Chapter 37 - I'll be home for Christmas

Disclaimer: the characters and all recognisable situations belong to Stephenie Meyer - this is a work of fan fiction, except for the legends and histories of the Quileute that, of course, belong to them. I pay my respects to their gods.

Thanks to BanSidhe [ruadh sidhe] and Feebes86 for betaing and pre-reading.

Charlie stood in the evidence room at the police station, stroking his mustache and thinking.

Deputy Mark walked past, stopped and reversed. "Chief?"

"What have we got that burns stuff?"

Mark looked completely bamboozled. "Ah… there's a few potato guns but I don't reckon there is anything that will burn stuff." The noise that Charlie made suggested that was not entirely the answer he had wanted to hear, so Mark added, "Forestry… they have flamethrowers. For back burning."

"They do. Good idea."

Mark asked carefully, "Why do we need this?"

"Emergency preparedness training."

"Oh." A pause. "I didn't see the memo."

Deputy Mark suspected that this had something to do with the return of Charlie's daughter. The station was running a betting sweep on how many days it would take for Bella to end up in the emergency room of the hospital. He had bet ten days, tops. Deputy Steve had said six weeks.

Everyone scoffed at that and bet somewhere in between, so Steve's remained the largest time period. Mark would have said a week but it was Christmas and that might slow her down a little. He was wondering if he should make a change; she had been back five days and Charlie was looking for flame throwers. Either way, he wasn't waving a memo at Mark proving this 'training' argument. He clicked his fingers as he thought of something. "Fireworks," he said. "One of the rez kids was a complete whiz with those… whats his name… there were always two of them?"

"Collin Littlesea and Brady Fuller."

"Collin. That's him. He drove us crazy after the rez cops collared him one too many times."

"I had forgotten about that." Charlie slapped him on the side of the arm. "Thanks, Mark."

Mark went back to his desk but he was fairly certain he heard voices out the back a few minutes later. Sounded a lot like Billy Black and a young woman. Just what was Chief Swan up to?

Leah and Billy escaped out the back of the police station. Leah was snorting and covering her mouth to stop the laughter bubbling out. She had never understood what a pair of clowns Charlie and Billy were when they got together. She could remember Billy trying to run Charlie down with his wheelchair, but back on two feet Billy was also back to his old tricks.

They must have been so much worse with her father, Harry and his friend Quil. She had seen a rare glimpse into the past and Billy reminded her so much of Jake only naughtier. Jake had always slowed down Quil and Embry.

She had nearly lost it when they had to keep quiet in the shelves of the police station evidence room. Luckily, wolf hearing had warned them the deputy was coming.

"Collin," Billy said. "I had forgotten what a terror he was, too."

"He was almost worse after he phased."

"Wolf senses made him un-catchable."

"Sam alpha ordered him not to do it on the rez-"

"-So he took it to town."

"The little shit. He knew what Sam meant."

Billy shrugged. "We all kind of let him off; he was so young."

She pointed at him. "Well, you shouldn't have. You basically told him it was okay. And he could have hurt someone." She looked at his face. "Oh, seriously? Tell me you did not do the same stuff when you were his age."

"I cannot tell a lie," Billy announced. His eyes danced.

"Oh, pfft." She rolled her eyes.

He grinned at her. "Can I buy you a coffee?"

"A coffee?"

"Yes."

"What are you up to?"

"Nothing. We can just sit and talk."

She thought she got it. "In Forks." Far away from the rez and anyone with wolf senses.

He nodded. "Is that a yes?"

In all the discussions with Embry about what he wanted, she hadn't stopped to think about what Billy wanted out of this imprint. Was he going to fight for her?

Regardless, he just started walking and she had to hurry to keep up with him. The diner was nearby and they settled into a booth, on opposite sides and then he added, as if they hadn't just been silent for ten minutes, "Of course, it would be nice if you did most of the talking."

"Why?" She was suspicious.

"Because Embry is making his feelings known, but you aren't." Reaching out he snagged a menu with one long arm. "You want anything?" I could go a second breakfast."

"You know what that makes you?"

He looked blank.

She cursed the pack for making her watch the Lord of the Rings movies. "A hobbit."

He frowned. "Okay."

He ordered two full American breakfasts and held the mushrooms on hers.

She gave him a puzzled look.

"You don't like cooked mushrooms," he said. "You'll eat them raw, but cooked they feel slimy."

"Huh."

The waitress filled their mugs and Billy settled back and stretched his legs out. "Now talk," he said. And he just nailed her with that look. The Billy Black patented look that used to make Jake just spill his guts.

"I-I'm okay," she stammered.

An eyebrow.

He'd know that she wasn't.

She twisted her napkin in her fingers. "Embry feels dumped…" And it just all poured out. She told him everything in a strained whisper that she knew he could hear. How much it hurt to see happy imprints like her mother's, how conflicted she was that they were happy and she was upset about it, how she was pleased her mother had moved on but she was still mourning for her father, even if he had been dead five years, how she had banned her mother from talking about it, how Embry had said if they were married that she might not have imprinted, how she didn't know what to say to Rachel, how she couldn't see a reason for it and how worried she was about what he wanted out of it.

"What I want out of it?" he repeated. He didn't answer her, but he looked as though he was thinking about it.

Their food had arrived by then and they both started to eat.

They were half way through before Billy spoke again, "Rachel found out last night. I didn't tell her, you didn't, Jake didn't, nor did Paul."

"Let me guess-"

"Yeah. She didn't take it well. But Paul stuck up for you."

"Really?" She remembered sticking up for him that awful day when the twins were fighting.

"We all avoided telling her."

"It wasn't a secret in the pack."

"That's what Paul said."

"I told them all at the meeting, just after it happened. I don't keep secrets from her."

"Well, now she knows."

"Did she have a specific issue?"

"No, just that you were her age."

"Like Bella?"

He smiled. "She won't mention that imprint. We can all see how good they are for each other. Even Charlie can see that." He pointed his fork at her for emphasis.

"He didn't like Edward, did he?"

"Used to deliberately get his name wrong to piss him off. Made sure he was always cleaning his guns around him."

Leah chuckled. "I can see that." She leaned forward conspiratorially. "You don't think the flamethrower is for Edward? His ass will be ashes when Charlie sees him."

Billy laughed just as he was about to take a sip of his drink. He coughed, spluttered, swallowed it down and wiped at his eyes with the napkin Leah passed him. "Don't do that to me, you made me choke."

"The word is snarfed."

"What?"

"When you snort drink out of your nose trying not to laugh. Snort laugh, snarf."

"There's a word for that? Why didn't I know that?"

"Coz you're an old man," she teased. She kicked him affectionately under the table.

He grinned at her.

She beamed back and then the thought occurred. They looked happy. "This should feel weirder than it does."

"If you say so," he said as he stole her hash brown.

"Is this what would have happened to Quil and Claire?"

"Good point... maybe. But it's a bit different."

"Didn't start when I was two."

"The gap is larger than fourteen years, as well."

The waitress refilled their coffees.

"You didn't answer me," Leah pointed out.

He looked contemplative. "I was dying ... and now, I'm not."

"Okay."

"So I will take everything life would like to give me, now. Provided that it is given."

Josh and Bella had spent the morning working on her shield with a few of the wolves that were not on patrol or off doing other things. Swearing she had a headache, they had gone back to the cabin for a break and she had decided that having a long, hot soak sounded like a great idea.

She lay in the bath watching him shave with a cool cloth over her forehead. He was just wearing a towel and as always, she was distracted by his body.

"Josh?"

"Hmmm?" He glanced at her in the mirror.

She sat up, folded her arms on the side of the bath and rested her chin on them.

"Charlie said something-"

"You call your father Charlie?"

"Not to his face."

He laughed. "Right. What? You were going to ask me something."

"I was…" She stopped.

"Changed your mind?"

Silence.

"What?" Josh pressed. "You've got me intrigued now."

"I dunno… he just made a comment about you and porn."

"Oh…and? You still haven't actually asked your question."

"Will you be upset?"

"How can I tell, you haven't asked the question yet?"

"You know what I'm asking. Did you do any? Porn, I mean."

He looked at her. "Yes, I did some."

"Oh."

She lay back in the tub and folded her arms across her body. She sunk down under the water until just her face was out.

"You asked," he said.

"Yes, I did."

Silence.

"Why did you do it?" she asked.

"Money. It was a small step from having your photo taken partially nude to fully nude, and then another step beyond that to porn. Plus it was kind of flattering to be asked."

"I suppose."

She was quiet.

He crouched down next to the bath. "Why do you ask me things if you don't want to hear me answer them?"

"I don't know."

"I won't lie to you."

"That's good. I don't like lies."

"Do you want to come to bed? Or do you want me to leave you alone?"

"No."

"Which?"

She sighed.

"Izzy?" He held her face. "What are you worried about?"

"Why you chose me?"

"I don't know why the gods made you mine, but I am very glad that you are. And I think you are beautiful and sexy and gorgeous and I can't keep my hands off-"

She threw herself at him.