Dead and Dating

Disclaimer: I don't own the Southern Vampires. Sole copyright belongs to Charlaine Harris. I'm poor, please don't sue.

Rating: M

I know I keep saying no more chapters until after Thanksgiving. But it just isn't working out like that.

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By the time we pulled up to Fangtasia I was Eric's favorite color...red. He decided to tease me there and say every obscene thing he could think of while we were driving. I blushed so hard that I know looked like a tomato. Technically I did start it when I used the F word in reference to our love making. He seemed to get a kick out of it so I spoke a little more freely. I had hoped my Grandmother wasn't rolling in her grave hearing my words.

Eric was at the car door before I could even get my seat belt unbuckled. He opened it and did this hugely overdone bow. I couldn't help but laugh and climb out. It wasn't until I saw the smirk on his face that I realized his overdone bow, was simply a ploy to see up my skirt. I wagged my finger at him and made a "tsk, tsk" sound. He could only laugh.

We walked into the employee entrance of Fangtasia and headed to his office. Pam was already in there waiting. She was working tonight because she had on an all black skin tight dress and dark make-up. She always cracked me up. When she wasn't working at Fangtasia she was much more of a pastel kind of vamp. I smiled and she just rolled her eyes at the outfit.

"I've got a game plan." She announced, quite proudly.

"Here's what we are going to do. Sookie, you need to be able to hear everyone. But you also can't leave Eric's sight. So you will make rounds with Eric. When he goes to greet other vampires you will stay with him. Listen for the humans. I'm sure Eric will also take you for a twirl around the floor. Just keep your ears open at all times." I nodded in agreement and looked up at Eric. He actually looked quite proud of his child.

"Pam, If Sookie needs to attend to any human necessities, you will escort her into the ladies room. I don't want to make a scene by walking in there myself." I looked down and blushed. The thought of needing Pam in the ladies room with me was crazy. But then I remembered my shoulder and ribs. I guess I needed more protection than I'd like to.

"Sookie, you ready for this?" Pam looked at me questioningly. I straightened my hair and nodded. I was afraid that if I opened my mouth she would hear how scared I was. We all started heading towards the door. Eric grabbed Pam's wrist at the last second. He spoke so low I could barely hear him. "Pam, she is my life, we must make sure she stays safe."

I couldn't help but smile as I walked out of the office and onto the main floor. But before my foot even touched the main floor Eric's arm was around mine. He had a death grip and I had to poke him a few times to get him to loosen up his grip. The first thing we did was go grab up his normal seat. Instead of sitting across from me like he normally did he sat next to me. His hand hadn't left my shoulder yet. A waitress came over and took our drink order. O neg for Eric, cola for me. I settled into the seat and opened my mind. The wave of thought hit me like a ton of bricks. Sex, sex, more sex, kinky sex. It was all these people were thinking about. I tried to close my eyes and let it flow through me. But I was getting nothing. I turned to Eric and shook my head. The waitress came back with our drinks. After taking a sip of my cola I turned to Eric.

"Nothing. Just sex talk."

"You might here something when we make our rounds. When we do, I do not want you leaving my side for even a second. Pam is going to be close behind us, making sure that your back is covered."

I let out a little sigh.

"I know you may think they are after all vampire lovers, but listen to me when I say this. You are a big target. Almost everyone knows you. And anyone who knows me, knows how important you are to me." He leaned over and kissed my head. He inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of my shampoo. I let my hand slide down to his thigh and rest on it. I didn't want to move. I was so comfortable here. But I knew I had a job to do. A job I had willingly taken on. After a few moments of comfort, Eric stood and helped me up. "Ready?", He asked while holding my hands. "As I'll ever be, boss." I smiled up at him and he laughed a little.

Making our rounds turned out to be quite boring. All I was getting was sex talk from all of the humans, and Eric's small talk wasn't much better. We were visiting our last table when I heard something of interest. It was coming from the human, sitting with the vamp that Eric was talking to. I plastered a smile on my face and opened my mind.

Look at that stupid bitch. Hanging all over him. Just wait until she sees the gun I plan on using. One of those to her pretty blond head and her vamp won't be so cocky. Should have never sent Thomas in to kill. I'll do this one myself. Be done with them all. Idiots are expecting the FotS. Genius plan to blame it on them. Stupid Thomas didn't even know who he was working for. They won't know til it's too late. That will teach the stupid vamps to take someones wife.

I tried not to gasp but instead just smiled wider and looked up at Eric adoringly. I slid my hand up his back and tapped his shoulder lightly. He smiled and excused himself from the company. He escorted me back to our table. I leaned over and whispered everything I'd heard into his ear. He made a motion for Pam to come to our table. After I finished explaining it to her I felt like I was going to pass out.

"Pam, bring him to my office. And be careful." Pam smiled, showing just a little bit of fang. Eric stood and walked me to his office. Once we got back there I started pacing. Eric had sat down on the edge of his desk and was watching me go back and forth. If I was driving him nuts he didn't say anything. After what seemed like hours, Pam dragged the man in.

She threw him into the same chair that had been previously occupied by Thomas. She reached into the closet and pulled out a pair of handcuffs, snapping him to the chair. When I seen the handcuffs I arched one eyebrow and looked at Eric. He licked his lips and the corners of his mouth turned up a little. I knew I was in trouble later. The sound of screaming brought me back to earth.

Pam had grabbed the gun from the mans waist and had it to his throat.

"Is that what you planned on using to kill our Sookie?" I tried to ignore the fact that she said our. His thoughts were screaming through my mind.

Go ahead. Kill me. You've taken my wife. Do it, kill me now. I won't live without her.

"He wants to die. You've take his wife. He has nothing to live for." I looked up at Eric, wondering if he would feel the same if something happened to me. He stood up and put his arms around me.

"You freak, you fucking freak. How do you know what I'm thinking?" Pam jammed the gun into his throat.

"You will speak nicely to our Sookie." I noticed she said our again. I was going to have to talk to Eric about that. It was creeping me out.

"Pam, just call the cops. He's human. This is nothing more than a grudge against vamps. Let the police take care of it. Kill him will just give him what he wants." Pam sat the gun down on Eric's desk and picked up the phone.

"You know Sookie, before you came along, we never had to call the police." She smiled after she said it, but it still gave me the chills. I knew why they never had to call the police. I pushed the thought away from my head. We sat there in silence waiting for the police. Well, they sat there in silence. I was listening to the man's thoughts. His name was John. His wife was in her 20's. She fell in love with a vampire and he turned her. Luckily they had no children. But he was worried all the same. He knew that he'd spend the rest of his life in jail for his role in the murders of Fangtasia's waitresses. These weren't vamps that he killed. These were humans.

By the time the police came to the club I was almost asleep on the sofa. Eric was sitting on one end. I had my head in his lap and my legs stretched out. He was tracing his finger tips over my face. Pam was sitting on the edge of Eric's desk babysitting John. When the police came in I was so sleepy I didn't even flinch. Eric didn't even bother getting up. He spoke to the police and informed them of the situation. They hauled John out of the bar. My eyes were so heavy it felt like a struggle to keep them open.

"Time?" It was all I could say to him without yawning. I heard a deep chuckle.

"Midnight, dear one, are you tired?" I nodded yes and rolled over. My cheek was pressed against his lap, my face turned towards his body. He kept gently rubbing my face.

"Sookie, I've been called away."

"Why?"

"Tribunal. I killed the king. I told you it wouldn't go away easily." I flung myself off his lap.

"And when were you planning on telling me?"

"I leave at 2am." I jumped off the sofa and stood in front of him. I head Pam quietly excuse herself.

"You leave in 2 hours and you decide that you are going to tell me now?" My eyes filled with tears. I couldn't believe he'd do this to me.

We sat in silence for almost 45 minutes. He looked lost in thought, and I was hurt. After a while he stood up and made his way across the room to me. He dropped down to one knee in front of me. I gasped. He pulled a box out of his pocket and opened it up. The ring was exactly how I remembered it. It wasn't a dream. I had really been in his body. I pushed that from my mind and tried to focus on him.

"Sookie Stackhouse, I love you. Tonight I'm leaving for a tribunal. I may or may not return. I know you said it was too soon for marriage. But we don't have to get married right away. I want to leave tonight, knowing that if I come back, I have someone waiting for me. Someone who will marry me one day. And if I don't come back, I want to die, knowing that you would have married me if we'd had the time together. I wanted to wait for the perfect time, but I suppose there never really is one." He paused like he was going to take a deep breath. A breath we both knew was unnecessary. "Sookie, will you marry me?" The tears that had been welling in my eyes now overflowed. I cried harder than I had ever cried in my life. I stood him up and threw my arms around him. I buried my head in his chest and sobbed. I couldn't stand the thought of losing him. I didn't want to spend one minute away from him. It was that realization that gave me the strength to answer. I pushed away from him a little bit and looked into his eyes.

"Yes, Eric Northman, I will marry you." Bloody tears ran down his face. He lifted my engagement ring out of the box and placed it on my finger. It fit perfectly. I threw my arms back around him and continued crying. I didn't even want to think of what would happen if he didn't return.

"I will go with you."

"You can't Sookie."

"Please, Eric, please take me"

"I can't, if the worst happens. They will not spare you." I heard a sharp knock on the door. I looked at the clock. it was just barely 1am. Pam stepped in with a man in a suit. He was tall, dark, and looked deadly. Eric seemed to know him and he bowed a little. I clung to Eric tighter.

"Sookie, I have to go." He bent down and gave me a bittersweet kiss. "I this is the last kiss I ever give you, please remember it forever." I cried and pleaded with him not to go, I clung to him until Pam pulled me off. Then I clawed and scratched her, trying to get away, until Eric was almost out the door. He turned back. "Sookie, I love you." I reached for him and cried. "I love you too."

When the door shut I collapsed. I knew Pam had let me fight her. I wouldn't have survived if she had been angry enough to fight back. I sunk to the floor and cried. In a rare display of human emotion, Pam sat down next to me and held me.

"Why pam?"

"Because that is what happens Sookie."

"But he did it to save me. Castro would have killed us both."

"I know" I looked up at Pam. She was crying too.

"Pam, why did you keep saying our Sookie earlier?"

"Because, Eric asked me to take care of you if anything happens and he can't return. He wants you to live with me and for me to watch out for you."

"But Pam, you'd hate that." After I said it, she almost look like she was hurt.

"No Sookie, no I wouldn't."

She held me close to her and let me cry. I laid my head on her chest and cried myself to sleep.

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Okay, don't kill me for the cliff hanger, I just can't help myself. Lol.