A/N: Thanks for still sticking around! Y'all continue to rock my socks off with the response you are giving this story. I hope you enjoy the longer chapter and I'm sure it will make a lot of you happy and clear up some concerns. Maybe. Then again, maybe not.

Many thanks to my awesome beta, Miss Construed. I don't know what I'd do without you! (If you aren't reading her story, "Sorry Ladies, Northman's Off the Market," you should be! The link is on my profile and under my favorites.)

Disclaimer: CH owns the characters, I just wanted to play with them for a bit.

SPOV

The week following Niall's visit and Bill's arrival to town was fairly uneventful for me and I was thankful for that. I didn't want to think about my upcoming engagement, but it seemed to be all I could think about. Bill had come into Merlotte's for a few hours every night since I first met him, and I had begun to think Gran might be right. I had no clue how old he was, but if he wasn't the vampire Niall was in negotiations with, it was pretty coincidental that he showed up the night after I agreed to this whole thing. With that in mind, I expended a little extra effort to get to know Bill; I tried to carry on some conversation with him as much as I could between tables and, while he didn't want to answer all of my questions, he was pleasant enough and seemed to enjoy the conversations for the most part. He definitely opened up more once I told him that I had known of vamps and others Supes since I was seven. I gave him a vague answer when he questioned how I found out, telling him that my family had connections to Supes several generations back and had passed the information forward to select members in each new generation. It was sort of the truth.

The main gossip in Merlotte's tonight was the death of Dawn Green, another waitress at Merlotte's. It was the second death in the last week and the police didn't know what to make of it. Dawn and Maudette, the other victim, had both been strangled, but they also had fang marks on the inside of their thighs, leaving the police uncertain as to who, or what, had killed them. The second part of the gossip revolved around my brother as he was the prime suspect.

When the police stopped by to question Gran and me about Jason's whereabouts on various nights and who he hung out with, we were a little confused. I knew my brother didn't treat women with the proper respect, but I was sure he wouldn't kill anyone. The police couldn't even find a motive for why he'd kill those two women. Jason came by the house for lunch to fill Gran and me in on what was going on, though he didn't have much of a choice after Gran called him to tell him that he had some explaining to do and he better show up for lunch if he knew what was good for him.

He explained that since he had dated both women several times and had been seen with Dawn the night before her death, the police decided to try to pin the murders on him. I gave him a look, knowing that there was more information than he was letting on. Peeking inside his head, I found out that he had made sex tapes with both women and, while he didn't know if the police had found them, he was scared that they had and that was why he was a prime suspect. I decided Gran didn't need to know this information and backed off of him a bit.

Before he left, he asked me, "Sookie, I'm in a real bind here. Do you think you could, um, you know, look inside people's heads to find out who the real murderer is?"

I was stunned. Jason had rarely even acknowledged my telepathy, and now he was asking me to use it? Of course, it was to help him so I shouldn't be surprised.

"Jason, it doesn't just work like that. I can't get any thoughts that I want. I only hear what someone is thinking at the time. I'd have to be inside the right person's head at the exact right moment that they were thinking about the murders. It's not likely that I'll catch anything."

"That's fine Sook, and I'll understand if you don't find out anything, but I really need your help. I may not be the greatest guy in the world when it comes to women, but I'd never murder anyone."

I sighed in defeat, knowing there was really no way that I could say no to my brother when he needed me. I let him know I would try and he responded by giving me a hug and saying, "Great, thanks Sook. I'll see you later," and hopped in his truck to head back to work.

So, here I was at work and I had spent the majority of the night peeking into the heads of our customers. I wasn't happy about doing it, but I couldn't let my brother go down for something he didn't do. That's how a new idea began to form. I "heard" Bud Dearborn, the town Sheriff, think about how both women had been seen frequently at Fangtasia, some vampire club in Shreveport. Bud thought that Dawn and Maudette had gotten what they deserved since they had been there; he was wary of vamps, so he had no intentions of going there to question anyone himself. I knew if I was going to get any answers out of that club that I would have to go myself, though I wasn't too fond of going alone.

I had an earlier shift today and got off work at eleven o'clock. I stopped back by Bill's table before I left to tell him goodnight and to tell him I would see him in a few nights. What he said next was unexpected, but I found myself surprisingly pleased when he asked, "I'm guessing you have off the next few nights, yes? Would you mind if I called on you tomorrow evening? You have mentioned that your grandmother would like to meet me, and I find that I would like to meet her as well."

"Um, yes, I do have the next few nights off," I replied as I tried to get my thoughts to straighten out. "It would be lovely if you came over to our house tomorrow night. I'll let Gran know. I'm sure she'll be very excited."

"Very well. Have a pleasant evening and I will see you tomorrow night then."

As I drove home, I found myself, again, considering the possibility that Bill was the man Niall was negotiating with, and what it would be like to be married to him. I was still leery about the fangs, but Bill had grown on me a little bit over the past week and I found myself somewhat attracted to him. His mind was a blank; I found comfort in that and finally saw one advantage to being married to a vampire.

I was home before I got too deep in thought and ran into the house to tell Gran that Bill would be coming over the next day. Not surprisingly, she got very excited and began planning what needed to be done before he arrived.

"Oh! I'm glad you have tomorrow off. We have lots of cleaning to do. I haven't cleaned that area rug in a year, I bet. And it's been at least a week since we've dusted or vacuumed."

"Gran, I don't think a guy who sleeps in the ground really cares about the rug, or if we have a week's worth of dust in the house," I replied, even though I knew there was no way I would win this battle.

"Well, if I'm not doing it for him, I'm doing it for me, so I can feel proud," she replied back. "Besides, how do you know where he sleeps? And this could very well be the man that you are going to marry; do you really want his first impression of your home to be that of a dirty house?"

I refrained from rolling my eyes, but couldn't help responding, "I don't know where he sleeps, but I can't see the old Compton house having a light tight space, so the ground is my best guess. As for his first impression of this house, I don't really care what he thinks about how I keep house. If it is him, he has to marry me anyway; and if it isn't him, then no need to impress him." I started to walk away but stopped when a thought occurred to me, which I expressed to Gran to try to smooth things over, "On second thought Gran, perhaps it is smart to clean the house. No faeries have been over in the past few days, but the house probably does still smell like them. I don't really want a vamp in our house if it does, and since we are keeping the fae thing a secret, it's probably smart to try to cover their smell."

"See there, one more reason to clean this house. Now get to bed. We have lots to do tomorrow and I expect you to be up early to get it done."

I sighed and headed off to get ready for bed.

Sure enough, Gran was knocking at my door bright and early to make sure that I was up. Thankfully, she already had coffee made and I grabbed a cup while she set a plate of French toast and sausage down at my place at the table. I ate quickly, knowing that Gran was eager to get started.

Gran did not disappoint. She vacuumed, dusted, and mopped while I scrubbed the bathrooms. She also had me empty the trash cans and sweep the porch. I never did understand sweeping a porch when it was outside, but I did as Gran requested. Just as I finished up Gran came out to get me for dinner.

After dinner she shooed me off to shower and get ready, requesting that I wear a nice dress. I laughed to myself at Gran's excitement; this was the first vampire she was meeting after all, and I headed off to do as I was told to make Gran happy. I chose my blue cotton-knit dress with little daisies all over it. It was tighter than Gran liked, but since she was convinced Bill was my future betrothed I figured I could get away with it.

I came out of my room just as there was a knock on the front door. Gran emerged from the kitchen and pushed me towards the door so I would greet Bill and invite him in. I had learned the basics early on regarding vamps and invitations and was fully prepared to uninvite him if it should be necessary. I was even considering rescinding his invitation after he left to be careful. Sure, he seemed decent enough, but I was raised to not trust vamps and I didn't know enough about him yet to leave that invite open.

"Good evening, Bill. Please come in," I greeted him warmly.

"Good evening, Sookie," he replied as he walked through the door.

Gran came into the living room at about that time and I made the introductions. "Gran, this is Bill Compton. Bill, this is my Gran, Adele Hale Stackhouse."

"Pleased to meet you ma'am," Bill said as he picked up her hand and kissed the back of it.

"Oh no. The pleasure is all mine! I'm sure Sookie has told you what a history buff I am. I think the Great Reveal was such a blessing. If people would get over themselves, they would realize what a treasure trove of information you all are. I'm so thankful that you've come over, and I'd love it if you'd let me pick your brain about what you've seen and done sometime, you know regarding our nation's history." I groaned internally. I had hoped to avoid this tonight but Gran really was too excited for her own good.

Luckily, Bill didn't seem to mind and responded quickly, "Well, thank you ma'am. I sure do wish more people were of the same mind as you. And I'd be willing to answer some of your questions anytime. If you'd like to ask a few questions tonight, I'd be more than happy to answer them for you."

"Oh dear! Aren't you a gentleman! Well, let's have a seat and get comfortable." Gran chose the recliner, leaving me to sit next to Bill on the couch. I perched on the edge and turned towards Bill and Gran while she started in on her questions. "First off, I'm a member of the Descendants of the Glorious Dead, a Civil War remembrance group. Were you around during that time? I so want to meet someone who was."

"Yes ma'am, I was. In fact, I was still human then and was a Confederate soldier myself."

I could see Gran bursting at the seams with excitement with that statement. As Gran launched into some questions about the Civil War and what life was like back then, I took the time to consider Bill's age. If he was human during the Civil War, he couldn't be more than 150 years old, which meant he was definitely not the vamp Niall was in negotiations with. I knew now that I would have to tread lightly, while also trying to get some more information about Bill. I needed to find out what side he was on without giving too much information about myself away, and I had to figure out how to do it soon since my engagement would be announced in about a week. I was concerned that if he was not loyal to my future husband he would stop being so open with me after the announcement. I supposed befriending him wouldn't be that horrible or difficult. He certainly seemed very fond of me already and my plan began to form.

I was still determined to go to Fangtasia, but now I had the perfect person to escort me. I wasn't sure how much convincing it would take, or if I would have to reveal my telepathy to him in order to convince him. I knew that there was only one more week until the negotiations would be finalized and the engagement announced, so I figured it couldn't hurt too much by revealing my telepathy at this point. Plus, if I really needed to, I could use a spell or "pop" away. It might reveal my fae heritage, but I was also sure Bill wouldn't last long enough to tell anyone about that if he tried to attack or kidnap me.

The trip to Fangtasia would serve two purposes. One, I would be able to find out if anyone knew anything about Maudette or Dawn; and two, I would have plenty of time to find out more information about Bill.

"Sookie!" Gran yelled at me, bringing me out of my musings.

"What? Oh. Sorry. I was just thinking about…something," I responded.

"Yes, clearly," Gran scolded me. "Bill was trying to ask you if you'd like to take a walk with him. I'm getting a little tired so I think you should go on."

"Oh. Yeah, I guess that would be okay. Are you sure you don't need me to help you with anything Gran?" I asked, partly to be polite and partly because I was a little nervous about being alone with Bill. Silly, since my plan would put me in a car with him tomorrow night, alone.

"No dear, I'm fine. You two go on now. Have a lovely night, and it was a pleasure meeting you Bill. Thank you for being so patient and answering all of this old lady's questions."

"Not at all ma'am. It was a pleasure meeting you as well. I assure you I will return Sookie to you safely," Bill responded and we headed out the door.

We walked up the driveway and I felt Bill's stare. It wasn't the kind of stare someone has when they think you are crazy or strange - I was very familiar with that kind of stare. No, this was a very different kind of stare, and I blushed because of it and asked "what?"

"You are a very beautiful woman Sookie," Bill responded smoothly.

"Oh, um, thank you," I floundered back.

"You are quite welcome. Thank you again for allowing me to come over tonight and for walking with me."

"You're welcome. I know Gran enjoyed hearing everything you told her. I can't remember the last time I saw her so excited," I replied with a laugh.

"Your grandmother is quite a charming woman. She has a lot of energy for someone her age. I very much enjoyed talking with her. It is nice to be able to share my history without being judged because I am a vampire. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad for the Great Reveal, because it means we no longer have to hide what we are, at least in theory, but there are many hurdles in overcoming what many humans have been taught about us."

"Yes, I'd imagine so. Is it weird for you being on the other side of that?" I asked before realizing that question might be slightly offensive. I found it interesting that he had once owned slaves, and had lived through their journey to getting the same rights he had as a white man, and now he was in the position of being in a group that had to now fight for the same rights everyone else had. He looked at me with confusion, so I explained my question for him.

"Ah, yes. Well, I had never thought of it like that. I suppose it is rather interesting when you look at it that way. It is definitely frustrating that humans claim to be so tolerant and liberal, and yet will not accept us for who we are; there is much fear because of legends and myths, and it will simply take time for those stories to leave the collective psyche, if it ever does. When you are immortal though, patience is something that is easily afforded, so we will continue to fight for our rights. Eventually people will adjust to our existence, and then change will begin to happen."

Huh. Good answer. "Well, I don't really know what to say to that." The silence overcame us again, though it wasn't uncomfortable or awkward.

After we had walked a little further, I got up the courage to ask Bill to take me to Fangtasia. He seemed amused and curious and asked, "Why would you want to go there Sookie? You don't seem to be the fangbanger type, and you know far too much about vampires to be the curious visitor."

I rolled my eyes and replied, "I heard that Dawn and Maudette, the two women that were murdered, frequented the club. I wanted to find out if anyone had seen them, or know who they might have been, um, hanging out with."

"Sookie, no one there is likely to talk to you. They are pretty secretive about any outside activities there. Besides, shouldn't you let the police handle the investigation?"

I snorted at that comment and replied, "The police have my brother as a prime suspect, and they think Dawn and Maudette got what they deserved anyways. They won't be going to Fangtasia to ask any questions."

"You seem awfully distrustful of your police officers. Even if the police do not go, what information do you think you can gain? Why do you think anyone will talk to you?"

I was getting angry because it was clear that Bill thought I was either overly hopeful, or a bit of a flake for even considering this idea. It was clear that I would have to reveal my telepathy and pray for the best. I shored up my nerve and said, "I'm telepathic."

"You're what?" Bill asked, surprised.

"I'm telepathic. I can hear people's thoughts." At that he looked wary so I quickly clarified, "Don't worry, just humans and Werewolves and other weres. I can't hear vamps. But it's how I know the police won't go to Fangtasia. It's also why I don't really need anyone to talk to me. If I can just show Dawn and Maudette's pictures to a couple of people, they won't need to tell me anything, their thoughts will. Of course, it would be more helpful to question the staff, and I'd like to try, but you are probably right and they won't want to talk to me. I've got to try though. If I don't find out something, Jason could go to jail for the rest of his life for crimes he definitely did not commit. I've already tried listening to the customers at Merlotte's, and I've gotten nothing."

I looked up at him, unsure of what his reaction would be to that flood of information. He seemed to think it over for a few minutes and then responded, "Very well, but you must listen to me at all times while we are there. Not all vampires are as nice as I am, and some do not care if you are already with another human or vampire. If they want you, they will try just about anything to get you for themselves. And do not, under any circumstances, reveal that you are telepathic. Understood?"

I knew vamps weren't to be trusted, but he just made the vamps of Fangtasia sound downright sinister. I was wondering if I should rethink my brilliant plan, but I knew I didn't really have a choice with Jason's freedom on the line, so I assured Bill that I would stick close to him and follow his lead.

We discussed my telepathy as we headed back to the house. Bill was very curious as to what it was like for me growing up as a telepath, and wanted to know how much control I had learned over my telepathy. I told him about my parents' reaction, and then how my grandmother was way more accepting. I left out my fae heritage and training, and just told him that my grandmother helped and encouraged me to work on my telepathy, which in turn helped to strengthen my shields.

We had gotten back to my front porch by this time, so we said our goodbyes. I had been a little worried that Bill would try to kiss me - if it had been a week ago, I probably would've been looking forward to it - but I knew it wouldn't be right to lead him on with anything other than friendship, so I was glad when he just kissed the back of my hand and walked off towards his house.

When I walked by Gran's bedroom, her light was off and I wasn't sure if I should be amused or annoyed that she didn't bother waiting up to make sure that a man, a vampire no less, had returned her granddaughter home safely. I decided to be amused since she seemed to be pretty smitten with Bill and was probably now hopeful that he was my betrothed. I'd have to make sure to tell her in the morning that he couldn't possibly be the one just so that she didn't keep her hopes up.

I quickly changed for bed, and thanks to Gran's marathon cleaning session, I was able to fall asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

I awoke the next day feeling plenty rested. When I looked at the clock I saw that I had even managed to sleep in a little bit and it was already ten o'clock. I threw on some clothes and headed out to the kitchen to get my cup of coffee and see if there was any breakfast leftover.

The house seemed awfully quiet, and I wondered where Gran had gotten off to. I peeked outside and found her humming away while she was working in her flower beds. I went to the shed to grab a pair of clothes and knelt down to help her weed and talk to her about Bill.

"Good morning, Gran."

"Good morning, Sookie. I trust you had a pleasant walk with Bill?" she asked.

"Yes. It went well. I wanted to talk to you about him," I started.

"What about him dear? He does seem like such a gentleman, doesn't he? It's a shame that he isn't your intended," she responded, completely surprising me.

"What? How? Gran, what makes you think he isn't my intended?" I asked. I knew that he couldn't be, but she seemed so enthusiastic last night that I was certain she still believed he was.

"His age of course. Didn't you put two and two together, child? If he was alive during the Civil War, he's definitely not the extremely old vampire your great-grandfather is talking to."

"Well, yes, I did, but I didn't think you had. You still seemed so excited about him and then shoved me off on that walk. Then you didn't even wait up to make sure he brought me back home safely."

"Oh. Well, of course I was excited. I was able to speak to a man who was in the Civil War. Goodness, it's not every day that happens! I sent you off on that walk with him because I could tell that he was getting tired of answering my questions. He kept looking at you and I knew that he had just come over to get to know you better. You may be intended for marriage, but it doesn't hurt to keep your options open. These negotiations haven't been finalized yet. And Bill seems like a decent guy."

"Gran!" I didn't even know how to respond to that. My grandmother, who was so prim and proper, wanted me to lead on another man just in case Niall's negotiations fell through? I couldn't make heads or tails of this woman lately. She kept surprising me at every turn. I just shook my head and gave Gran a hug, telling her, "Gran, you certainly know how to keep things interesting around here."

We both laughed at that and finished up the flower bed we were working on. The rest of the day was just as relaxed; I even had plenty of time to work on my tan.

After dinner, I headed off to get ready for tonight. I wasn't entirely sure what to wear to a vampire club, so I chose my white sundress with red flowers and a pair of red sandals. I left my hair down, curling the ends slightly, and just threw on some mascara and lip gloss for makeup. I never was one to put on a lot of makeup and I wasn't about to start now.

Bill came by around 9:30 to pick me up and we headed off to Fangtasia in his car.

The car ride there was pretty quiet, and since Bill seemed a little upset I was afraid to ask him anything. As we got closer to the club, I finally shored up my nerve and asked, "Bill, you're awfully quiet tonight. Did I do something wrong? Is my outfit not okay?"

Bill took a deep breath and then said, "Sorry I seem upset Sookie. You look beautiful tonight. I'm just concerned about being able to get you in and out of the bar without having to kill someone who wants you."

Well, that was not what I was expecting as a response. "Oh. Um, I think you're being a little over dramatic. I hardly believe there will be anyone fighting to get to me. Besides, I'll be with you so I should be safe, right? It's generally bad form to try to hit on another man's date." Then I realized what I said and shut up. Date? Really? Stupid, stupid Sookie.

Bill looked over at me with one eyebrow cocked, but let me off the hook and responded only by saying, "Yes, well, vampires are quite different. Remember what I told you last night? We usually take what we want unless the other vampire is older and more powerful. Unfortunately, I am not very old compared to some vampires that will be there."

The rest of the drive went by in silence. I was still kicking myself for referring to myself as Bill's date when we pulled up to the club. After Bill parked the car, he came around to open my door and we walked up to the front entrance. Once again, coming to Fangtasia with Bill seemed to go in my favor, as we got to bypass the line entirely. I assumed it was because he was a vampire.

The vampire at the door was a gorgeous, leggy blond, who seemed to be very bored. She merely nodded to Bill as he walked by, but she looked at me intently, as if trying to figure me out, or memorize every pore on my skin. I was a little shocked when she carded me, but she claimed to not be able to tell human ages any longer. I relaxed a little bit when she only looked at my ID for a few seconds and then handed it back to me.

I had to hold back a slight chuckle when we walked inside - the bar definitely seemed to be hitting every stereotype about vampires. It was decorated in reds and blacks, and the lighting was very dim. There were several signs posted that banned any biting on premises. The bar was full and almost everyone was dressed in black or other dark colors. It seemed that the only difference in the tourists and the fangbangers was the type of clothing they chose to wear. The tourists wore normal clothes that happened to be dark, but the fangbangers were in everything from capes and outfits from popular vampire movies, to leather and lace. It was quite the collection of people. The vampires were dressed a little more normally, but they too seemed to favor dark colors.

Bill leaned down to my ear and whispered, "You're like a candle in a coal mine," making me shiver slightly when his lips grazed my ear. He straightened up and guided me over to the bar where he ordered a True Blood and I ordered a gin and tonic. The bartender was clearly from Native American descent and had long black hair. He greeted Bill, asking if I was his meal for the evening. I shivered internally at the idea but, luckily, years of not reacting to people's thoughts helped me to keep a smile on my face. Bill replied, "This is my friend, Sookie. She has some questions to ask."

"Anything, beautiful woman," the bartender replied smiling. I suppose the smile was supposed to be comforting, but it ended up creeping me out a little bit.

I dug the pictures of Maudette, Dawn and Jason out of my purse and asked him if he had seen any of them. He told me that he had seen the two women, but not the man. I breathed a sigh of relief that Jason had not been here and asked if he had noticed who the women had hung out with. He immediately turned cold, saying, "That's not something we notice here. You won't either."

I politely said, "Thank you," and slipped the pictures back into my purse. Bill then guided us over to a table off to the side of the bar but towards the front where there was a throne set up. A throne? I rolled my eyes when I saw it, wondering who was so arrogant as to sit in a throne at the front of a bar. I knew the queen lived in New Orleans, not that I would ever expect a king or queen to operate out of a bar; the whole idea was just ridiculous.

I let my mind wander and tried to figure out how I would be able to question more people about Dawn and Maudette. The bartender's response to my question of who they had hung out with threw me off a little bit, and I was fairly certain that they wouldn't appreciate me questioning their customers about the two women. Surprisingly, even with me sitting at the table, several women had come up to Bill and offered themselves to him. He turned them all away while I remained quiet. After he told the fourth one he wasn't interested, he looked over to me and said, "You're very quiet."

"There's nothing for me to say. You are free to do whatever you want, with whomever you want. I'm imposing on you enough tonight, I don't want to be the reason you are stuck with True Blood all night if you want something different."

"Very well, but I am quite content with keeping you company for the evening," he replied.

I blushed and said, "Thank you."

Shortly afterwards, I noticed a flurry in the thoughts of the women and looked over to see one of the most gorgeous men I had ever seen walk into the room from the back. He was very tall, maybe 6'5", with long blond hair and striking blue eyes, and very muscular. It was clear that he was the main attraction, and many of the women were hoping he would choose them for the evening. I was both slightly enthralled by him and slightly disgusted by how many women seemed to have already been with him. I immediately threw my shields back up and turned to ask Bill, "Who's that?"

Seemingly annoyed, Bill responded, "That's Eric Northman. He's the Sheriff of Area Five and owner of Fangtasia." By that time, Eric had made his way up to the throne and I snorted when I saw the throne belonged to him. I realized that with Eric on display, there was no chance of getting anything about Dawn or Maudette out of the minds of the fangbangers, and I began to chat with Bill a little more.

While we were talking, I couldn't help but feel like I was being watched and when I glanced up several times, I noticed that Eric was practically boring holes into me. By the third time I noticed his stare Bill sighed and said, "Let's go talk to Eric."

As we walked over, I noticed that the female from the front door had joined him on stage and they were scanning the crowd with emotionless expressions. When we approached, Eric seemed to be annoyed until he realized who was standing in front of him. Bill had been holding onto my elbow and stopped us about five feet away.

"Bill," Eric said, nodding.

"Eric," Bill responded back with a deeper nod.

"Who's your little friend?" the female vamp asked Bill.

"Hi, I'm Sookie Stackhouse," I replied.

"Aren't you sweet," Eric responded, and I was unsure if he was referring to my character or my blood.

"Not especially," I replied back, catching Eric off guard.

After staring at me for a moment, Eric laughed and the female joined him. Then he said, "Sookie, welcome to my bar. I am Eric and this is Pam."

Just as I was about to speak, Bill said, "My friend Sookie would like to ask you a couple of questions."

Pam rolled her eyes and asked, "What? Do you want to see our fangs or find out if we sleep in coffins?"

Clearly this was a common, and very annoying, question for them, so I quickly said, "No. I'd like to ask if you've seen these two women." I opened my purse and pulled out the pictures.

"I have been with this one," Eric replied, pointing to the picture of Dawn.

Pam looked slightly taken aback, but added in, "I have seen them both, but I have not been with either of them. This one," she said, pointing to the picture of Maudette, "was a pathetic creature."

"Thank you for your time. That's all I needed to ask," I politely replied as I put the pictures away.

Before we could even turn to walk away, Eric asked, "Bill won't you and your friend join us for a little while?" I got the feeling it was more of a demand than a request. Bill sat on one side of Eric and I sat on the other.

After a few minutes of light conversation, Eric asked, "Bill, are you quite attached to your friend?" taking me by surprise. I immediately knew what he was asking - if I could be borrowed - and shuddered internally at the thought. I really had no idea how I was ever going to get past the fangs.

I worried what Bill would say, because he was not technically my date and clearly Eric was more powerful than him. If Bill couldn't get us out of this, I was in real trouble. Luckily, I didn't have to worry long since Bill quickly responded, "She's mine."

I realized that I should probably be a little annoyed with that statement, but since I knew that it meant that Eric could not feed off of me without permission from Bill, I let it slide. Eric turned his gaze to me; as I looked into his blue eyes, I felt some sort of push on my brain and knew he was trying to glamour me. Lucky for me, I had found out early on that I was immune to a vampire's glamour. Eric asked, "Is this true, Sookie? Are you his?" and cocked one eyebrow up, questioningly.

Quickly, I swallowed my pride and replied, "Yes. I'm his."

If Eric was surprised his glamour didn't work, he hid it well, and simply responded, "What a shame, then," and jumped back into conversation with Pam and Bill. As I was sitting there, I opened my mind once again and heard the nervous thoughts of a man. He was an undercover cop and was worried because he was alone and waiting for the other cops to show up for the raid. When I reached out further and heard the thoughts of a man being bitten in the bathroom, I knew I couldn't keep quiet. I knew the risks of revealing my telepathy, especially in front of the Sheriff of Area Five, but there was no other way around it. I said, "We need to leave, there's going to be a police raid and one of your vamps is feeding on a man in the men's room."

I was a little concerned that they wouldn't believe me, but my alarm must have been evident because we were quickly whisked out the back door with Eric, while Pam headed off to go warn a few others. Once we were out in the parking lot, Eric turned to me and asked, "How do you know?"

I sighed, knowing I'd have to tell him the truth and replied, "I'm a telepath. I read a policeman's mind."

Eric looked slightly startled, but then an amused smirk spread over his face and he responded, "How interesting."

We heard the sirens at that time and we all made our retreat.

The ride home was quiet, and I knew that Bill was annoyed with me for revealing my telepathy, the one thing that he told me not to do. I tried to smooth things over by saying, "I'm sorry that I had to tell Eric that I'm a telepath, but I really had no other choice unless you wanted to be caught up in that raid."

Bill glared at me and turned his eyes back to the road. After a few minutes I asked, "Bill, are you just going to ignore me the rest of the drive home?"

Finally, he responded, "I told you Sookie. I told you not to reveal your telepathy and you went and did the very thing I asked you not to do. I can't keep you safe from Eric. He's very old and very powerful and he usually gets what he wants. Yes, I told him that you were mine, but that won't stop him for long. He will find some way to get to you or get closer to you. He was already interested in you before; now you have made yourself more interesting. But perhaps you would enjoy him. He is rather good-looking and I hear he is great in bed. Is that what you are looking for Sookie?"

I was totally taken aback. Bill had just laid into me and he came out sounding, jealous? I responded, "No Bill, that's not what I want. But even if it were, that would be my decision. What is your problem with Eric?"

"Sookie, I care about you. I don't want to see you get hurt, and Eric would only hurt you. He is completely incapable of maintaining a relationship; he doesn't care about the women that he's with. You need to stay away from Eric."

Okay, when had this conversation gone from Bill being upset with me for saving our butts by revealing my telepathy, to Bill thinking that I had the hotts for Eric and wanted to end up in bed or in a relationship with him? Why was he now warning me to stay away from him so I wouldn't get hurt? I couldn't figure it out, and I chocked it up to being emotionally and mentally drained from the stress of the night.

I wanted to put Bill at ease though, so I replied, "Bill, I don't get why you think I'd be interested in Eric, but I'm not. I read what some of those women were thinking about him, and I'm not interested in just being another notch on someone's bedpost. I'm sorry you are upset that I revealed my telepathy, but I didn't exactly have time to come up with a brilliant plan for a hasty exit."

Bill's eyes softened and he simply nodded to me before turning his eyes back to the road.

It was just after one in the morning when Bill pulled up in front of my house and I said a quick, "Thank you" and got out of the car and walked into the house.

As I got ready for bed, I thought back over the evening. I still couldn't come up with another solution for getting us out of the bar without revealing my telepathy, but I wasn't too concerned about it. I knew I would be under the protection of my betrothed in a week and I couldn't see Eric trying anything drastic that soon. However, I couldn't exactly tell Bill why I wasn't worried, so I had to hope that he would calm down and forgive me for ignoring his advice.