Decidedly Un-Dead

A/N : This is my first attempt at fan fiction . After reading so many wonderful tales of our Sookie and Eric, I decided to give it a shot. The events take place after DitF. As always, the characters belong to the wonderful and talented Charlaine Harris, who I can only hope won't sue!

No beta as of yet so all mistakes are mine and mine alone. Hope you enjoy!

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My head felt heavier than it had in ages (well, since I became a toy for two psychotic

faeries) and I struggled to open my eyes. Rolling over, my hand smacked a decidedly

human-like lump in my bed and I screamed for all I was worth. I shot straight up and blinked the sleep from my eyes. Holy hell, Jason is in bed with me. Wait no, that's not right, my brain scrambled to process. Before I had a chance to speak, Dermot opened his eyes and offered me a shy smile.

"Good morning, niece" a voice that was decidedly not Jason's filled the room.

I jerked the covers up around me as last night's events poured back into my sleep addled brain.

"uhmmm" I stammered "Morning Dermot" I paused ,gathering my thoughts "Where's Claude?"

Just then, an all too familiar voice came from the doorway " Well, Claude is fixing you two cover hogs breakfast" said my ethereally cocky cousin as he flipped Gran's well worn spatula in his hands"

I was suddenly assaulted by the heavenly scent of coffee and bacon wafting in from the kitchen. My stomach growled in response but I didn't forget my manners.

"Claude, you should have woken me up. Ya'll are guests. Having you cook for me makes me a pretty poor hostess." I offered as cheery as I could be after last night.

I know my Gran would be shaking her head about now but I jumped out of bed as quick as I could , tugging on the hem of my sleep shirt ( no more Tweety Bird , this one was a gimme shirt from Fangtasia, the bar with a bite) I knew Claude was more interested in the shirt's previous owner (Eric) than me but being around two males, even if they were family, made me pretty self conscious. I rushed to the bathroom to take care of morning things and jerked on the first pair of jeans I found. Thank god. they were mine and no worse for being on the bathroom floor. I'd worry about a shower and such after I had some coffee. My brain positively perked at the thought.

I made my way into the kitchen to find Claude and Dermot already at the table. It felt sort of good to have them here. If I paused to think about the circumstance, I'd probably not get my coffee down. I grabbed a mug and poured myself a cup, basking in the steamy aroma. Both of them looked expectantly at me from the table. Claude was pretty proud of his breakfast skills and I have to say, even though he'd cooked before, I was impressed. Bacon, sausage, biscuits and big bowl of gravy graced my table. I could have kissed him but I didn't. Neither one of us would have enjoyed that at all.

"Wow, Claude , this is something else" I gestured with my free hand as I sat my mug on the table "It looks delicious!" I almost moaned in pleasure as I piled my plate high with a bit of everything. Apparently, getting my honey's maker killed by a fairy with a big grudge and dealing with weres works up an appetite. At least I knew Eric fed well last night. Fairy is the vampire equivalent of Godiva chocolate.

Claude just gave me a look and went back to munching away. Dermot looked…confused but he ate anyway. I was hoping maybe he'd warm up or something especially after begging to sleep in my bed last night. He'd been through a lot but no more than me so that was no excuse. Of course, I'd only been tortured by faeries. They hadn't cursed me…yet. Since the door to Fairy was closed, I'd think about that later. First order of business, what to do with two fairies living in my house.

" So what do you guys have planned today?" I asked innocently enough . I knew I had to go into Merlotte's this evening. Sam needed me now more than ever, what with the protesters. As for Eric, he flew out of here with a lot on his mind. I had no idea what he'd have to do with Ocella being dead ,finally dead, and all.

Claude pulled his chair back and motioned for Dermot. So much for breakfast conversation.

"Cousin, Dermot and I are headed over to Monroe. He needs some" Claude, paused thinking of the right term "Adjustment time. We should be back here tonight after I close the club" he finished, taking Dermot by the arm, like a child.

Dermot followed like a kicked puppy, looking lost but much clearer than he had last night.

"Well, all right then. You two take care of whatever you need to and I'll be here. I owe you both. I might not have said this last night" I paused, trying not to cry "Thank you"

Finally Dermot spoke "Niece, I owe you a much larger debt than what transpired last night. I hope to make amends for all that I must" his voice was somber and cracked with emotion.

I waved my hands "No, no more debts, no more owing me. We are even." I couldn't stand the thought of anyone else risking their necks because of a 'debt' I stood to shoo them out of the kitchen when Claude moved to take my hand.

"Sookie, I hope you know that I am not here now just to protect you. It seems , for now, Dermot and I need your company more than you need us" Claude, arrogant Claude, admitted without much difficulty.

Well this was certainly turning out to be a record morning. Waking up with two fairies, no one has tried to kill me yet and Claude is offering up thank you's like it's Christmas morning. I about didn't know what to do. Instead ,I pulled them both closer and gave them a big old hug. It might not be conventional but hell, this is my family.

As I sat in the empty house, I began to go over everything that happened last night. I couldn't feel any pity. Maybe I was less than human ? Alexi hadn't asked to be a vampire. But you just couldn't let a homicidal undead teenager run around. He'd killed innocent people. As much as I hated Bobby Burnham, he didn't deserve to die. As for Appius, that particular vampire could just rot. I'd recall the moment Coleman's sword went through him with glee probably for the rest of my days. I felt a sense of sorrow over Claudine's baby daddy's death. I could understand his grief, probably more than I wanted to admit. Shaking all this off, I went to take a shower. Nothing clears my head more than being just plain clean.

The promise of summer was in the air, giving me a much needed bounce in my step. I cranked the radio up and sang along badly. The windows were down, letting the breeze whip through my hair as I drove out Hummingbird Road towards town. I was pretty worried about Eric but there was nothing I could do about it until dark anyway. He would be resting with Pam and it's not like I could wake them up. I decided to leave him a voice mail anyway. I had no idea what to say after last night. I knew Eric felt free but I got a few conflicting emotions through the bond. It's not like I could say I was sorry. In fact, I was pretty damn pleased he was finally dead. Eric's maker had been one seriously scary vampire. Seeing someone have that much control over the man I loved and thought was invincible was just wrong. I hoped Pam was okay. I know Jason helped her out so once again, my brother surprised me.

Eric's phone rang many times then I heard his voice, business-like and smooth. I waited until the required 'beep' and spoke. I couldn't help it if he could hear the catch in my voice.

"Eric, I just wanted to check on you and Pam. I know you've got a lot to take care of and that's " I stammered a bit " okay. You just let me know when things get sorted out. Eric, I love you"

I hung up and pointed my car towards Merlotte's, feeling just a bit better about things. I hoped Sam had all that tax stuff taken care of. I couldn't stop to fume about how unfair people were being about the weres coming out. Alcide's audit, Sam's audit, the protesters all because they'd wanted the same freedoms the vampires had. What was even worse, the vamps had been hidden, the weres and shifters living among us forever! I could only shake my head and thank the good Lord, I was raised by Gran and not ignorant bigots. Then again, not many people thought I was human anymore.

"Oh well" I whispered to myself as I pulled into the gravel lot behind Merlotte's and thankfully there were no protesters. I guess today was all about catching a break. Sam was by his truck unloading what looked to be 25 pound bags of French fries. He looked up and a slow grin spread across his face,

"Heya Sook" he paused to sit the bag down "You look pretty good…considering" He gave me an appraising glance.

I didn't know whether he was talking about my little magic act with Alcide's pack last night or the death of Eric's maker and the homicidal fairy. I shrugged my shoulders and felt a smile pull at my lips. I should be feeling a lot worse today. I mentally kicked myself for feeling…good.

"I'm doing good Sam" shuffled my feet in front of me "I was more worried about you, to be honest. How's the audit coming?" I just couldn't bring myself to talk about death, killing or other supe bullshit. I had family, I had friends and I was going to damn well act like my life is normal today.

"It's actually going pretty good. The accountant and the lawyer think I've got them dead to rights. I've never been anything other than a good tax paying citizen" he winked and ran his hand through his mop of strawberry gold curls. I noticed there was just a hint of grey at his temples. I didn't say anything but I thought it made him look distinguished. "

The question is, do you have the okay to go with me this weekend?" he looked hopeful.

I was caught off guard. I'd completely forgotten about the wedding this weekend. The way I figured, Eric was going to be pretty busy for just a bit. And I had promised Sam I'd be his 'date'. He just wasn't ready to introduce another were to his family, considering. I really owed Sam for a whole hell of a lot. This was the least I could do.

"Sure thing" I looked him in the eyes "You positive Jannalynn doesn't have anything to say about this?" I was worried about his new sweetheart and he was worried about mine. Both of them could be called the jealous type so I understood.

"Yeah, cher, it's not a problem. She may seem like a bitch" he laughed at the little joke " but she's pretty understanding. Besides, they've got some pack business to attend to this weekend."

I flashed back to last night. Colors, anger, then all the blood at Eric's. As good as the 'fairy healing' made me feel this morning , it was wearing off quickly. I could feel a bit of bile rise in my throat as my head started to pound. Next time, I will remember to read the side effects on any and all magic potions. Black edged through my vision as the ground rushed up to meet me.