Disclaimer: All character rights belong to Charlaine Harris and Alan Ball.

I do not have a beta so I apologize in advance for any mistakes. Any grammatical and spelling errors are mine. If you see something especially bothersome, please feel free to drop me a PM so I can fix it right away.

Rated M for adult themes (Lemons, language and possibly some violence)

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Chapter 6: Growing Perception

Sookie's POV

Someone's finger was poking my side as I slept, I tossed and turned away from the offending hand. I mumbled a quick "Go away" and buried my face back into my pillow. I needed some serious sleep. I was about to go right back to dreamland but then the smell of coffee hit my nose and I was really tempted to wake up. Whoever was trying to get my attention was definitely using the right tactics. The coffee smelt wonderful and I wanted it.

Groaning, I threw the covers away from my body and sat up. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and blinked a few times to adjust my eyes. Standing at the corner of my room was Claudine with a cup of heaven and a plate that held a few pieces of toast. "I'll be right with you. Give me 10 minutes." I sighed and went to the bathroom to take care of my morning needs and to get changed. I put on a pair of yoga pants and a loose t-shirt. Claudine handed me the cup of coffee that I gladly accepted, drinking it down in a matter of seconds.

"Gran told me how much you needed that before you could be functional in the morning. I put a little something extra in there so you don't run out of steam for today."

"Magic?" She winked, not bothering to answer the obvious as I followed her downstairs. I looked around the kitchen and then the living room. "Where's Gran?"

"Oh, she told me to tell you that she'll be spending the day with her friends down at the Church." Munching on the last piece of toast, I put the dish in the sink. Claudine waited for me patiently, a pleasant smile on her face. She looked excited and bouncy. I envied her energetic appearance. I was definitely not made to be a morning person. It was only a little after eight, that gave me around only five hours of sleep total. "Today we're going to focus on expanding your telepathy. It is the one ability that you're used to and I'm going to try to help you find if you can make it stronger. Ready?"

The idea of being able to have complete control of my telepathy was something I looked forward to. My shields kept up pretty well already but I knew that if I worked at it with Claudine's help, they'll never slip again by accident. "What do you want me to do?"

"Our first goal is to see if you can read me. Faes are not particularly easy to read and our brainwaves are similar to those of Weres but messier. Eventually we will move onto reading weres and possibly vampires. Try concentrating on my thoughts and read what I am thinking right now."

Alright, I can do this. This is gonna be easy. After a quick mental pep talk with myself, I was ready to start. We were both sitting on the steps of the porch in the bright sun. Claudine was facing me and I towards her. I took her hand into mine and closed my eyes to gain extra focus. She was right of course, her mind was blurry like a shifter or Were but hers were more clamped shut. I frowned as I struggled to tap into her mind. I tried to break her barriers to get into her thoughts but her mental shields were extremely strong. After several failed attempts, I got really agitated. I let go of her hand and stood up. I started pacing back and forth, a headache beginning to form. I found it ironic that I was annoyed that I couldn't read Claudine's thoughts when I was usually complaining about hearing too many of them.

"Come sit down next to me cousin. Try again." I complied and sat back down. The Stackhouse women were not failures and we never give up. I closed my eyes and really tried to rummage through her brain. She was still blocking my attempts. Each time I got close to getting through, the doors in her mind would lock away the entrance tightly from my reach. "Take those doors and open them one by one. Unlock each slowly, take your time and really feel what you are doing. Pretend that you are physically there. If you concentrate hard enough, you can pick through them." I did as I was told. It was as if I was taking a tour inside her mind. After several minutes of utter concentration, I was able to pass one wall but there were several others my mind had to physically push away. One by one, the fuzziness of her thoughts began to disappear. With each falling wall of her shields, they got clearer and clearer.

She's extremely strong for a part Fae, I can feel her poking around in my mind. I know she can do it. Niall will be so proud when I tell him how strong she is already even without firsthand training.

I gasped as her thoughts came rushing through, images and words just pouring in. I jumped up and did a little victory dance while Claudine joined in. We were laughing and giggling like schoolgirls. She pulled me into a tight hug and we were both glowing with triumph. "That was great Sookie, you did amazing. You're a quick learner and I have no doubt that you will have even more access to your telepathy. Are you ready to try it again?"

For the next few hours, that was all we did. Each time it got easier and I got more confident with my ability to read Claudine. Soon I was able to read her without any contact either. When I seem to have mastered that, she gave me a new task to try out. She started popping in and out of the house, into different rooms and different parts of the back of the house as well as further down the road. Sometimes she would go far and sometimes closer. She wanted me to locate her by sensing brainwaves using my telepathy at long distances. Soon, I was able to pinpoint where she was every single time with no mistakes.

I collapsed exhausted on the couch at around four in the afternoon wanting nothing more than to take a steamy bath. Gran came walking into the living room, with a plate of her fresh baked cookies, a jug full of her homemade sweet ice tea and three glasses. She set them down on the table. "You look exhausted dear, why don't you relax for a bit and I'll go set you a bath."

"That sounds wonderful, thank you." I loved how she knew exactly what I wanted during times like these. I chatted with Claudine and Gran for a bit, we each took turns sharing silly stories. We ended up wasting the hours away pretty quickly. Gran was telling Claudine a story about Jason when he was younger, there were tears in both their eyes from laughing too hard. I glanced out the window to find that it was already dark out.

Claudine must have realized this as well and stood to leave. "I should go, Godric will be here soon and I don't want to interfere. I'll see you later. Remember, tomorrow's a no work and just play day. Bye Sookie. Have a nice evening Adele." She blew us a kiss and waved. Pop!

Gran took our empty cups and dishes into the kitchen while I lounged on the couch. There was a knock at the door and I got up to get it. Trying out my improved telepathy, I quickly knew that whoever was at the door was a vampire.

"Hi Godr..." Except whoever was at the door wasn't Godric at all. Replaced was an older man with dark hair. He was quite handsome in a old movie kind of way. He also had the same pale complexion as Godric. I guess once you meet one vampire, all of the others seem to gather around as well."Uhh, can I help you?"

"Are you Sookie Stackhouse?" I nodded. "My name is William but please call me Bill. I just moved in across the cemetery from you."

"Oh you mean the old Compton home? Are you by any chance related?"

"Yes actually. I am William Compton. You see the last owner of the house, Jessie Compton, had just recently past away. I decided to move back to my hometown and rediscover my roots."

"I didn't know he had any living, well unliving relatives left. You're a vampire aren't you?"

He looked bewildered for a second and then composed himself. "Yes. How did you know?" I blushed, I shouldn't have let that slip out. I just smiled at the vampire, he seemed nice enough and had impeccable manners but there was something offsetting about him too. How did he know my name? He had an old Southern charm about him but it lacked any real emotion. He seemed to be very collected and the way he talked made him look like he'd practiced his words. Thank goodness Gran decided to walk back into the living room, saving me from having to answer his question. She saw Bill standing at the door and looked at me. "Well dear, aren't you going to introduce me to this young gentlemen?"

"Gran, this is Bill Compton. He just moved into the old house across the cemetery. Mr. Compton, this is my grandmother Adele Stackhouse."

"It's a pleasure to meet you ma'am. You have a lovely home Mrs. Stackhouse. Do you think I could come in and perhaps spend a little time with you two? Since I am new in town, I'd appreciate meeting some people and finding out a few things about Bon Temps."

"Please call me Adele. Oh of course, we would be delighted to have some company. Please come -"

I had my hand on the door and quickly interrupted Gran before she could finish her sentence. "It was nice to meet you but we're expecting someone soon and it is getting late. Maybe some other time?"

Apparently that wasn't what Bill wanted to hear. He put his hand on the door to stop me from slamming it shut. His eyes met mine and I felt that familiar tingle in the back of my mind. "You will invite me in now Sookie." That bastard! He was attempting to glamour me. I couldn't be more thankful right now for being immune to it. I was stuck between feeling the need to panic and the need to slap him across his face.

I didn't know how to respond. I opened my mouth to say something when Godric appeared out of nowhere on the front steps. He didn't look happy. His eyes were cast on Bill and he was staring daggers at him. Bill in return visibly tensed up. I wonder what was up? Bill bowed deeply towards Godric and the gesture was clearly one of huge respect. "Mr. Compton. What a surprise to see you here."

"Godric. I was just greeting my new neighbors. I hope I was not intruding, I'll just be on my way. Good evening Adele, Sookie. It has been a pleasure." He took one last glance at me before turning away.

How odd. We watched Bill disappear off into the distance. Godric walked in and looked at both Gran and I. "It would be unsafe for you to invite other vampires into this house. No matter how friendly one might act, I suggest that you take extreme caution. I do not trust Bill Compton or his motives."

I shivered at the thought. Gran had trusted this Bill character almost immediately and she was usually good at figuring people out. If we could be so easily fooled by such simple appearances, I had a feeling we were inviting trouble to our door. If he wasn't the worst of them, what else was out there? Bill Compton was probably the least of my worries. I was afraid to find out.

Uh-oh, here comes more problems. Instead of one blonde viking vampire at the door, we get boring Compton. Why the heck is Bill in Bon Temps looking for Sookie? What is Godric and Niall going to do to ensure that he doesn't do anything that could be a potential threat to Sookie? Let me know what you think!

Next chapter will be Sookie and Claudine's stress free fun day together. But knowing our Sookie, she's bound to find herself in some sort of unwanted excitement ;)