A/N: I have BSC 17 done. Up on Sunday. Working on more.

Chapter 6

Sookie had to be at work for the dayshift and she'd had to get up way too early. Usually the girls who worked New Year's Eve got two days off, but Andy had told her a few days back that she'd have to be in early on the second. It had been pointless to argue, and Sam had just shrugged. It hadn't been his place to step in. Not anymore.

God, she would have given just about anything to have a little more sleep. She and Eric had made love until nearly dawn, and she'd barely managed to get two hours' rest. She was wavering back and forth between dead on her feet and positively giddy. She drank three cups of coffee and added buzzing and jittery to the mix.

She hoped that Andy would stay away until the evening shift arrived, or close to it. It was going to be dead. She wondered how the first day under new management had gone the night before. Between football fans watching the games on the big screen and folks nursing their hangovers with fried food and hair of the dog, New Year's Day was always pretty busy, even if they didn't open until four.

She stood in front of the full-length mirror in her bedroom to make sure that she didn't look too exhausted or too much like someone who'd met the man of her dreams and then lost her virginity to him, all within the past thirty-and-a-half hours. And maybe fallen half in love with him, too.

Ok, maybe two-thirds.

Her ponytail was tight and high and smooth. Their new uniforms weren't ready, and she hadn't been told how to dress for her shift, so she wore her black work pants and her boat neck Merlotte's t-shirt. She brought along a plain white T and an inexpensive blouse from Walmart that she wouldn't mind getting some ketchup smeared on or a half a glass of red wine spilled down the front of, just in case. She tried on a smile, and she was already verging on crazy Sookie territory, at home in her own bedroom. But, regardless, she looked put together — if not a little tired — and she thought that she would be able to cope. She hoped, at least. Between everything that had happened since her last work shift and going to work for Andy Bellefleur, she was a bundle of nerves. And she was kicking herself for her apathy; she should have started looking for a job as soon as Andy and Sam had signed their names and shaken hands a few weeks back, but she'd been feeling too sorry for herself.

She left early, even though she always got there early, just because she didn't want to give him any excuse to be angry. She wished that she'd grabbed a fourth cup of coffee first.

Of course, she was the first one there. When she got to the employee entrance door, her key didn't work. She frowned and wondered how much he had paid to have a locksmith come to rekey a commercial lock for a new owner after a private sale on January first. She got back in her car and turned it on so she wouldn't freeze.

"Shit."

Andy pulled into the parking lot. She should have known that he would be the first one to show up. She wished that she had a cell phone so that she had an excuse not to follow him inside. She didn't really have anyone to call, but he didn't have to know that. She could have pretended. She'd been pretending all her life.

She got out of her car and went inside right after, as much as she didn't want to be alone with him. She was working with Holly today, and Holly was always late, and it was sure to be awkward.

The office door was open, and she knocked on the door casing and walked inside and hung up her coat.

"Good morning, Andy. Can I please get back there to put my purse away?"

"No, you can't. And don't you just walk in here uninvited, either. This is my office, dammit."

Sookie froze. She hadn't even been there for thirty seconds and Andy was already shouting at her.

"We always keep our things in that deep bottom drawer in the desk. There isn't anywhere else that's secure."

She'd even overheard Sam showing him and telling him so when he'd given Andy the tour the first time.

"Well, that isn't my problem. And don't put it behind the bar, either. Stick it in your trunk if you're so worried about it. And check the schedule. I changed it. It's in the hall."

Sookie's eyes started to water and she spun around and quickly left the office. She was heading for the exit to put her things in her car, when Andy yelled again.

"Get your damn coat, too."

She ducked back in and snatched it off the hook before he could really get a look at her.

If she left it outside with her purse, she would have to put on a freezing cold jacket after walking across the freezing cold parking lot, and then drive home in her freezing cold car when her shift was over. The heat wouldn't kick in until she was nearly there. She decided to stick it in the stockroom instead. She put her coat back on and emptied her pockets when she got outside to stow her purse in the trunk.

She went to check her hours after putting her coat away and grabbing some lemons and limes from the cooler to wedge and slice for behind the bar. She'd thought that she would be working three nights and two days this week — that's what it had said when she'd left on New Year's Eve — but today was Monday and the only other days she had on the new schedule were Wednesday and Thursday. All day shifts and no weekends. She couldn't help being a little glad that she was going to get lots of time to spend with Eric, but she had no idea how she was possibly going to be able to make ends meet, especially with hardly any tips from the bar.

She was so tired and pissed off that she was tearing up again. She wiped her eyes with the heels of her hands and made herself cut it out. She was not going to give Andy the satisfaction.

She did her prep and Holly and the new cook, Tack, showed up just as she was taking the chairs down off the tables and making sure that the salt and pepper shakers and sugar dishes and ketchup bottles were all filled up.

Jane Bodehouse was waiting for them to open when Sookie turned over the closed sign and unlocked the door. That reminded her about the key, but she wasn't going to ask Andy about it right then. Jane came in and sat at the bar and ordered her first drink of the day.

As expected, business was slow, but Andy ran Sookie off her ass all day long. He insisted on hosting and seated almost twice as many customers in Holly's section as in hers. When Sookie was even allowed out onto the floor. For most of the shift, he had her hauling out cases of beer, lugging ice, mopping the bathrooms, stocking the fridges, and then she was stuck in the storeroom doing inventory for the rest of the day. Holly got all of the lunch crowd herself, and Sookie was doing three times the work and had made less than twenty dollars in tips, just pushing her over the threshold from the tipped wage into minimum. She wondered if Andy had done that on purpose, too, so she would get as little as possible without him having to supplement her pay. He had signed a contract with Sam not to fire any of the staff for six months, but there was nothing stopping him from trying to make her quit.

She had never been so glad to untie her apron and put on her coat as she was at the end of her shift. Her feet hurt and her back hurt and her head hurt. And her feelings were hurt, too. She wanted to take something for the pain and get a hot shower and then lie in her vampire's arms, his cool body soothing her aching muscles. His mouth and hands and… other things helping her to forget.

On the way back home, she remembered that she had to call Fangtasia. She groaned. What she wanted to do was keep him with her forever. As a lover, but also as a friend and confidante and someone to come home to every night. As her family. Which was completely ridiculous; he was a vampire with amnesia whom she had known for less than forty-eight hours. But she desperately wanted a family again, and she was pretty sure that she wanted it to be with him.

When she got back to the farmhouse, she poured herself a glass of juice and took some Tylenol. She ate five big spoonfuls of rocky road, right out of the carton. She had planned to get in the shower first thing but, when she'd walked into the living room, she hadn't been able to resist sitting sideways on the couch with her feet up, just for a little while. She had a couple of cushions shoved behind her against the arm of the sofa and her cheek was pillowed on the seatback. She'd really meant for it to be for a couple of minutes, tops, but she'd dozed off almost as soon as her butt had hit the seat.

She startled when something icy cold wrapped around her ankles and lifted them a few inches into the air. She opened her eyes and Eric smiled at her apologetically from the other end of the couch and set her feet down on his lap.

She stretched and made a long humming sound, but then managed a soft smile. "Hi."

"Hello, my lover. I am sorry I woke you. You must be very tired."

"Yeah, it was a really long day. But at least I don't have to go back until Wednesday."

She tried not to think about what that meant for her bottom line.

He pulled off one of her socks and dug his thumbs into the arch of her left foot. She moaned in pleasure. His hands were still cold, but now it just soothed her. It felt so good, even though it hurt a little, and she could feel the muscles loosening up and the pain easing. He moved up to the ball and pushed against the base of her toes, splaying them.

She closed her eyes and sighed happily. She was sleepy, but the tingling between her legs was telling her that maybe being tired could wait. "You'd better watch out or I'm going to make you do this every night for the rest of my life."

"I look forward to it."

She opened her eyes and looked at him. He was looking back, smiling at her. She thought that he'd meant it. She sighed again, but this time it was more in regret. He paused for a moment, but then moved back down to the arch on the way to her heel, kneading away the tension.

She hated to do this now, but it wasn't fair to him to put it off. Not when he'd already seen the look on her face.

"Eric, sweetie, I really need to call Fangtasia tonight. Your friends might be worried and looking for you. You might have a family out there somewhere."

Eric had absolutely no intention of going anywhere, especially with strange vampires. The entire world was unknown. Anyone could be an enemy. Except for Sookie. She was providing him shelter and sustenance and safety. She was beautiful and sweet and kind. She was his whole world. She was his, and he would do everything he could to keep it that way.

He kissed the top of her foot and put it back down in his lap. She wrinkled her nose a little and he smiled. He pulled off her right sock and he ran his thumbnail up the sole before he picked it up. She giggled and tried to pull away, but he had hold and she wasn't able to budge. He dug his thumbs into the arch again and her laugh turned into another moan. He was going to need to adjust himself if she kept making noises like that.

His voice was soft, yet firm. "No. We have no idea whether the other vampires are friend or foe. They might have been the ones responsible for the loss of my memories. I do not want anyone else involved. The safest thing for both of us is for me to stay here with you."

She frowned. "Do you think that I'm in danger?"

He smiled. Remembering how angry she'd become when he'd questioned her independence, he was very careful when choosing his words, even though he knew that she was worried.

"I am sure that we are in no danger here. Still, I will make sure that you are safe and protected during the night. You can do the same for me during the daytime. We will take care of each other."

Like a family. She smiled a little back at him, and then moaned again when he hit just the right spot just under her ankle bone.

She knew that, really, the best thing for him was probably to be with his kind. And it wasn't fair to the people — or vampires — who cared about him to keep him a secret. Or to his old self.

But her obligation was to him, standing right in front of her. He was a grown man. He might not remember the details of his life, but he knew his own mind, and it was obviously sound. He had free will. And, self-serving or not, there was no way that she could go behind his back and betray him, even if it was for his own good.

And, what if it wasn't? What if he was right and she sent him from relative safety with her, right into the hands of the ones who'd hurt him? They had no idea who they could trust. But she was pretty sure that they could trust each other.

She smiled at him and nodded. He smiled back and put her foot down in his lap next to the other one. He rubbed them both gently with his palms.

She reached up and stretched, but then winced in pain. Her muscles had really stiffened up. Well, except for the ones in her feet. They felt just fine. She smiled at him again.

"I'm hurting a little. How about a nice hot shower, and then I'll let you rub me all over?"

He laughed. "Lover, it would be my pleasure."