Emily is in full-on mothering mode with Lily. From the second that we stepped in the house, she has been doting on the little girl just as she does with our own children. It's been about twenty minutes since I left the guys near the highway with instructions to wake the others and pack members have slowly been filtering in. Thanks to their size, our little house is filling up quickly.

Running my hands across my tired eyes, I try to make sense of this evening's discoveries. I wanted everyone here because there is definitely something strange happening. I can't make sense of it all; I feel like I am missing something huge. An abandoned car just inside our borders, a familiar scent that makes no sense, a little girl that bears a striking resemblance to…

"Sam."

Pulled from my distraction, I look up and realize that everyone is here and waiting on me. I still don't know what to say. I guess that I'm hoping Lily can answer some of our questions. "Hey guys. Thanks for coming over. I'm assuming that Henry and Jared gave you a basic idea of the situation?" Heads nod almost in unison as I look around the silent room.

Lily has been sitting quietly at the table staring up at the giants surrounding her. Oddly, she doesn't look intimidated; rather, she seems to be almost comfortable here despite her situation. Emily is in the chair next to her fiddling with a napkin near the ever-present cookie jar. I smile lovingly at my wife when she glances at me and give her a nod, silently asking for her to start.

"Would you like a cookie, Lily?"

"Yes, please." She accepts the cookie Emily holds out to her with both of her tiny hands. "Thank you, ma'm."

"What's your whole name honey?"

Between mouthfuls of cookie, she manages to mumble, "Lily Clearwater-Wahya.

Clearwater? I can read it in everyone's eyes – they're just as shocked as I am. Clearwater? Is it possible? Everyone is speechless. Several pairs of eyes shift to Seth, but the kid looks just as confused as the rest of us. I know Seth had no part in this – even if it wasn't for the shared pack mind, he has no secrets – it just isn't in his nature. It is Emily that finally breaks the tense silence.

Kneeling down, Emily softly strokes the little girl's tangled hair. "Lily. What a pretty name! I bet your mama has a pretty name too, huh? Do you know what it is?"

"Yes ma'm. Mama's name is Leah."

A collective gasp emerges from the crowd gathered in the cozy kitchen. Her mother's name is Leah Clearwater. Lily is Leah's daughter. That explains the familiar scent around the car. It had been Leah, who had disappeared from the rez almost seven years ago. I knew that scent, but I hadn't believed… So much must have happened, changed… Where is Leah? And who is Lily's father?

Recovered from the shock, Emily quickly glances up at me before continuing, the surprise still evident on her beautiful face. She speaks in a soft, soothing tone. "Lily, sweetie, I know that you're tired and sort of confused, but we really need you to try your hardest to remember everything that happened tonight, okay? It will help us try to find your mama. Can you do that?" Lily nods her head very seriously before Emily continues. "What do you remember about your mama leaving?"

Lily finishes chewing a mouthful of cookie and takes a deep breath. "Mama was scared. She was trying not to be, but I could tell she was. She kept looking out the window. Then she stopped the car really fast. She hugged me and said she loves me and that I must hide in the floor and not leave the car at all unless someone from the pictures came. And then she left." The memory brings a fresh round of tears to the little girl's eyes as she lays her cookie down gently on the table.

"That's very, very good Lily. You have a really good memory." Emily smiles broadly at the girl, earning a shaky smile in return. "Do you know why you and your mommy were driving? Where you were going?"

"Mama said that we had to leave 'cause the bad people that hurt Daddy were coming. She said that we were going to my Gramma's and Uncle Seth's."

Moving to Lily's side, Emily gently lays her arm around the little girl's shoulders. "Bad people? What bad people? What did they do to your daddy?"

The words tumble out of Lily's mouth so quickly that it is difficult to understand even with my enhanced hearing. "I don't k-know who they were, but they…they kill-ed my daddy. They were so scary, but Mama fought with them and then we ran away and Mama said that we would be safe at Gramma and Uncle Seth's."

A low growl rumbles through the gathered crowd. Emily's voice is merely a whisper now. "When did all this happen, baby?"

"I don't know. A couple days ago, I think. We've been driving and driving forever."

The kitchen is completely silent. Lily had seen her father killed and had watched her mother disappear in fear. Who is after Leah? Why did they kill Lily's father? Whatever it is, it scared Leah enough to attempt returning to La Push and then to abandon her daughter, probably in hopes that we would find her before anyone else.

"Sweetie, earlier you said that your mama told you to stay in the car unless someone from the pictures came. What pictures were you talking about?"

Lily rubbed her eyes with her petite fists as she let out a yawn before answering. "Mama's pictures of our family. Of all of you. I already know some of your names. You're Aunt Emily." The little girl looks around the room, her tiny forehead wrinkled in concentration as she slowly points out the faces she recognizes. "And Uncle Sam, Uncle Seth, and Quil, and Embry, and Jared, and Paul, and…I don't remember any more names."

Her family. She considers each of us family.

Yawning hugely now, Lily's sniffles turn to hiccups. She is holding onto Emily's hand as if it is a life line.

"Would you like to stay with us tonight, Lily? I have a little girl about your age and I'm sure she wouldn't mind sharing her room with you."

"Yes, please." She turns her cherubic face up at Emily. "Aunt Emily…I miss mama. She always reads me a story."

Emily smiles down at her as she runs her gentle hands over Lily's hair. "Well, I know a lot of stories. I'll tell you one if you like."

"Thank you." Lily slides gracefully off her chair, never losing her connection to Emily, and smiles broadly at her captive audience. "Goodnight, Uncles."

Although they would never admit it, the guys are clearly touched that Lily knows about them and considers them family. It looks like she already has them all wrapped around her perfect little fingers. They each tell her good night as Emily leads her out of the kitchen towards our little girl's room.

The kitchen is completely silent as we each began to fully appreciate the weight of Lily's story. Leah could still be out there in the forest with someone after her. Quietly, I dispatch Jared, Paul, Quil, and Embry to search the woods surrounding the abandoned vehicle, promising that I will join them shortly. The younger boys are to run perimeter around the rez.

As the kitchen clears out, I notice Seth standing rigidly in the corner looking completely shell-shocked.

"Seth."

He looks up at me, his usually happy face twisted in agony. "I have a niece, Sam, and a brother-in-law…had a brother-in-law. And Leah is missing. Sam…" He drew a ragged breath. "I don't know what to do."

Crossing the small room, I rest my hand on his shoulder. "All we can do right now is take care of Lily and figure out what happened to Leah. Lily especially needs you right now, Seth. Why don't you go help Emily with her? You can stay here tonight – that way you'll be here when she wakes up in the morning. I'm going to go help the guys." Seth distractedly nods his head in agreement as he shuffles towards the hallway. "Seth." Stopping, the kid turns to face me, anguish still clear on his face. My gaze drifts to the floor. I want to give him as much reassurance as possible that we will do everything we can, but I don't really know where to start. As I open the back door, I look up at him once more, deciding that simple truth is best. "Leah is family, whether she wants to be or not. We will find her. And we will protect Lily."


A/N: Hey ya'll! I just wanted to take a minute to say thank you to those that have added this as a favorite or an alert. This is really my first chaptered story as well as one of my first forays into any type of writing other than research papers or something, so I'm still a little unsure. Anyway, I hope to update semi-regularly (fingers-crossed). The next chapter is...in the works. LOL. So definitely sometime before December. :)