Charlaine Harris owns these characters.

This is in response to the weekly one-shot challenge (#23) in mid-August: The dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had.

This takes place after All Together Dead when Eric is recovering from his injuries after the bombing in Rhodes.

……..

I don't know how long it will be before I'm able to function as a vampire again. I suppose I shouldn't complain. Many of my kind died in the bombing. I survived only because of Sookie. And now I find myself burned and weak and slowly recovering. And consumed with thoughts of Sookie.

Vampires don't generally dream. We are basically dead during our daytime rest. For many years I missed dreaming until the first time I was seriously wounded and had to spend time in seclusion recovering. It was then that I learned that we could still dream. While our bodies are regenerating, we are in a sort of suspended animation, somewhere between sleep and consciousness, but only during the night, of course. As soon as the sun rises, we fall into our normal dead slumber. But in that nighttime stupor, our cells are busy re-forming themselves to their vampire state. And our minds wander into dreams. It almost makes being wounded worth the pain.

I'm lying in the coffin where we are all recovering, tended to by the bravest and most trusted humans in Sophie-Anne's collection. I received my nightly dose of donor blood earlier and now the coffin lid is closed. I wait for the stupor to take me under and am almost giddy with anticipation because I know I will dream.

When I was a child my mother told me that if I die in a dream then I won't awaken. A thousand years later, I finally learn that that simply isn't true—at least not true for vampires. Because in my recent dreams—the ones that have me so excited—I die every time. And these are the best dreams I have ever had.

The first one was the night after the bombing. I was dancing with Sookie on a dance floor and she was soft and warm in my arms in a sparkling ice blue dress. In spite of the crowded dance floor, I removed my hand from her waist and cupped her perfect breast. She just laughed good-naturedly and the hand she had rested on my shoulder dropped to fondle me. Our dancing slowed, my movements restricted as her hand pressed into me and my legs seemed to weaken. Soon we were simply standing still as the other couples moved around us, seemingly unaware of our lustful turn of events. My hand massaged her breast over the thin blue fabric and then peeled it down to reveal Sookie's perfectly pink nipple. I looked to her face and she was still laughing and smiling. I took her joyful demeanor as my invitation to go further and so I leaned forward and sunk my teeth into her breast. Her salty sweet taste exploded in my mouth and I sucked hungrily as Sookie's hand gripped me tighter through my pants. With each draw of blood, she stroked me and I knew that I'd come soon. I withdrew my fangs from her breast and plunged my bloody tongue into her mouth. Just as I was anticipating the ecstasy of release, I felt a sharp pain in my chest. I pulled my face back and Sookie's expression turned from joy to horror as she looked down to see a wooden arrow protruding from my chest. Sookie's eyes shifted to something behind me as she screamed and I knew that my assassin was back there somewhere, but I didn't care. I felt the life flowing from me as I came and the last thing I saw was Sookie's beautiful face, a single drop of blood trickling down her chin. And then I woke up.

The dream felt so real and so delicious that I looked forward to the following night and hoped for another. As the sun set, my coffin lid was raised and a kind and brave human gave me my nightly dose of blood. I could only imagine how frightening I must have looked with my skin burned from the sun, but all I could focus on was downing the blood and getting my coffin closed again. That night, I began by climbing the stairs, drawn to a frightened Sookie. I opened a door and found a beautiful Sookie and stupid Tiger standing by the elevators. Sookie held the soda can bomb in her hand. I saw the blood on the collar of her dress and remembered how we had bonded earlier. I instantly hardened at the memory and Sookie's eyes dropped to my sudden interest in her. I turned and growled at the Tiger and he whimpered and retreated into the stairwell. I asked Sookie to give me the bomb and this time she complied. I carefully took it from her hand but before I could turn to leave, she grabbed my erection, holding my gaze. I held still as she opened my fly and got down on her knees. I watched her as her hand retrieved what she wanted from my pants and she looked up at me as her lips parted in a smile. Her tongue touched me briefly before she devoured me. I tried no to move too much because I did have a bomb in my hand after all, but it was hard not to pump. Her soft moans matched the rhythm that her mouth moved on me. Both hands were tightly wrapped around the part she couldn't fit into her mouth. Then a hand dropped to the front of her dress and she ripped the fabric back to fondle her own breast. I was hypnotized by the sight of her pinching and pulling her own nipple. The sensation of her wet warm mouth pulled me towards the inevitable. I closed my eyes and my head fell back as the whole world seemed centered on Sookie's mouth. The orgasm was so powerful that I briefly wondered if the bomb had gone off and my world had ended in perfect bliss. Sookie continued stroking me gently until my eyes could refocus and I looked down at her lazy smile. She let go of me and stood shakily, still holding her own breast and licking her lips. The elevator dinged and its doors opened. Sookie backed into it, her eyes never leaving mine. I smiled at her as the doors closed and then I looked down at the bomb in my hand and knew that my time was up. I didn't even mind as the world turned red and then black and I knew that I was finally dead.

Every night, I am pulled into these dreams. They are all erotic and they always end in my orgasm and final death. I am becoming addicted to them and now realize that I am also becoming addicted to Sookie. I wonder how I'm going to feel about her when I am finally healed and can go to her. I owe her my thanks at the very least for saving me and now I ponder the possibility of exploring more with her. We are bonded now after all, so it wouldn't be out of the question for her to consider me in a sexual manner—a romantic one.

I close my eyes, calmed by the knowledge that I will have her soon in my dream again. This time, I am asleep in the hotel room. Her screams wake me. She slaps my face. I groggily stand and assess the situation. I lift Pam and roughly place her into her travel coffin. Sookie helps me position it in front of the window. I push with all my might and watch the window shatter. The coffin flies out and down the side of the building as the sun burns my eyes and face. I scream and close my eyes, but almost immediately the pain stops and I open my eyes again. The room is still brightly lit but the pain is gone. I look down and Sookie is washing my feet. I am naked except for a pair of tiny red underwear. Sookie is wrapped in an ugly quilt. I wonder why the sun no longer burns me, but before I can ask Sookie about it, she stands and opens the quilt. Her naked body is glorious in the daylight. It's almost too beautiful to look at. She takes a step towards me and pulls my head down for a passionate kiss. My hands explore her smooth warm skin as I feel her small hands tugging at my underwear. She stoops to lower them down my legs and I step out of them. The building shakes with a muffled explosion. Wind from the open window blows Sookie's hair about her face. We should be afraid, but instead we reach for each other in a desperate embrace. I lower her to the floor, covering her mouth with mine. Her hands seem to be everywhere. She is crying, but they are tears of joy. I roughly enter her and she wraps her legs around me, sucking on my tongue and groaning with pleasure. I ride her hard and suddenly I feel what must be love for her. In an instant I know that I would give my life for her, leave my world, take care of her. Our passion builds as the building is rocked with more explosions. I want to save her, be her hero, but she feels too good beneath me and I selfishly continue our frantic coupling. I know that she is close and so I bite into her neck. The taste of her blood overwhelms me and I let go and welcome the pleasure as we both come together, crying out and clinging to each other. She is panting as I brush her hair from her face and kiss her gently. She smiles up at me as she says, "It's something close to love, isn't it?" I nod yes. I do love her. And in that instant I know that I must save her. I rise and carry her to my coffin. I tell her I love her as I close the lid. Just as I send the coffin out the window to follow Pam's I feel the heat of the sun again. I know that I will burn either now or as the building collapses, but I don't mind. Now I know that I love Sookie and so I can go in peace. I watch her climb out of her coffin on the street below and stand to wave up at me. She is safe and she knows that I love her and so I smile and wave as I feel the fire on my skin and inside of me and I finally die.

I wake with satisfaction again. This one was different. It felt just as real, but there are elements to it that made it deeper, more meaningful. I wonder if the bond is why I'm having these dreams or if it's something more. Soon I will be healed and I will go to her. Will I tell her about the dreams? Will I have feelings for her? I hate having feelings, but it's getting harder and harder to ignore that Sookie has special powers over me. Maybe I could love her. A part of me wonders if maybe I have. Or maybe it's all just a dream—a very sweet dream and nothing more.