This chapter is dedicated to Terry Bellefleur; a soldier, a husband, a father, a friend, and so much more.

Chapter 25

"Good evening, Your Majesty…" Bill looked up and saw Sookie leaning against the doorway of the master bedroom, wearing one of his favorite sundresses.

"Good evening, Ms. Stackhouse." Bill's face broke into a happy smile upon seeing her. He covered the short distance between them in a few long strides. When he reached her, he took her hand and led her into the bedroom. He closed the door behind him and turned around and took her in his arms, his lips seeking hers.

Sookie tilted her head slightly to receive his kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer as their kisses grew more heated.

"I've missed you…" Sookie managed to whisper in-between kisses.

"I've missed you too…" Bill's hands moved to roam her back; looking for the zipper of her sundress. Once he found it, he dragged the zipper down her back and removed the dress from her. The dress fell on the floor, pooling around Sookie's feet. Bill broke their kiss and helped her to step out of her dress and she stood there in her underwear. "So beautiful…" Bill drank in the sight before him and his fangs snapped into place.

Not wanting to be outdone, Sookie reached out to push his jacket down his shoulders. Bill shrugged his jacket off, while Sookie's hands had moved to deftly unbutton his shirt. In a few seconds, they managed to get each other naked and Bill picked her up and carried her to the bed.

Bill gently deposited her on the bed and climbed on top of her, covering her body with his own. He leaned down to capture her lips in another passionate kiss. After a while, he let go of her lips and moved to pepper her jaw with kisses. He continued to move downwards and grazed her throat with his fangs, careful not to nick her.

"Mmm…" Sookie closed her eyes and relaxed into the mattress. As Bill continued to worship her body with his hands and mouth, Sookie felt herself surrendering completely to his ministrations and when Bill finally touched her, Sookie couldn't help but bucking up into his touch; a soft moan escaped her lips.

"Are you ready, my love?" Bill asked her gently as he positioned himself at her entrance.

Sookie just moaned and lifted her hips in silent plea. Bill pushed forward and they both cried out as their bodies joined as one. Bill started to move and set an erotic rhythm and Sookie moved with him. It wasn't very long before they both couldn't hold back any longer. Sookie arched her neck, exposing her throat to Bill, "Honey… Please…"

Bill kissed her throat before sinking his fangs into it. Sookie screamed as her orgasm hit her and she clenched tightly around him, pushing Bill over the edge. Bill let go of her throat and covered her mouth with his as they rode their orgasm together.

Bill rolled over to take his weight off Sookie and took her with him. He pierced his finger to heal her puncture wounds and Sookie snuggled into him, wrapping her arm around his waist. "Welcome home, baby…"

"It's so good to be home." Bill replied and dropped a kiss on top of her head. They lay there for a few more minutes before Bill asked, "How about a shower?"

Sookie laughed and with vampire speed, Bill had them out of the bed and into the shower in no time.

An hour later, Sookie was fast asleep on the bed when Bill quietly slipped out of the master bedroom.

"All is ready, Sire." Nick said. He was standing outside of Bill's office with a stack of folders in his hand.

Bill opened the door and entered his office, Nick following behind. Bill walked around the desk and sat down on his leather chair as Nick put the folders on the desk. "Go home, Nick. Take the rest of the night off. I can manage from here. Have a good evening and send my regards to Rachel." Bill said from his place behind the desk.

"Thank you, Sire. Good evening." Nick bowed once more and left, closing the door behind him.

Bill turned his attention to the folders on his desk. The night was still young and since Sookie was asleep, he might as well use his time to get some work done. The folders contained the list of possible candidates for the new staff. Nick had carefully sorted out the names and their résumés to make it easier for Bill to go through them. Bill's HR staff had conducted first interviews, and Nick had done the seconds. All Bill needed to do was to read through their résumés and the notes that Nick and the HR guy had attached to their folders and decide which ones Bill would speak to himself. Bill always handpicked his staff, so he opened the first folder and got to work.

An hour later, Bill had had eliminated five from his list; leaving ten candidates to choose from. He set aside the folders and called in his PA to ask her to arrange for the interviews. He only had a few days before his vacation and Bill wanted to get as many interviews in as possible in the next few days.

Done with that, Bill turned on his computer and logged in. He checked and replied his emails. One email in particular caught his attention.

Dear Mr. Compton,

I'm writing in response to your email. I'm pleased to inform you that all of the arrangements have been made. In keeping with your request, a helicopter and a pilot will be on stand-by for you and your guests at all times during the requested time period.

Thank you for using our service. We look forward to serving you again in the future.

Warmest regards,

Patrick Brown

Bill smiled widely upon reading the email. He couldn't wait to tell Sookie! He composed a quick reply to Mr. Brown, thanking him for the prompt response.

Bill glanced at the clock and realized that it was almost dawn. He logged off the computer and left the office. He made his way upstairs and once inside the bedroom, he activated the light tight feature before getting undressed then climbed into bed beside Sookie. He pulled her into his arms and a few minutes later, he fell asleep as the sun made its way past the horizon.

"A little bit to the right… No, no, that's too much. Okay, that's great!" Lafayette nodded his head in satisfaction, looking at the big banner that was hung above the bar counter. The banner had the words 'Happy Birthday Terry!' printed on it in big, bold colorful letters.

"I think it's still a bit crooked…" Sookie frowned slightly as she examined the banner from her place, standing beside Lafayette.

"Is it?" Lafayette tilted his head slightly. "I think you're right… Gentlemen, you need to move it up a little bit… Not too much, not too much… There! How about now?" Lafayette turned to Sookie.

Sookie smiled widely and said, "Perfect!"

"Sook, where are all the balloons?" Tara asked from somewhere behind Sookie, prompting the blonde to turn around.

"I just put them all on the table…" Sookie pointed to the table and realized that there was nothing there. "Hey, y'all who took the balloons?!" She asked loudly.

"Here they are." Holly approached them with her son, both carrying a bunch of balloons. "Rocky here thought it'd be fun to suck up some helium! Well, what do you say?!" Holly gave her son a stern look, but her eyes sparkled with humor.

Rocky looked a little ashamed when he said, "Uh, sorry."

For a split second there was silence then everyone laughed because Rocky sounded like a small cartoon character when he spoke. "Don't encourage him," Holly said as she rolled her eyes. "So where do you want them? Arlene?" She turned to Arlene for guidance.

"What?" Arlene whirled around, "Oh, just tie some of them with the banner and the rest… Mmm… maybe we can put them at the corners?"

It was Saturday afternoon and the whole Merlotte's crew, minus Terry, were all busy preparing for Terry's surprise birthday party that evening. Everybody was excited and the general mood was pretty lively. Sam had even agreed to close Merlotte's for the whole day of to prepare for the party.

"Hey, guys…" Andy and Jason stepped into Merlotte's. Andy was carrying a big box containing the birthday cake and Jason was carrying several plastic bags in his hands. There was chorus of greetings from everybody, before they went back to their tasks.

Sam led Andy to the back so that they could put the cake in the fridge while Jason put the plastic bags on the nearby empty table.

"You got everything?" Sookie asked as she approached her brother.

"Yep, they're all in here…" Jason patted the bag before reaching out to give Sookie a bear hug.

"Great! Thanks, Jason!" Sookie rummaged through the bags and took out some colorful party supplies, such as plastic plates, plastic utensils, and other stuff. She brought them over to the big table and set them down.

"Everything looks good, Sookie. Is Vampire Bill gonna be here later?" Andy approached her and asked.

"Yes…" Sookie nodded and suddenly, she remembered something. "Um, Andy, is Portia coming later?" Sookie felt a bit strange to ask this, but she didn't want any surprises later on.

"No, she's out of town with my grandmother. Why?" Andy asked curiously.

Sookie then realized that Andy didn't know anything about what happened. "Uh, no reason… Just curious." Sookie offered him a quick smile.

Andy looked confused for a moment, but then, it dawned on him. 'That's awkward…' He thought about the 'thing' that Portia had had with Bill a few months ago.

For the next few hours, they continued their preparations for the party. At three o'clock, they finally finished decorating the place.

"Well, I'd say, good job everyone!" Sam looked around in satisfaction. Every corner of Merlotte's was decorated with balloons and other colorful decorations. "Alright, go home and come back here at seven. See you guys later…"

With that, they all went home to get ready for the party.

At ten to seven, the door to Merlotte's opened and Sookie walked in with Bill in tow. When they stepped into the bar, almost everybody was there, making some final adjustments here and there. The cake was sitting on a table in the middle of the room and Tara was putting the candles on it.

"Hey there, Sookie, Vampire Bill." Andy greeted them.

Bill nodded and offered Andy a polite smile. "Good evening, Sheriff."

Sookie left Bill talking to Andy as she went and helped Karen to arrange the plates on the table. Jessica and Jason arrived about ten minutes later and Jess proceeded to help out while Jason joined Bill and Andy.

Half an hour later, Sam got a text from Arlene, informing them to get ready. They scrambled to get into position behind the bar as Sam turned off all the lights and stood by the light switch. Five minutes later, the front door was opened and Arlene guided a blindfolded Terry into the bar.

"Honey, c'mon… What…" Terry didn't get to finish his sentence as Arlene took the blindfold off him and Sam turned on the lights and everybody yelled "Surprise!"

For a moment, Terry just stood there, clearly in shock. "Wha…?" He sputtered.

"It's a surprise party for you, sweetie…" Arlene told him with a big smile on her face. "Happy birthday!" She leaned up to kiss him on the cheek.

Terry looked around, dumbfounded. "Whoa… I… Wow… thanks, I guess…" Terry looked almost embarrassed.

One by one, they started to walk up to him to wish him 'Happy birthday'. Bill even held out his hand, but Terry pulled him into a big hug instead.

"Hey Bill… thanks for coming, man." Terry said to Bill, who just smiled and nodded at him.

"I'll get you a TruBlood." Sookie told her boyfriend a few minutes later. She then went to the back to get a TruBlood from the fridge. She put it in the microwave to heat it up and got a glass of drink for herself. Afterwards, Sookie went off to look for Bill.

Bill had found an empty table near the corner and sat down. A few minutes later, Jessica came to him, "Hi, Bill!" Jess greeted him and sat down in front of him, putting her TruBlood on the table.

"Hello, my dear. Did you manage to apply to the school?" Bill asked his daughter.

"They're still processing my application. I took the GED and guess what? I passed!" Jessica told Bill gleefully.

A smile made its way to Bill's face. "Well done!" He looked at her proudly.

"Thanks… Now, I'm just waiting for them to tell me whether I can get in or not. I hope I can…" She had submitted her application two days ago and they told her the application would take two to three weeks to process.

"I'm sure you will get into the school. They have no reason not to accept you." Bill said to her.

At the same time, Sookie approached the two. "Hi, Jess!" Sookie greeted her cheerfully, while putting the drinks on the table. "What are you two talking about?" She sat down beside Bill.

"Hey, Sook! Oh, nothing much. I was just telling Bill that I passed the GED and now LSU is processing my application." Jessica explained.

"You did? That is awesome! Congratulations!" Sookie congratulated her.

"I haven't got accepted into the school though…" Jessica told her.

"Oh, they'll accept you. Why wouldn't they?" Sookie assured her.

"May I have your attention, please?" They heard Arlene and turned their attention to the redhead. She was standing in front of the counter, facing them. After making sure that she had gotten everyone's attention, she cleared her throat and started talking, "I'd like to thank all of you here for helping me to make this party happen. Without all your help, well… I just couldn't a done it on my own. Terry, honey…" She turned to her husband, "I love you so much. And I'm so glad that we found each other. You are the best thing that ever happened to me and the kids and… oh, happy birthday!" Arlene was grinning from ear to ear as she gazed lovingly at her husband.

"To Terry!" Sam said raising his glass high for a toast. Everyone else raised their glasses and bottles.

"To Terry!" They echoed before taking a drink. Terry came up to the front and hugged his wife and gave her a big hug and a kiss, while everyone else cheered them on. The guests had gathered before Terry and Arlene as the stood behind the table with the cake. Tara lit the candles and everyone began to sing 'Happy Birthday' then said, "Make a wish!"

Terry leaned over and blew out the candles as the guests clapped and wished him well. When he turned to face the crowd, the room went quiet.

"Thank you all. I've never… I've never had a surprise party before. Thank you so much!" Terry said, his voice filled with emotion. His arms wrapped firmly around Arlene.

"C'mon, guys, take a picture…" Andy stepped forward, holding a camera. He could tell Terry was a little overwhelmed, so he started ordering friends and family around to get pictures. Terry and Arlene posed first and then, the kids joined them. After which, the cake was cut and passed around and as all of them began to enjoy themselves.

The rest of the party went well. The people had fun as they ate, drank and chatted among themselves. One or both of Holly's boys snuck a balloon away and taught Coby and Lisa how to suck it and talk like chipmunks. Arlene and Holly just rolled their eyes and ignored it, but secretly they thought it was funny listening to their kids talk and laugh with their altered voices. The party went on past midnight and then, one by one, the guests left for home.

"Thanks for coming…" Arlene hugged Sookie while Terry shook Bill's hand.

"No problem. The party was a success, Arlene." Sookie said with a smile.

"Yeah… I can't thank you enough for all your help! Oh, y'all are leaving on Monday, right? Have a good vacation!" Arlene was smiling like she had throughout the party.

"Thanks! See you guys soon! And Terry, happy birthday once again!" Sookie gave Terry one final hug and a kiss on the cheek before taking Bill's hand and together, they left the bar.