Alright, so this is FINALLY finished. I'm so happy to call it done because I have never finished a multichapter story before and I am so pleased with how this one turned out. Thank you all so much for sticking with me and for your support through the whole process. I really could not have asked for better readers and I'm so thankful.

midnightblackwolfpup: I looked up where lemon came from! Apparently it's a reference to an anime from the 80's called 'Cream Lemon'. I'm not familiar with the anime, but I guess given the meaning of lemon in fanfiction, there was probably a lot of sex in it.

Disclaimer: Jared, Kim and Twilight are not mine

He'd begrudgingly left for patrol hours later, muttering something about how he liked to protect the rez, but he liked figuring out all the ways to get me undone better. As important as his job was, I couldn't help but agree, as I dozed off to sleep under layers of tangled blankets and sheets. My entire body felt heavy and ached with a pleasant post-sex weariness when I woke up, hours later. I checked the clock to see that it was sometime after eleven. Jared had patrol from six in the morning until noon today and I could expect a call from him soon enough. I rolled over, groaning as my body protested the movement, and grabbed my cell phone from my bedside table. I dropped it off onto the pillow beside my head and allowed my eyes to droop closed again.

I was woken up by my phone vibrating uncontrollably by my head. I flipped it open and held it to my ear.

"`ello?" I mumbled into the phone. I heard a familiar chuckle on the other end.

"Still sleeping babe?" Jared laughed. I rolled over onto my back, grimacing as I did so.

"Trying to." I replied, yawning slightly, "Patrol's over?"

"Yeah, I was thinking we could go get something eat. Want to head over to the diner?" he asked and I groaned in response.

"Only if you want to carry me. I can't move." He laughed again.

"And why's that?" he asked, sounding a bit smug over the phone. I rolled my eyes.

"Because I'm on the verge of a sex induced coma, you bastard." I quipped back, "Why don't you just come over here and keep me warm for a few hours? If I get the energy, I'll make you some food."

"Now there's an idea." he mused, "Too bad I thought of it first. I'm outside, can I convince you to come let me in?"

"The door's probably unlocked. Which I know you hate, but I didn't want to get up and lock it last night and I'm sure Marcus didn't either."

"It's unsafe. I just want you to be safe." he said and I heard the door opening down stairs.

"I know, I know. I'll start locking it, I swear." The phone line went dead on his end and saw my door open. Jared was leaning against the doorframe in a long sleeved white shirt and loose fitting sweats.

"No you won't." he said, setting his phone on my dresser. He crossed the room and crawled into the bed, gently shifting me towards the wall in the process, "Which is why I have to come over as often as possible to make sure you're safe."

"I'm okay with that." I mumbled, snuggling close to him as he wrapped his arms around me.

"Do you want to head over to Emily's at one?" he asked, tracing circles with his fingertips on my back. I yawned and nodded. It was a weekend after all and the boys usually went over to Emily's on Saturdays. Because Jared had already done his rounds for the day, it would be a more relaxed setting and I was looking forward to it.

"Just let me sleep a little while longer." I insisted, squirming to try and get closer to him. He hugged me tighter.

"But I wanted to spend time with you before we have to go to Em's." he protested, leaning down and kissing the side of my face. He left a trail of kisses from me cheek to the edge of my shoulder before he began to make his way back up again. He didn't even make it to my neck before a I threaded a hand into his hair and pulled him up to meet my lips. He grinned into our kiss and pulled me to an upright positions.

"You can't resist me." he mumbled against my lips, clearly still smiling.

"Mmhmm." I agreed, allowing the kiss to continue for several more minutes before I begrudgingly broke away from him. "I have to get ready if we're going out."

Jared rolled his eyes, but released me so that I might prepare for an afternoon with his second family. After rifling through my closet and finding the pair of jeans I had envisioned in my head, I tugged a long sleeved shirt over my head and smoothed the frizziness from my long waves of hair. My attempt to put on some makeup failed abysmally, as Jared had gotten impatient by that point and had seated himself behind me on my vanity chair, kissing the back of my neck in a manner that was just down right impossible to work through. I gave up and settled for brief mascara and eyeliner.

Marcus was likely still asleep, as there was no sign of him in the kitchen and his car was still parked outside. I ignored my grumbling stomach, knowing full well that Emily would have more than enough food at her home. Sure enough, as we pulled up the dirt road to Emily's house, a slight smile appeared of Jared's face. He could already smell her cooking. Jared opened the door for me, somehow always able to get around to the other side of the car before I could detangle myself from that infernal seat belt. I smiled at him as he reached for my hand and we walked towards the house together.

Emily smiled warmly at me when we entered the house, nodded to Jared and wrapped me up in a hug like we were sisters. It was a process, but I was beginning to see them as Jared saw them. Like an extension of my family that I had never known existed.

"Glad to see everything worked out." she said to me, as she pulled away, smiling brightly at me.

"Thanks to you." I answered, mimicking her grin. And she was right, everything had worked out. Finally, after all of the turmoil I had felt and the uncertainty of our circumstances, it seemed that the dust had finally settled. I, for one, welcomed this new found tranquility.

After helping Emily with a few of the finishing touches to a lunch she swore to give me a crash course in, I finally made me way to where Jared was standing by the counter in the kitchen. He grinned broadly and reached for me as soon as he noticed that I was heading in his direction.

I smiled as Jared threaded his arm around me and I leaned into his side with a contented smile. In the dining room, Emily fussed over Sam for one thing or another, likely the mess he was making of her table and Paul took advantage of her distraction by snatching some of the food right off of the stove. I couldn't help but chuckle softly as he grinned in triumph over his theft. The moment, however, was short lived, as a howl erupted from somewhere in the woods. Jared stiffened against me and Sam instantly shifted to look out the kitchen window in the direction of the sound. He then glanced back to Jared and Paul.

"Sounds like we have another to add to the pack."

And like that, Sam, Paul and Jared were already out the door, Emily and I following close behind them. The boys shrugged off their shirts on the porch and made their way in the direction of the forest edge.

"Be safe, Jared." I called after him, from where I stood at the bottom of the porch steps. He paused and glanced over his shoulder at me. Paul and Sam continued on to the woods, but Jared took a moment to jog back to me. He ducked his head to press a quick kiss to my lips, barely satisfying and never enough. And then he grinned broadly, looking me square in the eyes.

"Always."

The end!

Just to clarify, the end of this fic falls in line with the New Moon timeline, as Embry, Quil and Jake begin shifting around February of the book. Whichever of the three shifts first is who's howling out in the woods.

I haven't decided if I'm going to do a sequel or if I'm going to write about a different couple at some point, but I would love to know what the readers would like to see from me in the future. I might do some one shots at some point, maybe I'll try my hand at another full on story...it just depends! I love feedback from you all, especially when it comes to what you'd like to read about.

Again, thank so much! I love your reviews, so be sure to send some my way!