I thought by not revealing to Jason that Sookie had reverted to her childhood form that things might have gone better. I thought it might have limited the less intelligent things the elder Stackhouse sometimes said.
Much like my imagined reactions Sookie could have given when presented with her brother, I should have known that I could never have predicted what would happen.
At least Jason did not shove Sookie off of his legs. I could not even fathom what those repercussions might have brought. Sookie obviously remembered her brother in her current form and his adult one. He actually put his hand on her head, and that caused Sookie to squeeze her brother's leg harder.
Jason looked at both Pam and I, and then I watched as a thought formed and appeared on his face. "I didn't think you guys could have kids."
It was Sookie who first responded. Pam simply stared at the man, though I had an idea of the thoughts that were running through her head based upon the look on her face. "Pam is Eric's child, but he's not her daddy."
Yes, that had been a very interesting concept to attempt explaining to Sookie's young mind.
Suddenly, it was as if I was the mind reader. I saw the statement form in the male Stackhouse's head, and my goal was to remove him from the situation before he actually told Sookie she needed to go back to her daddy.
I was most certainly not the daddy.
I should have known better than to try to be subtle with Jason during the car ride over. The elder Stackhouse was not the best at comprehending subtlety. "Sookie, I will need to borrow Jason for a minute."
"But he just got here!" she said, sounding as if she was about to cry. I had come to learn that just because she sounded as if she was going to cry, it did not mean she would actually cry. Amelia said it was Sookie's way of attempting to get what she wanted. That was something I truly agreed with her on because I most assuredly did want to give Sookie what she wanted when she used that voice.
"I will bring him right back," I told her. The 'him' in question opened his mouth to say something, but after he took in the expression on my face, for once he wisely kept his mouth shut. Maybe he could learn…
I grabbed his arm and started to pull him into the kitchen with me, leaving Sookie alone with Pam. "Cute kid an' all, Eric," he told me while he rubbed the back of his head. "But you said I was gonna see my sister. Where is she?" he asked and held out his arms as he looked around the room in an exaggerated manner.
"You have already seen her."
He dropped his arms and said, "Nope. Ain't seen her yet." I gave him a few seconds, waiting to see if he could connect the dots. I cannot comprehend what I thought I was doing, it would be difficult for the mind of an actual genius to understand that their adult sister was only slightly older than a toddler was.
"I told you that she would be different while we drove here."
"You said smaller and squeakier." Those were not my specific terms, but I was honestly surprised he had retained any understanding of our conversation. That was when I noticed realization slowly dawn in his eyes. His hands moved down to his legs to the approximate height Sookie's head came to when she had grasped them. "No," he said stubbornly. I could not fault him for that. I repeated that term to myself many times after I came across tiny Sookie in the woods. "No," he repeated when I remained silent rather than attempting to correct his thoughts. "What the hell happened?"
Was that not the question of the last few days?
I took the time to explain to Jason all I knew regarding what had happened to his sister. Unfortunately, that did not take much time because the amount of information I had was quite limited. "It was a curse. A demon cursed your sister." Yes, that was the entire summary of the situation.
"Cursed her to become a tiny person?" Well, at least he had grasped that idea. It seemed as if he did not comprehend that his sister's mind also matched her new exterior.
"A child," I answered, not able to continue to not use that term to describe the situation.
Never had I been more relieved that I built my own furniture for the kitchen, that way after Jason collapsed into the chair, the chair did not collapse onto the floor.
"When?" Jason asked me.
"Almost a week ago."
He nodded his head at that as if that bit of news made sense in his world. I was relieved that something made sense to someone.
"Does she realize it?" When I told him she did not, he then asked, "Does she think things are gonna be like they was before?" I knew he was most likely referring to his parents and grandmother.
"She mentioned certain things," I explained to him, remembering the conversation about her grandmother over warm milk. "However, she seemed to somehow have knowledge of selected aspects of the past."
He nodded and said, "She recognized me."
"That was something I did not expect," I told him honestly. "You have been the first person that she recognized."
"Maybe cause I'm her brother," he said as if it was that simple. I was about to discount that idea, but perhaps he had something there. They were blood relatives. Could that be why Sookie had recognized her brother? Using that theory, she should have been able to recognize and know me through our blood bond. It seemed that with each potential answer, more questions arose.
"So, what should we do with her?" Jason asked after a couple seconds of silence.
"Well, she seems to enjoy coloring," I answered while I started to make my way back into the living room.
"Yeah. Her room was always covered in them," he said as he followed me. "Treat her like she's a kid? It's that simple?"
"That is what we have been doing. I would not describe it as simple though," I told him as I entered the living room. I paused at the doorway when I saw my usual neutral living room was now covered in pink. Even with Pam as my child, I had no idea there were so many shades of pink. Pam would have never worn that many shades simultaneously.
One of the pink piles suddenly came at me and yelled, "Eric! You're back!"
"I am," I said when I caught the pile mid-leap. Sookie's head peeked out of the pink as she rested her head on my shoulder.
"What are you doing?" I asked, working very hard to keep my voice steady and calm. No, I would not blame Sookie, as I was certain my child deserved all the blame, but I did not want to frighten Sookie.
"Playing dress up!" she squealed while she took one of the pink shirts off and tried to put it on my head.
"I do not think it will fit," I told her as the shirt became lodged in my mouth while she tried to get it past my head, no matter how much it refused to move. I put Sookie down, wrestled the shirt off my head, and then I turned my attentions to Pam. "What did you do?"
"She bought me clothes! She bought me clothes!" Sookie answered for her while she jumped up and down.
"She needed some clothes that fit," Pam told me as she carefully watched my face. She knew I was hesitant to make any further purchases for Sookie. I felt that in doing so I would be admitting that she would be spending more time in this form under these circumstances, yet I could not deny that these items would fit her much better than the ones she had been wearing.
"I only purchased enough clothing for seven days," Pam told me, but I was reaching the point where I had to admit that they might be needed for much longer. What I would not admit was that my child bought Sookie seven days worth of clothes. The amount scattered around my living room seemed too much for simply seven days. When I glared at her demanding an explanation, her response was that children were messy.
I could not fault her there.
Though I was not happy I had to go to Fangtasia, I could not say that I was unhappy to be leaving behind all the pink, even if the one wearing most of it was Sookie.
"Would you like it if Jason told you a bedtime story tonight?" I asked Sookie. Never once in my entire unlife as a vampire did I ever imagine that I would use the term 'bedtime story.' That had been one of the least innocuous terms that I had used ever since I had found Sookie in the woods.
Sookie nodded and told me that would be acceptable. "As long as it's not a scary one," she added, glaring at her brother.
"Those are the best ones," Jason said, whining as if he was the child. "Wait. You're leavin'?" he asked. He looked less than thrilled at being left alone with Sookie and Pam. It probably was due to all the pink, that, and his sister was trying to find ways that he could wear any of the pieces.
I cannot say that I was upset to be leaving the pink behind, though it just might be the only thing I was not upset at the prospect of leaving.
With no contact from Madden last night and no contact from him thus far tonight, I had grown concerned over what his sudden silence could mean. Though it was a much welcomed silence, I knew what it could bring was most certainly not welcome.
Sookie was so excited about seeing her brother that I almost did not receive the hug goodbye that I had become accustomed to getting. I stood there for a minute after I wished Sookie a goodnight, but her attentions barely left her brother while she tried to convince him that pink really was his color. Grown Sookie had no particular attachment to the color and I wondered when it left her.
Taking into consideration her life had been a little less than easy, I wondered what else she might have lost on her journey to adulthood.
When Pam could no longer hold back her laughter while I stood there, waiting for my hug, I turned around and started to leave for Fangtasia. I did not even make it to the hallway before Sookie was up and running after me, calling my name. "You can't leave without your hug," she told me when she reached me.
"I would not dream of it," I told her as I knelt down to her height, or at least a height that was closer to her current one. The heaviness that had developed in my chest vanished when her tiny arms wrapped around my neck.
"It will help you with your grumpy bosses," she told me. I could not argue with her on that.
As I took off for Fangtasia, scenario after scenario of what could have caused Madden's sudden silence ran through my mind. The timing of it, after Merlotte's appearance, was worrisome. I very much doubted it could be coincidence. I also doubted that luck had finally come my way, that he had managed to fall on a small splinter, and was finally dead. I was sure that was not the case because de Castro would have at least sent out a memo regarding the death. Pity…
I walked into Fangtasia using the back entrance. I wanted to avoid the crowds tonight if at all possible. I was simply not in the mood to deal with the usual vermin who frequented the club. Yet I was also hesitant to use my office not having been able to search for listening devices this evening. That was the first order of business when I opened the door only to find Thalia doing just that. I could not be sure just how far into the process she was, so I remained silent until she shook her head and said, "Nothing," when she finished her search.
Again, that was another oddity. Since the takeover, it was rare night that went by when we found none. Some nights they stayed and I discussed nothing of importance. Other nights they were destroyed, but two nights in a row where there were none present? That was unheard of under de Castro's regime.
"The spy?" I asked, checking with Thalia if she had been in tonight. After another negative response, I started to call the contacts I had in the other Areas for two reasons. One was to see if anything had happened that might have explained the sudden silence for Madden and de Castro. The other was to warn them of the silence. I was positive that it meant nothing good for me, but the chances were it also meant nothing good for Louisiana. We would have to be extra-vigilant.
A phone call from the bar area was the only warning I received that Madden had finally made an appearance. I stood to greet him when he came to my door. His eyes showed surprise to see me, but he did not allow the shock to show over the rest of his face. I had no clue why he would be surprised to find me in my office, but he covered it well as he told me, "Eric, I am surprised to find you here without your lovely wife, yet again."
"I am not one so lacking in confidence as to require that she never leave my side," I told him. I ignored the fact that though it would not be due to a lack of confidence, I would want nothing more than for Sookie to constantly be at my side.
"Yes, well, you won't be able to keep others from getting the pleasure of viewing her forever. Or for much longer," he added as if it was an afterthought. I knew that it was not.
"I am not sure I understand your meaning."
"I am sure that my absence did not go unnoticed," he said. No, it was not. It was something that I both rejoiced over while I abhorred it for what it could mean.
"We discussed needing to use Sookie's ability and it appears we must do so even sooner than expected. A situation has arisen and her abilities are needed to try to keep it from becoming any worse. You as her husband would be more than welcome as well. Though with her scent still growing weaker in your bar, she may not want you," he said, and I wanted to punch the smile right off of his face.
"When?" I asked while I pretended to humor the idea.
"Tomorrow night," he answered, as the smile on his face grew larger.
"Not possible. She is ill," I told him, knowing that would not suffice in delaying the inevitable. What I hoped was that it would allow me more time to devise a plan for why she could not be at Fangtasia tomorrow night, or could not listen to any humans for them at all. It was something I would fight for Sookie regardless of her age or appearance. It was not a life I wanted for her. Regrettably, and even more so given the current situation, I had to give them something. As much as I would have enjoyed being obstinate and simply telling them no, that would only fix things for the short term, but made them more difficult for the long term. That was something I absolutely could not have.
What I wanted was to end Madden and de Castro, slowly and painfully. If it meant Sookie's safety, I could have dealt with it being quick and painless. As long as they were finally dead, I would not be concerned with how they got there.
"Feed her your blood and heal her," he said as if it was that simple. Unfortunately, the healing part was.
"She would still need time to recover," I told him. "She is human. That cannot be forgotten."
"So it can be the evening after tomorrow, and we will bring the ones who need to be read here," He was attempting to be reasonable. As much as I did not want to admit it, he was. If that had been the case since the takeover, it might have been something that I could have worked with, but Madden's true colors had bled through. Though I may not have known what his goal was with the newfound and rational behavior, I did know that it was not something he suddenly was doing because he had grown a conscience.
The difficulty with him attempting to appear more reasonable was that it made me appear less than reasonable.
"She will remain back here with me and we will be undisturbed the entire evening."
"I will have them here an hour after sundown with the questions we need asked, and it should not take very long for her to gather the information. I will return an hour before sunrise to collect them and the answers," Again, he was attempting to sound reasonable. It made me want to stake him even more.
"You will not be staying?" I asked him.
"No. I have duties in other Areas of the state to oversee. I assumed that you could handle your wife and her abilities."
It was a good thing Sookie was not here, well, adult Sookie anyway. She would not take idea that I could 'handle' her very well. Fuck, I did not like Madden's word of choice! When I took in the look on his face, I could see that my reaction, or at least his hope of my reaction, was the reason for his statement.
I did not give him the satisfaction.
"I will meet with you when you return to discuss whatever Sookie found."
"Yes, and with hope, she will be feeling well enough to meet with us as well."
That would not be happening. I would have done everything I could to ensure that it did not happen if Sookie was her actual, adult self. There was no way in hell that Sookie would be there when Madden was. I was going to do everything I could to ensure that.
Thankfully, Madden did not stay much longer after our meeting. That gave me enough time to contact those whom I would need to work with to make sure Madden and Sookie were nowhere near each other in two nights' time. I would be relying on trusted vampires to track Victor's movements throughout the state.
Hello dear readers. I do hope that you have had a good week and that you enjoyed Jason and meeting his sister. Many thanks to MsBuffy and her editing skills and her patience!
Unfortunately, I again could not send PM's to respond to reviews this week. I'm not sure why FF has had a problem with my computer since I updated the OS but it is a guess to what will work each time I try. I appreciate all the input. Thanks so much!