Sorry for not posting as often as I had planned but just reassuring all of you that I will finish this to the end. (There are only about 3 or 4 chapters left to this). My muse has just been playing hide n' seek with me as of late so it was a bit tough writing this one. This is my first "original" chapter since all the others have a large amount of dialogue borrowed from the book.

Enjoy and of course, the reviews are always so lovely!

……………..

"So what exactly did you plan to do to the red-headed Were anyway?"

Her question caught me off guard, especially because Sookie had been so upset over my outburst at the bar earlier this evening. Truly, I had planned to kill the insolent Were though in hindsight it was clearly a bad idea. It would have strained the weak relationship that was being formed to defeat the witches. It would have also upset Sookie even more and that was definitely something I had no intention of doing.

"I had planned on scaring her enough until she apologized to you. If she did not…" I trailed off, hoping she would understand me without having to explain myself. She nodded and continued chewing on the sandwich she had made for herself as she became lost in her thoughts once more. She was sitting on top of the kitchen counter while her naked body was wrapped and kept warm by the afghan she had lent me many times before. Since I was not as susceptible to the cold, I remained naked and stood beside her as I watched her eat with a sense of rapture.

"You don't have to do that."

"Do what?" I asked with no idea as to what she was referring to.

"Stand there while I eat. I know it must make you uncomfortable." She had finished chewing and had set her meal aside on the dish beside her though she had not finished. I had not intended to make her uncomfortable.

"No. I find it quite fascinating actually. Is it good?" I asked.

"What?" she stared down at me in disbelief and set the sandwich down on the small white plate beside her.

"The sandwich. Is it any good? I love the facial expression you make when you take a bite. It must be delectable."

"Oh… yeah." She looked at me carefully, probably wondering if I was teasing her or serious. "It's just that I haven't had the chance to sit down and eat for some hours now so it's really good right about now." She reached for the glass of water beside her and the afghan slid slightly from her body, revealing her beautiful and warm skin. I would have begged her to remain naked for me had it not been for the draft coming in from the windows in the kitchen. We were in the solace of her home, our home, and as soon as the weather was warmer I would make nudity a staple in her home whenever she was around me. There really was no use in having her cover up for me.

I picked up what was left of the sandwich and inspected it carefully. It was so simple and not at all like the elaborate meals in her cookbook but she had been happy eating it just the same. Two pieces of bread covering a thin slice of meat and some substance she called mayo coating the inside of the bread. While she had been at work earlier this evening, I had explored her kitchen and knew fully well that there were better options for her to eat. Overall, the evening had been a mess and with the stress of having to keep me hidden away added to her missing brother, she had to keep herself healthy. Not to forget that I had completely exhausted her after our very pleasurable return home. The added scent of fae had only served to make her far more appetizing..

Once she had finished taking a drink and had set her glass of water down, I raised the sandwich to her mouth as she took another bite from it, her eyes intent on my face as she did so. She took it from me as she finished it on her own though her chewing was hesitant. It was almost as if she were still afraid it would displease me to see her eat. I tore my eyes away from her to let her finish the last of her meal and looked to the wall on the kitchen.

"What is that for?" I pointed out to the strange calendar I had seen earlier today and had planned to ask her about.

"You mean my Word of the Day calendar?" She said between bites, "It was a gift from a friend this past Christmas. There is a new word for every new day and I try to introduce it into my vocabulary. It's been so hectic lately that I just forgot about it today. What does it say?" She had finished eating and drank the last of her water

"June 4th, 2005. And the word is Beatitude, a state of supreme happiness or blessedness."

"I've heard that one before. It's from The Beatitudes of God, 'Blessed are they who mourn: for they shall be comforted'" She sighed as she placed her arms around me and rested her head on my shoulder. The afghan had begun to slide off of her body again but I quickly grabbed it and placed it around her body. "I'd heard that when my parents died. I tend to forget some of the other ones sometimes but that one stuck with me the most." She was lost in her own memories of past loved ones, reminiscing about parts of her life that I'd only had glimpses of in old family photos. I tried to tilt her face up so that I could kiss her but was surprised when she pulled away.

There was a charming blush spreading across her face as she looked away from me. "I have to brush my teeth. I know how much it bothers you." To any other human, her quiet voice would have been nearly inaudible but I had caught every word quite clearly.

"Bother me? Did I have anything against it before?" It was one of those moments when I desperately wanted some part of my memory back so that I could know what had transpired between us before. I had been a fool if had ever protested in turning her away merely because she had finished feeding.

"Well no, not you. I just meant… with Bill. He was a bit touchy about food and everything."

"I don't care." I kissed her and this time she did not pull away until she had to catch her breath. "I drink blood and you still kiss me."

She smirked. "When it's my blood in your mouth it's not so bad, just weird. Now if it was someone else's, I'd turn you down for sure."

"Then I promise to only drink from you from now on." She laughed at my solemn promise and shook her head before she became thoughtful and quiet once more.

"Do you still not remember anything" It was a tentative question and she made sure her eyes were level with mine as she asked this.

"Nothing specific. There are times that things or others feel familiar to me but I am still as lost to my old self as before." It was difficult to find a better word that could describe the feeling I would get whenever I was around someone or something that I knew of before. Most of what I did was merely thanks to my subconscious and the knowledge that had been ingrained in me.

"Being around Pam and the others didn't help?" she tucked a strand of hair from my face to distract me from noticing her growing concern.

"Somewhat but I feel closer to you than I do with anyone else."

"Wow." She exhaled, shocked by my admission though it was something that I was sure I had made perfectly obvious to her from the beginning. "I mean Pam and you are… were pretty close so I'm flattered. She is after all your right-hand in everything"

"Yes, but it seems she is far too occupied with handling things at the moment to have time to bother with me. That is after all why you were the one that 'got tangled up in our vampire shit' in the end."

She threw her head back in laughter as she heard me echo the words she said when she had learned I was to be under her watch until I was myself again. I actually did like Pam and though at the moment I was useless to her or any of the other vampires from my area, she respected me all the same. Even after Chow had expressed his doubts of whether I would ever recover from this spell, she had proven to be highly supportive that it would all turn out for the best and reprimanded him for his insolence. She had complete faith that I would be well once this was all over and I trusted she could handle things well. Pam had been the one to enter Sookie's home earlier when she had been sent to retrieve me for the Merlotte's meeting along with Chow. The other vampire, Gerald, had been waiting in the car since he had never been invited into Sookie's home. Pam had not said much and eyed me carefully as I locked up the house and made sure that everything would be safe when Sookie and I returned home later in the evening. The arch in her brow and the hint of a smile could be seen on her otherwise stoic and delicate features. I could have sworn that she found something highly amusing thought I did not bother to question her at all.

Thinking about Pam's efficiency only served to remind me that I hated feeling useless and it only served to increase my sulkiness. "I'm sorry." I said to Sookie. It was so sudden and I instantly wished I had kept it to myself. I did not want to burden her with my insecurities any longer. She had enough problems of her own.

"About?" she asked gently as her unavoidable contentment filled me with an indescribable feeling of happiness as it crushed any sense of gloom in me. Her arms tightened around me meanwhile I kept the afghan around her with my own embrace. It was difficult to truly resent my current predicament when it had all led me to her and these little moments.

"For being such a burden at times." Her legs wrapped around me and I could feel her growing need as she pulled me closer. "For being reckless." I kissed her neck and let my lips linger there to feel the soft pulse as my nostrils filled with the sweet scent of her blood. Her scent was delightful, sweet and stronger; it was all thanks to the fairy that had accompanied her inside the bar. "For nearly attacking the fairy that saved your life…" The laughter, the completely satisfying laughter that she gave whenever she was completely and fully happy returned again.

"I'd forgotten about that," She said as she pulled away from me and tilted her head to the side thoughtfully. A small feigned frown appeared in her face though the delight in her eyes was still visible. "I should be jealous about that one. Even a tiny bit mad too."

There was no explanation I could give her as to why I had suddenly craved for the fairy except that it was merely an instinct of my vampire nature. Pam and Gerald had managed to suppress their hunger for the fairy far better than me. Had it not been for Sookie... No. There was no time for pessimism tonight. Now that Hallow would soon be defeated, I would not dwell on the things that could have gone wrong. I would not waste these precious hours, minutes, and seconds on troubles. Determined to erase any doubts of my desire for her, I pulled her close to me.