Disclaimer: I don't own the Southern Vampire Mysteries, they belong to Charlaine Harris.
"Addy, come one girl, are you ready yet?" I called out to her. Jason had left for work a good fifteen minutes ago. Since then I had been idly sitting on the sofa, flicking between channels on the television for something to do. Perhaps I should just give in and get a smart phone, at least I wouldn't get bored with all the games.
"I'm coming!" Addy called back. Only a few seconds later she came skipping into the living room. Her pink backpack was on her shoulders, in her left hand she had a carrier bag while in her right was her favourite stuffed teddy bear. She never brought it to my house anymore as her second favourite teddy lived at mine.
"What took you so long?" I asked while switching off the television so we could get going. I'd come over to Jason's straight from work so hadn't eaten yet. Due to going into work early to cover for a sick waitress and working through my break it was nearly seven hours since my last meal.
"I was getting my things. I picked up the books school gave me, a new book Daddy got me and some toys I want to show Eric." I could only smile at her outlook; playing and sharing her toys still gave her enough happiness for the day.
"Okay. Well let's get going, I'm starving. Eric will get here around eight thirty, so we can eat and play a board game before he gets here."
Like Sundays, our proper girly sleepover nights started with at least one educational game. Another plus point of Eric coming over late; he would miss that section of the evening. Once, and only once, I had played a game of scrabble with him. It had started our brilliantly; it was a night in the middle of winter at my place. The fire had been blazing in the hearth and we were wrapped up in blankets. I was drinking wine when I suggested the game. The night had quickly gone downhill from that point. He liked to try and play words that weren't English, or if they were, they weren't from any recent century. It had progressed into a stupid, yet heated, argument. At least we got some exceptionally good make up sex afterwards. Definitely not a good idea to have Eric here for educational games.
"Okay."
I scooted her out of the house I could set the alarm and lock up, as soon as that was done we set off in the car.
"Anything in particular you want for food?" I asked, keeping my attention on the road.
"Home made Chinese?" She asked, hopefully.
"Sure thing." Egg fried rice, noodles, chicken, stir fried veggies and some sauces. It was very simple and it was probably only loosely Chinese, but it was good. "We'll have ice cream for dessert later, too. Just don't tell your Dad how much." All Addy could do was laugh and nod in return.
I pulled the car up outside my house and we quickly got out. The sun was pretty much set and dark blue was taking over the sky. It was still too light to see the stars but the moon was making an appearance. It was when I dropped my eyes back to the house that i realised something was wrong. I couldn't quite pinpoint it but something was off. Addy was walking ahead, looking inside her bag. Her foot had just landed on the first step of the porch when everything snapped into place.
My telepathy came through and I felt the anger inside my house. I also knew the was only expecting me, not Addison as well. The man inside was getting angrier by the second, thinking I was late from work. My heart lurched in my chest. My stomach dropped.
"Addy!" I shouted inside my head, directing everything at her little mind. When I closed the gap between us my hands landed firmly on her shoulders. "There's something going on. Take my keys and cell phone." I placed each item in her hands, making sure the keys didn't jingle. "Got get in the car and hunker down in the foot well. Once you're there call Eric. Promise me you'll do exactly as I say."
Her eyes had grown increasingly wider as I spoke, taking in everything. I could hear all the questions simultaneously zooming around her head as she listened intently.
"What's wrong?" She settled for, a deep frown creasing her forehead.
"There's something bad happening, I don't exactly know what. Just promise me, Addison." I hardly ever used her full name.
"Okay, I promise." I kissed her forehead, smoothing out the lines and watched her run back toward the car. Thankfully she shut the door almost silently.
"I love you," I whispered to her even in my head, still watching as she disappeared from sight.
"I love you, Aunt Sookie," she cried back. I would do anything for her; I had done it before and I would prove it again.
"I know, just do as I said and everything will be okay, Sweetie. Just stay down and call Eric."
After that I shielded myself, blocking off communication with brain that wasn't inside my house. Addy wouldn't be able to know what was happening, even if she tried. However, I just knew that I would hear it if she called for help.
I knew what I was doing would probably be classed as idiotic. The problem was I just didn't know what else I could do. The shifter inside knew I was here and the instant I started the engine he'd known what I was doing; there would be no way we would get away again. He was already wondering what was taking me so long outside. Which meant we wouldn't stand a chance on foot; he'd hear us running or would come to investigate before we'd get to the bottom of the drive. This was the only way I could think of to buy enough time so that Addy would be safe. Eric could get here in minutes, as long as it was dark enough. I just had to hope.
Slowly, drawing our the seconds, I took the steps up to the porch. As I had thought from my first glance, the front door was ajar; my keys wouldn't be missed. I took the final step onto the wooden plans and paused, taking a deep breath.
"Eric, please!" I screamed in my head, focusing all my attention on one brain, miles away. "Help us. Save Addy. Eric!" I knew he wouldn't be able to hear me exactly, but hopefully something inside him would know I needed him. He had always known before. Except, back then, it was more than just my blood in his veins; I had his in mine too.
With one final deep breath I pushed my front door open lightly. My eyes scanned the wall first when something caught my attention. A bloody handprint, stark against the cream paint of the walls, was the first thing I saw. The hand print moved, after the initial mark, to bloody red fingerprints trailing down. The blood faded out until there was nothing for a few inches. What followed was even worse. Scratches came, deeply embedded in the wall. Four scratches ripping into the plaster from a massive paw. When my eyes finally reached the end of the hallway, I saw the thing that had been responsible for my personal hell for the past few days.
"Hello," I said monotonously. The man was dishevelled with long, unkempt hair in desperate need of a wash. Faded jeans were matched with a tank top I couldn't tell whether was a mucky white or actually supposed to be grey. His hands were out in front of him, one elbow resting on a crooked knee. The fingers of his left hand were reduced down to chubby stubs, with a thick dusting of short dark hair on top. From the tips protruded claws that I could only describe as talons.
"Hello, to you too." He paused to rap the tips of his talons on his contralateral forearm. "You don't seem surprised to see me.
Stall him. Stall him. Keep him talking.
"I'm not really. I mean, I wasn't exactly expecting it to be today, or like this, but I knew you were coming." I shrugged my shoulders, as though it was nothing him being here.
"Hmm. Do you know who I am?" His talons stopped strumming the beat only he could hear.
"Yes, Felton Norris." The full name I managed to pluck straight from his head. For a shifter he was quite easy to read. There was something 'off' about him.
"Well done. Do you know what I am?" Eric had never got full confirmation, except that it was some kind of big cat that he'd smelt. I couldn't pull it from his head as he was only thinking about sinking those claws into my gut.
"Yes, Were." I took the plunge, guessing with what knowledge I had combined with the jet black fur I could see. "Panther."
"Well done again. Now, tell me how you know."
"I have friends." All I could think was that he was a fucking panther. I'd seen them at the zoo, they looked even more formidable than wolves. I was even further out of my depth that I had originally thought.
"Well, they're not here now, Sweet Cheeks, so answer the fucking question." He moved then, standing up to lean against the same wall he had been sitting against. I stepped forward slightly so that I could ever so slowly ease the door closed so that he wouldn't be able to see outside.
"My friend Sam knows about shifters and my boyfriend's a vampire. He picked up your scent and got hospital records, that's where we got your name." The door was partially closed now and I could see via his mind that the car was out of sight.
"I'm guessing you know exactly why I'm here then as well?" He looked so at ease in my house that it was beginning to make my blood boil. I could only nod my head at this question. I didn't know how to explain without explaining Addy's power. If I did explain that I had the horrible feeling that he would probably want her even more. "What, no argument? No defence? What has gotten into you? I've been watching you for a good long while, this isn't like you. I guess we'll have to do this the hard way. Not that there was actually another way this could go." He began to stalk forward slowly, hunched low, ready to pounce at any moment. So naturally I did something he wouldn't expect. I darted forward as though I was going to meet him and then, at the last second, ducked into the living room. He laughed as he rushed forward after me. I wasn't fast enough to miss the glee in his eyes. "You can't run and you can't hide."
"What I don't understand is why you're here." I was standing in the far corner of the room, next to the television, which put the coffee table between us. It wasn't much but it was all I had. I was regretting not even trying to dive for the baseball bat I kept hidden behind the end table in the hallway. "You know Jason and Addison don't live here so why bother coming here at all? Coming here doesn't get you anything at all, especially since Addison isn't here. If you so desperately want what isn't yours, you're in the wrong place."
"You don't see it do you?" He smirked at me. "You're the weak link." I didn't have to be telepathic to figure what he was saying combined with all the vibes I was getting from him. Every women would be able to recognise the nauseating gleam in his eyes.
"Oh, I get it." I hoped to God that I knew what I was letting myself in for and that Eric would be in time. "I'm the weak link. But the thing is, even if I'm gone it doesn't get you any closer to anything apart from hurting people. It doesn't get you what you want. You're here because I'm the only link that you can do anything about. You're too weak. You pick on anyone weaker than you. Which, in your opinion is women. You're here because I'm the only one you think you can bully." I punctuated my last utterance with jerking my finger in his direction.
"You bitch!" He roared. Before I could blink he was diving over the coffee table toward me. Instinctively I collapsed to the ground, throwing myself down, so fast that it was almost a reflex. Felton's fingers smacked into the wall behind me, yet he didn't crash. With the speed of a cat he dropped down too.
Rearing up on his knees, his hands gripped into his fists he sneered, "I came here for my daughter, you little whore. I couldn't give a fuck about you!"
I scrambled forward as fast as I could, around the coffee table, without getting back to my feet. There would be no more talking. A hand wrapped around my right ankle, nails digging into my bare skin. It registered that it wasn't talons gouging into me before I kicked out, with full force against the fingers holding me.
A hiss of pain behind me was the first indication that I had connected. I couldn't bear to look behind me. I thrashed out again, not keeping my other leg still, kicking at my ankle. My trainer caught my own flesh but I felt the instant relief of being released. With lungs burning I lunged forward toward the door. My goal was to get out of the living room to the only room that now had a lock on the door; my bedroom. In seemingly slow motion I got closer to my goal, first the door to the hall way and then the hallway itself. The carpet burned my fingers with the friction. I was so close to my goal, every muscle fibre in my body ached trying to move faster and harder to get away.
My hands crossed onto the soft, deep carpet of my room. I could hear Felton behind me; how he hadn't grabbed me again I didn't know. His mind was simply a heaving red mass of rage. I kept moving, not allowing myself to think about anything but getting away. I heaved into my bedroom and spun, feet pedalling for purchase, to be able to shut the door. Just as my left leg was clearing the doorway, pain blinded me.
"Argh!" I screamed, jerking my leg back instinctively, which only pulled the claws further along my leg. I continued to pull, wanting to get away. With my eyes closed tightly against the agony I leaned against the door, using my weight to shut it. The talons retracted from my leg and I took the opportunity. When just my foot was left, and I was so close to being safe, the talons came down again, slashing the skin on my ankle. I hissed against the pain, but continued to pull while leaning on the door. Finally, with one deep breath, everything gave. Flesh ripped, my trainer went flying and I was free. When I took my next breath it was as I sat against the closed, and locked door of my bedroom.
"Bitch! You can't hide in there forever. You know what I am, I will get in." Felton hammered on my door, his fists shaking the wood. "I will get you."
I took one more steadying breath, which was more a shuddering hiss. The pain was shutting out everything else yet I still found the strength to open my arms. The first thing I saw was red, everywhere. Blood was beginning to pool under my leg, soaking into the cream carpet. I couldn't see the true damage from my position, with me leg extended out in front of me. I could see the tattered shreds of my ankle; I couldn't see the actual cuts for the blood.
"Shit," I muttered. My voice sounded haggard even to my own ears. I was losing too much blood to be able to stay where I was and wait. "Crap." I tried moving my toes and the pain stopped me before I'd gotten more than a wiggle.
I scooted forward from the door, ignoring the bangs as best as I could. I dropped to the ground, on my front, twisting awkwardly so I wouldn't have to move my leg too much. I army crawled forward, using my arms to drag myself forward and my good right leg for propulsion. I didn't have far to go, my goal was the stack of cleans towels on my bed. I'd finished the laundry this morning but hadn't had chance to put it away due to getting called into work. I had never been so grateful for not getting to finish chores.
Grabbing the top towel from the bed, a giant bath towel, I had my make shift bandage. I glanced back at my leg and my stomach rolled. Flesh appeared to be protruding out from the four deep gouges that ran the length of my calf from just behind my knee to where muscle gave way to tendons just above my ankle. There were only about two inches between where the gouges stopped and the massacre of my ankle started. Blood was basically pouring from all of the gashes. There was a trail of crimson behind me running from the door to where I currently rested.
I sat up and drew my leg up as much as possible so that I could wrap the towel around it better. I applied as much pressure as possible to stem the flow. The banging on the door was louder than ever and glancing up I saw the wood around the lock beginning to splinter. A second later the door flew inward, spinning on it's hinges to smash against the wall. The open door revealed a heaving Felton glaring down at me.
Less than a split second later he was in front of me, his face mere inches from mine. His putrid breath was all I could focus on. I just had to hang on. I was still staring into his dank brown eyes when his fist connected with the side of head. His knuckles connected on my cheek, just below my eye. I could feel it all ricocheting around my head as though my brain was in a high speed crash. I blinked against the pain.
"You're just as bad as your brother, taking my daughter away from me. From her mother." He snarled at me. A hand came down to grip underneath my chin, pinning me against the bed with my throat.
"She's not yours!" I gasped out. My hands gripped his wrist, trying to lessen his hold. He wasn't actually trying to strangle but it was difficult to breathe. "Crystal left her. She's Jason's daughter, my niece."
"No. She's mine, you lying bitch." With his hand pinning my throat the contact was enough to get images from him and they flashed through my head in high speed like a movie.
"No. Crystal lied to you. She wanted a child and you two couldn't have one." His grip tightened for a second, making my eyes bulge, before he threw me back. My head snapped back, thankfully hitting the soft mattress.
"You don't know anything." His actions told me otherwise. He began to pace the room, dragging his feet through the trail of blood I had left, spreading it across the room. "We loved each other. We just wanted to extend our family." The thoughts of just exactly what his family was made my stomach churn.
"Crystal found Jason when she ran away and she wanted a child. They had Addy. Addy really is Jason's, not yours. She won't be able to help your family, she isn't one of you." The next would be a bit of a stab in the dark, but I had to try. "Crystal is gone, Felton. She can't give you what you want anymore and she never did. You have to believe me, Addy isn't yours. Crystal isn't coming back. You have to move on."
"Bull shit." I knew I'd struck a nerve. There were too many raw emotions wracking his body for him to have any control. He knew that I was telling him the truth but he was too hurt and messed up to hear it. With the speed of supernatural's he whirled down in front of me and slapped me. My head went reeling to the side as pain erupted out along my cheek again. Pain enveloped me again.
When my eyes opened again I was staring upwards from the floor. I could feel the carpet underneath my non throbbing cheek. Felton was bearing down on me and I could see his fist curling up again for another blow.
"One thing I don't understand: why did you keep checking up on us? You were there when she was born and when she broke her arm. Something tells me those weren't the only times." His head was full of images of Crystal and I was starting to believe he was doing this because of her, in some sick, twisted way.
"I was there when she was born because I wanted to see if she was my daughter and to see her come into this world. I've seen all my other children being born." That was something not worth thinking about at the moment. "When she broke her arm I thought it might give me evidence; if she healed fast there was no doubting she was mine. But I couldn't get close enough, the nurses wouldn't let me in again!" Anger was building up in him once more. "I couldn't stick around as Crystal was pregnant again. A week later she lost our last baby." Hurt seemed to fill his eyes and I felt myself almost feeling sorry for him. He had suffered but it didn't entitle him to do any of this.
"Why now? Why not when she was younger so that you and Crystal could raise her together?" I was beginning to lose my grip on reality. Everything was growing fuzzy, almost soft around the edges. The pain was taking over.
"Crystal promised me she wasn't mine, at first. So while we had more opportunities she wasn't a necessity. With Crystal gone, she's my only hope. She's needed to further our family." My stomach rolled as a picture of his repulsive family tree flashed through his head. Everyone was related with no respect for family ties, brothers and sisters were together not to mention what the fathers did to their daughters.
"She's not fucking yours you bastard!" I put the last of my energy into my defiant statement. The hand that had never uncurled was pulled back, another fist aiming for my jaw.
Strange, I thought. His hand isn't a panther paw anymore.
The blow never came.
A pale blur blasted into the room. The hand that had been raised was suddenly not there and a sickening crunch filled the room. My eyes blinked closed again. The sound of something crashing to the floor nearby dragged my eyes open again. I could see the bottom of a pair of mucky work boots, above which was a pair of pale jeans. I couldn't see the rest of the body from my vantage. What I could see was a giant of a man dressed in black kneeling above Felton, with his arms stretched out in front of him. Black leather was stretched taught across the pale man's shoulders. A second later another horrendous crunch filled the room.
Eric.
My eyes closed, knowing that I was safe. I had held on long enough. Addy was safe.
"Sookie! Open your eyes." Eric's deep voice was calling me, urgently. I thought the sleep that was tugging at my mind and blinked. "Sookie." Eric's blue eyes were staring at me, worry filling every inch of his handsome face. There was a single speck of blood on his right cheek marring his pale perfection.
"Addy." I rasped. The simple movement sent my entire face into throbbing pain and I gasped.
"She is safe. Pam has her." One of his large hands was cupping the good side of my face; his cool skin felt fantastic. My left eye was already beginning to close over.
"Felton." I rasped out again. I already knew what had happened, or Eric wouldn't be talking to me, but I wanted the confirmation.
"Dead. He cannot do anymore damage." I nodded slowly and then everything went black.
Beeping was the first thing I heard. It came rhythmically and the sound was high pitched, grating a little against my ears. They next thing that I became aware of was cool air surrounding me, sending a shiver down my spine which in turn sent pain shooting throughout my body.
"Urgh," I moaned, squeezing my eyes tighter. A cool hand rested against my cheek and some of the pain eased. The throb that started around my eye stretched down along the entire side of my jaw and back to near my ear. The cool hand calmed it down to a manageable level. "Oh." I mumbled again, trying hard not to move my injured jaw.
"Lover, are you awake?" Eric's deep voice floated toward me in the darkness. The darkness didn't last long as I became aware of bright lights filtering in through one of my eyelids. I gave up on the idea of staying asleep, unaware of everything and finally opened my eyes.
"Urgh." I grumbled once again. Only one of my eyes responded. The side which had Eric's hand gently pressed against it remained closed over. Eric's face was staring back at me from only about a foot away. He was sitting in a chair beside my bed, leaning forward so that his elbows rested on the mattress. The hand not easing my pain was holding my hand, his thumb stroking my wrist. There was no doubt that I was in a hospital. "Black eye?" I asked quietly. The first thing Eric did was smile back at me, about half of the worry that had been creasing his forehead disappearing.
"I am afraid so, Lover. If it helps, it is the best and worst I have ever seen, depending on how you want to look at it." He brought my hand up to his lips to plant a sweet kiss against my knuckles.
"That sucks." I leant back against the pillows and sighed. I could feel an irritating intravenous line in my hand, a blood pressure cuff around my upper arm and my leg was in a weird position, raised up. "What's that under my arm?" I didn't have strength enough to move my arm, the one with the blood pressure cuff. I couldn't look to see as my neck screamed in protest when I tried to move it more than a few inches.
"That would be, and I quote, 'my favourite teddy bear, he looked after me when I was sick so he can look after Aunt Sookie. I know I can't see here but he can keep her company.' Addy dropped it off for you when she came for a visit. Jason did not think it would be appropriate for her to see you like this so she gave you the bear." I smiled at the thought of Addy giving me her teddy bear. With that thought everything came flooding back to me.
"Oh, God. Addy? Is she alright?" My heart began to thud in my chest a fact that was repeated around the room as the beeping became more erratic.
"You need to calm down or the nurses will come back in here." Eric glared at me pointedly, making sure I followed his advice. "Addy is fine. She did exactly what you said and called me."
"Thank-you." I whispered emphatically as a tear rolled out of my good eye.
"I only wish I had been able to get there sooner. You were hurt badly." I already knew I'd been hurt badly. Although I couldn't clearly remember what had happened in the house, I did remember seeing a lot of blood. What told me even more obviously that I had been badly hurt was the pain I was in currently.
"How long was I asleep? How badly am I hurt?" I couldn't see anything of my body due to the hospital blankets covering me from the shoulders down. The only part of my body outside of the covers appeared to be the hand that Eric was still holding.
"You have been asleep for a little over forty eight hours. Injuries surmount to a bruised face, neck and head, four deep gashes to your calf and several cuts to your ankle."
"Oh, God. How bad is that lot? It sounds bad." My heart rate was steadily starting to climb again. Eric squeezed my hand tighter while he shifted forward slightly on his chair.
"You had surgery on your leg, they needed to close up the wounds and it was too extensive to do under local anaesthetic. Your ankle required sutures too and they say you may have to go through some physiotherapy for it, the doctors are worried about wound contracture with it being over a joint and the tension it is under."
"Fuck," I muttered with as much emotion as I could muster.
"Doctors assure me that you will make a full recovery," he said the words as though he didn't quite trust them. Then again, he hadn't really had anything to do with human doctors in the past several centuries and back when he could have used medical attention, it wouldn't have been quite the same methods.
"Great, just fucking great." There was something not quite right about this situation. I had been through a lot worse before and had never been out for more than a couple of hours, let alone had to have an operation to fix any damage. "You're going to have to give me the full story, Eric. What happened?" I couldn't get my head around why I was in so much pain; Eric had always been able to help me so that I never got quite as beaten up as I could be.
"Where would you like me start?"
"The beginning, how Addy managed to get in touch with you."
"Okay." He started to sit bad in his chair, drawing his hand away from my face.
"No. It helps, your hand feels good there," I complained as his cool skin left mine.
"Okay, Lover," he replied, putting his hand gently back against my cheek. "I knew something was wrong due to my connection with you, I felt it the moment you stepped into your house. Addy didn't get a chance to call me." I had to smile at that as I thought of Addy searching through my phone for Eric's name as his incoming call lit up the screen. "I have to admit that I was no expecting to hear Addy. By the time she had managed to whisper that you had said that you needed me there I was already outside and ready to fly.
I got to your house a few minutes later and found Addy in your car. She made me promise to tell you that she did exactly what you asked. She made me promise when she dropped off the bear. I left her in the car, knowing that Pam was only a couple of minutes behind me."
"Pam was there?" Despite the rasping edge to my voice you could still hear the wonderment in my tone.
"Yes." He didn't bother giving me any further explanation and continued on with the rest of the story. "I went straight to your bedroom and snapped Felton's wrist before he could lay another finger on you, then I killed him." Thankfully he left out the details on the killing, as I didn't think my stomach would be able to handle it. The memory of hearing the snapping bones was already sending it churning quite badly.
"You refused to take my blood, which is why you are still in the hospital." A hurt look swept over his face for a second until he regained his cool mask of composure. My stomach stopped churning to instead drop through my body. "I had to fly you here, you were losing too much blood to wait for an ambulance."
"Why did you let me protest?" I had tried protesting once before and he had simply waited until I had lost consciousness to give me some blood.
"I respect you, Sookie. You have to believe me when I say that. If you did and do not want my blood I will not force it on you. I have made that mistake previously. Do not get me wrong, I would not have let you die, but up until that point I would have respected your wishes." He gripped my hand tightly and stared straight into my eyes, letting me see his honesty. I really, truly believed him. I needed to tell him something, important, however it would wait until the end of his story which I assumed was nearly finished.
"Pam stayed with Addy until Jason arrived and explained everything to the police. You would be proud of us, we went through everything officially." I smirked at him, not quite believing that everything had been explained. "Well, almost everything was told. The police believe that Felton was there due to your association with vampires; settling a debt as such. It was clear that Pam was just defending you, they didn't even bother taking her to the station once they confirmed the guy was a Were."
"So everything is sorted out?" I asked hopefully.
"Within reason. The police need to take your statement for official records, but especially since Addy was in danger, it's all going to blow over very quickly. You need to talk with Pam before she goes on the war path out of frustration. Jason is angry at you as well but his worry seems to be over taking everything at the moment. I do not understand his rage." He shrugged his shoulders.
"Great." It seemed everything was far from sorted out. At least one thing I could at least ease from where I was. "I need to tell you something, Eric."
"What is it, Lover?" I tried to sit up a little in the bed but the pain that seared through my leg stopped me.
"I need you to know why I didn't take your blood. I obviously wasn't making enough sense by then to explain. The last thing I remember is you getting there and saving me, the rest is just blank. I wasn't rejecting you. I want you, Eric. I love you. I said no because in my head I wanted your blood another way, I still do. I want that connection between us when I take it. I wanted to take it not because I needed it but because I want to take it."
Eric's mask of nonchalance dropped, revealing relief. His eyes sparkled slightly with his happiness. He stood up, leaning forward so that his face was only inches away from mine.
"I love you, too." Ever so carefully he placed his lips against mine in the softest kiss I had ever received.
"Oh, you're awake!" A nurse bustled in, speaking with too much cheer. She walked to the opposite side of my bed and jotted down the most recent readings of my vital signs. "How are you feeling?" Eric retreated back to his seat and it didn't escape my notice that the nurse sent him an anxious glance. "Any pain?"
"Like I've been asleep for far too long." I replied with a serious grumble.
"It has been awhile. The doctor will be through soon to check your neurological system. Now, any pain?" She glared down at me from over the top of my chart as though she knew how much pain I must be in.
"Yeah, my leg and my face."
"Okay, well you are due another dose." She did something that I could follow with my drip. "Right, well I'll be back in an hour to check your vitals again, the doctor should be in soon." With that she turned and left, practically scurrying out of the room. Apparently Eric gave her the creeps.
"Great, painkillers." I mumbled, already feeling the dumbness floating over me.
"It is okay, Lover. Sleep. I will be here until morning. I love you." The last thing I could focus on was his soft lips on my forehead.
So what did you think? Only the epilogue left now, unless I've made a terrible mistake and left something out :) If you guys haven't already seen I've also posted the prologue/C1 to a new story I'm writing called London Calling. In other news my life is turning into even more of a soap opera, it feels like it's getting to the stage that if I wrote it as a ff Sookie story you wouldn't be able to believe it could happen. Perhaps I should Sookie-ify it and see what happens. See you next week for the final instalment :)