I see a red door and I want it painted black

No colors anymore, I want them to turn black

I see the girls walk by dressed in their summer clothes

I have to turn my head until my darkness goes

I see a line of cars and they're all painted black

With flowers and my love, both never to come back

I see people turn their heads and quickly look away

Like a new born baby, it just happens every day

I look inside myself and see my heart is black

I see my red door, I must have it painted black

Maybe then I'll fade away and not have to face the facts

It's not easy facing up, when your whole world is black

No more will my green sea go turn a deeper blue

I could not foresee this thing happening to you

If I look hard enough into the settin' sun

My love will laugh with me before the mornin' comes

The Rolling Stones – 'Paint It Black'

Chapter 13

Eric fought the pull of the sun until he felt Sookie finally succumb to it. She had laid beside him motionless and empty inside that night and he could barely stand to go to his day rest with worry over her. All he could hope for was that she would stay asleep until he woke that evening; perhaps the rest would help overcome some of the pain inside her. The emotions he felt coming through her in the yard the night before had been extreme to say the least. She had fell to the ground, sobbing and gripping her head as if it were about to split in two as Eric was almost crippled with the pain and heartache that was pounding out of her.

Realistically, he could have expected such a volcanic response after everything she had been through over the years; it was more the shock of why she hadn't experienced it sooner. The fact that he was bound to her so deeply now and he felt what she was feeling had killed him. The pain he could have handled himself but feeling the torment that had been eating at her for so long was dreadful. He wanted to take her pain away; he wanted to stop all those terrible memories and the grief she was feeling. He had never wished to carry another person's pain as he had last night with her. He gladly would have taken the burden from her if he could have.

In her twenty six years as a human, she had lost so damn much. The only relative pain he had was the fury at losing his human family to Russell and the day Godric met the sun. Sookie had not only lost almost every person she had ever counted on and loved, but she was directly responsible for many others dying on her behalf. Every time she became the victim of some crazed lunatic, it had chipped away little by little at her until she could bear no more. Though he didn't agree with what she had done in the cemetery a few nights ago; in a way, at least he understood it.

He didn't know which part actually bothered him more; the immeasurable amount of pain that gutted her last night, or the cold, nothingness that came afterwards. He had tried to soothe her and reassure her that he would never leave her like everyone else had and that he would love her always, but she didn't want to hear it. He knew she loved him because he had felt it many times. Not only did he think that she genuinely cared about him when she was human, but since he had turned her, he could feel her true heart deep inside him. She wouldn't let it come out though; the thought of admitting her feelings for him scared her to death. She was terrified that if she actually admitted how much she cared for him, that he would be brutally ripped away from her as all the others had been.

Perhaps if Bill hadn't planned to let Sookie be his 'drug of choice' for his suicide, she wouldn't have finally snapped the way she had. She had been carrying a tremendous amount of grief over infecting him with Hep-V. When she had the cure to give him, he could feel her hopefulness for that short amount of time before Bill blatantly refused it. He knew Bill was truly remorseful over the things he had done to Sookie over the years and perhaps the mental confusion from the Hepatitis had clouded his judgement, but he could kill that fuck for thinking Sookie would just be okay with his plan. In her mind, Bill was only sick due to her careless actions and if he died of the disease, that would be one more person she loved that would have suffered the Sookie Stackhouse curse.

Not only had it broken that last thread of sanity she had been hanging onto, but seeing Jessica torn apart by Bill's actions was just fuel for the fire. Anybody could see that Sookie felt many parallels in Bill trying to abandon Jessica, in the same way Sookie felt abandoned by all those she loved. It would have only driven the knife further through Sookie's heart, had Bill succeeded in dying from something that Sookie had infected him with.

As it was now, he wasn't sure which was worse though; feeling all the pain of her past or the numb, broken being she currently was. It was tragically ironic that the woman who had taught Eric that he could have feelings besides lust and anger, was now struggling to feel anything at all. He remembered the years that he had turned off his own emotions for the sake of survival and the things he had done. If he couldn't snap her out of it, he feared how far she might actually go. It might seem like the easy way out to shut down and not feel anything, but it's also a dangerous slope for becoming someone he knew she didn't want to become.

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His eyes popped open as soon as the sun began making its descent in the sky. At his age, he always woke about an hour before dark. Immediately he noticed that Sookie was not in bed anymore. He sat up and tapped his bond with her and found that she was not even in the house. He growled in frustration as he realized that of course she had left because there was no code to get out of his underground level, only to get into it. He couldn't leave the house yet as the sun was still on the horizon, so instead he dressed and kept checking in on her through the bond. To his dismay, he still felt the steady stream of nothingness coming from her. The only comfort it gave him was knowing that at least she was still alive.

He sent a pull to her through the blood and waited to see how she responded. Makers have different types of 'calls' with their progeny and he used the innocent one with her, that meant he simply wanted her to come to him. If she forced his hand, he would drag her to him by force, but he was trying his best not to further agitate her. He could tell she was a few miles away; most likely in the city and hopefully not doing anything stupid. As he waited for the sun to sink below the horizon, she didn't get any closer to his location nor did she call him in the traditional way. Once he knew Pam was awake, he picked up his phone and called her.

"Eric." She said, answering the phone.

"Pam, where are you?" He asked tensely.

"At my house, I drove back to Shreveport after I dropped Willa off last night. Why, what's wrong?" She asked, sensing his frustration.

"It's Sookie… she is not herself."

"How so?"

"I think I've lost her… she just snapped last night and I'm not sure how to fix her." He said unsteadily.

"I'm not sure I know what you mean by snapped?"

"You know she has been a bit erratic since she turned."

"Yes." She interjected. "I was actually starting to think she might make a kickass vampire once she got over her dramatics."

"Yes, well last night she and I went to Compton's house to give him Sarah's blood so he could heal. He was out of his mind going through his human photos and reminiscing about the War, and then he refused to take the cure.."

"He did what?" She growled.

"He said he wanted to meet the true death and it was karma or some shit that Sookie had given it to him; some sort of cosmic comeuppance for everything he had done to her."

"What a tool."

"I agree, but as you can imagine it hurt Jessica very much and Sookie… she did not take it well at all. She pretended to agree with him so he; and I, would drop our guard and she forced the blood down his throat."

"Very devious." Pam said appreciatively.

"That's not it though. When I followed her outside and asked her why she had done it, things got heated and I told her why I saved her life that night. Why I took the choice to die away from her."

"You love her." Pam said suddenly serious.

"Very much." He paused. "Anyways, it ended with her completely breaking down and reliving all the shitty things that have ever happened to her and then she just sort of malfunctioned. She completely shut off her emotions and was practically catatonic the rest of the night. I tried to help her; to soothe her and reassure her but nothing worked." He said quietly.

"Eric, you know I will help you because you are my Master, and as much as she irritates me, she's my sister… but I'm not sure what I can do to help with emotions. As you know, I'm not very good at those myself."

"I'm about to go find her; she left the house before I rose. I want you to go get her brother and explain Sookie's new life and her current state to him. Once I have her, I'll tell you where to meet me. Maybe he can help pull her out of it and drag some type of emotions to the surface; no matter what they are."

"Ugh the brother? Really? Why don't you just make her heel?"

"Because I'm scared Pam. You didn't see her last night… you didn't feel the things going through her. I don't know what she'll do if I push her any further."

"I understand." She said with sincerity.

"Plus, I know Jason can be quite stupid and inept, but she loves him and he's the only human family she has left. Perhaps he can break through to any lingering humanity she has."

"I'll leave now."

"Thank you Pam. Du är mitt älskade barn." He said fondly.

"Alltid och för evigt."

He hung up and walked out the door as the sun had completely set. He closed his eyes as he homed in on her location before he took to the sky. He didn't fly at his max speed as he was just using their bond to feel for her location, and he was also trying to think of what he would say to her tonight. He didn't want Jason to have to find about her new life in this way, but he didn't have many options and he needed someone who could get through to her. He wasn't in the air long before he realized the direction he was heading and knew exactly where she was.

He landed in the parking lot of Fangtasia and smelled the unmistakable smell of honey and his blood; she was definitely there. He had a Supe cleaning crew come by just a few days prior and clean the place after they killed the 'H' vamps there and it looked almost as good as new besides the broken door that his progeny had obviously caused. He reminded himself to stay calm as he stepped inside and was greeted by an interesting sight.

The music was playing in the club, though not very loudly and a young, human woman was playfully dancing around the pole in her underwear. Sookie was draped across his throne sideways, tapping her foot along to the music. He smelled blood as his eyes took in the room and he saw a man lying on the floor a few feet away from the dancer; his neck was bloodied, and he was very clearly dead. Eric stepped up to the dais and leveled Sookie with his gaze.

"Uh oh, Daddy is home." She mocked with a giggle. The young woman who was still dancing around the pole giggled as well.

"Party is over." He said calmly.

"Come on Eric, live a little." Sookie said dryly.

"I think you've partied enough for the both of us tonight." He said, glancing at the dead guy on the floor.

"Oh him? What can I say… I was hungry." She smiled. "I saved some for you." She said, looking at the dancer.

"How thoughtful. Where did you meet your dinner?" He asked nonchalantly.

"I met them on the bus today. I went for a little ride around town. I have to say, I like it here in Shreveport; more to do than in Bon Temps. Anyways; Alexis here, and Brandon (she pointed to the dead man) just got into town from Alabama. We got to talking and they wanted to come hang out with me." She smiled innocently.

Eric walked over to the girl and stopped her little routine as he looked her in the eyes.

"You need to leave here. You got off the bus at the wrong stop and had a few drinks in a bar. It's time for you to go home now." He was staring into the girl's eyes and had her fully under his spell.

As he let her go, she started looking around the room for her clothes. Eric went to turn off the sound system and Sookie zipped up behind the girl. She rubbed her hair playfully and brushed it off her neck as the girl easily leaned into her touch.

"Why do you have to be such a spoilsport?" Sookie teased Eric. "I know you're hungry, and Alexis here is happy to comply." She stroked her hand seductively down the girl's neck, eyeing Eric.

"I can find my own dinner." He growled at her.

"Mmm but these two are vegans… they eat a ton of fruit." Sookie said licking her fangs.

The girl in front of her was clearly still under Sookie's influence as she basked in her affections with no fear. She didn't seem to even notice her boyfriend lying dead on the floor.

Eric glared at his defiant progeny before shooting his fangs down and stalking towards them. Even with her blood betraying no emotion, he saw the excitement in Sookie's eyes as he pulled the girl away from her and sank his fangs into her neck. He took a few strong pulls before licking the wound closed and looking at her intently.

"Leave now." He said to her.

"I don't know who you're trying to fool with your gentleman act Eric." Sookie scoffed.

"I don't have to kill my meals Sookie, and neither do you."

"You know, I once saw you rip a man's heart out and drink it like a fucking juice box, but you have a problem with me having a little fun?"

"This isn't you!" He growled.

The girl had thrown on her shorts and tank top and was about to walk to the door when Sookie zipped up behind her and looked at Eric.

"Maybe you don't know me." She said before quickly snapping the girl's neck.

Eric watched in shock as the woman's body hit the ground with a thud. Luckily for the now dead woman, at least Sookie had been efficient with the break; she was dead before she hit the ground.

"Are you happy with yourself now? Did that feel good to you?" He asked, getting in her face.

"It didn't feel like anything." She said, staring back at him defiantly.

"God damn it Sookie! Snap the fuck out of it! This isn't you… and you're going to regret this one day."

"Will I? Because I know you, Pam, Bill, Jessica… you've all killed plenty of times before and you all seem to be doing just fine. Well, besides Bill I guess but he's a self-loathing, piss-poor excuse for a vampire."

"You're right Sookie; I have killed more than you can even imagine. I have killed for food, survival, revenge, and just because I felt like it; but you're not that kind of person and you don't have to be that kind of vampire."

"Why does everyone think I'm so good?" She seethed. "I've killed before; I've killed Weres, vampires, humans… I am not some innocent little angel!"

"Why did you kill them? Did you just want to see what it felt like to kill someone?"

"Well no, but that's not the point. Look at my Gran; she lived her whole life being so good, she was practically a saint. Where did it get her Eric? She was beaten and stabbed to death in her house as she was putting groceries away. There is no justice in that; there's no rational way to explain that."

"No there isn't, but that's the world Sookie. Sometimes bad things happen to good people and sometimes it's because there are bad people in this world." He stepped forward and put his hands on her cheeks. "But you are not bad Sookie. This is not the way you want to live."

She jerked her head out of his hands. "You don't get to tell me how to live. You might have turned me, but that doesn't mean you get to control me."

"Actually, yes it does." He said firmly. "But that's not the point. I don't want to have to force you to do the right thing; I want you to make decisions yourself… ones that you can live with."

"You don't even care about humans!" She spat back.

"No, I don't but I care about you and I don't want you to go so far that you can't come back from it."

"Well, I'm just fine. In fact, this is the most fun I've had in a long time. Funny, I thought you would be the perfect Maker to get into some trouble with. I never imagined you'd be so dull."

"That feeling is only temporary Sookie. The fighting, fucking, and killing can only make you feel good for so long."

"I'll take my chances." She said flippantly.

"Fine; then clean up your mess." He said, before sitting down at a booth and pulling out his phone.

"What? What am I supposed to do with them?"

"I don't know, and I don't care. You want to be a real vampire and create corpses, then you have to learn to clean up after yourself. Be quick and don't get caught." He said matter-of-factly.

She looked at him nervously for a moment before huffing and zipping off down to the basement. Eric was trying to stay calm and teach her that her actions had consequences, but he couldn't let her be so impulsive. If she kept this up, he would have to start giving her more commands and punishing her. He listened carefully and mentally followed her every move through the club; teaching her a lesson or not, he would not allow her to get caught.

He was sitting at the booth texting Pam when she returned with a large tarp a few minutes later. She quickly wrapped the man in it before speeding off through the tunnel in the basement. He sensed her nearby, most likely in the woods behind the club for a moment before she returned for her other bundle. A few more minutes passed before she returned, slightly dirty and looking thoroughly irritated. He pretended not to watch her as she stepped behind the bar and started rummaging around.

"Don't you have any booze here? What kind of bar doesn't have alcohol?"

"Burrell's task force confiscated it all when he shut us down."

"How fucking lame." She groaned.

She plopped down in the booth in front of him in a very humanlike way and huffed. "Let's go somewhere; I'm bored." She said.

"We can't, I have visitors coming."

"Fine, then I'm going somewhere." She said before standing up.

"Sit down." He commanded.

She looked at him angrily before involuntarily sitting back down in the booth. He looked at her steadily before getting up and disappearing in his office for a minute. He came back out and sat at the booth, putting a bottle of 20-year-old premium bourbon in front of her with a small glass.

"Thought the fed boys took all your product?" She smirked.

"This was in a secret location. I always keep a small stash for important business dealings with humans."

She poured herself a shot and sipped it slowly with Eric watching her curiously. She seemed tranquil at the moment, so he was trying to keep the peace.

"You actually like that?" He finally asked out of curiosity.

"Well I'm from the South, so of course I like bourbon, but this is better than anything I've had."

"Why?" He asked.

"Well, it's smooth and has sort of a sweet finish. It's like caramel but with a little burn in your throat. This is some top-quality product."

"Good, enjoy it. It was $900."

"Holy shit Eric." She scoffed. "I'm still gonna eat people though."

"I would expect nothing less." He replied calmly.

She was quietly sipping her second glass when her head jerked towards the front door. Eric already knew who was there. A few seconds later, Pam came in with Jason trailing behind her. Sookie shot out of the booth and stood frozen, staring at her brother. Eric watched her with nervous anticipation, ready to grab her if she tried to run.

"I thought you were into girls Pam." Sookie said sarcastically.

"I find I like a wide variety of things. I have a very diverse appetite." She purred.

Eric could see that Pam was trying to play it cool and tease Sookie to see how she would react. He didn't miss Pam's nose flare slightly as he was sure she had caught the scent of fresh blood and death in the bar. He shook his head almost imperceptibly at her, signaling her not to mention it. Finally, Jason stepped out from behind Pam and looked at his sister with forlorn eyes.

"Hey Sook." He said softly.

"Jason." She replied coolly before turning to Eric. "You didn't tell me we were having a family reunion. I could have asked Lafayette to summon my dead parents and Gran."

"Sookie your brother came here to see you because he cares about you." Eric said not falling for her jabs.

"Yeah Sook; I love you… I don't care that you're a vampire or hybrid or whatever. It don't change that you're my sister." His words came out shaky.

"Isn't that sweet?" She replied tartly.

Pam was watching the interaction with rapt attention. She couldn't believe Sookie was being so unemotional and cold towards her brother. Eric was right; something had broken inside her.

"Sookie, I can't imagine what you're going through right now but let me help you. Just because you're one of them now, it don't mean you can't still be Sookie. Look at Jess, she's one of the sweetest people I ever met and she's a vampire. You can still be you; you just gotta remember what it feels like to love and let people love you."

Eric was monitoring their bond closely as Jason spoke to her, looking for even the slightest reaction.

"That's cute, you trying to teach me about love. How much love did you show me and Gran when you moved out the day you graduated high school? Or the night you slapped me and told me it should have been me dead on that kitchen floor? How about all the times you were ashamed of me and thought I was a fangbanging whore because I dated vampires or how you joined a hate cult to eradicate my species from the planet? Maybe we could talk about all the women you've fucked and tossed to the side like garbage over the years? I'm sure you taught them a lot about love…"

"Sookie I know you're hurt and you're right; I haven't been the best brother to you. I've made so many mistakes and I've let you down a lot, but it don't have to be like that. You can start fresh; you can still have a good life. Don't turn into some monster Sook."

"Do you know where I was a few nights ago during Alcide's funeral? When you were partying and drinking?"

Jason didn't answer but anyone could see the guilt and hurt on his face as she continued her tirade.

"I was so miserable that I walked out in the woods and slit my own wrist open. I laid there bleeding out and dying in the dirt while you were fucking your vamp girlfriend in my house."

"Sookie please…" He choked out.

"What's wrong? Am I hurting you? Does it break your little heart to hear that you failed your baby sister over and over again, and you didn't even realize she was going off the deep end?"

"I am so, so sorry. I swear I would have done anything to help you… if you had only said something…"

Sookie laughed. "I was in constant pain for years Jason. Every miserable thing that happened to me and I still needed to tell you that I was two seconds away from meeting the grim reaper?"

"I'm so sorry." He cried. "I know how much you've been through; hell, we've all been through a massive amount of shit and it took a toll on everybody. If I would have realized how bad it was for you…"

"I'm fine now Jason. That's the beauty of not caring about anything; nothing can hurt you anymore." She said calmly. "Do you want me to show you how to do it? How to stop caring about everything and everyone?" She shot her fangs down.

"No, this ain't you. You're better than this. Just because you're a vampire, you don't have to be a fucking monster." He said, his anger rising.

"That's where you're wrong brother. This is who I am now; like it or not. It's so freeing not giving a fuck about anybody else anymore. It feels like a weight has been lifted off my chest." She sounded positively jovial. "If you came here hoping for some sappy family bonding shit, you wasted your time. If you want to talk about your feelings, then take your ass to Dr. Phil because I. don't. care."

Eric was roaring with anger as he watched her and felt nothing coming from her. What the fuck did he have to do to get through to her and spark some kind of emotion? All he could feel inside her was the animalistic instincts of a vampire; feed, fuck, hunt, kill. He jumped up and grabbed Jason from behind, shooting his fangs down while staring at Sookie.

"If you care so little about him, then you won't mind if I taste him?" Eric said darkly.

Jason was struggling in Eric's grip and his heart was racing. Pam was looking between the two with eyes as wide as saucers, not knowing what to do.

"I don't mind." She replied calmly.

Eric sank his fangs into Jason's neck, causing him to cry out and struggle harder. Eric pulled on the wound exaggeratedly as he purposely let some of the blood run down Jason's neck. Eric growled as he stared at her intensely and pulled another long gulp from his neck. Sookie stood watching the display without moving or saying a word; in fact, she looked rather bored. Pam was getting nervous as she whispered 'Eric' trying to make sure he knew what he was doing. He took another long draw as he felt Jason's pulse slow and the fight go out of him. Infuriatingly, he still felt nothing from his lover. He retracted his fangs and let Jason stumble to the floor.

"Ta ut honom och hela honom, sen glamour honom att glömma den här natten." He barked at Pam in a language Sookie couldn't understand.

For her part, Sookie just walked back over to the booth and poured herself another glass of bourbon as if nothing had happened. Eric felt an exhaustion he hadn't felt in the last few days since overcoming the virus. He truly thought her brother could spark some kind of feelings of love or loyalty, but it had backfired. Even as she spewed her hateful words at him, he didn't even feel the emotion or anger behind them. She simply said them to hurt him. He saw how shocked Pam was at Sookie's nature as she hadn't seen her melt down the night before. If anything, Pam always thought Sookie was too nice and too worried about other's problems for her own good. Little did she know, the hybrid could actually turn into a cold-hearted shell of a person who cared about nothing.

They sat in silence as she finished her bourbon. She walked over to the sound system and turned the music back up and began dancing on the stage and playfully swinging around the pole. Sad that Eric had fantasized about her dancing on that pole for him since the night he met her and now he couldn't even enjoy it. He watched her silently as she seemed to not have a care in the world as she swayed to the music. He started to think that maybe this was just what he created, and he would have to take her as she was. He thought maybe he should just shut his feelings off again and join her in her bid to feel no pain. It would be a welcome distraction to block out the pain of rejection he had gotten from her on and off over the years and the pain he felt now that he had lost her.

What a relief it would be to finally not be tortured by thoughts of her every waking moment. He could force her to obey as his child and they could run the streets feeding, fucking, and killing as vampires did for centuries before 'coming out.' He watched her beautiful body swing and bounce to the music and could hardly take his eyes off her. He knew deep down that he couldn't go back to those days. Godric had done his best to teach Eric to survive and in doing so, perhaps made him a little too uncaring for the first few centuries. His Maker had changed though; he wanted Eric to embrace his feelings and learn to love again; he wanted him to love Sookie, as he could see that he did. He wouldn't undo all the progress the old Sookie made in him by showing him how to feel again. He would just have to keep trying to return the favor to her.

He sat in the booth for what felt like forever just watching his beautiful progeny. When she finally seemed to tire of dancing, he cut off the music and told her they were leaving. He locked up the building the best he could and stepped outside with her.

"Neither of us brought a car." She said, looking around.

"That's ok, we'll walk. It's only 7 miles."

She looked at him like he had grown another head before rolling her eyes and following him. They walked at a moderate pace through the city before speeding up on the outskirts of town. Neither of them said a word as they made their way to his house that night. When they reached his house, he unlocked the door and they stepped inside.

"Would you like a proper tour of the house now?" He asked gently.

"Sure."

He walked her around, showing her the dining room with the large, cherry wood table that rarely ever was used. He showed her the spare bedrooms and taught her how to use the electronic shades to cover the windows; even though the windows downstairs were covered in a UV-blocking film. It occurred to him that it wouldn't really matter to her anyways. He walked her through the kitchen and told her to help herself to the True Bloods or bagged blood in the refrigerator. When he took her in his library, he saw the most reaction on her face he had seen yet. He took his time showing her the books and his collection of antique texts; many of them in other languages. Seeing her interest, he decided to push her just a little.

"I could teach you other languages so you could read some of the others as well." He said lightly. "I could even read them to you, until you're fluent on your own."

"Sure." She replied, while browsing his collections.

He didn't want to ruin their little zen moment so he didn't push her any further. After he showed her the entirety of the house, she asked if she could go downstairs and bathe. As much as it bothered him to do it, he kept the code to his underground level secret from her for the time being. He truly didn't think she would ever compromise him in that way, but with her current behavior, it was just too risky. He was taking a risk just by allowing her to sleep down there with him during the day, but honestly if she ever felt she wanted to hurt him in that way, then he'd rather be dead anyways. At least this way, she couldn't let anyone know how to get to his sleeping chambers.

"This tub is amazing." She commented as she slid her clothes off and stepped into the hot water.

"One of my favorite parts of the house." He replied.

Trying not to linger on the sight of her naked body sitting in his tub, he pulled his own clothes off and stepped into the walk-in shower beside her. He leaned against the wall of the shower and let the hot water run over him for a long while as he tried to let the water wash away his worry and anxiety. He finally washed up before getting out and wrapping a towel around his waist to walk into his bedroom. He could feel Sookie's eyes on him as he walked through and the underlying lust she was projecting. Then again, those types of feelings were not the current problem; it was the complex, more dangerous emotions she couldn't seem to process.

He put on a pair of boxers and propped himself up in the bed, turning the TV on. Such a small novelty that he hardly ever had time for before. With the club still closed down and the vampire political structure in shambles, he only recently had any free time to do such a simple thing. He heard the bath water draining and the sounds of Sookie running the towel over her skin. She walked out slowly towards him wearing nothing at all. He tried to push aside his thoughts of her and the way he craved her flesh so voraciously.

"Do you need something to wear?" He asked, walking to his drawers to grab her a t-shirt. "Tomorrow evening we can pick up some of your things from your house or we can stay there for a few days, if you want to."

He handed her the shirt and crawled back up to his sitting position on his side of the bed. She set the t-shirt down on the bed and slowly crawled towards him, perching herself on his lap, facing him. He looked at her thoughtfully as he searched for traces of the woman he loved still inside her. She said nothing as she started placing open mouth kisses down his neck and across his muscular shoulders. He closed his eyes and wished that he could grab her and shake her and make her see how much he loved her; how much he wanted her to be herself again.

She rubbed his growing length through the fabric of his boxers as she kissed her way down his stomach. He could feel the soft flesh of her breasts grazing his cool skin as she moved, driving him crazy with need for her. He didn't respond as she slid his underwear off and licked all the way back up his shaft before taking him in her mouth fully. He fought with himself internally as he wanted her so bad he could hardly stand it but he was destroyed by her new personality. She kept her ministrations on him, building his desire as she worked him into a frenzy. Before she could take him all the way, he grabbed her and quickly threw her underneath him, pushing into her with one firm stroke. She threw her head back moaning and closed her eyes as he dove into her slowly and deliberately. He leaned down, kissing her under her ear, around her neck and down her chest, savoring every inch of her. He ran his hands across her body in worship as he built her pleasure underneath him.

As he felt his own climax approaching, he sat back on his knees, pulling her up onto his lap and held her firmly in front of him. She finally opened her eyes as he put his face inches from hers, staring into her blue eyes as he picked up his pace. Her face was so beautiful as he watched her in ecstasy. She tried to look away, but he turned her towards his gaze again as he whispered his confessions of love to her in his old language. This time she didn't look away, she was mesmerized by him as he was her. He pushed his love so strongly through their blood, the sensation almost crippled him. Then for a brief second he felt it … a flutter… a tiny piece of her heart gave way, but she shut it down just as quickly. His strangled cry echoed off the walls as he finished inside her and begged for it to return. That tiny little glimpse of hope that she squashed just as quickly as he felt it.

He pulled them under the covers, and she allowed him to pull her body against his own, though she didn't return any of the affection he tried to waft between them. It hurt him so deeply to see her this way, but he knew he had to grab onto that tiny sliver of hope he had felt so briefly and keep trying with her. It took him a thousand years to find what Sookie had ignited inside him and he would take as long as she needed to find herself again.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

"Du är mitt älskade barn" = You are my beloved child

"Alltid och för evigt" = Always and forever

"Ta ut honom och hela honom, sen glamour honom att glömma den här natten" = Take him out and heal him, then glamour him to forget this night