A/N: So how did we feel about the Eric POV? I'm still trying to get back into his head, so be patient. Warning: The time line is about to get a little wonky in bit. I've really got more to go through to bring this story around to where I'm trying to take it, so prepare for this to be a little longer than DP (we're not even into the real meat of the story yet). I am also starting a new job after the holidays, so updates may not hapen as frequently. That said - please enjoy! And don't forget how I love to hear from everyone!

~Yve

***

"Are you saying the tooth fairy comes here? She just breaks into our house like some hood?"

Abel was sitting in the chair next to me, watching an old Family Guy DVD on the extra laptop. My head was pain. I had my right leg pulled up to my chin and my arms wrapped around my knee, cradling a cup of coffee. I was taking up the smallest amount of space I could manage, hoping I would insulate myself from the outside forces acting on the nerve centers already exploding in my head. It wasn't working. I cringed as Abel chuckled at Stewie – quietly, but still not quiet enough.

It had been five days since my weird blackout in Stella's office. I had gone home soon after Stella woke me up that night. I'd tried not sleeping the first couple of nights, but you can only stave of exhaustion for so long. And when sleep finally hit like a wrecking ball, it pulled me down hard. I woke up sweating, my heart racing, and I couldn't remember anything. I decided if I was going to have these weird dreams anyway, I might as well get back to a regular sleep schedule. The next night… nothing.

Then, night before last, the migraine ensued. Austin was begging me to make an appointment with a neurologist, since I'd been sleeping in such a weird way and she was afraid I was exhibiting signs of narcolepsy or maybe epilepsy. So, not only was I trying to stave off the pain, but I was met with the task of keeping Big Sister at bay.

"Hey," Abel laid a gentle hand on my shoulder. I startled anyway. He smiled weakly at me. "Take your hour. You hungry?"

"No." I looked at my watch. Seven forty. "I think I'm gonna head over to the shop next door. Soak my head in some frigid water for a bit, see if that helps." I gathered my bag and crutch, and shuffled out the door and down the sidewalk toward Aura. It was a little Aveda salon where I knew the lead stylist. She would get me worked-in in the evenings when they weren't too busy, and she gave an amazing scalp and neck massage. I held onto a few choice pieces of literature for her before shelving anything. It worked out well. I'd called her this afternoon to see if she had any suggestions for alleviating a killer migraine. We shall see.

I love the way an Aveda store smells. They are a bit fucking proud of their products, but I buy them faithfully. I don't know why. I'm addicted. My hour break passed in bliss. A warm oil scalp massage and then a cool soak, followed by a soft blow-dry and light curl. There is something so relaxing about the tactile sensations associated with someone messing with your hair. I was really starting to feel a bit of relief. Now the pain was back on a scale of one-to-ten, hovering around seven-ish.

I hobbled back in the door of FL almost ready to face the remaining five hours of work. Abel wasn't anywhere handy and the store was currently devoid of tunes, so I tossed my bag into the caddy behind the desk and slumped into my chair, ready to queue up a Pandora station. As the first song came floating on over the speakers, a steaming cup of coffee appeared in front of me. Two splendas, light cream. Abel reclaimed his seat next to me as I smiled at him from behind the lip of my cup.

"You look like a new person."

"Stop screaming at me." I whispered back. I had already turned my attention back to the computer. I was starting to research some training techniques for hyper vigilant, separation sensitive dogs. Poor little guy. It wasn't that we hadn't been busy today, but most of our customers liked FL because we don't bully. We make ourselves available, but at least try not to pester them too much. At the moment there were maybe a dozen or eighteen customers scattered around the stacks, but things were dying down. It was getting harder for Stella to justify staying open as late as she did. She'd like to claim The Fly Leaf kept vampire hours, but it just wasn't worth it. Most of the vampires in the state tended to congregate in the bigger cities – Houston, Austin, San Antonio, and of course Dallas boasted the largest vampire populations in Texas. There were hardly any in our little town. Then again, who would know unless they wanted you to?

Abel kept swiveling back and forth in his chair thumbing through an old copy of The Undiscovered Self, but I got the feeling he'd already read it enough to have it memorized cover to cover. He took a moment to check out a cute little cheerleader type, dressed in a very unconvincing goth-wannabe outfit, and shameless in her rather unpolished flirting technique. I let out a strained chuckle as she walked out the front door with a defeated slump to her shoulders. Abel was sometimes so oblivious it was humorous.

I took the opportunity to sneak a peak at him fidgeting beside me. He was definitely someone to notice. He was tall-ish at about six feet, a little pale, with dark green eyes and almost-black-brown hair that was a little shaggy so he was always sweeping it out of his eyes. He was working on a five o'clock shadow, but it didn't do much to hide his age. I thought he looked a little like Nick Stahl. Tonight he was wearing properly worn (nearly worn-out in places), faded jeans, a yellowing t-shirt and an equally worn-out heather grey pullover. I turned back to the computer screen as another customer approached the counter.

"What?" He asked as the woman exited the store after making her purchase.

"Hmm?" I intoned innocently.

"So… is your sister…?" That was an abrupt subject change. Or had he been asking me about Aus and I hadn't registered?

"Yes?"

"She's a, well, she's pretty attached to Stella, huh?"

"They've been friends for years, you know that." I was, of course, avoiding the obvious question. Not my place to confirm or deny what everyone already knew. He took the hint well. He was nothing if not intelligent.

"Hey, she was pretty worried about you the other day."

"She worries." This was not my favorite topic of conversation. "Did you get a lunch? It's your hour."

"Yeah, I think I'm gonna grab a sushi roll from across the street and bring it back. You want anything?"

"Whatever you wanna bring back for me. A roll or two sounds good." I shoved a twenty across the counter at him then waved him on as another customer came to make his purchase.

The rest of the evening passed at a crawl. My enthusiasm and the absence of pain after my little massage earlier in the evening faded quickly. I enjoyed my sushi – but who wouldn't? – and the fact that Abel insisted on paying for it, stuffing my money back into my bag. That was the high point of the night. The store was dead before midnight and we had recovery and pre-closing finished by twelve forty-five. Stella was out of town for the rest of the week, so Abel volunteered to take me home instead of me waking up Aus. By two o'clock I was pretty sure we'd watched every popular, cleaver, or disturbing video on youtube, and probably more than a few shitty ones. I was very ready to go home.

We both agreed we needed a late night snack, and What-A-Burger seemed like the easiest solution. We sat in the parking lot in Abel's old Nova eating and chatting easily. The awkwardness of his earlier inquisitiveness seemed to have passed.

"So, I was thinking," he began after gulping down a handful of fries. "There's a sleep study going on in a lab a friend of mine is doing some graduate work for. I figured, you know, after Stella gets back and we can take a couple of days off together…"

"You think that's a good idea? I mean, relevant?" In all honesty, the less time I spent around doctors and lab technicians, the better. They gave me the creepin' willies (yes, I have retained some of my East-Texas dialect from my younger years). "Wait. Did Bat Girl put you up to this?"

"Whoa, ouch!" He held both hands up in defense. "It's not like that. I know she's pressuring you. I just think you might learn a few things – if not what's causing them – about those migraines. They'd even pay you to do it. All you'd need to do is schedule a date, fill out some paperwork, and sleep in the lab a couple of nights. I'm gonna do it for some extra cash, so you wouldn't even have to be up there alone."

He lowered his hands and looked at me questioningly.

"I'll think about it."

I watched as a smile spread across his lips. He even looked a little relieved. "That's all I ask." He wadded up his empty paper bag and wrappers and tossed them in the back seat. Then we were pulling out of the parking lot and down the street toward his great aunt's house and my apartment.

He pulled up the driveway and parked behind the big house. I shoved my hand into my purse and fished around for my keys. When I looked back up I saw Abel staring intently at the steering wheel. Then he looked over to me.

"Need help getting inside?"

"Nope. I got it." I smiled a little too brightly. Suddenly I thought of the blonde woman in the store the night the dreams started. I shook my head more to clear the thought than to tell him I really could manage by myself. On impulse I leaned in and rapped my arms around him in a hug.

He slid his arms around my waist in a very friendly way, returning the gesture.

I suddenly crashed into a misty vision of Abel holding my wrist, reading the strange words tattooed across my left forearm. I had a ragged, old grey and blue striped coverlet wrapped around me, and not much else.

He broke away a little suddenly and I realized I had been holding on a bit tight.

"Thanks for the ride, Kiddo." I opened my door and maneuvered awkwardly out of the vehicle with bag and crutch in hand. "See ya."