New chapter! Hope you all enjoy it!

Chapter twenty two- The Running Kind

Sookie was feeling lost. She didn't like what she had done, she didn't like how it made her feel or what it meant she was.

When she had gone back to the house, Alcide had gone in the opposite direction thankfully, she was met with such a lovely sight, for a long, painful moment, she truly regretted everything she had done recently in terms of choice.

Through her kitchen window she could see her beloved Gran and her ex Eric chatting away happily whilst one peeled potatoes and the other fussed with something on the worktop. They were smiling. Sookie's eyes travelled up further to the first floor guest window. Little Pam and Jessica were seemingly dancing whilst playing patter cake, both pairs of tiny hands flying effortlessly against each other in intricate sequences.

She could hear the beautiful sound of children's laughter and singing from here, faintly, but it was still audible.

The inside of her thighs were starting to become damp and so then did Sookie's cheeks.

She wiped the stray tear away and walked inside. 'Hey ya'll!' She chirped as happily as she could. Gran smiled, ushering her only granddaughter in and brushing her arms swiftly up and down in an attempt to fight off the brisk chill and Eric smiled like Dopey from Snow White from whilst he clumsily cut up a load of carrots.

'Hey Eric. It sure is good to see you.' She spoke softly, not actually able to meet his eyes, but she hoped the sentiment was there. 'I'm just going to say hi to the girls and wash before dinner. Excuse me.' She said before hopping away on fast feet.

She stood outside the girl's door for a moment listening to the two chatting away and singing a little rhyme that must have gone with their game.

'Say say oh playmate come out and play with me, and bring your dollies three, slide down my rainbow, into my cellar door and we'll be jolly friends forever more!' They sang in time to their clapping and Sookie laughed happily whilst memories of her and Tara doing the exact same thing when they were young flashed behind her eyes.

She pushed open the door. 'Hey Girls!' She said and was instantly attacked by a little blond bomb.

'Sookie you're back, I'm so glad to see you, Jess has come too and Daddy is downstairs!' Pam squealed in a busy ramble whilst hugging the older woman's legs tightly. Sookie bent to hug her better, placing a kiss to her white blond hair.

'Hey Jess, do I get a hug?' Sookie asked holding her arm out for the other girl to join them. Jess looked sceptical for a moment before skipping up into her arms.

'Now then, how are my girls?' Sookie asked, looking into the shocking blue eyes of Pam and the soothing green ones of Jess.

'I've been better.' Pam shrugged in her mini adult impression before smiling widely, showing off her tiny white baby teeth. Sookie noted with a smile how she had two little pointy vampire like fangs giving her a feisty grin for her feisty attitude.

'And you Jess?' Sookie asked when she had yet to answer.

'I'm ok. How are you?' Jess answered but it seemed strange, the way the little girl said it, like she didn't actually want to ask the older woman. Pam seemed to have noticed for she reached out her little hand to touch Jess's cheek.

Jess flashed her a look and Pam dropped her hand.

'I'm ok. I'm all the better now for seeing you two.' Sookie said without dwelling on the look Jess had given. If she did, she wouldn't entirely understand it and that would upset her more. 'I'm going to have a wash quick, then it should be dinner.' She chirped and smiled when the girls nodded returning to whatever game they were playing at the time.

Sookie trudged slowly towards the bathroom and set the shower running. She made sure it was extra hot before she stepped in under the cleansing rain.

She took the sponge and scrubbed up her arms and down her legs and across her stomach until her skin turned a bright red and she cupped her sex until a puddle of water gathered in her hands and flooded the sensitive area, removing all evidence of her mistakes of late. If only it was the easy.

She decided to wash her hair as well, before tilting her head up at the shower head, eyes closed of course, letting the tirade of water smother her. She never heard the little knock on the door, not the sound of the door being opened and the sound of little footsteps plod through the misty bathroom and peach on the toilet seat.

She finally turned the shower off and stepped out.

She yelped when she saw young Jessica sitting on the toilet seat.

'Jess! Oh my, hang on...' She gasped turning to grab the fluffy towel hooked on the door and covered herself up quick.

'Honey, why you in here, what's the matter?' She asked, walking towards the pale red head and smiling softly.

'I saw you earlier.' Jessica said softly, looking directly into Sookie's eyes. Sookie leant against the bath tub and let out a long sigh.

'Oh.'

'Don't worry Sookie. I didn't tell Pam. I just wondered if that means you aren't ever going to date Pam's daddy again, because if not can you let Pam know because she's going a bit crazy recently, trying to think of way to get you both back together, and the other day she got upset when I told her she was crazy and I love her, she's my best friend and she shouldn't cry because of anything.' Jessica babbled so fast and so incoherent Sookie wouldn't have understood it if she wasn't used to little Pam's fast paced excited speeches.

'Oh Jess. Oh Jess my darling, you shouldn't have seen what you did. I'm so sorry.' She said, holding her arms out for the little one to clamber against her. Sookie felt awful for what she had inflicted on the little girl. In fact she felt sick, when she thought briefly that she had ruined the young Hamby's childhood.

'Sookie, don't cry.' Jessica suddenly interrupted her train of thought, and she suddenly realised that a tear had escaped.

'Oh that's just from my hair.' She lied, before looking seriously at the little girl. 'Look Jess, what you saw was a mistake and I wish I hadn't done it, I need to do some serious thinking, and hopefully soon we'll all know the answer. All you need to know is that Pam loves you very much and listens to you very much and depends on you when her Daddy can't help. So won't you please go back to her, and just carry on being that best friend you are.' Sookie said, kissing her forehead softly.

Jess smiled widely, nodded her head vigorously and scampered out the room.

Sookie had a lot of thinking, it was make up your mind time, she couldn't lead anyone on any longer, it was affecting far too many people and it wasn't fair. She needed to make it all right.

Pam was kicking her legs beneath the table, wondering where Jess had got too. Outside a storm was beginning to brew and there were dozens of little fireflies in the garden. 'Nana can we catch some fire bugs after dinner?' Pam asked, tilting her head up to spy Adele coming towards the table with a casserole pot.

'Yeah sure thing poppet, mind you eat or your dinner now.' She replied, brushing the young Northman's hair out her face. Pam groaned.

'She'll eat it up or I'll eat her up.' Eric warned somewhat playfully, growing gradually concerned about his daughters eating habits.

'Jess they're picking on me!' Pam bellowed loudly pleased to see her blonde best friend bounce down the stairs the next second.

They ate dinner in almost perfect harmony, the three adults and the two children, chatting about nonsense most of the time.

True to her word, Adele took the girls out to hunt for fire bugs, armed with empty jam jars to catch them in, whilst Sookie and Eric washed up. The two would talk friendly towards each other; both with the burning desire to make it up smouldering inside of them, but neither would admit this.

When Eric went upstairs to settle the girls down for the night, the storm had started. It was raining and blustering outside; causing the leaves and small twigs to clatter against the windows and the door would rattle on its hinges.

'Night night my beautiful girls, I do hope you sleep well.' Eric whispered into the quiet room enveloped in darkness. Both girls were already asleep, curled in towards each other. Their striking difference between colours of hair was made all the more striking combined in a mass of curls on the pillow. Eric ran his finger softly, delicately down Pam's forehead to the tip of her button nose before repeating the actions on Jessica's. He closed his eyes briefly and imagined them all grown up lying together, how they'd still look like perfect china dolls to him. Eric wished he had a camera to capture this beautiful memory for his baby girl.

He left the room, shutting the door quietly, without realizing Sookie was right behind him. He nearly bumped into her.

'Whoa, oh Sookie, erm...hi, I didn't see you there.' He smiled stupidly. 'I was just settling the girls. They're asleep already.' He added and was inwardly relieved when she was smiling up at him all doe eyed. She wanted to say how she had made a massive mistake, she wanted to say how she still loved him wholly and wanted to be with him again and would he take her back, but those words didn't seem to come and she couldn't say anything.

The same went for Eric, he wished he could say a million things all along the same line, but there was just something in the way. The more he thought about it, the more he realised what it was. He needed for her to gain his trust again, to prove it to him that she loved him and Pam and wouldn't run away again.

Sookie had a feeling that she needed a chance to prove herself before she could confess what she truly felt.

The silence thickened and thickened in the hallway as both were lost to their thoughts.

'Well then, do you want a drink? Storm's started outside, so I'm reckoning a stiff one before bed.' Sookie said, tapping him on the broad shoulder.

Eric smiled, 'Sounds good to me.' He followed her back downstairs, where he, Sookie and Adele enjoyed a few rounds around the kitchen table. He was annoyed briefly that Alcide had returned and joined in, saying the storm made it 'impossible' to get home, but Eric eventually worked off the annoyance, comfortable to continue playing card games and drinking with the other three adults.

Upstairs in the dark domain of the girls' bedroom, the rain rattled loudly against the windows, awakening a startled Jessica.

She sat bolt upright in the bed and stared out for along ten minutes, before a thought occurred to the somewhat dense girl. This is what Pam wanted, an event to get the two adults back together. She quickly shook Pam awake.

'Pam, Pam wake up, Pamela!' She whispered frantically. Pam jolted away with wide eyes, staring foggily up her best friend.

'What is it? I was sleeping Jess.' She moaned sleepily, attempting to turn away from the red head.

'No Pam, look!' She chirped in a whisper, forcing her friend to sit up by literally pulling at her thin arms.

Pam stared out at the temptress weather and back at Jess several times before cocking her eyebrow and sighing. 'Are you afraid or something? Honestly Jess I love you but you're so weird.' She drawled, lying back down with a huff and a yawn.

Jess sighed louder, pinching her friend harshly on the arm. This got Pam's full attention.

She jumped back up with a yelp, rubbing at her arm. 'OUCH!' She spat, glaring death rays at Jess. 'Why did you do that?' She added, but quieter, and almost in a whimper, hurt by her friend's odd actions.

'Do you remember your plan, about getting 'in danger' or trouble...' She said, emphasising the danger with little quote bunny fingers. Pam nodded.

'Well the storm is perfect, we go out in it, and the adults will realise and worry and be so worried they'll fall back into love.' She said with the naivety of a little girl.

Unfortunately, Pam, despite being smart, was also a little girl, and at that hour of night, in the dark with her best friend inches from her face, it just made perfect sense.

'Oh my god Jess, you're right!' She squealed happily, quickly being shushed by Jess. Pam slapped a hand over her mouth, before smiling widely a moment later, this time in silence. She threw her arms round Jess and hugged tightly. 'Best friends forever.' She whispered, feeling love bubble up in her at the suddenness of everything.

Jess hugged back just as tightly. 'Best friends forever, come on!' She whispered, both clambered out the bed and quickly put on woolly jumpers and their shoes. Pam grabbed an old fashioned flash light on the shelf it had a handle you wound round to make it work.

Jess grabbed Dolly for Pam, not understanding her best friend's obsession with the toy, but knew she needed it and then the two crept down into the back room. They would have to climb out the window.

A brief flashback from when Pam had to clamber out her window from Bill long ago, still Pam for a moment, but on hearing her dad's voice in the kitchen, followed by Sookie, she braved up.

The weather was so relentless and freezing, the two hugged each other close as they walked and with teeth chattering and little bodies shivering, the two made their way towards the graveyard.

Inside, Eric had gotten up and gone to the loo; he paused outside the girls' room, but decided not to check in on them yet.

He skipped back down stairs happily.

Chapter twenty three coming soon...(we're down to the last few now.)

Hope everybody liked, thank you for all your reviews so far :)

Frailly x