(Author's note: Hello everyone! So, I have been writing this story for a while now and I would like to thank you for adding it to your alerts and to your favorites. I would like to add that my story has elements from both the series and the books and of course, all the characters, except for Artemis which has been my creation, belong to Ch. Harris and no infringement has ever been intended. I am looking forward to reading your reviews with your ideas, your thoughts and your suggestions about my work. Thank you!)

Possessiveness

The first sound that came to Eric's ears as he was coming back to consciousness from his day rest was flowing water. He slowly opened his eyes and noticed that Artemis was already up and taking a shower. He took a few seconds to relish the moment. Artemis's sweet scent was all over his room; her stylish clothes were deposited in his wardrobe; her favorite books were laying on his nightstand; she was all over his life again and he felt a strange comfort in that idea.

Before he had time to think any further, she dashed out of the bathroom and headed towards the so-talking closet to pick her outfit for the night. "Well, look who's up! Finally!" she said, throwing a sideways glace at Eric who was standing up.

"Considering we have the same age, you should be waking the same time with me. How come you were up earlier?" Eric asked suspiciously. Was this another witch thing?

"Always observant, my love… Maybe my which powers have helped me a little with the whole vampires-and-sun issue…" She answered absent-mindedly.

Eric knew how huge a thing it was of a vampire could be in the sun without being burnt and he suspected that Artemis had achieved that, but he said nothing but "It is wise that you don't talk about that ability with anyone else or you might be in serious trouble, darling.". Of course she knew that herself, but a little reminder didn't hurt anybody. Artemis valued his opinion and she would take his advice seriously.

He headed to the bathroom himself then, to take a shower and when he came out he found his bonded perfecting her make-up.

"Eric, think I need to do some shopping. I left hastily from my home and I did not pack enough clothes." Artemis said reluctantly and he looked at her in disbelief. Really? What could she possibly find to wear in a small town of the American South?

"I know this is not Paris or Milan or New York, but I need clothes! And shoes. And accessories…" she said in an almost apologetic tone. "There has to be some sort of boutique where I can find something descent to wear! It's not like we are in the North Pole!" Artemis went on.

Eric understood that when Artemis said "descent clothing" she meant some couture outfits that cost quite a few thousands of dollars. And he knew it wouldn't be easy to find that kind of thing in Shreveport.

And maybe he wished to avoid going shopping…

"Wouldn't it be easier if you sent someone to your home to pack a few more outfits and have them sent them to you?" he asked.

"I am afraid that would be impossible. My home is warded and the wards don't accept anyone but me…"

"You can change them from right here. Then you would allow someone else to go inside and send you your clothes."

"That is not an option. I do not trust anyone to allow them to enter my home in my absence. There is no way around it Eric. You have to take me shopping! Just face it."

Eric finally gave in and he thought of a boutique or two where Artemis would be able to find clothes of her liking. But the thing in his mind were Artemis's words. Could she really not trust anyone? Of course as a vampire, and especially a vampire with power you couldn't trust many people but there had to be one or two others upon whom you could rely. Like Pam was for him. Why Artemis couldn't find someone responsible to work for her?

Soon, the vampire duo was headed towards the most expensive shopping district in the town. As they entered the first shop, a fine-looking middle-aged brunette woman approached them and asked politely "Good evening! May I help you?". As her eyes took in Eric, she blushed, but she didn't dare to make any comments.

Artemis was the one who replied, since Eric was too busy brooding because he wasn't in the mood to go shopping. "I would like to see some outfits, mostly dresses, but skirts and tops are welcome too." Her tone was that of a person who knew what they wanted.

The woman's eyed widened both with fear and shock. She had just realised that her customers were vampires and that they had come to do some serious shopping.

She motioned them to follow her, saying "This way please…".

She led them to a private booth and she left to bring Artemis some dresses. Artemis turned to Eric and she thought "Not bad, considering where we are. It's not Chanel but it is definitely wearable…".

"I am glad you are enjoying yourself." He replied impassively.

"Come on, Eric. We will be out of here in an hour at most. Why don't you go and pick some shirts yourself?"

"I have plenty of clothes and I am no shopaholic woman who can't wrap her mind around wearing the same clothes more than once!" Eric protested, eyeing Artemis with false exasperation.

At that moment the saleswoman came in and she handed Artemis some dresses, indicating where she could try them on.

"It is hardly as bad as you describe it! You are just grumbling. Just sit there and tell me what you think of the clothes. Actually, I can remember you enjoying very much some pointless buys I had done… like lingerie…" Artemis went on while she was putting on a beautiful black satin gown that revealed most of her back.

When she came out she found Eric waiting with a reminiscent smile. Ah! That lingerie…

"What do you think?" she asked while making a turn to let him see the back.

"Stunning, my dear, as always. Maybe that would be a fit for our meeting with Sophie- Anne who just invited us via email to her compound next week." Eric was openly admiring her beauty.

"You think? Well let me try some more and we will see…"

For the next half hour, Artemis tried endless clothes and she picked out her favourites, which were dresses with feminine lines, a lot of lace, in dark colours that fitted her sophisticated but also sexy style. She ended up buying several pieces and she also chose a very delicate grey Dolce and Gabbana dress for Pam, as a thank-you gift for the outfit she borrowed the other day.

As she continued to the shoes' and accessories' section, Eric, who had obediently been offering his opinion on Artemis's buys, went to pick a few things himself.

A while later they were in the car heading to Fangtasia. Artemis was content that she had managed to find everyday clothes, but she also thought that she would make phone calls to come couture houses in Europe to send her a few gowns for official events, like the evening at Sophie- Anne's.

Eric was in a better mood. He had found a few things to buy himself and he hadn't been as bored and he had thought he would be. For once more, it had been proved that as long as he was with Artemis he could have a great time no matter where he was. It had been proved before endless times, but it still surprised him how this woman affected his life.

When they arrived at Fangtasia, Pam and Sookie were expecting them in the entrance.

"Good evening, Artemis, Eric." Pam said. "As you can see our telepathic friend is here and she wants to know if we have any news on Compton's case."

Eric and Artemis shared a long look, like having a conversation, and Eric said
"We'll have to go inside and check."

The four of them went straight to Eric's office and there they found a voicemail from Chow informing them that Lorena's home had been empty and that he was heading to the old mansion Bill and Lorena shared before she released him.

Sookie looked very tired and she was disappointed to hear that they still had no idea whether Bill was alive or finally dead.

"We should know something more compact by tomorrow if not tonight, Sookie." Artemis said, understanding that Sookie was not happy with the progress. "Why don't you stay in case Chow calls? That way can also keep you safe." She went on.

"It's my night off, so I guess I can stay…" Sookie replied reluctantly. She had hoped she would finish some of her laundry on her day off but instead she had been convinced once more to spend the evening at Fangtasia. Whatever…

In what seemed to become a habit, Artemis, Eric and Sookie sat in Eric's booth.

They all settled and run their eyes around the bar to take in their surroundings. As Artemis was scanning the area, her eye caught some hideous fang-bangers looking at her scornfully while discussing making a pass at Eric. She was annoyed but didn't pay any further attention. She knew well that Eric wouldn't even look at another woman in her presence, with the exception of a pre-decided shared meal.

A few minutes later, a waitress brought the vampires their Tru Bloods and Sookie her gin and tonic. Either Artemis or Eric had any work to do that evening and she was soon bored.

"What are you thinking?" she asked him mentally. She could get the tenor of his thoughts and it was a strange combination of gratitude, happiness, awe, amusement and bitterness.

"Do you really want to know?" Eric replied telepathically while raising an eyebrow.

"Don't I? What is it? I am sure I have heard worse."

"I was just thinking of the irony of this situation. You show up out of the blue and you change everything, but you still put boundaries and you keep saying that you have to leave… And when it comes down to it you only showed up because you owed me since I stood by you when you lost your maker and because my pain was discomforting you…"

Artemis took a while to compose herself after all that she heard, before she answered " Eric… You know things are not like that. I didn't come here to pay you back or for my own benefit. You have to know that. I understand that my arrival, my stay and my departure are a little peculiar but you have to accept them as they are and try to make the most of me while I am here, no matter why or how…"

"I know… I was just trying to reason contradictory elements. Something is off and don't try to deny it. I can tell you are keeping something from me."

As Artemis heard these words in her head, her face took a very pained expression and Eric could both see and feel her turmoil. She was debating with herself whether she should talk to him or not.

Eric had had the feeling that she had some kind of secret the moment he saw her, but he hadn't been sure until seconds ago. What could it be? It definitely had to be something too serious, too frightening, too heavy for it to have an impact like that on Artemis.

Eric was ready to take Artemis somewhere private and push her to confide in him. After all, he had a right to know. Whatever could affect her was immediately relevant to him and could alter his life. But mostly, he wanted to help her, to comfort her, to take her problem and solve it for her. He couldn't stand to see the agony on her face for a second longer.

Before any of them had time to react or talk, a rude female voice disrupted their private exchange. It was one of the fang-bangers that Artemis had spotted earlier.

Artemis was feeling confused and she didn't like it. Before she had come, she had promised to herself that she wouldn't burden Eric with this no matter what. That she could take care of it for the both of them. But now the idea of sharing seemed very appealing.

She was at a dead end and when she saw that foolish young loser making a pass at Eric, she lost it. Her fangs ran out and a deep, but always delicate, snarl rose up from her throat. She was now standing dangerously close to the girl and she was eyeing her fiercely.

In a threatening voice sent chills through your spine she said "Can't you see that he has company? Or am I so easy to ignore?..."

The girl swallowed hard, now realizing that it hadn't been smart to dismiss the woman so quickly. However, some sort of depressed rebellious feeling made her speak back without realizing that she was putting her life in danger.

"It's not like you are tied to him or something, bitch. And from what I hear vampires aren't that monogamous."

Now Artemis was really furious. She was looking at the fang-banger with such intensity that it was painful. "What did you just say?" she asked in a strained voice. You could almost hear the clicks in her mind as she was calculating how long it would take to slaughter the whole bar. The intensity in her eyes grew worse.

Eric, whose fangs had also ran out, whispered between his teeth "Artemis not here…" and he took her hand and pulled her a little away.

Then he turned to the fang-banger and said "You pathetic little creature had better not underestimate my companion ever again or I will rip you into pieces and I will enjoy the procedure very much. Leave immediately."

Then he retracted his fangs and so did Artemis and they sat down in synchrony.

The episode had been very quiet so very few among the crowd had understood what was going on.

Sookie, who had been sitting nearby, was startled by the passion with which Artemis had reacted. It looked almost like jealousy… She had gotten by that point that Eric was quite crazy about her, but it was the first time she got that from her. Also, she was terrified. The mystery woman seemed to just as powerful as the Sheriff and that fact that she looked relatively friendly only mad her more lethal.

Pam joined them just then and her first words were "Jeez… You understand you can't eye-kill humans or whatever it is you do in the middle of a crowded bar, right? And for your information, there are quite a few fang-bangers who hit on Eric. You can't scare them all or the bar will empty."

"I was just contributing to the scaring-the-humans scheme…" Artemis said in a fake defensive tone.

Both Eric and Pam turned towards her with raised eyebrows and she rolled her eyes in response.

In the meanwhile Sookie asked before she realized she was talking aloud "Eye-kill? What is that?"

Eric took up the explaining in an amused tone "Our beloved Artemis has a very rare trait among our kind. She can kill someone if she desires with her eyesight. It is very intriguing… and handy, I guess."

Sookie looked really surprised and she took some time to wrap her mind around that concept. At the same time, Eric gave some last instructions and he and Artemis left for the night. After all, they had to feed before going to rest. That would require some time.