Chapter 12

We both had our cell phones plugged in and of course Eric was getting reception with his fancy phone and occasionally it would ring, he acted like he didn't hear it, but I knew if I did so did he. I was kind of wondering how my brother and Justine were doing, more about how Justine was doing in her pregnancy, at five months she already looked like she was overdue. She kept professing that she felt fine, that she was not miserable, but I wondered. Then again, who knew what she was really dealing with; she was carrying a mixture of witch, human, fae and shifter inside her. I wondered if the twins would have any of the characteristics or would they have none or one with some and one with other. I felt like Eric and I really identified with what the twins would be going through. I put it to the back of my mind wondering what Eric had in store for us for the next several hours of darkness.

As if reading my mind, and he may have been, he asked if I were hungry. Actually I was. He loved cooking so I followed him to the kitchen while he searched through what we had bought. He pulled out a steak and turned on the stove, the propane stove had a grill on one side. "Rare?" he asked. "Medium-Rare, please," I answered. I remember when I couldn't stand the sight of any pink in my steak, as the months went by I seemed to like them more and more rare. I asked if there was anything I could do to help and he gave me the job of cleaning the mushrooms. He prepared a salad, chopping the ingredients lightening fast. As I finished the mushrooms he chopped them quickly and started sautéing them and made a nice sauce for them. I hadn't realized he had started water for pasta. He moved with skill and speed making sure everything was perfect before giving me my plate. The steak to one side pasta next to it and the mushroom sauce over both and a salad on the side, everything looked and smelled delicious. He had popped a True Blood in the microwave for himself. I looked at him a bit puzzled. "Remember our experiment I'm on a diet until after the next sunrise." He smiled. He took a big swig from the bottle in his hand and made a horrible face as he swallowed. I asked him if it was expired, he checked the label and it was still well within its expiration date. I sliced the steak and the red juices ran out and the aroma filled my nose making my mouth water. As I took the first bite Eric took another drink from his bottle, he spat it out as I let out an irresistible "mmmm" from the steak I just put in my mouth. "Sorry," I said with my mouth still full.

"No reason to be sorry. I'm glad you are enjoying it." He reached across the bar and kissed my forehead as I cut another piece. As I was raising it to my mouth he stopped my hand, I tried to raise the fork again, but he wouldn't move his hand he just stood staring at the fork. He took the fork from my hand and hastily put the bite of meat in his mouth. For several seconds we just stared at each other before he began to chew. I sat staring at him with my mouth gaping open. "Oh, that is really good. Not as good as tasting you, but good in a different way."

"Eric, are you crazy? You're going to get sick." I scolded him.

"I don't think so, I really want to eat this do you mind sharing?" He grabbed another fork and knife not waiting for my response.

"Oh my gosh, Eric, do you realize what's happening?" I was almost screaming at him. He laid the knife and fork down and swallowed the piece of meat in his mouth hard. He looked at me with a bit of shock on his face. "Eric, you are becoming hybrid too, just as I am becoming a little vampire you are becoming a little human or a little fae one or the other or both!"

"Oh hell, I think you might be right." He started rambling in his native tongue so quickly and more of a mumble that I only caught a comprehensible word now and then. "Ingen kanne vite om oss!"

I sat there for a minute running the words through my head, one of my earlier transformations being that I was able to understand Eric when he spoke to me in any language, but it was always a little slow for me, usually he reserved it for the bedroom when he was in pure ecstasy. "I know that no one can know about us. It would be very dangerous for the both of us. Sweetie, do me a favor and switch back to English." I gave him a little smile trying to help calm him down, I could feel he was really getting worked up. He paced the kitchen and I began eating again I saw no reason to let this great meal go to waste.

He was still upset so I got mixed dialect, "Sun og mat… what's next toalettet!" He threw his hands up in the air.

"Eric, calm down. The sun could only be and advantage, but yes, my guess would be that if you decide you are going to eat food then I would guess the toilet will become a factor." I continued to eat.

"How can you set there and eat and be so calm. Sookie, I haven't had human needs in over a thousand years. I haven't stepped in the sun or consumed food or need to use a restroom for anything other than a shower. This is major." He placed both his hands on the counter and stared at me.

"You think I don't understand the way you are feeling? Let's see, I drink your blood, I have fangs, I can read the minds of vampires, I have abnormal human strength and speed, your absolutely right I have no idea what you are going through!" I was very sarcastic and becoming slightly angry.

"Your changes only enhance you. What I am afraid of is the more human I become the less immortal I will become. What if I start to… to…" his sentence dropped off and he dropped his head. Then I discovered the real issue, it wasn't the toilet, what if he started to age is what I pulled from his mind.

"Oh, "that's all I could say. I could completely understand his concern and his reaction. We sat in silence for a minute. Then I had a thought, "Do you think if you didn't feed from me or didn't feed from me often that your changes would stop or reverse."

"I don't know, how would I know, I never dreamed that I would have changes to begin with." He turned and walked out of the room towards the master bedroom. I didn't follow him then I ran into the bedroom to confirm the noise I heard.

"Are you alright?" I ran over to him. He was leaning over the toilet staring down at the piece of masticated meat.

"I don't know." His voice was so unsure. "I make myself expel that, what if it was just a whim, what if my body really couldn't digest it, I could become violently ill."

"Ok, so let's take this one day at a time," I pulled his hair back as he was still bent over the toilet, "let's focus on the next sunrise, if you can walk out into it then let's go another day without you feeding from me, you have consumed quite a bit over the last 48 hours." He stood looking down at me and then pulled me to him. We stood there in the bathroom for several minutes just embracing. "Come on." I took his hand and led him into the bedroom. I grabbed a pair of soft red and black plaid flannel pajama bottoms and threw them on the bed and a black t-shirt. "Put those on." I grabbed a pair of soft pink chenille pajamas and I put them on. I grabbed a soft snuggly blanket out of the master bedroom closet and led Eric to the living room. "We are just going to relax and forget about everything else and watch movies and veg out for the next several hours." He didn't put up a fight and I closed my mind so that he could think privately and I could do the same. When Eric had forgotten who he was and was hiding out at my house, we watched the complete DVD series of Buffy the Vampire Slayer; he viewed it as the ultimate comedy. As luck would have it in the massive DVD collection the owner kept stocked in this house was the compete series… maybe that would help lighten his mood. Before long we were giggling and even out right laughing at the TV.

He pulled me in tightly to him, "This reminds me of when I first fell in love with you, of our first intimate times together, just you and I and the rest of the world didn't matter. Lover," he sat me up and turned me to him my face in his hands, "no matter what happens I don't regret one single moment. You made my life complete, if I were to die tomorrow I would regret nothing when it comes to you." He gave me a long sweet loving sumptuous kiss and then snuggled me back into him and we continued to watch TV.