A/N: The chapter title says it all. We get more information on Maura's background. Plus, more Jacob! This is definitely my longest chapter yet.

Thank you to the usual suspects for their support and reviews (sles, Aelyaniara, Tears_of_Mercury, WishIWasBella781, Constance Bleu, Britt01, Gryffindor Gurl2, MyBlueSide, Trixie317, Buffyk0604, and DreamOnDreamer) and to some new reviewers: hymnophile, pierceK7, and loquacious lethality. And I am thrilled that new people are adding me to their favorites!

Big, fat thank you to my beta Dee Michelle! She must have her degree in working with technotards because she pulled me through document fail in addition to everything else.

Disclaimer: Smeyer's.

Chapter 13 - Answers

Maura's overstuffed bag made running nearly impossible. Making her way to the main road, she decided to spend her tip money on a cab ride to the airport. She could not believe her luck when she actually flagged one down within ten minutes. She hopped inside, crinkling her nose at the stale smell of smoke. "Airport," she choked out, trying not to breathe through her nose. Just then, her phone vibrated. She pulled it from her pocket and read the text.

"It's Leah. Em gave me your number. Where we going?"

Maura texted back. "Charleston. Be there in 30." Squeezing her eyes closed and blowing out a shaky breath, she realized she was both relieved and anxious at the thought of meeting up with Leah. She sent a prayer to the gods that Leah wouldn't be mean or hard or sarcastic or…Leah.

It was with that thought that Maura hesitantly pushed her way through the crowd at the airport and toward the Delta ticketing counter. Though Maura was swallowed whole by the crush of people, it wasn't at all hard to spot Leah right away. At six-one, she towered over most people, including the men. Her ice cold stare and don't-fuck-with-me attitude subconsciously intimidated passersby into giving her a wide berth.

Maura took a deep breath and approached. She opened her mouth to speak but no words came out. Her emotions were bouncing all over the place, because seeing Leah after all that had just recently happened to her was both the best and worst thing she could imagine. She snapped her mouth shut quickly as she felt her throat close and tears begin to sting her eyes.

And then Leah smiled, grabbed one of Maura's bags, and flung it over her shoulder. "You're late." Maura let out a strangled laugh and relaxed just a little.

The flight to Charleston, the closest city to Maura's mother's hometown, did not leave until early the next morning. They decided to use Maura's credit card to rent a car and drive instead. As they left the outskirts of Atlanta behind, Leah filled Maura in on what Billy had told everyone the day before about the affects of a broken imprint. She also explained imprinting, the "it" Embry had referred to a few times before. It was all so weird and hard to digest. Maura thought about the way Sam and Emily looked at each other. She thought about Leah and Henry, and Jared and Kim. She remembered wanting that, too, someday. Wanting someone to look at her like that and feel that way about her. But Jacob did not seem to want it, had actually run away from it. And, hell, she wondered, did she want it from him? She didn't even know him. It seemed a little too good to be true and like some sort of arranged marriage. Then she thought about what her mother had written in the letter and the odd tilting feeling she felt when she saw Jacob.

"Okay. I've got something for you, now." Maura pulled the crumpled envelope out of her pocket and passed it to Leah. She watched the road in front of her intently as Leah read.

"Wow. Did you just get this?" Leah asked, shaking her head in disbelief. Maura nodded. "So, you really have no idea why this is happening to you."

Maura raised her hand. "Scout's honor."

Leah's phone rang. "Hello," she barked, not bothering to check to see who was calling. Maura smirked at Leah's naturally harsh tone, then watched as Leah visibly relaxed. "Hey, baby. Slight change of plans. I've decided to go with Maura to see some long lost cousin in South Carolina. It might be important. How's Jake?" Maura's heart raced a little at Leah's mention of Jacob's name. "Yeah," Leah continued, "she says she's fine, but she looks kind of sick. She might have a fever. She just started to flush, anyways." Maura rolled her eyes and turned her gaze back to the road.

"So, Jacob is still sick, too?" Maura asked when Leah hung up, trying to inject indifference in her tone. Leah raised an eyebrow at her and nodded. Damn, Leah was totally not buying the nonchalant act. She felt like she need to play it cool with Leah, but then she could not help herself. "What's he like?"

"A-ha!" Leah laughed. "Well, you just have to come back to La Push and find out, now don't you?"

*****

Jacob sat up in bed, breathing heavily and sweating. He realized immediately that he had just been dreaming. He looked at the clock by the bed. It was five in the afternoon. He had slept for a few hours after Seth had called to report that Leah had made contact with Maura and was meeting her at the Atlanta airport. He could not believe the relief he felt knowing she was safe. And now this dream. He could not get her off his mind.

"Damn imprint," he muttered, throwing the sheets back and getting out of bed. He shuffled to the kitchen while images flashed in his mind. In the dream, they were back in the woods. Maura was facing the vampire, but Seth and Leah couldn't get to her. The bloodsucker edged closer and gripped her forearm, crushing the bones, while Jacob tried to achieve impossible speeds to reach her. He ran faster and faster, muscles straining and tearing, but no matter how much ground he covered, Maura remained just out of reach.

"Afternoon, sleepyhead." Billy smiled at him from the living room. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Just fine." Jacob pulled the milk from the refrigerator and drank straight from the jug. He saw his dad frown at him. He hated when Jacob did that.

"Bad dream?" Billy asked.

"Huh?" Jacob looked up, startled, as milk dribbled down his chin. He swiped at it with his arm. "What are you talking about?"

"You were yelling. I went to check on you, but you wouldn't wake up. And you were sweating. You still are," Billy observed. "What was it about?"

"Nothing. Her. The other night in the woods." He sat down next to his dad. He might as well tell him about it, though the smug expression on his dad's face was really starting to irritate him. "I couldn't get to her. The leech crushed her arm and was about to bite her, and I couldn't get there. I'm sure it's all the stress."

"Stress. Sure," Billy agreed. "How did you feel when you woke up?"

Jacob sighed in irritation. "Panicked. Worried. I can't stop thinking about her. And —don't, Dad," Jacob warned as Billy tried to hide his knowing smile. "Just listen. This doesn't mean anything. I only feel the need to protect her because I imprinted on her. We don't even know each other. We might hate each other. She might not want some stranger around, stalking her. It's weird."

"I can understand that. So, give it a chance. Get to know her," Billy advised.

"Yeah, well, she might not come back here. Then what? I'm sick for the rest of my life and worried about some person I can't protect? That sounds like quite a future." Jacob was angry again. The happiness he felt over finally coming home and the satisfaction of joining his friends in destroying that rogue band of vampires was twisted into something else by his conflicting emotions over Maura. He snatched the phone from the table and dialed Embry. "Hey, man. What are you doing tonight? I need to get out for a while. We could head over to Port Angeles."

"Sure, man. I'll call and cancel with Karen. And I'll call Quil. You still have your fake ID?" Embry asked.

"It's around here somewhere. You guys be here about eight. I'll drive." Jacob hung up. Nothing like a night on the town with his boys to get his mind off of…things.

Several hours later, Jacob found himself in some cheesy bar, surrounded by two empty pitchers of beer and his very drunk best friends. He was sufficiently tipsy, as well, and hoping that anytime now he would get his mind off of Maura.

"Dude. She's hot," Quil commented as their waitress left to get them another pitcher of beer.

"You've said that for the last hour. Ask her out already," Embry laughed and shoved Quil off his bar stool toward the bar.

"I guess he's not trying to save himself for Claire, then," Jacob noted.

Embry shook his head. "Nah. He says it's like this. Let's say they are meant for each other, right? That's still a good fifteen years down the road. Can you imagine not having sex, ever, for fifteen years?" Jacob shook his head. Quil would chronologically be in his thirties by then. Embry continued, "And, besides, what if Claire doesn't want that with him? What if she just wants a platonic relationship with the family friend she's known all her life? What if Quil just wants that, too? He says he can't even begin to think about a romantic relationship with her, even in the future. It's just too weird. He's like her godfather or something. In any case, that's why he's not around her family all the time. He watches over her from afar, just in case someday things are different."

Jacob nodded. "I get that." He began absent-mindedly turning his empty beer mug over and over on the table.

"You seem distracted, man. What's up?" Embry asked.

Jacob started to shrug off the question, but then thought twice about it. It had been a long time since he had hung out with his friends, and it felt good to talk. "Okay, change of subject. Has there been any news lately about…the Cullens?" He cringed a little as the words came out.

"That's more Seth's department, but no. I don't think he's heard from them since they left shortly after the abomination known as "the wedding," Embry replied. Jacob snorted at his comment. "You still think about Bella?"

Jacob was silent for several minutes, letting the sound of Bella's name sink into his brain. He thought it would be so painful to come back home. He had dreaded it, and that was why it had taken him so long to finally return. Bella. Hmmm. He laughed to himself in surprise. "You know, I haven't even thought about her until a few minutes ago."

Embry looked at him pointedly and chuckled. "Yeah. I guess you've had other things on your mind."

Jacob's response was cut off by Quil's return to the table.

"Got her number," Quil grinned, looking back at their waitress as he set down a new pitcher. "What about you guys? See anybody you like?" He motioned around the crowded room.

Jacob followed the gesture, noting the cramped tables, the small dance floor, and the overly loud music. He watched a group of college-aged girls dancing and laughing. He could easily be attracted to a few of them. Maybe he would go dance later.

"I've got a girlfriend, dumb ass," Embry reminded Quil.

"Well, good for you, Mr. Faithful. Some of us aren't that lucky."

"Yeah. Karen's pretty cool. It's just…." Embry paused.

"Out with it. What?" Jacob prodded him.

"I just wish I knew if I was ever going to imprint. If I'm not, then I could stop waiting for it. I could figure out how I honestly feel about Karen. Which is shitty of me, but I can't help questioning whether she's the one since I haven't imprinted on her."

"Imprinting is not all that great, it turns out," Quil said. Jacob and Embry looked at him in surprise. He had never really discussed it with them before. "Okay, we've got my situation. Explain that to an outsider and see if I don't go to jail. Then, we've got the way Sam cut Leah's heart out when he imprinted on her cousin and all the bitterness that followed. Then, we've got Jared who never looked twice at Kim until after he phased for the first time. She's sweet and all, but he wouldn't have picked her if he hadn't imprinted on her. And now, Mr. Misery over here who doesn't want to imprint but did."

"On a completely hot chick, too," Embry added.

"I don't even know her," Jacob said in disgust.

"What's to know, dude. A - she's hot. Secondly, she's cool. I work with her, and I can tell you she's pretty awesome," Embry said.

"But I don't know that. How is she awesome?" Jacob watched, with some unexpected jealousy, as Quil and Embry exchanged knowing looks.

"She likes cool music. A lot of retro stuff that she says her mom listened to. She's, I don't know, easy to be around. She can be pretty funny, too," Embry began.

"And she stood up to Leah," Quil laughed, "which makes her either tough or stupid. Emily, the sweetest woman on the planet next to my own mother, loves her."

"And she's hot," Embry grinned and punched Jacob on the arm. "So is that girl over there who can't take her eyes off you, Jake. Gonna do something about that?"

Jacob laughed as he got up from the bar stool and headed toward the girl in question.

"Lucky bastard," Quil muttered and shook his head.

*****

"Welcome to Moncks Corner, Capital of Santee Cooper Country, Population 8,697." Leah read the sign as they drove into the area where Maura's cousin Jenny lived. "You think they have a motel open at this hour?" It was just past two in the morning, and they had been driving all night.

"I have no idea. I guess I should have stopped to plan this out better. We don't even know where in Moncks Corner she lives or if she's even still alive." Maura sighed wearily. "Well, there's a Waffle House that's open. Want to hang out in there until we figure out what to do?" Leah yawned and nodded, so Maura pulled off the state highway and into the parking lot.

"I'll just have a coffee, black, and a waffle please." Maura placed her order after Leah selected practically one of everything from the menu. The waitress looked questioningly at Leah one more time before walking away. "Hungry much, Leah?"

"I'm a growing wolfette. Shut it." Leah looked around the half-full restaurant. "Maybe someone in here knows her. We could ask." She pulled her ringing phone out of her pocket and looked at the screen. "It's Jacob. Here," she said, handing the phone to Maura.

"What? No," Maura protested, blushing furiously.

"Oh, please. You should have seen your eyes light up when I said his name. Now hurry before it goes to voice mail." Leah flipped open the phone and shoved it against Maura's ear.

"Uh, hello?" Maura's stomach tightened with nerves.

"Hey…Maura? It's Jacob."

Tingles, maybe even goose bumps, spread up her arms and down her body. Jesus. "I can barely hear you. Where are you?"

"I think it's called Easy's," he laughed nervously. Why the hell did Maura answer Leah's phone? He motioned to the girl with him to be quiet. Why? Why did he do that? "I was just checking in. You guys okay?"

"Yes. I talked Leah into coming to South Carolina with me." Maura heard giggling in the not-so-distant background. Was Jacob with a girl? Jealousy turned her stomach. Ugh. Why did she care?

"Oh, so I guess you're not coming back here —" Jacob was cut off by the girl grabbing the phone from him. Maura heard her shout, "You going to talk all night? I thought you just had to call your, who was it, your sister?" Then the line went dead.

Maura flipped the phone closed and handed it to Leah. "He was just checking in."

"So why did you hang up on him?" Leah narrowed her eyes angrily.

"I didn't. The girl he was with did." Maura stood up. "I'm going to the bathroom."

"Smooth, Jacob," Leah snarled. As she walked away, Maura heard Leah dial the phone and then hiss, "Dumb ass!"

Jacob sighed wearily at Leah's curse. "Shut it, Leah. I got rid of her." Jacob had practically cussed the girl out, clearly ending their flirtation and possible hook up. He didn't know why he was that mad about it, but he was. "Now, why are you in South Carolina?"

"We're trying to find this cousin of hers who might have some idea why all this is happening to her. Then I'm going to convince her to come back. So play nice, damn it." They hung up a few minutes later. Returning from the bathroom, Maura watched Leah flag down the waitress and heard her ask, "Do you happen to know of an old woman who lives around here named Jenny Black?"

The waitress widened her eyes, clearly taken by surprise. "That's my great aunt. Why? Who are you?"

"She," Leah pointed to Maura, "is a relative."

"I don't think so. I've never laid eyes on you." The waitress shook her head warily.

"My mother, Kate Black, was her cousin."

*****

Later that day, Maura and Leah found themselves in a ramshackle house off a long forgotten county road, sipping sweet tea with a gray haired, wrinkled wisp of a woman. Cousin Jenny. After a hasty introduction, Maura gave a jumbled account of their family connection and her recent revelations. Jenny smiled, revealing several missing teeth, and told them to get comfortable, because what she had to tell them might take some time.

"All us Blacks came from Scotland some time ago or another. Run off our own land there, so the story goes." She smiled devilishly, her gray eyes twinkling. "Least the females were. We would have been part of them witch trials that were so popular, if we'd settled up north. Some even went so far as to abandon baby girls born in our family. Crazy runs in the females of this family, Maura. Really, I'm surprised your mama never came to see me herself. I knew she had it in her, the gift."

"But I don't understand. Why do you call it a gift? And why is it so selective? Could my mother hear people, too?" Maura found herself leaning anxiously toward her elderly cousin.

Jenny reached out to pat her hand. "I don't know. The gift hasn't been necessary in several generations, from what I understand. It only surfaces if there's an imminent danger, a need." Jenny drained the rest of her sweet tea, staring thoughtfully at Maura.

"What imminent danger?" Maura could feel her heartbeat quicken and her breathing became more shallow. Jenny pursed her lips and cocked her head towards Leah suspiciously. "Please, Jenny, I have to know. And Leah is a part of this. I hear her. She's one of the people I can hear."

"I'll put it like this, then. You are like the first line of defense. You can sense the danger and then communicate with the guardians. In Scotland, the guardians were wolves, werewolves." She winked at Leah. "The Black family women are watchers or sentinels. We ring the alarm, so to speak, when the blood suckers are near."

Maura gasped and shivered as chills prickled down her spine. She looked at Leah when she heard the soft growl rumble from her chest. "Vampires." Maura's voice was barely a whisper. She took a long, slow breath, hoping to calm down. "But before I met the Quileutes all I heard was static. Why now? Why them?"

Jenny grinned, but shrugged her shoulders. "Destiny?" And then she lost herself in what seemed to be a senile fit of giggles.

*****

The flight back to Seattle included a layover in Utah. Maura and Leah spent the time talking, analyzing every detail of their visit with cousin Jenny and trying to decide how and why fate had brought them all together.

"Jacob hates the whole fate thing. I did, too, for a long time." Leah sighed, stretching and trying to find a more comfortable position on the vinyl seats as they waited to re-board the plane for the final leg of their flight.

"God. I really don't know about this, Leah." Maura rubbed her glassy eyes. She still felt like she had the flu.

"Jesus, Maura, we're halfway there already. We discussed this all the way from Charleston to Atlanta. You are coming back with me. End of story. Jacob will have to get over himself."

Maura sighed. She was not convinced that moving to La Push was the right thing to do. True, she didn't have many choices of places to go, but barging into their lives, into Jacob's life, like this made her feel queasy. She had broken out into a cold sweat right before Leah dragged her to the ticket counter in Atlanta to purchase their tickets back to Seattle. But she'd gotten on the plane with Leah, anyway.

Leah, the bitch from hell, who had unexpectedly grabbed her into an awkward hug when Maura broke down just before going through security at the Atlanta airport. She had not let go until Maura finished crying. "Come home, Maura," Leah had said just a few short hours ago, more a command than a request.

And now, when the gate attendant announced last call, Leah grabbed Maura's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze before pulling her roughly off the waiting room chair and down the jetway.

Sue and Seth met them at the Seattle airport. Maura was surprised to find herself able to breathe a little easier just at the sight of them. Her chills had finally stopped, too.

"You're staying with us, in Leah's old room," Sue informed her from the driver's seat as they drove away from the airport. Leah's room was vacant since she had moved in with Henry a year ago.

"What if," Maura hesitated. She turned to look at Seth who was in the backseat with her. "What if I can't do this? I can't explain how I feel. I feel like I can't b-breathe when I think about Jacob. I don't want to be responsible for making him unhappy. La Push is his home." Her face flushed crimson. Her physical reaction seemed so out of control.

Leah turned around. "You can do this. Whichever way it works out, we'll help you." It was so strange to suddenly have Leah as an ally.

"I've spoken to Billy, Maura," Sue said. "Jacob is willing to get to know you. To be friends. Imprinting doesn't always have to mean love. Take Quil, for instance. You know, he imprinted on Emily's niece, Claire. And she just turned five." Maura gasped in shock before Sue continued. "He's not in love with her. It's nothing like that. He's tied to her. He will always protect her, but he will only be what she needs him to be at any given moment. Someday it might mean something different, but maybe not. She's got a guardian angel, though, for life."

Maura thought about that. A real life guardian angel to protect her and keep her safe. The little girl inside of her who missed her mother and who ached for Gran reached out, seizing the idea, willing it to be true. Big, fat tears rolled down her cheeks.

Later that night, Sue came to the bedroom door to check on Maura before turning in for the night. "If you need anything, Maura, please come get me or Seth. If you get scared or lonely, we're here."

"I don't know how to say thank you, Sue. I feel like…I don't know." She sighed. Sue smiled reassuringly and closed the door. Maura was about to flip off the light to go to sleep when her cell phone rang. "Hello?"

"Welcome home, Maura." It was Leah. Maura was speechless. After a moment of silence, Leah grumbled, "Henry made me call." Maura heard Henry laugh in the background, and she managed to chuckle herself.

"Home." Maura said softly. "Yeah. Thanks, Leah."

*****

A/N: Reviews are win!