Sorry for the delay in getting this to you, but unfortunately, I've been pulling doubles this week.

Hope you enjoy! Thanks to Weewoman1 for being sweet enough to read over this chapter before I post!

As always, I do not own these characters.

"Enough of that," Sookie chided swiftly, her rushing words in time with her racing heart. "We're still talking business here, mister."

"Fair enough," Eric said, although the look in his eyes suggested he was merely biding his time. "What do we need to discuss?"

"My last stipulation," she said, looking him in the eyes, even though she was at risk of drowning in them.

"What is it?"

"I won't accept payment for the hours I work," she told him firmly. "I prefer to think of it as earning my keep. You're putting yourself on the line to protect me."

"Everyone gets paid for their work, Sookie. I don't expect anyone to work for free."

"I have no need of money, Eric, and I won't accept yours as long as you are offering me protection. If the Queen or anyone else needs my services, they can pay. Just not you."

Her steely determination was obvious, but Eric wondered at its source. "Why not?"

"You do me a favor, I do you a favor." She shrugged her shoulders. "We're even that way. Neither of us owes the other anything."

"That is important to you?"

"Very."

"Why?"

"Because I don't think it's in anyone's best interests for either one of us to be beholden to the other."

"Equal footing," Eric mused.

"Equality is only fair," she grinned as he rolled his eyes at her pun.

"Why is it so important to you?" he asked. Eric wanted to know everything about her; how her mind worked was an important part of the equation.

"For one, I just don't like to owe anyone for anything," she replied thoughtfully. "Gran raised me to be self-reliant and not accumulate debt. I might take those principles a little farther than most, but it's never been easy for me to ask anyone for help.

"More importantly, though, I think the relationship between you and I, whatever it may be, is complex enough without a spreadsheet recording favors asked for and delivered. If we are going to," she paused, searching for words, "maintain a relationship into the future, it needs to be amicable, a joint venture. We help each other because we want to, not because we have to."

Eric was more than pleased to agree to her stipulation; he was positively delighted she was thinking far enough ahead to consider their 'future relationship'. Every move she made was carefully planned and meticulously thought out, a trait he found admirable. Brains, brashness and beauty would take her as far as she chose to go.

"What kind of relationship do you foresee us having?" Eric asked, parroting her words back at her.

A thoughtful expression firmed the lines of her face as she contemplated her response. Her future, especially any part of it shared by him, had been a subject she'd spent hours, days, even weeks thinking about. But the truth was, until she'd actually met him, she'd never been able to conjure anything other than girlish fantasies of romance and love.

"I honestly don't know," she replied. "And if I'm going to be honest with you, I don't think I want to know."

Eric's brows drew together in a frown. "What do you mean?" he asked, his tone perhaps a touch too tight.

A sigh escaped Sookie's lips as she thought of how to explain herself more clearly. "I am grateful for all the information Claudine has given me, I really am. Without her input, who knows how things might have turned out for me? But I'm uncomfortable basing my life on her visions, which she herself admits are not the truest barometer." Sookie explained, not sure she was doing the best job of it. She shrugged her shoulders and continued, "If it's all the same to you, I'd like to keep this simple between you and I. No expectations, no negotiations. I just want to do what any girl my age wants to do – I want to keep seeing the man I've been enjoying spending time with. Go on dates like normal people do; just a guy and a girl hanging out, getting to know each other."

"Dating, hmm?" he replied dazedly. He'd known, of course, that dating was what they were doing, but it was something different coming from Sookie's lips. The barest hint of a promise lurked in her words; they both knew that regardless of her wish to allow their relationship to develop naturally, there was no doubt of something happening between them. Even though she'd not said as much, Eric was sure her fairy godmother had told her more about her visions of their future. If dating would make her comfortable, if it would ease her transition into his life, he would not object.

"Yes, dating," she replied firmly, misunderstanding his simple reply. "An impersonal business relationship is one thing, but this is my life I'm talking about. I don't want to jump into anything I might come to regret."

"You think you will come to regret me, sweet Sookie?" he asked flirtatiously, but with a serious intent behind his words.

"It's not you so much as it is me, Eric. I would hate myself if I jumped into bed with you now, only to see it all crumble later," she told him pointedly. "Casual sex is not something I do."

"You would never regret any time spent in my bed," Eric replied huskily, visions of her glistening golden flesh writhing under him sent a pulse of lust through his body. Never had he had such a physical response to a woman; even her simplest, most innocent words inflamed his senses.

"Oh, I'm sure it would be the best time of my life," Sookie said, surprising Eric with her candor. "It's what happens when we get out of that bed that worries me."

"You think I won't respect you the next evening?" Eric asked with a chuckle.

"Pretty much," she confirmed, again surprising him with her words. "I'm not sure you and I have the same ideas about what a healthy relationship is."

Eric's eyes turned from her for just a moment; only a moment was necessary for him to hide his unexpected reaction to her words. Her doubt cut deeply.

"You're right, of course," he admitted starkly. His face was closed, his expression undecipherable. "I don't have a fucking clue what a healthy relationship is. Not a surprise, considering I've never had one. I suppose I was counting on you to show me the way."

"Well, that's just great," Sookie said, her words accompanied by a small eye roll. "The blind leading the blind."

"You've never had a healthy relationship, either?" he asked curiously. He'd never questioned his luck that she was single and available; an unusual circumstance, considering her remarkable attributes.

"Neither healthy nor unhealthy," she said, looking away to study the old stone work surrounding the fireplace.

Stunned silence met her words. Eric could only look at her as the implications of her statement settled in.

"Care to explain how that could be?" he finally asked.

"It's pretty easy to explain. Up until a couple of years ago, my only options were human men. My telepathy makes that completely impossible," she explained, still looking at the fireplace. "Like I told you, I wasn't interested in the men I met in Fae, either. I'd never met a vampire before you."

"You've never dated? At all?" He was stunned beyond comprehension. In his wildest imaginings, he would never have assumed Sookie would be untouched. A fierce welling of possessiveness ripped through him savagely. Her sexual history wouldn't have been a problem, but it was a deep, penetrating relief to know there were no unresolved entanglements from the past to worry about. The vampire was treading dangerously unfamiliar waters.

"I've dated you," she replied swiftly.

"So you have." Eric paused, muddling through his thoughts for the right words. "I would have arranged something more special, had I known it was a momentous occasion. I probably should have brought flowers or something, right?"

Sookie giggled at the uncertainty creeping into his voice. It was an adorable sight; the ancient vampire sweating over a date. "Relax, vampire. You did just fine," she soothed him. "I even wrote about how sweet you were in my diary."

"Your diary?" he questioned sharply. Her words pleased him, but a diary could be used against her.

She waved her hand in the air dismissively. "That's such an old-fashioned word, isn't it? Gran used to keep a diary. There's a whole box full of her old ones in the attic. She wrote faithfully, a single entry every day. I'm nowhere near as prolific as she, but it is freeing to get it out at the end of a long day." She paused and twisted her lips thoughtfully. "I suppose to use the modern term, I blogged about it. I'll probably always call it a diary, though. Either way, I wrote quite a long entry after you dropped me off the other evening. It was such a wonderful night and you were such a perfect gentleman; a sweet teddy bear, I think I said."

"You blogged it?" Eric asked, rolling the unfamiliar word on his tongue. The teddy bear comment was filed away in his brain for future thought.

"Yeah, you know, on my blog?" Sookie explained. "It's like an online journal; a personal website, sort of."

"A website?" Eric asked with growing horror. The teddy bear reared his adorable head again, grinning maniacally at the vampire. "You mean you put this on the internet? You called me a sweet teddy bear on the internet?"

"Yes, and everyone agreed with me, too," Sookie confirmed with a proud smile.

"Who agreed with you? Who has been reading this?" If vampires could sweat, he'd need more than a tube of Old Spice to stay dry.

"Just internet people," she told him breezily. "People read what you write and then they can leave comments for you. I got tons of likes and comments on that post. Everyone was absolutely amazed a vampire could be just so darned sweet and adorable."

Eric's mind raced as he thought of who they could call in to contain this mess. He and Pam were tech savvy, but he was going to need someone better than that for this job. Even vampires know the internet never forgets.

"While I think it's a very nice thought for you to write such nice things about our date, Sookie," Eric began carefully, "I'm not so sure the internet is the place for such musings."

"I can't take it down, Eric!" she stared at him, her face aghast. "My God, what would my followers think?"

"Your followers? You have people who follow your blog?" It was becoming more difficult by the moment for the vampire to get a grasp on what to do.

"Well, yes," she replied with a 'gee, duh!' look on her face. "Not too many though, only a few hundred."

Eric stared at her, his wide eyes showing his panic and confusion. This was worse than he thought.

"I understand this is important to you, Sookie," he said, not understanding for a fucking minute why she'd give a fuck, "but I have to insist. Hundreds of people? This is not a good idea."

Sookie turned from him and Eric watched with growing dismay as her shoulders began to shake. He hated tears.

"Sookie? Come on, don't cry," he said, one hand reaching out to rest briefly on her shoulder. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. We can figure something out. I promise."

Her shoulders shook even harder as strangled sounds rushed forth past her lips. Eric awkwardly patted her back in an attempt to calm her. He didn't know what the fuck else to do.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Sookie gasped out, turning a tear-stained face towards him. "I thought I could keep this going, but I can't. Sweet Christ, Eric! You're too freaking easy to tease!"

Laughter.

She wasn't crying. She was laughing at him. Again.

"Minx," he growled, just as he had before.

"Sucker," she replied good-naturedly, wiping at her eyes. "Had you going, didn't I?"

"There's no blog?" he asked hopefully.

"Nope."

"No hundreds of people reading about what a sweet teddy bear I am?"

"Nope."

"You think you're funny, don't you?"

"Yup. You do, too," she retorted with a saucy smile.

"You have your moments," Eric replied, settling back onto the couch, measurably closer to his tormentor. She was good at it, he had to admit. Good enough to almost make him feel sorry for the torment he put Pam through.

Almost.

"Thanks. I do try," she grinned at him. "I'm going to get a drink. I'll be right back."

Eric watched her walk away, his eyes drawn to her tight, tanned legs under that sinfully short denim skirt she wore. The fairy princess was really something, he had to admit. What, exactly, he wasn't sure, but there was something about her and her happy vitality which drew him like a moth to a flame.

The vampire was deep in thought when she returned, carrying a glass of water in her hand. Reclaiming her seat, Sookie couldn't help but notice how much distance Eric had closed between them. He was scarcely a foot away. She swallowed a mouthful of water before placing her glass on the coffee table.

"Let me have them," Eric said, completely out of the blue. Sookie looked at him with one brow quirked high. "Your stipulations. I know you have some."

She laughed. "You think you know me so well, don't you?"

"Are you denying it?"

"Well, no," she admitted with a tiny frown.

"Then let me have them," he repeated patiently.

"It's not too early to have this conversation?"

Eric glanced at his watch. "If anything, it's getting late," he replied.

"No, I meant isn't it too early in our relationship – or whatever we have going on here – to start making demands of one another?"

"I don't think so," Eric frowned. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, hell, I don't know," she said, flopping back against the cushions. "What do I know? I hear people thinking about it all the time, wondering if it's too soon to have 'the talk'."

"The talk?"

"Yeah, the talk. The relationship talk, you know? Like, are we getting serious? And stuff like that," she replied, a faint blush creeping under her skin.

"And that's when the stipulations come out?" he asked.

"I guess," she replied uncertainly, tucking her hair back behind her ear. Her nose scrunched up as she thought about it, a move Eric found almost too adorable to ignore. Upping the cute factor was just how uncertain the normally self-possessed and unflappable Miss Stackhouse was. He was suddenly grateful for her lack of relationship experience; they were on the equal footing she'd desired.

"Well, I think we can dispense with the formalities, don't you?" he coaxed with a smile. "Wouldn't it be best to start with no misunderstandings to stumble over?"

"I suppose," she nervously agreed. "Honesty is always the best policy, right?"

"Exactly," he said, draping his arm over the back of the sofa, his long fingers resting against the silken mass of her hair.

"Okay, then," she said, sitting up and reaching for her water, taking a couple of sips before turning to look at him. "I do have a few stipulations."

"Let me have them," he replied with a smile, reaching for her hand and raising it to his lips. "My future lover," he said, placing a kiss upon her skin.

Sookie laughed, shaking her head and pulling her hand free. "On that note, I should tell you that not only am I not the casual sex kind of girl, I'm actually more the monogamous, commitment kind of girl. If our relationship goes that far, I will need some assurances from you that you aren't having sex with anyone else. It's a total deal-breaker for me."

Eric studied her quietly for a moment before reaching out and smoothing his hand over her hair, his fingers trailing across her smooth cheek before retreating. Her demand did not surprise him, rather it was one he was expecting.

"I've never been monogamous or committed, but I am willing to give both a try. You have my word I will not have sex with anyone else from here on," he told her seriously. "I can truthfully tell you there's been no one else since we met."

"I appreciate you telling me that," she told him. Her big blue eyes looked right at him; Eric almost felt she was looking inside him. "I would ask only that you tell me should you change your mind. I would not appreciate being blindsided," she said. An impudent grin stole across her face as she continued, "I might blow you into a million pieces before I even had time to think about it."

"Christ, Sookie!" Eric laughed, his shoulders shaking. "You really know how to keep a man in line, don't you?"

"Don't you forget it," she said sweetly, looking every inch the demure Southern belle and not the threat-wielding fairy princess she'd been a moment ago.

"I will, never fear," he chuckled. "I promise you will be the first to know should I desire something different. I don't see it as being an issue, though."

"Very well," she nodded, grateful to have that part of the talk resolved. "For the record, you have my word, as well."

Considering her lack of experience, Eric had assumed her word was implied; the swell of possessiveness raging through him told him how far he would go to ensure they both kept their word.

"Next?" he asked with a smile, his fingers once more tangling into the long, silky strands of her hair. "I assume there's more."

"There is," she confirmed with an answering smile. "Claudine has told me what to expect, should you claim me publicly. I understand why you will have to say I belong to you, but I want to be clear with you on that subject. In truth, I belong to no one other than myself. My very birthright supersedes any supernatural claim; and my very human core rejects any notion of ownership. We are equals and as such, I can only belong to you as much as you belong to me."

The vampire quietly absorbed her words, and the passion behind them. The truth was, Eric had never claimed anyone in the manner she was suggesting. He'd certainly staked claim to blood donors in years past, but never had he laid claim to a woman as his own. He knew the drill, however, after watching countless vampires make similar declarations in the past. The humans in each of those scenarios had submitted completely to their vampire's command; no question of ownership was ever debated.

The situation with Princess Sookie was measurably different, he recognized. She was correct in her assertions – in the supernatural hierarchy, she outranked him by a large margin. As dilute as her fairy blood was, it was royal blood which ran in her veins. More importantly, she possessed both the spark and the recognition of her kin. The princess could never truly belong to another, certainly not a vampire, even a vampire Sheriff.

"But yet, to ensure your survival we must do just that," Eric mused reflectively. "How do you suggest we reconcile these opposing points?"

Sookie let out the breath she'd been holding. He didn't refute her statement, which she had been most afraid of.

"For now, I think it best that we maintain all appearances in public, as long as we are clear in private," she said, even though it rankled to be viewed as property by others. The important part was for him to understand the distinction.

"An acceptable compromise," he allowed, inclining his head in agreement. "I would never deliberately put you in an uncomfortable position, Sookie. I don't need to brand you as my property in order to make my position clear."

"I appreciate your consideration, Eric," Sookie smiled at him, her relief evident in her baby blue eyes. "I will endeavor not to make the situation any more difficult than it is. I know what's expected of me in public."

"Then I will thank you for your consideration," he replied. He didn't doubt for a moment the spitfire fairy would challenge him loudly and vocally on occasion, but it was at least comforting to know it would happen privately. He relaxed as some of the tension dissipated.

"No problem," she said with a smile lighting her face. "Now, we should really talk about our trip to New Orleans."

And I'm going to leave it there for now. Hope their chat was believable!