Chapter 17

Title: Once Upon a December

Summary: At a very young age a vampire attacked Sookie Stackhouse, now she fears all of them, and with good reason. She is a runaway slave, she hopes maybe she's free from all vampires, but then a vampire bar opens up in Shreveport and her best friends drag her there for Arlene's birthday where she meets Eric Northman.

She's terrified and intrigued at the same time, but everything tells her to run except for her heart, her heart keeps pushing her back toward the strangely familiar man, she knows she knows him from somewhere, but where?

Rating: M

Disclaimer: I do not own the Southern Vampire Mysteries series or the characters.

Waking up was a hell of an experience. The world started to come back with slowly, first sounds, strange shuffling and voices very far away, then flashes of light that stabbed my eyes, and finally pain. Searing pain, shooting through my spine from the top of my head down to my toes. My shoulder hurt like I'd been slammed repeatedly into a door, my head felt like I'd been smashed with a cinder block and my spine felt like I'd been doing a back bend for five days.

When I finally managed to get my eyes open I was staring up at a cement ceiling. After attempting to sit up and feeling the entire world tilt I decided to just turn my head slightly and take in the small room. There, on the other side of the room sitting on a cot with his knees in his chest, was Hugo.

"You're alive." he whispered.

"Unfortunately." I replied, my throat was ripped to shreds. I twisted my head back up right and slowly ran my hands down my dress. It was still on an intact. My shoes were still on my feet and my underwear was still in place. I slowly swung my legs to the floor and pushed myself into a sitting position, grinding my teeth the entire time. Once I was sitting up I could feel my phone still in my bra.

"I'm sorry."

"You should be." I replied, arching my back slowly until my spine cracked in a few places, chasing away the stiffness but really showing me how much pain I was in, "what the hell happened to me?"

"They ran you and Luna off the road, grabbed you and dragged you back here. I think they were hoping you'd die." Hugo says the last part in a hushed voice, hoping not to offend me, "I thought they'd keep me safe."

I snorted, glancing up at him, "you've already been tainted by them." he looked horrified, "once you've been tainted they will not try and help you. Ever. You are poisoned, but you are useful. Nobody knew you were helping, therefore you're expendable."

"But-."

"Nobody knew you were helping, they can just kill you and everyone will think it was the vampires. Win win for the fellowship." I might as well have slapped him.

"And do you think your vampires will come and save you?" he spat.

"Yes." I replied, "I am valuable. I have a gift. If my vampires do not save me there are others that will." I tried not to dwell on the fact that Bill may come kidnap me from this hell. But some hope in the back of my mind that maybe Claudine would come and save me, but the chances were slim to none, after all I'd told her to leave me alone, but still I kept my ears open for the soft 'pop' that would mark her entrance.

"Why do you trust them? They're monsters." Hugo spits the words out like venom.

"I know they're monsters." I reply, shifting so I'm leaning up against the wall, I close my eyes and look up at the ceiling. Suddenly I'm back in that basement, surrounded by all of those people, all beaten and broken and trying to survive in hopes a better day would come. Except these people were now ghosts, moaning in agony while I sat in a corner clutching my knees to my chest. I blinked and shook my head, feeling the trembling in my hands starting again,

"Why do you choose to be with these monsters when they kill people?" he asked.

"Why do you trust these people when they kill people?" I shot back.

"What do you mean?"

"Bethany Rogers. The girl from last night, they killed her, they're going to kill us." I replied, "the vampires aren't the only monsters in the world, but at least it's not a surprise when they turn around and kill someone."

"They wont kill me, I've been helping them." he sounded one hundred percent sure.

"Who else knows?" but that let the wind out of his sails pretty quickly, not that I hadn't just reminded him of that two seconds before. Rolling my eyes I shifted my gaze forward to the door just as I felt someone moving around outside. His thoughts were too messy to decipher and I doubted I wanted to when the door opened and Gabe was standing on the other side.

"How you doing in there, you two?"

"Sookie needs a doctor," Hugo said. "She's not complaining, but I think she has some broken bones." I didn't know what Hugo thought he was doing, but I tried to look as beaten as possible. That was pretty easy, everything hurt.

"I have me an idea," Gabe said, stepping in slightly. "I've gotten kind of bored down here, and I don't expect Steve or Sarah will be coming back down here any time soon. We got another prisoner over here, Hugo, might be glad to see you. Farrell? You meet him over at the headquarters of the Evil Ones?"

"Yes," said Hugo. He looked very unhappy about this turn of the conversation.

"You know how fond Farrell's gonna be of you? And he's gay, too, a queer bloodsucker. We're so deep underground that he's been waking up early. So I thought I might just put you in there with him, while I have me a little fun with the female traitor, here." And Gabe smiled at me in a way that made my stomach lurch, anger burned deep within me, but some of it quelled when I saw Hugo. Hugo's face was a picture. A real picture.

"I told you they weren't the only monsters. At least you've got no doubts what'll happen to you next." I told him. His face paled to the color of a sheet of paper, though I had serious doubts the vampire would actually do something to the man, "Farrell!" I yelled out, hoping he was awake.

Gabe jumped, looked at me suspiciously.

"Yes?" came a deep voice from the room farther down the hall. I heard chains clink as the vampire moved. Of course, they'd have to chain him with silver. Otherwise he could rip the door off its hinges.

"Stan sent us!" I yelled, and then Gabe backhanded me with the hand that held the gun. Since I was against the wall, my head bounced off it. I made an awful noise, not quite a scream but too loud for a moan.

"Shut up, bitch!" Gabe screamed. He was pointing the gun at Hugo and had the stun gun held at the ready a few inches from me. "Now, Lawyer, you get out here in the hall. Keep away from me, you hear?" he followed him out and closed the door.

I picked up one of the chairs, a plastic one with four metal legs and I held it lion-tamer style, with the legs facing outward. It was all I could think of to do. I thought of Jason, and Eric, and Pam and Gran, but that was too painful. Then I thought of my years of torture, and anger burned stronger than the pain. I was not going to go down without a fight.

The door opened. Gabe was already smiling as he came in. It was a nasty smile, letting all the ugliness leak out of his soul through his mouth and eyes. This really was his idea of a good time. "You think that little chair is going to keep you safe?" he asked.

"You think that guns gonna get you what you want?" I slipped into his head momentarily, it was easy to predict his next move after he put the gun away and and his stun gun remained in his hand, but such was his confidence, he put it in a little leather pouch on his belt, on the left side. He seized the legs of the chair and began to yank the chair from side to side.

I clenched my fingers tight, dug my feet into the ground and rammed it into him painfully, driving him back and out the door into the hallway slamming him up against the wall, but then he managed to get a grip on the seat of the chair and twist it, breaking my grasp and his trapped state.

Without my seeing it, he'd drawn the stun gun and, quick as a snake, he reached over the chair and touched it to my shoulder. I didn't collapse, which he expected, instead I stayed standing, balling my hands into fists, and then I drove my right fist into his jaw. He dropped the stun gun and stumbled away, I hunched and ran at him, drilling my shoulder into his stomach and knocking him back on his ass before I managed to stumble into the hallway.

I almost got the door shut but he managed to wedge his combat boot in the door, and with his other foot, kicked the door open, knocking me onto my back, the air leaving my lungs in a rush that made my head spin. I could hardly move, but I could scream and lock my legs together, and I did.

"Shut up!" he yelled, and since he was touching me, I could tell that he really wanted me unconscious, he would enjoy raping me while I was unconscious; in fact, that was his ideal.

"Don't like your women awake," I panted, "do you?" He stuck a hand between us and yanked at the buttons on my dress. I gripped his wrists and groped his hands while he attempted to rip the fabric until I gripped his pinky and bent it back without a second thought until he howled in pain and then slammed his free hand against my throat, effectively pinning me to the ground.

I heard Hugo's voice, yelling, as if that would do any good. I bit at Gabe's shoulder.

He called me a bitch again, which was getting old. He'd opened his own pants, now he was trying to pull up my skirt.

"You afraid they'll complain, if they're awake?" I yelled. "Let me go, get off me! Get off, get off, get off!" I'd unpinned my arms in my thrashing and without a second thought I formed two cups with my hands. As I screamed at him, I clapped my hands over his ears.

He roared, and reared back, his own hands going to his head. He was so full of rage it escaped him and washed over me; it felt like bathing in fury. I knew then that he would kill me if he could, no matter what reprisals he faced. I twisted my body and managed to get my feet out from under his legs, pushed my legs against his hips and shoved him away.

He flew away, or so I thought, but then my brain pieced it together. Up in the air Gabe went, pants open and dick hanging out, his fist landing on air, his shoes kicking at my legs.

A short man was holding Gabe up in the air; not a man, I realized at second glance, a teenager. An ancient teenager.

He was blond and shirtless, and his arms and chest were covered with blue tattoos. Gabe was yelling and flailing, but the boy stood calmly, his face expressionless, until Gabe ran down. By the time Gabe was silent, the boy had transferred his grip to a kind of bear hug encircling Gabe's waist, and Gabe was hanging forward.

The boy looked down at me dispassionately.

"Are you badly hurt?" the boy asked, almost reluctantly.

I had a savior, but not an enthusiastic one.

"I'll survive." I watched Gabe as I got to my feet and realized this boy had killed him.

"You're Godric." I looked from Gabe to his face.

"I am." he replied.

"Please let me out, they'll kill me." I tried to look pleading but I was in too much pain now that the adrenaline had worn off.

"But you consort with vampires," he said.

My eyes darted from one side to another, as I tried to figure this one out.

"Ah," I said hesitantly. "You're a vampire, aren't you?"

"Tomorrow I atone for my sin publicly," Godric said. "Tomorrow I greet the dawn. For the first time in a thousand years, I will see the sun. Then I will see the face of God."

"You chose," I said.

"Yes." he agreed, looking a little confused.

"But I didn't. I don't want to die." I begged.

"You do consort with vampires," Godric accused, and I switched my gaze back to his face.

"Not willingly." I replied, "well more willingly now. It's complicated."

"Vampire's are monsters."

"I know." I said emphatically, "when I was 3 a vampire captured me and tortured me until I was 13. he put me through hell like no other for his own enjoyment because he desired me. My involvement with vampires is to keep him from getting to me again."

He blinked, "this vampire should meet the sun."

"I agree." I replied, "please, do not sentence me to death. Do not sentence innocent people to death. You chose your path."

"Farrell is not innocent."

"No, he is not, but he is not yet seeing his sins. You must let him find them on his own." I glanced toward the door where I could see Hugo's face looking at me pleadingly "he did not kill that man even though he is undoubtedly starving, he is not completely immoral."

"I must meet the sun." Godric continues.

"Then meet the sun. But what do you need these people for?" I gestured, "these people are bad and do not care about their sins, Gabe is a monster, and these people are monsters. They hit my car and brought me here with possibly fatal injuries, an innocent human, leaving me here to die, or meet the sun tied to a vampire." I was grasping for straws, but his grip on Gabe started to slacken and his body hit the ground with a thud.

"I will get you out of here, but do not interfere with me meeting the sun." I shook my head, I would certainly not, "it is dark now. I will help you escape, as long as you make sure Farrell does not kill anyone. There are many here."

"I swear." Fucking vampires. I wish they'd all just fucking disappear sometimes.

Godric opened the door to the cell, "Hugo for the love of fucking Hell do not fuck this up." I growled, he nodded his head while Godric went into the small room with Farrell and unchained him. The silver had weakened him and Hugo and I had to support him out of the room.

I'd only wanted to get myself out, but if Godric was willing to release them, too, I was not going to argue. It would save many lives if the vampires did not have to come here themselves to get him. Godric managed to get us up the stairs and down a few halls. Luckily everyone seemed to be in the chapel and as we snuck through the halls I prayed we'd make it out.

Godric had to bust down a door for us but the sweet warm air was a blessing. He made sure we got to our car with Farrell in the back before he disappeared into the night and I took the keys, pulling the car out of the space and driving slowly toward the closed gates. Suddenly the flood lights came on and people started going in a frenzy, I put my foot to the floor and we were suddenly through the gates and bumping down the road as fast as possible.

I only stopped when we were far enough from the compound that I couldn't imagine them getting to us. Then I pulled over and shut off the car, resting my head back on the seat, "How are you, Farrell?"

"I am fine." he replied tersely, "but you are greatly wounded."

"I will be fine." I pulled my phone out of my top and dialed Pam's number.

"Sookie?" I was not expecting Eric's panicked voice.

"I've got Farrell and Hugo."

It took awhile to explain everything and figure out where we were but soon a crap load of people were everywhere and everything was hurting and I finally gave in and let myself collapse in the back of an ambulance with a man whose name tag said Salazar.

When I woke up again I was in my hotel room, the window shades were open and the moon was shining inside. Pam's coffin stood open across from me and there were voices in the other room. I sat up slowly. There were a lot of flowers, and once I managed to get out of the bed I found who they were from.

Isabel and Stan had each had a large bouquet of orange flowers sent to me with thanks for my good service and well wishing as well as a pot of mixed flowers from someone signed L, I could only assume it to be Luna, and blue flowers from both Eric and Pam, who I assumed were making the nose in the other room. Though the last bunch left me rather confused.

Bright yellow roses and some orange flower I did not know sat in the front of these with a small card that simply said, "they reminded me of the sun." and I could only guess who had sent me those. It didn't take me to much longer to amble out of the room and into the living room where Eric and Pam indeed were. Pam departed with Lupin as soon as I stepped out.

"Sookie." Eric smiled. It was such a winning smile, full of life that seemed to wipe away any earlier pain, and though I'd seen him briefly earlier I couldn't stop myself from moving quickly toward him, wrapping my arms around him and pushing my face against his chest, "how are you feeling?"

"Sore. All over." Eric nodded his head and guided me toward the couch, offering me his wrist.

"With Bill so close and you so injured..." he trailed off, not wanting to pressure me, though I knew he really wanted me to. I nodded my head slowly and he bit into his wrist before offering it to me. I leaned forward and grabbed his arm in both of my hands, feeling the pain slowly seep out of my body with each swallow of the blood, "I'm sorry I did not come with you."

"This would have happened either way." I replied, "Hugo was a traitor. They knew I was coming because of him and they got me because of him. But Godric got us out."

"The way I heard you had quite a lot to do with saving all three of you." Eric smiled down at me, almost like he was proud of me.

"To be honest I only cared about getting me out, Godric read my words as meaning all of us so I went with it." that made him chuckle and I leaned against him on the couch, closing my eyes and basking in the feeling of being beside him, until the door opened and Lupin ran in, launching himself between us. I laughed and kissed the top of his head, scratching his neck before laying my cheek on him and giving him a bear hug.

"I'm glad you are well." Pam told me.

"So formal." I teased, scrunching my nose at her.

"Your friend. The bat." Pam paused, "she found me and told me where you were, I went over to the church but when I got there the gates were broken down and everyone was in a huge panic. It wasn't until Eric carried you in here that I knew what happened to you."

"You were worried about me." I grinned, standing up and smiling at the lack of pain in the movement for a moment before walking over and hugging her. She tensed up and I laughed hard, so I hard I couldn't breathe after a few moments and I had to take huge gasps of breath just to not feel like I was going to die.

"You are strange, little telepath." she told me.

"So are you, Alice." she looked angry and confused but went to sit down in another chair, Lupin winding his way into her lap. The little traitor. I didn't care enough to do anything more than sink onto the couch beside Eric and drag my legs up onto the couch.

"We'll go to Stan's tomorrow, I think you could use a good night and day of resting."

"I appreciate that." I mumbled. I assumed I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew I was blinking at the alarm clock beside the bed. It was quarter to six, Pam's coffin lid was shut and so was the lid of the large coffin beside it, which must have been Eric's. It had the Silent Shore Hotel written across it. It was a rental.

When I was in the accident Eric must've known and woken up to get here as fast as possible. A small smile tugged at the corners of my mouth as I slipped out of the bed, glancing once again at the clock and then over to the yellow flowers. Heaving a sigh I found a pair of clean pants, a tank top and my jacket before stepping out the door and calling a cab down at the front desk.

I slipped silently into the backseat and told him where to go, he glanced nervously back at me as he pulled away, "wouldn't you rather go to the hospital?"

"No." I answered, "I've already been." I guess I looked worse than I thought.

"You know if those vampires treat you so bad why do you hang around?"

"People did this to me, not vampires." I replied. He shut up and kept his eyes on the road for the rest of the trip.

"Can you wait for me?" I asked the driver. He was a man in his sixties, grizzled and missing a front tooth. He wore a plaid shirt with snaps instead of buttons.

"I reckon I can do that," he said. He pulled a Louis L'Amour western out from under his seat and switched on a dome light to read.

Under the glare of the sodium lights, the parking lot showed no visible traces of the events of the night before. There were only a couple of vehicles remaining, and I figured they'd been abandoned the night before. One of these cars was probably Gabe's. I wondered if Gabe had had a family; I hoped not. For one thing, he was such a sadist he must have made their lives miserable, and for another, for the rest of their lives they'd have to wonder how and why he'd died.

Out of the dark shadows next to the church a figure emerged, dragging me from my thoughts and causing my heart to stop beating in my chest. Bill.

"I figured it's kinda risky but this is the best chance I'll get." suddenly he was on me and I clawed and punched at him, kicking at every part of him I could and drawing blood to try and keep him from grabbing me, to no avail however, as he soon lifted me over his shoulder and we were moving and I could see the man's taxi getting smaller and I started screaming and kicking, but not loud enough. Panic set in, I thrashed hard and he lost his grip and dropped me on the ground without realizing at first, giving me time to run back toward the clearing.

He came after me again, grabbing my wrist and dragging me to him his fangs out and going for my throat-drain a little blood so I'd be weaker. I slammed my forehead into his face, disorienting me and successfully confusing him for long enough to twist my arm out of his grasp. I started to run away when he grabbed me again, throwing my across the grounds and into the woods near the edge of the church.

I felt weightless and terrified, bracing for the impact of a tree or the ground when a pair of rock solid arms caught me, holding me steady as I tried to reorient myself after flying through the air before I realized I was staring at Bill who was holding a giant branch sticking out of his chest, just below his heart, and Claudine who stood behind him holding the other end.

Behind me a man almost identical to Claudine was supporting me, but as soon as it was evident Bill was incapacitated and his body dropped to the ground with a dull thud, he pushed me to stand on my own, eying me distastfully.

From Claudine's right a new figure emerged and she jumped visibly, "he should burn with me, thank you Fairy." Godric stated. Nobody moved to stop him as he grabbed Bill's not quite dead form and hauled him out of the trees into the empty space in front of the church.

"Thank you." I whispered.

"It's about time I started doing my job properly." she stated, "I'm sorry, I was trying to keep an eye on Bill and you were almost killed by a human." a pop behind me signaled the mans departure.

"I am able to protect myself." I replied, "from humans, anyways."

"You are." she agreed, biting her lip and looking around, trying to find the words to say but instead disappearing with an almost silent pop. I shuffled out of the trees and into the clearing once more, finding Godric standing beside Bill's prone form. The vampire was still twitching, still alive.

"You have fairies." Godric stated, "you must be special."

"I have fairy blood, according to that one." I gestured towards Bill, "its why he wanted me."

"I hope those protecting you see you're more valuable than your blood. You may not be innocent, but you are special. I am glad someone is here with me." Godric told me with as much emotion as I'd ever seen.

"I'm glad I am here, too. You saved my life."

"One good deed does not make up for a life time of sin." he stated.

"It doesn't." I agreed, glancing at Bill who was feebly attempting to dislodge the wood in his body. But it was too late, the sun was already rising. Godric and Bill burned entirely differently, and with them the weight sitting on my shoulders seemed to shrink, a smile on my face as Bill's remaining ashes blew away in the morning breeze.

When I got back to the hotel both Lupin and Eric were waiting for me, "It's past dawn why are you awake?" I scolded.

"You were terrified. I could not go help." he growled, I noticed blood was trickling out of his ears.

"I'm fine." I shut the door and locked it, sliding the chain lock as well, "I'll tell you what happened but you gotta promise to go to sleep after." he nodded stiffly and I launched into the story, from the beginning at his request.

Eric listened intently, his eyes burning when I told him about Gabe and again at what happened with Bill, but at the end he lifted me up and dragged me to the bed with him, laying down with his arm draped securely over me like the seat bars on a roller coaster.

"Bill is really dead?"

"Yes." with that I felt him shift one more time to get comfortable and I started to fall asleep, wondering if perhaps Bill dying so quickly, to casually, that it could have been a dream, but I fell asleep before the worry could really reach me, falling back into the dream world with my loving husband and kids, everything seemed brighter, and more wonderful and happier than anything could ever be.

Look I updated within a few weeks this time! Also I was recently informed that there is now a fanfiction awards going on for SVM/TB and someone asked me to let y'all know about it, so you can find it here: youwantbloodawards...wordpress...com just remove the dots. More chapters coming soon, hope you liked the chapter!