SPOV

Eric sat down in an overstuffed chair with his face in his hands.

"Ever been engaged before?" I asked to lighten the mood.

"Once, " Eric responded. He looked up with sad eyes. I had managed to darken the mood several shades, it seemed.

"I didn't mean to …"

"Go put on those sexy flannels and I'll explain," he said with a slight smile.

Eric was laying on the bed with his hands behind his head, clad only in sleep pants. He didn't smirk or wink at me, so I assumed he wasn't showing off on purpose. God he was gorgeous! I slipped under the covers and lay on my side facing him.

"Is she the reason you left Sweden?" He nodded and took a deep breath.

"My cousin Lief, my neighbor Aude, and I were inseparable as children. Lief was two years older than me and Aude in between us. As we approached our teen years, the two of them became a couple, but we still managed to spend a lot of time together. Then Lief (stupid ass that he was) decided to break up with Aude before going off to college so he could have a 'true university experience'. Aude and I had always been close and we discovered we had a much better time without Lief around." Eric grinned. "She was my first kiss, my first love, my first everything." Love shown clearly in his eyes. "Before she went away to college, I proposed and she accepted. I was living with my aunt and uncle by then. They thought we were a little young, but they loved Aude as a daughter and her parents felt the same way about me. In the spring of my final year of high school I made plans to drive to her college for the weekend to celebrate her birthday. Her roommate was going out of town and this would have been our first time spending the night together. We had had sex, but in a few stolen minutes. I couldn't wait to hold Aude as she fell asleep and wake up next to her." He looked away from me.

"Eric?" His pretty blue eyes glistened with tears.

"I spent one evening talking to her on the phone when I should have been studying and failed a Science test. My aunt and uncle found out and grounded me for the weekend. I was nearly inconsolable. I felt like I had completely failed her."

"Was she mad?"

"No. She promised to drive home for the weekend so we could still see each other. I believe she called me a silly high school boy."

"And then?" From the look on his face I knew the big bad was coming.

"She hit a patch of ice driving home and crashed head on into a tree." Shit! "She suffered brain damage and spent months in the hospital."

"And you felt guilty?" I asked.

"Feel guilty."

"You didn't put the ice on the road or push her car into a tree," I reasoned.

"No, but if I hadn't gotten grounded and had driven to see her…"

"Then you might have been in an accident instead."

"I would have gladly given my life for hers," Eric answered. "I prayed nightly to God that he would take me instead of her."

"And?"

"And she eventually learned to talk again - though haltingly and she learned to walk again - but drags her left leg a bit." My eyes clouded with tears and Eric's cheeks were damp. "Her mind was damaged as well. My funny, brilliant love was reduced to the IQ if a second grader. When the doctors determined the damage was permanent, her parents gave me the ring back and I refused to take it. I tried to kiss her once – that didn't go well and I felt like a perv for putting the moves on a brain damaged girl," Eric managed a smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Fortunately for her, Aude doesn't remember her life before the accident. Her mother had a nervous breakdown and I wasn't far behind her. "

"And now?"

" Aude still lives at home with her parents. She works part time at the local library shelving books and seems happy. If she outlives her parents, which I imagine she will, I am sure her brother or sister will take her in." He laid his head on my chest and sobbed. I stroked his hair and made soothing noises. Surely Sophie Anne wasn't aware of the pain she had put her son through this night. If anyone had told me a month ago Eric Northman would cry himself to sleep on my chest, I would have told them they were crazy.

Eric shook me gently the next morning. His eyes looked a little puffy, but otherwise he seemed his usual self. Eric kissed me tenderly.

"Thank you for last night," he said softly. I cupped his cheek and kissed him back. "When can you be ready? " Eric asked. " Sophie Anne should be up by now. I want to talk to her, then leave." I was pretty sure talk was too mild of a word.

"I'll hop in the shower and pack –won't take long," I said. He kissed me again and walked out the door. When I was ready, I started down the massive stairs toward the main floor. About halfway down, I heard angry voices coming from Sophie Anne's sitting room. Would Eric want me to join him or stay out of the way? I was still deciding when he all but stomped out of the room. Eric caught my eyes and motioned for me to follow him.

"Have someone bring our bags down," he said to the butler as I caught up with him at the door. He grabbed my hand and half dragged me to the garage where his car was waiting. I nearly had to run to match his large strides. I pulled my hand from his and stood still. "Sookie? What are you doing?" he demanded.

"Would you like for me to drive?" I asked.

"No. You are not driving my car. Now, come on. I want to get the hell out of here." I stood my ground.

"Are you capable of driving me safely home?" He gave me a very nasty look, then suddenly all the wind went out of him. He threw me the keys.

"Don't grind any gears," he warned. The bags were waiting for us when I pulled up to the entrance way. I wondered idly how much a butler of my very own would set me back. We drove in relative silence for a while. Eric leaned back his head and closed his eyes. I was content to listen to the radio and let him sleep – or pretend to sleep.

Eventually I pulled over to get gas and visit the ladies room. "Do you need anything?" I asked. Eric just shook his head. He was sitting in the driver's seat when I returned. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, " he answered. "Thank you for having more sense than me. "

"Thank you for admitting it," I grinned.

"It hasn't been a very close race this weekend. I've heard that one definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

"Albert Einstein," I nodded. "No one can blame you for hoping a loved one will be a better person than you know them to be." Eric smiled and took my hand.

"You sure you aren't ready to run away screaming yet?" he asked. I shook my head.

"You haven't gotten to see all of my crazy yet," I warned.

"Bring it on," he said smiling and kissed me full on the mouth. Our tongues did a little tango until I remembered we were in the middle of the BP parking lot.

"So, now what?" I asked after catching my breath.

"Now we go home to Shreveport and forget completely about New Orleans." Oh.

"I guess you want this back," I said slowly pulling the diamond off of my finger. I felt a little sad, somehow. Eric looked at it wistfully.

"Keep it for now," he answered with a sigh. "When Pam asks me how the weekend with Sophie Anne went, I am going to tell her terrible and leave it at that."

"Ok." It wasn't all terrible though. "I did have fun playing spies with you," I said with a grin.

"I liked seeing your breasts," he responded with a leer and I rolled my eyes. "Seriously, I wouldn't have survived the weekend with anyone else at my side," Eric said. "Is there any chance at all you will agree to go dancing with me next Sunday?"

"Only if you promise me dinner afterward," I answered with a smile. I guess we were still fake dating. Or were we really dating? Ok, I was pretty sure we were fake engaged, but beyond that I was a little unclear.