A/N Thank you again to everyone who has reviewed and added alerts or favorites on this story. I can't tell you how happy it makes me to get them :)

As always, everything is owned by Charlaine Harris except the Trey's family :)

Chapter 14 – EPOV

Sookie came to sit beside me and took my other hand; she curled into my side, fitting perfectly as if she had always been there. I loved that we were so comfortable with each other, although we had only met two days ago.

Sookie turned to speak to Mitch and Maggie as Adele started firing off questions

"I can't tell you how happy I am to meet you Eric" she started with a smile "I'm sorry if I seem rude, but would you mind if I ask you a few questions about yourself?"

"Of course not Adele" I smiled "anything, I am an open book."

"Well first would be how old are you?"

"28" I answered

"Oh good, so it's not a big age difference, Sookie is 24" she smiled "I have to confess I was a little worried because you seem a lot more grown up than 28."

"I think it's probably because I had to grow up quickly" I said "Mom and Dad would fight a lot when my sister and I were younger so I would take care of her, once they split up I felt it my responsibility to take care of Mom and Pam as best I could. Luckily Mom and Dad were so much happier away from each other that it was easier than it sounded."

"I'm sorry Eric." She said gently, squeezing my hand "It must have been hard for you. You know Sookie's parents left when she was very small, she doesn't remember what it was like, but it took a while for Jason to feel safe at night. I still don't know how I managed to raise such a selfish man" she added regretfully

I squeezed her hand in sympathy "They were lucky to have you to turn to"

"Charmer" she chuckled "Now… what are you studying up there in New York"

"I'm actually doing a double major, I want to be involved in astrophysics and information technology is a back up, I figured that if I can't find something in astronomy I can fall back on the IT to pay the bills." I said with a smile

"So you're not just a pretty face!" she teased and laughed. I chuckled, now I know where Sookie gets her sassy sense of humor

I overheard Sookie saying something about wanting a large family and squeezed her hand to let her know I loved the idea, just when I thought we couldn't be more perfect for each other she says something like this, as if she had read my mind.

"Now" Adele started again "Your Momma and Pam live in California? Do you get to see them often?"

"Yes, Mom was house hunting and fell in love with the view so she put an offer in on the spot!" I laughed "Pam loves the lifestyle and so she stayed on and runs a nightclub to cover the cost of her shoe collection"

Adele laughed at this and asked if they were both coming out to Bon Temps with me for Christmas.

"I know Pam is happy to accept, I didn't realize the invitation extended to Mom as well" I said completely surprised.

"Well now, I can't steal her family away at Christmas time!" She said, sounding horrified "Of course she's welcome, I'd love to meet her, before the wedding" she added with a smile and wink to let me know she was teasing.

"Well, when you put it like that" I laughed "I'll call her later and ask. Are Jason and yourself free to come out to Cali for New Years with us?"

"Well I don't know about Jason, but I'd love to take a break from Bon Temps. Just you check it with your mother first, I don't want to impose" Adele said warningly.

"I will" I smiled "Although I can promise she won't mind in the least, she loves having people around and she's dying to meet all of you"

Adele and I tuned into the conversation Sookie was having with Mitch and Maggie just in time to hear her say she was sorry that Adele didn't get to retire as she should have been able to.

"Now Sookie" Adele said "Don't you start with that 'Poor Gran' nonsense, you know I'm not the retiring type"

We all laughed and watched on as Sookie and Heidi had a little chat. My heart swelled with love as I imagined a time hopefully not too far from now when it might be our own little one asking to play tea-party

We all listened in as Sookie shared the story of how we met, Maggie giving me the evil eye when she heard that I had been less than polite when Sookie tried to message me and they all laughed as she shared her comeback. I gently tugged her hand, needing her close to me. I didn't feel right without her in my arms anymore.

The day wound on as we chatted and shared stories. Just when I was starting to feel hungry Adele announced it was time to eat. I watched as everyone gathered around the table, Sookie greeting everyone as they came in and looking wistful as she took in the scene before her.

"Penny for your thoughts my love" I whispered as I came up behind her and wrapped her in my arms.

"I'm thinking I never want to let you leave" she replied softly, sadly and turned in my arms, nuzzling her face against my chest.

"WOOOO!" the boys hooted. I smirked at them as Sookie poked her tongue out. I'd get them back for that later.

We ate and ate until we were fit to burst, and then we ate a little more. I started gathering the plates together as Adele took a few minutes with Sookie, hopefully giving me a good report.

Sookie bounced up a few seconds later with a brilliant smile on her face and a twinkle of mischief in her eye suggesting we go for a walk. Time alone with Sookie! Count me in! She leant up to kiss me and I could barely contain a groan. She was so sexy.

I asked her to grab her camera, remembering at the last second that photos had been requested, I couldn't wait to get my hands on some of them myself, it would be nice to have some proof that this wasn't a dream.

"Eric" Adele said with a smile "I know you're an honorable boy, so you probably won't try anything, but we Stackhouses are passionate people…"

I was a little more than shocked to be having this conversation with Adele right now, but thankful that no-one seemed to be listening in.

"I know you two are all hormones and I can't stop you from doing what young people do, but I don't want great grandchildren until after the wedding ok?" she said warningly.

"Yes Ma-am" I stammered… holy crap…

Sookie bounced back into the room, none the wiser as to the conversation that had just happened, Adele gave me a quick smile and flapped the tea-towel at me to get moving.

I listened to Sookie talking about growing up around here, pointing out hiding places and spots where something interesting happened. It took me a while to gather my senses after Adele's warning, but I was finally able to take part in the conversation with actual sentences after a few minutes.

"You'll have to show me some photos of you as a little kid" I chuckled as she related the story about the time she was playing Tarzan and got scared by a creeper vine that she thought was a snake "I can imagine that you're covered in mud for half of them and dressed like a princess the other half"

Sookie smiled my favorite smile – the soft one where she was remembering something that made her happy "Well almost half of them I was covered in dirt. Growing up with Jason as my brother it was hard not to be a little bit of a tomboy. Amelia and I would be always and forever chasing him for serving mud pie in the middle of our tea-parties" she laughed.

After Sookie had decided we had wandered far enough, we settled ourselves under a tree, I couldn't resist settling her between my legs and holding her against my chest. It was where she belonged… safe, with me.

"What have you told your Mom about me?" she asked with a laugh "nothing bad I hope"

"Oh…" I smirked "I told her how you're always calling me names and teasing"

"Oh hush" she said with a pout "I do no such thing"

"I tell her that you make me happy" I whispered "I tell her that I want to be with you forever and spoil you rotten. I tell her that I love you."

"I love you too" she whispered, placing a kiss on my arm.

"Shall we take a few photos?" I suggested after a few minutes silence

"Well…that is what we bought the camera for!" she smirked

I stretched an arm out and snapped a few shots of us cuddled up under the tree…

"Switch places!" Sookie said with a laugh and twisted in my arms to capture my mouth with hers. I snapped a few more shots and wondered which would be my new desktop background when I got home.

"Now some goofy ones" she laughed and pulled the most ridiculous face I had ever seen

I snapped some more shots of us being goofy. They probably won't turn out so well as I think we were laughing too hard to take a steady shot, but it was fun regardless.

Sookie settled back into my arms as we calmed down and I was suddenly struck with the thought that I would be leaving soon. My heart ached and I felt my eyes stinging.

"How am I going to leave you again?" I asked sadly, blinking hard to stop myself from crying, she didn't need to see that.

"I don't know…I don't know how I've gone this long without you" she said gently, rubbing her hands over mine.

"Maybe I can fly down on weekends or something until we graduate?" I suggested hoping that she would think this was a half decent idea, although it still wouldn't be enough in my opinion.

"As nice as that would be, it's too expensive to do every weekend." She disagreed, it was going to take a while before she was comfortable with the amount of money my family has "Besides," she continued "I'd want to see your place in Ithaca too…What about we trade off and alternate months, I'll come to Ithaca and you come to Bon Temps"

"You'd do that?" I asked trying to reign in my glee at the idea of showing Sookie around my favorite places in Ithaca, pointing out stars through my telescope, holding her in my arms as we slept.

"Of course I would, I'm just as much in this as you are! Silly boy!" she laughed "I love you, I'd do anything for you" she smiled and stretched up to kiss my nose.

"Same here Sookie" I smiled, bending to capture her lips and enjoy the time we had now.

It had taken me such along time to find someone I could trust and love, Sookie was my whole world now and I don't know what I would do when I had to leave her again.

Sookie deepened the kiss, redirecting my mind from melancholy thoughts to ones that were much happier. She straddled my lap and I could feel the heat from her womanhood seeping through my jeans to my cock.

"Sookie…" I moaned into her mouth and clutched her hair in my fingers kissing her harder and grinding myself against her, wanting more… so much more.

"You're making it very hard for me to behave, love" I growled against her neck as I placed kisses along her jaw, reveling in the gasps of pleasure that passed her lips.

"I don't want you to behave…" she whispered nibbling my earlobe and pulling up the hems of our shirts. Her skin was so soft and warm, I couldn't stop myself from moving my hands to her sides and touching her.

"Sookie… as much as I want this, I don't want to do it like this" I groaned, almost in pain at the thought of ending this blissful torture. I moved my fingers higher under her shirt, brushing them gently against the side of her silken breasts, making her pant with want. "I want us to be comfortable, in a bed where I can appreciate the view and not worry about being sprung by your brother"

She laughed a little, doing magical things to my straining erection "I can understand that, but I feel bad for getting you so worked up" she said, backing away and sitting back against my thighs

"I've been semi hard all day" I confessed with a laugh "I'd be worked up anyway"

"You're too good to me" she said softly as she curled into my side.

I kissed her hair and breathed in her scent. "I'm not… I just love you" I said softly. I would do anything for her.

"I love you too" she replied gazing into my eyes and showing me her soul. She was so beautiful… so good. She is an angel. My angel.

We held each other for a few minutes while I got control of myself, I wanted her so much, but I wasn't going to rush our first time together. I wanted it to be perfect for her, I wanted it to be memorable for all the right reasons.

"We should probably head back, we've been gone for a while" I sighed, not wanting to move from this spot… my new nirvana.

"Yeah…back to the real world" she groaned.

We brushed the leaves from our clothes and headed back to the house. We were quiet and holding hands. It was nice...

"Sorry again about… before" Sookie apologized quietly

"There's nothing to be sorry for dear one" I said giving her hand a gentle squeeze "We might just have to be inventive on the phone tonight." I laughed and raised an eyebrow, knowing it would set her at ease if we joked about it.

She chuckled and shook her head as we walked back into the kitchen. Sookie was instantly claimed by Heidi and Lucy for a tea-party and I was hustled outside for another game of football with the boys.

A quick vote picked Jax and Jason as captains and they picked teams, Trey and I ended up on Jason's team, much to the delight of Jax who had picked his Dad, John and his twin who had all played football before. Jason picked Patrick, who was just a little taller than Luke, who was overjoyed to be on the team with the people he thought would be winning… sucker!

We huddled up for a quick pow-wow. Trey and I may not play all the time, but we were big and we knew how.

"Alright" Jason said quietly "I used to be a QB in high school so I'm cool with however you guys want to play this"

"Really? Jax is gonna be pissed!" Patrick grinned at getting one over on his bigger brothers.

"Language" Trey growled and bumped his shoulder against Patricks

"Trey" Jason started again "You're the bigger build so do you think you can take on your Dad?"

"No problem man" Trey grinned "My pleasure"

"Eric, do you think you can take out Luke and John in one go? They're only little I don't want them to get hurt" Jason asked, a worried frown on his face

"They're tougher than they look" Patrick said with a laugh, "They take Jax and Max out all the time"

We all laughed at that

"No problem Jason" I said "I'll be careful though."

"Alright" Jason nodded "I'll throw long Patrick, you think you can be runner and score for us?"

"Wicked" Patrick grinned "Lets kick some butt"

We settled into formation and the game started. I don't think the other team knew what hit them. Obviously they were underestimating Trey and myself because of our nerd like pastimes and completely discounted that we weren't skinny little weaklings.

Patrick and Jason worked well as a team and before we knew it we had beaten the others by a mile. The only reason the others even scored was because of Luke escaping me and taking out Jason once, and another time Sam the dog decided it was a good time to trip Trey.

We trooped back into the house as the boys tried to come up with arguments as to why they should have won. They weren't bad losers, they just wanted a rematch.

The house smelt heavenly with the dinner that Adele and Maggie had whipped up while we were all outside. Sookie and the little girls looked so cute having their tea-party I couldn't help but grin at the sight.

Adele and Maggie passed out drinks as we moved into the living room to settle down before dinner and for a few blessed minutes the boys had given up the fight for a rematch. Unfortunately it didn't last…

"I still say you cheated" John laughed, speaking to Jason "We had no chance against your team with Eric and Trey"

"Just because I picked people who know how to play doesn't mean I cheated" Jason replied, messing up John's hair. "Besides, it was 4 against 5 out there and you had your Dad" And the dog! I thought with a smile remembering Trey going ankles over when Sam decided to get in on the game.

"But you never said you had played in high school!" Jax complained, obviously kicking himself for not noticing over lunchtime conversations.

"Well you play too!" Patrick piped up "It just so happens that our team is better!" he finished this statement with a smirk on his face and his arms crossed… Oh boy, this is not going to end well. I thought to myself as I noted the looks on the other boys faces.

"Nope…" said Max "you cheated!"

"Get EM!" yelled Luke with a grin of feral glee

The next thing I knew I was at the bottom of a dog pile. Yelling and wrestling siblings crushing me with reckless abandon, thank goodness they had taken their shoes off outside or I would surely have been covered in bruises.

The sound of laughter rang out through the house as Adele, Maggie, Sookie and the girls took in the sight. Obviously they had never been at the bottom of a dog pile before! It wasn't that funny…

The boys agreed to let bygones be bygones and settled on a rematch next Thanksgiving; I was finally able to draw a deep breath and herded the younger Dawson's into a nearby bathroom to wash up for dinner.

We sat down to dinner and conversation flowed again. Sookie was quiet and I couldn't catch her eye at all. I knew she was upset; I was dying inside at the thought of leaving. I rested my hand on her thigh and tried to soothe the both of us with the contact.

The dishes were cleared quickly, washed and away before I had time to even think about the fact that this was the end. The kids moved slowly out the door, stopping to hug Adele and shake hands with Jason, Amelia and Sookie before pulling on their shoes and getting into the car.

I admit I was dragging my feet. Trey was too, and he didn't even have the option of kissing Amelia goodbye. Maybe there was more there than I thought there was before. It was obviously hard for them.

I shook Jasons hand and he pulled me into a man hug, almost bruising my shoulder with the slap on the back he gave me. I gave Amelia a quick hug too, knowing that Trey would want to hold her as long as possible.

"It was so nice to have you Eric." Adele said as she hugged me and kissed my cheek. "I wish you could stay longer… for both your sakes, it's been a long time since I've seen Sookie, this happy."

"You know I'd do anything for her Adele" I whispered, pulling back and staring at my feet. Now for the hard part…

I could see Sookie was holding back tears. We were both struggling with this goodbye knowing it would be at least a month before we would be able to see each other again. I felt like my heart was slowly being ripped out.

"Why the long face Sookie?" Adele asked with a smirk "I would have thought you'd be pleased that Eric was staying the night."

I'm what?

My head shot up and I looked at Sookie, she was just as shocked as I was! We both looked at Adele and then each other again. I'd never done a double take before, but this time it was definitely worth it!

Sookie and I shot over to Adele and hugged her tight at the same time, much to the amusement of onlookers. I couldn't wipe the stupid grin off my face. I was staying in Bon Temps with Sookie! WOOT!

"Maggie and I thought you should be allowed to spend as much time together as possible" Adele explained "It's only the night, but we figured it was better than nothing."

I looked Adele in the eyes, trying to convey how much this meant to me… to us. She must have understood because she smiled softly and winked at me.

We ran down the stairs and hugged Maggie too.

"I've never seen anything as sweet as the two of you" she said with a smile "I only wish there was something more I could do to keep the two of you together"

"Thank you Maggie" we said together and hugged her again.

I felt bad for Trey, who was watching Amelia with a sad look on his face, I felt guilty for getting what I wanted so easily, but I'd do everything I could to help them be happy too.

"Now, am I going to pretend that you're not responsible adults and put you in separate rooms, or can I trust you two to behave under my roof?" Adele asked with a smirk and a twinkle in her eye.

"Gran!" Sookie cried burying her face in her hands and blushing the most beautiful shade of pink.

Adele winked at me over Sookie's head and smiled at her granddaughters embarrassment.

"We'll behave, Adele" I laughed "I respect you too much to even think of trying anything." Not to mention I know you have a shotgun around here somewhere!... I thought.

"Well good" she said with a chuckle.

"Now I know you don't have any clothes here, but I have some P.J's here that should fit… at least the bottoms anyway" she continued, walking toward the stairs.

Sookie and I followed her up quietly. Sookie seemed to be bouncing a little with glee. I was almost dreading keeping myself out of trouble tonight. She was so sexy, how am I going to do this?

Adele passed me some soft cotton pants and an oversized tee… well… oversized for Stackhouses anyway.

"You go change in there" she said, pushing me gently toward the bathroom. "And I'll put your clothes in the wash so you'll have something clean to wear tomorrow… drawers too"

I hung my head and pursed my lips in embarrassment, trying not to think of myself in bed with Sookie without underwear… shit… this just got harder.

I changed as quickly as I could, the pants were much too short, and nowhere near loose enough, I could feel them pulling tight across my ass, so I settled them at my hips to get as much coverage as possible, and folded the legs up over my knees so they didn't look completely stupid… the tee was supposed to be loose as well, but I have pretty big shoulders, so it seemed more fitted than it should have been, it fit like one of my tighter tees that I used to wear clubbing… sigh… I was in soooo much trouble.

The look on Sookie and Amelia's faces when I walked into the living room was priceless. If I had my camera I would have taken a photo. Their mouths were hanging open and their eyes were wide. Sookie bit her bottom lip and twitched in her seat like she wanted to jump me… nice! Amelia looked like she was about to start drooling and so she closed her eyes and shook her head as if to get her brain working again.

I passed my clothes to Adele who gave me a dirty chuckle and a wink before taking them out to the wash. I spied an afghan on the chair nearby so to save myself from any more ogling I grabbed it and wrapped it around myself as quickly as possible. I was getting hard at the look of desire on Sookie's face and I really really didn't want to show that to the world.

"Nice ass Eric" Jason said from his seat where he had watched the whole scene with a smirk on his face.

Sookie snapped back to herself and blushed again. Amelia started laughing and I just shot him a dirty look that made him smile wider.

"Now" said Adele when she had returned "What's say we watch a movie… how about Look Who's Talking?"

Amelia and Jason burst out laughing again and I couldn't help but join in as Sookie groaned 'Oh my goodness' into a pillow that she had thrown her face into.

"Alright then" Adele said laughing along "how about Speed? I like that Keanu boy, he's cute"

We laughed again, but agreed to watch. I settled in next to Sookie and pulled the afghan around the front to cover her too, she moved her legs over my lap and leant against the arm of the couch to get comfortable. Her eyes shot to mine in shock as she noticed the reason I had myself covered up.

She blushed again and held my hand on top of the blanket, a little smirk on her face…I was definitely in trouble.

We watched the movie and thank God it took my mind off Sookie for long enough to let my hard-on subside. Everyone was yawning at the end of it, Jason said goodbye and we all trooped off to bed.

"Eric" Adele said quietly as Sookie entered the bathroom to change "I know I said I don't want any grandkids, but I'm not stupid. I sleep with earplugs… sometimes nighttime noises are too loud for me to sleep properly" she said with a knowing smirk.

Oh my God… did she seriously just…

Sookie walked out of the bathroom a second later in a pair of silky shorts and a cami… I couldn't contain a groan as she pulled me into her room and closed the door.

I pulled her into my arms and lifted her slightly, pressing her body against my own so she could feel my appreciation of her choice in sleep wear. I caught her lips in a kiss and moaned in bliss as she wrapped her legs around my waist…

A/N : *GASP* SHE DIDN'T! ... Mwaa haaa haa haaa *evil laugh* I did! but the next one will be up soon. Hopefully its not disappointing ;)