A/N: Sorry this took so long guys. I was busy with my Dead Pan entry (Dead Lies) for most of May and then I had half of it written and I lost my muse. Big thanks go to Missus T for getting me back on track. Without talking with her this chapter still would not be done. SibylVane_Vamp and my best friend were a great help in betaing this for me around their busy schedules! As usual the kids aren't mine I just mess around with them.


Ch 9

EPOV

The past few nights I found myself waking up holding a pillow, so it was no surprise that I woke to find my arms clinging to something again. I thought it was that damn pillow, but it was heavier and smelled much nicer. Looking down I saw a blond head tucked under my chin. I blinked a few times to be sure that I was actually seeing Sookie in my bed. I didn't want to wake her, but I couldn't help myself and buried my face in her hair. She always smelled so good, like honey and coconut. I pulled her closer to me as I inhaled her wonderful scent. Her skin warmed my lips as I trailed them from the top of her head to her shoulder.

Last night I had come close to losing the amazing creature nestled in my arms. Hadley had been right when she said that I was the type of vampire that would save myself over any other. How else would I have survived this long if I didn't look out for myself first? Seeing Sookie being held captive with a knife to her throat had caused a surge of anger and protectiveness to rush through me. I knew that if I could get them to release her she wouldn't just run off, she would have gone and gotten help.

Sookie's tears while she pleaded with Hadley not to stake me had caused my unbeating heart to clench and hurt more than the silver that burned my flesh. She cared for me, she didn't want me to be finally dead. For the first time I had wanted to survive not for myself, but for someone else. I worried that without me around something would happen to her. I was also selfish enough to want to be around so she wouldn't be with any other man, not that I had claimed her as mine yet. I wasn't completely sure how I felt about Sookie, but I wanted the chance to figure it out. She was the only human I had ever met as a vampire that liked me for Eric and not for the vampire that I was.

I remembered whispering a goodbye to Sookie as Hadley neared me. I had heard Rasul and his security guys racing toward us, but I wasn't sure that they would reach us in time to stop Hadley from staking me. I had been facing away from the building so I hadn't seen Rasul come around the corner, but they startled Hadley's henchmen enough that the guy holding Sookie ran off. I watched Sookie take down Hadley before her cousin could resume her movements. Hadley was able to pull herself free of Sookie's grasp and raced off toward her car. Rasul's vampires chased after Hadley and her men as they sped away. I wondered for a moment if they had caught any of them.

Though it hurt slightly when Sookie took the net off, my only worry had been calming her fears and assuring her that I would be fine and that what happened was not her fault. I got her back to the room and set about to taking care of the cut on her neck. I was pleased when she allowed me to use my blood to heal her. I was shocked when she offered her own blood to heal me. I would have done fine with the bottled blend that was in the fridge, but her blood tasted so much better, especially with the hint of Fae in her flavour.

I didn't want to leave her when the sun was close to rising, but I had no choice. Though she assured me that she was fine, the bit of my blood that was in her system had told me that she was anything but. I wanted to tell her to stay the night with me, but I wouldn't be much company and figured she had things that she needed to do. As the sun had pulled me into my rest I hoped that she would stay safe until I was awake again to keep an eye on her.

I pulled her tighter to me as I let my thoughts wander. I was glad that Stan had offered the use of his plane to get us safely to Dallas and I planned on using that get away tonight. We would need to stop at both our homes to gather clothes for the trip. I hoped that Sookie planned on going with me, and though I would be fine on my own I didn't want to leave her here. I took a moment to think of a few decent arguments to use should she try and stay behind in Shreveport.

Sookie turned herself towards me and I looked down to see her bright blue eyes looking up at me, I could see the beginnings of tears forming.

"You're still here," she whispered burying her face into my chest.

"Shh, it's alright Sookie. We are both alright," I said, running a hand over her back. I held her and let her cry herself out. Once she had calmed down I lifted her chin so she was looking at me again. For once I was at a loss for what I wanted to say so I did the only thing I could think of, I kissed her. The kiss started out soft and slow, but we both pressed in closer and it turned heated. I tried to put all that I felt for her in my kiss. My hands wandered over her body and hers mirrored my actions.

Her breasts were firm and round in my hands as I cupped them over her bra. A moan escaped my lips as I felt her grab my ass and give it a squeeze. I rejoiced in the fact that she had removed her sweater before coming to bed as I reached around and released the clasp of her bra. Sookie removed her bra and threw it across the room. I rolled onto my back bringing her to sit on top of me, her beautiful breasts at eye level. I reached up and drew a pink nipple into my mouth when her hip vibrated and music started playing.

Sookie shot up and quickly grabbed her sweater and pulled it on before pulling her phone out of her pocket.

"Hello?" She said breathlessly. "Oh hi, Jason. No, I just had to run to find my phone. What do you need?" I remembered that Jason was her brother, and at this point I hated the guy. Damn cockblocker. "No Jason I was not home today, I was working. I sometimes work during the day. I probably won't be free to come and meet your new girl for a few weeks it is rather busy at work right now. Yes I will call you when I have some free time. Talk to you later Jase." She hung up the phone and looked at me apologetically.

"Sorry about that." She sat down on the end of the bed. So much for getting back to exploring each other. "Jason thinks he has found the one and wants me to check her," she pointed to her head, "and see if she likes him as much as he likes her. I rarely do this, but he got hurt once by a girl and I promised if he ever found another girl that he liked like that I would read her and let him know."

"He could have picked a better time to call," I said, working on keeping the whine out of my voice.

"I'm glad he did interrupt though," she said softly. I was surprised at how much those words hurt. Obviously she wasn't feeling the same for me. "Not that I didn't like it," she said quickly looking up and me. "I like you Eric, but I want to figure out how I feel before we go jumping into bed."

"A bit late for that," I said with a smirk. She thought about it for a second before bursting out into the most adorable giggles I had ever heard.

"You know what I mean," she said, playfully whacking my leg. "So to change the subject, what are we going to do today?"

"Go to Dallas."

"Seriously, Eric what are we doing?"

"I am being serious, Sookie. This last attack was too close for my liking. Stan's jet should be back by now. We need to stop at our places and grab the things we need and then head to Dallas so we can figure out what we are going to do about Sophie."

"Eric, I don't know..."

"Sookie if I thought it would be safe for you to stay here I would let you choose what you want to do, but last night Hadley showed that she is more than willing to kill you to get me. Plus, I would be able to concentrate better knowing that you are safe with me."

"Alright Eric. I'll go with you," Sookie said with a smile.


"Don't you have a suit case?" I asked after seeing the worn duffle bag that Sookie had tossed in the trunk of my Corvette.

"Never had a need for one. My bag will be fine," she said walking around the car to the passenger side.

"You never travel?" I asked as we made our way to my home on the edge of Shreveport.

"Gran and I never had the money, and once I started going to nursing school I never had the time. It's alright though, I wouldn't know what to do with myself on a vacation anyways. I always need to be doing something."

"I've seen you do nothing several times," I replied as we turned onto my road.

"Those are the few times I have just sat back and done nothing in many years."

"Are you telling me that I am boring?" I laughed.

"No!" She nearly shouted, turning and placing her hand over mine on the gear shift. "No, you are anything but boring. If I was bored with you, you would know; I would be doing several different things at a time when we were hanging out."

"Good to know," I said as I turned into my drive. "We're here." I punched in the code for the gate while Sookie peered out the front window trying to see my home. I pulled up the drive and parked by the front door. I usually park my baby in the garage, but since we would just be grabbing a few things before heading out again I didn't bother.

"Make yourself comfortable while I get packed," I said once we entered my living room. "I should only be a moment."

SPOV

My eyes were wide taking in the room. I looked around what I assumed was the living room. It was the size of my entire apartment. The place screamed Eric. Everything was dark woods and looked very heavy. There was a large black leather L-shaped couch against one wall; big enough that I could've slept on it comfortably. Another wall was covered in an entertainment center and book shelves stuffed to the brim with books of all shapes, sizes, and languages. The walls were a dark cream, and over the obvious room darkening shades were dark green curtains.

Once I got over the objects in the room I noticed it looked like a furniture store set up rather than a room that someone actually used. There was nothing personal anywhere, unless you counted the books and movies on the shelves. Where I was once awed by the room now it just made me feel sad for Eric. He must have such a lonely unfulfilled life.

I didn't have any more time to feel sorry for Eric, or explore his house; he was coming back with two suitcases in his hands.

"How much are you taking?" I asked as he set them down by the door.

"One's empty. You can't show up at the home of a king with your clothes tossed in a duffle bag," he replied opening the door and ushering me back outside. He carried the cases over to the trunk and quickly replaced my duffle with his suitcase. "Here, I will let you put your things in the new case while I call Pam and let her know we are leaving for Dallas." He walked a few feet away while I quickly transfered my things.

"Ready to go?" He asked, walking back over and sliding his phone into his pocket.

"Yep, all set," I said handing him the now full suitcase so he could fit it in the trunk. "What did Pam have to say about us going to Dallas?"

"She said she would meet us in a few days to help with the planning. The faster we figure out what we are going to do the faster we can get back to our normal lives." It saddened me to think of him going back to being Sheriff and me having a different vampire to look after. I wanted to see where this thing with Eric and I went, but with our schedules being what they were it would be next to impossible for us to see each other let alone date, if he even wanted that.

EPOV

Sookie had been rather quiet since we left my house, more like since I mentioned going back to our normal lives. I could tell something was bothering her but I decided to let her be, at least until we were safely on the plane to Dallas.

We reached the private airfield and I parked my Corvette in the hanger kept reserved for vampires. Stan visited enough that I owned one of the hangers so his plane could stay there and any other vampires could use it as long as they cleared it with me first.

Stan's plane was waiting on the runway for us. One of the workers rushed over and took the bags from me as I pulled them out of the trunk.

"Come on Sookie. Lets not waste any more time," I said helping her out of the car. We were soon boarded and the pilot was just going over the last few safety checks before we could take off.

"Everything alright?" I asked, looking down at Sookie. Her hand was almost as white as mine as she gripped the arm rest.

"I have never flown before," she replied, her eyes showing her nervousness.

"Turn," I said indicating that I wanted her to sit sideways on the couch that we were on.

"What?"

"Turn your back to me. We will be taking off in a few minutes and I want to get you to relax so you can enjoy yourself on the rest of the flight." She did as she was told and I turned toward her, sliding my leg between her and the back of the couch. "I don't think I told you or your Gran about the time I got to see my first airplane, did I?" I asked as I brought my hands up and began to massage the tight muscles in her neck and shoulders.

"Pam and I were in Paris toward the end of the first world war when we saw them fly over the town. I had read in the papers that humans had finally found the secret to flying after years of attempts." I heard the pilot announce that we were cleared for take off, but since Sookie didn't notice I continued on with my distractions. "Pam thought it was funny that humans needed machines to get around with, until I asked her if she could fly. It has always bothered Pam that I can fly and she can't. So far she has no special talent that she didn't already have as a human."

By now we were in the air and Sookie was so relaxed that had I moved my hands away she would have fallen back against me. And how is that a bad thing? My inner self asked. Apparently my body agreed with me as I moved my hands away from her back and she softly thumped against my chest.

"Why'd you stop?" she asked softly, looking up at me.

"We are in the air. Have been for a few minutes." Sookie turned her head and looked out the window to see the moon lit clouds that were now below us.

"Oh, I didn't even know we took off."

"Then I did my job well," I replied wrapping an arm around her as she tucked her head under my chin. "The flight is a little under an hour so I should call Stan and let him know that we are on our way. Though I am sure the pilot has already called ahead." I said as I reached for the onboard phone.

"Stan here." I loved having his direct number rather than the more public one that goes through his secretary.

"Stan, it's Eric."

"Eric, since you are calling I will assume that I need to have a room made up for you?"

"Yes, Sookie and I are in the air as we speak and will be landing in less than an hour."

"I will send a car to fetch you and will have your room ready when you arrive. We will have much to discuss in the next few days."

"Yes we will. See you soon." I waited till I heard Stan hang up before I did, you never wanted to hang up on vampire royalty. "Everything will be ready when we get there," I told Sookie as I hung up. I looked down at her trying to decide how to ask her what her silence was about when we were in the car.

"What?" She asked, confusion all over her face.

"What was bothering you earlier in the car?" I asked, hoping she would open up and tell me. "I am guessing it had something to do with what I said."

"It did." She turned her face from me and looked at the other side of the plane. "I'm conflicted. I want to see you after you recover and go back to work, but with my schedule that will be next to impossible unless you stop by to see me, and that wouldn't be any fun. I like you and have never had this trouble with any of the other vampires I have taken care of..."

"Sookie," I said, pausing her ramblings and turning her face toward me. "I am glad I am the only vampire that you have gone to this much trouble with. Why don't you go back to school? I remember you saying the first time we talked that you wouldn't mind becoming a doctor. You could go to school and still have time for other things. I know of a supernatural doctor, Dr. Ludwig, every now and then we need her help for sick or injured humans or weres that work for us and we call her. She complains every so often that she is the only supe doctor in Louisiana. I am sure she wouldn't mind if you took over the northern part of the state so she doesn't have to pop up here from New Orleans all the time."

"How am I supposed to pay to go back to school? There would be no way I could work every night here and go to school."

"Work for me when I need you. I would pay a good price for your skills."

"Eric how would you know about my skills? We have never slept together, besides I wouldn't take money for something like that." I laughed. "It's not funny," she protested.

"I was talking about your telepathy skills. Shit, if you decided to be a telepath for hire you could probably make more money in a year than the highest paid doctor."

"I can't just up and change my life like that Eric. I couldn't leave Rasul, I am one of the best nurses he has and the only one that has stuck with him since the center opened." She was mad now and that wasn't what I wanted. I watched her get up and move to the couch across from me. It seemed strange that she would be mad about leaving Rasul with out a nurse. He could find more nurses, maybe not of Sookie's quality but he could hire more. Maybe there is something going on there that she isn't telling me?

"I did not mean to offend you, Sookie," I said trying to keep my own anger and frustration from getting out of control. "I just was offering a way to solve your troubles." I got up and wandered to the bar and heated up a True Blood. "Want anything?" She didn't reply so once my drink was warm I returned to my seat. Stan always kept the plane stocked with reading material and I grabbed a book off the nearby rack and began to read hoping Sookie would be back to normal once we landed.

SPOV

I don't know why I got so mad about what Eric suggested. It was a reasonable thought, going back to school. I guess I was just embarrassed that I thought Eric wanted to pay me for sex when he meant my telepathy. As soon as I moved seats I missed being curled in his arms, but I stayed where I was. He had gotten up to get a drink and asked me if I wanted anything. Even though I was apparently mad at him he was still being sweet to me. I was so busy thinking over that fact that I didn't respond in time to say what I would like. Did I want anything? Yes. I want you, I want you and me together. I just didn't know if I could completely change my life.

I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I didn't even notice we had landed in Dallas until the side door opened. I exited the plane behind Eric and took his offered hand when I reached the bottom of the step. I gave him a small smile when he settled me into the car. He returned it, but I could tell he didn't mean it because the smile didn't reach his eyes.

The drive from the air strip to Stan's house was short, but the silence between us was uncomfortable. I opened my mouth several times, but couldn't think of the right thing to say.

"Eric, Sookie, how nice of you to come visit me," Stan said once we entered the house. Stan's servants entered behind us with our bags, "Take them up to their room it isn't long until dawn and we must rest soon." He began to climb the stairs after the young men passed with our bags. "Come, I have set you up in my favorite guest room. I assumed you would be rooming together if I what I picked up from you both at my visit was correct.

"Stan..." Eric started before I jumped in.

"That will be fine, Stan, thank you." Stan looked at the two of us and I was worried that he noticed there was tension between us.

"Well, here is where you will be staying, should you need anything just pull the cord by the door and someone will come to assist you." Eric entered the room and I moved to follow when Stan stopped me. "May I speak with Sookie a moment. I assure you that it is only innocent chatter." Eric nodded and I followed Stan down the hall and into a library.

"Was it not a good flight?" Stan asked, once the door was closed.

"I am not one to fly, but Eric and I had a little fight on the plane and haven't had a chance to patch things up as it were." I was surprised that I had actually told Stan what was bothering me. Normally I was a closed book and wouldn't say anything unless repeatedly asked about it.

"Ah, I hope it was nothing serious." He looked genuinely concerned that there was tension between Eric and I.

"I told him that I would be sad when he went back to being Sheriff and I moved on to my next patient. He suggested that I quit and work for him while I trained to become a doctor."

"Is that such a bad thing? Even from what I saw the short time I was with you the other day I can see that Eric has changed since meeting you. Do you not want to be a doctor?"

"That is not it. I told him that I wouldn't mind being one. I just...this is all so new to us and what if things don't work out. What if they do?"

"My dear, I have learned that life is boring without a few simple things and having someone to spend time with and care for is one of them. I lost the woman I loved a few years before I was turned. Even if you don't want to live your life as one of us, or you and Eric don't work out, at least you will have had these moments to cherish. Don't give up because of what might happen."

"Thanks Stan. I am sure my Gran would say something similar."

"Smart woman. Another thing I have learned, never go to bed angry. Who knows what will happen in the morning?" With that he left the room. I stood there for a moment before heading back to the room Eric and I were to share. That was so un-vampire of Stan, but I guess they can't be big scary creatures of the night all the time.

Eric was finishing hanging up our clothes in the closet when I entered the room. He turned toward me and we just stood there for a moment studying each other. I couldn't speak for a moment. Then I raced across the room and launched myself into his arms.

"I'm sorry. I don't know why I got mad. You offered up a perfect solution to my worries. I just...I just don't know if I can change everything so fast. I need time, if you are willing to give me that." He buried his face in my hair and I heard him inhale my scent.

"Sookie I have all the time in the world."


What trouble can they get into now that they are in Dallas? Will Hadley be able to track them down there or will they successfully plan Sophie's removal from LA without any more attacks? Let me know what you think!

~Blood