I'm late getting up and out of the house. Really late. So late that Jacob has gotten out of the car and come upstairs to see what's taking me so long. Truth is: I fell asleep. And at six in the morning, there's no one else up to see that I got up.

I'm in such a rush that I change right in front of Jake. I don't even realize it until I'm pulling my shirt over my head. But when I do I spin on my heal with a brilliant shade of red on my cheeks. Jacob doesn't seem at all embarrassed but is actually smirking from his perch on my bed. "Well that's one way to say good morning" he teases.

I can't seem to move now. I've never gotten anywhere near changing in front of Jacob. The closest he's ever gotten to seeing me like this was before Emily's wedding when he zipped up my dress. I can't bear to look at Jacob but he forces me to. "You shouldn't be embarrassed. You're gorgeous."

That only makes me blush more. But fortunately, we don't have time to fuss over my being embarrassed. Jacob and I bolt out of the house, not careful at all, and practically fly to the car. "How late did I make us?"

"Not too bad" he says probably for my sake. I still feel guilty but Jacob makes up for my slipup by driving like a maniac for the first hour. Then we're back on track and I don't feel so bad anymore.

"So what made you sleep in? Late night?" he jokes. We both know how bored I was. It's no secret between us. And I know that if either of us is going to claim a late night, it is him. I don't know how he has any energy at all right now.

I have to decide how much of the truth I'm going to bother Jacob with. He worries about me. I know that. And if it's to the extent that I worry about him, then he'll never let it go. But keeping this from Jacob doesn't seem like a good idea. After all, it's just a nightmare. Everyone has them. The only part of it that I'm really hung up on is the fact that it was about Xavier. He's a part of my past so my is he resurfacing in the present? I'm moved past it, forgotten. I know I have.

I decide the truth and all of the truth is what I owe Jacob for everything that he is to me. I have no reason to lie to him and no excuse to do so. "I had a nightmare."

I know as soon as I say it that it bothers Jake. I can tell from the way he holds the steering wheel tighter and how he won't look at me. "About what?" he asks, his voice still soft and gentle. I feel safe talking to him.

I suck in a deep breath because this is the part that I don't necessarily want to tell him. "About Xavier."

Jacob growls, which I half expected. "You're safe from him Emma."

I nod. "I know. I just… I wanted you to know."

The faintest smile appears for a fraction of a second. "I appreciate it. If I ask you something will you answer me honestly?"

"Yes" I answer without a second thought.

"Are you still afraid?"

My immediate answer is no. Of course not. He's miles away and I know if Jacob catches sight of him, he'll murder Xavier without a second thought. It took a lot to get him not to last time. And I can't say if he showed his face in La Push that I would stop Jacob. But does he still scare me?

"No" I answer with the shake of my head. "No I'm not afraid. That's why I can't figure out why I had the nightmare. I thought I was over it."

"It's because you're not spending enough time with me." I thought he was joking but when I look at him, he's all serious.

"What do you mean?"

I gasp when Jacob swerves out of the way to avoid someone who slammed on his breaks for seemingly no reason. He throws his arm out to hold me back and apologizes like crazy before getting the car back to its normal speed. "I mean it's not natural for imprints to be so separate. We spend time together now but maybe it's not enough. Maybe you're having nightmares because I'm not around to keep them away."

"So you think you're my human dream catcher?"

"I know I am. I keep the bad dreams away. It's part of my job."

"Mhmm. And what exactly is my job?"

"To stand there and look cute" he teases. I scoff and shove him only hard enough to make my point clear. "Alright, alright. Do you want the Sam answer or the Jacob answer?"

"Well considering I imprinted on Jacob…"

"You're so funny" he deadpans. Then he sighs and the atmosphere becomes serious. "I think that the job of the imprint is to…"

I wait all of thirty seconds before I'm dying for an answer. "To…?"

Jacob sighs and runs a hand through his hair. "This is so awkward."

I lean against his arm and kiss his bicep. "I don't care Jacob. Just tell me."

He sighs. "I think that the job of the imprint is to love the man who imprinted on her. And yeah, I know that sounds kind of simple, but that's all I think she, you, really need to do." He shakes his head for a second and keeps his gaze forward. "You don't understand. When your body is always fighting to stay human and then when half the time you become a massive wolf, you lose sight of normal things. You don't hang out with your friends, you don't go to school, you don't date. Your whole word gets consumed by this wolf and you start falling into this weird half world. Before I met you, I enjoyed being a wolf because when I was human, I didn't feel… normal. I didn't do normal things. I would just sit at home and wait for Sam to need me to patrol because I didn't know what to do. I couldn't hang out with my friends because I was afraid I would get mad and let the secret out or hurt someone. Obviously I didn't date. And I couldn't go to school because I was still struggling to learn to control myself. Half the time I got angry over something stupid I would lose it and next thing you know, there's a massive wolf tearing up the living room.

"It was different when I met you though. As soon as I met you, it just… clicked. I don't know if that makes sense but I don't know how else to describe it. Everything just changed and fell into place. I got better with controlling my anger. At least, for a time." His eyes meet mine and he apologizes wordlessly. "And I went back to school. It's like you're keeping me human. Every little thing about you keeps me human. I love you so much that my body has to be human. I can't live without you. And I know that you need me to be human because you love me just as much. I do everything for you. Hell if I didn't imprint on you I wouldn't be doing this right now. There's no way I would even think about college. I probably would have dropped out of high school. But somehow you got me driving four hours to school. And I never would have gone to see that movie. Normal things. You keep me normal. Because you love me, I can still be human. I can still be Jacob."

I smile at him because that's all I can think to do. "I love you Jake."

"I love you too Emma" he says and reaches over to pull me into his side. I take a deep breath of his scent. He smells a lot like the forest and fall. It's comforting.

"How was your day?" he asks.

"Hard" I say with a sigh as I toss my bag into the back seat. "Did you understand anything Professor Marks was talking about in Biology?"

Jacob laughs. "Not a clue. Sorry."

I sigh and he laughs again as he starts the car. "It'll get better" he promises and rubs my thigh gently. I smile at his touch and stare out the window. Practically the entire way home is forest. I watch the trees fly by in a curtain of green as Jake flies down the highway. I'm not worried about his driving though. He's very capable and has reaction time better than anyone else would ever hope to have. And I always feel safe in his care.

There's more silence in the car today. Jacob keeps trying to start conversations with me. I can keep them up for a few minutes before my mind starts to wander and I forget what we are talking about. After the third time, Jacob starts laughing. "Someone's tired."

There's no point in arguing with him. I'm having trouble just keeping my eyes open. "Yeah" I say and let out a yawn. "I couldn't get back to sleep last night."

"Then sleep now" Jacob says.

"Are you sure?" There's been a silent agreement between the two of us that we would keep each other company during the long drive to and from school. It doesn't seem right to just sleep while Jacob is driving for four hours straight.

"I'm fine Em" he says with a laugh.

I sleep the entire way home. And I feel so much more guilty because only an hour after we are home, Jacob heads out to patrol. It's harder to let him go the second time. He pries my hands off of his arm and I only let him go with the promise to spend all of tomorrow, Saturday, together. I go home bored and lonely. I get some homework done and talk with Emily for a while. We watch something on TV but I'm not focusing.

I'm nervous to go back to sleep. After the nightmare yesterday, I can't seem to convince myself that I'll be able to sleep tonight. I lay restless for an hour before sleep eventually overcomes me.

I don't have a nightmare. But my sleep is broken by my waking up twice during the night. I'm anxious and I can't seem to stay asleep. Knowing that I need sleep though, I try and convince myself to close my eyes. But I just end up staring at the ceiling until six.