All characters belong to Charlaine Harris and Alan Ball. I, unfortunately, own nothing but the typos.


I stretched my body in the sand, luxuriating in the feel of the warm grains beneath my back. The midday sun was strong in the beautiful city of San Juan. I'd been in Puerto Rico a week now and I was feeling great. The sun had done its job and I felt like my batteries were recharged.

I sat up and reached for my water bottle. This section of beach was fairy deserted, but I searched the beach regardless, checking in on each brain I found. Satisfied I had nothing to worry about, I lay back in the golden sands. I'd decided I'd spent enough time running away. I planned on returning to Bon Temps in another day but I was determined to get as golden as I could in my remaining days. It was almost winter in Bon Temps.

I'd spent the first couple of days here in a rage, anger consuming my every waking thought. It even seeped into my dreams; they'd been horrid and depressing ever since that night. I'd dreamed of nothing but Eric's imminent death, or my own bloody demise. Neither made me happy, or did anything to improve my grouchy mood.

It was the third day before I felt myself coming back into my body. I'd spent as much time as I could outdoors, which wasn't hard since my nightmares woke me at dawn each morning. It was either lie in bed and think of what I'd lost, or haul my pathetic ass out of bed and go join the world outside. I was sure to be back in my room every night by dark. I didn't know if there were vampires here, but I was taking no chances.

I ate my dinner alone every evening, forcing myself to consume the tasty cuisine. I had no appetite and other than the light dinner I consumed in the evenings, I mostly existed on fruit. I was certain I'd lost weight during the past week; my bikini bottoms felt decidedly roomier than before. I wasn't worried. I had enough extra padding to support me and I knew my appetite would return eventually. Just as soon as my heart stopped bleeding.

I found a secluded cove a half an hour from the main beach and I returned there every morning to practice my magic. I was pleased with my progress. Anger may have been my fuel, but the results were the same. My control was becoming precise. I could juggle my light in my palms like I'd been doing it all my life.

My shields were stronger, which I was sure was a result of my increasing magic. I practiced using them and strengthening them in the evenings, using the other guest's brains for practice. After a couple of nights, I realized I could isolate a particular brain on any floor in the hotel. It was easy. It wasn't even difficult to monitor different thoughts from people located floors apart. It was a pleasant side-effect, if unexpected.

Wanting to be tanned evenly all over, I turned over onto my stomach, reaching behind me and brushing the sand from my ass and upper thighs. I scanned my surroundings again before settling back into my thoughts.

I was ready physically to go back and face my life, even though I had no clue what I was going to do with myself. All of my plans had centered on Eric. With him out of my life, I didn't even know if I wanted to stay in Bon Temps any longer, even if I would always call it home. I wondered if it would be difficult to live so close to him, but not have him loving me anymore.

The ramifications of the contract I signed with him weighed heavily in my mind. I didn't object to holding up my end of the deal, if I had to, but I would insist Pam be the vampire to accompany me on any jobs I had to do. I really hoped Eric would let me out of the contract all together if I decide to leave the state. I didn't know if it would be possible, but it was something I resolved to find out.

I didn't need to work to support myself any longer, but I couldn't fathom my entire life stretching before me with nothing to fill my days. Perhaps when I decide where I am going to live, I could open a small business doing something, but I didn't know what. I figured something would come to me eventually. I had options, which was the important thing. I wasn't stuck.

Emotionally, though, I was still a bit of a wreck. I was managing to hold back the tears in the daytimes, but there was no respite for me in the nights. The loneliness became too much in the dark and I still cried myself to sleep every single evening. My secluded cove gave me something other than a place to practice magic in peace. It allowed me a place to hide until the puffiness and blotchiness receded from my face.

The nights were easier to be than the mornings, I thought. At least when my tears came and claimed me, I could give myself over to them freely. The mornings brought clarity to my overwhelmed senses. I had nothing to hide behind. I quickly realized channeling my rage and hurt into my magic was the only way to escape the churning thoughts rampaging through my exhausted brain.

A shadow fell across my back and I squinted up to see what was blocking my precious sun. A large figure loomed over me and I cursed myself for not paying better attention to my surroundings. I scrambled to my feet, assuming a defensive posture.

"Hey!" The man laughed, holding his hands up in mock surrender. "Sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you." He smiled easily, showing strong white teeth.

I studied the man before me carefully. He was about six feet tall, with a muscular build. He wasn't nearly as big as Eric, or even Alcide, but his physique was impressive. His black hair fell in unruly waves over a wide forehead capping deep-set green eyes. He was attractive, but I knew that meant nothing. I opened my mind fully and reached out for his.

I took an instinctive step back at what I found. His brain bore the same signature as Claudine's and Niall's. He was fairy.

"What do you want?" I asked warily. My guard was firmly in place. I could feel my light tingling in my palms, ready to be unleashed. I hoped I could hold my own against another fairy, should it come to that.

"I truly mean you no harm," he replied. "I smelled your magic on the beach the past couple of mornings. I only meant to introduce myself. My name is Preston Pardloe."

I cursed my stupidity. I never thought anyone would pick up on my morning activities. It was stupid, too, considering Amelia had explained to me how every magic had its own signature. I remembered her telling me how any supernatural being would smell magic unless it was cloaked. I still had no idea how to cloak my magic, or even if I could.

"It's nice to meet you, Preston. I'm Karen," I replied. Karen Strickland was the name I was traveling under. It was the name in one of the three fake passports Mr. Cataliades had provided for me. Karen Strickland was a teacher from Naples, Florida.

"Where are you from, Karen?" he asked curiously. I frowned before replying tersely, "Florida."

He laughed. "No, I meant what part of Fae are you from?"

I stared at him, wondering if he was being friendly or nosy. I decided to be briefly honest, in either case.

"I'm mostly human," I stated firmly. "I've never been to Fae."

His face showed his surprise. "Really? Your spark is so strong."

"Yeah, well, I wouldn't know that. I've nothing to compare it to."

"I could join you in the morning," he offered suddenly and unexpectantly. "You could show me what you can do. I could maybe offer you some pointers, if you like."

My suspicion skyrocketed, but I also felt guilty. I was condemning him on sight. He'd really done nothing wrong. Claudine had told me most fairies were very open and friendly with everyone they meet. They were a very social race.

"I appreciate it, but I won't be going tomorrow." I had planned to; in fact, I had been looking forward to my last morning on the beach. But I didn't think it was a good idea any longer.

"That's too bad," he replied. "You are vacationing here?"

"Yes. Tomorrow is my last day here." I squat to retrieve my water bottle and beach bag. I kept my eyes trained on him the entire time. "It as a pleasure to meet you, but I really must be going."

"Perhaps I will see you later," he replied with a smile. "It's always nice to run into another fairy in this realm. It can be lonely here, you know?"

Guilt really ripped into me this time. I felt like a complete heel for brushing him off, but guilty or not, I knew I had to look after myself first. And that included staying away from all supernatural beings for now.

"As I said, Preston, I've lived here my whole life. I wouldn't know," I replied with a small smile of my own. "I really must be going. Good bye."

I turned and hurried off down the beach. I didn't look back, but I could feel his eyes on me the whole way. I turned and hurried up the path to the pool area of the resort. I was annoyed my paradise had been disturbed. I didn't want to return to my room, but neither did I want to chance running into the fairy again. I walked to the bar area and sat down, careful to keep my shields open and scanning the crowd.

"Hola, Ms. Karen," the bartender greeted me warmly. He'd introduced himself to me my first day here, after I'd ventured downstairs with enormous sunglasses covering most of my face. 'I'm Juan. I put the Juan in San Juan. You need anything while you are here, I'm your man, okay?'. He'd been nothing short of charming every time I'd seen him since. And he made a killer frozen fruit smoothie.

"Hola, Juan," I smiled brightly in welcome. "How are you?"

"Bright as the sun, Ms. Karen, bright as the sun." His reply never wavered, nor did his warm smile. "You want your usual?"

"Yes, please." I watched as he deftly chopped fresh, juicy fruit into small chunks and threw them into the blender. Ice cubes joined the mix, and a splash of fresh squeezed pineapple juice completed the recipe. The blender whirred and I watched as the mixture swirled, all the components coming together.

Juan poured the cold mixture into a tall, wavy glass he'd garnished with a slice of fresh pineapple. Laying it in front of me with a flourish, he smiled and leaned across the bar.

"Can I get you anything else?" he asked solicitously.

"Maybe you could give me some ideas what to do with my day?" I couldn't face sitting alone in my room all day. I knew what it would mean – too much time to think. "I think I need to get off the resort for the day."

"My cousin, she gives good tours of old San Juan. Want me to see if she is around today?" His warm brown eyes were guileless. I trusted him, even though I couldn't follow a word of the rapid fire Spanish dialogue running through his brain.

"That might be fun," I replied, warming to the idea as I thought of it. Other than the resort, I had seen nothing of the historic city I was visiting. Perhaps a day of sightseeing and history lessons might be just the ticket. "If she's available, I'd love to book her for the afternoon." I had no qualms about her. If she was even half as nice as Juan, I'm sure we'd get along fine for the day.

My friendly bartender went off to make his phone calls, and I sipped on my smoothie. I knew by this point I would be investing in a better blender when I went home. These things were delicious, but I didn't think Gran's old one would be up to the task. I allowed myself to allow a touch of anticipation to build up. I deserved to have some fun, I thought.

And it did turn out to be fun. Juan's cousin had turned out to be a warm, vivacious woman who rivaled her cousin's easy-going temperament. If anything, Lucia was even more entertaining. The woman had an acute sense of fun, and a wicked sense of humor. She'd kept me laughing for most of the day.

We spent the first part of the afternoon at the San Juan National Historic Site, touring the old World Heritage Site. I found it particularly interesting, especially since I remembered reading an old romance of Gran's that was set in San Juan during the time the military forts were in use. I was only about sixteen at the time, and had been completely swept away by the romantic tale of the Spanish military officer, and the penniless, but beautiful, Puerto Rican girl he'd fallen for.

We took a break mid-afternoon and visited a local café that was run by yet another cousin. Lucia had laughed when I asked how many cousins she had, telling me there were a couple of hundred, if you counted all the meandering family tree. Many of them, she related sadly, had moved to live on the mainland, but the family remaining in Puerto Rico was exceptionally close.

I felt a moment of envy and wistfulness as she spoke of their close-knit clan, but I brushed it off as best I could. I wouldn't begrudge Lucia and Juan the incredible luck they'd had to be born into such a huge family. I just wished I had been as lucky.

The café turned out to be delightful; a small, colorful building boasting a small interior and expansive outside deck. We picked a table for two on the deck and settled under the patio umbrellas. As much of a sun worshipper as I was, even I was grateful for the shade for a little while. It was still almost ninety five degrees.

"So what brings you to San Juan, Karen?" Lucia asked.

"A bad break-up," I admitted shortly. I was already feeling bad for using my fake name. I didn't want to lie any more than I had to.

"Ah, men," she replied whimsically. "Can't live with them, can't kill them."

Her words struck me so funny. I laughed genuinely for the first time in days.

"You got that right," I finally said, wiping the tears of laughter from my lower eyelashes. "Even though we might want to," I added. I had threatened to blow Eric into a million pieces.

"I'm sorry to hear about your troubles, Karen," Lucia reached out and patted my hand. "A broken heart is a tragedy."

"Well, it's certainly no barrel of laughs," I agreed grimly.

"Is there no hope?" she asked kindly.

"No. I walked in on him with another woman," I paused, trying to compose myself. "He asked if I wanted to join them," I choked out quietly. That invitation had struck me with the force of a tsunami. He could never have loved me, ever, I thought bleakly. There hadn't been a flicker of the love I'd thought I'd seen before in his eyes. He'd stood there brazenly, nothing but lust shining in his bright blue eyes. My own eyes closed tightly, trying to burn his image from my mind.

Lucia again laid her hand on mine, but this time she let it lay there in a gesture of comfort. She patiently waited for me to compose myself. I took a sip of my water, followed by a couple of deep breaths.

"I'm sorry," I said, "I don't mean to burden you with my problems. It's still just very fresh in my mind, you know?"

"We've all had our hearts broken, my friend," she offered sympathetically. "Trust me when I say I understand your situation."

"It's the first time for me," I admitted sadly. "He was my first love." And probably my last, I thought bitterly. I didn't know if my heart would ever recover from the damage he'd inflicted. And even if it did, who was I going to date?

"That's rough," she agreed. "How long were you together?"

I laughed. Such a simple question, with such a complicated answer. "I've known him most of my life, in one sense or another. But we only got together not long ago."

"There are plenty of fish in the sea," she said firmly. "There will be one who will love you as you are meant to be loved. When you choose your soul mate, you will be bonded with love. I can feel it."

Her proclamation took me back. Her words reminded me so much of my situation with Eric. It was eerie. Choosing, bonding – these were things I'd done with Eric. They were not things I would ever do again.

"Perhaps," I said lightly. "Time will tell."

The timely appearance of the waiter saved me from further conversation about my love life. After our orders were placed, the conversation naturally drifted to other subjects. The remainder of our lunch, and afternoon, was spent in enjoyable spirits. Lucia truly was great company.

After promising faithfully to look her up again should I ever come back to San Juan, I made my way back to my hotel room. Sunset was barely a half hour away. I placed a room service order for a light supper, and hurried to shower while I was waiting for my service to arrive. I wasn't hungry yet, but it was my habit to order early. I didn't even want to open the door to my room at night.

I was just dressed when the knock came on the door. They were fast this evening, I thought. I opened the door and cursed myself again for never learning from my mistakes.

"Hello, Karen."


Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed a little look into Sookie's mindset.