Author's notes: Charlaine Harris owns sole rights to all these wonderful characters. All Hail the Queen!**** Thanks to the reader who emailed me with a little technical glitch with Sookie's corset. I fixed it. I should have known better, I just made one from scratch last year to wear to Mardi Gras!

Chapter 36

Sookie's POV

Luckily, I have a sort of internal alarm clock and was able to wake in plenty of time to receive Eric's attorney. I had noticed that since I had been getting a pretty steady diet of vampire blood, I didn't seem to require as much sleep. I felt great; healthier, more confident, and sexier. After last night, I could tell that my skin was already starting to take on a little glow. I used to worry about being accidentally turned from too much blood, but now according to Niall that would never happen. In fact, if I was to live longer, I needed Eric's blood. Maybe that's why it no longer made me squeamish to drink from him.

I was, in fact, getting slightly aroused just thinking about our escapades from the night before. Too bad it was so long until first dark. Shaking it off, I went upstairs and made out a list of things to do this afternoon. I suddenly realized that I had not told Jason about my engagement. As much as I didn't want to talk to him, I felt I had to do it. He was a butt-head, but he was still my brother. I called his cell phone, and he didn't answer, so I left a voice message. 'Jason, this is Sookie. I will be in Bon Temps this afternoon. If you can, meet me on your lunch break at Merlotte's."

I knew he always took lunch at 1:00, so that should give me plenty of time to Bon Temps.

Promptly at 11:00, I heard the doorbell ring, and I went to open the door. There on the doorstep stood Sophie Ann's old lawyer, Mr. Cataliades. I was so surprised, I must have been standing there with my mouth open. I remembered my manners in time, though, and said, "Mr. Cataliades! Please, come in! It is so nice to see you."

With his jovial demon smile he said, "Sookie, my dear, it is certainly wonderful to see you again. When the Viking told me of his intentions, I can't tell you how pleased I was! After all the recent unpleasantness, at least something good came of it."

I thanked him for his kind words, and asked after his niece. He said, "She is well, and I will tell her you asked about her."

I said, ", I had no idea that you were Eric's lawyer. I thought you only practiced in New Orleans."

He shook his head sadly, "After the destruction of the city in the storm, I had temporarily relocated to Baton Rogue. With the Queen's untimely demise, I thought that perhaps Shreveport might prove to be more…advantageous. I am going to re-open an office in New Orleans quite soon, I imagine. In any event, I have known the Viking for many years. Now, I have several documents for you to sign."

I indicated the dining room table, because it would give us room to spread out papers. He nodded, and carried his attache' case in and began to unload documents. From the stack he was making, I wondered if I was still going to make it to Bon Temps by 1:00.

He pulled out my chair for me, and I sat. He stood next to me, and handed me a fountain pen. He slid a set of papers in front of me.

"This is a bank account, set up for household and your personal expenses. You can use it as you see fit. It is linked to other accounts, so the balance will never fall below $200,000."

I gasped. Had he just said $200,000, American money? No way. I said, "Are you sure?"

His eyes twinkled, and he said, "Eric warned me you might balk, but you will be furnishing a rather large house and grounds and might very well spend considerably more than that. Also, any wedding expenses are to be taken out of this account. That is why it is linked to the other accounts, so that it will be replenished as needed. Here is a debit card linked to this account."

I was shocked to my core, but murmured absently, "Actually, a relative is paying for the wedding…"

Now it was his turn to raise his eyebrows, but he merely said, "Very well. Please sign here…and here."

We slowly made our way through all the papers, and my head was spinning by the time we got to the end. I honestly had no idea of what-all I had just signed, but one thing was clear. Eric hadn't been kidding about having so much that we couldn't spend it all. Jesus Christ, Sheppard of Judea. No wonder he thought my job was unnecessary. I absolutely was not going to work at Merlotte's, ever again. Those other girls needed those wages, and I quite clearly did not. It would take me a long time to get used to that idea.

Finally, he handed me two credit cards, one a black American express (I had never even seen one before) and a platinum Visa. He said, "In view of the fact that you will be married in less than three weeks, we went ahead and had these issued in your married name. You might have some issues using them until your driver's license is changed, but probably not."

I stared down at the cards, and sure enough, the name on the card read "Sookie Northman". I felt my heart do a little bump. This was the first time I had ever seen my new name, written out. Somehow, it made all of this real.

He said, "As soon as you are legally married, we will have you sign a few additional documents, but for the most part, we are finished. Now, Sookie, you can always come to me if Eric is unavailable for advice. I will be your attorney, too. Please do not hesitate to call me if you need me."

I offered him some iced tea before he left, but he declined, so I showed him out. Before leaving, he said, "You have proven yourself to be a brave and special woman, and I for one think you and the Viking are well suited; the best of luck to you, my dear." With that, he left. I wandered back downstairs, stretched out on our bed next to my sleeping vampire, and just stared at him. Besides the Corvette, if you looked at Eric, you would never know if he had any money, one way or another. I had always assumed he was well off, most vampires were, but this? Well, well, well. As Gran used to say, still waters run deep.

I shook myself a little, and snapped out of my reverie. I had to get to Bon Temps, and I had better get going. I collected my purse, the wedding invitations, and my list of things to do, kissed my vampire, and left.

*******

I went through the kitchen and out into the garage, and saw the Escalade. I got in, and found the remote that would open the garage door and gate. I opened the door, and drove down to the front gate. Cooper was standing in about the same place as he was yesterday, and I rolled down my window and said, "Hey, can you go now? I'm ready to run my errands."

He said, "Sure! Let me just tell Jim. Would you like for me to drive?"

Since I wasn't sure exactly how to get back to the highway from here, I said, "Sure. I can be going over my list on the way. We've got to kind of hurry, though, because I'm meeting my brother in Bon Temps for lunch."

He said, "No problem!" He ran over and had a quick conversation with the other guard. I switched seats, he went around and jumped in, and we were off. He apparently knew how to get to Bon Temps, because he never asked me any directions.

Soon after leaving the house, he said, "Sookie, you should program my number into your phone, just in case you need me."

I nodded, and he recited the number while I added it to my speed dial.

On the way, we talked about the mundane things that two strangers talk about when confined together: the weather, where we had grown up, things like that. He was a nice guy, and I sneaked a peak into his head. It was a typical Were brain, though, tangled and hard to read. I did get the overall impression that he seemed to like me, and that he took his job seriously, and that was good enough for me. I decided to turn on the radio, and asked him if he had a preference of music. He said, "Well, I am partial to country and western, and old rock 'n roll."

I found the old rock station out of Shreveport, and the first song to come on was "Sympathy for the Devil", one of my all-time favorite Rolling Stones songs. I had to laugh a little, because for some reason this song made me think of Victor Madden. I had pulled out the packet of invitations. As long as I was going to see Sam, I might as well give him his, so I took the time to get his ready.

As soon as we got to Bon Temps, I started to give Cooper directions to Merlotte's, but he said he knew where it was. We were running a couple of minutes late, and I could see Jason's truck already parked in front. I said, "You are welcomed to come in and get some lunch, but I am afraid I will be talking to my brother about some personal stuff, and it might be uncomfortable for you."

He said, "Don't worry. I'll be close, but will still give you some privacy." He went through the door, and held it for me, but I could see him scanning the patrons. I felt a little weird dragging a bodyguard in to a place where I had spent so much of my life; but, I had promised Eric.

I could see several people glancing up, and they seemed a little surprised to see me coming through the front door, not in uniform and with a stranger to boot. I could see Jason sitting over in a booth, and Sam was in his usual spot standing behind the bar. I waved to him, and he broke into a big smile. He came out and gave me a big hug. I could feel Cooper hovering behind me, so I turned and started to introduce the two. Sam surprised me by saying, "I know Coop. Good to see you, man. Looking out for our girl, huh?"

Cooper said, "Yes, I am. How have you been?"

Sam said, "Well, I've been missing my best waitress, but other than that, good. So, Sookie, what are you doing here?"

I looked over at Jason, and said, "I'm here to tell him about being engaged. I am not looking forward to this."

Sam nodded sympathetically. He knew exactly why I was so mad at my brother. He said, "Give me the high sign if you need me. I'll send over the new girl, Traci, to take your order."

I went and slid into the booth. Jason said, "Well, it's about time you got here. Who's the guy, Sookie? Some new flame I haven't heard about? The Supe du jour? You just went from no dates to a man-magnet, didn't you?"

Honestly, I was kind of surprised that he hadn't already heard about my engagement, the supernatural community grapevine being what it was. I knew he was on the outs with his "pack" though, so maybe it wasn't so surprising after all. Ignoring the insult, I said, "No, that's Cooper. He's just here as a friend."

The new waitress, Traci, had come up to the table, and asked if she could take our order. I asked for an iced tea and a club sandwich. I really wasn't very hungry, but wanted to appear normal. Jason had already ordered since he was on his lunch hour and had limited time. He was trying to give her the old Stackhouse charm, though. I guess he hadn't yet bagged another of Sam's staff.

We sat and stared at each other for a few minutes, neither one of us wanting to be the one to start. Finally, he broke the silence by saying, "So, are you going to stay mad at me forever?"

I replied, "Jason, I am only here because you are my brother, and I can't change that. You have treated me and others that have been good to you very, very badly and I may never forget it."

He had the audacity to not even look ashamed. I could tell in that minute he would never change. He just put a cocky grin on his face, and said, "Look, Sookie, I guess I could have handled it differently, but let's face it…she was nothin' but a 'ho. I should never have married her in the first place. I don't even know if the kid is mine."

Traci had brought our food, and set it down, but I could not eat a bite. Jason, on the other hand, grabbed his cheeseburger and dug in. I sat silently for a minute, then said, "Jason, I met you here today to tell you that I'm getting married."

He said, "What? Who to? That guy that came in with you? Wow, is that your ring? Is it real? The guy must be loaded! Well, at least it ain't one of those damned vamps you used to hang with…"

I gave him a glare, and said coldly, "As a matter of fact, I'm marrying Eric. You remember Eric, don't you?" I'm pretty sure he did, and they hadn't liked each other much.

"You are not! No sister of mine is going to marry no dead guy! It's bad enough that you are fucking those things, but you are not marrying one! I'm the man in this family and I put my foot down!" By now he was shouting. I knew I needed to keep cool, or I might send him flying across the room, and I didn't want to mess up Sam's bar.

Cooper and Sam had both instantly appeared at the table, and Sam said, "Jason, what in God's name is wrong with you? Settle down, and apologize to your sister, before I kick your mangy butt out of here."

I wasn't the only one blessed with the Stackhouse temper. Jason had turned red in the face, and the veins in his neck were bulging out. He jumped out of the booth and said to me, "What are you gonna do, Sookie, have your other boyfriends here beat me up? Do you fuck'em all at once, or one at a time?....Hey! Let me go! Asshole!" Sam and Cooper had each taken one arm, and took very little time in bodily ejecting him from the bar.

I was trembling, and blushing with embarrassment. Everyone in the bar was staring at me, and I knew this scene would be repeated all over town in a flash. I guess it was my fault for picking such a public place, but I expected just about anything but the reaction I got. If anyone should be more tolerant of other people, it was Jason. After all, he was a were-panther himself, even if he was the bitten kind. Sam and Cooper had come back to the table, and stood by looking uncomfortable.

Sam said, "Sookie, are you OK? I can't believe he said that stuff to you! Eric is going to kill him!"

Oh, crap. If Eric ever heard about this, he might very well kill him. As much as I loathed him right now, I still did not want him dead. I looked at both of them sternly, and said, "All right, you two! Listen up! Eric is never going to hear about this, do you understand me? Not ever!"

They both nodded, but Sam said, "Cher, you know I've got your back, always. If you don't want to tell him, okay. But there are other people here. Don't you think he'll find out sooner or later?"

He had a point, but I looked around and of course now everybody was trying their best to look like they hadn't seen or heard a thing. I sighed. "I'll just have to take my chances. None of these people have much to do with the vampires, anyway."

I slid out and put some money on the table. I hugged Sam again, and said, "I'm sorry for being such a spectacle. Oh! I almost forgot!" I reached in my bag, and pulled out his invitation, and handed it to him. I said, "Short notice, I know, but I hope you can come."

He opened the envelope, read it, and said rather sadly, "Well, I guess this makes it official. Sure, Sook, you know I'll be there."

I had a ton of other stuff to do, so I thought I'd better be on my way. I kissed Sam on the cheek, and said to Cooper, "Let's roll."

We went out and jumped in the Escalade, and since we were close to my house, I decided to drop by there first. I told him I wouldn't be long, and ran in. Amelia had just got back from the library, and gave her a big hug. I had been calling her with updates everyday, but it was still good to see her. I did have one thing to say to her, though. "Amelia, I have something to confess. As much as I wanted to ask you to be my maid of honor, I asked Pam instead. I knew she would never have another opportunity to be one, and I didn't think you'd mind."

She laughed and said, "Sookie, I'm from New Orleans. I have been a bridesmaid a total of twelve times. I appreciate the sentiment, but it's really okay. Plus, it will be worth it to see a vampire in a bridesmaid dress."

Suddenly, it hit me! "Amelia, you are from New Orleans! Your dad is rich! Does he belong to one of the Carnival Krewes? Have you ever been to a ball?"

She laughed and said, "Yes, and yes. I was actually a Queen one season, and you should have seen my dress! It was awesome, but really, really uncomfortable. Why?"

So, I told her about the Second Bonding ceremony, and that I needed a dress. She said, "Honey, those kinds of dresses take usually take months to make, and this is already getting into the Carnival season. The only place I know that you might still be able to get something remotely appropriate is New York."

Just great. Now I was beginning to panic. However, today I still had lots to do. I handed Amelia three invitations, and said, "One is for you, one is for Trey. The other is for Bill. Could you walk over tonight and give it to him personally?"

She said she would. I knew that the day was getting away from me, so I rushed to my room, grabbed a few extra clothes, my birth certificate, and my little jewelry box from on top of my dresser. I waved at Amelia on the way out the door, and yelled, "Call me!"

I jumped in the car, and Cooper and I headed back to town. I had him pull over at the post office, so I could turn in my application for a passport. I had made the required pictures at a drugstore the day Claudine and I had gone shopping, and downloaded the application form over the Internet. All I had to do was provide my identification, pay my money, and swear the oath. It didn't take nearly as long as I thought.

Next, we went to Rose Mansion, so I could pay for it. Kenneth was glad to see me, and I thought he would pass out when he saw my ring. He said, "Hon-ney, my goodness! The bar business must be very, very good! Well, come inside and let's get you all squared away."

As we were walking back to his office, I asked if Eric had been in touch about the reception. He said excitedly, "Oh, yes! He called himself! He was very definite about what he wanted…but he swore me to secrecy! Don't even ask." He wiggled his eyebrows, and made a zipping motion across his lips. He was so cute, I just had to laugh.

I had been in the house before on several occasions, but this time I was looking at it from a different point of view. It was exquisitely decorated with a mixture of antiques, more modern but comfortable pieces, and lots of interesting artwork. I would love for our new home to look as wonderful as this one did. I told him, "Kenneth, this place is so beautiful. Are all these family pieces?"

He rolled his eyes dramatically, "My dear! You should have seen this place! We had to toss out almost everything and start from scratch! You know, Daniel was an interior designer in New Orleans for years before we moved here."

I asked excitedly, "Does he still take on clients?"

He said, "Sometimes, but he has to be able to "feel" the place, and he won't work for just anybody. Why?"

"Well, Eric has just finished renovating a house, and I need to furnish it. It's pretty big, and I don't know the first thing about decorating. I want to do the house justice. Do you think he might talk to me about it?" I asked hopefully.

"Of course he would, Sookie. He likes you. And to do the Northman house! He'll be in hog heaven! Shall I have him call you?"

I said yes, and then we finished up the arrangements. When I went to pay for it, he said, "Oh, no, Mr. Northman said he would take care of the whole thing."

I said, "Actually, a relative is paying for the wedding, so I'll put the rental of the house on this card, and then Eric can pay for the rest." That sounded fair, and now I had officially let Niall pay for something.

My last stop of the day was the florist. I was getting a little worn out by now. What a day! But, I didn't want to have to drive all the way back over here tomorrow, so I pushed on. One good thing about our new house, it was going to make the drive to Bon Temps so much easier!

All little southern downtowns are laid out in a similar fashion; generally a town square with a government building of some kind in the middle. This central square would be surrounded by rows of old brick buildings mainly occupied by local Mom-n-Pop style businesses. Most of them have narrow storefronts with long interiors, and back doors that open onto delivery alleys. Bon Temps was no exception, and the only florist in town was located in the middle of the row of old buildings on Main Street.

As usual, the parking was horrible, and we drove around the square several times. There were a couple of pedestrians (both of whom I recognized), and a guy reading a newspaper sitting on a bench in front of the café next to my florist. Just the normal, run-of-the-mill scene in exciting downtown Bon Temps, so I said, "Listen, Cooper, just let me out here. I won't be in for long, and you can just sort of double park here, with the engine running."

He said, "Sookie, what about the guy on the bench?"

I looked at him, and said, "Let me see if I can tell what he's thinking." I let down my shields, but I was too far away to hear more than a buzz. I said "I think it's all right. No one is going to try anything in the middle of town. I'll just be a minute. If you find a place to park, just come on in."

I got out of the car, and as I did, the man on the bench casually glanced up smiled at me faintly and nodded. He folded his newspaper and stood, then turned and went back into the café. I breathed a sigh of relief. I turned and looked at Cooper and gave him a smile that said, "See? Harmless."

I went to the front door of the floral shop, opened the door, and stepped in. It was cool inside, and had that almost sickly too-many-varieties-in-one-room smell common to all florists. The front room had some really nice displays set up around the room which I admired. Soon a woman stepped out from the workroom in the back. I had known her most of my life, so I said, "Hi, Patty. I'm here to pick out flowers for a wedding."

She said, "Hey, Sookie. Long time, no see. Are you the bride?"

I nodded, and she said, "Best wishes. Now, what did you have in mind?"

I pulled out the photo of the bouquet and arrangements that I had found on the Internet, and soon we were engrossed in an avid discussion. It was easier than I thought it would be. I guess having such a short time to prepare made it easier to make a decision. I didn't have the luxury of fooling around, so I made my final choices, told her where and when everything should be delivered, and paid for it with the debit card.

Just then, from the back room, I heard a faint "ding". Patty glanced around, and said, "Oh, that must be my afternoon delivery. Excuse me for a minute." She walked over and reached out to pull aside the drape which hung in the doorway, when two men burst through it, shoving Patty violently aside. One of them was the man that had been reading the paper! Oh, crap!

Both men were barreling towards me. Patty started screaming at the top of her lungs. The first man lunged forward to grab me, but due to my recent ingestion of Eric's blood, I spun quickly out of his grasp. Just as I was preparing to see if my "popping" lessons had paid off, the door opened and Cooper stepped in. In a split second, he took in what was happening, and dove for the attacker closest to me.

Angrily, I turned back towards the other man, who was reaching towards me; I tried to focus all that anger in his direction, and thought about shoving him away, and "whack"! He went flying across the room, falling into one of Patty's displays. Patty had crouched down behind her counter and I could hear her calling 911 and yelling for help.

Cooper and the first man were rolling around, crashing into various small tables. The first man was groggily getting to his feet, and I knew he would be headed for me soon, so I ran towards the front door, jerked it open and sped outside.

Just as I had hit the sidewalk, I could see Sheriff Dearborn running towards me, a barber drape still hanging from his neck and flapping behind him. He must have been getting his hair cut at the barber shop, three doors down. He had his gun drawn, and he was yelling, "Out of the way, Sookie!"

My momentum had carried me on out between the cars parked in the slots directly in front of the floral shop. The man who had been chasing me came barreling out the door behind me, but the Sheriff was within a few feet of him, pointing his gun and shouting, "Police! Freeze!"

The man must have realized that Sheriff Dearborn meant it, because he indeed came to an abrupt halt. Dearborn yelled, "On the ground, now!" The man stretched out on the sidewalk. The Sheriff knelt down, and was snapping some cuffs around the man's wrists, when the door flew open and Cooper shoved a somewhat bloody and disheveled man out the door, with his arm shoved up at a sharp angle behind his back.

The Sheriff raised his gun in their direction, and barked out, "Stop right there!"

Both Cooper and the other man stood still. I had vaguely noticed a siren and almost immediately, a police car had skidded to a stop in the road behind me. Two deputies scrambled out of the car, and were running up with their guns drawn as well. I said loudly, "The guy in the jacket is with me!"

People all along the square were pouring out of the shops to see what all the excitement was about. They were talking excitedly and pointing, and for the second time that day, I considered "poofing" on home. However, I realized that would be very last thing I should do if I wanted the talk to settle down. I was glad now that I hadn't done it earlier; I probably would have had to get Bill go glamour Patty into forgetting it, and she might forget my flower order right along with my poofing act. I didn't have time to mess with re-ordering.

By now, Patty had come outside, and although she looked shocked, she seemed to be fairly in control of her emotions. She said to Dearborn, "Bud, these guys came in through the back and I guess they were planning to rob me. This nice man came in and stopped them."

If that's what she wanted to make of the situation, it was OK by me. I looked at Cooper, and shook my head slightly. He gave a half-nod, to show that he got the idea. Dearborn said, "OK, boys, get this other fella in cuffs, and lets haul 'em on down to the station." The deputies complied, and patted both of them down for weapons. Apparently they found none, so took them over and shoved them into the back seat of the squad car.

Dearborn looked at me, Cooper, and Patty, and said, "Let's go back inside and you all can tell me what happened."

Uh-oh.