Disclaimer: I do not own the characters in this story relating to the wonderful Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harrie. Addy however, is from my own imagination.

"Addy, come on girl, calm yourself down a little," I cooed at the little girl who had her arms wrapped around my hips. I was simultaneously trying to make lunch for us both, get ready for work and keep her calm. To say I was ready to pull my hair out was an understatement. I was surprised I hadn't turned grey in the past couple of years. "You really need to play along, Sweetie."

"But I don't want to go to Aunty Tara's," she whined. Without looking I knew she'd be pulling her puppy dog eyes at me, for which, I was of course, a sucker.

"Why not, hun? You know I have to get to work." Arguing with a seven year old, this is what my life had become. I'd already given in on one argument this morning, hence the one armed lunch making.

"I don't like Max. He's mean!" Sighing, I knew I was going to lose this one too. Ever since Jason had looked after a friend's mastiff a few weeks ago Addy had been terrified of dogs, including Tara's Pomeranian. It was both ridiculous and heartbreaking at the same time.

"He's not mean. He's nothing to be scared of."

"But he is!" I did not have the time for this.

"Fine, but you'll have to be a quiet and good girl for me at work or Sam'll be very angry." A smile broke out across her face, lighting it up in the most gorgeous way. Blonde curls bounced around her shoulders as she swung gently.

"I will. I promise!" That girl liked the bar way too much for my liking. She was definitely taking after her father.

"Come on then, get your shoes and backpack." I said, unravelling her arms and giving her a little pat to get her moving. She went running down the hall way, a second later I heard her feet scampering up the stairs.

On the verge of running late I sent Tara a quick text message, letting her know Addy wouldn't be coming over. Sam, well he'd have to have a little surprise when I showed up at work. At such short notice there wasn't anywhere else I could take her. It wasn't like this would be the first time she'd be coming to work with me.

"Addy! Let's go!" I put her lunch in the Minnie Mouse box and grabbed my purse.

"Ready!"

We piled into my new car. She even went straight to the back without complaint. Apparently her promise to be good was actually intended to be true. I had to admit the new car had actually gone down very well. Although I hadn't wanted to get rid of my old one, considering nothing was actually wrong with it apart from a few too many years, I was impressed with my new baby. Besides, it wasn't like I could have Addy trundling around in that, even just to the bar and back, as it wasn't exactly the safest car in the world.

"Hey Sam, I've got the little one with me." I called out as I entered the bar. Sam was standing behind the bar, cleaning some glasses that had been in the washer.

"Okay. Hey Kid, how ya doing Chere?" Addy went scampering in, running straight up the bar so she could jump up to sit on the edge. With that athletic ability she definitely wasn't taking after my side of the family.

"I'm good thanks Uncle Sam." She giggled as he kissed her rosy cheek and lifted her back down to the ground.

"Go on then, you know where to go." Since she'd first started coming here when she was about three, she'd had her own booth. It was in the corner so she was out of the way of the customers but close enough that I could keep a close eye on her. "How are you doing, Sook?"

"I'm fine, just tired. She insisted on another sleep over last night and where that girl's concerned I just can't seem to say no. Thank goodness she's not a brat. Anything special going on today?" I tied my apron around my waist, picked up the condiments and set about readying all the tables for the lunch time rush.

"Nah, just the usual. Arlene said she'd be late." That too, was the usual.

Work passed by quickly. My breaks, as I was 11 o' clock until close, were spent with my girl on me knee, coloring in and reading. When it was nearing seven o' clock and the time Jason was supposed to come and pick her up, I got a phone call.

"Hey Sis," Jason replied to my hello. I had a feeling I knew exactly where this conversation was going before it had even started. "I can't take Addy tonight, something came up." If it was any bloody part of him that had come up I'd be swearing like a trucker down that phone to him. "I have to work. A car skidded off the road out by the old Bellefleur place and knocked a tree and some branches down. We're having to clear the debris and fix up a barrier to stop it happening again. It's the third time this year it's happened on that corner." He was speaking in a rush, no doubt anticipating the response I would have ready for him.

"Really Jason? She's your responsibility tonight. You promised this wouldn't happen again." I growled. I knew work was a good cause but how anything could become more important than that little girl I didn't know.

"I know, but it's work and I'm getting double for working the night. I can't turn down the cash." His honesty came over the phone and although I couldn't actually read him specifically over the phone I could tell he was telling the truth. I'd been practising my skills over the phone the past couple of months.

"Fine. But I'm working, she'll have to crash in the office for a little bit, there's nowhere else she can go this late."

"She'll be fine Sookie. Thank-you again! Tell her I love her, I'm sorry and goodnight." With that he hung up the phone and I was left huffing to myself. It wasn't fair on Addy to get stranded at the bar, again while I worked. It might have been a family establishment during the day but at night, well we couldn't exactly stop people from drinking.

"He's not coming for me is he?" Addy questioned as I walked over to her, phone still clutched in my hand.

"Nope, I'm afraid not sweetie. He sends his love and he wants you to have sweet dreams." I smiled down at her, placing a kiss on her forehead. "Now, how about I take my break and we eat some sweet potato fries? Hmm?" I grinned at her, knowing she wouldn't be able to resist one of her favourite treats, if you didn't count candy.

"Yes please!" She squealed in delight. My heart flipped when I realised she'd even remembered her manners. How I got blessed with the sweetest child I'd ever known, I would never know.

"Okay, let me just go put the order in. You wait here." I left her sat in the booth, swinging her legs and smiling so broadly that the dimples in her rosy cheeks came out to play.

"Going on my break, Sam!" I called out above the racket coming from the pool table as I walked past the bar. Sam was busy serving drinks but took the time to nod at me. By the time I'd reached the serving hatch the other waitresses were already checking on the tables in my section. "Hey Lafayette," I grinned when I saw him dancing behind the grill in what I took to be his uniform. Tonight it was the standard black pants with a sarong wrapped around his waist with a hot pink sequined vest. His head had been adorned by a matching scarf. At least he was wearing pants; before Sam had had to enforce some form of health precautions in the food department he'd worn nothing underneath the sarong.

"Sookie, what can I do for you girl?" He didn't miss a beat flipping the burgers over to the beat of a song only he could hear.

"The usual please." I rested my elbows on the counter top of the serving hatch and let my head rest in my palms. "How is it going back here?"

"Nothing new sugar, just got to keep the people happy. And here you go, this is one I prepared earlier." He flourished a full plate of perfectly grilled sweet potato fries at me, a smug grin plastered across his handsome face.

"How did you know?" I asked with a laugh as I took the brandished plate.

"I knew the little lady was in tonight and that your break was coming up. I only took them out about a minute ago so they're still hot. Enjoy!" With that I was dismissed as he went back to prancing about in front of the ovens again, without a bead of sweat in sight. I had no idea how that man managed it. One song on the dance floor and I could look like I'd run a mile.

Walking back across the main room I shrugged my shoulders. There was a tension in my muscles that hadn't been there before. Something I couldn't quite place. Shaking the feeling off I returned to my favourite little lady and placed the plate down in front of her.

"Thank-you!" I smiled at her before taking the seat opposite her. She'd already begun to took in, picking up one of the perfectly cooked fries and biting off the end with satisfaction. "These are good!"

"They sure are," I replied, taking one and letting the ever so bad goodness be savoured on my tongue. It was best not to think about the calories I was taking in for a snack. I would just resolve to exercise a little more tomorrow. "So, what do you want do this weekend? We have to run some errands on Saturday and we have church on Sunday but otherwise Sweetie, it's up to you."

"You have the whole weekend off?" She asked, her little mouth popping open before she remembered she had food in there. A light pink blush tinted her already rosy cheeks before she swallowed.

"Yep. I'm working the late on Sunday but otherwise we have the whole weekend."

"Well, we could go to the park or the swimming pool." The strange feeling washed over me again and I struggled to pay attention to Addy. My brow furrowed in concentration as I shook my head. "Or could we go to the ranch? We haven't been in ages." I had a feeling she'd suggested a lot more things in the middle that I hadn't heard.

"Sure, the ranch sounds good. We'll have to stop by the store and pick up some carrots first though."

"Yeah, but that would still leave us with Saturday. Unless we go twice. We could go twice. But that means we wouldn't be able to do anything else. But it has been so long since we went to see the horses." She rambled on but I didn't hear a word.

My shields clamped down in my head. For the first time in years I had to think to control my mind, and the powers it held. Something wasn't right. I glanced up towards the bar to find Sam staring at me. The strangest sensation of déjà vu washed over me. My eyes went wide the same instant that Sam's did, as though my face was reflected in his.

"Shit," I whispered under my breath.

"You said a bad word," Addy giggled, still shovelling fries into her mouth.

"Sam!" I yelled but he was already on his way, weaving between the people standing around the bar to reach our table. I scooped Addy up, holding her tight to my chest and squeezing just a little too tightly. "Take her into the office, please." I pressed a quick kiss to her forehead before passing her into Sam's outstretched arms.

"What?" Addy asked, her little faced scrunched up in confusion.

"Just go, please. I love you." I whispered before I turned around, pushing her things into the corner of the booth seat, hidden by my coat. I glanced back and saw their backs disappearing into the hallway just as the front door opened.

There was no cold presence, no gust of air like there are in the movies when something bad happens. There was no dramatic music apart from the pounding beat of my heart that I could hear in my ears. Everyone else carried on as if nothing was changing or happening. No one else seemed to notice. Yet I stood in the middle of Merlotte's with a sense of dread plunging through my stomach.

There he stood in the doorway. His eyes didn't need to scan the room, they found mine instantly. I remembered every detail of those eyes as if it hadn't been years since I'd seen them. The face they belonged to hadn't changed a bit, not that I'd expected it to. Nothing was different about the man standing in front of me. Even the clothes could have been the same.

I swallowed, my mouth suddenly dry. There was nowhere to run to and yet every muscle in my body was telling me to get the hell out of there. I stood frozen to the spot, the proverbial rabbit caught in the headlights.

"Hello, Sookie."

A/N: Hello, well I'm sort of back! This is my new story that i'm going to be working on. I already have a few chapters written of this so updates should be every couple of weeks, if not a little more frequent. Thanks to everyone who reviewed during my majorly long hiatus, they were all much appreciated and I'm sorry I didn't get the chance to reply. So much has changed. I hope you like this, let me know what you think. Have a good week.