No Reservations

The sequel to my story, Reservations, this one tells Eric’s side of the story. Please enjoy Reservations first. AU. Rated: T – Drama/Romance – Chapters: 1 – Words: 2,566 – Published: 10-19-10

Charlaine Harris owns these characters.

When Sookie made the decision to move to New York, I told her I would support her and let her move on with her life. Of course, she had no idea that her life would never be her own again. Too many people knew what she was, what she was capable of.

I explained to Felipe De Castro that Sookie needed to have some time for herself and needed to feel autonomous. He has a keen understanding of humans as well as the patience of a vampire and knows Sookie’s value. It is his wish that I turn Sookie someday. He has actually offered me Louisiana if I can accomplish it. I tell him that it is a part of my plan, but he doesn’t know that I won’t do it without her consent. It is my personal hope that she wants to be turned someday.

I flew to New York the same day she did, but she was unaware of my travel plans. I met with the Queen of New York, Adriana Badolato, as well as the Sheriff of Area One, which in New York is Manhattan. The Sheriff was a vampire named Nicolas Swann. He and I had met before several hundred years earlier and I had never particularly liked him, but, naturally, I kept that to myself.

De Castro had made an arrangement with the Queen that if no harm came to his visiting telepath, the Queen could borrow Sookie twice a year for reading humans once she was turned. The Queen agreed, accepting a babysitting fee from De Castro which would cover Sookie’s security detail and probably much more, although I was not privy to the actual sum.

If Sookie lost her telepathy in her turning, the Queen would be compensated further. Of course, we were all hopeful that that would not be the case.

Once Sookie found a home and a job in Manhattan, her permanent security team was put in place. A demon named Mitzi was moved into Sookie’s building and two Weres found employment at Creole (the restaurant in which Sookie worked) who watched her at work. I knew that supes were more difficult for Sookie to read, but I personally flew to New York to glamor them periodically, so that they had little to glean from their minds. They knew to watch and protect her, but that was essentially all.

I also occasionally glamored and interrogated Creole’s owner, Shannon O’Connor, who was merely a human and had no knowledge of what Sookie was or who I was.

Things were going smoothly for Sookie and the little bubble of protection I had in place until I found out that Remy Savoy was kidnapped. He was the former husband of Sookie’s cousin, Hadley.

The vampire who kidnapped Savoy was probably hoping to obtain his son, Hunter. Those of us who knew of Hunter’s existence suspected that he may have the same gift that Sookie posseses, and of course, he was by rights De Castro’s property. Both the boy and his father were protected by the Sheriff of Area Six where they lived.

I got word from Bubba that Savoy had been taken. I had posted Bubba in Red Ditch to act as a spy, and because of his special status, no one questioned his roaming away from Area Five.

As soon as I heard that Savoy was missing, I dispatched Pam to guard the boy at a friend’s where he was having what human children call a sleep over. By the time she got there, Savoy’s body had been found by Bubba in a nearby empty house. Bubba staged a car accident to explain Savoy’s death and called the authorities. Pam watched Hunter from a safe distance as he was delivered to Jason Stackhouse by the local authorities.

Bubba caught the scent of the vampire who had taken Savoy from Savoy’s body and the culprit was apprehended before dawn. He was tortured by the Sheriff of Area Six and it was determined that he worked for the King of Tennessee.

No one was surprised that another monarch wanted to own the child, and De Castro made the decision to let it go. No real harm had been done. I was given the choice as Sookie’s mate and Sheriff of what to do with the vampire who had killed Savoy. I staked him the following night on my way out of town and wired the proper compensation to his maker before I left.

I flew to New York and watched Sookie myself for a couple of nights and had the Queen employ additional security during the day. When Pam called and told me that Sookie had been chosen to be Hunter’s guardian in Savoy’s will, we sent a Were on the plane to watch Sookie as she flew back to Louisiana. I stayed behind in New York to negotiate with the Queen to add Hunter’s protection to Sookie’s.

I kept it to myself that I knew the Sheriff in Manhattan had once been the mate of the King of Tennessee. It had been several hundred years since their coupling as far as I knew, and I had no other reason to suspect that Nicholas Swann was involved in Savoy’s abduction, but I was wary of him and decided to stick around and see what I could learn.

I also made the decision to make my presence known to Sookie. It was difficult to suppress my emotions constantly so that she wouldn’t feel me through the bond, and I knew it would be much easier for me to stay in New York with her knowledge than without. Plus, I missed her.

I glamored Shannon O’Connor to hire me as Sookie’s temporary replacement and later assistant and began to work as a chef at Creole. I actually found cooking human food relaxing and enjoyed myself tremendously. After the restaurant closed every night, I would socialize with Nicholas Swann and his vampires, getting as close to them as I could.

Sookie came back to New York with Hunter, unaware of their Were escort. Bubba stayed in Bon Temps to watch over Sookie’s brother. Pam flew to Tennessee for a “vacation.”

We got very lucky when Sookie hired our demon bodyguard, Mitzi, to be Hunter’s babysitter. I was feeling good about how things were falling into place.

The night Sookie came back to work at Creole, I was very pleased to see her. I was relieved to no longer have to hide in the shadows and suppress my emotions when I was in New York. I was hoping she would be happy to see me, but instead she was angry.

She ordered me into the walk-in freezer and began angrily telling me that she wanted me to stay out of her life. I could feel the conflict through our bond. She was very angry but also so very sad. I could see that being alone and having her new responsibility as a parent to her nephew was taking its toll on her. I wanted to comfort her and let her know that I was there for her.

Suddenly, she grabbed my face and kissed me hard. I responded, naturally. I still loved her, of course, and had only ended our physical relationship at her request. I was very pleased at the prospect of her allowing us to reconnect on a physical level. She seemed to melt in my arms and her kiss deepened as she surrendered to our feelings that fed each other through the bond.

I wondered that she might be cold having sex in the freezer, but was willing to chance it, of course. But before I had a chance to initiate what was sure to be an exquisite sexual encounter, Shannon interrupted us and Sookie stormed out of the freezer, but not before abruptly quitting her job.

I stayed at the restaurant for a few nights, hoping that Sookie would return, but when she began looking for a new job and it was apparent she wouldn’t be back, I left as well.

I continued socializing with Nicholas Swann and his group, but was unable to learn any pertinent information regarding his former connection with Tennessee. Fortunately, Pam, was having better luck in Nashville. She was sleeping with the local Sheriff as well as several humans who were known lovers of the King and soon reported suspicions that the King and Nicholas were still connected.

After discussing our findings with De Castro, the decision was made to turn what we knew over to the Queen of New York. I stayed out of the way and soon enough, the Queen had determined that Nicholas and Tennessee were conspiring to not only obtain Sookie and Hunter, but to dispose of the Queen herself. Nicholas Swann was promised the throne in New York by Tennessee in return for delivering both telepaths to Tennessee.

I learned all this from the Queen herself when she allowed me to witness Nicholas’ beheading in her private chambers. She offered me the position of Sheriff of Manhattan, but I had no interest in it. My plate was full with Sookie’s protection and I had no intentions of leaving De Castro. I felt that Sookie was fairly safe in his care and had no desire to make waves there.

We struck a bargain instead. I left my position as Sheriff in Louisiana, but retained my allegiance to De Castro. Pam became Sheriff of Area Five. I became Sookie and Hunter’s official protector in New York. The Sheriff of Area Two of New York was promoted to Area One and placed in Manhattan.

It was decreed that no one upon pain of final death could touch Hunter until he was 21 and at that time, his telepathic duties would be split equally between De Castro and Queen Badolato. Sookie’s status remained the same, with the continued hope that she would be turned someday.

The decision was made that I would stay in New York. I bought an apartment mere blocks from Sookie and decided to open a restaurant in the hopes that I could entice Sookie to work with me. I knew that she loved cooking at Creole and hoped that we could have a happy life together in New York.

I named my restaurant Human Food and it became popular very quickly. It provided an income from which to appease the Queen and I found that I thoroughly enjoyed running the kitchen. It was certainly more rewarding than sitting on my throne at Fangtasia.

I began visiting Sookie in the early evening after dusk and got to know Hunter a bit. He was a sweet child, clearly traumatized at the loss of his remaining parent. It was evident right away that he and Sookie could communicate without speaking and I knew that he would be valued as much as Sookie was by vampires. I became even more motivated to protect him. Not only was he on a very short list of telepaths that were known to us, but he meant a great deal to the woman that I loved and hoped to someday turn.

I continued visiting Sookie and Hunter and was careful not to touch Sookie in a sexual manner. I could feel, of course, that she still desired me. I had yet to meet a human heterosexual woman who didn’t, quite frankly, and Sookie is certainly a human above all else. But, I didn’t want to spook her and send her running to another state after all my careful plans setting her safety in place in New York.

I quickly grew quite fond of the boy and began to think of him and Sookie as a package deal. I learned what types of interests he had and appointed his room in my apartment accordingly. I also designed my kitchen and bedroom and bathroom with Sookie in mind and kept the kitchen stocked with her favorite foods in anticipation of her visiting me. I knew it would simply be a matter of time until she came to me and wanted to be my lover again. She wouldn’t be able to resist me forever.

Sure enough, she came into Human Food one night dressed in my favorite dress. I began to feel confident that she would soon be mine again. She seemed to enjoy her meal and was impressed with the restaurant, as are most people. I hoped she could see herself running it by my side in a fulfilling life together.

I was able to entice her to visit my apartment that night but when she discovered the room I had planned for Hunter, she nearly bolted. Fortunately, I was able to reason with her and convince her that I still loved and wanted her, but would not pressure her in any way to make a decision.

I had finally learned how to manage the skittish Miss Stackhouse it seems, because within a week, she had moved in with me, and she, Hunter, and I became a family.

Queen Badolato and De Castro were both pleased with our new living arrangement. I finally felt secure that Sookie would not leave me and I would be able to protect the two of them more easily.

By that time, Queen Badolato had purchased the other three apartments on my floor and placed suitable tenants in them—another vampire and two Weres—all well-trained and pledged to insure Sookie and Hunter’s safety. And, naturally, Hunter’s school employed several Weres as administrators and teachers who had Hunter’s safety in hand at all times.

I trusted that the Queen valued Hunter and Sookie and would protect them at all costs, but I knew that I was the only person who truly cared for them and never forgot that fact. I would never let any one harm either of them, and would kill without reservation any being who tried.

And so, Sookie and Hunter and I embarked on our life together in New York City. My focus was on their safety and happiness. Sookie only needed to worry about the happiness part. She was completely unaware of her status in the vampire world, and I intended to keep it that way for as long as possible.

I hoped that she and I could enjoy a fulfilling relationship that would someday lead to her turning. And I hoped that Hunter would grow to be a strong and intelligent man. I knew his life would never be normal as an adult, but hoped that at least his childhood would be and that it could prepare him for his very unusual future.

I knew that the future was uncertain for us all, but I did all I could to see that the brief time we had together on this earth as a “normal” family would be spent in a loving home. Selfishly, of course, I looked forward to some years of peace and pleasure with my beloved wife and son. When it came to my pursuit of our happiness together, I had no reservations.

XXX