AN – I do not own the characters of Twilight. They belong to Stephanie Meyers.

Chapter 21

Emily POV

"Really?" My smile couldn't have been much bigger without my face exploding. "I'll see if we can't move the date up a couple of weeks, just to be on the safe side." I wink at Tia. Sharing this moment with her was really something. I can see us becoming very close friends.

"Tell you what…I think it's time for you to get out of this cabin if only for a night. How about coming down to my place for a pack dinner tonight? With the storm that's headed our way, we might not be able to do this for a week or so. What do you think?"

Tia's response was a smile.

"Ok, I'm going to call Sam to tell him our plan. You two can come down around 6 or so, ok?" I stand up to make the call and head home.

Tia stands up with me and suddenly, throws her arms around me, hugging me tightly. Holding her close, I realize that she has really needed more female friends in her life. Well, she has found one in me.

"See you soon!" I tell her as I head out the door. Quil's truck comes up the drive way as I pull open my car door. I wave to him as I get in.

QPOV

Watching Emily drive away, I can't help but feel that she and Sam are up to something. They both have had a small grin on their faces that make me wonder. I look down at myself as I walk up the steps to the porch. I'm covered in dirt and grease from helping Sam in the garage. I'm in need of a shower, bad.

Opening the door, I see Tia standing in the kitchen. "Hey there." I walk over to her to kiss her cheek.

"Emily is having a dinner tonight and has invited the pack. She said that we could come down around 6." She looks up into my eyes, hopeful.

"Um…ok, I need to grab a shower and clean clothes." I walk into the bedroom grabbing clean clothes and a towel. I guess she's feeling well enough to go out. Does this mean that she's fully recovered, ready to move on with her life? What does this mean for us? Turning the water on in the shower, I hop in letting these questions take over as I scrub the grime away.

TPOV

My frustration level rises as he walks out of the room. He's done it again. I tried to start up a light conversation and he found a reason to walk away from me. Sitting down on the couch, I curled up around a pillow and started to cry.

Jared POV

Sam had just filled me in on Emily's plan for dinner tonight after I had finished my rounds. I decided to take the short cut back to my house which takes me close by Quil's place. I hear a faint sniffle and then a sob coming from the cabin. It has to be Tia. Walking up onto the porch, I see her crying. I open the door.

As I walk in, her head pops up and she dries her tears. I can hear the shower running which explains why Quil isn't here with her.

"Hey now…what's this?" I sit down next to her. She looks away and her shoulders start to shake again. "Tia, what's wrong?"

"It's Quil…" she sobbed quietly.

I tense. I'm not sure if I should get involved. He is my best friend but I also know that he has been an idiot this past week. All the same, I can't bear to see Tia cry. "What did he do?"

She listens to make sure that the shower is still running and then turns to me. Sniffling quietly, she says "I don't think he wants me anymore." There's sadness so deep in her eyes that it breaks my heart. That does it. Now, I'm pissed. It's time to set him straight.

"Sweetie, there's no way he wouldn't want you." I try to console her, putting my arm around her shoulders. She's shaking her head in disbelief. "I know that I'm a guy and all, but maybe it's time for you to put him in his place. Sometimes guys are stupid. You have to just lay it all out in front of us in order for us to understand." Tia straightens her shoulders. I see a glimmer of determination in her face.

I hear the shower stop and shortly thereafter, the bedroom door opens. Quil walks out to see us on the couch. I glare at him. "I need to talk to you outside Quil." I give Tia's shoulders a squeeze before I stand up. He follows me out the door.

After walking a good distance away from the cabin, I turn on Quil. "Would you mind telling me why she's in there crying? Tia has been doing so much better this past week and now this?" He looks up at me to see my anger on my face.

"Jare, I don't know…" he turns to look back at the cabin. "I guess I'm afraid."

"Afraid? Of what? She's your imprint, you idiot." My voice rises and I start to shake. "Your behavior is breaking her heart and she sure as hell doesn't deserve to have that happen. She needs you. I want you to pull yourself out of this damn pity party that you've been having and fix this. If you don't, I'm going to beat your ass. In fact, I'm pretty damned close to doing that this very moment!" I glare at him with my fists clenched.

"Dammit Jared, you make this sound so easy, but you know what? It's not. I love Tia but she almost died because of me. Don't you get it?" Quil yelled back at me.

Next thing he knew, my fist was flying at his jaw. I punched him so hard that he landed flat of his back. "I'm telling you now Quil. You are not treating her the way you should. She just wants your love and it's your fucking wolf pride that is in the way. Get over yourself." Knowing that I would start punching again if I talked to him any longer, I turn away from him to go back to my house. Let him figure this out on his own.

Third Person POV

Later that evening, everyone, except for Tia and Quil, has arrived at Emily's for dinner. The boys are watching a ball game and the girls have all congregated in the kitchen to escape the sports talk. The food is almost ready to go out to the table when the door opens. Quil walks in with a tense look and Tia is behind him. Neither looks as though they want to be there. Kim and Bella both wave hello and the guys yell "Hey Tia, Quil!".

Emily takes one look at them and decides to help break their tension. "Ok, everyone's here and the food is ready. Ladies, come grab a plate!" She helps Tia out of her coat and leads her into the kitchen. Leading her by the elbow away from Quil, she asks "Feeling any better?" Tia gives her a tense smile, but Emily immediately sees the truth. It felt as though you could cut the tension that was between Tia and Quil. After filling their plates, Emily brings Tia over to the table and sits down next to her. Soon, the guys cram into the kitchen to do the same. Sam sits down beside Emily and Quil takes the remaining chair.

The room is quiet as everyone eats with the exception of some giggling coming from across the room. Jared has Kim on his lap, teasing her as they eat. She smiles at him mischievously and pokes him in the chest whispering quietly in his ear.

TPOV

Watching Jared and Kim together makes my heart hurt. We were once like that, sweet and loving. Now, I don't think we will ever have that again. I can't take this right now. I put my fork down, wipe my mouth and stand up. "Excuse me." Not looking back, I walk out the back door for some fresh air.

QPOV

Seeing Tia's emotions play across her face as she pretends to eat hurts. In her eyes, I can see the anger and sadness that I feel myself. I just wish we could move on. I wish I knew what to do to fix this.

Staring at my plate of food that I have no desire to eat, I hear Tia stand and walk away. Crap. Where's she going? Pushing my plate away, I stand up to follow her into the backyard.

Third Person POV

While the eating didn't stop, no one in the dining room nor living room missed the fact that Tia had walked out, not saying a word. Quil shut the door firmly behind him as he followed her. Jared glared at Quil's back, ready to follow on his earlier threat. Sam was about to get up to follow but Emily stopped him. "They need to work this out on their own." Sam nodded in understanding but he didn't want his little sister hurting anymore.

TPOV

I walk out across to the back edge of the yard. The wind was beginning to pickup with the incoming storm. Finding a swing under a tree, I sit down, wrapping my arms around myself, trying to calm down and stay warm. I hear the door open and close, knowing that it was Quil who was walking towards me. I wait until he's only a few steps away from me before I speak.

"Quil, what have I done wrong?" I ask him quietly.

He leans up against the tree next to the swing and wipes his hand across his face. He sighs. "Tia, it's not you…I just…I'm sorry." His shoulders slump as his emotions take over. "I'm sorry for everything. I told you that I would always be there for you and I wasn't." He clenches his fists and stands back up. "You could have died that day and I am to blame." His anger explodes and he punches the tree. A large branch cracked. Breathing heavily, he forces himself to calm down. He says quietly. "You deserve someone better than me."

Third Person POV

Shoulders tense at the sound of cracking wood coming from the back yard. Sam's face becomes a mask of anger and Jared is halfway out of his seat before Kim grabs his arm. Leah impulsively jumped up to the window to look. Her eyes lit up and she gives a short laugh. "Well I'll be damned. We don't need to worry about Tia at all. That girl's got some spunk." She smirks.

Seth and Jake couldn't resist not stepping up to the window next to Leah. It wasn't often that she gave a compliment so it had to be good whatever was going on. Man, was she right. We had never seen someone small take on a guy easily twice her size and show absolutely no sign of backing down.

TPOV

My anger snaps and I fly up off of the swing. I stand in front of him, my face within inches of his, and the yelling starts. "Quil Ateara! Who the hell do you think you are?" My voice raises even further and I'm pushing my finger into his chest with every word coming out of my mouth. "I would greatly appreciate it if you would let me make my own decisions about what and who I deserve." I place my hands on my hips and glare at him. "If it weren't for you, I could very well have gone over the edge from my dream about mom…" I turn away from him, angry tears falling down my face. "…but it was you that brought me back." My voice breaks. "You were with me all along, every step of the way."

Quil takes a step towards me touching my shoulder. "What? I don't understand. How did I help? You weren't aware of your surroundings for almost 2 months. Not knowing if you were going to come back tore me apart." He whispers.

I wipe the tears from my face and turn towards him again. "If you had actually talked to me about what happened, you could have saved us a lot of this pain Quil." My jaw clenches in anger. "You are in my dreams, every single one. You are the last thing I see before I come back. It has always been you." My emotions are raw and my voice is shaking. "You are the one that helped me through the flames that Uma mentioned. I was ready to give it all up and not come back at all after I had my dream of mom's death, but it was you that pulled me through."

Quil looks at me with so much love in his eyes. "So you're not mad? You still want us together?"

I take his face in my hands and look him straight in the eye. "I've never been mad at you over what happened in Vegas and yes, I most definitely want us. You are my life Quil. I love you with every fiber of my being."

He drops to his knees in front of me and pulls me to him with his arms around my waist. He buries his face in my side and his shoulders shake in relief. I feel the side of my shirt becoming damp proving that he finally understands what I'm saying to him. "I love you Tia. You are the most important person in my life. I'm so sorry that I hurt you."

I raise his chin up so that he can see the sincerity on my face. "All is forgiven, but…" I lean down to lightly kiss his lips. "…you have some time to make up." My eyes gleam. I run my fingers through his hair tugging playfully.

His face lights up and his hands begin to roam up my back. "Yes m'am, whatever you say." Our kiss deepens. After several minutes, he pulls away. He stands and his eyes darken with passion. "Let's go home."

I think for a moment wondering if I'm ready for the next step in our relationship. I sigh knowing that it's too early yet. "Let's spend a little more time with the pack first. I've missed them too." I smile up at him, putting my arms around his neck. He leans down for another kiss.

"Alright, but only for a little while longer. I need to hold you tonight." He grabs my hand and pulls me back to the house.

Third Person POV

Leah giggles at the site of Tia taking Quil down a notch. Jared smiles in the satisfaction of knowing that Quil finally got his act straight. When they notice that they are about to come back inside, they quickly go back to their seats acting as if nothing had changed during their absence. Sam breathed in relief when he saw that Tia walked in much calmer with Quil's hand in hers. They went back to their seats at the table. This time, Quil pulled Tia into his lap and proceeded to talk to Sam and Emily as he fed his girl some of Bella's brownies.

After dinner was finished, Embry put a movie in the DVD player and everyone piled into the living room. Quil sat with Tia in his lap, ignoring the movie. He was too busy playing with her hands or hair, nuzzling her neck. Tia tried to watch the movie or talk to the people around her but Quil's attention always seemed to distract her. When the movie ended, Tia whispered in his ear. "I need to talk to Jared for just a moment and then we can head out." as she stood up. While her back was turned to Quil, he looked up at Sam who had been watching them. Without the need for words, Sam nodded at him. He understood that they needed to be left alone for a while.

Tia walked over to Jared and knelt down beside him, whispering in his ear. "Thank you for the pep talk." Both he and Kim smiled in response. She stood back up saying "Ok, I'm really tired so we're going home. Good night everyone!" A chorus of good-byes and hugs followed them out the door. None of them noticed that Sam had picked up his phone and sent a quick message to Quil.

Once the door was shut behind them and he heard Quil's truck start, he stood up waiting for everyone's attention. "For the next couple of days, if the blinds on their front door are shut, no one, and I mean no one, will interrupt them, understood?" Everyone nodded in agreement.

QPOV

Pulling up to the cabin, I feel my phone vibrate. I look down to read Sam's text about the blinds. Chuckling, I text back "Thanks." and help Tia get out of the car. Walking into the living room, Tia goes to hang up her jacket as I close the blinds. She looks at me questioning. "It's a sign that we need to be left alone for a while."

TPOV

Turning away from him, I can't believe how nervous I am all of a sudden. This is silly! It's just me…alone in our cabin…with Quil. Ugh, who am I kidding? I blush brightly.

Suddenly, I feel his arms around my waist as he pulls me to him. He buries his face in my neck and inhales my scent. He whispers softly in my ear. "I've missed you so much Tia." He pulls me to him even tighter.

Unsure of what to do, I cover his arms with mine and lean back into his embrace. My head is lying on his chest as we enjoy holding each other for a moment. I felt warm and safe in his arms.

Finally, I turn to face him. Looking up at him, I can see his love for me in his eyes. I place my hands on his cheeks. "I've missed you too." I bring his head down for a gentle kiss. He moans at the softness of my lips. One of his hands travels up my back to tangle itself in my hair, pushing our kiss deeper.

Soon, we are both softly groaning and breathing heavily. Our hands are eager to touch and explore. Hormones are starting to get out of hand. Pulling away, I look up at my love. As much as I was enjoying his kisses, I wasn't ready for this to continue, not yet. "Quil, …I'm not sure…this is…".

"Shhhh…I know." He cradles my face in his hands, placing a kiss on my forehead. Sighing, he says "This is way too fast for us at this time. When we finally take this next step, I want it to be a very special moment for both of us." He caresses the side of my face. "How about we spend the night wrapped up in each other's arms? We have some things that we need to talk about tomorrow, especially now that you're doing so much better, but tonight, I just want to be with you, ok?"

I smile up at him. I hold out my hand and he takes it, leading me into the bedroom. We get ready for bed, turn on some music and wrap ourselves in each other's arms. Tonight, we just wanted to hold and be held. With music playing softly in the background, we fell into a deep sleep, safe and secure in our love.