A/N - Back to Sookie who, whilst Eric sleeps, tries to come to terms with his extraodinary declaration. Has the man lost his senses? Then Sookie starts to notice some subtle parallels between Bill and Eric that leave her very much questioning the motives of her hyper-intense new lover. And then, the penny finally drops as she remembers the conversation she overheard whilst locked in Marcus' basement. Remember, she doesn't even know Eric's last name at this point and she was too concerned with her own survival to pay too much attention when Marcus was explaining his plans for Pam. So this is some moment for Sookie :)

Chapter 14

Eric was sleeping now a few feet beneath where Sookie lay in their mossy clearing. Before taking to the ground, he'd given her his blood again. On the assumption that at some point they'd have to return to Shreveport, she needed to be strong especially since during the day, without Eric, she'd be especially vulnerable. Also, Eric's blood was as sustaining to Sookie as a three course meal; in spite of having eaten nothing for over twenty four hours, Sookie felt no hunger. The sun was high in the sky now, she'd been dozing through most of the day, looking forward to dusk and Eric's return eagerly, but nervously.

It was unsettling how quickly things were moving. Only a few days ago she'd barely known Eric except as her courteous, intense, disquieting, probably European (she'd decided on Danish) vampire neighbour. And now he was declaring eternal love on the basis of one night. Sookie didn't have that much Romantic experience, but she was pretty sure this wasn't usual behaviour, not for a human let alone a vampire. Bill had been pretty damn weirdly intense, but ...bloody hell, this was of an entirely different order of magnitude. Too fast, wasn't it? Too much, way too soon.

He was attractive, certainly; he was beautiful, and certainly one of the most charismatic men she'd ever known. Overwhelmingly so. In her apartment, when he'd visited after the were attack, his presence had filled that small space with a potent sexual energy that was almost tangible. And he was an exceptional lover; his effect on her had been almost shattering, as if he had taken her apart and re-configured her into... his creature. In that context, in the aftermath of their love-making, as her body pulsed with desire, his words had shaken her but had seemed also natural, somehow; and it was only a shadow of wariness that had stopped her responding in kind. Had he tried to glamour her, and very near succeeded? Then she remembered the fierce gleam in his eye the night when she'd suggested he stay to watch the film. He was well aware of the effect he had on women. He probably had them fighting over him every night of the week. She shifted uneasily, trying not to think of how many lovers he must have had, and how easily he'd had her. She sat up and pulled her knees to her chest. She'd been virtually begging for it. The force of her desire had been shocking. The only other time she recalled anything remotely like it, and then it was not nearly so powerful or immediate, was with Bill.

Eric loved her? He couldn't imagine life without her – after, presumably, centuries already on this earth and after one night with her? Bill had said he loved her; he'd said a whole lot of things whilst plotting to deliver her as a gift to a crazy vampire queen who'd apparently fancied adding another bit of exotica to her collection of human pets. With the benefit of that particularly toxic piece of hindsight, Sookie had spent many a sleepless night reviewing every aspect of her time with Bill and concluding that pretty much all of it had been nothing but a sad sham. Even their first meeting now had the appearance of a total scam. She recalled the cold February night when Bill had appeared at her house just after she'd returned from her night shift. She'd peered through the spy hole in her back door and seen a stranger, tall and dark-haired, staring intently straight ahead and smiling slightly as if he could see her through the wood. She'd probed his mind and felt...nothing. This was a vampire. She figured it was safe to open the door a fraction since he'd need an invite to actually get in.

'I'm so sorry to bother you at such a late hour, miss,' he spoke with a deep, lazy Southern drawl, 'but I don't know if you've noticed – the door to your out-house is swinging open.' Sookie stared, confused – oh, out-house! He meant her gardening shed. He stood back and gestured towards where the door of her shed, usually padlocked and bolted, was indeed wide open, creaking in the low breeze. Sookie ran over, bemused as to why she hadn't noticed this when she'd parked her car up. She gazed into the shed, flicking on the dim light and threw up her hands in horror.

'The tools! The mower! I don't believe this. Who would break into a decrepit garden shed to pinch a bunch of ancient tools? Well, apart from the mower – that was brand new last summer. Aawww, Jason's gonna be furious...'

'Well, not with you, surely! What could you have done? That door's been firmly forced, it was obviously locked beforehand. Jason is... your husband?'

'Hahaha! No, my brother. He doesn't live here, but he usually does my garden. He bought the bloody mower.'

'So you live here alone?'

Sookie raised her eyes warily. 'Yeeees. And...?'

'Well then, the way to look at it is that at least they did not break into your house. You have lost nothing of real value and you are safe.'

Sookie sighed. Vampires certainly did not understand the concept of economy. 'Those tools cost...oh, whatever. You're right, it could've been worse. I guess there's no point trying to secure the door. The tools have bolted! Thanks, anyway. It's good of you to have called. You live nearby?'

The vampire gestured across the cemetery. 'Over there, the old house. I just moved in. My name is Bill Compton, m'am, that house is my old family home. I'm very pleased to make your acquaintance.' He gave a little bow of the head and made to leave.

'Wait! My name's Sookie Stackhouse. Pleased to meet you, too. We're each other's closest neighbours, I guess. If there's anything you need, Bill...'

Another small bow. 'I'll be sure to bear it in mind... Sookie.'

Dear God, the way he'd said her name! He drawled it out, deep and low, and managed to invest a name that she'd always considered perfectly ridiculous with something like...pure, naked sex. Sookie giggled nervously and flushed. 'Well, yeah. Have a good night! Thanks again for...'

He'd gone. Sookie gazed over the cemetery to the direction of the old Compton house, her breathing slightly raised. 'Ha! Pull yourself together, Soooookie! What the hell was that?' Sookie wandered back in doors, locking and double bolting the back door. Two days later, she received a delivery from Shreveport's biggest hard ware store: an entire collection of brand new gardening tools including a top-of-the-range mower she doubted Jason would even be able to drive. Well, well.

Sookie had insisted on paying Bill back as much as she could afford. When they began to date, she would never allow him to buy dinner and when she was able to, she made him let her pay for both of them. She felt, even back then, rather compromised by this extravagant gift and after Bill's multiple betrayals later on it came to seem to Sookie as an exceptionally cynical gesture; not only that, she had wondered, and she continued to wonder, whether the theft of the tools in the first place had been a set-up.

And Eric? Why was he living in that beat-up apartment, seemingly so isolated from the rest of vampire society? Contrary to the popular mythology, vampires were extremely social creatures, seeking out their own kind and sticking with them. Bill had sought out solitude virtually in her own back yard when he'd moved to Bon Temps. And here was Eric, another uncommon loner, living just beneath her, asking all those questions, and looking at her like he'd found the fucking Holy Grail that time of their first meeting...

Who was this vampire? Sookie drifted into a restless sleep; half-formed impressions, snatches of conversation, started to mill around in her fitful dreaming. She suddenly awoke with a cry, shaking, trying to stand. Those two weres talking in the room above the basement. She'd been kidnapped so they could trade her off for... Pam? And her maker would come, they wanted him, not her. Pam's maker was powerful, angry. He'd turn against Bill, that was their plan. Another war, lead by 'the most powerful vampire in the Southern united states.' A vampire named Northman. That was Pam's maker.

Eric Northman.