Hey guys,

Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out, I've been working on the length of it. It was originally about triple this length but it didn't really flow properly so I've split it up and I'll post the next little bit tomorrow. I found it highly amusing that 'oreo' is recognised by the English (uk) dictionary on microsfot word. I miss Oreos, you can only get two types here (original and chocolate filling) at the minute or pay six quid for double stuf, and I don't have that kinda money for biscuits. Also, have you guys seen the new car audi are bringing out? The A7, it's flaming beautiful with its sports back Charlaine Harris owns the wonderful Southern Vampire Mysteries.

We clung to each other for longer than I'd imagined and it was minutes later when I pulled back from her, our hands trailing down the others' arms. When we'd finished hugging I knew it was more than enough emotion for one night for Pam and I stood up, ready to head back to my secluded little house with Eric where we could begin to talk things through. When I stood I got a full view of Eric who was still at against the chair I'd been sitting in; his face was completely emotion and I could read it like a book. He was lost, so completely lost and confused that it was causing him physical pain. He had nothing of his own, no memories and no possessions anymore. He had me though and when I smiled reassurance at him his entire face lit up as he smiled back.

"I'll call you if I hear anything and check in tomorrow at the latest. Keep in touch with the Weres." I nodded in response to Pam and walked over to Eric where I extended my hand out for him, like you would with anyone you wanted to take care of. He quickly clutched my hand in his much larger one and quick as a blink he was stood next to me.

"Bye Pam." I called out to her as we walked down the hallway; she hadn't got up from the sofa yet. We walked out to the car; I pulled the door shut behind us making sure the extra lock clicked into place, before getting into the driver's side. I pulled out of the drive away and quickly found myself lost deep in thoughts, going over what I'd just discovered.

During my hug with Pam I'd allowed myself to be comforted, sinking down into that feeling had opened up my mind to analyse what I'd been feeling. I'd been completely selfish; taking out my hurt on Eric and letting him feel my anger that I held towards the witches. I'd been telling him that I didn't blame him for what had happened but through my actions he really must have felt that I was blaming him. I had to stop that, immediately and apologise. I was hurting yes but I most definitely wasn't the only one hurting, I'd seen that first hand when I'd seen the pain in his expressive eyes after I'd left Pam. He needed something, needed someone and I was going to be that someone. I was resolute in my thinking, I had to help him and I'd be damned if I didn't succeed. As though he was aware I'd come to some form of internal decision he spoke, bringing me to full consciousness. It was probably a good job I had excellent reflexes from frequent influxes of vampire blood or it would have been very dangerous to drive.

"Is this my car?" He asked suddenly.

"Sort of, it's ours. We have quite a few, one is mine that I just use for work when you let me." I winked at him to show it wasn't a bad thing on his part. My Eric didn't like me driving what he called a rust bucket as he didn't think it was safe enough so I'd been slowly weaning myself off of the car onto the sports cars we owned. "All the others we share."

"Do we share everything?" This conversation was taking a very deep turn and I wasn't quite ready for it, no matter what decision I'd come to. For this talk to happen I wanted to be curled up in our living room and definitely not operating what could turn out to be a very dangerous weapon.

"Pretty much. We can still function separately and you have your things and I have my own but it's not like a keep your hands off or else." I took a deep tone for the last little bit, trying to mimic an authoritative voice. It was a little pointless though, I just wasn't that good at that sort of thing unless I was angry or frustrated.

"Can I drive? I feel like I can."

"Yeah, you should be able to remember too. How about tomorrow I take you out to the quiet areas of downtown, near the factories and you can have a spin? We shouldn't really be seen just in case we get spotted by a witch."

"I'd like that. You would come with me though yes?" His voice was hopeful and I risked a glance at him to find him gazing back at me expectantly, although there was a worried set to his eyes.

"Of course." We drove on in silence for a few minutes until we were once again on small roads near our house. "Can I try something?" I missed our usual contact during drives, we didn't always fill the quiet with talking we didn't have to be content with the others' company but there was a constant whenever we were in the car together.

I held out my hand to him carefully after I put the car into the amazing gift that was third gear, and waited for his response. It took a few seconds of him thinking, trying to understand what I wanted but he eventually moved. I felt his cool hand above mine and then he tentatively lowered it down onto my hand, letting our fingers lace together. I wanted him to remember and familiar things could help, this was one of our habits. I was hopeful, pushing down the hurt of him not understanding this simple gesture. The tension that had been there originally disappeared after a few seconds when he finally realised I wasn't going to flinch away from him. I squeezed his hand to give him reassurance before speaking.

"What do you feel?" I asked, keeping my eyes trained straight ahead. I was coping, barely, but I didn't want to test this new found sense of purpose too much; I didn't think I could handle seeing first hand any disappointment on his face.

"It feels familiar having warm skin against mine. Your hand is so small, mine dwarves it." He picked our hands up, pulling them closer to his face for close inspection. "Your hand is so warm and soft, I can feel the heat radiating through my whole hand. It feels familiar, like something just below the surface. Like something you see every day but don't really notice so you can't really make a comment about it."

"You don't remember us doing this before?" I asked quietly, hoping that my own disappointment wasn't evident in my voice. I didn't feel it too bad though, I hadn't really expected it to be solved by such a little thing, things weren't even that easy in fairytales.

"No. It just feels really familiar." He placed our hands back down on the central console and then they were immobile. That stung a little, every time we did this he always rubbed circles or little patterns on my hand with his thumb, in an unconscious act that most of the time he didn't even realise he was doing. There was none of that now. "I like it." All it took was three words to make me keep my hand held out for him. I wasn't immune to the strength of his grip though, it was tight and firm as though he was holding on for dear life.

I managed to drive all the way to the driveway with the car in third gear, probably driving in a way that wasn't entirely healthy for the car but if the worst came to the worst we'd just replace it.

We pulled to a stop outside of the house, once again not bothering to put it into the garage. I got out of the car, letting Eric get out too before locking it using the remote key and walking up to the house. I unlocked the door and the first thing I did was shuck my shoes as soon as I got inside. I was tired.

"Are you still going to talk to me?" He was apprehensive again and there was worry written clear across his face when I looked up at him. He was stood just behind the closed front door, his arms hanging limply by his side; he wasn't comfortable in his own home.

"Yes, I promised you, I never break my promises." Well there was that time I was too sick to get out of bed and I'd had to cancel on our plans but I thought it was best to skip clear over that little incident; he hadn't minded back then anyway.

"I'm sorry." He whispered to me, still stood by the door so I barely heard it. The apologising was definitely something new; my Eric knew how to apologise but he preferred to not do anything needy of a true, spoken apology which was fair enough with me. A vampire was surprisingly easy to live with, they were silent during the day when you were trying to get chores done, although we did have a housekeeper coming once a week, and they never really did anything wrong domestically because well, they didn't really do anything domestically. I'd never once had to yell at him for leaving the toilet seat up which I'd heard plagued some couples, and he never left the pots unwashed after eating because he didn't eat. He was actually very good with his bottles of blood; rinsing them out I the sink before putting them into the recycling bin.

"What are you sorry for?" I asked as sweetly as I could.

"For not remembering. You were trying to help me in the car." He actually sounded guilty.

"Yes I was and I'm still trying. I didn't expect things to be sorted that easily, but I'm not giving up. While we're apologising I want to say I'm sorry too." I held my finger up to silence him when he looked like he was going to retaliate. "I was horrible to you last night and I shouldn't have been. I was thinking only of how this affects me but it really gets you. I'm sorry, I'll be better and I'm going to stick by you." Guilt filled me completely as I remember all the things I'd said to him, what he must have read in my expressions and how I'd thought that I was stuck with him, wanting to give him over to Pam.

"Okay." He smiled at me slightly and I nodded. I wasn't quite ready to hug him yet though.

"I'm just going to put some pyjamas on; I'll be out in a minute. You can get some blood or something." I padded down the hallway to our bedroom where I gathered a fresh pair of yoga pants, slipper socks and an old t-shirt to change into for pyjamas. Once I was changed, my hair was tied up into a high pony tail; I sighed and turned to face the conversation.

I found Eric in the kitchen, taking the first tentative sip from a freshly micro waved bottle of blood. I'd never seen him so unsettled before, he always acted so confident, well always in public no matter what he felt like inside and he was definitely never this timid. I diverted my eyes from him and began getting myself a snack, chocolate digestives and double stuf Oreos, along with a steaming mug of coffee. There was no way this conversation would be over quickly, I didn't want to rush it either, and I was already tired, I was hoping he caffeine would hit my system quickly to keep me fully awake. When I was finished he was cradling a half empty bottle of blood and he was watching me with an interest I hadn't seen in a very long time. Not over such a very mundane task.

When we'd first started going out Eric had been held in rapt attention with every human thing that I did although it had faded over time, the one thing that hadn't changed though was his fascination with watching me eat. It was a perfect source of entertainment for him and he would happily watch me whenever ever I was eating around him with a little smile playing at the edges of his eyes.

We walked into the living room where I set my plate and mug down on the hearth before settling down onto the fur rug. I hadn't liked the rug when I'd first discovered it was real fur but it had been explained to me that it was over a century old, had been killed by a hunter up in Canada and had been 'rescued' from the floor of an abandoned cabin. Basically Eric loved it and I hadn't found a cruel enough side of myself to tell him to get rid of it. I actually kind of liked it now because it was so warm. I switched the fire on, wrapped a blanket around my shoulders and turned to look at Eric, letting him know that I was ready. He was already sat opposite me, resting against the sofa with his bottle sat beside him. His legs were pulled up to his chest with his arms wrapped around them and his chin resting on top of his knees.

"I'll let you ask the questions. I'm not sure where to start otherwise." This was the most awkward conversation I'd ever had with Eric and I didn't like us, even when we were mad at each other it wasn't like this. It was another difference that told me he wasn't quite my Eric and it made me want him back even more. Pam had essentially said I was the key to helping him remember.

"How long have we known each other?" Well that as an easy one that I could answer easily.

"Just over two years ago." I took an Oreo off of the plate, split it open and sucked out all of the stuffing before eating the biscuit.

"We are dating, yes?" I nodded, my mouth stiff full and he continued. "Did we start out like that? Were we friends or was it arranged?" I barely kept the last remnants of the cookie inside my mouth at the last comment; I could just see Jason lining suitable suitors up for me and going down the line with a check list of requirements.

"It wasn't anywhere near that simple, in fact, I resolutely refused you for about a month but you were so stubborn!" I giggled at my recollection and a true smile spread across my lips at the generous gifts he'd given me to butter me up. It hadn't really worked though; it had been a conversation with Pam who made me agree to go on a date with him.

"Are we happy?" He actually seemed worried about the answer to that question.

"Yes, we're very happy. We have our fights like any couple but we're happy." I could feel tears welling up in my eyes at how content we had been just a few days ago; we'd been together long enough to be truly comfortable with each other but the relationship was new enough that we still couldn't keep our hands off of each other. I had a feeling though that it would be like that for a long, long time though, Eric was truly insatiable.

"Good." He nodded his head and a flicker of something even I couldn't read flashed across his handsome face.

"Why do you ask?" I picked up a chocolate digestive and dunked it into my coffee for a couple of seconds before taking a delicious bite. He was too lost in thought to be able to watch me eat.

"I wanted to make sure; you should always treat women with respect and be good to them. I treat you right?"

"Yes." I stared into his eyes as I said that, let him know that I was telling the absolute truth, I could tell that this meant a lot to him.

"How did we meet?" He unwrapped his arms then and let his long legs stretch out in front of him; he'd taken his shoes off and I'd never noticed. I finished my biscuit before replying.

"I was friends with Pam, the vampire we saw tonight," I added in just to make sure he remembered properly. "We'd met a few months before, and formed an unusual friendship which happened due to my old roommate Amelia. I came in the bar one night, annoyed because Amelia had stood me up for a late night shopping trip at the mall near the bar for Christmas presents. I walked straight in and ordered a large drink. You found me interesting and came to talk to me. I basically demanded to talk to Amelia and yelled at you when you wouldn't give me any answers. Essentially you thought I was highly entertaining and kept pestering me to go out on a date with you. I eventually said yes. Now, I'm very glad that you did keep on trying." I finished my coffee off and slid the plate and mug to the side so that I could stretch down on the rug without risk of knocking anything over.

"That sounds like a very short story." He thought I was keeping things from him, which wasn't my intention at all, I'd wanted to make a very long winded story short to stave off boredom.

"Everything important is there. Let's see. I was wearing my waitress uniform from Merlotte's because I'd had the afternoon shift which was why we were shopping at night. I had a bright blue coat draped over my arm and a white t-shirt on, which made me stand out like a sore thumb in the sea of black inside the bar. You were wearing pretty much exactly what you're wearing now."

"You can recall the details."

"Of course." I folded my arms and rested my arms on them, looking straight at him. This was much easier, so far, than what I'd expected. It was almost kind of nice to take this trip down memory lane. "You helped completely change my life, I can't forget that."

"I did." His voice was desolate and his eyes were down cast, staring at the carpet.

"Shit." I muttered quietly before clambering onto my hands and knees to go over to him. I laid a hand on his forearm which made him look up at me, a questioning look on his features. "I didn't mean it like that! If it wasn't for this curse, you'd remember it too. You used to tell me that you could style my hair in the exact same way it had been, to the exact curl, because you remembered seeing me so clearly. The light in the darkness. It's okay." I whispered the last part, squeezing his arm before relaxing back against the sofa, not bothering to move back to my earlier position.

"I can feel you more." He pointed to his head. "You're not as upset, you feel guilt." He was completely amazed at his own thoughts; he couldn't understand them at all.

"Yes, I realised some stuff earlier that's helping. I feel guilty for treating you bad."

"What are we to each other?" I'd been quite easily wading through waist deep water, now I was suddenly treading water in the middle of the ocean. This question was fraught with problems; I didn't want to scare him, I had to explain it fully and I had to get through it, knowing that he didn't know about out deep connection.

"We're bonded."

"You've said that before." He noted and I recalled when I'd first found him outside my old home, I'd stated it to him. My chest rippled with pain at that memory but I quickly squelched it down, letting happier memories flood my mind to keep my tears, which had sprung up in my eyes, in check.

"Yes. Do you know what it means at all?" He shook his head, no. "We've shared blood, the magic number is three. Three times you took a little of my blood and I took a little of yours. It gives us a strong, unique connection to each other. That's why you can feel me." I pointed to my head and to my chest; the two were so strongly interlinked when it came to bonding. "We reconnect, exchange blood again, when the affects begin to fade or when we want affirm our relationship. It's amazing; sensuous, sexual, intimate and it means we can just be us for a night without any interference from anything else."

"What's the significance of the bond?" He was staring at me so intently now it felt like he was committing my very pores to memory.

"It's quite rare; it shows a deep level of trust, love, loyalty. Few people gain it and maintain it. It's only possible between human and vampire couples as well. It doesn't work with vampire couples, though there are much fewer of those." He nodded and absorbed what I'd told him. I felt like it wasn't enough, that I should have explained it more but most of what our bond meant to us couldn't be expressed with words, it could only be felt or shown, and I wasn't about to do that. I couldn't let myself be so defenceless with him, I trusted him still, but I was too raw.

"We live together." I nodded, he already knew that. "We're bonded." Another nod. "We've been together for two years but we aren't married." I couldn't decide whether I needed to nod or shake my head at that one so I verbally respond.

"That's right."

"Why aren't we married if we're living together? That doesn't seem right somehow." He almost looked ashamed at what we were doing, well his full self and me, shacking up together. It was a complete turnaround from the vampire that had tried to get into my pants as much as possible from the moment I'd first met him, he was still trying that now, when he was himself. Cohabiting had definitely not been an issue for him before.

"Well, it's not really that easy. We're a vampire, human couple and those marriages aren't legal in Louisiana. In vampire terms though we're married, or essentially at least. We're bonded which is more than enough of a sign of a commitment. It's enough for me, I enjoy what we have and living together without being married really isn't a problem for me." It would have been though if I'd been with a human man but that just wasn't an option due to my telepathy. It really was bliss being around blank vampires, I would never tire of the peace and I would always be grateful for it. It did however, get a little irritating sometimes. It would certainly have been helpful in these past couple of nights.

"Have I ever asked you to marry me?"

"No, it's not legally registered so it's not an issue."

"Surely there are states where it is recognised."

"Well yes." I hadn't realised that before, I'd always been completely content with my blood bond and our home together. It still didn't bother me though, marriage was a state of mind type situation, living together and sharing your lives, I already had that. I didn't need a certificate of marriage to prove it.

He was oddly silent for a few minutes and when I glanced his way I found his bright blue eyes were fixed on my face still. His eyes kept flickering from my eyes to my lips, never linger for more than a few seconds before moving on.

"Can I try something Sookie?" There was just something about him in that moment, so open and defenceless that made me want to say yes to anything.

"Depends on what." I smiled softly, letting him know that everything was okay.

"From what I gather, my memory might come back if I try hard enough and I have things that were common, hold good memories for me. And Sookie, I want to remember you." A tear ran down my cheek at that moment, he was so sweet and it really touched my heart, helping to put a couple of small pieces back into their original place.

"What is it?" I asked, encouraging him to get to the point.

"I want to kiss you." My breath caught in my throat but I couldn't say no to him, not when he'd just said he wanted to remember me. He had nothing to go on except my words and he believed in us already. And it was true; if we kissed it might spark some form of recognition in him.

I slowly leant over to him, placed my hand gently along his cheek relishing the feel of his slightly rough chin under my hand. His gaze flickered down from my eyes to rest on my lips, not moving now, and he watched with widening eyes as I leant across to him. My eyes shut lightly just before our lips met. It was wondrous feeling his lips against mine, the cool skin against my heat flesh. It was tender and sweet, no haste for anything. We took our time, moving slowly against one another. My tongue caressed along his bottom lip and his mouth opened, letting our tongues slowly move together, exploring. It was a first kiss for us all over again. At some point his hands had reached up to cup my face. Hope fuelled us both and it was with reluctance that we both pulled back slowly, our lips lingering even when our tongues had retreated. He tasted delicious, he smelt gorgeous, and he felt delicious, he was my vampire whether he could remember that or not. So with hope I let my eyes open to reveal if it had sparked anything.

So what did you think? You know I love feedback almost as much as I love a certain Viking vampire. Just to let you know the next chapter is a flash back scene of when they first met and how they got together, I know the explanation isn't very good in here. The scene just didn't work very well in the middle of all this. Hope you don't mind. Thanks for reading. *hugs*