"Oh," Sookie said, averting her eyes to the food in front of her, "that..."

'Yeah. That." Vivienne smiled

Sookie sighed, then put her fork down and turned her body towards Vivienne. "I heard him," she began, and held up her hand as Vivienne made to interrupt. "I don't mean that in the normal sense. I heard his thoughts. That guy was just a jumble of emotion when he held us up!"

"Oh," Vivienne said, her eyes on Sookie's while her fingers played with the stem of her glass.

"So, you're a telepath?" she finished with a smile.

"Yeah," Sookie replied, a slight blush creeping up her cheeks.

Vivienne grinned, "Cool. How long have you known about it?"

"Uh, ever since I can remember. I've heard some horrible things over the years and I've gotten really good at blocking them out..." She frowned as Vivienne nodded. "I know you've got your own quirks, but you seem to be taking this really well..."

"Oh," Vivienne smiled, "You're not the only telepath I know."

"What??" Sookie exclaimed.

Vivienne smiled and waited for the waitress to clear their table before continuing. "My cousin back in Dallas is a telepath. I've know about his gift since we were four..." She grinned as Sookie's jaw almost hit the table.

"Wow! I've never heard of anyone like me before! Do you think maybe I could call him?" Sookie asked

"I don't think so, Sook, I'm really sorry," Vivienne replied, "See he's not really comfortable with the whole thing. He wont even talk to me about it, really. He gets all defensive when I ask him questions."

Sookie's face fell. "Oh, that's ok. I understand. I still feel kinda good knowing I'm not the only one!"

Much later, the girls sat side by side on the swing seat with coffee in hand, and they had almost exhausted almost all of their questions regarding each other's abilities.

"Can you hear my thoughts, Sookie?" Vivienne asked, one leg curled under her, while the toe of her other leg rocked the chair back and forth.

"Nope," Sookie shook her head, a small smile on her face, "I know it's rude, but I tried, that first day you came into Merlotte's, but I couldn't hear a thing..."

Vivienne nodded, a her brows drawn together in a small frown. "Is that normal? Are you like me, where it works on some but not on others?"

"Kinda," Sookie replied, "I can hear everyone but Bill. Can't hear a peep out of him. You're the first silent human I've come across, though. Ever." She brought her cup to her lips before pausing to glance sideways at Vivienne. "You are human, aren't you?"

"As far as I know!" Vivienne laughed, disturbing Ziggy, who had been snoring quietly at their feet.

The golden rose and stretched, then placed her head in Vivienne's lap with a small sigh.

"She's a good dog, isn't she?" Sookie asked, watching as the golden practically smiled at the scratch from her master.

"She sure is," Vivienne replied with a smile.

They sat silently for a while, listening to the muffled sound of the traffic beyond the trees and the rustling of the nearby trees as they swayed softly in the breeze.

"Can I ask you a question?" Sookie began. "Well, actually, it's more like a favor."

"You can ask..." Vivienne smiled.

The blonde cleared her throat before continuing. "Well, since it turns out that both Maudette and Dawn were fangbangers, I've been thinking that I might ask Bill if he can take me to that vampire bar in Shreeveport. I might be able to ask some questions. I don't know. I figure it's worth a shot..."

Vivienne nodded, having a fairly good idea of what was coming.

"Well," Sookie continued, "I was just wondering if maybe you could come with us? I totally understand if you don't want to, I mean, we have no idea how they would take my questions; but now that I know what you can do, I'd kinda feel better about having you there..." her voice trailed off.

Vivienne was silent. Thinking. She didn't relish the idea of going to that bar, (she had plenty of memories of dealings with vampires, and not all of them pleasant), but she was fairly certain that there would be no reason to have to reveal her abilities. "No problem," she replied with a smile.

"Are you sure?" Sookie asked, unable to hide the relief in her voice. "I'd have to tell Bill about you. He'll want to know why I'm dragging you along..."

"I get that," Vivienne replied. "And I'm sure."

"Oh!" Sookie squealed, and threw her arms around her friend. "Thank you so much! I've never been somewhere like this before, but I feel so much better now, knowing that you'll be there with me!"

Vivienne laughed, and allowed the hug. "I'm not working tomorrow and I'll be out all day, but if all's ok with Bill, then you can just call me on my cell, and I'll meet you at the bar..."

"Sounds good," Sookie replied, rising to leave. "Whatcha got planned for your day off?"

"I'm just going to visit some friends," Vivienne smiled. They don't live too far from Shreeveport, so I'll take some club-clothes with me."

"Nice," Sookie smiled, and paused before pecking Vivienne on the cheek. "Well, goodnight, then. I'll call you once I've spoken to Bill, ok?"

"Sure thing," Vivienne replied, and remained on the porch to wave, as Sookie disappeared down the drive.

She wandered around the house, making sure all the doors and windows were securely locked, before taking a hot shower and climbing into bed. 'Busy day tomorrow,' she thought, as her eyes grew heavy. 'Got to figure out some way to get Dominic off my back and I get to visit a vampire bar. Go me!'

Needless to say, she did not sleep well that night.

.