Home for the Holidays

~A Week Later, a few days before Christmas~

After everything that had happened with Quinn and I, seeing him now on the road to recovering and feeling complete again, I went in for my normal shift at work after a brief but not solid argument as to why I needed to stay home with him. I lost, he insisted he'd be fine. I was smiling and trying to be as normal as I could. The last few weeks were anything but normal. Between sirens and Victor's lackeys trying to kill everyone...it was pretty much like a non stop action film. Miss Fortenberry was in tonight, alone...which wasn't uncommon but she looked sad. I knew she missed Hoyt, and I knew Jason did too. Ever since the night I glamoured her into not "hating" me because of what I was she was a little bit nicer to me, even if it was an act.

I turned my head to see someone enter the bar and froze in place.

♫♫♪Driving home for Christmas, Oh, I can't wait to see those faces. I'm driving home for Christmas, yeah. Well I'm moving down that line. And it's been so long. But I will be there♫♫♪

Hoyt Fortenberry's fingers tapped along to the beat of the music that played from his truck radio. His head bobbing to the rhythm of the sound as he drove home to his home town of Bon Temps to surprise his mama for Christmas. He had explained several times over the phone to his mama Maxine Fortenberry that he wouldn't be home as he had been over loaded with work at the oil rig. But Rick, Hoyt's good friend and boss had told him to go home to spend the holidays with his mama. Wanting to surprise his mama, his truck halted to a stop in the parking lot of Merlotte's bar and grill. With his rucksack next to him in the front seat, he opened the truck door, his feet crunching on the dirt ground as he slammed his door shut. It had been 8 months since he had come home. Opening the door to the grill he walked in casually noticing a red haired waitress that wasn't Arlene Fowler. Nothing much had changed since he was last here. Scanning the bar until he saw his mama sat alone in a booth.

"Mama?" he beamed

Maxine Fortenberry raised her head as a bright smile consumed her large face as Hoyt made his way over to the booth. Maxine stumbled to her feet as she pulled him into a motherly embrace.

"Ma boy! Ma baby boy is home for Christmas" she cheered happily.

He smiled at me and turned to see his mama in the nearby booth as he walked towards her. It was like seeing a ghost. He had been gone for 8 months now but it was still an odd feeling. I loved and always would love Hoyt, but the days of being in love with him were gone. It wasn't like that anymore. His mother lit up brighter than Merlotte's Christmas tree when she saw him and I smiled at how happy she was. I noticed they were in my section so I stopped Holly who was walking past me with a pitcher of beer. "Holly...you mind taking table 7?" Her eyes went to the table and she smiled and looked back at me giving me an understanding nod. I promised Hoyt I would never be in his life, he wouldn't remember me. I was sticking to that promise. I grabbed my cell and called Jason and of course it went to voicemail.

{Jason, I just want to let you know Hoyt is here...visiting his mama. I...I thought you should know.} He still wasn't speaking to me, but he had a right to know his best friend....who would never remember him, was in town. I sighed and watched as they talked and caught up, he looked so happy. It made me happy to see him smile like that again.