Author's Note: Hi everyone. This is just something I wanted to write a little Christmas present to everyone on this site. Hope you enjoy reading it, I enjoyed writing something a little nicer and a lot less dark and angsty for a change.

I skirted between tables, listening in on parent and child alike anxiously going over last minute preparations. As usual for today, the tips I was getting were brilliant. That wasn't the only reason I did the Christmas Eve shift at Merlotte's every year, I loved the overall feel of it; all the beautiful decorations up, Sam singing "White Christmas" as he made up another round of hot chocolates or egg nog and the preoccupied glee of the children as they anticipated Santa coming down their chimney. But most of all I loved that everyone overdosed on good will (even Andy Bellefleur had wished me a merry Christmas). Of course every Whoville has a Grinch or two.

"Turn that music down. Some of us want to hear ourselves think!" Maxine Fortenberry shouted at Sam, over "All I Want For Christmas Is You" escaping from the jukebox.

"It's Christmas Eve. The only day of the year when I'd say no that request." Sam shrugged and returned to pouring drinks; knowing a full blown argument would destroy the festive mood.

"But does the Lord really want us to be listening to this racket?"

"First of all Mariah Carey is not a racket." Kennedy appeared as if out of thin air and flanked Sam. She was a lady, but she didn't take crap, least of all of old cranks like Maxine. "Second of all, if you've got a problem I would suggest going elsewhere, ok? Because as far as I'm concerned this is the season of goodwill, and you sure won't be any if you keep this up sweetheart. "

Maxine tried to speak, but just babbled. She was terrified of Kennedy giving her "criminal" (and I use that term loosely because as far as I was concerned she was a hero) past. They both stood in a Mexican standoff until Maxine eventually dropped the money and waddled out. It was ok; her business wouldn't be missed now that since Victor had died and his bar was shut down, Merlotte's had picked up business again, which was lovely, especially since it was such a weight of Sam's shoulders.

"Jesus Kennedy, you're like Arnold-fucking-Schwarzenegger when you wanna be." Sam joked. I wondered if this was inspired by the fact that I had bought him the Terminator DVD boxset the Christmas before.

"I do try." Kennedy passed Sam some drinks orders while I waited for him to finish mine. "Say Sookie you still coming to the party tomorrow night?"

Sam had suggested in passing, that this Christmas day night (if that makes sense) a bunch of us got together in the bar for an informal party; not realising that we were all up for it. It was just close friends and lots of alcohol, which I could cope with. He planned for it to be a bit like a house party in a bar, so none of us waitresses were serving other people, we were gonna be partying along just like everyone else. I was looking forward to it.

"Yeah. Jason and Dermot and I had the bright idea to cook Christmas dinner this year, so if we haven't got food poisoning by then, we'll be there. You?" I asked.

"I might be a little late, since I'm having dinner my parents at the country club first, but it shouldn't drag on too long." Kennedy sighed; she had always struck me as a southern belle who wished she had just come from a regular family. "You still having dinner up Jannalyn's parents Sam?"

"Yeah. There good cooks by all accounts, so I'm looking forward to it." Sam tapped his stomach; no matter how paranoid he was when he found he had a 32 waist jeans didn't fit him anymore, he still loved his food.

The bar closed early, so I was home by four, so I got out of my uniform and shoved on some comfy jeans and a chunky sweater that Gran had knit me and curled on the couch with a hot chocolate watching "It's A Wonderful Life". Being the sentimental fool that I was, I cried at the happy ending just as I had every time I watched it.

"I'm home!" Dermot burst in, weighed down by shopping bags. I'd given him the pleasure of getting the last minute essentials which we needed. To say he was smiling would be an understatement; I thought his jaw was going to fall off! Holidays weren't a fae thing, so this was his first Christmas, and he was just as animated as any child the year their finally old enough to get the gist of Christmas, it was just this child was 6'2 and full of muscle.

"Shall we get started peeling the red cabbage first?" He'd read Martha Stewart's Christmas cookbook front to back in preparation, and considered himself a domestic god because of it.

"No sweetie, we got plenty of time to do that. I don't think it'll keep that long anyway. Why don't you start with the potatoes and carrots and I'll be there to join you just a minute."

"Right on it. I even went to every supermarket in town until I found the brand of goose fat to roast the potatoes in that Martha recommended." Dermot ran gleefully into the kitchen, leaving me with time to wrap the presents I had bought for other people before I went to join him.

I'd had to get more gifts than usual this year. A sweater for Sam since the one he wore now was covered in holes. I got Jason a Foo Fighters CD and a scarf. I decided to buy Tara jewellery over clothes since she was practically bursting out this late into her third trimester. I got Hunter some toy cars. Dermot I'd bought some cooking lessons, because I thought it would be nice to nurture his new hobby, besides it was nice to have someone else cook for me for a change. Amelia and I were building bridges since the whole "Alcide in my bed" incident so I'd bought her this hippie blouse. I also bought champagne for Kennedy, Andy and Halleigh and Hoyt and Holly; it was on offer (three for two) but what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them. I even got my vampire BFF Pam some makeup from Mac!

I was pleased with how efficient my Christmas shopping had been this year. That was except for that one awkward person that was my boyfriend. I'd asked Eric since October what he wanted and his suggestions were few and far between. And the suggestions he did make were less than helpful to say the least. They ranged from socks to a pet llama called Fangtik! I mean he had absolutely everything. But I knew that he would be pleased with what I'd got him. It would be a welcome surprise to him to say the least.

I had hoped that he would have spent Christmas Eve with me, I mean Christmas sex was surely the best kind wasn't it? But I hadn't heard off him for almost a month (for "my safety" Pam told me) because the King had called him to Nevada so that they could discuss "business". I didn't have to be a Philadelphia lawyer to realise it was to do with killing Victor and Eric's impending arranged marriage to the Queen of Oklaholma and how Eric could get out of both of them! The only person Felipe allowed him to communicate with was Pam, and she rang me regularly and told me as much as she was allowed to say (which predictably, was very little), and it was apparently going in our favour, I didn't get how, but I doubted Pam would lie to me about it. I tried not to think about it much as a rule, and made it my mission not to think of it over Christmas, which was actually proving easier than expected!

Once I'd done brooding over my love and anticipating his return, I went to help Dermot in the kitchen. Amazingly he'd already done all of the cutting and peeling; the vegetables were roasting away and he was stirring homemade custard whilst leaving the turkey to defrost. I could say he was either champion chef, or had too much time on his hands. I went for the latter.

"Dermot why have you got a sleeping bag in the kitchen?"

"Because I want to be here tonight whilst the turkey is cooking to ensure it's cooked at gas mark 4 slowly to perfection just as Martha says."

Newsflash: My uncle had gone completely insane.

Oh well each to their own I suppose.

I acted as sous chef, doing the most menial of tasks which even then Dermot inspected to insure they were up to Martha's standards.

About half an hour later there was a knock at the door which I answered.

"We wish you a merry Christmas. We wish you a merry Christmas. We wish you a merry Christmas. So... shit I forgot the rest of the song. Just let me come in Sis!" Jason shot inside and gave me the hugest hug in the world. Jason's girlfriend Michelle had gone to visit her parents, so Jason was staying over for the holidays.

"It's nice of you to finally show your face. How late are you? You're like a goddamn American Airlines flight!" I joked, nudging him in the ribs.

"Give a guy a break, I was getting ready." Jason threw his sports bag full of clothes onto the stairs and emptied another bag filled with presents under my little tree. I had become a fluent speaker of the hard to master language that was Jason Stackhouse. He had forgotten to get presents for people and so set out to get them last minute. God forbid what I would end up with, probably a frying pan. Maybe a George Foreman grill if I was lucky.

Jason and I went back to help Dermot, not that we did an awful lot. We just stalled around Dermot who now had it in his head he's the second coming of the culinary Jesus! Jason was trusted only with tasks even more menial than the ones I'd been assigned! But being the man he was, he carried on regardless.

Jason, like me, had always been a lover of Christmas; it was the only time he was allowed to sleep in my room, because we were both so excited we couldn't get to sleep otherwise. Even now he still had an advent calendar, this year he was proud to tell me he'd bought a Batman one!

Jason took whipped cream and began squirting it out into his mouth. Dermot snatched it off him with a horror I would only have assumed would be possible if you caught your teenage son watching animal porn.

"That's for the pumpkin pie tomorrow! Jesus. You two can go if you want. I'll call you if..."

We had already run back into the living room before Dermot had a chance to finish. Jason took the remote and skimmed through the channels.

"Hell yeah!" Jason jumped up in the air. "The Muppets Christmas Carol is on." This was me and Jason's favourite Christmas film without a doubt. We collapsed onto couch and watched the movie with egg nog and gingerbread men. This was as good as sex with Eric. Well almost. "Doesn't the really grumpy eagle remind you of Bill?" I laughed.

"And you gotta admit. Miss Piggy is a dead ringer for Pam."

We soon had compared most of the Muppets to people we knew. Alcide was Animal. Eric was The Swedish Chef. And Jason was desperate to be Kermit.

The phone rang. I answered it.

"Si-lenn-t night. Ho-oooolly night. All is calm. All is..."

"Not you too Pam." I sighed; it seemed the unofficial greeting at Christmas time was just sing the opening of a Christmas song to someone.

"Oh please human female friend. Did I ever tell you I was one of the original Supremes?"

"Really? How did that end up?"

"They kicked me out because Diana Ross and I never saw eye to eye." Pam sighed.

"Did you have something important to tell me?" I asked.

"Isn't this what friends do? My horoscope today told me to make more of an effort communicating with those I hold dear."

"I'm flattered. What's the news on Eric?"

"Must all our phone conversations be about him? Can't we talk about climate change or the global economic crisis or maybe even the latest series of American Idol? That Jennifer Lopez is quite a sexual woman isn't she..."

"I just wanna know where when he'll come back. He is coming back right?"

"Don't be silly. Of course he is. Don't worry he'll be back to ravage you until you can't stand as soon as he can." Pam sounded like a really bad Mills and Boon author.

"Very funny but..."

"You want to unwrap him under the Christmas tree. You want him to stick his candy cane in you Santa's grotto. You want him to baste your turkey. You want to stick some coal in his stocking..."

"Pam. Less of the Christmas themed innuendos please."

"In-your-endos!" Did I say really bad? I meant awful. So awful that it makes Stephanie Meyer look like queen of prose.

"You gonna come up tomorrow night? I got your present here for you." I said, moving the topic away from my sex life.

"Lovely. We can have a present swapping visit. I'll bring the champagne. Moet obviously. Only the best for my favourite human female friend with telepathy." There was a knock at the door.

"Gotta go now Pam. See you."

"Love ya girl!" Pam said in the most sugary voice imaginable.

I slammed the phone down and went to the door, leaving Jason to watch the Muppets. Not that he minded.

I was hoping that it was Eric the other side of the door, ready to take me right on the spot. But it was Bill; standing there with a wrapped present in his hands; wearing an ugly maroon wooly sweater with Rudolph stitched onto it. He smiled at me and asked to be invited in. I obliged and we stood in the hallway, not knowing whether I should take him in the living room with Jason and interrupt his viewing of a modern day Christmas classic, or into the kitchen and risk angering Wolfgang Puck! Well either was better than standing awkwardly in the hallway with my former lover. Did I mention he was wearing a Rudolph sweater?

"This is... um... for you." He passed me the present, I felt it; it was squishy so I assumed it was some item of clothing.

"Thank you... It's lovely really... Did you pick it yourself?" I asked, trying to look away from that awful maroon Rudolph sweater.

"Kind of. Pam recommended it to me, but I picked it out myself." Bill smiled proudly.

"Well done you."

"Ok."

Jesus Christ. I prayed the floor would swallow me up and take me out of this discomforting situation. I just wish he took that stupid Rudolph sweater off, maybe then he would be less awkward.

"I got you a present. I'll get it for you now." I lied.

"Oh that's really nice of you. You're the first person since I became a vampire to ever give me a present." He said. Well I'm not surprised if you wear sweaters with Rudolph on them.

"Oh shit I left it at work I'll be back in ten, bye." I snatched my car keys from the table and ran outside.

"Should I stay here?" Bill shouted out.

"Make yourself at home." I called back.

I hated that I was so nice sometimes. Amelia would've just said "That's a lovely present but I haven't got you one," or maybe just "Why don't you get your kit off and lie in my roommates bed?" Don't be bitter Sookie, Gran wouldn't like it. That's who I was doing this for. Gran. She would be the woman who would go out an hour before the shops close on Christmas Eve to get a present for someone who she forgot to buy for who got her something.

Between my absent boyfriend, hopeless brother, snarky vampire buddy, obsessive uncle and badly dressed neighbour, Christmas Eve was more stressful than I ever imagined it would be. And it actually was going to get crazier!

I was going to need a few Christmas miracles to get through this in one piece. And brandy. Lots and lots of brandy. No. Make that industrial strength ethanol.

Hope you enjoyed it. I'll put the next section which leads up to the ending tomorrow; keep reading if you want to see Hungry Hungry Hippos, drunk Jason, a little helping of angst, a lot of festive warmth and a visit from Santa and his Elves :)

I usually get a beta-reader to look over my stories, but since I only wrote this yesterday, I didn't want to bother my beta-reader over Christmas time, and didn't want to wait until after Christmas because the whole novelty of it being set at Christmas time would be pretty depressing. Anyway I don't think there's many errors, but feel free to pick up on any you see.

I'll take this opportunity to wish a wonderful Christmas and a very productive and joyous new year ;)