You poor people have had to wait so long for this. I sincerely appologize. I've just started College back up, didn't have internet, had a crazy virus, and generally have just been very busy. But here is chapter eleven for you, finally, which I hope you all enjoy. Please keep in mind that this was written before Breaking Dawn was released, and therefore does not follow it's storyline.

Chapter Eleven – And Then I Met You

"So, what do you think of the leeches?" Quil asked his pretty wife, as they lay together in bed, having just woken up from an afternoon nap. Claire was on her side, with her husband curled up against her back, his arm around her waist, holding her close.

"They weren't at all what I was expecting," she replied with a yawn.

"What were you expecting?" her husband asked, nuzzling the junction between her neck and her shoulder, smelling the wonderful scent of his mate.

"I don't know…something scarier," she responded, and let out a sigh of pleasure in response to her husband's actions.

"How is a blood sucking vampire not scary enough?" Quil asked, pressing warm kisses to her neck.

"But they don't suck blood. At least, not human blood," Claire reminded him, pressing back against the strong, muscular body, which was behind her own. Little gasps escaped her mouth whenever his lips found a particularly sensitive spot on her neck.

"And there was one thing that really made me think about – Quil, stop, I'm trying to have a conversation with you," Claire moaned as he sucked on her tender skin.

"I'm sorry, love, but you're just so delicious," Quil responded with a wicked grin, biting down gently.

"Oh God-" Claire groaned. "You can finish that after our conversation. And I'll talk fast," the blonde promised, hoping that would convince her husband to give her brain back to her.

"Whatever you want, my love," he replied, pulling away.

She rolled over so they were facing one another. "I just…I don't know why, but that blonde woman with the little girl…it just surprised me so much. And I think it made me like them more than I would have otherwise," Claire explained.

Quil smiled softly at his wife, and pulled her in for a sweet kiss. "That's because you're such a wonderful, kind person," he insisted. "You empathized with her…it's not an unusual thing to do. Although I doubt you would have done so if Rosalie was the same as she was fourteen years ago," he finished with a look of disgust.

"Why's that?" Claire asked.

"Because the last time we saw her, she was the vainest creature on the planet. Being a mother has obviously calmed her down," the werewolf explained.

"Well," Claire responded. "She has every reason to be vain. She's the most beautiful person I've ever seen."

"She's not as beautiful as you are," Quil whispered, his voice low.

Claire blushed dark red, before allowing her husband to kiss her senseless. Deciding that was as far as their conversation needed to go for now, they proceeded to make love for the third time that day.

Much later that night, Quil and Claire joined the others for dinner in the dining hall. The little red-haired girl was there, in a pretty blue and cream-colored dress.

"You're the other wolf girl!" Evelyn exclaimed upon seeing Claire and Quil together. "My Aunt Bella told me all about you."

The blonde smiled affectionately at the young girl. "Bella knows a lot of things, doesn't she?" Claire remarked.

"Yes," the redhead replied evenly.

"My name's Claire," the elder of the two human girls remarked, sticking her hand out toward the child's.

Evelyn took it and shook it politely. "My name is Evelyn, but everyone calls me Evie," she insisted.

"Well, it was a pleasure to meet you, Evie," Claire remarked with a big smile. For some reason, she already felt a rush of affection for the young girl, the kind of affection she had always thought she should feel for her sister Virginie, but never had.

"Hey Claire! Who's that you're talking to?" called a familiar voice, the voice of the only person who hadn't been present when Rosalie had first carried the girl into the palace.

The blonde looked up from where she was kneeling by Evie's chair to see a much more relaxed Jacob approaching. "This is Rosalie's daughter. You missed her when they came in, you weren't back yet," Claire explained. "Jake, this is Evelyn. Evie, this is Jacob."

"Pleased to meet you, Jacob," Evie remarked politely, but there was no response. Claire turned to admonish her brother-in-law for his rudeness, and was shocked by the sight her eyes fell upon.

Jake was staring at the little girl, his eyes as round as plates and his mouth hanging open. Claire looked at him in confusion. "Jake – what?"

At that moment Rosalie saw what was going on. "NO!" she shrieked, her voice painfully shrill. "No, no, no! Get that mutt away from my daughter!"

Everyone's attention was on Jake and Evie at that point.

"Oh, fuck," Quil whispered under his breath, having just turned around from where he was standing and talking to Embry. Only Claire was close enough to hear.

"What's going on?" she asked in confusion, looking at her husband.

"Jake just imprinted on Evie," Quil explained, and Claire's own eyes went wide with understanding.

Rosalie was still shrieking, as Carlisle and Emmett attempted to calm her. Jake was staring at Evie, who was blushing the same color as her hair from all of the attention. Everyone else was either silent with shock, or whispering to one another.

Finally, the vampires managed to get Rosalie to leave the room, but as the reached the door, she turned back around.

"Evie, come on," she called.

The redhead sulked, for some reason not wanting to leave this intriguing new situation. "But mom, I want to stay!"

"Evelyn Adele Cullen, if you don't get over here right now you will never see another piece of chocolate cake for the rest of your life!" Rosalie shrieked. That caused the girl to pale and rush toward the door, disappearing with her parents and grandfather into the hall.

All at once, everyone in the room let out the breath they had been holding and began to talk loudly to one another. Jacob seemed to come back to reality at that point, although he was still dazed.

"Wow," he said, eyes still huge. "I knew it was supposed to – but I never realized – God, I feel – " but he was unable to finish any of his thoughts.

The door opened, and Carlisle's head appeared. "Bella," he called, and the dark haired vampire rushed to join her family in the corridor.

The people in the dining hall could hear Rosalie's screaming, but no one could make out exactly what she was saying. Everyone in the room was on edge, except for Jake, who looked as though nothing could ever go wrong again.

The door opened again, and this time, Bella stuck her head into the room.

"Sam?" she called pleadingly, and the alpha wolf reluctantly went out into the hall.

The tension continued to rise with every moment that passed. Edward probably knew exactly what was going on outside, and Alice probably knew how it would all turn out, but neither of them said anything.

Finally, after what felt like hours, the group returned from the corridor. Rosalie did not look happy, but Evelyn was skipping, and Jake couldn't take his eyes off the little girl – or the huge grin off his face. Emmett looked bemused, and the others looked relieved, which Claire suspected was a good thing.

"Everyone, sit down," Sam called, very much in Alpha Wolf Mode.

Everyone immediately obeyed.

Sam stood at the head of the table and began speaking. "As you are all aware, Jake has just imprinted on Evelyn Cullen." Everyone nodded their understanding.

"Thanks to Bella Cullen, Evelyn was already aware of the pack and our abilities, including imprinting. The knowledge that Jake has imprinted on her, therefore, is not a complete shock," the King of the Quiletes continued.

"As the head of the pack, I discussed options with Evelyn's parents, and we have reached an agreement."

Everyone held their breath as they waited for the decision to be announced.

"We have agreed to the betrothal of Jacob and Evelyn, with the marriage to occur in six years – when she has reached the age of sixteen."

Everyone let his or her breath out.

"Additionally, the Cullens have all been invited to make their home here among us, an offer which they will have to discuss and get back to us on," Sam explained.

"Actually, we'll be accepting," piped up the cheerful voice of Alice Cullen. Everyone turned to look at her. "Well, they all know what they're going to say," she explained with a shrug.

Sam nodded in approval.

"Oh, and of course, we won't hunt on the palace grounds. And as long as we're within ten miles of Bella, we won't even think about going after humans. Not that we would if we didn't have her, she just guarantees that nothing will happen," Alice continued, already foreseeing his stipulations and her family's reaction to them.

"Well then," Sam remarked, taken aback. "Why don't we eat?"

The humans and wolves all agreed, and the food was brought in. The vampires merely socialized, and everyone watched Jake and Evie with fascination, as the love he felt for her was so obviously apparent that it was palpable. But what was even more interesting was the way the ten-year-old girl reacted to her husband-to-be. It was as if she already had great affection for him as well.

It probably didn't hurt, Claire thought to herself with a huge smile, that Jake made sure Evie got the biggest piece of chocolate cake on the table for dessert.