"Sook! Are you here?" Jason was trying to be calm as he bounded up onto the front porch the next afternoon, but there was a tremor in his voice that popped up every time his sister was in danger... which to be fair, was most of the time. Sookie appeared in the screen door, a cup of coffee in her hand and a strange look on her face.

"Jason, what are you doing here?" she asked, pushing open the door to let him in. He hugged her hard, nearly spilling her coffee on the rug.

"Oh, thank God," he said with a long sigh, then pulled back to look her in the eye. "Did you know there's about five headless Japanese men in your flowerbed?"

Sookie snorted a laugh at that, she couldn't help it, every day her life seemed to get a little more surreal. Jason's eyebrows dipped together, obviously thinking she was losing her mind.

"It's a long story..." Sookie started to say, leading him into the kitchen, but he stopped short when he realized Sarah Newlin was tied to a chair at his gran's table. She smiled at him around a gag, mumbling out some muffled words that sounded a lot like "hey Jason".

"Sarah? What the hell is she doing here? You know everyone's looking for her, right? There's even a poster down at the station. You gonna turn her in?" he asked, and Sookie bit her lip, placing her empty mug in the sink after giving it a rinse.

"Like I said, it's a long story. I've got to keep an eye on her for a while, but believe me she'll answer for all the things she's done..." Sookie explained, stopping as she looked out the window into the driveway. "Who's that in your car?"

Jason felt butterflies flapping around in his stomach as he moved in next to Sookie, pushing the curtains out of the way so he could see the girl in his cruiser, her blonde hair swaying in the sun as she sang along to the radio. "Oh, that's Bridgette, Hoyt's ex girlfriend."

"Hoyt?" He could hear the disapproval in her voice, which was damn irritating considering her track record with men was less than stellar. "Jason, why is Hoyt's girlfriend in your cruiser?"

Running a hand through his hair, Jason took a seat at the table near Sarah. "Ex Girlfriend, it's all a little messy, but I'm..." he paused when he realized Sarah was staring at him, listening to their entire conversation, and it unnerved him. He motioned toward the living room with his head. "Can we talk somewhere more private?"

Sookie shrugged and followed as he escaped out of earshot of their captive, sitting on the couch while he toyed with the curios on the mantle.

"I'm getting a kind of a... vibe from Bridgette, and I was wondering if maybe you could, you know, check it out for me-"

"Oh Jason, I don't think that's a good idea," Sookie interrupted, but Jason held up his hands.

"I know, and I wouldn't ask, but she's leaving for Alaska later today, and I need to know if I should say something before she goes."

Sookie frowned, eyes pulling away to stare at a spot on the wallpaper from when Eric and Bill had fought in the living room. "Maybe you should go with her, just for a little while. Things are going to get a little crazy, and it might be good if you weren't around," she said quietly, causing the back of Jason's neck to tingle.

"What do you mean? Are you in trouble?" he asked, and nearly laughed at the dark look his sister gave him.

"Jason, there's headless men in the garden, what do you think?"

Officer Stackhouse could feel himself shift into crisis management mode. "Well then, let me take Bridgette to the airport and I'll come back to help you. I'm not going to let you take on these Japanese dudes on your own-"

"Please, it's too dangerous. I'll let you know when it's safe to come back," Sookie pleaded, getting up off the couch and taking his arm. He could tell she was scared, even if she was doing her best to pretend she wasn't, and he hoped for all the help she'd given the people of Bon Temps over the years he wasn't the only one who wanted to protect her.

"You're not getting rid of me, Sook. I'm your brother, and you're the only family I've got left. We've got to protect each other." He pulled her into a hug then, holding tight to the last of his family, and a moment later the screen door swung open again. Bridgette looked first to Jason and Sookie, then down the hall to where Sarah was still tied up.

"Officer Stackhouse, why is that woman tied to a chair?" Bridgette asked calmly, already earning her points in Sookie's book. If you were going to be in Bon Temps, it just didn't do to be freaking out at the first sign of something weird.

"I told you to call me Jason..." Jason said without thinking, then groaned. "Oh, geez. I can explain this, really I can."

Sookie stepped forward, holding out her hand. "Hi, you must be Bridgette. I'm Sookie, Jason's sister. How about we have a cup of coffee, and I can explain to you why we're currently housing prisoners?"

XXX

One hour and two cups of coffee later they were all seated around the table, Sookie and Jason having taken turns explaining the whole thing while Sarah sat calmly, glamoured within an inch of her life.

"I should really take you to the airport," Jason finally said, more than a little disappointment in his voice. Bridgette frowned, fingers gripping her coffee mug.

"You can't leave now, your sister needs you," she argued, pulling away as Jason tried to help her to her feet. Sookie gave her a sympathetic look.

"You really should let him take you, it's going to get really dangerous here in a few hours, and I don't want you to get caught up in it."

"Sooner than that, I'd imagine. The sun's going down in half an hour," came a voice from the porch, and the door opened to reveal Hoyt standing in the late afternoon sun. Sookie stood up, walking quickly to embrace him.

"Hoyt! How have you been?" she asked, laughing as he picked her up in a hug.

"Good. Vampire Bill called and said that you might need some help. Jess will be by after dark, but I came on ahead because I need to talk to Jason," he said, fixing his former best friend with a stare none of them could read. Jason swallowed against his nervousness, looking over to see how Bridgette was taking the whole thing. Sookie had thought quickly, though, and after hugging Hoyt she'd began to lead Bridgette off into the living room, under the pretense of "girl talk". Jason watched them go gratefully, then turned back to Hoyt.

"How'd you know I'd be here?" Jason asked, hoping the taller man wasn't stalking him. Hoyt frowned.

"Didn't you get a phone call?"

Reaching into his back pocket Jason retrieved his ancient cell phone, realizing the thing was set to silent and he had several missed calls and text messages. One text message was from a number he didn't recognize, probably Bill, asking that he meet at Sookie's when the sun went down. Jason grimaced, shoving the thing back into his pocket. "Oops. What did you want to talk about?"

Hoyt shot a look at Sarah, who was still sitting quietly with a serene look on her face. "Can we talk somewhere alone?"

Jason shrugged, trying to gauge Hoyt's mood. "I dunno, you're not going to deck me again, are you?" he asked, taking a step backwards.

Hoyt considered. "Not sure. Probably not," he finally said, holding open the back door and waiting for Jason to lead out onto the porch. When he did Hoyt followed, closing the door firmly behind him.

They stood for a long time in an uncomfortable silence before Hoyt finally spoke, leaning against the railing with a far off look in his eye. "I have to tell you something."

"If this is about you and Jess, I already figured out what was going on. If it's about me and Bridgette, I didn't do nothin'," Jason rambled, holding his hands up, but Hoyt was already interrupting him.

"I remember everything," he admitted, head swiveling to see what Jason's reaction was.

"What?" Jason barked, unable to keep the shock and dismay out of his voice.

"The glamour. It wore off a few months ago, right around the time they started talking about Hep-V on the news. I remember everything that happened," Hoyt continued, but Jason was barely listening as he stepped back, shaking his head. Hoyt frowned, taking two steps toward him. "Now hold on, let me finish. When the memories came back it was like it happened all over again, I was so angry. It took me a long time work through all the shit in my head, but after a while I realized not forgiving you was punishing me too, you know? I thought coming back here would bring it all back, and in a way it kind of did. All those feelings I thought I'd killed for Jess, and for you... they were still there, strong as ever. And I missed you. Both of you,"

Jason hadn't dared to hope for forgiveness. Honestly, he wasn't sure he deserved it, but he couldn't help the way his heart pounded into his throat with happiness. "So you're really you?"

Hoyt smiled, halfway and crooked like always. "I'm really me," he affirmed, laughing as Jason launched at him like an exuberant puppy.

"Damn it, Bubba, I missed you too! I'm so sorry..." Jason cried, gripping his much larger friend in a tight hug.

"I know, okay, I do," Hoyt replied, finally pulling back. He gave his friend a knowing look, hooking an arm around his neck and pulling him back toward the kitchen. "So what's this about you and Bridgette?"

XXX

"Your brother is a really nice guy," Bridgette told Sookie, as they watched some mindless afternoon reality show about arguing housewives. She'd only been trying to occupy Bridgette until the guys were done talking, but Sookie found the girl's thoughts were blasting at her like a foghorn.

And he's sweet. Handsome. Dead Sexy.

"Yeah, he has his charms," Sookie interrupted, in case the thoughts were about to get dirty. "You'll never meet anyone more loyal."

Bridgette smiled at that, eyes glazing over just a little.

I know it's too soon to be thinking about someone else after Hoyt, but there's something about Jason I can't put my finger on. I wish I had more time to figure it out.

Oh boy. Bridgette really had it bad. Sookie's mind raced, trying to decide if she should use her powers for good or evil. Finally she thought of the goony look on her brother's face and sighed.

"Do you really have to go back to Alaska so soon? Do you have family up there?" she asked, trying to feel out the situation a little more. Bridgette shook her head.

"No, my brother lives in Panama City, but I don't see him much. It's a long flight from there to Alaska."

"Yeah, I know how you feel. Bon Temps is in the middle of everything and far from everywhere," Sookie admitted, realizing quickly it didn't matter what she said. As long as her brother was staying, Bridgette was too.

XXX

a/n - kind of went out with a whimper there, but i've got to get myself back in the swing of things... i've still got plans for this fic, even if it's been so long since the series finale. stick with me, sexy vampires return in the next chapter...