A/N: Thanks for the patience. Thanks for the reviews - Sorry if Sookie seemed a little strange at the end of last chapter. She was tired, and not really thinking clearly. I'm sorry I didn't explain her confusion better! On another note - - I want everyone to say THANKS to my BETA – VampLover1. She's going to help me out a bit and hopefully my grammar errors will now be non-existent. Enjoy! (please review!)

Chapter 11

Sookie sat up in bed and realized Eric couldn't have done it.

It was crystal clear now. She didn't know why she had even suspected him the night before. Her brain had just been tired from the long day and even longer night. The sun was now hanging high in the sky, and it must have been past noon. She had slept like a rock, and Sookie was glad that Eggs had left without any more incidents or accusations. She had offered him a bed but he had declined; he said he needed to get back to Maryann's.

She sat in bed and thought about Eric. Last night, she had been too hasty. The poor man had protected her, loved her, and here she was thinking that he had murdered her friend in cold blood, literally. Eric had saved her and then spent the rest of the night with her; there was no way that he could have killed Tara. There was his alibi, if nothing else.

The last thing Sookie remembered about Tara was her friend's face smiling wickedly at her with those creepy eyes, while she cut into Sookie's bare leg. After that Sookie had gone down the stairs, headfirst, and it was all black. Obviously she needed more details about that night. She owed it to Tara, if not herself, to find out what had happened that evening. And maybe she could find her former best friend's killer.

Eric would know if there were any new vamps in the area and who might have been in Maryann's backyard a couple of days ago. Eggs had been entirely certain about the fact that a vampire had killed Tara. She had read his mind clearly, and it was obvious he wasn't lying. He had seen Tara's body.

Sookie pushed herself out of bed, already missing the soft down comforter and the plump pillows. But she couldn't just lie in bed all day; she had a mission. She headed downstairs to the kitchen; coffee came first.

Grabbing a cup from the cabinet, she poured herself some coffee. It might be mid-afternoon, but a girl still needs her caffeine. As she drank the first restorative sip, she sat at the kitchen table to think. If it had been a normal day, she would have gone outside and sunbathed. But something was drawing her to get to the bottom of this. It was just offsetting to think that there might be a strange vampire in the area who had no compunction (word of the day) about killing humans.

Too bad it was daylight, or she could have just called Eric and asked him. But now she was going to have to go about this another way. She grabbed the phone off the wall and quickly dialed Arlene's number. It rang several times until a small voice answered, "Hello?"

"Coby?" Sookie was surprised that Arlene was letting her son Coby, who couldn't have been more than eight, answer the phone.

"Yup?" She could hear him chewing a piece of bubble gum; he was smacking as he talked.

"This is Sookie Stackhouse. Where's your mama?"

"Oh, hi Miss Sookie." Coby could at least be polite when he wanted to be. "Mama's with Uncle Terry right now. They're having 'grown-up time'."

Sookie blushed, knowing exactly what 'grown-up time' must entail.

"Oh well, I guess just let her know that I called. Can you remember to do that honey?"

"Sure thing, Miss Sookie. When are you coming over to visit us again?" It was obvious his mind was not on passing along the message.

"I don't know Coby, soon. I've been out of town recently."

"Well where'd ya go?"

Sookie sighed but answered his question anyway. "Dallas."

"Oh man! That must have been so cool." Coby was nothing if not an eight-year-old boy. Sookie thought about how "not cool" her trip had been, with vampire deaths, almost being killed, and those crazy FotS people.

"Yeah Coby, it was real cool." Lying in this instance wouldn't hurt the poor boy.

"What'd you do there? Did you go with Vampire Bill?"

But his line of questioning was interrupted. "COBY! Who are you talking to on the phone?" came Arlene's voice.

"I'm talking to Miss Sookie, Mama!" he shouted, not covering the phone, making Sookie go slightly deaf.

She held the phone away from her ear and waited. "Hi there, Sookie! How're you?" came Arlene's voice, slightly out of breath.

"Oh I'm fine, Arlene."

"I'm sorry about Coby. I've told him he's not supposed to answer the phone. But he does it anyway," Arlene gushed.

"It's fine. I wanted to ask you a favor." She might as well as get to it.

"Sookie, I can't cover for you today," Arlene said before Sookie could ask.

Well there goes that, Sookie thought. "Nah, Arlene, I just wanted to know if you would close tonight. I need to get some stuff taken care of this evening, and it would really help if I could get off early." Sookie rambled, "I'll watch the kids for you, so you and Terry can go out sometime. Please?"

The idea of a date night with Terry was all it took. "Sure Sookie, I'll close for you tonight. Oh, I can't wait to tell Terry we get to go on a real date! He's gonna love it!"

"Thanks Arlene," Sookie said wryly. "I guess I'll see you at work tonight. I'd better go get ready if I'm going in first."

"Sure thing sweetie." Arlene was tickled pink. "I'll see you tonight!"

***

The shift went by quickly. Wednesday nights were usually pretty slow and Sookie got cut early. She rushed home and grabbed a quick shower. There was no point in going to Fangtasia all gross. And besides, Eric would be there. Her heart jumped a bit thinking about him, and she went a little bit faster.

Looking in her closet, she wondered what to wear. She dismissed the pastel colors, although Pam would like them. Tonight she wanted to blend in a little bit more. She grabbed a black, sleeveless button-down top that was kind of sheer. It had been on sale at the Target in Monroe, but Sookie hadn't realized it was sheer until she got it home. It would be perfect for tonight. She found one of the sexier bras she owned, black with white embroidery, and put it on. If you're wearing a sheer top, then your bra better be pretty. She smiled to herself; Eric was going to go crazy over this outfit.

Slipping on a pair of tight jeans was easy; most of her jeans were tight at the moment. She needed to not eat so many meals at Merlotte's. That cooking would get to you after awhile, and it showed in her jeans.

A pair of black boots and she was ready to go. She gave herself a once-over in the mirror. She looked pretty hot. Her jeans were dark denim and make her curvy in all the right places. The sheer top showed off just a hint of skin and bra, and Sookie had unbuttoned the top few buttons. Her tan skin showed where the fabric parted, and you could see the gentle curve of her breasts. Eric was definitely going to like this outfit. She touched a hand to her curled hair and headed out the door.

The drive to Shreveport was uneventful; Sookie hadn't seen a single cop and hardly any traffic. Apparently Wednesday wasn't a night to go out for most anybody. She pulled into the parking lot and saw a good number of cars already there. She reapplied her lipstick in the car, something called 'blood red' by the cosmetic company; it was an attempt to garner sales from the vampire-loving community. The color suited Sookie's skin perfectly, and she pursed her lips and then headed towards the front door.

There was a line, of people still waiting to get in. Sookie approached the front and saw that the bouncer was a vampire she hadn't met before. She smiled sweetly and tried to walk past him.

"Hold up there, missy." The vampire seemed a little surprised at her nerve.

"I need to get inside," Sookie said pertly.

"Sure you do." He had seen plenty of fangbangers in his day but this one seemed different than most. Still, he had a job to do. With a menacing look he said, "Get to the back of the line."

Sookie was taken aback by his behavior and thought about calling out to Eric, but she wanted to surprise him. Waiting in a line wasn't going to kill her.

She walked to the back of the line and surveyed the rest of the fangbangers waiting to get in. They were mostly dressed in black latex outfits or some sort of dress that was barely there. It was a good thing it wasn't cold outside, cause they probably would have frozen with that much skin showing.

Sookie shifted her attention away from the girls who were thinking about getting in that Eric's pants or wondering if Thalia would punch someone or bite someone tonight. She just shook her head and waited for the line to go down.

Ten minutes later, Sookie hadn't gotten that much closer to the door. As she was just starting to get cold, the front door banged open and out stalked a very angry-looking Pam.

"Men!" That was all that she shouted, but several of the fangbangers flinched. Sookie wasn't sure if she should say hi or if she should just stay still, but Pam decided it for her.

Her head spun around and she smiled, looking Sookie right in the eye. "Sookie!" she cooed. "You look and smell delectable this evening!"

The bouncer was surprised that a vamp like Pam would even notice such a normal-looking fangbanger. He was even more surprised when that fangbanger stepped out of line and hugged the vampire. Now that was strange.

Sookie released Pam and smiled broadly. Pam looked a little taken aback but then smiled wickedly. "I suppose you are here to see Eric?"

"I need to ask him something."

"Do you not have a telephone?" Pam's eyebrow went up.

"I wanted to ask him in person." Sookie was defiant.

"Of course you did, Sookie." Condescending Pam was back, and it was a welcome relief to the crowd. The fangbangers knew how to deal with that Pam.

Sookie paused then asked, "Is he in a good mood tonight?"

"It must be serious if you are asking me that." Pam was surprised.

Sookie just smiled, not wanting to give too much away to their attentive audience. Most of the crowd knew that Pam was Eric's right hand, and they were surprised to see the Ice Queen on such friendly terms with a human.

Pam turned to the bouncer who had kept Sookie out of the club not fifteen minutes earlier and said very coldly, "This is Sookie Stackhouse. Remember her face. She is allowed immediate entrance upon her arrival here. Or Eric will have your head."

The bouncer's face paled, and it was obvious that he had heard the name Sookie Stackhouse before. Sookie blushed and was suddenly overwhelmed by the minds of those around her.

So that's the bitch that stole Eric. Damn, that's Sookie Stackhouse? I can see why Eric would like her; a bit on the chubby side, but Eric's a Viking, so he'd probably like that. God I wish I could be her.

The thoughts flew at Sookie, and she wondered when she had become so famous. The bouncer was apologizing.

"I'm sorry, Miss Stackhouse. Please don't tell Eric that I detained you." The vamp was practically cowering before her. Sookie was shocked.

"Of course I won't."

"Sookie!" Pam pushed the bouncer to the background, as if he was a fly. "Inside."

Pam wasn't what you called tactful. But that was part of her charm. She ushered Sookie inside, and suddenly she was overwhelmed by the sounds of the music and the thoughts of the patrons at the bar. She quickly put her shields back in place, making sure to hold them there tightly. Fangtasia certainly wasn't known for its clean and holy thoughts.

Sookie immediately saw Eric. He sat on his throne, in the same position as the first time she saw him, gazing out at the crowd. But this time he looked furious. He saw Pam come in and his eyes flashed; then he saw Sookie. He seemed shocked at first and then took in her outfit. She watched him close his eyes and inhale deeply and slowly, and she knew he was smelling her. Ew. Eric certainly was a classy guy.

Pam was as giddy as a schoolgirl, and Sookie had no idea why. As they approached Eric, fangbangers and vampires moved quickly out of their way. They didn't want to keep Eric from the woman who had captured his heart.

Sookie stood in front of his chair, in almost the same place she had stood when they had first met. But this time she was ready for him.

"Eric," she said and smiled happily. She always felt happy when she saw him now.

"Lover," he purred, and she could have melted onto the floor. "What are you doing here? I thought you had work tonight. Were you just that excited about our 'date'?"

Sookie grinned. "I'm not here for our date Eric. I needed to talk to you."

He shifted back in his seat and motioned for Sookie to sit next to him in a chair Pam had provided. She sat and Eric said, "So talk."

"Oh Eric, Tara is dead," she said, upset.

"Tara?" Eric didn't know of any vampires named Tara, so this must be a human acquaintance of Sookie's.

"My best friend. The one who cut me."

Eric snarled. That bitch was supposed to be Sookie's best friend? "You need better friends, lover." His voice was low.

"Well she's dead now, Eric." Sookie still couldn't believe it.

"So what do you want me to do about it?" Eric relaxed and focused half his attention on the crowd in front of them.

"Well, she was killed by… " Sookie gulped and then whispered in the smallest voice possible, knowing he would still hear it, "a vampire."

Eric's finely-tuned ears caught Sookie's last two words. Instantly he was furious, his fangs dropped, and he whirled to look Sookie in the eyes. "My office. NOW." He wasn't exactly roaring, but most of the crowd had seen his abrupt change in mood and heard his shout. They wanted him to stay; this could be entertaining.

Eric guided Sookie back to his office swiftly and soon they were inside with the door shut tightly.

"Could you have a little more sense, Sookie?" Eric was trying to remain calm; this was his love, and she looked smoking tonight, and if he wanted to kiss her later then it was important she not be angry with him.

"What?" Sookie still didn't know what was going on.

"Accusing a vampire of killing your 'friend'," the word was full of scorn, "in a room full of VAMPIRES?" He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "You must be out of your mind," he muttered.

Sookie now realized how stupid that was. "Sorry, Eric."

"Come here." He held her close to his chest and felt her racing heart start to calm. "I didn't mean to scare you," he said softly.

"It's alright, Eric." Sookie's body was singing just being this close to him. How could she have said they should stop having sex? He just felt so go next to her. She suddenly wanted to push him down on the couch and have her way with him. Wait. She was here for a reason.

She broke his hug and took a step back. "Eric, a vampire killed Tara."

"How do you know that?" Eric was skeptical but took her word for it.

"Her body was drained of blood, and she had puncture marks on her neck."

Eric suddenly looked contemplative. She wondered what had crossed his mind. He pursed his lips and then looked back down at her, "Sookie I know who killed Tara. I didn't think of it at first. I was too caught up in saving you. I forgot. Please, forgive me."

Sookie was jolted; how could he have known about this and not told her? A tendril of fear and worry wormed its way back into her mind. "Eric…" If he told her it was him, how could she still date him?

"Sookie, it was Bill." Eric let that soak in for a second.

Sookie looked ready to deny it. She scoffed, "Bill? Why would Bill have killed Tara?"

Eric looked pained, "He was there the night that I saved you. If he hadn't stopped Tara when he did…" he trailed off.

"Stopped Tara from doing what?"

"She was about to plunge a ceremonial knife into your abdomen." When Sookie looked blankly at him, he repeated, "She was going to stab you in the stomach."

Sookie felt lightheaded, so she sat down abruptly on the couch. Tara would have killed her? But Bill had killed Tara instead?

"But why did Bill have to kill her?" Sookie felt like she couldn't breathe.

"Because I hadn't fed in days," came a deep Southern voice from the doorway.