A/N

The closer we get to the upcoming season… the more worried I become.

True Blood is not going to be in any way what we want. I'm getting all kinds of bad feelings and HBO and the writers don't seem to be taking the blogs, alerts and reports from the fans seriously.

I don't think I know one person that wants Sookie to end up with Bill! At least CH didn't give us that fiasco but how the books did end up was not nearly any better.

But now I'm on a my soap box and I need to get down. In hopes that I can ward off my own ill feelings about the ending of TB and possibly preventing one of my Jimmy Choo's from going through the TV in a few weeks, I give to you what my dream would be for the series final season.

Here is Episode 4 of how I'd like TB to be :)

Thank you to Seph and TexasEx for your help and support on this. You are all the best.

So, please have a look see and hopefully this episode will answer some of the questions I've been having.

Lots of love, ILWE

Episode 4 – It's what the Doctor Prescribes

Alcide's POV

Sam's home, Bon Temps Louisiana.

Sam paces the floor for the fifth time since I'd shown up. If he keeps this up he is going to destroy the finish on his new hardwood floors. It's one of many upgrades to his little home since being appointed Mayor. I guess being in politics is a lot more profitable than owning a bar. I look around the room again. This new house he had built is a far cry from the doublewide he'd been living in.

"This can't be happening," he says to himself and then looks at me. "What do you mean, you don't have her?" Sam asks.

"I think I'm speaking English, Merlotte. What part of 'I don't have her' do you not understand?" I ask while deliberately saying the words to him a little slower this time than the last three times I've told him.

"NO, this isn't right," he shakes his head. "She was supposed to be with you, Alcide," he points at me. "You promised me that you wouldn't leave her to be controlled by Compton. When you told me what that Vampire was planning you told me that you'd find a way to stay with her. You told me that this was the only way to insure that she'd be safe and out of Compton's reach. You promised me you could protect her!"

"Well I would have had a better chance at it if she didn't just disappear in front of us like she did. I'd never seen her do that before, have you?" I growl back at him. "I didn't even know she had the ability to do that. Other than a witch calling something to themselves, I ain't ever seen someone just up and vanish."

"How the hell could I have known she had the power just to disappear or teleport or whatever the fuck she did?" He waves his arms around as he does another lap around the room.

"You've known her for what, six years?" I ask him. "Fuck Sam, she used to work for you. You knew everything there was to know about her. Short of Tara you said there was no one closer to her."

"Shit, I'm not living with the woman, Alcide!" he yells back. "You said she ain't even shown her light thing. How the fuck was I to know that she could just poof like a fart in the wind?"

"I've only seen three Fae in my fucking life, Sam. She is the second one and is less than half Fae. The only other one I've met is Andy's kid. I admit I didn't have much contact with that fucker Warlow, but I sure as shit have seen Andy's kid around town. Fuck, Sam that girl has been in my house and she has never shown any sign that she could do that and her mother was a fucking full bred Fae."

"If she and Sookie ain't doing Fae shit then what is she doing at your place so much?" Sam asks again.

"How the fuck do I know? She likes being with Sookie. I've never seen that kid do anything while with Sookie. It ain't like they can teach each other stuff. Neither of them knows what the fuck they're doing."

"So they just sit there and do nothing?" Sam asks.

"They talk and before you ask, no they aren't talking about what they can do. All I've ever heard was that girl whining to Sookie about how Andy treats her like such a little girl and that she is getting older and wants to go out and do stuff. She says her father doesn't understand her and Holly isn't helping much. She wishes they would just leave her alone. It's typical teenage shit."

"And Sookie has never done nothing like that before?" he asks again.

"For the last time, no!" I scream at him. "She hasn't even been playing with that ball of light like she did just after all that stuff with that Vampire, well Faepire went down. It's like she doesn't want to think of it. Hell, I don't think she's even talked to that old guy that comes around about it all. So you tell me, how the hell was I supposed to know what Sookie could or couldn't do? Fucking A man, I don't think she knows what she can and can't do. She's so hung up on being normal that she doesn't even want to talk about being Faerie."

"This is such a cluster fuck," Sam runs his hands through his hair and looks at me with real fear in his eyes. Hell I think even if I wasn't a Were I'd smell it. "This can't get out, Alcide. If the town knows why we did this…."

"Sam," we hear from the doorway before he can finish his thought.

We both immediately look up to see the woman standing there.

"What's wrong?" I hear the soft voice of a woman.

"Nicole," he says and moves to her. "I didn't think you'd be home so soon. Why don't we get you off your feet," Sam says and motions for Nicole to follow him down the hall to the little sitting room in back. He calls it her sewing room but I've never seen that woman sew anything.

"Sam, what's wrong," she asks again and then turns to me. "Alcide what's going on? Where's Sookie? You two left so quickly last night and she wasn't at book club today. Is everything all right?"

"Nothing's wrong, honey," Sam says calmly to her. "Alcide and I were just talking about last night and what happened at the bar is all. Everything's fine," he turns to me. "Right Alcide?"

"Sam Merlotte," Nicole pushes his hands away. "I'm not an idiot. I know when you're lying to me. Now tell me the truth. First, you decide to partner with Bill Compton after he's admitted to the world and God that he murdered the Governor of Louisiana."

"Nicole, come on," Sam says. "You can't talk like that. Burrell was committing genocide on the Vampire race. Things could have gotten really out of hand if Bill didn't step in and do something. The Vampire Authority couldn't do anything and something had to be done. . Burrell is the reason we are in this fucking mess to begin with. Bill did what he thought was right," Sam brushes his hand over his head again. "The courts have decided to not prosecute."

"Like they could prosecute a Vamp," I mumble under my breath for only Sam to hear. He shoots me a look to keep quiet.

"I don't care what the courts say and that the laws haven't caught up to the Vampires coming out. He killed the Governor and isn't sorry about it. Just because he's not going to jail for it doesn't make it right, Sam. He has been all over the country promoting that book of his which, by the way, I don't believe half of. Who could believe half that crap he's spewing?"

"Now, that's not fair. It really isn't for us to judge, honey," he says very sweetly.

"Now," she continues. "After all this, he now wants us all to help him feeding these Vampires?"

"It's a good partnership, Nicole. Vampires need humans and humans need Vampires. It's as simple as that. How else are we supposed to protect ourselves against those things out there?" He points to the window.

"That's another thing," she points to Sam. "All around the state we've heard about these hordes coming in. From Florida to Nevada, we are hearing about these groups and what the Vampire communities are doing to fix the situations. Why isn't anything being done in Louisiana?" she asks.

"What do you mean?" I ask her.

She turns to me. "There have been attacks all over the state, why isn't Bill doing something about it? He is supposed to be the head Vampire like that guy in Texas, Stan something. He has taken to either destroying them or confining them. There is nothing being done in Louisiana. Why is that?"

"Honey, I think Bill is doing all that he can." Sam says. "But there haven't been any attacks in Bon Temps and the partnership is to help us if or when they come."

"Well it seemed to be a problem last night," she pauses.

"What are you talking about?" I ask her.

Nicole turns to me again. "I saw them coming, the mob of Vampires coming up the road," she raises her eyebrow at me. "I saw you, Bill and Sookie by the cars. One minute you were arguing and the next Sookie was gone. I was ready to start screaming for help when Vampires and some other guys, who I've never seen around town before, rush past me and are out the front doors of the bar so fast my head felt like it was about to spin. Humans don't move that fast. Unless they are like you," she points to me, "or Sam or are Vampires. The rounded up all the Vampires before they could get close to the bar and moved them back down the road. They did all of this without you or Bill moving an inch. It was as if you knew there was no real danger and were waiting for something to happen."

"You saw all that?" I ask her.

"Yes. Now you going to tell me what is going on or am I going to have to find out myself?"

"Nicole, I don't know what you thought you saw," I start but Sam stops me.

"Don't waste your breath, Alcide," he says to me. "She's too smart," he motions for her to walk into the room and helps her into a chair and squats in front of her.

"What you saw was a band of military fighters stationed in town for our protection against that mob you saw," he says. "We knew that they were going to be here and yes, Bill and Alcide didn't move because they knew that the military had everything under control."

"If the military can control these infected Vampires, why did we need to make deals with Vampires. You said that it was the only way to protect us. You said that it was our only chance since Louisiana is totally screwed and we had to protect ourselves. Was that why Bill hasn't been doing anything to fix the problem?"

"I know what I said, honey," he rubs his hand over hers. "The deal between Vampires and Humans is needed. We need to learn to live with one another in order to survive."

Like he cares about the Vampires in this town. Sam Merlotte has not had any use for Vampires for as long as I've known him. He never wanted them to be hurt but he wasn't about to stick his neck out for one. Okay, maybe he'd stick his neck out for that Jessica Hamby but that's it.

"You said it was the only way," Nicole says again.

"What I said is mostly true," Sam whispers.

"How mostly?" she asks.

He sighs and looks to the ground.

"Sam, I need to know," Nicole whines.

"Fine," Sam says and looks up at her once more. "The Vampires in the area need our help. That wasn't a lie. Right now, there is no True Blood. They are talking about starting up a new company because no one trusts that brand any longer. So for right now, Vampires either need live donors or blood banks and at last look the banks are nearly empty. They need us, Nicole and this was the best deal I could come up with. If we partner with them, there wouldn't be any reason for them to do anything but work with us and keep us safe. The partnership is a win-win, honey. It would keep the Vampires happy and willing to protect us from whatever is coming down the road," he points to the window. "In turn, being protected would keep the humans in town happy," he says to her.

"Why isn't Bill doing something about the Vampires, Sam?" she asks him.

I have to admit, she brings up a good point. Sam says nothing.

"What aren't you telling me, Sam Merlotte?" Nicole raises an eyebrow again.

He bends his head into her lap and takes a deep breath.

"We didn't have a choice, Nicole. You have to believe me, we didn't have a choice. It was the best we could do with a shitty situation." He says without looking up at her.

"What have you done?" she asks.

"It wasn't me who did something, Nicole but I did what I had to do," he looks at me and then back at Nicole. "They, the government people needed Sookie, honey."

"What?" Nicole asks looking from Sam to me and then back to Sam.

"We didn't know anything about it until it was too late," I interject.

"I don't understand," Nicole shakes her head. "What would the government want with Sookie?"

"That's just the thing," Sam says. "You see, Bill made a deal with those people from the Government before Alcide or I knew anything about it. Bill came to Alcide for help."

"What?" she turns to me. "Why on earth would Bill Compton need your help?"

"He thought I'd help him to keep Sookie from making a mistake or getting herself hurt," I say in response. But even as it comes out of my mouth, I can't believe I agreed to help that Vamp.

"They need Sookie's help to find a cure for the Hep-V," Sam says and looks up slowly.

"What are you talking about? What help would Sookie be?" she asks looking from Sam to me.

"The Vampire mob last night were infected Vamps," he says slowly. "But they just didn't happen upon our town. They were supposed to be a diversion in order for Bill and Alcide to disappear with Sookie without anyone noticing. The plan was supposed to be easy," he says. "The disappearance of Sookie was going to be blamed on the Vampires. Everyone has heard the stories about the infected taking humans."

"You let them bring infected Vampires into our town?" Nicole asks.

"We were never in any harm," Sam says. "You saw for yourself. The military were on them before they even reached the bar. A story was going to be spread that Bill and Alcide fought them off and the military was even going to kill a few to make it look good. But in the end, Sookie would be missing." Sam shrugs.

"You," she looks at me. "You were in on this?"

"It would have been a good cover story," Sam says and looks back at me. I don't say anything. What the fuck am I going to say? Personally, I thought the story was stupid but I couldn't come up with another one so I just went with it. Besides, neither Bill nor his friends at the government were asking for my input much.

"It was all going as planned until Sookie disappeared or teleported or something. All we know is that she was gone and Alcide thinks she was at the farmhouse for some time before disappearing again. Once it was clear Sookie wasn't with Bill and Alcide, the military swooped in to take the infected Vamps back to their holding compound."

Nicole is silent for a moment just looking at Sam.

"Honey I did what I thought was right," he says trying to hold her hand.

She pulls back from him quickly. "You allowed a wild pack of V infected Vampires to be let loose on our town so what, they could take Sookie without anyone noticing?" she looks up at me. "How could you let this happen? How could either of you think this was a good idea? How could you do this to her? You," she points to me. "You are supposed to love her. Why wouldn't you just ask her to go with those people and why do they need Sookie Stackhouse in the first place?"

Sam sighs. "Honey, they knew that Sookie was different. There is something in her blood. Something they believe would help find a cure for this epidemic."

"So you were going to just let them take her?" she asks not taking her eyes off me.

"They had a theory that Sookie's blood was like others they have found and are certain that it can be used to make a cure," Sam says again like this time it sounds better or something.

"How would they know something like that?" she asks.

"Well they thought they knew but they still needed proof to confirm what she was. To make sure …"

"So that's what the blood tests were for," she sighs and goes to stand.

"Nicole, we had no other choice," Sam says to her.

She turns and looks him in the eye.

Before either of us can say anything she halls off and punches him dead in the face.

"You bastard, you fucking bastard!" she yells at him. "If it was me that had this, whatever it is in Sookie's blood, would you have allowed them to swoop in and take me?"

"What, no!" Sam yells at her. "I would do anything to keep you safe."

She turns to look at me. "You say you love her but you were going to let them take her?"

"We had no other choice," I say to her. "Bill made a deal with them. He was going to turn her over to them whether we helped him or not. I have no clue what Compton is up to but I do know that he has been telling the authorities where to find others like Sookie. He told me that he'd been finding others like her and handing them over to keep them away from our town and her. But something's not right and they have demanded more of her kind. Stronger blood or something like that," I shake my head. "I don't know really but somehow they located Sookie and Bill did what he could to strike a deal. He said that they weren't going to be satisfied with the others he was giving them for long and he was right."

"What was this deal?" she growls at me.

"He told us that government needed someone like Sookie. That they had been watching her for a while but she just seemed normal. Someone, I don't know who, told them where to find her and what she has done in the past. They found records of her in the hospital with her blood report. They were almost certain that she was who they were looking for and were pissed that Bill hadn't told them where to find her considering this is where he lives. He made a deal with them and if he brought her in without incident, they agreed to allow him to be with her and keep her close while they were doing their tests or whatever they were going to be doing. I don't know all the particulars but I knew if we didn't agree to help him, that Sookie would be lost to us."

She shakes her head at me.

"I promise you that if Sam and I didn't agree to his demands, he would have taken her and none of us would have ever seen her again. I was going to convince her to agree to their terms if I got to go with her. It would have pissed off Compton but at least with me around, she would have had chance at a normal life. I didn't know what to do, Nicole. If I agreed to help, I would be with her. Well, if she'd have me still but at least I could protect her from Bill and anything else that happened while she was with them. Bill promised that she would be okay but I don't trust him. I figured once we got her where we were supposed to bring her, I could make her see reason."

She shakes her head. "You are a fool."

"I swear to you I didn't know what else to do," I say to her again

"Well I saw her disappear right in front of my eyes. That was some new shit. I know Sookie is, well special, but I've never seen her do anything like that. How did she do it?"

"I don't know," I say. "I've never seen her do that before either. As far as I know she never could before last night."

"Where is she now?" she asks. "If you were supposed to protect her, where is she?"

I shake my head. "I don't know," I say softly. "We got to the farmhouse and she was gone. The military guys are fuming mad and are trying to locate her. After she got to the farmhouse, we don't have any idea where she went."

"You think she popped or whatever someplace else?" Sam asks.

"I don't know. The best that they can gather is that she left on a plane. They think she's heading to Wyoming. They are alerting their men out that way and we are leaving as soon as Compton rises."

"How did she get on a plane?" Sam asks.

I look at him. "Bill says he saw Pam in the car speeding away from the house when we passed them on the road."

"Well Fuck," Sam says. "You didn't tell me that!"

"You want to clue me in?" Nicole asks.

"Pamela is Eric Northman's child," Sam says. "Which means…"

"Eric now has Sookie," I say to him.

"You know what this means right?" Sam asks me.

Yeah I know what this means. We are seriously fucked. Regardless of what Eric wants with her, we are seriously in some deep shit.

"Is this bad?" Nicole asks.

"If you thought that Compton was bad, you've would hated Eric Northman. He…" Sam looks at me.

"He's our fucking worst nightmare," I say and look out the window.

Fuck Sookie, where are you?

*****************0*********************

Lafayette's POV

I pull my car up the long drive and look around. I swear on everything I hold dear that I'd never see again. As soon as I come to a stop, I take a deep breath, get out and move toward the front door of the makeshift house. I can't help but notice her, standing in the doorway, watching my every move.

"I need your help," I say to her without coming any closer. I know without a shadow of a doubt that she can see me and can understand what I'm saying. She may not be one for talking but I know just by the way she's standing there that she knows the trouble I'm in.

I move just a little closer and she moves into the light. I can see her holding the child that she was still pregnant with when he last saw her.

"I've helped you enough," Maria says. "There is nothing left for you here. You go now."

"Listen," I say as I move a little closer. "I just need somewhere to stay for a day or two and then I'll be gone," I motion to the car. "I'm heading further south and I'm just trying to make sure that I wasn't followed by anyone," she shakes her head. "I don't think they will. They don't know about this place or you. You don't have to worry. I'm not planning on staying long," I move a little closer. "Two days tops and then I'm heading…."

"Don't tell her where you are heading," I hear beside me.

I look to see Jesus and he smiles.

"You come to me now, bitch!" I yell at him. "Where were you when I was scared out of my fucking mind last night? You don't think I could have needed your freaky words of wisdom then? Fucking ghosts, never doing what you expect them too. "

"You can see him," Maria says and she moves through the door onto the porch. "Jesus," she points to the spirit standing next to me. "You can see him?" she asks.

"I'm a fucking witch and a medium, bitch, of course I can see this fine looking ghost ass standing next to me," I look sideways at my love and then back to his, well, his step-grandmother I guess she would be. That just sounds three shades of fucked up weird since the girl is pretty much just out of diapers herself.

She looks from me to Jesus and then back at me. She nods her head at something but I don't know what the fuck it's about.

"Come inside," she says and turns to walk back into the house.

"How come I ain't supposed to tell her where I'm going?" I ask Jesus when she is out of ear shot.

"Because, I'm not sure what is going on. I can hear voices in her head when she is silent. They are quiet for the most part. More like whispers but they are there. For some reason, I don't think Bardolo is completely gone. He may be living though the child."

"Fucking perfect," I say and turn back to the car.

"Where are you going?" he asks me.

"I'm getting the fuck up and out of here, boyfriend. That mother fucker was going to kill me to put this ju-ju shit back into your head." I point to my heart. "I'm not about to stay around when the mother fucking ass' spirit is up in this house, in that woman's head or in that kid!" I say to him.

"A spirit can't hurt you," he says to me.

"The fuck it can't," I growl at him. "First ," I put up one finger, "I was taken over by Marnie, the super psycho bitch on wheels. That woman was bat shit crazy on a good day. Then she got a taste of power and looks what happened. That fucked up mess almost cost me Sookie and Tara and it ended up costing me you, you mother fucking ass." I stare at him for a moment before I continue.

"Oh," I put up a second finger, "then some crazy woman looking for her baby took me over and tried to steal Arlene's baby before they all figured out what was going on. I could have been shot or worse, gone to jail and I'm too pretty to go to jail."

"Then, I was taken over by Corbett Stackhouse." I hold up the third finger. "That crazy fucker tried to kill his own daughter. Did you know that?" I ask him. "He decided that he was going to use me to finish the job. If it ain't for that sick mo-fo ass fucking old Vampire-hybrid Warlow, I would have killed one of my best friends in the world. You know that fucker shocked the spirit right out of me? That shit hurt more than falling out of a fucking tree. So do not tell me that spirits can't harm me. They have been doing nothing but harming my ass since I got this fucking shit curse or gift or whatever fucking shit you want to call this crazy thing I call a life."

"So don't think for one moment that I'm about to walk into the mo-fo house and get taken over by someone else who wants to kill me or someone close to me. I'm not fucking doing it. Why did I come here in the mother-fucking first place? Why didn't I just stay where I fucking was? They wouldn't be looking for my ass. My fine ass could be on my front porch right now having a cocktail and smoking a blunt. But no, I've got to be here. Why the fuck am I here?"

"Because Tara told you to run," Jesus says. "She told you that the people that are after her and Sookie were going to come for you to get information about them or better yet, use you to make Sookie do what they wanted. Tara cares about you, baby. She doesn't want you to be hurt and she couldn't stay to protect you. You had no other choice honey but to run."

"The fuck up is all that shit?" I yell into the air. "Every time I turn the fuck around some more shit is falling on my head. I'm fucking done with the lot of it. I just want to be around the normal crazy of Bon Temps. You know the redneck ignorant fuckers and their fucking ignorant ways. The fucking crazy Arlene shit and her motherfucking guy problems. Sookie's crazy ass smile when I know everyone is driving her nuts. Jason's fucking everything that will stand still and Andy fucking drinking in the corner of the bar mumbling about how no one respects his ass even now that he's the fucking sheriff. Oh and I want my fucking Terry's crazy ass back and trying to do right by his family while trying to keep those fucking voices in his head at bay," I turn to look at him. "That is all the fucking crazy I can take. Not all this shit right here," I wave my hand around. "This shit is more than any one fucker should handle. This all up in here," I motion circle in front of my face, "Is just about one step away from being a total looney fucking shit. I am seriously beyond fucking couch time boyfriend. This is seriously fucking put me in a rubber fucking room and lock the fucking door kinds of bull shit. Fucking like a duck, maybe they will give me and Ruby Jean a double room. Two for one special and all that shit."

I lean down next to the car and put my head between my knees trying to steady my breathing.

"You done?" I hear beside me.

I look up to see Maria standing beside me still holding Satan's fucking spawn in her arms.

"You going to try to fucking kill me?" I ask her.

She smiles and shakes her head. "He can't hurt you," she says in a thick accent. "Jesus will not allow it."

"He's a fucking ghost woman," I growl at her.

"As is my husband," she smirks at me. "You are safe here," she reaches her hand out.

"This is all kinds of fucked up," I say shaking my head.

"You will be safe here, love," Jesus says.

"Says you, you fucking ghost," I say to him.

"If you don't trust me," Maria says. "Trust that Jesus would never let anything happen to you."

She wiggles her fingers at me. "The baby is getting heavy," she says.

I wait a moment, thinking about what my options are. I sigh, take her hand, stand and follow her toward the house.

"If I fucking die in this house, I'm coming back to haunt every fucking person that done cause me all this bullshit," I mumble as she leads me into the house

I turn to see Jesus laughing at me.

"Yeah laugh it up boyfriend, go ahead."

****************0************

Doctor Stork POVC

Louisiana holding and research facility

I look from the observation deck at the subjects below. After a moment I turn my attention back to the file in front of me and shake my head. I can't believe what the newest test results are showing us and there is really no way to explain it.

"What is causing this, doctor?" The woman beside her asks motioning to the glass wall without even looking at it. "I thought you said you had a handle on this Hep-V virus strain. I don't think that the delegates are going to be very happy with your current results if this is all we have to give them," she points to the windows, again without looking through it at the subjects below.

I turn to look at the woman. Squaring my shoulders I try to not get defensive but know that I'm going to fail miserably. "Don't you think that if I had the answer, I would give it to you?" I look back at the bed upon bed of sick subjects. "This wasn't supposed to happen. Hep-V is a Vampire virus. It shouldn't be affecting the humans."

"Yes, but they aren't human, now are they?" She smirks at me. "Perhaps what makes them unholy is the same thing that makes the Vampires abominations in the site of God. Could it be that whatever is in the Hep-V is the common denominator and why we humans are immune? Perhaps there really isn't a cure and we are just fooling ourselves. It wouldn't be the first time that humans believed they knew more than God."

Ignoring her little rant, I decide to focus on something else. It's time we ask this woman what we are all dying to ask.

"What else do you know about this Hep-V strain, Mrs. Newlin?" I ask her.

She smiles without flinching. It's as if she's been waiting for this question. Or perhaps she's been asked it by others.

"I've told the delegation all I know about where the virus came from," she says.

"Yes, but the first round of Hep-V was found in the True Blood," I look at the file in front of me and then back at her. "Those vampires were killed instantly from the strain. This," I point to the window, "and the Vampires we see now are contracting something different. Can you explain that?" I ask her.

"Like I said," she shrugs. "I've told the delegation everything I know about the virus and how I understood it to spread. Overlark and Truman knew most of what it would do to the unholy lot. I was content to leave them to discuss the particulars. I was there for the righteous," she flips her hair back.

"Yes, I always found that curious," I say to her. "You were in the facility when the Vampires were freed and yet you escaped. Someone up there must really like you. It would seem that you were the one and only human that did in fact escape with your life that day. Yes, if one was of the curious nature, they would find the whole ordeal most suspicious."

"Perhaps the Lord saw fit to allow me to live so that I could help you with this little problem?" She points down into the room once more.

"Really?" I ask her. "And what do you know about trans-mutating viral infections?"

"Not a thing," she laughs. "But I know how Vampires act and thanks to Truman's research, we know how to control them. If it wasn't for me, you would never be able to hold the infected that you've captured here in the compound."

"What about the documentation and data?" I ask her. I didn't know Truman but I did know Overlark. He wouldn't have done anything without data. There wasn't any when the facility was investigated. "Can you explain that?" I ask her.

"The Vampires were crazed monsters, doctors. I doubt there was anything left once they were through with it," Mrs. Newlin says.

"No," I shake my head. "As far as I know, the servers and computer system were intact. Yet all information about the makeup and distribution of the virus was either erased or destroyed."

"Or maybe," she interjects. "It wasn't there in the first place. Overlark was very suspicious. Maybe he put the information somewhere so it wouldn't be stolen. I wouldn't put it past him to hide it, doctor. But then again, I wouldn't really know. Like I said, I stayed out of his way and allowed Truman to deal with him."

"I still don't understand why you are here at all," I say to her.

"My good doctor," she sighs. "Truman Burrell may have been sacrificed for a cause but it was one he believed in. He may have been misguided but he was trying to control and govern the state the only way he saw how. He knew that the Vampires in the area were getting to the point that they could potentially be dangerous. Every day, we saw influxes of Vampires coming into the area. Truman would do anything to keep us God fearing humans safe from extinction at the hands of dangerous blood suckers. It may have been the wrong tactics but the meaning was the right one. The delegation saw the wisdom in what Truman was trying to do and took that into account when figuring out what to do from here. The only way to find a way out of this mess is to control the situation. It's quite simple, doctor."

"And what would that be, Mrs. Newlin?" I ask.

"Vampires must be controlled or they will control us. I'm here to make sure that you don't stray from that objective."

I shake my head. "Thank you for that political propaganda, Mrs. Newlin and we all are thankful for your wisdom and knowledge in containing the infected. But it doesn't change the fact that the Vampires are sick because they were infected with a virus that your boyfriend created. If we have any chance of stopping this pandemic, it will be to come up with a way to combat the virus and eradicate it. It appears that the ones we thought would be able to help," I point again at the room, "are now becoming ill. Frankly, Mrs. Newlin, it wouldn't take a very large jump for that strain to transmute and affect the rest of us."

She shakes her head. "That won't happen."

"And why do you think that?" I ask her.

"Because God is on our side," she smiles again. "He's always been on our side. He is allowing those Vampires to be infected because they are unholy. He has obviously seen fit for something," she points to the room, "to infect these unholy creatures as well."

"You believe that, don't you?" I ask her.

"It really is the only logical solution. God doesn't see these types of creatures the same way he sees those of us who have been made in his image."

I lean back on the wall. "My God, you really believe that, don't you?" I ask her.

She smirks at me. "You are fighting a losing battle. God's wrath is absolute," she holds her chin up. "His desires will prevails in all things. You very well may be able to stop the spreading of this virus but God's will is what will be, in all things."

I stand there for a moment waiting for this woman to tell me the punch line. At the very least, I'm hoping that I'm being "punked" or something along those lines. The Delegation to the United States Supernatural Creatures or DE USC as we have being calling it can't possibly consider this woman as one of them? She's as crazy as she was when she and her husband ran that church way back before all this crap started. I mean, seeing them on the talk shows was bad enough but at least their demographics and following were relatively contained. Normal, sane and logical people really didn't pay them any mind. Then Steve Newlin became a Vampire. I thought things would die down then but that didn't happen. Reverend Newlin became the face of Vampires all over the world. He again was on every talk show and news program he could find. If that wasn't bad enough, Sarah Newlin goes and shacks up with Governor Truman Burrell. That man was ten times crazier than Newlin ever was and he had the power and connections to not only wreak havoc on Vampires but the entire human population of the state and beyond. Now as if they didn't learn their lesson, Sarah Newlin has somehow managed to cozy up to those idiots on the Delegation. This woman gives a new meaning to the word Gold-Digger.

"I think we are done here, Mrs. Newlin," I say to her. "I will be speaking to DE USC directly from now on."

"Oh, I don't think so," she smiles at me. "It's my job to make sure you are doing everything you can to prevent this virus from getting to us humans. If that means you have to test this virus and cures on every single unholy, un-natural creature on the planet, then that is what you will do."

I shake my head. "Mrs. Newlin, this is my facility. I'm in charge here. I would ask you to remember that. Now, I'm sure that the DE USC is waiting on your report and I'm further certain that the facilities in Wyoming and California are in need of your, well, expertise. I won't keep you from your duties," I turn back to my clipboard hoping she'll take the hint.

"Doctor, you need to remember something yourself," she says as the door opens behind her and my security team enters the room. "You may run this little rat maze you've created but the members of the DE USC listen to what I say. They do what I want," she smirks looking me up and down. "There may come a time when they may even think you are not working in the best interest of the greater good. Remember that, before you start trying to save creatures that shouldn't be walking the earth to begin with. Do your job. Find a way to stop the spread of the virus and control the Vampires. That is what you are paid to do."

She doesn't wait for me to say another word as she turns and walks out of the room like she owns the place.

"Doctor Stork," my chief of security, Tanner Lewis, waits for me to look up.

"I want to know the moment she's outside the compound and I want her security to be revoked."

"Ma'am?" he asks.

"Oh, and get me the Chief Delegation Rep," I say to him.

"You want to talk to Senior Chief McAvoy?" He asks me.

"He needs to know that he has an Anti-Vampire zealot overseeing the facilities for him." I say and look at him. "You got that conversation on tape, I presume?"

"We get everything on tape," he nods to me.

"Good," I say and go back to look at the ill patients below. Most of them can't be any older than my own son. Damn this is getting nuts.

I turn to look back at him. "I want the footage with audio ready to submit to the chief during my conversation and I want it done within the hour."

He nods. "Is there anything else?"

I sigh. "Contact Lieutenant Tisdale. I want to know where we are at finding the Stackhouse and Bellefleur girl. We need them. If they are as powerful as our research shows, I need them and I need them fast."

Lewis leaves without saying anything else. He knows not to ask me any questions. I'm so not in the mood. I wasn't kidding when I said that the strain could easily do another jump. I just don't know what the catalyst is. I have a feeling that if I don't find it soon, we may have something like a live version of a Stephen King novel. Yeah, not exactly what the DE USC wants to hear.

I turn back to the room and look down on them once more. I've got a lot of work to do and if that Woman is going to cause me any problems, I want her gone.

As I'm reviewing the last of my notes, the door opens again. I don't need to look up to know that it's my second, Doctor Alec Moore. The man is a genius when it comes to germ warfare, splicing and re-engineering. He'd worked under Overlark for years before he went bat shit crazy and teamed up with Burrell.

"I've got something you need to see," he says to me.

I look up and take the file from him. "You found something," it's not a question.

"More like I didn't find something," he said.

I raise an eyebrow and then open the file. Reading it I shake my head.

"This can't be," I say. "Did you verify this?" I ask him."

"I wouldn't be bringing it to you if I didn't," Moore says. "The data doesn't lie."

"I don't understand," I look at him. "The Hep-V we are seeing in the subjects should be a strain of the original we found in the True Blood bottles."

"Well it isn't," he says. "It doesn't have any part of the protein or code in common. I could understand the proteins being different but the code would need to be similar to be part of the same strain. These viruses didn't trans-mutate, doctor."

"It's a completely different strain," I say out loud. "This is something completely different," I pause and look up at him. "All the information we got from Compton?"

"Is completely useless. If it was just a different strain, we would be able to find some form of enzyme that he was working on. This," he points to the file, "indicates we have been trying to isolate the wrong enzyme. It's a different strain with a completely different protein which means its infecting the host in a different way."

I nod. "The first strain killed within hours," I look at the file again. "This new one doesn't kill it just destroys the brain," I look up at him.

"It gets better," he points to the file.

I read on. "This changes things," I say to him.

"Yup," he pops the p at the end of the word. "The humans that are carrying the dormant gene of Hep-V didn't get it from contact with a somehow infected Vampire. It's the opposite. The humans were given the strain," he says.

"Why would anyone want to give humans Hep-V?" I ask him.

"Someone who wanted to cause Vampires to go mad," he says.

I look up at him.

"What?" he says. "What other explanation could there be? The first strain was designed to kill anyone who drank from the tainted blood. This," he shakes his head. "This is a slow painful death. Those Vampires don't know their name, don't know who made them and they certainly have lost reason. The ones at the final stages are pretty much performing basic function and nothing more. It is eating them from the inside out. Someone wanted them to suffer."

"You are sure that it's not a mutation? I ask again.

"There is no way it can be," he says. "Someone or a group of someone's' got humans to either be injected with or ingested the virus. How, I don't know. But there is one thing for sure," he pauses and I look at him. "There is no way this is the hand of God as that wacked out, dyed blonde nut job thinks. This sucker is man-made."

I look through the file again. "We know where the first outbreak of these zombie-like Vampires started?" I ask him.

"The first reports were in Louisiana. We didn't think much of it because we thought that it was based on the strain from the True Blood and those were the trucks we confiscated."

I flip to the last page of the report. My mind going in so many directions at once. This is really bigger than we thought if everything I'm reading is true.

"Do we have Newlin's blood on file?" I ask him.

"We have every human who visits this facilities blood on file. It's safety precautions."

I nod. "Run it and find out what strain if any it has," I say and hand him back the file.

"You think she's a carrier?" Moore asks.

I nod. "I think she is and she knows more than she is saying,"

"You have any thoughts on them?" he asks pointing to the window.

I nod. "They don't have Hep-V," I say softly. "I don't know why they are sick but it is nothing like what we are seeing in the Vampires."

"But the brass in Wyoming seems to think it's a mutation," he replies.

"Yes but they don't have you, now do they?" I smile at the man. "Nothing in our findings proves that they have any variation of the virus."

"You didn't tell Newlin that," he says.

I shrug. "I don't tell her a lot of things."

"What is making them sick?" he asks.

I shake my head. "I don't know. But something tells me that I'll find the answer in this Stackhouse woman."

"Doctor," I hear from behind me.

I look at my head of security.

"All is ready for your conference call," he says. I nod and hand the files to Moore. "It's show time," I say and smile walking out the door.

That bitch may think she has the upper hand. Well, I know one this. She hasn't seen anything yet.