Grace blinked her eyes to refocus them on her sister-in-law. Rebecca was sat across from her in the extremely uncomfortable airport seats, gesturing wildly to Sol.
Her brute of a brother was smiling down at his wife like she was telling him the most interesting thing ever. Grace felt a pang of jealousy but quickly squashed it and turned her attention to their surroundings.
The airport looked more like a shopping mall than anything Grace had expected. The tiles under foot gleamed white and everywhere were people milling around. There were two glass elevators leading to an upper floor which had the appearance of a food mall. Several large open areas contained the hard metal seats they occupied.
The air was cool and only the faint aroma coming down from the food area gave it any scent. Some stairs lead up to a viewing deck where eager children watched the airplanes take off and land.
She must have drifted again because she felt her brother touch her knee; his rumbling voice startling her from her reverie. "Are you alright?"
Grace smiled at him and blinked the fog from her eyes, "I'm fine, Sol. I'm just tired from the meds."
She'd caught a bug from a colleague earlier in the week and her meds made her feel drowsy more often than not. Hence why she couldn't focus on one thing and had a surgical mask around her neck.
"If you feel sick, just let me know." She nodded at him and he smiled as he tucked Becca back into his side. She loved her sister-in-law to death and couldn't wait to see where she'd grown up.
She leaned her head back and closed her eyes, giving into the fog of sleep.
It only felt like a moment later that Sol was waking her up. She and Rebecca linked arms and sluggishly followed after him as he pushed the trolley with their bags. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"I'm gonna sleep on the plane so I should be fine when we arrive." She patted Rebecca's hand and rested against her shoulder as they handed their boarding passes over. "Just don't leave me on the plane."
Both women giggled and then hid their faces as Solomon glanced back curiously. He hated being out of the loop – ever since he was little – and the look on his little sister's face was killing him.
"It's nothing you need to worry about, koʻu aloha." Rebecca smiled, blowing him a kiss. "Do you want the aisle seat?"
Solomon was a large man by nature and Grace knew he found flying difficult; even though he'd had more than enough experience traveling for his surfing. "ʻAe, you know I can't stand being stuck."
Rebecca nodded and prodded Grace into the window seat before settling down so she was sort of squished between the siblings. "Cozy."
Grace chuckled, she and Becca were around the same height and she was glad that she hadn't inherited her father's apparent Samoan large genes. She looked more like their mother who'd been born in Hawaii.
Grace snapped the surgical mask in place over her mouth and closed her eyes. Rebecca's soft chatter soothed her into a peaceful drowsiness a couple of minutes later.
Jacob sighed and tightened his hand around Renesmee's as they approached the small red house. They could both hear Billy muttering to himself about space and Jake rolled his eyes at Ness.
Becca and Sol were due in a few hours. While there was usually enough space for them, Sol had asked if he could bring his sister and Billy's sleeping arrangements had flown right out of the window.
"Dad!" Jake called as he pushed open the door. Billy appeared a few seconds later, smiling at his son and Renesmee. "What's up?"
Billy raised an imperial eyebrow and nodded his head towards the hallway. "I'm struggling with the idea of leaving Solomon's sister in Rachel's old room."
Jake followed his father into said room and sighed as he saw the problem. Since Rachel had decided to move to Toronto well over eight years ago, her old room had become a storage facility. "That might put a crick in her back." he chuckled as he stared at the boxes on the small bed.
"I don't think there'll be time to clean it, Jake." Billy sighed. "I should have done this earlier."
Jake bit his lip and glanced down the hall. Ness had gone into the kitchen to make coffee and he could hear her humming lightly. "Ness, do you think Bella would come clear this up for my dad?"
Renesmee stuck her head out of the door and nodded with a smile. "I'm sure mom would, yes."
Jake glanced back at his father and shrugged. "It's the fastest route and as soon as it's all safely stored in the shed, I'll clean the room myself."
Billy didn't say anything as he rolled himself out of the room and into the living room. Despite his best efforts, Billy still couldn't get over Bella. It'd been ten years now and Jake still had to wrestle with some members of the packs.
Renesmee called out that her mother was on the way and then danced out into the living room. She handed Billy a cup of coffee and settled on a seat opposite him. "Are you excited to see Rebecca, Billy?"
Jake settled next to her and pulled her close to his side, "I think dad's more excited about Bec's 'news'. He's hoping for a little Finau."
Billy clucked his tongue and sipped at his coffee, winking at Renesmee with a smile. Both Jake and Renesmee knew that Billy was actually hoping that Rebecca would announce her and Solomon's move back to La Push.
"Hello?" Bella's voice made all their heads turn to the front door. She looked dressier than usual – by Bella's standards – and smiled at Renesmee as her daughter stood to greet her. "I can't stay long, Jake."
"Yeah." Jake heaved himself up and motioned for Bella to follow him. "I wouldn't ask if dad didn't think it was life and death."
Bella chuckled and listened to him explain the situation. She didn't seem peeved that he was basically using her as a mule and set off with nothing more than a puff of air.
Jake watched her flit in and out, clearing and cleaning as she went. It sometimes still amazed him that his best friend was as powerful as she was.
He'd gotten over his hatred for what she and her family were a long while ago; though no one dared leave him and Rose alone in a room together.
They'd created a very peaceful coexistence. The Volturi hadn't really been heard of for seven years now and, though they still had a few rogues that wreaked havoc with the Forks population, they didn't have any major problems.
He glanced down as Renesmee touched his arm and blinked as Bella came to a halt in front of them. She feigned cleaning her hands and pecked her daughter's cheek, waved Jake goodbye and then disappeared again.
Jake shook his head and glanced around the room again. "Much better. Why don't you go get a bucket and mop while I get fresh linen's and a duster?"
Grace stared out of the window. Her expression was that of a baby seeing a shiny toy for the first time. Her fingers itched to grasp her camera and capture everything she was seeing but her equipment was in the trunk.
Rebecca was giving Sol detailed instructions on how to reach her father's house but she was very aware of Grace's awe. She knew that convincing her sister-in-law to come along would do both of their muses much good.
Grace sneezed and then cried out in pain as her forehead made contact with the window. Rebecca sniggered and handed her a tissue. "Not long now. Dad's so excited to meet you."
Grace smiled nervously. She hadn't ever been outside of Hawaii, even though her work offered the opportunity, and being in a place that looked so vastly different from home just added onto the fear of impressing Rebecca's family.
"When's the bonfire?" Sol enquired; Grace nearly groaned aloud. She'd almost forgotten that Billy Black had organized a beach bonfire to celebrate their arrival in La Push.
"Tomorrow." Rebecca hummed. "Dad wanted to give us time to settle in first and Sam's wife and Sue made threats about not having enough time to prepare the food."
Solomon scoffed and shook his head. He'd told Grace about Jacob's amazing eating abilities the last time they'd come back from visiting. She didn't believe him. "As long as they let the layman's dish up first…"
Their car pulled up to a driveway that led to a little house that looked more like a converted barn than anything else. Despite it's outward appearance, it still looked cozy. Grace sighed at the prospect of getting out in the rain again.
Billy and who she assumed was Jacob were standing on the porch, squinting out into the rain.
"Now or never." Sol laughed, throwing his door open and rushing to the back of the car to retrieve their bags. He was strong enough to carry everything to the men on the porch in one go.
Rebecca glanced back at her and nodded as she too dashed outside. Grace watched the woman laugh hysterically as she ran straight into Jacob's hug.
Billy was looking at the car nervously and Grace steeled herself by sucking in a few deep breaths. The trip to the porch seemed treacherous but she made it in one mud-less piece. She smiled up at her brother through her sopping hair and then glanced over at Rebecca.
"Grace, this is my annoying little brother." Becca laughed, pinching Jake's side. "Jake, this is Sol's sister."
Grace cleared her vision quickly and offered her hand to him in greeting. "Aloha 'auinalā! It's nice to meet you, Jacob."
Jake grinned broadly and, surprisingly, dragged her into a hug. His chest rumbled against her cheek as he laughed and Grace blushed at the feeling.
She was quickly handed off to Billy and then ushered into the house for coffee and cake. Billy assured everyone that he hadn't attempted to bake after Rebecca's worried face; the cake had come from Jacob's business partner's wife, Emily.
The house was tiny compared to Jacob and Solomon's large bodies and Grace smiled at the image they made; huddled together on a couch, eating chocolate fudge cake out of side plates with forks as large as their pinky fingers.
Grace blinked as her eyes suddenly felt thicker and then proceeded to nearly toss her cake to the floor as she had a sneeze attack. Rebecca immediately supplied her with more tissues and asked her father if she could run a hot bath.
Sol chuckled and shook his head at his stubborn sister. She'd inherited more than looks from their mother, that was for sure.
Paul huffed as he skidded to a stop at the treaty line. Though, now, it was more like a pack border. Sam had sent him over to discuss the 'party' of leeches with Leah.
Jared had taken the night off to spend it with Kim and so Paul had been left in charge of peace negotiations. Sam didn't like the Cullen's friends so close to home with Billy's bonfire and Paul agreed. The sooner the bloodsucker's left the better.
His eyes scanned the forest. He could hear Leah's heartbeat somewhere in the thicket and sighed as he realized that she was waiting for him to phase back.
He snorted and reeled himself back into his body, crossing his arms and blinking at the spot where she hid. "Don't waste my time, Leah."
He heard her growl and a moment later she was stepping out behind a tree with a glare. "You could put on pants, Paul."
Paul raised an eyebrow at her and stretched out his arms. "I thought you didn't have an appetite for what I'm packing, dearest Leah."
Leah's face screwed up and she crossed her arms. "I don't but that doesn't mean that I want to see it."
Paul smirked at her and bent down to yank on his cutoffs. It had been a while since he'd seen Leah and he couldn't give up the chance to harp on her. "Right, business…"
Leah sighed and leaned against a tree, rubbing her face wearily. "Ben and Tia will be gone by tonight. The Amazon's are leaving early tomorrow morning. Apparently, Cullen told them about Sam's… concerns and everyone felt that it'd be best."
Paul nodded happily. "Great. We'll need to know where they're crossing back so we can see that they're escorted properly."
Leah agreed easily and they spent the rest of the time catching up on lost time. Leah's wife, Autumn, was five months pregnant with their miracle baby and Paul could see that Leah wanted to burst from happiness.
The pair had met five years ago and, against all odds, Leah had imprinted. It was the most stressful day anyone on the reservation had ever experienced but also the happiest.
They were married two years later in a small ceremony on the beach and then the unexpected had happened. Autumn had become part of an experiment to create a baby from the DNA from two mothers. Three long years of struggling later and their first – very healthy - daughter was due in four months.
"Send my love to your wife." Paul smiled as he started unbuttoning his pants. "And give the kid a kiss from me."
Leah laughed dryly, waved him goodbye and disappeared back into the brush. Paul listened to her leave before dropping onto his own four feet and making the trek back home.
Collin was eagerly waiting to relieve him. Thanks, buddy. Keep me updated.
No problem. Collin barked playfully and set off in a run, howling as he felt the delicious stretch of his muscles.
Slow down, idiot! Quil growled irritably and set off after him.
Paul shook his head as he made his way home, phasing back just before he hit the tree line. His head hadn't even hit the pillow before he was asleep.