A/N: ok, this time I'm posting before the weekend. go me.

next chapter is another Jacob POV. I'm going to try to keep going between the two cause I like writing both characters. Maybe if you all are terrific and leave me reviews, I'll insert a bonus Joe POV chappie. That could be WAY fun to write.

Disclaimer: Not mine

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Chapter 4: Trio

My eyelids fluttered open. Greenish sunlight poured in. I blinked in the brightness then frowned. Where was I?

I was facing a wall. A blank wall free from tacky wallpaper. Therefore, I was most likely not in a motel. I was lying in a legit bed. Therefore, I was not in my dorm nor was I camped out in the Bus. The room was stuffy and quiet. Therefore, I was alone.

I rolled over onto my back. I heard the tide coming in. The realizations washed over me as steadily as the approaching ocean. I was in Washington, in La Push, on the Quileute reservation, in Jacob Black's house. I yawned and stretched slowly. There was a massive weight on my legs. I looked down to see a veritable stack of heavy blankets over me. I glanced on the floor; apparently I had kicked a few off in the middle of the night. I managed to unearth my feet. I was still wearing the same clothes from last night.

I must have been tired, I thought. Come to think of it, as I was pulling on an old David Bowie concert shirt and a fresh pair of jeans, I didn't remember getting in bed last night. I glanced at my computer and thanked whatever deity was on duty that I had plugged it in before uploading my pictures. I saved everything and turned off both the camera and the laptop. I glanced out the window; it was overcast as normal. I tugged on my old college hoodie, slipped my feet into a pair of sandals, and ran a quick brush through my knotted hair. I tossed it back into its ponytail, swearing to ask Billy if I could borrow the shower later this morning.

I opened the bedroom door and peeked out. I didn't really want to catch Jacob in between shower and bedroom. The coast was clear. I trudged down the stairs and landed in the front room.

"Morning," Joe's familiar voice chimed from the table.

"Mo-Morning," I said through a yawn.

"You look better," he offered.

"You still look like crap," I joked. "And so do I. I need a shower."

"Yeah you do."

I chucked a piece of cereal at him then checked myself as Billy rolled into the room.

"Good morning, Kathleen. Coffee's in the kitchen if you want it. Otherwise, help yourself to anything. The boys always do."

"Boys?" I asked, walking into the kitchen.

"Jacob's friends. They're in and out of here. You'll probably see them later."

I smiled to myself. Maybe they would be less cryptic than the Black family. I poured myself some coffee, dressed it with milk and sugar, and went back to the table.

"Where is Jacob anyway?"

A loud rumble interrupted Billy's response. He closed his mouth and smiled, nodding outside. "He got up early this morning and started work. He's been out there ever since."

"He doesn't waste time. Joe and I are going to be out here for a bit anyway doing interviews and such."

"Speaking of, do you think you could give us some pointers on who else to hit up for more stories?" Joe addressed Billy.

"I don't know how many will be very open to sharing our stories. A lot of Quileutes are really cautious around newcomers. Especially newcomers carrying cameras and recorders," Billy winked.

"You don't mind though, do you Billy?" I asked, taking another swig of coffee. I could feel myself slowly waking up.

"Course not. And I think that if Jacob accompanies you, a few of them might be a bit more willing to talk."

"Why's that?" Joe mumbled through a mouthful of Lucky Charms.

"Cause he's the great-grandson of Ephraim Black, our tribe's last chief. And he's quite fond of your friend here." I blushed and looked down at my uneaten Cheerios.

"You go talk to Jacob, Kat. I don't think he likes me much," Joe commented. "Billy, do you mind if I borrow your shower?"

"Help yourself," Billy said. "Our house is yours."

Joe took his dishes into the kitchen and soon disappeared upstairs. I ate my Cheerios in silence. I could feel Billy's eyes on me. It was slightly uncomfortable. I grabbed my cereal and stood.

"I'm going to go check on my baby. Make sure Jacob isn't trying to murder her to put her out of her misery," I joked as I moved toward the door. Billy nodded and felt him watch me go. Once on the porch, I shivered. That old man was giving me the creeps.

A loud rumbling came from an old shed a few yards away. I looked up at the sky; it was cloudy but still dry. I walked through the drying mud over to the shed. Sure enough, there was my gigantic Bus parked inside and taking up the majority of the building. Two bare feet stuck out from underneath. I smiled and walked over.

"Hey, Kathleen," his now familiar husky voice called from under the Bus.

I stopped in my tracks. I bent over to look underneath. His russet face was stained with streaks of oil as he carefully tilted his head toward me. He gave a goofy grin and continued tinkering around with a silvery wrench looking thing.

"How'd you know it was me?"

"You make too much noise coming in. Maybe you should start taking notes from me," he laughed. "Plus, the shoes were a dead give away."

I glanced down at my flip-flops with my chipped nail polish. "Guess not many of your guy friends wear nail polish, eh?"

"Not really, no. And most of them don't wear shoes either." He rolled out from underneath. I dodged the wheels, slopping milk from my cereal onto the floor. "Sorry," he apologized, his eyes looking gently down at me. He grabbed a spare rag and wiped his face and hands clean. Then he tossed it on the ground and, using his foot, mopped up my klutzy spill. "So you checking on the love of your life?"

"Yeah." I smiled and stroked the side view mirror lovingly.

"What about your van?"

"What do you mean - " I started then checked myself as the words sunk in. I looked up to see him grinning cheekily at me. I rolled my eyes, yanked the driver's door open, and jumped into the seat. "How's she doing?" I smiled, taking a bite of cereal.

"Better. Just flushed the engine and changed the oil and transmission fluid." He leaned on the open window frame, causing the door to sway back and forth under his weight.

I looked at him blankly. "You do know you could have said anything and I would buy it. Cars are completely foreign to me."

"Well, this Bus is a piece of work." He straightened and closed the door in front of me. He wandered over to the open hood and sighed. "Dunno how long this is going to take now. Couple of your parts are really worn down."

"How bad?" I propped myself up on my knees and elbows and stretched out the window to look at him. He looked scarily natural bent over the Bus. He peeked over at me.

"You could really use a new battery. And there's a few belts that are looking really worn." He sighed loudly. "It's going to be a week easy."

I screwed up my face. "How much?"

"Oh, no this is free."

My eyes widened. "Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Jacob, you are not fixing this old crooner for free!"

Suddenly, Jacob was right in front of me. I jumped back a little. He bent down to my eye level. "Yes. I am," he whispered in my face.

My heart quickened. I felt his intense eyes graze over my face then bore into my blue eyes. They searched my eyes impatiently. I heard a huff, the sound my dogs back home made after searching in vain. I heard him inhale deeply, almost as if he was sniffing the air. He grinned and straightened.

"Hey Embry, Quil," he shouted toward the door. A few seconds later, two men came running into the garage.

"Whoa, monster!" The stockier one exclaimed, jumping back dramatically and holding up his fingers in a cross.

I couldn't stop myself. "Hey!" I slumped down in the seat and finished off my breakfast.

"It speaks!" the stocky one laughed, a similar, barking laugh as Jacob's. I heard a dull thump and an "Ow, Jesus Jacob, not the wrench." I peeked my head out nervously.

Jacob and the newcomers were huddled around the hood of the Bus. They looked scarily similar, all falling around 6 1/2 feet, barely dressed in worn clothing, and muscular. All had the same red-brown skin color and black hair cropped to varying lengths. Apparently, I was making too much noise again as all three looked up at me. The one who had been talking smiled kindly and walked over to the window.

"Hey, I'm Quil." He offered a hand, which I shook firmly. His hand was as warm and large as Jacob's. "That's Embry," Quil pointed to the other boy-man beside Jacob. Embry offered a smile and walked up, shaking my hand as well. Another unnaturally hot, large hand. What was wrong with the water here?

"I'm Kathleen and this is my Bus that you are so thoroughly insulting," I said, giving a sarcastic smile.

"In my defense, it's kinda been years since they're allowed these beasts on the road," Quil said, leaning on the doorframe. He was charming with an easy wide smile. It was infectious. "Hell, I haven't even seen one of these in years."

"It was my parents' from the '60s. Found it in my grandparents' garage and they're lending it to Joe and me for this trip around the peninsula. Speaking of!" I had just gotten an idea. I launched myself to the back of the Bus and began shuffling through the crap still in the back. I crawled back up clumsily, holding up a camera in success. I elbowed my way up and through the open window of the door and framed the three identically huge boys. "Do you mind?"

Quil grinned and yanked Embry to him in a one-armed elbow bear tug. Embry's head slammed into Quil's and both groaned. Jacob tossed his head back and gave a great barking laugh. I smiled and let the camera flash as I captured the moment.

"Hey, we weren't ready!" Quil howled, still holding the spot on his head. "You didn't get my good side!"

"You have a good side?" Embry muttered darkly. Quil shoved Embry roughly and the two fell into mild fisticuffs. Jacob was still laughing as spit, hair, and a little blood went flying.

"Shouldn't we...break them up or something?" I asked, letting the camera drop down a bit and looking worriedly at the warring man-teens. Jacob didn't even get a chance to answer; Embry kicked Quil off of him with a grunt. Quil veritably flew into the side of the van, leaving a sizable dent.

"You fucking bastard!" I howled. In a second, I was out of the car and crouching at the dent. "My poor baby."

"Yeah, I'm fine, thanks for asking," Quil said at my side. I ignored him as I traced the massive hole, feeling mild tears well up. Oh I was so weak, crying over a car that wasn't even mine.

"Good going Quil," Embry said. I heard him shift behind me. A hand rested on my back and I heard his whistle beside me. "You did a number."

"You...launched me!" Quil sputtered. But below Quil's insistence that this wasn't his fault (which I was taking as a lame form of apology), I dully heard growls.

"Jake?" I heard Embry say next to my ear. I looked from the dent to Embry. His dark eyes look confusedly over my back to where Jake was standing. Something flashed over Embry's face; his mouth rounded into comprehension and surprise. His hand flew from my back. I turned to Jacob. He was shaking ever so slightly, his fists clenching and unclenching slowly. His eyes were on Embry, dark with ebbing fury. The entire countenance terrified me.

"We should get going. School," I heard Quil say. Suddenly, tunnel vision cleared and I stood up, aided lightly by Embry, who was watching Jacob cautiously. "You're not in high school, are you Kathleen?"

"I'm 22 Quil. I'd certainly hope not," I joked hollowly. My eyes and thoughts were back on the car.

"I'll try to fix it later," Jacob said softly. I looked him in the eyes; they were softening exponentially but that steely fire from seconds before was still there in trace amounts. "You really aren't helping my workload, Quil."

"Not...my...fault," Quil seethed.

"Hey, uh…" Joe made an appearance behind the guys. He stopped midsentence, obviously distracted by the two new large people in the garage. The height difference between him and the Quileute boys was immediately dramatic. Joe seemed to have noticed this; he rubbed his neck and straightened slightly.

"What's up Joe?" I asked, trying to come to his rescue. Joe smiled at me.

"We need to get to work. Billy gave us a few names and places we can go look at. And he said that you three," here Joe glanced at Jacob, Quil, and Embry, who had huddled up behind me, "have less than 10 minutes before school starts."

"Aw shit!" Quil cursed. He looked down and grinned. "At least I remembered my shirt."

I turned to look at Jacob, who was looking at his own shirtless, shoeless figure. He looked up at me, grinning as he caught my eyes. His hand drifted over to a pile of cloth on a nearby shelf. Removing one, he sniffed it and shook it out; it was a red t-shirt. He put it on quickly and rubbed his arm over his face, trying to clear the rest of the grease from it.

"Will you hurry?" Quil grumbled, peeking his head around the corner. Jacob turned to him and grinned again. He kicked on a spare pair of shoes in the corner then looked back at me.

"Stay on the Res?" he asked.

I frowned. "Probably. It's not like we really have the means to go that far right now."

Jacob gave a quick barking laugh then ran after Quil. Embry, who had been watching the entire exchange, looked at me strangely. When he saw me frowning, he smiled reassuringly.

"Jacob's not usually this weird. You'll get used to it," said Embry.

I smiled. "Why does he want me to stay here?"

Something crossed Embry's eyes fleetingly. "For your safety. There've been some reports of bears in the woods around here."

"Then shouldn't I be away from the bears?" I pointed out like this was the most obvious thing in the world. Embry smiled, his grin not near as easy and free as Jacob's.

"Well, it's either the bears in La Push or the murders in the surrounding area. At least here, we know what's causing the killings and we know how to prevent it."

And with that, Embry took off running after Jacob and Quil. I stepped out to watch the three retreating, hulking figures. Whatever was in the water or the air not only affected the boys' physical appearance, but apparently their mental capabilities. How could I not be safe on the reservation?

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A/N: Please review. I have a very long weekend to get through and reviews will make things easier. To my 3 reviewers this week, thanks again. You guys keep me going.