A/N: Wow, it's been over a week since I updated, this is sort of a weird feeling for me. On top of my case of writer's block, I just didn't have a lot of time to write. I slowly pieced this together, and finally got it to a place where I'm happy with it. Hope you like it to.

Thanks to my beta, chisaii-kitty for convincing me it was good and telling me my new ideas sounded readable to someone other than me. Expect something new, and non-AH, from me soon!

Disclaimer: Not mine :(

Waking up was not Sookie's forte. Even though her morning routine took less than thirty minutes on a good day, she needed to set her alarm for way more time than that. Most of it was spent hitting the snooze button or finding the alarm clock to turn it off after it got thrown against the wall. Thank God Amelia was a morning person; she always had a pot of coffee brewing long before Sookie woke up. It was liquid heaven in a mug. She wondered if she could just set up caffeine to be taken intravenously to avoid burning her mouth like she did most days.

In the weeks since she'd been dating Eric, she found a new favorite way to jump start her morning. He would wake her with gentle kisses along the back of her neck and a hand rubbing along her side. The kick to her libido was definitely helpful in clearing the cobwebs from her mind. Chasing after those retreating hands as they left for the shower got her out of bed faster than her building's fire alarm. The warm embrace of her lover's body in a hot shower, not to mention the view, was slowly replacing a second cup of java.

By some miracle she had actually woken up before he had a chance to begin his process. She stole a glance at the clock and noticed it was later than either of them normally slept in. She rolled over to find a note card where Eric usually slept. Depressed that she would not be getting her normal wake up, she took the note and read it over. He had an early meeting with Pam to go over press releases, tour dates and the like for the book/movie combo. He had mentioned it last night, but in her post-coital haze she had forgotten. The date was several months away, but from what he described to her, a lot of planning needed to go into this type of thing.

She convinced herself to get out of bed, willing her body to make its way into the kitchen for coffee. Her heart sang with joy when she saw the pot was full and still hot, Eric was thoughtful of her caffeine needs. She poured herself a mug and sipped it slowly while she looked down at the traffic below. The city was starting to buzz; New Year's Eve was tomorrow and there was a sudden population growth as there was every year at this time. She and Eric were going to a party thrown by the publishing firm at Pam's insistence. She would have been just as happy to spend it quietly with him, counting down from the comfort of his living room. Pam believed he needed to get his face back out into the public, to start networking again to remind people that he existed and they should spent their hard earned money on his books.

She reflected on the day when she had gone dress shopping with Amelia. They must have gone through dozens of racks in several stores but nothing was wowing her. Amelia wasn't going to the party, but thankfully was sticking out the all day excursion with Sookie. She normally stuck to clothes that didn't draw much attention, but this was a big time party, so she was going all out. Since she was looking outside her comfort zone, it was taking her a little longer than usual.

It was Amelia's shriek from the opposite end of the store that drew her out of her thoughts. Her best friend was now running at her full speed with a dress in her hands. She held it up to Sookie, whose jaw was now on the floor. The red dress was knee length with a strapless sweetheart neckline. The red layer was gorgeous but it was the sheer black lace overlay that made the dress. It was patterned with flowers, came up to create a halter top and was belted at the waistline by a wide black satin band. As soon as she put it on, she knew it was the one. They were out the door within minutes.

Sookie was pulled from her daydream by the locks turning. She turned around just as the door opened to see a soaking wet Eric coming through. He had apparently forgotten his umbrella and paid the price. Sookie was definitely not going to complain about his forgetfulness as he was quickly stripping each layer off his body. He hadn't even noticed Sookie standing at the opposite end of the room in his rush to get the wet, cold clothes off.

"Do you strip like this frequently? If so, I'm praying for rain everyday and hiding your umbrellas."

He looked at her from across the room, not having expected her to be conscious already. "If I knew you were standing there, I would have asked for a little help."

"Oh, I'm real good at getting you to take your clothes off. I'm even better at getting you hot." She poured a cup of coffee and handed it to him. "Here, step one in getting nice and toasty."

He took a mouthful before eyeing her suspiciously. "What's step two?"

"Finish getting naked and meet me in the bedroom to find out."

She darted away, closing the door behind her. He finished peeling the soaked jeans from his legs and followed her. He knocked, unsure if he should enter just yet, having no idea as to what she had planned.

She opened it with a big smile, "Why are you knocking? This is your bedroom, silly. Come on in, go head and get cozy face down on the bed."

He did as she said, laying down on his bed, his face nestled against the pillows. He inhaled, noticing he had chosen Sookie's pillow instead of his own, suddenly intoxicated by her sweet scent. He was so lost in the fragrance he barely noticed Sookie joining him on the bed. He heard a click then all he could smell was vanilla. He heard her rub her hands together, then felt them spread across his back with ease. Her small hands made short work of any tension in his muscles, kneading them into submission. His mind turned to mush as she continued her ministrations.

He noticed as she continued to work, humming softly, that the lotion was warming with every pass of her hands. She braced herself against his lower back, blowing gently causing warm to turn to hot. Very hot. Uncomfortably hot. And suddenly itchy. Her next exclamation was what concerned him most, "Uh-oh."

"I don't like the sound of that 'uh-oh'. What's wrong, what's going on?"

"I think you're having an allergic reaction to the massage lotion. We need to get you in the shower now to wash it off. And by now, I mean five minutes ago. Up, up now!"

Luckily she had only spread the lotion on his back, not his entire body or more sensitive places. He sat in the tub while she started the spray, slightly on the cool side to ease the discomfort he felt. She lathered soap in her hands, not wanting to bother with a wash cloth that would only further irritate his skin. She continued her massage, now with suds letting her hands glide across his shoulders.

"Looks like washing it off and the cool water is helping. The redness is still there, but the swelling seems to be going down."

"So much for warming me up."


He fixed his tie for the third time, still not happy with how it was sitting against his shirt. Sookie was in the bathroom, getting dressed away from his eyes and roaming hands. She wanted her outfit to be a surprise; the only hint was the metallic deep red tie he was currently fighting with. He didn't have a need for one in a long time and was slightly out of practice.

"Didn't anyone ever teach you how to fix one of those? I didn't think I'd need to get you a clip on."

He turned from his reflection to the bathroom door to see Sookie standing in her red party dress. She had left her hair down in curls, finishing the outfit with gold bangle bracelets and black patent leather pumps. He was at a loss for words as he took her in. She walked over to him, undid, and then properly fixed his tie.

"Jason doesn't know how to do these either. With him, I really do have to go the clip on route."

"There are no words to describe how beautiful you look right now."

"Aw, thank you. My cheeks match my dress, don't they?"

"Mhm, now how am I supposed to keep my hands off you the entire length of the party? It's not even nine, and I need to wait until midnight to tear this dress off you."

"Sounds like a personal problem. We should be heading out; we don't want to be late to your big reintroduction to society."

"You're making this sound like a debutant ball. It's a New Year's party."

"It's also an 'I'm Eric Northman, big shot author, who has a new book and a movie coming out,' party, according to Pam."

"Ugh, she's going to drag my ass around like a prized pony, showing me off to everyone that matters. Please, don't leave my side; I don't think I can do this without you."

She was tempted to laugh, but looked up into his eyes and saw the pleading desperation in them. He was being serious. "I won't, not for a second."

He kissed her, feeling his anxiety waning just by having her in his arms. His phone rang; Pam had sent him a text message to alert him of her presence downstairs.

The limo ride to the hotel was short and the champagne was helping everyone's nerves. Sookie was about to enter a room full of people that make more money in an hour than she does in a week. Being with Eric helped ease the tension and she knew alcohol would take away the rest.

As they entered the ballroom where the party was in full swing, her heart sank and she knew no amount of booze would calm her down. The emcee of the evening, and apparent party planner, was none other than her ex-boyfriend, John Quinn.

While she had tried to have an amicable breakup, he had done everything in his power to convince her she was with the wrong guy ever since she told him that she was seriously dating Eric. He would send her lewd text messages, including a few photos she could have done without. He even still came to their traditional Thursday outings just to goad Eric into a fight or saying something stupid in front of Sookie. She was hoping that he would just stay on stage, far away from her throughout the night.

Within minutes, Pam was dragging them around the room to a chorus of handshakes and introductions. Luckily as a waitress, she had a ton of practice looking engaged in conversations she had little interest in. She didn't mind running around the room as it kept her away from Quinn's heated glare.

Pam had dragged Eric away once they had sat down with a bite to eat. He left the table unwillingly, not wanting to have to face the vermin without Sookie by his side, but she was too enthralled with her food to walk away. He didn't have the heart to separate her from her plate and hoped the drinks he had been consuming all night would give him the confidence to talk to anyone Pam threw his way.

With this, Sookie was left alone at the table. Quinn took this opportunity to pounce, making his way to the unoccupied seat to her left. "Well, Babe, I didn't think I'd be seeing you at a big party like this."

"A – please stop calling me that. Hearing the word 'Babe' leave your lips makes me want to hurl and this food is far too good to waste. B – I'm here with Eric, his publishing firm is the one throwing this party, you know, the people paying you."

"Ah, so you're the arm candy for the evening, I get it. You sure do fill the role perfectly. That dress looks great on you."

"Thank you. I wasn't expecting such a nice compliment out of you."

"It would look even better on my bedroom floor."

"And there's the Quinn I've grown to hate. My friends are right, you're an idiot."

Her eyes started to scan the crowd, hoping to find Eric so he could swoop in and save the day.

"You're really into this guy, aren't you?"

"What makes you say that? I mean, besides the countless times I've told you."

"You've got this look in your eyes. I saw you guys dancing, and you both looked really happy. I don't think you ever looked at me that way. I'm really out of the picture, aren't I?"

"I tried to stay friends with you, but you chose to alienate yourself. You drove the stake between us by acting like a grade A asshole. So please, let this be the last time I have to ask you to leave me and Eric alone. I'm getting awfully bored of this game, and it's only making me hate you more."

"Alright. Listen, I gotta get back on stage, it's almost countdown time, you should try and find your sweetie, ya know, for your midnight kiss."

"Her sweetie found her, thanks for keeping Sookie company though. I can take it from here."

Quinn rose from the table, going toe to toe with Eric. He gave him a once over before reaching out for a handshake. "She's a saint, don't let her get away. Be good to her, better than I ever could."

Eric looked at him curiously, "Thanks for the relationship advice. Don't you have a job to do?"

Quinn had a good comeback, but bit his tongue for Sookie's sake. He walked away, leaving Eric alone with Sookie again. "As much as I'd hate to say it, he's right. Care to dance 2009 away with me?"

She took his hand as he led her onto the dance floor. They started slow dancing to "Bleeding Love" by Leona Lewis; his hands on her waist and her hands wrapped around his neck. "You didn't need to be such a jerk, by the way. I know we're used to Quinn acting like a sleazeball, but he was mostly decent tonight. I think he finally gets it."

"Does this mean that 2010 will be Quinn-free?"

"Looks that way. Are you going to apologize?"

"I'll never apologize for defending you. But I suppose in this case my defense was a bit too strong. If I offended you, I'm sorry."

"I accept." She laid her face on Eric's chest, melting farther into his embrace. "Next year's going to be a good year."

"As long as I still have you, it will be amazing."

Quinn led everyone in the countdown to midnight. They stopped dancing, joining in.

5...

4...

3...

2...

1...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The room was suddenly showered with confetti as "Auld Lang Syne" started to play. He pulled her in close, finding her lips in a passionate kiss to welcome the new year. They stood, simply kissing, on the dance floor until Pam tapped him on the shoulder.

"Care to come up for air? I want to head out of here and since we shared a limo..."

"We'll have to leave too. Pity."

He grabbed Sookie's hand and made his way to the exit. As she pulled her coat on, he whispered in her ear, "I told you I'd tear this dress off come midnight."

"Please don't, I really like it and want to wear it again."

"Well then, once we get home, I'll delicately extract you from that dress and take you all night."

"That's more like it!"

They piled in the limo; Pam kicked off her heels and started rubbing her feet.

"Did you tell her yet? About the promo night?"

"No, but I was just about to. One of the new associates came up with this great marketing approach for the book release. They want to do a murder mystery night worked around the plot using my characters. They're even raising some from the dead."

"That's so cool! That's going to be so much fun. I went to a murder mystery train ride wedding once; poor bride got murdered by her hubby. What a way to start their lives together."

"Eric didn't even mention the best part. We couldn't think of anyone more qualified to play the role of Susannah. Hopefully you'll even indulge the crowd in a few songs. Eric tells me you've been practicing your jazz standards."

"That does sound like fun. How many people are we talking about?"

Eric looked to Pam fill in the details. They had been vague when describing the event to him, especially since it was in the earliest of planning stages. "A hundred or so. It's scheduled for a dinner so there can only be so many people."

"Oh, kind of like at the bar. And then I have to be her all night. Oh my gosh, are you going to be Danger? Do I get to seduce you?"

"No, I get to play the role of the lovable author signing autographs for my adoring fans. But you do get to seduce Danger. But please no kissing."

"This is going to be amazing. I'm going to learn a bunch of new jazz songs and knock everyone out! Waiting for the next few months is going to be torture."

Eric was relieved that she was happy. He didn't know how she'd react to having to sing in front of rabid fans. As long as she was excited, he could relax. They pulled up to his apartment building where he and Sookie left the car. Pam shouted after them, "Don't forget, your deadline is in two weeks! Finish this bitch already!"

He noticed that during the elevator ride up, Sookie's mood had soured considerably. It didn't improve as they entered the apartment. "What's wrong?"

"If your deadline is coming up, then I won't be seeing a lot of you. You need to focus. This might be the last night for a while I'll be spending over here."

"I don't think so. Yes, we'll be spending less time together, but I still want you to come over. I need someone to remind me to take breaks. Besides, if this is our last night together for the moment, we should make it count."

And they did, several times.

A/N2: Aw happy times! Here's a link to Sookie's party dress, which I'm falling in love with: http: // www(dot)edressme(dot)com / faviana - halter -59(dot)html Just remove the spaces and the (dots). Hope everyone has a Happy New Year. Be safe if you go out to parties and get drunk!