Chapter 2

She shook off the strange sensation she had felt, feeling like she had drifted off to sleep but then had awoken. Looking to her right, she saw him sleeping soundly. The whole house was silent, for that matter and she was grateful to not have been woken too early due to their toddler going through not only a growth spurt but her teething was a issue. Already, Aurora had a mouth full of pearly whites and had in fact, revealed she could, when her temper tantrums arose, produce a set of small but still deadly dangerous fangs. And it was all the more reason that Sookie was grateful of her decision to move in with Eric rather than remain in her beloved farmhouse. At least here was far better protected, especially when a being as rare as she was and Aurora was existed. Not that she feared going out and about. She still worked at Bellefleurs, using her magic to flash herself here and there as she pleased. Life really hadn't changed that much….she still saw her family-Jason, Bridget and their twin girls and one son-and considering her neighbors surrounding them in their little private neighborhood, she rarely went a day without seeing Pam, Willa or Ginger. But it was, so far in the past month she had lived here, been a quiet existence and she was grateful she could at least pass the farmhouse on to her brother, thus keeping in the family.

Wrapping a plush pink robe around her, she shuffled into the room that was just recently finished. The only other bedroom in the basement of the mcmansion, she let herself into Aurora's new room, seeing the child just starting to stir. Though only a month old, she was already the size of a three year old and had recently got to start walking here and there, though not always the most steady on her feet. The bruises and small cuts had, of course healed faster than that of the average human child. Still, Sookie was not going to let her child become reckless, though she had a feeling that it would be something learned from her father, at least a little bit. With a family know, Sookie had come to believe that he would rein in his reckless streak, a streak that had risked not only his own life but others he cared for as well. Times had changed and she knew he had as well, knowing Eric thought things through more than he had when she had first met him. He knew he was not as invulnerable as he had once believed. Too many close calls since the day they had met had finally gotten through his thick blonde head and as she thought back to the night that she had first met him, she shook her head in wonderment, that if she had known how their paths would converge, diverge and finally sync up….well, it was something to marvel at, that was for sure.

After a pancake breakfast with some orange juice in a sippy cup for the little one, she helped herself to the last two pancakes she had cooked up on the griddle she had recently bought. Blueberry pancakes were one of her favorites and though he had commented that they looked strange, like they were almost rubbery looking. But she hadn't been fooled and she had said as much. That she knew from time to time he did miss eating normal human food. But he had also been quick to point out that had he been left on his Viking funeral pyre that night then they never would have met. And that, he had said with a wink, would have been a terrible loss….for her. Laughing softly at that memory, she took Aurora into the bathroom and bathed her, unsticking her from the layer of syrup all over her. Though able to use silverware, albeit awkwardly, it seemed that more syrup had gotten in her now shoulder length dirty blonde hair than anywhere else. As the little one splashed in the large tub, toys afloat in the frothy surface, Sookie made sure she had a towel at the ready, but before she could get the child out of the water, there was a blur and foamy bubbled dripped all over the top of her head and the floor. Looking to the doorway, she was unsurprised to see the little one in the strong arms of the Viking who looked amused at the sight of the bubbles that were all over the room.

"I expect you to clean this mess up you know….I am not your maid." Sookie arched a brow as she waved a hand towards the trail of water and bubbled he had caused to be on the floor.

"Of course." he replied, handing her the towel clad Aurora and in a matter of seconds, he had swiftly mopped up ever inch of bubbles and water, sitting on the side of the tub beside her as she finished drying the jabbering toddler up, a pink rubber duck in hand, "I still don't quite understand why these are the go to toys for little ones…." he squeaked the duck with one hand, the child emitting a similarly high pitched squeak.

Laughing, Sookie got up and headed to the nursery, collecting a outfit to change their daughter into and she had known he had followed her. "You are going to start bleeding all over the place you know….you shouldn't be up yet. Not for hours. Not after the night Pam said you all had last night with the anti vamp crowd that stirred up trouble."

He frowned and shook his head. "I don't even want to start talking about such matters now. The bar is still standing and everyone is fine….what I want to do is perhaps plan a outing…..perhaps a trip to the botanical gardens this evening?"

"Oh, I haven't been there in ages….." Sookie said, always loving being surrounded by flowers and nature, especially since she was so connected, to attuned to it, what with what she was. "But I was thinking it would be nice to have Pam and the others come over for some quality time. Its been awhile and apparently, after I got off the phone with Pam last night when she called to let me know about the trouble last night, she has some presents for the munchkin." Sookie explained as she dressed her daughter in a little velvety tracksuit and rubber lined bunny slippers-the second pair she had gotten in a week thanks to her recent growth spurt.

Frowning slightly, the vampire had to work with that which he was given and wearing a long sleeved shirt to hide the mark what held such power, he would need to alter the plans somehow. He and Ezra had planned on taking her out of the little gated community in the ruse of a family outing. But with her stubbornly wanting to receive company, perhaps, he thought to himself, he would need to eliminate the company from arriving, this clearing the way to getting her to Ezra. Besides, he knew the blood he was infused with would only fool the others for so long, that he would, in one way or another be found out as a fraud. And the last thing he and Ezra needed was Pam and Willa chasing them down or rallying others to track them down before Ezra was able to do what he intended with the toddler. Thus likely throwing the plans for Sookie into disarray. Johan cared little if he had to kill the vampires or Ginger, so long as it kept Ezra's plans on track. And so he would go along with Sookie's desire to have them over. Because the one thing he knew was that they wouldn't be making the short trip over.

To Be Continued