THANKS TO: Mistress-Cinder, Andykins, jkazzie, lyra, classicoldmama, sebeaver, Lusty, B-Rock525, lunjul, TJ9390, LostInSpace33, Team-Sooric-Delena, Jodi, TJ9390, KEZZ 1, mindy781

Chapter 44

I open my eyes and feel Eric's arms still around me, holding my belly.

I glow blue at them because maybe they're still hurting and need some Mommy healing.

"My sweethearts," I coo. "It'll be alright. You must have been so scared, just like Mamma was, but we're okay now. I won't let anyone ever get the drop on us again."

I never should have trusted her. I don't even know what really happened or why. Was she part of the plan to kill us? Or maybe she was being forced into getting me in that trap. Either way, they were prepared for it and now I know that the fairy powers are not guaranteed protection. I have to smart with them.

As much as I'd love to stay here all day in his arms, I should shower since I haven't since the ordeal. I sigh as I get up and check my phone to see that he must have let everyone know we came home because Morgan texted that she'll have breakfast ready whenever I wake up. I text her and tell her that I'm awake and will be down in a half hour.

I wonder where my mother went to ground today. Is she still in Dallas? Or did she come here? Or will I never see her again? I wonder if I could use the Looking Glass to find anything out about the babies. I'll visit the club today for sure. Sure I've talked to Maurella but that was before I knew she's my sister.

It dawns on me, as I wash my hair, that this means Jason is only my half-brother, unless my mother had him as well; I'll have to ask. And why did she choose to bind my powers? How did she get turned in the first place? Maybe Maurella can answer some of those questions.

I head downstairs after I'm dressed and find a huge breakfast for me, which is good since I'm starving.

"How are you feeling?" Morgan asks as she pours me some juice.

"Good, I guess. It's likely two of the babies died," I say quietly.

"I know. Eric called and filled us in last night. But… you still have two. You have to focus on that, Sookie. You'll have two beautiful little babies."

"And you'll fall in love with them the first second you see them," Rachel smiles as she sits beside me.

"I already love them so much. I just… feel guilty that I fell for the lies. I put us in that danger and-"

"Stop," Emma orders me. "Stop. Don't go there. You did what you thought was right. You were trying to save people. They didn't want you to know it was a trap and they understood fae powers, Sookie. There was nothing you could have done."

That's not true. I could have not gone at all. Of course Eric's position might have been questioned but at least our babies would still be perfect. I wonder if that's why they were all so sad. Did they see it coming? Did they know two of them were going to die?

I rub my belly and glow purple at them. It'll be okay my little loves. Mamma will take care of you better.

"I know it's hard not to blame yourself," Emma says quietly. "But… you have to focus on the two babies you have so they feel safe and loved."

"I know this and they are very much loved, but I can't simply turn off being sad. And I'm sure they are sad about their siblings as well." I just wish they'd send me some emotions or at least chirp at me. But Eric was right last night: I need to give them a little time to deal with the traumatic experience they had. Maybe they'll chirp tonight, or tomorrow.

"I was thinking of visiting the club today and talking with Maurella. I have so many questions and-"

"I think you should rest," Morgan states.

"You went through something traumatic as well, Sookie," Rachel agrees. "So you are going to rest today. You can swim in the pool or take a hot soak in the tub. We'll bring you lunch in bed if you want, or we can watch movies."

"But-"

"Maurella will be there tomorrow. But how do you expect the babies to process what happened and feel safe, if you're not feeling calm and safe?" Emma asks.

"Did Eric put you all up to this?" I wonder.

"No, but he'd back us," Morgan states. "And if you pause just a second, you'll know we're right."

I know they are as well, but- But I didn't think of my babies first the other day and it almost cost me all of them. I nod my acquiescence.

"A hot soak does sound really nice. Or curling up with a movie."

"And I'm a genius with a mani pedi," Emma smiles. "And I bet we can convince Morgan to make some delicious cookies or brownies for our movie marathon."

"Brownies sound really appealing," I agree.

For the day, I allow my ladies to do their job and really take care of me. After a really long bath with some lavender bath gel, Emma scrubs and massages my feet and then paints my toes a very pretty pink color. My hands get massaged as well and then a darker version of my toe color goes on my nails.

Meg and Dani arrive back from Texas around noon. Dani and I do some light stretching and then she massages my belly and back while I glow at them. All day long I keep thinking at them about how I will keep them safe from now on and never let anything like that happen again. I think about Eric and how amazing he is and how much we both love them so much. I think about the new house and how happy we'll be. I think about learning to ride a horse and running around that big yard with them in the sun.

Mac and cheese and barbeque chicken make the perfect comfort food lunch and the rich fudge brownies disappear during the course of a movie. The only thing that would make things better was if Eric could have spent the day with me, but I'm sure he'll sleep until sunset. He needs the rest to finish his recuperation.

"Here, put your foot on my shoulder," Dani smiles and I do and she starts massaging my calf as well. "Your legs have to be ready to carry around all the added baby weight."

"Think I'll have another growth spurt?" I wonder, remembering when I woke up and had suddenly popped out four inches. I flip the channels, looking for something interesting.

"It's possible," she shrugs. "Fae pregnancies are always very unpredictable because there's so much magic involved and with Eric's blood in the mix, who knows?"

"I'm guessing you may pop a couple times, but it'll mainly be gradual," Rachel says as she sits beside me and hands me a glass of blood. "However we'll keep measuring your tummy to see how you're growing." She pats my belly a little and smiles.

"So… how will they be after they're born? Do fae babies grow at normal rates? Will I get a few infant and toddler years out of them? Or do they grow really fast?" I want to have babies for a little while and be able to enjoy them, since they're the only children I'll ever have.

"Fae grow at normal rates, though we image since they're already showing emotions and trying to communicate, that they'll be much smarter, perhaps due to the vampire blood," Rachel answers. "But don't worry, we can handle anything that comes our way. That's why Amy recommended us."

Dani starts working on my other calf as I settle on an episode of the Golden Girls. "Gran and I used to watch this all the time," I explain. I pull my phone out to check on the time and Eric should be up in a couple hours.

"I'm going to help Morgan with dinner," Emma smiles and walks off. Rachel's glowing gently at my stomach and I do too while I doze in and out of consciousness.

~*~*~*~*~*~

I know it's after sunset when I rise and that doesn't surprise me at all. But I feel strong and rejuvenated, which means the rest and the blood did their jobs.

I showered before dawn so I throw on clothes and follow my intuition to where I feel Sookie's consciousness. I find her floating in the pool under the semi-dark sky.

"Good evening, my lover," I greet her as I walk out.

"Eric!" She's beside me with her arms around me in the blink of an eye. I return her sentiment and lift her in my arms and carry her to a lounge chair where I sit with her in my lap. "You look much better."

"Yes. I feel perfect. The rest and blood did the trick. How are you?" I wonder and touch her stomach. "Anything?" The heartbeat is still strong.

"No," she shakes her head in disappointment. "But I've been resting all day. We started doing some stretching and pregnancy yoga as well. I got a nice massage and Morgan's been making comfort food all day long."

"That's a relief. I was worried you'd spend the day teleporting around trying to fix everything," I tease her and kiss her forehead softly.

"Like I would do that," she laughs, but we both know that's probably what she wanted to do.

Okay, I wanted to, but… the ladies are earning every penny you're paying them.

We, Sookie. We are paying them.

"There's leftovers in the fridge for you, Sookie," Morgan announces. "We're going to head out, unless you need us for anything."

"No, thanks," Sookie tells them. It'll be much easier when they don't have to drive home. One week and we'll be moving to the new place. Last minute security is being installed and her grandmother's furniture is already there, which I think she'll be happy to see.

We sit rubbing her belly for a while as the stars come out but I notice she's getting a chill. "Want to head inside? I can start a fire for us in the bedroom."

"Mmm… that sounds nice." I stand up to carry her inside when the next step I take is into our bedroom. "I think teleport beats vampire speed," she laughs softly as I place her on the bed.

"You're looking quite relaxed," I notice. She smells of lavender and has more color to her than she had last night. The rest must have helped her as well, though I know that we're both sad and worried.

"Being waited on all day was really nice; I felt like a princess."

"Well you are my queen, unofficially still, but… when shall we make it official?" We do have some ceremonies to plan. "Before the babies come?"

"Yes. Most definitely. What's involved in a vampire marriage? I hadn't realized vampires did marriage ceremonies."

"They've traditionally been for political gain," I explain as I put a couple logs into the fireplace so I can start it. "One regent married another to join their states, though now that's out. I can only think of one or two examples where it was for love. But it involves the exchange of a ceremonial knife and of course blood exchange. You'll have to find out what fae ceremonies entail so that can be incorporated as well."

"I'll ask Maurella and Claudette when I see them next," I hear her say from the bathroom as she takes care of her nightly routines. "I ate so much food today, Eric. It's getting ridiculous. I wonder if I'll be able to eat this much after the babies. It's like I never feel full enough."

"Did you take blood today too?"

"Yes, probably eight glasses total, but we didn't have a lot. We left two jars for you but we need more because I could have drank a few more."

I turn to look at her as she walks out from the bathroom nude with her hair cascading down her back. She looks radiant as always as she opens her drawer to find pajamas. I zip up behind her and close the drawer. "I don't think you'll be needing anything from there, Lover." I press my lips to her neck and kiss her gently as my hands slide down her body.

"Oh no? You don't think so?" she asks, lust dripping from her voice. She turns and kisses my chin before tugging at my shirt. "It seems you're over dressed then, Mr. Northman."

"I'll rectify that very soon," I whisper before kissing her slowly. I think we both need to melt into each other tonight.