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“All right, who’s hungry?” Lafayette calls out, smirking as he makes for the kitchen.
“Me,” all the Bellefleur girls chorus.
Nora, currently held in Eric’s arms, lets out a groan.
“May we borrow your office, Mr. Merlotte?” Eric asks as everyone is disembarking.
“Of course,” Sam agrees, frowning. He jogs back to let them in, then shuts the door behind them.
Everyone else has filtered into the restaurant, perched on tables and at the bar; maybe a minute of idle murmuring passes before Jessica lifts her phone and announces, “Sookie says they’re all settled in at the hospital.”
“Who’s at the hospital?” Andy about growls, hurrying through the door with Emma Garza holding his hand.
At least until she runs forward into Luna’s arms, shouting, “Mommy!”
“It’s Jason in the hospital,” Charlaine announces, appearing at her father’s side. “He got in a fight with a couple vampires and one of the girls from snack jail saved his ass.”
“Shit,” Andy says, both as a friend and as Jason’s boss.
“Yeah,” Danika agrees, popping up at Andy’s other side. “An’ the girl, Devi, it helps ‘cause she’s a medical student, so she could look out for him that way too.”
“Well, good,” Andy says. “I guess if that had to happen that’s the best way it coulda. Any of the rest of y’all get hurt?’
“Not so it lasted,” Charlaine shrugs, fingers brushing over her seamlessly healed cheek.
“What’s that mean?” Andy asks. “Did y’all do V? Which one of you assholes gave my daughters V?”
The girls – and everyone else in the room – look at each other, unsure of what to do, and finally Adilyn steps up and says, “They all did, Daddy. We’ll fill you in at home, okay? It worked out okay.”
Well, they were going to have to tell him eventually anyway. That’s what they agreed to do.
“Fine,” Andy grumbles. “Where’s your sister?”
Adilyn and Charlaine and Danika look at each other and giggle. “She’s probably with her new girlfriend,” Danika smirks.
“Her what?” Andy roars.
“Oh, don’t freak out, Daddy,” Adilyn says. “They aren’t actually dating yet.”
“No, they just want to,” Charlaine adds.
“Braelyn!” Andy shouts.
Said girl pokes her head up from the booth where she’s sitting with who Andy can only assume is the not-girlfriend. “Yeah, Daddy?”
“Introduce me to your friend,” he says hesitantly.
“Daddy, this is Willa Burrell,” Braelyn chirps. “Willa, this is my dad.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Sheriff Bellefleur,” Willa says politely, making to shake the man’s hand. “I’ve heard so much about you.”
“I’ve heard… nothing about you,” Andy admits. “’Cept aren’t you the governor’s daughter?” He makes a face. “The governor who was evil and killed himself?”
“Daddy,” Braelyn says warningly. She doesn’t know how Willa feels about talking about that, exactly, but she’s pretty sure it isn’t a good conversation for right now. “Willa is Eric’s progeny.”
“She’s a vampire,” Andy surmises. “And, uh. You two…” He glances between them, frowning in consternation.
“Don’t worry, Sheriff Bellefleur,” Willa says primly. “I’ve been keeping an eye on her.”
“That’s sorta what I’m worrying about,” Andy mutters under his breath.
“He’s in surgery,” Devi reports, sitting down beside Sookie with coffees in hand.
“Thank you,” Sookie says. “For doing this. For looking after Jason.”
“Hey,” Devi shrugs, “you guys all saved us from the bloodsucking tyrants. Giving one of you medical attention is nothing.”
“Still,” Sookie insists. “You could have just… I don’t know. It’s good to see.”
“You don’t need magical flashlight hands to help strangers,” Devi quips, offering Sookie the other coffee. “Seriously, what was that?”
Sookie studies the girl, this slight thing with messy hair and a bloodied face and who knows how much recent trauma to contend with. “You’re already in this pretty deep,” she declares, sighing.
“Well, yes,” Devi agrees.
“The girls and I are part-fairy, actually,” Sookie explains.
And Devi bursts out laughing. “Really.”
“Really,” Sookie agrees. “We don’t fly, but we do shoot light from our hands and read minds.”
“Shit,” Devi says.
“Responsibly,” Sookie clarifies. “Or – well, the girls are still learning. They’re young. But responsibly is the goal.”
“How young?” Devi asks, wrinkling her nose.
“A couple weeks,” Sookie says. “I’ll… maybe I’ll get into that later.”
Devi glances around the waiting room, which right now is empty save them and the receptionist. “Try me,” she says. “We’ve got time.”
“Fairy blood is… different,” Sookie begins.
“No shit?” Devi cracks.
Sookie gives a patient smile. “Fairies can… you know. With humans,” she continues. “The girls’ dad is a human and their mom is a fairy, so their fairy… powers, I guess? Those are stronger than mine, because my fairy ancestor is farther back on my family tree.”
“All right,” Devi says warily.
“Anyways, half- and full- blood fairies grow fast, instantly skippin’ years in a night and then levelin’ out around what I guess is eighteen, physically,” Sookie explains. “And then they age real slowly after that. Their mom is hundreds of years old and she still barely looks thirty. But those of us who only have a little fairy blood age normally.”
“Huh,” Devi says. “So they… huh. They’re eighteen but they’re babies. That’s gotta be odd.”
“Oh yeah,” Sookie agrees. “But they’re bright kids, they’re sorting it out.”
“What did y’all tell Daddy?” Braelyn asks her sisters in a low voice once everyone is settled around the diner with breakfast (pancakes for the humans, B+ for the vampires).
“What do you mean?” Charlaine coos.
“I mean, someone said somethin’ about Willa,” Braelyn hisses, “an’ now he’s actin’ suspicious.”
“Well, that’s his job as our dad, ain’t it?” Danika muses. “I mean, other’n how kinda old-fashioned it is.”
“And patriarchal,” Adilyn agrees solemnly.
“Well, he is a patriarch,” Charlaine shrugs.
“Not the point,” Adilyn says.
“Still,” Braelyn says over them. “It shoulda been mine to tell.”
“What shoulda?” Charlaine teases.
“Willa,” Braelyn whines.
“Your girlfriend,” Danika supplies.
“No,” Braelyn retorts. “I mean, she’s… but she’s not… you know.”
“Well, you’re not Facebook official,” Danika shrugs.
“We’re not even on Facebook,” Braelyn rolls her eyes. “But yeah. We’re dating, I guess, but not girlfriends.”
“Yet,” Adilyn smirks.
“Don’t give me shit,” Braelyn grumbles.
“I think it’s cute,” Adilyn says. “I’m happy for you, Brae.”
“I figured it out,” Emma announces, having temporarily abandoned her mom and Sam and flounced over to the girls’ table. “Y’all look like the Sailor Scouts.” She points to each girl in turn. “Brae’s Venus ‘cause she’s got orange and that hairbow, and Adi’s blue and her hair looks short from bein’ braided like that so she’s Mercury, and Char’s Mars ‘cause she’s got star earrings and she’s wearin’ red, and Dani’s green and pink so she’s Jupiter.”
The girls all shrug at each other, grinning.
“I knew you’d get it,” Adilyn says proudly.