This one is a bit shorter, but it's really sweet. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I only own Ivy and the random names she picks for her water magic. ;)

(Chapter Thirteen)

Wonderful is the word I would use to describe the next few days. I spent a lot of time with Jacob. He stayed for dinner the night we made up and afterwards I got to see him in his wolf form. It was incredible how strong and fast he was, in his human form too. I was almost jealous.

Almost… I was still better than a werewolf and vampire combined.

School was brutal. Jasper had to tutor me in the afternoons because I was so behind, mostly in math and science. (What satanist decided to add letters to math and put math into science? It's just not natural!) Technically I hadn't been in school since I was thirteen, but I had really stopped learning in the classroom when I was ten. I call that my 'depressed phase.' That was when the dark times in the foster system started and I dropped out pretty soon after that.

Anyway, I had tutoring—did I mention the word brutal? because it was—but once the school day was over and tutoring was done, everything was perfect - my own little slice of Utopia. Besides the teensy reminder of the crazy bitch Victoria who was still out for our blood. Jasper, Edward, and Emmett were on high alert, spending most nights out scouring the streets of Forks to make sure she didn't attack anyone in our territory. It almost seemed stupid that I had to go to school with that shiny axe hanging over our heads.

"You still have to go to school, Ivy." Jasper said in an annoyingly reasonable voice.

I pushed my geometry book away. "But Jasper-"

"No buts," He said, pulling the book back and forcing a pencil into my hand. "You need a good education."

"Or what?" I challenged with a raised eyebrow.

"Or you'll be stupid." He shot back smirking.

"Hey!" I tried to stab him in the chest with my pencil 'Buffy style', but he caught my hand.

"Wooden stakes don't work on me, darlin', but it was a nice try." He said, pulverizing the pencil into powder. It was an all-out glare match until Jacob's well-timed appearance stopped the oncoming bloodshed. (Mostly mine because I had never sparred with Jasper, but I was sure he could beat me. He used to be in the army in both of his lives.)

"Saved by the werewolf." I said, anyway.

"You wish." Jasper said, dropping my wrist. "Run along with your boyfriend, but when you get back we are finishing all twenty problems."

"Fine! I will go off with my boyfriend and we're going to run away and get married so you can't boss me around anymore!" I said in a dramatic voice that sounded like I was about to burst into tears at any moment. I like to think that's what I would sound like if my life had turned out more normal, which makes me feel a bit better when I think about how it isn't and how awesome I turned out despite the craziness.

Jasper's lips fought a smile before he gave Jake a hard look, "Return her to us with her original last name."

Jake smiled and grabbed my hand, more like enveloped my hand in his large one, "You got it, Jasper."

I kissed Jake's cheek and waved goodbye to Jasper. "Thank God you showed up in time. Jasper was torturing me again." I said once we were settled inside Jacob's car.

My boyfriend smiled that sexy smile I loved so much and continued to hold my hand, "It just looked like regular homework to me."

"Don't be fooled." I insisted, "Vampires are evil and they can torture you with almost anything, especially math."

Jacob laughed and started down the road to La Push. "So are we meeting Sam only?" I asked, feeling a little nervous. Jacob asked me to come to his house so he could introduce me to his pack leader officially, but I had a feeling a lot more people wanted to meet me than just Sam. Like Mr. Black for example. I had never made it to the 'meet your parents' stage in dating before so it was safe to say I was terrified of making a fool of myself. I mean, what if I said something racist?

Jacob burst out laughing, "Do you make a lot of racist jokes?"

"What? How did you know I was thinking that?!" I demanded hysterically. Oh God, if he could read my mind I was going to die, just die in a puddle of death!

"You said that last part out loud, babe." He said before kissing the back of my shaking hand. "Don't worry. You're only meeting Sam, Emily, and my dad."

Damn it. I knew I'd have to meet his dad. I wish I had done something different with my hair… Suddenly pig-tail-braids didn't seem like such a good idea. "Ugh! I hate being nervous like this." I said, biting my lip until it nearly started bleeding. "If I start to say something stupid, I'm giving you permission to kill me, okay?"

"Okay, but how stupid are we talking?" He asked, his eyes dancing with laugher.

I cringed imagining all the awful possibilities. "Like, if I call anyone 'chief' just put me down immediately."

The car swerved when Jake started laughing, "Why would you call anyone that?"

"I don't know! That's why I'm worried. And now that I'm thinking about this so much, I'll probably do it!" I covered my face with my free hand. "If I say something stupid I'll just die!"

"Ivy, calm down. It's not a big deal." Jacob's thumb rubbed the back of my hand in little circles. "They just want to meet the girl I've imprinted on and see what she's like. They're going to love you."

I forced a cynical comment back down my throat and nodded instead. "Okay, but you promise you'll kill me if I act like a complete idiot?"

He smiled, "What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't?"

"Liar." I said, but I couldn't help smiling too.

Much too soon we were walking inside Jacob's house and just like he promised, his dad, Sam, and Emily were gathered in the den. I stood awkwardly at Jake's side as he made introductions. "Ivy, this is Sam Uley, Emily Young, and my dad, Billy Black."

I waved, and a simple "Hi," was all I could manage.

Mr. Black might have been bound to a wheelchair, but he almost made tire marks on the hardwood in his haste to meet me. "It's nice to finally meet you, Ivy. My son's told me a lot about you."

"All good things, I hope, Mr. Black." I said, accepting his handshake and feeling a bit more at ease.

"Almost." He winked and I could see the handsomeness of his youth shining through his dark eyes. "And please, call me Billy."

"Alright, Billy. Thank-you for having me over."

Sam and Emily rose to greet me as well. Sam had his arm around Emily's shoulders and their height difference was about the same as me and Jacob. Emily was beautiful, tawny skin and luscious hair that fell in waves of black silk to the middle of her back. Her one flaw was the scars that tore down her face and neck distorting the edge of her eye and lip.

I knew how to erase them, of course, but I didn't want to overstep my bounds.

"Nice to see you again," Sam said, shaking my hand with his free arm. "This is my mate, Emily."

"It's nice to meet you." I said, "And good to see you again under much less strange circumstances, Sam."

Sam gave me a small smile (I get the feeling he didn't smile a lot). Emily broke away from him long enough to give me a hug. I felt a kindred spirit at once. It was nice to know there was a girl who understood all of this werewolf stuff.

"We have so much to talk about," I said.

She smiled. "Finally, a girl who will understand this crazy life."

"My feelings exactly."

We all settled back into the living room and had a great conversation. I learned about how sweet Jacob was a child, helping out after his mother died and taking care of his father when he was put in the wheelchair. Sam told me about his transformation and how he thought he was going insane in the beginning. The poor guy hid his secret from everyone for months before the council found out and helped him understand everything that had happened to him. Billy told me about Jacob's sisters who I would meet closer to Jake's birthday next year when they came to visit. And Emily asked all about me. I disclosed what little I was comfortable with. I gave spare details about growing up in the orphanage and foster care. But I really dove into the story when I talked about living on my own and honing my powers and meeting the Cullens. "May I?" I asked Billy, pointing to a vase of flowers and water when they all asked me for a demonstration of my powers.

"Certainly." He said his eyes bright with curiosity.

I quickly sucked the water out of the vase, keeping a single daisy in the bubble of water. Everyone's eyes were on the water as the daisy turned and danced inside the orb. I squeezed my fist and made the flower shoot to the surface, offering it to Emily. She giggled and took the bloom. Sam smiled down at her like she was his entire world, an expression I've seen on Jake's face before when he looks at me.

I froze the orb of water, boiled it, twisted it into shapes, then burst it apart in a million drops of water that spread across the entire room like stars then transformed them into tiny, flitting butterflies. That one got me an applause. "That's just a few flashy tricks." I said, sending the water back where it belonged. I decided to tell Emily in private about my healing powers and offer to erase her scars. I felt that it was a conversation best left between just the two of us.

The conversation shifted then when Sam got down to pack business. "So. Victoria." He said.

"Yeah." I sat up straighter. "My brothers have been scouring the streets looking for her, but she's smart. Alice told us she might have gone to Seattle to create a vampire army, but they came back empty handed. No sign of her since she tried to kill me and Jacob."

"Thank God, his powers activated." Billy said with a shudder. I agreed wholeheartedly. Losing Jacob would have been unimaginable, even before we became the power couple of Forks. Plus, I liked having a mythical boyfriend. It took a huge weight off of my shoulders to know I didn't need to protect him. I saw how that sort of responsibility strained Edward and Bella's relationship at times.

"Have there been any vampire sightings around here?" I asked.

"Nothing. It's been quiet, which is pretty normal." Sam said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Victoria is the first hostile vampire we've had in this area in decades."

"I hate to say it, but I think our best option is to wait and see when she makes her next move and try to be ready for whatever she has planned." I said with a huff. I hated the waiting game. Jake squeezed my hand and I felt a little better.

Billy's phone started buzzing. "It's Charlie Swan." He said before answering, "Hey Charlie… A missing group of scouts?… I can see if a few of the boys here can search the area… Alright, they'll find them, don't worry about it."

"Why is Mr. Swan asking Billy for help?" I asked. "Does he know about vampires and werewolves?"

Jacob shook his head. "No, but sometimes when people get lost he'll call Billy. He doesn't know the kids that help him are actually werewolves." I nodded appreciatively. Good system.

"Five boy scouts got it into their heads to go camping without telling their parents." Billy explained after hanging up with Charlie. "They found goodbye notes an hour ago and Forks police have had no luck tracking them down. You boys hurry, it's about to get really cold out there."

I looked out the window and realized the sun was setting. Wow, we'd been talking for longer than I thought. "Not to mention the vampire girl who may or may not be out there looking to kill." Sam and Jacob were hurrying before, but at my comment, they sprinted full speed toward the door without so much as a 'see you later'. I took this as my opportunity to speak to Emily. "Well," I began, "Want to go for a walk and wait for them?"

"Do you mind if we get in some girl talk in?" Emily asked Billy. "We don't want you to feel left out."

"Please, spare me." He said, looking terrified at the words 'girl talk'. "But stay close, the boys wouldn't like you going far."

"Thanks Billy. We won't go far." I said, following Emily out of the door. It was raining, but I warmed the water so we wouldn't freeze. Emily stared at me in wonder.

"Wow. You're powers are so cool." She said, tilting her chin up to catch the warm water on her face. The water ran in small rivulets down the ridges of her scars.

"Yeah, about my powers…" I said, pulling her farther from the house and only a few feet into the woods where a decent stream was bubbling. "I'm just going to cut to the chase, is that okay?"

"Sure." She said, "Sam is usually pretty frank so I'm used to it."

"Alright. I really hope I'm not offending you, but I just wanted to let you know that I can heal people with my powers and I can erase your scars… if you'd like me to." I blurted in a hurry. She froze in place. Her eyes slightly blank. After a moment her fingers slowly traced the marks across her face and neck. "Emily?" I asked nervously, "Did I upset you?"

"No, no." She assured me. Her eyes very wide and far away. "I was just imagining what I would look like without them. They seem almost apart of me now."

"You're a knock-out either way," I assured her quickly, because it was true. Emily was a striking girl. "And I don't think Sam is superficial, or you for that matter, but if you wanted, I could-."

"Yes." she interrupted.

I blinked. "Yes?"

"If you can remove them, I would really appreciate it. It was an accident. I know that, everyone who knows the truth knows that, but Sam has never forgiven himself." Tears gathered in her eyes. "I love him so much, you have no idea how hard it is to know that every time he looks at me, he remembers what he did. He loves me, but he hates himself. I can see it and it's killing me inside."

I felt my own eyes mist at the pain in her voice and couldn't stop myself from hugging her. "I can fix this for you both. Think of it as an early Christmas present." I smiled and sat next to the stream cross legged.

She followed suit, excitement radiating from her. "What do I need to do?" She asked.

"I need to see the scars so just pull down the edge of your shirt." She did as I asked and I saw that the three scars didn't go down much further than her collar bone. "Okay, the next part will hurt quote a bit." I warned.

"Why?" She asked warily, leaning back just a bit like I was going to bite her.

"I have to cut them back open and then heal them. It's the only way with scars this deep." I explained. "But it will be really quick, barely twenty minutes if I can work fast. Then you'll be good as new."

She took a shaky breath. "Alright, let's do this." She said.

Took a few minutes to examine the cuts a bit closer and asked if she's prefer me to heal them one at a time or all at once. Not surprisingly, she picked all at once. "Brace yourself." I warned, preparing the water.

"Just do it." She said, her hands were shaking.

Just as I raised my arm and began the sharp, downward motion with three blades of ice aimed at Emily's scars, Sam's voice echoed across the yard. "Emily! Ivy! Are you out there?" Damn it! His voice distracted me and I sliced down just a bit too hard. Emily slapped her hand over her mouth, but a loud scream escaped. Perfection. "Emily!" Sam yelled, fear in his voice. His feet started thudding across the grass.

"Hold still," I whispered frantically, slowing the blood that coursed down her face and neck as best as I could. She took one look at her bloody hand and swayed which added another problem to my growing pile. Sam was coming, fast, and I didn't want him to freak out even more if he saw these open wounds and his mate passed out on the ground.

The glowing water started working immediately, but I pushed it faster, throwing all of my own personal energy into the job instead of using hers. The water went deep, breaking down tough scar tissue and rebuilding the skin around her mouth and eye so both sides were uniform again. Then the scars slowly grew thinner and thinner until they were completely gone. "Done." I flopped onto my back, panting heavily, my eyes rolling back in my head with exhaustion. That was a half-hour job I got done in seconds. Healing was no joke when you didn't take your time. I would definitely feel this tomorrow.

Sam burst into the clearing a moment later, his eyes zeroing in on Emily's bloodstained shirt, not her face. Men. "Emily, what happened? Were you attacked?" He was shaking, ready to change and take on any foe in defense of his woman.

"Ivy?" Jacob's voice was added to the mix. Good Lord, how much more complicated could this get?

"Here!" I called in a slurry voice. "Everything's cool!"

"Did it work?" Emily asked, running her hands down her newly healed face.

"Baby, why are you bleed-?" It was in the middle of that sentence when Sam finally noticed Emily's face. He gasped and pulled her to her feet and into the light. "What-? How-?" He breathed, his eyes drinking in her face. "What's going on?"

Jacob's entrance was much less panicked. He pretty much summed up the scene in a second. "You healed her?" He asked, crouching next to me where I still lay on the squishy grass.

"Yep. You know me, always looking to do a good deed." I yawned until my ribs creaked, watching Sam and Emily. Their exchange was one of the the most adorable things I had ever seen. First off, Sam was crying when he looked at Emily and she was crying too, but it was Sam's tears that really got me. When a guy cried it made everything seem incredibly touching. Probably because it was so rare to see a stoic man like Sam shed tears.

"Ivy told me she could heal them and I said yes." Emily said to him, blushing like she was self-conscious and unsure - as if Sam wouldn't want her anymore or something. A women's thought process was absurd sometimes. I should know since I was one and all.

"Did you do this for me, or for you?" Sam asked, his eyes searching hers.

"For you." She admitted, biting her now perfect lips.

"Oh, Emily." Sam said, pained. "I never wanted you to change, for me or anyone else. How could I ever say I'm sor-"

She interrupted him with a light kiss. "It was an accident, Sam. I forgave you and I let Ivy heal me so you could forgive yourself. See?" She placed his hands on either side of her face, "The slate is clean now. For both of us." At a loss for words, Sam kissed his mate passionately, his lips running up and down where her scars used to be and she melted in his arms like Scarlett O'Hara melted against Rhett Butler in Gone with the Wind. I sighed at the sweetness.

"Okay," Jacob said, pulling me up into his arms and walking back to the house. "Let's give them some privacy."

"But what if they say more cute stuff!" I argued as he trudged back to his car, craning my neck to see around his shoulder at the still-kissing couple. "And how did you save those boy scouts so fast? I thought I had more time."

"We weren't needed. The police found them right when we caught their scent." Jake shrugged, "And if you want to hear cute stuff, I can help with that." He said, gently placing me in the front seat of his car.

"Oh? Do tell." I said when he sat next to me behind the wheel.

"You're beautiful. The most beautiful girl I've ever seen." He said at once, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. "And you have a big heart and a hell of a punch. You're the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to me, Ivy. I don't know what I'd do without you." The back of his hand ran gently over my cheek and I leaned into his warmth, blushing at his sweet complements.

My heart was suddenly so full, I thought it would burst. I just had to tell him how I felt. I wanted him to feel the security in our relationship he let me feel every day. "You know something, Jacob Black?" I said leaning over the console until our lips were almost touching, but not quite.

"What, Miss Adair?"

"I really love you."

He blinked a few times and grabbed my shoulders, pushing me back a fraction so he could look properly into my eyes. "Will you say that again?" He asked quietly.

"I said, I love you, Jacob." I whispered, my voice only shaking a little bit.

His eyes closed briefly as he savored my words. "I love you too." He said, tucking my hair back tenderly and bent down to kiss me. I wanted it to be tender and sweet, but as soon as those lips pressed against mine, all thoughts of gentleness flew from my mind. I sighed and wound my hands into his hair, pulling him as close as I could. His strong arms circled my waist and I was suddenly pressed up against his chest. Our lips parted with practiced movements and our breath mingled. A shudder went through him and into my very bones, but it had nothing to do with the cold wind battering the car because we were both suddenly on fire.

I kissed him with every ounce of longing I had ever felt, and there had been a lot of that to go around over the years. The longing to be loved. Longing to belong. Longing to be accepted. Longing to feel safe. And finally I kissed him because I was so happy I had found all of those things in him. The road had been bumpy so far, but I wouldn't want to ride it out with anyone else. The fates were right. He was my perfect match. Jacob growled appreciatively, as if he could feel what I was feeling and agreed wholeheartedly

Out of air, I turned my face away to catch my breath and he sent a trail of blistering kisses down my neck that made my skin tingle. Just when I pulled his mouth back to mine, my stomach let loose a growl loud enough to rival Emmett's roar and suddenly we were both laughing hysterically.

Jacob braced his elbows on the console to keep from toppling over and I leaned onto him, my whole body shaking with the combined effort of his laughter and mine, and soon tears were streaming down my face. "I don't know why this is so funny." I giggled between peals of laughter.

"Me either." He gasped.

It took several minutes, but we finally got a hold of ourselves.

"Can you take me home now? I'm so hungry it's unreal. That healing session really wiped me out." I said, dabbing at my eyes with the edge of my shirt.

He kissed my forehead and started the car up. "Whatever you want." He said, with a wink.

"I want you to love me forever." I teased.

"Done and done. But I want you to love me forever too."

I leaned up and kissed his cheek. "Done and done."

Sweet and simple. 3

I'm not what you'd call a vain person, but I thought if I had scars on my face and someone could remove them, I'd say yes. I hope none of you thought Emily should have kept them, but then again to each their own.

Here's a spoiler for the Chapter 14 so read at your own risk (Ivy's 17th birthday party) :D I will have it up within the next several days.

And I just want to give a thank-you to all my followers and reviewers. Your support means more than you know. :)

Stay warm out there (and depending on where you live, Stay cool out there!)

-TypeandScribble