"I was right, you did set me up," Bill growled glaring at Eric.

"No… you are still wrong in that regard," Eric said with a smirk.

"Indeed, that would be me, after all, it was my plan," Sookie told a disbelieving Bill.

"You expect me to believe a fucking human girl set me up. I am not that stupid." Bill's glare was still on Eric. "Listen, sweetheart, they are using you, and clearly you are too stupid to see…" his words died in his mouth when he spotted the glow on Sookie's hands.

"Care to repeat that." Sookie's voice had taken on a deadly edge that had Compton scrambling to think of a way out. "You are clearly struggling to understand what is happening, but don't worry, soon it will all be clear." The glow turned into a ball of blinding white energy before it was snuffed out. Bill blew out a sigh of relief.

"Idiot," Jason muttered, and before Compton could wonder what it was about, Sookie flicked a finger. Bill looked down to find a small hole in his stomach, he looked down at it just as the pain began. The scream that tore out of him was deafening. He was slowly burning on the inside, but not to the extent that would end his existence, just enough to cause him a great deal of hurt. Eric walked up to him and snapped his neck shutting him up. Bill was still aware of what was happening but wasn't able to vocalize it. He hadn't fed in days, and that only exacerbated the pain.

Thalia walked down to the basement after the bar was cleared. Eric released Bill from his confines and hurled him over his shoulder. He vamped out of the basement through the back door and dumped him in the back of Pam's van.

Pam got in the driver's seat with a groan. This would be the third time this month I have had to have the van detailed. "He's not bleeding all over it." Eric offered as if it made any difference to Pam.

"I can smell him that is all that matters." She countered squealing out of the employee parking space. She quickly caught up to Sookie who was now back to driving her Lexus. Pam was sure Sookie would be happy to get back to her regular day job. She did all the paperwork pertaining to running Fangtasia. That saved her and Eric hours of dealing with liquor suppliers, payroll, taxes and everything else paper related. Sookie also helped Sam Merlotte with his taxes and a couple of other businesses around Bon Temps. It was easy to glamour most of the locals to believe she worked as a waitress for Sam. The glamour was more for Bill than anything else. The folks at Bon Temps would have happily played along, but when it comes to vampires, you just did not take certain chances.

They pulled up at the warehouse and drove around the back. The place was very secluded, but care was still taken. Again Eric hurled Bill over his shoulder and carried him to the warehouse followed by Pam, Sookie, Jason, and Thalia.

"Billy boy, welcome to your new home," Eric said to an unresponsive Bill.

"Stackhouse, you have outdone yourself," Pam said looking around.

"Thank you, it was truly a pleasure." He tried imitating Pam's English accent, which usually came out when she got excited.

"You sound like a drunk Australian." Pam deadpanned.

Eric walked around the warehouse inspecting Jason's handiwork. Pam and Jason were in the middle of their usual back and forth. Thalia was walking Sookie through hand-to-hand combat when Bill groaned alerting the room to his wakeful status.

"Ahh, William, you are back with us." Pam drawled. "You have been missed." She added with a surprisingly straight face.

"What is this about? Pain lanced through him like never before. He was surprised to find a bottle of true blood at his lips. He finished three bottles in no time.

"We need you alert," Eric said as Jason pushed a large screen TV in front of him. "This should answer all your questions." Eric hit the play button.

Bill watched three children run around wondering what the fuck that had to do with anything but kept his question to himself. He had no desire to feel that burning sensation again.

"Sookie is cheating." He heard the boy shout, and he knew the child was Jason. He wasn't quite sure who the other child was.

"No, I'm not." He heard her defend.

"Yes, you are." The other girl piped up.

"Sookie, are you cheating?" Bill's eyes widened when Eric appeared on the screen.

"I didn't mean to, my shields sort of dropped all by itself." He heard the distinct chuckle that belonged to Pam who appeared to be the camera.

"I'm sure it did… all by itself." She added. A car horn beeped and the kids all looked at each other screeched and run into the house.

"I'm beginning to think we are just the dead things that keep them company until she turns up," Pam complained.

"They don't see her as much as they do us, so they are bound to abandon us when she turns up." The camera followed the children into the house.

If Bill were surprised by the sight of Eric and Pam, he would have peed himself if he was able to at the sight of Sophie-Anne. "I hear it's someone's birthday." She teased still on her knees as the three children still hugged her.

"Yes, it's Hadley's," Jason shouted excitedly.

Nine years ago Bill Compton had found a dirty, drugged up Hadley Delahoussaye outside Sophie- Anne's court. Despite all the drugs in her system, the girl smelled sweeter than your average human, much like Sookie he realized. He had taken her to court hoping to earn favor with the queen. He needed a great deal of money for his database idea. Hadley had been scared stiff as he led her to court, but for some odd reason had looked relieved and cried happily at the sight of Sophie-Ann. Sophie Anne herself had behaved rather oddly at the time, in fact, she appeared overcome by the sight of the girl. He now remembered Sophie-Anne had shushed Hadley when she tried to talk. Hadley would have given away their connection had she been allowed to speak. What Bill had witnessed that day was a reunion of family, but so stuck up his own ass he had missed the obvious.

Sophie-Ann had immediately taken Hadley to her chambers and asked not to be disturbed. Eric and Pam had come the following night to glamour Hadley. Pam was known for her glamour. Her glamour made it near on impossible for another vampire to glamour Hadley. A young vampire had tried once and ended up losing his fangs and spending six months in silver. Sophie- Anne didn't allow anyone near Hadley, not even her favorite childe, Andre. At the time none of the queens actions in regards to Hadley made sense, but now it all fell into place.

"When can we come and see your palace?" Sookie asked.

"I'm afraid not for a long time." Sophie- Ann said sadly.

"Sookie, vamps are dangerous." Jason chastised his little sister.

"Yes, not all vampires are like us, most of them would not care that you are children, and you are not supposed to know about us." She flicked Hadley's nose making the little girl giggle.

He watched as Sophie- Anne spent hours entertaining the children. The birthday party carried on with three vampires, the children, Adele and some of the residents of Bon Temps until the children fell asleep. He wondered how many at Merlotte's had been glamoured to make sure they said nothing to him that would raise his suspicions.

"I didn't think you were coming," Eric said to Sophie- Anne as he poured her a bagged blood.

"Compton has been delayed." Eric sighed needlessly and looked at her in disapproval.

"Tell me something, how are you going to explain this to the children, especially Sookie when she is old enough to understand. If circumstances had been different, you would be sending Compton down here years from now to get Sookie to court." Sophie- Anne shivered at the thought.

"I'm no longer taking people from their homes. I ask him to investigate their situation, and if it's less an ideal, then he steps in. I am giving them a choice to stay with me or go back to whatever lives they had before. For most it's so bad they choose to stay even knowing what we are. I would never take someone whose family life is ideal or better. You are right, I wouldn't know how to explain it to Sookie if I did." Sophie-Anne.

Bill finally understood why Sophie-Anne had gone from taking anyone she liked to accepting only those who wanted it.

"I can't believe you have fifty more years of payments for that wimp you call a vampire. He should have met his true death fifty years ago instead of you wasting money on him." Before he could hear Sophie- Anne's response the video stopped.

"I didn't know." He whispered.

"What didn't you know?" Jason growled as he wiped the tears from his face.

"I thought fifty years was enough, I didn't know she was still paying for my freedom."

Jason laughed. "You'd be truly dead if it weren't for her, and yet because you thought you had served your time it was okay to get her overthrown and ended in the process." He screamed grabbing a silver knife, which he plunged into Bill's thigh. Bill gritted his teeth fighting the pain.

"You took two people from us. The cousin that Pam drained, I believe you already know she was the cousin you drained. Why kill Hadley?" Bill knew the answer would only bring him more pain. He had drained Hadley because he realized Victor would never let him keep her. He had intended on her turning her, but her blood had surprised him and he ended up killing her.

"It doesn't matter you will pay for their deaths. As far as everyone is concerned you are dead, and if you think your maker will feel your pain and come for you, think again. This warehouse is warded, the minute you stepped past the ward your maker no longer felt you. Death will not come even as you wish, cry and beg for it." Sookie added.

"I didn't kill Sophie-Anne." He argued, he may have had a hand in it, but he didn't strike the final blow.

"Don't worry, your accomplices will be joining you soon," Pam told him with a smile. "Victor will be joining you soon followed by Felipe, then Threadgill. Rest up Bill, tomorrow night you and I will have a long time to get to know each other." Pam informed him gleefully. "I believe Jason will be joining us. He has quite the way with knives." Pam cackled as they left.

The lights in the warehouse went out leaving him alone in the darkness with his thoughts. What was Eric's real relationship with Sophie- Anne and how come no one knew about it.