SPOV

It lifted my spirit to hear Barry describe his sister's wedding. He loved her dearly, and was grateful that he'd been able to be part of it, even though he technically was not supposed to be gone from Hope House overnight. But, if there ever was a resident who we could trust, and who deserved this chance, it was Barry. It still made me angry when I thought about how cold and spiteful his 'old friends' were. They had taken advantage of Barry's trust, and used his computer skills to make themselves richer, very illegally. And then, of course, when someone figured out what they'd done, they'd all fled the country, leaving Barry to take the fall for all of them. Thankfully, the Judge saw it for what it was, and simply sentenced Barry to 6 months in Hope House, and probation for another year after that. He didn't deserve this. He'd been under the impression that he was helping his friends.

He'd actually been fortunate enough to get a job offer from the financial institution that his friends ripped off. They asked him to design an encoded security system that was as close to 'unhackable' as possible. And, since he'd been the only one to ever hack their system before, he would know exactly what holes to look for. Once he'd completed their new system, other companies began hiring him for theirs as well. Now, with only a few more weeks left 'til his release, he was almost ready to start his own business as a software security consultant. Not that I could take any credit for his hard work, but, I was proud of him, all the same.

We were just finishing up our meeting, when out of the blue, Barry said, "So, tell me, what's up with you and this Northman guy, Sook?"

"What do you mean what's up? He's new here, I'm his case worker, end of story."

"Oh no, I don't think so. Since he's been locked up for a few years, it didn't surprise me to see how attracted he is to you, but, I saw the way you were checking him out, earlier."

"WHAT?!? Barry, I was not checking him out. And what makes you think he's attracted to me?"

"Oh, I'd say the fact that he couldn't keep his eyes off of you the entire you were in the kitchen would be the first indicator. Then there's the fact that his smile broadened considerably when he saw you from the back."

I spluttered and nearly choked on my coffee. Could it be true? Was Eric really attracted to me? I knew that I was more than just simply attracted to him. He was easy on the eyes, to say the least, but, the man behind the face was what I found myself craving. I could see the wheels in Barry's mind turning at my silence, and knew I'd better say something quick. "Well, if he thinks I'm good looking, I'll admit, that's flattering. And I won't hide the fact that I think he's quite handsome. But, come on, Barry. You know me. You know I wouldn't jeopardize my job by starting something with a resident here."

"Oh, I know. I'm just saying, you guys obviously find each other physically appealing, and if you stayed up late last night talking to him, I figure that means you find him interesting as well. I know how important appearances are to you. Just watch yourself, okay. I'd hate to see you get in trouble for something that you would never do."

"Duly noted. Now, you'd better be getting to work. I'd hate for you to be late. Why don't you plan on meeting Eric and I in your common room at 7pm this evening, and we'll have our weekly group session, okay?" Barry nodded, said goodbye, and left for work, flipping the switch for the 'do not disturb' light to it's off position on his way out.

As I stood, gathering Barry's file to return it to my filing cabinet, I thought about what he'd said. True, I did find Eric interesting. And, under different circumstances, I'd be ecstatic to hear he was interested in me. But, it just wouldn't work. Not now. Not while he was staying here. I couldn't let it ruin my job, and, I didn't even want to think of what it would mean for his parole. If he got caught having an inappropriate relationship with his case worker, he'd be sent back to prison for the rest of his sentence. No matter how much I would enjoy a relationship with that man, I couldn't allow him to risk that.

I was lost in thought a little when I heard a knock on my door. I glanced at my watch, and since it was only 9:50, figured it couldn't be Eric. It was most likely Sam or Hoyt, so I yelled 'come in' and continued to dig through my filing cabinet for the forms I was looking for. I heard the door open, and after a brief moment of silence, I heard a slight groan. I stood up and turned around, blushing furiously when I saw that it was Eric. And, with the excellent fit of his pants, it wasn't hard to tell he'd been enjoying the view.

We both stood frozen, silently staring into each other's eyes, before my phone ringing broke the moment. I sat down the paperwork in my hand, and gestured for Eric to take a seat while I answered my phone.

"Sookie? It's Sam. Hey, I was just looking over this request you left me for Northman to be able to work at a bar. Are you serious? This guy just got out yesterday!"

"Yes, Sam, I'm completely serious. And it's not just any bar. He's co-owner along with his sister-in-law. It doesn't open until 9pm, so he'll never be there while they're serving drinks, and he said he can be doing administrative work in his office during the day. I'm going to go out there and check it out and meet the other owner as soon as possible."

"I don't know, Sook. It's risky."

"Tell you what, why don't we give it a week? We can give him a breathalyzer every night if you want. I have faith that he can do this, Sam."

After a long pause, Sam answered, "Okay, Sookie, one week. But, if even the slightest trace of alcohol shows up in his system, you'll be the one answering to the state parole board as to why you allowed him to work there."

"I have no problem with that, Sam. You know I always take full responsibility for my decisions and evaluations."

I hung up the phone, walked over and flipped on the 'do not disturb' light, and sat down.

"I take it your boss has decided to give me a chance to prove I can do this?" Eric asked.

"Yes, he has. But, you're going to have to submit to a breathalyzer test every evening, and, don't be surprised if he asks for a blood test at least once, as well. If even a single trace of alcohol shows up, your parole will be revoked, and I'll probably end up loosing my job. But, I'm not worried about that happening. I have completely faith in you."

EPOV

Hearing that Sookie was putting her job on the line in order to give me a chance to work at my own bar, I felt two distinctive emotions. One was fear. She was putting her entire career at risk for me. The other, awe. She was putting entire career at for me. She hadn't even known me for 24 hours. I knew I couldn't let her down.

For the next 2 ½ hours, she handed me what seemed to be an endless stack of paperwork to fill out. About the time that I started to wonder if I'd ever be able to straighten my right index finger again, she looked down at her watch, and gasped. "Oh my gosh! It's already 12:30? We've gotta go. We have a lunch appointment at 1pm clear across town."

I was beginning to understand that I should get used to surprises while working with Sookie. I followed her out of the building, and she led me to her car, a black Mazda 3. I wondered off hand how she could afford this car on her government salary, which couldn't be much. We sat in a comfortable silence for the duration of the drive. She began to pull into a parking lot, and said, "Well, I hope you like seafood." I looked to see where we were, and, at risk of sounding like a teenage girl, just about passed out with excitement. We were at Ralph & Kacoo's, which just happened to be my favorite restaurant. Sookie saw my reaction, and smiled, softly laughing.

As we approached the front door to the restaurant, I heard a voice behind me say my name loudly, and I froze, closing my eyes. I knew that voice like the back of my hand. "Pam," I said, turning and looking for her. When our eyes finally met, I smiled brightly, and she came running. She jumped up to hug me, and I wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her slightly off of the ground. It had been so long since I'd seen her. She'd come to visit me in prison a few times, but, eventually I asked her to stop coming. She had been upset about this, but, I told her that I couldn't stand for her to see me like that. Instead, she wrote once a week, and I was able to call her for 20 minutes two times a month. She was the only family I had left, and I was grateful for her. I looked at Sookie over Pam's shoulder, and she mouthed 'Surprise!'and winked.

Once I put her down, Pam and Sookie introduced themselves, and the three of us headed into the restaurant. We were seated, and the waiter had just taken our order, when Sookie pulled a notebook from her purse.

"Well, I know that the two of you probably have lots to catch up on, so let me get my business out of the way, and then you can chat." She asked Pam several questions about different aspects of what I could be doing at the bar, and also about her personal criminal record (nothing other than a few speeding tickets).

When our food arrived, Sookie put her notebook back into her purse, and the conversation switched to another type of business. Pam proceeded to fill me in on various changes that she had made to the bar while I was 'away.' I knew that she was competent, and wouldn't have a hard time handling things while I served out my sentence, but, I must say, I was extremely impressed at just exactly how good of a job she'd actually done.

Sookie had mentioned that she would need to take a quick tour of the bar before I started work, so we planned on driving over there this afternoon. We just standing up to leave when her cell phone rang. She handed me some cash and asked if I could go pay the bill for her (she was using petty cash from work, because this was technically a business meeting) so she could go outside and take the call. I took the money, and Pam stayed and continued to tell me about some of the more hilarious things that had happened with some of our ditzy wait staff since I'd been gone.

Once we paid the bill, we walked outside, and found Sookie still on her phone. Judging by the look on her face, it wasn't a good conversation. I saw her eyes roll slightly back into her head, and rushed to her side just as she dropped her phone, and fainted.

SPOV

I was very excited when I saw Eric's first reaction to my surprise lunch meeting with Pam. I had arranged everything with her via email while Eric was filling out paperwork in my office. You could tell that he truly loved this woman, like she was his own flesh and blood sister. It was also obvious that she felt the same about him.

As we were finishing our meal, my cell phone rang, and I noticed it was Sam calling from his office, and knew I had to take the call. I gave Eric the cash for the meal, and asked him to meet me outside.

From the moment the first word left Sam's mouth, I could tell something was very, very wrong. "Sookie, where are you?"

"I'm at Ralph & Kacoo's having lunch with Eric and the co-owner of his bar, why?"

"I need for you to get back here as soon as possible. I just got a call from the New York State Parole Board."

Oh no, oh no, oh God, please don't let this be happening. "And?"

"Sookie, it's Compton. His parole office said he hasn't shown up for four days, and someone fitting his description shot a man and stole his car about 50 miles south of Philadelphia yesterday." I felt the blood drain from my face, and barely registered seeing Eric and Pam walking towards me from the restaurant.

"They think he's headed here. We've arranged to have around the clock security on you…."

But, I didn't hear the rest of what he had to say. I felt the phone slip from my fingers, and then everything around me went black.

A/N I just love a good cliffhanger, don't you?!?