A/N: I'm going to try to get updates out at my usual pace, but with the holidays approaching, I can't promise them daily. I'll do my best, though!

Thank you, as always, for the reviews! They're better than Christmas presents ;)

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or stories from The Southern Vampire series. I can only hope that Ms. Harris does not mind me taking them out to play with.

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"Have you two lost your minds?" Amelia asked incredulously.

Amelia had been sitting in the kitchen, drinking a cup of tea, when Elana and I arrived. She'd immediately noticed my somewhat brightened mood, and I'd debated what, if anything, to tell her while I brewed myself some coffee. Amelia was always a wild card when it came to dicey situations. Sometimes she'd jump in head first, especially if she thought there was a chance for her to practice her Craft. Other times, she'd want nothing to do with it, and try to talk me out of involving myself. Considering I was practically attached at the hip to Amelia, Sam, or Claudine at all times recently, I couldn't just take off. I could've lied and said I needed to get away, but I was pretty sure Amelia would insist on coming with me. Besides, Elana and I could certainly use any help we could get.

"Sookie, you're talking about the most powerful vampires in the world... what do you think you can possibly achieve here?"

I gave an exasperated sigh. It wasn't the reaction I'd hoped for when the three of us sat down at the kitchen table, and I'd filled Amelia in on our intentions. Elana was sipping on a True Blood, staying oddly quiet thus far, as if she was merely observing.

"I don't know yet, Amelia... but I have to do something. Please... I need your help," I said, unable to hide the desperation in my voice.

Amelia eyed me, looking torn. An uncomfortable silence ensued, tension hanging in the air. She was right, of course. What could we possibly hope to accomplish here? It's not like we could just storm the tribunal and rescue them... we'd be dead before we even got near it. Even if we somehow managed to get them out, what then? Spend the rest of our lives (or deaths, as the case may be) running? Surely we couldn't just go back to the way things were. We'd be hunted down for sure. I folded my arms over the table, burying my face in them, feeling the tears threatening once again.

"We have to find the girl," Elana's voice cut through the silence, drawing both my and Amelia's attention.

"What girl?" Amelia asked.

Elana crossed one leg up underneath her, taking another sip of her True Blood. "The witness," she said, as if it should be obvious.

"Okay..." I said hesitantly, not knowing where Elana was going with this.

Amelia apparently did, her eyes widening a bit with excitement. "Find the witness... change her story..." she said in a knowing tone.

Elana nodded.

"Alright, what am I missing here?" I asked, frustrated that I wasn't catching on. "How is that going to affect anything at the tribunal? I mean, I get that it would be good for the long term if this... publicity crisis were to go away, but how is that going to get Eric and the rest off the hook?"

Elana quirked at me, seeming amused by my lack of understanding. It was a very... Pam kind of look. Guess there's a little more vampire in her than I thought.

"It's quite simple, really," said the young vampire. "We frame the Fellowship."

I scoffed at her, "Like the tribunal still won't know the truth?"

Amelia shook her head, giving me a pitying look, "Of course they will, Sookie. You're missing the point. If we can find this witness, Elana can... alter her memory of events." Amelia looked over to Elana, her voice growing more excited, "We'd need to get to some of the forensics people and law enforcement, too... possibly even plant some evidence."

Elana nodded to her, "True. We're going to need some help to get this done quickly, the tribunal's already begun."

I watched them ping pong back and forth with their conversation, adding more details and suggestions, even completing each others' sentences. They'd need Sam or Dawson to find out who the shifter mole was, and someone with police contacts, and someone who knew something about forensics. And, and, and.... It was like they were working with one brain. I, on the other hand, still didn't get it, which was frustrating the heck out of me. They'd take care of the public mess, but so what? Not that it wouldn't be a good thing, but I still failed to see how that would bring Eric back to me.

I smacked my hand down on the table, "Would one of you please explain to me how this is going to save Eric??"

Amelia startled, knocking over her tea cup. "Dangit, Sookie!" She cut me with an annoyed glare.

"I'm sorry," I spat, getting up to grab a towel, "But apparently I'm just too stupid to get it."

Amelia sighed, taking the towel from me and wiping up the spill, "I'm not even going to dignify that with a response."

I flopped back down in my chair, taking a deep breath and trying to calm myself. I wondered how Eric, the King of pragmatism and scheming, could have fallen for someone a dense as I seemed to be.

"Sookie," Elana said gently, "I apologize, sometimes I get a bit carried away." She got up, refilling my coffee for me, and grabbing herself another bottle of True Blood.

"It's okay," I replied, recognizing the rarity of apologies from vampires.

She smiled, continuing, "Okay, let me explain. If we manage to pull this off, making it look like the Fellowship staged this whole thing in another one of their attempts to destroy us, the tribunal will have to allow Eric and the rest to return to Louisiana."

"Right, because how would it look if they didn't?" Amelia chimed in.

"Exactly," Elana said. "Think about it, Sookie. If the vampires weren't responsible, and indeed the hate group dedicated to their destruction was, why would they stay in hiding? Don't you think the public would notice if, say... Fangtasia remained closed? The AVL would be all over it, needing the 'victim vampires' to talk to the press. It would be the perfect opportunity to put an end to the Fellowship... or at least drive them back underground. Hell, it might be just the push needed to get our rights put on par with humans! That would have to trump any punishment the Council decided on... Eric, Pam, and Bill would be set up as the 'poster children' for vampire rights!"

I blinked, trying to absorb the barrage of information Elana was throwing at me. Could she be right? Amelia was certainly nodding emphatically in agreement with her. It sure sounded good, but part of me couldn't help being skeptical. It seemed like an awful lot to hope for. However, it was certainly a better plan than trying to just outright rescue our friends, which I'd pretty much ruled out at this point, anyway.

"Do you really think we can do this? Do we have enough time?" I asked.

Elana furrowed her brow, "I'm not saying it will be easy, but do you have any better ideas?"

No... I certainly didn't. This plan at least sounded... plausible. I wondered what Eric would think of it. Was this an idea he might come up with himself?

"Well?" Amelia prodded.

"You two seem pretty confident," I commented.

Elana laughed, "Hardly. It's about a snowball's chance in Hell that we can pull this off, but I'd rather try than sit by and just let them all die."

I gaped at her.

"Come on, Sookie... did you really think the Council would even consider letting them go?" Elana admonished.

I swallowed hard. I'd been doing my best to avoid thinking about the inevitable consequences, but inside, I knew she was right. I had to push those thoughts away, though, or I'd never be able to focus on the task at hand. This was our best shot, and I'd have to keep myself together if we had any hope of succeeding.

"Alright," I said, "What's the first step?"

~*~*~

It was nearly four in the morning by the time we'd finished out our initial planning. We'd gone back and forth over a lot of issues, debating the best angles for every aspect of our scheme. I kept hearing Eric in the back of my mind, asking me if I'd thought of every contingency. I could only hope we had. Amelia and I decided we'd get a few hours of sleep before setting out on our individual assignments. Elana, of course, would have to wait till dark to take care of her end.

I was still hyped up with adrenaline and caffeine when I crawled into bed, unsure if I could manage to sleep at all. I'd been like a zombie for days, and was finally feeling some semblance of myself returning. The road ahead would be frightening, but it was so much brighter than the one I'd been facing mere hours ago.

I curled up on my side, inhaling the scent of Eric's t-shirt I'd been wearing to sleep in. It somehow made me feel closer to him, like his arms were around me. Closing my eyes I reached out into our bond, willing it to open. He was there... maybe reaching out the same way I was. My body ached for him... to hear his voice... to feel the caress of his lips... his hand brushing the hair from my eyes...

"I'm here, Sookie..."

"Eric?"

"Yes, lover."

"Am I dreaming?"

"Does it matter?"

"No... Eric, I'm so scared."

He curled up behind me, wrapping me into his strong embrace, pulling my back against his chest.

"Be strong for me, lover."

"I'm trying..."

His fingertips ran down the outside of my arm... over my hip... down my thigh. I shivered.

"Sookie... I need you to remember..."

"Let's not talk, Eric... just make love to me..."

"Please, lover... you must remember..."

"I don't know what you mean... remember what?"

I turned, needing nothing more than to look into his eyes and capture his kiss. This was my dream, and I intended to get the most out of it. But, instead of my beautiful Viking, all I could see was darkness. I reached out, desperately grabbing for him...

"Eric! Eric, where are you?"

I was gripped by a sudden jolt of fear. There was something there, glowing in the darkness, coming closer. I tried to run, but my body wouldn't move. I tried to scream, but no sound came. There was a face... featureless... except for the glowing, solid green eyes. They were staring into me, like they could see straight through me. A searing pain stabbed through my head... I felt like my brain might explode at any moment....

And I woke up.

My heart was racing, my breathing shallow and rapid, and I was shaking like crazy. I cursed under my breath, angry that I couldn't even lose myself in a good dream. Stumbling out of bed and into the bathroom, I splashed some cold water on my face, attempting to calm my body. I looked into the mirror, intently studying my face.

Was it just a nightmare, or was my subconscious trying to tell me something? I'd read a book about dreams once, and it claimed every dream had a meaning. Could I take this one literally? Was there some important thing I'd forgotten? I looked harder into my own eyes.

"Think, Sookie... what could you be wanting to remember?" I asked myself out loud.

I'm not quite sure what I was expecting, but after about ten minutes of racking my brain, nothing came. I sighed, and trudged back to bed, hoping I could catch at least a bit more sleep. Guess it was just a crazy dream.

TBC