318AN: There was a big 'yes' for chapter two, so here it is. The next update will be available in two weeks, maybe sooner.
Big thanks for keiman and kei for fixing my mistakes.
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters.
Chapter 2
I'm Waiting
I used to be in many awkward or even hideous situations in the past, so some would say that I've got experience. First example? At the age of seven, I was riding my bike when Spiky, our neighbor's German Shepherd, started to chase after me. This mean mongrel caught me and unfortunately, chose my ass as his target. I went back home through the streets with a giant hole in my pants, limping and with a bleeding butt. My humiliation was unspeakable.
I also fell from a tree when I was trying to sneak out of Mary Beckett's room during my second year in high school, crushing the front window of her father's brand new car in the process. Did I mention that I was naked at the time? Definitely not the way you want to remember the night you lost your virginity... Another example? I spilled punch on my date's dress at the prom and when I was trying to reach for some napkins to help her out, I accidently knocked against her, breaking her nose. Her brother and his colleagues from the football team just assumed that I did it on purpose and I ended my prom in the ambulance with a dislocated jaw and two broken ribs.
Let's not even start about college…
Tonight, 'awkward' or 'hideous' couldn't describe the situation I was in though.
"Have you seen my panties?" asked Sookie, kneeling next to the bed and trying to reach her shoe which was laying there. Her ass looked fantastic in the tight blue dress and the fact that there was nothing underneath it made me hard. God, how could I think about sex at such a moment? "Hello!" I shook myself, only to see her watching me with resignation. I was caught staring.
"Oh sorry…" I went back to pulling on my pants when I felt something in the back pocket. Here you are… "I found it!" I said, maybe a little over-excitedly, because she blushed, scooping her underwear from my hand and calling me a jerk under her breath.
"So, what's the plan?" Sookie asked, sitting on the bed and putting on her lost garment.
"As you said – we are not panicking," I told her calmly.
"Exactly…" she agreed.
"We're getting tested to find out if your whore of a husband or my whore of a fianceé didn't infect us with something."
"Sure thing." She frowned suddenly. "Is the fact that we had sex make us whores too?"
We were considering that matter silently, each one in our own consciences for a moment.
"And you have to be tested to see if you're not pregnant…" I added a minute later, deciding it was time to drop the previous subject.
After that short sentence, we remained quiet for a longer moment until Sookie's vibrating cell phone interrupted us. She checked the caller and cursed, turning it off.
I raised my eyebrow in question and she sighed. "It's Bill… My husband," she explained. I watched her turning to her phone and she frowned deeply. "Hm, Eric, do you remember if I talked with someone last night?"
"Why?"
"I can see I called my brother but I don't remember that fact."
Oh, right – Sookie's brother, a lawyer. In the middle of our second bottle of scotch, Sookie decided that her marriage won't stand anymore and she decided to get a divorce. So, she drunk-dialed her brother, asking him to fill out all the necessary papers.
"Good thing I did…" she mumbled when I told her about her actions and got back to putting on her shoes. I was watching Sookie carefully and with interest. Honestly, I was a little worried that in the morning she will be full of guilt or shame but Sookie was still angry and hurt. If she decides to go back to her husband, it will be hard to work out the baby thing. Theoretical baby thing, I mean.
For the first time in my life, I stopped myself from saying something out loud. She might be scared if I suggest that our 'potential baby' should be raised by both parents, right?
What? I'm a traditionalist!
I dug out my cell from under the pillows and frowned at the sight in front of me. Twenty-two missing calls from Sophie and three from Pam. I decided not to check my message box.
"How many times did he call you?" I asked Sookie and she sighed.
"Thirteen."
"I win." I smiled, raising my phone and to my surprise, Sookie snorted.
"Is she a little…" I waited for her to finish but she squinted adorably instead, turning a finger around her head. I laughed aloud.
"I don't know, maybe she's crazy. I think I don't know her as well as I thought I did…"
With this, our good mood disappeared and we stood up awkwardly.
"So, I have your phone number and I'll call you when I…" Sookie murmured, pointing at her stomach.
"Yes, you do, so, please…"
"Okay. So, bye?" she asked, raising her eyebrows and all I could do was nod. I felt silly but something in her presence was calming me down and well… It felt cozy. So I stood there watching a woman – a woman that might be bearing my potential baby – walking outside and for some reason, I felt lonely without her in the room.
"What the fuck?!"
Yes, that was exactly the reaction I was expecting from Pam.
"Do I really have to repeat myself?"
"Hold the fuck a minute!" Pam raised her hand and reached for the phone. I watched hopelessly while she was tapping her foot and waiting for the caller to answer. "Come to the office, ASAP!"
A minute later Godric walked in, his inseparable cup of green tea in his hand. He is seriously addicted to this stuff.
"What's going on? Did you broke a printer again?" he just asked Pam and she scowled at him.
"Eric, tell him what you just told me."
So I did.
A few minutes after my tale, Godric was still sitting in the chair with both hands closed around his cup and watching me with his mouth hanging open.
"Dude… That's crazy even for you, man," he summed up piteously.
You see… Maybe I should explain my relationship with those two first. Pam has been my friend since my first year in college and also my assistant. The IT firm I started in my second year became a worldwide phenomenon only because of her. I was good with computers, wires and data but not so good with business plans and documentation. That was Pam's job. Despite all of the work she was doing, Pam insisted on being written down as my 'personal assistant', not some kind of manager. It was her choice and I was making sure that she was the best and highest paid assistant in the word.
Godric I met a few years ago when I was invited to my old high school to give some motivational speech in front of a bunch of kids playing with their smartphones. So, I was shocked when, after the event, one of the kids, Godric, walked up to me and asked if my company was thinking about adding carbo-aluminium frames to our new RFID chips to improve the signal range. It led to a long discussion, during which this seventeen year old boy presented me with all of the pros and cons of such an idea and that day, I found a kindred spirit. I took him under my wings, figuratively speaking. I fought with his father, that abusive bastard, and made sure that the boy would be okay. I admit, it included monetary persuasion ( by writing the old drunk a big check in hopes he will hammer himself to death) and sending my head of security to his place a few times, as more of a… firmer persuasion tactic. As a result, the second Godric turned eighteen he moved out and was given internship in my company. I hoped for a second that he can be the person who will stay with me in the future but after a few months, I realized that he is a free spirit and after years of being abused by his father, he doesn't want a paternal figure.
"Yes," I admitted. "But maybe it's Fate?"
"Did you get familiar with this chick?" asked Godric and Pam rolled her eyes.
"Are you deaf; haven't you been listening? I know your virginal self can't put a finger on it but they just had some comfort sex," she spat and Godric blushed a deep crimson. I looked sternly at my old friend but Pam only shrugged.
"I know what that means! But if she can be pregnant with Eric's baby, he should find out something about her. What if she's mental or… or someone in her family had Huntington's disease?"
I froze. Godric was right. Sookie Stackhouse can be pregnant with my child and that means that the small human creature would have fifty percent of the chromosomes of each of us. I was sure of my part - in the worst case scenario, my child would be a social outsider but what can he or she inherit from Sookie?
We were quiet for a minute in which Pam sat down with a sour look on her face.
"You are nothing but trouble, Northman…" she murmured and I hid my face in my hands, feeling crushed by a wave of embarrassment. I could not even imagine what my mother and grandmother would say…
"I will check out the girl for you," promised Godric, standing up and smiling at me. "Also, I can make Sophie's life a living Hell. Do you know that she uses her date of birth as the password to every social account she has?"
Pam gasped and turned to him with a big grin. It was an evil, mean grin and I didn't like it.
"Let's not be petulant, shall we?" I said sternly but they ignored me completely.
"Do you have some suggestion?" Godric asked Pam and she almost squealed with happiness.
"How about: 'Hope that the herpes will be gone by summer' as her Facebook status?" Pam offered and Godric nodded his head seriously.
" I can see fitting hashtags for it : #sluttytrip, #herpes, #beware, #nosex..." continued Godric and I just shook my head. I was sure that they were just messing around.
My gaze stopped at the cellphone. Sookie hadn't called yet but since we had separated only a few hours ago, it was no wonder… Is it possible that she already knows if she's pregnant? And if she is, could the alcohol we drunk affect the fetus? Did Sookie confront her husband? Maybe if she's not planning to stay with him, she would be willing to go out with me? After all, we got along quite well together. Before we got drunk, we had a really nice conversation, she was beautiful and…
"Are you okay?" I jumped, hearing Godric's voice, if the truth be told, I had forgotten that they were with me.
"Yeah, it's fine."
"I know that look," murmured Pam, watching me suspiciously. "You look the same when you're planning to order tacos at Rico's… It's your dreamy look. Do you want tacos now?"
"What? No!" I turned to my laptop, ignoring them but I still felt their gazes on me. Irritated, I scowled at them only to get identical expressions of shock. "What?!"
"This is very strange but my phone is trilling, so I'm leaving for now." Pam stopped at the door one last time and gave me the once-over before she left.
"Very strange," repeated Godric, also taking his leave.
I sighed when they had finally left me alone and I instantly fetched my cell and dialed Sookie. I waited three very long signals before she answered.
"Hello?"
"Hello Sookie, it's Eric… which you probably know if you saved my number. Showing the ID caller is the basic function…" I stopped in midsentence, covering my mouth for a moment. What's wrong with me, it's worse than usual. Stay cool, I told myself, just stay cool. "How are you?"
How very fucking smooth…
"I'm fine, thanks for calling but I'm kind of busy right now…"
"Of course you are… I was just curious; how are you?" I had just asked her about this a minute ago for Christ's sake! I'm lame…
"My head hurts a little because I'm hangovered," she said slowly, somewhat unsure.
"Oh yeah, me too. No wonder, we were drinking like fish... I mean," I took a deep calming breath. "You were still a perfect lady of course!" I seriously had no idea what was wrong with me. I usually say silly things but they make sense most of the time, I swear.
I was a little startled when Sookie giggled. "Are you as nervous as I am?" she asked warmly and I felt like someone had just lifted a great weight from my shoulders.
"I am," I admitted.
"That's fine, I appreciate that you called and tried to cheer me up, Eric. That's really nice."
I felt something strangely warm in my chest when she said it. "At your service… But, I was thinking a little about the baby. Potential baby!" I corrected myself hurriedly. "Could the fact that we were drinking last night affect the whole… process?"
Sookie sighed heavily. "You're worried that if there is a tiny, tiny baby, it can be born with three legs or if it affected our fertility?" she asked, seemingly lightly but I heard an unmistakable edge in her tone. I gulped – was she mad at me?
"Hm, both?"
"Hard to say; I am not a drinker and honestly, I was not doing research on that matter…" This time there was something definitely strained in her voice and I realized she was trying hard not to cry.
"Look, calm down…" I took a sheet of paper and scribbled down the questions. "I have friend who is really, really into science so I will just jump there and find out, okay? Don't get nervous, please!" I was starting to experience a small panic attack myself. It would have been troublesome if the baby had three legs but there are worse things in the world. Two separate heads having their own wills for example; that could be a serious problem…
Only when I heard Sookie's laughter did I grasp the fact that I had said it all out loud and I blushed deeper than I had ever done in my life.
"Eric, don't worry; that's highly unlikely," she assured me and I cracked a smile. "But I have to go, Bill will be coming over…"
Bill. Her husband, Bill. That fact saddened me too much for my own comfort.
"So, you're two okay?" I asked in a small voice and I almost sighed with relief when Sookie said "Never!" with confidence.
"I was stupid staying with him for so long. I almost wasted the best years of my life with him. Now, knowing about Lorena, I realized that his behavior has been quite obvious for some time; he has been making a fool of me for all of these long months…"
"I'm sorry, Sookie."
"That's okay… Look, I will know something for sure in the matter of the next few days and I'll let you know. Is that acceptable?" she asked and I moved uncomfortably. Actually, it wasn't acceptable.
"Would you mind if we meet tomorrow? Lunch, dinner maybe? No alcohol this time?" I offered and I raised my fist when I heard myself aloud. I did sound cool this time. Sookie hesitated for a moment and when I was about to apologize for being so insistent, she agreed. She simply said "Okay, just text me when and where," and I almost made my famous happy dance.
"I'll sure text you," I told her and this time, I sounded a little less cool and more goofy but I was still in a great shape.
I sat more comfortably in my chair, stretching and smiling. My behavior was very worrisome – I had just found out that my fianceé was cheating on me and there was no sign of sadness in me, only excitement.
Although, my smile died when I heard a noise in the corridor and my door swung open showing a furious Pam and a tearful Sophie Ann.
Great, like I was used to dealing with any kind of drama…
AN: It can smell a little like soap... opera but have faith in me :)
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