Okay I have been lost reading the book. I know you guys didn't miss me because you are probably doing the same. I am not going to spoil the book for those of you who haven't finished it but I was disappointed by the direction things are going. I did feel good that some of the elements I put into my Viking and Valkyrie as well as this FF were incorporated in this book! I was quite pleased with myself.

Any who now that that's done we need to move along. I know a lengthy break in between chapters seriously disrupts the flow of reading…Sorry…I am officially out of excuses and it won't happen again…probably…most likely…maybe :D

Dedication for this chapter goes to Toni9536…I am working to get you off those pins and needles. Hopefully this chapter will bring you one step closer.

Sookie

Chapter Twenty-Four

Making Do

Because I woke up in one of those moods with one of those feelings I headed for Bon Temps on this beautiful Saturday morning. To say last night had been eventful would have been the understatement of the millennium. It almost came out of my mouth but at the last second I thought better of it but the first thing I thought of when I heard Sophie-Anne was still undead was "vampire ghost. When Pam and I came back to the house we discussed her human life. She knew some details I didn't and I told her what the former queen had told me. In the end we decided that you just couldn't keep a good vampire like her down which wouldn't be a problem except she was apparently bat shit crazy.

She attacked Eric and Gideon last night and killed the Ancient Pythoness. From what Eric said she was making her own army which was perpetuating her debilitating mental condition. She was also the one behind the elf trouble threatening my Fae kin. There was no solid proof but Pam thought she was behind the attack on her estate as well as the attacks on the two natured. They suspected her to be associated with the end of Curtis of Alabama. Like I said there was no proof of the latter accusation but the way I figure at this point there was nothing you could put past her.

Pam was trying not to scare me but I asked her to explain the big deal of killing the Ancient Pythoness. The way I figured vampires killed each other for all kinds of reasons. It surprised me-albeit pleasantly that no one has used her weakness to hurt her long ago. That she managed to rise to such a high position in the vampire world was a mystery in itself. Yes she was supposed to see the future and she was oldest vampire (appearance wise) that there was but I didn't understand all the high levels anxiety that was permanently settled into all the crevices of Eric's body or Pam's for that matter. I didn't see why an old and blind vampire was such a big deal to them. It sounded unkind to my ears but why couldn't she be replaced? After all there was another council that decided on matters when I was at Rhodes.

"She is the highest law in these lands for my kind" Pam had said.

"Like our president" She thought about it for a second then nodded slowly; reluctantly to leave room for differentiation between the two.

"Yes but she more…revered…she is sacred; an archaic pillar for all our customs, traditions, but most importantly she maintain order" I tried to envision vampires without law and order but the image was too much. The look on face was so full of horror that Pam promptly shut her mouth and painted our nails.

I tried not to think while I was in the shower. Today I would try to focus on less severe things but things that were just as serious. That sentence was a little convoluted but was everything else.

A good while later I was standing in front of my brother's home. From the front porch we could smell the unmistakable aroma of barbecue and a low stream of music could be heard from the house. In the heat of the day all I could stand was a tank dress. It was light and airy and hid nothing but I was well past the hiding stage. That wasn't the goal today even if it was an option. I was jumpy despite my resolve. Rob was holding the dish I had prepared and his brother was holding Jason and his new wife's belated wedding and an early baby shower gift. It gave me nothing to focus my eyes on as we waited for the door to open. I could already feel my nervous and crazy smile creeping onto my face.

I had been trying and trying to make time to tell my brother I was pregnant but life just hadn't allowed. Okay. that wasn't entirely true. I knew it was going to be unpleasant to deal with so I had been grateful for life's many distractions. Now the life event of last night propelled me to do the descent thing. He was my only bother and the only other Stackhouse in this world that I knew of. He may not always have been the best big brother and our relationship hadn't been easy but he was my family. Michele answered the door. I haven't seen her since my goodbye party at Merlotte's. Jason had told me that she was pregnant but she must have been more than a few months at the time. There she was in front of me bare feet and pregnant with a serving spoon in hand. It was irrelevant and slightly depressing but I felt I was still huge compared to her.

Michele usually didn't have an opinion about things that weren't her problem. It was one of the reasons why thought she was so good for Jason. She wasn't blinded by his looks and she had brains enough for the both of them. I knew she wouldn't think twice about going upside his head if he deserved it. Right now Michele's only thought was "Oh shit" it was stringing though her mind a variety of ways but that was pretty much the gist of it. It was also written across her face clear as day. I had counted to ten one and half times by the time she got a hold of herself. In the meantime my crazy smile was in full effect.

"Sookie" She extended her hand out to me in place of a hug. Two seriously pregnant women hugging was a challenge; like a game of Tetris on level six. I took her hand and she gave mine a squeeze. I returned it. "It's good to see you" I could see and feel she was happy to see me because Jason had been talking about me a lot. Though now that I was here she was uneasy much like someone who was going to have to defuse a bomb without all the proper tools.

"Hey Michele, it's good to see you too and congratulations" She was nodding but looking at my guards. My nerves were getting the better of me and I was being ill-mannered.

"These nice fellas are Rob and Ty" I pointed them out as I made introductions. Ty even offered her a 'good afternoon mam'. Rob made no such attempt he just nodded her general direction in acknowledgment.

"Nice to meet you all, come on in"

I could see through to the back porch where my brother was tending to the grill. After taking a deep breath I moved through the sliding doors and joined him. He was in the middle of flipping a piece of chicken so he didn't turn right away. When he did his expression as he drank me in was one of…fear and anger. I stayed clear out of his head because even he didn't look like he wanted to be in it. Then he turned his back to me. This would have been easier if I wasn't so far along. I have planned on telling him the day he so callously showed up with Alcide and Calvin to dinner.

"I'll leave" I said softly. I cared enough about my brother to want him to stop me but he didn't. I turned and walked through the glass doors. Tears were pooling in my eyes but I kept my head straight and my eyes slightly widened to keep them from falling. Rob and Ty came to flank me as I began heading for the door.

"Wait" Michele said. I knew she pitied me and it made me want to run for it but it that much more but it would have been rude and I needed one friend in this house for the sake of my unborn niece or nephew.

"It's okay" I said and in a way it was. "I should go" I was wrong to have held this from him as long as I did. He was entitled to feel his own way about it. Coupled with his ideas on how I got pregnant seeing my husband was a vampire it was a bit much. Maybe it would change with time maybe it wouldn't but I had told him…well shown him.

"Now that's not fair to him" I was going to give her a belligerent look but I just didn't have it in me but thank God for Rob and Ty. They offered her a double feature scowl. "I know it is hard to see but Jason thinks the world of you" either I was a shitty telepath or she was the best ever. "You can't show up and drop something like this on him and expect him to take it well" In her head she was thinking Jason had the emotional range of a teaspoon. Good of her for not saying so no matter how true it was. "Giving life is no reason for this kind of negativity" Her words made me lose the tight hold I had over my tear ducts. I agreed with her wholeheartedly. It was for that same reason that I was slow to tell the people I felt would bring negativity. She brought me a Kleenex and rubbed my back. "Just let me talk him" I nodded because it wasn't every day I got help dealing with my brother.

Ty helped me onto the couch and I sipped a can of diet coke. "It'll be alright" He said patting my arm awkwardly. I think he said that because he thought he ought to say something. Perhaps it felt like he was fulfilling his role as my guard by offering those words. I smiled weakly and nodded.

"We can make him talk to you" Rob said. Like his brother I felt like he was offering from a sense of duty but in general he struck me as someone you would beat the crap out of someone with little provocation or incentive. His brother and I both stared at him. He had the nerve to look as if we had thrown the best gift he had given out the window.

"Something is really wrong with you Robinson, you know that right?" I had to agree with Ty there but I felt good that he was being considerate enough of me emotionally to cause my brother bodily harm because honestly he looked mean as junk yard dog on most days and surly on others.

We sat quietly and waited I was careful not to eavesdrop with either hearing. It felt like forever until Michele came waddling in through the door with my brother in tow. He had his hands in his pockets and his lips were mashed into a thin line so taut they looked in danger of sealing shut for good. Michele was wearing a strained but triumphant smile. I felt bad for causing a riff between the two of them but not enough to be unhappy that Jason may take a second to listen to what I had to say-whatever the hell that was.

"Hey we'll give you guys a minute" Her eyes went to my bodyguards they made no signs of moving. This stomped all over Jason's last nerve although by my recollections he only had three; four on Easter Sunday and Christmas.

"I'm not going to hurt her" and he was downright indignant.

"No one said that" Ty said calmly. All the while Rob was looking rather supercilious as if to say I should have taken his offer and let them beat Jason until he loved me again. I took a deep breath.

"Its fine guys" They followed Michele onto the porch they sat so their eyes were fixed on the glass doors and they could see clearly into the house.

For a tense couple of minutes Jason just stood there his thoughts in a snarl.

"I don't get it. If you wanted to have babies why did you marry a vamp Sook?" There was no anger in his voice and I was still keeping out of his head so I didn't know what he was thinking but he looked sad. "I don't know a lot about that world but I know you do and I know you have been hurt because of it. You can't have a kid around vampires. It's not safe" He said. I would have told him where to go but I was in his head as he spoke just then. My brother had taken his time getting there but he was thinking about other people. His words didn't come out quite right but he was worried about me. I knew my brother loved me but he wasn't one to get bent out of shape over someone else's troubles. Right now that was the case. He was worried about me and my unborn children. For that reason I gave a different less belligerent reply.

"Weres are dangerous too and your kid is going to be around them plenty"

"It's not the same" Maybe not because Eric was a king and there was a whole load of other shit involved.

"Humans are dangerous" No one who had known an ounce of pain and suffering could deny that. "Fairies are dangerous" I could have gone on listing all sorts of creatures but I felt like my brother was getting my point. "I will protect my young just as strongly no matter what world they are in or who they are around same as you and anyone else" His lips were puckered and I knew that face. He was fighting logic to hold on to his argument.

"Eric is alright with you…with this. I'm surprised he didn't wring your neck" He was very serious. It said something about me that I was able to laugh about that whether it was a good or bad something I couldn't say at the moment.

"He wants me to be happy" I said simply. That was nothing but the truth.

Jason hadn't gotten over the shock of it but he didn't see how his not talking to me would make it better. Having nothing else he wanted to say or hear on the matter he offered me food. "Are you hungry?" He asked. I nodded too enthusiastically and it made him smile. It was a small smile and he tried to hide it but I saw. He helped me up and we joined the others on the back porch.

Michele and I kind of ignored them and talked about babies and pregnancy. Minus Doctor Ludwig and Eric there wasn't a single person I have had this kind of conversation with. This was just two soon to be first time moms sharing one another's excitement. I told them I was having twins but I wanted to be surprised. They were having a daughter. She hadn't wanted to know but Jason wasn't able to keep his mouth shut. It thrilled me that we were due around the same time. She showed me baby things and talked about her birth plan. Mine was simple. If she could avoid it Doctor Ludwig didn't want to put any artificial substances into my body. That meant no pain medication during labor and delivery. She couldn't be sure if it would have any adverse effects on the children. I had been trying not to think about it but I knew child birth was going to be hell.

My brother wanted to ask me questions about the person responsible for my condition but he was too embarrassed. He felt like there were something's a man shouldn't have to know about his sister. Thank God. He has heard through the grape vine how Eric was about me. The words possessive and crazy came up a whole bunch. He figured the guy was dead or this was done artificially. That was just how we left it.

I know I shouldn't but I was in the area so I dropped in on the fairy refugees that had taken up residence in my old farm house. After all I owed them a thank you. Dermot was in no way obliged to go to Eric when I needed him to. I also wanted to check on Claude. So I headed there against the growling protests of my body guards. I turned onto the long wooded road that would bring me to the turn off to the house and I felt something. It was like someone poured sunlight down my back. It wasn't just me because Ty stiffen and Rob stopped the car. They became all kinds of hostile.

I thought I saw Dermot in the shadows. Yup that was my uncle looking like a bad ass fairy Mounty on duty. Let me tell you there were some people that wouldn't have minded death at his hands he looked so good. His sword was across his chest. He was in a White tank top and light blue jeans. His hair had several braids in in but it was all pulled in a ponytail high on his head that showed his pointy ears. He had Ronan trailing his steps. He looked like a smaller version of his father. I looked around but I couldn't see her but I knew Lyra wasn't too far away.

"If they change right now their insides will turn to mashed potatoes" It was said in the same voice as you'll get wet if you go outside.

"Guys please" They didn't like fairies any more than fairies like them. Under the circumstances they were extra skittish. They were making all the noises that usually went along with a transformation and their shadows were contorting as the structure of their face morphed. "cool it, just breath" I didn't know if that would work but I knew the calmer they were the more in control they would be of their metamorphosis. I wanted a few minutes and they shimmering of their features began to slow and they were themselves again.

"Hello cousin" Ronan said with a dazzling smile and wave. I returned it.

"How-de-do" He was a little confused but figured it was some kind of native greeting.

"Wards" Dermot explained as he and Ronan got in the car.

"That's a little extreme" He gave me look that said I was being a little dim witted.

That comment was thought less. "Sorry that was a stupid thing to say" A crazy vampire was helping their enemies exterminate their species. I would say extreme was called for. I was just a little startled that a ward could do that to someone "turn their insides to mashed potatoes" who comes up with this stiff? The wards Amelia had put on my house were only made to prevent entry to those who wanted to harm me. What happened to something like that? Then again Victor had been able to get close enough to set my house on fire so it wasn't that great.

"What about humans?" A traveling sales man or the UPS man could fall victim to this and I just didn't trust my uncle to come out and stop this every time. If I was being honest with myself I knew he wouldn't.

"It is meant for anything supernatural. No human will be comfortable anywhere in the area even long before they reach the boundaries of the ward" He carefully failed to mention what would happen if said human pressed on despite their discomfort. I was just as careful not to ask.

"Were I need to touch you to allow you entry" He patted them each on the shoulder without waiting on a response.

"What about me?" I asked. Dermot turned and gave me a Jason kind of smile and gave me a one handed hug. Though as he later explained to me it wasn't necessary I was fairy enough for the wards to accept me. While I got a tickle down my back that felt like sunlight my bodyguards got fire down theirs…yes it was the worst of times.

Dermot told me he had never been able to reconcile both halves of his origin. It was surprising enough to know he had a child but he had them with a water fairy. I truly doubted that was common. Now that I had a second I was mad that he hadn't told me I had a cousin by him. The thought of more family always made me happy. We didn't share secret or anything but sometimes when we were together and he felt like it he would tell me about his life. I knew he had his reasons and he did not owe it to me but I was still upset he hadn't told me about Ronan. I wanted to ask if he had other children and how he ever got along with Lyra long enough to make a baby. The two appeared like water and oil.

On our way into the house Dermot had one of my hands his son held the other. The circumstances had not robbed them of their touchy feely-ness in fact it made it a little worse. I opened the door to find Iain's lips locked to Claude's. It was made all the more disturbing because Dillon (Claude's father) was in the room on the same couch as his child. I was going to avert my eyes but I saw it wasn't a kiss. Their lips were touching but not moving. Iain pulled away and got a lung full of air and returned to Claude's waiting lips.

"He is breathing into him; to heal him" Dermot explained. "Though the blood of his enemies would do more" he mused. I have heard and seen stranger things so I just sat down and waited. When they had finished I looked at Claude and saw the bruises on his face was gone. So were his cuts and burns. His arm was also out of the sling. The site where he had been stabbed and Dermot had burned closed looked old. I was amazed.

"Welcome my great niece" Dillon said with a nod of his head. He was adjusting Claude after his healing session. His son's head was now on his lap and he wrapped his arms around him. Claude was playing with his father's hair absent mindedly. It was kind of confusing because Claude was well over a century old and he was cuddling with his daddy. I stopped staring and returned thegreeting I received.

"Hi Uncle Dillon" I smiled at him it was mixture of something forced and my genuine happiness that he looks scores better than he had the last time I saw him.

"You have not been properly introduced. This is Iain Riverngale younger brother to Lyra" I turned to Iain and offered him a nod and a smile. His face was blank. I would call his greeting begrudging but it would have been generous of me.

"I just wanted to say…" Dermot coughed-very very loudly. We all looked at him. He picked up a nearby glass of water with his eyes still on me. They were screaming "No".

Oh right! I almost forgot. Never say "thank you" to a fairy. It puts you in their debt. Having manners was almost a life of servitude around them. "I wanted to say you didn't have to go to Eric last night and I appreciate it" I couldn't read the look on Iain's face; I would say he was disappointed but both he and Dillon nodded their acknowledgment. We already knew as much but Dillon had picked Sophie-Anne out of the lineup. Iain didn't try to hide the fact that he was happy that she has now made enemies of a vampire king in fact he was happy. They didn't know why she went after Eric and I didn't volunteer. I didn't volunteer she has killed the law for vampires either.

"How are you guys holding up?" I wanted to 'add aside from the obvious' but it seemed in poor taste. I should have because Claude made me regret it.

"Perfect" He said from under his father's arm "Peachy fucking keen" That was my cousin alright. I wanted to believe it was a good thing that he was well and himself again but found myself missing the Claude from last night. This Claude was all too familiar to me. He was a rude snob whose personality chaffed against my patience.

"Is there anything you need?" Just like that his face lit into a beaming smile that would break hearts everywhere. I was cursing myself.

"Money" Iain said. No subtleties there. They all glared at him. I was willing to bet this was something they had discussed but this wasn't how he was supposed to go about it.

"We cannot remain in the same place for too long" Dillon explained. I nodded in understanding. They couldn't be on the run with nothing but I was confused.

"What about the wards?" What was the point of going through all of that if they weren't going to stay?

"I am the only one up holding it" Iain said. "I also have to treat who is wounded" He looked very put out by this. He was complaining and he wasn't hiding that fact either. "And I must keep my pathway open" He lost me there.

"His gift is sensing and calling. Any that leave our home world for the fight can call out to him and he can call them"

"Yes and it is exhausting to keep it open night and day."

"Why are you the only one doing it?"

"I am the only one strong enough" I knew that wasn't the whole truth but I didn't pry. It wasn't as if I was spilling my guts either plus I had my suspicions as to why that as the case.

"Let me see what I can do. I'll call tonight" I had an idea for them to be safe as they waited for reinforcements but I didn't dear offer I had to check with Eric.

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Okay that was Chapter Twenty Four…I have some tough decisions to make. Some of our favorite characters are going to die…I have to find how to set that up. I know there wasn't much going on in that chapter but I wanted to ask what you guys thought about other things.

There will undoubtedly be an epic battle. I am thinking if I should stave off the birth of the children until after or if I should write the birth chapter so Sookie can be with Eric when that fight happens.

For those of you who are curious Cohan isn't coming to this fight and I will explain why. Seeing that he isn't coming he can "babysit". But for now I just wanted to ask those question so I can know which way to spin it they both feel equally attractive to me. I'm taking votes. I will tally them Wednesday night, so let me know…

Toni9536 since this is your chapter I say your vote gets two points! Thanks again for reading!