Any author's notes from the person who wrote this gift fic have been removed to prevent any identifying information being revealed. The individual author can post this story to their own profile, complete with intended A/Ns, after the 26th December. We hope this gift fic is enjoyed by all – but mostly for the person it was written for. Thank you to this author for taking part in the first Sookie's Secret Santa fic exchange. Due to the number of participants it will be impossible to post all of the stories in one day - don't worry, everyone will get their gift before Christmas Eve :o)

Santa's little helpers

Blakes Boogie & Jan of Arc xx

Title: A New Year, A New Start

Written for: Bloodfairy9788

Summary: AU. An altered curse, cast by a different witch, leads to a different vampire running down Hummingbird Road on New Year's morning.

"Good night!" I called out as I climbed in my car after my long New Year's Eve shift. I waited for a moment, to allow my car's stuttering to come to a halt and the engine sounds to even out, for the last thing I needed that night was for my car to stall halfway home.

Once I pulled away from Merlotte's, the night was cold, dark, and silent. Though I knew better by now, it seemed as though entire world was asleep, besides me. Taking that into account, it would hardly be a surprise that, when my headlights flashed across something in the road, I had to stifle a scream. As I tried to calm myself down, I focused on the object trying to get a better look.

It was a man. It was a man running like a bat out of hell. At three o'clock in the morning. Before I could even think about what I was doing, I slammed on the brakes, put my car in park and jumped out. Once out of the car, away from the slightly fogged up windshield, I could see that the man had dark hair and pale skin. While it could technically be said that he was fully dressed, his clothes were ripped in several places.

"Wait," I called, "maybe I can help you. Why are you running?"

He came to a halt and turned to look at me with a ferocious glare. I gasped, for more than one reason. First, the face before me was twisted into such a wild look of rage and fear that I began to think getting out of the car was not my smartest idea ever. Second, the face that had me suddenly terrified was one I knew. I was looking straight at my ex. I was looking at Bill.

He crouched down in a defensive position, and before he had a chance to attack, I called out to him, "Bill! What are you doing? It's me, Sookie!"

He tilted his head to the side and slowly straightened, his expression changing to one of confusion. He stared at me for a very long time before he finally spoke, "Sookie? What does that mean? Do I know you?"

"Of course you know me," I replied, my face now mirroring his confusion, "very well, in fact."

"But you're just a human."

I sighed, "Then I take it you know that you're not? Human, I mean? What else do you know?"

"I know that I am a vampire," he began hesitantly, "but that is all. I remember nothing else."

"Nothing? At all?"

He shook his head. That was just what I needed after my crazy shift, an amnesiac vampire ex-boyfriend. I considered my options for a moment before finally sighing, "Do you promise not to hurt me?"

His eyes narrowed, but he nodded, "If I meant to hurt you, ma'am, I would have already done so. Besides, I don't think I could hurt you, even if I wanted to. There is something about you. You stopped the compulsion I felt to run. Maybe, maybe I was trying to run to you."

I snorted. Bill thought he couldn't hurt me? He had already hurt me more than he could dream, though he did not remember it. I didn't mention this, however, but I did respond to the last part of what he had said.

"If you were running to me, why were you headed that direction," I asked, pointing behind him, "instead of toward Merlotte's?"

"I don't know," he answered, "but you were heading the same direction, so we were bound to meet up eventually."

Before I could reply, I heard the crunch of gravel behind me and watched as Bill hunkered back into the defensive crouch he has originally faced me with. Uncertain of what I would find, I cautiously turned around. What I saw caused me to sigh in relief. Eric was standing there, glancing back and forth between Bill and me. Surely, Eric would know what to do in this situation. Maybe he could even shed some light on the situation. He had to know, better than I, what could cause a vampire to lose all his memories. I turned fully toward him to get his attention, but I was now stuck in a stare-down with Bill. However, when he finally spoke, his question was directed at me, "Sookie, are you alright?"

"Yes," it came out as a choked whisper. I cleared my throat, "He has not harmed me. And he has promised not to do so in the future."

Eric nodded and took a step toward Bill, who growled in response. Not wanting either of them fighting each other, I intervened, "It's okay, Bill. Eric knows you, too. He's kind of your boss, the sheriff of this area. I know you don't remember, but he has always been a…I guess friend…to me. And even if you two haven't always gotten along, he's the best chance you have right now of getting your memories back unharmed."

Eric turned to me with and almost wistful smile, "Actually, Sookie, it would seem you hold the key to restoring Bill's memories."

"So, you know what's happened to him?"

"That I do," replied Eric, "But this is not the place to discuss it. Let us continue on to your home, Sookie, and there I will tell you what I know."

That was fine by me. I was freezing out here, even with my winter coat on. I hurried to climb back in my car, unlocking the other doors and indicating to Bill that he should get in as well. Without removing his glare from Eric's face, he made his way to the passenger side of the car and slipped into the seat next to me. I was a little surprised when Eric folded himself into the backseat. I wouldn't have thought the high and mighty sheriff would be caught dead, no pun intended, in my clunker of a car. I could only assume he wanted to keep an eye on me, or Bill, or both of us. I noticed that neither vampire made any move to fasten their seatbelt, but I merely shook my head and started down the road.

When we arrived at my house, the vampires both exited my car so fast; you would have thought it was burning them. When I had caught up with them, I tapped Bill's shoulder, hoping he would remember his promise. He turned to look at me and I pointed across the cemetery to where I could barely make out the shape of his completely unlit house, "You see that house over there? That's where you live? You've been my nearest neighbor, since you came into town."

"Is that all I've been?" he asked, raising one eyebrow, "Your neighbor?"

"No, Bill. You were much more than that. We were…together, for awhile. But you betrayed me and hurt me more than I thought possible." I answered, unable to meet his gaze in my brutal honesty.

"Then I am sorry," he replied.

"S'okay," I told him, "It's not like you remember what you did anyway. Now let's all go inside and hear what Eric has to say."

We all settled down in my living room, Bill taking the seat next to me on the sofa, practically sitting in my lap, as Eric sat across from us in a large armchair. Taking an unnecessary breath, Eric began his tale, "I came to night because I was already made aware of the potential for Bill's condition. I was contacted by a witch from New Orleans who told me she had performed a spell on a vampire from my area, at the vampire's request, but she was afraid something had gone wrong. See, the vampire in question simply disappeared from her shop when she finished the spell. Knowing the problems a damaged vampire could cause, she rightfully contacted me."

"What kind of spell did she cast?" I asked, at the same time Bill inquired, "Why would I, or any vampire, willing ask a witch to make me the subject of a spell?"

"Both good questions, and very connected within the witch's tale. This witch, a Miss Broadway, claims that Bill hear, came to her asking for a way to prove himself to you, Sookie. After everything that happened in Dallas and Jackson, he was looking to prove to you that he did love you, outside of his orders by the queen. Miss Broadway had recently come into possession of the spell book of another witch, whose dark intentions mixed poorly with her training in light magic and led to her demise. Miss Broadway and her mentor have been experimenting with the altering of some of the potential curses so that they could be used for good. The particular spell in question was to be used to wipe a person's memories and bring them close to their heart's desire without allowing them to know it. She thought she had altered it so that it would send him to the object of his heart's desire and, if that desire was anything with the ability to process thought, they would both understand the impact. Apparently, Miss Broadway was unable to alter the spell to the extent she thought she had. And, so, here is Bill, without his memories, running toward his heart's desire, without a clue as to why he was doing."

I gulped, "And you think his heart's desire is me?"

"Well, I hardly think it's the fixer-upper he calls his home," was Eric's sarcastic response.

Dreading the response, I asked, "Does this Miss Broadway know how to break the spell?"

Bill glanced at me sharply, "How do you know I want the spell broken? I must have had a good reason for wishing it."

Eric ignored Bill and answered my question, "She is unsure. It is her theory that it will eventually wear off, but she can't be certain."

"I need some time to think things through." I announced.

Both vampires nodded. Eric made to leave, but Bill glanced at me with a lost expression. I told him he was free to go back to his place or he could wait in the spare room and sleep in the hidey-hole when daylight came. He asked to be directed to the hidey-hole. I directed him to the room and then made my way to my own bedroom where I got ready for bed. Once in bed, I worked hard to turn my mind off. I had almost succeeded when I heard the door to the room open. I knew it was Bill so I merely sat up and looked in his direction. He stood in the doorway, looking strangely shy. I beckoned him over and quirked in eyebrow in a silent question.

He swallowed, and then spoke, "I was thinking about what the sheriff said. If I went through all of the trouble to seek out a witch and have her perform a spell on me, I must have really loved you. Did you love me, as well?"

I took a deep breath, "I did once, Bill. Maybe I still do. I don't know. But there has been so much bad stuff between us, that love wasn't really enough anymore."

"I suppose I understand," he nodded, "but I think, even without my memories, I still love you. That's why I was drawn to you. You are my heart's desire, even now. Maybe this could be a second chance for us."

Before I could respond, he was kissing me. While my first instinct was to push away, I was caught up in the familiarity of kissing Bill. I broke the kiss, but I didn't push him away. I stared up into those familiar eyes and I knew that while I hadn't forgiven Bill, I hadn't gotten over him yet, either. Maybe he was right. Maybe this could be our second chance. How many people get their second chance with their first love? And if he was here with me now, with no memories, it meant he was not ordered here by the queen. Before I could over analyze, I kissed him back, with more hunger than I knew I was capable of.

He growled, deep in his chest, a completely different sound than his growl earlier tonight. At that point, I lost the ability for rational thought and was driven purely by lust and the need that existed between us. As his hands slid up under my nightdress, I tore away the remnants of his shirt. He slowly and deliberately lifted the nightdress over my head and lowered me back down on the bed before making quick work of his own clothing. The only scrap of clothing left between us now, was the thin cotton of my panties. Judging by the way his fingers began playing with the edges as he lowered himself over me, these, too, would soon be gone.

He pushed the fabric aside to reach a finger between my folds and groaned, in a mixture of pleasure and pain, "So wet, Sookie. You do want this, too, don't you?"

Mutely I nodded. His finger was soon joined by two others as he began to rub infuriatingly at my clit. That alone was almost enough to send me over the edge. I leaned forward to meet his lips with mine, moaning against him, "Please…"

I could feel the smirk on his lips as he replied, "Please, what, Sookie?"

Instead of answering him, I bit his lip, hard enough to draw blood. As I lapped up the small trail of blood I had cause, he roared above me in the most feral and exhilarating sound I had ever heard. Before I could process what was happening, his fingers were gone and he was pounding into me with an urgency that left little room for gentleness. Even in our other times together, I had never felt anything so amazing. A small part of my brain was clear enough to be offended that he had always held back before, the rest of it clouded over by a fog of pleasure. I swung my knees up over his shoulders and felt him increase his pace, plunging into me even harder than before. I cried out, "Don't stop! Whatever you do, don't stop!"

He heard me and continued his wonderful assault, making me gasp for air. When the stars began to appear, I screamed for him to bite me. He did exactly as he was told, sinking his teeth into my neck as I did the same to him. As soon as his teeth made contact with my skin, he followed after me in barreling over the edge. As we convulsed together, sharing the ecstasy of release, I heard my name escape his lips in tone of awe and praise.

Being a vampire, he managed to roll to the side rather than collapse on top of me. While I lay shaking, but grinning, I noticed Bill suddenly tense beside me. I forced myself to roll on my side to face him and ask, "What is it?"

"I remember," he answered, "everything I did to you. I am so deeply sorry, Sookie, for everything I've done."

I blinked at him, not quite able to comprehend what he was telling me. When it finally made sense, I pushed away from him, but met his gaze, "Bill, it may be a long while before I can fully forgive everything, but you allowed yourself to be cursed for me. When you were under the spell, you ran to me. I know from that that I'm your heart's desire and I believe you now that you really do love me. So, I'm willing to stop running. I think you were right. This could be our second chance. After all, a new year is a perfect time for a new start."