The Beating Of My Heart
A/N I do not own anything Ch and AB do.
Chapter 4
Sookie sat up in bed and looked at the window, it must be early morning the sun just rising. Sookie shook her head to shake away the cobwebs. That dream had been so hot and so animalistic. Sookie had said she loved Eric and bit him over the heart. Sookie's head started to spin and she felt sort of disconnected and she was reeling from her revelation that indeed she loved Eric. She could feel it inside of her like a dam waiting to burst free.
Sookie got up and went into the bathroom to grab a cup of water. She filled the cup and brought to her lips and promptly dropped the cup into the sink where it bounced around. Sookie watched in the mirror as she wiped the blood from her lips. It was real, the dream was real. Sookie had drank Eric's blood.
Oh shit, oh shit she wasn't ready for this, not yet. He'll surely know that it was really her now. He'll feel his blood inside of her.
FLASHBACK
"Why did you do it Sookie? Why did you try to end your life?" Niall asked. Sookie fidgeted in her seat and kept her eyes on the floor.
"I, I have no one. Bill betrayed me and Gran is gone. Everyone just wants me for my abilities, no one loves the real me" Sookie stammered as she took big gulps of air to try and calm down.
"You are so very wrong child. The vampire is not a bad man and he loves you although he does not yet realize the depth of that love but he will" Niall held onto Sookie's hand as he told her.
"The vampire loves me, what a crock of shit. Bill almost had me killed so he could force his blood on me" Sookie yelled and jumped to her feet.
"I do not know this Bill you speak of. I was talking about Eric Northman" Niall said.
"Pfft. He chained me up in the basement so he could give me to Russell" Sookie cried out her anger rising a notch.
"Sookie, please calm down. I know Eric and I know he would not have handed you over. Whether you agreed or not he had to do what he did to save you. It was only ever about you" Niall tried to calm Sookie down.
"Eric is a selfish bastard who only cares about himself" Sookie said but it sounded untrue even to her own ears.
"Let's put this discussion aside for another time we have other things to discuss. Now while in the Faerie we will train you to be able to use your fairy powers. It surprised me greatly to find out that you indeed inherited the essential spark, now you learn how to wield it" Niall explained.
"Ok. I guess I could do with some control" Sookie agreed.
"Good. Now for your safety if you decide to go back you will go as someone else. Sookie Stackhouse will no longer be for now. You cannot tell anyone who you really are for if they were able to capture you and harness your power it would tip the scales of light and dark. Fear not though child we would be watching" Niall reassured her with a smile.
"No one would know me?" Sookie asked her eyes watering.
"No one well except maybe Eric. Your blood that flows in his veins will call out to the his blood in your veins. I have diluted his blood as much as I can so you will no longer be influenced by it but I could not remove it all. It's as if the two have bonded, strange. He will not know for sure who you are" Niall explained.
"Is that a good thing?" Sookie asked hopeful.
"Yes, very good. The more you stay away from vampires, the better. Now you as all my children and grandchildren have an inheritance. Here in the Faerie you will be taken care of if you return to earth you will be taken care of as well" Niall told Sookie with a smile on his lips.
"I ' am not a kept woman" Sookie bellowed her anger rising again.
"No one said you were Sookie. You are family and family takes care of family besides what will you do when you go back? You have no clothes, no belongings and no where to live. How will you survive?" Niall asked Sookie his anger rising as well.
"I, I. I'm sorry grandfather you are right. Family does help family. Thank you. Can I ask how much?" Sookie inquired. Niall handed her a piece of paper. The paper had her name on it and an amount for two million dollars. Sookie fell into the chair closest to her for her legs felt like Jell-O.
"Are you serious?" Sookie squeaked out.
"Deadly" Niall said with an edge to his voice.
"Ok grandfather. When do we begin?" Sookie asked trying to absorb all that she had been told.
"Now" Niall replied and so it began.
END FLASHBACK
POP
"Sookie child I felt your distress and had to come. What is wrong?" Niall asked Sookie as she came back into her bedroom.
"I had a dream about Eric and in it I bit him and claimed him as mine and when I woke up I found blood on my mouth" Sookie said trembling slightly.
"Child I told you that the blood knows the truth. You love the vampire I knew this and told you as much. Your connection must run deep if your able to physically enter his dreams. You have recognised this truth in your dreams and you must do so in reality" Niall chided gently.
"Well, knowing doesn't mean I'm ready to face it yet. Can you mask me or something?" Sookie asked Niall with big scared eyes.
"I know of a spell but I'm not sure it will work. You must be prepared to face Eric and your future but you cannot due that until you come to grips with who you are" Niall explained.
Niall stood and spread his arms wide and started chanting. A purple mist enveloped Sookie for a few seconds and then disappeared. Niall placed a kiss upon Sookie's head and POP he was gone.
Sookie decided to clean the house until the hour was respectable so she could call Alcide Hevereaux. She pushed all thoughts of Eric aside for she had work to do and need to be clear headed. Repress, repress, repress.
"Yes. Hello, I'm calling for Alcide Hevereaux" Sookie said as she moved about the kitchen.
"You got him. How can I help you?" Came Alcide's voice.
"My name is Susanna Dean. I got your number from Eric Northman. I was wondering if I could get an estimate for a greenhouse" Sookie explained.
"Northman recommended me, well that's a first. Sure I could do that, let me have your address" Alcide asked as he grabbed a pen and paper.
"It's 6756 Hummingbird Road the last house on the road" Sookie relayed. She decided to ignore the comment.
"What, the Stackhouse home?" Alcide asked his voice had saddened some.
"Yes but the house is mine now. When can you come?" Sookie asked .
"I can be there in an hour" Alcide replied.
"Thank you, see you then" Sookie said and hung up.
Sookie made a pot of coffee as she waited for Alcide to show up. Alcide drove up in his truck forty five minutes later and Sookie met him outside. After a brief introduction Sookie started explaining what she wanted.
"Ok, I would like the old shed taken down and a greenhouse put up in it's place. It should be twenty-five feet long by fifteen feet wide. I would like a room built on the back to be used like a shed. I want all the greenhouse bells and whistles. I want it similar to Walter's Greenhouse but on a smaller scale" Sookie explained and found she was rather excited.
"Well, at least you know what you want" Alcide laughed while he jotted down information and measurements.
"I need to get on my laptop and check a few things. Give me a moment?' Alcide inquired. Sookie nodded and went inside. About twenty minutes later Sookie heard a knock at the door.
"Come in and help yourself to some coffee" Sookie called out from the bedroom. She came nback into the kitchen and Alcide was there standing by the door sipping a cup.
'Ok, Ms Dean" Alcide started.
"Call me Susanna" Sookie interrupted with a smile and waved him to continue.
"Ok, Susanna I can have it up in a week. It will cost you about one hundred thousand dollars and it will have everything you asked for. If that sounds good I will start tomorrow around seven am" Alcide handed Sookie a piece of paper that contained the estimate. Sookie looked it over.
"Sounds good" Sookie replied and signed the paper. Alcide finished his coffee and put the cup on the counter.
"Thank you Susanna, see you tomorrow" Alcide waved and went out to his truck.
A week wasn't a lot of time. Tomorrow she would have to go into Shreveport and check out Lowe's, Home Depot and Wal-Mart to make sure she can get the supplies she will need. Now what will she grow?
The next week flew by in a flash and soon the greenhouse was built. Sookie was very impressed with how it turned out. Alcide had come in under the estimate by twenty thousand so Sookie gave him a ten thousand bonus. Alcide was very grateful and wanted to go out for dinner but Sookie declined as Eric's face floated across her mind, oh Eric.
The entire time she was preoccupied with getting her plant stuff ready she did not dream of Eric once. He was always in the back of her mind but far back. She knew she needed to work some stuff out but couldn't find the strength to do so
Sookie waved to Alcide as he pulled out of her driveway and headed home. Tomorrow Sookie would go and get her supplies and start on her new business venture and if the business part didn't work out she would always have fresh flowers.
Sookie was sitting out on the swing when a void registered on her radar but it was coming from the wrong direction to be Eric or Pam. Sookie began to breathe slow and deep as Niall had taught her. Sookie's breathing increased in speed as the vampire came into view. It was Bill Compton. Ok Sookie, he doesn't know you. You need to keep your head. Bill came closer.
"Where is Jason Stackhouse?" Bill's cold voice asked as he came nearer.
"Probably at his house. My name is Susanna Dean and I bought this house from him" Sookie said holding her emotions at bay.
"I knew the woman who had lived here before, she was very special to me" Bill said and his face was emotionless as stone.
"She seemed to be special to a lot of people" Sookie replied.
"She was" Bill said and came to the foot of the porch. Sookie abruptly got up.
"Well it's time for me to go to bed, good night Mr?" Sookie asked as she headed to the door.
"Bill Compton" Bill replied and he was right behind Sookie. Sookie jumped as he startled her.
"Crap, don't do that" Sookie scolded. Something crossed over Bill's face and Sookie prepared to call forth her power.
"Sorry. Before I go I wanted to warn you about a vampire that might come round here. His name is Eric Northman and he cannot be trusted" Bill said his voice like ice and all Sookie wanted to do was laugh in his face. What a Spithead.
"Thank you for the warning good night Mr Compton" Sookie said as she stepped through the door and promptly closed it.
Sookie went to the phone and called Eric. He answered it just before she was ready to hang up.
"This is Northman" Eric said, same old Eric.
"Hello Eric this is Susanna Dean. I just called to inform you that Bill Compton is back and he seems to think I need to be warned about you" Sookie explained the situation.
"That weasel" Eric retorted.
"Eh, I know about him already. When I bought the house from Jason he told me about Bill and his sister. The vamp is a piece of crap" Sookie said with a laugh.
"I' am indisposed at the moment to come and check out Bill but I could send Pam if you need" Eric offered.
"No, no that's alright. I'm home now anyway and don't plan on leaving. I just called to let you know" Sookie said with a yawn.
"Yes, well I won't keep you any longer. Thank you Susanna" Eric said and hung up. That vampire was never one for saying good bye.
Sookie wondered why he did not come and felt a little disappointed until the little green eyed monster stirred and whispered to her that he was probably having sex with a fang banger. Sookie went to bed that night angry with Eric and annoyed with herself.
The following morning Sookie woke up feeling happy and light. Today was the day that she started her little venture. She hoped in the shower where she never thought about Eric ashe soaped herself up. Fucking Eric.
After getting dressed she made a coffee to go and headed out the door. Sookie was sure glad she bought a truck now. It will come in handy when she needed to get supplies.
Sookie had made three trips to get everything she needed, it was well after dark when she was unloading her last load.
"Hello Susanna. I like your greenhouse" Eric said as he came into her field of vision. Sookie got up off the floor and wiped her hands on the back of her jeans.
"Thank you Eric. Alcide did a wonderful job. Thank you for recommending him" Sookie replied with a smile.
"What are you going to grow?" he asked her as he took in all the items she had stocked on the shelves.
"Roses, tulips, carnations, orchids, that kind of thing. I can sell them to the surrounding stores and at the market" Sookie replied as she went back out to the truck to get the last bag of soil. Eric came up behind her and took it from her.
"You look exhausted let me take that for you" Eric said and when their fingers touched the bag fell to the ground. Eric hissed out a breathe and Sookie gasped.
"Sookie?" Eric whispered as he looked Susanna in the eye.
"No, Susanna. What's wrong Eric?" Sookie asked. Ok calm down Sookie. Eric shook his head as if to clear his thoughts.
"Nothing. Where do you want this?" Eric asked as he picked the bag back up. Sookie pointed to the cabinet by the bck door and Eric put it in. Eric felt confused and slightly out of place.
"Why don't you come in. I'm going to take a shower and then we can chat?" Sookie suggested hoping that Eric would stay. Besides he looked a little spooked at the moment.
"Ok" Eric replied and followed Sookie inside.
Sookie heated up a blood for Eric and went to have a shower. Ever since their fingers touched Sookie had wanted to touch more of Eric. It was like a fire had been ignited and she craved him. She felt truly alive when he was around. As she dried off and grabbed a sun dress from the closet.
Eric was so focused on analysing what had happened that he didn't notice Sookie at first. When he did see her he grabbed at his chest and then his head. His world started spinning. God's what is happening to me? Now I'm seeing things.
TBC
