A/N - This is my first Twilight story, and I'm very excited to share it with you! Bear in mind I haven't read the book in about four years, so it's more likely to be based off the movie and my bad memory. Thanks for reading! xx.

Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OCs.

Takes place during Eclipse, when Edward has returned and Bella is back with him, and Jacob is already an established werewolf. Will likely go AU from there.

Ivy faceclaim: Young Elle Fanning

Serena faceclaim: Shelley Hennig

()()()

"Policy woman came rolling into town

She got all the gentleman to follow her down."

- Medicine, Grace Potter

()()()

We hadn't yet crossed the border into Washington when it started snowing.

The highway was shiny and slick in no time and I reached across the center console to grab Ivy's hand. There was already ice covering the road. It was everywhere and we were sliding within minutes.

I pulled the Wagoneer to a stop by the shoulder without once touching the steering wheel, then I put it into second gear and continued on slowly. December in California was nothing like this - I wasn't used to driving in snow, much less ice.

Still, Sam and Emily were expecting us in La Push tonight, and I wasn't about to make them wait.

It was kind enough of them to take us in, especially after what Mom did to Sam. I don't know specifics, but she had a huge fight with her brother when they were teens, and she took off and left La Push forever.

She died in our attic, back home in California. She's poisoned herself with white oleander - God knows where she got it - and left Ivy and me on our own.

I was seventeen and a half - too old to be adopted and too young to be left out of the system. Ivy was ten, and the social worker didn't hesitate to inform me that we would likely be split up. It was hard enough to find a home for one kid, much less two.

That's when Sam stepped in.

He was 7 years younger than my mother, the brother she'd drunkenly mumble about when she had nothing else to do. We'd never met him, we had no reason to trust him - except that he was the only person we'd had left.

He'd called our social worker as soon as he found out about us, asking about adoption. We didn't know why he'd wanted us so badly, only that he did. I figured it had something to do with the fight - maybe we were some kind of penance, some way of finding my mother's forgiveness.

Mom, although her death was a suicide, had left everything a mess. Bills were everywhere, unpaid, and she hadn't created a will. It didn't matter much - our only asset was the house - the gorgeous, huge Victorian we called home - and it wasn't paid off yet. It went to the state, as did the $5.06 left in her bank account.

She'd left unexpectedly, before Ivy had even come to terms with her powers, before I got to attend a senior prom or my first Samhain as a mature witch.

Tears pricked at my eyes as Ivy stirred in the seat beside me. I turned down the radio a notch, hoping she would fall back asleep. I didn't want to talk right now.

I drove in silence, waiting to see a sign for La Push.

()()()

It was midnight by the time we arrived, but Sam and Emily had been waiting up for us. A light burned in the front room of an earthy, wooden house in the middle of the forest. It was connected to the outdoors, seeming a part of it, and that was perfect for Ivy and I.

The couple came running out to the car when we pulled up, their faces flushed with worry.

"How was the drive? I didn't realize it would start to snow, I could've came to get you." Sam asked, his words heavy with worry. We'd talked on the phone only once or twice, but he was exactly as I'd pictured him.

He looked nothing like mom, that was for sure. She was a pale, frail blonde creature - Sam was dark, with heavy, masculine features. I was similar to him, in a way, as Ivy was similar to our mom. It was ironic because I'd always figured my looks came from the father I'd never met.

"It wasn't bad at all." I assured him with a smile. "Ivy's in the passenger seat, she's still asleep."

"I don't blame her, I bet you're exhausted." Sam motioned towards his wife. "Emily's made dinner if you're hungry, but I'm sure you'd like to get some sleep as well. I'll unpack, she'll show you to your room."

The house wasn't huge, not like the Victorian we'd grown up in back in California (although, in the end, that seemed to backfire). I had expected to have my own room, but I wasn't opposed to sharing with Ivy. It would help me keep a better eye on her, at least, and it wasn't like we had many secrets.

I allowed Sam to get our bags and opened Ivy's door. She'd inherited the skinny gene from our mother, and, at eleven, was still tiny. I picked her up easily, allowing her to sleep, and nodded towards Emily to show us to our room.

She smiled at us, lowering her voice to a whisper.

"It seems you two are very close. That's understandable, given everything you've been through."

I liked her, her bluntness and honesty. She told things the way they were.

We walked into the light and I saw the long, thin scars gracing her face. I tried not to gasp, but they seemed so wrong, so out of place. I wondered what someone like Emily had done to get those, if she'd done anything at all. I could see her aura, a brilliant yellow, and I could tell that she was a happy, bright person.

Our room was on the back end of the house, and, although adorned with two twin-sized beds and matching dressers, it wasn't intended to be a bedroom. Windows adorned every inch of the area, and there was a door in the middle of the room, leading to a deck.

"We had to convert the sunroom." Emily said, almost apologetically. "There wasn't a second bedroom, I'm sorry. Sam hung up curtains, though, so you can have your privacy."

I grabbed her arm.

"Please, don't be sorry. I love it, it's truly beautiful back here. I feel like I'm in the forest."

She patted my hand, crossing to the door.

"I'll let you girls get some sleep, we can talk in the morning."

I watched her walk off until her yellow shadow was out of sight.