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AFTER A LONG DAY of slinging beers and whiskey shooters at Merlotte's, and officially meeting Amy, Jason's new girlfriend: Alex was exhausted. Which didn't explain why she was in the backseat of Bill's car, interrupting their date by riding to Fangtasia with him and Sookie.

"You said you wanted to go out tonight." Bill smirked slightly, seeing Sookie's disgusted look. She was looking down at the flowers Bill had gotten her but she quickly rolled her eyes.

"I did not mean Fangtasia! I mean, really, all those pathetic people who come here looking for sex with vampires?" Sookie shot back and Bill and Alex glanced at each other. Her response made Bill look at her with his eyebrows raised. Alex just shook her head as she her door and shut it quietly while they talked.

Alex tugged on the hem of her dress, trying to force it down but it was no use. Finally, as she reached the door she sighed and looked down at herself. She didn't look bad, but she just didn't look like Fangtasia. It was important to Alex that Eric took her seriously and she thought in that dress, she'd just be a piece of meat in their eyes. Which wasn't a bad thing at any other time, but this time was important.

Her solid black heels tapped on the tiled floor, making the vampires in the room look up. Eric let his eyes hover over the blonde waitress and she could see a glint of something in his eyes, suddenly he was right in front of her. The wind from his movement blew her hair backwards and made her stumble a bit, but he shot out, grabbing her hips and pulling her back to her feet.

"Hello, Ms. Stackhouse." Eric purred. Alex gulped silently and gave him a small smile, though her look told him she wanted to tear his clothes. He could definitely feel her emotions rushing through his veins, no one in the room had to have special powers to recognize the tension.

"Alright, Eric why don't you tell Alexandra about our little dilemma." Pam raised her eyebrows, pursing her bright pink lips at the two. They slowly backed away from each other just in enough time to see Sookie and Bill walk through the door.

Alex took a quick look at Pam, sensing that the vampire's eyes were roaming her body. It didn't make Alex uncomfortable, it was actually hilarious to the blonde that Pam could get so jealous over someone. But of who Pam was jealous of, Alex didn't have a clue.

Longshadow walked into Eric's office and quickly returned with a middle aged man. He clearly wasn't a vampire. The redness around his cheeks and eyes told her that, as well as how frightened he was. A gold wedding band was placed around his ring finger and Alex glanced at Eric with worried eyes.

"Thank you ladies for coming." The clack of his black dress shoes on the floor became consistent as he paced from the bar to where Alex was standing by Pam. "Pam, Longshadow, and I are partners in this club. We've recently gained some information that $60,000 is missing from our books. And Bruce here, is our accountant."

The corner of Alex's lips dropped down slightly, and she wondered why she was even there. Maybe she was just something to look at while Sookie helped Eric?

The Swedish vampire finally stopped his pacing, and landed in front of Alex. He let his index finger and thumb rest on the curve of her chin, lifting her head slightly. From behind them, Bill watched carefully, ready to pounce if Eric happened to be too friendly.

"Use it." His words didn't have any meaning to Alex until she made eye contact with him. All of the communication happened between that one look, between their blue eyes. Alex really didn't know how to control her power, not like Sookie could. She never really tried either. Maybe it was about time she should. Alex scratched the side of her head, nervously and subconsciously brought her fingernails to her lips, biting on them.

"Maybe you can start by listening to him." Eric slid away from Alex, walking over near Sookie. The younger Stackhouse gave him a slight smirk.

She shrugged, "He's not saying anything." Alex rolled her eyes at Sookie. She always had to be a smartass when she was around something dangerous.

"Don't be coy." Eric warned, "It's humbling enough having to turn to humans for help. We know what you both can do." He crossed his arms, standing broadly beside Pam. Longshadow was amusing himself and Alex as he lit a lighter, running his hand through the flame.

"I know what you can do too. Why don't you just glamour him?" Sookie questioned, turning to face the vampire who sighed.

"Now, don't you think we would have tried everything before summoning you?" His gaze was pointed towards Sookie and Alex snorted.

"Gotcha." She pointed to her sister who gave her a silent glare. Alex wrinkled her nose and continued to play with the lighter that Longshadow tossed her.

"It would be a great favor to Mr. Compton and I, if you helped us out." Eric side eyed Alex who hissed at the lighter, putting her finger in her mouth to cool the burning sensation.

"If I find out who did it, then what?" Sookie tilted her head, knowing that they would probably drain their blood and toss them to the side of the road to die. Eric exchanged a look with Pam and Longshadow.

"We'll turn that person over to the police and let the authorities handle it from there." The dark haired vampire spoke, making Alex turn towards him, her face doubting his words.

"Hundreds of years old and you're still a terrible liar, dude." Alex snorted and Longshadow crossed his arms, holding out a hand for his lighter back. Alex grumbled but slapped the lighter down into his hand.

Sookie turned to look at Eric, "I'll make you a deal: if you promise to hand the person who did this over to the police, I'll agree to help you anytime you want." Eric's eyebrows raised.

"All right, why not?" The corner of his mouth twitched into a smile. Sookie grabbed Bruce's hands and gripped it tightly, Alex could tell she was in his head. Eric slowly walked over, grabbing Alex's shoulders and leading her to Bruce. She took ahold of his hand and sat down in front of Sookie.

Alex frowned, she didn't really know what to do. All of the images and the things that came to her mind, just came to her. She closed her eyes tightly, letting her finger tips do all the work. She became relaxed, letting her mind go completely blank. A nerve of anger struck her when nothing was happening, she let go of his wrist and folded her arms, getting ready to give up when she jumped from her seat, going over behind Bruce.

Alex laid her hands on each side of his shoulders, tightly gripping them. Everyone in the room was watching her, including Sookie. A light bulb flickered in her mind and it was like she won the lottery as images of Bruce in Eric's office flashed through her mind. She let her consciousness fly through all of the brain racking moments Bruce had, all the frustration, the anger, the pain.

Alex let go of his shoulders, stepping back from the man with wide eyes. She looked around at all the vampires and her mouth dropped slightly. "He didn't do it." She said, repeating Sookie's words.

"I saw him, in your office." She turned to Eric, "He almost didn't notice it, it was so covered up. Someone was real sneaky about this."

"I didn't do it. I didn't do it." He shook his head, tears rolling down his cheeks. There was nothing more belittling than crying in front of four vampires and two super humans.

"He's tellin' the truth." Sookie commented, glancing over at Alex. She was rubbing the sides of her head. An ache was throbbing in her head, it was like nothing she felt before.

"You trust two skinny humans to clear the fat one?" Longshadow asked and Eric looked over at him. Alex's eyes fell on Longshadow and she shivered at the look he was giving her. It was almost like he was nervous around her.

"Bring in the next one." Eric commanded, Pam's heels clacked against the hard tiled floor. Alex watched as Bruce gathered up his belongings and ran out the door as fast as he could.

Ginger was smoking a cigarette when Pam came back with her. She had a slight smirk on her face when she saw Alex sitting there. The older woman nodded at her and Alex sent a small wave.

"This is the last of our humans." Pam sighed, sitting Ginger down at the table across from Alex and Sookie. Pam grabbed the cigarette, offering it to Alex. She held her hand up, declining the lipstick covered filter. She didn't know where Ginger's mouth had been, and she really didn't want to find out.

"Hmm. Yummy." Ginger grinned at Sookie, looking her up and down. If it had been a normal setting, Alex would have snickered, but given the serious vibe of the room, she decided against it. Sookie gave a slight smile and looked over at Bill who was still leaning on the bar.

"Ginger, these girls have a few questions for you. Now, be a good girl and answer them, will you?" Eric questioned, placing a hand on Alex's shoulder. She felt chills down her spine and her headache dulled down slightly.

"Aye aye, master." Ginger grinned, saluting Eric. Alex wrinkled her nose up, fidgeting in her seat. Sookie reached for Ginger's hand but she quickly yanked it away, "Don't touch me, bitch."

"Hold her still." Eric ordered and Pam places her hands on Ginger's shoulder. Sookie reached for her hand again and held it lightly. Alex stood, walking over to Pam and taking over her hold on Ginger.

Alex gripped her shoulders tightly and drowned out all the words that were being said around her. Scenes of Ginger and Longshadow played in her head, making Alex's eyes snap open.

"You." She whispered, looking directly at the vampire. He seemed to hear her, and he gripped the edge of the bar, like he was restricting himself.

"Someone glamoured her." Pam looked over to Eric, his eyes were wide and he was looking between Alex and Longshadow. She flung herself across the room, grabbing Sookie. Longshadow dashed to them, flinging Sookie into the table beside them and wrapping his hands around Alex's neck.

A flicker of sparks flung from her fingertips, shocking the vampire. His face fell and his grip loosened slightly, but not before Bill ripped off a wooden beer tap, shoving it into his heart. Blood spewed over Alex, blending in with her burgundy dress. Sookie flinched as blood splattered onto her exposed legs and arms, all over her white dress.

Sookie was frozen, shaking in fear. Alex took a deep breath and tried to drown out Ginger's murderous scream. Eric and Pam looked unamused as Ginger heaved on the floor beside Longshadow's guts.

"Humans. Honestly, Bill, I don't know what you see in them." Eric pursed his lips, glancing over to Alex. She had a small frown on her face and her eyebrows were furrowed. She looked up at Eric, narrowing her eyes. He didn't even try to save her, he didn't even blink. Bill was the one who staked Longshadow, Bill was the one who had stepped up. She could've been ripped to shreds.

Alex huffed, going over to Sookie who was frozen. She quickly routed them to the bathroom, grabbing paper towels and running them under hot water. She started cleaning off the blood that was glued to her face, Sookie soon did the same. The silence in the small ladies room was overwhelming, so much so, Sookie just had to say something.

"Are you okay?" She questioned, looking up at her big sister. Alex chewed the inside her cheek and shrugged slightly.

"I'm fine." She lied, raising her head up to get the red liquid from her neck and chest. Alex glanced at Sookie who was giving her 'mom' look, which she had gotten from Alex. "Sook, I'm okay. I just need to get cleaned up."

"You're not freaked out?" Sookie gulped, putting her head under the sink to rinse out her hair. Alex followed in suit, sticking her red locks under the faucet. The red slowly washed out, revealing her natural blonde.

"Of course. I'm just thankful Bill was there. God knows Eric wouldn't have done anything." Alex frowned, "You got a keeper, Sook." She looked down at Sookie with a small smile.

"You clean up more, I'm gonna go see if I can get a change of clothes." Alex opened the bathroom door, slipping past Pam who had a black latex dress in her hands, probably for her. She stormed past Ginger, who was sloping Longshadow's remains in a grey bucket.

The poor girl probably did that on a regular basis.

Bill opened the door, giving a nod, she placed a light hand on his bicep. "Thank you, Bill. Really. I could've died." Alex gleamed up at the vampire who just gave her a smile. "I think I'm gonna talk to Eric for a bit, will you wait for me?" His hesitation was noticeable, but seeing as though Alex had already made up her mind he just nodded.

"Come in." Eric was splayed out with his feet propped up on his desk. Alex folded her arms, standing in the middle of his office. For the first time in a while she felt small. Compared to Longshadow, Eric, or any other frightening vampire, or human for that matter. She felt as though she was a rag doll, being tossed around.

Getting strangled twice in one week could probably do that to a person.

"Why didn't you do anything?" She broke the silence, her voice wavering slightly. Alex wanted to scream, cry, maybe both. Eric leaned back, propping his feet onto his desk. He laid his hands behind his head and closed his eyes.

"You had it." He simply said, not paying any mind to her distraught figure. Alex thought she heard him wrong.

She had it?

"The hell do you mean I had it? He was about to rip my fucking head off Eric!" She yelled, not caring that the others were just outside of the door.

"I saw the sparks, Alexandra. It's the same thing that happened when you got attacked the first time. If Bill hadn't have staked Longshadow, you would've handled it." He spoke and Alex pursed her lips.

"I'm not used to this, Eric. Being human, it comes with anxieties and-and fear. I just now started to embrace who I was after almost 28 years of ignoring it. I've never been more close to death in my life than I have this week. I can't just be expected to protect myself or die, it's just not gonna happen just like that." She quietly reasoned, she crossed her arms, and stepped closer to Eric, who was eyeing her carefully.

She hopped up onto his desk, she watched as he stood slowly, hovering over her. "And I know you're not used to this. I know you don't keep regular people around, it's gotta be hard for you to learn that I can actually get hurt. Especially since you've been with Pam so long." The vampire didn't say a word, he just let his head tilt to the side. He grabbed Alexandra, pulling her to her feet. She leaned into him, and he put his nose to her blonde hair, inhaling her scent. Even with all of the blood and the smell of death on her, he was able to overlook that and smell the sunlight, along with her fruity shampoo.

"I guess I better go." Alex placed her hand on his chest and pulled away slightly. She reached up, giving him the lightest peck on the lips. It took everything out of her to not take fistfuls of his black T-shirt and tackle him down to the dirty office floor. She slipped out from his grasp and quickly left, shutting the door lightly on her way out.

-

Alex was nuzzled against the warm leather in the backseat of Bill's car the whole ride home. Before she left, Pam had gotten her cleaned up and a change of clothes, which unlike Sookie's, was not made of black latex.

Alex yawned, sitting up slightly from her position and she blinked a few times to get adjusted to the moonlight peeking through the windows.

"Maybe she's worked up? Alex hasn't really forced herself to have those visions before. It couldn't have been easy." Sookie proposed and Bill hummed in agreement. Alex sat up between the two, rubbing her eyes. She slept the whole way back to Bon Temps, seeing as though they were in Sookie's driveway.

"So are you sure you're not in trouble?" Sookie glanced over to Bill, her bloody clothes in hand. Alex cleared her throat, looking over to Bill with guilty eyes. She never could've imagined Bill getting in trouble with vampire police after he saved her life. Alex returned her gaze to the door, digging into her pocket to grab the keys.

"A simple slap on the wrist that's all." Bill waved her off, giving a small smile. They walked up to the front door walking inside right behind Alex.

"You swear? Pam made it seem like," Sookie started and Bill cut her off, waving a hand in front of her face.

"Pam was turned almost a hundred years ago and yet somehow still behaves as though every day were Halloween. She's all drama and theatrics. I assure you, everything's going to be fine." Bill placed a chaste kiss on Sookie's lips and Alex silently walked into the den, throwing her keys on the side table.

"I'm gonna take a shower, I feel like there's blood on me." Sookie hummed, walking into the dark house. Alex nodded in agreement and flinched when a drop of something hit her in the face. She reached to turn on the light and looked around, there were splatters of blood over the walls.

"Don't look up!" Bill warned, reaching his hand out to grab Sookie, but it was too late. The girls had already glanced up and on the ceiling fan was Tina, her head dangling from the wooden planks. A scream erupted from Sookie but Alex just stood there with wide eyes, wiping the blood from her face.

authors note
hey guys! please vote and comment, leave your love, criticism, anything below!

guys if you read these (which i hope you do) i would so appreciate it if you could share this book. i love this story and i would love for more people to read it and give their feedback or any comments! so please help me out!

so it's been about a month you guys, and i am super sorry. i didn't want the wait to be this long at all but i've been working every weekend, this is the first weekend i have had off in a hot minute. please accept my apology, i feel so bad! but you guys have about 1,000 extra words in this chapter! and i might post another one if i finish it tonight, it just depends!

thank you for all of the votes and comments we have gotten so far!

love mack