Chapter 13 – It’s a headache!

October 27, 2003

Shreveport, LA

As planned, Eric met Sookie at dusk outside to walk the gardens. He had reviewed her sketches before dying for the day and was impressed. Not only had she taken the time to map out the property but the ideas she proposed were inspired. As he followed her around the property, she described her ideas and he could only stare: Her face lit up; she was animated; she looked exquisite. She also smelled wonderful from being out in the sun. He took every opportunity he could to sniff her even though each sniff resulted in some very powerful urges to bite and lick her. Eau de Sookie was worth it. They were seated at the garden bench reviewing her plans for that particular bed when Eric blurted out, “Sookie, you are beaming about this.”

“I like gardening.”

“I think it’s more than that.”

She shrugged her shoulders at his comments, and stood to continue their walk. After they finished she asked him “So what do you think?”

“I like the full plan from this sheet.” He said as he pointed to one of the plans. “I especially like the additions you noted for planting this spring. We’ll do those as well. I love that you researched night blooming plants that would work well in this climate.”

“It’s your property, wouldn’t that make sense?”

“It would, but no other person I’ve hired has done this level of research or work before.”

“Their mistake. I’ll get Bobby on the purchases tomorrow. You seem to like your gardens, why not push those you hired to plant certain species?”

“Hmm, how best to describe this – I enjoy a garden, not gardening – not the research and work that goes into it. Perhaps because when I was human, I was a farmer and working the land was for survival, not enjoyment. I’ve never really thought about it that deeply though.”

“Makes sense.”

As they stepped into the house, Eric asked her about her plans. “What would you like to do tonight? Pam’s going out on a date.”

“I was just going to read.”

“Runaway Jury is playing at the theater, would you like to go?”

“Go out, in public?”

“Sure, we can get you a hat if you want to go.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really.”

She paused for a moment, excited to go see the movie. Having read the Grisham novel, she was familiar with the story and to see Gene Hackman and Dustin Hoffman together would be great. Unfortinately, or perhaps fortunately she remembered how much she disliked going to the movies, too many thoughts in the theater always ruined it for her. ‘SHIT! I never thought of that for the Fangtasia Party. I’ll just nap during the day and pack Excedrin.’ She looked up at Eric who had been smiling and was now stone faced, she wasn’t sure what had happened to ruin the mood but she was honest. “Eric, I don’t think it’s a good idea to go to the movies.”

Eric immediately thought she just didn’t want to go with HIM, not understanding her reasoning and he sniped. “Very well, enjoy your book” and he turned to leave.

“Eric.” He kept walking. “ERIC!” No response. “ERIC, Please stop!”

He stopped, but did not turn to face her and replied, “Why Sookie? So you can tell me you don’t want to spend time with me?”

“No, I was just going to say I was tired and thought a movie here would be better. I had an early appointment for my measurements, came home with a headache, then spent much of the day tweaking the garden plans. I ran out of time to eat and shower before you got up. By the time I get those tasks done and we head to the late show, I’ll be too tired to enjoy the movie.” He finally turned around. “Remember you asked me once to give you a chance to explain? Can we both do that?”

“You’re right, I shouldn’t have assumed. Why don’t you fix a plate and we’ll eat in the den?”

“We’ll eat?”

“I have my goblet.”

“Just what do you have in that goblet anyway, I never see True Blood here? And yes, I really want to know.”

“I have bagged blood available in between donors.”

“Oh, the fridge in the garage?”

“Yes.”

“Will my bulbs be a problem? I was planning to keep them in there; I just never looked IN the fridge yet.”

“They won’t be a problem, but if you don’t want to see the blood, I can order you a separate refrigerator.”

“Nah, I’m fine. But let’s eat in the kitchen; I never eat in front of the TV. Should I heat your blood, I mean, what do you do with it?”

He stared at her, frozen that she would even offer. ‘Where is the pod and who stole the Sookie that wouldn’t even want to discuss blood?’ He wondered to himself.

“Eric?”

He snapped out of his thoughts. “Sookie, you just took me by surprise asking about the blood. I was just wondering.” He chuckled.

“What, what is so funny?”

“You’re going to be mad.”

“ERIC.” She said in a warning voice. “Tell me.”

“I was wondering where the pod is, and who stole my Sookie. Two weeks ago you would’ve stormed out of the room if I even told you about blood in the refrigerator.”

“No, two weeks ago I wouldn’t have cared about the blood. I get that this is your diet; I really don’t have an issue with that. In fact, I probably would’ve prepared Pam a goblet as well – yes, even two weeks ago. I just wouldn’t have prepared one for YOU.”

“What changed?” He asked with a small smile.

“Don’t get yourself all excited over there – I’m not planning to suddenly fulfill the role of your companion. I just….I see that you….I know that there is more to you than the scary vampire who bit me the first day and well all the other bad stuff.” He beamed and she quickly reminded him. “I said, don’t get yourself excited.”

“I can be excited that every night is not a fight though.”

“Very well. Now, are you going to show me what to do with your bagged blood?”

“Sure. There are many things I can show you Sookie.” He licked his lips a little bit.

She shook her head at his advanced. “Just show me how to heat up the blood for now.”

Shortly after they both finished dinner, they were seated in the den waiting for the movie that Eric had selected to start. The Hulk started playing and Sookie turned to him. Eric expected comments about picking a guy movie but again Sookie surprised him. “This doesn’t come out until Tuesday, how do you already have it on DVD?”

“How do you know the date of its release?”

“I asked you first, but I’ll answer anyway – I like Marvel Character movies, Superheros and stuff, I didn’t see this in the theater, so was planning to rent it. Now you, buddy. How do you already have it?”

“Buddy?” He chuckled but answered her. “I own the DVD rental store. Tuesday releases actually arrive to our store on the Friday before so we can mark them for sale.”

“OOOH, can we get Finding Nemo early then? I wanted to see that.”

“We can, but I’m not sure you’ll have me as a partner on the couch for that one. Perhaps Pam or Potts. I’m still curious, you kept Tolstoy and Dickens novels, but you follow superhero movies?”

“Yeah, so sue me. But do it later, the movie is starting.”

“Yes, Dear.”

The friendliness remained for the rest of the evening and Eric felt Sookie’s happiness again when she left for bed. He called Godric to report.

“My son, how are you and Sookie?”

“Better. She seems to be over her depression, and has even opened up and is talking with me – willingly.”

“Willingly? You have been forcing her?”

“Not forcing her to have friendly conversation, some business related discussions were required and she understood; it’s not like I tied her down and forced her to listen.”

“Ok, I just, well I worry.” Godric turned and pulled Theresa onto his lap. She had stayed all these years under Godric’s care. She had her own life, a career and some outside friends, but she never gave up her need to be with someone, and Godric took Eric’s place. He found her to be a nice companion, though not his Maria.

“We are going to the Fangtasia Halloween party together next week. She will be Anna and I will be Vronsky. She’s really quite excited. This is also a safe outing since she will be in a mask, her identity won’t be given away.”

“So for how long will you be keeping up the captive/missing story?”

“That’s what I wanted to discuss with you.”

“Go on.”

“She misses her Gran, but even more than missing Gran, she is worried about her Gran’s emotional state. This is why I would have returned her a few days ago.”

“Eric, you wanted to return her after the first night.”

“Yes, but you ordered me to keep her.”

“I did. What are you asking now?”

“I want to give Sookie the relief she needs with her Gran. What do you think about this plan?” He then launched into describing what he and Pam had been discussing the past few nights. The plan was not simple, but he felt he owed it to Sookie. Sookie would call Gran and explain that she had worked out a deal to repay Jason’s loan shark debt with the drug dealer’s boss. The drug dealer’s boss was in Shreveport and she would stay there and work off the debt for that guy at his casino. Godric poked the same holes in the story that Pam and honestly Eric did. How could a barmaid work off the debt that her brother couldn’t unless it was something shady, which Sookie wouldn’t do, or something related to sex, which Sookie also wouldn’t do. “Godric, this is where Pam and I were stuck.”

“I suppose that working in a casino in Shreveport would earn a higher salary than a bar in Bon Temps, but without glamour, I am not sure this ‘Gran’ would buy into it. Would Sookie balk too much at glamour?”

“I’ll ask.”

“WOW, you’re going to ask first? Where is my Eric?”

“He’s right here, doing EXACTLY what you wanted, Master. He cares for a human and has turned into a pansy.” He ended the call before Godric could say anything else.

OOOoooOOOooo

The next afternoon when Sookie woke up, Potts had a surprise for her. When she entered the kitchen, Potts was sitting at the table, waiting with Bobby. ‘Yay, Bobby.’ Sookie thought sarcastically and ignored him “Good day Potts! How are you?”

“Hello Sleepy Head, I’m great and I have a surprise. How are you this afternoon?”

“Curious; spill.”

“Bobby is here to escort us to a gardening center out towards Marshall. Grab some grub so we can get going.”

“What are we getting there?”

“Your bulbs, Miss Stackhouse.” Bobby answered out loud with an eye roll, but Sookie heard him think she was an idiot for not knowing what we needed to get at the garden center when she was the one who convinced the master to spend all this extra money on flowers. He stopped her thoughts when he continued. “And whatever else you need to plan for the spring. Master has set up an account for your use at this center, I will of course, authorize the purchases.”

Sookie was so excited she grabbed a banana and said, “I’ll eat on the way.”

“Not in the car you won’t.” Bobby sneered.

Potts cut in. “Bobby, is this the respectful behavior that Eric expects you to have with Miss Stackhouse?”

He glared at Potts; then turned on his heel with his car keys. “Let’s get this outing over with.”

Sookie used the driving time to review her garden plans and create a shopping list. She checked with Bobby and Potts several times about what Eric might already own for gardening and finally Bobby just yelled at her, “For fuck’s sake Sookie, just buy what you want. He employs a landscaping service; I don’t think he owns anything specifically for the type of gardening you’re doing. Jesus Fucking Christ, it’s not like it’s your money.” Potts glared and Sookie just stayed quiet for the rest of the ride.

As soon as they arrived, Potts handed Sookie a hat and sunglasses as a disguise and Bobby explained he needed to speak with the owner about the account since it was just set-up, so they all went in search of the office. Bobby found a sales girl to ask. Her name tag said, ‘Bambi’ and Sookie actually giggled under her breath at her name. Given the glare that Bambi gave her, she’d heard it. Potts caught on right away and when Bambi left to get the owner, she turned to her giggling friend and whispered, “With a name like Sookie, you’d think you could be more mature about other names.”

“Couldn’t help myself.” They both burst out laughing while Bobby stood appalled at their behavior.

Bambi and the owner returned and Bobby explained the account for Mr. Northman. Bambi’s eyes grew wide at the mention of Eric’s name. Sookie was curious about her reaction, so she dipped in to take a peak.

She saw Eric taking Bambi to his office, bending her over (well, she didn’t see it; she was remembering it from Bambi’s position looking over the desk). She heard the nasty words that Eric spoke to her and she felt Bambi’s shame as she relived that moment. What puzzled her was, even after what Eric said, Bambi was still jealous of Potts and her for obviously being with ‘the Master’. How pathetic. Now Bambi’s head was full of nasty hateful things about her and Potts. How fat she was, how ugly Potts was. How she didn’t see any fang marks on either of us. Some of the thoughts turned hurtful and Sookie found she was actually a little afraid of being around Bambi.

She ignored Bambi and focused on her shopping list. They filled the back of Eric’s SUV with bulbs, planting tools, seed starter kits and growing lights. Sookie had added a vegetable garden to her plans for the yard, and she and Potts picked their favorite’s to grow. She wanted to be excited about her purchases and the fun she would have planning and planting, but both Bambi and Bobby’s thoughts were wearing on her. Staying at Eric’s and away from other humans, she found she was out of practice with her mind reading shields, and she grew tired about an hour into the shopping trip and had to drop them. That meant she heard EVERY snide remark from Bobby about her spending the master’s money and every jealous remark from Bambi about how Sookie didn’t deserve Eric.

By the time they got home and unpacked the car, she was exhausted and grumpy. Potts suggested a late lunch but she declined. “I only want to sleep.”

“Sookie, you only had a banana today.”

“I’ll eat later.”

OOOoooOOOooo

Eric rose, showered and started work on Norse Enterprises, all while enjoying Sookie’s restful feeling from her nap. When the sun set, he went upstairs, still curious that Sookie was asleep. “Potts, did anything happen today? I’m surprised that Sookie is asleep.”

“She returned from the shopping trip exhausted. Bobby was an ass, and it seemed like the sales girl didn’t like us from her glares, but otherwise, nothing remarkable. Oh, and she really hasn’t eaten. I have class, so I thought you should know, you know – so you or Pam could encourage her. And tell Pam, NOT just pastries.”

“I’ll take her something.”

“Oh, do you want me to put together a sandwich? I just made chicken salad for dinner.”

“Show me.”

Potts was shocked, instead of just having her do it, he wanted her to show him? She kept her mouth shut and took him to the kitchen and prepared a plate with a sandwich for Sookie. Eric thanked her and she was off to class. The sandwich plate, drink and a pastry were loaded onto a tray and he made his way up to her bedroom. A quick check of his bond found her awake.

“Sookie.” He knocked quietly.

“Yes, Eric?”

“I have some dinner for you.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“You haven’t eaten.”

“Please let me sleep.”

Eric persisted; worried that she would go into her depression again. “Sookie, Potts asked me to make sure you eat. I promised; do you want me to break a promise?”

“Guilt Eric?”

“Is it working?” He stood while she said nothing. He added then, “Sookie, I’m worried.”

She sighed and offered, “Come in.”

He entered and set the tray on the bed while she sat up. “Thank you.”

“What happened today?”

“I just got a headache and tired while we were out is all. I’m not getting depressed again.”

“Do you want to go to Fangtasia with Pam and me tonight?”

“How can I do that?” She then added in a snarky tone, “I’m missing, remember.”

Not taking the bait for a fight he replied with no emotion. “You can stay in the office.”

She backed down when he didn’t snipe back. “Thanks for the offer, but I think I need a quiet evening. Anna, Vronsky and I have a date.”

“Ok. Will you be up when I get home?”

She sighed. She hadn’t wanted to be friends with Eric. She certainly didn’t want to get in the way of girls like Bambi. Going to Fangtasia meant listening to all those voices. She wanted to save her strength for Halloween. “I don’t know. I guess I’ll see if the headache is really gone or not.”

“You get headaches frequently.”

“Yeah, always have.”

He thought for a few minutes then announced his decision. “I’ll send for a doctor.”

“Eric, there is no need. I just take some Excedrin when I get them and I’m good.”

“You don’t seem good to me.” He said, as he started dialing the phone. “Ludwig, this is Northman. My human is ill. I need you to meet me at Fangtasia in an hour.” Eric certainly wanted to get a handle on these headaches. She got them often and that could be a problem. Pop culture also had something about ‘having a headache’ as an excuse for no sex; something he didn’t want to find out if it was true or not later.

Sookie couldn’t hear the words, but she could hear some yelling while Eric was quiet.

“Fine, you can meet her here. I’ll wait to go in.”

She heard more yelling and it seemed that Eric cut her off, “I understand she’ll be YOUR patient; I won’t interfere.” … “Yes, I’ll pay extra.” … “Fine, 30 minutes.”

“The doctor will see you here in about 30 minutes.”

“ERIC! I. AM. NOT. SICK. You’re acting like a OVERBEARING JERK!”

“Keeping you healthy is my job, and I won’t take any chances. Now, eat your dinner so you can freshen up before she gets here.”

“I don’t want my dinner. Just leave me alone.”

“Sookie.”

“Take it away.”

“No.”

“Fine.” She got up, took the tray from the bed and stomped down the stairs to the kitchen. Even though he was pissed at her behavior, he had to admit he enjoyed her show. Sookie had taken her nap in a tank top and underpants. Sheer. Pink. Boyshorts. That’s it. He snickered to himself at the view and the fact that Sookie was so mad; she didn’t realize what she had done.

“SOOKIE! You look scrumptious!” He heard Pam coo to Sookie followed by Sookie cursing. By the time he made it to the kitchen, Sookie was bright red from embarrassment. It didn’t help that Pam was literally licking her lips while she leered.

“Knock it off Pam; I’m not in the mood.”

“Yes Crumbcake, I heard your signature stomp. Too bad I missed the resulting boob bounce as well – especially a bra-less boob bounce.” She turned to Eric. “Well, Prince Charming, what did you do tonight to cause this?”

“ME?! She stomped off for no reason.”

Pam raised her eyebrow at him. “Really? State your case.” Pam loved this. Inter mediating and putting Eric in his place for anything related to Sookie really made her happy – almost as happy as shoes. Eric (hardly) ever reprimanded her for speaking her piece when it came to Sookie. Ready to yell at him for his behavior, she leaned back against the counter and waited.

“I called a doctor for Sookie.”

Pam gasped and turned to Sookie, concerned. “Sookie, are you ill?”

“It’s just a headache” Sookie replied as she glared at Eric. “A HEADACHE you high handed jerk!”

“Sookie, I have to give this one to Eric. You’ve had several headaches, some of them bad enough to put you in bed– AND you’ve only been here for two weeks. This could be a problem.”

Eric stood tall, his arms crossed over his chest and a smug smile on his face. “I knew I was right. You should go get ready for your appointment.”

“Assholes! Both of you.”

He yelled up the stairs. “I’m putting your dinner in the refrigerator for you DEAR, so you can eat it later. You know when Ludwig yells at you for not eating.”

“BITE ME!”

“Is that an invitation? I’ll be right up.” He laughed when he heard her growl from upstairs.

Wondering about Eric’s call to his Maker, Pam asked Eric to join her in his office. She questioned him about Godric’s opinion on the plan. She knew Eric had high hopes that Godric would have a solution to the problems in their plan OR allow him to return Sookie home, though he really wanted her to stay, just not as his captive. The fact that Godric was not permitting Sookie to leave AND he also saw the gaps in their plan saddened Pam. She liked her little breather and wanted to help remove her concerns for Gran. Before they could finish their conversation, the guards called informing them that Ludwig had arrived, so Pam left to greet Ludwig while Eric went to inform Sookie.

When he got to her room she was dressed and ready to greet Ludwig, but she was still mad. “Sookie, you need to behave in front of Ludwig, remember.”

“Yes, master.”

“You don’t need to call me master in front of Ludwig, you just can’t defy me.”

“Yes she can Northman.” Came a gruff voice behind Eric.

Sookie peeked past Eric to see a very short, grumpy looking woman. The height difference was comical, but when Ludwig ‘ordered’ Eric to step aside, AND HE DID, Sookie had to control her urge to laugh out loud. She turned to Eric and kept talking while she pulled some medical instruments from her bag. “I don’t talk in the supe circles; and Goddess knows you need a human that can stand up to you. If she didn’t I would worry and call your maker – and you know what I mean. So just swallow your pride giant and let me check your patient.”

“I will remain here so I can understand why she is ill.”

“I told you she was my patient and her wellbeing is not your business unless she tells you. Give her permission to speak freely and leave.” She pointed out the door. “And don’t bother trying to listen; I’m putting up a privacy spell.”

They stared at each other for a few minutes. It felt so long that Sookie started to fidget from being uncomfortable, but eventually Eric informed Sookie to share any information in confidence with the doctor and he left.

Ludwig examined Sookie, recorded her background health history, and asked her about how she came to live with Eric. Ludwig knew about Godric’s request of Eric. When she had been called to help with the rehabilitation of Theresa she learned the entire history from Godric. Why Godric told her, she never understood, but he did and she vowed to herself to keep a close eye on Sookie to prevent another Theresa situation.

It was when she drew Sookie’s blood that she started to put the pieces together about the girl. As a healer, Ludwig ran regular medical tests with labs, but she also tested the blood herself by taste. Vampire, likely Eric, Fae and a tiny bit of Daemon were what she tasted; that and the headaches could only mean….

“Sookie, you understand you can speak to me in confidence?”

“Yes. But I have nothing to say, I just get headaches.”

“From your telepathy?” Sookie’s eyes grew wide and started to tear up and breathe erratically. “Calm yourself or your vampire will be up here wondering about your panic.”

Too late. He pounded on the door. “Sookie, what’s wrong?”

Since the privacy spell was in place, Ludwig needed to crack the door to tell him that Sookie just didn’t like the needle and he should go back downstairs.

“Now, where were we – ah yes, your telepathy. I take it Northman does not know?”

“No. My disability has only ever caused me trouble. Do you know other telepaths? I mean, how did you guess?

“First, it’s not a disability, but I can understand why you feel that way. For how I guessed, I can’t really explain how I figured it out – it’s a little more than just one thing. Just know that I’m not going to tell your vampire. But, if you’re staying here, and it appears that you are, you WILL need to tell him eventually. For now, to get him off your back, we’ll tell him you are just under stress from the move and that you’re worried for your Gran. I’ll assure him that the headaches are not a problem and if the blood work shows anything different, I will call YOU. I will also come out to see you once a month. That should satisfy his arrogant ass.”

Sookie just giggled. “How do you get away with talking to him like that?”

“I talk to everyone like that.”

“You haven’t been like that with me.”

“I might actually like you. Just don’t tell anyone.”

With Sookie’s permission, Ludwig called Eric up to her room and summarized her findings. Eric was not happy with the assessment, but he accepted it. That he was the cause of her headaches, because he was the cause of her adjustments, ate at him, but there was nothing he could do. He was pleased that Ludwig reinforced Sookie’s need to eat a bit more regularly than she’s been doing. Sleeping more during the day to be up with vampires is OK, she’d informed Sookie, as long as she kept to a routine. Sookie accepted the advice. Once Ludwig left, he knew he needed to head to Fangtasia, but he really didn’t want to leave. However, with the Halloween party on Friday, there was too much to do at Fangtasia to allow him to stay home. It wasn’t until he saw her eating her previously ignored dinner that he felt comfortable enough to head to the bar.

When he arrived at Fangtasia, Pam cornered him immediately wanting to know about the results of the doctor’s visit. At the mention of her health, Pam felt guilt from Eric. “Why do I feel guilt? I felt it earlier. Actually, it took me a minute to identify it as guilt since we NEVER feel guilt. What have you done now to Sookie?”

“Apparently the headaches are the result of her stress from the move and her worry about her Gran.”

“Did she give her something to stop them?”

“No, Sookie has already been treating them correctly.”

“You’re pretty late getting here, what else did they discuss?”

“Ludwig put up a privacy spell, they did discuss plenty of stuff I’m sure, but I have no idea what.”

“We need to discuss your thoughts on Gran with Sookie. She can make a decision about glamour and try to ease that worry.”

“I agree, let’s get our work done here and go home early.”

OOOoooOOOooo

The first thing Eric noticed when he saw Sookie in the den was that Anna Karenina was on the coffee table, and The Woman in White was now in Sookie’s hands. It pleased him that she was as voracious a reader as he was, and not fluff. She smiled when he entered the den and he felt something ‘warm’ inside from it.

“Is your headache gone?”

“It is thank you for asking. I told you it was nothing to worry about.”

“It doesn’t hurt to be sure.” He sat at the end of the couch and took Sookie’s feet in his hands. She already gave blanket permission for foot rubs and if it meant he could have his hands on her, then all the better. The moans of pleasure started right away.

“Oh, that feels good Eric. We did all that walking at the garden center. I will concede on one thing bad about Wal-Mart: Their shoes don’t provide proper support.

“Then we’ll get you better shoes, yes?”

“Ok.”

He noted that she was very compliant while her feet were being rubbed. “Pam will join us in a minute; we want to talk about something.”

Pam settled into the den, smiling at the comfort that Sookie now seemed to have with Eric. She knew after a few minutes into the conversation; that was going to change since the topic was not going to be easy for Sookie. She steeled herself, preparing for her friend’s pain.

Eric started. “Sookie, we both know how you have been worried about your Gran.”

And there it was: the smile left Sookie’s face and was replaced by a frown. She sat up straighter, causing her feet to pull from Eric’s lap. Pam could see and feel that Eric didn’t like the reaction, but they both knew it was going to be difficult. “Why bring this up? Haven’t I already had a bad day?”

“Sookie, we want to remedy the situation.” Pam quickly explained. She and Eric agreed that Pam should lead, since Sookie was less inclined to snipe at her.

Sookie narrowed her eyes in suspicion and asked. “How?”

“We want to have you call your Gran.” Before any other words were spoken, Sookie started tearing up.

“I can call Gran?”

“Yes, but hang on and listen to the whole thing, there are decisions you need to make.” Sookie roll her hand to hurry Pam along. “We think we can add to the ruse of Jason’s capture and then your kidnapping by the drug dealers. We planted that Jason was taken by the drug dealers in payment for his outstanding loans. Our planned story is: You were taken by the drug dealers to their boss, a casino owner in Shreveport. You willingly agreed to work off Jason’s debt, so he could remain with the baby.”

“How would I work off the debt?” Again, she was suspicious.

“That’s the tricky part. We know your Gran wouldn’t believe you would do anything illegal or immoral, so we need to convince her that you are going to work in a casino making more money than you could at Merlotte’s to pay of Jason’s debt faster.” Pam stopped talking to give Sookie time to absorb the plan so far.

‘If I can convince Gran of this, I can still talk to her and she won’t worry. Perhaps if Gran thought I was using my telepathy, she would believe it more, but how can I get that across without telling Eric or Pam. Do I even need to keep it a secret? For now, yes. I want to talk to Gran. I want her to stop worrying. Maybe I’ll even swallow my pride and let Eric give me money to send Gran to help out. God, I hate that last part, but it seems every day I spend more of his money and I’m losing that battle anyway. I just wonder why we can’t just tell Gran the truth.‘ Finally finished with her internal discussion, she turned to Pam. “This could work, if Gran was convinced. Can I make some suggestions?”

“Go on.”

“Why not tell Gran the truth?” Eric immediately started shaking his head. “Give me a minute to explain.”

“Ok, but don’t get your hopes up, that is NOT what I had in mind.”

“I know, but think about it. How different IS the fake story? For Gran to believe it, she has to believe that Jason would be taken again if I didn’t stay with my captor. This way we don’t need to add the debt to why I’m staying. THAT would have been harder for her to believe. She would always wonder how I could ever earn enough to cover his debt as a waitress.”

“Well, Sookie, we planned to use glamour.”

“I don’t think you’ll need it. If I can explain the situation and that I’m here willingly to keep Jason free, she’ll understand. Then you can glamour the police who are out looking for me that I’ve been found, and I’m staying in Shreveport to avoid the fanfare of a return home to Bon Temps. Maybe add that they witnessed a small reunion with Gran.”

“I don’t know your Gran like you do. I’m just not sure about this.”

“Can we just try it my way; then watch her? I know you have resources you can send as spies. They can see if she talks to others in town like she is convinced, ensure that she confirms to the local police that she’s seen me, and hopefully, let us know that she kicks Jason’s ass for starting this whole damn thing to begin with.”

Impressed with her thought process, Eric spoke up. “This idea has merit, my little strategist. I think we can make that work.” He watched as Sookie smiled broadly “Would you like to call Gran tomorrow when I rise? I’m assuming 3AM is not a good time for her.”

Sookie beamed. “Yeah, calling Gran tomorrow would be great.”