PART ONE

Christmas

With her telepathy, she watched from inside her house as Preston's signature disappeared. He was gone, but the effect of his presence was still keenly felt. His words, "This isn't over," echoed in her mind. A glimmer of hope that just maybe, she would see him again, warmed her heart. She stepped away from the door, and went through her bedtime routine. She tried not to think about him, or how empty the house felt without him. But her efforts were futile. After draping the afghan on the back of the sofa, she turned the last of the lights off and headed to bed.

In the privacy and darkness of her bedroom, Sookie laid on her back; restless. She was acutely aware of how it had felt to lay beneath Preston, the warm pressure of his masculine body against hers.

Her thighs hummed, and she ached with her need for release. She could still pick up his scent on her skin, which only increased her frustration.

"What the heck," she surrendered. Rolling over and reaching into the drawer of her bedside table, she found her small sinfully unwrapped gift. Over the next several minutes she safely explored her lust for Preston. She imagined the feel of his hands undressing her, his mouth kissing her, and his hands touching her. Her fantasy drove her to the edge. With his name on her lips, she found her freedom. Temporarily sated and relaxed, she closed her eyes and drifted to sleep.

The next morning she woke up feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. It was Christmas.

Sookie made her way into the living room and turned the Christmas tree lights on. With a slice of banana nut bread and coffee in hand, she wrapped herself in her Gran's afghan and settled comfortably on the sofa. She inhaled softly; Preston's aroma lingered on the afghan, and she felt an ache in her chest. The memory of Preston kissing her flashed across her mind. With a groan she was certain she needed to take up a hobby, "Maybe jogging."

She figured she should wash the afghan to remove all traces of him, but she hesitated. It was the only tangible proof she had that their time together was real. Thankfully, Sam, Amelia, and even Jason called, distracting her from thoughts of Preston. As the afternoon rolled by, she placed the small turkey she'd unthawed the day before into the oven, fixed a casserole of sweet potatoes, and a few other dishes. While that all cooked, Sookie decided now was as good as any to start her new hobby.

With her sneakers on, she headed out by foot down the gravel drive way. Her efforts to not daydream about Preston failed. She slipped a few times. Each instance she imaged what sharing her life with someone like him would be like. "Stop it," she scolded herself. She would never see him again, so there wasn't any sense fantasying about something that would never be. It would only make her feel sad. Her back straightened, and she pressed on at a punishing pace.

A few hours later, showered and the table set with a simple Christmas feast, the doorbell rang. Niall showed up for Christmas as promised. A bright smile wrinkled Niall's features at seeing Sookie's expression. His arms were loaded with gifts.

"You shouldn't have," beamed Sookie.

"Is it not tradition to exchange gifts on Christmas?" he asked.

"Yes, it is," she helped him with the gifts and placed them with the others under the tree as he asked about her wellbeing.

"I forgot," she absently interrupted their conversation, "thank you for sending Preston," said Sookie.

"You're most welcome."

"How do you know him?" she asked. She knew from the night before why he sent Preston, but he never mentioned how he knew him.

"What is the term?" rhetorically asked Niall trying to remember the human word. "He is Enda's great nephew." Sookie nodded her head remembering that Enda was her great-grandfather's third wife, which meant that she and Preston were only connected through that marriage and not by blood. That's good.

"Did you know him when he was a kid?" she asked. Niall shrugged.

"He was like any other child," he recalled. When he courted Enda, Preston was still a boy. He lived with his kin, so he didn't see the young fairy often. Sookie tried to dig for more details out of him, but Niall had very little memories of him.

"Well, you know," said Sookie, "he's able to transform," her exuberance didn't go unnoticed by her great-grandfather. "I saw him change. It was the most elegant transformation I'd ever seen." Niall acknowledged her recollection, and redirected their conversation - again. This was something he had to do several times as their evening progressed; dinner, presents, and dessert.

Sookie basked in complete happiness. Since meeting her great-grandfather, she had only been able to see him a handful of times. His many responsibilities didn't allow him to visit as often as Sookie would have liked, so she was thrilled. She had thought he would come for an hour, and instead he stayed the entire evening. Her spirits were the highest they'd been since her Gran had died.

Over the course of their evening together; dinner, gifts, eggnog, and conversation, Niall lovingly studied his great-granddaughter. All night she was glowing, and he was certain it was due to more than his visit. They lingered at her front door and promises were made for another visit soon.

"Merry Christmas, Sookie," he said, and kissed her on the cheek. It was late, and it was time to return to Faery.

"Merry Christmas great-grandfather," Sookie hugged him.

"Thank you for a wonderful evening," Niall kissed his great-granddaughter again and hugged her again. He enjoyed her delightful and lively company. He loved Sookie very much. Her welfare was often on his mind. It had been a few months since she last kept company with vampires, which pleased him greatly. He had disliked seeing the dark circles under her eyes that use to occasionally adorn her face.

"When will I see you again?" she asked looking for at least an estimate. Sookie looked forward to his visits. His responsibilities as a prince, businessman, and husband, kept him busy.

"I'll try to visit in a few weeks," he said. Sookie nodded, told him again how much it meant to her having him over, and watched as he disappeared into thin air.

Moments later Niall appeared inside his New York office suite.

"Your majesty," Reece, Niall's personal assistant, stood and bowed. Niall nodded acknowledging his loyal servant.

"Was my absence noticed?" asked Niall.

"I believe not," said Reece. He'd been patiently sitting inside Niall's office waiting on his master's return, and managing the multitude of petitions for Niall's attention. "How was your visit sire?"

"It went well," a bright smile lit Niall's face. "She spoke much of Preston."

"I see," Reece nodded his head in understanding. He watched Niall disappear behind the glass blocks that screened off the private area of the office. "Well," Reece commented, his demeanor all the while refined, "it was a possibility that they would form a bond," he pointed out the obvious.

"I know," said Niall feeling torn between his great-granddaughter's happiness, and his sons wishes. "Fintan didn't want her in our world," Niall washed his hands and face under the running water.

Regret still lingered in his heart. He suffered much when he discovered Fintan had been killed. Niall tried everything to protect him, but it wasn't enough. There had been many nights in the beginning that he laid in bed, going over every detail of the days before his son had gone missing. Niall, like so many other parents, had learned the harsh lesson that there was only so much that a parent could do to safeguard their children; the rest was up to them. "Still…"quietly thought Niall. Fintan was stubborn, and Niall felt he should have bound him in chains and locked him away…away from danger. In retrospect, Niall would have preferred his beloved son alive and hating him.

"What will you do sire?" asked Reece pulling Niall from his sad reverie. He turned the water off and reappeared from behind the glass blocks with a towel in his hands. He stood in the space between the office and the private accommodations so that he could see Reece.

"I told the young fairy not to contact her further…" his words trailed off. He knew that if Sookie's happiness hung on this one thing, he couldn't deny her.

"But you think he'll contact her," softly stated Reece. Niall let out an audible sigh answering Reece with a single nod of his head. "Are you sure of his attachment?"

"No, but I am sure of hers," said Naill drying his hands with the towel. Though Sookie didn't confess having feelings for the fairy, the fact that her conversation during their visit often deviated to Preston and his visit with her, made Niall certain that she had inclined her heart toward him.

"If the reports are true that her beauty is unprecedented, how could he not be?" replied Reece. Niall tossed the hand towel. It landed safely on the countertop behind the glass blocks.

"The reports do not do justice to my great-granddaughter," said Niall. His voice filled with pride.

"If he is anything like you sire," said Reece remembering a younger Niall, and how he had defied his father to be with the human, Einin. "He will find a way to see her again."

"Summon him," said Niall stepping off the landing and walking toward the sofa. Reece gave him a questioning look. "Don't worry Reece, I plan to tell him what my father told me," Niall smiled stretching his arm over the back of the sofa. A flicker of enjoyment flashed in Reece's eyes at the memory.

Oberon, Niall's father, was furious over Niall's attachment to Einin. Repeatedly he reminded the young prince of the inevitable outcome of his union with a human; she would age and die, while Niall wouldn't. But Niall was so in love he could overlook that fact. When this tactic didn't work, Oberon reminded the young prince of his obligation to produce a pureblood heir and until that happened he was not free to decide his own course. Reece still remembers Oberon's words, ""I don't care if you don't love Branna. You will marry her, bed her, give her a child, and then you are free to go.""

"Do you have a faelith in mind for him?" asked Reece thinking that Niall perhaps had chosen a female fairy for the young fairy.

"Oh, no," said Niall crossing one leg over his knee. "His station doesn't require an heir, but he does have an obligation to his kin to produce a pureblood offspring."

"Well, he is young," stated Reece. "He will have plenty of time for that." Niall nodded his head in agreement.

"What did I miss?" asked Niall, his attention turning to official matters.

"There were five requests for an audience," started Reece. Over the next hour and a half they reviewed the agenda for tomorrow before Niall dismissed Reece and returned home. His wife, Enda, was asleep in their bed. He quietly readied himself and slid alongside her.

"How did your visit go?" she asked. Her voice was gentle and sleepy.

"Perfect," Niall kissed his wife drawing her close to him. "I wish you to meet her." Enda let out a soft breath.

"I know my love," she said turning in Naill's arms to face him. "I would like to meet her. If you could only bring her for a visit," her expression saddened. "You know how much I fear their world. It's dangerous."

"I know," Niall kissed his wife. "If I can convince the others, then one day I will bring her."

"I would like that," Enda smiled. Knowing that it meant a lot to her husband, she wished to one day meet his great-granddaughter. Enda understood Niall's attachment to his human child. His love and attachment to Einin was strongly entrenched, and Sookie was all that remained of his love for Einin. When she died, it left Niall a changed man. Enda was only a child, but she remembered the sadness in Niall's eyes. It would be centuries before his heart would mend.

As these things have a tendency of happening, Enda reached maturity and was one day presented to Niall. Her gentle eyes caught Niall's attention. That evening, their friendship began, and it was that evening that Niall's broken heart had begun to heal. She understood him; understood that his heart was a delicate creature.

Tenderly, Enda kissed Niall. She cared deeply for her gentle hearted husband. "I love you Niall," she kissed him again. Her hands claimed the familiar terrain of her husband's body. Niall's breath caught in the back of his chest. Sleep would have to wait.

That evening, as Niall enjoyed his wife's embrace, a royal messenger appeared at Preston's home in Baton Rouge summoning him. ~

End of Part One

A/N: Seven chapters I think was a great start. Part Two is coming next week. Make sure to tune in, read, and review. :D