A/N: For anyone waiting for an appearance by our Viking vampire, this is the first of several.

Disclaimer: everything belongs to Charlaine Harris.

I'd hoped to get home, take a very long shower, make one very important phone call, and finally get some sleep. I got as far as the shower before one very problematic Viking turned up in my bathroom, leaning his tall body against the door frame. After pausing to remember some much happier times spent in here, I ordered him out of the room and wrapped myself in a towel. I dressed as Eric watched silently, briefly noting what seemed to be disarray in my top drawer, but otherwise focused on breathing before the next bad thing hit. I had a pretty strong suspicion of what it would be, and I wasn't eager to be hear it and be proved right.

Reluctantly, I waved my hand at him to speak as I began to comb out my wet hair.

Eric stared at me with an unreadable expression, eyes lingering for a moment on the bruise beginning to form from Arlene's assault. Once upon a time, he would have already insisted on healing me. Or at least asked me what happened. "No matter what happens in public—no matter what—don't doubt that I love you and care about your welfare . . . as much as I am able."

Uh oh. Eric's bad thing was going to happen to me in public, and would be awful enough that he was already trying to keep me from getting too mad about it. And yet, he hadn't volunteered any real information. I knew we still had a vampire divorce to go, and confronted him about it.

"Eric, first of all, I love you and care about your welfare, too. But I'm pretty sure you're here to warn me that you're about to divorce me in a public and possibly humiliating or dangerous way. Probably both. So give me something I can use - when is this blessed event going to happen? What will I have to do?"

"Sookie, I can only stay a minute, do you really want..." I glared at Eric, and he continued. "I expect we'll see you tomorrow night. I never wanted this."

He told me he was placing a guard on me tonight, a vampire named Karin. "Your other Pam?" I asked, surprised; he seemed just as surprised that I knew her name. I could only assume the vampires really didn't want to lose track of me before I could officially divorce Eric. I wondered if it had cost Eric anything to allow me to be guarded at home, by someone he knew, instead of my being stuck in some vampire lockdown until it was done.

This sucked. Before I let him go, I needed one more thing. "Eric? Please answer me honestly. If you could choose with no consequence, would you want to go to Oklahoma? Don't you have any kind of super secret vampire plan to get out of it?"

Eric's composure didn't waver, and I kind of hated him for that. "No, Sookie, I have no plan. My last plan to be free of this was otherwise deployed, as you no doubt realized. Of course I would not choose this, but the only other option now would likely result in all of our deaths." He searched my face for clues to my intent. "Sookie, you can do nothing. You must promise me. You will only get hurt if you attempt to interfere."

"Eric, I'm pretty sure I'm going to get hurt either way. I don't want you to worry about me. I can take care of myself. Now, I'd like to give you a goodbye kiss, but I'll bet you're not supposed to come back smelling like me." For the first time, I saw Eric's ashamed face. Well, we were both going to have to suffer some indignities. I ushered him to the front door, and waited there with Karin while I watched him leave.

After he flew away, I let out the breath I'd been holding, stepped back inside, and invited Karin in after me.

"Karin, nice to meet you, I'm Sookie. Can I get you a bottled blood?" Karin accepted, and I used the time warming the bottle to gather my thoughts.

"Okay," I said, handing her the bottle. "I have a vampire-safe space if you're staying the day. Help yourself to more blood. You staying in the house or in the yard for the night?" Karin just tilted her head for a moment, then spoke.

"You think I'm here for the night. I am to remain here every night for the next year."

Fuck.

"Karin, what are you talking about? I assumed you were just guarding me until I could be brought in for the divorce."

"Oh, I'll do that as well, tomorrow night. I'm part of their deal, that protection be provided to you for one year."

I breathed deeply and thought about the implications. This must mean that the arrangements for Eric's contract with Freyda had been finalized. That's why I got the late night notification of the impending bad thing - there was suddenly nothing left in the way of their wedding other than my divorce. I wondered what my compliance was worth to everyone involved.

"Okay, Karin. One, I need to know if you're going to be dead for the day in my house for the year. Two, I need to know if there are any specific threats Eric told you to watch out for and what instructions he gave you. Three, since you're guarding me, I should probably tell you that I think a drawer in my bedroom was out of order when I got home tonight - although I'm not sure about that."

Karin eyed me sternly. "Eric did not give me any orders to answer your questions. I am to guard you only, and he has made arrangements for me to spend the day at Bill's." Right, because leaving me unguarded in a predictable pattern at sunrise and sunset every day while she crossed the cemetery seemed like a great plan. Fucking vampires.

I'd already resigned myself to getting no sleep tonight, but I so did not have time to have a dominance fight with Karin right now. "Look, Karin, we can work all that out later. Right now I'd really appreciate it if you'd scout my property for me, because I think someone might have been in my room recently, maybe tonight. I also need to make an important phone call, and I think the less you know about that the happier you'll be. Can you keep watch but stay out of earshot for an hour or so? And keep in mind that I'll be able to feel where you are if you're close."

I didn't think Karin had much interest in me, but my last statement seemed to break through her indifference. She nodded agreement and zipped out into the night after letting me tell her where my land ended.