As Sookie's relationship with Rolph deepens, more than one person is not impressed.

Alan Ball, HBO and Charlaine Harris, my apologies for what I am doing to your wonderful characters and ideas but I do promise they will be returned unscathed if we ever finally get to the end of this story.

William is mine to do whatever I please with.

Chapter 10

'William is leaving Bon Temps? But…' Tara stopped mid sentence and looked across to where Sookie was sitting talking to Rolph. 'When he's completed his renovations that is and once he does, he plans to leave' Portia explained. 'You mean sell up and go?' Tara questioned. 'No, that's the sad part. He is just such a wonderful person' she sighed 'he's going to donate the whole estate to a children's charity, he's asked me to start looking into the legal side of things. He just loves children and of course he must miss his terribly, it was just so tragic what happened' she finished.

Tara didn't know what she was talking about and she didn't know what had happened between William and Sookie but like Adele, she couldn't or didn't want to believe that what ever had happened could be as bad as all that. It just didn't make sense but it was none of her business she figured, except that she loved Sookie. She was the sister that she never had and she knew that if the positions were reversed Sookie wouldn't hesitate to do what was right by her. But even after Portia had left, Tara sat there thinking. She watched Sookie with Rolph all night and as they left together Tara said goodnight and hugged her, looking closely at her friend. There was just so much sadness in Sookie's eyes.

Rolph drove Sookie home and walked her to the door. Sookie knew that Adele would still be up waiting to see how her first night out since her illness had gone. 'Sookie are you all right? I know tonight must have been hard for you?' Rolph asked. 'Thank you Rolph, thank you for everything, I don't know how I would have made it through the last couple of weeks and I'm not just talking about my illness' she said looking up into his face. Rolph unexpectedly leaned down and kissed her. When she didn't pull back he deepened his kiss holding her gently but making no attempt to take more than he felt she was ready to give.

'Good night Rolph.' 'Take care Sookie' he said and walked back to his car. Just as she thought, Adele was waiting up for her. Judging by the length of time between when the car pulled up and when Sookie came inside Adele suspected that Rolph had been dispensing a little more than medicine, however she refrained from questioning Sookie about her suspicions. 'How are you child? If you are not too tired come over and tell me about your night out. Did you enjoy yourself?' she queried. 'Where did you go?' she asked interested.

'We went to Merlottes' Sookie replied with a small smile. 'Did you have a good time? Who was there?' Adele asked eager to hear all about it. Sookie sat staring at the floor, the tension of the night finally hitting her. Seeing William's face, his eyes, the way his soft dark auburn hair fell slightly around his ears ….just being in the same place as him had nearly killed her. She had done such a good job of hiding it or so she hoped. No one would know how much pain she was feeling, not even Rolph who had sat watching her so intensely. Rolph was being kind to her and it was almost a relief to go out with a man without feeling the intensity, the need, and the unrelenting passion that she felt for William, almost. She did owe Rolph a lot and she had started to appreciate his company she supposed.

She realised that he was an extremely clever man. He had told her some of his past history, how he had up until a few years ago, been passionately involved in research. Sookie wasn't technically minded so she wasn't too sure what he meant, plus try as she might, her thoughts had wondered to William as they always seemed to do now. It was hard not to go over and over what she was feeling but then half the time what she was feeling, if she was truly honest, was an aching emptiness. She was numb.

'Sookie honey, what is it? Won't you talk to me child?' Adele urged. Sookie looked at Adele with a blank face, all expression wiped clean and without emotion she told her, 'William was there.' That was all she managed to say. 'I'm really tired Grans, do you mind if I go to bed and we'll talk in the morning. Good night, I love you' she said as she left the room. Adele sighed, something had to be done but what, she thought and should she even try to fix what seemed so broken? Was there even anything that she could do? She didn't know if there was, but her heart was telling her that she had to do something. All she kept thinking of was Rolph with Sookie. She just wanted to tell her that 'he's not the man for you child,' she thought.

Sookie lay awake for a while reliving the night's events. She felt her heart skip a beat every time she thought of seeing William sitting there in the booth looking at her. She died a thousand times over seeing that dark head and thinking it was Lorena. She had loved William more than she thought was ever possible. This was not some school girl crush or even a teenager's first love. The loss of William was like a death, a physical pain.

What was it that he had said to her 'I never dreamt that I could be this happy.' She had believed with all her heart that he knew what that feeling was like, that he was head over heels in love with her, as much as she was with him. How could she be this wrong? How could she trust what he had said to her if he had been going to leave his wife for Lorena and now Lorena was back? He had said that his wife and children dying had devastated him but how could that be? Everything just went around and around in her head, over and over again till her head pounded. Above all, above everything else, deep down in that hidden place where every one of us lives, she wanted him so desperately and she missed him so much that she ached just to be near him. It just hurt so much.

She dreamt of Bill nearly every night now but when she awoke each morning she could not remember what her dreams were about, instead she would find her pillow wet and her eyes puffy from crying. Occasionally she would catch a glimpse into the fragments of her night time other world but it was always Bill's face crumpled in anguish, with blood tears spilling from his eyes as she stood by the front door, Eric's accusations ringing through her ears, haunting her and causing her as much pain as the memory of William's face did.

She desperately wanted to talk to someone and she hoped and prayed that Lafayette would return but each time she had called his number the voicemail was the same, he was out of town and there was a fill in number provided. Sookie wondered about this but there was nothing she could do to shed any light on his whereabouts. So she continued on with her physio sessions, her illness having slowed her recovery a little, but that was the least of her concerns as she no longer really cared.

Rolph became a frequent visitor now, even though Sookie was technically over her recent illness. His attempts to bring Sookie back from her despair were painstakingly slow. He showed her nothing but patience and understanding. He was silent when he felt she needed it and at other times supportive in her endeavours to regain her life. Their friendship was evolving on a more personal basis. Sookie found him interesting. Rolph like William had travelled and did seem very cosmopolitan to her back water Bon Temps eyes. They went out to the movies together, Rolph careful in his choice of subjects, no sad romances only light comedies or sci-fi for which he knew Sookie had a passion for. They went to dinner together too and unbeknown to Sookie were now seen around town as a 'couple.'

It was after one such night out that Jessica and Jason came by. Jessica had rung Adele beforehand to make sure that Rolph wasn't there. She had not forgiven him for his treatment of Pam and even though Pam had seemed to have moved on with her life, she had even had a couple of promising dates with Hoyt Fortenbury, Jessica still felt that Rolph had a lot to answer for. She privately wondered about how convenient the break up between William and Sookie had been for Rolph but as she had nothing concrete to go on, she kept quiet believing it was her prejudice over his treatment of Pam that lead her to think like that.

She didn't blame Sookie in anyway for the break up between Pam and Rolph, it was Rolph she thought responsible. She didn't say anything to Sookie about him but she couldn't help but look at Sookie with questioning eyes. Sookie didn't mention William's name and Jessica thought better than to say anything about him either. Jessica had seen him around town at times and had been shocked at how ill he looked. While in Jessica's eyes Sookie seemed to be slowly returning to health, William wasn't faring so well and it was really sad to see.

While Jessica kept her thoughts to herself Jason was not so circumspect. 'Hell girl are you crazy?' he yelled at her, confronting her over her break up with William. 'Everyone has fights. Don't be an idiot Sook. What ever it's about I don't know but I do know one thing, William loves you and you'd have to be blind not to see that.' 'Jason, just shut the fuck up' she finally snapped. 'You don't know what you are talking about' she screamed at him. Jason was shocked into silence. He just looked at her shaking his head. 'You're making a big mistake' he said quietly now.

Sookie had never had this kind of conversation with Jason. Not in all their years of growing up together and it really shook her up. She couldn't talk about it, not to Jason, not to anyone. For pity's sake she couldn't even talk to the one person that really mattered in all of this. She couldn't even bring herself to talk to William when she so desperately needed to. More than anything else, she needed to see him and talk to him.

Adele had sat on the porch listening to Sookie and Jason. She hadn't said anything but she knew that Jason was right. As grateful as she was to Rolph for all his care, she just hadn't taken to him, not like she had with William. She sat thinking about what Jason had said and also the way Sookie had reacted so angrily. She knew her grand daughter and she knew her well, perhaps better than Sookie knew herself; Sookie would never have reacted like that with Jason if she didn't still care for William and care very deeply. Adele then made up her mind about something she had been thinking of doing and excusing herself to them, she went inside and made some phone calls, the last of which she finished saying 'Don't leave it too long' before she hung up. At least she thought it was better than doing nothing she sighed. It was worth a try.

Three days later as Sookie was getting ready to go to dinner with Rolph she noticed that Adele too was getting dressed in her best 'Sunday church' going out clothes, much to Sookie's surprise. 'Are you going out?' she asked. 'Why yes, didn't I tell you? I have an extra special Descendents of the Glorious Dead meeting tonight' Adele said beaming. 'Tonight? But you only have your meetings during the day and what's so special about tonight?' Sookie questioned curiously. Adele smiled 'I haven't got a lot of time to explain my dear, I really have to be leaving soon before it gets too crowded.' 'Grans, what do you mean? Why is one of your meetings going to get too crowded? Normally you are lucky if you get a handful of the regulars showing up.' Sookie said not meaning to be disrespectful.

'Oh my dear tonight is different. I am so looking forward to it' she smiled again as she continued to bustle around gathering up bit and pieces she needed to take with her. 'What's so special about tonight?' Sookie asked again, beginning to become exasperated at Adele not getting to the point. 'Oh well child, you remember when you were in the hospital and the very first time you woke and William mentioned he had found a diary?' Sookie could only nod in response. 'Well William is going to be reading it to us and he's bringing a daguerreotype that he found. Isn't that wonderful?' she questioned. 'We will actually have a genuine account written first hand by one of our own, none other than by William Thomas Compton or Bill as he apparently preferred to be known as, and a picture of him' she finished.

Sookie felt as though she had been punched. Scenes floated through her mind, a kaleidoscope of fragments; her dark lover Bill's own written words, an account of his life, who he was and how he thought. Her heart was racing at the memory of holding the miniature in her hands, at the thought of his face so dark, seductive and alluring. Sookee, she heard his voice calling her. She knew that she had to go, was compelled to go. William would be there reading the words that would give her meaning to the other life that she shares with her Bill.

At that moment Rolph arrived to pick her up. 'I'm sorry Rolph' Sookie said 'but do you think we could just grab a really quick bite to eat then there is somewhere that I need to go to. Or perhaps it would be best if we made it another night, if you would prefer it?' she questioned. It didn't matter to her what Rolph's reply was, nothing was going to come between her and hearing Bill's journal. 'Sookie what ever you would like to do is fine with me' Rolph said accommodatingly with a smile.

Adele left to get all the preparations for the refreshments underway while Sookie and Rolph went to the local diner for a quick meal. Sookie seemed distracted to Rolph and he was a little put out when she announced that they were going to be spending the evening at some talk about a confederate's diary. She had been deliberately vague about the whole night not wanting Rolph to realise that William was going to be there, let alone he would be giving the talk and she could hardly tell Rolph that her burning interest in the this evening's events was the recollections of her dark lover. Only Lafayette truly knew how important he was in her life although William did suspect something from her reaction to the miniature and the other events he had been witness to.

Arriving at the hall Sookie realised that Adele had been right. The place was absolutely packed to the rafters. She wasn't sure if this was a testament to the interest in the diary or William's popularity, as Jason had made a point of telling her that William had been doing a lot of charity work for the town. He had apparently even made a considerable donation to the retirement home, all done anonymously but the Mayor had found out and been so impressed he had leaked this information to the local Bon Temps Gazette and they had run a front page article about him. All this had been news to Sookie but as all her family and friends had been at pains not to mention William to her, she realised that she had a lot to catch up on.

As all bar two seats in the front row next to Adele were taken, Sookie and Rolph had no choice but to join her, Sookie sparing Adele some very questioning looks about the seating arrangements. Adele whispered she would explain later as she went up to the stage to introduce the evening's events.

From the moment she had walked in the door Sookie had deliberately looked any where but at the stage. She knew that William would be seated there waiting to commence his talk and she knew that sooner or later she would have to look at him but she just couldn't bring herself to do it yet. She had heard a sharp intake of Rolph's breath when they had entered and looking up at the stage he had seen William and she could feel tension rolling off him as he held her arm escorting her to the front row seats but to Sookie it didn't matter, all that was important to her was to hear her own dark lover's words.

Adele mounted the stage and reached the podium, adjusting the micro phone to suit her she commenced her opening introduction. 'Thank you, thank you all for coming. Oh my, it looks like nearly all the town has turned out tonight and I am sure that you are not going to be disappointed with this evening's events' she beamed around the crowd. 'As I am sure you all know, a while back William came to settle in our little community of Bon Temps and I think that I can say on behalf of all of us, welcome William.'

Sookie had no choice now, she had been putting off looking at the stage long enough and she knew that she had to face this. With her heart pounding she looked up to where William sat. He was dressed in a deep navy coloured suit with a crisp white shirt and dark sapphire blue tie, the colour matching his eyes perfectly. Rolph holding Sookie's arm glanced sharply at her as he felt her pulse rate quicken. He was glowering and if looks could kill, William would be dead on the spot.

William was looking at Adele, appearing to be unable to face the inevitable too, unable to look at the one face in the entire crowd that meant so much to him. Sookie took this opportunity, while William's focus was centred on Adele, to really look at him. He was thin, much thinner than he had been and he looked pale and tired. Like herself, there was an air of melancholy about him, the spark of light she had so loved in his eyes had gone she felt, with a pang of sadness. He was still the most handsome man she had ever seen but now he wore that beauty with a new quality to him; resignation.

'Since moving here' Adele was continuing on 'William has embraced us and become one of us. He has already donated a considerable amount to our retirement home enabling a new wing to be opened and dedicated to his ancestor's but I am getting a little ahead of myself here. You will be hearing more about that as the evening progresses. Now before I hand the floor over to William I would just like to say something on a personal note' she said indulgently.

Sookie blanched, oh no what was Grans going to come out with? Surely she wouldn't say anything about her and William, she thought with horror. 'I just wanted to say that I am especially grateful to William for saving my dear grand daughter's life after she was nearly killed in a road accident and I thank god every day for his coming here. Now won't you all please welcome William?' she finished.

All eyes in the hall had turned to Sookie when Adele had mentioned the accident and William's heroics. Sookie had wanted the floor to swallow her, so unwelcome was the attention. The room erupted in applause as Adele left the stage and William rose to stand at the podium, making a small embarrassed hand gesture of acknowledgement to the crowd for their support of him. Rolph was seething and was making little attempt to conceal his antagonism towards William.

'Thank you, thank you all for the welcome and thank you Adele for your generosity' he said humbly, his velvet smooth voice rolling through Sookie. Looking directly at Sookie for the first time since she had arrived, he went on. 'As some of you know, I was the only living beneficiary of the late Jessie Compton. When I first came to Bon Temps I had not made any plans to stay here and seeing all the work that the family home required I was unsure whether or not it would be too large a task for me to undertake. But then something unexpected happened,I fell in love…..'

To be continued …..