AN: Wow! Thank you to all of my wonderful reviewers! I honestly never expected quite such a response! It has inspired me to continue on with this fic and exploring things between Sookie and those around her -especially a certain sexy Viking Vampire! I'm working on Chapter Three, not sure how long it'll take me to get it up, though reviews definitely fuel my muse! Not to mention watching the show while reading the books... I'll probably be mixing things a bit from each side as I go along, events from both and such. I hope you enjoy chapter two as much as the first!
Chapter Two
It has been two days since Godric met the sunrise, and two days since he acquired the best rest of his entire existence –if not the most confusing too. In conclusion, it has been two days since he last saw Sookie Stackhouse. It had hurt him, more than he was willing to admit at the time, to watch her and her idiot brother return to Bon Temps with Bill in tow. He could see things between the couple were not the same either, she had changed and even Bill was not blind to it.
He had to give her credit though, smirking as he recalls her superb acting skills when it came to keep Bill in the dark about everything. She even convinced her brother to agree to her tale, that she had spent that day with Jason and he was the reason she never came to their bed. Part of him ached, still does, for the fact she took him at his word and kept the truth a secret from everyone, save for Jason. He understands why she had to do it, but it did not keep it from bothering him immensely.
Things have settled back into their normal routine at Fangtasia, though he is not as into it as usual. The only one sharp enough to notice this of course is his child, Pam. Their bond allowing her to be all too aware of the fact something is troubling her maker, deeply. She says nothing of this, of course. That is, until she sees an even more dramatic change in him upon waking at the end of the second day since Dallas. She can see that something is troubling him more than it had been before, which she knows means that something is wrong in Bon Temps.
She does not get the chance to voice this of course, as Sam Merlotte is already waiting for them, announced by Ginger. "Oh, hell." She rolls her eyes as they take audience with the shifter. "This explains everything."
"Indeed. Pam, go with the shifter back to Bon Temps, I will be there shortly." He turns to Sam then, the disgust in his voice all but hidden, "I will personally see to this problem of yours. Make no mistake, you will owe me. You may not be able to give me what I want, but you will ensure that I have no interference from the humans. Understood?"
Sam clenches his teeth, knowing he'd normally rather die than stand aside and allow another vampire to try for Sookie's affections. However, he knows in this case he is powerless. Without Eric's help they may all be lost. "Understood, but don't force her into anything, it's the only thing I ask."
"I would prefer her willing as well, but don't let that little fact become common knowledge. Excuse me." He nods briefly to Pam, silent instructions clear as day before he literally takes flight.
He arrives in New Orleans, the path leading to the door of the Queen's home, just as Bill arrives. "Fancy meeting you here, Bill. I have a feeling we are here for the same reason."
Security interrupts, before Bill can retort and attempt to wipe the smug look off of Eric's face. "The Queen is expecting you both, she will see both of you now." He ushers them both in to the queen.
When they enter the room the queen is on her knees between the legs of a pretty little girl, barely more than eighteen it seems, blood dripping down her shapely legs as Sophie-Ann partakes and the girl beneath her moans in ecstasy. "Have we come at a bad time, your Majesty?"
Sophie-Ann laughs, pulling her blood coated mouth from the girl's thigh as she looks up at the male vampires. Her head cocking to the side as she observes. "To what do I owe the pleasure of both of you coming to see me? Surely you cannot both be here for the same reason?" Her brow arches, watching their reactions.
"Actually, I believe we may be. I suspect Bill is here, as I am, to find out what you know of Maenads, specifically how to kill one." Eric answers in his usual bored tone, but something in his eyes tells her there is more to the story than he's letting on.
"A Maenad in Shreveport, Mr. Northman? So, Bill, how does this concern you down in Bon Temps?"
"No, your Majesty, the Maenad is in Bon Temps. A shifter alerted me to the problem. I assume Bill is here for the same reason I was alerted. It is targeting the entire town, intent on sacrificing the shifter as a matter of fact."
"Since when do you care what happens to Merlotte?" Bill interrupts, his expression hardening as he assumes this is not the reason for Eric's interest.
Eric's expression is smug as he rolls his eyes and ignores Bill completely. "I care little of what happens to the shifter, per say. However, we have a mutual acquaintance and I cannot allow harm to come to him without causing trouble with said acquaintance." He tries to play it off as nothing more than business, once more something in his eyes tells her there is more to it.
"I see, and what is so important about this acquaintance? I'm assuming it's a woman, yes?"
"It is. She is, an enigma. She has tasted me and the connection is stronger than with normal humans who have had my blood. Another friend of hers has also drank from me," His brow arches slightly, communicating something with her that Bill does not understand, "I am not as connected with her friend as a result of it and she had less of me."
"Non-sense! You are simply trying to take her for yourself, she is mine!"
As the two vampires look about to face off Sophie-Ann laughs, clapping her hands twice to get their attention as she says in a commanding tone, "Enough!" When their attention is back on her she lounges across one of the settees lazily, yet with grace. She is already well aware that the 'acquaintance' is Sookie Stackhouse, finding it entertaining that both Eric and Bill are so ready to go to war over the human girl. "Now, sit, we only have a couple of hours before dawn. We have time to kill, either of you hungry?"
"No, thank you, your Majesty." Comes the well timed reply from both.
"Both of you? Really? Mr. Northman, have you even tasted her yet?"
"I have not, and I am not mainstreaming either. I fed earlier in the bar. I would rather know what you know and get to Bon Temps to settle this."
"If she was in any trouble you would both be well aware of it, the tiniest hint of it with you, Mr. Northman, I'm sure." She motions for them both to take a seat as she lazily begins to tell them what she knows, randomly getting distracted by other bits of history in the telling of it, including many things Eric had been around for.
Bill has yet to return, though after Dallas Sookie is not entirely sure she's surprised. "Darn it!" She cries out as her phone vibrates on the patio table. A text from Bill, five hours after the fact. Figures. "I so getting a new phone as soon as Eric pays me," She mutters as she slams her phone shut continuing more loudly to Layfatte behind her. "Bill's not coming back until tomorrow night."
"So, we shouldn't hold our breath on him saving us then. You're working for Eric now?"
"I worked for him once, long story. Maybe I should call him, he's older, maybe he knows something." She doesn't wait for Layfatte to respond to her as she opens her phone again, stepping off the porch. It rings three times before his voicemail picks up. "Eric, it's Sookie. Look, I need you to call me the second you get this. I'll pay you for what I need if I have to, just call me back." She slams the phone shut, muttering about vampires and their needing to sleep during the day, which strikes Layfatte as funny.
"Ain't that a bitch? That's one of the downsides to involving yourself with those things, Sook." He shakes his head.
"Speaking of Eric, how's your leg?"
"Never better." His expression is sheepish as he looks away from her, still holding the shotgun tightly in his hands.
"How'd that happened?"
"Eric forced me to drink his mother-fucking blood is how that happened."
"Me too! He tricked me in Dallas, had me suck silver bullets out of him." She shudders, tilting her head down and peeking up at him curiously through her lashes. "Have you been having dreams?"
"Now, how the fuck would you know that?" He eyes her before rolling his eyes and looking up at the blue sky above them, idly thinking it shouldn't be so damn pretty when all hell is breaking loose in their town. "It's like, he's always in my head, you know? The sex dreams are…"
"Yea, I know." She looks down for a moment, tilting her head and starting to say something before she is interrupted by Mrs. Thornton.
Pam, as instructed, had followed Sam back to Bon Temps the night before, stuck hiding in the bar until nightfall. Her phone rings, alerting her to a text message from Eric. She rolls her eyes, slipping it closed as she looks to Sam and starts in a bored tone, "Eric will be here just after sundown. He says the only shot we have of getting this thing is for you to offer yourself, or allow them to think it is so."
"Excuse me?" Sam looks at her like she's suddenly turned human in front of him, trying to make sense of her words.
"The Maenad can only be killed when it is preparing to join with the god who comes, whatever the hell that means."
"How does he suggest we pull this off?"
Irritated, not wanting to play messenger, she hands him the phone allowing him to read the plan for himself. "He wants you to be certain you do not drink from anyone other than him. Especially not Bill Compton. Are we clear?"
"Yes, but why does that matter to Eric?"
"He does not wish to put Sookie into a position in which it is necessary to allow Bill to drink from her again, or him for that matter."
"Wouldn't drinking from him give him what he wants?"
"It would, but, for some foolish reason, he wishes to do it without any further trickery on his part. He feels he has leveled their playing field enough." She rolls her eyes sarcastically. The whole thing irritates her to know end.
"I find that hard to believe and more than a little disturbing."
"Indeed, he is going to level the playing field a little further, or maybe up his advantages and implore the queen to keep Bill there a little longer than necessary. After all, as Sheriff of Area 5 he has more business here than Bill does. Besides, the queen apparently wants to meet Sookie, the better chance of such a thing is through Eric and not Bill. After all, Bill has been known to hold her in secret, where Eric would have no problem flaunting her and being flaunted by her. He's capable of protecting her to an extent that Bill is not. It's all very complicated and downright aggravating."
He can see that it bothers her, the infatuation both vampires have with Sookie, but he does not voice it, pulling the subject back to the problem at hand, or trying to. His chance is stolen from him as Eric makes his presence known, though neither of them have even realized the sun has finally set.
Eric strolls into the bar, smoothing down his hair and adjusting his clothing once again as he steps in front of them with a slightly smug expression. "Shall we get this ritual over with? I must admit, it will be rather entertaining to watch you be sacrificed, shifter."
"That's what worries me, how do I know you'll actually let me live through this?"
"If you actually die in the sacrifice how could you possibly destroy this Maenad for us? No, it is far better for all concerned for you to survive this. Besides, Sookie would be rather broken hearted if she were to lose someone else, I'm sure."
Sam finds it odd that Eric would know anything about the losses that Sookie has suffered, but for now he says nothing of it. "Right, let's do this. Time to go offer myself to a Maenad."
Sam is a far more convincing act as an offering than Eric had expected him to be, watching as the shifter doesn't back out at the last moment, despite the fear that rolls off of him in waves. He watches from the shadows, not yet alerting anyone as to his presence, including Sookie. He's mildly disappointed, of course, that the queen didn't keep Bill long enough to miss all the festivities. At least he had been out of the way long enough to not be involved in the plan that is currently unfolding. While part of him is itching to be the hero in this tale, he has no delusions of being seen as anything more than an opportunist to her. What really surprises him is the fact that something like that matters to him!
He shakes his head slightly, dismissing the thoughts as he listens to Sookie scream in anguish now, though he external cries are nothing in comparison to the ones he feels from her through the blood she's ingested. A pang ripples through him, something he cannot fathom the cause of, for now he gives it no thought as he slips away from the edge of the crowd.
He keeps his distance now, still not wanting his presence to be known and waiting for Sam to shift back so that their plan can come to its completion. As he waits, he watches the Maenad chase after Sookie once she has destroyed the hideous thing she built, the sacrificial egg housed in rotting flesh. He starts to intervene, nearly making his presence known, when Sam shifts back, naked, in front of him and halts his advance. He will not admit as much, but he's grateful for the shifter's appearance. It prevents him from doing something he may later regret.
"It's about time, shifter." He spits the word out with venom dripping from his tone. It's a bit of an overkill, but he hopes it masks the grave mistake he has nearly made. At the last minute he had announced, to those involved, that, if they could manage it, his presence and roll in the events is not to be known –especially to Sookie.
"Sorry," Sam groans and stumbles towards Eric. "It's hard navigating through a mob of insane people as a rat!"
"Irrelevant, let's finish this." He bites into his own wrist, extending it then to Sam. As soon as he latches on and his blood begins to heal the shifter, he watches with a seemingly bored expression. In truth, his mind's eye is envisioning the day in which Sookie chooses to drink from him. Yes, while he tricked her into it the first time, he longs for a day when it is a choice she makes of her own free will.
When Sam is finished, moving into the next phase of their plan, he brings his wrist back to his own mouth, sealing the wound as he considers the possibility of tasting her one day, by her request.
He growls, low in his chest, unheard by those nearing their position, as he shakes his head trying to dispel the thoughts again. The longing he feels is all but driving him mad as it is! Not to mention the fact he can't get their last day in Dallas out of his mind, regardless of how hard he tries.
He watches the scene unfold as Sam rams through the Maenad with his horn, shifting back as he yanks out her blackened un-beating heart. He cringes, the black blood that coats his skin from elbow to fingertips is rather sickening, making him glad he's not nearly the fool Bill is, thinking first with fangs. He can feel the shock and horror as it passes through Sookie as she witnesses the same scene, entirely unaware of his presence. His lips twitch, a scowl forming briefly across his features as he watches her hug the shifter when the deed is done.
"Oh, Sam! This was your plan all along, wasn't it?" Sookie exclaims, hugging him so tightly he's lucky to still get a breath. "But, how did you? I saw them stab you!"
"Easy, Sook." He kisses the top of her head, avoiding touching her with the blood coated arm. "I had a secret weapon, that's all."
"What secret weapon? You'd better tell me what happened, Sam Merlotte!"
The tears streaming down her cheeks, falling on the white fabric of the dress she'd been forced to wear, leaving noticeable wet spots. It's obvious she's tired of secrets, tired of being kept in the dark over the supernatural shit that happens every day when she's just as mixed up in it as the rest. He glances in the darkness, his expression silently pleading with said secret weapon, to either allow him the liberty to tell her the truth, or to come clean himself.
When Eric nods once, stepping back further into the shadows to observe her reaction to the truth, Sam sighs in relief and wipes the tears from her cheeks with his good hand. "Please don't cry, Sookie. The short version of things is this; I didn't know when you and vampire Bill were getting back from Dallas, and frankly I didn't want to deal with Bill to start with, so I went to Shreveport. I went and asked Eric Northman for help." He can't help chuckling as he sees the astonished look on her face, leading her slowly back towards her house as he continues, "I know, I know, I was a bit shocked at myself for doing it. It's no secret to them either that I don't particularly like them, so I was a bit surprised that Eric was willing to help. At the time I didn't know you were back, I just wanted things to be like they're supposed to be before you came back. Eric must have known, didn't he? I think he actually wanted to avoid harm coming to you, he was genuinely concerned for you, even if he wouldn't admit it to the likes of me. I wasn't even supposed to tell you that he helped. Is it true though, that he tricked you into drinking his blood?"
She scoffs, the shock immediately fleeing her features as he brings up the damn bullet mess. "Yes! He convinced me he was going to die if I didn't suck the silver bullets out of him! The nerve!"
He laughs openly as they reach what used to be her yard, both with expressions of longing for when things were normal in their small southern town. "I think I get it though, why he tricked you at least. Levels the playing field, you know? I mean you exchanged blood with Bill shortly after you met, had his right off. At least this way you can see whether or not what you feel for Bill is real, or if it's all just his blood inside of you."
She pauses, the thoughts hadn't fully occurred to her yet, when Bill had explained what was going to happen to her now that she had tasted Eric's blood. If she was honest with herself, as much as she protested it at the time, it really wasn't as bad as she made it seem. It did give her a sense of clarity that she hadn't taken the time to register at the time. "Doesn't that mean you have his blood in you now too? I mean, that's how he helped you, isn't it?"
"It is. In fact it was one of the conditions he had for agreeing to help, it had to be his blood and not Bill's. Speaking of, where is Bill?" Sam glances around, not seeing the annoying dead man at present, but still fully aware of Eric's presence behind them.
She frowns, it only now dawns on her that she has no idea. He'd stopped her in the beginning, but she can't remember how or when he'd stopped protesting her involvement in trying to save Sam. "I don't know, one minute he was there and then… I don't know where he went. Bill?" She turns around to start calling for him, though not with the enthusiasm anyone would expect her to have.
"I believe I can answer that question." Eric says in an almost eerie tone, his accent coating his words in a way that warms Sookie's insides, though she would never admit as much. "Pam is currently detaining him, I couldn't risk him trying to talk Mr. Merlotte here out of our original plan, taking Bill's blood instead of mine to be specific."
"Why? Why does it matter to you so much if it is Bill's or yours? Expecting brownie points for it being yours or something?" Sookie interrogates him, untangling herself from Sam as she approaches the Viking.
"No, dear Sookie, I simply did not want Bill to have an excuse to taste you again. For one thing, it would unlevel the playing field, again. Two, it would put you at more of a risk, should there be any further problems tonight, unlikely as that may seem, but trouble does tend to find you." His crystal blue eyes stare into hers, the dark color reminding him of melted chocolate, as he longs to reach out and touch her. For the moment he resists the urge, the fire in her expression warning him that such a gesture might warrant another slap. While he enjoys her fire, he prefers not to be struck at this time.
His confession baffles her a little, her expression softening as he closes the distance while staring down at her. There's something about his expression, the way his hands are stuffed in the pockets of his slacks, that reminds her of the side of him she saw after Godric's death. "Why didn't you trick me again then? Make me think that you needed my blood instead?"
"That thought did occur to me, but as I said, I want to level the playing field. Right now we are on even ground, you and I. I believe if I taste you this will no longer be the case. Besides, when that time comes, I want it to be because you want me to taste you, not out of necessity or a sense of obligation." He glances at the destruction done to her home because of the Maenad and frowns. "Did you live here alone, Sookie?"
The way he says her name causes her insides to churn, a fire to erupt, though she doesn't let on. "No, Tara moved in with me the day I left for Dallas. Why?"
"Let's find your friend, this place isn't presently fit for living. The two of you can stay with me until we can get your house repaired. I insist." He adds the insistence when he feels the start of her protest through the connection.
"Fine, only for tonight!" She agrees with obvious irritation, instantly stomping away from him as she goes to find Tara.
