This is my very first fanfiction. Be gentle. I am really interested in ideas and advice, so review, review, review. I am a huge Eric/Sookie fan, but this is from Bill's POV. I figured he needed a life of his own. He really is a sweet guy, he's just gotten a raw deal. Enjoy!

I do not own any of the characters from Southern Vampire Mysteries. They all belong to Charlaine Harris. Bless her for sharing them with us. Mattie is my very own.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 1

Bill Compton awoke around 6 pm to an endless barrage of text and voice messages on his cell. He would never get used to the amount of technology around these days. It would be so nice to talk to someone in person and spend time enjoying their company instead of all this electronic bullshit. Naturally, 90% of the messages were from Eric Northman who is probably one of the few someones Bill would not enjoy the company of. He is such a demanding pain in the ass. If he wasn't the Sheriff of Area 5 in which Bill happened to live, he would probably have nothing to do with him in any way.

He scrolled down through the list and sighed. Of course almost every text pertained to the recent announcement by the shifter community. Since they had gone on national television for their big reveal, Eric had gone on high alert. Bill was never a big fan of the weres himself, but he felt that Eric was overreacting about the consequences it would have on the vampires. It's not as though vampire existence was a secret. The Great Revelation had been a few years ago and vampires seemed to be fitting in to everyday lives better than was expected. At least they were in Bon Temps anyway. Bill felt like he fit in fine in his hometown and even considered some of its denizens his friends. As much as a vampire could consider anyone his friend, he thought.

Bill quickly showered and changed into new clothes for the evening. That was one pleasure he had in his current existence. He had a really nice bathroom with a steam shower and a Jacuzzi tub. Not that he was entertaining anyone in there at the moment, but it was a nice way to start his evening and wash the dust of his resting place off of his body. He walked back downstairs and turned on some lights. He didn't really need them at all, but he had paid enough to have the electrician fix them he might as well turn them on. Besides, it made him feel more human to need things like electricity and plumbing.

He walked over to his computer to check his e-mail. For a vampire so concerned with having contact with others, he sure did love the Internet. He thought about the irony of that and smiled. "It makes me money." he said out loud to no one at all. Of course no one was there. Selah had left him, which he wasn't that disappointed about all in all. He knew she only loved the part of him that was a vampire and not who he really was as a man. The only person that ever felt that way about him was Sookie. She was what he thought about most of his waking hours. Naturally, he had lost her too.

Though he still thought it was through no fault of his own, he understood from his own remaining humanity how she saw it as the ultimate betrayal. And of course what had happened in the trunk of the car in Alcide's parking garage……he had to stop thinking about that. There are some basic instincts of a starving, wounded vampire that cannot be helped. He tried to keep telling himself that to no avail. The worst part of losing her was who had "claimed" her as his own. Though Sookie denies Eric most of the time, Bill knows their bond has been sealed . The only way to get her back is for Northman to be dead. That's not such a bad idea he thinks and smirks at the thought. Not possible. At least for Bill anyway. Eric is far too powerful and Bill would be in so much trouble if he had ever tried to harm Eric. Not to mention the fact that it would hurt Sookie as well.

He opened up his e-mail and read down the list. Almost every one was identical to the texts he had received from Eric. "My god he's pushy!", thought Bill. The last few e-mails were junk mail for prescription drugs. "Whatever does a vampire need with Viagra?" he laughed out loud at the thought and picked up his cell phone again. He listened to his voice mail and thought he had better respond to Eric in some fashion before he showed up at the house to bother him. The only other message he had received was from a contractor doing work on his bathroom. It's not like he expected someone more exciting to have left him a message, but he had at least hoped.

He was about to call Eric when his phone rang. He looked at the caller id and noticed that it was coming from Merlotte's. His eyes lit up. Bill was really wanting it to be Sookie on the other end, but he tried hard not to get his hopes up. He was right not to since it was Sam Merlotte himself calling.

"Bill? Do you think you can come down here for a bit and help me out?" asked Sam on the other end of the phone. "I hate to ask you for help again after you and Clancy were so gracious to be my bouncers the other night, but I need a hand with moving some kegs fast and Terry has the night off. Do you mind?"

"Of course not Sam. I would be happy to Oblige. I am on my way."

He clapped the phone closed, put on his shoes, and walked out the door. As he drove to Merlotte's he wondered if Sookie would be working tonight and a slow smile spread across his face.

Bill pulled his car into a spot at Merlotte's , jumped out, and walked slowly toward the bar. He smoothed out his features and took a deep breath as he quickly opened the door. "Don't look too excited to be here. Just act casual." he thought to himself as he floated through the doorway. Sam met him at the bar and motioned for him to follow into the back room. He glanced over and saw a few of the locals at the bar talking to a young woman he didn't recognize. He looked a little further around and saw Sookie pouring an ice tea refill for one of her tables. She glanced over in his direction and give him a smile and a little wave. He nodded at her and followed Sam to the back.

"I really appreciate the help Compton." Sam said as Bill effortlessly toted the large kegs over and helped Sam to hook them up.

"It's no trouble at all Sam, happy to help."

"Let me buy you a blood for your trouble Bill. O Neg, right?" Sam replied as they walked back toward the bar.

"Yes, thank you. Don't mind if I do." Bill said as he lowered himself onto a barstool next to the woman he had not recognized when he first walked in. She smelled somewhat familiar to him, but he couldn't quite place the origin of her scent. She was laughing and talking with Sookie's brother Jason. They seemed oddly familiar with one and other, but then again finding a woman Jason Stackhouse wasn't familiar with was much more uncommon.

He wasn't touching her at all though and that was Bill's first indication that they were not acquainted in that manner. It was almost familial. She had short, spiky hair in a beautiful shade of auburn that complimented her ivory colored skin. She wore a tight fitting dark gray t-shirt and jeans with a pair of black boots and large blood red hoop earrings. If he hadn't known for certain he would almost say she looked vampire in nature. She laughed at something Jason had said and her shoulders shook enough to bump into his arm as he swigged his blood from the bottle. She quickly turned toward him and apologized profusely.

"I am so sorry sir." came out of her mouth before he even had time to set his bottle down. She was lightning fast and it startled Bill a bit.

"It's really no trouble ma'am." Bill replied and looked up at her face. She smiled back at him and extended her hand. Bill reached back to return the sentiment. That was something his human side still felt very comfortable doing. He was after all a southern gentleman. She opened her mouth to speak and he couldn't help but watch as her lips parted and began to form words.

"Please to meet you sir, I'm Mattie." The words rolled off her tongue and out of her mouth so beautifully Bill had to stop and think for a moment.

"Compton. Bill Compton. It's very nice to make your acquaintance." Bill replied quite formally.

"This here's my cousin, Bill." Jason interjected from Mattie's opposite side. "She's been staying with me since she got into the area yesterday. She just came down here from Chicago and is looking at puttin' down roots here in Bon Temps." Bill thought Jason was running off at the mouth a bit, but he actually seemed proud that a city slicker like Mattie would think Bon Temps worthy of stopping in let alone making a home there.

"My father is the brother of Sookie and Jason's Momma Mr. Compton. I heard they had a nice little town down here. Very tolerant and forward thinking when it comes to all of the new announcements we've had lately." A small smile spread across her face as she spoke. Instantly Bill knew that she was fully aware of his nature as a vampire and totally accepting of that fact at the same time. "I was really looking for a life change and this seemed to be the place to do it." She seemed very confident that her choice to uproot her life was the right one to make and that Bon Temps was the place to be.

Sam leaned over from his place at the bar drying beer mugs. "Well we are mighty happy to have you here in our neck of the woods Mattie and you are welcome here anytime. We need all the help we can get most days right Bill?" Sam chuckled as he spoke. He knew full well that anybody willing to accept the nature of him and most of what he'd called friends was a rare gift indeed.

They talked for a while and enjoyed each other's company while the goings on in the bar continued. Bill was content to speak to Mattie and learn a bit about her in the process. She was intriguing in a way he simply couldn't put his finger on. She wasn't of the Fae, that much he could tell. But according to what Sookie had told him her Fae blood came from the other side of the family anyhow. It wasn't until later in the evening that he noticed something peculiar about her. It happened as they were talking about the were reveal. Mattie suddenly lifted her head, took a long deep breath in through her nose and squished it up a bit as if she were smelling something that wasn't all together pleasant. She swiveled around on her barstool to face the door. As she did her eyes focused on the figure entering the bar. Bill turned to see who had garnered her attention. There in the doorway stood the very entity he had been avoiding all evening.