Update! This one is gonna be good, and you may or may not hate or love me. I don't own anything, and please review!
Christmas was fast approaching. The hospital was alive with holiday spirit. The halls and rooms were decorated, and one of the stores in town donated several large Christmas trees for the patients. The children's ward had a tree to themselves, and one day we made it a game to decorate the tree all afternoon. The kids loved it, and it lightened their moods about being in a hospital. There were going to be several volunteers working over the holidays, so the full time workers, like myself, would be able to have off for the holidays. It was really touching, all the of the kindness going on in the holidays, for the patients and the workers. The last day before the workers would go on vacation (a few days before Christmas Eve), the entire ward had a Christmas party. The schools and churches had taken gift donations for the children, and the better off families had catered the party and held a raffle for monetary donations to the hospital, for the patients that weren't as well off.
The children loved their gifts. The smaller ones or the ones who needed more attention were assigned nurses and assistants to help them out, and I was in charge of Liam. His diabetes (the reason he was in the hospital, after a severe -and almost deadly- complication) restricted him from some of the sweets the other kids got, but his family was one of the recipients of the monetary donations, and he got one of the bigger gifts, a little electric car that was just his size.
Jayne was up by the tree, handing out gifts. We'd gotten to the workers' gifts, which the children and other workers had voted on. "And this one is for…Leah!"
I carried Liam, who was half asleep, on my hip to get the small box, then returned to my seat to open it. "Oh, thank you all. That's so sweet." I smiled as I looked down at the watch. It was obviously picked out by the children, since Mickey Mouse's face was the face, but it was a sweet gesture, and my old leather banded watch had bitten the dust long ago.
Around four, some of the holiday volunteers began to arrive, to take over for those leaving. After I'd convinced an almost-sleeping Liam that Angela Weber -the minister's daughter- would take care of him, I passed him off after a hug goodbye.
"Nurses and nurses' assistants, remember to stop by for your Christmas bonus from Dr. Cullen," Jayne called over the hustle of children being passed off.
After I hung my uniform, I grabbed my things and went down to the exit.
"Leah," Carlisle greeted I stepped off the elevator with a few others. "Kyle, Jordan. I have your bonuses right here."
He handed us each an envelope. I opened it as I walked away, then came back, talking quickly and under my breath so the humans wouldn't hear. "This is too much, Carlisle."
"Nonsense, everyone gets what they deserve," he replied, then wished a Merry Christmas to more workers as they passed and got their bonus envelopes. "And you deserve what you got."
"Carlisle, this is still too much."
When the waves of people subsided for a moment, he turned to me. "Leah, you are a part of my family at this point. Assuming you'll travel with us as has been mentioned in the past, you'll have to get used to be given what others feel you deserve. Everyone who's joined our family had the same doubts you do, but they got over it. Even your stepsister. And besides, this isn't from me. The board votes on it, and you've had several families mention your outstanding help with the children. Your gift from Esme and myself will be given to you at our Christmas party, assuming you're still willing to go."
"I was planning on it," I said uneasily.
"Wonderful. I have very few rules in my family, but an important one is that money is not important, so it's useless to argue when it's given to you, since money will be given to everyone at some point or another."
"Is that a threat?"
Carlisle smiled, humor in his expression. "I don't like the word 'threat'. I prefer 'condition', because one of the conditions of traveling with us is letting us help you financially."
I was burning red, mortified and suddenly aware that he was right. If I were to travel with the Cullens like I planned, I'd have to let them support me at some point or another. "I think I need to go home now."
"We'll see you and Embry at the party, won't we?" he asked, continuing to smile.
"Yes," I said, a defeated tone in my voice. "I'll see you then."
His smile was a close to a gloating smile I'd ever seen on him. While he was humble and kind, every man loved to know they were right, hundreds of years old or not.
Embry stopped by the bank on the way home to deposit his paycheck, and I deposited my bonus into a savings account where I'd been putting a part of my paycheck every week. I suppose I wouldn't have to worry about that anymore. With my bonus and whatever other outrageous gift the Cullens decided to give me, I'd be set for a while. Embry and I went to our respective homes for the night, because we'd be heading to Seattle the next morning for a few days, to finish our Christmas shopping and for Embry to pick up some school stuff. While the moms were weird about us spending two days away together, they couldn't exactly stop us. They trusted us -after about a million sex talks- but were still moms, and it our first trip alone as a serious couple. They wouldn't need to worry anyway. Embry was being extremely weird, and had been for a few weeks. I hadn't noticed it at first, but I began to pick up on little things. He was refraining from being wildly affectionate, in public or in private, and had been taking to only holding my hand in public. No kisses, no hugs, no cuddling. Hand holding. And in private, I'd had to take the lead in most of our kisses, and even then Embry was holding back. It was really starting to worry me.
Mom said not to worry about it when I mentioned it to her over dinner that night, saying he was probably just excited and distracted about Christmas, at which I reminded her he was a grown man.
"Leah, he may be in the body of a grown man, but all of those boys in the pack act about twelve," she said, giving me a significant look.
I rolled my eyes and finished eating, then the next morning we were off. We had fun shopping, goofing off and not really being serious about it. We were both extremely exhausted before the end of the day, what with the drive and the shopping, and Embry simply kicked off his shoes and removed his shirt and jacket before getting into bed. I, on the other hand, cared about how I smelled, so I showered and put on my pajamas before I got in. He was already asleep and snoring when I did. I curled up on my side, thinking he might get closer to me over the course of the night. He didn't. Not a bit. Instead, when I woke up the next morning, he was facing away from me, on the edge of the bed. Great, not only were we celibate (which was my choice, and that I didn't actually regret), we were also practicing abstinence from every form of physical affection, even having our arms touch while we were asleep. I wanted to smother myself with my pillow.
I tried not to let my irritation show the rest of the day, but in the car ride home I curled up in the corner of the passengers seat and stayed silent. I didn't have anything to say to him. He gave me a light kiss goodnight when he dropped me off at home and helped me carry my purchases in, but the kiss lasted approximately one second, and only added to my frustration.
Mom had made spaghetti for supper, and heated me up a plate when I got home. She sat with me in the kitchen, asking me about the weekend. "Was Embry still being 'weird'?"
I groaned, dropping my head into my hands. "It was even worse. He hasn't given me a real kiss in days, and last night he nearly fell of the bed trying to stay away from me."
Mom actually laughed at that one. "Maybe he's been trying to refrain from getting carried away."
"Mom, there was no 'getting carried away' in the first place. You know that. He's never been like this, and it's really driving me crazy."
"Well sweetie, he has his reasons," she said, rubbing my knee. "Let him be. It'll all work out."
I nodded in reluctant agreement. "Okay, okay. Whatever."
The next day was the Cullens' Christmas party. All of the Cullens were there, of course, and the entire pack with their respective imprints. Mom and Charlie went as well, and Billy, and Sam and Emily even brought Via. It was a huge affair. The exchange of gifts took a long time, though most of the gifts were given to couples rather than individuals. As expected, the Cullens gave me far too much, and I felt as though my gifts were inferior. The bonus I'd received was a fraction of what the Cullens gave me, but before I could say a word, both Carlisle and Edward gave me significant looks and I shut my mouth. The party was fun, and everyone fawned over Via. I gave my gifts to the pack and the Cullens, but I saved some gifts for Christmas day. The party went well into the night, with people leaving gradually.
Embry and I left together, for one last sleepover before Christmas. We talked a bit, about our gifts from the Cullens, about our plans for Christmas, and about our goddaughter. We ended up falling asleep sitting on separate ends of his couch. When I woke up, someone had put a blanket over me, and I saw that Embry had sat on the ground in front of me, leaning back on the couch, dead asleep. I leaned over and kissed his head, a tiny smile on my face. I leaned back and went back to sleep for a little while.
Christmas Eve was busy. Mom was cooking for most of the day, and Charlie did some last minute decorating. Billy had come over early, so when I got home the men were watching a game in the living room, out of Mom's way. I didn't have much to do, other than help clean up the house, then I was free.
Embry and I had a date planned for the night, so I got ready. Emily came over with Via and helped me get ready, and she was alive with holiday spirit. I assumed she's taken my advice with Sam, because she was ten times happier. She helped me decide what to wear, choosing the dress I was already thinking about. It was a dark green dress with thick shoulder straps with a square neckline and a ruched bodice, and it hit my knees. Emily, being in a Christmas-y mood, suggested red flats, but I denied her of her joy and instead wore the matching heels I'd bought for the dress in the first place, with ribbons that laced up on my ankles.
After putting my hair in hot rollers, I played with Via for a few minutes, tickling her cheeks with a clean makeup brush. Emily and I 'awed' when she gave a baby grin, sighing contentedly. She seemed to enjoy it, but I couldn't exactly tell, since a minute later she yawned and closed her eyes. After my hair was done, I put on my makeup, then got dressed. Emily nodded in approval, then gathered Via and left after wishing me good luck on my date. I hung out in my room for a little while, reading while I waited for Embry and Cassie (who'd be spending the evening helping Mom out) to get there.
"Embry's here!" Charlie called from the living room.
I got up from my bed and gave myself a once over in the mirror, then grabbed my clutch and my gift for him. I came into the living room where, once again, I was subjected to stares from all of the men present, and my mother and Cassie. "Wow, Leah's in a dress!" I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes. "See you all later."
Embry took my hand and led me out to his car. He'd made early reservations at a nice little seafood place just outside of town, so we went and had a nice meal together. We talked and laughed together, and it was most normal he'd acted in a while. After we left, we went to the beach, where we parked at the playground then took a hiking trail to the top of our cliff, where he wanted to exchange gifts.
"Thank you, Leah," he said, smiling when he pulled out the cell phone box. "This is so cool."
"It's an unlimited prepaid. I already programmed it with all the necessary numbers and with your first month of service, and I put a few more prepaid code cards in the envelope," I said, smiling a little. "You didn't have one, and I got one for myself, too. Not that we need to call each other, really, but like around the people that don't know we can read each others' mind."
He kissed my cheek, then handed me my gift. "Open it."
After I tore away the paper, I found a folder. In the folder was a bunch of papers and receipts that I couldn't decipher. "What is it?"
"It's a lot of things," he said, a small smile playing on his lips. "It's the deed to our land, all the necessary home permits, receipts for the services I put on hold, and the proof of down payment for the construction workers."
"What are you talking about?"
"It's for when we're ready to start a home together. I've put all of the services on hold, so we have plenty of time. They don't build until I say build, but… It's for our future." Embry smiled bashfully.
I gaped at him, a smile on my face. "How did you do all of this?"
He shrugged. "I had a lot of savings put away from work and gifts from my grandparents in the past. I also used my gift from the Cullens. I couldn't think of anything better."
I leaned over and kissed his lips gently. "Thank you. It's better than any gift I could've asked for."
"It was the best gift I thought of."
I smiled, then stood up, walking closer to the edge of the cliff, looking out over the water.
"Of course, if you fall, I may have to invest in padding for the inside of the house."
I laughed, shaking my head and rolling my eyes. "What am I going to do with you?"
I heard him stand up and walk up behind me, jokingly speaking as he came, "I don't know, marry me?"
"Yeah, sure, whatever. You're so funny," I said, laughing still, we laughed together for a minute, then calmed down and were quiet for a moment.
"No," he said, his voice low and serious.
I turned around, worried, to see Embry down on one knee, an open ring box in his hands.
"Leah, will you marry me?"
A/N: Reviews? Don't kill be because of the cliffhanger. I just had to put it there. You may get an update later today or tonight, but I may not because I'm teaching music and dancing at VBS (Vacation Bible School for those of you who actually know what that is) and those little kids wear me out, no matter how adorable and precious they are.
~Sidney
