A/N: Thanks for giving this story a shot! Not one hundred percent sure where this is heading, aside from something to wipe away the awful taste of the True Blood finale. This idea has been floating around in my head since the finale aired, since I couldn't believe that Bill was really gone... thanks to a little extra push of inspiration from a new show, I decided to get writing. I hope you enjoy! (and don't worry, my other story won't be abandoned, I just have to find more time to write!)

***Disclaimer*** No copyright infringement intended. These characters are exclusive property of Charlaine Harris, Alan Ball and HBO.

Inevitable

Sookie was numb, she had to be to get through the day and she always felt like this by the time she climbed into bed. She wasn't even sure how many months had gone by as everything was just a blur of her trying to put one foot in front of the other. It was all she could do to keep her rambunctious toddlers happy and under control while they tried to comprehend why their life had suddenly changed so much. Adele, who was almost four, was having the hardest time. Every time her sweet little voice asked Sookie where daddy was, it was like a knife in Sookie's heart. They'd tried the children's books on loss, Sookie had explained, Sam had explained, Jason had done his best to help the little girl understand, but she just wasn't ready to accept what had happened.

Not that Sookie could blame her, it was still hard for Sookie to really believe he was gone. She'd done this too many times, she'd lost too many of the people she loved. Sookie knew that if it weren't for her kids, she wouldn't have been able to go on, not again. A flash of pain in the center of Sookie's chest had her gasping for breath, as the faces of two men she'd loved with her whole heart and who were now both lost to her filled the space behind her closed lids. Bill didn't cross her mind quite as much anymore, though a piece of him was always with her. She couldn't not think of him in the last few months. She had moments where she felt like she was betraying her husband by thinking of Bill, but it just hurt so much sometimes that she couldn't always separate her grief. All she felt was pain, pain and loneliness. It had taken her years to come to terms with Bill's death, before she'd been ready to even think about living the life he'd sacrificed himself for her to have. She had finally done it and found a wonderful man to build a life with, but that life was over. She didn't have years to grieve this time, she couldn't slip into the fog she'd lived in after Bill had died. She had two perfect angels that depended on her and the greater challenge of bringing a new baby into this world without her husband's support.

She'd been so happy when she'd taken that last pregnancy test. They'd been debating if they were ready for another baby, both wanting to continue to expand their family but not quite agreed on the timing. Sookie didn't want to wait, and in the end, the decision was made for them when Sookie started feeling a bit queasy in the mornings... when the smell of biscuits and sausage cooking made her vomit instead of salivate. She hadn't told him when she first started getting suspicious. She'd wanted it to be a surprise, so she took the test while he was at work. Once she had the positive test in hand, she started planning.

Jason and Brigette had taken the kids for the night and Sookie cooked the same dinner she'd made the night they'd found out she was pregnant with Adele. It was a wonderful night, some romantic time alone to celebrate their happy news. If only Sookie had known that her happiness was going to be so short lived... Just three days later she was opening the door to a very somber Andy and Jason, bringing her the news of the freak traffic accident that had taken the life of her husband. An accident that had taken away her happy and normal life. She didn't believe them at first, she couldn't believe them. She'd slammed the door in their faces and found the kids. Adele was playing and Charlie was napping. She didn't care about waking him, she just needed to hold them both, to pretend that what Andy had said was a lie, that it was just a bad dream. She couldn't bear the loss of someone else, it was just too much.

Jason had found her there, huddled against the wall in her childhood bedroom, the room that now belonged to little Adele. Tears ran down her face as her children wriggled, not understanding why mommy was holding them so tight. From there, she did her best to just keep going. The outpouring of support from the town had helped, her freezer had been filled with casseroles, the kids had plenty of offers for short outings to give Sookie a break and try and cheer up the two children who couldn't quite understand what had happened to their daddy.

Sookie was glad that Sam and Nicole had made the decision to move back to Bon Temps a few years ago. Especially now, Sam was a rock of steady support. She'd missed his friendship when they'd been gone and double dating with them had been something that Sookie often looked forward to. The children also had become fast friends, and Sookie knew they were friendships that would last a lifetime. With hepatitis V all but eradicated, life in Bon Temps had settled back into that normal small town rhythm. Andy had earned that safe streets plaque more years than Sookie could say, and all of the strange and dangerous happenings had just sort of stopped.

Sookie's life may have been what some considered boring, but she had been happy, she didn't know if she was ever going to feel that way again. Her children always brought smiles to her face, but those moments of happiness felt so fleeting when she was alone in that big bed at the end of the day like this. She knew she'd have to start telling more people about the baby soon, since it was going to be hard to hide in a month or two, but she didn't want to. Instead of congratulations and happiness, she knew she'd only receive more pity, which was the last thing she wanted. Pregnancy made it harder for her to block out people's thoughts...something about the hormones, but in the past those thoughts were usually pleasant ones. She wasn't sure what to expect this time, and already she'd overheard more than she cared to.

There had been times when she'd wondered if her decision to keep her powers had been the right one. It had caused more than one disagreement with her husband, since sometimes she just couldn't help hearing things... She'd almost thrown them away on a particularly stressful night during her first pregnancy. Her emotions were already getting the best of her, and then a very innocent thought about the size of her pregnant belly had come across the dinner table and she'd lost it. Of course they had laughed about it later, and Sookie now smiled at the memory, but at the time, it had been a very rough night.

She reached for the tissues on the nightstand, a fresh flood of tears in her eyes as she realized that something like that would never happen again. There would be no laughter over a goofy misunderstanding. No admiring gazes across the dinner table... no one to hold her on those cold nights. Sookie couldn't do anything but cry when these thoughts got into her head, sometimes she wished she could block out her own thoughts.

After exhausting herself with her tears, Sookie fell into a restless sleep. She dreamt of dark haired men who kept vanishing from her life, no matter how hard she tried to hold on to them.

"Mama! Mama!" A sweet voice rang out and pulled Sookie from her sleep. Sun shone through the filmy curtains in the bedroom as a little blonde head got closer to the bed. "It's get up time! Get up time!"

Sookie smiled at her daughters enthusiasm for the morning. Like her mother, Adele loved sunny days. Sookie knew they would be spending today playing outside. If it was warm enough, maybe she'd even get out the sprinkler. Some of Sookie's best memories as a child were days spent running through the sprinkler in the yard... maybe today will be an easier one to get through she thought as she reached down and pulled Adele into the bed with her for a snuggle. She smelled her daughter's golden hair, so sweet and familiar. This is why Sookie had to toughen up, why she needed to keep moving forward.

"Did you wake up your brother on your way in?" Sookie asked as she heard wails of Mamaaaa from down the hall. Adele had a bad habit of wanting to play with her baby brother much earlier in the morning than Sookie would like.

"No, I came right here." Her blue eyes looks so intently at Sookie as she shook her head in denial. "I know I'm not 'sposed to wake him, I promise."

"I guess he's just ready to get up and have some breakfast, too. What should we have today?" Sookie smiled, trying to ease the serious expression away from Adele's face. It always surprised Sookie just how much Adele could pick up on. More than once in the last few months Adele had come to her, offering hugs and kisses in moments when Sookie thought she was doing okay at hiding just how sad she was feeling.

"I want pancakes... can we have the ones with booberries?" She said excitedly, jumping down from the bed.

"The ones with blueberries sound perfect! Let's get Charlie and I'll make us pancakes. Then we can decide what to do today, I was thinking something outside."

"Charlie! Charlie, we're gonna have pancakes!" Just like that, Adele was off running down the hall. Sookie could hear her chattering about all of the things they could do today. Sookie decided right then that today was going to be a good day, no maybes about it.

xx

xx

Sookie had been right about today, it was a good day. Well, mostly. Aside from a rough tumble outside, leaving Charlie with a nice scrape on his forehead, they'd had a wonderful day. They played outside, Adele squealing with delight as she ran through the cold water from the sprinkler.

Sookie had made them a picnic for lunch that Adele thought was the best thing ever. Charlie was having fun, too, doing his best to keep up with his big sister. At a year and a half old, he was just starting to really find his personality and Sookie loved it. He was blonde like Sookie and Jason had been, but unlike Adele, his eyes were dark with an intensity that reminded her so much of his father. Watching the children grow, Sookie had been fascinated to see just how funny genetics could be. Adele had looked like her father when she'd been born, but had slowly grown to resemble Sookie more and more. Her eyes were a bit of a mystery, since the blue came out of nowhere, but Sookie's grandmother, for whom Adele had been named, had blue eyes. Sookie knew genetics worked in strange ways, but she had noticed on more than one occasion that sometimes... Adele's eyes reminded Sookie very much of someone else.

Nicole had stopped by that afternoon, with an excuse about dropping off some extra vegetables from the garden, but Sookie knew she was really there to check on them. Sam had been tied up at the bar, otherwise he would have come too. Sookie still found some amusement in the partnership Sam and Arlene had formed over the bar. Arlene got to keep the name, but Sam had slowly been taking over more and more of the day to day running of the place. Especially with Arlene turning into quite the night owl thanks to her ongoing romance with a vampire. It still made Sookie shake her head after all of these years. Sookie was one of the few people in town who hadn't formed a lasting relationship with a vampire, what were the odds of that? Ten years ago, she'd never have believed that mainstreaming was going to really work in Bon Temps, but now, the vampires weren't treated any differently than anybody else and Sookie had seen relationships thrive between humans and vampires all around her.

Nicole had stayed awhile, her two children keeping Adele and Charlie occupied so Sookie could sit down and have a lemonade with Nicole. They talked about normal stuff, things happening in town, the kids, everything but how Sookie was doing. Sookie actually appreciated that. This was a visit that could have happened any time in the last couple of years, a visit that had happened many times. It made Sookie feel normal. That's why today had been such a nice day. It was normal. The routine wasn't exactly the same, since she was doing it all on her own, but it felt more like a regular day.

Sookie had just finished putting Adele to bed, reading her an extra story tonight because she had asked so sweetly. Charlie had gone down easily an hour before, reminding Sookie how blessed she was to have such a good sleeper. The day had been a good one, but now that night was settling in, she would soon be alone with her thoughts and her good day might be over.

She wasn't sure why she did it, but something drew Sookie towards the window after she'd given Adele her final kiss goodnight. She reached for the curtains, to pull them shut, but found herself scanning the yard and the edge of the tree line. She swore she saw something move right at the trees, but it happened so fast, she had to believe it was her imagination. She opened her mind but couldn't feel anything but the scattered thoughts of children.

"Mommy?" Adele said softly, pulling Sookie away from her focus out the window.

"Sorry, mommy was just closing your curtains. You go to sleep now, sweetheart. I'll see you in the morning." Sookie had quickly pulled the curtains the rest of the way shut and backed away from the window as she spoke. She sat down on the edge of Adele's bed one more time, hugging her again.

"Goodnight, Mommy."

"Goodnight, angel."

Sookie walked down the hall to her room, fighting the urge to go back to the windows. Had there really been someone or something lurking around her house in the moonlight? Was her mind playing tricks on her? She had a feeling that's all it was, some trick of the mind... but that didn't stop her from tip toeing downstairs to make sure all of the doors were locked tight.

She got ready for bed feeling just a bit uneasy, a little bit on edge. She'd been away from danger for a long time, but it didn't take much for the memories of everything that she'd been through to come to the surface and have her wondering just what else might happen next. It also reminded Sookie of how much she's survived, how much she'd fought. She was strong, she had to remember that.

She showered, hoping the warm water would help her relax, would calm her nerves just a little. She'd lost too much, but that didn't mean she was going to stop fighting. Not this time. As she turned off the taps, Sookie realized she felt better. She felt calm, she wasn't overwhelmed with sadness the way she sometimes was in the evenings, even her unease from the shadows in the yard had faded. She didn't think she'd ever quite feel like her normal self again, but tonight she felt just that much closer.

The next several days continued to be some of the best days Sookie'd had since that terrible day. She'd started back to work part time after Charlie's first birthday but now, she had some calculating to do for when she'd have to go to full time hours. It helped that she owned her house free and clear and there had been a generous life insurance settlement, but Sookie would have to pay attention to make sure they didn't end up in financial trouble. Before Adele was born, Sookie had gone back to school, well, technically, she'd gone to school online. She had gone through the proper training to become a realtor and found that it was a job she was quite good at.

The housing market had been improving, and with the hep V vampire threat eliminated, people were returning to the area. Her gift, she tried to think of it as a gift, had helped her some as a waitress but it was even more useful in finding out what people were really looking for in a home. Her boss had been quite disappointed when she'd gone on an extended maternity leave, but he had kept a job for her because he knew just how valuable she was as an employee. It made Sookie proud to have a job that she loved and was good at, and she knew she had been very lucky to find a company that was so flexible with time off and part time work.

It was another piece in that happy life she'd been leading, and hopefully would stay something that would keep what was left of this life together. Sookie knew that despite everything she'd lost, she did still have much to be thankful for, especially her children. They were her whole world, and she was going to give them the wonderful lives that they deserved.

Sookie had worked two days this week and found it easier than it had been the first couple of weeks she'd been back since the funeral. She could do this, one step after the next. She'd even surprised herself by agreeing to let Sam and Nicole take the kids for the evening. Their oldest was begging to see "the babies" and liked nothing more than helping take care of them. It had Sookie teasing Sam about when they were going to have another, earning her a lovely panicked look. Sam and Nicole were some of the few people that knew about Sookie's pregnancy, and while they were happy for her, even with the circumstances, they both had agreed that two children were plenty for them.

Sookie had been keeping the children close, not liking them to be away from her for any extended time, but today it seemed like it might be okay. She had been off today, so they'd spent the day playing. She had dropped off two bathed children, who would no doubt be filthy by the time Sam brought them home, along with a bag of favorite toys and other necessities just after four o'clock. She'd been tempted to stay for dinner when they asked, but instead, Sookie decided she would be bold and venture home to her empty house. She thought she might get some chores done, take a nice long bath... take some time for herself. Sam was right, she could use a little break tonight.

Sookie arrived home and did just those things. Well, maybe she was a little light on the chores, but she only had so much time before her night would be over. She made that bath a priority and somehow managed to keep her mind away from the things that would make her heartbreak come roaring to the surface. Instead she thought about how her body was feeling as she relaxed into the warm tub. She thought about Adele and Charlie. She thought about the life she carried inside her and what he or she might look like. She just felt calm, as though she had nothing to worry about for these short moments.

Unfortunately, any calm that Sookie was feeling, any amount of stability that she was beginning to find in this new world of hers was shaken shortly after her bath when she heard a knock at her front door. Sookie was immediately back at that day, the knock on the door, Andy and Jason in uniform, bearing bad news.

She nearly dropped the mug of tea she was holding, managing to set it clumsily on the counter. She tried to reassure herself, this wasn't anything. A delivery, someone lost, someone stopping by to chat. Jessica did that sometimes, though come to think of it, it had been awhile. Her kids were fine and that was all that mattered to Sookie. Sam would have called if something had happened.

She walked to the door, trying to calm her breathing and her racing heart. She pulled back the curtain and couldn't breathe. She couldn't move, it can't be, her mind was filled with disbelief , screaming in her head. Impossible, it has to be a trick.

She let the curtain fall, closing her eyes tightly even though she could feel the tears burning in them. She was imagining things, it couldn't be, not after all this time, not after what she'd seen. She was shaking, overwhelmed with emotions and fear. This wasn't right, she didn't know what to do. It had to be a dream, a hallucination... everything that had happened had finally broken her and now she was losing her mind.

"Sookie?" That familiar voice said, that impossible can't exist voice. Bill's voice.