AN: ok. Sorry about the evil cliffy at the end of last chapter. I really wanted to skip to season four. Don't worry Bill will get his. And Russell may still make an appearance later in a different way.
New Chapter 20
Sookie closed her eyes as the ground got closer and closer. She thought of Gran and the farm house. Her life flashed before her eyes. She desperately wanted more time with Eric. All she wanted in that second was Eric and to be close to her Gran one last time. Sookie saw a bright light engulf her. It felt like she was being shot out of a cannon. She was teleporting. She felt the soft earth underneath her.
"Sookie, my dear you are safe now." She heard a woman say. She struggled to open her eyes. She was laying on Gran's grave. She saw Gran's name etched into the beautiful stone.
"I can take you home." Sookie wasn't able to speak at that moment. Her whole body was numb but she knew this was it. She was going to die. Eric couldn't get to her in time. She was starting to choke on her own blood. Home, she desperately wanted to die at home. Sookie nodded her head at the stranger. She was going home. The woman took her hand. A bright light engulfed them both.
Sookie was laying on cold stone steps. It hurt to open her eyes. She knew soon she wouldn't be able to.
"We have to get the light fruit in her." She heard a cold voice say she didn't recognize. Sookie desperately tried to turned her head. A tear slid down her cheek.
She struggled to open her eyes. The woman was inching closer to her mashing a glowing fruit up in a bowl. Sookie struggled to look around. Everyone around her was eating the fruit. One man in particular stood out to her. He was familiar but she couldn't quite place him. He looked up at her with the kindest eyes. She remembered him from a picture Gran had kept in her bible. She hadn't seen him in over 20 years and there he was. He looked the same as he did the day he vanished.
"Grandaddy?" He looked up from his fruit again
"Grandaddy Earl? It's Sookie?" That got his attention. He put the fruit down and came over to her. She pushed a memory at him. Her as a child watching him pick her a plum.
"Sookie? What is going on here? What happened to you? She needs a doctor." He yelled dropping to his knees beside her.
"I'm afraid that's not possible." A woman's voice said.
"Who are you?" Her Grandaddy asked.
"You can call me Mab. Are you aware that your Granddaughter is charged with giving a vampire her blood." The woman said.
"He's my husband." Sookie mumbled. Choking on her blood.
"They can use the portal you stupid girl!" Mab yelled grabbing Sookie by her hair and throwing her away from her Grandaddy.
"Preston! Bring the fruit now!" She yelled. A tall fairy came out with bowl. He was mashing a black rotting piece of fruit in the bowl and scooping it in a bag. He bag had a opening at one end. He sat down directly in front of Sookie and grabbed her by her hair. He tried to shove the bag in her mouth. She saw her Grandaddy Earl pick up a large tree branch. He swung it and they heard the fairy's neck snap. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the woman who brought her here looking at them horrified. Sookie's hand flew up and a bright came out of her hand, hitting Mab directly in her face. It felt like the world around them exploded and the beautiful world around them became dark.
"Grab the girl!" A man's voice came from a distance. Sookie screamed as she was lifted. Her grandaddy took off running with her. Every second was torture to her injured body. Fairies began shooting light, barely missing them.
"Quick jump through the portal. Did you eat the fruit." One of them asked.
"I did she didn't" her Grandaddy said. "Only she can go back. They want to heal her and use her to breeding. She's bonded to someone else. It will kill her. You have to go quickly." Just as the portal started to close, Sookie's Grandaddy jumped with her in his arms.
16 months later….
Eric entered the farm house for what would be the last time. He couldn't stand being here without her anymore. It had been 460 days since Sookie had vanished. Four hundred and sixty days of searching for her. Eric had faith she would come back. He knew she wasn't dead but they had searched everywhere. The faith he had that she wasn't dead and the order from Godric were enough to keep him from meeting the sun. He couldn't bare the thought of another night without her in this house so he had decided he wouldn't come back. Eric looked in the mirror. Even for a vampire he looked like he had aged 50 years in the past year. He sat back down on the bed and lovingly picked up her last dress. He smelled it. Her scent was starting to fade even for him. He folded the dress neatly and placed it on top of the others in the large plastic storage bin. He carefully closed the top and labeled it 'Sookie's Dresses' and sat the box to the side with the other ones. Jason was going to be staying at the farm house while his house was being fixed. He'd had to get the roof replaced after he found a leak a couple of weeks ago. The last sixteen months had been nothing short of pure hell. He missed his wife. He looked at the clock he didn't need to see to know the time. It was 6:40 am. He should of already been in his day rest but she haunted his dreams. He heard her screams and saw the absolute pain and fear on her face as Compton threw her from the window every time he closed his eyes. She begged him to help her, to find her before it was to late. The bond called out to her some days it made him sick. He didn't feed unless it was strictly true blood. He couldn't find sexual release, it felt like he was betraying her.
He was about to go down into the cubby when he was knocked to his knees. It felt like every bone in his body was broken. Sookie… he felt her. She was back and she was hurt.
"Jason! Hurry!" He yelled flying vampire speed back up the stairs. "She's back!" Jason ran out of the bedroom pulling on his jeans and shirt. He grabbed his coat from the coat rack. Eric threw a big blanket at him.
"The cemetery! Hurry. She's hurt! Bring her home." Eric told his brother-in-law. He couldn't go the sun was up.
It took Jason about twenty minutes but he came back running with a bundle of blankets in his arms.
"Eric, it's bad I don't think she's going to make it." Jason said laying her down on the table. Eric ran to her, while Jason quickly closed the drapes so the sun wouldn't burn Eric. The first thing Eric noticed was she was still wearing what was left of the gold sequined dress she was wearing the night of the take over. It was ripped down the middle exposing her breasts. She was blue and shivering from the cold December air. She was still bleeding from the wound where Bill had stabbed her but she was so cold that it had slowed down the bleeding. Her face and body were unrecognizable. Eric growled realizing her back was broke. Her legs were twisted in unnatural angles. Eric bit into his wrist and brought it to her lips.
"Drink baby." He whispered in her ear, Kissing the side of her dirty bruised face. Her nose was broke and her eyes were swelled completely shut. Her jaw was dislocated. If not broken. "I'm here now."
"Damn. What happened to her?" He heard Jason ask. "She's still wearing what she disappeared in." Sookie let out a cry. Eric gently brushed her hair from her face. It was stuck to her face in some of the dried blood. She let out another whimper.
"Shh you're going to be alright." Eric whispered into her blood soaked hair. He could still smell Bill Compton all over her. He took her hand and she gripped his fingers lightly. He watched her carefully as his blood healed the inside of her body. It took about thirty minutes of her drifting in and out of consciousness. It would take another dose to finish healing her. She suddenly let out a cry and jumped off the table. A sharp pain in her chest brought her back down to her knees. She had a wild look in her eyes and struggled to pull the blankets up around her shoulders. "Jeez Sook you scared the shit out of everyone. Where you been all this time?" Jason asked her. "Jason, give her a minute." Eric said sternly.
"Sookie?" Eric said her name gently. He reached for her hand and helped pull her to her feet. Her eyes finally met his before she swayed on her feet and began to cry. Eric caught her before she fell and pulled her gently in his arms, cradling her to his chest. "It's alright now. You're safe. I've got you." Eric said.
"I'm so sorry." She cried uncontrollably.
"Sook it ain't your fault." Jason said.
"I got to call Andy. So we can drop the missing persons." Jason said standing up and reaching for his cell phone.
"Jason wait. Give her a minute." Eric said glaring at Jason, daring him to try to make that call.
"Come on. Let's clean you up." He whispered into her hair.
"Wait man, they're going to want pictures." Eric gave Jason a death stare. If he hadn't of been his brother in law.
"Let's get one thing straight. No one is going to be photographing her like this. She's been through enough. Now I'm taking my wife upstairs to get her cleaned up. The sun is up. Your call needs to wait until after the sun goes down when I can be with her. It's not like your little human police force can do anything to help us catch him." Jason shook his head.
"I'm just trying to help man. Someone needs to answer for this." Eric nodded at him. "Believe me, he will. If it takes me another 1000 years, he'll pay for this." Eric lifted Sookie in his arms, trying to keep her covered. He carried her upstairs to the bathroom and closed the door. He sat her down, making sure not to let her go until she was steady on her feet.
He helped her pull off what was left of the dress and threw it in the trash can. Sookie was quiet. She looked at him.
"Eric?" She whispered in a small voice. "I'm here." He promised when she flung herself at him.
He caught her in his arms and held her tightly.
"You've got to be careful. Your not fully healed yet." He said calmly. He was mainly still concerned over her back and her ribs.
"What happened?" She asked looking all around her. Eric just looked at her.
"I was hoping you could tell me." Sookie stared into space for a few minutes. Eric turned on the shower and helped her get in. He climbed in behind her and pulled her back in his arms, wrapping his arms around her from behind. "He threw me out a window?" She asked a few minutes after the warm water ran down her body.
Eric looked at the top of her head.
"Yes." Eric acknowledged biting his lip to keep from losing his temper.
"I think I was in Fairy. Everything hurt so bad. I think I kept losing consciousness. Everything's so confusing. I don't remember. Someone threw me into this black hole in the ground and it was closing. My granddaddy Earl? I think. Oh my god, Eric my Granddaddy Earl was there. He's the one that got me out. The next thing I knew I was back in the cemetery and Jason was there. Did we win? How did you get back here so fast?" Eric looked down at her.
"Godric is King of Louisiana. Bill Compton got away but there's a warrant out for him if he ever sets foot in Louisiana again he can be killed on sight." Sookie looked at him. He could feel her intense fear.
"I will find him and he will pay for what happened to you. I've just put all my resources into finding you." Eric started washing her hair.
"Baby I couldn't of been gone more than 10 minutes. It all happened so fast." Eric smiled and tilted her head up so he could graze her lips with his. He was relieved she hadn't spent her time away being tortured.
"Sookie, you were gone 16 months." Sookie's looked at him startled as he spun her around to face him. "What? How is that possible?" Eric wrapped his arms around her waist. He leaned down and kissed her softly. He had missed her so much. He finished washing the dried blood from her body then held her tightly. "I've got to let Godric know you're back." Eric whispered kissing the side of her face. "Bill is still out there?" Eric felt a wave of sickness wash over him.
"I'll find him Sookie no matter how long it takes. Don't worry about it. I promised I'd make you safe here and you are. The Queen is dead and Compton has no real power."
"I was really gone all that time. What month is it?" Eric reached behind them and turned the shower off.
He wrapped a big fluffy towel around Sookie and pulled her tightly against him.
"It's December." He felt Sookie sag against him. She began to cry into his chest.
"You mean I missed our first anniversary? Our whole first year together?" Eric just held her, grateful she had returned. When she looked up he had bloody tears running down his cheeks. She reached up and wiped them away.
"I'm so sorry." She said holding onto him. She was still pretty out of it.
"I knew you weren't dead. I would have felt that. Sookie I've missed you so much. I'll spend forever trying to make this up to you. I never should have left you. I should have left Pam with you." Sookie placed her finger over his lips to shush him and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Honey." She laid her head on his chest. His strong muscles flexed as he held her tightly. Even after everything that happened when he held her like this she still felt like she was home. He still made her feel safe. Sookie was tired. Despite having his blood she felt exhausted. Eric lifted her in his arms and carried her down to the cubby. He sat her on the bed. He let her go long enough to pull on a pair of boxers.
"Your clothes are all upstairs. Jason closed the blinds I can go get you something. But I know how much you love sleeping in my t-shirts and boxers." Sookie forced a smile.
"I don't want you to leave me." She said in a small voice.
Eric helped her get dressed, careful of any injuries she may still have. He scooted in bed beside her and reached out for her.
She laid down in his arms and rested her head on his chest. Sookie closed his eyes.
"Rene?" Sookie asked jumping up in bed in a full panic. Eric opened his eyes. He sat up beside her and caressed her cheek. He pulled her in his arms and ran his fingers through her hair.
"Sookie. My Lover. He's dead. They are all dead aside from Compton." He promised her as he ran his fingers through her hair.
"Eric!!!! The fairies are harvesting humans. They'll come after me. I was in and out of it. But they had taken so many people. I wasn't the only one. " Eric held her as she cried.
"Breathe Lover. You're safe." Sookie's whole body shook with sobs.
"I tried to stay where you told me to. Eric, I tried. He drug me up the stair to that room. He hit me in the stomach and bit me and forced his blood in me before he drug me up there." Eric held her tightly.
"They were going to rape me. Both of them. I felt them both. Pressing against me. I'm sorry. I just wanted you to know I didn't leave." Eric was biting his bottom lip to hold his composure. He caressed her hair and held her tightly while he whispered in her ear. Finally Sookie cried herself to sleep. Eric kissed her one last time before laying her down and pulling a blanket over her. It was early, still only 9am. Eric got up and grabbed his cellphone. He walked over in the corner and sat on a chair. He put his head in his hands. He dialed Godric's number. It went to his voicemail.
"It's Eric. She's back. Call me when you rise. I will more than likely be up." Eric spent the rest of the day watching her sleep.
Godric called Eric back around 3:45 that afternoon. "I know you can't say much over the phone. How is she?"
Eric sighed. "She's scared. I healed her but her injuries were so severe that I'll probably have to give her more blood when she wakes up. She's been sleeping since my call to you this morning. I need you to come tonight. We may have to contact Niall."
"I'll be there at first dark." Godric hung up and Eric stood up and sat on the bed beside Sookie. He picked her hand up and brought her fingers to his lips. Her eyes flew open and she screamed in pain. Eric spent a couple of seconds trying to calm her. But it was no use. She was inconsolable.
Her skin was clammy to the touch and her hair was drenched in sweat.
Eric gently pulled the blanket down from her body and had to bite his lip to keep from growling. You could still see the faint line where Bill had stabbed her. Her shirt had tiny blood stains where the bleeding hadn't completely stopped. There were still finger prints where he had grabbed her by the arm and you could still see the shape of his hand on her throat where he had choked her. "Where is it hurting the most?" He asked. Sookie grabbed her stomach with both hands and brought her knees up just under Eric's arm. Eric carefully lifted the bottom of her t-shirt. Her whole stomach was still black and blue.
"It hurts to breathe." She gasped. Eric bit into the palm of his hand and gave it to her. "I think your ribs are still broken and you're more than likely still bleeding internally. There is possibly a blood clot." Sookie took his hand and drank his blood.
"There that's better." He said leaning over and kissing the top of her head gently. Sookie fell back against the bed when she was done. She was exhausted but it was really good to be pain free.
"I love you." She whispered exhausted. " I love you. Godric is coming at dark. We've got to figure out what is going on with the fairies." Sookie shuddered she looked around.
"You were up all day?" She asked wiping the blood from his ears with her fingers. "I'm fine Sookie, today it was more important for me to watch you sleep. I thought I'd lost you." Sookie threaded her fingers through Eric's hair and tried to pull him closer to her His arms settled on her hip and she laid her head down on his thigh.
"Can we go to Shreveport? I don't know if I can handle it here alone while you're asleep? Do we still have the apartment?" Sookie asked
"We can go anywhere you like. I have a surprise for you when you're ready." They had to cut their conversation short when Jason started knocking on the door.
"Eric, Sookie, I grabbed Sookie a plate from Merlotte's. She's got to be starving." Sookie laughed. It was the first time she'd laughed since before the takeover. It was music to Eric's ears. He smiled at her. "He's right. I'm famished." Sookie said as Eric stood up to open the door so Jason could come down. Jason brought down her plate and handed it to her. "It's a grilled chicken salad and Lafayette made some potato soup."
"Thanks Jase." Sookie told her brother. "How you feeling?" Jason asked you could see the concern on his face.
"A lot better I think." Sookie said taking a bite of her salad.
"Oh my God! That's so good." Sookie said taking another bite.
"Sook, a lots happened. I'm a deputy at the Sheriff's office now. Can you believe it? Look I know it's hard but we got to ride down to the station and let Andy know you're back." Sookie shook her head.
"Please Jason, not now. I don't want Bill Compton to know I'm back. I can't even explain where I was. I don't think I can right now." Sookie's smile faded and she sat down her fork. She felt physically sick to her stomach.
"Jason, give us a few days. Let me talk to Godric, we need to work out a story where she was. We can't very well tell your boss the Fairy's had her." Eric said taking out his phone to call Godric to let him know they were coming to him. Jason shook his head. "Alright man. But we got to tell them something. There's still a missing person's open. Sook I'm glad you're feeling better. You really had me scared. I love you sis." Jason said as a tear slipped down his cheek. He stood up to leave.
"Jason? I love you too." Sookie said as he left.
Sookie forced herself to eat the rest of her meal. She couldn't even remember the last time she had ate. It was showing. Eric was hanging up the phone just as she was finishing. He had gotten completely dressed in a baby blue sweater and a pair of jeans. The sweater fit tight across his back and you could see the outline of his chest and broad shoulders. Her lady bits tingled at the sight of him.
" Let's go get you ready." Eric said. Sookie stretched her muscles and climbed out of bed. She was still a little bit sore. "Can we go up yet?" She asked Eric.
"Yes, whenever you're ready." Sookie looked at the ladder then back at Eric. Eric smiled at her and wrapped his arms around her and lifted her effortlessly and flew them up the ladder.
"Do I need to dress up? Do I even have anything left here?" Sookie asked. "Dress comfortable, it'll just be the four of us tonight. Nothing formal. All of your things are still here. They're just boxed up. Come on, I'll help you." Eric led Sookie to what was Gran's old room. Sookie wasn't prepared for the wave of sadness that knocked the breath out of her. Her legs would have gave out on her but Eric caught her and pulled her in his arms.
"I'm sorry my love. I wasn't thinking." Sookie sobbed against his chest until Eric carried her from the room. He sat her down in a chair in the hallway. "I'll get your clothes. We don't have to come back here tonight unless you want to." Sookie shook her head no. Eric kissed the top of her head and left to go get her clothes. He brought back a sweatshirt and a pair of black leggings. Eric helped her dress. She was comfortable. Eric helped her pull her hair back into a ponytail.
"Do I have any makeup here?" Sookie asked. Eric grabbed a bag from one of the totes.
"Pam just replaced everything. She said what you had, wasn't any good anymore." Sookie smiled. She was thankful for her friend for looking out. She went back in Gran's room and sat at the old antique vanity. She put on some lip gloss and eye shadow and mascara. She figured that would be good enough and atleast she wasn't pale as a ghost anymore. Her face was sunken in. She guessed that was from not eating. Her cheek bones stuck out a little to far. Sookie lifted her sweatshirt and looked in the mirror at her body. You could see her ribs. Sookie lowered her shirt, disgusted with herself. She wasn't even sure when she had lost this much weight. Sookie stood up and walked back to Eric.
"What's wrong?" He asked her. He had felt her mood shift. She sighed.
"Why didn't you tell me I looked so bad?" Eric grabbed her hand and spun her around to face him.
"What do you mean? You're as beautiful as the day I met you." He wrapped his arms around her and held her up when she leaned against him.
"I look like a skeleton." Eric cupped her head in his hands, forcing her to make eye contact.
"Sookie, Look at me. I spent the last 16 months thinking if I ever saw you again there might not be any thing left to fix. You've been through a lot. You had to fight for your life more than once. I don't expect you to really feel like eating. But I'm glad that you're concerned about it. It means they didn't manage to break you." Sookie began to sob. "I don't feel the same. I feel broken." Eric held her until she stopped crying.
"You're standing here. They tried but they failed. I'm here now and I'm strong enough to get us both over this. I'll carry you if I have to." Sookie touched his face and kissed him lightly.
"I love you Eric Northman." Eric squeezed her a little tighter and cupped the back of her head to deepen the kiss.
"I love you too Sookie Northman." Eric held her tightly. He tangled his fingers in her ponytail and gently lifted her up so he could kiss her.
"We have to go. We don't have to stay long. Just long enough to fill Godric and Pam in." Sookie let go of him but reached for his hand. Eric led her out to the car and opened her door. He closed it behind her and got in on the driver's side. Sookie leaned over on his shoulder and closed her eyes. She was asleep before they ever made it out to the highway.