Chapter Seven

I kept turning around in my seat to look through the glass panel at the coffins behind. I was headed back to Shreveport during the day in an Anubis shuttle. Eric and Rasul were safely stored in the coffins behind me. Rasul was replacing Pam, at least in her role at Fangtasia, since she was staying on as Sheriff of New Orleans.

I slept, off and on, during the ride. We arrived at Pam's house first, and Rasul was deposited inside. Talk about door to door service. Eric and I were taken to his house next. I remembered to tip the handlers after they placed his coffin in his light tight bedroom. All in all, the bulk of the day was uneventful which left me with way too my time with just my thoughts to keep me company. I called Jason from Eric's house to ask if he could come pick me up since I didn't have a car anymore. He was at work, but Michele managed to get off early and offered to come fetch me. I was so desperate that I took her up on the offer.

"I really appreciate you coming all the way over here, Michele," I told her for about the fourteenth time.

"Sookie, I don't mean to get in your business," Michele said, "but you aren't running off from him, are you?" I could hear that she was worried Eric was abusing me and that's why I was sneaking off during the day. Jason hadn't told her everything about the night Alexei escaped, but she thought a lot less of Eric for his part in that night.

"No, it's not that. We just need some time apart to figure things out is all," I told her.

"Oh, honey, I've been there. But the bottom line is you're willing to put up with all their shit or you're not. You can't change a man, even if he wants to change. You just gotta take 'em as they come."

"I don't know, Jason seems like a whole different person to me lately." I could hear her thoughts getting defensive, so I added, "He's just a lot more thoughtful than I ever gave him credit for. Seems to me like you have a lot to do with that."

She smiled, pleased with the compliment. "Maybe you just never gave him enough credit." She wasn't being mean, just matter-of-fact. I liked that about her.

Michele offered to take me by the grocery store on the way to my house. I was grateful since I'd been gone for a few days and really couldn't remember if I had any food at home or not.

"If you want to come by the dealership tomorrow, I can talk to Pop Schubert about getting you a good deal. You just tell him how much you got and he'll find a good car for you." Damn if she wasn't a keeper. I had to remember to tell Jason that, again.

"Thanks, Michele. That'd be just great. I can probably head over around 11am? Does that work?"

"Sure, Sookie, whenever is good. See you tomorrow."

After I put the groceries away, I called Sam to let him know I was back. It was a tense conversation and I could tell there was a lot Sam wanted to say that wasn't coming out. He told me I was back on the schedule, and asked if I could come in tomorrow night. I agreed, hoping I really would be able to get a car tomorrow at the Ford dealership where Michele worked.

I decided chicken and dumplings would be the best thing for me, so I got out the flour and went to work. The sun was getting low as I pressed out the dough balls. Eric would be getting up soon, and I wondered how he would react to my absence and the note I'd left for him.

Claude, with his impeccable timing (I was a few days behind in my calendar), showed up right when I dropped the chicken strips into the pot. "What's for dinner, Cousin?"

"Chicken and dumplings. Yes, there's plenty for you, too."

Claude pulled out a chair and sat in the kitchen while I stirred the pot and checked on the rolls in the oven.

"Do you need any help?" he asked.

I was so shocked at the offer that I froze in mid-stir. "Sure, you wanna set the table?"

Claude got out a couple of plates and some silverware. He forgot the place mats, but since it was just the kitchen table I wasn't too fussy. I filled our plates while he carried the rolls to the table. We sat down to eat, and it felt like one of the family meals I used to have with Gran and Jason all the time.

"I can't come when there are vampires." Claude said unexpectedly.

"Yeah, I know, they don't do too well around fairies I've noticed."

"No. I mean I can't come when you're in danger. I tried to come back after you wrecked your car." Claude still seemed to think that episode was my fault. "But I couldn't."

I realized he was telling me why he didn't come to save me from Victor. I thought back on all the times Claudine had popped in from no where to save my life and those few times she hadn't. I suppose it made sense, really, but I'd never given it much thought.

"Thanks for telling me. I guess spending too much time with vampires isn't good for me." He let that comment stand true by itself.

"I like this," he said, complimenting my cooking. "Is there more?"

"There's plenty in the pot. Help yourself." Claude got up to refill his plate and I smiled at his back. Yep, he was playing the role of Jason alright, making sure there were no leftovers for tomorrow.

"Eric's King of Louisiana." If Claude didn't bother with lead ins, why should I?

"Would you like me to stake him for you?" He was serious.

"Claude! No! Why would you think I wanted that? No."

"He will try to turn you. He has to now. I've told you, I won't be able to stop him once he decides unless I'm already there. Since you never want me in the house with him, it seems unlikely that I would be. I can find his resting place during the day." He looked momentarily wistful, "Though it would be quite a waste." Claude had big lust for Eric.

"Claude, I don't want you or anyone else to hurt Eric. He would never turn me. He knows I don't want that. I appreciate you're trying to look out for me, I really and truly do, but I love Eric. And he loves me. He would never hurt me and he would never betray me like that." Of all the doubts I had about Eric, that wasn't one of them. Well, not until now. Thanks, Claude.

From his expression, Claude clearly disagreed, but he let it go. I asked after Dermot and got a brief update. In true Jason fashion, Claude disappeared upstairs while I did the washing up.

It was full on dark out, but still not early enough to go to bed. After the seventh time I opened my cell phone to call Eric, I decided maybe TV would be the necessary distraction. Nothing much was on, so I rummaged through my small video collection. I paused at the Buffy tapes Tara had gotten for me.

When Amnesia Eric stayed with me, we watched them together by the fire. I kept thinking about Eric like that, as two different people. I hurt when I'd lost him, when he got back all of his memories except the ones with me. I'd loved him in that brief time and then he was gone forever. Even when Eric finally remembered, he wasn't the same. Who was I really in love with, I wondered? Amnesia Eric or Real Eric? The only one that existed anymore was Real Eric. Now he wasn't just the Sheriff of Area Five, he was also the King of Louisiana. That was a lot of baggage.

I wasn't at the point where I could analyze my relationship with Eric yet, so I grabbed Thelma and Louise and curled up in the old afghan everyone hated.

"Mind if I join you?" Claude asked, reappearing suddenly beside me.

I scooted over on the couch and pulled up one side of the afghan for him to sit under. Not surprisingly, Claude was a big Brad Pitt fan, especially from behind. I laughed, "I've seen better." Claude looked skeptical, then a sly grin spread over his face.

Claude was still asleep by the time I'd showered and gone back to the kitchen for my second cup of coffee. I was surprised when I realized how much Claude had grown on me over the past few weeks.

I heard Andy Bellefleur's anxious thoughts before his loud knock on my front door.

"Good morning, Andy," I said as I opened the door for him.

"Sookie." He nodded. He was battling with himself about asking me for advice about Bill. Andy was still struggling with the revelation that he was Bill's direct descendant, however far down, and that Bill was the mysterious relative who had given the Bellefleur's a large inheritance not long ago. The whole debate was clear as day in Andy's head, but it had nothing to do with why he was here. "I need to ask you some questions about your car accident."

"Of course," I said. "Come on in. Can I get you coffee or anything?"

"Sure. Sugar, no milk."

We sat down at the kitchen table while I told Andy everything I could remember about the car and the accident, right up until the point where Claude was involved. Andy knew about my little quirk, and he was always uneasy about it. But he didn't have a clue about fairies, so I was pretty sure he didn't want the whole story. Not that it would have been helpful for him to know, anyway.

"You didn't get a partial plate or anything off the car?" He asked for a second time.

"Andy, it was real dark and he didn't have his lights on. And it all happened in a second, so I didn't have time to register anything other than that I was about to have an accident."

"So you didn't hear anything unusual or nothing? From the guy in the car?" Andy was trying to ask if I'd been able to read the mind of the person behind the wheel, but he wasn't quite willing to just come out and ask.

"Not a thing." I tried to think back to be sure, but I honestly couldn't remember.

"Then you just went off to New Orleans?" He was pretty sure I was hiding something.

"No. When I came round, the other car was gone and mine was all wrecked. I was so grateful to be in one piece and I knew I was only about a mile from home, so I just walked home and went straight to bed." Andy didn't need to know about the details I was leaving out.

"How'd you say you got out of the car again?" He asked, trying to trick me into telling him something more. Poor Andy, if you think about tricking me, I'll hear it.

"I honestly don't remember, Andy. One minute I was getting ready to turn down my drive, the next I was lying on the grass. I might have been thrown out when we hit, but I wasn't conscious for that part."

Andy was annoyed, but he was ready to give up. He knew when he was fighting a losing battle. Sometimes. "Well, I'll have to file it as a hit-and-run, then. Doesn't sound like it was your fault anyway, and no one's reported another wrecked car nearby."

Just then Claude came downstairs looking sleepy and completely naked. Andy's eyes just about popped out of his head, and I decided now was the perfect time to gather up our cups and rinse them out very thoroughly in the sink. Claude went straight for the coffee, poured a mug, and then went back upstairs without a word.

"Your cousin?" Andy asked, even more suspicious now.

"Yeah. Wrong side of the blanket." I shrugged. It was all I could do not to keel over laughing at the whole encounter.

Andy was nice enough to drop me off at the Ford Dealership on his way back to the station. He told me I shouldn't expect to get anything from my insurance unless they found the other car, but at least my insurance wouldn't go up from the accident. I was glad to be out of his head as I got out of the car and went to find Michele.

Michele's ex-father-in-law took me around the lot. Normally, a busty blonde going used car shopping without a man was a really stupid idea. However, if that blonde was also a telepath whose brother was in a serious relationship with the someone the owner still thought of as a daughter, the scales tipped the other way.

Claudine had left me a large inheritance, so I knew I'd be able to pay for the car up front, even without a hope of insurance money. I didn't like having debt, and the property tax on Gran's house was bad enough, so I was glad to find something descent in my range. I settled on a little gray 2002 Ford Focus. It didn't have too many miles, and it came with airbags as I'd promised myself I'd get. It also had a sun roof, which was my one indulgence. I thought about what Eric's reaction would be when I told him that. Then I remembered I was trying not to think about Eric today.

By 4pm, I was driving off to work in my new (to me, anyway) car and feeling pretty good about myself. The dinner shift wasn't too bad, though it took me a while to adjust. I'd spent the past few days hanging out with the mentally silent undead, so the explosion of voices in Merlotte's took some getting used to.

Kennedy was working the bar, which meant Sam was in his office. He didn't like doing the paperwork part of running a bar, but he was good at it. I poked my head in for a quick break to say 'Hi'. He looked stressed, but gave me a smile despite it. Sam was a good man and a good friend. I tucked the idea that was building away to think about later and went back to work.

Bill and Judith came in late into the evening. I remember my jealousy every time I saw Bill come in to Merlotte's with Selah, and I was proud of myself for not feeling the same way right now. I realized that I really could be happy for Bill and Judith. It made me feel like a good person again, a feeling I'd been lacking over the past few days.

"Guess you made it back alright," I said to Bill.

"Yes, and you. I'm surprised to see you here." I gave Bill a puzzled look. "I had thought the King wouldn't have allowed it." He put so much bitterness and hate into that one word that I actually flinched when he said it.

"Eric doesn't control my life, Bill. You know I wouldn't put up with that." I didn't feel like letting him ruin my good mood, so I turned to Judith and asked, "What can I get y'all?"

I dropped of their bottles while still in motion so I wouldn't have to chat. Bill was still looking bitter and sulky, but I couldn't get a good read off of Judith. I hoped she'd be able to cheer him up and pull him out of his funk, but then I remembered Bill wasn't my responsibility anymore and stopped thinking so much about him.

Jason stopped in the see me just before closing. "I like the new car, Sook," he gave me a quick hug. When he was finishing his beer, I came back over to his stool to say 'bye.

"Michele did me a real favor. A couple actually. Tell her I said thanks again, will you?"

"Sure thing, sis." With another hug he was back out the door.

I wasn't staying to close tonight, so I said goodbye to Sam and Holly and drove home, in my new (to me) car. Claude's car wasn't in the drive so I figured I had the house to myself tonight. I flipped up my phone to scroll past Eric's number, again, and saw I had a new text message: Miss you. I stared at it for longer than it would take a one-year old to learn to read it. Eventually I just replied: Me 2, and then went to bed.

The next day all the windows in my house were wide opened. I didn't mind the breeze, but I was pretty creeped out since I knew I hadn't left them that way last night. When I went into the kitchen to start the coffee going, I found a note from Claude on the oven door telling me I'd left the gas on stove going. I suppose that explained the opened windows. Apparently Claude had once again come to my rescue. It was oddly considerate of him not to wake me up, I thought, especially considering how cranky he'd been about having to pop me out of the car during the accident that wasn't my fault.

After my first cup of coffee, I realized how odd the situation really was. Last night I worked the dinner shift at Merlotte's, so I hadn't used the stove or the oven since two nights ago when Claude and I had dinner. I know I turned everything off then. I supposed it was possible that I bumped the knob when I came in last night, but it didn't seem likely.

I didn't have much time to let my paranoia get the better of me since I had to get ready for Tara's baby shower. Tara was busting at the seams with twins, and she just couldn't wait for them to come out. We decorated onesies, painted Tara's toenails (not that she could see them), and baked every cake Tara could possibly crave over the next two days.

Tara has asked everyone for books on parenting, and she had enough to stock a Barnes and Noble now. Tara's folks had been the worst parents possible, and that made her determined to be the absolute best. She was already looking through the selection for tips by the time everyone had left and I was gathering the scraps of paper and marker lids lying around the room.

"Thanks, Sookie. It's a big help to JB, you being here and helping clean up." Tara's husband was as beautiful as he was dumb, but he was a good man who knew when to listen to her. I had figured he'd be stuck with clean up duty when he got home, and I was happy to help him out.

"If those two critters stay this big for a year," I said, holding up a onesy, "they'll still never have to wear the same outfit twice."

"No kidding." She set the book down. "How was your romantic get-a-away with Eric?" Tara, like everyone else, assumed that's why I up and disappeared for three days, and it was easier just to let them think that.

"It's was good." I said without the required enthusiasm to back it up.

"Uh huh. What's up, Sookie? You two didn't have a fight did you?" Her voice was a little more hopeful than a friend's should be when she asked. Tara wasn't thrilled about the idea of me, or anyone else for that matter, dating a vampire. I couldn't really blame her after her experience with Franklin and then Mickey. But, as I kept telling myself in the hope that I'd eventually believe it, Eric was different.

"Sort of, but we'll get through it." Tara had her own worries at the moment, so I didn't want to add mine to her plate. I finished the bulk of the straightening and left her alone with her library.

Lying out in the sun, I was thinking about Tara's thoughts of raising her kids. I kept picturing myself as her, pushing a double stroller through the park or the mall. Then I thought of my two days with Hunter and realized I'd made my decision. After I'd flipped to even out my tan, I went inside to call Remy. We made a plan to meet the following day, and I got ready for work.

My mind had settled back into the routine of shutting people out, so it was a lot easier working at Merlotte's tonight. I had my smile firmly in place and was doing pretty well at making up for lost wages from my venture down to New Orleans.

I should have been pretty happy about the fact that I'd just had two completely drama free days that didn't result in any deaths or dismemberments. I should have been happy that I hadn't been hit or beaten up or forced to do anything that I didn't want to do. Yep, the past two days had been down right . . . boring. There really wasn't a better word for it.

As soon as I got home, I pulled out my cell phone and began once again scrolling to Eric's number. This time, I hit "Call".

"May I come now?" He answered before the first ring. Just the sound of his voice eased the tension that had been building over the past two days without him. He must have felt my longing as much as I felt his. I had asked him to give me space and time, and he had. But he hadn't want to.

"Please."