A/N: Takes place after All Together Dead (I haven't read past this one yet) may be slightly OOC - I apologize. This is my first Sookie fanfic - thanks for reading and thanks to Charlaine Harris for creating Sookie and her world! I own nothing...

Sookie stretched in her bed, letting out a big, loud yawn. It had been a very refreshing night of sleep since her return from Rhodes yesterday. She sniffed, catching the scent of bacon and eggs from the kitchen. Putting on her bathrobe and slippers, she shuffled out into the newly built space. She'd had it mostly redone after a fire had been set to her house a few months ago. The new appliances still gleamed in the morning sunlight.

"What time is it?" she asked Amelia, her roommate, as Amelia's cat and former witch, Bob, purred and rubbed her ankles. She scratched him behind the ears and sat down at the table after pouring herself some coffee.

"It's about 11:30 - you've slept for 13 hours. Would you like some breakfast?"

"You betcha." After being in Rhodes around supes for a week, it was nice to have some good ol' human company. She smiled at Amelia's back. "Thanks for keeping a watch on everything while I was gone - I really appreciate it."

"No problem. I'm so glad to have you back. It's nice to be able to carry on a conversation with someone again. With Bob - well, things are kinda one-sided." Amelia had accidentally turned her boyfriend Bob into a cat during some bedroom experimentation. Sookie had never had the desire to know the details.

In response, Bob stuck his tail in the air and stalked out of the room with a growl in Amelia's direction.

"He's so freaking opinionated. Oh, Quinn called - I noticed you had a missed call on your cell phone." Amelia sat a plate down in front of Sookie and then made a plate for herself. "I think you and I are working together at Merlotte's tonight, too."

Amelia's job at Merlotte's, where Sookie also worked, had arisen out of necessity while Sookie had been away and other waitresses had been unavailable for shifts due to various personal reasons. Sookie wasn't sure yet how she felt about Sam, who owned Merlotte's, hiring Amelia, but since they got along fine as roommates, she didn't foresee any problems.

Feeling much better after her sleep, coffee and breakfast, Sookie cleaned up the breakfast dishes when Amelia went upstairs to get ready for work. Her shift started earlier then Sookie's. Locating her cell phone in the living room on the coffee table, she flipped it open to listen to the message from her were-tiger boyfriend, Quinn.

She had only recently obtained a cell phone, thanks to the extra money she received from Amelia for rent. It was difficult for her to remember to check it for calls and she wasn't used to having it around all the time. Quinn's prerecorded voice reached her through the receiver.

"Frannie and I made it back to Memphis, babe. I am calling to make sure you made it home safely as well. I'll be here for a couple of weeks as I thought, helping with Frannie's recovery. As soon as I'm free, though, you're all mine, and I'll leave the rest to your imagination."

Sookie flipped the phone shut and sighed despite the suggestive ending to the message. Quinn had promised to take a month off and spend some time with her since his job at Extrem(ly Elegant) Events, or E(E)E, was so demanding. But then he and his half-sister Frannie had gotten hurt in the attack by the Fellowship of the Sun at the vampire summit at Rhodes last week, and he had warned he might have to use some of his precious time off helping his sister recuperate.

She tried not to take it too hard, since Frannie had lent Sookie her car to get home. Sookie hadn't wanted to return with the vamps who had hired her to go to the summit, and she despised the idea of the two-day bus ride home. Frannie had made her an offer she couldn't refuse. Plus, it hopefully meant Quinn would have to come pick the car up.

Flipping the phone open again, she called Quinn, getting his voice mail.

"Quinn, hi, it's Sookie. I did make it home safely and please tell Frannie I really appreciate the use of her car. I hope you both make a speedy recovery." She couldn't think of anything else to say that didn't sound needy, so she decided to close with: "My imagination won't do you justice, bye."

Just then, Amelia darted out the door saying she needed to run errands before work. Sookie called out good-bye and returned to her room, deciding to pull on her favorite bikini and enjoy some rays to help her relax before heading to Merlotte's. She carried her phone outside just in case Quinn called her back. It would be nice to talk with him for a few moments.

But when the phone did ring a couple of hours later, it was Sam, her boss. Sam was also a shapeshifter. He could turn into anything, but mostly he preferred dogs, usually a collie she affectionately called Duke.

"Sookie! I'm so glad you're back! I was worried about you." Sam sounded genuinely happy. He was someone she considered a friend, although she knew at times he had wanted more. They explored that area not long ago, but were interrupted and hadn't returned to it. Since then, he had hired Tanya, and Sookie knew Tanya had an interest in Sam herself. Sookie was a telepath, but she didn't need telepathy to see Tanya's attraction to him.

"I'm fine Sam, I promise. Is everything okay with you?" She smiled into the phone.

"Yeah, listen, I need you to come in a little earlier then you planned. Amelia's here, but Tanya had to leave early for Shreveport. She has family there and they had some type of emergency."

"Sure thing - I'll be there in twenty." She hung up the phone and went inside to get ready, replacing her bikini with her Merlotte's uniform, a t-shirt with the restaurant's logo and a pair of shorts. On the way to the bar, she noticed they were breaking ground on new construction. The sign out front said "Future home of Fellowship of the Sun! All HUMANS welcome!"

She frowned as she continued to Merlotte's. Her friend and fellow waitress, Arlene, had recently joined the Fellowship, an anti-vampire organization, mostly because she was dating a man who belonged. The Fellowship and their followers were the ones that caused the explosions Sookie had survived in Rhodes. Since she had joined the movement, Arlene's relationship with Sookie had been strained at best. Sookie thought briefly about asking Arlene about the new facility being built in Bon Temps. She hadn't realized they had a large enough following to come to such a little town. This wasn't good news at all. Having had enough run-ins with the Fellowship to last her two lifetimes, she was hoping to avoid them for the rest of her life.

Arlene would be working the late shift with her tonight and Sookie hoped she would be open to at least a couple of questions about her new found devotion, but with the way Arlene had treated her before she left for Rhodes, she didn't get her hopes up. Forcing the thought out of her head for now, Sookie pasted a smile on her face, tied on the short Merlotte's apron she kept in Sam's office and went to help Amelia and Sam with the late afternoon customers.