Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Southern Vampire Mysteries universe.

A/N: Sorry if you tried to read this chapter to find that it wasn't there. I debated with myself over a couple of options for this chapter an initially posted the wrong one so I had delete it so I could post this (the correct) one.

Theme 24: No Time

POV: Eric

Rating: T

The Blink of an Eye

There never seemed to be enough time where the two of us were concerned. I never had enough time to think before I acted; never had enough time to explain my actions or my feelings. And sometimes it felt like there wasn't enough time to make sure she was and always would be mine. All these instances have reinforced her humanity and the fact that everything could change in the blink of an eye.

It started the night of her first visit to Fangtasia. That night, I was already so certain that she belonged beside me instead of Compton. He was unworthy of such a delicate and delicious human. I believed then, and still do now, that if I had had the time that night, I could have made her mine from the very beginning. Unfortunately, that was the first situation in which there was no time, as she warned me of the undercover cop about to raid the club and our impromptu exit cut the evening short.

The second time I felt that there was no time was during the interrogation of the Fantasia employees, when it was discovered Long Shadow was the one embezzling money from my business. In this chance we were both lacking in time. She had no time to react before Long Shadow attacked, and was left pinned under him as he tried to strangle her. I could have taken time to consider my action but, for once in my undead life, I didn't. I simply acted, taking no time to form a thought further than that I would be saving Sookie's life. That was more worrisome to me than anything I could remember.

When Sookie was attacked by the maenad, we had time to act, but were unsure how much. As it was, we almost waited too long. We came so close to running out of time to save her. But, for once, time seemed to be on our side.

In Dallas, I once again acted without thinking, when I shielded her from the bullet that could have taken her life. This time I'm not as bothered that I act first, think later. I know if I had had the time to think things through, I would have done the same thing. And this time, I got some of my blood in her in exchange.

Club Dead ate away at me for a long time. That time, I was right there and I didn't have time to protect her. That was the first instance where I felt like I had failed Sookie. I know she never blamed me. In fact, in her mind, I was still the one that saved her. I got her out of the club and to Russell's compound where she could be healed. But the fact that she needed healed at all was a reflection on how quickly things could changes. That was the first time I truly felt the sting of Sookie's mortality and realized that no matter what happened, there might never be enough time.

During the time that I was cursed, I knew no time other than the present. And when my memories were regained, I knew nothing of the time we had spent together. In this case, the time was there, I just had no memory of it. I had never before felt that level of frustration. I knew our time was limited, and I didn't like missing out on a minute of it.

Between then and our bonding in Rhodes, events unfolded all around us, but our time together was less than what I would have liked. That whole time I felt like I had no time. I had no time to figure out why I was feeling the things I was feeling. Time went on for me, then, because I didn't know what I was missing.

In Rhodes, we were forced to bond. Again, we were rushed into our bonding, without my having time to explain to her what it all meant. I had hoped for the opportunity to bond with her since the time she was staked, if not before, but not like this. It was hurried and sloppy, where I would have liked it to be a leisurely and pleasurable experience for us both. And it another instance of me acting without thinking, when Sookie found the pop can bomb.

When I was awoken during the bombing, it was obvious that we needed to move quickly. The building was falling down around us. While Pam and I might have survived, albeit with significant damage, there is no way that Sookie would have. And yet she chose to save us. This time, I began to feel hope.

The take-over was one of the worst nights of my undead life. I knew that it might be my last night. Beyond, that, I knew it could be Sookie's as well. This time, I took time to consider what the best course would be. I surrendered that night so that we might have more time. Maybe, I told myself, I was learning something. That night, I also got back my time with Sookie while I was under the curse.

The absolute worst situation we have faced was Sookie's kidnapping by the fairy twins. Feeling her pain, along with the pain of the silver, I was bound in, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that we were out of time and I wanted nothing more than to meet my final death. That was when I understood how much I loved Sookie Stackhouse. When we both survived, I was glad, for the first time, to be wrong.

When Appius showed up, time became so tangled with him and by insane "brother" that we had no time to talk about where we were going to go now that we could admit our feelings for one another.

And Appius , himself, was determined to take away the rest of our time together by arranging a marriage for me to the Queen of Oklahoma, which is how I came to be in the situation I'm in now.

I know that a vampire marriage will not last forever, but Sookie is human. Even with her fae heritage, her life could be over in the blink of an eye for a vampire. Try as I might, I have yet to discover a way out of this marriage. So, now I sit at Sookie's home, trying to explain that our time together might actually be over, though it pains me to even think it.

I am surprised by her reaction as she smiles at me and says, "Eric, nothing is final until you are dead."

In my confusion, I actually reply, "But I am dead."

The laughter that is her response is one of my favorite sounds in the world but I cannot understand where it is coming from, since I am in so much despair.

Sookie reaches for my hand and drags me to her bathroom. Reaching inside the drawer that I know she keeps her make-up in, she says, "I believe I have found a solution to our problem."

The object she pulls out sends a shockwave through me. With that small artifact, we could have all the time in the world.