AUTHORS NOTE:

Originally posted on the site in August 2016 and finished in October 2016.

This story has been given a complete overhaul, hopefully removing all typos and errors I missed the first time around. The main story remains intact and has not been altered other than edited in places to improve the flow and remove any plot holes, omissions and errors.

oooOOOooo

I was a huge fan of the Southern Vampire series of books, I eagerly awaited each new book that came out and I was never disappointed with what Ms Harris produced, that was until we got to book 10 (Dead in the family), after the superb book 9 (Dead and Gone) which was packed with action and had a much darker tone than preceding books and was in my opinion the best book in the series, book 10 was a let down, it was so different and out of character and after book 10 it appeared to me that Ms Harris had lost interest in the series and was looking to end it, the characterisation development deteriorated over the next three books venturing into the totally absurd by the final book. I had a number of ideas how the story 'should' have ended and I made a few notes at the time with a view to posting a FF story of my version of events but it never happened. I have recently re-read the whole series of books and although there were good parts to books 10, 11 and 12 which could have been expanded upon (I'm not going to mention the final book as this was, in my opinion, a complete car crash from beginning to end). I feel the series could have been wrapped up and ended with book 11, so I have decided to revisit those notes I made and have a go and bring the series to a conclusion, parts will mirror the books but other parts will be different.

I do not own the Sookie Stackhouse, Southern Vampire series of stories or its characters.

THE DEAD END

CHAPTER 1

I am sitting in my kitchen, sipping my coffee and I'm thinking over the events of last night, Dermot and Claude have already left and I am going through everything that happened once more. The main thing which is going through my mind on a constant loop, are the words of Ocella when he almost gleefully told me I wouldn't keep Eric.

I wonder what hold that sadistic ancient vampire had over Eric, apart from the obvious sire/child relationship. I had learnt some things from Eric about him, but he had always been very reluctant to talk about his maker. From my brief experience of him, he was, in my opinion nothing more than an evil sadistic parasite. In the short time he had been back in Eric's life he had drained him financially and mentally, I had never seen Eric so ...depressed, that is the only word for it, he was despairing of what Ocella would do next to destroy the life he had built here, I could feel that though the bond even though I'm sure Eric would deny every word, but the surge of relief rather than grief I got from Eric when Ocella met his final death nearly knocked me off my feet.

There was absolutely nothing honourable about him. Eric exudes honour and has earned the respect and loyalty of the vampires around him, Ocella was nothing more than a nasty bully and a cowardly weasel and I am glad he is finally dead. I just wish I had been the one to drive the stake through his worthless heart.

I sip my coffee again and think about Coleman, and a wave of sadness overtakes me as I thought about how he must have felt to lose Claudine and the baby, I could understand his homicidal motives as they were borne of grief and loss and didn't blame him for them. I did blame my great grandfather though, if he hadn't been so selfish and tried to approach me when Fintan had forbid him to do so, Claudine would still be alive now and so would her baby. I still can't figure out his motives for wanting to get to know me, it's not as if my miniscule dash of Fae blood was worth anything important, and that connection had only brought heartache and loss. Numerous thoughts are whirling around my head now, and I am starting to feel a little overwhelmed by it all. I feel a tear trickle down my cheek and I brush it away. I need to stop it and focus on today.

oooOOOooo

My day thankfully turns out to be a day of blissful mundane, I do all my chores and then head to work for my evening shift at Merlotte's, and when I arrive Sam greets me warmly.

"Hello cher, are you ok?" he asks looking at me carefully, and I wonder if he has heard about the events of last night.

I nod, "I'm fine" I say, offering him a weak smile.

He continues to stare at me for a few moments longer, before he nods and then he returns behind the bar to continue with what he was doing. After getting my instructions from Holly about who wants what, who is waiting for what, and who has what, I do a quick round of my tables and glance out of the window, it's starting to get dark now and as I think this I feel Eric rising through the bond, and I send him a burst of love and happiness, I feel him accept it and then return it, I smile and continue with my work.

I glance around, it's not at all busy tonight, in fact since a new bar opened a short while ago customers have been a bit thin on the ground. 'Vic's Roadhouse' had opened to a fanfare of publicity, and curiosity have seen many of Merlotte's customers go to the rival bar. As I do another round of my tables I glance once more out of the window, and see a dark figure rushing forward, out of instinct I open up my mind and I immediately get the snarly thoughts of a twoey but then I get the distinct thought which makes my blood run cold. This is for Debbie- die you bitch! Then I see the flaming bottle in her hand and I hear myself screaming.

"GET DOWN!" I yell as the window shatters.

I am covered in glass and I feel heat, intense heat and I glance down and see my apron on fire, I scream again and I see Sam run towards me with the fire extinguisher and he blasts me with it, before turning his attention to the flaming bottle and the pile of napkins which have caught light, I pull myself together and grab a pitcher of water from the bar and start putting out the smaller fires which are dotted around.

I wonder if anyone else has been hurt, it is lucky we were so quiet if it had been a normal night with the usual amount of patrons someone could have been seriously hurt, I look around and see Sam evacuating everyone out to the hallway before returning and helping to douse the remaining flames. Eventually the fire is out, nobody is hurt although my legs are hurting, they are stinging and feel hot; and there is a huge mess to clear up and a broken window that needs replacing, I just collapse in a heap on the floor and start to sob.

"Sookie?" Sam asks and he sits beside me and wraps his arm around me. "It's ok" he whispers.

"I'm so sorry Sam," I whisper to him.

"What for?" he asks in surprise looking at me.

"It was my fault," I sob.

"Hush" he says and pulls me closer for another hug. "Don't be silly, if you hadn't reacted so quickly when you saw them, it could have been much worse," he says.

"You don't understand Sam it was..." I stop dead as I hear the door open.

I look up to see Alcee Beck and three guys from the fire department, Alcee scowls at me and I glare right back at him.

"What the hell happened here?" he growls as he takes in the mess.

Sam stands up and greets Alcee and gives him a quick account of what happened. Alcee turns to me and questions me, I tell him what I saw, I take a quick look in his head and he is convinced it is a hate attack because of Sam being a shifter – the revelation of the Weres and shifters hadn't been universally accepted and there was an undercurrent of building animosity.

As I consider putting him right and clearing my conscience, I hear the door burst open and I look across towards it and there stands Eric, his eyes are blazing and his windswept blond hair is hanging around his shoulders he looks ...amazing, I know he must have felt my fear and pain and come to me, I watch as Alcee freezes and stares at the furious vampire who is now stalking towards me, he ignores everyone else in the room and they all let him through without a word.

"Sookie" Eric says and he grabs me and holding my face he stares into my eyes.

"I'm fine honey, I'm ok" I assure him but he shakes his head.

"You are hurt, you were afraid," he says.

His concern for me makes me lose my control and once more I start to sob, Eric doesn't hesitate he takes me in his arms and pulls me towards his cold hard chest, I wrap my arms around him and cling to him.

"I'm fine, but I'm really glad you're here." I whisper.

"I'm taking you home," he says glaring at Sam and Alcee, almost daring them to argue with him.

Sam nods, and Alcee although furious at Eric's high handed attitude also nods, he isn't about to argue with someone as scary looking as Eric. Eric lifts me into his arms and the next thing I realise I am in the car park next to my car.

"Eric, I need my purse – its in Sam's office" I say and he nods, then he vanishes leaving me alone, maybe this wasn't the best idea in the world when the bar has just been firebombed by a crazy person who wants me dead, as I think this I see her, Sandra Pelt steps out of the bushes and walks towards me.

"You are going to die," she hisses at me.

I freeze as she leaps, but there is a blur and I see her crash into the ground, Eric is on top of her snarling, his huge hand wrapped around her throat.

"Eric don't, please don't, not here – Alcee is inside," I plead, but Eric isn't listening, he has latched on to Sandra's throat and is feeding noisily, "Eric please" I beg.

I glance behind me praying that nobody comes out and catches Eric draining Sandra. Thankfully, Eric hears me, I watch as he assumes Herculean control and pulls away, her blood dripping from his fangs and then he grabs the unconscious Were and shoots into the sky. I see my purse on the ground near my feet and pick it up. I know that I won't be bothered by Sandra Pelt again after tonight and surprisingly I am not concerned about her fate. I just want to go home, so I climb into my car and pull out of Merlottes. I am tired and not just physically, I just want some peace, the tears start to fall again as I make my way home.

I am just pulling off the main road when I feel and hear a loud thump on the roof of my car, fear and panic hits me but it is replaced almost immediately with love and comfort and I know at once it is Eric. I pull over and his face appears upside-down outside my passenger window. I can't help but giggle at the ridiculous sight and Eric grins back at me. He jumps off my car and opens the door within seconds he is beside me pulling me into his arms.

"You won't be troubled by Sandra Pelt any further," he says with an empty voice and I nod in understanding of what that means.

"Thank you" I reply gratefully.

He strokes my hair and says nothing for a moment, and then looks down and he gently touches my legs.

"I want to see your legs – you are hurting," he says.

I nod at him, "Let's get home first" I whisper as I pull away from him. We drive the short distance to my house in silence and I suddenly wonder if Dermot and Claude are here, I pull out my phone and call Claude.

"Good evening cousin," he says smoothly.

"Where are you Claude?" I ask without any preamble.

"At Hooligans with Dermot – why?" he asks.

"Because I am at home, with Eric" I say.

"I understand, in which case we will remain here tonight," he says.

"Thank you," I reply and hang up.

We climb out the car and head inside, I automatically head to the fridge for a bottle of blood for Eric but his wraps his hand around my wrist and takes the bottle from me and returns it to the fridge.

"I'm fine, I've fed" he says with a grim finality.

"On Sandra?" I ask.

Eric nods, "I had just risen when I felt your fear, I hadn't had chance to feed I left so quickly, so it was...inevitable" he says with a dismissive shrug.

I smile at him, "You don't need to explain to me, I understand you know, and I'm grateful you came, in fact I've been desperate to see you all day," I pause as I see a lustful glint in his eye.

I shake my head, "Not in that way, we need to talk Eric" I say.

Eric raises his eyebrows and cocks his head to one side as he looks at me questioningly. "Alright, but first I need to see your legs I can still feel your pain and I don't like it" he says.

I nod and watch him as he gently he undresses me, taking care not to catch my legs, he hisses angrily as he sees the red burnt and blistered skin. He lifts me into his arms and carries me to the sofa and sitting cradling me in his lap he bites his wrist and offers it to me.

"Drink Sookie" he demands and I don't argue, I wrap my lips around his wrist and drink from him, almost immediately my legs stop hurting, I look down and see the redness is quickly fading.

"Thank you" I say as I pull away.

Eric leans down and nuzzles my neck, I can feel him hard against me, feeding from him has excited him and now he wants sex, but I really need to talk with him first.

"Eric please, we need to talk" I say.

"What about?" he asks, as he still nuzzles against me.

I tell him about the previous night, what Ocella said to me and then how he saved me by urging me to move out of the way when he was killed by Coleman's sword. Eric stiffens at the mention of his maker and listens intently.

"I don't understand, why did he save me and more importantly why did he say I would never keep you?" I ask.

Eric wraps his arms tighter around me.

"You have to understand something about Ocella. He was a sadist, he saved you so you would live to feel the pain of being separated from me, he knows how you feel about me, he felt it through our bond, and he knows how I feel about you, and he is punishing us both" he says.

"How?" I ask in confusion.

"I told you I would never lie to you Sookie, but I also told you I didn't tell you everything, this is one occasion I do not wish you to know" he says stubbornly.

"Why? If it affects me I should know," I say my anger rising.

"I don't want you to know because I am trying everything in my power to avoid it, and if I succeed everything will be as it should be. Why should I burden you and make you worry about something which may not even come to pass?" He stops speaking and looks at me questioningly.

"You're trying to protect me" I say, immediately understanding his logic.

Eric nods, "I am" he says.

I nod thinking carefully, "Ok I get that, but am I in danger by not knowing?" I ask.

Eric thinks about that for a moment, "there may be repercussions" he says thoughtfully, and yet with irritating evasiveness.

"Then don't you think I deserve to know so I can be prepared?" I ask him reasonably.

Eric stares at me and then he stands and paces the room. "It will give you pain and I don't want to feel your pain" he says.

"Close the bond then," I say with a shrug, "if you tell me I might be able to help" I reason.

Eric paces some more and then seems to come to some decision, he sits beside me and takes my hand.

"My maker sold me to the Queen of Oklahoma" he says coldly.

"Sold you?" I stammer not understanding what he is telling me.

Eric nods, "In the old days it was common for a maker to arrange a marriage for their progeny, it isn't done now but Ocella was never one to move with the times" he says bitterly.

He pauses, and then continues to explain, "He felt my love for you, he believed it made me weak, he was ashamed that I would show emotion, and the fact that emotion was directed towards a human was even more disgraceful to him, this is why he returned, it wasn't just because of Alexei, he wanted to kill you but he couldn't, because he knew if he killed you that would also kill me because we are bonded, plus there was Felipe's oath to protect you which would make me bound to kill my maker if he harmed you" he says.

I stare at him not quite believing what I am hearing, "So Felipe's order comes before a makers order?" I ask.

Eric nods, "fealty to a monarch supersedes fealty to a maker" he says.

I nod understanding immediately where this is going. "So Ocella was mad at you because you love me, and even madder because he couldn't kill me so instead he decided to make us both suffer by arranging you marry someone else meaning you will have to leave me," I say.

Eric nods in silence.

I stand and start pacing, as my mind tries to come up with a solution to this, "does it make any difference now he is dead?" I ask.

Eric shrugs, "Possibly, this is why I didn't want to tell you, I wanted to exhaust all avenues before informing you, as I was hoping this would not come to pass" he says.

I nod and pace some more. "I get that, and thank you, but I can try and help you stop this, we are stronger together than apart Eric, we need to work as a team on this," I say.

I see the pride in his eyes and he stands and reaches for me, "You never fail to amaze me" he says, "we just need to buy ourselves some time to work out how to get out of this, I am not even supposed to know about this plan yet," he says.

"And yet you do?" I say with a grin.

Eric stares at me, "Of course I do" he says.

My grin gets wider at his arrogant response, "yeah of course you do, because you are always two or three steps ahead of your rivals" I say proudly.

I start to pace again and suddenly an answer to this comes to me, an answer that seems so deceptively simple and obvious that I need to clarify it.

"We are married by vampire law?" I ask and Eric nods, "So, you would have to divorce me in line with that law to marry this queen?" I ask and Eric nods again.

"How long would that take?" I ask.

"We would sever the bond with the ceremonial knife in the same way it was forged" he says.

"So, I just give you that knife thing?" I ask.

Eric nods, "What are you thinking lover?" he asks.

"So, if we were also married by human law we would have to divorce by human law too, and that being the case, I could contest it, it could take ...months...years maybe," I say waving my hand dismissively, "and don't forget human law trumps vampire law, so I obviously wouldn't see any reason to do the knife thingy until I was divorced by human law first" I add with a grin.

A sly smile creeps across Eric's face as he considers this, "You have the devious mind of a vampire my lover" he says, but then the smile vanishes, "but this would place you in grave danger" he adds.

I snort dismissively, "Just for a change" I say with more than a hint of sarcasm.

"I can't do that to you, I can't willingly and knowingly put you in danger," he says with a shake of his head.

I walk up to him and poke him the chest with my finger, his eyes widen as I do so, "Hey listen here buster, I love you, you love me, people who love each other and who want to spend the rest of their lives together get married, I trust you to protect me just as I hope you trust me to protect you" I say.

Eric stares at me, and then he leaps on me and kisses me, I moan as I run my hands through his hair. He pulls away and the look he gives me is scorching and I know I have got him onboard with my plan.

"We need to move quickly," he says.

I snigger, "we could always go and get married in Vegas, I'm sure Felipe wouldn't mind" I say sarcastically.

Eric throws his head back and laughs loudly then he turns to me his eyes gleaming, "so you want to elope lover?" he says.

My face lights up and I nod at him. "Your proposal could have been better, but yeah I'd like that" I say.

Eric stands, "I need to put plans into action, we will marry tomorrow night in Las Vegas" he says.

I nod and with another kiss he is gone, "wait how am I...?" I stop and collapse on my sofa, I have the confidence that Eric will organise everything, I guess I'll just have to wait and see what happens.

A couple of hours later I am just getting ready for bed after taking a welcome shower when there is a knock at the door; I listen and feel the empty void of a vampire.

"Who is it?" I call.

"It is I" comes the familiar voice. I grin at the sound of Eric's voice and open the door. My jaw drops as I take him in. He is dressed in a tuxedo, his hair is slicked back and tied in a braid down his back and in his hand is a huge bouquet of flowers, I smile widely at him.

"Wow you look nice," I say and he walks past me into the kitchen. He pauses and hands me the flowers.

"Thank you, they are lovely" I say as I accept them from him.

Before I can say anything else, Eric is on one knee in front of me, "Will you marry me?" he asks and as he says this he delves into his pocket and pulls out a box and opens it. My breath catches as I see a beautiful ring, it looks old...very old.

I nod, "yes Eric I will marry you" I say.

I hear clapping and turn to see Pam at the door I smile at her.

"Ready?" she asks and Eric nods.

Eric slides the ring on to my finger and kisses it and then me. "We need to go - now" he says.

I nod, in this moment I will follow him anywhere.

"Where are we going and what's happening?" I ask.

"I have secured a private flight to Vegas this night, Pam is here to pack what you need, we need to leave quickly if we are to arrive before dawn, then tomorrow I have secured a team to come and remove your belongings from this house to my own," he pauses as he sees the surprise on my face.

"It needs to be this way lover, I need you with me so I am able to adequately protect you" he says. I can see he is gearing up for me to argue and fight him on this, but in a sudden moment of clarity I realise this has been the whole problem between us, he doesn't tell me things so I don't trust him and in turn I cling on to my independence, but things have now shifted and we need to be a united front.

I think for a moment and then I take a deep breath and nod. "I understand" I say.

I watch as surprise fills his face but he quickly recovers and nods at Pam who then disappears at vampire speed and returns moments later with 4 cases packed which she dumps in front of me, she looks at me as she waves her hand at them.

"I have packed your entire wardrobe and all your toiletries and human necessities," she says, I watch as she picks them up again and loads them into the car parked outside.

"You are sure about this lover?" Eric asks me looking at me carefully.

I think a moment and then nod, "yes" I reply with confidence and conviction, "come on, lets go" I add.

Eric takes my hand and leads me from my home, I stop and look over my shoulder taking in the house where I grew up, and he watches me do so, then I look up and nod decisively at Eric. I have always fought against him, trying to keep my independence but I realise that I need to let him take charge with this or I will end up losing him.

"I'm ready" I say. "Wait...what about Sam if we are marrying tomorrow night I was due to work?"I say remembering my other obligations.

Eric shakes his head, "Taken care of" he replies, and he shepherds me out to the waiting car. As I climb in I realise I am only dressed in my nightshirt and slippers. I gesture to my outfit and Eric kisses me.

"You look perfect lover" he says.

oooOOOooo

I sit in the comfortable seat on the plane and look around at my surroundings. I wonder how much this must have cost, as this is not your run of the mill aircraft, I also wonder how Eric had managed to arrange everything so fast. Eric is talking to Pam and I turn my head to see Thalia sitting quietly in the corner, she is glaring at me I know she doesn't approve of Eric loving me, as far as she is concerned humans are only good for one thing and that is food. I feel the need to speak to her make her realise how much Eric means to me, but she scares me.

"You don't like me very much do you?" I ask, summoning up at the courage I have.

Thalia just stares at me in silence, she is really intimidating, and her cold lifeless eyes are still managing to bore right into me.

I feel my courage slip a little but I push on, "You think I'm a distraction and not good for him don't you?" I ask.

I see Thalia nod but she still says nothing.

"Well, you're wrong!" I say bluntly, "there is nothing I wouldn't do for Eric, I have saved his life and I would kill for him, I have put myself in harms way for him and..." I stop as Thalia silences me by simply raising her hand.

"But you won't allow him to turn you" she spits.

I freeze remembering the conversation we had, where I made Eric promise never to turn me even if I was dying. I go to speak but Thalia holds up her hand again.

"You are a liability, you are human and humans are weak. Eric isn't...rational when it comes to you, he is a warrior and he thinks strategically, he is pragmatic and careful that is why he has survived all these centuries, but since you came into his world you have destroyed that and you will eventually destroy him, you are his weakness and you will end up being the cause of his demise," she stops speaking as Eric walks towards us, I know he has heard everything she has said as she didn't try to speak quietly and vampires have excellent hearing.

"Leave us" he says to her and Thalia simply stands and drifts away.

"Sookie I..." Eric begins, but I stop and press my finger against his lips.

"No, she's right, I am a liability to you, so...I am amending the promise I made you make to me, I still don't want to be turned, unless ...unless there is no other option, if I am in danger of dying then you may turn me" I say decisively.

Eric looks delighted by this and he kisses me "You are sure lover?" he asks.

I nod "I am, but you must promise me that you understand what I am saying, I still want to be human unless there is no other option" I say.

"I understand and you have my word" Eric replies solemnly.

I nod "Also, no secrets, from now on no secrets we tell each other everything no matter how small or insignificant we think it is, we share it and we decide whether or not it is important together, I don't want to be a burden to you Eric, I don't want to be your weakness, I want to be your strength," I say.

"Agreed" Eric says. He pauses then looks at me carefully, "Full disclosure" he says.

I nod, "yes" I say firmly.

"So, if I were to ask you a question, you would answer it honestly?" he asks carefully.

I nod again wondering where this is going and wait for him to speak again.

"Tell me lover, would you have staked Ocella last night - would you have ended my maker?" he asks.

I don't hesitate to answer that, "Yes I would, he wasn't good for you Eric, he was a parasite he was draining you with his presence, I would have staked him and not regretted it for a moment if you hadn't told me not to" I say.

Eric nods, and before he can say anything I continue, "he wasn't a good maker, if he were he would have realised what he was doing to Alexei was compounding his psychosis and making his unpredictable behaviour worse, also I believe he was afraid, he knew he couldn't control Alexei which is why he came to you, he needed you, and because he could feel you loved me, he didn't like it, he knew he didn't have the control over you that he once had, and he wanted that back. You were the best thing Appius Livius Ocella ever did and he needed you more than you needed him and he wanted to reverse that balance of power back to him, I could see all that, I could see what his presence was doing to you and so yes I would have killed him – I would have killed him to free you from him" I say.

Eric glances up over my shoulder, I look around and see Thalia silently staring, and he smiles, "and you say she is a liability, you are wrong, she has a deeper insight and sees things differently, Sookie is an asset, she offers a fresh perspective, with Sookie at my side I will be stronger not weaker" he says.

Thalia says nothing but I see her nod slightly and then turn and leave us. "She still doesn't like me" I say.

Eric snorts, "Thalia likes no-one, Thalia just likes to be left alone" he says.

"So, why is she here?" I ask.

Eric smiles again, "is it not customary in human weddings for the bride and groom to have guests, to witness the union?" he says.

I nod and immediately feel sad as none of my family or friends will be there to see me marry Eric. I know Eric feels my sadness and he touches my face gently.

"You are tired lover, get some sleep" he says.

I glance at my watch, I know the flight is three hours so we should be landing in Las Vegas before dawn with the time difference but it will be close, Eric watches me carefully.

"Everything has been taken care of lover, we will be arriving before dawn and we will be settled before the sun rises, which is why you need to sleep now," he says.