Vampires Do Not Play Nurse

A/N: I do not own anything having to do with the Southern Vampire Mystery novels. They are the sole property of Charlaine Harris. I am just a poor college student, don't hold it against me.

Assume through book 8 has happened. Enjoy.

I was two seconds away from slapping Andy Bellfleur or throwing up on him. Maybe just passing out would suffice.

I was feeling sick but I only had about an hour left of my shift and damn it, I needed all the hours I could get. There was no way I was going home early. Oh…

I ran to the bathroom in the back hallway, leaving a gaping Andy in the middle of his order, and promptly threw up the toast that I had, had for breakfast. After the nausea had passed, I walked on wobbly legs to the sink. My face had taken on an alarming green tinge and the purple bruising under my eyes had grown more pronounced. All in all, I wasn't going to be winning any beauty pageants.

I was splashing some water on my face when I heard Sam knocking on the door asking if I was alright. Sam Merlotte was my boss that sometimes changed into a Collie. He was a great boss and an even greater friend. I knew that he wouldn't think twice about sending me home early.

"I'm fine, Sam." I called. I wasn't sure that I meant it, but I was feeling a bit better now and I really needed the money. I had never gotten paid for my services in Rhodes and my nest egg was decimated by my property taxes, and maintenance on my lovely old farmhouse. Not that I didn't love my house, it's a family house that has been around for generations, I wouldn't trade it for anything, but it was insane how many things needed to be replaced. Just last week the washer and dryer decided they had enough of Amelia and me, and had died right on the spot.

I pulled myself out of my pity party long enough to push through the bathroom door and pad into the hallway. Sam eyed me with concern.

"You're lookin' a little green around the gills, chere. Maybe you should go home early tonight and get some rest." Sam oozed concern, but I was determined to finish out my shift.

"I'm fine, Sam. Just a little tired is all. I'll go home and take a nap as soon as my shift is over." I tried to sounds as cheerful as I could manage as I slapped on my crazy Sookie Stackhouse smile.

Sam looked me over, clearly disbelieving my new found cheer, "I'll call in Holly just in case, Sook. I know you want the hours, but you've been working double shifts almost every day and I think they're catchin' up to you. If you won't go home early, then at least take tomorrow off."

The way he said it clearly meant, 'If you don't go home now, I'm not letting you come in tomorrow.'

I sighed in resignation. I'd rather go home an hour early than miss an entire day.

"Okay Sam, call Holly. I'll take off when she can cover me." I gave him a little hug to show my gratitude. My brain had started pounding against my forehead during our conversation and the nauseous feeling was slowly returning.

I headed out to check on my tables. It was about 2 o'clock in the afternoon on a Monday. The lunch crowd had come and gone, so there were only two people in my section. Andy Bellfleur had apparently put in his order with Angie, the new waitress Sam had hired last week. She was a cute 20-something with short brown hair and bright green eyes. She was hard working and really sweet. She wasn't a loud broadcaster, but what I did (and didn't) hear made me like her more. She had left her abusive boyfriend in Mississippi a month ago and had taken this job in Bon Temps to save up enough money to go to night school. She thought I was a little odd but she liked me and hoped we could be friends. She sent a little smile my way to let me know she had taken care of Andy.

The only other person in my section was Hoyt. He was my brother's best friend and a very sweet guy. He idolized my brother but they were starting to drift apart now that Jason had married (and divorced) Crystal, and he was dating Holly.

I started over to his table but had to grab onto the bar as a wave of dizziness washed over me. Terry Bellfleur set down the glass he'd been polishing and limped around the bar to my side. He grabbed my arm and led me to a chair at a nearby table.

"You just sit here a minute and I'll bring you a glass of water." He said as he went back to the bar. Terry Bellfleur is Andy's cousin. He was a war veteran that had good days and bad days. Sometimes really bad days. When he was having a bad day it was hard for him to be around people (and probably in their best interest if he wasn't) but it was especially hard for me to be around him. It was hard to block out his flashbacks. More than anything, I wish that my gift could help ease the intensity of his memories. Terry was a good man that had never treated me like a freak. He understood what it was like to be on the outside of "normal".

"Here you go, Sookie." Terry said, startling me out of my reverie when he sat down a glass of ice water.

"Thanks, Terry." I mumbled, embarrassed.

"It's no problem. Sam just told me that you were going home early. Holly should be here soon, and Angie can cover for you until she gets here. So you go on home now, darlin'. Sam already said he wanted you to scoot." Huh. Sam had already come out here and talked to Terry and disappeared in the back and I hadn't even noticed. So much for being aware.

"You're right. Let me go tell Angie and then I'll get out of here."

"Do you need a ride? If you're not okay to drive now I can give you a ride home and come back before things start to pick up." Terry offered with absolute sincerity. I picked up from his thoughts that he was thinking I might fall asleep at the wheel. Been there done that. Thank you Fairy Godmother.

"I'll be fine, Terry. Thanks for the offer though." I told him as I stood up, trying to look well enough to get home in one piece. I think I succeeded in only trembling slightly, my legs felt like I had run a marathon, so that was unavoidable.

I gave him a smile before he walked back behind that bar and made my way over to Angie, who had watched the exchange with worry.

"I'm not feeling too well, Ange, so I'm going to be taking off a little early. Would you mind covering my tables until Holly gets in?" I could tell from her thoughts that she had no problem covering for me but I had to wait for her to confirm what I already knew.

"No problem, Sookie. I hope you feel better soon." She gave me a reassuring smile before scurrying over to Hoyt to see if he wanted a refill.

Well, now that, that was taken care of I was home free. I stumbled into the back hallway towards Sam's office. I let myself in, like I had done for the last five years. He was filling out order forms and lifted his head when I came in. I grabbed my purse from where I stashed it this morning and called over my shoulder as I was walking out, "See ya tomorrow Sam." He gave a "Bye, Sook. Call if you need anything." in return.

I slipped out the back door into the bright afternoon light and had to shut my eyes against the harsh glare. 'Okay, ow.' I thought as the pounding increased in my forehead. I staggered to my car thinking that I should have taken Terry up on that offer of a ride. Just as I reached my door, a now familiar popping sound signaled the arrival of my very own fairy godmother and cousin, Claudine.

Claudine was a fairy. From what I could understand about a world that guarded its secrets closely, Claudine wanted to become an angel, but had to be a 'fairy godmother' first. This was good with me. She had saved my life and been there for me on multiple occasions. In fact, she had saved me from falling asleep at the wheel at one point. Perhaps she was trying to circumvent that from happening again.

Claudine danced (she didn't seem to ever walk) over to me and gave me a hug and a kiss to the cheek.

"Hello, Fairy Godmother."

"Hello, Cousin." She returned cheerful. She pulled back from our hug and frowned. "You've lost weight, Sookie. And your coloring is off." She seemed to assess me from head to toe before stating, "Come on, I'm taking you home and tucking you in to bed. You could use the sleep."

I was starting to get tired of people telling me I was tired and needed to go to bed. "Yeah Yeah." I muttered ungraciously as I pulled out of her arms and went over to the passenger's seat. I slid in to the seat as Claudine was starting the car. She reached over me and fastened my seatbelt as I slipped into unconsciousness. My last thoughts were of a big strong blonde haired, blue eyed Viking that had been absent as of late, taking with him a piece of my heart. 'Stupid Viking.'

A/N: Love it, hate it? Let me know. I'll probably update in a few days but I need some inspiration first. This was just the set up. Good Eric/Sookie on the horizon.