Embry opened the door to the somewhat seedy bar his beautiful but miserable imprint was waitressing in. He tried to make her feel better, but he wasn't doing much better himself. Ever since all their closest friends had died in the same tragic incident, and they had to leave their families to go on the run. The Volturi were after them; mainly Kat though, and Embry wouldn't leave her alone. Eventually she stopped mourning her late boyfriend and best friend for long enough to yell at him, go out for a few hours and come back with a job and a place to stay. She had decided that they were staying in this puny town until further notice, although she had informed him he could leave if he wished. He had of course protested, replying that he was going to follow her everywhere and anywhere. She had fallen silent over that and ignored him for a while.

As he walked into the bar, he noticed Kat being her usual stunning self, chatting with some of the customers, being rude to others and downright ignoring the rest. He walked up to the bar and sat on a stool, waiting for some attention. One of the other serving girls sidled up to him and grinned cheekily.

"Hey there." She leant over the bench and twisted her hair around her finger.

"Hello. Can I get a whisky?" He asked. She nodded and started to move away. She turned back and kissed him on the cheek.

"On the house big boy." She moved away and he stared at his hands. When he looked up, Kat was in front of him, behind the counter and pushed a whisky bottle and a shot glass towards him. She glared at him too.

"What?" He mumbled, staring down at his empty glass. He was trying to decide whether to just down his whisky of drink it slowly.

"Didn't figure you the sort to drown your troubles." She retorted sharply.

He shrugged. "Doesn't work for me. Figures the people with the most troubles have to find a new way of relaxing. Can't play golf, can't get drunk, can't sleep around, can't do bloody anything."

Her face softened until he mentioned sleeping around. "What was that before then, with Naomi? Thought you imprinted guys couldn't flirt with other girls."

He gazed blearily at her. "Flirting? Oh...was she flirting with me? It isn't so much we can't as we don't want to, as we don't notice it unless it's really blatant. No point in flirting, we wouldn't want to and we wouldn't want to do anything beyond that." He fell back into his numb state of despair then; except now he had his bottle grasped firmly in his hand and would occasionally take a swing. Kat shook her head and moved back to serving. She knew she was a major part of his depression, first her constant rejection of him then her own despair. She loved him, really did, but Darren had just died, helping her out. She had threatened him into helping and then he died. Killed by her own brother. She shuddered and then gave an apologetic smile to her latest customer.

"Sorry sir. It's a bit cold in here." She smiled politely. The man in his dark clothes, tilted hat and sunnies nodded and waved his hand, dismissing her. She snorted and stalked off. Bastard. She looked back over at Embry and noticed Naomi flirting again. She pounced on him from behind, spun his chair around and kissed him hard on the mouth. She could hear Naomi mutter under her breath as she moved away from claimed territory and could feel Embry's shock. She broke away from him and grinned.

"That's how you stop someone like Naomi." She told him. She regretted it instantly when she saw the brief spark in his eyes vanish. She touched his cheek. "Cheer up pup. You're making me sad. Blimey. Come on, my shift's up." She stretched her hands out and took Embry's own in them. He brightened and pulled her into a hug, burying his face in her hair.

He loved her. She was going through just as much as he was and she still managed to keep it together, be her usual self, while he got all depressed and useless.

"I'm sorry Kat. Just...they were my brothers, you know? And now whenever I shift, it's like...silent. Nothing in my head because the rest of the pack is so far away, and I just...I can't...It's so...Urgh." He mumbled into incoherency and she stroked his back.

"Come on, let's go home. You can tell me all about it." She took his hand, whipped her apron over the counter and dragged him outside. He followed meekly.

"Thanks Kat." He whispered. She flashed him a bright smile.

"No problem. You've cheering me up, it's the last I can do to help. Well, not the last, but you get my drift." She winked and her grin turned positively wicked. "I could even probably get you drunk, if I had my kit here. Sad we had to leave it behind when we ran."

It was the first time either of them had mentioned it without an awkward silence. This time, Embry just laughed and replied with a witty retort. They ended up having a full blown fake argument and settling to watch a movie marathon to cheer themselves up, accompanied by a tub of chocolate ice-cream specially fished out of the freezer. For the first time in two months neither of them was mourning their loved ones. They still missed them like crazy, but they were starting to heal. After all, they didn't want to end up like Narele, bitter and cold to even her friends, making her life painful as possible in her grief and then only realising the joy of life hours before it ended.