A/N: We survived the hurricane here in Nova Scotia. Lost a tree. Lost power for less than 48 hours. Lost a bit of sleep because it was so frigging noisy. It could have been far worse, and was for many. The youngest is just glad that there's no school this week.

I am aaaaalmost done SE29. I am also completely done SE30. 😀

Chapter 17

Eric gave into Pam's nagging and went to Fangtasia that evening, both to catch up on work and to spend some time on the floor. Plus he needed to contact the accountant and pull up the bar's financials to put his plan into action. He closed himself in his office and sat down behind his desk.

He wasn't surprised when there was a knock at the door not three minutes after his ass had hit the seat. "Enter."

He'd been half expecting Ginger, coming in to fawn over him and tell him how much she'd missed him and to offer herself to him again, until he remembered that she had been killed. Clancy, Gerald, and Chow as well. The weight of how long he'd been gone and how much he'd missed finally pressed down on him. He really did have a lot to catch up on.

Someone knocked lightly and then poked her head through the door. "I'm sorry to bother you, Master, but Mistress Pam—"

"It's alright, Belinda." He motioned her inside. "What did Pam say?"

"Just that I should come and see if you needed anything."

She looked at him, baring her throat in offer. Anything else he wanted was implied.

"A TrueBlood would be fine. O positive."

"Yes, Master Eric."

Eric opened his email and groaned at the hundreds of unread messages. There was also a stack of mail on the corner of his desk so tall that it was threatening to tip over. Pam had taken care of the more pressing matters, but he had three weeks' worth of paperwork and drudgery ahead of him and he couldn't even remember the amazing sex he'd been having while all of this work had piled up. He did remember having her twice, which was both a comfort and a curse; he could enjoy the memories of just how wonderful she felt and tasted, but knowing that made the twenty other nights he didn't remember sting that much more.

Belinda tapped again and slipped in, placing a napkin on his desk and the bottle on top.

"Will there be anything else?"

"No, Belinda. Thank you."

She smiled a little. He was being so nice and polite. He was a great boss, and the job came with incredible perks, but she'd never seen him seem so… human before. She absently rubbed the back of one thigh, almost feeling the pain she'd felt ever since the witches had cursed her and Ginger. She'd had a couple of surgeries and had still been in a rehabilitation unit receiving physical therapy a couple of times a day until the night before. Mistress Pam had visited her in the hospital and Belinda had walked out an hour later on her own two feet with a discharge letter and her bill paid in full.

Just as she was closing the door on the way out, she said, "It's good to have you back, Master Eric."

As he made his way through the backlog, his somber resignation soured into irritation and then antipathy. He made himself shut down the computer without throwing it against the wall. He would continue another night.

He stalked out to the front and sat down at his table next to Pam. He scowled at the hungry gazes trained on him. He wondered if any of the pathetic fools saw the irony there. The gazelle hunting the lion.

Pam glanced at him. "You're cranky. And after I overheard Belinda telling whatever-her-name-is how sweet you were being tonight."

He turned his glare on her. "You never forget a name."

"Ok, fine. It was Janice."

He made a noise somewhere between a grunt and a snort. A breath of humour, at least, but she didn't trust it to last. He'd been all over the place since she'd gotten him back.

She watched the humans watching them for a time while he continued to stew. She glanced at him again.

"See anything you like?"

"No."

She tried to hide her smile. No point in giving the tourists a show.

"Saving yourself, are you?"

He glared at her again and she couldn't hold that smile in.

"Not much fun in hunting a sure thing, I suppose, but there's someone to be said for what comes next."

"I am not in the mood."

"Oh, well. More for me."

Neither said anything for a while. Pam broke the silence first. "It was very nice of you to volunteer my blood to heal Belinda."

He glanced at her and looked back at the crowd. "It was the right thing to do. She was harmed here in my bar, by my enemies, while she was at work."

Pam threw back her head and laughed and Eric examined their faces, gaping at her with lust in their eyes. They were like circling vultures, waiting for their chance to swoop down and eat the dead.

Pam said, "I suppose. But I noticed you didn't offer up your blood."

He didn't reply. After a few moments, Pam shrugged. "That's alright. I made Indira give me some of hers."

The corner of his mouth twitched.

Pam went home with a pretty blonde and her best friend and the best friend's sister. He was surprised when she asked him if he would like to join them — he hadn't slept with Pam in decades and she didn't usually share — but he declined.

After the bar closed, he went back to the office and answered a few more emails and signed a few more papers and made a few more phone calls. He texted Bobby with instructions for the night after next and then went back to his house alone.

He closed his eyes while lying in bed, trying to feel her, but she was too far away. He was disappointed that the blood tie was fading, although it was inevitable. He attempted to go into downtime but he couldn't turn off his mind. He tried to think about the bar or plans to expand or his past, or even the incredible sex he'd had with the woman, but he just kept seeing her eyes: burning with passion, hard with anger, full of tears, promising love and devotion. He wasn't able to escape them until the sun carried him away.

The first thing Sookie did the next morning — at least after she'd had two cups of coffee — was call Sam. Having him show up would be one more complication that she didn't need. He had a new life in Texas. And it wasn't like he was going to single handedly save her from the vampires. He didn't need to be dragged into this. She needed to handle it by herself.

The phone rang three times and she was getting ready to leave a message when a woman answered. Her voice was low and rough in a sexy kind of way and Sookie wondered if this was Sam's mother.

"Hi. Is Sam there? It's Sookie calling."

There was a bit of a pause and Sookie thought that maybe she'd missed him and he was already on his way to Bon Temps, but then she could hear rustling and then hushed voices in the background.

"Babe? Sookie's calling for you."

There was a sleepy, "Hmmm?" and then a yawning stretch that she'd heard many times over the phone when she'd had to call him early in the morning about work.

There were some murmurs she wasn't able to make out and then Sam's voice was on the line. "Hey, Sookie. I was going to call you in a little while."

Sookie closed her eyes and tried to hide the sadness in her voice. She had no claim to Sam. Worse, she knew that she still didn't want Sam, and wanting to have him on standby as a backup plan was just plain selfish and wrong.

"I'm sorry I woke you up."

"No. No, don't worry about it, Chère. I had to get up anyhow. How are you doing?"

"I'm fine. Or I will be once I get a new job."

There was a pause. "I don't believe you, Sookie."

"Sam…"

"No, Chère. Vampires are dangerous. You are way out of your depth here."

Sookie sighed. "It isn't like that, Sam. I was just helping out a friend and now it's all over with. I rescinded his invitation and everything, just in case."

There was another pause. She could hear the skepticism in his voice. "Alright, but if you get into any trouble, give me a call, ok?"

"Ok. Thanks, Sam."

"You're welcome. And I'll make a few phone calls in a little while and see if I can't help you get a new job."

She was having a really hard time sounding normal. "I would really appreciate it."

"Ok. I'll call you in a few days to check in on you. In the meantime, stay away from vampires, Sookie. And whatever you do, don't let them know about… you know. Got it?"

She bit her lip and then said, "Got it. And thanks again, Sam. Really."

She could hear him stretch again and then the woman's voice in the background. "Anytime, Chère. Talk to you soon."

Sookie hung up the phone and put her head down on her crossed arms on the counter. She really was done with the whole self-pity business, but it apparently wasn't quite done with her.

Eventually, she got herself moving and decided to clean. Really clean, from top to bottom. It hadn't been done since Sam had come over after Gran's death and made her get off her ass and work hard until the whole house was as clean as an old farmhouse like hers could be. Sam was a really good friend and she was glad that he had someone. She really hoped that whoever she was made him happy. He deserved it.

Sookie put her hair up in a ponytail and put on some grubby clothes and got to work. She had the radio on loud and only stopped mid-afternoon to eat a ham and cheese sandwich over the sink and then got right back at it.

When she was done, the house was scrubbed and wiped and mopped and neat as a pin. She was dusty and sweaty and dirt-smudged and disgusting. She took a very long, very hot shower and then picked at a frozen dinner in front of the television. It was still early but she was just thinking about heading to bed when there was a knock at the door. She wasn't even a little surprised when there was a hole where a brain should be outside.

She opened the door but stayed back far enough that he couldn't reach her. He was leaning with his butt against the porch railing, looking for all the world like a GQ model, and the lump in her throat was back. She could tell she sounded tired. Lord knew she felt it.

"What do you want, Eric?"

He smiled his biggest and most charming smile that wasn't really anything like the wide sweet smile he'd given her so many times when he was still hers.

"You."

She looked at him with a blank expression and started to close the door, ignoring the squeezing in her chest and the warm tingling between her legs. She didn't see him move but suddenly he was right in front of her, holding the door open and looking down into her eyes.

"Someone has been stealing money from my bar. It's been going on for years. I need to find out who."

Sookie took a step back to give herself a little space. "So?"

"So I need you to listen to the humans and find out who is responsible."

Sookie started shaking her head a couple of words in, frowning. "No. I am not your personal mind reader. I told you that I don't want to see you again. What makes you think that I'm going to help you?"

The spark of good humour was still there but there was something else in his eyes that she had never really seen in her Eric. Guile. He smiled a ravishing smile and she hated that her body was still responding to him like this. He didn't answer for a bit too long, letting the silence stretch.

"I saw your brother the other night."

At first she thought that he'd just changed the subject but then her stomach dropped. She swallowed but tried to sound nonchalant.

"Jason? That's too bad. He's a real asshole."

"Yes. I noticed that he is a labourer. Road crew?"

She nodded. She didn't trust herself to speak.

"Dangerous work. He could be easily injured. Perhaps even killed. I hope that he takes precautions."

Her voice wasn't much more than a whisper. "You son of a bitch."

His feet slowly rose from the porch floor. He wanted to watch her a little bit longer. She had her arms crossed tight against her body and deep frown lines between her eyebrows. Everything about her excited him.

"Tomorrow night at Fangtasia. Three am, after closing." He gave her another dazzling grin. "I will be looking forward to it."

After he flew away, Sookie went out and sat down on the porch swing. The tears finally started to fall. And the worst part was that part of her was looking forward to it, too.