Chapter Text
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September
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October
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November
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Sookie’s POV:
December.
I let myself into Bill’s house as is my usual tradition these days whenever I get off work. Walking over to him I can see he’s typing away on his computer again. That’s usually what he’s doing when I’ve come over these past few weeks.
“Hello, sweetheart,” he mutters absentmindedly.
I lean forward to kiss his neck. No reaction. I try nibbling his ear. No reaction.
“Be with you in a minute,” he says.
I play with my ponytail and stretch to my tiptoes to peek over his shoulder. Every time I try to see what he’s doing, he finds a way to elude me. Elude is on my Word-of-the-Day calendar. All I see on the screen is a picture of a dapper-looking man with the words “Born in Sicily, 1756” underneath before he snaps his laptop shut suddenly. He stands up to face me.
“I have something I’d like to talk to you about,” he begins.
“Uh-huh,” I reply cautiously. I fold my arms to let him know he’d better not mean any funny business.
“I’m going to….Seattle,” he starts.
“....Seattle?”
“Yes.”
“For what reason? You need to go to a Vampire convention?”
“It’s nothing like that,” Bill replies. I was joking entirely. But his solemn look makes me think that things like that really exist. “I have an assignment.”
“Ok so why does Eric need you to go to Seattle?”
“It’s not for Eric. It’s for……someone else. Eric can’t know about it.”
“.....Go on,” I encourage. “Spit it out. Who’s it for?”
“The Queen of Louisiana.” Bill wrings his hands nervously.
I laugh.
“There’s a Queen of Louisiana? I thought you only had sheriffs.”
“Well there are sheriffs. Like Eric. And then there are Kings and Queens.”
“Sure,” I agree. As if this weren’t the most ridiculous thing I’d ever heard.
“Now listen to me very carefully. If anything happens to me, you must look in the hiding place I built at your house. My computer should be in it, and some discs. Don’t tell anyone. If the computer isn’t in the hiding place, come over to my house and see if it’s here. Come in the daytime and come armed. Get the computer and any discs you can find, and hide them in my ‘hidey-hole’ as you call it.” Bill had sawed through the floor of my closet to make a special space for himself to sleep during the daytime. It’s just a precaution in case he ever needs a place to stay if there’s an emergency.
“If I’m not back,” he continues, “or if you don’t get word from me, in say—a couple of weeks--then tell Eric everything I said to you today. And place yourself under his protection.”
Under Eric’s protection ? Has he lost his marbles?
“When I come back, we’ll talk.” He kisses me gently. And despite my reason for coming over here, I’m no longer in the mood for any love making. I don’t have any fighting spirit left in me after this bombshell he’s dropped.
I leave him standing there, smiling at me softly. I don’t let him see the tears as they fall down my cheeks.
He’s lying to me. And now he’s leaving.
Most wonderful time of the year, my behind.
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Katarina's POV:
“You should come to work with me tomorrow. It’ll get you off that couch for once,” Sookie says as she takes off her coat and hangs it up. Merlotte’s has a long sleeve uniform for the winter months; but there’s been a real cold snap lately in Bon Temps.
“Not interested,” I mumble. I’m actually trying to appear interested in the romance book I checked out from the library…. though it lost its appeal for me hours ago.
“Honey I’m really concerned about you,” Sookie frets, walking over to sit next to me on the couch. “You hardly eat anything. You don’t leave the house. I’ve half a mind to call Eric.”
“That’s the Pot calling the Kettle black,” I drawl while turning a page. Sookie’s been crying herself to sleep every other night since Bill’s departure. Instead of talking about it, we’ve just been ignoring the issue entirely. I’m trying to be strong for Godric’s sake. I’m not sure if he can still feel my pain through our bond—-however far away he is. Her threat to call Eric is altogether empty. She mentally recoiled at the idea as soon as she suggested it. So strongly that I felt it without touching her.
‘Well,” she admits, “at least I get out sometimes.”
“You go to work and come home. The only people you talk to are Ben and Jerry.”
“Fine. Do what you want. I’m really tired tonight. I don’t have the energy to defend myself against my own sister.” Sookie gets up and huffs as she makes her way down the hallway back to her bedroom.
“Have a goodnight,” I yell from the couch.
A blood-curdling scream reverberates from the back of the house.
Before I can even get up, Sookie reappears in the living room, but this time toting a very tall blond vampire behind her.
“Why the hell was he in my bed?!” She roars. As if I planned this. I haven’t seen Eric since that night in Dallas.
“I thought you might be cold all alone,” Eric purrs next to Sookie. She swats him away and he strolls to the front door. He opens it slightly before posing a question.
“Can Pam come in?” he asks.
“Won’t you please come in?” I ask dryly. I sigh and rest my book on the coffee table, standing up. Glad I don’t have to keep up the charade anymore of being interested in anything that used to make me happy.
Pam enters and takes in her surroundings as if she were visiting a museum. But instead of the MoMa, she’s just seeing how the Stackhouses have lived for generations. I can’t imagine how interesting that would seem to a vampire. She seems to catalog every facet of the house before sitting at the aged pine table.
I can feel Eric’s eyes on me as I join our guest in the kitchen. It doesn’t make me too uncomfortable, though. I rarely feel anything these days.
“So…what’s this about?” Sookie asks as she plops down into a rickety chair. I take the time to grab two bottles of True Blood from the fridge. Hospitality has eluded Sookie at this time of night.
“Sookie,” Eric begins. He’s leaning on the frame of the kitchen instead of sitting down with his companion. Probably in an effort to appear intimidating. Though I don’t think I’m the subject of his particular ire that’s emanating from him. Grateful for a task, I focus on putting the True Blood into the microwave. “Do you happen to know where Bill is?”
I feel Sookie’s emotions shift to red alert. The True Blood makes another revolution in the microwave.
“He’s in Seattle,” she pipes. I look over my shoulder to see Eric and Pam share a glance. Then I go back to focusing on my task, willfully obtuse.
“You don’t believe that,” Eric scoffs.
“Well that’s what he told me,” She argues. I myself don’t know where he is. Nor do I particularly care.
“He lied to you,” Pam interjects. Ignoring the awkward silence, I shake the bottles before setting one down on the table. I hand Eric’s meal to him without looking him in the eye. The staring is beginning to truly unsettle me. If he notices, he doesn’t say anything. I take a seat beside my sister. “He’s been in Mississippi all this time.”
“If you already know,” Sookie snaps, “then why are you here?”
“He was due in last night,” Pam replies calmly, unaffected by my sister’s fiery reaction. “He was going to drive into Bon Temps, phone us at Fangtasia to let us know he’d made it home, and meet with us tonight.” I can’t imagine why Bill would need to go to a different state; though I could measure a guess.
“He’s missing?” Sookie whines in disbelief. I think she knew he was lying about where he was, but wasn’t expecting this to get worse. “What are you doing to find him?”
“Everything we can,” Eric assures. I don’t feel sold on the idea that Eric actually cares for Bill’s safety. “But you need to be truthful and tell us anything he told you before he left.”
“I’ve told you everything. If you don’t want to believe me, that’s fine,” Sookie huffs, folding her arms.
“I am finding it a little hard to believe, Sookie.” Eric puts his empty bottle down and steps forward to plant both hands on the table in front of us, leaning in as if this were an interrogation….though I guess it sort of is. His height makes him tower over us completely. On the bright side, he’s shifted from looking at me to glaring at my sister. “Bill didn’t tell you of a project he was working on?”
“What project?” Sookie feigns innocently.
“Come now.”
“Why’s it so hard to believe? When do any of you tell humans anything? And Bill is definitely one of you.” Putting emphasis on the last word.
“You think we’ll buy that Bill didn’t tell you what he was working on?”
“Yes, I think so. Because he didn’t.”
Eric takes a brief moment to look at me. Whatever he sees, he doesn’t like. Because his mouth forms a slight frown. I think he’s going to say something to me, but he only turns his gaze back to Sookie, blue eyes hardening. I exhale the breath I didn’t know I was holding.
“Here’s what I’m going to do,” he begins. “I can’t tell if you’re lying or not, which is remarkable for your sake. I could torture you until you told me the truth, or until I was sure you had been telling me the truth from the beginning.”
“ What is your sudden vendetta against me? What have I ever done to you?”
“More like what you haven’t done,” Eric mutters. “Katarina.” He turns to me. I sit up straight in my chair. Oh gods he’s going to ask me about Bill; and Sookie’s going to kill me when I spill the proverbial beans.
“ Please don’t ask me what you’re about to ask me in front of Sookie,” I plead in my head.
Eric looks taken aback, eyes softening for a split second, before immediately returning to No More Mr. Nice Vampire. He straightens and turns on his heel suddenly before proceeding down the hallway. “Follow me,” he beckons over his shoulder. “Pam. Underhåll Sookie men säg inget. (Entertain Sookie, but don’t say anything).”
I don’t hesitate to get up and follow Eric. I have to do a half-jog just to keep up with him. To my surprise he takes a turn into our grandmother's room (now Sookie’s room—-mine is upstairs). The moment I step through the frame, the door closes behind me; and Eric soon cages me in with his arms on either side of me. He’s furious.
“You look terrible,” he growls.
“Well that’s not very nice,” I murmur.
“When was the last time you ate something?”
“Uhhhh…….yesterday?” I muse, pondering. It’s not that I haven’t eaten in a while. More like I cannot be bothered to remember. But Eric can tell when someone is lying, if you don’t count a few minutes ago.
Eric pinches the bridge of his nose in irritation.
“Sookie hasn’t eaten since yesterday, either,” I offer. I can’t recall her making anything for breakfast before she left for her shift.
“ Soo-kie was not left under my charge.” He accentuates each word through his teeth. “I will protect you from witches, weres, and even that insufferable Bill Compton. But you must put forth some effort into keeping yourself alive. Godric will come back. Do you want him to return home to a corpse?”
The emphasis he puts on the last word makes me flinch, and his eyes soften slightly. I fight back tears, trying to think of anything to keep them from falling. Eric lets his arms fall to his sides, no longer caging me in.
“Is that why you are so angry with Sookie?” I ask.
Eric sighs. “Partially. It should not be so difficult to get a small human to eat something .” He pauses thoughtfully. “But in particular, I don’t care to be lied to, Katarina.”
“I’ll take better care of myself,” I promise.
“Good girl.”
There is a significant tension in the air between us. It’s been so long since I’ve seen him, but the air still feels charged. It’s like there was never any time of separation between us at all. I take a moment to appreciate the curved bow of his lip while his eyes roam over my appearance. I probably look pathetic, but if I do, he doesn’t give it away. I think back to the kiss we shared; and forget that we share a telepathic bond….he snaps out of whatever trance he endured and shakes his head as if to shake away his thoughts.
I wonder what he’s thinking when suddenly he steps forward. What I’m not expecting is him to bite into his wrist and offer it to me.
I don’t think. I fall onto his outstretched arm with my full weight in a bizarre moment of trust, wrapping my hands around his forearm. And cover his wrist with my mouth. It’s been so long since I fed from Godric. It’s exquisite. Something inside me loosens. I don’t feel sad or empty anymore. I’m no longer lost, wandering. I’ve found home.
Eric shivers, his fangs still out. And while I could stay here forever, something in the back of my mind nudges me. Tells me hey…please don’t encourage the vampire. Or this will end badly. His thoughts go to a place that’s really not polite for a lady such as myself to discuss, though I know it’s not his fault. It’s vampiric nature (Godric obviously never has such thoughts, but as Eric would agree, Godric is more divine than vampire–and also it would be weird). I regretfully stop, and Eric’s fangs retract as he pants heavily, trying to regain control of his faculties. I send him a feeling of gratitude down our bond. I feel energetic, having been cured of any malnutrition.
“Now listen to me carefully,” Eric says hoarsely. He regains his composure. “And don’t lie to me, or I will know. Do you know anything about Bill’s project?”
“I don’t know what’s in there specifically, but Bill has a sleeping spot in Sookie’s closet. Under the rug,” I admit shamelessly, nodding my head toward the closet in question. I love my sister, but she needs to know that Bill is no good. Anything he keeps from Eric on purpose cannot have a benevolent reason behind it. Clearly paranoid, Sookie has been keeping her thoughts busy when she’s been near me ever since Bill left. But she’s given herself away by randomly thinking about her closet at times. The only clothes she’s worn recently are her Merlotte’s uniform and a few haggard-looking Christmas sweaters. No girl dressed like that is thinking about her closet that much.
With all due vampiric speed, Eric turns and approaches the closet, throwing open the door with vigor. I walk over behind him to see what’s under there as he lifts the rug. I imagine he’s going to need a tool to lift the miniscule wooden flap that covers the hole, but he deftly moves it out of the way as if he’d done it a thousand times. Soon after, he emerges from the closet with a bulky black laptop in his hands accompanied by a box of discs.
“Yep. That’s Bill’s,” I confirm. He brings it over here sometimes, click-clacking away in the night. Though I hadn’t bothered to look at what he was doing.
“I’ll be confiscating this. Good work, little Stackhouse.” Eric pats my head as he examines the box of discs. His mood seems amiable; however, I sense he’s now planning something dastardly, knowing my sister was lying to him. I have to get him out of here before her blood ends up on the walls.
“Could you….leave through the window?” I squeak.
This intrigues Eric. He lifts an eyebrow. “Why?”
“I……” I begin. Suddenly too embarrassed to say what I was thinking. It seems so silly now, standing in front of a thousand-year-old vampire. “Sookie and I haven’t had the best relationship lately. We just fought earlier. I really don’t need her to know it was me who betrayed her.” For some reason, I don’t even try to manipulate his emotions. Normally when I want something, I will try to influence my way there. But I somehow know that with Eric in this moment, I don’t need to.
“All right,” he agrees. Though I can’t gauge what he’s thinking right now. His face is inscrutable. As a rule, I don’t invade the thoughts of others whom I respect—unless they are my naive sister who is under the spell of a nefarious vampire like Bill Compton….
Surprised, I step toward Eric and give him a hug. It catches both of us off guard, and I quickly mutter an apology before letting go. He must have found it amusing. He just chuckles.
“Pam,” he whispers under his breath, calling his progeny. And before I know it, he’s opened the window and is already flying away.
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