Author's Note:

Sadly, the mystical powers that be have still not granted me a life swap with Stephenie Meyer - so I don't own Twilight or it's characters.

Also, I'm having a debate about chapter length and while I understand arguing with yourself is probably not healthy, it's happening anyways. My chapters so far are all about the same length, except for this one, but I'd have zero problem making them longer, so tell me what you think.

Enjoy!

You're suppose to be what she needs, Embry. What she needs. Jared didn't want to push, just wanted him to calm down and think about her so he told Seth to phase back and then phased back himself after giving him one last thing to think about. You being in her life, even if you're not together, will make her happy.

But Embry could think then, couldn't see past his anger. He spent that night cursing as he plowed through the forest, alone.

Chapter Five - Friends

Two weeks. It had been two week since Embry imprint, and while his anger had dissipated, in its place had come a sense of defeat. He'd always imagined that if he ever did imprint, it would be what the others had. Love, devotion, passion. It's what imprint was supposed to be. He, of course, knew Quil and Claire weren't that way, but Claire was so young it just made sense that Quil would be her best friend. Embry realized then that he'd even rather have that imprint, then this one. Claire and Quil would have what the others had when Claire was ready, the same way Jake and Renesmee had transitioned, but Embry couldn't have that. His imprint already had that, with someone else.

He tried to stop them, but the images came anyways. Alexandria in someone else's arms, kissing someone else, loving him. The man in his mental images was an indistinct blur, but Alex was crystal clear. Everything about her was perfect, and he hadn't forgotten a single thing. He wondered if her eyes sparkled when she kissed him, if there was a mini-Alex, if the reason she hadn't seemed fully there was because her husband was somewhere else.

It bugged him, her being alone in that house when she had someone. Where was he? Why wasn't he with her? He assumed she was here to set up the house and he'd be along soon. Embry couldn't understand how her husband could stand to be away from her, because he was having trouble staying away. No matter how hard he tried to fight it, he was being pulled to her, and knew he'd end up on her doorstep soon. He just couldn't figure out what he was supposed to say or do when he got there. 'Hi, I ran away the other day because I'm a werewolf and in love with you but you're married' seemed like a horrible opening line.

He managed to stay away from her house for three more days before he just couldn't not see her. Emily armed him with a plate of apology cookies, and the boys gave him suggestions on what to say and do. He could do it, he could be a friend and nothing more. He would do it. It was with that in mind he drove up to her house Saturday morning. He repeated in his head over and over - Friends. Friends. Just Friends. F-r-i-e-n-d-s. He tapped lightly on her door, friends. He almost bolted right back to his house when she opened the door.

Alex had just woken up and was in the middle of getting the coffee ready when she heard the knock on her front door. She looked at herself in the mirror on her way to the door. Her pale blue shorts were not exactly appropriate for company and her pink tank top clung to her a little too tightly, but she had her cotton robe on. Her hair was a mess in a large bun atop her head and she had bags under her eyes, but there wasn't much she could do about it so she went to open the door.

She was surprised to see Embry on the other side, holding a covered plattered looking like he couldn't decide if he should run or throw-up. "Hello?"

"Um, hi, Alex. I d-don't know if you remember me but I'm -"

"Embry," his name sounded perfect when she said it. "I remember you. Are you feeling better?"

"Yes, yes. Much better actually. I'm sorry, if I woke you, I just wanted to bring things over to say I'm sorry. I know you were counting on us to get that work done."

"Don't worry about it, I'm just glad you're feeling better. You didn't have to come all the way out here to apologize." There was a beeping from the kitchen. "Um, I was just about to have some coffee, would you like to come in?"

Embry nodded and, after taking off his shoes, followed her into the kitchen. He already knew what it looked like of, course, having helped with some of the repairs, but he seemed very different with her in it. He didn't normally work on the construction project, preferring to work in the garage with Jake, but the house had been a big job and Sam wanted all hands on deck when possible. So on days when the garage had no appointments they had left one mechanic at the shop with Emily working in the office.

He watched her robe slide up a few inches to reveal more her thick, creamy thighs when she reached up in a cupboard to grab two cups. Friend. He shook his head redirected his attention and put the container of cookies on the island. Alex glanced over her shoulder at him as she poured the coffee, "Go ahead and take a seat. Do you want any cream or sugar?"

Embry slide onto one of the black leather stools at the island, "Cream, please."

Alex placed a cup down in front of him and stood leaning across the counter from him. They sipped slowly, and in silence for a few long minutes. Embry could tell Alex was uncomfortable in his presence, though from the way Seth had talked about the first day of moving, he wondered if she was just uncomfortable around people in general. "So, did you ended up figure out what all the other boxes were?"

She bobbed her head once, "Yeah, Paul and Jacob came back and put everything together. Well, except for one box, which I didn't order."

Maybe your husband did. "What is it?"

She shrugged, "Some type of closet organizer or shelving system. I'm not really sure."

"I could put it in for you if you'd like?" Please let me spend time with you.

"Oh, no. That's okay. I'm sure I'm going to use it." They went back to drinking their coffee. She looked around the kitchen, stared at her coffee, looked anywhere and everywhere but at him.

"Well, I didn't mean to disturb you, thank you for the coffee though. I should head out." He stood slowly, but she didn't stop him.

"Thank you for the cookies."

"Your welcome." And with that he left. Did she hate him? He climbed into his car a drove to Sam's, replaying their conversation. When he finally parked his truck in their driveway he banged his head against the steering wheel a few times. Idiot. He trudged into the house and collapsed onto the couch.

Sam and Emily exchanged a wary look over his head, "How'd it go?"

"I think she hates me, Sam. Is it possible for her to hate me? She invited me in for coffee but barely said anything to me. I was there for all of ten minutes before I left. She probably thinks I'm an idiot. I'm never going to see her again." He put his head in his hands.

Emily smiled and put a hand on his shoulder, "Oh I don't know about that. I have a feeling you'll see her sooner than you think."

Embry's head shot back up, "What do you mean?"

"You left the cookies right?" Embry nodded, Sam looked confused. "You left the cookies in a container, she's going to have to return it to you eventually." Sam smiled as his wife. "When she does, you can talk again. I know it doesn't seem like a lot, but you have to start slow, she'll come around."

"But she hates me."

"Why would you think that?"

"She seemed uncomfortable, and she only talked if I asked her a question. She doesn't want to be around me," he confided.

"From what I've heard from the guys, she's not exactly talkative with anyone. Very polite, kind, but not really comfortable around any of them. I doubt she hates you," Sam sat down next to him the couch. "Even her grandma said she hasn't wanted to be around people lately."

"You talked to Mrs. Walks?"

"I helped her unclog her garbage disposal a few days ago, she may have said somethings. The important thing is," he continued before Embry couldn't interrupt, "she doesn't hate you."

"Did her grandma say anything about her husband?" Sam was quiet. "She did, didn't she? What'd she say?" Sam still didn't answer. "Oh come on, Sam. It's better I find out here, away from her."

"Fine, okay. She didn't mention Alex's husband. She didn't say a lot, but I could tell Mrs. Walks doesn't like him much. His name is Mark, and he's a lawyer. I guess he's in the middle of pretty big case and in staying in New York for right now."

"Then why isn't Alex there with him?" Embry asked, clenching his fists. A lawyer named Mark. Probably a very rich lawyer named Mark. He could provide for her and take care of her. Buy her house across the country near her grandma.

Sam shrugged, "From what I can tell, Alex didn't want to spend that much time alone in the city while he was working, and they'd talked about moving after this case so she came to set up the house and spend time with Mrs. Walks. She didn't seem to have the details, or at least if she did she didn't share them. Or believe them."

"Do you know...did she say," he took a deep breath, "Did she say when he's coming to join her?" How much time do I have with her?

Sam understood. "Mrs. Walks said the court date is set for three months from now, and he'll be here soon after that."

He had three months to befriend his imprint.