CHAPTER 55

"Good morning everyone," I said as Grace handed me my first cup of coffee for the day.

Grace seemed to be in her element with guests in the house and was smiling happily. I think she thought that company was good for me. In any case, she had put on a spread fit for a king.

My suspicions about where the Britlingens had spent the night were confirmed when I joined them at the breakfast table. The two women, though they didn't look like they had an extra pound between them, seemed to be packing in just about everything Grace put in front of them. They both greeted me cheerfully, so I assumed they had had a good night.

Claudine was wide awake, well fed, clean and dry, so she had smiles for everyone. I put her in her little seat and joined Batanya and Clovache in wolfing down the sausage, pancakes and eggs that Grace heaped on my plate. I think Eric must have had more than his fair share the night before, since I was starving.

The night before had been interesting in more than one respect. I had left the poolside when it looked like the occupants were going to start leaving the water. It was one thing to see Eric's naked dive, and even to see the vague outline of everyone obviously naked in the pool, but quite another to hang out with them in that state of undress when they came out. I didn't know if I would ever be as comfortable with nudity as most of the supes were.

I was still a little surprised at myself that I'd gone outside at all, especially after lecturing Eric about modesty in front of the baby. But the baby had been wrapped up over my shoulder and…oh, I didn't really know anymore. More and more of the things that had seemed so black and white to me, were now starting to look awfully gray. There were other things to focus on besides that today though.

I had wanted to discuss the conversation with the Britlingens with Eric the night before, but my body had been too tired to stay awake. I didn't get to pick my sleep schedule these days. Claudine ruled the roost. Granted, I could try one of those methods some of the books recommended to get her to sleep on a "schedule", but that seemed wrong on so many levels. When a baby wanted to be comforted, to just let her cry herself back to sleep was something I couldn't do. So I slept when she slept, and sometimes that was when I had other things I should be doing.

Sitting there with a forkful of pancake halfway to my lips, my mind going over the incidents of the night before, I all of a sudden realized that I had been spoken to.

"Pardon me?" I said to Grace.

"Your brother called this morning," she said.

"Oh, thank you, Grace. Did he leave a message?"

"Just for you to call him back."

"You have a brother?" Batanya asked with real interest. She had finally stopped eating, maybe because there wasn't any food left in the house. Where did she put it? I could feel my breakfast going straight to my hips.

"Oh yes. Jason. He is a few years older than me. He lives in Bon Temps, where my family has lived for generations."

"Ah," she said and she and Clovache gave each other significant looks. I wasn't sure if the interesting part of my comment had been about Jason or about Bon Temps. What had Claudine said about Bon Temps? I tried to remember. Something about it being an important crossroads, between the three worlds? It was something like that anyway, and I was sure there must be a portal of some kind near there, since the fairies popped in and out of there so easily. I pulled my attention back to my company.

"He is like you?" Clovache asked and then looked at Grace as if to ask if it was okay to speak frankly in front of the housekeeper.

"Well, I guess he looks a bit like me, blond, blue eyes. That's about all the resemblance there is, wouldn't you say so, Grace?"

I threw that in, just so they'd know that Grace knew about all of the family's dirty laundry. That wasn't strictly true, but housekeepers found out just about everything, didn't they? And that was fine with me and Eric. We trusted in Grace's discretion.

"Jason is definitely his own creature," Grace replied cryptically.

I wondered what Jason had found out about Dermott. I needed to call him, but I was reluctant to say too much to him without Eric knowing what was going on. I'd put off meeting with Dermott for a bit, until we found out what the Britlingens could come up with.

Thinking of Jason made me think of the other member of my family, Hunter. I needed to call him too and let him know that I was thinking about him. He wanted to see the baby and I had held him and Remy off so far, saying that I wasn't quite recovered, but eventually I needed to address that issue. I had a feeling there was more and more reason to keep his existence secret from the supernatural community, and Hunter learning to control his telepathy was the only way to insure that it was kept a secret. I was the one that would need to teach him that.

I decided to change the subject from my concerns to theirs. They had asked about family, I could do the same.

"Do you have any brothers? Do the men in your…uh…world…also become…uh…warriors?"

I didn't know much about their world. I had heard it referred to as another dimension, but I couldn't quite wrap my mind around that concept. Wasn't that what Einstein was all about? I was never really good at science.

"Yes, I have four brothers," Batanya said, "all older. I am the only one in the family to join the Guild though. We have men in our ranks of course, and some of them are even good at what they do."

"Some of them," Clovache said, rolling her eyes. I guess they had the same Venus/Mars debate in their dimension as we had on ours. Obviously their women were "liberated" if they were allowed to work as paid bodyguards.

"I guess your world is pretty different from ours?"

"In some respects. We are a little bit more racially diverse and a little bit less dependent on technology. But the issues are the same: power, politics, social conditions, money."

"Life, death, love, sex, food," Batanya added.

"I guess all of that is universal," I agreed. "But the way the issues are dealt with is surely different."

"Some of that depends on the race of course. The vampires, for example, don't have to decide what to cook for dinner," Clovache said and we all laughed.

"That might make things simpler, but not necessarily easier," Grace chimed in from the sink where she was washing up.

"You hit the nail on the head," I responded to Grace, and got confused looks from the two Britlingens.

"One of the differences I guess. Idioms that don't translate very well," Clovache said.

"You don't need different worlds for that, you just need different languages."

I had found more than once that Eric, who had an amazing command of the English language, would be stumped by one of my southern sayings.

"Perhaps the most profound difference between your world and ours, is the acceptance of magic," Batanya said.

"Some of our world has accepted vampires, and now the two-natured," I said. "But I don't know if that acceptance will ever extend to witches and fairies, the ones that produce magic."

'Perhaps the vampires are already paving the way to acceptance," Clovache said.

"Unlike the vampires," Grace said, "I must decide what we are having for dinner, and head off to the market. Is there anything I can get for you? Will you be staying on?"

This remark was addressed to the two Britlingens and they looked at each other, holding the kind of silent conversation you often see take place between a long married couple. I suppose being partnered for a long time in life and death situations would bring about the closeness you might see in a marriage. A nod from Batanya prompted Clovache to speak.

"We would appreciate your hospitality for the coming night. It would be a shame to miss your delicious cooking at dinner, and the Halloween party of course. Tomorrow, we will return home and see what progress can be made on the task you have set for us."

The rest of the day passed quickly. We played with Claudine, compared battle scars (literally) and in general just enjoyed the girl talk. I got a chance to hear a little more about their world and some of the other races they had encountered. When it got to the differences between human males and some of the more exotic creatures that existed, the "differences" made me blush. The Britlingens found that extremely amusing. I might be bedding a vampire, but I was a babe in the woods next to these girls.

We were all skirting around the issues of angels and fairies. I was being cautious because Eric had seemed so concerned about giving anyone more information than was absolutely necessary, the loose lips sink ships kind of thing. I thought they were avoiding the issue unless Eric was present. They might be good at killing vampires, but no one really wanted to piss off Eric. I guess that in the supernatural community, I was sort of Eric's property, and he was the King after all.

After an early dinner -- the Britlingens again astounding me with their appetites -- I decided to call my brother back before it was time to get ready to head to Fangtasia. The party didn't start until nine, but we would go to the club at first dark to meet with the press and get into our costumes.

"Listen, Jason, I have a lot going on, so I'll have to get back to you about meeting with Dermott. I think Eric is going to insist on being there."

"Well, he says he'll meet you at Gran's place. He says he has a lot to tell you, and he said something about some key that's at Gran's. You know anything about that?"

I noticed he was calling the house Gran's place instead of mine. He was probably still mad that Gran had left the house to me, instead of to both of us, even though he had our folk's place. Well, I wasn't going to say anything about that. I'd had enough fights with my brother and I wasn't going to waste my time or energy over old wounds, especially since my brother couldn't see reason until it hit him in the face.

"The whole drawer of keys in the kitchen got melted, Jason. I threw them away when we tore everything down. Terry took all that stuff to the dump."

That at least was the truth, as far as it went. I had "the" key in my underwear drawer. Thomas had burned his finger on it the last time he'd been poking around in my stuff and I'd had to wrap the silver key up in a pair of socks, even though it served Thomas right if he was going to poke his fingers where they didn't belong. Until I knew for sure what it was for and why Dermott wanted it, I was keeping the key's location to myself.

"You know, sometimes I can't figure that guy out, Sis." As if Jason could figure out anything besides his truck and which way to point his shotgun. Actually, I was surprised he hadn't shot himself in the foot yet.

"You going to Sam's for Halloween tonight, Jason?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah, I guess. He's gonna do a party like he did last year. You goin' to that big thing at Fangtasia? Everybody's talking about it. I was thinking about goin', but it's all sold out. Can you get me in?"

"I think you'd better just go to Sam's, Jason, and you tell everybody there I said howdy."

There was no way I wanted to have Jason to deal with at Fangtasia, especially with the press there. I felt a little pang when I remembered the pumpkins and dancing skeletons we had used to decorate Merlotte's the year before. I missed the place sometimes.

"Okay, Sis. You let me know when you want to come see Dermott, and I'll tell him. And you give that baby a kiss for me. I'll come by and see her soon. Maybe that housekeeper of yours will have some of that pecan pie. She's an odd little lady, but her pie is almost as good as Gran's."

"Okay, Jason. You do that and I'll ask Grace about the pie. Bye."

The club was surrounded by guards when we arrived, the whole family plus the Britlingens driving up in a caravan. It had been a little bit of a challenge to get Claudine in her car seat for the drive.

"The baby will be perfectly safe in my arms, Sookie, and much more comfortable than in those restraints. I can hold onto her in a crash," Eric had argued with me.

Pam, who was getting into the driver's seat, had to throw in her two cent's worth.

"I've been driving since Henry Ford was alive, and I haven't had a crash yet, Sookie. I don't intend to start tonight."

"We'll get pulled over and get a ticket. The law says she has to be in a car seat, Eric."

"Any trooper that attempts to issue me a citation will live to regret it, Lover."

"Whether the policeman regrets it or not, Eric, is not the point. You aren't going to win this one, and I'm not getting into the car unless the baby is in her car seat."

Eric, looking exasperated, decided to give up. He knew how stubborn I could be when it came to the baby. He signaled Pam to get out and hand over the keys. I guess he figured if he wasn't going to win this battle, he was damned well not going to be a passenger in the car when he could be the driver. Pam, puffing up like a blowfish with indignation, handed over the keys and gave me the evil eye.

"She is so much trouble," she mumbled to Jordun, who was standing by the car looking amused.

"I heard that, Pam!" I said while I tried to figure out how to buckle in Claudine without scrunching up her wings too much.

Jordun had arranged for a weapons checkpoint, complete with bomb sniffing weres at the entrances, since this was a high profile event, and because I was going to be there with the baby. I was shuffled straight from the car into the employee entrance, with Claudine well covered by a blanket over my shoulder. Mr. Johnson would be meeting us inside to help us with our costumes.

Jan's original painting for the Halloween extravaganza poster now held a place of honor in Eric's office and I saw it for the first time. It was wonderful. Shining angels, one of them looking a lot like me, dominated the sky. Their multicolored wings were unfurled and their hands extended to the ground below, where devils, horned and tailed, reached up from the underworld. In the middle, the vampires danced in the moonlight, their fangs glistening. Along one side, white letters on a red background said simply, "Fangtasia".

It took a while to get dressed, and to get Claudine into her little outfit. . I had decided there was no point in going as fairies. We might as well play up the angel wings, making them look more purposefully part of her costume.

Claudine was dressed in a flowing gown made of a gauzy, shimmering fabric, hot pink with black trim and little golden sequins finishing off the edges. A golden halo fitted onto a little headband completed the look.

After I had the baby dressed, Mr. Johnson helped me to fit the harness that would carry my wings over my slip. My gown was the same as Claudine's, but where hers was pink, mine was black, with pink trim. The bodice was an empire waist style, the fabric drawn up under my breasts with a golden cord, the skirt flowing to the floor, almost concealing my gold sandals.

My wings were even more startling than the baby's. The feathers were dyed the same pink as the gowns, and extended from ear level to the bottom of my butt. They fastened to the harness between my shoulder blades. They were cleverly hinged, with small straps that went around my wrists so that when I moved my arms, the wings moved too. They were beautiful. After putting on my own golden halo, I stood in front of the mirror in Eric's office, holding Claudine. Our mother-daughter outfits just looked striking.

When Eric came in, all I could do was gape, my mouth wide open. Catching flies, Gran would have said. My vampire looked absolutely amazing. His lower body was encased in shimmering black dance tights, soft leather boots covered his calves and extended to a cuff just above his knees. His shirt was a tunic of a semi-sheer fabric, ending a little below his waist, which was encircled, with a cord matching the one fitted snugly under my breasts. His wings were the black of night and towered above his head, cascading in a veil of feathers to the floor. On his head, instead of the golden halo that Claudine and I wore, were two golden horns.

Eric surveyed Claudine and me in our finery and gave me a devilish grin.

"Heavenly," he said and kissed me soundly.

Jordun and Pam knocked tentatively on the door and after a "Come in" from Eric, strode into the office.

"Well, Sookie, don't you look good enough to eat," she said, earning a not too serious growl from Eric.

Pam and Jordun were in matching outfits (the uniform for the guards tonight, I thought) consisting of a stretchy black body suit and black leather boots. Pam was sporting a pair of small wings and Jordun was wearing a set of horns and a forked tail. After admiring how wonderful they both looked in their skin-tight outfits, I let out the laugh that had been building inside.

"Seriously, Jordun. How much did he have to pay you to wear that tail?" I asked.

"Not enough," Jordun replied.

Pam snuck up beside him and pulled on the tail and Jordun definitely looked as if he thought he should have asked for more. Eric ignored this interchange although our bond was humming with amusement.

"Are you ready for the reporters, Kjære?" Eric asked me. I nodded, although I wasn't sure that I would ever really be ready for this. I sat down on the stool that had been provided for me, since the wings made it difficult to sit in a regular chair. Eric stood behind us.

When Jordun opened the door, I could hear the beat of the music and the sounds of voices, talking and laughing from inside the club. The party had started then. Jordun signaled for the small group waiting outside the door to come in.

There were two women and four men, two of whom were carrying large cameras with microphones attached. They all looked excited and every pair of eyes widened when they caught site of Eric in his outfit, then drifted to me and the baby. As they filed in, Claudine smiled at everyone and was rewarded with an answering smile. I doubted there was anyone that could see the baby's smile and not smile back. Eric took the lead, but I knew that I would have to answer questions.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to our Halloween celebration. I would like to present my wife Sookie, and my daughter Claudine. In consideration of the age of the baby, it may be necessary to limit the use of flash photography if it appears to upset her. You may ask questions."

Instantly the group called out with questions, and Eric signaled one young woman that he would take her question first. He gave her one of his big, beautiful smiles and she swallowed a few times before she asked her question.

"Mr. Northman, according to the American Vampire League, vampires are completely sterile, and yet you have a child. Is it true that vampires cannot breed?"

"Yes, it is true that vampires cannot reproduce in the traditional manner."

"Mrs. Northman, would you like to comment on that?" the next reporter asked. He was a middle-aged man whose waistline had seen better days, but his eyes were bright and alert with intelligence. I asked his name.

"Mr. Forbes, I'm afraid I'm not completely comfortable discussing such a personal matter with anyone besides my husband and my doctor." Actually I think my face had turned a little red, but I maintained my smile. "But, as my Gran would have said, 'There's more than one way to skin a cat.' Let's just say that Eric is not the biological father." That was pretty vague, but there was no way I was going to talk about how this had come about. Let them draw their own conclusions and assume it was in-vitro or something.

"Mrs. Northman, you were hospitalized and your grandmother was murdered by a man with a vendetta against women that associate with vampires? Are you aware of continuing threats to you or your daughter now that you are married to a vampire?" This question was from the other male, a tall, dark haired man with one of those faces that was completely forgettable, but who obviously spent his spare time on the track or in the gym.

"My Gran believed that everyone was created by God for a purpose on this earth. She felt that the vampires were a great source of insight into our past history, and that if we could set aside our fear of what we didn't understand, there was much that they could teach us. I miss her every day. I would hope that more people will come to see the vampires in the same light that my grandmother saw them, and that no one would consider harming this beautiful child."

"Mr. Northman, how are you adjusting to being a father?" the middle-aged blond woman asked Eric.

"Ms?" "Ellen Grainger," the reporter supplied. "Ms. Grainger, I believe it to be the most rewarding experience of any man's life. And it is very convenient that I am up at night, since babies do seem to like to be up at that time too," Eric said with a grin, putting his hand onto my shoulder and looking down at Claudine.

"And you believe that a human child is safe in a vampire family?"

"Absolutely. She has charmed vampire and human alike, and we will all do whatever we can to see that she reaches her full potential and lives in a safe and secure environment."

Ellen Grainger looked pretty charmed too, but with Eric I thought. Every woman appreciates a man that loves kids, especially when they also happened to look like sex on legs.

A tall man with a commanding presence stepped forward and signaled the cameraman accompanying him to move in a little closer.

"Would either of you comment on the rumor that the baby has fangs? And if so, what does she eat?"

Eric produced a very low chuckle before he took that question. "It is perhaps a good thing for my wife's sake that Claudine has no teeth at all yet, since Sookie is breastfeeding the baby. I believe it will be some months before we will need to be concerned with teething, and since she is not vampire, fangs will not be a problem."

"I'm just hoping she won't need braces down the line," I added and several of the reporters nodded in sympathy with that. No doubt they had had to deal with that expensive and uncomfortable situation with their own kids.

"Mr. Northman," Mr. Forbes asked, moving the subject away from the baby. "You will be opening another branch of Fangtasia in Las Vegas soon. Do you plan to expand anywhere else?"

"We will be opening that branch soon, and depending on its success, we are considering a branch in New Orleans. My wife and I will be spending more time in the Big Easy, and hope to do our part to help the city regain its former glory by investing in its future."

Claudine yawned about this time, and if there had been any doubts about her toothless state, it was plain to see that she didn't have fangs at least. Eric held up his hand to forestall any other questions.

"Now, ladies and gentlemen, as you can see, it is time for the baby to take a little nap, and time for my wife and I to greet our guests and join the Halloween celebration."

"You all are welcome to stay for the party. I am sure Felicia at the bar will be glad to fix something special for you," I offered with as much sincerity as I could muster.

A chorus of thank-you's came from the reporters and I stood up to give them each my hand as they filed out of the office. Not one had commented on Claudine's wings, and I think between their curiosity about whether she had fangs and the abundance of feathers that were present on our costumes, no one had really looked at them that closely at all. Nothing I had heard from the reporters' brains had seemed to indicate that they thought Claudine was anything but human. I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding.

"I think that went well," I said.

"Yes, Lover, very well. They were very gentle with us. You both looked beautiful, and I think the press will be satisfied for a short while in any case. Now, I think it is time we made an appearance." He looked at Pam and she went to get Thalia.

There was no way I was going to take Claudine into the noisy bar crowded with drunken patrons, not to mention having her in that atmosphere was like an invitation to the press to find fault with our parenting. So, Claudine would stay in Eric's office while I went into the party for a while.

Thalia had been at cross-purposes who to guard while the baby and I were separated, but Eric had assigned her to Claudine. Not only was Thalia just about the biggest threat in his kingdom, but she really hadn't wanted to be at the party in the first place. Thomas and Pam were assigned to me and the rest of the family would be close by, enthralling the vermin as Pam said, in case of problems.

Thalia came into the office, looking sullen at having been made to wear her costume. Daniel came in behind her to take up his post as second guard. I choked back my laughter at seeing our "bull dog" of a vampire in her body suit and wings. Thalia's sullenness turned to pride when I placed Claudine in her open arms. She almost beamed at being chosen to babysit Claudine, if a vampire could be said to beam, that is.

Thalia stationed herself on Eric's couch and began to coo at the baby, while I explained to Daniel all the circumstances under which he was to come and get me immediately.

"I'll only be about half an hour," I assured Daniel.

I wanted to see the bar decorations and I wanted enough time to have a dance with my husband. It struck me that it had been a really long time since I had been out in the real world, away from my little vampire haven, and I wanted to enjoy it. I guess I was visibly nervous about leaving the baby though, because Eric assured me that everything would be fine, kissed the top of Claudine's head and steered me out of the door before I could change my mind about leaving the baby.

Pam led me to our reserved booth in the front of the bar, near where Eric would be making his grand appearance, and signaled Felicia to bring me a drink. Batanya and Clovache were already seated at the table, and it looked like they hadn't needed to get a costume, since their usual uniform looked like dress-up anyway to the humans. They were getting quite a few appreciative stares from the single guys, and I was too. Hot pink wings will catch most people's eye. I tucked the wings in as well as I could to fit my costume and myself into a seat. Thomas, not seemingly bothered by his devil suit, stood watch next to the table.

Felicia came scurrying over, making her usual obeisance and handed me a ginger ale. At least she was no longer under orders to only supply me with milk, although I would have loved to have a gin and tonic. I wasn't drinking alcohol while I was breast-feeding though. I thanked her and complimented her on how good she looked as an angel.

"Thank you, Mistress. We are very happy to see you back," she said, reminding me again that I had been a homebody for way too long. We definitely needed to find a way that Claudine and I could get out into the world more.

The vampires had gone all out to make the bar look especially good for the Halloween party. There were broad expanses of black and silver fabric adorning the walls, and orange fairy lights twinkled by the thousands it seemed. Each table was draped in black cloth and topped with fanged pumpkins and miniature coffins. There were bowls filled with small candies for the humans and the drink special for the night was a Bloody Mary.

The room was filled to capacity with costumed revelers and vampires, all of whom looked like they were having a good time. Many were dancing already to the selections of piped in music, although the all-vampire band had just set up and hadn't yet begun to play. I had barely gotten settled with my drink when an announcement came over the speaker welcoming everyone to Fangtasia for the "Angels and Demons" Halloween Party.

"We would like to begin tonight's revelry by introducing your host, Eric Northman," the speaker announced.

The music died, the lights dimming slightly, and the patrons aimed their eyes at the front of the room where the band was queuing up to play. Slipping quietly in from behind the stage's curtain in his dark costume, Eric winked at me and then propelled himself into the air.

His spread his wings and the spotlight caught his perfectly poised body as he flew into the room, the crowd gasping in surprise and breaking into cheers as the band struck up the chords of "Sympathy for the Devil".

Author's note: May I suggest "Sympathy for the Devil" by Guns N' Roses, or for those more traditionally inclined, by the Rolling Stones.

Thank you to Ms. Charlaine Harris for creating the wonderful characters in this story. All rights belong to her. I am just borrowing them.