A/N: I promise to work on SE again soon, but I have been bitten by the bug again. And, dammit, this chapter has Jason and Pam. What more is there? :P Oh, yeah. There's more.

Thanks to ilovemysteries, of course, for being the greatest beta in all the land.

Chapter 30

March 25, 1996

Sookie sat in the waiting room of the obstetrician's office. She tried not to think about how uncomfortable she was, or how many people were thinking about the poor sad teenage girl who was all alone and big as a house, or how many fathers were in the waiting room. Not that her baby's daddy could have come at 10:30 in the morning, anyhow. But she hadn't even heard from him since Christmas Eve. Pam had said that nothing had changed in Texas. At least not after they got him calmed down. And, as far as she knew, he still had no idea that she spent most of her time with Godric and Pam. Eric was making a choice not to call or write, and she had no way to contact him. She didn't know if he was angry at her or not. Hell, she didn't even really know whether or not she was angry at him. But she missed him, and she loved him, and she worried about him, and she wished more than anything that he could be here to help her through this. For her sake, but for his, too.

"Sookie Stackhouse?"

The nurse led her back to a room and took her vitals. Sookie got undressed below the waist, climbed up onto the table, and covered her bottom half with the sheet. At 39 weeks, this was all old hat by now. Her blood pressure had been a little high (no big surprise, considering how much stress she was under), and she'd been coming for weekly visits for more than two months.

The doctor came in and, after he finished his examination, he crossed his arms and leaned against the sink.

"Everything looks alright for now. Your blood pressure is still a little higher than I'd like to see, but it isn't dangerously high. How are you feeling?"

Sookie shrugged. "Ok, I guess."

"Any cramping? Spotting?"

She shook her head.

"If you don't go into labour on your own before your next appointment, we might have to talk about an induction. Do you have a support person yet?"

Sookie shrugged again, and then shook her head. Aunt Linda was barely hanging on, and Gran wouldn't leave her side. The hospice nurse had said days, not weeks. And things with Gran were still kind of strained. Sookie had forgiven her, but she hadn't really forgotten.

She and Tara had barely talked in months. She just felt like a burden. And Tara was busy with graduation stuff, anyway. Tonight was the prom, even.

She wanted Eric with her. And barring that, she wanted Pam. But Godric had said absolutely not. That it was too dangerous. That there would be too many opportunities for exposure. That even a maker's command might not stop Pam in time if she went into bloodlust.

"Your grandmother? A friend?"

Sookie shrugged again. "Maybe."

She just wanted him to let her leave. His thoughts were full of pity and worry, just like every week, and he was trying to decide whether or not to bring up adoption again. She didn't want to hear it, and she mentally begged him not to say anything. He decided against it, and Sookie breathed a sigh of relief.

She made an appointment for the following week and went home. Her back had started aching like crazy again and she just wanted to lie down and hide.

Gran was in Aunt Linda's room, and Sookie crept upstairs. She skipped the creaky step and climbed into her bed, pulling the covers over her head. Hopefully, Gran just wouldn't think about her if she didn't make any noise or show her face. The last thing she wanted to do was hold a conversation. The second last was run errands.

She was too uncomfortable to sleep, and she rolled up onto her knees to try to stretch out her lower back. It hurt even worse than it usually did, and she couldn't wait until after dark so she could get Pam to try to work the kinks out. She wished Eric were here. Pam had told her that orgasms could help kickstart labour, according to that stupid book at least, and she was so ready to not be pregnant anymore. And she bet a little bit of his blood would make the pain go away. She had been weaned off the V for months, and while she didn't miss the vampire blood Pam had given her, she sure missed exchanging blood with Eric. And how it felt to always have him inside of her. Even though she had kind of hated it at the time.

She looked at the clock, hoping that it was at least getting close to sunset. It wasn't even 2:30.

She knew she should get something to eat. She hadn't been hungry in days. She knew she shouldn't spend another day in bed. She'd been sleeping over at Godric's and Pam's most nights just so she could spend all day wrapped up between them.

She just tried to tune out and let her thoughts drift. Anything to not think about the pain. And she did manage to daydream a little. About seeing Eric again. Holding him. Being loved by him. She hoped that he would forgive her for not telling him about the baby. And for loving Godric and Pam, even though they belonged to him and not her. And she hoped that she could forgive him for doing something that she had no right to hold against him. She had promised him that she wouldn't. Although she had asked for discretion in return.

She heard Jason downstairs and rolled her eyes. She was still mad at him. Especially right now, feeling like she was being torn in half. She didn't want to see him, but she really had to go downstairs to use the bathroom. The baby was pushing on her bladder again.

She managed to get herself upright and cursed every stair on the way down. Jason eyed her warily as she walked by. She hit. Especially lately. She was still a few steps from the bathroom when she felt the gush between her legs and it splashed all over the floor. They both looked down at the puddle.

"Shit."

"Uh, Sook?"

"What?"

"That's not pee, is it?"

"No, Jason. No, it isn't."

"Uh. You gotta go to the hospital now?"

She sighed. "Yeah, I guess. I have a bag packed in my trunk. Can you throw it in your truck? I'll get cleaned up and tell Gran and then come on out."

Sookie went to the bathroom and got changed and then stuck her head in Aunt Linda's room to let her and Gran know that the baby was coming. Gran felt nothing but concern, anticipation, and joy, and Sookie felt something loosen in her chest a little bit. She promised she would have Jason call as soon as there was any news.

Her back was still killing her, but she managed to grab her cell phone and purse and get outside. Jason had pulled her car around to the front and was holding the passenger door open for her.

"Didn't want me to leak in your truck, huh?"

His grin looked guilty as hell, but she was just as glad. She didn't think she would have been able to climb up into Jason's passenger seat on her own, anyhow.

Jason started out going pretty fast, but by the halfway point, he was driving like a bat out of hell, glancing over at Sookie every few seconds.

"Dammit, Jason, I'm fine. I'm not even in labour yet. It's just the same stupid backache I've had for months. Keep your eyes on the road!"

Jason wasn't so sure. She looked like she was in a lot of pain. And something was telling him to get her there as quick as he could. Her breathing caught, and she had deep frown lines between her eyebrows.

"Fuck, Sookie! Stop pushing!" He put his foot all the way to the floor. She just needed to give him ten more minutes and he would get her there. He absolutely did not want to get up close and personal with his sister's lady business. She needed to have that baby in a hospital like the good Lord intended.

Sookie moaned, long and low, and Jason nearly swerved off the road.

"Cross your legs or something, goddammit! You ain't having your baby sittin' next to me in a car."

Sookie started to pant. The urge to push had come out of nowhere, and was so strong it was nearly impossible to resist. But she really didn't want to have her baby in her car, either. Especially with Jason's look of horrified fascination staring her in the face.

There was so much pressure and burning pain between her legs. She reached down and cupped herself, willing the baby to stay in for just a little bit longer. She could feel the curve of his skull in her hand through her underwear.

"Please hurry, Jason."

He took the next exit and they were pulling up to the emergency room entrance not five minutes later. He was about to get out and run inside when Sookie grabbed his arm.

"Don't leave me." She looked terrified.

"You're ok, Sook. We made it. I'll go in and grab a doctor and a wheelchair…"

Her face contorted in pain. She struggled out of her underwear.

"Holy sweet baby Jesus, Sook. The head's out."

He couldn't not look at it. As much as he wanted to. It was like a car accident or something. She pushed one more time, and the baby just kind of slid right out. Sookie caught him and brought him up and laid him on her chest. He was all covered in blood and gunk, and Jason was the proudest goddamn uncle in the state of Louisiana.

"He's beautiful, Sookie. Look at him. He looks just like his uncle Jase."

Sookie's breath caught in her chest. But then the baby let out a whoop and started to cry. Sookie did, too.

Jason went in and grabbed a nurse, and Sookie and the baby were taken upstairs to labour and delivery. Just a few minutes late.

A few hours later, after Jason had gone home, Sookie was sitting up in the rocking chair in her hospital room. The doctor wanted her to stay overnight to keep an eye on her blood pressure. She had nursed the baby, and he had fallen asleep in her arms. She couldn't stop looking at him. He was absolutely perfect.

Pam stuck her head through the door, and Sookie could feel her excitement. She smiled and said, "Come on in. There's someone who wants to meet you."

Pam tiptoed into the room and Godric glided in behind her, holding a bouquet of flowers. Pam kissed Sookie's cheek and then looked at the baby for close to a minute, a soft smile on her face.

"Are they always so red and squishy looking?"

Sookie snorted. "Pretty much."

"Well, then, he's perfect. What's his name?

Sookie sighed. "I've been calling him Leif to myself for a while now. It's kind of an inside joke, I guess, between me and Eric. It sort of stuck. I mean, he is half Swedish, even if nobody is allowed to know that yet."

She remembered how mad she'd been at Eric for driving her crazy with that stupid electronic baby from Sex Ed in the seventh grade. She couldn't think about it now without smiling. She hoped that Eric would be ok with it. God, she hated doing all of this without him.

She looked at Godric. "How do I smell?"

He smiled. "Like fresh blood and new life. Delicious. Give it a little more time."

She sighed, but then nodded.

"Soon, Sookie. We will try soon."

There were equal parts anticipation and dread but, even if he did reject her, at least she wouldn't have to worry about it any more. And he would know.

Godric said, "He will forgive you, Sookie."

"Yeah, well, I know him a lot better than you do, and I'm not so sure."

And then it hit her what would happen if Eric came back and he did reject her. She was Eric's, but Eric was theirs. If Eric didn't want her, she would lose all of them.

She held Leif a little tighter.