Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

Bella sat out front of the small house, taking it in. It was the smallest log cabin she had ever seen. The yard was bare of trees except for a sycamore that shaded one side of the house. There wasn't a car in the yard so she hoped that he was home.

She heard a dog barking from inside. The door opened before she got to the porch.

"Stay," Paul called over his shoulder.

Bella stopped at the bottom of the stairs when he held his hand up to stop her.

"What are you doing here?" he asked once he had shut the door.

"You and I need to talk," she said with determination.

"About what?" he asked as he folded his arms over his chest.

"When were you planning on telling me that I am your imprint?"

"Who told you?" he asked with clenched fist.

"That doesn't matter. Start explaining."

"Sit down," he said sitting on the step.

"I would rather stand," she said with a sigh.

"An imprint is someone who is genetically matched with a werewolf so that the gene can be passed down."

"Are you serious?" she asked with wide, scared eyes.

"Yes. I'm not telling you anything else until you tell me who told you or how you found out where I lived."

"Embry told me where you lived."

"Did he tell you that you're my imprint?"

"No, that isn't important. Tell me everything," she pleaded earnestly.

"The fact that you won't tell me lets me know exactly who told you," he said through clenched teeth.

"You aren't going to do anything to him."

"The hell I'm not!" he yelled.

"He thought that I already knew," she said quickly.

"That's the excuse you're giving me?" he asked in agitation.

"It's the truth. He didn't say anything else."

"What did he tell you about me?"

"Nothing that he hasn't said in front of you." she confirmed.

"He didn't tell you to stay away from me?"

"Yes he did. He even told my dad about you," she confessed.

"Your dad knows that I tried to hurt you?"

"I told him the truth, Jake didn't."

"And?" he pressed.

"And what, I'm here aren't I?" she asked flatly.

"Your dad didn't tell you to stay away from me?"

"No, he didn't."

"We should go to Sam's. Emily can explain what being an imprint means better than I can."

"She's Sam's imprint?" she asked in concern.

"For a year and a half now, you might want to stand behind me," he said putting a hand on the doorknob.

She was behind him before the door opened. A flash of yellow bounded down the stairs. The dog stood in the yard with its tail thumping. It was the biggest yellow lab that Bella had ever seen. He sat on his haunches watching them.

"It's safe. You can go," he urged.

"That is the biggest dog I have ever seen," she said tentatively.

"He's better than any alarm system."

"You don't look like the type of guy who has a dog."

"I'm not. He showed up in the yard one day and now he won't leave," he said gruffly.

"So you finally gave up. What's his name?"

"Bo, at least that's what his tags say," he answered.

"There's no address or number that you can call?"

"No. I wouldn't pet him. He doesn't like people he doesn't know touching him," he said when she reached to rub the dog's head.

Bo walked next to him while Bella watched them. Like owner, like dog she thought to herself. They walked in silence down the road.

"We could have taken my truck."

"Your truck wouldn't have made it down the hill."

"It did once." she reasoned.

"That's because Embry was driving. He knew what he was doing."

"You could have driven."

"Actually, I couldn't have. Be careful walking down the hill." he cautioned.

The hill dove straight down. She could see Sam and Emily's house at the bottom. It wouldn't have been so bad if the road had been paved. She slipped on gravel every other step she took. Paul shook his head, trying to hide his smile.

"Do you think this is funny?" she asked as her left foot fell out from under her once more.

"No," he said taking hold of her hand.

He helped her down the hill with her hand tightly gripping his. The electricity from yesterday was back. He had trouble focusing and they both almost went down when they neared the bottom of the hill. Sam was on the porch watching them with an amused smile.

"Is your truck not working?" he asked Bella.

"It is. He didn't think that I could get it down here."

"People who drive down that hill without knowing what they're doing usually end up in my yard. I would have come and gotten you but I can see how you would like this way better," he said looking at Paul.

"Is Emily here?" Paul asked.

"She's inside. What's going on?"

"Jake told her."

"He disobeyed me?" Sam asked, his face tightening in anger.

"He thought that I knew. He didn't tell me anything really."

"I don't know much about it either. That's why I brought her here."

"Come inside."

The four of them gathered around the table and Sam and Emily explained everything as best as they could.

"That explains why I haven't gotten angry with you except that one time," Bella said.

"We worked through that, didn't we?"

"I understand that we feel a pull towards one another, but I'm still not ready."

"I know. I'm not going anywhere."

"I had someone else tell me that and I trusted them. They left without looking back. If you mean it, you're going to have to prove it."

"I will if you give me a chance," he said in a stressed tone.

"Do you see me running away?" she asked pointedly.

"No."

"I'm not going to."

"I think it's time that we let Emily talk to her Paul. We'll be outside," Sam said as he rose from the table.

Emily smiled warmly once the boys left. She explained things as best as she could. She answered all of Bella's questions. Once Bella was ready to leave Paul met her on the porch. They walked silently up the hill, slipping and sliding the whole way. He scooped her up in his arms before continuing up the steep incline.

"Isn't it harder like this?"

"You aren't pulling me down, so I would say no."

"Smart ass," she said with a smirk.

He smirked as he passed Jacob's house. Billy waved while Jacob looked away as soon as he saw them. Bella saw his tight lipped, angry features as they passed. She sighed before laying her head on Paul's shoulder.

"That kid is more trouble than he is worth," he muttered.

"He's my best friend. I'll go over and talk to him later."

"Who said I was going to let you leave?"

"If you don't, I'm sure Jake will tell my dad where you live. You don't want to be on his bad side."

"You can leave whenever you want, only because your dad carries a gun," he said as he set her down in his yard.

"I didn't say that I was ready to leave yet."

Bo lay on the porch while they talked on the only stair. Before Bella knew it, it was nearly dark.

"Now I do need to go home. I'll call you later," she said as she stood.

"You can't leave yet," he said standing.

He pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her waist. She wrapped her arms around his neck before laying her head on his shoulder. He laid his head on her shoulder, taking in her scent. She unwound her arms from his neck making him pull away.

"I'll try to come by this weekend."

He nodded as he walked backwards to the door. He watched her leave before looking down at the dog. The dog looked up at him expectantly.

"Come on," he said opening the door.

Bo went in first and headed for his food bowl in the corner. Paul sat in the lone chair in the room with a sigh. He wasn't sure why he hadn't asked her to come inside. The house was small and bare, but it was clean. He would ask her to come in the next time.

XXXX

Bella was helping Mike with his math homework when the bell above the door rang. They both looked up at the same time seeing Jacob standing on the landing.

"You can go. Thanks for coming in on your day off to help me," Mike said.

"Not a problem," she said opening the partition in the counter.

Jacob held the door open for her as she crossed the room to the counter.

"If you're here to tell me to not see Paul again you're wasting your breath."

"I'm trying to be as nice as I possibly can to him. He thinks about you constantly when we're on patrol."

"Isn't he supposed to do that?"

"I wouldn't know. I don't have an imprint," Jacob said bitterly.

"Sorry," she said putting a hand on his arm.

"'s okay," he mumbled.

"How about we change the subject? What have you been up to?"

"Not much. I need to talk to you, in private."

"Did you drive here?"

"No. I walked," he said with a sly grin.

"Come on. You can come over to my house," she said taking him by the hand and leading him to the truck.

Once they were at her house he waited downstairs while she changed. He was making himself a sandwich when she came down a few minutes later.

"What's going on?"

"Sam caught scent of the redhead near here this morning."

"She was here?" she asked with a gasp.

"It looks like it," he said with a nod.

"So what's going to happen?"

"We'll keep watch. There's going to be somebody with you until we catch her."

"What about my dad? He'll get suspicious."

"We'll stay close to the woods when he's here. Unless it's me, that is," he explained.

"So, you're my babysitter for the night?"

"Yep," he answered.

"The least I can do is feed you," she said putting away the stuff he had left out.

"I need help with my science homework too."

"Did you bring it?"

"I still have to go home and tell my dad that I'm here," he said shaking his head.

"Then go and get it."

"What time does your dad get off?"

"He should be home by midnight. You can sleep upstairs, can't you?"

"I can keep a better watch on you up there," he said with a nod.

"Hurry back," she said as he opened the door.

She made herself something to eat while she waited for him to come back. She had forgotten about what had happened the last time he had come over. He had called to apologize that morning. She couldn't be mad at him when he was sorry for what he had done.