Hi! There's a new chapter, the second in two days. However, I'm not sure when I'll be able to update again. This week I'll have three close friends from out of town visiting and I probably won't have time to write, because besides work, I'll be giving them the Lisbon's tour. But I'll try to write nonetheless. Anyway, there're some lemons ahead! I hope you'll enjoy the chapter. And please, don't forget to review. Divirtam-se! (that's "have fun" in Portuguese), Célia

Sookie "Lay Your Hands On Me"

That whole Ocella and Alexei episode had been dreadful. Dreadful.

I had killed someone who looked very much like a young boy. Just the "killing" part was atrocious, but on top of it, he had been a kid… Well, I knew that Alexei had been everything other than a child… But still… he had looked like one. And, do you know what it's like not to be able to trust your own eyes? To look at him and see a boy but knowing that he wasn't…? But somehow, I managed to overcome that. I forced myself to think over and over again how I was just protecting myself and Pam. And every time I looked at Liz, I felt again sure that I'd do anything to protect her from any kind of pain. Including the pain of losing her mother. And yes, eventually, I managed to overcome the Ocella and Alexei episode.

Eric had had issues with it too. At first, I thought that it was his maker's death… But then I realized that it was more than that. He was mainly worried about me. Yes, Eric had been really awkward for a couple of months or so after that… incident. He had wanted to be with me at all times… If I was to interview a new employee, for instance (my telepathy had granted me the "interviewer" job), he wanted to be there. If I was to go to the grocery store, he wanted to be there. If I was just to stay at home, he'd stay there too. But in time, and after those one or two strange months, Eric too went back to normal.

And I thought that we had finally gotten our chance at peace, quiet and happiness. But apparently, not yet. Because as soon as we were starting to get into our routine again, and right after both me and Eric had prevailed over what had happened, and we were (finally!) back into our normal selves again, there was this new thorn in our happy lives.

"And what should I do?" I asked Eric when he told me about it.

"You must at least call your ex-husband, Sookie."

"Do you really think that I should call David? What do I say? Or maybe… Should I go there instead?"

"Start by calling him. And say whatever you think you should say. You've lived with him for quite a while; you'll know what to say. And if it doesn't work, then you go to the airport and you fly there, or you drive there. But whatever you do, you must do it now. There's not much time and I know that you'll regret it if you don't do everything that you could have done."

Damn it. Eric was right. So I did call my ex-husband. And we talked for almost an hour on the phone. And he said that he wouldn't. He actually said that he wouldn't. And that was why I didn't fly there – because he said that he wouldn't. But apparently, I couldn't recognize David's lies any better than I had been able to, back when we were married and he was having an affair with a 21-years-old-girl. An affair that I only discovered when David himself, told me about it. And by then, his son from that relationship was already a few months old (and it had taken them a little more than one year to even get pregnant).

I guess that what I'm trying to say is that, yes, even though he said that he wouldn't, he did. And I didn't know that he would. I didn't recognize his lying tone…. again.

And Eric had been right, as usual. That Scully guy really was no kidding matter. He only did have to lay his hands on David once, and that was that. And so, less than a week after David had told me that he wouldn't, I received the phone call that I truly didn't want to receive. And then I had to talk to Liz about it and her sad face broke my heart. And even worst: we had to go back to Tennessee for the ceremony.

And all over again, I thanked God for bringing Eric to my life again after I had left him before because he truly was my safe port in the middle of the storm that was my life. He helped me with Liz. He drove us there. He was available to either talk or just hug us in silence, whichever we wanted. He got people there organizing everything. And he never left our side.

Except during the day, of course.

And that was why, after I had just spent one of the worst days of my life, when I parked my car, I was extremely relieved to notice that it was night already and Eric would be there for me, thank God!

I turned off the key and the car immediately silenced. I deeply sighed and then I looked to my daughter. Liz was sleeping in the back seat of the car and somehow she looked comfortable in her little car seat. I knew that I'd never be able to carry her inside without waking her up so I called him.

"Hey," he answered the phone.

"Hi. I'm in the parking lot of the hotel. Liz fell asleep. Can you come here and pick her up please?" He ended the call without speaking another word and two seconds later Eric was opening my car door. He grabbed my hand and, at a snail's pace, he pulled me from the car. Without saying a single word, he hugged me and then he slowly kissed my lips.

Eric then kept hugging me and rubbing my back for a little while. When I moved slightly away from him, he kissed my forehead. I looked at his blue eyes, before I said: "Thanks. She's too heavy already. I'd probably wake her up while trying to grab her. And I'm too tired to even try to move Liz."

"None of that! I am here to help you," Eric answered me immediately. He then walked to the back part of the car, opened the door and slowly took Lizzie out of her booster seat, which was there to keep the lap and the shoulder belts in place. As soon as she was free from her car seat, he picked Liz up. And somehow, she kept sleeping undisturbed like an angel, only now she was on Eric's arms instead of inside the car.

"Thank you," I whispered closing the door of the car.

He moved his head, dismissing my thanks and then, once he had Liz comfortably on the right side of his chest, Eric asked whispering "How was it?"

I grabbed my purse from the car, I locked it and we started walking towards the doors. "It was awful and heavy," I whispered him back, "and sad."

And then, somehow, he managed to grab my daughter and still keep a free arm that he put around my shoulders while we were walking into the vampire hotel. We stayed in silence for another minute or two. "And Liz?" he finally asked in the elevator.

"I don't know. At first I think that she didn't understand where she was. Or why. But by the end, she was crying. But silently crying, you know? It was as if she had finally understood everything. I brought her to the car and asked David's nephew to stay there with her. When the funeral ended, she was sound asleep."

"She'll be okay," he answered while we stepped out of the elevator.

"I'm still not sure if I did the right thing taking her with me. David's mom insisted though and she is Lizzie's grandmother. Her only grandmother. But Liz is still only six years old. Her birthday is not for another two months... I just hope she won't remember her father's funeral. It was just too sad Eric. I hope she'll be like me. I totally blocked out my parents' memorial services and their burial in my memories. I just remember what I saw in Jason's head and…" I couldn't keep talking or walking or even moving. So I stopped. And then I cried on Eric's chest, in the hall towards our bedroom, while he kept his right arm around my sleeping daughter and his left arm around me.

It was not that I was still in love with David. Or that I would miss him. Not anymore. But I knew Lizzie loved her father and would feel deeply his absence. Why? Why? Why the hell had David fought that guy? I would never understand were disputes. Never. And after I had called him… After I had begged him to not to do it…. After he had said that he wouldn't. Why? Why did he do it?

A few minutes later, I started to calm down and we managed to get inside our room.

Eric, once more (and thankfully), took charge. He changed Lizzie's clothes and put her pajamas on without waking her up and left her sleeping on my bed. And then he made me do the same. And finally, he took his own trousers and shoes off and he moved under the bed sheets and spooned me in silence. And that was exactly what I needed back then. I always felt that nothing could ever be wrong when I was in the inside of Eric's spoon – he was so big and I always felt really cared about. A few minutes after that, Liz slightly moved in her sleep, but I kept my arms around her and my eyes on her. And the three of us just stayed there in the bed, hugging in silence. Soon, I felt asleep.

The next morning my daughter woke me. She was uncharacteristically non-exuberant when she grabbed and started moving my arm, while saying "mom, I'm hungry". We both went to the bathroom and then dressed before we went to the dining room to have breakfast. I let her have chocolate cereals (even though she was only allowed those on weekends) and grabbed a cup of coffee for me (I felt that I wouldn't manage to keep any solid food in my stomach yet) and then we both moved to a table.

"So what happens now, mom?" she asked as soon as we sat.

"Well, after breakfast, we can go back to the room and you can play or color your book, or perhaps watch TV…" Her face showed me immediately that neither of these options would be her choice, so I tried again: "Or, if you want, we can go out to a park or garden outdoors? How about that place you like by the Greenway?" She sighed, moved her head, nodding to me. Okay, so to the park we would go.

"And then?"

"Then we'll have lunch somewhere. You can choose the place."

"And after lunch?"

"After lunch, we'll meet Gran so we can kiss her and say goodbye to her because as soon as Eric's awake we'll drive back home."

"Goodbye? To Gran?" She said with a scared face. Oh damn it. I had explained to Liz that the funeral was the way all her father's family and friends had to say goodbye to him.

"Just a 'see you later' Liz. Just until we come back to Cleveland or Gran goes and visits us at home." Yeah, like David's mom would ever travel to Louisiana. She had never liked me. Well, she more than not-liked me. She actually almost hated me, right from the beginning, because I wasn't double-natured and I had supported her son's previous decision to stay away from packs and other weres. I guess David had finally proved me right.

"So, Gran's okay?"

"Of course she is, baby. We'll come back again and visit her soon." And we would. I'd never keep Liz away from her father's family and even though David's mother had never liked me, I knew that she loved Liz.

"She didn't look okay yesterday…"

"She was just missing daddy, like we are."

My daughter then stayed in silence and I let her be. But when she still hadn't started eating her breakfast five minutes later, I said: "Lizzie?"

"And what about daddy?"

"Liz, we've talked about this." We had talked about it. About God and Heaven and the fact that daddy was probably her angel and would keep tabs on her now, even though she couldn't see him. "Do you have any questions, baby?"

"Will you die?" she asked immediately. She had obviously been thinking about it before.

"Not for many years. But eventually yes, I will. We all do," her face showed some fear, and I quickly added, "But like I said, not for many, many years. And by then you'll be all grown up and have your own kids. Well, you remember Silver, right?" Silver was Lizzie's goldfish, recently deceased because we had over-fed it by mistake… thrice. So, after we discovered Silver's premature death, we put her in a cigar box that Eric had had in his office and then we buried it in our back yard. Pam had been there with us too on the night of Silver's funeral. And Eric had even said a few words about how Silver had been such a good fish to everyone, never causing any problem, during the whole five months she had stayed with us, and that she would be deeply missed by the whole family.

"Yeah, I remember Silver."

"Well, Daddy will take care of Silver now in Heaven and I'll take care of you, here."

"But what if you die too?" Again, her question was way too quick. This was something that was truly bothering her. And I could understand that. She was just a child and this was the first time she had to deal with a death of an important person in her life. And unfortunately, I knew too well what she was feeling.

"Then, Eric will take care of you."

"But what if you and Eric die at the same time?"

I wouldn't talk about vampires' immortality at that point, which was so not the right moment. So, obviously, I chose the easy way out of my daughter's question. "Then Pam will do it."

She stayed quiet, and finally started eating her breakfast. I was already thinking whose name I would pop up if the "what if you, Eric and Pam die at the same time" question appeared (probably Jason), when, all of a sudden, she changed the direction of our talk. "Will Eric be my new father?"

Okay… Would Eric be her new father? Well, for one Liz had never used the word father before. It was always "daddy". "Daddy" did this, "daddy" did that, "daddy" here, "daddy" there. Her first word, actually, had been "da-da" but even before she said "mommy" or "mom", or even "ma", she had already mastered the "daddy" word. And she had always been a "daddy girl". But now, she was asking me if Eric would be her new father… Well, I truly didn't know what to answer her. I didn't know if she would want it, or if, on the other hand, she'd feel betrayed because she'd feel that Eric might be trying to substitute her real father somehow... And I sure didn't know what Eric would think about the subject either. I did know, however, that he loved her.

I sighted. "He kind of already is. He loves you already and he sure cares and worries about you," Liz kept staring at me as if I had two heads. Oh boy! Maybe my "he kind of already is your father" strategy hadn't been a good idea. But it was the truth. I was absolutely sure that Eric loved and cared about her. And he loved to spend time with her too. "Hey, who took you to the circus last month?" I finally asked.

"Eric did."

"Well, that's a father's job."

Another minute or two of silence. More chocolate cereals eaten.

"But I call him Eric."

"That's because it's his name," I said.

And then, the rest of the breakfast was eaten in silence. The walk in the park was done in silence. We had lunch at an Italian pizzeria (Lizzie's choice, of course) and she only mumbled what she wanted to eat but then she kept her silence the whole time. Later in the afternoon, she kissed and hugged her crying grandmother before we went back to the hotel. Also in silence.

Eric was already awake and waiting for us when we arrived there. We quickly paid our hotel bill, put our suitcases in the trunk of the car and then we drove back to Louisiana. In silence too.

And during the whole day, I had had to fight my instincts of checking Lizzie's thoughts. I was really worried about my daughter and I wanted to know what she was thinking about all that. How she was really dealing with her father's death. But I knew that even though she was only six years old, she deserved her privacy and I stayed away from her head. We hadn't left Bradley County yet when she fell asleep.

During the next weeks, I'd find her crying in her bedroom sometimes. But then, her cries became less and less frequent and she started to come back to her usual self. And whenever she wanted, we'd talk about David and we'd see old photo albums or watch videos of only the three of us or of us with David's family. And sometimes, she'd ask again about my death or Eric's death (I still kept the "vampires don't die" part of the conversation for another time).

And seven months later, at Christmas, when she saw that Eric's present was the most desired puppy dog, she thanked him with a kiss and a "Thanks dad! I love, love, love my puppy. I'll give him water now, okay? Puppies must eat and drink, right? I'll take so good care of him. I love, love my puppy." And she then ran to the kitchen, carrying the dog.

Eric just stood there, looking at me with an awed face and whispered "dad". I didn't know if he was happy or not about it. He just looked surprised. And I sure didn't know what to say to him. Besides, I didn't know if this was a recent development or just a fluke. So I only nodded and smiled at him.

Almost two hours later, it was bed time for Lizzie, and we were discussing Nike's sleeping arrangements.

"But mom…!" She said for the tenth time (at least!) that night. The two of us were more or less arguing in the living room. Liz wanted the puppy dog, Nike, to sleep in her bedroom. Most specifically, in her bed, under her bed sheets, as I could read from her mind. Whereas I did not, obviously. The dog would make a mess and it would be up to me to clean everything. Besides, dogs didn't belong inside a house for more than a couple of hours – I had always been much more a "cat-girl" myself, but I had always been confident on the idea that dogs wanted to run and bark at night, hence, sleeping in the open.

"There's no 'but' Lizzie. He's still a puppy, so Nike will sleep in the garage. But as soon as he's grown up, he'll be staying outdoors, in the garden. Dogs like that."

"But mom…! He's my puppy. He's mine, mine, mine," Well, talk about not being Eric's biological child. She was a 7 year-old girl version of Eric. Whatever she wanted, she had to get; and whatever she said, had to be a law. She always had to have her own way and so she continued, "He's my puppy. I decide. And I want him in my bedroom."

I took a deep breath, so I wouldn't scream at her. Sometimes my daughter truly took away my patience. "No Lizzie. The dog will stay in the garage. And that's the end of this conversation," I said, with the calmest voice tone I could muster (which wasn't that much), for the 12th time in as many minutes.

"But mom…!"

"Elizabeth! You will do as your mother tells you," Eric intervened. He used her full name and called me her mother, not mom or mommy. And because Eric hardly ever interfered (I was always the "bad cop" in our little routine – and no matter how much he liked her, he always let me make the important decisions concerning Liz), when he did intervene, he always got results. So, thank you Eric.

But Liz wouldn't let things like that, obviously. Not this time. Yes, on the infrequent occasions when Eric interfered, he always got results. But Nike was a too-important issue for Liz. And just like Eric had, Liz too had a one track mind. And she had decided that the puppy would sleep upstairs in her room. So, she changed her tactic. And instead of charging against me, she chose to try Eric instead. "But dad…! Just tonight. Pleeease, pretty pleeeease!"

Eric grabbed both her and the puppy that was in her hands. He kissed her hair and looked in my direction. He was sitting with both the child and the dog at his lap, looking at me. And Eric had puppy-eyes too. God help me! And Eric's sweet and loving puppy-eyes were asking me to let the dog sleep upstairs. But I kept my cool and I didn't melt, even with him looking at me that way. And I was proud of myself when I didn't succumb, and instead, I said nothing.

But my resistance didn't matter, because then Eric submitted to my daughter's demand. "Well, maybe, just for tonight, if your mom lets you," he finally told her after one or two minutes into our staring contest.

"Thanks dad, thanks, thanks, thanks," she said kissing both his cheeks and hugging his neck. And then I noticed that he was smiling his perfect smile at her. The "maybe" and the "if your mom lets you" parts were totally ignored by my kid who just grabbed the puppy, left Eric's lap and ran upstairs without speaking a single word to me. And she was only seven; God help me when she reached her teenager years.

Then, as soon as we heard Lizzie running up the stairs, Eric immediately filled her void on his lap because he quickly grabbed me and sat me on top of him; but I had my legs straddling his. "Traitor!" I called him and lightly slap his arm.

"She called me dad," he said smiling.

"That just makes you a traitor dad. You totally sold me out," I said smiling back at him. He moved his face and kissed me in the lips, but I quickly moved my face away from his and I said, "Nhu-uh! Don't you kiss me mister! I'm mad!" And then I added with a playful voice tone, "I thought we were a team here. It's us against her,"

"She called me dad," he repeated still smiling.

"Yes, she did. She called you dad." The next second I was lying on the couch and Eric was on top of me, kissing me. I hugged him and just when I felt his cold (but somehow burning) fingers on my stomach, under my shirt, we heard a voice from upstairs saying that the teeth were brushed and the pajamas were already on. And that meant: time for a little story and good night kiss.

"Let's keep the story short tonight, okay?" Eric whispered in my ears half way through the stairs while he was grabbing me from behind. I could feel his erection on my back and I only moved my head in agreement at him.

And thank God, 30 minutes later, we were closing the door of our bedroom and I was pressed against it with a very tactile and horny vampire in front of me. Eric laid his hands on me again, and I could feel that his fingers were once more on my belly, under my shirt, but this time they kept going up and started teasing my nipples through my bra while Eric's tongue played with mine. My arms were immediately around his neck and his shoulders. Jesus! Eric's large shoulders and his perfect back were such a turn-on… We kept kissing, against the door, for a few more minutes with me grabbing his back and he fondling my breasts. I could feel the fabric of my bra between his hands and my skin and I wondered why we weren't naked yet. Then, in just a second, and before I had even realized he had moved, I found myself without the shirt and the bra. They were on the floor, by our feet, teared into pieces. And the strangest thing was that our lips were still glued to each other, my hands were still on his back and his hands were still in the same position, on my breasts, but now minus the bra. Wow! That had been crazy. Good crazy, though.

We then stayed just like that, kissing and touching for a few more minutes. Not that there was any need for something that long, but Eric's foreplay was always great. And Eric's kisses and the feeling of his hands on me were awesome too, but soon I decided that I needed more contact, especially on my pelvis region. And as soon as I thought that (but before I said it), Eric's hands left my upper body and grabbed my ass in such a way that it was really easy for me to put my legs around his waist. He carried me to the bed and we both fell on the middle of it.

His lips moved to my neck and one of his hands shifted again to my breasts while the other started touching me right where I wanted. I could feel Eric's touch even through my jeans and I started moaning. And it was like he was inside my mind because the second I thought he was way too dressed (I really wanted to touch him… there), he immediately took off his t-shirt, his jeans and his boxers and laid on top of me again. But this time, thank the Heavens, he was naked. And when I saw Eric stroking himself right before he grabbed my hand from his shoulder and moved it to his… uh, dick, I could only think: "screw the blood bond, we are already connected".

From that moment on, most of my thoughts left my mind. And like it had happened before with my shirt, I just suddenly realized that I was without my jeans and my panties too. Just like that. And it was so strange… Eric hardly ever used his extreme speed with me. Yes, he was frequently quicker than a regular human when he was undressing me but I could always still feel him doing it. But tonight? Well, tonight it had taken him half a second to undress me and start licking my clit while two of his fingers were pounding in and out of me.

Ohh God! I grabbed his hair and just concentrated on my breathing. Eric was burning me again somehow with his tongue and fingers and the feeling was excruciatingly amazing. My hip bones started leaving the bed, because my body had started to move of its own accord so it could meet Eric's mouth. He still had one hand grabbing my right breast teasing my nipple but soon he transferred that hand to my stomach to keep me from moving, while his other hand and tongue kept tantalizing me. Being somewhat restricted like that, by his hand keeping my stomach down, was my turn away point and I started convulsing and I came hard with a loud scream or something... Just don't ask me what I said, 'cause I wouldn't know.

Then, right in the middle of my orgasm, he entered me and I felt everything starting all over again... And wow! Had the oxygen left the room? Or was I having problems concentrating on doing something as easy as breathing? I didn't know; I just knew that he was kissing me again and saying something like "be quiet" but I was beyond care and could only respond him in sounds or monosyllabic words like "God" and "yes". So, he kept talking to me, but I couldn't understand him. I really couldn't understand him. I could only feel him. So my hands left his upper back and went south to grab his butt. His perfect, award winning butt. And then, soon, he started pounding me faster and harder. Oh Jesus! My legs were already around his waist but his arms were now opening them wider and he entered me even deeper. His new faster and harder pounding continued with that new position and I was sure I was going to explode. I wouldn't be able to keep doing it for long… I was almost breathless already. And I really wanted to be bitten… So I tried to tell him to please, for the love of God, sink his teeth into me but words were still evasive. But then he did bite me (even before I managed to ask him) and we both came hard almost at the same time. A couple more thrusts and I was a Jell-O pudding in Eric's arms. Oh. My. God.

As usual, he laid on his back and I quickly snuggled up to his body. I had my head resting on his chest, my arm around his waist and one of my legs in the middle of his. This was so good, so perfect. Eric was the ultimate sex-machine, but the after-sex with him was as good as the sex itself. Okay, almost as good.

That time it took me a little longer, but 15 minutes later I was able to talk again, and I used my new re-found capacity of speech to ask him a question, "Can you read my mind?"

He laughed and his whole chest moved, "No. Can you read mine?"

"You know I can't. You are a vampire."

"So, why are you asking?"

"Because whenever I wanted you to do something, you did."

"What do you mean?" he asked and then started rubbing my back. And I could feel the cold skin of his fingers. I swear: I could feel the cold. But to hell, if it didn't feel hot as well.

"Well…" I kissed quickly his chest and then I kept talking, "when I wanted you to kiss me, you would. And when I wanted you to touch me this way or that way in particular, you would do it just like I wanted it... You know... It was like you could read my mind," I answered.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you lover, but I just did what I wanted, what I felt like doing. I just had my way with you."

I could hear the smile in his voice and just said "Eric!" and slapped his chest slowly and playfully, right where I had kissed it just a moment before.

He then added, with a much serious voice: "I guess we just know each other pretty well then. Because you also did exactly what I wanted," we then smiled at each other and Eric added, "except for the noise, of course"

"What noise?"

"You were really loud tonight Sookie."

I was? "Does it bother you?" He hadn't said anything about it before.

"On the contrary, I love it. But I was afraid Liz would wake up and come here and… let's just say that I'm not sure if I would have been able to stop fucking you – child or no child present in the room."

"Eric!" I said playfully slapping his chest again. He kissed my hair just as he had kissed Lizzie's earlier that night, and it reminded me, "She called you dad," I said.

"She did," I felt his arms hugging me with more strength.

"What do you think about it?"

"I think that… uhh… I think that I'm so happy that I don't even know what I think about it."

Aww! Could he be more perfect? I was so lucky for having him in my life. He was my perfect Christmas present. Except, I got him every day (uhh… every night) of the year and not just on December 25th. "Well, I'm really happy for you two Eric," I said.

"And I'm really happy for us three lover."

I lifted my head from his chest and moved it towards his face. We were one second away from a kiss (and maybe round two) when his cell-phone, which was on his bedside table, rang and I stopped. But instead of moving to the phone, Eric let it ring, touched my face, as a way to tell me to keep moving towards him, and proceeded to kiss me for a couple of minutes. As soon as our kisses ended though, he grabbed the phone and looked at it.

"Fuck," he mumbled, "Natércia's back."

Okay, so first loose end tied up: David's dead and there won't be any problems regarding Lizzie's custody. However, the second loose end is calling Eric on the phone… What do you think Natércia wants? Oh, and you do remember Natércia (or Nat), right? She was Eric's vampire friend, the one who lived with him for a few years when Sookie was in Tennessee and his on-and-off-again girlfriend for the last 800 years! Yes, that Nat. Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed the chapter. Comments or suggestions are very welcome. And thank you for reading. Célia

"Lay Your Hands on Me" is a song written by Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora, released in 1989, and a particular favorite of mine. The song runs 6 minutes, with a long intro focused on the drum beats of Tico Torres and keyboard playing of David Bryan as well as the chants of the crowd: "hey!", before going into a hard rock song, filled with loud guitar riffs by Richie Sambora and the husky delivery of lyrics by Jon Bon Jovi. And it's a great song! Oh, and back in 1989, Bon Jovi had long hair, just like Eric Northman… hehe! :)