A/N And here we are again, inching slowly closer to the end...I hope! Welcome to any new readers out there, and welcome back to everyone else. Nice to see you again :)

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters.

Claudine saw me walk through the door from the back and raised her hand in a wave, a big smile on her face. And even though I was still more than aware of all the problems that I had in my life, I instantly felt better. Claudine just seemed to have that kind of magnetic personality. You couldn't help but be drawn to her, and then you felt just a bit happier because of it.

"There you are!" Claudine said, cheerfully. "We were just talking about you."

If anyone else had said that to me, I would have wondered what it was they'd been saying and whether their jollity was hiding a guilty conscience. But somehow Claudine just made me feel as pleased as punch that she took an interest in me.

"Well, I'm happy you've stopped in," I said to Claudine, as I collected my tray from where I'd left it.

"Claude told me all about what happened," she said, and I paused with the tray in my out-stretched hand, wondering what she was about to say next. "I can't believe he just attacked you like that!"

"Oh. Yes." I had almost forgotten that Claude had been present for that part of the evening, his later actions being the ones that I had replayed in my mind over and over again. "It was lucky Claude was there," I said, and Pam gave me a sideways glance. I hoped that I managed to keep my face as neutral as possible.

Claudine nodded enthusiastically. "Claude's a little tougher than he first appears."

"Oh. Yes. He could certainly…handle himself." I was more than a little uncomfortable discussing Claude with Claudine, but, thankfully, she changed the subject.

"And that bartender who worked here? I mean…I feel so bad that I thought you were dating him, but he told me he owned this place and I didn't know any different. I feel a little stupid about that one." Claudine looked sheepish.

"Oh. OK. No, don't feel bad." I suddenly realised that all those times I'd thought Claudine had been warning me off Eric, we'd actually been talking at cross-purposes. It was a small weight off of my mind knowing that Claudine wasn't necessarily opposed to a relationship she didn't know about and I couldn't really explain anyway.

And even just trying to think that through in my head was a little more complicated than I would have liked.

"Well, I do," Claudine said. "I feel like I should have said something earlier that he was, uh…well, he wasn't one of our most pleasant patrons. Which is saying something."

I wanted to say that I was sure it wasn't that bad, but I wasn't sure, so I clamped my mouth shut. I didn't envy Claudine working at Hooligan's for anything, even if it was a family business. I'd seen enough working at the Roadhouse to know just how…how…entitled some men felt around women. I didn't think that watching them strip made those same men feel any more kindly towards women at all.

Claudine took my silence for my being embarrassed about her other work, I think, and she turned again to Pam. "Say, Pam, that's a beautiful dress."

Pam beamed and smoothed down the pleats on the front of her lemon mini-dress. "Courrèges?" Claudine asked, as she cocked her head and looked closely at the dress.

"Quant," Pam replied.

"Ah. I should have known!" Claudine made it seem like that was the obvious answer. "It's far more Carnaby Street than Barbarella."

I was more than a little confused by the exchange. Although I could mostly tell that the subject was still Pam's dress, it was like they were speaking some kind of secret language, one I clearly needed a guidebook to understand.

"I do love vintage," Claudine said, with a small sigh. I looked over at Pam who appeared to be lapping up her attention. Ah. OK.

"You know," Pam said, twisting a glass on the top of the bar as she spoke. "Obviously I don't have all my vintage pieces with me, but perhaps you might like to call round sometime and see what I did bring down?"

"Oh. I'd like that!" Claudine said enthusiastically.

"And I have some rather darling Biba gauchos that are far too big for me that I think would work a treat on you instead. I mean…if you're interested," Pam added, looking a little coy.

I was seriously out of the loop in this conversation and no longer sure whether Pam's intentions were merely the swapping of outfits or not. I started to rethink whether there'd been some deeper meaning to the offer to borrow her dress she'd made to me earlier. And then I pondered whether or not Claudine's preferences might run parallel to Pam's.

And then I gave up worrying about it. I wasn't going to begrudge Pam a friend. I was better off going back to worrying about my own problems.

"I'm gonna go and check on my customers," I said to them, and then I strode out into the bar and looked around. Not much seemed to be happening out here which, I assumed, was why Dawn was out the back instead of waiting tables.

Nope, I decided. That was really one thing I wasn't even going to let cross my mind. Dawn's stupid choices were Dawn's stupid choices and it wasn't my place to lecture her.

"Hey, you're back," Ginger said, appearing beside me.

"Yep. You get on OK?"

"Oh, just fine, hon. Although I don't know why Dawn took it in her head to take her break now." Ginger sighed heavily and I kept my mouth resolutely shut. Not. My. Business. Even Dawn returning from break and looking over at me in a rather haughty fashion could make me go and confront her about what I'd seen her doing earlier.

I did another round of my tables and, after extricating myself from Catfish Hennessey who wanted to hear some more details about what he called 'the trouble I'd had with that bartender', I had a very pleasant conversation with a young couple who'd come out from Hot Shot. This was their first time at the Roadhouse, and they were mighty impressed. I took their drink order to the bar where Pam and Claudine seemed to be talking up a storm.

"You know, I was hoping I might run into Claude here, tonight," Claudine said, as I forced myself to not look over my shoulder in case he was there. I was starting to learn that the people I didn't want to see had a terrible habit of surprising me when I was in the bar.

"Did he say he might come in?" I asked, as neutrally as I could.

"Oh. He said something about it how he liked it here." Claudine sighed. "Tell the truth, I'm a little worried about him."

"In what way?" I asked, but then Pam reached over and handed me the beers the couple from Hot Shot had ordered. "Actually, hold that thought, and I'll be right back."

Beers delivered, I scooted on back to the bar to find out more from Claudine. It wasn't that I was digging for information it's just that…no, I actually was digging for information. I felt it was a little one-sided at the moment in that Claude seemed to know, or at least thought he knew, a lot about me and I knew almost nothing about him.

"So…Claude?" I asked, as a way of bringing the subject back up again.

Claudine took a sip of her drink. "Yeah," she said. "He's been a little down in the mouth lately. He doesn't really show it, but I can tell." She nodded to herself. "I think he'd like to get out…well, from the family business, but it's tough to find anything at the moment, you know?"

Now it was my turn to nod. I did know. I categorically did not approve of Claude's methods for getting himself a leg up, but I understood what might have driven him there.

"He hasn't had much luck finding other work?" I asked.

Claudine shrugged. "I don't really know. All I know is that he's been bitchy as hell recently. Well, up until the other night that is. I think he got a real sense of achievement out of being able to help you out, Sookie."

I took a deep breath and thought about how much I never wanted to hear bad things about Jason. This digging for information was trickier than I thought it would be. I changed the subject.

"What about you, Claudine? How's your business going?"

"Oh…it's, uh…hmm." Claudine looked down at the bar.

Pam and I exchanged a look. Claudine sure didn't look happy. "I'm sure it's not that bad…" I ventured.

"It could be worse," Claudine agreed, in a resigned voice. "But probably not by much. Oh, I don't know! I guess I thought it'd all be different, somehow. That I'd just be able to do what I love and it'd work out for me. And now it isn't and I'm…disappointed."

That was probably an understatement on her part. "You know all those rejections I used to get in New York…I thought that was tough. But this is ten times worse."

"Have you had many students pulling out of the classes?" Pam asked, gently.

"Oh. A few. Trouble is that it's enough to put a dent in my cashflow and make it that little bit harder to keep on going."

I looked over at Pam again, but she wasn't up to making eye contact with me. She was too busy watching Claudine stir her drink, concern etched all over her face. And then I had an idea.

"Say, Pam?" I asked, and she looked over at me. "Do you have any ideas on what Claudine should do?"

"Do?" Pam asked me, and Claudine turned her head to look at me as well.

"Well, you're the marketing expert, Pam. I thought you might be able to help Claudine out a little bit."

"Um…" Pam looked thoughtful, and for a moment I worried that my plan was going to backfire and she would say that she couldn't possibly come up with any ideas for a small dance studio in a small town. "Oh…I'm sure I could think of…something," Pam said, not sounding all that sure.

"It's no bother," Claudine said, waving her hand in front of her face. "I guess I'll muddle through."

"But it would be a great project, wouldn't it Pam?" I prompted. "I mean…you were looking for something to get your teeth into, weren't you?"

I looked at Pam and she looked at me and I hoped she was picking up where I was going with this. Sure helping out Claudine might not be the most exciting work Pam had ever done, but I figured it'd be a first step for showing Eric that she wasn't going to crumble the first time she had someone relying on her skills. And it might make Pam feel a little better about having to spend her nights bartending too.

At least, that was how I saw it. Pam still looked a little lost in thought. "You know…" she said. "I might have some ideas…"

"Would you?" Claudine asked, with more than a little trepidation in her voice.

"I would," Pam said, warmly. "It'd be…fun. Do you have a Facebook page for the studio?"

I left them to it hoping that Pam would be able to do something to at least make Claudine feel a bit better. I circled around and almost ran straight into Jason, who had just arrived.

"Sookie!" he cried, and then he grabbed me in a hug, which was awkward as my tray got mashed between us. I couldn't remember Jason ever being quite this enthusiastic to see me, not even when I was bringing him beer. And even though it wasn't entirely unwelcome, it made me a little bit uncomfortable, especially as I noticed a few people watching us, no doubt wondering whether I was dying or something.

"Hey, Jason," I replied, trying to wiggle out of his embrace. "Nice to see you, too."

"Well, I thought I better check up on you. Catfish texted me that you were back workin' tonight and I wanted to see if you were all right. I had called in on you at home earlier today, but you weren't there. You go to church?"

"Um…" I wasn't sure how to answer that without either lying outright or telling Jason more of my business than I wanted him to know. But then Jason caught sight of something that took his attention away from me.

"Who's that guy that Dawn's laughing with?" he asked me, and I turned my head in the same direction Jason was looking.

"That's Victor," I said. "Remember he used to own the place?"

"Huh," Jason said, still watching Victor and Dawn who seemed to be sharing a private joke. At least, Dawn was laughing and tossing her hair back in a way that suggested she found whatever was going on to be particularly hilarious.

I couldn't imagine anything Victor had to say being quite that entertaining, but I was inclined to adopt a 'to each their own' attitude and leave Dawn to get on with…whatever it was she was doing with Victor.

"Since when they been an item?" Jason asked, sounding a little disgruntled.

"Oh, I don't know. Unlike you, I don't listen to gossip."

Jason pulled a face. "Aw, now. Men don't gossip, Sook."

"Yeah. Tell that to Catfish." I raised my eyebrows at Jason, but he still looked a little perplexed. I gave up. "So do you want me to get you something?" I asked.

"Uh…" Jason's eyes had drifted back to Dawn. "You know what? I'll grab a seat and then I might just give my order then." He skedaddled over to sit with Catfish in a seat that wasn't all that far from where Dawn was talking to Victor. He never took his eyes off her.

I hoped that if this was a game Dawn was playing, then she was happy it was working out for her.

I also hoped that things would work out for Claudine, and that I…I wasn't sure what I hoped for personally. Maybe love? Or happiness? They both seemed a little trite, and hoping that I wasn't going to be beaten up again just seemed downright pessimistic. Mostly I just wanted things to work out OK in the end.

And I guessed that was all anyone wanted.

I went back to working and just kept on moving between my tables taking orders and delivering back the requested items. In between I stopped by Jason's table and listened, for perhaps three, or four times, to Jason regale both me and Catfish with the story of how he'd, almost singlehandedly, wrestled Long Shadow to the ground and thus saved me from certain death. The story wasn't improving with the constant reiterations and it didn't seem to matter to Jason that I'd been right there too. I guess everyone could be the hero of the story when they were telling it.

The funny thing was the way the story got louder and more interesting every time Dawn came within earshot of the table where Jason and Catfish were sitting. Dawn just rolled her eyes and kept on walking.

Clearly, Jason was not playing at her level.

I briefly wondered where Crystal was tonight and Jason's face darkened. "She's doing her own thing and I'm fine with that!" he declared and I decided I didn't need further details.

And then Bill walked in and, watching me carefully, took a seat in my section. "I got a customer, so I better go," I said to Jason and Catfish, trying to sound a mite apologetic as I did so.

Jason looked over at Bill. "Least you ain't playin' games with Bill," he said, sounding more than a little grumpy.

I sighed. "He's a customer, Jason. It's my job to go over and serve him stuff."

"Well. Whatever you say, Sook." Somehow Jason made it seem like I just made those rules up to suit my own purposes. I gave up and walked over to Bill. Reaching the table, I opened my mouth to greet him, but all I got out was a "Heh…" sound before he launched right in over the top of me.

"How are you doing tonight, Sookie?" Bill asked smoothly, his dark eyes searching my face for signs of…well, I didn't know. A sign that I might collapse in a heap at any moment, perhaps.

"I am just great, Bill," I said, with a little too much enthusiasm. Bill's brows creased in response.

"You don't have to pretend for me, Sookie. Are you sure you should be working tonight?"

I ran through all the possible responses I had to that query, ranging from 'If I don't come in, I don't get paid', through 'One blow to the face hasn't rendered me incapable of walking around a bar', and ending with 'It ain't your business, anyhow'.

But, out loud, all I said was "I'm fine, Bill."

Bill didn't look all that convinced by my assertion, but I wasn't in the mood to spend time reassuring him about my well-being. I had other things on my mind. "What can I get you tonight?"

"Um. Oh…" Bill hesitated, and I wondered if perhaps he was only here to stare at me in response to a text from Catfish as well and not because he actually wanted a drink. But eventually he said "I'll have a Coke."

"The wine's coming tomorrow night," I informed Bill. "At least, I think so. There's some kind of tasting for us staff, anyway."

"Oh. OK." Bill didn't sound all that impressed. I guess he hadn't been party to the whole process of persuading Eric, but to me it was a sign that things might be looking up around here.

Assuming, of course, I'd be around to see the result.

I went to the bar to get Bill's Coke from Pam. Claudine wasn't sitting there anymore. "Did she head on home?" I asked Pam.

"No. Her brother turned up." Pam nodded over to a table in Ginger's section where Claudine was now sitting with Claude. Neither of them were looking at me, but, somehow, I couldn't look away.

When I did manage to turn back to Pam, I found her looking at me with concern. "Are you OK?" she asked me.

"Yep." I took Bill's Coke back to him.

"I see your knight in shining armor is here again," Bill said, looking over to where Claude and Claudine were sitting.

I shrugged. "He's my friend's brother. I don't really know him."

"Hmm." Bill looked thoughtful. "You know, he was kind of side-lined the other night, when it all happened. Perhaps we should buy him a drink?"

Bill looked at me, and, again, I was stuck on what to say. I wasn't sure what was worse; contemplating having to hand Claude a drink while gushing over how great he'd been, or trying to break it to Bill that I didn't want, or expect, him to go around thanking people on my behalf.

"He already has a drink," I muttered. I could tell that because Claude had caught me watching him and had raised it in silent salute. Terrific. I was standing in the middle of a bar that, while it wasn't crowded, wasn't exactly empty either, and I felt like it was just me and Claude. I might as well have been standing in a cornfield or something.

I really didn't like that just anyone could wander into my place of work.

And that thought only served to remind me that I would need to make a decision about my job at some point. But not right then.

"I don't know, Bill," I said, when I had gathered my thoughts. "It was only a couple of nights ago you were in here buying drinks for Karin. I'm not sure you should be moving on to buying drinks for other people quite so quickly. You'll get a reputation, and then Maxine Fortenberry won't sit with you at church anymore."

Bill looked a little worried, and then a small smile crossed his lips. "Are you teasing me, Sookie?"

"Only a little bit, Bill. But, you know, a young man in your position does have to think about how his actions are being perceived." I shrugged.

"I'll bear that in mind," Bill said, sounding a little tired of the joke. I looked over at Claude who wasn't watching me any longer; he was having an animated conversation with Claudine. That didn't make me feel any easier about having him around.

Suddenly, I had an idea. "Say, Bill? You think you could give me Karin's number?"

Bill went from looking mildly concerned to slightly alarmed. "Karin?" he asked.

"Yeah. You do have it, don't you?" Bill's face turned to panic and I realised I would need to reassure him. "Oh, it's just business. It's nothing to do with you…and her. I mean, I'm not looking to compare notes about you. Or anyone else." I stopped talking, in case the conversation got further away from me than it already had.

I wasn't sure if my explanation, such as it was, made it better, or worse, in Bill's eyes; but he nodded and pulled out his cellphone. "I'll text it to you," he said.

"Great. Thanks, Bill. That's real helpful."

"You know, if it's business…then you could always ask me." Bill looked a little hurt now. I guessed the implication was that once upon a time I'd have asked him.

"I may just take you up on that offer, if Karin can't give me the info I need," I said, not wanting to burn all my bridges. "But now I really should get back to work."

Unfortunately, as good as I felt now I had a plan for myself, I couldn't avoid Claude completely. Not when he was camped out in the middle of the bar. And not when my brother descended on him in a great show of camaraderie and then called me over to bring them some more drinks. Trying to explain that they were in Ginger's section wouldn't cut it with Jason. Not when he and Claude were celebrating the run-in they'd had with Long Shadow.

Claude was clearly relishing the attention he was getting from Jason and Claudine looked a little put-out by being ignored. I couldn't really blame her, although I'd much rather have been in her shoes than mine.

"And here she is!" Jason cried, as I reached their table. "It's so good you've been able to put it all behind you, Sook. And great that you had your friends and family on hand when you needed us, ain't that right, Claude?"

"Oh, I think Sookie knows how special she is to us," Claude said, and I closed my eyes and thought really, really, really hard about not hitting him with my tray. When I was pretty sure I was going to be free from committing any random acts of violence, I opened them again, only to find everyone at the table looking at me curiously.

"You havin' a flashback or somethin', Sook?" Jason asked, curiously.

"Nope. Just…uh, thinking. About stuff." I looked at Claude, who smirked.

"Well, too much thinking is bad for you," he said. "At least that's what I hear. Better to act than wait around too long."

"Uh-huh. Sure." I would not hit him and embarrass myself, I wouldn't. But I sure did wish that, say, a light-fitting might fall on Claude's head right about then.

"I think it's kinda sweet," Jason said, and when I gave him a confused look he added, "The way Claude's all protective of you."

Claude, Claudine and I all stared at Jason in astonishment. "Oh, I can't deny that Sookie's very…pleasing on the eye," Claude said, his eyes flicking over me dismissively. "But she doesn't have the equipment I prefer." His eyes flicked briefly down to Jason's lap and then he fixed him with a dazzling white smile.

Jason, to his credit, squirmed slightly and looked shocked for only the briefest moment. Then he collected himself. "OK then. So you don't want my sister. But can I have yours?" Jason laughed heartily at that, and Claude joined in, but Claudine only smiled politely. I couldn't really blame her for that, either.

"I might just head on over to the bar and get my own drink from Pam," Claudine said, and she left the table without looking back.

I took orders for more beer from Claude and Jason and headed on over to the bar with them. "Too much testosterone, huh?" I said to Claudine, who was back sitting on a barstool now.

"Oh, that's just Claude being Claude," Claudine said, with a smile. "You get used to it."

I was more than certain that I didn't want to get used to it. After all, I'd had my whole life to get used to Jason too, and I still didn't always enjoy his company. And he'd never threatened me in quite the same way Claude had.

I smiled politely at Claudine, hoping that covered it, and took the beer back to Jason and Claude where I didn't stop for a chat. I couldn't help but notice the way Claude smiled at me though…or, at least, I thought it was a significant smile. A smile that was meant to indicate he knew I couldn't escape him forever. Or perhaps I was just a little paranoid now.

I moved away from the table as rapidly as I could, lest I descend further into worrying about every facial expression of Claude's meant. Nothing good lay in that direction.

And the direction I went in next was back to Bill's table as he waved me over. "I've sent that text," he announced, not really looking at me. His gaze was fixed solely on the bar, or, more accurately, square in the middle of Claudine's back. "Is she your friend's sister?" he asked me.

"What? Oh. She's my dance teacher. You know, the dance classes you thought perhaps I shouldn't be doing in case my morals got compromised."

Bill gave me the look that said I'd gone too far. I felt on far less shaky ground interpreting his expressions than I did Claude's, but it still wasn't how I wanted to spend my evening. "You know what? I've got to go and do…something," I said, and I walked away from the table.

I took a deep breath and realised I didn't really have anywhere to go to. I was annoyed with Jason and Bill, wary of Claude and trying to make sure I didn't get anywhere near Victor, who was still circling around Dawn. Claudine and Pam didn't look like they needed a third wheel, and none of my customers seemed to require anything just then. What I really wanted was to go and talk to Eric because he seemed to be one of the few people who wasn't getting on my nerves.

But I couldn't just head out the back when I was supposed to be working. And, luckily, I got some work to do when Tray Dawson signaled me over to the table where he was sitting with Danny Prideaux. They ordered two chicken fried steaks and I took their order to Lafayette.

"You look a little down in the mouth," he informed me. "Place not as lively as you remember it?"

"Thank goodness," I replied, and Lafayette chuckled, showing his brilliantly white teeth.

"Your rescuer seems mighty interested in you," Lafayette commented, nodding at Claude. "But Victor's got someone else in his sights." His gaze darkened as he looking over at Dawn.

"You think she oughta be careful?" I asked, and Lafayette gave me a look that suggested that was a dumb question.

"You know she should be careful," Lafayette said, waggling one finger in the air. "But there ain't no point tellin' her. Victor's a slimy snake in the grass, but Dawn's somethin' else entirely. And who knows, she might get what she wants outta this one."

"I guess." I wasn't all that convinced. Dawn had been waiting for some man to take her away from all of this for years and I didn't see Victor as being the winner of that particular competition.

"Course what I really wanna know is why you don't like that guy who grabbed Long Shadow for you the other night? I'd like to shake the man's hand, but you; you look at him like he's carrying the plague or somethin'?"

"I…uh…" I had not been expecting that question from Lafayette and it threw me completely.

"I mean, him and Jason together? They all kinds of eye-candy. But you see something else, right? You worried about Jason being tight with him?" Lafayette asked me.

I shrugged. "Nope. I got no problem with Jason and Claude." That was a lie and I hoped Lafayette couldn't tell. Trying to turn attention elsewhere I asked "So how much time do you spend watching all of us anyway?"

Lafayette smiled enigmatically. "More than you know, and the way you keep checkin' that door to the back tells me a whole lot. Why don't you just go on out there? I'm sure that the boss-man'll be happy to see his favourite employee."

"Oh. Uh…" I didn't really have a good response to that either. "It probably isn't a good time."

Lafayette shrugged. "Suit yourself, but sometimes, you gotta look out for you. Can't expect fellas like that to be around every time the shit hits the fan." He pointed over at Claude.

"No." And thank goodness for that, I added silently.

Eventually my customers began to drift away. Claudine left, with effusive kisses on the cheek for both me and Pam before she did. I watched Bill watching her exit and I hoped he wasn't going to ask me any more questions about her.

Thankfully, he didn't, although he did question, again, whether I was up to working before he, too, left the bar. I was getting a little tired of reassuring Bill about my mental and physical competence and I don't think he really liked the answer I gave. I didn't care.

I tried very hard not to care about the fact that Claude and Jason seemed to be best buddies now. I knew that Jason had meant well when he'd joined Claude, or at least, he'd been doing it for reasons that suited his own purposes and had nothing to do with me. But Claude getting close to Jason gave me a sinking feeling. I hoped that he wasn't going to be dragged in to Claude's schemes to get the bar.

And then Jason left, when I was busy cashing up Tray and Danny's check and all I heard was a "See you, Sook!" called out across the bar. I raised my head in time to see Jason's back as he walked out of the door, and then I caught Claude's eye.

Uh-oh.

Claude came over to where I was standing beside the cash register. "Jason wasn't inclined to tip you, but I think you've been stellar tonight," he said, holding a folded ten dollar note out to me.

"No. It's OK," I said, reluctant to take anything from Claude.

"My money's not good enough for you?" Claude asked, sounding hurt. "You surprise me, Sookie. I thought you'd jump at the chance for a little extra."

"Maybe you got me all wrong," I said.

"Maybe. But I don't think so." Claude reached over and tucked the note inside the pocket of my apron. I forced myself to stand there and let him do it when all I really wanted to do was run far, far away.

"You shouldn't underestimate me," I said, somewhat rashly, and with a lot more bravado than I perhaps felt. I was getting tired of people pushing me around.

"Is that a threat?" Claude asked, a great deal of amusement written all over his face.

"It's a statement and you can take it how you like," I told him.

Claude and I stood there and stared at each other for a moment or two. "Well," he said in the end. "As delicious as your company is, I can't stay. But I'm sure I'll be seeing you soon, Sookie. And I look forward to our next meeting, where I hope to be getting some very good news."

With that Claude turned on his heel and left and I tried to gather my thoughts. I didn't have time to do so successfully though, before Victor popped up in front of me. "So…Claude Crane?" he asked me.

"What about him?" I snapped.

"Oh," Victor looked a little bit taken aback. "I just wondered if he was still interested in buying this place."

"It ain't yours to sell," I advised him.

Victor shrugged. "I was just curious. He'd been interested before but he didn't have the cash. Oh well." Victor wandered off and I concentrated on gathering my thoughts and finishing out the night's work.

I was on my way to my car before I saw Eric again. I put my apron in the basket for soiled linen in the storeroom and pulled my purse out of my locker. I said goodbye to Ginger, who returned my farewell enthusiastically. Dawn came in and I said goodbye to her. She replied tersely before stomping on out into the corridor.

But when I went out there the only person left was Eric. "Oh, uh. Goodnight," I said to him, as he stepped out of his office and effectively blocked my way out.

"Goodnight," he said, looking down at me. He didn't say anything else, and he didn't move either.

"I'll, uh…let you know…about the job…" I said. I had a plan, but no idea whether it would work out, and I didn't want to let Eric know until I had everything figured out in my own head.

"Good." He nodded but still didn't move. I wanted for him to say something else, anything else. Preferably something nice about how much he was going to miss me tonight or how much he'd enjoyed our day together.

When no further conversation was forthcoming, I started to move around Eric in order to get to the door to the parking lot. Eric reached out and held my arm, though, and I stopped in my tracks.

"I won't tell you what to do," he said to me.

"But you won't tell me what you want either."

"You know what I want," he said, looking a little hurt. "It's not a secret."

In a way he was right. He might not have been begging me to stay, but he wasn't exactly throwing me out the door either. I patted his hand, the one resting on my upper arm. "I'll let you know," I repeated, and then Eric let me go.

I got almost to the door when something occurred to me. I turned around and Eric was still standing there, watching me. "But you know the part I don't get, Eric?" I asked, and he didn't reply. "The part I don't get is how the one guy who doesn't want to tell me what to do, who doesn't wring his hands and worry about whether I should be working so soon after I've been hit, who trusts me that I'm not an idiot, is the guy who thinks Pam can't cope with doing some marketing. That's the secret, isn't it?"

I stood and waited for Eric to answer. He looked to the side, and then back at me. "Goodnight, Sookie," he said, and then he disappeared into the office.

I gave up, and went home. I was sick of mysteries. Sick of Eric's ghosts, and Claude's threats and Dawn sneaking around pretending she didn't know we all knew what she was doing with Victor.

Tomorrow, I said to myself, I was going to go to the library and check out a nice science fiction novel. Something where the only mystery was whether or not the plucky heroine would defeat the green-skinned aliens who wanted to invade her planet.

I never got the chance to go to the library, however. Or, rather, I decided against it once I got the phone call that came soon after breakfast.

Thanks for reading!