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As usual, I own nothing, and am too scared to find beta. Sorry!

Air. I needed air. Now, goddammit!

But there was no air to be had. The little bit of stuff I could suck past the hand covering my face tasted awful and was most definitely not air. Oh, holy crap there was a hand suffocating me! I was going to die! Bill! Bill! Where was he? Couldn't he feel my panic?

No. No, I didn't need to rely on Bill for everything; I was a Stackhouse! And I was damn well going to fight! I started kicking my attacker for everything I was worth, and while they easily overpowered me, I was surprised at how capable I was.

Just as I was sure I was going to die from lack of Oxygen, I felt myself being picked up and placed on my feet, and the hand left my face. I instantly dropped to the ground, and anxiously rubbed my eyes as I gasped and coughed. Only then did I realize that it was dirt that had impaired my breathing (as well as the hand) and that I was covered in it. I had been buried alive? And I survived?

I closed my eyes and focussed on slowing my breathing and heart rate. My heart rate….. Jesus Christ Sheppard of Judea, my heart wasn't beating! What was going on? Had I died? Was I dead? I had just come out of the ground; did I escape from Hell? Was I really a bad enough person to be put in Hell? No, I was a good person! God would understand that, wouldn't he? Oh, Dear God, please, God…. I'm a good person! I am!

"Oh please," a condescending voice said. "This is too pathetic for words." I wasn't alone? I wasn't alone! Someone could help me! Wait, of course I wasn't alone; someone had been suffocating me earlier. This lady was probably my attacker!

"Sookie," a different voice said. It was much closer to me. I knew that voice… Eric. It smelled like Eric and that was definitely Eric's voice… but I really didn't want to check. I didn't have to deal with anything while my eyes were closed. I knew it was childish, but I really didn't want to deal with all of this. "Sookie, look at me. Open your eyes."

And suddenly, I wanted to just that. My eyes flew open without hesitation, and I was met with Eric's piercing blue ones. Had his eyes always been this pretty? Because they were absolutely gorgeous now. I think I mumbled something to that effect, but he chose to ignore it. Instead, he stood up from his crouch, and offered me a hand. I took it, without a second thought, and stumbled around a bit before I got my bearings. I felt so light… and I didn't have to think about keeping my arches, or standing up straight; all of those things just kind of happened. "What's going on?" I asked him quietly. He met my eyes, but didn't give me an answer. I took a quick look around, and only then did I notice Pam. So that was the first voice…

Pam was carrying trueblood. Why would she be- No. No, this wasn't happening. She must have it for someone else. NO!

I looked back into Eric's eyes. "Eric. What is going on?"

I saw something flash across Eric's face, before he shifted his expression to a very cool and calculating one. "I think you know very well what is going on, Sookie." After a moment, he added, "You are vampire."

What? No! This was not happening. It wasn't! There was no way! He made me into a monster! He did!

I didn't even care what was going on anymore. I was pacing, kicking things, crying… I wasn't even sure how much of this I was saying out loud. There was no way I agreed to this! He had no right!

That was just it, he had no right! I stopped pacing, and tried to look into his eyes (it was a little hard to see past all the blood, not to mention disgusting) "I didn't consent! It's illegal! You broke the law!" I shouted at him. Then I had another thought. "I'll sue you! I'll sue you for everything you've got!" I spat at him, and a moment later I was pressed against a tree that was starting to give way under the pressure.

"I do not respond well to threats." He told me, and his voice was dangerously quiet. I looked up at him and was terrified with what I saw. His eyes were narrowed, and his fangs were fully out. He leaned in even closer to me, if that was even possible, and touched his forehead to mine. "And you will do no. Such. Thing." I gulped and tried to shrink into the tree a little. He was absolutely terrifying, yet at the same time, I felt better just by being near him. What the f?

He exhaled sharply and took a step back. "Now, as it happens, I did get your consent, and while you may not remember it at the moment, believe me when I say you will." I wasn't sure if he meant I would actually remember it, or if he meant the 1984 kind of 'remembering'. I wasn't even sure which idea scared me more. Either way, I gave him a tentative nod, knowing that there really wasn't anything I could do about it. For now. Eric's expression changed to one that was much kinder, I suddenly felt very loved. "Now, I'm going to take a random guess here, and say that you're hungry." He said with the corners of his mouth turning up.

Oh, he had no idea. I was starving. But suddenly, I could care less. I was touched that he would even ask about my needs, let alone provide for them. And I could see by the trueblood that he wasn't going to make me bite anyone, and that was sure a weight off of my shoulders. Without even thinking about it, I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around him, hiding my head away in his chest. "Eric," I said as I started to cry again. "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have doubted you and I'm not going to sue you, I promise. Oh, Eric, I'm so sorry. Please forgive me… Please" I sobbed into his chest. I meant every word of it.

His wrapped his arms around me as well, and brushed my bloody hair out of my face. "Shhhhh, little one, it's alright. It'll all be alright," he whispered into my ear, and I started to sob in relief. He wasn't mad, he wasn't going to punish me, and everything was going to be alright! "The first night is always the hardest. It'll all get better from here," he whispered before letting my hair fall back onto my face and straightening up. I pulled back and nodded shakily, and I felt a lot of reassurance come my way. What the….?

Eric's arm found its way around my waist as he said, "Come now, I know you're hungry, and Pam was kind enough to bring you some trueblood." I didn't even care what he was saying, I was just happy to have him near me and not be yelling. What was wrong with me? What about Bill? Oh god, Bill… does he know? What would he say? When he finds out, he'll kill Eric, I'm sure of it… oh dear lord. Eric's a monster, and I love Bill, but Eric's all I know right now. I don't want him to die!

Eric, who somehow knew I was panicking, stopped walking and stiffened. When I looked up at him, he told me sternly, "We will talk later; after we get you fed." I nodded numbly. I liked it when he said 'we'…

When we reached Pam, Eric decided he would introduce us, despite the fact that we had already met. "Sookie, meet your new sister, Pam. Pam, Sookie." I opted to say nothing (I wasn't really sure on the etiquette for this situation) but I watched Pam's eyes trail over my body, and I could almost feel her disappointment. I was just a tad too nervous to let her know how I felt about that, so I kept my mouth shut. When she was finished, she sighed and handed me a trueblood.

"Thanks," I muttered as I opened it effortlessly. I wasn't too thrilled about drinking it cold, but I didn't exactly see a microwave anywhere close by. I exhaled nervously as I brought it up to my lips…. And Holy Mother of God, it was the most disgusting thing I had ever tasted. I went through the motion of gagging, though it was useless and ineffective, and a little bit of it escaped my mouth. I forced myself to swallow, though, and took another big gulp and did the same. I found if I just kept going, I was able to keep myself from spitting it all out, and after a while, I felt distinctly less hungry. I finished off the bottle, wiped my chin, and let out a huge breath.

"Well done," Pam told me with a bit of a model pout, and only then did I notice that they had both stepped back quite a bit, obviously expecting me to spit it out. Ha! I showed them!

Eric stepped forward and put a hand on my back, rubbing small circles in it. He was proud of me; I could just tell. "Another?" he asked.

"Another" I said, and sighed.

ooooo

Two bottles of blood later, I finally felt like I could think about something other than just how hungry I was, and couldn't help but laugh a little at how fast I had chugged them. "Anyone wanna play flip cup?" I asked with a smile. They didn't appear to understand. I guess fangbangers don't play drinking games.

ooooo

When we finally got back to Fangtasia, (they had let me walk, thank god, instead of making me run) I realized how strong my sense of smell had become. There was blood pooled on the floor, and I could smell that it was Bill's. I started to panic, thinking that they had hurt him, or worse, but then I smelled my human blood, and it all started coming back to me; the thing that attacked me in the woods, the strange little doctor, and yes, even me granting Eric permission to turn me. I stared at bloodstained table blankly, and didn't know what to think. After a moment, Eric placed his hand on the small of my back and steered me out of the room. "What are we going?" I asked him quietly.

Once the employee bathroom was in sight, he answered; "We are going to have a shower."

What? We showered together now? I don't think so.