SPOV

I love that feeling in the morning when you wake up naturally, the small smile that comes over your face from being fully rested, and the fact that you can see the morning light through the back of your eyelids. I stretch languidly and feel Eric come out of downtime next to me. He curls around me and starts kissing and nibbling my neck, it reminds me of all that happened last night, the amazing sex, the blood exchange, and my smile grows even bigger even if my eyes stay closed.

All my happy feelings disappear when I make the connection that I shouldn't be able to feel Eric next to me while seeing sunlight through my eyelids. My eyes pop open and I jump into action grabbing the blanket that I'm lying under, flipping over so I'm on top of Eric, and covering us with the blanket as best I can. "Eric!"

I'm a little confused when I see that he's looking at me completely calmly with his signature quirked brow. I also look to my left and right at my hastily made blanket fort and notice that these aren't the sheets I went to bed in last night. "Sookie, what's wrong?"

"You weren't burning…" I say absently, still lost in my confusing thoughts. I realize now that I know these sheets, these are my sheets, sheets that were in my house after I came back from my stint in the faery to find my house in perfect condition thanks to Eric.

Slowly I move the sheets from over our heads to look around, now that I'm more awake I realize that Eric had been next to me for a long time, if he was going to burn he would have already. When I look around the room I know exactly where I am, my room. There are a few changes, more male accents, a new closet filled with men's clothes, and many more books, some of which were in different languages. I look down to Eric who's still staring at me, now more worried. This is my Eric, amnesiac Eric, I have no clue how I'm back here but I am. Without thinking too much about it I slam my body against his, hugging him as tightly as I can. For some reason I find myself holding back tears. I feel Eric's arms immediately come around me and rub my back gently, I hear him whispering soft words in my ear that I don't understand because they're in his native language but I know he's trying to comfort me.

"Sookie, dear one, tell me what's wrong." He asks softly.

I don't say anything for a while, trying to get my head straight. I've missed this Eric no matter how much I told myself otherwise. There was no point in letting myself dwell on it, it wasn't like I was ever going to be able to see him again, at least that's what I thought at the time. Plus I had my Eric, and though it wasn't always easy, he is the one that I let myself fall in love with even if it was mostly from the memories of a different version of me. That didn't make the fact that I missed this Eric and the possibilities I had with him go away, so I hugged him tighter.

Eventually, I take a deep breath, I know I gotta get a hold of myself and my emotions under control. I feel this Eric's emotions right now for some reason and he's freaking out, in an Eric way anyway. He's very worried about me and doesn't know how to help, his feelings and worry will probably change once he realizes I'm not the Sookie he's in love with.

How did I get here? And more importantly, how do I get home? I sit up again take another deep breath for good measure and look at Eric. "Sorry, that was probably really random and weird of me, wasn't it?"

He smirks, though halfheartedly, I can still see the worry clear in his eyes, "Yes but I've seen weirder from you, I know what I signed up for when I made you my wife."

"About that, you didn't. Make me your wife, that is."

"What?"

"Last time I saw you, you had no memories and I was putting silver on you to keep you from going in the sun if that witch decided to cast that spell."

His eyes narrow, immediately understanding what I mean but still trying to believe it. I have a feeling right now he's hoping that his Sookie is just playing a strange joke on him. "Sookie?"

"Yeah, I'm not really sure what's happening right now. I never thought I'd see these bedsheets again, or the house looking like this."

He pulls me in for another hug, much tighter than mine. I can feel how confused and conflicted he is in the bond but I also feel his happiness. "Gods Sookie, I've been so worried about you, thank Oden you're okay, they told me the other dimension was doomed and there was nothing I could do about it. I put my best witches on trying to find out what was going on over there but they couldn't do it. Where have you been?"

I speak into his shoulder because he's holding me so tight my reply comes out a little mumbled, "I'm not sure, Niall said I've been in limbo this whole time, then about a week ago I was plopped into Lucky Sookie's spot and have picked up living her life. I'm okay though Eric, you don't have to worry about me."

I can't believe it's only been about eight days since I landed on my couch with an older-looking Jason sitting in front of me. Actually, I'm pretty proud of how fast I was able to get Eric away from Freyda and home. Well, home-ish, it's not like either of us are in our houses, hell, Eric doesn't even have a house right now but at least we're back in Louisiana.

"Lucky Sookie?" He asks, putting his hands on my shoulders and pushing me away far enough to look at each other in our eyes.

"You know, your wife, the mother of your children."

"How do you know about all that?"

"The same way she knew about our past when she was sent here, Niall gave me the memories."

"But why is she lucky?"

I quirk my eyebrow at him and give off a look that questions his intelligence before moving my eyes down his naked body before moving them back up to stop at his eyes. "You love her, she got years of her life back while I lost years of mine coming directly after losing another year in fairyland. Got the house, husband, kids, friends, and family, she got the perfect happily ever after while I got… not that."

"Are you okay over there? Safe? Are you being treated well? Where am I over there?"

"You know, same old same old, different monarchies fighting over the ability to own me, saving Eric from his marriage to the queen all the while he's grieving the loss of his Sookie, the only person he ever actually considered his wife. He feels probably exactly how you'd feel if we don't find a way to get your Sookie back to you now." I say, yet again feeling sorry for myself. I feel the absolute abhorrent pain Eric feels when I make him think of the possibility of not getting his wife back. Yet again I'm just the cast off either Eric is dealing with while really wanting the other Sookie. "Yeah, that feeling that you're feeling right now is another reason she's the Lucky Sookie."

I shake my head, there's no time for a pity party, even if I do feel it's justified because I know in reality they both just want her. I feel Eric feeling even more distraught, he wants to comfort me but he knows he can't lie and tell me that I'm wrong. I smile softly at him, I'm not trying to make him feel bad, I just got lost in my own woes for a minute. "Don't worry about it Eric, you don't have to feel bad for wanting her back, I know what she is to you. I'm not really sure how I got here but I'm sure we can figure out how to change it back."

Eric stares at me for a long moment before replying, "What were you doing before you came?"

"Sleeping."

"What about before you went to rest? Did anything out of normal happen the night before?"

I think, other than sleeping with Eric, no, nothing out of the usual. And I doubt that would make for a trans-dimensional trip. Maybe a witch cast a spell but I don't see how or why, maybe Freyda did something? But she didn't know I was from a different dimension, so that doesn't make much sense either. Well I don't see why but maybe…"I can't think of anything that would cause something like this. Eric and I exchanged blood for the first time last night but I'm not sure how that'd cause this."

"Hmm. Okay, I'll call some witches we have on retainer." He says as he gently moves me off of him and starts to get up to leave the room.

"Wait, real quick, how are you able to be in sunlight?"

"It was Sookie's fairy blood and her giving me her light. When we married in her kind's way it started happening slowly. There were a few other things that happened too, like her extended lifespan and my ability to teleport to wherever she is and our telepathic connection to each other."

My eyes open wide, I don't even know how to teleport yet and this Eric can teleport to his Sookie whenever he wants? Eventually, I just nod my head and he takes that as his cue to get back to trying to solve the problem. I start to feel bad for myself again when I realize that I'm the problem.

I'm sitting here, in the bed that once used to be mine but clearly isn't any more going by the pictures of the happy family around the room, feeling bad for myself when my body starts moving side to side, almost as if someone was shaking me but no one else is here. I try to stop and stable myself but I can't. A second later Eric vamps into the room and up to me, he wraps his arms around me and I can see the fear and the confusion in his eyes. He opens his mouth to say something but I can't hear what.

I open my eyes, when did I close them? And now Eric is on top of me with his arms holding down my shoulders trying to keep me still. When did I lay down? What the hell is going on? I notice the room is different, I'm back in the hotel room. So wait, does that mean I'm back with my Eric, or at least the Eric I've been with the last few days? I don't think I have the right to call him mine.

"Sookie? Are you okay?"

"Uh yeah?" My answer came out more as a question. "I think so, what happened?"

"When I rose you were seizing next to me, your eyes were wide open but clouded over. Our bond was muted, I couldn't feel you, I worried you were…" He trails off and minutely shakes his head. "Are you well?"

"Yeah, I'm okay." I smile softly at him for his worry.

He lets go of the pressure he was putting on my shoulders to hold me down and as he sits back he takes my hands with him so that I have to sit up too. He's looking me over and even though I can't feel him because we've only exchanged once, I don't need to feel him to know he was worried and even scared (Though I'd never say that last one out loud to him). He's just staring at me, probably going over his knowledge of human illnesses and debating if he should call Dr. Ludwig. It seems he decides calling the doctor is the best option because he reaches for the phone. I reach out and grab his hand, stopping him from reaching the phone.

"I'm okay, Eric, I promise. You don't have to worry or call Dr. Ludwig."

"How can you say that Sookie? You were seizing in front of me for a full two minutes, completely unresponsive, my blood didn't even help you." I feel my heart lighten a little, I don't like that he's worried because of me but I can see in his eyes that he really is. It gives me hope that he really does care about me and maybe I'm not just some replacement for the Sookie he's lost.

It leaves me in a bad position though because maybe he really is getting over her but if I tell him what happened all those emotions are going to come right back. I can't lie to him or hide this from him though, especially with what I learned about the fairy marriage. I sigh before looking him in the eye, "I know what happened."

He doesn't say anything but he looks at me pointedly, waiting for me to continue, I can't help but to sigh again. "I woke up in the other dimension… my original one."

His eyes sharpen and I'm surprised when he reaches his hand over to my thigh as I'm sitting cross-legged and rests it there. It's almost as if he's keeping physical contact with me to make sure I'm still here after my confession. He doesn't say anything though, just waits quietly for me to continue, so I do. "I woke up happy and in a good mood," I ignore my blush at remembering the night before and why I was so happy, and I continue. I tell him all of it, the panic attack I had realizing he was in the sun, the consequential cover I made to try to keep him safe, the hug I gave that Eric when I realized it was him, I hurried past it when I felt him stiffen. I told him about Eric explaining why he was allowed in the sun and saw his interest in the possibility of teleportation. I left out my pity party and sadness at being their second choice and ended with what it felt like to be brought back here.

He looks at me, taking in my words and thinking about them. I make sure to mention that Eric is the only person I saw while I was there, I'm not really in the right mind frame to have him ask about the other me. Eventually, he asks, "What are you keeping out of your retelling?"

"What do you mean? Nothing."

"Sookie, do not lie to me. I know you well enough by now to know when you're keeping something from me. Don't forget, as of last night I can feel you and your emotions again. Something happened while you were there that upset you. Tell me. Did I— he do something to you that you didn't want?" The last question came out almost completely growl, I have a feeling if my answer was yes he'd learn dimension travel just to get over there and kill that Eric.

"No! It was nothing like that!"

"Then what was it?"

"It's nothing you have to worry about." After he just stares at me instead of responding, I sigh for what feels like the thousandth time in this conversation alone. "Really, it was nothing, I just let my emotions get the better of me."

If I thought Eric was tense before, it was nothing compared to now. I feel hurt when he pulls his hand away from me. "And how did you let your emotions get the better of you?"

I stare at him confusedly wondering why he seems mad. It takes a few moments before I understand that he thinks me seeing 'my' Eric made me so happy I let my emotions get the better of me and I slept with him, or something close. "No, nothing like that! I just had a little breakdown, is all."

He tries to hide it but he breathes a sigh of relief, or the vampire's version of it anyway. He moves close to me again, this time moving me around like I was a rag doll and I let him, we end up leaning against the bed's headboard with his arm around my shoulders and my head leaning on his. I again feel my heart lighten a little knowing that he cares enough about me that it'd hurt him if I had let myself become lost in the other Eric. It makes me feel so much that I'm able to ignore my indignancy at the thought that he didn't think I'd be able to keep my hands to myself and off the other Eric. He should know by now that I'm a one man type of woman.

I smile a little when he kisses the top of my head and then murmurs into my hair. "What do you mean you had a breakdown?"

"It's nothing really, you don't have to worry about it, I'm okay," I say, just like I didn't put the other Eric in a situation to make him comfort me when he knew my words were the truth, I don't want to do that to this Eric either. Plus I'm not sure I'd be able to take being able to see the lie in his eyes if he tried to make me feel better.

"Sookie, stop being childish and just tell me what is wrong."

"Fine!" I snap, pulling away from him. "I was sad because his only focus was getting his Sookie back, just like all you want is to have her back too. I'm nothing but a stand-in to each of you and it hurts!" I yell at him as I get up as quickly as I can and start throwing clothes on. I don't want him to see me cry.

I do everything I can not to look at him as I'm getting dressed, I don't want to see his face, the sympathy, anger, indifference, the truth on it. Finally, I find my left shoe and I slip it on as I'm walking to the door. I reach my hand to the doorknob but am blocked when he vamps in between me and it. I sigh, though truthfully it comes out more of a sob, and focus my attention on my shoes, refusing to look at him when he says my name.

"Excuse me, I need some fresh air. I'll be back later." I try but am not surprised when he doesn't move. I think I'm doing an admirable job and keeping my voice even and the tears silent. "Eric, please move, I need to get out of here."

"No."

"Eric…"

"Sookie, look at me."

"No, now please move! I have to go, now." I start to raise my voice, anger is a much safer emotion than sadness and pain.

This time it's Eric who sighs. Quicker than I can keep up with he wraps his arms around me and I feel the rushing of air around me that I know means I'm moving at vamp speed. When we finally stop moving I'm still looking down but I can feel a breeze that signals I'm outside as well as the chirping of crickets and other nighttime animals. I look around, while still avoiding Eric to see the moon look so close to us, I look down and realize we're on a roof, the roof of the hotel so we're up really high. Eric must feel my fear and my body stiffen because he wraps his arms around me and sits down with me between his legs. I stay stiff for a few more moments before loosening up and start to just enjoy the view and being in his arms, even if I know he'd rather be her he was here with. I quickly push that thought away, not wanting to get upset again.

I get lost in the beautiful view and so I'm surprised when Eric finally speaks, "You're wrong, Sookie."

I tense again, not wanting to talk about this anymore but also wanting to hear what he means more than anything. Eventually, I give in because apparently, I'm weak and a glutton for punishment. I also hate how small my voice sounds when I ask, "What do you mean?"

"I'm not waiting for her, or wishing you were her, as you say."

I know my eyes are wide and hopeful when I turn my head to finally look at him, "You're not?"

"No, I'm not. Sookie, I don't want her back. Yes, of course, I did when I first learned of her leaving but things have changed since then."

"They have?"

"Yes. She never…" He pauses, thinking over his words. "She refused to trust me, trust us. You can't be with someone you don't trust, that is why it ended like it did. I loved her, yes, and she loved me in her own way but it felt like she always had one step out of the door, ready to run at the slightest provocation. I don't miss that, I feel… safe with you. I know you're not looking for an excuse to leave. Yes, I kept my distance from you in the beginning but Pam, in her very kind and caring way, made me see it wasn't my love for her that was keeping me from getting close to you, it was my anger at her." He looks uncomfortable, which is understandable, he's not one to be forced into explaining himself and he's definitely not someone who enjoys speaking about his emotions. It makes me love him more that he's willing to do so for me. "I don't know if I'll ever want to have that type of relationship again, I gave her all I had and it wasn't enough. But I do… care for you and enjoy your company. Is that enough for you?"

Though it hurt that he was pretty much saying there was a chance he'd never love me, I accept that. Truthfully, I'm just happy he's not thinking of her every time he looks at me, so I nod my head before leaning in and kissing him. It doesn't take long for him to take control of the kiss and the next thing I know I'm lying flat on the roof with him hovering over me and his fingers in my panties. It doesn't take long before I feel the pleasure growing and I let myself get lost in it.

I don't have any solid thoughts again until we're both lying next to each other, completely naked, and my panting is starting to slow down as I'm finally able to catch my breath. I rest my head on his chest and just enjoy the moment, I don't let myself get lost in my thoughts even though there was a lot that happened since I woke up. Though it does seem that Eric is deep in his thoughts, which makes sense I guess, he always gets that way when the other Sookie is brought up.

I move a little bit because there's a place on the roof that's pressing into a very private spot of mine in a very not fun kind of way. Plus it's chilly up here at night, the goosebumps on my skin can attest to that. Eric must notice because he stands up taking me with him bridal style. I can't stop the squeak I let out at the feeling of air rushing over me because we're moving at vampire speed while I'm still naked.

When he puts me down we're back in the room and since I feel dirty after laying naked on the roof I head right to the shower, it isn't surprising when Eric follows me. Unfortunately, we don't get to take our time and enjoy our shower because not even five minutes later Pam is banging on our room's door wondering where we are. Apparently, she'd been waiting for us for a while already and was officially done waiting. So we shower quickly and I finally understand what the term having a 'quicky' means.

I sit down on the couch and am a little surprised when I see that Karin is here too, it's not like I have a problem with her here, she's one of my closest friends. It's more the fact that I've noticed she's been keeping her distance lately for some reason. I'm not sure but I think it has something to do with that conversation she and Eric had out on that balcony when we were still at the hotel in Oklahoma. I smile at her in greeting and her response is a nod of acknowledgment, which is almost a blinding smile when it comes to Karin.

"What was so important, Pamela?" Eric asks after he sits down next to me.

"Who says it's anything important? What if I was just tired of sitting here in the suite that smells intensely of sex when I haven't been able to get any tonight yet?" Eric just stares at Pam instead of responding, making it clear he isn't in the mood. "Okay, okay, I just wanted to lighten the mood with a joke because your mood isn't going to get any better when you see this…" She trails off and I don't have a good feeling about it.

"What do you mean, Pam?" I ask when she doesn't produce anything.

She sighs and pulls out a fancy-looking envelope, I'm a little confused, it looks like an invitation, maybe it's a yearly party that he doesn't like attending. I look over to Eric and I'm not sure how I know, but I know that he knows where the invitation is from before even taking it, let alone opening it. He just stares at it for a few moments until I lose all my patience and reach over to grab it from Pam. I open it and quickly start reading. My heart sinks along with my shoulders at every line I read. I mean I knew this was coming but for some reason, I thought we'd have more time, I guess not. Now I'm going to have to start securing that last vote, oh, and now we're going to have to get married in the fairy way quickly. The letter states that the council meeting concerning the marriage between Eric Northman and Sookie Stackhouse, along with the marriage concerning Eric Northman and Freyda Montague will be seen and deliberated on November 29th, which is a little less than two weeks from now.

I look up from the letter and around the group to see they're all staring at me. Well, other than Eric, he was reading over my shoulder and now he's looking off into space, probably planning our next move. Cheese and rice, this really puts a time limit on things. Okay, it's okay, no need to start to panic, just take a deep breath Sookie.

We have to think about this logically, what has to be done before the council meeting? Well, we need to make sure we have at least four votes, preferably five or six in case someone changes their mind or is bought off. I need to give Eric my light, which is a problem all on its own, I really don't want him to feel like he's forced into it, I wanted the next time we did this to be because we love each other and want to be together. But not even an hour ago Eric made it clear that I shouldn't expect that to happen, maybe ever. It doesn't really matter if I want to do it this way or not, I will because I'll do whatever I have to to make sure Eric stays safe and has his free will.

We also have to have our plan for after the meeting already settled because I have a feeling directly after we leave that council meeting victorious, there will be another one of these little letters waiting for us and it'll be from DeCastro demanding us back into his service. I have no idea what Eric plans to do, I told him I'd support anything he decided, whether that'd be going somewhere new or taking over, and that's true I just wish there was a way to stay without changing his life completely.

I look over to Eric and I see the calculation in his eyes, he's already come up with plans, backup plans, and countermeasures depending on what gets thrown at us. Without thinking too deeply about it I reach over, place my hand on top of his, and squeeze it once, just to remind him he's not in this alone. He looks over to me and the hard calculating look lessens and something softer enters them. I don't want to get ahead of myself but I can't help but think he cares about me more than he's willing to admit right now, heck, maybe he hasn't even realized it yet. That's okay with me, it's not like I'm going anywhere, I'm here for the long haul with him and I have no problem waiting.

The vampires start talking, solidifying the plans they've apparently already set up, I nod along when they give me my part of the to-do list all the while mostly lost in my own thoughts. This is the first time I've had to sit still in the last twenty-four hours, and even now it's not as if I'm relaxing. I'm so ready for this craziness to be over so that Eric and I can live our lives in peace for the next few decades, I know eventually that will get boring but by then we'd be able to move on and do something new.

That thought reminds me that I still haven't told him that I went with Niall to drink the Kool-Aid so that I'm stronger and if I keep drinking it my life span will grow immeasurably. I hope he'll be as happy with that piece of information as I am, I know he wanted the other Sookie to stay with him forever but for all I know he's just counting down the years till my clock runs out so that he'll no longer have to be married to me. Wow, that's a dark thought. I don't think that's the case but the point is I don't really know and I won't until I talk to him about it.

Another thing I realize I haven't told him is the fact that I heard his thoughts last night. Nothing too long or in-depth, it was when we were sitting here on the couches with Pam and Karin and he was laying out our options, he was talking and he said, 'Unless I want to work for DeCastro again and deal with constant attempts to take Sookie, which I don't.' And after he finished speaking I heard him think ' Sookie doesn't deserve to live like that any longer'.

I was shocked when I heard his thoughts but I was more shocked about what his thoughts were, I love him, I've known that for a while now but I wasn't sure he looked at me as more than a duty. After hearing his thoughts, and after last night and this evening, I can't help but think that it's more than that to him, I just hope I'm not setting myself up for more pain by starting to believe there's a chance he'll eventually love me like I love him, no like he loved Lucky Sookie.