chapter seventeen

                “You know, Miss Stackhouse, there are only about a million forms of birth control out there,” said the hobbit taking her blood pressure.

                “I know, I just didn’t ever need before and before I knew it, I was with someone who could get me pregnant and I just…I just didn’t think of it,” she said.

                “Well your blood pressure is good. Open up, take your temperature,” said the doctor shoving a thermometer in her mouth.  “Any morning sickness?” Sookie shook her head. “Well it doesn’t usually happen with the fae, they are real nice about that. So did you volunteer to have sex with this fae or did he grab you in the woods and let fly?” Sookie took the thermometer out of her mouth.

                “No, it was consensual,” she said. The doctor put the thermometer back in her mouth.

                “Well, I was just asking, you have to know these things. Sometimes it happens and the girl wants it out,” said the doctor. Sookie cast an evil look at her. “Don’t raise your hackles with me, young woman, those are just the facts.” She took the thermometer out of her mouth and looked at it. “Bit elevated but normal. Slide out of your pants and underwear and hop up in the table, scoot down to the edge and feet up in the stirrups, let’s have a look at you.” Sookie did as she was told. The doctor took out what looked like a small hand shower with a ball about half the size of a pigeon egg on it. She slid a condom over it and lubed it up. “Try to relax, when was your last period?”

                “Last month, about four weeks ago,” said Sookie, trying to relax. The doctor moved the monitor around a little and slid the device inside, moving it around a little. Sookie at first could not see much of anything on the monitor or of Dr. Ludwig when suddenly she popped up and put one of her stubby hands on her belly and pressed.

                “And when was the first encounter?” she asked.

                “Almost three weeks ago,” said Sookie.

                “Pretty early,” said the doctor. “Who heard the baby?

                “Eric,” she said.

                “Well, he is rarely wrong. He has sent a couple of his waitresses to see me when they got up the pole,” said Ludwig, pressing and moving the probe. “He is never wrong. He heard the presence of a pregnancy the first few days after the fact.” She looked at the monitor. “There it is, a little knot of tissue, there is no doubt of it.”

                “My Aunt died of cancer,” she said, worried.

                “That’s not a cancer, I would have smelled it. It will be a little while before you get a heartbeat. Of course the baby will develop a little faster, but only by a month or so. Does the daddy know of any fae midwives still hanging around close?”

                “I don’t know, but you could deliver my baby couldn’t you?” asked Sookie.

                “Sure, but it is better if a fae can deliver you, they can do things for you and the baby I can’t, it can be a little tricky if you aren’t careful.” The doctor pulled out the wand and pulled off the condom and gave Sookie a paper towel to clean up with as Dr. Ludwig cleaned off her equipment. She pressed the print button and hopped down from what must have been a little step up and walked around and wrote some notes. “You can get dressed and then join me in my office.” She left Sookie and went into another room. Sookie got dressed and grabbed her purse and followed Dr. Ludwig. She was at the desk making a list on a pad.

                “I am going to put you on special vitamins and supplements. Whole Body has them, they are the best. Some things are for you, some are for the baby, special needs of a fairy baby,” she said. “You can have sex and you can work and exercise. Call if you have any bleeding or cramping.” She put the list down in front of Sookie and a white envelop.  “Your list and the picture of the baby, though there is nothing to be impressed with at the moment. Now, stay away from lemons and iron and don’t take vampire blood.  You will notice they will be more interested in you, especially the further along you get. Especially new vampires, they have less control. Bill and Eric will be okay, they know how to deal with the smell. They will be more attracted to you because you will have more fae to you than before.”

                “Did you always know I was fae?” asked Sookie.

                “Yes,” she said. “I am surprised Eric Northman did not recognize your fae nature before, but he is sort of skeptical, I bet he hadn’t had a whiff of fae in centuries.”

                “He said he had not,” said Sookie.

                “Well, they are older and they will be able to control themselves better,” she said. “Take care of yourself Miss Stackhouse, and stay out of trouble.”

                “I will try,” she said.

                Sookie and Amelia drove through town. “There it is, Sookie.” Sookie slid into a parking space a few car lengths away and got out. Preston was with her. While she was at the doctor, he had gone to his apartment to clean and pack a few things. He had loaded a duffle with a few things and a small cardboard box and basically cleaned out the spartan contents of his fridge and took out the trash and made up the bed and abandoned the apartment. If all went well, he would just be another person who disappeared never to come back.

                He sat in the front seat with Sookie and he asked about her visit and was happy when Sookie confirmed Eric’s diagnosis. They got out together and Preston slid his hand in hers, twining his fingers with hers and walked to the little shop with her. Amelia bounded in.

                “Amelia,” said Rachel. “How lovely to see you.”

                “I was just in town and my friend Sookie had to pick up some vitamins and stuff and I thought I would come in and see if you needed some stuff sent to you,” said Amelia.

                “Sure,” she said, looking up as Sookie came in holding hands with a handsome young man. “Hi, welcome to Whole Body.”

                “Thanks,” said Sookie. “Wow I have never been in here, you really have it fixed up.” She peered at the fish tank. “I have to get these vitamins and supplements.” She handed Rachel the note and she looked at it.

                “You are expecting, how wonderful,” said Rachel. She grabbed a wicker shopping basket from a pile of them and began to pull things off the shelves. There were two teas, some vitamins and herbal supplements and some other things for appetite and to combat tiredness. She quickly filled the basket and saw Sookie looking at one of the candles. Sookie sniffed it.  “I am burning that scent now.”

                “It smells so good,” said Sookie. “Like flowers and cloves and vanilla and cinnamon.”

                “Take one, a gift for the good news,” said Rachel. Sookie smiled.

                “That is so nice,” she said. She watched as Rachel checked her out. She first zipped a buyer’s card and then began to scan the items. “You and Bill make a real nice couple.”

                “Oh, well, thank you,” said Rachel.

                “Bill told me he was seeing you,” she said. “He really seems happy.”

                “Well, I really care about him,” said Rachel, still scanning things. “These are morning teas. They taste terrible but a little honey goes a long way of helping.”  Preston scanned the shelves and grabbed a large jar of what looked like honey.

                “I have some honey at home,” said Sookie.

                “This is royal jelly, the honey only the queen would have,” said Preston.

                “Excellent choice,” said Rachel. “You will really be able to tell the difference Sookie, it is richer and sweeter and you don’t have to use as much. This is the evening tea, it tastes really good and makes you relax. I always suggest it to people with nerves or have upset stomachs. Everything is written down on the boxes and packets. Best to space everything out so you aren’t taking everything at once.” She tallied up the bill. “Okay the tab comes to $125 dollars. I ran a membership card and that gives you 25% off which brings you to $93.75.” Preston took out his wallet and pulled out a hundred dollar bill. She rang it up and gave him the change.

                “Thanks for everything,” said Sookie.

                “Good luck with the baby,” she said. Sookie walked out as Sky walked in. She was a little dusty looking.

                “Get your office put together?” asked Rachel.

                “Finally, and I am hot and thirsty,” she said.

                “I have some chai tea and some sodas in the back, want to go have a break and have a drink with me in the back garden?” asked Rachel.

                “Sure sounds great,” she said.

                “I don’t know how to feel about this,” said Sky, sitting in the shade of the garden, watching one of the tai chi classes going through their complex dance with Katey, one of Rachel’s instructors.  “I mean, he didn’t force me, and I knew what I was getting into, but, I can’t help but feel like I was just a substitute for him and this is going to mean so little when he wakes this evening.”

                “Did you talk to him about it?” asked Rachel.

                “I did, but then I had sex with him again,” she said. “This is bad for me, I think.”

                “What do you want?” asked Rachel.

                “I don’t know, I wanted him, but I wanted to have something more than this is likely turning out. I mean, I have things to offer him, and he has things to offer me, but I think going to bed with him is making this more about that than what I would have liked. I mean, he is still in love with her. He married her according to vampire ritual and from what I know about that, that is a very serious thing for him.”

                “Well, okay, you messed up, just back up a little and make a limit for him. Besides Sookie, who else had he been with but fangbangers? Bill told me since they have come out of the coffin vampires are experiencing melancholy, sort of depression and boredom all rolled into one and they actually go out and meet the sun. He seems to think it is because the roles of predator and prey are now reversed and after the novelty of humans seeking them out has worn out, they feel exploited,” said Rachel. “I have to admit, I gave myself a talking to figure out what I liked about Bill, was it the fangs, the fact he was a vampire, or was it Bill himself.”

                “It’s not the fangs,” said Sky. “It’s the man. But maybe it is because of his age, and his ability to reach back into his past and tell me things. Oh God, I have become a history whore.” Rachel snickered. Sky looked at her.

                “So you love him for his mind,” said Rachel. “That should feel real new to him. A woman who likes him for himself and his intelligence and experiences and not just what he has to offer in bed.”

                “Which is incredible,” she said. This thought did not make her happy, though for anyone else they would be overjoyed with the vampire’s attentions.

                “Sookie is pregnant,” said Rachel.

                “Eric told me. That is another thing, I don’t want him to use me just to feel good about the fact Sookie is with someone else and she is pregnant,” said Sky.

                “Just talk to him. Bill says he doesn’t necessarily like Eric, but he admires him, likely because he is sort of Bill’s boss and because he is older. He says that is a big deal in his world. He also says Eric is very reasonable,” said Rachel. Sky shook her head.

                “I guess I better get up there, hope I will have the chance to speak to him and sort this out,” she said.

                “Let me know how it all works out. I am so glad you came to rent my flat. At least we can commiserate and hash things out,” she said.

                “Wish me luck,” said Sky.

                Sky was on the couch, reading through the magazines Rachel had given her. She would peer from time to time at Eric, still sleeping. She’d had a shower and was dressed in her favorite soft jeans and a thin silk sweater. Sky had her supper, drinking a glass of the wine Eric had sent her. He was right, it was better.

                When she got home, she had gone on line and found the internet radio station the were had mentioned and listened to some of his archived shows. They were sickening, so vitriolic. Had he been on an ordinary radio station he would not have been able to broadcast all the trash he spewed on his show. What troubled her was there were so many of that same ilk who agreed with him. She listened for a long while and felt suddenly tired. She knew there was hate out there, but she could not believe it was here, here in this pleasant little town. She clicked off on it and shook her head.  After she’d listened, she stood there at the foot of her bed and looked at Eric. He was on his side, his long blond hair tangled, his shoulder bare and his face was so smooth and peaceful. She watched him lying there and wondered what dreams would come to someone like him. Then she jerked herself into the here and now and decided to do some work, read those magazines and write up some lesson plans.

                Sky was deeply involved when she felt Eric’s hand on her shoulder. She looked up, a little surprised. He was naked and wide-awake. “I have to go. Thank you for the shelter.”

                “Not a problem Eric,” she said. He raised his hand, her note between his fingers.

                “We will have a serious chat about this note soon, as soon as this trouble is past,” he said.

                “I hope so,” she said. “Can I get you a TrueBlood?”

                “No, I have to have a blood meal tonight,” he said. He looked at her a little hungrily. “But I will feed elsewhere.” Sky could not help but be a little disappointed. “It’s better this way.” He moved faster than she could track and her back door closed. He’d dressed and taken off in seconds.

               

                Bill was dressing too, only a little slower. Rachel was following him with her eyes. “Are you okay sweetheart?” he asked.

                “Just enjoying the view,” she said.

                “How’s the bond?” he asked.

                “I’m still a little stoned,” she said. “You know, I smoked pot a couple of times in high school but I never really understood what it was all about. Now, I think I know.” Bill smiled.

                “I am better than cannabis,” he said.

                “Way better,” she said.

                “Would you consider, after tonight, coming to my home and staying for a few days until Sookie is gone?” he asked. “It would be easier to keep you safe and you could make my windows light tight.”

                “Would I be able to go to work?” she asked.

                “Is there any way you can take a vacation?” he asked.

                “I could,” said Rachel.

                “Pack tonight, you will need to get human food and coffee and things you like, come to the house after work, I will leave the keys for you with the guard,” he said. “I have to go.” She got out of bed, naked and warm and went to him and put her arms around him. She loved the way the growing bond made her feel. She pulled him down for a kiss. He slid his arms around her and kissed her back.

                “Be careful Bill, take care of yourself,” she said.

                “I shall,” he said.

                Eric drove up to Sookie’s house. Bubba was sitting on her swing, having a TrueBlood. Sookie was in the yard with Preston, Jason, Sam and Luna and Alcide.

                “Diantha Cataliades has not come yet?” asked Eric.

                “Keepyerjockeezonbigfella,” said Diantha as she walked out the woods. “I’m here.”

                “Where is Bill?” asked Sookie.

                “He is on his way,” said Eric. “Are you ready for the little boy?”

                “Yeah,” said Sookie. “We have him good to go.” Diantha dropped the two bags she had taken from the house at Red Ditch. “What’s all this?”

                “Stuffromhizhouse,” she said.

                “Thank you Diantha,” said Sookie. She looked in the bags. “You got him some pictures and toys and clothes and books…thanks, that will help a lot.” She pulled out the teddy bear. It smelled like little boy.

                “Soonbebuyingstuffforababy,” said Diantha.

                “Yeah,” said Sookie.

                “Congrats,” said Diantha. Lights from a car filled the yard. It was Bill.

                “We are all here,” said Eric. “Bubba, will you join us?”

                Bill, Bubba, Eric, and Diantha were in Bill’s car. Bubba was guiding Bill out of town and toward a deserted stretch of road. Bill remembered the farmhouse when he was a young man. It was close to where his wife Caroline had lived with her family. Of course, Judith would choose this area. Bill knew she was obsessed but this was sick.

                Hunter was all alone. The woman, Caroline, had been there. She talked to him, but sometimes it was like she was talking to someone who wasn’t there, like crazy people did in the movies. She was talking about him, how this would make it like he really wanted it. She said she would make him, whatever that meant, and he could be their little Robert. He didn’t know who Robert was, but he told her his name was Hunter and that was the name he liked. She didn’t seem to hear him a lot of the time. She was sad too. Sometimes she would pull him into her lap and rock him but he didn’t like it. She was cold and she cried red stuff not like real tears.

                He was hungry. The lady forgot to feed him. She said she didn’t eat anymore. She sometimes looked hungry too, but he knew what vampires ate so he stopped telling her he was hungry. He was afraid she would decide to eat him. When the lady left, he laid down on the bed and covered up. He was cold, his feet were cold and he was hungry and he was lonely. He wanted his daddy, he wanted Erin, he wanted his aunt Sookie. He tried to call out to her, in his brain, but she never answered him back. Maybe she was too far away. He covered his head and cried until he fell asleep.

                The shadows moved around Merlotte’s bar. The bar was busy but the trailer he lived in was quiet and dark. One of the guys, a big bellied bubba type went around the front and went into the bar. He sat down and a dark haired waitress came and took his order for a Bud lite. He took out his phone and texted. >Sam not here.<

                “Well of course he ain’t here,” said a sharp heavily accented woman’s voice. “He’s at that Sookie’s house. I done told you where he would be at.”  Latesta turned.

                “We know that Arlene, that is why we are here now,” said Latesta.

                “Well, let’s take care of this then,” she said. “I want to get this done and then do that bitch’s house.”

                “We have plenty of time,” said Latesta. “Let’s get it all wired up, we will have plenty of time to do this and be out of the way.”

Bill pulled in between two trees and Eric, Diantha, and Bubba got out of the car with Bill.

“Diantha and I will approach the house. We will take the boy and Diantha can disappear and reappear with him at Sookie’s and we can go in and sniff around, see if there is anything that might tell us what is going on.” Bill nodded and watched Eric and Diantha go into the old plantation. Bubba had told him the boy was in the upstairs but he thought the woman had a place downstairs, somewhere she could go to ground. He said he once saw her in the parlor and she was on the phone and sometimes writing, like in a diary. If this was Judith’s lair, they may be able to find something to tell them who she was involved with and what her plan was. Bill was antsy, waiting to hear the signal Eric would give them.

                Diantha moved silently along side with Eric. She saw something strange and touched Eric on the arm and motioned. He looked up the staircase and then back to where Diantha was going. She stepped into the room with the vampire behind her. There were a lot of papers and a thick bound book. There was a newspaper picture of Bill sitting there, when he spoke to the Bon Temps SBA meeting and then at the town council and another time at the city council. Eric put his cool fingers on the demon and motioned her to follow him. They could come back.

                The two figures moved carefully up the old stairs. He turned and looked at Diantha and pointed to a closed door with a sliding latch on it. She nodded and slid in front of the vampire and went to the door. She slid the bolt back and she and Eric came in. There was an old bed, an old rug, a table with a battery-operated lamp. The windows were boarded over and a piece of black fabric was tacked up. The room was stuffy and smelled a little dusty and moldy. Eric could hear the heart beat of the boy, fast with youth and fear. “Hunter?” he said. There was a movement under the blanket. A little dishwater blond head peeked out. He looked scared. The lady said a big blond vampire would come after him. He scampered off the bed and slid under it.  Eric looked at Diantha. She shrugged her shoulders and Eric went over, squatted down, and lifted the ragged blanket.

                “Hunter, I am here to take you to Sookie,” he said. “Please come out.” Hunter squinted at him.

                “I remember you, the man with the long hair like a lady, you went into aunt Sookie’s closet and you didn’t come out again and Claude wanted to peek at you,” said Hunter.

                “He did?” asked Eric.

                “Uh huh, but aunt Sookie said he should leave you alone, because no one likes to be peeked at when they are asleep,” he said. “Are you really taking me to Sookie’s house? The lady said she would take me but she never did.”

                “I am really taking you to Sookie’s house,” said Eric. Hunter crawled out from under the bed. He was dusty and dirty but there was a pleasant sweet smell about him Eric associated with all assorted small humans.  “Who is she?”

                “That is my very good friend, Diantha, and she is helping me get you to Sookie,” said Eric. He picked up the blanket and wrapped the little boy in it. “Diantha is going to pick you up and before you can blink, you will be at Sookie’s house.”

                “Will you be there?” he asked.

                “In a little while,” he said.

                “Okay,” he said. “What is your name?”

                “Eric,” he said.

                “Thanks Eric,” he said. Diantha came over and Eric picked him up and gave him to Diantha.

                “See you there soon,” said Eric.

                “Seeya,” she said and blinked out.

                With a slight pop, Diantha reappeared in Sookie’s house with Hunter in her arms. Sookie rushed over to him and he reached out to her. “Aunt Sookie, I tried to talk to you but I couldn’t get to you!!!” he said, squeezing her tight around the neck.

                “It’s okay Hunter, you are here now,” she said. Sookie was crying with joy. She thought for sure Hunter was lost, regardless of what Eric and Bill thought. “Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

                “I’m hungry,” he said.

                “What would you like to eat?” she asked.

               

                Hunter was delighted with the hot dogs. He ate two and a piece of pie and had two glasses of milk. “Aunt Sookie? Are you going to having a baby?”

                “Yes, Hunter, I am, how did you know?” she asked.

“Your head leaked it out. I didn’t mean to hear it,” he said, remembering the talking to she had given him about privacy.

“It’s okay Hunter,” she said.

“Is Eric the daddy?” he asked.

“No, Hunter, Eric can’t be a daddy, not like that,” she said. “Preston is the daddy.” He looked at Preston.

“You aren’t a vampire,” he said. “But your head is fuzzy.” Preston laughed.

“I’m a fae,” said Preston.

“Like Claude was fae? Is Claude here? Can I see him?”

“Maybe, very soon,” said Sookie. “We are going to go on a trip together.”

“Is daddy coming? Erin had a fuzzy head too,” said Hunter. “Is she coming?”

“Hunter, your daddy went to…” Sookie began.

“Your daddy and Erin are in the Summerland and when we go on our trip, you will see him again, but he says he wants you to live with Sookie,” said Preston. Sookie looked at Preston, unsure about what Preston was saying.

“That’s not true, Sookie’s head says daddy and Erin are dead,” said Hunter. “Are they Aunt Sookie, are they dead?”

“Well…Maybe but if Preston knows where they really are, they might be able to meet up with us,” said Sookie.  “You look like you need a bath. Want to have a bath? I still have your ducky.” He nodded and Sookie stood up and took his hand and led him to the bathroom. She came back with a Merlotte’s tee shirt and pair of his underwear and a towel and ran his water. “Need me to help you?”

“After I get in the water, so you can’t see me,” he said.

“Okay, just yell when you get in the tub,” she said. She went out in the hall with the door cracked. Preston came to her. “How could you say such a thing to him?” she whispered tersely.

“Because they did go to the Summerland and Hunter will get to see them at Samhain,” explained Preston. “I will explain this to you later.”

“You better believe we will,” she said. She heard Hunter say he was ready. Sookie gave Preston a look and went into the bathroom.

Eric and Bill were in the abandoned house. They carefully checked all the rooms and the crawl space under the house and returned to the room, which had obviously been used as her base of operations. Bill looked at the clipped pictures and the other papers. Eric found her computer.

“We will take it all, Gerald, Pam’s house mate, will take a look at the computer and we can go through her diaries,” said Eric. Bill gathered all the papers neatly with a speed that could be not tracked and Eric had her computer. They went back to the car where Bubba was waiting.

“Bill, Mr. Eric, them dogs is back,” said Bubba. Eric turned back to look and saw a deep shadow move and the silhouette slid out, the huge silhouette of a big dog. Eric slid into the car and shut the door.

“Let’s go to Fangtasia,” said Eric.

The three vampires drove down the dark road back toward Shreveport. Bubba sniffed a couple of times. “You been with someone Mr. Eric? She smells awful pretty.”

“I’ll tell her you said so Bubba,” said Eric. The addlepated vampire was like an eight year old, saying whatever came to mind without censor. “When we get to Fangtasia we will go down and make the deal with our shifter friend and send him on his way. Bubba, you are to get yourself something to eat and then return to Bill’s house.”

“Yes, Mr. Eric. You think Miss Sookie would let me see that little boy?” asked Bubba.

“I don’t think you should trouble Miss Sookie,” said Bill.

“Oh, I don’t want to eat him or nothin’ I want to say hey,” said Bubba.

“Maybe, let us speak to Miss Sookie first and ask her if it would be okay,” said Bill.

“Okay,” said Bubba. “Can you drop me by the animal shelter Bill?”

“Yes,” said Bill. Eric looked at him. “It’s on our way.”

After dropping Bubba off near the animal shelter, Bill and Eric went to Fangtasia. They went into the basement. The were looked them warily. “We have decided to accept your deal, we need you to go to your pack and tell them. It will take a while before we can get you back home but I promise you I will hold up my end of the bargain. You need to go somewhere safe, somewhere you can leave from back to Nevada and the King. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” he said.

“But mostly, we want you to talk to your people, we have no desire to harm anymore of you, but you have to tell them not to harm us,” said Bill.

“This we can do,” he said.

“And we need you to contact us from time to time, and tell us what is happening with the king, who he is talking to and what he is planning, but you have to be careful. If he catches you there is nothing I can do for you, we can’t help you in any way,” said Eric.

“I understand,” he said. Eric unlocked the bindings and grabbed the clothes Pam had gotten for him.

“We will talk again,” said Eric.

Hunter was sleeping soundly and Sookie was standing in the doorway, watching him. Preston came to stand behind her. He slid his arms around her. “What did you mean by the Summerland?”

“Come sit with me,” said Preston. She followed him into the living room. He sat down on the couch and she sat in the chair. “Sookie, you are a Christian, so these things will sound very strange to you, but we don’t believe the ones we love and die are lost to us forever, we believe they go to a wonderful place, where they live and continue on with their lives. We also believe that once year, sometimes more, but definitely once a year, we see them again and they see us. And it’s not just fae that do that, human spirits do the same thing.”

“So there is no heaven?” she asked.

“Yes, there is, we call it the Summerland, Eric would call it Valhalla, Buddhists and Hindus call it Nirvana, there are other words for it too. I suppose Eric’s maker would call it Elysium. No one has a corner on Paradise. No one has exclusive rights to it. It is accessible to everyone. It is up to you what path to follow to get there,” he said.

“I’m not sure I can believe that,” she said.

“Sookie, that isn’t right, to think that way. If I died, do you think I would I would go to Christian Hell, because I am not a Christian,” he said.

“No,” she said.

“And Bill and Eric, do you think when they meet the true death, they would die and go to hell?” he asked.

“I don’t know, I hope not,” said Sookie.

“When Samhain comes, you will see your mother and father and you grandmother and grandfather, your aunt and cousin Hadley and Remy Savoy, and so will Hunter. He will have fairy and human family all around him that one day of the year and maybe some other times too. Sookie, you have to be open minded and not so willing to see things that are not a part of your system of belief and disregard them. I do not disregard your beliefs. Please, don’t disregard mine,” he said. Preston was speaking to her in a way he had not before. He was not being mean, but he was scolding her a little.

“I’m sorry Preston,” she said. “I just didn’t want to confuse Hunter.” He pulled her to him.

“You and the baby and Hunter will have an amazing experience in the world of Faerie. You will see things so incredible, no human mind will ever imagine. You will meet people and see things that exist only in the imagination. Just have an open mind to it Sookie, the experience will be richer for it,” he said.

Bill and Eric were at Merlotte’s with the two natured communities in Eric’s purview. “Luna and I can take turns watching over Sookie either in our physical forms or our other selves,” said Sam.

“Luna, would you be interested in doing this?” asked Bill.

“Yeah, I mean I owe Sookie for all this I have now, I would never had this chance to be here and be with Sam if I hadn’t met her,” said Luna.

“Calvin?” asked Bill. “You want to guard Sookie’s at night, you and your panthers?”

“We can do that, probably better for us to do the night shift as it is, there are some people who haven’t ever see us as our other selves,” said Calvin. “We can head out from here, Bill, at Hot Shot and come around d the hill, along the swamp forest around the rear of yours and Sookie’s house.”

“The the weres of Shreveport can take care of her during the days. We can spread out on her property. Spill over into the cemetery, come around her house,” said Alcide.

“The local vampires will be at both Bill’s and Sookie’s house.  Bill, I think it is time we have a discussion with our lady friends about coming to stay with you at your house since you have those wards around the house,” said Eric.

“I have spoken to Rachel, she has agreed, but she wants to work,” said Bill.

“Women are not like the creatures we knew, are they Bill, they used to like being cared for and protected and provided for. Now they want to be independent,” said Eric.

“I don’t mind that except when they are in trouble and need to be protected,” said Bill. Eric chuckled.

“If you two are through bonding,” said Alcide. “The women can work, but what I would urge them to do is to go only with a minder and to stay home on the day the 21^st so there can be no last minute plan. They can’t object to that.” Eric nodded.

“I will call Rachel and make sure things are prepared at my home,” said Bill.

“Very well, and I thank you Bill,” said Eric.

“You are very welcome, Eric,” said Bill.

“Well if you girls want to kiss and hug, we’ll step outside,” said Calvin Norris, grinning widely at the two vampires. Eric and Bill looked at him and then each other and both chuckled. “I’ll be damned, I think I just made a couple of vamps go to pieces.”

Judith walked into the house. She listened and heard nothing, which made her wary. She should at least hear the boy’s heartbeat and breathing. She pounded up to the room and opened the door. The bed was empty. She searched the bedroom and the other rooms in the ruined old house. It was empty. She could smell a strange vampire in the house. Could De Castro have gotten the boy? She looked around for the dogs and she could see none of them, though she could smell them as well around the house. She went downstairs into the parlor and sat down. That was when she smelled another vampire, a vampire she knew, very well.

“Oh Bill, what have you done?” she said.

Hunter was happy and running in Sookie’s front yard with Diantha and Amelia. They loved the little boy and Sookie got a great deal of pleasure watching him. Alcide as a wolf was just in the tree line with his pack. Sookie sometimes saw the glow of their eyes in the shadows. When the ball Hunter was playing with bounced in the shadows, one of the wolves nudged it back to him and then high tailed it back in the deeper cover of the trees.

“Aunt Sookie, why don’t the doggies come out,” he asked.

“Because they aren’t dogs and they are here to keep you safe til we can take our trip,” she said.

“How are we going to go? Do we drive there?” he asked.

“Well, Amelia and Preston are going to open a door and we will go that way,” she said.

“You look sad Aunt Sookie,” he said.

“I’m not sad, just thoughtful,” she said.

“You are funny Aunt Sookie, your head is getting fuzzy,” said Hunter.

“Oh yeah?” she asked.

“Like Erin and Preston,” he said. “Can I take my toys where we are going?”

“You bet,” she said. “And I have some pictures of your daddy and mommy and Erin.”

“Do you have pictures too you are going to take?”

Sookie nodded. She had packed a bag with some clothes and sentimental items. She had a couple of her favorite books, a couple of photo albums and the empty Cluviel Dor with Eric’s braid, the bullet she sucked out of his shoulder, one of three hankies from Bill, the earrings he had given her and the long silver chain the Rattray’s had used to keep him down while they tried to drain him.  She also had Hadley’s jewelry. It was pretty and made with precious gems and metals. Perhaps Hunter would want them to give a woman in Faery one day. She had her grandmother’s jewelry and some other bits and pieces, her tablecloth, her favorite silver pieces. Jason came to the house to took away some things he wanted, mainly the rest of gran’s silver and her tea service and some other things.

Bill had explained the plan to make Sookie’s disappearance look like an accident. Sookie was more upset about it than Jason, but then she had a silly attachment to this house. Besides, she was never coming back to it anyway. Jason already had plans.

Sookie shook herself out of her reveries and suggested lunch. Hunter thought that was a fine idea.