Disclaimer: The characters depicted herein are the sole property of Charlaine Harris and HBO.

A/N: This chapter deals mainly with Sookie's thoughts; I had to get everything out before throwing us into any more action or drama. At the end, however, be prepared for totally gratuitous ESN. Also, the bonds will get resolved. Don't worry!

Thank you all so much for the reviews. Keep them coming!!

Chapter 21

After I hung up the phone, I sat down for a moment in a state of disbelief. Ever since the supernatural world became part of my everyday life, I had come to expect the unexpected and even welcome it. My conversation with Niall, however, had impacted me more than any of the other things that took place since Bill walked into Merlotte's.

I was transforming into someone from an entirely different species. If what Niall said was true, I would continue to adopt more and more fae qualities even so far as to live a longer life. How long, I didn't know. I wasn't sure if I was ready to know.

A part of me sometimes wondered what would happen to Eric after I died if he and I stayed together. I didn't reflect on it too much, since we were still a new couple, but we loved each other and it was bizarre to think that he would go on living many human lifetimes after I died. I knew I didn't want to become a vampire, so us parting ways was a sure thing. What if, as a result of my relationship to Niall, I live for another two hundred years, or three hundred?

It was too much to digest, particularly when I had so many other pressing issues to deal with here and now. I resolved not to discuss it with anyone, not even Eric, until after I had spoken to Niall on Saturday. There's no point worrying about something uncertain I reminded myself, and shook it all off.

Eric would be back soon; I could feel him getting closer. I honestly couldn't wait to see him and he'd only been with Preston for two hours. It was after midnight, so there was still a long time to go before dawn. We'll probably need every minute of it to sort everything out.

The door opened, and I was startled out of my train of thought. Eric walked in with Preston, Pam, and Bill in tow. Preston was the first to speak.

"Sookie my darling girl, you acted somewhat rashly tonight. Killing Victor and wounding Felipe, perhaps permanently, is going to cause chaos amongst De Castro's retinue. After hearing what Eric had to say, however, I am certain that I would have behaved similarly." He paused for a moment, to gage my reaction to his words. I smiled at him weakly, and he continued. "On a different note, I would like to thank you for giving Pam your blood. She is…important to me." Preston said. He then smiled wickedly at Pam, who noticeably blushed before speaking up herself.

"I have thanked Sookie as well, privately." She said, looking at Preston and at Eric.

Eric nodded, and Preston grinned.

"Your Majesty" I said, bowing slightly to Preston "thank you for being so gracious. As Eric probably explained, I acted out of self defense. With regards to Pam, I consider her a friend. She would have done the same." I said. Pam and Eric beamed at my response.

"Yes, yes I'm sure she would have" Preston said affectionately. "Now, on to other matters" he said, while pacing around the room. "We still have to decide what to tell the Nevada vampires, and what we are going to do with Felipe. It has come to my understanding that he is now bonded with you to some small degree" Preston said to Pam, his face inscrutable. She immediately hung her head in shame. Preston walked over to her and lifted up her chin to face him. "Darling, I know you would never have intentionally entered into another bond." Preston said, and suddenly I knew why Preston was willing to puncture his lip before kissing Pam.

They are already properly bonded! That's why she was worried about what Preston would do when he found out about Felipe!

It made sense, in a way. They both really enjoyed each other's company; they always seemed to be sharing some kind of joke. Also, knowing that Pam is more attracted to women, I continuously found it surprising how much she cared about Preston. I knew he was particularly gifted in seduction, but their connection seemed to be about more than just sex. Although I'll bet there's lots of that too and other women are probably involved I thought to myself with a chuckle. At that moment, Pam turned to look at me.

"You didn't know I was bonded to anyone, did you?" Pam said proudly, as though keeping huge secrets from your friends was a great accomplishment. I shook my head, and she continued. "When Eric called me to work in Fangtasia, I was here in Honolulu with Preston. I had been here for many years, before this hotel was built. Preston and I are…so similar. I accepted Eric's request because I enjoy working with him, and at the time, we were both ready for some time apart. Immortality creates a very different idea of what a relationship means." Pam finished, and I was totally speechless.

"Well put, Pam." Preston said proudly. He then turned to look at Eric. "I do not like the idea of Pam being bonded to two kings. It is unseemly. It also puts the Hawaii vamps and the Louisiana vamps at unnecessary risk. We do not yet know what kind of control De Castro will have over her." He concluded thoughtfully.

I had to laugh at Preston; he put the part about it being unseemly first.

"I agree. Since we now know that Felipe was planning a hostile takeover of Hawaii and simply using Sookie and me as a scapegoat, I think we should kill him. He is without his second-in-command, he is weak and his territories are undefended. We could do to him exactly what he did to Sophie-Anne." Eric paused and then looked at me. He knew I would not approve of executing someone who was gravely injured and totally defenseless.

"What if we were to come up with a more colorful version of the way things happened tonight, and present our case tomorrow at the party?" I asked everyone eagerly. "We could appoint random vampires from both retinues to hear the testimony and have them decide Felipe's fate. After all, it is his word against all of ours. If we told the story with enough conviction, people would be on our side. I've heard vamps discussing what he did to Sophie-Anne, and no one has forgiven him for it." I said, and hoped I didn't sound too naïve.

For a moment no one said anything, but simply exchanged thoughtful glances. After what felt like an eternity, Bill piped up, surprising me for the second time in one night.

"I think Sookie makes a good point. If we kill Felipe, we will have to face the tribunal under charges of treason. It isn't unheard of for vampires to appoint a jury in certain circumstances. It's just not that common. My only concern is what we will be trying to convict him of." Bill said matter-of-factly. It made me happy to see him taking an interest in vampire politics; the thought of him 'losing his hunger' as he put it earlier had been very depressing. If we all make it out of here in one piece, I will have to talk to Bill again about what he's going through. I'm sure there's a way to get him back to normal I thought, and then focused on the current conversation. One thing at a time I reminded myself. I smiled at him for agreeing with me, but his face remained blank.

To this, Pam seemed to have an answer. "He will be trialed for attempting to drain another vampire without cause, and for kidnapping an esteemed guest of the king." Pam grinned, and everyone seemed content with her answer.

"There's something to that" Preston said animatedly "I was beginning to rethink the party, but it might be just the right thing to do! Felipe is back in the guarded room for the night and his retinue is being entertained at Eventide. They won't get a chance to speak with him before the trial."

By now, Preston was walking around the room excitedly and talking while clearly making plans in his head. I could feel Eric relax a little through the bond, and I could tell that Pam was glad Preston wasn't mad at her. The atmosphere in the room had improved slightly, and for that I was grateful. Once it seemed as though tomorrow night's agenda was all sorted out and rehearsed, Preston sent Bill to speak with his assistant and his event planner to inform them of the updated schedule.

It seemed as though, for now, there was only one more topic to discuss and it was making me incredibly nervous. There were four of us left in the room: the four people who were directly involved. I strained to focus on Eric's thoughts, his feelings, to try and figure out what he was thinking about the peculiar four way bond we now shared. He must have sensed what I was doing, though, because he looked at me and shook his head. Oh well. In for a dime, in for a dollar I thought to myself, and collected my thoughts before getting everything out in the open. I wondered if there was any way I could be diplomatic about it. There wasn't.

"So, what are we going to do about our group-bond thing?" I squeaked out awkwardly.

At this, Preston actually laughed out loud and I found myself laughing along with him.

"You really have a way with words Miss Stackhouse" Preston said "but do not worry. Eric and I have already discussed this at length and come up with several agreeable solutions. As we have not yet seen the effects of Pam having taken your blood, our final decision is still to be determined. You haven't taken hers, so you aren't fully bonded. We were more concerned about Pam and Felipe. As we are hoping to have that particular issue resolved by tomorrow night, I see no need to think on this any further until we know more." Preston finished.

Pam nodded with evident relief, at which Preston laughed again. He seemed perfectly undisturbed by the fact that the four of us could be having mind sex or something for the rest of my life. However long it was going to be. Then again I thought he'd have no reason to be disturbed by such a thing.

Suddenly his laughter made sense. I looked at Eric, who seemed to realize what I was thinking. He started to speak, I imagine, to prevent me from voicing my disgust at this new concept.

"I think now would be a good time for Sookie and I to be alone" Eric said to Pam and Preston "unless you have any objections?"

Pam shook her head, and got up to walk towards the door without a backward glance.

"I think Pam and I could use make use of some private time as well." Preston said mischievously, and giggled all the way out the door.

*****

"Lover, are you alright?" Eric asked in a concerned voice, while gently rubbing my neck from behind.

Preston had left ten minutes ago and I couldn't find it in me to speak. I sat down in a chair by the window and sipped my wine. Too much had happened tonight to make sense of anything at all. I was glad that Eric had given me at least this much time to think in silence. I was also thankful that Preston had been nice enough not to place any kind of seduction over the room during our conversation. He could easily have done so; his being a gentleman spoke volumes to his character. The fact that he and Pam were genuinely bonded, well, I'd have to figure that one out another time. It's not like I was bonded to Preston, and neither was Eric. It might not be such a big deal after all.

Also, I realized I was glad we were going to deal with Felipe in a more conventional manner. By conventional, of course, I meant that he wouldn't be meeting the end of Eric's, or my, blade. There was some comfort in that, and I said so.

"I'll be okay, thanks for asking. I was just reflecting on everything that happened this evening. I'm a little confused about a few things. If it's okay with you, though, I'd rather wait until tomorrow to talk. I'm sick of talking, and of thinking, for now." I said, exhausted.

"Anything for you, dear one" Eric whispered into my neck, as he knelt down on the floor and wrapped his arms around me from behind. I could just barely feel his lips on my skin; it was tantalizing and sweet at once. He licked me lightly, and then let his fangs graze my neck.

"Sookie, I need you. I have been thinking about you non-stop for the past three hours. It took every ounce of my will to maintain my composure and not ravage you in front of everyone in the room. Something about you wielding that fae weapon, and then seeing you feed Pam your blood…" he stopped a moment, and shivered a little as though remembering it exactly "it tore me up inside and yet drove me crazy with lust. The things I have been thinking since then" he said with a wild look in his eyes, and instead of finishing his thought he lifted me out of the chair and brought me to the bed.

"You are becoming more and more of a fairy every minute. I can taste it." Eric said, and then pulled my clothes off and licked me from head to toe. "You taste amazing; you feel better than any woman I have even made love to." He said, and his voice was dripping with desire. "I need to come inside of you, lover. I need to." He said, and I started to tremble with anticipation. His words were turning me on almost as much as the feel of his tongue on my skin. He was licking me as though he were starving with need. I pulled his shirt over his head and then put a leg between his to kick his jeans off. I wanted to see my Viking's perfect body on top of me; I wanted every inch of my skin to be touching his.

When we were both totally naked, I looked him over from head to toe. He was perfect, and no matter how many times I saw him, it didn't strike me as being any less incredible. I decided to reach out for his thoughts again, I'm not sure why but there was something behind his eyes that exhilarated me.

She drives me crazy with passion, and yet totally humbles me. I love her.

"I love you too Eric" I said, and then grabbed his waist and pulled him into me. He moaned loudly as he rocked back and forth into my wetness while running his hands through my hair, over my shoulders, down my breasts and nipples, and stopping at my clit. Staring into my eyes and watching me buck against his hand; he rubbed circles over it while thrusting. At that moment, I lost control and started screaming his name. Oh God Eric Oh yes. He fit me perfectly; his hardness filled me up and pumped me with expert rhythm.

"Sookie, I'm going to make you release now" he said in a strained and husky voice. With his thumb, he applied a little more pressure to my nub as he circled it, and then thrust into me as deeply as he could go. Just as I started to scream from the pressure, he leaned over and bit me, drinking deep. We climaxed in total sync with one another. Eric fell over and lay by my side, kissing me sweetly.

I didn't want to admit it, but at that moment a tiny part of me wondered what Pam was thinking. I was glad I couldn't pick up on her thoughts or feelings.

We were instantly ready for more.

TBC