Disclaimer: I do not own anything that appears in any of the Charlaine Harris books, everything/everyone else belongs to me.

A/N: Hello everyone. I would first like to say thank you all for the reviews. I love reading what you all have to think about my story. It really does help keep me on track. I apologize for the long time before my posting of the last chapter. I have a lot going on in my life and some times it's hard to find balance. I promise to do my best to update regularly. I really do appreciate all the support. Thank you all for sticking with me this far. I cannot tell you what it means to me. I never imagined that I would have this many reviews. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Now with that said, please enjoy!

The last of the sun's rays still lit the evening sky when Eric woke. Though the windows were opaque and the light tight curtains were pulled shut, he could still feel the heat of the rays. It was the internal clock that all vampires had to let them know that the danger of the sun was still there.

He was covered in a great and peaceful warmth and he didn't have to look down to know that Sookie was in his arms. She was sleeping soundly while she clung to his body even in her sleep. He searched the ball of confusion that filled their bond trying to make some kind of sense of it. Sookie was hurting and he didn't know why. He tried to send her comfort but it did little to soothe her. He tried to see what was going on in her sleeping mind only to find that even in her sleep her mental blocks were firmly in place.

He pulled her closer into his body and wrapped her protectively in his arms. He stroked her hair and kept sending her comforting feelings through their bond. They lay like that until the sun went down. Eric listened to the changing of the guards outside the room. He listened to people move around the floors as the day came to another end. He listened to the sounds of the strip picking up in life as more and more people began their night out. He listened further than he's ever listened before as he held Sookie in his arms and stroked her hair and sent comforting feelings through their bond.

"Come in." He said before Sandy could knock on the door. She wondered for a moment how he knew she was about to knock but put it out of her mind. She had a feeling that this may be something that she got used to.

Sandy peeked her head in the door and when Eric nodded she walked on into the room. "Good evening sir." She said as she walked to the foot of the bed. She could see that Sookie was sound asleep in Eric's arms. She would smile at the scene before them but she had a reputation as a hard ass to maintain.

"Good evening Sandy." Eric replied. "Pull up a chair."

Sandy pulled a sitting chair from the corner over to Sookie's side of the bed so that Eric wouldn't have to strain to see her face. When she had the chair positioned she opened her briefcase and pulled out her folders and got situated. She slid on a pair of reading glasses, she didn't need them but they've became a part of her habit in order to blend in better with humans.

"Alright sir. There are three cases left over from Felipe. The first one is between Sheriff Dolan of area four and Sheriff Weisz of area five. Dolan has charged Weisz with a blood offense. The details of the case with statements of both sides are listed in the file."

"Was the blood offense through Dolan directly?" Eric asked.

Sandy shifted through the file. "No sir. Dolan has a known girlfriend that has been declared his."

"Human?"

"Yes sir. He's grooming her for the change."

"Okay what's the other case?"

Sandy closed the file she had and sifted through her briefcase for a moment before pulling out another file.

"The second case is a contention for Carson City. The old Sheriff's maker was forced to destroy his second in command in an attempted takeover, so the Sheriff has been recalled to take his place at his maker's side."

"Who is the Sheriff?" Eric asked.

"Johnson, Thomas Johnson."

"And who is the Sheriff and his maker?"

"Thomas is the Sheriff and Rick Beaumont is the maker."

This surprised Eric. If this was who he was thinking about then he may have inadvertently found a lost friend of his. The name Rick Beaumont was a subtle reminder and Eric remembered how his friend liked subtle tricks and fierce battles. If this is the vampire he remembers then he has held England for more than eight centuries.

"Is Thomas still here?"

"Yes, he and his maker agreed that he could remain to run his area until Felipe could declare his replacement."

"I want him there tonight along with...who are the candidates?"

"Jericho and Ashton." Sandy shuffled a few more files. "I also included four others that applied for the job."

"Okay. What time are the meetings?"

"I have them scheduled at eleven. Is that going to be okay?"

"Yes that will be fine." Eric told her. His mind was still turning over the fact that he may have found his old friend again but he would deal with it later.

"The final case is the one against Davis Archer, Ron Bellman, and Brandon Wittiker. They are charged with treason for the attempted assault of one of our established regents."

"There will be no hearing." Eric growled. "They will all die."

Sookie shifted restlessly in Eric's arms, as if she were trying to get away. He stamped down on his anger and Sookie also quieted in his arms.

"That is your prerogative as King." Sandy said when Eric was calm again. "Still for those who saw the attack and those who have heard of it, it would still be wise to make a statement to your subjects on the matter."

"I agree." Eric said as he tried to keep his anger from spilling over again.

"Very well. I will still leave their files here for you and the Queen." Eric didn't respond with anything more than a nod. "Also, Evelyn is still outside. She said that Queen Sookie sent her away. I was told that the Queen has said she didn't want an assistant."

"Have Evelyn stay. I will speak with Sookie."

"Also your reservations have been made and your table has been reserved for the show."

"Thank you Sandy. Sookie will be delighted."

"No problem sir. I also have some general information that you and the Queen will need to go over for the coronation. I will contact the Pythoness to see what her schedule is like; but I don't believe it will be an issue. Rumor has it that she's eager to meet you again, though no one can say why. I think that whenever you and the Queen decide to have your coronation she will make herself available. Though, I would caution that you do not take to long in choosing. Everyone knows how the Pythoness hates to wait."

Eric smiled at that understatement. "Yes, I am well aware. Is there anything else?"

"No sir. Depending on how long the hearings go you will have plenty of time for your surprise. Though if for any reason you run over, though I don't expect it, we can have the show stalled for you."

"Very good Sandy."

"Thank you sir." Sandy replied as she began to put the unnecessary folders up and stacked the needed ones in her lap. When she sat there and stared at Eric trying to decide on the best words for her next report.

"Just say it Sandy." Eric told her. "There's no need to waste words on me."

"You've noticed that the exiting guard didn't come in to give you a report on their shift as they should have." Eric nodded without saying anything. "They were preparing to come in when I came. I thought it unnecessary for you to entertain two people in here when the Queen was still asleep so I had them give their report to me." She paused and again Eric nodded for her to continue.

"It seems that the Queen had an eventful day. She went to the spa and that went according to plan until towards the end when they had trouble waking her. When they did wake her she seemed to have poor hold on the functions of her limbs. When she regained control they left. They made it a few steps out of the spa when they were ambushed by cameras. Apparently when they entered the lobby their group attracted a lot of attention but no one bothered them. When they came out they got even more attention and then people began to take pictures and swarming them. They got her out unscathed. She opened her briefcase again and pulled out a CD case. "This is the security video that captured the whole thing."

"Did the mob yell anything? Anything to let us know what they wanted?" Eric asked.

"No they were asking what her name was and asking who she was. They didn't know who she was but they were taking her picture. Jamal thought that they would try to use her picture as a means to identify her. He suggested we have someone watch the Queen's credit reports and flag any background checks that are done on her. With the right resources someone could find out at the very least a name; and that's all they would need to get started."

"Do we have someone we can trust who can do this for us?"

"We do."

"Then do it. Also have them monitor the hotels computers especially where they store room information."

"Yes sir. Can I ask what you are thinking?"

"Yes. You said they were asking who she was, right?" He asked though he didn't wait for her to respond. "I noticed that there are numbers over the elevators that tell people who are waiting what floor the elevator is on. All one of them have to do once Sookie entered the elevators is watch what floor she got off on. That would narrow down the search to a set number of names."

"But the room isn't in her name."

"Who's name is in under?"

"Eric Northman. The hotel rep who made his case to you placed it under your name with the unlimited status. You could ask for half the city and they wouldn't deny you." Sandy thought for a second. "I see what you mean. Just a search on you would pull up the Fangtasia website that has pictures of both you and the Queen on there."

"Exactly."

"I will take care of it. I will also have the room taken out of your name and put in a dummy identity."

"Thank you. Keep me informed of any and all changes."

"Will do sir but there's more."

"Oh?" Eric said; his expression clearly saying get on with it.

"The Queen had lunch with an old friend this afternoon. His name was Michael."

"I am aware."

"Well, after a mock fight they seemed to get along fine together. They had lunch at Prime and that seems to be where everything fell to hell. Michael and the Queen got into a fight seemingly because she'd asked for some of her family members back?" Sandy paused a moment to see if Eric would inject some extra info...he didn't. "That didn't go so well. By the end of their lunch Michael was clearly pissed while the Queen was in tears. They said that she moved as if in a fog the whole way back to here. They tried to engage her several times but it was as if she couldn't hear them. When they were back Evelyn engaged her and this is when the Queen told her that she didn't want an assistant."

"Did any of them remember anything else from the meeting?"

"That's another thing. I asked each and every member of her guard to tell me what happened in their own words and the more they told me, the less they seemed to remember. By the time I finished asking questions, they were only able to agree that the Queen went to lunch at Prime with a male friend. They couldn't tell me what her friend was and by the end of it they were no longer able to tell me what her companion's name was or even what he looked or smelled like. They couldn't remember things that they had just told me minutes before. The more they tried to remember things the less they could recall."

"So if I were to call them on the phone and ask them about this afternoon...." Eric asked.

"They would be able to tell you everything up to and after her luncheon. About the lunch itself they would be able to tell you that the Queen went to lunch with a male friend. In the beginning they were happy and amiable but they argued and by the end he was angry and she was crying."

Eric didn't say anything but nodded his head anyway. Somehow all but the basic memory of Michael was removed from the guards mind. He had a feeling that if he contacted the restaurant they would have just as hard of a time remembering Sookie's lunch. So why would this be? Why would Michael erase everyone's memory of him? The first thing that came to mind was survival. Not his personal survival no but it would still not do for someone to remember him or to be able to note anything of substance about him. He was betting that no human would be able to remember anything distinguishing about an Angel they interacted with. It seems that the more you think about them the less you remember until you are reduced to the bare bone basics of sex. So it would stand to reason that you would retain perfect memory until you began to dwell on the interaction.

"Sir?" Sandy said as she leaned forward in her chair. When Eric met her eyes she knew he hadn't heard her question. "I said that I have already called our doctor to make rounds to their homes to check them out."

"No, call the doctor back." Eric said. "There is nothing wrong with them, any of them."

"You know why they can't remember?"

"Yes."

"Do I need to be worried about it; about this Michael?"

"No."

They sat in silence for a full minute until Sandy finally nodded. "Very well sir. If it's good for you I will go and monitor the last of the setup for tonight. Now that we don't have the mansion, I've had to come up to an alternate venue. A car will be here to pick you up at a quarter 'til eleven."

"Okay, we will see you there Sandy."

"Oh and before I forget," Sandy reached into an outside pocket of her briefcase to bring out another CD case. "Here is a list of the security guards, both vampire and shifter alike for you and Queen Sookie to choose from."

"Thank you." Eric replied and with that Sandy took her leave.

When he was alone again he looked back down at Sookie. She seemed a little more peaceful than before but not much. He let his mind wander around what she and Michael could have possibly argued about enough to make him lose his cool and her to tears. If he was being honest with himself he would admit that he wasn't happy that she had asked for Niall. What was she thinking? He knew that she was friends with Claudine but why would she ask to have Niall back...especially without talking to him first?

He kept one arm around Sookie while he reached with the other back to his side of his nightstand and grabbed his cell phone. There was another knock at the door just as he found the number he wanted to call. He reached out with his mind to find that it was Pam waiting.

'Come in Pam.' Eric thought to her as he dialed Clancy's number.

"Clancy?" He answered. It was quiet in the back and Eric assumed he was probably in the office.

"How are things in my absence Clancy?" Eric asked without as much as a greeting. Pam walked in and sat on the end of the bed without a word.

"Very well." Clancy replied. "There have been no disturbances. We have had an influx of vampires into the area. I've done a preliminary background check on all of them and have granted them temporary stays until you come back and give a final ruling."

"How are the club and other businesses?"

"All quiet all good. There have been no problems in the area."

"Very good."

"When shall we expect you back?" Clancy asked. It was a simple question but somewhere in his tone was something that made it seem like more.

"Everything is being wrapped up. With Felipe and Victor dead, there is no other contention from within. I just have a few more things to wrap up and Sookie and I will be back in a few days."

There was quiet on both sides of the phone for a minute. Pam watched as he continued to stroke Sookie's hair. She moved up the bed and lay behind Sookie. She looked at Eric and when he didn't protest, she too started to stroke Sookie's golden locks.

"I heard that Sandy will come to Louisiana permanently?"

"Yes, she wants a fresh start for her and her mate." Eric told him. "What is it that you want to know Clancy?"

"It's not just me but others of us who have served you for so long. We were just wondering how you becoming king will...impact us."

"You should know by now that I take care of those who have served me well."

"Yes but can you rule three states from Shreveport? Will you now relocate to Vegas or New Orleans?"

"I do not know about later but for now my base will still be in Shreveport. We will have a meeting with my most loyal when I return, but there is no need to fear my new position. I will not leave any that are mine behind."

"I will tell the others." Clancy replied after a shorter pause than the first.

"Good." Eric replied. "Is there anything else that I should be made aware of?"

"No Sher...sir."

Without a farewell Eric hung up. He looked over at Pam who was now spooning behind Sookie, still stroking her hair. She was looking at Sookie's hair but she had a far away look in her eyes. He wondered what she was thinking about but not enough to listen into her thoughts. If she wanted him to know she would tell him. If it were anyone besides Pam he wouldn't care and would listen but Pam had earned her right to privacy.

Pam stayed quiet as Eric made calls to Maxwell Lee and all the Sheriffs for updates on what was going on in their areas. Maxwell Lee reported that Bill had caused no trouble since he came into his and Thalia's care. All he did was eat and read and work on his home. All the Sheriffs reported and influx of vampires into the areas. None of them had raised any flags but the Sheriffs will keep Eric posted. When he was finally done he laid the phone behind him.

They continued to hold Sookie between them and stroke her hair. Both were caught up in their own thoughts but Eric was the first to break the peace between them. "Pam, how ready are you to strike out on your own again?"

"It is a pleasant thought." She said absently as she thought seriously about his question. "I would like to travel again but to be honest I don't want to leave now that things are getting so interesting with you and Sookie. Maybe in a decade or two when everything finally settles down and your life becomes boring once again I will go out on my own again. Do you wish to get rid of me?"

"No, that is not it child." Eric said. "Clancy's call made me think. If I am to be an effective ruler of three states then I will need to have some people that I trust implicitly in positions of extreme power. There is no other vampire I trust more than you."

"What are you thinking in that brain Eric?" Pam asked him suspiciously.

"Las Vegas is a major outlet in my kingdom; I cannot leave just anyone in power as my top person here. If you wish it, I will leave it to you."

"Why not just leave it to the sheriffs that are here?"

"They are not Sheriffs of my choosing and have not proven themselves to me. I want someone I trust to watch over Nevada for me...at least for a while."

"Is Sandy truly going to Louisiana with us then?" Pam asked.

"Yes, she wants a new start for her mate. I granted her request to come back with us."

"New Orleans needs a new Sheriff, though if you move there and make it your base then the same will be true of Shreveport."

"That's what I was thinking." Eric said. "I don't want us to move just yet. With all the changes that we have gone through and will go through I don't want to add the stress of moving to it and establishing a new base just yet. Later if there is a need for us to move then maybe, but we would need to sit down and talk about it."

"Yes," Pam laughed quietly. "I'm sure Sookie will have an opinion on the matter."

"You too Pam. I would want your opinion too, you can be objective for us."

"Oh good. Count me in. You and Sookie have the best fights."

Eric rolled his eyes. "What do you think of my proposal?"

"Do I need to decide now?"

"No, you can come back with us when we leave."

"Good. I would go anywhere you asked me to but if I have the choice, then I want time to think about it."

"That is reasonable; but if you come back with us then I expect you to travel back to Nevada a few times to oversee things a few times. Call it a test run to see if you will like the job you will be stepping into if you choose it."

"That's reasonable." Pam agreed.

"There will be a car here for us at a quarter 'til eleven to take us to the location for the hearings tonight. Sandy left us some files to go through."

"Is there anything that you will need my opinion on?" Pam asked.

"Your opinion is welcomed but it is your choice. You do not have to stay if you do not wish to."

"Then I will go because I want to feed and have some...fun before we get to the serious stuff."

"Then go and have fun."

Pam kissed Sookie's head before she rolled out of the bed and headed for the door. They were alone again. Eric looked at the clock to see that they had a few hours until they needed to be down stairs to meet their car so he wrapped his arms around Sookie and went into down time.

Sookie took a deep breath and yawned, pulling Eric from his down time. He stayed quiet as she stretched and turned over in his arms. "Good evening Lover."

Sookie peeked through her sleepy eyes to see Eric looking down on her with a small smile. "Hey Eric." She yawned again and turned away from him. "Uh, bathroom."

Eric released her and watched Sookie walk, still nude, into the bathroom. He had to smile to himself because it wasn't very long ago that she would not have ever dreamed of sleeping nude let alone walking through their room naked. He took the opportunity to sit up in the bed and lean against his pillows. A few minutes later Sookie came out of the bathroom and walked back over to the bed. She looked down to the floor and grabbed her panties and slipped them back on before climbing back into the bed. Eric pouted but Sookie just smiled and rolled her eyes.

She settled herself into the bed and mimicked Eric's position. Part of her wanted to pull the sheet up to cover her breasts but a bigger part of her wasn't that fazed. Maybe she was picking up some bad habits from Eric. Eric had remained silent next to her, only reaching over to hold her hand, and she used this time to gather her thoughts. She didn't need their connection to know that he was giving her the time that she needed to think.

"It's been a crazy day." She finally said.

"So I've heard."

"What exactly have you heard?" She asked a bit guardedly.

Eric squeezed her hand. "I got a brief overview of your whole day but I would like to hear it all from you."

Sookie shook her head. "I don't know what to say." She admitted because with the day she had, where exactly would she need to start?

"That's fine." Eric said. "You don't have to say anything. Show me."

Sookie looked at Eric then and they locked eyes. Her mental shield was still closed tightly around her mind so that Eric was unable to do anything but wait for her to remove her shield. She dropped her shields so suddenly that Eric flinched at the hordes of sounds and words and images coming from her. He wasn't able to make sense of anything that he saw until slowly Sookie began to thread her day together for him.

He watched everything from the breakfast with the guards to the walk to the spa. He saw how fascinated people were with her. He felt how good it felt to get her massage. He saw the teasing of her guards and how protective they seemed to be of her already. He saw how relaxed she was for her facial. Then she showed him her talk with Michael. Eric watched as the guards tried to wake her up and was unable too. He could sympathize with them there. When she finally woke and they were able to move he felt the relief of not only their physical selves but their minds.

The fascination hadn't changed when they exited the spa. He heard her playful thoughts as Sookie flipped her hair and he wanted to laugh when in backfired...until he saw the swarm of people rushing to get pictures of her. He was proud of how well the guard did in getting her out of harms way. They were quick and efficient. They seemed to work very well together and they moved without having to check to see where the others were. They each trusted the other to do their work and they each did it.

He expected her to replay what they'd done together, he was interested to see what had stuck out most in her mind but that's not what happened. Instead of going through their intimate time together she went straight to when she stepped out the room to the weary guards. At first he was disappointed with the guards, being so nervous over just some sounds but then he caught the tenor of their thoughts. It wasn't just the sounds that had frightened the guards but the fact that they could feel someone else in the room with them. They didn't hear or see or smell someone but something in their core told them that someone powerful was close.

It pleased Eric to see how they fell back and let Sookie take the lead. When Sookie struck out and was able to find Michael, Eric's heart swelled with pride in his wife. Sookie's thoughts faltered for a moment under the pride of Eric but she pushed through it and kept the thoughts going. They left for lunch with no issue.

It looked as if lunch started out well enough but it soon was shot to hell. He couldn't believe how bad the lunch was going and Eric quickly clamped down on his side of their bond. He watched as Sookie pushed her luck until she finally crossed a line of no return. He saw the light blink out of Michael's eye as their friend and brother Michael disappeared behind Michael who was a general. He watched as the realization of her rash words dawn on her, but it was too late. The memories became chaotic again as he watched Michael leave, and the suddenly Jamal was in front of Sookie and she was leaving too. Her memory dove back into jumbled chaos where he couldn't make heads or tails of what she was thinking when they cleared to her trying to go to the room when Evelyn interrupted. He saw Evelyn speaking but it wasn't computing with Sookie and therefore Eric.

Her memories at this point were disjointed and hectic. Suddenly everyone was gone and Sookie was alone with Eric in the room. She was undressing and her mind was beginning to fog. She was nude and climbed into bed with him, wrapping his arms around herself and a great sorrow passed over her. She clung to his body before the fog overtook her and she fell asleep against him.

At this point Sookie began pulling back into her own mind so she was no longer projecting to Eric. She didn't block her mind off but Eric did. He wanted solitude in his head as he tried to figure out what the hell this meant for them now. Michael was gone. True he vowed not to desert them but still, he wouldn't be available to them in the same capacity. Fuck. He wondered if this was just Michael or if the others would take his lead and not come to them either.

How could she be that irresponsible? They both knew how much of themselves bled into one another. They worked hard on not being overrun. Even if she did feel that way, why would she say it? Even worse, Michael had given her what she wanted, why did she have to keep spouting such poison? He saw Sookie's day through her head and perception but he was able to look at it objectively because it hadn't happened to him.

He thought more about what Michael had said and he had to admit that he felt the same about Niall. Niall was the type of fairy that he would never do anything without a reason. Sookie had made a point about Michael using her too and she was right about that too. They are going up against things that they'd never thought possible, so yes Michael and the others were using and maneuvering he and Sookie around but it's nothing compared to what Lilith would do if she ever got her hands on them never mind Niall. Freedom to choose was all well and good but Eric knew that he would rather be led and maneuvered around by an angel they knew was a friend, then to have the freedom to choose and fall into a trap of a powerful demon.

So many emotions flowed through Eric, anger, distrust, frustration, love, forgiveness, resignation, disappointment.... They all made their appearance and Eric clamped down tighter on the bond. He let his emotions swirl within him so that he could feel what he wanted to feel, just him. Then the bed began to shake and Eric looked to the side to find Sookie crying silently into her hands. He body shook the bed with the effort not to make a sound.

No matter what he felt, nothing compared to how he felt when he had to watch Sookie cry. He pushed everything away until only his love and acceptance shined through and he opened the bond again so that she could feel it from him. When she did, her tears were no longer silent. Eric pulled her into his arms and held her close as she cried and covered them both in her silver tears. He didn't try to get her to stop crying, he could feel that she needed the release, so he just held her and rubbed her back as he filled their bond with his love of her.

"It's going to be alright Sookie." He told her over and over and over again until finally the tears began to subside.

Eric grabbed the sheet and used it to wipe her tears away. Sookie lay quietly in Eric's arms and let him take care of her. They sat quietly for a moment. Each waited for the other to speak first but it was Sookie that finally broke the silence.

"I fucked up."

"Yes you did." Eric replied honestly.

"He hates me."

"I seriously doubt that."

"You hate me because I fucked up now."

"I am disappointed that you would let your temper get the best of you, especially with someone who has never given you a reason to distrust him. I think he was right about Niall. You've never seen him clearly."

"He's my family."

"Cain was family to Abel was he not?"

"You agree with Michael? You think that he should have kept Niall and Claudine from me?"

"I actually don't mind Claudine, especially if we could have figured out a way to free her of her obligation to Niall, but yes I agree with Michael."

Sookie flung herself off the bed. She was either going to be pissed or break into pieces and she refused to break into pieces. No one would ever break Sookie Stackhouse.

"I can't believe you!" Sookie spat. "Niall is my family and he would never do anything to hurt me!"

"Just like Jason would never leave you for dead?"

That brought Sookie up short. "He's my family." She repeated and even to her it sounded pathetic.

"That doesn't mean that he would never hurt you. It means that he has a greater chance of hurting you deeper than anyone else." Eric said.

Sookie hung her head. She tried to hold onto her anger but it wasn't valid or righteous and it couldn't stay. "I'm such a fuck up."

Eric walked around the bed and pulled Sookie into his body. "Yes you are but I love you anyway."

She laughed abruptly and hit Eric in the side. "Asshole."

"Of course." Eric laughed with her. "It's why you love me." They laughed and the stress of the room broke.

"I think that I've been under too much stress for too long. I think that we need to have some fun." Sookie declared as she stepped away from Eric. "How about we hit the casinos?"

"As tempting as that sounds we have some work to do tonight." Eric told her.

"What is it now?"

"There are a few cases that were pending before Felipe before he died. We have to rule on them tonight." Sookie's smile faded and her shoulders slumped but Eric kept talking. "After we rule on the cases, I do have a surprise for you."

Her eyes brightened at the mention of a surprise. "I must be stressed because I'm thinking about accepting the surprise sight unseen without a fight." Eric laughed. "What kind of surprise."

"The kind that will get you to relax. The kind that will make you smile. The kind that will make you forget your troubles for a little while so that you can enjoy what's going on in the moment."

"Okay, give it up because that sounds like something I need...right now." Sookie said eagerly.

"Sorry Lover, it will have to be after the hearings." Eric told her as he wrapped her in his arms again. He leaned down so that his lips tickled her ear making her shiver. "We could be busy for hours and we will want to take our time."

Sookie shivered again before pulling herself away from Eric so she could think. "Fine, what are we hearing?"

"Three cases. The first is a blood offense between Sheriffs. The second is a contention for an opening Sheriff space. The last is the case of the three vampires that attacked Briel when she was pretending to be you." Eric told her. He walked over to the table where Sandy left all the case files on her way out of the room.

"Do you think we can put on some clothes if we are going to work?" Sookie asked as she walked over to the closet. "Or at the very least put on our robes?"

"I don't think clothes of any type would be conducive to working well." Eric said seriously.

"Nice try Northman." Sookie said as she pulled on her robe and grabbed Eric's. "Now put this on so we can get this work over with." She tossed Eric his robe and walked over to the table.

Eric followed behind her as he put his robe on too. "There are a few other things we need to talk about too."

"What's that?"

"Evelyn and we still need to interview personal security guards."

"I don't need a personal assistant and I don't need security either."

"Look Sookie, I am not letting this go. You need both. You know it. I know it. Everyone knows it. So please stop being difficult and just look through the files for both."

"I may need security but I don't need Evelyn."

"So you are going to plan our coronation all alone?" Eric asked. "You will answer letters and requests and make a calendar of important events. You'll do all that while trying to figure out what to do in order to help the magical community, which is what you said you wanted to do, and get that off the ground? How will you manage all of this Sookie?"

"I will figure it out."

"This is a part of the vampire world that you have never been in before Sookie, how will you figure it out? Who will guide you?"

"Are you saying that you won't help me?"

"No I will help you any way that I can but I cannot be your assistant. I am King which means that I have just as many responsibilities as you do if not more. I will have someone to help me. You need someone to help you too."

"Who is your assistant?"

"Right now it's Sandy. I plan on asking her to take over Victor's place in New Orleans so she will set me up with someone else soon."

"Okay, I need an assistant. Now tell me why it has to be Evelyn."

"I chose Evelyn for you as a temp until you find someone you like better. Sandy gave me a list of people that were worthy of the job and I found that Evelyn was the best suited both professionally and personality wise. I think that Evelyn will be a good fit for you, but if I am wrong then I will have Sandy will bring the other candidate files to you."

"Fine if you think that she will be a good fit then I will give her a chance."

"And the security guards?"

"Jamal, Anthony, and Noah." Sookie answered promptly.

"A personal guard is usually made up of at least six." Eric told her. He went to their luggage and grabbed his laptop before heading back to the table where Sookie still sat. When he had his computer setup he picked up the two CD's that Sandy left behind. One said Mirage Surveillance while the other said Security Candidates. He placed the security candidates CD in his computer.

A program automatically opened up and twenty files were under the shifter category and another twenty were under the vampire category. She had chosen three shifters already so he opened the vampire file first.

"Do we have to do it now?" Sookie asked as she watched the computer load the information.

"It has to be done sooner rather than later." Eric replied.

"I understand that but does it have to be done right this second?" Sookie clarified.

"If not now, when?"

"Tomorrow?" She meant for it to be a statement but it still came out as a question. "I promise to look over the candidates tomorrow and I will have three others picked out by the time you wake."

Eric studied Sookie for a moment before he nodded. "Agreed."

"Great, so let's get to the cases. The sooner we go over them, the sooner we can take a shower."

"Ooh a shower." A voice purred as the door opened. "I hope that I'm invited too."

TBC

A/N: Alright everyone, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. This chapter was a necessary transitional chapter. This will mark the wrap up of Eric and Sookie's time in Las Vegas. I wanted to show how Eric works, even when Sookie is not aware. I thought that I should make this point because Eric and Sookie do spend a lot of time together, but that doesn't mean that Eric doesn't find time to get actual work done.

No this will not be the last we've seen of Michael or the other Angels. It's just that Sookie has to find her own way and right now she's choosing the hard way. Yes Michael is maneuvering Sookie and Eric but it's not for his own gain. It's so that they won't have to take the hard road when they are already having to face so many changes in a short period of time.

If there are any questions please let me know. I am happy to answer any question that doesn't give away the ending of my story. So please review review review and hopefully I will be able to wrap up Las Vegas in the next chapter. Until next chapter....