Hi there!

This is my first fanfiction. After reading dozens or maybe hundreds of stories published by many talented fans/writers, finally I decided to write my own. Please take it easy on me. English is my second language and I do not have a Beta reader, so I apologize in advance for any grammar mistakes. As the story goes, the chapters will get longer, I promise!

Rated M for mature content in later chapters.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from SVM. The characters belong to the talented writer Charlene Harris. I just like to play with them.

My name is Sookie Stackhouse and my life has never been easy, but I have to say that I have learned and gain strength from every challenge I have encountered. Let's start with loosing my parents when I was 7 years old and I was left in the care of my grandmother with no siblings or any other relatives; knowing that when she pass I will be alone in the world. My grandmother, Adele Stackhouse was a strong woman and because of her I was able to go to college. Yes, she used a good part of her life's savings to pay my college tuition and for that and more I will be eternally thankful.

My grandmother taught me that good things do not come easy and they are not free. She raised me to appreciate everything I have and to work for it. As part of my education, as she called it; I kept a summer job in the local restaurant Merlotte's in my beloved Bon Temps, since I was 15 years old. Sam Merlott, the owner; was a great guy and up to this day he says that if I am ever in need of a job, I can come back anytime, after all I was his best waitress ever. During my first summer working there I meet one of my very best friends Tara Reynolds and her cousin Lafayette. They as me worked only during the summers as waitress and Laf cleaning the tables or washing the dishes. Then after work we would get together and just hang out by the river or go to some of the popular places where the kids of our age went.

I was never the type of girl that liked to date. I kept that very clear and never dated until I was in college. And still there I was very careful who I dated or went out with. My grandmother always told me that a lady could date but not sleep around like a easy girl. She was smart and open minded, there were no secrets between us. She is the one who suggested I should get on the pill for Christ sake! Her motto was: "It is always better prevent than lament", I guess she was right…

My years in college were fun and full of sleepless study nights. While Tara decided that college was not for her and a couple of years later right after turning 20 she got knot up by JB, Lafayette and I went to LSU. Even when we were not room mates, and he was as gay as they can be we were very close and we would hang out all the time since we studied the same mayor, ECONOMICS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE & FINANCE at The E. J. Ourso College of Business and let me tell you, it was quite the experience.

After college at the young age of 22 I got a job in a Import/Export company in Shreveport, about 1 hour distance from Bon Temps. I kept that job long enough to save some money and get work experience to be accepted as a part time student in a MBA program. It took me 4 years to complete my MBA but it was worth every penny and every effort. To see my Grandmother's face when I got my diploma was priceless. During this time, I lived to work and study.. nothing else.. always thinking that better times where ahead of me… and boy.. how wrong I was….

A couple of months after completing my MBA at 28 years old my Grandmother died. I was at work and she had a heart attack that killed instantly. At least she did not suffer, but for me was the worst day of my life when I walked into the house and I found her in the kitchen floor.. dead... Right then I knew I was completely alone and I had to look after myself. I was in debt because I had to get students loans and there was no way I could stay in Bon Temps if I wanted to find my dream job. So I took a hard decision and sold my grandma's farm house with the firm idea of moving to wherever the wind takes me. I was sure that's what she wanted me to do "look forward, never look back" she always said….

I started job hunting and after a few weeks I got an interview for a really good job in New York City. I have never been there so the chance to be able to live in NYC was extremely exciting! So I flew in at the end of September for the interview and I was a nervous wreck.

The company I was interviewing for was NORTCOM Holdings, one of the biggest groups in the country with their hands in all kinds of business you can think of. For me a big company meant lots of professional growth opportunities so I did my best and it paid off. After 4 weeks I got a job offer that I just couldn't decline….