A/N: The response to this story still shocks me!! I can't believe the positive response it has been getting. Every time my inbox dings to let me know I have a new message I get super excited, yet occasionally let down to junk mail ;). I'm glad so many of you are enjoying it. Your positive feedback is definitely the driving force behind me pushing out chapters so fast. Sadly, the life of a graduate student in the last few weeks of the semester is catching up to me. I don't know how much longer I can keep pushing out a chapter a day. I'll try to keep updating as frequently as possible but I get the feeling this 20 page paper on the effect of race on public education is going to slow me down.

Again, thank you so much to my fantastic beta and president of the Clancy the Dog fan club, chisaii-kitty. I e-mailed her this earlier in the afternoon and she had it back to me in a matter of hours! Her comments certainly have me laughing my ass off. Without further ado, I give you the misadventures of Eric Northman.

Disclaimer: Don't own the characters, that honor goes to Charlaine Harris. I do however stake some claim to Alexander Danger and his stories. Probably should have mentioned that in the last chapter, oh well.

Eric woke the next morning to a very heavy weight on his chest. He felt as if someone was sitting on him. In fact someone was sitting on him, a very hungry Clancy that had an urgent date with a tree or two. Eric stretched as he rose and stole a glance at the clock. It read 11 a.m.; he hadn't slept that late in some time. He shoved a now-loudly barking Clancy off the bed and found clean clothes to throw on.

He was still yawning and wiping the sleep from his eyes as he led his dog through the lobby to a nearby tree. They could forgo the typical long morning walk just this once. He wanted to get dressed and have a light breakfast before heading to the gym. Maybe if he went earlier than yesterday, he wouldn't run into a certain blond that had been haunting his every waking moment.

He scanned his card at the front door of the gym, throwing a big smile to the red-head behind the desk. He stole a glance at the class schedule for the day, noting that Amelia's yoga class had just started. He gave it a moment's thought before opting instead for the usual run on the treadmill. He did, however, commit himself to peeking in the yoga studio when the class ended to give her a hello. She deserved that much, she might even end up being a good friend. She'd already proven to be good at giving advice.

The next hour went by quickly. After wiping down the machine, he walked down the flight of stairs to the floor containing the rooms where the gym's many classes were held. He saw a swarm of people exiting one of them and deduced that was Amelia's class letting out. Eric waited for them to pass so he wouldn't have to fight against the grain of the movement. He strode up to the door and not moments later his jaw hit the floor.

Amelia was talking with the blond from yesterday!

His fight or flight instinct kicked in and flight was starting to win. He wanted nothing more than to run from this woman and the things she made him feel. He would have gotten away with it too but Amelia had caught his gaze. She flashed him a huge smile and waved him into the room.

"Eric! I'm so glad you stopped by. Oh, where are my manners. This is the friend I told you about yesterday, Sookie. Sookie, this is Eric, the guy I met at the dog park."

His muse suddenly had a name, Sookie. He rolled it around his mind for a while desperately wanting to say it aloud.

Strange how close Sookie and Susannah are.

"Sookie, it's a pleasure to meet one of Amelia's friends. I'm..."

He was about to introduce himself when he noticed the slack jawed, wide-eyed stare she was giving him.

"You're Eric Northman! Oh my god, Amelia, you didn't tell me the guy from the park was Eric freakin' Northman. You are my favorite author in the world! I've read all three Danger books like a thousand times each! I was heart-broken when Elena died in Alexander's arms. Oh, and the single tear he let roll down his cheek, it got me bawling like a little baby!"

He had nothing to say. This woman who had possessed his soul for the past twenty-four hours was a fan, a rabid fan at that. Plus, she had the sweetest Southern accent his ears had ever heard. Eric was certain in that moment that Sookie would mark the end of this trying period in his life.

He took her small hand in his and couldn't help the involuntary shiver that ran through his body. The electricity that passed through them was unquestionable. He was certain she felt it too by the way she was staring at his hand. Maybe she was just as entertained as he was at how small her hand looked in his. He raised it to his lips and placed a small kiss on the back.

"It's always nice to meet such a devoted fan. I've been going through a very difficult time recently and it's my fans that have been able to pull me through."

God, Northman, laying it on a bit thick? She doesn't need to know that she was the sole fan to snap me out of this.

She giggled like most of the fans he'd met since he was published. Amelia could tell her best friend's brain had officially shut down in shock so she attempted to redirect the conversation.

"How about we go grab our respective showers and get some grub? I'm particularly starving after a class like that. Aren't you hungry, Sooks? Wouldn't you like to have lunch with the very understanding author who hasn't called security on your ass yet for being a psycho fan?"

Sookie blushed from the tip of her head to the bottoms of her feet at her friend's playful jab. She rapidly shook her head in the affirmative and took off at the speed of light in sheer embarrassment. Amelia noted how Eric's face fell when Sookie was out of sight.

"There's a diner just across the street. They've got some pretty good food. Why don't you meet us there in like twenty minutes?"

"Sounds like a plan. I live just around the corner; twenty minutes should be plenty of time."

There was no chance in hell of him saying no. Now that he had been in Sookie's presence, having some semblance of a conversation with her, he knew he was hooked. He wanted to spend as much time as possible with her. He wanted to get to know her better and try to figure out what it was about her that had him completely enchanted.

He walked down the stairs with Amelia talking nonchalantly. When they reached the first floor, she started to continue down as he stepped off the landing towards the lobby.

"The locker rooms are down here. I'll fill Sookie in on proper etiquette on meeting celebrities. Hope she didn't embarrass you too much. Oh, and I appreciate you giving me the heads up on you being famous and all."

"Sorry about that but don't worry, I've seen it all. She was actually pretty tame. She didn't embarrass me at all; I actually hope you didn't do more damage by calling her on it in front of me."

"She's a tough cookie. She's probably downstairs waiting for me to come into the locker room so she could wig out properly. Hopefully the three of us can have a real conversation over lunch."

With a wave, she continued downstairs while he headed out the front door. Once back in his apartment, he had his own little freak out. He ran to his bathroom to shower. He couldn't smell like this on his first date with Sookie.

Date?! This isn't really a date. Amelia's coming with us, it's not a date. It can't be a date. No, not a date.

Out of the shower, he slicked his hair back with the pomade just like Claude had shown him. He was now standing in front of his closet. For the past three years, he had worn nothing besides comfortable clothes. He knew that wouldn't cut it for going out to lunch with these two ladies. Movement out of the corner of his eye pulled him out of his vegetative state. He looked down to his left and there was Clancy staring at him judgmentally.

"I'm acting like a woman, aren't I boy? Worse than that, I'm acting like a fifteen year old going on his first date."

There was that word again! He had to get around the concept of this lunch as a date. It was simply a casual meal between three people that could someday be good friends. He reached in the closet and pulled out a pair of dark wash jeans and an olive green sweater. That seemed like a safe outfit; casual and presentable. As he pulled on the sweater, he caught a whiff of Felicia's perfume. Anything from the closet was not going to work. He couldn't stand the thought of smelling Felicia while attempting a conversation.

Making a mental note to send everything from the closet to the cleaners, he grabbed a trusty gray t-shirt out of his drawer. He checked himself in the mirror and deemed himself appropriately dressed for female companionship. Grabbing his wallet, phone, and other necessities off the table, he was out the door with five minutes to spare.

He walked into the diner, scanning the crowd for Sookie and Amelia. Amelia's shouting pointed him in the right direction. He made his way through the lunchtime crowd to the booth near the rear of the restaurant. The ladies were sitting side by side, so he slid in the opposite bench of the table, facing them both. Sookie's face immediately lit up when he made eye contact with her. The smile on her face must have been contagious as he felt one spreading across his own lips.

"Mr. Northman, I wanted to say I'm sorry for my behavior in the yoga studio. It was totally inappropriate. I've been living here in New York for a little while but I've never met any celebrities face to face. Oh gosh, now I'm rambling and making it worse. I just ramble when I'm nervous and I'm super nervous right now. I just love your writing so much and never thought I'd get the chance to meet you in person, let alone find out that you're friends with Amelia. Oh jeez, still rambling."

With that, she buried her face in her hands with a groan while Amelia wrapped an arm around her as a sign of support, even though Eric could see the wicked smile crossing her face at her friend's discomfort. The groan went straight through Eric, finding its destination in his groin.

This woman is going to be the death of me.

"It's okay, Sookie. And please, call me Eric. I've met fans who have acted way worse than that. One woman gave me a pair of underwear, making sure I knew they were used."

Sookie raised her face from her hands and looked back at him.

"Did I mention I was having dinner with my wife in a five star restaurant on our anniversary?"

That made both ladies burst into laughter. He actually found himself laughing along with them. It was the first time he laughed when he remembered moments with Felicia. It made him feel warm inside. He hoped this was a good sign towards healing.

After placing their order with the waitress, they shared more time swapping awkward stories. Eric thought he would win what had developed into a contest. It was hard to top Amelia's retelling of the woman who farted so loudly in a yoga class that it echoed off the walls during a moment of silent meditation. The only thing worse than the sound proved to be the smell. Needless to say, the class was dismissed. Sookie opened her mouth to try and beat her but quickly stopped. Her face was a mask of sadness and Eric was determined to fix it.

"I certainly can't top that, Sookie, but it looked like you were about to. Sometimes talking about what hurts us the most is the only way to heal and move forward from it."

Amelia's faced beamed with delight at Eric's statement. She knew in that moment that she had gotten through to him during their conversation yesterday. Sookie's eyes once again found a certain gleam and she let out a little giggle.

"Nothing on this earth can top walking in on Bill screwing Lorena on the conference table. She was barking orders at him and he had this look on his face. He always made the most stupid faces during sex, not to mention the noises. I think the only thing better than his face in that moment was the one when he made eye contact with me. It looked like I had shot his puppy, ran over his granny and told him he was bad in bed all at the same time. I'll never forget it, or him running after me down the hall of his firm's office, past all the head honchos, naked as the day he was born."

The table once again erupted into laughter, declaring Sookie the official winner. Their food was placed in front of them and they all dug in. It was Sookie who broke the lunch-induced silence.

"So, I hope this isn't awkward or anything, but Amelia told me about what's happened to you. To be honest, I knew about your wife from the news articles that got posted on your message boards. Is that why you haven't written a new book in a while? Or is that an inappropriate question?"

"No, it's fine. I guess opening up to Amelia made it easier to share my story in general. Yeah, I lost all inspiration when I lost Felicia. For a while, it was hard to even get out of bed, let alone write. My editor pushed me through the ending of the last book but I told her that I was done after that. It's the main reason the movie was made. Pam, that's my editor, saw that my funds were getting a bit low. She knew a movie would pick up popularity of the books again making a good amount of money in a short amount of time. In fact, I think I can share a little tidbit with you ladies. But you have to swear you won't tell a soul."

Sookie and Amelia glanced at each other, then back to Eric and gestured that they swore by crossing over their hearts. The all leaned in towards the center of the table.

"Pam just let me know that the second book, The Danger You Know, just got picked up to be turned into a movie."

Despite literally crossing her heart, Sookie let out a scream that attracted all eyes in the restaurant to their table. She slapped a hand over her mouth before Amelia and Eric burst out into laughter. The other guests turned back to their own lives. Sookie took a moment to compose herself before returning to the conversation.

"So, not to press a sore topic, but do you think there will ever be a fourth book?"

Eric took a moment to look at Sookie. She had so much joy and excitement in her eyes he couldn't turn her down. He wanted desperately to pour his heart out to her in that moment but worried of the repercussions.

What am I supposed to say? Yes, actually, ever since I saw you at the gym I've been infatuated and wrote an entire character based on your appearance and sound of your voice? She'd probably pepper spray me for being creepy. But I can't let her down with a lie.

"Well, I have something. It's more of a character study than the beginnings of a storyline. I'm not entirely sure how I'm going to develop it into anything more than it is but Pam and I are hopeful something will come out of it."

That sounded perfectly diplomatic in his mind. In Sookie's mind it sounded even more promising. The smile she gave Eric showed him that his answer was enough to give her a glimmer of hope without terrifying her.

"Will you tell us about her? It is a woman, right? It's always a woman in your books."

"She's a jazz singer, new to the city. She catches the eye of a grieving Danger at a night club."

It was proving more and more difficult to evade the truth. Eric was hoping Sookie would drop the subject before he spilled everything. What was it about these two women that made him open up?

"Oh that sounds really amazing! I can't wait to hear more about her. That is, if you wanted to spend more time with me later. Us, I meant spend more time with us!"

She blushed deeply again. Eric was beginning to enjoy the way her cheeks pinked up whenever she spoke to him. It gave her a sense of innocence that was rarely seen in modern times. The only problem was the nerves that grew whenever they were around each other. He was terrified at the prospect of spending time with her one on one, yet at the same time craved it more than anything.

The waitress placed the check on the table and he immediately grabbed it, insisting to treat. He might not have had human contact for a few years, but he still knew how to act like a gentleman. That was ingrained in him from the time he was very young. He pulled a few bills out of his pocket slowly, not wanting lunch to end. He knew this was his one shot.

"I'd love a chance to get to know you better. It would be nice to have friends again. Maybe you ladies would like to join me for dinner at some point this week?"

Inviting Amelia kept it even and balanced. He wouldn't have to worry about being alone with the woman that made his heart leap out of his chest, but it also wouldn't break her heart at being ignored by someone she idolized. Amelia was the first to speak up.

"Oh, I've got a busy week ahead of me. I've got night classes a few times this week and Jason put me on front desk duty the others. But I'm sure Sookie wouldn't mind having dinner with you, Eric."

He really needed to make sure Pam and Amelia never met. Should their forces be combined, he would be miserable the rest of his life. What was it about him that attracted women who loved to torture him while looking out for his best interests?

"That's too bad, Amelia. What do you say, Sookie, would you like to get dinner with me one night?"

Her words failed her. Her mouth had run dry and her mind was producing a huge blank. Little did she know, a similar battle was occurring inside Eric simultaneously. He didn't think he could take being turned down by her so early in the game, but he couldn't stop the words from coming out of his mouth.

"Um, sure I'd love to get dinner. How's Thursday night? I work at nights at my friend's bar, but I have Thursday off. We could eat and talk more about everything!"

"That's great. Thursday works for me. I don't exactly have a busy schedule. Name the time and place and it's a date."

That word that he fought so hard earlier once again reared its ugly head and slipped from his lips. He tried not to cringe as it came out for Sookie's sake. He would hate for her to think he wasn't interested.

"Well, there's a great little Italian restaurant up the block from here. They have the best tasting marinara sauce in the entire city. How about we meet there at six?"

"Sounds perfect, I can't wait. If you ladies don't mind, I think I have to call it an afternoon. I have a very antsy golden retriever waiting for me at home who was deprived a proper walk this morning. Maybe I'll see you both around the gym, and Sookie, I'll definitely be seeing you Thursday."

It was Monday. He could make it those few days without her. Besides, he would probably see her around the gym considering her brother owned it and best friend worked there. The two ladies each took a hug from Eric before slipping out the door while he settled the bill. He held Sookie a little tighter than Amelia, taking a moment to take in her scent. She smelled like vanilla and lavender; it was intoxicating. He was barely able to contain the moan that wanted to spill from his lips.

Opening his front door, he was nearly attacked by Clancy who was desperate to burn off some energy, as well as relieve himself. Eric could barely slip the leash around his collar before Clancy was out the door towards the bay of elevators. They made their way through the park on their usual route. Eric had grabbed a tennis ball before they left and was trying to find the dog park again so Clancy could enjoy some off-leash play time.

As they approached the gates, he noticed Amelia sitting on the same bench as yesterday reading a book. After releasing Clancy, he took his place next to her.

"That was a fun lunch, don't you think?"

"Oh sure, it was a blast. I haven't heard Sookie laugh that hard in a long time. Anything you'd like to tell me?"

"What would I have to tell you?"

"You know, how you're head over heels in love with my roommate?"

A/N 2: GASP! Just the tiniest bit of a cliffy for your reading pleasure.

Oh that Amelia. What ever are we going to do with her? Doesn't she know it's not nice to stalk people at the dog park?