A/N: Song for this chapter: Takin' care of Business by Bachman-Turner Overdrive

Chapter 10 – WORK & PLAY

SPOV

I awoke to the shrill sound of the doorbell, accompanied by loud banging. It took me a few seconds to come to and realize somebody was knocking on my door. Or, rather, knocking down my door, judging by the ruckus. Standing straight proved to be an adventure: I was feeling hung over - despite not having touched a drop of alcohol the previous night - all courtesy of my mental acrobatics. Yeah, frying people's brains is a bitch.

I managed to drag myself across the corridor and the living room to peep at my visitor through the bulls-eye. Scarlett! I should have known. So Eric had been right, then: she had slept out.

I opened the door and my perky red-haired friend burst in.

"Rise and shine, sleepy head!" she sing-sang.

"Uh, Scarlett, it's way too early for your Broadway act," I groaned, grasping at the sides of my head.

"What are you talking about? It's 11 a.m.!"

"What!" I exclaimed. "You're kidding, right?"

I rushed toward the kitchen to check the wall clock and could only admit that Scarlett had been entirely truthful.

"Shit! I'm late for work."

"Take a sick day," she shrugged. "You look like hell anyway."

"Thanks bestie!" I replied sarcastically, while reaching for the phone and dialing the day care center's number.

That turned out to be unnecessary: they'd already received a call from Eric's office notifying them that I was unwell and would not be showing-up for work. For once, I was grateful for Eric's high-handedness, but I couldn't help thinking that I must have been their worst employee to date, handing out my resignation on the first day and then calling in sick on the second one. I wouldn't be asking for a recommendation letter at the end of the week, that was for sure. I made sure to profusely apologize before hanging up, and then I went back to my room for a much-needed invigorating shower.

By the time I was cleaned-up and dressed for the day, Scarlett had brewed me a pot of coffee and prepared some warm toast. I thanked her, this time minus the sarcasm. I had become a coffee fiend in recent years, and I was useless without it first thing in the morning.

"So," I prodded between two bites of toast, "Pam, huh?"

"Hell yeah!" Scarlett replied, waggling her eyebrows.

"I don't want the gory details," I warned her, "I just want to know if you're planning on seeing her again."

"Well, I'd love to, but she lives in Seattle."

"She's not back for good?" I asked, surprised.

"Nope, she was just visiting her cousin for a couple of nights." I snorted at Eric being referred to as Pam's cousin.

"What's funny?"

"Nothing. So this is over, right? It was just a one-night thing?"

"Why are you so against Pam? You don't even know her!" Scarlett snapped defensively.

"I'm sorry! I don't mean to judge. I do want you happy, you know that," I pleaded. "It's just… I've got a bad feeling about her somehow; but I know you can take care of yourself," I added in a conciliatory tone.

Scarlett shrugged and we moved on. That was the best thing about her: she never stayed cross for very long. We spent the rest of the morning, and part of the afternoon, together then she headed back to Bon Temps. Some time later, I received a message from Eric informing me that he would come pick me up at sunset. I was still feeling tired so I spend the rest of the afternoon napping, in order to be fresh and alert for the evening.

I awoke an hour before sunset and went into a frenzy: I tried on five different outfits and sampled three different hairstyles (I wanted to look pretty, but not like I was trying too hard), I brushed my teeth, twice, and I agonized over shoes. Finally, I settled on a pair of flattering jeans, a peasant blouse that was the same blue as my eyes and a pair of flat sandals. My hair was left to hang loose.

Eric showed up 20 minutes after dark, and through the front door, amazingly. He'd elected to wear his uniform of dark jeans and tight T-shirt and I internally groaned at how unjust it was that I had spent an hour fussing over every detail of my outfit, while he probably just threw this stuff on, in the dark, and ended up looking drop-dead-gorgeous anyway.

There was an awkward few seconds when we kind of danced around each other and it looked like he might embrace or even kiss me, but the moment passed. I didn't know what I was expecting after yesterday, but I was hoping we'd made some kind of progress in the right direction. It had all been dramatic and intense, and I didn't anticipate he would suddenly treat me completely differently, but the fact that he hadn't so much as hugged me did hurt. I understood that, if we were going to have a romantic relationship at all, it would have to be based upon mutual understanding and deep commitment, not on a moment of pure passion. Our kiss – as good at it may have been - couldn't instantly repair a relationship that had been bruised by the years we had spent apart. We had to learn to be friends again before we could think of becoming more. Still, the fact that nothing had seemingly changed between us frustrated me. I tried my best to hide my disappointment, however, as I'd resolved to act like the grown-up I claimed to be, and that meant no bratty behavior or display of neediness.

"Are you feeling better tonight, Sookie?" Eric asked, seemingly genuinely concerned.

"I'm fine, now. I had quite a headache when I woke up this morning but it faded after a cup of coffee."

"Good. Jason?"

"M.I.A. as usual," I chuckled. "I think he has pretty much moved into his girlfriend's apartment but they haven't made it official yet."

"Let's talk, then," he said, gesturing towards the living room.

After we'd settled on the couch, Eric inquired gravely:

"You would tell me, if you were still in pain? You do know I can make things easier for you, don't you?"

I couldn't keep the shock off my face.

"Eric? Are you offering me your blood?"

"Why is that so surprising? You've had plenty of my blood in the past."

"Sure, but… then you left…" I drifted off, unsure that I wanted to go there. Eric also seemed a bit uncomfortable with the subject.

"Well, you're a grown-up now, things are different. My blood would still have some undesirable effects but you would be better equipped to deal with them, and the benefits would outweigh the inconveniences. I've also been nervous about not being able to track you down, now that you will begin using your telepathy in a semi-official capacity."

Eric was staring at me, waiting for my reaction.

"You want to resume feeding me your blood," I stated, as this needed to be said aloud. He nodded, and I took a deep breath.

"OK, let's do this," I declared, which caused him to raise an eyebrow.

"Just like that?" he inquired.

"What do you mean? What were you expecting?" I asked, puzzled.

"I expected a bit more resistance, I guess." He shrugged. "Are you not angry with me, still?"

"I used to be, I'm not anymore. I'm done wasting time being upset by things I cannot change. You're back, and that's all that matters now. And if you want to share your blood with me, all the better: it has done wonderful things for me in the past."

Eric smiled at me, and I could tell he'd been bracing himself for a flow of recriminations and was pleasantly surprised by my calm demeanor. Yeah for mature Sookie!

Suddenly, a thought hit me:

"Won't other Supes be able to smell you on me? I'm only saying that because we've agreed to wait until I was 18 to officially register me as yours so… won't that give the deal away?"

Eric seemed taken aback by my observation; it was obvious he hadn't thought of that.

"You raise a very good point."

He pondered for a minute then said:

"For the time being, I will refrain from using you for special assignments. You will only work at my human concerns, where you will not encounter other Vampires, and we will keep your visits to Dragon House under wraps. Do you mind using the backstairs when you visit my office?" I shook my head no, as that was too petty a point to argue over. "Good. Some of my employees are Were-animals, and they will be able to recognize my scent on you, so you will be exposed, to a certain extent. They will most certainly assume that you are my… mistress, and that that is how you got the position." I knew Eric had wanted to say 'pet' but had substituted the word 'mistress' to spare my sensibilities. "Unpleasant things might be said, or thought. Under these conditions, are you still willing to drink my blood?"

"Yes, absolutely. As you said: the benefits outweigh the inconveniences."

"That pleases me greatly, Sookie," he declared. "Now, if it's OK with you, I'd like to talk about what happened yesterday."

I nodded my acquiescence, wondering just how much we were going to discuss.

"Can you explain to me, in as much detail as possible, what you did to Tomas?"

I'd been expecting that question and had done a lot of thinking, earlier in the day.

"Well, both times this happened, I was thinking murderous thoughts, but I don't believe that's what harmed Tomas or my swim coach; it was more the fact that I was projecting those thoughts in their direction. You see, I can get into people's brains and, most of the time, I'm just passively observing what goes on in there. Sometimes, I do a little bit of digging, but I'm really gentle. In these two instances, however, I was being real aggressive, forcing my thoughts on them, obtruding on their minds, so to speak."

I paused to check that he was following me.

"So you're saying that you 'overloaded' their minds with your own projected thoughts?"

"Yes, that's a good way to describe it. The more I think about it, the more I believe it's like a brain EMP, in a way."

"That's fascinating," Eric observed.

He seemed lost in his thoughts for a while, and I waited patiently for him to speak up.

"Sookie, I want you to develop this skill."

"What? No! I'm not going to go around frying people's brains," I protested.

"Of course not. I'm sure we will be able to find some suitable practice targets. I'll organize something, but you need to train and find out the limits of this ability. It's a powerful weapon, Sookie; one that might save your life, one day."

He looked at me pointedly, going out of his way to impress the importance of the issue on me. I nodded numbly, not one bit happy, but aware that I wasn't in a position to turn down any advantages I may be given.

At that moment, Eric's head suddenly snapped up as he stared at the door.

"Your brother is back," he stated.

Indeed, a few seconds later, the front door opened and Jason swaggered into the living room. He was clearly surprised to see me with male company, but made no comment as he greeted me with a hug. I dithered over how to make introductions and, sensing my hesitation, Eric took the initiative.

"Good evening. Eric Northman," he said, nodding at Jason.

"Jason Stackhouse, Sookie's brother," my brother replied and, after a pause, "… wait a minute; are you the Eric Northman, as in Eric Northman my boss?"

"The very one," Eric replied.

Jason looked from Eric to me in confusion before saying:

"Wow! Well, it's nice to meet you, man; I mean, boss, err, Sir."

"Eric is fine."

Jason would probably not be able to tell, but I had enough practice in discerning the slightest twitches and modifications in Eric's features to know that he was amused by my brother's bewilderment. Finally, Jason woke up to the fact that he had interrupted our conversation and announced that he would head to the kitchen to fix himself a pre-dinner snack (read: his first dinner of the night; I swear my brother was worse than Homer Simpson). Since this was an open plan apartment, there was no wall separation between the kitchen and the living room, so Eric switched to Swedish.

"We should leave here soon. What I had planned for tonight was a trip to the car dealership so you could select a vehicle, and then back to Dragon House so we can discuss your new bank details and your schedule for the next three months. The day care center has called, by the way: they're pleased with your replacement so you've officially been fired," he informed me with a smirk.

"I have to say, I didn't think losing my job would feel so good," I joked.

Eric was watching me, as if he was waiting for something. Finally, he spoke:

"You're not going to argue about the car?"

"Is that an argument I've got any chance of winning?" I asked.

"No."

"Then, no, I'm not going to argue."

Eric gave me a crooked smile and quipped:

"I like the new Sookie."

We left a short time later and headed to the car dealership. Under Eric's guidance, I selected a dark grey Audi, trying hard to ignore the fact that the car was worth more than Gran's house, and Eric took care of the paperwork and arranged to have the vehicle delivered to me the next day. Back at Dragon House, Eric walked me through my new financial details, my personal credit card, my expenses credit card (which I was to use for any purchase I made while I was on duty), my savings account, my check book, etc. The main thing I got from our session was that I now had access to a lot of money (well, a lot by my standards), and that Eric was a great boss. When he handed over my schedule, my eyes grew wide. Not that he had overbooked me or anything (true to his word, he'd only scheduled me for ten hours of work spread over three days per week), but the number of companies I was due to visit surprised me. Eric really had his fingers in a lot of pies, and I hadn't seen the half of it. We'd agreed that Amy would serve as my driver/bodyguard whenever I was on duty and Eric also gave me a super-cool electronic personal organizer - which he insisted I kept as a work tool - but I made it clear to him that I would start to 'argue' if he kept showering me with expensive gadgets.

When all the business side had been taken care of, Eric spoke:

"I would like to resume giving you my blood tonight, if that's all right with you. You'll start working in two days and you will need the energy boost."

"Sure," I replied, trying (but probably failing) to hide my excitement.

"You do realize what it will do to you, don't you? The side-effects?"

"I thought we'd already established that we were way past that?" I replied.

We still hadn't talked about the kiss, and I was hoping that the subject of blood sharing would organically lead us there, but Eric didn't take the bait. We sat on the leather sofa, in his office, and he bit his wrist before extending it to me.

His blood tasted as sweet and rich as I remembered, and I immediately felt the effects: enhanced senses, looser muscles, topped-up energy levels and a sharper mind.

As usual, Eric tensed-up while I drew out his blood, despite my best efforts to be as gentle as possible. When the wound closed itself, I said:

"I'm sorry if I've hurt you. I did try to be gentle."

"Hurt me? What do you mean?" he asked, puzzled.

"Well, I can tell you were uncomfortable during the process; it's obvious this isn't a pleasant experience."

Eric chuckled before explaining:

"Sookie, having one's blood sucked out is one of the most erotic sensations, for a Vampire. My discomfort has nothing to do with pain, I can assure you."

I glanced at his groin and saw a sizable bump. God, how could I have missed that all these years?

Eric drove me home soon after and, as he departed, I got my hug, at long last.

The next day, I busied myself by furnishing my room (Eric had refused to take back his $15,000, despite the fact that I could now afford to buy my own stuff), shopping for a new wardrobe of professional and dressy outfits, and learning how to use my new laptop with the Apple technician. By the end of the day, I was totally in love with my new car.

During the next two months, a sort routine established itself: I worked for Eric three days a week and, in my free time, I would hang out with Tatiana or Scarlett when she came to visit, check out some textbooks to prepare for my courses, or I would work out at the gym I had joined. On weekends, I would return to Bon Temps to spend time with Gran and Tara.

I had no idea how to plausibly explain to Gran my new financial flushness, so I went for the easiest explanation: I told her I had won a large sum at the lottery. At first, she adamantly refused my offers to financially provide for her, insisting instead that I keep the money to secure my future, but she relented when I pointed out that this was my house too, and I had the right to improve it as I saw fit. Over the next few weeks, I had the driveway re-graveled, the house and fences freshly painted, the roof fixed, some furniture replaced and Gran's old oven updated to a luxurious new model. I used companies recommended by Eric - and I'm certain I was being way undercharged - but the expenses still made a serious dent in my retainer. I didn't care, though: being able to take care of Gran and make her life a bit easier was worth every cent. I also hired Mrs. Jane, a nurse/home-help who was the mother of one of my former swim-team teammates, to assist Gran three days a week. Gran balked at first, but I played the guilt-trip card by claiming that this arrangement was for my peace of mind (it seemed like I was learning a thing or two from Eric the Great Manipulator). As it turned out, they got on like house on fire.

I also really enjoyed my job: not only I was helping Eric, but also I was practicing with my telepathy in new ways. Just in the first two weeks, I'd exposed a drug-addicted nurse who was stealing pain medicine from a private practice Eric owned, an accountant who was swindling money from one of his cinemas, an crooked real-estate agent who was leaking bids to competing firms and an industrial spy at one of his laboratories. I sent him daily reports and met him at my place or at Dragon House about three days a week. After the first month, we resumed the katana training, once a week, in a specially outfitted room at my gym.

Things were now much more relaxed between us: we talked and laughed like old times, and Eric was getting more tactile. The time we had spent together had allowed us to rebuild and strengthen our friendship and the bond of trust between us. More than ever, I delighted in his company and valued his guidance. Still, there hadn't been any advancement on the romantic front, even though I often caught longing glances on his part, and we frequently openly flirted with each other. From time to time, I would chance on one of his 'lady-friends' at Dragon House and, in such situations – as upsetting as they were -, I did my best to remind myself that I had no claim over him, and no right to confront him about that aspect of his life.

I was aware that we were navigating a sort of grey zone, since neither of us had bothered defining our relationship, but I was enjoying our renewed friendship too much to risk complicating things.

As he'd promised, Eric arranged for me to start practicing my 'brain frying skills'. Since human test subjects were obviously out of the question, Eric convinced me to train on animals. I really wasn't happy about it, but I agreed to follow him to a slaughterhouse to practice my 'brain EMP' on livestock.

I was acutely aware that, despite all my years of training in hand-to-hand combat and sword fighting, I was still no match for the weakest Were. My mental weapon was the only thing that gave me a bit of an edge, and could one day very possibly save my life, or that of the people I loved. I found out that the more I practiced, the less painful the procedure became - especially now that I was once again taking Eric's blood regularly - but I still had trouble successfully completing the maneuver more than once or twice in a row.

Once, Eric even brought me a Vampire to attempt the trick on. When I asked him what the Vampire had done to deserve being used as a lab rat, Eric simply replied that his life was forfeit. I knew better than to ask more questions, so I quietly went to work. As it turned out, I couldn't fry Vampire brains any more than I could read them. Eric was visibly crestfallen, but obviously not as much as I was. Before escorting the Vampire out, he quipped that he would try to bring me Niall so I could test whether my powers worked on Fairies. I'm not certain he was totally joking.

One evening, in the early days of August, Eric called ahead of one of our scheduled katana sessions.

"Hello?"

"Sookie, there will be a change of program tonight. I'll be picking you up in on hour. Wear something nice."

"Oh, hello Eric! I've had a fine day, thank you for asking."

Silence.

"Fine," I relented. That was my last attempt at teaching this rude Vampire some phone manners. "Where are we going?"

"Dinner."

Hum, that was unexpected.

"Eric? Are you taking me out on a date?" I inquired.

"I don't date."

"Oh, OK. A business dinner then?"

"No, just dinner. With human food. It's a wide-spread human custom, I'm told."

"Smart ass! But what you're describing does sound suspiciously like a date to me, Eric," I teased.

I could almost hear him rolling his eyes through the phone.

"Be ready in one hour, Sookie. For dinner."

I was still laughing when the line went dead, without so much as a goodbye, as usual. Rude Vampire!

After fussing for a while, I opted for a knee-length red crepe cocktail dress with a deep V-neck. I completed the look with silver strappy sandals and wore my hair up in a loose bun. After dabbing on some light make-up, I wrapped myself in a silk shawl (the night was warm enough for me not to need a coat), and was good to go. I was buzzed a short while later and went down to meet my date.

I was mildly surprised to find Soledad standing next to the limo. As usual, she was wearing a constipated look and, after shortly explaining that Eric had been temporarily kept at Dragon House and was sending his apologies, she sat down opposite me and glared the whole way. I'd realized weeks ago that Soledad's problem with me was that she had a huge crush on Eric, and he wasn't paying any attention. I also knew that it would be a waste of time to try and explain that I wasn't faring much better than her, so far, so I ignored her until we reached our destination.

When I got to Eric's office, I knocked on door and was answered by his deep voice:

"Come in, Sookie."

I entered the room to find him seated behind his desk, feet propped up, taking a call. From what I could tell, he'd put as much attention into his appearance as I had. After waving at him, I turned to the sofa and was stunned to find an exact replica of the acoustic guitar he'd gifted me on my 16th birthday, propped against the leather.

I sat down and, as soon as he had ended the call, I spoke:

"Really, Eric?" I chuckled, pointing at the guitar. He merely shrugged.

"I thought I would take my chances," he quipped with a smirk. "You look stunning, by the way."

"Thank you. You clean up rather nicely yourself."

And, boy, didn't he ever? He'd moved around the desk to lean against the glass tabletop, so I had a full view of his outfit. He was wearing a black tux that would have James Bond weeping with envy and looked simply good enough to eat. He gestured towards the guitar.

"Before we leave, why don't you show me what you've got?"

I smiled as I took hold of the guitar and positioned it on my lap. After quickly checking that the instrument was tuned, I began playing the melody from the Red Hot Chili Peppers' song My Friends. I did spare him the torture of hearing me sing along and, after what I thought was a fairly decent rendering of the first verse and chorus, I put down the guitar and looked up at Eric to watch his reaction.

"Not bad, Sookie," was his verdict, delivered with a smile.

I stood up and gave him a mock-curtsy.

"Can you play?" I asked.

"A little, yes." He caught my raised brows and added, "Eternity is a long time, Sookie, and I have to find ways to distract myself."

"Well, then, show me what you've got," I dared him.

Eric walked towards the sofa and settled comfortably while grabbing the guitar. The instrument looked totally dwarfed in his long arms. I sat down next to him as the first chords from Jimi Hendrix's Little Wing rose in the air. I'd never heard an acoustic version of the classic song – which was one of my all time favorites, incidentally - but it sounded absolutely brilliant. Eric's guitar skills were at an altogether higher level than mine and, oh boy, he could sing too! His melodiously husky voice was intoning the lines with incredible sensuality, and the intensity of his singing was mirrored in the way he looked at me. I was melting. As cliché as it sounds, put a guitar between the hands of a hot guy, and you end up with a hot and bothered woman: that's science.

He finished the song with a flourish and we silently looked at each other for a few seconds. He had a satisfied smirk playing on his beautiful lips (oh, yeah, he was good and knew it) and, without much hesitation, I leaned over and laid a light kiss on the soft pink flesh. I wasn't sure whether I should have done that - it had been two months since we first kissed, and nothing much had come out of that – but I was a bit tired of waiting for things to just happen. I had resolved to make things happen for me; beside, this was definitely a date, whatever Eric claimed.

I was pleased when he just accepted my kiss and didn't flinch away or show any signs of discomfort. Backing off, I said quietly:

"That was wonderful. Thank you, Eric."

"You're more than welcome, Sookie," he replied just as quietly, then he stood up and extended me his hand. "Shall we go?"

After we had exited Dragon House, I gaped when I saw Eric's car.

"Eric? A Corvette? Really?"

"Isn't she beautiful?" he enthused, as if talking about his first-born, or something. He brushed an appreciative hand over the hood of the car, grinning proudly.

"She's brand new. I hesitated between that one and the red model, but I chose black, in the end. I have to stay incognito, after all."

I chortled at the absurd concept of anybody being discreet in a damn Corvette, and could not resist teasing him a little bit.

"Compensating much?"

"Oh, Sookie; you don't want to go there. Trust me," he calmly replied while holding the door open for me.

I blushed bright red because I knew exactly what was 'there'. I'd seen him naked already, after all, though I wondered if he remembered that.

Entering such a low-rise car in a ladylike manner proved something of a challenge but, once I was settled, I had to admit that this was a really nice car. The interior was incredibly luxurious and still smelled of brand-new leather, and the seat felt amazingly comfortable. My delight with the car was somewhat hampered when Eric began driving like a madman through the streets of Shreveport.

Soon enough, we had stopped in front an elegant building in the center of town, and Eric gallantly escorted me through the gilded doors. As I took he wrapped his cool hand round mine, I found myself daring to hope that this evening would bring me closer to my heart's desire.

A/N:This chapter was a bit of a transitional one, and I apologize if you were expecting more, but it was important to have Sookie settled in her professional life and to give her time to properly reconnect with Eric. The following chapters, however, will be all about romance, so do not despair.

I hope the mechanisms of Sookie's mental weapon were sufficiently made explicit in this chapter. If you have further questions about that, or anything else, do not hesitate to PM me. I'm always happy to chat with my readers. I also answer every reviews so you may leave your questions with your comments.

Thank you for reading. Next chapter A Date With a Vampire will be posted on Wednesday morning.

Happy Easter to you all!