All characters that are from the TWILIGHT saga by Stephanie Meyer belong to Stephanie Meyer. All others belong to me. I do not receive profit for these stories except for the joyous enjoyment of reviews.

This story follows right after When I'm Gone: Third Installment to GONE Saga, so if you haven't read that one or the two before, please do.

The timeline of the story will coincide with Gabriel Michael Laskaris' growing up years, starting at Seth and Rosa's wedding day, April 12th and will progress from there.

AN: New chapter! Sorry it took me so long, it's been hectic with work and stuff but as an apology that really counts, I'm uploading chapter nine right after this and letting y'all know chapter ten is done and chapter eleven is started...I'm on a roll!

Gaby -I love you! Can't wait to read your awesome awesome reviews!

Ses -you'll owe me three reviews after this...are you on vacation? Can't wait to get my postcards!

Lette, Chelsea, Gianna -looking forward to reading reviews from y'all too!

This chapter is completely dedicated to Embry and Emerie...enjoy as you read and REVIEW!

Chapter Eight
Saturday in August –Emmie's Day with Mou

Bright blue eyes stared into dark brown ones, the intensity increasing with each passing second.

Narrowing his eyes, he scrunched up his nose, his upper lip curling in imitation of a horse, causing her to erupt into giggles despite the obvious struggle at holding them in.

"I win," Embry raised his arms up in the air in victory, Emmie scrambling up to stand on her chair, her small hands planted on the table to lean forward as she shook her head, "No fair! You can't make faces to win!"

"There's nothing in the rules about making faces," Embry leaned back, crossing his arms as he grinned across the table, "There're only two rules –no laughing and no looking away."

"I want a new rule," Emmie stomped her foot on the seat she was standing on, scrambling to sit on her bottom when mama looked over at her, "No funny faces."

"You need to put in an official request to the staring committee," Embry lifted a shoulder as Emmie frowned at him, her dark eyebrows lowering into a vee over bright blue eyes as she stared at him, "It's the rules."

Pursing her mouth into a tight little rosebud, she wiggled in her seat before asking, "Who's in the staring 'mittee?"

"Let's see," Embry tapped a finger against his chin, Emmie giggling at his thinking face, "There's mothers –'cause they're really good at staring –so that means your mom…my mom…and there's also dads."

"Daddy's in the 'mitte," Emmie scrambled to stand on the chair again, her face lit with excitement, "Can I ask him?"

"Well, he's head of the committee, so yeah, you can ask him."

Her cupid's bow mouth spread into a big smile that made Embry blink –he knew she was excited because, let's face it, she had her father wrapped around her right little finger while he was wrapped around the left one.

"Mama, is Daddy here yet?"

Leah placed another pancake on the growing stack, looking over her shoulder to give her a smile, "He's in the shower, honey. And please sit down –you know Daddy doesn't like it when you stand on the chairs."

Emmie let out a soft sigh, sitting back down, eyes and nose the only thing visible over the table as she said to Embry, "Let's play again."

"Okay."

"No funny faces," she exclaimed, pointing a small finger at Embry as he arched an eyebrow at her, "It's not a rule –it has to be a rule for me not to make funny faces."

"But I don't want you to make funny faces."

"You don't?"

Emmie shook her head, one of the purple barrettes in her fine hair slipping with the movement, "Not when we're staring."

They both leaned forward, ready to stare each other down again when Rick walked into the kitchen, Zaky in his arms with Gabe following behind them, the six year old rubbing a fist over sleepy eyes as he climbed up into his chair.

"Good morning," Rick greeted everyone as he set Zaky in his high chair.

"How was last night," Embry asked with a grin, laughing as Rick shook his head.

"A pain in the ass," Rick buckled Zaky in before sliding the tray into position, the little boy holding his arms up over his head as he looked up at his father with those serious blue eyes of his, "Sam thought it would be a good idea for Brady and Dougie to do rounds with me…those two are still in the puppy category."

Embry laughed as the tray clicked into place, Rick kissing the top of his one year olds' head, "Ready for breakfast, Zak?"

He nodded, lowering his arms to tap out sounds on his tray, kicking his legs as he turned to look towards his mother, a smile spreading across his little face as she set a pancake, a bowl of berries and a strip of bacon in front of him, followed by a warm kiss to his forehead.

"Daddy," Emmie scrambled onto her knees as she leaned her elbows against the table, "Can I make a 'ficial 'quest?"

Rick gave her a confused look, ruffling Gabe's hair before moving to the other side of the kitchen where Leah was, "You want to do what?"

"She wants to put in an official request to the staring committee," Leah said in a low voice, a smile spreading across her face as Emmie repeated, "I want to make a 'ficial 'quest."

"Am I the head of this committee," he asked Embry over his shoulder, somehow knowing he had something to do with his daughter's strange question as he turned the water on to fill the coffee pot.

"Yes," Embry nodded, doing a good job at keeping a straight face as Emmie stared eagerly at her father, moving to sit on her bottom when he looked at her with a raised eyebrow, "Alright then. You can make your official request now."

"A new rule," Emmie gave a single nod of decisiveness as she pointed at Embry, "No funny faces when staring."

"Ah, I see," Rick nodded as he finished getting the coffee ready –it was the one thing he insisted on doing himself because Leah never made it strong enough to satisfy his caffeine fix –"What about you? Can you make funny faces?"

"No," Emmie shook her head, the loose barrette falling to the kitchen floor, "I close my eyes when I make funny faces and that breaks the no looking away rule."

Rick laughed as he leaned against the counter, looking over at the baby monitor sitting by the phone –the squawking coming from it letting him know his twins were up and chattering to each other as was their norm every morning –"Well, what about when you learn to make faces without closing your eyes?"

Emmie stared at him as she gnawed on her bottom lip, her eyes showing the hard thinking she was doing before her face brightened up, "How 'bout no funny faces 'til I can make funny faces too?"

"Well, then," Rick nodded slowly as he smiled at his daughter, "That seems fair. What do you think, Embry?"

"I think it's a good rule," Embry nodded, reaching across the table to tweak Emmie's nose, her laughter sweet to him as Gabriel turned in his chair to look at his mother, "Mama, I'm hungry."

"Da. Da. Da."

"I'll get the boys," Rick leaned over to kiss Leah's cheek, wrapping his arms around her as she lifted her face up to his, hands sliding down to cover her lower stomach as he softly kissed her lips.

Embry watched them, his eyes narrowing as he focused on where Rick's hands were, having seen him do that before whenever Leah was… "Oh God! You two are pregnant again, aren't you?"

Leah's face flushed a soft pink as she looked up at Rick with a smile, her eyes dancing happily, "It's too soon to know for sure."

Embry shook his head as he looked away from Rick's hand to look at their faces, "You two shouldn't be left alone."

They chuckled as he turned his attention back to Emmie, Leah laughing softly as Rick whispered to her, "Is he that clueless?"

"I told him not to think about it."

Embry looked over at them with a confused look, "Not to think about what?"

"Nothing," Leah smiled as she turned to take the plates from the sideboard, looking over her shoulder at Rick, "Go get the boys. Embry and Emmie are leaving in an hour."

"Right," Rick stopped by Embry's chair, placing a hand on his shoulder, "Don't forget to call me every two hours while you have her with you."

"I won't," Embry assured his Alpha as Leah set the plates before Gabe and Emmie, returning with one for him, "I won't let her out of my sight, she will not talk to strangers, she will hold my hand at all times, I will not let anyone else touch her for any reason at all, there won't be any scrapes or cuts on her and I'll bring her home by bedtime."

Leah laughed as she moved past Rick, giving him a slight nudge on the side, "She's going to be fine, Rick. There's no need for all those rules. Now, how about you tell your daughter what's expected of her while I go get the boys?"

"Emmie," he looked over at his daughter, watching in amusement as she straightened up in response to the serious tone to her name, pulling back her small shoulders as she looked him in the eye, "Yes Daddy."

"You will listen to Embry. Everything he tells you to do, you will do. Got it?"

She nodded enthusiastically as she took a bite out of her strip of bacon, Rick giving her a smile before turning to look at Embry, "Aside from food and drink, you have a limit of twenty dollars."

Embry sighed as he nodded –he hated having to say no to Emmie when she asked for something because of the 'monetary' limits Rick placed on him whenever he took her somewhere with him –which was rare anyway so he didn't understand why he had to limit himself…no arguing on his part, though, because whatever Alpha said was law.

"Da! Da! Da!"

Rick turned as Leah walked into the kitchen, a baby on each hip, one of them waving his chubby arms at him, laughing as he swung him up into his arms, "You guys ready for a day with your old man?"

"Da! Da!"

Gabe looked up from his half-eaten breakfast, "What are we doing today, Daddy?"

"Well," Rick set Andrey on his high chair as Leah placed Alyx next to him, both of them banging their hands against the trays as Leah put on their matching bibs, laughing as he read the embroidered words 'Buy One, Get One Free,' "Who gave you those?"

Leah looked down at her boys, Andrey tilting his head back to look at her as Alyx leaned over his tray, stretching his arm out towards Zaky as his big brother munched on his piece of bacon, berry juice staining his chubby cheeks, "That would be Rachel."

"Why doesn't that surprise me," Rick said with a chuckle as he sat down, taking one of the small bowls of pureed apples and a spoon –unfortunately, it was his turn to feed Alyx who was insistent on feeding himself…this will result in a mess that usually involved his clothes –good thing he didn't have to work today.

"Daddy," Gabe picked up his glass of orange juice as he asked again, "What are we doing today?"

"We're going to the mall park," Rick answered as he wrestled the spoon away from Alyx, dipping it into the applesauce before handing it back to him, "Then we'll pick up some pizza and meet your mama at Granma Sue's."

"What are you gonna do, mama," Gabe asked as Leah fed Andrey, her placid little boy opening his mouth as he kicked out his feet, giggling when she reached down to tickle them –it always amazed her how despite them being identical, their personalities were as different as night and day.

"I am going to do some shopping," Leah dipped the small spoon into the applesauce, choking back a laugh as Alyx yanked his spoon away from his father, splattering it across Rick's t-shirt, "And get some cleaning done around the house. Want to stay with me and help?"

Gabe shook his head, his nose scrunched up, "Nah. I'll go to the mall park with Daddy and help him with my brothers."

Leah chuckled as she scrapped up the last of Andrey's applesauce, plopping it into his waiting mouth, "That's very sweet of you. I'm sure Daddy will be very grateful for your help."

"Mama! I'm ready!"

She looked over at her daughter, laughing at the berry juice staining her lips and the fly-away hair, wondering where her well-groomed little girl of an hour ago had gone, "Oh sweetie. Not quite."


"Mou."

He looked down at Emmie, her small hand secure in his as they followed the group through the forest trail, "Yes Princess?"

"My feet hurt."

He stopped, swinging her up into his arms and looking into her blue eyes as he asked with a smile, "Want to ride on my shoulders?"

She shook her head –she liked riding Mou's shoulders 'cause it made her into the tallest girl in the world but she didn't want to be tall right now, she wanted to cuddle.

Resting her head on his shoulder, she let out a yawn, Mou's walking behind the other kids and moms and dads making her think of the rocking chair in her room –mama always sat on it and held her while she read her a book.

She liked her rocking chair very much.

"Are you paying attention, Princess?"

"Uh-hu," she nodded, her soft hair brushing against his neck as she let out another yawn.

"Your eyes are closed."

"I can hear her."

Mou chuckled as he looked down at her, tugging the hem of her small blue jeans down her legs, noticing that the shoelaces of her left pink sneaker were coming undone, "What is she talking about?"

"Trees," Emmie answered, yawning again before she pulled back to look into Mou's face, "Did you know paper comes from trees?"

"Yes."

"And ten trees make one paper."

"Ten trees," Mou's eyebrow went up higher than the other one as she nodded, giggling at the way he sounded, "For just one piece of paper? I did not know that."

"I like trees," Emmie told him as something caught her attention, "Mou, look!"

Mou looked to where her small finger pointed, seeing a butterfly with black and blue wings fluttering over a patch of bright yellow flowers, "Want to try to find it in our guidebook?"

She nodded excitedly as he pulled out the slim book from the back pocket of his jeans, flipping a couple of pages before she pointed at a picture, "It's this one!"

"Looks like it," Mou studied the picture before looking up at Emmie with a smile, "Do you know where butterflies come from?"

"Uh-hu," she nodded excitedly as she touched a small hand to the side of his face to keep him looking at her, "They're cat'pillars first then they make co'ons and turn to jelly. Then –they break free as butterflies!"

Emmie smiled big at Mou's laughter, liking the way it sounded –it made her think of the howling wolves in the forest.

She liked wolves because Daddy was one and so was Mou and Gabe and Zak and Andrey and Alyx…she was the only one that couldn't be a wolf but mama always made it fun when they all went into the woods to be wolves and she had to stay home –mama called it their girly girl time.

Wrapping her arms around his neck as they followed the other people, she smiled when he asked her with a grin, "Where'd you learn that?"

"The learnin' channel," Emmie set her head on his shoulder as she picked at a loose thread from one of the pink bows on her purple shirt, "Vivi watches it with me. She's really smart."

"I think you're smarter," Mou told her and she knew he really believed that, making her smile with happiness, "Really?"

"Yup."

The guide's voice carried to where they were at the back of the group, her talking and talking making Emmie's head feel funny as she let out a sigh.

Mou moved her up higher against his chest, his arm re-adjusting over her legs as they began to climb up a slight incline.

"Mou."

"Yes Princess."

"Which are the canivorus trees?"

Mou turned to look at her, his dark eyebrows lowering over his brown eyes as he tried to figure out what she was asking, "Do you mean coniferous?"

"Uh-hu," Emmie nodded, reaching up to fiddle with the barrette mama had put in her hair.

She had said no piggy-tails because it would be easier for Mou to fix her hair if she used barrettes instead, "That's what I meant but I can't say it right 'cause I'm only three."

Mou chuckled as he tapped a finger to her nose, making her laugh, "Don't ever let your age stop you from doing awesome things."

Emmie bit her lip as she thought of what he said –she wanted to be awesome…and smart…and pretty –because Mou always told her she was so letting out a soft sigh as she thought over the word, she decided to give it a try, saying it one syllable at a time, "Co. Ni. Fe. Rous."

"There you go," Mou tickled her side, grinning as she laughed, her forehead bumping against his jaw as she tried to curl away from his fingers, "A coniferous tree is one that produces cones –such as evergreens."

"You mean, Christmas trees," Emmie lit up at the idea, looking around them before pointing at a large pine tree several yards away, "Like that one?"

"Exactly like that one!"

"What about acorn trees," Emmie tilted her head back to look at the tree leaves up above them, giggling when he tickled her throat, tucking her chin into her chest, "Are they co-ni-fe-rous?"

"I'm not sure," Mou made that funny face he always did when he was thinking, "Why don't we ask the guide?"

Emmie shook her head, the soft curls of her hair brushing against her chin and neck, "No."

"Why not? I bet she'll know the answer."

Emmie didn't like the guide lady –she was too pretty and smiled at Mou too much when they had arrived.

"I don't like her," she said softly as she tugged at one of the little pink bows on her shirt.

"Why not," Mou nudged her chin to have her look into his eyes, giving her a smile that told her he wasn't mad about what she had said.

Scrunching up her nose, she reached out to play with one of the buttons on his shirt as she answered, words coming out in a rush, "She touches you when she talks."

Mou stared at her for a few seconds before laughing, finding it funny that she didn't like sharing –which she didn't because he was hers, "Some people like to touch when they communicate, Princess."

"I don't like it."

"Alright then," Embry gave her chin a nudge, the tight feeling around her heart loosening at the smile he gave her, "We'll go to the library sometime and look it up."

"You won't forget?"

"I won't forget."


"Look, Mou! Look!"

Embry leaned over Emmie to get a closer look, laughing as she pointed in excitement, "Your beetle's winning, Princess!"

"Yes," she nodded her head excitedly as the other kids –all boys- crowded around the table, seven beetles racing down their lanes, little sticks in little hands prodding them along, "Its faster than the others! Go Peter, go!"

Embry laughed as the beetle Emmie had named Peter scurried ahead of the others, her little feet stepping all over his as she hopped and jumped in excitement, letting out a squeal when Peter made it to the end first, "I won! I won!"

She dropped her stick onto the table, turning to jump up into his arms, laughing as he swung her up over his head before settling her on his arm as the 'referee' handed her a blue ribbon, "Here you go, sweetie. First place ribbon."

Emmie grinned as she took the ribbon from her, blue eyes bright as she showed it to him, "Look, Mou! I got first place!"

"Good job, Princess," he kissed her round cheek, laughing as she threw her arms around his neck to return his kiss with an exuberant one of her own, "What would you like to do next?"

He watched her as she carefully tucked her ribbon into the pocket of his button down shirt, enjoying the way her little face showed her contemplation of his question before she looked up at him with hopeful blue eyes, "Can we go see the spiders? I wanna see how they make their webs."

"Alright then," Embry headed towards the spider display, amazed at how excited and attentive she was with all the different insect displays –not once had she reacted in horror the way some of the other little girls did.

His little Princess was fascinated by creepy crawly things and for some reason, it made him very proud of her –some of that probably had to do with the fact that she never asked him to play tea party and dress up the way Claire did with Quil.

Instead, he helped her catch spiders and crickets –and hey, what boy didn't like doing that, no matter how old he was?

Setting her down so she can get a closer look at the large aquarium housing several spiders and their webs, he watched as she studied them attentively, obvious interest on what the guy was saying about spiders and web making showing on her beautiful little face.

"Your little girl is adorable."

"I know," he answered, turning towards the husky voice to find a pair of large gray eyes looking at him, honey blond hair cut in layers framing an oval shaped face with arched eyebrows a shade darker than her hair, a slim nose and a full mouth spread into a big smile, "Thanks."

She chuckled as he turned to look at Emmie –still enthralled with the spiders and their webs, "She seems very interested in spiders," she gave him a big smile that he didn't see because he kept watching Emmie as she watched the spiders, "I remember screaming at the top of my lungs the first time I saw one."

Embry laughed as he slid his hands into the back pockets of his worn out jeans, inadvertently stretching the shirt he wore over his broad chest as he said with obvious pride, "Not my girl. She has no squeamish factor whatsoever."

"That's a rare quality to see in girls," she chuckled as she pointed towards a dark haired boy several kids away from Emmie, "That's my son –he's also interested in stuff like this. Makes it hard for me, being a single mom and all but I love him so I put up with it."

Embry chuckled as he shifted his weight, putting a bit of space between them, his eyes never leaving Emmie as she looked up at the spider guy, listening attentively to what he was saying, "I used to drive my mom and sister crazy with this kind of stuff –my sister would complain about my tarantula because she said she could feel it crawling on her just by looking at it."

"Oh God," she laughed, lightly slapping his arm as she stepped closer, her arm brushing against his, "I was doing so good not to think about that."

Embry laughed as she rubbed her arms, moving a hand over her middle, the yellow tank top she wore lifting a few inches above the waistband of her washed out jeans, white Keds that were probably a size six on her feet.

He glanced at her quickly as he said, "The more you scratch, the more you're going to itch."

"Oh gosh," she reached up to brush her hair back as she lightly bumped her shoulder into him, "You'll just have to get my mind off it, then."

Embry chuckled, recognizing the flirting tone in her voice but his attention was on Emmie, seeing the displeasure on her face as soon as she turned to look at him, "What's wrong, Princess? Is the spider doing it wrong?"

She shook her head as she moved towards him, lifting her arms up, wrapping them around his neck as soon as he picked her up.

"Mom, I'm hungry."

They all looked down as the brown haired boy came up to the blond, tripping over the shoelaces of his sneakers.

"Let's get lunch, then," she smile at him before looking up at Embry, "I'm Ana by the way. This is my son Trevor."

"Embry," he nodded, giving the little boy a smile as he stared up at them with eyes the same shade of gray as his mother's, "And this is Emerie."

"That's a beautiful name," she gushed, smiling at Emmie but she simply held on tighter to Embry, almost cutting off his air supply as obvious hostility flashed in her blue eyes, "Would you two like to join us for lunch? We're having burgers."

"I don't like burgers," Emmie's bottom lip poked out in a pout as Embry looked at her in surprise, "You don't?"

"Not today."

"Well," Ana kept her smile bright as she looked towards Embry, "How about pizza?"

"I don't like pizza either," Emmie's voice was bordering on petulance as Embry worked hard to keep himself from laughing out loud.

"Ice cream," she made one last attempt, placing a hand on her son's shoulder to stop him from tugging at her shirt to get her attention, "All kids like ice cream."

"Not me," Emmie shook her head before turning to look into Embry's brown eyes, "Mama's gonna make spaghetti."

"Alright then," Embry grinned as she touched her nose to his before turning to give Ana a friendly smile, "It was a pleasure meeting you both."

"Yeah," she smiled at him but he didn't notice what with his attention being solely on Emmie as he walked away. It was a shame she hadn't gotten the chance to ask for his phone number –that little brat of his would have probably thrown a tantrum if she had.

Yawning as they reached his car, Emmie looked down at him with a thoughtful look on her face, "Mou."

"Yes Princess?"

Nibbling on her fingernail as he unlocked the back door, she asked quietly, "Did you think she was pretty?"

Embry laughed as he buckled her into the car seat set in the middle of his back seat, making sure she was secure before sitting backwards on the seat next to her, leaning against the back of the front passenger seat as he looked into her face, "Not as pretty as you."

Her eyes twinkled as she smiled at him, reaching out to touch her small hand to the side of his face, "Can we have burgers for lunch?"

"I thought you didn't like burgers," he teased her, tying the laces to her pink sneakers into neat little bows.

"I changed my mind," Emmie said with a cheeky smile that grew wider as he laughed, reaching up to hug his neck when he leaned in to kiss her forehead, "I love you."

Embry smiled into her blue eyes, his large hand cupping her small face, "I love you too, Princess."


Passing headlights illuminated the inside of his car as he drove down the highway towards the reservation.

Glancing into the rear-view mirror –he kept it at a slant so he could see out the back windshield as well as look at Emmie –he smiled at the sight of her sleeping face.

Her head leaned against the side of her car seat, a chocolate smudge on one cheek evidence of the ice cream they had devoured after their dinner –she had wanted burgers again –at Burger King where she had happily eaten her burger and fries while he put together the toy that had come with her meal.

Glancing at the long stretch of dark road, he got off the exit to get onto the one o one to go through Forks, looking into the rear-view mirror again as Emmie let out a sigh, reaching up to rub the back of her hand over her mouth before settling back to sleep.

It amazed him –every single minute he spend with her amazed him as he watched her explore, learn, embrace…grow.

She was such a beautiful child, with a heart and soul as pure as gold: a bright and inquisitive mind open to everything she could possibly learn, making her even more precious.

To him, it made perfect sense: this beautiful, sweet, brilliant little girl was his gravity –the very center of his universe…and every day she discovered something new pushed him to become a better man –without a doubt, she deserved to have the whole world laid at her feet.

Being the only world he could offer her was his own, he had every intention of making sure it was worth everything she could possibly need or want –he never wanted her hurting for anything, especially that which truly mattered.

Patience, security, love, support, affirmation –all of that he gave her because she inspired them therefore, they already belonged to her.

Crossing into the reservation, he let out a soft sigh of his own.

It had been a wonderful day, all too short for both of them but every minute enjoyed to the fullest.

He recalled asking Quil, back when Claire had turned four, if it was hard, having to wait so long for her to grow up.

Quil had said no and now he understood why.

From the moment he had held her, not even an hour after she was born, time had ceased to matter.

Every day he spent with her felt like an eternity in itself –a wonderful moment suspended in time that he never wanted to end.

He had no urgency for her to grow up, no desire to rush the wonderful development of such an amazing little girl…to him she was perfect just as she was.

Pulling into the driveway of the Laskaris' home, he turned off the engine, sitting in the silence for a few minutes as he listened to the sweet sound of Emmie's breaths, deep and slow as she continued sleeping.

She was a heavy sleeper –nothing could wake her once she went under, not the slowing down of a car or the screaming of a baby…he thought that to be the most adorable thing ever and to him, it made sense –after all, a brilliant little mind like hers needed to have some serious rest to continue growing and developing.

The porch light flickered on, letting Embry know it was time to return her to her parents.

That was the hard part –having to leave her.

Sometimes he envied Quil –he got to sleep under Claire's window every night while he had to live in the SU dorms hours away from where his Princess slept and lived.

Undoing the harness of her car seat, he gently lifted her into his arms, taking the plastic bag with the day's booty from the floorboard before closing the door.

He smiled as she rubbed her face against his t-shirt before settling her head onto his shoulder, her small nose pressed against the side of his neck.

Kissing her forehead as he made his way up to the front door, he gave thanks to God or fate or whoever was in charge –Rick? –that she knew who and what he was…that she had no doubts about his place in her life.

Leah opened the front door as he stepped up onto the small porch, her smile tired yet happy at the sight of her little girl, "Did she have fun?"

Embry grinned as he entered the house, handing Leah the bag before heading down the hall towards Emmie's bedroom, "Lots of it. She made a dream catcher and got the first place ribbon for the beetle race."

"First place," Leah's eyebrows lowered in alarm as she placed the plastic bag on the floor, giving it a fearful look, "They didn't give her the beetle, did they?"

"There's nothing alive in the bag," Embry couldn't keep from chuckling as he laid Emmie on her bed, the sheets already turned down, "She did, however, ask me for a plastic model of an earthworm. It opens up and you can see its insides in detail."

"Gross. I hated biology back in high school," Leah shivered as she watched him remove her baby's shoes and socks, blinking back tears at the sight of his big hands gently cradling the small feet –it made her happy to know this wonderful, gentle man was her baby girl's soul mate, "I'll put on her pajamas, Em. Rick wants to talk to you –he's waiting a few yards into the woods behind the house."

"What did I do," Embry stared up at Leah in wide-eyed apprehension, still on one knee beside Emmie's bed, her little bare feet warm in his large hands.

Leah chuckled, "Nothing. He just wants to catch up with you, what with the new house and almost finishing school."

"This coming May is graduation for me," Embry turned to look at his Emmie, brushing back her hair as he leaned over her to press a gentle kiss to her soft cheek, "Good night, Princess."

She let out a soft sigh, mumbling softly as she buried her face into her pillow, "G'night Mou."


Looks like you two had a good day.

Embry stretched, letting out a yawn before laying on his stomach, not at all fazed about having his Alpha see every memory of today as he gave his furry body a shake: She's amazing, Rick. Smart, inquisitive –it just…blows my mind. Every chance I get to spend with her is like…seeing a whole new side of life.

Rick chuckled mentally as he tilted his head, his ears perking up as he listened to the sounds of the night: She amazes me constantly, as well. Did you get her number?

Who's number?

The sandy wolf turned to look at the spotted gray stretched out lazily by the river: The blond. Her name was Ana, right?

He tilted his head, confusion spelled out on his furry face as he looked up at his Alpha: Why would I get her number?

Rick let out a scoff that sounded between a bark and a choke: She was attractive…and she was coming on to you. Did you not get that?

Embry thought back to his day again, but no matter how hard he tried to remember what the blond had looked like, he couldn't focus on anything but Emmie's beautiful little face, blue eyes as bright as her smile: No.

Rick shook himself, reaching up to swipe his paw over his ear in what Embry recognized as frustration: Embry, do you not have any relationships with women outside of the ones you call friends?

He knew his Alpha was trying to get to a specific point but he wasn't sure what that would be: No.

Letting out a huff, he finally turned his blue eyes to look down at Embry:Okay, I'm just going to say it out loud. I know you weren't celibate before you imprinted on my daughter. You were dating Mattie, after all.

Embry laid his head on his paws, unexplainable guilt and shame washing over him as he explained: Mattie and I never…I mean, I wanted too but I couldn't do that to her because of the way I felt for Emmie…it wasn't absolute but I knew what it was, what it would lead to and leading Mattie to believe there could be more between us by having –

Embry, Rick interrupted his Beta as he let out a soft huff: I'm not asking you to explain anything. What I'm trying to say is you're twenty-four years old…you're a healthy guy who attracts his fair share of pretty girls…you have certain needs all twenty-four year old guys have.

No, Embry shook his head, pushing himself up to sit back on his haunches: I don't have any need to…Oh, dear God.

What?

I have no sex drive, Embry stood up on all fours, the fur along his back standing on end as his brown eyes widened in realization: I'm a twenty-four year old guy and I have no sex drive! I don't even get an erection at the porn my roommate watches!

You're not a freak, Rick said in an attempt to calm him down but Embry was quickly losing it.

I'm a freak, Embry shook himself, pacing back and forth before turning his head towards his Alpha in alarm: The other guys can't know! They'll never let me live it down!

Embry, the authority in that one word alone had the spotted gray stop moving: The only way they'll know is if you think about it when you're linked up with their thoughts.

Embry shook himself again as Rick continued: You're not a freak…you imprinted on a child.

The gray head came up to look at his Alpha in sudden realization: Wait. Quil –he imprinted on Claire when she was two. Maybe I could ask him if this is normal –Wait! You did patrols with Doug and Brady the other day. At seventeen, they should –did they think at all about sex or girls throughout the night?

Rick stared into the brown eyes for several seconds as he thought back to that night: No. Videogames…food…Dougie was excited about babysitting Nika…and Brady couldn't stop bragging about Bailey beating Bradley to the top of the jungle gym dome…that pretty much covers the scope of their thoughts.

Wow, Embry blinked several times before shaking his head: That must have been hell.

Yeah, Rick turned his head to look over his shoulder, able to hear Quil at the other side of the reservation doing his rounds between La Push and Makah: I've been thinking perhaps it would be good for you to date –

No.

Embry –

No, he stood up, his brown eyes narrowing slightly as he glared at his Alpha: I know you're my Alpha and I follow your rules because you really believe they'll be good for both of us in the long run but I will not date some faceless girl that holds no interest to me.

Embry –

He interrupted his Alpha again, shaking his big head as he let out a snort: You saw the look on her face when she saw me talking to that woman. I don't want her to feel insecure –ever – when it comes to her place in my life. She knows who and what I am –I have you to thank for that –she knows with the certainty of a child, that I belong to her. I never want her to doubt that…not during her formative years…not ever.

Rick stared at his Beta, feeling a certain amount of relief at his words because he knew a large amount of his daughter's confidence came from knowing Embry's place in her life: I was thinking of you, Embry. I don't want you to miss out on life because you're waiting for my baby to grow up.

I'm not missing out on anything, Rick, Embry let his tongue hang out in a smile: She is life…and I'm not waiting around for her to grow up as if it were a hardship. Watching her being the little girl she is…it's what makes my life…amazing. She does that…now.