AN- All characters are the property of Charlaine Harris.
Jason watched Eric leave with Sookie in his arms. He could not believe how Sookie was acting. But what was even worse was that his Gran had been okay with all of this. He looked down to check his watch. If he hurried, he might be able to catch his grandmother awake.
Jason pulled up to the farmhouse and saw that the lights were still on. He lightly tapped on the door as he opened it. "Gran?," he called out.
"I'm in here Jason," she replied from the kitchen.
Jason walked in to see his Gran doing some dishes. He picked up a towel and helped her dry them. "So I saw Sookie just now," he began.
"She said she would talk to you," Adele confirmed.
"What is she doin hangin out with that vamp Gran?"
"I don't expect you to understand real love Jason. I'm sure you have never experienced it first hand."
"How can you sit there and tell me that that vampire loves Sook?" Jason was waving his hands frantically.
Adele sighed, "Listen Jason, I'm going to tell you something that you have to promise to keep quiet." She finished up the dishes and sat down at the table.
"What's going on Gran?" Jason went to the fridge and got a beer before he sat down across from his grandmother.
"Do you remember back when Sookie was young? She used to have dreams whenever she got upset." She waited as Jason nodded. "In these dreams she would see a man, he would hold her close, and she would feel better."
"Ya I remember it being pretty creepy. 'Cause it wasn't any man that we knew, like a relative or nothing."
"She was recallin someone from a previous life, someone who loved her," Adele looked at Jason to see if he understood.
Jason's eyebrows knit as he thought about this. "You want me to believe that Sookie had a past life?"
"Think about it Jason, if vampires exist then why wouldn't past lives?"
He waved his hand impatiently, "What does this have to do with anything Gran?"
She shook her head, Jason could be so dense sometimes. "Eric is the man that she dreamed of Jason. He is the man that she knew in a past life."
"Oh you have gotta be kidding me!"
"No Jason, It's true. He knew her the moment he saw her. Their life together dates back to when he was a human." She paused to get herself some tea from the fridge.
"Their life together?" Jason got up and started pacing the kitchen.
She sighed and looked directly at Jason, "When has Sookie ever loved a man Jason? Or even had a crush on a guy? Are you really going to tell her she can't now?"
"He's not just any guy Gran, he's a vampire."
"Oh so what? Let Sookie make up her own mind. You don't see me fuming about all the women you are with all the time do you?" Adele scowled at Jason.
"It's not the same Gran. My girlfriends won't drain my blood."
"No but they will give you deadly diseases," she snapped. "Leave them alone Jason." She knew that it would not end well if Jason tried to take Sookie from Eric.
"We might as get her coffin ready then."
"Get out of my house Jason Stackhouse! And don't come back until you can be more civil." She thrust her finger at the door.
Jason knew that there was no talking to his grandmother now. He got up and left.
Outside the house, Bill Compton watched as Jason drove away. He smiled to himself, he finally had information he could use. He knew that sticking around the Stackhouse residence would pay off eventually.
This time when they entered Fangtasia, they went through the back door to avoid the crowd. Eric led Sookie to his office. He watched her face as she surveyed the barely organized clutter that was his office. "I'll be just a moment," he announced as he sat at his desk. She nodded and sat down on the couch. He flipped on his computer and checked his emails. Some of which required his attention and response. He is so engrossed in his work that he didn't notice Sookie examining the books he had on shelves covering one wall.
He finished just as someone knocked at the door. "Enter," he said simply. Pam stepped in the door. "Have you arranged the meeting?," he asked her.
"Yes, though your accountant complained about not getting any sleep," Pam smirked.
"Well he will just have to get over that," Eric announced angrily.
"He is the one that brought this all to your attention, maybe you should give him some slack."
Eric laughed, "Not a chance. This whole incident has me very irritated."
"What if it's not a human?," Sookie blurted out.
Both vampires hissed at that thought. "You will have to tread lightly if that is true Sookie," Eric warned. She nodded her understanding. "Come lover, let us go see the new chair that Pam got for you," he smiled broadly holding out a hand to Sookie.
They entered the bar hand in hand. Ignoring the crowd they made their way to the chairs. Sookie saw that Eric's chair was ancient and undoubtedly uncomfortable. Whereas the one that Pam had gotten for her was pretty and had plenty of cushioning. It had claw feet and the arm rests curled ornately at the ends. The wood of the chair was painted black and the padding was red. Sookie suspected that was in keeping with the design scheme of the bar. She would never have it in her house, but here it looked wonderful.
Sookie turned her head, "Thank you Pam."
Pam actually looked touched, "You're welcome my dear."
Eric's hand did not leave Sookie's as they sat down together. The crowd was less shocked than he thought they would be. He surveyed them without interest as he had always done. But it was different holding Sookie's hand, it was somehow less dull.
After awhile Sookie leaned next to him, "There is a V dealer in your alley."
He raised his eyebrow, "How far do your talents reach?"
"It's a lot easier to use my abilities when I have had your blood," she explained.
"Wonderful," he smiled. He motioned for Pam. "Sookie here tells me that there is a V dealer in our alley," Eric informed Pam when she arrived. "I know how much you like to handle them yourself."
"Gladly," she laughed and disappeared.
A fight broke out a short time later and Sookie leaned over to Eric again as they watched. "That guy wants a vampire to kill him," she explained. She tilted her head slightly as if listening harder. "He's dieing anyway. From some kind of disease. So he thought he would irritate a vampire enough to handle it for him."
"And what do you think should happen?," he asked.
"Lemme talk to him," she said as she got up.
The vampire that was being harassed had his hands up and was backing away from the obviously crazy human. He was looking at Eric to see what he should do when he say Sookie walking up. The vampire quickly backed away even further, knowing he should not touch Eric's woman.
Sookie nodded to the vampire and turned to the human. "What are your wife and kids gonna do when you die Henry?," she asked him.
His eyes widened, "H...how...how do you know all that?"
"Does that really matter? Are you gonna make me go tell your wife that you came into Fangtasia looking to die?"
"Who are you?"
"I can certainly arrange to have a vampire kill you if that is what you really want. But I really don't wanna look into your kids eyes the next day when I have to tell them that their dad was too chicken shit to live." She stared at him defiantly. He looked at his shoes in shame. "Why don't you go home and kiss you wife and kids. And don't come back to Fangtasia Henry," she added as she turned to leave.
Henry watched as this strange girl made her way through the crowd. His eyes got big as he saw her sit next to the powerful vampire. He wasn't sure who she was but he was sure he shouldn't tempt fate twice. He hurried out the door of the bar.
"That was entertaining," Eric said as Sookie sat back down next to him.
"I'm glad you thought so," she said sadly. "I feel bad for him. He knows he will die and he is in incredible pain."
"I could take away his pain if you wished it," he offered.
"No," she said shaking her head. "Whatever he's got, he could actually live quite awhile and I wouldn't deprive his family of that."
Eric lifted her hand to mouth and kissed it gently. "No one can dodge their fate Sookie."
She looked up at him with a confused look. "Isn't that what you did when you became a vampire?"
He shook his head. "No Sookie, my fate was to become a vampire. I was born to it."
Sookie nodded, she admitted that fate obviously had a hand in her meeting Eric.
The rest of the night passed without incident. As the last of the customers was shuffled out, Eric called to Pam, "Have the accountant brought in first."
Eric led Sookie to table in the middle of the room and motioned for her to sit down. He smiled down at her encouragingly. Long Shadow was at the bar watching as Pam escorted the accountant in. Eric's smile immediately vanished as soon as the human entered and he moved to stand behind Sookie, his hands on her shoulders.
Sookie smiled at the accountant as he was shown to the chair across from her. He was looking at Sookie with wild eyes. He was sure that he would die tonight and he had no idea what role she played in this.
"It's okay Bruce. I don't bite. Sit down let's talk," she motioned to the chair that he had been unwilling to occupy.
He glanced at Eric standing behind Sookie and cautiously sat down. Sookie could see that this would be much harder with Eric lurking in such a manner. She reached up and patted his hand. Through the bond she lightly repelled him, hoping he would get the hint. Eric bent down and lightly kissed Sookie on the cheek. He then stepped back and took up a chair at the bar.
As soon as Eric retreated, the accountant sat down. "So I hear you are the one that discovered the missing money," she started. Sookie reached her hand out as if to comfort him. She found that contact always gave her direct windows into people. He took her hand without thinking and she held it lightly. She could feel that Eric did not like watching her hold hands with another man.
"Yes...," Bruce said hesitantly.
"You did a good job. You were correct in bringing it to Eric's attention as soon as you found it," she glanced at Eric as if telling him to take it easy on the poor man. "This man didn't do it," she announced.
"You may get your precious sleep now Bruce," Eric proclaimed. "Pam, bring in the next one."
Sookie looked up at the next candidate and suppressed a laugh. It was obvious that this one enjoyed working at Fangtasia a lot and she had the scares to show for it. She had on a long trailing black dress that showed off too much cleavage. Her hair was strawberry blond and ragged. She glanced around and calmly sat down in the chair that Pam led her to. She could not hide her open disgust of Sookie.
"You will answer Sookie's questions Ginger," Eric demanded.
"Yes, master," Ginger replied meekly.
Sookie reached out to take Ginger's wrist and she flung Sookie's hand away. "Don't touch me," she screeched.
"Pam, hold Ginger still," Eric commanded, and Pam appeared instantly. She held Ginger's upper arms as she thrashed her head about.
Sookie took her hand forcefully and looked into Ginger's eyes. "Did you take the money?"
Ginger didn't reply, instead she screamed. Long and loud she screamed as Sookie sifted through her mind. It was like looking at swiss cheese, there were so many holes. Sookie quickly got all of the information that she could so that she wouldn't have to listen to this screaming anymore. She let go of Ginger's hand and she still wouldn't stop yelling.
"Stop shouting please," Sookie asked barely hiding her irritation. Ginger completely ignored her and continued screaming at the top of her lungs. Sookie sighed and slapped her soundly. Ginger's eyes widened and she stifled yet more screaming. Sookie looked up at Pam, in Eric's language she said, "I suspect that whoever did this has glamored Ginger. She knows who did it, but she can't tell me." Sookie heard Eric hiss behind her. "I need to talk to her closest friend."
"Bring in Belinda," Eric supplied.
Pam dragged Ginger out and came back with another barmaid. Belinda was dressed much the same as Ginger but she seemed older and slightly wiser than her predecessor. She silently sat down and excepted Sookie's hand without question.
"Which vampire has Ginger been seeing?," Eric asked.
"Anyone that would have her," Belinda smirked. Sookie was assaulted by many vampire faces as Belinda recalled all the vampires that Ginger had claimed to be with. It felt like flipping through someone's rolodex. Most of the faces where unknown to her. A few of them she had seen in Fangtasia though she doubted they had access to the money. Then one face popped up and she was sure she had her answer.
"You are standing by your thief, my love." Sookie whispered in the ancient tongue, her eyes not leaving Belinda.
Eric immediately pounced on Long Shadow. Holding him in his iron arms. "Where is my money you son of a bitch?" Eric snarled into Long Shadow's ear.
"What? You believe this human?" Long Shadow exclaimed.
"Of course I believe Sookie you idiot. We are bonded, I would know if she lied to me." Eric tightened his hold on Long Shadow. "Here is what you are going to do. You are going to repay me my sixty thousand dollars, plus an extra ten thousand and I will consider letting you leave my area alive."
Long Shadow seemed to be weighing his options. As his eyes met Sookie's he hissed loudly.
"It would be a huge mistake to hurt my Sookie, Long Shadow," Eric growled.
"Fine," Long Shadow agreed reluctantly.
"Pam get my laptop," Eric instructed. Pam disappeared only to reappear a moment later, placing the laptop on the bar in front of the two vampires. "I am going to let go of your hands so that you can transfer the money to my account. But do not get any crazy ideas, I am not leaving your side."
Long Shadow nodded and Eric's hands quickly moved from Long Shadow's arms to his neck. Eric watched him carefully he typed in the necessary information. "Do not get any crazy ideas about vengeance. I am going to be calling your maker to inform him how generous I was to let you live." Eric turned Long Shadow toward the door. "Pam, you will be escorting Mr. Long Shadow here out of my area." He let go of the vampire as soon as he was sure that Pam had his arms. As soon as they were out the door, Eric was on his phone.
Sookie took Belinda and led her out the back. "Who are you?" Belinda asked as she was exiting the door. "You just showed up outta no where and now you are sitting at Eric's side. I don't get it."
"My name is Sookie Stackhouse and I'm Eric's. That's all you really need to know dear." Sookie waved at her, "Have a good night now." Belinda had a confused look on her face but she decided not to pursue it any further.
Sookie went back inside to find the rest of the people that were sitting in the employee area. She quickly scanned them to see if they had been hiding anything else that Eric should know about. Satisfied, she informed them that they could all go home. "Thank you for your time," she added. They all stared at her a moment wondering if they had just inherited yet another boss, then they quickly hurried out the door to their cars.
"That could have gone much worse," Eric said as he folded his arms around Sookie. "If I had been forced to kill Long Shadow, it would have just cost me more money to his maker. Hot Rain promised to punish him brutally and thanked me for letting him live. Thank you lover." He nibbled her ear tenderly.
"Do you think he will punish him?" She asked looking up into his eyes.
"He recognizes how close his progeny came to his final death. He also agreed to my demands of him never coming back into my area. It is the job of the maker to keep his children in line," Eric explained. "If he does not, then I will come after him and his maker."
"So if Pam did something like that?"
"I would be forced to punish her," he stated. "Which is why I taught her to not be that stupid."
"How will you know if Hot Rain actually does it though?" She sounded skeptical about this whole process.
"Ah yes, well for that I had to contact his King. He almost seemed excited to see Long Shadow punished. I suspect that Long Shadow crossed him in the past and that is how he ended up in Louisiana in the first place."
She decided that she didn't want to contemplate this anymore. "You know what I think?" She turned and smiled wickedly. "I think that there are too many things on your desk." She laughed and ran into his office.
He growled and ran after her. Pausing to shove everything but his computer off of his desk. She looked into his eyes and he could feel her desire flowing through him. He reached under her skirt and deftly pulled down her underwear. He could feel that she was more than ready for him. Eric pulled her mouth into his. He felt her fingers fumbling with his pants and he moaned in anticipation. He continued kissing her until she had his pants free. Then he flipped her around and bent her over his desk.
Sookie grabbed the other side of the desk as Eric entered her from behind. "Oh yes!" She screamed as her head flew back in response. Eric grabbed her hips and settled into a steady rhythm. She pushed back into him and cried out as he thrust deeper into her. He dipped one hand down to her pleasure center and rubbed it rapidly. All the while pulling her to him forcefully. He felt her walls closing in on him deliciously. Eric bent over Sookie and kissed the spot where her neck met her shoulder. "Do it," Sookie yelled. "Take me! Take all of me!" And he bit down on her, feeling her hot blood flowing down his throat. They screamed out each others names as they both left their bodies.