Jae sat on the ground watching Brady and Collin's characters fight on screen. Her back rested against Brady's legs—his were much nicer than any of the other guys'—and occasionally her head would lean back onto his knees as she started to drift off. She would always be jostled awake when he shifted in frustration at not being able to kill his best friend's character—the two were at a stalemate and had been for five minutes now. Why they hadn't set a time limit was beyond her, but they were regretting that decision now. Emily watched the trio and shook her head fondly. Just another normal day for them. Those three, and Seth, would get up to all sorts of trouble if left alone, and if you threw Quil in with that bunch… well let's just say they got a lot of annoyed calls from store owners around the rez and Forks. Not that she minded those calls because she really didn't. She actually liked getting them as it meant they were being kids and acting their age, not focused on being supernatural protectors. Jae was good for them, and she was glad they were so close. The poor girl was still recovering from the incident, and she knew Jae must miss her home and family. Being so far away in a strange country must be hard enough without adding in the bullying and the feeling of being left out.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Embry asked as he came into the kitchen.
"Oh, the usual. Just worrying about Jae."
"Did something happen?"
"No, not that I know of, but you know how I worry for her. She's so young and to have to deal with all this… it must be so hard for her. And she must know something is different about us and that we're hiding something, but she never asks. She probably thinks we don't trust her enough."
"Yeah… I worry that she'll find out and it'll set back her recovery. She's doing so well, but… even the strongest people break, and I worry she's too close to that breaking point." Embry looked at the girl worriedly as he confessed his thoughts to Emily. "She's a good person, and she does a lot of good to us, making us feel human. I don't… I don't want to lose her, you know?"
"None of us do… but she seems so lonely sometimes."
"I think on some level she remembers she's not like everyone else, and now she's not even like Jamie, and it frustrates her that he keeps treating her one way when she isn't like that. He's having trouble remembering she's not the same person and continues to treat her like Jaeyeon the nymph not Jae the human."
"Is that why they don't get along?" Emily asked in realization. "I kept wondering! They are always either bickering or ignoring each other!"
"Yeah it's because Jamie never bothered to get to know the new Jae, just kept treating her like the old one, and she's not like that anymore. She feels like he's forcing her to be someone she's not, and understandably that makes her upset."
"It must be hard on both of them, but Jamie could at least try to get to know her again."
"He's being weird at the moment."
"That boy…" Emily just shook her head in disappointment. "Why must he be so stubborn and difficult?"
"I ask myself that every day," Embry replied with a smile. "At least I don't have to deal with him all the time like Sarina does."
"How are they doing?"
"Sarina is super stressed, I can tell you that. Jamie needs some sense knocked into him so he can start treating her better because he is a handful."
"They really need to work things out in a better way, not in the way they always do because that obviously isn't working."
"Hey, tell them that not me. My relationships do just fine, thank you very much."
"Oh, yeah, how's the waiter?"
"Great, actually! I'm meeting his parents next weekend."
"Congrats! That's great news, Embry! I'm so happy for you! Be sure to bring him around sometime, okay?"
"Um, around these guys? No, not happening."
"Well at least Jae, then. She would be good for him to meet, considering she's not an imprint either. She'd make him feel welcome right off the bat."
"If she approves of him."
"If he's good to you, you'll know she'll approve," Emily assured him. "Now, shoo. I have more food to make before the others get back."
Embry left her to her work and went to plop down next to Jae, offering her a cheerful, "Howdy!"
"Ew, no, I hate that word," she muttered drowsily. "It's so gross."
"Well that word hates you," he quipped back. "So what's up, my dude?"
"She's been using me as a pillow," Brady supplied helpfully.
"Yeah, a pillow that moves around too much."
"Hey, kicking Collin's ass requires a lot of movement, babe."
"Puh-lease, you are not kicking my ass," Collin snickered.
"Well you're not kicking his either," Jae pointed out. "You've been stuck in a stalemate forever."
"Hey, shut up, man."
"Whoa don't speak to my girl like that!"
"She's not your girl, dumbass!"
"Well you still shouldn't speak to her that way, okay? Respect, man, respect."
"Shut up."
The two perked up when they heard a familiar car pull up in front of the house, completely ready to make fun of Paul again now that Minah was back. They had been thinking up insults and comebacks all week and were prepared for this. They had been waiting for this moment.
"I guess Paul decided to bring Minah here after all," Embry mused.
"It's really late though," Jae said worriedly. "I hope she isn't too tired."
The door burst open, and Minah immediately launched herself at her aunt, her giggles drowning out the sound of Jae's breath being forced out of her lungs at the sudden assault. She eventually managed to get to her feet and hug her niece properly, going on about how she wasn't allowed to go on trips without her anymore. Jaehwa came over and rubbed her sister's back in a silent greeting, but her focus was on the door where one person was loitering around, staying behind even as Paul crossed the threshold to shove Brady and Collin off the couch so he could sit down. Jae set Minah down and looked back at her sister with a smile.
"I'm glad you guys are back! I've missed you!"
"We missed you too, but we brought back a surprise for you."
Jae's eyebrows knit together in confusion as she turned around to see the person by the door. Immediately her breathing stopped and heart skipped a beat as her legs suddenly went weak. Was this actually happening? Her eyes weren't deceiving her or anything? With sobs starting to bubble up from her chest, she surged forward and wrapped her arms tightly around the mystery person who gladly returned the embrace.
"Daddy!"
