IT'S COMPLICATED

Post Season Seven True Blood. Some references to Charlaine Harris's Southern Vampire Mysteries. I'm just playing in their sandboxes. Totally AU. Sookie suffers. Doctor Ludwig is unable to save her. Eric rushes to Sookie side. Lots of angst and drama.

CHAPTER ONE: What has happened?

EPOV

I stand there with my hand clasped around Pam's throat. Pam is desperately trying to speak while hanging from my hand two feet from the floor. My anger is making me vibrate. It would be so easy just to rip her head off.

"You did what?" I repeat as I bang her head against the wall. "You did what?" If she survives this interrogation she may need time to heal as the blood on the wall is dripping down in copious amounts. She won't be happy that another designer outfit is ruined, that is if she makes it through this.

"Eric" Pam pleads, "Please let me explain."

"I don't think so" I say as I shove her hard against the concrete wall. Her chances of survival are looking less and less. She knows how I feel. It has been five years since I last saw Sookie. She has withheld vital information about her. How could she? I slam her against the wall again. Have to be careful here the wall has cracks appearing in it. This is a load bearing wall, the whole place will implode if I break through the wall. Pam has red tears ruining her makeup. I don't care if she looks like a panda. How could she? Each word I speak I slam her harder against the wall, again and again.

She has always misunderstood my fascination with my little fae. Deliberately. Is she jealous? Is that why? Why? Why? Why? Disgusted with her I fling her onto the other wall. I will end her. She has gone too far this time. Why Pam? Why?

"Eric" she croaks. "Please let me explain …"

"I don't think so, Pam. Get out of my sight." I snarl at her "if you value your existence leave now. Don't bother about me, just leave. NOW." I turn to her. If she doesn't crawl out of here immediately she won't have to ever worry about anything again, she won't be here. I will end her. How could she? "Get out. Get out now. Leave." I need to move. I need to not be here. I need to see Sookie. How could Pam do this to me? She knew! She knew! She didn't tell me. How could she? I kick her off the ground as I storm out of the office, not caring. How could she?

I slam the front door closed and take off into the night. Flying. On my way to Bon Temps. Sookie! Sookie! Pam's jealousy has gone too far this time. I can't believe she knew and didn't tell me. I had to find out from the wolf. Alcide. This isn't good. Sookie must be alive. If she is dead when I get there Pam will never have to worry about clothes or shoes again. How could she? I'm nearly there. That fucking house of hers is still standing at least. Can't feel any other thing around the farmhouse. At least she is inside. Though she appears to be labouring to breathe. Hope my invitation to her house is still there. I don't slow as I rush through the front door. Yes. Sookie hasn't rescinded my invitation. Lucky. I would have looked like an idiot bouncing back down the steps. Sookie is in her bathroom, the ensuite. I rush up the steps.

"Sookie" I call. "Sookie. I just found out. Why didn't you contact me? I would have been here immediately. Why didn't you call?" I ask.

"Eric" she moans. "Eric." She is lying on the bathroom floor. I go to pick her up. "Don't touch me. I'll be sick again" she complains. "I've been like this for weeks." I can tell. She looks so thin. Her face is so pale, there isn't any colour in her face. Beads of sweat are dripping off her face. "Eric." She repeats with a small smile then grimaces. What should I do?

"I'm calling Doctor Ludwig" I tell her. "You need help Sookie." I pull my phone out dialling her number as I look at Sookie. She looks so frail. Why didn't Pam tell me? She knew. She didn't tell me. She deliberately didn't tell me. I would end her immediately if she was here now. Wouldn't have to think about it. My childe would be no more. If Sookie dies, she will too. How could she?

"Doctor Ludwig" I state what she answers. "I need you at Sookie Stackhouse's now. Don't argue. I just found out about Sookie. She is extremely unwell. She is so underweight. We need your help."

"Viking." She drawls.

"Doctor Ludwig" I say. "Please she doesn't look good at all. Please come" I request.

"I'm here" she states as she appears. She looks at Sookie "you, my girl aren't well."

"Tell me something I don't know" Sookie moans as she convulses, swallowing. Her whole little body spasms. She curls into a ball, moaning. Her body shaking.

"Let me through, Northman" Ludwig orders. The troll shoves past and bends over Sookie. "You, my girl, need to be off this cold floor. It's not helping."

"No" Sookie moans. "If I move, I'll just be sick again." She puts her hand up to fend off the Doctor. "Leave me. I'm better here. No mess to clean up." Sookie then swallows violently. Her body spasms, she stretches out then curls back up repeatedly swallowing.

"Stand back" Ludwig directs. "She is going to be physically ill again. Go see if you can find a glass, we need to get some water into her. She is too dehydrated. This isn't good. If she can't keep the water down I'm going to start an IV line."

I immediately turn and look around the bedroom. Can't see a glass. The room is a mess. There are clothes all over the floor. Used tissues too. When was the last time she cleaned? The room smells. Why didn't Pam tell me? Why? "I'll have to get a glass from the kitchen" I tell her. This place is a mess. A big smelly mess. I vamp down to the kitchen. This isn't any better. How long has she been like this? The kitchen sink is overflowing with dirty dishes. The smell is appalling. What has happened? Sookie would never allow things to get this bad. She is too houseproud. Where are her friends? Where is that fucking brother of hers? I get a glass from the shelf. Run some water into it. Rinse it out. Pour some more water into it and return to the bathroom. Doctor Ludwig is now crouched over Sookie. "Here" I hold out the water filled glass to her.

"I'm not sure if she'll be able to even keep the water down" the Doctor tells me. "She is going in and out of consciousness. I don't want her to choke. I'm going to start an intravenous line. This isn't good" she tells me as she rummages through her bag. She looks over to me. "See if you can find her something clean to wear. That is if there is anything clean left" she states shaking her head.

I turn and look. Not too sure that the Doctor is wrong in her assessment. This is a disaster. How could Pam not tell me? My anger ignites. I growl and kick the bed. It screeches as it crashes into the wall.

"Viking. Concentrate. Clean clothes. Sookie first. Tantrum later." Ludwig calls.

I want to destroy. I want to kill Pam. I will kill Pam if I see her. Pam is dead. If Sookie dies, Pam is dead. But. I. Will. Have. Fun. Killing her. Pam is dead. I growl. There isn't a clean piece of clothing here. Maybe in the dryer downstairs. "I'm going to have to check the dryer. There isn't anything here that is remotely clean."

The smell is overpowering. How could she get like this? Pam knew and didn't tell me I mutter to myself as I look in the dryer. Nothing. I vamp back upstairs. "There isn't a clean bit of clothing to be found" I tell Doctor Ludwig as I appear in the bathroom doorway. Sookie doesn't look any better. "Why isn't she improving?" I ask the Doctor.

"Give it a minute" she says. "I just got the line in. She is so dehydrated that finding a viable vein has been impossible." She doesn't even look at me as she continually monitors Sookie. Her other hand in in her bag. How does she keep so much in there? That bag is bottomless. "We need to get her to my hospital. She can't stay here" she declares.

She stands. "I'm going to transport her there now. "Follow me if you want. She needs to be in hospital. Then I'll find out what is wrong with her." She grabs her bag in one hand and clasps Sookie's wrist and disappears with a pop.

I look around. Trying to rein in my temper. This isn't good. Pam better be gone when I get back. I pull out my phone and text her one word. LEAVE. I walk downstairs attempting to calm the emotions coursing through me. If I find out Pam knew how bad Sookie was and did nothing, nothing will save her. I quickly check to see if the house is secure and leave. Launching myself into the air from the top of the verandah heading to Doctor Ludwig's hospital. Pam will be able to feel my anger still. Good. I'm going feed that anger through the bond into her. Then I'm closing off the bond. Pam is no more. Sookie better not die.

Sookie better not die I think to myself. If she can't be saved I'm turning her. I don't care. I prefer her angry at me for eternity than an existence without Sookie in it. Being her maker I will be able to feel her for eternity. A world without Sookie is not a consideration. I don't care. Sookie is essential. Pam is not. I fume over it all as I approach the hospital. "Be nice" I tell myself as I land. Things are bad if I'm actually talking to myself. I check myself dawn is still hours away. I growl as I enter through the hospital door.

"Doctor Ludwig just arrived with Sookie Stackhouse. Where are they? I demand as I walk through the front foyer. I don't bother to look. I can track Sookie by her scent and continue through another set of doors totally focussed on Sookie. I walk down the hallway not bothering to investigate the rooms. Sookie isn't in them. I continue on until I come to Sookie's room.

"How is she?" I demand of Doctor Ludwig. She is moving around Sookie attaching wires and whatnot to her. This better fucking help. I stare at her body lying painfully on the white hospital sheets. A world without Sookie is not a world. This isn't good. I'm thinking of ending the world. Not good. "Focus Eric" I demand of myself. Shit. Not good at all I'm lecturing myself. Fuck! I haven't been this emotional since Nora passed. Fuck! First Godric, then Nora now Sookie. Can't happen. Will. Not. Happen. His eyes never leave Sookie.

Sookie convulses. Her body arches off the bed in pain. She cries out. She jerks from side to side. "Get over here Viking. Help hold her down." Ludwig orders. "I'll need to strap her to the bed if I can't get her settled. She is doing more damage to her body. The sedation isn't working" Ludwig mutters as she works on Sookie injecting something else into one of the lines she has inserted into Sookie's body.

"Do something" Eric hisses at her as he grapples with Sookie's limbs trying to stop her thrashing.

"I am" she snarls back at him. She hits the intercom button on the bedside phone "Bring restraint straps to room 13. Quickly! Get Nelly here! Whatever she is doing tell her emergency. We may lose the patient. Northman hold her down. Don't' let her hurt herself. Make sure she doesn't choke on her tongue. You are a vampire use some of that strength." Ludwig is spitting out orders as she struggles with Sookie.

"I'm scared I'll break something. She is strong. Unnaturally strong. This isn't right. Something is wrong." Eric grapples with Sookie as she again convulses. Her whole body arches off the bed and levitates while Sookie screams in pain. Eric climbs onto the bed levitating his body over Sookie's, slowly lowering it back onto the mattress. His superior strength finally winning out.

A female were enters the room with thick padded straps. "Doctor."

"Quickly. Bring them over here. Under the bed then over her body. The vampire will move when needed. Quickly" orders Ludwig. "Viking. When Nelly brings the strap up raise that part of your body. We need her immobile"

"Hurry. She is going into convulsions again. I can feel her body cramping." Eric calls. "This is ridiculous. She has never been this strong. What has happened to her?"

Ludwig looks at him "With Sookie, we will probably never know. I wasn't aware she was ill until I received your call."

Eric glances at her "I only found out this morning from Alcide. Pam knew. She gloated when I inquired. Pam may or may not see the next night." His body rides Sookie's arching struggling to restrain her movements without breaking something. They rise into the air. "This is ridiculous" he repeats, shaking his head.

Ludwig looks at him "If she can levitate like this while unconscious, the whole bed will go with her when strapped to it. None of the beds are fixed to the floor or wall. This is a hospital. We'll be pulling her down from the ceiling." She shakes her head and glowers at Nelly. "Hurry with those straps girly, the child is ill."

She steps back as Eric gently forces their bodies back onto the hospital mattress. Grabs the strap and feeds it through a small space between their bodies. "Nelly, quickly secure the strap" she orders.

Eric is still hovering over Sookie. Alert for the next convulsion. Hands ready to hold her head to stop any choking or swallowing her tongue. Another strap is fed between their bodies. They have now secured her shoulders and legs. The last strap over her lower torso is finally secured. Eric continues to hover in case Sookie raises the bed with the next convulsion.

He looks at Ludwig. "There is only four hours until the sun rises."

She glances at him then concentrates back on Sookie. "I don't think she will last the day. None of her vitals are responding to the medications. The sedative isn't even calming her down. I can't think of a treatment for her. She is spiralling. She will be in the Summerlands when you rise, Northman." She shakes her head again, mystified.

Eric snarls, "Summerlands will have to get in line. Take a number. I'm not losing her. Not after finding her again. The world won't exist if Sookie Stackhouse isn't in it." He threatens Doctor Ludwig. Glances down a Sookie, who is still for the moment, but he can see she is starting to tense up indicating she is going into convulsions again.

"You still care for her?" asks Doctor Ludwig.

"Never stopped" admits Eric. To himself he says "still love her, she is my existence, she is my wife, my bonded".

"What happened to her?" Ludwig asks.

"That Doctor I do not know. Alcide contacted me via phone and told me about Sookie. He didn't say how it had happened. I asked Pam. She came to my resting lair and laughed that the little fairy was dying, nothing anyone could do, ." He smirks. "Pam may or may not exist at this moment. If I find her, she will be ended. Nobody. Nobody harms Sookie. When I find out what happened, and I will, death will be their final salvation" he threatens.

Eric promises to himself that those who did this to her will spend their final days, weeks in agony. He smiles to himself and thinks the thousand years of his existence he has learnt many, many painful ways to entertain himself with a human body dragging out the suffering. Torture. Heal. Torture. Heal. Sookie can learn on living subjects. More than one person inflicted the damage to her beautiful voluptuous body. Each bruise and wound enraged him further. Pam had better have left the state, she would not survive his wrath. She knew what Sookie meant to him. His current childe was dead to him. If he found out she had anything to do with this she would suffer for five years before he relented and gave her final death.

Sookie convulses taking Eric from his inner discourse of pain and suffering for his errant childe. He gently presses against her body forcing the bed back onto the floor. The monitors attached to her start sounding alarms as she thrashes even though she is strapped immobile to the bed.

Ludwig, frustrated, drags her hand through her hair and states "This isn't working. She isn't responding. Nothing I have done has relieved her suffering. The fluid is sweated out each time she goes into convulsion. What has happened to her? If I didn't know any better I would say she is deliberately doing this to herself. The damage to her body is weeks old yet little of any wounds have begun to heal. She is so malnourished". She looks up at Eric who is still hovering over her patient. "Northman, prepare yourself, Sookie is not going to recover. If she was there would have been a positive sign by now. Too much damage to her body left neglected for so long."

"If I give her my blood?" Eric offers.

"You'll turn her" Doctor Ludwig replies.

Eric smiles. "Is that a bad thing? She will be magnificent" he declares.

"Would she want that? She loves the sun. She is Sky Fae Royalty. Niall will be furious." Ludwig observes. She knows well that Sookie had such difficulty with her telepathy and yearned to be 'normal', whatever that is.

Eric pronounces "I. Don't. Care." Caresses her face. "A world without Sookie is not a world." He then looks up suddenly. "Check her for spells" he demands. "Get the medical witch here. Maybe this is magically induced" he ruminates as Sookie begins to surge against the restraints again. "She is getting worse" he declares as her body intensifies its arching against the straps and the bed rises from the floor.

Eric tenderly presses against her tormented body lowering the bed to the floor.

He looks at Doctor Ludwig. "Release her from the restraints and medical equipment. I'm taking her now. She won't last until the sun rises. If I take her to ground now we will return in three days."

"She won't want that." The doctor says.

"Too bad. I can't watch her suffer like this. It hurts her too much. I will end the suffering and make her the most resplendent childe known to the supernatural world. She was born for greatness. She should be allowed to fulfil her potential. I will guide and love her for eternity." Eric professes.

"I am going to deny any knowledge of this" Ludwig states.

"It doesn't matter. Sookie has suffered enough. She will be my childe. Her creation, I believe has been destined. My existence is for Sookie. Only Sookie" he whispers to her. Caressing her face. Unable to not touch her.

Ludwig, shaking her head, gently loosens the straps holding Sookie to the hospital bed.