A/N: Once upon a time, an author wanted to make her story really angsty. Well, her muses had something else in mind and decided to only give her a few chapters of angst. Her fans rejoiced.

That's the true story of Danger in Dixie. For those who don't like angst... it will only be a few chapters, bear with me. For those who love the angst (I'm looking at you A Redhead Thing), the next few chapters will definitely wet your panties.

My fantabulous beta, chiisai-kitty described this chapter as "intense." Yeah....

Disclaimer: Alexander Danger and his fucked up world are mine. Everything else belongs to Charlaine Harris.

Her curves were as soft as he remembered, and his hands quickly found their place on her hips. She was above him, rocking her hips in perfect time to his thrusts. He was on the edge of climax; it was building beneath the surface the minute she appeared on his doorstep. She was soaked by the rain, her clothes clinging to her skin. After wrestling the knife from her hands, they ended up on the floor, and within minutes he was inside of her. How she could go from trying to kill him to making love in minutes was insane, but the farthest thing from his mind at the moment. Both their cries were reaching a fever pitch, and he opened his eyes just in time to see the knife coming down towards his chest.

Danger woke with a start, running his hands over his chest to search for the wound. As his breathing returned to normal, he felt the sweat soaked sheets and decided a shower and fresh linens would be the appropriate course of action. His hand felt something sharp beside him; turning slowly to see the blood red rose resting delicately placed on the pillow.

"Hi!"

Eric was sitting in his new favorite spot down by the creek, and had been all afternoon. He had been writing up a storm, channeling all of his energy and emotion into his work. He found that if he spent all his available time writing, he didn't have time to be upset with Sookie over all the insanity that was occurring in the house. This wasn't the first time he had been interrupted, but it was the first time it was done by a strange, tiny voice. Eric saw that Clancy noticed the person, too, and temporarily distracted from chasing leaves downstream to investigate. He turned from his seat to find the source of the voice. It was a little boy, perhaps four or five years old with dark eyes and even darker hair. He was holding a stuffed tiger in his hands and the nervous look in his eyes was offset by the enormous smile taking up most of his face. Eric deduced that this was Sookie's cousin's son.

"Hello, and who are you?"

"I'm Hunter. Sookie told me to come find you and tell you that my mom and dad are here and you should come inside and say hello. She also said that you've been working all day and ignoring her, but she didn't say that to me, she said that to Mommy. Is that your dog? Is he friendly? We can't have a dog; Daddy is allergic."

Eric took a minute to process everything Hunter had poured into one sentence. Sookie was sending an innocent kid to do her dirty work, not realizing he would spill the beans. She needed to learn that little ones hear everything and have no qualms about telling everyone what they've learned.

"I'm Eric and that's my dog, Clancy." Eric called Clancy over to meet Hunter properly. After a quick sniff, Clancy rolled right over for a belly rub. "I guess that answers your question about him being friendly. If you give him a belly rub, he'll be your best friend."

Hunter followed through on Eric's suggestion, breaking out into giggles when the dog started licking his face. Eric packed up his things and they all walked back towards the house. Realizing Hunter didn't stand a chance at keeping up with his long legs; Eric picked him up and carried him the rest of the way. Hunter told Eric his life's story during the trek, doing a perfectly good job telling him all the gossip. It was clear in Eric's mind that he was definitely related to Sookie; neither needed another person to have a conversation.

Eric walked up the porch, worried by the looks that Tray and Hoyt were giving him.

"What? How bad is it?"

Hoyt gave Eric a comforting smile that did anything but calm his nerves. "Well, ya know how Sookie rambles when she's excited? Imagine two of them, talking at the same time, neither stopping for air, ever. That's Hadley, and that's what's going on inside."

Eric looked over at Hunter, who was still up in his arms. "Okay, Hunter, you need to save Daddy from the crazy women. Go inside and tell him to come out here with us guys. Tell him to bring beer. He'll understand."

Eric set him down on the ground and he darted inside, on a mission. Tray was cracking up after their exchange. Not five minutes later, a tall man was walking out the back door; a hysterically laughing Hunter in one arm and a six pack of beer in the other. He had sharp features, slightly lighter than his son's. He put the beer down on the table, sticking out his now free hand for a handshake.

"Remy Savoy and that must make you Eric."

They exchanged pleasantries before taking a seat with Hoyt and Tray. Hunter decided man talk was not fun enough and took to chasing Clancy around the yard. The three that had been present for all the drama brought Remy up to date. After a moment of quiet reflection, he let out a short laugh.

"Sounds like this Crystal is all sorts of crazy. She'll fit in perfect with this family."

The next man out on the porch was Jason, looking slightly overwhelmed. Remy looked over at him, asking how long he was able to last.

"I couldn't have been in there for more than a few minutes. Hoyt, remember the luncheons after the Descendants of the Glorious Dead meetings? How all the harpies would gather and talk in that tone of voice that sends every dog in the Parrish running for cover? That's what it's like inside."

"Why do you think we're out here?"

"All this wedding and baby talk is enough to drive a man crazy. This was supposed to be a small family thing. How was I supposed to know the entire town of Hotshot is family to her? Eric, you've got the right frame of mind to stay far, far away from all this. It might drive Sook up a wall, but at least you get to keep your sanity."

They were only protected in their man cave for so long before Pam came out. She took the last beer in the pack and pulled up a chair next to Eric.

"Someone needed to tell you that dinner will be ready in twenty minutes. I volunteered and then ran for the hills. Why the fuck am I here?"

"You invited yourself down. Feel free to leave at anytime."

"Oh, Eric, but who would I torture back in New York with you so far away? My other clients aren't nearly as fun to mess with as you are."

Dinner snuck up on them, and soon they were forced back in the house to face the women. Dinner was more civilized than Eric had imagined; it was mostly Sookie and Jason catching up on Hadley's life. Eric was shocked at how similar the two cousins looked; the only difference between them was that where Sookie had blonde hair and blue eyes, Hadley had dark brown hair with dark eyes. The main bulk of the conversation was spent reminiscing about Gran. It was obvious that she was that she was the matriarch of the family; holding all the pieces together. Where Sookie had lost her parents in a flood, Hadley's were both taken by cancer.

Sookie wasn't exaggerating when she said that the three relatives sitting around this dinner table were all that was left of their gene pool. Eric saw her struggle with adding to the family in an entirely different light; understanding her unlike he never had before. He knew what he had to do; he had to sit down with her and get everything out on the table. He planned on waiting until they were back in New York, once all the craziness had settled. He took her hand in his, placing a small kiss on the back, before settling their join hands in his lap. She smiled at him, unsure of the motivation behind his gesture, but happy that it happened.

Since the wedding was the next day, everyone agreed to call it an early night. As they were figuring out the final sleeping arrangements, Hunter decided that building a pillow fort in the living room would be the best bedroom for him. His parents certainly wouldn't object to not having to share a bed with him and soon a makeshift bedroom was built using every free pillow in the house. Clancy was charged with guard duty so after Hunter was tucked inside, he laid down in front of the opening and fell asleep there.

Eric and Sookie were just about to head to be themselves, when Sookie started the wrong conversation.

"This wedding is getting out of hand. When we get married, we're coming up with a plan and sticking to it. This was supposed to be an intimate affair. There are going to be nearly one hundred people in my yard tomorrow."

"When we get married? When's that? I don't remember ever proposing."

"You know what I mean. I mean, seriously Eric, you really don't see us ever getting married?"

"I've told you how I feel about the topic a dozen times, at least. I don't see why you need a piece of paper to tell you that we're in love?"

"Because that's what normal couples do; they get together, fall in love, get married, and start a family."

"Why? Why can't we just be two people, madly in love, who live together?"

"Because that's not my life plan."

"Life plan?"

"Everyone has a life plan. The plan you set for your life when you're little. There are only two things on my plan; get married and be a mom."

"The two things you said weren't important to you in our relationship."

"Not presently, but eventually I'd like them both."

"That's not what you said when it first came up. You said that we were enough."

"I know you freak out with major changes, I was trying to protect you so we could ease into the conversation."

"Well, you did a fantastic job with that. Very smooth just sneaking the idea into conversations in one breath and then complaining about the pressure to get married in another."

"I'm so over this. Good night, Eric. Maybe Hunter will invite you into his pillow fort because you're sure as hell not sleeping in here tonight."

Eric grabbed his pillow and stormed out of the room to get comfortable on the couch. The next day was going to be a very long one.


Sookie was in full on panic mode the day of the wedding. Crystal had been sequestered at the Merlotte's house, opting to get ready there as to not risk seeing Jason before their big moment. Jason was a bundle of nerves upstairs, having a mini meltdown of his own, panicked over his decision to rush into a wedding with a baby on the way. That left Sookie to shoulder every decision and delivery that was coming in. Others tried to help her, but resorted to asking her about details they didn't want to screw up.

She was feeling the pressure, on the verge of breaking down, when Eric came in the room, looking as fine as ever in a three piece suit that matched Hoyt's and Tray's. They had not officially made up from their fight last night; in fact, they hadn't said two words to the other. He could sense her distress so he wrapped her in his arms, just holding her for a moment. He could feel her breathing even out after a few moments, so he pulled her back slightly to look in her eyes.

"Go take your shower and get dressed, lock the door so no one can get in. We can handle everything else. If anyone asks for you, I'll tell them you're indisposed and take care of it. Short of the house burning down, you are not to leave that bedroom until guests start arriving in an hour."

"But, I…"

"Nothing is more important than your sanity today. We'll deal with our mess after all this is over. Right now, there are bigger things to handle. Hoyt and Tray are talking Jason down, Amelia and Jessica are arranging the chairs and Pam is coordinating the flower delivery. Don and Maryanne are bringing the food over shortly and I'll take care of that. If it's not perfect, it's the best they're going to get without doing anything themselves."

She let out a deep breath she was holding, kissed him hard and without saying a word, left for the bedroom. The next hour flew by, but everything was taken care of by the time the first guests were settling into seats. The ceremony went off without a hitch. Much to Sookie's surprise, the homemade arch actually survived. As soon as Jason kissed his bride, food was being set up for the guests to enjoy while the wedding party took pictures. Hunter, who was the ring bearer posed like a champ, smiling and giggling the entire time. Crystal's cousin, the flower girl, was another story. She cried and complained the entire time, so most of the frames were done without her. Sookie rolled her eyes; it was just one more thing for Crystal to complain about later.

She was back in hostess mode after the photographer released them. She made her way through the crowd faster than Jason and Crystal to greet all their guests and make them feel at home. She was surprised when Eric came over to her with a smile, saying hello to Crystal's aunt, who Sookie was speaking with, and proceeded to steal her away. He dragged her inside the kitchen where a plate with all her favorite food was sitting on the counter.

"You're going to sit down and eat something before you pass out. It's approaching ninety degrees and you haven't had a bite to eat all day. I don't need you passing out on me. Crystal and Jason can entertain their own guests."

She was going to fight him for being heavy handed, but realized he was right and sat down at the kitchen table to eat. He sat with her, finally enjoying the time alone to talk about their own lives. It was the first time in a while they were alone in the middle of the day. After the food was gone and he made sure she drank an entire glass of lemonade to fight off dehydration, they left the kitchen to get back to the party. Sookie was immediately stolen away by Jason, where she was prompted to make her maid of honor speech.

The night was winding down and Eric had put himself in charge of babysitting Hunter. Hadley had mentioned she didn't have any adult time recently with Remy and Eric was more than happy to keep an eye on him so she could enjoy the night. Last he saw the happy couple; they were dancing and then sneaking away towards the house. Hunter was in the midst of explaining the "very complicated" plot of his favorite television show. Eric started to wonder if he could branch himself out and write children's books but shot the idea down when he realized he would have to keep them sex free. He loved a good plot, but he loved his smut even more.

When he stopped learning the intricacies of children's programming, he looked down at the little guy just in time to catch him nodding off. Eric picked him up, and Hunter cuddled into his arms, falling fast asleep in seconds. They stayed like that for a while, just sitting on the porch, watching the party as it continued to die down. When Eric heard footsteps approaching, he turned and saw a slightly disheveled Remy heading his way.

"You look good with a kid in your arms."

"Don't let Sookie hear you talking like that. She's been giving me enough grief recently on that front."

"Let me give you some advice. If you don't like it, ignore it, but at least have the decency to hear me out." When Eric nodded, Remy continued. "When Hadley told me she was pregnant, I freaked out and left town. We had only been dating a year and I wasn't ready for something like that. I came back when Adele called me. Hadley had just given birth and was scared out of her mind. She told me if I didn't get my ass back to my girl and my new son, she was going to hunt me down and make sure no one ever heard from me again. No one is ever ready to be a parent. It's terrifying and there's no manual on how to do it right. The scariest moment of my life was the first time I held Hunter in my arms. It was also the best.

"If you keep waiting for the right timing, you're going to watch Sookie walk away. I'm not saying go have a kid tomorrow but don't let fear be what tears you apart. The two of you are good together; God knows Sookie deserves a good man like you in her life. Had told me the two of you have been fighting about the future. Get on the same page, and get there fast, because Stackhouses don't put up with that type of shit for long. I'm going to tuck him into bed; think about what I told you. Good night, Eric."

Eric let the words soak in, seeking out Sookie's location in the rapidly shrinking crowd of people. He found her hugging and kissing people good bye in between cleaning up the mess. He grabbed a garbage bag and helped out, wanting this process to go by quickly so he could talk to Sookie. She probably wouldn't be in the mood to talk after the stress of the day, but he felt it was important to get the process started at least.

It was close to two in the morning by the time everything was put away to Sookie's satisfaction. Those who had been able to stay up to help dragged themselves to bed; Eric and Sookie included. When Eric left the bathroom, he expected Sookie to already be asleep, but she was still up, waiting for him; a worried look etched in her face.

"What's wrong?"

"You've been super nice to me all day. I'm just waiting for the fight from last night to start all over again."

"I've been nice to you since I knew you needed the support. We need to settle what happened without you kicking me out."

"It's late and we're both tired. We'll settle it in the morning."

"Not a fucking chance. We keep saying that and then not talking about it in the morning. We're doing this now, even if we have to stay up all night."

"Fine, what do you want to know?"

"What's the deal with you and your life plan? I'd like to be part of that plan but I need to know what's going through your head."

"I want you to know that I'm happy with you, and I want you to be part of my life forever. But I want your role to change from boyfriend to husband to father."

"Why couldn't you have mentioned that before all this fighting started? If you had been honest with me the entire time, we could have avoided the big blow outs."

"I was afraid of losing you. I didn't want anything to come between us, but if you want total honesty, then you'll get it. I want to get married, I want a family, and I want all of that to happen with you."

He sat down next to her on the bed, taking her hand in his.

"I think the best thing that can happen is for us to go back home and settle into our normal routine. Things are out of whack down here."

"I know you said you wanted to go home immediately, but I want to stay a little while longer."

"Sook, we have tickets for a flight out tomorrow night. It's time to go back to New York. We've done nothing but fight here; we need the stability of our home."

"But why? You're writing everyday here and we'll finally have some time to relax. Plus, we don't have tickets tomorrow. I called the travel agent and canceled them to extend our stay. It was my turn to surprise you."

"You can't do something like that without asking me first!"

"You didn't tell me you were buying this house!"

"How long are you going to hold that over my head?"

"Long enough so you stop being dumb and having double standards."

"We have a life to get back to in New York."

"Lafayette is holding down the fort with the bar, as are the other waitresses. Sam is going back tomorrow with Daphne, they won't miss me one bit. Jess, Hoyt, Jason and Crystal are all going back, too. Amelia and Tray already agreed to stay. I thought the four of us could just have a nice time here without all the wedding nonsense to distract us."

"So you coordinated all of this with everyone without even asking my opinion. Don't you think that would have been important? This is exactly what I was talking about. We need to be honest with each other."

"You were off writing every afternoon and at night, things just got crazy. It slipped my mind."

"That's an important detail to miss, Sookie. We can't just stay down here forever."

"Why not?"

"I knew that's where you were going with this! What part of my life don't you want me to change? You're asking me to change my beliefs on marriage and children; why not throw in a cross country move while you're at it?"

"You're blowing this out of proportion. I just want you to love Bon Temps like I do. A few more days here won't do any damage."

"I'm going to New York tomorrow. In fact, I'm going to New York tonight. I don't know who you are, but you certainly aren't the same person I fell in love with. Don't come back until you're willing to be honest with me."

"What are you talking about? Are you kicking me out?"

"What am I talking about? You've turned into this woman who feels the need to change every detail of my life and hide the truth when you think I won't like it. And no, Sookie, I can't kick you out of my New York apartment if you're already home."

He got off the bed and hastily threw his clothes and notes in a suitcase. Sookie sat in a state of shock on the bed, unsure of how to proceed.

"What does this mean?"

"It means I've finally had enough of your bullshit. This has been building up the entire time we've been here and I'm done. I'm done fighting, I'm done learning about things at the last minute, I'm done with you. I'm done with us."

His voice cracked at his last sentence and he walked out of the room so she wouldn't see the raw emotion on his face. He realized that Pam had brought Clancy here without his travel crate, since she had come down on a private jet. He was about to knock on her door to ask her to make sure Clancy got home quickly, when it swung open, revealing Pam at the ready with her bags.

"These walls are paper thin. I heard every word. I'm coming with you. I already have the jet on standby. By the time we get to the airfield, it will be ready for us. You drive the pickup and I'll arrange for someone from the rental agency to pick it up there for you."

"Thank you."

They went out into the living room, prepared to leave when Amelia was standing in front of the door. Pam wasn't exaggerating when she said the walls were thin.

"You're not leaving; you can't do this to her or to yourself. Just sit down and talk it out. Let calmer heads prevail."

"Then you stay and tell your best friend to get her head out of her fucking ass. She knows what she's done and exactly how to fix it."

"You walking out isn't going to help at all. Just stay the night and deal with this in the morning. It's been a long day and emotions are a little high."

"Tonight was just the final straw and you know it. Get out of my way, Amelia."

"Eric, please..."

"Enough. Pam and I are leaving. It was nice knowing you."

They were out the door before Sookie had recovered enough to say one word. The only indication to her mood was the sound of her sobs coming from the back bedroom.

A/N2: Yup, I went there. Just remember what I said... there will be a Happily Ever After and this angst shall pass. This isn't a romance novel, there are bumps in the road with relationships. Hang in there with me folks, I'm handing out hugs and kisses over on Twitter if you need one.

In Pimptastic News:

(1) Seastarr08 and I wrote a kink filled chapter of Hard Sell which you can find here: http://www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/s/5806614/3/Hard_Sell

(2) The Dead Pan Contest is in full swing. I already have two entries planned, but this is an anonymous contest. Check out the details here: http://www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/u/2231715/Dead_Pan_Contest

(3) Every Monday we post teasers over in the forum. I'm usually good for a double teaser :) http://forum(DOT)fanfiction(DOT)net/topic/55534/19191439/9/#24393892

(4) Have you read S(dot)meadows' newest blog? You should: www(dot)thesookieverse(dot)com

(5) Sapfirerose posts a daily fanfiction round up every night and a host of other amazing features on her blog: http://mysvmaddiction(dot)blogspot(dot)com/

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