So one of my readers said I owed a Christmas gift to all of you out there, and I couldn't agree more! I want to wish everyone out there a happy holiday season and thank you all, from the bottom of my heart, for reading. You have stuck with me through angst and drama. When many left, impatient, you all stayed and continued on! And I appreciate it. SO, while this chapter is short, it is significant. Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays to you all!

Where Love Will Lead

Chapter 36

Eric

Eric held Sookie as she slept, knowing he should get up and go take care of things that needed to be taken care of, but he couldn't leave her side just yet.

It had been a terrible night. Tonight he had dealt with Nora. By the time he was done with her, he was desperate to get back to Sookie and the comfort her embrace afforded him. He looked down into her angelic face and gently brushed his fingers through her hair.

Even in sleep, her arms gripped him on instinct and he smiled. She was sound asleep, which was good. He could tell she hadn't been getting enough sleep. Especially with the coming threat of Warlow. Eric remembered the 4,000 year old vampire file Pam had rustled up.

Warlow's history was riddled with brutality and barbarism. Russell Edgington looked like a puppy dog compared to him. Then, a little over a hundred years later, he disappeared from record. This was common with many old vampires. They didn't want to progress along with the rest of vampire society, so they hid themselves as best they could, governed only by themselves. This was what Eric supposed had happened with Warlow. Until he received word that Sookie existed.

Now Eric needed a plan. He had promised Sookie he would keep her safe, but he still had to develop a plan on how to do it. Blood contracts were pretty binding. Even Sookie's Fae kin would be bound to hand Sookie over. He needed a way around the contract to keep her by his side. Bonding himself to Sookie was his first instinct, but Eric still didn't know if this was enough.

Eric inhaled her scent and looked down into Sookie's face. He wondered if Sookie would want that. He wondered if he could even do it. It was one of the only ways that Eric knew for certain that would keep her by his side. Vampire children were never, ever, parted from their maker if their maker didn't release them. Ever. It was programmed in their makeup. Eric wondered if she had ever considered it when she was with Bill.

Eric rolled on his back slightly, pulling Sookie with him, and looked at the ceiling wondering what Sookie would be like as a vampire. She would be lethal and beautiful. Her fire coupled with the vampire strength and ferociousness would make her truly spectacular. She would be as unique as you could get. Something deep inside Eric stirred when he thought he could be maker to such a fearsome creature.

Sookie grumbled in her sleep and Eric rubbed her back soothingly so she was lulled back under. She slumbered soundly and Eric was grateful for it. It made him think of being a maker. All Eric wanted to do was to care for Sookie and love her. He had not even had that desire with Pam when he had been forced to make her. Pam, as usual, had pushed him into the role of maker and now he was grateful for it. Pam was the most loyal companion he could have ever imagined.

And even though he was happy he had Pam now, back then it wasn't something he had thought he wanted. He thought she was just a beautiful woman worth helping in order to fuck. Sookie was different. Eric wanted her in every way, especially as a Maker wanted a child.

Eric's mind swirled as he laid there and it all circled back to Nora. He was feeling so many things and he was pissed as hell. Godric had been right this whole time. Eric was ruled by his emotions. Even tonight. Fuck, he could admit it, love. Eric loved Nora. He loved Pam. He had loved Godric. He was in love with Sookie. Tonight he had to overcome the love he held dear for his sister and teach her the painful way not to fuck with him or his.

The smell of her burning flesh still lingered in his nose, and Eric smelt her blood on his skin even after his shower. Eric had come back and Tara had been terrified, wanting to know if Pam was okay. Eric had blood tracks down his cheeks from watching Nora beg Eric for mercy, her screams of agony ringing in his ears even now. It had been almost unbearable for him to hold his mask of fury and cold indifference as he put his sister through what he would put any other vampire who had wronged him to the degree that she had.

After he reassured Tara and dismissed her for the night, he looked to Sookie sleeping on the couch and it had reminded him of why he had to do what he had done. To keep her safe. After what he did to Nora tonight, any vampire would be fool to cross him where Sookie was concerned.

He quickly showered and changed then grabbed Sookie from the sofa and led her to the small cabin bedroom. She had no idea what her warm heat and firm little grip did for him. It was like she was protecting him from himself. He knew if he wasn't here with her right now, he would be falling apart.

Eric suddenly felt her hand on his cheek and looked down in her face. She had woken up and Eric honestly didn't know how long she had been. Her face was full of concern and she sat up and cradled his face. "What's wrong?" she whispered.

Eric only looked at her and then kissed the palm of her hands. He pulled away in confusion and saw blood in them. His blood. It was then that he realized he had been crying. Sookie leaned forward and kissed his cheeks and then his mouth softly and asked, "What happened tonight?"

Eric could only look at her and she just nodded and then wrapped her arms around him. She held onto him as he hugged her back and she whispered in his ear, "It's okay. You don't have to say anything. I am here when you need me."

Eric closed his eyes and was lost in this. It was the...sweetest and most sincere thing anybody had ever done for him. It provided comfort and support, without any strings or expectations, not even an explanation of what was wrong. Sookie was just being there for him. Eric buried his face in her hair and truly let himself be comforted by Sookie.

He was now sitting up and holding her on his lap, completely lost in her hug. She rubbed his back with one hand, while one hand gently stroked through his hair as he clung to her. It could have been hours or days. She had no idea how much she was doing for him in this small gesture.

When he felt like he could pull away, he did. He kissed Sookie's cheeks and then her lips softly like she had and lay back on his back with her sprawled on top of him. Her chin rested on his chest, her eyes looked at him with so much love, and lots of concern. She wanted to be there for him, he realized, without pushing him. She wanted to take care of him, like he wanted to do for her.

"I tortured Nora," he whispered, his voice hoarse. Sookie only looked down at him. He expected disgust. Or horror. Or confusion. Maybe even satisfaction that Nora got what was coming to her. But he didn't see any of that in Sookie's face though. She was still upset because he was upset. She just wanted to make it better. She just wanted to understand.

Sookie stroked his cheek and after a few minutes she whispered, "I know you expect me to hem 'n haw about bein' vicious and cruel, but I am not gonna. Because I have seen the good in you. And I know you only would do somethin' like that because you felt it was just. It took me awhile to realize at first. But I understand now. And I know you do the right thing, always. It is what I love most about you. That and your ass," she said with a small half smile.

He gave her a smile and she reached her hand up and whispered, "That's another one of my favorites... I love making you smile."

He reached his hands up and whispered, "Sookie, I would...I need to talk to you about something."

She nodded and waited for him to continue.

"I know that you might be wary with what I am about to propose because of our history, but I would like, more than anything...to bond. Again. A full bond. And I want you to understand the meaning of this before we enter into it, so that you understand how important and serious it is to me," he said, not believing the slight shake he heard in his voice.

Sookie pushed herself up and Eric followed her. "Okay, I am listenin'. Explain everythin'."

Sookie

"Really, it is like is a marriage. A marriage we can never give up on. I would never want to give up on you Sookie," he said, finishing his explanation of what it meant to bond.

Sookie looked at him, searching his eyes to see if he really meant it. She couldn't go through another bond severing spell. It would surely kill her this time, especially if the last one was only once and what Eric was talking about now was three times.

Sookie chewed her bottom lip and closed her eyes. She knew what she wanted. She wanted the bonding. She wanted to believe that this is what Eric wanted because he wanted her.

But she also knew that Eric was doing this because he wanted to protect her from Warlow. She wouldn't run from Eric. But she didn't want Eric to feel a pressure to do something as serious as bond in order to protect her.

Eric touched her cheek and she opened her eyes. "Sookie?"

"Do...do you want this? I mean, really want this. If I wasn't in danger. If Warlow wasn't after me, would you still want to do this?" she asked.

Eric's face relaxed and he gave a small smile to Sookie, "Sookie. I want this more than anything. I want this so much. If you weren't in danger, if you are in danger...it doesn't matter to me. For better or for worse, isn't that how it goes?" he asked, a slight teasing to his voice.

"Doesn't it bother you that I'll be the only one doin' the dyin'?" she asked, repeating his words he had said so long ago on her porch. Her question was a loaded one. They had never spoken about the subject of her being turned.

It had never been something she had wanted before. When she had been with Bill, she knew she absolutely didn't want that. Even though she loved him at the time, she knew she would grow to resent Bill, like he had Lorena. He would keep her, like a perfect Southern Belle doll, only letting her do what he thought she should do. Make decisions for her, rather than with her.

Sookie looked at Eric and knew that wouldn't happen. Eric would be firm as a Maker, but he would never abuse that power. He could see it in the relationship he had with Pam. Sookie didn't know Pam well, especially because they hadn't gotten along much over the years, but she could see there was deep respect and a deep bond there. One that mirrored that of Godric's.

If Sookie were to become a vampire, she would much rather it happen at the hands of someone like Eric, Godric, or Pam who nurtured someone in their new life but gave them the structure they needed to survive. Sookie thought about Warlow and almost cringed at the thought of answering to him as his child.

Eric grabbed both of her hands and gave them a gentle squeeze, causing Sookie to bring her focus back on what he wanted to say to her. "Sookie, know that you will never be pressured into being a vampire. If it is something you want, we can visit that topic when you are ready. I know Sookie, that as you age and mature, so will our relationship. But our bond will never age. It will only grow stronger and so will my love and devotion to you. If you wish to live out your days as a mortal...then I...can and will accept it, as hard as it may be for me."

Sookie's eyes welled with tears and Eric cupped her cheeks, using his thumbs to brush them away. "Sookie, know that by saying yes to me, by bonding to me, you would make me smile for the rest of my existence. I promise I will do everything in my power to do the same for you."

Sookie let out a hiccupped sob and threw her arms around Eric, squeezing him tightly to her. She closed her eyes and she swore she heard her Gran say 'Follow your heart, Sookie'. Sookie opened her eyes and looked at Eric and did just what her Gran said.

"Yes, Eric. I will bond with you."

So? Was it a good Christmas chapter for you all?