Disclaimer: Everything belongs to CH and AB...sadly. ((sigh!))

A/N: Thank you once again to all of my loyal readers, especially those who grace me with reviews. Thanks specifically to MerryCain, kerriki, TeaCupHuman, BlahBlahVampireEmergencyBlah, Xia Cheyenne, MissyDee, FangbangerLayla, nordiclover, lhanson, Northwoman, ap630, EdgeofSomething, TMack25, ChickiesMom, ljhjelm49, ILoveVikings, GoddessD, EternityLoveHope, twodognite, LiDa 23, northmannorthman, and Lady Northman for reviewing the last chapter. You guys rock!

I know there are some of you who still think Eric got off too easily, but since my story isn't labeled as "angst", I don't want to get too bogged down with it. And for those of you who requested more drama, I hope this chapter satisfies.

Chapter 49:

Sookie awoke slowly sometime later to the feel of Eric's lips on her neck and bare shoulder.

"Mmmm…what time is it?" she sighed, stretching and yawning lazily.

"It's almost 5:30," he answered, teasingly nipping at her earlobe. They had slept for nearly three hours and Sookie felt immeasurably more alive than she had that morning.

"Somebody's feeling better," she smirked with a raised eyebrow, turning over to face him.

"Yeah, a little Sookie and a few hours of sleep…just what the doctor ordered," he said, grinning rakishly.

Sookie rolled her eyes in affectionate exasperation before planting a kiss on his lips. "So, do we have plans for tonight?"

"We have tickets for a Broadway show at eight and I did make dinner reservations for six, but I think we might need to change that since we took such a long nap. How 'bout we skip dinner out and order room service instead?"

"That'll work," she agreed, reaching for the room service menu on the nightstand and flipping through it. After a few moments of deliberation, she passed the menu to Eric and said, "I'll have the lobster ravioli and a spinach salad. Why don't you call in our order and then join me in the shower?" she added, heading for the bathroom after throwing a suggestive wink at him over her shoulder. The resulting look on his face was priceless – shock…awe…excitement – and Sookie laughed as she watched him fall over himself in an attempt to grab the phone on the nightstand as quickly as possible, knocking over the lamp in the process. She was still giggling uncontrollably as she stepped into the shower.

At 7pm Sookie walked out of the bedroom into the living room of the hotel suite dressed in the sexy red dress she had worn for her birthday outing. Looking up from his channel surfing, Eric's eyes widened appreciatively and he wolf whistled.

"I was hoping I'd get to see you in that dress again," he said as his eyes traveled ardently over her from head to toe. Sookie flushed under the heat of his intimate gaze, but her embarrassment was soon forgotten when he stood up and she got the full view of him. He wore a black suit with a powder blue dress shirt and a black, grey and blue striped tie. His gorgeous face was clean shaven and his hair was combed back, still slightly damp from the shower.

Holy hell…the man is beautiful!

"Wow," she said, her voice just barely louder than a whisper.

"What was that?" Eric asked with an amused smirk, slowly swaggering toward her.

"Wow," she sighed again, her eyes wide and her body frozen in place. "You look incredible."

"Not half as incredible as you do," he argued, placing his hands on her bare shoulders and leaning down to kiss her softly. Sookie's arms snaked around his waist, pulling him closer as he deepened the kiss. The clean masculine scent of his soap and shampoo assaulted her senses and her knees weakened in response. He reacted by tightening his embrace and smiling against her mouth. "We'd better stop this," he said reluctantly, pulling away and dragging a hand through his hair. Sookie smiled sheepishly and reached up to remove the smudges of her lipstick from his lips with her thumb.

A white stretch limo was waiting in front of the hotel and Sookie shook her head in amazement when Eric pulled her toward it.

"A cab would have been fine," she chided.

"For sightseeing maybe…but not for a Broadway show," he said as the driver, who looked like no more than a teenager, came around to open the door for them, introducing himself as Tyler.

"Oh my god, is he even old enough to have a driver's license?" Sookie gasped once Tyler had closed their door and was out of ear shot.

"He does look kind of young, doesn't he?" Eric agreed with a laugh. Tyler shook his head in amusement as he got into the driver's seat, noting the look of shock on Sookie's face.

"Before you ask…yes, I'm old enough to drive," he grinned. "I'm twenty-four, even though I look sixteen."

"I was thinking twelve," Sookie muttered under her breath, earning her a playful slap on the arm from Eric.

"I've been driving limos for two years," Tyler continued, either not hearing or choosing to ignore her comment. "I'm a law student at NYU and this job works well around my class schedule." Eric and Sookie chatted with Tyler for the remainder of the trip to the August Wilson Theater and Sookie gasped as they pulled up in front and she spotted the marquis.

"Jersey Boys!" she squealed excitedly. "You're taking me to Jersey Boys?" He had refused to reveal the show to her when she'd asked earlier, claiming that he wanted it to be a surprise. "How did you know I wanted to see this one?"

"Arlene," he said simply, with a shrug and a grin.

"I obviously don't pay that woman enough," Sookie said, shaking her head and smiling affectionately. She had seen many Broadway shows, but Jersey Boys was one she hadn't been fortunate enough to experience yet and she desperately wanted to. Sookie squealed again in glee as the limo came to a stop and Tyler got out to open their door. Eric chuckled as he stepped out of the car and turned back to offer her his hand.

"Call me when you're ready for pickup," Tyler said, handing Eric a card with the number. "I'll just be a few blocks away studying." Eric thanked him before taking Sookie around the waist and leading her into the crowded theater.

Their seats were in the front row of the balcony/mezzanine section and Sookie was thrilled beyond words. Eric knew that she favored the birds-eye view of balcony seats and he had unabashedly used his celebrity status to land the front row. In general, he didn't like to throw his name around for things, but he would do it gladly to evoke a smile like the one she was wearing now.

Sookie was a ball of nervous energy as the house lights in the theater began to dim and she could barely keep still in her seat. Eric watched her with amusement from the corner of his eye, silently thanking Arlene for the Jersey Boys suggestion. He had seen the show years earlier, but due to Sookie's enthusiasm he was even more anxious to see it tonight than he was the first time. Observing her giddy expression and the way she unconsciously scooted to the edge of her seat as the stage lights came up, he was reminded of Richard Gere watching Julia Roberts at the opera in Pretty Woman. The thought made him chuckle under his breath.

The show was incredible and Sookie loved every minute of it. She'd always known she would. Her dad had been a big fan of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons and she had grown up listening to and developing an appreciation for their music. She even owned their silver anniversary commemorative box set on vinyl – a 20th birthday gift from her dad that she would always cherish. Apart from a quick trip to the ladies room during intermission, after which she had to rescue Eric from several enthusiastic fans that had cornered him for autographs and hugs, Sookie never left her seat, and the performance was over far too soon for her taste. She had noticed Eric watching her surreptitiously a number of times during the evening with an expression of affectionate amusement, but she was having too much fun to bother feeling self-conscious. She was a musical theater geek and she didn't care who knew it!

It was only 10pm when the show ended and neither of them was ready to call it a night, especially after the power nap they'd both had. "Wanna get some dessert?" Eric asked as they left the theater, lacing his fingers loosely through hers and swinging their arms between them. They had been too stuffed from dinner and too pressed for time to have dessert before leaving the hotel. "There's a great dessert and coffee bar a few blocks from here that stays open late." Sookie nodded in agreement and allowed him to lead her around the corner and down a cross street from the theater. As promised, after a short walk they came upon a brightly lit café called Just Desserts. Apparently well-known by theater goers, the place was already three quarters occupied and filling rapidly. They were able to snag a cozy booth in the back corner and Sookie was relieved to see that no one seemed to recognize or even notice Eric.

"Oh my god, how am I ever going to decide?" Sookie lamented, discovering that the menu contained three full pages of mouth-watering desserts to choose from in addition to an impressive gourmet coffee selection.

"Well, if you can narrow it down to three, they have a sampler you can order."

"Okay Bill, I think I'll do that," she sighed, frowning with intense concentration at the menu once again.

"Bill?" Eric's face was a mask of confused suspicion. Sookie ignored him and continued pouring over her menu thoughtfully.

"I think I'll have the chocolate turtle pie and-"

"You just called me Bill," Eric growled.

"Did I?" Sookie asked innocently. When she looked up and saw his expression a smirk curved her lips. "Well, I figured if it was okay for you to call me by your exes' name, why couldn't I do the same?"

Eric's expression immediately became contrite and his eyes dropped to the table. "Sookie," he choked. Looking back up at her with a furrowed brow, he reached across for her hands, lacing their fingers together securely. "You don't know how sorry I am about what happened last night. I should never have had that much to drink."

"You know you were flirting with another woman, too, don't you?"

"NO!" he exclaimed in disbelief, his fingers tightening in hers. "I don't even remember seeing any other women last night, and I know there was no one in that place that could come close to comparing to you…no one anywhere would."

"That may be, but you still did it," she scolded, her eyes flashing with hurt.

"It will never happen again," he declared resolutely, his gaze holding hers unwaveringly. "In fact, I promise you now that last night was my last experience with hard liquor. It obviously affects my judgment negatively, and if it causes me to hurt you then I want no part of it."

Sookie nodded, hoping she wouldn't live to regret her easy acceptance.

The uncomfortable tension of their conversation was broken by the approach of their server, and after a bit more consideration they agreed to share a 3-dessert sampler and selected carrot cake (Eric's favorite), chocolate turtle pie (Sookie's top choice), and cheesecake (a mutual favorite.)

"I have a surprise for you," Eric said mysteriously after the server had taken their order and brought them coffee.

Sookie's eyes widened questioningly. "What is it?" Eric didn't answer, but reached into the inside pocket of his suit jacket and pulled out an unmarked envelope, handing it to her with an expectant smile. She took it from him and drew open the unsealed flap, pulling out a folded sheet of paper. Scanning it quickly, she looked up at him in amazement. "Majorca? Seriously?"

"MmmHmm," he nodded, winking at her. It was a certificate for a 4-day luxury vacation in Majorca, Spain, which Sookie had noticed the night before on the silent auction table at the charity ball.

"I didn't know you were even bidding on anything!"

"I did it while you were dancing with Russell," he explained with a wink. "I didn't know until today at lunch that I'd won, though. They called while I was on the phone with Pam, which is why I was so late joining you guys at the restaurant. I had to go to the reception desk and pick up the certificate." Sookie just stared at him incredulously. "So…do you want to go to Majorca with me?"

"Of course!" she choked. "When?"

"Well, the certificate is good for a year, but I was hoping we could do it at the end of next month when I have a short break in the tour." Sookie immediately pulled out her Blackberry and began scrolling through her calendar for September.

"We have a huge event the second weekend of September, but after that I'm open until late October."

"Good," Eric said, as their server returned with the dessert sampler. "I'll get the exact dates from Pam when I get back and have her go ahead and book the trip." Sookie couldn't erase the permanent grin from her face over this fantastic surprise.

Four days on a Mediterranean beach with Eric Northman…girl, you're living a dream!

They immediately dug into their decadent dessert selection and all talking ceased, save an occasional spontaneous exclamation of delight. When they had finished the desserts, practically licking the plate clean, Eric paid the check and then placed a call to Tyler, telling him to meet them back at the theater in 20 minutes.

"I figure we could use the walk after the calories we just put away," he joked, taking her hand and leading her outside.

"True…and then there's another calorie-burning activity we could engage in when we get back to the hotel," she said with a wicked grin. Eric just groaned and pulled her in for a sultry kiss.

"You don't know how hard it is not to think of those activities when you're wearing that dress," he murmured hotly in her ear. Sookie laughed as she pulled away and looped her arm through his to continue their walk. Turning down a side street to cross back over to the theater, they noticed a homeless man approaching and Eric protectively tightened his grip on Sookie's arm.

"Man, could you spare a couple dollars?" the man, who was tall and appeared to be somewhere between his early 30's and mid-40's, asked in a gravelly smoker's voice. "I haven't had a meal today." He stopped a few feet in front of them and after a moment's hesitation Eric reached into his coat pocket and pulled out his wallet. He opened it and removed a folded ten dollar bill, holding it out as the man stepped closer.

"Actually, I'll take the whole thing," the man said with a crooked smirk, raising the front of his black t-shirt to reveal a handgun tucked into the waistband of his torn jeans. His eyes were hard and cold and Sookie reflexively took a step backward.

Holy shit, he's got a gun!

"Where do you think you're going, sweetheart?" the man sneered, grasping the handle of the gun and pulling it out of his waistband. "You can hand over your purse and your jewelry, too." Eric instinctively stepped forward, angling his body between the gunman and Sookie.

"Don't do anything stupid, Romeo," warned the man, now pointing the gun squarely at Eric, who tossed his wallet on the ground near the guy's feet. "I don't really want to hurt you or your pretty little girlfriend, but I will if you give me any grief." Wide-eyed, with her heart slamming in her chest like a sledgehammer, Sookie quickly removed her earrings and her watch, dropping them in her purse and throwing it on the ground near Eric's wallet. The earrings were $30 costume pieces and the watch was a Timex, neither one worth a second thought. "The ring too, princess," he demanded, stepping forward and motioning with the gun toward the hand she still had tucked in the crook of Eric's arm. It was the black pearl ring Eric had given her for her birthday and Sookie removed it with tears welling in her eyes.

"Look man, there's over four hundred dollars in my wallet," Eric reasoned. "Take it and let her keep the ring."

"I don't remember asking you," the man growled angrily, stepping forward again until he was almost nose to nose with Eric, "I told you to give me the jewelry!" Sookie saw a quick glint of metal and heard a sickening thud as the man's hand shot out and the barrel of the gun connected with Eric's forehead, sending him tumbling to the pavement and nearly taking Sookie with him. She couldn't hold back the involuntary scream that tore from her throat and the sound appeared to startle their attacker. He looked around in alarm before wrenching the ring from Sookie's grasp and bending down hastily to pick up Eric's wallet and her purse. With one last furtive glance over his shoulder he turned and sprinted down the street in the direction Eric and Sookie had come from.

Sookie dropped to her knees next to Eric's crumpled form and nausea threatened to overcome her when she saw the blood gushing from the wide gash in his forehead.

"SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP ME!"