"You're gonna have company soon," James told me as soon as he came outside, exactly one minute after sunset.

"Oh?" I asked, as I stopped sparring with Quinn to talk to him.

"Grandpa ordered me to go check on the water tanks I'm having fitted out for his day suite, and he insisted I take Amelia with me. He didn't tell me why, but I guess he's coming over to argue with you again."

I laughed for a moment at what he called Eric; apparently he even said that to his face sometimes, and I was surprised Eric hadn't killed him yet - especially since James even called him Pops occasionally!

"Didn't you say the fit-out was being done in St. Louis?" Quinn asked, coming over to join us.

"That's 600 miles each way!" I exclaimed. "How long will you and Amelia be gone?"

"Just the night. He's loaning me the Corvette, so he must really want us gone," James said grimly. "Great for us, bad for you, I expect."

"Just how fast are you planning on driving?" I asked, horrified. "No, don't tell me. Amelia has her amulet, and you're a vampire, so you'll be OK. I won't worry about you," I said, trying to convince myself.

Quinn chuckled at me, knowing I would worry about them anyway. He knew how much I hated seeing anyone I care about in danger.

"What are we talking about?" Amelia asked, coming out to join us.

"Wanna go for a drive with me?" James purred, stalking around her as though she were his prey. "Grandpa's loaning me his Corvette for the night, and I'm gonna see if I can make St. Louis and back before morning."

She bit her lip and nodded, staring at him with a naughty look in her eye. She was thinking that if the hood of a very fast car was on offer, she wasn't going to wait any longer to have sex with him. Then she started wondering how much it would irritate Eric if he got his precious car back with assorted bodily fluids all over the leather seats, figuring it was fair revenge for those girls who turned up at Merlotte's.

"Don't you dare!" I yelled at her.

Quinn was wondering what I 'overheard', but James was staring at me like I'd lost my mind - he still wasn't used to my telepathy, especially since I couldn't hear his thoughts so I mostly managed to seem normal around him.

Amelia just laughed at me. "All's fair," she shrugged.

"Yes, but starting a war with Eric is a really bad idea," I told her, trying to convey exactly how bad an idea it was with my glare. It didn't work at all. "Your funeral," I sighed. "And I do mean that literally."

"Amelia, Eric's on his way over," Quinn changed the subject, "and we all suspect he's coming to take revenge on Sookie and I for getting back together, since he thinks he owns her. Can we do anything with the wards to make that difficult for him?"

"Hell yeah!" she exclaimed, her mind already full of spells she might cast. "One sanctuary spell, coming right up," she grinned.

She headed straight inside then, planning the spell in detail in her head.

"She can do that?" James asked. "Sanctuary spells are pretty hardcore."

I just smiled and nodded, proud that my best friend was becoming such a powerful witch. We all knew the fairy magic books Niall left had helped her a lot, letting her in on tricks and techniques no other witch had ever known. She had learned her lesson after changing Bob into a cat for so long and wielded her new power carefully. If she said she could do the spell, she meant she'd done it a dozen times before to practice.

A few moments after she left, Bill appeared right in front of me.

"Bill!" I squeaked, startled that he had seemingly materialized out of thin air.

"Sookie," he grunted, looking ever-so-slightly unhappy. "Eric ordered me here. He said I must tell you something."

"OK..." I mumbled, knowing nothing Eric sent Bill here to tell me would be pleasant.

"On the night Eric was punished," he began, never quite meeting my eyes. "When he closed the bond... the message I passed on was not accurate."

"I know," I told him. "Quinn overheard what Pam said, the message Eric asked her to pass on. I know you softened the blow. Thank you."

"No, I..." he looked ashamed; properly ashamed. Not just slightly ashamed like vampires usually did - this was a full facial expression. "It was not a message for you. Eric told me to fuck off, not you."

Then he disappeared into thin air, just as suddenly as he had appeared.

It took me a few moments to realize what he just told me: he passed on a message from Eric that was meant for him, to give the impression Eric split up with me. For a moment, I couldn't believe he would do something so dishonest and under-handed, but then I remembered what I'd once been told: vampires are all twisty and deceptive, without exception. Bill saw a chance to cause trouble between Eric and I, so he took it. I could guess his motives; he wanted Eric out of the way so I'd date him again. For a moment, I was glad he helped split Eric and I up; dating someone as upfront and honest as Quinn was such a refreshing change; so different from life with vampires.

When I looked around to see where Bill had gone, Quinn was right beside me but James had disappeared too.

"Well, that was different," Quinn said. "I didn't know, by the way. I heard what Pam said, but I didn't hear what Eric told her in the background."

"I know." I had been eavesdropping to his thoughts that night, so if he'd heard anything else, I would've known immediately.

Then Bill and James both appeared in front of me, startling me so much I almost jumped out of my skin.

"Stop doing that!" I snapped. "Both of you."

"Sorry, Sook," James apologized. "I think he owes you an explanation. For what it's worth, I told Eric you were upset about the message Bill passed on and said he should call you, but when he didn't, I took that to mean he'd had a brain fart and decided to let you go. The moron."

I laughed then, amazed anyone could get away with calling Eric a moron, even behind his back.

"I did too," Quinn conceded. "I told him you'd been crying about it, to see if he'd do anything... just to be sure he meant it, you know?"

But that wasn't really why he'd done it. The real reason was, it upset him so much to see me hurting he'd do anything to make me feel better - even help Eric and I move past a misunderstanding. I just stared at him in shock for a few seconds, while he stood there trying to figure out what else to say. He decided I must be upset about him telling Eric, and was about to explain it was just a one-line PS: at the end of an email about my training, and offer to show me if I wanted. I stepped forward and hugged him before he could.

"Thank you," I murmured against his chest.

Then I turned my attention back to Bill, moving away from Quinn to look directly at him. He was staring at his feet, refusing to look at me at all.

"Why?" was all I could think to ask. "Why did you do that? Why did you lie to me?"

"I was angry with him," Bill admitted. "He speaks to me as though I am... er, a pile of manure."

I caught a brief flicker of something in Quinn's thoughts, something he kept behind one of those closed doors in his mind. All I could tell was he agreed that Bill was 'manure', because Bill was passing on information about me to someone. I resolved to grill him about it later, to find out exactly what was going on. For now, I had to deal with my ex and his unexpected revelation.

"So, what, you thought 'I'm mad at Eric so I'll tell Sookie he dumped her'?" I snapped. "Didn't you hear me crying about it all that night?"

"Yes," he admitted, "but it was for the best. Eric is not right for you, you should be with someone who treats you like a lady." He glared at Quinn, who glared right back at him.

I snorted and rolled my eyes. I wasn't getting back together with him, not ever, and I didn't understand how he could hold out any hope that I might. I could forgive a lot of things, but I could never forget. Could never forget that he seduced me under orders from his Queen. Could never forget him leaving me for his Maker, without bothering to say goodbye. Could never forget him telling me to go to Eric 'if' he didn't come back, as though I were a possession to be passed around. Could never forget what happened in the trunk of that car in Jackson.

But more than all that, I couldn't forget what it had been like when we were together. He was my first love, and I didn't know any better... So I let him feed on others because he said he had to, even though I hated the thought of him with anyone else... So I let him be rough with me during sex, sometimes so rough I was sore for a week or more afterwards... So I put up with it when he refused my advances because he was working on his database, thinking there was something wrong with me for wanting him so much. For a second I felt the sting of that all over again. I thought of all the times I went to his place, aching to make love to him, only to be ignored or chastised, and hoped that would never happen again. It hurt to offer myself to someone like that and find that I wasn't wanted.

On a whim, I took Quinn's hand for a second and silently asked him, Um, when are the times I shouldn't hassle you for sex? You know, when you're too busy or caught up in your work or just not interested that day... how do I know when I should just leave you alone?

He spun around to stare at me, his mind having a small meltdown as he tried to make sense of what I just asked him. The idea of turning down sex with me, ever, was so ridiculous to him that he actually burst out laughing, certain I was joking. When he saw the look on my face and realized I was serious, he stopped abruptly. He quickly figured this might not be about him, though.

Someone turned down sex with you? he asked, utterly bewildered.

I gave a tiny nod.

Holy shit. Are they insane?

I gave a slight shrug, but my eyes flicked to Bill for a fraction of a second.

HE turned you down, Quinn deduced, then realized how that related to the conversation at hand. Is that what he means by 'treating you like a lady'? Refusing to make love to you? Damn, if that's what I'd have to do to be a gentleman, being a roughneck suits me fine.

I couldn't help but smile at that.

I can't imagine ever turning you down, and I'd bet he regrets that a helluva lot, now he can't have you any more.

He was thinking about being in hospital with two broken legs, in so much pain he could barely move, and still wanting me. He had been glad we could kiss at least, but even in that state, he wanted more. Then he was thinking about all the time he spent kicking himself after we split up, realizing he could've delegated various work duties to come be with me. Apparently he whiled away many hours, daydreaming about what might've happened if he'd skipped particular events and spent the time with me instead. To his credit, he didn't just think about sex; his fantasies included going on a wonderful date (and then have hours of sex), or cooking dinner together (and then having hours of sex), or going out dancing (and then having hours of sex); then cuddling me all night (and having hours more sex in the morning).

Just as Quinn's thoughts started to get me really, uh, interested, Bill cleared his throat loudly, reminding us he was still there. I sighed loudly and turned my attention back to him.

"You thought you could win me back," I summarized, "by telling me Eric had split up with me. That's why you did it."

"I did it for you," Bill insisted. "He is not right for you. Neither of them are right for you. I am the only-"

"NO!" I shouted, suddenly incensed. "That's not for you to decide! I say who's good enough for me, not you."

Bill backed down then. "I am sorry," he said stiffly. "I caused you unnecessary sadness. You have my apologies."

He looked like he wanted to run away again, but whatever James said to make him return kept him riveted to the spot now.

"Why didn't Eric just tell me that himself?" I wondered aloud. "He was here last night, he could've explained then."

"He probably thought it'd sound like an excuse," James offered. "That it'd be more convincing coming from him." He gestured at Bill.

"Or he enjoys making me look bad," Bill muttered.

I stared at him in disbelief. "You think Eric's making you look bad? You're the one who lied to me, he didn't make you do that."

"I did what is best for you," he sniffed. "You will thank me for this, one day, when you see what Eric is really -"

"Just leave," I ordered, not willing to listen to any more of his justifications.

He hesitated for just a second, as though he were about to say something else, then disappeared.

"Pops really does choose some crappy messengers," James grumbled. "What was he thinking, getting Bill to spy on you for him? He knows Bill's agenda; he knows what a deceptive creep that guy is... and he still gets to be the official messenger, just because he's older, and he's the Area Investigator." His voice rose an octave in contempt as he said those last few words.

I stared at him. "Bill's been spying on me?"

"I thought you knew," James back-pedaled. "I thought you worked it out from the way he hangs around and asks you all those questions... tries to find out when you'll be alone, and what you've been doing, and all of that."

I closed my eyes in humiliation. I had been tricked again by Bill, thinking he wanted to be friends when he was really here grilling me so he could tell Eric everything I said... and perhaps someone else, too. How bad did you have to be, for other vampires to call you a 'deceptive creep'? I wasn't sure I wanted to know.

Not everything, I realized a moment later. He hadn't told Eric about my nightmares, and I wondered what else he kept from his boss.

Then it finally hit me how much Bill's revelation complicated everything. Eric hadn't split up with me; Bill deliberately misled me to get revenge on Eric and try to win me back. That pissed me off enormously. Then I realized that even if Eric had a good reason for warding Fangtasia to keep me out, the girls at Merlotte's were still enough to end things over. He swore he didn't send them to me deliberately, and I believed him (although I was probably an idiot to do so) but still... the whole time I had been his bonded, he had been meeting most of his nutritional needs elsewhere, leaving me alone and lonely. I glanced at Quinn for a second and basked in the happiness of having a man who was really, truly mine; a man who wasn't sticking his fangs (and other parts) in other women all the time. Maybe this isn't so complicated after all, I thought.

Then I felt Eric approaching through our bond, and immediately knew things were far more complicated than I'd even begun to fathom.