Surprise! Early update :)

This chapter is unbetaed.

Disclaimer: Where would be fun in altering my own story?

Previously:

It was a good thing that I had something to lift my spirits, because when I returned to the main room I found that Bill was there sitting at one of my tables… with some woman.

He had a date. And he brought her to Merlotte's. During my shift. And sitting in my section.

Apparently, he decided to test the part of my speech from the night before where I had told him that 'he doesn't have a say in who I'm seeing, just like I don't ask who he is seeing'.

Was it payback? Or was he trying to prove something to me?

I took a deep breath. I had to take their orders.

Bill's date name was Selah Pumphrey. She was thin, dark-haired and she was from Clarice. She was also – as Danielle cheerfully informed me – a very successful real estate agent. I think it was quite natural that I instantly hated her.

She had a horse jaw, she was pretentious, she thought herself above everybody and…

"Her handbag is tacky," Pam supplied helpfully.

I almost jumped.

"Excuse me?" I asked confused.

After all, I was the telepath here, not her.

"Her handbag is tacky," Pam repeated with a hint of a smirk, drying a glass.

It was only then that I realized that I was standing with my arms crossed and my back against the bar, staring holes in the back of Selah's head. Well, I guess it really wasn't hard to see through me.

"You're right," I agreed, looking at the really ugly bag with a true satisfaction. "Hideous."

I wasn't sure if I was talking about the bag or Selah.

I pulled myself together and got back to work. It wasn't the last of the excitement for the night, though.

As it turned out, vampires, like misery, loved company. I was just setting Bill and Selah's drinks on their table when the doors opened to reveal Eric.

He either came straight from Fangtasia, or he was heading there after leaving here, because he was dressed in his 'stage' outfit (Oh my, oh my!). I had to forcibly stop myself from staring. There were very few vampires who could wear the 'mandatory' black as well as Eric.

Suddenly remembering Bill's spiteful remark I wondered briefly if spending so much time in Bon Temps was somehow taking a toll on Eric's obligations in Shreveport.

He gave Pam a curt nod, his stormy eyes lingered on me for a few long seconds, and then he marched straight to Bill's table. I exchanged concerned glance with Sam: Eric looked pissed.

I followed Eric quickly without thinking, determined to intervene if it looked like things were going to escalate. I stepped closer just in time to hear Eric quietly, but very coldly ripping Bill a new one for turning off his phone on the top of slacking in his job.

"Hi Eric," I said ready to slap on my crazy smile at a second notice. I went even as far as putting my hand on his arm to get his attention.

I instantly achieved my intended goal, which was to shift Eric's focus to me and at the same time remind him that they were not alone at the bar. I should really rethink the wisdom of volunteering to get between two angry vampires sometime in the future. The day may come, when the soft spot the undead seemed to have for me, might prove not to be enough to keep me safe.

"Can I get you anything?" I asked slipping into the waitress mode.

Luckily, for now it seemed that my secret super power was still working like a charm, because instead of snapping his fangs at me Eric leaned down and kissed my brow.

Huh.

"No, thank you," he said much more politely that I was expecting him to be. "I won't be staying." – and then his gaze rapidly cooled when he moved it to Bill, who was watching us both with gritted teeth.

I felt no pity for him. He was purposely parading his date under my nose, so in my book, if he was jealous, he just got that he deserved. Selah was sitting quietly and pouting. My mood brightened a little when I realized that she had no idea about vampires' ways and she was waiting for Bill to tell Eric off for interrupting their date. I knew that Bill couldn't do that. I thought wickedly how sourly she would be disappointed if she really expected Eric to back off because Bill had company or Bill to stand up to Eric.

As if he was reading a script going on in my head, Eric barked out: "Bill," and only pointed toward the door with his head.

Then he surprised me by turning back to me and asking:

"Are you going to be okay?"

I had no idea what he meant: Selah, my burned house, or maybe something else altogether, so I simply nodded in daze. He turned on his heel and walked out quickly, not even looking back to check if Bill was following. I had a gloom sense of satisfaction when I heard Selah's weak protest after Bill tossed at her "I hope it won't take long" before obediently leaving too. I was a terrible person, but I couldn't deny that I was selfishly enjoying the fact that Eric ruined their date.

"Will you be ordering anything else?" I asked Selah sweetly. "It might take a while."

She didn't even bother to grace me with an answer, not that I really cared.

By the time both male vampires came back Merlotte's was buzzing with gossip, Bill's sour expression seemed to become a permanent fixture on his face and he was shooting me looks as if he was somehow convinced I was to blame for the situation and Selah, to her credit, was holding her head high, but secretly wondering if she should just leave without word leaving (her thoughts) 'Bill with the bill".

General opinion of the female patrons, who (of course) took notice of Eric and of our brief, but surprisingly intimate exchange, was that maybe they should rethink their views of my person and adjust their attitudes from 'dismissive pity' (for some reason everybody thought it was Bill who had dumped me, not the other way around) to 'judgmental resentment'. Since everyone assumed that I traded Bill for an improved model my status changed from 'poor looser' to 'that hussy' and 'lucky bitch'. That story painted me in just as negative light as the previous one (though I guess it wasn't entirely untrue, since I knew that something had, in fact, happened between me and Eric not so long after I kicked Bill's ass out), but at least it made me look less pathetic.

I couldn't afford to ignore my job duties, so I took my tray and went to deliver orders without trying to bother either one of them. I only noticed that Eric exchanged a few words with Pam before he made himself scares. At some point he said something that made Pam scowl terribly which in turn caused Eric to chuckle. He sent me a wink and a smile on his way out – it seemed that setting Bill in line improved his mood.

Bill didn't stay long either. I had no doubt that his date wasn't exactly a success. If Pam was going to stay at his place for a while I didn't think there was a point in him inviting Selah to his home either. His closest future in the romantic department looked bleak.

"Is everything all right?" I asked Pam when I finally caught a moment to talk to her.

She still looked slightly irritated.

"I'll tell you when I'll learn to fly."

Oh-keeeeey.

Solving this particular piece of puzzle wasn't hard. I had to admit that her outfit provoked such comments, completely innocent – that is, as long at the person making them didn't happen to can fly. I barely stifled a smirk. I could see a centuries old conflict brewing there.

"What did Eric want from Bill?" I changed the subject.

"Bill was supposed to be working on investigating the fire at your house," Pam answered immediately accommodating a business-like tone.

"Why?" I asked surprised. "I thought it was already explained?"

"Nothing is explained. And Bill is officially Area investigator. It's time for him to start doing something to work for that title."

A foggy memory of Bill boasting of getting the position filtered through my mind. I remembered that he had thought it a promotion. It had been while we had been still dating.

"What does any of that have to do with Eric? Why does he care what happened to my house?" I didn't mean to sound ungrateful, but I was just honestly trying to understand what was going on. "This is something for the human police to handle."

Pam looked at me as if I asked about something she had already tried to explain to me hundreds times. I didn't think we had an occasion to have a similar conversation in the past, though. Since when Eric was tracking down pyromaniacs? Or maybe it was his hobby?

"Because it's your house," said Pam perfectly emulating the tone of my first grade teacher.

I snorted.

"Oh, come on. It's not like he was that concerned about me. He didn't even ask me about it when was here!"

Pam sent me a blank look.

"Why would he do that? He can see that you're okay."

I signed resigned. Continuing that line of conversation was pointless.

"Can Eric order Bill to search for someone who set my house on fire?" I asked instead.

Pam only raise her eyebrow. I waved my hand impatiently at that. I had no doubt that Bill had to obey Eric. What I was wondering about was that Eric was using his resources as a vampire sheriff to solve the problems of a human waitress, more so, human waitress who wasn't even working at his bar.

"I'm not a vampire," I tried to explain my point. "What grounds does Eric have to send Bill on this assignment?"

"If Eric had to explain his actions to anyone," Pam said leaving no doubt about the fact that nobody would question Eric, "the fact that he hires you for your telepathy would be a reason enough. Not to mention that the building set on fire was also a place where I was supposed to rest. I also hope that Eric told Bill to start with doing a background check with his new Farmville-buddy," she added under her breath.

My eyes widened.

"Do you think that someone was trying to hurt you?" If there was Fellowship involved, who knew?

"Oh no," she smiled indulgently. "I was just talking hypothetically, to show you how Eric could justify his intervening."

"How are you so sure?"

"If the point was killing me, they would have attacked during the day, not the night. No, Sookie, whoever did it and for whatever reason – they were after you."

So, about Eric: the was I see it, he didn't show up the night before because it was already late and Pam passed on the most important part of the story to him on the phone, but he came to take a look on Sookie's house next evening. While he was already there, he went to Bill's to talk in person, only to find out that he wasn't home - so he called him... and he couldn't reach him. That only added to his already foul mood after seeing Sookie's house, so that's the kind of frame of mind he was in when he entered Merlotte's.

You know, just in case you're interested in my backstage musings...

Next time: Sookie receives an unexpected offer and reveals some truths in return...