Eric knew the moment she stepped out of the bathroom that tonight was not going to involve sex. The tattered sweatpants and long-sleeve t-shirt his wife was wearing clued him in to her mood.

"We need to talk about what you're thinking." Eric decided to just dive right into the fray.

"What am I thinking?" Sookie sat cross-legged on the bed as she brushed through her hair.

"When you were arguing with Niall, I heard what flitted through that irrational brain of yours."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Eric barked a humorless laugh.

"You dare try to lie to me!?" Eric stretched out on top of the comforter and propped his head up on his elbow. Sookie sighed loudly and tossed her brush toward the end of the bed.

"It's just not right. You're going to be human, Eric. Human! What if…." Eric growled at her train of thought and bared his fangs at her.

"Stop it. Woman, you are truly daft at times."

"I am not!"

"You are! If you think that for a moment that once I am human again I won't find you as desirable, you're mad. Your fairy blood is NOT what I love. Even thinking such a thing offends me."

Sookie opened her mouth to argue but seeing the hurt in his eyes, she quickly snapped it shut. She leaned her head back against the headboard and sighed.

"I'm sorry." She whispered as the tears started to pool in her eyes. "It's just so much, you know? You'll be human. Will you be able to handle that?" He shifted until his head was resting in her lap. She instinctively twisted a few locks of his hair between her fingers.

"I guess we'll find out."

Oh my God! Her thoughts screamed at him as she looked down at him with a huge smile on her face.

"You'll be able to eat."

He returned her smile and started to laugh at the buffet she was compiling in her mind.

"What shall we have first?" He asked.

"Chocolate. Oh! And Ice cream. Oooo, what about steak?"

"There is something I would like to try, actually."

"Anything. I'll make sure you have it."

"I have always wondered what the attraction was to those black and white cookies submerged in milk."
"Oreo's!? Oh you have to have the Double Stuff."

"Double stuff?"
"I'll buy both. Only the best for my man." They both laughed comfortably for a few minutes until Sookie's mood settled back into contemplative thought.

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"Are you scared?" Sookie's question caught him off guard. He had been in what Sookie liked to call downtime as she gently rubbed his forehead.

"I've walked this earth for a millennium, lover."

"I'm aware of that, Eric. You didn't answer my question." He closed his eyes and knew he couldn't lie to her.

"Yes."

"Me too."

"I'll protect you."

"I know. That's not what I'm scared of."

"Then what?"

"Being a mom. Are you ready to be a daddy?"

"I…I think so." He had told Sookie about his human life right after they married so they held no secrets. She knew Eric had never married or had children before he was turned.

"We're going to have two kids. Two?! What if I don't know what to do? What if I'm not good at it? What if…"

"Sookie." She immediately stopped talking. Eric sat up and faced her on the bed. "You will be a wonderful mother."

"You don't…" He pinned her with a look and continued.

"I felt something inside you tonight that I've never felt before."

"What?"

"Your maternal instinct. It nearly surrounded me through the bond. You became so protective and loving toward a child that hasn't even been conceived yet."

Sookie grinned as she remembered the feeling.

"I did, didn't I?" Eric nodded and took her by the hand. "The thought of my children being ridiculed or mistreated at school just infuriated me. I'm be damned if I let anything happen to my kids." Eric erupted into proud laughter as he pulled Sookie against his chest.

"You are a jewel, my lover." Sookie snuggled against his chest as he threaded his fingers through her hair.

"We're really going to do this, huh?"

"It seems so."

"Wow."

"Wow, indeed."