Hi everybody! I'm sorry this chapter took so long! I'll update again next weekend, I promise. As usual, I want to thank BloodSucker815 for betaing this and I want to thank you for reading and especial thanks to those who review. Believe me: your feedback is muuuuuch appreciated! And again: not my characters, I just play with them! I hope you'll like this chapter! Célia

Sookie "Diamond Ring"

David asked me to marry him a month or so after I moved in with him.

We had watched a movie at the mall's theatre and we both had hated it, even though it had had great reviews. We also had had dinner at a great steak place, and we both had ordered the same sauce and the same soda. And, after our shared dessert (we both loved strawberry cheesecake), he popped the question.

"We are so good together honey." I hated when he called me honey; you know: he's a were-bear… It always made me think about Winnie the Pooh or Yogi Bear stealing picnic baskets. "We never fight, we like the same things… Will you marry me?"

Okaaay. "We never fight and we like the same things" is not probably the best reason why a person should get married, but he was right. We were good together. And we did like the same things. But I wasn't sure yet and I asked for some time. Thank God, he hadn't knelt. So David just put the ring's box (still unopened) in this coat pocket and we left the restaurant.

I was afraid that the drive home would be really awkward. And it was… kind of. But he started talking about the new neon sign we would be putting up the next day at the restaurant and the new European beer we had been serving and so it wasn't as awkward as it could have been. As soon as we got home, he had a shower and then he just said he was tired and was going to bed.

I stayed in his living room, thinking about David. And Bon Temps. And Gran. And my hopes and dreams. And the lies, or half truths, or hidden truths I had told David. Or rather, that I hadn't told David. And, of course, I thought about Eric.

So I stayed there just thinking about my life and waiting for David to fall asleep, just wondering why I wasn't sure if I should marry him. He really had a point: we were a good and secure couple. And if I had to bet, I would put my money in the fact that David was the man Gran would want to marry me. He loved me. And he was safe. He had never hurt me. And I was sure he would never cheat on me. I could trust David. And Tennessee was also safe. I had been there for a little more than two years and for that time nothing had really happened to me. Yes. David and Tennessee were safe. They were what I needed.

But… was I compromising? Was David what I really wanted? I thought about him and his nephew and I thought about how he was always saying that he loved me. But I wasn't sure yet. And then, I thought how David didn't have any supernatural friends, how he didn't care about that world and how he never hide anything from me. And those thoughts helped me decide. David was as anti-supernatural as a were-bear could be. And that was just ideal for me.

The next day, I said yes. And with the ring in my finger everyone at the restaurant started to ask about it and so it became known that David and I were engaged.

A week later I felt that it was time to let my Bon Temps friends knew about it as well, so I started making some phone calls. Both Jason and Sam sounded happy for me. Jason was already in his 3rd marriage and things didn't look good but he still believed in the institution. Sam, on the other hand, was still single and girl-friendless for the time but as a true friend, he wished me the best. Tara, pregnant again, and totally in "mommy way" just told me that marriage is great and she couldn't wait for me to have babies so our kids could be friends. I just smiled and thought about the possibility. Then there was Claudine – who, always gracious, wished me good luck, just like Amelia (who was still living unmarried with Tray). I even called Bill, but he was traveling trough Asia (Thailand and Singapore had recently accept the vampire kind and he went there to meet vampires who had been living there to get more information so he could expand his database) and so we just kept the conversation short. He said he would call me when he was back to the US. And finally, I called Pam.

Telling Pam equaled dealing with my (kind of) marriage with Eric. And I was dreading that. But I knew it was necessary so I dressed my big girl pants and I even suggested that maybe I should met Eric. "No. No. No. No. No. No." was her answer.

I didn't know why I wanted to met Eric. Maybe I needed closure. Maybe it was the fact that I had been dreaming about him again – but not sexual dreams this time; just being together dreams: we would be having coffee at Merlotte's, or walking in a garden… And the weird part? Eric was human!

Either way, I just felt I really needed him to know that I was getting married. I needed it. Pam offered to speak to him and call me in a week. She also said she'd visit us. And so I was happy. I really missed my vampire friend. And the next day, for the first time in a week I felt good with myself when I put the engagement ring in my finger.

The next few days passed in a blur. My family and friends knew my new marital status (fiancé! Don't you love that word?) and my soon-to-be husband knew (and didn't care) about my telepathy. I was living in a nice house, with a good man and working in a great place. My life, finally, was going the way I wanted. Finally! It might have taken me almost 30 years but my life was back on track now. And everything was just wonderful.

-x-

"Who's Eric?"

It was 10 pm. We were watching TV together hugging in the sofa. Without looking at David I just said "What?"

"Who's Eric? You've been saying that name in your sleep for a few nights now."

"I have?"

"Yes. Who is he?"

Okay. What should I say? What should I say? What should I say? The truth, obviously. But I needed to keep it simple, keep it simple. Keep. It. Simple.

"He's a friend. At least he was a friend. I haven't talked to him since I moved here."

"So why are you dreaming about him if you haven't talked to the guy for two years?"

"I don't know…" Liar, liar… Pants on fire. I did know. I perfectly remembered all Eric's words and all Eric's touches in my recent dreams. And I always felt a pain in my heart every time I thought that I was going to marry someone else, even thought I was (kind of) married to Eric. But I also had to tell David something. So I added: "I guess… Well, you know my friend Pam, right?" I still wasn't looking at David, but at the TV instead. I felt terrible. And Eric's words still echoed in my brain: "I might not tell you everything, but I'll always tell you the truth." How things had changed. Now it was I who was hiding things. But it was needed. David really didn't have to know that part of my life. He hated all things related to the supernatural. Which was one of the things that attracted him to me.

"I haven't met her yet. But I know you have a friend called Pam, yes."

"I called her a few days ago to tell her about our wedding. And she knows Eric and we talked a bit about him. He's opening a bar next month." Okay. No lies there. Everything I said was true. Pam knew Eric – he was her maker, so she knew him. And Eric was in fact opening a bar – he was also my vampire husband, but he was definitively opening a (vampire) bar.

"Alright."

"Alright? So… that's it? No more questions? I say the name of another man when I'm sleeping in your bed and… that's it?" I was looking at him now.

"In our bed Sookie," he kissed me quickly in my lips, "and I trust you. I love you."

"Love you too."

"Look, I'm going to take a shower and then go to bed. Tomorrow I'll visit the new distributor's warehouse and I want to be there real early. Goodnight honey!"

And after another quick kiss, he left me there in his, I mean, our living room watching TV. And even though I didn't want it, I couldn't help to compare David and Eric. I mean: can you imagine if it was the other way around? Eric would definitively (okay, probably) kill the man of my dreams and would probably (okay, at least possibly) kill me too. All the "mine" stuff was really one of the problems between us.

Well, if I'm to be truthful, the "mine" stuff just happened twice: in Rhodes with Andre and at Gran's during the take-over with Victor. And those weren't even really bad "mine" situations. Bill's "mine" situations had been much worst. And I had forgiven him. And Eric's reactions had been quite reasonable every time, even when we were being attacked in some way. And there had been those memory-free days when he had been the sweetest man on Earth. And even before that, he had always treated me like a princess rather than a waitress and he… No. No, no, no. Definitively no. I couldn't think that way. I was just remembering the good times. But there had been tons of problems between me and Eric. And now i had chosen David. I was engaged to David. I couldn't think this way. I just had to concentrate on how great for me David was, and how high-handed Eric had been:

1. He was always giving me things like a jacket, a cell phone, a door… He even gave a driveway! Okay, I actually needed those things – but that was not the point;

2. He was always treating me like a child, protecting me like I was five years old! Alright, he actually saved my life and took a bullet once to save me (yeah, it was more than once, it was three times) – but that was not the point either;

3. Ahhh…

Humm. Okay. So… What was the point really? Oh, yeah, sure, he' was right-handed. He married me without telling me so. Common! I couldn't be with someone who tricked me to marry him. I couldn't, could I? No. No. I mustn't think that way. I should think about why he tricked me to marry him. And that was to prevent Quinn from visiting me. A bit extreme, don't you think? And definitively right handed! Definitively!

I was so concentrated in my thoughts and my new doubts about marrying David that I jumped, scared by the phone. I looked at the clock: a little bit after midnight. I answered and heard Pam's voice:

"He knows. I've told him."

I couldn't answer. I just stayed there, in silence.

"Sookie? Did you hear me? I said: I told him!"

"Yes. Sorry. I… How did uuhh… So… What happened?"

"He destroyed my office at Bloodbath and then left. I… Look Sookie, he was really mad and… Maybe you should spend the night somewhere else. He might want to talk to you and it's not a good idea if your boyfriend is near. Eric might kill him."

Again, I couldn't answer.

"Sookie?"

"You're serious, aren't you? You actually think he might kill David?"

"I do. And I swear that I don't know why. Yeah, I get it, a blood bond is serious, it's heavy stuff but… he closed it. You guys haven't been feeling each other for two years now… Well, I thought I should warn you. I got to go now Sookie. Listen, I'll call you back as soon as I hear from him again. And you call me if you need something, will you?" Meaning: if Eric shows up threatening you or your boyfriend.

"Of course. Thanks Pam."

"Take care."

Again, I couldn't say anything or move a muscle. In a minute, I had gone from wondering if I should end my relationship with David and go back to Louisiana because of my feelings for Eric to wondering if that same Eric would kill me and my boyfriend. I shut down the TV but stayed there, in the dark with my heart beating frenetically. And then I thought how Eric would love to hear my heart that way. He wouldn't kill me. We had been friends. We had never had a proper boyfriend/girlfriend relationship, but we had been friends. We had teased each other, laughed with each other, and been there for each other. Yeah, he wouldn't kill me. He just wouldn't. I felt that. And I was like 99% sure of that. But the fact that I wasn't 100% sure bothered me to no end and I recognized that David was what I really needed. David and a normal lifestyle were my future. Eric and the supernatural world were my past. They were in me, and would always be in me. I was what I was because of my past. But my past had happened already and wouldn't happen again. And I would never see Eric again because if he hadn't before, he sure hated me now. And even though his hatred pained me, I felt glad for it because it meant he would leave me alone. Well, if that 1% of probability didn't happen and he ended killing me.

I stayed there thinking for about two hours before I decided that I wouldn't run and I went to bed. Eric didn't show up that night and Pam didn't call again. The next day work was awful – I couldn't think about anything other than Eric and why he had reacted that way. "You just spent a week together. And Eric wasn't even Eric back then." Pam had told me once. And she was right. Why then was Eric still connected to me? Why did he care if I married David? And why was I still thinking about him? For one thing, I had decided to leave Eric in my past. And for another, our blood bond had been broken… And even if it hadn't, why was it so strong? I'd exchanged blood with Bill a few times as well (actually, I had exchanged blood with Bill a few more times than with Eric). And I dated him for months (not days). But I hardly ever thought about Bill. Whereas Eric…

Eric didn't show up that second night either and Pam didn't call as well. After two weeks I was a wreck: I wasn't sleeping, I was having problems shielding at work and I wasn't having sex with David. I knew he was worried about me, thinking that I might have cold feet about our weeding (he told everything to Stephen, our cook, who was an extremely loud broadcaster). But David, as usual, was being understanding and was giving me time and space. On the 16th day after Pam's last phone call (yes, I was counting the days), I was with David having dinner in our kitchen when the phone rang. It was Pam again. I left the kitchen and went to the living room, so I could properly talk (or, in other words: so David wouldn't hear my conversation).

Pam immediately started to talk like there was no tomorrow: "He's back. Said he just needed some time but now he's alright and that even though you guys can't divorce that just means that you can't bond with another vampire, so you can marry your bear. He said to tell you and I quote "fuck her and everything Sookie related. I am still not sorry we pledged with the knife. No other vampire can maneuver her away. But if she wants to be with a fucking bear, I don't care about her anymore" end of quote. And then he just kept repeating that. So… There you go. You can marry. He doesn't care about you anymore."

"What did he meant? Maneuver her away?"

"You know: Victor was trying to take you to Las Vegas. DeCastro wanted you there."

"No. He said I was under his protection. I saved him. He wouldn't do that to me. And Eric just married me because of Quinn, right?" I was whispering. David didn't know a thing about my vampire (kind of) marriage, and I wanted to keep it that way.

"Oh my sweet human. Being under his protection just meant no one could harm you. And if someone did harm you, then DeCastro and his vamps would fight for you: to defend or avenge you. It doesn't mean he wouldn't protect you in Las Vegas. Actually, his protection would be easier if you were living at his palace. You really are a silly person. You'd trust DeCastros's word?"

"So that was why Eric married me? Not Quinn?" Had Eric married me to protect me? He hadn't. He couldn't have. That was not Eric-like to do something for others. He hadn't. Had he?

"Yeah, the stupid tiger was one reason, but your protection meant much more to Eric."

Oh. My. God. Was Pam lying to me so I would see her maker with "better" eyes? Or was I finally seeing Eric's selfless side? I… I… I had moved to Tennessee because of all this. And now… "He doesn't care about you anymore." No. I had made my decision before. I had to uphold it. And I did love David. I thought about my fiancé and calmed down a bit. Right or wrong I had made a decision to leave Louisiana two years before, and that had brought me to a wonderful, caring man. I deeply inhaled and exhaled and I really felt myself calming down.

Pam then told me Eric was with his maker again in Europe and that it was really good for him to be with this Ocella guy and that Eric was really all right. And so, free from Eric's eventual murder visit, and feeling good because I had made my decision and I was sticking with it, I was able to sleep again (and, thank God, there were no more Eric dreams). A couple of days later, I even started organizing my wedding ceremony.

-x-

Later that month, Pam did indeed visit me in Tennessee and David finally met her. And the best thing to say about that meeting was that they were cordial to each other. At the third night, when we were saying goodbye, she said: "I hate him. You know I do. He's a fucking were. But he seems to like you and you seem to like this life so I wish you the best."

"You sure you don't want to come to the party Pam? The ceremony at the church is at 4 pm but you could come later, at night, to the reception." But she had already made up her mind and politely declined again before she left to Louisiana.

And so, after a minor discussion with David titled "why the hell didn't you tell me that your friend was a vampire?" that ended with "it doesn't matter what she is; she's my friend. And Amelia's a witch by the way. And I'm a telepath and you are a were. So, what gives?" everything went back to normal and, as always, days turned into weeks and then months (and the continued absence of Eric dreams helped a lot).

And suddenly, it was summer and my wedding day was just two weeks away and I couldn't wait to be Mrs. Brown.

Hi! So… she's not married yet, but she can't wait to be… Next chapter will be an Eric's POV. And Natércia's back to Louisiana! And there are some nasty fairies on their way…! What do you think about all this? Please, feel free to drop me a line, okay? Oh, and I'm trying to write bigger chapters. Is it better for you? Thanks again for reading.

The "These Days Special Edition Album" includes a song called "Diamond Ring". Célia