I DON'T OWN THE RIGHTS TO THE SOUTHERN VAMPIRE MYSTERIES OR ANY RESEMBLANCE THERE OF.

I AM SO AMAZED AT HOW MANY ADDS I GOT FROM YOU ALL! IT'S WONDERFUL, NOW IT'S TIME TO LOSE THOSE INHIBITIONS AND REVIEW!

THIS IS AN ALL SOOKIE CHAPTER AND SOME MUCH NEEDED BACKGROUND INFO, BARE WITH ME, THERE'S A LOT HERE!

Chapter 3 – Out with the Old

(Sookie POV)

I've never found my true calling. My friend, Tara, cut up her Mama's best linen tablecloths when she was eight to make dresses for her dolls… she's a fashion designer now. I on the other hand, never really fell into a category. I never found something that I loved to do more than anything else. And truthfully, although I wasn't a bad student, I never made A's. I read like it was going out of style, though! I read anything I could get my hands on. Since I've been in New York, the museums have been my favorite hang outs. I can spend hours wandering the halls, sucking in all the new info.

I guess that's why when my Gran died, there was nothing really keeping from packing up and leaving my childhood home. It wasn't so long ago either. It's been just over a year and a half since Gran passed. Nothing tragic or gruesome, it was just her time. She left me the house. I grew up in that house after my parents died in a flashflood when I was a kid. Me and my no-good brother, Jason, were raised by Gran. When Jason was old enough, he moved into my Parent's house and pretty much left us alone after that. I hardly ever saw him. He was too busy living a pointless life of sex and smoking to be bothered with us.

When he found out that Gran left me, not us the house, he was furious. He made such a stink that any small amount of respect I had for him slipped away. He was my only real family and I was too ashamed and annoyed and fed up with his nonsense to care about him anymore. Sometimes you just get to the point where enough is enough and it's healthier to say no and walk away. I reached that point with Jason and I'm happier for it.

Tara had moved to New York for school and stayed on when she got a job with some designer as a seamstress. Since then, she's part of the design team and loves it. When Gran died, she came back to sleepy old Bon Temps, Louisiana to be with me. I was a mess. I felt so lonely. Jason had graced us with his presence at the cemetery and then disappeared… useless, good for nothing, ass.

All of Gran's friends were there of course; most of the town showed up actually, but no one was more of a comfort than Tara. Not even my ex, Bill. Don't get me wrong, Bill was a decent enough guy, but he tried too hard to get me to love him. As far as I was concerned, you either did or didn't love someone, there was no in-between. Tara stayed with me the whole week. She even convinced me to go back to New York with her, take a little vacation. So I did. What was supposed to be a vacation turned into something permanent, though.

I rented out the house in Bon Temps, found an apartment in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, and began my life, (such as it was), over. Tara was only two stops away on the train, in Brooklyn Heights. She lived with her boyfriend, the delectable and gorgeous JB. He was yummy as all get-out, a male model and sweet as could be, but there wasn't much going on uptown if you know what I mean. Good thing he was so pretty 'cause the boy was dumb as dust. That aside, he was wild about Tara, and somehow they just fit, it worked. He was sweet and pretty, and she was smart and feisty.

As for work, the rent from the house down South pretty much covered the rent in Brooklyn. All I needed to do was cover the bills and a little spending money. I did some dog walking, some babysitting, some waitressing, and whatever other odd job I could find. I was 24 and free, and loved it. I went to the crazy parties that Tara and JB took me to (I met Quinn at one of those parties; he was DJ-ing and a relentless flirt).

I worked, went to museums and Broadway shows when I got cheap enough tickets. I read, I cooked, and roamed the streets – I enjoyed myself. Of course, that first winter in the city came as a shock. Sure it got cold back home, but 12 degrees cold? I was relishing the long hot summer days. Between Quinn, Tara & JB, and the odd jobs, I didn't really have time to be lonely or feel out of place. But just before I was about to turn 26, things came into focus. And by focus I mean, falling apart completely.

What the hell was I doing in New York? I didn't have a real job, didn't have a real man, (I mean, Quinn was real, I didn't imagine him or anything, but he wasn't a permanent fixture in my life), and I had no idea what I was doing or where to go. I had always imagined that by 26 I'd already be married, my first child on the way. I'd be decorating my first house, picking out paint colors and carpeting, not sitting on a couch in Brooklyn, alone, watching TV and eating yet another blueberry pie. I guess I was having my mid-life crisis early. Twenty six was a few weeks away and all I wanted to do was curl up and ignore the world.

The only time I left the house was to walk a dog or pick up a brat from school. Not even Quinn was around for some healthy distraction… he was in Japan on some tour. God only knew what the Tiger did when he was away from me. I imagined it had something to do with cute Japanese girls wanting to piss off Mommy and Daddy by sleeping with the big American guy. I had no claim on the man I told myself, it was just nice not to come to an empty apartment every now and again. That's what I told myself, in reality, it stung like hell knowing that I was in an empty relationship. I wanted something more, of course I did. But finding the something more was hard, especially in a place like New York.

My ex, Bill would always be willing to drop everything and come running. I really wished I loved him. He was a good man. Responsible, respectful, handsome, my Gran was wild about him, but I couldn't get myself to fall for him. I tried, I really, really tried. No matter what I did though, he was just always plain old Bill. He was like a piece of bread; sure it's was nutritious, but who wants dry toast everyday? I never cheated on him, though. I've never cheated on anyone. I was raised better than that. It just got to the point with Bill where it was either accept the toast, or go find some pancakes. I opted for pancakes… and what did I have now? Quinn. He wasn't even breakfast; he was like an afternoon snack, the kind of snack that leaves you hungry again in 20 minutes.

What would Gran say if she could see me now? I knew exactly what she would say. She would have told me to get up, take a shower, put on my prettiest dress, get some makeup on, and get my ass outside. Not being one to disobey my elders, that's exactly what I did. I took a shower, picked out my favorite sundress, a yellow and blue plaid seersucker dress with a full skirt, put on my face, and walked out the door. It was a gorgeous Saturday, and I knew the Farmers Market would be in full swing. I jumped on the train and made my way to Union Square.

I was perusing the cheese offerings of the Amish guy and his son. (how did he make it to the market every week, anyway?), when I noticed I was being followed. He was a big guy, not as big as Quinn of course, but big nonetheless. He had some neatly maintained facial hair and was dressed real nice; chino's and a white button down with the sleeves rolled up, you know, clean-cut. I think he started following me at the lettuce guy, continued at the fish guy, and was following me to the squash and flower lady. Of course, I could have been imagining things, but I had one of my hunches.

By the time I had gotten to the muffin lady, so had my follower. I asked for a couple of muffins, paid, and turned right around and smacked into him.

"Oh lord I'm so sorry!" he said, in a pleasant voice, laced with a familiar accent.

"It's alright, no harm done, well maybe a squished muffin or two."

He was even more attractive face-to-face. He had brown eyes, a real nice head of brown hair that fell into face, and ooo boy what a smile! We were still pretty close when he stepped away slightly. I noticed his hand was behind his back. As he brought it forward, he had the most wonderful bouquet of wildflowers from the squash lady.

"I know this is forward of me, but I've been following you since I saw you at the lettuce stand and I was hoping you'd agree to get some lunch with me?" He said earnestly.

I looked him up and down, getting a really nice vibe form him. He continued, almost nervously, "really, I'm not a serial killer or anything, promise."

"That's exactly what a serial killer would say." I said teasing him some. He smiled that great smile again. "Okay, on one condition, though."

"Anything."

"I'd like a name first."

"Alcide Herveaux." He stuck out the hand with the flowers and I took them.

"Sookie Stackhouse," I answered as I took a deep whiff of the flowers.

"Well Sookie, condition settled, how about lunch?"

Why not? Hell I was all dressed in my favorite dress and I wasn't wearing makeup for my own health! Plus, man was he cute, and charming to boot. "I'd like that."

"I'm guessing it's been a while since you've had some good BBQ?"

"Yes sir it has and how did you know?"

"Pretty thing like you, wearing a dress like that, spreading sunshine everywhere you went, you had to be a Southern girl. And I'm guessing by the accent not too far from Shreveport, either."

"Pretty close, Bon Temps," I said doing my best to be "sunshine."

"Let me take those bags," he said as he scooped them from my hand, nothing like a Southern Gent I thought to myself.

I held onto my flowers and followed him. We went to a parking garage a few blocks away and my heart fluttered a little when a pick-up truck stopped in front of us. Not some ratty truck either, this was a slick, four door number with all the bells and whistles. Call me a cliché, but I loved a man in a pick-up truck. Nothing like it. I knew immediately that not only would he be ordering something on draft at lunch, but he could fix my closet, stop the faucet from dripping, lift the couch for me to vacuum under, and all without breaking a sweat.

He put my things in the back seat, helped me inside, and then walked around to get in. If I didn't have that feeling that this guy was decent, I wouldn't have gotten in the truck, but my gut was never wrong, and my gut said, "have fun." Of course my gut was also saying that was coming close to cheating, but it was nothing except flowers and lunch… so far.

"You're far from home," I said once we started driving.

"My Father and I own a construction company down home; we're trying to get something started up here."

"Construction? You're not Herveaux of Herveaux and Son Construction are you?"

"Yes ma'am. I'm the 'and son.' You heard of us?" he said with a knowing smile.

"You re-did the Bon Temps Library three years ago and you know it."

He laughed, a real laugh, he put his whole body into it. "What brought you to The Big Apple, Sookie?"

"My Gran died last year and there just didn't seem any reason for me to stay. My best friend moved here years ago and invited me to come up for a few weeks. I just never left."

"I'm sorry."

"It's ok; she lived a great long life." After a few moments of awkward silence, I broke the ice. "So, where we going that they have BBQ?"

"Harlem."

"That some kind of joke?"

"Nope. We're going to Harlem for the best BBQ in the city."

"Mhmm, I'll believe that when I taste it."

"Don't get me wrong, it's no Country Tavern BBQ in Shreveport, but for Yanks, it's damn good."

I laughed, "I guess that's about as good a review as I'll get in New York."

A few minutes later we turned off of Broadway and made our way toward the river. When we turned the corner, I saw a "Dinosaur BBQ" sign, picnic tables out front, and a long line. We parked across the street… he helped me out. He kept his hand in mine as we walked toward the door, ignoring the line. When the girl at the front saw Alcide, she waved us through. When we were seated, I looked at him, dying to know what that was all about.

"So, you going to tell me how we just sailed through that line?"

"An old friend of the family owns the joint; we built this place for him for next-to-nothing." He looked at me for a minute longer than he had to and then spoke again. "You mind if we just get a bunch of stuff and share?"

"Sounds good to me."

The waiter came by and took our order, and he ordered what seemed like a ton of food, but I got used to the way men eat and order after having worked at a local bar back home for years.

"I'll have whatever's on tap," I smiled, just as I thought, "and the lady will have…"

"Sweet Tea?" I asked hopefully.

The waiter nodded, "and the Lady will have a Sweet Tea." As soon as the waiter left, Alcide began shaking his head.

"What?"

"You can take the girl out of the South, but you can't take…" before he could finish though, I managed to throw my balled up napkin right square at his forehead. He looked at me completely surprised by my aim.

"What? My no good big Brother made sure I could throw a ball, punch, and shoot a gun."

"I'll remember that."

Lunch was great, he was right, it wasn't the South, but the BBQ was good. When we were done, it was well into the afternoon. He offered to drive me home and I accepted. I played navigator as it was his first time exploring the wilds of Brooklyn. When we got to my building, he ran around the car, let me out, then grabbed my things from the backseat. I let us in the lobby, and we took the elevator to the sixth floor. We took a left to the end of the hall and stopped at my apartment door. I wasn't sure whether or not to let him in, but it seemed rude to make him turn around having dragged all my stuff for me, so I opened the door and showed him the kitchen, where he put down the bags.

Without even trying anything, he promptly turned around and walked back to the door.

"I had a great time Sookie."

"Me too Alcide, thanks for everything. I really appreciate it."

"I hope that means you'll let me take you out to dinner sometime soon?"

"I'd like that a lot actually."

I gave him my number and he gave me his. Just as he was about to leave, he took my hand and kissed it. I returned the kiss on his cheek and he smiled again, flashing those lovely pearly whites. When I had closed and locked the door, I skipped my way to the kitchen to put away the food. No sooner had I finished then I got a text from Alcide:

How's tomorrow at 6 for sometime soon?

Just soon enough.

I'll pick you up, can't wait!

See you then.

Okay, so my afternoon of flowers and lunch had turned into something more, and I needed to take care of Quinn. It was just past four in the afternoon in New York, which meant it was about five A.M. in Japan. I could have waited, but I really wanted to get the ball rolling – if he didn't answer I could leave a message. I called the hotel number not sure if his cell phone was working over there or not, and the operator patched me through to his room. When the woman answered the phone with a groggy "moshi moshi?"

I panicked.

Not only had I been patched to the wrong room, but I had woken up some poor un-expecting woman! I apologized quickly and hung up the phone. Then I tried again. Again, the same groggy female voice answered the phone, "moshi moshi?" It suddenly dawned on me that I had, in fact, gotten the right room.

"Give me Quinn," was all I said.

There was some shuffling and I swear I could hear another woman in the mix. Finally, an obviously just woken-up Quinn got on the line.

"Hello?" he said half annoyed, half curious.

"Oh well hi darling, how are we this morning?" that woke him right the hell up!

"Sookie! Babe, let me explain!"

"You know I don't think that's necessary Quinn."

"Babe, no really, I can explain this!"

"You know what, 'babe,' why don't you save the effort it would take to come up with an excuse and just go fuck yourself."

"Don't do this, Babe I lo…"

"Spare me."

I slammed the phone down, screamed, threw a mug across the room, and sank into the couch. Okay, so I was going to break it off with him anyway, but that was NOT the way I wanted it happening. It was one thing to think he might be sleeping with other girls; it was another to have it confirmed. ASS! IDIOT! I huffed and puffed for a few minutes and decided what I needed was a bath. I got undressed, turned on the water, and while it was filling, I fixed myself a nice cup of tea, (the broken mug could wait dammit).

I let my anger soak out of me and by the end of my bath, I realized finding out about Quinn was a good thing. In fact, it was a great thing. I had nothing to be guilty about and his little surprise ended things very neatly. When I got out of the bath, I gathered his stuff, threw it in a garbage bag and walked it to the curb. "Good bye," I said as I closed the garbage can lid. The phone was ringing when I opened the apartment door, it was Tara.

"Hey girl, busy? I was thinking of a movie or something."

"Why don't you just come over, have I had a day of it!"

"Oh ya? Like what?"

"Like I met a gentleman and dumped Quinn."

"Be there in 20."

A/N:

Ok you Quinn-haters, he's gone! No Lemons this chapter, but I'm good for it - I had to get the background stuff out of the way.

By the way, Dinosaur BBQ is a real place and on the river in Harlem, it's really really good (although I am in fact a "Yank" so be kind about my BBQ knowledge), Tavern BBQ in Shreveport is also real and I think is considered the best in the city. The link to Sookie's dress is on my profile, so go have a looksie.

You know how to make me happy…