Ok, so this is my first fanfic. I have been stalking my way through the SVM and TB stories for a while and this story had popped in my head so I decided to grow some and publish it. Its OOC, with some characters changing sex, for plot purposes, and others changing species.

Hope you all enjoy it, let me know how it goes!

A/N: Its all owned by others.

Merlotte's was full to the brim. The humid Louisiana night was creeping in the door, making the bar feel like a steam-room. Terry and Lafayette were pumping out the meals, the tables were packed and the waitresses had begun the time honoured tradition of dodging roaming hands as evening turned into night.

I worked steadily behind the bar, filling jugs and pouring shots. "Eric! My man!" my brother Jason called out as he made his way to the pool table. I waved, knowing that he was trying to butter me up to get some free shots later in the night. Jane Bodehouse was perched on her regular stood at the far end of the bar. "Hey handsome, you feel like getting a lady a drink?" she purred and slurred at me.

"Anything for you Jane," I answered, moving over to the newly installed cocktail slushy machine. This thing is a lifesaver, I thought, pouring Jane her who knows what drink of the day. I plopped the blue concoction in front on her and leaned over the bar to whisper in her ear.

"This one will be on me ok, if you let me call your son to pick you up before it gets anymore rowdy in here tonight. Can't have a lovely lady such as yourself taken advantage of by some hooplehead now can we." I finished in off with a wink, knowing that would seal the deal. She giggled drunkenly, nodded and picked up her cocktail, concentrating intensely so as not to spill any.

I straightened up, stretching my back and shoulders. As much as I enjoyed working the bar at Merlotte's, it was not built for someone of my stature. At 6ft 4, I spent half my time bent over, ducking my head to hear customers or to grab glasses from the fridge. I looked around the bar, seeing the usual faces. My brother Jason was now set up in a booth with half the road crew, trying to catch the attention of his latest flame Dawn. She was run off her feet, as were the other waitresses Tara and Arlene. I could here Lafayette hollering from the pass window in the kitchen. I smiled, listening to the girls backchatting my best friend.

Sam chose that moment to wander out of her office into the bar. I liked Sam, she was the sort of dependable, even tempered woman anyone would be lucky to call their boss. Something about her always reminded me of a collie dog, but that was probably more to do with her shaggy brown hair, dark eyes and quite intelligence. And the fact that she had a collie dog for a pet. You know how pet owners often are reflected in their pets.

"How's it travelling out here?" she asked, looking around at the milling people.

"Not too bad, busy on and off," I answered while filling up a jug for Tara as she finished writing up an order.

"Are you gonna let the Vik go for a break, or are you just planning on hiding out in your office and avoiding work all night?" Tara piped up, giving Sam a glare.

Sam shot me a look, to which I threw up my hands. "Don't ask me, I didn't say anything."

"Look Tara, I know you think its your job to protect everyone from the big bad boss, but I think this one is big enough and ugly enough to speak up to himself," Sam responded, "That said, I was coming out to give him 10. Run along Eric, go sit on your log."

"Yeah right this ones ugly enough," Tara muttered, walking off to the kitchen to hand in her order.

I smiled at Sam. "Thanks. I'll be back in a bit."

I grabbed a bottle of water and made my way through the crowd. They parted easily for me, almost like no one wanted me to touch them. No need to bother, I thought, what I've got isn't catching. One thing that set me apart from the the folks I knew, besides that fact that I didn't think that Lafayette was going to hell or that he and Tara were too 'uppity', was the fact that I could feel what they felt.

I was an Empath. I kind of feel like I am in the ocean, being rocked by waves as they come in and out. Except each wave is generated by different people, so there are as many waves are there are people around me. I guess that's why I like working bar. With alcohol being a depressant, the waves are softened, more like swimming in a bay than the surf. When I first started my working life, I thought working in an office would be best, just to avoid all the people. Little did I know that office work would bring out some of the strongest emotions I had felt outside of high school. Anyway, in the end people sensed there was something off about me and over time they tended to avoid me where possible.

Swinging the door open, I strode over to my usual break spot on an old stump overlooking the pond past the car park. There was a slight breeze, making the humid air move and cooling the night. Even at this short distance, the noise and energy from the bar dissipated. I closed my eyes and took a deep, calming breath.

"Good evening."

My eyes snapped open. Standing in front of me was a short, pale, dark-haired man. Well I say short, but just about everyone is short compared to me. He was probably about 5ft 10, with sideburns for days.

"Hi", I said, looking up at him, "How's your night treating you?"

I was trying to keep up the manners my Gran had instilled in me to be a proper gentleman, but it was difficult. I hadn't felt him. I HADN'T FELT HIM. As he stepped closer, I tried for the first time in my life to sense what another person was feeling. Usually, I was so busy not trying to sense their emotions that it threw me for a loop what I was attempting to do know. But as hard as I tried, nothing. I was like there was some kind of fog, like something dark and damp. I could not for the life of me get any sensation from it.

"Better now," he responded, smiling slyly at me.

Oh no, not again. For as long as I can remember, the people in Bon Temps though I was, as they put it, one of those deviant fags. This was not helped by the fact that my best friend Lafayette was the most flamboyantly gay man in northern Louisiana. Or that my other closest friend was Tara. Or the fact that I avoided dates like the plague, had a pants man of a brother that I didn't hang around with and, as Lafayette put it, I was too damn sexy for my own damn good. Either way, while I did not give a rat ass what anyone's sexual preference was, I knew mine laid in a different direction than they all thought. So as much as I was curious about the foggy sensation I was feeling, I decided it was best to to appear too interested.

"Oh ok, that's great for you", I said, standing up and brushing the dirt from the stump of my jeans. "Well, I'm due back behind the bar." I started walking back towards the bar through the car park.

"Wait," the stranger called out. I turned around and suddenly found him standing right in front of me and a little too close for comfort. I really hated close talkers.

"Are you sure you want to return to work?" he asked. As he looked me in the eye, I felt the weirdest tugging sensation inside of my heart. I was almost like the fog was trying to work its way into me.

"Ah yep, I do, boss won't be happy if I keep her waiting on a busy night." I backed away from the stranger, turned and strode as quickly as my legs would take me. Ugh, I though, talk about a creep. Although I was most likely stronger and with a brother like Jason I knew my way around a fight, you never knew what someone may have on them, especially in these parts.

So I quickly hustled my way towards the safety of Merlotte's, leaving the man standing in the middle of the parking lot. As I reached the back entrance, I glanced behind me. He was gone. He didn't have time to walk anywhere that was hidden. Suddenly it clicked. Merlotte's had just had its first vampire.

Just reposting this to fix up some first person/third person POV issues!