She awoke to a large glass of water on her bedside. The sun was bright; way too bright. She rose with great difficulty and hastily grabbed the glass, downing nearly all of it. Her mouth was still dry, and her head was pounding. A small piece of paper accompanied the glass.

Sorry, Bells

The pack needs me today.

See you later,

Jake

The note was brief, almost curt, as if it were written just as an excuse to leave. What had happened last night? Did she do something wrong? When did he leave?

Slowly, she pulled herself up in bed, massaging the bridge of her nose. She pulled down the covers to discover that she hadn't been wearing any pants, just the boyshorts that had been under her pajama bottoms. A loud groan escaped her lips as she dragged herself into the bathroom.

A total mess was looking back at her in the mirror. Her stale morning breath reeked of sugar and alcohol, her hair was sticking up in odd places, and her eyeliner was smudged. Whether it was from laughing or crying, she didn't know. Maybe it was better that Jake didn't see her looking like this, though given the train wreck she was after Edward left, maybe that ship had sailed.

A wave of nausea hit. She was going to need to pull herself together before Charlie came home. Shit. There was a huge mess downstairs and she was in no mood to deal with it. Slowly, she tried piecing the night back together. They talked about school, winter break, terrible movies, and Quil and Embry coming to blows and almost phasing over the last piece of Emily's pie. She told him about the latest hobby that Renee had thrown herself into. They annihilated the food, binged some tv show she had started recently, and had a drink or two.

Or three. Or four. She'd lost count, but it was definitely more than she had planned. That was where her memory turned fuzzy. Charlie was going to kill her once he found the bottle. Maybe he wouldn't notice it was watered it down a bit. Jacob was drinking, too, but there was no telling how much he'd had as the evening progressed. His size and his insane new metabolism might have saved him there. She should have gone easy on him, being older and slightly more experienced than him, but that somehow made her want to corrupt him more. What was high school if not a time to get in a little trouble, sneak out, have a few of your firsts? She guessed this would be the first hangover for the both of them.

There was something odd about the contrast between the old Jacob and the new. This tough new exterior couldn't conceal the boy that remained within. His face betrayed a strange merging of two people, one experienced and seductive, the other sweet and naive. She was always safe with him, but this time there was nothing inside him that wanted to murder her, nothing he had to hold back. It turned her on more than she wanted to admit, but at the same time it was just so...cute.

"I said something dumb, didn't I?" she moaned as it all finally dawned on her. "I said something I shouldn't have."

She sat down on the edge of the bathtub to combat the spinning. It wasn't that she didn't mean any of it, but saying it while being drunk off her ass what not the way to do it. She wasn't even sure if she was ready to be that transparent with him. Things were going so well, and she didn't want to complicate their relationship any more. Not yet, anyways.

She wracked her brain, trying to remember what had come next. She'd gone upstairs because of the cold; that much was certain. The bed was still freezing after she arrived. She was freezing again now. She turned on the shower and waited for the hot water to fog up the mirror so she wouldn't have to see herself anymore. He was determined to scrub the embarrassment off in the shower along with her remaining makeup. Whatever it was that she said, there was no doubt that he'd be teasing her about it forever after.

Bits and pieces of the rest of the night came back to her, something about the window and a space heater. She dreamed of the pack, all in their wolf forms and resting together in a huge pile on the grass. Jake snorted and nudged her with his muzzle to join them, where she fell asleep curled up in his fur. Her last waking memory was of how warm it was under the blankets, almost uncomfortably so. She was sure she was sweating during the night. There was a moment where she was almost entirely asleep, and she began feeling around for the other pillow. She found what she was looking for, and pulled herself in towards its warmth.

"Oh no…"

The day went much as he had predicted. He elected to just fess up rather than risk a blowout during patrols. serious reprimand from the entire pack, especially Sam. The morning was spent in Emily's kitchen, sitting around the table recounting the night before. He listened, more quietly than usual, to the results of their patrols, before he was forced to divulge the details of his evening with Bella. He took care to omit some of the more salacious details, knowing full well the futility of it all. There was no way he was going to make it to the other side of this mess with his dignity intact. They knew exactly why he'd fallen down on the job, and they were not going to let him forget it. He was prepared for punishment; he somehow forgot that the punishment would include endless, merciless ridicule.

"You're a fucking idiot," Sam growled.

"I guess Jake was out the day they taught us about peer pressure," Quil added. His constant stream of snark was getting tedious.

"Nah, I think we all know what went into that decision," Embry said. "Or who."

"That's enough you two," Sam warned. Right now, Sam was probably the only thing standing between him and a week of bad innuendo. He was sure they'd get the full story after everyone phased that night.

"You'll get her killed if you keep thinking with your dick," said Paul. "And if you keep it up you could put the whole pack in jeopardy."

Paul always knew how to piss him off better than anyone. He loved her, and he would never knowingly put her in danger to further any ulterior motives. He wouldn't violate her trust. As much time as they spent rooting around in his mind, they should have known better than to trivialize his feelings.

Jacob stood up suddenly, his fists clenched.

"Don't you think I know that?" he snapped.

"Do you honestly think that I don't realize what could have happened? I could have lost her forever, and I already feel really guilty about that. This pack has already taken so much from me. You already tried to get me to abandon her to protect our 'secret' even though she's already part of this world."

He realized he was shaking and paused, taking a deep breath to calm the beast inside that was trying to force its way out. He'd had excellent control up until now.

"She could have just as easily figured it out on her own. How could I do that to her, after everything she's been through, after how long it took before she would even smile again?"

"And what about what we've been through, hmm?" chided an irritated Paul. "Is she more important than your family?"

"Of course not!" he objected. "That's not the point. All I wanted was one night, one night to be a normal person and pretend that nothing had changed. And I shouldn't have to remind you guys that I have some rights when it comes to Bella." His voice became quiet, and he slid back down into his chair, his eyes closed.

"I know I screwed up. I just wanted to see her again. I want this leech dead as much as you all do, but these double shifts are overkill. We will catch her, and once we do, taking her out will be a snap. I think you'll agree that I have more reason to want to tear that bitch apart than anyone here."

The room fell silent. Embry piped in: "Bella is probably really freaked out, right? If we leave her alone too long, she'll probably do something really stupid and make our job harder." Paul shot him a dirty look. He knew he could always count on Embry to back him up, as long as there wasn't a better opportunity to make fun of him. The kid knew what was good for him.

"Exactly," said Jacob, hopeful that he might be making some progress. "She spent a year hanging out with a bunch of blood suckers that tried to kill her twice and ended up in the hospital, for Christ's sake. She clearly has zero self-preservational skills. She can't even walk around her own house without tripping."

Sam let out a long sigh, massaging his temples. Embry smiled weakly at Jacob from across the table.

Paul eyed Sam. "Don't tell me you're seriously considering-"

Sam held up his hand to quiet him.

"Please, Sam... Don't make me give this up too."

"Jacob is right in one respect:," Sam said reluctantly. "I can't order him not to see her. Only she has that power."

The pack sat in silence. A nervous energy permeated the kitchen as they waited for Sam's decision. Jacob was ready to take anything that Sam ordered. He'd pull a double shift. He'd even do a week's worth of patrols with Paul if it meant he could see her regularly, like regular teenagers.

"Ok," he began. "Here's what going to happen."