Ok, here is the next chapter. Keep your fingers crossed that I'll be able to continue at this rate. Oh, and happy valentines day!
"Hi, Sookie" he said a little hesitantly as I opened the door. He wasn't sure why I was surprised about seeing him. The truth was I should have been expecting him; after all, it was too late the night I agreed to talk to him for him to get the message, so he would have found out last night. And since his truck was parked in the driveway he had probably been driving all night if he got here so soon. Unfortunately, with everything that happened since I was at Fangtasia, his visit hadn't been on my mind.
"I didn't expect you would come so soon. You really should have called." I pointed out. Ok. So I was a little grumpy. After the day I had I felt I had the right to be.
"Well, De Castro told me early last night, so I figured, 'no reason to put it off' right?" He shrugged. He was still standing on the outside of the doorway since I hadn't moved to let him in. I was in the middle of cooking dinner and could hear the chicken crackling in the pan, so I motioned for him to come inside and went back to the stove without a word. I poured more batter into the waffle maker and closed it before I spoke.
"I thought we pretty much said all there was to say the morning after the takeover" I said without turning back to look at him. "So, what is this visit all about?" He was cool as a cucumber in spite of my less than hospitable reception. He leaned against the opposite counter completely undeterred.
"You said all you wanted to say. You didn't exactly give me the chance" he started.
"Quinn-" I interjected.
"Before you interrupt" he said raising his voice just slightly "I'm glad you didn't give me the chance; I only would have screwed it up. You gave me a lot of time to think about all the things I did wrong." He paused to sit down. "Listen Sookie, I know you said you were done with me. And I understand why now. What I did to you- kept from you- was wrong. But I would really like the chance to explain, and especially apologize for the takeover and everything else I kept from you. All I'm asking right now is for you to hear me out and hopefully forgive me. Then I would love to actually earn your trust if you'll let me."
I took a deep breath. He seemed to genuinely want to make things right and while I wanted to hear him out this was not a good time. Then, I suddenly had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach that was completely unrelated to Quinn. I looked out onto the lawn and noticed it was almost completely dark. Looking closer, I thought I saw a movement just beyond the tree line. I kept my eyes on that spot for several seconds but didn't see it again. 'Must be Bill' I thought, trying to dismiss the uneasy feeling. I pulled the chicken out of the oil and started another waffle before replying.
"Quinn, I have company that will be here any minute. And I honestly just can't deal with this right now. I know I didn't give you much slack. I'd love to hear you out but ultimately I meant what I said. So what's changed with your personal situation? Can your mom care for herself or is your sister able to care for her? Has your sister grown up enough that you don't have to constantly watch her?"
"Babe, why are you so hard on me? You can't honestly tell me that you wouldn't help Jason if he needed it. So why do I have to abandon my family if I want to be with you? Frannie has grown up a lot, but no my mom still can't care for herself. And if something happened to one of them, then of course I will always help them. But I have learned my lesson. I would never keep anything that happened from you."
"Can we please just put off this conversation until like tomorrow or the next day?" I asked knowing he wouldn't give up until he felt like we had resolved things. And he had a point. I couldn't argue that I did everything I could to find Jason when he was kidnapped and would do it again if I had to. I didn't have a lot of family, so those I had, were very important to me. That included Jason, in spite of the disagreements we had.
"No. I'm sorry but this can't wait."
I took a calming breath as the phone began to ring. I gave him a pleading look and went over to pick it up.
"Hello?" I said.
"Hey Sookie, Claude is coming with me. We want to inspect your witches' wards. Be there in just a minute" answered Claudine, then she hung up before I could stop her. I turned around quickly to face Quinn.
"You've have to go. I'm sorry but my company is on the way. You can come back in the morning or –"
"I'm sorry Sookie, but I can't leave here again with things between us the way they are. You agreed to talk to me so I want to actually talk."
"Quinn, this isn't some fun get together dinner I have planned. You have no idea how bad your timing is in insisting on talking right now. I have things that are much more pressing than you and my relationship, or lack thereof, which I need to discuss with Cl- er… my company. You can't be involved in this."
"I have a very good idea about my timing. I smelled several fairies' scents in your yard, and not all of them were alive. Fairies dueling in your yard doesn't mean anything good under any circumstances. And since I have been caught in the middle of a couple of the other problems that you seem to find, no offense, I can guess that you could use back-up whether you are willing to ask for it or not." I was tired of trying to reason with him and if I thought I had a chance I would have pushed him chair and all right out of the back door. But before I think about it another second I heard a 'pop'.
Claudine and Claude appeared in the kitchen doorway. They both looked confused, but Claude quickly shrugged it off when he smelled dinner and saw the pile of chicken and the waffles stacked on the counter. That reminded me that the last waffle was probably ready to pull off the waffle iron.
"Hey," I said giving them both a hug as they walked closer. They both gave me an awkward kiss on the cheek as they continued to glance at Quinn. Claude walked over to grab a plate as soon as I said to 'help yourself' and gestured to the food.
Claudine said quietly in my ear "We can't talk about this with him here" glancing over at Quinn.
"Yeah, Quinn dropped in unexpectedly" I explained, 'crazy Sookie' smile plastered on my face. Although the exchange with Claudine was quiet, we weren't whispering, so it was definitely loud enough for him to hear.
Claude turned around with a plate full of food and decided to step in. "Listen Tiger," he said "we've got family business to take care of. We need you to get out of here." He waited, staring Quinn down, waiting for acknowledgement. Quinn gave him a conceding nod. That was all Claude needed. He sat down and started pouring on the maple syrup.
Quinn got up and walked over to me. Quietly he said "I'm not leaving here until we talk, but I guess I could stretch my legs after the long drive I've had. I'll go for a run if that's out of the way enough for you."
"I appreciate it, Quinn" I said graciously, accepting the negotiation he was willing to give. He gave me a small smile and walked back out the back door without another word.
Claudine grabbed a plate and sat down humming a little as she took her first bite. After the day I had had I wasn't quite ready to eat a full meal, even if it was calming to cook it. Claudine and Claude explained the problems between the fairies and how Niall fit in as they ate. They explained why I was in danger and we talked about how I killed Murray. Claudine ate ravenously between talking. She was really hungry.
After they finished a hurried dinner they quickly used their magic to add to the wards on the house and instructed me not to go anywhere without a guard. I assured them that Tray would be here tonight and I would ask him to drive me to work and pick me up tomorrow; but as they were leaving (Claudine with her to go plate, since she didn't want to stay for seconds), Amelia texted me that she was going to stay at Trays for the night. I was arguing that I would be fine and would not step foot out of my house without a guard when the back door opened.
"I'll stay" said Quinn from the open doorway. He had heard the last of our conversation as he was walking up the steps to the porch.
"Good, let's go home" Claude said to Claudine before I could get in a 'hell no!'. I tried to protest, but Claude just gave me a hug and a kiss with a satisfied smile on his face and stepped aside, completely ignoring my irritation.
"You guard her with your life, or I will end yours" Claudine said to Quinn with an expression that said she would make him pay if I was harmed. I decided not to argue. The last thing I wanted was to have Quinn here as my guard, but I didn't want to continue to argue with her about it either. She seemed like she was exhausted and just wanted to get home. If thinking he would be here with me would put her at ease I could figure something else out once she left.
"I have to work again tomorrow but call if you need me" she told me. "If I don't answer, call Claude; he'll help you" she told me. Then she looked over at Claude with that same fierce look she gave Quinn just a moment earlier. "Won't you?" she said, more of a threat than a question.
"Of course." He said smiling at her innocently.
She gave him a small appreciative smile then turned back to me and gave me a hard hug, a quick kiss and an order to keep out of trouble. Then they were gone.
That just left Quinn and me.
"Family business huh?" Quinn said walking in and shutting the door. "So, how are you related to the Crane twins?"
I gave him the hardest look I could muster and I shoved a plate at him without a word. He had made the connection between the fairy scents on my property and Claude's comment and realized that I was part fae if I was related to the twins. So he gathered that the reason Claudine was worried about me must be that Breandon's fairies were targeting me. I just hoped he didn't realize how I was related to them. I had hoped not to get him involved at all. It was dangerous enough for me without involving other people I knew. Fairies could be vicious.
I silently grabbed a plate myself. It wouldn't do me any good to starve myself.
"Quinn I guess this goes without saying, but please don't say anything to anyone about what you've heard, ok?" I knew I could trust him with my secrets even if he didn't trust me with his. I pulled out a couple glasses and poured us both a glass of tea.
"Of course" he said without hesitation, and then decided to continue with our earlier conversation. "Listen, I'm really sorry about the way things happened with the takeover and the problems it caused you. I am especially sorry about the threats to you and your home, even if I wasn't the one making them. But you have to understand that I had no way to know the fight would come right to your front door."
"But it did Quinn. And you were on the opposite side from me. And that was the first I had heard from or seen of you since Rhodes." I sat down and took a bite. It was pretty good, and I realized that maybe I was hungrier than I thought.
He hung his head for a minute. "Sookie, would you be able to forgive me if I swear to you that I will never keep anything from you again?"
"Can you be sure you'll be able to keep that promise?" I asked. As sincere as he was at the moment I was worried this was a promise he might not always be able to keep.
He thought about it for a minute.
"Yes" he concluded.
"I don't know if I can forgive you instantly" I said honestly. "Maybe you tried with the takeover. I'm still not sure. But you definitely chose not to tell me about your time in the pits or about your family. That's pretty big Quinn. So, I have to ask again, do you really think you can be honest with me going forward?"
"I really think I can. Maybe I can't tell you every detail of my life the second it happens, but I want you to know. I want you to know me, everything about me, including my past; all the things I've always been scared to tell the people I've dated."
"Then why didn't you tell me before Rhodes. You knew I would find out" I said, gesturing to my head.
"I did. I guess I was so used to keeping my life a secret from the women I date that I didn't know where to start, or when to bring it up. You seemed so out of my league anyway, but with the past I have…" he thought a second before continuing. "But anything you ever want to know, I swear, I'll tell you." He looked at me for several seconds before turning back to his dinner.
"What do you mean 'out of your league?'?" I questioned. "I am a telepathic barmaid in a small town bar in rural Louisiana. I'm not that special."
He chuckled. "You have vampire kings and queens across this country willing to barter, cheat, steal and kill to have you under their reign. And who can blame them. Your beautiful, smart, insightful, brave-" I stopped him before he could continue.
"Ok, ok I get it. You think I'm great. That's just your opinion. I have a town full of people that would be willing to argue that." I said, looking down. I knew what people thought of me. He was definitely in the minority.
"Yeah, the silly humans" he huffed. "Every supernatural man that meets you falls under your spell. You attract the supernatural to you like a moth to a flame, and unite them against enemies in ways I've never seen anyone do before. And you say you aren't that special."
I snorted my disagreement but chose to drop the subject.
We both finished dinner in a contemplative silence. He was waiting patiently for me to answer his pleas for forgiveness and I was debating if I should. When I was done I grabbed our dishes and laid them in the sink. I could do them later. I refilled my tea and sat back down.
"Ok. I'm willing to try. But can we talk more tomorrow? It's been a really long day. Maybe stop by in the morning and I'll fix breakfast?"
"Oh, no" he smiled shaking his head. "You heard Claudine. I am not leaving you here alone. I like all my body parts right where they are."
Well it was worth a try.