Hi this is my first attempt at fan fiction, but after reading the spoilers for Dead Ever After I felt like these characters I had fallen so in love with deserved an ending fitting to them and what would satisfy the Eric/Sookie shipper in me...

So heres the first chapter I hope you enjoy reading...

I don't own these characters just borrowing them...

Lesson Learned

Her back to the room Sookie stared out of the kitchen window, purposefully fading out the noise from the house full of family until it was a low dim to help ground her rather than fuel the fire of anxiety that had been burning out of control all day.

They had gathered to celebrate Sam's sixtieth birthday, with Merlotte's shut for the evening it was meant to have been a chance to relax and have fun. However stuck here in the midst of her overwhelming fear and anger it was impossible to feel their happiness, to share in their light hearted banter, let alone keep up the act everything was okay or likely to stay that way.

What she wanted to do was scream and shout, to give them all herself included a good hard shake for being so unforgivably stupid. How she had been naive enough after all she had seen, what it had cost her to believe a few signatures and seals on a piece of paper meant she would be free to live her life she would never know, but she ultimately had. It wasn't that they weren't protected or defenseless, for years magical wards had surrounded the house which would keep anyone unwanted from being able to enter, then there was the fact she had more strength, and power of her own now which would at least give her a fighting chance against any Vampire. Still there was no dodging the fact she had been foolish to become so careless.

For the countless time that day Sookie reached out over her land, north to south, east to west for any brain signal, human or supernatural. It wasn't fully dark out so no Vampires, but that didn't mean there wouldn't be anything else lurking in her woods.

Whatever sixth sense had made her drop her walls last night she counted it as a blessing, even if it had meant a night spent tracking a group of Vampire's progress as they moved along the perimeter of her property. Never stepping closer, they seemed to make an effort to keep on the side of a very thin line of making their presence known and staying hidden.

At first it had been an automatic reflex to try and dismiss her own fears by telling herself it was Bill or Pam just passing through, but she had known there was no way it could be, and it would be possibly suicidal to pretend otherwise

Though a Vampire mind was still blissfully silent she had discovered when Karin was guarding her woods that first year that she could differentiate between them, sense their movements as she never could before. Laid in bed during those lonely hours before dawn, Sam asleep beside her Sookie had found letting her walls down had meant not just sensing the void that was Karin but opening her mind up to a new experience. On nights Bill had joined her she could easily tell the difference between the two, almost like she was seeing them as two colours in her mind. She had experimented the next time she knew Pam would be with her sister, and observed the same thing.

Pam and Karin both appeared as different shades of red. Pam a burgundy, her sister more a maroon compared to that of Bill's green blue void. The ones she had sensed last night though were dark swirling holes; hard to pick out any particular colour yet she was able to detect the individuality of each of the five that had stalked her land. It matched with what she had hit upon when one evening Bill had had visitors, and she had been curious enough to test out the reach and clarity of her new ability. She learnt with relief that what she saw was defined by how well she knew them. It reminded her of when she had taken the shaman potion all those years ago, how she had seen the pack of Were's in different colours depending on the pack members loyalty towards Alcide, whereas where the Vampires were concerned it seemed to do more with the personality of the individual.

A voice that had been taunting her mercilessly for years whispered a name before being quashed immediately. The force it took caused her fingers to clench around the edges of the sink, her knuckles white as every muscle in her arms shook with the strain to keep from falling into the emotions threatening to swamp over her.

It wasn't Eric; it couldn't be him and most of all she didn't want it to be him she told herself over and over, as if to brand the words into her brain, to gain control once and for all. Silently Sookie cursed the severed thread that all these years after magic had removed their bond still called out to him. At unguarded moments made his proud beautiful face swim in her mind, the echo of his laugh a cruel reminder that despite everything she still cared. Proof that cutting him out hadn't worked for her quite as well it had obviously done him. Sookie knew there was no use for what ifs and regrets because thoughts like those would only tear her apart, and she wouldn't do that to herself or her family. She owed them more than that after all these years.

The moment Christopher had been placed into her arms over seventeen years ago she had made a promise to herself and him. She had sworn whilst looking down in to the blue eyes so like her own that she would drag herself from the internal storm of her emotion that still surrounded her and that nothing else she loved would be taken so easily from her again. It was the lesson she had to learn from Eric, what his place in her life had to mean. Something had to have come from it all otherwise all of the heartbreak and pain would have been for nothing.

Sookie closed her eyes trying to regulate her breathing, pushing down on the wound as if she was trying to stop it from bleeding, to force shut the box of memories that threatened to overcome her. Plus she reminded herself with a painful wry smile there was no way that if his children appeared as they did their larger than life Viking maker would be reduced to a swirling dark void especially not to her.

"You okay Sook?"

At the sound of her brothers voice Sookie grabbed the nearest glass and ran the water, giving her the precious seconds she needed to shut the door on the past and plaster a smile to her face as she turned around.

"Fine just a little hot, you want something more to drink or eat?"

"No I'm good. You outdid yourself tonight sis, Gran would have been proud with the spread you laid."

"Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it,"

"We'll be heading off in a while though to give you some peace."

"No need to rush off," Sookie threw back impulsively even though she had been wishing the house empty ever since the first guests had arrived.

"You sure your feeling alright you aren't half pale you're not sickening for something are you?"

The fact Jason had even asked she thought was a sure sign to the amount of alcohol flowing through him. They all knew she didn't get ill, she hadn't been ill since the birth of her son and even then that had amounted to morning sickness that seemed to consist of a very strong aversion to a particular citrus fruit throughout the whole nine months.

"I'm fine,"

Sookie insisted brushing away the hand that had reached out to touch her forehead, only to shiver as an overly warm arm draped around her shoulders to pull her in close to her husband's side.

"What are you two doing in here on your own?"

The embrace, the tilting of Sam's head as hers dropped on to his shoulder was a show of togetherness for her brother's sake, the emphasis being on show. Without even attempting to penetrate his thoughts, just by his glance between her and Jason she knew once again Sam wasn't seeing them; he was only seeing the differences between them. Jason the wrong side of fifty looked every one of those years and more, whilst she hadn't aged a day since she had opened the Cluviel Dor in order to save him. At first Sam had refused to believe it had had such deep effect on her very being. Instead out of guilt he had blamed her Fae heritage, the ancient vampire blood she had ingested, but after she had finally admitted to him the changes weren't just contained to the aging process or lack of it he had not been able to see past it.

It had hurt to read that from him of all people, her whole life she had tried to fit in, be what the town expected, to lead the normal life she had thought was what she wanted, but the older her husband, her brother, her extended family became the more she stood out apart from them. The rumours that the customers in Merlotte's had banded about early on including Sam to try and protect her had ranged from far too close to home to the simply ridiculous.

However that was something that wasn't openly discussed anymore, not since with Pam's encouragement Sookie had taken the step to alter the way she was seen by any human outside her family. It only added to a long list of things her and Sam didn't talk about or ignored when once upon a time she had felt like she could share anything with him and him her. Her life had become separated, compartmentalized in to what Sam would discuss or what he pretended simply didn't happen.

The two businesses she had built up from scratch were fair game as long as she didn't mention her undead business partner. The same went for when at least once every month separated from their business dealings she and Pam would spend an evening together. Sometimes alone or with Christopher tagging along, nights which Sam would spend lying to himself that she was off to see Tara. Only on a rare occasion would Pam now come to the house, visits that usually coincided with a full moon and therefore Sam's absence.

She knew if it was Sam's decision to make he would rather her not see Pam, would rather she had picked a human business partner or had even used Niall's money to go in to business with him. He wished that his son did not spend time around a Vampire or be as openly fond of one as he was Pam. The exact same way he didn't want to know about the odd evening when he was working late that Bill would come over and sit on the porch with her. But times with Bill weren't spent with the fond companionship of Pam it was spent working on her defences, testing her strength.

For Sookie though the friendship between her and Pam was the most honest relationship she had left in her life and she was more grateful for it than she would ever let on to her Vampire friend. It was Pam who she confided her fears to, who gave her practical and often unwanted advice and opinions freely but Sookie wouldn't want her any other way, sarcasm and all. Pam had started her on the path to accepting her new powers, worked with her on the new twist to the telepathy that meant though she couldn't glamour as such she was able to subtlety change a person's memory, change the perception of how they saw her almost how Niall had masked his true being to make them see how she would be if she had actually aged.

In the early days when Sookie hadn't been able to bear seeing Pam because of her connection to Eric Pam hadn't allowed her push her away. She had tactfully for Pam anyway made it clear that this didn't have to mean the end of their friendship. So not to throw the memories in Sookie's face each visit she had found something new to occupy their time. She had encouraged her to do more for herself, online college courses application forms appeared in her email, classes in self-defence and martial arts booked for her and training sessions with Bill to push her boundaries of what she could do.

It had been Pam who came to her with the idea for the boutique in a mall outside Shreveport that was now flourishing, their online shop that catered more to the purely supernatural gaining a great reputation and growing client list. A few years ago she had been the one to bring up the idea of an all-night coffee shop, walls lined with books a novelty now that everything seemed to be digital. It was an instant hit with its retro feel and southern style hospitality and with her success Sookie had discovered a whole new side to her personality that loved the feeling of being out there; building things up from scratch and watching them succeed.

The only condition to their friendship and business relationship they had both stuck too was not to talk about what had made their once threesome now a duo. She was honest enough to know it was more her doing than Pam's, that when she had mentioned the colours around the voids of a Vampire brain that Pam had wanted to talk about the connection between her, Karin and Eric, what it might all mean but in those early days she hadn't even been able to bear hearing his name spoken and it had slowly become a line neither had crossed since.

"Jase thinks I look pale but I'm just tired I didn't get much sleep last night.'

Sookie pressed a kiss to Sam's cheek and saw her brother smile, felt his relief that their marriage was as good as it had always been. That his sister's seemingly growing distance was all in Michelle's head and he would tell her so the moment they got in the car.

With a faint sigh Sookie considered probing further to see what else her astute sister in law had picked up upon before dismissing it. There would be no good in it, not when she saw what their marriage had become every night. It wasn't that she didn't love Sam, he had done his best for her but she had learnt along the way there was a very big difference between loving someone, loving your best friend and being in love. She had thought all she needed was time, time to erase the past, to learn this was enough, but by the time she was pregnant with the longed for child Sam had wanted she had begun to accept it just wasn't going to happen.

This calm content with Sam, with no emotional upheaval or insecurities had been so appealing after everything that had happened so she had spent the last eighteen years trying to keep up her end of the bargain, to honour the vows she had made, to give her child the parents she had never had, the life growing up she could only dream of.

The strange thing was as she learnt to live with the consequences of her own choices she had become aware Sam had to do the very same thing. He loved her she didn't doubt that, but the Sookie he loved wasn't the girl who had walked down the aisle towards him even if he hadn't known it then. He had never wanted a wife who whilst he was near retirement age still looked in her twenties, had strength physically and magically beyond the realms either of them had ever imagined or with a history which meant she would never truly be his as he was hers . What he had wanted was a woman to grow old with, to share the duties of running Merlotte with him, to support each other in this ever changing world.

From his unguarded moments she knew sometimes he regretted the loss of a pure shifter child that she would never be able to give him. It wasn't that he didn't love Christopher he was just consumed with worry for him the older he got. He was scared that having her as a mother would lead Christopher to be mixed up in supernatural power struggles. Christopher possessed the strength of the shifter, which showed in any physical activity he had turned his hands too but to a knowing eye he would always be labelled as her son, a descendant of the Fae. Not only did he have the physical attraction that drew people to him but mental powers that could only come from one place. He wasn't telepathic like she had been born more what she had become now.

"You look beautiful Cher you put us all to shame you know that,"

"Maybe if I'd had as much vampire blood as you Sook I'd still be looking so good," Jason said laughing at himself whilst Sam's lips thinned into a tight smile.

"Or it's just the fairy shit ..."

"Definitely the fairy shit."

Sookie muttered pulling herself away from Sam's side, his eyes watching her with a frown in them, as he ran his hand through his grey hair.

"Anyway enough about all that, how about we get the kids together, go outside and chuck a football about before you go ..."

Sam suggested leading Jason back out to where the others were gathered in the sitting room.

"Between us two and Hoyt we might be able to prove there is still some life in us yet."

"It's getting dark," Sookie interrupted with a glance out the window "You won't be able to see what you're doing!"

"Then switch the big lights on Sook we might as well make use of them, the kids are all getting older there won't be many more times like this..."

"You're all swimming in beer leave it for another night..." She insisted catching Sam's eye and giving him a discreet shake of the head, who after a moment nodded.

"Ah Sookie's right, can't have um kicking our asses thanks to a few to many we'd never live it down, let's have one more for the road instead,"

Sam forced out a laugh as he handed Jason another bottle of beer and directed him towards Hoyt before coming back into the kitchen.

"What's going on? You barely slept last night and now no one's allowed out after dark?"

"I just think being careful right now is best, we're not really safe Sam we never have been its time to wake up to that."

"Why now Sook? Have one of then told you something? Have you seen someone you're not meant too?"

"No!" She cried sharply no need for Sam to clarify who he meant they both knew.

"It's nothing like that. Last night there were five vampires roaming about, and its brought home that we've been slack about safety, I'm guilty of that too but we have to start being more careful,"

"But no one round here will have told anyone anything, you've made sure of that."

"It's not someone we know I'm worried about,"

"You really believe there's something going on Cher after all these years, what is it twenty five?"

"It's not a lot of time to them,"

"Or you."

"Sam it's not me I'm thinking of its Chris, it's you... I know we're meant to act like everything's fine, but last night someone was out there, and the last time my house was surrounded by vampires ..."

She trailed off unwilling to go down the particular path of the takeover, of the night she had learnt of Quinn's betrayal however mostly she didn't want to remember the night Eric had regained his memories of their time together.

"Bill?"

"He's away."

"Pam?"

"She's my friend I'd know if she had been there."

"She's a vampire first Sook I thought you'd have remembered that lesson..."

The words were said in anger and Sam saw the impact as they hit home, the pain that flitted across her face. He watched the way her eyes lost focus and knew she was reading the anger swirling in his brain; he clamped it down and closed himself off from her. He didn't like Pam he didn't like the closeness between her and Sookie, especially not between her and his son. He couldn't deny Pam had helped Sookie in ways he never could, but to him it was just another wedge that separated him from his wife.

It seemed to him that because Eric was no longer in their lives they had replaced him with the other woman Eric had loved and trusted most, and he didn't know why Sookie couldn't see that wasn't healthy. He knew Eric had loved Sookie, despite the reason Pam had gave no Vampire would give up a century of their life just to impress the Queen they were being forced into marriage with, and sometimes it felt like he was still competing with him. For those feelings he blamed Pam, if she had left them alone then maybe this marriage would have worked out different. Sookie might have agreed to move away, leave the past behind where it belonged, and he could watch his son grow up never having to fear what laid ahead for them.

"Call her then she's the sheriff let her do her job..."

Sam stalked off and Sookie's eyes followed him out the room before a shaking hand reached for her cell phone, she flipped to her messages and replied to the last one Pam had sent

Is there anything going on that should worry me?

There wouldn't be an immediate response so with a sigh Sookie sank down at the kitchen table rubbing her forehead. There was little she could do not until someone made a move, gave a hint to what this was all about or who was behind the sudden renewed interest in her.

"You think something is happening? Someone is coming for you, for us?"

Christopher's voice had her head shooting up and with a glance at the clock she realised nearly an hour had passed, and with a quick scan of the house told her the visitors had left.

"Christopher …"

At nearly eighteen Christopher was taller than both her and Sam, blonde haired and blue eyed he rivalled Jason in his heyday for how many girls and even grown women seemed to forget their name and morals when his charming smile was directed their way. Unlike Jason however there was a very big heart behind the handsome facade.

"Don't tell me I shouldn't have been listening, I'm not a child if we're in danger I should know. I can help, you don't have to protect me Mom."

Sookie wanted to gather him up in her arms, and tell him he would always be her baby that he had given her a place to pour all her love, and she would die rather than see him hurt. It was him that had dragged her back to the world of the living, she owed him her life.

From an early age she had warned him of the dangers that may await them, not to scare but to prepare him. Christopher had grown up in a very different world than she had, and though he like her fitted more on the supernatural scale than the human one she hadn't wanted him to become known for it or ostracised from the wider community even at a time when it was becoming the norm to have a supernatural connection. People found it easier to accept him as a Shape Shifter's son than they would as someone who could get inside their heads that much hadn't changed.

From when he was able to understand she had explained how he could be used, taken advantage of or had his free will take away from him. She had passed on the lessons she had learnt far too late in life to save her from pain but that hopefully would work for him. Like she had done with Hunter before him Sookie had taught Christopher how not only to close other people out, but to close himself off from her.

"I don't know, it could have been nothing but…"

"But you're not sure, so that's why you've got in touch with Pam?"

"Pam will help if she can,"

"I know. Pam first, then the delicious fairy hybrid Christopher followed by his beautiful mother,"

"She would eat you alive,"

"What a way to go… You know it's a shame Bill's not home I'm sure he'd be guarding the porch if you'd only let him,"

"Trying to distract me won't work Chris and Bill he means well… He wouldn't let any harm come to us,"

"Except at his own hands of course,"

The quip was said in a light-hearted voice but there was genuine dislike behind the statement and Sookie had long since given up trying to change her son's mind where Bill was concerned.

"That was all a long time ago, we've moved on from that,"

She had never told him in so many words of the intentions behind Bill's initial interest in her all those years ago, or the hurt he had caused her. Whether he had picked it straight from her own memories and never admitted it or simply pieced it together facts and half-truths, but either way Christopher had no time for their neighbour, so polar to his complete almost devotion to Pam.

When Christopher was young it had amused Pam to see the hero worship glow in his eyes as she showed off her vampire abilities or the way he had gone out of his way to show off his own gifts to her. Somehow though somewhere along the line Pam had decided that he was an almost human worthy of her notice and attention.

Sookie would never forget the night she had been putting an exhausted Christopher to bed when he had asked in a sleepy voice

"Who's Eric and why would he like me?"

At first she had been terrified he had read Pam's mind. The fear had caused her to shake him awake nearly in tears as she had demanded to know what he had seen. The relief that had washed over her when he had admitted to sneaking in to Pam's email account had made her dizzy, and she'd collapsed on to the bed next to him. Sookie had clutched him to her, squeezing him so tight he had complained that a lecture about snooping would be better than bruised ribs or being crushed to death by a mothers hug.

She had known Pam must be keeping in touch with Eric even if she wasn't allowed to follow him to Oklahoma. Chris had recited the email from memory, the words Pam had described to explain how he had tormented Bill by first signing him up to an online gay dating site, and when that didn't get a big enough reaction had waited for Bill to go out of town, then convinced Bill's newly acquired day man to fill every hidey hole he could find in Bill's home with dead fish. Pam had wrote how proud she felt that even at ten he had the sense to alter the man's thoughts so that he was convinced Bill had told him that was what he wanted.

Chris had confided to her that Pam's praise had made the month's grounding and letter of apology to Bill all worth it. The email had contained nothing about her directly, but talking about Christopher in such a familiar way had meant Pam was keeping her maker up to date with her life which had only made her heart ache before the anger at herself and Eric had washed it away.

"What is it?" Christopher demanded sensing the blockade around her mind.

"I was thinking of fish…"

A light chuckle fell from his lips as he cottoned on to what she meant before dawning understanding made his eyes dark

"You were thinking about the email, is that what Dad meant about you seeing someone you weren't meant to, he thought Eric had contacted you?"

Sookie hadn't told him about Eric, not just because of the wound it opened for her, but out of respect for Sam however that hadn't stopped him finding out. In fact it had led to hers and Pam's only real disagreement. Pam however had thrown every complaint she had made about being kept in the dark right back at her and Sookie had had nowhere to go.

"That's between me and your father. Look all we can do is wait, why don't you go help you dad clear up , I'll be along in a moment."

"I…" Christopher's response was cut off by the bleep of her cell phone

On way

Christopher read the message over his mother's shoulder, and Sookie got to her feet calling out for Sam. He had barely entered the kitchen before the opening of the door revealed Pam smirking at the sight of Sam stood glaring at her.

"Shifter," She nodded before embracing Sookie with a kiss to her cheek "Oh hello my favourite fairy brat."

Sookie saw the glare that Sam sent Pam at her address to their son and the answering glimmer of amusement in Pam's eyes. Pam looked as giddy with happiness as Sookie supposed she could look, and it was a scary site.

"So you do know something about the Vampires prowling about last night?"

"Not prowling more protecting, I instructed them to stay at Bill's but like most men they thought they knew better… We have a new monarch my friend,"

"What?"

"The Vampires last night were sent here to keep watch over the house to make sure no one loyal to Felipe would seek revenge…"

"Why would they seek revenge here? I've had nothing to do with any politics since that day..."

"You're a magnet for trouble Sookie we know that, and they might have thought your safety would be a worthy bargaining chip to the new King."

"Fucking vampires! What has you fucking maker done now? " Sam surged forward but Sookie stepped in between him and Pam.

"Eric? Why nothing he is still abiding by the marriage contract in Oklahoma serving his queen, Eric was a loyal subject of Felipe de Castro and I'm sure will mourn his passing, "

Pam's face was serene as she met Sam's fierce glare over Sookie's shoulder. Her hands clasped in front of her she looked the picture of innocence if you discounted the fangs perturbing and the dancing gleam in her blue eyes.

"Then what does this entire Vampire bullshit have to do with Sookie if this isn't some grand gesture by Eric? Or do you lot just fuck with her life out of pure enjoyment after all?"

"Our new King is very keen to meet Sookie, to talk over some common interest he hopes they both have … Of course with the true death of Felipe de Castro this means certain royal decrees are now null and void, however if Sookie accompanies me tomorrow I'm sure we can have everything sorted."

"And why should we trust that this isn't some ploy to use her? Turn her? Lock her away somewhere to do your bidding?"

"Pam wouldn't lead Mom into that Dad,"

"What does all this mean Pam?"

Sookie asked, talking over father and son as she tried to ignore the stab of disappointment she had felt when Pam had said Eric was still in Oklahoma.

"Freedom my dearest friend, fucking freedom for us all …"