The scent of honey grew stronger as Sookie approached the stretch of road Warlow lay beside. She smelled SO GOOD. He grimaced and pushed the thought from his mind. He was almost certain his vampire half couldn't overpower him during daylight hours, but ALMOST certain wasn't ABSOLUTELY certain, and when it came to Sookie, he couldn't afford risk, not matter how small. He had been preparing for this very moment for the thousands of years and he wouldn't lose focus now.

He groaned in pretended pain, loud enough for Sookie to notice. He wouldn't directly call for help unless it was absolutely necessary. It would be much better if she came to him of her own accord? He heard her footsteps stop. Excellent, she'd seen him. There was a second's pause and then the footsteps resumed, marching right past him!

"No. Not today. I have a job." The words were spoken aloud, but clearly not meant for him. She was talking to herself, trying to convince herself to do something that went against her instincts. He knew from bitter experience that fighting one's instincts was an almost impossible task. He gave a louder exclamation of pain. The footsteps halted again.

"Oh gosh dang it!" Success! As she came down from the road Warlow schooled his thoughts to align with the identity he had concocted down to the southern accent, "You okay?" He kept his eyes squeezed tightly closed, as though he was in great pain.

"No."

"You need me to call you an ambulance?" Warlow shook his head emphatically, thinking NO AMBULENCE as loud as loudly as he could. "Do you know what happened to you?" Suddenly there was an odd sensation in Warlow's mind. It was as though a warm presence was spilling into all the empty spaces of his mind.

He smelled my blood! My damn blood!

"Vampire attacked me." Suddenly Sookie's voice was inside his mind.

Are you a fairy?

I'm a halfling.

Me too. Sookie smiled at him briefly. The warm presence rushed out of his head and he was alone in his mind again. He knew he should be grateful. It would be much harder to maintain the charade if Sookie listened to his every thought. He realized with surprised that he wasn't grateful. He was alone again.

"Okay, you need a hospital." No, that didn't suit his purpose at all.

"No. Hospitals don't know what to do with fairies." Even if he was truly injured, a circumstance as likely as the sun rising in the west, Warlow doubted even a supernatural doctor could would know what to do with a vampire-fairy hybrid.

Sookie frowned as he twisted in "pain". Abruptly she grabbed his arm and hauled him to his feet. Together they tottered out of the ditch. The "injury" to his leg gave Warlow an excuse to lean into her slightly as he limped. It took them only fifteen minutes to reach Sookie's front door.

"You know, you didn't have to do this." Sookie's reaction to finding him in that ditch told him a lot about her nature. Plenty of people would have walked past. Others would have called the ambulance and went on their way with a clear conscience. How many women would have invited a strange man back into their homes, let alone partly carried him there? 1 in a 100? 1 in a 1000? 1 in 10,000?

"I know." Sookie's tone was dry, making Warlow think back to her initial attempt to pass him without stopping. What a puzzle his intended was proving to be. Most people had selfish instincts that they unapologetically indulged. Sookie had selfless instincts they she tried unsuccessfully to override. The question was: Why? No one fights their own nature without reason. He guessed that Sookie's generosity had brought her trouble in the past. It was a sad fact of life that good was rarely returned with good.

"Thank you." She deposited him on her couch and observed him speculatively.

"Did you get a look at the vampire who attacked you?" That was a strange thing to ask. It hadn't occurred to him concoct a description. Was she testing him? No. If she suspected him she would be listening to his thoughts, and he would feel her presence.

"No. It all happened so fast." Sookie seemed to accept that response and quickly moved on to her next query.

"How did you get away?" That question, fortunately one he had anticipated.

"I blasted it." His eyes flickered to her face. He had no idea exactly how much Sookie understood about her fae nature. Sookie had mastered mind-reading at an early age, but manifesting light was a completely different skill. No surprise registered on her face, suggesting Sookie did know about this method of self-defense. It begged the question…How? Someone must have told her at least what she was. Who? How much did she know about her heritage? How much did she know about him?

"Well…just lie here and I'll get some warm water and bandages." Warlow couldn't help but smile. Sookie may not have grown up within fairy culture, but the fae impulse to nurture was in her blood. His mind briefly flashed back to his adolescent years when he'd believed himself enamored of a fae girl named Abelia.

He'd tried to impress her by hunting a lion by himself and gotten a mauled shoulder his trouble. Abelia had honored his request not to tell his mother about his fool-hardy actions, and she'd bandaged him, all the while haranguing him on his great idiocy. He chuckled at the memory. Sookie turned and looked at him curiously.

"What?"

"Nothin'. It's just, uh, you just remind me of someone." He'd carried a torch for Abelia until the day another tribe of fae had come to their village. All the eligible unmated fae had danced together, as tradition dedicated, while the older fae looked on.

He remembered the anticipation, the excitement in the air. Each time hand touch hand there was a collective intake of breath as both dancers and spectators waited for that sacred spark of light that signified two life-mates connecting for the first time. At last the spark appeared, between Abelia and one of the other's tribes young males. The marriage contracts had been drawn up immediately and they'd been wed three nights later.

"Who?" He paused a moment, trying to be as honest as he could be, while not breaking character.

"First love in high school. I think you're a little nicer though." Abelia was considerably less gentle than Sookie, both physically and verbally. Whatever irritation Sookie felt at being a nursemaid to a stranger seemed to be directed at herself and not at him.

"You probably banged your head along with your other injuries." Sookie's tone seemed light and playful, but the way she turned away from him betrayed her embarrassment at his comment. His words had made her uncomfortable, perhaps because he was still a stranger to her. It was time for a subtle retreat.

"She couldn't take a compliment either." He allowed his eyes to flicker eyes as though he had drifted off into unconsciousness.

"Hey, wait a second, you're not going to fall asleep on me are you?! I'm already late for work. Oh fudge!" Sookie stomped off into the next room, apparently fooled by his feigned slumber. When she had retrieved the first aid supplies, she returned to the room, much more quietly than she'd left it.

She began to work on his chest wound, wetting a cloth with warm water, then gently dabbing at the blood on his chest. Any discomfort he felt at the light pressure on his injury was more than balanced by the pleasure he derived from having her fingertips so near his exposed skin. Sookie placed a square bandage over the gash and moved on to his arm.

Warlow had forgotten how intimate the act of being tended was, both for the healer and the patient. It felt good, allowing Sookie to care for him. It made him feel...connected to her, and he hadn't felt connected to anything for a very long time.

He opened his eyes just in time to watch her apply the second bandage. Their eyes met as she shyly smiled at him. One of Sookie's fingertips brushed his arm and a bright light appeared. A hot powerful tingle raced up his arm. The spark. He had expected it and yet simultaneously found it impossible to believe. It was really happening.

"What's that about?" Apparently the mating phenomenon was one of the things that Sookie hadn't yet learned about her inherited biology.

"I have no idea." He smiled through the lie, although was dying to enlighten her. Ecstatic as he was for the physical proof that he and Sookie belonged together, he knew she wasn't ready to hear it. He had to constantly remind himself that Sookie had been raised completely ignorant of her heritage. Things that were understood and accepted by other fae women would frighten and anger her. There was a time when even he had resented what he felt was the injustice of 'destined mates'.

The week of celebration following Abelia's wedding had been a bitter one for him. His mother had found him on the third day of reveling, sulking in their hut. She had kissed him and told to let his anger go. She'd said that one day he would find is true intended and on that day he would understand. He hadn't believed her then, but today, thousands of years later he knew she'd spoken true. He flexed his fingers, savoring the sensation the sacred spark had gifted him with.

"It wasn't long ago that I wanted to get rid of my light." Warlow's nearly jumped out of chest at her words. Get rid of her light?! If she had succeeded the consequences would have been disastrous! He forced calm into voice before responding. She clearly hadn't succeeded and that was the crucial thing.

"Why would you do that?" He needed to convince her to never again attempt such foolishness. He couldn't begin to comprehend what would cause her to desire it in the first place. Who would want to be human when they could be fae?

"I'm sick of being different, sick of all the pain." Sookie's eyes met his and full comprehension flowed through him. He knew that bone-tired look all too well; it was the expression of a soul wearied by isolation. Sookie may have managed to superficially integrate herself into the human world, but she'd never truly belong there. Even if she'd wanted to forget that fact, he was sure the thoughts of humans surrounding her offered constant reminders.

Warlow remembered the very first time he'd laid eyes on Sookie in the playground outside her school. He'd recognized her from the photographs he'd seen inside her parents' home. She'd been sitting by herself, drawing pictures in the dirt with a stick, occasionally shooting furtive glances at her classmates. She'd resembled the grown woman from his vision, but he'd tried not to get his hopes up.

The knowledge the fae elder had given him had been limited. She'd told him that his mate would be the first fae-born female of Jon Stackhouse's line, but the elder had given him no indication of when he could expect his betrothed to arrive. He thought the task of finding his intended would be simple once he'd located Jon Stackhouse, and convinced him to agree to the marriage contract, but as the generations passed the family tree branched far and wide. For three hundred years he's been perpetually on the hunt, chasing down every errant strand of the bloodline. By the time he'd reached Sookie he'd tested almost a hundred potential female Stackhouses.

The moment he'd peeked into Sookie's thoughts, he'd known he'd finally found what he'd been looking for. Sookie had been reliving a memory of one of her classmates calling her, 'a freak'. Sookie'd remembered the teacher scolding the student aloud, but silently agreeing with him in her thoughts. Warlow had felt an instantaneous wave of empathy stemming from his own marrow deep understanding of the loneness that came with being the perpetual outsider.

"Yeah." The word seemed insufficient to express every thought flying through his head at that moment. He wanted to take her in his arms and somehow force the memories of pain to flow out of her and into him. He wanted to tell her that she'd never ever have to feel alone again. Unfortunately none of that was a possibly at the moment. He slowly sat up so he could at least speak to her at eye level.

"You know, sometimes, no matter how hard you try to do the right thing, it just turns out wrong." He thought of the night he'd tried to explain himself to Sookie's parents. He'd thought at the time it was the right thing to do for everyone concerned.

He'd wanted Sookie's parents to understand how special their daughter was, so they could teach her to celebrate her fae nature, rather than make her ashamed of it. He'd also thought that it was only fair that they knew their time with their daughter was limited, so they could cherish the years they had. Finally he'd wanted Sookie to grow-up with the knowledge he existed. He'd hoped the idea of him would be a comfort to her, as the idea of her had been a comfort for him through the lonely millennia. He'd acted with the best of intentions, but it had still been a terrible mistake, and Sookie had suffered for it.

"I know we only just met, but I can tell that you're a good person." There was many things about Sookie he had yet to learn, but on that score Warlow was utterly convinced.

"Doesn't seem to matter much. I'm more of a liability these days." A liability? That was the last word in the world he would connect with Sookie. Sookie was kind and brave, and should never term herself as anything less than the princess she was. For a moment he was tempted to tell her so, but his reason stopped him. Sookie reminded him of a wild horse, if he tried to approach too quickly, she'd spook and bolt. Slowly and carefully was the smartest way to proceed forward.

"Well…I did not mean to impose on you like this." He stood and limped across the floor toward the door.

"You sure you're okay to move?" She really was a very compassionate soul. Perhaps if he was lucky she would offer to let him stay with her.

"You have been very kind." He hobbled deliberately toward the front of her house, stopping only when she called out to him.

"Wait. I don't know your name." He smiled at her reluctance to let him go. His efforts had apparently not been in vain.

"Ben. You?"

"Sookie. You know where you're headed?" Warlow looked out the front window as though the answer lay out on the distant horizon.

"Wherever the road takes me." Provided of course it led right back to Sookie's doorstep.

"Road didn't really cooperate last time." Warlow chuckled at Sookie's dry humor. All in all he would say the road cooperated rather well by leading Sookie to him.

"I'll be alright. You know, it's been a long time since anyone has shown me an ounce of human kindness. It makes the big bad world seem a little less lonely." The words may have been designed to persuade Sookie to ask him to stay, but that didn't make them any less true. Sookie had always been an ideal to him, a goal for him to work toward. The reality of her kindness and compassion warmed him in a way that no abstract ever could have. He waited for a beat, but Sookie choose not to respond. Well, it was worth a shot.

"Goodbye, Sookie." He opened the door, and was about to walk through when Sookie unexpectedly spoke up from behind him.

"There is a place. A safe place for fairies." Sookie had knowledge of a local fairy haven and she was willing to share it with him? That was very bad news. She had no way of knowing that she was offering the rough equivalent of heroin to a recovering drug addict. How could he possibly refuse the information without appearing suspicious?

"I could take you there if you want." A walk through the woods with Sookie on a beautiful summer's day? It was too good an opportunity to pass up. He'd be fine. If he was strong enough to handle the prison dimension, he could certain withstand a little temptation. He was far from a newborn vampire anymore, and he has been cultivating self-control for quite some time. Everything would be fine…he hoped.