EPOV

As I lay in her bed with Sookie wrapped up in my arms, I felt complete and happy for the first time in years. I don't know what I did to deserve the love of this incredible woman, but I swear to the Gods that I will endeavor to stay worthy of it for as long as she'll have me. I heard the soft chiming of the clock once again, and got an idea. I gently moved Sookie's head to rest on her pillow, got out of bed, slipped my jeans on, and went in search of the kitchen.

Looking through the small amount of food in the kitchen, I mentally made a note that, if we were really going to stay here for 4 days, we'd need to go to the grocery store. But, I was a man on a mission, and currently, my mission dinner. After searching through several cupboards, I found a skillet, a loaf of bread, some butter and cheese. Well, it's no gourmet meal, but, grilled cheese sandwiches would just have to suffice.

Just as I was removing the last sandwich from the skillet, I heard a sound of movement behind me, and turned to see Sookie leaning against the door frame. She'd put her lovely yellow panties back on, and topped it off with my black t-shirt. Between her attire, and her wild hair, she looked like the Pagan Goddess of Sex.

"I woke up and you weren't there, I didn't like it," she said. I hadn't thought about that. But, then again, I hadn't expected her to wake up while I was still cooking. I'd wanted to return to her while she was still sleeping and feed her in bed.

"I'm sorry love; I just thought you might be hungry."

"Well then you know me well. I'm famished!" She looked at the sandwiches, giggled and said, "hmmm, I think we're gonna need to make a run to the market sometime soon."

"Yeah, I had guessed as much. And, might I add, you look phenomenal."

"Yes, well, fantastic sex can do that to a girl."

"Fantastic, huh? You sure know how to stroke my ego. But, you sure know how to stroke other parts of me as well."

She walked to where I was standing, took the plate of food out of my hand, and wrapped her arms around my neck, and kissed me. I savored the feel of her lips on mine. She tasted like sunshine. I put my hands on her waist, picked her up and set her on the counter. She squealed and giggled a little as I did this, and, for the briefest of moments, it made me think of Lizzie.

I handed her a half a sandwich, and took a bite of my own. "Sookie, what exactly did you mean earlier when you said 'we're covered' about birth control?" At the time, it truly didn't feel like she meant she was on the pill.

She hesitated a moment and continued to chew, and then looked down a little as she said, "The chances of me getting pregnant are extremely small." I could tell that this was a sore subject for her, and I didn't want to push her into talking about something she didn't want to remember.

"Baby, if you don't want to talk about it, that's fine, I just…"

"No," she interrupted me. "It's okay. We can talk about it. While I was living in Baton Rouge going to LSU, I was dating this guy, Alcide. We were together for three years. We had planned to get married once I got my Bachelors degree. About halfway through my senior year, we found out that I was pregnant. Alcide was so happy. All he would ever talk about was being a Dad. He would always tell me I wasn't eating properly, or getting enough rest, and in his defense, he was probably right. I was working on my thesis paper, and it was taking longer than I'd expected. One night while I was working on my computer, I began to have really intense cramps, and started bleeding pretty heavily. Alcide took me to the hospital, and the doctor said I'd had a miscarriage. For some reason, the bleeding wouldn't stop, so they had to operate. When I woke up afterwards, the doctors said there had been damage to my ovaries, and that, although not impossible, it would be unlikely that I would ever have my own children. Alcide was pretty supportive until I was released from the hospital, but then he started being angry all the time. He was always yelling at me, telling me that because I was working too hard I'd killed our baby. I tried to make things better between us, but, he just kept getting more and more distant. About three months after the miscarriage, he told me he was leaving me for his ex-girlfriend, Debbie. At that time, she was 6 months pregnant with his baby."

My heart ached for her. She had lost a baby, and found out the man she loved had been cheating on her. I put my hands on either side of her face, and put my forehead to hers. "Sookie, I'm so sorry you had to go through that. But, if that's the way he was treating the woman he was going to marry, you're better off without him. You deserve someone so much better than that."

"I know. It would've been a mistake to marry him. But, my whole life, I've always wanted to be a mom. I always get so jealous when I see pregnant women, knowing that will never be me."

"Sookie, love, listen to me. Even if you can't carry a child in your own womb, that doesn't mean you can't be a mom. There are so many wonderful children out there who don't have any parents, and any one of them would be lucky to have you as their mother."

She smiled, and leaned in to place a kiss on the tip of my nose. "Thank you. I know that I could adopt. It's something I would love to do. But, at the same time, it makes me feel like I'm less of a woman because my body won't do what a woman's body is meant to do."

"Yes, but you didn't do anything to make it that way. Don't let things that are beyond your control get to you."

She smiled, and took another bite of her sandwich. She pushed slightly away from me and hopped down from the counter, and went to the fridge and grabbed out a soda for each of us. After she'd placed the sodas on the counter, she put her hands on my shoulders and looked at me expectantly. After a brief moment, I understood her silent request, and lifted her back up onto the counter.

"Eric, will you tell me about your children?"

I was only partially caught off guard by this question. I knew that this was something we'd talk about eventually. And, given our previous topic, it did make sense that she would ask now. I didn't have any problems telling her about my family, I just still had a bit of a hard time talking about them, because I felt like I'd let them down by not being there to save them.

"Of course. What would you like to know?"

"What did they look like? Do you have any pictures I could see?"

"I do have several pictures, but, none of them are with me. Most of them are in storage at my old house, and a few are in my things at Hope House. Lizzie was just a few months short of turning 4. She had light brown hair that was long and straight. She used to love it when Cindy would put her hair in a ponytail, and then she'd swing her head back and forth and tickle the back of her neck with her hair." I laughed, remembering how much she enjoyed it. "She had beautiful green eyes, and her face was covered in freckles. If not for the green eyes, you would never have been able to tell she wasn't actually my daughter. Like me, Cindy had blue eyes. She said that Lizzie's biological father had green eyes, but that they weren't as vibrant as Lizzie's. We always just figured it was the green mixing with Cindy's blue that made them so pretty. When my Mother passed away, my Father gave me several pictures of her with me when I was just an infant. I swear to God one day Cindy and I were sitting around looking at them, and we couldn't remember if we were looking at a picture of me or of Mattie. He looked exactly like I did in every way. I remember Pam saying once that she hoped that would change by the time he was an adult, because it was hard enough having a 'gorgeous babe-magnet' (her words, not mine) for a brother-in-law, she didn't want her nephew to be one as well. Mattie was only 9-months old, but, he was already trying so hard to figure out how to walk on his own. We were at the park one spring afternoon not long before the accident, and Mattie had been digging in a sandbox. Cindy told Lizzie that it was time to get ready to go home, and Lizzie went over to Mattie, and took his hands in hers to help him stand up. She stood next to him and held his hand, and they slowly walked together to where Cindy and I were. When they got to us, we both clapped for Mattie because he had done so well, and he leaned over and gave Lizzie just the biggest kiss on the cheek. That's one of my most favorite memories of them."

Sookie wrapped her arms around me and pulled me close. Somehow, she knew that in that moment, I just needed to be held. After a few moments had passed, she slowly began playing kisses along my shoulders. I gave myself over once more to the sensations of her lips on my skin. I began rubbing the outsides of her thighs with my hands, and I heard a low, throaty moan coming from her. I picked my head up off her shoulder and kissed her sweet lips. We kissed slowly, leisurely like this for a few minutes, and then she wrapped her legs around my waist and deepened the kiss. That was the only invitation I needed.

I picked her up off the counter, and turned to leave the kitchen and head back to the bedroom. When we were halfway through the living room to reach the hallway, there was a knock at the front door. She pulled away from the kiss, and looked a little startled.

"Who the heck is that? No one but you and Sam know I'm even here." I put her feet down on the front, and, apparently forgetting her lack of clothing, she walked over and opened the front door.

"He, nice outfit, Sookie." The mystery guest sarcastically said.

Sookie's reply was full of rage. "What in the hell are you doing here?"

A/N Sorry this chapter is so short. But, with what I have planned for the next chapter, this was the best stopping point. Enjoy!!