A/N: This chapter is a little shorter than the others. I have an idea for it, but I just need to work out the specifics in my head. You'll understand when you read. Sorry this took so long to get out, but combine writer's block, lack of motivation, and sleep loss (damn new shift), and I'm surprised I got anything here at all. Charlaine owns the characters... and after reading the things I've read about Deadlocked, I hope she knows what she's doing with them.

I left Felipe's suite early that morning and with enough time to pack. I just threw some generic clothes in my luggage, things that I could get away with anywhere I went – jeans, t-shirts, and sweaters mostly. Anything else I needed I could just buy. I felt dawn approach as I zipped the last bag closed and I'd had just enough time to get to the bed before I collapsed into my day-death.

When I rose that evening, I was thankful that I no longer had to drug my body into alertness with caffeine. I continued right where I left off. I pulled on a long sleeved t-shirt and jeans before I got my voucher, passport and phone, shoving them into my purse, mentally went over what I had packed, decided I had exactly what I needed, and met Felipe and Miranda in the hall as they wheeled their own luggage toward the foyer where the chauffeur was waiting. "I hope you don't mind me tagging along. We're all going to the same place, after all."

Felipe gave me his charming smile. "Having more time with you before I go on this tedious errand is definitely a treat, my dear. Have you decided where you're going?"

I took his offered arm. "I'm just anxious to travel, stretch my legs a little. As much as I like Las Vegas, it can get a bit... repetitive."

He laughed in his booming way. "Imagine how if feels to have been here since the Forties! At least there were some characters around back then to make things interesting when I started here. In the past twenty or thirty years, it has become dreadfully dull. I was happy to add New Orleans to my kingdom just for somewhere new to go! But never mind all that," he said quickly, as if to keep me from thinking about my missing home state. "You will be getting to see parts of the world that you were never able to do more than dream of. By the way, you may want to get some cash for traveler's checks. Safer than cash and easier to replace. Credit cards are not always accepted overseas."

We spent the drive to the airport in downtime. It was truly remarkable how peaceful it was just to sit still and let my mind empty. When the limo stopped at the departures gate, we waited until the chauffeur had unloaded our bags and my travel coffin, just as a precaution, before exiting.

When we entered, I quickly scanned the Anubis departures and times. The first flight leaving the country was for London. That sounded good. I exchanged the voucher for the boarding passes I would need. It was a flight with a stopover in Dallas and I would be landing in London the following afternoon, so I would have to get into my coffin before the plane left DFW, but I could deal with it. Felipe approved of the destination I had chosen, even recommending some attractions that he thought I would appreciate.

Miranda excused herself after getting her own boarding pass, saying she needed to shop for a gift for their hostess and, while I appreciated that they were trying to keep the reason and destination of their travel to themselves, it was pointless around me. Since I had to board before they did for their flight into Tulsa, I went to hug Felipe goodbye.

He kissed the top of my head quickly. "Thank you for last night, Sookie. It was everything I had been imagining for years. You are a jewel. The sheriff was a fool to give you up." It felt like a knife to my chest, but I played my poker face. There was an odd look of triumph sparkling in his eyes. I wanted to know why, so I tilted my head up slightly with my lips pursed, silently asking for a better kiss then on my hair.

I dropped my shields the moment his lips touched mine. Agony, torment, seeing Eric on his knees with bloody tears as Felipe taunted him. I was fortunate that I no longer needed to breathe, or I would have gasped at the utter shock of it. I smiled weakly at my maker, telling him I would miss him as an excuse for my sudden sadness. He kissed my cheek and I saw a flash of bottle after bottle being filled with his blood. I was dizzy with the revelations falling over me.

I used the cash changer to get traveler's checks for various amounts equaling ten thousand dollars and slid them into my wallet. Felipe nodded his head as I made my way through security and headed to my gate.

Once seated, I tried to piece together the nuggets of information that had inadvertently fallen into my lap. Eric hadn't stoically walked out of the palace, leaving me behind. He looked like he was in a kind of agony he had never known. Why?

And the bottles of blood... what was that about? Felipe had told me that he "re-turned" me once Eric had given me up. As old as they both were, it was no surprise that they would both rise before me. But would that be enough time for, if what I'd been told was true, Felipe to threaten Eric and get to me to start draining me before I rose? I supposed it was possible. I had almost three hours in the air to think over the options.

By the time the plane touched down in Dallas, I thought I had it pretty well figured out. One of his guards grabbed me while I was dead for the day and drained me, refilling me with the bottles. That would be a reason why Eric would be upset. He wouldn't feel my tie to him since he would have been replaced as my maker and that bond would be gone. He would automatically jump to the conclusion that I was dead, and that Felipe had done it.

But Felipe had shown me Eric deserting me with no echo that outed the lie. I could only come to the conclusion that he intentionally thought a story of fiction at me and I bought it. That was the only thing that made sense. I had spent three Goddamn years wondering why things didn't make sense because everything I had believed was based on a falsehood. I'd never felt more naïve or foolish.

I wandered around the airport for three hours, killing time waiting for my connecting flight. I starting thinking of the one command that Felipe had never had to reissue, but had also never rescinded. I could not contact family, friends, Eric, or Pam. I started thinking.

I left my bags and cashed in some of the traveler's checks for a car rental. London be damned, I wanted the truth and I found a loophole. I was going home.

I navigated the Expedition down the dark, empty interstates. I bought a temporary travel coffin before leaving the big city, just in case. Bon Temps was only a three hour drive from Dallas, but that was going at normal speed limits. Felipe had never forbidden me from going to my hometown. Why should he? I had been more than content to live with the lie he fed me than go home and face the "bastard" that had deserted me.

The first person I needed to find was Jason. I knew Eric and Pam were both in Oklahoma, so my brother would be the best immediate source of information. How would I get in touch with him without contacting him directly or through someone that I was friends with.

Merlotte's. A plan was forming in my head. When I pulled the anonymous SUV in the parking lot, I placed names with the vehicles I recognized. I saw the dark green sedan I had hoped would be there. I grabbed the next random customer heading in. A quick glamour and I leaned against the side of the bar in the dark to wait.

"What the hell? My car's fine. Dumbass," Danielle grumbled as she turned to go back inside. She and I had been co-workers, but would never be considered friends. I grabbed her arm and she shrieked.

"Danielle, shut up. It's me," I said, stepping into the light.

"S... So... Sookie? You're dead!"

"Perhaps. It doesn't change the fact that I'm standing here. Is Jason inside?"

"No... Fuck, how the hell are you standing here?"

Time to turn on the blitz again. I caught her eyes. "Does Jason still live in our parent's old house?" Vacant nod. Good. "Is anyone living in my old house?" Negative. "Has it been sold to anyone while I've been gone?" Negative. Perfect. "In thirty minutes, call Jason and tell him that you think someone is squatting at Gran's house because you saw lights on when you passed by on your way in." She nodded her understanding and I released her to go back to work. I couldn't contact my brother, but I could sure as hell use an intermediary to force him to come to me. And I still owned my house!

I drove to the Expedition to Hummingbird Lane and my heart soared at the sight of the old farmhouse. Someone had been taking care of it in my absence and I was grateful. I found my old spare key and let myself in.

It had a musty, unused smell. I opened the windows to circulate the stale air and flipped on a single light that could be seen from the road before continuing my exploration. I checked the hidey-hole that Bill had made in my old closet while we had dated. It was still there, but... better. Rather than being directly in the dirt, It had been deepened, lengthened, and lined in smooth planks of cedar. The bottom was padded with memory foam. I took a deep breath. Besides the smell of the wood, there was only one other clearly identifiable scent. Eric. My heart broke a little bit more, but this time for him.

I sat in downtime again, trying to organize my thoughts while I waited for the sound of my brother's pickup on the still nicely maintained driveway. I popped up at the rumble of a diesel engine getting closer. I steeled myself for the first sight of my brother in years.

We hadn't been close for a long time, but or relationship had been healing after Crystal's death. We bonded even further when he escorted me to a Were pack meeting, then fed Pam after her... I guess "uncle" attacked her in a fit of madness. He had been planning on settling down with Michele and I truly missed him.

He opened the kitchen and I heard his shotgun cock. "Okay you motherfucker, come on out. This here's private property and I have no problem shootin' ya for trespassin'."

I forgot the damn shotguns. I really didn't feel like spending the night plucking buckshot out of my skin, so I zipped to a dark corner so he wouldn't shoot first and ask questions later. "Jason, it's me. Put the damn gun down!"

"Who's there? Show yourself."

"I'll come out as soon as the gun is on the floor. I won't hurt you."

I heard the gun being placed at his feet, still close enough where a guy with his reflexes could get to it quickly. My reflexes were better. I zipped and kicked it away before I let him see me stand still.

"Holy shit... Sookie?" His voice was a gasping whisper.

"Yeah, Jase, it's me."

I couldn't say anything else before I was enveloped in the biggest hug I think he'd ever given me and I felt his tears drip onto my shoulder.

"Is it really you? You ain't a ghost or nothin', right?" he asked, wiping his cheeks, embarrassed at his show of emotion.

"No, it's really me. Why are you so surprised?" I had to know what the story was.

"Eric came back from Nevada and said that you'd been killed, like, really killed, as punishment. I almost staked the fucker myself for lettin' you get killed, and he all but begged me to do it. Said Pam an' them other vamps wouldn't get punished if he was killed. I couldn't do it though. Knew ya'd kill me if I did it."

I hugged him again. For once he showed some sense. If he had killed Eric, Pam, not I, would have killed him, and then I'd just be coming back to another grave and a seriously pissed off former sister. I sat at the table and proceeded to explain to Jason what I thought had happened.

For someone whose world view hadn't extended beyond state lines, Jason had gained a profound understanding of the supernatural world. His whole world had been turned topsy-turvy in the past few years: cousin to a fangbanger-turned-vampire by the Vampire Queen at the time, uncle/cousin to a telepathic child that he wasn't aware of, brother to a telepathic part-Fairy vampire that had been turned twice, and a werepanther that was part-Fairy himself. The two of us were a menagerie of supes by ourselves. He had a remarkable comprehension for my explanation, especially considering that I had only really figured out what had happened in the past few hours.

Jason caught me up on the supe gossip of the area. Arlene had been paroled from jail after her plan to kill me on a crucifix and immediately packed up the kids and what money she could get and fled to Wyoming (total vampire population: 4. Their population had doubled in the past few years.). Alcide was still unmarried, conflicted between his instincts telling him to breed and his personal belief that a child shouldn't have to deal with learning to shift on top of regular puberty. Sam and Jannalynn were still together, surprisingly. Maybe the couple that helps a waitress throw a deranged shifter through a fairy portal together stays together. Claude and Dermot were back living at Claude's house in Monroe. The mention of the fairies brought a long forgotten artifact to mind. I couldn't believe that I had forgotten it for so long. I wondered if I could remember all the rules to the cluviel dor... if it was still even in my house.

Now, what was I to do about the clusterfuck of a situation I found myself in? I couldn't contact Eric or Pam. I honestly didn't know how that would go if I did. Jason told me that Eric had been the one taking care of my house, and that he had spent almost a full year there, restoring different facets of the house or the property. That was the reason the hidey-hole had been made more comfortable. He only went into Fangtasia when his sheriff duties required him to be present. My brother told me that if it were possible for a vampire to suffer from depression (which had been proven by an ancient vampire in Dallas that went by Godfrey), then Eric used my home as a salve for his wounds while he grieved.

It was about an hour before dawn when Jason convinced me to let him go. He had to work later and wanted a little bit of sleep before his alarm went off. I kissed his cheek and was amazed by not a movie so much as bright, fast swirling colors of happiness. He really wasn't thinking of anything except being happy that I wasn't really dead.

Before I went to ground, I went to my old room. Although dusty and musty, everything was orderly. I went to my vanity and looked through the drawers. I could only hope that if Eric had searched through them, he wouldn't think my priceless Fairy artifact was anything more than what it appeared: almost like an antique powder compact if I had to compare it to anything. The fact that the furniture in the room was dusty, unlike the living room and kitchen, gave me hope. I found the intentionally dusty green disc and wiped off the residue with the hem of my shirt to bask in its sheen yet again. The power it contained had not lessened since the last time I held it.

I carried it with me as I went room to room, making sure everything was locked and that all the lights were out. I heard a wooshing sound come from the woods and I immediately made plans to give my brother the house and for him to issue me (and Eric and Pam) an invitation. Since the house was owned by a vampire, an invitation was no longer required to enter.

"How are you here, Sookie?" Bill asked as he zipped onto my porch, only now my eyes could follow his progress. "Eric said that His Majesty ended you as a punishment for making an unauthorized child."

I waved him in to give him the Cliff's Notes version of what I was almost certain of. He sniffed the air around me. "You stink of the king. You've had more than just his blood, haven't you?"

I narrowed my eyes and glared at him. "I don't see how that's your business anymore now than it was when I was with Eric."

His lip curled in a sneer. "Do you know where Eric is this week?"

I matched his expression. "Marrying Freyda. Yes, my maker will be in attendance. Were you hoping to hurt me with that information, Bill? Still so petty."

"You were a toy for him to play with, Sookie. He didn't waste any time in getting his blood and sex from the vermin at his club once he returned from Nevada."

He was trying to hurt me. "He has needs, Bill. I seem to remember giving you permission to feed on others as long as I didn't know them or have to see it in their thoughts. He couldn't feed off me anyway. He would have been taking donors whether I was here or not. I've been feeding on donors at the palace. As for the sex, well, he was monogamous until he thought I was finally dead. That's a hell of a lot more than I can say for you." I glanced over his shoulder at the wall clock that was, miraculously, still running and set correctly. "Dawn will be here soon. Please leave, Bill. I have some things I need to take care of before sunrise."

He looked at me with a mixture of pity and fury before he zipped out my door to his side of the cemetery. I pulled my little artifact from the back pocket I had hidden it in when I heard Bill approaching. I had more important things on my mind than Bill Compton's ego.

I rubbed my hand in circles over the smooth jade top, savoring the smoothness. I tried to remember what Mr. Cataliades had told/warned me about. I couldn't do anything like end world hunger; it had to be personal. I couldn't change a part of me, like my telepathy or, now, my vampirism. It could only be something for me or someone I loved. If I wanted, I could kill with it. But I had to weigh the long-term consequences. Just because something could benefit me in the short term, the long term effects could be disastrous.

I carried the cluviel dor with me into the hidey-hole while I weighed my options until dawn arrived and took my consciousness.

A/N: First, a B-I-G, huge thanks to the Sookieverse Blog for helping me research the Cluviel Dor, because I was NOT kidding when I said I refuse to reread Dead Reckoning. It's an amazing website and I laughed my ass off at the synopses of Season Four True Blood episodes. I really and truly can't wait to get reactions to this chapter. I do try to respond to any review that has questions and/or comments that need an explanation. Please review. This is one story that I am REALLY nervous about because this story initially was a one-shot about Eric dealing with Sookie's turning and death. Kinda went off track, so any questions/comments/opinions are welcomed.