A/N: Answers anyone? Yes? Okay, here ya go! Well... at least one. ;) *crosses fingers for non-pitchfork wielding reviews*

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or stories from The Southern Vampire series. I can only hope that Ms. Harris does not mind me taking them out to play with.

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"Oh, I wish I could come see them after they're shipped to your home in the United States! I just know they're going to be beautiful!"

Sookie had been raving excitedly about the two chandeliers she'd chosen for Eric since the moment they left the gallery. He'd listened with amusement as she described the intricate processes that went into their creation during the drive back to his hotel. Her hands animatedly waved about as she spoke, and he reveled in her exuberance, seeing no trace of the supposedly timid girl Giovanna had described.

"Well then, you shall have to come visit me at my home and oversee their installation," he replied.

She excitedly grabbed onto his arm that rested on the gear shift, exclaiming, "Really? I have always wanted to see the States! Wouldn't that be right around the time of y'all's Carnivale even?"

Though she seemed oblivious to it, Eric immediately noticed the Southern slang that slipped naturally into her speech. Come out, come out wherever you are, he grinned to himself. "Yes, it certainly is. It is called Mardi Gras where I live. There are many parades and music and parties in the streets. You shall come and we will enjoy it together."

She tensed a bit at his words, her hand falling away from his arm, and her face turning back to look out the windshield. He glanced over at her, seeing the smile fade from her lips. His grip tightened irritatedly, though imperceptibly, on the steering wheel as he realized the reason for her sudden change in mood.

They had reached the hotel, and Eric threw the car into park, but made no move to exit yet. He turned a bit toward her, searching the emotions passing across her face. She looked almost crestfallen, like a child who'd been punished and had her favorite toy taken away. It was not the look of a woman insulted by what she took as an insinuation of having an affair. He decided this was an opportunity to gauge her relationship with the human.

"Bella?" he asked gently, his eyes soft upon her. He would let her lead.

She was staring at her hands, idly twisting the ring on her finger. "I shouldn't be here," she said softly.

Eric arched a brow. "Why is that?"

He expected her to start extolling the virtues of fidelity, perhaps allowing herself to admit her attraction to him and how it was wrong. She would probably agree to come to New Orleans if she could bring the bloodsack with her. It was no matter, he had plenty of counter-arguments ready for whatever weak argument she could come up with. Everything in her body language had been telling him all evening that she desired him as much as she always had. He expected a typical Sookie argument... he expected her typical indignation... he expected anything but the words that left her lips.

She took a deep breath, as if gathering up courage, and raised her head, meeting his gaze dead on. "Who is Sookie?"

Eric sat stock still. He almost didn't believe his ears. She could not possibly...

"Was she someone you loved?" she asked gently.

... but she had. Eric leaned a bit closer to her, his eyes narrowing. His voice took on an edge, "How do you know that name?"

She shrunk back a bit in her seat, fear creeping into her eyes. "I... I..."

He grasped onto her shoulders, shaking her slightly as his eyes kept hers locked. "Answer me."

"Please... please, I didn't mean to..." she stammered, her voice rising in pitch.

Eric moved one hand to the back of her head, forcing her still. "I will not harm you, but you must answer me. Where did you hear that name?"

Her voice came out as barely a whisper. "In your mind."

Eric's eyes grew wide.

"I swear it wasn't on purpose. I... I'm a telepath. Normally I only hear humans and sometimes a shifter. I've never heard a vampire before..." she explained frantically. "I've only heard you a couple of times, and just little fragments... but... but... I've heard you refer to me as Sookie in your thoughts."

He silently dropped his hands from her, instantly working to block his mind as he'd done with Avel the previous night. This was a scenario he'd never considered, and Eric despised being caught off his guard. In a delicate situation such as this every move mattered, and now he was being forced to decide between a defensive retreat or an all-out assault.

"There was another vampire," her voice broke through the silence. "He came in a few nights before you... he called me Sookie. He said... he said he knew me and that I knew him. I thought he was just... crazy, or confused... or trying to glamour me..." she trailed off.

"But then you heard the same name in my mind," Eric supplied for her.

She nodded. "Now I... I don't know what to think. Do I look so much like this girl?"

Eric stared straight ahead, finding this situation intolerable. She thought his interest in her had something to do with a long lost human from his life that she just happened to resemble. His back was against the wall. He could either try to just dismiss her line of questioning with a well-crafted lie, putting things back on his own timetable; or he could tell her the truth and hope he could get through to her.

"You... you loved her, didn't you?" she asked hesitantly, a note of sadness in her voice. "What happened to her?"

Eric's head snapped back toward her, meeting her eyes with a piercing stare. "Someone hid her from me... and from herself." His voice was controlled despite his inner turmoil, and the look in his eyes left no room for doubt that he was talking about her.

They sat in silence, locked in each other's gaze, for what seemed like ages. Eric expected her to bolt from the car at any moment, and was prepared to catch her if she tried. This was going to play out to the end, and there was no way he'd allow her to run now. The thudding of her heartbeat echoed in his ears. He wanted to take her right there and then, as if he could just fuck her back to her senses. He could force his blood into her, even. His fangs were running down at the thought, and his grip on himself was faltering. Why wasn't she running?

"Switch seats," she suddenly said, her tone almost commanding.

He cocked a brow at her.

She grinned, "I'm driving."

Both his eyebrows went up at that, and he was intrigued. Was it possible his bonded could get an edge on him with some unexpected gambit? He opened his door, rounding to the other side as she slid into the driver's seat. He'd barely gotten his door shut before she was slamming on the gas, speeding off down the street.

They did not speak as she drove, and Eric decided whatever was compelling her, he would allow her to go with it. That she hadn't run or recoiled in fear could only be good. He'd never seen her drive so fast, almost like she was chasing something, and he sensed an absolute feeling of urgency in the way she gripped the steering wheel.

The bond was sparking like mad. Eric felt a pressure building from it, as if something was shoving at the mist from the inside, though he did not try to probe it himself. He was concerned that any interference on his part might cause the forces that had hold of her to repel him again, and perhaps drive her back down in the process. His bonded was a fighter, and he knew that if she wanted it enough, she'd force her way out. Between the speed of the car, the jolting of the bond, and his pride in her, Eric was completely exhilarated by the time they pulled up to their destination. The tension in his body, the anticipation, it intoxicated him. He was ready for anything.

Sookie tore out of the car like her shoes were on fire, nearly sprinting up the steps of the small house they'd parked in front of, and Eric was right behind her. She flung open the front door and bolted straight for the stairs. As he entered the room she'd gone into, he saw her wildly opening drawers in a dresser, flinging contents out everywhere as she searched for something.

"Where is it?!" she practically growled, moving on to a hope chest at the foot of the small bed.

Eric just watched her, dodging the random flying objects she tossed from the chest. He smirked, thoroughly amused at this point, wondering what item could have her so possessed with purpose. He dared not interrupt.

"Aha!" she exclaimed triumphantly.

She was on her knees in front of the chest, her back facing him, so he could not see what her search had yielded. He watched her sigh a breath of relief, the tension seeming to flood out of her body. Slowly he approached her, crouching down beside her, and gently swept a stray strand of hair from her eyes. His gaze slid down to her hand as it stretched out toward him, her fingers closed around something in her palm.

"I never knew where this came from, or how I got it..." she whispered. "It was just... there... around my neck the day I walked into Giovanna's..."

She slowly released her fist, her fingers straightening one by one. Eric brought a hand up to cradle beneath hers as he looked at the tiny charm in her hand. It was the necklace he'd given her before the New Year's ball... the golden 'E' with the blood drop shaped ruby.

"This is you... isn't it?" she asked softly, her eyes searching his.

He smiled down at her and reached inside his collar. His fingers hooked onto the chain, pulling it from his shirt. He watched her eyes focus onto the necklace, the matching 'S' to her 'E'.

The sparks in the bond had indeed become a raging inferno, just as Eric had intended. He'd been sure he would show her the path back to him, but indeed, she had carved her own road. He said nothing, holding perfectly still while her mind raced with the contradictions of what she knew, and what was right in front of her telling a different story. The urge to take her was so strong in him, but he held back, waiting for her to take that final step.

Her gaze raked slowly up to meet his, her eyes full of unshed tears. "Why can't I remember?" she whispered.

Eric sighed softly, aching to pull her into his arms. "It isn't your fault, dear one."

The jolt in the bond upon his words was enough to almost knock him off his haunches, and he slid forward onto his knees. Her eyes continued to search his, as if she could find her memories in their sapphire depths. He brushed his thumb softly across her skin, catching the first tear as it slipped down her cheek.

"I feel you as if... as if I knew you in a dream." Her voice broke as she gave words to her thoughts. "I think I loved you..."

Her head was tilting slowly toward him, her breath shallowing in her throat. His bonded's words tore through him, clutching at his gut like a vise, tearing at his soul. He could feel how close she was... how the violent storm inside the bond was waging its own war, ready to burst free at any moment. Her lips were almost upon his, an invisible energy sparking in the space between. His hand had slid from her cheek to gently rest at the back of her neck. If it still beat, his heart would be frozen with the anticipation of her kiss.

In that instant, mere moments until her lips met his, the door to the bedroom flung open with a crashing thud.

"What the hell are you doing?!" a male voice boomed.

Sookie was suddenly scrambling backward in fear, and Eric's fangs instinctively ran out, jumping into a defensive posture.

"Giacomo! It... it's not what it looks like!" she was crying and cowering against the corner of the bed.

Eric whipped around to face the intruder, ready to tear the human limb from limb. He was shocked at the face staring back at him. The one Sookie had called Giacomo was the same man Eric had come to know by a different name. He was glaring down at Sookie with fury in his eyes. They were not the green glow of Avel's...

... this was the real Preston Pardloe.

TBC