I want to apologize I re read chapter 19 and found tons of grammatical errors and awkward and repetitive sentences. I need to slow it down. (I know this is gonna make a certain person crazy) looooool but if anything is worth doing its worth doing right. Anyway I went over the chapter and did major editing. It is much better.

We are getting into the thick of things. Our favorite couple have a lovers spat in this chapter it isn't angsty but you have been warned. I felt it is a very necessary disagreement for them to face. I am dying to find out what side you guys choose. Does it make sense that the side I chose lost the argument?

Chapter Twenty is all yours Murgatroid-98! your reviews do not go a totally random side note I usually try to play with peoples screen names and come up with a story for their dedications but girl for the life of me I couldn't think of thing for you…Could you please shoot me a PM and explain the story behind your name. I'm wicked curious or nosey however you look at it. :D

Sookie

Chapter Twenty

Family Affairs

Eric still had me in his arms but when I tried to meet his eyes he wouldn't look at me. I turned to everyone in the room maybe someone would say something.

"What have you done now Dillon?" I would like to know that too. The only person in the room that looked more confused than me was Dermot. He was standing next to his brother and was staring daggers at the side of his face as he spoke. Eric's gaze like Dermot's was fixed on Dillon. Only his was lethal. As his hold on me began to loosen his intentions became clear. I tightened the hold I had on him because my uncle Dillon was going to die if Eric got loose in this house. I have never been surer of anything as I was of that.

It was like leaning on a brick wall. His muscles were coiled to spring . He didn't relax and there was a low growl forming in his chest that was the farthest thing from playful.

"Honey" The palms of my hands were straight down on either sides of me patting his thighs. It didn't do much to get his attention. "Eric" I wanted to know what was going on but not at the expense of anyone's life. He had to get out of here. "Sweetheart let's go home okay" My tone had turned pleading because if he wanted to sweep right past me he would meet as much resistance as a fly blocking a bull. "I want to go home" His posture straightened almost immediately. The look on his face was cold but he opened the door and ushered me through it. Rob and Ty were behind us

It was rare these days for Eric to drive himself around but he drove us home. He left Gideon to ride with Ty and Rob. The drive was quiet. Murderous intent was the only way to describe what he was feeling. It was sort of like a ferocious, rage filled kind of planning. In the small cabin of the car there was just no place to escape it. It was becoming an entity of its own; a third passenger. The smart thing to do when you had a vampire like this would be to leave him alone but I had a different thought.

One person making a decision for two without a clear understanding doesn't always go well for the person being decided for. Eric only tells me what he thinks I should know. Problem was it wasn't always enough. There were times when I went into situations not knowing as much as I needed to and I had gotten beat up on account of it. That could have been the case today. "How bad is it?" I asked. For him to be out of it like this I figured he knew something about the fairies and who beat the tar out of them today.

I thought he wasn't going to answer but when he finally did I had to listen hard despite the ultra-quiet interior of the car. "The fairy who spoke" He took a useless breath. "I have come across him before. He came to me asking an audience with you. He said it was a matter of great importance. I refused his request but he insisted that your people needed you" there was a sneer wrapped around the last half of his sentence. "I attacked him" that sounded like Eric. Nothing about his explanation was out of character. In fact had he acted differently I would have been astounded. I also knew he hadn't managed to get a hold of Dillon or he would have been long gone. I could laugh. My husband wanted to kill my kin. It sounded like such a human problem to have. It was refreshing. Except both sides were very capable and non-hesitant to kill nothing funny there.

I have met Dillon before. He was Dermot's and Fintan's older brother and Niall's oldest son. He must have been the fairy I felt around the grounds when I was at my uncle's house last. I knew not to be afraid of him even though I have only met him once. It appears we were fated to meet under seriously fucked up circumstances. The day I killed the fairy named Murray with my grandmother's trowel I called Niall for help and Dillon came along. I could never forget him in a word he looked outer worldly. Features that would look odd on another person made him even more beautiful. He had hair the color of butterscotch and eyes that matched.

I was confused on one point. Dillon wanted to talk to me he could have just walked up to the door and knocked or had Dermot call me. Talk about the black sheep. The confused look Dermot was wearing earlier pieced it together for me. Whatever was going on he didn't know about it. It may have also been why Claude had him at the bar working more than usual. They were keeping him busy or Claude was more involved than he was. Claude, involved? That statement sounded all kinds of wrong. I decided to leave the pondering for another time I needed to get back to my original point.

"Did he say what it was about?" Only a vampire could maneuver a car seamlessly through the night and deliver a glower to the passenger. I folded my hands over my bloated belly and pretended I didn't notice. He obviously didn't care enough to ask. Talking to Eric right now was pointless. Gideon had a better idea of what was going to happen when we got home because he never showed up at the house.

Gran was a skilled with crafts. She was gifted with knitting, quilting and knitting. She taught me how to do all three but only crocheting stuck. I mastered the basics but I would never be as good as she was. I felt she would be proud to see me trying to make a blanket for my children.

Nothing was set up but I found peace in it just knowing who would one day be living in it. There I was in the room that was supposed to be the nursery minding my business and in comes this stone faced vampire in the door way making outrageous demands. "You will stay away from them" No preamble, no easing into the discussion it has never been his style. I took longer than necessary to place my crochet project down in order to buy time to gather my thoughts. Then I counted to ten in my head.

Since we have been home I had given him space. Frankly I don't think he has had enough because he wasn't being even a little bit rational or tactful. Eric worried about me a lot before I got pregnant. His anxiety when I wasn't with him was now magnified. He was handling it as best as he could but sadly in classic Eric fashion he hated situations he couldn't control and this was one of them. The lack of control had him on edge and he was going to drive us both crazy.

"I think that's something we should talk about" This conversation required delicacy on my part. I had to word my thoughts just right otherwise he was going to end up locking me in a coffin with him during the day.

"Why?" His voice was very businesslike I had no chance of matching it so I went for calm and confident instead.

It was my belief that a cool head in this discussion was going to go a long way but having to explain that little fact to him sucked up a great heap of patience. "You want me to cut off a good portion of the family I have left. I think that's worth a little discussion" It was a shame but I saw Dermot more than I saw Jason. In terms of closeness Dermot won by a land slide. I felt like Eric knew this. He had to know what he was asking me to do couldn't be easy.

"The dangers of being near them are too great. Whatever troubles they are facing are not our own. We owe them nothing." You had to love the preparedness of vampires. While I had been here with my needle art clearing my mind he was off constructing a concrete case as to why as should do what he said.

"You are right" I said. It was the simple truth but it didn't change anything. I was looking towards the window and I told him about how I ran into Ronan at the hotel. "He's a kid. They would have killed him Eric. They came close to it today" I told him about Claude. In a way I was making his case for him. He was quiet and he listened but I knew he didn't care not really. It was the perfect and horrible part of being with Eric. He didn't give a shit about anyone else.

"The fact that someone is closing in around them is all the more reason to distance yourself" His voice was less casual. I shook my head. I knew I was trying to explain something to him that was completely out of his inherent nature and character. He didn't understand it was made worse because he could feel my resolve growing and it made him plenty angry. "Sookie we can't afford to do this especially now our plate is full" His voice was losing its calm and he sounded pretty damn firm. I nodded again. Like I asked he kept the knitty gritty vampire politics to himself but I had some idea of where we stood.

Agent Lattesta was still skulking about looking for proof of all kinds of supe activity. The weres were still unsafe. Eliza of Tennessee has assassinated Curtis of Alabama was now queen of two kingdoms in our territory. She was creepier than Andre and daintier than Sophie-Anne and twice as devious and vicious as Victor. In short she was a problem. Then there were the routine matters of security and maintenance of Eric's throne. He didn't have to tell me he was dealing with a lot.

Everything he said was right but he was also very wrong. "If Pam was in trouble you would do what you could to help her" It wasn't a question. Eric loved her and she was the only thing he could adapt the concept of family to.

He was suppressing his frustration in attempt to reclaim the upper hand in the discussion. "That is different"

"I don't see how"

"They are your family when they need help and not before or after" Keep a cool head. Keep a cool head. I took a deep breath before I could get out my rebuttal Eric delivered the straw that would break the camel's back. "You are playing right into their hands. This is what they want"

"Do you think I don't know when someone is using me?" I have had enough people try to be able to tell. My hands were on either sides of the rocking chair I was in. I used the leverage to get up and I was facing Eric my hands were on my hips. "I didn't always go along because I have no sense of self-preservation or because I didn't have a choice. That is just it. I went because I felt like it is the right thing to do. It has always been that way with you and Alcide and everyone else who wanted a piece of the telepath" As many times as I could afford it I have done the right thing. I guess to him and all those other people looking in I was just being led blindly. I haven't been this angry at him in a very long. He may as well have called me a naïve little girl. when in fact I would kill just one more time to have that luxury again.

Supes always counted humans out it was sometimes to their disadvantage. He really believed everywhere I had been; Dallas; Jackson and New Orleans I didn't have a choice. Forcing me never worked. That shit didn't work out so well for Andre and it was never the case for anyone else. Even when it looked like there wasn't a choice there always was-always. Niall offered to kill Eric for me. Whether or not I cared for Eric it would have absolved a bond I never wanted. That was the best thing for me. It wasn't the right thing-it just wasn't.

In all the things I have done that I never thought I would; all the things that have scarred my mind and body that part of me has remained intact. I felt like it was a miracle and it was all I had left of who I had been; who I wanted to be. I tried to explain all this to him as calmly as I could. "I'm not going along with your decision. I want to help them for a lot of reasons the fact that they may expect me to isn't one of them."

"All those are ideals in a world that requires practicalities" I shook my head stubbornly and began shouting. I could throw something at his head I felt like he wasn't even trying to see.

"You. Don't. Get. It" It was a surprise to us both but he was the only one who reacted. What could be described as growl escaped my lips. He quirked an eyebrow at me but I didn't even take the time to register the looked that went with it. "How is you being with me practical?" I pointed to my stomach. "How is this practical?" He wasn't expecting me to go there and he had no prepared answers. Suddenly this conversation was no longer about helping the fairies. It was about the values we wanted to instill in our children. They differed by a wide margin.

"I want them to do the right thing even if ti isn't the best thing. I want them to help even when there is nothing to gain. I want them see past the worth of a person and see the value of their life" I felt like I was going to cry and there was no place for it in this conversation it was much too heavy. If he saw my point I didn't want to mar the victory with tears if he didn't I didn't want to win by default. I began making my way out of the room when I reached the door Eric placed his hand on my shoulder. Whether his touch was meant as comfort or restraint I couldn't tell. "They are half human there has to be some humanity in them Eric" He couldn't see the treacherous tears that were trailing down in my cheeks. I shrugged out from under his hand and walked down the hall to our bedroom.

I hated myself for it but I went straight into the master bath; turned on the shower and cried. I cried because I was angry but these tears weren't strictly the product of anger. It was expected that my children would have a much longer life than an ordinary human. I wouldn't be around to show them that the value of your life shouldn't be about how long you live but about what you do with the time you were given. It was an ideal some would call useless in the world they would be living in but the thought of them seeing human as fleeting insects was enough to break my heart as I cried now I felt the little tears in my chest.

I don't why I was thinking about this now I suppose my mood couldn't get any lower. I was wrong though. Anthony had shaken a lot of my preconceived notions on vampires. Gideon had done a little of the same. I found myself less appalled by the thought of immortality but I just knew I would not go that way. I learned that it wasn't the actual physical change of being a vampire I found appalling. It was vampire nature and it wasn't going to change so I couldn't become a vampire. This left an expiration date on my life with Eric. His blood would keep me looking young for so many years but I would wither and die like I was supposed to but he would remain and so would our children.

Death wasn't what made me sad. It was that picture without me. Being vampire would mean giving up the newly acquired powers I had. It would mean not being with Claude, Dermot or Hunter. Jason may not even want me around him or his children. Those were all sacrifices I could live with I really could. Nothing was worth becoming someone I couldn't live with, not even my life. That was what Eric couldn't see.

Speaking of the viking he was seated on the bed Indian style with his arms folded across his chest. He must have been gone into downtime to wait me out. His head was down slightly and his hair made long blonde curtains on either sides of his face. It made his tall frame appear rather compact. He was beautiful. He opened his hands out to me and he looked as unsure as I have ever seen him. I went over to him. I was seated between his legs and his arms wrapped around me. He was cradling my tummy.

I knew he hated to concede defeat. "I do not understand" He said. One of his hands made trails across my swollen mid-section. His touch was soothing even though it was feather light. His left hand remained firmly planted around me. "But I see you feel strongly about this and there is nothing I can do" It was a question. I shook my head. He nodded like he expected nothing less. He expected it but he wasn't happy about it. "I love you; and you must understand that it is never my intent to displease you or rob you of your freedom or who you are but all that now holds me to this world is in my arms" I pressed my face into his chest and wrapped my arms around him best as I could.

"I'm sorry. I'm stubborn and half crazy" It was true. I wish I could be all that he wanted but I wasn't. I had this notion to want to do the right thing all the God damn time.

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Half?" Plastered on his face was that grin I loved so very much. I slapped his arm.

"I love you more than anything" I held his face in my hands. I wish we saw eye to eye on this but it was important for him to know. I never wanted him to doubt it again. He smirked and kissed me. He kissed my lips and my forehead. I left my head in his chest willing all the ugliness in the world to go away. His agreement was exclusively for me to see them. It had nothing to do with getting involved whatever they were into. That was a discussion for another day.

"Will you go back tonight?" He asked. I nodded. I was worried about Claude. Last I saw he had a whole in his side and was drowning in his blood. I at least wanted to see he was okay. While I was there I could find out what was going on. For all I knew my involvement would do no good.

He was already pulling me up. "I will go along with this but you will see them only at night" I nodded. Compromises were an alien concept to Eric. If he was putting it on the table I would be a fool not to take I didn't know was when Eric said he would go along he meant it literally.

Eric in the house with me and his full entourage was around the ground of my old farm house. I thought it was a bit of over kill but I didn't dare complain. Vampires loved their presentations. "So are all of them off limits or…" Gideon let his voice trail off rather suggestively.

"Yes" He frowned. He was in front of the front door as Eric and I went inside. There was the smell of good food in the air. My stomach grumbled. Dermot was in the kitchen with his son they were cooking. They were all still here. They had all gotten cleaned up and looking like fairies again. The mother was off in the tightest corner of the kitchen just wishing looks could a fairy could look good with a cereal bowl hair cut the way she did. She was a very slight woman with a round face.

"Hey" It was a very casual greeting considering all the fairies in the room were on high alert with the vampire in the kitchen. Eric didn't even bother looking like he didn't want to kill them. I sat he stood behind me. If I crossed some invisible line that he felt put me too far out of his reach and close to theirs he would shadow my steps. His movements weren't always done at appropriate speeds.

The late dinner we had was uncomfortable but Ronan and I made small talk in an attempt to make believe. "It is nice for us to be together like this" Dillon chimed in. Eric glared at him but it was Dermot who delivered the words of accusation. He did it in a not so delicately manner either; for starters he snorted.

"What my brother means is your vampire guards make us safer here" Dillon didn't respond all that was heard was the clanking of utensils. A-W-K-W-A-R-D. I had been worried about bringing a vampire to a house full of fairies. What I should have been worried about was all the tension within their own numbers. Between Dermot and his brother; my husband and Dillon; Dermot and his child's mother; tension was pinging from corner to corner.

After I ate I went to check on Claude. I had no idea what it was with fairies and vanity but in all the chaos someone had taken the time to fix his hair. There were two fish tails braids hanging down on either side of his face. He was propped on the bed with almost a hand full of pillows looking like sleeping beauty. The sheets were white so his dark hair contrasted for an even more striking appearance. He was topless and the site that had been leaking so much blood was tapped up tight. He also had some bruising, minor scrapes and burns on his face that I didn't notice earlier. His arm was in a sling and his lip was cut. I sat at the edge of the bed and gently took his hand.

"Sookie I need you to do something for me" He said. His voice still sounded raw and raspy from all his screaming earlier. I had to strain to hear him.

"What is it?" In the corner of the room Eric somehow became even more still. He wasn't saying much but I knew it was taking a lot of concentration for him not to kill all the fairies in the house.

"Go and find me someone homely" Color me confused. "I mean really ugly; inbreed if you can, there is an abundance of them in these parts I hear" I laughed. It seemed inappropriate sitting in what could be his death bed. I tried to muffle the giggles by mashing my lips into a hard line but it wasn't enough. I burst out laughing.

"You are such an asshole" I said when I finally got a hold of myself. On the bed Claude was wearing a huge smile. As beaten as he was he still managed to look dazzling, fairies. His request was so very like him. He was joking mostly but I knew he wouldn't object to having an ugly duckling in the room. Claude was going to be just fine and when he was he would be just as conceited but I wouldn't take him any other way. I couldn't help but smile at both realizations.

I looked towards the door of the room to find we weren't alone. Dillon was standing in the wide open door way. I don't how long he had been there. His eyes were shifting from Eric and Claude it was hard to believe he wasn't watching a tennis match. Claude's smile faded as he looked at his father. I ran my hand across the side of his face that wasn't bruised. His expression was nothing like I had ever seen.

"Who did this to you" I asked him "To all of you?" It was his father that answered.

"Elves"

o0o0o0

That wasn't too bad of a cliffie I don't think. As always let me know what you think. Did anyone guess elves? I am very curious to see.

I am closing in on my 300th review! Hooray I'm so excited I never thought I would see the day! but thanks to all you avid reviewers it's gonna happen! {I'm doing the spastic ostrich...also known as my happy dance...I'm lame I know} :D