A/N: An AU story that kept rolling around in my head, so here it is on virtual paper so to speak, my first True Blood story. More than a drabble, less than a story. I haven't read all the books, but have seen all of Season 1 of True Blood, so I am far from an expert on the Southern Vampire series. Some things come from unknown fan fiction, but I don't know if those are spoilers from the books or not, so be warned. If they are not from the books, and I have borrowed your ideas inadvertently, I thank you. This is a sappy, sweet love story between E/S, told in brief flashbacks from the time they met till they meet their destiny. Eric is sweet in this story, because in my AU he would be with Sookie, but hints of his cruelty are given.

Loving You Forever

A True Blood Story

I was just leaving--the night was winding down
You touched my shoulder and I turned around
Here we are--the hardest part is done
And all that's left is loving you forever

My heart stopped beating--I couldn't let it show
You were as unexpected as roses in the snow
Just like that I knew you were the one
Now all that's left is loving you forever

In this world we're lucky if we find
A spark that sparks one time
Like when we are together

And in that moment, it happened so fast
My prayers were answered--I found love at last
Take my hand--our life has begun
And all that's left is loving you forever
Here we are--the hardest part is done
And all that's left is loving you forever.

Carole King, Loving You Forever

Sookie Stackhouse stood in front of the huge mahogany mirror in Eric's bedroom at Fangtasia. Her reflection continued to surprise her. Gone was the pony-tailed, naïve and slightly crazy barmaid from Merlotte's and in her place was a stunning, graceful, self-possessed woman. Eric and Pam had seen to her transformation from the somewhat more than plain backwater girl to the self-assured and beautiful butterfly. She was still telepathic, a service she gracefully offered to Eric and the Queen at times, although truth be told, she found it distasteful to be used in such a fashion. However, she did so out of love for Eric and the protection of those she had grown to consider family.

Today was an important day for her, for her and Eric really. She wondered if he would remember.

One year and a few months ago…

She met Eric for the first time at Fangtasia with Bill, sleuthing out the killer of the women who had associated with vampires. Her brother being blamed for the murders it seemed the logical course of action. Bill took her to the throne Eric sat on, Eric appearing bored and arrogant on his slightly raised golden perch, his long golden hair matching the gold etching on the ancient chair. She immediately felt the draw of his power, his sexuality, his body, his danger. It was such a different sensation than her attraction to Bill, calm nice-guy Bill, trying desperately to mainstream, where Eric was clearly not. She knew they both could feel her heart beat speed up at she soaked in Eric Northman's presence. She hoped it would be attributed to nervousness and not the powerful attraction she felt. Sookie could tell that Bill hated and feared Eric and Eric held general disdain for Bill, nothing more than a person might have for an annoying mosquito they couldn't quite swat. She could also tell that Eric's boredom was piqued by her and her relationship with Bill. Eric's power thrummed around her, lust and the desire to glamour her to him beating at her. She kept her ever present smile on him, asking him politely her questions about the women, and was grateful when Bill pulled her away and out of the bar.

A month later, Bill was exposed by Eric as a spy for the queen and as a philanderer. Eric, for some reason he could only tell her later, was enamored of Sookie and sought out why Bill felt such a need to protect her. It turned out the Queen of Louisiana wanted Sookie as her pet and Bill, because of his close ties to Bon Temps had been chosen to woo and seduce the virginal telepathic bar maid that lived across the cemetery from him, and ultimately turn Sookie over to the Queen. And he had almost been successful until Eric exposed him for what he was. Eric forced Bill to acknowledge to Sookie exactly the nature of his task, as well as his dalliance with Loreena. Sookie was of course incensed and rescinded Bill's invitation to her home and refused to speak with him again. Eric gave her a shoulder to cry on that night, offering nothing more and he admitted later refusing to want anything more from her than to be a friend. She had been sorely abused by her would-be lover for nefarious schemes buried deep in the vampire political community. He would not victimize her again for his own less than honorable reasons.

Eric and Sookie first exchanged blood after her attack by Rene. She had somehow managed to kill Rene, but not before he had rendered her fatal wounds. Eric found her in the graveyard where she had dragged herself to her grandmother's grave determined to die in the arms of her angel, her grandmother. Instead, Eric found her and gave her his powerful, old blood, healing her wounds in record time, much to the chagrin of the local police. Their first exchange of the precious blood that flowed between them happened one year ago today. Nothing had been the same since then.

Eric Northman, feared of all the vampire community and the part of the human community who knew of him, had, with that single taste of her blood, fallen irrevocably into some enchantment with Sookie Stackhouse. That was all he was willing to attribute it to for the longest time. She laughed at her reminiscence. Here she was a simple barmaid working crazy hours at Merlotte's unknowingly pursued and protected by the most powerful vampire in the area. Eric, without her knowledge, arranged for protection for her during the day by powerful and trusted friends, and by night by others of his kind who could be trusted. They all remained out of sight and out of her mind so she remained blissfully unaware of their attention.

After The Disaster (as she had started to refer to it in her mind, complete with capitals) with Bill, which the whole town of course knew about, she had sworn off men in a less than delicate fashion. While her infamous virginity remained intact, she could read in their dirty little minds that no one believed it, even Sam. She had let a vampire bite her after all. It didn't seem to matter that a different vampire had saved her life after The Attack (again, permanently remembered with capitals). It just made her a fangbanger in their eyes anyway, even if she hadn't banged a single vampire, not for lack of wanting to of course.

After The Attack, and the significant sharing of Eric's blood to heal her, she could simply not forget him. His blood full of power and worldliness pulsed through her very pores. He was in her thoughts through all her waking hours and even many of her sleeping ones. She wondered about him, what was his life like before becoming a vampire, who was he feeding from that evening, was he fucking him or her. Sookie's skin practically crawled in desire for him and a permanent ache had taken up residence between her legs. She'd be off in her dreamy little world thinking about Eric and then shake her head setting her pony-tail dancing. No! She was done with vampires…hell she was done with men of all sorts. She'd retreat into the dilapidated house she owned and become one of those old scary cat ladies, her virginity and her mind still intact.

Two days later the bar was closing up and she went out back to toss some trash into the dumpster. She lifted the nasty lid of the dumpster and threw the two bags of garbage in, letting the lid down quickly with a loud thump, wiping her hands on her stained apron. She turned quickly away from the dreaded dumpster and felt him suddenly. She had been so distracted by her own inner turmoil she hadn't been paying attention. While she couldn't read Eric's mind, she could feel his presence. She could feel him without his blood, but with his blood it was practically a siren going off in her head. A very welcome if disconcerting siren.

He lay on his back on her car trunk and back window watching her watching him. She watched as he smirked as he felt her heart rate jump. He could see the pulse in her neck pounding even from where he sat. She stood where she was caught between a fight, flight, or fuck response. As that thought crossed her mind she let out a sharp laugh…fuck response had definitely not been covered in her high school science class. Eric looked at her with an amused glint in his eye as if he knew what she was thinking, and he just might. She took in his tight black jeans and black silk shirt, his blonde hair flowing around him. That constant ache she had been living with went to almost pain as she watched Eric silently.

He laughed softly, his deep laugh carried away into the woods. "Hello to you to Ms. Stackhouse. Are we just going to continue to watch each other?"

Sookie cleared her throat, wishing she had a drink of anything to take away her suddenly dry mouth. "Mr. Northman. I'm just a little surprised to see you again. It's been a while." Even to her, her comments sounded inane.

"I came to check on you. How are you feeling? You are working again, so obviously you must be feeling better."

Feeling better, she laughed in her head. Half the time she felt like she could fly, she was stronger than she had ever been. But then her libido had her mowing her yard several times a day. Her poor grass was paying for what she could only assume was her over developed vampire lusts due to Eric and his damned blood.

She slowly walked towards the still reclining body of Eric, drinking him in. "I'm sure you know perfectly well how I am feeling Mr. Northman." She found herself standing at his still reclining feet, having never taken her eyes off of him as she joined him at her car. "You and your damn blood are going to be the death of me!" Her eyes suddenly got wide as she realized what she had just said, while he gave a genuine and hearty laugh sitting up and gently pulling her between his legs, wrapping his arms loosely around her waist.

"That just may be lover, but your death will not be tonight." Sookie tried to struggle out of his arms, knowing it was a lost cause. She might as well been fighting against a concrete wall. She finally dropped her arms and rested her forehead into Eric's hardened chest.

"So what are you doing here Eric, besides making me crazy?" Her voice was muffled into his silk shirt where a few surprising tears escaped and were soaked up by the silk.

"Eric. Finally you call me Eric. I like that, Sookie. And I have no wish to make you crazy," he lifted her head to face his and kissed her tears away. "Nor do I wish to make you cry." His voice was a mere whisper, meant only for her, creating a cocoon of intimacy between just the two of them. "I thought perhaps after you were off tonight we could take a walk in the moonlight. It is a nice night."

Sookie looked at him skeptically. A vampire could lie without all the usual tell-tale signs and since she couldn't read his mind she was without an anchor to base whatever decision she made. "A walk? In the moonlight? Seems a little too romantic or too mundane for you Eric, I'm not sure which."

"Ah, Sookie, you wound me. I was attempting at a little romance, certainly not the mundane. I am never mundane."

"That I can believe. The rest…I just don't know Eric. I'm tired. I'm tired of vampires confusing my life. I'm tired of shifters, I'm tired of humans. They all lie to me, only with vampires I don't know it until it is too late. You are dangerous and powerful, and I appreciate you saving my life although I still don't know why you did or how you knew I was in trouble. But I don't want to be a snack for you. I am not a fangbanger, no matter what everyone thinks." Sookie's voice had started out soft and had ended on a sarcastic and angry note.

"Sookie," Eric continued with his soft intimate voice that soothed her mind and her body, "I will never lie to you. Between us there will always be truth. I don't understand why I would feel compelled to even tell you that, much less treat you differently that anyone else, but I will never lie to you no matter how painful things might be. It would be foolish as well to lie to try to convince you I didn't want you just as you want me, didn't crave your blood just as you crave mine. But I will promise you this night, the next time I taste your blood it will be with your permission and it will be your desire. You could never be a snack for me Sookie. You are a full meal." Eric paused pushing a loose strand of hair from her face and neck. "It's just a walk in the moonlight, lover, that is all."

And so Eric's courtship of Sookie began. They took their midnight stroll. He taught her how to listen with her extra senses to the sounds of the night, the ruffling of an owl's feathers, a snake crossing almost silently through the grass, the mouse racing away, heart pounding, from both. They sat in the dark on her porch and talked in whispers to not disturb the silence around them. Eric got quiet as he sat on the porch swing with his arm around Sookie protectively.

"Eric, what is it? I know you have something to say. Just say it." Sookie encouraged him, feeling confident in Eric, at least more so than she had before.

"Sookie, I told you there would be only truth between us. I have kept something from you and I need to tell you now." Eric continued to watch the woods. Sookie could feel his body tense next to hers while she waited for whatever admission Eric needed to tell her. What horrible thing would mess this all up she wondered. The night had been so perfect. "Sookie, I have placed protection around you night and day since The Attack. During the day, I have trusted shifters watching you from a distance to protect you from harm. At night, I have others like myself watching over you, sometimes it is even me who watches over you from the woods."

Sookie sat in silence, finding herself unsurprised at the news. She had felt others nearby, but as she felt safe and not in danger she had just accepted it as part of her new and complicated life. She was surprised that it was Eric who had put the guard up around her.

"Are they spying on me and reporting back to you? Or are they just here in case anything bad happens?" Sookie's voice held a threat of menace that Eric couldn't help but hear.

"They are not spying. I get no reports other than if something places you in danger. I would never want to violate you in that way. You carry my blood. I can tell your emotions, your fears, your pain, and your happiness. It has been eons since I have felt emotion, and I live vicariously through yours. I simply want to protect you. You have been targeted already once by a deranged human and a dishonest vampire. If I thought you would allow me, I would sweep you off to my hiding place and keep you there completely protected forever."

"Yeah, I don't think so." Sookie paused and took a breath. "But Eric, I do appreciate your thoughtfulness at wanting to protect me. Thank you for that."

As dawn approached, Eric saw her inside her door and gently kissed her goodnight. She stood on her porch steps watching him walk to his corvette and drive away, wondering when she would see him again.

And so it went. Eric started out appearing out of the night a few times a month. Before either of them knew it, they were spending almost every night together. All of these nights were chaste, holding hands, kissing gently, careful not to stoke an already strongly boiling passion beneath their careful demeanor. They would walk, go see a movie, watch a movie on DVD, which if a historical story he would point out all the fallacies in the story. They watched The 13th Warrior, one of his favorites which he claimed to be fairly accurate for a Viking movie. Most vampire movies he laughed through. He enjoyed Bond movies and would indulge Sookie's interest in romances like Pride and Prejudice and The Tudors. Sookie liked movie nights because it gave her, and him she supposed, an excuse to stretch their bodies along the couch spooning against each other, feeling their heart beats, their breathing, smelling each other. Sometimes, the next day she could not have even told you the plot of the movie they had been watching she had been so wrapped up in Eric and everything about him. Those movie nights were the closest they came to touching, and touching was all they did. He remained true to his word. There was no pressure and no blood taking. While neither would say this was a comfortable state of affairs, it did ease her mind and assured him this was no passing fancy.

Sometimes they would play chess or cards. He was much better at both than she, but he taught her well and she could hold her own after a while. She especially liked the nights they went into the swamp. She would never dare go in there alone, but with Eric it was a symphony of sound and sights and smells she had never experienced before. One night Eric flew her to a small island in the middle of the swamp. With anyone else, she would have been terrified for her safety. After all, who knew how many bodies had been dumped out here in the middle of nowhere?

He landed her safely on the soft ground covered in a beautiful moss. The trees were covered in low hanging moss and of course the loathed kudzu. Huge water lilies and other fragrant flowers surrounded the small island. It was like a small patch of paradise in the midst of a dangerous living and breathing ecosphere. His arms had not dropped from her waist even as she looked around her and took everything in. He had clearly prepared this area earlier while she had been at work. There were Tiki torches ready to be lit, which he did with a movement of his hand. A down comforter along with pillows lay out under a weeping willow, where tinier tea light candles surrounded the comforter. Eric had even hung one of those huge white romantic nets over the entire area creating a bed fit for a queen.

He had asked her to wear a dress or something nice for tonight, not her usual jeans. She had chosen a white strapless dress showing her tan and long neck to its best advantage. The bodice of the dress was tight fitting until her waist where it flared out and fell below her knees showing a white lace petticoat under it. While she had an inkling of what Eric had planned for tonight and wanted to dress for it just in case, she was awed by the arrangements that had been made for her comfort.

"Eric…" surprise and pleasure evident in her whispered voice, "this is beautiful. Is this all for me?"

His voice was husky and deep with an emotion that had been foreign to him for centuries, but one which he was becoming more comfortable with as he spent more and more time with Sookie. "This is for us, Sookie. We have been together, singularly together," he said meaningfully, "for six months. I know I am taking liberties and assuming something that…"

She put her fingers to his lips, stopping his explanation. "Eric, this is perfect. I've been ready for you to come to me a long time. Make love to me Eric. Show me everything, teach me everything. Be mine at least for this night."

He kissed the center of each palm, his lips and the tip of his tongue lingering there. "I am yours forever lover. I will teach you everything, show you everything, but it will not happen in one night. We have forever to learn and enjoy each other."

"Forever, Eric? I am not ready to become vampire. I only offer my body to you, my virginity, even my love for you. But I don't offer to become a vampire to live forever with you. Maybe someday, but not today."

"I have no intention of turning you without your consent. Tonight, I just want to make love to you. And if you decide to never turn vampire, then I will remain with you while you grow old. I will be with you until your death."

Sookie had tears in her eyes at the commitment and devotion in his voice. "Make love to me Eric. Now, here, where you have created the perfect place. Take my blood and let me take yours. Bond me to you."

Eric looked down on Sookie as her eyes teared at what she was offering him. If he had not been sure he was in love with her before, he knew he was now. "I love you Sookie Stackhouse. It has been centuries since I felt this way, since I have said those words."

Eric bent his head towards hers, their blond hair intermingling as she tipped her head towards his and she smiled.