A/N: Thank you again to everyone for their fantastic reviews and ideas for future chapters. I went a little emo after the end of chapter 7 so apologies for the delay in the next chapter. I hope you enjoy it however. Shopping with Pam was so much fun!

Of course - I own nothing :( Thanks to CH for letting me play with the SVM characters. :)

Chapter 8 – EPOV

Pam and I were on the phone for an hour each and at the end of it Alcide and his horrible family were going south fast.

"So…" Pam sat down, list in hand, face aglow with mischief and delight "I rang around to all my friends and found a private eye who comes highly recommended. I've hired him and he's starting work in the morning. While I was digging for the private eye I told everyone that Alcide had been certifiably horrible to a darling friend of mine and he was to be shunned for the foreseeable future."

"Certifiably horrible? Shunned? These were the words you used?" I smirked

"Well" she smiled "I used some other words, but my darling brother thinks that I don't know the meaning of half the words I used, I don't want to break his little heart with that information." She laughed and pointed to her list. "Now… they've been removed from the guest lists at all the top spots to be in Cali and NYC, no more VIP treatment in Vegas and banned completely from any social function our family have been invited to. The society set in Louisiana will receive the information tomorrow via their PA's and they won't be received into any family in Louisiana by the end of the week. They are social pariahs and will never, ever be allowed near our family or Sookie again."

I jumped up and kissed her on both cheeks and hugged her tightly "Darling dearest most beautiful sister of mine… You're diabolical and I don't know how I can repay you. This is fantastic."

"So brother mine" Pam sat in gleeful anticipation "this is almost as fun as Christmas, what did you do to fuck this asshole up?"

"Language Pam…" I chided with a smile on my face so she'd know I was nowhere near serious.

"I hired some investigators too. They're going to be going through their financials with a fine tooth comb…partnerships, real estate, businesses, everything… if and when they find anything they will report their findings to the IRS… as they are good citizens of course" I smirked

"Oh of course" Pam nodded "and then?"

"And then I contacted the company that manages our investments and told them we would pull our accounts if they have any affiliation with them or their businesses" I added "I've also hired the best legal agency in Louisiana to take the case for the domestic violence support group, I told them to get everything they could." I sat and stretched, it had been a long night "The partner I spoke to said that because there are so many; most likely he will get jail time and again, because of the number, no parole during trial."

Pam clapped in glee "Wonderful Eric! It's all perfectly legal and above reproach"

"It's not just that I'm furious with what happened to Sookie, it's that he did it to people before and after her. Who knows if he will ever stop. At least this way the people he has hurt will get some kind of payback and closure." I was getting fired up again so I took a deep breath. "With all the work you've put in Pam they'll never get anywhere socially which will hurt them more. I can't stand the fact that just because they have money they think they can get away with treating someone, anyone like that." I punched the couch in impotent fury. Now I knew what it felt like to want to challenge someone to a duel.

"Well, they won't have money for much longer and they'll soon find out that they can't get away with treating anyone like that" Pam said soothingly "Go get some sleep, I need my pack mule rested for the weekend"

"Thanks Pam…"I said softly wrapping her in a tight hug "I don't know what I would have done without you."

"Stop getting all mushy on me, I'll wrinkle… like my asshole brother better" she said with a pout.

"I love you too Pammy" I smirked, spanking her on the ass as I walked to my room.

We received updates from the P.I for the next couple of days. Pam decided to start the downfall of Alcide by leaking pictures of him in the red light district in the company of some hookers. I booked her in for a pedicure for that one. I wasn't doing it myself, but she deserved pampering after all the hard work she had put in.

She returned to her normal self the next day…

I came home from my classes ready to pack for the weekend in NYC, walked into my room and swore. The bitch had wrapped my whole room in foil. It must have taken her hours. She had individually wrapped each book on my bookshelves, each pencil in my pencil holder, each key on my computer keyboard… she had even wrapped the jacket I had draped over my desk chair…it was actually pretty funny. I walked into my room, careful not to rip the layer on the floor, unwrapped my camera and took a few photos. Trey was sure to love this.

"Wow Eric" She smirked from the door "A little space age but if you're into that sort of thing…"

I made a rude gesture with my hand and blew her a kiss. She was awesome, even when she was pissing me off.

I woke ridiculously early to the smell of coffee to find Pam standing over my bed drinking her own. None for me. It was still dark outside, but Pam was ready to go…sigh…this was going to be the longest weekend in existence.

"Get your lazy ass up…I have shopping to do, I'm not going to waste half my shopping time travelling" she said commandingly, turned on her heel and stomped out the door.

I pulled my pillow over my head and cursed myself for ever showing weakness in the days leading up to a shopping trip. She had me by the scruff of the neck and knew I was too thankful to say no to anything she wanted. I wonder if Mom would help me out with a prank…

We jumped into the car, cranked the heater and set off for NYC. Because it was still horribly early the traffic was pretty light until we got closer to the city. It was nearing 9am when we pulled into the hotel we were staying in. Half an hour later we were back out and on the way to Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf's and Saks.

I ended up taking a taxi back to the hotel partway through the day because I had so many bags my arms were starting to stretch. Armani, D&G, St John, Dior, Badgley Mischka,

Jimmy Choo, Christian Leboutin… I wanted to hide out in the hotel room for the rest of the day, but knew that she would do more damage to her bank account without me there than she would if I was… I met her outside Saks with another armful of bags and she set off for the next shop.

"Pam?" I exclaimed as we came to a stop.

"Say anything negative and I'll shave your head and eyebrows while you sleep" she said seriously.

With a dreamy smile on her face she floated into American Girl, her feet barely touching the ground. We were in there forever… I was going slowly mad, but Pam had a blast being a little girl again picking out her doll Elizabeth and the clothing and accessories needed for it. Then she realized that this doll and her story were created to have a friend, Felicity, so she spent another hour gathering all the bits and pieces for the other doll as well.

I had to drag her away from the Just Like You dolls, promising that Santa would get her one for Christmas. Who was this woman and what had she done with my bitchy ball breaker of a sister? I saw some people giving us weird looks that a 26 year old woman had to be dragged away from dolls, but the little girls that accompanied them just looked on in awe. Pam was a walking talking doll with a sharp tongue and a brain so I could imagine how it would look to an impressionable 8 year old.

After a very late lunch at a cafe that was blessedly quiet in comparison to what I had been going through today we stopped off at one more shop… the one I had really been dreading all day…Manolo Blahnik….

"Don't you have these shoes in Cali, Pam?" I groaned, I was tired, my feet hurt and I was dying for some normality.

"They're only stockists Eric… this is the real deal… don't ruin my buzz" she snapped and sashayed into my personal hell.

"I'm sorry Pam, but some of these shoes are just weird." I whispered, but still drew death glares from the women around me.

"Eric Northman, how dare you!" Pam hissed "they are wearable artworks… they are fantastic. Just sit down, shut up and stop embarrassing me!"

Oops…

With only 2 pairs of shoes to add to the collection, we left and went back to the hotel. I thanked God that Pam had a successful business in Cali to cover her credit card bills. She later informed me that the only reason she bought 2 at Manolo was because she had bought more in Bergdorf's, unsure if we could have made it to Manolo this trip… sigh.

Pam collapsed onto her bed surrounded by her purchases "I'll need another bag to get all these yummy things home" she sighed in bliss…

We ordered room service and watched TV for a while before Pam succumbed to the call of new shoes and I gave in to the yearning to call Sookie

"I'm going to call Sookie" I said yawning… shopping with my sister was always hard work, and I had done it twice this week… I seriously hoped she had something else planned for tomorrow.

Sookie's voice soothed me like nothing else. I was listening to her excitement about the newspapers getting hold of Alcide's shady side and couldn't hold back anymore. I told her everything Pam had done, that the other survivors were filing a law suit and that the whole family were going to be social outcasts in no time. She was so overwhelmed that all she could do was stutter and say thank you over and over again.

I passed the phone to Pam after explaining Sookie's reaction and smiled as my chosen and my family bonded a little more. I couldn't wait for Sookie to meet Mom; they were going to love each other.

I ignored yet another hint at phone sex – I wasn't going to even think about risking it while Pam was in the same state let alone the same room. She should be giving tips to the FBI she's so good at eavesdropping. If I didn't know better I would say she was a spy.

I told Sookie all about our day out, trying to play down the amount of money Pam had spent on shoes. I knew Sookie loved fashion herself and I'd be more than happy to bring her here to shop until she dropped, but I knew she'd turn me down… for now at least.

I was a little sad that it was Pam's last night so I didn't stay on the phone as long as I would have liked. I cheered up quickly when Sookie reminded me that Thanksgiving was only a week away and we said goodnight so we could both get a little rest.

I went and knocked on Pam's door, she was up to her eyeballs in shopping bags, she had laid everything out on the bed to admire her purchases… her Manolos were in pride of place on her bedside table though, I think she meant to sleep with them there so they were the first thing she saw when she woke up… my sister was all kinds of weird and I loved her for it.

"I can't believe you're going home tomorrow Pam, it feels like you just got here." I said regretfully.

"I'll see you again soon Eric, this Christmas is going to be the best Christmas in AGES! We get to meet Sookie! I can't wait till she meets Mom, it's going to be awesome!" she squeaked. She always knew how to make me smile… I think it was because she also knew how to piss me off so well.

I gave her a huge hug and wished her sweet dreams, we'd go out in the morning and get her some luggage, then she decided she wanted to chill out and tour the Met for the day before I dropped her at the airport.

The day was much more relaxed, we stopped in and bought luggage for her, returned to the hotel and packed our things so I could drop her at the airport and head straight home. After brunch we toured the Metropolitan Museum of Art and saw some fantastic sculptures and paintings… Pam begged me to bring her back in May for the American Woman exhibit – fashion from the 1890 to 1940 – Oh shit, the audio tour was to be narrated by Sarah Jessica Parker. I closed my eyes and counted to ten then nodded. She was my sister, I couldn't say no.

She squealed in delight and hugged me then ran off to check out the Vermeer Exhibit while I followed at a more leisurely pace. I wondered if she had ADD, but then decided against it when I remembered her single mindedness while shopping yesterday.

The rest of the day ambled along, I loved days like this when I could just hang out and enjoy life. I decided I'd have to bring Sookie here too. There was so much I wanted to see and do with her; I'd have to start a list. I'd have to do everything I'd ever done over again just because it would be a completely different experience with her by my side. Sigh. I was turning into a swoony love struck teenager.

The time finally came to say goodbye, I hugged Pam tightly and warned her against talking to strangers. She laughed at me and hugged me back. We weren't just brother and sister, we were great friends too. I spoke to Sookie as she was leaving her Gran's, promising to check with Pam about coming to visit for New Year. I stayed at the airport until Pam's plane took off then I made my way back to Ithaca. Only one week to go and I would finally see my Sookie.

I was so wound up that the week dragged by. Sookie kept saying it was flying by for her, I guess she had more to keep her busy, but I only had 2 classes during that week and no astronomy work to do because it had clouded over. I asked Trey to stay over on the night before we flew out for Louisiana so we didn't have to hunt each other down in the morning.

We flew out in the evening on the twenty third; I settled in to my room at Treys place, met his parents and barely remembered a thing. I was so wound up I tossed and turned half the night and then finally it was morning. I was meeting Sookie today! I was meeting my Sookie in an hour, in 20 minutes, in 5 minutes… then it was here, she was here.

We had decided to meet for brunch as we knew we'd both be too nervous to eat beforehand and figured that Trey and Amelia, who were coming along to play chaperone would appreciate some kind of food, seeing as we had both hustled them out of the house before allowing them to eat.

I was looking the wrong way when she turned up. The look on Trey's face from inside the diner told me that she was behind me. I turned around and couldn't speak. She was here, she was beautiful and she was all mine.

"Hi" I said

"Hi" she answered with tears in her eyes and threw herself into my arms. I picked her up in a hug and she instinctively wrapped her legs around my waist.

I nuzzled my face into her hair, breathing in the scent of jasmine, cinnamon and citrus and forced myself not to lick her neck. She was magnificent and she was mine.

She said something about not wanting to let me go and I joked that she was stealing my lines and put her down before she noticed how much I did not want to talk right now. She was a goddess, a siren and she had no idea. I loved this woman so much. I just stared at her for a while, letting my emotions wash over me, hoping they showed in my eyes. I was insanely happy.

Her stomach growled startling us both into laughter and I noticed she had waved to Amelia across the street, obviously trying to give us a little privacy. Since Trey was on this side of the road I thought it only fair to invite her over and asked Sookie if she wanted to, making a joke about running away with her even though it was only just less than the truth. I would run away with her. Now that she was here I never wanted to let her go. I thought about the ring I had for her at home and knew it wouldn't be sitting in a box for long. The sooner I had it on her finger, the sooner my life could start.

I chuckled to myself while Amelia gave Sookie a hard time about inviting her over to eat with us, she obviously saw Trey coming up behind me because all of a sudden it wasn't such a big deal anymore… hmmm, something to think on when I could drag my mind off Sookie.

We introduced everyone to everyone else and went in to the diner to eat. I couldn't bring myself to lose contact with Sookie, worried that she was a dream, so I clung to her hand while we talked and joked with our friends, stealing glances every now and then to marvel at my own dumb luck. She had chosen me… out of everyone on the planet, she chose me. I would do everything in my power to make sure she never regretted that decision.

Our meals came and I had to let go of her hand so she could eat, after checking it was ok, I rested my hand on her thigh and thought about the day when I could touch her like this whenever I wanted… I admit I also thought about the day I could touch her like this and not have a barrier of clothing between my hand and her soft skin. I tried not to think about that too much or I would have trouble walking later.

The day flew by and we ended up spending the whole time at the table, ordering drinks and food. The conversation was flowing so well between all of us that a passerby would have thought we had all been friends for years not hours. Eventually the time came leave though. Tray and I had promised to be home before dinner and I knew Sookie and Amelia had a longish drive ahead.

Sookie mentioned something about giving me pie of all things so I walked her across the street to her car, Amelia and Trey thankfully staying back so we could have a few private minutes to say goodbye.

"I don't want to leave" she said sadly "now I'm with you; I don't want to be apart again."

"I know exactly what you mean" I replied in a whisper, not trusting my voice to stay steady. I wrapped her in another hug and rested my head against her own. We fit together so well, it was like we were made for each other.

We stared into each others eyes for a few stolen minutes. Even after the amazing day we had spent in each others company I still couldn't believe this beautiful woman had chosen me. She was everything my heart ever would, ever could, have wanted or needed.

"I love you Eric" she said, staring into my eyes, love and trust and hope shining through on her face, looking even more like an angel than she did before.

"I love you Sookie" I replied immediately, it was so different seeing the look in her eyes when she said it. I lowered my face to hers and claiming her soft lips, wrapping the fingers of one hand in her hair and pulling her closer to me with the other.

I put all my emotions into the kiss and my head reeled when I felt the electricity spark between us. She was mine and I was hers and we were perfect, we were in love.

Amelia and Trey started the cars so we pulled away from each other. Sookie passed me the pie and after a one armed hug and a final kiss she slid into her car. I don't know if she noticed but there was a tear on her cheek as she drove away. It was hard to let her leave.

I watched her car get further and further away and I couldn't see it anymore, but I couldn't move. Trey finally turned the car off and took me by the elbow to maneuver me into the car. We were almost back at his house before I came to.

"So…" said Trey as we parked

"Yeah" I replied, still a little shell-shocked.

"We'll drive out to Bon Temps the day after Thanksgiving?" he asked with a grin "That Amelia is pretty fine."

"Huh?" I guess I still wasn't quite with it yet.

"Day after Thanksgiving… you want to drive out to Bon Temps?" he repeated himself.

"FUCK YEAH!" I whooped and grabbed him in a hug… luckily the pie was on the dash and not in my hand as I enthusiastically showed my appreciation for his idea.

A/N: Sookie is one lucky little beyotch!