First of all congratulations to me for finally quitting the PC world and buying myself a shiny 13in. macbook pro today! But I'm still figuring out how the hell their word processor works exactly so this update comes to you straight from my desktop hahah. Hopefully my next update will be kind of like my mac giving birth to its first piece of fanfiction. Sorry my mind has gone weird places today. Without further babble here's Eric all awake and seeing Sookie for the first time after two blood exchanges and, uhem cough, sex. Oh and there will be a fairy in his house! What to do what to do!?!?
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Eric woke up with a start about an hour before the sun was completely over the horizon. He had the strangest jolt of emotions that didn't belong to him. It wasn't fear or anything, but excitement, happiness, and it certainly wasn't his emotions coursing through him. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as he sat up. He turned left, then right, noticing he was alone in his room. That's not how he went to sleep in the morning, but he didn't exactly expect Sookie to be in the bed when he woke up. It would have been nice though, a little sex, a bite to eat. Alas, he sighed, and then pulled a blood out of the cabinet of his bedside table. At the moment, Eric was feeling a little too relaxed and lethargic to even bother with getting up to cross to the microwave on the other side of the room, downing the room-temperature O-negative.
After finishing the bottle, he finally threw his legs over the side of the bed. He could feel Sookie outside of the house. The two people, well creatures, he wanted her to meet were with her. He would have to wait until the sun fully went down before he could join them. In the meantime the old Viking got a little domestic and tidied up the room by picking up the strewn clothes, making the bed, and finally throwing his empty bottle in the recycling bin (A/N: see Eric can recycle just like Bill [sorry for the random interjection hah]). Eric noticed his shirt from last night was no where to be found. He would just have to look for it later. It was one of his favorite Armani short-sleeved. He then took a quick shower; it wasn't as entertaining without Sookie being in there with him. Letting his hair air dry he rifled through his closet, throwing on a simple pair of black jeans and a tight deep v-neck red t-shirt. Remaining barefoot he left his bedroom and headed into his library.
He sat at the desktop computer in the library and conducted a little business waiting for night to fully encompass the land. Eric paged on of the maids from his intercom to make sure his guests were comfortable and that he would be down when the time allowed. His housekeepers were no longer surprised by his resting and rising hours but a few minutes later the intercom buzzed again, interrupting him as he plugged in this weeks number to a spreadsheet for Pam's easy access. He answered the buzz.
"Yes?" He said a little tensely. Sometimes when he was in work mode he didn't like being bothered. Actually it wasn't very high up on the things he liked at all.
"Oh did I bother you Eric." Came Sookie's flustered voice.
Eric swore to himself and then pressed the intercom button again. "No you did not, my lover. What can I do for you?" He could feel her fill with warmth from where she was in the house. Their blood exchanges were doing wonders for opening up emotions between the two of them. She could probably read him as clear as day. But she had better practice controlling, he had no control. This was all new to him, new and ever so enticing. He could also feel the other people in the house as if he were a part of them. That was a little disconcerting. He could feel the young maid's lust towards him as well as Sookie's lusty feelings. They weren't even in the same room as him. He was so lost in his thoughts that he almost missed what she was saying.
"How are you awake already?" She asked quietly, almost as if whispering into the little intercom.
He chuckled as he continued to talk to her; he wished he could see her instead of speaking into a little electronic box. "The older you get the more control you have over your sleep. As you saw this morning, I could rouse myself in the daytime. I may not have been the master of articulation but I was awake. I fall asleep after sunrise and awake before sunset. It just happens."
"That's pretty cool. So what are you doing?"
"I am getting some work done before I join you and our guests. Speaking of our guests, what do you think of them so far?" Eric didn't know why but he really did care for her impression of Claudine and Alcide. Alcide he could either hire or not, Claudine was going to stick around regardless.
"They're really nice. Claudine seems really familiar but I can't really place it. I don't know where I would have run into her before. She tells me she's not from around here and I don't really do much traveling." Sookie was quite the little chatterbox this evening. It made Eric smile. He was afraid she might be a little awkward after their first time being truly intimate together the night before. Also, he was afraid that she would be a little taken aback by the changes she may have noted in her appearance and her reaction times from ingesting his blood. It's not like he exactly explained what would happen to her. That was mildly devious on his part, but she also didn't ask. There were times when Sookie was beyond inquisitive and then times where her naivety was perfect. It would be her naivety that he would prey upon when it came time to keep her and turn her.
"That is good my lover." He could feel her blush. Eric enjoyed the feeling. "I am going to continue with my work and I will be joining you shortly."
"Ok Eric, we'll be outside on the patio when you can come out."
"I look forward to seeing you." He could feel her exiting the house and returning to the patio. He could also feel questions coming from what he assumed were Alcide and Claudine and then Sookie feeling a little chagrined and embarrassed. Eric began laughing. They probably asked what took her so long or questions about himself. He loved the reactions he caused in this human.
Eric finally pulled himself away from reaching out to the people in his home with his new found empathy and reined it back in to his work. He finished the weekly wrap-up spread-sheets for Pam, e-mailed them, and made a couple of phone calls. When he was finishing up one of his phone calls he felt the sun finally sink beneath the horizon. Standing up from the chair he stretched upwards, brushing his fingertips against one of the chandeliers in the room. He brought his hand back and noticed it was a little dusty. He would have to do some cleaning soon. He left the library and entered the kitchen to find the two maids preparing dinner. The younger one, Jessie, gave him one look and blushed, immediately returning to her work and not looking up at him again. The older one, Eloise greeted him warmly.
"Good evening Mr. Northman. Your guests are out on the patio. We are preparing dinner for them right now. Where would you like us to serve it?"
Eric thought for a moment as he sniffed the air. Neither the Were nor the Fairy had been in his home. Good he wouldn't have to worry about getting the stench of dog out of his home or worry about walking around with a never ending hard-on due to her mouthwatering scent. If they hadn't been in the house yet, they weren't starting now.
"We are going to dine out on the patio, it seems like a wonderful evening, do you not think so?" Eric gave her a wink. Now he had Eloise blushing.
"But of course Mr. Northman. We'll be sure to have dinner ready promptly. Can I get you a blood?" She started walking towards the fridge.
"I can get it, but thank you." He grabbed a blood, heated it up, and then walked out to the patio where his three guests were sitting. It was unusual for him, especially in his home, to have guests. It was a strange experience to come outside after rising and see people waiting for him. It would feel alien if it weren't for the fact that a niggling in the back of his mind reminded him this was similar to a real home life, entertaining, friends, a family. That thought that briefly flashed through his mind made him stop for a fraction of a second. Why the hell was he even thinking that? Why was he even feeling that? I mean he was getting close to Sookie physically, and he guessed emotionally, and Claudine was her family. He didn't even know the Were. But this whole "dinner as a group" thing was throwing him for a loop. It would be the first time he entertained people who ate food in his home. And not just this home in Louisiana but one of his homes in general.
He shook his head and continued walking. Eric's pause would have been imperceptible to anyone other than another vampire. He was within 400 feet of them when he caught a whiff of Claudine. His fangs instantly popped down. Yup, this was going to be an interesting meeting to say the least. The good thing was they were outside, so maybe the concentration of her would be dissipated a little. It also wasn't very windy so she wouldn't be wafting into his face or anything. The closer he came the less he could smell her. That puzzled him and he's sure he had a confused expression on his face because she stood up and spoke before he could say hello to his guests.
"Hello Mr. Northman, I'm Claudine. It's a pleasure to meet you. If you're wondering about what I think you're wondering about, I can mask myself now. I just learned, seeing as I almost caused a little riot at Fangtasia I figured it would be a skill I needed to pick up." She nodded her head in greeting. Eric returned the nod.
Alcide also stood up in greeting, introducing himself. "A pleasure to meet you Sheriff, I am Alcide Herveux." They both nodded at one another.
Eric came around the table to take a seat next to Sookie, but not before placing a kiss into her hair. She sighed when he did that. He could feel that warmth radiate from her that he couldn't quite put a finger on what emotion it was. It wasn't lust. It was a combination of affection, comfort, happiness, attraction, etc. It was a complex emotion but they only way he could easily describe it was radiating warmth that seemed to go from her head to her toes. He liked the way that emotion felt. They quickly got down to business.
"What was discussed before my arrival in terms of Sookie's security?" Eric asked as he let one of his hands snake over to her knee and rest their possessively.
Claudine seemed to be someone with initiative; Eric liked that, and spoke first. "First of all, Sookie showed us around the perimeter of your home and explained to us the security features inside the home. I'm sure there are even more that even she's not privy to." Claudine paused and Eric inclined his head slightly. She continued. "Then she described her home as well as Jason's home to us. Neither of those homes would be easily defensible or a good idea as a safe house since someone is actively looking for her."
Alcide jumped in and finished off for Claudine. "We don't think the threats as high for her family members as it is for her and they should be fine being watched over by the Weres you entrusted their care too. However, for Sookie it is not enough. We both advise that she be moved here." Alcide waited for Eric to get angry. He could actually feel all three of their apprehensions flowing throw him. He merely smiled.
"That would not be a problem."
Sookie finally spoke. "But what am I going to do about work? I can't just stop going to work now can I? Not to mention Bill and everyone else will get suspicious if I just up and disappear to your house."
Claudine answered. "We've thought of several different scenarios in this case. We could say you're going on a much needed vacation and convince your family and your boss of that as well. We could also both commute with you to work everyday from here if it really is your desire to keep working. Perhaps we can get your boss to cut back on your shifts until the threat passes."
Eric really liked this Fairy, and it wasn't just her smell. "I am enjoying the way Claudine is thinking. If you really wish to keep working, then you will simply travel from here with both Alcide and Claudine as your guard, then promptly return here. Is that ok with you?" He felt a rush of emotions flutter through Sookie, he couldn't even pick one out to begun to describe it.
"I feel like I am such a burden to you. I don't even have my car here. And my little junker will hate me for making that trip over and over and over." A tear slipped down Sookie's cheek. The crying, Eric couldn't stand the crying of this female. It hurt his dead heart because he could feel her now. It was soul shattering. He wanted her to stop.
"You are no burden. You have never been one. I enjoy finally having company in my home, especially company as entertaining and as beautiful as you. Please stop crying lover. And as for the car? You can have your pick of one of mine." He smiled down at her shocked little expression and she tried to stop up her tears.
"One of yours? How many cars do you have Eric?"
He pointed towards the large horse stables that was merely a hulking shadow in the dark. "That is my garage, not a stable. I like to work on cars. I have many of them. Any of the models are at your disposal." Sookie beamed at him. He enjoyed telling this little human about himself.
Soon dinner was served and another blood was brought out for Eric. They all lapsed into comfortable conversation discussing hobbies, traveling, and Alcide and Eric had a friendly debate involving the Tarheels and the Bluedevils. Eric wouldn't hold it against Alcide for being a Dukie. He could feel that everyone was at ease and content. He closed the night with the two guests by handing them over two encrypted discs with all the information they needed to know pertaining to his security system and their jobs. He wished them goodnight and that Sookie would see them first thing in the morning.
Eric returned from seeing Alcide and Claudine out the gate to Sookie lying in the grass of his backyard just looking up at the stars. Silently he sat down near her head so as not to startle her. She knew he was there and let out a little sigh. "So what now Eric?"
"What now indeed?" He responded and looked up at the sky, just as his little mortal was doing.
A/N: I wanted to end it there because I didn't want this chapter to drag on any longer than it already was. Perhaps there will be nookie in the next chapter hmmm? Oh and this is Eric's shirt (but in red)– http://wwwdotamericanappareldotnet/morephotos/6456pac/6456pac_06dotjpg I just bought it for my lovey and that man does very good things to deep v-necks. Actually he's about the height and build of my imagined Eric. But just no glorious mane of hair :( hahaha.
