I own nothing, everything belongs to Charlaine Harris, Alan Ball and HBO. I just like to play with Eric.

This is my first fan fiction, so please be gentle with me! I'd love to know what you think. Reviews are the only way I know if my writing is worth it, or a complete waste of time. Please be kind enough to leave a few words.

This is a non-canon story, completely AU. Imagine a world where Sookie and Eric are meant to be together, and Bill is nothing to Sookie. Imagine a world where Eric and Sookie know they are meant to be together, but a world where Sookie may have to play more aggressively to keep her vampire.

Just in Time is well on it's way to being completely written now. It will never be a permanently unfinished story! I'm trying to post at least three or four chapters a week till the end.

Sookie's POV

The night my life changed forever started out regular enough for me. I woke at 11 that morning, restless dreaming chasing me from my sleep. I wasn't scheduled to work until 7, and the pull of my old friend, the sun, lured me up and out of bed. Gran had raised me to be a good Christian, but I swear I feel closer to God basking in the rays of the sun than I ever felt attending services with Gran at our little church in Bon Temps. Besides, when you're a telepath like me, it's easier to pray to the molten god in the sky than it was to sit in church listening to the decidedly unholy thoughts of the outwardly devout congregation. I worshiped the sun all that day, my tan taking on an even more golden hue. I showered, ate a little dinner, and got dressed for work. Yep, just a regular old day for Sookie Stackhouse, right?

My shift at Merlotte's started off really regular for me, too. It was like just about every shift I'd ever worked at Merlotte's, and that was a whole lot of shifts of good ole fashioned regular waitressing. The bar was filled with the usual suspects, mostly all people I'd known my entire life. Bon Temps was a small town. My section was filled up that night with what I considered my regulars, a few folks who thought I wasn't crazy not matter what the rest of the town felt, and a couple of local guys who didn't care if I was crazy or not, as long as they could get a good look at my ass. I didn't even need to be a telepath to know that. Nothing new there. It wasn't until the Rattray's came in and took a seat in my section that I thought anything weird of the night. Mack and Denise Rattray never, ever sat in my section. Not since I'd poured that pitcher of beer on Mack's head, and that had been two years ago. They almost always sat in Arlene's section, or at the bar. I shrugged it off, serving up their beers with a smile, even though I was sure they wouldn't be leaving me a tip.

The night was starting to wind down, and it was getting close to quitting time for me when I got my next clue that this night would be one I'd remember forever. Merlotte's first vampire customer walked through the door, and he was sitting right in the middle of my section, in the booth right ahead of the dreadful Rattray's. Sam didn't look too happy with his new customer, but this was my first vampire! When the vampires came out of the coffin two years ago, I was like most of the world - dumbfounded, even though I had always secretly believed vampires were real. I'd dreamt of vampires all my life, ever since I was a little girl. Learning they were real was shocking, sure, but somehow I had felt vindicated. It was like the universe was telling me that the dreams that had haunted me my entire life had meaning. That maybe I had meaning.

The vampire was handsome, in his own way, tall enough, with thick dark hair falling over his forehead, partially obscuring his face. What I could see from my vantage point at the bar was a strong jaw, and pale skin, skin that seemed to have a faint glow about it. As I approached his table, the vampire raised his head, his dark, brooding eyes making first contact with mine. This certainly wasn't the vampire of my dreams.

"Hi, there! Can I get something for you?" I stood by his table, order pad in hand.

"Do you have any of that synthetic blood?" The vampire's voice was unexpected, the slow Louisiana drawl caught me off guard. I had never thought about there being vampires from Louisiana.

"Sorry. Sam ordered some when you guys first came out, but it went bad. It's not like anyone around here was drinking it. You're our first vampire." I smiled brightly at the vampire, plastering my Crazy Sookie smile on my face. The vampire was being a perfect gentleman, well, as much as a dead guy could be, I suppose. Still, there was something prickling in the back of my scalp, something telling me to be wary. Maybe it was his unwavering, unnaturally still gaze. "Can I get you anything else?"

"How about a glass of red wine?" Wine? Do vampires drink wine? "Just so I don't look out of place in a bar?" OK, that made much more sense.

"Sure, I'll be right back." I turned to go to the bar, happy to be putting distance between myself and the vampire. I can't explain the feelings I was getting from him, but it was nothing like I expected. Ever since the great reveal, I had been so sure I would react differently when I finally did meet a vampire. And here I am, totally weirded out by the first vampire I ever met.

When I turned to bring his wine to the table, I noticed with surprise that the vampire was no longer alone. The Rattray's had switched booths, and now the vampire was sitting with Denise by his side, the trashy woman nearly had herself draped over him. Even stranger, Mack was sitting across from the vampire, smiling like he'd just won the lottery.

"Here's your wine." I placed the glass on the table more forcefully that I would have normally, but this situation was getting stranger by the second.

"Thank you." The vampire looked up at me, his brown eyes locked into mine. "What is your name?"

I felt the strangest sensation in my brain when he spoke to me, like the words were physically trying to push themselves into my brain. It threw me of a little, and I just stood there gaping at him. What was it about this vampire? There was something different about him, more than just being a vampire.

"You don't mind Sookie here, mister. She's just as a crazy as a loon." Mack Rattray leered up at me from his seat.

Denise shifted herself even closer to the vampire, her eyes on me. She was shooting venomous looks at me, and even though I try very hard to never read the thoughts of trash like Denise Rattray, I felt my shields slipping a little, allowing some of her jumbled thoughts into my head. It must of been my preoccupation with the vampire that made me so careless. Her thoughts were stranger than I expected though, and that's saying something. When I felt her thoughts slipping into my mind, I expected them to be full of sex, like normal. Especially with how she was practically sitting on the vampire at the time. But her thoughts were far more jumbled than that. She was excited about something, sure. But it was thoughts of money dancing though her head. Money and blood.

"Thank you, Sookie." The vampire's quiet voice startled me out of my thoughts. As my gaze shifted over to his, my thoughts still tangled with Denise's, I realized something. I couldn't hear the vampire's thoughts. Nothing at all. Instead of teeming thoughts and images, the vampires mind was dark, shuttered. A void.

"You're welcome." I turned and walked away from the them, slowly making my way back to the bar. My mind was racing, unsure of what this meant. I had been able to read every mind I had ever encountered, in some fashion. Some, like Sam, were a bit more tangled, and hard to read, but every brain had content. Everyone except this vampire, that is.

"Sookie! Sook! Hello, are you in there?" Sam tapped on the bar, waving his hand in my face. "Earth to Sookie!"

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Sam!" I exclaimed when I realized he'd been trying to get my attention for some time. "I must have been off in my own world."

"Your last customers are gone, Sook. You can go home now, if you want." I jerked my head around in surprise. Sure enough, the vampire was gone, and with him, the Rattrays. I got up to go clear the table, wondering how they left without my noticing. Just how spaced out was I? I noticed, with no surprise, that there was no tip from the Rattray's, as expected. But slipped under the stem of the untouched wine glass was a crisp $20 bill. Not bad for a $3 glass of wine. I stuffed the bill into my pocket. I was never going to be too proud to take a tip.

"Good night, Sam. I'll see you tomorrow," I called, on my way out the door. I made my way to my battered, ancient car, sending up my normal nightly prayer that the car would see me home safe one more night. I slid behind the wheel, resting my forehead on the steering wheel, whispering my entreaties to whatever gods were listening. The car sputtered, shook a little and, blessedly, started without issue. I murmured my thanks, for prayers answered, flicking on my headlights for the drive home. I started to pull out of the parking lot when my headlights swept over the edge of the lot, illuminating the figures crouched on the edge of the lot. The Rattray's, with what looked very much like my first vampire customer stretched out on the ground between them. Mack was perched on the vampires lower legs, while Denise fussed with something on his arm. What in the world were they doing? I took a deep breath, and did something I almost never do. I dropped my shields completely, purposefully. I let their brains wash over mine.

"Holy crap!" I exclaimed aloud, before clapping my hand over my mouth in horror. "They're trying to steal his blood!"

I acted without thinking, for sure. I never took even a second to think about whether I wanted to help this strange vampire. I did what I would have done for anyone in trouble. I reacted with all the Southern grace and manners my Gran had instilled in me before she had passed, just three months ago. I frantically drove the heel of my hand into my not so trusty horn, and slipped the car into drive. I made sure they saw me, catching them in the wide, bright sweep of the headlights. I nailed it on the horn again, hoping they'd get the hint, but they just stared, making no move to leave. I slammed my foot into the gas pedal, making my rickety car jump, before spurting into high gear. I drove straight at them, not wondering what would happen if they didn't move. I zeroed in as much as I could on their thoughts, willing them to get out of the damned way. Just at the last minute, they finally found some of the sense God gave them, and took to the woods just beyond the parking lot. I could hear the raging, snarling thoughts of the couple ricocheting around my head, before I remembered to pull myself together and repair my shields.

"Are you alright?" I called to the vampire, still flat on his back in the dirt. I thought it was strange he wasn't moving, and had a brief moment where I thought my first vampire customer was dead. Until I saw his legs start to move, slightly, and my ears registered the groan coming from his lips. I sat still in my seat for a moment more, struggling to decide whether to get out of the safety of the car to check on the vampire I wasn't so sure I liked, or to go to him and check his condition. It wasn't long before Gran's influence rose to the forefront again, and I found myself exiting the relative safety of my car, kneeling in the dirt beside the injured vamp.

"What can I do?'

The vampire looked up at me, his face registering no surprise to see me. "The silver," he muttered. "You must remove the silver."

I looked closer at the vampire, seeing the chains wrapped across his bare throat, wrists and waist. Everywhere they touched his skin, wisps of smoke curled from the chains. I made quick work, gingerly lifting the chains from his body. The instant he was free, he sat straight up, ripping out the IV tube Denise had inserted into his forearm. Blood dripped slowly from the wound for a moment, before the small hole healed completely, along with the silver burns.

"Holy crap!" I exclaimed again. "Does that always happen?"

"Yes, Sookie, vampires always heal this quickly. Although sometimes we need fresh blood to regain our strength." His direct gaze caught me, and once again, I felt the oddest sensation in my head. It felt like something trying to jam into my brain. His words...wait. What? Fresh blood? I knew I didn't like the implication behind those words, and scrabbling backwards, I rose to my feet. His eyes followed me, making my pulse jump a little. For the first time, I realized what a dangerous position I was in, alone in a deserted parking lot with a vampire. An injured vampire. One who needed fresh blood.

"Will you heal without blood?" I asked, not wanting to know what I would do if he said no. I was NOT going to be a vampire snack. That much I was sure of.

"Yes, I will heal, but they have taken lot of blood." He looked at me, expectantly, I thought.

"Well, if you are going to be alright, then..." I trailed off, not knowing exactly what to say, but knowing I wanted to be far way from here. "I really do need to be getting home." I backed up, slowly, in the direction of my car.

"Wait." The command from the vampire slowed me in my tracks. "I would like to thank you for your help. It's the least I can do." The vampire was struggling to regain his feet, still clearly weakened by the attack.

"No thanks are necessary. I was only doing what anyone would, Mr...I'm sorry, but I don't know your name." I was feeling less sure of this situation every moment.

"Compton. My name is Bill Compton. And you are Sookie?"

Compton? His name was Compton? "Stackhouse. Sookie Stackhouse," I replied, my brain on automatic pilot. "Your name is Compton?" I still couldn't believe what I heard.

"Why, Sookie Stackhouse. Who knew." The vampire looked at me, his expression inscrutable. "Yes, my name is Compton, Sookie. And I believe we are neighbors. I've just moved into the old Compton estate. It's right across the graveyard from you, correct?"

"I'm glad you're OK, Mr. Compton." I was nearly dizzy from the strain of trying to keep my Crazy Sookie smile plastered into place. I felt the car against the back of my knees, and relief flooded into me. Nearly there. "As I said, I really have to be getting home now." I made a leap into my car, thanking all that is holy that the darned piece of crap was still running. I slammed the door shut behind me. Nearly there. I put the car in reverse, and only let out the breath I was holding when I saw his figure shrinking in the headlights. I swung the car around and headed out of Merlotte's parking lot. A final glance in the mirror proved he was still standing where I had left him.

I could kill Compton for what he has done to you.

The words shot through my head unbidden. The words I heard my vampire say in her dreams, over and over again.

I could kill Compton for what he has done to you.

I was so focused on thoughts of my dream vampire, and his words, that I barely noticed when I reached home, automatically parking the car. I was halfway to the porch when the first blow landed, all the more viciously for the unexpected nature. I fell to my knees with a shriek, pain bouncing and echoing through my skull. I definitely wasn't prepared for the second blow, the one that landed me face first in the gravel of my driveway. I felt the first kick, felt the ribs on my right side shattering beneath the force of the steel toed boot. My body screamed under the weight of the pain it endured, my mouth letting the screams escape freely until that steel toe found the soft spot right under my chin, and connected with brute force. I felt my jaw disconnect from my face, and the last conscious thought I had was of my vampire dream lover. What did Compton do to make him so mad? Somewhere, in the deep recesses of my mind that did not acknowledge the terrible pain I was in, I found it amusing that I could think of my dream lover at a time like this. But for Crazy Sookie Stackhouse, who else was there to think about?

The attack seemed to go on for hours, at least to my poor, befuddled brain. I lost count of the number of blows I received very quickly, and felt myself slipping into a semi-conscious state, my mind at peace, my imagination leading me right back to my vampire dream lover. I always felt safe there, only ever felt loved there. I could hear, in some very dim recess of my brain, maniacal laughter spinning around me. I could smell my own blood, dripping from me, slowly in places, alarmingly fast from others. I was battered, broken and barely alive. Somewhere inside me, I registered that the attack was over, somewhere inside me, I registered the sound of the car leaving. I knew nothing. I felt nothing. And soon, I knew, I would be nothing.

I was sure I'd just up and died and gone to Heaven when my eyes opened again. I was wrapped in the arms of my dream vampire, my body cradled tight to his. His strong, muscular arms held me tight, my broken body welcoming his strength. His head was thrown back, his powerful throat exposed to me. I could hear the bellowing roar coming from him, could feel it rumbling deep in his chest. Red, bloody, tears streaked the sharp planes of his face, sliding over corded muscles in his neck, dripping onto me, mingling with my blood. His wrist was placed against my lips, and I slowly realized I was drinking from my vampire, consuming his essence as I had so often in my dreams. After a couple more greedy pulls on his wrist, I let my lips slacken, and instantly my vampire was staring down at me, his tear-stained face so heart-breakingly handsome. His bright, blue eyes gazed steadily at me, their light bringing light to my battered soul. I could feel myself slipping away, feel my consciousness fading fast. I tried to open my mouth to speak, but my jaw failed me. My dream lover leaned his magnificent head to my face, his vampire hearing the only reason he ever heard the words I spoke.

"Viking! You found me just in time."

So, what do you think? I'd really like to know!