Thanks for the reviews, as always. It was somewhat of a challenge with the Eric POV, but I felt better after I read them. I laughed at the compliment on Genevieve's name too. It is pretty, but long to type and I am sick of it. I shall keep it and be happy with it though.

Here is the next chapter….longer this time. Enjoy!!

You will be the death of me

Genevieve woke up to the soft voice of her best friend, along with a gentle shaking. "Viv, are you OK? I was so worried even after the bitchy vamp told us that you made it home safely. How did you get home anyway?"

"I'm fine, Nora. I just had a bit too much to drink back there to celebrate. Eric Northman drove me home." Genevieve replied, tingling as she spoke his name. "He has a hot Corvette."

"That blond vamp? Was he in the room with you too? He didn't take advantage of you at all, did he? He has enough girls fawning all over him by that ridiculous throne that will do anything he wants already, from what I hear." Nora said, her voice sounding annoyed.

"No, he was fine. He actually helped me with an aggressive vamp that was causing a problem. I ended up falling down and he took me to the office to make sure that I was OK." Genevieve replied, remembering the hands around her throat. "It could have gotten nasty. " She opened her eyes and saw her friend's figure on the edge of the bed. "How was it after?"

"The girls were all bummed out that he didn't come back to the stage after he drove you home." Nora replied, and sighed in the dark. She hugged Genevieve clumsily and stroked her hair. "I am sorry I was not there to help you when you needed it. Some birthday, wasn't it?"

"It was very…bittersweet to begin with. I guess that added some excitement to it all." Genevieve remarked dryly, and Nora laughed a little.

"What's he like?"

"He can be kind of harsh sometimes." Genevieve replied, thinking of the way he had spoken to her. Her skin warmed at the memory of him wiping her tears and stroking her cheek, and she sighed. "I think we pretty much clashed as far as conversation."

"Figures." Nora said, and lay down next to Genevieve. "He's pretty cute, so why would he be pleasant?" She yawned. "I'm tired." The girls both fell asleep after chatting for a moment, and Genevieve saw his face all night. She stayed in bed the next day, feeling the effects of a strong hangover, and Nora kept her supplied with Gatorade and company as she needed it. She slept off and on, cursing alcohol all day silently. The phone rang that evening, and Genevieve answered it to hear Sookie at the other end. She asked Genevieve how she was, saying that Eric was asking that evening when he stopped by Merlotte's to speak to Bill.

"I'm fine. I had a little too many birthday cocktails last night at Fangtasia, and I am paying the price." Genevieve replied, annoyed by the curiosity. She chatted for a minute with Sookie about how busy it was there, and Sookie surprised her by asking her to work there. Sam needed help, and Genevieve spend a good amount of time there. Genevieve accepted the offer, and agreed to be there the following evening to shadow Sookie and learn. She hung up, feeling like things might be getting better. Eric's face entered her mind, and the way he touched her made her shiver. She thought about his request for her to return to what she guessed was Fangtasia, and she decided that she would stay away from it. He was dangerous for her, and she was too attracted to it. Genevieve wanted to focus on healing herself and being happy again, after hitting bottom last night so badly. She shuddered at the memory of crying in his office, feeling embarrassed now. Genevieve rolled over and closed her eyes, tired again. She dreamt of his face and his touch, and his blue eyes burning her.

Genevieve woke up the next day, ready to make her life positive. She ate some lunch and spent some time with Nora watching a movie before she went to work. Sookie dropped by some shorts and a shirt for the night, and Genevieve winced when she saw the bruises on her legs from the night before. She checked her face and hair in the mirror and headed out to Sookie's car with her to start her new job. It was a busy night, but Genevieve learned fast and was handling tables on her own by the end of it. She took a seat at the bar at the end of her shift, sipping a glass of ice water gratefully. La Fayette joined her for his own drink, and they talked about her night. As flamboyant as he was, she knew that she would like him. "Girl, what did you do to yourself? Look at them bruises!" He stared at her pale legs, and she waved a hand.

"I fell down last night at that vamp bar in Shreveport. I had a bit too many birthday drinks." She was thankful that the hold on her neck had not been hard, realizing that might be a little harder to explain. Nora came in and joined them, taking her home when they were finished.

"How do you like it?" Nora asked, as Genevieve rested her head back against the seat.

"It was good. It was busy. I think I need that right not, No No. I need to move forward, and stop dwelling on the past." Tears stung her eyes as she thought about doing that, and she blinked slowly. The girls went up to Nora's room to watch a movie, and Genevieve slept hard that night. She had a lunch shift the next day, and worked it without Sookie's help since it was her day off. Sam called her in the office after she was finished, and she sat down in the chair across from his simple desk. It was a far cry from the everything cherry wood office that Eric boasted at Fangtasia.

"I was just wondering how living with Kevin and Kendra is working out for you. I have an apartment that I rent out near to here, and it is vacant right now." Sam offered, waving a hand through his sloppy strawberry blond curls. "I know they're great people, but sometimes your own place can be peaceful. It's furnished as well."

"How much is rent?" Genevieve asked him, and he smiled.

"I charged Dawn four hundred for everything." Sam replied, and she worked figures in her head for a moment. "It's not fancy, but it can be your own space. Nora will live there over half of the time anyway."

"I'll take it. Maybe I can move in next week or the following one." Genevieve replied, smiling.

"Sookie would have invited you to stay there otherwise." Sam told her, and Genevieve laughed. "She made a good suggestion with you."

"Thanks, Sam." Genevieve replied, smiling as she got up to leave. She walked out to her car and drove home, telling the family about the apartment as they ate dinner. Nora was sad at first, but then perked up when she realized that she would have an apartment in a roundabout way. Genevieve went to bed that night with her mind swirling over the new things in her life. She thought of the past in New York with her parents, school, and friends and felt a tear. It had been so happy and seemingly permanent. Now she was starting all over. She bit her lip and told herself to stay strong.

A month later, Genevieve was at Sookie's house for an authentic southern meal, and the girls were sipping wine on the front porch together. "I really miss my Gran being around." Sookie was telling Geneviev, who gazed at her sympathetically. "She made the house so warm and bright."

"I think that you do that yourself.." Genevieve told her friend, smiling. She was happy, She had been in the apartment for two weeks and work was a blessed part of her day. She had not seen Eric in weeks, and he was slipping further away from her mind. She brushed her hair back out of her face, and took a sip of the white wine slowly.

"Thanks, Viv." Sookie told her, and they both glanced up as a car pulled into the dark driveway. "It's Bill." She jumped up and ran down to the blue Sedan, hugging her boyfriend as he got out of the driver's side. Genevieve felt her heart jump as Eric gazed at her from the passenger seat, getting out slowly. She had no idea what to say, so she sat quietly as they walked up to her. Sookie gripped Bill's hand tightly, and Genevieve said hello to him with a smile.

"Hello, Genevieve." Eric said smoothly, and she felt her skin tingle at the sound of his voice.

"Hi, Eric. How are you?" Genevieve managed to get out, glancing up into his face. His eyes were warm on her, and she stared wordlessly at him.

"I am well. I trust you recovered fully from that ill fated evening." Sookie looked at her curiously at that statement, and Genevieve nodded. "I need to speak with Sookie and Bill inside for just a moment, if you'll excuse us."

"Sure." Genevieve replied, sipping her wine again. She stared across the huge lawn that was bright moonlight, breathing in the late summer air. Her heart beat hard in her chest, knowing that he was there. The door opened softly, and she refused to look.

"Genevieve, I was hoping you would take a walk with me." His voice was alluring, and she glanced up at him slowly. His eyes were soft as they held her gaze, and she nodded slowly. Eric held out his hand, and she took it and followed him down the porch and along the long driveway. She glanced down at his large hand intertwined with her tiny one, and he squeezed it softly. "You never came back to see me. I did mean that."

"You called me ignorant and also talked down to me." Genevieve reminded him, and he stopped and faced her. He stroked her face with his other hand and gazed at her as she lifted it to meet his eyes with a steel stare.

"I did. I misdirected my anger that night. It was meant for him, not you." Eric told her, and she looked off towards the cemetery slowly. "I just want you to be careful there. It isn't always safe, especially when you're not fully observant." She nodded, and he tilted up her chin. "I remember you responding quite well to everything I said as well. It went all wrong."

"It was an abysmal night." Genevieve agreed, walking towards the cemetery. He would not let her slide her hand away, and she gave him an irritated glance.

"You were having a hard time as well that night emotionally. Are you better?" Eric asked her, and she sighed.

"I am healing." Genevieve replied, his presence making her feel numb. His cold hand somehow felt hot to her, and she rubbed it with her thumb. They entered the mid size cemetery, and she looked around with a small laugh. "I used to be scared of these at night. Now I am walking on one in the moonlight with a vampire. Who would have thought?'

"You have nothing to fear." Eric assured her, and she looked at him.

"I have everything to fear." Genevieve told him, not expanding on her statement. She felt light headed and stopped to take a deep breath, and he tilted her head up with his other hand. "You're imposing, you're harsh with your words, and you ……."

"What am I?" Eric asked her, and she blinked as he held her chin firmly.

"You could destroy me." Genevieve told him. "I am not ready to be close to someone like this. I know that you have many women that you have whenever you want, but I am not one of those. I know that you can be aggressive and that you are indeed a vampire that could hurt me. I know all of this, and yet I don't want to let go of your hand."

"I will not hurt you." Eric promised her, saying nothing else for a long moment. His eyes stared down at her, and she trembled. "Who did hurt you? Why were you crying so sadly that night in my office? You were sad from the moment that I first saw you." His jaw clenched as he waited for her answer.

"Nobody did something to hurt me. Not like you think. My parents were killed a few months ago in New York, and they were all that I had. That is why I am here, starting all over. I am handling it better, but I still have some very hard days." Genevieve told him, her eyes watering. "Damn it. I told myself I was going to stop doing this." She turned her head away from him and slipped her hand away, walking to the opposite end of the grass. She took several deep breaths, trying to regain control of her emotions. She wiped her eyes slowly, drying them on her cotton dress on the hem.

"I want to know you, Genevieve. I want to find things out about you." His voice was suddenly beside her, and she trembled. "Can we just talk?"

"What about?" Genevieve asked him, and he threw out a question about her job. She laughed a little and answered him, and they slowly wandered as they chatted softly. She turned to conversation around to him, and he told her that he had been made a vampire when he was a Viking warrior one thousand years before. She tried to wrap her mind around living that long when she was only twenty three, and he told her some of the things he had seen and done. She respected that he did not sugar coat anything, truthful about the violence of some of his life. "When is the last time that you really harmed someone? I know that you can feed without that nowadays."

"I last harmed someone the last night you were at my club." Eric told her, after a moment of silence.

"The vampire?"

"He laid his hands on you, Genevieve. I wanted to rip his head off right there, but I made sure you were safely home first." Eric told her, and she shuddered. "It is not acceptable to act that way in the atmosphere that he was in. People can leave and do as they wish, but not there."

"Like the way you leave with all of those girls and do as you wish?" Genevieve asked him, jealousy taking over her mind. "What am I when you have all of that?"

Eric looked at her for a long moment, and she closed her eyes. "I haven't done any of that for awhile."

Genevieve looked up at him curiously, and he took that moment to capture her face in his hands and kiss her gently. She gasped in surprise, and he took advantage of it and kissed her again. This time it was more demanding, and she felt her body numbing as her knees weakened. She slid her hands up his chest and moaned when she felt his muscles, reaching up around his neck. "Eric," Genevieve whispered his name, and he pulled away just enough to look into her eyes. She felt the fear in her eyes, and he slid his hands down around her back. "I don't think I can do this. I…..I can't stand the idea of losing anyone else."

"I am not going to die like your parents did. I am immortal." Eric reminded her, and she felt him lift her up easily. "You're so tiny, Genevieve." He carried her a few feet and she felt him set her on a hard surface, and she glanced down to see a large headstone. She raised her eyebrows and gazed at him, now at his height. He kissed her again, deepening it slowly as she groaned and slid her hands through his hair. She had longed to touch it for so long, and it was a thick and silky as she had imagined. He pressed closer to her, slipping between her shaking legs. She felt a rush of desire and then the fear set inside of her heart and she froze. "Genevieve, what is it?"

"I'm not ready for this. I can't give myself to somebody when I am barely whole myself. I need to be better…" His lips claimed hers again, silencing her. She reluctantly pulled her hands from his hair and pushed against his chest. She twisted her face and gasped. "Eric, listen to me. I am so scared to get close and then have you go away. I can't do it again."

"Where would I go?" Eric asked her, obviously annoyed by the sneer on his face. "I would think that you'd be more inclined to come and go at this point."

"You have no idea what I am feeling." Genevieve told him, dropping her hands as he stepped back. "I know you're not used to women saying no to you, but I am not going to just be fixed by one night with you. It runs so much deeper."

"One night?" Eric asked, looking as though she had slapped him. "Is that all you think I want from you?"

"I don't know what you want. I barely know what I want." Genevieve said in a miserable voice, sliding down from the headstone. She felt the tears coming and blinked her eyes as she walked.

"You are going to walk away from me? Genevieve, don't." Eric told her, his voice hardening.

Genevieve kept walking as she cried, and he grabbed her arm gently as he approached her. "Leave me alone, Eric. It's better this way." Genevieve pleaded with him, and he watched her walk away.

"You are a foolish human. I don't know why I waste my time with you." Eric said to her , his rage echoing through the night.

"I need time, Eric. I cannot love when I am ripped wide open." Genevieve pleaded, turning to see his eyes flashing. "What do you know about love anyway?"

"Don't use words you don't understand." Eric warned her, his eyes darkened in his face. Genevieve began running away, sobbing as she did. She managed to stumble to Sookie's house and her friend caught her in her arms as she cried. She brought her up to the chairs and stroked Genevieve's hair as she gazed worriedly at Bill.

Silly Genevieve. She needs to get it together! What do y'all think? Better length this time? ;-)