Humming as she dances around the kitchen, holding a mixing bowl in hand and stirring with the other, she lets the old school pop blare through the house as she works the pancake batter, Mr. Darcy trailing behind her every step as though it was a game, and Andy grins as she moves around him -- careful of each step, because her kitty was crazy enough to slip under her foot just so he had a reason to bite at her toes when she gets too close. 

It was late in the morning when she finally finished up, calling softly upstairs to get Charlie's attention, and she sets a stack at the center of the table, happy with her work despite the wonky shape and slightly burnt edges. She couldn't cook quite as well as Bella could but she knew what to do, knew how to not poison them, so she figured that was more than enough. 

Charlie came lumbering down the steps in a plaid shirt and jeans, casual close for his day off, and Andy could tell he had brushed his hair. He must have been going to see Sue today. 

"Here's yours," she points to his plate, enjoying the way he eyes the two extra stacks at the table. "Quil and Lynn are coming. They should be here any second."

The bell rings as soon as she speaks, their emotions playing at her awareness, and she rushes to answer the door, throwing it open and moving out of the way. Their reaction is predictable as they both fight their way into the kitchen, dicing for the food, and Andy wonders how she ended up cooking for them nearly every day since Bella left. 

It was this shift in the dynamics, a settling as her time was split between the Cullen's and the pack, her instincts and abilities being trained and tested by both, if only subtly, and Andy wondered if they truly believed her so stupid as to not realize what they were doing. It wasn't as though she minded that much, finding she truly enjoyed the control it granted now that she wasn't feeling so . . . enslaved by the negativity of others, but it was hard at times when she felt uncomfortable in the presence of Sam, Paul, and Jared, or simply struck with a sudden horrible mourning around the Cullen's when she remembered that Bella was one of them now, that they were capable of being with her sister forever when she would lose her prematurely.

Perhaps it was selfish of her to pick favourites as she did, calling so as to spend time with the people she wanted to see only, but Andy couldn't find a reason to care. 

The two shifters were shoveling food down like animals when she came to her seat and Charlie sat there watching them with his nose slightly wrinkled. 

"Manners," she corrects, cutting the two pancakes she had on her plate before she started eating them opposed to the mess they were creating. 

Lynn smiles sheepishly and cuts her foot, still eating as quickly, but without a mess. Quil doesn't listen so well and just takes to putting less food in his mouth. 

Rolling her eyes, she gives her father a 'what you gonna do look,' and returns to her breakfast, casually eating as she ignores the events around her. At some point, Charlie finishes and leaves the table to wash his plate, clearing his throat in this way he does when he's preparing to say something. 

"Going to Sue's?" Andy asks, not looking up from her plate. 

"Uh, yeah. She's making Harry's famous fish fries."

"Have fun," she tells him, sending him a quick smile. "Bring me back a few if there are any leftover." 

"With Leah and Seth there? As if," Quil scoffs around a mouthful of food. 

Andy ducks her head to hide her fond look from her father. 

"I'll try," Charlie says. He leaves with little ceremony, locking the door behind him by habit.

"Your dad doesn't talk much," Lynn comments, standing to wash her plate, grabbing Andy's empty one as shs passes.

"Yeah, he's ways been like that. He's trying a little more now that Bella's married, though," Andy tells her, making her way through the kitchen for some quick cleaning before they head out.

The pack was having a picnic at the beach with all the imprints or something, and though it might be a little uncomfortable for everyone to be all together, especially around Embry that was still tense with her and Jacob that she had been trying hard to avoid since the wedding debacle.

She pulled a Tupperware of cut fruits from the fridge, putting them on the table away from Quil's hungry gaze, and went in search of a warm jacket and shoes, pulling on a hat for good measure. With the terrible weather, they were prone to, she couldn't quite see why they would be so willing to sit out on the beach when Andy had so easily checked this morning that the forecast called for rain.

Still, Quil and Lynn were excited, even if they saw the pack every day and spent most of their time together. Andy found it sweet the way they could get along so well, despite being in each other's faces, heads too, all the time. She had spent most of her days with people like that too, Bella and the Cullen's, but she wasn't quite sure if it counted since her thoughts weren't on display for everyone to see. Or maybe she was just looking for an excuse to rationalize how she just didn't want to go.

"Ready?" She asks, zipping up her jacket and grabbing an umbrella. Lynn grabbed the container from the table and Quil grabbed her keys, tossing them to her as he passed by, jogging to Bella's truck and settling himself in the middle of the bench with a pleased smile.

Andy smiled softly at him, locking up behind and going to the truck with Lynn.

The drive was filled with chatter and Quil's poor attempt at singing along to the radio, resting a hand on her thigh as he drummed his fingers against the dash along to the music. He was wonderfully sweet, childish when he knew he could get away with it, and Andy couldn't -- didn't try to hide the way he heart raced each time he turned his smile her way.

Andy had a lot of thinking over the summer since her sister had gone, with the house normally empty or feeling as if it was, she was often left to her thoughts at night as one of the few people left in town that didn't have plans at night. It left her with the fundamental belief that there were people in the world that were your people, precious people, important people, that even if they had some something terrible you wouldn't be able to stop loving them regardless. She knew Bella and Quil, and Lynn, were the obvious ones, the ones she would always come home to in the end - the Cullen's, Alice and Jasper especially, they were the other important ones - and after spending more days than she was could have thought possible on the reservation, Andy loathe to admit that Jacob had become one of those important people against her will.

"Emily promised to bring muffins," Quil tells her when she pulls up to the beach parking lot, squeezing her hand as though she still needs the reassurance, and maybe she still did because Paul was always so easily angered, almost as bad as the younger boys, or maybe it was just that she was getting tired of seeing them all so often when they weren't really that close.

Still, she let him comfort her, soaking up the attention greedily as Lynn walked in front of them with a hum and a hurried step.

It wasn't that he didn't pay enough attention to her, just that Andy couldn't get enough of him.

They were spread out on the sand, thin beach blankets spread out on the South side away from the tourist with enough room for most of the couples to spread out together and for the others to play soccer in the sand.

Lynn dropped the container with the other food and ran off to join Jacob, Embry and Leah sitting on some washed up log. She eyes Leah, letting herself relax as she opened her mind up to it all, her defences dropping. The immediate rush of emotions nearly made her stagger, but Andy held strong as she searched out what she wanted, filtering through everything as Jasper had taught her until she found the heartache radiating from Leah, and she wondered how Sam and Emily could be so inconsiderate all the time.

The damage that those two have caused astounding her, more so when she knew that they were aware and simply continued to do the same things and wish for different outcomes.

Andy breathed in, drawing in the devastation and mourning that stabbed at her heart, and forced it into her mind, locking it away forcibly, before she closed it all away, clearing it from her head entirely until she was only aware of herself, and maybe a little bit of Quil and Lynn in addition.

"Everything okay?" Quil asked her softly, leaning close to her ear.

She blinks, realizing she had frozen awkwardly and nodded hastily. "Of course."

"Come on then." He leads her forward by the hand, bullying a space for them to sit on the blankets

He starts grabbing at food like a starved man, handing her the occasional thing between mouthfuls.

"I just fed you breakfast," she whines, elbowing him in his ribs.

Quil pouts. "But I'm still hungry."

"You're always hungry," she teases, stealing his sandwich from him. "No one is ever going to have the money to feed you."

He gasps, placing a hand to his chest. "You would let me starve?" He whispers scandalously.

"No, you won't," Sam shouts down the beach at the others, and she jumps at how abrupt it is. "The Cullen's are not a threat to the tribe or the town."

"Well he's either going to kill her or change her," Jacob retorts and a niggling of anger sparks in her chest. "And the treaty says -"

"I say, Jacob."

Andy eyes them, the scowl pressed into Lynn's brow, Leah's clenched jaw, and she looks back to Quil and how he suddenly avoids her gaze.

"What's he talking about?" She hissed,  a hand resting on his shoulder.

"Jacob is upset about Bella again. It's nothing really."

Anger dissipates to worry. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes, everything's fine. I promise I won't let him do anything he'll regret," Quil murmurs, pressing a kiss to her temple, and she knows that he's simply trying to assuage her fears, that it wasn't exactly a promise that he could easily keep.

"Quil, you know I trust you," she whispers as low as possible. "You can tell me if somethings wrong."

"Nothing's wrong, Ands, and nothing is going to be wrong," he says the last part with a growl, shooting the words over her head at Jake and the others, and though she doesn't hear any arguing, she knows there's some sort of disagreement going on.

But she does trust him, she does, and if he says it's nothing to worry about then she won't worry. 

"So what kind of sandwich is this?" She asks, biting into it and he whines, taking her wrist and bringing the food close enough for him to take a bite.

"Ham," he says with his mouthful.

She laughs, pushing his face away from hers and he uses the movement to pull her closer so she ends up sprawled over him.

"Wanna head down the beach a bit? I think Seth's there playing with Claire," he offers, giving her a way out of the tense environment and she's sure they're going to use it as a means to continue their fight when she's gone, but Andy accepts anyways.

She had met little Claire around the same time Bella had left, and she absolutely adored the girl to bits. They were picking rocks when they got there, Claire on Seth's shoulders as she shrieked directions for him to follow.

"You need some help?" Quil teased, and the younger boy looked up in relief, sighing when Claire cried to be let down.

"Claire-bear!" Andy sang, lifting the girl up and spinning her.

"Dee-dee!" Claire bubbled into childish laughter and Andy let herself be distracted, following her around and nodding along to silly stories.

There was no reason for her to worry, she told herself, keeping an eye on the pack and the conversation they were clearly trying to hide from her. Andy would deal with whatever issues arose, and if Jacob was going to be sprouting some stupid law pertaining to her sister, then she would put him in his place.

Everything would be fine when Bella got home.

***
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2019-03-23