A/N: Well, I bought, started, and finished "Deadlocked" on May 1 when it came out. I will say that, although I am suffering a little PTSD over what Mrs. Harris is doing to my favorite fictional characters, I am doing my best to stay true to MY story as I had it imagined. There are no "Deadlocked" spoilers here (and I have double and triple checked). Let me just say that I had a lovely dream where my wish to know Sookie's wish was granted and I got to work on this. This is WAY shorter than the other chapters of this story, but it's a transition chapter and still over 3k words. I'm sure I'll be forgiven. This is one of my rare unbetaed stories, so all mistakes are on me. Enjoy and see you at the bottom.

SPOV

I rose at sundown with a plan. I didn't have the slightest idea of whether it would work or not, but there were so many wrongs to people I loved that I wanted to correct. I didn't know how to contact Mr. Cataliades since I last saw him running away from gray blurs. But I knew for a fact that there was a fairy portal in my woods. How could I use that if I couldn't contact friends or family?

I slid my fairy gift under the thick layer of memory foam in my day-space, then headed out to the woods and paced near the little shimmering mirage. The only fairies I knew in this realm or the other were all relatives of mine. Shit. This was going to be harder than I thought. I needed my great-grandfather.

I remembered what seemed like eons ago, when I'd been tortured. Bill had some way to contact Niall. Was Bill still a friend? Not the way he'd been since I was turned. He'd been a serious pain in my ass when I wasn't avoiding him completely. I started off in the direction of his house when I heard a loud pop behind me. I jumped and spun, fangs down, ready to defend myself.

"Calm yourself, child. I mean you no harm."

I wanted more than anything to hug the Fairy Prince, but didn't trust myself to get that close to him. "Niall, how did you..."

"Know you needed to see me? You may be vampire, granddaughter, but you still have your fairy spark and our blood still resides in your veins, no matter how little. How can I be of assistance?"

"Do you have a little bit of time? I have some hypothetical questions that I need answers to pretty desperately."

He nodded and followed me to the house. I pulled a disgusting O negative True Blood out of the refrigerator and apologized for not having anything to offer him. He waited patiently while I warmed it in the microwave and smiled when I sat across from him. Thank God he could conceal his scent.

"So, I've done some reading in Las Vegas. Felipe had a book on fairy lore and legends and I came across something called a 'cluviel dor'. What do you know about those?"

His expression went from one of bland curiosity to avid interest immediately. "Well, child, you have definitely latched onto a powerful and fascinating object, just in reading. There hasn't been one in this realm for centuries that I know of; I haven't heard of one even in our realm in memorable history. What about that particular object grabbed your interest?"

"The book said that it was a love token of some kind? It grants the recipient a wish for someone they love?"

He nodded, his dark eyes glittery. "And self love counts. You would be able to use the wish for yourself, if you wanted," he said. "In theory, or course." If he were human, he would have winked.

I wanted to know the limitations. "So, if one were to make a wish using this, can it alter time? I know that my telepathy is a given; it's not going to go away no matter what."

He grinned, his teeth gone slightly pointy. "It sounds like you are leaving the basis of hypothetical, Child."

I closed my eyes and nodded slightly before sipping on my bland and metallic blood substitute. "Fintan gave one to Gran. I have it hidden very well and I don't want to die protecting it, but I will if necessary."

He nodded again as his face smoothed into its usual serene lines. "I wouldn't dream of trying to take it from you. If Adele never saw fit to use it and passed it on to you, it is yours. The magic belongs to you."

"Can I wish to be human again?"

"I suppose it would depend on the form of the wish. You asked about time. Are you wanting to return to a time when you were a human?"

I nodded my head again. "I want to go back to before I met Bill Compton. I want to go back with all the knowledge that I have now. I can save Gran. I can save Hadley, at least from her final death. I can keep Jason from going to jail or getting involved with the were-panthers. And I can avoid getting into a relationship with Bill."

He leaned in and looked into my eyes. "And the Viking?"

It felt like I was choking. "I don't know. Right now, knowing what I know... I just don't know."

He leaned back and templed his fingers. "All the reasons you want to return to the past are for love. Make the decision of a date and word your desire carefully. Explain your wish and the magic of the cluviel dor will take care of your request."

He stood and kissed my cheek. "I wish you well, Granddaughter. It may be some time before we see each other again." With a loud POP, he was gone from my kitchen.

I sat at the old table and thought back. Sure, there were other things in my life I would change if I could. My molestation at the hands of Uncle Bartlett. The drowning death of my parents. Being teased and bullied mercilessly by cruel children for an ability that I had no control over. But where things had started going all pear-shaped was in June about five years ago. I still remember the date that I met Bill Fucking Compton and it turned my world upside down.

It had been about ten days after meeting him that I met Eric. I hadn't lied to Niall when I said that I didn't know what to do when it came to him. Would it be better to go to him without Bill's interference, knowing what I know about him now? Knowing that Bill was sent by Sophie-Ann to seduce me and deliver me to her as her personal telepath? Knowing that, without Bill's interference, Gran would have lived and could possibly still be alive? There were so many variables that I had to think on.

I had a few more hours before sunrise. I wasn't going to use the cluviel dor without thinking of all the ramifications of what it would do. I pulled my little jade trinket from its hiding place and slid it back into my pocket before heading out into the yard. I strolled at human speed to the cemetery at the property line between Stackhouse and Compton land. I cleared weeds off the graves of parents before moving to kneel before Gran's headstone.

I leaned forward to rest my forehead against the cold marble and let my bloody tears slide down my cheeks. How many ways my life would be different if she had lived... I couldn't even imagine. I would give anything to wrap my arms around her once more and kiss her soft, wrinkled cheek.

The ground fell away as the overwhelming sorrow took me over and I was suddenly gazing at the tree tops. Damn it. I hovered for a moment and looked around. Finding northwest, I took advantage of the unexpected gift and headed into Shreveport.

I touched down in the shadows of the mostly closed shopping center with a full parking lot again. I guessed Victor's place had closed down upon his final death. I could hear KDED flowing out the open doors of Fangtasia and saw the line of leather-, latex-, and PVC-clad fangbangers in a line waiting for admittance. A vampire I wasn't familiar with was working the door and he seemed rather put out by the job.

I made a decision about what I was going to do, but I wanted to check myself, one last time. If the wish went the way I wanted, this visit would have no consequence. It was something I wanted to do while I still had the supernatural abilities.

I zipped through the employee entrance, directly into Eric's office. The smell of him was overwhelming. I could smell various blood types and sex on various surfaces, but they were simply notes to the exotic, somewhat sea-like, cold scent of Eric himself. I could wrap myself in that scent and feel at peace. I stealthily crept down the hall and saw his empty throne on the stage and my chest felt empty. The last piece of the puzzle was complete. I knew what I was going to do.

There was just enough time for me to get back to Bon Temps and take shelter from the sunrise. I pulled the hatch closed over me and, for the first time in what seemed like a VERY long time, I looked forward to the sun setting.

When I came back to life that night, I sat on my porch swing and watched the sky darken from the purples and oranges of the sunset to the pitch darkness. Once the sky was full dark and the twinkling of millions of stars could be seen, I went into the woods near the fairy portal. I cleared a spot of leaves and sat on the hard ground. It just seemed appropriate to use the wish here. Holding the jade compact to my chest, I vocalized what I wanted.

"I want to be human and return to June 1, 2004. I want everyone that I know and the world as I knew it to be the same as it was at that point in time. I don't want any events altered before that point in time. I want to go back with all my knowledge to this point completely intact."

The compact opened and I smelled the magic as it flowed into me. I suddenly felt as though the sun was rising early and I collapsed on the ground, unconscious.

XxXxXxXxXx

EPOV

This whole event was miserable. While Freyda was visually attractive, her narcissism and greed, mixed with irrational paranoia of others older or in a similar ruling position, made her unappealing to say the least. It was insulting that someone of her age would be considered my equal, much less my superior.

I dutifully went to all the events the would precede our actual marriage ceremony. Galas and balls, meetings with attorneys, conferences to shore up alliances. All of it tedious and monotonous. Pam loyally stood by my side, watching silently. Felipe arrived from Nevada before the final ball with his progeny and second at his palace in Las Vegas. If I never saw the pink stucco architectural nightmare again, it would be too soon. He smirked at me when I bowed. Fuck him.

Night after night, celebrations of some sort took place that I appeared for, as duty required, but I did not participate. I had nothing else to occupy my time; I might as well fulfill what was required of me by my king. Right before the actual ceremony, Pam entered the room where I was finishing my preparations. Her eyes were wide, one hand covering her mouth, the other holding her phone, and bloody trails going down her cheeks.

"Eric... I don't know how to tell you this..." she stuttered, looking around. My child was not known for being speechless. I would have to note this in my calendar.

"Just spit it out, Pamela. I have things that need to be done and am not in the mood for guessing games," I told her as I finished buttoning the shirt I was to wear.

"I just got a call from Jason," she started and I had to school my features not to show shock. The last time I had seen my Sookie's brother was to inform him of her death. He threatened to end me himself and I would have welcomed it. He stopped himself, saying that his sister would hate him.

"And... what did the simpleton have to say for himself?" I selected a tie from my suitcase and wrapped it under my collar.

"He had a friend call to say that someone was squatting at Sookie's house. That lights had been seen from the road when no presence has been there in a couple of years." Her crimson tears continued to flow down her cheeks.

I disregarded the tie and paid closer attention to my child. "Did he find the squatter? Who will we be torturing when we return to Louisiana?"

"Master... it was Sookie."

Vertigo. Walls spinning. If vampires could pass out, I would have. Despite perfect hearing, I made her say it again.

"Jason said it was Sookie. While in Las Vegas those years ago, she was drained while you both were dead and 'refilled' with His Majesty's blood. He became her maker, breaking the child bond that you shared with her."

I shook my head. "That's not possible. She would have contacted someone."

Pam cocked her head. "If he commanded her not to? If she was lied to and told that you gave her up as your punishment? There are many ways that he could have kept her from alerting anyone to her continued existence."

My world was rattled. My gut instinct was to grab the nearest available sword and end de Castro. His manipulations had led to my loss of Sookie and the farce that I was about to participate in as a "groom". The contracts were already signed. Only the ceremony stood in the way. I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to make some sense of the new information. I sat in a leather wingback chair and tried to figure out my next step.

Oh Gods, I was fucking bored. I questioned my sanity every time I looked out that the writhing masses of vermin on the floor. Sure, a bar was a smart move, financially. Taking advantage of the humans' fascination with us since we came out was advantageous, to be sure. But every single night was the same. The willing donors were a plus, but the smell of their unwashed bodies and the taste of the drugs, alcohol, and impurities in their blood barely made it worth it.

Pam watched the door and carded the humans that walked in. She enjoyed scaring the tourists and getting first view of the selections for the nights... diversions. She turned to me with a fangy grin and followed an athletic looking redhead towards her office after alerting Indira that she would need to take her place checking the IDs of the humans.

I stretched and stood, sneering at the worthless bloodbags that came to gawk and be bitten and fucked. Unlife had become immeasurably more tedious since we came out.

SPOV

I came to under the stars in the woods. My hand still held the jade compact. I looked around and I immediately noticed that my night vision was weaker. I stuck a finger in my mouth and tried to lower my fangs. I couldn't... because I didn't have any. I covered my mouth to keep from giggling and rose to my feet. As I got closer to the house, I noticed the light to the kitchen on. I certainly didn't leave that on.

My heart was racing as I approached the laundry room. "Child, what were you doing out in the woods at this time of night?" I hadn't heard that voice in so long and my breath stuttered.

I walked into the living room where she sat in her well-worn armchair. "Just getting some fresh air, Gran. I'm in for the night, though. You know you don't need to wait up for me, right?"

"Oh, I was just finishing up the Danielle Steel I got from the library earlier this week. Don't you worry yourself over me, Sweetheart. Why don't you go on to bed?" She smiled up at me and it was like she was never gone. Barely able to keep a hold on my emotions I went to her to give her her usual goodnight hug and kiss, inhaling her smell, clean linen and Jergen's lotion. I kept myself in control as I went down the hall and remembered to go into my old room instead of the one that Gran currently occupied.

Once I closed the door behind me, I slid down the wall into a ball on the floor. It worked. The magic took me back so I could help take care of the ones I loved. However, I had become accustomed to a far different lifestyle in the past several years and what I had been making as salary and tips at Merlotte's was not going to cut it. Gran also deserved to have some comfort in her golden years.

I thought about my options. Hadley was still going to tell Sophie-Ann about her telepathic freak cousin. Her Majesty was still going to send Bill to "procure" me. Rene would still be murdering fangbangers. Jason would still be a selfish slut and brag about his conquests. No one knew Sam was a shifter, since the Weres were still underground. Colonel Flood was still pack master. And Eric was still Sheriff. Everything at this point would be exactly as I remembered it.

I looked in my closet and found the white dress with red flowers that I had considered my "good date" dress. I knew for a fact that Eric had been fascinated by that dress when I came into Fangtasia the first time. I decided to see what kind of impact it would have without Bill clutching me to him.

I checked my schedule and saw that I worked lunch the following day and new I would need to get some sleep if I was going to be running burgers and drinks for six hours before going to "Shreveport's Premiere Vampire Bar". I was going to offer the sheriff my telepathy services for a contract and protection for me and mine. The first step would be getting his attention. But, well, I'd never had a problem with him ignoring me. I couldn't wait to see him again... even if he'd never seen me before in his existence.

I pulled down the covers of my little full bed and relished the feel and smell of my old sheets and the quilt I used instead of a comforter. As my head sunk into the pillow, I realized that, for the first time in years, I was actually going to go to sleep rather than die. I was looking forward to waking up and smelling breakfast and coffee in the morning. It felt good to be a human again.

A/N: So, yeah. I won't say whether or not the question was asked in "Deadlocked". But this story is therapy for the trauma Charlaine has inflicted upon me (and I KNOW I'm not alone in that) with her book and making me wait another year to get the conclusion to this whole series. Please let me know thoughts, opinions, critiques, even just venting about the book. I'm all ears.

A/N 2: Also, fans of "Angel Wings"... I know I have been missing from that particular story for over eight months, but a new chapter just went up a few days ago. Hope you like.