Disclaimer: I don't own any of it. If I did I would be on a long, extended vacation right about now...

A/N: My heartfelt thanks to all of you still reading my little story and especially to those of you who send me love, or even criticism, in the form of reviews. ((Hugs and kisses!)) I love you all! :)

Chapter 35:

Sookie was awakened a short while later by the sound of her doorbell. "What the…?" she grumbled, glancing at the clock on the night stand and seeing that it was 11:45pm. She gently detangled herself from Eric's arms and legs and stood up, reaching for the robe hanging on the back of her bedroom door. The doorbell chimed again, causing Eric to groan and sit up groggily. "Coming!" Sookie called as she hurried down the hall toward the front door. Peering cautiously through the peephole, she gasped at the sight and pulled open the door with haste. Her friend Gwen stood on her front porch looking as if someone had just died. Her auburn curls were a frizzy mess, her eyes were swollen and mascara ran in rivers down her face.

"Oh my god, Gwen!" Sookie exclaimed, pulling her quickly inside and into a hug. "What's wrong?"

"It's Andre!" Gwen wailed, a fresh batch of tears filling her eyes. "He's sleeping with one of his interns!" Andre was an attorney with a prominent Shreveport law firm and he and Gwen had been together for three years, the past two spent living together. Truth be told, Sookie had never much cared for Andre - she found him to be extremely arrogant – but after three years everyone's, including Gwen's, expectation was that he would be proposing any day now.

"Are you sure?" Sookie asked, placing a reassuring hand on Gwen's back and steering her toward the sofa. Just then, Eric came into the living room, now dressed in a pair of dark green plaid pajama pants and a plain white t-shirt, raking a hand absently through his sleep-tousled hair.

"Oh god, I'm sorry," Gwen said with a loud sniffle, "I didn't know you had company. I- I can go."

"Don't be silly," Sookie said, directing her to sit down on the sofa and handing her a nearby box of Kleenex. "It's just Eric. Eric, Gwen…Gwen, Eric," Sookie said absently, taking Gwen's hand which she had been wringing in her lap.

"It's nice to finally meet you," Gwen said to Eric through her tears. "I- I don't usually look like this and I'm mortified that this is how we're meeting."

"Don't worry about it," Eric said with a sympathetic smile. "I'm happy to finally meet another one of the Goddesses. Can I get you something to drink? Coffee or hot tea…or something stronger?"

"Tea would be great," Gwen answered appreciatively, "just plain, please." Eric disappeared into the kitchen and Gwen turned back to Sookie. "Good lord, he's gorgeous!" she mouthed, wide-eyed. Sookie smiled with embarrassment and ducked her head.

"What is he doing here?" Gwen asked suspiciously. "I thought you were going to meet him out in the Midwest."

"I did," Sookie explained, "but then I ended up with appendicitis and had to have emergency surgery and he brought me back home yesterday."

"Oh my god, are you okay?" she asked worriedly.

"I'm fine now," Sookie assured her, "just a little sore…and I can't drive for the rest of the week. But nevermind that…tell me what happened with Andre."

"Oh god, Sookie," she moaned, starting to cry again, "we haven't been able to spend much time together the past two weeks because I had to go to Detroit last week for work and he's been working late this week on a huge deposition. So I picked up his favorite sushi tonight and stopped by his office to surprise him…b- but it was me who got the s- surprise!" she sobbed, burying her face in her hands. Sookie rubbed her back and waited until she was able to continue. "I'm sorry," she said hoarsely, taking another Kleenex and dabbing her eyes.

"It's okay, hon," Sookie assured her. "Take your time." Eric came back into the living room in a few minutes bearing hot tea for both women. "Thanks sweetie," Sookie murmured, taking the two steaming mugs from him."

"I'm gonna go back to bed," he said quietly, leaning over the back of the sofa to kiss Sookie's cheek and pat Gwen's shoulder reassuringly, "but if you need me just yell." Gwen smiled gratefully at him and Sookie blew him a kiss as he backed down the hall.

"He's a good guy, isn't he?" Gwen said with a faint smile.

"The best," Sookie answered. Gwen took a deep shuddering breath and then continued her story.

"So I showed up at Andre's office with sushi and a bottle of wine and I found him fucking one of the interns in his office," she said matter-of-factly.

"Bastard!" Sookie spat, her hands clenching into fists.

"Stupid blonde whore!" Gwen sobbed. "What kind of a pompous name is Sophie Ann anyway? She couldn't have been more than twenty-three…he's almost forty for Christ's sake!"

"What did he do? What did he say?" Sookie asked, horrified.

"He just stood there with this deer-in-the-headlights look stammering the typical 'Baby, I can explain' shit."

"And what did you do?" she asked.

"You would have been proud of me, Miss Never-Let-'Em-See-You-Sweat," Gwen said with a tearful smirk. "I just calmly put the basket of food and wine on his desk, turned aound and walked out."

"Wow, did he follow you?"

"He might've tried had his pants not been around his ankles," Gwen scoffed. The vision of Andre trying to chase after Gwen through the law firm with his pants around his ankles was more than Sookie could bear and she laughed outloud in spite of herself.

"Oh Sookie, what am I gonna do?" Gwen wailed, sobbing once again. "I don't even know if he would be stupid enough to try to come home tonight."

"Well you're going to stay here tonight for one thing," Sookie said firmly.

"No, I can't do that," Gwen protested weakly. "You have Eric here and I don't want to impose." Sookie held up a hand to cut her off.

"You are going to stay here and I don't want to hear another word about it. It's after midnight and Eric is leaving around 6am, so he will be long gone before you even wake up. And I wasn't planning to go to work tomorrow because I can't drive yet, so I'll be here all day if you want to hang out…that is, unless you're planning to go to work."

"I haven't thought that far ahead yet," Gwen admitted defeatedly.

"Then we'll worry about it tomorrow," Sookie soothed. "C'mon, let's get you to bed." Sookie found a pair of pajamas for Gwen to borrow and dug up a spare toothbrush as well. Once her friend was settled in the guest room, Sookie returned to her own room, dropped her robe onto the floor next to the bed and crawled back in beside Eric. She expected him to be asleep, but when she lay down he reached out and pulled her against him.

"Is she okay?" he whispered hoarsely, breathing warm air against her cheek.

"Ultimately, I don't know," she answered, "but she'll be alright until tomorrow. Fucking bastard!" Sookie growled. "They've been together for three years and he pulls this."

"Maybe they'll still work it out," he murmured, stroking her back soothingly.

"Are you serious?" she asked incredulously, raising her head to look down at him. "Eric, he slept with another woman…in his office…and it wasn't even an 'alleged' event…Gwen caught him red-handed! And who knows how long this has been going on or how many women?"

"Whoa!" he said holding his hands up defensively, "I'm not condoning what he did, but I don't know their situation or whether or not their relationship could survive something like this."

"I don't think any relationship could survive 'something like this'," she said sharply, miming air quotes. "Blatant infidelity isn't exactly an offense you can just say I'm sorry to and make it go away! I can't believe you would even think that."

"I don't think that, Sookie," Eric sighed touching her shoulder, but she rolled away from him angrily. "Honey, please," he pleaded softly, kissing the back of her neck, "I have to leave in such a short while. Let's not spend it fighting. I didn't mean to make you angry or to come across as insensitive. Please?" he whispered, this time kissing her bare shoulder. Sookie nodded her head in agreement, but remained facing away from him. "I love you," he breathed in her ear, his lips teasing her earlobe and then moving lower to the sensitive skin below. She sighed deeply as he kissed a path down her neck and across her shoulders. She felt his hand slide over her bare hip and around to her breast, gasping when he pinched her nipple between his thumb and forefinger and then gently soothed it with his warm palm. His other hand ventured downward over her bare buttocks and slipped between her thighs, his fingertips stroking her intimately and drawing a low moan in response. He moved closer against her back, giving himself a better reach and allowing him to slide two long fingers into the depths of her heated core.

"Oh god!" she gasped, her hips arching backward against him of their own volition. Her hand reached back over her shoulder to fist in his hair as his mouth clamped down on the flesh between her neck and shoulder. His fingers continued their sensual torture, stroking in and out of her wetness at an increasingly intense pace as she moaned and writhed against him. "Eric, please," she whimpered, her hips bucking against his hand.

"Do you want my fingers or my cock?" he growled in her ear. She didn't answer him verbally, but reached behind to slide her hand under the waistband of his pajama pants and stroke his throbbing arousal. He sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth then she felt him shift away momentarily to remove his pants. Positioning himself behind her again, he gently parted her thighs with his knee and guided himself into her waiting warmth. She pitched her upper body forward slightly and pressed her thighs together, increasing her internal grip on him.

"Oh god, lover," he hissed as he began thrusting in slow, deep strokes, "That feels so good…so tight!" His hand wandered over her upper thigh and further until he found her clit and began stroking her in tiny circles with his middle finger. The pleasure was so intense that Sookie literally saw stars behind her eyes and she cried out into her pillow, still aware that Gwen was sleeping down the hall in her guest bedroom. Eric increased the pace and intensity, feeling her entire body begin to shake in response. "C'mon sweetheart," he panted. "Come for me!" With another muffled scream into her pillow she did just that, her nails digging into his taut thighs as he moved against her. His own cry of ecstasy was released against her bare shoulder and his gasping breaths sent shivers down her spine. Pulling the rumpled sheet back up to cover them, he spooned himself around her and pressed soft kisses against her jaw line and her neck as they both slowly drifted back to reality.

"I love you," he whispered in her ear, his warm breath raising goosebumps on her torso.

"I love you, too," she sighed, finally turning over to face him, "…so very much." The enormous grin on his face took her by surprise. "What?" she asked suspiciously.

"I just love hearing you say it," he said with an even wider smile, pulling her tightly against his chest and kissing the top of her head.

"I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you...," she chanted happily, her voice slightly muffled against his skin.

"I was beginning to wonder after the second time you puked on me," he joked, gently poking her in the ribs.

"You really do love me, don't you?" she giggled. "Any man who can say it after being barfed on twice in one day…now that's true love!"

"Aren't you sleepy?" Sookie asked with a yawn a few minutes later, when she noticed that Eric was still wide awake.

"A little," he admitted, "but I have to get up in like four hours anyway and I just keep thinking that it means I have to leave you…and if I go to sleep those four hours will be over in a matter of minutes." Sookie reached up to gently stroke his face with her fingertips, swallowing the lump that had suddenly formed in her throat. Neither of them spoke for a long time, lost in their own thoughts and content to simply lie holding eachother and breathing in unison. At some point Sookie must have drifted into a dreamless sleep because she awoke alone in her bed and heard the sound of the shower running in her bathroom. Eric emerged a few minutes later, his hair still wet, wearing jeans and a t-shirt that read 'I Love Rock n' Roll'.

"Hi," she groaned, sitting up and yawning and stretching.

"Don't get up," he said, sitting down next to her to put on his shoes. "It's way too early and we didn't get much sleep last night," he grinned, winking at her suggestively.

"You're going to be exhausted for tonight's show," Sookie remarked, sliding closer to him and laying her head on his shoulder.

"I'll sleep on the plane," he said, putting his arms around her and kissing the top of her head. "You need to get some more sleep, too, 'cause I have a feeling you're going to have your hands full with Gwen in a little while." Sookie grimaced, having momentarily forgotten about the whole Gwen and Andre debacle.

"Yeah, I think you're right," she sighed.

"I've gotta go," he told her. "My cab will be here in a minute." Sookie started to get out of bed, but he pushed her back again with a gentle hand. "I told you not to get up," he scolded. "I'll lock the door on my way out."

"Eric," she choked, her voice starting to fail her. "Thank you…for everything. Thank you for staying with me at the hospital when I needed you and for bringing me home…and…and…for just being here for me." Her eyes had filled with tears and she turned her head to avoid his gaze.

"Hey," he said softly, cupping her chin in his hand and turning her to face him again. His eyes were brimming with emotion and she felt as if she might drown in their dark depths. "There's nothing to thank me for. I love you and I'll always be here for you…maybe not always in person…," he added ruefully, "but I'm never more than a phone call away…I promise." With that he leaned in and gave her the most tender kiss she had ever experienced. A kiss of love and promise and longing and hope.

"I'll call you when I land in Columbus," he promised, kissing her once again softly on the forehead before standing up to leave. Sookie watched him walk to the door, stooping down to pick up his duffle and his messenger bag, then turning back to her once more with a wink. "Bye, sweetheart," he said softly and then walked out. She listened until she heard him open and close the front door before finally lying back down and letting sleep overtake her again.

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend! My sweet precious baby boy was kind enough to give me bronchitis, so I plan to do as little as I can get away with this weekend and float away on a cloud of Nyquil...LOL!