AN: So happy with how TB is dealing with Eric's memory crisis! Let's hope they don't screw it up now.

Sookie's fear was palpable like her blood in my mouth. Pam was clear that this was not going to be worked out tonight. When I left I was at a loss of where to go. This time I could remember where I lived…all of my residences, but I didn't want to go home. I had never allowed anyone other than Pam in that home and now I remembered why. There wasn't a nook or cranny in it that wouldn't reek of Sookie.

How could she be so callous? I know without a doubt that she was scared off by the text to kill the witch, but can't she see why? I can feel her burn like it was my own flame, but then she runs away. She wanted me righted and now doesn't want me? What a bitch!

If she would have stayed put, I would have killed the witch and we could be together as we were. She would have wanted for nothing. What woman wouldn't want that?

By the time I realized I was on my way to New Orleans I was almost there. Flying had some advantages but good hair days weren't one of them. If I had considered that I was going to be flying so far, I would have braided my hair, but instead I would spend the time before dawn trying to detangle the mess or I could just cut it all off before going down for the day. No, the symbolism is not lost on me. Sookie will come around. If she does not I will compel her to do so. One way or the other she will stop running.

Pam was a whole different matter. I knew she had been up to something for a while, but now I had a clear vision of what. The only problem was that I had no proof. Bless Odin of that. I couldn't have been more thrilled with Sookie's treatment of the Queen. Most humans would have shrieked or fainted, but she kept her cool even when Hadley was insultive. When she called me Master it thrilled me. I thought she was finally coming around to the right side of sense. All I wanted to do was make her mine. All mine… But when she…. Rejection and I are not close friends, fuck we are not even acquaintances, but that was like a silver dagger to my heart. I had shown her parts of myself that not even Pam was privy to, and she threw them right back in my face.

When I landed I could feel an odd hum but could track the witch easily enough. There wasn't much magic happening in the city tonight and hers was definitely the ….most unique signature. Who would have thought there would be hippy wiccans? Not like hippies that happened to be wiccan but practitioners of environmental magics. Maybe it was good that I kept the annoying bitch alive. Not that Pam would have let me live down killing her fuck buddy anyway. The condos were in small pairs more like duplexes and I went to the first door and knocked. There was a doorbell, but they always seemed emasculating. In seconds Amelia's face shown through the window before opening the door.

"Are you you?" Amelia was standing beyond arms reach and Godric was right behind her.

"Yes."

"So you remember?" Amelia took another step back as Godric put an arm around her.

"Yes."

At my response her fear level spiked. She might be a pain in the ass, but she wasn't stupid. If she had been in the magic shop that night things might have went very differently. "Where's Sookie then?"

"I do not know. She is of no concern. I am here for you."

Godric growled low. "I told you no. She has done nothing but help you. She is mine."

I took a whiff. She was not. He had had much of her blood and her other offerings but he had not shared with her. She was on her way to being a pet whether they intended to or not. "I am not here for her life. I am here to ensure both of your lives. Pamela spun a masterful web of lies this evening for you both to survive. Godric, you are being appointed the new investigator for Area 5. Amelia, you will be brewing herbs for the Queen to lessen her pain and promote the healing of her appendages. As long as she is weakened we are all in danger. You will report to her tomorrow night. Godric you will report to me tomorrow night. Good evening." I turned to leave but was interrupted. Humans never did understand when a conversation was over.

"How is she?" To my surprise it was Godric instead of the witch who questioned me.

"She will be fine once her legs regenerate. She still has her mental faculties. She was never known for her even head before either." They both stared at me. "What?"

"Your bonded? Your lover? The woman who dropped everything to serve your every need and feared for your safety as if it were her own?" Godric was irritable.

"Sookie will be fine. I have no intentions of announcing our bond, and would appreciate it if you kept your knowledge of the matter quiet."

"That's not what I asked. She was loyal to you. I could have taken her myself, but she wouldn't have been willing. You possess her and yet do not covet your ownership. You are a fool."

I lunged forward only to run into the gateway barrier. "Step outside and say that." I waited a moment and even stepped back to entice him to step outside. He didn't waver. I wanted to kill something tonight and he would do just fine. "So Sookie is why you haven't rightfully taken your witch yet? Do you honestly think you can take Sookie from me?"

Godric toed up to the doorway just millimeters from outside. " If I wanted her, you could do nothing to inhibit it; however, she does not feel for me. Yet if she were mine, I would value her full worth. Do not underestimate her draw. If you do not wish to keep her, someone else will take her. I will accept your position as investigator, but do not mistake me for your underling. If you are no longer in Sookie's good graces, then your final death is of no consequence to me."

He slammed the door in front of me. I should have wanted to break the house down a piece at a time, but all I could think of was Sookie's good graces. How sweet she looked saying her grace. How blessed I felt that night…

I had accomplished what I came here to do, so I would return home. The flight was not pleasant with only my company and Sookie and Pam on the other end. The closer I got the worse it felt. Their feelings seemed to amplify whenever they got together. Yet I could not doubt Pam. Whenever she spent time with Sookie, it always meant a pleasing surprise for me. This time would be no different. Time would tell, and I have plenty of time.

Going inside was like walking around in a haunted house, and I would know. I had been in more than a few. Sookie's scent still hung in the air like a feather boa wafting around to tickle my senses. I felt the bond and tried to calm her but she was already sleeping. Dawn was nearing so I laid down to rest for the day. Sookie would come around. Pam would see to it.

Sookie's scent was so lovely. So pure….so delicious…..and to make it even better she was feeling all lusty. What a way to wake up. I planned to make her see stars until dawn.

I reached an arm out to her but reached nothing. My arm fell to the bed empty handed. I opened my eyes to see the desolate emptiness of my dayroom. Filled to the brim with the absence of my bonded except for the pulsing of lust within me. The bitch was already fucking someone else!

I felt nauseous and hungry both at once. I slid on my black jeans and a tank top before flying to Fangtasia. As soon as I walked in I saw Pam.

"Master! You're here! What's happening?"

"Nothing."

"This isn't nothing." She was making a weird between us- between you motion with her hands like she was directing air traffic.

I was walking toward the office when I grabbed one of the girls from the dance floor. "Come with me."

She was so vapid she blushed and just followed as I led her down the hall by her hand.

Pam was on edge. "What the fucking hell, Eric? This isn't going to fix anything! She will not share!"

"Really, don't you feel that? I sure as hell do." I sat down on the couch and patted my lap to call over the stupid bitch, and she heeled like a dog in heat looking for a treat.

"I feel it, but it wasn't all her. Your making matters worse, Eric. Stop it!" I thought Pam was about to cry before she flipped open her phone and started yelling into it. "Don't you think you should go to her?"

"Why? To watch her fuck somebody else through the window? Do you really think she hasn't uninvited me yet? You can feel that. She's already moved on." My anger was a beast that was tired of being stroked but denied nourishment. If it was feeding that it wanted, then that's what I would give it.

Pam looked frightened at me. "I'll go. You…you…." The blonde girl standing in front of me was trying to strike some pose that she thought looked sexy. It wasn't. When I looked back to Pam she was already gone. This girl did have legs like Sookie's. Most blondes had good legs though. The hair was finer and they were never as stubbly. I reached out to touch them and they were silky smooth. My mind started filling in the rest. As long as this girl stayed quiet, I could still imagine that it was Sookie instead.

"Oh, Yeah, Big Boy. You like it like that?"

Was this softcore porn? She had shattered my illusion which only served to piss me off. I spun her around against the desk and bent her over it. At least this way I couldn't see her face. I sunk my teeth into her neck and drew deeply. She had pushed her behind into me and I ground back toward her in return. Sookie was always so responsive to my body….so pliant. The way her hips met mine on each thrust. My lust was building, and I needed the release. This woman wasn't even an adequate surrogate. She was a warm body; however, and her round buttocks would serve their purpose for the moment. I rubbed myself against her until I could complete my mission. She didn't even notice that I was done. I was used to having to glamour a woman to get her to leave me alone after a tryst, and I'd had women pass out from pleasure, but this one was neither. I flipped her over and saw the blue tinge to her lips. FUCK!

I hadn't accidentally drained a woman since… I can't actually remember when. I stared at her lifeless body that had been so warm just moments before. This was the effect Sookie had on me. I was completely losing my self control. Maybe it was time to release Pam and make another child? This girl wasn't unattractive…..

No. I flashed back to her voice. I could not spend so much as a hundred years listening to that. This one would just have to stay dead. I brought the body downstairs into one of the spare work rooms. After closing I would dispose of the body. If vampires could be ill, I would have been. I felt like a child, and the only person I wanted to comfort me was the one inflicting my pain. I had thought Sookie was different. I was sorely mistaken. She already had half my estate, my life, and my fealty. Did she have to have my heart too?

There were a string of messages waiting for me on my desk. None of which did I want to return. It was the usual. Pam had been in New Orleans so no one but Bobby was available to field the calls. As I flipped through them I could tell that he had done an excellent job for the most part. The most important vampire business had been moved to one stack and prioritized and the human business was separated likewise. At the bottom of the stack were three magazines all with a picture of Sookie and I entering the zoo. She was radiant. Just as my eyes were beginning to tinge with blood, I could feel Pam arrive….with Sookie. What part of keep her away from me did she not understand? If I wanted to see Sookie I would see to it myself.

There was a soft knock on the office door. Very unlike Pam so it must have been Sookie.

"I am working. I do not have time for games tonight. I have wasted enough time already." I snarled at the back of the door. It opened anyway to reveal a disgruntled Pamela.

"I was worried you'd say that. Too bad. This is an intervention. What'd you do with the dead girl?"

"What girl?"

"The girl you just accidentally drained. Don't lie to me, Eric. I could feel you. I know you didn't mean to, but Sookie will be less inclined to believe you."

I was beginning to feel stretched thin being bound to so many people. There was no use in lying. "She's in the dungeon. I'll dispose of her after hours."

"You will do no such thing. The Queen is still watching you. I'll do it. For now you will talk to Sookie. This shit needs resolving. We are ALL weak until you two have come to terms."

"Come to terms? Come to terms? Really Pamela, have you come to terms about Hadley yet?"

The look on her face was pained but a despicable grin crept from ear to ear. "While you played house with your little fairy girl, I was keeping us safe. And yes, I mean "come to terms." I'm not asking for a glorious honeymoon from you two, that would be absurd. What I am expecting is for us to all sit down and have a meeting. This can't go on."

She was right. I wanted to rip her head off, but she was right. "Bring her in."

"Not until you promise to be nice."

"Nice?"

Pam shrugged her shoulders and back pedaled. "Nice for you."

"I will try."

She left and returned with a half naked Sookie. She was wearing an oversized athletic shirt and a pair of panties only. Pam was diabolical….but smart. Whoever she had been with, she had been scrubbed clean of his scent. Sookie came to sit down across from me on the couch and glanced down at my desk as she passed.

"Those….that's why….she recognized me." Sookie was looking forlorn.

"Who?" Pam said it before I could wonder.

"The waitress from the diner. She told the fellowship where I was at. She was one of the…. Doesn't matter now." She sat down and looked straight at me.

"No. It does not, but hopefully you have learned a lesson from that." I was trying to keep an even tone. I had little to no interest in anything other than our relationship at this particular moment.

She cocked her head incredulously. "And what would that be?"

"I told you to keep our relationship quiet. That no good would come of it being publicized. I am sure that is why the Queen took such an interest in you." I flipped over the magazines so I wouldn't have to see my own pleased expression looking back at myself taunting me that if I were still him, I could have Sookie on my desk screaming her release right now. Instead…..

"You are an ass." Sookie crossed her legs and narrowed her eyes.

"Tsk. Tsk…This isn't helping. No name calling. It is obvious that you two have too much pent up feelings to work through right now, but tonight we must settle on a code of some sort. Tonight can't keep happening. Sookie, how do you feel?"

She uncrossed her legs at the thigh and crossed one ankle over the other uncomfortably and bit the inside of her cheek before answering. "I feel hurt."

I couldn't contain my aghast expression which earned me a chastising from Pam. "Quiet. Sookie won't interrupt you, so show her the same courtesy. You can't argue about how she feels anyway."

I motioned for her to continue.

"I thought we had something special. That I could trust you, but you were trying to kill my friend, our friend. So I ran. I just…I thought if I weren't in your area, it would be easier for us both."

I was going to respond but Pam cut me off at the pass. "You ran at the first sign of trouble, and got taken hostage and used in an attempt against Eric's life and vampires in general."

Sookie was staring at her hands. "Yeah."

"How do you feel about Eric now?" Pam was a determined little thing.

"I don't know.." She glanced up at me and then right back down to her hands.

"How did you feel about him before?" Pam was not going to let this go. "About being together?"

She was fidgeting but it was endearing. "I loved him. He needed me, and was…caring, but now he's gone, and I have to live with this one."

Pam slapped her so hard I could only imagine how it must have stung. "You know better than that. Stop lying to yourself. Get over yourself. You know that the other Eric was just a facet of this multi-faceted Eric."

She looked long and hard at me while her cheek turned a darker shade of crimson. She wasn't going to shed a tear though.

"Pam, that is enough. You will not lay a hand on my bonded again."

Sookie's expression was the only one challenging me though. Her still swollen lips were enticing if it weren't for her words. "You tried to have Amelia killed rather than just talking to me first….hell, talking to her first. You could have glamoured her into doing or not doing anything you wanted. You were still becoming this." She put up both hands in an exposed gesture.

"I did not handle it well." Pam's gasp was worth it alone. "I should not have threatened your friend's life so carelessly. I am sorry. I did not want to lose you, and I dislike glamouring. It is cheap and I do not like to do so."

"Yeah, so is talk." Sookie wasn't satisfied with my apology. Her temper was flickering to life again.

"What do you want from me? What have I not already given you? What else do you feel entitled to?" I knew I was growling, but damn it, she brought out the beast in me every time I turned around.

"Compassion."

Of anything she could have said, that was the bottom of my list of expectations. Pam looked at me with a lifted eyebrow. Fuck if I knew how to answer that either.

Pam brought us back to point. "Good, Sookie. Now we know where your needs stand, and Eric?" She swiveled in the spare office chair towards me.

"I feel used…betrayed."

Sookies scoffed.

"I did not interrupt you. Are your feelings more valid than mine?"

Sookie had the good sense to look ashamed.

"I was exposed and you convinced me to trust you, but when I did you lied to me at every turn. You let me believe Pam was my maker. You let demons, vampires, and witches into my home. You led me to believe we didn't have a relationship, then you made love to me, and instead of confronting me about my plans to kill the witch you ran. I needed you, and you ran. Then after the curse was broken you cast me aside like I was somehow less than your lover again just so you could take…..Pam, who the hell was she with tonight?"

Pam licked her lips. "Um, I do not think the specifics of tonight's events are the point here." She cocked an eyebrow at me and moved her line of sight towards the downstairs. Good point.

"Fine. It was not me, and that is my issue. You, Sookie, are MINE! Act like it."

"How? You don't want me near you. You don't want anyone to know about us, but you still want what? Your husbandly privileges?"

"I would be please to share my bed with you anytime you need the company." I leered but she saw right through it.

"Don't give me that BS. We weren't just fuck buddies and you know it. I'm not that kind of girl. I will not be casually used."

"Just the kind to move on to someone else the night after? It is okay to use me?"

Sookie was so pissed her eyes dilated. "You don't get to say who I sleep with, when the only important part is that it wasn't you, right?"

"Yes. I OWN YOU, SOOKIE! Who you consort with is within my discretion. You should be living with me. You should be here when I wake. You should be my sole source of sustenance. Instead I allow you to live your own life of your own chosing."

"As long as I don't take on another lover you mean?"

"Yes. I have sole rights to your person. If we were public ally bound, no one would dare challenge that right. As it stands we are all aware of this arrangement, and you must act accordingly."

"So either you have me or no one can?"

"Yes…." The look on her face was confused emotions and the bond wasn't any clearer. I wanted her to be happy, but I wanted her to be happy with me. "Sookie, I… I want to be bound to you. I will not have you used against me. I am giving you your freedom in exchange for your cooperation in these matters. For now that is all I am willing to offer."

Pam stared at Sookie and waited for her reply also. She seemed torn still.

"Eric, I don't want to be bound to you. I wish I could walk away from…..us tonight, but I can't. We can't. I am sorry I ran, but I don't want a lover who is manipulative. I want someone I can trust. Someone who sees me as an equal, and to you vampires, I'll always just be another human. Sorry, human-fairy hybrid."

Pam was going to say something but I cut her off this time. "Pam, what is she here for tonight?"

"To form an arrangement. She wants a caring compassionate lover, and you want her to keep things quiet and stay safe. I think that's a great place to start. Sookie, you start school soon, correct?"

Sookie nodded.

"Until then you'll be working for the shifter?"

"Uh huh."

"Since the tabloids have a clear spread of you on the cover, I would say keeping your relationship secret is a no go. But they don't know how attached you are. I received an invitation to meet with The Authority soon to discuss your now rather public romance. I propose that you arrange to say….two nights a week together?" Sookie scoffed which only verbalized my opinion. I would not ask my bonded if I could be on her dance card. "Now, now. Don't get your panties in a bunch. I meant simple dates. Night on the town kind of thing for good publicity. You two can't forget what has happened between you, but you can move forward with a new relationship. I'm going to go check on the bar, and you two can chat for a little while amongst yourselves. Be good." She stood up and smoothed her skirt before closing the door behind her.

Sookie looked at me expectantly. When I was inactive she filled the awkward silence. "Tonight…..I didn't mean to…I…..I didn't feel that way about him before. I mean he's nice and all, but… I don't know." What the fuck? Was she honestly asking me to help sooth her hurt feelings about acting like a slattern? "It was all so sudden."

"Sudden? What do you mean?" It was an odd choice of words.

"It wasn't like after Alcide and I fought….I didn't see Sam as a distraction." She thought of me as a distraction. My ego was getting a hand job from hell this evening. Did she say Sam? I would speak with Pam about the shifter later. "One minute we were eating dinner, and the next we were kissing like we were on fire."

"When was this?"

"At the end of dinner. Sunset-ish."

I was to blame for part of this misunderstanding. I got up and went over to the couch and stroked her hair away from her face. She leaned into me subconsciously but ever so slightly. "I am sorry, Sookie."

"For what?"

"For tonight. I am sorry if this was upsetting for you. I know you are not a loose woman with your affections. When I woke….my room still smells of you. I was caught up in my own thoughts." I sent her just a small surge of lust through the bond.

She gasped as she realized what I meant. "You!"

I nodded apologetically. "I am sorry, Sookie. I did not mean to cause this confusion. We need to work on our bond skills." She got this quirky confused look on her face. "What?"

"Bond skills? Thanks but no thanks Dr. Evil."

My expression mirrored hers from moments before, but she burst out laughing with that magical sound that made me overflow with pleasure.

"It's a movie. James Bond. He has all these spy skills and there's all these beautiful women."

No wonder she was confused. "I meant we should start trying to decipher some sort of code with the bond. So we do not have anymore misunderstandings like tonight."

She scooted toward me just a little. "I think that's a great idea. Maybe that's what we can work on during our mandatory date nights."

"Please don't think of them that way." I know it sounded needy, but it hurt. "I am looking forward to them."

Her eyes softened to me. "Maybe we can work on the bond stuff while we do something else more fun?" She was smiling now and stroking my hand.

"You have something in mind?"

"Yep."

"And you're not going to tell me."

"Right again."

"Then until tomorrow?" She leaned into me and put the sweetest chaste kiss on my cheek. "Try not to lose any more sleep over tonight's events. A kiss is not the end of the world."

"It wasn't just one kiss."

What? Killing the shifter would not do, but neither would a slap on the wrist. This would take some creativity. "What are you referring to?"

She squirmed in her seat before answering. "We….well, let's just say Pam got there in the nick of time." I wanted to rip his head off, but I knew I had caused this mess. Sookie was not to blame, and neither was the shifter really. She had felt my lusty daydreams and acted them out for herself. At least she didn't kill anyone.

"It is not your fault, lover." I pulled her in and kissed her on the mouth this time. She did not dare pull away this time, but she didn't fully reciprocate either.

"Yeah, I guess nobody died this time so it's an upswing for the week." She stood up and stepped toward the door. I wanted her to stay, but I didn't want to try my luck tonight especially since I had a dead body in the basement. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Sookie hadn't been gone more than thirty seconds when Pam reappeared in my recently vacated spot on the couch. "So? How'd it go?" She was leaned in like I was offering up fairy blood.

"It went. I will see her tomorrow evening. Tonight I need to contact The Authority and find out what they are requesting of me, and why."

"And?"

"And what?"

"What are you going to do to win Sookie back? She wants you to be more compassionate. Maybe adopt a shelter dog? Cat?"

The thought of me owning a cat if and when Bubba visits was disturbing. "I don't think saving a pet is what Sookie was referring to. I was thinking that since she enjoyed donating to the zoo she might find pleasure and accomplishment by playing a strong role within Northman LLC's charity division."

Pam almost squealed with glee. "That's great! That would allow for even more photo opp.s for you two. The more Sookie sees you as an item the more likely she will be to feel like you're a couple."

That wasn't what I meant, but the added good PR couldn't hurt. "Is there anything else, Pam, or were you just leaving?"

"Yes. There is actually. Sookie really did us a huge favor tonight. She is quite bright."

"Careful, you're slipping. You might start to like her."

The right corner of her mouth twitched minutely. "I do. Very much in fact. Anymore I find it more distracting that she smells similar to Hadley. She is….surprising….and good. Generally not very "human". Like today she saved her shifter boss from going to jail and pinned the BonTemps Beauty murders on Bill Compton."

"She what!"

"The Police Detective was warning her after he searched Bill's home and found a portfolio of pictures he had been taking of her. It was flawless. She was quick to have made such an association. I went back and added just enough circumstantial evidence that it wouldn't stick in court, but enough to convince the Dick to quit searching for the real killer."

"Who would be?"

"Rene. One of the men killed last night."

"And you know this how?" Pam was getting more mysterious by the night, and it wasn't sitting well with me. If she wasn't more careful, she was going to get caught up in something and take me down with her. As her maker I am equally guilty in the eyes of The Authority.

"Sookie." She tapped her temple with one of her perfectly manicured fingers. It turned my stomach that Sookie would have to endure hearing such atrocities. Strangling was a particularly bad way to go, but what was driving him had to be worse. "Since the ball is over, I'm going to go dispose of Cinderella now." She went downstairs and returned with some rolled up plastic sheeting that looked more like construction materials before leaving for the night.

I called The Authority to find out that they were beside themselves with my new relationship possibilities. They had been looking for an eligible vampire to publicly date a human to help further their Pro Human/Vampire Marriage Act. I wasn't too keen on being their unpaid poster boy, but it meant I'd be earning some good credit with them and getting to spend more time with Sookie. Hopefully a very happy Sookie. Tonight wasn't much, but I did learn two things. First to not jump to conclusions, and the second was a lead on what Sookie wants.

By the time I laid down to rest, Sookie had long been asleep, so I could relieve some of my own tensions from the day. I busied my mind on how to convince Sookie that I was still hers until dawn.

The next evening I had come up with a plan, and I thought a good one. I knew Sookie worked the day shift and would be home readying for our date so I swung by the zoo with a large check, and a request. By the time I left, I was quite pleased and had named the popcorn scented animal's enclosure the Stackhouse Exhibit.

I drove instead of flying this time all the way to Bon Temps. When I stepped in every head turned. I didn't spend much time with humans that didn't expect to see me, so their awe was always enjoyable. I walked over to the bar and asked the bartender on duty if Sam Merlotte was available to speak to me. The man moved slowly and methodically but looked at me suspiciously. I smiled the most unarming smile I could muster, and he smiled back.

"No, Sir. You can wait and have a drink if you'd like."

"No thank you. I don't drink alcohol anymore."

"No problem." He pulled out a glass of ice and started filling is with soda for me. "I don't either anymore, but I've got to push it for the bossman, you know?"

"Thanks. When do you expect him back?"

He finished popping the top off a beer before handing it to the waitress. "Here pretty soon. Is there something I could help you out with?"

I set the parcel I was carrying down on the barstool next to me as an unattractive drunk woman was making her way toward it. I didn't feel like receiving unwanted advances tonight. "No. I just wanted to speak to him for a moment before picking up Sookie this evening."

His eyes brightened with the mention of Sookie. "What you wanting with Sookie, Mister?"

"Mister Northman." I outstretched my hand and he gave it a manly shake.

"Terry Bellefleur"

"Actually it's about what Mr. Merlotte wants with Sookie. I have been seeing Miss Stackhouse for awhile now, and wanted to give him the benefit of knowing that we are now monogamous."

"That's pretty old-fashioned." He was drying glasses as we spoke.

"So is Sookie."

His smile was from ear to ear. "Yeah, Yeah she is, ain't she? They don't make 'em quite like her anymore. My grandmother won't stop talking about her. I can't say Sam's going to be pleased to hear that, but from the look on his face last night, I guess she already told him that."

"Last night?"

"Yeah, he came in with his tail between his legs like he'd gotten a swift kickin'."

A full beer bottle was dropped at the waitress's station and the bartender jumped back like it was a gunshot and after a few moments embarrassedly went back to drying the barware.

"What war were you in?"

"Desert Storm. First invasion."

He didn't ask how I knew. I gave an understanding nod. Battle in the years of old was different. You knew your opponent and could look into his eyes while you cut him down. Now the modern technology was making it a faceless foe; therefore, warfare was becoming more gruesome and barbaric. It is too easy to kill if you don't have to see your enemies' entrails turned into bloody confetti that rains down on your shoulders. Back then there were victors and there were prisoners or the dead, but rarely paraplegics, amputees, or shell-shocked survivors to tell the true story of battle. Most of us went into battle with glory under banners of pride, but now that they see the effects of war, few are dissuaded just to find the horrors out for themselves. As many battles as I have been in, there is still a sympathy for the naïve soldier. "Infantry?"

"Yeah. You?"

"Something like that." It wasn't the truth but wasn't a lie either. I wanted him to stay comfortable with me, and telling him I was a vampire wouldn't help.

He looked at me curiously but didn't ask. "Just isn't the same coming back here is it?"

"No. Never is. I got used to it over the years. I was lucky."

"Yeah. I'm on enough meds to knock a mule over and it still only make the days better. Night's tough."

One look at this man, and I knew I didn't want Sookie to ever see what was movie was playing in his mind every night. "Yeah. I went to a specialist. She helped me separate my experience from my memories. It helped me move on. Have you seen anyone for it?"

"Like a hypno-therapist?"

"Kind of. Yes, I guess that is what I would call her."

"No. I don't think the VA covers that. Is it expensive?"

"Would you want to be able to forget those atrocities?"

His eyes betrayed his longing. He had lived almost twenty years with this burden . It was his time to be able to move on. "I can't imagine anything I want more."

"Then price doesn't matter, does it?"

"No, I guess it doesn't." His smile was back.

"Look at me." He followed my command. This was where the real art of glamouring became apparent. I needed to leave enough for him to remember that war sucks, and keep his experience, but erase his demons. "Your mind has healed. You do not feel guilt over your fallen comrades. You morn their loss, but you do not feel responsible for their deaths nor those of your enemies. You are a warrior who returned home victorious. You deserve to feel that pride. Your life is yours to lead. You will not dwell on the atrocities of war, you will forget the nightmares you have, and you will never think about such things near our dear Sookie. Understand?"

He nodded. I slipped one of Pam's business cards into his hand just in case he still had any issues later on.

"Good." I released him from my hold just as the Shifter walked in the door. "Eric, I didn't expect you to stop by yourself. My office?" He pointed a hand in the direction of the hall and I followed him into the office. It wasn't shabby. Maybe a little rustic, but not shabby. My gift would go well. "What can I do for you, Sheriff?"

"I am not here on official business. I just wanted to drop off a gift, and make sure you understood the full gravity of the situation with Miss Stackhouse."

He pushed back in his desk chair. "Yeah. I know now. You ain't got nothing to worry about from me now."

"I didn't to begin with. Do not confuse yourself. Sookie is mine, and by my side she will stay. I will allow you to associate with her in a businesslike and friendly manner; however, if you overstep your bounds again, I will rip your head from your shoulders with my bare hands."

"I get it."

"Good. I must be going. I do not wish to leave Sookie wanting." I left the package on his desk before leaving.