With the deepest of frowns, I slipped my arms into my jacket and exited the building through the rear entrance. There's an unusual chill in the air tonight; it's normally muggy, but tonight, it feels as if the temperature has dropped considerably. Something I am not fond of. I never enjoyed the cold weather.

I zipped my jacket up halfway and disappeared into the shadows.

. . .

I reached Merlotte's in minutes and paused at the edge of the parking lot, which was filled to capacity with cars. They must be busy tonight, I thought, and debated waiting out here for whoever was to die tonight to drop dead. Whether I was inside or not didn't matter. I would know when they passed.

A strong breeze blew, blowing my hair out of place. I tucked a few strands behind my ear and squinted. I quickly spotted Sookie, a tray of food in one hand, drinks in the other. She set the plates down and smiled warmly at the patrons and walked away. My mood dropped at the sight of her and all the memories that followed, and I shoved my hands deep into my pockets, and closed my eyes.

Just another night of fighting off the guilt, the memories and the pain.

"Adrian? Is that you?"

Instantly I recognized the voice, and turned around, feeling almost giddy at the sound. Giddy, ashamed, and nauseas, actually.

"It's me," I sighed. Jessica's expression was unreadable; emotions crossed her features so fast I couldn't keep up.

She scoffed. "I didn't think you'd ever show up again, honestly. What brings you here?"

"Work," I responded, and she frowned. "What?"

"I don't know. I just thought for a second that maybe you'd wanna visit everyone you left, you know? That you actually missed us," Jessica shook her head. "I have to get to work. Bye, Adrian."

I balled my hands into fists and growled. "Fuck me."

I stalked after Jessica, following behind her into Merlotte's. Not bothering to wait to be seated, I glanced around briefly and found an empty booth in the far corner of the room. I could feel all eyes on me as I glided through the patrons and took my seat on the leather chair.

Now, where's my little heart attack victim?

Folding my hands on the table, I leaned forward and searched for the man whose soul I was to take. It took a moment, but I spotted him; he sat at a table with who I assumed to be his wife, enjoying a nice meal on a Friday night surrounded by friends and family. If only they knew he was going to die, their attitudes would be less cheerful.

"Look who finally came back."

A voice, and a bitter one at that, cut right through the chatter and rang crystal clear in my ears. Sookie leaned against the side of the seat opposite me and placed her free hand on her hip. She didn't bother to hide the disdainful look on her face, and I didn't blame her. I probably deserved whatever resentment she felt toward me. And that resentment was strong.

My eyes drifted away from Sookie's angry face and returned to the old man. The man looked to be in his early forties, too young for a human to die. He looked so happy, so full of love. His eyes found mine, and he nodded, a subtle movement, but one that sent a chill through my body. I hoped he was just acknowledging my presence, a silent hello from a stranger, but it felt like he just…knew what I was. Why I'm here.

I pulled away from his gaze and looked at Sookie. "You look so happy to see me, Sookie."

"I'm the farthest thing from happy, Adrian," she stated. "I hope you know what you put everyone through. We actually cared about you."

"For people that cared, you sure tried hard to keep in touch with me," I said flatly. "If you'll excuse me, someone's about to have a massive heart attack."

I rose from my seat while Sookie mumbled something incoherent, my eyes locked on the forty something year old sipping away at his beer. The glass slipped from his hands and dropped to the floor, shattering into tiny pieces, alcohol pooling around his chair. The man clutched at his chest and choked out his final breath.

The others at his table jumped to aid the man, but he was already dead. They screamed, cried, begged for someone to help.

And I would be there to help. Not to bring him back to this earthly plane, but to help him to the other side. Normally, in a situation like this, I'd have stuck to the shadows, waited until the body was taken away, and then retrieved the soul. But I didn't shift. I didn't hide, didn't do anything but keep walking toward the body.

His wife grabbed my shoulders frantically. "Help him! Please, I beg you; help!" she managed to say through desperate sobs.

I crouched down beside his corpse and flipped his body over so that he laid flat on his back. With one quick movement, I tore his shirt open, exposing his pale, freckled chest. I placed all five fingers over his heart and listened as my nails broke through the skin, plunged into his flesh. His body jerked in reaction to the new wound, the new energy. My eyes shut tight and I blocked out the near deafening noise around me and voiced the incantation I had learned many years ago, one to revive a Keeper should they have passed before their predestined time.

I gave him a second chance at life. Energy flowed through me, through my finger tips and into his body. His functions returned one by one, organs and systems coming back to life. I pulled my nails from his chest and breathed heavily, feeling exhausted.

His eyes fluttered and slowly opened, and the woman who once begged for me to help pushed me aside and grabbed her husband, pulled him into a tight embrace and cried for him, cried tears of joy. Of relief.

No one paid attention to me now, only to the one who should be dead. I stood up and as I turned around, I saw Sookie standing with Sam and Tara.

"What did you just do?" Sam asked.

"I gave him life," I said. "I let him live."

"Why?" Sookie asked.

I raised an eyebrow. "You're really going to question me giving someone another chance to live their life instead of letting them die."

"No. That was just….nice of you to do that. It was unexpected," she said.

"It's not the first time I've let someone live," I said. My thoughts drifted off to Eric, to Alistair.

"I guess not," Sookie said. "Will you be sticking around?"

"Why not? I suppose we've got some catching up to do," I shrugged sullenly.