A/N: Seriously, you guys make me blush. Your comments for the last chapter were lovely and wonderful. I loved each and every one! I think I'm almost to the point where regular updates will be coming back. In any case, I am catching up, albeit slow as molasses.

Krismom is awesome and fantastic and a bunch of other great words. She beta's like nobody's business. Any remaining mistake belong to this nut. EtheHunter pre-read and helped in more ways than I could possibly describe.

Disclaimer: One of these days I might own them, but I doubt it.

Previously...

"Goodnight, Eric," I said offering him a small smile as I rolled onto my side to sleep.

He pulled the comforter over me, effectively tucking me in, and placed a kiss on my temple. I closed my eyes, trying to fight the butterflies that simple action caused to flutter in my stomach.

I was simply too tired to process why my chest warmed, and why I yearned to ask him to stay. Just for a moment. Just until I went to sleep. It was a ridiculous notion.

Eric paused after he lifted the window, looking very much like there was something he wanted to say on the tip of his tongue. I wondered briefly why he didn't just use the front door, but decided it didn't really matter. "Goodnight, Sookie. Sleep well," he finally said just before disappearing into the night.

I don't remember him closing the window because I fell asleep as soon as he was out of my sight. But when I awakened, it was closed, the curtain back in its perfect place.

SPOV

Getting back into the swing of things at Merlotte's proved a lot harder than I thought it would have been. Apparently, I'd been slacking on my shields. Keeping company with more Vampires and Weres than humans was making me lazy. Mentally, at least.

Halfway through the lunch shift, I still hadn't gotten a good hold on my mental blocks. The thoughts of every patron, eating or drinking, were shuffling in unfiltered and unwanted. Not a single one of them was thinking about anything good. If they weren't stressed or worried about their own financial or personal problems, then they were thinking about me. And none of it was positive.

I'd dealt with negative thoughts about me for my entire life, and thought I was used to it. Maybe I was just being overly sensitive about it, but there were times when I had to close myself in the ladies room just to get a little peace and quiet.

Most everyone agreed, I'd gotten what I deserved for trusting a vamp. Or being a 'fang bangin' whore', as they so often referred to me in their thoughts. I couldn't help but to agree with them, on some level in any case. No matter the strength I'd once had in my self-worth, my ego had taken a shot, and it hurt.

'Look at her, she's not even all that pretty. Sure, she's got nice tits...'

'I wonder if that vamper of hers is looking for a new gal now? I'm certainly better looking than she is.'

'Stupid fang bangin' whore. What'd she expect keeping company with those monsters?'

'I'd never trust no blood sucker. Ain't a single one of 'em worth a damn...'

I'd definitely made the mistake of trusting a Vampire too quickly. I'd never been wary of Bill. Ever. Which was more than stupid on my part. And it only proved my naivety further. Agreeing with their thoughts though, only brought me down.

My trips to the restroom grew in their frequency as I felt the tears coming. I was able to hold them off, but knew eventually the battle would be lost. I was desperate not to cry at work, praying that I'd make it to the safety of my own home before they came.

Arlene ignored me like the plague, only conversing when absolutely necessary, and always work related chit-chat. Her mask and smile were in place when face to face with me despite her negative thoughts. She often wondered how long it would take for me to fall into another Vampires snare and give into their sickness and games. Her thoughts were snarly and full of hate for Vampires in general.

"Hey, Sookie, can you take those beers to table six?" Arlene spoke real slow, like she was talking to a child. I just nodded and took the tray from the bar.

'I wonder if they took too much blood from her and drank her stupid? Can vamps do that?' She added in her thoughts as I walked away. 'Maybe that's what's wrong with her today.'

She was very prejudice when it came to Vampires, and part of me wished I could be the same. I had every reason to be. Or so I had thought until Eric opened up to me like he had. I just couldn't find it in myself to hate all Vampires. There was good in them, at least some of them. Or at least there was some good in some of them some of the time. I'd seen it in Eric.

That I'd seen good in Eric frightened me. Was I making the same mistakes all over again? Was it all a game, even with Eric? Were my feelings, the confusion, the warmth, the unknown flutters that filled me when I thought of him, were they even real? Or was a being blindsided once again, used, tricked?

Was this all a figment of my imagination brought on by the blood bond with him? With Bill it had been, at least to some degree.

The stupidity of my sensitivity was what baffled and annoyed me. True, Bill had used me. True, I had fallen for his games, hook, line, and sinker. True, I was naïve and stupid and young. But wasn't that reason enough for my mistakes? Wasn't innocence something to be of value?

I used to think so. Maybe I was wrong? Or maybe I just felt like an idiot for losing my innocence in such a way? I hated that Bill still seemed to have some sort of hold over me. Why couldn't I just let it go, let him go?

Then, out of the blue, it hit me, and I felt like an idiot for not having thought of it sooner. I nearly dropped the tray of drinks I'd been about to deliver, and I did stumble in my stride a bit. I'd had Bill's blood, lots of it. I may have been bonded, or whatever, to Eric, but Bill's blood was in me. I made a mental note to myself to ask Eric the next time I saw him if there was anything I could do about that.

Eric had told me it could take weeks for that to wear off, and I certainly wasn't too keen on the idea of feeling like a big, fat loser for a minute more, much less weeks. Maybe Eric knew of a way to make it wear off faster.

Of course, this line of thinking only led me to thoughts about Eric. This was never a good thing. I glanced out the window, suddenly glad that the sun was still out, and I knew for a fact that I could get away with my plethora of emotions without his knowledge. I didn't need him knowing at all times of the day what I was going through. Hell, it was hard enough having to feel it myself, much less know someone else was too.

It seemed no amount of thinking on it was deciphering what exactly I was feeling for Eric. He was arrogant and crude, and downright nasty at times. But then there was this whole other side. The side that fascinated me, confused me, and made me ache and want to give myself to him in ways I'd never given before. It could be a mistake to even entertain the idea. A mistake I knew I'd never survive if I ever made it a reality.

My mind was playing in a loop. If my thoughts weren't on Bill, then they were on Eric. Bill, Eric, Bill, Eric, yada-yada-yada-yada. Blah-blah-blah! I was a broken record. I felt as if I could rip my hair out by the roots at at any point. I practically broke down into happy tears when Sam told me to take a break.

That was until Sam pulled me aside and cornered me in his office. I'd just dropped off a soda and a sweet tea for a couple late lunch eaters or early dinner diners, snatching my basket of chicken fingers and french fries on my way past, when Sam grabbed my elbow.

"What's wrong with you today, Sook? You're hardly here at all. Not in the head at least." I sighed heavily and looked away. It was true. I'd made more mistakes on orders today than I had my whole working life. "You can't let Bill ruin you, you know? His betrayal is not the end of the world."

"You think I don't know that?" I snapped, my defenses armed and at the ready, dangerous. "You think I don't tell myself that all the time? I don't need you or anyone else telling me this."

Sam held up his hands and took a step back. "All's I'm sayin' is, you're not the only person that has ever done something and regretted it. And you're not alone, Sook, I'm here if you need me. For whatever."

I sighed. "I know. Sorry, didn't mean to snap at you. It's just been a stressful day." To say the least. "I'll be alright. Just takin' more time than I thought, is all."

"Well, so long as those vampires are long gone and out of your life, I have no doubts you'll be right as rain. And soon."

I made a face and looked away. Vampires were never going to be out of my life. At least not in the future I saw for myself. Someone was always going to know about me, want me, or want to use me, own me, break me. It wasn't in my reality to have a normal life. I wasn't normal, after all.

"Well, that's just wishful thinking, Sam," I half muttered, more to myself than to him.

"What?" Sam half shouted, stepping into my personal space. "I thought you said you were done with them? Don't tell me you're still keeping company with them, Sookie. This will only end badly for you."

"There's nothing more I can do, Sam. And what the hell is that supposed to mean? This will only end badly for you?" I mocked, making my voice as deep as Sam's.

"You know what it means," he said stiffly. "Having any vampire in your life is just asking for trouble. You'd do well to cut them out completely." He took a few steps away from me, fiddling with the papers on his desk as a distraction I was sure.

"I can't, Sam. It's not that simple. They know about me now. I need some sort of protection. Eric provides that for me."

"Eric!" he shouted. "He's one of the worst of them. Monster. I don't even want to think of all the ways he'd use you," he growled, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "Look, if you need protection, I can protect you. If you don't get Eric and all vampires out of your life, I swear to God..."

"Don't you dare threaten me, Sam Merlotte," I sneered, placing my hands on my hips and stepping towards him. "I work for Eric when he needs it, he protects me. That's all. Nothing more. Now, if you're finished with the 'Daddy lecture', I'd like to get back to my break."

"I'm not trying to lecture you, I'm trying to save you from any more heartache. This, whatever you have with Eric, will only end badly."

"There's nothing going on between Eric and me," I defended. "Nothing. And he's not the monster everyone seems to think he is. He's done nothing but open my eyes to the truth and save my life. More than once," I added on after a second. "I'm not trusting him blindly, Sam. I won't make the same mistakes again. Eric's been honest with me." Mostly, I mentally added because I just couldn't seem to help it. "How long was it exactly that you kept the truth from me?"

"Shit, Sookie, this is so wrong. You love him already," he responded in a whisper as he shook his head, ignoring the last part of my statement all together.

I scoffed. "Yeah, I love Eric Northman about as much as I love Tabasco sauce in my eye." I don't know why the words tasted like vinegar on my tongue and beat like lies in my heart. If Sam noticed the sour look on my face, he didn't acknowledge it. I swallowed and shook my head. "It's a business transaction. Nothing more. I don't need you telling me how to live my life. As much as you seem to loathe the idea of vampires, you sure are acting like one right about now."

"Whatever," Sam said in dismissal. "Just don't come crying to me when you've gone and gotten your heart ripped out again." He stormed out, slamming the door behind him and leaving me gaping like I fish.

I huffed and opened the door to give him a piece of my mind, but found I couldn't do it. Instead, I scowled at his retreating form and fought another round of tears. It wasn't like Sam to be so cold, so heartless, and it bothered me.

Determined not to let it ruin my already horrid day, I grabbed my chicken and went out the back.

O-O-O-O

For three days my shifts at Merlotte's seemed to play on repeat. My shields were getting stronger with more practice, but the occasional thoughts still sifted through.

Sam and I pretty well ignored each other, and I was okay with that. Gran had raised me to not say nothing at all if I didn't have anything nice to say. And, well, I didn't have anything nice to say to Sam at all.

I worked with minimal mistakes after the first day, went home and cleaned the house, bathed and went to bed. Wash, rinse, repeat. Yawn. As exciting as my life had been, I was finding the boring to be... well, boring.

I worked the lunch shift cheerfully on the fourth day, eager to be getting off early.

As the days went by, slowly I found myself thinking less and less of Bill. Of course, this just left more times for my mind to wander to Eric. The less I thought of Bill and his lies, the more I thought of Eric and his ability to get under my skin. In more ways than one, not all of them bad.

I didn't want to think about why in the world it bothered me so badly I hadn't heard from Eric. As far as I was concerned it was just a result of the blood bond he'd forced on me. It may have been what saved my ass, what awarded him the opportunity to provide protection for me, but he'd still forced it on me. I couldn't help but to feel a little bitter about it.

Then again, my logical side reasoned, had the choice been given to me, I know I wouldn't have done it. Then, lord knows where I'd be at the moment. Probably locked in some sort of cage in the Queen's estate, forced to be fed on and who knows what else. I'd be owned, a pet, a thing. And that was just not an option. Part of me was glad that Eric had taken the decision away from me, even if I was loathe to admit it.

So, no matter how badly I wanted to, I couldn't fault Eric completely for his actions. Sure, he'd been high-handed and deceptive, but I hadn't exactly given him much reason to think he had a choice. As much as it pained me to think it, I owed Eric my life.

Which, I guess was why I was more than I little disappointed I hadn't heard hide nor hair from him. We'd come to have some sort of... friendship, or so I thought. My feelings for Eric were complicated at best, but we'd had a moment the other night. He'd opened up to me, and I to him, in my own way. For him not to call was another kick to my ego that I didn't want to analyze.

I reckoned he had a lot of business to tend with in the supernatural world, with the death of Russell and all, not to mention everything else. He'd taken quite a bit of time away from some of his responsibilities I was sure. So, I tried not to let his silence completely depress me.

After three days of working doubles and not getting home until after midnight, I was thrilled to be getting off early after a pretty slow lunch.

It was with an extra bounce in my step at two-thirty in the afternoon that I made my way home from work. I'd made quite a bit of progress on the inside of the house. The only thing I had left was to clean the ceiling fans and give the floors another good mopping.

Gran would have been proud of all I'd accomplished. The gunk and filth was gone from the cracks in the floorboards and window seals. Everything was looking ship-shape. On the inside, at least.

The outside was liable to be a tad more difficult. There were some things I just couldn't do on my own. And I was still holding a bit of a grudge with Sam, so I'd be damned if I was going to ask for his help with it.

Imagine my surprise when I pulled up to the old farmhouse and found my yard full of work trucks and people bustling about.

The entire house had been cleaned, top to bottom, and a fresh coat of paint was in the process of being applied. I gaped as I pulled in to park so I could find out what in the world was going on.

There were several big dump trucks parked along the side of the road and a new gravel drive was being smoothed out by some sort of tractor. Oh my God!

Just what in tarnation was going on?

"Hey," I shouted as I scrambled out of the car. Everyone was just carrying on like I hadn't even arrived. Or I wasn't important at least. "Hey, what's going on here? I didn't order any of this, who did?"

A man of about fifty years and about fifty too many beers stopped at my constant shrieking. From his brain I gathered he was some sort of shifter or were. Of course, it seemed a simple, normal human didn't exist anymore anywhere. Not in my life at least.

"Who ordered this? I can't pay for it." I pressed as I stalked towards him.

He pulled out a sheet of paper, scanning over it briefly before addressing me. "It's all been taken care of, miss. You're Miss Stackhouse I assume?" I nodded. "One Eric Northman has footed the bill, stating that any and all repairs needed to the outside of the house should be tended to at once."

"What?" I said shocked.

"We'll be out of your hair soon, miss. Just finishing up now." He carried on about his business as if that were all there was to say on the matter.

I made move to follow him, but froze in my tracks with a gaping scowl. It wasn't like I could fight him about it. They'd only done what they were paid to do, and were nearly finished to boot. But I did have a few choice words in mind for someone else when darkness fell.

I may not have heard from Eric, but he was certainly going to hear from me tonight.

I stomped back up towards the house and walked in to go about business of my own. The ceiling fans weren't going to clean themselves, that was for sure.

It was around four when the work crew outside finished up. They all packed up and left without so much as a word to me. I was grateful in a way, mostly because I was a little upset that Eric had went and did all that without consulting me first.

I was very capable of taking care of the house all by my lonesome, thank you very much, and I didn't need his charity, or to be indebted to him any further. Stupid high-handed vampire.

After I finished with the inside of the house, I went outside to sit on the porch with a giant glass of sweet tea with mint. Regardless of where it had come from, I had to admit the house looked immaculate.

The outside looked as good as it had in its early day, and the inside was as pristine as a shiny new penny thanks to my own elbow grease. I felt more than a little accomplished and knew I was going to have to swallow my pride and thank Eric Northman for his assistance in restoring Gran's house.

The sun was setting low in the sky, just about to dip below the horizon. This was quickly becoming my favorite part of the day for some reason. Maybe I was keeping company with too many vampires, and their night life was rubbing off on me.

Whatever the case, I felt warmed from the inside out. A glowing feeling that surged and grew in intensity just as it so often did this time of day as of late.

I'm not sure why I hadn't thought of it before, but it wasn't until that moment that I realized I was feeling Eric awaken through the bond. The idea that I was, for all intents and purposes, feeling him come back to life, was a little unsettling, and more than a little exciting.

The bond came to life fully as the sun set, signaling Eric was fully awake and going about his business. I shielded the warm-fuzzies that came over me, not bothering to wonder why I felt more excitement tonight than I had previously.

I went back inside to clean all the dirt and grime from my body. My clothes were horribly dirty, covered in dust and probably a little sweat. My uniform was already in the washer, so I tossed those in as well, walking back through the house and up the stairs in nothing but my birthday suit.

I had the following day off, so I really didn't need my clothes washed, but I was looking forward to doing nothing but a lot of nothing on my off day. Everyone deserved a day to laze about the house or yard in my humble opinion.

After showering off the bulk of the filth, I ran a nice hot bath, filled it with some scented bath salts and relaxed in the big tub. Calling Eric was going to have to wait a bit. My body deserved to dissolve just for a little while.

Calgon take me away.

I took my time in the bath, soaking, relaxing and washing nearly a years worth of bad away from my soul. By the time I did finally get out of the water, it was chilled and my toes and fingers were shriveled like little prunes.

I moisturized real good before slipping on my panties and nightgown and towel dried my hair as best I could. Grabbing my brush, I made my way out to the bedroom. It felt really good to walk into the room and have it clean and smelling like a bright summer day. I smiled at the old quilt on the bed. Gran had made it for my sixteenth birthday, and even at nearly twenty-six, I still loved the frilly, girly sight of it.

I took a seat on the edge of the bed, curling my feet beneath me and began to brush my hair. Perhaps if I'd been paying more attention to the bond instead of ignoring it like an old ugly scar, I wouldn't have jumped out of my skin like I did. But when I heard a knocking on my window, I did just that.

"Eric?" He smiled, hovering just outside my window. "Cheese and rice, you scared me half to death." He smiled as I walked toward him. I studiously ignored the flutter in my stomach at the sight of him. I most certainly had not missed him. "What are you doing out there?"

"Waiting for you to invite me in," he said with a smirk. There was a glint of excitement in his eyes that I didn't quite understand.

"Can all vampires fly?" I asked as I opened the window. I hadn't rescinded his invitation, so Eric could come in whether I invited him or not. The fact that he was asking for permission was ultimately what gained him the access.

"Can all humans sing?" He quipped with a smile.

"Please," I scoffed. "I couldn't carry a tune in a bucket with a lid on it." Eric chuckled, suddenly looking thoughtful. His eyes drew me into their depths, and I smiled softly. His presence was a relief I hadn't realized I'd badly needed. "Come on in."

I stepped back from the window, and Eric with all his long limbs climbed through with a grace and ease only accomplished by a vampire.

A/N: Sorry, there's not a whole lot of E/S action in here, but a little. I just couldn't make it through without putting a little in there. I promise a lot more in the next chapter. Spent a little too much time in Sookie's head this chapter.

Anyone recognize this last little bit? Hehe.

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