It's Only Beginning

A/N: I'm completely overwhelmed by the number of alerts I received from you lovely readers! Thank you bunches for your support! There's nothing like knowing people truly enjoy the work you create.

Now just as a warning, I am going to take some liberties in straying off the beaten path of how Dead Until Dark progresses, but for the most part I'll stick to main idea. K?

Shout out to VAlady for pointing out some silly mistakes on my part(:

I own none of these characters… all credit goes to Charlaine Harris… and I suppose Alan Ball, HBO, and that whole crew too.

Chapter 2

Working a double and murder mysteries do not fare well together for telepathic barmaids.

Shoot Sookie, you might as well have spat on her grave. I said a silently prayer of apology. It's not like me to dishonor the dead. Lord knows Maudette Pickens was a sweetie in high school… although she did turn a bit sour afterwards. I'd never hold a thing against her, especially considering that she was murdered last night.

Thinking back to when Jason had come by the house last night… Unannounced as usual, I didn't have to read his mind to see the anxiety rolling through him in waves. Naturally, I prodded him for answers. I gently picked at him, hoping he would just let up and share what was troubling him, but since I figured after fifteen minutes of nervous babble that wasn't gonna be happenin, and so I plunged into his thoughts real quick and jumped out just as quickly. Like diving in a freezing cold pool, I wanted to be outta there the second my head went under water.

Jason's mind was scrambling for answers.

In the span of five seconds, I gathered that he was torturously wracking his memory to figure out if he really was the one who had murdered Maudette. More than heaps of guilt and fear and ultimate confusion. I caught a quick flash of their rough sex. EW. Lord spare me. And then her limp body after they both finished.

I hadn't the slightest that Maudette was dead to begin with, and so in shock, I simply gaped at him like a fish.

Real smart Sookie. Your brother is looking for consolation and you're already convicting him of a crime no one knows if he even committed. I forced myself to face the facts, after getting over the murder in itself, which is no light thing, and attempted to gather myself together at least for his sake.

It took me less than a minute to process this, and Jason had missed my whole revelation because he was lookin at my kitchen floor like he thought it would swallow him whole and chew him to pieces.

Arranging my practiced smile and careful composure, from years of experience, I stood up from the table and placed my hand tentatively on his shoulder.

"I don't want you gettin upset, alright?" I said calmly. Jason just looked at me expectantly, furrowing his brow.

"I wasn't fishin around in there or nothing, but you were practically overflowing with your thoughts that it was hard to keep 'em out," I continued. Okay maybe that was a small lie, but I'm helping him in the long run so I could get over it, and so could he. Well not get over the lie, cause he didn't know I was lyin, but the lie that he thought was the truth. Focus Sookie!

Now Jason's face was set into a firm frown.

"What are you goin on about Sook," he answered me plainly.

"Now don't you lie to me Jason Stackhouse. I may not be the brightest bulb in the box but I know my brother and you should know me well enough to trust me!"

He wasn't expecting my short outburst, but I guess it did the trick because he dropped the pretenses, physically at first.

If I thought he looked miserable before, that vision increased tenfold. His shoulders sagged and I could have sworn the wrinkles around his worried eyes aged him ten years. He was hurtin something awful. And I just wanted the truth, comfort could come later. I looked at him expectantly. I didn't need to spell out his admission for him.

This wasn't his finest hour, and I knew he was a cocky bastard most times, so I let him stutter out his case.

"I don't know what to do, Sookie. I'd never tried to hurt her I swear! She had those fanger bites on her neck and inner thighs though, so I can't help wondering… But afterwards, she was layin there all lifeless like… and the only thing I could think of was to get up and outta there." His voice fluctuated like one might on a rollercoaster, up and down, shouting all the way.

"Jason, honey, why didn't you just call the police if you didn't do anything?"

"Because I don't know if I killed her! I don't know what I did! I sure hope to Jesus it was a vampire. Oh God it's only a matter of time until they find out I was the last one to see her. Every time I think back to it the memories just get foggier and I can't remember what really happened," He wailed at me.

"I am fucked Sook." He tacked this on, almost as an afterthought, concluding his speech.

Now he's just letting the stress get to him. He isn't arrested yet. This certainly was not the time for him to lose a grip on what was reality and what was not.

Twenty minutes later of partial scolding for him to take a breath and stop whining, I finally convinced him to have a glass of iced tea and see himself home, after promising to help him in any way I could. Which I would have already done without the promise.

I made him swear to keep his mouth shut about it and if he got questioned by the police to tell the story as he remembered it. No point in lying if we didn't really have the whole truth.

His point about Maudette having vampire bites on her did arouse my suspicion, however. And although I have no personal problem with them, when it comes to my brother possibly getting accused of murder, there'd be a sweet cool breeze in hell before I didn't look into every possible answer. One of those answers now was that a vampire could have killed Maudette Pickens.

Back to reality.

Working a double and the tragic and unfortunate murder mystery of Maudette Pickens do not fare well together for telepathic barmaids

I'm truly tryin to think nicer. Even if Maudette was what they call those fangbanger chicks, I would choose to remember her as a senior at Bon Temps High, with a sweet smile and a kind word in Chemistry class.

I picked up yet another basket of chicken, stuck the sauce container in between the steaming meat, and made my way through the crowd. Nearly tripping over my own feet as I rounded the corner, I could hardly maintain the head on my shoulders with the onslaught of thoughts.

I guess Crazy Sookie's brother is just as nuts as she is… I wonder if she helped him do it…

Look at that bitch, acting like all the world is fine when her brother murdered a woman last night in cold blood…

All the Stackhouse's are off the rocker…

Maybe she is a fuckin psycho but I'd love to handle those sweet titties…

Poor Adele Stackhouse raised homicidal children…

My teeth ground together audibly, as my nervous smile nearly split my face.

"Here's your tenders," I delivered the chicken to its recipient, "would you like a refill of diet coke?"

Anything to get you the fuck away from me, freak.

"Sure."

By now I fear my smile will become a permanent feature on my face. My cheeks were starting to hurt and I was wondering how much longer I'd last.

"I'll be right back with that," I said with sugary sweetness.

I was about to return with the replenished diet coke, when Sam's arm shot out and I nearly jumped out of my skin at the direct contact.

"I'll take it Cher. Go to my office." He looked me directly in my eyes when he spoke and I knew it was fruitless to argue.

I didn't bother to close Sam's office door, but rather strode in and paced like a nervous hen until he returned. He closed the door, of course, walking close and wrapping me in a warm hug. I was surprised but hugged him back, feeling his warmth to seep into me.

I allowed my mind to reach out to his and become enveloped in the mushy unidentified river of emotion. It was an instant relief from the petulant thoughts of my bar patrons. I wasn't sure how long he held me, but it felt good, and my brain was slowly relaxing to its normal pace. The more I sunk into his simple mind the more I sunk into the nothingness.

It was blissful. Hardly ever could I enjoy moments of just being alone with my thoughts. No buzzing in the background… No thoughts at all except my own.

No thoughts at all except my own?

My neck snapped up and I darted my eyes around Sam's small office nervously. It was like I had tuned into nothingness. My mind was swimming through a gentle stream, with nothing polluting it for once.

What was happening?

Sam pulled back cautiously, examining me with a wary eye. He'd think I was nuts for sure now.

"Sookie are– " He began but I couldn't let him finish.

I put my hand up quickly to silence him, and spoke low.

"Sam Merlotte don't you say a word. I'll be back in one minute."

He quirked an eyebrow and me and I couldn't blame him for his incredulous expression. I didn't know what was going on either.

I stepped slowly out of this office and walked silently down the short hall to the bar. It felt as though my brain was effortlessly drifting down the stream as the water slipped smoothly over sticks and stones, nothing interrupting its path.

Glancing around the room, I don't know if my brilliant investigation included a neon sign flashing ANSWER HERE, but I wasn't seeing one anywhere.

Just as I was pressing down on the ball of my foot to turn back and explain to Sam, I caught an image out of the corner of my eye.

My emotions turned from fright and concern to awe and wonder lickity split. As sure as I knew my own name, I knew that the calming blankness of my minds natural radar was caused from him.

And I knew that our little local bar, Merlotte's, had gotten its first vampire.

A/N: I want to apologize, I had been planning on getting this chapter a lot farther, but as I said before, it will be easier for them to be shorter so I can send them out quicker. I'm hoping you'll forgive me anyway since I got this out only a day after the first chapter(: Please have patience as the plot will unravel within the next two chapters. I promise Eric is still coming!

Now you'll have to sit and wonder which vampire is the first to visit Merlotte's? ;)