Hey guys, sorry it took me so long to post this, but its nice and long! ok, so this chapter is a little busy, a lot of things happening around the same time, so enjoy!!

By the way, if you haven't checked out the New Moon trailer, you need to, its awesome!!

PS- If you enjoy this story (I really hope that you do so far!!) please check out my new story, My Mother's Footsteps. Its definitely not your run-of-the-mill Embry/Leah story :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight... sigh

Chapter 10: A Shoulder To Cry On

APOV

Three days after Levi was born I ran out of vodka.

"What's wrong Sweetie?" Hannah asked me that night before bed. I was curled up on the sofa, my knees tight to my chest.

"Nothing," my reply was short and sweet. I hadn't completely forgiven Hannah for lying to me about the pack; she had become the mother I'd always wanted and it stung to learn that she'd easily lied to me for months. My tiny fib was nothing by comparison; in reality I was having a mild panic attack as bedtime drew closer.

She eyed me for a while longer before I gave up fighting sleep and went to bed.

I woke to find myself surrounded by complete darkness, my pajamas and sheets drenched in cold sweat. It was just after three in the morning, and my hands were shaking so badly that I was having trouble wiping the tears from my face. With no hope for any more sleep, I crept downstairs and poured a glass of water.

"We're back to this again," I said to Angus as he stretched out across a heater in the kitchen. The cold wind blowing off of the ocean seeped through the old house and I shivered in my worn pajamas. I wandered into the living room, flipping through the channels and finding nothing of interest. I leaned into the couch and contemplated cleaning the oven to pass the time, but I knew what I really wanted to do.

I hadn't been to the beach after a nightmare since I'd seen something lurking in the woods, but I had a feeling I now knew what that something was. I pulled the blanket from the back of the couch, wrapped it around my shoulders, and headed out the back door.

The sand was cold on my bare feet as they made their way to the familiar rock that had served me well on many sleepless nights. I pulled my frozen toes under the blanket as I huddled, watching the moonlight bounce off of the waves and thinking about the past month. I'd been thrust into the world of myth and found out that the best friends I'd ever known were actually part of this secret society that protected people from vampires. The news had long since sunk in, and I'd had time to develop a few questions that had escaped me that first night at Sam's.

It didn't take long before I heard something stirring behind me in the trees. I fought the urge to turn and look; there was only one thing out there big enough to make all that noise and they posed no threat; at least not to me.

"It's been a long time since you've come out here," Embry spoke softly as he sat next to me in the semi-darkness.

"It's kind of creepy that you know that," I shifted my weight to bump him. "Why did you watch me, anyway?"

I could see his forehead crinkle in the dim light. "I had to make sure you were safe," he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Well, why didn't you just come sit with me then, instead of stalking me from the bushes?"

"That would have been a little hard to explain, don't ya think?" he laughed. "Besides, I was usually just ending a patrol around sunrise and you didn't stay much longer than that."

Knowing that this incredibly hot guy was worried about me made me feel, I don't know… special. My crush was growing to epic proportions; I didn't know what I was going to do when Embry brought a girl around, but I knew that it would not be pretty.

"Why are you out here anyway? Isn't it way past your bedtime?" Embry taunted, and although he was trying to get a rise out of me, he waited expectantly for an answer.

"I have trouble sleeping sometimes," I answered slowly, still unable to completely lie to him.

He nodded and seemed satisfied with my watered down version of the truth. We sat in silence until I shivered; the cold night air had long since infiltrated my blanket. He wrapped a long, muscled arm around my waist and pulled me to his side, the warmth from his body seeping into my bones.

"You're so warm," I mumbled, snuggling my face into his chest.

"Yeah, it's kind of a wolf thing…" he trailed off. We hadn't really discussed the physical part of being a werewolf, just that they were here to protect La Push from vampires. I was curious, but had avoided this conversation because I was afraid that it would make it more real.

"So you're really warm… what else?"

"Well, being this warm I don't really get sick, we're strong, big," I could tell he was holding something back.

"What?"

"We don't age," he said, watching my face carefully. "None of us, until we stop phasing we'll stay the age we are now."

Well, now that was an interesting tidbit. I thought about him being this beautiful forever when a thought occurred to me.

"Embry, how old are you?"

"I'm twenty remember? Stop looking at me like that," he gently ruffled my hair and I wiped the disgusted look off my face. I had remembered that he'd told me that the first time we'd met, but he wasn't exactly being completely honest back then.

"Are there many vampires in La Push?" Now that I had started asking questions, I couldn't seem to stop myself.

"Nah, we keep them pretty much under control." It could have been my imagination, but I could have sworn that his chest puffed out when he said that. It was then that I realized what really mattered here. Sure, I would have a hard time knowing about the supernatural world, but Embry was very proud of what he did. He protected his family and friends; no matter how he did it, it was noble.

"Do any of you ever get hurt?" After seeing Paul and Quil fight I was sure that there was nothing out there stronger than them, but I had to be sure that he wasn't in any danger.

"Mmm, Jared got pretty messed up last year by a small group, but he was by himself till we caught up," he began to laugh. "Kim was freaking pissed."

My brow furrowed. "So, you could get hurt?" I questioned. "How strong are they?" I'm sure he could hear the panic in my voice.

"Hey, its okay, we're really careful, it's a fluke if they catch us on our own," he said soothingly, but seeing that I wasn't convinced added, "and we heal really, really fast… look!"

He found a shape rock and picked it up, raking it against his arm.

"Embry, don't!" I moved to grab the rock, but the damage had been done and blood trickled from large scratch.

"It's okay, look, it already stopped bleeding." I watched, my mouth agape as the wound healed right before my eyes until it was nothing more than a thin, pink line on his forearm.

"That's incredible," my voice was barely above a whisper.

"Yeah it is pretty cool," Embry grinned.

As much as I wanted to continue my interrogation, my mouth stretched in a huge yawn and I suddenly felt very tired.

"It's late," Embry said, wrapping the blanket more securely around me. "You should try to get some sleep."

"No!" I said louder than I expected. No matter how tired I was, I wouldn't be able to handle another nightmare. "Can't we just stay here?" I asked, my voice a little sweeter than before.

"Whatever you want Shorty," he smiled. I settled my head back against his chest and let his heartbeat lull me into a state that was so close to sleep it was almost blissful.

~*~

Levi grew like a bad weed. He was such a good, quiet baby; an important trait for someone who is passed around like a hot potato. At first the burly men were afraid to touch the soft little infant, even Sam, but as time passed and Levi got bigger and stronger, they got more comfortable holding him.

Kim still hadn't seen the baby, and every time the door opened Emily would look up quickly, only to be disappointed. So when it came time for Levi's blessing ceremony, no one was surprised when Jared arrived alone.

There was however, one arrival that surprised everyone. Every wolf raised their head at the exact same moment, each wearing a confused look.

"Well holy shit," Paul mumbled as we heard the front door open.

"So where's the pup?" Jacob Black called as he entered the kitchen. It took everyone about two seconds to realize that he was actually standing there before the screaming started. Rachel launched herself at him and clung around his shoulders, tears threatening to escape from her tightly closed eyes.

"Glad you could make it, brother," Sam clapped him on the shoulder, obviously thrilled that the other leader had arrived to meet his son.

Everyone else surged forward and I lost sight of Jake for a moment, which allowed my vision to shift slightly. Jacob hadn't made the trip alone.

"Nessie!" I cried, leaping around the group mauling Jake to wrap my arms around the girl who had grown inches since I'd last seen her. Half-vampire or not, she was still my best friend.

"Andy, I missed you so much," she returned my hug with more strength than I was anticipating. She'd had a birthday since we'd last seen each other, and she was probably the biggest four year old in existence.

Jake and Nessie made their way around the kitchen, greeting and hugging the family that they had left behind. Unlike the other members of the pack, Jake didn't hesitate when he reached Emily, lifting Levi from her arms and bouncing him.

"Nessie didn't even stay this small for three days," he cooed, making googoo eyes at the baby.

"I bet you would have been a cute baby," I smiled at the gorgeous girl next to me.

"Would you like to see?" she asked. I smiled and nodded, waiting for her to pull out a picture. Instead I felt Embry stiffen on my other side as Nessie took my hand in hers and Emily's kitchen fell away, replaced by Nessie's Aunt Rosalie standing in a white bedroom in front of a large, ornate mirror.

"That's you, pretty baby," she said in a soft voice to the small child in her arms. The infant was pale, with deep brown eyes and a crown of bronze curls. I was right, Nessie had been an adorable baby.

The scene faded quickly and I found myself back in the kitchen with Embry growling quietly beside me.

"Don't use your freaky bloodsucker powers on her," he snarled. Jake handed Levi back to Emily, who rushed him out of the room, before standing directly in front of us.

"Calm down Em," he said sternly. The growling ceased, but Embry was still breathing very heavily.

"It's okay Embry," I smiled up at him before turning back to my little friend. "How did you do that?"

"We 'bloodsuckers'," she stuck her tongue out at Embry, "sometimes have special abilities. I can show you any thought, feeling, or memory I have; that one was from the day I was born."

My brain was on a serious information overload, so as everyone else made their way outside where the ceremony was to take place, I stayed in the kitchen and downed a beer from the fridge. I placed the empty bottle with the others and turned to go outside when a flash of green caught my eye. I turned to the counter where Rachel's purse lay open, a twenty dollar bill peeking out. My nights were becoming harder and harder, and my lack of sleep had me desperate, so I did something I thought I'd never do: I snatched the bill and shoved it into the front pocket of my jeans.

I'll pay her back, I promised myself, leaning against the counter. I never wanted this; stealing from my friends so that I could sleep through the night. No, I couldn't do this. Rachel and Paul had been great towards me, they didn't deserve this. I reached into my pocket to put the money back when I heard the door open behind me.

"Hey stranger, long time, no see," Kale stood in a t-shirt, oblivious to the chilly November weather. "They're ready to start." He picked up my coat and handed it to me. I tried to clear the shock from my face as I took it and followed him into the backyard, the money still in my pocket.

~*~

The blessing was beautiful; Emily and Sam were beaming as Old Quil held him high into the air (with the help of Jake) and presented him to the gods. The entire pack was there, laughing and celebrating with the new parents, and for once Emily didn't get anywhere near the kitchen.

"Can you hand me the cutting board Andy?" Rachel asked. We had snuck away from the party in order to ice the cake that we had baked in the shape of a bottle; Rachel's time in culinary school was really starting to pay off.

"It's kind of crazy that they came back right?" I asked, looking through the glass door towards Nessie and Jake. They were somehow mounting a snowball attack on Quil, Claire and Jared from the previous nights light dusting. "I mean, they didn't even tell anyone."

"Yeah, that's Jake, he's very theatrical," Rachel smiled. She missed Jake the most out of everyone he'd left behind. Paul told me once that he was the only reason she had come back after college in the first place. The door opened and I turned to see Jared shaking the snow out of his hair. He gave me a sad smile before joining everyone else in the living room.

"This has been tough on him," Rachel said, arranging freshly chopped banana slices on the chocolate-bottle nipple.

"What has?"

"Whatever's going on between Kim and Emily. Since Kim won't come over anymore, he feels like he's spilt down the middle, like he has to choose between his pack and his fiancé. Its his job and his responsibility to be out protecting La Push, and these guys are his brothers, but every time he's here he feel's like he's betraying her. He wants to help her but she won't even tell him what's wrong." She finished decorating the cake and stood back to examine her work.

"Wow, how do you know all that?" I asked as I collected plates and forks.

"He told me, broke down at our place one night and then made me swear not to tell a soul," she said with a smile.

"Well… why are you telling me then?" Rachel and I got along fine, but we weren't exactly sharing gossip about the pack just yet.

"Because I need your help," she turned to me fully, her height and fierce eyes very intimidating. "Kim won't talk to me, I kind of took Emily's side in the beginning of this whole mess. We need to fix this for the sake of the pack; Kim trusts you, you have to talk to her."

"When should I go?" I knew she was right, I may not have been around for very long, but I could see what the feud was doing to the pack.

"I'll put this in the fridge," she lifted the cake from the table, "and we'll wait for you."

"Now? You want me to go talk to her now?" I asked flatly.

"No time like the present Andy," she pushed me gently towards the front door.

~*~

"Kim?" I called, looking around the small apartment. Jared had promised Kim a house when he had proposed, but until it was built they lived above the convenience store. She didn't respond, but I could hear water sloshing so I headed for the bathroom.

"Kim, what are you doing?" She was standing in the half full bathtub, scrubbing the shower walls like her very life depended on their cleanliness.

"The apartment was filthy," she grunted, the water in the tub splashing around her ankles as she moved. Her face was twisted in concentration, the skin stretched taut over her wide cheekbones.

"Kim, what's wrong?" I asked, reaching out and took the sponge from her. She slowly dropped her hand to her side and her eyes closed.

"Kim?" I watched in utter horror as one of the strongest people I'd ever known started to sob, tears streaking down her face. She started to sway and I quickly grabbed her by the shoulders, leading her out of the bathtub and leaving a wet trail to the living room.

"Kim, do you want me to get Jared?" I'd never seen this kind of pain pouring out of one person before, and it scared me. She and Jared were so close, so utterly bonded that if she were in this much pain, she'd want his comfort.

"N-no!" she cried between sobs, leaving me at a loss for words. I sat next to her on the couch and waited for her tears to subside. Finally, after crying more than anyone should be able to cry, I heard her whisper.

"Jared can't know."

"Jared can't know what?" I asked, positive that I didn't want to know the answer.

She paused before answering me, her eyes filling with more tears.

"I can't have kids," she leaned forward, putting her face in her hands. I, meanwhile, had frozen in place. I had no idea how to comfort this poor girl; this was grown-up stuff, and I was terribly unequipped to handle it.

"Kim, I'm sure-" I began.

"I found out a few years ago," she cut me off. "I had cancer and the doctor told me…" she stopped and sniffed.

"Kim… I'm so sorry." What else could I say?

Kim barked a loud, sarcastic laugh. "Yeah, and the best part of this whole goddamn mess is that I'm probably going to lose Jared!" She threw her hands into the air and began pacing while I stared at her, confused. Jared adored her, there's no way this could split them up.

"I mean, seriously!" she ranted, unleashing months of pent up emotion. "If Sam's right about imprinting being all about reproduction, why would Jared imprint on me? It was after the Doc told me I'm barren, so there was never a chance of any little puppies. So now what? Will he imprint on someone else and leave me behind? I can't handle that, I can't lose him!" She was on the borderline of hysterics so I did what I'd seen in some old movies that Embry and I had watched over the summer: I slapped her.

"Kim! It'll be okay, Jared loves you," I reasoned, praying the look of rage that had appeared on her face would soon fade. While her eyes lost some of their ferocity, she made a point of rubbing her red cheek as she sat back down.

"So that's why you've been angry with Emily?" I guessed.

"I'm not mad at Emily," she sighed. "I'm jealous. I want that for myself, for us, someday and it's killing me knowing that I can't. I look at Emily, and I see everything I can't have." She leaned back into the couch, seeming relieved to finally have everything out in the open.

"Kim," Something she'd said was tugging at my memory. "What's imprinting? You mentioned it a few times…" Kim's face had flushed of all color and her eyes were as wide as saucers.

"Um… what?" she cleared her throat and strode quickly into the kitchen.

"Wait Kim!" I ran after her. "What? Is it something to do with the wolves?"

"Yeah, kind of," she took a beer from the fridge. She was only nineteen, but the boys all looked like they were in their mid-twenties so they were never asked for I.D.

"It's when they see their soul mate, their other half, for the first time after they phase" she said, taking a long swig. "Jared imprinted on me in our senior year, Sam and Emily have quite the imprint story, and Paul imprinted on Rachel. It's the bond that they feel towards us."

"Will they all imprint?" Please say no.

"Probably, eventually." She said, finishing her beer. "You know, I think we should go see Emily; I'd like to meet the pack's first cub." She headed for her bedroom and I was left alone in the kitchen, trying to catch my breath. The thought of Embry Call finding and falling in love-at-first-sight with his soul mate made me nauseous.

I used the counter to support myself as I tried to calm down. He was five years older than me and obviously wanted nothing more than friendship between us. I gave my head a well deserved shake; this teeny tiny was getting way out of hand.

A/N Okay, so the Nessie/Jacob visit was self-indulgence of the worst kind, but I had a request for a conversation with Nessie and I like to give my readers what they want!!

Awesome guys, thanks again for reading and review, review REVIEW!!

Nikki ;)