Hi everyone! Now, see! It wasn't that bad if you left me a few words! Hello to a lot of first-time reviewers! *wave* I love you all! Thank you! You made my day! And since a promise is a promise, here is chapter 16.
Big thanks go to my dear Keri who is back amongst us and was lovely enough to beta the chap for me and give me her input :D . The song for this chapter is dedicated to her, since i know how much she "loves" her countrymates - Nickleback. Oh, dear, she'll never forgive me for this! :))
Youtube - http:/www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=5RtTFP2TNcM&feature=BFp&list=PLF9712A4E8F8DE2C4
Also, if anyone was wondering, this is the pic I used as a reff for the photoshoot, with the needed adjustments, ofc - http:/images4(dot)fanpop(dot)com/image/photos/15400000/Anna-Paquin-and-Alexander-Skarsg-rd-anna-paquin-15426631-800-1065(dot)jpg
Just One more moment, that's all that's needed.
Like wounded soldiers in need of healing.
Time to be honest, this time I'm bleeding
Please don't dwell on it, cause I didn't mean it
I cant believe I said I'd lay our love on the ground
But it doesn't matter cause I've made it up forgive me now
Everyday I spend away my souls inside out
Gotta be someway that I can make it up to you now, somehow.
By now you'd know that I'd come for you
No one but you, yes I'd come for you
But only if you told me to
And I'd fight for you
I'd lie, it's true
Give my life for you
You know I'd always come for you
I was blindfolded, but now I'm seeing
My mind was closing, now I'm believing
I finally know just what it means to let someone in
To see the side of me that no one does or ever will
So if your ever lost and find yourself all alone
I'd search forever just to bring you home,
Here and now this I vow
By now you'd know that I'd come for you
No one but you, yes I'd come for you
But only if you told me to
And I'd fight for you
I'd lie, it's true
Give my life for you
You know I'd always come for you
You know I'd always come for you
No matter what gets in my way
As long as there's still life in me
No matter what, remember you know I'll always come for you
Yes I'd come for you, no one but you,
Yes I'd come for you
But only if you told me to
And I'd fight for you
I'd lie, it's true
Give my life for you
You know I'd always come for you
No matter what gets in my way
As long as there's still life in me
No matter what, remember you know I'll always come for you
I'd crawl across this world for you
Do anything you want me to
No matter what, remember you know I'll always come for you
You know I'll always come for you
(Nickleback - I'd Come For You)
EPOV
Although I had fun in New Orleans on Friday, the trip had been exhausting to say the least. As Saturday rolled around I went to the café. There was much to do and I had taken too many days off lately. Alcide was going to go the farm house and help the men there. I was going to surprise Sookie with a brand new fence around the house. The windows had arrived as well, so Alcide's job was also to figure out where to put cameras. We needed a security system there. I did not like how close Bill lived and, even if I thought he was just an asshole and not much of a threat, I'd rather be safe than sorry.
The day dragged along as I filled in paperwork after paperwork. I also signed the property deed on the farm house. I was honored Sookie wanted to share it with me and I knew she wasn't doing it only from the sense of paying me back.
I did not want to be in the office today. I'd rather be home writing, if I were honest. Or making love to Sookie.
I did not even realize it was 6 PM when she called and said she was taking a nap until I got home. I must admit that the next hour was more or less wasted as I tried to concentrate on what I was doing rather than on what I'd be doing when I got home and how I would wake Sookie up. I kept wondering if she was sleeping naked.
My phone rang and I saw her number.
"Miss me already, Lover?" I asked since it had merely been an hour since she went to bed.
"Eric," she coughed and her voice sounded alarmed. "I'm gonna… I'm gonna die... I can't get out. Smoke. Fire. So much. I love you. I love you, Eric."
"Sookie! Sookie!" I yelled, but there was no answer. The call went dead and I redialed as I ran to my car. There was no answer. I kept trying over and over and over to get to her. I was driving like a maniac and I didn't care. The pedal was to the floor. I had to get there fast. I had to save her.
"FUCK!" I yelled and hit the dashboard.
I heard sirens behind me and a police car trying to catch up to me. Fuck this. I wasn't stopping. I had two police cars on my tail by the time I got to my street. I could see the house was on fire. It was surrounded as far as I was seeing, flames licking at the walls and windows.
Shit! Sookie was in there.
I pulled in the driveway and was out the door in an instance. The police cars were right behind me, and an officer was near me in a second.
"Call the freaking firemen and an ambulance. My girlfriend is inside!" I yelled at him and he looked like he just realized the house was on fire.
I ran towards my home and he tried to stop me.
"You can't go in there!"
"The fuck I won't!" I yelled and pushed him away.
I ran to the door and saw there was a key in the lock from the outside. I tried turning it but it was jammed. I took a step back and kicked the door. It didn't budge. I had to kick two more times before it gave way.
"Sookie!" I yelled, trying to cover my mouth and nose from the smoke that was pouring out of the house.
Shit! Where was she? I could barely see in front of me. I thought to redial her number since the phone had been in my hand the entire time. Her screen lit up a few feet away from me.
"Sookie!" I yelled and ran to the light. She was laying on the floor, phone in hand. She was limp. I picked her up and carried her out. The officers came running towards us and I walked as far from the house as I could. It could blow up any minute. My eyes were burning, my throat was aching from all the smoke, but all I could think of was Sookie.
There were sirens in the distance.
"Let us help her, sir," one of the officers said and I laid her limp body one the grass.
I sat there, helpless, as they did CPR on her until the ambulance arrived. The paramedics quickly got her on a stretcher and in the car, putting an oxygen mask over her face. I followed them and got into the back as well, holding her hand as I answered questions about Sookie – age, name, diseases, medication.
When we got to the hospital I insisted I was ok although I probably wasn't from the smoke I inhaled. I wasn't going to leave her side.
I pulled my phone out and called Alcide.
"The house was on fire. We're at the hospital. I'm fine, but Sookie isn't. I hope I got to her in time," I told him and I had to repeat it because he thought I was joking.
In half hour all our friends plus my father were in the waiting room. The doctors had placed an IV in Sookie's arm and the oxygen mask was still on her face, but she had yet to wake.
"She's only passed out. Her vitals are good," said the doctor.
"Is she going to be ok?" I asked, my voice hoarse.
"Yes. She just needs time to recuperate. She'll wake in her own time," he said and left the room, but not before saying I should get checked out as well.
I held her hand and looked at her face. I couldn't bear it if anything happened to her. How the hell did the house catch fire. Had she forgotten something on the stove? Was there an electrical problem? Goddamnit all!
There was a little knock on the door and turned to see my father poke his head in.
"Is she ok?"
"No. But she will be. The doctor said she'll wake in her own time. She inhaled a lot of smoke," I answered him, turning my eyes back to Sookie, searching for any signs of change.
"A detective wants to speak to you. I'll send him in," he said and retreated.
A few minutes later there was another knock on the door and a short, stubby man made his way in.
"Mr. Northman, I need to ask you some questions," he said and I motioned for him to take a seat.
"My colleagues told me you were speeding towards home. Did you know something had happened?" he asked.
"Yes. She called me. She was alarmed. She said she was... She said she was going to die and she told me she loved me then the call disconnected."
"Does she live at your house or was she there visiting?"
"We've been living together for a little over a month. She moved in with me after her house was seized by the bank because her brother took a loan he couldn't pay off."
"Do you know if anyone wanted to hurt her?" he asked and that got my attention. I raised my eyes to his.
"Why would you ask this?"
"The fire wasn't an accident. The firemen found traces of fire accelerators around the walls and even through the open windows on the lower floor," he said and I had to sit down.
I crashed into the chair next to her bed.
"Am I to understand that you know something?" he pushed.
"I never thought it would come to this. I just never thought he had the balls to do anything. Fuck!"
"Mr. Northman? Who are you talking about?"
"Bill Compton. He was Sookie's fiancé until a few weeks ago. They weren't happy anymore for some time and when she figured out he had been cheating she ended it. She wanted to move into her old place but it was seized by the bank. That's when she moved in with me," I told him.
"So why do you think he did it?"
"He was always jealous of me. Sookie and I have been best friends for over a decade and I guess I've been in love with her for most of the time. When she finally ended it with Compton we finally got together and I guess he couldn't take it. He'd accused her of cheating on him with me several times in the past, but it was never true. She'd never do such a thing. The day she dumped him she went to get something from his house and he slapped her hard enough that she was bruised for a week."
"Is there a complaint filed?"
"No. She didn't want to have anything more to do with him. Plus, I think she was trying to protect me as well. I went and punched him when I found out," I admitted and he simply nodded. I think he was approving my actions.
"Anything else that might lead you to think it was his doing?" he asked. Nothing came to mind at first, but then I remembered the message.
"We both received a message last Saturday from one of our friends since the number was blocked. We asked around, but no one admitted it. They wouldn't lie to us, so it must have been Bill," I said and my free hand balled into a fist. If that motherfucker had done this to Sookie, he'd never even get into prison.
"Can I see this?" he asked and I found the message on my cell phone and passed it to him.
"Don't delete it," he said after reading it. "We'll need it as evidence."
I nodded my consent and he wrote something in the notebook.
"The message says "we", do you have any idea if he could have been working with someone? Maybe someone else that didn't agree with your relationship…" the police officer said.
"I can't think of anyone else. Everyone we knew was happy we 'finally' got together."
"How about anyone from your past?"
"I had been dating this girl, Yvetta. There was nothing serious and she caused a scene or two. Sookie doesn't know it, but she's been calling me time and time again over this past month. I never answered her calls because I had nothing else to talk to her about."
"Can you give me last names and as many data as you can on these two?" he asked.
"Sure. Bill Compton lives across the Bon Temps cemetery and he drives a brown Volvo. He works for an IT company in Shreveport. Yvetta Romanovich is an immigrant from some ex-Soviet country in Europe. She drives a white BMW…" I said and I remembered. "Motherfucker! I saw her car driving towards Compton's house a week ago. I didn't realize why the car looked familiar." I was positively fuming by now.
"Where were you when you saw this?"
"I was on Sookie's porch. We bought the house back from the bank and we were meeting the clerk that delivered the papers. Sookie's house is right next to the cemetery and across from it there's Compton's house. It's a street that does not get much traffic and the houses are isolated from the rest of the town."
"We'll look into it. May I ask… you haven't asked anything about the house…"
"I don't care of anything that's inside. I got the most important thing out," I said and caressed Sookie's forehead.
"Well, the fire is out. The first floor is completely ruined, I'm sorry to say. The second floor was affected as well, but a lot of things there are still salvageable. The firemen told me that it's not livable for now, though," he said and I nodded. I was surprised anything had survived.
"Thank you," I told him.
"For nothing. We'll be looking into this immediately. We don't need arsonists in town. We'll make sure this is wrapped up as soon as possible. I'll send an officer to take Miss Stackhouse's statement when she wakes."
"By the way, you should try taking prints from the key that was jammed in the door outside. I hope I did not damage them too much when I tried to get in. One of my spares had been missing for about a month and I have a feeling that was it. Shit! Now I'm sure Yvetta's involved. She's the only one that could have gotten her hands on it. The key was jammed from the outside and Sookie couldn't get out."
"Then this is attempted murder on top of arson. We'll let you know how things go. Your father gave me your contact. I'll let you know," said the cop.
"Thank you," I told him and he got out the door.
I was looking at the ground, thinking things over. I wanted to be out there, kicking Bill's ass and if I ever saw Yvetta again she'd probably become the first woman I ever slaped. I don't know how much time had passed when I felt Sookie's hand tightening around mine.
"Eric," she said, her voice hoarse.
"Sookie. Oh thank God! Are you ok?" I asked, jumping to my feet and leaning over her.
"Am I dead?"
"No. I got to you in time. We're at the Shreveport Hospital," I said and I pressed the button next to her bed, calling in a nurse.
"I don't remember much. There was smoke and fire. I think I passed out. Oh, Eric, I'm so sorry. I must have left something burning. It's all my fault," she said and her eyes filled with tears.
"No, it isn't. Someone set the house on fire. They found accelerant around the place. The cops are going to find out who did it," I told her and she calmed down enough before freaking out all over again.
"Someone tried to kill me? But who?" she asked. "Shit! The message!"
"Yes, I was thinking the same. The cops are going to pay a visit to Bill and Yvetta. I think I saw her car driving towards Bill's last week when we went to the farm house," I admitted.
"Shit," she said and she looked panicked.
"Relax. You're safe here. I'm not letting you out of my sight," I told her and she relaxed again.
"I love you," she said and I heard the door open when the nurse came in.
"I love you, too. I'll be outside, letting everyone know you're ok and I'll be right back, ok?"
"K," she said as the nurse started checking her up again and paged the doctor.
The second I walked outside I was surrounded by our friends. None of them asked any questions, they just waited.
"She's ok. She just woke up, the nurse is checking up on her. She was taking a nap and she woke up and found the house filled with smoke. She must have tried to get out of the house, but the lock was jammed with a spare key. I had to knock down the door when I got there. She called me and I jumped in the car immediately. Apparently someone put the house on fire, since the firemen found traces of accelerant around the perimeter. Before you jump with questions, I need to tell you that the cops are going to pay a visit to Bill and Yvetta. Bill had the reason and Yvetta had the chance to steal the key that was jammed from the outside. Since none of you admitted to sending that message last week, both the officer and I assumed there are more than one people involved," I said and everyone was quiet.
"I knew I had to kick the shit out of that asshole," said Alcide before cursing loudly. He loved Sookie as his own sister and he hated what had happened.
"I'll talk to my lawyers so you can sue," Dad said and turned around taking out his cell phone.
"Can we see her?" said Diantha in a shaken voice.
"I think so. I'll ask the nurse," I told her and turned to go inside when Pam came running, Stan close behind.
"Is she ok?" she asked breathless.
"Yes. I got there in time. I'll ask now if you all can visit. "
I walked inside the room just as the nurse and doctor were telling Sookie that she could go home tonight. She burst into tears at the word "home".
"Sookie, it's ok. We'll find someplace to go," I hushed her and went to her side.
"I'm sorry. I didn't realize," said the doctor and I nodded.
"Can our friends visit her?"
"She can go ... Her vitals are stable and she's not in any danger. She should take care for a few days and speak as little as she can to protect her vocal cords. Also, normal nose drops might do her good if she feels like her nose is dry. I'll set her release papers," he said and I thanked him.
"Come on, darling, let's get outside to our friends," I told her.
She got out of bed and her bare feet touched the cold tiles. I didn't wait for her permission before I scooped her up in my arms. She wrapped her arms around my neck and our lips connected for a brief moment. I didn't realize how much I had wanted that until she kissed me. I smiled at her and told her to open the door as I had both my hands full.
Our friends cheered when they saw us and we were soon surrounded by them.
"We're free to go," I said.
"You're coming to my house," Dad said and I nodded. He had enough room to take us both in and some of our friends if they wanted to sit watch.
"Amelia, can you please find the closest shop to get her some clothes and shoes?" I asked her and Pam jumped.
"I'll go with her," she said and I nodded.
We went to the desk office and got her release papers before we started towards Bon Temps. I was in dad's car with Sookie in my arms. Pam, Amelia and Stan were going to join us when they finished shopping. Alcide, Laff and Diantha were in Alc's 4x4.
I settled a sleeping Sookie on the bed in my old room and they all waited by the door.
"Can we stay here tonight?"
"Sure Laff. I'm pretty sure that's why dad offered his house - Enough room for everyone and their brother," I smiled.
Amelia arrived ten minutes later with a bag of comfy clothes for Sook along with jeans and shirts for a few days. There were also shoes and flip flops. She had bought me some spares as well.
"I thought it will be awhile before you can get anything from the house," she smiled at me.
"Yeah, I have no idea if and what survived the fire. I hope the bedroom did, cause the officer said the second floor wasn't affected too much. Hopefully the office is in one piece as well. I'll run by tomorrow," I said and grabbed the bags from her.
Everyone was staying for the night, even Pam and Stan. I was moved by how much everyone worried.
"The detective will be here tomorrow to take Sookie's statement," dad said.
"Thanks for calling him and for taking us all in," I told him and he hugged me.
"My pleasure. You can all stay for as long as you want to," he said and then wished everyone a good night.
I said good night as well and entered the room slowly. I nudged Sookie awake and asked if she wanted to take a bath.
"Sure. I smell like smoke," she said and got on her feet. I picked out a pair of shorts and a tshirt for her and the same for me before we went into the adjoined bathroom. We showered in silence and I made sure to check her skin for any wounds. I was happy to find none.
"Thank you," she said softly as I toweled her dry.
"Nothing to thank me for," I replied.
"Yes I do. You saved my life. I'm alive because of you," she said and her eyes filled with tears as the events of the day sunk in.
"I can't live without you. I couldn't let you die, Sookie. I love you. Of course I came for you," I told her and cupper her face and kissed her.
"I'd come for you as well," she said, but I already knew she would.
I wanted to let her rest but she insisted we made love. She wanted to feel alive and I wanted to reassure myself she was still mine. We came together and reveled in every sensation. I didn't want to let her go, but we needed to get dressed. We pulled up our new clothes and cuddled up under the blankets, whispering "I love you's" until we fell asleep.
xoxo
Gaby