Chapter 4
It took me hours to get to Fangtasia since I was alternating between walking and jogging. I hadn't eaten dinner and my stomach growled angrily at me. The fact that I was cold and wet did not help my condition. I remembered I had a little packet of Jelly Bellys in my front pants pocket. Thank God I brought sugar with me everywhere. I felt no improvement in my hunger, but the taste of the jelly beans lifted my spirits. You just can't be sad when you're munching on something sweet. In order to pass the time I hummed a few tunes and after a while my eyes noticed the reflection of a red neon light on the asphalt and I looked up in relief. It was about 3 AM so not many cars were left in the parking lot, though my sight lingered hungrily over a gorgeous red corvette. I wonder who that belonged to? Being raised with a father as a mechanic, I could appreciate a fine piece of machinery. The thought of Dad blindsided me and I stopped to gather my emotions.
I walked to the entrance which was now closed but after pulling on the door, I found it ajar and slipped inside. There were no customers at all. The waitresses were just wiping down the tables and putting up the last of the chairs. Trying not to stutter from the cold, I turned to a short blond girl and asked, "Wh-where's Mr. Northman?" She didn't respond, but instead pointed a finger behind the bar towards the hall. I wandered toward the only office at the end. There were no lights on, but I could hear voices arguing. I easily picked out the infuriated voice of Eric Northman, while Pam's silvery, calm whisper tried to placate her master. Before I could even knock the light turned on and Pam opened the door.
I must have been a sight. My hair a tangled wet mess, dripping all over the linoleum floor. I was drenched from head to toe wearing a large gray sweatshirt that was weighed down by rain. My shoes were probably ruined from water damage. My face was white from the cold and my eyes red from my recent battle with emotions. Pam was as shocked as a vampire could look. "Caroline?" At least she remembered my name. "What happened to you?"
"Hitchhiking didn't work out", I commented ruefully. Not many people drive down the parish road, especially not at this time of night. Pam chuckled slightly then turned her head back inside to listen to Eric say something.
"Eric wishes you to come in. I imagine you have quite a story to tell." She looked excited by the prospect of something that was not routine. Honestly, Pam was just like a spontaneous teenager. Now it was my turn to giggle silently.
I was lead into the center of the office. Eric Northman sat behind a large wooden desk with his fingers interlaced, elbows propped up. His expression matched that of his child, however he looked more agitated than ever. I could tell I had interrupted a serious discussion between Eric and Pam.
"I'm sorry Mr. Northman to disturb your business, but I have come to ask you a favor."
He tensed, repositioning his shoulders and set his blue eyes on me again, "Aren't you the one who owes me Miss?"
My face reddened with the realization of my own ineptitude. "Yes, it does seem that I am already in your debt. However, I believe my request is reasonable and profits you as well sir." I took a deep breath before continuing, "I wish to work as a waitress or whatever job you require me for, in return for a place to sleep."
He said nothing. It was disconcerting to me so I nervously continued, "It wouldn't be for that long, maybe a month or two until I could afford to pay for my own place. I'm prepared to work hard for my keep sir."
"Why should I allow this when I would have had the same bargain with you without the board. That's simply an extra stipulation to our contract Miss Fields. I don't see how I benefit from this at all."
"You should allow it because you know how to show mercy."
"Indeed, you have witnessed my mercy before. You may be beginning to think I'm some sort of pushover, but believe me I don't enjoy playing games or being used or lied to."
"I'm not using you. I honestly have no where else to go. My family is a bunch of lying hypocrites and I never wish to see them again. I intend to work relentlessly to your satisfaction. I also am willing to do anything to be able to stay here."
"What happened to your Christian morals?"
"How can I believe in morals taught to me by people who don't believe in me?" That may have sounded harsh, but at the moment I really did have nothing to believe in except that I had to convince Mr. January to keep me on. "Please, Eri—Mr. Northman, at least give me a two week trial run?" I was desperately looking for any job, even though I had never heard of interning for vampires, it seemed to make sense.
He lightened up at that. If he didn't have the obligation of keeping me around that made his undead life easier. He paused, looked from me to Pam and said, "Go out to the bar and wait there. Pam and I have something to discuss. I will consider your proposal."
I straightened up at that. This was business. I bowed my head and slowly walked backwards towards the office door. I couldn't tell whether he would say yes or no. I had to repay him and that meant that I was already expected to do something involved with vampires.
Eric shifted in his high-backed chair as Caroline left. He switched his eyes to his child and said, "Pam I do believe we have a stray on our hands. The question is if we take care of the mutt whether she'll bite us in the end."
Pam was shocked. Why would Eric want to take in a shifter? Was Sookie Stackhouse making him go soft? "With all due respect Master, why would we take her in? We don't have a place for her to sleep."
Eric retorted, "She can stay with you Pam. We will take her in because there's no reason we shouldn't. And in the end she will be even more indebted to me. I enjoy when I have favors spread around. Maybe now she's a pup, but later on she may know a way that she can repay me."
"Yes Master." Pam was not happy about this. It was one thing to have the Were taken in, but for her to stay at Pam's house was just mortifying. The whelp would never leave. Pam would have to be like a mother. Hah! Pam chuckled to herself. She was certainly not the mothering type. She knew this from her past children. She enjoyed her independence too much and kids just put a cramp in her style.
Eric noticed Pam's demeanor. "Pam, you've been living in Louisiana for awhile. It's about time you start to practice hospitality." He laughed deeply as Pam's face changed from indignant to unbelieving.
"Send her in would you?"
Pam walked towards me with a scowl. "Eric wants to see you." She said nothing more and then turned around to yell at one of the waitresses. I walked slowly towards the door, the light had been kept on for my benefit. Mr. January is such a sweetheart. This time when I entered his office I took a few moments to look around. On the back of the door there were stickers and posters of the famous undead. There was one that said "Elvis Lives On" that I didn't understand. At that very moment I imagined Eric dressed up like Elvis and that certainly brightened my mood. I plastered on a smile over my worries and entered the office a second time. He was now seated on the leather sofa and motioned me to sit next to him. He was no doubt about to start some long winded speech about how he could not possibly keep me around. Well maybe it wouldn't be so long. The fact that he had spent this much time on me was a surprise.
He hadn't gotten two words out before a gorgeous blond woman rushed through the door. She was a wreck emotionally, and she rivaled my unkempt appearance. She was wearing a hoodie with a zipper and jeans and black Nikes. Her blue eyes were blotched red from crying and Eric's head snapped straight up as soon as he saw her, his mouth opening slightly and fangs descending. Well that was certainly an unexpected reaction from Eric. Was she friend or foe then? I became instantly riveted yet I kept quiet. The poor woman looked like she needed to say something. And she did. She was angry.
"Eric why the hell did you send Bill to Wisconsin? Don't tell me it was because of the database 'cuz I can see straight through your bullshit!"
"Sookie, there have been rumors of a takeover of Wisconsin and they wanted one of the Louisiana vampires to ensure that we are standing by the current regime. Bill was the obvious choice due to his skills talking to dignitaries."
"Couldn't you send somebody else? He just got back from New Orleans. If I didn't know better I would say you were trying to keep him away from me."
Eric remembered that I was sitting next to him and finally took the opportunity to change the subject, "Sookie, I'd like you to meet Miss Caroline Fields. She is looking for work here but I don't think there are any positions available. Would Merlotte's need a new waitress by any chance? She's just a stray and I don't have a place to keep her, not to mention food for her. She looks half starved."
My mind turned through this new information. He said that there were plenty of waitress jobs available here. Why was he trying to dump me into the hands of this woman? I spoke up, "It's alright Miss, I don't want to bother anybody else with my problems." I started to sniffle and I was holding back tears. Nobody wanted anything to do with me it seemed. For a split second I thought I saw the vamp smirk.
"No honey, don't you be sorry for something you can't help. You're obviously having some hard times and Eric is right. You can't stay here. Why don't you come stay with me? I can check and see tomorrow if there is a job for you at Merlotte's. You need a place to sleep and I need some company while Bill is gone. What d'ya say?"
I couldn't believe my luck. This girl was the kindest soul I'd ever met. I felt sorry that she had gotten mixed up with vampires. We were obviously in the same situation. I was surprised that Eric would be nice enough to let me live with her without me doing anything for him. I guessed that this meant I owed him even more. I realized that the blond was still waiting for my answer and brought my head up and smiled, "That sounds great Miss Sookie. I'd love to come live with you!"
A/N: I would love to give a shout out to my beta Shigyrl. Thank you for all your help in getting this story ready for .
I hope that you all have been enjoying the story so far. I like having contests so if you can tell me what number between 1 and 20 I'm thinking of, I'll write you your own fic with whatever characters from the Sookieverse you want. I enjoy the challenge and I hope you enjoy the outcome. Good luck to you all!
