Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

The chapel at the funeral home was nearly empty when Charlie and Bella came in. Sue and the kids were talking with her and Harry's parents. Emmett stood just inside the doors and enveloped Bella in a hug as soon as she walked in.

"Hey."

"Hey," he said quietly.

"Is she okay?" she asked, looking at Leah.

"She hasn't said much since it happened. I keep telling her that she needs to tell me what's going on so I can help her. She hasn't completely shut me out though."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"She may not say much, but she's been crying. I can be there for her in other ways."

"That's good."

Bella saw Charlie motion for her to come over and Emmett let go of her. She was introduced to both sets of parents before Emily pulled her off.

"I want you to meet someone," Emily said.

They walked to where the pallbearers were going to sit and a young guy stood to greet them.

"This is my brother, Jason."

"It's nice to meet you," Bella said politely.

"This is Bella. Jason is going to the best man at my wedding."

"Congratulations."

"Thank you," he said with a smile.

Seth came to stand in between the girls and draped an arm over each shoulder. The four of them talked while the chapel filled. Embry stood at Bella's side and she took his hand in hers. She squeezed it lightly before letting go.

Charlie came to tell them that the funeral was about to start and Bella went to sit with him and Billy. Sandra, Mae, Quil Sr., Claire, Rachel, Paul, and Kelly rounded out the row. Bella almost cried when Seth read a letter that he had written to his dad. Leah went up to tell everyone about the last time that she had talked to her dad and broke down halfway through. Sue came up to console her while she tried to finish.

The service was over ten minutes later. Paul helped Billy into Charlie's truck while Jacob drove Billy's truck to the gravesite ahead of them since he was a pallbearer.

"Do you want to ride with me?" Embry asked as he stood next to her.

"Sure."

They walked to the Mustang in silence and he opened her door for her before running around to his side. He started the car just as Sam's Jeep moved ahead of him. The twenty minute ride to the cemetery was filled with silence.

At the cemetery Sandra stood with Bella and Charlie. It had started to rain and Bella opened the umbrella just as Embry came to stand with them. Bella put a hand on his shoulder and he moved closer to her.

A few minutes later they were walking back to his car.

"Do you want to come with me?"

"I can't. My dad has to work tonight and I still need to talk to him. I'm coming later."

"Why haven't you told your dad?"

"He's been pretty torn up about Harry. He helped Sue and Leah plan the funeral. I haven't seen him for longer than an hour in the past few days."

"Do you want me to go with you?"

"No. I can handle it. I'll see you in a couple of hours."

He pulled her in for a hug, holding her tightly. She breathed deep, taking in his scent. She saw Charlie waiting by the truck and she pulled away.

"Do you promise that you'll come by later?"

"I swear I will."

"I love you."

"I love you too," she said before walking away.

One the ride home her dad peppered her with questions about Embry.

"How's he doing?"

"Better."

"What were the two of you talking about by his car?"

"He wanted me to ride with him to Sue's."

"Why didn't you? I can get myself ready for work."

"I need to talk to you about something," she said seriously.

"Why do I get the feeling that I won't like this?"

"Because you probably won't; but you'll go along with it because I'm eighteen and can make my own decisions," she said honestly.

"What do you need to talk to me about?"

"Embry and I set a date," she stated.

"When is it?"

"June twenty fifth."

"Christ Bells, that's a month away. Embry won't even be eighteen yet," he said with a sigh, giving her a sideways glance.

"Sandra has filled out a form giving him her consent."

"Why am I just finding out about this now?"

"We just decided it the day that Harry died."

"Where are the two of you going to live? He's more than welcome to live with me while you're at school."

"We're going to live at his mom's."

"I just got you back and now I'm gonna lose you again," he said with a forlorn sigh.

"You aren't losing me; you're gaining the son you always wanted."

"I never looked at it that way. He still likes baseball, right?"

"He loves baseball."

"Tell him he can come over and watch a game with Billy and me sometime. We never could get Jake interested."

"I will."

"Go change, and then go see him. He needs you more than I do," he said once they pulled up in the driveway.

"Thanks Dad, I love you," she said hugging him.

"I love you too," he said, patting her arm.

XXXX

She was back in La Push less than an hour later. Sue's yard was packed with cars so she parked in Embry's yard next to his car. As she made her way through the sea of cars the Clearwater's dog Jesse trotted up to her. Leah let her in but told the dog to stay outside.

"Embry said that you wouldn't be here for a while."

"What I needed to get done didn't take as long as I thought it would."

Leah veered towards the kitchen while Bella went into the living room. Embry sat with his mom and Connie, who had a baby in her lap. Quil and Jacob sat a few feet away from them and made room for her to sit down.

"Did you get what you needed done?" Quil asked.

"Yeah," she confirmed with a nod.

"I was able to talk Connie into coming. I hadn't had a chance to see the baby yet," Sandra said with a smile.

"Hey," Bella said with a smile.

"Hey."

"Who is this?"

"This is Trey."

"How old is he?"

"He'll two months next week."

"Isn't he adorable?" Mae asked as she stood behind them.

"He is," Bella said with a nod.

She caught Embry watching her before he nudged Quil's leg.

"I guess I can trade places with you," he said rolling his eyes.

Embry draped an arm over the back of the couch and she scooted closer to him. Jesse jumped onto the couch between Bella and Jacob with his head in Bella's lap.

"How does he know to come to you?" Connie asked.

"He knows that I will stick up for him if Leah comes after him," she said scratching behind his ears.

"You little mutt, get down," Leah said from across the room.

"Is he bothering you?" Bella asked Jacob.

"Not really."

"Is he bothering you?" she asked Embry.

"Now that you mention it…" he said in a teasing manner.

"Oh shut up! He's fine."

"Leah, leave that poor dog alone," One of her grandmother's said.

"Flea infested mongrel," Leah muttered as she walked by.

"Stop talking about my son like that!" Sandra admonished.

She had succeeded in making Leah laugh. Something even Emmett hadn't been able to do.

"Thanks Ma," Embry said dejectedly.

"Oh stop it. I had to make her laugh. She's been wound so tight lately that she was ready to snap."

"What kind of dog is he anyway?" Connie asked.

"I think he might be a Collie," Bella said.

Jesse's light brown fur was soft underneath her fingers as she continued to pet him.

"Did you hear the good news Mae?"

"What good news?"

"I'm finally getting a daughter on June twenty fifth."

"Congratulations you two," she said putting an arm around them.

"Thank you," Bella said.

"Thanks," Embry said as he took Bella's hand.

"It doesn't leave much time to plan."

"It's a good thing it's going to be small."

"What did your dad say Hon?" Sandra asked.

"He offered to let us live with him. Embry can stay even after I left for school."

"Here's what I am thinking. He moves in with your dad and you live with me. How does that sound?"

"That's not funny Ma," Embry said with a scoff.

"She knows I'm kidding," Sandra said with an exaggerated eye roll.

"What else did he say?"

"He invited you over to watch baseball with him and Billy."

"That was nice of him," Mae said.

The room was quiet after that. Embry continued to hold Bella's hand, his skin warm against hers. The day passed quickly and people started to leave. Embry walked Bella back to her truck at nightfall. She leaned against the door while he stood in front of her.

"You don't still think that we're rushing things, do you?"

"I'm not going to get cold feet and leave you at the altar."

"That's all I wanted to know."

"I want this just as much as you do. Do I wish that we were older? Yes. That doesn't mean that I'm going to leave you."

"I promise that I will make it worth your while."

"You do that already," she said with a smile.

"See? I'm keeping my promise."

She rolled her eyes before leaning up to kiss him. He cradled her face in his hands as his tongue swept over hers. She pulled away before things could get out of hand.

"I need to go."

"What if I don't want you to?"

"You can't always get what you want."

"Why do you need to go?"

"I have scholarship paperwork to fill out."

""You got one?"

"If I can get the paperwork out by Monday," she chided.

"You're lucky that I think school is important."

"That's because it is," she said before kissing him quickly.

He stepped away and she got into the truck. She leaned out before starting the truck.

"I'll call you later."

He nodded before walking backwards away from her. She started the truck and by the time he was at the porch he saw Jacob walking through the yard.

"What's up?" Embry asked once Jacob was standing in front of him.

"Can I come inside? I want to talk to you."

"Come on," Embry said opening the door.

Jacob followed him upstairs to his room and wasn't fazed when Embry stripped down to his boxers in front of him. It was something that the both of them felt comfortable doing.

"You're not having girl problems, are you?"

"No. I want to talk about you."

"Okay," Embry said unsurely.

"Last week at Quil's, you know that he didn't mean anything by what he said don't you?"

"Some of it," he said as he pulled on a t-shirt.

"I should have said something then. You know he has his own way of saying things. You shouldn't take him seriously when he's like that."

"He had a point."

"No, he didn't. You're not the same person you were a year ago. You've changed so much."

"I like this pep talk better."

"This is how it's supposed to go."

"Is there anything else?"

"Things are gonna change. You'll have someone else to think about other than yourself. I don't need to remind you of that because you're not the selfish type anymore"

"I'm not?"

"You used to never let anyone but Quil and I see her. You've gotten better at that."

"She never said anything."

"That's because she didn't mind it. All of her friends did."

"What else?"

"You're getting better at accepting criticism."

"She does knock me down off my high horse like no one else."

"You laugh more now. Not that you didn't before, but you're not as uptight."

"She tells me I worry too much."

"You do."

"Thanks. She tells me this stuff all the time but I never listen."

"It's good to have an outsiders opinion every once in a while."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Do you think Quil would be offended if I only had one best man?"

"Is that your way of asking me if I'll do it?"

"In my own way," he said with a shrug.

"I guess that he'll just have to get over it."

"Thanks man," Embry said holding out his hand.

Jacob pulled him in for a one armed hug surprised that he had offered. Embry didn't hug anyone except Sandra and Bella. The hug was brief and Jacob said that he needed to leave as soon as it was over. Embry's phone vibrated and he grabbed it from off his desk. It was Bella.

One day down, forty to go.

He smiled as he shut his phone. Forty more days, then they would be married. He couldn't wait.