A/N: For those of you who get alerts, I left out my notes, and for once, I've got something to say. Sorry for the double chapter update.
This is the second half of the murder mystery dinner and the second to last chapter. That's right folks, Chapter 20 will be the last for Danger is a Dame. BUT you won't miss me for long as I've already started a new story, What It Means To Forget. It's a what if scenario from Dead to the World where Eric does not regain his memories. Please take a minute to go read it and tell me what you think. The second chapter is already in the works.
Thanks to chisaii-kitty for her beta skills. Any mistakes left behind are my own.
Disclaimer: Only the cast of Danger is mine. Everything else belongs to Charlaine Harris and Alan Ball.
Danger took the stage once again, conferencing with the other cast members on the stage about the results of the guests' input. He dramatically looked around the room, letting his gaze fall on Sookie before catching Eric's eye with a knowing smirk on his face.
"Well folks, after going over the evidence, I'm ready to name the murderer. Mrs. Burnham, will you join me on stage?"
She walked across the stage, stopping in front of him, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "What now?"
"Let's just go over the evidence, shall we. Most important is his will leaving everything to you. Second, is this little book you claimed Mr. Northman signed for you backstage." He held it open for the crowd to see. "It's obviously blank, completely voiding your alibi. I don't even want to mention how we found the body with his pants down."
"I already told you, Mr. Danger, I didn't kill my husband."
"Oh, I know. You're no where near strong enough to have taken him down. After the coroner looked over the body, it was determined that cause of death was strangulation. If I may say so, those delicate little hands couldn't hurt a fly, let alone choke a man with a neck as thick as your husband's. You and I both know who did it. I just want to know why."
"I did it for her."
Eric rose from the table as everyone turned to face him. He took in the faces of every guest in the room; their expressions ranged from shock to pride at his omission. He walked to the stage pulling Sookie into an embrace, his hand firm on the small of her back while the other caressed her face.
"I fell in love with her the minute I saw her. We spoke just a few moments, but I could envision the rest of our lives together. She told me she wanted to run away with me, but Bobby would never let her go and she didn't want to bear the mark of a divorced woman. She told me if I could get rid of Bobby, she'd be mine."
He pulled Sookie in for a kiss, but while his eyes were closed, Danger came around and handcuffed him. As Danger dragged him off stage, he looked back to Sookie, "Wait for me?"
She pulled her compact from her clutch, touching up her make up. "In your dreams."
Her smug attitude didn't last for long as two uniformed officers grabbed her, bringing her to Danger. "Did you think you were getting off free? You're an accomplice to murder, sweetheart. You're going away with him."
"You have no proof! I didn't tell him anything! Good luck finding a judge that will make this stick!" She fought against the cops, kicking and lunging at Danger. "I'll kill you if I ever get the chance."
They were both dragged backstage to the applause of the crowd. Pam took the stage, clapping with a satisfied smile on her face. "Well, wasn't that adorable. I'm Pam Ravenscroft of ACE Publishing. I hope you all enjoyed this murder mystery evening. Let me bring out your favorite author, Eric Northman." She paused while he came back on to the stage and the applause started up again. "The dashing Alexander Danger, Stan Davis." Another pause for applause. "And it is my absolute pleasure to introduce the stunning Susannah Burnham, who you'll see in the new book as Susannah Renard, Miss Sookie Stackhouse."
Sookie came out with a huge smile on her face, soaking in the adoration of the crowd. She tucked herself in Eric's side, trying to hide her embarrassment, but he pushed her to stand in front of him. He placed an errant strand of hair behind her ear, leaning down to whisper, "This is your moment, take it all in. You were amazing."
Pam started back on her closing remarks. "Hopefully, you remember that by winning these tickets, you are entitled to an early purchase of Eric's new book. If you give us a few minutes to set up, we'll bring everyone up on stage to get their copy a table at a time. You'll also be able to get it signed and take a picture with Eric. But one lucky guest will win a boxed set of all four books, which of course, will be autographed. The name will be selected from the group that correctly named Eric Northman as our killer this evening."
Bobby Burnham came back on stage with a cloth bag which he was shaking up. Both Stan and Eric deferred the opportunity to select the winner to Sookie who dug around before pulling out a slip of paper. Pam handed her the microphone so she could make the announcement. "The very lucky winner is Halleigh Robinson!"
A shriek came through the crowd, clearly pointing Halleigh out from the other guests. She ran on stage, launching herself into a hug with Eric, placing a kiss on his cheek. Sookie had to restrain herself from clawing out this woman's eyes for touching her man. Adoration was fine, but she wasn't a fan of the kissing. Pam handed her the stack of books, and they all posed for a few pictures.
The rest of the cast came on stage to enjoy their own round of applause. Last on stage was Felipe who announced that the group was available for all sorts of affairs, from weddings to bar mitzvahs. Tucked into each copy of the book was his business card for easy contact.
A few people brought out a table piled high with books. Eric took his place behind it, first signing the books for Halleigh before the first few tables of guests were brought up. He took the time to talk to each and every fan, personalizing every book for its new owner. He posed for every picture, the entire time wearing a smile on his face, an interested look on his face and he listened to every shared story.
With the first few press releases, he despised these meet and greets. He never knew what to say to the fans or how to properly interact with any of them. They acted as if they knew him so intimately, but they were just strangers. After the absence, he found that he missed the interaction, missed being around the fans who loved him so deeply and unconditionally.
What surprised him most was the love being poured out for Sookie. Apparently, people figured out that they were dating. Many were asking for photographs with her, some even asking for her autograph. He was worried how she would react to the fans asking her questions but she took it all in stride. One fan was particularly blunt in his phrasing.
"So what are you exactly? A model, actress, maybe a professional singer?"
"No sir. I'm just a waitress with a great boyfriend."
Eric couldn't hold back his laughter at her response. Even the man's jaw went slack at her comeback. His girlfriend, who presumably dragged him here, looked mortified at his tactless question. Her face darkened several shades of red and was soon buried in her hands.
Two days later, Eric was sitting through yet another autograph signing, this time at Barnes and Nobles on the release date. When he reached the huge store, he was amazed to see the line wrapped around the block. His jaw hit the floor when he saw the line continued inside, circling the floor several times.
Pam had arrived ahead of time and was practically beaming as she walked with him to a back room until the signing began. "The manager said they haven't seen this type of turn out since the last Harry Potter book. We're talking Twilight numbers here. The fan girls are so happy to have a series to be obsessed with that has a hot male author."
"How did this happen? We always did well with the other books, but this is insane. I've never seen this many people in one place before."
"No offense, hun, but the girls eat up the widower thing. It makes you damaged, someone they can take care of, pulls on that nurturing instinct. Or so I've been told. They fell in love with you, read the old books, and now are out for the newbie."
After he began signing, the rest of the world tuned out. He was focused on the book in front of him, the face of the fan that currently held his gaze. Nearly three hours of signing later, he reached for the book being placed in front of him. Looking to the post-it note that contained the spelling of the next fan's name, his heart fluttered when he saw a very rare name. He looked up to her face, happier than he had been all day.
"What are you doing here? Tell me you didn't wait on that line."
Sookie stood in front of him, wearing a huge smile. "I mark the end of the line! And now I'm taking you out for dinner!"
Pam chimed in, scrolling through the messages on her BlackBerry. "Better make that a celebratory dinner. I'll give you one guess who will be number one on tomorrow's Best Seller's List."
Sookie nearly jumped over the table to hug Eric. Her face was beaming with pride at the huge accomplishment, as was his. "You would think I would be used to hearing that. But some part of me was still worried the fans wouldn't come back after a long gap between books. This is cause for celebration."
With that, they shook hands with the managers of the store, taking a few pictures for their own collection. A few phone calls later, Pam had secured them a table at her favorite sushi restaurant. It was a small place, locals only, very much off the tourist's radar. The three friends sat and ate, Sookie trying in vain to steer Pam's focus off of business matters so they could all just relax.
Pam, of course, ignored Sookie's pleas to go over the travel arrangements for the Los Angeles premiere of The Danger You Know. Usually she kept Eric out of the loop for his various signings and appearances, but since he wanted to plan outings with Sookie, she was going over all the details. After promising to send him a schedule when everything was finalized, talk turned to the crazy fans that came out for the signing.
Eric was halfway through telling Sookie about one fan that was insisting he sign her cleavage when he saw Pam's face fall. Seeing such a look of shock on his best friend's normally stoic face sent a pang of fear all the ways to his toes. Hearing her mumble, "Oh shit," didn't do much for his confidence either.
"What is it? Did you forget another appointment?"
"Sophie-Anne and Andre Leclerq just walked in. And now they saw us. Shit, shit, shit! Are you okay with this? I can send them away."
Sookie was filled with nerves at the level of anxiety in Pam's voice. She turned to the entrance to see a young couple whispering back and forth to each other. The husband, she assumed it was Andre, was trying to drag his wife to a table, but she seemed to insist on coming to talk to them.
"Who are these people?"
The color had drained from Eric's face and she was suddenly worried that he might pass out at the table. It was obvious that he wouldn't answer, so Pam did. "That would be Felicia's best friend and her husband. Sophie-Anne was her maid of honor at the wedding. There was a slight altercation after the funeral."
Sookie gave Pam a hard stare at her last statement, but Eric finally found his words. "I shut myself off from the world after she died, you know that. But Sophie was adamant on helping me out. I didn't want her help. Every time I saw her, all I could think about was Felicia. She sent her little lap dog to try and convince me to go out for a beer, but to be honest, I never liked him much even when Felicia was alive. When he tried to drag me out of the house, I hit him."
Pam snorted. "You broke his nose, orbital and jaw. If I hadn't shown up when I did, you would have killed him. That's when I got him Clancy. I figured it was a positive outlet for his energy." She looked over at the petite redhead that was currently standing by their table.
"Hi Pam, Eric. Congrats on the success of the new book."
"Thanks Sophie. Oh, this is Eric's girlfriend, Sookie."
They exchanged pleasantries, Eric not taking his eyes off the table. He was having an internal battle trying to figure out what to do next. He had fully embraced his new life, putting all the hurt of the past in a locked section of his mind. He was determined to start over, leaving the people he knew through Felicia in the past. He was able to talk about his late wife, he had acknowledged in his heart every emotion he felt about the situation.
The truth is, after her death, he shunned all of their mutual friends. He wasn't able to see any of them without thinking about Felicia. He considered all of his new friends, how fulfilled he felt in his life. He had no desire to reach out to his past, but obviously, his past found him. He took a deep breath to steady his nerves, certain he could handle this without falling apart. A few months ago, he would not have been so sure, but with everything that had happened, all of his own personal growth, he knew he could have a conversation with Felicia's best friend.
He finally looked up at her; the pain in her eyes as obvious. "It's been a while, Sophie. I know the last time we spoke, we didn't exactly leave things on good terms."
"You put my husband in the hospital. I consider that pretty bad terms."
He didn't have a response for her. He looked back down at the table. She sighed, shifting her weight from foot to foot.
"Eric, I didn't come over here to make you feel bad. I wanted to apologize for the way I handled things after Felicia passed."
"You want to apologize to me? Shouldn't that be the other way around?"
"I couldn't handle my own grief, let alone begin to imagine yours. I couldn't bear for you to be that miserable, so I tried everything to get you back into the swing of things. I shouldn't have forced you to feel things you weren't ready for. I'm sorry."
He ran her words over in his mind. "It's the past. I'm sorry for the way I handled Andre. I know you both only had the best of intentions."
"It's the past," she responded, looking at his face while a smile tried to emerge, but rapidly disappeared. "I miss her everyday. She was a sister to me. I just wanted to tell you that I named our first daughter after her."
"I appreciate that. It was a rough time for me. Thankfully, things are starting to look up." He glanced to his right, where Sookie was sitting silently during their entire exchange. He took her hand in his, squeezing gently.
"You look really happy. It's what she would have wanted, you know, you moving forward."
"I know that now. It was just a hard fact to accept."
"I should be getting back to Andre. It was nice running into you. Congrats again."
She turned and walked away from the table, relaying the encounter to Andre once she reached him. Pam looked over at Eric, amused.
"You handled that pretty well. I guess you are back to your old self again."
"Nope, it's a new self. I'd like to think it's even better than the old self. What's the expression? What doesn't kill me, makes me stronger?" He wrapped his arm around Sookie, placing a kiss to the top of her head.
They settled their tab, and prepared to leave. As they walked to the door, Eric stopped at Sophie-Anne's table to shake Andre's hand and offer an apology. He was able to head home that night with Sookie feeling proud and accomplished, perfectly content to continue the celebration of his success just the two of them.
A/N2: So basically, everyone who reviewed figured out it was Eric! Congrats!
Resolution feels good, doesn't it? Next chapter wraps every loose end up, making a nice neat ending. Hopefully the new story helps hold you over until the sequel comes out!
