I'm so sorry for the wait. Enjoy and meet me at the bottom.

Ch. 7: Navigating

The meeting had been pointless, and my mind was back with Renesmee the whole time. I couldn't concentrate on hunting season assignments, which hadn't changed in 5 years, or bonfire plans.

I walked back to the house, just barely surpassing human speeds. When it was finally over, I wanted to see her, but I dreaded what questions she might have for me. My head was full of way too many thoughts. Although things had changed for me last night, I'd resolved to keep it to myself for as long as possible. There was no way to know how Renesmee would react. The fact that she didn't want to talk was freaking me out. She'd never kept anything from me before. What could she possibly be thinking that she didn't feel comfortable sharing with me? Then again, I'd never really kept anything from her.

Maybe I was giving out an awkward vibe, even after trying my best to act normal. And even if she had wanted to talk, I was bound to a stupid promise to give her parents a chance to explain their version first.

About ten yards from the cabin, I heard Ness on her guitar. She wasn't singing today; just plucking out a beautiful, slow melody and humming along real quietly. She didn't stop playing when she heard me. I stood at the door for a minute, listening and trying to gather my thoughts. Taking a deep breath, I decide to find my balls and just go with the flow.

She was on the couch in the front room, looking gorgeously melancholy, if there is such a thing. She'd thrown her hair up into a big bun, tendrils bursting out in several places. It was still damp from her shower. Her eyeliner from last night was mostly gone, but you could still see slight smears. She was wearing a ratty pair of grey sweatpants I'd had since I was about 14 and a navy blue t-shirt she'd knotted at the hip that was falling off her shoulder. My heart skipped a beat yet again, which finally seemed to garner her attention.

She flashed a small smile. I wanted to ask her if she was feeling any better, but she sensed it and cut me off.

"How was your meeting?"

I just shrugged.

"You don't know," she joked. "Did you even go to the meeting?"

I nodded.

"Did Sam enforce a code of silence?"

I shook my head just to be annoying, but I cracked a smile this time. "I don't really want to talk about it. Nice color." I tapped her freshly painted electric blue toes with my own foot. "Did you miss me while I was gone?"

She stopped playing just long enough to stare at me pointedly. "Do you have to ask?"

I finally took a seat on the floor. I didn't have to look too far up to be eye to eye with her this way. There was silence for a few seconds. It wasn't really awkward, just unfamiliar. We'd never had this before. There was so much I wanted to say, and so much I couldn't say just yet.

"I see you found Billy's old guitar," I finally spoke dumbly.

"Do you think he'll mind?"

"Definitely not. Especially when you play, like, ten times better than him. Is there anything you can't do?" I thought about all the instruments she'd learned to play in just the first four years of her life. Then there were the languages: French, Spanish, Italian and Latin. She was planning on learning German next. And that's when it hit me.

"I'm gonna teach you to speak Quileute," I exclaimed to both our surprise. "I mean, if you want to learn, I could teach you."

For once, she caught me off guard, tossing the guitar aside and launching herself at me. I landed on the floor with her tangled around me.

"Would you really? You don't think anyone would mind, do you?" She looked up at me with a cautious smile.

"Why would they? You're my imprint. You have every right to learn. Most of the other girls already know."

I tried to push myself off the floor and into a sitting position, but it didn't seem to phase Ness. She just adjusted herself so she was supporting most of her weight on her knees between my own legs.

"I've always wondered what Sam says to you," she mused.

I couldn't help but laugh. "Usually just insults. He's not allowed to teach you anything, by the way. He'll just corrupt you. You'll have plenty of people to practice with, though. And this way, you can tell me absolutely anything when we're around your family and no one will ever know."

"Not even my father?" Her eyes lit up at the thought and she jumped to her feet.

"Not even Eddie. One of the benefits of the treaty is that he's never been around our language enough to get a hang of it."

"Okay," she grabbed my hand and tried pulling me to my feet. "Let's get started."

"Right now?" I hadn't budged a nanometer.

"Yeah. Why not?"

"Food first." my stomach gurgled to highlight my point.

"How about this: I'll cook, and you can start teaching me."

"Eager, are we?" I stood and followed her to the kitchen.

She didn't answer me. She just started pulling out pans and ingredients like she owned the kitchen. I watched her for two minutes or so before she pointed to one of the kitchen chairs and commanded me to "teach".

"Okay, but don't laugh at me. I'm kinda' rusty and my accent's not the best."

"You have a beautiful voice. I'm sure you'll be a great teacher." She blushed even though I was the one receiving undue compliments.

"What do you want to know first?"

"Everything."

My dad had come home an hour later to find Ness setting a plate of country-fried steak, mashed potatoes and broccoli on the table for all three of us- all of which Ness tried her best to translate as she set the table.

Billy raised his eyebrows when he heard the ancient language flow from her mouth, but he said nothing, thankfully. Not that I'd thought he'd object. I was just worried he'd make some comment about joining the family or something equally awkward. Instead, he was actually helpful. He taught Ness correct punctuation and he was better at explaining how the grammar worked.

It was late when Ness finally decided that her brain had taken in enough info for one day.

We took turns brushing our teeth and changing into PJs, but I climbed into bed with her this time. I wasn't going to jump her and I didn't want to keep the awkward vibes my actions seemed to be sending out.

"Jacob, can I ask you something?"

I nodded sleepily against her, my chin brushing her hair. She always asked me things when I was half-asleep. I think she realized it was the best time to catch me unguarded.

After a moment, she sighed. "Aren't women allowed at the tribal meetings?"

I let out myself breath again. This was an easy question.

"Yeah, they're allowed," I stretched the word to make my point. "But none of them really go and it would be kinda' weird if they did show up. Sue took her first husband's vacant seat, and then there's Leah, but that's it."

"Will it be weird when I start coming?"

I think I stopped breathing and she definitely noticed. She rushed to explain herself, sticking the words together and ignoring punctuation pauses.

"I mean my family will move out of Washington eventually but if you wanna stay in La Push then I'd stay too." It was cute how her voice went up at the end, as if she was checking that this arrangement worked with me.

"But wouldn't you miss them? Wouldn't you want to be with your parents and the rest of the gang?"

"We can always visit, but we've been through this: I have to be near you. I will always want to be where you are." She was playing with her bracelet, a nervous habit since she was little. "I wouldn't say anything, either. They'd never even know I was there."

"You can't just move to the Rez, Ness." I tried to keep my voice light and teasing, but I doubt if it worked. "You have to have tribal affiliation. Like, be part Quileute."

"Or marry in, right?"

I squeezed her a little tighter, willing myself to breathe. Where was this coming from- all of this talk about La Push and us, in the future? Not wanting her to misread my silence, I shook my head and evaded the implications of the question all together.

"It won't be a problem at all. You can come to the next one if you want." I'd make sure she was accepted without any griping.

"No, I think I'll wait 'till I'm an official resident."

I only nodded, not really sure what I could say that wouldn't have her whole family on my ass. Nessie knew about imprinting; she knew about Emily and Sam, but her parents made a point to tell her about Quil and Claire, too and how they were just playmates. Most of the Cullens were determined to convince themselves that Ness and I would remain best friends forever. And hey, if that's what she wanted, that's how it would be, but I'd never heard of any imprint not turning romantic.

I shook the thoughts away. For now, I'd just do my best to navigate the waters. In the time I'd spent in my head, Ness had returned to practicing the words she'd learned earlier.

Finally, I drifted off to Nessie's recitation of English words and their Quileute counterparts.

Happy New Year! Hope your holidays were great. I'm sorry this took so long to post, and that there's not much action. The rest of the story has pretty much been written and I promise to keep to a schedule from here on out. You can expect posts on Sunday afternoons. Thanks to everyone that is still reading and a huge thanks to anyone that has reviewed. Keep 'em coming.