A/N: I'm still alive, it's a Christmas miracle. Your present is a long chapter (with a lil bit of fluff)! Thanks for sticking around ya'll.

Just some housekeeping: I decided to change the name of this story. This fic was formerly called Everlong, so if you're here looking for it I promise it's the same one. I just wanted something that better reflected the direction I want to take the story now. Thanks for understanding!

Chapter 13: Validated

By the time Julia laid down to go to bed that night, she was mentally exhausted. Despite the answers that Embry had given her at the diner and what Emily had told her, she felt in her gut that there was definitely something else going on. She had been running through possibilities of what this secret could be since she left the marina with Emily. The short car ride back to the house would have felt much longer if she hadn't turned on the radio and let the music from one of Sam's rock stations fill the silence between them.

She flopped down on the bed, running a hand through her hair as she sorted through the ideas in her brain…

It was entirely possible that Sam's "friends" had fallen on hard times and that Emily and Sam were being kind and helping them get by with meals and whatnot. It would make sense, but that didn't stop Julia's train of thought from wandering completely off the tracks.

Maybe they used contracting as a front, but were actually undercover agents? That would explain Jared's supposed affinity for law enforcement, Julia thought as she remembered his girlfriend Kim mentioning at the restaurant yesterday. But what could so many of them be doing undercover on the reservation of all places? What could possibly warrant such a mission? It was admittedly Julia's most far-fetched idea, but sometimes the most ridiculous scenarios ended up being the correct ones.

Conversely, what if what they were really doing was highly illegal? With the exception of Leah, they were all so nice to her. She'd have a hard time believing that happy-go-lucky Seth would be in on something like that. Or Embry, who has been so sweet… No, she decided. That couldn't be it.

Then what is Emily so adamant on keeping from her?

She could feel her phone begin to buzz beside her, pulling her out of her thoughts and back into reality. The display read: Natalie Schaefer calling…

She tapped the green "accept" button and brought the speaker up to her ear.

"So exactly how long were you planning to go without even texting your best friend, hmm?" Natalie questioned immediately.

"I'm sorry, Nat, it's been an… Eventful few days," Julia sighed, rolling over on her stomach and propping her chin up with her free hand. She felt bad for forgetting to reach out. She never expected to come to La Push and get wrapped up in some kind of half-truth, wondering what is really going on - not to mention spending almost every day with some guy who had taken a sudden interest in her. Now that she thought of it, maybe he was a distraction to keep her from figuring it out... But she wasn't convinced that was the case. Not when he was so nice to her. Who could fake that kind of genuine behavior?

"Oh? Do tell," Natalie urged her on in an expectant voice.

"Well I thought that it would only be me, my cousin, and her fiancé. Nothing crazy, just a low-key week before the wedding," Julia started. "But ever since I got here…"

She gave Natalie a day-by-day recap of what had happened so far: Sam's friends all but living at the house, not knowing anything about Sam until yesterday, the terrifying wolf and her nightmares, her weird conversation with Emily earlier that day, spending more time with Embry than with her own cousin…

"Jules!" Natalie squealed when she got around to the part where they went to lunch at the River's Edge. Of course she'd be more interested in a boy than anything else going on. "You went on a date with him? Ohmygod, is he hot? Hotter than Ben? Does he have social media? I need to stalk him to see what he looks like. Or better yet, can you send a pic?!"

"Natalie," Julia whined, rubbing her temple. "Chill out! It wasn't a date."

"Mhm, he paid for your meal, sure it wasn't a date… And you didn't answer my other questions. Is he good looking or what?"

"I mean, yeah, I guess he's good looking," Julia admitted reluctantly, feeling her cheeks getting warm. "But they're all pretty good looking, honestly."

"Julia. You like him, just say it!"

"I've only known him for a few days, Nat. There is nothing going on between us," Julia said adamantly. But even she wasn't one hundred percent sure if that was true - not with the way that Embry looked at her. So she made something up. "Emily probably told him to be extra nice to me so I wouldn't feel so awkward around everyone."

"I don't believe thaaat," Natalie said in a sing-song voice. "What if it was love at first sight?"

"There is no such thing as that and you know it."

"Then why are you being so defensive?"

"Natalie, you of all people should understand that I'm done with "love" for a while... You would get along really well with Jared's girlfriend Kim, though, since you both seem to believe in that kind of stuff."

"Why do you have to be so pessimistic?" Natalie huffed.

"I prefer to call it being realistic. I'm a Capricorn, remember? You told me Capricorns like to keep it real."

"Well as your intuitive Pisces best friend, I'm telling you to accept love and positivity into your life!"

"I'll try to work on that, miss I'm-on-the-path-to-enlightenment."

"Good. And while you're at it, keep me updated on your new man," she giggled, then yawned. "I better go to bed soon. Goodnight, Jules."

Julia sighed at her friend's insistence, "He is not my new man. Goodnight, Nat."

She pressed the red "end call" button, falling into silence once again.

Love at first sight, that's the biggest load of bull… Julia thought, rolling her eyes as she flipped over onto her back again. But then she remembered the first time Embry had looked at her, and how he could barely speak. How he didn't seem to want to let go of her hand. And as if she didn't notice that he couldn't stop watching her that first night at dinner.

...But what if it's not?

Embry's car - a used Jeep Grand Cherokee with a deep blue paint job - now easily took up half of the space in Jacob's garage. Julia had come over Monday afternoon as planned to find that it had been re-arranged slightly to accommodate the SUV, which was currently jacked up on two little ramps. The couch had been moved to the wall opposite the door, and the bikes that Embry and Jacob had been working on were parked side-by-side across from the Jeep. It was a tight fit, but Embry had made it work.

"It runs, but it desperately needs an oil change," he said to her, pushing the hood of the Jeep open to reveal the engine components. "Plus new brake pads and rotors. And I need to replace the headlight bulbs..."

"How do you know how to do all of this?" Julia asked, amazed. As she peered at the complex machinery before her, she gained a new respect for Embry just based off the fact that he could make sense of it all.

"Jake's dad taught us everything we know," he shrugged like it was no big deal. "Started when we were like, ten or so. It just comes easy to me."

"To be honest, you lost me all the way back at oil change," Julia laughed, walking around Embry to the side of the engine to get a better look. "I couldn't even take a guess at where to start."

"Are you telling me your dad never taught you how to change the oil on a car?" Embry raised his brows at her in amusement as he leaned against the front bumper. "That's an essential life skill."

She smiled at him, but he could easily see that it didn't meet her eyes. He remained calm on the outside, but on the inside he worried that he had said the wrong thing.

"Well, my dad never really had the chance. He… He died in an accident when I was eight," she said, pausing for a moment before continuing. "I didn't want to say anything, but then you were so open with me that day at the beach…"

"I'm… So sorry," Embry said, finally understanding what she meant that day when he had taken her to First Beach. He gazed at her, trying to gauge what she was feeling. At the very least, she didn't seem upset. "That's not an easy thing to go through as a kid."

Julia shook her head slightly, saying, "You don't have to be sorry. I miss him all the time, but I'm okay."

Embry gave her a look that said he didn't fully believe her.

"Really, I am," she chuckled lightly. A smirk then played on her lips as she said, "You know what, since it's such an important life skill, how about you teach me how to change the oil."

Embry mirrored the look she gave him, "Sure. But first thing's first… How much do you like that shirt?"

"Why?"

After a brief overview of the three major steps to an oil change, with one detour to explain why a ratchet wasn't the same thing as a wrench, Julia came to the conclusion that she didn't like the t-shirt she was wearing that much. She was now laying on the ground, shoulder-to-shoulder with Embry, underneath the front of his Jeep. He told her in detail what each part was - he knew it all like the back of his hand.

"And this," he pointed to a black compartment with a screw on the outside. "Is where we need to empty the old oil from."

"I literally had no idea that any of this was under here," Julia admitted, turning her head just in time to see him stifle a laugh. "What?"

"Nothing," he said, grinning at her. "It's just kind of… Adorable how amazed you sound."

Julia was glad it was too dark underneath the engine for him to see her blush at his comment.

"Okay, what's next?" she asked, hastily trying to change the subject.

A few minutes later, Julia was free from her somewhat compromising position. She even managed to escape without staining her shirt with motor oil, a feat that even Embry admitted he was impressed with. He then launched into a lesson about different kinds of filters and oil, which Julia could hardly wrap her head around.

"Wait, so there's different kinds of oil? It's not all just the same?" she asked, thankful for Embry being so patient with her. "I'm sorry, you must think I'm an absolute idiot right about now."

"Not at all. Don't be so hard on yourself Jules, you didn't have anyone to teach you these things," he smiled reassuringly at her.

Julia couldn't help but notice how he used her nickname. The only people who called her that were her family and close friends.

"I guess you're right," she replied, watching him turn back to the engine to remove the old oil filter. "It's a good thing you had Jacob's dad to teach you. And nice that you had him as a kind of father figure in your life, too."

Embry wondered what Julia's reaction would be if she knew just how ironic her statement was.

"Billy's a good man," Embry settled on saying. He really did believe that. But no matter how much he'd like to assume the best case scenario of Levi Uley being his dad was true, there was still a chance that it could be Billy. He continued, "It's not the same as actually having a father around though, you know?"

"Mhmm," Julia agreed softly. "Do you have any idea who your dad really is?"

"There's a few possibilities of who it could be. But I have no real way of finding out right now."

"Oh, kind of like the movie Mamma Mia?"

"Mama what?" Embry turned around, old oil filter in hand and a quizzical look on his face.

"You've seriously never heard of Mamma Mia?" Julia asked incredulously, giggling at his confused expression. "It's like, one of the best feel-good movies ever. This girl invites these three men to her wedding in Greece, because one of them is her dad but she doesn't know which one it is and her mom doesn't know, either. My mom and I-"

She was interrupted by the chiming noise of her cell phone's ringtone.

"Speaking of my mom, this is probably her…" She looked at the display and her face immediately fell. It was definitely not her mother calling her.

"Is everything okay, Jules…?" Embry asked, seeing her face go from happy to emotionless in an instant.

She looked at him, then back to her phone. The display read, Ben - Do Not Answer! Natalie had insisted she should just block his number, but at the time, Julia didn't have the heart to go through with it. Now, she wished she would have listened to her friend.

"Uh… Yeah. I just need a minute," she said, quickly exiting through the garage door.

Julia couldn't think of why this would be happening. Everything was over between them. It had been for at least a month. He should have moved on with his life by now, shouldn't he? She hadn't even spoken to him since that day in the gym… The day he looked her in the eyes and lied to her face. Julia had never let herself think about it long enough to fully process and let go of everything that happened afterwards - instead of allowing herself to be upset, she locked the hurt away. She convinced herself that being "strong" was feeling nothing. But pretending the pain wasn't there couldn't stop it from coming back now. As she continued to stare at his name on the screen, the feeling crept up in her chest as if it were brand new.

Her heart was pounding as she finally hit the green "accept" button and brought the phone up to her ear.

"Julia, it's been a while," he said in an almost nonchalant way. Like he was catching up with a friend he hadn't talked to lately. "How are you?"

"How am I?" Underneath the sadness, Julia could tell something was off. "You called me up just to ask how I'm doing?"

"Well… No. Not exactly."

"...Okay, what is it then? I doubt you called just to chat," she said, holding her breath as she waited for his response.

"I need you to know that I broke things off with Bailey. She was a mistake. She's too immature," he rambled off. When he didn't get a response, he added, "I miss you, Jules. I miss us."

His voice was soft. Smooth. A part of her wanted to believe that he meant it. But then she remembered the image of his hands all over her former teammate, his lips pressed to hers. She knew that even if he said he missed her, he didn't truly miss her - he missed the idea of having her. And she also knew that deep down, if he lied and cheated on her once, he would do it again.

"I honestly don't know what you want me to say to you right now."

"Say you miss me, too. That you forgive me and want to give me a second chance."

"Ben. I can't do that."

"Why not?"

Julia couldn't believe him - the audacity he had to ask that, knowing very well why she wouldn't let him in again. Her sadness turned to annoyance. She chose her words very carefully, her voice stiff, "Well, considering you cheated on me and lied about it to my face, then flaunted it for the whole school to see right before graduation… I don't think you deserve a second chance."

As she suspected, it was all bullshit. She could hear him scoff at her on the other end.

"If you would have put out, maybe I wouldn't have done that," he said, his tone changing in response to her biting remark. Even though he couldn't see her, Julia's mouth fell open in shock.

"If I would have put out? That's why you did it?" she questioned, flabbergasted. She felt a prickling sensation in her eyes, now on the verge of tears. "You cheated on me with my teammate because I wasn't ready to have sex with you? You're a real asshole."

"I know I'm an asshole, okay? I get it," he sighed, frustrated. "I just wanted to see if I could fix things. Before Le Moyne."

"How in the world do you think you can fix what you did with a phone call? Besides, Le Moyne isn't happening."

"What do you mean Le Moyne isn't happening?"

"I don't know if you even bothered to read the graduation program, but I'm not going to be there," Julia said firmly. She was just about done with this conversation, and with her ex. "Have fun in New York. I'm sure there will be plenty of girls that will put out for you."

She didn't wait for him to reply before quickly pressing the red "end call" button, then going to his contact and selecting "block number" from the list of options. If Julia didn't want anything to do with Ben before, now she really never wanted to hear from him again. She gave in to her body's need for release and cried silently as she replayed what he had said in her mind, in disbelief that it had actually happened.

In the garage, Embry had tried to keep busy. The radio he had tuned into his favorite alternative station didn't prevent him from hearing every word of Julia's conversation as if she were standing a foot away from him. Even the voice of the guy on the phone was crystal clear. He wished he hadn't heard any of it at all, because maybe he wouldn't have suddenly felt the need to find him and make his life a living hell. This Ben guy on the other end was obviously the ex-boyfriend that Emily told him about. She mentioned things had ended badly, but Embry didn't anticipate overhearing any of that.

When he didn't hear anything from Julia in a few minutes, he took a deep breath and slowly made his way out to her. He found her leaning with her back against the outside of the building, gazing up at the partly overcast sky and fighting a losing battle to keep her tears from falling.

"Hey, are you okay…?" he asked softly.

"I'm okay," she muttered like she had earlier, not meeting his concerned eyes.

It was obvious to Embry that this time, she wasn't. He reached out, taking her hand in his, and she immediately broke down. Forgetting all about boundaries, he pulled her into his arms as she began to audibly sob. She felt so small, so fragile and delicate that Embry was afraid he'd break her if he hugged her too tight. In the back of his head he couldn't believe that he was finally getting to hold her, but he wished it were under different circumstances.

Without thinking about what she was doing, Julia wrapped her arms around Embry as her vision became watery and blurry. He was the only thing that seemed solid and real to her in this moment. The warmth of his body and the feeling of his hand moving in slow circles around her back gave her an almost immediate calming sensation, unlike anything she had ever experienced before. She could have stood in his embrace for hours, she thought, until she heard him murmur, "Let's go inside."

Embry, with an arm still around her, led her back into the garage and to the couch up against the far wall. He sat her down gently, then took the spot next to her. It was quiet as she stared blankly out in front of her, trying to gain some kind of composure.

"...Do you want to talk about it?" Embry asked hesitantly, despite knowing the probability of her opening up to him now was so small that it might as well be nonexistent.

Julia turned her head to look at him for the first time since taking the phone call. Her eyes, still wet and slightly bloodshot, looked so sad that it physically pained Embry to see them. That was one thing that none of his pack mates mentioned to him about imprints. In the same way their happiness was your happiness... Their pain was also your pain.

"I was…" she started, looking away from Embry after stopping herself. Should she tell him anything? Would he even care? She glanced at him again to find that he was still watching her, patiently waiting for her to continue what she wanted to say.

"You can trust me," he encouraged her. "You can tell me anything. I won't judge you."

Julia could feel in her heart that he was being sincere. If she could tell him so casually about her dad, why not this?

"Well… I was dating this one guy…" she launched into the story of how she met Ben. How she had a crush on him and her friend Natalie convinced her to make the first move. How after they started dating, his friends would hound him about getting in her pants, and how they would spread rumors that it had finally happened a handful of times. How she had wanted her first time to be with him, but wanted it to mean something. Her cheeks were rosy with embarrassment at this point, but Embry didn't seem phased, so she pressed on.

"Things were fine. I mean, I thought they were. Then one day I found a note in my locker that said 'he's cheating on you.' So I confronted him about it," Julia said, between sniffles and wiping the occasional tear from the corner of her eye. "But he lied to my face. He said he wasn't, but he really was cheating on me. I walked in on him and my teammate making out in the bathroom at a party the next night. It was like my whole world just... Stopped."

She began to cry again, silently this time. Embry slipped his arm around her shoulders and she curled into him, her head resting against his chest. Julia could hear his heart beating steadily, an oddly comforting sound as she took a few breaths to calm herself.

"I haven't spoken to him since. Not until right now. And he told me the whole reason he did it was because I wouldn't put out," she finished. "I don't know what I did to deserve this."

Embry tried not to make it obvious, for Julia's sake, but hearing the things this ex-boyfriend of her's did made him angry - so irrationally angry. He couldn't believe that someone would hurt her the way this guy did and not even think twice about it. His voice was rough as he unclenched his jaw to say, "You didn't deserve that. You didn't deserve any of that. He treated you like you were disposable and that's not okay."

Julia was quiet for a moment, finally coming to the realization that she had just poured her heart out to Embry.

"I'm sorry," she said suddenly, pulling away from him. "I'm so pathetic-"

"No, you're not," he said, shifting to face her. "You're allowed to be upset."

"But I shouldn't be crying like this over someone like him," Julia wiped at her eyes with her sleeve. "He's just some douchebag."

"Yeah, he is a huge douchebag and I really hope he'll get his someday. But it's not healthy for you to brush off your emotions," Embry said, his dark eyes studying her own. He reached for her hand and was happy when she let him take it. "It's okay to feel whatever you need to feel in order to heal eventually."

Julia looked back at him quietly, shocked that a twenty-something-year-old guy was giving her better heartbreak advice than Natalie or Emily. She was having a hard time admitting it to herself, but it was as if he knew exactly what she needed to hear before she even knew.

"Everyone always tells me to be strong and not show that it hurts," she said with a sigh. "And I expect myself to be that way, too. I hate crying in front of people like this. I don't want people to see me vulnerable."

"Crying does not mean you're vulnerable. It means you're working through things. And that's the strongest thing you can do."

Julia gave him a small, albeit still sad-looking smile, saying, "Thanks. I really needed to hear that."

To Embry's surprise, she leaned over and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him in for a hug. He was so shocked by her sudden embrace that he almost forgot to return the gesture. But just as he slid his arms around her waist, a familiar voice made him pause.

"Am I interrupting something…?" Quil asked as he stepped fully into the garage, one eyebrow raised in equal parts curiosity and confusion.

Julia quickly removed herself from his arms, a red tint starting to deepen on her tear-stained face. She felt weirdly exposed now, even though it had been nothing more than a hug. What was more strange than that, however, was that she didn't even know why she had felt compelled to hug Embry. She just… Did it.

"Not at all, Quil," Embry deadpanned, glancing from his friend to his imprint. Julia slid over to the other side of the couch, arms crossed tightly around her chest. She was clearly embarrassed. He shot her an apologetic look, then stood up to meet Quil over by the door.

"You have terrible timing," Embry said quietly enough that only Quil could hear it.

"But you said I wasn't interrupting anything," he retorted.

"It's not what you think."

It wasn't until Quil got close enough to Julia to really see her face that he understood.

"Sorry for barging in like that," he said to her, offering a smile. "I see that Embry's already bored you to tears with car talk?"

Julia's demeanor softened at his joke, but Embry rolled his eyes.

"Shut up, Quil."

After an uneventful dinner at Emily's minus Jared and Sam, who were out running patrol, Embry was able to slip away into the living room and back while everyone else said their goodbyes. By the time he returned with what he had been looking for, it was just Julia and Emily left in the kitchen. They were standing at the island, discussing what sounded like plans for tomorrow.

"Kim is working the opening shift and should be out by eleven. I'm so excited for a girls' day," Emily said, beaming.

"And I haven't been to Port Angeles in a long time," Julia replied. "I'll be ready to go by then."

"Sounds perfect, doll. I'm gonna turn in early, I'm exhausted. Sam will be home late so if you hear anything downstairs don't worry, it's only him. Goodnight Jules," Emily turned, almost running into Embry. She eyed him with just a hint of suspicion. "I had no idea you were still here, Embry."

He moved the object he was holding to a position behind his back, hiding it from view, "Yeah, I was just, uh, looking for something."

Emily gave him a curt smile along with a look that said, you're skating on thin ice. She was clearly still a little upset with him over the two wolf incidents.

"Well, I hope whatever it is, you've found it. Have a good night," she said, looking him up and down once more before making her way upstairs.

Julia watched their exchange, waiting until she was sure her cousin was well out of earshot before asking, "Wow, what did you do to piss her off?"

Embry didn't realize that he had been holding his breath until he let out one long exhale.

"You can tell? Is it really that bad?"

"Well, between yesterday morning and the tone she just used with you now, I'd say on a scale from one to ten it's at about a seven," Julia said as she looked up at him, biting her lip to prevent herself from smirking. Embry would be lying if he said that it didn't make him just a little weak in the knees.

"Oh, so it can get worse," he joked, making her laugh.

"Let's not find out. Whatcha got there?" Julia asked, trying to peer behind his back to see what he was hiding.

"Close your eyes," he requested. Sighing, she complied, and Embry moved the object to a spot just about level with his chest. "Okay, open."

Julia opened her eyes to find Embry clutching a DVD copy of Mamma Mia! in his hands. She couldn't help but smile as she took it from him.

"What?! Where did you get this?"

"Emily has a pretty big movie collection, so I thought I'd take a look to see if she had it. I got lucky," he said, happily watching her face light up in surprise. "You're not too tired right now, are you?"

"Wait. You want to watch this movie? Right now?" Julia raised a brow incredulously as she asked, but to her utter shock Embry nodded enthusiastically. "You do realize this is a total chick flick, right?"

"Yeah," he said sheepishly, taking the DVD back. "But I did make you sit through hours of talking about cars today, so watching a chick flick with you is the least I can do. Come on."

Embry turned and motioned for her to follow him to the living room. Julia couldn't believe it, but within the next five minutes they were sitting on the couch together, watching Amanda Seyfried belt out a rendition of "Honey, Honey" by ABBA.

"Jules, you didn't tell me this was a musical," Embry whined. "This is so cheesy."

"Hey, I gave you an opportunity to back out," she laughed. "You wanted this, so you're stuck now."

About three-quarters of the way through the movie, Julia could feel her eyelids getting heavy. It was a tough fight to keep them open, but right at the wedding scene, she lost the battle. She absentmindedly leaned into Embry, resting her head on his left shoulder. Before she knew it, she had slipped into a deep sleep.

Embry didn't even notice that Julia was no longer awake until the movie ended. He was too wrapped up in the fact that the biggest mystery of his life was the basic plot of a romantic comedy. Quil would have definitely made fun of him for it, but he was secretly rooting for the main character to find out who her dad was. She never did. He kind of hated how close to home it hit.

"Jules?" he whispered softly as the credits rolled, but she didn't respond. Her breathing was slowed and her body was perfectly still. She was out like a light.

Embry turned off the TV, bathing the room in darkness. It was no problem for him, though - he could still see just fine. He gently wound his arms around her, picking her up and cradling her close to his chest. The last thing he wanted to do was wake her. She looked so peaceful. Standing up ever so slowly, he carried her bridal-style to her room upstairs. She felt light as a feather to him thanks to the supernatural strength that came along with being a shape shifter. He placed her down on the bed, making sure she was comfortably tucked in. Even after all of that, she didn't stir.

Leaving her was the hardest part, Embry thought, but he knew that he couldn't stay without her wanting him to be there. Besides, Emily would not be happy to find him still at her house in the morning if he did.

He took one last look at her before exiting the room, closing the door quietly behind him.