Chapter 11

Sookie was not a happy camper.

They had spent almost a month at Halé Nohea and usually that mellowed her out big time; and why wouldn't it? Bill was able to tolerate being in the sun dome more and more and so there was a real blur of day and night for them that was quite fun. But since they'd been back; Bill returned to his regular schedule which was fine, except now that he was again up only at night he was quite busy, either working on homework or a conference call or his damn night college video classes on Skype.

During their downtime in Hawaii, it had been decided that Bill would not counsel any other vampires in crisis until he became a licensed psychologist. Bill had certainly learned his lesson and while treating vampires and their way of thinking was different; he knew now more knowledge in general certainly couldn't hurt. Now that he was well into his classes, he'd begun tossing around the idea of opening a practice to treat people as well. Sookie wasn't sure how she felt about that. She had, however, failed to foresee how diligent Bill would be in pursuing his goal of becoming a licensed professional.

It was the reason she was in the laundry room ironing Bill's shirts at three o'clock in the morning.

She could hear him in his office, well, she could hear the lecturer over a video conferencing class. Sookie heaved a heavy sigh as she hung up one of Bill's shirts and then took another out of the laundry basket. She normally did the ironing and other household chores during the day so she could spend her nights awake with her hubby.

With his new zeal to pursue a degree and put himself in a better position, it didn't matter much when she did chores. It was about a 50-50 chance nowadays as to whether or not she'd have quality time with him or not. She finished the shirt on the board and then turned the iron off, unplugged it and walked out of the laundry room closing the door behind her.

She walked into the living room and dropped onto the sofa and grabbed the novel she had started reading in Hawaii. It was a great book, normally she would have been burning through it but her thoughts were tangled and unsettled so her concentration was pretty much nil. After she realized she'd read the same page for about the third time, she dropped it on the coffee table and glanced at the clock on the wall. It was already close to four and she decided to call it a night.

She could hear Bill talking and that meant the lecture was now open for discussion and she knew that meant Bill would likely be online until dawn or just past it. She walked to the stairs and listened a moment, yes, Bill was having a lively conversation with others on the video feed so she decided against letting him know she was going to bed.

He'd figure it out when dawn arrived.

XxXxX

Sookie woke in the absolute, best way possible… with her husband's hands skimming her body and his kisses drifting south… she sighed with pleasure as he slowly made her body taut with desire. His mouth reached its destination and Sookie could not hold back her response. She arched her back and Bill captured her legs and drew her to him. Sookie moaned deeply as her husband teased and excited her with his mouth. She was getting closer to climaxing and he knew it, so to build the moment, he stopped his sweet nuzzling and began kissing her inner thighs and Sookie gasped his name.

The moment she heard his fangs snick into place Sookie was just that much closer to exploding. Bill teased her mercilessly moving from kisses to quick licks until Sookie thought she couldn't stand his teasing one second longer and when he slipped two fingers gently inside her, replacing his tongue with his thumb… her breath hitched and as he bit her femoral artery Sookie's release was instantaneous and incredibly sublime. After a moment or two, Bill healed her tiny wounds and moved up the bed and drew her into his arms. She snuggled in as close as she could and murmured into his chest, "Well that was unexpected."

"Did you like it?" He asked as he placed his lips on the crown of her head, planting small kisses in her hair.

"Oh yeah, I think I'd prefer that over an alarm clock any day."

Bill chuckled and said softly, "I've been neglecting you dearheart and I'm sorry."

Sookie frowned and said, "Well, I'm not sure it's neglect exactly,"

"I felt your disappointment tonight when you went to bed, darling… you have to be more… I don't know… vocal?"

Sookie burst forth with a laugh and moved herself so she cradled her chin on her hands as she looked into her husband's face, "Bill, I'm pretty certain you really don't need me to be more vocal!"

He tugged on a lock of her hair and gave her, her favorite crooked smile. "No… I guess all I can say is perhaps I made a poor word choice. But the message is the same, you must tell me when I'm not meeting your needs or," he paused for dramatic effect, "validating your feelings."

Sookie rolled her eyes and they both started to laugh. They'd had a rather loud and heated discussion some while back about what he was learning in his studies. She sometimes resented his attempts to, 'analyze' her in the beginning so they'd come up with a joking way to ease the tension. Anytime Bill used the words, "validate your feelings" it was meant as a lighthearted way for Bill to be certain that any real tension between them had been resolved.

She laid her head back on his chest and he wrapped his arms around her, "You need to sleep baby." She whispered and he just nodded and it didn't take long for either of them to drift quickly into sleep as the sun moved higher in the sky.

XxXxX

A few weeks later Bill sat on the big bed, leaning against the headboard as he typed on his laptop, Sookie was channel-surfing and not having any success in trying to find something worthwhile to watch. Just as she was about to turn the TV off Bill stopped typing with a flourish and closed his laptop and had his wife in his arms before she could put the remote down.

"Are you done?" He nodded. "Will you let me read it?"

Bill hesitated for a split second and it was a split second too long and Sookie snapped acerbically, "Nevermind." And turned the volume up on a TV show that she had no interest in whatsoever.

Bill fought his first response, which was to snap back, but then thought about how unsettled she had been lately. He got off the bed and put his laptop on the desk and walked into the bathroom to run a bath. He added some lavender oil and lit the candles that surrounded the tub, put two large, soft and fluffy towels on the towel warmer and then tested the water with his fingertips.

Bill walked back into the bedroom and gently removed the remote from his wife's hand. She scowled at him and crossed her arms tightly over her chest. Her body language left a lot to be desired and Bill was determined to get her relaxed and hopefully talking. He wasn't sure why his wife was feeling so out of sorts but he was hoping a nice romantic interlude would do the trick.

However as he lifted her from the bed she began pushing him away and vehemently protesting that she was in no mood for a bath. "Dammit Bill! Put me down this instant!" and she put both hands on his chest trying to squirm out of his arms.

Bill was stunned. She was truly fighting him! He dropped her quite unceremoniously back on the bed and in a flash had the candles out, the tub draining and the towels off the warmer. In that same moment, he dressed, grabbed his cell off the nightstand and left the house all before Sookie had gathered her breath after landing on the mattress. By the time she got off the bed to call him back, she watched the taillights of his car leave the driveway on the CCTV monitors by the alarm pad. Which, she noted bleakly he had already set for the night. She walked back to the bed and crawled onto it, thought about calling him and thought better of it and finally she picked up the remote and went back to channel surfing.

XxXxX

Bill was equal parts angry, concerned and dumfounded at what had just taken place. He left the house initially to drive to Shreveport and spend the night at the apartment but by the time he made it to the main road he sighed heavily and drove to Merlotte's. It was surprisingly busy and for a moment he considered driving away but then smiled, he could use some conversation.

Bill walked in and was greeted by many and as he nodded at some and said hello to those closer to him, he was glad he had decided to stay. Sam was tending bar and held up a bottle of TruBlood and Bill tipped his chin upward and Sam turned and popped the bottle into the microwave.

"Hey Bill, how ya' doin' tonight?" Sam asked as the microwave dinged and Sam removed the bottle and shook it then twisted off the cap, "Glass?"

"No thanks," Bill answered as he glanced around the bar, he said, "Something special going on?"

"Yeah, well no, not really. Shorty pissed off the new Parrish Bar and Restaurant Inspector and long story short, they pulled his liquor license for 90 days." Sam said with a grin and a shrug.

"I've heard he has a certain… belligerence." Bill said with a grin. Shorty's temper was well known in Bon Temps and had long been the beginning of some of the area's best stories and a few were outright legends.

Arlene stepped up to the bar, put down an empty pitcher and asked Sam for a refill and two whiskey sours before turning to Bill and saying, "You come here and hug my neck!" Bill did and she gave him a peck on the cheek and the looked around, "Sookie in the can?"

"Uh, no she was feeling a little under the weather, she wanted to catch up on some sleep." Bill made a mental note to inform Sookie of this before Arlene talked to her wondering how she was feeling.

"Here ya' go…" Sam said putting the drinks on her tray and turning the pitcher so she could grab it by the handle.

"Well you tell her, she needs something to just call, you hear?"

"I will, thank you."

Arlene headed off and Bill looked at Sam, who was grinning with a spark in his eye, "Lemme guess… Sookie's really fine, huh?"

Bill chuckled and took a swig from his bottle, "Let's just say it was a good night for a little space." A small frown settled on his features and he said, "Sam, has she seemed out of sorts around you lately?"

Just then, Angela, Sam's newest waitress handed Sam her drink order tab then walked to the pass-thru clipping an order to the wheel and giving Big John a heads up. She walked back to the bar to wait for Sam to finish making the drinks, smiled shyly at Bill as nervous energy radiated from her. Bill gave her a gentle smile in return and turned his attention to the TV which had some kind of kickboxing match playing. He couldn't have cared less about the TV but he knew Angela was frightened by vampires. Bill didn't take it personally, because of Sookie, (Angela was a very loud thinker) he also knew she was really trying to overcome her fear so he always did his best to make her feel unthreatened by him whenever possible.

It wasn't long before the bar got busier as the people that worked in some of the smaller factories in the area were done with their shifts for the night. Some greeted Bill and a couple came to sit by him at the bar, Sam nuked another TruBlood for him and for the next couple hours or so Bill enjoyed some lively conversations about a plethora of topics. Bill thought briefly about how he'd thought his evening was going to go earlier but all things considered, this wasn't half bad as an alternative. Sort of.

XxXxX

Sookie woke with a start and for a moment she held her breath while her mind worked quickly to determine her surroundings and if it meant danger. She felt relief wash over her. She was in her bed, the TV was on, one glance showed the alarm was set and green across the board… then with a deep frown she thought, where the hell was Bill? She glanced at the clock and saw it was almost 2:00 a.m. She slipped off the bed and realized she needed to pee desperately and did so, her mind churning the entire time.

It wasn't like him to not let her know where he was, but then again, she'd treated him like a total bitch so his absence was not without cause. She washed her hands and could still smell the scent of the lavender oil Bill had put in the bath. What the hell was her problem? She went back to bed and shut the TV off and stared at the ceiling. Doing a little mental calculation she was more than happy to put some of the blame on being premenstrual but still… that was no excuse.

She sank back into her pillow and tried to ignore the reason she felt so out of sorts. At the same time she wondered if Bill had been so pissed that he'd gone to Shreveport. No, he would have called her if he was doing that, he might be damned angry with her but he wouldn't not tell her where he was if he wasn't coming home. That just wasn't his style. She heaved a heavy sigh and tried to figure out a way to apologize for being so nasty earlier. She glanced at the clock once more and this time noticed a small note on the table next to the clock. She picked it up and saw Bill's elegant script, "Sookie, perhaps tomorrow evening we can speak about the events of this evening. Please know that I am safe and near. Until then I remain your devoted and loving husband, Bill"

Sookie felt tears filling her eyes, damn! Why did he always have to be such a gentleman? She laid back down and read the note once more and then reached over to click off the bedside light. Her tears slipped from her eyes and she felt tremendous guilt over her ridiculous actions. Her tears became soft sobs and for the first time since the awful situation surrounding Bill's Court of Osiris and all that preceded it, she cried herself to sleep.

In the light-tight spare bedroom, through their blood bond Bill felt Sookie's confusion, her guilt and her sadness. He gave thought to re-entering the master suite to soothe her but decided against it. He hadn't intended to sleep alone but when he'd gone to their bed and looked down at her sweet face, he saw that even in sleep she seemed troubled. She obviously had something she needed to work through and so he wrote her a note and brushed her lips with a kiss. He decided it was better to give her some space. She'd read the note and know he was safe so she would have no worry over that.

Even without the benefit of his current academic studies, Bill knew that Sookie needed to figure out what was wrong with Sookie, or if and when she'd be ready to tell him what was bothering her. And that didn't always happen if he gave her too much comfort, too soon. He was aware of the timing of her monthly cycle but this was far more than that, so it was the spare bedroom for him tonight. Bill fluffed up the pillow behind his head and picked up his latest novel, then settled in to enter the world of the NYPD, its most famous fictional criminalist and his partner Amelia.

XxXxX

Sookie woke with a headache and she truly hated when that happened. She stumbled to the bathroom to grab some aspirin from the medicine cabinet and caught her reflection in the mirror. She groaned, ran the water until it got cold, downed the pills and splashed more cold water on her face. Her eyelids were swollen and puffy with bruise-like rings beneath her eyes. Her skin was blotchy and her hair a complete rat's nest because she hadn't combed it out before falling asleep. As she stared at the undeniable proof of a night gone very wrong, she knew what she needed.

More sleep.

There was only one way that would happen so she left the master suite and went quickly down the hall. As she had hoped, the small red light on the doorframe of the spare light-tight guest room glowed. She opened the door carefully, waited for her eyes to adjust a bit and then walked to the four poster bed where her husband rested. She drew back the sheet, then crawled into bed beside him, her body curling up alongside him. She felt him stir and his arms moved around her pulling her closer to him, even at rest, he knew when she was near. Sookie closed her eyes and began to feel her headache slip away. Whether it was the aspirin or the arms of her husband around her, she drifted off knowing she would not wake with it again.

XxXxX

Bill was instantly aware of how near his wife was, he could smell her, hear her soft breathing… the beating of her heart, beating slightly faster when he opened his eyes. To say she was beautiful would be a true disservice. She was magnificent, dressed in a flowing floor length gown of pearl colored satin, her eyes shining with unshed tears, her hair trailing down her back and brushing lightly across her breasts. In the blink of an eye he stood before her, close enough to see her pupils grow larger amid the deep color of her liquid chocolate eyes, yet not touching, not yielding to his urge to scoop her into his arms.

She moved her hand upward, pressing it softly against his chest as her eyes searched the depths of his ocean blue irises. "Forgive me." Sookie barely breathed the words and Bill cupped her face within his hands. Her eyelids fluttered down and she leaned into his touch as a tear spilled down her cheek. Bill wiped it away with his thumb and whispered, "Hush, no tears my sweet darling." They stood that way for an instant or maybe it had been an hour but it did not matter. What mattered was that they were one entity again, one husband, one wife, one life force in sync.

XxXxX

It was nearing dawn when Bill finished rinsing the conditioner from Sookie's hair in the shower. She of course was sound asleep and it always made him smile. As he readied her for bed, combing out her tangles, pulling one of his t-shirts over her head before gentle laying her down on the bed. He got in from the other side and pulled the covers over them, snuggling Sookie to him, the crown of her head nestled beneath his chin. He closed his eyes but was not surprised when even the pull of dawn could quiet his mind. He listened to her slow, deep breaths and turned his thoughts to the revelation of their conversation they had had earlier…

"Jason married Annie." She stated matter-of-factly.

Bill was startled by her words and he turned her in the warm water so she straddled his lap and her eyes looked into his. "When?" He was more than a little shocked and for the moment he was filled with disbelief that Jason would have taken such a monumental step in his life without telling his only living relative about it first.

"When we were at Court." Sookie said with a sigh. "They've had a bit of a surprise and Annie thought that having two kids out of wedlock was a little too trashy for her taste, so they went to the courthouse and got it done."

Bill's mind was reeling before it dawned on him the reason given, "They're having another child? When did you find this out?"

"Yesterday, no maybe the day before," she shrugged. "Not exactly planned but they're happy." Sookie couldn't hold his gaze and chose to instead slide forward onto him and lay her head on his chest.

Bill slipped his arms around her, holding her tenderly. Her emotions were rolling through him like the ocean on the sand. She was happy, yet sad, excited, but angry. It did at least explain her volatile mood as of late and again Bill felt a deepening sense of annoyance toward Jason. Admittedly, Jason wasn't always the brightest guy around but excluding his only sister from his wedding, even if it was only done before the justice of the peace, seemed unduly harsh.

Then Bill had a bit of an, 'ah ha' moment. "Dearheart, did you say they married while we were… away for the Tribunal?" His wife merely nodded and he closed his eyes and silently cursed himself. She'd refused to leave him before the Tribunal and Bill had a second, more painful thought. He very gently moved her away from him in the warm, sweet smelling water so he could see her face, he asked very seriously, "Sookie did you not go to the wedding because of me and what was happening at the time?"

It was now Sookie's turn to reassure, "Babe, all he did was leave a message or two. He said it was urgent but that I shouldn't worry because everybody was okay and I should call him back when I could. And I… didn't." She looked down and Bill felt a pang of guilt radiate through her and he could only assume that Jason or Annie had hurt feelings because Sookie disappointed them. That would stand to reason because Sookie was forbidden to speak a word of any of the proceedings they were involved in. So they may have assumed she didn't care and any explanations she could offer were vague to say the least. Still, Jason could have done more than just a message for her to call him back. They would have postponed going to Halé Nohea had they known.

Now, as Bill held his sleeping wife there was another matter entirely that occupied more of his thoughts. Bill couldn't help but wonder if what was bothering Sookie most. He sighed deeply, kissed her forehead gently then closed his eyes and slipped into his daily rest.

XxXxX

Sookie sat on the porch sipping her coffee and looking out across the lawn as she rocked slowly in the oversized rocking chair. It was early with just a hint of mist still visible above the dewy grass giving the lawn an almost iridescent look. She was glad that she and Bill had talked things out, her lips slowly turning upward as her body gave her tiny reminders of their lovemaking. She sighed and thought for probably the millionth time that sometimes she really didn't deserve Bill and his ability to forgive her stupidity from time to time. She loved him so much that when they argued it hurt her almost physically and it was even worse when she knew she too had inflicted that kind of pain on him.

Granted, he'd had his fair share of bonehead missteps in their years together so she wasn't always the only one to screw up but this time… this time she didn't understand where her actions and reactions were coming from. She drank the last of her coffee and got up and went inside. She refilled her cup and cradling it in her hands she walked to the huge glass back doors and looked across the yard and the pond. Even safe and calm in her own lovely home, her tiff with her husband forgiven and their lives moving forward unmarred by anger once again; the moment still found her disconcerted. Her forehead creased as she frowned as she tried to figure out what her real problem was.

Sure, she'd been very hurt to discover that Jason and Annie had married without her knowledge but at the same time she shouldn't have blown off all of Jason's calls. She had felt a smidge better when she found out that their witnesses had been two random people at the courthouse that day. She truly was happy for them and told them so. She and Bill were planning a party in their honor and make it a real celebration but Sookie knew that she had fences to mend with her brother and his new wife. Sookie couldn't help but grin at that… Jason was somebody's husband! Just then she knew one thing she needed to do. Upstairs, she dressed quickly in shorts and a tee and stepped beside the bed where she brushed Bill's hair off his forehead, planting a soft kiss there. She headed back downstairs and into the laundry room to grab her gardener's tote pail and left the house.

Before long she sat in the warm grass before Gran's headstone. Sookie washed the headstone, trimmed away the long grass and weeds as she told Gran about Jason's marriage, the new baby on the way and all the other news she could think of. As she sat there and talked, her heart began to feel lighter and the longer she stayed, the better she felt. When she walked back to the house she went into her office to check the calendar. Tonight Bill had two video lectures, an hour long Q & A class and as she called up his schedule she saw he had at least one paper he needed to get done by Friday.

Pulling her cell out of her back pocket she dialed Tara and asked her if she felt like going to Shreveport with her for a couple days. She knew Tara wasn't working at the moment and she was more than happy to go to Shreveport for some fun.

Sookie wrote Bill a detailed note and placed it on her pillow, showered, dressed and grabbed her purse and within thirty minutes she had Tara loaded in and they were on their way for some full-on best friend time.

XxXxX

Sookie and Tara were comfortably sprawled out on a pair of chaise lounges on the terrace, half-drunk and giggling and Sookie realized how very much she had missed her best friend these past months. Jason's marriage had been the topic of conversation for some time now and Sookie was still giving Tara grief over her once all-too-real-Jason crush. Tara snorted as she laughed and Sookie lost it. She also realized that the two of them were a little more than half drunk. But that wasn't an issue as their farthest destination to travel for the rest of the day was to the kitchen for more margaritas!

They did decide some time later that food would probably be wise so Sookie made sandwiches while Tara sat at the island and told her about Mike's idea to find a quiet vacation home somewhere other than Louisiana. She didn't really get why it seemed like such a big deal but she wasn't about to rain on his parade. Her only request was that it wouldn't be anywhere cold. She had to insist on that after he'd started floating around ideas of skiing and the beautiful autumns on the eastern seaboard, Vermont in particular. The most Tara would agree to be a part of thus far was a vacation there, not a vacation home. They were going this coming fall, staying at a quaint bed and breakfast with plans to take various outings to drink in the beautiful foliage and other such sights. Tara knew he planned to visit incredible art galleries and antique stores all in hopes of finding stuff to furnish their as of yet un-scoped out potential vacation home.

Sookie managed to convince her that Tara had to at the very least give both Mike and Vermont the benefit of the doubt and Tara reluctantly agreed but she did so smiling which made Sookie happy because she knew then that Tara meant it.

They ate the sandwiches sitting before the huge plasma screen, making drunken, snarky comments about the silly romantic comedy they'd chosen from the numerous choices available. That soon morphed into turning off the sound and making up their own lines to the actions on screen and laughing until their sides and faces hurt. When the movie was over, they chose an action movie and that one proved to be even funnier given their sassy and cheesy dialogue. They giggled, laughed and snorted their way into the wee hours of the morning before finally turning the TV off and stumbling off to bed.

XxXxX

They didn't get up the next day until nearly two and they had both slept through most of their hangovers. Conversation was all but absent as they downed Advil and large cups of coffee for the first half hour or so. They began to feel better and before long they were cleaning up their mess from the night before and trying to decide if they were in the mood to do anything specific for the rest of the day. They eventually took showers and feeling much better, they decided to stay in and take advantage of being in Shreveport by ordering delivery. They debated pizza versus Asian for about ten minutes before deciding on both and Sookie placed their orders.

Once the food arrived they sat cross-legged on the sofa, shared pizza and Chinese and talked about a more serious side of their respective relationships. It was a night of revelations for them both.

"But, Jason and Annie aren't like seriously pissed anymore right? I mean, you guys're like throwing 'em a party and shit…" Tara speared a half an egg roll with one of her chopsticks as Sookie swallowed a bite of veggie pizza.

"No, nothing like that, I think if it would have been something that we knew about and blew off it would be, but let's face it… Jason could have simply said they were doing it and I would have figured something out."

Tara looked closely at Sookie and said quietly, "I know I can't know any of the gory details and all but, it was real bad wasn't it? I mean, really bad…"

Sookie scooped some fried rice onto her plate before meeting Tara's eyes. "They could have staked him." She pushed the food around her plate a little and added quietly, "I don't want to admit it Tara but even if Jason had told me what they were gonna do? I wouldn't have left Bill there to face that on his own."

Tara chewed slowly nodding her head, she swallowed and said, "I get that Sook and Jason would have too but… you just sayin' this to me? It's really something you shouldn't be telling me isn't it?"

Sookie just nodded in agreement and Tara continued, "Then there's no harm, no foul. Jason didn't tell you why he was trying to reach you, so there's that and it makes the whole thing a moot point. I mean, why even be concerned? You didn't have to choose between one or the other, they have no idea you'd had 'a make that choice so that's the end of it, right?"

Sookie slowly smiled a little and said, "You're right, hand me the soy sauce will ya'" Tara did and they continued to eat and turned the conversation toward all the small town gossip Sookie wasn't up on yet, starting with the suspension of Shorty's liquor license.

XxXxX

The next day Sookie made spa appointments and she and Tara spent the better part of the day being pampered. After the pedicures and manicures they headed off to shop and bought some nice clothes to wear out to dinner and the theater that evening. It had been far too long since Sookie and Tara had spent such seemingly endless time together and Sookie was determined to make sure it didn't happen as often ever again.

One of the more interesting aspects of the exclusive girls-only time was Tara's belief that she wanted to get married. This wasn't exactly shocking to Sookie, she'd always thought that Tara would give in to it with the right guy and Mike was certainly one in the same. But it was a surprise when Tara admitted she was afraid after all this time Mike wouldn't ask.

Sookie had a grin a mile wide as she looked her best friend in the world and asked, "Really? You want to get married?"

Tara rolled her eyes and exhaled with flourish, "Yeah, yeah, yeah… keep it up and I won't tell you nuthin' anymore!"

Sookie gave a bit of a little giggle and reached over to pat Tara's hand, "All you have to do is let him know what you want, besides, he's head over heels in love with you and you know it! I'm happy for you Tara I really am."

Tara turned her hand over and lightly held Sookie's for a moment before meeting her eyes. Sookie was surprised to see a serious, intently earnest look in Tara's eyes. "Sook, what do I do if he wants kids?"

Sookie understood immediately. Tara had sworn on her life that she would never have kids, they'd couldn't have even been more than eight at the time. Sookie knew it wasn't a spur of the moment statement after a horrid and mind-numbing night of Tara dealing with her ranting, abusing drunken mother either. But over the years, Sookie had come to realize that Tara meant it as much now as she did all those years ago.

Sookie leaned forward holding on to Tara's hand and said quietly, "Has Mike ever talked about having kids in the past? I mean, you guys have been together since before I got married. That's a lot of years, surely it must have come up at some point, right?"

Tara shrugged but held her friend's hand in an iron grip, Sookie could feel the anxiety and fear rolling off Tara. "I mean, well… yeah things have been said, sure. You know like when we were all in Hawaii and Jason and Annie were there with Colton." With a quick squeeze Tara reclaimed her hand from Sookie, sat back and took a shaky drink from her wine glass before adding, "Have we ever had a conversation where he said, 'Tara I want to marry ya' and have kids too.' No. He's never said that, obviously I haven't either. But he knows enough about me to know how I feel. He's like you with Colton… he absolutely adores his nieces and nephews and he seems happy being a part of their lives as an uncle." Tara mused a moment before meeting Sookie's eyes and in almost a whisper said, "Sook, what if he hasn't asked me to marry him because he wants kids someday?"

The sadness and fright in Tara's eyes shocked Sookie taking her totally by surprise. "Tara! Mike loves you with every bit of his heart! He's probably just not asked because he knows you aren't one of those women that looks at marriage as a goal that must be reached. Don't sell yourself short Tara, if Mike felt like he needed 'that life' with someone, I doubt very highly he would still be with you."

Tara's jaw dropped at what Sookie had said and stared at her as she continued speaking. "Mike, all on his own, made the move to Shreveport with his job so he could live with you in Bon Temps! He could have lived anywhere in the country! But he made the choice to be here so he could be here with you! Why would he do that if it wasn't because he knew what, and more importantly, who he wanted to be with!? Face it Tara… that man will never leave you, nor will he ever demand anything of you that he knows you truly believe you don't want. So yeah, you've never wanted kids and yeah, I made the choice when I married Bill that I wouldn't have kids and yeah Colton and the new baby will always fill me with joy… but you can change your mind. I'll live with it because even though I do want kids, what's done is done."

Tara's mouth opened and closed trying to form a word but she couldn't. As low-key as Sookie's rant had begun the actual final admission was one of stunning proportions. Sookie paled, she couldn't believe the words she'd just said aloud. She dropped her eyes and stared at her hands as they twisted the napkin in her fingers. She wasn't sure of what to say next or for that matter, what to even think next!

Tara answered that in short order. "I do believe I have just heard a Freudian slip of cataclysmic proportions. Hell, maybe the biggest one ever!"

Sookie just swore under her breath and signaled the waiter for the check. It was Tara's turn to wear a grin from ear to ear as she chortled, "Time to head back to the apartment girlfriend because we've got a lot to talk about don't we? Hey! Will we need to stop and get more wine?"

Sookie stood and with a slight grimace on her face said, "No. But we might need to stop and get some more Advil, I'm getting a headache."

Tara just laughed as they headed for the exit.

The two women talked late into the night, sometimes laughing but mostly serious. Before long there was a pad of paper grabbed and notes being made. Not long thereafter, the laptop and tablet were fired up and both of them researched all the information they could find about mixed marriage adoptions, including agencies that specialized in vampire-human adoptions. The irony was not lost on either of them that it wasn't so long ago in the deep south, that mixed marriages used to be considered those of different races or in some cases, just religions… but now it had become about mixed 'species' so to speak.

By the time they called it a night Sookie was sure she wouldn't sleep a wink. Her mind was in overdrive as she considered all of the information she had to process. The thought that loomed largest though was how she was going to tell Bill she was sure she wanted a child. As she tossed and turned she thought about all the hurdles they'd face.

She flipped her pillow to the cool side, punched some air into it and flopped down on her back, blowing out a heavy sigh. There was a lot of different things to think about especially Bill's schooling. He would be coming up on finals soon and so she tried to decide if the revelation would affect him adversely or if it was plain old procrastination at work. Well, that was stupid as she mentally rolled her closed eyes… of course it was nothing but procrastination! Turning once more onto her side, she sighed yet again and knew she'd be needing a lot of coffee come morning.

In Bon Temps, Bill paused from the term paper he was writing and couldn't help but wonder what had his wife's mind so troubled… after a while though her thoughts calmed and he once more turned his attention back to rechecking his footnotes for accuracy.

To be continued...