Disclaimer – This is Stephanie Meyer's world. I'm just playing in her universe for a bit.

Jacob

I was unbelievably exhausted, both in mind and body. It had been a very long day and right now, I was full of cookies and hot chocolate. Nessie was surprisingly easy to pacify. Her sulks changed to worry the minute she laid eyes on me. I must've looked as exhausted as I felt, which was why Bella kicked me out early. She knew I would stay till Nessie's bedtime otherwise.

I ran in my wolf form and managed to keep all thoughts of the Cullens out of my mind. I thought of my bed and pillow. The pack must've taken the hint and no one tried to make contact.

Walking into the house, I noticed Billy parked in the living room. He was in deep thought so I escaped into the shower. He was still staring into space when I came out of the bathroom.

"Hey dad, are you ok?"

Billy turned to smile at me. "Yes, I was waiting for you to come back, I wanted to talk to you."

Oh, oh. The last time Billy waited like this, I got offered twenty bucks to gate crash Bella's prom. With silent trepidation, I dropped down onto the couch.

The conversation I had with Billy was the last thing I expected. He wanted to apologise for not being able to do more for me. He admitted that he had expected me to be more like my sisters and get a scholarship for college, but becoming a wolf had put a damper on that. He was glad that the Cullens were giving me this opportunity.

I found it funny. Billy was making it sound like I was an A star student. I had no heart to tell him that the only two reasons me and the entire male population of the Quileute High School went to school and not cut class, was for Marcia Gordon's left reason and Marcia Gordon's right reason. She always dressed to help us focus on these reasons. I realised with a shock that since imprinting, I've lost all interest in watching. I snapped out of my inner musings when I heard Billy say that he was proud of me and that he was sure that my mother was too.

I went to bed that night with thoughts of what imprinting had done to change my life, and marvelling how I was actually more than ok with it, and then wondering what Billy was proud of me for and then finally thanking God that Edward was no where near to hear my thoughts.

The next morning I woke up to the smell of frying bacon. The aroma was enough to pull me out of bed and go investigate. The usual breakfast here consists of cereal of some sort. I noticed Billy and Paul camped out in front of the television. It was Rachel in the kitchen and it looked like she was in her full throttle cooking mode. I saw scrambled eggs, pancakes, hash browns, muffins and bacon still in the frying pan. We usually have a spread like this at Emily's. I was actually tempted to check if I was still in my house.

I must have made a sound, because Rachel looked up and grinned at me. "Hey there baby brother!"

"Who are you and what have you done to my sister?" I had to ask. Rachel never cooked like this.

"Idiot! I just woke up and felt like cooking breakfast ok!"

"Then why are you cooking here and not at your place?"

Rachel had gotten a job in a lab over at the hospital in Forks and was renting an apartment nearby. Paul unofficially had moved in with her. Billy was not happy about this but was keeping his cool.

"Because if I cooked here, my little brother will get to eat it."

"All this is for me? Then we better ask Paul to go home." I skipped out of her way laughing when she tried to smack me with her spatula. "But why though?"

"Well, you're out at the Cullens so much and I hardly ever get to see you or talk to you. Dad told me that you're leaving with them. I'll get to see you and talk to you less when you're off on your great adventure. I just wanted to do something nice for you ok."

"Ok. But you know I'm not leaving for a month or two right? Are you gonna come cook me breakfast everyday?" I crossed my fingers and started chanting "Please, please.."

"Dream on!" she snorted. "This is a once in a lifetime special, so enjoy it and thank your lucky stars."

"Thank you, lucky stars! Thank you!" I reached for the bacon but she managed to smack my hand with her spatula and sent me off to brush my teeth.

Breakfast with my family that day turned out to be a loud and boisterous affair. We ate together and laughed together and Billy and I made fun of Paul together over Rachel's shrieks to leave him alone. I let Paul have the last pancake because I'm cool like that. A fact that I loudly informed everyone after Paul had crammed the last bite of the pancake into his mouth. Paul started shaking while glaring menacingly at me but immediately calmed when Rachel laid her hand in his and told him to ignore me.

I made a whipping action with my hand and mouthed to Paul, "You are so whipped."

He tensed up again but with one cool look from Rachel, he did nothing. Riling up Paul had never been fun until I got to do it in Rachel's presence. Life was good.

Soon it was time for me to face my pack. I had asked Embry to gather everyone at First Beach where our bonfire nights are usually held. I walked slowly, really apprehensive about everyone's reaction.

At the conclusion of our pack meeting, I was feeling this strange sensation that this cannot be happening to me, as suddenly my life has taken a very fictional tone. Am I a character in a book somewhere? This is too surreal to be a dream.

Quil and I were the only two who had imprinted in my pack, yet the understanding and the back slaps that I got from everyone was astounding. Just like with my family and Sam, I was getting the full encouragement to go. Looks like I'm definitely going then. I don't know why I was expecting drama of some sort. I had to admit, I was a little disappointed about the lack of sorrow and dismay.

Leah was not too keen on re-joining Sam's pack. I could sympathise with her but I had no solution to give her. But this new and brave Leah shrugged this aside and told me to go for it and not look back for anything. She said she had been toying with the idea of going to college and was ready for a change of environment too.

The move was not immediate. We remained for a couple of months more. I figured the vamps needed this time to set up our accommodations, and lay the foundation of our new lives. This gave me the opportunity to spend some time with Billy and my sister as well as my pack members. I needed this time. I didn't want to take off suddenly like I did the last time.

This also gave Billy the chance to spread a story around that I was going away to stay with relatives for a while. Everyone on the reservation knew that I had run away before when Bella had chosen Edward over me. They just assumed that I was still suffering from the depression of a broken heart. It rankled, but I played along. Only the wolves, their families and the council members were aware of the truth of my impending departure.

I made it a point to visit Nessie daily. Sometimes I'd meet Edward, Bella and Nessie at Charlie's place, as Bella was also trying to cram as much time as possible with her father before the big move.

The months quickly sped by and with only a week left, I roped in Quil and Embry's help to pack. There was not much to pack in my room. Blame the growth spurt and the wolf genes. My garage was another matter. I was giving all my tools to Embry. He'll be able to make full use of them in my absence. As we were moving the boxes to his backyard, I figured I'll give him the plastic sheds too. That's how my garage found itself transported to Embry's backyard.

Paul came over a couple of days before my departure. I was alone at home and not too keen on his company. I tried to send him on his way saying Rachel was not here and was surprised to hear him say that he had come to talk to me. I let him in reluctantly. We sat watching television for a little while with Paul fidgeting the whole time.

"Jake man."

I looked at Paul as he straightened from his slouch.

"I just wanted you to know, don't worry about your dad or Rachel. They'll be fine."

Ok, this I was not expecting. "Thanks man."

He used to have the shortest trigger in the pack and the both of us have had plenty of episodes of infraction in wolf form. If it wasn't for the wolf gene, both of us would still be sporting some healing wounds of some sort. Yet here he was, post imprinting, the slightest bit mellow and assuring me. I guess people do change.

We turned our attention back to the television again. The silence this time was comforting until he cleared his throat.

"Jake?"

"What?"

"Listen. I just want you to know. I know Rachel says this is a great opportunity for you but I know you're going with the vamps just to be near Nessie. I don't really trust them the way you and Seth do. So I need you to do something for me. The minute they try something funny, you just give me a call. I'll round up the pack and we'll be there to back you up. Those vamps won't know what the fuck hit them."

Wow. I was probably staring at Paul as if he had grown another head. I had never seen him sound or look so sincere. I could only nod my head. Whatever I was expecting Paul to say, this was not it. In fact, in all the years that I've known Paul, this was the first time I've heard him speak so many words in one go.

"You do know that the Cullens are totally cool right?"

"Whatever. You have the whole fucking pack behind you. So just call if anything happens."

"Sure, sure. I got it. Thanks Paul. Appreciate it dude."

I was feeling touched and yet found myself fighting an overwhelming urge to laugh. We settled back to watch television again. Paul and I have come to an understanding now. We used to be hot headed and ever ready to fight over the slightest argument. But I guess we were brothers now and everything is going to be peace, love and harmony.

I leaned back against the back of the couch to get more comfortable and my arm brushed Paul's. He shoved me away with his shoulder and I shoved him back. By the time Rachel came over, his broken nose and my black eye were completely healed. Thank God for werewolf genes.

The Rabbit was sold for much more than I expected. I suspected that perhaps Edward or Carlisle had played a part in it, but then I found out that it was Rosalie who had arranged the sale. I think I know Blondie quite well to not have topped up the figure out of the goodness of her heart. It was only during a quick trip to Port Angeles, when I saw a metallic hot pink Rabbit with psychedelic purple flowers painted on it's sides, being driven by a teenaged girl, that I realised that Blondie must have really sold it for the sum I received. But I was still annoyed that she had totally emasculated my car prior to the sale.

I had brought the whole cheque to Alice, but she took only a grand and told me to use the rest of the money wisely. I guess having such 'gift' does come in handy. Let's see how fast she multiplies a thousand dollars. With the rest of the money, I bought some clothes, did some fixing up of the house for Billy, threw a party and the balance I gave to Rachel to use for Billy despite her protests.

My party was held the night before my departure date. The venue was First Beach again and it was to be my last bonfire night for some time. Esme had offered to arrange a caterer for me and I agreed. I wanted to give Emily a break from all her cooking and in a way I wanted to do something nice for everyone. Food seemed the ideal way to achieve this.

The caterer had brought the food to First Beach and Emily, Sam, Rachel, Paul and Seth were at hand to help with the unloading. I had to admit, for a vampire who'd eaten human food for the last time more than 50 years ago, Esme did know a lot about food. The aroma itself was kick starting lots of rumbling stomachs.

Overall, the party was a success. There were quite a few toasts made to me with root beer but there was quite a bit of sadness in everyone's eyes. When I announced that I will be back to visit often, there was a few sceptical looks which I ignored. Emily came by and gave me a scrap book. Flicking through it, I found lots of pictures of both packs and their families taken a various times. There were also pictures of Billy and Rachel and Rebecca and the last family picture taken with my mother before she died. Emily explained that she had been going around visiting everyone to collect the photographs for me. She felt this would be an appropriate gift so I won't ever forget them. I was touched. I finally felt like I was bringing a piece of home with me.

My pack brother's and sister gave me a jar of sand. So I could take a little bit of First Beach with me in case I got home sick. Quil later admitted that he got that cool idea from the three year old Claire.

I knew, as I pushed Billy's wheelchair towards home with Rachel and Paul behind me, of all the things I'll be bringing with me and whatever the future holds for me, this photo album and jar of sand will always be the most valuable possessions that I'll ever own.

Rachel came over to cook breakfast once again. I thanked her especially since, when she'd left for college, I did nothing but dance a joy dance at the thought of getting my own room. I shouldn't have reminded her of that because she snatched the last slice of bacon from my plate and gave it to Paul. He was very vocal as he savoured the bacon and explained to me just how tasty it was.

"This swine is divine, dude."

Jackass.

Edward was going to pick me up. He had rented a car and we were driving to Seattle to catch a flight. The entire fleet of the Cullen vehicles had already been shipped to Hanover. The bike that Bella had given me; that I had fixed up had also been shipped. Somehow I didn't have the heart to part with that bike and Edward had not brought it up in his financial planning.

My paltry possessions had also been shipped off earlier. I was leaving behind the few shorts and t'shirts that I had been rotating this past week. Right now I was dressed in one of my new blue jeans, a black t'shirt and my only pair of sneakers. I had my trusty old parka draped over the couch. My small carryon bag contained my photo album, my jar of sand, a thick sandwich that Rachel made and insisted that I take along and other odds and ends.

Then I heard a car pull up in front of my house. Opening the door I found Edward, Bella and Nessie grinning at me. I invited them in and Nessie ran straight to Billy and climbed into his lap.

"Oh Billy! Don't be sad. I will take good care of Jake for you. I promise!"

Billy smiled. Seriously, how can you hold a grudge against perfection? He awkwardly patted Nessie's hand and said gruffly, "I'll hold you to your promise Renesmee. My son's happiness is in your hands."

Nessie looked at her hands in puzzlement. Billy's words were a little too deep for her ten year old mind. Plus she knew nothing about imprinting. Bella urged her off Billy's lap. Then Bella had a hug for Billy which was accepted although I could tell he was uncomfortable. Edward shook Billy's hand and told Billy not to worry about me. Then he ushered his family out to wait in the car to give me the chance to make my final goodbyes.

I placed a hand on Billy's shoulder. He reached up and placed his hand on mine on his shoulder. "Take care, son." That's Billy's style. The strong and silent type.

"Sure, sure. You just make sure you behave yourself when I'm gone ok. No late night parties or wheelchair races, got it?"

Billy just chuckled. Rachel and Paul stood watching from the kitchen doorway. She came over and hugged me tight and told me to have fun. I sighed dramatically and said "If you insist." That earned a poke on my side from her as she released me. I nodded at Paul and he nodded back.

Later, sitting in the back seat of the SUV with Nessie strapped into the child seat beside me, I watched the scenery go by, memorising the colours and smells that was on this corner of Washington. I noticed flashes of fur now and then and knew that it was just my brothers biding their goodbye.

I will be back to La Push one day. This is my land and these are my people and one day I will be back with them. This will be the mantra running thru my head over the next few years as I learned and grew and evolved.

Bella had to keep her sunglasses on for the duration of the entire trip. I knew that she was carrying a few boxes of coloured contact lenses in her purse, and she'd dart into washrooms to put on when she needed to remove her sunglasses. Her eyes were still red, but Edward was sure that was only going to be for a few more months.

Everything was a new experience for Nessie and she was silent as she took every sight. The little girl's self control was amazing as not once did she attempt to bite anyone. Edward had his eye on Bella and he was trusting me to watch out for Nessie.

Despite how bossy she behaves with my pack members and her extended family, she was still a shy little thing in front of strangers. When a stewardess came by and offered her some colouring books and pencils, Nessie got so shy that she hid her head in my side, unable to talk, and no amount of coaxing could convince her to look up and say thank you. Later, when the stewardess has chuckled and walked away, Nessie started communicating with me using her gift. She wanted to know why she was given the books and pencils and why total strangers were smiling at her so happily. We never heard a word from her for the duration of the entire trip. A shy Nessie was something that we were not used to and that kept Edward, Bella and me amused.

When we reached our destination, the rest of the Cullen clan met us at the airport. Since it was late, and Nessie was groggy, the decision was for Blondie and Emmett to take Bella, Edward and Nessie to Edward and Bella's new place while I was to go with Carlisle and Esme to their house. Alice who was bouncing with energy was coming to Carlisle's place with Jasper too. I was not too happy to be separated from Nessie but I gave in anyway.

We drove up to a huge house. Really, do these vamps do anything in moderation? Esme wanted to take me for a tour around the house immediately. The living room was decorated in Esme's signature white, the kitchen was huge and fully stocked. This was going to be my favourite room. There was a bedroom on the ground floor with an attached bathroom.

"For Billy when he comes to visit you", she smiled.

Esme and Carlisle's kindness astounds me. We were supposed to be natural enemies and here she was being a surrogate mother to me.

The second floor was for Esme and Carlisle's use. He had an office, she had something she called a parlour done up in creams and pastels. Their bedroom was also on this floor.

My bedroom and two guestrooms were on the third floor. My room was huge. My bed was huge. Esme explained that my bed was custom built since I was too tall to fit into a regular bed. I was impressed and touched. That bed looked very very comfortable. There was a huge flatscreen television mounted on the wall facing my bed and an extra large couch at the foot of the bed. I can watch tv lying in bed or sitting on the couch. I couldn't help but notice the music system and the dvd player. Wow! How am I going to get any studying done? That's when I noticed the huge desk, the bookshelves and the laptop against one wall. Hmm..

Alice was bouncing with excitement. She wanted me to check out the bathroom. I loved it. It was huge and I knew there was no way I was going to knock my head on the showerhead or ever need to bend down to rinse my hair. The sink was also higher than regular sinks and it occurred to me that even this bathroom had been custom built. I couldn't help noticing the toiletries spread out on the bathroom counter. I figured this was all Alice's doing from the way she was practically hopping up and down.

"Wow! This is very nice." I told her.

"Wait till you see your closet."

The 'closet' seemed to be a room of its own and it was filled with clothes I had never seen before.

"Alice has decided to dress you too like she does for us. There is no point in arguing Jacob. Just accept it." Esme advised.

This rankled. And I turned to Alice.

"This is too much. I can't accept this. I -"

The pixie didn't let me finish. "Save it Jacob. Do you honestly think you can say anything that Edward, Emmett, Jasper, Carlisle or Bella haven't already said?"

She had a point there, but I was not happy about it. Esme quickly guided me to the two guest rooms. The beds and bathroom fixtures here seemed to be custom made for wolves too but there were double sinks in these bathrooms. One higher, and one regular.

"For when your sister or other pack members come to visit you." Esme explained.

Wow. She was thorough.

We finally headed for the kitchen. Jasper met us at the foot of the stairs. He had a cell phone for me. He explained that it was a gift from him to me and would really appreciate it if I accepted it. I was still tongue tied as the pixie floated to my side and insisted that my first call be to my father. I guess I had no choice but to accept it. I thanked Jasper and called my father. All the numbers seems to be programmed into my phone already. Damn, these vampires think of everything.

The call to my father was brief. Because we were cool like that.

"Hey dad, we've just arrived at the house."

"Did you have a good flight?"

"Oh yes. Listen dad, this is my new number. So you can call me anytime, okay?"

Billy took down the number "I'll pass it on to everyone, especially to your sisters. Take care, son."

"You too, dad."

Then it was time to eat. Day one in vampire haven was so not what I expected.

A/N – I'm trying to show Jacob's maturity as he grows. This is his mind when he was 17. I'll never know if I've achieved this unless I get some reviews. Without your criticism, I'll never be able to improve. All comments will be appreciated.