Disclaimer: Unfortunately, playing on Charlaine Harris' playground does not give me ownership rights. Rated M for language and lemons.

5. … Of the Dark Black Night

I felt more than a little awkward trying to balance on my crutch and tie my sneaker at the same time. After a week of being prodded, poked, and scanned incessantly, I was finally going home. Or rather, to Pam's apartment. No matter what I tried, not a single one of those lost memories had returned to me. To say I was frustrated would be like saying Everest is big. So now I found myself confused, gimpy, and hunted.

Someone wanted me dead. We're not talking your run-of-the-mill aggravation everyone feels every day. According to the police, my accident was not an accident.

About 45 minutes after the shock of my life, Sheriff Bud Dearborn and Detective Andy Bellefleur entered my room with their hats in their hands to take my statement and deliver the next blow. The statement wasn't much since I didn't have any memory of the incident. Sheriff Dearborn did most of the talking.

"Mr. Northman, is there any reason you can think of for someone to want to harm you?"

"Harm me?"

"We have several eyewitness accounts that say the vehicle involved in your hit-and-run made no attempts to stop. We are n the process of reviewing the traffic cameras for the area."

"You think someone might be trying to kill me?" I asked incredulously. What could I have possibly done in a past life to warrant the hell that has been my last hour? Maybe I was Vlad the Impaler.

"It is a possibility."

"We have spoken to Dr. Ludwig and realize the situation you are in," Detective Bellefleur spoke up. "But we would appreciate any light you could shed on the case."

"I'm sorry, Detective. I don't remember the accident at all. I'm not sure how in depth Dr. Ludwig explained my memory loss to you. It seems the last three years are gone. It is more than possible something in that time frame could be the trigger. Nothing else is coming to mind."

"We understand," the sheriff conceded. He shifted his hat in his hands and handed me a business card from his shirt pocket. "Please let us know if you remember anything that could help."

"I will. And I hope you will keep me informed as well."

Dearborn nodded once in agreement and lifted his hat to his head. He gestured for Bellefleur to exit the room first and nodded again as a goodbye.

As if I didn't have enough on my mind. Now I had to keep one eye over my shoulder wondering if or when someone would make another attempt on my life. I let my head fall back into the pillow, closed my eyes and covered them with my hand. I sighed deeply, willing my thought to slow down at least to a manageable speed. Even with this new, possibly deadly, revelation my thoughts repeatedly came back to Sookie and the apparent disaster that was my marriage. It was killing me not to know where she was, what she was doing or what happened to us. This new reality was throwing me for a loop, not even giving me a moment to assimilate myself.

Pam opened the door softly, carrying the coffee she'd gone to find. She glanced toward me almost timidly. Pam rarely pussyfooted around anyone's feelings so her new demeanor had me even more on edge. She even looked startled when I huffed at her.

"Alright. Out with it."

"What?"

"You're unnerving me. I've never seen you this tentative and it is yet another adjustment to get used to on top of everything else." I reached my hand out to her and patted the side of the bed my cast wasn't on. She came to sit with me, looking right into my eyes.

"What's bothering you, Pammy?"

Her eyes narrowed at the childhood nickname she'd beaten me up over too many times to count. She playfully punched my shoulder and I sucked in a quick breath, faking a pained grimace. Her horrified expression had me bursting into laughter.

"It seems my fears were unfounded," she growled as she got up to move back to the chair. "You are going to be back to normal in no time."

"Don't be mad. You'd have done it to me in a heartbeat."

Her smirk was the only indication she gave that she agreed. Her blue eyes sparkled in that way that meant payback would be a bitch.

"Brat."

"Ass."

And my little sister is back, ladies and gentlemen. Now that most of the worry was erased from her features, I already felt a little lighter. I caught her glance and held it.

"Pam, what happened between me and Sookie?"

Her face sobered but the snarky attitude stayed.

"You're idiots." She gave up on the magazine in her lap and put it back in her bag.

"I'm gonna need a little more than that."

"I don't know what to tell you, Eric. You think she's better off without you and she thinks you don't love her anymore. You're both being ridiculous."

"How can she possibly think I don't love her?"

"You've spent the past year and a half in your office, only going home for sex and sleep. What is she supposed to think?"

My eyes widened in disbelief.

"No. No, Pam. I wouldn't do that to Sookie." I shook my head as though that would make it less true. Pam watched me carefully, her eyes pitying.

"Eric, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for that to come out so harshly. But it's true. You've spent so much time chasing your next business deal, the next dollar. You've taken Sookie's presence in your life for granted. You wouldn't listen to reason. You've been under the stupid impression that Sookie needs material things more than your attention."

I couldn't even wrap my head around this. We're happy, damnit. I love Sookie past all logic. She is my greatest strength and greatest weakness in one curvy little package. How could I have stopped proving that to her, even for one second of one day? Well that ends now.

I pulled myself out of my thoughts and glanced at the door, waiting for Pam to come through. More than a little irritated, I gave up on tying my shoe. I just stuffed the laces inside and called it a day. I'd signed the release forms earlier. All I had to do was wait for Pam to bring her minivan around to the entrance. I pulled both crutches underneath my arms and stood up. My personal belongings were in a Ziploc bag at the foot of the bed. I opened it and dropped my keys in my pocket. As I reached for my cell, the beginnings of a plan to talk to Sookie formed in my mind.

Pam came in following a redheaded nurse with a wheelchair. The smile on Pam's face could only mean she was attempting to score. She gently touched the girl's shoulder "helping" her maneuver around the bed and I rolled my eyes. Only Pam.

The nurse moved to take the crutches from my hands but hesitated at my skeptical look. I was more than capable of making it to the car myself. She must have interpreted the look correctly since she chirped "hospital policy" cheerfully. Her turning around to help ease me into the chair gave Pam the perfect opportunity to ogle her ass. I caught her with her head tilted, unashamedly eyefucking the woman with a leer on her face. She winked when she saw me and licked her lips lasciviously.

I was rolled to the doors and took my first breath of fresh air in a week. I moved myself into the passenger seat of the van and slid my cell open. It took me a minute to figure out how the damn thing worked. Thankfully it just seemed to be an updated version of the one I remember. A few swipes of my finger and the number for the florist closest to our… I mean, Sookie's apartment came up. I ordered a single yellow hibiscus to be delivered to Sookie's home shortly after she got home from work. I signed with a large 'E' and nothing more. I needed her to call me, to meet me. This was my opening move. This past week without her had been like torture. Somehow, I had to prove to her that head injury or no, I wasn't going to consider moving forward without her with me.

Now who saw our boy on the cover of GQ looking all smexy? I don't think the employees at Borders appreciated the puddle of drool I left behind…