A/N: All, first of all, thank you for clicking. I hope you enjoy this as much as I have enjoyed writing it.

Also, this is purely a work of fiction. My name is most definitely NOT Stephanie Meyer so clearly Twilight doesn't belong to me.

To those who reviewed/favorite/alerted me… You are all very awesome and welcoming people. As I've mentioned, I'm new here so it's nice to feel so welcome!

Run Right Into You

Chapter 3: All We Are

It's funny how life has a way of drawing you right back to the last place you want to be.

Charlie was sick. Not in the "cough, cough, I don't feel so good" way, it was more in in the "I'm sorry, I don't remember your name, who are you again?" way.

Alzheimer's. She'd gotten the call a month earlier.

Flashback

"Bells, its dad."

She dropped her notes for her pysch class final and sat back against her headboard to engage in conversation with her father for a few minutes.

"What's up pops?" She asked conversationally.

Her question was met with a momentary silence. Those were never good. Charlie wasn't much for words but when he had some to get out, he usually got them out quickly and directly.

"I didn't want to do this over the phone but you're so damned set against coming back here… And Sue told me she'd call if I didn't…" He muttered, clearly uncomfortable with the weight of their conversation.

She stiffened. Something was clearly wrong.

"I've been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, Bells. It's early but it's progressing. I know you got a life now, but I just thought… I just didn't want you to call one day and find out I don't know who you are." He choked out, doing his best to keep his tears at bay.

Bella squeezed her eyes shut and swallowed her sob.

"I'm done in a month. I'll be back then." Past be damned, she wasn't going to lose her father because of her pride.

"Bella, you don't-" He attempted feebly.

She knew asking her to return was not part of her plan. Her father was many things, underhanded was not one of them.

"Dad, it's my life, it's my choice. I'm done in a month. I'll be back then.

End Flashback

She kept her word. She spoke with her father daily and finished her final year at KU. She graduated with a degree in education and a minor in small business studies. She packed up her apartment, said goodbye to the few friends she'd made along the way and boarded a plane bound for Seattle.

He'd insisted on picking her up. She'd debated asking him if he was in any condition to be doing that but thought better of it.

Her plane landed in Seattle a bit after 6 pm. She gathered her single piece of luggage she'd brought along. She'd thought ahead and shipped her belongings to her father ahead of her.

As promised, Charlie was waiting in the express pick up line outside. It was drizzling and cool when she passed through the automated doors. She shouldered her carry on and her face broke into a smile at the sight of her ancient red truck.

Bella tossed her suitcase in the back and wrenched open the passenger side door.

He greeted her with a small grin and a hard, one armed hug. "Good to have you back kiddo, even if it isn't under the best circumstances." He muttered as he navigated them out of the busy airport.

She offered a small half smile and sighed. "Dad, let's not… Let's not worry about why I'm here ok?" She suggested softly.

"You got it Bells." He agreed with a quiet sigh of his own.

The drive back to Forks was over 3 hours long but for once, the drive didn't bother her. The trip back was filled with conversation, a bit of a rarity for father and daughter, as neither of them had never been much for words when it came to one another. Perhaps it was the prospect of losing her father to a memory crippling illness that provoked her desire to talk to him.

"How're things at the rez? You mentioned Sue, but what about the Blacks?" She questioned cautiously. Charlie was far from stupid, he'd known a bit of her history with Jake, but she felt compelled to ask, she needed to know what she was dealing with.

Charlie cleared his throat and sent her a side glance. "Well I guess I should tell you." He murmured, switching hands on the steering wheel.

She turned to face her father, braced herself for whatever he might have to say.

"He's married, Bells. He married a Makah girl named Sydney. I think she's Jake's friend's cousin. They got married awhile after you left. They uh… They have a daughter… She's 3. Her name's Libby."

Bella swallowed deeply and took a moment to process the new information. She'd gotten over the loss of Jake during her time in Kansas. It had proved to be a bigger feat than she'd originally anticipated but she'd done it. She'd done it because she couldn't… she couldn't go back to that person she'd been when Edward had left. That person… That girl… That wasn't her anymore.

But this information? It was more than a little tough to swallow. She had to push it aside though. She wasn't here for Jake. She was here for Charlie.

"Thanks for telling me, dad. That's good… I'm glad he's happy. Does… Does he know I'm coming back?" She forced out, turning her gaze to the window, not entirely sure what she wanted the answer to be.

"Well, I imagine he must. Billy knows I called you. I mentioned to him you were coming back." He admitted at last.

To this, she said nothing.

Charlie, thankfully, seemed to understand she was no longer interested in speaking about Jake and moved the conversation to more neutral territory.

It was late when he pulled into the drive. She grabbed her bag before he could and made her way inside. A cursory check of the kitchen rendered a bare cupboard and nearly empty fridge. She'd go shopping in the morning.

She kissed Charlie's cheek and bid him goodnight before making her way up to her old room.

It remained unchanged, though she could tell it had been cleaned recently.

Sue, I'm sure. Charlie's incapable of picking up a can of Pledge.

Her few boxes of belongings were stacked neatly against the far wall. She dropped her bag and dug through it. She quickly removed a set of pajamas and tossed them on the bed. A bit more digging provided a pair of dark jeans, a hunter green long sleeved tee and a fresh set of underwear for the morning. She planned to hit the grocery store first thing when she got up.

Sleep came easily that night, despite the never ending thoughts that insistently swirled through her mind.

Her alarm blared out the 7 am hour loudly in her ear. She smacked the old clock twice before it mercifully shut off.

Bella stumbled sleepily to the small bathroom down the hall from her room.

The shower was warm and inviting. She let herself linger, enjoying the warmth the hot beads of water provided. Her skin pinked under the heat of the shower. It was 7:30 by the time she'd exited the shower, dressed, and made her way downstairs.

She surveyed the meager supplies in her father's kitchen before putting together a list of necessary groceries. Charlie ambled in just as she was slipping the list into her bag.

He poured himself a cup of coffee and turned to face his only child. "Grocery store?" He asked, already knowing the answer to the question.

"Yep. Can't cook without the basics." She replied softly.

He grinned. "Can't say I'm disappointed that you'll be cooking. Here, use my card." He told her, pulling his debit card from his wallet.

"Dad, I-"

He cut her off. "Do you really think I'm going to let my daughter pay for my groceries?" Charlie questioned, his eyebrows in his hair.

She sighed and shook her head. "Go on. Honk when you get back and I'll help you unload." He told her as he tucked the paper under his arm and headed off to the living room to catch up on the day's events.

Bella was happy to find the grocery store layout had not changed. She grabbed a cart and began her journey through the aisles.

She hadn't made it but four aisles when she swung around a corner and right into a display of a new brand of barbeque sauce.

Her face flamed as she scrambled to the mess, quickly replacing the fallen bottles, thanking the grocery gods for packaging the sauce in plastic bottles.

"Well, it's nice to see that even after 5 years, you're still you." A voice above and behind her commented, obviously amused.

She whipped around and found herself eye to knee with a man and his cart. Her gaze shifted upwards to his face.

"Embry!" She exclaimed, a smile broke across her face. The barbeque sauce forgotten, she leapt to her feet and threw her arms around the tall Quileute. He felt just as firm and muscular as she remembered. She'd missed this warmth, the way it felt to wrap around one of them. His muscles rippled under her touch and she briefly considered never letting go.

He didn't hesitate to return the warm gesture. His arms wrapped easily around the petite woman and he squeezed back firmly. Her head came only to his chest, his arms engulfed her.

Bella stepped back a moment later and offered him a grin. "It's really great to see you. I was hoping I might run into you guys soon." She admitted, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

He opened his mouth to reply but a touch on her back surprised her. She whirled around.

There, sitting in the cart, was a small child with dark hair, deep brown eyes and the russet skin of a native.

She offered the little girl a small smile. "Hi there. I'm Bella. What's your name?"

"Libby!" The little one proclaimed with a toothy grin.

Bella stiffened at the little girl's announcement of her name.

A firm hand on her shoulder brought her back to the moment.

"Bella… I'm sorry, I didn't know you'd be here and… I'm watching her right now… Jake had to…" He fumbled lamely for an explanation but came up with nothing other that stuttered half sentences.

She laid a comforting hand on his arm, instantly soothed by the overwhelming warmth he radiated.

"Embry… It's alright. You have nothing to apologize for; it's not as if I called you to tell you I was coming to the store." She reminded him, her voice soft but firm.

"Still, I'm sure this is awkward for you… With the past and all… The way it all shook out… You shouldn't have had to find out that way." He murmured, his own cheeks tinged red from embarrassment.

At that, she froze. "What… Who… I didn't…"

He offered her a small smile. "I saw you… In the woods. I saw you when Sam announced Jake's imprinting. I saw you run away. I'm just… God, Bella, I'm so sorry. I should have… God, I should have done something, you know? I felt so terrible about the whole situation." He grated out, obviously uncomfortable.

"Em, listen. That was… That was a long time ago. You have nothing to apologize for, because you did nothing wrong. I've moved on. I'm fine, I promise." She assured him with a genuine smile.

He nodded, a small grin stretched across his face.

She turned briefly to pick up the last few dropped bottles of sauce before she straightened and turned to her cart, prepared to make her exit. She hadn't noticed he'd stepped closer to her.

"So if you're really ok, would it be out of line for me to ask you to go for a cup of coffee tonight, catch up maybe?" His hand was resting on her forearm, his voice was tentative and deep.

Bella smiled at the tall man she'd grown to consider a friend all those years ago. His dark eyes bore intensely into hers. She felt a small shiver run down her spine.

"I would love to. The diner?" She proposed.

"How about Sue's diner on the rez around 8? If that's ok?" He suggested as he fished out his phone. He silently handed it to her.

She knew what he wanted. She took it from him and in turn, handed him her own phone.

They quickly programmed their numbers and handed the phones back.

"Sounds perfect, I'll see you at 8." Belle replied. She stepped forward and wrapped him in a quick hug. "I'm glad I ran into you, it's been far too long." She whispered against his ear.

His arms tightened around her. "It has. I'm glad you're back, I plan to make it very tough for you if you ever try to leave again." He replied as he pulled back. He smiled warmly and squeezed her shoulder one last time.

She turned to Libby. "Bye Libby." She said softly, stroking the arm of the little girl. Libby giggled and waved awkwardly.

Bella finished her shopping in peace, her mind still on her interaction with Embry. She had spent plenty of time with the man during her motorcycle rebuilding days with Jake all those years ago, she truly had considered him a friend. But today… Today felt a touch different. She found herself looking forward to exploring what exactly felt so different.

She checked out, loaded the bags into her truck and pointed the old truck home.

Bella honked the horn twice as she pulled up to her father's house. The door didn't immediately open, so she slid out and started pulling bags out, placing them in front of the stoop so she could get them in easier.

She yanked out the fourth round of bags, turned and slammed into a uniformed chest. She backed up a step and nearly fell backwards onto her butt. Said chest also had arms and used them to keep her from keeling over.

"Man, you still have shit for balance. Guess some things never change." The chest muttered.

She turned her gaze up and her jaw dropped.

Paul Lahote. Officer Paul Lahote.

"Not nice to stare, Swan. Kinda rude, in fact. You need help or not?" He questioned, his massive arms crossed over his chest, eyebrow cocked.

She rolled her eyes. "I'm good, Officer." She replied, drawing out her last word.

He barked out a laugh. "I do fill out the uniform pretty well, huh?" He suggested with a smirk. The uniform indicated he worked for the La Push Police Department.

She quirked her lips at him. "I guess the expression really does fit in this situation." She mused as she picked up a couple of bags and moved around him to go inside.

"What expression would that be Swan?" He asked as he swept up the rest of the bags and followed her.

"If you can't beat em', join em'." She threw back.

He cackled his response. "Look at you with a sense of humor. That's new. They teach you how to be funny out in Kansas?" He teased as he set the bags on the counter and turned his brawny body towards her.

"They taught me a lot in Kansas." She shot back with a wry grin. It had always been this way with Paul. They'd never really gotten to know each other all those years ago. They did, however, call a tentative truce. He promised Sam he'd stop calling her 'leech lover' and she swore she'd stop provoking their most volatile member. After that, the ragging was endless between the two. She'd never admit it to him, but she'd missed him a bit when she'd left.

She moved to turn back to the task at hand when he moved to her side. "For the record Swan, I did beat em', many times." He informed her, his mouth close to her ear, his breath hot against her skin.

Bella ticked an eyebrow at his statement. "I'm sure you did Paul, I'm sure you did." She mocked him, stroking a soothing hand down his bare forearm.

"Any excuse to touch me huh?" He slung back, his smirk firmly in place.

She opened her mouth to reply but she was cut off.

"Bella, I've been looking everywhere for my debit card, have you seen it?" Charlie questioned as he strode into the kitchen, wallet in hand.

She felt Paul's eyes on her. She smiled softly at her dad and took a step forward as she fished it out of her back pocket. "Here dad, you gave it to me this morning, to pay for the groceries."

"Groceries?" He wondered, his brow furrowed in confusion.

"Yeah dad, I left a few hours ago. You were out of food." She explained quietly, doing her best to hold back the watery tears that threatened to spill over.

She waited for recognition to spread across his face, prayed for the dawn of understanding but got nothing.

"Oh, right, of course. I must've forgotten. Thanks Bells." He replied awkwardly as he shoved the card back into his wallet. He turned and beat a hasty retreat.

Paul's eyes were sympathetic now, void of any mirth. "Don't you go soft on me Lahote, I don't need pity from anyone, least of all you." She warned as she braced herself on the kitchen counter and lowered her head to take it in. She knew she'd have to deal with it eventually, but the firsthand experience was still a bit daunting.

He was at her side in an instant. He rested a warm palm on her back. "It's not pity Swan. It's support. Get used to it, you're going to need it." He reassured her, his voice low and rumbly.

She attempted to rein it in, she really did, but seeing it, seeing her father battling the disease… She broke. She moved from the counter and turned her back to Paul before she swiped a hand across her face to clear the tears.

It didn't matter that she'd turned. A warm arm banded around her waist and spun her into his warm chest. Stupid wolfy sense of smell probably caught the scent of tears before they'd even fallen.

He gripped her for a few more seconds, let her cry on his chest, grieve for the loss of her father's memory before he pulled back.

Paul stooped to her height and gripped her shoulders in his hands. "Now you listen to me Swan. You had your moment, hell I'm sure you probably needed that. But now, it's done. That man needs you. He needs you be strong. He needs you to keep it together, we all do. You coming back here has been a big deal to Charlie and I'll be damned if I'm going to let you sit here and sob about this. It's happening, Swan, whether you like it or not. Now, go to the bathroom, dry your eyes, blow your nose and pull yourself together. When you come back, I expect you to be your normal pain in the ass self, get me?" He asked. His voice was firm but not harsh. His intentions were clear. He wasn't trying to be mean or hurtful; he was just trying to convey how important it was for her to hold herself together.

She squeezed his arm in appreciation and ducked into the bathroom.

As he requested, she returned a few minutes later as her "normal self" and resumed putting groceries away.

"Why are you here anyways?" She asked as she stacked the cans in the cuboard.

He grinned at her blunt question. That's more like it.

"Your dad asked me over. He offered me a job here in Forks." Paul replied easily as he put the meat in the freezer.

"Oh yeah? What job?" She pressed as she turned to him.

She watched him closely. His shoulders dropped and his eyes closed briefly.

She took a step closer. "What job Paul?" She repeated, her tone lowered as she approached him.

He sighed out a heavy breath and turned to her. "His job. He wants me to be the new Chief here in Forks. Something about wanting to bow out gracefully. The department said he could pick whoever he wanted. He picked me."

Her shoulders slumped and she gripped her lower lip between her teeth as she held on to her self control as tightly as possible.

He sniffed quietly for tears but there were none.

"Well, I suppose it's good that he's prepared. I guess we'll be doing a lot of that in the next few months." She sighed out at last.

He let out an audible breath and nodded.

"What?" She asked, an eyebrow raised in question to his uncharacteristically quiet response.

"Nothing, just nice to see you listen to me once in awhile." He offered with a cheeky smile.

The groceries finished, she turned to the man standing in what she'd deemed her kitchen.

"Alright, I'm going to leave you to it, I'm going to head upstairs and get unpacked."

He nodded and she turned to leave.

A warm hand shot out to grab her wrist. She stopped and slid her gaze to his and waited.

"Swan, I'm glad you're here. We all are. We… We missed you." His thumb traced a pattern across the underside of her wrist.

Paul was rarely serious or sincere so she knew better than to take the obvious opportunity to mock him.

"I missed you too Paul." She whispered back, her dark eyes held his gaze, neither wavered nor looked away.

After a moment, he released her wrist. He offered her a nod and she started up the stairs.

"Swan?" He called up after her.

"Paul."

"I'm off tomorrow and Monday night." He informed her as he shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Well, that's great Paul. I'll make a note in my planner." She chirped back with a smirk as she leaned her slender frame against the railing.

"Great. Write 'Drinks and pool with Paul at 9 pm at Mill Creek Bar and Grill' in for tomorrow night."

She stared at him blankly. Was he… Was he asking her out?

"What? I'd guess you're just as bad at pool now as you were 5 years ago, but I'd still like to see for myself." He offered with a shrug and a self satisfied smirk.

"Suck it Lahote."

"Anytime Swan."

A/N: I OFFICIALLY HAVE A BETA! SUPER EXCITED! SO EXCITED THAT I SUBMITTED THIS WITHOUT HER FINAL SEAL!

She did assure me she liked it so I'm hoping for the best.

So now, Paul and Embry have made their entrances. I'm pretty excited about this chapter, I hope you enjoyed.