I can't believe Bill came all the way over here just to try to scare me away from Eric. He must take his job really seriously. That also means that Eric was right, the queen still hasn't given up on her plan to get me to be hers in New Orleans. Unless he's working for himself or something but I don't see what's so special about me to make so many vampires want me. I mean, I know I can read human minds and that'll probably come in handy for them but I'm nothing worth what they're going through to get me or what Eric is doing to keep me safe.

Gran would say that's just my low self-esteem talking though, so maybe I'm just looking at this the wrong way. Either way, I'm not going to leave Eric willingly and if somehow the worst happened and we got separated I know I sure as hell wouldn't choose to go with Bill, he weirds me out.

When Eric and I leave Bill we go back to Gran, Jason, and Godric and I hand them their drinks. I feel Eric's immense relief when Godric takes a sip of his. That makes me take a long look at Godric and I realize he does look pale. I mean like really pale, pale for a vampire. He must be blood-deprived now that I think about it. Eric told me vampires can't survive on just True Blood and I highly doubt the Fellowship of the Sun was getting him donors. Actually, they probably weren't even making sure he was getting True Blood either. Then why did Godric turn down a donor if he's so starved? Is that why Eric is still so worried about Godric? Can a vampire be depressed or suicidal?

When I have my shields up, I can't hear what other people are thinking but I can still feel them there, just like vampires are voids to me that I can point out, humans leave a bubble-like signature too. So, that's why I notice when a lot of humans come into the yard. It seems weird to me, so I let my shields down.

'They might have taken our vampire to burn in the sun but we'll take them out one way or another.'

'Steve didn't like how those vampires made him look. We're going to get them back. We have enough silver bullets and guns here to take them all out along with their fang bangers and sympathisers.'

"On the count of five 1…2…"

Oh my God, are they really? I stand up, Eric must feel my fear because he stands up with me. At the top of my lungs, I scream, "EVERYONE DOWN!"

With vampires being as fast as they are and having such strong self-preservation instincts they were down before the words were even completely out of my mouth. I felt Eric push me down and saw him take Gran down with us. We weren't even on the ground before the first bullets broke through the window. With my shields already down, felt each one of the human minds as they blink out of existence. And I knew the pain the ones that survived were in.

When the bullets finally stop, all I can hear is a ringing in my ear. And it's a little dusty in the air. I've been around my fair share of gunshots, I lived in the country in the south my whole life, after all. My brother even taught me to shoot but I've never heard so many so close before, especially never having been aimed at me.

I turn my head to see Gran, she looks like she's in shock. "Gran, are you okay?"

She blinks a few times before looking at me. "Yes, Sookie, I think so."

I smile at her before worrying about my brother. I call out, "Jason?"

I hear a groan coming from Jason who's getting help from Godric, I guess Godric protected him like Eric protected us. I give Godric a thankful smile.

Then I look at Eric, whose head is nestled between Gran's and I's shoulders. "Eric, are you okay?" He doesn't answer right away and I start to get worried so I shake him harder. "Eric! Eric, what's wrong? Talk to me."

He groans after a few seconds then slowly lifts his head. "I am well."

Well, I know that's a lie. He was just unconscious, I didn't even know that was possible for a vampire. Plus, instead of getting up, he just rolls over so he's not putting his weight on us anymore. I sit up and look at him. I can see his shirt is soaked. As gently as I can, I lift it off him and see his stomach is riddled with bullets. Both Gran and I inhale sharply.

"Oh God, Eric, Look at you."

He chuckles. "I don't have to, I can feel it."

I roll my eyes. I know he's not going to die from these but I don't like seeing him in pain. I need to help him get better but how? I roll my eyes again, this time at myself. Duh, blood. He needs blood. I put my wrist by his mouth. He quirks his eyebrow at me.

"Eric, you need blood. I have it, drink."

It seems he doesn't need to be told twice because his fangs run down and he bites me. It stings a little because this is the first time he's ever drank from me without there being anything sexual involved but I think I might be developing a kink or something because just the feeling turns me on a little bit. It's easy to shove that thought away when I look around at all the damage here. I look back at Eric's stomach and see the wounds closing and the bullets getting pushed out of him. It's fascinating to watch and I know Gran feels the same because she doesn't look away. When he's done, he sits up and I look around again. I notice that most of the vampires are gone.

"Where did everyone go?"

"To catch the shooters before they could get away," Godric says with no emotion in his voice.

I cringe, I have a feeling those who are caught won't make it to the next sunrise. I know they just tried to kill all of us but if everyone lived by 'an eye for an eye' eventually, the whole world would be blind. At least, that's what Gran has always told me. I think it's just something I'm going to have to get used to when being around vampires. That doesn't mean I have to like it though.

I look around and know a few humans are still alive so I get up and start walking over to the injured. I don't know much about health care but I know a little, hopefully, it's enough to save a few until actual medical professionals can get here. The first person I see is the woman I was talking to when I was getting drinks for everyone. I didn't talk to her much but I did like her. She wasn't a fang banger, she was here with her friend who was dating a vampire. It makes me sad to see her dead. I sigh and say a quick prayer before moving on and looking for someone who is still alive to help.

By the time the ambulance gets here, the person I was trying to help is still alive so at least I helped a little bit. It's so sad that there is so much death right here, I'll never understand how people can so easily hurt and kill one another. It just doesn't make sense to me. I must be too lost in my thoughts because the next thing I know, Eric is pulling me into his arms.

"It's time to go, lover. You've done all you can to help and your grandmother is getting tired"

I look at Gran and see she's sitting on a chair that wasn't destroyed during the attack. Eric is right, she looks very tired. "Okay, but what about Godric? He's not going to stay here today, is he? I don't think it's safe, plus everything on this floor is destroyed."

"No he will not be staying, in fact, he's coming with us. He always has a few suites on hold at the hotel we're staying at just in case someone comes to town to see him. He and his underlings are going to fill them up for the next few days until they can get this place cleaned and fixed up."

"Good," I say and smile at him.

It doesn't take long to get everyone loaded up in the cars and back to the hotel. When we get home Gran goes right to bed. I show Jason where his room is and he goes down for the night too. I'm getting tired as well, it's already 3 a.m., but I want to stay up with Eric. After getting changed into something more comfortable and less churchy, I go find Eric. He's with all the other vampires and that one vampire that I see on TV a lot, I think her name is Nan Flannagan. She doesn't seem happy either. For some reason, Bill is here too and he looks at me hungrily.

"Do you have any idea of the fucking PR mess you've made? And who has to fucking clean that shit up? Me, not you, me. I should drain every one of you bastards." Wow, she sure seems like a peach.

"Stan went after the church on his own, none of us knew anything about it," Eric says, I can feel how annoyed he is in the bond. When he sees me he nods his head to the chair next to him and I go sit down.

"Oh really? Because everyone here who met Stan in the last three hundred years knew that he had a kink about slaughtering humans. But you, his nest mates, and his sheriff had no clue."

"And how were we supposed to know that this time he meant it? Isabel asks.

"Not my problem, it's yours." Nan says looking at Godric.

"Don't talk to him that way." I can feel the anger radiating off of Eric, I don't even need the bond to know how close he is to losing it.

"Don't talk to me that way." Nan counters. I want to put my hand on him to calm him down but I have a feeling that won't be taken well in front of all these vampires. Instead, I try to stay as calm and peaceful as I can and hope Eric can feel it and maybe take some of it for himself. I don't really know how this bond works but it's worth a shot. It seems to work because he doesn't say anything else.

Nan continues "Let's get to the point, how did they manage to abduct you?"

"They would have taken one of us sooner or later. I offered myself."

Even though we already knew as much because of what he was saying at the party, I still feel a sharp pain coming from Eric. I get it, I mean the Fellowship's goal was to kill him and Godric was okay with that.

"Why?" Nan asks, sounding surprised.

"Why not?"

"They wanted you to meet the sun and you were willing?"

"What do you think?"

"I think you're out of your mind," Nan says decisively. "And then I hear about a traitor?"

"Irrelevant. Only a rumor, I'll take full responsibility." Godric says and I see Isabel look down, I don't know if it's in regret or sadness.

"You bet you will."

"You cold bitch." Eric says and I don't know if I'll be able to calm him down again.

"Listen, this is a national vampire disaster and nobody at the top has any sympathy for any of you. Sheriff, you fucked up, you're fired."

"I agree, of course. Isabel should take over, she had no part in my disgrace."

"Godric, fight back!" Isabel pleads.

"What are you saying, she's a bureaucrat. You don't have to take shit from her." Eric's voice is raised now.

"You wanna lose your area too, Viking?"

"The only reason I took that position is because your bosses begged me to, plus, you don't have that kind of power. I'm not worried."

"Hey, I'm on tv, try me."

"I'm to blame. I should have contained Stan the second Godric went missing."

"Isabel," Godric says with authority, it's clear he doesn't want Isabel to get herself in trouble. It seems he's really okay with losing his position. " I remove myself from all positions of authority."

"Works for me."

I have to say something, this just isn't fair. "Miss Flannagan, Godric rescued me from a really large rapist, who probably would have killed me too."

"That's nice, moving on."

"No, listen, and then he rescued humans in that church plus a whole lot of vampires. You think it's a PR mess now? If it wasn't for him, it would have been a hundred times worse, maybe a million. You should thank him."

"Thank him for getting kidnapped? For attracting a group of humans shooting hundreds of bullets in a residential area? For having piss poor judgment? I think not."

I guess that's the last straw for Eric because he growls and stands up with his fangs down and starts to go for Nan. I try to stop him but I'm not fast enough. Isabel gets her hands on him and tells him to stop but that doesn't slow him down either.

"Eric," Godric says and that makes Eric stop only a few inches from Nan. "It doesn't matter."

He comes back and sits next to me so Nan continues. "Tell me about the shooting, every single detail."

"We saw a bunch of humans with guns outside just in enough time to get down." Godric answers before anyone else can.

I breathe a sigh of relief. I know I'm selling my telepathy now but I have a feeling that if Nan knew that information, she'd try to keep me for herself and say it's for the betterment of vampires. The rest of the meeting goes on until only about an hour before sunrise. I see some of the younger vampires starting to get sluggish. When we're all finally allowed to go back to our hotel rooms, Eric walks over to Godric to try to speak to him but even though I can't hear what they're saying, it's clear that Godric told him they'll talk about it tomorrow. When Eric makes his way back to me, he's clearly not okay. I want to try to get him to talk about it but I have a feeling that's just not going to happen tonight. So instead, I get ready for bed in the bathroom, and by the time I'm out, Eric is already in bed.

He lifts the covers for me and I crawl in. He pulls me into his arms and slowly starts to kiss me. He rolls us so he's on top of me and I open my legs to give him room. He's already completely naked and I only have a nightgown on so it only feels natural when he enters me. This feels different than the other times we've had sex before, it's slower and more tender. If I didn't know better I'd think he is making love but Eric doesn't seem the type to do such things. The orgasm building in me is slow and intense. Eric hasn't taken his eyes off my face once. When my climax finally rolls over me I moan low and long. Eric bends his head down to my breast, still looking me in the eyes, and bites. I feel another peak come over me hard and fast. In order not to wake everyone in the suite I bite his shoulder to stay quiet. I must bite harder than I think because I taste his blood in my mouth. Eric groans loudly and thrusts hard two more times before coming too.

He lays on top of me for a few seconds before wrapping his arms around me and rolling us so I'm the one on top. He's quiet for such a long time I think he might have gone into his day rest but when I think about it, I can still feel his emotions in the bond. Now though, for some reason, I feel them a lot stronger and he's really worried. I guess it makes sense that he's worried, I'm worried about Godric too but for some reason, I think this is different.

"Sookie…"

I lift my head and look at him when I hear his tone. "Hm?"

"You bit me."

"I'm sorry, did I upset you? I thought you like getting bit. I just didn't want to wake up who whole suite."

"Well, first of all, our room is soundproofed, you could scream your pleasure as loud as you want and Adele won't hear you. Second, I do like getting bit, it probably comes with the package of being a vampire. But that bite was different. Do you feel me more than you did before?"

I do, but what does that have to do with anything?…"Oh, was that our third exchange?"

"It was."

Oh my god, so we're permanently bonded now? Like vampire married? Wait, he told me he wasn't ready for that and I just forced it on him. I mean I didn't mean to but I still did it without his permission. Oh god, he's going to hate me now. What's going to happen when he gets bored of me and moves on to someone else? Am I going to have to feel it every time he sleeps with another person? That sounds like hell. What did I do?

"Sookie, Sookie, calm down. Talk to me, what is going on in the pretty little head of yours? What worries you so?"

"I'm sorry, Eric. I didn't mean to! I know you said you weren't ready for something so permanent."

"Sookie, it is fine. I said that a while ago. I am happy to be bonded to you."

"You are?" I ask.

"Yes, Min Kara."

He smiles at me and lifts his head up to kiss me. I try to get lost in the kiss and forget about all the worries about what's going to happen when he decides he's had enough of me but I just can't. Eric must notice my worry because he pulls away and looks at me like he's trying to find the answers from just the look on my face alone..

"Sookie, talk to me."

"It's fine, Eric. I'm just being a worry wort." I try to brush off the question but Eric doesn't let it go that easy.

"Sookie." He says warningly.

I sigh, I guess there's no point in ignoring the problem, it's not like it's going to go away. "It's just, what's going to happen after?"

"After?"

"After you're done with this," I say pointing between us. "You didn't even want to be in a relationship, you just gave it a shot when I said I wouldn't sleep with you if you were with other people. This is just a fun experience for you, you'll get bored eventually and go back to the way you've been living your life for the last thousand years but we'll still be bonded. I'll still feel it all."

I'm not expecting the anger to enter his eyes but it does. He pushes me off him, sits up, and runs his hands through his hair. "Sookie, is that what you really think? That I'm just having fun and I'll get over it eventually?"

Well yeah, I think that but I don't say it out loud because it's clear he doesn't want to hear that. He can still feel it though. He sighs, which is strange to me, I don't know if I've ever seen him do something so… human.

"Okay, I guess I deserve that. But you're wrong Sookie, this is so much more to me than that. I… care about you." He stops talking, gets up, and looks out our window. I'm opening my mouth to reply when he turns around. "No, that's not true. I, Sookie I've never been in this situation before, which is saying a lot for one as old as I. You make me feel things I never have before and if you'd have asked me a month ago, I'd never want to feel. But now that I do, I wouldn't trade it for the world. Sookie, I.. you know this is all new to me, so I don't know what I'm feeling but if I'd have to make a guess, I'd say it's love, that I love you. However, that word does not feel adequate for how I feel about you. It's the only word I can equate it to though."

I must be in shock, or maybe dreaming. There's no way Eric really just told me he loves me, right? But no, it has to be real because now that he said it, I can feel it through the bond. He does love me and it feels a lot like how I feel about him. I smile at him then stand up and walk over to him. "Eric, I love you too. I have for a while, I just never thought you'd feel the same. I mean you're the big bad Viking vampire sheriff who has girls falling over themselves to be with you and I'm just little old, nothing special, Sookie Stackhouse."

He growls and pulls me close. "Do not speak of my woman in such a way."

Before I can respond, he leans down and kisses me. I'm able to get lost in the kiss this time and the only reason we stop is because we hear the snapping of the vampire-safe shades, signaling the sun is officially up. I pull away to look at him and see blood coming out of his nose.

"Oh my god, Eric! What's wrong, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, lover. It's called the bleeds. It happens when I stay up past the sun. It is time I go to rest."

I let out a timely yawn. "That sounds like a good idea. Come on."

We both crawl into bed and he wraps me into his arms before we both find our rest.