Wow!
I just can't believe how many people is supporting this fic. I want to say THANK YOU to all of you who are reading, reviewing and enjoying this story 'cause I wanted to do something different and I think I managed.
Well, here's the new chapter and hope you like it as well.
Enjoy.
:)
Wherever You Are
Eric POV
It was the first night Sookie agreed to leave my house to go to Fangtasia. She couldn't remain locked anymore because she'd end up freaking out and she needed to return to the real world, at least for a few hours.
"I don't know if it's a good idea, Nora will be at the bar. What happens if she tries to attack me again? You can't always be watching her." I understood Sookie didn't trust Nora because I didn't either. Yes, she had renounced her Sanguinistas beliefs but Sookie's fairy blood drove her insane. "She will not, Sookie. I promise you. Besides, Nora wouldn't risk making a mistake now that Bill is out there looking for us all."
Sookie moved suddenly as if a chill was running through her body and it probably was. Thinking that Compton could be out there somewhere was enough to make me continue looking over my shoulder every time I heard the slightest noise. I didn't want to tell it to Sookie, the last thing she needed was more concerns but I was sure she already knew. "Are you okay?"
"No," she mumured closing her eyes and leaning her head against the back of the seat. "And I wonde if I ever wil be. This whole situation is driving me completely insane and I think I'm paranoid 'cause every noise I hear makes me shiver, as if I were waiting for Bill to show up suddenly." I lookedat her and saw that her eyes were still closed. "I try to sleep every night, I really do, but I find it impossible. I keep having nightmares about what happened and most of them are about you and I dying and turning into a pile of bones on the floor while he doesn't stop laughing and looking down at us if we were only two idiots who thought they could beat him." She suddenly opened her eyes and stared at me as she put her hand on mine. "I'm losing my mind, Eric, it seems that I have no control over my life and I feel the strong desire to end with everything and be free once and for all."
"End with everything?" I stopped the car next to the curb and glared at her despite the darkness. "Sookie, are you crazy?" I hissed through clenched teeth. "You can't be serious! Not after what we went through to be together and I won't allow you to do something reckless just because you're tired, nervous or scared, do you understand?" I wouldn't allow her to let herself go by fear and committed a big mistake.
I couldn't lose her, not now.
"Don't worry," she murmured, grinning slightly, "I'm not sleeping very well and I just say bullshit." But I could see in her eyes that she was serious. "We should go." She added, looking toward the road. "Pam will be waiting and Nora probably will want to talk to you."
"Sookie, promise me." And I wasn't going to move a muscle until I was sure she wouldn't do anything stupid.
"I promise." And she kissed me on the lips. I knew a promise from Sookie Stackhouse was worth its weight in gold but if she had sealed her words with a kiss I could be completely convinced that she wouldn't lie to me.
I turned on the car again to go on our way and within a minutes we were in the parking lot at Fangtasia.
"Ready?" Sookie breathed deeply for a few seconds and nodded silently. "Come on." I quickly got out of the car and opened Sookie's door to help her out. "A drink will make you feel better." I added and she smiled.
"Maybe a dozen help me to sleep without nightmares tonight," and we both laughed like fools. At least her good humor seemed to have returned from its vacation and I loved seeing Sookie smiling again.
When we walked in through the back door I wasn't surprised seeing Pam waiting for us with her hands on her waist. My sister was probably driving her insane and Pam wasn't famous for having a lot of patience.
"It's about time you showed up," she simply said as she saw us and I arched an eyebrow at her. "I've had to take care of everything since you disappeared but I never accepted being Nora's babysitter." Sookie and I looked at each other briefly and we couldn't contain the smiles. "I don't think it's something funny, but since you're here you might take care of her."
"Okay." I nodded shaking my head. "Pam, get back to the bar and make sure there are no problems while I go to my office." Pam disappeared before I could finish the phrase and Sookie and I were alone. "I have to talk to Nora about some things, why don't you go and have a drink and relax?"
Sookie nodded but she looked worried. "Is something wrong?" I asked and she looked up until was looking into my eyes. "No, it's just…" but she didn't finish talking. "Sookie, what is it?"
She rolled her eyes and sighed heavily. "Tara is out there, probably in the bar serving customers and things between us are not going very well. She's very angry at me 'cause I forced Pam to turn her into a vampire and the last thing I need is a discussion tonight."
"Then sit in my booth and one of the waitresses will bring you anything you want." I said no more. It didn't seem a problem that had no solution but I knew Sookie would want to talk to her friend, especially after what happened in the Authority. "Hey," I added as I hugged her, "you made a choice and maybe Tara thinks that wasn't the correct one, but you can't change it now. Sooner or later she will end up accepting what she is and that you had no choice. You couldn't let your friend die when you knew there was a chance. It's possible she still hates you but at least you haven't lost her completely."
"That's not what she thinks," Sookie said quickly. "She will always blame me for turning her into a monster. You don't understand, Eric, Tara hated vampires after everything that happened with that psychopath of Franklin Mott, and she's now one of them. Thanks to me she has become what she most detests."
"She will accept her nature, Sookie, we've all done. It will tough at first but she has a good teacher."
"Okay, you're right." We kissed again and Sookie disappeared down the hall until she got to the bar. I walked into my office and saw Nora sitting in my chair with her legs resting on my desk.
"Comfortable?" But she just smiled. "You're my sister, Nora, but this place is mine and I will invite you to move your ass out of my chair." She rolled her eyes but rose up quickly.
"I've heard your conversation with that human." Of course. Nora kept rejecting my relationship with Sookie but at least she didn't try to attack her again. "She's so weak," she chuckled, "even her voice sounds weak. I don't know how you can stand it, Eric. Humans have only one purpose, being a food source but you have a bar to entertain them and you worry for that girl as if you really cared for her."
"I care for her, Nora." I hissed. "You don't understand but what's between Sookie and I is special."
"Eric, please, what she turned you into? It's like you're under her spell and…"
"Believe me, I've been spelled before and it doesn't look anything like how I feel when I'm with Sookie. She's different, she's not like any other human I've ever met and I hope you accept it. I don't want problems, Nora, I'm dead serious, and if you ever get close to her I swear I will kill you."
"Would you choose her over your own blood?" She asked incredulously.
"Of course I would." It wasn't a difficult decision.
"Anything new?" She asked changing the subject. Perhaps it was the best because I wasn't in the mood to argue.
"No, but you should know better than me." I was not trying to provoke her to keep talking about the same but Nora had contacts and she would know if Bill had appeared somewhere. "I'm not sure what would be the best choice but we can't sit idly by. We have to find Compton and make a decision."
"A decision? I believed that find and kill him was something we had already agreed to do, Eric. There is no other decision, we must kill him before he does the same with us." Any other time I would have agreed with Nora but I had to think of Sookie now. She hoped that somehow we were able to rescue and restore the humanity that Bill seemed to have lost but I had more doubts every time. "Eric, we can't make mistakes or believe that Bill Compton will be what he was."
"You don't know that."
Nora placed herself in front of the desk and looked at me with her mouth open. "I can't believe what I'm hearing, brother. The Viking I met wouldn't have stopped at nothing and you're doing it now. What the hell happened to you? Is that girl who is making you to change?" It was starting to piss me off because it seemed Nora had to blame Sookie for everything.
"Listen to me, Nora! It's not about Sookie but by choosing an option. We're not sure that kill Compton is going to stop the Authority soldiers or if we know there is a chance to kill him," I added exasperated. "He has more power than we can imagine and he's no longer able of reasoning. Sookie and I saw him with our own eyes, Bill Compton is gone but that doesn't mean we can kill him."
"But…"
"We need a plan." I cut her off. "And a fucking good one."
Sookie POV
Fangtasia was packed, as usual, but I made sure that my mental shields were up before getting to the bar. I didn't or needed to hear all those fangbangers' thoughts, I just wanted to have a drink – or ten – and relax for the first time in a long time.
I didn't know whether to follow Eric's advice and sit in the booth and wait for a waitress to come or face reality – and my best friend – hoping one day she were be able to forgive me. What should I do? I wanted to talk to Tara, explain to her that I still love her although she was a vampire but I knew it wouldn't be so easy and I didn't to make a scene.
I looked at the stage and saw Pam sitting on Eric's throne with a bored expression and looking around. I would have loved to ask her a million questions about Tara but a part of me didn't want to hear the answers. I didn't want her to tell me that my best friend had become an enemy because one night I chose that she was turned into a vampire. I made a decision and I'd have to live with it for the rest of my life.
"Hey Sookie," before I knew it I was startled hearing Jessica's greet.
"Hello," I said trying to catch my breath. Why on earth couldn't everybody leave me alone? It seemed that everyone needed a conversation with me. "Did I scare you? Sorry, it wasn't my intention. Can I sit?" I nodded and she sat opposite of me.
I hadn't seen Jessica since that night in the Authority and I still remembered how cruel my brother was with her.
"Glad to see you, Pam told me you are living with Eric." She said as if it were the most normal thing.
"I'm not living with him exactly," I explained but the fact is that it was like that. "Well, yeah, but it's not what you think. I'm going through a rough time and I needed…"
"It's okay, Sookie, I get it." She nodded and took a sip from her bottle of Tru Blood. "Things have changed for everyone, guess that's what we have to get used to. Bill's out there and he became in something that even I can't understand and he's no longer my maker, at least that's what I think. Pam told me some things and I'm starting to accept the fact that I'm alone now."
"Jessica, you're not alone…"
"Yeah, I am," she cut me off. "I know you think I can count on you or Pam and Eric, but the truth is that I've opened my eyes and realized that I'm alone and I have to start accepting it. Bill's not coming back," and at that moment I remembered the night when my ex-boyfriend became Bilith.
Bilith?
"I still need to learn many things to be able to take care of myself but I'll eventually get it." I wanted to tell her that she could always count on me but I didn't want to bring up Jason. "And I'm starting to realize that I can't live in both worlds at the same time. I'm a vampire and have a relationship with a human will never be possible for me."
"Jessica, that's not true."
"No?" She asked sarcastically. "Hoyt left to Alaska and asked me to erase the memories he had of me because he couldn't take it anymore. I hurt him, Sookie, and I'll never see him again."
"Jessica, the fact that a relationship doesn't work out doesn't mean it won't ever work." But I really had no idea what I was talking about because the only relationship I had been was with a vampire and was a disaster.
"Really?" She asked, raising her eyebrows. "It did not work for you and Bill, Sookie, what makes you think there's any chance that's gonna work for me and Jason? I love him," she murmured, "I loved him even when I was with Hoyt." She confessed facing the table. "I know it's horrible to say such a thing, I know I should have never fallen in love with Jason when I had a relationship with Hoyt but I couldn't help it. When we started living together everything was great, we got along very well and we learned to live with each other but then…"
"What?" I asked, even though it was personal. I was curious. "What happened then?"
She shook her head slightly and sighed. It was so strange to see a vampire acting in a human way. "We argued all the time, it was as if there was nothing between us anymore, only hatred. We fought and said terrible things and I felt really bad, so bad that I was no longer able to continue feeding on him and I came here to feed on the fangbangers, Sookie." That surprised me 'cause I knew Jessica and Bill had taken care to teach her to respect humans. "Somehow Hoyt found out the truth and instead of talking about it I decided the best would be glamour him so he remembered nothing."
"You glamoured him?" I didn't know what to say. "Jessica, a vampire's power to glamour a human is something that it should only be used as a last choice, but you decided to play with Hoyt's mind and…"
"I know, Sookie!" She hissed through clenched teeth. "I'm sorry for all the harm I caused Hoyt and now Jason doesn't want to see me either."
"Jason's going through a bad time, Jessica, he needs time to be alone and think but sooner or later he will be the same as always." Or so I hoped. "And now if you excuse me there's something I must do." I said getting up and walking to the bar between the seas of people.
I didn't know if Tara would talk to me or not but at least I had to try. Perhaps now that Pam got back she would be calmer.
Eric POV
"You want to go back to the Authority. For what, exactly?" Nora asked again but I was beginning to get tired of repeating myself.
"To find Bill."
"What makes you think he will be there?" Nora was sitting on the couch in my office now, staring at me as if waiting to find the answer in my eyes. "Bill is powerful now, he can do what he wants and go anywhere, why would he stay in the Authority?"
"Maybe he's not as powerful yet, or maybe he hasn't discovered what he can do. Any evolution takes time to understand and get used to something new." I explained. "That time, very little time, could be the key for us, Nora."
"It's a very risky plan, Eric, we don't know what he's capable of and return there is a suicide." I understood Nora's concern but this was not something that it occurred to me suddenly. I had meditated, studies the pros and cons and besides we had not many more options. "How many time do you think it will take Bill to find us?" I asked seriously. "Maybe he's trying to understand what happened but he's influenced by the blood a crazy god and he'll eventually realize that he's in a new world, a world full of humans who he might eat from."
"Humans again…" she murmured rolling her eyes. "Eric, humans are not our priority."
"Really?" I arched an eyebrow waiting for her to explain better but she didn't. "And what should be our priority, Nora? Run away and hide?" I asked sarcastically. "You can do whatever you want, I don't care if you wanna leave this bar right now and get to the other side of the world, but I will not. I haven't lived over a thousand years to see the abomination in which Bill Compton has become to destroy the world only by the pleasure of it." I got up and walked toward her. "We fought together, Nora, Godric taught us not to ever give up and you're doing it now."
"I'm not giving up, Eric!" And her fangs popped quickly.
"You want to run away, Nora, that's like giving up." I replied calmly and her fangs retracted.
"I will fight if that's what you want me to do, but I won't do it on humans' behalf. They mean nothing to me more than just food. Humans are who want to destroy us, Eric, don't you noticed? We're still vampires, we feed on blood and then forget them. That's what we do, Eric, or have you forgotten? We hunt, we fuck and we keep going on as we've done for centuries."
"That has changed, Nora. Synthetic blood opened us a new world, peaceful coexistence that Roman Zimojic defended until his true death. Dieter Braun knew listening Russell was a mistake, he was against it since the beginning and all he got opposing Lilith was to turn into a pile of blood and guts. That's what Russell Edgington, Lilith and the Sanguinistas belief have given us, Nora, a world of chaos and destruction."
"You know I don't follow Lilith's beliefs anymore, Eric. I quit when I saw the same as you, I quit when I saw Lilith tearing off Godric's throat." She muttered and sat down next to her on the couch. "But I can't understand either that you are willing to risk your own skin for humans. They won't thank you, they won't even know what we did if we manage to find and kill Compton."
"I'm not doing this for humans, Nora," and she looked at me expectantly. "I'm doing it for her." She looked at me like she couldn't understand what I was saying. "I know you think she is a weakness for me but it's the opposite. Sookie has made me realize many things and I'll fight for her until the end. She stayed with Godric all the time until it was no more than him than a pile of ashes, but she was there. That's what it counts and she hasn't stopped helping me and saving my life on more than one occasion. It's what I need you to understand, Nora, Sookie Stackhouse is worth it."
"I'll help you, Eric," and she took my hand. "But I won't do for humans or her. I will do for us, to take revenge for all the pain we have suffered."
"That's more than enough for me," I said nodding.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
No matter how long I had been away from Fangtasia, the paperwork was always crazy and the most boring thing I had to do throughout my life until someone knocked on the door.
"Come in," I said without looking up from the papers I had in front of me. The door opened and I heard faint steps that stopped before my desk. Sookie was here, I knew it without even looking at her. "What is it?"
She shrugged and played with her hands as if not knowing what else to do. "Sookie, are you okay? What happened?" I got up and walked slowly towards her until we were face to face. For a moment I feared Nora did something again but Sookie seemed too quiet. "Sookie,"
"I went to talk to Tara." She replied whispering and I knew it hadn't gone very well. "Or at least I tried."
"Sookie, I told you it would be something that would take some time, okay?" And I held her to my chest. "It's not that it's going to happen tomorrow or in a couple of days. Tara will need time and get away from everything and everyone until she begins to realize that her life has changed and will never be like it was before."
"I know," and she nodded even though I knew she was crying. "But I just wanted to know if she was okay, y'know, 'cause I've barely talked to anyone but you since we got back and most of you all are fine but I…"
"Sookie," I cut her off gently, "no one is going to judge you because you're not still feeling like yourself, you know." And she nodded again but this time a sob escaped her lips. "I know, I know. But this is pretty hard for me to accept that Tara is no longer the same, we won't do things together anymore like we used to…" And sobbed again but didn't try to hide it this time. "I miss her every much, Eric, but worst of all is that she hates me and will hate me forever. I've done something unforgivable and I know although I apologized a million times she will never accept. She'll always remember me like the responsible of this whole situation.
"Well, you're not, Sookie." I replied firmly. I was tired of hearing how she pitied herself for a decision. I made mistakes but living in the past and remember it all the time wasn't the smartest thing. "You have to stop feeling guilty, Sookie, I know it's hard for you because you're stubborn," and at least I heard her laughing slightly, "but I'm not giving up on you, you get it?" And I pulled away from her to look at her eyes.
"I won't surrender." And before another word was said she was kissing me passionately while hugging my body harder. This was the Sookie I had missed and it seemed finally to be back.
I kissed her with passion, remembering every second we spent together at her home in Bon Temps when witches haunted me. I wouldn't trade my time with her for anything in the world and if someone had just granted me with a wish I would just asked that Sookie and I could be always together without anyone trying to separate us.
"Sorry," she whispered against my lips when we separated, "I'm sure you were busy and I didn't want to interrupt."
"Don't apologize for kissing me, Sookie," and I went to lay my lips on hers, kissing her slowly and softly as my hands were caressing the soft skin on her bare back. Nothing could compare to the vision of Sookie wearing a light colored dress that matched her skin, hair and eyes. Certainly not like the fangbangers who insisted on wearing black leather as if they were going to get vampires to notice them.
"You're so beautiful…" I whispered as I kissed and caressed her neck, losing myself in the unique scent that was Sookie Stackhouse. "I've waited so long to get you back in my arms…"
"Don't talk," she mumbled and continued kissing until the door of my office opened and Nora burst into without caring by what she was seeing. "Oh God…" Sookie gasped in surprise when she saw Nora. She quickly pulled away from me like she was embarrassed and sat down on the couch using her hair as a curtain so we couldn't see her.
I glared at Nora but she just smiled at me. "What?" I asked pissed. This better be important to interrupt us in the way she did. Sookie and I had barely shared a few kisses since we returned to Shreveport and we needed to connect with each other.
"I've spent every night sleeping in this bar's basement and I hate this place, Eric, I need another one."
"There is no other one, Nora."
"What about your house?" And I felt Sookie getting more and more nervous. "It's very large and…"
"Forget it. If you want to find another place to rest that's up to you, ask Pam, I'm sure she will be delighted to have you at her home." I could love seeing Pam's face when I told her.
"Pam?" And she raised an eyebrow. "It doesn't seem a good idea to spend the night with your offspring, Eric. Furthermore, that waitress, Tara," and it was like she was spitting her name, "will be with her and they are unbearable."
"Don't you dare talk ill of my friend!" Sookie snapped, getting up quickly from the couch and facing Nora. "She's going through a bad time but I don't expect you to understand." My sister extended her fangs but Sookie didn't even move. "You should keep your pet at bay, Eric." And Sookie didn't think twice before slapping her.
"How dare you!" Nora hissed and when she was to get Sookie I stopped her, I put Sookie behind me and confronted my sister. "Are you going to protect her?"
"Stay away from her, Nora, don't talk to her and not pissed her off because I assure you that you'll regret. I won't stop her and I inform you that she really knows how to defend herself." Sookie tried to escape but I didn't need them to fight in my office.
"So, things will be like this from now on, right?" I frowned and waited for her to keep explaining. "You don't mind the blood anymore, it no longer means anything to you that we are siblings because you are too busy having fun with your human." And Sookie stirred in my arms again while trying to reach Nora. "But we both know what was going to happen, Eric. Sooner or later she will stop being important to you, you'll get bored because she's only a human and she has nothing to offer you, and you'll return to me then."
Nora disappeared from my office before I could say a word and I let Sookie go.
"Who does she think she is!" Sookie was nervous, pissed and was like a bomb about to explode. "I hate her, Eric! I HATE HER!"
"Sookie, calm down, please." But nothing I could say would calm her down so I just leaned against the desk and waited patiently for her to finish.
"She's a bitch! A FUCKING BITCH! And I'm sorry, Eric, I know she's your sister and you love her," she said looking at me, "but I can't stand her. Every word out of her mouth is a contempt directed at me and I don't need to listen it." If Sookie had been able to get more pissed she would be sweating smoke through every pore of her skin. "I did nothing to her, she got us into the whole mess with the Authority and I risked my own life to help her, but I won't let her to keep treating me like trash."
"I'll talk to her, Sookie." I said trying to calm her.
"And then what?" She asked pissed. "I think she'll never be able to accept me and what bothers her the most is that you and I are together, Eric. She's in love with you." I chuckled and Sookie glared at me. "Sookie, you know that's not true. Nora's not in love with me, she just worries too much. Everything she believed is gone now and she has to learn to live a very different life. She'll need time but…"
"You know, actually I don't care about it," she muttered shrugging. "I don't mind what she has to do but next time me and my magic fingers will take care of her."
I held my smile and nodded.
"So what do we do now?" She asked looking into my eyes. She seemed calmer but I couldn't be sure. "If you have to make an appearance at the bar I'd rather wait here until you're done."
"I think we can go home, lover, it's been a very exciting night for you." I held her hand in mind and left the office to get to the parking lot.
"Are you leaving?" I heard Pam's voice behind us.
"Yes, Pam. Take care of everything and if Nora shows up again…"
"She's gone?" She asked hopefully. "Yes, she's gone." Pam walked towards us and kissed Sookie on the cheek. "Sookie, I have no idea what you did or said but I'm glad you did it because I don't have to keep standing her." And she left.
I wasn't sure which of us was more surprised at Pam's attitude but I stopped thinking about it when I saw Sookie laughing uncontrollably.
"Oh God…I think that," she said indicating where Pam had gone, "was the strangest thing tonight."
"I agree."
"Shall we go?"
"Yes, my lover."
"Where?" She asked with a sly smile. God, how I missed seeing the happiness on her face.
"I'll go wherever you go."
Well, I really, really hope you enjoyed it. I wanna to write a chapter without Sookie worrying about Beeell, for once, but she obviously had other worries.
Thanks for reading.
:)