A/N: Thanks to Jezebel Jai-Braxlin for beta reading this whole story. Her input helped so much, and I really did appreciate all of it.

December 3rd, 2008

In my third semester of college, I knew that finals week was a pain. Once you had finished, you wanted to get out as quickly as you could. You relished the break you'd be getting from classes. But this semester I didn't get that jubilant period that I felt entitled to after not failing any of my finals. (Or not feeling as if I had failed them, at least. I had yet to find out the official results.)

I got out of my last final of the semester to three missed calls from Jake. It was strange that he was so desperate to get ahold of me when he knew where I was and that I had important tests to take today.

I began walking towards the library. That had become mine, Embry, Joselyn's go-to meet up spot now that it was winter. While Joselyn hadn't had any finals today to warrant coming to campus, I had told Embry I would wait for him so that we could run home together. The walk was the perfect excuse to call my alpha and figure out what the fuck was going on.

The phone only rang once before the click came, signaling that Jake had picked up.

"Thank fucking God," Jake exclaimed. "Embry's not answering his phone."

"Embry's in a stats final," I reminded him. "One that he'd flunk if he pulled his phone out. What the hell is going on, Jake? You're not usually overbearing enough to call five times when I don't pick up."

"Yeah, well, Joshua Uley doesn't usually come back to La Push either."

I froze in the middle of the sidewalk, causing a girl to run into me from behind. She glared as she maneuvered around me, but I didn't have the patience to bother with apologies. I stepped to the side, giving people leeway to get around me, even if some still glared.

"Oh." I said, unable to come up with anything else.

"Yeah, 'oh.'" Jake sounded angry, but I knew him well enough to know this wasn't directed towards me. That was the only thing keeping me from snapping back. "Excuse me for wanting to warn my best friend that the prime candidate for his father has shown up after twenty years. And he has a toddler in tow."

"Where did he show up exactly? Where is he now?"

"He showed up at Sam and Emily's, but he's not there now. That only lasted about five seconds. Sam made his half-sister cry the first time he met her, if you could consider it meeting. I'm not sure that bodes well for his future as a father."

"Where's Joshua now then?"

"The diner. We tracked him there to see what he was going to do. Me and Quil that is. Sam refuses to have anything to do with it, wants to pretend his dad isn't actually here. The man doesn't act like he's planning to leave. I thought Embry might like some warning."

I chewed on the inside of my cheek, trying to think about what I could do in this situation. Not much.

"I'll tell him," I assured Jake. "If he doesn't want to go back, we'll commandeer Joselyn's house for a night. I'm sure she'd let us."

Even in the silence, I could tell that Jake was gearing up to give me a command, albeit not a binding alpha order.

"Just promise me you'll call if Embry says he's going to confront him about anything. I want someone else to be there. Just in case."

"Got it. I'll keep you updated."

After the call, I felt on edge. I didn't have anything to occupy my time in the library. For half an hour, I did nothing but think about the ways this could play out. By the time Embry arrived, I'd gone through every possible scenario. None of them were good.

Embry hovered over me, waiting.

"You ready to go?"

I nodded, slinging my bag over my shoulder. I hadn't bothered to unpack anything the entire time I'd sat there. We were quiet as we walked out of the library, but Embry kept throwing inquiring glances towards me. We were on the edge of campus, heading for the woods, before he spoke.

"What's up?" It was such a simple question, but it felt like it held so much weight.

I forced myself to stop chewing on my cheek to answer. "Have you checked your phone since you got out of your test?"

Embry frowned at me, now looking worried. He stopped walking, forcing me to double back a couple of steps, and pulled his phone from his pocket. Flipping it open, he held down the power button until it began to turn on. I stayed quiet as we waited an eternity for the home screen to appear. A notification popped up telling Embry that he had ten missed calls from Jake.

He glanced up at me as if calculating how much I knew. "What's going on?"

I scanned the area around us. A lot of students were already gone after finishing their finals, so there wasn't anyone to overhear. And this problem had little to do with wolves, even if it was intensely personal.

"Joshua Uley showed up at Sam and Emily's today. With his daughter."

A wide range of emotions flickered across Embry's face. I bit down too hard on my cheek, and it began bleeding, filling my mouth with the taste of blood.

"Oh," was the only sound Embry could make.

"He's refusing to leave until Sam speaks to him. As far as I know, he's still there. Do you want to go back to La Push? I told Jake already that we could spend the night at Joselyn's possibly. Not that I've asked Joselyn yet."

Embry shook his head immediately. "We don't have to disturb Joselyn. She doesn't need to be dragged into it."

I wasn't sure if she would have been dragged in per se. She would still only have bits and pieces of what was going on. But going to her house would have required some sort of explanation, and it was understandable if Embry didn't want to share the story.

"La Push then?" I asked.

Embry nodded and began leading the way towards the woods. Once hidden in the trees, we phased, and I searched Embry's thoughts for a hint about what he was feeling. As usual, it was locked away and inaccessible. Just as I had been expecting.

As we ran, Embry paid a heightened amount of attention to our surroundings, the only hint of how desperate he was to conceal his thoughts. I didn't push him.

We were halfway to La Push when Jake phased, surprised to realize where we were heading.

"So, you're coming back?" he asked hesitantly.

"Why wouldn't we be?" Embry asked. His tone was almost nonchalant in comparison to what I knew he had to be feeling. "It's not like I'm going to go speak to Joshua Uley, but why should I let him scare me away from home?"

Jake had never been as good at concealing his thoughts as Embry or me, but it had been necessary for him to develop the skill some. The fact that his emotions were shining through now showed that he was taking this rather hard.

No, it doesn't, but it's not always the easiest to hide from people in La Push.

Truer words had never been spoken-or thought. I'd tried my hardest to do it for a long time, and it had never worked. I showed as much through the pack link, mostly on accident, but I didn't bother trying to hold back.

It's fine, you guys. There was annoyance in Embry's thoughts, something rare for him to show us. I'll just go home. I don't have to run around La Push playing roulette.

Jake's thoughts became confusing, as if he were thinking of a million things at once. Eventually, he channeled it into one train of thought.

He called Sam and Emily's house, left a message on the answering machine. He's gotten a motel room and says he's not leaving until Sam talks to him. In a big shock to all, Sam refuses and will continue to refuse. If Sam inherited that trait from Joshua, then he might be around a while.

Embry's thoughts sorted through the new information, debating his options. It was too important of a decision for him to put if off just to disguise it from us. Embry considered ways he could avoid Joshua, how easy it would be, or if he should talk to the man who could be his father. That would get things out of the way, get the mystery over with.

We were nearing La Push now, almost to where Jake was currently pacing. Embry pushed his thoughts aside, stuffing them away and out of sight.

I'll worry about that later. For now, I'm just going home. I'll stay there more than usual if I have to. My mom will enjoy it.

On other days, sure, I countered. But she's going to hear that he's back. Joshua leaving was huge gossip back in the day from what I understand. People are going to talk, and your mom will hear it. If you start acting weird, she's not stupid enough be oblivious.

The silence of Embry's mind said enough. He didn't want his thoughts heard anymore.

I'll figure it out, he said before phasing out, escaping our mental intrusion.

December 5th, 2008

The next two days, Embry was abnormally quiet and withdrawn. He was taking the idea of avoiding Joshua Uley at all costs seriously. Embry had kind of become a recluse. He'd never been a social butterfly, but he did do things, which he hadn't been interested in the past couple of days.

It was understandable when he stood such a good chance of running into Joshua Uley if he stepped out of his house. The man was everywhere. And I meant everywhere. I saw him four times in the span of two days.

The man acted like he needed to broadcast his reappearance for some reason. I didn't know if it was a show for Sam or the rest of the rez, the ones who could remember him leaving. Whatever his motivation, he was here, and he was being blatant about it.

"You need to do something tonight," I told Embry as soon as he'd opened the door to his house.

He looked at me skeptically. "Hello to you too, Leah."

"Yeah, yeah. Hello. You've been locked in your house for more than twenty-four hours, and all you'll give me are short text messages. It's our first Friday of winter break. We're doing something. You can't let that man ruin your holiday. You can't let him ruin anything."

Embry glanced over his shoulder at something before turning his attention back to me. He sighed. "I'd actually already planned to do something."

My stomach dropped. Maybe I'd been too overzealous in believing he wouldn't have anything to do tonight, that he wouldn't have made plans already. I shouldn't have assumed, and now this entire thing was going to be a huge embarrassment.

"Oh?" I willed my face to not betray how thrown off track I felt.

I could tell from Embry's expression that I looked too uncaring, but that was better than humiliation.

"Yeah," Embry said awkwardly, shifting from foot to foot. "I, uh, I was going to go talk to Joshua Uley."

It took a good ten seconds for Embry's words to penetrate my brain and make sense. In that span of time, I could do nothing but stare, and even once I'd gotten it, I couldn't stop staring.

"You are?" Just getting those words out was one of my more impressive accomplishments of the day.

"I-yeah."

I watched Embry for a few moments as he stared down at the ground, scratching at the porch with his shoe.

"I'm coming with you," I announced.

Embry's head jerked up, and he stared at me in shock. "You're what? No, Leah. I'm not going to ask you to."

I shrugged. "You're not asking me to, no. But I'm going to."

Some part of my brain was aware this was overstepping my bounds. Confronting your absentee father was something people might prefer doing alone. Yet Embry looked so unsure about doing it, no matter how determined he had decided he was. If he was going to go through with this, he'd need someone to force him, and I was the one willing to play that role.

"Someone will have to be there to make sure you can stand up to the man," I half-joked.

Embry offered me the slightest of smiles before his mouth dropped into a frown again.

"You're sure?"

I nodded. "Positive."

That was all the confirmation Embry needed. He began taking the steps down the porch and marching across the yard. I hurried to keep up.

"Let's go then," he said as he walked. "The sooner I do it, the better."

We walked around La Push. Embry had remained isolated for more than a day, but somehow, he knew about Joshua's business around the rez recently. All the more proof that nothing was private in La Push. Everyone knew everything.

With no sign of where the man was, we took to wandering around, hoping to stumble across him. Phasing would have been quicker, but Embry was determined to do this the human way.

I decided that I might as well use the time we'd be spending searching to ask other questions.

"Why now?" I asked. It was the most obvious question, and one that was bothering me. "You've always refused to ask your mom or anyone else. Why now?"

Embry stared at the ground as he walked, hands in the pockets of his jeans.

"I never wanted to confront my mom about it because I was worried about hurting her, I guess. It didn't seem worth it to question her if it would upset her too much. What difference would it make if I knew? Plus, if there was a chance that it was Jake's or Quil's dads… I didn't want that. I didn't want to know that for the sake of my best friends.

"But there's such a good chance that Joshua Uley is my father, and I don't give a shit about him. If he's here, I might as well ask him. I can get answers, and no one I care about is hurt."

I wasn't so sure that there wouldn't be shockwaves from this. Ones felt by plenty of people, including Embry's mother and Sam. If Embry needed this though, then I wanted him to have it. His mother and Sam would benefit from the information being out there in the long run, even if it took time for them to accept that.

It took us longer than expected to stumbleupon Joshua Uley, but we finally did outside of the store.

"Is your mom working today?" I asked Embry. Anticipation was bubbling up inside of me, but the presence of Embry's mother would put a stop to everything.

We watched from across the street as Joshua moved around the store, going in and out of sight as he walked along aisles and past the windows. I saw Ms. Barber, another worker there alongside Embry's mom, but it didn't mean Tiffany Call wasn't in the back. Part of me couldn't help speculating that Joshua had come here to look for her, and the idea left me feeling sickened. If he had, it could mean a variety of things, but none of them would make Embry feel any better.

"She should have gotten off an hour ago."

Despite that fact, Embry sounded apprehensive. He was staring into the store and watching Joshua's every move.

Joshua ambled out of the store, a bag in his hands. Embry moved immediately, not waiting for me. It was like I no longer existed. Embry had a bigger mission on his hands.

"Joshua Uley?" Embry asked loudly when he was halfway across the street.

I hurried behind him, careful to stay at least one step behind so I wouldn't divert attention from Embry. Joshua stopped dead in his tracks, looking Embry up and down with judgment on this face. He did the same to me afterward, and I shivered as he cataloged my features.

Without answering he asked, "Who are you?"

Embry took that as confirmation.

It was hard to believe this was the first time Embry was looking his father in the face. Or at least the man who was most likely his father. His features were schooled into a passive expression that revealed nothing, but I could tell he was about to burst and let everything he'd been feeling his entire life out.

"I'm Embry Call. Tiffany Call is my mother."

The silence was deafening. Joshua Uley stared at Embry with shock on his face, and in that moment, there was no denying the truth. I took in a sharp breath as the man took a step forward. His gaze raked over Embry in a new way, as if he were analyzing him for clues about the truth himself.

When the man spoke, it wasn't with the words I'd been expecting, but then again, I hadn't been sure what to expect. I'd never watched someone confront the father they'd never known before.

"You were in preschool or something when I left La Push. I only saw you from far away maybe twice in your life. Tiffany was good at avoiding me once she moved back here. Made me wonder why she stayed like she did."

Embry took in a sharp breath, and I glanced at him, worried about how he was going to react to this.

"And why was she so desperate to avoid you?" Embry asked, wanting to hear the words. His voice was trembling, but I didn't think a human would be able to pick up on that sign of weakness.

The man was looking intently at Embry's face, still searching for something.

"She never told you then," he said, not looking for a response. He laughed in a self-deprecating manner. "Of course not, but I can see you figured it out for yourself. Probably smarter than your mother."

Embry growled and managed to startle Joshua. The man took several steps back, eyes wide before he was able to control himself and once again look like the uncaring asshole he was.

"It's just a fact, son." There was an added sneer to his voice when he addressed Embry that way, and Embry stiffened, immediately uncomfortable. "But if you're stupid enough to need to hear it, I am your father. Pity too. It ruined what your mother and I had going. If she'd only gotten rid of you, things could have stayed the same, but she insisted on having you. Had the horribly misguided notion that we could be a happy family. It's why she moved here from Makah. I ruined that dream before she'd moved everything into that goddamn house. She was heart broken, but she would have known if she had been more intelligent."

Embry's entire body was shaking. I stepped forward to place a hand on his arm, willing him not to phase. The last thing we needed right now was a wolf killing someone, even a human as awful as Joshua Uley.

"Why are you even still here?" Embry spat at the man. "Sam's not going to give you shit, you know? It's useless."

Joshua smirked. "So you and Sam are friends. Ironic that. Funny how life goes. But to answer your question, I'm not looking to gain anything from Sam. That's just the warm up to get to what I really want, which is to pawn something off. More or less."

Embry realized what he meant quicker than I did. His response was biting.

"You're trying to dump your daughter on them."

Joshua Uley's smirk widened, impressed that Embry had been able to work it out for himself.

He avoided answering the accusation though, as he had with Embry's other questions.

"You can't deny," he drawled. "That she would be better off with anyone other than me. I'm doing her a favor."

As much as I despised this man after knowing him for only several minutes, there was no denying that he was right in a way. Giving up his daughter was the best thing he could do for her. There was no hope that he'd suddenly morph into a loving father and raise her well. Tricking his oldest into taking her was cruel though, so I couldn't give him too much credit. Regardless of any positive outcome, his motivations were despicable. A better parent would have surrendered the child without manipulation.

"Where is she now?" I asked, speaking for the first time since we'd walked up. Joshua looked me up and down again, calculating. He raised one eyebrow in a wordless question. "Leah Clearwater," I said in place of a full explanation for my presence. "You've been seen around the rez a lot lately, and I don't think your daughter has been with you at all."

Joshua brushed off the comment. "She's back at the motel safe and sound."

If Joshua was spending as much time away from the motel as the whispers suggested, that girl was hardly safe and sound. As little as I knew about children, my best guess was that this was child neglect. She was only a toddler, and I was pretty sure they weren't supposed to be left alone at all. Claire never was.

"Of course," Joshua continued. "I only learned that Sam was married once I got back here. I thought that made things more convenient at first, but then I learned that the bitch is pregnant. I really hate when people ruin my plans."

"Not as much as people hate when you ruin their lives," I muttered under my breath. It was too quiet for Joshua to hear, but Embry smirked at me and glanced over before his eyes fell back on Joshua.

Joshua's eyes flickered between us, able to tell that we had exchanged something but having no idea what that was.

"Well," he said with an exaggerated sigh. "This has been fun, but I was on my way to the liquor store. I need something good in my system before I have to go listen to that screaming brat again."

He left, not glancing back at us. His car grazed past Embry, almost brushing him, but Embry didn't move. I took a hesitant step forward once Joshua was too far away to be seen. Embry shied away as soon as I tried to place my hand on his arm.

"I'm going to go," he muttered, voice shaking. "I want to be alone."

I nodded even though he wasn't looking at me and watched as he disappeared into the woods.

December 26th, 2008

Sitting in the cold December wind before sunrise made me thankful to be a wolf. Winter sunrises would have been too unbearable to be worth it otherwise. And with a whole month away from classes, I wanted to take full advantage of the sunrises.

That wasn't turning out as ideally as it could have. Embry had been quiet for weeks now. He didn't say much of anything to me or anyone else. By now, both packs knew that Embry had confronted Joshua. Sam knew that he had a brother. Neither of them did anything about it. In fact, everyone danced around the fact, acting as if nothing was different than it ever had been. Embry and Sam both preferred it that way.

Except it was impossible to act like Joshua hadn't made an appearance because he'd left an undeniable reminder behind in the form of Simone Uley, a withdrawn, fearful three-year-old who, in a twist of fate, looked more like Embry's sister than she did Sam's.

Only several days after speaking with Embry, Joshua Uley had decided that his patience had run thin, and he wasn't going to sit around and wait for Sam and Emily to willingly take Simone. He'd up and left in the middle of the night, leaving Simone behind in the motel for staff to find. The police had been contacted, and of course, Charlie had known right away to call Sam to the station.

They'd had little choice after that. Joshua hadn't been inconspicuous. There was a warrant out for his arrest, but he hadn't been found. If he was, neither Sam nor Embry planned on seeing the man again.

Emily and Sam had faced the choice of taking Simone in or surrendering her to foster care, and they had chosen the former. Emily was ecstatic, if in a strange way with dark undertones. It wasn't a great situation, and Simone made it clear that her experience with adults was unpleasant. Suddenly there were rules about the wolves coming to Sam and Emily's because we scared Simone when by ourselves, let alone in large numbers.

If anyone would be able to get the girl out of her shell, I'd place my bets on Emily. Even in the midst of preparing for her own baby, she was focusing so much of her attention on Simone that I was amazed. The girl was all I heard about anymore when I spoke to her.

But I didn't hear anything about Simone from Embry. I didn't hear much of anything from Embry. He kept coming to the sunrises every morning, but we didn't talk like we used to. It felt ironic when I was bursting with more things to say than usual, but I didn't dare be the one to broach such sensitive topics. Not when it was clear Embry didn't want to, not when he continued acting as if he'd never even spoken to Joshua Uley.

"How was your Christmas?" Embry asked abruptly. I was caught off guard. It was the first thing he'd said to me other than hellos or goodbyes in days. He never said anything that could be construed as the start of a conversation.

"It was nice," I said. "Quiet. Charlie went to the Cullens, so I didn't have to see Bella or Edward. That's always a bonus."

Embry nodded in a way that made it difficult to tell if he'd actually heard me or not. I longed to ask him about his own Christmas, but I didn't dare do so. It was doubtful that he had an answer he was willing to give me. But then he surprised me by giving me an answer that I hadn't actually asked for.

"Mine was nice too. Mom finally started acting kind of normal again."

My brow furrowed. "She wasn't acting normal before?"

Embry frowned. "Not really. Not since the day Joshua Uley showed up. It helped push me to see him, I think. But she only got stranger after I did. I think she suspects that I figured it out. She acts like she does, and in some ways, I know I've been obvious. She's too scared to bring it up though.

"Then, yesterday, she acted fine. Like there was nothing strange between us, and it was nice. I'd been getting ready to tell her everything, and then she acted completely normal. I can't do it anymore. I can't tell her. Not if things are going to go back to normal. I can't risk bringing up Uley, and I definitely can't risk bringing up the wolves."

I sighed. Part of me wanted to tell Embry to just tell her, to get it over with and out of the way. But I wouldn't. This was something he needed to do at his own pace, and I needed to use my strength to stay out of it.

I scooted closer to Embry so that I could rest my back on the same tree that he always reclined on. I pressed my shoulder and arm up against his. It was the closest thing to physical affection I could achieve without feeling self-conscious.

"You know," Embry remarked. "You're the only person I would have let tail along with me that day."

I sucked in a sharp breath. "That's not true," I insisted. "There's Jake and Quil."

Embry shook his head. "Not Jake or Quil. I wouldn't have."

I was confused. I had no idea why I would eclipse Embry's two best friends as being worthy of witnessing something so personal to him. That didn't feel right. Then again, it hadn't felt wrong to be there at the time. It had felt natural. Of course I was standing alongside Embry as he did it. But now that I was stopping to think, how had I wound up there? And why would Embry take me but not his best friends?

"You can't be serious," I said, trying to make my voice sound as uncaring as I could. "Why would you bring me before them?"

Embry shrugged, not answering for a long time.

"I spend more time with you, you know?" I hadn't known. I'd never given much thought to who Embry spent his time with when he wasn't with me. "I still see Jake and Quil plenty, sure. I'm not saying I don't spend any time with them, but I do see you more between school and sunrises and whatever else."

"What are you saying, Embry?" My voice shook as a spoke, and I felt much more nervous than I had around Embry in a long time.

But Embry just shrugged again and didn't look prepared to give me an adequate answer.

"I think I'm saying that you're my best friend?"

"The way you worded that as a question really makes me feel secure."

He smirked and chanced a glance at me. "Okay. I consider you my best friend. Is that better for you?"

"Yes." I nudged him in the arm and gave him a smirk of my own. I tried to press down the feeling that had erupted in my stomach and the million thoughts running through my head. I could only hope that Embry wouldn't notice the deep breaths I was taking to calm myself down. "For what it's worth, I consider you mine too. Don't tell Joselyn."

Embry smiled a full smile at me. In that moment, he rivaled the sun, which was shining brightly in the sky. It was a rare day with few clouds.

"Deal."

We split ways soon after, and I felt both better and worse than I had before.

Better because Embry had been happier when he left me than when he'd shown up that morning. And, as much as I loathed admitting it, I felt happier when Embry Call was happier. It gave me peace of mind knowing he wasn't as somber as he had been over the recent weeks.

But I was also feeling like complete shit. Because, for the first time, I thought I was going to have to tell Seth that he was right and fulfill my end of the deal. The only good thing about that was that I'd finally get to learn more from my brother.

As for Embry Call, I couldn't decide if I loved him or hated him at the moment, but I was going to have a hell of a time figuring it out.

A/N: Okay. So, this is the end of You Can't Hide Forever. Thank you so much to everyone who read and commented! It means a lot. In case you're wondering, this isn't going to be the end of these stories though. I do plan on writing another story that continues it, but I can't guarantee when I'll be posting that. The thing is, I'm now a senior in college, and in the first two weeks, senior year has already shown me just how hectic it's going to be. I've hardly had time to sit still, let alone focus on something that isn't school. I've been lucky to get these chapters up like I have (and it's mostly because I got them all written and edited before the semester actually started). I'm still going to be writing throughout the school year of course. I can't not. (Well, can't not write creatively. Since I'm an English major, I wouldn't actually have the ability to not write at all anyway.) But I'm not sure how much it'll be. As of right now, I have three in progress one-shots that I'm going to be working on whenever possible, and they'll go up whenever I finish them. (One of them is Twilight and could be related to these stories or not depending on how you want to view it. The others are other fandoms, including a fandom I've never written for before.) For now, I'm just going to work on those whenever I can instead of starting up the next one of these stories. That's a big commitment, and I just don't know if I have time for it right now. At the very least, I'll be working on it come next summer, but I doubt it'll take that long. But I can't one hundred percent promise you that you'll be seeing a third story, even if it takes months before I'm able to post it. I just have to put school first right now, and it's being very demanding.