AN: I may have been a little cruel in where I ended the last chapter, but I think it was necessary for story flow. This chapter is written in a different POV, as Embry was left in pretty bad shape last chapter. Hope you enjoy, and remember to review if you feel so inclined.

Disclaimer: Nothing has changed, I still own nothing.

Reviews:

oh2byoung: Don't worry Matt, I'm not that bad. Don't injure yourself even more hunting me down ;)

Hank's Lady: I could never end a story quite like that. This chapter isn't really mean to him, other than the fact that he's beaten up already, so I guess you win this round haha.

petra ppsilvia: Honestly, never read past New Moon, so I have no idea how the book described the battle. Might read it someday though. Glad you liked it, and we'll be able to see how Embry's body is doing throughout this chapter.

mangagranatcat: Glad that you found the story to be readable. I'm just a rookie, but I hope that my writing style isn't too bad. I hope you continue to enjoy it, and if you really enjoy Jake/Embry stories, Hank's Lady is also writing a really good one.

TurnItUp03: Yeah, I decided to change it up from the original. I figured that Embry has already taken care of Jake a bit. Now it's time to see if Jake is willing to do the same.

Jake's POV

Embry was down. Sam had been the quickest to react, wrenching the leech off of him. I got there as fast as I could, seeing Embry collapsed on the ground in human form. He looked horrible. I knew that we had all healed from various breaks and cuts in the past, but the amount of damage done in those few seconds was astounding. The worst part was the bite. We were naturally designed to go after vampires, but their venom was just as fatal to us as it was to a human.

Embry started convulsing on the ground. "Shit!" I screamed. "Carlisle, please tell me you can do something!"

Carlisle ran over and looked at the wound. "We've gotta take care of the bite here. If we transport him anywhere, it'll be too late." He bent down over Embry before looking up at Sam. "I'll need your permission before I do it." I jerked my head to my alpha, begging him to allow for Carlisle to attempt to remove the venom. Sam quickly nodded, and Carlisle turned back to the task at hand.

I watched in horror as I saw Carlisle bight into the same wounds that the shifty vampire had left. This was all wrong. Em shouldn't be writhing in pain. If I had been paying attention, I could have killed it and none of this would have happened. Instead, I had been too preoccupied, perfectly content that we had helped get Bella through this. Em had thrown his body between me and the launching vamp, and was now paying the price for it. I felt the tears beginning to fall down my face, knowing that it was my fault that my best friend was suffering.

Carlisle continued his work for a couple of minutes. I knew that this couldn't be a good time for him. Although he had the most control, it was still torturous for a vampire to take in blood and stop. It didn't help that our blood was so much hotter and I could see the disgust in his eyes as he took in the burning liquid. After a bit, however, he pulled away and I noticed that Em had stopped convulsing. If not for the faint heartbeat, I would have been sure that he was dead.

"The venom spread extremely quickly. I had to take a lot of blood, and he's going to need more before his body has any chance of healing. However, we need to get him to a better place than this field before we can even think about things. Take him to his house while I run and get some equipment from home. If it's ok with you, Sam, I'll be on the reservation in a few minutes."

Sam nodded again, and went to pick up his half-brother. I stopped him, and he looked at me with understanding eyes. He could feel the guilt that was rolling off of me. I needed to be the one to carry him home. It was a quick trek, but we laid him down on his counter. Carlisle was in a moment later.

"Does anyone know what kind of blood he has? I need to take some from one of you to aid in replenishing his supply. Normal human blood won't work, and it's not healthy to mix types, even in your kind."

No one knew, so I ran over to grab the phone. I called his mother's cell and she picked up immediately. "What type of blood does Em have?" I asked, quickly getting to the point. She picked up on my urgency and responded "O-" without hesitation. "Embry got hit, but we're working on him now. Can't talk, but I'll update when I can." I finished, hanging up quickly.

I returned to Carlisle and reported what I had heard, but he didn't seem too enthused. "O- is the universal giver. Unfortunately, it can only receive blood from another person with the exact same type, which is one of the rarer kinds" Carlisle concluded.

I couldn't help but think that Embry's blood type matched him perfectly. He was always giving to others, but it was hard for anyone to help him. He didn't let many people in and was truly rare, willing to deal with everyone else's problems while not burdening them with his. I just wished that it didn't make him so difficult to save him.

"I guess this is where I can help" I heard, and glanced up to see Sam walking in through the door. "Not that there was ever much of a question if we were brothers before, but I guess my O- blood probably helps confirm it."

I sighed in relief as Carlisle began by hooking a needle between the two and watched as the blood began to transfer. Not exactly the most sterile situation to be performing a transfusion, but we couldn't be picky right now. We could only hope that Embry's immune system would accept the blood correctly.

Carlisle transferred something like 3 or 4 pints before disconnecting the needle. Sam looked a little weary, having just lost about as much blood as a person can normally handle. Leah led his weakened figure into the living room and promised that she'd take care of him.

Then Carlisle got back to work. He began to check Embry's vitals, trying to figure out the extent of the internal damage. He concluded that several ribs had broken and that one had punctured his lung. Fortunately his body had been strong enough to begin healing that immediately, but it wasn't completely better yet. The ribs would have to fuse themselves, just like in a human. He looked at his leg and arm, neither of which had begun to heal. Carlisle called me over, asking me to hold him down in case the pain jolted him awake. I gently tried to pin him as the doctor reset the fracture in Embry's arm. The scream of pain jolted me, and I felt the tears welling up in my eyes. Then Carlisle set to work on the leg, which had been shattered. He tried to set the bones as best as possible, but the constant screams and movement from Embry were killing me on the inside. I held him tightly until he finally passed back out from the pain.

Carlisle checked over a few other things before assessing that it would be up to Embry's strength if he was able to pull through. The damage was severe, and in his weakened state, it was still possible for him to lose the battle. I prayed that my best friend would power through it. I didn't know if I could live with myself if he didn't.

We covered Embry up with a light blanket, but left him on the counter for now. We couldn't risk moving him in his current condition. He was given some kind of pain medication and other fluids in an IV that Carlisle had gotten. Afterward, the doctor left, promising to be back shortly with more pain killers and to call if anything happened. Now all we could do is wait, and I wasn't going to leave his side for anything more than the essentials.

As I sat there, watching over the broken boy, I noticed Quil had appeared at my side. He had been pacing wildly while we were working on his best friend, and seemed slightly calmer now that the shouts of pain had died down. He had also called Ms. Call back, letting her know that Em was resting and still in for a fight, but that all we could do was wait. As he sat there just staring at Embry, I noticed he had something in his hand.

"What's that?" I inquired.

"A letter. I'm guessing that's what Embry was talking about before the fight. Do you want to read it?" He asked. I nodded.

We opened it up and began to read. Tears filled my eyes as we read what had been Embry's farewell in the event that he had not returned from the fight. I had always valued our friendship, but I guess it had never registered with me how much more it meant to Em. He was my best friend, my brother, and I had always felt better around him, but he had always gotten so much more out of it. Quil & I both were a little taken back by how much we truly meant to him, thinking back about all the memories that we had shared. Quil & I had always been good at meeting people, but Embry had always needed to be forced to be social. As I sat there, I truly wished that it was me in pain right now. Embry was a pure soul. He didn't deserve to ever suffer.

There was one thing nagging at me though. What had he kept from me out of fear that I'd want to end our friendship? I had to know, and turned to Quil.

"What do you know that I don't?" I asked softly.

"Em always hid the fact that he was gay. Embry was afraid of how you'd react, but I never understood why he felt it mattered so much. He thought that if you knew that you'd not want him around anymore." Quil responded.

I couldn't believe it. Something as unimportant as his sexuality had been plaguing him and making him afraid to be himself? It hurt that he felt that I'd react negatively, but I could understand why he did it. He had always viewed himself as an outsider, just waiting to be shown the door. Quil & I had always tried to break that feeling, but it still lingered. Hopefully if…no, when he recovered, I'd be able to show him that we would be there for him no matter what.

"How'd you find out?" I asked, curious as to why he felt that he could go to Quil instead of me.

"I only figured it out back when we went to Seattle. That first night when you were sick, I walked in and saw him kiss you on the forehead as he was caring for you – oh Shit!" he said suddenly.

He realized at the same time as I did that he had let slip that fact that Embry liked me. That explained why he had never told me – or anyone it seemed – about his secret. It didn't bother me though. I had always viewed him as a brother, but I'm straight. At least, I think I am. Other than Bella, I hadn't really been interested in anyone. It didn't matter right now though.

I shook my head to clear out the thoughts, focusing instead on trying to make Em as comfortable as possible while he recovered. He was running a fever (even for us) and I grabbed some ice to try and help cool him down. It seemed to help and over time, his breathing seemed to steady and his face smoothed out. He almost looked calm and even peaceful, if such a thing were possible in his condition.

I heard the door open as Ms. Call came into the house. She ran to Embry's side and just took in the sight of him. She ran her hands through his hair as the tears began to fall. I pulled her into my arms, trying to comfort her as much as I could. I felt like I owed it to Embry to ease his mom's worries, and reminded her how strong her son was. After a few minutes, she pulled herself together and thanked me.

"Have you two eaten anything?" she asked.

"No ma'am" we responded simultaneously as our stomachs grumbled to confirm it.

"I'll order some food for us then. I've seen you guys eat enough times to know how much you'll need" she joked, trying to lighten the mood. She ordered take out and it was there relatively quickly. We all ate in the kitchen while watching Embry's resting body.

As night fell, Quil finally said that he needed to leave. He still hadn't seen his family, and although they knew he was safe, they still wanted to see him. Seth had talked to my dad, who was aware that I was safe but didn't plan to leave Embry's side. I sat there in the chair, holding the hand on Embry's uninjured arm. I fell asleep at some point, but was startled when I felt movement. I looked up to see Embry beginning to stir. He began to whimper in pain and I quickly remembered to inject some more of what looked to be morphine into his IV. He calmed down, but looked at me drowsily.

"Jake? Are you really here?" He asked weakly.

"Yeah, I'm here Em. Now, get some rest. You need it to help you heal, but I'll be here when you wake up again."

He nodded, and allowed himself to drift back off. I felt a lot better, as it seemed like he was going to make it. I relaxed at last, laying my head on his shoulder, away from his injuries before falling into a much more peaceful sleep…

No cliffhanger this time. Hope the chapter didn't disappoint!