A/n I've tried to make this as user friendly as possible, and I think you should be able to read it as a stand-alone thing. However, you should still read "Cure for Depression." It's filled with Daddy/Daughter warm fuzzies that explain what happened prior to the events in this story.

Disclaimer: Not mine. It's Stephanie Meyer's. She's the true genius.

It was hard to think of herself as Vanessa Elizabeth Masen, a twenty-five year old nurse who had moved with her extended family to Alaska from Minnesota two years ago, but she was getting better at it. In her head, she had created Vanessa's entire life story, using attributes of her own and her family's lives. Born in Chicago, orphaned at seventeen when she had had to begin taking care of her younger brother, currently living with a cousin who had helped take care of him while she had put herself through nursing school, former beauty queen, a curvy vision in scrubs.

Nowhere in her plans for Vanessa Masen had she considered the borderline alcoholic who smoked half a pack of Marlboro Lights a day while she wasted away in misery. She had not thought of Vanessa as a mess by any means—only as a bubbly nurse who enjoyed her job and went home every night to a loving family and doting boyfriend. However, the doting boyfriend had left to go to school in Boston in August, and Vanessa was a little bit sad.

Vanessa Masen was a piece of shit with her constant cheerfulness and good looks, as far as Renesmee Carlie Cullen was concerned, but she was a wonderful facade behind which to hide. Vanessa Masen had few problems—it was Renesmee who had the issues. Vanessa Masen did not go home and drink a six pack before climbing into bed, only to be unable to sleep due to the sex sounds drifting from the room down and across the hall. The only part of the mess that was currently Renesmee that had manifested itself in Vanessa was the toxic drug currently held lightly between her fingers. She wasn't worried about lung cancer—her body flushed the toxins out of her system fairly quickly—so she didn't feel guilty in the least as she took another drag, letting the smoke fill her lungs before she exhaled.

Across the ambulance bay, she caught sight of a pair of golden eyes, and she frowned as a tall, good looking man with sandy hair tied back at the nape of his neck crossed the dark concrete toward her. The cold and wind and blowing snow seemed not to effect this man, and he leaned against a post as he watched her.

"I suppose the next thing I'll see is a joint in that hand rather than a cigarette?"

"No, I left Mary Jane at home."

Garrett laughed. "Always with the snappy retorts. Nice to see some things never change." He heaved a large and unnecessary sigh. "Tanya wanted to know if you were still going to meet her later."

"You ran down here just to ask me that?"

"Kate is off hunting with Carmen, talking about men, no doubt. I was bored."

Renesmee rolled her eyes. Garrett was a constant source of amusement to her. A former nomad who had needed no one for so long, he was now completely helpless when his mate was away. The perk was that, when Kate was away, Renesmee was guaranteed a Halo buddy. Her Uncle Emmett was fine, but he tended to get distracted if Rosalie was in the room. Garrett was in another part of the state, bored out of his mind, and was a worthy opponent.

"At least she'll be back soon," Renesmee said bitterly, responding to his mild complaint. "Christ knows when Jake'll be back. He thinks he may need to take a few more classes next semester to be able to finish."

"Language," Garrett chided. Then he frowned. "I thought he was supposed to be back in a few weeks."

"Nope. Change of plans."

And ever since that change of plans, Renesmee had spiraled farther down into a place not even her parents seemed able to pull her out of. After the heart to heart with her father last month, Renesmee had been feeling a bit better. Then Jacob had called and said he would likely not be home until May. She had promptly isolated herself from her family more firmly than before, and now they all noticed it more than ever. What was worse was that they all now knew what the problem stemmed from.

Nothing could cheer her, not even visits from Seth and Nahuel, both of whom had turned up last week to try to get a laugh out of her. Nahuel had even let Seth chase him around the house with a crowbar for two hours, but to no avail. If anything, it had made things worse.

She knew Jacob's reasons for leaving in the first place, and for staying away for so long. Things had begun to get more serious between them last year, and Jacob, in what seemed to be a stab at selflessness, had wanted to make sure that Renesmee really and truly wanted him. He'd left her alone to give her time to date other men, to have time to herself to think. She had turned down every dinner invitation from doctors and other nurses at the hospital and went home every night to lay alone in bed, her head full of Jacob. The only bright side of this was that he had not made love to her before leaving, although she had tried to persuade him, so she wasn't missing that. He'd said it would cloud her judgment too much if she did.

Apparently, everything else they'd done together didn't matter. He was still the first boy to ever hold her hand, her first kiss, her first...

Well, a lot of firsts. All of them onlys.

She felt her face turn crimson, and Garrett cocked his head curiously.

"I get off in two hours," Renesmee said, ignoring his stare. "Tell her I'll meet her in three."

"Alright." Garrett shoved away from the post he leaned against, and smiled at her before he turned away, disappearing again into the dark and the snow.

The rest of her shift went as normally as it ever did. She smiled and joked with her grandfather as she saw patients for two hours before clocking out and hopping in her SUV and speeding off to meet her succubus therapist.

Spending time with Tanya was always a welcome distraction for Renesmee. The older woman was quick to get her to think of things other than the problems that clouded her mind, making her smile a real smile for the first time all day. They raced through the Alaskan wilderness, feeding on whatever animals that crossed their paths, talking about whatever came up. Eventually, the conversation turned to Jacob.

Renesmee rested against a snowbank, eyes closed, unaffected by the cold as she talked. For some reason, she was always able to talk to Tanya. Maybe it was because Tanya understood men fairly well.

"He's not coming back until June now." Renesmee twirled a curl around her fingers. "I think he's afraid to come back. He says it's school stuff, but I don't understand why he thinks he has to have an English minor." She sighed heavily. "I tried to talk him into coming back, but he didn't really want to talk about it."

"So go there." Tanya's eyes stared overhead at the branches of the enormous pine tree they were under.

Renesmee frowned. "I can't go there."

"Give me one good reason why, and I'll let it drop."

"I have work." It was the first thing that came to mind.

"You have two weeks of personal days stored up." Tanya grinned. "I said a good reason."

"Um..." Now that she thought of it, there was no good reason. "My parents would get pissed off?"

"It was my idea. Edward can get mad at me."

"My mom?"

"She'll understand. She's been through this, remember?" Tanya's eyes were full of meaning, and Renesmee flinched, remembering the story of how her father had once left her mother for a similar reason to Jake's. "Anyway, if you're really worried about it, just say you're crashing up here for a while."

Renesmee's eyebrows raised. "Mind reader for a dad, remember?"

Tanya grinned mischievously. "Mind reader father is currently hunting with wife. He won't even be there when you leave, if you go now." Renesmee could see the cogs turning in Tanya's head. "You pack, I'll go get you a ticket and you'll be ready to go when you hit the airport."

"What am I supposed to do? Fly off to Boston and bug the hell out of him until he comes home?"

"It won't take much, I don't think," Tanya retorted, but her voice was soft. "I talked to your mother, and she's been talking to Jacob. She said he's really messed up about this. He hates being away from you."

"Really?" Renesmee tried to imaging Jacob being as miserable as she was, and, surprisingly, it was not nearly as difficult to picture as she may have thought. She was quiet for a while when Tanya did not reply. Then, after several minutes, she turned her head. "I'll meet you in Juneau."

"Two hours."

Thirty minutes later, Renesmee was extremely grateful for the Turbo engine under the hood of her Cayenne. She swung into the garage, slamming on the brakes and clambering fairly gracelessly out. She heard the sounds of people moving quickly, and she called out, "Virgin eyes," her usual greeting to Emmett and Rosalie when she came home unexpectedly. When she rounded her car, she was greeted with the sight of Emmett and Rosalie, fully dressed. Rosalie looked a bit flustered, but Emmett was grinning.

"Hey, small fry," he said, using her hated nickname. "What's the hurry?"

"I'm going back to Tanya's," she lied quickly, rushing past before her face could betray her.

She raced to her room, able to smell that their part of the house was empty of anyone. Her parents really were gone. Grabbing a carry on bag, she shoved in jeans, shirt, pajamas, toothbrush, brush, and her purse. She stopped in the kitchen, grabbing a stack of post its, and scrawled a note to her parents before rushing out again. As she passed the living room in the main house, she heard Alice call, "Where are you going?"

"Tanya's!"

She didn't stop, not even when she heard Alice say, "Tanya didn't disappear, though. She's..."

Renesmee muttered a curse as she flung open the door to the garage. She could hear Alice behind her.

"Nessie! Hold on!" A hand gripped her wrist as she opened the trunk, and she turned, grimacing, to face her tiny aunt. "Tell me where you're really going," she whispered, her face alight with excitement.

Renesmee stared her aunt down for a long moment before putting a hand on her face. Alice squealed with delight when she saw where her niece was headed, and Renesmee shushed her hurriedly. Emmett was probably listening, and so was Rosalie. "Don't say anything, okay?"

"Oh, I promise!" Alice jumped up and down. "Just do me one favor."

"What?"

"Take a side trip to New York. I want Manolos."

Renesmee rolled her eyes. "If you promise to think of something else."

"I swear, really!" Alice's pixie face was alight with excitement at the prospect of new shoes.

"Anything in particular?" Renesmee tried to think back to the last Vogue she'd flipped through.

Alice grinned. "Surprise me. You're the only one who can."

To her surprise, Renesmee burst out laughing. She threw her arms around her aunt. "Love you."

"Love you, too!"

"What about me?" Emmett's face popped up to pout at Renesmee. "Don't you love me anymore?"

With a quick bound, Renesmee was at Emmett's side. She hugged him tightly for a moment, before bending over to hug Rosalie, who was sitting in front of her car. "Love you both."

Renesmee arrived at the airport in Juneau with fifteen minutes to spare before her flight. Tanya was waiting, her ticket in hand, and she accompanied her to the gate. She'd been right to bring only a carry on. She made it through the metal detector quickly and rushed after Tanya.

"You'll change planes in Seattle, then you'll go on a straight shot to Boston. You should get there around three tomorrow afternoon." Tanya quickly kissed her cheek. "Good luck."

The flight gave Renesmee more than enough time to think about what she was doing, and somewhere over Colorado, she began to feel sick. The adrenaline from her decision and hasty departure were wearing off, and nerves were setting in. All night, she fretted that Jacob would not be happy that she had come to him when she reached his apartment. She'd have to get a cab—she had no idea where she was going.

She ordered soda to keep herself awake all night, not wanting to sleep for fear of the dreams she might have. She'd never gone so far from home on her own before, and she was surprisingly homesick, although she had just left. She was half tempted to turn around in Boston and go back, but she knew she couldn't. After coming this far, it was pointless to leave without seeing him, and she knew she would not forgive herself for passing up on the opportunity just to see his face for one minute.

The cabin pressure began to change, and Renesmee felt her chest tighten. Her eyes pricked a bit, but she didn't know why. Her hands tightened on her arm rest. Across from her, a business man snorted awake as he was gently shaken by a flight attendant. Outside, the winter sun was bright halfway down the western horizon. She had been awake for over thirty-six hours, and the exhaustion was taking its toll on her. Her mind was wild with thoughts of different outcomes. She would have to find a hotel and sleep for a few hours before setting out to find Jacob.

The plane jarred a bit on impact with the tarmac, and Renesmee tensed a bit more. She was extremely nervous now that she was here. She didn't want to get off the plane, but she took down her carry on and slowly made her way out.

The terminal was full of people waiting on friends and loved ones to exit the plane, but Renesmee paid them no heed. There was no one waiting for her—Jacob didn't know she was here.

Outside the airport, there was a line of cabs, and she was just getting ready to get into one when she heard a horn beep, and a car pulled into an open space. She knew that car, knew it well. It was a 1969 Lamborghini Miura, burnt orange in color, the color she had picked out herself. The plates said that the car had come here all the way from Alaska. She didn't dare hope, couldn't breathe. It wasn't possible. Her eyes were playing tricks on her. The tall man climbing out of the car couldn't be who her eyes told her it was. If it were really Jacob, he wouldn't really be smiling, beaming from ear to ear.

But then he was there, and her bag dropped to the ground when she wrapped her arms around his neck as he hoisted her into his arms. She wrapped her legs around his waist, pressing her face into his neck and breathing deeply, inhaling the musky, spicy scent that was pure Jacob. He was laughing the deep booming laugh that she remembered perfectly. His arms curled under, supporting her as she clung closer. It was a few minutes before she could think of anything to say.

"What are you doing here?" she blurted finally. She regretfully pulled back a bit to look at his face.

"Alice called this morning. She didn't say anything other than to be here at this exact minute. I thought your dad was coming to beat the shit out of me."

She laughed easily, more easily than she had since August. "Nope. Just me."

"Not just you," he growled, and he stooped to pick up her bag with one hand and carried her to the car. "There's nothing just about you." He slid her into the car, and closed her door carefully. Opening his door, he pulled his seat forward to put her bag into the backseat. She stared at him the whole time, and as soon as he was in and the door was closed, she attacked him.

She knew they were outside a busy airport, knew that people were passing and staring at the classic car anyway, knew that they were just giving them another reason to stare, but she didn't care. She was in a car with Jacob, alone, and this car had lots of memories. They'd had a lot of fun in this car when Jacob first bought and restored it. They'd first discovered the joys of parking in this car, but his lips had never been so desperate against her as they were now. She pressed herself against him as best she could in the tight space. Jacob's hands pulled her closer, and she moaned against his lips.

After several minutes, he pulled away, smiling as he cupped her cheeks in his hands. He laughed when she stifled a yawn. "You've been up all night, haven't you?" She nodded sheepishly, and he laughed again. "Let's get you home, get you some sleep."

She didn't make it back to Jacob's condo before falling asleep. When her eyes opened, it was dark outside, and she was in an unfamiliar bed in an unfamiliar room next to a very familiar body that was currently emitting a very familiar sound. Jacob's window-rattling snores filled the room, and she snuggled up closer to him before tickling his sides lightly. He squirmed away from her, but she clung tight to his side. Within seconds, he was awake and fighting back, working to combat her hands to get to the back of her neck, where she was extremely sensitive. She shrieked with laughter.

"You win!" she gasped, curling into his chest. He was shaking with laughter now, and it felt so natural to be here next to him. She threw a leg over his, pulling him closer. She pressed her face to his chest. "I don't care what my family says," she muttered, "I think you smell amazing."

Jacob laughed again, and his hands tangled in her curls. For several minutes there was only the sound of their breathing and occasional chuckles and giggles. Eventually, she wasn't sure how, Jacob's arms were tight around her waist and his lips were trailing down her neck.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, over and over and over, kissing her neck, her collarbone, her cheeks, her shoulder. "I missed you so much." His voice was rough with emotion, and she pulled his face up to hers. "I'm so sorry, honey. I'll never leave you again, I swear." He buried his face in her breasts. "I love you so much."

"Show me," she whispered. "I love you, Jacob."

Neither of them really knew what they were doing. Renesmee knew the mechanics of making love, and she'd certainly had her hands on Jacob before, and he had likewise brought her pleasure on numerous occasions, but they had never gone beyond that. She'd never been before him more than topless, and now her pajamas were melting off, as were his.

Even with the fumbling and the nervous laughter, she had never felt so complete in her entire life.

Afterward, they lay together in the dark, her head pillowed on his broad chest while he played with her curls. They spoke occasionally, not really carrying on conversation, but just being together. They talked about the time they had spent apart, how they had missed each other. Renesmee was pleased that Jacob had been as miserable as she had. They established eventually that Jacob did not really need to finish his minor. He was dropping it, and was therefore finished with school. He had his bachelor's in business. He was leaving Boston. They were going to drive back to Alaska in his fabulous car, after stopping for shoes in New York. He was coming home with her.

He was coming home.

Around four in the morning, her phone buzzed with a text message. It was from Alice.

We're disappearing in four days. You two better bring some good shoes.

Renesmee laughed and showed the message to Jacob. He chuckled. "Alice would want shoes."

"Apparently, we're too close to New York not to stop for Manolos."

"We should take the scenic route back."

"Go through Canada." She smiled. "I'm supposed to be at Tanya's. I wonder if my dad fell for it."

"Alice knows you're here," Jacob pointed out.

"Alice can keep a secret. You're mine for the next four days." Grinning, Renesmee rolled on top of Jacob, taking the phone away and tossing it onto the desk.

"It's going to be an interesting trip back, I think."

Renesmee laughed. "We're gonna be good at this by the time we hit Vancouver."