The next morning when the phone shattered the stillness of the morning, Sookie awoke with the absolute certainty that everything had been a dream. She knew in her bones that the person on the other end would be Jason. Jumping out of bed with an energy that surprised herself, she snatched the phone from its cradle.

"Hello," she said breathlessly.

"Sookie?"

"Sam?" Her déjà vu reflex made her wonder if she had fallen through time.

"Sookie, you were supposed to be here twenty minutes ago, is everything okay?"

She clapped her hand to her forehead. "Oh my gosh, Sam I am so sorry! I completely forgot that I told you I'd work today! Everything has just been crazy since the last time I saw you and it slipped my mind. I'll be right over!"

As she was hanging up the phone, Eric stumbled into her room rubbing his eyes. His blond hair was mused and he was clad in only a black pair of boxer briefs.

"What's going on?" His voice was thick and he squinted at her through eyes unaccustomed to the light.

She tried to focus on his bruised face and not his half naked body. "I have to go to work. Last time I was there I promised Sam I'd come in today and I'm late."

"You woke me up." She snuck a peak as he sat down on the edge of her bed; there was some bruising near his ribs, she noted, but not an ounce of fat. His chest muscles teased her as he stretched and yawned, his eyes practically shut again. He didn't even know what he was doing to her. She sighed. This kind of perfection was what they modeled statues after.

"It's too early to be up," he complained.

She began to busy herself by pulling out her clothes from their respective drawers. "Vampires don't need that much sleep, Eric."

"But I'm not a vampire right now," his voice was muffled as he slumped onto her mattress, burying his face in her pillow.

Glancing at the clock, she hurried to the bathroom to get dressed. She threw on a pair of shorts and her bra and haphazardly rolled on some deodorant. She brushed her teeth and ran a comb through her hair in record time and then turned to grab her shirt. She spun in a quick circle and then rolled her eyes at her own absent mind. She had left the white shirt Sam insisted on in her room.

She ventured her head out of the door and craned to look at her bed. Eric had not moved and his breathing was steady and even. Without giving herself time to over think the situation, she darted out of the bathroom and into her room. Her hair whirled around her face as she searched for the shirt. Her eyes darted to Eric, but although his head was facing her, his eyes were closed and his face still. She resumed her hunt and raised her eyes in a silent prayer of thanks when she saw it on the back of her desk chair. She shrugged it on and straightened herself out, allowing herself to relax.

"When will you be back?"

She shrieked and turned to face him. "You were awake this whole time? Were you watching me?"

"What should I do while you're gone?" His eyes were still shut and the smallest of smiles graced his face.

"I don't know, Eric," she glanced at herself in the mirror and thanked the Lord she had put on her pretty pink laced bra. "Read a book, plan your world domination. Just stay out of trouble okay? I don't want to have to worry about you while I'm working."

She strode out of the room to make herself some toast. She jammed the bread into her mouth and swooped her hair into a ponytail. Never taking her eyes from the clock, she drained a glass of orange juice and wiped her lips with the back of her hand. She should have left by now. Sighing, she half-jogged back to her room to remind Eric when she would be home.

She stopped in the doorway and looked at him. His face was relaxed and innocent in a way she rarely saw in the vampire. His hair looked soft on his forehead and the glow of his now tanned skin against her white sheets reminded her of a dream of him she had once had. One hand curled under the cushion his head rested on and the other clutched at her second pillow, pulling it toward him in an intimate cuddle. She thought about waking him up, considering it seemed inappropriate that he was sleeping in her bed, but she decided against it. He looked like he belonged there.

She jotted a quick note to him and stuck it on the kitchen table and then she ran out to her car, locking the house behind her and hoping that everything and everyone inside would be safe while she was gone.

Eric shot up in the bed. The air was thick and heavy around him and he felt disoriented.

"Sookie?" He called out. He looked around the room for her. She had just been here. He grinned when he remembered how she had looked in her bra. He couldn't remember the last time seeing that little of a woman had excited him so much. "Sookie," he said again and wondered if she had just slipped out without him hearing. He looked around for her clock and blinked in surprise. It had been over two hours since Sookie had left.

He rubbed his matted hair and yawned in satisfaction. It was nice to sleep this late; it was especially nice to sleep this late in a bed that smelled of Sookie. He collapsed back against her pillows and tried unsuccessfully to lessen the grin that stretched across his face. When he had climbed into her bed, it was still warm from her body. He wished ruefully that she were here with him although he knew his fantasy of her climbing into bed with him was far from reality at this point. He pondered this longing to be close to her, to simply lay with her in bed on a sunny morning. For the first time since he had opened his eyes, his grin slid off his face. He still wanted to have sex with her of course, but there was something more he dreamed about now, aspects of a life with Sookie that were domestic and loving and human. He cringed and forced himself to get off the bed. He didn't want to think about this right now; not about his feelings toward Sookie or his enjoyment of his recent human activities. Soon Pam would find the witch and he would be his normal self again. Until then, why shouldn't he enjoy himself?

He padded over to the bathroom in his bare feet and set about the morning ritual into which he had easily fallen: using the toilet, brushing his teeth, and showering. He had used Sookie's shower supplies for the first few days, but then had gone to the store with her to pick up some of his own products. While he enjoyed smelling her coconut body wash on her, it felt a little too emasculating to go about his day smelling of it.

After his shower, he looked through his bag of clothes Pam had brought over. He grabbed a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, then, looking around, he smirked and walked to the living room completely in the nude. It felt deliciously naughty to be naked in Sookie's house and he considered texting her a picture, but decided against beginning another argument with his hostess. She could be very emotional about those types of things.

He looked out her front window and inhaled a deep breath at the brilliant glint of sunshine on her lawn. Mornings were his favorite, he decided. He felt like he could sit in that sunshine the whole day and not be bored. Interrupting the calm, he stomach let out an angry grumble. Eric looked down at himself in surprise. "Right," he said, his voice echoing in the empty house. "Right."

Walking into the kitchen, he stared at Sookie's cooking appliances in a dumbfounded stupor. He had lived for over a thousand years, battled countless enemies, and become a force to be reckoned with in vampire politics, yet cooking a human meal… Skimming Sookie's note, he sighed in agitation and began walking around the room, running his fingers over her things. She wouldn't be home until almost seven. He had the whole day to wait for her and to fend for himself. He opened one drawer after another hoping that some item would strike him with inspiration. He stopped when he noticed a cook book in the bottom drawer. He flipped through its pages, staring in awe at the photos of steaming food. Glancing at the clock, he smiled and began going through Sookie's refrigerator, piling food on the counter; inspiration had struck.

Sookie laughed at Lafayette as he placed the plate in front of her. "Shut up!" She said but she was still giggling.

"I'm being for real, lady," he leaned his elbows on the partition and twirled his finger. "Give me a spin, show me what you're working with." She rolled her eyes and spun in an exaggerated circle, holding out her arms. "Mmm mmm mm!" Lafayette snapped his fingers. "Sook, you practically glowing, girl. Last time I saw you, you looked like a kid whose balloon just popped. What's your secret? Someone poking you just right?"

"Lafayette!" Sookie squealed, but she couldn't help but laugh again. "Not everything is about sex you know."

"Mm. Only the good things in life."

She threw a stray French fry at him and turned to deliver the food. As she was walking to refill someone's Coke, a gruff voice to her left said, "Nobody's taken my order yet."

Sookie stiffened and slowly turned. "Sure, Andy," her voice was crisp and bright. "I'll be right there." She got the drink for the women and then came to stand in front of Andy's booth with her pad out. "So, what can I get you?"

"You heard from your brother?"

Sookie sighed and shifted her weight to one leg. "No, Andy. My brother is still missing."

"The DEA is up my ass on this, Sookie. They think he warned those people and then took off with them like some kind of goddamn hillbilly Moses."

"That's ridiculous!" Sookie's voice rose and she saw a few patrons glance in their direction. She leaned closer to his face. "They took him," she hissed. "You guys should be looking for him to help him, not hunting him down like he's some kind of criminal. For God's sake this is Jason we're talking about, Andy. You know him."

"Yeah I do know him," Andy's voice was just as irate as hers. "And I know he gets himself into a lot of stupid shit just like this." They glared at each other for tense seconds then Andy's eyes lowered. "I'll take a burger and fries."

Sookie stalked away from him, placed the order, and then rushed to Sam's office, slamming the door behind her. She was still fuming when Sam came in quietly.

"Sookie, is everything okay? What was that about?"

She turned to him and at the look on her face he walked over and wrapped his arms around her. She let herself be engulfed by his warmth and she rested her forehead against his flannel-covered chest. Taking some calming breaths, she pulled back and looked at his concerned eyes.

"Jason's missing," she said by way of explanation.

"Missing?"

"Andy thinks he ran away with some drug dealers from Hotshot to protect them, but I've been looking for him and I think someone took him."

"Sookie, my God, I," Sam brushed her hair away from her face. "Is there anything I can do?"

"No." Sookie backed away and began straightening herself out, her voice oddly steady and calm. "I've got it under control. The person who I think is responsible for all this is coming back around next Monday," she paused and thought about it. "I'm going to solve this then."

Same looked alarmed. "Monday? I'll go with you."

"No!" Sookie felt a rush of panic at the thought of exposing Eric's secret. She trusted Sam, but she had given her word to the vampire that she wouldn't tell anyone. "I have someone going with me."

"Sookie…"

"Don't worry, Sam," she flashed him a smile. "We'll be safe."

Eric barely heard the phone over the hum of the blender. He reached out a batter-dipped hand to snatch it up. "Hello?" He balanced the cordless between his ear and his shoulder as he continued to chop the cucumber in front of him.

"Eric?"

"What?" He yelled.

"Eric!" Sookie glanced around the bar self-consciously as she raised her voice to be heard over the apparent tornado that was ripping through his end of the line. "What's going on?"

"Sookie," he sounded gleeful. "How's work?"

"It's fine, I was just calling to check in. What's going on there?"

"Oh don't you worry about me," he was still shouting. "And don't you work too hard! See you soon."

"No, wait, Eric what are you-" The phone clicked in her ear and she looked at it for a moment. "Doing," she finished.

A few hours later, when she pulled into her driveway, the light was already almost completely drained from the sky. She closed her car door and leaned against the vehicle, looking at the glow from her house's windows. It looked inviting and warm. She lingered for an extra moment and was surprised when her front door opened.

Eric's big frame filled the doorway and the light behind him exaggerated his silhouette and shadowed his face. "Welcome home!" His voice boomed. "Come inside, I've been waiting for you."

She smiled and felt her exhaustion slipping away as she walked toward him. He hovered just inside the door and took her bag and coat as she walked in. He had on jeans and a button-down shirt and his hair was brushed back from his face. She crinkled her nose suspiciously.

"What's going on?"

"Close your eyes," he looked practically giddy.

"Eric," she said warningly.

"Trust me," he held out his hand and she looked at him a second longer before closing her eyes in resignation and accepting his offering. He led her into the next room and her interest was piqued as she realized the house was filled with an interesting smell.

"What is that?" she asked. "Did you order food? It smells good."

Eric squinted at her face, trying to judge if she was peaking or not. He waved a hand in front of her face and, satisfied when she didn't react, he maneuvered her in front of the table.

He stood behind her and leaned so his lips brushed her ear. "Okay," he whispered and she shivered. "Open your eyes."

Her eyes fluttered and she gasped at the sight before her. The table was blanketed by a white table cloth and two statuesque candles cast a glow over the scene. There were two plates at either end of the table, and they were covered to hide their contents from view.

"Sit, sit," Eric ushered her into a chair and revealed the contents of her plate to her. Immediately the delicious aroma floated up to her and she inhaled sharply. "It's lamb chops with mint almond pesto," he told her. "And green beans and rice and salad, and," he continued with a flourish. "For desert, chocolate cake." He pulled out a lopsided mass lathered in chocolate frosting. It looked as if someone had sat on it.

"You did all this?" Sookie asked slowly.

"Yes I made you a human dinner," he looked as proud as if he had just cured cancer.

Sookie gazed in wonder at the spread around them and the intimate atmosphere he had worked to create and she smiled up at him.

"This is," she said. "So perfect and sweet. Thank you." He continued to look at her expectantly. "I love it," she added and a beam split his face.

"Great." He sat across from her and placed a napkin in his lap. He watched while she took a bite and nodded in approval. "So," he popped a green bean in his mouth with a crunch. "Tell me about your day."

Sookie's hands searched the damp, soapy water for any lingering dishes and laughed as Eric finished his story about meeting Shakespeare.

"I wish I could have been there," she handed him a fork and he dried it and placed it in its home.

"Don't," he chuckled. "He was dull and depressed and poor. I never would have guessed he would affect the world in such a way. Perhaps I should have turned him."

"Imagine? That would be amazing if he were still around writing."

"I never knew you were such a fan."

"Well, most of it goes over my head," she admitted. "But some of it just," she sighed. "It's universal." She emptied the water and he handed her the dishrag so she could dry her hands. She turned to him. "So what's next?"

He looked around uncertainly. "I'm not sure."

"You don't have some other awesome surprise planned?"

He smiled and scratched the back of his neck. "This meal alone took me all day. I think I wasted all my available brain cells on keeping the house from burning down."

"Which I appreciate," she laughed and flicked at him with the towel. "How about a movie?" He smiled and nodded at her. "Okay, I'll make some popcorn and you go find one on TV okay?" He patted her shoulder on the way by and her eyes followed him until he disappeared.

She placed a flattened bag of popcorn into the microwave and then walked to put the unnoticed tub of butter back in the fridge. As the door shut, her eyes caught on a picture of her grandmother dangling under a kitten magnet. She traced Gran's smile with the tip of her finger. She thought about the meals they had together and all the happy times they had shared right in this same room.

Eric called for her and she cast one last look around the kitchen. The sponge was dripping in the sink and the smell of the popcorn filled the house as she poured it into a bowl. She remembered how Gran had made this house a home so that every night when Sookie came back it felt like a family. She realized with a start that that's what this was: coming home to dinner and good conversation and laughter. A family. She smiled and went to join Eric.