A/N: Oh god… so busy…

First of all, I am SO SORRY for the wait. I won't offer excuses— of which there are many—just apologize profusely for how late this chapter is. It won't happen again (knock on wood).

Second of all, a HUGE thanks to everybody who reviewed the last chapter! There were a bunch of you, and I've had absolutely zero time to respond to reviews, but I'll finally be getting around to it as soon as this is posted. I wanted to get chapter 37 up first, though, because I know if I don't do it now it'll probably never get done. So, so busy.

Not much left to say, other than I love a good romantic moment! Hope you all agree with that sentiment… you'll see why

Thanks for reading! Enjoy!

~Crit.

Chapter 37: When Rideau Met Leah

Leah was panicking.

Twenty-three hours. That was how long it had been since she'd left Rideau on the curb in front of his building, after their outing to the ice rink. Twenty-three hours of nail-biting, sleepless anxiety. Twenty-three hours of her own private hell.

" "I'll give you a call tomorrow"," she muttered to herself under her breath as she paced the floor of Renesmee and Jacob's guest room. "Likely fucking story."

A shuffling outside the door made her turn suddenly. Somebody was lurking, and she wasn't about to let them get away with it. Stealthily, she crossed the floor, grabbed the door handle, and whipped the door open to reveal a guilty-looking Embry, his balled fist raised in mid-air. She raised and eyebrow, crossed her arms, and waited.

"Hi," he said uneasily, "I was just going to knock… were you talking to yourself?"

Leah rolled her eyes. "Or something at least equally lame," she replied, not bothering to explain. "What do you want?"

Embry took that as an invitation to enter, moving past her and sitting down on the bed. That irritated Leah, particularly since she was still trying to be mad at him and Renesmee. "I just thought I'd come up and check on you. You've been holed up in here since you came back from your run, and that was at the asscrack of dawn."

"Your point?" Leah really wasn't in the mood to have this particular discussion. In fact, she wasn't in the mood to have any discussion, with the possible exception of the one she had been hoping to have with Rideau. As the hours went slowly by, she was beginning to doubt the likelihood of that conversation ever taking place.

Embry was looking at her with that knowing expression he so often got, the one that sometimes made her want to kick him. "I'm worried that you're wallowing," he said bluntly. "I wanted to check on you and make sure that wasn't the case."

"I don't wallow," Leah said disgustedly. When Embry's only response was a short burst of laughter, she glared at him and said, "Sam doesn't count."

Embry's eyebrows raised so far they were almost in his hairline. "Wow. I'm not sure if you realize what you just said, but I think your subconscious is trying to make a point… Sam's old news." He nodded approvingly. "It's about time you figured that out."

"I didn't exactly mean it in the way you're taking it," Leah pointed out, fully aware that she was being stubborn. Embry chuckled.

"I know… but it's true all the same. He doesn't count, Lee… Sam really doesn't matter, he's got no bearing on your life anymore. He hasn't in a long time." He gave her a small, tentative smile. "I know you'll probably hit me for saying it, but I'm really happy for you."

Leah didn't know exactly how to deal with that little speech. She almost felt embarrassed by it, as though Embry's pride in her ability to move on was too much for her to handle. She brushed it off with a little frown. "Yeah, well don't start celebrating yet," she muttered. "He hasn't called me. He said he would… but he hasn't."

Embry rolled his eyes at her. "Are you fifteen? That's what brought on your hibernation? Please." He stood up and moved to where she stood, gripping her by the shoulders. "I say this for your own good: You need to get a grip. He's just a normal guy, Leah. He doesn't get it yet. And I'm sure he likes you just fine… but seriously, you have to give him more than a day to call you. And until he does, do yourself a favor and do something other than waiting. No guy wants a girl who has nothing better to do but hang around waiting for him."

Leah looked at her packmate in shock for a moment before twisting out of his grip. "Wow," she said when she had managed to free herself, "Thanks for the advice, girlfriend." Embry just laughed.

"You can make fun of me all you want, but I'm right and you know it."

Leah shrugged reluctantly. "Maybe," she allowed, and then she shook her head. "No, wait. I'm mad at you."

Again, Embry just chuckled. "Yeah. You look real mad."

She was about to answer, but at that precise moment her phone buzzed on the nightstand. It took a moment before she realized what the noise was, and when she did she practically dove past Embry to get at the cellphone. Not fast enough, apparently… he beat her to it, holding it just out of her reach as he took a peek at the display. She could tell from the look on his face that it was definitely Rideau calling.

"Wait," he said. Leah tried in vain to get at the ringing phone.

"Embry, give it back!"

"Wait," he said, more emphatically this time. Then he nodded and lowered the phone. "Now. Calmly."

With a snarl, Leah snatched the phone back and took a breath before answering. "Hello?" She said as nonchalantly as she could. There was a pause, and then she heard his voice.

"Hi, Leah?"

"Yeah… it's me." She tried to make her voice sound as normal as possible, but it came out sort of high and shaky anyhow. She winced.

"Hey. It's Rideau."

"Oh," She said, as if she wasn't already completely aware. "Hi!"

"How're you?"

"Good… good. You?"

"I'm great. Just on my way back downtown from hanging out with Ness and Clara." Leah felt a large twinge of irritation at the idea that Renesmee had been taking up Rideau's time when he could have been calling her. She pushed the uncharitable thought back, not wanting her grouchiness to come through in her tone when she spoke.

"Oh. That sounds nice."

Rideau chuckled softly. "It was, actually. I mean, it was basically a bragging mission, but if you ignore that it was pretty fun. Clara's got this new hotel…" He trailed off. "You know what? It's actually not a very interesting story. And I do have a point in calling you."

"You do?" Leah felt as though she sounded like an utter moron, but she didn't dare say anything else.

"Yeah, I do. Are you busy right now?"

Leah's heart did a funny little flip. "Not especially."

"Good. I was just thinking about yesterday, and how you never would have taken part in that essential part of New York tourism if we hadn't twisted your arm. And it made me think about what else you could potentially be planning to miss out on. And since you seemed so determined to try and get on my nerves, I thought I'd give you the opportunity to try again, at twelve hundred feet. "

Leah didn't get it. "What do you mean?" she asked cautiously.

"How soon can you be ready?" He said, completely ignoring her question. Leah was startled. Was he asking her to go out right that minute?

"Um…" She looked around the room for Embry in a panic, only to find that he was already rummaging through her closet, pulling out clothing. He turned and held up a hand, showing first three fingers and then a closed fist. "Half an hour?"

"Sounds good. I'll pick you up in front of the loft, then."

"Oh—okay." Leah tried in vain to think of something clever to say before Rideau hung up, but it was a bust; he said goodbye and the line went dead before she could come up with anything. She dropped her cell phone onto the bed, staring at it dumbly.

"See?" Embry piped up, coming towards her with an arm-load of clothing. "No need to worry. He's a man of his word. Now get out of those track pants, for the love of god." He shoved the clothes at her. "Put these on."

Leah stared at him incredulously. "Since when are you my stylist?"

"Since Nessie's not here and you're extremely likely to do something stupid like pair black with brown," he replied. "I'm serious… off with the sweats. I'm going to go find you some of Nessie's makeup."

"I'm not wearing makeup," Leah said, making a split-second decision. Embry looked at her, aghast.

"Why not?"

Leah sighed heavily. "Because I don't feel like it. Because it makes my skin feel funny, and because I wouldn't wear makeup if I was going out with any other friend."

"Okay, but Leah… this isn't any other friend, this is your imprint. Don't you think he's… kind of like a special occasion?"

Leah sat down on the bed, still holding the clothes he'd given her. "I get what you're trying to say, and I know I was all set on the makeover thing for yesterday... but I've been thinking about it all day, and even though it was nice to feel like I looked good, I just didn't feel like myself." She gave Embry a meaningful look. "I didn't mind getting some new clothes… my old ones were falling apart. But all of this primping just seems… disingenuous. I want him to like me, not my eyeliner. And I want him to know who I really am, not some weird fancy girl who wears blush and accessorizes."

Embry looked at her for an extended moment before his face broke out into a smile. "Okay," he said, easing himself down onto the bed beside her. Leah squirmed a bit as he threw an arm over her shoulders, but he didn't let her escape, and finally she just sank into his embrace. "If that's how you want it. But can I just say something, for the record?"

"Yeah?"

He gave her a small, genuine smile. "You've always looked nice, even without makeup, and in your old, ratty jeans. You're one of the prettiest girls I know… and definitely the most beautiful of all the wolves."

Leah felt an unexpected lump rising in her throat. She wanted to cry, suddenly. Instead, she shrugged beneath the weight of Embry's arm and said, "Thanks for the love-in… can I get dressed now please? I've been ordered to remove my pants, and I'm not going to do it with you in the room." Embry nodded knowingly.

"Sure thing, Lee," he said as he got to his feet. She fought the urge to scowl; she hated that look, the one that clearly said he saw through her attempt at humour and knew that she was touched by his heartfelt compliments. Before he left the room, he checked his watch. "You've got twenty minutes… move fast."

"I'll only need ten," she replied as the door clicked shut. And it was true; it took her less than five minutes to change into the black jeans and sapphire blue sweater Embry had chosen out for her, and just a few more to run her fingers through her hair and smooth on some plain lip balm. When she looked in the mirror and saw the old, familiar Leah in slightly better clothes, she found she didn't miss yesterday's glamorous stranger one bit.

Embry was waiting for her when she came down the stairs, holding her charcoal gray peacoat expectantly. It was the one item of clothing that hadn't needed replacing, since it was a classic style and she only ever had to wear it for show. To her surprise, he held the coat up as though to help her into it.

"I can put on my own jacket, weirdo," she said, eyebrows raised. Embry shrugged.

"I'm just trying to prep you, in case this guy of yours decides to treat you like a lady. It won't do to have you calling him a weirdo, after all."

Leah stuck out her tongue and turned around, letting him help her. "Maybe he'd like it if I called him a weirdo," she retorted. Embry chuckled as he slid the coat over her shoulders.

"Something tells me he'll have to get used to it, either way." She stepped away, buttoning her coat, and turned to face him.

"This is good, right?" She asked, suddenly feeling really shaky. "It's good that he wants to see me again?"

Embry gave her a leveling stare. "Are you serious?" When all she could do in response was shrug, he shook his head. "Of course it's good! He barely managed to stay away an entire day before showing up at your doorstep. I don't know what you did to him yesterday, but he must've been pretty impressed."

"I didn't do anything!"

"Well," said Embry with a grin, "Maybe you didn't have to." He gave her a pat on the shoulder. "Go on… you don't want to be late."

Leah thought to herself that the elevator ride down to the lobby seemed about eight times longer than usual that particular day. All around her, the mirrored walls reflected a worried girl, fidgeting nervously with the buttons of her jacket. She frowned at her reflection, dropped her hands to her sides and straightened up. You're being ridiculous, she told herself. Get a grip, Leah.

The elevator doors opened, and she spotted him right away, standing outside the building with his hands in his pockets, leaning against the waist-high brick wall that surrounded the property. He looked just like he had the night they first met, when they had taken a walk to the Chinese restaurant and then gone for coffee, with his hands in his pockets and the light of the sunset shining red through the dark strands of his hair. She felt like somebody had punched her in the chest, it was so hard to breathe.

"Hey," He said as she came through the doors. In spite of the fact that her insides seemed to be doing backflips, Leah felt a smile growing on her face.

"Hi," She said, coming to a stop in front of where he stood. There was an awkward moment where he took his hands out of his pockets and she thought he might try to hug her, but then he shoved them back in again and shrugged a bit.

"So… how's it going?"

"No complaints." She tried to look anywhere other than his eyes, but it was useless… she couldn't avoid stealing a glance. When she did, she got stuck there, and couldn't look away for a very long moment. She was dimly aware that he was smiling as they stared at each other; that was probably a good sign. Finally, she managed to get a hold of herself and she looked away first. "So, what's the big plan?" She asked, trying to look and sound casual. Rideau just grinned.

"You'll see. Come on… we're going for a walk." He turned towards the wall and picked something up; when he turned back to her, Leah realized he had two paper cups. "I thought I'd try to make up for that horrible hot chocolate they had at the rink yesterday. This is from the bakery next to my building… best in town."

Leah took one cup, surprised. "Thanks." He nodded towards the sidewalk and started walked. She followed him. "So, I take it from your wanting to travel on foot that you're not willing to take a risk on my driving again." Rideau laughed.

"I was more thinking of the fact that it's a really nice evening… but now that you mention it…"

"Yeah, yeah. Shut up." She gave him a tiny smile, to show she was kidding.

"Don't get me wrong, I think your road rage is charming. But it's also just a little bit terrifying."

"I'm going to pretend that's the first time anybody's every used the word 'terrifying' to describe me."

"I'm going to pretend I believe you."

Leah snickered into her hot chocolate cup. "That's very decent of you."

He pointed at her shoes. "How're your feet today? Blisters?"

She shook her head. "Nope. Totally fine. Guess I'm tougher than you thought."

He looked pleasantly surprised. "Guess so. I have to admit, I kind of figured you'd be paying for it… you really went all out there, for a first timer."

Leah looked at him sideways. "Admit it: your ego's just the tiniest bit bruised from not being able to show me up."

He laughed loudly at that. "I'll admit that freely. I don't get to show off very often, and you completely robbed me of the opportunity."

"Poor you."

They bantered back and forth as they walked through the darkening streets. Leah let Rideau navigate the twists and turns of their route, still not sure where he was taking them. She didn't really care, truth be told... to her, it would have been the perfect evening if they ended up going nowhere at all.

"Okay," he said finally, coming to a stop. "So I know this is your first time visiting New York, and you probably want to see as much of the city as you can. And I also know how impossible it can be to see everything you want to in one trip. And I was somewhere today that reminded me of how there's really only one way to see the entire city all at once, and that's to come here." He gestured to the building in front of them, and then said, "You might want to look up."

Leah did, and the sight almost took her breath away. Of course, she recognized the beautiful art deco spire immediately, but it was so huge up close that it was hard to think of it as the same building she'd seen in countless movies and television shows. "Wow," was all she could managed. Beside her, Rideau was also looking straight up, and she peered over at him. He wore a look of appreciation that she could definitely identify with at that moment. She'd never seen such an impressive piece of architecture that close up.

"If we're lucky, there won't be much of a line. Evenings are usually less busy than during the day, and it's a Friday, so…" He nodded towards the building. "You want to go up?"

"Yeah!" Leah found, with some surprise, that she really did want to go up. Mere minutes ago, if she'd been asked, she probably would have written the Empire State Building off as a silly tourist thing, but seeing it right in front of her, she found it almost impossible to resist the draw of being that far up in the sky. It didn't hurt that Rideau had wrapped his fingers gently around her arm and was guiding her towards the building.

The line wasn't actually that bad at all, just a few people waiting in front of the ticket window. They all fit into the first elevator that came. Rideau informed her that sometimes the line was so long it took hours just to get to the lobby. Leah was surprised to learn that Rideau had purchased their passes ahead of time, so they didn't have to wait for tickets, just for the elevator. Several lift rides later, they arrived at the 86th floor observation deck, although not without having to go through what Rideau referred to as the "Hall of Gift Shops". Leah felt a moment of apprehension as she looked through the doors and saw nothing but sky, but it was just a moment, and then they were outside.

The sky was now completely dark, and as they approached the railing Leah could see the whole city laid out beneath them, shining in clusters of bright, multi-colored lights. Even the traffic looked stunning. Leah grabbed the railing and leaned against it, looking down at the city. The wind was strong and cold, and she closed her eyes as it whipped over her skin.

A voice, very close to her ear, said quietly, "I think you're supposed to actually look at it." Leah felt a smile growing across her face, but she didn't open her eyes. She didn't dare.

"In a minute," she all-but-whispered. She could feel that Rideau was standing right behind her. They weren't touching, but there was a slight warmth where his body was shielding hers from the wind. She knew that if she just leaned backwards, their bodies would be resting against each other, and his reaction would surely tell her if he felt the same way for her as she did for him. Either way, she would know.

But she couldn't do it. She couldn't bear to find out. Instead, she leaned further into the railing and opened her eyes. The sight of the beautiful city, all lit up, greeted her. Rideau stepped around her and gripped the railing next to her.

"It's pretty amazing, eh?"

"Yeah," Leah said, unable to meet his eye. She felt like such a coward. "It really is."

He shrugged. "I thought you should see it. You know… before you go home."

His words hit her like a lead weight. Of course he would assume she'd be leaving soon. After all, they had originally been coming to visit for a week or two. And while she felt absolutely frantic at the idea of leaving him behind, he was mentioning as casually as possible, as though it didn't make a difference to him at all. All of a sudden, she felt like her heart was sitting on the ground, a thousand feet below her. He didn't care if she went away. He didn't care about her.

"It's too bad you have to leave," he continued, completely oblivious to her inner drama, "I could get used to showing you around." And just like that, her heart was back in her chest, thudding so loudly that she was sure the whole city could hear it. She made the mistake of looking over at him when he said that, and their eyes locked yet again. Rideau had a small, sort of sheepish smile on his face. "You know what I mean?"

Leah nodded slowly. "I think I do." Her hand was still gripping the railing, so tightly that her knuckles were beginning to turn white. Rideau moved over until the sides of their hands were touching, and then lifted his little finger and placed it over top of hers. She looked down at their hands, resting together on the cool brass of the railing.

"Rideau…" She began hesitantly.

"I know…. I just met you, and you're going away. I just… I like you." He slowly drew his hand away. "I don't know what I was thinking."

Leah was frozen in place. She didn't know what to think or how to react. He liked her. He liked her. He'd touched her hand, and then he'd told her he liked her. She could barely feel the impossibly strong wind that whipped against her face anymore. She couldn't feel anything except the feelings that were directed towards him. He'd said he liked her.

And she'd said… nothing.

The look in his eyes as he turned away was one Leah had seen before. She'd seen it every day for years, in her own eyes, whenever she looked in the mirror. Wounded pride. The look of somebody who badly needed to slink away and lick their wounds. He'd taken her lack of response as a rejection. She couldn't believe it… how, in any universe, could he believe that she might reject him? Clearly it could only ever be the other way around. But there he was, looking well and fully rejected.

Desperately, she reached out and took the hand he'd pulled away. She held it in both of hers and turned to face him. He looked over at her, eyebrows raised, and they both began to smile at the same time.

"I might stay a little bit longer," She said, looking down at their hands and then back up to his eyes. Rideau's small smile grew into a grin.

"Yeah?"

"I've been thinking about it." They stood there, grinning and staring at each other, hands clasped together, for what felt like an hour before Rideau cleared his throat and spoke up.

"Um… okay, this is a really un-manly thing to have to say, but one of us has to… can we go back inside? It's really cold up here." Leah laughed loudly.

"You're wimping out? Really?"

"I'm really wimping out." He shrugged. "Admit it… you're freezing too." He released his grip on her hand, only to offer her the crook of his arm.

"Am not." Leah denied, happily threading her own arm through his and let him lead her towards the entrance to the building.

oooOOOooo

Leah knew she'd have to answer some questions when she got back to the loft. Rideau had dropped her off at the front door with a long embrace and a promise to call the next day, and she'd had to spend the entire elevator ride staring at herself in the mirror walls, trying to arrange her face into some expression other than a goofy grin.

They had spent the previous two hours holed up in a corner booth in a small pub nearby, just talking over pints of stout, getting to know more about each other. Everything she learned about him made her like him more, and she found herself wanting desperately to visit his home up north and meet his brainy siblings and his off-beat environmentalist parents. She told him about her mother, happily remarried to Charlie Swan, and he squeezed her hand gently as she recounted her father's untimely death. She couldn't tell him the one thing she really wanted to… the time wasn't right. But it felt like they had discussed pretty much everything else.

She tried to unlock and open the door silently, but it was no use; Seth and Embry were waiting for her, and they sprang to their feet when she came in.

"How'd it go?" Embry blurted out, starting towards her.

"Yeah, how was your date?" Seth wheedled, coming to stand beside her. Embry flanked her on the other side, and she scowled at them, first one then the other.

"Can I take of my coat, please?" She said, already finding it easier to maintain her regular expression of mild irritation.

"No," Seth replied, grinning. "Not before we get some details!"

"Fine, I'll just keep it on." She pushed past them and started towards the stairs. They kept right on her, following at her heels.

"Aw, come on Lee!" Embry whined, "After I gave you that pep talk, don't you think I deserve at least some information on how it went?"

"Not really."

Seth was in the process of grabbing her arm to slow her down when a loud voice made all three of them freeze. "GUYS!" They looked up to see Jacob leaning over the railing at the top of the stairs. "Cut it out!" Seth dropped Leah's arm like it was on fire. Jacob looked sternly between Seth and Embry; Leah fought the urge to cackle gleefully at their discomfort. "You two need to take a step back and leave Leah alone. I mean it—quit hassling her."

Seth actually took a physical lunge backwards, while Embry scowled a little and said, "Yeah, all right dad." Leah chuckled quietly and started up the stairs towards Jacob as the boy went back to whatever silly game they were playing.

Jacob followed her to her room, stopping in the doorway. After a moment of ignoring him, she turned with her hands on her hips and said, "Are you coming in or not?" Jacob smirked and took a step forward, closing the door behind him.

"I'm not gonna bug you," he said quickly, as though he expected her to blow up at him, "I just wanted to check in, see how you're doing. Embry told me you were kind of nervous."

Leah shrugged defensively. "I don't know about that…"

"Leah." Jacob's tone told her that there was no way he would buy her feigned nonchalance. "Please remember who you're talking to. I lived with those same nerves for over a decade. You're not fooling me."

She rolled her eyes and sat down on the bed. Jacob did the same. It was just like when she and Nessie had sat there, talking. They faced each other, legs crossed, and Jacob waited patiently for her to say something.

"So… he likes me," was what she finally came up with. Jacob immediately broke into a huge grin.

"That's really, really great." Leah couldn't help it, she just had to match his grin. Before she realized it, she had told him the whole story. Jacob beamed back at her the whole time.

"He's supposed to call me again tomorrow… Jake, I'm just so…" She tossed her hands up, lost for words.

"Overwhelmed?" Leah nodded. "Yeah, I know what you mean." He patted her on the knee. "You'll get used to it… well, sort of."

"What does that mean?" Leah asked, slightly terrified of the answer.

Jacob looked thoughtful. "It does get easier, after you've figured things out together. But then it becomes a whole different kind of overwhelming. A… good kind of overwhelming."

Leah looked at him doubtfully. "Not that I don't believe you, Jake, but right now I constantly feel like my chest is going to explode, and I fail to see how that could ever be a good thing."

"Just trust me on this one." He smiled knowingly at her, and she shrugged.

"Oh fine. You're the expert." Her voice was heavy with sarcasm. Jacob chose to ignore it.

"So, now that things seem to be working out, do you think you might be able to consider cutting Nessie a break? She's sort of been flipping out over you giving her the silent treatment, and honestly it's not making my life any easier."

Leah chuckled. "She's upset, is she?" Jacob just glared in response. "Fine… I guess I've made my point."

Jacob sighed heavily. "Thank you. I know it takes an enormous effort on your part to be nice, but I really do appreciate it." Leah narrowed her eyes.

"Watch it." Jacob laughed and stood up.

"And on that note, I'm going to get out of the line of fire." Leah fought to keep a straight face.

"You'd better." As Jacob headed for the door, Leah tilted her head slightly, and then said in a much louder voice, "And Embry and Seth, you have exactly ten seconds from the time that door opens to run for your lives. I know you're listening, and I will make you pay for it."

There was a loud and sudden scattering noise in the hallway, followed by heavy footsteps on the stairs and, finally, the slamming of the front door. Jacob turned to Leah, eyebrows raised.

"You're getting scary-good at that."

She shrugged. "One of these days they'll catch onto the fact that I have absolutely no intention of chasing them down, but until then… let them run."

Jacob shook his head fondly. "Enjoy the peace and quiet, for as long as it lasts," he said as he stepped out into the hallway. Leah nodded in response.

"You too." Jacob closed the door behind himself, and Leah relaxed against the headboard of her bed. It had been a long, exhausting day. She looked at the clock… it was barely ten, but she was ready to collapse. Slowly, she got up and changed into her pajamas, then headed for the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth.

There was just one thing left to do before she could go to bed. Leah found the linen closet without much trouble, and was relieved to see that there were a couple plain white pillowcases (with Alice Cullen as a decorator, nothing was ever certain) . She grabbed one and took it back to her room, tucking the corners into her doorframe before closing herself in for the night. Then she climbed into bed and, smiling to herself, fell immediately into a deep, restful sleep.

In the Next Chapter:

He was watching her closely, a wary look in his eyes. "Nessie, what did you do?"