Sam didn't trust the Cullen's but it was important to Emily. He understood. It would be easier for everyone to meet her family at once rather than have one of the boys rudely ask "who's this?" like they were bound too. It was a shame that to have that happen it meant none of them could be on patrol –it was unfair for him to make Leah and Seth run it when they wanted to see their family too.

That meant two things for La Push: it was unprotected or they asked a favour from the Cullen's. Sam was thankful that Jacob gave them leverage. Sam made a point of emphasising how Jacob looked after Bella, how the pack took her in when they'd left her for dead. He replayed the image of Bella when he found her half dead with hypothermia in the woods after Edward had left her. That was enough for them to agree. They knew that they were in the pack's dept.

Of course with Charlie being invited to the party, Bella was too and although Charlie was forcing her to go she'd insisted that Edward came too. As much as that comforted Sam for the extra protection for the members of the reservation who were going to be at the party, it set him on edge to think how close a bloodsucker would get to Emily.

Jacob was running through the wood's feeling the dusty dry mud flick up into the air and float around his paws. He wasn't on patrol, he was just running. He did that a lot, it helped him feel less hurt. A lot less like Bella had personally betrayed him by running back to her pathetic bloodsucker. His father noticed his absence but didn't comment, why would he? It was obvious Jacob's anger scared the old man. When he'd been for a run, Jacob was calmer. Billy liked that.

However when Jacob came back to the house today and entered, after pulling on a pair of shorts, he was greeted by a very angry old man in a wheel chair. "Where have you been?" Billy demanded. It was very rare for the elder to get angry, despite being three times as big as his father and ten times as strong Jacob felt slightly scared; it was like his father was going to use his middle name. He really hoped not. "We've got to leave! Go get dressed! Sue's gonna be here to pick us up any minute now" the old man snapped before wheeling himself away from his son.

The party, Jacob thought with understanding. His father wasn't angry at Jacob, he was agitated. He'd met the people before, in fact he knew everyone that was going it's just with children you can always count one of them will ask something about why he's in a wheelchair. It wasn't that Billy minded telling people, it was just that he didn't like feeling weak and children had a delightful habit of making that happen. He probably wasn't looking forward to the steps that every house in La Push has to reach the porch, either though. It was only since Billy's diabetes got worse that their own house had to be fitted with a ramp.

Jacob stalked into his room, his mood still slightly sour. He looked on his bed to see an outfit had been laid out for him. "Dad?" Jacob asked. He really didn't want to wear it.

"Just put it on!" Billy laughed as he rolled himself past the door. Jacob sighed but did as he was told. He hated tailored trousers; they seemed to cling to his thighs. His father joked about him having a girl-y physique due to the masculine hour glass shape his body seems to have adopted. It was odd. What was worse though, was his shirt. He had to wear a white long sleeved shirt. He knew the rest of the pack would be wearing the same thing. Sam had insisted on it –except for Leah. Her mum was sorting her outfit out.

There was a tap on the door and Jacob left his room as he did up the buttons on the sleeves of shirt. Sue stood there in a dress, it stopped above her knee delicately. She looked radiant in the beige colour. It made her skin glow. Grabbing the handles of Billy's wheelchair she rolled him down to the car leaving Jacob to follow them after locking up the house. Billy was in the front seat leaving Jacob to squeeze in the back with Seth and Leah, both of whom were holding a dish of some kind. "Hey Jake" Seth said, he was bouncing about in his seat slightly. It made the whole car shake.

"Hey, Seth" Jacob replied with a kind smile. He liked Seth, he was a good kid. He couldn't see Leah since Seth was sat in the way but he didn't care. He didn't want to see her sullen from today.

Leah was smiling today. She was wearing one of her old dresses –she hadn't worn dresses since Sam had left her. It was like she wasn't allowing herself to look beautiful. She felt beautiful. Seth had confirmed that when he told her how beautiful she looked. As nice as Seth was, he never lied. Her mum had insisted on doing her hair, she'd put extensions in it. Leah loved it, she felt like a girl again. She was sad that she couldn't grow it out again; it would be a pain for when she phased. Leah pondered on if that was why her mother brought them for her so she could just wear them when she was going out.

She caught a glimpse of herself in the car's wing mirror. Leah had worn a burgundy dress; it did wonders for her eyes which seemed to shine. It didn't matter that no one she didn't already know was going to the party, it was more that she finally allowing herself to show Sam what he was missing, even if he couldn't change it. That's just a part of the break up process though –a part that Leah hadn't even started on before.

When Leah got out the car, carefully carrying the vegetarian pasta dish Jacob's mouth hung open. Leah looked good. The boys had always known she had legs, breasts and curves, much to Seth's disgust, but here she looked feminine even without heels.

The house before them was huge yet it didn't look posh –it looked more like a patchwork house, like many of the ones on La Push did. It was easily twice the size of Billy and Jacob's bungalow for the first floor but with three floors it looked gigantic. Billy was shocked to see that they too had replace their stairs with a ramp.

Carol answered the door and greeted them inside, thanking Sue for the two dishes. Seth was carrying a lasagne. They weren't for the party, which was a barbeque, they were just a house warming present. Carol introduced herself to Jacob and Billy, before she embraced Leah and Seth who were her cousins-in-law or something like that. Her and Sue began chatting happily as they lead the way through the house, which had no boxes to be unpacked in it, to the garden which was just the same as any La Push garden; an open ended patch of greenery that backs on to the forest only enclosed by the fences at the sides.

The garden was full of people. Sam and Emily were chatting to a man who shared some of the same soft facial features as Emily. He was evidently older than her but a good ten years or so. He was Emily's older brother, Richard. Sam and he were joking together, each with a glass of cider in their hands.

Embry stood with his mother introducing her to Bradley, Collin, Jared and Kim who had all arrived with their families. She was oblivious of her son's phasing like Colin, Bradley and Jared's parents were but they still brought them along. They figured that if their parents meet then they'll feel better about them going out a lot since they know each other. Kim's parents, of course had no idea that their daughter's boyfriend turned into a giant wolf but they participated in the convocation with the other parents happy to meet their daughter's new friends.

Carol let them go off and meet their friends and Billy was immediately called over to old Quil. The two old men sat in their wheelchairs chatting quite happily until a little girl came up to them. She looked like most of the people here; a russet skin tone and dark hair colour. Like many of the young girls in the tribe her hair was incredibly long. She couldn't have been older than eight. "Were you in a car crash too?" she asked. They looked at her confused.

"Why'd you ask that, miss?" old Quil asked.

The girl pointed to his wheelchair. "You have wheelchairs. My brother has one too, he was in a car crash" she said. Billy and old Quil shared a look. That was the answer to Billy's question of the ramp. "It's his first day back home today!" she said excitedly, "we did some painting, he likes painting."

"What's his name?" Billy asked with a kind smile.

"James" the girl answered. She turned around briefly. "That's him" she said pointing to a young skinny boy. His awkward body physique made him look about thirteen. He was talking to Quil –young Quil that is. Billy couldn't work out why until he spotted Claire standing the other side of his wheelchair.

Claire obviously wanted Quil to meet all her family. It would be nice for Quil to be able to see Claire more often now that she'd moved into this house.

"And what's your name?" Billy asked the young girl again.

"Danielle" she replied happily.

Billy smiled at the young girl's happiness. "That's a pretty name, Danielle. My name's Billy. How old are you?"

"I'm seven" she said proudly.

Billy smiled again. "That's big!" Billy encouraged, knowing that's the reaction she wanted. "And no, Quil and I, here, are just old. That's why we have our wheelchairs." Danielle's mouth made an 'o' shape and then someone called her name and she went running off to find them.

As the party began and everyone was laughing the pack began on the alcohol. Embry, Seth and Jacob were stood together laughing whilst most of the others interacted with the new family in the street. It was the first time Jacob had genuinely smiled since Edward's returned.

It was as though they sensed Jacob's happiness and came to destroy it since they came over to talk with them. "Hey Jacob" Bella smiled.