As annoyed as she felt, Grace still insisted on being taken back to La Push long before she knew Jacob would be home. She liked to be home when he got there. He always looked at her with this expression of utter relief and happiness. The first she thing did when she got back home was to hop in the shower. Even though she knew Jacob would be hot and sweaty when he got back, and that they'd inevitably get hot and sweaty together, she could not bring herself to wait in her gross dance clothes.
The instant she felt the hot water on her back she began to relax. The knowledge that Jacob would soon be home made the whole world seem better She was washing her hair when she heard a noise. It was much too early for Jake to be home, plus he always liked to make a nice loud entrance. Billy always announced himself for fear that he'd catch them in an intimate situation. She felt herself tense, and waited. She heard nothing, 'I'm being silly, all these silly restrictions are making me paranoid, there's no one here but me and I probably just imagined that noise." With that she went back to allowing the steaming hot water relax her knotted muscles. Suddenly she felt hands on her waist, and she screamed with all the volume she could muster.
"BABY! BABY! It's just me, calm down, calm down, stop screaming, It's me, It's Jake."
Grace had swung around prepared to fight for her life, only to be faced with the one charged with protecting it. At the sight of Jacob, Grace felt herself crumble to the shower floor and sob. At the same time Sam, Quil, and Embry came bursting through the door.
"Jake, we heard screams"
"is it Victoria?"
" is Grace alright?" All three of the young werewolves were shouting over one and other.
"No it was just me, I tried to surprise her, and instead scared the living daylights out of her." Suddenly Jake seemed to realize that grace was still on the floor crying, totally naked. He grabbed a towel and scooped her up.
Turning to face his brother's, he said with some force. "Now could you please, kindly, get the hell out!"
Realizing that they had clearly seen somethings they weren't supposed to Sam turned and left, with Quil and Embry mumbling apologies as they stumbled after him.
Jacob carried Grace into the bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed and began to rock her.
"Baby, I'm sorry, but please you need to calm down, you're really scaring me."
Finally Grace seemed to regain some composure. She stood up, wrapped the towel around herself and stepped away from him, "Scaring you? I've been living in constant fear for the past month. peeking around every corner, locking every door, and it strikes you as a good idea to sneak up on me in the shower? What were you thinking?"
"I know, it was dumb. I just heard you in the shower, and it seemed like a golden opportunity. I'm sorry. Come here." He reached out and grabbed her hips playfully tugging her towards him. "Forgive me?"
Grace bowed her head, "I'm just not sure how much longer I can handle this."
"We'll catch her soon baby, and then things will mellow out, everything will be alright."
as she turned and went back into the bathroom to get dressed, she realized Jacob didn't understand what she meant at all. She knew she'd hurt his feelings by walking away from him like that. It was just the idea of living forever with Jacob seemed like a dream come true, but the idea of living forever in Forks, at La Push was making her sick to her stomach.
