A/N: So incredibly sorry that it's taken me this long to update. See my author's note at the bottom if you want to hear my excuse.

Chapter 15: Where We Belong

Later on that evening, Sookie and I put Pam to bed. Sookie read her a story, while I sat at the foot of the bed and looked on in wonder. Their interaction seemed so natural and comfortable and it warmed my heart. Sookie looked happy and completely at ease and as Pam snuggled her, I couldn't help but feel a sense of wholeness.

After we tucked Pam in, we both went downstairs, though we were each doing our own thing. Sookie had her nose buried in a book that had a half-naked man on its cover, while I kept myself busy in front of my laptop catching up on all of my emails that had piled up over the last week. It was about 9:30 when my phone began to ring.

I didn't want to disturb Sookie, so I went into my office before I answered Rasul's call. "Hey Ras." I answered.

"Are you at home?" Rasul replied quickly and to the point.

"Yeah, why?" I asked. I automatically went on alert.

"There is an officer in front of your house, but I'm sending a few more over. We've tracked a guy who we believe is Brendan Brigant, who long story short, is related to Sookie and has a vendetta against her grandfather. We have reason to believe he's the mastermind behind the kidnapping attempt." Rasul explained rather quickly. That was the first time I'd heard Brendan's name, and I didn't see the connection between he and Sookie other than leverage over her grandfather. Anyway, I didn't care about any of it at that moment. All that mattered to me was keeping my girls safe.

"I got it. Thanks for the heads up." I replied and hung up. I opened my safe and pulled out my Smith and Wesson 9mm. If he came onto my property, I knew that I'd be committing justifiable homicide. My castle, my domain and my girls to protect.

"Sookie." I said calmly. She looked up from her book. "I don't mean to scare you, but I need you to go upstairs and stay in Pam's room until I come for you." I instructed. I didn't need to tell her to protect Pam because I knew she would do it with her life. I felt like shit for putting her through this.

"Why?" She asked suspiciously.

"Rasul has reason to believe that someone involved in your kidnapping is on the loose and potentially headed here." I didn't want to hide anything from her, so I told her what I knew.

"Eric, I can take care of myself. I'm staying down here." She said and went into the kitchen and started opening drawers, presumably looking for a weapon. I knew she was putting on a brave face, because I noticed her hand shaking.

"Sookie, please. You've been through enough. And besides all of that, there's not anyone else in this world that I trust to protect Pam. Please Sookie." I implored and it was the absolute truth.

She grabbed a large carving knife and turned to face me. "Fine I'll go. For Pam's sake." She miffed and walked past me limping as she slowly made her way up the stairs. I turned my focus to the front door. I heard a few cars pull up and when I opened the door, I saw three uniformed Shreveport PD officers with their hands on their holsters. It was an odd sort of standoff that lasted nearly two hours, but in the end nothing happened. It was all very anti-climactic, but as it turned out, was nothing more than a false alarm. According to Rasul, the man in question was not Brendan Brigant, rather someone who looked like him and went by the name Brandon Bridges. It was an honest mistake and I appreciated that the feds were being extra cautious.

I saw Sookie at the top of the stairs as I was on the phone with Rasul. Presumably, she had overheard our conversation and knew that we weren't in any danger. She had a grim sort of look about her and I wanted to hurry and end my conversation with Rasul so I could go talk to her.

She was sitting on the banquette bench looking out the window into the dark of the night. I couldn't see her face from my vantage point at the doorjamb, and she didn't acknowledge my presence.

"Can I come in?" I asked softly.

It was then that I noticed she was crying. She wiped her face and cleared her throat and replied. "Yeah, sure."

I walked over and sat on her bed facing her back. We were silent for a few minutes. The air was thick and I wasn't sure what to say, so I just started with what she probably already knew. "It was just a false alarm." I said. She nodded in acceptance, but still didn't turn to face me. I could tell that the night's events weighed heavily on her mind.

"Pam asleep?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah. She slept through the excitement." She wearied. "Thank God." She breathed.

The silence grew heavy and I just didn't know what the right thing to say was, because she was clearly very upset.

"I think I'm gonna move back to Bon Temps." She emitted, as she turned to face me. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying. It took me aback because out of all the things I thought she would say to me, that didn't even make the list. Admittedly, I felt gutted by her words.

"Sookie." What words could I offer her to convey just how much she meant to me and Pam. Could I admit to her how I felt? Did I have it in me to say, "Sookie, your presence in my life makes me feel whole and I want to kiss you so fucking desperately that it's nearly all I think about." A better, more romantic man could do it – albeit the words would come out a bit more eloquently.

"Please don't" I begged instead.

She stood and began pacing the room. "This isn't fair to you or Pam." She stated. "It was a false alarm today, but what about tomorrow? What if this psycho actually does come knocking on your door then what?" She asked.

This woman was selfless to a fault and it was infuriating. "Then the psycho will meet the barrel of my Smith and Wesson." I said flatly.

"Oh great, then that's one more horrific thing Pam has to witness." She said defiantly. I was confident that it wouldn't come down to a gun battle at my house. Rasul and the FBI were on it.

"Then what, huh? You just go back to Bon Temps and become a sitting duck?" I said boldly and stood up. Did she think I would just be okay with the fact that she'd be throwing herself to the wolves?

"I can take care of myself." She said impudently. I knew that she could, but she lived in the boondocks and it just wasn't safe out there. Why put herself in danger unnecessarily?

"I know that, Sookie. But it's safer here." I implored.

"I'm… It's." She paused. "God Eric, can't you see. I'm the one putting you all in danger. I'm the one they want. Just let me go." She bellowed. Her shoulders slumped in defeat. What was she saying? That she was just going to give up?

"You want Brendan to take you?" I asked incredulously.

"I have nobody Eric – I AM nobody. This will all end if I just go away." She turned her back. I couldn't believe that this resilient, brave woman was throwing in the towel. That her self-worth had plummeted so far that she believed no one cared for her or would miss her. Well I had news for her. I was pissed.

"You fucking have your brother, you have Pam and you have me!" I said slightly loud, but dammit, I wanted her to understand that she did have people. She faced me and before I could think about it too much I kissed her. She stiffened, but then relaxed into the kiss. I ran my hand through her hair and pulled her in tighter. As I opened my mouth to deepen the kiss, she did the same and our tongues met. In my life, I had never experienced the kind of sheer need for a woman as I felt in that moment with Sookie. It was passion, desperation and longing all wrapped into one embrace. And when it was over, I wanted it to begin again- or maybe I just didn't want it to end in the first place.

"Eric." She whispered as our foreheads met while we caught our breaths. I held her close to me, because once I'd experienced her closeness, being away from her would never feel right again.

"I've wanted to do that for a while now, I just didn't have the balls to do it." I admitted. She giggled- actually giggled. After the drama of the evening and my own personal angst, it felt like a relief to hear her laughter.

"You're not going anywhere." I said firmly and pulled her in for a hug, which led to another kiss.

Eventually she yawned and I had to let her go, conceding that her exhaustion took precedence over my greedy need for her warmth.

"You need sleep." I said and pulled back the comforter for her.

"It's been a long day." She admitted and tucked herself in. I kissed her forehead and as I made my way to the door she said, "Eric?"

"Hmm?" I said with a goofy smile.

"Stay with me? Just to sleep?" she asked. Like there was a chance in Hell I would say no. "I didn't want to leave." She admitted as we spooned under the covers. I was just about to say something sappy and romantic until she cheekily added. "I would miss your pool."

"I would miss your bikini." I replied and she nudged me as we both laughed. And that was the first night I held Sookie Stackhouse in my arms.

A/N: I realize that I haven't updated my story since July, which I am not happy about. I had started this chapter and then my mom passed away. She was only 54. I tried writing after her funeral, but everything I wrote was so incredibly sad and depressing. While I don't think you can ever get over losing a loved one, I have, to a certain extent, gotten to a point where I can at least write something that isn't overwhelmingly gloomy. So I apologize for the delay, but I think my readers will understand.

On a positive note, I've entered the Sookie's Secret Santa Fic Exchange, hosted by the wonderful Jan of Arc. I'll post my story here once I am able to. All of the stories will be posted at the Sookie's Secret Santa website first and since I don't have my own blog, I'll post here when the exchange is over. Thanks for sticking with me! and thank you to those of you who PM's me to check in.