Ok – so to celebrate the entrance of Unknown Protocol into the 1,000 Year Old Viking Club, this is a bonus chapter.

The basis is that at the end of UP Eric wishes he'd have gone to Sookie before she left for London so they didn't waste so many years. And this is my idea of what may have happened.

Thanks to everyone for reading this, and I hope you enjoy …

I laid Callie down into her crib, relieved that I had finally gotten her off to sleep and I sank down onto the sofa. I pulled a soft blanket that was on the back of the sofa on top of me and I laid my head down on a cushion in the hope that I could get a few hours' kip while she was sleeping. She was predominantly a good child, but without the help of my aunt, I was really struggling to handle everything.

I'd probably only laid down for half an hour before there was a knock at the door. I wanted to ignore it, as I really couldn't think of anyone who would be coming to see me, but after a second knock I realised I had to answer it if for no other reason than to stop my daughter being woken up.

I closed the living room door behind me and answered the door. But I couldn't have been more surprised to see the man who was gracing the doorstep of my aunt's former home.

"Eric?"

"Sookie," he gave me an uncertain smile.

"What are you doing here?" I was trying not to panic. Did he know something?

"I came to see you. Can I come in?"

"Um…" I tried desperately to think of a reason to not invite him in, but my mind was completely blank. "Sure," I eventually relented.

I moved aside to let him into the house, closed the door behind him then led him into the kitchen. I did a quick scan to see if there were any baby-related paraphernalia out, but luckily I had tidied up after myself for a change.

"Can I get you a drink?" I was determined to keep my good manners about me, and it gave me some time to think.

"A soda would be good."

I pulled two cans of coke out of the fridge, pouring each one into a glass with my back turned to Eric the whole time. My brain was nothing but fuzz and I really didn't know how to handle this situation.

"Thank you," he said as I passed him his and sat down at the kitchen table opposite him.

"Why did you come to see me?" I asked, referring back to his earlier statement.

He sighed and ran a hand through his long hair. He looked damned good. He'd always looked good, but with an extra two years on him he looked even better. He'd seemed bigger, both taller and more muscular, and he seemed more confident and more manly with a slight show of stubble on his chin. He was dressed simply in a pair of dark jeans and a black t-shirt that didn't leave too much up to the imagination.

"You took off so quickly, Sook. I didn't know if it was something I had done to upset you."

"And it took you two years to come and ask me that?" I couldn't help but be annoyed with him.

He had the good sense to look a little shamed. "I know and I'm sorry. But … I wanted to wait until you were of age."

Was he really thinking that I would just fall back into bed with him? "Excuse me?"

"No … that came out wrong." His right hand was pulling at his hair and I could see the anguish in his eyes. "Sookie … god … how do I even say this?" he was muttering to himself more than to me. This wasn't the self-assured Eric Northman I had known. "What I did … before … I was so wrong to do so. I took advantage of you. I was appalling to you."

"I knew what I was doing." My voice was a whisper.

"That doesn't make it any better. What I did … I could be thrown in jail for sleeping with you."

"I know." He looked alarmed. "I know what the law is, Eric."

He buried his head in his hands. "I'm sorry, Sookie. I never should have treated you the way I did. I … I had a girlfriend, but she –"

"You had a girlfriend?" I interrupted.

"Yes. But she lived in Nevada. I hardly even spoke to her that summer and we split soon after I returned to California."

I wasn't sure that that made it any better. "You haven't answered why you are here." My tone was clipped, and I realised the best way to get him to leave was to be rude to him. My Gran would be rolling in her grave if she knew how I was speaking to him. She'd always been very fond of Eric.

He sighed once more. "This is going to sound really strange, Sookie, but I've dreamt about you. A lot."

"You dreamt about me?" I wasn't quite sure I believed him.

"It gets better," he said with a smile and shake of his head. "I dreamt that an older version of me was telling me to go to you. That we were destined to be together. That we shouldn't waste our time."

I was in shock; this was a little too surreal for me to process. "Destined to be together?" I asked quietly.

"That's what old me said!" I could see that he didn't really believe it, and I was equally as sceptical.

"You obviously don't think there was anything in the dreams."

He stopped laughing and a look of seriousness crossed his face. "I didn't. But I've had them with increasing frequency over the last few months and it's made me think about you a lot. And as I said, I thought it would be best if I waited until your eighteenth birthday before we saw each other again. Not that I'm expecting anything," he added quickly. "But considering that I did basically perform statutory rape, it seemed best."

I could understand his reasoning there. But I had to admit to being intrigued by his dreams – was there something in it?

"I never saw it that way," I told him gently.

"It doesn't excuse what I did." He did look truly sorry. "So … how have things been here? You're living with your aunt, right?"

Shit. I didn't think I could lie to him about that. "I was, and this is her house …. But she died a couple of weeks ago. She'd been fighting breast cancer and unfortunately lost her battle."

"I'm sorry. So … you've been living here on your own?"

"Yes, but…"

"Sookie, you shouldn't be on your own!"

"Eric, I am fine!" I snapped. "And anyway, I'm eighteen now and I have access to the money my parents left me."

"Still… What about college?"

"I'm moving to England. I got accepted into one of the London Universities on a full scholarship, so I'm going there."

His face was a picture of surprise. "You're moving to London, England? On your own?"

Technically not on my own, but I was the only adult moving. "Yes."

He swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing in his throat. He obviously hadn't expected me to announce that I was leaving. "Wow. I guess you always were independent. Not that I can blame you with having Jason as your alleged responsible adult."

I snorted. "Yeah, Jason isn't even responsible for himself, let alone a fifteen-year-old. I was always really grateful for you looking out for me."

"I hardly did a good job there," he gave a rueful smile.

"Still, you were probably better to me than my brother was," It was the truth. In honest, Eric did a much better job of keeping an eye out for me than Jason ever did even if it was while we were sleeping together.

"I know that I was never good to you, Sookie, but I really did want to make sure you were okay. I did care for you."

I took a deep breath to compose myself. "Eric, I never had any complaints."

I gave him a smile, but was interrupted by the sound of Callie crying. My face dropped, and I looked up to Eric in horror.

"Sookie?" his voice was one of confusion.

"I … um … I need for you to go." I stood up from the table.

"Why?" He gave me a confused look. "You have a child?"

"Yes, I mean … please go." Callie had continued to wail in the living room, and I hated that I wasn't going to her.

"Why do you want me to leave?"

I couldn't answer that.

"Sookie?"

There was no coming back. He was going to find out about his daughter, and he would no doubt hate me for running from him and take her from me. A tear slid down my cheek and I turned my back on him, walking instead to the living room and picking up Callie from her crib. I was aware that Eric was right behind me.

"How old is she?" Eric asked in a quiet voice.

"Seventeen months."

I could see that Eric was doing the math in his head, and his face went from impassive to shocked. "Is she mine?"

I couldn't answer him, and I simply clung onto Callie trying to make the rest of the world go away. But of course, he didn't.

"Sookie, is she mine?" his tone was angrier this time. I met his eyes and nodded. "Is this the reason you left?"

"Yes. This is the reason I left," I snapped back at him.

"You said you were on the pill!" he shouted angrily at me.

"I was. But I was on antibiotics as well, which can stop the pill from working."

He turned away and clawed at his hair. "Why the fuck didn't you tell me?"

"What was I meant to say? I was scared, and only just sixteen years old when I found out I was pregnant. And you were older. I knew what it meant, I knew that you would be chucked in jail if anyone found out about us."

He hung his head and sank down on the sofa. "You shouldn't have to go through this on your own, Sookie."

"I'm fine. And don't even think about taking her from me, I won't allow you to."

"She is my daughter as well!" he yelled, before the realisation caught him. "You're taking her to England?"

"I am going to college there, so yes."

"No you're fucking not. I will not allow you to take her out of the country."

I should have known this would be his response, and in my heart I knew he had every reason to be pissed at me. I silently cursed whatever led him here now, as he was about to seriously fuck everything up for me. I had plans, I wanted to go to college and go into journalism or food writing.

I had always loved Eric, ever since I first started to notice boys, but none of the others ever held a candle to him. And when we had started to sleep together, I felt like the luckiest girl on the planet. I knew that it wasn't legal for us to be together, but I knew what I was doing and was as much to blame as Eric was. And he was the one taking the risk because of the legal issue.

"It's already arranged," I said quietly after a few minutes of silence between us. "We leave in a few weeks, and there are places I can leave Callie while I'm at college."

"That's her name? Callie?"

I nodded. "Yes."

"I like it. Stackhouse I take it?" I nodded. "Can I hold her?"

For some reason, I hadn't expected him to want to. "Sure."

I sat down next to him on the sofa and gently handed her to him. She fussed a little, but seemed happy in his arms. He her moved so that she was sitting on his knee facing him, and he bounced his knee a little as she laughed and smiled at him. I had to admit that he was a natural, and from the smile on both of their faces, they both instantly loved each other.

"You being pregnant was why you didn't respond to Pam?" he still had his eyes on our daughter.

"Yes, but I'm kind of surprised you know about that."

He turned to me, a darkened expression on his face. "Sookie, you disappeared. I was as worried, if not more worried, than anyone. You gave no reason, and I was fairly sure it was because of something I'd done. I have to admit to not expecting this, but I was right." He paused, placing a large finger in Callie's tiny hand. "And I had to keep my investigations subtle, but I used to ask my mom and Pam about you. I even called Jason up a few times and dropped you into the conversation. Does he know?"

"No. I was going to tell him when I was in England."

"Why?"

"Because Jason is Jason. I wasn't going to tell him you were the father, but I knew he'd be annoyed. Putting an ocean between us seemed like the easiest way to tell him."

"He never came to visit you?"

I shrugged. "As I said, Jason is Jason. I spoke to him often on the phone, and he knew I was with Aunt Linda. I never told him of her sickness."

Eric was still staring at Callie, and gently playing with her. When she started fussing too much, I took her from him and gently rocked her in my arms. "She's tired, she was up most of last night."

"I don't know how you've done this. What about school?"

"I've graduated. I fast-tracked through when I was pregnant. The school were great and were really flexible with me. Let's just say I wasn't the only teen mother."

"We need to tell my parents," he said gently.

"Eric …"

"I mean it. And they're hardly going to report me, are they?" I sighed and agreed. "Were you ever going to tell me?" he asked, his eyes fixed on mine.

I focused on Callie while I tried to formulate an answer, but nothing came.

"Sookie?"

"I don't know. I didn't have any plans to tell you."

He stood up, his anger was back as he paced the room, and, honestly, I couldn't blame him. "You were really going to let me live my whole life not knowing that I had a daughter? You were going to raise her on your own? Let some other man raise her and be her dad?"

"It's hardly as if we're together now," I snapped, placing Callie back in her crib now that she had settled.

"We could be!" he snapped back, before realising exactly what he had said. "We could be," he repeated quieter this time.

"How?"

He shrugged. "I could come to England with you."

I stared at him not quite believing what he was saying. "You'd move to England with me?"

"Why not? I have no ties here other than my parents, and they have Pam to annoy. I can get a job to support us."

"Eric, we're not a couple! We used to have sex. I know it was nothing more than that to you."

"Was it to you?" he took a step closer to me. When I didn't answer he repeated his question.

"Yes."

"I did like you, Sookie. And I know I was a complete shit to you. I know that I did use you, and for that I'm sorry. But as I said, I've been thinking a lot about you recently. Maybe if we were more open about things it would be different. I wouldn't have to sneaking around."

I didn't know what to do or think. Could Eric and I have a relationship? Or would it be better if we worked at being friends for Callie's sake.

I hadn't answered him, and I noticed that he was staring down at Callie in her crib. "I can't believe I made something as beautiful as her. She obviously gets it from her momma."

I smiled. "I always think she looks more like you. Maybe even Pam at times."

"Can I borrow your phone?"

He was going to do this. "Sure."

He picked up the cordless phone and dialled his parents. "Hi mom, it's me … Yeah, I'm in New Orleans … I'm at Sookie's place … Yeah, mom, she's fine. But I … I need you, dad and Pam to come down here. … I don't want to tell you on the phone, and I promise it's nothing bad. But I want to see you in person. … Pam has the address … Okay, sure. See you then."

He hung up and turned back to me. "They're coming?" I asked.

"Yeah, although not until tomorrow as my dad's in the office today. They'll be here around midday."

"Okay."

"Can I stay here? I don't mind kipping on the sofa."

"You're worried I may do a runner?" I asked with a knowing smile.

"No," he defended. I raised an eyebrow. "Okay, maybe. But I also think we need to talk more; work out what we're going to tell them."

"I think it may be best to be honest. It's not as if we can hide the fact that we were sleeping together. And you do realise that you're parents are going to pissed at you."

"Yeah, I figured that. I can see your point about putting an ocean in between."

"You really mean that? You'd move to London with me?"

"Yes."

"Eric, I …"

He silenced me by wrapping his strong arms around me. I couldn't help but bury my head into his chest and welcome his familiar scent. It felt good to be in his arms again, and I remembered how much I used to enjoy the snuggling after we had sex. Sometimes more than the sex itself, as it was more familiar and more comforting.

"Let me look after you, Sookie. You've done this much on your own. Let me make up for my mistakes." It was hard to decline him.

We spent the rest of the evening talking and getting to know each other again, and I showed him pictures of our daughter. Eric told me about his various escapades at college, and I told him all about what I was hoping to get from London and the course I'd be taking. He seemed really enthusiastic about it all, but I think we were both apprehensive about seeing his parents the next day.

Probably for the first time, nothing physical happened between us, but we simply enjoyed each other's company. Eric went to sleep on the sofa, and even got up when he heard Callie crying in her crib. But I could see that a man of his height wasn't cut out for a tiny ten-year-old sofa, so I invited him into bed with me. He simply wrapped his arms around me and I probably got the best sleep I'd had since leaving Bon Temps. I had to admit that there was something intrinsically right about being with Eric.

The next morning we were both a little nervous about the impending arrival of his parents, and neither one of us said much as I made us both some breakfast and Eric helped me tidy and clean up the house a bit. Things weren't in a great shape as I'd started to pack some of my belongings, and sold other things they I couldn't carry on the plane to London. The house was technically Hadley's, but Linda's will had stipulated that I could live in it as long as I required to.

At a quarter to twelve, we noticed Eric's dad's large silver Mercedes pull up outside, and all three Northmans piled out of the car. I could see the anxiety on Isabel's face as she obviously knew something was up, whereas Pam just looked pissed off. I assumed that I wasn't going to get an easy reception from her.

"Here goes nothing," Eric said with a squeeze of my hand as he went out to great his parents and sister. After the usual greetings, he invited them in.

"Sookie!" Isabel exclaimed as soon as she saw me, almost running towards me and wrapping her arms tightly around me.

"Hi, Isabel. It's good to see you."

I also gave a small hug to Godric, although Pam gave me a look that said not to bother. I noticed Eric giving her a dirty look, but she ignored him.

"So," Pam started. "Want to tell me why I've been dragged down here? It's not as if Sookie ever responded to any of my calls or letters. Why should we coming running now?"

"Pamela," her mom scolded.

Right on cue, Callie started to fuss and gurgle in her crib in the kitchen. "What is that?" Pam asked.

"Sookie, is that a child?" Isabel asked.

I sighed and looked to Eric, who gave me a supportive smile. "Yes. I have a daughter."

Eric placed a hand on my shoulder, and quickly went to get her, looking every much the natural as he held her.

"Oh my!" Isabel exclaimed when she saw her. "Why didn't you tell us, Sookie? We could have helped you. You didn't have to run away from us!"

"It wasn't you she was running away from," Eric said quietly. All eyes in the room were on him.

"What do you mean?" his dad asked him.

Eric looked to me before swallowing thickly. "I mean that I am Callie's father."

No one said anything, but all his family's eyes were on him. "You slept with Sookie?" Pam eventually asked.

He sighed. "Yes. We were sleeping together."

"It wasn't a one-off thing then?" Isabel asked.

"No."

I could see that his family were not taking this well. In all the times that I had imagined what would happen if Eric and his family found out about Callie, I'd always assumed that they would be angry with me for keeping her away from them, and would fight me for custody. Obviously I didn't know if that was to come later, but I hadn't really thought about how angry they'd be at Eric for sleeping with me when I was under age.

I could see Eric was struggling under the spotlight, and I caught his eye, giving him a small smile. He seemed to take some confidence from that, and placed Callie in her playpen when she started to get restless in his arms. I picked up her favourite dog stuffed-toy and handed it to him to keep her amused.

Isabel took a moment and sat down on the sofa, her husband joining her at her side. She had her head in her hands and was staring at the floor. Godric placed an arm over her shoulders and focussed on her, while Pam was looking between the two of us.

"I think, son, that you have some explaining to do." Godric's voice was calm but firm.

"We both do," I interjected in support of Eric.

"Sookie, honey, we don't blame you for this. My son obviously took advantage of you." Her voice was calm but patronising.

"I knew what I was doing," I retorted. I took Eric's hand and went to sit down with him on the other sofa. Isabel gave me a stunned look.

"When did this start?" Godric asked.

Eric took a deep breath. "The Christmas before Sookie left." I could see that they were all doing the math in their heads.

"Meaning that … oh god. She'd only have been fifteen." I could see that a tear had fallen from Isabel's eye. "Eric, that is … that's statutory …," she couldn't say the word. "That would have been illegal."

"You mean it was statutory rape," Pam helpfully added.

The room was quiet for a few minutes, with the exception of Callie who was happily playing with her dog. "Sookie, are you going to press charges?" Isabel asked once she'd wiped her eyes of the tears.

"No. It was partly why I chose to leave Bon Temps. I never wanted Eric to get in trouble, and I don't intend to tell the authorities now."

"But if it gets out that you two were having a relationship then he will be arrested anyway." I felt Eric stiffen beside me, and I turned to Godric.

"It won't. I'm … I'm moving to London to study in a few weeks' time."

"Sookie, you can't!" Isabel exclaimed. "You'll be on your own!"

"Not if I go with her," Eric said quietly.

All eyes were back on him. "How long have you known about this?" his mom asked him.

"I only found out yesterday. I came by to see Sookie as I'd been thinking a lot about her. It worried me as much as you guys when she disappeared, but obviously I couldn't admit to why I was so worried for her. I wanted to make sure she was okay. And she is, she's really done a great job so far." He turned to me and smiled, and my heart melted a little.

"Sookie, where is your aunt?"

I sighed and turned to Isabel. "She died a few weeks ago from breast cancer."

"You're on your own?"

"No, she has me." Eric squeezed my hand. "I'm going to stand by her. I'm going to do the right thing for her and my daughter. We talked about this last night, and I'm not going to let either one of them down."

"Son, you have responsibilities here in Louisiana," Godric said firmly. I knew that Godric had always wanted Eric to take up the reigns of his company.

"But he has a responsibility to Sookie and his daughter as well," Isabel argued. "This … this is a lot to take in."

"Why don't you all take some time to talk," I suggested. "You obviously need to all talk things through. From my point of view, I am moving to London. I have a great opportunity and I intend to take it." I was maybe being a little forceful, but I needed them to know that I wasn't going to back down. If Eric hadn't walked back into my life the day before, I would be doing it on my own anyway.

"That's probably a good idea," Godric conceded as he stood up.

"You're not going to go anywhere are you?" Eric said, a slight worry in his eyes. He took my hand in his and gently played with my fingers.

"No, I'm not. I promise."

.

Eric

"We'll be a couple of hours."

I leaned down to kiss Sookie's head as we all turned to leave. I was fairly confident that she wasn't going to do a runner, and maybe it was a familiar act, but it felt right. And I also needed a little comfort myself, as I was certain that as soon as we were out of earshot of Sookie, I was going to get it in the ear from my parents. It made me think that telling them from London may have been a good idea.

"See you later," she said with a smile. I placed a kiss on my daughter's head as well.

Almost as soon as Sookie had shut the door, Pam hit me. Hard.

"Fuck, Pam," I said, bringing my finger to my lip where she had split it. The girl had some punch on her.

"You slept with my fifteen year old best friend," she spat. "What the fuck do you expect? Because you couldn't keep your dick in your pants is the reason she left me." It was selfish of Pam to only be concerned about herself and her own relationship with Sookie, but that didn't really surprise me.

"Enough you two," my dad scolded as he pushed us towards the car.

My mom sat in the back with me, while Pam sat up front and scowled out of the window as my dad drove off in the direction of central New Orleans. I figured we wouldn't be going out to a restaurant as that was far too public, and I was right when dad pulled up to the hotel he owned and took us into one of the private meeting rooms.

"I'm disappointed in you, Eric."

"Yeah, I get that." I looked at my mom and saw the disappointment written all over her face. My dad as well, for that matter.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you sleep with her?"

I shrugged. "Because I was attracted to her. And she was attracted to me. Why do people normally sleep together?"

"Enough of your backchat," my dad scolded. I was glad that I was out of hitting distance.

"But she was so young," my mom said gently. "You took advantage of her."

"I know. And I've apologised to Sookie for that. It's why I went to see her. Obviously I really didn't expect to find her with a seventeen month old daughter, but I knew I wanted to apologise to her."

"What led you to do that?"

I wasn't going to confess about the dream I had of an older me telling me to, as I knew exactly how that would come across. "I've been thinking about her a lot recently. I guess I was still worried about her."

My mom looked thoughtful. "You've at least matured enough to realise that what you did was wrong."

"He still fucked my best friend behind my back," Pam added.

"And you wonder why we didn't tell you," I shot back.

"Enough. Did you know at the time you were breaking the law?" My dad was glaring at me.

"I guess I knew. But I can't say I thought too much about it. Sookie says she knew as well. It's one of the reasons she left so that I wouldn't get in trouble." I had to admit that I was seriously grateful to Sookie for that, as she easily could have landed me a ten-year stay in jail.

"One of the reasons?"

I sighed. "I think she was worried that we'd take Callie off her. I'm sure that she still is."

"She is young, Eric. The child would be better in a stable family environment. It may be some time since I have raised a child, but if we all chipped in –"

I cut my mom off there. I knew Sookie's opinion on the matter, and I was on her side. "No, mom. Sookie wants to go to London, with her daughter, and I'm going with them. You're not taking Callie away from her."

"Don't speak to your mother like that." My dad was getting angrier than I had ever seen him. "And do you really want to throw away your own life like that? What are you going to do for money? Have you thought about that? Have you thought about getting a visa, where you going to live? Don't be an idiot, Eric."

"I'll figure it out," I yelled back. "I have savings and Sookie has the money from her parents' life-assurance. We will make it work."

"Eric," my mom said gently, placing a hand on my arm. "I appreciate that you want to do the right thing by Sookie, but is running to England with her the best choice? She will be better here. We're not going to take the baby from her, but if she stays here we can all help out while she goes to the local college. We don't have to tell anyone that the baby is yours, but we can support her all the same."

My parents obviously didn't get it. "I said, no. Don't you understand that if I hadn't gone to see Sookie yesterday, she'd have left for England anyway and on her own. I'm not going to abandon her, but I'm also not going to make her change her plans. She's worked hard to finish high school and she'd got an incredible opportunity to study in London. And you can choose to support me and her or not, but I am standing by her and I am going to London with her."

I stood up and walked out of the room. I half expected my parents to follow me, but they didn't. I luckily had some cash on me, and I took a cab back to where Sookie was living and where I'd parked my Corvette. The Corvette I was probably going to sell before I moved.

I knocked gently on the door, although Sookie didn't answer at first. I was suddenly a little concerned that maybe she had gone, but the door opened a crack and I saw her dressed in only a towel, her hair sopping wet.

"Eric, I didn't expect you back so soon. I was taking a bath."

"Yeah, things didn't go too well with my parents. They pretty much suggested that you should stay in Louisiana and we'd all help you raise Callie."

She sighed. "I always assumed they would."

"Well I told them that wasn't an option. I mean what I say, Sookie. I'm coming with you to London."

I stared at her as she met my gaze. I could tell earlier that she didn't really believe that I would. I took a step closer to her, and she let me inside the house and closed the door behind me.

"And what of us?" she whispered.

"We see where things go. I like you, Sookie. I'll admit for a long time that you were Pam's annoying friend, but when you started to mature I could see what an attractive woman you'd become. You're smart, interesting and beautiful, and you captivate me. And right now you're dripping onto the carpet. Why don't you go and finish your bath. I'll be here when you get out."

She stood still and stared at me for a moment before standing on her tiptoes and kissing me on the cheek. "Thank you, Eric."

"My pleasure. Now go before I'm tempted to pull that towel off you." We always had been playful before together, although I didn't want to overstep my mark. I was leaving this firmly in Sookie's hands as I had done enough damage.

She gave me a lusty look before heading back up the stairs and going into the bathroom. As soon as she was gone, I adjusted myself and went to stand by Callie's crib. She was sleeping and looked like an absolute angel: her straight blonde hair shining in the stream of sunlight that was flooding into the room, and I found myself thanking whatever force brought me here. My daughter was an angel, and I was going to do everything right by her and Sookie.

I tidied a little in the kitchen, washing some dishes when Sookie came back in. I turned when I heard her and caught her staring at my ass.

"You always did have a thing for my ass," I teased. "I seem to remember you telling me it was my best feature. Which I still disagree with, for the record."

"Get over yourself, Northman." She came and joined me at the sink and started to dry the plates I had washed. "So what do we do?"

I couldn't help but smile at her use of the word 'we'. "I have some money in the bank and I was thinking I can sell my Corvette. And –"

"You'd sell your 'Vette?" she gave me a stunned look.

"Yes. It's worth a good few thousand, and we're going to need every penny. My dad also helpfully reminded me that I'll need to sort out a visa. I'm guessing you already have a place to stay sorted?"

"Yeah, the University lined me up with a small apartment, though it really is tiny, and I'm not sure there'll be room for all three of us." I liked that she assumed I'd be living with her.

"We can find somewhere bigger when we get there. Is the lease for six months or a year."

"Six months. But being student accommodation, I may be able to get out of it as I'm sure others will want the place."

"Well, we'll just have to start looking when we get there. I have to say, I always wanted to go to London."

She regarded me for a moment. "You really mean this, Eric. You're really going to give up everything you have here and move with me to London? And without the support of your parents? You know they're not going to be too happy about this."

"They already aren't. But yes, Sookie, the three of us are going to make a go of this. I want to be a dad to Callie, and …" I trailed off, not really knowing what I was to Sookie.

She smiled. "We can start at friends, and see where we go from there?"

"Sounds like a plan."

I leaned down to kiss her on the cheek, but she turned into my kiss so I met her lips. I pulled back at first, searching her eyes for permission. When she gave it to me with a nod and a smile, I leaned back down and placed my lips gently to hers. She gently took my bottom lip between hers, and placed a tentative hand on my hip.

I took that as all the permission I needed, wrapped my arms around her and pulled her to me. She met my kiss and we quickly fell into an easy rhythm. She plunged her hands into my hair to hold me close to her, and I found myself grinding up against her.

"Fuck, Sookie," I whispered as we finally let go of each other. "You do things to me like no other." My breathing was uneven, and I leaned down to place my forehead against hers.

"I guess we're already past friends," she smiled.

"I suppose so. I'm not going to let you down, I promise."

I picked her up and carried her into the living room where we continued to make out like teenagers. Although in reality, one of us still was a teenager.

About an hour later we were interrupted by a knock on the door and my parents and Pam stood there. "Can we talk?" my mom asked.

Sookie let them in, and they seemed to notice an increased closeness between Sookie and I. She picked Callie up out of her crib and sat her down on her knee as we presented a united front against my parents. I wasn't surprised that they came back, but I wasn't sure what their stance was going to be.

It was my dad that spoke. "Okay. I can see that there is no changing your mind, and we were wrong to suggest that Sookie should give up her dreams of going to study in London." I was more than a little surprised at my dad for admitting to that. "But we don't like the thought of the three of you living in some tiny apartment while Eric works minimum wage jobs to support you. So we have a proposal to make to you both."

"Okay," I was open to anything they suggested as long as Sookie agreed.

"Firstly, we will buy an apartment in London and you can both live there rent free, although you will pay your own bills." I could live with that, and knew that wasn't too big a deal for my dad since he already owned quite a few properties, and London was probably a good place to invest in. "Secondly, Eric, I will loan you two-hundred and fifty thousand dollars. This will be for you to start up your own business and support Sookie and Callie. And if your business does well, I will expect it back with interest."

I was a little stunned at their generous offer, and it was exactly what we needed to make a life for ourselves. "Thank you," I said. "That's very kind of you."

He sighed. "I can't have my son and granddaughter living in squalor, but I also don't want you living on hand-outs. This was you can make your own money if you're successful."

I turned to Sookie and squeezed her hand. She seemed as happy about it as I was.. "Thank you," she said to them. "I really appreciate it."

I could tell that Pam still wasn't very happy, and I suggested to Sookie that maybe her and Pam needed to spend some time together before they left to repair their friendship. My parents insisted that Sookie came with us back to Bon Temps until it was time for us to leave for London, although for the most part she laid low and stayed out of Jason's way, still insisting that it was better he only found out once we were in England.

.

.

"It sounds crazy, but I had a dream that an older version of me was telling me to go and see Sookie." I looked down at my new bride and smiled before looking around at the rest of our friends and family that had gathered. "I thought it was crazy, and I tried to ignore it, but the dream only became more consistent, and I ended up following that dream to a small house in New Orleans where, unbeknown to me, Sookie was living with my seventeen-month-old daughter." I smiled down at five-year-old Callie, who beamed back at me.

"I don't know what would have happened if I hadn't done that, and I'm sure that we wouldn't be here now. But for whatever led me there – some higher power, or fate, or fairies – I want to thank it as I wouldn't want to miss out on a life with Sookie and my daughter. I love you both so much, and I want to thank you for not closing the door on me that day."

~ Fin ~