PART THREE

Chapter 5

It had certainly been a epic evening together and she had hoped, before drifting to a dreamless sleep that all the sacrifice, the give and take, would amount to a baby. She awoke in the morning alone in bed as she figured she would be, her Viking no doubt in his cubby for the day. Deciding to make a lazy morning of it, she lingered in bed for some time, before a stabbing pain filled through her. She felt her pulse drop, felt her skin go clammy and the next thing she knew she rolled out of bed but was unable to move, barely clinging onto consciousness. The dizzying feeling was coupled with the stabbing in her middle and as she drifted in and out of a blacked out state, her hands did manage to reach her middle and she found her cute set of lingerie she had worn were snugger on her than she recalled. And she tried to stifle a cry of pain as she felt everything within her burning, the pain almost unbearable. She had said to him that she would die for him and he had said he would do the same for her….but this wasn't how she had ever imagined she could, would go out. Everything was blurry as she heard a noise and there he appeared in the doorway, ignoring the sunlight streaming through the windows and the fact she saw no immediate burning, that had to be a side effect of her giving some of her light to him. That she had in turn taken on a vamp trait of two in exchange was not seeming to help her at the moment.

"Sookie." Eric said, alarm in his voice as he came to the side of the bed where she had fallen from, her back to him. And as he reached around to try to help her up, seeing her pale and unresponsive, he did feel signs of life. She was breathing and had a pulse. But there was something else, as his hands reached gently around her middle and though it was hard for him to be startled, this was one of those rare times….that he was dealing with the realization that had downed on him that he wasn't being affected by the sunlight had suddenly come upon him. But his main focus now was on her and scooping her up, he got her on the bed and saw how pale she was, how weak. And yet, as he gingerly, almost timidly placed a hand on her slightly distended belly, he felt the life within kicking strongly. A fighter. But help, he knew, was needed and so he pulled out his cell and soon, a familiar voice was on the other end. And after a promise of a hefty pay day, he hung up and it was when there came a impatient knock on the front door downstairs a half hour later, the Viking allowed the dwarf to enter, the feisty and fearless Dr Ludwig all put pushing herself through the front door, past him and heading up the stairs as soon as he had opened the door. He explained that which had happened and the doc was unfazed by the odd manner in which this unborn child had come to be.

"Nothing surprises me anymore, Viking." she said as she entered the room where the blonde was resting, looking at peace and at least the spasms of pain and discomfort had abated. Checking her vitals, the doc said nothing for a good fifteen minutes before putting her supplies back into her doctor bag.

"Well? I want answers right now! How is she? How is-" Eric was clearly itching to know what, if anything was wrong. The doc looked at him sternly.

"I don't take kindly to impatience and a lack of respect …if you want answers, then ask without so much attitude. I get that you are worried but I deserve respect and if I am to be the one that cares for her for the duration of this, I would suggest you mind your manners, such as they are." the doc said, jabbing a finger upward into his midsection, further proof she had no fear of even him. Though it clearly was taking a good deal of effort, he ran a hand through his hair and pursed his lips before offering a small smile to the doc.

"Not many are gutsy enough to talk back to me…and I admit, I was….rude. You do good work in the past-" he paused. "I apologize for my rudeness. I only want her to be well."

"This is the second time I've come to work on her and I have yet to fail you…or her." she doc's tone was gentler and there was something of a smirk on her face. "I find it hard to be annoyed at you, Viking. There's something about you that makes it hard and since you cant glamour dwarves like me either….." she shook her head and offered a comforting pat on the leg. "She is fine as is the little one. I suspect with her faerie blood and whatever other magic is in her, it is only going to be a matter of days before she has the kid. And I would suggest that you take care with her, be cautious. I have never delivered a child with the bloodlines like this one has and with that kind of firepower, the labor could be markedly different form a average faerie delivery. Just want to give you fair warning. Any troubles, don't hesitate to call, though I warn you, it has been a busy time for me, illnesses directly and indirectly to the supe community are at all time highs and though none are terribly serious, I am on my own until I can find some help at the clinic. There is a chance, my friend, that you could very well end up having to take on the delivery yourself, though I doubt it. But know there is a chance….and by the way, how is your infusion of her power treating you?"

As if an answer to her question, the slowly rising sun had become brighter and streamed through the curtains a little more and it was then he winced, feeling the effects and showing them. But yet not in the same way that it once affected him. "Seems like I can tolerate it more but clearly, I am also not immune to it….thanks for asking." he said with a smirk. "Shall I show you out?"

"I appreciate the offer but nope. Good luck to the both of you and I suggest that perhaps you give her a drink and I don't mean orange juice…..that comes after she gets what she really needs." and she closed the bedroom door behind her, leaving him to look to Sookie whose eyes were open and she looked tired but there was a sense of calm about her that made his own nerves settle, if only slightly.

"Hey there….I heard voices and I wanted to wake up but I didn't want to….did I hear Dr. Ludwig?"

Sitting on the side of the bed, he nodded. "I was worried after the fit you had, it was….frightening. And then when I got you up on the bed, I noticed this." he guided her hands under the covers and she herself was able to take in her changing body. And she looked at him, eyes alight.

"I felt strange and then I kinda blanked and I…I can't believe this is happening." she said as she leaned her head back, staring at the ceiling before turning to her left where he sat, watching her. "None of this would have been possible if not for you going along with this insane set of circumstances. " she smiled but the smile faded. "But now your parents….they…their sprits cant visit again…there nothing left of them."

He looked wistful and yet there was a pride there too. "I hate sounding clichéd or mushy, but they are within both of us and this-" he placed his hand gently on her stomach. "They knew what they were giving up and did so willingly. To give us something we wanted….." he frowned and remembered that he was supposed to give her a little something. "The doc said I should give you a drink." he bit into his wrist and offered it to her. "Modern medicine, huh?"

Chapter 6

Having learned of his improved but not foolproof tolerance for the sunlight, she was glad for him that he could, at least for some short periods of time, enjoy the sun, though she worried that perhaps he may push the limits to a bad point. Having had a taste of him a few hours earlier, she was feeling normal, for the most part and yet, she knew she was getting bigger by the minutes, albeit slowly. Her skin had gotten its healthy glow back and she felt perfectly normal. If only she could stop knocking things over with her expanding middle, that would be just great. But at least the only casualties from that had been a couple glasses of water and the knocking over of some jelly onto the kitchen floor. And to her embarrassment, he had been there for that particular incident and even as he cleaned the mess for her, she was pink in the face with embarrassment. It had been a couple days since the doc's visit and it had been decided that they inform their friends and family. And even though everyone had been made aware of that which had happened, upon arriving for a half shift at work, Sookie still got all kinds of gaping stares and funny looks. Certainly none were mean spirited and as she was picked up from work that evening by Eric at the end of the night, he too had been given some looks and had some comments made. Again, nothing mean, but it was comments of shock, surprise and support.

"That went…better than I hoped. " she said as she allowed him to drive her home in his corvette, leaving her own car behind for the night. The fresh air on her face felt good and she knew it had to be hard for him to play it safe behind the wheel-not that eh was careless when driving but e did tend to go a notch above the speed limit when on the open highway. Though readily he did prefer taking to the skies when traveling. But in her current state, he didn't dare travel like that when he had offered to pick her up. "How did Pam take the news?"

He ran a hand through his hair as they sped closer to her place. "She was taken aback and for her to be at a loss for words…" he smirked. "She said it may be fun dressing the kid like her and even if it's a boy, she said she planned to buy him little leather jackets and only the best in hair products…Ginger overheard the talk and she wants to throw a…..baby shower….she woman can barely make a sandwich, though I admit, she is a skilled bartender…..". He made a face in regards to Pam's reaction to the news, to which a giggling Sookie shook her head,

"Amazing how people can change….." she said. "I know how jealous and possessive she can be." her face darkened. "Do you really think she is looking forward to all of this? I never pegged her for being one to like kids. If anything I thing even tolerating them would be huge for her."

"Like you said, people change and seeing what you went through, I think it made her a little softer…I'd like to think it worked for me, don't you?" he said, stealing a glance at her before focusing on the road again.

"I know I have changed….for the better and yeah, you've changed a lot so I guess its not out of the realm of possibility for her to change too…..not saying it won't be a little weird seeing her interacting with a kid….but….we've really got a lot to be thankful for, don't we?"

"I suppose so…the past few years have been…." she bit her lip and couldn't bring herself to look at him, resting her hands on her stomach. "If you told me back then that this is where I would find myself, I would have laughed I your face. I was so wrong about so much. I know now that my behavior helped drive you away when you were gone for half a year and the fact I never bothered trying to see you, that I didn't think about you….I was so self absorbed and selfish and I can't believe you never gave up on me….us…how can I ever get forgiveness for how terrible I was?"

There was a silence as he took in her words, knowing that she was clearly aggrieved at her past actions. Finally he spoke. "I think we have both done things we regret and would do over if we could…the thing that matters is the moment we are in right here and now. I don't want to harp over the past and I am sure you don't either…am I right?"

She nodded, comforted and relieved that he wasn't making her feel guilty about things in the past. Though she knew in her heart, there would always be that pain and guilt she would never be rid of. No one could cleanse their conscience completely. And she would need to deal with the fact that she had done terrible things that certainly had not been warranted. And she also knew he himself knew he too had baggage he carried. "I am lucky and won't take anything or anyone for granted ever again. I promise."

Nether said anything for some time. In a matter of days, their lives would change yet again but at least this time, they were stuck like glue. And it was a slight discomfort in her middle that told her things were going to get more interesting really soon.

TO BE CONTINUED