Chapter 10 Telling Dad

A/N: Thanks for beta'ing Reka! I love you! =)

Legal: Twilight and all things related, belong to Ms. Meyer, and her alone.

~xoxo~

Walking up to the door of the Black trailer, Drea started to get nervous. It was one thing proposing to the love of your life. Even telling her cousin about the ceremony hadn't been too bad, but this… Now she had to face her future father-in-law. What if he didn't like her? She was a pale face after all. Surely an important tribal elder would want his son to marry someone more important than some white witch.

She had almost talked herself into turning around and running back into the forest when Jacob came up behind her and slipped his arms around her waist.

"I love you. And he will love you too. Calm down, okay? If your heart rate gets any higher, I'm going to have to take you to the hospital," Jacob whispered, his breath tickling the side of her neck as he leaned over her.

Drea took a deep breath and released it slowly.

"Okay, I'm ready."

Jacob laughed. He never thought he'd see the day that anyone, much less a beautiful girl was afraid to meet his father.

"Not funny," Drea huffed.

"I'm sorry but it really is," Jacob answered her with another small chuckle before finally getting her up the steps to the door.

Drea raised her hand to knock, but Jacob reached in front of her and swung the door open before she had a chance. She looked back at him with a shocked look.

"What? I live here, silly girl!" He said, laughing at her again. "Dad, I'm home. Come meet Andrea."

Billy rolled out of the living room and caught sight of the couple as they stepped into the kitchen.

"Wow! Where'd you find the pretty girl, Jacob?"

"She fell from heaven, straight into my arms, Pop. Can you believe it?"

"I can," Billy answered as he approached and held out a hand to greet her. "I'm Billy. It's nice to meet you."

Drea blushed and took Billy's right hand in her left in an awkward greeting. She was too flustered to explain. Billy just chuckled and looked at her a little more closely.

"You're not related to the Swans, are you?"

"She's Bella's cousin," Jacob answered for his unusually shy mate.

"I thought she looked a little familiar. Well, welcome to the rez, Ms. Swan. We are happy to have you. Come on in and sit down."

"Call me Drea," she finally managed to speak to him.

Billy laughed heartily. "I don't think I've ever made such a pretty girl nervous before. What's the matter?"

Jacob tried and failed to hold back his laughter as he rubbed his hands up and down Drea's arm in an attempt to help her relax. He sat on the couch and pulled her down into his lap. If it was possible, her face got even redder. She was so embarrassed to be sitting on him like that, having only just met his father.

"Easy, babe. He won't bite. I promise."

"I'm sorry," she apologized, continuing to blush before turning her face into Jacob's chest to hide.

"Now, Jacob. What in the hell have you done to make the poor girl so uncomfortable?"

"Well, it might have been the imprinting…" Jacob trailed off as Drea went still in his arms and his father looked at him in shock before beginning to laugh again.

"Oh, well, if that's all!" Billy guffawed. "Welcome to the family, Drea."

She looked over at him and tried to get a handle on herself enough to actually talk to him.

"I'm sorry. I'm normally not a shy person at all, but it's a bit nerve wracking to meet the father of your soulmate," she said, turning back to stare up into the eyes of her love.

"Don't worry about it all. I just hope you can learn to relax a little. I really won't bite. I promise." Billy chuckled good-naturedly. "Besides, how could I not like my best friend's niece?"

"You're friends with Uncle Charlie?"

"Yep. Have been as long as we can remember."

"Oh," Drea said, her voice falling in dread.

"What's wrong now?" Billy asked her.

"She's either afraid of what you'll tell him or of what he'll tell you," Jacob answered for her again.

"What's that mean?"

"Well, Mr. Black," Drea began before Billy interrupted.

"Now, none of that. You can call me Billy or you can call me Dad, but that's all. Understood, young lady?" he asked in a joking tone of voice.

She smiled before answering him, "Yes, sir. It's just that, well I'm a little older than Jacob."

"You're his imprint, Drea. It doesn't matter how old you are. You two have to decided how to define your relationship. No one else."

"Yeah, but I'm ten years older than him."

"So? It doesn't bother me and I know it doesn't bother Jacob. Look at him, he's smitten," Billy said before he began laughing again.

Drea looked up into her Jacob's eyes again. Billy was right, he radiated love for her. She was very lucky and she realized she could not care less what her daddy or uncle thought.

Jacob could see the resolve formed in her eyes and gave her a quick squeeze to acknowledge it.

"So, what you think about all this? I assume he's explained things to you already."

"Yeah, I kinda guessed before we even met."

"How's that?"

"Very long story, as short as possible? I came home to explain our heritage to Bella and found a vampire leaning over her while she slept. Needless to say, I freaked and tried to attack him before she had a chance to explain that he was her boyfriend."

A shutter ran through Drea's body as she thought again of the repulsive choices her crazy cousin had made.

"Yeah, can't say we didn't try to warn her off of them, but she's stubborn. Just like her dad, that way," Billy lamented shaking his head at the memory of trying to get Bella to stay away from the Cullens.

"It's a family gene, I'm sure," Drea laughed, admitting her own stubborn streak.

"So how is it you know about all this? I was under the impression the Swans were human."

"Partially, but our line is descended from the fey, originally. We're natural witches, born with the magic, but passing for human when we are unaware. Our ancestors, much like yours, protected our people from evil."

"Huh, you don't say? So, is Charlie a witch?" Billy asked, not bothering to even try to contain his laughter.

"I don't think so," Drea answered, chuckling lightly. "Everything I researched focused on the females of the line carrying the power, but I suppose anything's possible."

"What about Bella?" Jacob asked. "Can she do what you can?"

"Well, we were working on that tonight. I mean, she has the shield thing down, but it's a subconscious effort. She's not even aware she's doing it. Tonight, I was trying to get her to call the hand of power against the little spikey-haired one, but she couldn't do it. She can't seem to see them as a threat, so she is having a hard time calling her defense."

"We still meeting up with her later?" Jacob asked.

"Yeah, if your father approves. She's at Emily's waiting for us now."

"What do you need me to approve of exactly?" Billy asked.

"A han-" Jacob began before Drea cut him off.

"Easy, Jaybird. I think there's something else he needs to know first. Like the battle?"

"I know about the battle. I'm a tribal elder. Sam discussed it with us earlier."

"Okay, how about the change in rank?" Drea challenged, belaying the inevitable request of his son's hand, so to speak.

"Change in rank?" Billy asked, raising an eyebrow at his son.

"Of course, dear. Let me spill my secret news first!" Jacob said with mock enthusiasm.

Drea rolled her eyes and gave him a smirk. "My news makes more sense after yours, dear."

"Well, dad, you know how I'm suppose to be alpha and all? Well, now I am."

"That is some news. Are you sure this is the time to be changing leaders, right before a battle?"

"I don't know. She and Sam seemed to think so," Jacob said with a shrug, indicating the girl in his lap.

"I can protect the entire pack better with my spells because of my bond with their alpha. Sam seemed to think Jacob could handle this and was born for it. Said he's a natural at all things wolf," Drea told Billy, beaming with pride for her mate.

"Alright, now hit me with the rest of it," Billy said with a sigh, he was about ready to be done with this night full of surprises.

"With your blessing, and your help, I want to further strengthen the bond between Jacob and I with a ceremony from my culture. As a tribal elder, I was hoping you might even perform the ceremony for us?"

"Ceremony?" Billy asked, eyes wide as saucers.

"Easy, dad. Don't have a heart attack. It's not exactly a marriage. Just a bonding ceremony. It's called a hand-fasting," Jacob explained, hoping to avoid having to take his dad to the hospital tonight.

Billy just stared at his son and the beautiful girl he'd brought home tonight. He wanted to ask if they were sure. He wanted to say it was too soon, but he knew it wasn't true. She was his imprint, his forever. If she wanted to be further bonded to his son, it was a cause for celebration, not concern. Logically he knew these things, but emotionally he just wanted to protect his sixteen year old kid.

With a sigh, he released the stress and worry as best he could and gave the couple his best smile.

"I'd be honored to help you in any way that I can," he told them, a tear escaping and running down his cheek.

Drea squealed with joy and bounced happily in Jacob's arms as he beamed down at her. Then she stood and crossed the room to her future father-in-law and leaned over him to give him a big hug.

"Thank you so much!"

"You are quite welcome, my dear. Now, what do I need to do?" Billy smiled at his beautiful new daughter. She was truly captivating and he found himself wanting to do whatever it took to keep her happy.

"Well, since everyone's over at Emily's, why don't we head there and I'll explain as best I can on the way."

Jacob stood up and gathered his girl into a hug, pulling her off her feet before setting her back down to help his dad out of the house. On the outside, he was trying desperately to maintain some measure of composure. On the inside, he was as giddy as a school girl. In a very short time, the most beautiful woman he'd ever met in his life would willing bind herself to him. She was everything to him but the truly amazing part was that she wanted him too.