K POV

Sunday. The day of rest. The day of… oh who knew what else it was the day of. It was a day I expected to be able to sleep at least a little longer to indulge in the dream I had been having, of eyes so dark, they reminded me of onyx. And yet, eyes that seemed so gentle, I doubted their owner would have raised his voice at a stone wall.

But noooo. trying to make the most of our last night together, I had agreed to share a room with Michelle. Her parents had offered to get us two, but we wanted to share. Our last time together for who knew how long. I had only met the woman I was going to stay with, a couple of times. I knew her name. Rachel Black. I knew she lived on a Reservation. It was called La Push and the closest thing to a town nearby was Forks. The name alone told me I would not be visiting there too often.

"Hey Kiki?" I heard a tentative call from the doorway, as I grumbled my way from under the covers. "Oh Michelin…" I trailed off, tears springing to my eyes at the sight of my best friend, my sister, standing in the doorway. She had a tray in her hands and was trying to get through the door as well. I remember Breakfast in Bed being her cure for any ailment related to the heart. At that thought, I couldn't help laughing at the irony of what was on the plate. Everything greasy that she could have found on the menu, was on that tray. "The really cute waiter helped me carry everything up here, and then left when I told him I wanted to bring it in to you personally" she mumbled while looking at the bedspread.

Once the tray was firmly on the stand and out of our way, I launched myself at her and hugged her so tight I was sure she couldn't breathe. I couldn't tell really, because I was equally sure that she had cut off my oxygen supply as well. "Oh God Michelin, how am I going to stand living somewhere I won't get to hear your voice every morning, trying to convert me into one of you morning people," I asked her, trying to keep the sobs out of my voice. "You are going to miss me like a crazy person and demand to move into my bedroom the second you turn 18" she sniffed back.

Just then, we both turned at the knock on the door, to see her mum peeking at us, with clearly red-rimmed eyes. Mr. and Mrs. Morgan had been brilliant to live with. He was an online whiz and had made his money at the beginning of the Silicon Valley boom; he owned his own online protection company and spent his millions spoiling his wife and only daughter rotten. While most people made money to buy 'stuff' they could show off, the Morgans did the opposite. They lived in an average house, with maybe slightly more hi-tech gadgets, they had average cars, with the only exception being that their anti-theft systems were the best on the market, and Michelle had gotten a job after school to help pay for her own car.
Their only indulgence was the lavish holidays they took. They always made sure to take me along though. It was like they knew how much I wanted to belong somewhere, and after the death of my parents, Jason was all I had. We had lived with an uncle and aunt until he went away to college, and seeing how miserable I was, had prompted Michelle's parents to ask my relatives if I could live with them. They pleaded that Michelle was lonely, and this would work out well for us. My relatives had barely noticed when I moved out. They were both upset that the courts had said I had to follow the dictat my brother had left.

"You girls ready to leave?" Even I could hear the tremor in her voice. I loved them all, especially the way she treated me and Michelle, like we were both her daughters and not just the red-head. "Yeah I guess so" I choked out, before flinging myself at her and hugging her much the same way I had hugged her daughter. I felt big burly arms come around the both of us from behind and I knew Mr. Morgan was in on the hugging scenario as well. "You listen to me now, munster " he called both Michelle and me that "If, at any time, you decide you want to come home, you call us, any one of us, and we will be there to get you immediately, you hear me?"

My heart clenched at the way he sad 'home' like I was a part of it as well. "Yes sir" was all I could manage. "Mum, Dad… do you think it would be ok… if I drove Kiki there… alone" Michelle haltingly enquired. "Just the two of us" Mrs. Morgan looked at her husband with a small smile on her face. "Sure sweetheart" he rumbled "Take the truck" he added before Michelle could mention a rental car. "Are you sure?" she asked with her eyes wide. Mr. Morgan hadn't let anyone else behind the wheel of his 'precious' as he called it. "Its my going away present to you both" he added, looking at Michelle directly. "You get to keep it munster, coz if my baby girl decided to make a few trips driving up here from Seattle, I need to know I can rely on her transportation."

This was the last coherent conversation we had before our goodbyes left us in a mess of tear filled eyes and choked farewells. I looked at Michelle in the driver's seat and nodded and she pulled out of the driveway. It was an hour's drive to La Push and I was dreading every second of it. Every foot we covered, was another foot away from everything I had ever known.

La Push.

Rachel was going about her normal morning routine which included making sure there was enough food in the house for when a horde of hungry wolf-men came banging on the door. She rolled her eyes; Jacob and Embry had moved into a tiny cottage down the road from her father's house, but they still ate here. 'Oh well,' she shrugged to herself, 'at least they did their dishes before they left each time.'

Just then she heard a truck pull up in front of the house and she frowned to herself. She didn't know any of the boys, except for Jake, who had a truck, and he wouldn't have driven here when it would have been faster to walk. For him anyway. She was even further surprised when she heard a tentative knock on the door. Truly mystified now, she wiped her hands on the towel she had picked up, and approached the living room. Putting a smile on her face, she opened the door and found two teenage girls standing there. One, the brunette, looked strangely familiar, and had a small duffel bag with her, while the other, a red-head, looked like she was about to burst into tears any second.

"Yeah? How can I help you guys?" she asked. The brunette swallowed hard and then held out a letter. "I don't know if you remember me, we met a few times when I visited my brother at college" she started out hesitantly. "Oh my goodness, yes I did, THAT's where I've seen you" Rachel laughed. "I knew you were familiar but I just couldn't place you. Please, please, come on in, I was just about to start lunch, are you guys hungry?" "We already ate thanks" came the rejoinder. "Umm, Kiki, if its ok, I am just going to head back right away. I want to get back before… before it gets too hard to leave" choked out the red-head.

Rachel looked on in confusion. "You guys want to tell me what's going on?" she asked. "Yeah I can explain, just let me say good bye first?" "Sure sure" Rachel replied. The two girls walked to the porch. "I love you Kiki-meister" "I love you more Michelin. Call me the second you get back to the hotel ok?" and with that Michelle hopped back in the truck and pulled out of the driveway, even though she knew the other girl had seen her tears.

Rachel had watched this whole exchange, and took this chance to step onto the porch. She looked at the girl and said "Well, I saw the bag, so I'm guessing you might need to crash for a while, but could you maybe tell me what is going on now? I'm going out of my mind a bit here." The girl's sad eyes cut Rachel to the quick as she turned her gaze away from the empty driveway. "Of Course, but can we talk inside please?" "Of course honey, come with me" Rachel said as she put her arm around the girl.

Once they were sitting inside, Rachel grabbed herself a cup of coffee and made them both comfortable on the couch before turning expectantly to her guest. "Umm… well, I guess I don't know where to begin" she started. "I thought they might have written you to explain, but since you were so surprised to see me, I see they might not have." "Actually a lot of my mail that was sent to me, ended up going to my dorm at the University and some of it has taken a longer time to get forwarded than the others" clarified Rachel. "Oh I see" murmured the girl. "But wait, I'm getting ahead of myself. How is Jason? I haven't heard from him in months, I didn't want to contact him because… well.. he was working on a particular project, that… sort of.. discouraged distractions actually."

There were those sad eyes again, thought Rachel. "That's why I'm here really," she said softly. "Jason is… missing, I guess would be the word to use" Rachel paled at this. "He left a letter saying that since he was my legal guardian, if anything were to happen to him, he wanted me placed under your guardianship, at least until I became a major. I'm sorry. I thought you might have been expecting me. The judge said I wasn't allowed to stay with Michelle and her parents anymore… that I had to follow what was outlined in the procedure… and then he said I could stay to finish out my school year, and now that its done.. I had to move here… I even got my enrollment in school sorted out… and…" she trailed off and Rachel knew the girl was struggling through her tears. So she got up, went to her and hugged her.

"Honey, you can stay here as long as you like. Would you give me a minute while I read that letter?" "Sure" came the teary reply. Rachel took the letter, stepped into the kitchen and read through it. It was an official court document that had all the usual legalese that translated into the fact that this youngster was supposed to stay here and that was it. Unless Rachel granted permission otherwise. Rachel considered it for a moment. Could she deny this girl the chance to live somewhere she was obviously happy? Before she could voice that idea, she noticed that there had been something enclosed with the official missive. It was a personal note that Jason had included in his statement that Rachel was to be his sister's guardian.

Rachel,

I know if Munchkin turns up on your doorstep , it means something might have happened to me. I have noticed that, on the past few runs I have made, on our special 'project' that someone might have recognized me or followed me on more than one occasion. She lives in Seattle, and while I know she loves it here, I am worried that if anything does happen to me, they can trace my connection to her as well. You talk about your home town with so much love in your eyes, that I have to ask you to do this for me. Please, let her stay with you. Please. Keep her safe Rach. There is no one else I can trust.

La Push is small enough, from what you have told me, that a stranger would be noticed, and that would be more than enough to prevent anyone getting too close to finding my sister. I told Kid where he might be able to find you, just in case. And I have known him for far too long to consider him a threat. Please Rachel. Keep her safe.

J

Wiping away the tears that she didn't realize she had shed, she went back to the living room and sat down next to the now composed girl. "Well, maybe we should start this off right" she smiled "I'm Rachel, but feel free to call me Rach, everyone else does." Her reply was a small tentative smile and "My best friend calls me Kiki" "Well love, let's get you settled in ok? You can have Jake's room, I turned it into a guest room since he moved out, and it's a good enough size for one person. I know it might be hard for you to stay here, leaving your life in Seattle, but will you trust me when I say, your brother was just thinking of how to keep you safe?" "Safe from what though?" she asked with a tired curiosity that broke Rachel's heart.

They had walked into Jake's old room by then, and Rachel beckoned her to sit down on the bed. As she sat next to her she took her hand and said "What I am about to tell you has to stay between the both of us. A lot of people's safety could be at risk." Rachel waited until she nodded to continue "Jason and I were both part of a group that… well I guess you could say… we helped out a particular government agency in very minor roles. Sometimes that could attract a little danger as well, but nothing for you to worry about" she added when she saw the fear appear in the girl's eyes. "It was very basic. Practically desk work but this is just his way of trying to keep you safe." She waited until the girl nodded, and then asked, in an attempt to lighten the mood. "Since your best friend calls you Kiki, don't you think I should call you something else? I don't want to steal her nickname. Would your real name do?" "Of course Rach" she was rewarded with a small smile. "Kaia it is then" Rachel replied as she left the room. "I'll let you get settled in, and come get you for lunch ok?" she called as she walked down the hallway.

Once in the kitchen, she heaved a deep breath and thanked the Spirits that Billy and Charlie were on talking terms again, so Billy had spent the night there, bonding over old football games. Realizing she was shaky, recalling the last couple of stressed out months in Seattle, at University, she resolved to go for a quick walk down to the beach. She left Kaia a note, telling her this, and then strode for the door, grabbing her jacket on the way out. Once she closed the door behind her, she took a deep shuddering breath and bit back a sob as she turned to face the stairs. And that was when her heart stopped.

Right at the edge of the porch, standing on the bottom stairs, were two extremely large, extremely angry looking men. Their expressions were identical, encompassing fear, worry, and overall confusion. It would have been amusing to Rachel to see them both adopt even the same stance; arms folded across their bare chests, shorts slung low and barefoot, if she hadn't known why they were so angry. Damn their superhuman wolf hearing.

Sighing, Rachel turned to her brother and her imprint, "Come on, I know you guys heard all that, so you might as well get the whole story. But not here. I was going to take a walk on the beach."

After exchanging a look between them, they turned to follow her on the path that led to the beach.

What exactly had Rachel Black been upto while in Seattle?

A/N: So the stage is set. and you FINALLY know Seth's imprint's real name.

What exactly has Rachel gotten herself into?
Could this expose the secrets La Push has hidden for generations?
Who exactly is Jason and why does he need Rachel to hide his sister?
What was the project he mentioned and more importantly, how are Paul and Jake going to react now that they know their imprint and sister has been keeping secrets of her own from them?

Staaaay tuned, same bat time, same bat channel... oh wait, wrong announcement...

Hoping to see more reviews up here soon. Special shout out to 'GByrd' for my very first review. Yaaaaaaay, virtual cookies for you and watch out for your guest appearance soon!