I own nothing but a small box of mince pies.

In one fluid movement I had Jason's wrists in my hands, dragging him over the booth toward me and sinking my long sharp fangs into his moist juicy cheeseburger.

Eric slid to a stop at my side and without coming between me and the object of my desire, he gently freed Jason from my death grip. Jason all but threw himself out the booth.

"What the fuck, Sook?" he shouted at me as I demolished the ends of the burger and started on his fried pickles. Jason wasn't one to share food. However, as his indignation gave way to the oddity of the situation, he joined Pam and Eric in watching me eat through every damn thing on the table.

When I was done I let out a satisfying belch and looked up at the three spectators of Sideshow Sookie. I came back to myself seeing the stunned expression on their open mouthed faces, covered my face with my hands and burst into tears.

"No, no, no, Sookie," Eric started, getting into the booth beside me and pulling me into his arms.

"I'm (sob), I'm (hick), a freak!" I wailed.

He shushed and soothed me and rubbed my back.

"Well I see what you mean about surprising," said Pam, sitting down opposite us.

"Will she be alright? She won't be sick or anything right?" asked Jason.

"I don't think so," said Eric, "I think she'll be fine."

"OK," said Jason mollified. Never one to cope well with weeping women he moved himself off to the counter to order up a replacement meal.

"What's wrong with me?" I cried into Eric's chest. Realising I was totally ruining one of his favourite shirts I tried to at least stem the flow of bloody tears if not hold back the ungainly hiccupping sobs. I grabbed up some napkins and tried to mop up my face. Eric took them from me and started dabbing at my cheeks with a little more precision.

"I think, Lover," he began gently, "that we may have to consider the possibility that you are not in fact a vampire. Well not totally anyway." His voice dropped to the faintest whisper. "You can wake in the day and walk in the sun. You have a requirement for both blood and human food and have several distinctly Fae attributes."

Pam for the first time in our acquaintance seemed rendered speechless. I did some more processing. Maybe I could make it into a national sport.

Eric took out his sleek red cell phone and started tapping away at the screen. A second later he held the phone to his ear. "This is Eric Northman and I have urgent business with Niall Brigant." There was a pause of several seconds while some errand boy or girl obviously ran around (or possibly 'poofed' here and there) with the phone in their hand looking for their boss.

"How come you get put through to him and I always have to leave a message?" I huffed.

Eric smiled but lifted a finger for me to hold that thought. "Niall, Eric here. There have been some surprising developments in Sookie's condition. I think it would be best if you met us as soon as possible. I fear she may need your guidance in order to remain safe." Eric paused for Niall to speak.

"We can be in my office at Fangtasia within ten minutes," he continued and then he put his phone back in his pocket.

"Do all supes have such poor phone etiquette?" I asked.

"When you live long enough you come to appreciate others who are informative, succinct and brief," was all Eric replied in return. "We must return to the office to meet with him," he continued, rising out of the booth just as Jason was returning with what looked like two more portions of the cheeseburger special.

Jason smiled a little sheepishly, "I got an extra in case you were still hungry."

"Thanks Jase," I said, wrangling out a smile. I could definitely eat more.

Eric looked a fraction concerned. "You aren't feeling any ill effects?"

"Nope," I said, popping my 'p'. "Though I guess I can wait a bit before eating some more, just to be on the safe side," I added.

"Just don't wait to the point you need to mug some poor kid for their candy," cracked Jason.

I nodded. "We need to go meet with Niall, you coming?" I asked him, unsure whether he might not want to see the Grandfather that was still so dismissive of him or whether he might just want to sit and eat the rest of his supper unmolested.

Jason looked down at his food. "You can eat in the bar, if you wish, so long as you save some food for your sister," Eric told him.

And with that settled we headed back across the way.

Jody, one of the waitresses I actually liked (because I once caught from her that she was here to support her baby girl and because the tips were good, not because she had a penchant for being bitten) bumped into us on our way in the employee door. She stood back aghast and staring. I was about to take offence when Pam whispered, "Powder room," in my ear and I remembered the state my face was likely to be in post minor meltdown.

I quickly headed to the little washroom at the far end of the store cupboard and when I arrived back to Eric's office, freshly scrubbed clean, he was already seated in deep discussion with Niall.

"Ah, there is my Grandchild," he said, standing and opening his arms to me.

I went to him and hugged him. I breathed in the lovely comforting aura that I had come to hold so dear as a calming force. "Do I smell any differently to you, my dear?" he asked me.

"No," I told him.

"Then I believe your bonded to be accurate in his assumption that you are not entirely vampire. At the very least, you are as much full blooded Fae as you are vampire."

"You were worried I might find you smelling tasty?" I asked him.

"Well, according to the first hand reports your appetite is quite extensive these days," he chuckled.

"If I'm half Fae how come Pam and Eric haven't wanted to drain me?" I challenged. After a quick look at Eric's face I qualified that with, "No more than usual anyway."

Niall shrugged. "To them your scent is no more Fae than when you were human. Just as to me, you smell no more of vampire now than you did when you were human and in the habit of ingesting their blood."

"So she could sensibly pass as either?" Eric hedged.

"Perhaps," Niall thought, wearing his best ponderous expression. "To most she may seem much as she ever was. She has been living with a foot in the human world and the other in the supernatural one for some time. Basking in the sun by day and yet living for the night."

Much as I agreed with Niall's assessment of things an errant thought began gnawing at me. It grew arms and legs quickly and then I performed a truly vampire act. I cussed, "Shit!"

That had the rapt attention of both men.

"When I was the human part-fae telepath I was a target for all the vamps that wanted to use me. Now I'm a half fairy vampire. I'm going to have a whole second set of species out to get me," I squeaked.

"Lover, you have already once been the target of the Fae," said Eric solemnly.

"I suppose, but that was just me caught in the crossfire as a bargaining chip with torturous benefits. The Fae abhor vamps and vamps want to eat the Fae into extinction. This is not good!" I complained.

"My dear," soothed Niall, "You have never consorted with Fae by choice out-with the sphere of your relations and Faery is now sealed to all others. The vampires must respect you now as one of their own and as their…"

Eric cut Niall off abruptly, "I am most concerned about the incidence of Sookie's new ability to teleport. This could have resulted terribly for her today and I think she needs to be instructed in the use of this new found power before it leads her into harm's way."

Niall raised his eyebrow at Eric and then nodded. "Teleporting works to a simple premise for beginners," he said. "You imagine yourself where you want to be: build the image around you and then you will be there. It is best not to travel to places you have not seen first-hand and are not familiar with. If the image you connect to is inaccurate you may end up somewhere you did not intend to be. Later, much later, you may select a person and teleport to them, wherever they may be, though sometimes even the best of us end up merely in the close vicinity of our intended target this way."

Sounds simple enough.

I was about to ask him how best to go about practicing when I heard a great upheaval in the bar. I threw out my other sense and realised quickly that there were many more voids than there would normally be vampires in Fangtasia at any one time, and that the humans were departing quickly.

Niall could obviously also hear the calamity next door whether with his hearing or some other skill and he looked at Eric. "The Ancient Pythoness has come for an audience with the King," he said with some humour. With that Niall chose to be someplace else and poofed right on out of there. I wasn't sure whether that should make me worry.

I studied Eric's calm exterior and felt a vague tinge of panic which I'm almost certain was coming from him. "Something you want to share with me, hubby?"