Chapter 6

Sookie pulled up in Jason's driveway. She turned off the engine and turned to look at the passenger seat.

"Are you gonna tell him?" Sookie asked Jessica.

The vampire bit her lip nervously. "I don't know… Should I?" Jessica wasn't sure how Jason would react.

"Yes, you should… Sooner or later, he's gonna find out and it's better for you, both of you, if he hears it from you, instead of others. Trust me…" Sookie patted Jess' hand comfortingly. Jessica looked straight ahead. Part of her wanted to go in there and tell Jason, but another part, a bigger part, wanted to ask Sookie to take her back to her place instead.

"Would you come with me?" Jess asked nervously.

"No. I don't think that's a good idea. This is between you and Jason and I shouldn't get in the middle of it." Sookie told the redhead. Jessica nodded and stepped out of the car. "You can do it, Jess. Call me later, ok?" Sookie smiled encouragingly. Jess just nodded and then walked toward the house. Sookie waited until Jess was inside before driving away.

"Jess? What happened? Are you alright?" The moment Jessica stepped into the house; she was greeted by a very anxious Jason.

"I'm fine, Jason. I… we need to talk." Jessica avoided Jason's eyes. Without waiting for him, Jessica made her way into the living room and sat down on the armchair.

Jason followed her into the living room and sat down on the sofa, facing her. "C'mon, Jess… What is it? Are you hurt or something?" Jason asked worriedly.

"No, I've told you, I'm fine. It's just… I, well, we, I mean Sookie and I, we went to the mall yesterday and we… we met Hoyt." Jessica told Jason nervously.

"Hoyt?" Jason cocked his head sideway.

"Yeah…" Jessica nodded.

"Well, it's a small town. Everyone always bumpin' into somebody." Jason said casually. He didn't understand why Jessica was making such a big deal out of this. He ran into some of his ex-girlfriends every now and then, but he wasn't making any big fuss about it. Although, some of them did.

"There was a girl with him and…" Jessica took an unnecessary breath, "I… I don't like seeing them together. I guess… I guess it made me, like… jealous." Jessica finally said.

There was a silence in the room. Jessica looked down and Jason just looked at her, considering her words carefully.

"You're jealous of Hoyt's new girl." Jason said quietly. Jessica just nodded silently. "You still love him, don't you?"

"No!" Jessica said quickly, too quickly. "Yes, maybe, I don't know! I mean…" Jessica tried to explain, but Jason held up his hand to stop her.

"Jess, if you're still in love him, why'd ya' leave him?"

"I don't know… I don't even know if I still love him. I thought I didn't, but seeing him with that girl, I, well, I… I don't know, Jason…" Jessica buried her face in her hands.

Jason ran his fingers through his hair. He was frustrated, a little pissed and to be perfectly honest, a little hurt, and when he felt like this he didn't always think before he spoke, "Well, are ya' gonna leave me too now?"

"No!" Jess said forcefully. "But if… if you want me to go… I… I understand." Tears started to run down her cheeks.

"I don't want you to go, Jess. But until you know your own feelings, I think maybe you should be able to decide without the pressure of me with ya' every second of the day and night, besides, maybe ya' need to know what's inside ya' an all." For the first time in a very long time, Jason understood what some of the women he'd left in his dust must of felt like and he didn't like it one bit.

"I understand." Jessica wiped her tears and stood up. "I'm sorry, Jason… I don't mean to hurt you."

Jason said nothing. Jessica walked out from the room and left the house, closing the door quietly behind her, leaving Jason sitting there in the middle of the living room. As he sat there, the indignation started to blossom within him.

When Sookie arrived home, she found Bill waiting for her, sitting by himself in one of the chairs on her newly fixed front porch. Sookie parked her car in the driveway and turned the engine off. In a flash, Bill was standing by her car and opening the car door for her.

"Good evening, Mr. Compton." Sookie greeted him cheerfully and accepted his proffered hand and Bill help her out of the car.

"Good evening, Miss Stackhouse." Bill bent down to kiss her cheek gently. "I see your front porch is back." He made a sweeping gesture towards the front porch.

"Yes, they finished it earlier this afternoon. Come in… How long have you been sitting there? Why didn't you call me?" Sookie took his hand and together, they made their way to the front door. Sookie unlocked it and they stepped into the house.

"I just got here." Bill closed the door behind him and they made their way to the kitchen. Sookie put her purse on the table and took out a bunch of keys out of her purse.

"Here… This is the key to the front door. It's yours." Sookie took one key out and handed it to Bill.

"Thank you." Bill pulled out his own key ring and added Sookie's before depositing them back into his pocket.

"What brought you here? Aren't you supposed to work tonight?" Sookie took out a bottle of TruBlood from the fridge and put it in the microwave.

"I am, but I miss you." Bill smiled at her and pulled her into his arms, hugging her tightly.

Sookie sighed and buried her face in his shirt. "I miss you too…" Sookie wrapped her arms around his waist. They stayed like that, until the microwave dinged. They pulled apart from each other and Bill took his TruBlood out of the microwave, shook it and took a gulp. Sookie got a glass of iced tea from the fridge and they made their way to the living room.

"Sookie, there is something that I need to tell you." Bill motioned for her to sit down on the sofa and then he sat down beside her.

Sookie looked at him curiously. Upon seeing the hesitation on his face, Sookie got worried. "Bill, what is it?"

"I need to go to New Orleans for some business." Bill told her. He didn't want to go, but he had no choice.

"Oh… Okay. How long are you going to stay there?" Sookie asked.

"I am not sure yet. Maybe a week… or more." Bill reached to take her hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze. Sookie looked thoughtful.

"When are you leaving?" Sookie asked quietly, latching her fingers with his.

"Tomorrow evening." Bill said. Sookie kept quiet, and from experience, Bill knew it wasn't a good thing. "Sookie, I know this is quite sudden, but I have no other choice. I will try to come back home as soon as I can." Bill explained.

"It's about the hunter thing, isn't it?" Sookie gripped his hand tighter. Sookie wasn't happy about this turn of event. They hadn't seen each other for the past few days and now he was telling her that he was leaving and they wouldn't see each other for at least another week or so. No, she definitely wasn't happy about it.

"Yes." Bill said shortly. There was no point of explaining it in detail. It would only make her worry if she knew that the hunters were closer than they thought. Another reason Bill had to go to New Orleans was because there were more vampires there, which meant there would be better security for him as King.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to Sookie. "Are you going there to fight?" Sookie asked him wide eyed. That thought alone was enough to scare her half to death!

"No… Sweetheart, relax. I am going there for some meetings with my sheriffs and other… vampires." Bill assured her. "Besides, Nick and the security team are going with me. You have nothing to worry about."

Sookie nodded. "Alright… But you still have to be careful, okay? Promise me."

"I promise." Bill leaned down to kiss her softly on her lips. Sookie put her arms around his neck and deepened their kiss.

"I'm gonna miss you." Sookie murmured against his lips after they broke their kiss.

"I'm going to miss you too." Bill captured her lips with his one more time. His hands rested lightly on her waist. Sookie scooted closer to Bill and, without breaking their kiss, climbed on top of his lap to straddle him. Bill's hands wandered all over her back and pulled her closer. His fingers grasped the hem of her T-shirt and pulled it over her head and threw it aside.

Sookie started to unbutton his shirt and pushed it down his shoulders. Bill shifted to shrug it off. Sookie ran her hands all over his chest and kissed him deeply. Her tongue found his fangs and she ran her tongue over them. They broke their kiss and Sookie rested her forehead on his. They gazed lovingly into each other's eyes.

"My Sookie…" Bill whispered softly. He trailed kisses down her jaws and throat and Sookie tilted her head back to give him a better access. Bill grazed her throat with his fangs, careful not to break the skin. The sensation made Sookie shiver all over.

"Bill, I need you, now." Sookie said breathlessly. They quickly got rid of the rest of their clothing and Sookie moved back to straddle him. She lowered herself on to him and they both moaned in unison as their bodies were joined together. Sookie started to move and Bill placed his hands on her waist to help her set a pace. Soon, they were moving in synchronized rhythm.

Sookie lowered her head to kiss him passionately and he returned her kiss with equal intensity. When they were both close, Sookie threw her head back, exposing her neck to him. "Bill, please…" Sookie panted.

Bill kissed her throat before sinking his fangs through her skin and started drinking. Sookie's orgasm hit her full force and she screamed his name. Bill thrust harder into her and a couple of seconds later, he found his release.

Bill leaned his head back on the sofa as Sookie fell on top of him. He tightened his arms around her and gently stroked her hair.

"I'm definitely gonna miss this…" Sookie said lazily as she nuzzled his chest.

"I am too, sweetheart…" Bill planted a kiss on her temple. He brought his hand to his mouth to pierce his finger. He wanted to heal the puncture wounds on her throat, but Sookie caught his wrist.

"No. Leave it there." Sookie said. Bill looked down at her in confusion.

"But…" What bothered him most was the potential risk to Sookie. He didn't want her to be a target of any sort. "Sweetheart, you have made me very happy asking me that, and I love you for it, but… and please don't get mad, but I don't want my bite marking you as 'mine', for the lack of a better term, put you in any potential danger from the repulsive, ignorant rednecks and their messages of hate! Can you understand, my love? I am going to be in New Orleans and…"

Sookie shushed him with a finger placed against his lips and just looked lovingly into his gorgeous blue eyes. "Understand this Bill Compton… I'm all for letting 'em see and if they don't like it, that's their damn problem!" She then ran her fingers down the side of his face before kissing his mouth chastely. "Okay, you can heal this one, but I'll let do it on one condition."

Bill was surprised, but nonetheless, he was happy with her declaration. "And what would that be?" Bill hoped he wouldn't regret this.

"You bite me somewhere that only I can see and that'll satisfy me, deal?"

"Deal, now…" He smiled at her. Sookie snuggled closer into him. "Where exactly do you think we should leave that little love bite, my darling?" They spent the next forty-five minutes, with Bill's hands and mouth delighting every inch of her tender and responsive body until both reached climax yet again, in the search for the perfect bite location!

Afterword, once her breathing had returned to normal she said softly, "What time do you have to go?" She was hoping that he could stay with her all night long, but knew that it was impossible.

"Not for another two hours. There is some preparation to be made before I leave tomorrow." Bill planted a kiss on her hair.

"Good…" Sookie nodded happily. They stayed there on the sofa, intertwined until Bill suddenly went on alert.

"It's Jessica!" Bill said tensely, "Something's wrong." Sookie quickly disentangled herself from him and reached for her discarded clothes. "You two seem to be spending a lot of time together lately. I daresay it may be of help." Bill commented as he reached for his own clothes and quickly got dressed.

No sooner than both of them getting dressed, the doorbell rang. Sookie walked toward the front door and opened it. She was surprised by what she saw. "Oh my stars! What happened to you?" Sookie exclaimed in alarm upon seeing the state that Jess in. The vampire was drenched and Sookie could see some leaves stuck on her hair and clothes and her cheek was stained by tears of blood. She looked a mess!

Bill came up behind Sookie and he frowned upon seeing his child. "Jessica, what has happened? Are you injured?"

"I… Sook, I…" Jess was trying hard to keep her tears at bay, but her voice was breaking. Wordlessly, Sookie took her arm and guided her inside.

"Jessica, tell me what happened!" Bill demanded once they were inside. But Jessica refused to say anything. She just stood there, dripping wet, with bloody tears streaming down her cheeks silently. Sookie thought Jess looked so lost and heartbroken that she had a pretty good idea about what had happened between the redhead and Jason.

"Not now, Bill. Could you get some towels from the bathroom, please?" Sookie needed to get Jess to calm down for a bit and Bill's questions weren't helping. Bill narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the two before leaving to get what Sookie asked for. He came back a few seconds later, carrying some towels in his arms.

Sookie laid one big towel on the sofa before urging Jess to sit down. Once the vampire sat, Sookie grabbed another towel and wrapped it around Jess' shoulders. She knew that vampires didn't feel cold, but it was a comforting gesture. Bill sat down on the armchair and watched as Sookie fussed over Jess.

"I'll get you some TruBlood, okay?" Sookie told Jess. Jess just nodded silently. "You want another one?" Sookie turned to Bill. He shook his head, no. He had drunk from Sookie earlier and he still could taste her in his mouth. He didn't want to spoil the taste with TruBlood. Sookie shot him a warning look before making her way to the kitchen.

When Sookie came back a few seconds later, Jess had considerably calmed down and she was wiping her tears with a tissue. Sookie handed Jess the warmed bottle of TruBlood and took her seat beside her. "Jess…" Sookie started softly.

Jessica sniffled. She was aware that Bill was there, watching them, but right now, she couldn't care less. "I… I've lost him, Sook… I've lost him…" Jess started sobbing all over again. Sookie put her arm around Jess' shoulders and rubbed her arm soothingly. Sookie looked over at Bill and saw that he was very curious, but he held back.

"What happened? Don't worry, he's not gonna let you go Jess! You mean too much to him!" Sookie said softly.

"I told him about what happened and he… he was hurt. He thinks I'm gonna leave him too and… he said I should sort out my feelings, but I don't think he's gonna take me back." Jess said all this is a rush.

"What is going on here?" Bill asked. Sookie glared at her boyfriend, but he refused to back down. If anything happened to his child, he had the right to know. Sookie glanced briefly at Jess and at her slight nod, Sookie turned back to face Bill.

"When we went to the mall yesterday, we bumped into Hoyt. He was… with another girl." Sookie told Bill. Bill nodded his understanding of the implication of those words.

"What exactly did you tell Jason? I am assuming we are talking about Jason here, am I right?" Bill asked in softer tone. Sookie nodded. Jessica told them about her conversation with Jason.

"I've hurt Hoyt because of Jason, and I've hurt Jason because of Hoyt. And now, I've probably lost both…" Jessica let out a bitter laugh.

"What are you going to do now?" Bill asked after Jess had finished her story.

"I don't know. Maybe Jason is right, maybe we do need some time apart until I can get my head on straight. I guess I'll just have to find a place to stay." Jessica said sadly. As much as she hated it, she knew that Jason was right. They needed to make some heartfelt decisions and they couldn't do that being in the same house at the same time.

"You can stay here with me, if you want to." Sookie offered.

Bill nodded his head in agreement. "Sookie is right. If you want to, you can stay here with her. That way, you do not need to stay all by yourself at my house and you two can keep each other company when I am away."

Jessica looked at Bill in surprise. "You're going somewhere?"

"Yes. I am going to New Orleans for a few days." Bill told her. "Now, can you tell us what happened to you on your way here?" Bill motioned at Jess' state.

"After I left Jason's place, I was upset and running through the woods. I wasn't looking where I was going and I fell into the lake." Jessica said somewhat sheepishly. Sookie blinked and Bill cocked his head sideways, doing his level best to keep from looking at Jess in amusement. He wasn't sure she could handle that just now.

"You do know that there are gators in that lake, right?" Sookie asked. It didn't look like Jess was hurt though.

"Yes, but I got out before they got me." Jessica looked down at herself and realized the state she was in. "Oh my god, Sook I'm so sorry! I got your sofa and your floor all wet!" Jessica exclaimed apologetically.

"Don't worry about it. I need to do some cleaning anyway. Why don't you go take a shower? I'll get you something to wear." Sookie stood up and instead of going up to her bedroom; she took stuff from the stack of freshly laundered clothes she hadn't carried upstairs yet. She handed the clothes to Jess and the young vampire made her way to the guest bathroom.

"You two have gotten quite close." Bill observed, looking at Sookie fondly. He held out his hand and Sookie took it. Bill pulled her down on top of his lap and put his arms around her waist. "It is your brother that she is having a problem with, I'm surprised…" Bill trailed off.

"What? You thought that I'd be mad at her for having problem with Jason?" Sookie looked down at him. Bill nodded slowly. Sookie rolled her eyes slightly. "I've learned a long time ago not to interfere with Jason's love life. Jessica is my friend and I'm here for her. I've been in a similar situation before," Sookie gave Bill a pointed look. "And I know how it feels. I don't want her to go through the same thing."

Bill didn't say anything, but he kissed her thoroughly. Sookie's hand found its way into Bill's hair. They were caught up in their kiss; they didn't realize that the front door was being opened.

"Geez… get a room, you two." Tara's voice came from the doorway. Sookie looked back at her and grinned widely.

"Hi Tara!" Sookie greeted Tara cheerfully, still perched on Bill's lap.

"Good evening, Tara." Bill greeted Tara from his place.

"Hi" Tara acknowledged Bill's greeting. "Sook, Sam asked if you could swap with Arlene for lunch shift tomorrow. Lisa got sick and Arlene doesn't want to leave her all by herself."

"Sure thing. I'll text him to let him know." Sookie said, but she didn't make any effort to move from her place. "Oh, and Jessica will be staying with us for a while. That's okay, right?" Sookie suddenly realized she hadn't asked Tara about this.

"Yeah, that's okay." Tara just shrugged her shoulders. Tara yawned and she bid the couple good night before making her way upstairs to her room.

"Oh, god! If Tara had come home before Jess got here…" Sookie trailed off, suddenly remembered that earlier, she and Bill were lazing around in the living room, naked. Sookie groaned and buried her face in Bill's shirt. "We're pretty lucky that Jess got here first…"

Bill laughed.

After she had finished her lunch shift, Sookie stopped by Jason's place. She rang the bell and a few seconds later, the door was opened by a scruffy looking Jason.

"Hi, Jason!" Sookie greeted him with a bright smile on her face. "You look awful." Sookie's smile fell.

"Hey, and thanks a lot Sook. Come on in…" he said slightly sarcastically, Jason stepped aside to make way for Sookie.

"Sorry. Have you been drinking?" Sookie knitted her eyebrows as she could smell alcohol on Jason.

"Just a bit… What brought you here? How'd you know I'm not at work anyway?" Jason took the empty beer bottles from the table and walked into the kitchen; Sookie followed him close behind.

"Andy was in the bar and he was complainin' about you not coming to work today." Sookie paused. "I'm here to get some clothes for Jess." She continued hesitantly.

Jason froze momentarily. "So you know…" He said flatly, his voice devoid of any emotion. "I suppose Bill knows too?"

"Yes… Jess told us about what happened last night." Sookie said tentatively, hoping that Jason wouldn't get mad.

"So, is she staying with Bill now?" Jason disposed of the empty bottles into the recycling bin, refusing to look at Sookie.

"No. She's staying with me. Jason, are you alright?" Sookie asked gently.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be? I'm good." Jason said, feigning nonchalance. But Sookie saw through it.

"I know you love Jess and believe it or not, she loves you too…" Sookie couldn't finish her sentence because Jason suddenly whirled around to face her; his face was a mask of anger and frustration.

"Does she? Or does she love him? What am I to her, Sook? Am I nothing but a rebound guy? I've lost my best friend because of her and now she's telling me that she still has feelings for him! What do you expect me to feel?" Jason was yelling and Sookie took an involuntary step back. She had never seen Jason like this before. He was hurt and angry.

"Jason…" Sookie tried to calm him down, but Jason was having none of it. He refused to listen to her and he stalked out of the kitchen, into the bedroom. Sookie followed, trying desperately to understand Jason's perspective but she wasn't going to last much longer. Jason started by pulling a suitcase out of the closet and launching it onto the bed. He then started grabbing Jessica's clothes rolling them into balls and firing them on top of the bed and Sookie had had enough.

"Jason! Stop being such an ass!" she said vehemently, which surprised and froze her slightly drunken brother in his tracks. She felt sorry for him and knew instantly that for him to calm, he needed to hear gentle logic because he was more hurt than angry. "Give her the chance to work this out Jason; she's never dealt with anything like this before! You've got way more experience than she does… so try to let her figure things out, please?"

"Yeah, we'll see, but if she leaves me…!" Jason couldn't finish his thought, he stormed out of the bedroom, Sookie heard him grab a beer from the refrigerator and stalk out of the house, slamming the door behind him. She felt bad for Jess and Jason both, if for no other reason than knowing what it was like to question the one you love's feelings for you!

Knowing it would be a while before Jason would calm down, Sookie shook out Jess's clothes, shaking out the wrinkles Jason had caused by rolling the garments into balls, then folding them and putting them in the suitcase. She left clothes there for both their sakes, hoping it would help things along. If Jess left clothes, and Jason didn't send everything… it showed a final decision was yet to be made. Sookie just hoped it would work.

Sookie also took some of Jess's toiletries before walking outside to her car. She loaded the suitcase into her car trunk and drove away. When she arrived home, Sookie put Jess' suitcase in the hall and made her way upstairs. A few minutes later, freshly showered, Sookie made her way down to the kitchen and started cooking dinner.

Shortly after dark, Sookie heard the door to the cubby open and Jess emerged from the cubby. "Hey, Jess! Sleep well?" Sookie asked, although looking at Jessica's expression, she could have guessed the answer.

"Hi, Sook. No, not really." Jessica spent most of the day wide awake, thinking about her situation. She tried to examine and compare her feelings toward both men. But still, she wasn't anywhere near a decision. She knew in her heart that she loved Jason. What she couldn't understand was why it hurt so much to see Hoyt with another girl.

"I've picked up some of your clothes for you. They're in the hallway." Sookie informed her. Sookie walked over and took Jess's hands and said gently, "You're probably gonna get the bleeds from not sleeping, so you might want to drink some extra TruBlood or, uh… go out, maybe?"

"Thanks, Sook. Mind if I take a shower first?" Jess gave her a wary smile. Jessica knew that hadn't been an easy thing for Sookie to say.

"Not at all, go ahead. I'll heat a bottle of TruBlood for you." Sookie gave Jess an assuring smile.

Jess walked out to the hallway to retrieve her bag. "By the way, do you know what time Bill will be leaving?" Jessica asked from the hallway.

"He said his flight is at seven. Why? Do you need something?" Sookie put some salt into the soup and stirred it.

"No, I'm just wondering." Jessica answered. "I'm gonna take my shower now." She announced.

"Okay." Sookie didn't even have to shout, but she knew Jess could hear her perfectly. She heard the bathroom door close and Sookie went back to concentrating on her soup. She had a feeling the next few days were going to be rough.