Sorry for the wait! Thanks again to Dawskar!

I sat in front of Sam's trailer for a good ten minutes, just thinking over the possible ramifications of all my choices, before I said good-bye and went to visit Gran. I could decide to keep it a secret for a bit longer but I knew I would eventually have to tell Eric. Would my omission be detrimental to our relationship? But did I trust him enough yet to tell him outright?

I briefly pondered the idea of not telling him at all. Did he really need to know? I ruled that out almost immediately. I knew I would feel guilty for keeping something like that from him. I would have to tell him- eventually.

It had been a long time since I had visited the old farmhouse but it still felt like home. It seemed like the only thing that had changed was Gran. She looked tired and a little smaller. I made a mental note to drop by more often.

Gran hugged me tightly and pulled me toward the kitchen to make me food, mumbling something about skin and bones.

Over breakfast, I told her about my life since I left Bon Temps.

"I am so proud of you, Sookie. I never dreamed that you would embrace your… your little gift in the way you have in these past weeks," Gran gushed. "I suppose that means you're not coming back?"

I smiled a little but didn't answer. She mirrored me with a little sad smile of her own.

"No, I guess I already knew that. This town isn't big enough for you anymore. But I couldn't help but ask," Gran continued. I vowed to visit once a week from then on.

We spent a glorious day in the garden, talking and enjoying the sun. I was delighted to have a day off from reading minds, no matter how much I had come to enjoy it.

While Gran tended to her flowerbeds, I started something that I really should have finished when I first came back. In an empty journal I found in my old room, I jotted down everything- and I mean everything- I could remember from the old timeline. This turned out to be a long and tedious task, trying to recall every detail. By sunset, I finished- though I did get a massive headache in the process.

I knew a lot weird and scary things were headed my way and I needed to be prepared. The only problem with my journal, however, was that I couldn't remember the exact dates of many key events. Heck, some things wouldn't even happen anymore, since Bill was out of the picture. That man had caused me a lot more trouble than I realized.

Once it occurred to me that the next disaster headed my way was the murder of Lafayette, I called Sam up to tell him to keep an eye on the cook. I would have driven down myself, despite my raging headache, if I knew Lafayette was working.

I hated the thought of letting something so significant slip through my fingers- especially when I had the power to prevent it. I mentally chastised my laziness.

According to Sam, he was scheduled to work tonight so it was good I decided to call first. As it turned out, Sam had already warned Lafayette about the importance of keeping secrets in a small town like Bon Temps particularly when their reputation was on the line. Just the same, I made him promise to warn Lafayette again next time Sam saw him. Once I hung up, I made a note in the journal to signify that it had been dealt with.

By now, it was dark and I needed to get home. I kissed Gran on the cheek and promised her that I would come back the next time my schedule permitted. She wouldn't let me leave without all the leftover casserole and pie. I happily accepted since my new job left little time for me to cook a decent meal.

My head throbbed from my day of recalling every detail of a former life so I was driving down the highway back to Shreveport on autopilot.

Just as I realized that it was dangerous to drive these windy forest roads without actually paying attention, something flashed across the road in front of my car. I screamed as I swerved out of the lane in my attempt to avoid whatever had darted across the road. I heard a loud thud and my car jerked with the impact- I'd hit it, whatever it was.

I bolted out of my seat to investigate, praying that it was still alive. When I laid eyes on the beast, I tensed immediately. This was not good. A wild pig lay bloody and lifeless in front of my terribly dented car.

"You killed my hog," a voice stated matter of factly behind me. I turned abruptly. I knew that voice, that eerie, womanly voice. The maenad, the one that had ripped my back to shreds to send a message to Eric, the one that I wasn't expecting for at least a week, stood about five feet away from me. She seemed to be regarding me and the situation before reaching some conclusion.

The maenad, Callisto, was still as wild and frightening as I remembered. I felt a little reassured when I remembered that, because she hadn't seen me with Bill, she couldn't connect me with Eric. I was just a human she met on the side of the road by chance. But just as quickly as that relief had risen, it came crashing back down. Sure, I didn't have any visible ties to Eric, but I had just killed her… pet? That meant I was probably just as screwed.

I met her eyes and I'm pretty sure the words 'Oh, fuck!' flashed across my face. The maenad was angry, her glare boring into me.

"I could kill you quickly, but I would be happier knowing that you met a slow, very painful death," she smiled- I preferred her glare.

I knew what was coming when her hand drew back to deliver that terrible blow so I turned to protect my face. My movements were slower than the first time I had met up with Callisto; I hadn't ingested vampire blood this time.

The maenad's arm swung forward and her claws raked down my back, much deeper than before. Since I was much slower, her strike caught a bit of my arm. The pain was instantaneous and exactly as I remembered. I hated knowing that it would only get worse.

"Enjoy," I heard her say before she was gone. Callisto left, not caring enough to watch me experience her punishment.

I was angry, angry at the maenad who attacked me twice, angry at myself for being stupid enough to let this happen. What good is coming back if you don't stop things like this from happening?

In my current condition, I preferred to direct my anger toward the bitch, Callisto. I was lying face down on the side of the road, several feet from my open car door. If I had any chance of surviving, I had to drag my wounded body over to it, climb in, and grab my purse to call Fangtasia.

It took forever and with my arm partially incapacitated, the task was nearly impossible. I cried out in pain with every inch I managed to move- stifling my sobs was out of the question. It worried me that there was a lot more blood than before. I continued internally cursing that damned Maenad and her hog, who basically asked to be killed.

My body hung awkwardly off the seat of my car as I dialed Eric from my cell phone. I knew I looked pathetic but I couldn't bring myself to care in the least.

He picked up on the first ring. "Sookie, what do I owe the plea-"

I didn't, or rather, couldn't let him finish. My shrieks of pain still couldn't be restrained.

"What's happened?" he asked at once. When I couldn't answer with anything more than "attacked" and "help" he tried again. "Where are you?"

After much effort on my part, I managed to give him my approximate location in between my cries. I lost track of the phone after he told me he was on his way. It was all I could do to grip the seat for dear life. The pain was torture, each second more agonizing than the last.

I was torn between my desire to pass out from the torture and my will to keep alert and conscious. I was terrified that if I drifted away before help arrived, I would never wake up. So I stubbornly kept my eyes open, my mind awake- I refused to die on this road.

When I felt cold hands lift me up and throw me over broad shoulders, I thought I was hallucinating. "I've got you, Sookie." He held onto my legs jumped off the road. I didn't even mind when Eric's hand slid over my backside. He was quite the opportunist.

Within seconds, we were flying rapidly away from the highway. I spared a moment for my car, with my purse and valuables easily accessible through the open door. The keys were still in the ignition, too. But the pain had started to peak as the wind whipped against my open wounds and all other thoughts were lost.

"Pam, get Ludwig to Fangtasia. Now!" I concentrated on Eric's voice as he talked on his cell phone, hoping it would be a good distraction. It wasn't.

Without thinking, I dug my nails into his back to combat the waves of fresh hurt. "Sorry," I breathed when I noticed.

Eric replied, though through the rushing wind it was not easy to hear him. "Don't apologize, Sookie. I always pegged you for someone who liked it rough, anyway."

I felt Eric touch land and looked around- the Fangtasia parking lot. I thanked God that Eric had flown since the trip had been much faster than driving, despite the fact that it felt like hours. He was through the back entrance and had me lying flat on the couch in his office so fast, I could hardly catch his movements.

"So Sookie, what attacked you?" Eric asked. I would have enjoyed the concern in his voice if I didn't feel so awful.

I tried to lift my head so I could look alert, as I had done on the side of the road, but the hurt was spreading, making every one of my limbs heavy and achy. I relaxed my head to the leather sofa. "Maenad… hit her pig… with my car… wanted revenge…" I breathed. The way I described the encounter made it seem like I had attacked the razor back on purpose.

Eric leaned forward and reached his hand behind me. I thought he was just going to remove the hair from my bloody wounds, but he didn't stop there. Eric tore the fabric to expose the entire length of my back.

He noticed my surprise and winked. "Relax. The doctor would have done it anyway. And I wouldn't pass up an opportunity to get your clothes off."

I gave a sarcastic murmur but I didn't have the energy to respond and, having already experienced this injury, I felt weary and defeated. His comments did help distract me though, and I knew that was part of his goal.

"Ludwig's here," I heard Pam say from the door. "Oh, yum. Bleeding and naked. If she didn't reek of poison, I would have thought she planned this as a way to seduce you." She laughed.

"I'm not that desperate or stupid, Pam," I muttered. No one responded and I wondered if I only said it in my head.

The small doctor walked into the office and began her questioning. My answers were short and it was apparent in my voice that it was a struggle for me to talk at all. I wanted nothing more than to close my eyes and slip into oblivion. This desire only intensified when she started to explain to the vampire the necessary treatment. I did not want to be awake for that.

When she started licking my back, I cried out but remained still.

"You're a screamer, too, I see," Eric teased. Apparently, his way of dealing with an unpleasant situation was humor. It was working so I didn't complain.

A little more time passed and as I squirmed around, enduring the doctor's treatment, my mind wandered back to Callisto. "She's gonna want tribute, soon," I blurted out. Eric looked confused.

"Who? The maenad?" Chow asked. When did you get here? My eyebrows furrowed questioningly. I looked around the room, half-expecting to see Bill telling Ludwig to start the treatment- I guess I was pretty out of it. I didn't explain further.

I knew that things had turned for the worse when I saw Pam's eyes widen. "This is bad. She's changing color." It was déjà vu. I wondered for the second time what color I had turned or what outward sign my body showed that scared my audience so much.

"Unless you want to lose her, I would start now." Ludwig's deep voice seemed so far away. The whole room, in fact, seemed so dream like.

"Don't worry, Sookie. We wouldn't want to lose you so soon, especially not before I had to fuck you." Eric said.

"No, we wouldn't want that…," I mumbled lazily.

Eric was pulling me closer, onto his lap. I finally let my mind slip into unconsciousness.