I hope you enjoyed the previous chapter. I want to thank everybody who took the time to read the story. I am definitely enjoying this and I hope you're enjoying it too.

Disclaimer: Disclaimer: I don't own the story or the characters. They belong to the author Charlaine Harris. I am just borrowing them for fun.

Chapter 2

Cara Ambroselli called me first thing Monday morning, which was not a great way to start the week. "I need you to come to the station so I can ask a few more questions," she said, and she sounded so brisk and awake that I could easily dislike her.

"I've told you everything I know," I said, trying to sound alert.

"We're going over everything again," she said. "I know you're as anxious as we all are to find out who caused this poor woman's death."

There was only one possible response. "I'll be there in a couple of hours," I said, trying not to sound sullen. "I'll have to ask my boss if I can be late to work."

That really wasn't going to be an issue since I was scheduled to work the later shift, but I was grumpy enough to drag my heels. I did call Jason to tell him where I was going, because I think someone always needs to know where you are if you're going into a police station.

"That's no good, Sis," he said. "You need a lawyer?"

"No, but I'm taking a number with me just in case," I said. I looked at the front of the refrigerator until I spotted the "Osiecki and Hilburn" business card. "Jason maybe we can have dinner together soon?" I asked him hoping that he would say yes. Jason has grown a lot and maybe he could give me some advice about Eric.

"Sure sis. Let me know when it's good with your working schedule. Can I bring Michelle?" he asked me and I could feel his anxiety building up.

"How about this time we make it for only you and me, and next time we can plan it with her."

He was silent for a few seconds, but eventually agreed. There was no way I could talk about Eric in front of Michelle. After a few pleasantries and a promised dinner date we hanged up. I made sure my cell phone was charged. Just to cover all kinds of crises, I put the cluviel dor into my purse.

I drove to Shreveport mindlessly. My mind was definitely on Eric, Felipe, and this woman that got killed. I hadn't had anything to do with the death of Kym Rowe, but I'd been involved in sufficient bad stuff to make me nervous when I came under official scrutiny.

Police stations are not happy places at the best of times. If you're a telepath with a guilty conscience, this unhappiness is just about doubled. I was so nervous that I was having a hard time keeping my telepathy under control. I could read everybody's mind here even though I really didn't want to; from guilty ones to accomplice to frustrated parents whose son got arrested for rape.

It was a positive treat to see T-Rex come out of a door, apparently leaving the building. He glanced my way, kept moving, but did a double take. After a short conversation, I was ready to get this over with.

Cara Ambroselli was a little dynamo. She asked me the same questions she'd asked me Saturday night, and I answered them the same way. She asked me a few new questions. "How long have you been dating Eric?" (He was no longer Mr. Northman, I noticed.) "Did you ever work in a strip club?" (That was an easy one.) "What about the men you live with?"

"What about them?"

"Doesn't Claude Crane own a strip club?"

"Yeah," I said warily. "He does."

"Did Kym Rowe ever work there?" I was taken aback. "I don't know," I said.

"You call Crane your cousin."

"Yeah, he is."

"We got no record of him being related to you."

It would be interesting to know what records they could possibly have about Claude, since he wasn't human. "He comes from an illegitimate birth," I said. "It's private family business."

No matter how many times she asked questions about Claude, I stuck to my guns. She eventually gave in to my determination, since there was really no way she could link Kym to Claude to me. At least, I hoped that was the case. This was something else I needed to talk to Claude about, when he returns from Faery.

I spotted Mike Coughlin, who was sitting a few desks away talking to Vince, the guy who'd watched the gate to Eric's community on Saturday night. I switched my attention to them, ignoring Ambroselli who was reading from several documents. I wasn't proud of snooping on other people's conversation, but this time I have an important motive.

Coughlin had asked Vince why he'd been substituting for Dan Shelley the night of Eric's party. "Dan was sick," Vince said instantly. I could tell his mind was full of agitation, and I wondered what was so scary. "He asked me to sit in for him. Said it was easy work. I needed the money, so I said sure."

"Did Dan tell you what was wrong with him?" Mike Coughlin was persistent and thorough, if not brilliant.

"Sure, he said he'd had too much to drink. I'd keep that to myself, normally, but we're talking about murder here, and I don't want to get into trouble."

Coughlin gave Vince a level stare. "I'm betting it was you called us to the scene," he said. "Why didn't you own up to it?"

"We're not supposed to call the cops," Vince said. "Dan said the vamp tips him big to keep his mouth shut about his doings. The vamp, that is."

"He's seen other girls in trouble?" There was an ominous undertone to Coughlin's voice.

"No, no! Dan woulda called that in. No, the extra money was just to keep reporters and just plain snoopy people away who'd pay to know who visits a vampire. This vampire, Eric whatever, he didn't want his girlfriend to catch grief about staying over at his place."

I hadn't known that. Eric has definitely done that for me. A knot formed in my throat and I tried hard to fight back my tears. He might not be perfect, but he's always taking care of me. I closed my eyes and remembered our good times; I wanted those moments back. I wanted my Eric. I knew about the blood lust, but it was not the same thing to "know" than to "see" him drinking from another woman. Was I jealous or offended? My feelings were not allowing me to think clearly, and as a consequence, I have been pushing him away. I didn't want to lose him as I would lose myself in the process. I loved him too much.

Suddenly, I wanted to go Fangtasia and hug him. I wanted to feel him again with and without clothes.

"I believe we are done for now. We will call you if we need you again." Ambroselli said bringing me back to reality. After some pleasantries, I left the police station and went straight to Merlottes.

While I worked that night, I went over and over the events of Saturday at Eric's house. I served beers on autopilot. By the time I fell into bed, I found I couldn't remember any of the conversations I'd had with customers and co-workers.

Tuesday was another black hole. Dermot came in and out without saying much. He didn't look happy; in fact, he looked anxious. When I asked him a question or two, he said, "The fae at the club, they're worried. They wonder why Claude left, when he'll return, what will happen to them when he does. They wish they had seen Niall."

"I'm sorry about Niall's attitude," I said hesitantly. I didn't know if I should broach the subject or not. It had to be a painful one for Dermot, Niall's son, to be so pushed aside and disregarded.

Dermot looked at me, his eyes as pathetic as a puppy's.

"What's Faery like?" I asked, in a clumsy attempt to change the subject.

"It's beautiful," he said immediately smiling. "The forests are bright green, and they stretch for hundreds of miles. They're dense and full of life. The shoreline is stony; no white sand beaches! But the ocean is green and clear... The sun illuminates nature making it more alive. There is a rain forest that encompasses more than 30,000 acres of land. The peak itself is one of the highest in Faery, standing a little over 5,000 feet above sea level. Those that have climbed it say that the view is magnificent. I haven't done it, but I hope to have the opportunity to do it someday. It rains everyday in the top part of the forest, and that's where the largest waterfall in Faery starts. It is a four tiered waterfall; the most majestic view I have ever seen. On each of the top three tiers there is a small pool formed and fairies swim there. The last tier is for the daredevils because it's where the waterfall plunges violently. I don't know of any fairy who would dare to jump off the last tier." He stood, lost in the memories of his homeland. I wanted to ask a thousand questions, but I chose not to.

He shook himself and gave me a bleak look. Then he turned to go upstairs, probably to seek consolation in House Hunters International.

That night was notable only for what didn't happen. Eric didn't call me. I understood that his out-of-town company had the biggest claim on his time, but I felt almost as shoved aside and disregarded as Dermot. As far as I was concerned, the vampires of Shreveport weren't speaking to me, consulting me, or visiting me. Even Bill was conspicuously absent. Mustapha was presumably still searching for Warren. I missed Eric, badly. I kept playing in my mind Vince's words at the station. I knew that if Eric wasn't here was because something was happening, but I hated to be left out. I wanted to know what was going on. Maybe I could help him to get Felipe de Castro to leave town sooner rather than later. Yes, I was definitely missing him badly.

I made a creditable effort to leap out of bed with enthusiasm the next morning. I was rested, and I had to go to work, no matter what was happening in the supernatural world. Not a creature was stirring, not even an elf. I ate some yogurt and granola and strawberries, drank some coffee, and put on some extra makeup since I was still feeling unhappy in general. I took a few minutes to paint my fingernails. A girl's gotta have a little color in her life.

At the bustling post office, I used my key to empty the Merlotte's mailbox, which served Sam for both business and personal use. I riffled through the flyers that had been stuffed in the box and saw that the only bill worth worrying about was the electric bill. It soared in the summer, of course, since we had to keep the bar cool. I was almost scared to open it. I bit the bullet and slit the envelope. The total was bad, but not more than I expected.

Terry Bellefleur pushed open the glass door while I was tossing unwanted mail into the trash. He looked good: more alert, not as skinny, maybe. There was a woman with him. When Terry stopped to speak to me, she smiled. She needed some dental work, but it was a good smile.

"Sook, this here's Jimmie Kearney from Clarice," Terry said. "She raises Catahoulas, too." Terry loved his dogs, and he seemed to have overcome his bad luck with them. His latest bitch, Annie, had had her second litter of puppies. This time they'd been purebred. I'd heard Terry talk about Jimmie when he'd found a match for Annie, but I'd assumed Jimmie was a guy. She very much wasn't.

"I'm pleased to meet you," I said. Jimmie was younger than Terry. I put her at about forty. There were streaks of gray in her long brown hair, which hung nearly down to her waist. She wore baggy khaki shorts with a ruffled white peasant blouse and huaraches.

"I heard a lot about you," Jimmie said shyly. "You should come by Terry's and see the puppies. My Tombo is the daddy. They're just as cute as they can be. And we've got them all sold! We had to check out the homes they would go to, of course."

"Good job," I said. I was getting the information from Jimmie's head that she was over at Terry's a lot of the time. A lot. Just in my little peek, Jimmie seemed like an okay person. Terry deserved someone really nice; he needed someone really, really stable. I hoped she was both. "Well, maybe I'll get a chance to see those puppies before they go to their new homes. I'm glad I got to meet you, Jimmie. Terry, talk to you later."

Before I headed to the bar, I needed to check on Tara, who hadn't returned my calls. As if I called the devil, the phone rang with Tara's number in the calling ID.

"Tara! I have been calling you forever! How have you been?" I asked concerned about her. She was very close to the due date and I was excited for her.

"My water broke yesterday afternoon. I had my babies last night Sookie! They are keeping us here one more day and then we'll go home."

I gasped at the news, "I am so excited for you Tara. Congratulations to both of you."

"JB can't stop staring at them. It's unbelievable. We are very happy. I am calling everybody we know with the news so I have to hang up now, but we will chat more later with details Sookie."

We hanged up and I was suddenly feeling very happy for her. Today it seems to be a good day after all.

I went into Merlotte's feeling ridiculously happy. I just had time to put the mail on Sam's desk when Kennedy came in the employee door, and India was hard on her heels. Both of them looked pretty down in the mouth, but I wasn't having any of that. "Ladies," I said. "We are gonna have us a good day here."

"Sookie, I'd like to oblige, but my heart is breaking," Kennedy said pathetically.

"Oh Kennedy, it is not! You just ask Danny to share with you, you tell him what a man he is and how you love his hot body, and he'll tell his heap big secret. You got no reason to be insecure. He thinks you're fabulous. He likes you more than his LeBaron." I smiled brightly already anxious for Danny to propose to Kennedy, but I wasn't going to spoil the surprise.

Kennedy looked stunned, but after a moment a small smile flickered across her face.

"India, you'll meet a woman who's worthy of you any day now, I just know it," I told India, who said, "Sookie, you are as full of bullshit as a cow is of milk."

"Speaking of milk," I said, "we're going to hold hands and say a prayer for Tara, cause she's a new momma. Yesterday she had the babies."

And that was what we did.

It wasn't until I was halfway through my shift that I realized how much I envied Kennedy and Danny. They were together no matter what and I wanted the same with Eric. We were different in so many ways, but love should conquer those differences. Shouldn't it?

Just as I was distracted with my Eric, Alcide came in. He'd clearly been working; there was a hard hat impression in his thick black hair, and he was sweaty and dirty like most of the men who came in at midday in the summer. Another Were was with him, a man who was just as glad to be in the air-conditioning. They breathed simultaneous sighs of relief when they sank into the chairs at a table in my section.

Truthfully, I was surprised to see Alcide in Merlotte's. Our last conversation hadn't been exactly pleasant, and he'd never responded to the message I'd left on his cell phone. Maybe he was having a rough time too like Eric. It seemed that everybody was having a hard time lately. I went over with menus and a tentative smile.

"You must have a job close to here," I said, by way of greeting.

"We're getting ready for the new high school gym in Clarice," Alcide said. "We just finished. Sookie, this is Roy Hornby."

I nodded politely. "Roy, nice to meet you. What can I get for you-all to drink?"

"Could we have a whole pitcher of sweet tea?" Roy asked. He gave off the strong mental signature of a werewolf.

I said, "Sure, I'll just go get that." While I carried a cold pitcher and two glasses filled with ice over to the table, I wondered if the new people at AAA Accurate Surveys were all two-natured. I poured the first round of tea. It was gone in a few seconds. I refilled.

"Damn, it's hot out there," Roy said. "You saved my life." Roy was medium: hair a medium brown, eyes a medium blue, height a moderate five foot ten, slim build. He did have great teeth and a winning smile, which he flashed at me now. "I think you know my girlfriend, Ms. Stackhouse."

"Who would that be? Call me Sookie, by the way."

"I date Palomino."

I was so startled that I couldn't think of what to say. Then I had to scramble to get some words out. "She's sure a pretty young woman. I haven't gotten to know her real well, but I see her around."

"Yeah, she works for your boyfriend, and she moonlights at the Trifecta."

For a vampire and a Were to date was very unusual, practically a Romeo and Juliet situation. Roy must be a tolerant kind of guy. Funny, that wasn't the vibe he was giving off. Roy seemed like a conventional Were to me: tough, macho, strong-willed.

There weren't many "granola" Weres. But Alcide, though not exactly beaming at Roy, wasn't scowling, either.

I wondered what Roy thought of Palomino's nestmates, Rubio and Parker. I wondered if Roy knew Palomino had been part of the massacre at Fangtasia. Since Roy was a bit clearer to read than some Weres, I could tell he was thinking of Palomino going to a bar with him. Something clicked inside me, Palomino was the vampire going to the Were bar! I kept going on with my routing, serving the customers, hoping Roy and Alcide won't notice my worried face about Palomino. I wondered if Eric knew about Palomino's adventures.

The next time I passed Alcide's table, Roy had gone to the men's room. Alcide reached out to ask me to pause. "Sookie," he said quietly, "I got your message. Nobody's seen Mustapha yet, and nobody's heard from him. Or his buddy Warren. What did he say to you?"

"He gave me a message for you," I said. "You want to come outside for a second?"

"Well, all right." Alcide rose and walked to the door, and I trailed after him. There was no one lingering in the parking lot on a day this hot.

"I know you won't want to hear this, but he said Jannalynn was out to get me, and not to trust her," I said.

Alcide's green eyes widened. "Jannalynn. He says she's untrustworthy." I raised my shoulders, let them drop.

"I don't know how to take that, Sookie. Though she hasn't been herself for a few weeks, she's more than proved herself as my enforcer." Alcide looked both bewildered and irritated. "I'll think on what you've told me. In the meantime, I'm keeping my eyes and ears open, and you'll hear soon's I know something."

"He wants you to call him," I said. "When you're alone. He put a lot of weight on that."

"Thanks for passing along the message."

Though that wasn't the same thing as telling me he'd place the call, I made myself smile at him as we went back inside. He resumed his seat as Roy returned to the table. "And now, what can I get you hungry guys for lunch?"

Alcide and Roy ordered a basket of fried pickles and two hamburgers apiece. I turned in their order and made the rounds of my other tables.

Alcide and Roy ate with the hearty appetites of men who've been working outside all morning-men who also happen to be werewolves-and they drank the whole pitcher of tea. They both looked happier when they were full, and Alcide made a big effort to catch my eye. I went over, smiling, "Can I get you-all anything else? Some dessert today?" I said.

"I'm tight as a tick," Roy said. "Those were great hamburgers."

"I'll tell Antoine you said so," I assured him.

"Sam not here today?" Alcide said.

"Sam is out at the moment, but he will be back later on in the afternoon. Kennedy is on the bar today," I said.

"I bet Sam's with Jannalynn," Roy said, grinning significantly at me. I shrugged, tried to look politely indifferent.

Alcide was looking off into the distance as if he were thinking about something else, but I knew he was thinking about me. Alcide was feeling kind of lucky that he'd never managed to clinch our relationship, because he figured there was something fishy going on between Jannalynn and me. Alcide didn't consider that he himself could be the bone of contention, since Jannalynn had told him she was going to propose to Sam, and I was Eric's girlfriend. But we two women clearly had issues, and he had to wonder how that would affect the pack, which had become the most important thing in the world to Alcide. His thoughts made me realize that I was part of his pack too, but I hadn't show interest on it. In truth, I have been too busy that adding the pack problems would just too much for me to handle. Alcide was a good man and a great leader like his father once was. The pack has become his family and I wondered if the vampires would consider me part of their family. That is, if such thing existed.

"We do have issues," I told him while looking into his eyes "At least she does." Alcide looked startled but didn't elaborate. I could sense Roy was about to ask questions and I changed the topic without giving him the chance to speak, "How's the bar doing?" Hair of the Dog, the only Were bar in Shreveport, wasn't a tourist bar like Fangtasia. It was not exclusively for Weres, but for all the twoeys in the Shreveport area. "We seem to be pulling out of our slump, here."

"It's doing good. Jannalynn is doing a great job of managing it," Alcide said. He hesitated for a moment. "I heard that those new bars were falling off some, the ones the new guy opened."

"Yeah, I heard that, too," I said, trying not to sound too smug.

"Whatever happened to that new guy?" Alcide said, keeping his words guarded. "That Victor?" Though the world knew about the existence of vampires and the two-natured, their infrastructure was not common knowledge. It would remain a secret if the supes had their way. Alcide took an elaborately casual sip of the remaining tea. "I haven't seen him around."

"Me, either, for weeks," I said. I gave Alcide a very direct look, but I did my best not to out myself. The last think I needed is for that secret to come out. "Maybe he went back to Nevada."

I dug inside Roy's mind, trying to find any evidence of his knowledge about Victor, but his mind was empty. I was glad that Palomino has kept her mouth shut. I am sure that Eric would make her disappear otherwise.

"Your boyfriend doing well?" Alcide asked.

I came back to the here and now. "Eric's always well."

"Find out how that girl got into the house? The gal that got killed?"

"Nothing yet. The police keep interrogating and investigating, but without any results yet."

Alcide nodded and he didn't elaborate. He knew that Eric was a sensitive topic for me, especially now.

I smiled at them and immediately changed the topic. "You-all don't want any dessert? Let me get your check."

I grabbed the next table's payment on the way to the cashier. I processed their payment and returned to Alcide's table with their check. Alcide had pulled his wallet out of his pocket by the time I got back. They were working on a tight schedule on his project and he had to get back soon.

Roy had gone to the bar to talk to one of the men who worked at the lumber mill. Apparently they'd gone to high school together. When I bent over to put the check by Alcide, I inhaled his scent. It was a little sad to remember how attractive I'd found him when I first met him, how I'd allowed myself to daydream that this handsome and hardworking man might be my soul mate. But it hadn't worked out then, and now it never would. Too much water had passed under that particular bridge. Alcide was getting deeper and deeper into his Were culture, and further and further away from the fairly normal human life he'd managed to live until his father's disastrous attempt to become packmaster.

Yet, he deserves a good woman. One that will give him the stability he needs and the support within the pack too. I wished I could introduce him to one, but I knew fewer Were females than him. I know one thing for sure; whenever he finds that woman I'll be there to make sure she deserves him.

He handed me some bills and told me he didn't need any change, and Roy slapped his buddy on the back and returned to the table, and they prepared to go back out into the heat of the day to drive to another job in Minden on their way back to the home office in Shreveport.

After they left, I began to bus their table because I didn't have anything else to do. There were hardly any customers, and I figured D'Eriq was taking the opportunity to slip out back to have a smoke or listen to his iPod.

My cell phone vibrated in my apron pocket, and it was Sam, calling from his cell.

"What's up, boss?" I asked. "Everything's fine, here."

"Good to know, but not why I called," he said. "Sookie, this morning Jannalynn and I went down to Splendide to make a payment on a table she's buying." Ah so Sam was with Jannalynn after all.

"Okay," I said when Sam paused. "So, what's going on at Splendide?"

"It got broken into last night," he said, sounding oddly hesitant. After a small pause he continued, "The things you sold to Brenda and Donald ... those things were dismantled on the spot, or taken."

I pulled out a chair and sat down in it abruptly. It was lucky no one was waiting for service for the next few minutes while Sam told me everything he knew about the break-in. Nothing he told me was illuminating. A few little items that had been in the display cases had been grabbed, too. "I don't know if you sold them anything small or not," Sam said.

"Was other stuff taken? Or just mine?"

"I think enough else was gone to kind of camouflage that the targeted stuff had come from your attic," he said, very quietly. I knew other people were around him. "I just noticed because Brenda and Donald pointed out your pieces to show me how they'd cleaned them."

"Thanks for letting me know," I said, strictly on autopilot. "I'll talk to you later, Sam." I shut my phone and kept to my seat for a moment, thinking furiously. That break in must be related to the cluviel dor.

A few minutes passed, but I didn't know how many. I was too busy thinking about too many things. Movement at the bar distracted me and I saw Danny was talking so earnestly to Kennedy that I could tell he'd finally told her why he'd been out of her sight lately. She leaned across the bar and kissed him. At least that was good news.

I made myself get up to carry the bin of dirty dishes back to the kitchen. Behind me, the door swung open. I looked over my shoulder to check on the size of the party and got yet another surprise.

Bellenos was standing in the doorway. I glanced around quickly, but no one-not that there were more than five people in the big room-seemed to be paying the elf any attention. They were not seeing the same creature I was seeing. I wonder who they did that. How could they look one way to my eyes, yet differently for the humans'?

Bellenos looked very strange in regular human clothes. I have seen him in a sort of kilt and a one-shouldered T-shirt. He looked around Merlotte's, slowly and warily. When he didn't spot anything threatening, he glided over to me, his slanting dark eyes full of mischief. "Sister," he said. "How are you today?" He showed his needle teeth in a big smile.

"I'm good," I said confused about this visit. "How're you?"

"Happy to be out of that building in Monroe," he said. "I see you are not busy. Can we sit and talk?"

"Yes," I said. "Let me clear this table." I cleaned it as fast as I could and sat down next to him. I wanted to talk as low as possible because I didn't want anybody to overhear our conversation. I also wanted to keep an eye on the few people in the room, just in case they needed something.

In the fae way, Bellenos took my hand. I wanted to snatch it back, but there wasn't any point in offending him. I just hoped this was not going to end up in Eric's ears because it could turn ugly. His bones stood out so much that his hand hardly looked human-which, of course, it wasn't. It was pale, freckled, and very strong.

Past his shoulder, I saw Kennedy glance our way. She shook a playful finger at me. She thought I was flirting with someone besides Eric. I gave her a stiff smile.

"There are too many of us crowded under one roof at Hooligans," Bellenos said.

I nodded.

"Claude is a leader. Dermot is not."

I nodded again, just to show I was following his conversation. He wasn't voicing any new ideas, so far.

"If you have any means of reaching Niall, now is the time to make use of it."

"I would if I could. I don't have any such secret." His slanting eyes were a bit disturbing close up.

"Is that the truth?" An auburn eyebrow rose.

"The truthful answer is that I really don't have any certain means of contacting Niall," I said flatly. "I'm not completely sure I would get in touch with him, if I had the ability."

Bellenos nodded thoughtfully. "The fairy prince is capricious," he said.

"That's for damn sure." Finally, we were in agreement.

"I'm sorry that you can't help," Bellenos said. "I hope nothing worse happens."

"Like what?" Dermott hasn't told me about anything bad going on there.

"Like more fights breaking out." He shrugged. "Like one of us leaving the bar to have some fun amongst the humans." That didn't sound like a good idea. The last thing we needed was for fairies to come under the human eyes. There is enough drama with the Weres and the vamps.

I suddenly remembered that Claude had brought me a letter from Niall, one he said he'd received through the portal in the woods. That was what he'd told me when he'd delivered the letter, if I was remembering correctly. "I could write a letter," I offered. "I don't know if it would reach him, but I can try."

I was sure Bellenos would press me for details, but to my relief he said, "You had better try anything you can think of. You don't know me well, but I'm telling the truth in this matter." Suddenly I felt bad. I think that Bellenos has felt my skepticism towards him and he was offended, if that could be possible.

"I don't doubt you," I said. "I'll do my best. And I have a question to ask you."

He looked politely attentive.

"A young woman, a woman at least part Were, came to my boyfriend's home a few nights ago," I said. "She was irresistible to him."

"Did he kill her?"

"No, but he drank from her, though normally he has very good self-control. I think this young woman was carrying a vial of fairy blood. She opened it when she got close to Eric to make herself attractive to him. She may even have drunk it herself so the blood would permeate her. Do you have any ideas about where the blood might have come from?" I regarded him steadily.

"You want to know if she got the blood from one of us?"

"I do."

Bellenos said, "It's possible a fairy sold blood without knowing what it would be used for."

I thought that was bullshit, but in the interests of getting an answer, I said, "Certainly."

"I'll inquire," he said. "And you send the letter."

Without further ado, he rose and glided out of the bar, receiving only a casual glance or two. I went back to the calendar to check, the one posted behind the bar. Danny had finally left to return to work, and Kennedy was actually singing to herself as she aimlessly shifted bottles and glasses around. She grinned at me as she "worked."

I went back to work, refilling ketchup and whatever else was out, or barely used. The work load was light and I had to find something to keep me occupied. Suddenly, I remembered Jason so I sat in the back of the bar to call him.

"Hey Jason! I hope I am not interrupting you at work," I said.

"It is always good to take a break. Is everything alright? It's not for you to call me in the middle of the day." His worried tone smoothed my heart.

"So far so good," I lied but I didn't want to worry him more. "What do you say about scheduling our dinner for tonight? " I asked hopeful that he would be willing to meet with me for one night without Michelle.

"Sure Sook. I love the way you bake pecan pie, like grandma did. Do you want me to bring something?"

I smiled at his smooth talking. Now I had to bake pecan pie for him. "No need to. Just come over hungry and in good spirits to talk to your sister" I said. I needed to talk to somebody. There were too many things going on around me.

"Sure sis. You know I am always there for you" he said. After making arrangements with Jason I hanged up. Now I felt more anxious than before. Should I or should I not do it?

I looked outside Merlottes and the hot sun was still bright, even though the afternoon was coming to an end. I wondered about Eric. Right now he was still dead to the world and soon he would be waking up. Would he miss me? His absence was silently killing me.

One of our alcoholics, Jane Bodehouse, showed up around five o'clock. When she'd gotten cut from flying glass during the firebombing a few weeks before, Jane had gotten sewed up and had returned to the bar within twenty-four hours. For a few days, she got to enjoy painkillers and alcohol. I'd wondered if Jane's son might be angry that his mom had gotten hurt at Merlotte's, but as far as I could tell, the poor guy had only a mild regret that she'd survived. After the bombing, Jane had abandoned her barstool in favor of the table by the window where she'd been sitting when the bottle came through the window. It was like she'd enjoyed the excitement and was ready for another Molotov cocktail.

I shook my head at my memories while I collected my purse and left the bar. I had a dinner to prepare for tonight.

Note: I hope you see our Sookie more back to herself and in character. I think the whole Tara having a baby storyline was not important, so it's pretty much gone. I eliminated a lot of none sense fillers and tried to show her feelings for Eric. Reviews are more than welcome. Let me know your thoughts!

Chapter 3 coming up next.