Spellbound

Thank y'all for your reviews and your time. I appreciate each and every one of you.

Before y'all read this, please don't think that I'm being rude. That is not my intention at all. I have to say that I read the last chapter several times and I don't see where Sookie was flirting with Quinn. The reason I say that is b/c some reviews stated that Sookie was openly flirting with him. I didn't see it that way. When she wanted to take him into her arms after she read him, it was because she pitied him. She wasn't being coy or anything like that. She wasn't disrespectful to Eric in any way. She didn't bat her eyes at him. She didn't flagrantly act as if Eric wasn't there. The only thing she did was show surprise on her face when she met the were-tiger. I thought that it was clearly written that she was happy to see a were-tiger when she said that she's never seen one. She said that she couldn't wait to tell her cousins that she'd finally met one. She didn't forget that she was with her husband. She stepped into his body when he pulled her into him. She didn't fight against him in order to be flirtatious w/Quinn. She was respectful of her husband even when she touched Quinn's arm and she admitted that she was wrong.

SaucyAussie, I was going to respond to you privately but I couldn't b/c it was a guest review. Please don't take this as being rude. I have to say that as far as me drinking CH's memory loss juice, I haven't. Quinn isn't well known in this story because ...gasp... it's AU/OOC. Even in the books things can escape the most powerful. I may be on the verge of OD'ing on MLJ but in the books, Niall was very powerful but yet and still his son had to die before he knew where Sookie was. His half human/fae son was able to keep his human family a secret. And b/c Eric and Sookie are uniting the supe world as one doesn't mean that they've met them all. No other supe male in the story has rubbed on Sookie. She's not trying to invoke jealousy. And Eric's balls are well attached. When Eric laughed at the end of the story, it was b/c he and Sookie shared a moment at the end.

This is also a response to the guest reviewer that said that I was going to lose readers b/c Eric had to give Quinn permission to call his wife by her first name. As far as Eric giving Quinn permission to call Sookie by her first name, we are in a supe world. If they can't just go up and touch her without his permission then they have to be respectful all around when it comes to addressing his wife. I think that it's okay for another male figure to get permission from Eric to call Sookie by her first name. I don't want to take her back to the golden ages and I thought that I was in the 21st century. When Sookie touched Quinn and told him that he could report her to the council and that her punishment would be just, it was not implied that Eric would punish her. The council would pass judgment; not Eric. There would be no need to go before the council if Eric was going to punish her. When she touches others with the intention of invading their minds w/o just cause, it's not okay. Also my thinking is that she's a married woman and she's a princess. She has to carry herself as such and some of you may not agree, but she has always carried herself as such; even when she believed that Eric was unfaithful.

I also would like to respond to the comment that Eric is not respected. The supes do treat Eric with respect except for the night of the get together; they aren't in a public setting. They are on a date. They are in a laid back atmosphere and Eric is with his friends. Quinn would never do what he did if they were at a summit. He was only doing that to bother Eric.

And as I've always said, please let me know what you have a problem with and I will do my best to explain it or either fix. I don't want to OD on CH memory loss juice and I definitely don't want to lose any readers. LOL.

As Sookie laughed and talked with everyone, she felt at ease. When she and Eric first entered the bar, she didn't think that she would be as welcomed as they made her feel. They introduced themselves to her with warm smiles and happy faces. She didn't think that they'd accept her so willingly. To her surprise, they treated her like family. They treated as if she belonged; as if she's always been there. She expected them to be uncomfortable around her. They told her that they were pleased that she'd finally decided to join them.

"I'm surprised that you didn't come sooner, Mrs. Northman," Clancy said to her. "Eric told us how busy you'd be when we'd get together; especially with you being a princess and all. I can only imagine the things that you had to get in line for the faeries. It had to be hard doing that and you're here instead of at home with your people. Somebody needing something all of the time; it's got to be a hectic."

Eric blanched at the words of Sookie being at home in Faery. "She is home. This is her home," he corrected.

Before a problem could start, Pam draped her arm over Sookie's shoulder and said, "It doesn't matter now. Sookie now knows that we do this every week and she's more than welcome to join us. She's always been welcome here."

Sookie's smile was frozen on her face. She didn't know that they did this weekly and she didn't have faery business to attend to. She looked to her right to see Eric standing beside her.

"Even though it took six years, I'm just glad that you all have welcomed me with open arms."

Eric spoke up and said, "It's my fault that she didn't come before tonight. I take full blame." He pushed Pam to the side and pulled Sookie in closer to him. "You've all seen my wife. You all know how amazing she is. I was following my nature when it came to keeping my wife all to myself. I did not want to share."

Staring at Quinn, he added, "If you'd seen the way Quinn was fawning over her when we first arrived, you'd understand why."

Everyone laughed at what he'd said … including Quinn; everyone that is but Sookie. She couldn't believe her ears. Eric had made himself seem … insecure when it came to her. He is anything but insecure. He knew that he had nothing to worry about. She has always been loyal to him. She would never betray him or give him any reason to think otherwise. Why would he say that? She then looked into his eyes and she saw the sincerity in them. He'd meant it. He wanted to keep her to himself. He didn't like sharing her with others.

From that moment on, she and Eric remained side by side throughout the night; that is until his long lost friend made an appearance.

A pale white hand landed on his shoulder. "My friend," the faceless hand said.

When Eric turned around, there stood the vampire that helped him through the toughest times of his undead life. When Eric's maker released him without an ounce of guidance, Salvatore was the one that stood by him and helped him with the most important things that a vampire needed to learn; feeding without killing, glamoring, making a child of his own. Salvatore has always been there when Eric needed him. So whatever Sal needed from him, Eric was more than willing to give to him.

"Salvatore," he exclaimed. "You are a sight for sore eyes." The two vampires hugged and patted each other on the back.

After their greeting, Eric introduced Sal to his wife. "Sal," he said. "This is my wife, Sookie. Sookie, this is Salvatore. He is my dearest friend, my brother, my father."

Salvatore bowed to Sookie as he took her hand and kissed the back of it. When he looked at her, a quick look of concern passed over his eyes. He gave Eric a knowing look before he returned his attentions back to Sookie.

"It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Sookie. So you are the little fae that has taken my brother off of the market. You, little one, have done something that I never thought I'd see. And may I add you are just as beautiful as he said you are."

Sookie's mouth fell open. She couldn't believe what he'd said. She also couldn't believe that Eric had spoken highly of her to anyone; especially someone that he considered a dear friend; a brother. She was so shocked that she had no words.

"Sookie, are you alright?"

Absently, she nodded and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you too, Salvatore, but you surprised me when you said that Eric told you that I was beautiful. I didn't know that he talked about me."

The vampire laughed. "Please, call me Sal and there is something about your husband that you obviously don't know." He put his arm through Sookie's and tried walking away with her.

Sookie wouldn't budge. It wasn't becoming of her to be seen in public on the arm of another vampire whether it was a personal gathering or not. She holds a position of power and she needed to carry herself as such. She looked back at Eric and he gave the okay for her to walk and talk with Sal. If there were two vampires that he trusted explicitly, it was Pam and Sal. He knew that they'd do nothing to hurt Sookie.

Though Eric was fine with it, Sookie wasn't. She offered Eric her other arm and he graciously took it. As they walked along, Sookie looked at Sal and asked, "What is it that I don't know about my husband?"

"He's shy."

Sookie, Eric, and Sal stopped walking. They looked at each other and laughed. For the remainder of the night, their laughter filled the bar. Soon after, Eric and Sookie were working the room together; having a conversation with everyone that stopped them. There were supes from every walk of life in the bar that night; daemons, Weres, shifters, and vampires. Sookie never realized that Eric surrounded himself with such an eclectic group of supes when they weren't doing business. She'd always assumed that he only dealt with vampires but she was wrong. He didn't discriminate. And from what she'd witnessed, they are the best of the best.

Pretty soon, Sookie was talking with Luna and Pam. She searched the room for Eric and she saw that he and Sal were off on the sidelines and catching up on whatever they'd missed in the other's life. Sookie and Eric would glance at one another every few seconds as if they were checking to see if the other was still there. The sounds of Pam bragging about going to Paris brought her back to their conversation.

Pam was bragging to Luna that she and Sookie were going to Paris for fashion week and she couldn't wait. "I've already packed my overnight bag. This is going to be the best trip in the entire world. Can you imagine the shopping in Paris during fashion week?"

Luna and Sookie looked at each other in amazement and what Pam said about the overnight bag. Luna asked, "You're going to Paris for a week and you've only packed an overnight bag?"

"Sure as hell did," she answered. "I'm buying a whole new wardrobe." She leaned in close to Sookie and said, "I've borrowed Eric's black American Express. We are set. When we come back from Paris, we are going to have the best wardrobe anyone has ever seen." She winked at the two ladies and smiled as she pranced around in a circle in her new pretend Paris digs.

"Eric's gonna kill you," Luna said.

Sookie shook her head at Luna's comment. "He won't kill her. He'll probably make her pay the bill and dress up like a cartoon vampire for all eternity but he won't kill her."

Pam's arm slithered over Sookie's shoulder and said, "He won't even make me do that if you tell him that you borrowed the card."

Wide-eyed and surprised, Sookie said, "I will not. I'm not going to lie for you."

"Come on, good buddy. Take one for the team."

Sookie laughed at Pam's nerve. "I will not. We've known each other all of what ... two hours and you want me to steal and lie so that you can buy a new wardrobe in Paris?" She looked over there to where Eric was standing. "I can't do that."

She hugged Sookie to her and tugged at her ponytail. "I don't believe in the word can't. You can do anything that you put your mind to. I hate it when my friends limit themselves with the word can't."

"Like taking that credit card?" Luna asked.

"Exactly," Pam exclaimed. "Sookie, you can do this. He won't get mad at you."

Sookie shook Luna's hand and said, "You are very pleasant and I'm glad that we met and if I had an extra ticket, I'd love for you to go with us to Paris. I know that we would have a great time." Turning to Pam, she said, "You are everything that I thought you'd be. You're charming, funny, and you have a beautiful smile."

Luna laughed because they all know that Pam hasn't smiled all night.

"You're also full of shit," she added.

That really had Luna laughing.

Continuing on, Sookie said, "I'm glad that we are going to get to be friends and I'm super excited about us going to Paris but I am not stealing his credit card so that you can have a new wardrobe." She began walking away.

"Come on!" Pam yelled out.

Sookie waved at Pam and Luna as she walked away. She needed a ginger ale because her stomach was starting to feel a little queasy. She didn't understand why. She'd eaten a big breakfast. She'd eaten a big enough lunch to kill a caveman but she was still hungry. It was a hunger that food wouldn't and couldn't fulfill. She was hungry for something but she didn't know what it was. She hoped that the ginger ale would make her feel better; at least until she got home and was able to eat something.

When she reached the bar, she ordered her drink. "No ice, please," she said. She thanked the bartender when he gave her the drink. It was so good, she ordered three more.

"Thirsty much?" Quinn asked.

"Very," she said as she polished off her fourth soda. She looked at the four empty glasses and laughed. She wasn't feeling any better but at least her stomach didn't have the waves anymore.

"I'm glad that you came tonight. I didn't think that I'd ever meet the great and wonderful Mrs. Northman."

Sookie cocked an eyebrow at his words as she turned to face him. "I don't know about great and wonderful but it's a pleasure to be here. I've met some very nice people tonight." She sat tall in her seat and looked at the were-tiger. "May I ask you a question?"

He leaned his back against the bar and crossed his arms over his chest. With a smug look on his face, he said, "You can ask me anything you want."

"Why doesn't Eric seem to like you? He's allowed almost everyone here to call me Sookie but you. Have you done something to him to warrant such treatment?"

Quinn threw his head back and laughed. "Eric and I go way back. We've always been frenemies but we have the utmost respect for each other. As far as me being able to address you by your first name, he'll allow it but in time. You'll see."

She began to wonder if Eric has always acted this way when it comes to his female companions. Curiosity got the better of her. "Has he always been like this when he's with someone? You know; with the fangbangers or with someone that he's seriously dated?"

"Eric has never seriously dated anyone. So, no, he's never acted as he has tonight," he said. "You're different than the other women that used to be in his undead life." With a frown on his face, he added, "You should never compare yourself to the likes of them."

"What do you mean?" Curiosity filled her.

"Tonight, I saw something in him that I'd never seen before; jealousy and love. In the past, before you, he didn't care if I flirted with his dates. It didn't matter if I shook their hands or kissed their cheeks. I could have draped my arm over their shoulder and walked away with them if I wanted to."

Quinn tapped the bar to get the bartender's attention before continuing. "A shot of rye, please," he ordered.

When he got the drink, he threw it back and when it the warm whiskey hit his throat, he didn't even flinch. When he was done, he continued on with his explanation. "Now, where was I? Oh, yeah. He wanted to kill me tonight and I can damn well guarantee you that if I had touched you, we would still be fighting or the guests here," he said as he pointed around the room, "would be cleaning up my corpse. The vampire loves you." Chuckling he said, "I never thought I'd live to see the day."

Sookie didn't know what to think or what to say. She understood that Fintan had played mind games with them both but if Eric believed him then why would he care who touched her or greeted her with a kiss? Why would he care who called her Sookie? It pained her heart to know that he never came to her or talked it over with her. She looked over to where he and Sal were standing.

"I didn't think that he felt like that towards me," Sookie said more to herself but loud enough for Quinn to hear.

"Oh, believe me, he does. I believe him when he says that's why he kept you away from us," Quinn replied. "He's very possessive of what he wants. And you are what he wants."

Sookie decided to ask him the million dollar question. "Has he ever brought any of the others here to meet you guys?"

"Another shot," Quinn said to the bartender. He shook his head no to Sookie's question. "Why would he? He didn't care about those women. He never introduced any other women to us. They were just dates … something to do." He swallowed down his next shot. "Eric's is a fickle man. He'd never bring just anyone around his friends. You're not just anyone, Mrs. Northman. You're his wife." He looked at Sookie and said, "Forgive me for saying this and I mean no disrespect to your husband but for the first time ever, I'm jealous of him."

The comment caught her off guard. "What?"

"To be able to have a loving a wife to go home to every night," he said as he rested his elbows on the bar. "I'm jealous of him. He gets to wake up with a beautiful and loving woman by his side. He has someone to slow dance with in front of the fireplace on those cold nights while Miles Davis serenades you in the background." Quinn gave Sookie a slight smile and tapped the bar once more for another refill on the shot of rye.

Before he threw the drink back, he looked at her once more and said, "He's got it made." The third shot disappeared just as quickly as the other two.

Sookie stood up from her seat and said, "I'll be sure to tell him that you said so. And Quinn, you can have that. You just have to want it. You're going to have to give her a chance; whoever she is. And once you find that love, don't let anyone take it away from you."

"Since you're a faery princess, I'll take you at your word."

She laughed as she walked away; leaving Quinn standing at the bar as she made her way to Eric. She was going to take her own advice. She and Eric, they are going to talk their problems over and they are going to make their marriage work. There is no chance of either of them going through this life without the other. This was their time to make things right. She was going to be smart about this. It was going to work.