Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, items, products etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original character and plot are mine. I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise, products or locations. No copyright infringement is intended.

Chapter One:

I glanced around my empty apartment one last time before I grabbed my bags and walked out. I couldn't regret my decision to leave; it was time, and it had been time for a while. There was nothing here that I wanted or would miss except my job, but I knew even small towns could use trained EMTs, so I wasn't leaving it behind forever. I smiled to myself before I walked over to the main office to drop off my keys.

Refunded deposit in hand, all I had to do was run by the bank and grab some cash for the road. I, Cassandra Call, was on my way from what had been my home since before I could remember: San Francisco, California, to La Push, Washington. I know, right? La Push? It was a Quileute Reservation, the place where my parents conceived me, and where I had family still living.

I hadn't known I had a brother, or even where my parents were from until about a month ago. I grew up mostly in and out of the California Department of Human Services "homes" and "foster families." Quite frankly, i,, it was a miracle I lived to be twenty-one, but back to my family and why I was leaving everything to drive to rainy Washington.

I had, of course, received all of my medical records, including my birth certificate, w,,,hen I had turned eighteen and was finally free of the stupid system. I'd honestly never really cared who my parents were; they obviously didn't want me, so I wasn't going to be the weak one and want them. Ha, I was not that tough or uncaring.

I'd received a notice from the state of Washington three weeks and four days ago, which informed me that my birth mother, Meredith Call, had died of a "medicinal overdose" at her residence located in La Push. I wasn't needed for the will reading as everything was going to be inherited by the state to supplement the debts Meredith owed. The formal and emotionless letter got me thinking about my roots though. Honestly, I had always desperately wanted a family: people to love me, accept me, whatever … all that bullshit. So anyway, I dug out my birth certificate and decided to find whatever family I had, while trying to convince myself that rejection for the second time wouldn't be nearly as painful; I'd been through a lot and I was tough girl.

Underneath my given name on my birth certificate, it listed my birth parents: Meredith E. Call and William F. Uley. I had been born at Forks General Hospital, on August 6th, 1989. Fairly easy and simple information to start with; I could do this. According to my web search, there was a Sam and Emily Uley listed as having a residence in La Push. The Clerk and Recorder's Office of Clallam County, Washington, didn't have much to tell me other than La Push was unincorporated. It pays to be nice though, and Martha, the overly-chatty clerk, really wanted to help me when I explained why I needed to know. Needless to say, after she asked everyone in the office, someone advised dear Martha that William Uley was long gone but his son Sam was still living on the reservation. Perfect. After a gushing thank you to Martha, I had a place to start: Sam Uley in La Push.

This brought us to the present; my truck was full of gas and I was on the 505, heading to I-5 and North to Washington and hopefully a happy ending.

The drive to Portland was long; even with my lead foot, i,, ,,t took me almost ten hours. I choked down some grease-ball burger before literally collapsing into my hotel room bed and conked out. I slept solidly until about 7 the next morning, as apparently my wall neighbors liked hot and heavy morning sex. Gross. Their soundtrack of moans and grunts was dulled when I turned on the water for my muchneeded shower. They must have tired during my twenty-minute shower because all was pleasant and quiet when I stepped out.

However, I couldn't for the life of me decide what to wear. What do you wear to meet your family for the first time? I finally compromised on my favorite dark jeans, a solid red three quarter t-shirt, and some short-heeled black boots. Nothing flashy; I still had six hours to drive, and I didn't want to freak anyone out by being too tall. Without shoes, I stood about 5'11, and I wanted to be accepted, not gawked at.

The free hotel breakfast wasn't terrible -dry and tasteless- b- ut not terrible, plus it spurred me to get on the road.

I had never been this far north, but the changes in the scenery were beautiful. Everything was starting to become this lush green, although the sun was disappearing more frequently behind the dense, water-logged clouds. I would miss the beautiful hot sun of California, but the sun was bad for you, right?

The dense forest was always so beautiful to me. You could get lost there, and the quiet was deafening. I loved it! One of my less horrid foster families had taken us kids up to Sequoia National Forest when I was about twelve, and I never got over it. I would dream of wandering in the woods, enjoying the nature, the dark green beauty and, of course, the wildlife -especially the wolves.

Ever since I could remember, I'd had been naturally drawn wolves. There wasn't a more powerful and majestic animal out there. As soon as I had turned eighteen, I'd gotten my first tattoo -a pair of piercing wolf eyes on my lower back- plus a series of paw prints that flowed up my spine to match. Very Native of me, right? I was at least half Quileute, and according to their legends, we'd originally descended from wolves. I always felt like it grounded me; it was a part of me and it showed my ancestry and passion.

I got off the 101 in some town called Forks; it was the last town before La Push. I grabbed a bite to eat at the diner before topping off my truck with gas.

My nerves started to catch up with me, and my lunch burbled in my stomach as I kept glancing at myself in my rearview mirror, waiting to for my mental flip-out. I was usually so cool and calm, but this was going to rock my foundation whatever the outcome. My family would either love me or hate me. My mental pep talk was slow to build my confidence. I was a good person, I wasn't ugly, I was responsible, and none of my tattoos or piercings were visible in this outfit except my ears, but that was common. I looked fine; I looked normal… maybe they would like me.

The "Welcome to La Push" sign was generic and not all that welcoming, but then again no one knew I was coming; maybe I should have called first? Too late now. I practiced what I was going to say over and over, but nothing sounded right. I guess I would just go knock on Sam Uley's door. Hi! I'm your sister! Mind if I come in? God. I hoped it would come out better. What if he wasn't home? Or dead, and this whole thing was for nothing? Crap.

Okay. Focusing back on my map, I realized the internet directions were not entirely accurate. I had passed at least three dirt roads and none of them had signs. Hopefully the turns were at least right; I turned onto the fourth dirt road, attempting to follow my directions without signs. I passed three small houses on the left, and then two other homes on the right, but none of them had legible house numbers. Great.

I glanced at my directions one last time before pitching them onto the passenger seat. Turning my truck around when the street ended at the beach, I started paying attention to the names on the mailboxes. I was almost half way back down toward the main street when a black mailbox with "Uley" painted on it appeared on the side of the road. There was a God! The house wasn't visible from the road, so I turned down the next dirt driveway, praying it belonged to the Uley's.

I found a white two-story house with a huge yard and wrap-around wood porch; it was beautiful. The lack of vehicles or garage worried me though. If no one was home I could come back tomorrow, I guess. Regardless, I took a few deep breaths and parked my truck in the dirt just off the drive. After I looked in the mirror one final time, I got out of my truck.

All my confidence seemed to come back to me the more steps I took toward the front porch of the Uley residence. It felt right. The screen door was open, leading into the house, and I could hear pots and pans banging around in the kitchen. Cinnamon and apples wafted out of the front door -someone was baking. Maybe I did belong to this family; cooking was one of those feminine things I truly enjoyed. I smiled to myself as I stepped up on the porch and knocked on the screen door.

The clanging of pans from inside quieted momentarily, allowing a quiet female voice to call, "Come on in." Oh, okay; this could get awkward really fast. I opened the door slightly but didn't step all the way in.

"Um, Hello?" I called into the house. The living room wasn't huge, but I could see a little into the open kitchen and dining room area. The living room had two couches around an older TV, and what I could see of the house was warm and inviting.

I saw movement in the kitchen before a striking female stuck her head out. She would have been the epitome of model Native American beauty if she hadn't had three huge scars running down the right side of her face. She gave me a half smile as the right side of her mouth remained in a slight frown.

"I'll be right out, give me one sec, okay?" she said before jumping back in the kitchen. I heard the beeping of a timer being set and the stove door being closed, so I stepped just far enough into the living room to close the screen door behind me.

I continued looking around the living room and noticed the stairwell leading upstairs was lined with photographs. I briefly wondered if my dad or brother were looking back at me from any of them. I didn't get a chance to look closer at any of the images because the woman came out of the kitchen wiping her hands on her apron. She was half smiling at me again; I tried not to allow my eyes to linger on the scars that continued down her neck and right arm. I mentally shook myself; we all have scars -some of us just hide them better. I smiled back at her and held out my hand, meeting her deep brown eyes.

"Umm… I'm Cassandra Call, and I was actually looking for Sam and Emily Uley."

She took my hand and shook it gently. "I'm Emily Uley. Sam is my husband. What can I help you with?"

Okay, now the potentially awkward part. "Well, umm…This might sound weird…"

Emily quirked an eyebrow and stepped back, gesturing for us to sit on the couch. "I doubt anything you could say would be too weird for me."

Her genuine smile met her eyes and I relaxed, sitting down to face her. "So, I'm Sam's sister, I think."

Emily's eyes widened slightly, but her smile didn't fade. "Okay. That isn't a huge shock; Sam's dad wasn't the most upstanding husband or father… Do you mind me asking when you were born?"

"No! Of course not! Frankly, you probably know more about my history than I do. I was born August 6th, 1989, over in Forks. I guess my parents put me up for adoption immediately after I was born, and I ended up in California," I said, trying not to ramble further.

"Oh, okay…" Emily paused, her forehead wrinkled like she was deep in thought, "And your mother was…?"

"Meredith Call," I told her, looking into her face as her gaze drifted back up from her lap to meet mine.

"Well that explains a lot," Emily said, giving me another half-smile, her eyes twinkling. "Cassandra, I think Sam is your half-brother, but you'll be surprised to know you have a twin brother, Embry Call. Embry was born on August 6th, 1989 too…but he was never told who his dad was. You have no idea what drama you have just cleared up for us!" Emily stood up from the couch. "Would you like some lemonade? I just made some," she said as she walked into the kitchen.

I closed my mouth, trying to digest what she had just told me. "Umm, sure, Emily. Lemonade sounds great…" I had not one brother, but one and a half. Emily came back from the kitchen several moments later with two tall glasses of lemonade. I took my glass from her, and she must have understood my expression because she answered my unasked question.

"Sam will be home in an hour or so. I can call him and tell him to bring Embry if you're ready to meet them…" Emily trailed off, taking a sip of her drink.

I finally looked back up at her. Of course I wanted to meet them!

"I'm sorry Emily; this is just a lot to take in. I would love to meet them. That's why I'm here." Emily just smiled and nodded, patting my knee before getting up and walking towards the kitchen.

"I'll be right back then," she said, before disappearing around the corner. She returned a second or so later and shrugged her shoulders. "He didn't answer his phone, but I bet Embry will be around for dinner without the invitation. He isn't much of a cook." She winked at me before sitting down again.

"Okay. I can leave and come back later if you want. You sounded like you were busy when I got here…" I trailed off, hopefully not letting this situation get awkward when Emily had done nothing but be overly nice and sweet about everything. I tucked a strand of my hair behind my pierced ear to distract myself.

"Do you want to help? We're having a bonfire tomorrow night, a, ,nd I'm getting as much done early as I can. Sam and his friends eat like a pack of wolves," Emily said, laughing and tugging on my arm as she stood up. "Come on. I should get to know my half sister-in-law anyway!"

The huge grin on my face must have been enough of an answer for her because she dragged me all the way into the kitchen. Emily tossed me an apron and then handed me a huge block of cheddar cheese to grate. All of the awkwardness was gone. Emily was too genuine and friendly for it to creep back in. I wanted to ask her about her scar, but I'd known her all of twenty minutes, so it wasn't quite appropriate.

I grated and Emily talked. She worked part time as a caregiver to an elderly woman in Forks, which fit her well. Sam and his friends were apparently helping rebuild a wing of the school which sustained some water damage from a bad storm a week or so ago. You could tell from her words how much she loved Sam. She was whisking some eggs into a fudge brownie mixture when she glanced up at me and realized I had just been listening.

"So what about you, Cassandra? Do you have a boyfriend or anything?" Emily asked, glancing back down at her batter.

"Call me Cassie." I gave Emily a little smile; she was quickly approaching friend material, even though we had only just met. "I don't have a boyfriend. I haven't really ever found anyone to get really serious with. Too much baggage, I think." I gave Emily a little smirk before coating the pan with some flour for her brownies.

"That surprises me. You're gorgeous!" Emily winked at me before bumping my elbow with hers. "Everyone has baggage, you know." She turned her body slightly toward me and gestured to her face and down the right side of her body before turning to the fridge and pulling out the sour cream and green onions.

I felt my face redden. "Thanks, Emily. You're beautiful too, you know, with or without scars…"

Emily pulled out a cutting board and started cutting up the onions, so I turned to the sink to work on the dishes. She was silent for several minutes, and I hoped I hadn't struck a nerve or hurt her feelings over the scar issue. Her scars didn't bother me, and I wanted her to know that.

"You have been so wonderful today; I was so worried about what today would be like, so thanks."

Emily put her hand briefly on my shoulder and gently squeezed. "Sam can be a bit stand-off-ish sometimes, but I know he will love you. And Embry…he will be ecstatic to see you. It will be fine, don't worry." She started mixing the ingredients for her dip. "Are you in school or anything, Cassie?" Emily asked me as I began stacking the clean dishes.

"Well, not currently. I graduated early from high school and got an associate's degree to be an EMT-paramedic. I worked for the San Francisco Ambulance Service for almost three years prior to coming out here."

Emily had stopped what she was doing and turned to face me. She had a shocked look on her face. "Really? You're a paramedic?"

I laughed at her stunned expression. "Yeah, really. It surprises a lot of people… I love it though, and I hope to get back into it someday."

"Wow, that's awesome!" Emily replied before turning back to her work.

I glanced at the clock over the stove. Crap, we had talked for almost an hour. I opened my mouth to ask her when she thought the guys might be home but the screen door slammed open. Maybe that was them now. Emily just gave me a smile and nod of encouragement.

A loud, deep male voice spoke from the living room, "Hey, Emily, whose truck is that out front?"

Suddenly a huge, half-naked man came around the corner into the kitchen with us, almost walking into me.

"Whoa! Hey there," he said as he looked at me from top to bottom and took a step back. Sam was huge, almost completely filling the opening from the kitchen to the dining room. His jet-black hair was cropped short, and his black eyes flicked between Emily and me before returning to mine. He was only in shorts, and his features were strong and well-formed. Maybe being tall was a family thing.

Emily walked around me to give Sam a hug and kiss on his cheek before she took his hand in hers. Sam's eyes never left mine. My stomach flopped. What if he did hate me?

Emily finally spoke, "Sam, meet Cassandra Call. Cassie stopped by today looking for you."

Damn, she wasn't going to break my news for me. I wiped my hands on my apron before holding my right hand out for Sam to shake.

"It's nice to meet to you, Sam. Emily has been gushing over you all day." I smiled weakly at him as I tried to ease my sudden nerves.

Sam glanced down at Emily, who was smiling serenely up at him. He looked back at me and took my hand, shaking it gently.

"Nice to meet you, Cassie. What did you want to see me about?" Sam asked, as he released my hand and slightly inclined his head toward the front door.

I was attempting to form my answer when the front door opened and yet another huge, half-naked male came in. I would have known we were related even if Emily hadn't already told me, because so many of our features were similar. He was taller than me, probably at least 6'4, but his short dark hair had the same reddish tint to it as mine. His eyes were slightly darker brown than mine but were the same almond shape. He was just as muscular as Sam, but not as bulky, built more like a swimmer than a weight lifter. I guess I came from good genes after all, judging by the physical appearance of my brothers.

I was still staring when Emily spoke up again.

"Embry! Great, we're all here. Why don't you all sit down, and I'll bring out the lasagna." Emily then disappeared back into the kitchen right before the stove timer buzzed.

Both Sam and Embry were staring at me now. Sam glanced at Embry and then back to me quickly as a look of recognition seemed to pass over his face. I sat in the nearest dining room chair as both Embry and Sam sat on the other side of the table, leaving a chair between them.

Embry finally spoke, looking from Sam to me, "Umm… What the hell is going on? Who are you?" His forehead was slightly wrinkled as he stared at me.

Sam spoke before I could; his deep voice was calm, collected, and seemed to portray a control I wish I had. "Embry this is Cassandra Call. Cassie, this is Embry and I have a feeling you might need to talk to him too, right?"

I broke my gaze from Embry's penetrating one and met Sam's. His black eyes had softened, and he was giving me a small smile. The strength in Sam's voice calmed my nerves, slightly. I gave him a timid smile and nodded.

"This is kind of hard to just say, so… I'm-your-sister," I just blurted out and then looked at the table, studying its worn surface in detail. I was such a coward.

"What?" Embry practically yelled, so I brought my gaze back to his wide, searching eyes and took a deep breath.

"Well, to clarify… after talking to Emily," I went on hurriedly as Emily set down a steaming pan of lasagna and a basket of garlic bread, "I'm Sam's half-sister, and… your twin sister. My mother was Meredith call and my dad was William Uley, and I was born August 6, 1989." I saw Sam look at Emily out of the corner of my eye as I watched my twin's face. Emily had brought in drinks for all of us before she sat next to Sam.

Embry blinked several times before his whole face seemed to light up.

"Well, no, shit!" he said, a huge grin had spread across his face before he jumped up, knocking over his chair. Embry was suddenly behind me grabbing me out of my chair into a bone-crushing hug. I tentatively hugged him back, as he chanted, "I have a twin sister, I have a twin sister." Embry's bare chest was radiating heat almost as if he was fighting a fever or something, but that thought escaped my brain as he twirled me around in a circle, nearly making me ill.

"I know. It's pretty hard to believe," I said into his ear as my feet continued to dangle above the floor.

My face hurt from smiling when Embry finally put me down. He then proceeded to walk in a circle around me, taking in my appearance.

I blushed when he finally spoke, "Damn. I have a smoking HOT twin sister; the hotness must be from mom's side, because Sam didn't get any!"

Embry winked at me before giving me another bone-squeezing hug and up-righting his chair so he could sit back down.

Emily laughed, kissing Sam before turning to grin at me. Sam had a small half-smile on his face as I returned to my seat. Sam didn't strike me as the type to ever really grin anyway, but at least they didn't hate me. Emily had been right! They weren't creepy or scary and didn't appear to be evil or anything really abnormal besides huge, half-naked and really good-looking. Maybe I would get a chance at having a normal family after all.

Embry had already piled lasagna and bread on his plate to overflowing, and Sam was in the process of doing the same. I guessed when you were an insanely huge, built Quileute guy, you didn't worry about calories. I loaded my own plate after Emily, and I was surprised at how hungry I was considering the ups and downs of my day. Maybe the guy's appetites were brushing off on me.

I had just put a bite of Emily's delicious lasagna into my mouth when Emily spoke. "Cassie was telling me right before you came home, Sam, that she is a certified paramedic. She has her degree and everything. Isn't that interesting?" Emily winked at me before bringing a fork full of food up to her mouth.

"Wow, that is really badass! Where are you from anyway?" Embry's response was loud but garbled because of his overly full mouth. Sam rolled his eyes at Embry, but looked at me for my answer.

"I was adopted into California actually, right after we were born. I grew up in the San Francisco area." I snagged another bite of my dinner; I had been kind of expecting these sorts of questions at some point today.

Sam spoke up next, "You said you were adopted, so do you have a family back in California then?"

I gathered my next bite onto my fork before I answered. "No, not really. My adoptive parents were killed in a car accident when I was ten. So, I was raised in group homes and foster care after that."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. I can't imagine what that would have been like, to lose your parents so young." Emily said, giving me a sympathetic look. I just gave her a small shrug, now wasn't the time to discuss my past drama.

"What about you guys? What do you do to pay the bills and stuff?" I asked, mostly looking at Embry because Emily had told me a little about Sam.

Embry swallowed a huge bite to empty his mouth before he spoke, "I co-own a mechanic shop with two of my other friends here on the Rez. Plus, Sam and I, and most of our friends, work a security gig in the area too."

Emily seemed to choke slightly on her food, which caused Sam to lightly pat her on the back while he glared at Embry.

"What kind of security do you work? I can't image there are a whole lot of issues up here," I said, taking a sip of my lemonade.

Sam spoke, cutting off Embry, "The security we do is more of a preemptive patrol. Keeping it that much quieter around here. It's just a group of us that try and maintain the peace."

Embry was looking at his plate, but he added, "Drugs and alcohol are big problems up here. Plus, we get a lot of weirdo freaks passing through the area."

Before I could ask anything more, Emily spoke up. "So, Cassie, how long are you planning on staying?"

I finished chewing and swallowed. "Umm, I'm not really sure. I tied up all my loose ends in Cali before coming up here. I honestly haven't given it much thought because I had no idea what to expect out of today. I would love to stay for a while, but we will see how things go." It may have been stupid to admit that, but what the hell. If everything went to crap here, I would head over to Seattle, or maybe up to Alaska, and try something brand new.

Embry was smiling at me again; Emily appeared to have just elbowed him because she had a small smirk on her face and was a little too intent on her fork full of lasagna.

"If you wanted, Cassie, you could crash with me for a while. I have an extra bedroom and everything… Unless it's too soon, or too weird. My apartment is bug-free, and it beats paying for a hotel."

Embry just invited me to stay with him, no strings, just him trying to be a good brother, right? Either way, it would be a chance to get to know my twin. Or this would be a really bad idea and ruin every positive interaction so far.

"Wow, Embry… Umm thanks. You wouldn't mind? I really don't want to be a bother or anything. Plus, you just met me…" I think my mouth dropped open slightly after I babbled out my answer, but I continued to watch Embry's face for his reaction.

"Even if you turn out to be some psycho crazy twin, I think I can take you." Embry grinned at me and raised his arms over his head to show off his muscles.

Emily and I both laughed, and Sam just snorted and continued eating his dinner.

"Haha, Embry. You have a point there. I would love to stay with you." I scraped the rest of my lasagna onto my fork. The tinkling of silverware continued while everyone ate the last of their dinner. Sam was the first to stand up and grab his plate, disappearing behind me into the kitchen. Embry stood up next, scraping his chair noisily along the wood floor as he let out a huge burp and winked at me. Emily just rolled her eyes at him, as she grabbed the remaining plates and headed to the kitchen. I heard Emily tell Embry to bring me with him to the bonfire tomorrow.

I sat staring blankly at the wood table in front of me. Sam was whispering to Embry, but I couldn't make out what was being said. Snippets like "better be aware" and "phasing" were all I had caught with my strained ears when Emily walked up and put her arm around me.

"Are you doing okay, honey? I can't imagine what is going on in your head right now." Emily gave my shoulder a squeeze and sat down next to me.

"Thanks, Emily, it is just a lot to wrap my brain around. I mean, I have a twin brother, a half-brother, and a half sister-in-law, all in just a few hours. If I stick around I may have a full-on family by tomorrow night." I smiled at her.

Emily beamed at me. "That's the plan, hun! That's totally the plan!"

I laughed a little and felt my smile grow. Today had already been so much better than I thought it would ever be. I wasn't sure if I had ever smiled so much.

"See, I told you everything would go fine, Cassie. Now we just have to talk you into sticking around for a while," Emily said, pushing a mug of hot chocolate over in front of me.

"Like I said, I really haven't given any thought to how long I will stay. I didn't want to make any plans before I knew how today would go." I took a sip of my hot chocolate; it was delicious, with just a hint of cinnamon. "This is delicious, Emily, thanks," I managed to mumble out before I took another drink and burned my tongue.

Emily prattled on about La Push and how wonderful it was to live here, but I couldn't seem to shake the feeling she was only talking in order to distract me. Apparently, it was none of my business to know what was being discussed in the kitchen, and Emily was just too polite to come out and say that.

I tuned out the guys when Emily asked if I wanted to look at the pictures hanging in the living room. Maybe it was a ploy to get me out of earshot of the kitchen, but it worked. Soon Emily was giving me a running commentary of the various images, mostly of Sam and his friends, but there were some of her wedding that I tried to gush over. Being accepted and a part of a family was wonderful; I didn't care how many wedding pictures I had to look at.

A/N: This is my first attempt at writing FF. Any constructive criticism would be very welcomed and appreciated! Thank you for giving this a chance!