A/N: Wow. You guys asked, so I put as much of a rush as I could on writing this next one. You had to wait an extra day because I was off at a bachelorette party. But let me tell you, watching 6 muscular men dancing mostly-naked made me think of Jacob, which made me want to finish this chapter. After I got rid of my hangover. It was a good night ;)

Thank you, thank you, thank you times a million to everyone who has reviewed so far. They really did motivate me to get this chapter done.

Enjoy!


(Jacob's POV)

Patrols had gotten boring since the last time the redhead was in town. Not a damn sniff. She quit coming before the big fight, and since then there was nothing. So you can imagine my surprise when I caught the scent of one right along the treaty line. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. This was no scent I recognized, and it was fresh. Five minutes old at most.

Sam, I thought urgently.

I'm getting them together, he said as I heard a howl in the distance. I could see in his head that he was coming in at the newcomer from the East. I felt several people phasing, and I could see Leah, Seth, Embry, and Paul heading in from the town in the North. Jared was a couple hundred yards behind me, Quil was tailing Sam. Someone would run into this vampire quickly, and we were all hoping to be the one who got to destroy it.

The trail moved back and forth, as if whoever it was were trying to catch a scent trail themselves. I ran as fast as I could, the scent getting stronger as I moved. They weren't moving at top speed, they were searching, scouting the land.

I came across a small stream, and on the other side was a woman vampire, bent over sniffing the stream bed, red eyes dull in the moonlight. She took one look at me and took off. I was quickly on her heels. I would have had her if I didn't have to do twice as much ducking around the trees as she did.

Almost there, Jake, Sam shouted.

Me, too, Leah said, and I could see she was the closest, maybe a half mile in front of me.

She's mine, I growled.

We need to work together to get her, Sam snapped.

Fucking hell, I grumbled, crashing through a bush, my teeth snapping shut mere inches from the female's ankle.

"Stop!" the female cried, launching herself too high for me to catch her in the trees. "I'm only looking for Jasper!"

Whatever I was expecting, it wasn't that. I circled the base of the tree, knowing all the tress around it were short enough that I could get a grip on her if she jumped.

Leah was next to me in a second, jumping a few times, but coming several feet short of the vampire. Our bodies weren't designed to climb trees, and her sheer size smashed a few of the branches.

What did she say? Sam asked, sliding in behind us.

She's looking for a Cullen, I said, staring at her.

Do we kill her? Jared asked.

Of course, Sam ordered. There were now five of us circling the tree, and Sam was thinking of smashing it down when the female turned, and vaulted off. It took us by surprise, so it took us a fraction of a second to respond. In that fraction of a second she had too much of a head start. She was back on the ground in less than a second, headed straight for the cliffs. And it was about then we realized what had made her run like that. The smell of human blood was on the air. Faint, but growing stronger as we approached the ocean. She burst out of the trees, Leah close behind, into the clearing between the trees and the cliff edge.

I only had a quarter of a second view of the injured human through the trees, but that was enough. My heart dropped with the girl, my brain relinquished control of my body, and panic set in. I had to jump off the cliff after her. I had to save her. If I didn't save her, I was going to lose myself.

My imprint.

Jake, man, she's leech food, Embry whispered, terror-struck.

I didn't listen. I vaulted past Leah, who had stopped dead at the edge of the cliff, and launched myself after the girl and the vampire. They were about a quarter of the way down, and the girl was in obvious pain, panic written on her face. But instead of screaming she managed to twist away from the vampire's mouth. There was a stick clutched tightly in her hand, and she pressed it to the vampire's clothes.

"Incendio!" she shouted.

If I didn't see what happened next with my own two eyes, I never would believe what happened. The vampire burst into flames, relinquishing her grip on the girl, but it was too late for the parasite. It was ash before they were three quarters of the way down.

The sudden flames had engulfed the girl, and she shrieked in agony, her clothes catching fire. She fell for another second before, with a sickening crack, her leg landed on a rock, and she rolled into the ocean, disappearing beneath the black waves.

I phased as my body entered the water, swimming frantically towards the unconscious form of the girl. I grabbed her around the middle, and winced as some burned flesh came off in my hand. More carefully than I have ever done before I wrapped my arms around her, being very careful with her damaged skin, and kicked towards the shore.

Not giving a damn that I was fully naked I ran onto the beach. The others were running towards me. Quil, Jared, and Sam, who must have known how important it was that my imprint get cared for, were also naked, Embry, Seth, Leah, and Paul were pulling on clothes.

"Is she alive?" Quil said.

"Yes," I managed, hearing her heart beating quickly.

"Aw, man," Seth said in shock. "That's Hermione. The girl we met at the store earlier." He seemed to shoot me a dark look, but I brushed it off. I had more important things to worry about.

"Should I call an ambulance?" Embry asked.

I looked pleadingly at Sam. This was much more important than a trip to the Forks Emergency Room. There was one doctor who was better than the rest, by far. And I wanted nothing but the best working on my imprint, my Hermione.

Too bad he was a fucking vampire.

"Call the Cullens," Sam ordered him. "Get Dr. Cullen over to Jake's house. It's closest."

Embry was already back in form, running towards Emily's house. She was the only one who had the Cullen's number.

I ran as swiftly and carefully as I could to my house, bursting in the door and waking up my father, who was snoozing in front of the television.

"Jake?" he asked, looking beyond confused, but I was already past him. I deposited Hermione on my bed, grabbed the closest pair of shorts, was in them in record time, and kneeled by her head.

"Jake?" dad repeated as I started stroking the side of Hermione's head not covered in burns. "What the hell is going on?"

"She got attacked by a vampire," I replied quickly. "Out in the woods. Got knocked down a cliff. She managed to set the vampire on fire, I don't know how. But she got burned. And probably a few broken bones. Sam's going to get Dr. Cullen here. He'll be able to take care of her better than anyone."

"Who is she?" he asked softly. "Do you know?"

"All I know is her name is Hermione. And she's my imprint."

His look suddenly turned serious and sympathetic. "I'll wait for them out front."

I waited for him to go before I started whispering to Hermione, "Please, honey. You've got to wake up."

Seconds later I wished I hadn't asked her to wake up, as her mouth opened, and the most heartbreaking scream came out.


(Hermione's POV)

The next thing I was conscious of was pain. It felt like someone was using the Cruciatus curse on the left side of my body, and they were unwilling to let up. I couldn't suppress the scream that escaped my lips at first, but I got it under control relatively quickly. My teeth were grinding together, and I was sobbing, but I wasn't screaming.

"It's okay, honey. It'll be alright, Hermione," a voice I didn't recognize was saying to my right, and something hot was running repeatedly over my forehead. I tried to slow my breathing, every intake of breath was met with several sharp, stabbing pains.

"He'll be here in fifteen minutes," a breathless voice said.

"Damn it. Not quick enough," the first voice growled.

"He didn't think it was, either, but that's the fastest he can drive. But, um..."

"What?" he snapped. I felt a sudden intrusion into my mind, and focused a good chunk of the little energy I had left to block it.

"Edward just pulled up. He wants to help."

"Fuck you, Cullen," he said again, low and dangerous. "I know you can hear me. Stay the fuck away from her."

"You know, he might be able to help."

"How the hell can he help?"

"I know basic first aid," a smooth, cool voice answered.

"You get the hell away from her," whoever it was moved next to me, I could hear them standing up.

"Just let me help clean the area. It's covered in sand and debris from the ocean."

There was a pause, like the first man was considering things.

"Please. I'll be gentle. I'm just trying to help save her, not trying to take her or anything..."

A low growl cut him off. Seconds later I felt two cool washcloths running gently over me, brushing away whatever I was covered with, but I couldn't help but wince at the pain even the slightest pressure caused.

"When did you...?" the smooth voiced boy, Edward the one boy had called him, asked.

"On the cliff. Right before it happened," the other voice, still tense, replied.

"Bella will be happy for you."

"Please don't tell her."

"May I ask why not?"

There was a long pause, then Edward answered as if the first boy had been talking. "Will you tell her eventually?" he asked.

"Yes," came the first voice.

"It'll be nice to not be in competition with you, Jacob."

Jacob, I racked my brain, trying to focus on anything but the pain. Nope, I don't know any Jacob. Why the hell was he calling me 'honey'?

There was another long silence before Edward said, "Carlisle will be here soon. He's bringing Jasper."

There wasn't a verbal reply, but I got the impression that Edward knew what he was thinking well enough to answer.

"I know your distrust of him, but it'll be for the best. For her."

Another pause.

"No. She wouldn't be able to see around you, and I doubt any of you will leave her alone with us. Especially now. She's staying with Bella until I get back there."

They must have finished cleaning me off, because they were now placing the cool washcloths all over my left side.

"No, I can't," Edward said suddenly. "But it's not like Bella. It's like she knows she's doing it. We need to put these under her left side, to elevate her."

Cold hands suddenly gripped me gently and rolled me onto my right side. A second later I was lowered back, coming to rest on some pillows and folded blankets. I wish that whatever conversation they were having, this Jacob guy would speak up. I'm trying to stay awake here, and hearing this one-sided conversation being had by a man whose voice could lull almost anyone to sleep isn't helping things.

"Carlisle," Edward said, moving aside.

"Hermione?" a new voice said. "I'm Dr. Carlisle Cullen. Is it okay if I treat you?"

I tried to say yes, but all I could do was moan. I moved my head up and down slowly once.

There was another set of cold hands running over my injuries, gently poking and prodding, and I couldn't help but let out a few yelps of pain, causing Jacob, who I had determined was now standing by my head, to growl again.

"Perhaps it would be best if you went outside," a new voice, the Jasper they mentioned, maybe? A feeling of calm swept over me.

"Sam can come in and watch us," Carlisle said in a soothing tone. "So one of yours will be in here."

There was the sound of stomping footsteps and a slamming of a door. Seconds later more footsteps coming closer, and Sam's familiar authoritative voice.

"They're trying to keep him occupied. How does it look, doc?"

"It's certainly not good," Carlisle replied in a low voice. "Several broken bones, burns covering about forty percent of her... And falling into the ocean. I'm honestly surprised she's not in shock right now. I'd recommend immediate transport to the hospital, but it's not equipped to deal with this level of trauma. They'd airlift her to Seattle, and I doubt she'd survive the transport. And if she did there's a good chance she'd succumb to infection. I'm not sure I can do much more than make her comfortable..."

A horrible sound, halfway between a wail and a howl of agony echoed through the house from outside. There were whispers, too quick for me to catch, between Edward and Carlisle.

"That's the situation, doc," Sam said quietly. "Anything you can do to try to keep her with us..."

'Keep her with us'? That doesn't sound good. Magic is probably what's keeping me alive right now, but if I don't get some proper treatment I might be in serious trouble. And I'm allowed to use magic in front of Muggles if my life is in danger. Now is probably just the type of situation they wrote that exception for.

I opened my mind, because my mouth didn't want to work, hoping whoever was trying to listen in earlier was still trying to do so.

Bag, I thought hard. I need my beaded bag.

"I can hear her now," Edward said, sounding surprised.

"What's she saying?" Jasper asked.

"She wants her bag," he replied, and there was a rummaging sound. I felt the rough exterior of the bag scrape against my fingers.

Put my hand in it, I ordered, and Edward obeyed. I pictured my address book and thought Accio! as firmly as I could. I closed my fingers around it as it crashed into my right hand. With considerable effort I pulled it out of the bag and held it out, feeling it being gently pried from my grip.

Harry Potter, I shouted in my head as a new surge of pain passed through me. Tell him to get Poppy.

There was the sound of pages turning. "This number is from England," Edward muttered.

I know. Just do it! He can get here quickly.

A feeling of relief swept over me as he decided not to ask any more questions, and I heard his footsteps rush from the room.


(Jacob's POV)

"I'm not sure I can do much more than make her comfortable..."

The words destroyed me, and it took Seth, Jared, Embry, and Quil to hold me back as I tried to rush back into the house. There was a strange, anguished sound that it took a couple seconds for me to realize was coming from my own chest. And I didn't care. I was in pain. I didn't know if I would be able to survive if she was gone. I finally started to control myself enough to walk to the nearest tree and punch it, causing it to snap in two, but this was one time the physical pain would not dull the emotional.

"Jake," Quil said, placing a careful hand on my shoulder, probably out of fear that I might try to take it off. "He's working on her."

"I should be with her!" I snapped.

"You know how small that room is. It would be too crowded. Let Dr. Cullen work."

"Would you just wait if it was Claire in there?"

He looked up at me, his mouth half-open, unable to answer the way he wanted to because he knew he'd be telling a lie.

"I'm going in," I hissed, shoving past him before he could react. But before I was halfway to the door Edward emerged, dialing a number on his cell phone.

"She told me to call a friend of hers. She thinks it'll save her life," he answered my unasked question. Before I could ask anything else he put the phone to his ear.

"'Lo?" a tired sounding voice with a British accent picked up a couple rings in.

"Is this Harry Potter?" Edward asked.

"Yeah. Who's this?"

"My name is Edward Cullen. My father, Carlise, is a doctor. He's treating a girl, Hermione Granger..."

"'Mione? What's wrong with 'Mione?" he suddenly sounded much more alert, and I felt a surge of jealousy. How well did she know this Harry Potter? Even if she lives am I going to lose her before I had her?

"There was... an incident," he chose his words carefully. Trying to explain a vampire attack to someone who doesn't know they exist would not only take too long, but risked the big, bad Italian vampire cult coming to get them. "She's burned, and she has some broken bones. She asked me to call you, and told me to tell you to bring Poppy."

"Burns and broken bones," he repeated. "Anything else?"

"Some bruising and a minor cut. Carlisle doesn't think she has any internal injuries."

"I'll have her bring some stuff just in case. What's the address?"

Edward repeated my address for him.

"We'll be there in twenty minutes."

"Twenty...?" Edward sounded surprised, but the line had gone dead.

Twenty minutes. I can do this. I can let Carlisle try to keep her alive for that long without freaking out. I sunk onto a boulder, and tried to steady my breathing. I focused only on the labored breaths, heartbeat, and small moans I was hearing from my room, knowing that as much pain as they caused me to hear them, they still meant that she was alive.

Eighteen and a half minutes later three loud cracks sounded, and to our surprise three humans seemed to appear of out thin air. The first was a young boy with messy raven-black hair and a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead, dressed in a pair of pajama bottoms and an oversized t-shirt. The second was a stern-looking woman wearing a robe and carrying a large black bag. The final man was the most fascinating to me. He was a tall man with greasy black hair, wearing a long black cloak buttoned high up his neck. He immediately shot Edward a scathing look, and the rest of the pack and I exchanged glances. There was no doubt the man knew what Edward was by just looking at him.

They appeared out of thin air. The man and Hermione seemed to know about vampires. They were each holding the same kind of sculpted stick that Hermione had used to set the other vampire on fire.

What the hell was my imprint?