Sam rolled over and snuggled closer to his lover. His flesh was hot against cool, smooth skin. He sighed and drew his companion into his arms, feeling a deep sense of connection, affection, satisfaction. But something felt wrong. Sam opened his eyes. Vampire Bill was staring at him with deep, soulful eyes, and a crooked smile, fully fanged, and fully—

Sam sat bolt upright in bed, hearing himself yelp himself awake.

Damn Vampire Bill, and his vampire blood. Sam absolutely refused to admit to himself how many times he'd had this dream since he and Bill had been forced to take desperate measures to save Bon Temps.

He glanced at the clock on the bedside table. He had barely been asleep for an hour, he realized. Sam sighed, rolled back over, and tried to banish Bill's handsome face from his mind. Wait, handsome? Sam squeezed his eyes shut in embarrassment. Not only was Sam not remotely gay, he certainly wouldn't be attracted to a vampire, and if he was, it wouldn't be the one who was going to marry Sookie!

The embarrassing dream was shoved roughly out of Sam's mind by two loud shotgun blasts. Sam leapt out of bed, grabbing his jeans from the floor and practically diving into them. The hell? The sound had come from Merlotte's parking lot, just a few yards from Sam's trailer. He was out the door in seconds, feeling the sting of the gravel drive beneath his feet and the warm, humid night air on his bare chest.

Sam looked around wildly and spotted Jason Stackhouse aiming his gun at one of his waitresses, who was apparently a good four hours early for work. Sam launched himself at Jason, but by the time he attempted to tackle the idiot the gun had been lowered and chaos had been downgraded to confusion.

"What the hell are you doing?" Sam demanded.

"I came here to hunt them gators that got Anne Marie," Jason said. "She popped out the bushes and scared the tar out of me."

Sam turned to Peggy, who was standing there with her arms in the air, clutching her keys in one hand. "What the hell are YOU doing?"

Peggy lowered her arms and threw herself at Sam, who caught her in his arms and held her there before he knew what he was doing.

"Oh, Sam, I'm so glad to see you. I thought he was going to shoot me!" She glared at Jason. Sam could feel her trembling in his arms, and it brought out his protective nature. He rubbed her back gently.

"I told you, I was hunting gators!" Jason said defensively.

"Are you insane? There are no gators this far from the river," Peggy said, clinging to Sam. She was wearing some subtle sort of perfume that teased at Sam's nose in a very inviting way. Sam was having trouble processing this situation in a logical manner.

"Anne Marie," Jason said to Sam, "She—"

"Anne Marie is fine," Sam said irritably.

"She's alive?" Jason's face lit up, irritating Sam even further.

"No thanks to you. Go home, Jason."

"Maybe I should go check on her."

"That's a bad idea," Sam growled. He squeezed Peggy a little tighter than he meant to, and she gasped, but didn't let go of him. Sam began to be aware that she was slightly taller than him and the embrace was rather awkward, though not the least bit unpleasant.

"Come to think of it, I don't know where she lives," Jason said. "But I'll come back tomorrow night. She's working tomorrow, ain't she, Sam?"

"Anne Marie has tomorrow off," Sam lied.

Jason hardly seemed to notice. "Do you think I should hunt the gators down anyway?"

"I don't think there are any gators, Jason," Sam said. "And you shouldn't be wandering around the woods at night. Go. Home."

"I'll see you tomorrow, then, Sam. And thank you, for looking out for Anne Marie." Jason grinned. He winked at Peggy. "Sorry to have frightened you, miss." And then he turned and took his shotgun back to his truck. Neither Sam nor Peggy spoke until he was in it and gone.

"Who was that?" Peggy asked bewilderedly after a moment.

"Sookie's brother."

Peggy laughed. Her laugh was very bright and compelling, and Sam found himself chuckling as well. "They aren't much alike, are they?"

"No," Sam said, smiling, finally relaxing. "I don't suppose they are."

Very slowly Peggy let go of him and they disentangled themselves from one another. Sam was sorry for it, and Peggy seemed to be as well. He saw her eyes wander down over his bare chest and suspected the glint in them held admiration.

"Should I ask who Anne Marie is?" Peggy tilted her head.

"She's another waitress. Works nights, so that's probably why you haven't met her yet. I'm sure you will – Bon Temps is a small town." Sam smiled faintly. "Two new people moving here in less than a months, that's big news."

"I suppose it is," Peggy agreed softly.

"Do you live alone?" Sam blurted out. "Are you married?"

"No… not married," said Peggy. She reached up and ran two fingers down his cheek. It was unshaven and scruffy, and the small gesture made Sam shiver. She was trying to distract him and it was working. He had to get this situation back on track before it got any further out of hand.

"Can I ask why you're here at this hour?"

Peggy sighed. "Well, you know how bad I am at waitressing, and well, I just couldn't sleep so I thought I'd come over and start my morning prep. I didn't realize it was so early. I don't sleep much at night."

"If you need four hours to do your prep, this isn't the right job for you," Sam said gently, putting his hands on her upper arms. "And where'd you get keys to my place?"

"Sookie," Peggy said. "I didn't realize you lived so close." She moved nearer to him and he caught a whiff of her scent again. Sam bit back a groan.

"Maybe I can help you learn the prep a little better," Sam murmured. He looked into her eyes, but the dim light kept them shaded, dark, and mysterious. He gently pushed some of her golden hair away from her pale cheek.

"I bet you can," Peggy said breathlessly.

Sam leaned in. He couldn't help it. He was going to kiss her. She didn't lean towards him, though he could suddenly see naked longing in her gaze. She wanted him to, she was urging him to with her eyes. His mouth brushed hers lightly and it felt like a bolt of lightning, but before Sam could deepen the kiss, make it into something more than a casual press of the lips, he flew backwards and landed on his butt in the dirt.

Sam shook his head and looked up at Peggy in confusion. Her mouth was open in a round O of surprise, then she was looking around furiously. Sam hauled himself to his feet.

"What was that?" he demanded.

"Gust of wind?" Peggy replied lamely, shrugging.

"Maybe it was a gust of common sense," Sam muttered. "Let me go get a shirt and shoes and we can go into the restaurant." He didn't invite her into the trailer. If a "gust of wind" knocked him over for trying to kiss her, a lightning bolt would probably strike him if he tried more.

Sam rummaged around, trying to find a flannel that hadn't been worn twice already. As he buttoned it up and pulled on his cowboy boots, he heard voices outside. Luckily the window to his trailer was open and Sam had very sharp hearing. He froze and concentrated.

"I told you NOT to seduce him," and angry male voice growled. It was slightly familiar but Sam couldn't quite place it.

"You didn't tell me that," Peggy hissed. "You just said you would be jealous. Besides, what was I supposed to do? I didn't have a backup plan."

Sam was torn between flinging open the door of the trailer and catching Peggy with her co-conspirator, and listening further.

"I was right. I am jealous. You are MINE and that's the end of it."

"You don't even want me!"

"That does not factor into the equation," said the male calmly. Sam felt bad for Peggy. She was clearly in thrall to a vampire and couldn't get out. He couldn't even fault her for whatever it was she'd planned to do at the restaurant in the middle of the night. Obviously her life was in danger.

Sam decided right then that he was going to rescue her. He would let her find whatever it was she wanted from him and then maybe the vampire would let her go. The problem would be discovering just what that was without letting her know that he knew. As for the getting seduced part… Sam grinned. If it would piss off a vampire, maybe he would let her.

"I hate you!" Sam heard Peggy say in an exaggerated whisper. "Now go home – the sun will be up soon."

"You do not hate me. And the sun will not rise for nearly three hours," said the vampire calmly. "Until then, I will be watching. Behave yourself, Margaret."

Sam made loud walking around noises so they would know he was coming, then opened the door of the trailer. As he had expected, Peggy was standing there by herself. The look on her face nearly broke Sam's heart. She seemed bewildered and sad. When she saw him, she forced a smile.

"Are you all right?" Sam couldn't help but asking.

"Oh, yes," Peggy lied. "Let's…let's just…"

"Let's go into the bar and make some coffee," Sam said. He walked across the lot and put his arm around her a bit more possessively than he meant to, and guided the girl into Merlotte's.