Chapter 2 - Monday Meeting

Disclaimer: I'm not Stephenie Meyer, and I didn't write the Twilight series. I just have fun playing with her characters and her world.

A/N: I've decided that the women the werewolves Imprint also age slowly (once they reach a certain age), like the werewolves. I hadn't thought about that until a reviewer mentioned it, but I think that's what others are doing in the Quil/Claire stories. Or something like that. The guys with families are phasing less, so they're starting to age a bit more. It's the guys who don't have families that are still phasing all the time and not aging. Willing suspension of disbelief maybe:)

I love reviews, but need to sleep. Wanted to post this, but I'll reply to all reviews tomorrow. Thanks for reading!

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My Sunday run was uneventful - no traces of vampires in the section I patrolled. Since the Pack shared thoughts, I could tell that no one else had found any evidence either. I hoped this wouldn't make the newer members cocky, because there had been a "missing" hiker a month or two ago, and we had scented vampires. The overcast Northwest attracts a lot of them.

I enjoyed my day, though, running with the pack was such a part of my being that I needed it regularly to restore my soul. I found the chatter about the newcomers somewhat interesting - we don't get many new people moving here. The house had been bought by a woman in her mid twenties, and she had a niece and nephew who lived with her, as well as her male cousin. Their shared grandmother was Quileute, but had left the reservation to get married. There was something about a tragedy, but nobody in the pack got a clear picture of what had happened. The woman and her cousin were raising the niece and nephew, and they said they wanted to move somewhere quiet and peaceful, so they decided to "find their roots". I laughed inwardly at the idea of "quiet and peaceful", but since no one scented vampire on anyone, and there was nobody ready to Change, thoughts within the pack moved on quickly to other topics.

I think we're done today, folks. Sam sent, as the afternoon waned into evening. Regular patrols only tonight since there's no activity. Thanks for working today, everyone!

I ran home, phasing into my human shape in a small shed Quil and I had built off the house that held a couple changes of clothes. Claire had been around too often for me to phase and enter the house to get dressed. That was one embarrassing moment I wouldn't forget for a long time. Tonight, though, the house was empty. I wolfed down some food, double checked that I had set the alarm, and went to sleep, exhilarated and exhausted by a day of running.

"Morning, Jake!" I said, walking into my best friend Jacob's auto mechanic shop. He had started the shop after our High School graduation, once we realized that the Pack needed to stay on the reservation. We had all taken community college courses, and some members of the pack had gotten college degrees, but I was happy to be one of the partners in Jake's shop.

"Morning, Embry!" Jake looked up from the engine of a Saturn we had worked on intermittently - never quite figuring out the trouble.

"Hey - you got them to leave the Saturn? Cool. We might actually figure it out if we don't have a deadline." I grinned, excited by the challenge.

"Yep. I found a loaner car and gave that to them for the rest of the week. I'm fed up with having this car in every couple months! Plus, it's not safe to have the engine stalling when you're driving around with kids."

"You're a softie! I teased. Jake growled in response, and my grin got wider. "So, what were you, Leah, and the kids up to this weekend? I didn't see you at Sam's for patrols."

"Sam was kind enough to let people with families off the hook on Sunday. We don't get too many sunny weekends! We went down to First Beach, and there were a bunch of other families there. Marie is fearless, I don't know where she gets it!" Jake's grin got wider - we knew exactly where his 5 year old got her fearlessness - both her parents were werewolves!

"What about Will? How did he do with the waves?" I asked. I had a soft spot for 2 year old Will, he was one of the few boys born recently, and he was much quieter than most of the other kids. Will was a great one for curling up in your lap for a story, and Uncle Embry was happy to accommodate!

"Will was nervous at first, but he paddled at the edge for a while after he got used to it. Emily was there with Raven and Nola, so she hung out with us. When her girls and Marie get together, they're into everything, so it was good to have an extra set of eyes while Sam was monitoring patrols." Jake smiled, "Em's almost tripping over her own feet at this point, so it was good for her to just rest for a bit. We're happy to help out."

"I took the patrol so Quil could hang out with Claire. First sunny day after school lets out isn't a good time for your boyfriend to have to work!" I smiled at being able to use the word "girlfriend" to describe Claire and Quil - it had been a long 14 years since he had imprinted.

"Quil mentioned that. Claire was pleased. She, Leah, and Emily were all giggling together. It looks like Claire will be helping out with the kids again this summer - doing some art projects and stuff over at the rec center."

"That's great! I know there were never enough things to do around here when we were kids, so it's good to see that things are changing. Claire's great with the little ones, so I'm sure they'll all be clamoring to get into her class!"

Jake nodded. "Even Kim and Jared's kids were all over the idea - Jesse was asking when it started and if he could help since he's in "double digits", and Katie was pestering Claire to find out what they would be doing. Quil ended up taking Claire away so she could 'have some peace and quiet'." We both laughed at his air quotes. We shared the sentiment that Quil had some ulterior motives for getting Claire alone.

"Excuse me," a polite female voice called from the office. I waved at Jake to work on the Saturn again, and walked over to the office.

I was stunned to see, there in the drab office of La Push and Pull Garage, the most lovely woman in the world. I just stared at her for a moment, then blinked ran my fingers through my hair. "Hi. What can I help you with, miss?"

"Well, I came in to ask about an oil change - we just moved here, and it was a long drive, so I'm sure we need at least an oil change, possibly more." She looked at me nervously, her hand ran through her long auburn hair, the same nervous habit I had with my shoulder-length black hair.

"We don't have a busy schedule today, so I'm sure we can fit you in. Do you want to leave it, or do you want me to tell you when we can do it?" I asked, trying to sound coherent while noticing her beautiful brown eyes and skin that was paler than mine, but darker than most of the folks in Forks. Her hair was loose, not tied back or braided, and she was dressed in a fitted red shirt and a pair of those pants that aren't quite pants and aren't quite shorts. The pants wrapped around her curves quite nicely. But it was her mixture of nervousness and confidence that called to me - that was me to a T.

"My new house is just down the street, so I can leave it. I work at home as a freelance web designer, so I don't have to worry about driving to work!" The woman smiled, and I swear it brightened the office.

"That's great! I'm lucky enough to work with my best friend, and just down the street from my house, so I'm not that worried about driving to work, either." I smiled back. I held out my hand "I'm Embry. I had heard a family had moved in, it's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too. My name is Roma. I just moved back to La Push with my cousin, niece, and nephew. I visited here as a kid with my grandmother, and it's nice to move here - very quiet."

I tried hard not to laugh, La Push could be quiet, but it had also been the site of a couple wars between vampires and werewolves, so things were not always as they seemed. "There's a lot of nice stuff about the res," I replied. "I grew up here with my friends, and we're happy to stay here. A few of my friends are raising their own families here now."

Roma's face brightened. "When I walked in I thought I heard you saying something about a program for kids at the rec center? My niece and nephew are 6 and 4, they'd love to have something fun to do this summer."

"On sunny days, First Beach is great - lots of families. On rainy days it's good to have something to do, so a teenager we know named Claire is starting an art program at the rec center. She's a great kid - very mature for her age."

"That sounds great. I think the kids would like that. They aren't thrilled with only going places where I can have wireless internet!" Roma smiled at me, and I thought I'd melt.

Somehow, I managed a real reply. "I can understand that! There's a lot of kids in that age range around here, and a lot of parents watching out for them, so they do hikes in the forests, beach combing, and all kinds of things."

"Wow, that would be perfect. These kids were living in Philadelphia, and haven't had a lot of exposure to nature. My cousin is looking to get a job over in Forks, but only working part-time so he can hang out with the kids while I'm working." She stopped, suddenly seeming to realize she was chatting up her mechanic. A blush rose across her cheeks. "Oh, I'm so sorry for keeping you from your work!" she cried. "I'm sure you didn't need to listen to my ramblings!"

"No worries, it was nice to talk to you. Like I said, we aren't busy yet. We've got a couple folks dropping off cars in the next hour, but there's only one car here besides yours right now - you came in at the right time!" I smiled, hoping it was a friendly smile, not a stalker-ish smile, "When I spend a lot of time with the kids on the res, I find myself talking to any adult who comes near me! I think it's one of the side effects of talking to munchkins. You said you were in the car with them for a while. Did you drive here from Philly?"

"Yep. We swapped driving the car and the moving van from Philly to La Push. I think at this point I'm running only on adrenaline, who knows about the car!"

"Well, go worry about something else, Roma. I'll make sure the car is figured out. If you write down your number, I can call you when it's done." I handed her one of the slips for the garage and one of my business cards. "If you need the car sooner than you were expecting, just give me a call."

"Thanks, Embry. Here's the key. I really appreciate you fitting me in!" She handed me the key and the form, and walked out of the office.

I stood there in the office, watching her go, feeling like I should follow her, but knowing that I couldn't. I was staring after her when Jake startled me, "So, what was that all about?"

"Hunh?" I said, trying to shake my head free of cobwebs.

"I've never heard you talk that much to a girl in all your life, Embry, what's the deal?"

I shrugged, "There's never been a girl like that around to talk to." Then I walked out to get her car so I could put it up on the lift.

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A/N: Thanks for reading! Please review if you have a minute!