Author's Note: To all of you faithfully reading Waking the Dead and waiting for an update, my many thanks for your patience. I promise I've not abandoned you or the story, but it's Christmas, and I have little kids. The material left in S1 is intense and a bit of a buzz-kill for my festive good cheer. In order to do it justice, WtD is officially on hold until my kiddos are back in school and I have sufficient time to write. This, Missing Two Weeks, will continue to be written in Bill's POV, but it won't be as structured as WtD. I'm hoping to update more often with shorter chapters, preferably dealing with lighter material, before diving back into the end of S1. I hope you enjoy my interpretations as to what Bill was up to before Two Weeks Later.

Chapter One

I drifted through my daytime slumber awash on a sea of pain, images of Sookie being killed and the smell of my own burning flesh haunting my rest. I awoke to the sound of earth being moved from on top of me. I knew it was after dark, but it hurt too much to move. The shoveling stopped, and I felt the thud of weight on top of me, and then gentle hands carefully brushed away the last layer of earth over my face.

"Bill?" Sam's voice was very near my ear. "Bill? Can you hear me?" I felt my fangs pop of their own accord, and my fingers readied for the instinctual attack that was necessary to heal.

"Listen, I have silver, and I'm about to use it. Just wait a second, and I'll help you." I felt it immediately when he placed the silver across my arms and legs. I was still covered in dirt, so it didn't burn, but I felt it draining my already weakened strength. "I know you need the real thing," he continued. "But I don't want to die tonight, so we're going to do some TruBlood first. Just open your mouth."

I fought through the pain and hunger and tried to do as he said, but it was too much.

"Bill?" Sam asked. "Can you open your mouth?" Thankfully, he interpreted my silence correctly. "Just don't bite me." When I felt his hot hands press gently on my blistered lips, even with the silver, even with the pain, even though my conscious mind tried to control it, I heard myself growl and snap at his fingers.

But I'd opened my mouth, and Sam's fingers were quickly replaced with a warmed bottle. I felt the TruBlood trickling down my throat, and for once, the taste didn't disgust me. I painfully swallowed.

"That's it," Sam murmured. He tipped the bottle, and the flow increased. Quickly, the first bottle was gone, and he repeated the flow of synthetic blood into my mouth with a second, and then a third. I was able to painfully open my eyes after the third and watched through singed lashes as he tossed the empty up out of the grave.

Sam smiled when he saw my opened eyes. I knew I looked gruesome, but he didn't appear horrified or cringe away. He was wearing only a t-shirt and boxer shorts, and he lied next to me with his femoral artery against my head.

"I'm going to take away the chain now, but I'll put it back if I think you're taking too much. Deal?" I didn't think I could answer, and he didn't wait for one. "Just don't get any funny ideas about anything else - blood's all I'm offering."

He lifted the chain and held it clutched in his fist as far away from me as he could. As soon as I felt myself free of its force, I lunged into the hot vein. I didn't glamour him or try to make it gentle. Sam groaned and muttered, "mother fucker," as I desperately latched on.

The femoral artery was my favorite place to feed, the blood thick and rich and free-flowing there, the comfort of my head between warm thighs, my nose inhaling the most secret of scents. Sam's blood gushed easily, requiring no effort on my part, and I swallowed mouthful after mouthful, feeling my strength return with every pull. My hair and skin tingled painfully as it regrew and healed.

"Okay, that's enough," Sam finally said, but I couldn't stop. "Bill, I'm serious. Enough."

Reluctantly, I pulled away, licking the puncture wounds closed as Sam slumped back into the dirt. I sat up and stretched in a painful way. I was still thirsty. I smelled the opened bottles of TruBlood on the ground above us, and I leapt out of the grave, sucking one after another down. It wasn't until I'd finished the third that I saw Sam's hand on the edge of the grave.

"Sam," I said as I carefully pulled him out. He looked pale and weak, and he motioned to a sack sitting on the ground. Inside was a bottle of vitamins, a jug of orange juice, and several granola bars. I quickly put two pills between his lips and opened the juice, holding the bottle as he'd held the TruBloods for me. He drank gratefully.

"Sookie?" I asked.

Sam nodded. "They took her to the hospital, but she's home now. She's beat up pretty good, but she's going to be fine."

Once again, the shifter had protected her when I couldn't. I imagined him holding her hand in the ambulance and at the hospital. I saw a faceless nurse pushing her in a wheelchair out of the front door, into the rosy glow of the late-afternoon sun, to Sam's waiting car.

I swallowed unnecessarily. "And you?" I asked, nodding towards the bandage on Sam's forehead. "Were you seriously injured?"

He shook his head. "She took the brunt of it. She said that he was about to… Well, it would've been quite different if you hadn't woken her up. I'll take the stitches out tomorrow."

I nodded.

"I cleared everyone out for you…" Sam quietly said. He took another long, slow swallow of juice and looked away.

"Thank you, Sam," I said. "For…" I gestured to the bite marks on his thigh.

"Well, you saved my life and hers, so we're even now. Don't think it means I like you." I nodded. "And don't tell her, okay? It's…" His voice trailed off as he looked away again. "It's complicated enough."

"Agreed," I said. I opened the last bottle of TruBlood and sipped at it. "You know," I said, wrinkling my nose. "Shifter tastes almost as terrible as this stuff. It's lucky you're so vile, as powerful as your blood is."

Sam smiled. "Lucky me."

"Can you drive?" I asked.

"Yeah. I'll be fine. I need to get back to the bar anyway."

"Sam, thank you."

"Shut up," he said as he slowly got up and slid into his jeans. He sat down on a gravestone to put on his boots. "You don't deserve her."

"I know."

He nodded. "Just checking. Lafayette left some food in the fridge. She needs to eat tonight."

"Sam," I began. I wanted to tell me how much I envied him, how much I appreciated him, how much I would love to hate him but that I couldn't. I wanted to tell him that I didn't hold it against him that he loved her. If she'd been his, I would've done everything in my power to take her from him and make her mine.

"She has an antibiotic and a pain pill to take before bed, too," he interrupted. "That's why she needs to eat, or they'll upset her stomach."

"Sam," I said again.

He dismissed me with a wave of his hand. "Don't keep her up all night, and tell her I'll be back in the morning with breakfast." He turned his back to me and started towards the road at a slow but steady pace.

"Thank you, Sam," I said.

"Go to hell, Compton."

I smiled, gathered up the empty bottles, and quickly went to my house. All the TruBloods helped, but Sam's powerful blood left me completely healed. Without it, I would've taken many nights and a lot of blood to heal. My clothes were ruined, and I shed them on the porch, not wanting the smell inside. After a quick shower, I flashed over to Sookie's, unsure if she'd even let me in.

As promised, the house was empty except for her. I could hear the television, and I closed my eyes and savored the sound of Sookie's steady heartbeat. If I could still tremble, my fingers would've shook as I cleared my throat and pressed the doorbell. This woman, who was really little more than a girl, reduced me to nervousness, as if I were a boy come to court. The tempo of her heart increased, and the television went silent, and I heard her staccato steps move across the worn wooden boards.

She opened the door and stood just inside the frame, separated from me by mere inches, but the power of her rescinded invitation was an abyss I could not cross. She gasped and blinked, and her heart skipped a beat as she stared as if seeing a ghost. I opened my mouth to speak, to beg her to let me in, to tell her that I loved her, to crush her against me and vow to never let go, but found I was unable to form words. My world was her, this woman standing before me, and I was speechless.

"You're alive," she finally said, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Well, technically no," I corrected. "But I am healed." I thought of my promise to Sam, and internally cringed that there was another secret I had to keep from her. "I fed," I said, simplifying the explanation.

"Would you like to come in?" she asked, a radiant smile on her face.

"Yes."

I stepped across the threshold, and Sookie quickly closed the door behind me. I held her against me as tightly as I dared, and even then, Sookie winced and gasped in pain. She touched my cheek with a tentative finger, and I gently inspected her bruised and broken face.

Without thinking of my own weakness, my fangs snapped into place and I reached for my wrist to heal her.

"No," Sookie insisted, pulling my arm away from my lips.

"Without my blood, it'll take weeks for you to heal."

"I don't care," she stubbornly replied. "After everything, I just need to feel human right now."

I reluctantly nodded, not wanting a fight to spoil our reunion. "I failed you," I finally said.

"You're willing to sacrifice yourself to save me," she gushed.

"If I'd just…" I began.

"Shhh," she interrupted, placing her fingers over my lips. I couldn't help but kiss her warm, sweet flesh. "My life is too short for all that."

I kissed her instead of answering, knowing words could never convey the sentiment of my unbeating heart. I gently sucked her bottom lip and opened her mouth with my tongue, pouring my need and my love into her as I wanted to fill her with my blood. I kissed her broken cheekbone and her black eye. I moved down and placed feather-soft kisses on her bruised neck. I willed the vile fingerprints away as I licked and caressed her tender flesh.

"Bill," she sighed as her fingers tugged my hair. "I'm so sorry, Bill."

"Shhh." It was my turn to stop her foolish words, and she sucked my fingers into her mouth, her tongue swirling against them.

I carefully gathered her into my arms and flashed upstairs, mentally thanking Sam not only for healing me, but also for giving us privacy. Once in her room, I held her against me while I turned back the bed and laid her down.

"I thought you'd died because of me, just like Gran," she sobbed into my chest. "And that was the worst of it, that you'd died, and it was my fault, and our last words were me forcing you out."

"Shhh," I soothed, stroking her hair. "It doesn't matter."

"I've waited my whole life for you, and I thought I'd killed you."

"Sookie, shhh."

"And killed him, Bill," she continued. "I've killed a man."

"You were protecting yourself," I gently reminded her. "If you hadn't, he would've killed you, and he would've killed Sam, and he would've let me die. You did what you had to do."

"I'm a terrible person," she whispered. "I'm a murderer."

"No," I said, pulling her back to look at me. "You did what you had to do." I let her cry against me, stroking her hair and kissing her forehead until her crying was replaced with sniffles and quiet hiccups. "I remember the first man I killed," I finally whispered. "It was the fall of 1862, and we were on patrol. We happened across a group of Federals; they were just as surprised as we were. They were fixing supper, and most had laid their weapons aside."

"What happened?" Sookie whispered.

"I fired my rifle and took one man down, and then I went after the second with my knife."

"Did he hurt you?"

I nodded. "Just a nick. When it was over, we sat down and ate their food. It was the best meal we'd had in months…"

She was quiet then, and I saw the man's face as I slit his throat, heard the strange gurgling sound he made as he went limp, the life draining from his eyes as I watched. I'd found a photograph in his pocket, a clean-shaven version of him with a woman and a small child.

"You did what you had to do," I repeated. She nodded and sighed. "I wish it had been different," I said. "I wish I could've done it for you. Or Sam."

"Then one of y'all would be feeling badly instead of me."

"Exactly."

She shook her head. "I'm not weak. I don't need you to save me."

"I need you to save me," I whispered. "And I don't think that makes me weak."

She turned to me, and her lips were on my eyelids and my cheeks and finally my lips. She sighed into my mouth as her hot tongue teased mine. My gums ached for trying to keep my fangs in place, but they slid down, and she licked one, and then the other.

"Sookie," I whispered. "You're hurt…"

She smiled. "I trust you."

I carefully leaned her back on the pillows, as if she were made of glass. "Just leave it all to me…" She sighed and watched as I leaned back on my heels and pulled my shirt over my head. I made short work of my socks and shoes and shimmied out of my slacks. I tossed them to the floor and turned my attention to her.

Once more, I kissed all along her face and neck, my fingers slowly undoing the buttons of her blouse. She was bare beneath it, and I licked and suckled first one breast, and then the other. When her breath came in gasps and pants, I moved down, dipping my tongue into her belly button as I pulled off her shorts.

I kissed and licked every inch of her – down her legs, the tender flesh behind her knees, her toes. I licked my way back up and parted her thighs, settling my head between them. Her artery pulsed enticingly near my ear, but I wouldn't drink from her. Not tonight.

Her soft folds were slick with her arousal, and I dipped one finger in, and then a second, my tongue rolling and flicking her on the outside while I reached for her spot on the inside. I built her up slowly, tenderly, and when she came, it was with a quiet sigh of contentment, her exquisite taste teasing my tongue and making it difficult to not want more.

Afterwards, she dozed off, her head resting on my chest. I let her sleep for a couple of hours, enjoying the sound of her heartbeat and the warmth of her breath on my skin. When I eased out from under her, I tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and kissed her lightly before covering her with the quilt. She murmured in her sleep and rolled towards the cool indention in the pillow where my head had just been.

Downstairs in the kitchen, I located the food Lafayette had left. It was clam chowder, and no human food could smell worse. I didn't breathe as it heated slowly on the stove. There wasn't much in the refrigerator, and I knew with a pang that Adele must have done most of the shopping. I found a sealed jar of pears in the pantry, and I filled a bowl with bite-sized pieces. I loaded a tray with the fruit, a cup of tea, a glass of ice water, and the soup.

"Sookie," I whispered, setting the tray on the floor as I leaned over to kiss her. "Sookie."

"Hmmm."

"I have your medicines and something to eat."

She opened her eyes and yawned. "Bill!" she exclaimed. "Do you ever wear clothes in the house?" I looked down at my naked body and shrugged, and I carefully held the water glass. She painfully swallowed several mouthfuls. "Oh, that feels good," she said.

"Here," I said, holding the soup bowl and blowing on the first spoonful.

"You're going to feed me?" she asked with a smile.

"Yes." I held the spoon to her lips, and she obediently opened. "Lafayette left this for you."

"It's so good," she purred. "I love his clam chowder." When the soup was gone, I held out her pills, which she dutifully swallowed. "That one makes me sleepy," she said, holding up the smaller of the two pills.

"That's good," I answered as I lifted a bite of the fruit to her lips. "You need your rest."

"I can take care of myself, you know," she said when I handed her the tea.

"I know," I said. "But while I can, I want to make it easier for you."

"While you can?"

"There's only about an hour until dawn." She nodded. "Sam said he'd come after I leave."

She smiled. "I don't need everyone fussing over me." She furrowed her brows and bite into her bottom lip. "Are you okay with him being here?"

"Sookie, I over-reacted the night I returned from the Tribunal. I shouldn't have done what I did. He's your friend, and your employer, and he cares for you very much." She nodded and refused to meet my eyes. "And you care for him, too. I have no desire to separate you from your friends."

"I shouldn't have…" she said, her voice trailing off. "I don't know what I was thinking. I should never have kissed him."

"Do not worry," I said, kissing her lightly. "Would you like me to help you bathe before I leave?"

She blushed. "That would be very nice," she said. "Thank you." I kissed the top of her head and went to start the shower. When it was ready, I came back to her room and picked her up. "Now I see why you're not wearing clothes," she chided. "It's for convenient co-showering."

I rolled my eyes at her as I stepped into the warm spray, supporting her with one arm while I cleaned her with the other. I soaped every inch of her glorious skin, massaging the shampoo and conditioner into her hair. I dried her and combed out her hair and watched as she brushed her teeth. When she was done, I neatly braided her wet hair.

"Where did you learn how to do that?" she asked, watching my hands in the mirror.

"I used to braid my sister's hair, and then my wife's, and then my daughter's, and then…" The image of Lorena's long, dark hair beneath my fingers came to mind, and I shook the thought away.

"And then?" Sookie asked.

"Ready for bed?" I said.

She stared at me for a long moment, confusion in her eyes, and I knew she wanted to know what I was thinking. If she'd asked, I wouldn't have denied her. Not this night. But she simply said, "Are you?"

I nodded. "I need to be leaving, but I'll tuck you in first."

"I wish you could stay."

"I wish so too," I said. "Would you like to rest at my house today?"

She shook her head. "I'm going to have a bunch of people in and out. You don't want them in your house."

"I do if that's what you want."

"But it's not safe," she said.

I smiled. "No one else knows where I rest," I reminded her. "They wouldn't have to know I was there."

"You could always make a resting place here, you know." I smiled at her, not sure how to respond. "It might be a good idea for a back-up, just in case, you know. And then, if you stayed the night..."

"Sookie, you never cease to amaze me."

"You'll come back as soon as you can?"

"Of course." Sookie yawned, wincing as her swollen jaw stretched. "Sam will be after me for keeping you up all night."

"Whatever," she muttered as I pulled a soft gown over her head. "Goodnight, Bill," she whispered, kissing me.

"Goodnight."

As always, walking away from her was the hardest part of my night. I locked the door behind me and flashed across the cemetery. After Sookie's warm arms, my house seemed even more empty than usual. I settled back onto the hard ground and dialed Sam. "She's all yours," I told him. I quickly pulled up the contact information for the new Whole Foods in Shreveport, and I emailed my order, happy to pay the extra money for delivery. She wouldn't let me feed her my blood, but I could still feed her.