A/N : Hey guys! Thank you so so much for all the reviews, adds, pm's etc, it was awesome to know what you thought of the first chapter! So without further ado, here's chapter two! :D

SPOV:

When I got to the house, Eric was already there sitting in front of me in his blood red corvette, just waiting.

I gave myself a healthy pep talk on the short drive over to their house. Life was for living; all sorts of horrible things happened to good people every day; this would be just another obstacle to overcome; this too shall pass—all of it I repeated, and then some.

I couldn't focus on my dead cousin or her dead husband right now. They had a very much living breathing dependant baby girl that needed me. And they'd known she would need me.

Why they thought she'd need him, is beyond me… But again, people made crazy choices every day. This was one of theirs.

Their house in Shreveport was, for lack of a better word, huge.

Alcide graduated top of his class to go on to become one of the most promising young defense attorneys in the state, which translated into: he was loaded and then some. My cousin wasn't too shabby either. She'd become a pediatric nurse and while it didn't afford her the same income as Alcide, she was just as rich in experiences by the end of the day. She'd loved kids; she'd wanted a whole house full of them, Al too. He'd been an only child and had always sworn his own kids wouldn't grow up alone.

My heart clenched again. His kid would be growing up alone, except now she'd be growing up without any brothers or sisters, or even a mother and father.

Pushing those thoughts out of my head I got out of the car. The rain had started to die down and for that I was thankful. What was going on with the freak hail showers in the middle of May? I'd never understand.

He stood silently by the engine of his flashy car, motioning a 'ladies first' with his hands, we walked up the darkened path together. He dug the keys from his pocket and snapped open the first door by turning the knob once.

Darkness is what greeted us, their large hallway illuminated only by the small green light of the security system.

"Shit, I don't know the code!"

Eric pursed his lips together once before going over and hitting a few digits. It worked first try.

"How did you-"

"College basketball, his gym locker combo. He used it for everything since."

With that he flipped one switch on the wall and several lights came on.

The first thing you noticed is the vast size of the house. Alcide had said he'd fill it with kids if Hadley would let him. They wanted a big family, so they bought a big—too big—house that now just looked and felt cold and empty.

Eric and I walked from the hallway into the kitchen; he flipped on some lights as I took a seat at the giant island. It was just after three a.m., but I felt like I'd been awake for days. My head was spinning, my eyes hurt from crying and I just needed a cuddle.

That was clearly the last thing I was ever getting with my present company. He opened the fridge and capped a beer, before offering me one, which I declined. I felt too sick to drink.

He stood and I sat in silence for a few minutes before he spoke.

"We can't do this. That's the bottom line. We just… can't." He stated staring at the pictures of them on the fridge.

"I agree."

"You do?"

"Of course, I don't know what they were thinking … But they did, and since I'm the only family that she could really depend on, I get why she picked me in theory but… It's nuts. And you? You and me together raising her? That's just the most ridiculous idea! Hardly a peaceful and loving environment for their kid."

He smiled. "Yeah that's what I thought too, I mean… we can't be in the same room together without some kind of hostility, raising a kid? It's just not possible."

"I agree completely. I have no idea why Alcide involved you, but you're off the hook." Nice normal tone used, somehow managed to keep my hate for him under control. Doing good Stackhouse.

"Excuse me?" He raised a brow at me, still leaning against the fridge like he owned the place. Which, I guess now he technically did.

"You're off the hook. You don't have to do this, any of this. I'll step up and do it."

He stared at me.

"Alone? By yourself? You're just gonna take on someone else's kid, someone else's house? All on your own?"

I nodded, not really getting how this was hard for him to understand.

"If CPS let's me, then why not?"

"Why not?" He raised his voice. "Why…? Look alright I get it, you're a hard ass, and that's fine, but you cannot do this by yourself, it's not… not…"

"Not what? Not right? Not right for a woman to raise a kid on her own? News flash, millions of women do it every day, I'll be fine."

"No."

"No, what?"

"No, you're not letting me off the hook here. It's not only you who's been shouldered with this responsibility, and I do not crap out on my responsibilities."

"Riiight, you just crap out on dates."

Oops, couldn't help it I guess.

He swallowed his beer, his face switching from thoughtful to sarcastic in a second.

"Only the dates where the chick is practically an iceberg. It gets a little chilly, what can I say."

Bastard.

"In fact, last time I saw you, you were doing an amazing impersonation of an Ice Queen, and stiffing me for eight hundred dollars."

I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Well, I felt the need to stiff you for something, and it certainly wasn't going to be something fun… It was delicious by the way."

"Excuse me?"

"The champagne, that you paid for, it was magnificent. Thank you."

He pressed his lips together in a pout.

"Glad you enjoyed it; at least one of us got something out of it."

"Mmmhmm."

He rolled his eyes at me before dumping his beer in the trash.

"So what now, Sookie?"

Strike me down, but I shouldn't have liked the way he said my name, but damn it, I did.

"I don't know, we get to pick her up tomorrow morning at nine a.m., the lawyer is coming here to look things over and talk to us some more, then… I don't know."

"Alright, I'm going to be honest. I don't want this life, I don't want a kid, I don't want a huge ass house that's not mine, I never asked for any of this―"

"And you think I did? I―"

"Let me finish."

I shut up.

"I don't want these things, and shit, I spend enough on condoms that I could own a share in Trojan for fucks sake, and enough time worrying about knocking some chick up, to go now and end up saddled with a baby anyway? It's not fair. But, Alcide is… was my friend, my best friend, outside of Pam, he was the only other person that I―"

His voice cracked a little and it shocked me.

"Fuck! Look, basically they had their reasons for doing and signing and saying that this is what happens and none of us asked for this shit to happen, so fine, whatever. I'm in."

"You sound so thrilled."

He glared at me.

"You can't honestly tell me this is how you imagined your life right now? Stuck with a house and a kid with some asshole you hate? It's not exactly the ideal situation."

"No it's not. But then again neither is having my cousin die with her husband before either of them hit thirty-five."

He nodded.

"Yeah. Look, you should try and maybe get some sleep."

"No, I should make some calls… What about you?" I asked, not really sure where the concern came from.

"I'll be fine. I'm used to being up late so this is normal hours for me. And don't worry about calling everyone, I'll find their address book and do it in the morning. No sense in waking the world when we don't have to right?"

Right, he ran a bar.

"Okay, yeah that's true… I mean I already left my brother a message on his cell, but God knows where he's at tonight…" I sighed. I never could rely on Jason. "I guess I'll crash in one of the guest rooms."

I excused myself and made my way up the large staircase to the bedroom. I walked past their bedroom, not ready to go inside there yet. Next to their room was Jessica's room—a baby wonderland—done to Hadley's idea of perfection for her baby girl. Not over done in pink like I'd worried she'd do, but softer lilac and whites. It was beautiful. I felt my tears threaten to spill on me again, but exhaustion just took me over and I sat on the overstuffed nursing chair, put my feet up on the foot stool and before I knew it I was out cold.

EPOV:

I was glad she went to bed when she did, mainly because I couldn't take the debating any more. She looked like shit; I felt like shit, and I'm pretty sure she felt like the shit she looked like. We both needed some alone time. I was pretty much nocturnal from years of running my bar so being up this late—or early however you look at it—didn't bother me. What bothered me was her, her sheer stubborn determination to take things on alone. Who the hell does that? Agrees to be a single parent when there was an out option? She was crazy. Or maybe she was right? I just felt sick about the whole thing. We had a few hours to digest everything before that innocent baby girl was handed into our hands—forever.

I was convinced Alcide and Hadley had done drugs before they'd signed that damn will. I wasn't cut out to be someone's father, or father figure, or whatever the fuck I was meant to be now. The baby, yeah I knew her. I'd visited Al enough to be familiar with the kid, but only barely. Hadley was always with her, and Alcide and I would break off and watch sports or go golfing or running together. I was never around babies. I didn't know what to do or how to do it and suddenly I get hours to adjust to the idea of 'Hey! By the way your best friend and his wife just died and here's their kid. Bye.'

I poured myself a whiskey neat. I needed it.

I never backed out on my responsibilities. Ever. It wasn't how I was raised, and I'd be damned if I was going to do it now. I knew that if I didn't, or Sookie didn't that they'd look into another family member to do it. That, or she'd be left in some kids home somewhere till someone came and adopted her.

And that just wasn't right.

She deserved to grow up in the home her mom and dad had made for her…and the only other family options on Alcide's side were his eighty-year old Aunt Maud on his mother's side. Being an only child of older parents, he was kind of screwed. They'd died and he was alone. All his cousins were either in Europe, or there was that one cousin of his that lived in New York, but last he told me of her she was doing soft core porn… So yeah, she was out.

On Hadley's side there really only were two people.

Sookie, or Sookie's brother. And from what I knew from stories Alcide had told me, he was a few fries short of a happy meal upstairs. Alcide described him as a "dumber version of you, thinks with his dick… only unlike you, his upstairs brain is pretty dormant."

So… He was out.

Really, Sookie and I were the only options for the kid.

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Nine a.m. came quickly. I'd managed maybe two hours sleep on the couch—if that. I got up at eight and brewed the strongest pot of coffee I could before taking a quick shower. The shower was wet and the bathroom misty when I went in—alerting me to Sookie's prior use of the bathroom—meaning she'd been up for a while.

My mind was reeling with everything that definitely would happen today, and things that might happen today. I showered in record time, which was pointless since I was changing back into my previously worn clothes. I still felt gross.

Sookie, however, looked a lot better. Her hair was dried and shiny even though she'd stuck it up in a messy bun. She'd been applying lip gloss in a mirror from her purse when I entered the kitchen.

"Morning." She said quietly taking her mug from the island. "Thanks for the coffee."

"Welcome." Yeah, I really wasn't a morning person.

She smiled. "Not a morning person, huh?"

I shook my head no. I was trying to wake myself up, and while looking at her breasts in that tank top was fun, it wasn't helping the situation of her yapping.

"I get that. My brother is a total night owl too. I'm the annoying perky one at seven a.m."Awesome.

"You want something to eat?"

"No, I'm good thanks." I slugged my coffee as fast as I could without burning off my tongue.

"Should we take your car or mine? I think mine's better, or maybe we should take Hadley's? Or maybe just get the baby seat and bring it in my car? Or maybe―"

"Sookie. Chill."

"I… I'm sorry. I'm just―"

"Nervous? Yeah, I know. I am too, but you need to relax a little, and maybe tone down the decibel. I'm not functioning on all cylinders right now."

After her ranting session and my second cup of coffee we decided on taking the baby seat from Hadley's Rover in the garage and sticking it in Sookie's little beat up Nova. How she thought that was safer than a range rover, I'll never understand. I grabbed the address book from Alcide's office and began to make some calls to friends of theirs that I knew said they'd call the friends of theirs that I didn't know. Everyone was shocked and saddened.

At that point I think I was starting to feel numb to it all. A few dozen phone calls later, we were heading into the CPS offices, where the foster parents would be meeting us. Alcide's lawyer was called in, and I called my lawyer to act on my behalf, as well as Sookie's, in this matter. Sookie was nervous, her hands were shaking and she really never shut up the whole way there. I'd need to find a trick to tone her out, and soon.

We were greeted by our social worker, a seemingly sweet woman named Megan. She was taller than Sookie, with shoulder length highlighted hair, and big expressive eyes that danced when she talked. She was very animated too—hand gesturing here and there as she explained the procedures to us alone at first. She wasn't overly formal or overly friendly at first. I liked that.

"Now I know this situation is highly unusual—two single people—you're not a couple is that correct?" She looked at her file.

"No." I responded.

"Hell no!" She responded. She was just so mature.

"I see." Megan looked at me and smiled. Oh now was so not the time to flirt, but I couldn't help it.

"No Megan, we're definitely not seeing each other. I'm single, she's single. Its just that circumstances are as you say, unusual. But I do date. That's not wrong, is it?" I may have batted my eyelashes, so sue me.

She blushed, Sookie scoffed.

"N-no, of course it's not wrong. It's perfectly… healthy." She coughed and looked at her file again. "However, with circumstances as unique as these, should you agree to take custody of Jessica by signing all the necessary paperwork, I will be your case worker. And, because of the situation, we want to ensure that Jessica is going to the best home and parents that we can give her. Do you understand?"

Sookie and I both responded with a confident, "Yes."

"Good. Talk with your lawyer, he'll advise you on what to do. Jessica is in the other room and if all goes to plan, I can bring you guys in to meet with her in a few minutes?"

Both lawyers came in. There were negotiations and other legal mumbo-jumbo, but in a matter of minutes Sookie and I had signed an agreement to take custody of Jessica—the estate left by Alcide and Hadley—and changed our lives forever.

I'd be needing a big drink after all this.

"The estate, what exactly is that?" Sookie asked.

Alcide's lawyer—and a friend of his—we'd found out they worked in the same office building. Alcide had done well for himself, carving out a career quickly as one of the best lawyers in the whole state of Louisiana. So of course, "Mr. Hermes Briefcase" was his 'friend'. He told us the estate in total did amount to a sizeable sum, but because they had a mortgage on that huge ass house of theirs, most of it went to paying that off. And whatever was left over was for Jessica's college fund.

Interesting. We also inherited any and all bills from the estate, which thankfully there were very few of, just a car and a loan that was almost paid in full. It wouldn't have been an issue.

After we signed everything that needed signing, we all shook hands and the suits left. Just like that, we'd gotten a baby. We'd signed an agreement for her like a car. Sometimes the world confused me.

I heard Sookie take several deep breaths as Megan, who insisted I call her Meg, led us into the other room. A playroom filled with toys, other kids, a few parents and case workers.

I saw her before they brought her over to us. She was sitting in a circle of other kids playing happily with some building blocks, a little pink dress and white shoes with a ribbon in her barely there hair.

We met the foster parents and made awkward conversation as Meg brought Jessica to us. Sookie took her first, cuddling her closely and kissing her cheeks, whispering to her how she was going to be okay, that Aunt Sookie was there and that she was safe now. She was a baby and I doubt she understood, but to Sookie, I guess the gesture was more for comforting herself than it was Jessica. They gave us a small bag of her things, some diapers, a bottle, and wipes. Then they said we could take her home.

Home.

Where was home? My place was home for me, Sookie's place was home for her, but their place was home for Jessica.

So, I guess that's where we were going.

Meg met with us in the hallway to give us, well… me, her card, and to ensure that if we had any questions to call her, about anything.

Subtle.

Sookie was a channeling the ice queen I knew so well as we made our way to the parking lot. She focused entirely on Jessica, ignoring me completely.

Getting her into the car was a disaster. The car seat was designed by NASA. Honestly, how the hell did those things work? So many straps all wired up to one little claspy thing. I just did not get it.

I tried and tried but with Sookie glaring at me in the rear view mirror, threatening to 'come back there and do it herself' I had to give up. So I tied the kid in, literally tied her with the straps, hoping Sookie wouldn't noticed, and offered to sit in the backseat with her.

She kept staring at me, which ordinarily would freak me out, but she was just so innocent and sweet that I was awed. Her big blue eyes, reminiscent of Hadley, and come to think of it, Sookie's, looking up at me, her pacifier bobbing in and out of her little mouth, tiny hand clasping on to my fingers.

"Hey Jess, you hungry? Huh? You hungry? Can you say hungry?" I offered, and she just continued to stare. Huh… kids, they didn't do a whole lot, did they?

"Hun-guh-rey"

Sookie giggled from the front seat.

"You might have better luck with a response if you took the pacifier out."

Oh. Duh.

I pulled it out gently and apparently that equals slapping her upside the head since the scream she gave me in return almost busted my ear drums.

Note to self: Never take that shit out. Ever.

"I'msorryi'msorryi'msorry, baby, here baby, I'm sorry." I went to give it back but apparently she was having none of my shit. I'd tainted her sucky thing.

"How do I make it stop?"

"I don't know give it back!"

"I DID, she doesn't want it now!"

"Try giving her the bottle?"

I tried and no dice. Shit, I'd broken the kid and we hadn't even had her a full hour.

Sookie started calling Jessica's name from the front seat before she broke into a verse of Row Your Boat.

I looked between the singing lunatic in the front seat and the sobbing baby in the back. I was in hell.

"Row row row your boat gently down the stream… ROW YOUR BOAT, ERIC!" I got threatening eyes in the mirror again and I agreed to join in, rowing the damn boat like she asked. It didn't work and Jessica was turning redder with each passing minute.

Jesus, what did I do!

Sookie switched on the radio in attempts to either drown her out or shut her up. Both worked.

Thank you, Katy Perry.

Sookie began to sing along and Jessica seemed to respond to the music. Her cries lessened to smaller whimpers to suddenly having her fists in her mouth with her little leg bopping up and down on the seat.

"… it felt so wrong, it felt so right… don't mean I'm in love to-night." Sookie sang, off key of course, but she was smiling at me through the mirror, and I don't know why but I smiled back.

Mission accomplished.

I'd texted Pam the night before just before I'd gotten to the hospital, and with everything that had happened since, I hadn't had the chance to call her back. I called in from the back of the car as Sookie pulled up to my place. We figured we should at least get some things from both our places since going home alone anytime soon wasn't going to be an option.

"This is Pam."

"Hey."

"Eric, thank God. What happened was the accident bad?"

"They're dead, Pam."

I heard a sharp intake of breath.

"Oh Eric, I'm so sorry. I know Alcide was―"

"It's fine. I mean no, it's not fine, but it's fine you know? I'm dealing. But there's something else."

"What?"

"They left me custody of the baby."

She was silent on the other end.

"Pam?"

"I… What? Where they high?"

"I know, believe me." I saw Sookie look at me through the mirror again, obviously trying to make it look like she wasn't listening in. Not that I gave a damn if she listened or not.

"Well, not just me. Hadley's cousin, Sookie, too."

"Ice Queen? Ohhh Eric you're so fucked right now."

"I know. But we're dealing."

"You're actually agreeing to this madness?"

"I am."

"Why? Eric this is huge! You can't just take on a kid with some bitch ass woman. What the fuck?"

"Pam."

"I'm sorry, but I think it's crazy."

"It is crazy, but it's not like any of us expected this you know? Look, we're at my place and I'm going to pack a bag and try to make funeral arrangements. Come by Alcide's after your shift okay? We'll talk then."

She agreed and I hung up just as Sookie pulled into the parking lot of my building.

I untied Jessica when I got out of the car, reaching into the backseat to take her in my arms. I was waiting for her to start crying again, but she just looked at me, her tiny hands grabbing onto my chin.

Sookie folded her arms and motioned to get back into the car.

"I'll just… wait here."

"No, it's fine. Come with me if you'd like? This is a good neighborhood, but I can't say the same for people who hang out in parking lots."

"Oh." She looked out the window of her car again, looking nervous. "Okay. If you… insist."She was scared of being alone in the lot, not that I blame her. That place was creepy as hell, even during the day.

"Sure, come on."

"Hey, Jess you wanna see my place? Will we go see my place, huh?"

She just bubbled spit at me. I'd take that as a yes.

Sookie, Jessica and I got into the elevator together. Sookie was unusually silent.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just… I'm just thinking that's all."

"Well, don't think too hard you might break something in there."

She glared at me. She was just too easy to wind up. It was awesome.

We stepped inside and suddenly my apartment felt like another world.

I threw my keys down on the coffee table, leaving Jessica on the couch. She was on her feet in an instant, but Sookie went to her as she started gliding along the couch holding onto the cushions before falling on her little butt and looking around.

"I'll just throw some stuff in a bag."

I saw Sookie looking around, more than likely judging my place. I suddenly felt uncomfortable, my place being under her judging eye. Not that I gave a damn what she thought but… still.

I walked into my room and was instantly hit by the scent of sex. Right. Ginger.

Christ, it had been a matter of hours and already that had felt like a lifetime ago. I opened my blinds, and popped open a window just as Sookie came into the room.

"Oh!" She was repelled. Ah… sex smell. "Jesus Eric what did you do? Hold an orgy?" Her face in scrunched up disgust was annoyingly judgmental.

"So, what if I did?"

She rolled her eyes.

"I just wanted to ask, I'm going to order us some lunch to pick up when we stop at my place. What do you feel like?"

"Where are you ordering from?"

"Uh, my restaurant."

Shit, that's right I'd almost forgotten. She ran that big fancy place on the other side of town from my bar.

"You own that place?"

"No… I just run it." She looked uncomfortable.

"I hear it's doing well."

She nodded shifting Jessica up in her arms as she was slipping a little.

"It is. It wasn't before I came on board, but we're good now, thankfully. Do you want something or…"

"Well, maybe we could stop by? We've got to run to the funeral home and make arrangements. So maybe we could do it there, while we get something to eat?"

She nodded. "Sure."

Nice, civilized. Then she looked at my floor.

Condom.

God, I was a gross bastard; but in fairness, I had left in a bit of a hurry.

"Classy, Northman." She looked at me, disgusted, before turning on her heel and leaving. I even heard the front door shut.

And we're back… just when I think we can be civil to each other her sarcasm comes out to play. No, it wasn't exactly classy; yes, she's right, but she doesn't always have to be such a bitch about it.

Or maybe she does. Oh God, Pam was right. I am so fucked right now, and not in the fun need of a condom sense either.

Fuck.

A/N: Remember, reviews are loved! :D