Sookie was a virgin. No, it wasn't a title of a Mexican-inspired sitcom. Sookie was an actual 25-year-old virgin. Although her hymen was still intact it didn't mean she hadn't kissed anyone before.

Oh boy, she had. She had kissed a bunch of men. A bunch. Okay, maybe not that many. Three to be exact.

Her first was with her best friend. Sookie was thirteen and he was three years her senior in an ill-conceived game of seven minutes in heaven. Having drawn the short straw, they were thrust in a closet that reeked of moth balls and old socks. Honoring the sanctity of the game, they both puckered up. It didn't last seven minutes. It was short and awkward and they both knew it didn't feel right. He wasn't the man for her and she wasn't the right gender for him.

When their time was up, Lafayette stepped out of the closet with her in more ways than one.

That was how she earned the nickname 'Spatula Sook'. For her knack at flipping a straight man gay. The teasing lasted for about three months. Right about the time Lafayette had swapped his baggy Saints' jerseys to fitted mesh tank tops.

Her second was her prom date, Preston. Nice guy - tall, dark and handsome in a geeky sort of way. His hands were trembling as he clasped the twenty-five-dollar corsage around her wrist. He was the perfect gentleman. She only caught him peeking at her cleavage once.

He brought her home in his father's Chevy ten minutes before her curfew and walked her all the way to the porch. She was going for a peck on the cheek when he 'accidentally' whisked his head and his mouth caught hers. He kissed better than Lafayette but it still didn't feel right.

Preston asked for another date the next day and Sookie – taking a page out of Lafayette's book - told him she was gay.

That seemed to do the trick as the boys backed off and she was able to spend the rest of her senior year in peace.

College was a whole different ball game. Frat boys didn't seem to mind that she was into girls. For them, she was a challenge. The running theory was the fact that she liked women would only increase the possibility of a threesome.

Men started hounding her like dogs in heat. She shot them down one by one. Some were more adamant though - like roaches in a deli.

She was in her sophomore year when she finally agreed to go out on a date. His name was Brendan, a Dallas native. He had green eyes, the color of emerald. He was irritatingly smart, refreshingly polite and obscenely wealthy. He took her to Houston on their first date, brought her to the NASA Space Center. He didn't try to kiss her during the eight-hour drive. When she went back to her dorm room that night, she thought it was time to give up on Alcide. Space was too big even for Superman.

Their second date wasn't as ostentatious. They had picnic in the park where Brendan introduced her to soft cheese. Canapes and champagne with a dreamy guy, it couldn't get any better than that. He wanted to be a neurosurgeon, he told her. A man with a brain ticked one more item on her list. He talked and talked and talked and she listened and gushed and dreamed.

He drove her back to her dorm and she kissed him good night. She was unbuckling her seatbelt when she heard a distinct swoosh as Brendan unzipped his fly. She gaped at him in horror.

"Oh c'mon, I think I've earned it." He placed his hand on top of her head and gave her a downward nudge.

She plastered on a smile as fake as his motives as she shoved her hand in her tote bag. He pushed his seat back and braced himself for his 'reward'. He didn't see the can of Mace in her hand before she sprayed the leer off of his face. He yelled out loud as he clapped his hands over his eyes.

"You crazy bitch!"

He had no idea just how crazy she was. She climbed out of his Audi and sprinted to her building. The next day she filed a harassment report to the university and she never heard from him again. For someone who wanted to study the human brain, he sure lacked one. Without a doubt, that kiss wasn't right.

And then there was Eric.

Her reluctant hero. The man with a mean right hook, a cocky grin, a wonderfully analytical mind and a complicated past. Eric and his soft, soft lips, who kissed her with the tenderness that left her wanting more.

It took her three attempts to finally get it right. This, right here, felt right.

Her heart was hammering in her chest as she stared at him. She wished he would say something. He hadn't spoken a single word after her whole I-want-you-speech and his silence was starting to make her nervous.

"Say something," she whispered. She was already racking her brain for of an exit strategy. Maybe she could fake a coma? She'd close her eyes and pretend to lose consciousness. She could blame the drugs. Or say it was a side-effect of having been recently thawed. He would buy that, right? Oh God, please, just say something!

Just when she was getting ready to play possum, Eric's Adam's apple bobbed. He swallowed. Hard. Was that a good sign? Sookie didn't know.

"That was…" his voice trailed off as he raked his fingers through his tousled hair.

Great?

Epic?

Disastrous?

Oh God.

"Just like how I imagined it to be."

Phew!

A smile crept up her face before she could stop it. "You've imagined kissing me?"

It was his turn to flash his patented lopsided smirk. "Since the night you walked in Fantasia."

Her gaze dropped to her lap as she tucked her hair behind her ears. She was gushing like a school girl, great, just great. As if she couldn't make this any more embarrassing.

"Actually," she paused to clear her throat, "you sorta did. Before you ran out of the bar, you kissed me right here." Her finger jabbed the middle of her forehead.

"I was actually aiming for this," he husked as he hooked his thumb under her chin and grazed her bottom lip with his index finger. "I just miscalculated how short you are."

She playfully whacked him at the chest with the back of her hand as she thrust her head up. "Hey! I'm not short. I'm delightfully petite. You're just freakishly tall with a lousy aim."

He chuckled, baring his teeth. "Don't worry, I've done the math. I'm not missing my mark this time."

He seized her mouth before she could form another retort. And he was right. His aim was dead on.

This time around, he wasn't as gentle or timid. This kiss had conviction, a point to make. It was consuming, feverish. She could barely keep up with him as he swept his tongue in her mouth, daring her to engage. He angled his head as his fingers got lost in her hair. And then just when she thought he couldn't get her any more worked up, a slow rumbling noise erupted from the back of his throat. The sound of his growl made her toes curl.

Sweet mother of cheeses, she was hooked.

She was breathless by the time he released her. He was panting too. Maybe she wasn't as rusty as she thought.

"Okay," she huffed. "You're really good at math."

He smiled widely, seemingly pleased with himself. "I'll show you how I do long division later," he quipped as he stroked her cheek with his thumb.

She rolled her eyes at him, if only to hide her excitement.

"Can I ask you something?" he said as he settled back in his plastic chair, his thumb drawing figure eights on her palm.

"Shoot."

"Why didn't you wrap yourself with plastic like Terry did?"

She shrugged. "There was no more plastic left. 'Sides, I didn't think you'd take that long to find me." She gave him a pointed look but the curl at the side of her lips belied her.

"I didn't know you were missing," he said, half-apology, half-excuse. "All along I thought you were busy in the kitchen. Or you were playing hard-to-get by making me miss you."

She grinned. "Well, did you? I mean, did you miss me?"

He skewered her with a look as he arched his brow. "What do you think?"

She looked down at her palm as she bit her lip, contemplating how to phrase her next sentence.

In the end, she settled with a two-word plea, "Then stay."

"Huh?"

She swallowed thickly before she said, "Stay here."

"I will," he replied quickly. "Do you really think I'd go home without you?"

Her tongue darted out to moisten her lips. "I don't just mean tonight."

His thumb that was stroking her palm stilled. Her eyes flickered back to his face and saw him looking back at her, slack-jawed.

Eric was smart enough to know what she meant. If only she were as sharp to read what was on his mind.

He closed his mouth as the muscles along his jaw leapt. Jesus. Did she make a colossal mistake?

"Sookie, I -"

He didn't get to finish his sentence as the door burst open.

"You'd never believe what just happened!" Jason was practically shaking with excitement as he barged in. "Terry and Arlene got engaged! They were wheelin' him out for his transfer to Shreveport Gen when he popped the question. At first no one could understand him with his Frankenstein voice and all. Alcide had to translate it for him and Arlene just lost her shit! She was bawlin' like it's nobody's business in the middle of the E.R! Jesus you should've-"

Jason's animated account halted as his eyes ping-ponged from Sookie to Eric before it landed to their clasped hands.

Sookie snatched her hand reflexively while Eric straightened up in his chair.

"What's goin' on here?" Jason asked suspiciously. "Did I miss somethin'?"

Sookie flashed Jason a smile before she shook her head. "Nope. Nothin'," she replied haphazardly. "Where're Terry and Arlene now?" She was actually privy to Terry's plan; she just didn't anticipate he'd do it right away.

"They're on their way to Shreveport," Jason answered, the dubious expression on his face was still there. "You sure, you guys are okay?"

Eric merely shrugged.

"I thought you're gonna bring Crystal home?" Sookie asked to divert Jason's attention away from her and Eric.

"Hoyt and Jess offered to give her a ride instead," Jason responded as he plopped on the small and narrow couch by the wall. "I'm too tired to drive. My leg is killin' me. I'll just leave early tomorrow to get your stuff. Is that alright?"

Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Eric's shoulders drop. The feeling was mutual.

Sookie faked a yawn.

"Sleepy?" Eric asked.

She nodded. "I think I've had enough excitement for now. I'm sure I'll hear all about Terry and Arlene's engagement tomorrow. I'd rather hear it from the girls. No offense, Jase but comin' from you ain't givin' me the feels."

Jason scowled at her before he turned to Eric. "Oh Eric, Doctor Ludwig's lookin' for you. She said you forgot to sign your form. Don't worry, bud, I already filled it up they only need your signature."

There it was again - the hard line along Eric's jaw as he rose to standing. It seemed as if he was conflicted, burdened.

He bowed his head to brush his knuckles against her cheek. "Get some rest. I'll be back." He fluffed her pillow as he supported the back of her head so she could sink in with ease.

She squeezed her eyes shut and bobbed her head, a wistful smile on her face, no longer caring if Jason was watching them.

E/S

"Sign here and here," said the tall, blonde nurse with a hard jaw and droopy eyes as she pointed the tip of her ballpoint pen on the two blank lines at the bottom of the page.

Eric took the pen tethered by a chain metal link atop the nurses' station and scanned the paper. Jason had written down Eric Rothman on the name column along with the address of the farmhouse. The rest was left blank.

The nurse eyed him through her heavily-lidded eyes. "Is there somethin' wrong Mister Rothman?"

"Do I need to fill in the rest of the form?"

"Oh, no need. This hospital is affiliated with Shreveport Gen and since you already have a record there, you don't have to do another one."

"What if I need to alter a few details?" Eric asked. "You see, I wasn't exactly in perfect condition when I was in Shreveport and I'm afraid I might have left a few blanks there as well."

"Oh," the nurse said as she tapped her pen on her chin. "Well, would you like to get a new form now?"

Shit. He did not think this through. He didn't want Sookie to find out about his real identity this way. He could use a little more time.

Luckily for him, the nurse came to his rescue.

"Actually I think it's better if we do this tomorrow. It's late and our encoder has already gone home. Your form might end up gettin' lost in the stack otherwise. Is that alright?"

He smiled with relief. "That'll be fine."

Eric bid the nurse good night like a perfect Southerner. He might have even forced a drawl, he wasn't sure. But by the time he left the nurse, she no longer looked sleepy. He couldn't help it, he was happy. Too goddamn happy.

And then his phone rang.

He was only a few steps away from Sookie's room, he debated ignoring the call. He glanced at the screen and noted Stan's number. He might as well answer it. If it weren't for Stan's assistance earlier, he never would have thought to look closely in the bar.

"Hello?" Eric greeted the caller.

"Ah, I get a hello now," Stan quipped. "Is it safe to assume my information yielded positive results?"

A smile toyed at the corner of Eric's lips. "You don't have to be smug about it."

Stan chuckled. "Well since you're being awf'lly gracious, you're welcome."

"Thank you," Eric finally muttered. He had to admit that having someone with Stan's skill set on his team was rather useful.

"See, was that really so hard?" Stan teased. "So, are you going to tell me what the fuck happened or are you going to make me guess?"

"I was looking for a friend."

"Riiiight… a friend," Stan hummed. Eric could almost hear Stan rolling his eyes. "Is she hot? Tell me she's at least a Louisiana nine or a New York seven."

"Fuck you."

Stan cackled. "Sorry Eric; you're not my type."

Eric couldn't help but snigger along with Stan. It was a running joke between Stan and the Northman boys - one that the Colonel didn't find amusing. Not one bit.

"She okay now?" Stan asked as their laughter tapered off.

"How did you know she was in trouble?"

"I'm good at deduction. Also, I'm running a trace on your phone. Bon Temps Hospital, right? Man, you should consider changing your travel pack; hospitals don't qualify as tourist spots."

"I asked you to tail Felipe, Stan. Not stalk me."

"Oh yeah, about that… I was able to hack into Felipe's computer," Stan began. "He, like you said, was pulling out all the stops to ensure the safety of his loot. He hadn't tried to access the money since I tapped into his system. I assumed he has someone to do that for him."

Sandy, Eric thought.

"However, I was able to retrieve his browser history and cache file. Bada-bing, bada-boom I found our money trail, which ended in Geneva."

Fuck.

"He's hiding the money in a Swiss bank," Eric concluded Stan's summation.

"Yup. Sneaky, yet classy," Stan murmured. "As you know, Swiss bankers take their jobs brutally serious. Account holders are only identifiable by numbers, no name whatsoever to protect their clients. Although I managed to get the account number, it's not really the kind of smoking gun I know you want. Felipe himself has to confirm that the account belongs to him."

Fucking Felipe. Why didn't he just funnel the money in the Cayman Islands like a good ol' thug? Offshore accounts in the Caymans were easier for Eric to track. He had people working there who owed him a couple of favors.

Eric rubbed his forehead. All is not lost, he thought with vague optimism. "This is fine," he said, shaking off the sense of gloom. "We've had this discussion before. Now that you've traced the money, we have enough dirt to give the Feds. Pam can now deliver De Castro's head to them on a velvet pillow. We know where the money is. All we need to do is inform Pam so she can alert the FBI and let them do their fucking job."

There was a few seconds of silence from the other line before Stan spoke up again. "You haven't talked to Pam, have you?"

Eric had been snubbing Pam's calls since this morning. He had a sinking feeling in his gut that he would pay for it right about now.

"What is it?" Eric asked, his tone growing tense.

"She had a meeting with Appius early today. It appears as though that the deal your father brokered with the FBI in exchange for Pam's release is a little more nuanced than a simple slap on the wrist."

This was exactly why he wasn't thrilled that Miriam went to his father for help. When it came to the Colonel, nothing was black and white. There was always – always – a fine print.

"What did he do now?" Eric gritted out.

"Your father's feebie connection agreed to keep this off the books if the stolen money is returned within thirty days without involving the FBI. If we turn Felipe over to the feebies, this'll become an official investigation which will hence break the deal. Northman Cap has no choice but to go public with the embezzlement."

Eric leaned heavily against a wall, feeling the weight of Stan's words against his shoulders.

"De Castro will drag Northman Cap down with him," Eric hushed in defeat. "We'll be forced to dissolve the company."

"That might not be the case," Stan interjected. "Pam said there's another way to gain access to the account without involving the Feds."

The hair on the back Eric's neck bristled. The same idea had crossed his mind as soon as Stan mentioned Geneva. And it was the one door he didn't want to knock on.

"No," Eric said in a clipped tone.

"Are you serious?" Stan sounded genuinely surprised. "This is your only chance to get away scot free. To save your company."

"I'm not asking Sylvie for help," Eric muttered out loud.

Sylvie's sister, Sophie-Anne, had a deep connection with a few high-ranked members in a Swiss bank based in Paris. The woman could pull some strings and then some. She had done it for Eric before. After Eric returned to the US from France with Sylvie, he discovered that Godric, as stated in his will, had left him the majority of his estate. Appius was outraged and tried to hide it from Eric. Aware of his son's connection in the Cayman Islands, Appius decided to use a different channel.

Unfortunately for the devious Colonel, he underestimated the number of people who would like to curry favor from his son. It only took one call for Sophie-Anne to locate the account in a Swiss operated bank stationed in Singapore.

"Sylvie's in New York, Eric," Stan tried to reason with him again. "She flew in two days ago after Pam called her."

Fucking Pam.

"Does she know where I am?"

"I don't know. You should ask Pam."

He definitely would. Pam had seriously overstepped her boundaries this time.

"Think about it, Eric. Don't take too long though. There are too many moving pieces here."

Eric didn't have to think. "Tell Pam to call the Feds."

Stan sighed long and hard before he spoke again. "Is she worth it?" he asked. They both knew who Stan meant. "You'll be risking everything for this woman, Eric. Make sure she's worth the trouble."

Eric finally cracked a smile. He didn't have to think to know that she was.

A/N: I don't own Eric.

Sorry for the long break. I had some issues with my computer. Let's just say, there have been a few tears. Everything's sorted now, thank you very much. Next chapter will be ready soon! (Pinky swear!)

Big, big thanks to my rock star beta, MsStitcher. She's keeping me from going totally bonkers. Love you, R!

All mistakes are mine.

Thank you, thank you for reading and leaving thoughtful and constructive feedback! You guys! Much, much love!