Vampires Do Not Play Nurse

A/N: Hey guys. Do to the overwhelming support that I got from all of you guys, I thought I'd get this chapter out faster than I originally intended. I'm very happy that I'm getting so much feedback and I just wanted to let you know that I really appreciate it. Thanks! As always, enjoy and let me know what you think.

I was roused back into consciousness when Claudine lifted me from my car. She was gentle and tried not to jostle me too much but I was still nauseous and that slight movement sent me into a round of dry heaves that left me gasping on my hands and knees in the front yard.

Claudine was stroking my back comfortingly when Amelia came bounding off the front porch. "Sookie, Oh crap, are you okay?" 'I was so worried. Claudine called and said you were sick. I'm making chicken noodle soup. It's easy to keep down when you're sick. I found the Saltine's which are really good with the soup and..'

Amelia was a particularly loud broadcaster and right now her worried thoughts were slamming into my aching head with the force of a battering ram.

"Amelia" I croaked to my anxious friend as she hurried over to us, "you're thoughts are too much right now."

She froze in her tracks and her thoughts speed up as she tried to think of a way to make this easier for me. Her thoughts were starting to sear into my throbbing brain like a hot poker.

She seemed to figure out what was happening before she high tailed it back into the house. She came jogging back out with her keys clutched in her right hand, her left giving a short wave. She called over to my prone form, "I'm sorry, Sookie. I'm going over to Trey's. I'll call you later." She got into her car and speed off.

I didn't realize how tense I was until Amelia's thoughts stopped their assault on my head. I slumped over in relief and would have hit the ground if Claudine hadn't reaffirmed her presence by scooping me into her arms once again. This time I managed to keep the gagging to a minimum.

Claudine pushed open my front door and I was immediately confronted with the aroma of chicken noodle soup. Claudine marched me to my room and placed me on top of the covers. "Do you want to try to eat something or did you want to sleep?" Claudine asked me gently. My stomach, which seemed to have actually settled since heaving in my front yard, chose that moment to rumble loudly.

I checked the clock and noted that it was a little after 3 o'clock. I felt grimy and still had all the smells from the bar clinging to me. "I think that I'll take a quick shower, and then maybe try some of Amelia's soup." I answered. What I really wanted to do was curl up in bed and sleep for the next week, but I would regret not showering and trying to keep something down before I went into my sick coma.

I stepped into the shower after Claudine disappeared downstairs. The hot water helped me loosen up my tense muscles and I started to feel a lot better. After I had finished washing all the grime off, I stepped out of the shower and toweled off. I went into my bedroom, and slipped into my pajamas, which consisted of black sweatpants and a Fangtasia t-shirt.

I returned to the bathroom to brush my hair and put some lotion on my face. I was still exhausted, but my headache and nausea seemed to have abated.

When I reemerged from the bathroom Claudine was waiting for me with a big bowl of chicken noodle soup. I sat cross-legged on my bed and managed to eat about half of it before I was sated.

Claudine seemed pleased with my recovery.

"I'm feeling much better, Claudine. I'm just tired now. A little sleep and I'll be right as rain by tomorrow." I predicted as I snuggled under the covers. "There's no reason for you stay with me when all I'm going to be doing is sleeping."

"I think I should stay with you." Claudine hesitated slightly before continuing, "Human illness can be unpredictable."

"Claudine, I'm fine now, really." I counter stubbornly. I didn't want her to waste her time watching me sleep when she probably had a million other things to be doing. "I don't want to keep you from whatever you were doing before I got sick. I'll be fine here."

She looked less than assured. "I wasn't doing anything of importance before you needed me, Cousin. Your health is important. Besides, I have a new book I wanted to read and this is the perfect opportunity."

She punctuated that statement by pulling a book out of her purse with a flourish. Everything was starting to take on a hazy quality, so I just let the issue lie.

Claudine pulled my draped shut, effectively shutting out the late afternoon sun, as I buried myself under my covers. I heard the sounds of someone settling into my old rocking chair and paging through a book. Then I drifted off to sleep.

¸,ø ¤º°°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°°º¤ ø,¸¸,ø ¤º°°º¤ø,¸

I was disoriented when I next regained consciousness. Where was I? And why was I burning? It was like someone had left me in a car on a hot august day with all the windows rolled up.

My breath was escaping me in short pants as I struggled to escape the material that bound me. As I was struggling, I slowly started to gather my bearings. I was in my bed, wrapped in my Gran's old quilt, I realized suddenly.

I stopped my frantic clawing and tried to reason through the haze that was rapidly consuming me. I wiggled out the top of my self made cocoon and was able to breathe sweet, cool air.

The haze that only a moment before was almost all encompassing, seemed to recede with each cleansing inhalation I took.

I untangled my legs from the quilt and threw it off as violently as my weak muscles would allow. The quilt fell to the floor in a heap.

With my mission completed, I finally took a moment to look around the room. Claudine was eyeing me from her position in the doorway. She had my house phone in one hand and there was apparently someone on the other end of the line because when she had finished confirming that I was in no immediate danger from my now innocent looking blanket, she brought the phone up to her ear.

"No, no. There's no problem…It just seems like she got a little hot…I told you she was running a temperature, that's what happens when-…I'm watching out for her and I-…now wait just a minute!…"

Claudine's conversation was fading into the background as she huffed down the hallway towards the living room. I was still burning from the inside out when she returned a minute later, her beautiful face darkened by whoever was on the other end of that conversation.

She ,however, did not return empty handed. In one hand she had a wash cloth and in the other she had a bowl of what I hoped was ice water.

A second later I wasn't disappointed when she put the cold cloth to my forehead. A pleasant shiver ran down my spine and I was relieved when the burning seemed to lessen considerably.

I don't know when my eyes had closed, but I had to crack them open again to peer up at Claudine. "Who was that?" I croaked and then opened my eyes wider in surprise. When has my voice gotten so gravelly? I sounded awful.

Claudine removed the now lukewarm cloth from my forehead, and swirled it around the bowl. She dabbed the cold cloth to my neck, and then ran it down my exposed arms. She dunked it back in the bowl, rang it out and reapplied it to my forehead before answering.

"That was Pam. Eric felt that something was off through the bond, so Pam was calling to find out what was happening."

Ouch. He couldn't call me himself.

With my temperature starting to cool, I could better appreciate the hot stirrings of anger that bubbled up within me. Was I so unimportant that he couldn't call me directly to ask me how I was doing? A text message, perhaps? I know that he was busy dealing with Sophie-Anne's final death and the changes from the takeover, but two months was a long time to mere mortals.

Just as the anger started, I deflated. It was Eric. Vampire politics personified. This wasn't something unexpected, but I couldn't help the stab of hurt that broke through and skewered my heart. I had hoped now that he remembered our time together, things would be different. But more than that, I missed him. I missed you.

I broke out of my melancholy thoughts with a sigh. My temperature had gone down and I no longer felt like I was melting from the inside. Claudine removed the cloth from my forehead and took it and the bowl to the kitchen.

When she returned, she looked troubled.

"What's wrong?" I asked, not sure what to expect. It never bodes well when your fairy godmother looks worried.

"Pam is waiting outside. It seems that Eric was not satisfied with the information I gave her." I looked at the clock and was surprised that it was 8 o'clock. I guess I had been lost in my thoughts longer than I realized.

Claudine seemed annoyed, now. I understood quickly that Claudine could not be here when Pam came in. Fairies are vampire heroin, the smell of them drives vampires crazy with blood lust. And since I liked my cousin alive, she would have to leave while there was a vamp present.

Claudine was hovering in the doorway. I realized belatedly that she was waiting for my opinion on the matter. I was feeling bad that she had already stayed to watch over me as long as she had, so I told her that I would be fine and thanked her for staying with me.

I didn't want to tell her that I was starting to feel cold and nauseous because she would have insisted on staying and I had already taken so much of her time. I managed to give her what I hoped was a reassuring smile, but it could have just as easily been a grimace.

She gave me a small wink (no hug because that would have just been adding fuel to the fire) but I could see that she was reluctant to leave. With one last look, she popped out of my bedroom.

Although I had never rescinded Pam's invitation into my home, Gran would have rolled in her grave if I didn't go let Pam in myself, like southern manners demanded.

So with that in mind, I sat up with some effort and moved my legs feebly over the side of my bed. I stood up but a sudden cramp in my stomach had me bending over at the waist. I gritted my teeth, frustrated at my unpredictable illness, as I shuffled towards the front of my house.

I made it to the door and swung it open, only to have darkness and an empty porch greet me. I looked from side to side, squinting into the shadows but I didn't see Pam anywhere. When I turned around to check the clock, I withdrew violently to see Pam sitting calmly behind me. The violent movement had me running on shaky legs to the kitchen sink and throwing up my chicken noodle soup.

After I was sure I would not be sick again, I used my unsteady hands to turn on the water to rinse out the sink and splashed some water on my face. When I turned back around, I was surprised to see Pam had moved into my kitchen doorway, a look of distaste on her face.

"Well Sookie, it's good to see you again, as well."

'That Pam' I thought, a moment before my eyes rolled to the back of my head and the floor rushed up to greet me.

A/N: Okay, before anyone gets upset at the absence of a beloved 6'4 hunk of Viking, he will be coming. I don't do outlines, so when I write I just kind of let the characters go where they want to. But this is an Eric/Sookie story, so don't starts sharpening your pitchforks just yet. Oh, and I apologize for any mistakes I haven't caught. I don't have a beta and since I've gotten these two chapters out same day, I haven't had much of a chance to edit.