Suddenly Sookie was hungry. She realised that she hadn't eaten for god knows how long and her stomach was making those little growling sounds like it does when it is empty and telling you to feed it. She went to her ice box and rummaged through it until she found a container of cold BBQ chicken she had intended to make into a stir fry but instead she grabbed it along with a handful of baby tomatoes, some mayo and cut up some lettuce and threw it all into a bowl as a kind of rushed tossed salad, then she ate like she hadn't in she didn't know how long. Gees this giving someone a piece of you mind sure worked up an appetite she thought.
Once she had eaten, done the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen, she headed for the shower. What she needed was a long scrub under some hot water with her favourite scented body wash and a good shampoo and scalp massage. When she finally emerged she felt one hundred percent better and climbing into her old large and comfy t shirt night dress, the one with the little bears hugging each other on it, her comfort zone was complete.
She was just about to take off the towel wrapped around her hair and comb out the tangles when there was a knock on the door. Oh great, what now she was thinking as she made her way to the closet where she kept her gun loaded with silver bullets. No need to get sloppy, she realised that she had better start learning all over again to protect herself. Standing there by the front door holding the rifle in one hand and with an eye on a sharpened stake leaning against the wall for back up, she peeked through the side curtain and got the shock of her life for standing there on her front porch, looking spectacularly stunning as always, she admitted to herself, was Bill.
Oh shoot, she thought to herself as she looked down at the unflattering outfit she had on, complete with fluffy slippers and turbaned hair, she couldn't get any more unglamorous if she had tried. Not that it mattered much; he had made that well and truly clear to her already so she might just as well answer the door and to hell with caring about how she looked.
She opened it and stood there staring at him as he stared back at her for a moment. Little did she know that he thought that she looked adorable and so vulnerable in her plain "having a night at home mourning outfit" as she thought of it, if she gave it any real thought at all. It took him a moment to compose himself as he really hadn't quite expected her to come to the door dressed as she was.
'I am sorry,' he said apologetically, 'I didn't mean to disturb you, I only came to see if you are alright. I won't keep you but I just thought that I would let you know that if you need it I can arrange for someone to keep an eye out in the woods, just to make sure that you have some kind of protection. And before you say anything, I am not insinuating that you can't look after yourself but there have been rumours that the herd of infected that were responsible for,' he hesitated trying to think of a painless way to put it, not wanting to cause her any more pain than she must be going through because of the loss of Alcide, but before he could finish his sentence she interrupted.
'Thanks Bill. It's okay and I do appreciate it, I really do,' she said sincerely. 'Under the circumstances it is the kindest offer I have had all day.' She spoke rather humbly and it tugged at his heart. She seemed different, a little defeated and less defiant than she had been when they had last spoken only a little over twenty four hours ago.
After his talk with Sam, his trip home and his talk with Jessica, Bill sat for a while in his study mulling over what was the best thing to do for Sookie. He had promised Jess that he would be careful and look after himself. He smiled wistfully to himself. She could see straight through him. There was no need for him to tell her that his relationship with Katie was a ruse and purely platonic. He couldn't fool her one bit, she was his daughter and progeny and could feel all his emotions.
Despite herself and her independence, and despite the fact that he did still love her regardless of the camouflaged story he put out to the world and to her, he had to take into consideration that Sookie on her own, unprotected, would be like a magnet to a V infected vampire. That was something that neither he who cared for her wanted, nor the community as a whole would be willing to put up with for long if it meant that it put the whole township in danger of another full on attack. The last thing that they needed was attention being drawn to them. The community would be baying for her blood if there was to be a full on outbreak again from a large force all because they were drawn there as a result of Sookie's attraction and revenge for Alcide's attack over at Munroe.
Now if he could only decide how best he could help Sookie and still remain true to his decision to let her go, for her sake and his. Something had to be done. He knew that he had to do something but had no idea what was the best way to tackle her. Nothing he had ever done before had made one iota of difference as far as changing her mind regarding her independence, and he feared that even now, after what had happened to Alcide, nothing he said or did would have any effect. So his surprise was complete when she stood there and asked him civilly, without fighting, cursing or crying as had been the norm in the past while, would he care to come in?
Something had changed in her demeanour and it was something more than just the loss of Alcide, Bill felt. As he was about to accept he noticed the gross looking pot plant that Eric had left at the side of the front door, sitting on her porch like a red piece of flesh. She noticed him looking and could almost read his mind. She rolled her eyes. 'You aren't the only one to come calling tonight. Eric paid me a visit earlier this evening.' She also noticed Bill stiffen visibly at this news and was quick to reassure him. 'He won't be coming back,' she gave a wistful smile, 'I made it rather clear that he is not welcome here.' Bill's eyebrows shot half way up his forehead in surprise but he said nothing as he followed her from the hallway into the living room.
The last time he had been in the room was the dreadful night when he had come for Warlow. He cringed at the thought of how cruel they had both been on that occasion. It was not something that he was proud of but in the end it served a purpose. It had been the only way to get through the mess that everything had become and now, here he was in yet another mess and trying just as valiantly to work his way through this too. If she only understood how much he craved normalcy just as much as she did. He sighed to himself.
'So, you would have someone out in the woods on the lookout?' she asked as they sat down facing each other on opposite sofas. He nodded. 'It would only be for a while, just until things calm down a bit,' he assured her. 'You wouldn't even know that they were there and they would report directly to me.' She smiled grimly. 'Oh yes and who do you think that you would get to do the guarding, I am not the most popular person with in your community?' She went a little red in the face when she realised how harsh this may sound and she went on quickly in an attempt to soften her words.
'Bill what I mean is that well, there aren't too many vamps that know me that would be happy to do it so are you sure that you can arrange it? And well, if it was someone from out of town how do I know that I would be safe with a strange vampire, wouldn't I be at risk just as much as I would with the infected?'
He saw the logic of her thinking and it was not something that he hadn't already given consideration to before coming over. 'Jessica has agreed to do it.' It was Sookie's turn to raise her eyebrows in surprise. 'Jessica?' she questioned, 'but I had the distinct feeling that she of all people would be one of the last to want to help me. Not that I don't blame her,' she said half to herself looking down at the floor, unspoken thoughts going through her mind. 'She would be doing it for me,' he explained looking rather uncomfortable. 'For you?' she questioned.
Her heart gave a little extra beat as she digested what he had said. So he had asked Jessica to do this for him, but why? Did he feel some obligation to her or, no it was too much to hope that after everything that they had gone through, even as recently as only last night, did he, was there really any hope… that he still cared, just even a little for her?
No, her head told her, don't go there. It will only hurt you more getting your hopes up. Knowing Bill as well as she thought that she did it was more than likely only his ethics and chivalrous nature kicking in that was offering to protect her. He made it clear last night that it was over and he had moved on and yet, despite that, here he was sitting in her living room actually talking and not fighting. No harsh and hurting words between them this time.
She snapped out of her reverie when the towel wrapped around her head slipped and fell around her shoulders. She frowned. 'Do you mind?' she asked him as she divested herself of it entirely and picked up her comb and began to comb through her tangled hair.
Because she had been out of the shower for some time and hadn't combed her hair out while wet, she found that it was tangled and knotted and she was struggling to get her comb through it. He watched her for a few moments. His face softened at the sight of her and the memories it conjured up for him.
Perhaps it was because they had managed to have a whole conversation without ripping each other to pieces. Maybe it was that they had a grown up conversation for a change or that they were both relaxed and their guards were down and he was feeling sentimental, or perhaps it might have been that he sensed some kind of almost defeat in her that he had never felt before but for whatever reason, he was swamped by a nostalgic longing for the past and what they had.
He didn't often give in to his feelings like this but tonight he couldn't help feeling her vulnerability even though she was attempting to mask it, or maybe because when push came to shove, he was just as vulnerable as she was despite how much he had grown in the last few years. It didn't matter really what the reasons were, he didn't bother to analyse his feelings, he just acted on them spontaneously and without thinking.
'Here,' a small smile creased the corners of his soft lips, 'come and sit and give me the comb,' he said patiently as though talking to a child. Her mind flashed back to the times that he had done this before for her, happy times when he had sat brushing her hair out, reminiscing about doing the very same thing for his sister and his daughter. It had always soothed her and calmed her and it generally led to them ending up in each other's arms making love.
It had been so long, she thought, so very long since they had touched and she knew that more than anything else in the world right now, just to touch would be like heaven. A heaven that she admitted to herself she perhaps didn't quite deserve.