The trip to up to Washington was a long one after the rushing in the studio to write and record for their music videos. Kichi climbed aboard the bus and nearly passed out on the little mattress with her notebook in her lap and pencil in hand. Ryuki could only cover her up and take the items from her hand and let her rest. She'd recovered mostly from the trauma and the incident and spent a lot of time with Jacob over the last week. He would never, never, ever admit it out loud but he could see that the man was good for her, so he allowed it. The moment it even looked like his sister was in danger, he'd yank Jacob's balls off like a wet paper towel. Something that he told the other very blatantly. Jacob only laughed at the obvious humor in the statement. Ryuki didn't think he understood that he was being serious, but didn't explain that.

Of course Rosalie saw the benefits of having the other around and offered Jacob a couple of free tickets and backstage passes to the show that was sold out in Port Angles to get the man to come to Washington with them and keep Kichi moving. He looked at the tickets and took them gladly. He wasn't planning on going, but he supposed that he should. It would also give him a chance to go see his family, not to mention it was the best peace offer he could ever bring back.

"Where are we staying?" Kichi asked from her work space at the recording bench with headphones around her neck.

"We have to find separate housing for you," Ryuki said. "There's no telling how long that bastard has been looking at our schedule."

She huffed and puffed her cheeks.

"She can stay with me..."Jacob said slowly, causing the entire group to look at him."I'm from Washington...My house isn't in the city and it's probably a hell of a lot safer than a hotel."

Kichi shook her head, "I wouldn't want to be a burden..."

He scoffed, "The only burden would be my cousins. I've got three of them that are in love with the band-especially you."

She laughed a little as Rosalie grinned and nodded. The deal was that they would meet at the hotel and Jacob would take her to his house after they'd arrived and be her chaffeur and guide while she was there...In return she might have to sign a few autographs and make meals. Arriving in Port Angeles in the dead of night made her shiver but it was probably the safest she could ever be once they'd all entered the hotel to help the others unpack and snuck through the back to reach Jacob's car so they could start the drive towards the La Push Reservation.

"You live on the reservation?" She asked looking through the seemingly endless forest.

"Yeah... I haven't been back...in three years."

"Oh?" She asked. "I'm sure your family will be happy to see you! I feel awkward coming along with you like this though...but thank you..."

He shrugged, "There was no point in making things more complicated for you all when I could lend a hand. At least this way no one is going to come after you. It's nearly impossible to get into the reservation without someone to guide you... not to mention the guards."

"G-Guards?" She asked.

"My people believe in screening everyone that enters the reservation."

She nodded in understanding as a small station was nearing them on the driver's side of the road and the car slowed to a stop as two men came up towards the car. Jacob was digging for some sort of charm: a wolf howling at the moon on a leather rope. The two men nodded and they were allowed to continue the journey into the reservation.

"We'll have to make a quick stop off at friend's house...if that's okay?"

"It's fine! My safety is in your hands after all."

Jacob tried not to laugh at that as the car turned down another dirt road towards a house lit up with warmth and love from the inside. He parked and took a deep breathe. She looked over at him. If his expression didn't give it up, he found a way to make his entire body more tense that necessary. He seemed to be leaning forward while moving to retreat. She wasn't sure if he was about to run forward or back to the car and leave her standing there with no context and nothing to say to the people inside the house.

"You seem...nervous."

"I haven't contacted anyone on the Reservation in almost three years..."

She blinked and smiled gently, opening the door and stepping out heading towards the house, catching Jacob off guard. She was already at the door at

"K-Kichi what are you-"

By then the inhabitants had heard the car and had come out of the house just as Jacob was getting out of the car. Sam Uley was carrying a shotgun and a lantern as he looked out it the darkness and Jacob stood by the car staring blankly at the man that was looking at Kichi as if she were someone familiar and lost. She turned towards him and bowed and he almost chuckled at her formality.

"Hello, I'm Kichi. That man that's looking over here is Jacob. Jacob Black. He was a little nervous to get out of the car so-"

Jacob covered her mouth with slightly blushing cheeks as Sam lowered the gun and came down the steps to get a better look at the pair.

"Jake?" He asked in disbelief.

Jacob chuckled nervously, "What's up, Sam?...It's...uhm... been a while."

Sam started to smile and that smile slowly turned into a happy laughter as he pull Jacob in for a tight hug and continued to laugh. A woman carrying a baby, another woman, and three other men peered out of the house trying to figure out what on earth was going on.

"Sam, who is it?"

"It's Jake!" He cried pulling back and turning his head to shout back at them. "Come on in, both of you."

Jacob subtly glared at her but she beamed at him with a grin.

"The direct approach is always the best," she chimed following them in as Sam forced Jacob in front of him to enter the house. It was a nice house, cozy, had built and sturdy. She marveled at the hand carved pillars and the warmth that emanated from the house. It reminded her of home when her parents were still alive.

Jacob knew the house like the back of his hand and in all these years he had never forgotten a single detail. The rugs were all in place and now Emily, Sam's wife, was carrying a baby boy around. He remembered getting the postcard of the ultrasound of the newest addition to the tribe, but he hadn't been in the country to come see the baby...even if he was, he wasn't sure how he would have managed to come with Bella always being in the center of his life. That was three months prior and the baby was still pre-crawling age. He looked so much like Sam and Emily that it was scary... scarier than he'd ever imagined, but so damned cute. But not terrifying. What was terrifying was to see his father, Quil, Embry,Jared, and staring up at him in disbelief and confusion. He had no doubt changed a lot from the last time they'd seen him, as they had changed a lot from the last time he'd been there. His father had a few more strands of gray in his hair, though he didn't look much different in his wheelchair. His sisters were there too, with their husbands. It was like a family reunion and it chilled his blood to think that it was just a coincidence...

Or a long overdue come-uppance.

"Jake?" His father gasped seeing him in the doorway, with Kichi skilfully keeping out of the way.

The house was silent waiting for him to say something. He worried his lip and cleared his throat before speaking...

"I uh... I was in town... I thought... Well..."

"Where the hell have you been all this time?" Rebecca, his eldest sister yelled at him. "We were worried sick! After all that stuff about you and Bella, we hadn't heard from you in so long. We were worried about you Jacob! Why didn't you contact any of us?"

Well, there it is, he thought. The thing that everyone wanted to ask, the thing that everyone wanted to know...The what happened to you? He knew they weren't really angry at him, so much as with him for not contacting them, but that couldn't be helped considering the way his life was. He sighed and hung his head a little.

"It's...a long story," he said softly. "But that's not an excuse. I'm sorry, I never meant to... to do that, to stop speaking with any of you...Things just got a little out of hand."

His father rolled himself towards them, gliding towards him to give him a solid punch in the stomach. It didn't hurt but he watched his father's expression for some sign of anger, all he could find was relief.

"Are you alright now?" Billy asked.

Jacob nodded, "Yeah... I'm getting there."

"Good! Cause you owe us about three years worth of information!" Billy said.

Quil and Embry cheered in agreement and pulled him down onto the couch with them forgoing the lecture about how hurt they were in favor of quizzing him about his work and his life, careful to skate around the edge of the Bella subject. He'd been answering question after question for about thirty minutes before Quil's eyes caught the woman that had come in with him, skillfully fading into the background and admiring the sleeping baby in Emily's arms.

"Uhm...Jake. Why is there a Kichiyuki look a like here with you?" Quil asked.

She blushed and bowed slightly, "Sorry. That was really rude of me. My name is Kichiyuki Romano. Please just call me Kichi-"

"The...real Kichiyuki Romano?" Quil asked.

The stars in his eyes were getting brighter as she smiled and affirmed his assumption. Embry whistled.

"What a hell of an upgrade Jake! I might have to come visit you in California if this is what your girlfriend upgrade was!"

Jacob flushed and Kichi laughed.

"We're not dating."

"Yet," Embry said.

"Never!" Quil countered, "Our nerdy Jake couldn't handle a woman like Kichi. She is the lead singer of Kichi Codec after all."

"And you think you're a better choice?" Embry asked skeptically. "Is that before or after you show her the shrine you have of her in your-"

Embry's words were muffled by Quil's hand over his mouth and a very serious death threat. Kichi could only laugh at the scene as the rest of the family was starting to recognize her, even Billy recognized her, which was the most surprising. He only shrugged and said that Leah had mentioned the progress of Jacob's work when he called her to check up on Jacob. Jacob sighed and rubbed his eyes and Quil turned his attention back to Kichi.

"So there is a concert in Port Angeles then isn't there? At the new stadium? It's been sold out for weeks!"

Jacob was reminded as he reached into his coat pocket to hand over the tickets and backstage passes. Quil took them into his hands and stared blindly at them.

"Courtesy of their manager," Jacob explained before someone else was asking something of him.

"Are you staying for dinner?" Rebecca asked.

He blinked and checked his watch. He hadn't realized that he'd driven them here around dinnertime and winced a little.

"I don't want to intrude..."

Kichi rolled her eyes and Sam swatted him over the head.

"You're family, stop being stupid. Are you eating with us, Ms. Kichi?"

"Oh please, just Kichi...but yes. I'd love to stay."

"See, she's gotten with the program," Rachel, his second oldest sister said and stood up to get to the kitchen. Leah looked more distraught than not and asked Kichi to hold the baby while she averted some sort of disaster in her kitchen.

Kichi's face lit up and she recieved the duty eagerly. The little guy, David, squirmed a little and settled in her arms as she took a seat on the couch beside Jacob.

"Oh he's so cute," she she said softly. Her eyes soft and warm staring down at the bundle in her arms who looked at her with curious eyes and grabby hands. He reached towards the glowing orbs in her face and she caught his hand in her own.

"Sorry champ, you can't have those. I need them to see sort of."

He gurgled and wriggled a little and laughed causing Kichi to laugh too and tease him a little more. Jacob watched in utter amazement and confusion, his heart was tight in his chest and he felt like he was about to melt into the carpet.

"She looks good with a baby in her arms," Quil commented.

"Yeah," Jacob agreed watching the scene.

"I wonder what she'd look like with your kid in her arms..."

"She'd look amazing," Jacob said offhandedly and stopped himself before turning blushing up at Quil and Embry who were high-fiving with victorious grins. Jacob huffed as Emily came back to announce that dinner was done and Kichi was given the seat in between Quil and Embry, aside from all the questions and conversation floating around Jacob. There a million more directed at Kichi about her upcoming performance.

"What's the setlist?"

"Are you nervous?"

"What's the setlist?"

"Are you ever nervous?"

"What's the setlist?"

"Can I have your autograph?"

Okay, so there were only a few questions but she laughed anyway. The setlist was secret and she let them in on the secret that she was always petrified up until the point when the music got started.

"Really?"

"Yep," she said. "My band members are so used to it by now that they don't even bother trying to calm me down. Once I get on stage and the music starts then it's alright."

They nodded in understanding and went on to ask about all the other band members and her lie, careful to skate around the topic of the attack at her house. Before anyone realized it dinner was don, desert was done, and it was time for everyone to head home. Rose called later that night to see if she got settled okay and to let her know about the schedule for the next day. Of course Jacob was told about it as he told her to take his old bed and that the bathroom was down the hall.

"If you need anything, let me know okay?"

"Okay...what about your Dad?"

Jacob smiled and shook his head, "Get some rest, okay? You have a show to practice for tomorrow."

She rolled her eyes and kissed his cheek, "Thanks Jake, you've been awesome."

He cleared his throat and bid her goodnight before heading to check on his Dad who was pulling himself into bed. He walked in and knelt by the bed for a moment and bit his lip.

"Dad, I...I just-"

Billy placed a hand on his head and told it was okay by ruffling his hair a bit.

"Get some rest Jake, you must be tired."

He nodded and turned the light off as he left the room heading towards the couch which was tons smaller than he remembered the last time he slept on it...that or he just got bigger which was probably more likely than anything. He fell asleep in the scent of home and the knowledge that he was sleeping under the same roof as a woman who wasn't full of it. He wasn't sure why that last thought made him feel so light, but he didn't stop to contemplate or worry about it either.

Jacob woke up in stages for the first time in three years. It was usually all or nothing but not it was like a slow recollection into consciousness. First, he could hear...

"I didn't know that..."

"Yeah, good old Jake is a good kid..."

"Wow...I can see...gets...from..."

What on earth?

Then the scent of freshly fried bacon, eggs, and hash browns hit him and made him salivate which lead to the realization that he had a serious case of morning breath.

Yuck...

Then it was the warmth of the blanket and the pain in his back from sleeping on the tiny couch. He relished in the feeling for a moment before another peal of laughter from the two parties came through the air and he was finally conscious enough to sit up, groan at the pain, and direct his sights towards the kitchen where the voices were coming from.

"You should be careful, Ms. Kichi. I might not allow you to leave here without marrying Jake first."

She laughed at that, "I don't think your son would appreciate that."

Jacob was walking into the kitchen area by then.

"Sure he would, wouldn't you Jake! She can cook and not burn down the kitchen! From scratch..."

Jacob looked in and drowsily scrubbed his face and twisted a bit to get the kink out of his back but it wasn't working very well.

"Are you alright?" She asked.

"It's just-ah... It's nothing."

"Here," she said gently placing a hand on his back and searching for the spot. "Is it here?"

He nodded with a wince and Billy watched, sipping his coffee amused as Kichi gave him a warning of a weird sensation, at which he yelped and said he felt a lot better afterwards.

"If you would have said you were sleeping on the couch, I would have told you not to be silly. I'm smaller than you it would have made more sense for me to sleep on the couch."

"Or for you two to share the bed."

"Exactly."

Jacob then wondered what kind of alternate universe he'd stumbled into and shook his head,

"Thank you... I'm going to take a shower now."

"Okay, breakfast is almost done," she told him returning to the stove dressed for the day already and flipping a pancake as he headed towards the bathroom trying to shake the feeling that his father knew how he felt about Kichi was doing his best to make her realize it too. Not that he needed any help with that as he was pretty sure that he was all types of obvious...at least for her brother but that may be because her brother was actively looking for any threat to his dear sister and Kichi wasn't quite so vigilant. He couldn't blame the girl, it was kind of tiring to always be on the look out for any sign of anyone else flirting with her. It probably happened so often that she just developed a sort of barrier to realizing it at all. He went back after a shower to join them for a fun filled breakfast before they were off to get Kichi to practice on time.

Jacob dropped her off and told her to call him when she was done. She wished him luck with hanging out with his family. Luck wasn't what he needed, what he needed was a drink. When he arrived back on the Reservation, his father insisted that he go see the elders, and their aunts, and everyone else that he hadn't seen in ages. There were at least three new children that he didn't remember, though a lot of them seemed to know who he was. The elders slapped him over the head in turn and hugged him, though not in that order and demanded to hear more about what happened.

"You've been gone so long, dear Jacob. We were afraid that you would never come back after being stolen away by that pale faced wench-"

"Language," Jill Wolf scolded before turning soft eyes on Jacob. "I'm sure he doesn't want to be reminded of what happened."

He sighed and admitted that it still hurt, but it wasn't nearly as bad as everyone seemed to think it was... or maybe it was worse and he just didn't know it. Either way, the conversation ended up drifting to "Who is that woman you've brought home with you?"

"After all this time of being with the pale face, you bring another woman home?"

He flushed, "Kichi is not my girlfriend."

They rose an eyebrow and looked in between each other. It was then he remembered that he never liked visiting the elders too much, they just knew too damn much.

"She's a client and she needed a place to stay that was safe..."

"That woman that got attacked in her apartment? Is that who you've brought home?"

He hung his head, trust the elders to be old but not out of the loop. Sometimes he wondered if they asked for his side of the story just to screw with him. He knew that Leah came home often enough to keep the entire tribe updated on him if they wanted to know, and everyone had a phone after all.

Of course they watch the news...

"Leah tells us that you have a liking for the girl, I would suggest not getting in too deep with someone who gets attacked in their apartment."

"I'll keep that in mind John, can I go now? I'm beginning to wonder if you aren't just elders but clairvoyant."

Jill rolled her eyes, "Perceptive is the word you're looking for. That and your father has already told us that he loves the girl, she can cook, and you are a little more than attracted to her. You'd better not be gone off with her as long as you were with that Bella girl. I'd still like a chance to strangle the pale faced wench."

John looked at her shocked, Jacob shook his head and the other elders scolded her, "Language."

He couldn't help but smile as he received their blessings and left the lodge. It was heart warming that despite his angst-ridden absence his people still loved and cared for him. A relief was probably a better word for it and it made his heart a little lighter as he walked through the Reservation getting reacquainted with the landscape. He remembered being in high school and rushing through the woods as fast as he could to reach the top of the cliffs overlooking the beach. It was quiet and peaceful and isolated. It was exactly what he needed at that time.

He climbed up onto a rock overlooking the beach with a sigh, it seemed like forever since he was back home and nothing had changed. He hoped that whoever, if he ever, decided to date again that he could bring them home and not have them freak out about the great outdoors.

I wonder if Kichi likes the outdoors...

He winced at the thought but lay back staring up into the dreary, cloudy sky with a deep was he in anyway? His heart tightened once more at the idea of one day arguing with her over drapes in their new home. Her stomach is swollen and she munching on a pickle in the giant overstuffed chair across the room.

Too damn deep to breathe...

He really hoped that he was just a domestic kind of guy rather than being in that deep.

"Alright, Kich', we're done for the day."

She pouted at her brother gazing out into the empty stadium. She wanted more time to practice.

"It's time to change your bandages, hon. And eat."

She knew she was defeated then and gave in, allowing her brother to change her bandages and give her food and medication.

"Just tea," she said. She really didn't like medication, although it was helpful it was wholly self destructing.

"Kich' you won't die from taking vicodin for a few days. You're so clean, you won't have to take that much."

"I don't like it... it doesn't taste good."

He laughed at that, "You're not supposed to chew it."

"Couldn't you get me the gummy painkillers? Advil works just fine-OW!"

He rose an eyebrow, "But aspirin works just as well right?"

She stuck out her tongue as Emmett came over with food setting up the on-stage picnic for the band with Jasper and Alice.

"So... Kichi," Emmett started mid-bite. "Have you an Jacob gotten down yet?"

Ryuki flushed and Kichi laughed, "Emmett! They are not dating!Right? Kich'?"

"Right," She replied with a sly grin. "And no, I haven't slept with Jacob."

Emmett huffed, "I could have sworn that he was going to jump you as soon as you two get alone... don't worry. As soon as you're feeling back to normal, he'll be there... probably with a saddle in hand."

Kichi laughed as Ryuki began on his tirade of his sister never dating again in life, but then Jacob and Rose were walking in and Emmett was grinning up at the two, pulling his wife down and into his lap.

"Emmett!"

"Have a seat, darling. You've been running around all day and as sexy as you are in your heels, I think you could use a break."

Rose huffed but didn't bother trying to get out of Emmett's hold. They didn't call him a teddy bear for no reason after all.

"I'm ready to go," Kichi piped up.

"Take your time," Jacob replied. "How was practice?"

"Successful and on schedule," Ryuki growled with a sly glare in Jacob's direction.

"Nii-san, stop glaring at Jacob. It's not very nice."

Ryuki growled and watched her get up from her seat and kiss his cheek before grabbing her satchel and heading out with Jacob.

"See you tomorrow guys!" She waved and followed Jacob out of the stadium towards his car.

"Why do I get the distinct feeling that your brother doesn't like me very much," Jacob asked as he opened the car door for her. She laughed.

"He doesn't like most guys that look at me, let alone those that I am friendly with..."

"I suppose you staying with me, away from him, isn't helping at all is it?"

"Not at all, but he'll be okay."

Before or after he tries to yank my sac off like a paper towel?

He closed the door and tried not to think about the icy cold of Ryuki's glare while Kichi was in his car with warm conversation and promises to cook dinner that night.

"It's the least I can do for letting me stay..."

"If you're not careful, my father might actually think we're dating."

She laughed, "Billy is quite the character..."

"Yeah... but he's great."

"That he is...and your sisters are a mess. I haven't laughed that hard in ages..."

He grinned at the memory of her sitting around with his sisters while he and Quil washed the dishes. It had been a little too heart warming the night before, especially with his siblings, and their spouses, giving him knowing looks of "you like her and we actually approve of her".

This is going to be a long month...

He laughed, it was just too easy. Long passages of darkness passed his window as he drove up towards Forks, Washington. She really thought that she could keep playing games with his heart this way? No, they were meant to be forever, and if it wasn't for her brother she would still be in his home, making him dinner like a good housewife. They would have been married and she would be pregnant with his kid within a few days.

Too easy, a beep went off on his phone and he checked the headline.

Jacob Black and Kichi Codec collaboration...

Who the hell is this Jacob Black? He wondered, she better not have been cheating on him with some Hollywood big shot. She'd better not have forgotten where she came from, who got her there, and how much she owed him. After all it was her fault that his perfect criminal record was now tainted.

He took a deep breath to calm the rising anger at a picture of Jacob and Kichi standing together, getting into a car in L.A. smiling, laughing, with her new bandages hidden beneath an off the shoulder top.

Didn't she know that she didn't have to hide it? That was his mark on her, his mark of possession, and he'd be damned if he'd be denied the pleasure of that possession.

Don't worry my sweet Kichiyuki... we'll be back together soon enough.

He dialed slowly with a smile and heard her pick up.

"Hello, Kichi speaking."

"Do you miss me, love?"

Jacob heard her scream and a crash from from his bedroom and he was off the couch, rushing towards the bedroom, coming through the door prepared to beat the hell out of someone, only to see her rocking back and forth on one side of the room, her arms wrapped around her knees, trembling even though she was wearing flannel sweatpants and a long sleeve shirt.

"Kichi?" He asked coming into the room, but she wasn't hearing him, only staring at the phone that was still on the line with someone, spinning from the panicked way that she'd thrown it away from her.

He frowned and headed towards the phone, picking up the phone.

"No-please-"

"Honey, I know you're there... I know you've missed me-"

Jacob frowned at the obviously male voice on the line, "Who is this?"

The voice stopped its creepy sweet talk and began to speak,"This isn't Ryuki...nor Emmett... or Jasper...so you must be... Jacob...Jacob Black?"

"Who are you and why do you have this number?"

"She's my wife, of course I keep track of what's mine. Keep your hands off her or you'll regret it."

"Don't call this number again," Jacob said softly. "Or you'll regret it."

He hung up the phone before the man could say anything and set the phone on the bed stand before turning to walk towards her.

"Kichi, can you hear me?"

She sniffled, hugging herself tighter and rocking, "I...I-I should g-go..."

He bit his lip at the tremor in her voice.

"I-It...isn't s-safe..."

"Honey, you're going to shock... I need you to breathe. Do you here me?"

"S-should... go... n-not... n-not safe..."

He pulled the blanket from the bed and wrapped her in it before moving closer to her. She resisted for a moment before he'd gotten her into his arms and lifted her off the floor.

"Shhh," he hushed. "You're safe here..."

"N-Not... s-safe..." she whimpered, tears streaming. "N-Nowhere... safe..."

He sat down on the bed with her in his lap and pulled them back into the bed, rubbing her back, rocking her, and keeping her close to him for body heat to fight off the cold.

"You'll be alright... you're safe. I promise..."

Her murmuring died off into whimpering... into shuddering sleeping breaths and he sighed holding her in his arms. He'd seen shock before, but never that acute, and not from something like a phone call. He didn't like what it did to her, and what her suffering did to him either. The wolf in him growled at the bastard for reducing the lovely, strong Kichi into a whimpering, trembling mess. Even the President of Fucktonia wanted to kick the man on the other end of the line in the balls and cuddle up with the woman.

Wait... cuddle? No alarms went off in his head thrown by any party that wasn't himself. He didn't like it. What the hell was this woman doing to him the reason that he felt the need to cuddle with her? Her trembling pulled her from his thoughts and he could only tighten his hold on her. His heart melted. She was just so... soft and cuddly.

"Shhh...It's alright," he promised, stroking her hair to find that it really was as soft as it looked. "It's alright..."

"P-Please... st-stay..."

"Okay," he told her, shifting a little to get more comfortable with her in his lap. "Shh...I'll stay."

What on Earth was this woman hiding? It really wasn't his place to ask... but he was really fucking curious as to who that was on the phone and why she had such a reaction to the man...More importantly... why wasn't he in jail or something?

Sun peaked through the makeshift blinds over his window, stretching long fingers to caress the sleeping pair and rouse them from sleep. Jacob woke up first to discover that sometime during the night he'd shifted to lay down with her still tucked away in his arms. He opened his eyes to see her sleeping face nestled on the muscle of his shoulder and sighing, clinging to his warmth. Damn she was addictive. They had things to do, he had phone calls to make, she had practice and somehow none of that seemed to matter. None of it had any inflection on him enjoying the warmth of her against him. It was a lot different that laying with Bella had been, she was frigid and freezing like her internal heat regulator was set to Artic... he imagined her as some kind of parasite sucking the warmth from him. He was just glad that he didn't seem to be running out of it. Kichi on the other hand seemed to generate some of her own body heat, enough that with blankets it was a little too warm with the two of them sleeping together. She seemed to need him more for psychic stability and comfort than warmth.

He felt needed, not to survive, but for improvement and that made him feel nice. He was moving to get up when her eyes shot open and her body sprang up to sit up as if she'd been hit by lightning. He'd barely stopped himself from yelping in surprise.

"Kichi...?"

She turned to look at him, looking in a sliht confusion and relaxed at little, smiling sleepily at him, "Jacob...did you stay here all night?"

"I uh... fell asleep... you've got quite the grip."

She ran a hand through her hair, pushing it out of her face and over a shoulder with a wry chuckle, "Yeah... doesn't feel like it... but thank you. It's warm..."

"Yeah," he agreed. Warm wasn't quite the word he thought of but he supposed it worked.

But before he could explore that thought further, she was crawling over him and stretching towards the ceiling before practically skipping out of the room and towards the bathroom to brush her teeth and get ready for the day. He was amazed at how much of a morning person she seemed to be.

"I didn't take you for a morning person."

She wrinkled her nose and stuck out her tongue, "I'm not. I don't waking up early."

"Could have fooled me..."

She smiled, "I like what I can do in the morning: shower... and eat... and sing!"

With that she fluttered out of the room with some clothing in a whirl of laughter. He shook his head and stretched. He felt rested, much more rested than her'd been feeling for a while... If he thought about it, he'd realize that he felt better than he had since meeting Bella, but he didn't think about it, instead he stood and shuffled towards the closet where he put his suitcase and pulled clothes out. By the time he'd made his selections, he could hear his father rolling down the hall and Kichi's morning musical voice.

"You're a morning person..."

"Not really, but I am a clean person now!"

Billy laughed continuing to roll towards the kitchen. He leaned out the door to see her following him with a towel around her head dancing something extremely silly singing something that he was sure wasn't in English. Billy laughed and he couldn't help but wonder how she had the ability to be so happy after the night before. He wondered if she was really that happy or just having a reaction formation to the terror that gripped her the night before.

Is reaction formation even the right term for that? He didn't bother to search for the right word, instead he headed into the bathroom and showered in time to get to the dining room to see his father swallowing a mouthful of pancakes. Kichi was on her cellphone looking slightly put out.

"What's the matter?"

"Looks like Rose cancelled afternoon practice, said something about me getting rest or some nonsense before the concert tonight." She huffed and he never though she was more adorable than in that moment.

"She's right, you should take a break before the concert."

She pouted and looked out the window, "You won't tell Rose if I go exploring will you?"

Jake frowned and Billy said nothing.

"Exploring?"

"Yes... it's been forever since I've wandered around in the woods... I heard water, we're by the shore aren't we? There's a beach isn't there? Are there cliffs? Can we go diving?"

Billy snickered a little at his son's expression. He looked beyond amazed and excited at the prospect.

"Are you serious?"

"Of course. I promise I'll take a nap before we have to leave. All I'm asking for is a few hours..."

He sighed, the girl was magical. He promised her until noon at which point they would eat and she would take a nap. She only smiled and squealed in joy, rushing to change into something exploring worthy, something she could dive in. Jacob avoided looking at his father for reasons he didn't understand. They finished breakfast and were off to explore. She had a knack for climbing trees quickly and in complete silence. They talked about their childhoods. The endless days spent running through the forest, along the beach, diving, plummeting into an icy abyss and hearing the wind rush around you. When they reached the cliffs, she screamed a greeting to the surface and went running and cheering over the edge before he could stop her. She swam to shore not to far and waved to him from there. He dived in after and into the cold finding that the instinct hadn't changed. He cut through the surf and swam towards the beach where she was laid out in the sun.

"Wish you would have given me some warning..."

"Warning is for suckers," she said, humming in delight in the warmth of the sun. Cherry black hair in wet spirals and waves around her head. She looked amazing if he had anything to say about it. He sunk down beside her to lay out before checking his waterproof watch.

"It's almost noon," he said, in wonder. He could have sworn that only a few moments ago it was around nine in the morning.

"Damn," she cursed. "Not fair..."

He laughed, "I'll give you till noon-fifteen."

"What a generous task master..."

He smirked at the term. He liked that more than he realized. He liked that a lot and he really wasn't sure why he liked it so much, but he did...Noon-fifteen turned into noon-thirty at which point they were back at the house and showering. He'd gotten her to sleep by one and without much fuss once her head hit the pillow. He could only laugh at her childlike ability to sleep immediately with a content smile on her face. He decided that a nap was in order as well and woke up around four to make something like dinner. He woke her up at five and they left the house by six to get to the stadium on time.

When the concert started, Jacob hadn't been aware of what to expect with a wide range of people crowding into the concert hall, pushing, cheering and murmuring. The music started up, the cheering got louder and for the first time Jacob got to see her as herself in her entirety as she appeared on stage, springing up from beneath the stage and ran head first with her guitar across her back. Ryuki was on the guitar, jamming out some complicated melody. It was a cover song he was sure as Kichi started singing into her mike bouncing around on stage in something he was sure wasn't English.

"God Bless..." It was Kichi's turn to take over the complicated guitar solo with Ryuki backing her up.

She looked so happy running around on stage, greeting fans, shaking hands, screaming into the tiny microphone wrapped around her head. The songs went on for most of the night and Jacob hadn't even noticed how entranced he'd been when it ended and there was confetti coming down as rain. She was whirling around, belting out notes with her mike in hand, her guitar back on her back as she jammed out, leading the crowd into their jumping frenzy. Jacob could admit that she had a stage personality hard to beat. She was energetic, but in that way that made it seem naturally. Happy, talented, and unstoppable on stage ranging from too sexy to overly adorable. He'd never seen anyone jam that hard on a guitar solo or come back stage that sweaty. She cheered at the success of the first night, whirling around and collapsing in a heap on the floor, breathing deeply and out of breath. Ryuki laughed.

"No one told you to run around."

"I can't help it~" She whined. "It's so much fun!"

Jacob only nodded as his cousins appeared to greet them and look worried at her spread out on the floor until she rolled up onto her feet in a smooth motion, hair tousled and looking like she'd just come from a very thorough quickie. Her voice sounded bubbly, happy, but something deep and soft and enchanting. When he drove them back to his house on the reservation she was fast asleep in the passenger's seat, freshly showered and comfy in her loose sweatpants. It was around one in the morning when they arrived and crept into the old house. Jacob carried her to the bedroom and lay her down gently, tucking her in before retiring to the couch. His heart still fluttered with the image of her swinging her hips, dancing and running around on stage. It made him want to keep her with him despite all of his smarter inclinations.