Count my blessings.

Disclaimer; I do not own these characters, Charlaine Harris has that honour. I just like to explore the endless possibilities...

Chapter 11

Sookie's POV

oOoOoOoOo

"I am glad you are well, but you will tell me everything." His voice sent a shiver down my spine. As he moved to stand straight he gently brushed his lips against my cheek and turned to go through the secret door.

I stood still, staring at the place where he had been standing. It took a while for me to calm down enough to realise I needed to leave. I needed to go back to the main house and let the boys know I was okay, and I needed to sleep as I would have to be clear-headed for our conversation later this evening. I reached the door and wondered if I should check on Eric before I left, then thought better of it and just whispered as I closed and locked the door behind me.

"Good night, Eric."

oOoOoOoOo

I couldn't believe how things could go so wrong so fast; I had hoped Eric and I would spend the night talking things through and coming to some kind of compromise suitable for all involved. I stood in the shower, having argued with Darin again, letting the water wash over me in the vain hope it would take my problem down the drain with it. As the water was raining down I thought through the events of the day.

After leaving Eric in the Folly I had driven the car out of the back entrance and round into the main drive for the farmhouse and was mobbed by the boys as I parked in front of the house. They quickly explained that they had gone to Sara's as I asked, but had gotten up early to come to the house this morning. Sara was stood in the doorway, nodding in agreement. They finally let me get out of the car and we made our way back into the house. I hugged Sara on my way in and she whispered.

"There's a hot pot of coffee and a Danish pastry with your name on it, in the kitchen." I love my best friend with all my heart, but at that second I think I could have worshipped her forever!

The boys managed to let me get a mouthful of the dark stuff before the questions started. I explained as much as I could, and told them Eric was staying in the Folly and that they were to stay clear of there today. I warned them I had placed a temporary ward to make sure no-one entered; I stressed that no-one, and not even they would be able to get in. The twins were eager to talk to Eric but they appreciated we still had a lot to talk about first. They were both concerned that Eric might not want to get to know them, but I assured them of his interest. Darin was angry with me but Shay had helpfully read the reasons why straight from his brother's mind. He was angry because I would not tell them everything Eric and I had spoken about in the Folly. He was angry I had not allowed them to be part of the conversation but, according to Shay, he and Darin also understood that them being involved at this point could complicate the issue. It was these warring emotions and thoughts that had Darin in a tizzy. I explained that Eric and I were going to talk again tonight and, depending on how that went, we would look to introduce the boys.

I knew that with a bit of space Darin would calm down enough to think rationally, which is why I suggested they go and stay with Sara again. Shay didn't want to; he wanted to stay close to me, but he knew Darin would never go without him and he knew he needed to distance himself before he did or said something stupid.

By 11 o'clock I was yawning my head off and Shay insisted I went to bed. I was in no fit state to argue; it's been a long time since I stayed up all night!

I managed to sleep for a couple of hours but found my brain was on overdrive; there was so much going round and round it was hard to switch off. Once I had fallen asleep I was plagued with dreams of my tall, handsome, Viking (could I really think of him as mine?). In some he was loving and tender but then would morph into being angry and violent. Even my sub-conscious was undecided on how he would react to me. I tossed and turned in an attempt to go back to sleep, but gave in and got up to do something productive to try and occupy my mind. Sara had left me a note saying the boys had gone shopping in town and were going back to hers after. The party planner had called to apologise while I was asleep and Sara had given her a piece of her mind and managed to get a 10% discount for the trouble caused.

I decided to try and keep this evening comfortable and relaxed, so I just put on some casual shorts and a vest top and thought I would waste some time walking to the Folly. It was a bright afternoon so it was very pleasant walking in the dappled shade of the woods. Once I got there I realised there was still quite a bit of time till sunset, so I set to work tidying and cleaning. I would be having words with the cleaning agency; their standard of work in the Folly was awful. I found it strange, as it was the same firm that did the main house and I had no complaints there, but the Folly was a disgrace. I had vacuumed, dusted and cleaned every surface in the main den and was neck-deep in the kitchen. I had my head in the oven, scrubbing the burnt-on remnants of god knows what and I was humming away to myself, fascinated by the sound as it bounced around the confined space.

"Ah-hem!" I was shocked at the sound of Eric behind me, and it made me jump and hit my head.

After an awkward pause he helped me stand and then seemed to get lost in my cleavage. I have seen this look before, usually on people taller than me (they almost get a bird's-eye view of pleasure valley). I didn't think it was all that special but maybe that's because it's the view I get all the time. Once I had managed to get his attention back I warmed a blood for him, and he dropped the bomb. After all of his insistence last night, that he wanted me here when he woke and he wanted answers, he wasn't planning on staying to hear them. He quickly explained the King's request and I couldn't really hold that against him so we arranged for me to be there as well, as the meeting was at one of my clubs.

"Okay, I must leave or Pam will be wearing her heels down pacing back and forth. I will see you later in the club... yes?" He seemed unsure of my answer.

"Yes." I wanted to know what King Richard was up to.

I tidied away the cleaning supplies and locked up. We were both stood out front and it suddenly occurred to me that I didn't have my car down here.

"Can you feel Pam from here? Can you use her as a kind of GPS?" I hoped so.

"I can feel her faintly, let me contact her." I took a few steps away to try and give Eric some privacy but he didn't bother lowering his voice so I heard every word.

"Yes..." He was never one for phone pleasantries. "Where are you?... I will meet you there, I will text you with specifics." He flipped his phone shut and turned to me. "Sookie," I turned to face him. "How long would it take you to change?" He slowly took in my appearance, letting his eyes wander all the way to my toes and back again. I swallowed hard before answering.

"Not long, I suppose I can be ready in an hour." It would mean a very quick shower but it was possible.

"Good." He sent a quick text but I was still none the wiser, so it was a complete shock when suddenly he was next to me sweeping me into his arms and flying us both up towards the tree tops. I felt a spike of sheer panic as we left the ground; it had been a very long time since I had flown with Eric. I hid my face in the hollow by his collarbone, scared to look where we were going. I could feel Eric laughing, his whole upper body vibrated. I held onto his sweater with white knuckles, terrified of being so high.

He bent his head to whisper in my ear. "Which way is your home?" I had a quick internal debate whether to tell him; it would not take a cartographer to work out the route to the main house. I had only wanted to come to the Folly last night as a safety precaution for both of us. I didn't really know his intentions, I didn't want to risk inviting him into our home without knowing more, but I could tell he wasn't going to harm me or the kids. Being at the Folly also had the advantage of the light-tight safe room which, as it turned out, was needed.

I pointed without raising my head. "That way." He just chuckled and flew us that way; I could feel the movement of his muscles as he rearranged his hold on me. My head was hidden in his neck and tendrils of his hair were whipping my face. I had been a very long time since I was this close to Eric; I had missed the feel of him holding me safe. It wasn't long before he was lowering us to stand upright and I was awash with relief to hear the crunch of the gravel driveway below my feet. I had forgotten how fast he could travel; a walk that had taken me 30 minutes took a few short minutes by air.

"You might want to look now, Sookie."

"Shushhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh." I hissed as I looked up at him, I had asked him not to call me that. He was looking very serious so I followed his eye line and turned to see what, or who, had his attention.

The boys were both in the doorway with shocked faces, but Darin was angry; I could see the rage in his eyes and knew I had to do something and fast. I didn't quite understand why he was so angry but knew we could deal with the reasons later; I had to calm him down first. I ran towards the door and threw my arms around Darin and forced him back inside the house, shouting over my shoulder at Shay. "Keep him out, don't let him in here." My shields were down so I knew Shay could read me and understood the danger we were in. I watched Shay position himself across the entrance but far enough away from the threshold to be out of arms' reach. I caught a glimpse of Eric and he had confusion written across his face. I hoped I would get a chance to explain later.

I continued to push Darin further into the house till we met the wall by the fireplace. His eyes were glazed and unfocused and I could feel the temperature of his skin increasing. I locked my hands in place behind his back and pulled him to the floor. We both landed in a heap, I quickly moved to kneel next to him (never letting go) and held him to my chest. I started to hum a lullaby I had used when they were babies, it had always worked in the past and I hoped it would work this time. I started to rock in time with the tune and I could feel him calming down. He tried to look up at me and I just shushed him and continued to rock and hum, but I did loosen my grip and start to rub his back to soothe him instead of restraining him.

"Mum?" He tried to move and this time I let him.

"Better now?" I held his face in my hands and looked into those glorious blue eyes as I kissed his nose.

"Yes... thank you." He looked down and I let go of his face. "Please tell me I didn't just see you cuddling him?" There was so much anger in his voice, I knew I had to try and keep things calm but I also knew I had to be honest with him. I had never outright lied to the boys; I may not have told them all I knew, but what I did was always the truth (I had learnt that trick from a certain Viking).

"As you know, we had planned to talk some more tonight, but Eric has been called by the King so he was bringing me here so I could change."

"You plan to go with him? Why? The King hasn't summoned you so why put yourself out?" He still hadn't managed to look at me.

"The King has asked to meet at Exchange and I have things to do there so I offered to go along to keep an eye on things."

"Does he know what you can do?" There was an accusation in his voice and he had finally looked up at me and I wished he hadn't. Darin had never looked at me in that way, it was as if I were a stranger. His eyes held disappointment and fear. The pain I felt in my chest was almost enough to render me speechless.

"He knows some of what I can do." My voice was so small; even I found it hard to hear it.

"Good." Darin stood and left and I heard him go upstairs. I sat and listened to his fading footsteps and realised he had carried on up to the second flight of stairs and realised he was going to my room. It had been a long time since he had sought the comfort of my bed; he had always called it his safe house; buried under the covers he said he felt safe. I knew he was more likely to be going up there to find comfort in the journals, but the thought eased my worry a little.

It took me a few minutes to regain enough composure to get to my feet and make my way back to the front door. I came up behind Shay and he held out his hand. As I looked up to him I could hear his thoughts loud and clear.

'Don't take it too hard, he will calm down, it will just take time, you know how hot-headed he can be.' He squeezed my hand before asking, 'I take it all went well tonight? Till you got back here at least.'

'I think we have made a good start at sorting things out but there is still a long way to go. There are things I need to do tonight, Eric has been summoned by the King. Will you stay with Darin?'

'Of course, be safe... where will you be?'

'At Exchange.' He seemed relieved at that.

'Leave it open...' He leaned down and kissed my cheek and followed his brother upstairs. Before he was completely out of sight he asked, 'what had you so scared? Did he try to hurt you?'

'Oh my God, is that why Darin was so angry? He thought Eric had hurt me?'

'It was part of it...'

'I was scared when Eric flew us here.'

'That would explain it; you were never very good with heights.' This would certainly explain some of the confusion I was picking up from Darin; he had felt me angry then scared, it wasn't that hard to see why he would jump to the conclusion that Eric was hurting me. They had always worried about me, which I found endearing. It must have been the straw that broke the camel's back when Darin saw me in Eric's arms as he descended in front of the house. I had to talk to the boys soon, things needed to be sorted out before more misunderstands happened.

I was so thankful for Shay. He had got the level head from his father, whereas Darin had got my hot head. Hopefully he would explain to Darin and it would be enough for now, as I had to deal with Eric, and then the King.

I stood in the shadow of the doorway looking out at Eric as he stood perfectly still in the moonlight. He was breathtakingly handsome; the sight of him triggered so many memories, being held by him tonight had felt so right, but this was not the time or the place. I had my sons to think about, I had to put all else aside and do what was best, and what was right for the boys. It wasn't the first time and it wouldn't be the last – the cost of being a parent.

With the levels of testosterone getting to epic proportions I decided to go out to him rather than invite him in. I needed to know how he was going to react to what just happened. I had horrible visions of lion prides and how the alpha male would kill off young males if he deemed them a threat, even if they were his own cubs. The rational side of me knew that was unlikely to happen, and even if it was a possibility I was more than capable of stopping it.

We had come close tonight; Darin had nearly lost control, and if he had 'burst' he would have surely killed Eric. I knew Darin was angry, and a lot of that anger seemed to be vented towards Eric, but I was positive he would not want to finally kill his own father. I couldn't think why he would feel so strongly against Eric; he knew his history, he knew it was all my doing, and he of all people knew why. I would need to talk to that boy of mine and soon; this had to be sorted. I hoped he would find some answers looking through the journals as well as having the calming influence of Shay with him. They had always been the best of friends, almost yin and yang.

I stepped out of the shadows and walked across the drive to stand before him. Eric watched every step, never talking his eyes off me.

"I have to leave or the King will be displeased." He was back to being cold and distant. I couldn't read any emotion in his voice or on his face.

"I will see you at the club, I shouldn't be long." He didn't even ask about what happened with Darin.

"Whatever..."

And he was gone...

TBC...

A/N

As always a huge thank you to everyone who reads and reviews. It is encouraging to get some many quick review when I post. I feel like I am on a roll with this story and hope to get some more posted soon.

Big Hugs and a enormous thank you to All About Eric for being a wonderfully patient Beta.

Luv Bb

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