A/N - True Blood and SVM characters belong to Mrs. Harris, Alan Ball and HBO. Original Characters and story line are mine. Thank you for the feedback, reviews and alerts, they are like sweet candy. For the people who care about time lines, I am taking the research from various blogs pegging the end of season 3 to be the third of fourth week of October, 2009. So my story started on November 2 and this is the end of the 3rd. Wishing you all a safe and happy Holiday Season!

Chapter 3

Scene 1 - SPOV - 'Explanations'

I wanted to stake Eric and every other vampire in my life, this could not be happening. I could not deal with this.

"He is alive isn't he? You didn't have the balls to kill him and that piece of vampiric shit is still alive."

I could feel his anger building, "Sookie," he warned me.

The old Sookie was back, "Shut up Eric, just shut up!" I screamed, moving to pace the room, occasionally glaring at him while I thought this through.

He didn't say a word, just sat back and watched me with his eyes narrowed.

The answer coalesced out of the silence; there was only one thing that made a human home so special.

"It's the invitation right? You can sit there cool and comfortable and if the King showed up knocking he couldn't harm a hair on your head as long as you remained inside."

He inclined his head once, still observing me.

"It would be the perfect living arrangement, have your day man keep the kitchen stocked and your own personal fairy cocktail would keep you fed at night. Just cut my tongue out and you wouldn't have to worry that your invitation would be rescinded." My own thoughts were making me nauseous.

"I would not hurt you that way; I have plans for that sweet tongue of yours." He did not deny the rest of it though, "When I staked Talbot, it was imperative that I locate a safe house for Pam and I."

"Of course"

His eyes warned that his patience was growing thin.

"We needed Sanctuary; Pam was the one to suggest your home. We both had been invited and your location away from the general populace means that few humans would be in harm's way. I disagreed with Pam's solution. I was trying to keep you away from Russell not lead him right to you."

"Well something changed your mind."

"We had visitors during the discussion; the ease with which they entered the bar reinforced your home as the primary residence of choice."

"Why is that?"

"You cannot be glamoured."

"So therefore I cannot be tricked into inviting someone you do not want inside. I guess your visitors messed around with Ginger?" She was the only human I could see helping Eric, though with the Swiss cheese her mind was, I wondered how much of her loyalty was real.

"She opened the club to them at a very inopportune time, the result has caused issues."

"Poor Ginger"

"She is well compensated."

"So what did you do with Russell if you did not kill him?" I asked. I could argue about the house and implication that he would be staying here at some point in time later.

He smirked and self satisfaction leaked through the bond, "He is bound in several yards of silver heavy aught chain and buried in fifteen feet of concrete. By now the concrete has cured to eighty percent of its full strength, in another nineteen days it will be at one hundred percent. He will not be going anywhere for a good hundred years." He shifted deeper into the couch and stretched his legs out like a cat on its pillow.

"That is what you were covered in that night on my porch. You said Bill had tried to silence you, did he push you into the same hole?" I had wondered how Bill had gotten the best of Eric, which would be something Pam would love to have on video. "Did Pam have to get you out; I bet she just loved that!"

"Yes, I had to call Pam pull me out, and I am well aware that I under estimated Compton. A mistake I will not make again." His preening posture had degraded into a sulk complete with a slight pout to his lip.

I collapsed back into my chair with my arms crossed defensively and glared at him, "So what keeps Edington's minions from pulling him free?"

"The area is under constant surveillance and by now there are a couple of feet of steel plating on top of the concrete."

Eric's cell phone started to ring on the kitchen table where I had placed it when I emptied out his pockets to wash his jeans. He walked over to answer it, taking the call deeper into the kitchen for privacy.

I took the time to grab up the sweats that he had worn and took them back to my bedroom and left them on top the dresser to take care of later. When I turned back around Eric was leaning against the door frame watching me.

"I suppose I cannot talk you into a repeat of last evening?" he asked as he opened the bond and pushed lust my way. I smiled and sauntered over to him, reaching for the back of his neck to coax him down to me. He did not have a chance to respond to the teasing kiss I gave him before I let him go and edged by him. "Not tonight Eric, maybe some other time."

I could feel his satisfaction that I hadn't outright said no, and his pleasure in the teasing. It occurred to me that though I stated I considered him a friend, I really hadn't acted that way toward him. If we were going to be able to get along at all, I had to stop acting like he was a tool I could just pull out and use when it suited me, come to think about it, so did he.

He zipped past to block me just before I left the hallway with both arms outspread against the walls. I stopped just in front of him and craned my head back to see his face with a smile. He leaned down and whispered just short of my lips, "Well if I cannot have blood or sex then how about a real kiss?"

I was in a playful mood when I replied, "A kiss to travel down my own hallway? I suppose that is a small toll to pay." I closed the last few millimeters between us and kissed him softly.

Our lips were the only connection between us and it did not take long for Eric to take control. He showed me that one thousand years of lip locking made him just as seductively dangerous with lips, tongue and fang as he was with his hands. I was an enthusiastic participant, it was not until he pierced my bottom lip and sucked on the wound that I came back to my senses and pulled back, breathing hard and trying to shove all the urges to jump his bones away.

He straightened with a groan, his eyes heavy lidded and tongue sweeping out to gather a last drop of my blood. "You should have allowed me to claim you sooner Sookie. I think I will enjoy the new you."

He had been brutally honest tonight about his reasons for the home improvements. He could have nurtured the impression that he had done so for my well being. Bill would not have admitted to the construction being for his own benefit, hell who was I kidding, Bill would have never made the repairs in the first place. His own resting place was still just a hole in the floor.

I decided to be just as brutally honest with Eric. "I cannot jump into bed with you Eric, as much as the chemistry between us is urging me too. I don't do casual sex, and I don't think either one of us is ready for anything serious. I am admitting that there is an attraction between us, and I admit that I have been fighting against you for a long time now. If I just tell you that I won't fight it anymore and just roll with things, will that be ok for now?"

He tucked a lock of hair behind my ear, "Sookie anything that has you as relaxed and playful as you are right now, is enough for me. I have an eternity to be patient, and it hasn't failed me yet." He gave me a leering grin and switched our positions so that he was guiding me out into the living room with his arm over my shoulder.

"Now about the call I took earlier, how would you like to come with me to Fangtasia for the rest of the night? It would get you out of the house and allow me to take care of some business without parting from your pleasurable company," he asked.

"If I am out in public does that mean I can let everyone else know that I am home?"

"I won't be able to stop you. I understand how against your nature it has been to keep silent. I just ask that you consider their safety as well as your own during your discussions."

"So why else do you need me at Fangtasia?" I asked, "If I am going I should get cleaned up and change real quick." I was already heading back down the hall, knowing that he could still hear me fine and understanding that I had agreed to go without further explanation. I should be tired, but I wasn't and I wasn't going to turn down the chance to get out of the house. He waited for an explanation until I returned to the living room. I found him in downtime sprawled back out on the couch. "Eric?" I prompted, walking over to the closet to pull out my rather tattered jacket. I wouldn't have it on for long over my jean skirt and red sweater, but there was a nip in the November air.

He stirred on the couch, "Tonight is Pam's night off and our friends from last evening have returned. Chow called to let me know what was going on, he is not a, how do you say, people person? I would like you to take a look inside their heads and tell me what they are really doing there."

Most of the time I spent at Fangtasia lately has been before or after hours. I haven't had to deal with that large a crowd of humans since the church in Dallas. I also wasn't sure just how much I was going to hear now, would I be confined to the bar or would the other businesses start to interfere. It would be a good test of my shields that is for sure.

"All right, it will be a good way to ease me back into the crowd. I am spoiled from being around you and the other vampires." I told him earnestly while turning over different ways I could get the information he needed without being too obvious."

Eric stood and looked at me curiously, "Is it really that bad being around your own kind Sookie?" he asked.

I sighed, "If my shields are holding it isn't that bad, but if I am tired or they are a loud broadcaster or they touch me... Yes Eric, it can be exhausting and painful in several ways. With you or Pam or Bill I don't have to waste energy maintaining my shields."

He frowned, "but it is such a useful gift."

"Too you maybe," I snorted.

He changed the subject, "Come we must be going, but first I have something for you." He motioned me over to him and unceremoniously peeled my jacket off of me, then assisted me into the leather jacket he had been holding. I had not realized it wasn't his until now; this was an identical female version.

"Eric what is this?" I asked, my hands running over the buttery soft sleeves. It was the perfect fit and lined just enough for the Louisiana weather that I could wear it over multiple seasons.

"What you call a jacket isn't fit to be rags. You needed a jacket, and if you are to be known as mine, you will have to get used to being treated as such."

I should be arguing with him, but it was so comfortable and I really did need a new coat. But I wasn't going to let him run roughshod over me completely.

"Eric, I like it and I should refuse it but I won't," I held up my hand to stop the words forming on his lips, "but I would appreciate it if you would abstain from taking complete control over my life."

He ran his hand through his hair in frustration, letting it leak through the bond between us, "Sookie, I know you do not have a lot of money. I know you value your independence. But you must understand my point of view. The man takes care of his woman. He protects her and makes sure that she is provided for. I have claimed you as my woman. I will respect your wishes in regards to large monetary purchases, if you would respect mine. If it is something you need, something that you can really use, why is that wrong?"

"There is still a lot we need to compromise on Eric; I guess this is one of those times. Just don't go overboard ok?"

He nodded and we headed out to his car and made our way to Fangtasia. The place was busy when we arrived, with a line at the door reaching around the building. Eric parked in the back and walked me through the employee entrance to his office. I couldn't help remember what had happened here the last time. I was concentrating on keeping my shields up against the thoughts of the crowd outside that I let the shield on my emotions slip and Eric's head snapped up from the paperwork he was thumbing through.

He smirked, "I won't forget it either. Let me give Pam a call and then we can head to the floor, I've had Chow pull up a chair next to the throne for you."

I blushed then blanched as the word 'throne' registered, "Eric you really do not expect me to sit up there with you?"

"Of course, what better way to observe the humans? Besides, I have not spent the time out there that I should with all the drama lately; it has been bad for business."

"Well ok, do you mind if I go out first and take a look around? I haven't been here during peak hours myself very often."

He waved his assent with his phone to his ear, waiting for Pam to answer. A brief frown crossed his face and he snapped his phone shut.

"Is everything ok?" I asked.

"She is not answering, not unusual if she is preoccupied but normally she has fed by this time in the evening. No matter I will try her again later, and there is always the evening check in."

"Wait a minute, you check in with each other?" I asked, though why should I be surprised. Pam and Eric had a relationship closer than siblings, and heaven knows I would love it if Jason would let me know a bit more often just what the hell he was up too.

"We do on our days off or when we are out of town separately. It is a way to recap the day's business as well as a safety precaution. Go ahead and make yourself comfortable in the bar Sookie, I'll come and get you after I have finished up some of this paperwork."

I wandered out and gave a nod to Chow at the bar then found a seat in a corner booth. Shortly thereafter Ginger appeared with a gin and tonic for me 'on the house'. We chatted for a bit, tonight was a good night, she remembered me and I casually scanned around the bar. I picked out the potential trouble makers right away, partly because they had pulled a couple of tables together around a booth for their large group, but secondly because of the way some of the humans were dressed. In the mainly Goth crowd, their clothing smacked of a looser flowing peasant style, with a lot of beaded necklaces and accessories. I thought they looked quite casual and comfortable, definitely not styled for Fangtasia.

I had a frown of concentration on my face when Eric appeared at my side, "Anything interesting Sookie?" he asked, gently raising me to my feet and walking me over to the throne area and re seating me. He was good; I never noticed I had moved until the chair hit my back.

I turned to him and told him that while there were two under age kids in the back corner, everyone else was pretty much the same. All of them had sex on the brain and a fascination for the vampires, most especially the one now seated at my side. I winced at one loud broadcaster's image of her and Eric in his office.

"Your friends in the corner though, are not thinking about sex, nor are they thinking about offering themselves to any vampire here. They are thinking about you though, and how pissed someone named, Arnie I think, is going to be with them if you do not give them the right answer." I was having a surprisingly difficult time reading the group; their thoughts were fuzzy like they were wrapped in cotton, sometimes even static. In fact one of them I was pretty sure was some sort of shifter, but even that I couldn't be sure of.

"Well then, let's find out what they want shall we?" Eric caught the gaze of the guy I figured as a were, and crooked a finger in summons. I felt a bit of déjà vu from the first time Eric and I met, except this time I was Pam, and Eric's hair was too short.

The shifter stopped at the foot of the throne after nudging some of the fang bangers out of his way and waited for Eric to acknowledge him.

Eric studied the shifter from head to toe then asked, "You wish to speak to me?"

The guy swallowed then appeared to wrap himself in courage, "You own this bar?"

"It is mine, as are all that are within."

I kept the smirk off my face, and worked on getting into the guys head.

"If you own this place then I have a message for you. You took our source away from us, and our boss is not very happy. If you do not give it back, then we will take something more important than just the bar." The strange shifter all but growled the last.

"Sookie?" Eric asked.

"Just a lot of emotion and static Eric, mostly anger and an all consuming hunger, a need of some sort?"

The shifter took notice of me and his lips twisted into a snarl, "Are you the one they call his pet telepath? Stay out of my head bitch or you will regret it." He lunged forward and grabbed my arm with a whisper of words I could not understand on his lips. Before Eric ripped him away and threw him across the room I was able to get something out of his head, "Pam, what have you done to Pam you piece of dog shit?" I yelled.

"I warned you bitch," He flicked a finger at me from the wall where he hung suspended in Eric's hand.

At the moment Eric was demanding to know what the shifter knew about Pam, every shield I possessed collapsed and my mind ripped wide open. I could hear every thought in the bar; I could hear every thought on the block, in the mile, two miles, three miles, ten mile diameter. I fell to the floor screaming, and then whimpering when my voice shattered. I curled into a fetal position and just rocked with my hands over the top of my head. "Make them shut up, please shut them up," over and over.

I was gathered into a pair of hard cold arms and carried into Eric's office, where he sat down with me on a couch.

"Sookie, what is wrong, what did he do to you?" he demanded, running his hands over me looking for injuries. "I do not feel any pain just fear and turmoil, tell me what is wrong."

"No shields," I whimpered, "Everyone in my head." He swung me around so I was straddling him and clasped my head in his hands, as if he could shelter me with his thoughts, actually maybe he could."

"What can I do" he demanded.

"Let me touch you," I whispered, lifting my hands to cradle his face, needing the skin on skin contact. I locked his gaze with my own, and then as if I was trying to glamour him, lost myself in his eyes. I just reached for the essence of Eric, that sweetly silent empty nothingness that was his mind to me. I narrowed my focus until I felt like I was bathing in silence, slowly one by one I was able to rebuild my shields until there was nothing but Eric. I pulled back and found myself sweating and trembling in his arms, with the feeling of calm washing over me through the bond. We both blinked and I smiled.

"Thank God you are a vampire, in fact thank God for you." I breathed, suddenly feeling all bubbly from the release of pain and fear.

"You are ok now?" he asked, checking me over once again seemingly satisfied for the moment.

"Ya," I reluctantly climbed off of him and made myself comfortable at the other end of the couch, he let me go without protest. I guess I had freaked him out too. "That guy did something to my shields. They just disappeared and suddenly every mind in what seemed like a ten mile radius was racing through my head. I couldn't shut them out. The barriers were just gone. I went insane."

"I could feel you brush against my mind," he growled, "Could you read my mind then?"

I slammed down the moment of fear that kind of thought always brought before he would register it in our bond. "No! I still couldn't read your mind, which is what helped me. I told you vampires are a void right, and that I can relax my shields around you?" He inclined his head, still watching me with a neutral expression. "I used your silence to focus and push away the other minds; you could say I wrapped myself in you." He liked that thought, a slight smile appeared. "Once I had pushed everything but your silence out I was able to rebuild my shields."

"But we don't know how he hurt you. Chow is taking our friend to the cellar, and then I will have him drive you home," He spoke over my protest, "I want to make sure that you are safe while I locate Pam, do not argue with me on this."

I conceded to his wishes. I didn't want to stay here any longer. I didn't know how long my shields would last and I was not anxious to test them right now. I didn't want to drive home alone and Eric could not come with me and still find out if Pam was ok before dawn.

"Do what you have to do Eric, I won't argue."

"Thank you."

Chow took me home and an hour before dawn my sleep was interrupted by Eric's hand on my shoulder. I blinked up at him in surprise.

"I could not find her, she is not at home nor is she at her favorite haunts. Our bond tells me she is still alive but that is all. I wanted to let you know," he told me.

"You could have called me Eric; you didn't have to come back all this way." I chastised him, still half asleep.

"I wanted to see if you would ask me to stay." I was too exhausted to deal with his wagging eyebrows and the classic smirk, but it was the worry and concern I could feel leaking through the bond that settled things.

"Stay Eric, you can use the spare room, I am sure you've made it safe enough." I barely caught his smile before my eyes closed and I was back to sleep. I am ashamed to say I didn't feel it when he joined me in the bed and curled himself around me, I was just that damn tired.