Sookie didn't know much.
It was kind of ironic, since she constantly had to deal with everyone else's knowledge barging in on her all the time. You would think with all the smarts sneezed into her head, she would be one of the most informed people alive.
And, in some small ways, she guessed she was.
But there were times when even her mind reading came in handy just a smidgen too late. Like what happened with Hugo, and that crazy, vampire-hating church. And, speaking of vampires, well, they were a whole separate ballgame altogether. Sookie couldn't hear them at all.
Which brings us back to the truck load of everything she didn't know.
The telepathic waitress didn't have a clue what the Fellowship of the Sun supporter was going on about on the TV. It started as a debate over whether vampires should be eligible to be hired as school teachers (they would make some of the best history instructors in the nation, since a lot of them had firsthand experience to pull from), and quickly escalated into an all out attack on the questionable conditions of vampire morality.
"…that they're all serial killers. You can't expect me to send my children off to be taught by a serial killer. If we let them into the school system, we'll be raising a generation of rapists and murderers! Vampires should be locked away and executed for their crimes against humanity. If they want equality, then why are they being held to different standards than the rest of society? They aren't-"
Sookie picked up the remote wedged between the cushions of the couch, and pressed the power button. The quiet was a whole lot nicer to listen to.
She reached around for Bill's cool hand on her shoulder, tugging it down and tightening the cradle of his arm over her back. That was nice too- the comfort, the luxury, of being able to relax and enjoy the silence with someone else beside her. Before Bill, it hadn't been possible.
The ease warmed her muscles until she was loose all over. She dropped Bill's hand into her lap.
"Are you tired?" he asked softly.
"Not really."
Sookie leaned into his side, stretching. She lifted her feet off the floor, and spread her legs out on the furniture. Who cared if her actions didn't exactly match up with what she said?
Bill cared.
"It's after four in the mornin'."
"So we still have another hour till dawn."
Sookie tilted her face up, fluttering her eyelashes a little in suggestion. Bill liked that, and tangled his fingers in the ends of her hair to pull it forward. He kissed her- a fast, forceful darting forward against the pucker of her mouth, and then away.
That was all it took for the serene warmth to flare into fire. She'd been a virgin not so long ago, and sex was very new and exciting. As far as Sookie could tell, there would never be enough of it. She twisted to anchor herself to his neck in a surge of energy; her legs bending beneath her as she brought herself up on to her knees.
She pressed their lips together a second time, equally as hard and extremely eager.
"Let's not waste it," she urged.
Bill stared at her, "Sookie…"
The telepathic waitress was disappointed by the lack of enthusiasm in his voice. She kissed him again before pushing him back into the cushions of the couch. Her thighs spread to frame his. Sookie rubbed against him once, and a funny clenching sensation messed her breath up.
"You don't want to?"
He slid his hands over her ribcage, his thumbs just below the swell of her chest and his pinkies just above her waist. At least he was holding her now, but it was still without any of the reckless abandon she was hoping for.
"Of course I do, sweetheart," he said, "But I am afraid this may not be the best time."
Sookie tried to think of a reason why that might be true. Eric wasn't there to ruin the moment, or Jason. Jessica wasn't even in the room adjoining theirs anymore, for crying out loud.
She sat back, "What's wrong with it?"
"I need to be prepared to protect you. I cannot be distracted from lookin' out for you. Your safety is too important to compromise."
"Distracted?" Sookie didn't like that word, "Is that all this is to you, Bill Compton? A distraction?"
"No!"
She climbed off of him. Forget all of that stuff about comfort and company in the quiet. It didn't matter one bit when she was hurt and angry. Like a coupon that was good till the 26th on the 27th, or vacuuming right before her shape shifter boss came over to visit.
"I'm goin' to bed," she announced.
Bill caught her wrist.
"Sookie," he pleaded, "Believe me when I say that makin' love to you is the greatest honor I have ever partaken in. There is nothin' that pleasures me more than bein' with you in the throes of passion. You have liberated me from the prison that is my blackened soul, and, if I have somehow given you cause to think otherwise, I am immeasurably sorry."
Sookie looked down at Bill, her heart shooting up into her throat. How could he make her feel so awful one minute, and then turn around and say something like that? Her eyes stung, and the images in front of her swirled through a haze of inexplicable tears.
"Well done, Bill," a stale tone congratulated from across the room, "I've heard some talented persuasive speakers, but that was quite… touching. Do you write poetry?"
Bill shot up so fast Sookie thought maybe she passed out for a second. He pulled her wrist back and stepped forward to shield her from the threat towering in the open doorway. She moved to the side, and glared at the nasty sight awaiting her.
Eric met her eyes with an arrogant twitch of his brow. He looked gross- even grosser than he usually did. He was covered in blood. Dried, crusted smears dashed across his pale shoulders, and three long trails had drizzled down his lower arm to look like scratches; making Sookie's spine ache in reminder of her recent (but not her most recent) near-death experience.
A lopsided stain went around his mouth, his chin, and changed the color of his throat. There was a dribble on his forehead, where a few stray pieces of hair had fallen out of place and were caked in gore. Sookie knew there must be more, but the rest of him was covered in black clothes that didn't betray anything.
Eric sauntered further into their space, grabbing the door handle to shut it behind him.
"This is private suite," Bill spat, "I could report you to hotel security for breakin' an entry."
"You could, presuming I wasn't paying for it."
The telepathic waitress looked at the floor as he took his next steps. Eric's shoes were dirty. It wasn't blood-dirt, either. It was plain old dirt-dirt, like from the ground. As he got closer, the scent of burning ash wafted into her nose.
"Why do you have blood all over you?" she asked.
He peered down from the vantage point of his height, "I stopped for takeout."
Sookie shrank backward in revulsion. Eric leered visibly at her reaction.
Bill's arms came around her, reeling her into his embrace. She let him guide her into the protection of his side. His hands crawled up her back, and they felt good there. She grabbed on to his shirt to press her cheek into the material- turning away from Eric completely.
"You're scarin' her," Bill accused.
"She's not scared," Eric scoffed, "She's naïve. She wouldn't be by now, if you didn't insist on coddling her. For Jessica's sake, I hope you don't extend the same caretaking methods to your progeny."
"I sent Jessica back to Bon Temps."
There was a pause. Sookie unburied her face long enough to sneak a peek at Eric. All of his sarcastic humor had been wiped clean.
The question was disbelieving, "Alone?"
"No," Bill said, obviously insulted, "With her human companion."
"A snack for the road. How thoughtful of you, Bill. You shouldn't have."
The derisive way he spoke made Sookie's temper spike. Like he could just walk in here and talk down to the man she loved like he was an idiot; criticizing him for keeping her safe. And then to have the nerve to treat someone's life as if it wasn't worth any more than a fast food burger? Twice? Right in front of her?
Who does he think he is?
Sookie broke out of Bill's embrace furiously. She stormed up to Eric in that disgusting, blood-drenched outfit that did not look on him at all, and planted herself dead center to his egotistical face. She shot daggers up at him through heated eyes.
Bill was worried, "Sookie!"
She ignored him, enunciating her words with clear rage.
"Hoyt. Is not. A snack."
Eric looked directly into the sharp ends of her daggers with no trouble at all. It wasn't even like he was fending them off. He was just absorbing them. They projected out of her on a homicide mission, and he welcomed the potential to kill like a second skin; an armor he could slip into the same way Sookie would an old, comfy sweater.
It made her cold.
The curve of his lips was too sinister to be a smile as he gazed over her head- at Bill, she realized.
"I told you she wasn't scared."
His focus flicked to her, and it was penetrating in the most confusing way. It made her feel naked. And that wasn't only because his eyes were roaming south of her face- though that was probably part of it. It was because, and she was just now figuring this out, Eric saw everything naked.
When he looked at Bill, Sookie could see how little he thought of him; how superior he thought he was to him in about every single way. And when he looked at that crazy Reverend in that crazier church, Sookie could see flat out how much he hated him. And when he looked at Godric...
Sookie didn't think she'd ever seen that much love in her whole life.
It went against everything she thought she knew about Eric Northman- the thought that something like him could care for someone else so much. It would be a lot easier to pretend she never saw him totally humbled and stripped bare of all the asshole stuff she couldn't stand about him; to pretend she never watched him drop to his knees out of absolute loyalty for a boy so much smaller than he was.
Except that it wasn't easy at all.
"He really doesn't give you enough credit," Eric told her of Bill, then addressed what she'd said about Hoyt, "The human might not be a snack yet, but he will be. A vampire as young as Jessica is always hungry. Even with lessons on how to feed properly, the chances of her not draining him are slim at best."
While she tried to wrap her head around the idea of Jessica murdering Hoyt, he turned his attention to Bill again.
"You did teach her how to feed without killing them…"
"Well… No, I- I didn't."
Sookie was shocked. She hadn't known drinking human blood without downing the entire human was a skill which new vampires had to master. But now that she did, it seemed pretty important.
"Bill," she chastised.
"I'm teachin' her to mainstream," he defended, "I saw no need."
"If Hoyt ends up dead, I'll never forgive you."
It looked like Eric had a migraine, "Our problems could get much worse than the death of one man. I take it you also didn't find it necessary to teach her the art of discretion, or moderation."
The mortification on Bill's face spoke volumes.
"Have you taught her anything since we returned her to you?"
"Glamouring."
"A crucial life skill," Eric's sarcasm was biting, "When she goes on a public killing spree, I'm sure the AVL will be very understanding."
Sookie couldn't picture it. She couldn't imagine Jessica slaughtering Hoyt, let alone everyone in Bon Temps. Her friends and Jason a bunch of drained bodies that were dumped carelessly all over the streets… It made the undersides of her arms prickle.
"Could she do that? Go on a killin' spree?"
Bill was hesitant to answer her, "…In theory, yes."
"Oh my God! My brother just flew back there yesterday! We have to go!"
"We don't have to go anywhere," Eric disagreed, looking to the other vampire, "Jessica is your responsibility. You sent her away, and you're going to bring her back… before she reaps havoc on the town. I am your Sheriff, Bill, and I suggest you act quickly, because any damage she manages to create will fall on you."
Sookie shook her head adamantly, "Nu huh. I am not sittin' this one out."
"Actually, you are," Eric said, "The Light of Day extremists are still at large, and your telepathy might prove useful."
Bill cared for that reasoning as much as Sookie did, "The Light of Day extremists are not our concern. They wouldn't be an issue to begin with if they hadn't been led to believe they possess the resources to defeat us."
"What are you saying?"
"Well, if Godric hadn't allowed himself to be taken-"
Sookie had another one of those moments where it felt like she passed out and missed a few seconds. One minute Eric was standing stark still next to her, listening to Bill with a face carved out of stone. Then he was on the other side of the room, twisting Bill's arm behind his back.
She ran over to them, "Eric! Let him go!"
He tugged his arm harshly, and Bill made an agonized sound that made Sookie see red. She pounced on Eric from behind, pummeling him with the sides of her fists. Jason would be proud to call her his sister.
"I have no respect for you," Eric told Bill, as if he wasn't aware of Sookie's onslaught in the slightest, "You've been negligent in your role as a Maker, and, since we arrived in Dallas, you have been nothing but a nuisance. I would enjoy ending you…"
"No!" Sookie cried, throwing everything she had into her punches and adding her legs to the effort.
Eric exhaled in hushed laughter. He untwisted Bill's arm, bringing him around so they stood facing each other. When he reorganized himself, the telepathic waitress lost her hold on him and tumbled off.
"…so I wouldn't speak Godric's name again," he finished, eyes and fangs bearing down on Bill.
Then Eric released Bill from his grasp, and pivoted around to stare at Sookie on the floor. He actually had the audacity to offer her his hand. She knocked it away fiercely, earning a twitch of his lips.
He strolled to the door.
"Pack light, Bill," he called over his shoulder.
And then Eric was finally gone.
Sookie scrambled to Bill. She leapt into him, hugging with all her might.
"Are you okay?"
"I am fine."
She kissed him.
He kissed her.
She kissed him again…
Sometime in the early hours of the morning, Sookie was awakened by a persistent beeping noise sounding off in her left ear. She moaned, and rolled over groggily- her hand reaching out blindly to put a stop to whatever it was so she could go back to sleep.
Her fingers curled around the shape of her cell phone, lifting it from where it sat on the hotel nightstand. She pressed a random button. The screen lit up in bright blue and black letters that she had to squint to make out.
She had one, new voicemail.
A/N: No matter what kind of outline I start with, the chapters of this story never fail to surprise me. This one especially turned into something totally different than what I had in mind, but somehow it still managed to accomplish everything it was supposed to. I tried to simplify the narration a little for Sookie, which was way harder than I thought it'd be.
Thanks to all who read and review! And special thanks to cHoCoLaTe-cHiHuAhUa for your reassurance when I was second-guessing myself. You helped me sleep better at night, and I am very grateful!