Disclaimer: I own nothing...it all belongs to the great Charlaine Harris (and maybe a few things to Alan Ball.)

A/N: HOLY SH*T! I won a 2012 Fangreaders Award and didn't even know I was nominated! (I admit it...sometimes I'm a little slow on the uptake.) Les Bon Temps Rouler won 2nd prize in the Pam Ravenscroft Panelist Award category, which was chosen from all of the first round nominees, minus the other winners in each category. I had no idea this story was even nominated, so imagine my surprise when I was perusing the list of winners this past weekend and saw it there. I feel that LBTR pales in comparison to many of the stories on this site, so praise like this really means a lot to me. I actually got choked up when I saw it listed! Thanks so much to the Fangreaders Chatgroup for nominating me and to all of you who continue to follow, read and review my little story! You guys are the very best and I love you to pieces! :)

I had to laugh when reading some of the reviews of my last chapter. Several of you remarked after Chapter 48 that you thought Sookie forgave Eric a little too quickly and easily for his drunken flirting and slips of the tongue, but when I had her bring the subject back up in the last chapter and admonish him again, I got reviews saying that she needs to leave it alone and stop bringing it up now that she has forgiven him...LOL! It just goes to show that everyone sees things from a different viewpoint (and it provides me with endless entertainment!) Thank you to Manasseh for the idea to have Sookie call Eric "Bill" in retaliation...it's the kind of snarky thing I probably would've done, too.

Chapter 50:

"SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP ME!" Sookie screamed again, trying in vain to stop the flow of blood from Eric's head with one hand, while groping in his coat pockets for his cell phone with the other. Just as her fingers found his phone in the inside breast pocket, she heard voices and turned to see Tyler and another man rounding the corner at a jog. Upon seeing Eric and Sookie, Tyler broke into a full sprint and reached them in a matter of seconds, already dialing 911 on his cell phone.

"We need an ambulance and police at West 53rd near Broadway," he said hurriedly. "A man's been injured and is unconscious, bleeding from a forehead wound." Shoving his phone in his pocket, he dropped to his knees next to Sookie. Recognizing what she was trying to do, he quickly shrugged out of his jacket and removed his white button-down shirt, handing it to her for Eric's head. She folded it several times and placed it over the gash, applying steady pressure.

"Eric," she sobbed. "Baby, can you hear me?"

God, please let him be okay! she prayed.

"He's breathing and his pulse is steady," Tyler said and Sookie noticed for the first time that he was holding Eric's wrist and looking at his own watch, timing his pulse.

"Are you some kind of paramedic?" Sookie asked through her tears.

He flashed her a strained smile. "No, the limo company I work for requires CPR training for all of their drivers. What happened, Sookie?" he asked.

"Some guy pulled a gun on us and demanded Eric's wallet, my purse and my jewelry. When Eric asked him not to take my ring, he hit him with the barrel of the gun!" On the last four words she broke into sobs once again.

"Hey, it's okay," he said, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. Just then she heard the sound of sirens, which quickly became louder until she saw flashing red lights as an ambulance turned down the street toward them. At the same time, Eric moaned loudly and stirred.

"Sweetheart," she said in relief, stroking his face with her free hand. His eyes fluttered open and he grimaced in pain. "It's okay…you're going to be okay. The paramedics are here." As if on cue, two paramedics rushed over and knelt down on either side of him.

"Sir, can you hear me?" one asked, reaching past Sookie to grasp the shirt she was holding against Eric's forehead. She didn't hear Eric's response because the other paramedic was talking to her.

"Ma'am, we need you to please move to the side so we can take care of him."

Sookie started to protest, but Tyler took her arms gently and drew her up to her feet. "C'mon…we'll be right here while they're tending to him, but these officers need to talk to you about the attack." She turned around to see two uniformed policemen standing behind her.

"Miss- ?"

"Stackhouse," she managed weakly. "Sookie Stackhouse."

"Ms. Stackhouse," the officer continued, "can you tell me what happened here?" He had kind blue eyes and a soothing voice that didn't match his rugged face.

"W- We were walking back to the theater to meet our driver and a man approached us asking for m- money to get a m- meal." She knew her voice was quavering - in fact, her entire body was shaking like a leaf - but she couldn't seem to control it. "Eric…m- my boyfriend," she added, turning to look at Eric where he was being treated and noting with relief that he was moving and seemed to be talking to the paramedics, "gave the guy a ten, but then he pulled up his shirt to show us that he had a gun in the waistband and demanded that we give him the wallet, my purse and my jewelry. When Eric asked him to let me keep my ring, he hit him in the forehead with the gun. I started screaming and I think that scared him, so he ran off." Sookie was crying openly now and Tyler handed her a tissue before draping his jacket over her shoulders. She looked at him gratefully, and nodded in thanks.

"Can you give us a description of your attacker?" the officer asked her.

"He was tall," Sookie said, sniffling loudly. "But not as tall as Eric…maybe 6 feet or 6'2"? White guy with brown shaggy hair…scruffy face. I thought he was homeless. His clothes were dirty and pretty ratty. He had on a black t-shirt and ripped dark blue jeans."

"Any idea how old he might be?"

"I'm not very good with age based on looks," she sighed apologetically, "but I'd guess he was somewhere between 35 and 45."

"Eye color?"

"Dark…probably brown, but I couldn't say for sure."

"I need your boyfriend's name and your contact information and we'll need to get a list of what he took," the officer said to her, scribbling frantically in his notebook.

"Eric Northman," she answered, look back over and seeing that they were helping Eric onto a stretcher.

"Like the singer?" he asked, his eyes wide in disbelief.

"Yes, he's the singer," Sookie answered resignedly. She saw that Tyler was walking back toward her, obviously having left to check on Eric. She also noticed that a crowd of curious onlookers had gathered nearby.

"He's asking for you," Tyler told her. Her heart leapt and she immediately rushed to Eric's side, ignoring the officer who was still talking to her. Her eyes filled with tears when she saw him up close. He was deathly pale with a temporary bandage and ice pack covering his forehead.

"Oh god, Eric!" she nearly sobbed, taking his hand and holding it to her lips. Even through the pain and exhaustion Sookie couldn't miss the relief in his expression.

"Hey," he said softly, giving her a weak smile. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she assured him. "It's you I'm worried about. There was so much blood!"

"Head wounds bleed ridiculously, but it's only a shallow flesh wound," one of the paramedics spoke up from beside them. "He'll probably need several stitches. He's dizzy and has blurry vision, though, so there's a good possibility he has a concussion. We're going to take him to the hospital now if you'd like to ride along up front." Sookie nodded, then, remembering the police officer who had been questioning her, turned to look behind her uncertainly.

"The police will meet you at the hospital," said Tyler, noticing her confusion. "They want to question Eric, too, to make sure they have as much detail as possible." Sookie took his jacket from her shoulders and handed it back to him with a tearful smile.

"Thank you, Tyler…for everything."

"No problem," he grinned sheepishly. "I'm just sorry your evening turned out like this. Did you at least enjoy the show?"

"I loved it."

Turning back to Eric, Sookie saw that they were preparing to lift him into the ambulance. "I'll see you as soon as we get to the hospital," she told him, leaning down to kiss his lips gently. "I love you."

"I love you, too," he answered, smiling faintly and squeezing her hand before closing his eyes.

At the hospital there was a flurry of activity in the emergency room as they brought Eric inside. Someone at the scene had realized who Eric was and alerted the media – Sookie prayed it wasn't the police officers who would stoop that low – and several reporters and photographers were crowded around outside trying to get pictures and eye-witness testimony. The night security guards had done an efficient job of barring them from coming into the hospital but Sookie figured it was only a matter of time before someone was able to sneak past under the pretense of being sick or injured. As a result, they had provided a private treatment area for Eric and Sookie was allowed to stay with him while he was being treated.

An hour and a half later, after being questioned again at length by another police officer and filling out pages of medical forms, Sookie sank wearily into a reclining chair next to the bed in Eric's hospital room with her head in her hands. It was 2:30am and she was beyond exhausted. It was determined that Eric did in fact have a mild concussion and the gash in his forehead had required eight stitches, so he was admitted overnight for observation. They had given him some oral pain medication a short while earlier and he was sleeping peacefully.

Looks like none of your nights in New York are turning out like you'd planned, she thought wryly as she fiddled with the lever on the side of her chair to make it recline. A nurse had brought her a pillow and a blanket and she settled back with both to get as comfortable as possible. A few minutes later, as she was just drifting off to sleep, she was startled by the sound of Eric's cell phone ringing. The sound was coming from inside the pocked of his jacket hanging on a nearby chair and she jumped up quickly to retrieve it. The display read 'Chris' and featured a picture of Eric's brother making a goofy face. Sookie swallowed the lump that suddenly formed in her throat and answered.

"Hello…Chris?"

"Who is this?" a male voice demanded with an edge of panic.

"This is Sookie."

"Holy shit, is Eric okay?"

"Well, he's in the hospital with a mild concussion and eight stitches in his forehead, but yes…he's going to be fine. He's sleeping right now." Chris's sigh of relief was audible through the phone.

"Thank god!"

"How did you know something was wrong?" Sookie asked curiously.

"My ex-girlfriend just called me and said she saw a news report on CNN that Eric had been mugged in New York and was in the hospital in intensive care."

"Intensive care?" Sookie scoffed. "He's in a regular room and the only reason they even admitted him was for overnight observation because of the concussion."

"That's the media for you," Chris grumbled sarcastically. "Was the mugging even real, or did he just trip going down the stairs?"

"No, it was real alright," Sookie said with a shudder. "The guy had a gun and he took Eric's wallet, my purse and my jewelry…then he hit Eric in the head with the gun."

"Christ!" Chris said under his breath. "Are you okay? Were you hurt, too?"

"No, I'm fine," she sighed. "It just scared a few years off my life expectancy."

"Well, thank god for that. I guess I should call my folks and tell them what's going on before they hear it on TV or from someone else. I'm sure they're in bed already, but I wouldn't want them to wake up to it on the morning news. I'll call his manager Sophie, too. Maybe she can do something about the inaccurate news reports…get them corrected or something."

"Yeah…I called Pam as soon as we got to the hospital so she could cancel Eric's credit cards and wire him some money. The rest of our trip should be fun with no ID and no credit cards."

"Just think of it as an adventure," Chris laughed. "Eric loves shit like that."

"I have a feeling Eric is going to have a headache for several days, so he won't care too much about adventure."

"Well…I should let you go and get some rest," said Chris reluctantly. "Give Eric a hug from me. I'm sure he'll be hearing from Mom and Dad tomorrow. I'll make the phone call to Sophie, too, but if there's anything else I can do just let me know."

"Thanks, Chris," Sookie said gratefully.

"You're welcome. And Sookie…?"

"Yes?"

"It was nice meeting you." She could hear the smile in his voice through the phone. "Eric talks about you non-stop."

"Nice meeting you, too Chris," she said sincerely. "I hope we can meet in person soon."

"I look forward to it…G'night, Sookie."

"Goodnight, Chris."