We drove for a while in silence, and it wasn't a comfortable one. I wanted to know what was on this Vampire's mind and at the moment all the talking he said we had to do wasn't happening. He just stared at the road, driving sensibly and quietly. The only sounds I heard was my breathing and the silent hum of my new car's engine.

Silence. It was foreign to me, and my instincts wanted me to relax in it. Soak in my own thoughts for a change without hearing others. From birth I could hear people's thoughts. Every little one. No matter what it was about, if I was around I heard it. Thinking about your new boyfriend, PMS, football, food, death, sex, or your new car? I heard it all. Even though I didn't want to. It was overwhelming but I learned to handle it as I grew older. But it was never easy.

When he finally spoke, I jutted up in my seat. "You remember last night?"

I had to think about that. "Not really. I know I hit something and then" I stopped, everything was beginning to feel very hazy. "I remember you being there."

Eric sighed, which made me sighed considering he didn't even breathe. "Do you know who I am?"

I turned to look at him and was surprised that he was looking right at me. Ice blue eyes met mine framed by thick blonde eyelashes. His kissable lips in a firm straight line. "Eric."

"My name is Eric Northman, Sheriff of Area 5." I knew that title held Eric in high esteem by the way he said it. Although in my mind I was replaying a bunch of Westerns my brother loved to watch when we were kids. "That night you didn't hit a stray animal. You hit a werewolf, and it wasn't there by accident. It was hit man, someone wants you dead."

Now that was one hell of a surprise. Who in the hell would want to kill me? I was Sookie Stackhouse, barmaid, and a tax paying citizen. I asked him.

Eric shook his head, blonde hair a couple of shades lighter than his eyelashes moving over his collarbone. And what a collarbone it was, connected by the sexiest shoulders, arms, hands, fingers...I wonder what kind of sexual damage those fingers could do. My legs quivered and I shook my head trying to get ahold of myself. Someone wants you dead! Focus on that for a second.

"We don't know yet, but we'll find out." Eric said determinedly, his eyes continued to look into mine. I knew without a doubt that he would find out and I for a second I felt sorry for that person.

I bit into my lip, all of this was one big pill to swallow. It felt surreal, like I was living in a dream. Before this night I hadn't even met a vampire before. I never even met a werewolf let alone known they even existed. And just my luck I ran over one.

"Who is 'we'?" I asked.

He turned back to watching the road, I noticed we were driving incredibly slow. "Have you ever notice things about yourself, being different from others?"

Yes. "No..."

Eric snorted and somehow made it sound dignified. "Bon Temps people seem to think you're psychic."

Sunofabitch. "I am not psychic" I bit out irately.

"Then what are you?"

I turned to my window, looking as the scenery went by...quite slowly. "A waitress."

Eric didn't say anything after a while. I think he could hear the hurt in my voice and didn't want to push me over the edge even if he didn't understand. He pulled over on the side of the road and I could feel him looking at me. Which I wouldn't turn around he grasped my forearm. "Sookie, I'm here to help you" He said softly.

It was the way he said it that made me turn around to face him. "I can hear people's thoughts." I whispered. I had never said that out loud before in the last decade.

I thought I would see the same look I saw on everyone when they saw me. The "You're a freak" look. But it didn't even cross his face. He didn't look sympathetic to my feelings either though. instead he nodded his head. "That makes sense."

I don't know if he was noticing what he was doing but his thumb was moving softly against my skin in circles. It felt good to be touched, even comforting. And irrationally I didn't want him to let go of me, I didn't want him to stop with those little circles on my arm. "So? Who is this We again?"

"The Queen of Louisana." He said as if that title was supposed to mean something to me.

"Come again?" Bidding him to explain.

He rolled his eyes, probably annoyed that he had to explain something to a human. "She rules the vampires of Louisiana."

Oh, shit, how had she heard of me? "And what's her interest in me?"

He looked at me like he hadn't thought I would be asking so many questions. "Want me to be frank?"

I nodded.

His eyes flashed a bit of pity for me and then disappeared as quick as it came. Eric stared at me for a minute, looked away, back, and then spoke. "You can hear thoughts without them being said aloud. She can use that. She wants to help you so then you will..." He came to a lost at the end.

"Owe her one?"

Eric grinned and it was sexy as hell. "Yes, you'll be in her debt."

"I'm not sure how I like that." I replied honestly.

He shook his head, "You shouldn't."

"So how do you guys know that someone is after me?" I didn't say this but from all I know they sent that wolf to kill me. Killed it before it could say anything to me and are now acting like they're saving me from enemies that weren't even there.

Eric must have read my face. "Do you know a woman named Marsha Timmons?"

"Jason's ex-girlfriend." I remembered him breaking up with her which was a relief to me. I had always known that something was wrong with her, but I hadn't known what.

"She's a werefox." He told me. "From what I was told one night while Jason was drunk he started talking about you. Said sometimes he wished he had a normal sister not someone who could read people's minds. Marsha was really interested in that." He looked at me to make sure I hadn't spaced off and then continued.

"Marsha went back to her pack and told them about you. One of them, his name is Josh is a friend of a vampire named Javier." His lips folded back into a snarl as he continued. "Who coincidentally is in the good graces of the Vampire of Arkansas. His interest piqued about you, no one has ever heard of a telepath. Without contacting the Queen he sent someone to come fetch you."

"The wolf?"

He nodded, "It seems like the wolves here aren't too happy with the Queen. We've heard the stirrings of a war beginning but from what I can tell they just want to overthrow Sophie-Anne. They can't do it themselves so they thought they would start a war between us and Arkansas."

"Who told the Queen that they were coming after me?"

"A friend of the Queens." And I knew he wouldn't be naming names.

I looked at the dashboards clock and cursed. "I have to be at work in five minutes."

And then we were off.

Work flew by as I worked. I didn't chit-chat with the other waitresses and I ignored the long looks from Sam. I had other things on my mind, you know just the welfare of my life. I wondered if I was going to survive this night.

I was refilling the ketchup bottles when a female vampire walked into the bar. She looked a few years younger than me physically. Her breasts were pert, and sitting up nicely in a form-fitting pink sweater. Her jeans hugged her comfortably but not loose. She scanned the bar and then sat at a booth in my section. She spotted me and gave me a toothy grin. It was hard not to smile back. Eric told me she would be coming.

After I was down with the ketchup I approached her. "Hi, I'm Sookie." I greeted her, I didn't offer my hand to shake. I heard vampires didn't really like that.

She continued to smile. "I'm Pam."

I smiled at her blankly and then remembered who I was. "Would you like some True Blood?"

She nodded. "O positive."

"I'll get that for ya, and then we'll be out of here." I told her. I went back to the bar and began the heating process. Which was just placing the bottle of synthetic blood in the microwave. I had a minute to wait.

"Sookie." Sam said. Uh-oh.

I knew I was in for it. "Yes, Sam?"

"Why is there a vampire in my bar?"

"She's a friend." I hesitated between the words so I knew he wouldn't' believe me.

He scrutinized my face. "Are you in trouble?"

"Nothing I can't handle on my own, boss." I said firmly.

He gritted his teeth, his thoughts filled with fury for me. Sam didn't think I could handle what trouble I was in. He thought he should march up to that vampire and demand to know why she was in his bar and talking to me. Which would be the death of him. He decided he wouldn't.

"Fine. "He said finally, "Just be careful dammit."

"Aren't I always?" I asked sweetly.

He snorted, not at all like Eric and stalked away.

I grabbed my purse from behind the bar. Snagged Pam's blood from the microwave and came back to her table. She was sitting still as a statue staring straight ahead. It was like she was dead. "Pam?" I called to her softly.

Her head snapped towards me quickly. "Yes?"

I placed the blood on the table in front of her. "On the house."

Pam drunk her blood as we drove to my place. It felt different from riding with Eric. Since when I was with him I was completely comfortable. Pam was another story altogether, she scared me. She was the second vampire I had met, and I was sure I would be meeting more.

"A lot of excitement is surrounding you." She said out of the blue.

"I heard." I said grimly.

Pam was beaming ear to ear. "Those stupid dogs have went a little too far on their leashes."

"What's going to happen?"

"They'll be dealt with." She told me.

My mind wasn't wrapping around all of this. "Were's are a completely different species than vampires."

"They're inferior". She stated like it was known fact.

"Right, but they're a different species. So how come your Queen reigns over them?"

She looked over at me like I was dumb. "Becuase they're inferior to us."

I mentally groaned. "Whatever. That's like saying the Queen bee is also Queen of the flies. They're a different species, they wou-"

Pam finally got what I was trying to get across. "You're looking at it wrong. Think of it as vampires are Lions. We're the King of the Jungle..."

I finished for her. "So all the other animals just fall in line."

She nodded, "or get killed."

I shivered visibly. "Got it."

"The Queen wants you protected so you are. You don't have to worry about anything. As long as we are around no one will harm you."

And that's why when the sun rose and the Vampires were dead to the world the were's came to get me.