I've never been big on statistics. I wonder what the odds are that I would walk this earth for over a thousand years. And then what are the odds that I would inhabit the body of another person? And then inhabit my own again. And what are the odds of a human woman and a vampire having a successful partnership? A loving relationship. Probably not very good.

I guess you could say that I'm one in a million. And, come to think of it, so is Sookie. How many telepaths are there in the world? Not many, I can assure you. And so the night she came to me and started spouting statistics, showing me websites full of numbers and scientific studies, I just held up my hand and said, "Lover, don't tell me the odds. When will you realize that what you are is special? What we have is special? Why should you be surprised at just how special you are?"

It's funny, but things between Sookie and me really seemed to change when Bob stole my body. I was so completely overwhelmed with the shock of inhabiting a human body, feeling physical sensations that I had not felt in many centuries. Sookie was the logical person to go to because she is a human herself and has always been in my corner when I needed assistance. Of course, she took splendid care of me when I was cursed and lost my memory. She took care of me when the Pyramid of Gizeh began to crumble under our very feet. I trusted her above all others. Even Pam, my own child, was not as trusted in that moment because she is not a human.

And so I went to my bonded for help. We had been close prior to that night. In my world, we were wed. But we both knew that such a marriage was not the same as most. We didn't fall in love, vow to never be apart, long for a future together. We didn't even live in the same city. We did love each other I believe but never spoke of it. We expressed it in bed and I hope I showed it in trying to care for her, but as a suitor, I was lacking. I didn't want others to have her, but was I willing to change my world to let her in? No, not at all. I was a selfish prick and had been for too many years to count.

But that changed when my body was stolen. I saw that Sookie did love me. Much more than I imagined. She changed her life to accommodate my needs—took off from work, fed me a picnic lunch in a meadow, made love to a stranger's body as the sun rose. I saw just how special she is. And I loved her right back with all my heart.

I was willing to live a human life with her when I saw that the bastard thief would not yield. In a flash, I saw us growing old together and thought: that could feel right too. But we didn't have to make that decision. The bastard made it for us. It took awhile for us to find our way back to what we had in our human union. The fantasy was over, and I suppose we didn't really know where to go from there.

So, at first we simply went home. I went back to Fangtasia. She went back to Merlotte's. I saw her once or twice a week—I'd drive down to make love to her after her shift and she'd be tired and I'd be preoccupied with other matters. It was not the romantic vision we had--I guess I should say, I had--after beating the odds and regaining my body and my life.

Finally, one night I told her that I wanted us back. I wanted what we had become in our brief human marriage. It took awhile. She is a stubborn and independent woman and I suppose I can be difficult as well. But eventually she agreed that she wanted us back as well and living the way we were wasn't working. I thought that she hesitated because I could not give her the life a human could, but she assured me that that was not the case. Whatever it was that had held her back had finally changed. Her heart finally opened to me and she accepted that we needed to be an us again.

She moved into my home and made it her own. She joined me at Fangtasia and worked by my side. No, we couldn't share a sunrise or a sunset again, but we shared the nights and we found our love again. We were back to a blissful us when she came to me with the laptop and showed me the odds. The scientists called it a failure rate, but it couldn't have felt less like a failure to us. I took her in my arms and showed her how much I loved and cherished her.

I have shown her the same every night since, and tonight will be no different. I woke and saw my text message, called Pam and relayed the news to her voice mail. I texted Sookie back and quickly dressed, driving myself to the hospital as planned. My thoughts were of how Bob's strange choices led me to this point. He stole my body—something I would have thought the odds were surely against. I was certain then that I would never be the same again. But nine months ago, I became a vampire again. Tonight I become a father again. Yes, the odds are against it all, but that means nothing to someone like me.

XXX