"Talking"
'Thinking'
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Wow, this story has been up for 3 years, and with you guys reviewing, favorite, alerting, I've been able to keep this story going. Thanks to Singerdreamer42 for helping me do this rewrite, giving me ideas to help improve it, and telling me when I've made errors that my sleepy mind didn't pick up at that time. So thanks again!
Bill helped the women off the bar stools, holding their hands just in case they fell. They left their drinks and walked over to where Eric and Pam stood.
"What are their names?" Eric asked Pam under his breath.
"The blonde is Sookie Stackhouse while the other is Charlotte Griffin." She answered quickly as they got closer.
Sookie was on Bill's left side while Charlotte was on his right as they stood in front of Eric.
"Bill Compton." Eric greeted the southern vampire blankly. "It has been a while."
"Yes well… I've been-" Bill started but was cut off.
"Main streaming. I heard." Eric smirked as looked at the women. "I see that is going well for you."
"Yes, of course. Uh, sorry. Eric, these are my friends-"
Bill was interrupted by Eric once again. "Sookie Stackhouse and Charlotte Griffin."
"How do you know our names?" Charlotte looked at Eric as she asked him, but he was too preoccupied with the humming and the green of her eyes that matched her bracelet.
Pam answered for Eric, seeing how he was just watching Charlotte. "I never forget a pretty face." She then pointed to her temple. "You're both in my vault."
"Great, that's just great." Sookie smiled nervously. "It's nice to meet you."
"Well, aren't you sweet." Eric smirked at Sookie.
"Not really." Sookie answered quickly as Charlotte gave a small smirk at her friend's nerves.
Eric noticed Charlotte's smirk and smirked back at her. Eric turned his head slightly to speak to Pam, but kept his eyes on the trio. "Vår lilla djurpark börjar växa." (Our little zoo is starting to grow.)
Pam smirked. "Jag vet." (I know.)
Eric then turned his attention back to the trio. "So Miss Stackhouse, Miss Griffin, I understand you two have been asking questions about some of my costumers."
Charlotte cleared her throat. "Yes, we have."
Eric looked at her when she spoke up, noticing the accent. 'Not from here, foreign, must be new in these parts. Would've remembered her easily.' He thought as he looked her over. 'What is she to be making that hum?' "If you have anything to ask, you should ask it of me." He looked her over once more. "Anything." He purred.
"Alright." Charlotte went into her bag and pulled out the pictures of the women. "Do you recognize any of these women?" She handed the pictures to Eric, but he grabbed her wrist and pulled her onto his lap.
Thoughts went crazy in Sookie's head from people around the club as they saw.
'Who the fuck is she?'
'Why is she sitting on his lap? I SHOULD BE SITTING THERE!'
'That's one lucky bitch, he's gonna fuck her 'til she can't walk.'
'Man, he always gets the hot chicks.'
Eric took the pictures from Charlotte's hands and used his other arm to hold her onto his lap, trapping her there.
The hum was so much louder now, it felt like it would vibrate his head off, but he could also smell her more now. 'Lavender and vanilla.' he took another whiff of her scent, feeling it relax him. Both were soothing smells to his nose, completely different from the women who came here with chemicals around them that made him want to choke.
Sookie and Bill looked pissed at Eric's action but Bill held Sookie back as Eric ignored them, looking at the pictures. "This one offered herself to me." He whispered as he pointed to Maudette to Charlotte. "I found her too pathetic for my intentions."
He then looked away from the picture and to Charlotte's chest.
Charlotte became red and he smirked. She covered her chest with her long hair as he looked back to the picture.
He pointed to the picture of Dawn next. "Now this one however, I have tasted."
"I remember them both." Pam spoke, staring at Sookie.
"On account of the vault?" Sookie spoke with a hint of a smart-ass tone. Bill grabbed her hand and squeezed it, trying to keep her quiet.
"Never had any of them though, not really my type." Pam smirked at Sookie, liking her tone.
Charlotte looked at Sookie, pleading for her to help her out of this spot.
Sookie quickly understood and looked to Eric. "Well," she reached over and took the pictures, putting them in her purse. "Thank you very much, that is all of your time I need to take." She grabbed Charlotte's forearm and pulled her out of Eric's lap, or at least tried.
Eric pulled Charlotte back onto his lap tighter and glared at Sookie. "I'm not done with you yet." He then whispered in Charlotte's ear. "Especially you." He whispered as he smelt her more, needing her scent around him, to relax him. He had never smelt anything so soothing or craving in his years. He turned back to Bill and Sookie and smiled. "Please. Sit."
Sookie looked at Bill and sat down on the seat on Eric's right.
"So, Bill," He moved closer to Charlotte's hair and took a whiff, he sighed and returned talking to Sookie. "Are you quite attached to your friend?"
"She is mine." Bill stepped forward a bit, protectiveness in his chest. He had promised to protect them after all.
"Yes," Sookie caught on. "I am his."
Eric looked back to Charlotte. "What about you?" he squeezed her waist, making her jump.
"I am Bill's as well." she glared at him.
"What a pity. For me." He looked at her over and stopped at her neck. 'Beautiful…' He licked his lips and smirked. He then spoke to Bill. "Sit with us. We have catching up to do, you and I, it has been too long."
Bill was tense he didn't want to talk to Eric, he wanted to get the girls out. "Yes." Then he sat down on the chair on the left of Eric.
'My backup was supposed to be here 15 minutes ago.' Sookie snapped her head to look at where the thought was coming from. She found a shifty looking man in a net shirt and a cap looking around. 'I can't handle a raid on my own. These fucking vampires...' the man hissed in his thoughts.
"We have to get out of here." Sookie spoke suddenly.
Charlotte tensed up. "Sook? What's wrong?"
"Eric, the cops are coming. There's going to be a riot." Sookie told him quickly, very concerned.
Eric narrowed his eyes. "Tell me you two are not undercover cops?" Eric glared at them as he squeezed Charlotte's waist, making her hiss.
"We're not, but the man in the hat is!" everyone turned to see who Sookie was talking about. He was looking around, as if looking for something.
"Even if you are right, we do nothing illegal here." Eric sat there stone faced but still held onto Charlotte tight.
'Damn it.' She cursed. 'Too tight! I can't get away.'
'Go ahead and do it.' The bald man's thoughts entered her mind, showing her that he was getting bit in the bathroom. 'Open me up. I don't care. Make me feel something.'
"There's a vampire named Taryn in the lady's room with that man you kicked before. She's feeding on him."
'Damn it Sookie.' Bill cursed in his thoughts
"How do you know this?" Pam asked, suspicious.
Sookie looked to Charlotte and Bill. Bill shook his head no as Charlotte mouthed it.
"Freeze! Police!" Everyone in the bar looked to the entrance. "Police! No one move!"
Nobody listened as they ran away screaming.
Eric picked Charlotte up as he stood up and quickly put her back down but held onto her wrist, his instinct was telling him to not let her go while they were in this danger, and Godric always told him to listen to that. "Follow me." He growled.
Charlotte was dragged while Bill, Sookie, and Pam followed Eric. They walked through a back door. "I enjoyed meeting you both. You will come again." Eric let Charlotte go farther away from Bill and Sookie as Bill picked Sookie up.
Eric and Pam disappeared.
Charlotte ran to the car, since she was the closest as Bill was a few feet away.
The trio were back in Bill's car.
Charlotte was in the back lying down with her shoes off and covering her ears as Bill's music was playing.
Sookie scrunched her face, not liking the music either "Can we turn this down?" asked Sookie.
"Please!" Charlotte pleaded from her seat. Charlotte heard the volume go down and sighed happily.
"What language are they speaking anyway?"
"Cambodian." Bill turned to Sookie. "Do you not like it?"
Sookie leaned over and turned the music off completely. "You think we can pull over for a minute? I need things to stop."
"Sure." Bill drove off the road and onto a dirt road, then turned the car off.
Sookie looked to Bill apologetically. "I just need a couple minutes of quiet and then we can go."
"Well, I'm in no hurry. You take your time." Bill gave her a small smile.
It was then quiet for a bit until Sookie spoke once again. "I'm sorry I've got you into any trouble."
Bill shook his head. "We vampires are always in some kind of trouble. I prefer to be in it with you."
Bill and Sookie moved closer to each other until police sirens made them jump apart.
"This can't be happening." Charlotte mumbled to herself as she sat up.
A cop came to the driver's side of the car and knocked on the door. "Open up."
"Open the window and let me do the talking, okay?" Sookie told them quickly. Bill put the window down but didn't say anything. "Hello, officer." She greeted the officer sweetly.
"Evening, miss." He starting shining his light into the car then at Charlotte's face, making her shield her eyes from the light while mumbling curse words at him. "What are you three doing out this late?"
"Driving home from a double date." answered Sookie as the other 2 stayed quiet.
"Uh-huh." He seemed to not believe her. "We were raiding a bar not too far from here. Y'all coming from there by any chance?"
"No." Sookie shook her head. "Not us."
"It's called Fangtasia. That ring any bells?"
Sookie stayed quiet as the cop looked at Bill. "How about you, son? You seem awful quiet. Don't you talk?"
Bill tensed his jaw, not liking this man. "I am a man of few words." He grounded out.
The cop smirked "A man of few words. I like that." Sookie looked back at Charlotte and they just looked back to the cop. He looked to Sookie. "I'm going to shine this light in your neck misses… if you don't mind."
Bill turned his head slowly and his fangs clicked out. Charlotte's eyes were wide but she calmed herself down as she saw Sookie moving her hair, showing the cop her neck.
"Why don't you ask her to shine it between her legs?" Bill growled.
"Excuse me!" the cop pulled back as soon as Bill said that.
"Bill!" Sookie gasped appalled as she put her hair back.
"Vampires sometimes like to feed from the femoral artery. The blood flows more freely down there so one doesn't have to suck as hard." Bill then faced the cop slowly. "Or so I've been told."
The cop went and pulled his gun out. Bill just stared at him. The cop's expression changed suddenly, like he was dazed.
"I like your gun. It's a beautiful weapon." Bill spoke slowly.
"Bill, what the hell?" Charlotte whispered from the back seat.
"Thank you." said the cop in a dazed way.
"May I have it?" asked Bill.
"Bill, I want you to stop this right now." Bill ignored Sookie.
"Sure. I guess." The cop then handed Bill the gun.
"Nice." Bill said once he got the gun. He bounced it up and down. "It's heavier than I imagined. Is it loaded?"
"Well, yes. Yes. It is." the cop answered still in a daze.
"Bill, you're freaking us out, stop this!" Charlotte yelled from the back seat.
Bill then aimed the gun at the cop. "Now, you listen to me, officer. I do not take kindly to you shining your light in the eyes of my female companions." The cop put his light down. "And as I have more than 100 years on you, I do not take kindly to you calling me 'son'." He spat. "So the next time you pull somebody over on suspicion of being a vampire, you better pray to God that you're wrong. Because that vampire may not be as kind to you as I'm about to be. I'm not going to kill you. But I am going to keep your gun. That sound fair?"
"Yes."
"Yes, what?"
"Yes, sir."
"There you go." Bill pulled the gun away and gave the cop a smile. "You have a nice night."
He drove away and Charlotte looked back at the cop to see him crying as he pissed himself.
They drove until Bill stopped in front of Charlotte's house.
"Good night, I'll call you in the morning Sook." Charlotte waved goodbye as she walked to her door to see a door there. She smiled at the collie. "Hello! What are you doing here?" She patted it on the head. "You should get home to your owner, they must be worried sick." She opened the door and walked through. She waited for it to come on in, to give it some food before it went off, but it didn't budge. She played with it for a bit until it suddenly ran away.
Charlotte shrugged her shoulders and decided she needed to sleep.
Sookie saw her house coming closer and she felt edgy ever since they drove away from the cop. She wished that Charlotte wasn't dropped off so she would be left alone with Bill.
Bill's odd music was playing as he pulled up to the house. He turned off the car, cutting the music off.
Bill turned to Sookie to see she was tense as she leaned more onto the doorway to not be close to him.
Bill sighed. "We've had a difficult relationship with law enforcement for many years." Sookie just stayed quiet, wanting to just get out the car. "The man provoked me. I could've done much worse."
"I'm sure you could have. And if Charlotte and I wasn't there, you probably would've killed that man."
Bill scoffed. "Hardly."
Sookie tensed her jaw. "Would you have bit him?" Bill said nothing. "See? That's just crazy. You would've fed on him then tossed him aside like and old chicken bone. And don't tell me that's what vampires do." Sookie looked away from Bill to get her purse and gasped as Bill quickly ran to open her door in a gentlemanly manner.
"I'm doing my best to mainstream."
Sookie got out the car. "Suckin' the blood from a police officer is not mainstreaming. Neither is hosting orgies or listening to crazy Chinese gargling."
"It's Tuvan throat singin'." He corrected her.
"Whatever. Tuvan? I don't even know where that is." Sookie walked passed him.
Bill stopped her. "You cannot be frightened of everything you don't know in this world."
"Well, my world's openin' up mighty fast. And what I got here may be boring, but it's safe. And after the past couple of nights, safe sounds pretty good about now." Bill moved to get the door for Sookie but she held up her hand, stopping him. "No, thank you. I can get this door myself."
Bill looked down. "I won't call on you again." He moved back to his car as Sookie opened her door and entered.
Eric sat at his throne, the club empty except for Longshadow, who was at the bar, and Pam, who was patrolling the area for any more cops.
He unbuttoned his suit jacket and caught a whiff of lavender and vanilla. He reached for his black shirt and pulled it to his nose.
He held back a moan. 'It smells like her.' He took another whiff of it, not noticing Longshadow at the bar, watching with a confused look upon his face.
'What the fuck has gotten into him?' Longshadow thought as he watched the Viking take a deeper whiff of his shirt.
Pam came into the back part of the club and froze, spotting her maker smelling his shirt with a low growl. "What the fuck are you doing?" she questioned him.
Eric stopped what he was doing and looked to Pam. "What?"
"You're smelling your shirt over there to the point where you're getting a hard on." Pam pointed out the budge in his pants. "What's the matter with you?"
Eric cleared his throat as he glared at Pam. "Nothing."
Pam narrowed her eyes and walked toward where her coffin was. "Whatever."
Longshadow shook his head as he continued to clean the bar from glass, blood, and beer.
Lafayette awoke with a jump as there was banging on his door. He grabbed the bat by his bed and slowly moved toward the door, clenching the bat hard. He sneaked a peek in between the blinds and rolled his eyes. His fucking cousin, Tara.
He unlocked the door and stepped back as Tara marched her way in.
"Stupid... fuckin'... bitch." With each word, Tara would throw something at him.
Lafayette knocked the last item back with his bat softly. "Bring it on, hooker. I was all-parish in high school."
Tara placed her hands on her hips. "Boy, I knew there was some stupid genes in our family, but you must've gotten 'em all. When did you start dealin' V?"
"You want some? You can use it." He joked.
"You makin' jokes about it? You gonna get killed, you dumb motherfucker."
Lafayette rolled his eyes. "Is this 'cause I'm sellin' V or 'cause I sold it to your sweet Jason?" he teased.
Tara glared at Lafayette. "Givin' vampire blood to Jason is like givin' Ho Hos to a diabetic. You know he can't control himself."
"I was very clear on how to use it. It ain't my fault he didn't listen."
"I had to take him to the ER. They drained his penis with a needle the size of an ice pick. Twice. It was the most disturbing shit I've ever seen in my entire life, and I have seen some pretty disturbing shit."
"Yeah." Lafayette mumbled.
"He suffered, Lafayette. Bad." She yelled.
"Okay, okay. I'm sorry, I... I'll go and check in on him in the mornin'. And I know he mean a lot to you and everything, but how is comin' up in my joint at 3 a.m. throwin' my shit around gonna make anything better?"
Tara grabbed two more items and threw them at him. "It makes me feel better." She grunted.
"Okay." He looked at his cousin as he lit up a joint. He was gonna need it with her crazy ass here.
"Shame on you, Adele Stackhouse." The woman on the other side of the phone call spat. "Shame on you."
Gran, who was making eggs for breakfast, making an extra plate more since Charlotte was over, was on the phone with a woman telling her shame. "Who is this?" she questioned.
The woman just continued her rant. "A vampire is a perversion of humanity. And you, vampire lover, are perverting our community by bringing one into the open."
Gran rolled her eyes. "I suggest that you hear what he has to say before you take to lynchin' him."
"I don't care what sort of wretches you keep in your own home, but when you bring freaks and abominations into our churches in front of our children, you will-"
Gran tensed up as she heard Charlotte and Sookie come into the kitchen, she changed her tone. "Well, I will be at the church early if you would like to stop by and say hi. Mr. Compton's talk starts at 8."
"You will go to hell for this." The woman swore.
"All right, same to you. Bye, now." She hung up.
Sookie took a glass of orange juice as she sat down, and Charlotte went over to Gran to give her a kiss on the cheek hello.
"Good morning! Thank you for inviting me to breakfast again."
"Oh it's no problem, I don't like you staying in that house all alone when you can have breakfast here." Gran smiled and handed Charlotte a plate of sausage patties. "Would you put this at the table for me dear?"
"Sure." Charlotte placed the plate at the table and sat down.
"Phone's been ringing early today." Sookie noticed.
Gran turned to the girls with a smile. "Everyone is excited about meeting the town vampire tonight." She placed the eggs on the girls' plates. "I didn't hear you come in last night." She told Sookie.
"You went to bed early. You didn't want to hear me come in."
Gran gave a small smile as she went back to make the bacon. "I just thought I would give you two a little privacy is all."
Sookie frowned, offended. "Am I really that much of a lost cause, you gotta pin all your hopes for me on a vampire?"
"But he seems like a very nice man."
"Well, he's not." Sookie spat.
Gran came over and sat down, grabbing Sookie's hand. "He's not nice?"
"Or a man."
"Sookie, that's not a nice thing to say." Charlotte scolded Sookie.
"Oh, goodness, did you two have a fight?" Gran asked.
"No." Sookie shrugged. "Kinda. I don't think Bill and I have very much in common. He doesn't think like we do, he doesn't feel the way we do, if he feels at all."
Gran sighed. "Well, I know that if I had a chance to know somebody who'd experienced the world differently, I'd see it as a blessing and not something to be scared of."
"Or hate." Charlotte added.
"I don't hate him. I just don't want to be his girlfriend." Sookie grabbed her cup of juice when the phone rang, but Gran didn't want to pick it up since she knew that it was more people telling her she was going to hell. "The phone's ringin'."
Gran waved her off. "The machine will pick it up." She smiled. "Now, eat up girls, I'll make the bacon now."
Sookie hissed as a mess of ketchup landed on her hand as she was transferring the ketchup to a fuller bottle. Charlotte sat next to her, polishing the cutlery.
"That vampire Bill would get a rise out of that." Arlene teased.
Sookie grabbed a rag that Charlotte wasn't using and wiped the mess off her hand "You'll have to ask him yourself."
"Vamp club not all it was made out to be, huh?" Arlene asked. "A lot of freaks, I hear. And people from Arkansas." She whispered the last part.
Charlotte shrugged. "It was fine, little too much though."
Arlene looked to Sookie. "So what, then? Did that vampire get all handsy with you?"
Sookie sighed, annoyed. "I can take care of myself. And, I won't be goin' out with him again." Arlene looked at Sam, who hid a smile at the news. "Okay, that place was kinda freaky, but how are you ever gonna know until you go see for yourself." Sookie pouted.
Sam held up his hands. "I said my piece yesterday."
"I'm sorry it didn't turn out like you'd hoped, but better it happens now than before either of you end up hurt, or dead." Arlene pointed to Charlotte and Sookie. She walked away as Sam walked over.
"I hope you're not too flipped out to miss the Descendants of the Glorious Dead tonight."
Sookie shook her head. "No, I gotta go. Gran spent all week on it and Charlotte is going too."
Charlotte nodded as she continued polishing a spoon.
Sam nodded. "Good, 'cause, I was gonna ask if you wanna go with me." He saw Sookie paused and quickly added. "Maybe we'll go grab a cup of coffee or somethin' after."
Sookie stared at Sam. "Are you askin' me out?"
"Yeah, I am. That's pretty much how I do it. Sometimes they even say yes."
Everyone was staring at Sam and Sookie now, and Sookie noticed. "Everyone's lookin' at us."
"I know, you better say yes."
"Shoot." Sookie shrugged. "Why not?"
"Good." Sam turned his head to everyone watching. "Eyes back on your food, people."
Sookie finished the ketchup transfer and handed it to Andy. "Sorry about that. They were all kind of watery."
"No sweat." Andy told her. "Love is in the air, huh?"
"I guess."
Now was his time to strike. "Even that brother of yours. He gettin' serious with Tara?"
Sookie was taken back. "Tara who?"
"I thought you knew." Andy frowned.
"If there was any truth to it, I would."
'There you go, right there. I knew it.' Andy thought, not knowing Sookie was listening in. 'Tara ain't bangin' Stackhouse. Bitch lied to me.'
"Watch your mouth, Andy Bellefleur." Sookie scolded.
Andy frowned. "Didn't say anything." 'I know I didn't say anything, but I did think it. And you heard it, that means it's true. You can hear what people think.'
Sookie panicked. "Let me get you a refill on that tea." She grabbed his drink and ran to the back. "I need a sweet tea." She told Charlotte, who was filling up her own order of sweet teas.
"Sure."
"Tara here yet?"
Charlotte thought about it. "She just came in. She's in the ladies' room."
Sookie patted Charlotte's back as she made her way to the ladies room where Tara was.
Tara quickly attacked Sookie with questions. "Why didn't you tell me you were goin' out with Sam?"
"Because it just happened." Sookie told her slowly, not expecting it. "And how did you know?"
"Arlene, she works fast."
"All he did was ask me to the DGD tonight. It's in a church for cryin' out loud. And why shouldn't I?" Sookie asked. "He's perfectly nice, and he's got a good job, and he's not a vampire, and-Why do I have to justify this to you?"
Tara bite back the jealous flare in her chest as she shrugged and leaned on the sink. "I'm entitled to know what my girl's up to, ain't I?"
"Yeah, about that." Sookie closed the door. "Why does Andy Bellefleur think you're seein' my brother?"
Tara sighed. "I went down to the sheriff's and gave Jason an alibi."
"What'd you do that for?"
"Because I know he's innocent and so do you. And we both know the more time he spends with the police the more he's gonna talk himself into trouble."
Sookie noticed the look on Tara's face, like she was hiding something. "Is there somethin' else you're not tellin' me?"
"No." 'la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-l a-la' Tara sang in her thoughts so Sookie wouldn't know about everything that happened.
"What are you doing?" Sookie asked.
"Not every detail of everyone's personal life is your business, okay?" Tara snapped as she opened the door and marched out. "Keep that girl away from me." She pointed to Sookie.
"Is everything okay?" Sam asked as Sookie passed.
"Hey, you know, now that I think of it," Sookie placed the cup down near Andy's plate. "My brother and Tara have kind of been sneakin' around lately. It's a shame they feel they gotta keep it quiet."
'She must think I'm an idiot, like I don't know now she's coverin' for him too.' Andy panicked as he remembered that Sookie might be hearing his thoughts. 'Shit, don't look her in the eye.'
Sookie pressed her lips together. "If you're gonna accuse me of lyin', be a man and say it out loud, for Pete's sake. Either way, I'm gonna hear you whether you look me in the eye or not. Let's face it, there's not a whole lot of ideas in there. Like mice in a cage. I know you're graspin' at straws, but don't drag my brother down with you."
"Charlotte! Charlotte, dear, over here!"
Charlotte raised her head to look for the voice when she saw Gran in the church, waving at her to come in.
Charlotte smiled and hurried to her. "Hello Gran! It's so nice to see you! How are you?"
She smiled brightly at her and hugged Charlotte. "I'm wonderful dear, do you mind helping me tonight?"
"Of course I don't mind, what do you need?" Charlotte stepped to the side as Gran handed papers to people coming in.
"I need you to go and keep Bill company for a bit, I feel bad for leaving the poor man alone."
"Sure, bye Gran!" Charlotte waved goodbye as Gran waved back.
"Here you go." Hoyt was handing out pamphlets on what the DGD was about when he felt something hit his back.
"Oh, I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going." Hoyt turned around to see it was a blushing Charlotte. "Oh, hello Hoyt!"
"Hey there Charlotte." He looked her over. She was wearing a vivid, coral-colored, silky-smooth chiffon sleeveless dress that draped gracefully from a cummerbund-like, pleated waistline and flows down over a fully lined skirt and scalloped pumps made of genuine cream leather with teardrop cutouts. "You look very beautiful."
Charlotte smiled at Hoyt, making his heart pump. "Thank you Hoyt, you look very handsome as well." Charlotte's attention was pulled away as she noticed an overweight blonde woman trying to take the cross off. "What is she doing?"
"What?" Hoyt turned around and he spotted his momma trying to get the cross off. "Momma, what are you doin'?" both he and Charlotte made their way over to her.
"Help Momma get this thing down." She grunted.
"Get it...?" Hoyt looked around to see people were watching them. His ears became red in embarrassment.
Maxine rolled her eyes. "Our guest of honor is a vampire. Adele forgot that little fact when she booked the church for tonight. What do you think's gonna happen when he comes out and sees a giant cross?"
Hoyt shrugged. "I don't know."
"Well, I don't either. But if he sizzles up like fatback bacon in front of everybody, there's not gonna be much of a meetin', now, is there? Now come on, make yourself useful."
Hoyt sighed. "Quit jerkin' on it."
Charlotte laughed softly as he walked to his mother. "See you later Hoyt."
Hoyt and his mother turned to watch as Charlotte walked away. Hoyt waved back as his mother just watched Charlotte.
"Is that your girlfriend?" she asked bluntly.
Hoyt turned even redder as he started to stutter. "N-no! Momma!"
Charlotte opened the door to the back and nearly jumped out of her skin. "Oh sweet Mary Joseph, Bill, you scared me."
Bill was just sitting there, drowning in his grief at what happened last night with Sookie and welcoming the darkness that was in the room.
Charlotte noticed how he hadn't touched his Tru Blood and was slouched. "Bill… are you alright?" He looked at Charlotte with a sad look in his eyes. Charlotte quickly pulled a chair in front of him. "Bill?" Bill said nothing still.
Charlotte sighed as she placed her hand on top of his that was on top of the table. She patted his hand and squeezed it, showing him it was okay if he didn't want to talk, that she was still there for him.
The corner of Bill's lip rose a bit but fell right back.
"Hi, there, munchkins." Gran greeted Arlene's kids as Arlene and Rene brought them along. "I reckon you're the youngest history buffs we've had at the DGD."
"Yeah, well, they wouldn't stay home for nothin'. The minute they heard a vampire, they had to come." Rene nodded his head to Gran as they took the pamphlets and walked by.
"Well, hello there, Mayor Norris." Gran greeted the mayor.
"Evening, Adele." He nodded his head to her. "Quite a turn out."
"Isn't it?" His wife turned up next to him as she crossed her arms.
"Good thing Myra made extra ambrosia." The mayor chuckled.
Gran smiled. "Andy Bellefleur will like that. He's with the Dearborne's. Look, Lord know why Bud insisted on wearing his uniform."
"Is our vampire friend here?" The mayor asked quietly.
"In the kitchen waitin'. I left him with a bottle of that Tru Blood they like." Gran pointed to the kitchen area. "I also sent in one of Sookie's friends to make sure he is okay before he goes on, have you met her yet? She's a lovely young woman." Gran praised.
"No, but I hear she's from Ireland." The mayor smiled. "An Irish beauty in our small town." He joked. "But about the vampire, do you think we've taken enough precautions?"
Gran frowned. "Against what?"
"Well, to make sure everybody's safe. Ordinarily I wouldn't pay no mind, but there's young folks here."
Gran's tone turned stern. "Sterling, we don't have anything to be frightened of, Mr. Compton is a perfect gentleman. Frankly I am more worried about what we might do to him." She handed him a pamphlet and sent him and his wife on their way.
Hoyt tried his hardest to get the cross out, but nothing worked. "Momma, this ain't gonna budge without a jackhammer or a blowtorch."
"Get down from there, I got a better idea." She told him.
Sookie came in with Sam. "Gran, look at all the people." She gasped. Bill heard her voice and tensed, making Charlotte notice.
"Isn't it exciting?" Gran hugged Sookie. "Well, Sam Merlotte, what a nice surprise."
"When she told me she was comin' here alone I thought it would be a shame if she came without an escort." Sam told Gran.
Bill looked down as he continued to hear the conversation.
Gran smiled at Sam. "How very gentlemanly of you."
"Okay, we're sittin' down now." Sookie told her Gran. "Oh, where's Charlotte?"
"She's in the kitchen, making sure Mr. Compton is ready to go on and has some company." Gran then shooed Sookie and Sam to their seats.
Sam and Sookie were looking for seats when Sookie noticed empty seats by Tara. "Hey, girl." She greeted her best friend. "Can we join you?"
"Hi, Tara." Sam awkwardly waved from behind Sookie.
Tara grumbled. "Sure, come on in. Could always use more white people."
"Welcome." Gran's warm voice carried around the church because of the microphone. "It certainly is a pleasure to see so many new faces here this month. But Mayor Norris assures me that there will be enough ambrosia and tipsy cake for everyone. Now, our guest tonight is a gentleman who, despite what you might have heard, is one of us. His family was among the first to settle in Bon Temps and he bravely fought for Louisiana, in the war for Southern independence. Let us welcome one of the original sons of Bon Temps back to the town that he helped build."
Charlotte stood from her chair, took Bill's Tru Blood and put it into the fridge. "You ready Bill?" She asked but did not get an answer from Bill. She walked over to Bill and squeezed his shoulder.
"I give you First Lieutenant, William Thomas Compton."
Bill stood up and walked to the door. He was greeted with people clapping and Charlotte followed him out the door. Gran waved her over to the seat next to her as soon as she saw Charlotte
"Thank you, Mrs. Stackhouse. If you'll pardon me for a moment." Bill stepped away from the stand and reached behind him, where the flag was covering where the cross was. He ripped it off and people gasped, expecting him to go up in flames. He then took the flag pole and placed the flag back where it belonged.
"As a patriot of this great nation, I wouldn't dream of putting myself before Old Glory." He calmly walked back to the stand. "As you can see, I did not burst into flames." He laughed as the others did as well. "We vampires are not minions of the devil. We can stand before a cross, or a bible, or in a church, just as readily as any other creature of God."
"How was I supposed to know?" Maxine whispered to Hoyt.
Bill continued his speech. "I am honored to stand before you tonight. Vampires have traditionally been very private, perhaps to our detriment. But I believe, if we reach out to one another, that we can coexist, and even thrive together."
Bill's eyes landed on Sookie, who looked down as soon as they locked eyes. "I served in the 28th Louisiana infantry. Formed in Monroe in 1862, under Colonel Henry Grey. It was there that we learned the value of human life, and the ease with which it can be extinguished."
Sheriff Dearborne leaned over to Andy and whispered. "That son of a buck's been killin' since the 1860s. Why stop now?"
Andy frowned. "That don't prove anything. My cousin Terry killed 20 Iraqis in Fallujah. You sayin' we should lock him up?"
"Your cousin Terry should be locked up."
Bill continued his speech. "Uneducated as we were, we knew little of the political or ideological conflicts that had led to this point."
"Momma, he's so white." Toby, Arlene's son gasped in awe.
"No, darlin', we're white. He's dead."
"...but goin' to war was not a choice for us. We believed to a man, that we had a calling to fulfill. A destiny handed down to us from above. God forbid should any of our men become wounded or injured. Often the only recourse for a serious injury was amputation. More times than I care to remember, I had to hold down one of my fellow soldiers while the medic took a saw to his arm or leg."
Sookie turned around when she heard some snickering come from a few rows back. She saw 3 guys getting garlic from their pockets and a garlic squeezer.
"We had no anesthesia at the time. Apart from a bit of whiskey."
"Load it up." One of the guys told the one with the Garlic squeezer.
"It often seemed that the man bein' operated upon suffered more from his surgery than he did from his original wound. Even if he survived the amputation, the chance of subsequent infection was high."
The guy squeezed the garlic squeezer. "Fucker." He whispered loudly
People shushed him. "Keep it down."
Suddenly Charlotte felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She turned to Gran. "I'll be right back."
Gran nodded. "Be careful, dear." She whispered as Charlotte walked away
Charlotte walked to the steps of the church and pulled her phone out, checking who it was. She saw the name 'Ivy' on the screen and accepted the call. "Hello? Ivy?"
Bill continued doing his speech, ignoring the ignorant men a few rows from him. "In the winter months, the nights could grow bitter cold."
Hoyt was in the kitchen, cleaning out the fridge when he spotted the Tru Blood bottle. He opened it and sniffed it, scrunched his nose, and put it back.
When Bill paused his speech, an older gentleman rose from his seat near the middle. "My great grandfather was in the 28th. I wonder if you might have known him. His name was Tolliver Humphries."
"Tolliver Humphries?" Bill smiled. "I knew him very well. We fought together. Tolliver Humphries was my friend. He was a brave man, perhaps to a fault. I dare say it contributed to his death."
"What happened? Were you there?" the older gentleman asked.
Bill nodded. "I was." He started to remember the battle field they fought in. "We were about 20 miles north of where I stand now. The Federals outnumbered us 5-to-1, and they had better firepower as well. We'd spent much of the afternoon recovering the bodies of those we'd lost."
Help me, please!
He could still remember the screams of the young man.
"There was a boy in our troupe... No more than 13 or 14. Who lay wounded in the middle of a field under poor cover. He called to us all day. He begged us to help him. He knew he would die if we didn't. I admit I considered shootin' the boy myself just to shut him up. But Tolliver convinced me that would be an act of murder, not war."
Hold your fire!
"He told me God wanted him to rescue that boy."
I'll go get him.
"I pleaded with him not to go. To think of his wife and children back home. He ran into that field like it was a cool spring day."
Please!
"They shot him just as he reached the boy. It was obvious to us that he was beyond help. And then, after a while, the boy started screamin' again."
"What happened to the boy?" Maxine asked.
"He lived. He survived the day," Bill's words helped Terry calm a bit, his PTSD was acting up again with all this war talk. "And then under cover of darkness we retrieved him later that night, along with the body of Tolliver Humphries. But it seems that Tolliver was right. God did look after his descendants."
The older gentleman geld back tears at the tale of his great grandfather, pride swimming through him for having such a brave ancestor.
The mayor raised his hand. "Yes, Mayor Norris."
Mayor Norris rose from his seat. "I've been digging in the archives this week..." he moved closer to Bill. "And I found this old tintype. The inscription on the back says, 'Mr. W.T. Compton and family.' Can you tell us if this is a picture of you?" he handed Bill the tintype.
Bill took it and opened it with slightly shaky hands. His throat clenched up when he opened it to see the faces of his wife and children looking back at him. "This...This is a remarkable photograph. I remember the day we gathered to have this taken."
"When was the last time you were with them?" Maxine asked.
"When I went to war in 1862. I..." Bill paused. "My human life ended before I had a chance to come back home."
"But you became a... A vampire after that, right?" Rene asked. "Couldn't you go back to your family then?"
"No, that wouldn't have been possible." Bill closed the tintype quickly and took out his handkerchief, dapping at his eyes to gather the blood tears before anyone saw and became frightened. "I apologize. This is not a subject I'm very comfortable speaking about. But thank you for the photograph, mayor. Brings back many memories for me." He crumpled up the handkerchief so no one could see it the stains. "Any other questions?"
How did you guys like this chapter?
I added a lot more scenes than before and nearly tore my hair out on which ones to use lol The idea for Charlotte holding Bill's hand for comfort and Eric smelling his shirt to get the scent of Charlotte was Singerdreamer42 idea, so thank her!
I'm gonna head to sleep since it's now 10:16 am for me, night guys!