A/N: Many apologies for the delay in this chapter! Just when I think we're out of the busy season at work, we dive right back into it. As always, many thanks to my dear friend and Beta Asrailefay for her assistance with this one. I own nothing TB or SVM related. Enjoy!

Jason set his wine glass down on the table once Sookie had finished her tale, an unreadable expression on his face as he pondered his sister's words. It had been a couple of hours since they'd arrived at the restaurant, their food already come and gone by that point. He watched as some of the last remaining diners filtered out, running a hand through his hair before he turned his attention back to the women at his table. "I'm honestly not sure what shocks me more; the fact that you ran into Bill Compton and never told me, or that you slept with a guy without even getting his last name," he finally said, earning himself a smack upside the head from his wife. "Hey! I'm not judging or anything! Just pointing out that it was a very 'me' move."

"Sleep with many guys without finding out their last name, Jase?" Sookie asked with a wink before taking another sip of her wine, smiling behind her glass as she watched Brigette just barely keep herself from doing a spit-take. "It's not like I didn't want to know his last name. Hell, it would've made this last year a lot easier. I just felt so comfortable with Eric, like I'd known him for years. It didn't even occur to me that I didn't know his last name, until it was too late."

Brigette reached over and patted her sister-in-law's hand, giving her a warm smile. "It's never too late, sweetie," she replied as she heard a sound, catching a glance of Eric through the swinging kitchen door. "Jason? I think it may be time for you and me to head on home," she started, shaking her head as her husband started to protest. "I have a feeling Sookie won't be needing a ride back to her apartment from you."

Jason let out a sigh and got up to ask the hostess for their check, only to return a few moments later empty-handed. "Apparently my money's no good here," he grumbled under his breath, though he couldn't help but smile a little as he looked at his sister. He'd noticed a change in her everyday mood once she'd returned from Miami last year, but at Brigette's insistence he hadn't pushed Sookie for an explanation. Now seeing the missing happiness in her eyes, he knew that Eric was the reason for its absence. "You'll be alright, Sook?" he asked as he pulled her to her feet and into a big hug, his question having more than one meaning.

Sookie buried her face against her brother's chest for a moment, fully aware that he was holding onto her longer than normal. "Yeah, Jase…I'll be alright," she answered with a grin after they separated, leaning up to kiss her brother's cheek. "Thank you for everything," she added in a soft whisper, smiling brightly at both her brother and sister-in-law. There was no way she would've made it through the past five years without their support, never mind the past year. "Promise I'll give you a call later," she said as she gave Brigette a big hug, then turned to look towards the doors that lead to the kitchen.

Eric wiped at his face with his towel and tossed it off to the side, silently watching as his line cooks finished cleaning up. He'd anticipated it being a busy day, knowing that a couple of schools in the area had held their graduation ceremonies that day. But seeing Sookie again and being able to hold her in his arms? That had thrown him off his groove more than he'd expected. "Did you tell Belinda not to charge them?" he asked Pam as she sidled up next to him, unable to hold back a smile as his sister gently rested her head against his shoulder.

"I'd told her that long before you'd made it out of the kitchen," Pam answered with a grin, reaching out to towel up a small spill that hadn't been taken care of yet. "She was still out there about twenty minutes ago," she added, knowing full well the reason for all of the nervous energy that was rolling off of her brother. "I think I'll stay in my dorm room tonight," she said after a few moments, giving Eric a nudge with her shoulder. "Take a deep breath, before you pass out, Eric. She's still here; that's a good sign."

Eric kissed the top of Pam's head before shooing her and the rest of the staff out to tackle the dining room, then quickly began to take inventory to see how bad the busyness of the day had hit his stock. "Of all the gin joints in all the world," a voice said after a few minutes of him working in silence, his breath whooshing out a little as he turned around to face the person who had snuck into his kitchen. "Isn't that my line?" he asked, a hint of a smile on his face as he tried to calm his fast-beating heart.

"Your restaurant, my city. Works either way, it seems," Sookie answered with a smile, leaning against the counter nearest the doors. She'd spent a few minutes chatting and catching up with Pam out at the table, not wanting to bother Eric while he was cleaning up. Only when Pam had called her out on it, did she realize that she'd spent more time looking at the kitchen doors than at her table companion. At Pam's insistence she'd made the journey out back, but now she was suddenly at a loss for words. "I went to Miami in July, but Sophie said you'd packed up and left. She wasn't willing to give out anything more than that," she finally said softly, remembering the day that had broken her heart almost as much as the one in March.

Eric shook his head with a small sigh, remembering the cryptic phone call he'd received from his former business partner last summer. "Pam had finally made her choice, so I sold my share of the bar back to Soph. If I'd known there was even a fraction of a chance you would come back, I would've told her to give you my information," he added with a smile, finally starting to move towards where Sookie stood. "Pam tried to look you up in the school directory once she had access, but there was no one named 'Sookie' listed."

It was Sookie's turn to shake her head, giving Eric a small smile as she moved to close the distance between them "My legal first name is Susannah, so that's what my entry in the directory is listed under," she replied with a laugh, realizing just how hard they'd inadvertently worked to keep them away from each other. "If only I'd given you my number last year…we could've avoided so much frustration."

Eric couldn't help but laugh, knowing he'd thought the same things many times over the past year. "Fate works in mysterious ways," he murmured, echoing one of the last things he'd said to her in Miami. He gently reached out and brushed a strand of hair behind Sookie's ear, a large smile coming to his face as he watched her lean into his touch. "Any chance I can get your number this time?"

Sookie couldn't help the big grin that came to her face, opening her purse to get her phone as she watched Eric reach onto his pocket to retrieve his. "So, Mr. Northman," she started once she'd gotten her phone back from him, smiling widely as she saw his entry in her address book, "any chance a girl could get a ride home?"

"If by 'home', you mean to your place to get enough clothes to last you for a nice long while," Eric answered with a smirk, wrapping an arm around Sookie's waist and pulling her close. "You're crazy if you think I'm letting you get away this time, Miss Stackhouse," he murmured, then leaned down to claim her lips with his.

Epilogue – Spring Break of 2020

"Which one of you lovely ladies ordered a 'Screaming Orgasm'?"

Sookie sighed as she looked up at the smirking waiter, rolling her eyes a little as her table companions burst into laughter. "You're lucky you're cute, Northman," she answered with a little laugh, reaching out to take the proffered shot glass from her grinning boyfriend. "I'd say you need new material, but I'm not sure I want you testing it out on this crowd." She looked around the crowded bar, smiling when she made eye contact with Pam across the room. "Remind me again how you deciding to check in on your renters this one weekend out of the year isn't spying on your sister?"

Eric shrugged as he passed out the rest of the drinks on his tray, settling down into the seat next to Sookie and leaning over to give her a quick kiss. "I could say it was because they wanted me to look at some ideas they had for renovating the kitchen, but we both know that would be a lie," he answered with a grin, taking a sip of his beer as he nodded towards the bar. "Besides, Sophie was short a couple of people and needed the help. It just so happens that Pam chose tonight to come in to the bar."

Sookie shook her head with a small laugh before doing her shot, rolling her eyes a little. It was no secret that, even now with her being 21, Eric was still having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that Pam was growing up. While Sookie had stepped back and watched the younger girl flourish over the past few years, Eric had seemed to hone in even more on her and everything that she did. "Jason didn't tag along on my trip, Eric, and I got along just fine."

"Only 'cause Brigette wouldn't let me," Jason piped up from across the table, earning him a glare and a smack on the arm from his wife. "And if I recall correctly, you got up to your own brand of mischief on that trip. There ain't nothing that Pam can get up to that should surprise you," he added absentmindedly, a sheepish expression on his face as he saw the looks that both Eric and Sookie threw his way. "I think I'm gonna go grab another round of shots," he said quickly, giving Brigette a kiss before getting up to make his way towards the bar.

"I should go with him. Soph was ready to pull her hair out last time I was up there," Eric said as he grabbed his beer, leaning over to give Sookie a lingering kiss. He couldn't help but look at her for a few moments after he pulled back, a warm smile coming to his face as he saw her blush a little. "Save me a dance?"

"Always," Sookie replied with a grin, then watched Eric walk towards the bar. "Still just as fine as he was four years ago," she said with a laugh as she caught her tablemates grinning at her, smiling as she settled in to sip at her glass of wine. She wasn't entirely sure why Eric had insisted on their friends joining them on the impromptu trip to Miami, but she was grateful for it. Life had certainly gotten crazy in the past three years, so getting the chance to catch up with everyone was nice.

Sookie had gone home with Eric that first night after running into him at the restaurant, the two of them picking up right where they'd left off in Miami. She'd packed enough clothes to stay with him for just a few days, not wanting to rush into anything too quickly, but had soon found herself constantly running back to her apartment just to check her mail and pack up new clothes. It only took a couple of months of the back and forth before she'd finally bit the bullet and took Eric up on his offer to officially move in with him, the two settling into cohabitation as smoothly as possible.

Sookie helped out at the restaurant a few nights a week, with her days being focused on providing counseling at her old high school in Bon Temps. It hadn't taken long for her to gain the trust of a core group of students, and she was happy to know that she'd helped a few of them avoid finding themselves in situations like hers with Bill.

But with a schedule like that she barely had time to see Jason and Brigette, never mind the rest of her friends. So when Eric had also suggested inviting Tara, Jess, and their significant others along on the trip, Sookie had jumped at the chance. The fact that everyone had had an open calendar the days of their trip confused her at first, but she knew not to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Sookie was pulled out of her thoughts as the jukebox kicked over to something with a slower rhythm than what had previously been on, her brow furrowing as familiar lyrics began to play through the speakers. "Huh. I would've thought this song would've been replaced by now," she murmured, jolting a little in her seat as she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Can I cash in that dance?" Eric asked as he held out a hand to Sookie, his smile widening as she got to her feet and followed him to the dance floor. He pulled her close as they began to sway to the music, memories of the last time they were there flooding his mind. He hadn't known just how much his life would change when he'd asked Sookie to dance four years ago, but he wouldn't change a single moment. Well, except for the year he'd spent searching for Sookie. But when it all came down to it, he figured that year helped make what they had even stronger. "You look beautiful tonight," he whispered as they continued their circuit on the dance floor, smiling as he saw her cheeks redden a little.

"You don't look so bad yourself," Sookie murmured with a smile, tilting her head up to give Eric a kiss. While it should have been crazy how fast they'd moved in together and had merged their lives, it always felt like they'd been together forever. "Thank you for this, Eric," she whispered, gesturing to their surroundings a little. "It's nice to get away for a little bit and revisit our roots, so to speak."

Eric nodded as he continued to hold Sookie close, his heart starting to beat a little faster as he could tell the song was starting to wind down. "This definitely is a pretty special place," he murmured, taking a moment to reflect on just how much his life had changed since he'd first set foot in Kingdom Come fourteen years ago. "How about we make one more memory here?" he asked softly as the music faded into silence, giving her one more kiss before pulling back and reaching into his pocket.

Sookie tilted her head in confusion as she watched Eric slowly get down on one knee, her eyes going wide as soon as she realized what was going on. "Eric," she breathed out, blinking back the tears that had already begun to form as she felt him take her left hand in his.

"Sookie," Eric started, keenly aware of the fact that all eyes were on them in that moment, "you changed my life from the first moment that I met you, and I'm pretty sure I've been in love with you since that one night. I know we didn't have the most conventional start, and that we've had our shares of ups and downs…but I've already had to go through life without you in it once; I don't think I can do that again." He paused and let go of her hand, silently willing his own shaky ones to calm down as he opened the box that he'd been carrying around for the past few days. "Sookie Stackhouse…will you marry me?"

Sookie had already started nodding before Eric had finished asking his question, dropping down to her knees to throw her arms around his neck. "Did you think I would say anything other than 'yes'?" she asked with a shaky laugh, burying her face against his neck as she felt his arms wrap around her waist. She heard the unmistakable sounds of Pam and Jason letting out whoops of happiness, a big grin on her face as she lifted her head and looked around the bar. "This is why you planned this trip with everyone, isn't it? Not so that you could spy on Pam."

Eric let out a laugh of his own, giving Sookie a deep kiss before helping her to her feet. "That was just an added bonus, of course." He took the ring out of the box and slipped it onto the ring finger of Sookie's left hand, pressing a gentle kiss to it before pulling away. "Thank you for making me the happiest man alive."

Sookie grinned as their friends made their way over, watching how her ring sparkled in the lights of the bar as she threw her arms around Eric's neck once more. "You're crazy if you think I'd let you get away again," she said with a wink, echoing what he'd said to her the night of their reunion. She pulled him down into a deep kiss, causing their friends to erupt into cheers once more.

After a round of celebratory drinks had come and gone, Sookie and Eric excused themselves to go for a little stroll on the beach. They walked until they ended up at 'their' spot, settling down into the sand like they had all those years ago. Sookie smiled as she remembered how comfortable she'd felt in Eric's arms back then, just as she felt that same comfort now. She couldn't help but wonder, as she had over the years, what would've happened if she'd taken Eric up on his offer and had never gone back to Shreveport.

But, as she usually did, she shook that thought off and smiled to herself. Maybe they would've had one extra year together, or maybe they would've fizzled out just as fast as they had started. One thing was for sure, though; Fate works in mysterious ways. And while they hadn't had more than that one night together…one night was all it took to change their lives for good.

A/N: And that's that! Thank you so much for joining me on this fluffy little ride. I truly appreciate every reader, reviewer, follower, and favoriter (my spell check now hates me for that one!). I have a few other works in progress, but the timeline for getting those up and running is a little hazy. You haven't heard the last from me, though :-) Until next time!