A/N: Cliffys are a bitch….but seem to be very effective. Thank you all again for your reviews. Now maybe we can see "What the hell happened?"

Chapter 4:

Sookie:

When Pam first entered my house I knew for a fact she wanted to kill me. She felt like I was a threat to Eric and she would have taken me out, no questions asked. I respect the hell out of her, because I too feel like I could kill to protect that which I love. Then I ask myself, "How can you possibly love Eric when you don't even know him?" I don't have an answer for myself just yet. All I know is that when I'm around him my stomach aches, my heart pounds and I have the urge to wrap my arms and legs around him and stay that way forever. Being a virgin at 17 doesn't seem strange to me, but as I read the random thoughts of my schoolmates, I'm pretty much the only card carrying member of the "V" club. Eric didn't take advantage of my ignorance or the fact that I was turned on as hell. He showed respect for me and our unique situation and I love him even more. Now Pam and I share the thought once again of losing him and our combined shock is more than I can handle. I'm instantly a fucking basket case. I need to find him. I need to know that I haven't lost him again.

Right now however, Pam's shock is aimed towards me. The question mark is right above her head and I brace myself for her wrath. If Eric is hurt or finally dead, I'm sure she will once again blame me.

"What the hell are you? How did you know about the man outside and then how did you know what his plans were?" Pam instantly is in my face.

"Don't you think we need to see what happened to Eric first? I'll answer all of your questions but not until I see Eric. He's smart enough not to get himself hurt again….isn't he?" I had tears in my eyes and was getting to the point where speech was going to be impossible if we didn't go look for Eric.

"You care for him, don't you? I don't believe you to be a witch; I just can't bear to see my master this way." All of a sudden Pam got down on her knees and bloody tears streamed down her face. "Please, Sookie help him. If there is a way he can be the vampire he was…I beg you help him."

This was different. She was begging me? I think at that moment we both realized that we cared more for Eric than we did ourselves. He was her master and she only wanted to see him survive and be strong again. I was totally in love with him and I couldn't stand the thought of being without him again. She got up off her knees and grabbed my hand as we rushed out the door, ran through the graveyard and wound up at the abandoned Compton house. Old man Compton died ten years ago and the house was left to his grand-daughter, Caroline Bellefleur. She had plans to restore it, but money had been tight. She did tell me that I should expect renters in the near future, because she couldn't afford the property tax.

Since it was dark I was unable to see and we didn't have time to grab a flashlight. Pam, however, could see as well in the dark as I could if the sun were high in the sky. She put her head in the air and sniffed much the same as Eric did the first time I saw him.

"Over there!" she said as she continued to drag me along with her toward what looked to me like a pile of dirt in the dark. I could tell by the way she became excited that it was indeed Eric and through my tears I asked "Please tell me he's still alive, Pam. Please!"

"Sookie, if Eric were dead he would be a pile of bloody goo. As you can see his body is still very much in tact, but we need to find out if he is injured." Pam knelt down by Eric and sniffed his entire body. He seemed to be once again unconscious and since vampires don't breathe I had no idea what was wrong with him.

"He needs blood!" Pam said as she got up to run to her car. "Stay with him and I'll get one of the bags of the blood that I brought for him.

As soon as she left I thought to myself, "Why can't I give him my blood again. It seemed to heal him pretty fast before."

Pam returned and I told her I wanted to give him my blood but I didn't know what to do. She agreed that fresh blood would work much faster than the donor blood she brought.

She grabbed my wrist and said, "I'm sorry this might hurt a little," as her fangs popped down and she bit hard. After she sucked a little to get the blood flowing, she reluctantly released my wrist and placed it to Eric's mouth. A few drops of blood dripped down his beautiful, sexy lips and I was once again turned on by the sight of him. It only took two drops for him to wake up enough to latch onto my wrist and begin to drink. With each pull I wanted to straddle him and press my lady parts against his hard erection. Instead I placed my other hand in his and begged him to be okay.

He was more than okay. He was able to know when to stop drinking my blood and he actually licked the bite marks to heal them. He opened his icy blue eyes and wrapped his arms around me to pull me on top of him and proceeded to give me the mother of all kisses. I forgot that Pam was there and he, of course, didn't care if she was there.

He finally broke away from the kiss to allow me to catch my breath. "Twice in one day, Lover. I want you so fucking bad…..you have to know that. It's taking all my strength to stop when I touch your warm silky skin and kiss your full…kiss…pouty…kiss…lips and when I hear your heart's rapid beat knowing you want me just as much. Thank you, Lover."

"Eric…was all I could get out before he was standing and he picked me up and rushed me back to my house. Pam was right on his heels. We got to my house and under the dim porch light I could see that Eric had blood on my LSU t-shirt. "I don't have anything else that will fit you."

Pam spoke up, "I brought two t-shirts, two pair of jeans and one pair of boots. He never wears underwear so I wouldn't worry about them. I'll leave them with you and bring more clothes tomorrow night. Since Eric has already fed from you I won't leave the blood bags. They need to be stored in a special refrigerator and the temperature needs to be constant. There is too much involved for you to think about and I doubt that Eric remembers right now. Since he is very old he doesn't need to feed every day and he doesn't take too much. It's entirely up to you when you want to feed him." Pam turned to Eric and looked into his eyes. "Master I pray that your memory returns, but I trust Sookie now and after getting a taste of her, I understand your addiction. She is not entirely human."

"I still don't understand what the hell you all are talking about me not being entirely human and I hope one of you will explain your reasoning someday. Pam, to answer your question about what I am….I'm just a 17 year old senior in high school. My Gran died last year and left me alone and I work at a restaurant in town called Merlottes. I've been able to read the thoughts of humans all my life, but I can't hear vampires. I hope that answers your questions and I hope we can be friends." I ask Pam if she wants to stay the night and she tells me that she had a lot of damage control to do regarding Eric's house. Then I remembered my Aunt Linda and if her house was still standing. "Pam did you notice if my aunt's house got damaged?"

"I honestly didn't stay long enough to look around. I just called our clean up crew and rushed here to find Eric. I'm truly sorry I threatened your life earlier and if I were to have a human friend, it would be you. Now get him inside and if possible don't leave him alone. When I return tomorrow night we can talk more about Eric's future and the slayer that came here tonight. Here is my card with all my numbers. Don't get upset if I don't answer during the day, because you will see that we are dead to the world when the sun rises. Thank you Sookie and goodbye Master." With that Pam was in her car and down the road.

"We better get you inside, Eric. I'm assuming the blood on your shirt is not yours?" I asked him wondering exactly what happened to the greasy looking slayer.

"You would be assuming right. I'm afraid I couldn't get away from him fast enough when he bit down on the explosive, he just kind of went everywhere. Poor bastard, gave up his life for nothing. Didn't seem too smart….and you Lover….you were magnificent. Your gift is truly one that should be treasured…..you are a treasure. That's why I couldn't let anything happen to you. I would have died for you, Lover. I would have given up everything for you and met my final death knowing you would continue to live." The words that were coming out of Eric's mouth were so overwhelming. He cared so deeply even without his memories. How can our hearts be so intertwined? How can he care so much about me and not even know me? I guess only time will tell and I look forward to time with Eric.

ooOooOooOoo

Together Eric and I fixed up a pretty nice bedroom for him in my basement. There were only two half windows and after they were covered the basement was completely light tight. Actually the old basement was designed to be dark and cool. My Gran was an avid gardener and she canned much of what she grew. One huge wall of the basement was covered with jars of canned green beans, corn, tomatoes, sauces and jams. If there was ever an emergency and I had to stay down in my basement I certainly would have enough to eat and in turn so would Eric! Eric brought the bed down from the guest bedroom that Gran had set up specifically for guests. It was only a double mattress, but he didn't complain. I spent a lot of time on that mattress with him so we snuggled a lot.

Life went on during the day as usual. I went to school with a smile on my face that had never appeared before. I could read the thoughts of the other students and they were actually complimenting me. They seemed to notice that I looked happier….which I definitely was. Before, I went pretty much unnoticed and I liked it that way. Most of the girls ignored me and I wasn't at all interested in any of the boys. There were a couple of nerdy guys who stared at me once in awhile, but when I let down my shields they were just thinking about my tits. After seeing Eric two years ago, I really was of the thought that he was totally one of a kind and no one would ever compare to him. It wasn't just Eric's looks that I was attracted to. Of course the fact that he was a vampire intrigued me, but his strong, powerful personality won me over. At 15 years old I wanted to be overpowered by him and from that night forward I only thought of him.

The highlight of my day was to finish school, go to work for a couple of hours and rush home to wake Eric up properly. We had gotten into quite a routine and we both seemed happy. Eric seemed to grow stronger the longer he stayed with me and I never saw the Eric that Pam talked about before the explosion. Granted he hadn't gotten his memories back, but he insisted that he wanted to make new memories and didn't give a shit about his life before me. That was all well and good, but I knew the real Eric would eventually return and I wasn't entirely sure what he would be like. Pam said that he was a very powerful vampire. What the hell did that mean anyway? If he was so damn powerful, why was he so smitten with me and acted like a love sick teenager? Life was actually too good and I became concerned about being too happy.

One night I had worked later than usual and I was worried that I wasn't going to get home in time to snuggle with Eric and make out like we did every night. I swear we only made out, but that also depends on what one would define as making out.

I rushed into the house and decided that I should take a quick shower, because I smelled like greasy food and my pits were probably not too fresh. I was in the shower and out in less than ten minutes and I decided to just put on a tank top and boy shorts. I ran down the stairs to wake Eric up and he wasn't in the bed. I panicked. I began to call him and ran around the entire basement looking under and over everything stored down there. I envisioned him walking in his sleep and accidently going out in the Sun and burning up. I started to cry at the thought, because if that happened I would never know for sure if he was gone. My second fear was that another hunter tracked him to my house, found him in my basement and staked him while he was most vulnerable.

Panic…..fear…."Eric, honey, where are you? Answer me please." I fell to my knees and sobbed like a baby. What was I going to do without my Eric? He had become my life. For two months I looked forward to Eric's mouth devouring my entire body. He would start at my neck and lick and kiss down to my dripping center. I was still a virgin, only because Eric wouldn't let it get that far. We explored each other's bodies all night until I fell asleep exhausted and I couldn't envision sex feeling any better than this. Eric made me feel things that I had no idea one's body could feel. He made sure that I had multiple orgasms just by licking and kissing my lady parts. I couldn't let him be the only giver, so he taught me how to rub my hand up and down his gracious plenty until he came while my hand felt the power in his manhood with each wave of his orgasm. He told me he loved me and I told him I loved him too. Because Eric was very old, he understood loss. He told me that we should never waste time not saying what we feel and he looked forward to consummating our love.

One night right after I graduated from high school, I came home from work and he was sitting in the living room. He had on what looked like a very expensive suit and his hair was pulled back into an intricate braid. Before that night I had only seen Eric in jeans and tank tops or t-shirts. He took my breath away.

"Lover, I've been waiting for you. I wanted us to celebrate tonight. I'm starting to get my memories back and they have given me back the knowledge that I lost. I'm slowly remembering my life and I want you to know that a thousand years of memories only brought me to the ones that stand out the most. The ones that have meant more to me than words could ever express. Please come into the dining room, I have a surprise for you." Eric was so sweet and loving and even though I feared his memories returning, he didn't seem to be different. He actually seemed to be better and stronger with more conviction in his words.

Eric had taken the leaves out of the dining room table and it was now a very intimate small round table. It was set in a romantic manner with candles and flowers. In my plate was my favorite. I was shocked that Eric remembered that I told him about the only time I had gone to a fancy restaurant in Shreveport with my Aunt Linda. I had Lobster Tail with melted butter and thought I was in heaven. Here in front of me was Lobster, a baked potato dripping with sour cream and sautéed mixed vegetables. Everything was perfect and he sat down beside me and fed me. He said that I had fed him for the past two months and it was only right for him to return the favor. God I loved him so much! After strawberry cheesecake for dessert, Eric got down on one knee and proposed to me. What the fuck! Eric actually proposed marriage to me.

"Sookie, you are the one true love in my very long life. Now that most of my memories have returned, the most important memories are still the ones of you. From that first night, yours was the face I woke up to every night. I watched you from afar for two years and couldn't bear the thought of losing you. I know I have no right to ask for your hand in marriage, you deserve a human who can give you children and a life in the Sun. My love for you overpowers what I believe is right for you. My love for you can't let you go or can't see you with another. My love for you is selfish and all I want is to keep you near me for eternity. I know you will probably need to think on this for awhile because it is a lot to ask, but Sookie Stackhouse, will you be my wife? Will you bond with me and allow our blood to become one?" Eric had bloody tears in his eyes as he asked me to marry him. In that moment I knew that there may be evil vampires out there just as there are evil humans, but my Eric was the most sensitive man I had ever met and I loved him deeply.

"I don't need to think about it Eric. I too can't imagine life without you. Don't you ever leave me!" and that was it. It was decided that Eric and I would form a blood bond first, which actually is considered a marriage of sorts in his world. Then when the time was right, we would have a human ceremony.

Eric then went on to say, "Circles have always enjoyed a universal perception of having strong magical properties and it is believed that a ring around the heart would protect a loved one from evil spirits. Since it would be impossible to place a ring around your heart, Lover," he reached in his pocket and pulled out a very worn, very old looking velvet box. Eric took out an antique braided wedding band and placed it on my left ring finger and said, "the third finger on your left hand has a vein that runs directly to your heart, I place this ring from my human life on your finger to protect you and to bind us for eternity. I have a matching ring, which I would like you to place on my finger to protect my unbeating heart from evil." What a beautiful, wonderful romantic thing to do and now…..that was last night and tonight I'm a mess. We had just celebrated our love and looked forward to a future and now he was nowhere. "Eric, where the fuck are you….please….please….please be here, "I continued to call to him, but to no avail. The love of my life was gone.

I waited for two hours and still no Eric. Finally I called Pam and she answered the first ring.

"Sookie, I thought you would be calling me. Are you missing someone right now?" Pam acted like it was just a game, but it wasn't a game to me. I was suffering more than I ever thought possible. The pain of losing Eric affected me far worse than losing my Gran. I loved her for raising me and teaching me about life, but I loved Eric more than life. It all sucked I know and when Pam asked me if I was missing someone I almost blew it on her and told her to go fuck herself, but I needed to see Eric.

"Do you know where he is? I've been worried sick, Pam and I would appreciate it if you don't act like this is just another part of your night. I'm totally fucked up and if I don't speak to Eric soon, I know I am going to blow it." Once again I sounded like a baby, but I didn't give a shit!

"He got called away on vampire business. It seems that the last two weeks have been very fruitful in him getting his memories back. He is in New Orleans and I was just about to leave my house to come to your house and explain." Pam was not sounding like my friend. I knew about the memories returning, but I hadn't expected Eric to just up and leave me for Vampire business. What the hell was that? He never spoke of a job or that he actually had vampire responsibilities.

"Pam, please hurry. I've never felt this lost before. I'm drowning here and I don't understand how not seeing Eric can affect me so badly." If this is any indication of what I will be going through each time I'm not with him, I might as well just give it all up. I don't know why I'm not being myself. I'm actually starting to get mad now. I'm mad at Eric for just leaving me and I'm mad at myself for getting so upset. I truly do want to die.

"Settle down my friend. He had no choice and he's trying to protect you. I'll be there to babysit you, because apparently you're in a shitload of danger according to Eric. Someone moved into the old Compton house and Eric believes him to be a hunter." Pam was so cool and calm and with this new revelation, how can I settle down. "Goodbye Sookie and make sure you lock the doors and don't invite anyone in the house until I get there. Eric made sure you had round the clock guards in his absence. And one more thing….it seems you have a cousin that has been talking about you to a powerful vampire. We need to hide you before she gives away your location."

A/N: Next chapter Eric's point of view and who is this mysterious hunter and what powerful vampire wants to find Sookie. I promise….no Bill Compton. This is an entirely A/U and I'm going in a completely different path than SVM or TB, so bear with me and I hope I can keep you all interested. The hunter will not be so gross this time…actually he will be very appealing to our love struck telepath. Don't worry, her love for Eric is so strong nothing can stop her from searching for him.

Thanks again for your interest in this story and I will be updating soon.

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