A/N: This chapter has the resolution of the Bon Temps killer story. It doesn't play out the same as it did on the show, since Rene targets a new victim. We end with a sweet/tart Sookie and Eric lemon.

Chapter 18

"Hey Buddy," said Jason.

He opened the door and allowed Rene to come inside. Rene wore simple cargo pants and a tee shirt. He was carrying a six-pack of bottled beer with him and gave Jason a slight smile. "You weren't at Merlott's, so I thought that I would bring the party to you."

Jason closed the door and watched Rene move into his kitchen to put the beer away in the fridge. Rene had been a frequent guest at his house and certainly knew his way around. Jason returned back to his easy chair and watched the flickering television with little interest. When Rene came back out, he handed a cold beer to Jason and took a seat on the sofa with his own beer. Jason fidgeted with an old crocheted throw that his grandmother had made until Rene broke the silence.

"So what's up with you?"

Jason took a long swig of beer that downed nearly a third of the bottle. "Nothin'," he replied.

"It ain't like you to sit around and mope at home," said Rene. "Does this have something to do with your new vampire girlfriend?"

In the middle of another swig, Jason coughed and sputtered, "Jesus Christ, Rene, she's not my girlfriend."

"You're wearing her brand on your throat."

Jason self-consciously raised a hand to the marks on his neck. Brand. Rene had hit a little too close to the mark on that one. He certainly did feel branded. But, the most irritating thing about the whole affair was that even as he had cringed in fear, he had been sexually excited by having that vampire bite him. He'd gotten a hard-on and he was sure that vamp had known exactly what was going on below his belt. Was that normal? Maybe, he should ask Eric. Except it was too fucking embarrassing to even talk about.

"Look if you came here to make me feel worse, then you can get the fuck out of here," growled Jason. "And don't let the door hit your ass on the way out."

"I'm just trying to understand what's going on with my best buddy," easily replied Rene. "Why he's suddenly into girls with fangs."

"It…it's private."

Jason stared at his almost finished beer. As he reached over to set the beer bottle on the coffee table, he missed it by several inches. The bottle tumbled to the floor and sloshed out the remaining fluid onto his carpet.

"You drunk or something?" asked Rene.

"No, I've only had the one beer," replied Jason slowly, as if talking required more concentration than usual.

"Can't hold your liquor, huh, Jason?" asked Rene with a smile.

Jason attempted to get out of the chair and his feet were unsteady, which caused him to waver. Rene got up and moved the few steps to him, but instead of giving him a hand, Rene shoved him forcefully back into the chair.

"What the hell, Rene?"

Rene leaned down closer to Jason. "You're drugged, Jason. Just sit back and relax because it will soon be over."

"What?" asked Jason, trying to focus his eyes on his supposed best friend.

"I would have never taken you for a vamp lover. But, I guess that your little brother pulled you into the lifestyle."

"You leaf Eric outta this," slurred Jason.

"Can't do that. He's next on my list."

"What lissst?"

"You really are a fucking moron," replied Rene, without a ghost of his usual accent. "Let me try to explain it so that your seriously limited intelligence can understand. Remember Maudette and Dawn, those two vamp whores?"

Jason's eyes widened in growing horror. "You…you killed Dawn?"

"That's right. Squeezed the life right out of her," Rene replied with a smile.

"You fucking bastard," hissed Jason. His eyes widened even further and his jaw dropped. "And Gran?" he whispered.

"I didn't realize what a fighter the old biddy was," chuckled Rene. "She's tougher than she looks. I was sure that she would bleed out on her kitchen floor."

"I'll kill you," hissed Jason, struggling to rise from the chair.

"The only thing that you are going to do is die."

Rene straightened back up and began to remove his belt with a look of pure malice on his face. Jason managed to get himself out of the chair and, with a supreme effort, began shambling across the room. He had a rifle and a handgun in his room and he had to get to them. He couldn't let Rene kill him because that would leave Eric and Gran alone and vulnerable. Fear for his loved ones caused Jason to try to run as fast as his trembling legs would move. But, near the hallway, a heavy force crashed into him and knocked him to the floor. He felt a knee pressed into his back, between his shoulder blades, as Rene's belt was thrown over his head. In a flash, it cinched painfully tight and Jason fought to breathe.

"Time to die," came Rene's taunt in his ear.

xoxo

Eric was working behind the bar at Merlott's. After the incident with Long Shadow, he had missed a couple of days of work and he was eager to make up for lost time. He still had his plans that he was working towards, but even as he bustled behind the bar, he wondered if his life was irrevocably changing. Of course, Pam who was standing at the counter was a reason for these wandering thoughts. She was dressed in a wrap dress with lots of pink in it and carried a matching pink designer handbag. If he didn't know that she was a vampire with a biting and sarcastic nature, he might be led to believe that she was just a well-to-do lady on a night out. Those cold eyes gave her away, of course.

"I'm not a charity case," said Eric.

Pam's lips twitched in a frown and she set the check on the counter. "We know that. This is just to make up for your lost time at work, that's all."

"Why didn't Sookie bring it herself?"

"Sookie has business tonight. Vampire business, and she sent me in her place."

Eric reluctantly reached for the check and held it up and looked at it. His lips set in a stubborn frown and he sat the check back down on the counter. "This is too much money and I can't accept it."

Pam rolled her eyes. How did she get stuck running interference between her maker and this man-child? It's too bad that she couldn't just glamour the boy and be done with it. She tried pushing it back across the counter.

"You can sort that out with Sookie. I'm just the delivery girl."

Eric stubbornly crossed his arms across his chest and was about to reply when Arlene rushed up to the counter. Her heavy eye makeup trailed down her face as if she had been crying. But, her eyes flashed with anger.

"Where is Rene!" she cried.

"I haven't seen him tonight," calmly replied Eric.

Arlene seemed to hold onto the counter for support and her fingers were white-knuckled with the effort of keeping on her feet. Arlene wasn't exactly his favorite person, but Eric asked with concern, "Arlene, are you alright?"

"Do I fucking look alright!" she snapped. "Oh, crap, maybe we should call Sheriff Dearborne."

Eric came around and settled Arlene onto a barstool while Pam cocked her hip and observed the proceeding with barely disguised irritability. Eric handed Arlene a shot of whiskey which she downed in a big gulp.

"Now, what's going on, Arlene?"

Arlene clutched the shot glass and new tears flowed down her face. "It's Rene. I found a box of his things in the garage. A how-to tape for actors on the Cajun dialect and a ….a videotape."

"What sort of video?" asked Eric, quietly. His eyes widened as he read her thoughts. Arlene looked up at him and her lips quivered. "Yes, that kind of video. I know what that means, Eric. I'm such a stupid fool."

Arlene began weeping with her shoulders heaving. Eric placed a hand on them and gently patted her. "We'll call Bud and Andy, Arlene, we'll get it all sorted out. Are the children home alone?"

She shook her head. "No, I left them with a neighbor and rushed over here."

"Since this drama doesn't show any signs of stopping," came Pam's droll voice. "Can you just take the check so I can be going? I do have a undead life that I would like to get back to."

Eric turned to Pam with the intention of just taking the check and getting rid of her. He could sort this out with Sookie later. But, as he took the check and shoved it into a pocket, Pam closed her eyes as if in concentration.

"Jason," she said softly.

Before Eric could ask her what she meant, she disappeared in a rush of air.

Wiping her eyes, Arlene said, "I hate it when they do that."

Eric turned back to Arlene and squeezed her shoulder. "I'll get Sam to sit with you and call the police. But, I have to go."

Arlene questioningly looked up at him and Eric grimly added, "I think my brother is in trouble."

XOXO

Jason couldn't breathe and his hands clawed at the belt that painfully dug into his neck. Rene's body weight held him down and his muscles still felt weak from whatever drug Rene had given him.

"The only thing worse than vampires are those whores who give it to them like the sluts they are," he hissed. "My own sister was one of those sluts. She was my first."

The belt seemed to dig even more cruelly into his throat. What a fucking psycho, thought Jason. When he felt Rene lean down to taunt him again, Jason reared back with all his strength and head-butted him. Rene uttered a muffled curse and Jason felt some slack in the belt, at last. He clawed it loose and took a gasping breath that caused him to cough and wheeze. His ravaged throat was on fire, but Jason quickly elbowed Rene off of him and tried to crawl away. On his hands and knees, he struggled to clear his head and get enough air in his lungs to escape. It was then that Rene kicked him in the ribs and knocked him down. Jason curled up in a fetal position and groaned as sharp pains shot through his side. He watched Rene walk away, but he came back in less than a minute, carrying a kitchen knife with him.

"You should have just laid there and taken the easy way out," said Rene. "Now, I'm going to make it hurt. I'll carve you up, just like I did your grandmother."

"You crazy son-of-a-bitch," hissed Jason.

"Don't call me crazy. They all had it coming, including you."

As Jason tried to shuffle away on the floor, Rene reached for him with the knife raised. Jason uttered a cry and tried to keep the blade from slicing into him, but his arms trembled with the effort of holding Rene off. It was then that Rene's demented grin evaporated as the front door swung open with a loud crash. Both Jason and Rene turned to see Pam on the front step, with her pink Gucci purse and her pink Prada peep-toe pumps.

"Help me," gasped Jason.

In a flash, Pam moved and grabbed a surprised Rene by the throat and flung him across the room. She looked down at Jason who was still coughing and trying to breathe through his ravaged throat. Sensing Rene moving behind her, Pam whipped around and grabbed the knife out of Rene's hand and shoved it all the way to the hilt in his chest. Rene staggered a few more steps and then his eyes rolled up in his head as he fell dead to the floor.

"Would somebody mind telling me what is going on?" she demanded.

Jason struggled to his feet and toed the lifeless body of Rene. "He tried to kill me. He was the killer all along."

The sound of squealing tires and flying gravel announced another visitor and Jason and Pam turned to see Eric rush inside. He paused for a moment at the sight of Rene's body and then moved to Jason and put his arm over him as he helped him to the sofa.

"I'm alright, little bro," Jason wheezed.

Eric lifted his eyes to Pam just as her phone rang. "Yes, he's right here with me. He's fine. I'll tell you everything when I get back."

Pam mouthed 'Sookie' to Eric who hesitated a moment and then stepped forward to Pam. Slowly, he put his arms around her as Pam stiffened. She held her hands awkwardly out to the side and was at a loss at what to do. Eric moved back and muttered a 'thanks'. He turned back to his brother, but Pam seemed to be confused. She had never had contact with a human that wasn't sex or blood related. Yet, Eric's touch had not been unpleasant. Was this the sort of contact that her maker also enjoyed?

"How did you know to come here?" asked Jason, looking at Pam.

"You've had my blood, remember?" she drawled. "It's my built-in ESP."

"Oh."

"Besides, I'm not going to let some redneck try to take what's mine," she added.

"Maybe you should go before the police get here," Jason said. "I'll tell them that I managed to stab Rene in self-defense so that you stay off the police's radar."

Pam gave a little smirk. "Loyalty to one's master," she purred. "My, we are coming along nicely."

She retrieved her pink handbag and walked to the door, swaying her hips seductively. But, just before she passed out the door, she turned back and said, "See ya later, Sweet Cheeks."

XOXO

Sookie alighted in Adele's driveway dressed in a black leather shirt and jacket. She daintily walked to the porch on 4 inch black stiletto heels. Eric got up from the porch swing where he had been waiting for her. A blanket to keep off the night chill was wrapped around his shoulders. Sookie took his hand in hers and searched his eyes.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"I wasn't the one in trouble this time."

"That's not what I asked," she replied, squeezing his hand.

"I'm better, now that you are here."

They both took a seat on the porch swing and Sookie gently ran her fingers through his hair. "It's over, now," she said. "Is your brother okay?"

"He's sleeping upstairs," said Eric. A frown creased his face. "I can't believe that it was Rene all this time. I should have known."

"Did you not hear anything unusual from him?" asked Sookie.

Eric's frown deepened. "I try not to listen in on friends and family."

"Maybe, you should start," said Sookie. "Your innocent little world has gone up in smoke and you need to be more watchful."

"Sometimes, I don't know whom to trust," said Eric, with a sad look in his eyes.

"You can trust me," replied Sookie. She pulled Eric in closer to her and gently soothed him. "Except, you can't trust me with your virtue."

"You've already taken my virtue. Not that I'm complaining too much about your lack of moral fiber."

Sookie brought her lips to Eric's and kissed him. Sweet little kisses, one after another and her hand began a journey up his thigh. "Yes, I'm a wicked little vampire who wants to get in your pants in the worst way."

She reached the top of his thighs and softly began to knead the rapidly hardening bulge. Eric inhaled sharply and stopped her hand.

"We…we shouldn't," he protested.

Sookie kissed him and whispered in his ear. "Your grandmother and Jason are fast asleep."

"How do you know that?"

"I can tell by their breathing and the slower beating of their hearts," she replied, nibbling on his ear.

"You're so talented with your vampire skills," murmured Eric. "What else can you do?"

Eric let go of Sookie's hand and she once again began to rub and caress him. Nipping at his neck, she said, "I can make you come. Would you like me to demonstrate this power?"

She undid Eric's pants and his cock willingly came to her stroking fingers. "Yes," breathed Eric, pulling Sookie's lips to his. In time to Sookie's strokes, Eric thrust his tongue into Sookie's mouth and parried with hers. Sookie made a soft moan as she tasted his sweet lips and her hand began to move faster. After a few moments, Eric groaned and she moved to his neck, sweetly kissing his throbbing artery.

"Do you like that?" she asked before sliding a wet tongue across his throat.

"I want more," replied Eric.

"You're so greedy," softly giggled Sookie. "Did I ever tell that I like that about you?"

"I know what else you like about me."

Eric maneuvered Sookie so that she straddled him on the porch swing. The swing jerked erratically for a moment and Sookie clutched Eric's shoulders to hang on.

"Easy, you're going to dump us both out on the porch," she hissed.

"Then, we'll just continue down there," Eric said with a smirk. "I can pick the splinters out of your butt afterwards."

"Scandalous," Sookie said, kissing Eric, once again.

Eric's hands roved up her pert bottom and paused. "Talk about scandalous. You aren't wearing panties."

Sookie nipped at his earlobe. "I was kinda hoping to get lucky tonight."

Eric made a soft growl, as his fingers journeyed between Sookie's thighs. "I might just be able to help you out with that."

Sookie let out a soft moan, as Eric's fingers teased that eager little button of nerves. "Is this all mine?" he asked.

A finger moved inside as his thumb circled over that button. Sookie threw her head back and moved in time to Eric's fingers.

"Eric," she gasped.

Eric's lips trailed along her exposed neck. "Tell me that this belongs only to me."

"Yes, oh, yes. Nobody else touches me like this."

Eric rewarded her by dipping another finger inside of her and stroking his fingers a little faster and harder. Sookie's hips jerked in response.

"Don't tease me, Baby," she moaned.

Eric sucked on her neck and tugged on a pebbled nipple with his other hand. "Tell me what you want."

"I want what's mine," she moaned. "Every beautiful inch of it."

Sookie closed her eyes and felt one of her favorite sensations, that of Eric sliding deep within her. For a moment the swing jerked wildly, but it eased into a slow steady rhythm as Eric used the momentum of the swing to enhance their movements. If she could spend every moment with them locked together until dawn, she would. Slowly and languidly, they touched each other. Every movement of one was equally mirrored in the other. So close were they, that Sookie could feel a dizzying array of so many things. So many sensations washed over her, but she wanted to savor each one. To experience every moment to it's fullest and make it last. For so long they stayed like that, just enjoying the touch of each other's bodies. Then, at a nonverbal signal between them, the tempo began to increase. The strokes became faster, harder. A common goal was within reach and they both moved headlong towards it. A tingling started in Sookie's toes and moved upwards until the spot that their bodies met was fluttering wildly as a build up of pleasure grew. Higher and higher, she felt herself rising. She was sailing ever faster towards an ultimate high, but she didn't want this moment to end. She felt so much and she knew it was because of this blue-eyed boy that moved so strongly against her. He touched her on a level that no one else ever had. He made her feel…alive.

"Open your eyes," he whispered. "Look at me."

Sookie turned her eyes and stared into Eric's bedroom eyes. Those tantalizing almond-shaped eyes pulled her in and she felt as if she were drowning. Falling deep inside of them. Her stomach lurched wildly. The building pressure in her loins was blindingly feverish. She should have been afraid and for a moment she froze and time stood still. But, Eric's soft words caused her to let go and she surrendered completely to this moment. To him.

"I love you, Sookie Stackhouse."

Her euphoria reached a fevered peak and she hung on that precipice. The truth of his words washed over her. But, she didn't fall over the edge, instead she grabbed onto Eric and brought him with her. He groaned as he strove to join them even more tightly together. Flesh against flesh. Mind and soul. They cried out and clung together, their bodies spent. Sookie held on tightly to Eric as her body still shuddered from the overwhelming sensations that continued to ripple over them. She knew that they were as one, closer than any blood could ever join them.