Business as Usual

I never would've thought, back when the fire took place, that Eric and I would be able to fall into any sort of routine that I'd ever consider normal. Strangely enough, we actually have.

I'm back at work just like I was before, only now, I work days. I know Eric doesn't really get it, but it's comforting being there almost every day, working like I have for years. I love seeing the same faces every day, whether it's great customers who've become close friends, like Lucy, or the people I work with, like Garry, Tommy, Sam, Lafayette, Terry, and Arlene. I look forward to seeing them every day, to working with them, to hearing how their lives are going. I even carpool to work with Garry sometimes. That guy's become such a good friend. Even Hundr adores him, though leave it to Eric to complain that my car smells like Shifter now.

Speaking of hearing how everyone's lives are going, I cannot BELIEVE that Sam and Tara got engaged! I'm so excited for them, I can hardly stand it. I think I nearly knocked Tara over when she told me, I rushed to hug her so quick. Really, though, I take that back. With all those two have been through together, I can totally believe that they're meant for each other. Tara asked me to be maid of honor, and I'm just hoping she doesn't put me in one of those awful dresses that Arlene used to make me wear when I was a bridesmaid at her weddings. Yuck. Tara's got way better taste than Arlene though, so even though she teases me, I'm not that worried.

Garry and Oliver are getting married pretty soon too. It feels like everyone's tying the knot, but that's spring for you. Love's in the air. It makes me wonder if Eric and I will ever really get married. How's that for an awkward pause in a conversation? "Eric's my... sorta my husband." I don't think it could be more confusing than "kinda married," but though we've been at this stage since January, I still haven't gathered the courage to talk to him about it. I guess I should, but even if it's hard to explain to people, the whole thing does make me really happy. There's no better feeling than waking up next to my Viking, with little Hundr curled at our feet.

Not all my friends have been so happy, though. I've become real close with this nice girl, Lucy, when we met at Merlotte's. She's beyond sweet, and actually reminds me a lot of myself. I kind of imagine that if I were to have a little sister, that's what she'd be like. Silly, right? Even if it is, it makes me feel protective of her. Problem is, she's a vampire slayer. No, seriously. She doesn't want to be, though. I don't get why she can't just quit. She says her blood's like a draw for vampires, which I totally get, but that doesn't mean I go killing 'em. I don't know. She says she never kills them unless they attack first, which I guess makes sense. Self defense is completely understandable and really important. She even met up with me at Fangtasia one night, and she didn't attack anyone. She wants to meet Eric, and funnily enough, I trust her to. If she goes after him, though, I'll take her down myself.

Speaking of meeting up at Fangtasia, Tammy Jo and I had drinks there the other night. That girl's gone and gotten herself involved with Roman, and all I can do is wish her luck about it. I don't think she'll need the luck, he seems totally enamored with her, but that vampire's a handful and everyone knows it. She was asking all sorts of questions about bonding, and I wanted to help her more than I did, but I just don't know what it's like between regular humans and vampires, much less Weres and vampires. I don't think I was very useful, but it was a nice night anyway! I loved getting to spend some time with her. She certainly broke up the usual schedule of spending most days at Merlotte's and most nights at Fangtasia. If someone had told me a year ago I'd be spending so much time at that vampire bar, I'd have said they were crazy. Funny, what the future holds for us, isn't it?

For instance, I'd never have guessed that I'd be making plans to visit a tattoo shop anytime soon. Not for me, of course, I've seen more than enough needles in my lifetime, thank you very much. A friend of mine, Chase, opened up Ink After Dark, and I've been dying to go see her and meet some of the other people who work there. Her guy, Julian, for instance. It sounds like they got together in a pretty unconventional way, but from what I know of both of them, it sounds like it works.

Unconventional relationships seem to be a theme this spring, though. Hoyt and Jessica are back together, which would be great, if they didn't seem so sketchy about the whole thing. Jessica's been asking all sorts of questions about Bill, which really makes me wish he'd man up and tell her he was exiled from the state, and my trouble meter was just off the roof with her! I've got a feeling she's mixed up in something bad, and Hoyt's thoughts while we were talking were not helping. He was obviously avoiding thinking what he was really thinking about, and that can only spell trouble. Kenya was in Merlotte's earlier that day telling me about a body of a girl that was found, and Lord help me, I really hope Jessica's not involved. She's been talking about spending some time with Lisa, Arlene's daughter, and I can't help but feel that's just a problem waiting to pop up. I know Jess has got all sorts of urges and stuff, but I really hope she cools it before she gets herself into some real trouble. I talked to Eric and he said he assigned Isabella to mentor her some, and that should help, long as Angelo doesn't bring along any of his guns to that sorta training.

Lord help us, a mob wife training Jess. Bon Temps is thoroughly screwed.

Other than all that, it's just been business as usual. Funny, things haven't been this quiet round Bon Temps and Shreveport in a long time. It makes me wonder what's going on under the surface; what we don't know about. Things are always quietest right before the storm, and anyone who lives round here knows that in Bon Temps, there's always a storm brewing. Is it too much to hope for a nice, quiet summer? I'm afraid I know the answer to that one.

Back to Work

I went to Merlotte's last night. It was so nice being back there. I guess I hadn't really expected that. I've been on leave from there since the fire at Fangtasia in November. Originally, I took off to take care of Eric and help him heal, and then we were developing our relationship, and that needed my attention more than work did. Eric and I had a lot of issues between us to get through, and we really did work on them. Gran always told me that a relationship is a work in progress, and ours certainly is, but now that we're very much a couple in love and some of the more unstable issues, both in our relationship and in our lives, seem to be steadier, it feels like time to go back to work.

Besides, I miss Merlotte's. I miss everyone there. It's been forever since I've seen Angie or Arlene, so getting to see them last night was wonderful. I got to hear all about Angie's kids, which was nice since I enjoyed helping her set up the nursery for them, and it certainly sounds like she has her hands full. Arlene was great too. I got to hear about Coby and Lisa, who I miss a lot, and Arlene even tried to be supportive over Eric. That's a big step for her.

I'm hoping to talk to Sam about coming back real soon. I'd really like to work day shifts, so I can still spend my nights with Eric. It might sound silly, but I'm reluctant to give up time with him. We've barely spent any time apart in months, and I'd really like to keep it that way. We're planning on traveling back and forth between Shreveport and Bon Temps, so we shouldn't have to spend any time apart, or at least not any long amount of time.

I know Eric hates Bon Temps, but I'm working on that too. The bedroom that was mine before Gran died has been empty for a long time, so I'm working on making that into an office for Eric. I want him to have a place in Bon Temps that's all his. I want him to feel like my home is his home too, just like he did for me in Shreveport. I turned my old bed into more of a couch for him, I got the desk I used to do homework at set up real nicely with brand new office supplies and pretty much everything office-y at Walmart that seemed practical. I made room on the bookshelves in there for Eric to keep some of his books and files and stuff too. I even got Hundr a new bed, just for that room, but he seems to prefer to sleep on my old one. Oh well.

I'm still working on getting it all set up, especially since I don't know the first thing about offices, but I've seen his at Fangtasia and at his house enough times to get the gist of what he needs. I'm gonna move my laptop in there so he can use it too, and clean out some old files so there's plenty of memory and all that stuff. I'm pretty excited to unveil the whole thing to him, and I hope he likes it, but for now it's just a work in progress and boy, does it need some more work. Trying to turn a childhood room into a vampire's office is no easy task, but I have to say, it's pretty fun so far.

Dracula & Babies

I feel like I haven't written in my journal in forever!

Things have just been so busy. I've been helping Eric with his reopening of Fangtasia more than I thought I was even capable of, but he seems to trust me with it. I'm designing a sort of… well, I won't get into it yet! It'll be a bit of a surprise, but anyone who saw my Thanksgiving menu won't be too shocked! Roman's excited, and he and Jessica have been wonderful guinea pigs for my experiments. Eric's cautious but has been real good about trying my concoctions.

We also redecorated his office. Well, just decorated. It was pretty blank, but Alcide did a great job with it! Even though the vampires give him such a hard time, Fangtasia really does look great! I can't wait for everyone to see it on the opening, Dracula Night!

We bought some furniture for it at IKEA in Houston, and even spent the night there! The hotel was so nice, I was surprised Eric could get reservations on such short notice, but he just laughed. That vampire thinks I'm so naive. Maybe I am, because I was impressed. Eric always impresses me, though. I don't think that vampire will ever quit making me swoon…

Unfortunately, it hasn't all been good news. I've been meeting with Portia a ton lately, which is great because she's such a lovely woman, but it's been about Gran. I realized after finding some legal documents in Gran's recipe box that I never really settled her estate. I guess just the shock of it all, with the murder and then having to go and try to not get murdered myself, aside from the funeral, that sort of stuff just fell through the cracks. Everyone knows the farmhouse is mine anyway, but it really is better to have it all taken care of the legal way. Portia's been so understanding about the whole thing, and so kind to me! I invited her, MeeMaw, the twins, Luke, and everyone else she can possibly think to bring to my house for dinner one night, probably after the opening when all this has died down a little. I hope sooner, but Eric's just been so busy, and I want him to get to know everyone. He knows how much I love entertaining, even if he doesn't understand it at all. Maybe MeeMaw will even bring Stan so he'd have a friend too! I don't think that's really how vampires work, since it sounds like I'm arranging a playmate and all, but we'll see, I'm excited anyway. It's great to have friends when dealing with tough subjects.

Speaking of tough subjects, Tara threw me for a darn loop this week! We went to Walmart to shop for some stuff for her new place, her, me, and Maya. It was great to see the little one; she's getting so big! That little girl has a real special place in my heart, between being named after Gran and being Tara's daughter.

Anyway, we ran into Sam. I was excited, because I wanted to tell him about the bonding ceremony and tell him I wanted to get back to work, but I forgot about all that real quick when Tara started shouting in her head about Maya having Sam's smile! I cannot believe she didn't tell me Sam's the father! I was somewhere between shocked and darn furious, to say the least. Sam deserves a place in Maya's life. I know Tara's heart was real broken when things between her and Sam ended, but it's just not right. A girl needs both her parents in her life, and it's not like Sam's a bad man. He's a really great guy, and I know he'd want to support her however she'd let him. I just don't understand what she's thinking. I made her promise to tell him soon, and I hope she goes through with it. She really better. Sam's missed enough moments in Maya's life already.

I was blessed to experience a great moment in Wes's life this week too. Lacey and Jack had a wonderful Christening for him. It was beautiful, though pretty shocking to see so many vampires gathered in a church. They seemed pretty uncomfortable, for the most part. Especially Roman. He broke a pew. Eric seemed pretty at ease with the whole thing, even made fun of Roman, though I didn't appreciate his tone in talking about the church. Nixie sat near us, and she didn't seem to believe in it either. I scolded them both for acting out of line. No one had to believe anything, just be respectful of Lacey and Jack celebrating their son. It was a nice ceremony, I think. Short. The guy doing it hit on Claude. That was awkward, but Bianca scared him off. No one saw him after that.

Everyone seems to be having kids, settling into families. Even I'm sort of married now. Things are so great you can almost forget the building tension of the vampire politics in Shreveport at the moment. It's almost easy to ignore the complications that Dracula Night should bring. It's almost easy to forget that a homicidal vampire and his crazy companion are poking their noses into Area Five's business, that batshit crazy witches are going around cussing Louisiana's vampires and that the name Hallow keeps popping up in the context of disappearances in the area. I almost don't mind that a fairy ancestor is trying to get involved with my life, bringing along the fairy that helped kill my parents.

Almost.

Thoughts Before Christmas

Oh goodness, it's been forever since I wrote here! Things have just been so busy. I guess the holiday season does that to people,

Let's see. Since I last updated, Tara had her baby. I can't believe I didn't write about that! Maya's just the sweetest little thing, and she's named after Gran, which is just so thoughtful of Tara. I know Gran thought of her as another grandchild, so it would've meant a lot to her. She'd be so proud of Tara; I know I am. Seeing her with that baby, she's just a natural mother. It's beautiful.

It makes me wonder about having kids of my own one day, but that's a long way off, if it ever happens. I have a feeling telepaths were really never meant to have kids. I've seen Eric with kids though, and he's just so good with them. He's sweet and gentle, and if he knew I said any of that he'd probably throw a fit, but he really is. He must've been such a good father. I wonder what he thinks about the whole thing, but it never seems appropriate to ask. Maybe one day.

The baby shower was beautiful before Tara went into labor though. Jerica was so good about hosting the whole thing, and Claudia catered it wonderfully. Lafayette fainted during the whole birth thing, but Serge stood outside the door the whole time. I think he's being a pretty good father figure, but I still have to wonder who the dad is. Tara seems in no mood to talk about it, so I'll wait until she's ready. Tara's got a good head on her shoulders, but where men are concerned, she's got some serious trust issues… though not without reason.

That was the 9th, and then the 17th, Eric and I had a few people over at his house. It was a real quiet thing, nothing big that could even be called a party, especially when one of the guests hid in a house plant that she tried her hardest to munch on, but the thing of it was, we had them over to invite them to Sweden with us.

That's where Eric and I decided to do our bonding ceremony after all. He hasn't explained too much what the ceremony's like, but bonding, I'm pretty familiar with, and he said it's almost like a wedding. He's been booking the trip and stuff, and we've been looking at locations online. It's a good thing he speaks Swedish, cause I don't understand a word of those webpages, and Google Translator could not be more useless. I'm thinking I've got to get a dress and stuff too, but I don't know what's appropriate to wear for that. I don't think I could do a wedding gown. It'd just seem inappropriate. What kinda outfit says, "I want to be tied in blood to you forever?"

We'll be gone from January 7th to the 14th, and I'm so excited. I think most everyone else is too. So far, Liam, Bianca, Lacey, Jack, Wes, Nolan, Jenny, Pam, Joanna, and Lily are coming, I think. We've been looking to ask Sookeh, but it's like no one's seen her lately. It's pretty weird.

I also know it's weird we're not bringing anyone from Bon Temps, but I don't feel like anyone there would understand. Eric and I didn't want anyone getting all object-y or angry during the whole thing, and I don't want to explain to everyone a billion times why I'm, "getting involved with a vampire," as they always put it. Tara would say I'm outta my darn mind, Jason would swear his sister was only marrying a vamp over his dead body, which Eric would offer to see to, and Lafayette would say vamps are nothing but trouble. Sam would probably have the same reaction, and I really don't want to lose my job, even if I am still on my leave of absence. Claude would throw a fit too and protest about fairies and stuff, and as much as I'd love to have family with me for something more important, none of my family would be real supportive, and I need supportive, not negative, for this.

The next night, we went to Melissa's wedding. That was real nice. It was in  Paris, can you believe it? Thank goodness for Claude and his poofy powers. He got himself all shopped out while we were at the wedding. Joanna was there too, since Lily was the flower girl, and after the beautiful ceremony, we all got to dance till she fell asleep and Claude took us home. It was a really fun break from stuff back home, and it made me even more sure that… well… that I want it to be me and Eric standing up there promising to love each other forever. Is that real sappy? It's pretty sappy, isn't it…

Then our White Elephant Christmas party was last night, and that was so much fun! It was crazy as could be, with guests coming and going and some having some inappropriate fun in my closet, which Eric promised to clean up, but goodness was it a fun time. Everyone got presents, some sentimental, some useful, some hilarious, and some just darn inappropriate, but everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. No one left empty-handed, and we were even able to send a few gifts to friends who couldn't make it.

I got a bottle of evil from Sookeh, and I'm kind of looking forward to using that on a special occasion. I'll think of something. Eric got a Swiffer from Jenny, of course. Everything was just… fun. It was all pretty relaxed, and people ate plenty of food, thankfully. My blood cake seemed to be a big hit, which is a relief, since I never know if vampires'll remember to chew or not. They seem to have trouble with the concept.

Lots of people couldn't make it since it's the holiday season and everyone's busy and all that, but I assured everyone that we'll have another party real soon. Eric seems to be starting to grasp that I really like entertaining and stuff, and he doesn't seem to mind it. He's seeming more comfortable spending time around people, though to be completely honest, I don't think he's fully healed yet. It's nothing anyone but me would notice, but once in a while… he's just in pain.I hate to see it, but I'm doing everything I can to make him as comfortable as I can. We'll take it real easy until the trip, despite Joanna's and Lacey's insistence that we have a bunch of shopping to do, and Eric agreeing wholeheartedly. I'm not real sure why, though. How much colder could Sweden be?

Overall, this is turning out to be one of the best holiday seasons so far. It's not even Christmas yet, and I've gotten to spend time with a bunch of friends, and we've welcomed a new one into the world. I've found new family, I have someone who loves me and who I love with all my heart, and what else could someone really want? Even Hundr's getting into the spirit with his new reindeer ears, though I only let him wear them when Eric's asleep, or he'd say I'm coddling the puppy. Despite all the bad stuff like witches and whispers of unhappy fairies or lurking drainers, it's been a really good holiday season so far, and there's still plenty of it left to enjoy.

A Surprise Vacation

I'm going to a ball! Can you believe it? A bunch of packages arrived yesterday, and it was pretty obvious that Eric was up to something. Giant, black boxes tied with black satin ribbons don't just show up at your house brought by your vampire's assistant, after all. I didn't want to open them while he was still asleep, so I waited and tried to go about my day as normally as possible while trying desperately to ignore the stacked gift boxes on the dining room table.

Of course, they were only on the dining room table because we broke the kitchen table the night before. I feel a little guilty about that, but the way we broke it... well, that's hard to regret.

That night, I'd gone to meet with Sam both about Tara and about my job. I haven't been to work in some time, not since Sam and I got into that huge fight, and there's other stuff on my plate right now that needs my attention more than work does. Work's always been a huge priority for me, because just like everyone else I've got bills to pay, but after a talk with Eric where he asked me since we're sharing our lives, why can't we share our finances, I knew what I had to do.

I told Sam I'm taking a short leave of absence from Merlotte's. I'm not quitting, not at all, in fact I offered to do some consulting work for his staff and distributors with my gift. Telepathy comes in handy when it comes to hiring and buying stuff, and I thought that'd be helpful.

I also gave him quite the lecture on being such an ass to Tara, if you'll excuse my language. Harassing a pregnant woman just ain't right, not when she needs her friends around her now more than ever. After a few pretty strong words and some pacing around his office, he saw my point, and agreed to try to make things right after the baby's born, so as not to put extra stress on her when she's pregnant.

Overall, I thought it went pretty well.

Then when I got home, I found a hole in my floor. That was interesting, though actually, not that surprising. Brier offered to patch it up, and I agreed eventually, since I'm pretty sure he made it in the first place. There was also a parrot that I strongly suggested he take with him. I don't know how the parrot got there, and I didn't ask. Sometimes, it's better not to.

Then, Eric and I started baking cookies, and we broke Gran's table. Oops?

When he woke again, I was finally able to ask him about the boxes over dinner. He insisted I open the biggest one, and when I did, I found a gorgeous black, sequined gown. It's really stunning. Really, really stunning. I was speechless except to ask why I was holding a gown, and he invited me to a ball. A real ball! Just like in the movies I'm always forcing him to watch with me. Not only that, but it's a masquerade ball, as I found out when I opened the rest of the boxes, and it's in New Orleans!

We had to pack and leave right away, and now I'm sitting here in this gorgeous vampire hotel watching my vampire and my puppy sleep, waiting to get ready. I can't wait to see what tonight brings.

He Loves Me

Eric Northman loves me. I've known it for a while now, but I honestly was never sure he'd actually get around to saying it. I wasn't sure he could say it. He's always talking about how he believes vampires can't love, or vampires can't be happy. I wasn't sure he recognized what it is he feels for me, even though I've known he feels it. I can feel he loves me when he holds me, or when he sees me when he wakes up, or even just when I'm heating up a blood for him. I've felt it, but I didn't really know if he'd say it. I didn't think he knew he loved me.

I never wanted to push him on it either. We've been dating since the beginning of June. That's almost six months, now. I wasn't sure about him at first, and our first date was somewhat of a disaster, but now I can't picture my life without him. I love waking up next to him, I love falling asleep while he holds me, I love making love with him, I love making meals with him, I love entertaining with him, and I love how he trusts me, and I love being able to trust him.

Certain things still make me uncomfortable, of course. I don't like when he spends too much on me, but he has gotten better about it. A lot better, really. And he's truly getting a lot more patient with my friends. He let Tara quit her job at the casino without a fuss, and is even agreeing to go to Shreveport with me to help out with the baby and all that. He didn't try to fight with Serge at Thanksgiving, or even insult him when I explained how many times he and Tara were bonded. Actually, he was great with all my friends at Thanksgiving. He seemed pretty relaxed, talking to Waylon while Waylon pigged out on all the wrong foods.

And now the holidays are here, and I've always thought they were completely romantic. Bill never wanted to do anything for them, of course, but to me they've always been about spending time with family and loved ones. I'm sure we'll have Jason over, maybe even Claude, but I'm just excited to spend them with Eric.

Decorating yesterday couldn't have gone better. We got the perfect tree, even if the way we found it was a little unconventional. I wonder if many couples just pick the tree they're standing next to when they stop to kiss for a while. Eric carried it to the car and into the house like it weighed nothing. I could hardly believe it, though I was a little worried about the whole thing. He's still healing, and I'm pretty sure carrying trees around doesn't help with that. Still, I didn't want to ask him about it and risk hurting his pride. He seemed fine with it, so I let him carry the tree. It was impressive. It usually takes Jason, Lafayette, Hoyt, and Terry to get the tree inside, and even then, it's more of a dragging than carrying.

Stringing the lights was so much easier with Eric there too. Not that I ever forget, but I'm always surprised at how tall he is. He reached the top of the tree with no problems at all, and I was pretty pleased with that. I always hate having to climb up on the ladder for that part. Somehow it never goes well.

Hanging the ornaments was a little tougher, only cause Eric kept coming up behind me and whispering dirty things in my ear. Not that I really complained, in fact I encouraged him just a little bit, but it still wasn't terribly productive. Those dirty things led to sweet things, though, and that was when he told me he loved me. I can still hardly believe it, even after he showed me just how much he loved me under the tree once we finished decorating.

Plenty of things are still uncertain. I don't really know what to do about my job. I'm hoping to talk to Sam about that tonight, among other things. Fangtasia still needs to be rebuilt, and Eric still needs to find a base of operations for his area. There are still a bunch of witches running around who need to be stopped.

I do know that Eric loves me, though, and that I love him. The rest we can figure out, but I know that's what matters most. We'll make our bond permanent by bonding again when it's right, and I can't wait for that night, because I really do believe him when he tells me there are many, many more years of decorating Christmas trees in our future.