A/N: Eeek! Also, comments/reviews would be greatly appreciated!

Aaaand Imma put a content warning on this one. 😬

Chapter 35

Sookie slowly opened her eyes. She felt groggy and confused and her head was pounding. Her mouth tasted like something had died in it. She couldn't help but moan.

"Shit. She's waking up."

She felt a pinch on her backside and everything went black again.

An unknown period of time later, her eyes opened again. Instead of coming to gradually, sudden pain had jerked her into consciousness. She was awake but her brain hadn't caught up yet and she was struggling to make any kind of sense out of what was going on. She was panicky and scared and had no idea what had happened or why her ribs felt like they'd been smashed to pieces

She didn't know where she was, either. It was cool and damp and very dim and the cold from the hard floor she was lying on had seemed to seep into her bones. Her head hurt so much but the sudden pain in her side that had come out of nowhere was excruciating.

She curled herself up into a ball to try to protect herself, even though it hurt dreadfully, and her skin scraped against the rough concrete underneath her. She realized that she was naked and her wrists and ankles were bound. She knew she was in deep shit.

She just lay there. She was still disoriented from the drugs and so overwhelmed by pain and fear that she didn't even notice anyone nearby. She didn't hear his thoughts over her own internal screaming.

She heard a low chuckle from above and she unfurled herself to look up, even if she knew that it was a bad idea. There was a big man with a crew cut standing over her, grinning. He was wearing a pink polo shirt with a name tag that said Gabe pinned onto his chest. He had one big, heavy work boot pulled back and then he kicked her again. She tried her best to roll away and the steel toe caught her in the kidney. She woofed out her lungful of air and started to cough, which hurt her ribs terribly. It was hard to catch her breath. She thought that she was going to be sick from the deep, throbbing pain in her head and her back and her side.

She wasn't expecting the next blow to the small of her back and she cried out. She tried to crawl away but her legs didn't want to work. She started to sob. His thoughts were violent and disgusting and she knew what was coming next, after he finished beating the shit out of her. She wondered what had happened to Sam and if maybe he'd followed her there. If he was going to come and rescue her from the sadist who was about to rape and probably murder her. She hoped that Sam wasn't dead.

She managed to drag herself a few feet while she heard the man slowly taking off his clothes. She felt him watching her. Waiting. Taking his time. Stretching out the minutes. He wanted her to struggle a little longer.

She was suddenly yanked backwards, skinning both of her elbows and her chin and scraping her belly and nipples and palms on the rough concrete floor. She screamed. She hadn't felt him grabbing the tape between her ankles or bending her legs at the knee.

"Come on back here, little lady."

He held her calves and flipped her over and the back of her head bounced off the floor. He grabbed a knife and slit the tape between her feet, letting her useless legs fall free. She bent her arms and tried to at least cover her breasts with her elbows and her face with the backs of her hands but the way they were bound made her have to strain. It hurt. She did it anyway.

He batted her hands out of the way and grabbed her face. His fingers and thumb bit hard into her cheeks, cutting the tender skin inside of her mouth on her molars. He was kneeling next to her and she saw the crazy in his eyes as well as his head.

"Something's missing…"

He threw her head down and it bounced off the hard floor again. He stood up and she saw that he was naked except for his boots and socks. His penis looked large and angry and dangerous and she hated feeling so fucking helpless. Being so fucking helpless. Just like she'd been when she was a little girl, before Gran had found out about what Uncle Bartlett had done and put a stop to it.

She sank into herself and closed her eyes and wasn't expecting the blow to the face a minute or two later. It caught her in the nose and cheek and mouth and she felt and heard her bones and teeth shatter. She tasted blood. She was still reeling from the kick when he stamped on her hand with the heel of his boot, grinding it into the ground. She tried to scream but she was sobbing too hard and her voice was too hoarse and she was choking on the blood running down the back of her throat. She wished he'd knocked her out. She almost wanted to die. She thought she might go crazy from the pain. She lost all meaning of time.

He knelt down beside her again and carefully picked her hair out of the blood on her cheeks and forehead, a piece at a time. He smoothed it back.

"There. I need to be able to see your pretty face."

He grinned and climbed between her legs.

…

The church was like a fortress, taking up a whole city block and surrounded by a tall privacy fence topped with silver-plated razor wire. Eric was able to see everything from the sky a few hundred yards away. He counted eight men with rifles on the roof, six along the perimeter, and three more at each entrance. He saw no sign of a werebat. As much as he wanted to go to her, he had to be strategic and form some kind of plan. He wouldn't be able to help her if he flew off half cocked and got himself finally killed.

There was only one set of doors on the back of the church. Three men stood huddled in front of it, passing a flask back and forth. There was an awning that hid them from the snipers above. None of the men on the roof were looking his way and the two guards patrolling the perimeter with a line of sight on that side would be facing away from the doorway. One had passed it on his route and the other was facing the fence, taking a leak on the slats.

Eric came from above and flew as fast as he could to the door. The men there had barely registered his appearance when he grabbed a head in each hand and crashed them together while he caught the eyes of the third.

"Invite me in."

He did. Eric dragged the dead men into the vestibule and dropped them in the corner. He hadn't heard anything to indicate that he'd been seen and he was relieved. They entered the church.

There were two FOTS members standing partway down the corridor inside. They were discussing the ceremony scheduled for dawn. Eric whispered in the guard's ear.

"I am a friend of yours who shares your beliefs. My name is Leif. I want to join the church and help any way I can. Introduce me."

"Hey, Jim! Larry! Come here and meet my buddy, Leif. He wants to join the church and help any way he can."

The two men walked over to them and smiled. The taller one with dark hair stuck out his hand.

"Wow! You're a big'un ain't you? We'll take all the muscle we can get. Jim Nelson."

Vampires do not like to shake hands. Eric reached out to take it but then locked eyes with the man before he had to.

"Leif Nordhomme. Freeze."

He froze. The other one noticed Eric's True Blood T Shirt but Eric caught his eyes before he could do more than open his mouth to speak.

"Give me your weapons."

"Oh. Ok."

Larry handed Eric two stakes and a Glock handgun. He stuck the pistol in the waistband of his jeans, snugged against the small of his back, and threw the stakes on the floor. He looked back at the guard who'd invited him in.

"Where are the prisoners?"

"The basement."

"How do I get there?"

"Make a left up ahead. There's a staircase behind a door at the end of the hall, right before you get to the Sanctuary."

Her pain and fear were suddenly devastating. She was in grave danger now. Eric looked at all three of the men.

"Everyone but us is Vampire. Keep your mouths shut and stick together. Larry, Jim, take the rifles and ammunition from the two in the entryway and then go up to the roof. Take out as many as you can. Anyone you see, except for each other."

Eric didn't wait around to see if they were successful. He hoped that no Supes would get caught in the crossfire. And he hoped that there would be a crossfire to get caught in.

He heard nobody up ahead and ran as fast as he could to the basement door. He was surprised when it was unlocked. Suspicious. He stepped inside.

There were metal steps that led down to a corridor with a row of three cells on each side. It was dim and dank and felt like a concrete tomb. It smelled like Sookie's blood. Her hoarse choking screams echoed against the walls and ceiling.

Eric heard the scuff of a boot and then a sick, evil voice and his fangs snapped down.

"There. I need to be able to see your pretty face."

There was a shuffling sound and it broke his paralysis. They were ahead on the right. He flew to her.

The man was between her legs, holding his cock, ready to take what was Eric's. Ready to hurt her worse than she'd already been hurt. She was in so much pain. She looked into his eyes and hers were pleading with him, but almost hopeful. She trusted him to save her. He would. He sent her courage through the bond.

The cells on that side were about twelve feet square and were walled with steel bars and cinder blocks. He took hold of the door and pulled and the whole front panel sheared away. Eric tossed it aside. He grabbed the naked man and yanked him off her before he'd been able to enter her. Eric spun him around and held him off the floor and looked into his eyes. He grinned. He looked forward to killing the man slowly. A millimetre at a time. He would make him wish he'd never been born.

The man was stammering, terrified, trying to get the words out to beg. Eric liked seeing the fear in his eyes. Urine ran down his leg and into his boot and made a puddle on the floor a few inches below his feet.

But then Sookie moaned in pain. Eric was in bloodlust. Every instinct was screaming at him to take vengeance and elicit pain and glut himself on the blood of his enemy. But she needed him. He threw the man aside and went to her. Gabe's brains splattered against the wall.

"Shh. I am here."

He knelt next to her and carefully took her into his arms. She was so pale and the red splashes of blood on her skin were stark. She was cradling her mangled hand and her beautiful face was terribly misshapen and there was no muscle tension left in her legs. They felt slack and disconnected from the rest of her body. Her heart was racing, going way too fast.

"Eric."

He bit into his wrist and hushed her again.

"Shh, my lover. Do not try to speak. Drink."

She took a shuddering breath and pulled the wound to her mouth.

He had come so close to losing her. He had no idea how she had even come to be there. He had no idea what she'd been doing, for days, because he'd been trying to manipulate her rather than being honest and treating her well. He should have been there. He hadn't wanted to hurt her but he was sure that his actions had contributed to her pain. He was through playing games. He would get the whole story from her later, once they were somewhere safe.

She swallowed several mouthfuls and could feel it spreading through her body, making her connection to him even stronger. Slowly, the pain began to recede. Her leg twitched and then twitched again. She wiggled her toes. She saw that Eric's eyes were closed and there were streaks of blood on his cheeks. He pulled her a little closer and then whispered into her hair.

"I have you, my lover. He is gone. You are safe." He kissed her forehead. "I love you, Sookie."

And suddenly, she knew for sure that he did, unequivocally. There was no arrogance or guile or pretense or gamesmanship in him right then. No barriers. They had all been stripped away. It was just him, laid bare. Her Eric. It had been him all along. He'd just needed to let go and find himself inside.

He bit his wrist again and she drank a little more. After a few minutes, she felt well enough to sit up. She looked into his eyes and swept his hair out of his face and cupped his cheek.

"I love you, too."

He knew they didn't have time to sit and talk about their feelings but there was something different in her eyes. Love without any reservations. She was giving all of herself to him, the way she had when he'd been under the spell. He kissed her and then lifted her gently and headed for the stairs. He still had the gun but he planned to fly them out the way he'd flown himself in. He still heard the occasional burst of gunfire or scream from outside, so he knew there would be cover and significantly fewer guards to worry about. He couldn't go quite as fast — for Sookie's safety — but he thought that they had a very good chance to make it out alive.

"Eric Northman?"

The cells across the hall from Sookie's had solid steel doors. There was a small window with silver bars at chest height to prevent the vampires from being able to lock eyes and glamour the guards. Eric was sure that the walls were lined with silver as well.

"Stan?"

There was a gasp of relief. Stan hadn't expected to be rescued. He'd nearly resigned himself to becoming a martyr.

"It is very good that you've come. That wretch, Gabe. Did I hear that he's been ended?"

"Yes."

"Excellent. He carries his keys on his belt."

Eric hesitated. Sookie smiled at him.

"It's fine, Eric. I'm ok to stand. We obviously can't leave them here. Go ahead and get the keys."

She held onto the bars of the cell next door to hers. The body had fallen on top of his pile of clothing. Eric reached for the jeans trapped under Gabe's hip and then hissed. The keys and clip were plated in silver.

Sookie was a little bit wobbly with her first couple of steps but then it all smoothed out, for the most part. She was even able to kneel down next to Gabe. She found the juxtaposition jarring. He'd been looming over her like this just a few minutes before. But she hadn't been leaking grey matter all over the place.

She had to lean down close to him to unclip the key ring from his belt loop and she shuddered and felt her gorge rising. A drop of her blood spattered onto a pool of his. She was glad when she could stand back up and get away.

Eric held her arm as she walked to the first vampire cell. She opened all three, one at a time, freeing the Dallas vampires. She could see their long fangs and flaring nostrils and she felt incredibly self-conscious. She was naked, only covered by streaks and splashes of blood, and her clothes were nowhere in sight. At least she wasn't terribly frightened; she trusted Eric to protect her.

He stared hard at each of them, warning them away from making any kind of move. He picked her up gently again. It was past time to leave.

Eric and Stan looked at each other. Stan nodded.

"I owe you my gratitude."

"And a favour. For a future time."

Stan nodded again and then looked at Sookie.

"I'm sorry that I wasn't able to intervene."

She shrugged one shoulder, deeply uncomfortable.

"Thanks."

Eric held her a little tighter and flew to the top of the stairs. He put his ear to the door and listened intently for a few seconds. He turned the knob and slowly pushed it open a little more than a crack. He heard a quick intake of breath and he knew there were several of them out there with their barrels all pointed at the spot where he and Sookie would exit.

He paused, indecisive. He had to keep her safe. They were cornered and he couldn't risk heading straight at them when they had their fingers on their triggers and were waiting patiently for him to make a move.

Through the gap in the door, he could see coloured lights reflecting off the marble tiles on the Sanctuary floor. The full moon was shining through the enormous stained glass skylight above. He remembered seeing a piece on the news about it not long ago. A very wealthy member of the Fellowship had commissioned it and donated it to the church. It was an unconventional image of Christ. He'd heard Pam call it Jesus the Vampire Slayer.

He shielded Sookie as well as he could and they burst through the door and shot into the sky. Shards of glass rained down from the ceiling, falling onto the pews and the gunmen below. A large sliver of the stake that Jesus had held in his fist impaled Reverend Steve Newlin, killing him instantly.