A/N: We are back to the night of the revelation at Sookie's house. Thanks for hanging through the background chapters with the boys and for the great reviews.

A special thanks to Obsidians for her support in my first week of writing.


11:

After Sookie passed out, Eric had laid her down on the couch and arranged the horrid afghan over her. He just stood there in the middle of the living room starting down at her face. She looked exhausted. There was something else, too, about her that he just could not quite put his finger on.

Eric had put most of the pieces together about what had happened here on Christmas eve. Sookie would not have reacted as violently as she had if the Were/Fairy had just slept on the couch that night. The fae majick in the air also indicated that Sookie had perhaps been influenced that way as well. Eric could smell the strange fae's smell here in the living room. He did not want to walk down the hall to her bedroom. He did not think he would be able to restrain himself and not break some part of her house if he did. It would only confirm what he was already thinking. He also did not want to leave her. He could not take his eyes off of her.

Eric had kept his distance to keep her safe from what Felipe might be planning. He did not want the King to know there was something more to their bond. By doing so, he had let this happen. He should have been here for her, to keep her from being manipulated by her own fucking fae family! He would rip Niall limb for limb if his actions had somehow harmed Sookie.

Quinn broke the silence, "What do you think happened?" Quinn could guess as well, but he did not want to voice it.

Eric never looked away from Sookie when he spoke, "You know as well as I what happened here that night. The fucking why is what confounds me."

"The whole thing is just off, Eric. That is not like Sookie. She would never just…." Quinn really didn't want to finish his sentence. Thankfully he didn't have to.

"I know." Eric said, "The majick…." He closed his eyes and exhaled an unnecessary breath through his nose, "I will kill the bastard."

Quinn didn't know if Eric was referring to the fairy known as Preston, Niall, or both. He didn't much care either. This was akin to rape in Quinn's book. Majicking or glamouring someone into sex was despicable. "I'll help." Quinn said.

Quinn had been watching out for his sister his entire life. He'd scared more than a few of Frannie's boyfriends much to her displeasure. He didn't care. He'd rather have her safe and mad at him than to be the victim of what some men were capable of. He would have killed any of those boys if they'd done anything to hurt her and he let them know that up front. Frannie was a result of his mother's capture and rape when he was just a teenager and he had effectively ended those bastards' existence for what they had done to her. He would never let anything like that happen to his sister.

Eric just stood there steaming but finally re-opened his eyes when he heard Sookie moan and start to stir. He knelt down next to her as she started fluttering her eyes. "Sookie," Eric whispered.

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I heard Eric whisper my name and my eyes popped open as everything that I had learned all flooded back to me along with consciousness. I felt sick and I started to gag. I tried to get up too fast and got tangled in the blanket and nearly fell as I stood up. Eric steadied me, but I pushed him away and ran as fast as I could to the bathroom. I didn't think I would make it, but was able to get to the sink before what was left my dinner came back up. I couldn't stop heaving and my mind was whirling.

When I was finally done, I washed face and brushed my teeth, but I still felt sick. I perched on the edge of the tub, clutching my stomach, and saw that Eric was standing in the door watching me.

I couldn't look at him and I lowered my gaze to the tiles on the floor as the tears started welling up in my eyes. He wasn't having any of that. He knelt before me until his face was in my line of sight. I tried to turn my head away, but he cupped his large hand against my cheek and made me look at him. The tears were silently rolling down my face now and over his hand. I didn't know what to say. I didn't know how to tell him what had happened. The memories of that night were becoming clearer and I was becoming more ashamed as they did. There was no reason to feel ashamed, but I was and now Eric wanted me to tell him what happened. Would he be mad at me?

Once again, I had been betrayed. And to top it off, was my grandfather the one that set it all up?

I finally found my voice and was able to strangle out a word, "Niall….?" Eric understood what I was asking and nodded his head in affirmation. I started crying harder and whined a bit as I continued, "But…but…why?" I clutched Eric then as I kept saying the word over and over. 'Why?'

He held me and let me cry against his chest there on my bathroom floor. Another shirt ruined, one of my favorite authors would have said.

Eric stroked my hair, "I do not know, dear one, but I am going to find out."

I whimpered a bit and said, "Eric….I'm….so….sor…sorr…sorry." I could barely get the words out I was crying so hard. I didn't know if I was apologizing for what had happened to me, for slapping him earlier, or for ruining his shirt now, but I just felt I needed to say it.

He pulled me away from him so that I would look at him, "Sookie, listen to me. You have nothing to be sorry for. You did nothing wrong, you understand me?"

I numbly nodded my head, but I didn't really believe it, "What did he do to me, Eric? I would never….I don't know why I….." I couldn't say it. Here in my Viking's arms I couldn't admit what had happened or why.

I thought I had wanted to. I remember that, the feeling of pure 'want' but I was seeing now that they hadn't been my feelings. The feeling had been put into my mind and it hadn't been real. I also felt like I was missing a part of that night. What exactly had happened? I remember him kissing me, urging me….and then nothing. Nothing really rang a bell until the next morning and he was already gone by the time I woke up. I really did not want to sit here and tell Eric I had slept with a Were, no strike that, a fairy, and to top it off I didn't even really remember the details of it. He was going to think that was bullshit. I would have gone on with my mental self-flagellation if Eric hadn't stopped me by answering my unspoken questions.

"Like I said earlier, Sookie, we think he majicked you. I know you, Sookie. You are not one to just sleep with a stranger." He sounded angry when he said the last sentence. I immediately crimsoned and lowered my head again. Why couldn't I look at him? How did he know what happened?

"Eric, how did you know…" It was a pretty good guess, I admit, but how would he know…oh, yeah…vampire heightened senses. "You can smell him?" I buried my head further into his chest, mortified.

His voice was cold, "Yes." His arms tightened around me and he was trembling with the effort of trying to keep his anger controlled. "What do you remember now Sookie?"

"Not a lot," I mumbled into his chest. Did we really have to talk about this? This was humiliating. I had been so stupid and naïve….yet again!! The tears were still coming. I couldn't help but blame myself for what happened, however irrational that was. I had let myself be taken advantage of again. I started crying more heavily again and I started to hyperventilate. I couldn't calm myself. It was like there were walls crashing down on me and I couldn't push them away. Eric could feel my panic through the bond. I felt like I was drowning.

He shook me, trying to get me to focus on him, he was talking, but I could only hear parts of it. "…not your fault….Sookie…..calm down…..Sook…" The blood was pounding in my ears. All of a sudden Quinn was in the bathroom with us holding a paper bag down to Eric and telling him to put it over my face to breathe into. My brain wasn't functioning correctly by now and I was trying to push them away and I kept yelling 'no' over and over. It must have been pretty pathetic to see. Finally, they had the bag on my face and I had no choice but to comply. Tears were still streaming and Eric was holding me so that I couldn't get away from him.

I had been on an emotional roller coaster tonight. I couldn't pin down my feelings. "Shhh….Sookie, I have you. Shhh….it's okay." Eric kept crooning in my ear.

I didn't know how to feel about any of this. A part of me felt responsible because I had slept with Preston, but another piece of me felt like I had been violated in the worst way. Now, Eric was telling me that Niall had sent Preston here. Why? Why would he have him pretend to be a Were and try to sleep with me. Had Niall wanted Preston to have sex with me? Did he know what had happened? He was here the next day….how could he not know? God, Sookie, you are such a fool!

'Oh shit!'

One thing had me completely terrified now….I couldn't for the life of me remember if Preston had used protection! He was naked when he came to my house, so he obviously didn't have any with him. I certainly didn't have any. God, why can't I remember!

I grunted in frustration and pushed away from Eric and the paper bag to stand up. I felt weak after my emotional upheaval. There were still tears in my eyes, but at least I wasn't gasping for breathe anymore. I walked out of my bathroom into my bedroom with a tiger and a vampire following closely behind. I started pacing back and forth, trying to make myself remember. I think I actually slapped myself in the head a couple of times. No, no, no, this can't be happening. This is some kind of sick nightmare.

The two men were frozen in entrance from the bathroom to the bedroom just watching me pace. Eric could feel my emotions screaming through the bond and finally could not take it anymore so he said, "Sookie, what are you doing? What are you thinking?"

Before I could help myself I just blurted it out, "I don't think he used anything." I stood there looking at them clenching and releasing my fists.

Eric seemed confused by this statement, but Quinn immediately started to growl and his eyes flickered to gold. Eric said, "Sookie, what do you mean he did not use anything. We told you that we can smell that he used fae majick on you."

I opened my mouth but no words could come out. I just stood there looking at the two of them. Quinn was growing more infuriated by the second and Eric just looked even more confused. Of course a thousand year old vampire wouldn't know about "using protection."

Quinn looked to Eric, "What Sookie means is that the fucking fairy bastard did not use a condom." Eric still looked a little confused, so Quinn continued, "Humans use them to keep from getting diseases and to….."

"AND TO WHAT!?" Eric yelled.

Quinn finished, thankfully, because I still couldn't speak, "To keep from getting pregnant, Eric."