Give me more loving from the very start

Piece me back together when I fall apart

Tell me things you never even tell your closest friends

Make it feel good when it hurts so bad

The best that I've had

And I'm so glad I found you

I love being around you

You make it easy

It's as easy as 1-2-1-2-3-4

There's only ONE thing (one)

TWO do (two) THREE words (three)

FOUR you... (four)

(I love you) I love you

There's only ONE way (one)

TWO say (two) Those THREE words (three)

And that's what I'll do... (four)

(I love you) I love you – Plain White T's

Pam POV

I am happy. I cannot remember being this happy for a long time, probably since my human life was shed and I awoke a vampire in Eric's arms. There are many reasons for this current feeling moving through my body. I'm happy that we all get a low-key evening. I am happy that we are spending it with those we care about. But most of all I am happy about the feelings that I am getting from my maker.

They are feelings that I have been waiting to feel for centuries, ever since I realized how he felt, what he thought. Granted I've felt Eric's love for me ever since that first night so feeling that was nothing new. But feeling him realize that emotion is love well, that's priceless.

And I don't say that about many things.

Even Amelia and Tray, my company for the evening, could see that something, well something besides them, was making me happy. It only added to our evening fun. Granted, my evening turned out to be a bit shorter than Eric's as my company has returned to their homes for the evening, but I can give him that. Hell, he deserves that and more.

And I'm just happy that he is starting to realize that he deserves it. Eric has always been confident in his abilities in battle, leadership, and more. What he has lacked over the years is simply confidence in himself. And I know exactly where to place the blame for that. I'm just so excited that Eric is finally understanding it too.

See? Happy!

I am currently at my house, Tray and Amelia having come to me tonight. At first, the plan was to meet Eric and Sookie back at Eric's but I think feeling what I do from him I will be staying at my place tonight. They deserve the time and this should a big night for them.

Provided my maker doesn't mess it all up by not telling her, of course.

Though I know Sookie is already fully aware of how my maker feels for her, I also know hearing the words is something that she needs. She can go on and on about how words are meaningless and actions are more important, and she's right. That's how we know that Eric does indeed care. But as much as she says and believes she doesn't, she needs to hear those words come out of Eric's mouth.

I know I do.

Not to reaffirm his feelings for us. That's not it at all. As a matter of fact, some humans throw those words around so easily they are meaningless to some. But they are not meaningless to me. They are not meaningless to Sookie. Coming from Eric, those words will be filled with meaning, and not simply the meaning of love. It will show that he finally understands what I have been trying to get him to see, what Sookie has been trying to get him to see. It means that he will finally understand that he got the very short end of the stick when it comes to makers but he managed to overcome that and become a great one himself.

But more importantly, it will mean the damage done to him by Appius was not permanent.

Though I know Eric to be strong enough to overcome anything, I was worried that the centuries of physical, mental, and emotional abuse was too much. I was worried that he would never see his true worth, never believe that he is worthy in anyone's eyes. I can admit to being afraid of this.

Until Sookie walked into the bar that night.

She intrigued Eric from the first time he saw her. It's true at first it was simply because of her looks and her scent. Then her telepathy added to his intrigue. But something shifted in him at some point. I'm not sure when. I'm not even sure Eric knows when. But I saw him when Sookie was still in the trunk of that fucking car before she let me pull her out. I saw him as she went through every little set back she had soon afterwards. I saw him as she celebrated every little step forward she took. I am not sure when exactly Sookie got into Eric's heart, but she was deep in it by the time she went to Mississippi and Eric followed shortly after.

Hell, I'm not even sure when she wormed her way into my heart at this point, but I know that she's there.

Sookie POV

I am not disappointed.

I'm trying not to be disappointed.

I'm trying really hard not to be disappointed and enjoy the rest of the fabulous evening Eric has planned for us.

It's not that I'm feeling disappointed for me. I'm not. If it was just for me, I could deal with it. But feeling disappointment for Eric well, that's something I'm not sure I will ever be able to handle. I really thought that something had clicked for him as he looked down at me. I really thought he had that light bulb moment where he realized everything that I have been telling him over the last few months, that everything Pam had been telling him for centuries was in fact true.

I felt it in him, or at least I thought I did. And I was positive that when he was looking down at me, when his eyes were staring into mine that he was going to say the words. Those three small, yet big in meaning, simple yet complicated words that I wanted so much to hear. But it wasn't even for me that I wanted to hear them for most of all. It's true that hearing those words come from his mouth probably would send my insides somersaulting with joy, and maybe I would be somersaulting in general, but it was more for him that I wanted to hear those words for. Not only will those words express his feelings for me but they will also mean more than that for Eric. For him they would mean that he overcame a thousand years of abuse, because I don't care that he hasn't seen his maker in centuries. The mental and emotional abuse has continued in him all these years, just like Appius wanted it I would assume.

So it's not me that I'm disappointed for. I can live without the simple words. Eric shows me everyday just how much he loves me. He shows me with everything he does for me. With every smile he gifts me with. With everything he does to make me laugh. With every gentle caress and with some of the less gentle ones. He shows me so much that he loves me, the words would simply be an unnecessary bonus, for me at least.

For Eric though, they would be so much more important. For him, the words would be proof that his maker did wrong by him. They would be the assurance he has been looking for all these years that Appius' lessons were wrong. I know he has started to see that. I know he is starting to understand just how much he was abused at the hands of his maker and not taught. But I also know that credits Appius for still being finally dead, for teaching him how to survive in his new world. It's hard to separate the two thought processes.

But he is strong enough to do it. I know that he is.

I really expected him to say the words, though. I had seen something in his eyes and seen the emotion cross his face. I felt a tension leave his body. He understood. He finally saw that he was capable of love. I saw it and I swear I felt it in my bones.

But I must have been mistaken because he did not say the words.

And I wasn't disappointed.

How could I be when Eric set up such a romantic evening? How could I be when we finally got time to just sit and talk and enjoy each other? As Eric gently lowers me to the ground, any doubt that I have starts to leave. As I can feel him start to kiss down my neck, it's almost gone completely. As I roll my hips up to meet his, he looks down and says, "Patience, Lover. Tonight, this is all for you." And then any disappointment I felt earlier leaves me completely.

He has only called me that twice before. The first was with no memories, no knowledge that he believed he wasn't capable of love. The second was when he was trying to get my attention, trying to explain that his memories, all his memories, had come back with one simple word. But he hasn't called me that since and I know exactly why – he has been waiting until he can say it with the meaning behind it. He has been waiting until he knows that not only is he capable of love, but that he loves me. With that one word, I know my earlier thoughts were true.

And how can I be disappointed with that.

As I lay there with him, limbs all tangled, our fingers dancing together I couldn't be happier. Eric and I needed tonight. We needed a night to simply bask in each other's presence and to simply be with each other, not simply being in the same place as each other as we go over bank statements to try and figure out who may be trying to kill us. Tonight was exactly what was needed.

Nothing about this night has been disappointing and that's what I am choosing to focus on. Those words, and all they mean, will come. I am certain of that.

Eric POV

I do not say the words. Even though I finally understand what my feelings are and what they mean, I do not say the words to Sookie in our little spot. Why I do not is difficult to explain. I know she would believe the words anytime I say them. Coming from me, she would know they were the truth whenever she heard them. She knows I do not lie to her. I would never, especially about that. But it was something about the magic of the evening, almost making it too perfect. I want there to be no doubts in her mind when I tell her. I want her to understand my feelings for her will not change. It does not matter if she in a dress that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars or in that ratty shirt she likes to wear to bed – when she's wearing anything.

I did not want her to doubt the magic of the evening played into my realization in any way. So I begin to show her in other ways what feelings I have finally figured out. I show her with soft, whispering touches along her body. I hope she understands with every lingering kiss, every lick I give her body. With every gentle whisper I say into her ear. With every caress my fingers give her, carefully avoiding the one area she would like them to the most. And when I finally give into her pleas, I make sure to be looking right into her eyes and I know she understands. As I move, making sure to get the friction right for her, she whispers into the night, "I love you too, Eric," and I know she understands.

As I am driving back, I cannot help but to glance over at Sookie what feels like every other second. She is sitting in the passenger seat bouncing up and down, singing loudly to a song on the radio, though singing may be a generous assessment on what she is doing. I feel the smile on my face as I am just taking in what she is doing. And I find myself not being able to hold it in any longer. I focus on the road for a second as I pull the car over to the side. With all her bouncing she does not even realize it until I am over at her side of the car with the door opened and kneeling down so I am eye to eye with her. She looks at me surprised before offering me a smile. "My singing that bad that you couldn't take it anymore, huh?"

"I would listen to your singing every second of every night because it would mean that I would be spending every second of every night with you. That is what I want. You have brought life back into my existence. Better still, you showed me how to be the one to bring excitement back into my life. You believed in me, long after I stopped believing in myself. And I cannot thank you enough for doing so."

I take her hands in mine and watch as water starts to fill her eyes. Looking at her, I find one more thing to blame my maker for. I should have known what this feeling I have had was, because this feeling is nothing new. I have felt it for Pam and Karin. I have felt it for Sookie. It is only the meaning of it that is new. Now I just have to tell her. Though I am starting to rethink my decision to not tell her earlier.

"I love you Sookie. I love how strong you are. I love how you are willing to fight for those you love. I love that you talk and mutter in your sleep. I love how you play with my hair when you are nervous or I am nervous or just because you want to. I love that you are willing to be with me so that I can find new things to love about you every night. I can think of nothing better to do with my time."

And bring on those happy tears again. She may say that they are happy tears so I may like why she is having them, but I still do not like her crying for any reason. I do not have a second to try and get her to stop however, as she flings herself into my arms and I find myself on my back with Sookie crying happy tears on top of me. She can barely get out the words through her tears but I can make out her say, "I love you, Eric," having heard it quite a few times before. And I have believed them before. But now having an understanding of the emotion they mean more, so much more and I will relish every time she gifts them to me.

As we lay there on the side of the road beside my car, she rests her head on my chest and I start to stroke down her back. She brings up her hand and strokes my chest as she repeats, "I love you Eric and I am so proud of you. So fucking proud that you got here. It's a great place to be."

"And I am so grateful that you have helped me get here," I tell her. "It is yet another thing that I love about you. You had patience with me. You did not push me into trying to understand this before I was ready. You did not leave, fed up with me because it took me a bit longer to realize. You let me find it out for myself. More than that though, you knew it was what I needed." Every word I said is true. It was her letting me to come to the conclusion on my own that allowed me to learn this very important lesson.

"I am sorry though," I tell her causing her to look up at me.

"Why do you have anything to apologize for?"

"I am sorry this happened on the side of the road. It could have happened in our clearing. That would have been perfect. But I thought too much about it and did not want it to be too cliché," I tell her thinking about how pathetic that sounds.

"Well if your goal was to make it not seem too perfect, you failed," she tells me. "I don't care that it was on the side of some road. It could have been in the middle of a fight. It could have been while I was in the bathroom seeing to my human needs. It could have been in front of Jason as he burped the damn alphabet. In any of those situations it still would have been perfect because you believe it. You know it's true. That's what makes it perfect for me, Eric. All I needed was you to believe it."

She pauses before continuing. "Besides you did tell me in the clearing. You have told time and time again with everything you do for me. Each simple act has told me how you feel. I've just been waiting for you to catch up. And I am so glad you did because I get to hear you say the words too."

I finally understand that too. "I love you Sookie," I tell her again.

"I love you too Eric," she tells me, and this time it is with perfect articulation.

"Do you want to get off the side of the road," I ask her.

"I just want to be with you whether it's on the side of the road or a five star restaurant."

"How about a warm bed underneath all the covers," I ask her starting to feel her shiver against me.

"Hmm," she says pretending to think about it. "Could we be naked under these covers?"

"I think that may be a guarantee," I tell her before picking her up and setting her back in the car. I buckle her seat belt and kiss her forehead before saying those three little words again before getting into the car myself and taking us home.

When I wake up from my day rest I find Sookie lying next to me still asleep. I am not sure if she has slept the whole time or if she had been awake but come back to take a nap before the night starts. We have to go into Fangtasia tonight. We have been spending more time there with Sookie out in the open, which is not something that I like. The hope is that if Jonathon approaches her again, it would be at Fangtasia where we can have more control of the situation. Of course the hope really is that we have seen the last of Jonathon. But with Felipe still trying to court Sophie-Anne, it seems likely that we will be running into him again.

I turn on my side so my eyes will be the first things she sees when she wakes up. I also want to ensure that my voice is the first that she will hear. Now that I can say the words and know them to be true, I want her to be able to hear them often and never have a reason to doubt them. So when she blinks open her eyes and smiles at me I lean over to place a little kiss on her nose before softly whispering, "I love you Sookie Stackhouse."

Sookie POV

I have waited a long time for him to come to this realization. I have long imagined what it would be like when he finally did, but I find myself being wrong. It is better than what I imagined - so much better.

I had said I didn't need the words but now that I have them I never want to stop hearing them. I never want a night to go by where I don't hear them. Where I don't hear the complete change in Eric's voice as he says those words to me. When I don't see the little half smile he makes when he says it – one that is completely different from his usual smirk. I don't want to go a night without see his face completely relaxed, as it is when he says it. Now that I have the words, I find myself being greedy with them.

"I love you too, Eric Northman," I tell him before pressing a kiss to the upturned side of his lip. He immediately tries to deepen it but I pull away and say, "Nope. We have to get ready to leave." I laugh when I see the look on his face. "I'd rather have a few hours to take my time with you at the end of the evening, than a few minutes now," I tell him.

As he begins to kiss down my chest, I can tell I haven't managed to dissuade him, not that I was trying too hard to anyway. "Who said anything about needing to choose," he asks as he makes it to my shorts. They're not in his way for too long as he resumes his kisses. "What about taking a few minutes now and still taking hours to worship your body later?"

It sounded like a fantastic plan.

After what turned out to be a bit longer than a few minutes, we are showered and in the car on the way to pick up Pam and Thalia. Eric has been changing the radio stations to songs he knows that I love. My guess is to try and get me to sing like I was last night. Though I don't know why he wants to subject himself to that, I can't help but sing when he stops on certain songs. And his smile every time I do tells me that is exactly his plan.

The smile doesn't leave his face as we pull up to Pam's house and make our way to the front door. He seems excited and I have a pretty good reason why that is. We don't stop to knock, instead Eric simply opens the door and we head inside. As soon as he sees Pam he makes his way over to her, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"I love you Pam," he says and she immediately collapses against him and I can see her shoulders shake as she reacts to his words. She fully understands what the words mean and she has been waiting longer for them than me. The two whisper some words to each other as Thalia comes over and wipes a tear off my cheek before putting her arm around my shoulder.

Eric and Pam separate and Eric comes over to Thalia and I. He looks at Thalia and a moment of understanding passes between them. "Me too," Thalia says softly before the two of them share a quick hug.

Pam's phone rings and breaks the silence. She apologizes before leaving the room to take the call. The three of us don't pay much attention as we start to go over the plan if Jonathon, or any other of Felipe's henchmen, show up. I figured it would be Amelia or even Tray calling her. But by the look on her face when she comes back into the room, we should have paid more attention.

Eric is at her side as soon as she's back in the living room but it's me who asks, "What's wrong?"

"That was Karin," Pam says before looking at Eric and immediately Eric's body shifts, filling back up with a tension that left it last night.

"Is she," he asks before stopping, not able to complete his thought.

"She's fine," Pam says quickly, letting Eric know she doesn't seem to be in any immediate danger. But Eric isn't exactly happy with hearing that. Either am I for that matter.

"She's fine," Pam repeats and I'm not sure if it's more to reassure Eric or her self.

"But," I say when she doesn't look like she is going to continue right away and I see that Eric is looking like he's going to punch something.

"But," Pam finally continues. "She wanted to let us know that she got a phone call tonight."

Judging from the looks at on the faces of Eric and Thalia, we all have the same idea on just who Karin's phone call came from tonight. And with everything else going on at the moment, it's the last thing we currently need.

Hello there dear readers. I hope you have enjoyed this chapter. We have been waiting quite a long time for it after all so I do hope you liked it. Thanks for giving it a read. Now I have to prepare myself for The Walking Dead premier.

JFozz – Appius is still alive in this story. I am glad you're enjoying my little story.