What Dreams May Come

by scribeninja

AH-AU-OOC Sookie has been dreaming about an amazing man lately, a man so perfect that there is no chance he's real. But what if he is? And what happens when she meets him? Rated M for later chapters. E/S COMPLETE

21. Chapter 21

First thing: I am so, so, so sorry for the wait on this chapter. I've been working on it for a while, and my plan was to update either this or Studybuddies on the 30th of July, cause that was my birthday, but I got a nasty cold just before that, and I'm still not completely over it. I wasn't able to write while I was sick because my head hurt so bad, but I've been working on it steadily, and now it's finally freaking done.

Also, I'm so sorry for the length. I know some like long chapters, but sometimes they're a bit daunting. I kept trying to find a point to cut it off, but a lot needed to happen here. I hope this makes up for me separating them *hugs*

I want to thank everyone who is sticking with me on this story. I promise you, I won't give up on it, which seems to be a concern with some. I'm just a huge procrastinator(thanks to cracked) and I kept going back and forth between this chapter and SB. It's hard splitting your love and affection sometimes. So, while updates might me slower, they'll still be coming, I promise.

Also, FanFic is being a douche with alerts and reviews and shit right now. I'll understand if ya'll can't leave a review for this one, but I would love it if you come back to tell me what you thought when they are working again! *hugs*

On with the show...

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Chapter 21

I never though I would end up sitting in an airport, crying my eyes out because the man I loved had to go pick up his sister and dying mother, but that's exactly what was happening. It sounded like the plot to some cheesy Lifetime movie, or a shitty romantic drama.

As soon as Eric was out of sight, I collapsed into a nearby chair in shock. I hadn't expected him parting from me to hurt so much. My lips and the spot on my forehead where he kissed me still burned, and the memory kept replaying in my head. The tears began to fall slowly, and soon I was full out bawling. Talk about embarrassing. Some kind old lady stopped and handed me a package of tissues, and I tearily thanked her before finding a bathroom so I could splash some water on my face.

"Get it together, Sookie," I told myself as I looked at my reflection.

When I finally calmed down enough to stop crying I left the bathroom, and went out to the car. As soon as I got into the driver's seat I wanted to cry again. It was too far back, which reminded me of Eric. The whole car reminded me of him. I wanted him to be in it with me. I glanced into the backseat for some reason, and saw an opened condom wrapper from our little tryst a couple weeks ago. That little reminder made me want to laugh, and served as a memory poke to make an appointment to get checked out. Eric and I had decided to both get checked, and once we got clean bills of health, we would stop using condoms. I'd been on birth control for years, but I hadn't been checked since Quinn, and even though Eric always used protection with the girls he'd been with, he still hadn't been checked since he stopped that part of his lifestyle.

After readjusting the seat, I started up the car, and closed my eyes when it purred. Eric had only let me drive it once, and I had loved it. I almost felt bad about the car being a polluter, and having bad gas mileage, but it sounded too good. I think Eric felt bad about it too, and that's why he did other things to balance it out. He recycled, used eco-green bags at the store, and unplugged things when he wasn't using them, used recycled paper and paper towels. I smiled at my thoughts, and then all of a sudden like a switch flipped, I was thinking about the last few hours with him. I felt so guilty that I wasn't there with him. I knew it was going to be hard for him to go back to his home country for the first time in seven years, and then he had to see his dying mother, and possibly deal with that asshole Marcus. I wanted to be there with him. I wanted to hold his hand and let him know that I was there for him no matter what. I really hoped it wouldn't be too long before I got to see him again.

To get my mind off everything I turned on some music, and tried to turn off my brain. Worrying wasn't going to help me do anything but stress out. By the time I got back to the house, I had managed to put my mind on other things, particularly going over the list in my head of things I needed to do before I left. I walked in the house with a sense of purpose, but as soon as I saw Ansel lying on the couch I was overcome with sadness. Even he seemed to notice that Eric was gone. The house felt so empty without him. I sat on the couch next to Ansel, and he immediately changed position to put his head in my lap and whined.

"I know. I miss him too," I said as I scratched behind his ears. "Come on, you need to go out."

He reluctantly jumped off the couch, and went outside with me, but happily did his business anyway. When we came back in, I took my cell phone out of my purse and put it in my pocket. I didn't want to miss it when Eric called. I made a list of all the things that were in my head, and got to work. I started looking through my pictures, found the ones I wanted, and put them on a flash drive. Then I started cleaning. The house was orderly, but I don't think he'd dusted or vacuumed since before I'd showed up. I started dusting everything, and cleaned all the glass on the pictures. When I was done with that, I cleaned the windows. Then I pulled out the vacuum. I expected Ansel to bark at it, but he just stood on the couch staring at it. His head tracked its movements, and he looked like he was going to pounce on it if it made a wrong move. As soon as I was done vacuuming, and had it put back in the closet, my phone rang. It was Eric. I couldn't answer it fast enough. I didn't even get to say anything before he was talking.

"I miss you," he said. I missed that voice. I already felt the tears in my eyes, and was willing them to go away. I needed to be strong for him. He didn't need to worry about me too.

"I miss you too."

"I have an hour before my flight leaves, want to keep me company?" I could see his smile in my head and it instantly eased my nerves.

"Of course." I sat down on the couch next to Ansel, and his head was immediately in my lap again.

"I got stuck next to a really smelly guy on the plane. His name was Boris, and he was actually really funny."

"Oh no, you're not going to leave me for him are you?" I teased.

"I don't know. He was really attractive." We both laughed. "What have you been doing?"

"Cleaning."

"Sookie, you don't need to do that."

"Yes, I do. You haven't dusted or vacuumed in a long time, and it's helping me stay busy."

"I understand, but my mom and sister are going to ask if I've hired a maid," he laughed.

"Just tell them that you're impeccable these days."

"They'll never believe that in a million years," he laughed. "How did my car treat you?"

"Oh it was wonderful, and I only have one complaint."

"What might that be?"

"That you weren't here to relieve me of my excitement when I got home."

"I guess I'll have to make up for it when I get back," he said in his best husky voice.

"Yes, you will," I replied with mine.

"Okay, we need to stop this before all these people around me know exactly how happy I am."

I laughed, "Ansel misses you. It's like he can tell you're gone."

"It would figure that the only time he shows affection for me is when I'm gone."

We began talking about inane things to get our minds off of being separated, and all too soon it was time for him to go.

"Call me when you land, okay?"

"Sookie, you'll be sleeping."

"I don't care. Call me anyway."

"Okay, I will. I love you."

"I love you, too."

"I'll talk to you soon."

"Okay."

We said our goodbyes; I hung up the phone, and immediately hugged Ansel. I was surprised that I wasn't crying. I looked at the clock and saw that it was already six, so I went to the kitchen and had some leftovers for supper. I was to leave the day after next, so I planned on getting up early to get some stuff done. I was feeling very drained already, so for the rest of the night I curled up on the couch to watch Spaced. It made me feel a little better. I fell asleep on the couch for about an hour, and when I woke up I decided to take a shower and go to bed.

The shower was extremely lonely. I hadn't had a shower without Eric since just after I first got here. I went back to the bedroom and had to stop myself from crying. The bed was still unmade from our morning romp, and it made me miss him even more. I felt guilty for felling like this. He hadn't even been gone a whole day and I was acting like we hadn't seen each other in weeks. I was suddenly regretting that I had packed all Eric's shirts. I was now wishing I had one to wear to bed. I opened my luggage to pull out my own nightshirt, and when I did I got a surprise. Apparently when I wasn't looking, Eric had stuffed half his shirts into my suitcase. I laughed out loud, and immediately pulled one on. I instantly felt better when I smelled him on it. I sadly pulled on a pair of underwear, upset that I didn't have a reason not to wear them, and then Eric's robe. I took Ansel out one last time, filled his water and food, and then finally went to bed.

I tried to sleep, I tried really hard, but when you've been falling asleep every night next to Eric after a round of hot sex for three weeks, it's hard to sleep alone. I eventually gave up, and went to get Ansel. I got him to jump up on the bed, and with the weight of something else there, I was finally able to go to sleep.

I was woken up a few hours later by the phone ringing. It took me a few seconds to realize what was going on, but when I did, I immediately answered it.

"Eric?"

"Hi. Plane just landed."

"Did you meet another Boris?"

He laughed, "No, but I did meet a lovely guy named Tom. For some reason, he was positive I wanted to join the mile-high club with him, and wouldn't stop hitting on me the whole flight. I had to pretend to sleep every time I saw him coming down the aisle."

"Oh wow. I'm so, so sorry." I couldn't suppress my giggles.

"Do you still miss me?"

"More than you know."

"Me too."

"So what happens now? What do you do next?"

"I'll have to check with Pam, but when I called her last she said they were keeping Mom in the hospital, so I was going to go straight there to pick them up. Pam was supposed to go to the house to pack up their stuff while Marcus was at work. I just hope I don't have to see him."

"I hope so too."

"As soon as I can get Mom discharged, we're leaving."

"Eric, you need to get some rest."

"I'll sleep on the plane."

"Please promise me that you'll rest when you can. If you do end up seeing him, I want you to have a clear head."

"I promise."

"Be careful, Eric."

"I will."

"When will you call me again?"

"As soon as I know something, I will."

"Okay."

"I love you, Sookie."

"I love you too."

I had more trouble going back to sleep because I was worried about him. I didn't want to think about what would happen if he came across Marcus. I really hoped he wouldn't do anything that could get him arrested. I would have to fly over there and kick his ass. The sun was already starting to come out when I finally fell asleep again, and I only slept a couple more hours.

I did my usual morning routine, minus the making love and snuggling part. I went ahead and opened up the two guest bedrooms, making the beds and ensuring everything was clean. I went through the contents of the kitchen, and decided to get some groceries while I was out. Eric would be annoyed that I bought them, but I didn't care.

I made sure to remember my flash drive and cell phone, and then I left. I almost took Eric's car, but I felt a little bad for the rental that had been sitting for three weeks, so I took it instead. I swung by Merlotte's first to fill Sam in on everything, and asked him if he could pick up Eric at the airport when they got back. He assured me he would. With that taken care of, I went to the local funeral home to find out about getting a headstone for Pat. I found a really nice one, and got her name, date of birth and death put on it, and then for the inscription, I had them put "beloved sister and friend". I had a brief guilty feeling for her mom, but the woman up and took off with all the money people had raised for her for this specific reason, so I squashed the feeling of guilt, paid the man, and then headed to my next destination.

I went to a photo printing and framing shop that had been around there for as long as I could remember. I gave them the flash drive, told them what pictures I wanted and what sizes, picked out the frames, paid for them, and then I went to get groceries. It would be about an hour before the pictures were ready, so I took my time in the store. I was in the laundry aisle looking at Keith, and smiling to myself when Eric called again.

"Hey, how is everything?"

"Fine so far. Pam has all their stuff packed up, but the hospital won't discharge her until tomorrow night. Something about test results. I'll be getting that rest I promised you."

"Glad to hear it. Anything out of Marcus?"

"Not yet, but he'll know something's up when he comes home and finds a lot of their stuff missing."

"Eric, please be careful."

"Sookie, I won't do anything that keeps me from getting back to you. I promise. Pam and I have a plan anyway."

"Is it illegal?"

"No."

"Okay."

"You're not going to press me for information?"

"No, I trust your judgment when it comes to this guy. You already said you wouldn't do anything that keeps you from me, so I'll wait and see. Knowing will probably worry me anyway."

At that point two kids ran past me, one screaming, and one giggling.

"Where are you?"

"Store," I said quickly.

"What are you doing at the store?"

"Grocery shopping," I replied even more quickly.

"Sookie."

"Don't give me that tone. Did you really want to get them back here, and then have to turn around and go to the store to get groceries to feed them? We were almost out of everything."

There was a short pause before he spoke, "You said "we"."

"Yes, I did," I replied cautiously.

"I like the way that sounds. You should say it more often."

I was grinning like a fool. Most guys run the other direction when "we" sinks in, but Eric genuinely liked it.

"I'll have to do that."

"Good. I have to go now. Pam and I are taking turns sleeping in case Marcus shows up, and it's my turn to go to the hotel."

"Okay. I love you."

"I love you too. I'll talk to you again soon."

"Okay."

I took a deep breath before going back to shopping. I finished getting everything I thought they'd need, paid for it, and then headed back to the photo store. My pictures were done, and they looked amazing. I couldn't wait to get them hung up. I got everything home, and let Ansel out while to took it all in and put it up. It was a much easier task with Eric there to help me. I put the pictures where I wanted them, and I really hoped Eric would like them as much as I thought he would. I just wished I could be here to see his reaction.

I spent the rest of that night double-checking that all my things were ready for the morning. I made sure everything was clean and stocked, and then I watched a movie before bed. Just as I was crawling under the covers, my phone rang.

"You called just in time to tuck me in."

"Oh, you're going to bed, are you?"

I could hear him smiling again. I wondered if it was the sound of my voice that did that for him. I know it only took the sound of his voice to make me smile.

"Yes, I have a flight in the morning, and I'm tired, and a little wound up."

"Wound up?"

"Yes. I've gotten so used to your attentions every night. Addicted even. I feel like I'm quitting cold turkey."

"We'll have to remedy that," he said in a husky voice.

I was instantly nervous. I was pretty sure I knew what he was suggesting, but I wasn't sure if I could go through with it. "What do you mean?"

"What are you wearing, Sookie?" He asked, his voice still husky.

"Eric I…"

"Are you alone?" He was back to his regular voice.

"Of course I am. What does …"

"Then relax. I can't have you being all wound up. I'll gladly relieve your tension better when I am with you, but for now this is all we have. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit wound up too."

"Eric, I don't even know how to do this. I've never done it before."

"Neither have I."

"Really?"

"Really. I'm sure we can figure it out, but if you're uncomfortable with it, then we don't have to."

"No, I want to." I surprised myself with how quickly I answered.

"Take a deep breath and rel…"

"Wait!" I cut him off, and instantly heard him sigh. "You're not in the hospital are you?"

"No, I'm in the hotel still. I'm naked and sitting up against the headboard of the very big bed I'd like to ravish you on. What about you?" His husky voice had returned.

"I'm sitting on our bed," I say rather shyly.

"What are you wearing?"

"Your Hives T-shirt, and a pair of black cotton panties."

"Well, that won't do. I want you to take off the panties slowly."

I did, and I couldn't help but notice how wet I was already. "They're off."

"Leave the shirt on. I like that image. I still need to have my way with you while you're wearing one. Unfortunately it always seems to get thrown across the room."

"You do tend to get frustrated when you can't access my chest easily."

He laughed, and I could hear the underlying rumble through the phone. Either that, or I remembered it so well that I imagined it.

"What do you want me to do now?" I asked in my best sensual voice. It was actually kind of fun. He immediately stopped laughing.

"I want you to close your eyes and run your hand up the inside of your leg slowly…" he began. He went on with things like that for me to do for quite a while, never letting me put my hand where I wanted it the most. As soon as he did, I finally found the nerve to give him direction too, and I allowed him to stroke himself. We both groaned when we finally felt some relief from our touch. I was enjoying mine so much that I didn't even notice when my phone battery died. Eric hadn't given me any new instruction in a couple minutes, and I no longer heard his own noises of pleasure. Sure enough, my phone was dead.

"Fuck!" I quickly began scrambling around looking for the charger, and plugged it in next to the bed. As soon as the phone turned back on, I called Eric. He answered immediately, and sounded out of breath.

"What happened?"

"My battery died. I'm so sorry. You didn't…finish, did you?"

"I was about to before I realized you weren't there anymore."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay," he laughed. "It's actually kind of funny."

"This is not funny at all! Now I'm even more frustrated than before we started all this."

"I know. I am too, and I want to continue, but Pam almost walked in on me. I managed to run into the bathroom before she saw what was happening, but she's in the room now."

"What?! Oh my god. We're never doing this again."

"Come on, Sookie. With a full battery and a guarantee of no interruptions it would have been great."

"But that didn't happen. Besides, you'll be back in a couple days, and then I should be back a couple days after that. Soon enough we can relieve each other's tension properly."

"I'm looking forward to it," he said in his sex voice again.

"You should be," I replied in mine.

"Shit, Sookie. That was hot."

I giggled. "I love you."

"I love you. Call me when your flight lands okay? If I don't answer, I'll call back as soon as possible."

"I will."

"Goodnight."

"Night."

After hanging up, I had to decide whether or not to finish what Eric started. I wasn't really in the mood anymore, and I did have to be up early to go to the airport, so I rolled over, and replayed the recent sound of Eric laughing in my head, which lulled me off to sleep in no time.

I woke up the next morning feeling rather solemn. I didn't want to leave. I wanted to be here when Eric got back. After about a minute of my self-pitying, I mentally slapped myself, and got up to take a shower. I made sure to take the used towels down to the laundry room and hung them on the shower rod down there so they could dry. I didn't have time to wash them. I loaded up the rental car while Ansel did his business, and then I got his food and bowls to take to Sam's. He was a pretty clean dog, so I wasn't worried about him getting the car dirty, and Sam only lived about five minutes away. I had some toast with peanut butter on it for breakfast to appease my stomach, though I didn't feel that hungry. I did one last check of everything in the house to make sure it was ready for them. When I got to our bedroom, I realized I had forgotten to make the bed. I started to do it, but stopped. Something was telling me not to. I took a step back to look at it, and realized that Eric would probably like coming in here and seeing the bed unmade. I know I would love to go back to my place and see the bed disheveled, knowing that the last person to sleep in it was Eric. I smiled to myself, grabbed my now fully charged phone, put it in my purse, and then I left.

Ansel took to Sam right away, but still seemed sad when I went to leave. I really had grown to love that dog. While I was waiting to board the plane, I sent Eric a text letting him know I was about to get on the flight, and telling him I missed him. I didn't get one back right away, so I assumed he was sleeping, or at the hospital. When I got on the plane, I was relieved that I didn't have a Boris sitting next to me. The seat was actually empty.

I fell asleep halfway into the flight, and found myself in the field. I got excited, hoping Eric would be there. I called out for him, but he didn't answer. I walked all over the field looking for him, but I couldn't find him anywhere. The whole thing gave me a strange sense of déjà vu, and I didn't like it. I walked back behind the pond to look at our tree, and breathed a sigh of relief. Out letters were still carved in the tree, as was the heart we had just added. I calmed down when I saw that. I knew it meant everything was going to be okay.

I was woken up by a flight attendant who let me know that the plane was about to land. I thanked her, and then tried to make sense of my dream. Suddenly it hit me why it felt familiar. I had the same dream just before I went home. I had dreamed of being in the field, but not being able to find Eric. It had scared the crap out of me. As soon as the plane landed, and I got my bags, I called Eric. He didn't answer so I left him a message.

"I'm back in New York. I need to talk to you. I had a dream on the plane, and it freaked me out a bit. I'm fine; I just need to hear your voice. I love you."

I took a cab back to my apartment, and when I walked in I felt so alone. I didn't even bother unpacking; I went straight to Amelia's. When she opened the door she screamed and pulled me into a hug.

"I've missed you so much!"

"I've missed you too," I said as I hugged her back.

"Bullshit, you've been pretty occupied by that man of yours. Where is he anyway? I thought he was coming back with you."

"He had a family emergency and couldn't make it."

"Is everything okay?"

"Not really. Would you like to come over for some tea? I'll explain everything."

"Yeah, sure. Just let me grab my keys."

She went back in for a second, and emerged with her keys. She locked her apartment, and then threw her arm around me as we walked back to mine.

"So what's going on?" She asked as we went in.

I explained the basics, that Eric had to go back to Sweden to get his sister and dying mother, and bring them back to live with him, and that I was going back as soon as possible.

"Can you get away with that with your job?"

"I hope so. I can work from anywhere, and I sent my boss a lot of pictures while I was on vacation, so if she liked them there shouldn't be a problem."

"Are you moving in with him?"

"No. I don't think so. He doesn't know that I know, but he was looking at apartments here. It's something we need to talk about."

"Sookie, you've only known this guy for a few weeks, and you're already considering moving in with him. I can see that you're happy with him, but don't you think you're moving a bit fast?"

"It's hard to explain. I think you would understand because I know that you're open-minded, but I can't really tell you until I talk to him."

"Why the hell not?"

"Because we agreed that we would decide together who we told our story to. I think you would be one of them, but I wouldn't feel right telling you without talking to him first."

"I guess I understand," she said with a dramatic sigh. Amelia could be a drama queen. At that moment my phone rang, and I saw that it was Eric.

"It's Eric. Don't leave, it'll be quick anyway, and I'll ask him about telling you," I said quickly to Amelia. She nodded, and then went to sit in the living room.

I answered the call, "Hi."

"You wanted to hear my voice?" I closed my eyes at the sound of it. I really needed to hear it. "Sookie?"

"Just keep talking. Tell me about what's going on."

"They're releasing Mom tonight. She's going to stay at the hotel with us tonight, and then we're leaving first thing in the morning. As for Marcus, he hasn't shown up here, which is good for our plan. If all goes well, I'll have evidence to show you when I see you again."

"Good," I replied. I really didn't want Eric to have to see Marcus again.

"Now tell me about this dream you had," he sounded concerned, and I didn't want that. He had enough to stress about.

"It was nothing."

"Sookie, if you don't tell me, I'll just end up worried about you."

"I dreamed that I was back in the field, but I couldn't find you. I kept calling for you, and looking for you, but I couldn't find you anywhere. It just freaked me out a bit."

"I had the same dream."

"You did? When?"

"Every time I fall asleep I end up in the field, looking for you, but I can't find you."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want to upset you."

"What do you think it means?"

"That we need to be near each other again soon. The sooner the better."

"I should know tomorrow when I can go back. I have a question for you though."

"What is it?"

"I want to tell Amelia about the dreams. She's not going to buy any cover story, and she's really open-minded."

"Go ahead and tell her. I trust your judgment."

"Thank you."

"I have a question for you."

"What's that?"

"Would you be okay with me telling my Mom and Pam now? They're dying to know about you, but I've managed to hold them off so far. I didn't want to say anything until I spoke to you."

"Of course that's okay."

"Are you sure?"

"I do wish we could be together when we tell people, but it's just not going to work out that way. I'm fine with it. You do think they'll believe you, right?"

"Yes, I think they will."

"Good. I don't want them to think I made you nuts or anything."

He laughed, "I doubt that. They'll love you, I'm sure of it."

"I can't wait to meet them."

"They can't wait to meet you. Pam's curious, and Mom is thrilled. She'd always hoped I would find someone that made me happy, and I'm very, very happy."

He always knew what to say to ease my nerves. "I'm happy too. Where are you now?"

"Pam and I are both at the hospital. We're going to stay until Mom gets discharged, and then go back to the hotel for the night before leaving tomorrow."

"When will I get to talk to you again?"

"I'll call you before the flight tomorrow. You'll be asleep so don't answer, okay? I'll leave you a voicemail."

"Okay."

"I need to get back in now. I love you, Sookie. Don't worry about anything."

"I love you too."

After hanging up, I went into the living room and sat next to Amelia. She put down the magazine she was flipping through, and turned to me.

"How is everything?" She asked.

"It's fine. He's coming back tomorrow, but I don't know when I'll get to see him again. He's fine with me telling you about us though. Would you like to know now?"

"I would love to know, but you just tell me whenever you want."

"It'll tell you now. I feel like I need to tell someone anyway. The only other person that knows is Sam, my old friend from back home. He didn't buy our cover story," I laughed.

"Why would you need a cover story?"

"The truth would be a little hard to swallow for some. Do you remember a few months ago, I was having dreams about the guy you called "romance cover dude"?"

"Yes. You were falling for a guy in your dreams, and I was worried about you. Why?"

"The man I dreamed about is Eric."

"What?"

"When I went home I went back to the house I grew up in, the one with the field, to take pictures. My parents told me they were renting it out to someone, so I went to the house first so I could let them know I would be out there. Then he answered the door. Amelia, I swear my heart stopped. It was him, the man from my dreams. I thought I was crazy, but he knew who I was too. I fainted, and when I woke up, I was in my old room, which he's using now. We talked, and I found out that he was having the same dreams."

"You both had the same dreams?"

"Yes, it was like we were actually there, and they're like memories to us now, but we were dreaming. Does that make sense?"

"Strangely enough, it does."

"It gets weirder."

"Go on," she said with a smile. I knew she would understand. I went on to tell her about the carvings in the tree, and she seemed perplexed by it, but she didn't doubt that I was telling her the truth. I told her all about my three weeks with him. I told her about my fight with Sam, and how it seemed like Eric and I had been through years worth of relationship drama already. We had already had to deal with his past behavior, two of my past suitors, possibly changing our lives around to be together, and his life-altering news about his mother. It was crazy. After I finished telling her everything, she wasn't fazed a bit.

"Sookie, weird, unexplainable shit happens all the time. Whatever this is, it was obviously meant to happen, and you are finally really happy because of it. From the sound of things, he is too. I know you guys aren't questioning it, and you shouldn't. You should take this as a gift, and run with it."

I hugged her tight, and thanked her for being my friend. After that, we caught up on everything else, and she informed me that Quinn was quite serious about this new girl of his. I was nothing but relieved and happy for him. He really was a good guy, and he deserved to be happy. Soon enough Amelia had to go, so I went down to see Jason. He had just gotten home from work, but was happy to see me. He only knew about Eric through our mother, and I knew he wouldn't understand anything about the dreams, so I just told him that I might be going back again soon. He just wanted to know if I was going to grocery shop before again before I left.

After my visit with Jason, I went back up to my apartment. It was almost the time I normally went to bed here, and I was pretty tired so I showered, pulled out one of Eric's shirts to wear to bed, and then settled in for the night. Again, I had the dream of being in the field looking for him. I didn't like it one bit. It almost felt like a nightmare. When I woke up the next morning, I immediately reached for my phone. I had a missed call and a voicemail from Eric. I couldn't believe I had slept through the call. I know he had told me not to answer, but I had planned on doing so anyway. The voicemail said that everything had gone according to plan, and he gave me a website to go to so that I could see the damage. I could tell even over the phone that he had a sly grin when he was saying it. He told me they were about to get on the plane, and that by the time I got this, he would probably almost be in New York. He said it would be weird to be in the same city as me, but not be able to see me, but that we would see each other again soon. He said he loved me, and then he hung up. I was almost tempted to go to the airport just to see him before they got on their next flight, but I didn't want his mother and sister to meet me like that, and I was sure his mother would be exhausted from the traveling.

When my brain caught back up with me, I grabbed my laptop from my pile of luggage, and turned it on. I had wireless Internet here, thank goodness. I had to listen to the voicemail again for the address, and as soon as the page popped up, I gasped. It was a Swedish newspaper's website, and on the home page, was a big picture of Eric, and two people I assumed to be his mother and sister. Eric was on one side of his mother, and Pam was on the other. Pam looked a lot like him. They were coming out of what looked like a hospital. He looked really tired. I clicked on the article, but of course, it was all in Swedish. I copied the whole article, and translated it in an online translator. I knew it wouldn't be an exact translation, but I would be able to get the gist of what happened.

It took the translation a few minutes to pop up so I went to the bathroom quickly, and when I came back, it was all there. It was a little hard to understand, but from what I gathered, either Eric or Pam had been an "anonymous tipster" to the paper that Emma's children weren't Marcus's. The tipster also informed them that while Marcus had known the truth since the children were born, he subjected Emma to physical abuse often, and that after she had recently found out her cancer had returned, he beat her badly enough to send her to the hospital. It said that Eric left Sweden years ago because of Marcus, and that he was taking his mother and sister to America to live with him because of this recent bit of violence.

I had to admit, it was brilliant. They were able to use Marcus's threat against him. From the tone of the article, he was being painted as the villain, and I couldn't have been happier about that. I called Eric's phone, and it went straight to voicemail because he was probably still on the plane.

"Hey, I just woke up and read the article. It was brilliant. I'm so proud of you. I'm going to work in a bit, and I'll call you when I know more about when I can leave. I love you."

After hanging up I got out of bed, and took a shower. Again, they were way too lonely without Eric there to fill in the empty space, and…other things. I got dressed, grabbed my camera and laptop, and then headed to work. I didn't eat any breakfast because I was too nervous about what my boss would say. I was a bit worried that she wouldn't want me to work from another state. I was hoping that all the pictures I had sent in while I was on vacation would help my case.

When I got to work, I went straight to my boss Arlene's office. I didn't have an office because I worked from home a lot. I did all my editing there, and the only time I really came to work was when Arlene needed to see me for something.

"Sookie, so good to see you back. Have a seat," she said in her disinterested tone.

"Nice to see you too Arlene," I said as I sat down.

"Let's get right to it. The pictures you sent in while you were on vacation were some of the best I've ever seen from you. We've got them all on file, ready to publish. I mean all of them. You could probably take another vacation and not work this time, if you wanted too."

"I need to talk to you about that. Would I be able to continue working from another state?"

"Are you moving?"

"Not exactly."

"I think I need a bit more detail."

"While I was away, I met someone. I know you don't like sentiment, but we fell in love. He was supposed to come back here with me, but a family emergency hindered that. I need to go back there for a while. I'm not sure for how long."

"So you're not moving, but you'll continue to work from there," she said with no emotion. She was really good at that.

"No, I'm not moving. I'll continue to work from wherever I am. In fact, he's a writer and can work from anywhere. He was looking into moving here before his family emergency occurred. I just don't know how long I'll be there. He and I need to discuss it a bit more."

"Well, I don't have a problem with you going back, so long as you keep sending in pictures," she said, and I breathed a sigh of relief, but she wasn't finished, "But, it's going to have to wait a couple of weeks." My heart sank.

"May I ask why?"

"Your latest pictures were so good, that I entered you in a photo contest. You are up for a New York Photo Award."

"What?" My jaw dropped.

"You are up for an award, and the ceremony is in two weeks. I want you to stay here until then."

"Why can't I just plan to come back for it?"

"Because you are the only photographer from this magazine to get nominated, and I don't want another emergency to keep you from going. If you win, it would mean great things for us. I don't even care if you leave that night, but you will stay in New York until then, understood?"

I wanted to scream, cry, laugh, or throw something. I was so happy to know that I'd been nominated for something I'd been working for, but because of it, I had to be away from Eric for two weeks. I knew that nothing would help my case, and that the best bet would be to just agree with her, and hope Eric would understand.

"Yes. Thank you for allowing me to work from another state. I really appreciate it."

"You're welcome," she said and stood up. I stood up too, and turned to leave. "Make sure you stop by the editing room and give your input on what we've chosen for the next issue."

"I will," I said, and then walked out. I did as she asked, and gave some suggestions, and then I left.

I went to the market before going home, and picked up enough stuff to keep me nourished for a couple weeks. When I got home, I put everything away, and then called Eric. It went to voicemail again, so I assumed he was on the plane to Missouri. I just told him that I needed him to call me as soon as he could. After I hung up, I put myself to work. I began editing the pictures I took back home, but as I looked at each one, all it did was depress me. I wanted nothing more than to be back there with Eric and Ansel. I felt the tears begin to build, so I quickly closed the computer. I was at a loss for what to do. Before Eric I would have put in a movie, or called Amelia to see if she wanted to go out. I just didn't feel like doing either of those things. All I wanted was for Eric to be here. I felt so alone. Right at that moment, my phone rang. I jumped, dazed from being broken out of my pity-party, and then grabbed it. A warm feeling spread all over me when I saw that it was Eric.

"Hi," I answered.

"What happened? You sounded upset in the voicemail." He sounded completely concerned.

"I talked to my boss today, and found out that I'm up for a photography award."

"Sookie, that's great!"

"I know. I've wanted this for so long."

"So what has you upset?"

"My boss wants me to stay here until the ceremony. It's two weeks away," my voice broke, and the tears began to flow freely down my cheeks. "I can't leave until then."

"It's okay, Sookie," he said, sounding calm, but I could hear the edge in his voice.

"It's not. It's two weeks."

"Exactly. Two weeks isn't much."

"It is when it's you and me," I said, and then cried a little harder. I felt like a freaking baby, and all I wanted was for him to be next to me, wiping my tears away.

"It'll be okay. Please stop crying. I can't comfort you like I want to from here. It's only two weeks. It'll go by in no time, and before you know it we'll be together again."

I had slowly stopped crying as he spoke. He was right. It was only two weeks. "You're right. I'm sorry for freaking out like that."

"You don't need to apologize."

"Are you back at the house yet?" I asked.

"No, we're still at the airport. Sam called to say he's running a bit late. He should be here anytime now."

"How's your mom doing?"

"Considerably better. The traveling has worn her out, but being away from Marcus, and knowing she'll never have to see him again…she's just happier."

"Good, I'm glad to hear that. Oh, I opened the guest rooms, and they're ready so make sure she gets some rest as soon as you get back."

"You didn't have to do that. I appreciate it, and I'm sure Mom will too, but you didn't have to."

"I know, but I wanted too, and it needed to be done."

"I love you, you know that?"

"Yes, I do."

"There's Sam. Call me tonight before you go to sleep, okay?"

"I will. Will you tell Sam hello for me?"

"Yes, I will."

"I love you, Eric."

"I love you, too."

"Bye."

"Bye."

I felt better after that conversation, but still moped around for the rest of the day. I was beginning to get a bit excited about being up for an award though. I puttered about the apartment for a bit, and then went through my mail. I paid a few bills, and then watched some TV as I had a light supper. After that, I took a long bath. I was trying to prolong going to bed. I wanted to fall asleep at the same time as Eric. It was a bit strange to want that, but I just felt like I needed to.

As soon as I was dried off, dressed in another of Eric's shirts, and sitting in bed, I called him.

"I've been wondering when the hell you were going to go to bed," he answered. "I'm exhausted."

"Sorry, I wanted to wait so that we could be asleep at the same time."

"It's okay. I've just been lying in bed, staring at this picture on our nightstand."

I smiled. One of the pictures I had framed was of the two of us in the field. In it, Eric was kissing my cheek, and I was smiling, my face angled towards him a bit. It was my favorite picture of the two of us.

"Do you like it?"

"Very much. I also like the other pictures you've added to the house. They're all perfect. Mom and Pam love them, and they were impressed when I told them you took them."

"I was hoping it was okay that I did that. I got the idea at the last minute."

"Of course it's okay. I love them all. Ansel stared at the picture of him for a while though."

I laughed, "Is he happy you're back?"

"Very. I swear he's like a different dog." Eric let out a huge yawn, which caused me to as well.

"I think it's time we went to sleep," I said.

"I'd say so. I'll call you again tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay, I'll be home all day, so anytime is good."

"Okay. Goodnight, Sookie."

"Goodnight, Eric."

After we hung up, I turned off my lamp, and snuggled in. I kept replaying the sound of Eric's voice in my head, and it lulled me off to sleep. In my dreams, I was in the field again. I was standing by the pond, looking out over the small expanse of water. I didn't bother trying to look for Eric. I didn't want to be disappointed if he wasn't there again. After a short while, I turned around to take a walk around, hoping to get some peace from the familiar place. When I did, however, I gasped. Eric was standing atop the slope that led down to the pond. It was the same place he was after I figured out that I loved him. I could see him smiling. We slowly walked towards each other, and stopped before we were touching. We stared at each other for a long time before Eric finally spoke.

"I think if we fall asleep at the same time, these two weeks aren't going to be hard to bear at all."

I laughed, and then threw my arms around his neck as my mouth collided with his. As he kissed me back I knew what he said was the truth. These two weeks weren't looking bad at all.

---

So how was that? Am I easing the pain at all? I promise I'm not going to drag these two weeks out. In fact, I'm thinking a reunion may be in store next chapter *grins*

Again, thank you guys so much for sticking with me. I love you all!