Kiss and Make Up Chapter 4: Bill, a true blood fanfic

I do love this chapter. For me, it represents all I will ever need in a True Blood storyline... Well, minus a couple of things that will come in the near future =) Enjoy!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I knew where Eric would go next. As soon as he'd confirmed that we were fighting he left. Where else could he be going? A feeble thought in the back of my mind protested that Sookie was mine - I should go out there and remind him of that. But I owed it to Sookie to let her be alone when she needed, and let her have a bit of free reign. I set my mind at ease by promising myself that if I felt anything unusual across our bond, then I would go to her.

I sat, waiting, not reading the words on the pages in front of me but concentrating hard on Sookie's presence that would always be there, connected by our blood bond. It felt like an invisible thread joined me to her across the field - the only thing that kept us together during fights like this.

I smiled inwardly as a wave of dislike pulsed through the bond. Eric had arrived at the Stackhouse residence, and Sookie was being no more welcoming than she usually was. I settled myself then, comfortable with the situation for now, and began to read again. I was halfway through the next chapter when suddenly I felt a change in Sookie's emotions - shock followed by curiosity and something else that I couldn't quite put my finger on. I was tense for the next couple of minutes as Sookie relaxed into something that could only be described as a friendly demeanour, and I began to feel uneasy.

All at once, a tidal wave of feelings crashed down on me, so powerful it was almost agony. Confusion, lust, fear, hope, longing and a mix of other things that were so tangled up I couldn't pick them out. I felt a growl rising in the back of my throat and stood up, everything in my being focused on those feelings that were being fed as if through a tube intravenously into the very core of my being. The thought of her feeling things like lust and hope with Eric caused me physical pain. It was like someone dragging their nails down a chalkboard. It just felt so... so wrong. The emotions I was receiving changed again, and this time I recognised instantly what was going on, for this mix of emotions was something I felt coming through the bond every time Sookie and I had sex. It was how she felt just before I bit her, sinking my fangs into her pale skin and drinking her wonderful life-giving blood.

I felt nausea, fury and extreme pain all at once, and the only thought I could hold clearly in my mind was that this had to be stopped. So fast I almost couldn't keep track of my own movements, I raced out my front door, through the graveyard and across the field. I did not hesitate as I crashed through the door, looking around wildly for Sookie and Eric. My arrival had startled them and I had, thank the lord, stopped them from doing the one thing I could never allow to happen. I let a growl of simultaneous triumph and despair escape my lips.

"Sookie is MINE!" I shouted.

Before I knew what was happening, Eric had launched himself across the room at me and we crashed to the floor, splintering wood and shattering glass. We began to wrestle - fight to the death, really - so fast that It took Sookie's human senses a second or two to catch up.

"Bill!" I heard Sookie's shriek and immediately all the fight went out of me. The feelings through her bond were of pure terror, both for herself and - as I now realised - for me. There was no point in fighting Eric any longer. I had the answer I needed.

"Eric, stop! For god's sake! Bloody vampires always at each others' throats! Stop it!"

I almost laughed as she put out her hand as if to pull Eric off me, but to my surprise, Eric responded before she'd even touched him. He stood up, brushing his hair out of his eyes and spitting out a mouthful of blood that was presumably the result of almost being staked by the splintering floorboards.

I got to my feet, surprisingly less worse for wear than Eric, and dusted myself off, all the while watching Sookie. It wasn't up to me anymore. I had made my position clear. Now it was up to her. She looked guilty and a little sheepish, standing by the sofa, her eyes flicking between the two of us as if predicting another fight.

She looked across at me once more, and I held her gaze. There was a fire there, perhaps less intense than what she had felt with Eric - but he was a shiny new toy. This fire was deeper, and I knew that she knew it too.

"Sookie?" Eric asked gently. Immediately my defences were back up, my whole body tensed. Eric had reached out a hand as if to touch her, and I knew that I wouldn't be able to stop myself from attacking him. To my surprise, however, she stepped out of his reach, and then steeled herself to address us both.

"I can't believe you two! Vampires hundreds of years old, and you act like testosterone-fuelled teenagers. I'd like to talk about this, but first of all I need a promise that you're not gonna attack each other again. Bill?"

I nodded.

"Eric?"

He gave me a dark look and then gazed studiously at the floor. For a moment he reminded me of a child who has done something bad and is being reprimanded by his parents.

"Oh for crying out loud Eric! Give me a break," snapped Sookie. "You should be the bigger man here, what with your one thousand plus years of bein' a vampire. Stop being a stubborn asshole and just cooperate, would you?"

That was my girl. Fiery in the face of a one thousand year old vampire who has a problem with her boyfriend. Eric simply shrugged.

"Well, if you try anythin', I'll tell Jess and she'll make your life a livin' hell for a couple hundred years, how does that sound?" She sighed. "You think they mighta picked someone with a less aggressive nature for Sheriff of Area 5, but no, we get the stuck up Vikin' with a massively over-inflated ego."

Eric growled, and I reacted without thinking. I barrelled into Eric, knocking him flying, and stood facing him with my back to Sookie. He had landed on his feet, but was genuinely surprised at being ambushed like that and kept his distance. I heard sobbing behind me and turned to see Sookie with her face in her hands, tears streaming down her beautiful face.

"Sookie." I was afraid to touch her, afraid that she would push me away or shrug me off. It had been an overwhelming night for her, I could tell. Perhaps all the mixed up things she was feeling had simply become too much. She looked up at me, wiping her eyes, and suddenly it was as if we were the only two beings who existed.

"Oh Bill," she whispered, and reached for me. I wrapped my arms around her as she fell against me, breaking out in fresh tears and clinging to my shirt. She whispered my name over and over, and I felt tears begin to form in my own eyes.

"Please forgive me, Bill." She was so beautiful, and my heart ached for her suffering. "I didn't know what I was doin' and I was upset and I just--"

I held a finger to her lips and she stared at me, eyes wide, as if afraid of my reaction.

"There is nothing to forgive." I said simply. I felt all the tension leave her body and she sagged against me, leaning her head against my chest.

"I love you," she murmured, her voice almost lost as she pressed her face against my shirt, wet with her tears. I stroked her hair and said nothing, for I was sure she already knew I loved her too.

I had forgotten Eric behind me, glowering in our direction, subdued by our display of such a deep connection. He placed a hand on my shoulder and I tightened my hold protectively on Sookie. Eric chuckled, the fight gone out of him.

"I should have known. Nothing can break a bond that deep. I wish you both the best."

Sookie turned her head and smiled a wavering smile. "I'm sorry, Eric."

"I'm sorry too," he replied, touching her cheek. I was no longer worried that he might try something. It was clear to me that he had given up. "Maybe I'll see you again someday... I'm sure Jessica will keep me updated. Goodbye Sookie. Bill."

And with that, he left, not at a run, but slowly walking away, out the door and down the front steps, disappearing into the darkness, a man who had abandoned fighting because he knew it was a lost cause.

Oh Bill, you know I will always love you best! Next chapter, Sookie again...