A/N: I hit a dry spell and took a few days off, but it seems to have kickstarted me, at least a little bit. I have about half of 40 done as well. I really haven't abandoned SE. I promise. But my output has slowed to a trickle, and I'm so close to being done here. I think. It keeps taking longer than I expect it to. :P

Chapter 39

June 11, 1996

Sookie's hand was shaking when she was trying to put on her make-up, and she had to wipe half of it off and start over. She was so nervous that she had hardly slept at all the night before. Or even the night before that. Her butterflies had butterflies. She was running a little late because she wanted every little thing to be perfect, so of course her nerves made her make a mess of everything. She tried again, and finally thought that her face looked as good as it was going to.

She pretended that her mind was made up and she was going to keep things light and come right home after the date, and she was going to prove it by not even packing an overnight bag. And, if she did stay, she and Leif would sleep in "her" room. Or Pam's. Or, hell, even Godric's. But she still had everything she and the baby needed for at least a week at Godric's house, and she was wearing her prettiest underwear, and she had been extra thorough when she'd shaved, and she had even laid out for an hour or so that afternoon after her shower. And if she let him kiss her (or, worse, if she kissed him first) she knew that she wouldn't be able to say no. He was basically the only guy she'd ever kissed, so she didn't have anything to compare it to, but she thought he must have been really good at it. She could happily kiss him for hours. Well, as long as they ended up in bed eventually. She was pretty sure he was good at everything else, too. And she had unfortunately read enough minds around town to know that she wasn't the only one who thought so.

She quickly fed and changed the baby and grabbed the diaper bag. Gran was reading in her chair in the living room, and Sookie went in to say goodbye. Gran still didn't know about Eric, so Sookie was driving to Godric's house to pick Eric up. She had told her grandmother that she and Pam were going to the late show and then to a diner for pie.

"Well, don't you look nice! Are you staying over with Pam in Shreveport tonight?"

Sookie bit her lip and then sighed. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure I will be."

"If you decide to drive home, be very careful. And have a good time."

Sookie kissed Gran's cheek, buckled up the baby in his carseat, and left for her date. She had made up enough time that she didn't even think she was going to be late. She sang along extra loud to the radio to try not to think so much. Unfortunately, the louder she sang, the worse she sounded, but nobody was there to complain except Leif, and he never seemed to mind.

The drive seemed to take forever and no time at all, but she made it to Godric's a few minutes early. Pam opened the passenger door and slid in just as Sookie shifted into park.

"Would you stop doing that? You scared the hell out of me again."

Pam grinned. "Eric is a complete basket case. I've been teasing him all evening and he's almost ready to lose his mind."

"Pam, that is so not helpful. I want him happy and relaxed, not more nervous than I am. I'm nervous enough for both of us."

"Happy and relaxed was never going to happen. Besides, I was just making sure that his plans for tonight were up to snuff. And that he was going to behave himself. You should be thanking me."

Sookie glared at her. "Gee. Thanks a million, Pam."

Eric came outside. He really did look nervous, but so handsome. Their eyes met through the windshield, and Sookie realized that she wasn't even a little bit confused any longer. She didn't think that she would completely trust him again for a long time - she wasn't a complete idiot - but she was definitely ready to love him again. And, for better or for worse, she had forgiven him. And she was right back to loving him like she did the day he came home from Sweden. She still didn't want to waste any more time. She was ready to be his again.

Pam smirked and got out, but then popped the seat forward and picked up the baby and diaper bag. Sookie sighed, "Pam…"

"He is a baby, Sookie, not a chaperone. And this way, you'll have to come back here before you leave so I can press you for details. Unless you were planning to come back, anyway…"

"I have to bring Eric back, don't I?"

"Technically, no. He could beat the car back easily."

Sookie rolled her eyes. "Fine. There's some frozen milk in the bag. And it's for him, not for you."

"Spoilsport."

Sookie got out of the car to kiss Leif goodbye. "Call me if he needs anything. I have my cell."

"If he cries, I'll just glamour him to be quiet until you get back." And while Sookie was taking a breath to yell at her, Pam smirked and continued, "Of course I'm joking. I'm not a monster. Well… Scratch that. Technically, I suppose that I am. But I promise I will call you if there are any problems."

Eric walked over and kissed Leif goodbye, too, and Pam took the baby inside.

Sookie took a deep breath and blew it out. "Hey."

Eric smiled. "Hey."

And her butterflies went a little more crazy. She reached up, brushed the hair out of his eyes and tucked it behind his ear. He caught her hand and kissed her palm before he let her go, and if she hadn't already made her mind up, that would have done it for her.

"You look beautiful, Sookie."

She smiled up at him. "Thank you. You always look handsome." She tried to ignore her blush and change the subject. "Where are we going?"

She almost didn't want to go anywhere. That crazy energy was back, and she wanted him so badly she could hardly stand it. And she knew that he wanted her even more. And, God that made her feel good. Beautiful and powerful and… Lucky.

"First stop is the fairgrounds. Ok if I drive?"

Sookie shrugged. "Sure. It is your Maker's car."

He ran over and opened the passenger door. She smiled and got in. He slid into the driver's seat a moment later and pulled out of the driveway.

"Godric should have gotten you a sedan. He just doesn't think about things like babies and car seats."

She smiled. But Eric had thought of it. And, yeah, he was a whole lot closer to his human life than Godric was, but he had only seen Leif for less than 24 hours total and had never had anything to do with babies before that. He had never had to deal with things like car seats. The only baby things he'd ever used were diapers and bottles and baby clothes and the little stuffed bunny rabbit he'd bought for Leif. But, still, he was thinking like a father.

She reached over and grabbed his hand from the steering wheel and threaded her fingers through his. He looked surprised but pleased, and he kissed her hand again before resting them both on the parking brake. She pulled them into her lap.

"I really regret not telling you about Leif. Because of what it led to, but also for your sake. We knew you wouldn't have stayed in Texas, though. I was ready to just go for it, and if you killed me, you killed me. You were worth the risk. But I couldn't let anything happen to the baby. And I don't know what would have happened if Godric hadn't offered me that job, even though it feels closer to charity than anything else. Gran would have had to watch the baby every day while I pulled in next to nothing doing whatever job I could get as a teenage high school dropout. She's raised enough babies. And as soon as I turn eighteen, she's going to lose my Social Security cheque.

"I needed the money, and I knew I had to keep the baby a secret from you to keep working for him. I hate that I let that sway my decision. I should have figured out a way to make it work, or trusted that we could together. Not telling you was awful, and I'm real sorry that I didn't. And not just to prevent the whole thing with Hadley and Dawn. The guilt ate me up inside. It still does. It doesn't erase what you did, but I'm so sorry, Eric."

He kissed her hand again. "I was mad at first. But I was being a dick. I didn't want to admit to myself how much I fucked up. I was trying to blame everyone else because I was so ashamed. "

He took a deep breath and held it for close to a minute. "I almost killed someone. A girl. And she didn't taste or smell any better than anyone else. I was in a bad mood and kind of pissed off, and I just couldn't make myself stop. She started to struggle before she passed out. Someone had to silver me to make me stop. Fortunately, this was back when there was always a chaperone nearby. One of the pets that stays over at Stan's sometimes is a doctor and he had to transfuse her. A lot."

Sookie didn't know what to say. She bit her lip but squeezed his hand a little.

"I couldn't control myself back then. Hell, I still have problems sometimes, but not like that. It fucking kills me to say it, but you did the right thing. I probably would have killed you. Hell, I'm almost sure that I would have. I came really close the night I rose and the night Rene…" He swallowed and kept going. "I've smelled a couple of regular pregnant women, and I can't even imagine how good you must have smelled. You smell amazing enough right now. If I got jealous or upset, I don't think I would have been able to stop. And if you smelled as good as Pam says you did, I wouldn't even have had to have been mad. Every time you were with me, it would have been like Russian Roulette. And if we ran away together, there wouldn't have been anyone to stop me."

He pulled into the fairgrounds. He found a space close to the gate, and he got out and opened her door at human speed. He took her hand, but looked down to make sure it was Ok. She smiled a little, but didn't look up.

There was a traveling carnival in town. It wasn't anything like the state fair, but they had quite a few rides, several games, and a couple of food stalls.

"They close at ten, unfortunately, but we have almost an hour. What do you want to do first?"

A lot of families had already left for the night and there were enough teens to fill the rides up quickly, but few enough that there weren't any lines. They rode the Tilt-A-Whirl and the Scrambler, and then Eric bought her a corn dog and then some cotton candy for dessert. They held hands and just walked around and talked and people-watched while she ate. After she threw the sticky cotton candy cone away, she bit her lip, and then pulled him to the ferris wheel.

Jason always used to rock the cars on the ferris wheel and scare her half to death. But when he got older, he wouldn't even acknowledge her existence at the fair, let alone ride with her. The one time he'd let her tag along with him and his friends - after Eric and Hoyt had insisted - she'd made sure to slow down and talk to Eric on their way to the ferris wheel. She had let Jason and Hoyt get far enough ahead that they would end up getting on together. Jason had rocked another car and Hoyt was the one who got to turn greyish green and nearly pass out, while she had gotten to sit pressed up against Eric. She had wanted him to kiss her so badly, but of course, he hadn't, except on the head.

She didn't really think that was going to be a problem tonight.

Eric said something to the carny before they sat down. It was hot and humid, but there was enough of a breeze to keep most of the mosquitos away, and to keep her from getting too sweaty. Of course, Eric didn't have to worry about either of those things.

They went around a couple of times, and then the guy stopped them at the very top. She wasn't surprised, and she wondered if Eric had slipped him a twenty or just glamoured him to do it.

"I promise I won't rock the car like your douchebag brother."

She smiled and looked up at him. He stroked down her cheek with his knuckles, and his hand felt so cool.

"Will you please let me kiss you, Sookie?"

She tucked his hair behind his ear again, and then threaded her fingers through it and closed her eyes.

If you would have asked him a year ago if vampires had stomach aches when they got nervous, he would have thought the idea was kind of ridiculous. But his was sure as hell tied up in a knot. He kissed her gently, and she pulled away just enough to stroke his lips with her tongue. He put his hands in her hair, too, and kissed her like he meant it. And fuck, did he. Her lips were so sweet, and the taste of the cotton candy was making him feel so fucking nostalgic that he nearly teared up, and his chest tightened even more than his stomach.

They didn't even notice when the wheel started back up and then stopped to let them out. The carny lifted the bar and had to clear his throat before they stopped kissing. Sookie pulled away and blushed before they got out, and Eric was right back to loving her the way he had before - as just Sookie and not some intangible and unobtainable obsession. That blush just never failed to make him smile. She looked so cute when she was embarrassed. And so fucking hot when her skin was flushed with blood when she was about to cum.

They had ridden the ferris wheel together once before. It might even have been this same one. It was five years ago, earlier in the summer than when he and Hadley had fucked everything up. Probably the second week in June, too. He had wanted so badly to kiss Sookie, and had even slowed down a little on the way to the ride so Jason and Hoyt would go ahead and get on together. He'd wanted to make sure he was sitting with her. He'd tried to make sure he only thought in Swedish and, when they'd been stopped at the very top, she'd looked up at him and he'd almost kissed her. But Jason had whooped out a rebel yell from somewhere behind them, and a group of kids he knew from school had waved up at him. And then he'd remembered that she wasn't even thirteen yet - not for a couple more weeks - and he had turned sixteen months ago. He'd just smiled down at her and kissed the top of her head like he'd done a hundred times. He had felt her disappointment, but made sure she couldn't feel his.

He wished for the millionth time that he'd thought to think in Swedish in the shed. But he hadn't planned to kiss her when he finally did.

"Do we have time for you to win me a teddy bear? I think you can probably ring the bell these days."

He grinned down at her. "Sookie! You would cheat this poor traveling carnival out of their hard-earned teddy bears?"

She snorted. "As rigged as these games are? They cheated first. Now come on. I want a big one."

He thought it would take two swings - one to gauge how much force to use without making anyone suspicious and one to ring the bell - but he got it on his first try. She jumped into his arms and kissed him, and despite winning the strongman game without even trying, he hadn't felt more human since he'd been turned. In a good way.

She picked out a purple bear almost as big as her, and she stretched up to kiss him again before she grabbed his hand. When they got far enough away, she whispered, "Boy, was he pissed. He thought you were easy money, and would try a dozen times or more to try to save your reputation. He nearly wet himself when you won on the first try."

The lights on the rides all went out, and they headed for the car.

He opened the door for her again, and she kissed him before she got inside. He didn't think he had ever been happier or more relieved, no matter how hard his dick got tonight. He had fantasized about the date going this well (and even better once they had gotten back to his bedroom), but he absolutely did not expect anything close to this. He put her bear in the backseat and got in behind the wheel.

"Next up is the Aquarium. Godric paid them to stay open until midnight. I figured that was late enough."

She had told him that the baby was going to chaperone, and even though Leif wouldn't have had any idea what they were doing, Eric had still chosen a fair and an aquarium.

"I think maybe you should just take me home."

His shoulders slumped a little, and his forehead wrinkled just a bit, and she didn't think that anyone who didn't know Eric as well as she did would have seen his disappointment and confusion.

"Ok. We'll swing by and pick up Leif. I hope you had a good time."

She grabbed his hand from the steering wheel again, and she kissed his hand this time.

"No, Baby. I don't want to wait any longer. Let's go home to Godric's."