Chapter 1

Quil tapped his fingers on the steering wheel of his truck nervously as he drove over to the Young residence, fighting the urge to speed. It had been five years since he had last seen Claire. Five long years of not being able to touch her hair, or hear her beautiful laugh; he practically ached to have her in his arms again. He found himself straining to push the gas pedal all the way to the floor. Grinning to himself, he turned his car stereo up and tried to focus on the road instead.

When he pulled into the narrow driveway that led up to the small, but cozy, house, his heart started beating in triple time. He took a moment to himself, turning the keys in the ignition until the dull roar of the old truck had quieted. He took a deep breath and muttered, "Get a hold on yourself, Ateara."

He jumped down from the truck bed fluidly, slamming the door behind him. He told himself it would probably make him seem a bit desperate if he ran all the way up her walkway. Instead he took long, graceful, measured steps until he reached the door. Taking another deep breath he knocked and then let himself in.

"QUIL!"

He let out a whoosh of breath as Claire launched herself at him like a missile. He wanted to tremble he was so happy to see her, to have his arms around her. He hadn't been sure if she was going to be as happy to see him, and the relief that washed over him made him giddy. "Claire," he said, grinning.

"Oh Quil, I'm so happy to see you. It's been way too long. Come on in, everyone is here…do you want something to eat? Emily and my mom made more food than I have ever seen in my entire life. It's really ridiculous. I don't know who they thought was going to eat all that. Oh! Look! The rest of the boys are coming!" She babbled on and on excitedly. She always got chatty when she was nervous.

He brushed a hand over her hair before turning around to see his brothers squeezing through the door. The sound level in the small room suddenly amplified by about ten times what it was two minutes before. He shook his head, laughing.

"Clairebear! You're home!" Jacob Black yelled, as he scooped her up and swung her around. She squealed and made a feeble attempt to squirm out of his grasp, but Quil could tell she loved the attention. The rest of the pack continued to shower her with attention. She was always everyone's favorite.

Claire had gone away to college in California, and the lack of money had kept her from visiting. The plane trips were just too expensive and she didn't have a car of her own. Quil felt a familiar ripple of guilt run through him as he thought, for the millionth time, about how he should have visited her. But then again, he felt maybe the distance would be good for them in the long run. The conversation he needed to have with her seemed like it would be better had with a 23 year old than with a 17 year old.

"Earth to Quil, come in Quil," Claire chirped happily, as she waved her hand in front of his face. "Did you fall asleep on your feet there, buddy?"

He grinned again, feeling like his face was going to split in half, "Oh you know, just to dream of you." He pecked her on the cheek and made his way over to the food table, suddenly starved.

She bounced behind him, "So, what have you been up to the last 5 years? I feel like I have so much to tell you!"

"Oh you know, got married, had 6 kids and started raising chickens for a living…everything you'd expect." He peeked a glance at her face and felt a selfish thrill at the way her shoulders slumped when he mentioned the word "married".

"Kidding, Clairebear. Not much has changed since you left, actually. I'm still doing patrol work around the reservation and working on cars with Jake in my spare time."

She perked up again, always like a ray of sunshine, and smiled happily. "Well that's nice! Patrol work, huh? Like a cop? I didn't realize the reservation really had a need for cops. Although, I do love a man in uniform, I must say. Hey, maybe you can build me a car sometime. I still don't have one, you know, and I might need one eventually when I finally get around to looking for a job."

He let the subject of what his job entailed, exactly, go for now. She still didn't know about the werewolf situation and he figured it would be better to drop that bomb all at once, rather than confuse her with disjointed details. Not to mention she was already on to the next four topics of conversation before he could even begin to formulate a response.

He laughed, feeling lighter than he had in a long time, and circled her waist, "Claire, you're going to pass out if you don't stop and take a breath. We have plenty of time to catch up. Why don't we sit down."

"Okay! I'm just so glad to be spending time with you again." She tilted her head to the side and rested it on his shoulder as he led her to the living room where the rest of the party was booming. It was cramped but they managed to find seats on the ground next to Jacob and Seth Clearwater.

Jacob turned as much as he could in the cramped space he had claimed and engaged Claire in animated conversation, "So, Clairebear, what are your plans? Are you sticking around for a while or are you taking off again and leaving us all broken hearted in your wake?"

She laughed. It was Quil's favorite laugh; the one that had her throwing her head back freely and letting out a sound of pure, unabashed humor.

"Actually, I was planning on tormenting you all with my presence for quite a while, unless you drive me out of town. I'll be staying here at home for a bit until I can find an apartment, but then I'll settle in and hopefully find a job in Port Angeles." She turned to Quil again, "That would be why I needed that car. I'd rather not walk to Port Angeles every day, if I can help it."

His heart soared at the thought of her living here permanently, "I'm sure we can fix you up with something. A scooter, or maybe a moped." He grinned impishly.

She gasped in mock horror, "Oh god, not a moped."

"Okay, how about a Vespa?"

She grimaced, a look of pain and dismay pasted on her face, "How will I ever be able to call myself a true professional driving a Vespa around?"

Jacob poked Claire in the side, "I hear they're all the rage in Europe, or something."

She rolled her eyes, laughing.

They all spent the rest of the night making plans for her new pimped out mini-bike and laughing until their sides hurt until the party started thinning out. After Claire had ushered Jared and Paul, the last of the party-goers, out of the door, she turned to smile at Quil brilliantly.

"That was a blast. I missed everyone so much."

He returned her smile and lifted his hand to brush his fingers through her soft hair again, "They missed you too. It's great to have you home." He took a deep breath, suddenly realizing just how alone they were. He had spent years exercising meticulous restraint when it came to her, and now she was old enough that they could have a real relationship if they so chose. He wasn't used to that kind of freedom and it was causing a mix of giddiness and nervous energy to course through him.

She took his hand and pulled him outside to the front porch, snapping him out of his musings. She lowered herself to the stoop to enjoy the warm June evening. "You've been uncharacteristically quiet, tonight, Quil, is everything okay?"

He sat beside her and leaned his back against one of the tall posts that framed the entrance to the porch. "Well how am I supposed to get a word in edgewise when some little minx just can't stop talking?" he smiled and pushed a bit of her hair behind her ear, "No, but really? I think I'm just overwhelmed by the fact that you're actually here and not just a figment of my imagination."

She giggled and reached over to shove his shoulder playfully, "Charmer."

He grinned and caught her hand in his, not letting it go. "I'll take this, thank you."

Not wanting to broach the subject of his undying love and passion for her quite this early in the game, he moved to a safer subject, "So what kind of job do you think you'll be looking for?"

She settled in closer to him in the way she always had. They had been best friends her entire life, but he had never let it move any further. Partially it was because he had promised her parents and Sam that he would wait until she was old enough to make a conscious decision about what she wanted from the relationship, and part of it was self preservation.

"Well, I have a dual degree in English and Journalism, so I was hoping to find a job at a newspaper, or maybe as an editor. It depends on what I can find in the city. Eventually I'd like to write my own novels, but right now, that's just a pipe dream." She smiled, "Until then, I wouldn't mind doing pretty much anything that came up."

He traced designs along her palm, "My Clairebear is a rogue scholar." He chuckled, unbelievably proud of what she had accomplished and what she planned on doing. She grinned too.

"So," She said thoughtfully, "Do you know of any great places I can move into…like…as soon as possible? I love my parents dearly but I can tell already it's going to get really old really fast living with them again after five years on my own."

"Hmm. I know of a great house for sale down the road a bit from my own, if you don't mind fixer-uppers. I could always help you get it up to par if you wanted. It's also selling for dirt cheap." Even as he said it, the possibilities were churning through his head. It was a small pleasure of his to take something old and turn it into something new, and he certainly had a knack for it.

"That actually sounds great. I'd love to take on a project like that, all HGTV style. Especially if it means getting all down and dirty with you in some construction hats." She laughed again, "When can we go see it?"

"Well, I'm sure tomorrow would be fine if you are free. I'm just as willing as you are to get started on it. You might want to see just want you're getting into first, though." He grimaced, picturing the slightly dilapidated structure and the shingles that were in desperate need of a coat of paint.

"I'm sure it's perfect," she said, yawning involuntarily.

He smiled and raised her hand to kiss it gently, "You should get some sleep, honey. You must be exhausted from all that traveling."

"Mmm. Maybe a bit. But I'll see you bright and early tomorrow?" Her eyes were so bright and hopeful he wanted to jump for joy, or kiss her right on the spot. He reminded himself, once again, to keep himself under control.

"Of course. Bright and early." He kissed her forehead and stood up, pulling her with him. She surprised him by stepping forward and grasping him in a tight hug.

"I'm so glad to be home."