A/N: Happy Friday - here's another chapter! Sookie starts making preparations for an important upcoming event. Lots of vampires and vampire politics from here on out. Southern *Vampire* Mysteries, after all!

Disclaimer: everything belongs to Charlaine Harris

With that unpleasantness behind me, things moved along relatively smoothly for the next couple of weeks. Russell and Stan were both in touch frequently about plans, and with little questions. The council had been extremely receptive, and called an urgent summit in New Orleans to discuss things in person. Most of the vampires were being allowed to believe a rumor that it was simply an excuse for business alongside the wedding of Eric and Freyda. Of course everyone would want to be there, so they might as well get some business done at the same time.

I learned I needed to be at the summit, and would probably be called in front of the council to discuss "our" ideas further, so I made sure I had a couple of dry cleaned suits and well-polished shoes ready to go. Tara helped me pick out some additional outfits one morning in Shreveport, even though she wasn't completely sure my vampire work was a good idea. This was part of how Tara and I were repairing our friendship, though, by talking about what we were up to rather than keeping things from one another. When we finished up and parted, I headed to my lunch appointment.

Quinn had let me know he would be around on an errand, so I had invited him out for lunch at a little cafe near the shops. As much as I didn't trust him too much personally now, I had some things I wanted to accomplish that would be helped by his acquiescence.

Quinn greeted me with a huge hug that went on just a little too long. "Sookie, it's great to see you! I've been meaning to call." I extracted myself from his warm arms and we grabbed a relatively private booth in one corner of the bright, glass-walled dining area. We made small talk to catch up on his relationship with Tijgerin, and his mom and sister, and for him to offer his condolences on my divorce.

I really did not want to talk too much with Quinn about my divorce from the vampire he'd always seen as the competition, and sipped at my sweet tea more than was necessary to avoid telling him so. I would regret that later when I was looking for a gas station to stop at on the way home; I automatically sized them up for potential danger and escape routes now.

After we ordered our food, I got down to business. "Listen, Quinn, I need you to do something for me. I'm going to the upcoming summit, and I need you to make me an official security consultant for the event."

Quinn eyed me suspiciously. "Sookie, I don't know what you're up to, but I'm not letting you get killed."

When Quinn declared he wouldn't "let" me, I wanted to stab him with my fork. Instead, I told him, "I'll be there either way, because I have a meeting with the council. I'm proposing that I be hired to help with screening humans for future summits, and I'd like to have this one officially under my belt."

"Babe, I know you don't want Eric to marry Freyda, but you can't…"

"Quinn, I assure you I have no dramatic rescue plans that will interfere with the wedding. I just want to be officially on the payroll, with a title, so I can claim it to the vampires I'm doing business with. I have to be there anyway, you might as well pay me something to screen people and help out with vampire/human issues. Who knows, it could save you a lot of trouble. I'm sure you can justify it - everybody knows that without me, things in Rhodes would have been a lot worse."

I didn't give him more than two seconds to think about it before I added, "Besides, this is all part of my plan to get out the danger I've been in since Felipe was led to my doorstep."

His face fell, and I won't lie, I laughed a little on the inside. I didn't feel great about making someone else feel guilty, but Quinn deserved it. I'd had just about enough of the men in my life telling me what I could and couldn't do. Honestly, they're lucky I'm not harder on them, given what I've put up with.

Quinn finally found his tongue - not licking my leg this time - and looked me in the eye. "Okay, Sookie, fine. I have a pretty good budget for security because nobody wants to see Rhodes again. At least if you're working for me, I can keep an eye on you and order you out of the line of fire."

I nearly snorted my tea, but I recovered quickly and gave Quinn a direct stare. "You can try. But you'd better assume that a woman who wouldn't put down a bomb when you told her is not one you can easily boss around."

Quinn chuckled a bit at that and shook his head, but I knew he was considering my words. Our sandwiches and soups came soon after, and we hammered out my position for the summit while we ate. I was going to head to New Orleans a week early and just be at the site and keeping my mind open for plots, and I would also be making appointments to screen human staff, donors, and vendors. I'd examine the security procedures at the hotel for things like the baggage claim problem I'd noticed at Rhodes, and then do more screening of human guests once the summit started.

Although I could probably bunk with Amelia, I thought I'd be more likely to pick up on things if I were actually in the hotel the whole time, and I convinced Quinn that E(E)E should cover those expenses for that very reason. We finished our meals, and I headed back to Bon Temps.

Amelia had returned to New Orleans with Bob a couple of days after I'd been released. I detected something about Amelia before she left, but hadn't worked up the nerve to tell her while she was still here. When I got back home after my lunch with Quinn, I sat at the computer, saw Amelia was online, and invited her to video chat. She'd taught me how before she left.

"Sookie, hey! Are you almost ready to come down here? You have to let us take you to dinner one night. Are you sure you can't stay with us?" Amelia finally took a breath and noticed my face. Damn video chat.

"Sookie? You okay?" Amelia sounded much more tentative now. She'd seen some bad things.

Amelia's extreme lack of tact and inability to keep her nose out of things had been a major cause of the rift between us. I couldn't tell her what I wanted to without having those same problems myself. But wasn't it for her own good? I hated when supes didn't tell me everything, after all.

"I want to tell you something that affects you. I have no idea how you'll respond." Amelia and I had never even discussed our views on unplanned pregnancies.

"Sookie, you're scaring me, what is it?" Amelia was visibly tense.

"Amelia, I think you're pregnant. I detected something the last day you were here."

Amelia's mouth fell open, but then she shrieked happily. "You're serious! How can you tell? You couldn't hear...?" She was smiling radiantly.

"Eww, no, no real thoughts" - the idea of a "talking" fetus kind of creeped me out - "I think it's way too early. But I could sense something. I've never detected one like this, and I don't know what it means." I had been worried that this would scare Amelia, but she was clearly excited.

"I think it must mean your powers are growing." She took it in stride. "Can you tell anything else?" I could only see the angle of her shoulder and upper arm, but I could tell Amelia was already protectively covering her belly with her hand. I grinned at her.

"Nope, nothing. Just something, living there." I gestured toward her. She looked down, then back at me, wiping a happy tear from her eye. "I wish I could hug you right now, telepath."

"Me too, witch. Damn video chat."

A/N, part the second: I absolutely hated how Sookie dropped the pregnancy bomb on Amelia in DEA, could you tell? ;)