~Eric~

If I thought things would be less complicated when we returned to Louisiana, let me be the first to say that I was wrong. I hope everyone paid attention to that because that is not a phrase often uttered by me since it's not very often that I'm wrong.

I watched Lafayette sitting nervously in front of me in my office, no doubt confused as to why I ordered Pam to feed him and allow him to bathe. Pam and I argued – in Swedish – over my plans for Mr. Reynolds. She disagreed vehemently; she does not want to set a precedent in any way.

So now I had a pissed off child and nervous V dealer on my hands, along with the myriad of lost souls downstairs, and if I thought things couldn't get worse, I'd be wrong again. Sookie was on her way and she was very anxious.

I felt her getting closer as I sat behind my desk, feet propped up, hands linked across my stomach, staring down Lafayette. If I wasn't going to hurt him, the least I should be allowed to do was intimidate the ever loving shit out of him.

"Listen…" Lafayette began. One quick hand gesture from me cut off anything he was going to say.

Sookie burst through the door wearing Daisy Duke shorts and a tight t-shirt. She ran through the bar looking like that? Fantastic. As soon as I felt her wake up, I knew she saw me downstairs with Lafayette in a dream. Thankfully, Lafayette wasn't too injured; dirty, terrified and malnourished maybe, but relatively unharmed.

Sookie went right to Lafayette and laid her hands gently on his cheeks. "Lafayette, are you alright?"

"I – yeah, mostly," he stuttered, after a glance in my direction.

"How long have you been here?"

"I'm not sure."

"About a week," I supplied. "Pam caught him right after we left for Texas."

"Caught him?" She turned to me then, her eyes were blue fire. "What the hell is going on?"

"Mr. Reynolds here is my area's largest seller of vampire blood," I stated flatly.

Sookie's eyes widened and she looked back to her friend. I assumed she read the truth of my statement in his mind because she sighed. "Oh, Lafayette. I thought you stopped dealing drugs."

"It's not as easy as that, Sook." Lafayette had the good sense to show some shame over his illegal activities.

"Before I get on with Mr. Reynolds' punishment," I began. Both Sookie's and Lafayette's eyes widened in horror. "Sookie, my love, I would like you to read Lafayette and see if he's telling the truth about a missing vampire from my area. His name is Eddie and he was a…friend…of his. Mr. Reynolds says he has not seen nor heard from Eddie since he went missing."

She straightened defiantly and raised her chin. Somebody did not wake up in a good mood. "You're asking me to do you a favor before you kill my friend?" She hissed. I hated that she was defending this worthless piece of shit. Could she not see the grave crime he had committed against her husband's race? Since I discovered Lafayette's identity, I tossed out my plans to execute him. Sookie didn't know that then. She knew only that selling vampire blood was an offense punishable by death. I couldn't fault her for her reaction, but I could hold her responsible for her lack of trust in me.

"I could spare his life, Sookie, but not if he's lying about Eddie's disappearance. Draining vampires is a federal offense, my dear."

"I know," she snapped.

"It's time for you to uphold your end of our original deal. So far, I've held up mine; he lives. He's already admitted to dealing the V."

Sookie laid a gentle hand over Lafayette's and looked him in the eye. "I'm sorry," she whispered. She closed her eyes and tuned in. Lafayette's breath was heavy, as it had been since Pam brought him in, and he kept his wary eyes on me.

"Thank God," Sookie said softly and rose up, turning to me. "He's telling the truth. He has no idea what happened to Eddie. And if it means anything to you, he's worried about him. Has it occurred to you that Eddie could have moved or gone to visit somewhere else, Eric?"

"Yes, it has," I replied. I dropped my feet to the floor and leaned my forearms on the desk. "Eddie's house reeks of humans and evidence points to a struggle and an abrupt departure. There are three human scents there that Pam identified; two she confirmed as Mr. Reynolds' and your brother."

"Jason?" Sookie was confused. I didn't blame her. "Jason doesn't know any vampires. He hasn't even met you."

"He knows this one. Pam recognized his scent when he came to check on the renovations to your house, Sookie."

Sookie jerked her head in Lafayette's direction. He hung his head, but didn't meet her eyes. "Oh God," she whispered and sat down.

"He knows where Eddie is?" I asked as gently as I could.

"No," she said, as her eyes filled up with tears. "Apparently, Jason is addicted to V now." I was afraid of that. "You can't punish him, Eric, you can't. He's my brother."

"How can I not? He's breaking the law."

"How is it any different than when you've given me blood, Eric? Isn't that just as illegal?"

"I give you blood willingly. I don't give it to you to support an addiction. I gave you a lot of blood to save your life. The vampire blood sold on the street is drained from vampires, Sookie," I argued.

"You don't know that for sure, do you? Maybe Eddie gave it willingly."

"If he is the supplier and he gave the blood willingly, when I find him, he will be punished for his part in it. Selling blood, be it human or vampire, is illegal."

"Please let me deal with Jason on my own, Eric," she pleaded.

"Will dealing with him include turning him over to the human police for his crime?" I asked.

"They already suspect him for murder, Eric."

"So it's only I that's supposed follow the letter of the law," I didn't know what I was getting so worked up about. I had already made my decision concerning Lafayette. This new Jason situation was an annoyance, but I really had no interest in causing more trouble for Sookie's brother, especially since it was causing Sookie distress. I meant to ease her mind, not add more of a burden to it.

"No. I don't know." She was frustrated by the situation as much as I was, so I decided to go easy on her.

"What will you do?"

"I really don't know," she confessed. "I'm only asking you to give me the opportunity to try first."

"Alright. When will you speak with him?"

"As soon as I can."

"I hope you're successful, lover." And I did. Jason Stackhouse meant nothing to me; neither did Lafayette Reynolds. But harming them would hurt Sookie and that was something I did care about. I was angry with Lafayette and Jason for putting me in this position. I had to employ diplomacy and that was against my nature.

"So, what are you going to do with Lafayette?"

I stood up and came out from behind the desk. Lafayette shrunk away, but Sookie held her ground. I took her by the elbow and led her out into the hall, out of Lafayette's hearing. I closed the office door and stood directly in front of Sookie. She had to drop her head back to meet my eyes and all that beautiful sunlit hair fell down her back. Since this was a serious discussion, I refrained from plunging my fingers in it and allowing myself to be completely distracted from the topic at hand. She met my gaze with stone cold determination. My little fairy packed balls of steel.

"I can't ignore his crime, Sookie. I can't just let him go with a warning. It's a very serious offense, but it would upset you if there was a physical penalty involved. I doubt Mr. Reynolds could afford any monetary fine I could impose in its place."

"So that leaves what?"

"I could glamour him." I suggested. "It's a happy medium, my dear. It is not something I will entertain with other erring humans, but as he is such a good friend of yours, I'm trying to be reasonable."

"I really don't think that's up to me."

"Criminals don't get to pick their punishment, Sookie. What incentive would they have not to commit crimes?"

"Alright," she nodded. "Do I get to stay in the room?"

"No. Sooner or later, my dear, you have to trust me." She winced a bit. "I will want you to come back in though and test the glamour."

"Test it?" She shook her head confused. "It might not work?"

"It'll work flawlessly against normal humans, but telepaths are different. They can see the blocks in someone's mind and know where to push." I could tell by her uneasy squirming that I was right. Whether she pushed at a glamoured memory before or not, she did recognize them in someone's mind. Hadley's for sure, probably Hugo's, definitely Ginger's. "You are not the only telepath out there." I didn't know where others might be, since telepaths were rare, but they existed and if I had one, I'm sure there were other vampires with them. It was better to be safe than sorry.

"That's why you killed the Anibus guy?"

"Yes. And your lack of control and exposure of your power is something else we'll need to discuss in the very near future." She looked part chagrined and part defiant. I admired her feistiness. I adored how despite the many times she witnessed my temper being unleashed on others, she wasn't afraid of it ever being directed toward her. She may not believe that Lafayette was going to walk out of my office without any bruises, but she had unfailing faith that she could push me to limits no one had before and live to do it again another day.

"I'll wait for you downstairs," she said.

"Actually, why don't you go out to the bar, my dear, and Pam or Ginger will get you some food."

"I already know there's other people down there, Eric," she sighed. I could tell she was tired. We had been traveling and it was 3 o'clock in the morning. I could smell Quinn out in the bar. I was glad she didn't try to shake him. Besides, though I didn't ask, I had no doubt she came rushing over here because she saw me and Lafayette in a dream, it was easier for all involved if she didn't go to sleep just yet.

"Wait out in the bar for now, my lover. I'll take you downstairs or home myself when we're finished." She shrugged and walked out to the bar. It wasn't her discovery of the people in the basement that worried me. They would definitely try to get her to help them if she were by herself. Sookie had a good heart; she likely wouldn't know how to free them, but that didn't mean she wouldn't try and hurt herself in the attempt. She also didn't know all of their offenses either. I intended to have her read them as well, but not in that environment. In my defense, there wasn't anyone down there that didn't deserve to be.

I watched her head over to the bar where Quinn was seated. I took a moment to observe the others in the bar. All the vampires knew when she entered. They all watched her from the moment she left my side until the she got the bar, and even then, there were still eyes on her. I was sure they felt the same way I did when I first met her. There was something about her that I couldn't put my finger on then; but whereas I discovered what the mystery to her was, they would never know her secret. They wondered what it was about her that caused me to put such strict laws into place regarding her; why was it if I wasn't watching her in the bar, Pam was watching her? I could see it in their eyes and smell their fear when they caught me studying them.

When I was sure she was well chaperoned in the bar, I returned to my office and the quivering Lafayette. I sat down in the second chair Sookie vacated and leaned forward, my elbows on my knees.

"Look at me, Lafayette," I said firmly, but he wouldn't. In fact, he looked everywhere but at me. "Let me put it to you this way, it's either look at me or I'll have to kill you." That certainly did the trick. As soon as his eyes met mine, I locked him in. His breathing evened out and an empty look passed over his face. He'd stay that way until I released him.

"Lafayette, do you know where Eddie is?"

"Mother fucker just disappeared. I went to meet him and he wasn't there. I haven't seen or heard from him since."

"Was he supplying you with the blood you sold?"

"Yeah." Figures. We are what we were when we were changed; and Eddie was an overweight doughboy with a self-esteem problem. He'd think Lafayette was a pretty good catch.

"Lafayette, you've never been to Fangtasia before. You were not held against your will and you've never met Pam. You know me only as Sookie's devoted and fierce vampire husband. You will leave here tonight with a new protective feeling towards Sookie. You'll look out for her at work when I can't be there and defend her decisions on her relationships to her friends. You will also do your best to discourage people from questioning Sookie about me or the man named Quinn who will be hanging around her. After all, you understand what it's like to be judged harshly for what you are. You will no longer sell vampire blood. You will no longer indulge yourself in vampire blood and you will help Sookie in her endeavor to intervene in her brother's addiction, doing whatever she needs to get him clean. As for where you've been all this time, you decided to take some time off to rethink the course your life is on and make some changes for a new and better you. If you see or hear anything about the whereabouts of Eddie, you will come to me with the information immediately. Can you do all that, Lafayette?"

"Sure."

"Good." I said. I brought Sookie back in and after she poked around a bit and nodded, released Lafayette. "Go wait outside by the bouncer; someone will drive you home."

He stood up and walked out of the office, still in a bit of a daze.

I walked up behind Sookie, gently brushed the hair from her shoulder and dropped a kiss right where her throat met her clavicle. I smiled briefly at her slight shiver and small increase in her heart rate. She turned around and leaned into me, pressing her cheek against my chest.

"There's plenty of time for me to fly you home, lover; unless you'd like me to just take you downstairs."

"If we go home, will you stay or come back?"

"I can stay," I nodded. We walked out to the bar and I directed Ginger to drive Lafayette back to Bon Temps. I looked at Quinn over Sookie's shoulder. "You can come back at dawn." He shrugged and turned back to the bar.

Sookie and I slipped out the back door. She climbed onto my back and I took flight. She clutched me tightly as we bulleted through the night sky. It was cloudy, so there wasn't much to look at. I could smell the impending rain. I wondered if we would ever fall into a routine or if it would always be one thing after another. Life with Sookie would never be mundane. I just didn't see how that was possible.

As soon as we landed in the front yard, I dropped my fangs with a hiss. "What's wrong?" Sookie said quietly from her perch on my back. "Someone's been here. A scent I don't recognize. Not your brother; not the shifter. It's a fresh human scent. Hold on to me." She did and I streaked around the yard following the scent. Whoever it was went to both doors of the house. "I also smell Fintan."

"Maybe he came here with the human."

"Why would he?" I countered.

"I don't know. I could call him and find out if he smelled the human. Maybe they were here when he was."

The smell of fairy drifted pleasantly through my head. Why the hell wouldn't Fintan mask his scent here? He'd know I'd be here. "We need to get inside." She didn't argue with me. The first thing I did inside was go room by room and check for new scents but there weren't any. That human scent was laid between the time I left this evening and the time we returned. Why would a human be calling on Sookie in the middle of the night? For that matter, why would Fintan? Then again, fairies were bizarre; who knew why they did anything.

Sookie was crawling into bed when I came into the bedroom. "I really liked that bed at Godric's," she murmured. Her eyes were at half-mast and she was curling up under the blankets. "Being in my own bed is nice, but that was the softest bed I ever laid on. It's a good bed."

"I can call Liam and find out where the mattress came from and have one shipped to you. Would you like that?"

"Mmmm…" She smiled and stretched like a cat. She closed her eyes and I ran my fingers through her hair.

"Rest during the day, my beauty and tomorrow we'll stay up and watch the sunrise."

I chuckled when her eyes flew open. "Really?" She looked hopeful.

"Do you think you could wait another few hours now? It's probably less than two hours off at this point."

"Probably not. Where would we go to see it?"

"Savannah, Hilton Head, you pick. We'll watch the sunrise and then spend the day in a hotel there and come back at dusk."

"Would you be okay with that?"

I shrugged. "I guess we'll see. I've got a decent amount of your blood in me that I can probably last a few minutes. We'll get a room with a balcony that faces the ocean."

"We'll top you off before it starts," she said eagerly. I gave her a half laugh. She was entertaining. And she was in love with the idea. She reached out and linked our fingers. "That would be really wonderful. I don't want you to suffer for it though."

"I don't think I'd want to make a daily event of it, but I think I can withstand it for a little bit." I stretched out next to her and she kissed the back of my hand and hugged it to her heart. I pulled her close with my other hand and she snuggled into my chest.

Sookie hasn't had a lot of romance in her life and God knows, I hadn't gotten to give her too much. She seemed to like the star gazing bit though, so we'll have to make a point to repeat that again soon. Some things came naturally, like wanting to show her the stars, but otherwise, I had to really think about it. To my way of thinking, not slaughtering her friend tonight was a romantic gesture; though she probably would say it was just the decent and compassionate thing to do. I didn't give a shit about decent and compassionate.

Sookie didn't seem to care about big gestures though. She was more about the little things. I could shower her with jewels, and I probably would too. I foot the bill for all the improvements made to the house. In the very near future, I was going to buy her a new convertible and have a mattress shipped from Texas, but what was it that made her breath catch and her heart speed up in anticipation? The idea of watching a sunrise with the man she loved. I could endure some discomfort and possible pain so she could have something like that. Sookie wasn't one to ask for things, which only made me want to give her that much more.