All the usual thanks, Nikki and Dani for their encouragement and ideas and Angelz1114577 & Whitlocked from PTB for their speedy beta'ing skills :o)

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters, they belong to Stephenie Meyer.

Chapter 10

Nessie PoV

Rosalie refused to tell me what she had planned when she parked her car just off the highway, hidden by the trees. As we sat in the car, we were discussing Jacob. Rose knew that Edward wouldn't approve of the secret part of her plan if he heard her thoughts, so she'd visited Carlisle at the hospital to speak to him instead. My grandfather had agreed that removing me from the people involved for a few days was probably a good idea and he'd see to it that Jacob was found and spoken to. I sighed with relief, Carlisle was a good man and a man of his word, I could ask for no greater reassurance about Jake.

At that moment a blue car drove past and I realised, almost too late, who was behind the wheel. My heart stuttered in my chest and my stomach jumped as I recognised Nahuel, obviously on his way to meet me as we'd arranged yesterday. My eyes opened wide as I suddenly realised that this was the reason that we were here, he was the reason. My head flicked around sharply and I fixed Rosalie with a shocked look which quickly became puzzled as I wondered why we were waiting for him.

"Rose! What are we doing here?" The only explanation I could think of was that we were waiting to let him know how to contact me at Rose's, but if that were the case then why didn't she just leave a message for my father to pass on?

"Ness, I'm going to ask Nahuel to come with us. Edward and Bella would never have agreed, so that's why we're doing it this way. But honestly, I think this is the only chance you'll have of getting what you need from this, without it turning messy once everybody else gets involved." My mouth gaped open; I had not foreseen this as being her plan for one second. She reached over and took my left hand in her right, squeezing it reassuringly. "It's going to be alright Nessie, I'm here for you."

She cocked her head suddenly, and in the same second I heard what to me was just another car, coming closer to where we were parked. I saw a flash of blue through the trees, and suddenly Rose accelerated forward and turned onto the highway, forcing the other car to swerve before it came to a stop, side on, inches from some thick bushes. Rose had applied the brake as suddenly as she'd hit the gas, and we came to an abrupt stop, facing the blue car. My heart pounded in my chest from the sudden and reckless maneuver, followed just a fraction of a second later by my mind filling with worries about Nahuel as I prayed that he wasn't hurt.

I looked across and he was glaring at us through his side window. I watched his face as recognition registered, and in that instant his expression was wiped completely smooth, before a huge smile pulled the corners of his mouth upward and his eyes sparkled. Seeing the effect the sight of me had on him, it was impossible not to mirror the expression and reflect it back at him. The pounding in my chest was now nothing to do with the near miss; I knew that without a shadow of a doubt. This had taken on an altogether different feel as the adrenaline pumped through my veins. The last few seconds had seemed more like minutes, but the soft click of the drivers' side door being released brought me back to the moment and I realised that it had all happened very quickly. I turned in the direction of the sound. Rosalie was looking at me now, her brow furrowed and her eyes worried. I knew that she had noticed my reaction and was wondering if this was all a huge mistake on her part. Still, she was not one to change her course of action once committed to the direction she was taking, so she pushed the door open and stepped out of the car.

I watched her cross to where Nahuel sat in his car, his window lowering as she approached. Rose was speaking to him now. I couldn't hear what she was saying, but I noticed her gesturing back to where I was sitting more than once, his eyes following her gestures and locking with mine. The intensity in his gaze reminded me of the same look his eyes held in my dream the night before, and the shivers followed quickly afterwards. They shuddered gently through my body before I felt a pink blush spreading across my cheeks at the memory. Almost instantly, I thought guiltily of Jake watching the same thing and I remembered his reaction and how he'd left. I broke eye contact with Nahuel and sighed deeply, looking down into my lap where I wrung my hands together.

When I looked up again, Rose was slipping back into the drivers' seat through the open door and Nahuel was pulling away, straightening back onto the highway before moving away in front of us. Rose buckled her seatbelt, not that she really needed it, but it didn't make sense to attract attention by not wearing it, and smoothly pulled away behind him. I looked directly at her, waiting for an update. She seemed to realise what I wanted and turned to look briefly at me.

"He says he'll come with us." She was watching closely to register my expression but I managed to keep it neutral. She looked back at the road and I was unsure whether she was satisfied that I hadn't reacted too eagerly or dissatisfied that I hadn't reacted at all. "We're going to follow him back to his place so he can let his sisters know and he can pick up some stuff." I nodded my head gently a couple of times.

"Ok." I paused for a moment, building the courage to say what I was feeling. "Rose?" I swallowed as Rose turned her head to look at me for a moment before looking back to make sure Nahuel was still in sight.

"Mmm?"

"I'm scared about this." I glanced down anxiously at my hands twisting in my lap. "I mean, not this moment specifically, but about the whole situation. I just can't see how it will ever work out." I bit down hard on my lip, fighting the tears back now. When I spoke again, my voice came out as a whisper. "I can't lose Jake, Rose, I don't know what he'd do if…"

"Ssshhh," Rose comforted me, her hand rubbing my leg. "Nessie, I'm with you on this, we'll get through it, I promise you." I smiled gratefully at her and we sat in silence for the rest of the journey. Eventually, Nahuel signalled and turned off and we did the same, pulling in behind his car. As we watched, he opened his door and slid gracefully out, pushing the door closed. He turned to us, holding up his index finger to us to indicate that he'd just be a moment. His expression appeared neutral, but when I looked more closely at his eyes they held a noticeable spark. He turned away, but before he was fully facing away from us, I saw him lose the battle he'd been fighting to keep his mouth straight and the corners of his mouth pulled up into a grin. I fought a smile at him, as he walked the short distance and disappeared inside the apartment building.

Rosalie and I sat chatting quietly, both of us deliberately avoiding mentioning anything connected with myself, Jacob or Nahuel. It only felt like a matter of minutes before Nahuel reappeared, carrying a brown leather duffel bag, a faint smile forming on his lips as he walked toward us. As he reached the car, Rosalie popped the release button for the trunk and he put his bag inside before slamming it shut. Rose climbed out of the car, pulling the lever that folded the driver's seat forward, to allow Nahuel to slide into the rear seat.

I shifted slightly in my seat and turned my head to look at him. His beautiful face was happy, mouth turned up slightly, and dark eyes shining as they looked back at me. He was breathtaking. I wasn't sure I could string a sentence together, but it was only polite to offer a greeting.

"Hi," I said quietly, unable to resist the smile that was playing on my lips now. His mouth widened into a grin as he leaned forward slightly.

"Hi Renesmee!" His eyes seemed to sparkle brighter as he spoke my name, and another shiver, like the ones I'd felt yesterday, whooshed through me. I managed to stay composed but looked quickly away, shifting back again to look out of the front windshield as Rosalie signalled and pulled back out onto the highway.

The next few hours passed pleasantly and quickly. The three of us fell into an easy chatter, laughing and swapping stories. The mood remained light and whenever I turned to Nahuel he was smiling at me, the happiness I'd noted when he first climbed into the car never leaving his face. I had mixed feelings about this. I was flattered and thrilled, but it also added to my ever-present fears. I recognised that he obviously had higher hopes than just friendship for the two of us; it was going to be difficult to spend the next few days getting acquainted with him without encouraging him further. Whilst I loved Jacob absolutely and had no intention of leaving him and embarking on anything other than friendship with Nahuel, such strong physical sensations of attraction were hard to ignore. Smiling across at Rosalie, I was immensely grateful that she would be around to make sure that things didn't get any more complicated while I got to know Nahuel.

A/N – Please take a moment to review!