Sorry about the delay in getting this posted, I took on a short tale to offer some support to a friend who was having a rough go of it.

Lots more Andre and Sookie to come though. I hope you enjoy this.

Chapter 8

Bobby Burnham was as talented as Northman had made him out to be.

Andre had not rushed to return to Shreveport; in fact he had taken some time to wander around the woods. He had no real intention of draining an animal, but wanted to familiarize himself with the layout, so he could bring up certain copses or sites with Sookie, should she ask. Besides that though, something in the woods compelled him to circle a certain area, poking at his brain as if he should be able to see something that he could not. In his peripheral vision he imagined that there were heat eddies, but every time he whirled around to see their source more clearly, even at his Vampire speed, they were gone, and he began to feel the distinct ire of being taunted by something unseen. But that frustration was mixed with the craving of hunger, more powerful than he could recall feeling in the last several centuries.

By the time he reached Shreveport he actually felt grateful for being away from the woods, and grateful for the raven-haired beauty that Bobby had arranged for him. Suitably glamoured she performed her duties admirably, and left him, while not completely satisfied, at least satiated, and prepared to dream of the blond fairy girl he had left behind in Bon Temps. As he sank into the silk sheets and soft darkness he let her scent, and the memories of her body wash over him until he was claimed by the day.

ooOOoo

The apartment that Burnham had arranged for him was subterranean, as Andre preferred. No natural lights or windows to worry about, a comfortable bed, hot water and a solid door. It was in the basement of a four story condominium building, one he imagined was likely owned by Sheriff Northman, he knew the man to have diversified interests, and not to be the type of Vampire to invite others to stay in his home, which was just fine with Andre. The darkness of the place was comforting, and Andre moved about without turning on any of the electric lights. It let him use his other senses and it left him free to concentrate on Sookie, and the next few steps of his plan to ensnare her. He showered, dressed, and left a message for Bobby that the room was now empty and ready to be cleaned. He proceeded back to Bon Temps on foot, taking a snack along the way, which again, was not satisfying. His body was preoccupied with the thought of tasting Sookie's fairy blood, as much as he pushed the idea from his mind so that she could not pull it from him.

The twilight had only recently faded when Andre approached the edge of the Stackhouse woods, from the direction closest to the stream that ran at one periphery. He gathered up another small armful of wood and walked just past the trees, to scan the veranda. The wood was an excuse, if Sookie, or the grandmother were outside. He felt an unbidden smile curl itself over his lips as he spotted his prey, dressed in a yellow sundress, nothing fancy, (unlike the wardrobe that Sophie Anne chose for herself,) looking out towards the trees. She scanned slowly, turning her face until she finally set eyes on him, and a similar smile brought a glow to her lips. She raised a small hand in a shy greeting. He took that as his cue to approach.

"Good evening Miss Sookie." He set the wood atop the pile he had amassed the night before.

"Hello Andre. I'm happy to see you again. Thank you for the wood."

"You're very welcome. Anything I can do to help you."

"You're very kind Andre." He loved that she giggled a little as she spoke, a nervous sort of twitter that told him a great many things about how she had spent her day, thinking of the excitement a Vampire in her woods was going to bring to her ordinary life. "Did you have a good sleep?"

"I did." It was not a lie; the bed Bobby had provided was very comfortable. "Your woods were very peaceful." Also not a lie. Small animals tended to run at the approach of a Vampire, predators especially, as they sensed the apex master. So the woods had been quiet.

"I'm glad." She was swaying a little on the porch, her hands knit behind her back in an innocent sort of way.

"Miss Sookie?" He played his first card for the evening.

"Yes Andre?"

"Would you mind if I stayed on a few more days? I still haven't sorted out where I want to go yet, and, well, things were so nice?" He shrugged his shoulders and smiled, looking as innocent as he could. Her beaming smile gave him his answer.

"Well that would be just fine Andre." She seemed absolutely gleeful. He held his emotions in check. "No one is going to bother you. Gran and I talked about you last night and we figured it would be better if we didn't tell anyone about you, so no one would come around trying to find you."

It was a bonus Andre had not expected. He smiled at her with a semi-honest gratitude, it would be much better if he didn't have to glamour too many of the citizens of Bon Temps, or deal with the panthers. Humans became so disturbed when they thought they saw large animals wandering about, there were so many accidental shootings.

"Thank you. You and your Grandmother are very kind."

"Well, she's pretty sensible my Gran, and the folks around here, well, not all of them are quite as enlightened. We'd have a forest full of rednecks and their pickup trucks, and my driveway has enough ruts in it already." She gestured out to the expanse of gravel, which was pitted here and there. "My brother is supposed to get his crew over to level it again one of these days, but he gets, distracted." She pursed her lips with a heavy sigh.

"I would love to hear about your family."

"Well, their ain't many of us left, so it wouldn't be a long story. But if you're up for listening?" She stepped away from the rail of the veranda and over to a worn lounge set, that Andre figured might once have been a vibrant shade of cherry wood, but was now a washed out brown and worn grey on its seats, that spoke to its age and use. "Would you like to come up and have a seat?"

"Thank you again." And Andre mounted the steps at human speed, more slowly in fact because his senses were being overwhelmed by the scent that surrounded Sookie. He was unable to hide the slow breaths he took as he drew near to her; it was beyond his control not to let the pure joy of it wrap him. He took a seat carefully, choosing one upwind of her so that he would not be further distracted. Because he wanted to hear every word she would give him.

"I have one brother, Jason." She began. "He's older than me, by a couple of years, but maybe not so much in maturity." She giggled again, and Andre found the sound very pleasing.

"Tell me about him?"

"He works for the Parish, on a maintenance crew, roadwork and tree clearing and stuff like that mostly. I guess he's sort of a foreman, but only 'cause other people seem to follow him. It's been that way since grade school, men and women."

"Is he happy?"

"I suppose he is. He has simple needs, that's probably the best way to be."

"And what about you? Are you happy Miss Sookie?"

"I guess my needs are pretty simple too. I have a good job; I work at a bar called Merlotte's. My boss is nice."

"But?" Her hesitance was obvious.

"Jason does have a lot of company, and a lot of friends. Not that I really want the type of company he has, mostly. But sometimes it's lonely, just me and Gran out here."

"You live with her?"

"My Gran raised us both after our parents died."

That bit of news bothered Andre: if Sookie's parents were dead there were significantly fewer possible fairies and telepaths out there to co-opt. Her brother certainly didn't have her gift, and neither did Hadley, so he still had minimal clues as to which side of the family the fairy gene had come from. Obviously Sookie's father and Hadley's mother had been part of the descendants, but whether it progressed up the line through her Grandmother or Grandfather, was yet to be established.

"I am sorry to hear that. I lost my parents at a young age as well. Though I did not have the fortune to have someone like your Grandmother to step up and care for me."

"Gran did really well by us." As she spoke it was obvious to Andre that she was remembering a great many things. And he found that he hoped she would reveal them to him, bit by bit. He leaned in towards her, to demonstrate his interest.

"So it's just you three?"

"Well, my Aunt Linda passed away quite awhile ago, cancer. Her daughter, my cousin Hadley, we don't know where she ended up. She used to call, ask Gran for money, but the calls just stopped a number of years ago, I can't even remember how long. I hate to think of what became of her, but she was such a tormented soul when she left us. Other than that, I have an Uncle Bartlett, my Gran's brother, but we don't see him anymore, he's, estranged?"

"That's the correct word." Andre encouraged her.

"I'm sorry, I read a lot and I use my word of the day calendar to learn new words, but I didn't have an easy time of it in school."

"I can tell that you aren't dumb Miss Sookie. Just maybe a little sad?"

Sookie gave herself a little shake, and straightened up shoulders that had begun to droop.

"I shouldn't dwell on such things anyways. I'm really not unhappy. As I said, I have a great job; I have my Gran, and this beautiful house. And hey, now I have a Vampire friend living in my woods. Even if I can't tell anyone about you."

"You do have a friend in me."

"Then will you just call me Sookie?"

"I would be honored, Sookie."

They sat and stared at each other in silence for a moment. Andre listened for her heartbeat, and tried to project some kind of comfort towards her, wondering if her gaze on him meant that she was trying to read his mind.

"Sookie honey? Are you still out there?"

A porch door groaned with a metallic squeal as it was opened from the inside of the house, and Sookie shot to her feet.

"Gran?"

Andre also stood as the lady rounded the edge of the matte aluminum doorframe. She was small, smaller than Sookie, with her long white hair drawn up in a loose bun at the back of her head, escaped strands forming a halo around her face that glowed just a little in the light that filtered out from the windows.

"Oh, well hello." Small dark eyes, hooded under their lids and the shadows of the night looked right at Andre. Not in a cruel way, or even too suspicious; certainly no more than any parent, or grandparent in this case, towards an unknown man speaking with their child on the veranda.

"Good Evening Ma'am." He dropped his gaze, just in case the woman was another telepath, he didn't want her able to glean anything from him.

"You must be Sookie's Andre?"

"Yes Ma'am." Sookie twittered a little as she sat back down, perhaps beyond her Grandmother's hearing range, but not Andre's. He marveled for a just a moment at how lonely the girl must be to have latched onto that concept so quickly.

"We've just been talking Gran." And how she defended their few moments together.

"Adele Hale Stackhouse." She introduced herself. He noticed, with some curiosity that she did not extend a hand as so many humans did. He didn't believe that it was out of fear of him. Curiouser and curiouser this woman.

"I hope we didn't disturb you." He offered, feeling her eyes on him, but no incursions into his mind. And most importantly, smelling no trace of Fae on her. It gave him some confidence and he looked directly at the woman, innocent (and practiced) smile on his face. She was not the connection. It had to have been the grandfather. Andre did not let the further disappointment show on his face of yet another dead end.

"Not at all young man."

"It has been a long while since anyone has called me that ma'am."

"Indulge me." She took her own seat between them, and redirected the conversation.

"Tell me about yourself young man?"

"I'd like to tell you there wasn't much to say, but I've seen a great deal over the last few centuries." Andre had made conscious choices about how much information he would reveal about his past. All of it would be true, not that he thought he would have trouble remembering any necessary lies, but it made for less things he would have to hide.

"I can imagine." The Grandmother was prompting him in a very calculated manner, it impressed Andre, her savvy, it was nearly worthy of him.

"I was born in the country now known as France. I don't know what it was called just then; it wasn't something we really worried about. I was very young when I was turned. My maker and I travelled around Europe for a great many centuries."

"Centuries?" Sookie whispered, at the same time as her Grandmother uttered,

"Maker?" Andre chose to answer the Grandmother first.

"It is the name we give to the Vampires that turn us. Our Vampire Parent as it were."

"I see." Mrs. Stackhouse's response was as tailored as his had been. He gave her a little grudging respect.

"I came to North America when she did. And we spent a great deal of time in hiding, though America provided much more opportunities to make a life than Europe did."

"And where is she now?"

"At this moment I do not know." And it was true, he hadn't looked at Sophie Ann's schedule that intently, so she really could have been just about anywhere.

"I chose to explore on my own, and to see if I could find a community for myself, now that we are able to move about a little more freely with the Great Revelation."

"Is that what you all call it?"

"We do. Though I understand that the fifth estate has taken to calling it 'Coming out of the Coffin'.

"Yes, I heard that today."

"Did you see all the wood Andre brought up to the house Gran?" Sookie seemed, to Andre, to be a little anxious to recapture the easy nature of their previous conversation. She was defending him against the inquiries of her Grandmother.

"We certainly do appreciate it Andre."

"There are much larger pieces out there, if you had an ax I could split them for you?"

"Jason usually does that for us. But he hasn't been around as much as he should lately."

"I understand that you likely don't want to tell a stranger if you have an ax around. But the offer stands, once I've proved myself to you Mrs. Stackhouse."

"Well that seems very reasonable. Don't be out too late then Sookie." And she stood, with little effort despite her age. "It was very nice to meet you Andre. I hope that we get to see you again."

"It was wonderful to meet you as well Mrs. Stackhouse. I look forward to earning your trust so that we may talk at length some evening." And Andre leaned forward, and took her hand, bring it to his mouth and kissing it very gallantly.