No one said a word as the three of them sat staring into the night waiting for Andy to show up. Sookie had always known that she would never be free of Alcide until he was dead and no matter how many times she had imagined his death it was never like this. Her mind wandered through the last six weeks every unwanted touch, every punch, and every threat not to mention the fact that Alcide and Bill just out right loved to torture anything that could feel. Still she wished things would have ended differently that she had stayed far from Bon Temp and the people she loved; she knew In a perfect world no one would have had to suffer at the hands of two sick and twisted individuals like Alcide and Bill but Sookie never asked for perfect she would have settled for decent and just leaving Eric and Earl unharmed by all of this.

Sookie jumped when she heard a car turning onto her driveway and instantly Eric's arm tightened around her dulling her instinct to run "are you sure about this?" Eric whispered into her ear as they watched the car creep up to the house. Sookie looked up to at him and shook her head yes and he could see the hurt in her eyes as she surveyed the cuts and bruises on his face it; he knew she was terrified of what was coming and he wanted to pull her to him and protect her from it all but even more he knew she wouldn't let him.

Andy pulled up to the house slowly he had no clue what he was walking into but knowing that Alcide was in town it couldn't be good,

"Sookie what's going on here" Andy yelled as he climbed out of his car keeping one hand on his gun.

Eric stood and walked toward the sheriff his hands slightly extended in front of him hoping that if Andy got a good look at his condition he might be more inclined to hear the whole story when he saw Alcide's dead body rolled up like a burrito on Sookie's bedroom floor.

"Sheriff" Eric moved slowly out of the darkness and into the light coming from Andy's headlights

"Hell Northman what happened to you?" Andy bellowed

"Well sheriff I was held captive and tortured by Bill and Alcide for a few weeks that's what happened to me" Eric's tone was dull but the sight of dried blood and bruises drove his point home.

The sheriff threw his hands up and beg++an rubbing his brow in disbelief he knew when Sookie had come back to town that it would only be a matter of time before he got a call bringing him to Hummingbird road. He'd seen firsthand how ruthless Alcide could be a few years back when he brought his second wife to town; the woman looked a lot like Sookie very slender and pretty but Alcide never treated like she was much even when they were in public.

There where whispers around town that the young woman was more like a slave than a wife to him and things only seemed to get worse when she became pregnant; Andy could recall many instances where he himself was called to the Herveaux house by neighbors who had heard screams and cries day and night. He had been Alcide's friend for many years at that point and still he had a hard time turning a blind eye to the beatings and abuse that were taking place; the young woman would hide bruises and scrapes under makeup and heavy clothing even in the summer months when tempters would reach well over 100 degrees there she was with sweaters or a shawl draped over her body.

Andy felt the need to confront his friend after several visits to the house that resulted in nothing because the woman was too terrified of Alcide to stand up for herself; he told his friend that he knew what was going on and it needed to stop or he would have no choice but to intercede.

Alcide smiled and nodded as Andy spoke he was good at pretending he was listening and actually cared what anyone else was saying; the conversation ended with and friendly hand shake and a pat on the back but inside Andy knew the woman was in danger. The next morning Alcide packed up his home and his wife and they were gone the situation had bothered Andy for years; he knew he should have done more. A few years late Alcide reappeared in town this time with a dead wife and a young son to look after; everyone in town was fooled the same woman who years earlier had been disgusted by the way he treated his wife were fawning on him and couldn't wait to get him in bed.

"Where's the body" he mumbled as his hands smoothed his face and fell to his sides,

"It's in Sookie's bedroom" Earl managed between sobs

Andy's eyes locked the boy and he was relieved when he saw that the boy was unharmed; Sookie started into the house Andy following close behind she looked back to be sure Earl was not following as she started to tell Andy what exactly had taken place over the last couple of weeks leading up to the body that laid on the floor in front of them.

"I swear I had no choice" Sookie started to cry as she spoke

The two of them stood staring at the body wrapped tightly on the floor Andy hadn't said a word while Sookie explained the extent of Alcide and Bill's sickness; Andy squatted next to the body and pulled at the shower curtain as a cop he needed to be sure that not only was he dead but that the body was defiantly Alcide's. Andy turned to Sookie and asked her to step out of the room and close the door behind her; Sookie hesitated but did what the sheriff was asking her she had no clue what he was planning on doing but he hadn't thrown cuffs on her and called for backup so as he held her at gun point so things were already going better than she had expected.

It seemed like forever before Andy appeared in the kitchen where she was sitting with Eric waiting for whatever would be coming next;

"Where's Bill?" Andy asked wiping his hands with a handkerchief

"We don't know I walked through the house over there looking for him but all I saw was blood I think Alcide might have killed him"

"Ok" Andy shook his head as he walked toward them putting his hands on the back of an empty chair as he spoke

"Well it looks to me like Alcide must have killed Bill and left town" Andy whispered

Sookie's head shot up her eyes locking with Sheriff Andy's "what, how, no, Andy I can't let you"

Andy placed his hand on hers he knew Sookie was not a killer and the fact that she didn't actually do the killing made thing worse for him; Earl lost a mother because he wasn't brave enough to do what he knew was right and in the end Earl would be the one to pay for the murder.

"This is what needs to be done" Andy patted her hand as she started to cry "well you have some cleaning to do Mrs. Stackhouse Mr. Northman he tilted his head and waved as he made his way out the back door. Sookie sat in silence staring at the kitchen table it was unbelievable to her that any of this was real but she felt relief washing over her and for about thirty seconds she was just happy she was free; "shit Eric what about the body" she whispered as she pushed past him and ran into the bedroom.

Eric followed behind her but was stopped short in the doorway Sookie hadn't fully entered the room when she fell to her knees; the body that was once sitting in the middle of her bedroom wrapped up in her grans shower curtain was gone.

Sookie was in disbelief was it possible for Andy to have moved the body without any help and why would he do that; the two of them had never been friends in fact if he hadn't married her best friend Tara they may not have known anything about each other. Sookie could feel her head starting to spin with all of the insane questions that were flowing through her head so she decided to give up on her current train of thought and headed for the kitchen for cleaning supplies.

Eric watched her as she fluttered around the kitchen grabbing up a bucket and filling it with hot water and bleach his body ached and he was in serious need of a shower but he couldn't imagine leaving her. Sookie kept her head pretending to be busy but she could feel him watching her and at that moment she would do anything to not look him in the eye.

"Sookie you can do that tomorrow"

"No I uh I want to do it now"

"Sookie look at me"

"Huh"

"Can you look at me please?" Sookie couldn't look at him she just wanted to wash away all proof of what happened in her house and then try to forget it all but if she looked at Eric that would mean it was all real. Real meant that yes she is in love with Eric and yeah he did get kidnapped an d tortured because of that love; real meant she was pregnant and the father was a man that she not only hated but had a hand in killing.

Eric crept up behind her he could tell she was lost in thought and knowing her she was blaming herself for everything that had happened over the last six weeks "Sookie?" he whispered as he wrapped his arms around her waist resting his hands on her stomach.

"Eric, no, don't" she could feel her knees getting week as she fought the tears that rolled down her face

"I'm so sorry" she gasped as he cradled her in his arms and they crumbled onto the floor.

Sookie jumped when she heard the phone ring it had been hours since Andy had left them taking Alcide's body with him and now she and Eric sat watching out the kitchen window as he and several other officers taped off the crime scene at the Compton house.

"Hello" Sookie tried to sound calm when she heard Andy's voice booming through the phone.

"Mrs. Stackhouse this is Sheriff Bellfleur, there has been an incident at the Compton house and I need to ask you a few questions" Sookie wasn't sure how to answer so she said nothing "are you home alone right now?" Again Sookie didn't speak but she was getting the message loud and clear; Sheriff Andy wanted to talk to her alone meaning no Eric or Earl and he needed to talk to her about what had taken place at the Compton house not hers.

"When do you need to talk to me?" Sookie still didn't understand why Andy was doing what he was doing but she had no choice but to trust him

"Ok I will see you in a few minutes then" Andy didn't wait for an answer before he hung up and few minutes later a knock at the back door told her she needed to put her game face on.

Sookie put on her best smile and pulled the door open to see Andy and officer Kenya standing there with their notepads in hand; Sookie invited the two officers in offering them some tea as they sat and after pouring two glasses she leaned against the counter where Eric had held her the night before.

"When was the last time you saw Mr. Compton?" Sookie shrugged casually giving a random day of the week she knew if they ever checked it out it would be true because Bill had made it a point to barge into her home on a daily basis.

"Is it true that your ex-husband Alcide Herveaux has been staying with you?" again she shrugged trying not to look directly at Andy

"He was staying here in hopes that we would work things out but I haven't seen him in a few days" Sookie lied through her teeth.

"Mrs. Stackhouse do you have any idea where you ex-husband might be?"

"No" Sookie didn't hesitate and she didn't lie because the truth was she had no clue where Alcide's body was,

"Did you hear anything coming from the Compton place yesterday evening?" Kenya chimed in

"No I was cleaning most of the day yesterday and aside from throwing a few things in the wash I didn't really go outside" Lie big lie; Sookie had never felt comfortable lying in her life but somehow right at this moment it was coming easy and she knew why. She knew that every lie that she told even the smallest one would keep not only her but Eric, Earl and Andy from spending the rest of their lives in prison.

"One last thing Mrs. Stackhouse" Sookie braced herself so far the questions have been easy and she couldn't help but wait for the other shoe to drop; like the next words to come out of Kenya's mouth would be ha gotcha we know what really happened Bill told us the whole thing.

"Do you mind if we look around your house and property?"

"Uh sure but can I ask why?" Sookie managed to keep her voice from trembling

"Well to be honest we believe your ex-husband has something to do with the disappearance and possible murder of Bill Compton." Andy stated as if it were a fact

"Oh gosh sure you can look around" she tried her best to sound concerned for Bill but as far as she knew he was dead and she wanted him to stay that way. The officers stood from the table and started walking through the house peeking in closets and under beds; Andy knew that even if Alcide was alive Sookie wouldn't waist her time hiding him but the two of them knew the search was protocol and any else would have seemed suspicious.

As the two officers made their way through her home searching every dark corner and dust bunny Sookie started to get anxious; not only was she glad that she told Eric and Earl to go for a walk instead of hiding in the upstairs but she was thankful Andy decided to inspect her bedroom himself sending Kenya off into the upstairs. When the search was over inside the house the sheriff and his deputy made their way to the door thanking Sookie for the iced and her help as the left.

Sookie stood in the doorway watching as they made their way back to Bill's house her heart racing in her chest; that was it Andy had covered the events of the night before, Eric was beaten and bruised but he would recover and he was still here and in love with her and Earl seemed to be realizing that what he did had saved her life and that made him nothing like the man who was trying to take it. Things seemed ok she was finally rid of Alcide forever and suddenly a sharp pain in her stomach reminded how untrue hat was.