Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the authors. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended. This is just a tribute.

A big thank you (and good wishes on her 'Birthday Week') to my beta willowbae, for all her invaluable help and support with this story. :)

Chapter 10.

Nessie – advice

Leo was at the house early the next morning; he had no trouble with oversleeping. I wish I could have said the same thing for myself. After another late conversation with Jake, I missed my alarm and was only half dressed when he arrived.

"I'll just be a minute," I shouted down the stairs.

"It's ok, Red. Take your time," he called back. "I can talk to Rosalie… and Emmett."

I had to smile; Uncle Emmett wasn't going to leave Aunt Rose alone with this guy for one second. Still, they all seemed to be getting on very well when I hurried into the kitchen, ten minutes later. There was no doubt that Leo had a great deal of charm, Uncle Emmett genuinely seemed to like him – in spite of the fact that Aunt Rose did too.

Leo glanced towards me and said jokingly. "Are you ready to go 'a huntin'?"

"Sure." I smiled back and then added with a perfectly straight face. "I just need to fetch my rifle."

He looked startled. "Oh, ok… I didn't realise that you hunted like a regular human."

"Of course I do," I said in an affronted voice. "Just don't distract me when I'm taking aim. I'm a little rusty." I smiled reassuringly at him. "You have nothing to worry about though, bullets can't hurt you."

I could tell, by his horrified expression, that he was picturing the kind of day he was going to have.

"Good one, Nessie." Uncle Emmett chuckled as Aunt Rose stifled a laugh.

"You had me going there." Leo shook his head with a smile. "I take it you hunt like us?"

"What do you think?" I flashed him a wide grin, showing off my teeth.

"Point taken." He stood up and took his leave of the others. "See you later, guys."

Aunt Rose threw me a knowing look as I passed her. "Have fun, Nessie."

I scowled and hoped that Leo hadn't noticed what my matchmaking aunt was trying to do.

Our destination was the nearby White Mountain National Forest; it was the best place to hunt in the state and had a good variety of game. Black bears, moose and white tailed deer could all be found there. Sometimes the family would camp out for several days, but Leo and I were just taking a short day trip. I was driving, and on the way we chatted amicably.

"Have you hunted here before?"

"Yeah, but not for a while." He nodded. "It was pretty good last time. That's why I came on this trip with Hal, so I could come back to the forest." He then added, with a smile. "But so far, I've spent most of my time wrestling Emmett in your garden."

I laughed. "Your mistake was to agree to it the first time. Uncle Emmett was never going to let you back out after that!" I then glanced out of the window at the passing scenery. "The rest of my family lives off this forest."

"How about you?" He raised his eyebrows, quizzically.

"It's not such a problem for me, you know I can eat human food too," I reminded him.

"Yeah…" He shuddered at the thought, but then betrayed a practical streak when he added. "I guess it's useful that you can."

For the rest of the drive, he plied me with questions about myself and my physiology. What I could and couldn't do, how strong I was, did I have any additional talents, how far I could smell, did I need air, how my accelerated aging worked, could I die, the list went on.

My instincts told me that I could trust him, so I was honest with my answers. The only thing I decided not to mention was my talent; I had been brought up with the idea that you should keep some of your cards up your sleeve.

He told me about himself too; his time with Hal, his early years as a vampire, even a little bit about his human past. He'd been in the navy when he was changed; which explained his crew cut. He told me how he had woken as a vampire, and the first thing he'd registered was that all the tattoos had gone from his arms.

I'd noticed that they had been replaced by dozens of bite-marks, presumably from his time in the army. He wasn't as badly scarred as Uncle Jasper, but he must have been in some fairly serious confrontations. He even had a faint scar running around his wrist; he must have had to reattach his hand at some point.

"I couldn't believe it; I'd been collecting those tattoos since I was sixteen." He gave a short laugh. "I guess the venom burned them away. I missed my Jean Harlow the most."

"You must be joking! Next you'll be saying you had an anchor too."

"You got me."

"No...?" I gasped.

"What did you expect? I was in the navy," he replied with a smirk.

I glanced up at his fair hair. "You've kept the haircut though!"

"Tell me about it." He ran his long fingers over his head. "It was ok in the fifties; everyone thought that I was a fine, upstanding citizen. But it was a real pain in the sixties; I kept being mistaken for a cop!" Something about this memory seemed to make him smile, and he added. "It's ironic really, since at that time I made a point of feeding on them. Call it my contribution to the Peace Movement."

I stared at him in shocked disbelief; partly because my Grandpa was a cop, but mainly because of his alleged motives. "Are you seriously trying to tell me that you – a vampire – were actually interested in a moral cause like the Anti-War Movement?"

"What can I say, Red, I've got depth." He looked so cocky, as he made this ridiculous statement, that I found myself laughing, in spite of my misgivings.

I found him surprisingly easy to talk to; maybe it was because he was a vampire and I didn't need to put up any façade. But it might have just been because he had a really chilled personality. Whatever it was, by the time we arrived at the forest we were getting on very well.

It was a bright, sunny day and perfect for hunting. There had been a hard frost the previous night and the ground was very firm, which made the running easy. I had never been hunting with a tracker before, and I was curious to see what it would be like.

Leo picked up the scent of deer with remarkable speed. He told me that his sense of smell was very good, even by vampire standards. Apparently this was pretty normal for any tracker. We took up the trail, winding our way through the wintery trees at a fast pace.

I was interested to observe how Leo behaved on the hunt. I knew that he was competitive – after all, I had seen him wrestling with Uncle Emmett all week – so I wouldn't have been amazed if he'd taken this opportunity to show off. But he surprised me by keeping the mood relaxed, and letting me set the pace.

He didn't seem to want to overstretch me. He just ran close by, passing the occasional comment. This wasn't what I'd expected, but I was pleased and began to enjoy myself. We caught up with the deer about fifteen miles from our starting point. Again, Leo surprised me. He was prepared to work as a team, instead of immediately going for the solitary kill.

He circled round to my right, just as we ran down the herd, and gave me a smile. "Are you ready?"

I nodded and he turned his eyes to a young buck, which was desperately trying to outrun us. Leo's brow lowered in concentration and he picked up the speed. I suddenly realised how much he must have been holding back, as he swiftly drew alongside the deer.

He glanced around at me and winked. "Catch!"

With a casual sweep of his arm, he knocked the buck straight into my waiting arms. I had no trouble bringing it down. I was distracted by my kill for a minute or two, but when I raised my head, I saw that Leo had caught a stag not far ahead of me.

As soon as I had drained my deer, I dragged its carcass over to where Leo was still feeding. He finished just as I reached him.

"Thanks for that," I said, dropping the dead buck at his feet.

"You're welcome." He gave me a smile and nodded his head towards the body. "Do you want me to bury it for you?"

"I thought you'd never ask," I beamed, feeling very pleased that he had got my less-than-subtle hint. "I hate the burying part."

He laughed and picked up the carcass. "Has anyone ever told you that you're spoiled?"

"It's not my fault," I protested cheerfully. "I'm an only child."

He disposed of the two bodies and when he was finished we fell into a slow jog and continued through the forest. I was silent, just enjoying the run, but after a few minutes, Leo started to question me, as he had done in the car.

"So, about this wolf guy you're seeing..?"

"Yes..?" I gave him a sideways glance, wondering where he was going with this. He'd already been told a fair amount concerning Jake by the rest of my blab-mouthed family.

"How much of a monster is he?"

"He's not really a monster. To be honest, he's more like a normal human than I am," I replied, and then added ruefully, "… most of the time."

"But he's a natural enemy, right?"

"Not to me," I said defensively, but he wasn't put off.

"Ok, if you say so. But it's still pretty freaky."

"No it isn't," I exclaimed, halting abruptly.

Leo stopped in front of me. "Oh, come on," he protested with a grin. "I'm not judging you – each to their own and everything – but by all accounts, you are dating a giant dog!"

"Just shut up!" I snapped rudely, clenching my fists. "You don't know anything about him. And anyway, he's not a dog… he's a wolf!"

Instead of being offended by my outburst, Leo just laughed. "Hey, relax! I'm sure he's a great guy… I mean wolf."

I turned away in disgust. I wasn't going to bandy words with this idiot! "I don't want to talk about it with you."

"Ok… ok, I get it." He said, hurrying after me. "I apologise. I didn't mean to upset you." I slowed down and looked him in the eye. He seemed sincere… though still annoying. He narrowed his eyes and said in a more serious tone. "You really like this guy?"

"Yes."

"And you think he's the right person for you, even if he is a part-time wolf?"

"I know he is." I wasn't going to explain the concept of imprinting to Leo, but I spoke with complete certainty and I don't think this was lost on him.

"Well then, you're lucky. And maybe the whole half-monster thing will work out for you."

I found myself giving him a small smile. "Well, it issomething we have in common."

The tense atmosphere disappeared and we started strolling through the trees. It was still sunny and neither of us seemed to be in hurry. Leo wanted to know more about Jake and me.

"So how does your family feel about him? I kind of picked up a vibe from your aunt."

"Well, my mom loves Jake, and most of my family like him, so they're fine with it. The truth is, we only know of one other vampire hybrid male, so I have limited choice if I want to be with someone just like me. And since he and I didn't get on very well the last time we met, he's not really an option."

I had been about five years old when Nahuel last came to visit, and was going through an awkward teenage phase. I had hidden behind Jake and – unusually for me – refused to speak at all. Nahuel had left in a fit of despondency and we hadn't communicated since.

I didn't feel that I had to be with a hybrid, so I shrugged and continued talking about my relationship with Jacob, which I found a far more interesting topic. "My Aunt Rose isn't so happy about it and my Uncle Emmett likes Jake, but…"

I trailed off without finishing the thought. Leo raised an eyebrow. "But… what?"

Looking up at him, I didn't know what to say. I didn't have anyone else to speak to about this issue; I was surrounded by either family members or humans. But there was a part of me that really needed to unburden myself. And this guy seemed like he'd been around; he wasn't going to be shocked. After a moment's hesitation, I decided to take a chance.

"I'll tell you," I said nervously. "But please don't laugh."

He gave me a long stare. "Ok, I'll try not to. But I reserve the right to laugh if it's really stupid."

That was good enough for me.

"Well the thing is my Uncle Emmett won't leave us alone for one second. He's like this super chaperone."

My instincts were right; Leo wasn't remotely shocked, he just looked at me in disbelief and shrugged.

"So what? You live on the other side of the country don't you? I know it probably gets on your nerves, but you only have to play along when he's there."

If only that was true.

It wasn't up to me to tell him about my father's mind reading, but I could say. "It's not as simple as that. And it's not just Uncle Emmett. When I'm near Jake, I'm always staying with my Grandpa, but most importantly, my dad is really old fashioned…"

Leo nodded sagely. "I can see that about him."

I was glad he understood. "And Jake has too much respect for him to… to…" I found myself blushing. "And anyway, my dad would definitely find out if we did do anything. So basically it's like having a chaperone all the time."

I appreciated the matter-of-fact way that Leo spoke to me. He didn't treat me like a child and he didn't seem to find this conversation awkward, instead he took the practical approach.

"Let's get this straight. You haven't actually 'done the deed' with this guy?"

"No, I haven't."

"But you want to...?"

Averting my eyes, I nodded bashfully and Leo laughed. "Ok." He then added. "Don't be offended, but do you think he wants to?"

"Of course he does." I felt slightly affronted. Was he suggesting that Jake wasn't attracted to me?

"Sorry. I just wondered if wolf guys are different, he might not be interested."

"No, it isn't that." I said indignantly. I tried to believe that Leo wasn't deliberately trying to offend me, and I attempted to explain the situation as calmly as I could. "Jake's not really bothered by the moral implications…"

Leo interrupted me with a snort. "Not many guys are!"

Giving him an exasperated look, I continued with what I'd been trying to say. "But he's not going to cause any trouble with my father, either."

Leo gave a thoughtful frown. "So with a dad like yours, you'd need to marry the guy first?"

"I suppose so."

"That's quite a commitment." He threw me a sceptical glance. "You're still pretty young. Maybe you don't want to?"

"I do want to… someday."

"And your boyfriend?" He asked cautiously, clearly worried that he was walking into an emotional minefield.

"Jake wants to marry me, but not until I'm at least eighteen. I'm only seventeen and he thinks I should be a legal adult before getting married."

Jake had chosen to ignore the fact that I'd been driving since I was six and had a fine collection of forged documents. According to him that 'wasn'tthesame.' I guessed the real reason was that he thought I was too young to get married. Jacob would be happy to stall me until I was well out of college.

"Ok, I see…" Leo considered my words, as we made our way over the frosty ground. He was quiet for a minute, until he said. "It seems to me that you're caught between two sets of ethics, your dad's and your boyfriend's. The question is what are you going to do about it?"

"What can I do?" There was a touch of despair in my tone. It wasn't as if I hadn't been trying to find an answer, and I didn't want to stress Jake by going on about it. He was in a difficult enough position already.

Leo stopped and gave me a level gaze. "Are you kidding?"

I met his look squarely. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," he said emphatically. "That if a girl like you can't get exactly what she wants from her boyfriend, then it leaves very little hope for the rest of womankind."

He sighed and – catching sight of my blank expression – tried to spell it out.

"This guy is not going to hold out forever… trust me! All you need to do is get him far away from your family – or anyone else who might get in the way – and work your magic."

I looked thoughtful. "How do I do that?"

"For God's sake, do I need to escort you to a travel agent?" He snapped in exasperation. "I'd have thought you could figure out that much by yourself."

"Oh..!" The penny finally dropped.

Seeing the look of comprehension on my face, Leo shook his head incredulously. "No wonder you're in this mess. You seem to be lacking in imagination, or cunning, I'm not sure which."

I couldn't explain that both were difficult to exercise with a father like mine in the offing. So I just stuck to the point.

"I should take Jake away on vacation?"

"Yes."

"Ok." I nodded gratefully. "Thanks."

"Anytime." He smiled, and then added as an afterthought. "Just don't get knocked up."

I felt slightly embarrassed by this remark, but I had to acknowledge that he had a good point, so I said stiffly. "Don't worry, I have heard of safe sex and I'm perfectly capable of acquiring some form of birth control."

I wasn't a complete idiot… unlike my parents.

Added to which, the stressful day when my college roommate, Kristy, had mistakenly believed herself to be pregnant, was still fresh in my mind. I wasn't going to be taking any chances on that score!

When dropping Leo at Dartmouth that evening, I was truly sorry to see him go. There was something about him; I had found him a surprising breath of fresh air, and his guidance on how to seduce my boyfriend was also extremely interesting. I stored up his advice, to be considered more carefully when my father wasn't around.

I was flying west the next morning and knew I wouldn't be seeing Leo again before I left.

"I've had a really nice day. Maybe we'll do it again sometime," I said, giving him a hug.

"Definitely." He smiled and squeezed me back. "I had a great time too. Next time I'm in Washington, I'll look you up."

"I'll hold you to that." I said, releasing him.

He looked down at me, and his expression became unexpectedly serious. "Take care of yourself, kid."

I met his solemn gaze with a smile. "You too."

This made him grin. "Don't worry about me. I always look after myself."

Somehow, I had no trouble believing him.

When I arrived home, the family had already returned from the lecture. They were all in the living room when I walked in. My mom smiled when she saw me.

"How was the hunt?"

"It was fun."

Aunt Rose attempted to look indifferent as she asked. "How did you get on with Leo?"

I saw my dad roll is eyes and I just nodded. "He's nice. I really like him."

"What did you talk about?" She couldn't quite keep the enthusiasm out of her voice.

This time I avoided my father's eye.

"Oh, just this and that..." I kept my answer vague, and changed the subject before my thoughts could betray me. "How was the lecture?"

I caught sight of Uncle Emmett's glazed expression, as Grandpa Carlisle said in a reverent tone.

"It was absolutely fascinating."

Author's notes:

Ok, be honest, of all the things that you thought he might be (seducer... attacker... degenerate...) did anyone think that Leo would turn out to be an agony aunt? Having said that, I bet Edward would have stopped Nessie going hunting with him, if he'd known what they were going to talk about. Heh heh ;)

Next chapter Nessie and Jake are finally reunited as she heads west *yay* :)

And a huge thank you for the lovely reviews. They've been really great to read, so a massive thanks to my amazing reviewers :) Also a big thank you to anyone who has added this story to their lists :)

Have a really good week, Mad :)