Author's Note-I this was originally going to be the last story I was going to write. I have been dealing with depression lately and it is a struggle daily to keep the faith and be strong. Because of kind words from one of my readers, I decided to keep going but wanted to publish this story anyway. This is more of a catch up and see where the characters currently stand. And then, I have more stories on the way, more action and what not. Thanks for the support and please review and send others to check out my work. Thanks!

Chapter 1-Sookie

Counting her tips, she felt a little stiffed. Not that she needed the money and not that she even needed to work. The fact was, she liked working and loved what she did. That being said, if people who stiffed her knew shat she could do, the power she wielded, then perhaps they would have left more than a few coins on a thirty dollar bill. Scowling at the table of five as they left, she plucked the few coins from the table and put them in her apron pocket. If they only knew, she said as Arlene took not of her grumpy face that so rarely showed during work.

"Ah….cheap rednecks….yeah, not a fain of them either." the fiery redhead and Sookie's boss said as she took in what Sookie produced form the pocket of her apron. Throwing it in a jar kept behind the bar, loose change was often saved up for a occasional staff party. Usually it covered the drinks. Not that the bar was doing poorly. Far from it and in fact, it, like all of Bon Temps, had become something of a tourist trap in the years since all the supernatural goings on had occurred. Not that all of those times had been fun times. That some close to her had perished in the years since vamps had first come out of the coffin. But good things had happened in the past few years as well, her own marriage, having a child…having someone she had seen die be returned to the living….and yet the ghosts of those who weren't so fortunate to be able to return….they haunted her even today. The pain, she knew, would never really go away. And yet life went on. And she went on. Living a life she never imagined she could have with someone she hadn't expected to be able to live a life with, let alone live as long as he would. She had to laugh to herself as she went to take another order, marveling at the luck and the chain of events that had led her here. That she had once imagined herself living a quiet and peaceful life with some normal guy made her shake her head. She hadn't really known what she had wanted until she had almost lost it…again and again, both her fault and sheer circumstances. Looking at the ring on her left finger was the constant reminder of how lucky she and her family had been in life. Amongst the death, the violence and the chaos, she had nevertheless managed to forge a stronger family. And that she had become something stronger herself in the process…..it was humbling sometimes. Shaking herself from her thoughts, the plucked her pen and notebook from her apron and went to take what she felt had to be order one milling in her years here in this bar.

Hours later, she pulled into the small community of houses. Four, to be precise. One for herself and her Viking, one for the recently returned to life Godric, one for Pam and her unexpected roommate Willa and a fourth for Ginger. He had promised to take car for the addlebrained barmaid considering it had been he and Ginger who had taken too many liberties with her, glamouring her too much. Not that she was left completely incapacitated or useless but compared to the young woman who had first met Eric and Pam in the 90's….well, she certainly was no longer that woman mentally. The gated community was as secure as the White House, if not more so and as she parked her recently obtained navy blue convertible in the four car garage, she almost felt ashamed at the purchase. Then again, she had rarely splurged on anything, even though she could certainly afford it. Even after selling New Blood to the Japanese, Eric would never again be less than disgustingly wealthy and she had loved him for selling it off, knowing running the business had been something of a hollow purpose for him after the novelty wore off. Pam had been all for selling it off as well, she too being obscenely wealthy. It had been the one thing that Sarah Newlin had done that was good, as far as Pam had been concerned, having become the cure to hep v and the key to their current wealth. Sookie had had known that Sarah was dead, killed by those who had been directly impacted by her and there was a macabre skeleton bronzed that Pam had in her house that Sookie suspected she knew whose it was. It was a fate well deserved, there was no doubt but every time she saw it, Sookie couldn't help but feel slightly unnerved. But at least in death, Sarah served some kind of purpose.

Letting herself in through the door in the garage, Sookie kicked off her shoes and padded into the kitchen and then into the massive foyer of their house. Manor, really. There was no less than 50 rooms in the mansion and though slightly smaller, the other three manors on the property had at least 35 rooms. No expense was spared to allow his family to live in the lap of luxury and though Jason had moved into their gran's house-Sookie's former house-he had been offered a manor of his own for his own family. But not one for that kind of complication, Jason had politely refused, though was frequent guest to the gated community. She looked at the photos just recently put up in their living room…..a room with a cathedral ceiling and was decorated with but a rustic and modern flair. Black leather armchairs and sofas lined the walls with the framed photos. But also present were dozens of prized weapons from the vast collection of the Viking, who had several upper story rooms that were full of artifacts long since gathered and meticulously cared for. Those rooms had even been outfitted with keypads in order to enter, no windows. In any of the rooms. She knew his past was as important to him as was his present. Flopping down on the couch, she turned on the huge flat screen and started flipping through, her mind more focused on life, what had happened thus far and her wondering just what else was in store for them. Life had treated both of them rather harshly over the years and the fact that they were together, that they could both and did love….she supposed that miracles were very much real. And she was grateful for it.

Chapter 2-Pam

The bar, as always was humming and hopping, money and drinks flowing like wine. Or blood, if you were the fanged persuasion. Either way, she had to enjoy this place, it was a place she had at first detested and hated. And there certainly were haunting memories of this place. Of that there was no questioning that. But since the demise of the Newlins, of all who had tried to take them down, Pam had become much more reverent towards this place and was as fiercely protective of it as she was of the one who met her gaze briefly up on his dais. In his rightful spot. They certainly had had many an adventure together, from when they met in 1903 San Francisco, to the present. And she was and would ever remain grateful for the way he had changed her. Literally. Her life had been so shallow and empty and she had truly stopped caring if she lived or died. But when after he had turned her, things had changed for the better. She had become empowered and though they had come to enjoy killing, feeding and robbing people over the years, she had always wanted to have a point to her existence and knew that to survive she would need to behave. He had told her as much and as they had evolved together, becoming more restrained and secretive about their appetites, they had become the best of friends and after she had watched Sylvie be killed in front of him when forced to choose between the human and herself, that night, she had seen the compassion, his ability to love and care almost freeze. And so she had changed as well, both becoming rather jaded, stoic beings that remained as such until the fateful night that the girl entered their video store turned bar. That Sookie had not only restored him and his humanity but had also restored her own in a way, was a miracle and though she would never openly admit it, Pam knew Sookie was to thank for making their lives better. Even with all the battles, the wards and the blood that had been spilled over the years. In the long run, looking at her life now, Pam knew it was more than worth it. Seeing her maker happy and not deprived of that which he had lost so long ago….Pam was grateful

Ginger was working at the bar with her and as she watched the less than brilliant woman work, Pam admitted that the woman was a…a friend and there was a part of Pam that did feel guilty about all that she and Eric had done to her over the years. Not out of cruelty but out of self preservation. That so much damage had been done to the mind of Ginger was something Pam had wanted to try to atone for….not that Ginger remembered any of it. And certainly they could have done a worse number on the woman. They had done worse, once after she had been turned. She had been too eager to please her maker and had over glamoured a woman to the point that she started screaming uncontrollably and so Pam had been forced to kill the woman where she stood. It had been fortunate that she victim had been a transient but still…it had been a learning experience to be certain. Ginger had at least taken to being a more than competent bartender and Pam had to admit, she was fast and efficient when it came to serving drinks. And cleaning up after the bar closed. That they paid Ginger well was a understatement, they wanted to make things up to her without having to actually say they were sorry. At least, Pam wouldn't say she was sorry, though she may feel it. As much of a influence as Sookie had been, not even that faerie-vamp could change Pam that much. Though there was no mistaking it, Pam had softened slightly and had regained some semblance of compassion. And that was certainly no easy feat. That her life had changed not only by the Viking but someone she had thought was at one point insignificant, annoying and cheap, Pam was still in disbelief that not only was Sokie one of her closest friends, but they were family. And as family they had made it through some hairy situations as well as unexpected ones. Some of which Pam could have stood to live without but yet she thought that everything that had happened over the last few years had only made them all stronger. Better.

Chapter 3-Eric

It was a hollow thing for him now, lording over the peons who entered his bar night in and night out. That he was the center of attention most nights, that many people came to the club merely to glimpse him no longer got him off. Not since all the changes that had occurred over the past few years in his life. He met the gaze of Pam over at the bar and nodded slightly, indicating he was going to leave the dais for a short time. She knew he still liked being center of attention…but it just didn't have the same effect on him any more. And though he had come to care deeply for the business he and Pam had built up into a massive success-and now had included Willa and Sookie in its running and maintenance, a true family affair-he couldn't help but reflect on that which had led him to this moment in time. He closed the door of his office behind him and knew that Pam would know well enough that he wanted to be left alone. Away from the hungry eyes of the people out in the club, he could reflect on the past, ponder the present and hope for the future.

Though he kept most of his prized possessions in heavily secured rooms back in his impressive mouse, he did keep some things here in his office pieces of home as it were. As he got up from his chair, he went to the wood and glass case that held a handful of artifacts from his past, the very case that had been in the late and not quite lamented or missed Russell Edgington. The deceased vamp's mansion had been auctioned off piece by piece, Sookie herself wanting something to take home for them. A trophy of sorts. She turned wound up not getting anything for herself but couldn't resist getting him the cabinet where they had both seen the treasures that Edgington had stolen over the centuries on display…including the crown he had stolen with his wolves on the night the then human Eric's family was mercilessly slaughtered. And so here it was, the display case which one housed ill gotten goods, replaced with several items that he held dearly, his father's crown, of course, it was only fitting to have front and center there amongst some of the lesser but no less sentimental objects he had managed to uncover whilst traveling over the centuries. He opened the cabinet for a moment and ran his eyes over the rusty daggers, the jewelry and bric a brac one would find in his former culture. But as always, he would take the crown in his hand, a crown he had never gotten to take up himself. A crown that he hadn't ever wanted and yet, there was a part of him that regretted he hadn't after the way his family was taken out. It was funny how he had been a royal and Sookie was one, perhaps things were meant to be. She never mentioned his lost title often, only referring to him as being a royal….a royal pain in the butt. A term of endearment of course, when she was "annoyed" by his bravado, his swagger. When he started to act slightly juvenile, which happened form time to time. And he knew she liked it, no matter what she said.

Locking the doors and replacing the key in the inconspicuous place, he sat back down in his chair, thinking over that which he was before the light that was Sookie had entered his life. Things were certainly more complicated and things that had happened in the time since they had finally gotten together for good…he knew none of it would have happened if not for that seemingly impossible occurrence. He wouldn't have the ability to visit with the spirits of his parents…he wouldn't have his beloved maker back in his life….never would have had a daughter…he could go on with the things he never would have experienced or attained. And he had more than just once person to thank for it but high up there, in a place incomparable to any others, was the girl he still saw as the one in the white dress. And it was a miracle to him at the lives she had touched and affected. That he and the others in their family were so intertwined…it was certainly something.

TO BE CONTINUED