Hey guys,
how are you all? I hope you all had a very good Christmas. I did but i have to say it's been a very hectic week. I said hello to my new baby cousin Alexander, had my annual tests done at the hospital (as i write this i have a horrible swelling and bruise on my inner elbow from blood tests) and got my car fixed properly so she now runs smoothly which took a lot of garage time for me and my dad. I also happened to try my hand at being vampire pale, well okay i got sick which made me look even paler than normal, so bad my friends thought i was a moment from passing out all day. I think the lack of colour comes from being blond haired, blue eyed and a lack of sun that comes from living in england. Anyway, enough whining from me.
I'll say all my thanks first. So; thanks Suzi, you sent me a review for chapter 15 and i couldn't reply to you. Now a really big thank-you to my wonderful betas campyrs and trajedy99, couldn't do this without them.
Next, just reminder about my holiday oneshot - The Old Ones are the Best is available from my profile. As for the new years one shot, i'm a couple of thousand words in so hopefully it'll be done in time. But, it may have to just be posted on saturday.
Charlaine Harris owns the wonderful Southern Vampire Mysteries and on with the chapter!
I pushed him back as hard as I could, it only worked because he voluntarily laid down when he realised my intention, onto the bed. He pulled me down on top of him so that I was completely laying on him, the tips of my toes not coming anywhere near his feet. Instead of feeling dwarfed in his presence, I felt safe, protected; he wouldn't hurt me and he'd proven it time and again that he would defend me. It kind of made it hard for a girl to keep her heart protected when there was such a vampire around.
The next instant, just before I was able to kiss his chest just above the collar of his shirt, I was flipped over onto my back so that my vampire was looming directly above me. His hair fell down in a curtain around us to trail onto the pillow where it blended almost seamlessly with mine. I simply couldn't wait anymore and I tried to sit up so that I could kiss him, my hands holding onto his shoulders to steady myself. His lips were soft and inviting, moulding with mine as he kissed me back with abandon. Wandering hands began to grace my body, sending little shivers from wherever his fingertips touched.
"Are you sure?" I'd never expected him to actually check with me, I'd just assumed that he would take my word for it and be taken over by lust.
"Yes." I pulled back only enough to mumble the word before kissing him again, pulling him down so that I could rest against the bed again.
I didn't even notice him undressing me until he stopped kissing me to pull my jeans off and I discovered he'd already unfastened my shirt and front fastening bra, both items were quickly shed leaving me naked on the bed. Eric's clothes quickly went the same way.
"Eric," I moaned a little too loudly as he kissed along my neck, his tongue teasing my skin. My one exclamation sent him into a frenzy; rolling us over so that I was once again on top. My hands gripped his shoulders, fingers digging into his hard muscles.
"Bite me lover." He whispered back at me, taking a moment's break from my neck. I didn't hesitate, I knew I was able to bite through his skin, to the blood underneath.
"Only if you bite me," I grinned back. I began to kiss his neck over where an artery would have been pulsing if he'd been human, sucking the flesh into my mouth and earning a groan with every motion. He thrust into me suddenly and it was that which made me bite down with all my strength so that my teeth penetrated his skin cleanly. His blood filled my mouth, tasting metallic and almost sweet; a deep, rich flavour like I'd never experienced before. He grabbed my wrist then and bit down without warning, joining us together in a third which was simply too much for me to handle, especially when he took his first long drag. I didn't last more than two seconds before I was thrown into the depths of ecstasy, not to resurface for quite a long time.
I awoke, for some reason I didn't know, at about dawn to a silent house in darkness. Nothing was stirring and the only brains I could feel in the area was my Gran, who was in deep sleep, and Eric who was still blissfully laid beside me, dead to the world already. I shrugged off wondering why I was woken up and just chose to enjoy the moment while I could. I snuggled further into Eric's side, allowing my cheek to rest against his cool chest which was a nice change to the complete warmth of my body since I'd been cocooned under the duvet for hours. Even in his sleep he was keeping me close to him with his strong arm draped around my waist so that his hand rested on my bare hip. I'd discovered that he was just a little protective and possessive if I was into understating.
I wasn't entirely sure if it was safe for him to be just lounging in bed with me so close to dawn. There wasn't anything I could do about it; he was already in his day time slumber and there would be no rousing him apart from in some form of an emergency. The drapes were shut, and they were lined, although they weren't black out blinds they would have to suffice, I just had to trust that Eric knew what he was doing.
Although he was completely relaxed with not an ounce of tension residing in his body he looked completely dishevelled; hair all over the place and even though I knew it was impossible, he looked tired. It was while I was gazing at his handsome face that I noticed that my hair now blended completely seamlessly with his. Our hair was trailing over the same pillow and there was no distinguishing colour difference between the strands. Well it was safe to say that his blood had worked its way into my system. I couldn't really feel him any better than before, that was probably more because he was essentially dead than the blood exchange not working.
"I need to tell you something Eric," I whispered to him even though I couldn't give a reason as to why. I also hadn't lost it, I knew he couldn't hear me and that was the precise reason that I was speaking to him. If I didn't get this off my chest now he'd be able to tell soon enough that I was holding something back from him. "I think I love you." I planted a kiss on his chest, sweetly. "No. I know I love you."
I had known from the beginning that I had to protect my heart and I'd also known from that first date in London that it was pointless, I was already being swept off my feet. Surprisingly I wasn't too scared by the feeling that had just hit me at some point last night, round about the same time I'd decided to take his blood and he'd asked me if I really wanted to go ahead with the exchange. I hadn't been in love with anyone since or before Bill and this time it felt different; I wasn't being consumed, I still felt whole and if anything I was feeling stronger, as though I was growing.
I smiled to myself and snuggled down once again into his side, my head resting on the crook of his shoulder where his shoulder met his chest. This was one of the great things about sleeping with a vampire in a daytime slumber, you could snuggle to your heart's content and they would never complain. It's safe to say that I didn't last five minutes before I was once again deep in sleep.
"Right Gran, I'm going to work. Remember, don't go into my room." I gave her a kiss on the cheek.
"Yes, yes. I promise, now go or you're going to be late." I gave her another kiss and jogged out of the back door to get to my car; she was speaking the truth, if I didn't get going I really was going to be late. I'd debated telling her about Eric for a couple of hours before finally realising that I had to tell her, just in case she had to go into my room for some reason. It would be potentially dangerous for him and she would take it badly to discover a sleeping vampire naked in my bed. When I did tell her she took it surprisingly well. I hadn't told her he was actually in my bed, instead telling her that the hidey hole in my closet wasn't light tight anymore so my room had to remain dark. She seemed to buy that he'd stayed over because we'd been watching movies until the early hours, not leaving him enough time to safely get back to Shreveport but I couldn't be entirely sure that she wasn't just being her wonderfully understanding self.
"Sookie, nice to see you," Sam greeted me cheerfully as I walked into his office.
"Hey Sam, what's the crowd like today?" When I'd driven through the car park I'd only noticed three cars in the customer lot. I stowed my purse in the drawer that Sam kept free for all the employees and gave him a quick hug as I stood back up.
"Quiet, very quiet. Hopefully it'll pick up soon when lunch time really kicks in." I glanced at the clock; it was nearly twelve o clock, there should have already been a crowd and I had a feeling that Sam's thoughts were just wishful thinking rather than a premonition.
I walked into the bar and found the one person I really didn't want to speak to. I was in a very good mood and I had a feeling that speaking to Arlene would ruin it.
"Hey," I greeted her as I slid past her to get a new notepad from the shelf where we kept lots of random things. Ignoring her completely would be worse than having a full blown conversation with her because that would make her mad. Arlene definitely had a temper.
"Hey Sookie. Can I have a quick word with you?" I glanced across at the tables and saw that no one needed a refill and no one needed a waitress for any reason.
"Sure." I didn't have an excuse not to talk to her and I wasn't getting any malicious intent from her brain, if anything I was getting guilt which surprised me.
"The other day when I was, ah, getting mad with you. I wanted to apologise. I can't control you. It doesn't mean I can condone what you do with your..." her eyes fluttered shut for a second as she struggled to get the word out and the accompanying pictures in her head caused me to clamp my shields down as tightly as possible. "Vampire. But I can't stop you and you know my feelings on the matter." It was the biggest apology I'd ever heard Arlene give. She opened up her arms and enveloped my in a hug which I gladly returned. This was more like the friend I'd had a couple of years back before my life had been turned upside down and inside out compared to the boring back town life I'd been leading before vampires came out of the coffin.
"It's okay, you just can't do stuff like that."
"Oh, he ain't mad at me is he?" She was terrified of Eric; I could feel it even through my shields, the emotion coming from her amplified by our touch.
"No, he doesn't care enough to be mad." It was the truth and although it actually bothered her a little, it calmed her down enough to know there wasn't a vampire out there angry with her.
"Just don't do anything like that again or he might get mad. He's quite protective." I gave her another squeeze and then I pulled back. "It's okay Arlene and thank-you." I smiled at her and then trotted off toward a table that needed a drink refill.
The bar never really got busy that afternoon, certainly not bad enough to need three waitresses on duty which is why I got sent home an hour early from the bar; there was no need for me to be there when Holly showed up. I thanked Sam and hopped into my car in the bright sunshine, the kind you only get when the sun is so low on the horizon that you stare at it just looking at the road. I didn't know it at the time but I would be eternally thankful that I got to leave work that afternoon. If I had left even only five minutes later everything might have turned out differently.
As soon as I reached the drive to my home I knew there was something wrong. I didn't have a clue what I was picking up on, I couldn't tell if there was even anyone home never mind anyone else there, since I was still too far away from the house to pick up on anything telepathically. Something was different yet everything appeared to be exactly the same. I slowed the car down until I was barely creeping along, it would have been faster to walk, that way I could try and think everything through. It was stupid that I could tell that anything was wrong, I definitely wasn't psychic, but I still couldn't shake the feeling.
"Damn it." I muttered to myself as I gently applied the brakes, making as little noise as possible on the gravel, and slipped the car into park. I huffed, annoyed at myself, as I clambered out of my car only just managing to stop myself from slamming the car door shut.
I made my way to the tree line while I was still too far away from the house to be seen, just in case. The sun was low enough on the horizon to just have bright fingers above the trees but it definitely hadn't set yet so Eric would still be dead to the world and not at all helpful if anything was happening. The ground was solid, there hadn't been any rainfall in a few days, which meant that my progress was quite quick and I wasn't bothered enough by the light crunching of leaves underfoot to creep; the low noise wouldn't be audible to anyone in the house unless they were a vampire.
Soon I had looped completely around the house, there had only been my Gran's car in its usual spot on the drive way, and again everything appeared to be perfectly fine. Still, I walked until I was placed directly in front of the back door so that I could make a break for it. I'd rather appear foolish and have my Gran laugh at me than risk something.
"Come on Sookie," I whispered to myself, plucking up all the courage I could muster. I was standing, just about hidden by shadows, bouncing up and down on the balls of my feet while shaking my hands by my side in preparation. I could feel the adrenaline coursing through my veins sending my heart thumping at a fast patter while the oxygen my lungs were drawing in seemed to light my body on fire with energy. I nodded once and then I ran for it.
There was no way to keep undercover as I made my way from the trees to the back porch, I just had to hope that if there was something going on in the house that the person wouldn't be looking out of the back windows for me. My legs pumped as fast as I could, in a full sprint, for the back door so that when I finally reached the steps with burning lungs I made it to the top in one long bound. The screen door had been left open, probably from my Gran collecting the washing that had been left out, which let me slide to a halt on the wooden porch.
It was there that I discovered the first sign that there really was something wrong; the back door had been left ajar. It was only an inch but it was something that we never did especially not when the screen door had been left open as well. Immediately I reached out with my mind, searching for the brains inside the house. I found Eric first of all, exactly where I had left him and then I discovered my Gran in the living room. I wasn't entirely sure how I managed to restrain myself from barging into the house straight away. She was terrified, so scared that she couldn't stop quaking and she was crying out for me in her mind. There was someone else in their too, I just couldn't read who because there mind was shut off from me, giving me absolutely nothing almost as bad a vampire's mind. It happened to be the silence that told me exactly who was inside my house.
"Caleb," I whispered under my breath, so quiet that I was almost just mouthing the word to myself. I'd almost forgotten about the devil that had kidnapped me. I'd assumed that he would rear his ugly head again I just hadn't presumed that it would be now or even here at my house. One more cleansing breath and I was ready, I couldn't leave my Gran stranded when she needed me so badly.
I grabbed the closest thing that could be used as a weapon, more to defend myself than go for the attack, which happened to be an old frying pan that was decidedly stick instead of non-stick these days and was ready for throwing out. I threw the door open and ran through the house going straight for the living room where I could now hear my Gran whimpering. Nothing I could have done would have prepared me for what I was about to see.
My Gran was sprawled out on the floor, one arm outstretched toward the phone that was kept on the little side table next to the sofa, her other arm was bent at an excruciating angle. Her legs didn't seem to be broken but a black bruise had already taken over her right knee. Her eyes were shut lightly while her face was contorted into a painful grimace. It wasn't the obvious broken bones or the bruises that also covered her arms that was the scary thing, it was the volume of blood that was pooling around her.
"Gran!" I squealed out, unable to stop myself. Her eyes never flickered, nothing about her moved and I felt my stomach drop, suddenly it was a dead weight in my body.
I rushed forward again, skidding to my knees as my arms reached out to touch her face. It broke my heart to do it but my fingers tentatively reached out for her neck, so that I could see if she had a carotid pulse. It was the longest second of my life, pressing down on her warm skin until I was in the right place. Relief flooded through me when a weak pulse beat beneath my fingers.
"Gran?" I asked again, leaning down close to her so that I could whisper. Caleb was in the house somewhere, I just couldn't tell where. "Come on, open your eyes, it's Sookie." She stirred as soon as I mentioned my name, as though she realised that it really was me speaking. Her eyes fluttered open, startlingly dull, as she stared up at me.
"Behind." She rasped back, unable to form any other words. I spun around as much as I was able, almost falling over in the slick blood that had already soaked into my trousers and had coated my hands.
"Hello Sookie, how nice of you to join us." Caleb leered, a broad smirk plastered across his face. His hair was as unkempt as ever, falling down in front of his face so that he had to keep brushing it back with his hands so that he could actually see. "We've been waiting so long for you to get home, haven't we Adele." Fear gripped me. "She's feisty you know, your Gran. You should be proud of her, put up a fight almost up to your standard. Now it's time for you and me Sookie. You escaped me once, it won't happen again."
I backed up from him, skidding along the floor backwards on my hands and knees until my back hit the radiator.
"Come on now, that's no way to react Sookie, it's only me," Caleb laughed to himself. He took a single step forward and then paused for a few seconds, waiting while he stared directly into my eyes before taking another slow step. There was nowhere for me to go, I was backed into the radiator with both sides cut off, one by the sofa and one by my Gran. My hands trailed across the floor, I tried as hard as possible to ignore the blood, for the frying pan that I'd dropped at some point. Caleb loomed above me, his face only a couple of feet away from mine. He peered, assessing everything about me and it was then, while I stared back like a rabbit caught in headlights that he struck.
His hand shot out to slap my face, sending my head bouncing back into the radiator so hard that the metal resounded and I ricocheted off. My neck throbbed with the impact more than my skull. I screamed, loud and guttural, against the pain to clear my vision. It worked. I saw his hand recoil back for the second blow. I didn't think about what I was doing, I simply acted.
My fingers wrapped around the handle of the frying pan they'd just brushed up against and I gripped it with all my strength, so that my knuckles turned white. I didn't even realise what I had done until I saw the round metal pan collide with his face. His head whipped to the side, sending blood splattering from his mouth.
"You bitch!" Caleb roared as he stumbled back, away from my swinging arm. His snarl showed bloodied teeth. I clambered to my feet while I had the chance. I found myself standing in front of my Gran, knees bent so I was ready to pounce, and pan raised in a defensive stance. "You think you can take me on? You got another fucking thing coming." He lunged forward and I could do nothing but stand my ground protectively.
He never connected with me. I didn't close my eyes, I didn't move apart from to brace myself for the impact of him hitting me and I still didn't see what happened. One second the snarling part demon was flying through the air at me with his arms outstretched and the next moment he simply wasn't there anymore. The area where he had been was empty, clear and I had no idea where he had gone. Sadly, the miraculous shock didn't last long and my gaze flittered around the room looking for the trick
I didn't know how I hadn't seen them at first, they were both still in my line of sight, albeit in my peripheral vision, down on the floor near the door. Eric was straddling Caleb, one hand holding the bastard's arms out of the way while his other attempted to crush his neck.
I dropped to my knees, the pan clattering to the floor beside me and then I spun around to help my Gran. Her eyes were closed again and the bit of colour she had had drained from her face leaving her deathly pale. She was still alive, her chest rising ever so slightly with each breath and her heart beat weakly in her chest. I saw the cause of all the blood this time; a deep puncture wound in her side, between two of her ribs. Instinctively I grabbed whatever I could to place over the wound, which happened to be one of the blankets from the sofa. Without actually knowing what I was doing, I padded the blanket up and pressed it down over the wound, leaning onto my hands to apply more pressure. Tears began to stream down my face, partly clouding my vision but I kept the sobs at bay; there would be a time for crying later.
"Gran! Come on, open your eyes again." I pleaded with her, not daring to move an inch to shake her for fear of letting her bleed out more. There was an awful lot of blood inside her. If I hadn't seen so many bodies that had died from haemorrhage I would have easily believed there was no blood left in her small body. "Come on Gran. Hold on, please. Look at me!" I screamed the last sentence, begging her to hear me and to fight against the pain she must be in. She didn't open her eyes but they did flicker, barely more than a twitch but it was enough to tell me she was fighting and that I couldn't give up. I would never have given up anyway. I needed her.
After another heart breaking second I tore my eyes away from her face to see the wrestling supes. They were both standing up, tightly circling each other as they snarled and gnashed their teeth. Faster than I could follow Eric whipped his arm out, punching Caleb's already injured jaw with a bone crunching force that made me wince. Caleb fell to the ground, a howl of pain rising from his lips.
He didn't stay down for long. Quicker than I would ever have believed possible he was on his feet in a crouching run out of the room. My vampire tore after him, clad in only his jeans, so that he was streak of white and black which left just me and my Gran in the room.
It was almost as if I could see the life leaving her frail body. I could feel her growing weaker and I knew what I was doing wasn't enough. "Hold on," I whimpered to her and then I lifted one hand from the wound, relaxing the pressure so that I could stretch across the few feet to the side table that held the phone. I was mercifully within reach, just, my fingers brushing the cordless handset to the floor where I could reach it better.
"Hello, you've reached the emergency services, what is the problem?" I couldn't tell you who I was speaking to although I knew everyone that worked at the police station where all emergency calls in the area were routed to.
"I need an ambulance, now." I cried out and I felt a fresh wave of tears welling up. "It's my Gran. She's been stabbed."
"Sookie? What's going on?" The voice was frustrating; couldn't she tell this wasn't the time for stupid questions?
"I need an ambulance, yes it's Sookie. My house on Hummingbird road, I need an ambulance now. It's my Gran." I reiterated, barely making any sense even to myself.
"Okay, calm down." I couldn't calm down even if I wanted to. "The ambulance has been dispatched, it's on its way. Now, I need you to do exactly what I say." I nodded, not caring that the person wouldn't be able to tell that I was agreeing. I managed to balance the phone between my ear and shoulder as I placed both hands on the sodden blanket, applying more pressure. "Get something to put on the wound, I want you to apply strong, even pressure."
"I'm already doing that!" I shouted out. It was then, while I was once again looking down at her, that I saw a shuddering breath leave my Gran. There wasn't another one after that. I dropped the phone, I didn't care about what the person on the other end had to say; she wasn't in this room with me, she didn't know what was happening. "Eric!" I screamed as loud as I could, until my lungs burned in protest. "Eric!" He would be able to save her, I just had to work on getting her alive enough for his blood to work.
I laid her out as flat as I could, taking care not to jostle her broken arm too much. I went through everything step by step, her throat was clear and I tilted her head back as I'd learned so many years ago to keep her airways open. Then I gave her two breaths before beginning chest compressions with the base of my paired hands, hard enough to generate the pressure I needed. "Gran, don't do this. Don't give up." The tears streaming down my face were beginning to blind me and the sobs were threatening to take over, I just wouldn't let them. Another two breaths, followed by compressions and it was then that I felt it. I paused to check her carotid pulse and I felt it; weak, barely there at all but still, importantly there. "Stay with me, I'm here." I didn't dare move her again so I just went back to my original position and put pressure on her wound. There was no sign of Eric yet I knew he was close; something deep within me was telling me he was nearby.
I stretched upward, still pressing down with my hands, to peer out of the window. "Eric!" I screamed again, hoping that he would be able to hear me or at least sense my utter distress. My vision cleared enough for me to see him on the gravel drive way; his head turned around to stare at me peeking above the window sill and for me to see a blow land on his stomach that sent him double over. He didn't go down. He retaliated with a roundhouse kick that hit Caleb's shoulder, the one that had been injured in London, and then another fist to the jaw which, even from all the way in the house, I could tell snapped the bone; the howl of sheer agony was cut in half when it became too painful to make any noise at all. Eric didn't waste any time, he gripped Caleb's shoulders between his knees, steadying him and gripped his head with his hands. Using strength I didn't want to know about, he twisted, tearing the part demon's head off.
The body flopped to the ground, utterly dead, as soon as Eric stood back from him to throw the head in the trees where it couldn't be found. He didn't bother doing anything else with the body, he just left it, turned around and ran for the house. Less than a second later he was knelt beside me in a pool of blood in my living room.
"Blood," I whimpered to him yet unable to move. I was still knelt down, curled over slightly in a protective stance, and holding the blanket to the wound. I didn't even know if it was doing any good anymore. "She needs your blood. She has to live." It was a strange thing to notice but I saw a streak of blood in his hair and a single droplet on his cheek from where he'd ripped Caleb's head off. "Not a vampire." I added. I knew my Gran didn't want to be a vampire, she had nothing against them, she just said she was too old to live out eternity. "Heal. Please!" I pleaded with him.
He simply nodded and raised his wrist up to his mouth where he tore his flesh with his elongated fangs, leaving a bloody stain around his lips. "Adele," he stated loudly. "This might not work." He cautioned me quietly and I couldn't do anything in reply. He lowered his wrist to my Gran's mouth, holding her jaw open so the blood could flow in. I watched, unable to do anything to help, and waited for the reaction I wanted, no needed, to happen. She swallowed. "Did you call an ambulance?" Eric asked, turning his head to look at me. It hurt to see the sympathy in his eyes, it meant that the situation really was as bad as I thought.
"Yes." Gran swallowed again, and I wasn't sure but it seemed to be stronger than the first one. "How much..." I stuttered out and had to pause to swallow back a sob. "How much can you give her?" She'd lost a lot of blood and she was taking in a vampire's, I didn't know how much she could take without turning.
"Not much more." His face was grim as he spoke, eyes gazing at the pool of blood we knelt in. "Adele, drink, you need to drink more." He coaxed sternly, his voice loud. She swallowed again and then twice more, taking a few seconds between each before he pulled away. "That's all I dare give for now. If she makes it I can give her more, when she has more human blood in her." I nodded at him, wishing that it wasn't the truth and that he could just fix her.
Nothing about her seemed to have changed at all; she was still deathly pale, blood was still oozing out from between my fingers and the bruises were as dark as ever. "Her heart is beating stronger," Eric explained, somehow knowing what I was searching for. "The ambulance is almost here."
"The body, they can't find a demon body." He nodded once, kissed my forehead quickly and gently pressed down over my hands to urge me to keep on applying pressure before he left. I didn't bother watching him out of the window because I just couldn't care enough to watch what he did with the body or where he put it. I stared down at my Gran, the gentle rise and fall of her chest as she took in breaths. The blood hadn't visibly healed her in anyway but it had bought her time, given her heart and lungs strength to keep on fighting. Hopefully it would be enough.
The ear-piercing sirens didn't register as the ambulance made its way up the drive way and I didn't respond when a man shouted from the front door. I couldn't actually form a response until there was someone kneeling down beside me.
"Okay Sookie, you're doing real good. Keep the pressure right there for another minute." The man was my age but fresh faced, the world obviously hadn't shown him the horrors that it harboured and in that moment I was jealous. I didn't feel anything else for a split second because I was so jealous of the man beside me that it consumed me. He'd never been in mortal danger more times than he could count, he'd never been kidnapped or shot at, he'd never had to flee a country for fear of being killed and he'd certainly never had to hold a relative's insides in while they clung to life by a thread. I watched in stony silence as the man, whose name I would learn was Rolf and his partner Kim, worked quickly.
She placed a cannula in my Gran's arm, hooking it straight up to a drip bag and then set about applying a blood pressure cuff followed by a pulse oxymetry to her finger. Rolf eased me out of the way, gleaming white gauze pads held in his hands, so that he could take over for me. An oxygen mask followed that. At least I think that's the order that everything happened, by that point my mind was so mixed up that I couldn't really be sure. All I knew for definite was that within a couple of minutes they had my Gran hooked up to a couple of machines, a drip in her arm and an air splint over her arm to protect it from any further damage to supply support.
"Are you coming with us?" Kim asked as she jogged past me out of the living room door. I didn't reply until she came back a moment later with a slim stretcher in her hands.
"Yes."
"Then you need to be ready in two minutes." I nodded numbly and just continued doing what I had been doing; watching the proceedings from my seat next to the sofa, my back against the arm. It was while they were easing her frail body onto the stretcher that Eric burst into the room, still only clad in his jeans and a wild look in his eyes. "Holy shit, stay away!" Kim screamed in panic as she scrambled back away from the vampire.
"I have a cross!" Rolf shouted. Nobody said anything about his pathetic statement; crosses did absolutely no good in warding off vampires, they were even less effective than throwing water balloons at them.
"No," I mumbled and realised that they couldn't hear me. "No, he's with me." I croaked a little louder. "It's okay." Neither of the paramedics looked entirely convinced but nevertheless they went straight back to taking care of the life in their hands.
Eric padded over to me where he carefully pulled me up until I was standing. His arms wrapped around me, pulling me into his cool chest. I stood there limply, arms by my side as I watched the paramedics work. He kissed the top of my head and it was right then that I felt him. He was breathing. His chest was rising and falling, air flowing through his lungs. I didn't even realise it at first but my own breathing had slowed down to match him. He was calming me.
He didn't bother saying anything, he never once uttered that everything would be okay and I was thankful for that. Neither of us could be sure if everything would be okay and I couldn't handle a lie. Slowly I wrapped my arms around his waist and clung to him for dear life.
"He can't come in the ambulance with us, there's only room for one accompanying person."
"Okay." I muttered, still not letting go.
Kim and Rolf walked past us, carrying the stretcher expertly between them. It didn't register with me that I had to follow them and so it was Eric that steered me out of the house, only one of his arms around me now so that we could actually walk. I never moved my arms at all, I clung desperately to his waist even as we descended the porch steps.
"Sookie, we have to go now!" Rolf called out, one of the back doors of the ambulance already shut. Obviously it was Kim that would be driving us to the hospital.
"Sookie, go on. You need to go." I nodded, but I didn't move. Moving was too hard, moving meant facing what was happening and I wasn't sure if I could handle the outcome. "Go on. I'll meet you at the hospital." He kissed my forehead again and then eased my hands from the grip around him. With a gentle coaxing hand I made it into the ambulance. The doors shut with an almighty bang behind me.
I plopped down onto the available chair, clipping my seatbelt into place with a subconscious part of my brain controlling me. Rolf never stopped working; all the way to the hospital he was doing something. He never stopped talking, he was always either talking to my Gran or trying to reassure me. I didn't have the guts to tell him that he might as well stop talking to me; I didn't actually hear a word he had to say.
My Gran never moved at all. She never regained consciousness during the ride to the hospital and I sat there, with bile rising in my throat and tears streaming silently down my cheeks, praying for what we'd all done to be enough to save her.
So what did you think? You know i love feedback almost as much as i love a certain viking vampire :) Please don't hate me for this chapter, i felt really bad writing this about Gran. I think she's an amazing character and was killed off too soon in the books. Remember i'm a sucker for happy endings.
I hope everyone had a wonderful New Year, and that New Years Eve is blast. I actually have a date with someone for the special night. One of my friends, we've liked each other for awhile now but we live, due to uni, at opposite ends of the country and so we've never done anything about our feelings. However, for NYE we're giving in. This also happens to be the reason for a thursday update.
Oh, and the full title for this chapter is You Can Sit Beside Me When the World Comes Down, which is taken from the All American Rejects song Mona Lisa
Thanks for reading, until next week.
*hugs*