Fair Game

by TMSescritura

Sookie Stackhouse is not very impressed with the vampire that recently moved into town. Bill Compton has Sookie thinking that vampires are overrated, until she meets a tall blond vampire that is nothing like Vampire Bill. A/U

2. Human Monsters

OMG –I cannot believe the number of people that responded to the first chapter! Thank you for all of the reviews, favorites, alerts... clearly people like the alternate timeline.

Thank you to Charlaine Harris for giving us such wonderful characters to play around with.

(2) Human Monsters

The next couple of weeks following the whole thing with Rene, Eric and I began to fall into a sort of routine. I earned the most money on the weekend, so I did not go to Fangtasia on Friday or Saturday. Likewise for Eric, whether I liked it or not he was the big attraction there. He met me at my place early Sunday morning, holed up nearby (probably at Bill's but I hadn't asked yet), and then we spent all of Sunday evening and did the same again for Monday since I had the afternoon shift. Tuesday through Thursday was hit and miss; the better tips were at night but if I wanted to spend time with Eric then I needed to arrange with Charlise or Holly to switch shifts. Charlise and Holly were close friends and preferred to work the day shift together, I think that was because they each had children and they wanted to have the evening free for their family.

Lucky for me, the school year started before fall began to show itself. Holly and Charlise were both active members of the Parent Teacher Association; they were class mothers, field trip chaperones, you-name-it; so I was able to trade for some days that they wanted off so that they could go to the school.

One Monday, I found myself working Charlise's morning shift so that she could go be a class mother. Merlotte's didn't open early enough to serve breakfast, but it was morning when it opened technically speaking.

Lafayette came in, not as ready to work as normal. He was there to work; he just wasn't his normally bright eyed sassy self. Even with his make-up, he looked tired. He carried a large coffee mug that he must've poured at home.

I looked at him, "Late night?"

"More like early morning if you knows what I'm sayin'." Lafayette surely was proud of himself.

"Since when do you work this shift?" Laffy was hardly ever here in the morning, afternoons and nights were his thing.

He answered, "Since the boss man asked me to. Sam says he got some work to catch up on and it's easier to do when it's quiet and ain't havin' to man the hatch." We both know that Sam would have found another way had Lafayette said, "no." But we also both know that he was as poor as I was and could really use the extra money. Next he said, "What about you, Sook?"

"I wanted Wednesday night off, so I traded for it." Sure, I'd take a loss in tips but at least Wednesday wasn't as busy as Friday or Saturday.

The day went by fairly slow. I worked a double. Every now and then Lafayette would mention a party that he went to, but shut up whenever someone else came by. When it was particularly slow and we got to talking he let slip that the party was some kind of exclusive thing. He didn't come right out and say that it was a sex party, but that was what it seemed to me. I didn't want to think of what went on there or who all showed up, especially since my brother was probably one of them. I was not gonna think about that!

I came home from work exhausted and smelling like greasy food. I ate a snack, showered and got ready for bed. Once I had tucked myself in I called Eric. The big bad vampire sheriff of Area Five had some official business tonight; phooey!

We talked about when we'd next meet up. I was working in the afternoon tomorrow; I wasn't taking the late shift. Wednesday, I wouldn't have to go in at all since I'd traded that for earlier today. Eric, on the other hand, had to be at Fangtasia for at least a few hours tomorrow night. Wednesday night, Eric had to teleconference with the Vampire Queen of Louisiana Sophie-Ann Leclerq and report on the status of his area. He didn't expect that to take long. According to Eric, the queen got annoyed very easily and preferred for people to get to the point; especially when money due her was involved.

Ultimately, we decided that I'd come over to his place after I finished my shift at Merlotte's. We'd get to spend some time together tomorrow night and we'd have almost all of Wednesday night. I could stay over Wednesday too, since my next shift at Merlotte's didn't start until Thursday afternoon.

We hung up the phone and I missed his voice before the phone was out of my hand. I was pathetic. I couldn't last a day. I fell asleep wishing that we could be in the same bed.

XXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Wednesday came; Eric sat in his office for the teleconference while I sat in a booth out on the main floor. Pam came over a few times to "check on me" as if something was going to happen with Eric here. Each time she looked my way, Pam seemed to be giving me more attention than she did when we first met; her fangs were always at least partially down and in addition to looking up and down my body which she'd done many times before, she was licking her lips. Sometimes, it was barely a lip lick, but it was there and I saw this almost every time I caught her looking at me; and she didn't seem to care that I caught her either. But Pam didn't up the suggestive talk, thank the lord. She did however, talk to me with a friendlier tone almost as if we were equals; almost, but not quite.

Here she came again, "the Master is taking longer than normal. I assure you that his State of the Area Reports are rarely so long."

I looked at my watch, "It's only been about an hour and a half. He must have an awful lot to report. At least, I would think so with all the responsibilities that he has."

Pam smiled as if to say that I was sweet, but refrained from actually saying that. Instead she asked if she could freshen my drink. After I said "sure", she snapped her fingers for a barmaid to come take care of it.

Pam sat in the booth with me and said, "So, Sookie... I gather that you rather enjoy sex these days. Tell me, what was it like to lose your virginity to someone who knew what he was doing?"

I looked at Pam with a funny face. Then Pam said to me, "Friends often share information of this sort, do they not?"

Was this her way of saying that she thought of us as friends? I nodded, "Some people do." I took a deep breath. This was making me nervous; had she heard something?

Pam said to me, "What's wrong, Sookie?"

I looked at her, "Nothing, it's just you're... you... I wasn't expecting you to ask me that." I mumbled, "We're not even on clothes sharing terms." Pam looked at me, "A lot of women share clothes with their friends. We're more likely to share our clothes then we are to gossip about hot sex."

Pam leaned in and said to me, "I lost my virginity to a man that I secretly courted; it wasn't very good. Actually, it was quite awful and I never wanted to do it again but women didn't have such choices then." She set her eyes on me, "You're a lucky human, Stackhouse."

I smiled, "I guess I am." Then I added, "I wish you could have had someone like Eric your first time."

"Her first time for what?" Eric asked.

We turned to see him looking down at us. Pam answered, "The first time I had sex. Sookie here said that she wishes it could have been with someone like you."

Eric raised his eyebrows and nodded appreciatively.

I spoke with some sass to Eric, "Lord knows everything about you is bigger than it ought to be, I don't need inflate your ego even more."

Eric showed interest and suggestively questioned, "Everything?"

Ugh! "Eric!" It's all I managed to get out; I really wasn't sure what I wanted to say in a barroom full of people.

Eric kept up his little game and asked, "Yes?"

I narrowed my eyes, "I don't discuss such things in public."

Eric said, "A true Southern Belle."

Pam responded by asking me, "Is your brother as hot as you? If all Stackhouse's are as fun and sweet smelling as you, I should go out and get one."

"I don't think he'd be interested." I informed Pam.

Pam responded, "Of course, Eric told me about his best friend killing his lovers." Then she smiled, "Perhaps I can help him forget."

"No, Pam." I said a little too sternly so then I hastily added, "Please, please do not glamour him. I hate that he's going through all that he is, but I think it's helped him to grow up some."

Pam tilted her head a little, "Oh, I don't have to use glamour to make someone forget."

I cautiously stated, "Well, he's getting better, I think, but he doesn't care much for vampires." Eric and Pam weren't the only ones looking at me. I told them, "Before vampires came along, Jason was a big deal; he was the big strong football player and all the ladies wanted to spend time with him." The vampires could figure out what I meant by saying that the women wanted to spend time with Jason. I concluded, "I'm pretty sure that Jason didn't like that there were all these other really strong and um... people living nearby taking away some of his glory." I'd never said that to Jason and had no plans to, but I'd had enough time to think about it. If Jason thought about it at all, he'd realize it too.

Eric asked me to join him in the office and I obliged. I hinted to Pam that I'd like to keep talking to her and after she looked to Eric, she moved to join us in the office. We walked toward the office and I paused, "Um, Eric?" He looked at me so I continued, "I just picked up that the people over there," I pointed to a table with two young people, "are scooping out the place so that they can sell something. I'm not sure what they want to sell; but I don't think it's anything legal."

Eric growled a little, "I'll meet you in the office." He kissed the top of my head and we parted ways.

Once inside the office, Pam said to me while licking her lips, "I was surprised that you wanted me to join."

I called her on the act, "I think you know darn well that I am not looking for that."

Pam smirked, "You do know that he wanted you here so that he could fuck you in his office." I scoffed at her language and she laughed. Then her smirk broadened into a big, devious smile, "Why would you try to cock block Eric? Do you not think that he's as good as you insinuated?"

"I am not," I mumbled the next word, "em blocking Eric; not exactly." That was all I'd planned to say on the matter.

"So what exactly were you intending, Little One?" Eric was clearly interested, but I could not tell if he was amused or annoyed; maybe he was both.

I wasn't sure that I wanted to say that here, with Pam in the room. I didn't like the alternative of Pam leaving either. I looked at him then at Pam and then back to him. Eric simply ordered, "Pam, leave us."

Pam was close enough to me that I was able to grab her arm. She turned, "Do you want me with you or not? You're such a tease."

"Ha ha" was my only response until I saw Eric looking at my hand grabbing Pam's arm. I spurted out, "I'm not having sex in an office like I'm some whore."

The two vampires started to laugh. I didn't think it was funny, but they thought it was just hilarious. Pam belted out, "As if I could stop my master from doing anything!"

I still didn't see this as funny. Eric explained, "you may not have wanted people to believe that we were coming back here for sex, but you're plan has back fired with all except the vampires." I looked at him waiting for him to say more. He did, he told me, "I'm sure they all believe that the three of us came into my office to have a threesome." He couldn't help but chuckle.

I snapped, "I don't really care what they think." That wasn't entirely true, "I don't know them." Then I told him, "I just... an office, really? Com'on Eric, I think we deserve better than that." And I really didn't fancy having sex with him in the same room where he no doubt had had sex with countless other women.

"You believe that Pam's presence will stop us from having sex?" Eric said it as a question, but his tone indicated that he already knew the answer. He next told me, "I can be very persuasive. Even without glamour, I'm sure I could make you forget that she was even in the room." He thought for a moment on something more, but didn't share.

Pam smiled wide, "Oh, I wouldn't mind at all. In fact, I'd love to watch. I can't imagine what it is about you Sookie, but I'd like to find out. Maybe one day you'd entertain me."

A little too quickly I shouted, "I'm Eric's!"

The two vampires smiled tooth-fully. Eric told me, "She cannot have you unless I tell her she can; I will do no such thing unless you are comfortable with it."

I shook my head vehemently, "That is not going to happen, ever." I looked to Pam, "I didn't want you in here for that. I wanted you in here so that I won't do something in a place that I don't think I want to... do that."

Eric said something to Pam and then blocked my view of her. "Why do you not wish to have sex with me in my office?"

I told him, "Because I am not some random woman that you pulled in here for the night. I don't want to be like them."

Eric leaned in, "I was thinking that I could create a better memory for myself in here by being with you. I've not had a woman in this office since before I met you." He whispered into my ear, "You are the only woman that I can picture naked on my desk. I want to smell your sex when I come in here. I assure you that you'd like it very much."

I looked into his eyes and almost gave in. "I don't think I can do that Eric... I'm not saying no, I'm saying later; just not here."

Eric nodded his head, "Perhaps tonight you can share one of your fantasies with me." Wait, what? Now I was wondering if that was his way of saying that taking me in his office was a fantasy of his. Who was I kidding, the guy oozed sex, of course he wanted me in his office; he'd even said that. Suddenly, I found myself twirling my hair and blushing. Eric looked at me, "Now I am very interested in your fantasies." He teased, "The southern belle doesn't always want to play nice?" Dear lord, he was making it worse.

My vampire kissed me and said, "I love it when you blush, it's a very nice shade on you." He came back in for more. This time, we maintained contact for a lot longer. We only broke when I needed to breathe. Eric made his way down and around my neck. I touched him anywhere and everywhere that I could. His hands slid down and caressed my stomach just below where my shirt had ridden up. He came back up to my chest and I managed to take off his shirt. He played with my chest and part of me was hungering for my shirt to come off, but more importantly I wanted to give some attention to Eric's broad chest. I caressed, massaged, licked and even bit him without breaking the skin; the bite made him moan in pleasure. I pulled him down to my neck, but he didn't bite right away. He played with my skin, gently nibbling away while one hand sneaked up an inner thigh and then switched to a breast; he was such a tease. He squeezed my breast and began sucking on my neck; I didn't even feel the fangs sink in this time. My nails dug into his back and he squirmed a little as if he enjoyed it.

Eric licked my neck and I was lazily preparing to regroup so that we could keep on going. We hadn't gotten to the main course yet. In fact, I was still wearing all of my clothes and all that he was missing was a shirt. Eric looked at me and said, "I was hoping we could have some fun first, I don't want to totally ruin your night." I stilled my movement, Eric said, "I have some information to share with you, Sookie."

I nodded and he got up from his position. I readjusted myself and watched Eric while he went to his desk and leaned against it. He seemed to be searching for the right words. The first words out of his mouth had me gaping, he spoke that Eric Language; Pam was still in the room.

He saw my expression and said to me, as Pam walked out with a wink, "I know that you have a hang up about sex in the office and you would have been uncomfortable afterward if we had continued." Now he looked smug, "I could not, however, allow you to continue with the belief that Pamela could stop me from getting something I want." But evidently I could, wow! Now I was feeling a little guilty for denying him along with relief for not having sunk so low, but I was mostly feeling peeved at him for allowing what happened to happen with Pam watching. Not that I'd admit it, but seeing Pam in this room while Eric was walking around shirtless hit a nerve.

I shook my head, "Do either of you have no shame?"

Eric responded, "What is there to be ashamed of? There was nothing wrong with what we were doing and I must say," His eyes went up and down my form, "you are far better than I would have expected given your limited experience. I can only imagine what you'll be like a few weeks from now."

I turned beat read, once again. "I'm not an exhibitionist, Eric. Doing stuff like that with an audience isn't proper."

He came back with, "I know you are not and I do not expect you to be; I much prefer to keep you to myself."

I sat back for a moment and wondered if Pam ever went to a sex party like Lafayette described. Eric asked me what I was thinking about. I told him, "I was just wondering if Pam was one of those sex party people."

Eric clearly hadn't seen that coming. His face was a mixture of shock and amusement, "There are many types of sex parties, I'm sure she's done them all at least once. In fact, she had a job as a sex toy presenter not all that long ago. I asked her to quit before the Revelation; I was not willing to risk a backlash against her knowing that if such a thing should happen, Pam would defend herself and kill them all."

I asked, "Did you ever go to one of those?"

"No." He answered, "I never felt the need. I heard enough about it from Pamela, and the parties were female oriented. I would have been welcome only if they were glamoured, or if I was there as entertainment for the night."

My eyes went wide, "Did you...?"

Eric smiled and chuckled, "No, not for money. Very few people ever get that treat." I smiled and giggled thinking about Eric doing a striptease. Oh god, I'd do him right here it he started doing that now. My handsome vampire wanted to know, "Where did you hear about sex parties? You're branching out much more quickly than I would have expected."

I scoffed, "It's not like that. It's Lafayette, the cook at Merlotte's; he's been telling me about how he got invited to some sex party. I think he's already been once or twice 'cause he's mentioned a nice house with pictures of well dressed people inside." I mentioned to Eric, "I think it's a different type of sex party though. I don't think he goes to just talk about sex; it's weird to think of my friends and neighbors doing that kind of thing." Then I added, "not that I know who goes, I don't think Laffy's supposed to be telling people 'cause he always shuts up when someone else comes near or he holds his finger up as if to tell me that what he's saying is secret."

Eric adjusted his position, "Sookie, if this party is what I suspect it is I would say that you are right in that he is telling secrets. People that have such guarded societies have very strict rules and controls. How close a friend is he to you? You have never mentioned spending time with this man."

I got the feeling that he was asking for more than one reason. "Eric, I know Lafayette from work. We don't hang out outside of work but I still consider him a friend, he's one of the few people that's nice to me even though I'm not normal. I think it's because he's kind of a rarity too; he's black and he's gay so he deals with a lot of shit too. At work, we kinda look out for one another. But that's just at work. Besides, I prefer spending my time with a guy that's not even from Bon Temps."

Eric told me, "Good. I feel better knowing that your man friend is gay. It's bad enough that the shifter is there. Nevertheless, I will ask you to not spend any time with this friend of yours outside of work. He is probably making some people nervous and angry; I do not wish for you to get caught in the middle."

"Not a problem." Truly it wasn't, but now I'd worry about Lafayette. Maybe I ought to warn him, let him know that he might be signing a warrant for his own beating. I decided that it was time for a topic change, "You had something to tell me?"

Eric nodded his head slowly and pressed his lips into a thin line. "I found out why Bill Compton came into my area." I furrowed my brows; I didn't understand why Eric wanted me to know vampire stuff. Then again, maybe it was because Bill was my neighbor and was a threat to humans... but Bill didn't seem to want to kill me. I waited for Eric to say more and was at a loss for words when he said, "He came into my area so that he could take over the Compton Estate and live near a human in whom the queen has an interest and wants for herself."

It took several moments, what seemed like forever, for the words to fully sink in. I was Bill's only neighbor, there was nothing out in our little section of Bon Temps except for his place, mine and the cemetery in between. Eventually I managed to ask him, "Why?"

The Vampire Sheriff answered, "She had heard about your gift and wished to check it out." I started to ask "how?" But I didn't get the entire word out. Eric figured it out though and responded, "I don't know. Perhaps she met up with a former coworker or classmate, the queen does not answer to me and I have not yet found the opportunity to find out.

I asked, "What does all this mean?"

He answered, "It means that the queen can request your services but that she will have to negotiate with me first since you are mine."

I took in a deep breath of air, ready to verbally attack. Eric held up his hand and said, "Bill had orders to make you the queen's by acting in her stead, and then bring you to the queen for evaluation. Bill would never have been allowed to negotiate for you, nor keep you, since he was working for the queen."

I furrowed my brows and asked him, "Why couldn't he or this queen of yours just call and say, "Hey, we hear you can read minds?" For that matter, why did Bill let me say that I wasn't his when he'd planned to take me anyway? None of this makes sense to me."

Eric shared with me, "Vampires are not in the habit of asking humans for anything. We see something, we take it. The queen is not the kind of vampire to ask you to come to her; she demands. However, she does prefer that her subjects come willingly. If Compton had insisted that you were his, he'd have put you off even more. He was likely planning to get some more of his own blood into you so that you would feel closer to him and by association, closer to the queen; he is one of her favored lap dogs."

I crossed my arms, "I knew something smelled rotten. I suppose that's a good thing too since I got a better vampire instead." Of course, I realized that if I'd fallen for Bill he'd never have been mine like Eric is mine.

Eric looked told me, "I'm sorry I didn't meet you before that ass-wipe."

I sat back, "Me too."

XXXX

The next day, I went to work as expected. We had more of a crowd now than we did earlier in the week but it was still fairly quiet since it was during the regular work day.

Lafayette mentioned something about another sex party coming up; he couldn't wait to see what was gonna happen next. I shook my head and hurried out with the full tray to serve to the guys at table two. When I went back to the hatch, I talked to Lafayette for a few minutes and told him that I thought he ought to tone it down, a lot.

"What you mean, sugar?" Lafayette tilted his head.

"Lafayette, I know someone who knows about these things," I looked at him, "He is so certain that something is going to happen to you because of your big mouth, that he doesn't want me anywhere near you if we're not at work."

Lafayette said to me, "I'll be fine, honey child."

I came back at him, "Please tone it down and stop talking about it. He's got me really afraid for you."

Lafayette took in my expression and softened. "You know what?" I looked up at him, "My cousin's been tellin' me that his sister's been wantin' me to visit. Maybe I'll do that an take a little break from here. She don't live with her homophobic parents no mo' so I's might enjoy seeing that bitch again. She lives in Arkansas now, I wouldn't even be in the area so's yous wouldn't even have to worry 'bouts me."

"Thank you Lafayette," I reached up and gave him a peck on the cheek. Then, he hugged me and thanked me for caring about him. I could read in his mind, that it really was a rarity for him.

Next, Lafayette said, "Now tell me, who do you know that knows about sex parties?

I answered coyly, "Someone that I'm... seeing." Eric and I didn't really go on dates, per se, so I didn't know if one could really call it dating. To say that all we did was get together at one another's place to talk, snuggle and have lots of sex... what kind of relationship was that? I didn't know what to say we were actually and I wasn't about to try explaining the vampire concept of mine.

Arlene came by to drop off an order, she'd come in early today since she'd missed some hours recently due to Coby being sick and all. Arlene had overheard some and asked, "Are you still seeing that Bill Compton? I guess he's okay, Sookie but really they ought to stick to their own kind."

"I had one date with Bill that was it." I let that statement hang while I went and checked on my tables.

When I came back Arlene said, "Thank god, Sookie. I was so worried that your first time was going to be with a dead man. You can..."

I turned beat red. Lafayette swayed and teased, "I think Ms. Sookie done shared her cookies with a vampire."

Arlene gasped, "Tell me you ain't done it. Please tell me you ain't had sex with no Bill Compton, you can do better than that Hon."

I responded, "You're right I can; and I did. I was not with Mr. Compton; I never had any desire to."

Arlene nodded her head, satisfied and said, "Good, I'm glad for you." She leaned in, "So who was it with?"

Lafayette was very interested, "Yeah, I'm curious to know what redneck pulled that one. I mean, Vampire Bill is sexy girl bein' all strong and dangerous the way he is the only other sexy motherfucker around these parts that's not dead is yous brother."

I looked right at him, "I never said that he was from around these parts. And who said that he wasn't a vampire?"

Arlene chided, "Another vampire? Oh, Sookie, the big blond? Did he do that hypnosis thing to you? I bet he did. That's illegal you know, you ought to turn him in before he goes after some other innocent girl. Please tell me you ain't seeing him, he could kill you!"

Sam stepped into the kitchen as if someone lit a fire under his butt, "Who could kill you, Sookie?" Evidently he'd heard just enough of the conversation to make him worried.

"Arlene's got her panties in a bunch because I'm with Eric." I told Sam.

Sam clearly was hurt that I'd said those words; I could feel the emotions coming off of him. But he didn't say that to me, instead he addressed Arlene, "Sookie has made her choice." It sounded like he was trying to convince himself as well as her to stay out of it. I nodded my appreciation to Sam.

The rest of my shift went by pretty normally at first. When Lafayette took a break I encouraged him to call his cousin in Arkansas. Not more than thirty minutes after the interlude with Arlene I was aware of several stares, more than I usually got. Many people stopped talking as I passed their tables. Some of the men that normally gave me lewd looks were even more brazen tonight with their overt gawking. I heard something about sex with vampires and then let down my mental shields to listen with my sixth sense. Sure enough, rumors were flying about my sex life. Well, I wasn't going to give them the satisfaction. I put my shields up and pretended not to know what they were getting on about.

Things went a bit differently after I came out from my quick bathroom break. Jason and Hoyt were here for a late lunch, and in Jason's case, maybe a girl too. They weren't here for long before I could sense Jason's anger and a jumble of other emotions mixed with it. Arlene was taking their drink order for me since she said she'd cover me while I was in the rest room. Unfortunately, I could sense that they weren't talking only about drinks; Arlene was adding fuel to the fire.

As soon as Jason saw me, he got up and came over. He used an accusing tone, "You're a fangbanger now?" He said with disappointment and hurt, "I know I ain't been a good role model, but I... I thought you didn't like Vampire Bill like that. I didn't think my baby sister would have sex with someone she didn't care about."

I was embarrassed that this was center stage for the bar, and I was angry about it too. "At least you got some of it right; I wouldn't have sex with someone I didn't care for. Eric's been nothing but good to me and you ought to be thanking him for catching the real killer so that you could get out of jail. Did you forget that he saved my life in the process? I wouldn't be alive right now if not for him. You do not have to like him, Jason Stackhouse, but I do expect you to be nice about it."

Jason said, "The tall blond guy that was in the hospital?" I nodded and he went on, "Jesus Christ, Sookie. Everyone knows how they are; he only helped you so he could take your virginity. And now he's made you into a slut for vampires."

That Jason even said that last part hurt; he really thought I'd be that stupid? I slapped him hard, "How dare you speak to me that way! Jason Stackhouse I'll have you know that I have been with one man and one man only. He didn't have to look out for me or save me to get into my pants that ship had sailed by that time. Oh, and guess what? He hasn't left me just because I got into his pants." Oops. I meant to say that the other way around. Then I added, "I'd hate to think of what he'd do if he heard you spoke to me this way. Now go on back and eat your lunch. The next time you want to say something about my personal life, you do it in private unless you want me to spill your shit out in public." Jason wasn't happy about it, but retreated with his tail tucked between his legs.

I took in the faces of those around me. Clearly, many were astonished with my confession of having sex with a vampire. I was mentally exhausted by now and I was hearing many thoughts that I'd rather have kept out. I address the most prevalent, "Yes, you all heard correctly; I lost my virginity to a vampire and I'd do it again! Now I suggest you all go back to your meals 'cause I ain't giving out details."

Luckily, my shift ended not long after that. Before leaving I verified my hours for tomorrow, Friday and Saturday. Sam wasn't happy about the short notice, but was letting Lafayette take a few days off to visit his cousin; Sam seemed to think it was a good idea actually which made me wonder how much Sam knew about Laffy's activities.

I went home, showered, ate a snack and called Eric once I was snug in bed. I liked the routine, but I'd have preferred to be with Eric.

Eric told me that we needed to talk in person. He didn't want to discuss whatever it was over the phone. Friday's were busy nights for Merlotte's and Fangtasia, but Eric was willing to take off early so that he could escort me home and hopefully, if I wasn't too tired, we could talk.

The rest of our conversation was normal, though I was anxious about whatever he wanted to tell me. Once I was too tired to keep hold of the phone, we hung up. I clung to my pillow; a pathetic substitute for my man and fell asleep.

XXX

I was anxious for the start of the weekend. I was hoping that Eric had good news, but what could that be? His tone didn't give anything way and it wasn't playful at all so it was probably serious. A part of me was afraid that the Queen was going to order him to give me to her. I'd never met the woman, but the thought made me shudder. No, it had to be something else. It just had to be, right?

I was thankful for a busy Friday night. Andy Bellefleur rarely drank too much, but tonight he was sloshed. Something weighed on him. I let my mental shield down and quickly regretted knowing what had happened to cause his downward spiral. The detective had to arrest a man for raping little girls, and he'd just finished doing that very thing with his neighbor's daughter when he got caught. What Andy saw made him sick to his stomach. Andy and I had never been buddies and never would be, but I liked him a little more after that. He was too sloshed to drive and I was feeling sympathetic, so I poured him another drink. He looked up at me, "It's on me. Looks like you deserve it." Andy thanked me and took the drink.

When closing time neared, I called Andy's sister Portia and took his car keys away from him. Portia was startled to hear that her brother was drunk and said that she'd come right down to get him. Portia rarely came into Merlotte's; it was too low class for the small town lawyer. Never mind the fact that the plantation house in which she, her brother and their grandmother lived looked like heck warmed over. That family hadn't had money in a very long time, and Portia was never going to earn the big bucks here in po-dunk Bon Temps.

We all cleaned up as Jane Bodenhouse, the resident alcoholic, and then Andy Bellefleur, were picked up by their kin. Jane's son was always embarrassed to come get his mother, but we wouldn't dare let her drive. Portia wasn't as embarrassed as she was astonished since it was such a rare occurrence. Portia thanked me for making the call.

Eric showed up as I was helping Portia get her brother into the car. I looked at Andy and then at Portia, "He's had a really rough day." Portia didn't question me on it, she knew that I knew things even if nobody told them to me; and she wasn't looking to confirm my weirdness by asking how I knew. Instead, she simply thanked me for looking out for him.

Eric didn't have to wait for long before we were heading to my car. I looked around, "Did someone drop you off?"

He had a playful smile, "yes."

Okay, I'd bite; I asked, "Who?"

He answered, "Me."

I gave him a weird expression. I thought it through and he smiled as I puzzled it out. I guessed, "You drove, Pam or someone was with you, and then she or he drove away."

He shook his head. "Any other guesses?"

I said with sarcasm, "Not unless vampires can fly." And then I saw his expression. I looked at him as if he'd sprout wings or something, "For real?"

He nodded, "For real."

I nodded my head in disbelief.

We got into my car and left the parking lot. Not ten seconds after I turned onto the road Eric observed, "Your attitude with the detective is different tonight; you are sympathetic toward him."

I nodded, "Well yeah. He saw some awful stuff today. He's a lawman, Andy sees all kinds of stuff, but even what he saw today made him sick." I told Eric, "He arrested a man for raping little girls. He went out to make the arrest and found him only moments after he'd finished with his neighbor's kid."

I drove us to my house and cringed internally as we went down my pot-holed and ancient driveway. Again, he was nice enough not to say anything. I wondered if his mama taught him what Gran taught Jason and me (not that it always stuck), "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." I must say that I appreciated it; I really didn't need to hear what I already knew.

Eric was quiet until I stopped the car. He said, "There is something that you're not telling me." I looked at him, I couldn't think of what I'd left out. Nothing important to him anyway, I'd planned to tell him about Lafayette, but only because it was important to me. Eric enlightened me, "When you spoke of the man being arrested I sensed that there was more. There was more to the story but you held back. Sookie, do you know someone who was raped?"

I shook my head and said, "No, but it was still a little close to home. I can't imagine what that little girl must be going through."

Eric set his jaw, caressed my hand right hand in both of his and spoke with a gentle voice, "Sookie?"

"I never thought that I could be with any one 'cause the few times I'd been out with a man I could hear his thoughts." I started and saw that he was listening intently, "the farthest I ever went on a date was a kiss and a boob grab, and yeah he was a bit rough with it." I looked down at the floor, "When I met Bill Compton and realized that I couldn't read his mind, I was in heaven. Then he had to go and say that I was his and he tried to act like it was true. I didn't much like it when I was little either, so I dropped his behind."

He kept his voice soft, "What didn't you like when you were little Sookie?"

Tears started streaming down my face and I started blathering, probably incoherently, but Eric let me get it out, "Uncle Bartlett; he'd come to visit and tried to find reasons for us to be alone together. I could hear what he was thinking I'd even tried hiding when he'd come over but I'd get into trouble for being rude and have to spend time with him and apologize for my rude behavior while he got to do what he wanted."

Eric asked, "Did he make you do anything to him?"

"No!" I shuddered with that thought, "Good lord no, I didn't touch him at all. He touched me; I think he'd have done more if he could have gotten away with it."

Eric next asked, "Did you not tell your parents why you hid from him?"

I nodded, "I told mama, only she thought that I made it up. She tried to convince herself that it was just my active imagination again. Daddy didn't know until right before they died."

Eric got out of the car and came around for me. He lifted me out and said, "I'm rather glad at the moment that your mother is not alive; I do not believe that either of you would appreciate my reaction." He closed the car door with his foot and then said, "This is why you were upset about him coming to your Gran's funeral?"

I nodded, "We never told Jason why Gran ran him off. We don't talk about those things around here."

"I suppose that's a good thing, or else I'd feel the need to go discipline your brother." Eric was showing me concern, he even kissed away my tears, but I'd swear that he was seething mad too.

We went up the steps with him carrying me. I was desperate to change the topic so I told Eric, "I told Lafayette that I was worried about him, and you know what?" He raised his brows fully aware of what I was doing, but followed along probably so that I'd stop crying. I told him, "He was really touched that I cared. I don't think he's had anyone look out for him before, or at least not in a long time. He'd told me that he has a cousin in Arkansas that's been wanting him to visit; I convinced him to take the time to go see her. He left earlier today."

"You have a very big heart, Little One." He kissed the top of my head, and led me inside to a seat in my living room before I could pause to get either of us a drink. He looked at me and asked, "Tea?"

"Uh, sure," I said. I wondered if this was a good or bad sign as Eric went into my kitchen and poured me a glass a sweet tea.

I got up to go see Eric; he heard me move and came to me first. "I was going to say that I got some fresh blood for you earlier today." I next said, "Also, I'd like just half a glass of tea. I can't stay up too late tonight. I told Lisa that I'd come see her soccer game tomorrow and Arlene and I need to stop at Merlotte's along the way to pick up the stuff that Sam is donating to the team; Merlotte's is the team's sponsor."

"Very well," He handed me a half glass of tea, heated himself a blood and we sat down at my kitchen table.

Eric told me, "The queen wishes to sell your services." My eyes bugged, I tried not to panic but I knew I was failing. He placed one hand on mine and rubbed it gently. "The sheriff of Texas Area Six is missing someone and no one has found any promising leads among our kind."

I looked at Eric, "I can't read vampire minds, Eric."

"I know that." He said, "One theory is that the Fellowship of the Sun is involved."

"Oh." I looked to Eric, "Well, I could do that. Humans are easy to read."

Eric shook his head, "I do not want you going there; it's too dangerous. You will not infiltrate that organization. What you will do is talk to the humans that last saw the missing person. If any of them are Fellowship members or can provide information on those that have taken the missing person, we need to know"

"I don't see why I can't go on in and snoop around." I added, "They're god fearing Christians, Eric. They might not like y'all because they think all y'all are evil, which is wrong 'cause it's judgmental but I'm not dead; they'll have nothing against me."

His face was serious, "Sookie, I do not want you entering that church. It is too dangerous, even for you. Those people have no sympathy for humans that consort with vampires." He growled a little, "As Sheriff, I must do as the queen bids. As your master, I wish to keep you safe."

"As my what?" I folded my arms and huffed.

"Now's not the time, Sookie. I explained to you how my people perceive you and your status in my world." He knew that I wouldn't like hearing it, but he was right; we'd talked about this before. Next he said, "If I choose my words carefully, I will not need to lie to my queen. We will go to Dallas as she commands, we will meet with the Sheriff and his entourage, and you will meet with other humans during the day; you just won't meet up with the human members of the fucking Fellowship."

"When do we need to leave?" If I was doing this I needed to know, right?

"She has not given us a time frame yet; most likely within the next few days. You should inform the shifter that you need the next several days off."

"Several?" I looked up at Eric. I really wanted to help but that was too much time. Apologetically I said, "I can't afford to take that much time off."

He nodded, "You will be compensated for your time, expertise and related travel expenses; do not concern yourself with missing a paycheck from the shit shack. As for how many days, tell the shifter that you need one week off. We'll probably leave and be back within that time frame; if that should change I'm sure you know the number."

"I can't promise you anything. It's awful short notice and Sam let that slide with Lafayette. When I mention this to him, he might think that I'm trying to push him over."

"I can hardly believe that." Eric added, "If he should give you trouble over it, I'll talk to him."

"No, Eric." I asked him, "I don't want you doing that. Let me take care of it, please."

He looked at me, I knew for certain that he would say something to Sam if Sam did have a problem with me taking days off. I just didn't want that to happen.

I certainly had a lot to think about. Between the relatively recent revelation that Bill was sent to seduce me away from Bon Temps (like that could have ever happened), and now with the queen "requesting" my "services" I wasn't sure what to think. I was pissed that some vampire that I'd never met was able to mess with me this way; what had I ever done to deserve that? I wished I'd never... No, I couldn't wish that, then I'd never have met Eric.

I went upstairs to take a shower, I needed to relax and get the greasy stench off of me before turning in. It was already morning, but I couldn't sleep smelling like fried pickles and beer. Eric joined me and I was more than happy to have him.

We dried off; we brushed and dried each other's hair too. Then we headed for bed. I let out a yawn, I was tired but I was more than willing to stay up for Eric. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew that I wouldn't like waking up to the resulting mess, but at the moment it didn't matter enough to put me off. Eric asked me what time I needed to leave for work and when I told him, he responded by telling me that as much as he'd like to, I really ought to get some sleep. We had enjoyed one another last night, but that didn't keep me from wanting him tonight.

Eric pulled back the sheets for me to get in. I pouted a little and he chuckled. Next he kissed me and then said, "Go on, and lie on your stomach." Then he gave me another kiss, one that made me want to melt.

As I got into bed, I saw that Eric was pouring some body lotion onto his palms. His hands warmed up nicely as he rubbed my body with lotion. It still amazed me that I could enjoy the touch of a man. Until Eric came I didn't think it'd be possible. It felt really good, I murmured, "I've got to learn how to do this for you." Eric didn't say anything, he just kept rubbing and my muscles melted under his touch.

XXXXXX

That stinker! He massaged me to sleep last night. I looked at the blaring alarm clock and see that I have a little over an hour before I need to be at work. That's just enough time to do what I need before leaving. After I'm dressed, I take the note from Eric with me into the kitchen. I read the note while I was eating and nearly choked on my food.

My Dearest Sookie,

I hope that you were able to sleep well after such an emotional night. It means a lot that you shared that with me. Unfortunately I cannot change your past, but you can change the present.

The Shreveport Center for Domestic Abuse will be receiving a two and a half million dollar donation, which will allow the center to reach out to more people with an emphasis on protecting the children. I will also see to it that the little girl you are so concerned with receives proper counseling.

You will need to bring a few cocktail dresses with you on our trip to Dallas. You will meet the Area Sheriff at least once, perhaps more. Please take a drive out to the mall and browse; we do not wish to disappoint the queen as her representatives. The staff at Dillard's, Sears, Stage, and Body Central, will see to your needs. You need do nothing more than walk in and give them your name. Your limit for this weekend's shopping is $25,000. Spend as much of it as you like, but please do spend some of it.

Perhaps you will model your new clothes for me tonight?

-E

He was donating two and half million dollars! He wanted me to spend thousands of his dollars on myself? I felt great about the donation and awed by the amount. I figured that he was wealthy, but I hadn't realized that he was stinkin' rich. I smiled thinking about how his money was going to help countless people in the long run. I didn't know how I felt about him throwing money at me to buy clothes.

I'd have to think on that later, as I needed to move my butt and head out for work. I made it to Merlotte's with a few minutes to spare.

As I pulled into the lot I saw that Andy's car was still here. I guessed he had a hangover and wasn't ready to come pick it up. As I went by I thought I noticed one of the doors ajar so I went to check it out after I pulled into a spot and locked my car. After all, the car wouldn't start if it had a dead battery because the light was on all night. The car door was open alright and a foot was sticking out. The foot belonged to a black man and I was afraid to look at the face. I thought for sure that Lafayette had left for Arkansas. And then I screamed.

Sam came racing out from the back entrance to the bar and looked at me for a clue as to what was wrong. Then he saw where I was looking. Sam didn't look for long before he towed me into the bar and called the Sheriff's Department.

Sheriff Dearborn and his second Alcee Beck arrived shortly after the call. I read from the sheriff and his deputy that Lafayette had most likely been taken by surprise. He'd been hurt pretty bad in the process, but what ultimately killed him was a slit to the throat. Due to the lack of make-up, his rather ordinary clothes (as opposed to his normally garish ensembles), the swollen face and the bruising Lafayette didn't look much like himself. The coroner would get back to the Sheriff with a positive id later that day assuming that he could find dental records.

Needless to say, Merlotte's was closed for the day. I'd had to stay there longer than I'd planned to since I was the one that found the body. When I finally left, I didn't feel much like shopping. I went to bed for a nap and cried myself to sleep.

I woke when there was a knock at my door; my front door. Nobody who knows me ever comes in through the front door. I thought about where I'd last stashed the gun that Jason had given me when Rene was still on the loose. I checked that the gun was loaded and then checked the safety. My friend had just died, I wasn't taking chances. Before I even got to the peephole to look out on the porch I heard Pam's voice "Is someone trying to kill you again, sugar?" Wow, I had seriously underestimated vampire hearing abilities if she could figure out that I had a gun.

I opened the door, "not that I'm aware of, but a friend of mine was killed earlier. I found his body. And now someone comes to my house and knocks on my front door." Pam looked at me quizzically, I informed her, "Only delivery men or strangers come to my front door." Even that was only partially true, the UPS guy that most often dropped off anything shipped that way was an old friend of Jason's and he came to the back door out of habit. One of the pizza delivery guys played football with Jason way back when, and he too came to the back door; a habit he'd picked up when Jason was living here with Gran and me.

Pam looked at me, "Eric sensed that something was off. Had he thought you were in danger he'd have come himself."

She looked at me expectantly and then my manners kicked in, "please come on in."

Pam replied, "Thank you." Her eyes roamed around the inside of the house. "Well, isn't this homey." Then she went to another topic, "Master Eric tells me that you were to go shopping today. He is looking forward to seeing what you've found."

"Nothing," I told Pam, "I found nothing. I didn't get to go shopping. For one, I was busy this morning with finding a friend's dead body and sitting around for hours telling the Sheriff the same story of how I came to find him time and time again before I finally got to leave. I didn't feel like shopping after that; I came home and took a nap. I just woke up."

Pam pressed her lips together, "In that case we should leave now." I looked at her and she told me, "Eric will be busy for a few more hours; we can go shopping together."

"I'm not really in the mood, Pam." I looked at her and then offered, "Would you like some blood?" She smiled wide so I clarified, "I have some in the fridge."

Her smile changed into a smirk, "You keep bottled blood?" I nodded my head. She walked over to the fridge and looked inside. "Eric drinks this?"

I said to her, "Sometimes. Do you want some or not?"

"Sure, why not?" Pam stated, "If Eric can stomach it, how bad can it be?"

I took out a salad that I'd already prepared and put some into a bowl while Pam's blood heated up and then added some cold cuts for protein. I put my thumb over the bottle top and turned it over, eliminating hot spots before handing her the liquid meal. Then we sat and nourished ourselves. Pam was not a fan of synthetic blood; her reaction made me think of when Jason had to eat the broccoli that Gran put on his plate.

I cautiously noted, "You've never had synthetic blood?"

Pamela nodded her head, "Yes, this very brand in fact. But it was a different blood type. It tasted like shit; this blood type is no different. In fact, I fail to see how they can classify a synthetic blood as having a type; they certainly don't taste like the original. I may as well try feeding from a fucking mannequin."

"Oh, well don't feel like you have to finish it." I felt bad that I didn't have something else to offer her. Okay, technically I did have that something else, but I was not about to offer it to her; that was for Eric only.

Pam chugged down the blood, "I can handle it." I think she was trying to prove something to herself by finishing the bottle. She watched me clean up when we were done and then said, "Com'on Cupcake, you have some shopping to do."

We didn't have a lot of time to spend shopping, but Pam made every minute count. We went to Stage and then Dillard's. I found one dress in Stage and a pretty blue shirt that matched Eric's eyes. We had less time at Dillard's, as we got there only twenty minutes before closing time. Our helper turned out to be a really sweet lady named Laticia.

Laticia told us not to worry about the closing time; the store was open for me until I was done. We found two more dresses; one was a red halter top gown, the other was a mixture of summer colors printed on sheer fabric with a slip sewn in and a sweetheart neckline.

I thought I was done, when Laticia arrived with some undergarments. She'd been told that I needed some. I eyeballed Pam, who simply winked at me and dictated which ones I should try on and telling me which ones were best to wear under which new outfit.

When it came time to pay I told Laticia, "I'd like to pay for the undergarments separately."

Laticia said that was fine, but Pam opened her big mouth, "You will put everything on the Northman account." Laticia looked back and forth between us, since I obviously did not agree with Pam. Pam glamoured Laticia to simply do as Pam asked.

I huffed at Pam, "The dresses were one thing Pam, but lingerie? I can't justify buying lingerie for this business trip."

Pam tilted her head, "the right lingerie makes the outfit work, Sookie. Now here is something you really don't need but ought to have." She held up a white piece of fabric with a smaller matching piece which I thought was a thong and tossed them onto the pile to be rung up. Pam said to me, "Mark my words, Eric will go nuts when he sees you in that." Pam was assuming that I'd know how to get into it and that I'd want to. Oh, who was I kidding? She pulled the Eric card; if there was a chance that I could make him crazy, I was going to take it.

The rest of the evening went pretty well. I modeled all but that one set of lingerie since it disappeared before I could show Eric. Eric was very happy with my purchases. I was glad for the opportunity to make him happy, it made me feel a little less like a grub. I'd spent about two thousand dollars for clothes today; I didn't think I'd ever spent that much on clothes in one year. I didn't want Eric to think that he needed to spoil me to keep me happy. Then a wave of panic hit, maybe Eric wanted to spoil me so that it would lessen the blow when he told me that we were through or that he'd been sleeping with someone else.

Because of his darned blood, he knew something was up and so that led to an awkward conversation. Eric was pissed that I'd question his reasons for pampering me; he'd had good intentions and he didn't take kindly to anyone second guessing him, especially his woman.

I felt bad about second guessing him and all but I was out of my element with Eric. Until Eric, I'd never had a real relationship before. Until Eric, I learned what men do when they want to dump a girl or keep a girl happy even though he's boinking someone else. No one came into the bar for a drink because her guy treated her real well. I can't really say that I saw what it was like when the guy did for his girl, except for Rene and he was a murderer!

Eric listened as I explained as best I could that I was out of my element. I didn't want him to feel bad for me or anything like that; I just wanted him to understand where I was coming from.

Once that conversation was over, thank you very much, Eric and I talked about the trip to Dallas; we now had a departure date and contact information for the hotel. We'd be staying in a vampire friendly hotel with light tight rooms! That got me really excited, to think that I could greet Eric as he rose for the evening. Oh, I couldn't wait.

We spent the rest of the night together and it was wonderful. If it weren't for the fact that I needed to take care of some things back home and pack for the trip I'd have stayed with Eric until we needed to leave. I decided right then, that I'd pack all my stuff tomorrow so that I could come back in the evening and stay with him all the way until we had to leave for our trip. Eric liked that plan.

XXX

I woke up next to Eric's dead body, not something that I got to do as often as I'd like. I smiled reminding myself that I'd get to wake up next to him every day while we were away. Even more exciting was that I'd get to see him wake; I hadn't done that yet.

I kissed his prone body and then made my butt move so that I could get some stuff done at home. My list of chores was long, but if I worked hard, I'd get them done. I cleaned the bedrooms and living room while I washed the sheets and towels and then moved onto the kitchen once I had that set of laundry hung out to dry and the next one started. Once done with that, I cleaned the bathrooms and vacuumed while the load of laundry finished in the wash. I mowed the lawn while that load dried, starting in the area without the close-line and then finishing after the laundry on the close-line was folded up and put away.

My work was interrupted three times. The last time was due to my growling stomach and my full bladder. The second time was because Eric's day man came by with a delivery; Samsonite Luggage. Eric wrote a note to me saying that he recalled me telling him that I hadn't actually traveled before; he figured that I'd need luggage. I bit my lower lip realizing that I hadn't given much thought to what I would have packed my clothes in. But then, I'd probably be able to find an old suitcase around somewhere. Gran had lord only knew what up in the attic. The first interruption was probably the best one, Sam called. Sam told me that they found identification on the body found in Andy's car and that Mike Spencer, the town coroner was able to confirm it; it was not Lafayette. I hollered and thanked god that he was alright and probably in Arkansas. I did wonder who the poor soul was and Sam told me that the name was Trent Reynold. I couldn't be positive but I thought that it was probably Laffy's cousin that lived nearby. Not that this Trent person deserved to die or anything, but I was very happy to learn that it wasn't my friend Lafayette.

The rest of the day went along nicely. I tried to think of what to do about my mail, especially since I wasn't sure when we'd be leaving. Jason wasn't very reliable, I could ask Arlene but she got easily side tracked with her kids and lived on the opposite side of town where people had a lot of neighbors close by. Sam would do it, but I already felt that I was taking advantage of his kind nature. I would have asked Tara, but the last time we saw each other was when I dropped her off at her house. Once upon a time we were great friends, she is still a friend but we were not close like we used to be so I'd have felt weird asking her for the favor. I figured I'd go over to the Post Office on my way back to Shreveport and see about having my mail held; I hope that it wouldn't cost an arm and leg.

I packed my new clothes, new lingerie, some of my "down time" clothes, a few pairs of shoes, my make-up and other toiletries in the bags that Eric gave me. The luggage was a matching five piece set. I'd only need one of the suitcases for my clothes, and the little case which was just for make-up and such. How neat was that!

I made a quick stop at the Post Office to set up a hold on my deliveries and then made my way to Merlotte's. Before I got to Sam, so that I could speak with him Portia Bellefleur came up to me.

Portia had always been weary of me 'cause of how I always knew stuff. Come to think of it, the Bellefleur's never did get on well with the Stackhouse's. Portia rarely came into Merlotte's, it was beneath her even if her once wealthy family didn't have much more than I did these days. Portia requested a favor that I "listen" in on people to see who killed that man and put him in her brother's car. Her brother was a suspect and she didn't know how else to help him. Asking this of me was killing her. I told her that I'd do it to help Lafayette, if that's what he wanted, but I had no desire to help her or her brother; both of whom treated me like crap when we were little and weren't much better at the present.

I extricated myself from Portia and then checked with Sam. I asked if he needed any help finding coverage while I was away. He said that he didn't, but he did talk my ear off about being safe around vampires. He made me promise him that I'd call once I was safely back in Bon Temps. We sat and ate dinner together in a booth. By the time we were done, the sun was almost all the way down.

I gave him a hug, thanked him for everything, and told him that I most certainly would call when I got back. Sam's reaction was rather curious; he didn't hug me back like he'd always done. Instead he stood stock still and said that he wished me well. I stood back and looked at him, "What's wrong, Sam?"

Sam replied with a whisper, "You're Eric Northman's, he won't want to smell me on you; you might want to shower before you see him again."

I huffed, "You're my friend Sam. I hug my friends. Eric will just have to deal with it."

Sam kept his voice low, "Careful what you say, Cher. Supes don't work like humans do and we're not exactly one anothers' fans."

It still struck me that Sam was a shifter; he could change into any animal that he wanted. At first I was hurt and pissed that he hadn't shared his secret with me when he had known mine. But then I came to learn that Sam was not the only one and the other shifters might have taken exception to him telling a human that his kind existed. I didn't have that worry; there wasn't anybody like me. Luckily, I was able to come to that realization before I spoke with Sam the first time since finding out.

After the weird little exchange with Sam, I high tailed it out of the bar so that I could get to Shreveport not too long after Eric woke.

I thought about how Sam didn't show any interest in me until Vampire Bill came into town. Sam didn't seem to care if Bill could smell him on me. Maybe it was 'cause I wasn't Bill's, but I got the distinct feeling that Sam had a good dose of fear when it came to making Eric angry.

My thoughts shifted and I focused on my stop at the Post Office; I was still delighted to learn that the service for holding mail was free. I continued on my way to Shreveport all the while praying that it didn't rain while I was away; I didn't want to come back to mow a jungle.

While I was praying for dry weather, I should have been praying that my car would keep on going. The radio went fuzzy, the headlights and dashboard light dimmed, the car bucked and then it stopped; there was no life left in the car. Great, just what I needed.

I got out of the car, locked it and proceeded to walk in the direction that I thought would get me to the nearest phone. This was when having a cell phone would be nice. Then again, things like this didn't happen all that often and I couldn't afford a cell phone.

Then I saw her; a very pretty, almost wild looking woman with very long hair. She was standing next to a very large, very mean looking razorback hog. I looked around; there was no other vehicle in sight, granted it was pretty dark. Nor could I make out any buildings nearby. I couldn't imagine where she'd come from.

The woman introduced herself as Callisto. She assured me that the animal did her bidding and that she had no intention of allowing it to kill me. Then Callisto said that she wanted me to deliver a message to my Master. I couldn't get anything from her head so I knew that she wasn't human. The razor back had a thought pattern similar to Dean so I figured it was a shifter like Sam. Come to think of it, I never mentioned to Sam that I thought it was weird that I'd tickled his tummy so many times not knowing that Dean was Sam; he wasn't gonna get me to do that again. I needed to snap out of it and focus on what was happening. Lucky for me it hadn't been such a long amount of time since I'd had Eric's blood. Callisto took a swing at me with an open palm and sharp claws for fingers, I managed to turn my back and avoid having my face slashed. I went down like a ton of bricks.

It felt like the longest night of my life. Eric found me and asked me what happened, but I was screaming in pain. He opened his wrist for me and I had barely a taste before my body convulsed and spat it out. He made a phone call and told someone about me, he hung up and warned me that he was going to move me. My screams were deafening to my own ears as he picked me up, trying not to touch the cuts on my back. I was vaguely aware of wind whipping around me and then it stopped.

I must've passed out; the next thing I knew I was lying face down on a table in Fangtasia. A short, ugly little woman that I highly doubted was human looked me over. She wore a doctor's smock and said something about Komodo dragons. I managed to pick up that Eric, and whoever else was around would drain me to get the poison out, I weakly yelled, "But I don't want to be a vampire! I need my suntan." Okay, I don't know why that last part came out, but it did.

The tiny woman said something about me not becoming a vampire, but I missed most of it 'cause I couldn't hear her real well at the moment. The doctor bent over me and began doing something to my back. I hadn't thought that the pain could get any worse. Eric let me hang on to him and even in my state I could see that I'd gripped and clawed at him so hard that I'd drawn blood. He caught my attention with his eyes and tried to help me through the pain. Finally, everything thankfully went black.

When I woke up I was lying on my stomach. I gasped in shock and horror and began to move. At first I thought it'd been a horrible nightmare, but I was awful tender as I began to move. I hadn't fully gotten up yet when Eric came into the room. Eric told me, "Pam, Chow and I were able to draw out your poisoned blood. Doctor Ludwig gave you a transfusion of regular human blood; you will not be joining us any time soon. I couldn't heal you before because of the type of poison in your system. From what you said in your delirium, we believe we know what attacked you. Sookie, did the creature say anything to you before the attack?"

I nodded my head, she had said something. I tried to remember what it was, but it wasn't coming to me; other thoughts were taking its' place. Finally I remembered something, "She said that her name was Connie," No, that didn't sound right so I said a few more out loud, "Cathy, Corinne, Kali, Callisto, she told me that her name was Callisto. She had a message for you." Eric raised his eyebrows in anticipation, I informed him, "She didn't tell me anything. Right after she said that she had a message for you she went to claw my face."

"Damn maenads." Eric looked at me, "they're not common in the New World; it seems that Callisto is marking new territory."

I couldn't believe it, "You know her?"

Eric replied, "No, but I know what her kind can and will do. I'll need to alert the neighboring sheriff's as well as the queen. Maenads are dangerous creatures Sookie, even to vampires. We are most fortunate that she hadn't intended to kill you quickly, by leaving you to die I was able to get you help." I didn't say it, but at the time that it was happening, I'd have preferred to meet my maker. At the current moment, I was happy to be alive.

My vampire came over and sat on the edge of the bed that I had waked up on. It was the same one I'd used in Fangtasia's basement. He said to me, "Doctor Ludwig tells me that your body should accept my blood now. Will you allow me to heal you, Sookie?"

I looked at him and could see that it meant a lot to him, so I agreed. The pain that I was still feeling at the time might have pushed me over the edge, but it was still my decision. Eric looked relieved when I told him, "sure."

After I drank his blood, I was feeling rather sleepy. I'd just woken up but my body was ready to go back down. Eric explained that it was just my body healing, and that I'd be loads better the next time I woke. He stayed with me until I went out again.

All was quiet in the basement when I woke. I puttered around for a bit, used the facilities and the mirror inside to look at my now-faded scratch marks. Back in my room I found some fruit, a spinach salad, a few bottles of water, a small container of juice and even a small container of ice cream inside the mini refrigerator. I wasn't sure what time it was but I had the fruit and juice for my first meal, be it breakfast or lunch.

I looked around some more, but there wasn't really anything else to see; until I looked at my luggage. Someone had taken the luggage from my car and brought it here. On top of the make-up case was a book with a simple note from Eric saying that he'd noticed that I read books by that author and he hoped that I hadn't read this one yet.

My head shook as I thought of how incredibly sweet he was. I'd never read a book with him around. I'd never be able to concentrate on the text if he were in the same room; I just knew it. But still, he noticed which library books I had lying around. I looked at the hard cover book by Danielle Steel. It was her latest book, the library hadn't gotten it in yet so I hadn't read it. Even though I loved reading, I had less desire to read romance novels these days. Eric blew all of her characters away, and he was real.

Since there was an unknown amount of time to kill and nothing more to do, I killed my time reading the new book. I did have a different reaction to the book than I normally did though, I kept imagining Eric and me in some of the love scenes; I'd never really done that before. One scene described the heroine pleasing a man (not who'd she'd end up with though) and I thought about the time I started to do that with Eric. I wondered if he'd tell me what he liked and if I could get him to scream for me the way that he made me scream for him.

I stopped reading only to take a meal and bathroom break. I was rather happy that I was alone while reading this. I'd come to one of the most heated loved scenes I'd ever read. I couldn't help but think of Eric and I doing those things and I became heated just thinking about it. I jumped mile high when Eric placed his hand over mine which was absently rubbing my breast while I'd been in my own little fantasy.

Eric smiled, "Read anything you like?" I blushed and shut the book right quick before he could read what I'd just read.

Eric reminded me, "If anyone asks, you are on a mission for the queen. We are going to Dallas to do her bidding. There are security cameras at the hotel, so you will need to go out during the day but I want you to stay away from the Fellowship." He kissed my temple, "We need to leave in twenty minutes."

That last statement took me back; I hadn't realized how much time had passed. I told Eric that I really wanted to thank the vampires for their help. Eric responded by saying that they did as they were told; that's what underlings were expected to do. I pressed the issue so Eric summoned the short Asian vampire, Chow, who I'd met only a couple of times since he took over Longshadow's position at the bar; and Pamela, his child.

Chow and Pamela were both surprised that I was thanking them for feeding off of me. But let's face it, they saved my life. Both of them accepted my thanks and said that it was their pleasure. They rather enjoyed my blood; it could only have been better if the scratches hadn't been poisonous.

Soon we were in a special section of the airport that had extra security. Pam dropped Eric and me off. Some humans scurried to the car and quickly place our things onto the waiting plane. We were flying Anubis Air. The plane was small, but we were not the only people on board; Eric could have paid extra for that but then we would have had to leave at another time since this one already had people booked.

The captain and the flight attendant each made an announcement to prepare everyone for takeoff. We started rolling down the paved area and then turned onto another section. I held my breath. Eric took my hand and leaned in to kiss me. It was sweet of him to try and take my mind off of the fact that we were going to be flying high above. Just as I was going to break from Eric so that I could brace myself for lift off, he deepened the kiss and pressed me back into the seat a little. When we broke apart, he smirked. I missed take off, we were already in the air.

Since I'd never flown before I was still nervous; every time the plane rocked a little, I was sure we were going to crash. Once the captain declared it safe to roam the cabin, Eric unbelted my seat-belt, and pulled me onto his lap. I won't swear to it, but I think he did that floaty thing while he held me 'cause I didn't feel the plane moving.

After a while, the captain announced our descent and said that everyone needed to go back to their seats and buckle up. I wasn't too thrilled about leaving my current seat but I did. The flight attendant checked on the passengers and then sat herself in a special seat just for her. Eric placed a hand on my jeans covered thigh and slid up toward my center. I turned my head toward him and with narrowed eyes I growled, "Eric!"

He smirked, "Just thought I'd offer you some more distraction."

I smiled at that and leaned in to kiss him. He would have kept it going but I was embarrassed enough as it was from whatever the other passengers heard during takeoff.

My heart pounded as I could see the streetlights getting brighter, cars began to look bigger and the lit runway below zoomed into view. It might have skipped a beat when the plane bounced a little as the wheels touched down. Once we were out of the plane, I had a compulsion to kiss the ground; I didn't do that though.

We checked into the Silent Shores Hotel, it was not at all what I'd expected. But then, I'd never traveled before so what did I really know? Once we were in our room, we changed into more formal clothes. Next we headed for Stan Davis' estate.

Stan Davis was a sheriff in Texas. Even without knowing his official title, any human would know that he was important given the overabundance of security. I was not expecting the Sheriff to look like he did; a nerd. He had the rolled up sleeves, taped up glasses, pocket protector and even a few pens sticking out; he'd have fit in perfectly on a Best Buy Geek Squad Commercial.

I listened more than spoke and I hoped that I hadn't embarrassed Eric in some way. I met a number of people and did my best to keep the key players straight.

Sheriff Davis had some humans come into the room so that I could question them. The humans were among the last people to see the missing vampire. A couple of humans yielded some information, but not much. All we had to go on was that the missing vampire was last seen with a young looking vampire. No one seemed to know who the other vampire was.

Eric said that he had an underling that might be able to help identify the vampire; the underling was adept at using the internet and had many useful contacts that way. Stan agreed that Eric would make the call. Within an hour, Eric had a name; Godfrey.

According to Eric's information Godfrey renounced his nature and started hunting his own kind, helping followers of the Fellowship to rid the world of vampires.

Now that the Texas vampires knew who to look for, Eric and I were given leave to go where we wished.

When we got back to the hotel, Eric handed me a package. I opened it to find a fancy pink cell phone. I had my protest all ready to go but he squelched it before I could start. Eric told me that it was a safety measure; if something happened I could call for help. He did not want me here in Dallas without a cell phone. And no, the phone was not for use only during this trip; he wanted me to carry it at all times in case something happened and I needed to call for help. He told me that I had unlimited calling from anywhere within the U.S. and unlimited internet and texting too.

I wasn't sure that I could even afford a phone that only dialed 911. I started to tell Eric that I'd use it for now but that I had no intention of keeping it when he told me that my phone was on his family plan, he was not about to have it deactivated and he'd be more than peeved if I didn't carry it around and keep it charged.

We spent the rest of the night getting acquainted with the phone. Eric had already programmed some numbers into the phone and even sent me a sext message.

The following day was fairly quiet and uneventful until I met Barry the Bellboy. Without realizing it at first, Barry responded to my thoughts. He tried playing it off, and then freaked when I was able to respond to his thoughts. I didn't know why I was the way I was, but I had better control of it than Barry did. The poor guy asked me not to bother him and just about begged me to forget about him before he left; he like the silence of vampires' minds but feared what would happen if they'd found out.

The evening news was disturbing. One of the humans that I'd met the night before had been killed. The authorities believed that someone was trying to send a message to the vampires. I couldn't help but cry; she didn't deserve to die.

The next night was once again with Stan Davis and his entourage, including Isabel Beaumont and her human Hugo Ayres. The conversation was full of surprises, namely when I'd learned that someone tried to kidnap me yesterday.

Eric and I were supposed to come in on an earlier flight. The only reason why we didn't do that is because Eric didn't want to arrive in a coffin given the recent vampire abductions and he wanted to be on the ready should anyone come for me. So instead of me, another twenty something blond human was abducted; the woman has not yet been found.

The Sheriff was beside himself; only his most trusted people knew that Eric and I were coming. Further discussion revealed that the original plans were made while the Sheriff was in his office. The alternate plans were discussed in his private quarters. Maybe I'd read too many spy novels (nah, couldn't be that, my favorite authors didn't write that genre), but I got to thinking that Sheriff Davis had a bug.

Sure enough, a bug was found in his office after the vampires did a thorough search. The device was destroyed and then the vampires tried discussing what to do next, while the Sheriff tried to maintain his cool and not rip off any heads.

The whole thing was embarrassing to the Sheriff and his people; they needed to figure out who the mole was. Hugo suggested that he and I find out by going into the Fellowship building posing as a couple. He reasoned that if we wormed our way far enough inside, I'd be able to read their minds and I'd likely find out at least some of the elusive information; like where Farrell was being held, if the human woman was still alive, and who the mole was. I didn't think that it'd be too hard to do, but kept my trap shut and let Eric do his thing.

Eric made it clear that I'd already done my part; I read the humans in and around Stan Davis' compound. He was not about to order me to put myself in danger, and he certainly was not about to ask me either. The Area Six Sheriff wasn't thrilled about it, but understood and did not pressure Eric into making me act as a spy.

That night was nice in that the pressure was off. I had done my part and Eric did his. The way that he spoke about me and protected me earlier did a lot to my libido. When we got back to the hotel, I did my best to show Eric my appreciation.

I'd only started to do it once before, but I was feeling brave this night. Shortly after we arrived at the hotel, I went into the bathroom to change into the white lacy thing and thong. For something with so little fabric, I had a hard time figuring out how to put it on. At one point Eric knocked and asked me if I needed help. I sighed with relief once I'd figured it out and squeezed into it. I opened the bathroom door and caught his attention (I think) by sticking out a bare leg.

When I came out of the bathroom, Eric's expression warmed my heart. He was clearly loving my look. If he'd been human, he'd have been drooling. The obvious approval of my ensemble made me feel a bit more comfortable wearing the ridiculous thing that really only covered my torso with a sheer fabric. I walked over to Eric. He grabbed me and kissed me. He would have continued, but I slapped him away.

I took off his clothing and then knelt in front of him. I kissed him there with a peck of the lips and then again with a series of open mouth kisses. I looked up at him, "Tell me what you like?" I was on a mission and went to work. I didn't understand why women didn't like this. Eric loved it and I was the one to make him feel that way; what was there not to like? I learned a lot during that time with him and I fully expected to put my new found knowledge and skills to work again in the near future.

By the time I was done with Eric, he was trembling from restraining himself. I guess I did alright by him. Eric said that I did more than "alright," in fact he said that I was "magnificent" but I knew that he was being kind since it was the first time that I'd done that kind of thing really. When I was done with Eric, he pounced on me and I had to hold on for dear life! I loved every minute of it.

The following morning I went down to the buffet for breakfast. I was hoping to run into Barry again. Instead, I met up with Hugo. He said that Isabel would want to know that the human companions were satisfied with the accommodations. I told him that they were beyond my expectations. Hugo was glad to hear it, told me that he needed to check up on some other human business since he was a lawyer and that he'd see me later. I hadn't expected to see him later since Eric and I were due to leave, but whatever.

I ate my meal and then made my way back to the room. I opened my purse to dig out the key card and found a note inside. I took a good look at the note once I was inside the room.

The note was written on paper from the hotel and folded into thirds. The inside revealed a note from Eric. The note explained that the vampires really needed my help. Since the room was bugged, he wrote this note. In case I was wondering, he didn't want to destroy the bug because then people would know that we were on to them. He didn't much care for it, but felt that I could help and had to admit that I wasn't in much danger. After all, we'd be going to a public place during the day, I'd have an escort, and both of us going in were human. If something should go amiss, Isabel would know because Hugo has had her blood.

Not that I expected anything to happen but it was reassuring to know that Hugo and I both had a connection to a vampire. I looked at the time and realized that I needed to hurry and change into my best church clothes.

Hugo picked me up near the main lobby. He said that Isabel had left him a written note too. During our drive, Hugo's thoughts were ambivalent, by the time we got to the church there was nothing left to be done about it. Whatever the thing was between Isabel and Hugo now wasn't the time for me to ask him about it. We were about to go inside.

It didn't take me long to figure out that we were in the right place. Sarah Newlin gave us a tour of most of the area, but I picked up on the fact that somehow she knew who I was even though we'd given her false names. Things went downhill after we met her husband Steve. All things being equal, I'd have trusted Vampire Bill over the shifty, smooth talking Steve Newlin anytime.

Once I'd heard enough from his head that they did in fact have a vampire hidden on the premises I made an excuse to leave. Hugo and I got up and were led to a door, but once it opened we both knew that we would have to fight our way out.

I didn't go down easily. Eric's blood was still in me so that helped me do some damage. To which the so called reverend started spewing about me being under Satan's minion's thumb, and some nonsense about a whore from Babylon. The fight didn't last long though; he had help in the form of a rather large man. The large man didn't fight me really; he tasered me instead.

When I came to I looked around but the only other captive that I could see was Hugo. I called out, "Farrell? Are you here? Please, tell me if you're here. We're here to help!" Nothing; there was no response. He was here though. Well, someone was. I could detect a vampire presence not too far away. I searched out some more and came to the conclusion that there were at least two captive vampires down here, but our abductors were somewhere above. Not sure what state the vampires were in I called out, "Help is on the way. Just hang in a little longer." I told myself that too, I needed to believe that as much as they did.

Hugo and I passed the time talking. It started out with us thinking of escape, but we didn't see how we could accomplish that just yet. He reminded me that he and Isabel shared a bond; Isabel would be able to track him when she rose. That made me feel a bit better because it reminded me that Eric would do that too; but I didn't share that with Hugo. The conversation turned a little to Eric and me. It didn't take long before I felt like he was fishing for something. I asked him about his relationship with Isabel and that's when his whole facade crumbled.

My fellow captor was really a traitor. Hugo was obsessed with Isabel and wanted to become her child so that they could be together forever. Only, Isabel had no plans on changing him; they fought about it often. Hugo decided to sway Isabel by infiltrating the Fellowship, only he hadn't expected that he'd agree with any of their principals. He still loved Isabel and was torn between doing the right thing as a human (according to his Fellowship teachings) and doing the right thing by her.

Obviously, Hugo was not going to be of any help. I thought about Barry and tried my best to let him know where I was and that I needed help. I didn't get anything back and I didn't even know if the guy was still in town but I had to give it a try.

When the giant man came into our area, Hugo told him that it was no use; I'd figured out that Hugo was the spy. The big man, Gabe, came near to us and told me that I'd burn nicely while strapped to the vampire as he met the sun. The pervert found that arousing and started to feel me up. I pushed him away, but that made him come back at me more forcefully. Hugo actually did something good and attacked Gabe, but Gabe sent him back with a loud thud.

Just when I thought that it was not going to end up well at all, I heard a boy speak. The boy told Gabe to release me. Gabe responded but the boy didn't like the answer so he grabbed Gabe and carted the man away. Gabe kicked and screamed as if his life depended on it.

Gabe's pleas for help were lessening by the second as the boy vampire came back into view. He simply told me that I should not be there.

I assured this vampire, Godfrey, that help was coming. It'd be here as soon as it was dark enough. Godfrey told me that he was never a prisoner. So they were right, he really did abhor his own existence.

Godfrey made a case for why vampires were evil. He had done many horrible things; he'd killed countless people sometimes because he needed food and didn't care if he drained them and many times because he enjoyed watching people suffer; he'd raped many boys. Godfrey's desire for young male flesh and blood was an addiction and he knew that he ought to die because he was a danger to others.

I made a case that not all vampires were evil, him included; although I did agree that his past actions were evil. For starters, Godfrey stopped the human from raping me; an evil person would have let that happen. The vampire that I came to Texas with wasn't evil, he could have taken me against my will but he didn't. My vampire waited for me to come to him. He looked after other vampires too, that's why he came to Texas. I gave some more examples, while thinking of Eric or Pam but didn't use their names. When I was done, Godfrey conceded that perhaps not all vampires were evil, but he was. His desires were dark and consuming; he was a danger to everyone around him.

Godfrey told me that he still planned to meet the sun and I said to him that if he did, it shouldn't be with a bunch of humans looking to fulfill their own blood lust.

The last thing that Godfrey told me was that Farrell would not be a danger to me now that he'd been fed.

Only seconds later another young-ish looking vampire came into view. He looked at me and seemed surprised with what he saw; maybe he was expecting Zena the Warrior Princess. Farrell said that he'd get me out; he owed me that much and he'd take care of the still unconscious Hugo. Farrell explained that since Hugo was never in any real danger here, Isabel would not know to come look for him. I told Farrell that I had that part covered and he nodded saying, "that will make it easier to get you out without you being harmed any further."

Night must have fallen not too long ago because Farrell told me that his brothers were here. We heard all sorts of commotion above us. Farrell told me to wait while he went up top to assess things.

I next saw Eric and I didn't care that he looked like an animal bent on killing anything and everything in his way. I went to him and hugged him for all I was worth; not caring what blood splatters transferred onto me. I heard someone say something about torching the building as Eric picked me up.

I pointed to, the lucid and not moving very well, Hugo. I told Eric, "He was the traitor... Eric, he also saved me from being raped." Of course, he didn't seem to have a problem with them wanting me to burn on a cross...

Farrell came back down and Eric pointed to Hugo, "Stan will wish to speak with him." We left the Fellowship of the Sun Church as it went up in a blaze.

We did not go back to the hotel right away. Instead, we went to the Sheriff's home. Before proceedings of any kind started, Isabel apologized to me. I wondered how she knew of his part since I hadn't told anyone yet. Isabel told me, "Barry, the bellboy from Silent Shores Hotel sought out Stan to tell him what happened." It turned out that although Barry didn't know that Stan was a sheriff, he did recognize the vampire as very powerful among his kind. He could have gone back to the hotel, but Stan Davis was a lot less threatening than Eric Northman.

As exhausted as I was, I refused to sleep just yet. I had a feeling and I needed to know if I was right. I told Eric that I wanted to do something before I went to sleep; I wanted to go back to the church in case Godfrey showed up for sunrise. Eric didn't think that was wise, especially since he couldn't come with me. I wasn't backing down so we came to a compromise. I'd have two day walkers escort me to and from Silent Shores Hotel.

That's exactly what we did. Eric and I met the day walkers, which I later learned were werewolves, in the lobby and then we went back to the smoldering church. The wolves stayed back while I looked around and sure enough I saw Godfrey. The vampire was astonished that I'd come for him. He wanted to know how my God punished people for their sins. He liked my response that I didn't believe in a god that punishes, but I didn't think that he was very hopeful about that. The sun rose and Godfrey burned. His face showed more relief than pain and then he was gone; it hadn't taken long at all. I said a little prayer and then headed back to the hotel with the werewolves.

When I arrived at the hotel, Eric was still awake. He did not wish to go down for the day until I was back inside with him. I told him about Godfrey and then we both slept a soundless, dreamless sleep.

I didn't wake up much before Eric; I was keeping vampire hours it seemed. Stan Davis had requested our presence once again, for a sort of welcome back party for Farrell.

I finished eating my dinner à la room service, put the dome back over the plate and then brushed my teeth. By the time that I was done, Eric was up.

We had a little time so we enjoyed each other and Eric had his meal from me. When we were done Eric said, "I am disappointed in your actions of late, you could have gotten killed." His eyes set on mine, "I thought I'd made it clear that I didn't want you going into that church."

I gave him an incredulous look, "then why did you leave me a note saying that I should?"

"I wrote no such note," Eric looked at me.

If he didn't write it but I got one, then someone was good with forging his handwriting. I sprang up to look for the note. It was still in my purse. I said to him, "Right where I found it the first time," then I pulled it out and handed it to him.

Before he even opened it he said, "I have never placed a note in your purse." He looked at the note and read it; Eric was livid all over again.

Eventually we made it to the Sheriff of Area Six's home. We started with formalities first. Everyone involved shared his or her part of the story regarding last night's events. By the time that was over, Hugo and Isabel were both carted off. I didn't think that was fair; Isabel didn't know what Hugo was doing. But Eric whispered to me that she was responsible because he was her human. Things went much better for a while after that.

Then I heard some of the scariest thoughts I'd ever heard; a bunch of people were about to shoot up the place. I yelled, "Everybody get down!" The vampires were very good at taking direction, almost everyone hit was a human guest or worker; they just didn't have the same reaction time as vampires did. Although, some people were hit from a ricochet. When it stopped, Eric was on top of me; protecting me from harm.

Stan barked out some orders and the vampires went to work. Some vampires headed out to go after the attackers and others stayed inside to tend to injured nest-mates and their humans.

Eric lifted himself up and looked me over to see that I was okay and I noticed the blood seeping out of him. "Oh my god, Eric. You've been shot!"

He cupped my face, "I'll be fine."

"Are you sure? That has to hurt." I looked at him with concern, "Is there anything I can do?"

He raised his eyebrows, "My body will heal itself. But if you wish to help it along you can suck out the bullets. It's not necessary though, my body will do the job eventually."

"You'll heal faster if they're out?" I asked and he nodded. I said, "Well, you did get shot so that I wouldn't, what kind of girl would I be to not help you where I could?"

I took off his shirt and proceeded to suck out both bullets. The surrounding area was obviously sore, but as I sucked it was an entirely different body part that swelled. When I was done I shook my head and said, "I can't believe that you could get excited even from that."

Eric smirked, "I like it when you suck me, Sookie." Now, I was beat red. Eric then told me, "at least I didn't have to be a manipulative bastard to get you to drink my blood. I could have lied."

I scoffed and hit his arm, "You would not."

Eric wriggled his brows, "If you were not mine, I would have."

I huffed, "I'd never have fallen for it." Silently I was glad that it never went down that way, because I had to admit to myself that maybe I would have fallen for his act. But I wasn't about to let Eric know that.

Stan Davis came over to us and thanked me for saving most of his nest. The vampires remaining inside also expressed their gratitude for not having met their final death.

That night, the whole last couple of days really, had been exhausting. I really didn't remember going back to the hotel but we must've because I woke up the next day with not a whole lot of time before the flight back home.

XXX

A couple of weeks passed after the trip to Dallas and I was back in to my regular routine of working at Merlotte's and spending what time I could with Eric. I was more than happy to receive the money from having gone to Dallas; I wouldn't have to sell any of my land after all so that I could pay the taxes on the farmhouse. I did tell Eric that it was too much though, he'd tacked on more than he'd originally told me. His excuse was that I was never supposed to be in any danger; it was hazard pay. I grumbled but ended up taking it.

I saw Bill in Merlotte's fairly often and he was there with Portia Bellefleur. I wasn't sure what he got out of the deal other than sex and a free meal I supposed. But I figured that Portia had heard about the sex party thing too and was trying to get an invite. Portia wasn't the type to look for that kind of... fun but she was trying to clear her brother of suspicion of murder.

Meanwhile, Lafayette was lying low. Sam said he'd heard from him but Laffy had gotten some threats and didn't want to take any chances. I was able to read from Sheriff Dearborn that whatever information Lafayette had given them was insufficient evidence to tie anyone to murder.

The night of the big game at the high school, Merlotte's saw a lot of business before and after the game. Sam was about the only person there while the game was going and that was so the place could be ready for the onslaught of business following the home game.

Eric joined me to watch the game. The entire town showed up; we always did. I saw Tara and Benedict Talley, her fiancé that went by the nickname "Eggs"; we sat next to them. Tara and I had only gotten reacquainted this past summer, but I knew that she was engaged; we'd kept up our contact a little better since we last went to Fangtasia together. Bill was down, closer to the front with Portia; he nodded our way when he saw Eric and me. I saw my brother at some point with his friend Hoyt and their dates. I couldn't believe it when Eric said that he'd come along and there he was cheering with the rest of us. I didn't much care for the attention that he gave to the cheerleaders, but then he explained that he was imagining me in one of those skimpy little outfits; Flatterer.

At the end of the game everyone headed for Merlotte's. Only, Eric and I cheated; we flew. We got there before everyone so we got the best table. He knew that I'd want to socialize so we claimed a large table; Eric would just have to suffer through it.

People filtered in and a few of them joined us as expected. Tara and Eggs came over first. Eric had been under the impression that Tara and I were really close but with all of the catch up we were doing, he was confused. We told him that we were really close back when we went to the high school but we sort of lost touch after that. We were kind of able to keep tabs on one another through the gossip mill but the first that we'd really gotten together since high school was when I called her up to ask if she wanted to go to Fangtasia.

Eric was even more curious now. I told him, "Tara and I may have lost contact for a bit, but we've always had each other's back when we needed it. And she's the only one around here brave enough to do that with me." We spent a little more time talking with Eggs and Tara before Jason, Hoyt and their girls for the evening came by. I was kind of glad they did, because Eggs and Eric hadn't said much; they pretty much just watched Tara and me.

Jason and his group didn't sit with us, they just stood for a minute to say "hello" before getting their own table.

Bill and Portia came in next, I internally moaned. I was neither a Bill fan nor a Portia fan. Eric ordered him to sit with us and the two joined our group. Next, Eric let Bill know that their "business associate" in Texas was impressed with the computer networking skills. Bill thanked Eric and nodded like a good minion.

Eric smirked at Bill, "I take it you two haven't known one another for long."

Bill responded, "Portia and I met not long after I came back to Bon Temps."

Portia feigned, "He's a real sweet southern gentleman."

Eric laughed, "Bill? Bill Compton, sweet? I think the only one funnier than you is my sweet Sookie." Eric looked to Portia, "You better hope that he has good intentions for you." He looked at Bill and with his voice low enough so that only those of us at the table could hear what Eric said to him, "I know of your ploy to get to Sookie." His fangs ran down, "I warn you now, she is mine and if you ever disrespect her it will be the last thing you do."

Bill was very still except for the nod of his head to indicate that he heard and understood what he was told. I read from Eggs that he was in awe to be sitting at a table with a bad ass motherfucker, his words not mine. Tara was thinking how awesome it was that I not only finally had a man, but I had a man that stuck up for me; and he was a vampire! Portia was wondering why Bill would ever want to go out with me and then felt bad thinking that she was his second choice; not that she wanted to date him.

We went back to my place that night since I had to work the next day. Back home, I confessed to Eric that I kind of enjoyed watching Bill squirm. Eric then said that while he liked to make Bill squirm, he preferred watching me squirm as he played with my body. That's exactly how we ended the night; he made me squirm like crazy before I got the release that I was looking for.

While I was at work the next day Mike Spencer came in. He'd heard about me being with a big blond vampire. We didn't talk for too long before he told me that I was invited to a party tomorrow night. He chose his words carefully, but I got it; he and his friends were inviting me to the party.

I coyly replied, "I've only partied with Eric's friends before. Would it be alright with you if I mentioned it to him? If not, I understand but I've never done that without Eric before."

Mike took that to mean that I was still pretty new to the scene, which made sense given the Bon Temps gossip that I'd only recently given up my virginity. Mike said that I could tell Eric, in fact, Eric was welcome; they'd never had a vampire guest before. Mike gave me the contact information that I'd need if I decided to come. I'd have to call the number before getting directions to the location.

The rest of the day went by as normal and I headed for Shreveport after work. Pam let me into Fangtasia. When I saw that Eric was on his throne I went up to greet him. He pulled me onto his lap but I didn't stay for long; I told him that I wanted to talk to Pam while he made women drool.

I went to Pam over at the door, "Can we talk for a minute?"

"Sure." Pam snapped her fingers and someone came to take over her spot. Then she asked me, "Would you prefer a booth, the bar or the basement?"

"I don't know, Pam." I looked at her, "Have any sex parties down there?"

Pam smiled, "Come with me."

We went into the office and then Pam teased, "Did Sookie get her first invite to an orgy?" Then she was serious, "Eric told me about the sex parties in Bon Temps... don't get your panties in a bunch, he needed to let me know what was going on." I gave her an incredulous look. Pam said, "Maenads are attracted to orgies, bars, pretty much any place where humans overindulge; the only way to get rid of a maenad is to appease it. If it's still in Area Five, it may come to the party."

I deflated a little, "I was going to ask you about what to do at one without actually doing anything. My friend still hasn't returned home because he's been getting threats, and we know the threats are real 'cause they killed his cousin. I've got to find out who did it."

"If Eric let's you go at all, he'll insist on going with you." Pam looked me over, "it's a shame that you're not really interested in such parties. You'd be very popular."

Eric sauntered in, "Am I interrupting anything ladies?"

Pam answered, "Sookie here has been invited to an orgy."

I sat up straight, "I'm sure they're the same people that Lafayette was with and I bet they know something about the death threats against him and who killed his cousin."

Eric wasn't keen on the idea but understood that I really wanted to help a friend. We talked back and forth and then Eric said that if I was going, he was also. I told him that I knew that wouldn't be a problem; Mike Spencer had shown interest in him coming too.

His jaw clenched, Pam broke in "perhaps one of your old fuck buddies happened to be in the area?"

Eric replied, "From what Sookie said, they'd be thrilled to have two vampires."

I looked between them and asked, "What?"

Pam smirked, "Eric wants to help you but he does not wish to have vermin rubbing on you or watching you." My eyes went wide. Pam continued, "Every sex party is different. We do not know if couples or groups have sex for others to watch, or perhaps people go there to swap for another partner, there are many variations on the sex party.

"Oh." I hadn't thought about that. I hadn't thought at all about what I'd be doing while I was trying to listen to people.

We talked for quite a long time about the sex party orgy thing. To make it look good, we may have to do things like kiss and fondle one another with others watching. I was liking the idea less and less, but I'd set my mind to it.

Eric and Pam picked me up the next night. Pam looked like cat-woman with her form fitting, barely there black outfit. Eric was a sight when his trench coat came off, he had on pink Lycra. It was a fall night so I wore slacks and a sweater (which was over a shirt and under a jacket). Pam raised her eyebrows when she saw me, "You want them to believe you've done this before?"

I retorted, "I told him that I was new to it and that I'd only come with Eric."

Eric said, "We can make it work."

Several minutes later we arrived at the large house which was surrounded by nature. It was the perfect spot for clandestine activities; there were no neighbors. The home belonged to Tom and Cleo Hardaway.

Cleo greeted us at the door. She wasn't wearing much and I could have lived longer without the image. Cleo was happy to see that my vampire came and even happier that an old "fuck friend" happened to be in the area to come join us. Cleo said that they'd never had vampires before and there wasn't any bottled blood, but she didn't see any problem with sharing.

We came inside and found people in various states of dress. I spotted Tara, Eggs and Tom she didn't see me notice her at first. I read in her mind how ashamed she was and that she couldn't believe that she'd let Eggs liked this stuff. She loved him and was trying to make the effort to please him but this made her feel awful and ashamed.

I didn't have much time to think of anything before I had to pay attention to my own little area. Someone had just groped my ass. Cleo came up behind me and started kissing Eric. Ew, and a wave of jealousy hit me. Mike Spencer came up behind Eric while I was sandwiched between Eric and Cleo. Something caught Cleo's attention and she left, but that spot was taken up again by Pam. Pam played her part really well with all of the attention that she gave me and Eric. When Mike's hands started to reach me from around Eric, Pam pulled me off so that we could make out on our own.

I had to admit that kissing a girl wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be. I didn't wish to do it again, but this wasn't going to kill me either. While Pam and I kissed one another I let her know that I was getting something off of Tom, if I could "bump into him" I would get some more. It was easier to pick things up as the night went on and the others became saturated with alcohol.

Tom was being masturbated by Eggs while Tara gave Eggs a blow job. All the while, Tom was watching Mike and Eric. Tom was thinking about Lafayette. It took a while and a few choice phrases like saying that watching Eric and Mike was "hot" (when it was anything but) and then I got what I needed.

Tom was remembering how he and the town coroner killed Trent, thinking that he was Lafayette. They'd almost canceled tonight's party because of it, but no one came snooping around so they must've been in the all clear.

By now, my jacket and sweater were off, but I was still fully dressed. Eggs had finished what he was doing and came over my way but Eric saw him coming and got to him first so that I was between Eric and Pam. With one look, I was able to tell Eric that I had the information that I needed. What I didn't have was tangible evidence.

Eric excused us saying, "Sookie is still new to our world. She is feeling a bit shy tonight. We're just going to head outside for a few minutes." He winked at them as if to tell them that he'd coax me to do more.

We went outside and stood near his car. He kissed me and I told him to get a hold of himself, we were here on a mission. Eric replied that we were being watched and should keep up appearances. Soon, I was on the hood of his car. He kissed me and groped me all over and I tried to keep my wits about me as I told him what I'd picked up. I didn't have a murder weapon though or any sort of evidence.

Then the woman from my nightmares came into view. Callisto came into the area with that ugly looking hog. She talked to Eric and was clearly surprised that I was sill among the living. Callisto was disappointed that I wasn't drunk or high, I didn't understand why though.

Someone in the house noticed Callisto and her pig because when I looked back, every human was looking our way. Tara was the only person smart enough to sense the danger she posed and so she hid herself while Callisto's back faced her direction. Pam suddenly came to stand with Eric and me so that I was between them.

Callisto went to the humans and toyed with them. She made them go mad and it hurt my head like crazy. When they screamed, I screamed. Well, I tried to. Eric put his hand over my mouth. Before it got real bad, I saw that Dean had joined us. He sat right in front of me while Eric and Pam pressed up against me and kept me from falling down from the pain I was feeling. It became unbearable and then it finally, mercifully stopped.

Callisto came back to our area, amused with me. She hadn't encountered anything like me before. She looked at Dean but didn't say anything to him. Next, she addressed the vampires saying that this was a satisfying tribute. Then she left and I collapsed into Eric's arms.

Eric called for someone to come and help him and Pam clean up the mess. Pam found Tara as she began the clean-up. Tara was still alive, but terrified beyond belief. Tara was the only other human still alive; Callisto had killed everyone else. Bill showed and helped to clean the mess as ordered.

Once the building had been set on fire we left the area. Eric glamoured Tara to forget the whole scene and then had Bill take her home.

I was pissed and depressed. The maenad killed a lot of human beings tonight, including the only humans that knew who killed Lafayette's cousin. Eric soothed me and then he told me that Bill had found evidence of the murder in the back of a car trunk while they were cleaning up. The vampires left that evidence since it was for a crime that they'd had no part in.

Soon, the authorities should be able to put the pieces together and soon my friend would be able to come back home without fearing for his life. It was hard to believe that people could do such horrible things. People could be monsters too.

I was tired but couldn't get out of my clothes and into a nice hot shower fast enough. Eric assisted me in the shower and then held me as I drifted asleep.

The next day I didn't go out because even I could see a change in my appearance. I hadn't planned on having Eric's blood, but I did when I inadvertently bit him. From what I could see in the mirror and my heightened energy level, I thought that I might have taken too much. Eric had said that he'd tell me when I'd taken too much, but last night wasn't planned. I hoped that I hadn't crossed that line.

I talked to Eric about it the next day and he allayed my fears. I wasn't turning into a vampire slave and I wasn't turning into a vampire. He did tell me that those things could still happen though, so he recommended that I not take any more of his blood for a while.

Once that talk was over I was able to relax a lot more. I was able to fully enjoy being with Eric at night, knowing that all was right once again. Lafayette was on his way back into town and there were no more murderers loose in Bon Temps. My life had had its share of crap; it could only get better from here.

So what did you think? I left the Maenad, Godfrey and such pretty much unchanged; the main differences being in Sookie and Eric's reactions. I did that because this universe made Sookie accept Eric much earlier in her life, but that acceptance had no bearing on the events in Dallas, the Maenad coming into the area or even Lafayette taking part in an orgy.