PART ONE

Chapter 1

She hated having to go to work, several days after her latest brush with danger. That she hadn't seen nor heard from him in that time concerned him. He had brushed off the torment inflicted upon him with his usual swagger and yet, she had sensed something that night when they returned to her home that something had changed. In both herself and him. She had allowed herself to admit her true feelings and already they had slept together. Yet, something had changed again in their ever complicated relationship and she was sorely tempted to make the drive to Shreveport to see what the matter was. And it didn't surprise her to find herself doing just that. She was concerned, especially knowing how glad he was to be with her again and though still taking things somewhat slow, after that one night together, they had both known it was what the both needed and wanted after so much loss and heartbreak in both their lives. When she arrived at the bar, she went straight to where she saw Ginger and Pam serving drinks to the lust filled humans and vamps alike. Ignoring the cat calls she received and being forced to knee one man in the groin as she reached the bar, a amused looking Pam sniggered as the man writhed on the ground.

"Tinkerbell ain't messing around, is she?" Pam drawled, her smirk fading fast. "I know why you are here, but he ain't here and he won't let me in the house either. Been forced to go to ground here at the bar, which I don't mind….but…." Pam didn't want to let on that she was as worried as Sookie was. "It's almost as bad as it was when you went to Faery for a year. He never gave up looking for you and I think he probably spent millions on trying to find you. Bill didn't you know….." Pam was quick to add that little twist to the gut to Sookie, who knew all to well, looking back, how duplicitous Bill had been. In the end, though, she had seen the goodness in him, his desire to meet his family in the afterlife and was all too happy, deep down, to be able to give that to him. So much pain and suffering in his life as well, she reminded herself during the times ha behaved like a asshole…..but now to the Viking.

"I know I've been to your house before but I never knew just where it was….." Sookie replied, slapping her forehead as she remembered. She could teleport herself wherever she wished. "OMG, I keep forgetting…..but I had hoped to find him here first and driving…..it clears my mind a little bit…..could I have the address? You know I wouldn't give it up to anyone….my vault?" she said the last two words, tapping a finger at her temple like Pam had done to her the first night they had met. Though she looked hesitant, Pam did know Sookie well enough that she wouldn't reveal anything sacred or secret to strangers. Besides, the house they lived in was in a secure location and more than adequately protected from both normal and supernatural forces to the best of the ability of those who had built the house…or father mansion slash fortress. As slick as it looked, there was comfort within those walls, Sookie knew that first hand as she had been brought there to recuperate after her beating by her now dead ex. That she had rested comfortable in a guest room that had been very modern styled and yet there was that regal air, charm to it she hadn't been able to describe. She had felt safe there, safer than she had in her own home and even now, she had little jabs of fear in her gut when she returned to her house after work. Though at least she usually had company but it was clear that said company was having issues. Considering how much pride he had, it wasn't surprising to her he was trying to deal with his demons himself. But she was about to intervene

"We keep our location on a need to know basis. " Pam said as she handed Sookie a scrap of paper she had written on. "I had your name put on the list so you should be able to enter without trouble. And if you are given trouble, well, you can just use your little magic to pop straight into the house." Pam watched the girl stuff the paper in a jeans pocket.

"Thanks, Pam." Sookie said as she turned to leave through the maddening crowd but her new friend called her name. "What?" she asked, turning to face the bar again.

"If he doesn't tell even you what's wrong, well, we may have a bigger problem than he thought. He has always confided in me and now….he's pushed me away…you may be our only shot. don't fuck it up." she added with her typical snark, not wanting to appear too concerned, she preferred putting on a callous, unfeeling persona but Sookie had known there was more to her than met the eye and with a grim nod, she left and using the GPS on her phone, was soon pulling up to a gate that was akin to a prison gate. There was a lone human working in the little booth there, a gate shut tight to prevent anyone from simply driving through and as she drove up to the window, she was intimidated by the well armed man in the little booth and knew that even though a human, by dipping into his mind briefly, he was well trained and disciplined enough to take on any foe that dared trespass here. Putting on a friendly smile, she was relieved as he returned the smile as she gave her name and he went to look on a laptops screen and after pushing a few buttons, gave her a nod and with the push of a button, the door opened,

"it's a very short list he's got for visitors, you must be something special." the guard commented making small chit chat. He looked like he would have chatted with her some more but she instead offered a thank you and drove into the gated community, of which the houses were spread few and far between and she took note of cameras everywhere. How there could only be one person on duty at a time as a mystery, though she had to assume that there was more security measures here than she suspected. And those measures, of course would be kept secret, even from her. Not that she couldn't take a peek in the guy's mind, or any other staff that was likely working this place…her thoughts trailed off a she reached the gates of the manor she had been at not too long ago. And though the gates were locked-and electrified, she surmised as her power sensed it from afar, she blinked herself straight into the foyer of the home, making a beeline to where she knew she would likely find him. And down in the underground level of the manor, she came to a row of rooms, all with key fob entry panels there. Undeterred, she used her magic to pop herself past the door and entered a room she had always, at least in the back of her mind, had wondered about. The room was sparsely furnished and yet very modern. Grey paint on the walls and white on the ceiling, the floor was done in a thin black carpeting. Good to hide blood, she thought to herself, trying to find something to smile about, her worry still at a high level. And there she saw both a bed and a coffin, though she was drawn immediately to the bed, for even in the dark, she found her eyesight much improved with her increased power. Another thing that was good to know, she thought to herself as she crept towards the bed. Scattered on the floor, she saw washcloths stained with blood, a sign that clearly he hadn't gotten much rest. And it was when she rounded the bed to try to steal a peak that she realized her concern was certainly not unfounded, nor was Pam's

Chapter 2

She saw the grey sheets stained with dried blood and he looked terrible, though she knew he had healed perfectly well from the events a few days earlier. And as she leaned down to gently wipe blood form his ears, his eyes opened, fangs out and he grabbed her neck tightly before he realized who it was, quickly releasing his grip on her. "Sookie…why are you here?"

"You have people worried about you and I would think you'd realize that…..and I am pretty sure it isn't just Pam and I….I got texts from Willa and Arlene and….well, everyone that was at the complex when they tried to get the two of us out of that hellhole." she paused as she watched him roll onto his back, staring at the ceiling. Something was terribly off. "What is it? Nothing seems to bother you, not like this…." she went again to take a towel to dab the blood form his ears but he gently forced her hand away.

"I think you would be better off going home…..let the others know I am alive….."

"And starving, I can tell….you've not eaten since you got healed and granted you don't need a ton with how old you are-I know that much-but you can't just lay here, I am not leaving until you tell me what the problem is." she sat on the edge of the bed and as she did, he got up and started pacing, clad only in boxers. In any other circumstances, she would have savored the view but her heart was breaking for him.

He waited a moment before telling her the truth. "I couldn't get you out of there. I was…helpless. And I saw the pain you were in in those shackles and there wasn't anything I could do. You could have been killed and there wouldn't have been anything I could have done."

"So its about your price, your ego? You going all emo and pouty?" she said, almost amused but she kept her face sympathetic. She knew how prideful he was and he did savor being the one to save the day when it came to his loved ones. That he hated being and feeling helpless. That would not stand with him and she got it. She really did. But she had to get him out of this. "After everything that has happened in the last week….do you regret reuniting with me? Do you want me to walk away again, if you are so-"

His anger flared up and he rounded on her, eyes ablaze. "I can't give you the life you want….not entirely…..and I thought about it the night we got back from that hellhole, after I literally had the flesh cut from me. And even though we are in once piece now…I wanted to try to save you heartache and misery and look where we are again. Everyone expects me-I expect me-to be the strong one and its all I want to be…..with you, I feel like…." he furrowed his brow and didn't look like he wanted to say his true feelings. She understood him, she understood he had that macho streak about him that didn't want to look remotely vulnerable

"you're so good…yeah, you've done some things that haven't been pretty and god only knows that which you did before we met…..but I know your heart….it's a heart of gold, albeit perhaps a little tarnished. But you shouldn't feel like you have to keep things to yourself or that you feel shame for feeling what you do. I know you love that bad ass persona and trust me, you are very much one. One would be an idiot to doubt that or test that title. But you shouldn't be ashamed of the other side of you, a side I know you've struggled with showing and clearly, even after three years we were apart-"

"I did things during that time that would have shamed you….my family….my friends….both past and present. There was a few women who visited the bar…..two left alive but barely and the third….." he couldn't look at her. "It was fortunate she was a call girl and had no immediate family….though that didn't make me feel too much better after the fact. Pam did arrange for a burial, untraceable back to me. Still want to see the better side of me? I failed you by not being able to save you back there and you well know the bad things I am capable of doing…" he paused and had to admit the stark truth. "I have suffered for a very long time with guilt and I let that turn me into a monster…there is much you don't know of my past and if you did, you'd be smart to leave me again."

She said nothing and remembered that which she had done before, when her newly juiced up powers had allowed her to see into his mind, memories. Glimpses of a painful past were there but she wanted to know more, everything. "If I were to learn everything and accept it, would you accept that I do want you…all of you, like I say? I know there is dark in you but there is in me too. Let me see into your past, please. Then at least I can know everything."

He didn't say anything but gave her a intense look. "Be careful what you wish for, because I know there is more than enough in there that you are gonna wish you hadn't seen."

"I want to know everything about you if we are gonna have another shot." she replied sternly. "Sit on the bed." she ordered and he obliged, sitting beside him and then she gently put her hands gently on his temples and waited. And a few seconds later, she saw not the almost pitch dark around her, but images started appearing in her mind, as if watching a movie. And what she was getting into was something she would never be able to erase from her own mind.

TO BE CONTINUED