I Write the Songs Contest Entry

TITLE: Abracadabra (Steve Miller Band)

CHARACTERS: Sookie, Eric, Amelia, Pam, Octavia, Bob the Cat

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of these wonderful characters, they are the property of Charlaine Harris.

PEN NAME: Honeypop

BETA NAME: RubySun03

VIRGIN WRITER: No

TEASER: Amelia finds Octavia's book of love spells, and Sookie gets a surprise visitor when they cast a spell to find their perfect love matches. Hmm... I wonder who that might be...

Fluffy canon fodder. Set towards the end of From Dead to Worse.

"Amelia, what have you done with my herbs?"

It was my turn to cook dinner, and I was making pork chops, mashed potatoes, roast vegetables, and biscuits. I'd gone way overboard, like I was preparing a meal for a family of six rather than three, and my temper was becoming short. I had to be at work in an hour, and I'd bitten off more than I could chew. I'd been searching for the oregano, rosemary, tarragon, anything remotely herby to sprinkle on the veggies before they went in the oven. Amelia was reaching up to one of the cupboards to retrieve a glass. She turned to me.

"Oh, sorry. I used some the other day for a potion I was working on. I might have some left in my room."

I sighed. "Forget it, I can make do without them. Can you just remember to replace them please?"

She gave me a look.

"Yeah. Sure."

"What have you been doing now, Amelia?" Octavia suddenly piped up. She was sitting at the table, waiting expectantly, having set the table over half an hour ago. I'd told her dinner wasn't going to be ready for ages, but she said she didn't have much else to do, and had sat there peeling vegetables and watching me work.

"I've been practicing, like you told me to," Amelia replied shortly. "No more mistakes."

Bob wandered in, right on cue, his black tail swaying as he walked. He gave us all a nonchalant glance, sniffed the air, then turned and wandered straight back out.

"He still hates me," Amelia mumbled.

"He doesn't hate you," I offered, supportively. "He's a cat. He hates... mice. And birds."

"I can tell he remembers what I did."

"Well, let that be a lesson to you," Octavia said, sagely. "You were trying to run before you could walk."

I was guessing that Amelia hadn't told her mentor about the real circumstances in which she'd accidentally turned Bob into a feline version of himself. I did wonder what excuse Amelia had actually come up with.

"I know. Which is why I'm really trying to study." Amelia filled her glass from the faucet and sat down opposite the elderly witch. "But I'm bored of all these remedies and basic spells. I want to do something bigger. Come on, you know I can do it. I've got the skills. I'm ready."

"No, you're not. You need more training, and you need to keep practicing the spells I've given you. Only when you've mastered them will you be able to move on to more complex witchery."

"Ugh." Amelia folded her arms in front of her chest and rolled her eyes like a petulant teenager, forbidden from going to the mall.

"And until you can control those emotions, you should not use such powerful magic, young lady. With great knowledge comes great responsibility."

"Are you saying I'm irresponsible? Bob was my only mistake! One tiny, itty-bitty error of judgment. That's all. You won't let me forget it!"

I decided to leave them to it, since everything was in the oven or boiling away on the stove, and should be ready right on schedule. I trotted to my bedroom, and put away some laundry I'd done earlier. I smiled, mentally patting myself on the back for a very productive day. Then I checked my hair and changed into my Merlotte's uniform, so I'd be ready to leave for work when I'd finished eating.

When I finally made it back to the kitchen to finish dinner, there was a distinctly chilly feel in the air, and Amelia and Octavia were no longer talking. I sighed, and set about mashing the potatoes.

I was so not going to get involved in witch arguments.

When I finally got home from work later that evening, I found Amelia was still up, sipping on a glass of wine, watching TV.

"Hey."

"Hey Stackhouse, you're home early. How was work?"

"Fantastic. Quiet." I flopped down on the sofa and sighed, before kicking off my sneakers. "Sam let me off early."

"You want a drink?" She gestured to the half empty bottle on the table, next to an empty glass she'd already kindly prepared. I nodded my head, and she poured for me. I didn't often drink, especially at home, but since Amelia had moved in it had become a more regular occurrence.

"Octavia asleep?" I asked, before taking the glass.

"Yep, out like a light. She went out for a walk after you left for work, to get away from me for a while, I think."

"Maybe you should take her advice. She's your mentor, I'm sure she knows what she's talking about."

"Yeah yeah, whatever," Amelia said, dismissively. "She could turn Bob back, you know, if she wanted to. She says she can't, but I think she could."

"Why wouldn't she?"

"She's teaching me a lesson. Letting me stew slowly and painfully in my own guilt. Thing is, it's poor Bob who's really suffering. I feel like such a bitch."

"Hey, he's okay. Being a cat's not so bad, I reckon. Lots of sleeping, and grooming, and petting." I always gave Bob plenty of attention. He was particularly responsive to a good scratch behind the ears, that really got him purring.

"Don't forget licking yourself, coughing up fur balls, pooping in the bushes..."

"Yeah, okay. Maybe it's not all fun."

We sipped on our wine, both of us silently considering the pros and cons of being a human trapped in the body of a cat. After a moment, she turned her whole body in my direction, and smiled at me, like she had something exciting to say, and was waiting for me to ask.

"What?" I asked, reluctantly.

"I've been trying to find a spell to get Bob back to normal, but I can't find anything in Octavia's books. I had a quick snoop in her room while she was out," she whispered. "I didn't find what I was looking for, but I did find this."

She reached behind a pillow and held up a tatty notebook, grinning mischievously.

"What's that?"

"Love spells. Let's have some fun."

"Oh Amelia, it's not nice to go through people's personal things. Are you sure you should mess around with Octavia's stuff like this? I mean, won't she be mad if she finds out?"

"What you mean to say is 'won't you mess up and turn someone into a cat again', right?"

"Well, yeah, that too."

"Look, I cast that spell in the throes of passion. I wasn't on my A game. This here," she held up the tatty book again, "is Octavia's book of love spells. I have the instructions, the potion recipes, the lot. A surefire way for us both to get laid. Come on, it'll be fun."

"Hmm." I was still unsure, but was too tired to argue. Maybe I could just get her to do something easy, without too much possibility of anything going horribly wrong. I took a long swig of wine.

Amelia was already flicking through the pages excitedly.

"Oh, look. Here's a good one. Make yourself irresistible to all others." She grinned at me over the pages.

"That's got disaster written all over it."

"Well, how about this? A cure for erectile dysfunction."

I shook my head. "Why would we need that?"

"Point. Still, we should mark that one, never know when it might come in handy." She gave me a wink. "Although I hear vamps don't have that problem."

"Since I don't have sex with vampires anymore, that's not really for me to say." I didn't actually seem to have sex with anyone anymore.

"Yeah, well, I know how you like those blood suckers, and their quiet brain signatures," she mocked, before returning to flicking through the pages. "Of course, that's the only reason you like them," she mumbled.

"Are you suggesting I prefer them because of their superior sexual prowess, Broadway?"

"No," she smirked.

"Good."

"Who was best? Bill or Eric?"

I rolled my eyes at her and sighed loudly. "I don't want to talk about this. Come on, what else is there? Anything to make my butt smaller?"

"I bet it was Eric, right? Bill's all grumpy and miserable, like, all the time. Big blondie seems as though he'd be much more fun between the sheets."

Oh, little did she know. There was no comparison.

"Let's move on."

"How come you don't wanna talk about it?"

I sighed again. How could I tell her what I hated to admit to myself? That I missed Eric, every day. I missed talking to him, and taking care of him, and laughing with him. Of course, I missed having incredible, mind-blowing sex with him too. It still hurt to remember that time we spent together, when I allowed myself to.

"Bill might not be perfect, but he was my first. Eric, well, yeah, Eric... he wasn't himself back then. He was different. Special. It was an intense situation." I looked down at my hands, which I realized I was wringing tightly. "It was only a few days. I don't really want to think about it."

"Oh, Sookie. I'm sorry." She looked at me with concern, and leaned forward in her seat. "I'm such an idiot, I always put my foot in it. You really like him, huh? Care for him?"

"Cared," I corrected. "Eric's Eric again. Having anything remotely resembling sex with the real Eric would be a seriously bad idea."

There was a short pause, before Amelia piped up, brightly. "Well then, we need to find ourselves some hot guys. Come on, let's do it." She waved the spell book and grinned.

"OK," I said, forcing a smile.

"Yes!"

She got up from the chair and sat cross-legged on the floor, and I joined her, with my wine. We went through the book some more, laughing at the many hilarious and down right ridiculous spells we came across, before Amelia finally found what she was looking for.

"A-ha! Yes, here we go. Find your perfect partner."

"How's this supposed to work?"

Amelia followed the words with her finger as she read. "Simply mix the special potion, pour it on your doorstep, chant the magic spell, and your perfect partner will be revealed to you. This is exactly what you and I need, Sooks."

"Huh? Revealed how? You think anything will actually happen?"

Amelia shrugged. "Let's give it a try and find out. It's time we found our perfect love matches, don't you think?"

She got up from the floor, and headed for the kitchen, reading all the way. I heard a lot of drawers and cupboards opening and closing, and I took the time to refill my glass. Amelia finally returned, her arms full of bottles and packets. She set it all down on the table, and began measuring and mixing.

"What is all that stuff?"

"All simple ingredients you can find in the home. You got any snake venom anywhere?"

"Snake venom?" I looked at her like the crazy woman she was. "No, I'm right out."

"Hmm, shame. Me neither. Well, it's okay, I can replace it with something similar." She got up again and trotted up the stairs to her room. She finally came back down with more bottles and packages. I could do nothing but stare in amazement as she finished mixing her potion; grinding, pouring, stirring. The smell was pretty unusual, to say the least.

"Right," she said, finally, standing again. "I need to pour this on the doorstep, and then a few words and it's done."

"Then what?"

"Then we wait for the hot guys to turn up. Maybe I'll get changed, put my good underwear on." She jumped up and down a little and clapped her hands excitedly. Then she picked up the small bowl she'd mixed the ingredients in, and I watched her from my position on the floor as she poured a line of the potion outside the front door. Ever the tidy-freak, she returned all the packets and utensils and whatnot to the kitchen, put away her little bottles, and came back and sat on the floor opposite me. She picked up the notebook again.

"Right, let's see. I need to say the magic words. Abra-abracadabra. I wanna reach out and grab ya. Abra-abracadabra. Abracadabra."

I snorted, and Amelia threw me an irritated glance.

"What?"

"Well, that's just some ol' song, isn't it? Those words don't seem too magical to me."

"Oh, you can mock the mystical dark arts all you like, telepath. This is Octavia's stuff, and she's the best witch in New Orleans. None of the Louisiana covens come close. She's crazy good."

"Okay, okay," I conceded. "She's a kick-ass witch. Is that it? Did you finish with the chanting?"

"We need to repeat it some more. Take my hands and close your eyes."

I did as she asked, and even though I felt incredibly stupid, I chanted the words along with her.

"Abra-abracadabra. I wanna reach out and grab ya. Abra-abracadabra. Abracadabra. Abra-abracadabra. I wanna reach out and grab ya. Abra-abracadabra. Abracadabra. Abra-abracadabra. I wanna reach out and grab ya. Abra-abracadabra. Abracadabra."

By the time we'd repeated it about 10 more times, we were both rolling on the floor laughing.

Suddenly, from out of nowhere, the door flung open, and we both sat up. I gasped and Amelia let out a little scream. Eric was standing there, half naked and barefoot, just like when I'd picked him up on Hummingbird Road, that fateful New Year's Eve.

"What the?" Amelia screeched, aghast.

"Eric! What're you doing here?"

"I don't know. What am I doing here? I was in my office at Fangtasia, getting changed ready to go out into the bar, and then I was here, at your door." His eyes were wide with shock and concern. He looked down at himself, at his half naked state, and his eyes widened further in alarm. If his heart still beat, I knew it would be going like a hammer.

"What? Are you alright?" Amelia asked.

"I am Eric Northman. You are Sookie Stackhouse, and you are that witch, Amelia." His eyebrows drew together as he thought. "I am sheriff of Area Five, I have a child called Pam, and I own a bar called Fangtasia. Today is Wednesday." He looked to me for confirmation.

"Yes."

"Who's the president?" Amelia asked.

"Shh, shut up," I mumbled. I could understand why he was so concerned. "Eric, you alright? You want to come in?"

"I..." His eyes suddenly became fierce. "Witch, you did not curse me, did you? The last witch to do such a thing met a very nasty, messy end."

Amelia looked startled, and a little scared.

"No. We were just... we were..." She looked to me for support, urging me to explain.

"We might've been casting a spell," I blurted out.

Amelia got up from the floor, and backed away towards the kitchen, never turning her back on Eric.

"I'll go make you something to drink, and er, give you two some time to discuss this."

Thanks a bunch, Broadway. I gave her a glare, and watched her back out of the room, before turning my attention back to Eric.

"You wanna sit down? You sure you're okay?"

Eric looked like he was calming down some, now that he was sure he remembered who he was.

"Yes."

He closed the door, slowly walked towards me and sat at one end of the sofa. I cautiously got up off the floor and sat at the opposite end.

"Are you...?"

"I'm fine," Eric snapped. "What were you and that witch doing?" His tone was a little abrupt, but I figured I deserved it.

"Well, like I say, we were casting a spell. Just having some girly fun."

"Sookie, witchcraft is not fun. It is dangerous, and not to be used for recreational purposes."

"Alright, I'm sorry." I looked away, feeling thoroughly told off. I could feel Eric glaring at me, and there was a long, silent pause.

"What was the spell?" he asked finally, with a cold abruptness. I could hear the curiosity, too.

I opened my mouth to answer, but was suddenly at a complete loss for something to say. My pulse started to quicken again, and no doubt Eric could hear it, as well as sense my anxiety. Could it really have worked? Why else would he turn up so suddenly like this?

"Er, it was... um..."

"Yes?"

"You look cold, should I fetch you something to wear?"

"No ridiculous afghans please, Sookie. Tell me about the spell." He settled back into the corner of the seat, extending one arm across the back of the chair, the other hanging off the armrest. He stretched his long blue-jean clad legs out in front of him. My front room suddenly felt filled with Eric.

"How about some blood? Where's Amelia with the drinks? Amelia!" I called, my voice suddenly sounding weirdly high-pitched. "We're getting real thirsty here!"

"Sookie," he said, softly. "I have a right to know. You have kept things from me before, things I have only just remembered. It is not fair to do that. We still need to have our little talk, don't we?"

"Is now such a good time?"

"When will be a good time? Should we not talk about what happened? What you did for me, what we spoke about, how we were together? Those wonderful winter evenings, spent in your bed, in your shower, in your kitchen..."

"Yes, yes," I said, waving a hand. "All those Buffy tapes you enjoyed."

"Very entertaining. You were quite a spectacular hostess. I remember absolutely every single glorious detail of my stay here, lover. I have thought upon it quite extensively."

Oh Lord. I took a deep breath and exhaled, and looked at him. As usual, just the sight of him set my pulse racing further. To my shame, I couldn't stop my eyes from wandering down from his face, over the exposed flesh of his broad shoulders and chest. Those nipples, those muscles. I closed my eyes, screwing them up tightly, and tried to make it look like I was trying to remember something about the spell. I recalled the 'mystical' words Amelia and I had chanted; Abra-abracadabra. I wanna reach out and grab ya. Never was a truer spell cast. I would not reach over, I would not reach over.

"Sookie, am I distracting you? Do you need me to put some clothes on so that you can focus?"

My eyes snapped open in alarm, only to see him smirking at me.

"No! No, I was just... thinking."

"About me? About my nakedness?"

"Eric!"

"What? You are only human. Part-human," he corrected. "Mostly human. Non-humans lust after me too, Sookie, it is perfectly natural for all creatures to desire me. I know that you are no different, blood bond or otherwise."

"You are such a narcissist."

"Deny that you were not ogling me, Sookie Stackhouse." He looked at me challengingly.

"I..."

He urged me on, motioning with his hand. "You...?"

"I was trying to remember the spell," I said, getting back to the point, before mentally kicking myself, since I was trying to avoid that topic, too.

"Ah, yes. The spell."

"I think it might've been the one to cure erectile dysfunction."

Eric raised his eyebrows.

"Really? Then may I ask what exactly I am doing here?"

"Er...?"

"Have I been summoned here as the cure for erectile dysfunction? Are you still dating that ridiculous bald tiger?"

An involuntary choking noise came out of me. I didn't know whether I was angry or amused.

"Huh?"

"The tiger boy. It would be no surprise to me at all if you told me he had difficulties in that department. Well, of course, I cannot, or perhaps I should say, will not, help him, but I can always help you."

"Um... I'm not seeing Quinn, no."

"Mm." Eric looked pleased. "I thought as much. Well, you know from personal experience that I do not require such a spell."

I looked away and blushed a little, and I heard Eric laugh, breathily.

"Maybe it wasn't that one," I said, nervously.

"Do you think Amelia has a spell to cure procrastination?"

Thankfully, I knew what that word meant, since I had only recently had it on my Word of the Day calendar.

"Okay. It was a spell to, um... deliver a half naked vampire to your door."

Eric looked at me with confused, yet obviously amused eyes.

"Delivered, like a pizza? And why exactly did you cast a spell to request a half naked vampire appear at your door?" He waggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Hmm?"

"There was a reason, actually."

"You were hungry for me."

"What? No. I ate earlier."

Eric smiled. I could tell he was really beginning to enjoy this.

"Extra large horny Viking, piping hot. Ready to go."

"Yeah. With extra cheese," I mocked. "Plus I think you went cold."

"Fine. If you were not ravenous for a slice of the Northman, why else would you cast this part-naked vampire delivery spell?"

"I just wanted to... well, the thing is, I..." Think, Sookie. Think. "I needed to speak with you about Pam and Amelia. They were dating, but now, I think they broke up."

"Wow," Eric said, his expression decidedly bored. "This is important news. Sookie, my bullshit meter is on overload. You could have telephoned me to discuss the love life of Pam and Amelia, were it actually worth us talking about."

"Yes, but... it was..."

"And why would I need to be only partially dressed? Was this purely for your own personal enjoyment? Because we could have spoken fully dressed, or else both completely naked, which seems like a fairer and generally much more agreeable option. You did not have to go to the trouble of casting a spell for this to happen, anyway. I would have quite happily taken the night off to turn up fully naked at your door, had you called me earlier and asked."

"Well... erm..." Great. Now I was really lost for words. The chance of me having any rational thought was now completely out of the window.

"Anyway," Eric continued. "If this truly was the spell you supposedly cast, any random vampire could've turned up, why was it me? You see, your story is absolutely full of holes. You know you cannot get one past me. Many have tried, and all have failed. Now, do I have to call your witch friend in to tell me the truth? Glamor it out of her?"

"No! Don't do that."

With a swift and graceful movement, he brought his legs up onto the seat and crawled across to me. Suddenly I was angled beneath him, on my back. He was hovering over me, his long golden hair brushing my cheek, his cool, hard nakedness so close, making me shiver.

"Then how else can I get this information out of you? You are not forthcoming with it, and I am beginning to find this all incredibly frustrating. I will not wait months and months again to know something which you keep from me, and it is my right to know." He looked into my eyes, pleadingly. "I cannot bear it, lover," he whispered, softly.

When he said that, my heart cried out for him, and my body followed suit. I kept my hands firmly clasped at my sides, resisting the temptation to reach up and tuck the loose strands of hair behind his ear, grip his neck, and kiss those lips, so close to mine. To run my hands over that expanse of perfect, creamy, white marble skin. To wrap my arms around his waist and pull his body down to mine, and simply lose myself in him.

Resist.

"Eric," I breathed, my mouth now even closer to his. His lips were just there, parted a little, his mouth slightly open. A slight crane of my neck and I would be touching them. Tasting him. Enjoying those beautiful kisses. Just the thought of it was already setting my body afire.

"Sookie," he whispered.

"Sookie!"

"Amelia!"

She was standing at the door, a bottle of blood in one hand and a glass in the other, and I just about fell off the chair in my fright. Eric had quickly returned to his place at the other end of the sofa, elegantly draped as before, and I was sort of half on, half off, limbs everywhere, and I was breathing erratically.

"Sorry," Amelia said, cringing. "I brought the drinks. You said you guys were thirsty." She smiled apologetically, set the drinks on the table and quickly scampered off.

I gave Eric a sideways glance, and sat up, reaching for my glass. Amelia had kindly poured me a gin and tonic, and I immediately forgave her for her interruption. I took a big gulp. Mixing my drinks was perhaps not such a good idea.

"You trying to seduce the truth out of me? That's some underhanded tactics, Eric."

"I will find any opportunity to seduce you, Sookie. You know that."

You don't need an excuse, I thought. Just do it already. Just sex, just sex, nothing else. Absolutely nothing else.

"Was it working?"

"Huh?"

"Before the witch so rudely interrupted us. Were you about to yield to me, and answer my question?"

"I... no." I straightened my back, and looked at him sternly. "Absolutely not."

Eric shook his head.

"You are without doubt the most stubborn creature I have ever met. Completely irrational and so needlessly reluctant to enjoy the pleasures of life. There must have been some good reason you made me appear at your house. Be honest with me. Were you horny, and cast a spell for me to come and whisk you into bed?"

Well, for some reason I couldn't quite put my finger on, that got me all defensive and angry, and I let it rip.

"I should've known that's just what you'd think. It's all sex sex sex with you, isn't it? Pleasure, and desire, and lust. Maybe there's more to life than that, Eric."

He looked at me with a mixture of surprise and confusion, like I'd just slapped him around the face for opening a door for me, or for buying me a puppy. "The spell..."

"Oh God. The stupid spell was to find our perfect partners. There, happy now? I'm guessing you must be Amelia's, because you sure as hell ain't mine!"

I made to get up and storm off, since this was a perfect point to do so, but Eric caught me gently by the arm before I could stand.

"Sookie. I'm..."

"It doesn't matter," I cut him off, abruptly, and shook my arm free. "It probably didn't work anyway. She more than likely did it wrong, since she once turned someone into a cat while she was having sex with him and couldn't turn him back." I stopped short and looked at Eric, realizing I probably shouldn't have given that little secret away.

Eric's eyes widened. "She did what?"

"Don't tell her I told you."

"That's a new one."

I smiled. "Yeah. She's a bit..."

"Freaky?"

I giggled.

"Yeah."

"Well," he said, quietly. "Perhaps she did cast this spell inaccurately, then. Or perhaps she has improved her skills?"

He looked at me, those beautiful sparkling blue eyes staring deep into my soul. Searching for answers I just couldn't allow myself to give him.

"She doesn't have a great track record," I said, lowering my gaze. "And we were all out of snake venom."

Eric slowly reached his arm over to touch my hand. He ran his fingers over mine, before placing them under my palm, and he stroked my knuckles with his thumb. The gentle motion sent my skin tingling, his soft touch making my whole body seem to suddenly come alive with electricity.

"It was probably a mistake, then," he said quietly.

"Most probably, yeah."

"Well, I'm glad we cleared that up."

"Yup."

He continued stroking my hand, turning it over and tracing the lines on my palm as if he were reading my fortune. I wasn't surprised to find out that the invisible line running straight from my palm to my hootchie was still there, and Eric was really working his own brand of magic on me. I just quietly let him carry on, enjoying the sensation of his fingers gently brushing my skin. He seemed to be enjoying it too.

"The cat. Is it the black and white one that wanders your house?"

"Bob. Yeah."

Eric shook his head.

"I thought there was something not quite right about him. That is very... unfortunate."

He smiled at me, and I looked at him and smiled back.

"Eric?"

"Yes?"

"What underwear are you wearing?"

Eric gave me my favorite lopsided smile. He let go of my hand and tugged at the waist of his jeans. He exposed some extra flesh, and golden hair, but I didn't turn away. He looked up, meeting my gaze with suddenly mischievous eyes.

"I opted to go commando this evening. Did you want me to remove my jeans so you can wash them? They are a bit dirty at the bottom."

"Eric! They're perfectly clean. You just appeared, you didn't do any running this time."

"Perhaps not. I feel dirty, though."

I couldn't contain my laughter, and Eric smiled in response.

"Will you stop?"

"No. I feel I have been violated. Made to appear at your door at your command, half-naked. You are being very high-handed."

"You can take a shower, if you really want."

"A shower?" He raised an eyebrow. "Now we are talking." He reached and took my hand again, pulling me towards him. I was suddenly on top of him, our bodies pressed together closely. He slid one hand up the back of my t-shirt, and traced his fingertips over the warm skin of my lower back. With his other hand, he carefully brushed a lock of hair from my face, tucking it behind my ear. "Will you be joining me, lover? I miss our showers, very much. Perhaps we could get a little dirty together, here on the couch."

"Eric," I breathed. I closed my eyes, and waited for those sweet lips to close in on mine.

"Sookie."

"Eric!"

"Pam!"

Pam was standing at the door, which she'd already flung open. I pulled away from Eric, getting some distance, and tried to calm my breathing again.

"Well well well," Pam said, smirking.

"What're you doing here?" I asked.

"I was just going to ask the exact same thing," Eric said.

"Please, don't let me stop you. I can see I interrupted you at a very key moment."

"Pam, just answer the question," Eric said firmly.

"You called me."

"No. I didn't."

"You did. I was at the bar, and then I felt a pull, and I was here. I have to say, it was very quick. I thought you might be in trouble. Looks like you are perfectly fine, though."

Amelia trotted down the stairs, obviously curious to know what all the noise was about.

"Oh, hi Pam."

"Amelia."

"Oh," I said, my eyes widening in sudden realization.

"Oh," Eric followed, raising his eyebrow, and looking at me.

"What?" Pam asked, obviously frustrated. "Did I do something? Do I have dirt on my face? My hair, did I mess it up during travel?" I shook my head at her. "No? Well, then what did I miss?"

"Why don't we leave these two to it, Sookie? I'd better go check on the bar, and get dressed. Would you like to come with me? Perhaps we could go dancing. What do you say?"

"Sure," I said. It was pretty late, but suddenly I wasn't so tired after tonight's events. My mind, and my body, were feeling wide awake. Dancing with Eric sounded like just the ticket. "Just let me get freshened up and changed. You're driving, though. I'm way over the limit already."

Pam was still confused, and Amelia was looking flustered. I smirked at my roomie as I walked past her.

"Come on in," I heard Amelia say, as I made my way down the hall to my room. "I'll explain in the kitchen."

I wondered if she'd get away with the erectile dysfunction excuse with Pam.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed the Sookie and Eric fluffy fun. I know, no sexy times, but I wanted to keep it canon as much as possible, and as we all know, it takes them a frustratingly long time until Dead and Gone to get it on again. FYI, they got up close and personal on the dance floor later on, resulting in a painfully huge Viking boner and cold showers for Sookie for a week. He was hoping for some action when he dropped her off home, but she was sleepy and she'd drank too much gin and she passed out. Let that be a lesson to us all, don't drink and flirt with a hot vampire. It ends very frustratingly for all parties involved.

Thanks to the lovely Northman Maille and Northwoman for hosting this wonderful, very inspiring contest! Please don't forget to read and review all the other stories written for the I Write the Songs contest!

Thanks also to RubySun03 for beta-ing for me, she rocks big styl-ee.