A/N: Sorry about the wait on this chapter, the kids are out of school and it's been difficult to find time to write! Also there's a lot of important information I wanted to make sure was perfect in this chapter, to set up for what I know you'll all be excited to hear. Godric will be returning in Chapter 16! Hope you all enjoy. Also I'm still in need of a beta if anyone's interested.

Chapter 14

Sookie POV

Please Lord, please. I don't wanna be sick like my momma, please I know I don't always do what I should but sweet Jesus spare me that!

The hysteria and fear crept into Sookie's subconscious and ripped her from the blissful cocoon of her dreams. Lafayette? She scanned for any other minds in the house, but save for him the house was empty. His mind was chaos! A whorl of rapid flashes and colors all so jumbled she couldn't make heads or tails of it. She could hear him pleading for it to stop, but Sookie couldn't make out what it was. She warily tiptoed from her bedroom to the kitchen doorway peeking carefully around the frame. Her long time friend cowered by the refrigerator in a stance all too reminiscent of her own from the night before. She went to him immediately, crouched down, and rubbed her hand over his back.

"Lafayette, its okay. Whatever it is we'll figure it out." She crooned softly, but was cut off as the touch made her ability strengthen, and she found herself deeply immersed in the jarring dissonance waging in his brain. Sookie's instincts told her to retreat; to bring up her shields, but another part of her took control and pushed through. It was sort of like the time she'd freed Tara from the Maenad, only the opposite. Instead of black nothingness, it was like Lafayette's mind was stuck in high gear. Too much information pouring in too quickly. Sookie waded laboriously through the strange images that weaved in and out of his consciousness, some perfectly clear while others had a gauzy ethereal quality to them. So many moments, some quick snapshots, a smell, but a few were longer and more detailed.

A five year old Sookie stood at the top of the stairs as the adults just below talked in low voices.

"Mama we searched everywhere but alls we could find was his fishin' pole and tackle down by the stream. No sign of Daddy." Overpowering concern and stress radiating up from their minds to her tiny body and she wrapped her blanket more securely around her striving to ward off its icy fingers.

"Could he have fallin' in? The currents not real strong there, but maybe he hit his head?" Asked her Gran.

"Naw" Sookie's father said waving his hand dismissively. "We splashed our way all the way up to the feed, not even a cattail out of place. I'm sure he's fine Mama, Daddy knows this area like the back of his hand. You'll see he'll show up right as rain, tellin' us some tall tale. Remember that time he swore he saw a panther!" Corbett chuckled.

"I'm sure you're right hun. I'm probably just creatin' worry where there is none. You wanna just let the grand-babies sleep here tonight? Seems silly to wake them."

"Sure mama, call me in the mornin' when you want me to pick um' up and make sure you tell me what adventure daddy's been on." Corbett kissed his mother's cheek. "Don't you stay up frettin' now, promise?"

"I'll do my best, now you need to get yourself back to that wife of yours she's probably the one frettin' herself. Go on now off with you!" Gran chided hustling him out the door. As the truck rumbled away Sookie watched as her Gran pulled a chair up to the window, and sat searching the darkness for any sign of her husbands approach. The little girl couldn't stand it anymore and raced down the stairs, nearly breaking her neck as her blanket flapped around her legs and clamored up onto her grandmother's lap.

"Gran!" The girl cried. "Was Daddy tellin' the truth, is Granddaddy just off havin' adventures?"

"I don't know sweetie, but I sure hope so." Adele readjusted Sookie so she was cradled in her arms and set the old rocker into motion. "Just what are you doin' up anyhow missy? Couldn't sleep?" Sookie chewed on her lip.

"I could hear you, and you sounded so scared." Sookie widened her eyes emphasizing "hear" "I don't like it when you're scared Gran. It's better when you're happy, you should always be happy!" The child reasoned. Adele laughed and tucked Sookie's quilt around her snugly.

"That may be, but sometimes it's hard to be happy. The world isn't always a like a story book," She said pointing to Sookie's fairytale themed blanket. "But as women, especially Stackhouse women, we just gotta hold our chins high and persevere." Sookie nodded already so much wiser than her mere years. She understood her Gran's meaning, if not her words. The little blonde wiped away her tears and put on her best serious face.

"I can be strong with you Gran. We'll wait right here for Granddaddy together okay?" A single tear fell from the older woman's cheek.

"You make an old woman proud, I'd like nothing more sweetie." Of course Earl Stackhouse never came home, but together day by day the Stackhouse women weathered their loss with equal parts grace and backbone. It was a lesson well learned, Sookie realized just two short years later the night her parents were taken from her as well.

This time they were seeing her childhood bedroom upstairs, and Sookie could clearly recognize herself as a tiny little girl tucked once again under her favorite pink quilt. It was hard to differentiate this night from countless others, until a man stealthily made his way through the window and crept along the wood floor toward the bed. He wasn't the boogie-man dressed in a black hooded cloak or a terrifyingly horrendous monster, just an average looking man. Salt and pepper hair, tall though not remarkably so, dressed casually, so normal; except for the wicked looking dagger he held clasped in his right hand. The child Sookie slept on, joyously innocent to the peril that stole ever closer. His lips murmured an almost silent prayer as he brought the weapon arching up, poised to strike right into the small youth's chest. How close he came, the knife just a breath from fulfilling its atrocious execution, when suddenly he froze. A look of bewilderment crossed his features briefly before he burst into a luminous blue ash, that sprinkled down harmlessly over the still slumbering form in the bed. Just behind where the murderous man had once stood, his own deadly blade still thrust forward in its killing blow was her Great Grandfather. His eyes were ablaze with rage as he watched his enemy disperse, but as they moved to Sookie the fire was extinguished. A beatific love now radiated from him as he readjusted her quilt and pressed his face into her hair. Shimmering tears trekked down his face as he whispered an apology.

"I've failed you this night. Danu knows I have made mistakes, but I never thought, never believed. . ." He placed a kiss to the crown of her flaxen head. "But not for one moment will I ever regret the love I shared, the love that created this family and you. These years I've spent with each and every one of you have been the happiest of my whole existence, but I know now that it would be the most grievous of selfishness to remain in your lives. I am so sorry, know that with each beat of my heart I will ache at the loss. I hope that you never doubt the adoration I have for you, for only such depth of feeling could ever compel me to make such a heartrending decision." A torrent of glistening tears flowed, and a now broken man disappeared through the open doorway sobbing. Sookie found herself crying as well as the memory faded. It was all just so heartbreaking. It was like all the sadness and death of so many generations was now pouring out, screaming to be heard. Whatever magic held them in its grasp wasn't quite finished however, and yet again another woeful imprint played before their eyes.

Genevieve Stackhouse had passed away when Sookie was only a few months old, so while Jason had some faint memories of the woman, all Sookie's knowledge of her came from the family photo albums, recollections from those who'd known her's minds, and her grandaddy Earl's stories. When sitting on his lap pouring over those old photos as a child, it had always surprised Sookie how much she resembled her great-grandmother. They shared the very same dark mahogany eyes, gently arched rounded nose, and thin cupid's bow top and fuller bottom lipped mouths. Genevieve's face was a bit more heart-shaped and her chin a little less rounded forming more of a point than the younger woman's, but there could be no doubt as to where Sookie's beauty came from. The telepath often hoped she aged as gracefully. Even in her later years her great-gran was a strikingly good-looking woman, her long silver streaked white hair falling in big thick curls to below her mid back, and her deep brown eyes were only mildly creased with crow's feet. Which if her granddaddy's stories were to be believed came from many years of smiles and laughter. However, in the particular moment of time they were now witnessing, there was no trace of happiness on her Great-gran's face. Instead those lovely features were twisted into a look of absolute terror. Genevieve's eyes flared wide the white contrasting starkly from the dark iris', with the graceful arch of her eyebrows elevated to their highest peak. She stood rigidly, her entire body frozen in a long tense line as she stared fixedly at the monstrous being that was slowly advancing closer. Sookie gasped as she watched, at first glance she thought that maybe this creature and the one she'd seen in the Fae realm were the same, but as she looked more closely she realized that they were completely different. A frazzled red coif instead of dark brown curls, blazing blue eyes not green, more of a hooked nose, sharply triangular face, and most glaring of all an entire mouthful of jagged razor sharp teeth. Another difference was added as the fairy finally spoke.

"Niall's human lover, I expected so much more from him. Such a relationship is a disgraceful, disgusting plague to our kind. Love for a human!" She spat on the ground. "As fae Niall should be with his own kind! Not professing his undying devotion to something that is nothing more than a pestilence in need of extermination." She said in a strident soprano though there was the same faint lilting accent Sookie remembered. Foul inky darkness leeched from the terrible creature, crawling sluggishly through the air, before winding its way in serpentine ropes around the trembling and frightened human. The coiling tendrils laced tighter and tighter constricting the aged woman's frail body until it stole away her very breath. "I see I have your undivided attention now." The creature sang with a cruel smile that showcased her macabre teeth. "I could have overlooked a detestable dalliance with such a low being, but when I discovered that Niall had gifted you, a human, the Key. . . to imagine such a thing defiled in the hands of a parasite!" The fiery haired monster's nostrils flared as her neck corded and her hands clenched and unclenched causing the black bands to compress unmercifully around her helpless victim. "Where is it! You have one opportunity to tell me!" The raging fae screeched, and Genevieve's mouth flailed, but as she was already fighting to remain sentient under the prolonged lack of oxygen she was unable to answer. Frustrated tears tumbled down her pale cheeks. "You stubborn whore, tell me!" Vicious threads of energy spiraled off the bindings like electrified needles shocking at the waning elderly woman. She convulsed as they bit into her repeatedly, as all the while the monster's escalating fury grew. The red-head screamed and ranted, never noticing the damage her lethal magic was doing until finally Genevieve's eyes rolled closed and her body writhed one final agonized time. The once mother, grandmother and great-grandmother fell lifeless to the floor, and the curling energy dissipated. The resounding impact snapped the fairy out of her tirade. She tilted her head to the side and pursed her lips as she stared down at the slumped form, but her bafflement quickly gave way to vexation as she realized her mistake. Long clawed hands swiped angrily through the air, impotent in their rage. The vision stopped abruptly like the fall of an onyx curtain.

Sookie and Lafayette were thrown none to gently back into the present, both panting and disoriented after their time spent witnessing so much misery. The curled together for comfort as they sobbed. Some minutes later tears finally shed, Lafayette took a hitching breath.

"I'm sorry, I'm so fuckin' sorry! I don't know what's happenin' to me, I been seein' this strange shit for days now. Bad things blood, ghosts, I fuckin' saw Jesus with a goddamn monster's head and now this!" He pressed his head between his hands. "I think I'm losin' fuckin' mind!"

"Aw hun.! You're not losin' your mind! I don't know what just happened, but you are not crazy you hear me! Don't you think that for one more second."

Listen Sook, have you ever. . . I mean can you tell. . ." He scrubbed at the top of his head with his hand. "Shit!" He exclaimed thrusting out his hands. "I don't know if you've ever seen it in my head, but my mama she's sick, schizophrenia. It can run in families ya know? What I'm worried about; scared out my mind of really, is am I like her? Can you see something like that in a person's mind? " He shifted uncomfortably and Sookie wrapped him up in a warm hug, before pulling back to look into his eyes.

"There is a . . . distortion to someone's thoughts when there's mental illness. Like everything's all twisted and warped. I can't say that it won't happen to you someday, but that's not why you're seeing the things you are, those things we saw . . . I . . . think they're real Lafayette. The night granddaddy Earl went missing, as I saw it in your head I remembered. Every thing you saw happened, right down to the smallest thing!" Sookie paused biting at the inside of her bottom lip dropping her eyes to her lap as she could see she was upsetting him. "And that vision of the man in my room? Niall told Jason that he'd once killed a fairy that was comin' after us. The same fairy that killed our parents."

"So someway, somehow I'm seeing what? Echos or some shit? I want no fuckin' part of this nonsense!" He scrambled to his feet balling his hands into fists at his sides. "There has to be a way to stop it; close whatever door got opened!" Sookie sighed and rose from the floor, taking his still clenched hands into hers.

"Lafayette I wish it were that simple, but gift, curse, whatever you wanna call this thing, they don't just go away. Believe me you can spend the rest of your life resenting it and yourself, or you can embrace it and learn how to manage it. Take it from someone who's been there." She shrugged her shoulders and gave him a sad smile. "But I promise I'll be there every step of the way, alright? And hey, maybe we can even swap stories." She said forcing some cheer into her voice.

"And I know you got some good ones, I's just needs ta hear!" Lafayette reared his head back and swung the trailing ends of his headscarf over his shoulder in an artful move. They both laughed though the keen knife's edge of worry didn't leave either set of eyes. He bustled her over to the kitchen table, and Sookie could clearly see his desperate need to change the topic. "Now your brother tells me that you's in need some of LaLa's magic cookin', so you sit right there in your special spot and tells me some stories as payment!" The two spent the rest of the day joking and teasing, both knew they'd have to face things eventually, but it was none the less a nice, if brief, escape. But as all good things are it was over far too soon, with Sookie's refrigerator and freezer were crammed full to the brim, and Lafayette was saying his goodbyes. He promised to call if his new sensitivity became too much and sauntered out to his car.

The absolute quiet of the empty farmhouse grated at Sookie's nerves, and she was restless with boredom. She'd called Jason in hopes of his returning for dinner, but he was busy helping Andy, and Tara's cell was going right to voice mail. She'd tried reading her borrowed paperback once again, and flipped through the channels on the T.V. but neither caught her fancy. Cleaning was a bust as well, while she felt loads better than she had, she still just wasn't up to anything so physically demanding. So there she sat staring at the mud caked walls, as her mind kept returning to Lafayette's final vision.

She'd always believed that her Great-gran had died of a heart attack, and as a telepath she knew that her family had thought the same. But had she really been murdered by some crazed fairy? Or could Lafayette have been wrong? The other echos, as he'd called them, had been so exact, the particulars so unquestionably accurate, she had to admit it wasn't likely he'd somehow been mistaken. Still Sookie's mind replayed the gruesome scene, looking for anything that she could use to discredit its veracity. Unfortunately it only served to prove the opposite. When first seeing it Sookie had focused on the her Great Grandmother's horror stricken face, but as she looked closer at the rest of the surroundings she saw something that made her pause. The quilt, her quilt. She remembered that it had been a gift to her upon her birth from her Great-gran. It was in all three visions, was it a sign? Simply a coincidence? There were other more glaring common threads to all three, but for some reason the quilt really stood out to Sookie. Her mind tried to conjure up just what it looked like, but other than something about fairies and some hazy pictures she was drawing a blank. What had ever happened to it anyway? Gran! She suddenly recalled that by the time she was about ten, the old blanket had definitely seen better days, and her Gran had told her that she was going to put it up for safe keeping until Sookie was older. So that maybe one day she'd could pass it down to her own children. The thought that thanks to Bill Compton that was never going to happen did occur to Sookie, but she stubbornly shoved it away. There was no way she was ready to deal with that ball of misery just yet. Unyielding she stayed focused on her earlier train of thought. Okay so safekeeping in the Stackhouse home; more importantly to Gran meant. . . The china cabinet: unlikely for a blanket though. . . . One of the cedar chests: she would have stumbled across it at some point in the last sixteen years . . . . So that left. . . THE ATTIC! She felt a trill of excitement, as children they were forbidden to go up there, and even as an adult she'd only went up once or twice for a specific item at her Gran's behest. As such she'd never had the opportunity to explore the generations of Stackhouse "treasures" kept there, but there was nothing to stop her from doing so now! First though she'd need to find the key. Damn!

It took some searching but she'd finally found the attic key in the last place she would have ever expected, hanging from a ribbon on a nail just inside her Gran's closet. She now hastily approached the door, nearly dancing in anticipation. Her insides squirmed as her hand wrapped around the cool metal of the doorknob and turned. The hinges creaked ominously from lack of use, while stale air and the distinct odor of mothballs wafted down the stairs. The wide planked stairwell creaked perilously under her feet, as she made her way to the top. She looked over the dusky expanse at the shadowed mountains of family castoffs. The attic was a large rectangle that was as long and wide as the entire area of the house, now sectioned off as the other floors were, they house didn't seem that large. But seeing it as one completely open space, it appeared quite massive. Her hand waved stupidly through the air until she finally felt the slight graze of the pull-chain for the light. The one dim bulb wasn't much, but in addition to the sun filtering in through the grimy windows it was just enough to move around safely. Sookie wondered just where in the world she should start. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to the mess, at first she'd thought that logically the newer additions would be toward the front, but no. Next she searched through the never ending number of trunks and though she did find a lot of things that with a little TLC could be brought downstairs to replace what had been destroyed by the Maenad, there was still no sign of her blanket. Hours passed and Sookie had earmarked many items that she wanted moved to the main floors, but it wasn't until the sun was sinking low and she was just about to give up for the night that she finally found the quilt. Her Gran had placed it in a box with some other childhood memento's.

Sookie made a note to return soon to the attic and gathered the blanket to her chest and climbed down the stairs in search of more adequate lighting to inspect the quilt. Deciding that the dining room table would be ideal Sookie headed in that direction. She laid it down carefully and smoothed out the fold lines and wrinkles as best as she could. Looking at the craftsmanship for the first time with adult eyes left them stinging with tears. Her Great-gran had put a lot of time and love into this quilt, and Sookie traced her fingers over the details reverently. Soft bubble gum pink silk trimmed the outer most edge, then a border of hand embroidered fairies with tiny stitches to indicate their dancing flight. Irregular squares and rectangles of tiny pink roses with trailing vines, pale green plaid, pink polka dots, and green on pale green floral pattern fabric filled the center, but the real focus of the piece were the six once again hand stitched embroidered panels that somewhat overlaid the middle checkerboard, and the keys stitched into the corners. The first panel showed a house, not the farmhouse, nor her parents home, but though Sookie was sure she'd never seen anything like the Victorian structure in Bon Temp, it was somehow familiar. The second was a brightly blonde haired girl sitting reading a book, toys strewn haphazardly about the floor, but three alphabet blocks with the letters N, G, and M drew the eye. Third the same girl playing amongst flowers, running toward a swing set and a bold red X. Next a large brilliant sun amongst a slight spattering of clouds with the girl basking in its warmth. Finally she stood in a circle of large old trees. Each with a word sewn somewhere along its frame, in order they read Family, Trust, Hope, Courage, and Love. It seemed perfectly innocent like you were following the girl through her playtime, and Sookie wondered if she'd been mistaken in thinking there was some message hidden within. That is until she read the painstakingly perfect, sewn quote.

Faeries went from this world, dear, because men's hearts grow cold,

and only the eyes of children see what is hidden from the old,

and only the magic of love, dear, can ever turn the key,

that unlocks the gates of Fae and sets the Sidhe free.

- Unkown

After the first few words though she realized she didn't need to read it as she already knew them by heart. This is what had drawn her to find this. Her Great grandmother had sent her a message not only with the quilt, but also through Lafayette. Genevieve Stackhouse had something she wanted Sookie to do, something that involved the these images and quote.

Sookie dug out a pad and pencil from the drawer and set to work. She wrote out the words leaving large gaps for notes between each line. She felt the saying was fairly straight forward, no real trickery in the words. The faeries left this realm because of the vampires (cold hearts, Sookie felt that was a little obvious). Eyes of children, from the scenes of a blonde haired child Sookie felt safe in saying this was her. Hidden from the old, if she hadn't seen her what had really lead to Genevieve's death, she never would have figured it out, but after seeing the confrontation she knew that the red-haired fairy (the old) wanted the Key (what is hidden). With the next line though she was at a loss. Not entirely, she did have some had ideas, but no way to prove or disprove them. Only with the magic of love, love for who? Her family, Godric, the Fae, or someone else? There was no way to be sure. Finally unlock the gates and set the Sidhe free. Sookie knew Sidhe was another name for fairies, but set them free? Was that a good idea? Maybe though it wasn't about setting all of them free, maybe she could just set one person free from their realm. The person. . . er vampire she'd been wracking her brain to figure out how to save. Godric!