"You live behind the bar," Darcy said, as she sat on the small sofa in Sam's trailer.

Sam handed her a beer, "I figured it was easier," he said, sitting down next to her. "Considering the closest house is a mile away and it can be pretty dangerous at night on the road."

She nodded, "It's cozy," she admitted, sitting back on the sofa. "And you don't have to worry about being late for work."

After dinner, which consisted of pasta and garlic bread, Darcy found herself not wanting to leave so suddenly. It had been a rough start to the day, between the relator and Darcy's boss up in New York. By the time 5 rolled around, Darcy was debating on canceling her dinner plans with Sam. But she sucked it up and got ready, heading down to the bar around a quarter to 7.

"So," she cleared her throat, running her thumb across the label of the bottle. "I got a call from New York this afternoon."

"Uh oh,' Sam shook his head. "You don't sound too thrilled about that."

Darcy nodded in agreement, "Basically, I lost my job today," she said. "According to my boss, who's a real sexist piece of shit, they needed someone to fill in for my leave. Turns out, the girl is a "lot smarter," and more "qualified," at editing than I am."

"Oh Darc," Sam shook his head. "You know that's a crock of shit. You're the smartest person I know and I'll bet that you're smarter than all of them combined."

She laughed, "It's got nothin' to do with smarts," she said. "Basically, he found someone who would willingly fuck him in his office. I refused to be the office slut when he approached me and since then…. I've been a target for his sick and twisted pleasure."

"Did he put his hands on you?" Sam asked, suddenly angry. "Darcy.."

"No," she said, placing her hand on his shoulder. "He never once touched me, Sam. I promise. It was just a little extra paperwork I was sent home with and trying to get it all done within twelve hours before the next work day."

He was relieved and Darcy could see it on his face, "So what does that mean for you?" he asked. "What are you going to do now?"

She shrugged, "Considering how hard it is to find a publishing job," she sighed. "Guess I'm movin' back here for a while."

"You don't sound too thrilled about that," Sam said, even though he was happy about the developing news, downplaying it as he spoke.

"Where the hell am I going to live?" Darcy asked. "Mom's house goes up tomorrow for sale and I have all her shit in storage for Allison. I have to go home sometime in the next week, to pack up everything and ship it down here. But I still have to find a place to live, Sam. Of course I'm not to thrilled about it."

They both fell into a tense silence, sitting there on the sofa next to one another.

"I know somewhere you could live," Sam said. "It's not much, but you might be able to squeeze all them bookcases you probably have in New York."

Darcy let out a surprised laughed, "You're a cheeky shit," she nudged him. "I have four."

Sam nodded, "That should fit along one wall," he said. "It's one two bedroom condo with a decent sized bathroom. The kitchen is somewhat up to date and there's two air conditioners already installed in the wall."

"How much will it cost me?" she asked.

"Not much," he shrugged. "Less than what you're probably paying for a shoebox apartment in Manhattan."

She nodded, "Okay," she sighed. "I guess I'll leave early Monday morning, that way I can beat the traffic and hopefully get into Manhattan by Tuesday night the latest."

"Wait… you drove here?" Sam frowned. "Darcy…it would've been easier to fly down."

She scowled, "I don't like planes," she said. "And it's going to cost me a fortune to ship everything down here. If I drive and pack the car with my clothes and books… it'll be easier for me."

He sighed, "I don't like the idea of you driving alone," he said, setting his beer on the table before them.

"I did it before and got here in once piece," Darcy reminded him. "I'm a big girl, Sam. I know what I'm doing."

"I think you should have someone go back with you," he said. "Lafayette or someone."

Darcy snorted, "Please! Lafayette will complain the entire drive and then disappear as soon as I park the car in the city."

Sam huffed, "Then I'm going with you," he said.

"What?! " Darcy exclaimed, as he got up. "Sam! How can you work and go to New York with me at the same time? I can't have you do that!"

"Terry is capable of running the place for a few days," Sam said, moving to find the map he had stored in the trailer. "He's done it before when I needed a few days off here and there. Lafayette will be fine and the girls will be fine too."

Finding the map behind a stack of mail, Sam opened it up and spread it out on the little table.

"Why do you want to do this?" Darcy asked, watching him.

"Because," Sam said, looking up at her. "I want to."

Darcy stood up and made her way over to the table, glancing down at the worn out map. "I have GPS you know," she said after a few minutes.

He looked up at her with a frown, "It tells you where to go," she shrugged. "And it was safer than holding a map and trying to steer a car on the highway."

"Okay," she gave in. "But we might have to take your truck then, because my little car won't fit two people and all my stuff."

….

It would be another week and a half, before Darcy moved into her new home, with just half of her belongings. After a three day stay in Manhattan with Sam, they managed to get all of her possessions packed and loaded into his truck. Then, hiring a moving company, they took most of the furniture and had it sent back to Bon Temps.

"God," Darcy shook her head, as she carried a box through her new living room. "It's much bigger than my apartment."

Sam set a box down on the floor, "What did I tell ya?" he asked, grinning at her. "You even have enough flower beds to plant whatever you want."

"Do you know who the landlord is?" Darcy asked, cutting the box open. "I have to find out how much the rent is going to be for this month and if there's a security deposit."

"Uh…" Sam looked at the wall near the kitchen. "I'm actually… the landlord."

Darcy looked at him quickly, her eyes wide with shock. "What?" she asked, as he nodded.

"I own this lot of condos," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Arlene and her kids live in one with Terry and I had three vacant ones until now."

"Oh," she nodded. "Well, how much do I owe you for this month?"

Sam waved his hand at her, "Don't worry about it," he said, as Darcy shook her head. "You moved in halfway through the month anyway."

"Sam Merlotte, I am not living here for free!" she warned. "That is not right and god forbid anyone found out!"

He held up his hands, "We can discuss rent at a later date," he insisted. "Let's just get you settled in and then we'll get some food."

Moving in and out of the house, they carried boxes and suitcases inside, setting them down in what would be the living room. The furniture wouldn't be in until the following day, which was a relief for Darcy. Sookie offered her a place to sleep that night, after stopping by with a box of cleaning supplies from her house.

"Just come on by after we close," she smiled at her. "I have a chocolate pie that is just dying to be cut into and I can't eat it all by myself."

"Can I paint?" Darcy asked, an hour later, when they had everything inside.

Sam shrugged, "Sure," he said. "You gonna paint every room?"

"Maybe," she said. 'But nothing too crazy that would be a pain in the ass to paint over, if I wanted to change it later one. I just hate looking at pure white walls."

"Paint 'em whatever you want, Darc," he shrugged, moving a box out of the way. "You ready to get some food?"

She nodded, "Let me just use the bathroom real quick and then we can go," she said, giving him a small smile.

As she walked down the hall leading to the master bedroom and bathroom, Sam closed his eyes and sighed. It was a relief for him, which Darcy was back in Bon Temps. It was a enough of a surprise that she was even talking to him, let alone, allowing him to help her out. They'd spent the entire drive up to New York, singing along to the radio and playing trivial games along the way. When they finally reached the city, Sam was able to see who she had changed into after all those years.

After sending her furniture off for shipping, they took whatever was left in her refrigerator and went down to Central Park to eat.

"I can't believe I won't see this park everyday," she said sadly, watching a group of young children running by.

The drive home was long and the hit a few rough patches, as storms rolled along the coastline. They made a few stops along the way, either to wait out the pouring rain or to catch a few hours of sleep. With Darcy back in town, Sam decided that maybe it was fate working it's magic on them both. A second chance to make up all the pain he caused her and an opportunity to start over what they had.

"I'm ready if you are!" Darcy shouted, as she came back down the hall. "I worked myself up an appetite!"

"Then lets get you fed," Sam said, putting a smile on his face when she re-appeared. "And we're gonna need to get you some food for your fridge. No more take out cartons and water containers."

….

"So why not just… go with it?" Sookie asked, later that night over a cup of tea. "I mean, he's making a lot of effort Darcy."

The woman sighed, "I know," she agreed. "But I don't want to set myself up for heartbreak again. He broke my heart once and I carried that pain with me to Brown and to Manhattan for ten years."

Sookie nodded, "I don't think I could go through that again, "Darcy shook her head. "There's no where else for me to run to either, the way the economy is going these days."

"What exactly did he say to you to make you leave?" Sookie asked, pulling her feet up onto the chair next to her. "I mean… I just can't picture Sam doing anything like this to a girl."

"It was the end of August, right before I was supposed to leave for Brown," Darcy started. "We were secretly engaged and I made no contact with school to let them know that I was coming. Sam and I were going to live together in a little house, get married and live the way we wanted to."

She sighed, "Then… one day we met up in the field around… 6 or 7 in the evening," she started. "He was different. Cold and distant, while I talked about all the college classes I could take at the community college in the next town. He flat out told me halfway that I was going to Brown and that he didn't want to hear another word of it."

"But.. how? I mean, you said you didn't contact the school," Sookie frowned, as Darcy looked at her.

"I didn't," she nodded. "But Sam did."

"What?" Sookie gasped.

Darcy shook her head, "He took the papers from my bag one night and sent the form back, saying that I would be attending in the fall," she scratched her shoulder. "Told me that I was better off getting out of this town and that I would meet someone who could give me everything I could ever want."

Sookie shook her head, "I would've kicked his sorry ass."

"I smacked him," Darcy shrugged. "And then I screamed at him for interfering and making choices for myself, when I was good and ready to settle down with him."

The clock in the hallway struck at the hour, ringing a solemn tune throughout the grand house that Sookie lived in.

'Did you parents know that you and Sam were engaged?"

Darcy shook her head, "My Mom didn't know that much about what Sam and I were up to," she said. "By mid-summer, she thought I had broken up with him and went to bible study seminars or god knows what. And my Daddy died when I was seven in a plane crash, but I think he would've liked Sam a lot."

"I think you should see what happens," Sookie shrugged. "But take full control of it, Darcy. Lay down the ground rules if Sam even mentions about getting back together again, and make sure he understands what you want."

"It's been ten years though," Darcy stressed. "What if everything's changed between us? I wanted to get married and have kids with him, Sookie. What if he doesn't want that anymore?"

Sookie gave her a sympathetic smile, "You won't know until you try," she said.

…..

Once Sookie was sure that Darcy was settled in for the night and that Bill wouldn't be stopping over, Sookie went into her room and closed the door behind her. Picking up the phone on the nightstand, she quickly dialed the familiar number and waited.

"Hello?"

"Sam Merlotte, I oughta smack you silly!" Sookie nearly yelled into the phone. "How could you do such a thing to a girl like Darcy!"

She heard shuffling on the other end, "Sook?" he questioned, sounding a bit dazed. "What's wrong? Is Darcy okay!?"

Sookie rolled her eyes, "Darcy is fine," she snapped. "She just went into bed and now I'm mad at you!"

"Look, I don't really feel comfortable talking about this with you," Sam started. "It's late and I just collapsed into bed…"

"Does she know?" Sookie interrupted him.

There was a pause, "Know what?" Sam asked slowly.

"About you, idiot," Sookie exclaimed. "Does she know that you're a shifter or not? Because she made NO mention of it when we were walking about you."

Sam gasped, "You were talkin' about me?" he asked, surprised.

"Don't change the subject, Merlotte," she warned. "Does Darcy know that you're a shifter?"

"No," he said quietly. "She doesn't."

Sookie groaned, flopping back on her bed. "Sam," she shook her head.

"Please don't tell her, Sook," he begged. "I know I should've told her years ago, but if all works out… then I'm going to do it."

"You better," she huffed. "Poor girl has done everything buy cry over you since I met her. And if you want to make things right with her, she needs to know the real reason why you sent her away."