't hear the thoughts of whoever was standing outside - the lack of noise (both audible and brainwave) was a dead giveaway that my visitor was not human. A tiny spark of hope that had clung on in the pit of my stomach burst into flame. I bundled myself off the couch and ran to the door, yanking it open and-- stopping short.
"Eric! I'm sorry, I was expecting--"
"Bill. Yes, I know. Hoping he'd come to kiss and make up? A little birdie told me there was trouble in paradise. Parenting issues?"
My eyes narrowed.
"I thought our business contract was terminated after Dallas," I remarked icily. "Or was I mistaken? Just my luck, I guess. You know, I was just thinkin' before you got here that nothin' would top my evenin' off better than a visit from my favourite undead pain in the ass."
Eric smirked, chuckling. Was it just me or was he actually taking a joke for once? For all our time together in Dallas he had been strictly serious - I'd seen him joking once or twice with Pam, but that was about it.
"Why must you take everything so personally, Sookie dear? And just so you know, this call isn't business, I was simply concerned for the wellbeing of the Stackhouse/Compton/Hamby household. I've dealt with newborns before - maybe I can offer some advice?"
I was genuinely taken aback. With his last comment, there was no hint of sarcasm, no indication that he was just stringing me along for his own amusement. This change of disposition made me a little wary.
"Why would you wanna give me advice? Haven't you already made it clear that you hate me and would only stand to be in the same room as me if it benefited you in some way?"
"Sookie, there is a lot about me that you don't know. Don't assume you can tell from a single business arrangement what my true motives are. I am over a thousand years old. Don't you think there'd be a lot more to me than is visible on the surface? You of all people should know that - someone's inner thoughts can be very different to the face they present to everyone else, isn't that right?"
He paused, deliberating over something.
"I'll be honest with you. You have always intrigued me, Sookie. Unfortunately past circumstances have prevented me from really getting to know you. I would like to, if you'd let me. May I come in?"
"Oh! Yes, I'm sorry, I forgot! Won't you please come in?"
Eric's intensity and apparent interest had shocked me out of my determination to be nothing but unpleasant to him. I smiled at him, and his eyes crinkled - if he'd really shown his age I was suddenly sure there would be more wrinkles as evidence of smiles and laughter than frowns. I was startled by the revelation that perhaps Eric was more given to kindness than anything else, and that the cruel and unforgiving image he presented at first was simply a shell that had formed and hardened over the course of his vampire life.
I followed him through to the lounge room, where he sat rather awkwardly on the edge of the sofa - looking completely out of place among Gran's crocheted throws and the empty mugs on the coffee table. I sat across from him, in my usual armchair, and wondered what protocol was when the Sheriff of Area 5 came to visit. I smiled to myself at the bizarre nature of the situation.
"What? Private joke?"
"No, I was just wonderin' what hospitalities I should be offerin' you, given your rank in vampire authority."
He chuckled for the second time that evening (morning?). I discovered I rather liked this new, friendly Eric.
"Just a warm Tru Blood, if you don't mind, thankyou. B positive." He changed the subject as I got up to go to the kitchen. "You must be tired - generally humans don't follow the same sleeping patterns as us, had you noticed?"
I laughed. "You're right, I am tired. But I'm used to it by now. When your boyfriend only comes out at night, you kinda learn to adjust."
The microwave beeped and I walked back into the lounge, Tru Blood in hand. I rounded the corner and crashed straight into Eric, who had relocated to lean against the door frame. I started to apologise profusely - I had spilled the Tru Blood all down his shirt. Eric locked my wrists into the strong grip of one of his hands, forcing me to drop the half-empty bottle, and with his other hand tilted my chin up so he was staring me right in the eyes.
What I saw there sent waves of heat coursing through me, in strange, new ways that I hadn't felt before. Behind the pale, sea blue of his eyes, there was a fire that burned so deep and so hot it scared me. I looked away, afraid of what I was feeling and what would happen next.
"Eric, I'm sorry about your shirt, oh, God, look at this mess--"
"You can clean it all up later."
And with that, he grabbed my face roughly and kissed me, long and deep. My insides twisted as I thought of Bill, startled by this unexpected turn of events, and then relaxed as I accepted the rhythm of the kiss and began to enjoy it. Eric's advances were more forceful than Bill's, but not unpleasant. I sensed a longing in him that was akin to Bill's - a longing that had disappeared not long after we started dating. I realised that Eric hadn't had physical contact like this in a very long time, probably even longer than Bill, given the significantly larger number of years that Eric had been around.
He pushed me against the wall and I responded in kind, wrapping my arms around him and pressing myself against him in as many ways as I could. His mouth left mine, only to begin tracing kisses along my jaw line, down my neck... I knew what was coming. The feeling of anticipation was almost overwhelming as I tilted my head; I heard his fangs extend and felt them lightly graze across my skin...
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Silly, fickle Sookie. Up next, Bill!
