Disclaimer: I don't own the Southern Vampires. Sole copyright belongs to Charlaine Harris. Most of the characters are Charlaine Harris's... but some are mine! All the mistakes are my own.

A/N: I have decided to put up both chapter twenty six and the Epilogue at the same time. I just did not want to make you wait any longer, so if you haven't read it, please do so before continuing on in this chapter.

Epilogue

XOXOXOXOXOXOX

Sara

I laid alone in my bed on the night before my eighteenth birthday. I had been tossing and turning for almost an hour but I was unable to find sleep. Finally with a sigh, I picked up my sketch pad that I kept on my nightstand. I had spent many nights awake, drawing the visions of places I had never been and people I had never met, the ones that had plagued my dreams since I was a child. Some of the dreams had been good, some bad, but always it was the same cast of characters. The dreams were so vivid and detailed it was as if I had really been there.

When I was a child, I had told my aunt about these dreams. I told her about a kindly old woman who said she was my Gran and promised to take care of me. I had never met my grandparents as they had all passed on by the time I was born. My aunt did not recognize the description I gave of the old woman, and when I drew the old woman years later, my aunt confirmed that she had never seen her.

Aunt Libby brushed off my dreams as nothing more than fantasy, but when I got older the dreams became more...lets just say...more erotic, and I stopped telling her about them. I had dreamed of a tall gorgeous man with blond hair and startling blue eyes so many times throughout the years, but when I reached puberty, the dreams changed. I would dream of kissing the tall blond man, laughing with him, and in one dream, we even cried together. Sometimes he would seem human, yet in others he would appear as a vampire. I didn't just dream of vampires. I also dreamed of witches, werewolves, and some creatures I could not even put a name too. But my favorite ones by far were the ones I had of him. I never knew his name, but I knew his face, that beautiful face that I had drawn so many times. He never called me Sara, always "lover" or "my love," and he looked at me like no one else had ever done...like I was his whole world.

I had been living in Montana on my aunt's horse ranch. Aunt Libby was always kind and nurturing and taught me to appreciate nature, animals and life itself. I loved her, our home, and our horses and took to riding most everyday, but I always felt like I belonged somewhere else. My parents passed on when I was three in a car accident, killed by a drunk driver. I didn't remember them at all. All I knew of them was what I had seen in pictures and the stories my aunt told me of them. She and I were all that were left of our family. For years I had been dreaming of other places, strange bars, an old farm house, and a beautiful southern mansion. I never could discern where these places were, but I also had a hard time believing my imagination was as vivid and virile as it seemed to be.

There were times I thought I might be crazy, and maybe I would have been if my Aunt hadn't suggested that I pursue an outlet for all of this stuff in my head. That's why I turned to drawing and kept a journal of my dreams. I thought one day I might write a book. The stories seemed a little outlandish, a bombing at a building where I save occupants using only my mind, or the one where I skulked through the woods with a tiger who turned into a man. Once I even dreamed Elvis had been turned into a vampire and came to my house asking if I had any cats. I never felt the dreams made much sense.

I finally fell asleep after about a hour of drawing. I had only been asleep for what felt like only minutes before I woke. This time I woke to a huge jaguar standing in my room at the foot of my bed. She was a beautiful creature, her coat was orange and tan and adorned with black spotted rosettes. I wasn't afraid of her since I often dreamed of large animals, and I figured this was just another one of those dreams, although this one seemed shadowed and dull compared to most.

"Who are you?" I asked the beautiful jaguar as she came to sit on the floor next to my bed.

'Do not fear me, Shaman. I am Kama your spirit guide. I have been chosen to guide you and I am here to give you your promised gift.' The jaguar seemed to speak into my mind, but in a lot of my dreams I could hear what people were thinking, so I didn't think more of it.

"I'm not a shaman." I had read about shamans. They were known as people who could walk with spirits and talk to the dead. I certainly had been doing none of that.

'You will understand.' The jaguar bowed her head, 'Place your hand on my head.'

"Do you swear your not going to bite." I had never had a dream like this one, and I could not help the apprehension I was feeling, although it seemed ridiculous to fear something that wasn't real.

'I promise.' The jaguar made a deep huffing sound and jerked her chin at me.

I tentatively reached out my hand and when I touched her I was bombarded by images, much like my dreams, but somehow I knew these were not just dreams...but memories. I had done this before in the woods with this jaguar. She had killed an elk spirit to save me. This wasn't a dream. None of them had been dreams...they were memories of a past life.

I laid back on my bed until the images seemed to slow and finally stop. I had so many memories of so many of my past lives that it was overwhelming, but it was the ones of my fantasy lover that seemed to be more real than the rest. I could almost smell the dry sweet smell of his skin and taste the coolness of his mouth on mine. "Eric..."

'Now you know. Now you understand why you always felt out of place. You know who you are and what you have to do.' Kama said lifting her head and placing her paw on my hand. I woke up from the dream gasping for air.

My mind was muddled and confused as I looked around the room for the jaguar. I closed my eyes and the face of my dream lover appeared. Everything seemed to fit into place after all these years and I had never felt so scared and excited at the same time.

My first clear thought was to fly to Louisiana and find my vampire, and I immediately got up and pulled out my laptop to look for flights. I found one that still had seats available that departed at 3:00 PM and I booked it. It was a good thing I had some money saved, since the flight alone cost about half of the money I had been saving to buy a car. The other half would most likely all be used for a hotel room for the weekend with just enough left over for a return flight. If things didn't work out, or I ended up being totally off my rocker and none of this was real, I planned on coming back to Montana.

I told my aunt that I had decided to visit Louisiana State University. She was a bit skeptical at the timing, since today was my birthday, but I explained that they had a top notch art program and they had invited me to tour of the campus. Her only real complaint was that I had not told her sooner so that she could go with me. Aunt Libby was always trying to convince me to go away to school to broaden my horizons, so she was thrilled to hear that I had planned to go. Aunt Libby had always been a spur-of-the-moment kind of person, so thankfully, she didn't think to much of my dramatic change of plans.

I quickly packed my bags and my aunt drove me to the airport. The flight was about three hours long and I knew I would be arriving shortly before nightfall. The flight seemed like an eternity and I was a nervous wreck the whole way there, thinking about what I was about to do. 'How can I find him? Is he still there? How do I explain why I'm there?' All of these questions nagged at me, but most of all, I was scared he would not love me the way he had loved her. I was Sara Skye not Sookie Stackhouse, but I had her memories and, for the first time in my life, I felt whole. I had an odd longing or more like an obsession, to seek out the vampire I had loved and the children I had died to bare. I missed them, which was curious since I had only met them in my dreams (and I was only eighteen and had yet to have sex, let alone have children).

When I finally arrived in Shreveport, Louisiana, I hailed a cab and made my way to a sweet little bed and breakfast just outside of Shreveport called Whispering Oaks. The place was incredibly beautiful and the pictures I saw online did not do it justice. The southern style plantation had been situated in the center of a large plot of land. It was obvious why the property was called Whispering Oaks, as the large oak trees were everywhere, and when the wind blew, they swayed. The sounds they made were like a calming whisper.

The sprawling house itself had been redone, but in the style of the period when it was built. As I walked inside, it was a little like taking a step back in time. The deep brown colored wooden floors, extensive crown molding and flowered flourishes of wallpaper added to its ambiance. It was enchanting, and fitting I thought, since this whole trip was something like taking a trip back in time.

I got myself settled in, after the sweet old lady that owned this place escorted me to my room. Her name was Mrs. Johnson and she reminded me a lot of the older woman of my dreams, the one who I had always referred to as Gran. I liked her instantly.

"If you need anything honey, you just give me a call on that there phone. Dial zero and I will pick up. If you need to call out, dial nine and then the number. Things should be quiet since you are our only guest, so don't hesitate to ask for anything dear."

"I will. Thank you, Mrs. Johnson." I said with a smile as she glided out of the room. I flopped down on the king sized four poster bed. It was covered in lush linens and it was as comfortable as it looked. The color scheme in the room was rich in deep reds accented with gold. It was like no other room I had ever seen...not that I had seen many. I had lived in the remote town of Sunburst, Montana all my life. We were of meager income, not poor mind you, but we did little more than scrape by. It had gotten a little better when I was old enough to get a job. I had been working at the local grocer since I was sixteen and I liked it well enough. In a town as small as ours, there were not a lot of choices.

I laid on the bed nervously, debating whether or not to go to see if the club that I had dreamed about so often really existed, or if I should wait until the morning when it was daylight. I had never met a vampire myself, of course Sookie had, and not all her experiences had been good. It was so weird to feel like I was her, but at the same time had my own memories on top of hers. In reality, I had not experienced the things Sookie had experienced, even if the memories seemed to be there. Still, they felt like mine. I worried a little that if I acknowledged that fact I might lose myself in the process, but I had already decided to go through with this. I could no longer stand not knowing if this was all really real or just the final breaking of my mind.

After about ten minutes of contemplation, the phone in my room rang and I jumped up, startled from the sound. "Hello?" I said, my voice shaking as I tried to calm it.

"I'm sorry dear. I did not mean to disturb you. I just forgot to tell you that I could make something for you to eat if you wish. I was not sure if you were planning on staying in. Normally I make dinner at six, but since you are our only guest and did not arrive until after six-thirty, I figured I would wait to make dinner until you arrived."

I was not sure whether I should be annoyed or grateful, but the softness in her tone had me leaning towards grateful. "Thank you, Mrs Johnson, but I think I'm going to go out. " I decided since I came all this way, I might as well get the hard part over with. If things didn't work out I could spend the rest of my time by actually going to see the college campus, or possibly take a trip to New Orleans and see the place for myself.

I took a long hot shower and I changed my mind half a dozen times about what I was going to wear. Every time I pictured going there for the first time, I saw Sookie in a white dress with little red flowers and the way Eric looked at her. I could not help but feel a little jealous, which had me in a fit of giggles at the outlandishness of the idea, that in essence I was jealous of myself...if my dreams had been true.

I finally decided on a pair of jeans and a fluffy light blue sweater that was a little tight and showed off a bit of my flat belly. I wondered if Eric would even find me attractive. I did not look like Sookie very much. My hair was blonde (but a much lighter shade than hers had been) and mine was cut in a short pixie-style that fit well with my small features. I was shorter than her at a solid five-foot two, and although I had curves and a pretty nice rack if I do say so myself, I was certainly a few sizes smaller than she had been. My eyes though were the same color blue as Sookie's, and I puzzled over if it was true that the eyes were the window to one's soul.

After a few minutes, I added a couple of butterfly barrettes to my hair and put on a little makeup. I knew I was a bit underage to be in a bar, but I figured I could find some way in, or wait in the parking lot until the placed closed if they wouldn't let me in. That would suck, but I would do it if I had to. When I was dressed, I called a local cab company and arranged for a ride. It wasn't fifteen minutes later that I was climbing into the back of the cab and finally making my way to my destination.

When I arrived, I was nothing more than a bundle of nerves. I gasped at the sight of the place I had seen so many times in my dreams. It startled the cab driver and he leaned over and asked, "Are you alright, Miss? This is the right place, ain't it?"

I shook myself. "Yes." I said and handed him a twenty as I was making my way out of the vehicle without another word. I smiled when I saw the neon sign that blinked "Fangtasia" and I felt a rise of courage in me. Where it came from I didn't know, but I put one foot in front of the other and made my way to the door.

The parking lot was not very full for a Saturday night, and if it wasn't for the bouncer standing at the door, I might have thought that it was closed. The man looked familiar, but I couldn't place him until I got closer. He looked a bit older than I remembered, still very handsome, but I was sure it was him. He was smoking a cigarette and gazing off, not watching me approach.

"The club is closed. Private party." he said a little gruffly. He had still not looked in my direction. I stood in awe for a moment as it dawned on me that he had probably read my mind as I approached. 'Is he reading my mind now? Does he know who I am from my thoughts?'

Hunter's eyes snapped to mine. "Who are you?"

'Did he hear me?' "My name is Sara Skye. I'm just a girl from out of town. I heard about this place and wanted to check it out." I shrugged.

"How do you know I can "hear" you?" Hunter's eyes narrowed.

"Umm...you're answering me back?" I had to hold back a giggle. I was still a little unsure if he would think I was crazy, so I played along.

"Are you crazy, Sara?" He tilted his head as though, if he could get a better look at me, he might understand.

"Maybe. I guess that remains to be seen." I knew he was reading me so I brought up some my memories of being Sookie, the times I had spent with him, and then I brought up some of my own.

"You were my Aunt Sookie and you're a shaman. I can see it in your mind. Your mind is identical to hers." Hunters eyes filled with tears and I was not sure if I should hug him or stay put. Hunter did not give me the choice and he wrapped his arms around me and hugged me as if he would never let go.

"Hunter..." I choked out after a moment, because I could barely breathe. He let go of me and took a step back to get a better look at me. I glanced down a little shyly. I was not used to being scrutinized so closely.

"You look different, but your eyes..." His voice trailed off and then he asked, "Are you still telepathic?"

"No." I shook my head. 'Hearing the thoughts of people in my dreams had been quite enough.'

Hunter laughed, "Your right about that." The awkwardness of the situation seemed to ease and he grabbed my hand and said, "Let's get you inside."

I panicked for a second when we entered and I hoped he wouldn't announce me to the whole place. I was relieved when he walked me over to the bar and sat me down on the stool. "Want something to drink?"

"A gin and tonic?" I answered hopefully. I could use a little liquid courage right about now. I was so scared that I did not take in the room. If Eric was there, I needed a moment before I could face him.

"Aren't you a little young?" Hunter said with a sarcastic grin on his face. It made me want to reach out and squeeze his cheeks together. I sure as hell didn't feel young.

"Fine," I sighed, "a Coke then."

Hunter looked over to the bartender, who I didn't recognize, and ordered my Coke. I was sure he was a vampire, his pale skin and slight glow gave him away. He looked young and not bad looking with his dark brown hair and dark brown eyes. He had a lithe build and dressed a little formally in a suit, which made me feel a little more than under dressed. "Don't worry about it." Hunter whispered in my ear.

'This mind reading thing is a little annoying.' I thought, but smiled.

"I know. I'll be right back." Hunter replied with a wide grin and strode away into the small crowd. I let my eyes follow Hunter, and for the first time, I allowed myself to search for Eric.

Eric

"Dad! Hurry up or we are going to be late!" Kara screamed up from downstairs. I didn't know why she insisted on yelling, when she knew that I could hear her talking just fine. Of the twins, my little princess turned out to be on the loud side when she was excited as opposed to her brother who was much more reserved.

"I will be there in a minute." I said in a normal tone of voice. I knew she would hear me just fine.

"Hey, Dad, got any hair gel in here?" Jarn asked as he walked into my bathroom without warning. I had learned over the years that children have no concept of privacy. They improve as the get older, but still, old habits seemed to die hard.

"Yes. Under the sink." I said as I continued to braid my hair. Jarn was wearing a pair of navy colored pants, an off-white button up shirt, and a sport jacket which matched his pants. He had grown to be as much as a ladies man as I was at his age. Jarn was built like I me and only two inches shorter. The women fell all over him with his crystalline blue eyes and his short light blond hair that he styled to stick up all over his head randomly, as if he rolled out of bed and cemented it into place.

When I asked him once why he didn't leave it without product so the woman could run their fingers through it, he replied by saying, "My hair is not where I am hoping the ladies put there hands, Dad." I couldn't disagree with him.

I finished up my braid and went to my closet to pull out the suit I would be wearing tonight. Every year I dressed up for the twins birthday. I was sure they believed I did it in honor of them, but in truth, I did it in hopes that Sookie would one year walk through the door. I had not told the children of the last time Sookie came to me, and I forbade Pam from ever speaking of it. I did not want the children to have their birthdays overshadowed by the death of their mother, even though at times I had to fight off the grief I felt for her loss. All these years without her would have been hell if I had not had the distraction of my children, and I had grown thankful for that.

It had been eighteen years from the day that Sookie was promised to return to me, and I was almost buzzing with apprehension and excitement. 'Will tonight finally be the night she comes back to me? Will she remember our time together? Will she still want me after all these years?' The questions swirled in my mind as I dressed, in almost robotic fashion, into a finely tailored plain black suit.

"It looks good on you Dad." Kara said from the doorway. She was looking more and more like her mother by the day, and my heart ached to see her. My daughter was looking beautiful in a small powder blue strapless cocktail dress. It was skin tight right down to about the middle of her thighs and the skirt flared out just a bit with the tooled fabric sown onto the bottom. I frowned at her, thinking that the dress was too low cut and too short for a girl her age, and I told her so.

"Oh give me a break, Dad!" Kara said exasperated as she rolled her eyes. Did I mention she was as stubborn as her mother and as petulant as Pam? "I am eighteen and in the state of Louisiana I am considered an adult. I can vote for God's sake! Its not like my boobs are falling out! The dress is tasteful!"

"I'm not sure I would call it tasteful." Jarn said walking out from the bathroom. He walked over to his sister and kiss her lightly on the cheek, "But you do look great. Happy Birthday, Sis."

Kara hugged him. The children had always been close, and from all that I have read about twins, the experts all say that most twins share a special connection. Kara and Jarn most certainly did. We had been lucky over the years keeping what they were truly were a secret, although I had more help than I could have imagined. When they were little children, they passed as human, eating human food with their bodies working in human ways. It wasn't until they reached puberty that began to need blood to supplement their diets. Now both of them lived almost exclusively on blood, vampire blood which I acquired from donors, willing and unwilling. I had taught them both to feed from the source, using vampires that were to be put to their final death, but both had preferred to drink it from a glass, at least so far, with which I was perfectly content. I still had a hard time thinking about my daughter taking blood from someone, though it didn't bother me as much at the thought of my son doing it.

Although my children were almost grown, and in my times they would already be counted as adults for many years, I had yet to move on to pursue anything more than a meal from any woman. I can't say that in the last eighteen years I did not come close to having sex. That would be a lie. I found my release from time to time in ways other than intercourse. Oral sex was truly a mans best friend, but when it came down to the actual act of sex, I just couldn't knowing she would be coming back to me. I could never go further than that. Over the last couple of years I had refrained from women completely as the time came closer to Sookie's prophesied return.

"Are you sure you do not wish to change?" I asked Kara again and without another word she stomped out of the room.

"Women." Jarn said laughing and followed her out, with me right behind him.

We arrived at the club a little after seven and it seemed as if everyone was there ready to celebrate the twins birthday; Pam, Shane, Hunter, Redin, Esta, Reece, Tania, Marco, Alcide, and a few others who had become trusted friends over the years. Sookie's death had stirred an odd reaction in the supernaturals that had known her. We all had buried the hatchet, so to speak, in an attempt to live peacefully in her memory just as she would have wanted. So far, things were better than I ever expected. Louisiana had become the poster state of Supernatural tolerance.

After the meet and greet, I went back to my office to take a minute to compose myself before facing the rest of the evening. I did not come back to Fangtasia often since I saw reminders of Sookie all around me, but at the same time, I could not bring myself to redecorate. I let my thoughts drift to my lost lover and about a half hour later, I heard footsteps approaching the door.

"Eric?" I heard Hunter call and I bid him to come in. He was looking in quite good spirits and he smiled at me as he entered.

"Hunter! How are you my son?" I asked returning the smile.

"Good. Very good in fact." he said, still beaming.

I sniffed the air and I could tell he had been outside smoking. "Hunter you should really quit. It is a disgusting habit."

Hunter laughed, "I know, I know, Tania is always bugging me about quitting, but its not like I'm gonna get cancer with all the vamp blood I've had." Hunter and Tania had been a couple for some time now. They seemed to be happy.

"I suppose, but you should listen to the fairy. She is right."

Hunter chose to change the subject then, "Are you planning on joining us? Or are you gonna sit back here and sulk?"

"I am not sulking." I insisted but Hunter gave me a knowing look. "Fine, I may be sulking just a bit."

"I think you should come out and enjoy the party. I'm sure your night will look up." There was something in Hunter's eyes that I could not grasp.

"Alright...if you are so insistent." I eyed him suspiciously.

"Oh come on! It's not like I am luring you to your final death, it's just a party!" Hunter said while turning and leaving my office. I could hear him laughing as he made his way across the club.

I took that as my que to rejoin the festivities and I immediately went to sit in my booth in the far corner of the room. I glanced around the room watching the small groups of people cluttered around the room talking and laughing with one another. My daughter was flitting around from group to group accepting birthday wishes and charming all she came in contact with. My son was talking with Alcide and Reece animatedly about the red 1968 Corvette that I had given him as a birthday gift this evening. I had given my daughter a car as well, but hers was a brand new Mercedes Roadster that I had specially painted in a deep purple, just as she wished.

After assessing the moods of my children, I scanned the area for Hunter. I found him standing by the bar next to a young woman, who looked no older than my daughter. She was lusciously attractive in a small package. The woman's breasts were ample and her hips flared out just enough to give her a perfect hourglass shape. Her short blond hair was almost white, it was so pale. There was no question she was beautiful. As delicate as she looked when Hunter leaned to her and whispered in her ear, she smacked his arm, and laughed at whatever he had said. Hunter rubbed his arm as if she had really hurt him and she gave him another smack to make her point. I nearly laughed at the sight, and I found I could not take my eyes off of her. Hunter gave me a look suddenly and when the girl's eyes followed his gaze they fell upon me and I was completely paralyzed for a moment.

'Those eyes...I would know them anywhere. How many times had I gazed into them while we made love? How many times had those eyes looked at me as if they could see into my soul?' My heart soared. It was her. She didn't look like my Sookie on the outside, but it was her. I was sure of it. I stood without even thinking and my body moved without my consent toward her. She seemed to be as memorized as I was, and as she stood up from her seat, I felt her calling me...like she was beckoning me from her soul.

"Eric, this is Sara Skye." Hunter said pointedly, but I did not take my eyes off of her. I never would again.

"Hello, Eric." Sara said and her voice came out a little lustfully and could not control the sudden strain in my pants. Her sweet voice sent my body into a state that made it apparent I had not had a woman in a long time.

"Sara..." I greeted not quite sure what to say. It was strange not calling her Sookie, but I understood the nature of her rebirth and accepted it wholeheartedly. I would take her any way I could get her.

My self control was lost to my need to feel her, and without a word, I pulled Sara into my arms and kissed her for all that I was worth. She stiffened for a single moment before returning the kiss with as much passion as mine. The familiar scent that had belonged to one woman, and one woman alone, assaulted my senses, and the taste of her mouth was exquisite. I had no doubt that she was finally home. 'Jag har saknat dig min älskare.'

And this time, I would never let her go.

The End.

Jag har saknat dig min älskare. = I missed you my lover.

A/N: I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has read and supported this story. You have all been wonderful and I hope the ending left you satisfied. Please review and let me know what you thought.