SIX YEARS LATER

Sookie glanced once more into the full-length mirror in front of her, making sure she didn't need any last minute adjustments to her hair or makeup. Her mother walked past the open doorway, smiled and laughed quietly.

"Sookie, you already know you look beautiful, it's time to peel yourself away from the mirror!"

Sookie laughed, picked up her bouquet of flowers, and left the room with her mother, walking to the vestibule of the church, where the rest of the bridal party was waiting. Her mother kissed her on the cheek, then turned and allowed an usher to lead her up the aisle to her seat on the front row. Amelia came to stand next to Sookie, and the two linked arms, and leaned their heads together.

Since Amelia had been working as a massage therapist at the time, she had appointed herself as Sookie's own personal therapist when she'd been recovering from her gunshot wounds, and the two had truly become best friends.

"You look beautiful, by the way," Amelia said to Sookie.

Sookie smiled, turned to her friend and said, "Hey, what do ya know, so do you!" They laughed together, and when the music playing came to a crescendo, Sookie hugged Amelia quickly and said, "See ya up front!"

As Sookie made her way up the aisle, she couldn't help but smile brightly. Eric, Jason, and the Minister were all smiling back at her, and she felt her heart swell with love. Once she reached the top of the aisle, she stepped a small amount to her side, and turned to the back of the hall, where Amelia's father had stepped into position to escort his daughter down the aisle to her groom. Jason and Amelia had opted for a smaller church ceremony, with Sookie as maid of honor, and Eric as the best man.

After much celebrating, Jason and Amelia left on their honeymoon, and Sookie practically collapsed into bed, exhausted, but pleasantly so. Eric smiled at her as he walked into their bedroom.

"Gee, Hun, you look a little tired," he said.

"Ya think?" she answered sarcastically as Eric lay down and pulled her body close to his. "It's been a very long day, but it was a pretty good one, wasn't it?"

"Very good. I think they're going to be very happy together."

"I do, too. I'm just glad that she's my real sister now."

Eric slowly began placing kisses along the length of Sookie's arm. "So, my lover, just how tired are you?"

She grinned, rolled onto her back, and looked up into his beautiful blue eyes. "Not too tired to let you make love to me," she said.

"Thank God," Eric said, as he proceeded to do just that.

The next afternoon, Sookie and Miranda were leaving the Compton house after having lunch with Susan, and decided to make a quick stop at the grocery store. Sookie had a doctor's appointment shortly afterwards, so they split up in the store to make things go a little faster. Sookie was just leaving the produce section when she saw a familiar face.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Alcide Herveaux," she said, smiling as Alcide turned at the sound of his name.

"Sookie Stackhouse, how the hell are ya?" he asked, with a surprised grin.

"Northman," she said.

"Beg your pardon?"

"It's Sookie Northman, now. Eric and I got married four years ago."

Alcide's smile brightened, and he said, "That's wonderful, congratulations! Where are you two living?"

"Well, because Eric was an only child when his parents died, all of their assets went to him. As it turns out, they were pretty well off. So, he used a chunk of the money, and we had a house built on the ranch, not too far from Mama and Daddy's house. We both work there full-time now, and once Daddy retires, we'll take over."

"Wow. But what about Jason?"

"He told Daddy a long time ago that as much as he loved the ranch, he didn't want run everything. He and Amelia have a place in Denver."

"Speaking of which, didn't I hear that they got married as well?"

"Yeah, yesterday actually. So, what brings you to town? I thought you were living in Montana?"

"Wyoming. My Grandmother is turning 80 in a couple of days, so, we're having a big family party."

"That's wonderful! So, how are things going for you?"

"Good. I've got my general contractor's license, and I actually was actually just hired to build a new 12 condo subdivision, so, things are going pretty good. How about you? How's the, um, shoulder doing?" Alcide cringed a little when he said this. He wasn't sure if Sookie liked to talk about the injury she'd suffered at his ex-girlfriends hands.

"It's okay. I've actually got an appointment with my doctor in about an hour to discuss whether or not I need to have the pins adjusted."

"Well, in that case, I won't keep you any longer. It was nice to see you, tell your parents I say hello," he said. He leaned in and gave her a quick hug, before turning and walking away. Sookie made her way to the pharmacy section of the grocery store, and let her mind wander.

The last time she'd seen Alcide was the final day of Debi Pelt's trial. She'd been found guilty of murder and attempted murder, and had been sentenced to prison without the possibility of parole. The very next day, Alcide had moved from the area.

Recovering from the ordeal had been quite a bit easier than Sookie would've imagined. She really was quite lucky that her injuries weren't any worse. She knew she was lucky, and felt a stab of guilt that some of her luck hadn't latched onto Bill as well. She'd worried about Susan, but Eric had been right, and Susan was much stronger than most people gave her credit for. She'd gone with her mother to visit Susan many times in the days following her release from the hospital. It was actually Susan that had finally answered one of Sookie's many unasked questions. She'd wondered why Eric had not been there with her family in the hospital when she first woke up. She got her answer when Susan spoke about how grateful she'd been that Mike and Eric had taken over as pallbearers, so that Peter and Jason could rush to the hospital to see Sookie.

She was brought out of her thoughts when her mother tapped her on the shoulder, reminding her what a hurry they were in. Sookie grabbed the last item she needed, tossed it into the shopping card, and began to walk with her mother to the cash registers.

As they drove back to the ranch, Miranda said, "Sookie, now, I don't want you to think I'm prying, but, I couldn't help but notice that you bought a bottle of prenatal vitamins. Tell me, am I going to be a Grandma?" Excitement was obvious in her tone of voice.

Sookie smiled, and laughed. "Not quite yet, Mama. But, I guess I should tell you that Eric and I are trying." Miranda let out a squeal of delight, and Sookie just shook her head. Once they'd returned to the ranch, they put the groceries away, and Sookie headed off to her appointment.

Later that evening, Sookie was in the kitchen preparing dinner when Eric came in, having just finished work for the day. He pulled her to him and kissed her, as she squealed and pushed him away. "You're all sweaty, and you stink!" They laughed together as he finally let her go.

"So, how'd it go at the doctor's office?" he asked her as he stole a cherry tomato from the pasta salad she was mixing.

"It went okay. Dr. Ludwig said that the pins could stand to be adjusted, but, as long as I'm not in any pain, we can put it off for a while so it doesn't interfere with anything else."

Eric looked confused. "What would it interfere with?"

"Well, you know, changes in my body and what not?"

She turned to look at him, and he raised an eyebrow. "Changes in your body?" Then, he seemed to understand what she was implying. He strode over to her, put his hands on her shoulders, and looked at her expectantly.

She nodded, and simply said, "She confirmed it just today. We're pregnant."

THE END