A/N: I do not own any characters or the world of True Blood, but I do like to play in it.
I think you guys are right about Bill's interpretation of Sookie's choice, so look for a little clarification on the state of things in the upcoming chapter.
"In my time you would have been my queen, second in the hearts of my people only to me." Eric kissed along the back of her neck, nuzzling up into her hair. "You are the queen of my heart and I pledge my heart to you to do with as you will."
Sookie's eyes fluttered shut at the attention, her breath leaving her body in a sigh. "That is the most romantic thing anyone's ever said to me."
"You are young yet." He kissed her temple. "Now, tell me again that you love me." Eric commanded her gently.
"I love you Eric. I'm sorry I took such a long ways of getting around to saying it to you proper."
"I told you, I am a patient man, and some things are worth waiting for." Tipping her face up to his, Eric claimed her mouth with his.
The drive back to Bon Temps was a silent affair, with Bill staring sullenly out the back window and Eric's smug smile irritating Sookie for some reason. Not knowing what had been said between the two, she could only assume that Eric had been all too eager to throw their relationship in Bill's face. She took no pleasure in knowing that it caused Bill discomfort to know that she was Eric's now, it wasn't as though she'd made any of her decisions with him in mind, and she owed him no explanations.
Eric drove the dark SUV straight to the Compton place. As they had discussed the night before, Sookie had no intention of sharing the fact that Hunter was staying with her, or his importance in her decision to leave Hadley in the Queen's company. Bill however seemed surprised by the destination, perhaps thinking that Sookie intended to nurse him back to full health a bit more closely.
"I'll just be a minute." Sookie flashed Eric a pleading look for him to stay in the car, feeling she owed Bill at least a few words. They both alighted from the vehicle while Eric stayed inside, his eyes watching them carefully. Sookie climbed the steps to the old farmhouse, pausing at the door to finally turn to Bill. At a loss for what to say, a stupid platitude rose to her lips. "I hope that you feel better real soon."
"May I call upon you later?" He asked in his deep voice that still affected her, whether she liked it or not.
"I don't think that would be such a good idea Bill." She replied immediately. "I think it's for the best if you just rest up some from your ordeal. I'm sure Jessica'll be glad to know you're back in town. I'll send her over with some True Blood so you don't have to go out until you feel your best." Sookie offered.
"She isn't here?" Bill asked in surprise.
Sookie had forgotten that he'd been gone when she had moved out. "No, she moved in with Hoyt a while back. She's doing just fine, they're cute as peas in a pod, those two." She smiled fondly at the thought of them together. Proof that a vampire and a human could be happy together without all of the drama that seemed to go along with her life.
Bill digested that for a moment, laying his hand on the doorknob before turning to face her again. "I wish to thank you for choosing me."
Cutting him off before he made any more assumptions, Sookie raised her hand. "I did what was needed, don't read anything into it. I still haven't forgotten about your lies." Nor was she likely to.
"I never lied to you Sookie, there were just some things that I didn't tell you." He protested, his face creasing with sorrow.
"And you can cuddle up to your semantics come sun up, knowing in your heart that you didn't wrong me then." She retorted, unable to keep the bitterness or spite from sneaking up into her voice. Semantics – a word of the day she was proud to call upon when the occasion called for it. "I am asking you to respect my wishes and stay away from me Bill Compton."
"Will Eric be returning with you to your home?"
"That's none of your business. I don't got to explain myself to you."
"He'll hurt you Sookie." Bill pleaded.
"Well if that ain't the pot calling the kettle black," she muttered, hands coming to rest on her hips. "He loves me Bill. Not the blood flowing in my veins, or what power I can bring him with the queen, but me. Just me. And I love him back. That's all you need know."
"Sookie…"
Eric opened the car door and stood beside it, signaling an end to the conversation. Grateful for the respite, Sookie returned to the car without a backwards glance. "You just got a second chance at life. Don't waste it." Eric met Bill's eyes with a level gaze.
Just a few minutes later, they pulled up in front of her house, but Eric covered Sookie's hand with his, staying her from opening the door right away.
"You're not coming inside?" She looked up in surprise.
Eric brought her hand up to his lips and kissed the tips of her fingers. "I must get back to see to my own concerns for a change."
Of course, she should have known he'd have his own business affairs to take care of, but she had to admit, she felt a little bereft at the thought of him leaving. "When will I see you again?"
It obviously warmed him to hear the question spoken and he smiled against her fingers. "Perhaps tomorrow night or the night after. I assume you will return to your duties at the bar?"
Sookie nodded, a whole slew of other worries returning at the mention of Merlotte's. "I reckon they're short handed again with Rob tending to keeping Hunter safe."
"Perhaps it's best if you stay with him in the safety of the house until you're ready to take the boy back to his father?" He ventured mildly.
"Eric, I'm not made of glass, I'll be fine. We brought Hadley back to Sophie-Anne, so I shouldn't have to worry about any of her minions."
"Don't think I've forgotten about the attack your clothing suffered, the culprit is still out there. I've half a mind to send for the Were again."
She'd been half hoping he'd forgotten about that incident. It was a little unsettling to know that there was still someone out there who wished her harm, especially someone as unstable and batshit crazy as Debbie Pelt. But at the same time, she wasn't afraid of the shifter; she'd held her own against her in the past. Like as not that was why Debbie had taken her rage out on Sookie's clothes instead of risking a direct attack. "I'm sure he's got better things to do than come and baby sit me, Alcide does have his own business to run you know. How about if Rob takes me to the bar and comes to collect me at quitting time? Would that suit?" She suggested, wanting him to know she wasn't completely foolhardy.
"Tolerably." Eric considered with a brief nod. "If I can get away I'll come and collect you myself." He promised.
"Even better." She agreed, leaning across the console for a quick kiss.
Eric caught hold of her and did a more thorough job of it. "Take care of yourself, hustru."
"I will. You too."
"Always." He smiled back.
Sookie paused at the door, halfway in and halfway out. "What does that word mean?"
"That you belong to me." Eric replied simply.
"Alright, take care then hustru." She smiled back at him.
Eric laughed delightedly. "You would not address me as hustru, you would call me your man or make."
"Well then, take care of yourself make." Sookie tried again, with a reasonable attempt at mimicking his accent.
His eyes blazed with something she didn't recognize and the next thing she knew she was sitting in his lap trying to keep up with the passion in his kiss. It was quite a few minutes later when he finally let her up to catch her breath. "I'll have to remember to say that again the next time we've got a bit more leisure for you to explain why it gets me that response." She mused aloud, trying to calm the thud of her heart.
"I will happily examine it with you in… great… detail…" Eric replied, punctuating his words with kisses. "But for now I do need to be off while there is still time to see to the club. Do not fear Sookie, I will return soon enough to continue this discussion."
"I'll be waiting."
"Your trip go alright?" Rob's voice came floating to her in the darkness of the house from the direction of the kitchen. Sookie changed her direction from the stairs to the kitchen, waiting for a remark about Hadley's conspicuous absence but nothing came.
"Yeah, for the most part. How's Hunter?" She asked, leaning against the counter as she watched him move with ease in her kitchen, the only light being what came through the window.
"He's just fine. Me and him are shaping up to be great mates, don't you worry." He replied, pressing a mug into her hand.
Sookie brought the mug up to her lips, smelling chocolate with the sharp scent of peppermint and alcohol. Cocoa laced with schnaaps perhaps? It wasn't an unwelcome combination, and went down smoothly, warming her instantly. "How's the training going, or have you started yet?"
"It's going fine. Been driving Quill dotty with experimenting on him, but he's the only one around with a normal head to look into." Rob chuckled softly, taking up his own mug and sitting at the kitchen table. Sookie could see he wore a dark wifebeater and shorts that might have been boxers, his feet were bare.
"Poor Quill." Sookie winced, knowing that had to be uncomfortable for him to sit through. Sitting down opposite Rob, she took another sip of her drink, relaxing in the stillness of the house.
"The kid's a natural broadcaster, it'll take some doing to get him to get a proper shield up, but we're making progress. What he needs is someone to work with who can show him how to give a light touch when he's reading, so far I haven't been able to get him to find the knack of it. But then again it's not my forte, trying to get into someone else's head."
"Maybe we can work on it together tomorrow?" She'd never experimented much on finding a finer control before, but she was certainly the best person for the job.
"I think it's a fine idea." Rob nodded, taking a deep drink. "You should get some rest. You can fill me in tomorrow on all of the particulars of your trip if you feel like it. I took the liberty of having another mattress delivered and got rid of the ruined one and the rest of the mess in your bedroom."
Surprised at the thoughtful gesture, Sookie fixed him with grateful smile. "Well hug your neck; you didn't have to do that! Thank you for thinking of it though, I haven't had much time to devote to such things. How much do I owe you for the mattress? Or did you pay for it from some of Sam's money?"
The corner of his mouth twitched into an almost smile at her expression, but he shrugged away her thanks. "I charged it to Eric actually, he approved the expenditure."
"Oh, I see." Strange that he hadn't mentioned it to her before. "Well I'd best get on up and get some rest as you say. Thanks for keeping things under control here Rob, I can't tell you what it means to be able to leave and know there's someone here to see to things." Sookie smiled, draining the rest of her cocoa, the alcohol dulling her senses nicely. "Dishes can wait for the morning I suppose."
"Just what I was thinking." Rob rose to put their mugs into the sink. "Especially seeing as how it's Quill's job to do the dishes come morning." He shot her a quick wink, barely visible in the uncertain light. "Sleep well now Miss, tomorrow's another day."
"Good night Rob." With a nod, Sookie rose and headed for the stairs, pleased to find the bed made and her room in much less disarray than she'd left it in. Stripping down and climbing into bed, her hand slid across the cool sheets beside her, missing Eric's presence beside her. It was strange to think how much she'd come to crave his body lying next to hers in such a short time that she felt wrong… well not wrong exactly, but strange perhaps, to lie there without him.
Sleep felt like a long time in coming, but scarcely had she drifted off when her eyes popped open again, the silence of the house belying the feeling that some sound had just woken her up. As she lay there in the darkness, it came again, a thudding sound followed by a low guttural cry of pain. Throwing on her short robe, she raced down the stairs, heart in her throat at what she might find.
A/N: Sorry for the shorter update this time, I've been busily outlining my new book that I'll starting tomorrow, while also out celebrating my 20th wedding anniversary this past weekend, so I haven't had a lot of time for actual writing lately.
I'll just go ahead and apologize for murdering the Swedish language, not knowing the language, I'm doing my best.
Any guesses as to what she'll find downstairs?
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