Howdy folks! I know, it's been a while, hasn't it? I'm terribly sorry, but I have had a very busy summer. Doing absolutely nothing tends to take up a lot of time!

Alright, here's the deal. The only thing I own in this little doo-hickey is the people who's names aren't written in any Twilight books. So, get to reading, and enjoy!

Love, Abby. Xoxo.

Chapter Four

Nicole Can Spell...

Abby Shale-age 22

Location - Home and the Beach

I wrestled with the lid on a Gerber baby food jar which held some sort of squished sweet potato concoction in it, trying to open it so that Avery wouldn't starve. She sat in her little bouncy seat thing on the counter and gurgled happily, chewing on a little stuffed dog's head.

"Jesus, do they want babies to starve?" I mumbled under my breath, pulling a rubber jar opener out of the drawer and twisting it around the top of the can.

"What the hell are you doing?" Nicole laughed, taking the jar from me and twisting the lid off easily. "You have jar issues." she laughed. I grimaced at her.

"Yeah, well I loosened it for you." I said, snatching the jar and grabbing a baby spoon, dipping it into the gooey orange stuff and making airplane noises so that Avery would eat it. The phone rang loudly, causing Avery to cringe at the noise and whimper. "Oh no. No, no no no! Don't cry, please! I'm begging you!" I wailed, lifting her out of her seat and bouncing her softly. "Nicole, could you get that before Tex here spontaneously combusts?" I cried over the loud old fashioned phone. Nicole laughed and rolled her eyes, skipping around me and lifting the phone up off of the hook.

"H 'lo? Yeah, this is Nicole, Abby's best friend speaking. Whatcha need young man?" she laughed and wiggled her fingers at a drooling Avery. "Yeah, she's right here. Kay." she held the phone out to me, and I switched Avery to my other hip and took the phone.

"Hi?" I said. There was a low chuckle in the phone.

"Hey Abby, It's Embry. I uh, thought I would call you today and see what you were up to?" I smiled at Nicole, who had her perfect blonde eyebrow raised, and waggled my fingers at her as I stepped out onto the back deck with Avery.

"Well, I was just shoving orange goo down my kid's throat. That's pretty much it.." I said, laughing softly. Embry was quiet for a second, and Avery squealed, grabbing at the phone cord that was stretched through the sliding door.

"Oh, okay. Well I was wondering if you would like to come out to the beach later tonight. There's gonna be a bonfire, but if you don't want to go its fi-"

"I'd love to go. I just need to find a babysitter. And could Nicole come too? I don't want to leave her out!" Embry chuckled on the other end of the line.

"Of course. I'll introduce you guys to everybody, you can make some new friends. Oh, and don't worry about Avery, she can stay with Emily and Sam's kids. Brady's little sisters are watching them all." he said.

"Uhh, I'm not very comfortable with leaving her with strangers.."

"Hey, well you can come out to Emily's today and meet them if that would help. And the house it really close to the beach, so we could walk up and check on her once in a while. You can leave early if you want, too." I smiled at how desperate he sounded.

"Well... I guess I could go for a little while. It sounds like it'll be fun." I laughed.

"Great! I'll be by around five to pick you guys up." I could hear his excitement, and it made me smile.

"Great. Later." I opened the sliding door and walked in the kitchen. "Nicole, I need something to wear!" Wow. I had never realized what a girl I was when it came to guys and looking good for them.

"Good lord, when did your boobs get so big! This shirt should fit you!" Nicole cried, ripping the offending garment off of me and rummaging through my wardrobe. "Oh! When did you get this?" she called, circling around and holding out an adorable blue jean dress. I shrugged.

"I bought it when I was in New York for that one shoot, I think. Never worn it." Nicole sighed and rolled her eyes at me, tossing the dress my way. I quickly pulled it over my head and pushed my chest out, testing to see if it would fit over my ta tas. "It fits!" I cried into the bathroom where Nicole was now rummaging through my makeup drawer.

"Good! Let's see!" I skipped into the bathroom and spun around for her as she picked at a loose hem and straightened the bottom of it. "Well well miss tom-boy. You look smokin'. Here, wear this eyeliner and mascara, okay? I know how much you hate makeup, so you don't have to wear eyeshadow or anything else. Oh, and wear those sandals that you have, the leather ones that are so cute. And maybe that necklace that I got you for your birthday? The one with the keys on it?" Nicole was moving around my room like a tornado, pulling out shoes and scarves, necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and rings. I looked at my clock that hung on the wall. Four fifty seven.

"Oh my God! He's gonna be here soon!" I cried, grabbing my sandals and necklace. I picked Avery up out of her crib quickly and set her on my bed, grabbing a tiny pair of socks and a little ruffly white skirt that Nan had bought her. I put her tiny Uggs on her and a little jean jacket over her hot pink onesie. She let out a high pitched squeal of laughter as I whisked her down the stairs and handed her to Nicole. "I'll be right back, I have to get her car seat out of the car. Grab her bag for me and stick those bottles in it." Nicole saluted me as I sprinted out the door and into the garage. You see, getting an infant ready to leave is sort of a fiasco. Avery was being good today because I had just woken her up and she was probably half asleep and too tired to pitch a fit. I hurried back into the house and ran straight into Embry's chest, almost tipping over from the impact. His hands wrapped around my waist and the car seat, steadying me and taking the contraption from me.

"Hey." I said breathlessly, pushing my bangs out of my eyes. Embry smiled down at me.

"You don't need to be in such a rush. I would've waited on you." I rolled my eyes at him.

"It's rude to make people wait, you know. Besides, getting Avery ready to go is usually a long, drawn out procedure." he laughed and turned, taking the car seat out to his truck. I took Avery from Nicole and followed Embry to his car, strapping her into the seat and getting in the truck. I flopped into the seat, and Nicole leaned up into the front of the cab to open the mirror and check her makeup. "Honey, you look gorgeous, as usual." I said, sighing and checking my own makeup.

"Uhuh, but if the rest of the guys around here look like him, I want to look like a freaking model, you know?" I laughed and Embry pulled out of the driveway and followed the lane down to the main road. He drove us to a small blue house with bright flowers planted in the window boxes. We went in, and I talked with two girls who were about sixteen and were supposedly Brady's sisters about how to take care of Avery. I doubted they would have much trouble. She was an easy baby to take care of. She wasn't too fussy, and she didn't really freak out on people when I wasn't around. Embry left his truck parked at the house and we followed a small path down to the beach. When we got there, Nicole left me with Embry after she had met a few people and immediately started socializing with hot guys. I smiled to myself and followed Embry to the bonfire that glowed an eerie blue-green flame. The sun hadn't gone down yet, causing the flames to look even stranger against the gold sky.

"So, um, if I can ask..?" Embry sat down next to me on a large piece of driftwood and took a drink of his beer. "How come you have Avery? I mean, I know that her parents died, but how come you got her?" I looked out at the setting sun. Embry frowned at the face I was making. "Sorry, I don't mean to like, pry or anything.. I just wondered-"

"Oh no, I'm not upset. It's just a sort of sad story." I said as I stole his beer and took a drink. Embry reached for my hand, and I twined my fingers with his. "See, my mom and dad got a divorce when I was little. Mom, Luc, Danny and I moved a few hours away from him. I was a junior when mom died of pancreatic cancer, and dad decided to bring a date to her funeral, and she turned out to be my new step mom. Steph got pregnant my senior year of college, and then they go and die and leave me with a four month old and a practice and house to sell." Embry stared at me with his mouth hanging open slightly.

"Damn. You sure have been through a lot." I flicked my free hand down, motioning that it was no big deal.

"Nah. I mean, I had Nan and my brothers, and Nicole. Nan let me live with her until I finished school, and then I went to college. The twins were already in college when mom died, so they graduated and moved and got jobs. You know what they got when dad died?" Embry shrugged. "The dogs. They get fucking dogs, and I get a baby. Dad didn't even say 'Now boys, you need to help Abby with Avery.' But I mean, they do. " I said. He snorted.

"Yeah, but you wouldn't have wanted anybody else to raise her, would you?" I shook my head. "There, see? You totally love Avery like she's your own, and you wouldn't have it any other way. I can see that and I've only known you for a few days." I smiled at him.

"Yeah. I guess you're right."

"You guys!" Nicole came bouncing up the beach with a beer in one hand and a popsicle in the other. I grinned at her. "Are you all.." she lowered her voice. "romantically involved?" Embry blushed a deep red and looked at his feet.

"Nicole! Are you all.. drunk?" Nicole chucked her popsicle at me and ran down the beach with me on her heels.

"Abby and Embry- hiccup! Sitting on a tree, F-U-C-K-I-N-G!" she sang loudly, kicking sand up behind her. I tackled her and sat on her with my knees on her shoulders, tipping her beer over her face and letting it drip.

"Nicole, I'm going to tell you once. You. Are. Drunk. Stop being a douche!" She squealed and threw her shoulders up, knocking me off of her and rolling in the sand. I heard Embry laughing as his hand grabbed my wrist and pulled me up.

"Dude, she's a wild drunk." he chuckled. I glared at him.

"Yeah, she'll be roaming the streets if we don't wrangle her and lock her in my bathroom for a few good hours." He turned and looked at Nicole who was making 'sand angels'.

"You take my keys, and open the door on my truck. I'll carry her to the car, and then we can go pick up Avery." I took the keys from his hand and he crept up to Nicole. "Nicole," he said, crouching next to her. "you wanna go for a piggy back ride?" Nicole nodded enthusiastically, and Embry bent to pick her up, but she scrambled backwards in the sand.

"No, I wanna ride him!" she said, pointing to a large, tan man that was further down the beach. "I wanna ride him all night long.." Nicole trailed off, her eyes fluttering shut. Embry took that moment to pick her up and sling her over his shoulder while shaking from laughter. We trudged up the hill to his car and Embry put Nicole in the back seat while I went in a gathered Avery and all of her things together. Embry met me at the door and took Avery's bag from my arms so that I could cradle her to my chest easier. He smiled at me.

"You're so good at that." he said quietly, opening the door for me so I could place Avery in her car seat.

"Good at what?" I asked. He pointed at Avery, sleeping soundly in her seat while I buckled her in.

"Being her mom. You're a natural." he smiled I laughed quietly and shut the door, going around to mine and getting in. Embry drove us back to my house, pulling into the drive way. I got out and hurriedly unlocked the door so that Embry could carry Nicole to her room. He went out to get Avery and her stuff while I took Nicole's shoes and jeans off, tucking her into bed in her favorite t-shirt. "Hey Abby?" Embry was standing at the top of the staircase. "Where do I put her?" I nodded my head towards my door and led him into my room. He gently placed Avery in my arms and I laid her down on my bed, taking her skirt, onesie, and tiny boots off. I grabbed her pyjamas off of my dresser and dressed her in them. Her eyes popped open and she smiled sleepily at me. I smiled at her and kissed her tiny cheek and smoothing her wild hair down. I placed her in her crib gently and turned to Embry, who was watching me carefully. I took his hand and walked him to the front door, stopping and looking at him.

"I had a great time tonight." I said quietly. Good lord, I felt like a fucking teenager. Embry smiled.

"So did I. I'll uh.. call you tomorrow?" he blushed. I smirked.

"A guy who calls the day after? Wow, you must really like me." He grinned.

"Yeah. I do." And then he left. No goodnight. No bye. Just a grin. Well, two can play that game. But what game were we playing, exactly?