"Who's this?" the redhead narrowed her pale eyes at Eva. "You left me here all night so you could go out and get yourself another girlfriend?" She turned her scowl to Bill accusingly. "And to think I was actually worried about you!" Her bottom lip trembled.
"That's enough," Bill stopped her. Her eyes widened and she seemed to be desperately trying to fight the urge to both scream and cry. Bill's glare softened instantly and he moved to her side. "I didn't mean to shout at you." He put his hand on her shoulder, a little awkwardly.
"Does Sookie know about her?" Eva asked quickly.
"Of course she does," Bill confirmed.
"And she's okay with you having a relationship with another woman?" Eva frowned. "Isn't she a little young for you anyway?"
"Young?" Bill frowned.
"You misunderstand the situation," Eric spoke up. "There is nothing sexual between them."
"Sexual?" Bill repeated.
"Oh gross!" the girl pulled away from him quickly and moved to the other side of the room. "Please! He's like old enough to be my dad." She shivered at the thought.
"Okay…" Eva frowned. "Then what is she doing here?" she took a step towards the redhead and touched her cheek.
"What are you doing?" she moved away, but Eva reached out to her again.
"Eva, don't…" Bill tried to stop her, but she had already seen all she needed to know.
"You killed her. I thought you weren't doing that anymore."
"I had no choice," Bill insisted.
"And you stood there, encouraging him!" She glared at Eric.
"It had to be done."
"Bill…" the redhead stared at Eva nervously. "Who is she, and why is she looking at me like that?"
"This is Eva," Bill filled in. "She's…an old friend. And she's going to be staying here with us now, and you will show her respect."
"Is that your subtle way of telling me I'm not allowed to bite her? I wouldn't do that," she promised. "Besides, I'm getting used to the fake stuff now. Sort of."
"Good," Bill nodded. "Eva, this is Jessica. I'm her master…though I suppose you already figured that out for yourself."
Eva was still staring hard at the girl. "How did I miss this?" she mused first to herself and then repeated it as a question to the guys, finally turning away from Jessica. "Why didn't I see this in either of you?"
Bill shrugged.
"Well, you make sense. Your thoughts are one-track-Sookie. Nothing else can gain any holding in your mind." She turned to Eric. "You on the other hand…" he was carefully avoiding her gaze. "You've learned to hide things from me!"
"And why shouldn't I?" He retorted. "You hide things from me!"
"What else are you keeping from me?"
He stayed silent.
"Well since I clearly am no longer a part of this conversation, can I have permission to go out so I'll be out of your way?"
Bill looked at her sharply. "Go out? The night's already almost over."
She nodded slowly. "I was sort of hoping to go down to Merlotte's and see Hoyt again. He said he'd wait for me."
Eric smirked. "You're letting her date humans?"
"Why not?" Jessica demanded. "He does!"
"We've had this discussion, young lady. You are not allowed to see that boy again."
A thin stream of blood leaked from the corners of her eyes instantly. "Please!"
"Bill…" Eva spoke gently. "You're being irrational. She clearly has feelings for this guy. Why shouldn't she be allowed to see him? There's nothing for her to do here anyway. She's young and she should go out and have fun."
"She is a vampire!"
"Yes, I realize that, thank you," Eva smiled. "And as Jessica pointed out, so are you, but that didn't stop you from getting involved with Sookie."
"That's different."
"Not really," Eva argued. "Bill let her go."
He hesitated for another moment and then nodded. "I want you back in this house by four o'clock. Understood?"
She squealed and quickly wiped the blood tears from her cheeks. "Thank you!" She threw her arms around Bill's neck briefly before fleeing from the house.
"You should not have stepped over my authority like that," Bill scolded Eva once Jessica was gone.
"I was trying to help," Eva responded. "You're lucky I'm back. That girl is miserable here. She's too young to be on her own."
"She's not on her own, she has me."
"Yes, and I'm sure you do the best you can, but she needs a mother. A woman she can talk to about things and who can understand when she needs to be given a little freedom."
"I am her maker."
"Exactly. You took away her human life, and now she needs someone to keep her new life as normal as possible." Eva smiled. "Like I said, you're lucky I'm here now."
"So then you are staying?" Eric asked.
"I'm not talking to you right now," she snapped.
"Evangeline, you cannot be upset with me for having some things in my life that are private. You've been gone for ages. My life did not stop when you left."
"Good. I wouldn't have wanted it to."
"Good."
"Now that I am back though, I expect you to be honest with me."
"Things have changed…"
"Stop saying that." She glanced at Bill suddenly and smiled. "She'll be fine, Bill."
"What?" He was staring at the door.
"Jessica—you have to give her a little freedom or she'll resent you."
"She has plenty of freedom."
"If you're that worried about her, you can go and spy on her you know."
"I'm not going to spy on her," he insisted.
"Good, then put her out of your mind." Eva analyzed Bill's still concerned expression and grinned. "If she's not back by curfew, you can go after her."
"All right." He seemed satisfied.
"And if he does go after her, you're going with to keep him in line," Eva told Eric.
He nodded. "As you wish."
"What I wish is for you to tell me what you're hiding from me and why?"
"Another time perhaps," Eric replied. "And perhaps not."
Eva frowned.
"Dearest, please, don't let this come between us when you've only just returned."
She considered his begging face and knew she couldn't stay angry. "I'm not going to forget about this," she told him, "but I suppose it can wait until later."
"Thank you."
"Now Bill," she turned to him, "please don't disappoint me…tell me you have a bathtub."
"Of course he does," Eric smiled. "Some things never change."
"You can use the one in my bathroom. It's the only one that's in working order right now," he told her. "I'll prepare it for you." He vanished up the stairs before Eva could argue.
"You're not going to go anywhere while I'm in the bath, are you?"
Eric hesitated.
"You promised you would stay here all night."
"If I stay the entire night though I'll have to stay the day as well, and then I won't be able to sleep in my own quarters," he reminded her. "You know how particular I am."
"Please stay."
"Why does it matter whether or not I stay here? You'll be sleeping anyway."
"I've been away a long time," she explained. "I'm tired of being alone."
"You won't be alone though. Bill will be here. You don't really need me."
"It's your choice of course," Eva gave up, "but I always need you—both of you. You know how selfish I can be." She headed upstairs and found Bill adding rose oil to the already full bubble bath.
"If I had known you were coming back, I would have made preparations," Bill told her as he started lighting candles. "I know you prefer lavender."
"It's fine Bill," she assured him. "It really is."
"All right. Can I get you anything else?"
"Nope," she smiled. "Thanks so much."
When he left her alone, she undressed and slipped into the hot bath. She lounged in the tub for nearly thirty minutes before she was able to pull herself out. Since she had left her bags downstairs, she pulled on a large robe that she found hanging on a hook by the door and headed back downstairs to join the others.
She found both of the guys in the living room, sitting on couches opposite each other and not saying a word. Eva had often pondered how perfectly still vampires could be, and she had sometimes thought about testing them, but she'd never had the patience. They looked up when she entered and stood.
"Did you enjoy your bath?"
"Very much." She walked over to them and put her arms around Eric's waist. "You're still here?"
"I know how important it is to you."
"It is," she confirmed. "Thank you."
"Unfortunately, I think we've talked the night away," Eric told her.
"Really?" Eva glanced toward the open windows and noticed the hint of the golden sun glowing at the horizon. "Already…" she sighed. "Fine off to bed with you both."
Neither of them budged.
"Boys, we'll talk more when the sun goes down again." She took their hands again. "I'm not going anywhere this time. I promise. Now, where do you sleep?"
Bill glanced at Eric.
"Seriously?" Eva pinched Bill. "Are you trying to hide where you sleep from Eric? If you can't trust your closest friend, then how can you trust anyone?"
"Eva, remember that things are not the way they once were."
"Whatever. I think you're being an idiot."
Bill hesitated for a moment, but then led them both to a closet beneath the staircase. He opened the door and then moved an oriental rug to reveal a large trap door. He lifted the trap door and pointed to his exposed sleeping space.
"You'll find a couple coffins in the second room on the left upstairs," Bill told Eric.
He nodded and headed up the stairs.
"Sleep well." Eva gave Bill a hug.
"I really am glad you've returned, Eva."
"I know. I am too."
Bill kissed her cheek and then slipped through the trap door. Eva watched him settle down and then closed him in and put the rug back in place before closing the closet door and heading upstairs to find Eric.
"Are you ready for bed?" She asked as she peered around the corner of the guest bedroom to which Bill had directed Eric.
"Just waiting for my goodnight kiss."
Eva crossed the room and kissed Eric on the cheek. "Sweet dreams."
"Are you going to sleep anytime soon?"
"Maybe. My time zones are all messed up. I'm not tired."
"Well, promise to sleep eventually. I don't want you to be tired when I wake up again."
"I promise."
Eric removed his shirt and climbed into the open coffin he had chosen. "Evangeline…"
"Yes?" She leaned against the edge of the coffin.
"You will be here when I wake up, won't you?"
"I will," she promised.
He nodded and smiled. "I'll see you when I wake then."
She shut the lid to his coffin and then headed downstairs to collect her bags. Since she hadn't yet chosen which room she would make her own, she brought her bags to the first spare bedroom and set her bags on the bed so she could change from the robe into a denim halter top dress. After dressing and fixing her makeup and hair, Eva tiptoed back downstairs and found Bill's car keys on a table by the door.