Eric blinked a few times, and rubbed his hands over his eyes, willing them to focus. He'd been staring non-stop at his laptop for several hours, and his body was seriously protesting. He was in desperate need of a break. His cell phone started dancing along the desk in front of him, so he picked it up to check the caller id.
He smiled brightly. "Well hello there, gorgeous," he said.
"Hi, baby," answered Sookie's familiar voice. "What ya up to?"
"Oh, I'm just working on my paper for my journalism class. It's due the last day before the Thanksgiving break."
"Which, by the way, is only 10 days away," Sookie said with excitement in her voice.
"I know. You excited?"
"Of course I'm excited, Eric. First off, you know that Thanksgiving is one of my most favorite holidays, because I love helping Mama fix all that wonderful food! Not to mention that it means that my charming, handsome, sexy boyfriend will be home from Texas for a few days."
"Well, too bad it's only for a few days. I miss you, Sook."
"I miss you too, baby," she said softly.
"Oh do you, now? And what part do you miss the most?"
"Oh, your butt."
"My…butt?" He sounded a little confused, and Sookie fought the urge to laugh out loud.
"Yup."
"I guess I don't really know what to say to that."
"Well, you could ask me why your butt is what I miss most," he finally cottoned on to the fact that she was teasing him.
"Do tell, lover."
"Two reasons. First off, if there was ever an international butt competition, you'd win hands down. Or, should I say, cheeks up?" He laughed at her creativity.
"And the second reason?"
"Because it's what I get to hold on to when you're inside me," she whispered. Her voice had taken on a husky tone, and Eric closed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath.
"And, I don't mind saying that, being inside you is the best feeling in the world."
"I know I thoroughly enjoy it."
Eric felt himself harden as he remembered the last time they'd made love. It had been the last thing they did before checking out of their cabin at the mountain resort they'd spent their final weekend together at. He couldn't remember a time when he'd gone this long without some sort of sexual contact. But, he knew that Sookie was worth waiting for.
"Will you do me a favor and touch yourself for me, baby," he asked, hoping to be able to at least get himself off while listening to her moan.
"Eric, I'd love to, but I can't," she answered, sadness in her voice.
"Why? What's up?"
"Alcide is staying in your room." Alcide was a year older than Jason, and had played football with him in high school. Peter had hired him to help out on the ranch, since he was so short-handed these days. Eric had never gotten the chance to get to know him very well, but, he seemed like a nice enough guy. Sookie had told Eric that Alcide confided in her that he absolutely hated Bill Compton, which only made Eric like him even more.
"Oh. Um, why's he staying there?"
"He's been renting out one half of a duplex near town, and the person living in the other side got bitten by a brown recluse spider and had to have her baby toe amputated! So, the place is being fumigated. Daddy is letting him stay here 'til it's safe for him to go back home."
"Wow. That's kinda spooky."
"I know. I was already afraid of spiders, and now whenever I see one I totally freak out! Alcide thinks it's really funny, but I've been too scared to kill them myself, so, Mike and Daddy always have to come running whenever I see one."
Eric laughed. "I remember when we were kids, Jas and I took you and Tara to the drive-in to see 'Arachnophobia,' and you had nightmares for like, what, two months?!?"
"Hey, it wasn't funny! Every time I turned around Jason or Bill were throwing fake plastic spiders at me!" They both seemed to sober a bit at the mention of Bill's name. "He's been given a release date," Sookie said softly.
"When?"
"December 3rd. He's supposed to check-in at some rehab treatment facility in Denver on the 5th."
"Promise me you'll stay far away from his place during those few days, Sookie. And don't be anywhere alone. Have Mike, Alcide, or even your Dad with you at all times. I still don't trust the son of a bitch." Eric's request came out a bit like a growl, so it sounded more like a demand, but Sookie didn't mind. She knew he was only concerned for her safety.
"I promise, Eric. I do feel bad for Susan, though. Christmas is going to be very hard for her without Bill there."
"I know. I don't want him anywhere near you, and I'm definitely glad that he's going to be paying for his crime, but, I hate that she's paying for it, too."
"Mama and Daddy have been talking about having them over for Christmas dinner. We invited them to come for Thanksgiving, but, they're going to Jesse's sister's place." She yawned loudly.
"Sounds like it's time for you to be going to sleep, little on," Eric said, feeling exhausted himself.
"Yeah, I am pretty tired. I think that the extra work from being short staffed has really started to take its toll on me."
"Well, get some sleep, then. I'll call you tomorrow, alright?"
"Okay. G'night, Eric."
"Night my beautiful Sookie," he said, and hung up.
Sookie placed her cell phone on her nightstand, and leaned over to switch off her bedside lamp. As she shifted around to get comfortable, she thought about how things with Eric had changed. When they were just friends, they would always end their phone conversations with words of love. But, all of that had stopped when they became lovers. She knew she still loved him, and that he loved her. But, somehow, it just didn't feel right saying it now, because, she wanted to wait until she was truly in love with him. She was definitely on her way there, no doubt about that.
Ten days later, Denver
Sookie stood in the baggage claim area at the airport, her foot anxiously tapping on the floor. She had checked the arrivals monitor, and knew that Eric's flight had been on the ground for about ten minutes. As it was the day before Thanksgiving, the airport was packed, but, she knew she'd be able to spot him because of his height.
Sure enough, a couple of moments later she saw him looking around frantically trying to find her. She felt her heart swell the moment his eyes met hers, and he began trying to push past everyone in between them. When he was finally able to make it into a pocket of empty space, he picked up the pace and jogged until he reached her. She squealed with delight as he wrapped his arms around her and picked her up. Her legs immediately went around his waist, and she clung to his neck as if her life depended on it. And in that moment, she was sure it did.
After another moment passed, he rested his forehead against hers, allowing himself to simply drink in her presence. He felt her hand cup his cheek, and smiled before laying his lips to hers. The kiss was soft, but not at all lacking in passion.
"Hey," she said smiling as he put her feet back on the floor.
"Hey, yourself," he said as he bent and picked up the duffle bag he'd dropped when he'd reached her.
"Is that everything?" she asked, indicating the bag he now slung over his shoulder.
"Yup. I'm all set." He took her hand in his, twining their fingers together. He couldn't help but smile when he felt her squeeze his fingers a bit.
"Let's get out of here, then," she said, and handed him the spare truck keys.
She led him into the parking structure where she had parked her father's truck, and she crawled in through the passenger door while Eric put his bag behind the seat. He sat behind the wheel, and Sookie slid over until she was pressed firmly to his side, and he rested his hand high up on her thigh. Traffic at the airport was heavy, so neither of them spoke again until they'd successfully maneuvered their way onto the interstate.
"So, I have a surprise for you," Sookie finally said, allowing her left hand to run through the hair at the nape of his neck.
"Really? I do love surprises," he said and waggled his eyebrows at her.
She laughed, and continued to speak. "There's still a few problems at Alcide's place, so, he's been staying with us this whole time, in your room. Mama and Daddy were trying to figure out where to put you while you're here, and they were kind of leaning towards having you just sleep on the pull-out in the living room." She paused and giggled a little at the unhappy look on his face. "However, as it turns out, Amelia's plans changed, and so now she's going to be here as well. She was supposed to go to her dad's place in New Orleans, but I guess they had some big argument, so Jas just invited her to stay with us. And since the change was so last minute, Mama didn't have much choice other than to let Amelia stay in Jason's room with him."
Eric was stunned. It was very out of character for Miranda and Peter to allow for something like that in their own home. "Wow, I didn't see that coming."
"Oh, it gets even better," Sookie said, her smile getting even larger. "Since Amelia is staying in Jason's room, I told Mama that it wouldn't be fair of her to make you sleep on the couch, and I actually got her to agree to letting you stay in my room with me!" She clapped her hands together and bounced a little in her seat with excitement.
"Well, hell! This holiday just keeps getting better and better," he said, and leaned over slightly to kiss her before returning his full attention to the road. They didn't say much for the rest of the drive to the ranch, but the silence wasn't at all uncomfortable. They were simply happy to be with one another again.
Since Miranda was going to be busy preparing their Thanksgiving feast, she called Sookie's cell phone and asked that they stop and pick up a few pizzas on their way home, and they ran into Tara as they were getting back into the truck. Eric gave Tara a hug, and shook hands with her new boyfriend, JB, whom he'd met in passing once before.
When they finally arrived at the ranch, Peter helped Sookie carry the food into the kitchen while Eric put his duffle bag in Sookie's bedroom. He smiled to himself as he looked at her bed, knowing that in a few short hours, he'd be able to hold her in his arms while they slept. He heard footsteps behind him, and felt Sookie wrap her arms around his waist and press her cheek to his back. He put his arms over hers, and turned his head slightly to see her face.
"Come on, let's go get eat before the pizza gets cold. I can't be in here alone with you for long without having my way with you," Sookie said.
They walked downstairs together, and joined everyone else who was already putting slices of pizza and garlic bread on their plates. As they ate, they were able to keep the conversation light, with Alcide asking plenty of questions to get to know both Eric and Amelia a bit better.
As they were just finishing up with their meal, Amelia turned to Sookie and said, "So, Sookie, only a few more weeks until you're off to Texas for school! Have you figured out where you're going to live, yet?"
Sookie had to quickly swallow so she wouldn't spit diet coke out all over her father, and she coughed a bit. She and Amelia had been emailing back and forth since they met that past summer, and had become friends. Amelia was very aware of the fact that they were going to try and convince her parents to allow Sookie to live with Eric while in Texas.
"Actually, that's something I wanted to discuss with Peter and Miranda," Eric said while Sookie tried to recover. Once he was sure he had their full attention, he began again. "You know I've been sharing an apartment with two guys I went to high school with, Joseph and Stan. Well, Joseph told us recently that he's decided to transfer after this semester, so, he won't be going back to Texas after Christmas.
"Stan and his girlfriend, Isabelle, got engaged over the summer, and they've been looking for a new place to live. They found a really nice condo not far from campus, and they've been approved for a loan to buy it. Isabelle is going to be doing her student teaching next semester, so, she won't be able to work anymore, so money's going to be pretty tight for them. I can't afford to keep my apartment by myself, so, they asked me if I'd like to stay at their condo with them, and pay them a small amount in rent to help them cover their monthly payments. Isabelle thought that maybe Sookie could move in with the rest of us."
He felt Sookie place her hand on his knee as they silently watched her parents. They had turned to one another, and it almost looked as if they were having a completely silent conversation. After a moment of charged silence, Peter said, "Well, I'll admit that it would ease my mind a little, knowing that Sookie had roommates that we know we can trust." He looked at his wife once again. "How soon do you need a definite answer, Eric?"
"Stan and Isabelle would like to know as soon as possible, but, I think that as long as we knew for sure before we left for Christmas break, that would work."
"Good, that gives us some time to discuss it and think about it," Miranda said, effectively closing the subject.
Eric and Sookie spent almost every waking moment together during the next three days, before Eric had to return to Texas. They made love as often as they could, and Alcide joked that they rivaled Jason and Amelia when it came to "sack time," as he called it. He had recently broken up with his longtime girlfriend, Debi, and Jason teased him, saying he was just jealous because he was the only one who wasn't getting laid.
Sunday morning came round, and Sookie was trying her best not to mope. Jason and Amelia were going to be driving back to school, so, Eric was going to get a ride to the airport with them. He loaded his bag into Jason's truck, and went back to Sookie's room to tell her goodbye. She already had tears rolling down her cheeks.
"Sookie, baby, please don't cry. You know I can't handle seeing you cry," he told her as he brushed away her tears with his fingertips.
"I know, and I'm sorry. I just can't help it. You just got here, and now you're leaving, again," she said in between sniffles.
"I know, lover, I know. But, remember, I'm only going to be gone for a couple more weeks, then I'll be back for Christmas, and then you'll be going to Texas with me."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. But honestly, that doesn't make you leaving now any easier."
"Well, how's this then? I need for you to promise me you'll be okay, because if I worry about you, it will just be a massive distraction, and I'll fail my finals," he grinned as he spoke.
She smacked his shoulder and said, "Hey now, no guilt trips, that's not fair. You can't say that if you fail your finals it's my fault simply because I miss my boyfriend."
He kissed the tip of her nose. "I'll miss you, too, ya know."
"I know. God, I hate this, Eric."
"I do, too, Sook. But, it is what it is, and there's nothing we can do right now to change that. All we can do is just press forward until we're together again."
She nodded her head in agreement, and he tightened his arms around her waist and kissed her fiercely, passionately. They broke apart when they heard Jason's horn honking outside. Eric quickly kissed her again, and then he was gone.
The first few days were the hardest for Sookie. But, eventually, she settled back into the routine of work, and time began to pass as it always had. Her father kept both Sookie and Alcide very busy on the ranch, and during the evenings, Sookie would spend time with Tara, or go shopping with her mother to prepare for Christmas. She spoke to Eric on the phone a few times a day, but, as he got close to his finals, it tapered off to just once a day.
She kept her promise and didn't leave home during the three days that Bill would've been around. Tara told her that she'd seen him leaving the post office one day with his mother, and that he'd looked horrible. Tara said that he'd lost a fair amount of weight, and that his skin looked dull and lifeless. Sookie couldn't bring herself to have any sympathy for him, but, she did feel bad that his mother had been forced to see him like that.
Bill had checked-in to a rehab facility on December 5th, as ordered by the court, so beginning on the 6th, Sookie and Miranda spent quite a bit of time with Susan. She was sinking into a state of depression that simply made Sookie's heart ache. This kind woman deserved better than to have her heart broken by her only child. One of the hardest parts was knowing that Bill would do anything to take his mother's pain away. Too bad he hadn't thought of that before he'd actually caused it.
A few days before Eric was due to return from Texas, Alcide was finally given the okay to go back to his apartment. Sookie helped him move his personal things back, and helped him get a few Christmas decorations up so it felt homier. She'd noticed a black car with darkly tinted windows parked down the block, and remembered seeing it other times she'd been out running errands with Alcide. When she mentioned it to him, he told her that it was Debi's car. He said that they'd broken up and reconciled multiple times, and each time they were apart, he caught her watching him. He seemed to not think much of it, so, she let it go as well.
Before she knew it, Eric and Jason were back at the ranch. Eric was staying in his old room again; however, neither of them really let it bother them. Sure, they weren't sleeping in the same bed together every night, but, that didn't mean they couldn't be happy. They were able to do lots of Christmas shopping, and even went snowmobiling together one day.
Peter and Miranda couldn't deny how happy Sookie was when she was with Eric. It was almost as if she was a whole new person. They'd never seen her so confident, so comfortable with whom she was. So, the evening of Christmas Eve, they sat Eric and Sookie down, and told them that they'd decided that it would be alright for her to live with Eric when they went back to Texas.
Because Stan and Isabelle had purchased the condo they'd be living in, they knew they were going to need to move quite a few more items from their parent's home to Texas. So, a week before classes were scheduled to begin, Sookie and Eric picked Stan up, and they pulled a U-Haul trailer to Phoenix to pick up Isabelle, and all drove to Texas together.
Sookie and Isabelle became fast friends, and it helped a great deal. This was Sookie's first time living away from her family, and it was exciting, but very overwhelming. Isabelle and Eric did everything they could to help her adjust, and things were going wonderfully. Isabelle introduced Sookie to a few of her other female friends, and as much as she was grateful for them, she still missed Tara.
Eric came home from class one day to find Pam's car parked in their driveway. He instantly became nervous, because he hadn't seen her since they'd broken up. He'd wanted to talk to her, to apologize for the way he'd treated her when they were dating. But, she'd refused to see him. Knowing that she was in his home with Sookie had him very worried.
As it turned out, his worries were for nothing. From almost the first moment that they met, Pam adored Sookie. So, it was Sookie who was finally able to get her to agree to at least speak with Eric. Pam told Eric that she didn't really think she'd ever completely forgive him for what happened, but, that she didn't let it affect her anymore, either. She told Eric that she'd met someone, and she didn't think it would've happened if things between the two of them had been any different. Eric was taken aback when Pam introduced them to her new lover, Felicia. Stan teased him, saying that he'd turned her gay, but, it was all in good fun.
Not that their life together in Texas was perfect. They had their fair share of fights. But because they'd known each other for so long, it was always easy for them to see a situation from the other's perspective. They didn't always agree, but they promised each other that they would respect each other's opinion, and they stuck to that promise. Plus, it allowed Sookie to realize just how wonderful make-up sex could be.
As the semester drew to a close, Eric and Sookie began preparing to go back to the ranch for a good portion of the summer. Sookie was excited to see her family, because she'd missed them a great deal. Mike picked them up at the airport in Denver, and as they made the drive to the ranch, Eric couldn't help but realize how wonderful life had become since he'd entered into a relationship with Sookie. He didn't realize that the happiness bubble he'd been living in was about to burst.
The first week they were in Colorado, things went well. They were both quite impressed at some of the improvements Peter had made to the ranch, with Alcide's help. He had worked with his father, a general contractor, for years; so, improving building situations was something Alcide knew a lot about. He was able to help Peter redesign and build a new stable that was more secure, and held much more storage than the old one had.
One afternoon, while Sookie was at the movies with Tara, Eric saw Bill at the grocery store. Eric tried to walk away before Bill could say anything, but he was unsuccessful. Bill mentioned something about how he'd seen Sookie the previous evening, and how much more uninhibited she was. When Sookie got home from the movies, Eric asked her what Bill had been talking about, and it led to the worse fight they'd ever had.
Eric had known that Sookie and Miranda had gone over to help Susan with a few things, but Sookie had never mentioned Bill being there. Sookie told her that she didn't say anything about it because she didn't think it was a big deal. She figured Eric would take it for granted that Bill would be at the house. Eric told her that he didn't want her anywhere near Bill, which of course, led Sookie to remark that she didn't take kindly to others telling her what to do.
She quite literally ran into Alcide as she stormed out of the house. She asked him to take a drive with her so that she could try to calm her nerves, and Alcide accepted her invitation. They hopped into Alcide's truck and drove to a park in the middle of town, and walked around. Sookie told Alcide all about the fight she'd had with Eric, and about how much she hated his high-handed attitude. Alcide told her that he understood why she would feel that way, but, helped her to see things from Eric's perspective as well. After they'd walked around for a couple of hours, Sookie felt like she was ready to see Eric again. She kissed Alcide on the cheek, and asked him to drive her home again. As they climbed back into the truck, she spotted the familiar black car with tinted windows parked nearby, and simply rolled her eyes as they drove away.
When they got back to the ranch, Sookie went upstairs the bathroom, and when she came out again, it was to find a fuming Eric pacing the hallway.
"Eric, what's wrong now?" she asked him.
"I just saw Alcide, Sookie. Is there anything you want to tell me?"
"Actually, there is. I wanted to apologize for what I said earlier. I guess I should've told you that I'd seen Bill while Mama and I were visiting Susan."
"Anything else?"
Sookie was confused. "What are you getting at, Eric?"
"Mind explaining to me why your lipstick was smeared all over Alcide's cheek?"
"Well, he helped me to see things from your perspective, and I gave him a kiss on the cheek to thank him." She couldn't figure out why this was such a big deal.
"And I'm just supposed to believe that?"
"You know what, Eric, you can believe whatever you want. I came back home because I wanted to apologize to you, and try to make things right. But I'm not going to just stand here and let you accuse me of something that I clearly didn't do. I'm going to Tara's, you call me when you're ready to talk."
Eric watched her drive away, knowing he should stop her. He knew that nothing had happened between her and Alcide. He knew that no matter what faults Sookie may have, she was faithful. He regretted what he'd said to her, but, he knew that she would need some time to cool off. So, he let her be, and decided he would call her in a couple of hours.
About 45 minutes later, he was just finishing up helping Jason fix a loose board on the back porch when his cell phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket, and saw that it was Tara calling him. He was completely unprepared for what happened next.
"Eric? This is Tara, listen, I need for you to grab Jason, Peter, and Miranda, and get down to the hospital as fast as possible." His entire body stiffened when he heard the urgency in her voice.
"Why Tara, what's going on?"
"It's Sookie. She's been shot."