Hey guys,
So here's the next update. Brief summary – Sookie is looking after Coby and Lisa when Eric drops by unannounced, drama definitely ensues when Arlene finds out. This story takes place the December of the same year that CAM does, it's about six months after the end of CAM. So, as always I'm going to tell you what's new with me, whether you want to know or not lol. I have a date for next Friday after my maths exam with the Nordic guy I mentioned before, we ran into each other when we were walking dogs, he has a wonderful Collie. I was wearing my 'Team Northman' shirt at college today and one of the English language student teachers came up to me in the library and asked straight out why don't I like Bill. It started a conversation of nearly an hour whilst his class was doing independent study. I'm actually a little sad I don't take language anymore. Finally, I've been asked to do a fifteen minute recital during the interval at a pantomime that my old drama group is doing. It's Cinderella again, I actually played Prince Charming twice whilst I was there. I'll let you get on with the story now. Oh, Charlaine Harris owns the wonderful Southern Vampires Mysteries.
The wintery Tuesday evening had brought the perfect weather for snuggling up in my favourite fleece with a good book on my sofa. Outside the chill wind was blowing a gale and the promise of ice in the morning was clear in the air. The roaring fire in the hearth gave off a scent that reminded me of childhood, being read to by my grandmother, and the large, dancing flames gave off their orange glow to bathe the room in warmth.
The sun had set an hour ago but it didn't bring any sense of real joy or excitement; he was working at the bar and I'd had the afternoon shift at the bar so it was alone for the night. Shrugging off the strange annoyance I felt at not seeing him I snuggled further into my jumper, taking in a deep breath to let his scent wash over me. Underneath the jumper I was already wearing my pyjamas; one of Eric's t-shirts that had been abandoned to my bedroom floor that I'd pinched before he could retrieve it, yoga pants, woollen socks and my fleecy maroon jumper. The shirt still clung to his scent which was the reason I was wearing it; the soft material reminded me of safety.
I was just getting to an exciting part where one of the vampires in it was declaring his love for the dhampir when the phone began to ring. I had half a mind to just let the phone pick up; I wanted to know what happened next. Since dating vampires, or more specifically since Eric, I'd become interested in vampire fiction and I became oddly obsessed with stories about dhampirs, the child of a vampire and human. I knew such a creature was impossible but it still made for a good story. Sadly, I knew it would be rude to leave it ringing, so I sighed and reached over to the coffee table to pick up the cordless handset.
"Hello?" I asked, not quite keeping all of my annoyance out of my voice.
"Sookie? Oh thank goodness you're at home."
"Hey Arlene, what's wrong?" She was speaking much higher than normal and in a rush.
"You know I wouldn't ask if I didn't have to, but can you do me a favour?" I'd learnt a long time ago to always ask before agreeing when it came to Arlene's favours; she never did anything bad but she could a little advantage sometimes.
"What is it?"
"Can you look after the kids tonight please? I'm really stuck for someone," she pleaded down the other end of the phone, sounding truly desperate.
"Yeah, of course. How come you need a sitter at short notice?" Arlene was usually pretty good when it came to the kids and no matter how scatter brained she could be in normal life she kept it together when it came to her kids.
"It's Barry; he's been taken into hospital again." Barry was one of Arlene's ex husbands, I wasn't entirely sure which number he was, and it was also popular knowledge that he was suffering from years of alcohol abuse that had started when he'd left Arlene. I didn't think he was the kids' father though. "I'm still down as his next of kin, so I have to go see if he's okay. Can you just watch them for a few hours?"
"Of course Arlene, bring them over when you need to and I'll keep them over night if I have to. You go make sure Barry's going to be okay," I replied with my annoyance evaporated. Arlene and I still had a bit of a rocky friendship but I did love those kids, I hadn't seen them properly in so long.
"Oh thank-you Sookie! You don't know what this means to me, and Lisa has been asking after her Aunt!" I smiled at the thought that Lisa still cared enough about me to call me her aunt.
"Don't worry about it, you're in a pickle and I miss the kids."
"Okay, thanks, I'll be over in about half an hour, I was so close to having to take them to the hospital! But they won't have to stay the night, I'll be back to pick them up, I just don't what time."
"It's okay, just go get ready and I'll see you soon." With that we both hung up after a quick goodbye and I set to getting ready for having the kids over.
My house wasn't a mess by any stretch of the imagination; I kept the house very clean and tidy, as my grandmother had all of her life. But, there were bottles of True Blood in the refrigerator that I didn't want them to find, there was male clothing dotted around; Eric's jacket slung over the back of a chair in the kitchen, shirts on the radiator and a pair of flip-flops by the back door. I'd learned from past experience that kids were exquisitely inquisitive and they would ask many probing question at any of these things, simply because they didn't know I had a boyfriend. I'd rather introduce Eric when he was actually present.
I'd just finished tidying up and making sure I had all the ingredients to make a pizza when there was a knock on the front door. I cast my mental net, finding only the three brain signatures of Arlene, Coby and Lisa but it was always better to be sure of these things, one night only a few weeks ago it had saved me from a conversation from Bill. I opened the door to find all three of them stooped over, buried in their thick winter coats against the biting cold air.
"Come on in, you'll freeze out there!" The kids rushed in, flinging their small arms around my waist for a quick hug as they scurried past me. Arlene though, remained on the porch.
"I can't stay Sookie; I really need to get going."
"Do you know what's wrong with him?" I asked, trying to not sound too curious and nosey.
"No, they wouldn't tell me on the phone, I don't know if that's bad or good!" Her voice was thickening, her eyes were sparkling with unshed tears and he features were flitting between anger and fear. They may be exes but she still had some form of residual feelings for him, purely platonic she'd told me before, and she'd never truly forgiven him for running out on her and the kids. In hindsight him running had probably saved them a lot of pain.
"Come here," I stated simply as I opened up my arms, wrapping her in a big hug. "It'll be okay, just be strong." I squeezed her tightly and let my hands rub her back soothingly, just like what I liked when I was upset.
"The kids know I'm going to visit Barry, but they don't know he's in the hospital, just that he's not feeling too well. Don't tell them please."
"I won't, I promise. Now go, you know the kids will be fine here. I'll feed them and if need be put them to bed if gets too late. I send my best wishes for Barry." Arlene nodded in return and hurried off down the steps to her car. I could feel the confusion coming in floods from her mind, she wasn't usually a projector. I knew that once she was in her car she was fighting back the tears she'd been strong enough to hold in for her kids' sake.
I shook my head in sympathy, plastered a big smile on my face and went in search of the kids. They'd placed their boots at the foot of the stairs, their coats were hung up on the rack and they themselves were sat around the kitchen table talking together with giggles springing up every couple of seconds. For siblings, they really did get along very well.
"So you guys, you want some pizza?" I asked as I walked in. Their happy smiles told me that they did indeed want pizza so I set to getting out the things from the refrigerator and pantry. "Now, I don't buy that frozen stuff so we're making our own. You can have anything that I have here on it, so choose a third." Without being told they got up and washed their hands before joining me at the counter where all the things had been spread out.
They'd both grown so much since I'd last seen them properly; I wasn't counting serving them at the bar during their monthly meals out as seeing them, they'd been sat down as well so I hadn't noticed a change in height. Neither of them needed the stool anymore to comfortably reach the counter.
"So what have you been up to at school?" I asked as I spread the sauce along the base in a thick layer. Lisa, with her gorgeous auburn hair and cute freckles replied first in her girly voice.
"I got an A on a maths test!"
"That's great! Well done honey," I replied, not needing to fake my enthusiasm. I wasn't related to them by blood but that didn't stop me being proud of their accomplishments.
"I made the baseball team." Coby added as well, his dark blond fringe was hanging over his eyes causing him to look up steeply to see me. The last time I'd heard he'd been interested in football though.
"That's good Coby, you started practicing?"
"Yeah, I've had a couple of games as well. You should come!"
"I would love to sweetie; I and Lisa here can sit together, can't we. Are you not interested in football anymore?"
"Not really, the coach was mean and I didn't like him." We started adding our own ingredients to the pizza in comfortable silence, laughing whenever someone spilt something. By the time the pizza was nearly ready for the oven we had sauce and cheese everywhere.
"Did you hear that Sookie?" Lisa asked suddenly in a timid voice, staring out into the night through the kitchen window.
"Nope, what did you hear?" I'd honestly heard nothing beside our laughter and I hadn't felt anything with my mind, although I'd had my mental shields firmly clamped down.
"It sounded like someone was walking about out there." She pointed off to the side of the house, near where visitors usually parked their cars. The security lights hadn't been turned on as I wasn't planning on going out at all. All three of us stood watching the still night, listening for any noise.
That's when I heard it, the sound of light footfalls crossing the porch, heading towards the front door. I stood frozen, knowing that I hadn't heard a car engine cutting through the night and knowing that I wasn't expecting anyone. "Wait here," I told the kids with a smile on my face to try and reassure them. I scuttled from the room and into the hall to find the front door opening. A gust of cold wind whipped around me, sending shivers down my spine.
"Hello lover," Eric called out with a smile as he stepped through the open door, his keys still held in his hand. The door was shut swiftly behind him with the heel of his foot before he stalked towards me, the mischievous gleam present in his eyes.
"Eric, I have guests," I stuttered out quickly, hoping that he wouldn't do anything unusual in the presence of the kids. They'd accepted Bill very well but they also knew, on some level, that he'd been mean to me. I wasn't sure if they knew it was just Bill or thought that all vampires in general were bad. His eyebrows drew down in a frown as he seemed to grow distant, probably listening to find out who was in the house. I assumed he didn't bother checking to find out if I was alone before letting himself in the door. I'd given him a key awhile back for convenience; it was nice to come home from work to find a naked vampire waiting for me in bed. The conversations afterward were very nice too.
"Who are they?" He whispered as he grabbed my hands and pulled me into his embrace.
"Arlene's kids, she had to go visit someone without much notice and asked if I'd look after them. Why are you here?" I asked as the confusion of his presence truly registered; he was supposed to be working tonight.
"The bar was dead, so I cut out a few hours early." He chuckled, laughing at his use of 'dead'. Vampires really did have a strange sense of humour. With Eric it came from him being a thousand years old but at least he had a sense of humour. "Did you not want to see me?" He asked with a serious tone, his body stiff underneath my arms. For all his bravado and confidence he could still be a little timid at certain things.
"Of course I do, it's great that you're here." I stood up on tiptoes and placed a chaste kiss on his lips to emphasise my point. When his head swooped down to meet my lips again I had to back away, covering his mouth with my hand. At his startled expression I explained, "The kids are here. They don't even know I have a boyfriend yet. Come on, you'd better come and meet them. You scared us all a little. Behave." I added with my most authoritative voice that was only met by an amused expression.
Knowing that I had no real control over the following events I walked confidently into the kitchen with a smile plastered on my face. The kids were stood exactly where I had left them; both had their backs to the window and were staring wide eyed towards the door. My house had always creped them out on some level, it being so old so anything apart from the norm freaked them out a little.
"Don't worry, it was only Eric," I stated happily and the tension broke in the room when little smiles appeared on their sauce stained faces. "Come here," I said as I offered out my hand which Lisa gratefully took. They may know that Eric wasn't a danger anymore but he was still an intimidating person to meet; being so tall he always seemed to loom whether he meant to or not. I could only imagine how scary he could look to a small child, especially in his 'work' clothes.
"Coby, Lisa, I'd like you to meet Eric, my boyfriend. Eric, this is Coby and this is Lisa," I introduced calmly. "Now, let's finish that pizza and get it cooking." I spun around and set to preparing the pizza for the oven.
"Are you going to be helping us? Because we already divided into thirds." I internally cringed at Coby's question. I'd assumed they would know he was a vampire; they stood out so much from humans to me that I tended to forget it wasn't so for other people.
"No I won't, your pizza is safe," I heard him chuckle which allowed me to breathe again. I slipped the pizza into the oven and stood up, coming face to chest with Eric.
"They don't know?" He whispered quietly so that the little ears in the room wouldn't be able to hear. I shook my head in reply and got some cans of diet Pepsi out of the refrigerator for the humans; it was a good job I still had some cans left or I'd be giving them coffee. I shuddered at the thought of kids on caffeine; at least the Pepsi was no added.
I took my seat at the table with the kids, making sure there was a spare seat next to me for Eric. "Coby, Lisa?"
"Mhmm?" They hummed in unison, looking up expectantly.
"I want to tell you something. You should know that Eric is a vampire," I stated, I was hoping it was best to be blunt, I wasn't sure how to sugar coat it. "But he's perfectly safe." The vampire in question stopped in his tracks, he'd been on his way to the microwave with a bottle of True Blood. He stared straight at me with eyebrows raised and an amused grin on his face. So he wasn't exactly safe, I wasn't going to get into the technicalities with the children.
"Is he like Bill? He was mean," Lisa stated like her opinion on Bill's personality was absolute fact. Bill had always been great around these two as he'd had kids himself when he was human, it made me wonder what Arlene had told them. I also grew curious about Eric's human life; he was so old that I didn't really think about it much, but he was old enough to have had children when he was human, given the time period he was from. I'd also never asked him how old he was when he was turned; I'd guess at early to mid twenties but it was difficult to tell, it seemed people used to age differently centuries ago.
"No, he's nothing like Bill," I replied hastily. At that moment the microwave dinged and Eric folded up his tall frame to join us at the table.
"Trust me, I am not Bill."
"Can you trust vampires?" Coby asked quizzically while Lisa just looked between whoever was speaking like a tennis match.
"No." Eric replied honestly which really threw Coby for a loop. They were too young to know anything about vampire politics.
"Can I see your fangs?"Lisa asked timidly as she stared at awe at my vampire; she'd never had this reaction with Bill. "Bill never let us see them." I didn't know whether I wanted Eric to show them or not, but I knew that he would as soon as she mentioned Bill's name.
"Yes," Eric replied. I turned around to see him smiling at the kids, his fangs extended, which gave a rather unsettling image.
"Wow," Lisa whispered and she moved as though to reach across the table to touch him. Faster than we could follow Eric leaned back in his chair, his fangs retracting as his smile grew into a smirk.
"You can't touch I'm afraid, that's only for your aunt." My cheeks flamed at his words, hoping that the children wouldn't get the full meaning behind his words. Under the table I gave him a sharp jab with my left foot, which only caused him to chuckle. "So, how old are you two?"
"I'm 10, and she's eight," Coby replied proudly.
"Whoa, you guys are getting old. I'm over a thousand though, I may have you beaten." He laughed. Then his eyes gleamed suddenly as he thought of something, an honest smile crossing his lips. "What time period are you studying in history?" He asked and I had to admit that my ears perked up; he never really spoke in depth about the past. I could feel story time coming on though.
"I'm doing Egyptians," Coby replied and I felt some of the energy deflate from Eric.
"Well that's no good, I can't tell you about those. They're even older than me. What about you Lisa?" He asked, turning his full attention to the little girl who stared back with wide eyes.
"I'm learning about the presidents."
"Well that's not very interesting either. Would you two like to learn some real history?" He leaned forward again on his chair, taking a big gulp of his synthetic blood as he did so.
"Yes please," the kids chimed leaning forward as well. I stayed relaxed, watching the show before me. It was nice to know he could be good, I just found it very strange that he was good with children.
"What do you know about Vikings?" He rested him elbows on the table, his fingers laced until he realised I hadn't joined them in the conspirator circle. His right arm, the one that was closest to me, reached back to tug gently on my shoulders so he could pull me into his side. We ended up leaning comfortably against one another with his cool arm slung around my shoulders.
"Yeah," Coby replied excitedly whilst little Lisa nodded her head frantically.
"What do you know about Vikings?"
"They were like pirates! They had massive boats and they invaded England. But that's about it," he finished dejectedly, looking at Lisa to see if she knew anything else, she didn't.
"Not quite, we did have long boats and we did raid and invade, but it's not quite what most people make it out to be. Do you know we had faith and religion?"
"I thought they were mean people. Were you a Viking?" Lisa piped up.
"Yes."
"Are you mean?" She asked with her eyes glancing between the two of us.
"No, not to nice people like you two and Sookie. You guys are good and interesting," Eric replied as he gave my shoulder a squeeze. I had to blink to make sure I wasn't dreaming; it was a surreal experience sitting in my kitchen talking history with my vampire boyfriend and two kids.
"Good."
"We have several Gods and they are believed to live in Asgard. The chief God was Odin, he's ruler of several things, depending on what the individual believes. I choose to believe he is God of wisdom, war, battle, death and victory. One of his son's was Thor, the god of thunder, he had strength and determination. Characteristics that really counted." He paused in his little storytelling to pull his necklaces out from underneath his t-shirt. Coby and Lisa were both staring at him with rapt attention.
"This here," he indicated the brass hammer on the longest leather thong. The shining metal was etched with an intricate Celtic appearing designing, with twining swirls down the length and across the top. "Is a Thor's hammer charm, it represents power, protection, strength and honour."
"That's pretty neat," Coby exclaimed as he studied the design closely.
"That's really pretty," Lisa added.
"You'll have to let your Mom know, it's good for a little girl to have protection." I'd never seen this side of Eric before and it was really nice to see; good to know that he could be like this with other people than me. "Now, this one if something I acquired over the years, that has nothing to do with Vikings though." He thumbed past the tiny stake charm on another string. "This though, represents hope and strength." He pulled the necklace that was a metal I couldn't identify, it looked like silver but I knew it couldn't be, and handed it over to the kids to look at. It appeared to mean less to him than the other one.
"What's the other one?" Lisa asked, pointing at the leather cord still hanging around his neck, the pendant hidden under his shirt.
"That's an eagle's claw, I'll explain that when you're older." I was intrigued, I'd never been told what his pendants signified and my interest was piqued about the eagle's claw now. A resounding din sounded, making three of us jump and I realised the oven timer had gone off.
"Pizza is ready," I declared as I stood up, pulling reluctantly away from my Viking.
I was busy getting plates out and more drinks when I heard Lisa asking a question that could prove awkward. "So what are you getting Sookie for Christmas?"
"I haven't got her anything yet," Eric replied with grace.
"You should, you're her boyfriend, you need to get her something. She'll have gotten you something. She gives good presents. Last year she got me some books and a new story time teddy bear and that was only for my birthday!" Lisa chattered happily. I placed the pizza in front of them and stole a glance at Eric, who appeared to be deep in thought.
The rest of the meal passed by very quickly with the kids running off on tangents, speaking so fast that it was difficult to keep up. When the plates had been cleared I popped them in the sink for washing later. "Who wants to watch a movie?" I asked as I ushered them into the living room, hoping that they would settle down as it was starting to get late for them to still be awake. "You know where the DVDs are." They both scurried away, letting me pause in the doorway to collect my thoughts; I'd only had them a couple of hours but it was still tiring.
"Are you okay lover?" Eric asked as his arms snaked around my waist, his head stooping to rest on my shoulders. I'd never seen him this relaxed when we weren't alone before.
"Yes, just tired."
"Children are draining," he replied with an odd tone in his voice. I turned to look up at him, the question clearly written on my face. "I'll tell you later."
"How come you're so good with kids?"
"I had children when I was human and honestly I find them interesting creatures, there humans, but miniature. Tea cup sized. Like those poor excuses for dogs. I once saw a tea cup Yorkshire terrier run across the road, it looked just like a shaggy rat." He'd continued on with his speech but I hadn't heard the rest of it. He'd had children; he was a father.
"Oh Eric, I didn't know!" I cried quietly as I threw my arms around his neck, burying my nose into his chest.
"Know what?" He asked whilst his hands stroked soothing circles on my back.
"Can we watch the Lion King?" Coby called out, waving the DVD box at us.
"Sure," I replied, stilling hugging my Viking. "I didn't know you had kids when you were human."
"Sookie, don't be upset for me. It was centuries ago. I used to think I'd never forget them, a father's pride, and I still haven't forgotten about them but I don't think about them."
"Ever?" I gasped. Arlene told me that when you had kids your world revolved around them, that you'd undergo anything to make sure your kids had the best of everything.
"Well, days go by without a passing thought but every once in awhile something happens that reminds me. Like tonight." My grip on his neck tightened as I stood up on tip toes to give him a sweet kiss on the lips I'd wanted to kiss all evening.
"I'm sorry," I stated simply. I didn't know what to say to him, didn't know if there was anything I really could say.
"Don't be. We're talking about things that happened centuries ago. Would you like to know about my human life?" He spoke as though he'd never considered that a possibility.
"Of course."
"Then I will tell you, just not tonight. Monday, when we have the whole night to ourselves." I nodded my head. I laid one more kiss on his lips, which he of course tried to deepen, before pulling away and getting comfortable on the couch.
The kids settled down on the two seat sofa, pulling the blankets down from the back to wrap themselves up. Eric joined me after a couple of seconds, bringing the comforter from on my bed and Tina trailing in after him. She was oddly attached to the vampire to say that most animals despised them. The blanket was thrown over my legs and then he sat down, making me lean in against his side. His left hand slipped underneath the covers to push up the edge of the sweater I was still wearing so that he could rub circles on the soft flesh.
"Are you wearing my shirt?" He asked as the beginning notes of the Circle of Life began to play.
"Yes," I replied shyly. I was rewarded by my face being turned up to his by one of his large hands so that he could plant an open mouthed kiss on my lips. "Remember, I said behave."
"I know. But I like seeing you in my clothing, it's my possessive streak." To say it was a streak was a bit of an understatement but it was a common trait with all vampires.
We watched the movie in silence but my body still responded to his touch. His rough fingertips never altered their gentle stroking touches on my side but the small goose-bumps never left my flesh and I couldn't help wanting more whenever he place a kiss on my face, never choosing exactly the same place more than once. It was whilst I was minutely aware of his presence that I discovered something strange. He was mouthing the words to one of the songs that Simba was singing.
"You know the words?" I asked incredulously but quietly.
"Yes." He replied as though it was no big deal.
"Why?" It was so out of character for him, I was half surprised that he'd actually sat down to watch the film with us.
"Pam went through a phase a few years back. She was dating a woman who had only recently become a vampire; she'd been a child minder as a human. She liked to go to see kids' movies as they reminded her of her humanity. As a result Pam watched them in her free time at the bar to see what they were like. She happened to like the Lion King. It would be constantly playing in my office whilst she was there."
"Oh," I stated because there really wasn't anything else I could say to that.
Before the movie ended the kids were fast asleep on the sofa, their little mouths hanging open and their breathing deep which left me and Eric alone for all intents and purposes.
"You need to relax," he whispered into my ear as he grazed the skin there with a kiss. "I can feel your tension." I had been keeping my shields up all night in an attempt, that had worked, to stay out of their little minds, but it was strange for when I was around Eric. In the presence of vampires I could truly relax.
"You know what Lisa said earlier, you don't have to."
"What did she say?"
"About Christmas and you getting me something. You don't have to, don't feel obligated, you got me all of those lovely gifts earlier in the year." Of course, when I'd first received them I hadn't known they were from Eric.
"You should know by now that I never feel obligated to do anything, I do what I want to do, for whatever reason. I am getting you something though; she just reminded me that Christmas was so close."
"You don't celebrate Christmas?"
"Yes, just not in the same way as humans. I've been around for millennia of Christmases; I've seen how they're celebrated across the world and through the centuries. I can't do the typical humans things so I don't try. I don't exchange gifts with anyone but Pam because why do I need to? If there's something I want, I get it." I could feel his large shoulders shrug under my arms. I was now sat in his lap, where I'd been since Eric had noticed the kids were asleep.
"So what are you doing for Christmas?"
"Join me."
"What?" He'd put no context into his statement so I wasn't quite sure what he was talking about.
"For Christmas, come to my home. Share it with me." More of his usual self was seeping back, I could tell through the lack of actual questions.
"Okay," I replied happily. I wasn't doing anything for Christmas anyway. Jason had gotten an invitation to his friend Hoyt's house which just left me alone for the holiday. "I'll be right back, human time." I told him as I unfolded myself from his lap before padding down the hall to the bathroom.
I was just starting to wash my hands when I heard a sharp rapping on the front door, followed an instant later by the familiar creak as the door was opened. I sighed; this would get Arlene's dander up and we'd only just begun to get our friendship back. Even with my shields up I could tell it was Arlene at the door; her mental signature was so familiar to me. I relaxed my shields slightly then, so that I could hear what was going off, only because I knew the kids were asleep and I needed to know what I was about to walk into.
"Hello," I heard Eric's deep voice speak through Arlene's head. Surprise was the first thing that ran through her head at finding a man stood in my doorway although it was quickly replaced by shock as she came to the correct conclusion that he was a vampire. The bits of information she had was pieced together faster than I could follow, I wasn't even sure if they'd met before but I knew if they had it hadn't been in months.
"Who are you?" Eric asked after a couple of seconds during which Arlene had just stared, but through her fear she'd appraised. Confusion reigned through her mind for an instant; she couldn't stand vampires but right at this moment she was attracted to one in a very primal but strong way. I found that I was actually a little jealous, he was my man, but I squelched it down and continued to listen.
"I'm Arlene; you've got my kids in there!" She spoke with more confidence than she felt. "Who are you?" For the first time she worried about me. Although she shouldn't have. She'd pieced together that he was a vampire but she hadn't realised he was my boyfriend which was strange. Everyone around here knew of him if they hadn't met him; a six foot four man with long blond hair doesn't go unnoticed around here, people tended to remember and talk.
"I'm Sookie's partner," Eric replied coolly and the bile rose in my throat at what Arlene thought of his voice.
"What are you doing here?" Her voice was rising in pitch as she found ground she thought she could argue on.
"I'm visiting Sookie," was his even reply, at least he wasn't losing his temper. I could catch glimpses of his handsome face through Arlene's eyes and I saw that his long hair was a mess from where my fingers had been running through it.
"Where's Sookie then? How come you're answering her door? She's supposed to be looking after my kids!"
I knew what she was going to do before she actually acted so I rushed from the bathroom, my hands long since washed. Stepping into the hall with my shields once more firmly in place I was just in time to hear Arlene call, "Lisa! Coby!"Then she did what I'd been dreading; she barged into Eric with all of her weight. Her petite body knocked into Eric but she hadn't built up much speed, having only been a few feet away. She did surprise him though with her actions as strange as they were, she couldn't have been thinking when she decided to tackle a vampire. I knew that she really hadn't been thinking of the consequences.
Eric's large arms wrapped around her shoulders as he stopped her passage. The movement looked almost automatic reaction. Eric reminded me of a guard dog in that moment, one of those long haired German Shepherds; cute, cuddly and affectionate with the owners but a bit of a monster when it came to outsiders. His fangs were extended when he glanced at me over the top of Arlene's head; I shook my head at him, willing him to not do anything that I would regret later.
"Let go of me!" Arlene screeched as she tried ineffectually to brush his arms off of her. With her words acting as a catalyst, he pushed her away, less roughly than he would have done with anyone else, so that she went stumbling across the deck.
"Mommy?" Lisa asked as she poked her head around the living room door.
"Lisa, get away from there now, come here!" Arlene shouted frantically, gesturing wildly at the little girl who looked on in confusion.
"Why?"
"It's not safe in there sweetie, he's a vampire!" she replied, beckoning Lisa forward, towards the porch.
"But Eric's cool! We watched a movie and he told us about Vikings!" Her voice was fully of excitement as she remembered her evening, she even went as far as to walk up to the door and clutch onto Eric's t-shirt.
"Lisa, stop that. Vampire's aren't safe!"
"He said that we were safe, he doesn't hurt good people. He said I was good."
"Lisa's right mom," Coby piped up, walking into the hall with his own mask of confusion. "Eric told us all about Vikings and which Gods they worshipped. Then we all watched the Lion King." He shrugged his little shoulders as though it was a normal evening, surprised that his mother was acting this way. He went up and stood beside Lisa, her protector by her shoulder.
"Sookie, you should have told me you had a boyfriend."
"I did."
"You should have told me that you had company tonight at least. I don't want my kids associating with vampires!" I could feel the tension building in Eric as she continued to speak, he did not appreciate being talked about without respect or like he wasn't even there.
"Arlene, I'm only going to say this one, so listen, please. I didn't know Eric was coming by tonight, he dropped by when we were making pizza. I wasn't going to turn my boyfriend away. The kids like him, he likes the kids. We all had a good time tonight, didn't we?"
"Yep," Lisa replied with a tired smile on her freckled face. "He's going to be getting Aunt Sookie a Christmas gift now!" Confusion was once again dominant on Arlene's face, before she stuck it on the back burner and took a firm grasp of her anger.
"Come on kids, we're going. Sookie, thank-you for having the kids."She said stiffly as she made motions to hurry the kids along.
"Thanks Aunt Sookie," both the kids chimed as they gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. It was Lisa who turned to Eric, an expectant look on her face as she gazed up at him, craning her neck to do so.
"Thanks Eric," she said sweetly as she opened her arms. When Eric didn't move she simply hugged him around the hips, the part of his body she could reach before turning away. What happened next surprised everyone, I think it got me the most though.
In a smooth and graceful movement, he stooped down to the child's height so that he could wrap a muscular arm around her waist. He picked her up and spun her round so that high pitched giggles erupted from her mouth. "Now go," Eric stated as he plopped her back down the on the ground, laughter still trilling out of her.
I stared in complete shock of him, barely registering that the kids slipped their shoes on and scuttled out of the door to their hysteric mother. They peeled down the drive way with screeching tires, the little ones waving out of the window; it was only due to autopilot that I was able to wave back.
"What the..." I began. Eric shut the door behind him and turned around to lean against it with his arms folded across his hard chest. He only smiled in return. "Why did you do that?" I stuttered.
"With the girl?" He asked, even though he knew perfectly what I was talking about, so I didn't even bother to nod, which did earn me a smirk. "She wanted a hug and I wanted to annoy her mother because her mother was annoying me. I thought I'd give us both what we wanted." He chuckled as he stood up straight with a jerking motion, as though he had thrown himself forward. "Going to bed?" He asked his voice deeper than normal as he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. I couldn't help but laugh at him.
"Not yet, watch the rest of the movie with me?"
"Of course," he replied. I turned around and headed into the living room, getting comfortable on the three seat sofa. I was moved a few seconds later as Eric settled in to lie behind me. He pulled me tight against the long line of his body so that I wasn't near the edge, then he slung his arm around my waist, resting his head on his free arm.
There really wasn't that much left of the film but I enjoyed it, snuggled up on the sofa with my vampire, the fire still crackling in the hearth although it was mainly glowing embers now. It was just as my eyelids were drooping and my head was lolling back against Eric's chest when the phone broke my content for the second time that night.
"Hello?" Eric asked softly in his deep voice as he answered my phone quickly, probably trying not to disturb me. "Sookie?"
"Mhmm," I replied sleepily, finally opening my eyes to find him looking down at me, his deep blue eyes only inches away.
"Arlene wants to talk to you, she promised not to shout," so that at least explained why he hadn't hung up on her.
"Okay," I replied although I didn't bother to sit up, I just took the phone from his hand. "Hello?"
"Sookie, it's Arlene, I need to talk to you."
"What about Arlene? It's late and you already said your piece," I replied with a sigh, she may have promised not to shout but she could still start an argument.
"I wanted to say I'm sorry, the kids were talking about their evening all the way home. I want you to know that it's okay, I believe that you really didn't know and I can't expect you to turn your boyfriend away."
"Thank-you."
"But, I need to know in advance as much as possible, you don't know what it's like to be a mother. You need to know everything about them, all the time."
"Okay Arlene, I'll try. Don't keep the kids away this time, I missed them."
"I won't, I don't think I could do it to them either, they missed you. I have to say though Sookie, he seems better than Bill, he protected you. Plus, he's hot!" I giggled at her admission and the jealousy didn't spring up again this time; I knew she wouldn't do anything and I was also pretty secure in the knowledge that Eric only had eyes for me.
"Trust me Arlene, that one I do know!" I was still looking up so the broad smirk on Eric's lips told me that he'd heard every word.
"Right, I'll let you go now, it is late. But, we need to have a girly day or something soon."
"We do. How is Barry?" I felt sorry that he was an afterthought, but with the tense events that had occurred when the kids had been picked up I think I could be forgiven for forgetting.
"He's going to be fine; he called the ambulance in a bit of a panic because he was on his own. They're going to release him tomorrow."
"That's good."
"Yes it is, now, I'll see you at work. Good night Sookie," she called cheerfully, obviously less playing on her mind now.
"Goodnight Arlene," I replied. The phone was pulled out of my hand then before I could even hang up. "Do you have to go?" I asked as I rolled over to face him so that I could bury my face in his neck and sling my arm around his slender waist.
"I'm going to stay; I'll head over to the bar at sundown tomorrow." He'd evaded my question but I didn't bother to pull him up on it, I wouldn't win an argument about that and honestly; I wanted him to stay.
"Good," I mumbled. His lips laid gentle kisses along the part of my neck that was exposed above my jumper and I couldn't resist extending my neck, giving him more access. "When did you say you were going to tell me about your life? Oh, and what you meant about the children."
"Next Tuesday, you should book the night off work if you're scheduled." He paused for a few seconds, as though contemplating something. "In fact, take everything off from next Tuesday, stay with me over Christmas." Even half asleep as I was, it was so comfortable on the sofa, I recognised what could be the double meaning of his works. If I'd let him, I had no doubt that he would try to follow through with a literal meaning.
"Eric, I don't know if I can afford that much time off, plus do you really want me hanging at your place for a week?" I pulled back reluctantly to look up at him, to make sure he was telling me the whole truth.
"I want you around Sookie. If you're worried about the money, you can use your gifts. The new staff haven't been checked out properly, there's one that I don't trust. I'll pay you for your time; I'll match what Sam pays you."
"You sure? I don't like being a kept woman Eric." I'd had this particular conversation with Bill many times, he'd never handled with such aplomb that Eric did though.
"You won't be, I'll make sure you earn it. If you still don't feel like you've done enough you can help out at the bar in general too. Customer service would be brilliant for you; you can pluck it right from the clients what they want to make the bike better."
"Okay then."
"You'll spend the week with me?"
"Yes." I replied happily as I felt his lips dancing along the skin of my neck once again.
Remember, I love reviews almost as much I would love to snuggle on the sofa with a certain Viking Vampire. *sighs*. So what did you think? I love to hear what you guys think of these stories. What would you like to read next? Anything you want to read about that I've partially explained before/ Anything you want in Eric's pov from CAM? Thanks guys, you really are great.