Bill walked into Tara's bedroom, just as she was fluffing her pillows and getting ready to go to sleep. She looked him up and down. He usually didn't come in here. In fact, she couldn't remember him ever coming in while she was awake.

"We need to talk," he said, closing the door behind him, "can I take it from that comment that Eric made, about our home being a 'plantation', to be the reason you were so quiet on the way back here?"

"Bill, it's late. I need some sleep."

"I'm a vampire. I don't sleep now. And you are half vampire so you will be fine. And I want this settled between us."

"There is nothing to settle. Eric was just talking shit."

"What kind of 'shit' was he talking?" Bill asked.

Tara sighed, then spoke.

"He said that you owned slaves."

"Which you knew." Bill reminded her.

"He said you owned my family and that he has a file to prove it." Tara replied quietly. Bill raised a brow.

"Tara, I did not own your family! I would know that!"

"Do you even remember the slaves you did own?" Tara countered.

"I kept a purchase ledger..."

"Get the fuck out! Out!" Tara snapped. But Bill did not budge.

"Are you going to allow me to prove my innocence? Or are you just going to take Eric at his word?" Bill asked knowingly. Tara thought about it, then decided.

"This 'purchase ledger' has real names in it? None of that tally marks shit?"

"No tally marks, I promise." Bill smiled softly. "I will let you see the purchase ledger, then compare it against this 'file' Eric has. And Tara, if you find that you are wrong about what you suspect about me, I won't want an apology. But I will want a promise that you are never to see Eric Northman again. If we are going to make this marriage work, we have to be a united front. Eric does nothing but wedge people apart."

Tara slowly nodded. Bill moved closer to her.

"You know, maybe the problem is that we can't have a real marriage, if we don't get to know one another better. I only knew you as Sookie's dear friend. You knew me as Sookie's boyfriend. Instead of getting ready for bed, why don't we go someplace? We can have a quiet supper out? You would like that, wouldn't you?"

Tara didn't respond.

"Are you tongue tied because you are indeed tired? Or is it that you're ashamed to be seen out with your 'slave master' husband?" Bill gently chided.

"Oh come on, Bill! That's not what's going on! I just don't know if what you're suggesting is a good idea is all."

"Why not?"

"What do you mean, why not? Come on, Bill! One day you're going to want to get Sookie back. And being able to tell her that the two of us never slept together is going to go a long way in making that happen." Tara advised him.

"You really don't get it, do you? It is a shame that we never got the time to know one another, as two people that loved Sookie. Otherwise you'd know me about as well as you know Sam Merlotte." Bill said.

"What is your point?"

"My point is, I don't 'marry' easily. I married you to become a father. Something I missed. There will be no 'going back to Sookie'. I am the Head of the Vampire Authority' and the King of Louisiana. Your children, OUR children have to be raised in accordance to what our positions are."

"Bill, I don't have a position!"

"You're the Queen of Louisiana, through marriage. I have not pushed you to make a platform for yourself, because of your pregnancy and all that has happened. But once the twins are born, we will be more in the public eye than we already are. And in order to be successful, I do not feel as if it will be enough for us to 'pretend' to be husband and wife. Tonight proved that."

"Tonight didn't prove anything! I just needed some air. I didn't run off to meet Eric. He just showed up at Merlotte's."

"And if we actually took the time to build a real relationship," Bill countered, "the next time you were upset with me, for any reason, you would come to me instead of leaving our home to seek solace from someone else."

"Look, can we take a rain check on the dinner?" Tara asked. She didn't want to go into any of this right now. And this 'Bill wanting to get to know her better thing' was something rather unexpected. She had just never expected such a request from him.

Bill knew not to push any harder. He nodded and left the room, closing her door behind her. He then went down stairs and returned to his private office, where fellow Chancellor Kibwe was still waiting. He had been the person Bill had been meeting with before, when Tara and Jessica had interrupted them before.

"Do you have the warrant?" Bill asked. Chancellor Kibwe nodded.

"It is on your desk. If you do not mind me asking, is everything alright with the queen?"

Bill didn't even look up, as he signed Nora Gainsborough's death warrant.

"Everything is fine. Tara's pregnancy is a first of it's kind. She is just overly emotional. You are fine with carrying out the sentence?" Bill asked him.

"It won't be a problem."

"I would ask for more proof, but that video doesn't lie." Bill sighed. Nora had been seen, on video, taking one of the rings that both Tara and the late Russell Edgington had used, to travel in and out of other realities. They proved to be very dangerous after awhile, and Bill had had both rings locked up.

Bill had to assume that she stole a ring to give to Eric Northman.

"Are we bringing in Northman?" Chancellor Kibwe asked.

"No. I think he's going to have to learn the hard way that whatever he is planning now, has consequences. And when he loses his sister, that fact will be made clear to him." Bill said.

Bill's cellphone and the front door bell, rang at the same time. Bill answered the cell. The number was from the Bon Temps Police Department.

"Hello?" Bill answered, as he saw Chancellor Kibwe, get up out of his chair and walk to his office door.

"Bill? It's Sookie! They know about Debbie! The Pelts got the information from Alcide and he used one of those rings! Bill, you have to help me and Eric and you have to watch out for Alcide! Bill, he's planning on doing something..."

Bill didn't hear what Sookie was saying. Chancellor Kibwe had opened the door to Alcide Herveaux. But it wasn't the fact that he was looking at Alcide now that bothered him.

It was the look that had passed between Kibwe and Alcide. Bill hung up.

"What is this?" he asked casually. But Kibwe pulled out a vial of blood from inside his suit pocket. Bill's eyes widened!

"Is that the Lillith blood? You took it from Authority Headquarters? Answer me, Chancellor Kibwe? Did you remove that vial from headquarters?"

Kibwe smiled.

"Yes, and had it condensed into a powder. And it works a little differently...Chancellor Compton." Kibwe answered, LOOKING AT ALCIDE!

Bill was about to ask what the hell was going on, when Chancellor Kibwe opened he vial, blew red dust into the air, then stepped back, as both Bill Compton and Alcide Herveaux, were swept into the swirling red powder. Both men coughed violently, before switching bodies with one another!

Bill Compton, who was now in Alcide's body, was unconscious on the floor! Alcide, who was now in Bill's body, stood over 'himself', along with Kibwe.

"You've got Eric's sister's death warrant?" Alcide asked.

Kibwe nodded.

"She will die by the true death, before she can speak of her part in this." Kibwe agreed. Alcide smiled.

"When he awakens he'll find that his vamp self has been repressed. He'll be mostly wolf." Alcide noted.

"So Eric Northman won't have any control over him." Kibwe reasoned. "And now, I expect you to keep your end."

Alcide smirked!

"I have no interest in being Head Of The Authority. I'll come in tomorrow and make you Head Chancellor."

"And tonight?" Kibwe asked smiling. But he knew.

"Tonight, as Bill Compton, 'King Of Louisiana', I'm going to fuck my wife." Alcide folding his arms. "Now get HIM the hell out of here before Tara sees him."

Yes, Alcide Herveaux had finally taken Sam Merlotte's earlier advice to heart. He still wanted Tara and this time, he planned to be more 'Eric Northman, than Eric was himself'.

Meanwhile, Tara walked down the stairs in a short, pink robe. She had thought about what Bill had said earlier. Maybe going out to dinner wasn't such a bad idea after all. Once she was on the first floor, she walked over to Bill's study door and knocked.

"Bill? Are you in there?"

Alcide glanced towards the door, then looked at Kibwe.

"Take him out that side door. Lock him up at the Authority Headquarters."

"You know, of course, that if Sookie Stackhouse reads your mind..."

"I'm not going anywhere near her. And the Pelts will make sure she stays in jail." Alcide said. "Now get a move on with him."

"Bill?" Tara knocked again. "I can hear you in there!"

Alcide waited until Kibwe finally took Bill out, then opened the study doors and reached for Tara.

But Tara backed back a bit.

"Uh, yeah, okay, Mr. Grabby. Look, I thought about what you said. Maybe we can try getting to know one another better tonight. I'll take you up on going out to dinner."

Alcide raised a brow. Getting to know one another better? Did that mean Bill and Tara hadn't fucked yet? How did you ask a question that you were already supposed to know?

"So...we're both going to go up and change together? In one room?"

Tara eyed him.

"Uh no! You have your room and I have mine. Look, this is just dinner! No fucking tonight, okay?"

DAMN! Alcide seethed inside! Bill Compton had let Tara get away with not fucking him? What the hell kind of pussy was he anyway? Then again, Alcide thought, Bill had never appeared to have much liking for Tara anyway. This information made him more sure than ever, that what he was doing was the right thing.

Tara was a little thrown when Bill pulled her to him and kissed her soundly on the mouth, before letting her go.

"Bill..."

"Tara, a kiss is hardly fucking, alright? We'll get dressed and go someplace nice."

Tara just nodded, then turned to walk upstairs. Something had been off just now and she knew what it was. Bill was always coolly polite. Distant almost, which was fine, since this marriage was in name only. But she had felt something from him just now. Something that said that Bill Compton wasn't really willing to wait long for them to get to know one another.

Meanwhile, Alcide decided that Tara and him were going to Fangtasia. They didn't have food there, granted, but that fuck Northman could see that his chances of getting Tara back were nil to none.