Part 3/5:

The door howled with age as Jason enter his bedroom, deciding to call it a night. He wearily padded over to his dresser, taking a glance at his face in the mirror before stripping off his shirt. Lines. Lines of age. Exhaustion. Worry. Fear. For years his health and youth had been good to him, providing him with a body that just about every female in Bon Temps was crazy for- but as of late, he was beginning to look his age. With a shake of his head he then removed his uniform pants before hitting off the lights and collapsing face first in his bed.

Slowly he turned his head to gaze out his window. It took him a second, but sure enough Jason could see Reverend Steve Newlin in the distance. In the same spot his stood every time he decided to 'visit' Jason. Almost weekly. At first his reoccurring appearances both surprised and angered Jason, fearing the vampire was going to once again glamor Jason into inviting him in, only to take advantage of him... but once he realized Steve never attempted anything, it slowly became another part of his week. Nothing special.. Nothing unusual... And yes, maybe a bit creepy- causing Jason to no longer sleep in the nude– but as Jason viewed it: at least with Steve there, nothing else was likely to come after him in the middle of the night.

Now, aside from vampires, there were few other things Jason Stackhouse feared visiting him in the night, but at the top of that list was most definitely any and all creatures from Hotshot. Specifically, one Crystal Norris and any of her bat-shit crazy friends and family. His experience with the females of that town had left him more than slightly shaken up inside, though he never spoke of it to anyone- not even Sook. Sure, she had a general idea of what happened... but none of the details. So yes... Remembering said events, Jason had quickly found excuses for why Steve's stalker behavior was not that creepy.

Almost as if someone was reading his thoughts, it was almost hilarious, in a sick twisted way two weeks later when Crystal showed up at 3am on his doorstep, banging relentlessly on his doorstep.

"Jason I can smell you! Open up," she pouted loudly while tapping her foot impatiently.

Jason, who had been asleep at the time, groggily crawled out of bed wondering who the hell was at his door. He could swear he knew the voice- yet couldn't place it. It hadn't sounded like Sookie or Jessica yelling- and both of them would have simply found a way into the house instead of banging repeatedly on the front door. "Hold on, hold on- let me get some pants on..."

"Why would you do that, when I'll just take'm back off ya silly?" Crystal yelled back while giggling, in what could only be described as slightly suggestive.

Jason's spine froze like ice, his body frozen 5 feet from his door. He recognized that voice, alright. How he didn't the first time was beyond him. Every nerve in his body suddenly felt like it was on fire, and a thousand and one thoughts raced through his head. "Why was she here? What does she want? How do I get rid of her? I'll just pretend I'm not home- wait... I already called back I was here. Shit. And she could smell me any way, fucking panther. Shit... Shit shit shit. Leave me alone. Shit."

"Hellooooo. Jason? Open up baby," Crystal said, a touch of sincerity grazing her voice as his door knob started to rattle at an unrealistic speed.

Crystals voice broke Jason from his thoughts as he began to grasp his situation. Crystal was here. She didn't intend to leave. He needed to tell her to. "You can do this, Stackhouse. She's only a gal. Just politely ask her to leave- she will... Then you can go back to sleep and forget 'bout this, buddy. 's all a dream."

"Crystal."

The door knob continued to thrash around rapidly, Jason's eyes widening at the event.

"Crystal, for Christ's Sake! You're gonna break my door!"

The knob suddenly stopped and Crystal replied, "Oh! I knew you were there! If you'd just open up the door I wouldn't be here breaking it, now would I?"

"Leave."

The response caught Crystal off guard, as she was silent for a moment before replying, "Now why would I do that when I traveled the whole way out to Bon Temps just to see you?"

"Why are you really here?"

Silence again. Finally Crystal spoke up. "Well... there's been some issues again back in Hotshot and we could sure as hell use some help if you know what I mean. Some of the girls-"

Jason could feel the vomit rising in his throat. No. Not again. "Not again. No. I refuse. No No No. Please, Lord. No." The words played through his head, keeping him from all out collapsing on the spot. Crystal was still here, and that meant he wasn't safe. Mustering what courage he could, Jason stood in silence for a few minutes before he took two steps forward and began to open the door, the knob already feeling loose and broken in his firm grip. Crystal had been silent after her request, but that by no means meant she had left.

When the door opened what met Jason's eyes was hardly what he had expected. Instead of a scantly clad Crystal jumping him, a cold and terrifying Steve Newlin greeted him with a quickly suffocating Crystal in his grip, his fingers encircling her throat tight enough that Jason could already see bruises forming on the were-panther.

Neither being had turned their attention to Jason, instead Steve whispered something into Crystal's ear, a menacing grin plastered on his face. His grip tightened and Crystal began to panic more, weakly grabbing at Steve's hand on her throat, her wind pipe already too crushed for her to call for help.

"Stop! Don't kill'er!" The words left Jason's throat before he even realized what he was saying. Yes, the woman terrified him and had left numerous scares on his heart, but did she deserve to die? Jason didn't know. He didn't know a lot of things, and he was more than willing to admit that these days... What he did know was that it was his duty as a law enforcer to protect the innocent and weak- and in this case it meant protecting Crystal from Steve. A cold sweat had broken out over Jason as he tried to comprehend the gravity of the situation and control the situation currently taking place on his front steps.

At Jason's words, to everyone's surprise, Steve had immediately released Crystals body. She limply fell to the ground, both hands immediately going to her wounded throat.

Jason released a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding since his last outburst, his shoulders visibly falling a good inch or so. "Leave, Crystal. Go back to Hotshot. Please."

Crystal turned towards Jason, a look of disbelief framing her features as a small, distorted why floated through her trembling lips.
Before Jason had the change to reply, however, Steve's hand shot down towards Crystals throat, stopping mere centimeters away from it as he echoed Jason's command to leave. Jason turned towards Steve, almost scared of the vampire who was currently threatening to kill one of his ex girlfriends, and as much as a part of Jason wanted to deny it, he was thankful. Thankful that Steve watched him at night, acting as a protective guardian to Jason as he slept- even if it wasn't part of the Reverend's original intention. Regardless, Jason felt protected- cared for.. Something that did not happen often to the infamous playboy of Bon Temps.

As gracefully as the wounded were-panther could, Crystal rose to her feet, and took a brief glace back at Jason before she began a slow, tired walk into the nearby woods. Steve and Jason stood in silence for a moment, both watching the retreating figure of Crystal Norris, before Jason finally broke the silence.

"I need a beer.. I'm getting too old for this." Jason spoke quietly, stumbling over his words awkwardly as he did his best filling the awkward silence that enveloped the couple. "Uh... thanks I guess... well, I'll be seeing ya then- or you'll be seeing me or.. well yeah. Thanks again." He began to back into his house when Steve spoke up.

"Jason, What did she mean by issues that were in need of your assistance?" A slight mixture of annoyance and worry resonated with his words.

"Steve... It's nothing. Look- you're a great guy and all, but I don't really wanna talk about it okay? It was a low, dark part of my life that is still a little too fresh for me," Jason spoke as calmly as he could while looking Steve in the eye. "Right now the only thing that sounds appeasing is sleep but for all I know when I wake up next time there's gonna be a dozen of them Hotshot folks out here in my lawn pissed about Crystal get'n hurt and blame'n me. I can't even sleep without the fear of be'n ripped limb from limb... Or worse.." Jason Shuddered as memories of his last trip to Hotshot started racing through his mind, burning his every thought. Never in his life had Jason felt more vulnerable than he had while in Hotshot. Weak. Defenseless. Hopeless. Never had he felt more alone.

Steve stepped closer to Jason, closing the gap between there bodies as his cold, ridged hand slowly rose to Jason's face, his thumb rubbing across the hotblooded male's cheek. Jason hadn't realized he had been crying.

"I don't know what they did Jason, but I swear I'll never let them hurt you. Never again." Steve's words were strong, cutting through the warm night air with a crispness that dared anyone to challenge them. Gone were the cold-blooded eyes that wanted to murder Crystal, replaced by soft eyes, that almost looked human.

Steve's hand left Jason's cheek shortly after, the vampire's body hesitating to pull away. Steve's protective gaze, however, remained. And slowly the silence joined them again briefly, which this time, neither minded.

Steve surprised himself when he spoke first. "Go to bed Jason Stackhouse. Go before I do something we both regret," he said with a fake laugh trying to lighten the mood, "I'll stay here as long as I can tonight, and when I leave I'll send over someone to watch during the day, just in case they return. I promise you."

Jason simply nodded, half listening to the words Steve spoke as exhaustion overcame him and he turned to go back inside. As he shut the door he could he heard Steve joking, "Who would have foreseen the day when I got to be Jason Stackhouse's hero... Oh Lord, lucky me." Jason smiled.

Collapsing into his bed for a second time that night, Jason found sleep quickly, much to his surprise.

Little did Jason know more were-panthers had arrived at his doorstep shortly after the Crystal incident, intent on taking revenge on their injured female... But unlike Crystal, they lacked the merciful eyes of Jason Stackhouse, and did not have someone to call off Steve's protective instincts.

A/N: Wow, each chapter keeps getting longer! (I'm getting use to this thing they call 'writing'! Yay!) Thanks so much for the wonderful support I've been getting! (Apologizing now for spelling/grammar errors.. I lack a beta and often don't read my material for errors till after it's posted, so it gets a revised update a little late in the game.) If anyone has a prompt idea they'd like to see for this series, I only have the ending and next chapter drafted, so I'm still brainstorming some 'steve surprises jason' ideas and am more than willing to take some prompts! :D Thanks again!