Sookie was finishing her prep work for the night. Merlotte's was finally closed, there were just one or two die-hards waiting for rides, and she was exhausted. It had been almost impossible to keep her guard up, and the thoughts of the customers in Merlotte's had been bludgeoning their way past her defenses all day. She felt like she had been beaten up from the inside out. She couldn't wait to get done with her shift and get to Bill. Lately, being with him was the only peace she had. He was a bastion of sweet silence, and she looked forward to being with him, just the two of them, enjoying the quiet of his company.
Sookie felt Bill before she saw him. Smiling, she turned toward the door in anticipation but as it opened she was surprised to see Tara walk in first followed closely by Bill.
"Tara? I thought you were off tonight..."
"Yeah, I was, but I ran into this bloodsucker here on the side of the road and he glamoured me into giving him a lift."
Sookie's eyebrows lifted in surprise. Looking past her toward Bill, she was further surprised to see him smile at Tara's jibe. "Actually, there was no glamour involved. She showed up at my door and browbeat me into making peace with Sam. Being helpless in the face of such feminine determination, I surrendered." At which point Tara turned to Bill and punched him in the arm.
Now Sookie was completely confused. Tara? Teasing a vampire? Bill walked toward Sookie and took her by the shoulders, kissed her briefly but lovingly, and headed for Sam's office. Her eyes followed him as he walked away, and she turned to Tara. "Tara? What have you been up to?"
"Well, after our talk the other day, I had to do something. I thought that getting the two of them to quit bumping heads would make things a little easier on you. Y'all have enough to deal with right now. You don't need them flinging testosterone at each other all the time, too. They're like a couple of dogs sparring over a bone."
