Count my blessings.

Disclaimer; I do not own these characters, Charlaine Harris has that honour. I just like to explore the endless possibilities...

Chapter 1

Sookie's POV

I am a forty something, single parent of twin boys fast approaching their 18th birthday to which I'm currently up to my neck trying to arrange a party for. I've got to admit I find it strange, where I'm from it is sweet sixteen or 21, but where we live now in Kent, 'the garden' England, 18 is the age of celebration, and they both aim to bankrupt me in the celebrations they have in mind. It makes me wonder where the time has gone, they have grown so fast the years have flown by yet I have been lucky the passage of time has not ravaged me as it has my contemporaries. I still have a good hour-glass figure, naturally blond hair still long and thick and my ample bosom is holding off well against gravity. Bras are now an absolute necessity but being on the larger side they always were. There are a few extra laughter lines around my eyes but no major wrinkles of jowls, thank god. I have a good life, businesses that make good money and a little old farmhouse although that implies it is small, which it can't be with two boys well over 6 feet, it has been extended many times and has many out buildings which spread over 14 acres or woodland which always reminds me of home. I miss home every day and wish it could have been different, I wish I could have stayed but that was not possible. It has been a struggle to get to where I am now but life is good. There is always the shadow of my old life that lurks in the periphery but all in all I'm happy.

I should have known that sod and his law was around the corner just waiting for me to get comfortable before dropping ten tons of shit from a great height.

I walked through the doors of T & N to find that Jayc was already behind the bar, it looked like he was doing the stock take. I liked this club, it had a regular cliental who respected the house rules. It was a nice place to relax in the company of some very interesting people. The decor was subtitle with a hint of irony. The walls were a beige colour, antique paper, according to the paint tin and there were paintings of mythological creatures and scripture quotes framed around the walls which usually drew a chuckle from some of the patrons, I'm sure a few faces and tales where recognisable. The seating was in round booths with soft brown leather upholstery. The table top's all had 'lazy Susan's' in a cream colour and the main lighting was from the bespoke lamp shades cantered over each table. They were all individual and cost a fortune but I loved every one of them! I continued across the dance floor and jumped up to sit on one of the bar stools by where Jayc was working.

"Your here early" Jayc turned and leaned on the bar with one hand while the other flicked the pen he had been using to take notes.

"Hey, thought I'd get a head's up. How you doing? How are the boys?... Although I shouldn't call them that anymore they're almost men! Are you all set for Friday?"

Jayc was the manager I employed at 'Tooth and Nail', my 'all Supe' bar. He ran the bar in my stead as I very rarely had time to be in one place long enough to run it myself. He was a very imposing figure at 6ft 6', he has jet black hair which is always slicked back into a low pony-tail his eyes are such a dark shade of brown they almost look black. He is wide across the shoulders and loves to show off his 'guns' in sleeveless tops of all types, he had even torn the sleeves off his work shirts, I wasn't happy at first but even I couldn't deny he looked good.

He was a daemon of some description (a distant relation to Mr Cataliades) I knew there were many different types but he had not volunteered the information and I thought it might be rude to ask. He has an evil sense of humour and is as cheeky as hell but he is very good at his job. We get on very well and usually have a good giggle, he had tried to flirt with me when he first started, I had tried to decline him gently but he forced me to lay down the law. I pinned him to the floor and told him in no uncertain terms that I was off the market. It wasn't that I didn't find him attractive, he was tall dark and very handsome but I had lost me appetite for any kind of relationship a long time ago. He had been very persistent, he forced my hand and like many others (before and since) a little demonstration of some of my powers was enough to curb his ways. Since then he backed up considerably and we have got on like a house on fire.

I have 3 bars in total but only one catering exclusively to supernaturals. I never intended to get involved with supe's but you know what they say about best laid plans.

I was just about to start moaning to Jayc about party planners and late deliveries when he added.

"Oh by the way there's a Fang in your office demanding to see you." He rolled his eyes knowing that I wouldn't be scared or intimidated by a vampire.

I got a flash from his brain but it was so quick I couldn't make head'nor'tail of it. There was something familiar?... someone I know?... someone I had known?...

It was like he had dropped a bomb. (This was sod and his law at work) I locked down, I wasn't allowing myself to feel anything, I had to stay in control I couldn't panic, but God I wanted to. No one met me here, especially not vampires, they would normally meet with me at 'Exchange' my mixed bar in town. No one conducted business here; it was an unwritten rule, everyone preferring to keep this bar for recreation. If there was a Vampire asking for me here then they were from out of the area, which was always worrying as it could be someone who could recognise me...

I locked eyes with Jayc and sent a thought to him so I wouldn't have to say it out loud and risk being over heard.

'What do they look like?'

Jayc's eyes widened in surprise and he huffed before replying by thinking back to me. He hated my 'mind tricks' as he called it and it always put him on edge which is why I rarely used it on him.

'Long blond hair, blue eyes, killer smile and very, very white' He smirked as I raised an eyebrow, that could have been anyone but it was too close to be a coincidence. He's found me... after all this time...

Oh... my... life...

My stomach dropped and I swear my heart stopped I could feel the blood draining from my face I started to feel faint. Jayc looked concerned but confused by my reaction, he had always joked I had bigger balls than him and he had watched me face down all types of big scary supe's, including him.

I had hidden so well and covered all my tracks surely I couldn't have been found. Not now, what do I say... how do I explain... What would I tell the boys?

Ever since my disastrous escapades in Louisiana I had hoped to avoid supe's in all forms. Life is never that easy for me but I had managed to not only survive but thrive on my own. I had changed so much since then I was almost a different person. It had been 18 years, three name changes and 4 countries later. I had learned the hard way that I could not stay out of the supernatural world without paying a high price. I couldn't beat them so I joined them - hiding in plain sight. It took me a long time to accept I too am a Supe.

I had run, run from my old life... my human life, from friends and family I loved dearly. In the last few years of living in Louisiana I had been beaten, staked, shot, caught in Witch wars and hostile take over's as well as being raped and kidnapped, it was all too much. I know I could have asked for help and I know there were no shortage of willing heroes but I just couldn't take the chance. I could never live with myself if someone else got hurt because of me.

I thought of Claudine, Clancy and Tray; they had all died due to me and my life.

I had loved and lost, I had had my heart broken by those who claim to love me and had been left by those who swore to protect me. The one person who never broke his promise and who was always there to help was the one I regretted leaving. For me to survive and have a certain amount of freedom it had to be a clean break, I couldn't risk ties of any kind. I had come close to contacting him so many times over the years but I had to protect my boys, I couldn't be sure he could keep us all safe from the likes of De Castro and Madden. I couldn't be sure he would want too.

I was thankful to my Fae family they had helped me when I needed them. Claudine (rest her soul) had saved my life on so many occasions and then helped me further by leaving me a tidy inheritance. Claude and Uncle Dermot had started to teach me how to use the so called 'spark' I had, before I left. They had both been very disappointed and worried when I told them I was leaving but they understood I needed to break my ties, even if they were not privy to the whole reason, they thought it a good idea to break away from being involved with the Vampires.

It was impossible to think of my Fae family and not think of Gran as an adulterer. She had raised me, she was my best friend and support for so many years but the result of her time with Fintan had made such an impact on my life, it was only once I had left Louisiana and had started to research my blood line that I found out my Gran had a few more secrets she didn't share. I still had trouble reconciling the Gran I knew and the truths I later uncovered.

Although in her defence she may not have known everything. Niall had told me my telepathy wasn't from being Fae but he gave no hint as to where it may have come from. I had painstakingly researched my family tree and found that Gran was a descendant from a clan that originated in Scotland. There were tales of the clan being blessed and powerful, but no explanation as to what that meant. It had freaked me out at first, like I need more supernatural ingredients thrown into the soup that was my life. Once I met with some of the other descendants things were explained and they helped me greatly. Gran had thought her family had originated in Ireland but they had actually travelled there from Scotland. It was not uncommon for Celtic families to move around between the two countries.

Scotland had been one of the places I had lived in for a while; it was where the boys were born thanks to their eagerness to arrive. I found out my telepathy had been passed down through the generations maternally; it had been enhanced and amplified by my Fae blood, or more to the point the spark. Gran had carried the possibility of great power which could have developed if she had studied but it lay dormant and manifested as a heighten intuition rather than reading thoughts like me. Looking back and my childhood with this knowledge made me see my Gran in a whole new light. Aunt Linda may have had the same as Gran but Niall had said that she didn't carry the spark, apparently the concentration of Fae blood wasn't the deciding factor it was all down to the strength of the spark.

My inheritance had been bolstered by a very generous gift from Niall. He had Mr Cataliades deliver a package a month after he had closed off the Fae realm, it had contained a letter explaining his conjecture on how my Fae blood may affect me and how best I should train to develop my skills, he implied that my skills would enhance with time and practice and 'boy' he wasn't wrong. It also contained a cheque with more zero's than was decent. I can remember sitting at my old kitchen table staring at the cheque. It took me a very long time to pay it in to my account and even then I did it in the drive through to avoid small town gossip, I couldn't stand the idea of having to listen to the thoughts of the busy bodies behind the counter speculating the source of such an amount.

Once it was safely out of sight I decided to ignore it till I needed it; little did I know that I would need it so soon. Within a fortnight of banking that check my world was turned upside down.

I had been feeling unwell and had brushed it off as tiredness due to spreading myself too thin. I had been working, training with Claude and Dermot and trying to spend as much time in Shreveport as I could. I knew I was pushing myself to the limit but there was so much that needed to get done.

The Doctor examined me thoroughly, top to toe and took loads of those little vials of blood. I got a call from the Doctors office a few days later. Once the tests confirmed what I knew to be impossible my only option was to run. I was in no position to protect myself from the vultures circling, De Castro and Madden were always going to be a threat but even the other Kings and Queens were starting to show an unhealthy interest in me and my talent, and that was only the telepathy, I dread to think what would have happened if my other powers had been discovered before I was experienced enough to control them.

The only person who could stand a chance at protecting me would never believe me, he would at best disown me at worst he would drain me dry. I could not face the possibility of either so I did the only thing I could, I ran. I had trouble believing what was happening so I knew he would never believe me. I couldn't risk telling him and having him look at me with disappointment and regret. I wasn't even sure he would be able to restrain himself enough to even try and find out if it were even possible.

I made my peace with Jason before I left and set up a fund for him, anonymously, to be paid annually. I checked on him through face book and twitter but never actually made contact. I was so glad I had forced myself to go to night classes to learn computers; it had come in very handy in doing long distance research and spying on loved ones...(although some people dropped off the radar...) Jason had married and divorced twice over in the past 18 years, he also had 4 children, 3 girls and 1 boy. I had managed to work out one wife had been all human and was the mother of 2 of the girls, Adele and Sherry, but his other wife, mother to Mary-Ann and Corbett, was a full were panther and the boy, being the oldest, managed to change at full moon. It was strange to think that when I left Were and were's had only just come out and Jason was still hiding his identity ashamed of his half turn as he was bitten not born, but now he was able to be open enough to boast about his sons first change on-line.

The revelation had been rough in the beginning, for quite a few years there had been protests and campaigns to have Were/were's tagged and registered but new laws and legislation had been passed to protect all supe's so in the long run things had changed for the better. Most western countries had settled down quite quickly.

The world had come to terms with vampires and Were/were's but there are still a lot of other types of supe that would never be accepted or understood so have to keep their cloak of secrecy. It was one of the reasons for 'Tooth and Nail'. 'Exchange' was one of the first clubs I owned, it was opened and run as a mixed bar, and I had been persuaded by some of the more colourful locals to open an exclusive all-supe bar. It made good business sense, there was a demand for it, and once I found a suitable place it was the second bar in my portfolio.

I had been stood routed to the spot long enough for Jayc to get really worried, he had come around the bar and put his arm around my shoulder and was trying to calm me down. At some point I had started to shake but I was locked with fear and couldn't string words together in my head let alone trying to talk out loud.

"Ms Smith, Ms Smith... Scarlett... Come on now... snap out of it... The boys will be here soon, you got to deal with this before they get here cause you know they won't react well to seeing you like this."

"Uh ah..."

"Do you want me to tell them you're not here?"

There was genuine concern in his voice. If there was anything to get me out of this funk it was the thought of my boys. I had fought long and hard to protect my precious miracles. I had brought them up on my own and had struggled to teach them restraint and control over their powers. I was raising them blind; I had no one to turn to for advice. I had to keep them under the radar, they were unique and would be converted as I once was and I wanted to shield them from that above all else.

"No... I can do this.
I have to do this"

I was talking to myself more than Jayc.

I gave myself a mental slap and pulled my 'big girl knickers' up and walked toward my office. As I was here to have a meeting with the party planner, not work, I was dressed quite casual but was still in my signature heels. Now I wasn't on my feet constantly I could get away with wearing ridiculously high heels! Each step thundered and echoed through me and it felt like the beat of a drum leading me to the gallows.

Half way across the dance floor I stopped and pulled my phone out of my pocket and text the boys; they were meant to be meeting me here to go over last minute details with the planner.

DON'T come to the club, go to Sara's. I'm fine and I will explain everything later. Mum

With that sent I started walking again although I couldn't feel my legs, I was getting closer to the door.

My heart pounded loud in my ears.

With every step my feet got heavier and heavier.

My mouth was dry and I was still feeling a little faint.

I tried to control my breathing,

In... Out...

In... Out...

In... Out...

I stopped at the door and concentrated on calming myself enough to at least hold my hand still. No matter who was behind the door I was a strong independent woman, with more powers than anyone was aware of. I was a power-house of supernatural talent, more than capable of handling a vampire... but... there it was, was I strong enough to cope with seeing that particular vampire.

Swallowing hard I took a deep breath and turned the handle to push it open and face my fate.

"Fuck me..." It was out of my mouth before my brain could engage.

"Oh yes please, now that's what I call a welcome"

TBC