Disclaimer: I do not own TB and its characters.

AN: This takes place right after 'To Find My Way Back to You', which you can find in my profile page. You have to read that one first to know what's going on.

Chapter 1

"Keith, the vampire is here."

Keith Dixon lifted up his eyes from the book on the table and looked at Ian, his most trusted, devoted and longtime companion. "Bring him in." Keith said. Ian nodded and disappeared behind the door. Keith closed the book and set it aside. His finger lingered over the book's cover, tracing around the ancient writing on the cover, "History of Vampires", it read.

"Doing your homework?" A voice said. Keith looked up at the vampire standing in front of his desk.

"Part of the job." Keith answered. "I hope you've done yours." He looked at the vampire expectantly.

"Of course." The vampire said emphatically as he sat down.

"Well?" Keith raised his eyebrows enquiringly.

"What do you think of taking down a King?" The vampire gave Keith an evil grin. "Once you take him down, the rest will comply quick enough."

Keith regarded the vampire carefully. "A vampire King? Who do you have in mind?"

"The King of Louisiana. I'm sure you've heard about him." The vampire leaned forward and folded his hands on the table.

Keith opened his computer and looked through the list of vampire royalty. He opened the folder marked 'Louisiana' and clicked the most recent file.

"William Thomas Compton. Born in 1835, turned in 1865. He was crowned as the King of Louisiana last year at the age of 175." Keith read the information aloud. "Rather young…" He commented lightly. Keith skimmed through the rest of the information before turning back toward the vampire, who was watching him closely.

"Yes. And if you did your homework well," The vampire pointed at the book on Keith's table, "You'll also know that he's one of the youngest monarchs ever crowned in the past few centuries."

"And we're going to take him down. Why? Do you think him, young and foolish?" Keith asked curiously.

"It's a warning for the other mainstreaming vampires out there." The vampire said with disgust. "Yes, a King that young is foolish; obviously he had help from others. He wouldn't have been able to remove Queen Sophie Anne on his own. We can easily take him down and send a serious message to those that helped him, those we are targeting." He added.

"Do you have a plan?" Keith closed the window in his computer and focused on the vampire instead.

"No, but I have an ally, a very powerful one. And he's ready to help us." The vampire nodded his head, feeling sure of himself and his 'ally'.

"How do I know that this ally of yours is really on board? How do I even trust him?" Keith asked suspiciously.

"He wants his king dead." The vampire simply said, shrugging his shoulders.

"You are 100% certain?" Keith asked. Taking down a king was not an easy task. It required careful planning. He couldn't risk everything just because this vampire said so. "How are we going to approach him?"

"Leave it to me. I will talk to him personally. Once we get him on our side, things will go smoothly." The blonde haired vampire assured Keith.

"Who is this vampire ally that you're talking about? If we're going to get him on our side, I want to know if I can trust him." Keith knew better than to trust any of them, including this one.

"Eric Northman." The vampire said, his green eyes sparkling under the lamp light.

"Hey Sook, what do you think of this one?" Jessica stepped out from the fitting room wearing a beautiful pink dress. She stood in front of Sookie and twirled around.

"Wow! You look so pretty! You should get that one." Sookie admired the younger girl, making her blush, if it was possible for vampires to blush.

"Really? But it's so tight and short..." Jessica looked at her reflection in the full length mirror. Her hands smoothed down the skirt. It was indeed short and tight. The hem of the skirt stopped mid-thigh and it hugged her curvaceous body tightly.

"Yup, I'm sure Jason will love that." Sookie smiled and winked mischievously at Jess. They decided to have a night out at the new mall in Monroe since both of their men were too busy to entertain them that evening. Jason was busy investigating the recent spike in robberies around town and Bill was busy doing what the girls dubbed as his 'King-thing'.

"It's not Jason that I'm worried about." Jess sighed. She could imagine Bill's disapproving frown if he ever saw her wearing that dress.

"Ah…" Sookie's smile faltered. The two women looked at each other knowingly.

'You are seventeen, Jessica. You should wear something that is appropriate for your age.' Jess imitated Bill's lecturing tone and both women couldn't help but giggle, earning some strange looks from people around them. Although Jessica considered herself as an adult and she had become so much more mature in the past year, she still valued Bill's opinions. As well as fearing that as her maker, he could order her to wear more demure clothing, and that would suck.

Jessica stepped back into the fitting room to change her clothes. A few moments later, she came out and approached Sookie.

"It's so pretty, Sook." Jessica ran her hands through the fabric of the dress. "You know what, I'm gonna get this dress. I don't have to wear it in front of Bill, so maybe he will never find out." Jessica decided. Sookie smiled and nodded.

"Yeah. Even if he finds out, I'll be on your side, not to mention Jason." Sookie said with a small laugh. Sookie knew that Bill would just be being himself, and while Sookie was impressed with Bill and Jessica's father-daughter relationship, she also understand that a girl, especially at Jess' age, needed her freedom.

"Aren't you going to get something?" Jess asked Sookie, noticing that Sookie didn't pick up anything.

"No. These dresses are not really my type. Maybe I'll find something else later." Sookie shook her head. "Let's pay for your dress." The two proceeded to the cashier and paid for Jessica's purchase.

They spent the rest of the evening visiting various shops. When the mall closed, they walked out, feeling satisfied with their purchases. They loaded their shopping bags into the car and drove back to Bon Temps.

"I'll drop you at Jason's place. Do you have your keys with you?" Sookie asked Jessica as they reached the outskirt of the town.

"Yeah, they're in here." Jessica patted down her bag. "How about you?"

"I'm going home." Sookie said with just a hint of disappointment. Just because she understood Bill's position, that didn't mean that she's happy with the current arrangement regarding their relationship. Nevertheless, both Bill and Sookie were determined to make their relationship work.

"Oh. Why don't you stay for a while? We can chat some more and maybe watch a movie or something." Jessica offered.

"Its okay, Jess. I'm tired and besides I'm working lunch shift tomorrow. I better get home and get some sleep." Sookie said, trying to sound cheerful. Jessica just nodded in understanding. She knew that Sookie must be missing Bill, but there was nothing that any of them could do.

A few minutes later, they arrived at Jason's driveway.

"Good night, Sook! Drive careful, ok?" Jessica said goodbye and hopped out from Sookie's yellow car.

"Night, Jess! Say hi to Jason for me." Sookie said before driving away.

Sookie arrived at home about ten minutes later. She glanced sadly at her still ruined front porch. Bill had offered to help her fix it, but she declined his offer. He had helped her enough in getting the house back and Sookie, being as independent as she was, wanted to fix it herself. Jason promised to help her, but with everything that had been going on lately, he hadn't had the time to do it. So, Sookie decided to just contact a local construction company. But they were still in the process of negotiating an affordable and reasonable price. Sookie sometimes couldn't believe how much high price for various things had increased in the past year or so.

Sookie unlocked the back door and stepped into the house. After making sure to lock the door, Sookie walked to the living room and put her purchases down on the coffee table. She went to the kitchen and grabbed a glass of ice tea before making her way back to the living room. Sookie put down her ice tea on the table and started to go through her purchases. She bought some T-shirts, shorts, and hairpins.

Sookie dug around and pulled out some new lingerie. Sookie couldn't wait to see Bill's reaction when he saw her wearing those. She hoped he would like it.

'He better. They cost a fortune!' Sookie thought to herself.

Sookie had also bought something for Bill. She opened the bag from the men's department store and took out a dark blue Henley. Sookie closed her eyes, imagining Bill wearing it, and suddenly, a rush of sadness coursed through her.

After that wonderful night that they spent together, they hadn't seen each other at all for the past ten days or so. Other than the occasional texts, the only time they talked on the phone was four days ago. Even then, it was just a short call. Having a vampire as a boyfriend was difficult enough, but having a vampire king as a boyfriend was proven to be trying.

Before she knew what she was doing, Sookie took her phone and dialed Bill's private number. Her call went straight into his voicemail.

'This is Bill Compton. Leave a message and I will return your call as soon as possible.' Upon hearing Bill's voice, Sookie felt a lone tear make its way down her cheek.

"Bill, it's me. I know you're busy, but I just… I just want to say I miss you so much." Sookie said; her voice trembled slightly. Sookie ended the call and wiped her tear with the back of her hand; feeling angry with herself.

'What are you thinking? He's very busy and you're being clingy. Get a grip, Sookie!' Sookie berated herself silently. She put down the phone and moved around to put away her purchases. Afterwards, she headed upstairs to take a shower, hoping that it would take her mind off Bill.

After she took a long hot shower, Sookie felt better. She changed into a T-shirt and shorts and slipped into bed. She grabbed a book from her bedside table and started reading. After she finished two chapters, she yawned and glanced at the clock; it was already two o'clock in the morning. Sookie put the book down and turned off the bedside lamp. Sookie had just closed her eyes when she heard knocking on her back door. At first, Sookie thought that it was just her imagination, but then she heard more knocks.

"What the hell? Don't they know what time is it?" Sookie muttered crossly. When the knocking got more insistent, Sookie slipped out of her bed and angrily stomped downstairs. Sookie was tired, lonely and miserable. The last thing she needed was some lunatic banging at her door at two o'clock in the morning.

"It's two in the morning, you idiot! What the hell do you think…?" Sookie yanked the back door open, flipping on the back porch light and trailed off, "Bill…?" She stared open mouthed at her boyfriend who stared right back at her in surprise of her outburst. Before Bill could say anything, Sookie threw her arms around his neck and pressed her lips on his. Bill returned the kiss with equal vigor. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer.

After a few seconds, they broke off the kiss, but Bill didn't let her go. Instead, he cradled her face in his hand and looked at her closely. He missed her so much and he was very grateful for their blood bond. At least, he could still feel her, even during his day rest. Bill had been in foul mood lately. He had been busy investigating very serious threat, a new and deadly breed of vampire hunters, but so far, they hadn't uncovered much. Missing Sookie only added to his frustration. However, seeing her and having her in his arms had helped greatly in lifting his mood.

"I miss you." Sookie murmured quietly. She was surprised, but happy, to see him.

"I miss you too, my love." Bill smiled at her softly and kissed her one more time.

They pulled apart and Sookie took his hand in hers. "Let's go inside."

"Sookie, I cannot stay long. I have a meeting in about," Bill glanced at his watch, "Twenty minutes." He looked at her apologetically. "I come here to check on you. I felt your sadness and I also really needed to see you."

Sookie was disappointed, but she didn't want to spoil their short time together. "It's ok. Twenty minutes is better than nothing. Come, I have something for you." Sookie entered the house and pulled him with her.

"Wait here." Sookie asked him to wait in the kitchen as she quickly made her way upstairs. She grabbed the paper bag from her room and rushed back downstairs. She found Bill sitting on one of the dining chair, waiting for her. Sookie sat down beside him and gave him the bag.

"What is this?" Bill asked as he peeked curiously into the bag. "May I?" He asked.

Sookie nodded and Bill opened the bag and pulled out the Henley. "You bought this for me?" Bill looked at Sookie. His eyes shone with surprise and joy.

"I saw it in the mall when I was shopping with Jess. I want you to wear it on our next date. I also bought something else for you. Something that I hope you'll like. But, you'll have to wait until our next date to see them." Sookie told him with a big, mischievous smile.

"What else did you buy?" Bill asked eagerly. He looked excited and that made Sookie giggled slightly.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty, but I can't tell you now. But the sooner we go out on a date, the sooner you can see them." Sookie teased him, making him frown, which only serve to make Sookie laugh harder. They talked for another ten minutes or so before Bill had to leave. Sookie walked him to the back porch door. Both were unwilling to part from each other.

"I will try my best to spend more time with you. I am so sorry that I haven't been able to be around." Bill apologized to her.

"It's alright, Bill. I understand. You have your responsibilities." Sookie forced a smile for him. Bill pulled her into a hug and kissed her.

"Good night, Sookie. I love you, sweetheart." Bill whispered into her hair.

"Night, Bill. I love you too." Sookie buried her face into his shirt. They reluctantly pulled apart from each other and Bill waited until Sookie was inside and had locked the door before zipping back to his mansion. He was almost late for his meeting, but for the first time in the past week or so, he was happy and content.

Sookie walked upstairs and slipped into bed. As much as she wanted to spend more time with Bill, she knew that just wasn't possible. But still, she couldn't wait to see him again. Sookie fell asleep, but a few hours later, she woke with a scream.