Cooper finished serving a pair of drinks to a couple in front of him, a Tru Blood to the man and an alcoholic beverage to the woman. He stiffened up for a moment before his attention came right to them. His expression changed a few times before he shook his head and called for the second bartender to look after the counter. He moved away from it and Dawn grabbed hold of Sookie's hand.

"They're gonna need a moment," she said, pulling Sookie away.

"Don't you dare," Kendall said in a harsh whisper. Cooper was at her side before she could argue any longer. She inhaled deeply and then looked up at him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Nice to see you too," she said, dropping her eyes and looking around the place. A lot of people seemed to be focused on her, or Sookie and Dawn.

"It is nice to see you. I just didn't expect to see you here."

"Well, it wasn't my choice. My friend Dawn and my sister wanted to stop in and check the place out." She was silent a moment longer, her eyes falling on a very large man sitting in a chair on a makeshift platform at the head of the room. Was it a throne he was sitting on? He wore all black and his long blonde hair was resting down over his shoulders. He was watching her and Cooper, but only for a moment. His eyes then went to Sookie and Dawn. "Um," Kendall shook her head.

"What?" She struggled for a moment. Something plagued her internally. Why was she suddenly so uneasy?

"I need some air." Kendall turned away from him and walked back through the door, bypassing Pamela as she came inside.

"Have you introduced them?" she asked Cooper.

"No." Cooper said before he walked out after Kendall. He looked around for a moment and then found her by the line of bushes in front of the parking lot. "Are you all right, Love?"

"Yes. Shouldn't you be working?"

"I will go back in a moment."

"Go back now. I'm fine."

"Come with me."

"I don't want to hang out in a vampire bar."

"I'm a vampire," he blurted out.

"Ladies," Pamela said, joining Sookie and Dawn at the bar. "Are you enjoying yourselves?"

"So far, yes," Dawn said.

"It's a really nice place," Sookie added.

"Would you like to meet the owner?" Pamela asked, seeming to nod to someone nearby. A man stepped to the bar next to Dawn and proceeded to buy her a drink, drawing her attention away. Sookie looked from Pamela to Dawn then to Pamela again.

"Oh, uh, sure. Sounds great," Sookie said. Pam held out her hand to motion toward the man sitting in the chair across the room. Sookie followed her over and Pam took her place standing next to the man.

"Sookie, this is Eric Northman." It took a moment, but Eric's chilly blue eyes shifted from forward to upward at Sookie. She extended her hand, but he didn't take it, making her feel slightly awkward.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Northman. This is a lovely establishment." Eric didn't say anything as he watched her. "I think it's great that you opened up an inclusive bar." Sookie was silent for a moment, disliking that he wasn't speaking to her. "We don't have any vampires where I live; that I know of, anyway."

"Sookie brought her friend and her twin sister tonight. Kendall is Cooper's pet." Sookie looked at Pamela then.

"Cooper's pet? I don't like that," she said.

"What do you seek this evening, Miss Stackhouse?" Eric finally said, his voice coming in a smooth manner. Sookie gazed at him for a moment.

"Something more than you've given me. Etiquette, for one."

"What?" Kendall asked softly. Cooper stared at her intently.

"I'm a vampire. I'm surprised you couldn't put that together." She took a moment to gather her thoughts, but just shook her head.

"A vampire. You've got to be shittin' me." He started to rest his hand on her shoulder, to console her, but she recoiled. "Don't." Cooper pulled back instantly. "You should have told me before."

"Are you anti-vampire?" his tone suddenly seemed cold.

"Cooper! I've never known one! And you never told me."

"So? You liked me anyway. I'm not any different now."

"You're a whole lot different now."

"How is that?"

"Dear, this is Eric Northman, Vampire Sherriff of…" Pamela started.

"I don't care who or what he is. He's rude." Sookie suddenly stopped talking and turned her head, thoughts raging into her mind. Her eyes settled on two menacing looking men who rose from their seats, leaving two beautiful women at the table. "Guns," she said, reading their minds. She turned back to Eric and Pam. Eric stood up at that point. "They have guns! Dawn!"

Eric pulled Sookie to him and turned her away from the crowd when shots started popping. Screams rang out and chaos ensued. Sookie couldn't have fought against Eric if she wanted to, though she was too terrified to do anything but stand there and stare up at him. If bullets were hitting him, he showed no evidence of pain as he was looking down at her.

Cooper jumped at the sound of gunfire inside and grabbed Kendall's hand. Louder and nearby gunfire peppered outside, causing the people waiting outside to scatter as the drive by gunmen rained bullets on the establishment. Not even the people running out of the club were safe from the danger inside as they ran right into the hell awaiting them. Kendall screamed and stumbled and Cooper spun around quickly, pinning her to the wall and guarding her body with his.

A scent filled his senses and he felt his fangs react, so he chose not to open his mouth and scare her further. He knew she was bleeding. He knew she'd been hit the moment she screamed. It hadn't been a scream of terror, but rather a scream of agonizing pain.

Tires squealed and the shots stopped. Sirens were heard in the distance and people slowly started recovering from the incident as they waited for both human and vampire authorities to arrive.

"Pamela." Eric said sternly, turning his head slightly.

"Taken care of," she said matter-of-factly. The shots had stopped inside before the shots outside started. There was carnage inside; a few bodies of humans being moved around and looked at for signs of life. A vampire or two dug at their own bodies to scoop the bullets out, but most of them were just fine.

"Mr. Northman. You're hurting me," Sookie finally said. Eric looked back down at her, watching her heaving chest rise and fall against his abdomen. He released his grip on her.

"How did you know they had guns?" he asked.

"I saw one of them pull from under their coat," she lied.

"You declared your observation before that happened." She stared at him and then her attention was stolen away.

"Sookie!" Dawn shouted from somewhere in the bar. Sookie peered around Eric. "Kendall!" Dawn pointed to Cooper carrying Kendall inside.

"Oh, for fuck's sake," Pam said. Eric turned around and watched the scene before him. The vampires in the room perked up at the smell of the bleeding girl. Eric did as well. There was something quite enticing about her…and her sister. He couldn't quite figure it out, however.

"Eric?" Cooper said.

"My office," he stated. "I'll take care of this out here. Pamela, look after Sookie and Dawn."

"Like hell! I'm going with my sister!" Sookie shouted, watching Cooper disappear through a back door. Eric grabbed hold of the petite blonde's arm.

"If ever there were a time to trust me about anything, this would be it. He will take care of her." Eric's eyes radiated reassurance and although Sookie was hesitant, for some reason, she believed him. Finally, she nodded.

"Fine." Pamela herded the girls off of the main floor.