A/N: So, back to the plot with this one. Hope things are moving at a decent pace. If you like it (or hate it) drop me a note. I love hearing from you guys!

I was still tired when I woke up in the dark with my alarm beeping, Eric's arms wrapped possessively around me. I would probably never stop being amused by the fact that he liked to snuggle. One of his legs was hitched over my hip, and his fingers twitched on my waist as I shifted. My phone was on the nightstand on my side of the bed, but it took a bit of shuffling to get enough away from Eric to reach it. As soon as I could, I shut off the noise and settled back. Eric pulled me closer to him, not quite completely under for the day. My fingers traced through his blond hair, across his forehead. Before I could fall back asleep, I called Sam's cell.

I was slightly surprised when he picked up pretty quickly, seeing as he normally didn't get up until just before he had to open. He didn't sound as if I'd woken him, so I didn't feel bad. "Hey, Sook, what's up?"

I sighed softly, looking at Eric. I wasn't going to lie to Sam and say I was sick, even if he gave me shit for it. "Hey Sam. I'm sorry to do this to you, but I can't make my shift tonight. Do you need me to call around to find cover?"

He thought for a second. "No, we should be alright. Holly was bugging me for extra hours, since they're trying to save up for the wedding. Everything okay with you?"

Eric opened his eyes slightly and frowned. I guess he didn't like hearing Sam's voice. "Just have some Eric related stuff to deal with. Nothing too crazy, just fallout from various things."

Sam sighed, but he didn't seem mad."Do I want to know?"

That made me laugh a little. "It's more relationship stuff than anything else, Sam." My fingers continued running through Eric's hair, teasing out a couple of tangles. "Eric's stressed. Anyway, thanks Sam. If it gets crazy and you need me later on, call me and I'll come back to Bon Temps."

"Sure thing, Sook. I'll see you tomorrow." We both hung up and Eric shifted next to me, pulling me close to him again.

His voice was soft when whispered into my ear. "So I have you for the day, then?"

"Yes, Eric you've got me. Pretty tightly too. Let go for a sec, I need to go to the bathroom." He complied very reluctantly and I took care of my needs before crawling back in with him. After a second his arms were around me again.

"Hmmm. This really is best, lover. Back to sleep now." His lips pressed lightly into my neck and he snuggled even closer. I relaxed into him and went back to sleep.

I woke up to Eric shifting against me, and from how awake he seemed, it must have been close to sunset. I opened my eyes and smiled at him. "Hey you. What time is it?"

"Six thirty. You slept all day, lover."

I laughed. "Yeah, well, I was pretty tired after last night. We didn't get to bed until after dawn." I sat up slightly and stretched. "God, I'm starving. I'm going to go get coffee and something to eat. Do you want a blood?"

He settled back and sighed. "I suppose I can't just keep you in my bed forever. I don't want you wasting away. Fine, bring me a blood. Come back soon, please."

The sun was still up, but sinking when I got into the rest of the house, and I quickly made a pot of coffee and ate a bowl of cereal and two bananas. Once the coffee was done, I poured myself a cup and heated up Eric's blood before bringing both back to the bedroom. He was sitting up, flicking through messages on his blackberry.

He sipped the blood I passed him without looking up. "Bruce has put together everything I need to send to Felipe. He wasn't able to directly implicate Victor, but Bruno and Laura, another of his lieutenants, were involved. This is a slightly tricky situation." I nodded for him to explain. "Well, Victor is my direct superior. I should, technically, bring this information to him before showing it to Felipe."

I raised my eyebrows. "I hope you're not going to do that, though."

"No, I'm not. I'm going to CC him the email to Felipe, and that's going to piss off Victor. We're going to need to be even more wary."

I leaned back into my pillows and sipped my coffee slowly. "Can you challenge Victor over this?"

"I don't particularly want to. I am hoping Felipe will pull him out of Louisiana and that whoever replaces him is someone I can work with. He might try to settle the score with me later, but I can deal with him if he attacks me."

His eyes flicked to me, and I could feel that he was worried. "What's wrong? You have to tell me, I'm not a mind reader," I joked.

That made him smile. "I worry that he could go after you when you're not with me, or hire someone to go after you in the day time." Eric's fingers moved quickly over the keys. "I'm telling Felipe that you noticed Bruce had been glamoured. That is something you can do, yes?"

I nodded. "He'd have to be asked a question that would trigger whatever was blocked by the glamour, but yeah, I can see that." Eric nodded and wrote out a few more sentences. "I guess you'll have to tell Pam to change whatever she did to Bruce, to fit that story."

"Good point. I'll speak to her at dark." He hit send. "Someone will probably call me from Las Vegas in a couple of hours. It's not yet evening in Nevada."

I nodded. "So, how do you want to kill some time?" I grinned at him, and he plucked my coffee cup from my hand, putting it and his bottle of blood on his night stand.

He flipped me on my back and smiled, showing me his fangs. "I've got a few ideas."

He certainly did. His phone interrupted us at idea number four. He growled slightly, but we disentangled ourselves and he picked it up. "Pam, you have terrible timing." I couldn't hear her response but it made Eric laugh. "Watch it. I need you to change Bruce's memories." He quickly explained what she had to do. "Take care of that as soon as possible. I'm going to bring Sookie to the club with me. I will see you shortly."

I sighed and hugged him. "So, back to the real world, then?"

He ran his fingers through my hair, smoothing a few stray pieces out of my face. "Unfortunately. We really need a vacation. Somewhere where the days are shorter."

I laughed. "Well, I'm not a huge fan of the cold, so good luck convincing me about that. Come on, let's go get showered." This shower was less entertaining than the one we'd shared the night before, but it was still nice. We were both feeling playful and laughing. This was probably the part of my relationship with Eric that I loved the most. He might be a thousand year old vampire, but he'd never really grown up. It would probably come to irritate me at times, but for now it was exactly what we both needed: low stress, carefree fun.

We both finished our drinks as we dressed. One difference that always struck me between the two vampires I'd been with was that Eric didn't always feel the need to drink from me. When he did, he took a few sips and stopped. Bill had always fed from me to the point where I was borderline anemic, and had fed off of others as well, though no one I knew. Eric seemed, maybe not happy, but resigned to synthetic when I wasn't on offer. I mentioned that as he pulled on his jeans.

"Well, I'm old enough that I really don't need much to keep me going. Synthetic doesn't taste particularly good, but I'd rather drink that than make you ill. It is not really a sacrifice, especially since I get to have you." I nodded slightly, hooking my bra. I had enough distance now that I could see the things that were wrong with my relationship with Bill. I doubted he'd loved me at all when we'd been together. It seemed like he hadn't really loved me until I'd saved him from his maker, at which point I was completely done with him. I sighed. Eric glanced at me as he buttoned his jeans. "What's wrong?"

I shrugged. "I just feel like an idiot for ever thinking Bill loved me when we were together. It seems pretty obvious in hindsight."

Eric shrugged. "I think Compton is an idiot, but that really isn't the point, I suppose. Everyone has relationships that were mistakes, or that we feel foolish for staying in for as long as we did. It's all a learning experience. Yes, you were a bit naive, but that's not a crime. You're used to trusting people because you can hear their minds. I'm still impressed you managed to salvage any kind of friendship with Compton."

That made me feel better, somehow. "He's doing much better, you know."

Eric nodded. "Yes, he told me you looked up his sibling. That was very kind of you. Again, not particularly wise, but kind."

I shrugged. "I guess I'd rather be kind. I was pretty careful. I mean, I figured if there was bad blood there, she either wouldn't come or she'd kill Bill, not me. He wasn't going to live too much longer the way he was going."

Eric laughed. "I think we vampires need to stop underestimating you. It really is a mistake, and I'm normally so good at not repeating mistakes. Come on, we need to get going."

I rinsed my mug on our way through the kitchen and left it drying next to the sink, then we headed to Fangtasia to face whatever was going to happen tonight. Pam was waiting in Eric's office when we came in the back. She nodded to both of us. "Any news from Felipe?"

Eric shook his head. "I expect they're up and starting to see to business. We'll hear something within the hour. Did you see Bruce?" Pam nodded. "Good. Who is here tonight."

Pam pursed her lips. "Benoit and Annette are coming in soon. Thalia, Marcus, Ryan, Giselle, Rhiannon, Paul, Bernadette, Gary and Sara. You're expecting Mark and Bianca to come in?

Eric nodded and opened his mouth to speak when his phone rang. He answered the call and smiled. "Ah, yes, hello Mary. Everything is well in Las Vegas, I trust? I'm glad to hear that. Yes, well, I found it to be very troubling news as well. I copied Victor in on the email I sent to you, but we haven't had a chance to discuss it yet. I know, it's very troubling to see he doesn't have his people under control. Obviously, I will abide by whatever decision Felipe makes in this matter. No, I don't think I need to take personal retribution, since everything was uncovered. I'm sure Victor and Felipe will choose an appropriate punishment for his lieutenants. I suppose this explains Bruno's disappearance. Of course, Mary." He hit end on his phone.

Pam was grinning, but not in a particularly reassuring way, since the tips of her fangs were poking out. She, of course, had gotten to hear both sides of that conversation. She bounced slightly on her toes. "So, Victor is being called to Las Vegas. What do you think Felipe is going to do?"

Eric shrugged slightly. "I don't know. I'm sure we'll know soon enough. For now, the only option we have is waiting." He sat down behind his desk and looked at me. "I have some work to take care of, but I shall be free in a few hours if you can wait."

I took a moment to feel him out through the bond. He seemed pretty relaxed. Whoever he'd talked to in Vegas had really set his mind at ease. I had to work the lunch shift tomorrow and I should really go back to my life, as much as I might have wanted to stay with him. "I really should get back to Bon Temps, Eric." His lips were tight but he nodded slightly. "I've got work tomorrow, and I'm out of clean clothes. Pam, we still on for Thursday?"

Eric arched an eyebrow, and Pam's smile turned a bit more friendly. "Yes, I shall pick you up at nine, and we will go out. It will be very fun."

Eric looked bemused. "You two have a date?"

I gave him a half hearted glare. "Girls night, Eric. You know, no boys allowed, painting the town red, that kind of thing."

That made him laugh. "Sounds more like Pam's idea of a good time than yours." He turned to Pam. "So you're not going to be here Thursday night, then?" She nodded. "Very well. Bring Sookie to my house so she can get her car. Lover, hopefully I will see you soon. I'll call you if we hear anything from Felipe, or if anything changes." He came around the desk and pulled me into his arms, before planting a toe-curling kiss on me. I relaxed into him, wondering if really, when it came down to it, I needed clean clothes or a job or anything but this. Pam cleared her throat, bringing us both back to the real world. Eric rested his forehead against mine and laughed softly, gently pulling one strand of hair that framed my face. "I'll miss you," he whispered.

I hugged him, brushing my lips over his one last time. Half an hour later, I was in my car heading back home. The drive took me an hour, and my house felt strangely empty when I got there. I unpacked my new texts and notebooks in the living room, before heading into the kitchen. There were messages on the machine, so I listened to them. Tara had a couple dresses she wanted me to come look at, and Andy needed to talk to me about testifying at a hearing for Arlene. That came as a bit of a shock, and I told myself that I'd deal with it tomorrow. For now, I was going to write it off as a Scarlett O'Hara moment.

I didn't like how much I missed Eric. We'd spent a couple days together, and it felt like there was this empty space where he should be. What was I going to do when he decided he didn't want to be such a presence in my life, when he grew bored of me? It was bound to happen eventually. I didn't have any illusions that I'd be able to hold his interest for ever. Bill had been bored with me before he'd run off to Mississippi and Lorena. If I hadn't been his assignment, he probably would have been done with me long before then.

Before I could stop myself, I'd whipped out my phone and dialed Eric. He picked up after the second ring. "Is everything well?"

I smiled in spite of myself. "Just letting you know I got home safe, I guess. You alright?"

He didn't reply for a few seconds. "I wish you were going to be in my bed when I returned home."

That made me laugh. "Is that all you can think about, hun?"

"What does that mean, that word. Hun. Like the empire?" Was he talking about Attila? Maybe they'd been friends. I asked him. "No, wrong century. Before my time."

"Well, hun is short for honey. You know, the term of endearment. You get lover, I get honey."

There was silence again. "I liked honey, when I was human. I miss having you in my bed. For sex, but also for just having you there. I miss you."

At least I wasn't alone in that crazy sentiment. "The feeling's mutual." I sighed. "It feels weird to miss you so much. I saw you two hours ago."

That made him chuckle. "That feeling is mutual as well. Part of this is the bond, in case you were curious, but most of it is simply love." How had he known I was thinking about that? The bond still made me uncomfortable and I worried about it. When I was with Eric, it was easy to put it to one side, but at times like this, I hated the damn thing. "You miss those you love when they are not near."

"I just we'll just have to get used to it."

"Or you could move in with me."

I froze. Part of me wanted to jump up and down and just say yes. The other part, rational Sookie, knew that we'd only been dating a few months and it was far too early to even dream of taking that kind of step. Rational Sookie won out. "Yeah right, Eric. Scale it back a notch."

I could tell he was frowning just by the tone of his voice. "You are my wife. We should live together. What is the point of drawing this out? We want to be together. Why deny ourselves happiness?"

Damn him and his rationality. "We've been together for like ten minutes. I've got my life here, and work. I don't even keep clothes at your place. Isn't that the rule? When fifty percent of your closet is their stuff, you have the moving in talk?"

He laughed, softly. "I suppose you need to start leaving things here then, or I'm going to have to resort to buying you clothes."

I smiled, a little bit sadly. I hated keeping this distance, trying to stay safe, but I knew one day he was just not going to feel the way he did now. It was going to crush me, and the only way I was going to come out of this with some part of me left whole was if I didn't at least try to hold myself back. "I don't think that counts, Eric. Anyway, I'm sure it would annoy you, having me under foot all the time. You'd have to keep fresh food in the house. I'm okay missing meals for a day or two, but cereal and fruit gets boring pretty quickly."

"You didn't eat enough while you were at my house?" He sounded puzzled.

Talking about food reminded me I was starving, so I wandered over to the fridge. I poked around for a minute before deciding to heat up some left over pasta and sauce. "Uh, not really." I popped the Tupperware into the microwave. "Nothing to cook with. That's another thing you'd have to deal with if I lived with you, cooking."

"I'm very adaptable." I could hear his smile. "Fine, we'll discuss it in time. I must admit, I am a bit worried about your schedule when you begin classes. Between school and work, are you ever planning on seeing me?"

I sighed, pulling my now hot food from the microwave. "Well, I'll be in Shreveport four days a week, so I'm sure I'll wait for you to get up one or two nights a week." I gave the pasta a stir, and poured myself a glass of water, then sat down at the table. "Hey, I'm going to eat and then hit the sack. I love you."

"You as well." Sometimes I hated cell phones, since you didn't really get a click or dial tone to let you know the other person had hung up. Once I realized that, yet again, Eric hadn't seen the need to say good bye, I turned my attention to my food, before I was too exhausted to eat it.

A/N: So the next chapter is girls night, then I'm thinking about skipping ahead a couple weeks so that I can actually get to Sookie starting school. What do you think? Yes, I know, everyone wants to see Sookie living with Eric. Hold your horses kiddies! They've only been dating since January (4 and a bit months) and Sookie really doesn't have a great track record when it comes to men. Eventually, well, we'll see when they get there. Hope you liked! Let me know!