Louisiana Snow Day

If the snow that was falling outside and creating a thin blanket of ice on the grass outside was any indication of hell freezing over, then perhaps the eerie feelings he was feeling were true. Be it an omen or a feeling, Sam could feel a shift. Something was changing, something was coming....and he was ready to protect Nicole and their baby at any and all costs. He closed the bar for the day considering the weather was supposed to be bad. Roads were iced over and it wasn't safe to drive, so he shut it down. No sense in opening a bar for the town to have impaired drivers in this condition.

So there he sat, Nicole curled up in his arms as he laid out on the couch watching the weather coverage of different places in the state. It appeared Northern Louisiana was getting it worse, and they were right in the center of the worst of it. He ran his fingertips along her arm, up and down lazily as they laid quietly. His thoughts were on how he could help the town from the Hep V that had been on the news. Vampires that were infected were dangerous and out for blood...and it was only a matter of time until they faced that. There were vampires in Bon Temp after all. So how could he keep everyone, especially Nicole...safe?

She yawned and stretched her arms over her head before snuggling her body back into Sam's arms. They had been curled up on the couch watching TV for a couple of hours, not a care in the world. Well, at least not for her. Sam seemed like he had something on his mind. Right when she went to ask him, though, her stomach rolled and she grinned.

"Sam! Sam, give me your hand!" she said quickly while reaching for it.

He blinked a few times, coming from this own thoughts as she called out his name. He looked at her with concern and panic. -What's wrong, what is it?- She reached for his hand and placed it on her stomach. He looked down and saw her stomach rolling in a truly unhuman way. His face was full of love, happiness and amazement as he felt the baby kick his hand. He chuckled and looked back up at her. -Strong one we have...-

"Very strong. Like its daddy," she said with a grin. She rubbed his hand over her stomach and then reached to the table for her phone.

"I took a picture yesterday that I meant to send to you. You wanna see?" She grinned at him and flipped through the pictures and stopped on the one she was speaking of. Holding up the phone to him, she grinned.

"Look how big!"

He smiled and nodded. -Strong, I like that. It means he or she is healthy. It's all we could hope for.- He pressed his lips to her stomach and whispered. -Hey in there, it's your daddy...We can't wait to meet you, but you have to stay in there where its safe and warm until later.-

Hearing her, he looked up and waited until she found the picture. He took the phone and looked at it, smiling more. -Beautiful. You're growing bigger everyday with our child but it doesn't affect how beautiful and sexy you are to me.- He said with a grin as he reached up to kiss her lips softly.

She shivered ever so slightly and let their lips linger together.

Things had been getting so much better between the two of them; they were spending time together constantly and talking, getting to know one another like they should have before. It was... nice.

She rubbed her hands over her still moving belly and kissed him one last time before pulling away and just staring at him. She never would have thought that things would be this wonderful. "Thank you, Sam. For, ya know, not giving up on me."

He smiled when she pulled away and looked into her eyes to listen to what she said. He sat up and shook his head, looking down at his hand on top of hers on her belly. -No, you were the one who didn't give up on me...on the possibility of us...I really don't know what I would do without you most days, Nicole. You've become a friend to me and so much more...so much.-

"We made it together. And will continue to make it together." She nodded her head and brought her hands to his hair, rubbing her fingers through it. They hadn't said that they loved one another yet, and she wasn't sure if he was there. But she was really close. He had become everything she had wanted; he treated her like a queen, waited on her and doted on her. And their relationship grew stronger every day.

"I still can't believe we're having a snow storm. It's crazy!"

He smiled and kissed her hands, closing his eyes as her fingers ran through his hair. He blew out a breath and decided it was time to tell her. He forced a smile and nodded to agree with her. -Yeah, it is...I uh...listen Nicole, I want to let you know some things. I don't want you in the dark. But I also want you to do as I say, for your safety and for our childs.-

He held both of her hands and looked into her eyes. -I have this feeling, this odd feeling that something bad is coming. It's just a gut feeling, but the news saying Hep V was exposed to some of the vampire population...those infected vampires could come here searching for blood...and I'm not sure it'll be a good thing.-

She nodded at him, knowing that he was being completely serious.

"I'll be safe. I promise. I don't want to risk the baby. I've already lost my friends because of not being careful. Vamps and weres are nothing to play around with. I learned that lesson the hard way."

And the man in front of her had saved her from becoming like her friends. He had saved her life. And for that, she'd be eternally grateful. "They're coming this way? Are we safe?"

He was so thankful she didn't fight him or argue. That was a huge difference between she and Luna. He kissed the back of her hand and thought of her question. After a few silent moments, he looked back up into her eyes. -For now. It's the only answer I have, for now. But I promise you, I will protect you and our baby with everything I have. I will not let any harm come to you or our child...ever.-

She nodded.

"I trust you. Completely."

And it was true. She didn't doubt him or his abilities, at all. Not ever.

"You'll let me know if things get too bad? I mean, do we need to move? Or are we safe?"

Now she was a little worried. She didn't like the thought of vampires coming into her life. Not at all.

He ran his thumb along her knuckles and thought about how to answer her. For right now, he had no information or solid evidence that they were actually coming their way, but he wanted to be prepared for the worst and hope for the best.

-I...I'm not sure. For right now, we're safe. I will do what I can to make sure the town is safe and I was thinking of maybe starting some kind of community center, where we can all stick together. The True Blood was tainted and some of that tainted blood made it out to different companies. There is no set number of how many were affected but if you ask me, it can't be good.-

She nodded again and snuggled closer to him, her body suddenly colder than it had been before. She had noticed something was different, too.

As his words registered, she suddenly had a thought come to her. Her body turned on the couch and she lifted her legs so that she could straddle him. Her eyes met his, her arms went to his shoulders and she leaned in for a kiss before meeting his gaze again.

"You should run for mayor."

Holding her close to him, he thought about everything and all the bad things that could happen. She straddled him and those thoughts were forgotten as he grinned, wondering what she was up to. He kissed her back and looked at her with curiosity as she met his gaze and looked at him with such conviction, like she had an epiphany.

-I should...what? No, no...- He shook his head no as he spoke, thinking it absurd. Him, run for mayor? That would...that wasn't....was it? He continued to look at her, she looked excited....and the more he thought about it, the more he wondered.