A/N: ….just graduated and spent all summer looking for a job…have spent all of fall trying to keep said job….I'm SO sorry for taking MONTHS to update. I realize this makes me lamer than a one-legged horse, but I hope you'll read and review anyway.

THANK YOU ALL for reviewing so many months after I posted the last chapter. It definitely influenced my desire to write this most recent chapter. I hope it meet ya'll's expectations!

Eric POV

Despite my better judgment, I went to the funeral. I watched, from a respectable distance, as friends offered their condolences. I watched her brother leave with his friends. And I watched her, my Sookie, my darling, darling girl, as she mourned.

I knew what I was risking when I came up behind her and caught her as she collapsed. And I didn't care. There wasn't anything that could keep me from being there.

When she pushed away from me, though...that was a bit of a shock. I expected...well, I'm not entirely sure what I had expected, or thought. Except that her violent reaction was definitely not how I thought...

I wanted to chase after her, but I knew I had no right to. I had spent my entire life feeling so confident about every move I made. Even if certain things later seemed to be "mistakes," they were always someone else's mistakes. Like my marriage; that wasn't my fault, but Vivienne's. And I had convinced myself that separating from Sookie was also a mistake, but still not mine.

For the first time, after watching her pull away from my embrace, I finally acknowledged that the blame lay entirely with me. And I had no idea what to do, or how to fix it.

Sookie POV

Christmas, New Year's, Valentine's Day flew by. I didn't celebrate them; there didn't seem to be all that much to celebrate. I tried my best to juggle my schoolwork and housework, while I took on a part-time job at Sam's dad's new restaurant, Merlotte's. There wasn't time to stop moving, and (thankfully) even less time to sit and think. Jason led the Eagles to a district and then state championship; although he was only a junior, it seemed a certainty that he could play for whatever team he liked. He was being courted by LSU, UT, TCU, OU and many multi-lettered schools. A huge part of me gave a giant sigh of relief; he might not be intelligent in the traditional sense, but as long as he didn't behave like a total dumbass, he would be able to attend college and graduate with few financial difficulties. I knew this was what my parents, and what Gran especially, would have wanted for him. My responsibility as his guardian was just to keep him in line and make sure he didn't mess it up.

Many of my classmates, meanwhile, were settling their future plans already. Some had received their acceptance letters from universities, while others, (Amelia included) were considering engagements with their significant others.

I had neither of these options to fall back on. There was no significant other, and I had been so consumed by my grief at Gran's passing, and by an overwhelming anxiety about our finances, that I had missed the boat completely when it came to college applications. Our local community college would have to suffice, and even then, I couldn't afford to attend in the immediate future. My lack of choices left a slightly bitter taste in my mouth; I had once had such high hopes for my future. But when I thought of Gran...well, I was missing so much more than the obligatory college freshman experience.

I would work, and I would provide for Jason and myself until he was able to win a scholarship to a institution of higher learning. The irony certainly wasn't lost on me, and while I was feeling acrimonious towards fate, I could not make myself feel the same anger towards Jason. I was pathetically happy for him and Amelia, both of whom had the two things I desired the most and now could never hope to have.

Loving and dreaming were lost to me now.

Eric POV

thankyougod,thankyougod,thankyou,thankyou,thankyou, I prayed gratefully, over and over and over again.

The baby was not mine. Vivienne had given birth to a child who was NOT mine. I felt a disconnect after the baby was born, and a paternity test had quickly proven that I was not connected to her or the baby in any way.

I gave her a large amount of money, a bribe, to get the hell out of my life and stay the hell away. She took the money and ran.

And just like that, I was free.

It was mid-March.

And I was free.

My heart was practically pounding in my chest as I practiced my speech for Sookie. I was so certain that she would take me back.

Ah, the folly of (relative) youth.

Sookie POV

I shut the door and my legs shook, threatening to collapse on me. I wanted to collapse. Eric had just been here, to my house, with the joyous new that "he was not the father."

It had been almost a miracle to see him again, and to see him wanting me. But instinctively, I nearly choked on the bitter remorse that rose in my throat…joyous news…HOW exactly was this happy? The looming possibility of fatherhood for Eric had ruined us. Although it was certainly one of the greatest challenges that could be posed for any relationship, we had surely and quickly failed that particular test. I wasn't sure if my heart was up for any more challenges.

I barely had time to close the door on Eric's shocked expression before I burst into tears. I could only imagine what he thought of me; despite everything, I still cared more about his opinion that anyone else's.

Thankfully we had an entire week off for Spring Break. Hopefully during that time I could really come to my senses, and Eric could come to his.

Every day was a struggle. To pay attention in class, to hold a conversation with friends, to go straight to work and bust my butt earning tips, to make sure Jason was staying on track, to finish my homework. Sleep? Practically nonexistent. Happiness? Also nonexistent. Anxieties? A plethora.

There were so many times that I wanted to just forget my responsibilities and high-tail it to Eric's. To sit in his arms, to pour out my worries, to revel in his presence. I thought often of the wonderful memories we had made, from our light conversations to our heavy lovemaking …But I felt like my reliance on him would be false, and a weakness. I wanted to prove to myself that I could handle everything. And secretly, I wanted to prove the same thing to him.

Eric POV

I dedicated myself to lesson planning. After-school activities and clubs, tutorials, field trips, athletic events- you name it, I attended it. I think for a long time after Sookie rejected me, I was in shock. And I did everything I could think of that would help me ignore it.

Until the day that I couldn't ignore it any longer. What was so frightening about it was how normally it began. A beautiful April day when the sun was heating up, the flowers were blooming…and evil was festering in the heart of three students. Sophie Ann and Andre had been dating for years, and were definitely an "odd couple" in the sense that they were both…well, odd. Rumors of the occult, of random acts of violence and malevolence, were never proven or substantiated. And perhaps the two never would have wrought such havoc on Bon Temps High if they hadn't joined forces with Debbie Pelt.

Sookie's POV

I was in Ms. Ravenscroft's class when I heard the first screams. My fellow classmates rushed to the window, and watched as our fellow students fell in the courtyard. I couldn't exactly process what was happening; I'm sure that my emotions are what many Americans experienced on September 11th.

Shock, mainly.

And then horror, as I watched as three gunmen wearing black charge into our school, away from those poor teenagers they had left, who were bleeding and dying in the atrium of the school.

Most of my classmates fled. Ms. Ravenscroft tried to make us settle into the classroom, but flight instincts won out over fight. I also fled, but for slightly different reasons. I brushed passed the students next door to force my way into Eric's classroom. He was also slightly panicked, trying to gather them against the "safe" wall where they couldn't be seen. However, they followed the instincs of Ms. Ravenscroft's students and tried to leave. The courtyard was silent, and the gunmen could be anywhere, but in all honesty, getting out of the classrooms was probably the best bet. Otherwise, we were just sitting ducks.

And so it was that only Eric and I remained in his classroom, staring at each other for a moment too long, before I gave in. He reached his hand out towards me first, and I instinctively responded by placing my hand in his. As he gathered me against his chest, I supressed a sob. He subtly turned us so that his back was to the door, in a protective stance between myself and whoever might come through that door.

The sounds of gunshots reverberated off the school walls. They were far away, but not enough for me to feel secure.

Suddenly, siren wailed in the distance and quickly grew louder as it approached.

The echo of gunfire moved away, as Eric and I held each other carefully, silently. I hadn't prayed since Gran died, but I was now. As Eric quietly whispered over and over again how much he loved me, I prayed silently.

A long, long moment passed, during which I held my breath and continued to pray. I think Eric did the same, although he would be hard-pressed to admit it.

Eric POV

Before, I had wished and hoped for a situation, any situation that would bring Sookie and I together again, but now I could only feel fear and remorse. Be careful of what you wish for had not even begun to cover it.

I held her, protectively, thinking I was ready for anything.

We heard a POP POP POP noise from the courtyard, again, which was instantly followed by the sound of my classroom window breaking, and a few distant screams.

Sookie reacted with an odd mixture of detached concern.

"Eric, your shirt."

I looked down to see a spray of dark blood on my right shoulder. I pressed my palm against it, confused and shocked for a moment, until I realized I was unharmed.

Which meant...

Sookie crumpled to the ground.

There was a dark crimson circle of blood slowly spreading across the back of her white shirt.

SPOILERS: Is this moving too quickly? I…don't know exactly what should happen next. That must be where reviews come in? :)