It took longer than I expected to write this next chapter. I'm sorry Eric isn't in it all that much, but the next chapter will make up for it. It's not the most exciting chapter, but it needed to be said. Please review, it helps. :) Don't hesitate to let me know if I made any mistakes, it is 2 am as I post this..

I'm still too boring of a person to make up my own characters, so of course I borrowed Charlaine Harris's. Thanks.


I kept my eyes closed when I awoke that morning. Opening my eyelids, even the slightest amount, would lead to disappointment. The sunlight streaming into the room caused the inside of my closed eyes to turn an orange color; despite the facts, I found myself hoping to find Eric smiling at me. But my bonded wasn't in my bed beside me, his cold arms weren't around my waist, and I wouldn't find him gazing at me when I woke up. I opened my eyes, and what do I find? A note.

Sookie,

My plan was to return to Fangtasia before sunrise, but that plan seems to have fallen through. I found it extremely difficult to leave your side my lover, even when I knew the sun would soon make its arrival. I am now in your "hidey-hole" and if you'll have me, I'd enjoy spending the upcoming night with you. We have much more to talk about. -E

I read the his note over a few more times and traced his 'E' with my index finger, before making my way out of bed and into the kitchen. I finally felt like I could have a good day, like I could act and feel like Sookie Stackhouse again. Maybe I wouldn't need to lock myself in my room for a crying session, and maybe I wouldn't have an anxiety attack when I looked at my 'battlescars.' In fact I knew I would have a good day. I could feel the change just one night in Eric's arms had made. I hadn't realized, until now, how much not seeing him was delaying my recovery. After witnessing the tears Eric shed last night, I knew he would have been there if it was possible, he would have saved me. I would find out tonight exactly why he was unable to be my hero, and we would be able to put this behind us. Yes Sookie, things will be back to normal soon, well as normal as things ever are around here. I nodded to myself once and started to make a mental list for the day; all the things I was up to accomplishing with my new found energy. First I needed to go back to work, and so I made a phone call to Sam.

"Sookie, is everything alright?" he said in complete panic. I rolled me eyes.

"Why does everyone assume that when I call I must be in danger?" I tried not to sound too harsh. He didn't say anything. "Sam, I'm calling you to see if you'd like help around the bar for a few hours today. . . maybe. I need to get back to my usual routine. I need to come back to work."

"Of course you can come in to work today Sookie, but are you sure you're ready?" I hoped it wasn't going to stay like this long, what with everyone second-guessing my judgement. I couldn't handle this constant pity.

"Trust me, I'm ready to come back to work. I'm dying here staying at home everyday. I need something to occupy my mind with. I probably should have come back to work days ago." That was a lie, today was the first day I didn't want to lay in bed all day hoping that I would eventually drown in my own sadness, but I needed to sound convincing to Sam.

"Okay, um...how about you work from 11 to 3, and we'll see how that works out?" he hesitated.

"See you at eleven. Bye Sam." And I hung up. There was no way I was going to give him the chance to change his mind. I could do four hours of work easy.

When Eric and Bill had brought me home after the Fae War Sam was one of the first to know something had happened. I called him letting him know that I wouldn't be able to work for a few weeks. Being a better friend than I ever thought I deeserved, Sam drove over here as soon as I told him. I tried giving him the car accident story that everyone else was told, but he wouldn't accept that excuse. He was too smart to believe me when I associated myself with vampires all of the time. I don't think I'll ever forget the look on his face when he saw me. At first pity flooded his face, then concern, and finally hatred, but I knew that last one was for the vampire standing next to me. Sam sat on the edge of the couch where I lay and calmly asked me to explain. I told him of the Fairies who were set out to destroy my, and about the two who managed to kidnap and torture me, that is until Bill and Niall arrived. Lastly, I described what I could wrap together of the brief war at the hospital after I was saved. The first words that came from Sam's mouth was, "Where the hell was Eric?" I stared at Sam with wide eyes for a brief moment, looked away, and began to weap. Eric was out of the house before my first tear could fall. One minute he was there and the next gone; faster than if I would have rescind his invitation. How could I answer that question when I didn't know the answer to it myself? Sam didn't stay long after that either; he could handle many things, but I don't think he liked being around when I cried.

I was grabbing my favorite coffee mug from the cabinet and filling it to the top, when Amelia walked in. That reminded me of another event on my to-do list. "Amelia, I just wanted to let you know I'm going to miss you when you move out," she looked upset for when I finished, so continued, "I know I know, you don't like me reading your thoughts all of the time, but I heard what you were thinking yesterday loud and clear without even trying. Don't worry about my feelings, really it's okay if you'd like to move back home now." I gave her a wide grin and waited to see if she would object. I grabbed an extra mug from the bottom shelf, "coffee?"

She was a pretty smart witch because the very next sentence I picked up from her mind was: Good 'ol gorgeous Eric must be the reason for this. "Yes, please. . .you're sure that you wouldn't be upset, or too lonely, if I left?" Once again my thinking was being second guessed.

"Well, I can't say I won't be lonely, but I think I'll manage." I gave her a reasuring wink and handed her some coffee. "When would you leave?"

"Well, since you're okay with it....I guess I'll be leaving tomorrow. My house has been repaired for so long. I shouldn't have stayed as long as I have, not that I haven't had fun living here. But with what has happened lately I think it's time for me to go."

I nodded. Along with Sam, she was the only other person who wasn't led to believe that I had been in a car crash. When I asked her when she was leaving I thought that it would at least be a week until she packed up and moved on, but I would never have guessed a 's death must have hit her hard if she wanted to get out of Bon Temps so fast; I felt bad for not noticing I had been the reason she stayed longer than she wanted. "You're welcome to come back anytime you'd like to." I gave her a quick hug, "I have to go get ready for work, we'll talk tomorrow okay?"

She nodded and I assumed she was lost in her own thoughts when she didn't question me about going back to Merlotte's. I made my way back to my room, not wanting to witness whatever she happened to be thinking at the moment. I'll be alone in this old house again, I thought as I sat on my bed and examined the walls around me. For most people that would be liberating, but I couldn't seem find too much pleasure in it. I pushed the upcoming lonliness to the back of my mind and refocused on my list or the day.

The last thing on my mental list was that I needed to calling Remy and checking on Hunter. Remy had called a few weeks back, and with the Fae problem I had to postpone my help. When I called, he told me that apparently Hunter was doing worse around other kids once he started school last week and Remy was having a hard time blocking his own frustration from Hunter. I could sense that Remy was beating himself up over this and I knew that would only make things worse. Grudgingly, he told me that he couldn't do this alone anymore and that he needed my help. I reassured him that I could help Hunter learn how to block the thoughts of others, and that everything was going to turn out okay. He didn't believe me. I didn't need to be a telepath to know that answer to the question, but I asked Remy anyway, if today would be okay for me to stop by and see what I could do. I heard little Hunter's cheering through the phone when he overheard Remy tell me today was a good day for me to stop by.

Thinking about Hunter's excitement brought a smile to my face as I took extra time getting ready for work. I made sure the worst of the few scratches and bruises on my face were covered with make up. Of course, I had to wear black pants instead of my usual black shorts. With the vampire blood I consumed after being tortured, I knew that the scars would go away eventually but all I could do was cover them. To my surprise I didn't shed a tear, my mouth was turned into a slight grin as I prepared myself for the day. I couldn't wait to see Hunter, and eventhough I didn't know him all too well yet I just knew we were going to get along great and that my little 'nephew' was going to love his 'auntie'.

Amelia was packing her room up when I made my way out of the house. I stood in her doorway for a minute to tell her goodbye, but she was so focused on gathering her belongings, she didn't notice me. Deciding to allow her to pack in peace, I left for work, and ignored the few hurt feelings I had.

Sam greeted me with a huge hug that I tried not to think of as too friendly. Sam couldn't still have feelings for me right? I used my 'gift' to read my employer's thoughts. I wish I could keep her from all of this craziness. And AWAY from the vampires. This hug is nice, I wish ---. I let go of him quickly, not wanting the rest of his thought. It seemed innocent, but I didn't want to risk hearing otherwise.

"Nice to see you Sam," and with the friendliest smile I could form, I left his side to start the work I needed to get done.

Hate to admit it, but my skill of blocking others thoughts had seemed to have gotten rusty. What more could I expect since I had spent the last two weeks hybernating in my house? I was surprised in myself; despite the thoughts of others that flowed through my mind, I was enjoying my day. It felt great to be around people again. Yes, I was and would continue to be Sookie Stackhouse. Despite all the bad things that have happened to me, I would live through it. I was living proof that Stackhouse women could handle anything. I felt myself smile, not a week smile; a full on teeth showing smile. Then I noticed Sam at my side whispering my name. "Sookie," he snapped me back into reality.

"Oh," I hadn't realized that while I was thinking about being a strong Stackhouse woman, I was also standing still in the middle of Merlotte's, holding a customers beer, and staring at one of the walls...Once again the town thought I was nuts. Yet not even this could bring me down. I brought myself back to earth and focused on what I was supposed to be doing: working. The customer, whose beer I was holding, gave me an off look when I placed in front of him. "Enjoy," was all I could say to him.

Everyone's thoughts weren't as welcoming as I hoped they would be, but all in all work went by fast, and eventhough it was my first day back I'm glad it went by so quickly; I was eager to meet with Hunter. Holly in particular thought I still wasn't ready to come back to work, and she hoped that we wouldn't be working together too often because I seemed to slow things down. I ran into Jason at the front door. 'Why didn't I go out the back?' I thought. He had his arm around the 'tramp of the day.' I could tell right away that she was a shifter, and I didn't like her. The reason for my dislike in her was probably due to the fact that nobody, I mean not a single girl, that Jason has dated has turned out to be a good person. A fact this whole town knew. This girl had dark tossled brown hair and she was taller than me, other than that I didn't notice much else; I just waved at Jason and made my way past the 'happy couple'. My brother and I weren't exactly on speaking terms, since he decided to hold a grudge against me for not telling him about Niall. Oh well.

Once the annoying customers and Jason were pushed to the back of my mind, I was off to observe how much Hunter's 'gift' had taken over his life. I just hoped there was something I could do to help him out. If he was lucky, he would find it easy to block the thoughts of the people around him. I turned the radio on and sang along to the music, thinking it would make my drive to Red Ditch fly by faster; it didn't. I was too eager to help Remy out. If only someone was there to help my parents out when I first noticed my 'gift'.

Once I pulled up to his little house Remy peered through the front window and came outside, alone. This didn't look like a good sign. "Thanks for coming Sookie," he shook my hand. It seemed to me that he looked a little older than the last time I saw him; a little more sleep deprived. My help would definately be needed here.

"Not a problem Remy," I tried to reassure him with a smile. "How's Hunter?" I glanced behind Remy to catch Hunter looking through the window.

"He's not so bad today," the way Remy said this made it sound like Hunter was a problem he couldn't get rid of, "he's been excited to see you."

"Great," I made my way past him and walked towards the door, hoping that he wouldn't think I was rude for letting myself in.

"Aunt Sookie!" Hunter was hugging both of my legs before I could take three steps into the house.

"Hey buddy," I crouched down to his heighth to return the hug. How've you been, I sent out to him, checking to see if he was alert. He shrugged and sent back an 'okay'. Yep, he was alert.

"Why don't we go play, yeah?" I stood back up and sent another reassuring smile to Remy, as Hunter grabbed my hand and led me to his room. Remy was stressed out, I could 'tell'.

Right away I was made aware of the fact that Hunter prefered his toy truck over the dinosaurs and legos I saw in the corner of his room. He had a small bed with navy blue bedding that was built close to the ground. While he sat on the ground pushing his trucks across the tan carpet I started to ask him how school was going for him. Apparently he was doing a good job not answering the other kids thoughts; he had only slipped up a few times and when he did the kids took no notice. His teacher however, had begun to think something was up. He had answered a few questions the teacher was thinking about before she could finish writing them on the board.

Once Hunter agreed to letting me teach him how, I began telling him ways to block people's thoughts. Remy came in quietly to check on our progress and everytime he seemed to be thinking about how much he could trust me with Hunter. At first I was glad he had so much trust in me, but after the second and third visit from him I began to wonder why he felt the need to keep reminding himself that I was trustworthy. Weird.

"What's weird?" Hunter asked, assuming I was suggesting that he was weird.

I couldn't have him thinking that, "How good you're getting at this already." He was getting good and when it was time for me to leave I already had Hunter blocking out Remy's thoughts. This was one of my goals since Remy seemed to be stressed out about Hunter a lot of the time. Remy's problems weren't anything Hunter needed to know about. I told Hunter to practice on his daddy all the time, and then it would get easier for him to block out the people he is around at school. I had to give him credit, he never showed the slightest bit of frustration when we were practicing. He just kept at it like a good little telepath.

"Will you come visit me again soon?" he asked me as they both walked me out to my car.

"As soon as I can," I couldn't help but grin at his cute little face; it was precious. Once again I croutched down to his level and gave him a goodbye hug. When I let go I caught a few of Remy's thoughts, I wish Hadley was here...then I could do to her what she did to me! As soon as I registered what he meant by that, I scanned Hunter's thoughts to make sure he was oblivious to the fact that his father would like to abandon him as his mother had. Hunter was oblivious. Good little telepath; he was blocking our thoughts. Thank God, I thought. Why the hell was Remy thinking like this?

`"What's daddy thinking?" Hunter silently spoke to me.

"You're supposed to be blocking everyone's thoughts," I gave him a smile so he knew I wasn't upset with him and he nodded. "Goodbye Hunter," I ruffled his hair a bit, "be good." I sent the tiny boy one last smile before shooting worried eyes at Remy. I didn't stay long enough to see if my worried eyes sent any caution to Remy.

The whole drive home I tried to think of ways I could help them with Hunter's telepathic situation. I didn't want Hunter to go through as much struggle as I did growing up, but nothing I could think of would fix the situation. I still couldn't get over Remy even thinking about leaving Hunter. First of all, my parents had nobody to help them when my 'gift' happened to come by me and I never caught an aweful thought like abandoning me from their minds, and second, who could leave such a precious little boy like Hunter? I was so emersed in my thoughts, that I was pretty sure I had ran a stop sign. I'm was just glad there weren't any cars around to make an accident out of my poor judgement.

I couldn't shift my thoughts to another topic though, I even found myself turning onto my driveway still wondering what Remy's deal was. After parking and turning the car off, I grabbed my purse, got out, and locked the car door. Seconds later someone quickly pressed my back against the car, I gasped, and my heart began to race.

Eric was about to kiss me, but instead said, "Sookie what's wrong?" when he noticed my reaction.

"Oh geez, it's just you," I placed my hand on my pounding chest.

He took a step backand, confusion struck his pale face, "You didn't know it was me?"

I shook my head, not completely understanding his reaction.

"But our blood bond...you should have known it was me," Eric wondered. I could feel that he was truely worried.

"Don't worry. My mind was somewhere else completely. There's nothing wrong with our bond, I can feel you now. I was worried about my nephew. . ., but we'll talk about that later," I stood my tip toes, did my best to wrap my arms around his neck, and kissed him. He must have believed me because he returned the kiss all too eagerly and slowly slid his hands down my arms and to my waist. Before I knew it his hands were at my thighs and he lifted me off the ground, my legs now around his waist.

"Bedroom," I managed to mumble. I hadn't realized how much I missed him throughout the day until now. My body was aching for him. . . all of him. He broke our kiss; my disappointment and frustration must have been writen across my face because he let out a tiny laugh.

"Don't pout my lover," he brushed the hair from my face, my legs were still wrapped around him. "There's plenty of time for us to have our way with each other," Eric raised one of his eyebrows up and gave my his sexy grin. I just about melted there in his arms. "First, I believe there's something I need to explain to you. I won't have you doubting me or wondering any longer."

I sighed in defeat, "Isn't this supposed to be the other way around? The guy isn't supposed to say no when he has a woman in his arms dying to jump his bones."

He gave me a smile for my 'jumping his bones' remark, and then we made our way upstairs. . . to talk.


Chapter 3 should be better, sorry if I bored you with this chapter. It shouldn't take any longer than a week. Thanks and please review. :)