Longest chapter so far! Thanks for reading and I hope you are enjoying it!

I do not own Twilight.

EIGHT

"Who was that man you were with Leah?" Sue Clearwater asked her daughter knowingly with a smile on her lips.

"Just a friend, Seth's friend actually. He fixed my car couple weeks back."

"Oh really, the little girl his?"

"Yeah."

"Looks nothing like him. The mother must be white."

"I guess, I don't know." Leah had wondered about that too. She hadn't been sure what Jacob's type would have been, she'd just assumed Native, but it was obvious that the girl's genes were majorly something different.

"You seemed close?" Sue pressed on, earning an eye roll from Leah.

"We only just met, we were getting to know each other, he's divorced so he understands what I'm going through."

"Ah, I see. Well, he's very handsome Leah – AND Native. He makes Sam look like nothing."

"Mom, stop okay! Jacob and I are not dating. We're barely even friends."

"Are you sure? I saw the way he looked at you. It was very intimate, and you seemed rather engrossed."

Leah groaned. She knew that they had made a spectacle of themselves in the middle of a crowd! She'd just been so thrown off by seeing him. The guilt Leah'd been harboring for days since she left him at the restaurant had just become too much to bear. Seeing Jacob again had stirred a feeling in her she couldn't really name, but she'd known that she had to set aside her stubborn ways and apologize. She'd known that she wanted him back in her life. Leah felt foolish for pushing him away, knowing that he was essentially harmless. She had let her own fears force her to run from someone who cared. She would have contacted him days ago, but between her pride and forcing herself to believe that he deserved better, she didn't.

"I was a bitch to him, I was apologizing."

"Humility? My child? Oh my, he must really be something!" Sue teased.

"He's really nice." Leah admitted, stopping to look at some second hand books.

"I'm just glad to see that you're socializing again. Sam controlled too much about your life."

"Let's not talk about that. Please. Are you finished shopping? I need to stop at the grocer's to buy stuff to make lunch for Seth's soccer friends tomorrow. Jake's daughter invited me."

"Oh did she now?"

"Yes Mom. It's nothing, she just really loves Seth."

"Oh, what isn't to love about my baby boy?"

Leah rolled her eyes. "Just stop, please."

Leah woke up nervous about the impression she'd make on all of her brother's friends. She quickly got to work on the various types of sandwiches – roast beef, ham and cheese, cucumber and tuna. As a bonus she also did a mac n cheese pie with hamburger bits and Sue graciously dropped a few dozen cookies Leah had begged her to bake for Nessie's sake. Leah knew she couldn't do it all herself to begin with. The pizza rolls ended up being too much hassle. Surely this had to be enough, right? She couldn't imagine doing this every weekend and hoped no one would ask her to, not on her one day off from work.

Leah picked up Seth on the way. Her brother greeted her with a smirk and a kiss to her cheek. "Alright, the suspense is killing me. WHY are you coming to soccer? I thought you were done with him?"

"Nessie invited me." Leah shrugged.

"Wait, you met Nessie? How?"

"At the farmer's market. I took Mom shopping and ran into Jake."

"Did you make up? Or are you coming simply to torture him some more?"

Leah swatted her brother. "We made up okay. I swallowed my pride and apologized and all that good stuff."

"Wow. He must really like you." Seth murmured sarcastically.

"Gee, thanks. You know I could make you walk the rest of the way, right?" Leah threatened.

"This is all just so weird. I mean, it's cool if you just want to talk about divorce and all - but you know he's younger than you right? If you wanted to date or whatever." Seth wrinkled his nose as if disgusted by the thought.

"I thought you were okay with Jacob and I hanging out?" Leah didn't bother to correct him that there wasn't going to be any dating involved.

"I AM, you're both adults, it's not my place to interfere. I just don't wanna really think about it too hard."

"You're so silly. But like how much younger are we talking?"

"He's twenty-four."

"Oh, well, four years. Uh that's not that big of a deal, we're both still in our twenties?" Leah really didn't think about age and while it was kind of off-putting, since Sam was older than she was, she felt like Jacob didn't act younger, which was more important. Plus, "We're just friends anyway," she quickly reminded her brother – and herself.

"Sure. For now."

"Seth, don't make a big deal about this. I already told you how I feel about dating. Now is not the time. He's just someone I can talk to and spend time with. It's like a distraction, that's all. Jacob is fine with that. To be honest, I think he needs this as much as I do. I think he's having a hard time with his daughter." Leah had found herself blind-sided the day before, as it dawned on her that Jacob needed someone in his corner just as much as she did. While she wasn't looking to date, she had submitted to letting things develop between them – friendly things.

"Well, with Bella gone Nessie's been acting out…he's trying to cope as best he can."

"She needs a mother."

Seth grimaced and nodded his agreement. "She has one, Lee. No one knows what's going to happen with Bella when she comes back, but she will. I really liked her you know? She was nice. But what she did to Jacob is unforgiveable."

"What happened?"

"She left him for this other guy. Begged Jacob for a divorce, got married to the dude right after and just left."

"Well, he told me as much."

"I can't say anymore about it, Jake will have to tell you when he's ready. He doesn't like to talk about it at all. We generally don't even mention Bella's name."

"How do you just leave your child behind though?"

"Jake will explain what happened Lee."

"Okay," Leah murmured, even more intrigued now. The love the man had for the little girl was obviously very deep. "Does Bella have red hair?"

"Nah, she's got dark brown hair and eyes."

Leah frowned. Something just didn't sit right in her gut about this situation. She hoped Jacob would come clean about it soon.

Leah found a parking spot close to where Seth showed her was the usual meet up for soccer. She glimpsed Jacob's truck not far away and felt her nerves spike with excitement. She truly couldn't wait to see him again. And she didn't have to either.

"Hey," she heard him call and turned to the sound of his voice.

"Hey," Leah smiled, unable to stop herself from showing her excitement.

"How are you?" Jacob asked, as he leaned over and kissed her cheek briefly. Leah blushed at the show of affection.

"I'm good, you?"

"I'm perfect, now that you're here," he winked and grinned boyishly at her.

Leah giggled – yes, giggled – and shook her head. "Not with the lines, please Mr. Black."

"Oh that's no line Doctor Uley." He grinned while helping her with the food. "You won't know when it's a line, promise."

"Oh really?" Leah challenged.

"Yes, really."

"Would you two just – not?" Seth groaned behind them. Leah had completely forgotten about her little brother's presence.

"What's your problem now?" Jacob asked, fighting a grin.

"I don't mind you dating my sister Jake, but please, for the love of all that is holy, don't flirt in front of me."

"Seth, shut up! You know we're not flirting!" Leah growled.

"I'm just saying!" Seth smirked, feigning innocence as he ran off to greet the others.

"Ignore him," Leah ordered Jacob, still scowling after Seth.

"Seth? It was harmless. Now I know it bugs him, I might just have to do it more often."

Leah smacked his arm. "You're just as bad as he is!"

Jacob rubbed his arm with a laugh of surprise. "Relax, I was just joking! No pressure, remember?"

Leah gave him another look of warning then followed him onto the grass. "Where am I going to put all this?"

"I brought a folding table, no worries, thought you might need it."

"Oh great, good thinking," She smiled up at him, her previous mood vanished.

"Yip. And we've got water and beers so feel free to help yourself."

"Sure."

"Leah!" Nessie screamed as she bolted across the field from where she was kicking the ball with Seth and some other guys.

"Hey Nessie!" Leah called back as she and Jacob waited for the little girl to reach them. "She's full of energy this morning?"

"Yup, I apologize for her chatter box in advance by the way."

Leah swatted his arm playfully. "Nothing I can't handle."

"We'll see," Jacob smirked, covertly touching Leah's back ever-so-softly and briefly. She shivered a little at his gesture.

Leah squatted as Nessie barreled into her arms. "You came!" Nessie grinned. Her green eyes sparkling in the sunlight.

"Yeap, I sure did. And I've got on my trainers and my sweats so we can have some fun," Leah told her while smoothing back her hair. Nessie was a mystery, and very endearing.

"Cool! I've got my own ball!" Nessie ran off to get it and Leah watched her go.

"I hope you don't mind watching her while we play. Kim is usually here with the kids, but they're away this weekend."

"I'm happy to do it Jacob. That's what friends are for."

"Thanks," he said, giving her a meaningful look.

For a moment, as she looked into his eyes, she felt her world shift, as though nothing existed but him in that brief fragment of time. "Sure," Leah found herself whispering back. She was in awe of him. She really was and she didn't know exactly what it meant.

Jacob smiled, his whole face seeming to light up like the sun as he gestured to the food. "Can't wait to see how good of a cook you are."

Leah rolled her eyes playfully. "I'm alright."

"I cook but I'm not sure exactly how good I am. Dad eats it cause he has no choice, and Nessie only eats one thing… so who knows. No one's died yet though."

Leah laughed. "I'm sure it's not that bad."

"You know, uh Nessie wants you to come over and make cookies. I asked her if you could come for dinner and she said okay. So if you want to, we could set a date? And I mean like a day and time, not an event for the purpose of courting."

Leah laughed at his clarification. "Sure Jake, that sounds lovely. Maybe I can cook for you all."

"That would be a nice change Lee."

Leah's heart skipped a beat as he did it again. Called her the pet name Sam had once used. The thing is, that while it should bother her, it didn't. It wasn't as if she hadn't had that nickname all her life, but it was different hearing Jacob say it. It was personal, intimate even. But she knew that he didn't realize. She called him Jake didn't she? Leah knew she was making a big deal in her head over nothing. She needed to stop analyzing every little thing for her own sanity.

"Well, I've gotta get out there, I'm sure you'll meet the guys when we take a break."

"Alright. Be careful out there okay? I fix teeth not limbs."

Jacob laughed. "Alright Doc, duly noted."

Leah watched Jacob's huge form as he ran onto the field, watching his friends openly tease him about her presence. She felt a flush of embarrassment but knew it was harmless, and that it was nothing compared to what she felt when Jacob would sneak peeks over at her while he played. He was good. They all were, and she wasn't surprised to see other women checking out the game. It wasn't often that one saw a group of Natives as handsome as this group anyhow.

Nessie really was a little Energizer Bunny. They kicked the ball and played catch until Leah finally convinced her to sit down on the huge blanket Jacob had already set up with Nessie's things. Leah served her a sandwich with a little of the pie on the side. She already knew Nessie was a picky eater but she hoped the child would try.

"This is good," Nessie chirped as she dug into the burger and macaroni pie.

"Thanks, my Mom used to make it for me and Seth when were kids. It was his favorite so we've got to leave him some okay?" Leah joked.

"We can't eat all of that!" Nessie giggled.

"But I'll wrap some up for you to take home, how does that sound?" Leah asked.

"Good!"

Leah didn't know why but somehow she just knew how to manage the child. She hadn't spent a lot of time with kids outside of taking care of their teeth, but she'd always wanted her own. Maybe she would have made a great mother if she had been able to get pregnant. The doctors hadn't found anything wrong with her per say, but she'd never even conceived once.

Finally, the boys took a break and came over, heading first for water and beers before food.

"Hey, how's it going over here? Ness, whatcha eating?" Jacob asked as he purposely sat between them so he could be close to both girls. Leah got a whiff of his sweaty masculine scent and tried not react. Sweat wasn't supposed to be so appealing!

"It's mac n cheese with burger! And this is a ham and cheese sammich!" she pointed to her food with a grin, before forcing her father to take a bite of everything.

"You actually got her to try that?" Jacob whispered to Leah as he chewed.

"I think she was just too hungry to argue."

"Well, good job Doc." Jacob squeezed her arm for a brief second, enough to make Leah's adrenaline spike.

Leah smiled at his new pet name for her and eyed the men that were now standing around eating and eyeing her with interest. "Hi everyone, I'm Leah," she stood and introduced herself, needing to move around so her head wouldn't be so full of Jacob Black.

"Seth's sexy sister, we finally meet at last. I'm Paul, nice to meet you." Leah rolled her eyes and smiled at the compliment just as Seth told his friend to knock it off. "He never wanted us to meet you, 'fraid that you'd run off with the obvious choice." Paul smirked, making the others laugh.

"Oh is that so? Who would that be again?" Leah asked innocently while purposely sizing him up.

All the guys laughed loudly and smacked Paul on the back, including Jacob who purposely used a little more force than necessary. "Ignore this fool," Jacob told her with a half-smile on his way to get a plate.

"It's fine. Paul's harmless, aren't you?" Leah winked at him.

"I'm whatever you want me to be," Paul winked back. "Food is good by the way," he held up his roast beef sandwich.

"This is Embry, and Quil and Collin and Brady," Seth continued to call out names. The other guys welcomed Leah more courteously.

"I find it strange how you're all out here together in the city. It's not very common, at least, not to me. Seth had told me you were from the Reservation near Forks?" Leah asked.

"We're Quileute, yeah. Not all of us live here. But we come down for the weekends. Me, Jake and and Jared work at the auto-shop," Embry explained.

"So you make that drive every weekend?" Leah asked Paul and Quil and the others.

"Collin and I are at college in Port Angeles. We just take the bus. Paul drives like a maniac so the drive isn't too long for him and Quil to get here." Brady explained.

"Plus, if you lived on Res, you'd understand why we like to come. It's boring as hell," Paul added.

"So why stay?" Leah asked. This seemed to be an out-of-bounds question as the guys all exchanged a look.

"Well, uh," Paul didn't seem to know what to say.

"My Dad needs medical assistance and it's cheaper and better here. So we had to move. He's the chief and Paul and Quil help keep things in order with the tribe while we're here. I owe them everything really." Jacob explained instead, giving his friends a meaningful look.

"We're family bro, pack for life, you'd do it for us," Quil said with a smile to which Embry readily agreed.

Jacob looked at Leah, and she nodded that she understood. She was touched. Her eyes fell to Seth who was also watching her closely. She smiled at her brother and teased, "So you're the odd man out huh Sethy?"

"Hey, Makah's family too," Collin laughed, tugging Seth around the neck and ruffling his hair.

Leah felt warm as she watched her brother and his friends. Seth did fit in, he was one of them and she envied him his new family. All this time she hadn't known that this was what he'd found for himself. No wonder he never hung around much between these guys and med school, his life was pretty full. Leah felt guilty she'd never given it much thought, being so wrapped up with work and Sam. By contrast, she never felt more alone. They'd never really been close to their Makah relatives, beyond Emily and her family. Since their father Harry died years ago, Leah and Seth had stopped visiting the Reservation often. When Sam left her for Emily, Leah had cut off her family altogether while Sue struggled to remain in touch.

"You okay?" Jacob asked quietly, standing just over her shoulder.

Leah looked up at him, feeling bashful. "Yeah, I just had no idea."

Jacob nodded and led the way over to a bench. Nessie was now occupied by Collin and Brady so they could steal a few moments to themselves.

"You have a great group of friends Jake, it's really nice that you all stick together like that. I'm so happy that Seth has you all too."

"Thanks, I don't know what I'd do without them yuh know? I'm shirking my duties on the Res, since my father isn't very active with his diabetes and all. But the shop here gives us the money for his medicine and therapy and it helps pay for Collin and Brady to go to school, it just keeps us afloat. Back home there isn't much business but Paul and Quil run a small garage there too. So Seattle is home…until we can do better. I miss the forest though. I wish Ness had that kind of environment rather than the city."

"So you're like the chief too then?" Leah asked, intrigued. She could totally see it, Jacob had an alpha presence among his friends.

"Yeah, kind of, yeah. It's more of a shared duty these days. The title doesn't really exist like it used to back in the day when I was a kid."

"I'm sorry about your father."

"Yeah, it's tough but he's doing a lot better now, that's why we can't leave. It's good for him. He can help with Ness, and he's dating now – something I never thought I'd ever see him do again. I'm happy that he's got a new lease on life."

Leah understood now why Jacob was so hung up on moving forward with his life too. He had so much responsibilities to handle, and he'd let his personal needs suffer. Leah reached out and held onto his arm which was holding his plate of food. Jacob looked over, astonished momentarily before knocking her shoulder with his in response. They were both getting used to this, to being close, as friends. It felt nice to have someone to talk to. Leah scooted a little closer and rested her head on Jacob's shoulder, simply letting herself be present in the moment. She hadn't felt this content in a long time.

"Food was great Doc, thanks."

Leah pulled herself up and smiled. "You're welcome."

Jacob turned to look at her better, pressing one warm palm to her knee. "Leah, I really appreciate how you've bonded with Nessie. She needs more female interaction with Bella gone. You seem so accepting of me and my chaotic life. It means a lot to me to have someone to talk to."

She blushed instantly and bowed her head, unable to maintain eye contact under his smoldering gaze. "Thank you for accepting me too Jacob. I had a great day today with Nessie, she's a lovely girl and you're doing a great job with her. I can see how close you are. And it's been so long since I've been with a group of friends just having fun – apart from that night at the club. I really needed this. I could strangle Seth for keeping me out of the loop for so long. But I guess because of Sam, he knew it wouldn't have worked out. Sam would never have let me come here…"

"Nothing before it's time… I wouldn't have wanted to meet you then and been attracted to you like I am now. It would have driven me crazy knowing you were taken," his thumb made a swirl on the fabric of her knee before Jacob let go and stood up, leaving Leah reeling from his honesty. "I've gotta get Nessie all packed up to go. The guys want to go out later so we had a shorter game than usual. Plus, without Jared it's a bit uneven. Paul's cheating his ass off."

"Alright, I'll pack up too." Leah followed him quietly over to the table and began to pack her things. His comment about his attraction to her was buzzing in her brain, heightening her awareness of him. She watched Jacob as he went about his daughter's business and felt her heart melt at him being so careful and fatherly. He was such a good man in spite of the pain that still lingered beneath the surface. He was hurting because of what Bella did and Leah couldn't help but feel angry that the woman was so selfish. It just wasn't right. He was clearly a great catch…

When they were all ready to go Leah bent down to give Nessie a hug goodbye. Finally the little girl had tired herself out and Leah could tell that she'd be asleep in the car in no time. "I'll come make cookies with you soon okay Nessie?"

"Really?"

"Uh huh, promise. See you soon."

"Bye bye Leah."

Leah grabbed her empty containers and made her way over to her Mercedes with Seth. She couldn't help but glance over at Jacob as he buckled his daughter in while joking with his friends. Jacob leaned over and kissed Nessie's forehead before closing the door and Leah had the sudden urge to be close to him again.

"Lee?" Seth called out.

"Huh?" Leah answered, realizing that she'd just been standing there staring rudely.

"You okay? I think you got some drool right there," Seth pointed to the side of her mouth causing Leah to slap him away.

"Just don't okay? Mind your business baby boy."

"Oh whatever, you're totally screwed, you like him, you really like him."

"I don't! But so what if I did?" Leah tossed back, trying to hide the cracks in her armor.

"Just be careful. I know he cares about you but Jake has a lot on his plate. He might not be able to put you first, or give you whatever you need. I dunno…it's just complicated - this entire thing with him and Bella and you and Sam."

Leah thought about her brother's words as she drove him back to his apartment. As he got out, taking his stuff from the backseat Leah turned and said "Thanks for warning me earlier, Seth. I guess you're right. But somehow, I don't need to be first in Jacob's life. I think I just want to be in it regardless."

Seth smiled and nodded before closing the door.