Author's note: Let me just say first that, at the time of creating Sarah Fox's character, I was unaware that Jacob's mother's name had been Sarah. However, since I found this, I will be using it in the story. Please review!

The day after he saw her, Jacob Black could not have been happier.

Ever since Bella had left, Jacob's world felt like an abyss. Sometimes he would phase just to get away. Other times he'd force himself to remain in human form, only to wish that Bella were there beside him. Could he have done something differently, convinced her to remain? What if he hadn't fallen asleep that one fateful day, or if he hadn't kissed her and broken her hand in the process? Did that push her further into the bloodsucker's arms, or was it all a useless effort?

He had been visiting Forks High, remembering the time he spent with Bella. It was easier to be there because he could still imagine her being with him. He couldn't imagine her in the middle of the forest, places where he had never taken her. But here, it almost felt as if Jacob had never lost Bella to the vampire. It almost seemed like her heart was still beating, like she was still human. Like, at any moment, she would run out of the gym doors, smile at him and run over. Jacob could imagine her jumping onto the back of the motorcycle, and riding away with her. It was so simple, but it was never going to happen.

And then the mysterious girl had walked by.

The moment Jacob saw her, he knew. Her golden hair could not have looked more beautiful and rich, her green eyes amazingly dark and soft. But more than her looks attracted him to her. The feeling was so familiar, something he had felt through Sam, Jared and Quil. But it was different now that it was he himself experiencing the strong pull towards her. Jacob wanted to run over to her, to hold her. He wanted nothing more than to protect her from any danger in the world, to never let her go. In that instant, he knew that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.

Jacob didn't even know the girl's name, but it didn't matter. Because he knew that he was head over heels in love with her. Nothing else in the world mattered more than this girl. It took all of his strength not to run over her, to talk to her, to learn everything he could about her. But he denied himself the urge, knowing that it would be useless. To run up to a girl in the parking lot of her school probably wasn't the best idea.

Jacob was thinking about following her on the motorcycle when he saw her get into a car with her father. It probably wouldn't be a good idea to introduce himself now, but rather later. As soon as he learned where she lived, he could make up an excuse to visit her. Perhaps say that he was just going to greet the new neighbours, even though she was sure to know he lived in La Push. No, he'd need a better excuse than that…

Barely consciously, Jacob started the motorcycle and followed the car slowly. He wasn't going to get caught, because that of all things would certainly not leave a good impression on the girl or her father. This was the sort of thing that Jacob was unwilling to allow himself to mess up. The Jacob that had been known to the pack and his family was temporarily gone, making way for a new, calmer and cooler boy to take his place. When it came to this girl—whoever she was—he was not willing to take risks.

Jacob followed her all the way to the large house where she seemed to live. He stayed out of sight when they left the car, and watched them enter the house. Satisfied, he revved the engine of his motorcycle, and rode down the street, happy for the first time since Bella had gone. Because now he had a plan, something to do. He was finally going to be happy again, because now there was another girl in his life. Jacob finally had a girl to think about other than the human turned bloodsucker.

Jacob spent the rest of the Internet finding out who the girl was.

Things weren't horribly difficult to uncover in Forks. The people of such a small town had very few secrets, and where the newest residents of town lived was not one of them. The weekly newspaper, sold at a newspaper stand in the centre of town, detailed Kevin and Sarah Fox's move to Forks. It was just such a story that the paper would cover. Nothing special for this paper, just basic, everyday gossip.

Apparently, Kevin and Sarah had lived in Los Angeles, California. The two of them and Sarah's mother, Michelle, had been a happy family. Michelle had worked as a schoolteacher for third graders, and Kevin had been a doctor and been paid thousands for his great work at the hospital. However, two years prior to Sarah's move, the two had separated, and later divorced. A difficult court case had ensued, and it had taken a long time before it was determined that Kevin received full custody of their daughter and that he would be allowed to take her to Forks. Michelle was entitled to multiple visits to their home in Forks, and had a limited number of times that she could demand Sarah to visit her.

The article went on to say that they were hoping to move on with their lives, and that they had bought a beautiful house, and listed it's address—something I already knew. Finally, it detailed Kevin's reasons for deciding to move to Forks. Apparently, he'd never been a big fan of Sunny California, and thought that he and his daughter needed somewhere small to settle in. Kevin had acquired a job as a doctor at the local hospital, and although he wasn't being paid very much, he wanted to be happy there.

Sarah, Jacob thought suddenly, hit by a pang of sadness. Sarah Black had been Jacob's mother, and she had died many years ago. Of course, much time had passed since then, and Jacob had been young. He barely remembered it. There were pictures of Sarah Black sitting on his dresser, and a painting of her hanging on the wall in the main room. But it wasn't enough to remember her, and it didn't hurt her. But it had hurt his sisters and Billy even more. The name…

Eventually, somehow, Jacob dragged himself back to La Push. He was eager to phase and share his feelings with pack, to tell them all about what had happened. As Jacob drove the motorcycle down the street, he planned out his next move. Intercepting Sarah before or after school could be difficult, so he'd try to get her on the weekend. But for the mean time, he was going to simply watch over her. From experience, he knew that Forks could be particularly dangerous to certain people.

When he finally phased that night to wander the forest, he noticed that he was not alone. Jared, Embry and Quil were all with him, their thoughts buzzing around in his head. He grinned to himself, causing a strange expression on the reddish-brown wolf's face. He hadn't smiled in such a long time; it felt so strange, especially with the animal's face twisting like this. After all, why would he ever smile as a wolf, if no one were there to judge him? Grinning in human form was difficult enough.

Hey, Jake, Quil thought to him. Why so happy?

Shut up, Quil, Jared thought grumpily. Even though he rarely showed it, he had worried about Jacob in his depression. It was no mystery who Jacob had been reminding them all. They had all seen Bella in her zombie state, through both Jacob and Sam's eyes. It was just like Jared, to act like he couldn't care less, while hiding his thoughts well. Jacob, you want to get over here? We're checking the borders. Could use some help.

Sure, Jacob replied eagerly. But as soon as the conversation ended, idle thoughts in the members of the pack's minds came to Jacob. Quil was thinking about the soccer team at school, wishing that he could phase at school and teach the captain a lesson. Embry, on the other hand, was daydreaming about a new gaming system he had admired in the store down in Seattle. Finally, Jared was thinking about Kim, wishing that he was there with her. Gently, Jacob allowed thoughts of Sarah to leak into the thought stream of the pack…

Whoa, Jake! Quil yelled, or at least thought quite loudly. Quil himself had imprinted a few months ago, and now he was equally happy for his friend. Besides, Jacob suspected that Quil was happy just to hear his friend's thoughts happy for once. However, being typical Quil, he responded differently. Nice job, my friend. She's hot.

Shut up, Quil, Jacob thought back angrily. He was surprised by the sudden surge of jealousy. It was stronger even than seeing Bella kissing the bloodsucker. He suddenly understood how little Bella had meant in comparison to Sarah. All the pain of losing her had not disappeared, but it was dwarfed by her love for Sarah Fox. Nobody else mattered to him more.

Never mind, Jared said, a happy texture to his thoughts. He of all people knew the desire to see the girl after he imprinted. At that very moment, Jared's thoughts were burning with his desire to see Kim again. But he knew how much stronger it felt to see the girl before he really knew her. Go find her. We'll take care of this.

Quil objected, but Jared silenced him. Jacob grinned, and phased back into a human, dashing back to the motorcycle. Back to the house!