Hello? I am sorry for such a delayed update…. School, work, life… it all got into the way :/ Here is the next chapter, I hope you all like it :D The 'Talk' is still at least a chapter away. Sookie has a jam packed day or two.

With no Betta all mistakes are mine, if you are still with me THANK YOU!

No copyright infringement is intended, all credit to CH/Alan Ball… I'm just putting my daydreams into words. Enjoy :D

I could feel the morning sun streaming in. I turned over in my bed… wait how did I get in my bed… the last thing that I remembered was crying on the couch. But as I open my eyes I find myself wrapped in my favorite afghan, Eric's afghan. I leisurely stretch and look around as my eyes fall on the pillow next to me.

There just happens to be a note lying there. My stomach clenches and my heart flutters, knowing that only Eric left me notes like this. I wonder why he didn't wake me if he was her last night. Hmm. As I bring up the note that was lying on the pillow next to me, I see Eric beautiful script that says My lover. I couldn't wait to open the letter to see what Eric had to say.

Lover,

I am truly looking forward to your Sunday BBQ, although to be honest I wish that it was just you and I. Shortly after our texting had finished I felt your intense pain, sadness, and despair. I called you and texted you, without being able to reach you. When I arrived and saw you sleeping I placed you in your bed so you could rest properly.

Know that you are an angel when you are sleeping, my angel. And it seems as though you my little angel have been a busy woman, as evident by the different smells in your home. I am looking forward to hearing all about them and to what distressed you so.

Please take care of yourself today.

Always,

Eric

Tears feel from my eyes before I could even try and stop them. I didn't think I had any tears left after last night. He had come all the way from Fangtasia just to make sure I was okay. He cared that much. He loved me that much. I had really felt horrible last night, especially because I was coming face to face with the consequences of my actions, and everything else that came crashing down at once.

Eric's letter was the only thing that made me feel better, it gave me hope. Now more than ever, I was sure that we had to have our conversations, all of them. I knew in my heart that my decisions were right. So much was going on, that it's hard to try and keep track of everything that we need to sit down and actually discuss. Hopefully Friday would give us the time we needed.

But that was for tomorrow, and I had much to do today. I looked at my clock and it was only 10:30 am, so I got up and started my morning routine. I looked in the mirror, and I looked a mess, my eyes were red and puffy, and don't get me started on my hair.

So I decided to take a little extra time in the shower. After I got out I quickly brushed out my hair and started to brush my teeth. While brushing my teeth I remember that I forgot to take my healing mixture that Niall brought me, crap. Note to self, take both vials tonight!

After dressing for the day, I headed for the kitchen for some much needed coffee. If I was ever on a deserted island coffee would be the one thing I would have to bring with me. While I was drinking my coffee and eating a light breakfast I brainstormed on all the things that would have to get done.

First on my list was prepping lunch for Alicde and me. Sandwiches, macaroni salad, and chips should be fine. So I moved my way around the kitchen preparing the macaroni salad, and making sure that I had the other necessities for lunch in stock, which luckily I did.

Next on the 'to do' list is making sure that I have everything ready to go over with Alicide. It wasn't too hard to get everything together, since I had the magazines with the stuff that I really liked, and the basic list of things that I would need done for update. I was just hoping that Alicide would be able to help fill in on any updates that I might have missed.

By the time I had everything together and laid out it was close to noon. As if on cue I could hear Alicde turning onto the street, and then heard him driving down the driveway.

Perfect timing.

As I walked to the front door Alicide was knocking. I opened the door and gave Alicde a wide smile and big hug "Hey Alicide, thank for coming over."

Alicide inhaled deeply and said "it's good to see you cher, I was glad that you called. You're looking real good, much better than the last time I saw you." Supes and there heightened senses. I don't know if I will ever get over the sniffing thing.

"Thanks. Its been a rough road, but with the people who love me around, its helped a lot. I'm glad you could come over, there has been a lot going on that its been hard to keep up with everything." I gave a terse smile as I lead him into the kitchen. "Please sit down will I get lunch ready."

Alicide smiled "Is there anything that I can help with?" It was sweet of him to offer, but somehow it seemed a little to intimate so I kindly declined. "So what is it that you have me doing here? You mentioned some renovations."

As I brought our plates and drink over I noted that Alicde had really come prepared. He had a blueprint with the general layout of the house prepared and a legal pad to take notes on.

"Well, it's a long story, and you'll hear more on Sunday, but the short of it is that I have inherited a little money and figured it was time to make some updates to this ole house." I smiled and continued "The Stackhouse's have added on over the years, and I guess now it's my turn."

Alicide did his best to smile with a mouth full of food, and after he swallowed said "Well I'm glad you thought of me to help. I brought a blue print so we can use it to plan. What were you thinking of doing?"

"Well, this is an old house, and the way things are going it seems that my life will never be 'normal' so its time I upgrade." Alicide nodded solemnly, knowing what my history has been.

"So basically I'm looking to have the entire house reinforced and supe proofed as much as possible. The additions over the years, while done the best they could for the time, kinda make the house a little disjointed. I want to smooth everything out. I want it to be similar to how it is now, but just better and definitely reinforced, remodeled, and maybe even fire proofed."

We both chuckled as we remembered the time that a vampire named Charles Twinning had tried to burn my house not too long ago. "I also want to make it vampire safe." I held my breath waiting for the disapproval I knew Alicide would have.

"I was with you until the vampire safe part. Are you sure that being with a vampire is safe and best for you? I mean think about everything you have gone through since they came into your life Sookie. Is that how you want it to keep being" Alicide asked with a look of distain on his face.

I could hear that he was only looking out for what was best for me and really only wanted me to be happy. He just didn't see it happening with a vampire, even though he was remembering the ways Eric and I looked at each other, with love and devotion. Something that deep down he wish he had too.

Alicide thought on all the supernatural politics, especially Were and Vamp politics… some of it I didn't understand, he knew more about the supernatural world than I did, and what he knew worried him. It was for those reasons that I let the Stackhouse temper go, and just decided to be honest.

"I know that you are only looking out for what's best for me because you care so much for me, and know that means the world to me because you are one of my close friends, but Eric is who I want to be with, who I want to share my life with." Alicide smiled and nodded and I read that he was resigning himself to those facts, even if he didn't like them. Well he didn't have to, I thought to myself.

"Well then let's talk more about what you're looking to do." I showed him all of the things like I liked out of the magazines, and he took notes. He offered ideas here and there and by the time 2 pm came around we had a solid plan. The plan was basically that the entire house would be properly and majorly reinforced and fireproofed, updated and renovated.

By the time he was done the house was going to look and feel brand new, while keeping it kinda the same. We also resigned ourselves to the fact that Eric would definitely want to have a say or opinion on something we had decided, so Alicide promised that he would work with Eric on anything else he or they could come up with.

All of the windows would be replaced with bulletproof and vampire safe windows, with emergency shutters in case of attack. The entire outside of the house and the roof would be upgraded and/or replaced as needed. The entire structure would be reinforced, reinsulated, and sound proofed. The attic would be remodeled, as would the second and first floors. The bathrooms and air conditioning would be upgraded. And of course we brainstormed on a 'hidey hole' as I had been accustom to calling it.

I wanted to make sure that Eric and Pam both felt comfortable staying with me at my house. So we decided that the best thing to do was to make an entire underground floor; a floor that is vampire and human safe, with several rooms, a small kitchen, and a bathroom. Alicide called it a major upgrade of a 'safe room', and he was right it may have been a bit over the top. Alicide had said that he would take our basic idea and let Eric make any necessary adjustments he saw fit for safety and security, or for him and Pam's comfort.

"Now I'm about to give you some insider information here buddy, and I expect that you keep it to yourself, okay?" Alicide nodded. "I am going away for about a month to get myself together. My hope is that on Sunday you can iron out any other things that Eric thinks should be added, and hopefully you could get as much as you can done in the month I'm gone. Do you think that would be possible?"

Alicide really thought about it for a moment. "Well you have a lot of things in the house, and there is a lot to be done, but I think that we can get a lot of it done before you get back if we work crews everyday all day. It could get a little expensive. You are also going to have to pack everything up and get it out of here before Monday. I can send over a truck a couple good guys to help you get everything done Friday, Saturday, and Sunday if you want."

I hadn't really thought about getting everything out yet, but I was really relieved that Alicide offered to send some helpers. "Well the money won't be an issue, so I would appreciate if you could get as much done as you can."

I smiled, and continued "I really appreciate your offer for the extra help, I hadn't thought about getting everything cleared out. I will need to make sure to get a storage locker. Oh and I think that Amelia will be handling all interior decorating stuff, I will be showing her what I showed you, plus she knows me well enough to get everything else together and set up. So any questions can go through her or Eric." Alicide smiled and took a few notes.

"I will make sure to talk to her or Eric about any questions. So can you tell me where you are going or do I have to wait until Sunday?" I smiled, and my insides were jumping for joy that everything was coming together so well.

"As for where I'm going, you'll have to wait like the other, you already know too much as it its!" Amelia didn't know about her new weekend plans and I told Alicide as much and we both laughed. Hopefully she would agree to them.

"Well I will start making plans, and get the teams and supplies together. I'm sure Eric will have some say about the 'hidey hole' as you call it, but I can still get a lot done tonight and over the next few days. Thanks for lunch, it was real good."

We walked to the door smiling "Thank you Alicide for helping me with all this, I really appreciate it." Alicide smiled and said "Sure thing, you are paying me for it anyhow." It was his turn to wink, and I punched his arm.

"Watch it, the check might bounce." We laughed again as he walked out the door, and said our goodbyes. I stood at the door and watched Alicde drive away, with a huge smile on my face for all the real good friends I had, and for the fact that everything seemed to be finally falling into place.

I thought about it as I was walking back into the kitchen. Since I have decided to stop running and fighting against who I am, things have just seemed to fall in place and work out. Maybe this is how is how it was suppose to be after all.

There was still some doubt, but that had more to do with my impending time with Eric, but my chest wasn't so tight and the anxiety I didn't even know I had was lifting with every decision I made.

I took a few deep breaths and decided to keep on keeping on. So I went to the phone and called Amelia. I told her everything that Alicide and I had spoken about, including the movers and the possible need for a storage locker. Amelia of course knew of one right away.

I finally worked up the nerve to ask and asked her once again for her help. Amelia squealed so loud that I had to move the phone away from my ear; she said that she was just so excited that things were going so well that she just couldn't stop from being happy. She was overjoyed for me, and before we hung up she promised to help.

One thing I shoulda remembered about Amelia is that she wastes no time. Within 45 minutes she was pulling up to the house in Tray's truck, with her mind going about a mile a minute. I was having a hard time trying to sort through her thoughts cause they were just jumping to so many places, it was disorienting.

I opened the door as Amelia walked up. "Amelia what are you doing here? And why do you have Tray's truck, your car okay?" She grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the truck and proceeded to tell me "I just couldn't wait Sookie, I hope that you're not mad, and I didn't mean to be 'high handed' as you call it, but I set up the storage unit and got all these boxes and bubble wrap so we could start tonight!"

Amelia's excitement and anticipation was contagious, which is probably why I was having a hard time being mad, instead I just got excited. It was a reality check that this was really happening. Between Eric's letter and her being her, I felt renewed, like it isn't too late to make things better, especially because I knew I wasn't alone.

I gave her a great big hug and said "Of course I'm not mad! Thank you so much for being willing to help me with all of it. Now help me with all these supplies you got!" We grabbed all of the boxes and bubble wrap and brought them into the living room, and got down to making a plan.

"So you said that you are going to have muscles Saturday and Sunday right?" I nodded. "Then what I think we should do is order some Italian, and start going through the house. Green dots for 'go' as in you don't want it anymore and red dot for 'stop' cause you want to keep it." A rushed over to her and gave her another hug. "Amelia, you are brilliant! That is a great idea! Let order and get started!"

And that is exactly what we did. After talking about what exactly I wanted for the house, and after going over everything in the magazines we decided that most of the things would be replaced. Things like the couch and tables, old beds and night stands and dressers, old drapes and rugs, all of the yard sale pictures and accessories; they all got green dots.

We decided that we could donate all that stuff to the Salvation Army. All of the old linens and towels got packet up and got a green dot, cause those were defiantly going to get replaced. We took a break around 6 so that we could eat, and then picked right back up.

Between the two of us, the kitchen, living room, closets, and bedrooms had all been gone through, maybe not completely packed but at least gone through. All that was really left was packing up the sentimental and personal items and to go through the attic.

While we were packing I had a chance to tell her all about what happened with Niall and Mr. C. She was impressed with everything we had discussed, planned, and everything that would be happening. The only thing I left out was about the business I was going to be starting.

"I am exhausted, and its only 8:30 pm" I said to Amelia. She just laughed and said "Yea the adrenaline and excitement has worn off." We both smiled and laughed. "I'm going to head back over to Tray's for the night, but I'll be back in the morning to finish packing up my room." My heart had a little twinge, I wasn't sure if she would actually be moving back in after she moved everything out to Tray's.

"So have you and Tray talked about moving in together?" Amelia stopped what she was doing and thought about it for a moment. "We haven't really talked about it per say, but I have been spending a lot of time over there lately." I wanted nothing more than happiness for my friend, especially after everything she had done for me, and if that meant that she would be moving out I would support her like she has supported me.

"Well, with all the construction I am sure you will be staying over there. But I just want you to know that you always have a home here, whatever you decide I support you 100%." She smiled and said "I really appreciate that Sook, I think of you as family so it means a lot that I have a place to call home. I'm sure Tray and I will talk about it while you're gone, and when you get back I'm sure I will know for sure what we are going to do."

"I think of you as family too. I also have something else to talk about with you before you leave. You don't have to answer me tonight, but I would kinda need to know before Sunday." She nodded and smiled "Sure Sook, what's up?"

"Well I didn't mention one thing that I talked to Niall and Mr. C about. It made me nervous to talk to them, but they thought it was great and the first person I thought of doing it with was you." We both smiled, "Your being cryptic Sookie, what is it? Tell me already!"

"Well with my status change I am going to have a lot of leeway with what I can do, where and with whom. So I am going to start a consulting company. My hope was that with your skills as a witch and my telepathy and whatever I come back with that we could use our skills and really do some good."

I was afraid of what she was going to say, so I started to ramble just a little. "Well, basically it will be a lot of what I'm forced to do now, but we will make it professional, and on our terms. I talked to Mr. C and he said that he could have everything set up by the time I get back, and have preliminary contracts drawn up for our different services that our clients would have to sign. Maybe even have an office for consultations and a face for the company. What do you think?"

It was Amelia's turn to rush over and give me a hug. "YES, YES, YES, a thousand times YES!" Shouted Amelia. We ended up laughing and jumping up and down like teenage girls. It was the first time in a really long time that I had laughed and felt this good.

We took some time and hammered out the specifics. We came up with very basic ground rules and additions that we wanted added to client contracts if they weren't in there already. We even thought of having the contracts be bound by magic to ensure confidentiality and anonymity, even if it was just for a consultation. We also thought about basic services and cost points, Amelia even mentioned that with the magic I would learn in Faery I could probably assist with the magical side of business too.

We decided that having an official office would be the best idea. That way we had a place for personal offices, files, supplies, a conference room and even a lobby. Amelia completely agreed with having guards on any job that we did, and if I hadn't have brought it up she said she would have.

We were so excited, we would be a combined duo offering our combined services that came from both of our 'gifts' as Amelia keep calling them. We hadn't come up with any names for the company yet, but she said she would keep thinking on it.

We said our goodbyes, both elated with all the excitement of what the future would bring us. Amelia reminded me that she would be by sometime in the morning, so that I wouldn't be surprised if I heard anything.

After Amelia left I went around and made sure to lock everything up and turn off all the lights. I grabbed my cell phone and made sure to plug it in so it wouldn't be dead when I noticed that I had a couple text messages from a certain Viking.

Message 1
I woke to your feelings of happiness, elation, and determination. Much better than yesterday.

Message 2
Don't forget about our plans tomorrow lover, make sure you are ready after first dark.

Message 3
Dress casual, we are going to be outside.

That Viking. I didn't want him to think I was ignoring him, so I sent a quick message back. Amelia and I were on a mission tonight, I will tell you about it tomorrow, I have many things to tell you. I could never forget about our plans, I will be ready and waiting. Night XO Sookie.

I plugged my phone in and got ready for bed, and tonight I remembered to take both of the vials Niall gave me. I climbed into bed in better spirits that I had been in a really long time. It wasn't long before I drifted off into a deep sleep and dreamt of the future, and all of its possibilities.

A/N: I hope that you enjoyed this chapter! This chapter started to get long, but I couldn't find a good place to cut it, so I posted it all. If you're with me so far know that I appreciate it! Hope that your enjoying :)