Okay, so in this story, I'm going to make Claire and Quil a couple, because it's easier writing that way. So, yes, Quil imprinted on Claire. Quil's twenty, and Claire's eighteen. Okay? Oh, and this chapter takes place five years after Chapter Two. So...Pretty much the whole Pack is in their twenties, except for Seth, who's eighteen.

Oh, and Paul has imprinted on Rachel, just so you know.

~SashaFierce12.0

Chapter Three

Travis tickled me under my neck and I giggled uncontrollably, begging him to stop.

"Please! St-op!" I giggled some more.

"What? You want me to keep going? Okay!" He continued tickling me until I finally shoved him away, falling off the bed with a small grunt. I giggled, anyway, falling onto my back. He chuckled and pulled me back on and we laid side by side, looking up at the dingy ceiling. He took my hand into his and massaged the finger that held the one diamond ring. I smiled and turned to him, admiring his pretty blue eyes. I sighed.

"You didn't answer my question, Waters," I said, giving him a sly look.

"What? Oh. Mmm...What was it again?"

"If we had a baby, what would you like it to be?"

"...A girl. So then I could name her Estrella Pearl."

"'Estrella...'? That's 'star' in Spanish." My eyes widened and I sighed dreamily. "'Star Pearl'. Oh, Travis, that's so pretty." He grinned at me, planting a tender kiss on my forehead.

"Why'd you ask that?"

"Mmm..." I bit my lip and looked down, then back up at him. He grinned and laughed, sitting up.

"What? For real, you're not joking?"

"No. I took the test two days ago. We're gonna' be parents, Travis." He pulled me into his arms and held me tightly, planting feathery light kisses on my head and my face and up and down my arms. He sighed, still holding me. I looked around our apartment.

It was a one room place, but big and open. The kitchen was separated from the living and dining room by a counter. Our bed was a few feet away from the couch, a small step leading to it. It had a beautiful view of Boston, and I loved it.

"We're going to get a bigger place. That brick house you always wanted. And a garden in front...With dog."

"Labrador mix," I said, looking up at him.

"Wouldn't have it any other way." He looked down at me and placed a kiss on my lips. He smiled at me. "I love you, Leah."

00000000000-00000000000

Leah's P.o.V.

"Miss? Is there anyone we can call?" The nice officer glanced at me and I wrapped my arms tighter around my body. "Miss?"

"N-no. I'll be fine. Thank you for your help." I gave him a grim smile and exited the building. I pulled my jacket tighter around me, trying to escape the cold Boston wind. Sighing, I slid into my car and sat, staring out the window. I squeezed my eyes shut and willed the tears to stay back. Opening my eyes again and squeezing the dream catcher for good luck, I started to drive.

Jacob's P.o.V.

"UNO!" Claire yelled, holding up her card. Everyone groaned.

"There's no stopping her now!" Embry groaned. "She'll win." I smirked and waited patiently for my turn. Then I put down a 'Draw Four' card, changing the color to yellow. Claire groaned and the rest of us cheered.

"You're a live saver, Jake," Kim patted my hand.

"You sure about that?" I smirked again and held up my single card. "Uno."

"What? That's not fair!" Kim whined.

"I play the game as it's written," I shrugged. The Pack, Emily, Rachel, Claire, Kim, and I had all gathered inside for food and socializing. It was supposed to be a bonfire, but it was raining. So we cancelled it. Besides, hanging out at Sam's is more fun than having a sore ass from sitting on a log the whole night.

Seth walked in then, a medium sized box in his hands. He set it down in the middle of the table and everyone groaned and whined about him 'ruining the game.'

"This came in yesterday," he said, ignoring everyone. He opened the box and took out some things. Then he picked up a note and sat down. "'Guys...I know that you probably all hate me right now for disappearing on you. But I want you to know that I'm safe. I just needed some time away from La Push, you know? Spread my wings. So...Yeah. This stuff is for all of you. I made them and hope that you like it. Dream catchers. Hopefully, they'll bring you good luck and good dreams. I labeled them so there're no fights...Even though there probably will be,'" he read. He looked up. "'Leah.'" I felt my heart swell at the mention of her name. My chest ached to be close to her and I clenched my fists, willing the wolf inside of me to stay inside of me.

"Leah?" Emily screeched and snatched the note from his hands, scanning over it. "But...This date says it was written in 2007."

"Five years ago? When she left?" Sam knitted his eyebrows together. "Then...Why would she send it now?" Everyone looked around at each other. Seth stood up and reached into the box, pulling out white packages with names on them. "Emily...Sam...Paul...Quil...Claire...Embry." He handed the packages one by one to everybody. "Jared...Kim." He picked up one and ran his fingers across the lettering. His face kind of scrunched up but he shook his head, setting it down next to him. He pulled out another one. He looked at me. "This one's for you, Jacob." I took it from him and stared at her slanted handwriting on the front.

Jacob, it spelled out.

I opened it up and noticed more writing on the inside of the package.

Still wish you were here. We could've done so many crazy things together. -Leah

I pulled out the elaborately made dream catcher. It was so intricate and beautiful; with beading and feathers...I didn't know that Leah could make something like this.

I gripped it tightly, trying to feel her warmth through it. I missed her. Her snide comments. Her feistiness. Her red hot anger. I missed it all...Though I'd never admit it to anyone. Hell, I haven't even told them about the imprint!

"Wow..." Claire breathed. "These are beautiful." She held up hers, the feathers were dark purple and white, and she had beading everywhere.

"Who knew she could make something like this?" Paul joked, obviously trying to lighten the mood.

"I know, huh?" Embry chuckled a bit with him. He stared down at his then glanced at Seth. He held his carefully in his hands, running his fingers down the stitching and feathers. "Hey, Kid?" He looked up.

"Huh?"

"Is there anything else in there?"

"Oh..." He stood up and looked into the box. "Actually...Yeah." He pulled out a thick envelope and then opened it. He pulled out some pictures. "Guys, it's her!" He announced. We all crowded around him as he flipped through all of them. They were all of her. They were taken carefully, though, so no one had a clue to where she was.

Her faces were either funny or smiling, and they were all in black and white. I recognized her 1979 Mustang in the back; she was sitting on top of it through all the pictures. It was weird. As he flipped through each photo, a little part of her changed. I recognized her hair getting longer. Her face becoming less hard.

The last one left an imprint on my heart. She was so beautiful in this one. Her hair was so long; to the middle of her back in soft waves. On top of her head, sat a little tiara. Her long, beautiful fingers were entwined with the ends of her hair and her eyes were cast down, showing off her beautiful long lashes. I could tell she was sitting on her Mustang - on her knees, I could tell, but she was wearing something different. She had on a strapless, big, poofy fairy dress. It flowed out over the car and I could tell that it was sunny in this one; the dress seemed to shimmer.

On the bottom of this picture, something was written again in her slanted handwriting.

You'll see me soon. Until then - Leah

"Does that mean she's coming home...?" Rachel asked after a while. I took the picture from Seth and stared down at it.

You should've gone, the voice in my head scolded me.

I'm fine. She's fine...

You're not 'fine.' I mean, you're talking to a voice inside your head, for crying out loud.

Touché.

I looked back at the picture, admiring how young and innocent she looked in this one. But still so beautiful.

"Can I see it?" Kim asked. I nodded and reluctantly handed the picture to her. "Wow, she looks so pretty. Think she's a model, or something? All the pictures look professionally taken."

"Leah's been gone for five years without any direct contact until now to pursue her dream as a model?" Jared asked.

"Well...You don't know that!" Kim argued, handing the picture back to Seth. He smiled at her and took it, putting all of the photos back into their envelope.

"I'm willing to keep my mind open and wait a little longer," Emily announced. "She might be coming back, and I, for one, can't wait."

"Me, too," Rachel and Kim answered together.

"You know, I have to admit, I miss her bitchy attitude around here. And the arguments were oh-so-epic," Paul admitted. He shrugged, though, playing it off. Soon, the whole dining room was filled with agreements and what they missed most about Leah.

"Jake?" Rachel looked at me. "What about you? You've been real quiet through all this."

"What...? Oh." I shrugged. "It'd be cool if she came back. Then I wouldn't be stuck with babysitting duty anymore." I smirked at Seth who rolled his eyes. Everyone laughed and I just smiled and shook my head.

What I said wasn't really the whole truth. If she came back, I'd be ecstatic. I wouldn't have to deal with sleepless nights and chest pains every five seconds. She'd be close to me, and I'd be happy...Or try to.

If she came back, she'd be able to keep my head on straight. No more stupid voice. No more thinking about her. Leah would be all that I thought about; day and night.

What'd I miss about her? Everything. Her bitchy attitude. She was hardheaded, rude, mean and everything in between. But I loved her for that.

I missed being close enough to her that I could see her green eyes gleam. The way her full lips would part when she'd talk or smile or smirk. Her ever-present frown that I had always thought was kind of cute. If not, very sexy.

I found myself praying when I got home, that she'd come back safely. Soundly. That she'd forgive me for standing her up. I wanted to see her smirk and smile and frown again. Hit me for 'being stupid.' Stamp her foot so that she'd get what she wanted.

"Please, please, please, please, please..." I whispered over and over again. I fell asleep with the image of that last picture still on my mind.

Please let her come home.

Leah's P.o.V.

I had no more gas in the car and only a sixty-seven dollars left from the emergency money that Travis and I kept taped to the top of the refrigerator.

My car jumped and sputtered and then finally stopped off the side of the highway. Other cars zoomed right past and I got out slowly, not wanting to get sick again. I patted my stomach and opened the hood. I sighed and slammed it down.

"Damn car," I muttered, giving it a swift pound with my fist. I turned and looked down the road. I had had only five miles left, and then I'd be in Forks. But, no. My car just had to run out of gas.

I could walk...

I glanced back at the small suitcase and backpack in the back seat then sighed again.

"Here goes nothing," I muttered to myself. I sniffed and marched to my car door, opening it to get my things out. I took out the dream catcher, putting it safely into the suitcase.

Opening the glove department, I heard a car stop and a door slam. I slowly got up and glanced at the middle aged man standing in front of me.

Charlie.

I moved so my hair was in front of my face. I thanked God for sending rain, so it was a perfect excuse to pull my hood on.

"Miss? You have a problem?"

"Uhh...Yeah, yes. I just ran out of gas," I muttered, wrapping my arms around my body. I felt a sudden wave of nausea, but willed my guts to stay inside of my body. After much coaxing, the nausea passed.

"Well I could get you some? Where you headed?"

"F-Forks."

"Well isn't that lucky? I'm headed up there myself. Why don't I hook my towline up to your car and you catch a ride with me? I'll take you to the first gas station they have."

"What? Oh, no. I couldn't do that," I protested.

"Nonsense. It's okay. I'm a cop. I won't do anything to you." I was skeptical, but I knew that I really had to get up there. I sighed.

"Okay," I finally sighed. I'd have to do a good job of keeping my face hidden.

Once we were headed down the road, I kept my eyes trained out the window. The ride was long, quiet, and awkward with only the sounds of old 1930s music playing in the background. I happened to like music from that time. Travis, too. He loved it and he'd sing songs from that era to me until I fell asleep to his less than perfect voice. I didn't mind that it was like that. I thought it was soothing.

"Do...You mind if I turned it up?" I asked.

"Not at all," Charlie answered, turning the dial. Night and Day was playing and I hummed silently, softly massaging my belly. Travis sang this to me every day. In the morning, at night...It was his favorite song and I'd sing it with him. He'd always claimed that he loved the sound of my voice.

"You can make your voice sound like anything, Leelah. But I love how you can make it sound like it's from the 1940s. That was the good era of music. When people could actually sing," he'd told me once. "Sing to me some more, love?"

I found myself smiling at that memory and I started to sing silently.

"So a voice within me keeps repeating you, you, you..." I sighed here. That was his favorite part. I sighed.

"Your voice is beautiful," Charlie said. He glanced at me and smiled.

"Oh. Thank you." I felt myself blush.

"We're here," he announced a few minutes later. He turned into a gas station and I jumped out, pulling out my wallet. "No. Don't pay me. I already get paid enough." I pulled out fifteen dollars and handed it to him, anyway.

"Take it." I insisted, pushing it into his hands. I closed his fingers over it and watched as he waved and drove off. I started to fill up my tank, using up the last bit of money that I had. When I was done, I hurried to the bathroom and emptied out my stomach.

I felt a little better after that, because now I wasn't holding something back.

I slid into the car and gripped the steering wheel with a big sigh. Finally, I drove out towards La Push.

My stomach started tying up in knots when I saw the 'Welcome to La Push' sign at the front of the neighborhood. Then I felt myself smile.

I'd spent almost two weeks in a car but it had been worth it.

Driving slowly, I passed by all the familiar houses. Then I pulled up in front of mine, staring at it through the window. It was the same. Same fence - only, now it was painted. Same garden, still kept up with and beautiful. Now it held her autumn flowers; acacias, baby's breath, and anemones. I let out a short laugh - anemones were my favorite, and she'd kept them.

Stopping the car, I took a deep breath before stepping out. I walked up to the door, contemplating on whether to knock or just walk in. I opted for the second option and opened the door.

"Uhh...Hi. And who are you, coming into my house like this?" Mom stood up and placed her hands on her hips. I gripped my hood and slowly took it off, looking up at her face. I knitted my eyebrows together.

"Mom?" I whispered. It took her a while to register what had just happened.

"Leah..." she breathed. She fell backwards and my brother was up to catch her in a few seconds. She stood back up, swatting him away. "I'm...I'm fine." She ran to me and gripped my shoulders. "Why'd you leave?"

"I had to," I smiled grimly. "Am I grounded?"

"Yes! Forever until I forgive you!" Mom laughed and hugged me. "But I already have. I'm so happy you're here, Baby." I squeezed my eyes shut at the word 'baby', knowing that I'd have to tell her soon. She pulled away and moved my hair over my shoulders, smoothing down the top, and then caressing my face with her warm hand. "My baby." I smiled and closed tired eyes, leaning into her hand. Then I opened them, looking at Seth and Kim. "Come sit down! Sit down, Leah. We were just about to eat."

"It's okay. I'm...Not that hungry."

"But you look so thin," Mom said.

"It's okay, Mom." I looked back to everyone else and smiled a little. My bitchy side was gone, after I met Travis. He had softened me. But I tended to stay reserved nowadays. Not really letting anyone in. But I had had him, and he had been all I needed. I loved him.

"Hi," I looked down with a blush. Kim was at my side, hugging me.

"Oh, my gosh, I'm so excited right now!" she exclaimed. "You're back!"

I turned and saw Seth. We looked away from each other, then at each other again. I smiled and cocked my head. "You're huge," I told him.

"That tends to happen over five years."

"Yeah. I guess it does." I stood and he stood. "Damn it, now you're taller than me." He grinned. "C'mere, Baby Bro." I hugged him as tight as I could and he hugged me back. I felt tears spring to my eyes but blinked them back.

Damn hormones.

I pulled away before I started to break down. I turned and came face to face with Jacob.