Wow, it is so nice to hear from so many familiar names :) I really hope you'll all enjoy the story and with that in mind I'll get on with it.

Disclaimer: Most characters belong to Charlaine Harris.

Thanks to my wonderful beta treewitch703 :) *does a little treewitch703 cheer* (though not in a cheerleader outfit 'coz seriously nobody wants to see that!)

So here we go – Apologies Eric fans, *hides*, Compton commeth:

Chapter 2: Forward to the Past

Dating Do: Do try to enjoy yourself. Even if your date has previously nearly killed you, it's unlikely he'll do that again.

The following night at exactly seven o'clock there was a knock at the door and I ran to open it. I was actually really excited to be going out. The cool evening air hit my face, blowing my hair back as I flung the door open.

"Hey Bill," I smiled brightly at him. I had on lots of warm clothes and two blankets were hanging over the back of the chair all ready. In theory I was bringing one for each of us but I knew Bill wouldn't need his and I might need extra. "Do I look OK?" I spread my arms and gave him a twirl.

I was wearing a long stretch winter skirt with a snuggly nubbled sweater, the neckline of which accentuated my assets without flashing too much cleavage. The outfit was warm but still pretty and, I thought, classy. I also had on neat little ankle boots with block heels that wouldn't sink in the grass but still added a little height. I felt I'd done a good job of dressing up while being practical about where we were going.

"No, you do not look OK," he said. I stopped turning and my face fell. I mentally started running through my wardrobe, wondering what I should have picked. "You look much better than OK, as you always do," he said after a pause. I slapped him on the chest.

"Don't do that to me," I laughed. "I was really worried for a minute." Bill smiled. Holding my hand to his chest he entered the house and closed the door behind him. Then he lifted the hand he still held and kissed it.

"Sorry," he said, clearly not sorry at all for teasing me. We were both silent for a minute just looking at each other but then he released my hand and my eyes.

"Well, I suppose we'd better go." I covered the moment with another bright smile and headed to the kitchen to grab my purse and the picnic basket I'd packed. Bill followed me.

As I pulled on the winter hat that Gran had knitted for me, I turned to see Bill frowning as he looked through the window in the kitchen door. I realised he could see the laundry I'd hung on the back porch, including the jeans that Jason had briefly worn – the extra long jeans that clearly were a fit for someone very tall. There was tension hanging in the air but I had no intention of bringing up the subject of Eric's jeans.

When I moved towards him, Bill turned to look at me. He was very still and his frown turned to another expression, one I couldn't properly identify, as he eyed the hat on my head.

"What? It's cold out there and we're going to be sitting still," I said smoothing the hat self-consciously. He didn't speak but stepped towards me, closing the last of the gap between us. Reaching out with both hands, his pupils dilating, he ran his fingers over the hat on my head, then trailed them through my hair that cascaded from beneath it and down over my shoulders. His eyes tracked the route of his hands then lifted back to mine. My lips were slightly parted and I found I had very little breath. There was a question in his face but I wasn't sure I knew the answer.

He leaned forward and brushed his lips over mine. I stayed very still. Did I want to do this? When I didn't pull away he pressed his mouth to mine more certainly. I felt a jolt of excitement in my belly and found myself responding to the cool taste of him. His tongue slipped past my lips into my mouth. I guess I did want to do this. Or my body did anyway. My mind was still on the fence. As the kiss deepened, a groan escaped him and he pulled me tight against his body. Eventually my mind exerted enough caution for me to pull gently away.

"Sorry," Bill rasped, his voice thick with emotion and lust. I shook my head to deflect his apology, I'd been kissing him too. There was an awkward pause.

"So, woolly hats as well as petticoats huh?" I asked with a forced giggle to lighten the mood. "I don't think I've come across that one before, and I've heard most of them," I said tapping my head. Bill had pulled himself together and he released me from his arms, ducking his head with slight embarrassment.

"Shall we?" He held out a hand to me, clearly not wanting to address his hat fetish. I nodded and turned to pick up my purse and the blankets. Turning back, I took his hand and let him lead me from the house.

Despite the sexual tension, things weren't uncomfortable between us in the car during the drive to Shreveport and I saw that as a positive sign. It was natural really, we'd always had chemistry. It's not like there was anyone else on the scene right now and I hadn't had sex since … no, don't even think about it Sookie, especially not while you're out with Bill.

[***]

Maybe it was because I'd only been intimate with vampires that I associated coolness with romance. Sitting on some old stadium cushions in the park, the stars twinkling above us, other couples scattered nearby, the band playing, it was, more than anything, the soft cool breeze that ruffled through the trees and my hair that gave the evening a feeling of intimacy in my mind. It reminded me of a lovers breath fanning my body.

The music was pretty, though I missed songs and lyrics. I can't sing to save my life but I love listening to people who can. When I got chilly, Bill wrapped a blanket around me, and his arms. I leaned against his chest, closed my eyes, and listened to the orchestra. Maybe music without words was just fine. In fact, as I tried to pick out the different sounds, I realised how complicated it was, with different instruments weaving in and out of each other making patterns and shapes.

I found myself breathing with the music, holding the air at each peak, releasing it only when the music permitted. I was vaguely aware that Bill was brushing my hair from my neck, that his cool lips were making a gentle trail down my throat. His fangs scraped across my skin and I felt a flash of fear as I suddenly recalled the last time Bill had fed from me. Images of a dark trunk, that feeling of panic, his mouth at my throat, him thrusting into me uninvited …

He lifted his head sharply. I gasped for breath and snapped out of my flashback, realising he'd felt what I was feeling. I sat up properly and turned to look at him. I was about to apologise for my reaction but he was busy taking his phone from his pocket. He flipped it open and held it to his ear.

"… Right now?" He asked after a brief pause. Then he hung up. Whoever had called him was clearly not chatty. "I'm sorry Sookie we have to leave." He shoved the phone a little too hard into his suit pocket causing the seam to open slightly.

"Oh, OK. What's wrong?" I tried to gather my wits, not sure how I felt about what had just happened. I was confused, had he felt my fear or not? It didn't seem to affect him if he had.

"Nothing that I know of. Eric has summoned me to Fangtasia." I just nodded and started to gather up our stuff. I didn't want to think about the part of me that was relieved Eric had called when he did, or the part of me that was sorry. My feelings for Bill were too conflicted, I'd be glad to get home.

I packed everything up without looking at him. He didn't say anything either. Quickly we were ready to leave. I finally spoke as we headed towards his car.

"Thanks for bringing me Bill. I really liked the concert."

"I'm sorry we had to leave before the end," his tone was formal and distant. I felt like I'd done something wrong. Did he think I was mad we had to leave? I understood he had to follow orders, I'd experienced that first hand plenty – The second time I'd met Eric was because Eric had ordered Bill to take me to Fangtasia so I could interrogate the staff. Bill had made it clear what would happen if we tried to say no.

"It's OK," I said forcing as much understanding into my voice as possible. I suddenly realised that we'd both come in Bill's car. Eric wasn't the sort of vampire that would wait patiently while Bill drove me back to Bon Temps then returned to Shreveport. "Should I get the bus?" I asked uncertainly.

"No, I'll get you home." Bill's voice had gone decidedly frosty so I didn't argue.

Neither of us mentioned Eric again but he seemed to be hovering between us and Bill didn't hold my hand as we walked like he had before, leaving me to stumble slightly on the uneven grass.

[***]

After a brief silent drive, we pulled into the Fangtasia parking lot. The beams from the headlights swept across the line of fang-bangers awaiting admittance as Bill turned into a space, coming to rest on Eric and Pam who were standing outside. They both looked at the car and I saw Eric's face harden. In the driver's seat, Bill stiffened in response.

Pam looked directly at me, a smirk on her face, and gave a little wave. She was in typical Fangtasia garb but not the flowing dress which meant she'd been sitting in the bar but not officially working. She wore black leather pants, steel heeled boots that I thought might be illegal as dangerous weapons in more than one place, and corset-style top that made it clear she did not need to breathe.

Eric was in his usual jeans and t-shirt, but he'd conformed to the universal Fangtasia dress-code by being entirely in black. With the dark material covering his large firm physique, cutting defined lines against his soft vampiric glow and blonde hair, it was no less striking than Pam's outfit.

"I'll leave the keys in the car, climb over the seat and drive yourself home," said Bill tightly, not taking his eyes off Eric. "Do not get out of the car. I'll pick it up from your place later," he added. I thought the stare down going on was a bit much and made a little noise of annoyance. Bill finally dragged his gaze from Eric to lean over and kiss my cheek quickly. Then he climbed out of the car before I could say anything.

"Why is Sookie with you?" Demanded Eric the moment Bill opened the door. His eyes hadn't left the younger vampire even to blink.

"She was with me when you called," Bill managed to keep his tone casual but there was a frosty undercurrent.

"What were you doing?" Eric was clearly not happy that I was with Bill. Maybe Bill was supposed to be working on some vamp business tonight. It's not like Eric had shown any interest in me recently and he hadn't even glanced in my direction since we pulled up, keeping his eyes firmly on Bill the whole time.

"We were at a concert. What do you want Eric?" Bill's tone was bordering on insubordination but Eric didn't react.

He was completely still for a moment, almost frozen, then seemed to reanimate.

"I need some information from your database." He indicated Bill should enter the bar. As Bill walked towards the building Eric's eyes slipped passed him to finally look at me. There was no warmth in his gaze. I pulled up a half smile from somewhere and started to climb over the handbrake into the driver's seat.

At first I'd planned to ignore Bill's warning, get out and walk round, but the blue in Eric's eyes at that moment made me reconsider. I'd once seen a TV show about crevasses that would suddenly appear in ice sheets at the North Pole. The depths were like the blue in Eric's eyes tonight. Vivid and deadly. If you fell into that blue you would never come out again. I shuddered. It was chilly out tonight, better to stay inside the car.

My passenger-to-driver's-seat manoeuvre was less smooth than I'd planned. I had to hitch my skirt right up to manage it. Then my foot got wedged and it took both my hands to free it. Pam and Bill were already out of sight but Eric hadn't moved. His face remained cold as he watched until I was settled behind the steering wheel. Then he turned his back in a deliberate manner and also disappeared inside. I refused to feel hurt as I turned the key to start the engine.

[~~~]

Bill didn't stop by when he came to get his car later that night, or if he did I didn't hear him. When I woke in the morning it was gone. He came into Merlotte's the next night though, as he did almost every night I worked, and kissed my cheek on his way to a table in my section, again as he always did. On the way he acknowledged the couple of calls of 'hey Vampire Bill' and 'alright VB' with a raised hand and a nod.

"Blood?" I asked having followed him to his seat.

"Please." He seemed a bit distant, as if he had something on his mind. It was unnecessary to ask what he wanted of course, it's not like he could drink anything else, but I always felt it was rude if I didn't ask anyway. I didn't go as far as to ask what type, he always had O, my type.

"Everything OK?" I dropped my voice low and tried to keep my question obscure. I didn't know what vampire business Eric had needed him for, but whatever it was, it was always best not to discuss vampire matters in public.

"Fine." The coolness in his voice and the flash in his eye said otherwise but I wasn't going to push.

"Good." I made my smile extra warm to counter-act his chill then went off to get his order.

Merlotte's was busy as usual on a Saturday night. The Louisiana-at-Lafayette's Ragin' Cajuns had whipped New Mexico State, so half the town saw that as a good excuse to come out for Burgers Lafayette and beer. The post-basketball crowd was happy, excitable and loud. I was especially glad of it tonight. Not only did it mean I should do well in tips but I really didn't know what I wanted to say to Bill about our – and there was no way around admitting what it was – date last night. Luckily I was too busy to have to chat with him. That unfortunately didn't stop my brain from chewing the whole thing over all night, making maintaining my shields even harder than normal.

I sidestepped round Hoyt, who after too many beers was showing another one of the road-crew how he would woo Gwyneth Paltrow if he ever met her – the part of Gwyneth being played by a pool cue with a hat on. There was definitely still some attraction between Bill and me. And he had been very gentle and patient over the last few weeks which was really considerate of him, just what I needed. I dropped off the fries with spicy ketchup to some teens. (Another Lafayette speciality that we'd continued to serve in his memory, it was only regular ketchup that had had one of those Avery Island Tabasco peppers suspended in the bottle for a good while. It was a popular challenge for the younger customers to manage a full helping by themselves.) I grabbed the pitcher from their table to refill with coke (they'd be needing it soon). But the moment of terror I'd felt when his fangs had scraped my neck had taken me by surprise. I gave a token whoop along with everyone else as Hoyt lost balance and 'Gwyneth' sent Catfish's beer to the floor. I'd known, even at the time, that he wasn't going to bite me, but the fear had popped out of some place buried deep within me anyway. I delivered two vodka and tonics for Portia Bellefleur and the man she was with. I knew she wanted people to think he was her date, but I also knew he was just a guy she worked with. I still wasn't sure if Bill had felt my fear. Had he stopped and then his phone rang before he could say anything or had he only stopped because his phone rang? With a long practised swivel of my hips, I avoided Portia's work colleague's casually stretched out hand on my way back to the bar and heard he would happily be her date if she wasn't so hung up on the fact that he had a wife already. Stupid shaky shields. I realised I'd never really faced up to what had happened in Jackson. What with the bikers and Weres attacking us on the way home, Dago Guglielmi had stopped by Bill's table to say hi, they were discussing how Dago had gotten himself a date with Brittney Rogers who had been Miss Louisiana in 2003. Bill going off travelling right after, then everything with Eric, then Bill came back, and then he knew about Eric, and now Eric knew about Eric … the emotional slalom became too much for me for a moment, my shields failed completely. Thoughts, emotions and images crashed in on me. I felt my legs wobble.

"Sookie?" I came back to Merlotte's with a snap. Sam was standing before me, one hand holding my elbow to steady me, the other relieving the same arm of the pitcher of coke it was carrying. "You need a break chère?" Glancing at the clock I realised I should have taken my break an hour ago.

"Thanks Sam, yeah, I guess I missed it. We've been so busy tonight." No wonder my shields had failed. I was too embarrassed to look around, I didn't need to see the looks in order to know that the few people who'd noticed my wobble had simply put it down to 'crazy-Sookie' being just that, I'd have gotten more concern from Pam.

"You want to go to my office?" Sam was looking at me carefully. I could tell – even if I hadn't been able to pick up more from him than usual with the physical contact – that he had a good idea what had happened.

"Please." I lowered my eyes apologetically. Sam, at least, was understanding. He should be able to expect his employees not to have a breakdown in the middle of their shift though. I should stay more focused at work. He rubbed my arm soothingly.

"Come on." He turned and placed the pitcher I'd been about to deliver on the right table while I headed out back and tried to rebuild my shields.

Sam entered his office behind me a moment later and shut the door, dimming the bar noise to a muted mumble. "What happened?"

"I'm sorry Sam, I shouldn't have let it happen. I got distracted that's all. It takes focus to keep my shields up and …" I took a slow deep breath still trying to get myself together.

"What distracted you?" Sam asked ignoring my apology, he never let me apologise for my disability, bless him. He was poised to be angry, he knew the sorts of things I sometimes heard. I shook my head to calm him.

"Just got some stuff on my mind, Jason and all." Standing in Sam's office with him, still thinking about my issues with Bill, I remembered the night after the fire, kissing Sam, Bill walking in … What a mess. I avoided my boss's eye.

"Did something happen with Bill?" Sam asked as if he had read my mind.

"No. Yes. Well, kinda." I shrugged. He was watching me expectantly so I sunk into his spare chair and gave him the run down on our 'date'. "I don't know Sam, sometimes with Bill it seems so easy, you know? And I think, maybe that's because it's right. But then, so much has happened between us, and he really hurt me. I can't help thinking, is it easy just because it's familiar? Because I'm scared of moving on?" I shook my head. "Sorry, Sam I shouldn't be bringing this to work or going on at you about it. I'm sure you're sick of all my drama."

"Sook, I'm your friend. You know I'm always here for you if you need me." He was perched on his desk facing me and clearly happy to talk more. He looked a little uncomfortable and paused to pull at a loose thread on his shirt cuff before he asked the question that was on his mind. "Does Bill know about … when he was in Peru?" I blushed and looked down.

Why was it that my sex life had become such an open topic of discussion? From what I knew, which let's face it thanks to my quirk was a lot, it was really pretty limited by most people's standards. I'd only had sex with two men. OK they were both vampires and I'd managed to have a lot of sex with them, especially considering how little time Eric and I were together, but still. I sighed and nodded, yes Bill knew about Eric. I knew he wasn't happy about it but he'd had sex with at least two other people since me, and I was sure there were more, in Peru and the other places he'd been.

"Do you love him?" I wasn't sure if Sam was asking about Bill or Eric, but I didn't have an answer in either case. I shrugged. "Maybe you should talk to Bill. Tell him where you're at, even if it is that you don't know how you feel. See what he's thinking," he said.

I knew that was what I should do, I just kept putting it off. I nodded reluctantly. Sam laughed. "I know," he said. "Easier said than done."

"I'd better get back to work," I said after a pause. "My boss is such a taskmaster, he'll be real ticked if I take too long on my break." I rolled my eyes and sighed in a put-upon way, then winked at Sam.

"Better believe it, get on out there and hustle some drinks," he ordered mock-sternly. I saluted him. At the door I turned back with a gratefully warm smile.

"Thanks Sam."

"Any time chère."

A/N: So we did get a little bit of Viking too, but since I know that is not enough for you all I promise he will be back soon *waves flag of truce* :) As always all comments, thoughts, and suggestions welcome. xx