Lovesick

[Fangtasia11]

Sorry it's taken so long to continue. When I am in the mood to write, I never have time, and when I have time I always have a serious case of writers block. It's also a challenge to make the story pg(ish) as well, as I am perpetually "pending". I'm working on the next chapter now, though, for whoever is still interested!

[lattelover09]

Yes! Please. Still interested.

[R.L]

Of course I am interested xDD *checks almost daily if there would be an update to this*

[Fangtasia11]

Ok here is the next chapter. I almost made this the last chapter. I could have pulled it off perfectly with them falling asleep in each others arms and such, but I have so many different sneezing scenarios, and other areas of the illness my mind wont let me leave out of the story so there will definitely be at least a couple more chapters. Of course a couple can turn into 2 or 10 for all I know. lol

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Next chapter (I've lost count, already.):

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She peeked in her bedroom and noticed Eric was now laying down on his stomach, with the large comforter pulled up to his head. She figured he was asleep and quietly walked over to her dresser to grab some Pajamas. She walked into her bathroom and closed the door behind her. Sookie knew vampires were essentially dead to the world when they slept, but she joked to herself that Eric probably had some kind of vampire radar that would wake him up the second she took her clothes off. She quickly changed into her pajamas, and took care of her human needs before wetting a wash cloth with cool water to put on the back of Eric’s neck to keep him cool as he slept. She couldn’t believe how warm his skin felt as she placed the cool cloth on his neck.

Sookie then quietly walked towards the guest bedroom with nothing on her mind except finally getting some much needed sleep.

“Sookie? Wait.”, she heard Eric weakly say, and she turned around to stand facing him in the doorway.

“I thought you’d be fast asleep by now.”, Sookie responded.

Eric lifted the covers and turned to his side so he was looking at her. “Stay with me?”, he hesitantly asked her.

Sookie blushed, and smiled at him. “Eric, I can’t. I really need to get some sleep…”

Eric cut her off. “Sleep in here.”, Eric said, pointing at the other side of the bed.“ Please. I don’t want to be alone.”

Sookie had all intentions of arguing why that would be a terrible idea, but she found herself walking over to the bed and climbing in on the other side.

“Hands and fangs to yourself. I don’t care if you are sick. Any funny business and I’m going in the other room. I’m serious.”, Sookie warned, sounding a little too harsh. “…And If you get hungry, I have some True Blood in the refrigerator downstairs I can bring up for you.”, she continued in a softer tone.

“I’m not hungry.”, was his only reply before sneezing harshly and groaning.

“Bless you”, Sookie responded out of habit before Eric sniffed wetly and lay his head heavily back down on the pillow.

They lay silently on their respective sides of the bed for minutes that seemed like an eternity. Sookie then heard Eric’s breath softly hitching and assumed he was going to sneeze again. When she didn’t hear him sneeze, she turned over to face him and reached a hand out to touch his cheek. His cheek was wet, with what she could only assume was blood.

“You’re crying?” Sookie asked him, a little flustered at the very un-Eric-like display of emotion.

Eric sniffed wetly again but didn’t otherwise respond.

Sookie sighed. She felt so helpless that she desperately wished for healthy arrogant asshole Eric to return.

“Oh come here”, Sookie said to him in a tone mixed with sympathy and exasperation.

She patted her side of the bed and held her arms out to him. Eric slid over next to her and she wrapped her arms around him and against her better judgment did not say anything when his head rested awfully close to her breasts.

Any notion of him acting inappropriately faded as she heard him continue to quietly sob as she held him and stroked his hair.

"Shhh...", she comforted him.

She could feel his feverish skin radiating on her own, which was an odd sensation when lying with a vampire.

Sookie finally felt his body get very heavy, and knew that he was asleep for the day.

It was not long after that her own body did the same.

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Thanks for all the great feedback. It lets me know people are still interested.

Sorry for the lack of sneezing in this chapter. The next one will have more. I think I may have made Eric a liiiiittle too weak in this chapter, also. I guess I just wanted to emphasize how feverish and miserable he feels, while building up the intimacy between him and Sookie. I hope it wasn't overkill with the crying.

[Tassielli]

Great update! Poor Eric! I can't wait to see where this goes!

[swann_ee_song]

Lack of sneezing is okay, because it's worth double when Eric does it.....

But seriously, I can almost picture this being another episode in this season's True Blood!! Really enjoying this!

[Fangtasia11]

Next chapter...2 in one week. Im sure this will never happen again.

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Sookie awoke, slightly disoriented as she felt a heavy arm over her body. She quickly came to the conclusion that yesterday’s events were not a dream and she was really spooning in bed with Eric Northman. The room was dark so she had no idea what time it was. Sookie carefully pried Eric’s arm off her so she could turn to look at the clock on her night table. It was almost 5pm. She had gotten close to 9 hours of much needed sleep, and even with the vampire drama she had again allowed herself to get into, she felt refreshed.

Sookie reached over and turned on the small light on her night table. Eric had rolled over to his back when Sookie moved his arm, allowing Sookie to see all the dried blood on his face. She looked at her pajamas and arms and noticed the same.

“Gross.” She said, as she took off her shirt and went into her bathroom to quickly wash off her arms.

She’d take a shower when she finished washing the blood off of Eric. Sookie grabbed a face cloth and soaked it in warm water. She couldn’t imagine how horrible it would feel to wake up with blood dried all over your face.

As she gently washed the blood off of his face, Sookie chuckled at the fact that here she was, wearing no shirt, sitting right next to Eric, and he was dead to the world and none the wiser. He would be so mad if he knew what he was missing. It was sort of empowering.

Even though he probably couldn’t feel it, Sookie was especially gentle cleaning the blood under his nose as she imagined it being painful and raw. She may have been a little too gentle, as she noticed his nose twitching slightly.

She quickly pulled her hand back, but when the twitching stopped she couldn’t help but get the last bit of blood under his nose. His nose twitched again, and she waited for it to stop. Unfortunately instead of stopping, she heard him sharply gasp for air “hee…ahh…haaa..”

Sookie ran to her dresser and quickly put on a new shirt, afraid that she had woken him up.

“Ha’ESHoo!”, Eric sneezed, unrestrained.

Sookie looked on, unsure of what to do, as he continued.

“haa…ha….eSH!.....ha…Ha’ESH!”

When he appeared to be finished, Sookie walked back over to the bed and noticed that his eyes were still shut and he definitely looked to be still sleeping.

She smiled and lightly kissed him on the forehead. “Bless you.”

She was relieved to avoid the awkward conversation of how the sneezing started, had he woken up.

Sookie then went downstairs to heat Eric a True Blood for when he woke. She knew he said he wasn’t hungry, but she didn’t like the idea of him having not eaten all night/day. She purposely overheated the blood in the microwave a little so it’d be just right when he wakes up. Sookie walked back upstairs and placed the bottle on the nightstand next to Eric.

She then decided to take a shower and get dressed for the day, or night as it would be, before Eric woke up. After grabbing her clothes and turning on the shower, Sookie closed (and locked) her bathroom door just in case he woke up a little early. She didn’t want him getting the wrong idea.

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Thanks again for the feedback!

[Tassielli]

Amazing, darlin'! Just Mazin. Can't wait fer

anothr upload.

[Fangtasia11]

Sorry for the super long gap between updates! Its been really hard finding time to write. I actually cut out some of this chapter, and plan on saving it for the next chapter that should be up early next week. Warning on this chapter: there is vomiting involved.

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The steam and hot water hitting her was just the escape she needed to allow herself to relax.

After about 20 minutes she turned off the water, feeling refreshed.

Sookie then stepped out of the tub and started to dry herself off before she heard a loud knocking at her door.

She wrapped her towel around her body, as the knocking sounded more desperate.

Sookie unlocked the bathroom door, and Eric nearly knocked her over as he raced into the room.

“Eric, what the hell do you think you are doing?! ”, Sookie exclaimed in shock.

She waited for Eric to explain himself before she noticed him holding his stomach and looking like he could barely stand.

She quickly walked over to him and grabbed his arm, helping him stand, as he started to sway a bit.

“Eric”, she said calmly through her nerves. “Are you going to be sick?”

Eric shook his head in what seemed like an ‘I don’t know’ gesture, but Sookie knowingly helped him down to his knees in front of the toilet just in time for him to violently throw up the Tru Blood she had left for him to drink.

He continued to dry heave for the next 5 or so minutes, terrified at the lack of control he had over his body.

Sookie tried to rub his back and arm to comfort him, but he repeatedly pushed her away.

She was a little hurt by his reaction to her, but she understood that he must be very scared and not used to being in this kind of a situation.

She just sat on the edge of the tub until he was finished, hoping to give him some comfort with her proximity.

When he appeared to be done, Sookie handed him a piece of toilet paper for him to wipe his mouth off. He did as such, before throwing the paper in the toilet, closing the lid and flushing. He then turned around, sitting with his knees pulled up to his chest, and putting his head down on his arms.

Sookie hesitantly sat on the floor next to him.

“Sookie, just leave me alone right now.”, Eric coldly stated without raising his head, before Sookie could say a word.

“Fine.”, Sookie responded before walking into her bedroom to put some clothes on.

She wanted to be there for him, but knew his pride was very hurt so she just let it go.

Sookie quickly got dressed, nothing fancy, as she wouldn’t be going anywhere for the next few days…

She wondered when Eric was going to get out of the bathroom, so she could go in there to at least brush her hair and put it in a ponytail.

With that thought she heard a loud boom, as if something had fallen.

She walked into the bathroom to see Eric passed out on the floor, seemingly having hit his head on the side of the tub as he went down. Sookie was thankful that he had been sitting down.

Eric opened his eyes, disoriented, and groaned slightly.

“Sookie? Wh.. What happened?”, Eric said, reaching to feel the knot on his head with his hand.

Sookie watched the bump on his head vanish before her eyes.

No wonder Eric was such a bad patient, she thought. He was used to instant healing for the past 1000 years…

“Eric, I think you passed out.”, Sookie said gently, taking his hand and helping him up to a sitting position.

He felt so warm, bordering on hot now.

Sookie noticed Eric quickly pull his hand away from hers, and was about to snap at him for being so rude, before she heard the sharp gasps…

“aaah..…haa....Ha’ESHoo!”,, Eric desperately sneezed into his hands, keeping them in place for a second uncontrollable sneeze “Ha’ESHoo!”.

“Bless you!”, Sookie exclaimed, handing him some toilet paper to wipe his hands and face.

After getting his composure back, Eric responded, “Sookie…I am blessed enough.”, in a cold, sarcastic tone.

“You could just say ‘ thank you’…”, Sookie grumbled under her breath.

“Thank you for what, exactly? I never asked you to bless me.”, Eric responded, sounding like a stubborn child.

Sookie felt the venom rising in her throat at his ungratefulness.

“Thank me for WHAT? You really want to go there, Eric?”, Sookie started, and the floodgates had opened.

“You could start by thanking me for LYING to Pam for you, or maybe for allowing you to stay in my home—in MY BED, and agreeing to sleep in the same bed with you because you were feverish, lonely, and SCARED. You need to just stop taking it out on me that you are the one who needs help for once. ”

Sookie instantly felt guilty for going off on a self-righteous tangent, but hell, he asked for it!

Eric briefly met her eyes, with a feverish look of hurt and wounded pride.

“You think I am weak.”, he stated matter of factly before turning his head away from her.

“I am sorry you have to see me like this…unable to feed without vomiting like a drunken fang-banger at the club. I hate having inconvenienced you so much.”

Sookie walked over and sat on the edge of the tub next to where Eric sat on the floor.

She put her hand on his shoulder.

“I don’t think you are weak. “

Sookie was about to elaborate when she felt Eric’s shoulders rise with a sharp intake of air. She quickly handed him some toilet paper, before he sneezed harshly, “Ha’ESHoo!”.

Eric sniffed wetly, sighed heavily, and rested his head back on Sookie’s legs.

She didn’t bother blessing him.

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Feedback please!

[cowgalnina]

more! more!

[daystar428]

I'm loving your writing and this story. Eric is one of my favorite characters. Your story is a great companion to this season and I always can't wait to read more. Thanks so much for sharing. I'm a huge fan of build ups so I appreciate that you torture Eric with them Great stuff!!! Thanks again and I look forward to reading more!!

[Fangtasia11]

No update yet (hope to finish the next chapter by wednesday), but I just had to note that this was a great season of TB. Sefishly I wanted Sookie and Eric to be together already, but I know theres more stuff that needs to be bulit up on the show before that happens. I'll just have to put them together myself with fanfiction in the meantime. Super excited for season 5....sucks that we have to wait until June.

Thank you all for the very kind feedback.

[Fangtasia11]

A littler later than I'd hoped, but the next chapter is done.

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Sookie continued, “I don’t think you are weak. I think you are a strong vampire that happens to be very sick right now. You don’t have to be embarrassed about things you can’t control. I promise that in a few days when you are back to big, bad, Viking vampire, we’ll never speak of this again. “

Eric inhaled sharply and sneezed into his hands, “Ha’ESHoo!”. He kept his hands up for a moment to make sure he was finally done sneezing, and then lowered them, sniffing wetly and groaning in frustration.

Sookie smiled down at him reassuringly as his head still rested back on her legs. Eric didn’t say anything, but he closed his eyes and slightly nodded his head to acknowledge what she was saying.

As Eric’s head rested back on her legs, Sookie couldn’t resist putting her hand on his forehead once again. He felt so hot. She remembered Dr. Ludwig saying to try and keep his temperature down, but that seemed to be a task easier said than done. She’d already put a wet cloth on his neck, and it’s not like she could just tell him to pop a couple Tylenols.

She blushed as an idea came to her.

“Eric”, Sookie started. “Why don’t you get in the tub and take a cool bath to get your temperature down. You feel very warm, and I bet you’d feel a lot better if we could get the fever down a little.”

Eric opened his eyes and forced a smile at her. “You will join me?”

“Yes, I would love to take a freezing cold bath with you in my tub that you will barely fit in alone.”, Sookie responded, playfully pushing his head off her legs.

Eric chuckled, which started another fit of coughing.

When the coughing subsided, Sookie helped Eric stand up before she turned around to start the water. She ran her hand under the water, and shuttered at how cold it was. She hoped that since Eric’s natural body temperature was so low, he wouldn’t feel the temperature of the water so intensely.

She turned around just as Eric was removing his shirt, and she couldn’t help but stare a little longer than she had intended. How was it possible to have such perfect abs?

“Do you like what you see, Sookie?”, Eric said, snapping her back to reality.

“Eric…seriously, get over yourself”, Sookie replied indignantly, feeling a blush creep up her cheeks.

Eric smiled, and proceeded to unbutton his pants.

Startled, Sookie exclaimed, “Eric! Let me at least leave the room first! The tub is almost filled.”.

“Ok, I will wait to undress. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”, Eric replied, buttoning his pants up again.

Sookie doubted he cared about making her uncomfortable, but she did feel bad about over reacting. She was the one who brought up the idea of taking a bath in the first place, and she really didn’t know if he would even be able to get in the tub himself in his condition. She opened up the can of worms, knowing Eric was not particularly modest, so she was determined to keep her mind out of the gutters and be a good friend if he needed her help.

Sookie turned off the water, and looked at Eric sort of awkwardly. He raised his eyebrows at her, not really knowing what to say.

“Eric, Will you, uh, need help getting in the tub?”, Sookie asked him, trying to sound as casual as possible.

Eric smiled crookedly at her. “No, I think I will be ok.”

“Ok, let me know if you need anything”, Sookie replied as she walked back into her bedroom, closing the door to the bathroom behind her.

Soon after she left, Sookie heard Eric exclaim some angry sounding words presumably in Swedish, his native language.

Apparently he could feel the temperature of the water just fine, she mused.

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Sorry for the lack of sneezing. My original plan was to make this a steamy hot shower/clearing the sinuses chapter, but it was very difficult making that a PG scene so that'll have to wait until another story whenever Im validated. lol Poor Eric had to settle for a cold bath in this story.

Let me know if the story is getting tiresome, and I'll try to wrap it up sooner, but I'm thinking I still have at least 3 more chapters in me if you guys are still interested.

[Fangtasia11]

(hears crickets) Next Chapter...

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While Eric was hopefully cooling down in the tub, Sookie took the chance to go downstairs and make some coffee, and a sandwich to eat. She’d been so concerned about Eric that she hadn’t realized how hungry she was.

About an hour had passed, and she figured she better go back upstairs and make sure Eric was ok. She was expecting to see him back in bed, and was surprised to see the bed empty.

Sookie walked over to the bathroom door and called, “Eric? Are you coming out soon?”

She got no response from him, and knocked on the door.

“Eric... are you ok?” Sookie called out a little more nervously.

Still no response.

Sookie cautiously opened the door, and looked over at the tub. Panic struck her as she noticed Eric had his head under the water!

She ran over to the tub and frantically pulled at his arms to get him back up to a sitting position. She felt his body jolt back to life, as Eric sat up on his own.

Eric blinked his eyes several times, and shook his head.

“Sookie, Wha.. hhh…hh..”, Eric started to speak before a sneeze overtook him.

“Ha’ESHoo! Hhhhh…hhh.. Ha’ESH!”,

Sookie put her hand on his shoulder. “Hey, are you alright? I was afraid you had passed out and drowned!"

“Sookie, I cannot drown. I don’t need to breathe!”, Eric retorted.

Sookie felt stupid about forgetting that important fact, and overreacting.

“Well…” Sookie started, not looking him in the eyes. “What were you doing? You didn’t answer when I called out to you.”

“I started to feel dizzy so I went into downtime under the water. I couldn’t hear you.” Eric replied.

Sookie remembered Bill mentioning “downtime” once. It was an almost sleep-like meditative state vampires went into every now and then… basically just to pass the time. Eternity was a long time, so Sookie understood why they’d want to check out for a while sometimes.

“You startled me when you grabbed my arm. I think I sucked up half the tub through my nose” Eric continued, shaking his head and trying to blow the water out of his nose to demonstrate.

“I’m sorry”, Sookie responded, chuckling a little.

She put her hand up to Eric’s forehead.

“You feel a lot cooler.” she smiled, looking him in the eyes.

“I’m freezing.” he responded, before sharply inhaling.

“hhhh…hhhh..uh.. Ha’ESHoo!” Eric sneezed.

“You get all the water out yet?” Sookie teased him.

Sookie heard him gasp for air once again.

“hhh..hhhhh….hh.. ESHoo!....hhha.. Ha’ESHoo!”, Eric sniffed and shook his head.

“I guess not”, Sookie smiled.

Eric looked down and laughed quietly. “I think I am good now.”

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Feedback?

[Tassielli]

I am not a good feedback-er. But this is really good. I love this

[Akahana]

Love it. Keep it up! <3

[Fangtasia11]

Next chapter...

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“You gonna get out of the tub before you freeze?”, Sookie asked him.

Eric nodded, clearing his throat.

Sookie was sure it was raw from all the coughing and sneezing.

As Eric stood up, Sookie handed him his towel. She turned her head away from him as he got out of the tub and Eric wrapped the towel around his waist.

He looked like he was getting dizzy again so Sookie quickly walked over to him and helped him sit down on the edge of the tub. She sat next to him with one arm around him.

“Can we walk to the bed so you can lie down?”, Sookie asked him.

“I…think so.”, Eric replied.

Sookie kept one arm around his waist as they proceeded to walk towards the bed. As they walked through the bathroom doorway into the bedroom, Sookie felt Eric suddenly tense up and stop walking.

“Whats wrong?”, she asked him, concerned, before she heard him inhale sharply,

“Hhh…hh…. Ha’ESHoo!”, Eric sneezed, doubling over. Sookie kept her arm tightly around his waist so he wouldn’t fall. He didn’t start walking again, so she waited patiently with him.

“hhh… Ha’ESHoo!...........hhhhhh…..hhha… Ha’ESHoo!”

“I’m sor… hhh.. ‘ESHoo!”

“Don’t you dare say you’re sorry. You can be sorry for a lot of other things, but you definitely do not need to apologize for something you can’t help doing.”, Sookie told him, placing her other hand on his stomach and looking up into his glossy blue eyes.

She heard Eric sigh heavily as they proceeded to walk over to her bed. She helped him sit down, propped the pillows up behind him, and helped him lift his legs up onto the bed, careful to keep the towel firmly tied around his waist.

Sookie reached up to feel his forehead again.

“You feel a little warm, but not as hot as before. Why do you think you keep getting so dizzy?”, she asked him.

“I need to feed”, Eric replied.

“I can heat up another True Blood!”, Sookie said eagerly.

“NO! “, Eric quickly replied, startling her.

He put his hands around his stomach. “No... I can’t drink that stuff. I won’t. “ He looked away from her.

Sookie walked over to him, placing her hand on his arm. “Eric, what do you need me to do?”, she asked him gently.

“I don’t need you to do anything…”, Eric responded, continuing to look away from her.

He looked so tired.

“Ok”, Sookie casually replied.

She removed one of the pillows that was propping him up, and helped him lie back more comfortably.

“I’ll leave you alone and let you rest.”, Sookie stated gently.

She turned to leave the room.

“Wait! No. You don’t need to go. I didn’t mean for you to leave”, Eric responded sounding more desparate than he had intended.

Sookie smiled at him, a little too confidently.

“You want me to stay with you?”, She asked him.

“Well…I mean…if you don’t have something else to do..if you wanted to stay..”, he responded, sounding a little flustered.

“Do you want me to stay?”, Sookie asked.

“Yes...”, Eric quietly responded, looking away from her again.

“I didn’t hear you?”, Sookie said coyly. She knew she was kind of being a jerk, but she was not going to allow him to snap at her and then assume she was just going to stay with him.

“Sookie, please stay with me.”, Eric asked, his blue eyes pleading up at her.

“That’s all you had to say”, Sookie responded, pushing the chair up close to the bed.

Eric closed his eyes, as he rested one of his hands on her lap.

Sookie placed her hand on top of his, and used her other hand to lightly rake her nails up and down his stomach.

In a few minutes she felt his arm get very heavy. It was only a little after 10pm but he was definitely asleep. She hoped the extra sleep would help him heal faster.

Sookie carefully placed the arm that was on her lap, back up on the bed. She pulled the covers up to his chest. Without thinking, she gently kissed his cheek.

Sookie could have sworn she saw him smile a little, before she turned to walk out of the room.

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The story is definitely nearing an end...don't think I have more than 2 chapters left in me. I'm pretty sure I've decided on an appropriate ending. Thank you for all the kind feedback.

[daystar428]

This has been amazing to read. I really appreciate you sharing with all of us because like I said earlier I'm a huge Sookie and Eric fan. I also can't wait to see the fifth season so I've been keeping my appetite filled by reading your writing Thanks again!

[Fangtasia11]

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Sookie’s sleep schedule was totally messed up due to her vampire house guest. She knew she should try to sleep while he was sleeping, but she was way too wired. She went into the kitchen and made herself a bowl of cereal---breakfast—er---dinner of champions, and sat down on the couch to watch some mind numbing television. As she took her first bite of cheerios, her phone began to ring.

“Of course…”, she said to herself, as she got up to get the phone. Sookie put the phone to her ear and before she could say ‘hello’, she heard Dr. Ludwig begin to speak.

“Ms. Stackhouse I’m obligated to call and follow up on Mr Northman. How is his illness progressing? Is he being a good patient?“

Sookie didn’t know exactly how to answer.

“Well… he has a fever that we brought down a little by taking a cool bath. I mean, HE took a cool bath, not WE”, Sookie clarified, feeling herself blush. “ He’s coughing a lot, and sneezing his head off. He’s sleeping now, even though it is nowhere close to sun rise. He’s just exhausted. He won’t eat, well, drink anything since he vomited after drinking some True Blood earlier this evening. “

“He must feed, or he will not heal”, Dr. Ludwig replied. “Real blood will be easier on his stomach than artificial blood.”

“I don’t have any real blood, Dr. Ludwig. Do you have a medical blood supply or something?”, Sookie asked, nervously.

“No Ms. Stackhouse. New regulations prohibit me from keeping a supply of human blood on hand. I’m sure you will figure something out, unless you want a very sick vampire on your hands for a long time…or not very long. I imagine he would at some point become severely dehydrated…..”

“Dr. Ludwig!”, Sookie cut her off, taken back by her casual tone in discussing how Eric could basically meet the true death if he didn’t drink some blood.

“Make sure he feeds.”, Dr Ludwig reemphasized, before Sookie heard the click of the dial tone.

Sookie sighed, hung up the phone and walked back over to her couch to eat her bowl of cheerios.

As the spoon neared her mouth, Sookie heard Eric groaning from upstairs.

She put the spoon back in her bowl, and placed the bowl of cereal in the sink, knowing it would be soggy by the time she was able to eat again.

She jogged up the stairs and into her bedroom to see Eric in somewhat of a panic trying to sit up.

Sookie quickly walked over to him and put her hand on his arm. She helped him sit up.

“Hey…hey…Eric, it’s okay. Calm down. What’s wrong?”, she asked him in as soothing of a tone as she could muster.

Eric sat forward, leaning his head down. He placed one of his hands on his forehead, while the other was holding his stomach. “Ow…” Eric breathed out. Both of his hands moved to hold his stomach, and he quietly said “No…” presumably to himself.

“Eric talk to me”, Sookie said, putting her hand on his back.

Eric didn’t respond. He just shook his head ‘no’, before Sookie noticed him starting to gag.

She quickly grabbed the trashcan by the bed and brought it up in front of him just before he started to violently throw up again.

“Oh Honey. I’m so sorry.” She said, startling herself that she called Eric Northman ‘honey’ but genuinely feeling her heart ache imagining how terrible he must be feeling. She continued to hold the trash can in front of him and rub his back with her free hand. Sookie couldn’t understand where all the blood was even coming from since he hadn’t fed in so long.

After almost 5 minutes, Eric was done. He angrily spit into the trash can.

Sookie brought the trash can and it’s contents outside of the bedroom. She’d hose it off outside at a better time...

She then went into the bathroom and wet a face cloth with cool water. Eric was now lying back down in bed, groaning quietly. She walked over to him and cautiously wiped at his forehead with the cool water, half expecting him to push her away. He just closed his eyes, she imagined partially from exhaustion and partially from embarrassment, so she proceeded to wipe the rest of his face.

Sookie walked to her bathroom and rinsed the blood off the facecloth. She then sat in the chair next to the bed. Eric continued to lie with his eyes closed. Sookie could tell he wasn’t asleep, but she didn’t dare say anything to him.

After minutes of awkward silence, Eric sneezed.

“hhh… Ha’ESHoo!”

The sneeze seemed to catch him off guard. He inhaled sharply again, and Sookie handed him a tissue in time to catch a second sneeze.

“Hhh…hh…Ha’ESHoo!”

“Bless you...”, Sookie quietly said.

Eric nodded his head in her general direction.

“Eric you’re losing too much blood. You need to eat or you won’t heal.”, Sookie finally said.

Not opening his eyes or lifting his head, Eric responded sarcastically, “You offering?”

Ignoring his sarcasm, Sookie mustered up all her courage and replied “Yes.”

[Fangtasia11]

I forgot to add a note to my last update. My computer was going sooo slow, that I was just focused on actually being able to post the story! The next chapter I write will probably be the end of the story. Im still going back and forth on a couple different possible endings.

Thank you so much for the few of you who take the time to leave positive feedback. It really does mean a lot that there are people other than myself that enjoy my writing.

[Fangtasia11]

Just a quick note to say my internet is down at home until the end of the month (I'm very cautiously posting from somewhere other than home. lol), so it'll be a couple weeks until I am able to post the last chapter.

Didn't want you guys to think I forgot about the story.

[gambit2988]

finally got to catch up on this. great story and I cant wait to see how it ends

[Fangtasia11]

Well, the internet works on every computer in the house except my laptop. The laptop is, of course, the computer that contains my story. Basically the story is done, and it'll be posted tonight as fast as I can type it all manually into the forum... lol

[Fangtasia11]

Kind of disappointed that this is the last chapter of the story. I've really enjoyed writing it, but don't want it to grow stale. I'll have to start on a new project now. I wish I could move away from Eric and Sookie and still write a decent story, but right now Eric is my only muse. I have some plans for stories involving Eric becoming human, and other various sneezing scenarios. I may even do one with him caring for Sookie, although female sneezing really isn't my thing.

Anyway, thank you for all the comments and I hope you all enjoyed the story.

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Eric opened his eyes and looked up at her. "Sookie...please don't say that unless you really mean it."

"Just do it quickly and get it over with please...", Sookie replied, her voice cracking a little.

With maximum effort, Eric pushed himself up to a sitting position in the bed, and motioned for Sookie to sit on his lap.

She hesitantly did so. Sookie unintentionally jumped a little when she felt his fingers stroke her cheek as he carefully moved her hair to the side, exposing her neck.

"You're really warm again", Sookie said, She was surprised that his fever seemed to be so high again so soon after the bath, but the comment was really more of a distraction from her reaction to him touching her.

Sookie heard his fangs click into place, and she closed her eyes. One small tear escaped, and she felt Eric's finger wipe it away.

"I would never hurt you", Eric whispered in her ear before gently kissing her neck.

Sookie nodded as a few more tears escaped her closed eyes.

Eric held her hand and spoke, "If you would allow me, I would care for you always. You would be mine, and you would want for nothing."

"Eric, please...just don't.", Sookie began. "You need to feed. Please just drink from me before I change my mind"

" I...love you. I have always loved you.", Eric said, holding her hand tighter.

This was not happening right now. Eric Northman only loves Eric Northman. I'm sure he'd love to fuck me, Sookie cynically thought to herself.

Sookie looked up into Eric's eyes, which were alarmingly genuine, albeit glossed over with fever.

She closed her eyes and chuckled a little at the situation she'd gotten herself into. "Eric, that's very sweet, but I'm sure it's just the fever talking. I won't hold you to it.", she smiled at him.

Eric looked as if he was about to argue, but instead he sighed and bit into her neck.

Sookie was startled, but surprised that it did not hurt at all. Eric's moans of pleasure as he drank were somewhat awkward, but preferable to the groans of his illness. She instantly wished he was wearing something more than just a towel. Getting her mind out of the gutters, Sookie rubbed his hand that was holding her own as he drank, glad she could do something to make him feel better.

Just as Sookie started to feel a little light headed, Eric stopped drinking from her and pulled away, seemingly out of breath that he did not need. He quickly pricked his finger with one of his fangs, and wiped his blood over the puncture wounds on Sookie's neck. It was instantly as if she'd never been bitten.

Sookie rested back against Eric's chest, and he wrapped his arms around her. She knew it should feel very awkward but somehow it didn't..

"Do you feel any better now?", Sookie asked him.

Eric nodded and leaned his head down to smell her hair. "mmm...My Sookie.", he almost purred at her.

Sookie laughed and moved over to sit on the other side of the bed next to him. She didn't want to send him the wrong message by continuing to sit on his lap now that he was done feeding.

"How does your stomach feel?", she asked him in an attempt to bring the focus back to his health.

Looking slightly disappointed that she moved off of his lap, Eric responded, "Much better. I promise I would never allow myself to waste your blood.".

Sookie smiled at how proud he sounded, but knew that if his stomach was still upset he really couldn't promise that. "Well good", Sookie smiled at him. "I'm glad I could help.", she responded before yawning. She felt really tired, and noticed Eric still looked pretty feverish and could probably use some rest.

"Eric, I'm a little sleepy from the blood loss, and you still need your rest so you can get better. We don't we get some sleep now?"

Eric looked slightly panicked, thinking she was going to leave for the other bedroom, but before he could say anything in protest, Sookie slid closer to him on the bed so she could help him lie down. "I'll stay here with you", she finished.

Eric lay down on his back, and pulled Sookie close to him so her head was lying on his chest, and his arm was around her. She felt his chest sigh in contentment. Sookie's better judgement begged her to pull away and move to the other side of the bed, but she was so tired and really didn't want to move. She felt Eric's chest ride and fall rhythmically...up and down...Sookie wondered why he bothered to breathe if he didn't have to, before she drifted off to sleep.

Sookie awoke a few hours later to the sound of Eric sneezing harshly.

She lifted her head off of him, resting on her elbow and putting her hand on his chest, as Eric prepared for the next sneeze.

"hhh...hh..Ha'ESHoo!", Eric sneezed, turning his head from her.

His eyes began to close again as he sharply inhaled, "hhhh...hhhh.....hh..--", and then nothing. Eric looked a little confused.

Sookie chuckled. "That happens sometimes."

"Oh.", he responded before the sneeze resurfaced. "hhh..Ha'ESHoo!", he sneezed, barely turning his head away from her in time.

"Bless you.", she smiled at him.

"Thanks", he quietly replied, causing Sookie to raise her eyebrows at him slightly.

Eric gently pulled her back down so she was again lying on his chest with his arm around her. Sookie absentmindedly rubbed his chest. She found herself briefly wishing he could be sweet and gentle like this after he returned to good health, but quickly snapped out of it, knowing that he would soon return to being his smug self, and need her for little more than a sexual conquest. Allowing herself to have feelings for him would only be setting herself up for heartache...

"I'm sorry I woke you up with the sneezing", Eric said, pulling her out of her thoughts.

"I told you not to apologize for sneezing,", Sookie playfully slapped his chest.

"Sorry", Eric jokingly replied, grinning at her.

Sookie smiled and lay her head back down on his chest.

"Sookie?"

"Hhm?", Sookie responded sleepily.

"What I said before...about loving you--", Eric began before Sookie interrupted with her nervous smile.

"I understand. Your fever was very high. It makes you say silly things.", Sookie said. Her eyes were pleading with him not to say anything else about it.

Eric appeared as if he was trying to find the right words to say.

"You feel much cooler now", Sookie broke the silence.

Eric sighed. "Yes, I believe I will be well soon."

"Good." Sookie smiled at him and closed her eyes.

"Yes." Eric tightened his grip on her and closed his eyes as well.

Sookie awoke several hours later. The curtains were open. It was dark outside. The blood loss must have really wiped her out. Blood... Eric... Sookie felt around the empty bed. Where was Eric? She looked over to see a beautifully hand-written note on a small piece of paper sitting on the pillow Eric had been sleeping on.

"Sookie,

I awoke this evening in good health. I have returned to Shreveport to make sure my affairs are in order. I will tell Pam that we had a lovers quarrel."

Sookie chuckled, picturing the grin on Eric's face when he was writing those words.

"Thank you,

-Eric

P.S. I meant everything I said."

Sookie read the last line about 10 times. She felt a tear slide down her cheek as she got off the bed and proceeded to walk downstairs. She grabbed a glass and filled it with water, before sitting on the couch. The house felt very lonely. Would things be different now?

The doorbell ringing snapped her back into reality.

She looked outside and noticed there was someone delivering a package. She opened the door, and politely accepted the package. Curiously, She opened the package, revealing a white t-shirt. Without turning it over she knew it would have the Merlotte's logo on the other side.

She threw her head back, laughing, remembering the shirt that Eric accidentally sneezed on.

An envelope fell from the package, and Sookie opened it up to reveal another note from Eric.

"I always keep my word."

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The End.

[Fangtasia11]

Alright, I've officially begun my next fic. Eric will be temporarilly human.... I'll have the first chapter up (in a new thread) by wednesday.