Low level I2C commands to a BQ27621

I'm interfacing to a BQ27621 with a PIC16F1705

I have very low level commands such as i2c_start(), i2c_read(ack or no ack), i2c_stop, etc.

I'm having trouble understanding exactly want is needed at this low level when communicating with the 27621

I'm trying to read the SOC, the data sheet implies that there should be separate 8 bit read operations for register 1C and 1D, but some examples show using a 16 bit read from 1C.

While I get an ack from address 0xaa and 0xab, I can't get any sequence to return data.

What is the exact sequence of I2C events needed to read the SOC for example.

Thanks.