Time frame: Years after "From Dead to Worse"

This is a companion piece following "Family", "Bowling for Vampires", "Leather Underwear" and "Reunion".

Disclaimer: I don't have any claim on any characters in the Sookie Universe. Please don't sue me. The other characters are my own creation and just wanted to play with them for a while.

A/N: Okay a little time frame clarification:

---Bill and Ally meet on February 14th.

---Cole shows up at the end of March.

---Ally gets kidnapped early April and slips into a coma around that time as well.

---Wakes up in early July.

---We leave "Reunion" around mid July.

Thanks again to all of you who've stuck with me and I hope that after reading this prologue you will continue to do so. This will essentially be the last big story with Ally and Bill as the main characters and I have a lot of territory to cover. Having said that, I cannot promise fast updates since I'll be taking my time with this one, so please be patient with me.

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Prologue- December- 2 weeks before Christmas

I sat on a dead patch of grass with my legs tucked under me. It was a lovely winter morning and I closed my eyes to enjoy the feel of the hardening earth and the tranquil serenity of cold surrounding me. Of course any passerby would wonder why a normal person would choose a cemetery to be one with nature in wintertime no less, but then again I was far from what anyone would consider normal.

"Are you sure?" Sookie had asked me even though she knew that I was. Maybe she thought I would change my mind if she asked me one more time. She should know better.

Pam thought the whole idea was a bit morbid but understood my need to do this. In many ways, Pam and I share a deeper understanding of each other than Sookie and I do, possibly because we had both embraced the vampire lifestyle so readily. Sookie and I have a different connection but our friendship is no less precious. We were all forever bound together by our experiences and by who and what we were. Together with our mates we had fought pure evil itself and won.

We were friends. We were warriors. We were sisters.

A dusty breeze shook me from my reverie scattering leaves and debris all over. When Bill was turned, his wife Caroline had declared him dead and had placed his headstone in the family plot. What else could she do really? Vampires were not well known at that time, nor were they accepted. They were the boogie man, monstrous creatures that hunted at night, blindly feeding off of humans without any semblance of humanity from their former life. I of course know better, having seen both the good and the bad from vampires. Their physiology may be different but they all face the same choices and dilemmas that humans do and my Bill was no exception. Still, Caroline needed to mourn her loss and move on. Their children needed to move on as well, remembering Bill only as the good man and father that he was to them- taking with them only the good memories and not the losses.

It was for the best.

I had the headstone removed the day after it all happened. I couldn't stand the thought of it being there. I couldn't stand the idea that my Bill's existence didn't count after he was made vampire, that he made no positive impact on our lives for over 140 years. He lived, though not by conventional means, and he loved. He cared about others and in turn others cared about him. He was my life, my world. He was the only one that I ever truly loved and will be the only one I will ever love for all of eternity. He counted.

I carefully brushed off the stone restoring it to pristine condition. As Caroline had the right as his wife to proclaim how the world remembered Bill in her lifetime, I have the right to do the same. Looking down, I smiled softly as I lovingly trace my fingers over the inscription...

William Thomas Compton Beloved Husband...

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Chapter 1- July

"This is torture." I groan as Pam tries to zip me into yet another wedding dress. This is the third shop we've gone to and I still haven't found a dress that I liked. Most of the styles were for women much taller and bosomy than me. Either short, average chested women just don't get married in Louisiana, or the dress shops are making a killing on alterations.

I suspect the latter.

"Nonsense. Your wedding day is one of the most important days in a young woman's life and yours should be no different just because you are marrying Bill."

I roll my eyes.

"Hey, that's my future husband you're talking about. Besides, I think he's wonderful."

"I should hope so." she says blandly tilting her head to assess the dress. "I would hate to think that you would go through all of this for nothing."

"You like him, admit it. You're just trying to rile me up because you're as bored as I am."

"He does have admirable qualities and he's moderately attractive I suppose. Not my type obviously, but acceptable."

"Your type wouldn't be 6'2" with dark hair, blue eyes and extremely handsome, would it?" I tease.

She paused for a moment and I caught a ghost of a smile flash across her face then disappear. "Possibly."

I grinned smugly for a second before being bullied out of my dress. I sigh unhappily.

An elderly woman approaches us with a garment bag draped over her arm. Pam turns to her and hisses.

Undetered she says, "Excuse me, Miss McCallen. A friend of yours sent me here to help you. I think I have a dress that may be to your liking..."

I step down and carefully slide down the zipper and pull out the dress. Without even trying it on, I knew it was going to fit me perfectly. Both Pam and I looked at each other and smiled.

This was the one.

I turn to thank the nice lady, but she was gone. This is the second time in two days this has happened. Shuffeling it to the back of my mind to chew on later, I paid for the dress carefully noting the confused expression on the cashier's face, and hurried out with Pam.

By my calculation, we had forty five minutes to drop off my dress at Pam's, change to appropriate Fangtasia wear (at least Pam had to) and get to the bar. Considering Pam was driving, I'd say we'll make it with ten minutes to spare.

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I must have been rapt in my work because I didn't notice him come in, even with my slightly enhanced senses. Not until he cleared his throat did I pull my eyes away from the computer screen. He was leaning sideways against my office door, with his hands crossed over his chest, his brown eyes fixed on me and a rueful grin on his lips. My mysterious stranger has reemerged.

"So this is where they have you tucked away." he says amicably and before I could even offer, he pushes off the door and saunters to a chair in front of me.

"Didn't want to drive the customers away. Fangtasia's clientele don't exactly come here to admire computer geeks you know, Mister..."

"Madden. Victor Madden." he says casually. I jump to my feet, banging my leg against the desk in the process. Wincing, I limp around my desk and bow to him, trying to discretely rub my lower thigh. "Your Majesty." I say as respectfully as I could.

He nods slightly at me and I try to make my way back to my chair but was stopped. "You are bleeding." he says, his nostrils flaring slightly. I look down. There was a small gash that was already beginning to close.

Turning from him, I grab the first aid kit off my desk (one should always be prepared around vampires) and sit down on the chair next to him. I quickly dab it with an antiseptic wipe and cover the wound with a gauze pad hoping he didn't notice that it had already completely healed. I don't think he did but he did watch the procedure with keen interest.

"May I?" he asks looking at my hand. It was covered with my blood.

"Um, sure." I reply offering my hand to him. Taking my hand, he carefully licks my palm and fingers his eyes never leaving mine. I shift in my chair uncomfortably at the intimacy of it. I seriously doubt he's supposed to be licking that much, but I wasn't sure if I would offend him if I yanked my hand away. I guess I should be glad he didn't try for my leg.

When he finished, he keeps hold of my hand. His fangs were slightly out and he had a glazed look in his eyes. I shrink back slightly in my chair, thankful that the door was still wide open.

Thank God Pam chose that particular moment to walk in and Victor casually lets go of my hand and looks at her. She looks from him to me then bows.

"Your Majesty." Straightening up, she says, "I see you've met your Area Five Investigator, Bill Compton's, betrothed Ally." I quirk my eyebrow at the formality of her introduction, but then realize that she was subtly reminding the king that I was off limits.

"Yes, we met yesterday at the party." he said smiling. Now it was Pam's turn to quirk an eyebrow. After a moment she says to me.

"Bill requires your assistance at the bar, Ally." I stand up and give her a curious look as she leads me out by the elbow, Victor following closely behind.

I walk out to see my Bill standing in front of slim brunette with shoulder length hair. He clearly looked uncomfortable being around her. She didn't seem to notice as she kept on chatting away touching his arm in a familiar manner.

Pam continues to shove me towards them when the "lady", and I use that term loosely, throws her arms around his neck and kisses him on the mouth stopping us in our tracks. Bill's eyes open wide in surprise and pries her off of him, pulling out a handkerchief and wiping off his mouth in disgust. He must have felt my presence, because he suddenly stands stock still.

They both turn to see two amused vampires and a very pissed off Asian woman looking at them.

TBC- I couldn't resist...Stay tuned.