Tara walked through the back entrance to Merlotte's, letting the door slam behind her. She grabbed a clean white towel off of a shelf in the hallway and threaded it through the loop on her jean shorts. Lafayette stood at the kitchen window, a purple wrap covering his head, garnishing two dishes with lemons. Tara stopped and leaned one elbow against the counter. "Hey, Lafayette."
He ignored her, scratching his ear and devoting his rapt attention to the positioning of the lemons. Tara pursed her lips and put a hand on her hip. "Godammit, Lafayette, why aren't you talking to me?"
Lafayette wiped his hands on his apron, and looked past Tara. "Order up," he called, turning his back. Tara shook her head and retraced her steps, this time storming into the kitchen.
"Lafayette, don't be a little bitch. Save that for your boyfriend."
"Hooker, I ain't got nothin' to say to your ass," Lafayette said as he began to slice potatoes and toss them into a bowl. "You want to live with a vampire, then be my guest."
"I'm protecting Sookie!"
Lafayette whirled around to look at her, his eyebrows raised, the knife waving in his hand. "Girlfriend, how you protecting her? What you doing? Did you gain some magical voodoo, vampire controlling powers that I didn't know about?"
Tara looked at the ground for a moment and took a deep breath. "Look, Lafayette, between Jason's wolf hormones and Eric's dead hormones, I don't want her there by herself. Who else is gon' protect her? I'm the only human friend she's got!"
Lafayette threw his hands up in surrender. "You know what, Tara, you just as stubborn as she is. Both of y'all are crazy." He turned back to his potatoes, slicing harder.
"Lafayette, just a couple of months ago you dragged me into a witch's coven where I was damn near bitten by a vampire. And I'm crazy?"
Lafayette cut his eyes at her and laid the knife down on the cutting board. He leaned back against the counter and crossed his arms, looking at his cousin with concern. "Tara, I don't know why you decided to come back here, after you had it good in New Orleans. I really don't."
"My family's here," she said simply.
Lafayette grunted. "Huh. Whatever, bitch. I guarantee the pussy here ain't nearly as good. Look what it turned me into."
"Shut your shit." Tara let loose a small smile and raised her eyebrows. "We cool?"
"Hooker, no we ain't cool. Now get up out my face." Lafayette raised himself off the counter and picked up his knife, giving her a small, playful grin. Tara nodded and walked out of the kitchen towards the bar. She nodded at Sam, who stood behind the register, and snatched the towel from her jeans. As she began to wipe down a collection of tequila glasses, a small bell chimed from the entrance, signaling the arrival of new customers. Without looking up from her task, Tara gave an unemotional greeting. "Welcome to Merlotte's."
She lifted her head as the patrons made their way toward the bar. Her mouth dropped open as Sookie waltzed in followed by Pam, who had disgust plastered across her face. Tara dropped the tequila glass she held, its shattered pieces scattering across the counter. The sound sent Sam running over. "Tara?" He looked up at Pam, then back at his bartender.
"Pam," Tara said. "What the hell are you doing here?"
Jessica skipped over. "Hey Pam," she piped.
"Hi Jessica."
"What are you doing here?" Tara asked, fear creasing her brow.
"Relax, I'm just escorting Sookie back to work."
Sookie turned to Pam. "Technically, I did the escorting. I drove and all."
Pam narrowed her eyes and looked down at her. "Are we done here? Do you consider yourself safe? Have I delivered you from evil and all that?"
"Yes." Sookie nodded, somewhat appreciatively.
"Okay, then," Tara piped up, talking in Pam's direction, if not exactly looking at her. "I guess you can leave now."
Sam put his hand on the small of Tara's back. He stuck his hand out to Pam, and gave her a small smile. "I'm Sam Merlotte."
Pam accepted his hand with a curl of her lip. "Pam de Beaufort. This is quaint. You should be real proud."
Tara intervened. "She's a vampire, Sam. She works with Eric."
Sam raised his eyebrows and gestured to the bar. "Well, can I get you a glass of True Blood?"
Jessica and Pam rolled their eyes. "No thank you," the blonde vampire responded. "I'm just gone see myself out. Y'all have a nice night."
Jessica shifted as Pam turned to walk towards the door. "Hey Pam, you got a minute?"
Pam looked at Jessica, her face masked in mock interest. "For you, darlin'?" Her interest disappeared, as she deadpanned, "Yes, I have one minute."
Jessica motioned for Pam to follow her, and the two vampires walked down the hallway, past the kitchen window, where once again Lafayette dressed two plates with a lemon garnish. His eyes widened as Pam walked by, giving him a wink as she passed. "Goddamnit," he muttered to himself. He looked out of the window opening towards Tara, who stood watching. What the fuck? he mouthed to her. Tara shook her head, shrugged and put up her hands.
Welcome back, hooker, Lafayette mouthed. Tara rolled her eyes and continued to clean up the shattered glass. Arlene whizzed by, but stopped cold at the site of the jagged pieces of glass. "Um, Tara, don't you think you should put on some gloves to clean that up? We have vampires here. One nick of the hand and this place could go up in fangs."
The back door opened with a creak and Pam followed Jessica down the stairs. A poorly lit street lamp cast a yellow glow around them. Pam looked around her with a slight frown on her face, and patted her hair. "What is it, Jessica?"
Jessica beamed at her. "Hoyt's back."
"That's unpleasant."
"Pam," Jessica chided. "He was very hurt. I'm his number one, he says." Jessica stared at the ground for a moment, brushing her foot across the pine straw. "He says he doesn't even look at other girls."
"That's unpleasant."
"So I told him I would never do anything like that again."
"That's unpleasant." Pam faked a yawn, and patted her hair again before crossing her arms over her chest.
Jessica looked up at her, hesitating. "And then I glamoured him."
Pam's eyes widened with a flash of intrigue and the right side of her lip curved up into a half smile. "Well, now that is unpleasant."
Jessica shook her head, putting her thumb to her lip. "I know, I shouldn't have done it."
"No, you shouldn't have," said Pam, frustration appearing underneath her bored posture. "You shouldn't be wasting your time glamoring a man who married you knowing exactly what you are. What a goddamn waste of energy."
Jessica looked down at the ground. "Bill said I should just be honest."
"Oh, did he?" Pam scoffed. "And you listened to Bill Compton?"
"Well, he understands that I love Hoyt, and that I don't want to hurt him."
"And did he recommend glamouring him?"
"No," Jessica conceded, rubbing her toe into the ground. "He recommended just telling the truth." She looked up at Pam, defiance coating her words. "But he didn't address the part where Hoyt got angrily hurt, and I just wanted him to feel better."
Pam sighed impatiently. "Whatever advice he gave you will not end your problems, because your problems don't have anything to do with Hoyt. They have to do with only you, and who you really are." She peered down at Jessica. "Bill Compton is blinded by faerie pussy. He clearly shouldn't be your go-to on this issue."
"He's my Maker, Pam."
"Your Maker doesn't always know what's best, Jessica, for you or for him." She paused, and a brief flicker of confusion crossed her eyes as she let her own words sink in. Eric flashed briefly through her mind as uneasiness settled in her stomach.
"On the other hand," Pam replied, with a cunning smile, "you are becoming one hell of a vampire."
Jessica blushed and gave a slight smile. Pam winked at her and whisked away into the woods. Jessica stood for a moment outside and watched the trees shake in Pam's wake. Arlene's head popped out of the back door, her face twisted in impatience.
"Unless you're on a snack break, which would holy terrify me, I need some help with these tables. They don't serve themselves." She slammed the door shut behind her as she stalked back down the hallway, out of sight. Jessica shrugged her shoulders and heaved herself back inside with a sigh.
"Ms. Flanagan, I told you, there is nothing to Sookie Stackhouse."
Nan took a step closer to Bill. Her eyes bored into him with the force of a backhanded slap. "There's a problem when I can't believe what a King tells me," she said, her voice low. "It's a problem for me, but it's a bigger problem for you, once the Authority finds out you're withholding information."
Bill pursed his lips and walked over to the door, closing it softly. "I cannot say what she is, Nan." He paused. "I don't want to put you in danger."
"Oh fuck you, Bill," Nan spat. "You didn't mind putting me danger back in '83. Or '87. Do you remember that meeting with Reagan?"
Bill nodded. "Unfortunately, yes."
Nan walked over to where Bill stood, her finger sticking into his chest. "Tell me what she is or I will have you meet the true death so fast you won't know what hit you." She cocked her head and widened her eyes in mock concern. "And then who will be here to protect your precious Sookie Stackhouse?" She felt the fear rise in Bill's throat, and she took advantage of it. "Eric Northman?"
Bill swallowed his fear. "You cannot take this to the Authority," he stated, adamantly.
"If you continue to waste my time, Bill, I'm walking out of this room and going straight to the Authority."
"You must promise me, Nan," Bill pleaded. "What I am about to tell you is bigger than the Authority. We may have a war on our hands: in another dimension."
