A/N - TB and SVM characters belong to HBO, Mrs Harris and Alan Ball, original characters and storyline are my own. Thank you as always for the feedback, reviews and alerts. I hope you receive extra cookies. I hang my head in apology for the atrocious editing of the last two chapters. I was trying out a third party program which butchered a few things. I hope this time I've caught more errors.
Chapter 19
Scene 1 - SPOV - Catch Me
I was underwater floating in a beautiful silk gown. All around me tropical fish in a slew of colors swam around, tickling my legs as they passed. Beams of sunlight flashed through the turquoise depths and I tipped my head back to see the surface dozens of feet above me. I was surprised to see I was breathing with ease like a mermaid without a tail. But I tired of the currents pushing and pulling around me so I swam for the promised sun.
I had almost breached the surface my hands reaching in front of me when I slammed into a glass barrier. It reminded me of the horror movies I had seen as a child where someone slips beneath the ice and the camera fades away with them pounding and blowing bubbles underneath. I was caught up in the emotion, remembering how my parents had died and fearing I had done the same when his voice swept over me. I stopped my panic and listened praying he would have the answers.
"How is she?" He asked Pam before sitting at Sookie's side brushing her hair back.
"Her body is responding to Ludwig's elixirs the bruises are almost gone. A bit of your blood and the cuts will leave no scars."
"Catch," he said flipping a vial to Pam. "A reward for your help earlier."
Pam caught and twisted open the vial's top her eyes dilating at the scent, "Yum fresh fairy. It went well?"
Eric smiled, "He was aware, in the end." Pam flashed a fanged smile in appreciation.
Pam spoke seriously, "Ludwig said her mind has suffered extensive trauma. She found traces of magic which would have forced Sookie's shields wide open. She's given her something to help her mind heal physically, but to heal mentally she says is Sookie's responsibility. She suggests letting Sookie come back on her own, not to try to force anything," she explained. "I think we should make sure she feels safe, surround her with familiar people, scents and sounds."
Eric agreed, "I already called the shifter and her brother they will be here in the morning to take turns with her care. Alcide will also stop by and has doubled the day guard without my incentive."
"You will stay here with her?" Pam asked concerned he would be vulnerable during the day.
"I will leave at dawn; it will not be safe here with the breathers around. Jason has the codes and knows how to work the security. I will have them changed when she recovers." Eric reassured Pam.
He remained with me for the rest of the night his voice lifted in song, the words an ancient lullaby. Occasionally I would see his face flash before my staring eyes but everything was blurry and strained. I turned the words of my two vampire friends over and examined them from every angle. I had been hurt; apparently my mind invaded and while the Doctor had done what she could. I would have to find my way from the ocean depths on my own.
I heard the beloved voice stop and thought for a moment I felt the brush of his lips and then sleep claimed me.
I was roused the next morning by more voices and slowly rose from the ocean depths to peer through the glass. I caught a flash of blonde and then a face as familiar as my own appeared before my gaze.
"Hey Sook, you in there girl?" he asked his nose almost touching Sookie's and his finger poking her shoulder.
"Jason what are you doing?" said another familiar voice. It took me a moment to search through floating memories. His name was Sam.
"Trying to wake her up."
"It won't be so easy she is in some sort of coma. It's not like she is playing hide and seek in there." Sam growled, "Fucking vampire shit did this to her."
There is a crash and some scrambling and then Jason speaks, "Those fuckin vampires got my little sister back you mother fucker."
"She wouldn't have disappeared if it wasn't for Eric," Sam rasped. I wondered why he did not shift.
"She disappeared on your watch Merlotte, hell you let the guy who had her in the first place get away."
"You cannot trust Eric, Jason. Your sister should be in a hospital."
"And risk my fuckin fairy relatives coming back and taking her again? Hell no." There is the sound of something being dumped to the floor. "You didn't know did you Merlotte. Ya it was our family who did this to Sook."
"She didn't tell me," Sam paused for a moment. "Well she didn't tell me everything; she did say her new relatives were powerful."
"Eric already blames himself for this shit, don't you go blaming him too. We all know Sookie went into this ass backwards." Jason muttered then there was a thunk and grunt. "But you were with her and let her walk in there alone. You've been sitting around at Merlotte's doing nothin while the rest of us were lookin for the tiger and Sookie. So shut your yap about any vamp and start takin some of the blame. Some body guard you turned out to be." Jason snarled.
Their voices faded away as they left the room and I sank back down into the currents. A few more pieces had fallen into place. Fairies had done this to me and Eric had tried to stop me. Somehow I only had myself to blame for the situation I was in. If I was to pass through whatever was keeping me from waking I needed to explore my surroundings.
I dove to the ocean floor and swam around it. Every time a fish would brush against me I felt a jolt as another piece of memory fitted back into place. I tried to swim into school of them but nothing happened. For now it appeared I would have to accept the random memories they offered. The ocean floor was becoming shallower and I followed the slope up until I emerged on a sandy beach.
With a bit of exploration I found I was on a small sunken island with a series of ruins in the middle. Like the ocean surface the island was surrounded by some sort of barrier which would not let me pass through. I walked to the ruins and felt a vague sense of familiarity. At one point I found a set of stairs leading down ward and followed them until they ended in a maze of corridors. There was a vague glow about the floor and crumbled walls to light my way. My feet kicked up bits of debris here and there which held the echo of memories. I grew tired and found an alcove where I felt comfortable and curled up to sleep.
When I woke up I found a bucket of tools and cleaning supplies at my feet and a faintly spicy metallic taste on my lips. Since it looked like I was going to be living here awhile, I started to clean and repair the ruins around me. I did this for several days, never seeming to become hungry though I woke every morning with the odd flavor upon my lips. The further I went with my cleaning spree the larger the area appeared to be. Then words spoken above me, echoing down through the barrier had me diving into the ocean and swimming for the surface where I hovered just below and listened.
Pam sat next to the bed reading a fashion magazine to Sookie when Eric entered. He was pulling loose the tie he wore with his suit and kicking off his dress shoes. He leaned over and kissed Sookie's forehead examining her blank gaze for any change. As he had for the previous three nights, he pricked his finger and slid it between Sookie's pouty lips, hoping this time to feel a flick of tongue a hint of pressure anything to indicate a response to his blood.
"Still nothing?" Pam asked hoping as much as Eric for a change.
"If anything she appears to have sunk deeper."
"Ludwig feels there is some improvement."
Eric sighed, "The pain in the bond is diminishing, perhaps it is an indication she is healing."
"How did it go tonight?"
"Politics as usual, the Authority refused Ocella's resignation. I handed over the ring and was suitably chastised. We will be paying an extra percent for the next few years of Fangtasia's profits as retribution." He explained as he slid next to Sookie and gathered her into his arms.
Pam stood up to give him some privacy, "She was fed and cleaned earlier."
"Thank you Pam," he whispered.
"I care for her too you know," Pam chastised with a smile before leaving.
Eric just held Sookie and rocked her slightly as he told her about his day. He told her about Pam's idea to decorate Fangtasia for Christmas with black and white Santa hats and red reindeer. How the odd holiday decorations had drawn in additional customers who equated to extra revenue. He explained the meeting with the Authority and the frustrations he felt in dealing with vampire politics. He told her about the change in her brother, how he had seemed to grow and mature in the past few days, working with Eric and Pam and defending them against the nosy humans.
His voice was soothing and reassuring and lulled me into a feeling of peace and contentment.
Eric adjusted Sookie until she was cradled in his arms with her face against his chest. He brushed his lips over her forehead and whispered, "I know I said I would not do this lover but I will risk your wrath if it brings you to back to me."
He closed his eyes and concentrated sinking into the bond, "Come to me Sookie, and follow my voice. I command you to come to me," he whispered.
I felt the jolt to the oceans floor a rippling groan as currents swirled trying to tear me apart. My mouth opened in a soundless scream, echoed in my living body. I swam with all my might back to the island and ran to the ruins where I thought to hide. Instead I found a brilliant light urging me forward and I followed, occasionally tripping and scraping my knees or the palms of my hands. I was not allowed to rest I had to follow the light. The pressure stopped only when I stood in the remnants of a broken room where ocean blue and turquoise light pulsed, surrounded by two tiny threads. I reached out a hand to the light and upon touching it I was surrounded by the feeling of love and safety and a deep sadness. I fell to the floor exhausted and passed once again into a healing sleep.
Pam raced into the room following the echo of Sookie's scream. We both watched in astonishment when cuts and scrapes appeared on Sookie's knees and hands only to fade away as swiftly.
"What the fuck did you do Eric?" she demanded not caring she was addressing her Maker.
He turned a face covered with blood tears toward her, "I called her and she tried to answer. I felt her Pam, for the first time I felt HER in the bond."
"It looked and sounded to me like you hurt her too Eric."
"Yes," he said with the echo of shame in his voice. "I will find another way so as to not cause her pain."
Pam said nothing only turned to leave the room with a snort of disbelief.
I woke again the next day to a clearer mind. I understood now where I was and what I had to do. I went outside the ruins first and drained the ocean; I did not need the Doctors potion any more. Then I swept over the island, picking up pieces of debris and slowly rebuilding my external shields. I worked for days, room by room corridor by corridor cleaning and sorting, restoring and filing until the halls and rooms of my mind stood strong. Each evening I would sit in the room of light waiting for the flash and the taste of blood on my lips to know Eric was with me. Every night I listened to his words, learning of the wife and children he had as a human and the story of his turning by Godric. I listened to the stories told of his life over the centuries, some nights Pam would join in especially after the tale of her own turning and made corrections to what she called his aging memory. Appius joined once his thread gently pulsing as he told the tale of meeting Eric for the first time.
During the day Jason or Sam or Alcide or Lafayette would sit with me, each spinning tales and stories about their life. Jason brought in a small tree to decorate the bedroom, much to Pam's annoyance, but defended it saying Christmas was one of my favorite holidays. Soon after the room was decorated to within an inch of its life with designer baubles and trimmings with holiday songs playing in the back ground.
I grew stronger each day, my mind missing only a few sporadic memories. I practiced raising and lowering, rebuilding and reinforcing my shields and the room where our bond resided was restored once again to its full strength and beyond. Now I only waited for my love to turn the final key and release me from this mental prison.
I knew it would be this night, for even hidden in the darkest depths I could feel the magic in the air, and when I tasted his blood, smelled his scent and felt his love for me through the bond it was the words spoken which released me to float through the darkness back to his arms.
Scene 2 - EPOV - The Gift
It was the night human's called Christmas Eve and the evening was crisp with a tantalizing hint of snow flurries in the misty air. I was arriving at Sookie's home just as I had for the previous week fresh from an evening at Fangtasia. I would rise each evening and work through the piles of paperwork and spend a few hours on the throne, before leaving before midnight to spend the rest of the evening with Sookie, until the threat of dawn sent me home to my days rest. It was a battle to ignore the resentment I felt for the humans who forced me from my lover's side, they would enjoy ending my undead life if they found me at rest.
How I yearned for her to wake. I missed even her more annoying habits, at least they indicated she was alive and well. I strode into her room and spoke to Pam. We discussed any changes in my lover and vampire business, while watching Sookie carefully to see if our voices or topics drew any reaction. When all was said which needed to be, Pam left to finish the evening at Fangtasia and I stripped and stepped into Sookie's shower.
I opened various bath soaps and lotions, drawing her scent before using the ones she had purchased for me. I let the memories flow through of the various times we had shared this steamy abode. Her hands sliding over my body and the feel of her silky warm skin under my touch. The way she would tilt her head back with her lips parted when I would enter her and the strong feel of her thighs wrapped around my hips. The way her eyes would flutter as she struggled to keep them open and locked with mine when she came and the sweet taste of her blood heightened with her pleasure. In the steamy shower image after image of Sookie making love with me swept by.
While a dried and cleaned up after myself I remembered our arguments and how we had always found a way to make up afterward. Whether it was a simple apology drawn from our lips or a simple hug or kiss. As I dressed I remembered the first time I saw her and like then the lust and hunger to possess flowed through me. When I sat next to her and quietly brushed her hair I remembered Dallas and the fear of losing her to the human scum. I remembered the feel of her lips drawing on bullet holes and the exquisite pleasure of my blood entering her system for the first time.
I remembered her presence on the roof with Godric and the heart she opened to the ancient vampire she barely knew. I remembered the pain and fury from Compton's abuse and the despair at using her blood with Russell. I remembered breaking her heart with words about Compton and the joy I felt upon her return to the human realm. I remembered the first time I claimed her and everything which came after. I remembered the night she seduced me and the pain which followed. I remember our oaths to each other and the words spoken and unspoken.
I took every emotional memory I could recall and sent them streaming down the bond as I prepared to try again to bring Sookie back. There was a risk in what I was attempting to do, a greater risk than the command but I a part of me was urging me to make the attempt, telling me she was ready, she was healed and just needed me to show her the way. So I slid in next to her and cradled her close. I kissed her lips and bit my tongue sliding it into her mouth for the blood to pool and trickle down her throat. Then I sucked on her lower lip drawing it out until it was plump and nipped tasting her blood for the first time since she disappeared.
Our bond crashed open and the memories I had gathered returned to me from her and swarmed back and forth between us. Growing stronger, the bond becoming tighter drawing her near. I could feel her so close, her voice calling out to me her love and I answered the only way I knew how in the tongue of a people long dead. The pressure was becoming unbearable as I opened my undead heart to welcome her home.
I was still speaking words of endearment and promise the words a liquid melody around us when I caught the first whisper.
"Eric"
I froze and eased her away so I could see her face. I let the joy overflow when I saw the life in her eyes.
She smiled at me and lifted a hand to cup my cheek her thumb catching a blood tear. She brought it to her lips and whispered, "I love you," before succumbing to a normal healthy slumber.
Scene 3 - SPOV - New Day
I woke again in Eric's arms, feeling them tighten around me as I opened my eyes.
"Welcome home lover," he whispered brushing his lips over mine.
"Good to be back," I replied my voice hoarse from being unused.
He reached across to a side table and brought a glass of water with a straw to my lips.
"I thought you might be thirsty."
I nodded and took a few long lovely sips. "Thank you," I said when I was finished.
"Would you like to sit up?"
"Yes please," and with his assistance I was able to sit straight and take a look around my bedroom. I gave a start when I saw Pam beaming across from us and a little gasp passed my lips when I saw the twinkling lights and decorations.
"Merry Christmas Sookie," Pam said with a small smile.
Had it really been only a few short weeks? To me it seemed as if a month or more had passed by. But when I looked closely at my lover and his child I saw for the first time signs of strain on their faces. The time I had been away would be less than a blink for them but my disappearance had brought suffering to those I cared for.
"Merry Christmas," I whispered. "I am sorry I did not listen," I said earnestly to Eric searching his eyes for forgiveness.
"I do not believe it will happen again, will it," he said with a sad smile. "I do not take pleasure in the pain of this lesson."
I yawned, "Thank you for coming and getting me."
Pam laughed, "Wait to thank him after you've seen the additional changes he's made to your house in the last couple of days."
I asked in confusion, "What more was there left to do?"
Eric shifted awkwardly, "I did not like having to leave you because of the breathers. Now each bedroom is sealed unless a specific code is entered."
There was no way I was going to be angry at him for not wanting to leave me. I giggled, "And I am sure I will discover even more." I smiled at the two of them, "its ok I am all for anything which keeps those who live here safe." I thought about it for a minute, "You are going to allow me to leave the house though right? You aren't going to try to keep me in a glass cage for my own good?"
A crooked smile bloomed across Eric's face, "I have thought about it."
"So what time is it?" I asked.
"Almost dawn of Christmas Morning. We were both planning on staying if you do not mind?" Eric asked with a raised brow.
"Not at all."
"Good, I have changed all the security codes as a precaution. You will find them under the phone in the kitchen. I have also called your friends and family who have been watching over you and told them you have returned to us, but asked them to refrain from visiting until you call, so you may rest as long as you wish today without being interrupted."
"I heard you, you know, when I was trying to piece things back together. I heard all the stories and songs and all the tears and laughter. It helped me figure out who you were and who I am." I reached and hugged Eric then crawled over to hug Pam. I frowned at how exhausted I felt after such a small amount of physical exertion.
"You will be up and about shortly," Eric assured me. "Doctor Ludwig will visit tonight for a final physical. But she told us once you were back to eating a regular diet and moving around your strength would swiftly return."
"Then you can go back to fucking and fighting with Eric," Pam said with a grin.
"You're so sweet Pam," I said while Eric growled before giving into a cocky smile. "I admit I am looking forward to it," he said.
"I will leave the two of you to kiss and make up," Pam quipped as she slipped from the room. I watched the new door slide shut behind her.
"Wow the door reminds me of Star Trek," I grinned up at Eric.
"The old door is still there on the other side as you will see. Would you like a shower and maybe some soup?"
"A shower sounds wonderful, but I am really not hungry right now."
"A shower it is then, I will be right back." Eric zipped off to start the water warming. He was back to my side in a moment wearing nothing but his shorts and carried me into the bathroom. He swiftly undressed both of us then sat me upon the shower bench where he proceeded to clean me from head to toe and every nook and cranny in between. When he was done washing and conditioning my hair I beckoned to him, indicating I wanted to wash his in return.
He sat on the shower floor and leaned back against my knees so I could reach his hair. I washed his hair and everything else I could touch. We rinsed each other off, and then Eric dried us both before helping me back to the bed.
I refused to let him carry me but was happy to have his support when I would stumble. When we were cuddled back in bed I told him all which had happened to me from the moment I stepped into the car with Quinn. I explained everything without emotion speaking as if it occurred to someone else, which in a way it had. I walked out of the realm of Faerun once again changed, harder, stronger and determined not to make the same mistake again.
Eric told me everything he and the others had done to bring me free of the portal and I cried when I heard of Claudine's bravery and then hid my surprise when Eric admitted he offered her sanctuary if she was in need. I knew to his kind such a sanctuary would be considered a weakness. He told me of the small battle in the cemetery and Niall's reluctance to let me go and then Eric whispered that he loved me as dawns light pulled him under.
I still did not understand what motivated Niall to wish to keep me there, pure stubbornness perhaps? The refusal to believe one of his kin would prefer eternal darkness over the everlasting sun of Faerun? I feared I would never know the truth and felt no ambition to search for the answer. I was just happy to be safe and sound back in my vampire lover's arms where I belonged.