"Sookie I am going over to see Jason, will you be alright until Niall gets here?" Amelia asked me from the doorway.

"I'll be fine Amelia. I'm able to get around now so don't worry about me. Plus he'll be here in a half hour. I'll see you later. Bye."

She walked out the door with a "bye" and I was alone for the first time in the two weeks since the fae war. Amelia, my brother Jason, and my great-grandfather Niall had been taking turns helping me around the house and taking care of me since I was brought home after the battle. Jason and Amelia had bonded over both the losses of Tray and Crystal, as well as their need to take care of me while I was incapacitated, and were well on their way to being an item. I was happy that they both had one another to talk to since neither were willing to talk to me about the deaths of Crystal and Tray because I felt partly responsible. They both felt I was in to bad a shape to be concerned with how they were feeling anyway. One of them was nearly always by my side except for the couple hours in the afternoon my great-grandfather, Niall, came.

When Jason came by to check on me after hearing of my "car accident," my great-grandfather was here. After introductions, then some heated words from Jason, Jason was told of what really happened. He insisted that he would come by and help me with whatever I needed. Upon hearing that Jason truly cared about me and Jason hearing of how Niall saved my life by rescuing me from thing one and thing two, they put their differences behind them. While I don't think they will ever be truly close, they have an understanding of each other and can carry on conversation without things becoming uncomfortable.

My grandfather stopped by most days and told me of Claudine's condition as well as the state of affairs in the fae realm since the battle. The first day he came to my house to check on me, three days after the war, he told me that why Claudine never came back into the hospital ward after leaving my room when Eric came. When my great-grandfather's enemies came to ambush us at the hospital, he and his allies had not reached us yet. So Claudine held them off single-handedly for as long as she could. She was found seriously wounded but alive by a fairy on my grandfather's side when Niall came to the hospital to defeat Breandan. She was now in the fae realm recovering and mourning the loss of her unborn child, which she miscarried during the battle. He says she will still be weak for some time but is healing. Claude has stopped by to see me twice, but otherwise is staying in their realm to help Claudine. Our relationship has shifted since my torture and we seem to have developed a mutual respect for the other. He was impressed with my strength during my torture, while I was likewise impressed by his devotion to our grandfather in fighting against his enemies. I dare say in time we might become close.

Eric is an entirely different matter. Since he brought me home after defeating my great-grandfather's enemies he has been skillfully avoiding me. He explained this would be the case when he returned the next night due to the copious number of questions he was receiving from Felipe and Victor concerning the link between Clancy's death, Bill's silver poisoning, and my near fatal "car accident". He is trying to avoid unnecessary attention to me and my condition so no more questions will arise about my connection to the fae and his involvement in the war. He has done his best to cover our tracks and account for Bill's condition and Clancy's death (they were attacked by drainers) as well as mine (car accident) and swear it all as a coincidence. Nonetheless, Felipe still seems to suspect a connection between us, more precisely me, and the fae war which has become news in the supe world due to death of Breandan, the only fairy prince other than my great-grandfather. All of this I have been told through Pam. Pam calls every night for an update on my condition, and to update me on any supe news.

I thought I would miss Eric, but I have actually found my time away from vampires and their politics very refreshing. I have realized that at least some of my attraction to Eric has been due to our blood exchanges. When I am not near him I can think more clearly. I know I have some genuine feelings in there too but I do believe that these are magnified because of our bond. This time apart has given me time to really explore the extent of my feelings and where I want this relationship to go.

Just as I decided I was thirsty and stood from the couch to get a glass of water my great- grandfather popped into the room directly in front of me.

"Great-granddaughter what do you need? You sit back down and I will get it for you." He smiled while gently easing me back onto the couch.

"I just wanted a glass of water." While I appreciated his caring for me recently I still felt it strange to have the fairy Prince waiting on me hand and foot. He doesn't let me do anything when he is here. I was feeling better and could move around a little bit on my own and the pain was now mostly bearable. I was tired of being immobile.

"Here you are," he said as a glass full of water appeared in his hand out of thin air. "Is there anything else you need?"

"No thank you" I said as I took the glass from his hand and took a sip.

"How are you feeling today," he asked as he sat in the chair across from me in the living room.

"I am feeling much better. I've been able to walk a little without help and the pain is not so bad that I need the medicine any longer." He eyed me over looking at all my more visible wounds and relief settled on his face.

"I am so glad you are healing so quickly, even with only the one dose of vampire blood you received from Eric before I got to you at the hospital. It is quite remarkable. I am glad you have not had many outside visitors come see you. No human would be able to recover so fast, therefore any frequent visits to you by others would definitely raise suspicions." He told me repeatedly how proud he was of my bravery during my torture and during the last couple weeks as I healed.

I got a somewhat confused expression on my face and decided to go ahead and state the obvious. "Grandfather, I am so little fae I don't see how what you're saying could be. I can't understand how this would have an effect on my recovery."

"Yes, well let me explain. But first, I have made some decisions recently regarding the state of things in the fae realm and I feel that since you are now able, we should talk about what these things mean for you." I took a big gulp of water and nodded my head. From the sound of it this was going to be big, so I braced myself. I had no idea how my healing ability and his political decisions related but I knew I was about to find out.

"Well my young one I have decided it is for the best to close off our realm from this world. It is too dangerous for the humans of this world if we continue to exist here. While I cannot make this offer to your brother, I would very much like it if you would move to the fae realm with me. You would be safe there, and surrounded by family." I opened my mouth to interrupt but was silenced which a raised hand.

"I must tell you why this is only an option offered to you and I hope you will understand why I kept this from you until now." At this point he gave me a look as if to size up whether I was paying sufficient attention. " Sookie, you are not simply an eighth fairy, like your brother, but just over half fairy. The woman you knew to be your mother accepted those duties after your real mother died when you were born." At this point I gasped and stared at him wide-eyed and disbelieving. I couldn't think of a single thing to say. I was at a complete loss.

"Your father had a brief affair with a fairy named Rosalyn and you were conceived. Your father came clean after Rosalyn found out she was pregnant and when she died we all agreed he should be given the right to raise you since you were his daughter. Of course it was agreed you would be treated as Jason's full sister. But, due to your heritage Fintan, your grandfather, had to bind your powers and subdue your fairy nature so that your father could take care of you. A mostly fairy child is too large a handful for someone so human." Somehow I knew my grandfather would not lie to me, so I just nodded my head to let him know I was still paying attention, but in truth I was completely shocked. He took that as his cue to continue.

"Now if you choose to stay here you would indeed live a normal human lifespan and would not uncover any more of your fairy abilities, although you will always have your telepathy. If you came to live with the rest of your fairy family, including your true mother's relatives, in our realm, you will soon take on many of our qualities and gain some magic as well. I can't undo what was done by Fintan's magic, however the more you are around fairies and their magic on a daily basis the more you will grow into your own, especially living in our realm. Eventually, it would become as if you always had the full use of your powers." He leaned over and stroked the hand not holding the water glass reassuringly. My thoughts were still buzzing and I just couldn't think to speak yet.

"I truly wish you will consider my request. I, as well as Claudine and Claude, will miss you a great deal if you stay behind. We did not tell you in an effort to protect you, and while it could be argued that this backfired, our intentions were good. I know you have been through a great deal, and I don't want to leave you behind without Claudine's and my protection if we don't have to." I just continued to sit looking at my great- grandfather's beautiful face with an uncomprehending expression. I heard all of what he just said but what he was asking, for me to choose between my fairy family and my brother and friends in this realm, I was having a little trouble with.

"How long do I have to decide?" I asked not taking my eyes off of his face.

"All the fae must have time to get our affairs in a way so as to not attract too much attention to our plans. I plan to give it about a week. I will be back in five days so that if you decide to come with me I can help you get all of your affairs in order as well." He said giving me an understanding and sympathetic look.

"I will go so that you can think about all that I have just told you. I know this is a lot to take in. Please remember I love you Dear One, and I will be sending someone to help you in the next few days as I will be busy making arrangements of my own."

As he stood to walk out a thought occurred to me. "Grandfather wait! I also have something I have not told you, however in light of what you have told me I feel you should be aware." He turned back to me and waited.

"Hadley had a son named Hunter while she was still human. He is still young, not of school age yet, and lives just over an hour from here. He is telepathic like me and if I should choose to leave will need help with his control."

"Thank you for telling me child. I will take care of his training and ensure that he has everything he will need in the future. I will have someone come by later to bring you dinner and help you with anything else you will need. In the mean time, please do not talk of my offer or my plans to anyone that is not fairy, beyond Jason and Amelia. We do not want to put our kind or you in any more danger. Bye Sookie." With that he popped out.

After Niall left, I decided to just relax and watch some TV while I thought about what I was going to do. Next thing I knew there was a light knock on the door and someone gently opened it just a crack. I looked around and noticed it was nearly dark. I had obviously fallen asleep. This must be whoever was to get me dinner, I thought. I felt for the brain pattern of my visitor and was a little nervous to realize it was a fairy. I should have known my great-grandfather would send a fairy, but after everything I'd recently been through an unknown fairy at my door scared me a little.

"Come on in" I said nervously . I looked toward the door to see who it was and I gasped. It was Preston. Preston, the Were that I slept with on Christmas Eve, Preston. And on Christmas Eve, when I found him in my woods, he definitely told me he was a Were. His brain patterns were those of a Were that night. Today, everything about him definitely said fairy. I sat up staring at him.

"Prince Niall sent me. I have Chinese food for dinner, he said this would be agreeable?" he said still standing at the door waiting for me to say something.

I thought of explanations as to what I was seeing. I could still be asleep. I pinched myself on the arm. Nope, most definitely awake. I could be hallucinating. But, I certainly feel pretty lucid. Ok, that leaves only one explanation. He wasn't who he said he was on Christmas Eve. I felt pretty certain my great-grandfather would not send someone he did not trust, and I felt certain that if this man meant me harm he wouldn't still be standing at the door with a bag in his hand. Still, I was a little scared, what with being nearly killed by fairies a couple weeks ago.

"I suppose you are waiting for an explanation as to why I seemed a Were at Christmas, yet now am clearly a fairy" he said as closed the door behind him and cautiously approached me with a bag of food in his hand, as if to say 'I am not going to hurt you'. I nodded my head.

"I know what has happened to you recently, so I can understand why you would be nervous right now, and I want you to know I mean you no harm. Your great- grandfather sent me because he wants to make sure there are no more secrets from you before you make your decision. He wants to be completely honest with you. He sent me on Christmas Eve because he knew how lonely and sad you were and wanted you to have some bit of happiness on a day that he knows means so much to you. He picked me because I have a unique fae talent of disguising myself to seem like other creatures, this includes my brain pattern. He did not wish to deceive you, but since you knew how powerful he is in our realm he felt you would immediately contact him and therefore ruin his gift if you knew me to be a fairy." He just stood there eyeing me for any indication of how I might respond. Feeling a little more confident of the situation he took a few more steps so he was standing across from me.

"So you are in fact a fairy, and you spending the night with me and sleeping with me that night was all a gift from my great-grandfather?" I asked trying to sum up the situation.

"Yes that basically sums it up, but please understand he loves you very much and only deceived you in order to give to you. I hope you won't hold this against him or me. I do hope we can get past this." He had finally sat across from me with his elbows resting on his knees while gripping whatever he brought for dinner with both hands.

After a couple minutes of quietly fuming internally, then accepting that Niall truly just wanted to see me happy, I decided forgiveness was my best option. After all, Niall only wanted to help cheer me up, however misguided this attempt may have been; and Preston only wanted to please and obey him.

"Seeing as how he just saved my life and I imagine your part in the entire thing that night was simply that of a loyal subject of my great- grandfather, I forgive you both. Now, let's see what you have in that bag." With a light chuckle and nod he began pulling out various kinds of Chinese food. I took the plate of General Tso's and an egg roll and settled back into the couch while he took some sort of noodle dish. We settled into a comfortable silence eating and watching Angel on TV.

When we were done eating he told me all about the fae realm. He also told me a few stories about what it was like growing up there. I was becoming a little more comfortable around him. He was lively and animated when telling stories, and he was quite easy to look at. At about ten o'clock Amelia and Jason came laughing through the kitchen door. They walked through the kitchen and into the living room. When they both saw that Niall was not the one keeping me company tonight they stopped.

"Hey Sookie, who's your friend" Amelia asked coming to a stop across the room.

"This is Preston. Niall stopped by earlier, but had to leave to take care of some business. He sent Preston here to keep me company." Amelia just grinned knowingly and said 'hi' , while Jason opted for a firm handshake before turning back to me. It was clear to me why Jason had come home with Amelia rather than stay at his house. They were combining a sleepover with the necessity that someone needed to come check on me and relieve Niall from his 'shift'.

"Sook, do you need help getting ready for bed?" Jason, ever to the point, asked. I looked over at Amelia who looked simply amused.

"Yeah I guess it's getting late and I'd really like to take a shower. Amelia, do you mind?" She went off to my bedroom ahead of me while I told Preston goodnight. As much as I wanted to stay and talk to him a while longer I didn't want to impose upon Amelia any more than necessary and I still needed help washing my hair. He told me he would be here again tomorrow for my grandfather unless I had any objections. Of course, I said I didn't and told him I'd see him tomorrow.

After Amelia helped me wash and dry my hair we met Jason in the living room and I told them both what Niall had told me and offered to me. Jason was shocked as he had always thought I was his full sister just as I had.

"Sookie, we have something we wanted to tell you too" Amelia said looking to Jason out of the corner of her eye. I tried to stay out of their heads so they could say what they wanted without me being tipped off. This was pretty hard because Amelia is a very loud broadcaster anyway and add that to the excitement she was currently feeling and it felt like she was mentally screaming at me.

Jason started then. "Sookie, I've asked Amelia to marry me and she has said yes. We know it's fast, but it really just feels right. We've been around each other near constantly for the last two weeks, and well we both feel like this is headed that way anyway so why not just go ahead and make it now."

"That's great you two! I'm so happy for you. You both have been through so much and you both deserve to be happy. And you guys really seem to fit." I couldn't help but give them both the tightest hug I could stand. They were both emitting nothing but sincere contentment so I felt like maybe they were finally both getting the happy ending they deserved.

"That being said," Amelia took a deep steadying breath "I think you should go to the fae realm" Amelia said while holding Jason's hand. "We can have the wedding before you leave. You have been through so much Sook, I just feel like you would be happier with your grandfather and Claudine. And you would be safer. Think of how many times you've been beaten up and hurt. Even if you can pretend you are human, you know now you're not like everyone else that will be left here. You aren't a vampire, or a shifter, or a witch. You are a fairy. Now that you know that you know you should be with them not left behind here." She had a point and while I didn't want to leave them, if I was honest with myself I couldn't imagine being without my fairy family now that I had bonded with them. Niall, and Claudine, and even Claude, were my family. I loved them, and now that I knew I was mostly fairy too I really wanted the chance to be somewhere that I could fit in. My telepathy had always made fitting in difficult.

"I'll give it some more thought before I decide anything for sure, but even so, I am sure Niall would like to see Jason get married since they are finally getting along now. Are you planning on having a traditional Hot Shot wedding again?" They both nodded happily. "Ok then. Can we have the wedding on Friday, day after tomorrow?"

"That would be great!" exclaimed Amelia.

"I'll give Calvin a call in a minute to let him know." Jason said and then we all said our goodnights and I went to my room to think about everything that had happened today.

The more I thought about moving and starting a new life in the fae realm with my fairy family the more it started to feel like the natural choice. Being apart from Eric has made me realize that I needed a change. Maybe this was just the change I needed.