Summary: What if Sookie went to Fairyland a season earlier, at the height of her romance with Bill? Eventual S/E.

This is my first fanfic in a LONG time. Please be kind, I don't have a beta yet! I prefer the books to the show, but this just works better in HBO's universe.

Disclaimer: I don't own SVM, True Blood, or the Brandi Carlile song title.

Trust Me: Touching the Ground

I woke up in Bill's bed feeling cold. His house was old, and he had never really gotten around to installing heat. Sometimes he lights a fire, but I know it's only for my benefit. Vampires, he told me, are too vulnerable to bursting into flames to really enjoy a nice fire. Still, it would have been nice to have one right about now. I was under his heavy blankets but only wearing one of his undershirts. I blushed thinking back to how it came from his body to my own, especially considering the circumstances. I had seen my best friend's lover murdered in Merlotte's parking lot because of something I had done. Tara's grief was almost worse than Eggs' corpse. When she looked at me it was like a knife to the gut. I knew it was my fault, and I did the cowardly thing. I let Bill take me home.

Only my home wasn't really there for me to go to. Maryann's hellish circus had ruined Gran's beautiful home, from the lawn where I sunbathed to the kitchen where we ate pie. I mean, there was a finger on my porch, for Chrissakes! There was dirt, blood, food, and other fluids that I didn't even want to think about smeared on everything. Maryann, who a lesser lady might call a bitch, had really done a number on it. I couldn't stand seeing it like that, but I also couldn't work up any energy to do anything about it. Cleaning is something I do when I'm stressed or upset, and I'm darn good at it too. Yet this time it was too daunting. I had found the courage to wipe up Gran's blood the night she was murdered, but the destruction of her house broke something else inside of me. When Bill and I pulled up in my run-down car I knew there was no way I was sleeping there tonight, especially after Eggs' death.

Bill had been wonderful. He took my hand and led me through the cemetery to his estate. Had I been alone at my house, I would have soothed my pain with a bubble bath and a movie, followed by a restless sleep. Not so when Bill was around; it had only been a few months since we met, but I loved him so much. And the other perks weren't too bad either. If you had told me before I met Bill that I'd deal with a murder by having a long night of sex, I would have called Sheriff Dearborn to take you away. All this death and danger lately has taught me that there's nothing like good old fashioned intimacy to help you realize you're still alive. Well, one of you is alive at least.

The clock on the nightstand (again, something installed just for my human needs, as vampires have an internal clock of their own) told me it was nearly noon. My stomach agreed, letting me know it didn't appreciate skipping breakfast. I rubbed it a little, remembering that Bill didn't have any human food in his house. I had started keeping some small snacks over here a while back for mornings like this, but since our trip to Dallas it had all gone stale or rotten.

Dallas. What a crazy trip that had turned out to be! I didn't want to think too much on it, so I forced my legs to swing out of bed. Bill may not have central heating, but he sure does have a great bathroom. Usually after sleeping over I put on my day-old clothing and do the walk-of-shame over to my house to bathe. Bill's bathtub is luxurious and hot, but it just isn't the same as home, where I have my shampoo, my soap, heck, Bill doesn't even own a razor! And there's no way I'm going to work in my short shorts without shaving my legs.

Despite his lack of bath goods, I decided to bathe over at his place. I didn't want to set foot in my own shower until I had used an entire bottle of bleach on it. I would have loved a bath but my stomach was urging me to hurry it up to get to the food part, so shower it was. I turned the water as far to "hot" as I dared and shucked off Bill's shirt. Stepping into the shower, I breathed in the steam. As much as the Maenad's antics had distracted me, Dallas kept slipping into my mind- along with the vampires I had gone with.

I had only agreed to go to get paid. I also wasn't sure if Eric would have taken no for an answer. He was so hard to figure out. One minute he uses me like a portable telepath machine, and the next he saves my life. I was still shocked that Eric had been the one to come for me when I was down in that basement and not Bill. The whole time I was in that evil church, even when that beast Gabe was on top of me, I was certain Bill would come. Instead, Eric came charging in with that look on his face; as though he would do anything for Godric. It must have been the bond between childe and maker, right? Was that how Bill felt about Lorena? He claimed that he detested her, and was only held back from rescuing me because his maker was stronger and older than him. I had nothing to worry about, Bill had assured me, as the relationship between child and maker is based on nothing but mutual blood lust and murder. Then how did that explain the look of love and devotion Eric had on his face whenever he looked at Godric? He had proven over and over that he is a ruthless monster who doesn't know the meaning of love.

Ok, so maybe that was a little harsh. It's clear he cares for Pam- and at times he even seems to care about me. In Dallas he offered to die in my place, right there on the altar. Bill told me later that Eric only offered to go in my stead because he knew Reverend Newlin was going to kill me anyway. But if we were both going to die anyway, why offer to save me? To earn my trust for those last few minutes we were alive? It didn't really matter as only hours later Eric tricked me into drinking his blood.

I was thinking way too much about Eric, especially while in Bill's shower. I turned off the water and dried off. The only clothes I had over here were my Merlotte's uniform from last night, so I reluctantly pulled those on. As soon as I got home I'd put on fresh clothes anyway, so it didn't bother me too much to put on my grease-stained t-shirt.

I walked downstairs, noticing Bill's house got a bit dusty in our absence. Does he clean his house by himself? He doesn't really seem the type to hire a maid, but I can't imagine him cleaning either. I decide to leave him a quick note, but realize I don't know where he keeps any paper. I knew I was being silly- after all, he'd probably come right to me as soon as the sun set, but it felt like something a girlfriend would do for her boyfriend- if they were normal, that is. I liked to imagine we were living together and I was just leaving the house for a bit of errands. It was nice, daydreaming like that. Before Bill I never allowed myself to indulge in such a normal fantasy, knowing my luck with human men.

I didn't find any paper in the kitchen so I moved on to the living room. I smiled as I saw the rug by the fireplace, remembering the first time we made love there. To the left of the fireplace was a wooden door, open halfway. Peeking inside, it appeared to be a study. There was probably some proper word for it in an old house like this, like parlor or mezzanine. I never got around to studying architecture, but Gran would have known the exact word for it.

There was a large mahogany desk with a computer that looked completely out of place. I don't have a computer of my own, but I understand that they can be very personal. Not wanting to snoop, I made sure not to touch it and focused on finding pen and paper. The room was fastidiously tidy and I didn't see any type of sticky notes or notepads. About to abandon my idea of a love note all together, a corner of paper caught my eye. It was sticking out of a file cabinet that I had barely noticed during my quick perusal earlier. I carefully opened the door and glanced at the paper to see if it was blank. Unfortunately, it was covered in writing and I put it back without reading it; however, underneath it I saw my own photo.

My curiosity got the better of me. I knew I shouldn't be looking through Bill's things, but if it's a photo of me, isn't that my business? I liked the idea of Bill keeping a photo of me, but I never imagined it would be in some old file cabinet. I always thought he'd keep it in his pocket, or maybe in his cubby hole where he slept. I pulled the drawer open further and found more papers and photos. Some of the photos contained people I recognized; myself, Jason, Gran, Momma, Dad, even my cousin Hadley who I hadn't heard from in years. The papers had charts on them with strange names that I didn't recognize, mixed in with familiar ones like Stackhouse and Hale. Some of the names were circled, others crossed out.

My heart began to beat faster, and I kneeled on the floor in front of the file cabinet. Why did Bill have these papers? My thoughts were coming fast and all I could feel was panic and betrayal. My mind kept flashing back to Bill and his maker, how he was powerless against her. The drawer looked like Bill had been spying on me- surely if he had done anything wrong, it was Lorena's fault. I felt this awful sense of dread, as if something were right on the other side of the wall and if I reached out it would burst all over and ruin the first real relationship that I'd ever had.

I pushed those feelings down and told myself there was a reasonable explanation. Bill loved me! And with Gran gone, Tara heartbroken over Eggs, and Jason being Jason, Bill was really the only person I could rely on. I didn't want to even think about losing him too. The files were probably from his talks with Gran about our family history. Maybe it was even supposed to be a surprise for me, and I had just ruined it.

Standing up, I closed the drawer. I wasn't going to get any answers before sunset anyway, so I might as well eat something while I waited. I left Bill's house and walked through the cemetery. I didn't really notice the sun or if it was cloudy, all my energy was focused on blocking out thoughts about Bill and why he would have that drawer full of information.

Gran was buried halfway through the cemetery, and as I neared it I couldn't help but stop. I sat down in front of her headstone and gave in to the tears. If I couldn't cry at my grandmother's grave, where could I? I'm not one to wallow in self-pity, but the previous week's events just caught up with me. I had thought I could handle all the violence, murder, near-rape, and deceitful blood drinking as long as I had Bill's love, and all of a sudden that didn't seem so certain anymore. I needed something to hold on to but there was nothing around me but graves and ghosts.

I had been sitting in the sun for less than ten minutes when a bright light shone above me. It was different from the sun, more white and it gave off a cool energy. I had to shield my eyes to look at it, and as I did a beautiful woman appeared. She had long curly brown hair and her eyes were the same shade of blue as mine. She wore a golden dress and had bare feet.

"Sookie," she said. She spoke softly and with a slight accent. I didn't know why but I stood up and faced her, although she stood a good half foot taller than me.

"Who are you?" I asked. After Maryann, I knew I should be more afraid of strange women showing up in my woods, but something about her seemed peaceful.

"My name is Claudine," she replied, and smiled as if she knew a wonderful secret. "I'm so happy to finally meet you."

I tried to listen to her thoughts, but all I heard was silence, and maybe chimes in the distance. "What are you?" I asked. It may not have been polite, but I was trying to be careful.

"I'm a fairy," said Claudine, "and I'm here to take care of you. Come with me, and I'll show you."

I didn't know what she meant by fairy, or where she wanted me to go, but she seemed safe enough. I decided to hear her out, so I took her outstretched hand.

That was the second everything stopped.

Don't forget to review! It lets me know I should keep going. Baby Whale Kisses: ._.