Chapter 2

Tommy wiped down the booth in Merlottes with vigorous concentration, trying to keep his mind focused on his job rather than what had transpired the last few days. It was almost crazy to think that not even a week ago he had been locked up in that cage, half starved and exhausted. Now he had a job, his own place to live, a second pair of clothes for himself. And he owed it all to Sookie and Sam.

He had never had an easy life, that was for sure. Every since his dad found out that he could shift just like his mom, Tommy had been placed in a dark life. At first it was simple stuff, chicken fights and dog fights, stuff that even Tommy's mom could handle on a day to day basis. But then things started getting more extreme, crowds wanted to see big game fight, and soon Tommy was shifting into bears and all the big cats. It didn't help that if he even suggested a word of protest he would be beaten senseless by his dad and then chastised by his mom for starting shit.

"Fuck him" Tommy whispered beneath his breathe. That asshole was dead now, and that's all that mattered. He was an orphan, and thank fuckin baby jesus it happened now instead of later.

Tommy sniffed and ran the dirty dishes into the back where the cook told him to go wipe down the bar for Terry. Tommy nodded and grabbed a fresh cloth, happy to be working with normal people in a normal setting. It didn't matter that he was a bus boy, he'd be the best damn bus boy he could be if it meant staying out of a cage.

Tommy moved past the mirror that sat behind the bar and took a quick look at himself. His facial scruff has finally been trimmed up, but he liked to keep it just because if he didn't have it he looked like a scrawny teenager. His eyes seemed almost permanently slanted from years of looking out of the cage to a hot sun, and his tanned skin showed for it.

"Gotta quit thinkin about it" he told himself. He was out now, he could rest in peace finally.

It didn't help though that he had nearly killed a dozen shifters the other night trying to get Sookie's daughter back. That had really gotten his heart pumping, being the natural born killer he was.

All that wasn't going to matter now. He had a home, he had good food to eat, he had even found an old motorcycle Sam had offered to let him fix up and use.

Things were going pretty good, and it wasn't even Monday yet.

Tommy heard the door to the entrance open, but didn't look up to see Sam walk in and go behind him.

"How's it goin Tommy?" Sam called out from the office.

"Good sir" Tommy said gruffly.

Sookie came over and placed a tray on the bar, giving Tommy a nice smile before heading back to see what Sam was up to. Tommy liked getting smiled at, it was better than being gawked at in the middle of an arena.

The door to the entrance dinged again and this time Tommy found himself looking up for some reason.

And then he saw her.

It was like time had slowed down from the moment his eyes met hers, like a summer breeze had just blew in threw the door. That dark blonde hair fell like flowers around her shoulders and down her back, while those bluer than blue eyes looked around Merlottes like they had seen than many times before. She smelt like cherry wine and her lips were as pink as roses.

She was drop dead gorgeous, and Tommy stared at her like he had just seen his very first trans am.

Finally she looked his way and Tommy felt all the air let out of his chest. He moved so fast he thought he would push Terry over as he raced back to the kitchen, wanting to stay out of sight from the angel that had just practically walked into the room.

"Damn Tommy what are you doin?" Holly said staring at him for a moment.

Tommy looked over at the waitress and realized how stupid he looked.

"Nothin" he said throwing the wash cloth into the hamper "Just had to get rid of that."

"And nearly break the door down?" she said with a raised eye brow. But Tommy paid no heed to her, he was too busy watching the angel sit down at a booth, her eyes looking out the window with daydreams dancing in those blues.

"Tommy I need your help over here" Holly said "You can make eyes at some girl later when the sun goes down."

"Yes ma'm" Tommy said peeling away from the door and helping Holly cut up vegetables.

The evening passed but Tommy was still thinking about the blue eyed girl. It didn't matter who she was, he needed to see her, needed to hear her voice. Tommy closed his eyes for a moment to just imagine what her voice sounded like. Soon, Merlottes closed up for the night and Tommy found himself walking to Sam's trailer, his hands in his pockets as he decided that maybe he should just calm down about the dream girl. He didn't need that fire in his veins right now, he had just gotten out of a bad situation, no need to go get tangled up in some girl.

Tommy still found himself stopping in the middle of the parking lot, looking back at the closed restaurant and hoping for a moment she would come in again tomorrow.

But when Tommy looked up, his dream girl was standing there, under the light of Merlottes, with another girl beside her, talking up a storm and giggling like a teenager.

Tommy felt a smile spread across his face and started to move towards her, but stopped all of a sudden.

He couldn't just go up and talk to some girl he hadn't even met before. He may have been stuck in a cage for years, but he still knew that wasn't decent.

Suddenly two pale fellas came out of the darkness, and Tommy could sense the girls did not know the two guys. The red headed one his dream girl had been talking to looked fierce as her ice blue eyes trailed both of the males while blue eyes took a instinctive step back.

"Good girl" Tommy said to himself "Don't get caught up with those two."

Tommy moved closer in the shadows, getting prepared to step in if need be.

"Come on sugar" one of the pale guys said "You can share her, we'll only take a sip."

"I'm only telling you once" the red head said as fangs bared out at the two "You better back off, and it's not really me you should be worried about."

Dream girl was standing as still as a flower, her blue eyes turning into a raging storm across the ocean as the two pale fella's (who Tommy had now figured out were vamps) still tried to harass the red head into "giving up" the dream girl. Tommy couldn't take his eyes off of her, his body pulling to her like a magnet. He admired the way she was calm and collected, but inside boiling with rage. This was no ordinary girl, this was a lady, and Tommy was smitten with her bravery.

"Listen bitch" the other one finally spoke "'We know that's the Changeling and you are not getting in our way for our meal ticket."

They swiped fast at the red head, who must have been a new vampire because she moved gracefully but lacked the speed that the other two had.

Dream girl moved away, bolting for Merlottes door, but the two had her in seconds. She screamed and tugged, her mouth snapping at the two to try and bite them away, but they had a good hold on her.

Tommy moved without thinking. His body fast as lighting as he came up on one of them, his fist slamming into the lower back, knocking the vamp down as he ripped the arm off the other.

Blood spurted everywhere, covering Tommy and the dream girl as her friend pulled her away fast from the bloody scene.

One arm was flailing around as his companion got up, ready to duke it out with Tommy. But Tommy had been in this situation one too many times, and he moved fast without hesitation, his fists flying one by one at the vamp.

He sucker punched the pale guy twice in the face, nearly knocking a fang out as he side swept him to the ground.

"Here!" the red head said sending a piece of wood hurling into the air.

Tommy caught it fast and before the vampire could get up, Tommy twisted around and slammed the wood in the chest of his opponent, a spurt of blood exploding everywhere in a sticky mess.

One arm had finally quit flailing and red head slowly took care of him by administering her own death blow with a piece of firewood she had found.

Tommy stood breathing hard from the battle as Dream girl looked over at him with wide eyes.

"Sorry" he said not really knowing what else to say.

She stood up, shocked and awed by what had just happened as she looked down at the bloody goo of a mess that stood before Tommy's feet. She looked back at her friend, who was now also staring at Tommy with a keen look.

Dream girl looked at him with eyes as big as moons and simply said

"Who are you?"