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Where the Heart Is	By : TammyDevil666 Category: S through Z > Southern Vampire Views: 2748 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own the Southern Vampire Mysteries or any referenced characters and no money is made from this story. It is purely for fun.

Chapter List
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Chapter 15
“Okay, time for me to head back to work.”
Eric pouted, watching as she got dressed. “Now that you know the truth about what I do, you could at least quit one of your jobs. I will have enough income to keep us comfortable for quite some time.”
She sighed. “I need to feel useful, and I like to work. I’m not going to be a kept woman.”
He agreed. “I would never let you, but I can tell how exhausted you are. You spend practically all day helping sick people at the hospital, and then spend your nights serving drunken idiots. Something has to give, I hardly get to see you enough as it is.” Eric cringed at the pleading tone to his voice, shaking his head. “That just made me sound incredibly needy, didn’t it?”
Sookie smiled. “I know how horrible that must be for you, but you’re right. Merlotte’s was only supposed to be temporary, I don’t need the extra money as much as I used to. And now that Crystal can just show up whenever she wants to make my life a living hell, it might be best to quit. I don’t think she knows about me working at the hospital. The less I see of that woman, the better. But I really have to go now; I took too long of a lunch break. I wouldn’t want them to fire me, then I’ll be stuck at the bar.”
Eric let her go; wishing they could stay in bed forever, but reality always had to come first. “I have to go pick up Jessica, I’m already cutting it pretty close.”
She pecked him on the lips, and they both went their separate ways.

* * * * *

Eric was nearly going out of his mind when he arrived at the school to not find Jessica in her usual waiting place. He went inside to speak to someone who might know where she was, but was getting aggravated when the woman in front of him wouldn’t end her fucking phone conversation. He was not a very patient person, even less so where his daughter was concerned.
“Sorry about that, sir, how may I help you?”
He let out a sigh, finally getting somewhere. “I’m Eric Northman, my daughter was supposed to be waiting for me outside, but I can’t find her.”
The woman nodded with a smile. “Right, Jessica, I believe she has already been picked up. Your girlfriend took her out of school early because of some emergency.”
“What? That has to be a mistake; my girlfriend is at work right now. I just saw her about an hour ago; there is no way she could have picked Jessica up. The only ones listed on the pick up list are myself and Sookie Stackhouse.”
She nodded again. “Yes, Sookie Stackhouse, that’s what the woman said her name was.”
Eric was starting to feel a migraine coming on. “What did she look like?”
“She was blonde, kind of homely looking, not overly tall, and really skinny.”
He cursed under his breath; it sounded more like Crystal Norris to him. That fucking bitch, it was bad enough she tried to mess with Sookie, but taking his daughter was the last straw. “What kind of school doesn’t ask for identification? That woman was not Sookie; you let some fucking stranger make off with my kid!”
She gulped under his murderous stare, looking ashamed. “I’m very sorry, sir, I will notify the police immediately. I assure you, nothing like this has ever happened before.”
Eric clenched his fists, trying to keep his temper in check. “You have my information on file, as soon as they find something; I want them to call me. I’m going to look for her myself; you can’t depend on anyone around here.” He left then, determined to find Jessica if it was the last thing he did.

* * * * *

Sookie took Eric’s hand to stop his pacing, she was afraid he would drill a hole through the floor at this rate.
“Come sit down, you should probably eat something.”
He shook his head. “I can’t, my little girl is out there somewhere probably terrified and wondering where I am. I’ve searched this entire fucking town, every place that Crystal might have taken her, but I came up with nothing. Why is she doing this? Is she really so demented that she would harm an innocent child?”
“I don’t know, sweetie. It doesn’t make any sense to me. She probably figured that I wasn’t an easy target, so she went after someone who was. The police will find her, you have to believe that.”
“If I didn’t have any luck, why would they? Crystal’s house was deserted; most of her belongings were gone. She obviously skipped town and took Jessica with her, what I don’t get is why she hasn’t even contacted me. If this is about revenge, why wouldn’t she have shown up by now?” Eric wondered in agitation. “If anything happens to her, I’ll never forgive myself.”
Sookie moved over to him, forcing him to look at her. “You can’t blame yourself for this, Eric. You have been a great father to Jessica, this isn’t your fault.”
“How can it not be?” he whispered, tears forming in his eyes. “I’m the one who took up with that woman in the first place. If I never got involved with her, this wouldn’t be happening.”
Sookie wrapped her arms around his waist, giving him what little comfort she could.
The phone rang suddenly, and Eric hurried over to it.
Sookie watched the different emotions on his face, knowing he was talking to one of the officers, but it drove her crazy to not know what was being said on the other line.
He hung up, taking in a deep breath before addressing Sookie. “They found Jessica at a gas station by the interstate; the police are with her now. There was a robbery and Crystal was shot, Jessica was fortunately hiding in her car at the time.” His knees almost gave out, but Sookie was there to keep him from falling.
“God, is she okay?”
Eric nodded; he knew she wasn’t referring to Crystal. “Probably just in shock, but she’s alive.”
After that, it didn’t take them long to head out. Eric didn’t even care about how many speed limits he was probably breaking, all that mattered was getting to his daughter and seeing with his own two eyes that she was unharmed. Once they arrived at the crime scene, he was stopped by one of the officers.
“We believe that Ms. Norris was taking the girl out of town, and decided to stop here for last minute supplies. She was just at the wrong place and wrong time, the blood loss was too severe that she didn’t make it, but your daughter is very lucky.”
Eric saw her then; she was sitting on the curb with a female officer, a blanket around her shivering form. He ran to her, taking her in his arms and if he had his way, he’d never let her go. “I’ve got you, baby. Everything’s going to be okay, you’re safe now. I will never let anyone hurt you again.”
Jessica clung to him tighter, sobbing against his shoulder.
Eric rubbed her back, whispering soothing words to calm her down. He pulled away to look at her, wiping her remaining tears with his thumb. The anguish on her face just about broke his heart. “Let’s go home.”
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Where the Heart Is