Sam

The noise from the bar and restaurant flowed into Sam's office, making it hard for him to concentrate on his work. He pressed his fingers to his temples and rubbed them gently. Having excellent hearing was not working for the better for him tonight. He sighed as he felt a migraine form in the back of his head.

It was about to get worse.

Arlene burst through Sam's office door without knocking, which scared Sam enough to make him jump to his feet.

"Arlene! You know you're supposed to knock before coming in my office," He yelled with a frustrated expression.

"I'm sorry, but vampire Bill just came in here like he was gonna kill someone and he's scarin' me, Sam!" The frantic waitress smoothed her apron as a nervous habit and looked around as if she was debating whether or not she should say something else.

"Spit it out," Sam said, motioning for her to continue.

"Well, apparently he's lookin' for Sookie. He's in a real hurry though like he's mad or something. It's scarin' all the customers!" Arlene looked almost as frustrated as Sam at that point.

"Okay, okay. I'll handle it. Just go back out there and calm everyone down," Sam said with a sigh. He ran his fingers through his hair before following Arlene into the restaurant.

It didn't take long for Sam to spot Bill. He was standing next to the bar, obviously impatient. Sam approached him a bit cautiously and the restaurant went silent.

"Bill, what can I help you with?"

"I'm looking for Sookie. Have you seen her this evening?" Bill's eyes were constantly searching the bar.

"She has the night off, actually," Sam said with furrowed brows. Bill had not been around lately and Sam was sure that him and Sookie were over. He was under the impression she was seeing some Viking vampire named Eric, but he wasn't in the loop of Sookie's love life lately.

"If you see her, tell her to contact me immediately. This is of utmost important. I hope I can trust you," Bill said before vamp-speeding out of Merlotte's. Sam stood there, mouth slightly agape and staring after Bill.

Bill usually wasn't one to make a scene in public, but that seemed like quite a scene to Sam. He looked around at the customers who were also staring out the door.

"It's alright, everyone. Just go back to enjoying your meal and drinks," Sam bellowed before returning to his office.

He sat at his desk and ran his hands through his hair, leaving them there as he stared at his paperwork blankly. Why was it that after so long Bill was so interested in finding Sookie that he would cause a scene like that? He leaned back in his chair and grabbed a pen, tapping it on the surface of the desk.

There was one thing he knew for sure and that was the fact that something was wrong. It was almost in the air around him.

"Sam!" Arlene burst through the door again and Sam stood from his chair even more frustrated.

"What is it? What could it possibly be now, Arlene? And for the love of Christ, could you please knock?" Sam yelled as he rummaged through his desk for Tylenol.

"Sookie's here and she's with some tall bald guy. I thought you should know since vampire Bill…"

Sam cut her off by brushing past her and into the restaurant without another word. As he rounded the corner, he saw whom Sookie was with. Quinn. They had never met, but Sam knew who he was.

He was famous for working the pits. Sam did not like the thoughts of Sookie being with him, but there was a more important matter to attend to and it wasn't lecturing her about her dates.

Sam walked to their table with a smile he knew Sookie could see right through. He decided he would simply ignore Quinn.

"Hey, Chere. I never expected to see you here for dinner," Sam said. It was true. When you work in a restaurant, it's not a common thing to have dates there. Especially when you have an overprotective boss like Sam. Was Sookie trying to rub her date in his face?

"Sam, this is Quinn. Quinn, this is my boss Sam," Sookie said with a smile.

Her exaggerated politeness made him want to gag.

"Sookie, can I talk to you for a minute?" Not his best delivery, but it would have to do.

Sookie sighed and stood up from the table, saying something to Quinn before following Sam to his office. He jumped a bit as he heard the door slam.

"Can't you see I'm on a date, Sam?" He turned around to see Sookie standing by the door infuriated. Of course he could see that she was on a date. Wasn't that the point of her coming here? To show off her new pet? Pun intended.

Wait. If Sookie wasn't with Eric or Bill why would Bill be looking for her? Sam was sure that Quinn wouldn't want for Sookie to be involved with vampires anymore than he did. He didn't bother hiding his confused expression.

"Sookie, Bill came lookin' for you earlier," he said, trying not to blurt out questions.

"Wait, Bill came looking for me? Did he say why?" Sookie seemed just as confused as Sam. That made matters worse.

"No, he just told me to tell you to contact him if I saw you." He saw Sookie get that nervous look as if she was about to do something stupid.

Sam bolted for the door, blocking it.

"Sookie, I don't want you getting in any more trouble. Whatever it is Bill needs, I'm sure he can find some one else to help him. And if he's trying to get back with you, well, I don't like that idea either," Sam said.

"Who I date is none of your business and if Bill needs me, I should at least see what he wants. I can always decline. Besides, I'm with Quinn so whether or not Bill is trying to get back with me doesn't matter. Now, let me out of here so I can tell my date what's going on."

Typical response. Sam particularly loved the way she put so much emphasis on "date". His eyes narrowed and he opened the door, letting Sookie through.

Sam instantly regretted his decision to let her through. He had let his emotions get in the way of trying to protect her. The certainty that Sookie was now going to find Bill and get caught up in more vampire business that could ultimately get her killed weighed heavily on Sam.

He picked a paperweight off his desk and hurled it across the room in frustration. He didn't care if he was the enemy. He didn't care if Sookie hated him for telling her to stay away from vampires. All he wanted is for her to be safe.

Sam hurried back into the restaurant, but to his dismay, Sookie had already left. He cursed under his breath and wondered how far he should go this time.

"Arlene," Sam shouted in front of everyone. "Close up for me. I have some business to attend to."

Sam walked out of Merlotte's without another word and began to strip as he hit the tree line.