Disclaimer: All characters depicted herein are the sole property of Charlaine Harris and HBO.

Chapter 3 - Judith

I had taken my 15 minute break in Sam's office, and spent that time putting up my shields. After Eric's scene I was thrown so off guard they had been in shambles, but they were in place though not too strong as I emerged from his office. It was after mid-night, and I would only be working for a couple more hours, so I grinned and bared it. When I walked back into the bar I was assaulted with thought of the patrons, who pretended they weren't all staring at me.

What has that girl gone and gotten herself into this time.

She used to be such a good girl, and now she is always around angry looking Vampires, it's just not right!

Poor Sookie. I hope Eric leaves her alone. Can't he see what he's doing to her? Jason's been trying to accept their relationship, but really that guy just isn't good enough for her.

The last thought was my brother's best-friend, and Holly's fiancé Hoyt Fortenberry. He was always a sweet guy, and I'm glad he and Jason made up. I smiled at him as I walked by, silently thanking him for being exactly what he looked like – a true southern gentleman.

When my shift was over and we had finished the closing prep for the night, I headed home. I could tell through the bond that Eric was still in Shreveport, probably at Fangtasia, but I wasn't surprised when I saw Pam's car in my driveway. She was sitting on the porch swing waiting for me. Yay, I thought to myself. I hadn't even shut the door to my car, when Pam started, "You know, for my favorite breather, you are making things rather difficult." She told me in a matter of fact way, drawing out the word difficult, so I would receive the full effect of her displeasure.

"Gee whiz Pam, and my goal in life was to help ease your mind." I shot back, too annoyed to keep my sarcasm in check.

"My, my. Aren't we a little bit testy tonight?" Pam responded, as I opened the front door and walked into the house. I had not rescinded Pam's invitation to enter, yet, so she followed me into the house.

"I imagine you are here, at your Master's beck and call?" I asked, ignoring her comment. Of course I was testy, there was no need to respond.

Not one to mince words, Pam responded. "Yes, I am her at Eric's request. He wanted me to remind you of the precarious situation you are in. You are still his wife, Sookie, whether you like that or not." I started to protest but she put a hand up to wave me silent. "With your public dismissal of him this evening, if it were to reach, say, Victor he might again forget about your marriage, and try to harm you outright. After Bruno and Corinna I'm sure he's already formulating another plot to kill you. You may now have given him a way to do it in the open, if you don't return to Eric."

I hadn't thought about that. My 'marriage' to Eric had at least to some degree protected me from the Vampires who wanted to harm me. Though the only reason they wanted to harm me was to get to Eric, so I guess it was king of a wash. At this moment I didn't care though. What was the point of having Eric protect me from others, just so that he could keep me where he wanted, which was under him in every way possible. "I appreciate the reminder Pam, but I am through with Eric; now and forever. He doesn't respect me and you can't have a real relationship or real love like that." I explained. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm both mentally and physically exhausted and would like to get to sleep."

"You'll regret this." Pam responded, her voice cold and ominous as he stood up from the table and walked out the front door.

I let the loneliness wash over me, as Pam left. She hadn't come to tell me that Eric loved me or needed me. She had come to try to scare me back to him, and I wasn't going to let it work. Did Eric love me at all? I was beginning to doubt it. I wasn't going to ponder the mysteries of Eric and I tonight though, I was tired. I changed into an old night gown, pulled the elastic from my hair, brushed my teeth and went to bed. I was out within 5 minutes.

When I woke in the morning I felt refreshed. I had the day off, and I decided to take care of some of the mundane chores around the house that I had been neglecting. The laundry needed washed, and the kitchen floor needed mopping. It looked to be a nice day out, so I could water Gran's rose bushes, and even get a little sun. The prospect of sunbathing made me smile and rise from my bed with extra vigor.

When I was ready to head outside I changed into a green string bikini that had an exotic flower embroidered on the left triangle of the top. I opened the front door to walk out to the lawn, but I saw an envelope at my feet, so I stopped. When I picked it up, I knew the handwriting and the scent immediately. "Bill." I breathed. Not knowing how I felt.

Bill had recently been quite ill, near death in fact, due to an injury he received saving my life. Two rather deranged Fairies Neave and Lochlan, had tortured me for hours. I still had the scars (both the kind you can see, and the kind you can't) to prove it. I had wanted to die, and would have, had Bill and Niall not saved me. Neave's teeth were sharp as daggers and capped with silver and she had bit Bill, poisoning his blood before he was able to kill her. For some unfathomable reason Eric had not given Bill is blood, which surely would have helped him heal faster, but instead Bill continued to deteriorate, the silver eating at him. I finally couldn't deal with it anymore, and contacted his 'sister' Judith. The other vampire created by his Maker- Lorena, as her blood would be able to heal Bill. Earlier this week he had left another letter at my door, letting me know that her blood, freely given, had already helped him heal a great deal. The letter also indicated that Judith had been taken with my kindness, and would like to meet me. I was glad that Judith had come to Bill's aid when I had e-mailed her, so I tried to repress the unkindness I felt towards her at the end of our meeting. She had agreed to help Bill, and when she found that Lorena had met her final death and could no longer interfere, she was positively alight at the prospect of seeing Bill. She very nearly flew out my door, and I would imagine into his arms. I hadn't realized she had feeling for him, and I wondered if they were shared. I had no right to be jealous of any sort, and should only be happy that Bill had been healed, but the idea that they would be 'catching up' (as Bill had worded it in his previous note) put knots in my stomach.

I opened the envelope and removed the letter.

"Dearest Sookie – I knew you would be asleep at the late hour I will have delivered this to you, so I am leaving you this note, instead of knocking. I would like to thank you again for reaching out to Judith on my behalf. I have nearly healed completely, and I wouldn't have if it wasn't for your kind heart.

"Judith truly would like to speak with you more, and I would like to show in person what your compassion had done for me. Would you please do me the honor of joining Judith and I this evening? I will understand if you will be working, but if not, I would appreciate the pleasure of your company. Love, Bill."

'Joining Judith and I' Yeah, that was at the top of my list of things I want to do today, see Bill Compton with the never aging doppelganger of his wife, who I could tell is in love with him. But I couldn't help myself from wanting to see him. He had been so frail when I had seen him last. I didn't want to think of him like that. And it was I who sent Judith to him. I should be happy that he was moving on, finding happiness. I had Eric, though had truly being in the past tense now. The effect was the same though, I had moved on, and Bill should as well. We were still friend so I should support him, so I would go over this evening. I definitely wouldn't be staying long, but I would go.

The day passed fairly quickly. I was able to get all the cleaning that I had been putting off done. The laundry was finished. I found an empty box in the attic and put Eric's laundered clothes in it, as well as the few items he had left at my house. I would take the box to his house during the day, and leave it on his porch. I felt a little better today about the whole thing, and I even managed not to cry – though I came dangerously close. The tears would be wasted, and I finally had to admit that Eric truly wasn't worth it.

The sun was setting and I knew Bill and Judith would be awaking soon. I shuddered to think they would be waking together, but it was none of my business, I kept telling myself, and as long as Bill is happy, I am happy for him, or at least I was trying to be. It was still warm out, so I decided to wear a sun dress. The top was a halter. It was salmon colored; a shade between orange and pink, and it made my tan look warmer. I left my hair down, and slid on a pair of white thong sandals. I dabbed on just a bit of lip gloss – I wasn't trying to dress up necessarily, just look nice to visit company.

By the time I was ready it was full dark, and I knew Bill would be up. I could also feel Eric through the bond. He wasn't as angry today, more resigned, though I knew his bad temper about the situation between us was far from over. I pushed Eric to the back to my mind though. I wanted to remain positive for my second meeting with Judith, and my first meeting with Judith and I, I thought sourly. I plastered on a smile and then realized that I didn't want to seem fake, not to Bill who had done so much for me, so I would just walk into this with an open mind, and leave them to each other as soon as I could.

I walked through the graveyard separating the Compton and the Stackhouse properties. I knew the way by heart, and could easily have done it blindfolded. I walked this way so many times while I was dating Bill, even though we broke up over a year ago, I still knew the way. It took only a few minutes to be standing on his porch, knocking on the front door.

Bill opened it, and greeted me with a warm smile. I couldn't help but return it. He looked wonderful. His skin was no longer the ash color it had been last time I saw him, but returned to its natural luminescent white. He looked strong and hale, like soldier or a farmer, both of which he was before he became a Vampire. He was wearing black slacks, and a dark grey button down shirt. He looked every bit the southern gentleman. His hair no longer looked flat and dull, and his eyes. They say the eyes are the window to the soul, and if his eyes were any indication, he had a very magnificent soul.

"Come in Sookie." He told me, opening the door more widely, and holding out his arm to motion me in.

"Thank you Bill. You look great!" I told him, meaning it.

"Yes, Judith has had a wonderful effect on me." He explained. It took a great amount of effort to not let me smile fall hearing that.

"I'm very glad." I responded not sure how much I meant it. I'm glad her blood had cured him, but I wasn't sure how I felt about the rest.

At this point Judith joined us, having come from the kitchen. She had two bottles of TruBlood in her hands. "Sookie. Good evening! I'm so glad that you could join us." She said with honest warmth in her voice.

"Hey." I said trying to mirror her tone. "I'm glad I could come. Bill is looking so much better. Thank you!" I told her.

"No, it's me who should be thanking you. You freed us from Lorena. Bill told me the whole story. You are so very brave. I'm in your debt. Also, helping Bill is a reward unto itself. I'm just sorry I didn't come sooner." Judith told me. The knots in my stomach continued to turn, my smile didn't falter, much.

"Have a seat," Bill offered. "Would you like anything to drink?" He asked.

"No, I'm fine for now, thank you." I responded taking a seat on the couch. Judith took a seat beside me, and Bill took a seat across from us.

"Bon Temps is really lovely, have you lived here long?" Judith asked me, with what sounded like sincere interest. I responded that I had, and told her the story of my people, and how we had lived here for over 100 years. Bill agreed, allowing that he had met my ancestors when Bon Temps was barely a stop, much less a town. The conversation stayed light and flowed freely. It wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be, to sit here with them talking, and I was actually enjoying myself a bit. It was beginning to get late though, and I was getting tired. I knew I would need to excuse myself soon to go home. Judith could sense the conversation winding down. "Bill, I have a gift for Sookie. Would you mind looking in my room?" she asked him. Bill smiled at us and walked up the stairs. I was relieved when I saw that he didn't enter his bed room, but one of the guest rooms, to retrieve whatever it was.

When Bill was out of sight, Judith slid closer to me. She leaned forward, and breathed in my ear "There is something for you in the room I am staying, but that is not the gift I plan to give you." It was so quiet, I knew Bill couldn't hear her, and for a moment I was scared. I tensed, but before I could move away she continued. "Bill loves you. You said when we first met that you did not love him, but I do not believe that is the case. I care for Bill, and am attracted to him, but as a gift to you, I didn't act on it. This took great self restraint on my part. Bill is an amazing man, be worthy of him." She said and slid back to the other side of the couch.

I was surprised and taken a bit aback, but Judith was smiling as if nothing had happened when Bill came out of the room and down the stairs holding a bouquet of flowers. It was a dozen red and white calla lilies and they were beautiful. I did not have to fake a smile or feign appreciation; it was a wonderful and thoughtful gift. "They are gorgeous, thank you so much! I had a nice evening, and enjoyed talking to you" I told her meaning it. She inclined her head, as vampires do. I took the flowers from Bill, and our hands brushed. I shock traveled up my arm- a shock of what I didn't know, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to pull away or not. Bill just smiled and stepped back.

"Thank you Sookie. As you can see, I am nearly back to normal; I doubt that the difference is even perceptible to any but myself. I truly appreciate what you have done for me." He told me.

"I just couldn't see you hurting anymore. I couldn't bear it." I said shuttering for a second at the memory of the pallor of his skin, the effort of his movements, the can he needed in order to walk last time I saw him. I shook my head and the thoughts away, and smiled at him. "You are a great friend, Bill. I am lucky to have you in my life." I told him meaning it.

"And I, you." He responded with longing. "Would you like for me to walk you home?" he asked, the picture of hospitality, and gentlemanly behavior, neither of which I was used to as of late, having spent so much time with Eric.

I smiled at him. "No, thank you. I think I can manage." I told him before I took my leave.