Chapter 7: Immortality Not for Everyone


"She's gone!" No greeting, no introduction, Lana just wailed.

"What?" Claire looked at the time, 12:45pm on a Saturday and she still felt tired. She hadn't had much time to catch up on her sleep lately, working full time at the high school.

This was the first day of the weekend and even after she slept 12 straight hours, she didn't feel rested. Rolling over slowly and pulling the comforter snuggly over her chest, she yawned, trying to get the sleep out of her eyes as she focused on the room. Quil wasn't there, she wasn't used to not waking up with Quil in her bed and it made her slightly nervous.

"Giselle's gone!" Lana cried louder this time so that Claire had to hold the phone away from her face.

"Haha, April Fool's," Claire laughed looking at the calendar near her bed. It was April Fools, Rachel and Paul's 19th anniversary dinner. It was going to be a big party, the first big party being held since Billy's death. Leticia was throwing the shindig for the whole pack. Usually the 19th anniversary was not a cause for a celebration of this scale but Leticia was mostly looking for an excuse to show off her new baby and newly remodeled house. Claire did adore the baby boy, but she didn't need to have someone else's procreation rubbed in her face after eight months of unsuccessfully trying to get pregnant.

"I'm not fucking kidding, Claire! Her stuff is gone!" Lana cried loudly, the squeal rang through the room because she hadn't yet felt the phone was safe to bring within range of her ear.

"Oh Lana, that's—no… she wouldn't. She adores you. You just need to calm down, she probably just needed to take care of some business," Claire assured her soothingly.

"Calm down? Calm Down?! BUSINESS? She's a fucking vampire, Claire! She doesn't have a job! She's an unemployed half vampire!" Lana screamed, her words coming out so fast they were like a word jumble spurting out of the receiver.

"Lana, I know you are upset but you need to stop screaming. Just take a deep breath and try to relax."

"Yes, great fucking advice! Relax! Why didn't I think of that—Oh, right, the panic! The frenzy! Note the shrill edge of hysteria in my voice, Claire!" She was getting higher pitched as she screamed as if she sat on the other side of the line sucking on helium balloons.

"I'm just—I'm stunned, Lana. "

"She just left. She didn't say anything. Leticia doesn't know where she went and she… she just left," Lana whispered.

"I can't believe it, Lana I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. Do you need anything? Do you want to come down to La Push?" Claire suggested as Quil rushed into the room.

"Can you pick me up?" She sniffled.

"Yes, of course! Me and Quil will be there in a little bit, alright? Just try to stay calm, and we can do anything you like. We can go to the beach, or watch movies or eat entire boxes of inappropriate starches," Claire said in a babying voice, the same one she used at work sometimes when her students cried.

"Okay," Lana said sadly, hanging up the phone without warning.

"What's wrong?" Quil asked kissing both of Claire's cheeks lightly.

"We gotta go get Lana," Claire said solemnly. Lana had been her rock for the last few months and Claire fully intended to be there for her in her time of need.

"But today is the last day you're ovulating and you fell asleep before we could do it last night. We're supposed to get a few tries in before the party," he said with a pout.

"Well, I guess we'll have to do it next month," Claire said sadly, kissing him softly and rushing to the bathroom to change. She felt like crap, a nasty byproduct of working in a school, which was literally a vector of infection. Flu was the probable villain, it had been going around the school but she didn't have time to go to the doctor today and since Quil and 90% of the people she came in contact with were immune to pretty much all infectious diseases, she didn't really have to worry about passing it on.

"But can't we just do it really quick before we go?" Quil asked popping his head in the bathroom. Claire eyed him in the mirror where she stood carefully examining the swell of her breasts, which were markedly larger and sore. This usually only happened when she was menstruating, a gift and a curse during that unpleasant cycle, where she finally filled out shirts and dresses the way she wanted.

"Are you sure about the dates of ovulation baby?" Claire asked. They weren't going by the calendar dates but by Quil's sense of smell, which wasn't as good as the other wolves, a possible reason as to why they hadn't been more successful on the baby making front.

She smiled, turning to face him, but the dark desire in his eyes told her it didn't matter if the dates were right or not, he wanted her and now! Quil leapt at her, lifting her swiftly to place her atop the sink, wedging himself between her legs. Her underwear were quickly discarded and the top half of her dress pulled down, Quil attacking her sore buds with his scalding tongue. She moaned loudly, his big hands kneaded her bottom as he guided her further down his shaft. The sky outside turned suddenly black, but the couple didn't notice, as rain clouds smothered the sun, causing a sudden eclipse. When they were finished, rushing hand in hand to the door—the rain surprised them both, Quil removing his shirt and using it as a tarp above Claire's head keeping her reasonably dry as they got in the car.

Quil drove, his right hand stretched across the cup holder to warm Claire's tiny little ones along the way. He drove quickly, the empty roads allowing him to drive past the speed limit so that they got to the small apartment single family house quickly. Lana and Giselle had been sharing the place for the last five months and hadn't been seen apart for just as long, which made her exit even more confusing.

Lana marched slowly to the car, as they drove up, her grey jersey dress getting soaked as she approached the SUV. Claire got out moving to the back seat and ushering her sister inside. She was soaked through, but she didn't seem to notice. She just sighed lying in the back seat, wrapped in Claire's arms as they drove back in silence, Lana's tears spreading wide on the front of Claire's dress.

The ride back was mostly silent, just a sprinkling on Lana's sobs as they drove through the pouring rain. She didn't speak again till Quil finally drove into the parking lot behind their store slash apartment. There wasn't a big market in La Push to buy an old corner store, especially since a big box store had just opened on the outskirts of town, so Seth continued to keep it going.

"She didn't say anything Claire, not even a hint," Lana whispered as Quil opened the back door to usher them out. Lana didn't seem to hear, she just clung to Claire sobbing, her hair gathered atop her head in an unruly bun that bobbed with every racking sob.

"Come on, Lana," Quil said soothingly, lifting her up like a baby and rushing her inside. He had watched the girl grow from a demanding child to a promiscuous teen and now a beautiful though heartbroken woman. He never wanted to kill a vamp or a half-vamp so badly in his life, and if the half vamp in questions wasn't Leticia's sister (and thus part of the pack's protected circle), he would have. He would have followed her scent to the ends of the earth, taking extreme pleasure in ripping the arms right off her body. With a soft kiss on the cheek, he took her straight to the bathroom, Claire's little feet padding softly behind them.

"Lana, we need to get you out of those clothes okay. Why don't you get a warm shower and I'll get you something warm to wear?" Quil whispered setting her down on the toilet. He left her with Claire, rushing to the bedroom and into the massive wardrobe in their small bedroom. He rummaged through Claire's clothes pulling out a pair of terry cloth pajama pants and a tank top and leaving it in the bathroom floor.

Lana was already in the shower when Claire came to the bedroom, smiling at him. Claire closed the door behind her, removing her sundress as she walked towards him. Seeing the warm gentle way he comforted Lana was a weird sort of turn on for Claire.

"I love you," she whispered simply, walking into his outstretched arms. He pulled her close to him. Her skin felt cool and damp under his hands.

"I love you," Quil answered back.

"I am ovulating, you know," she joked as she pushed him towards the bed. He dropped down, Claire's small hands removing his pants. He pulled her thighs up to straddle him. Quil quickly thrust, pushing himself inside her.

"God, it's like I can't get enough of you," he breathed using her hips to guide himself deeper inside of her. She nibbled on his ear, his hands trailing softly up and down her sides. His warmth completely encompassed her, making her forget about Lana, possible infertility, and her rain soaked skin.

"Faster," she moaned as the water in the bathroom stopped.

"She's finished," he sighed, but didn't dare stop, trailing his hands down to gently massage circles on her clit.

"But I'm not finished!" She cried and he chuckled, bucking into her and rubbing faster.

"Oh shit!" She screamed, muffling the sound with her forearm. He flipped her over on her back, riding out the orgasm as she clenched and writhed beneath him. Claire's body pushed Quil over the edge, and he felt himself release inside her. He laid still, staying joined, making sure every last drop was where it needed to be.

"That was great," she sighed, as Quil rolled over and gathered Lana's dry clothes.

"Amazing," he agreed leaning down to kiss her before rushing to get dressed.

Claire lie flat on her back, her legs shot straight in the air in a position Kim told her was supposed to help with insemination. She smiled at him from the upside down position, waving quickly.

"I hope this is the one that takes, Quil," she sighed dreamily rubbing her flat belly.

"Me too, Claire-bear." He sat on the bed next to her, running his hand down her legs which were still cold and damp. "You're still freezing baby," he said kissing her on the cheek and rolling off the bed to find her something to wear.

Claire smiled as she watched him sort through her clothing. He didn't often have an opportunity to choose her clothes so she watched it with great interest. He carefully picked out a frilly pair of underwear she only wore to turn him on, tight black leggings a puppy and a soft baseball tee that didn't quite cover her stomach. She didn't oppose the selection, just smiled widely as he brought it to her, making sure to help her into every individual article.

They left the room hand in hand, Lana waiting for them in the kitchen, big puffy red eyes blinking up at them. Quil busied himself with hot cocoa as they talked it through, going over every step of the last week for clues of Giselle's departure. It was getting late, about twenty minutes until they were set to arrive at Embry and Leticia's house, but Quil didn't want to mention it, afraid to rush Lana who looked on the verge of another round of tears.

When the real source of the problem was revealed, neither Quil nor Claire had been prepared.

"You asked her to turn you," Claire gasped as Quil's shaky hands attempted to pour two cups of cocoa.

"Well, not her. She doesn't have venom, but one of her friends, yeah," Lana said casually as if they were discussing dinner plans.

"Lana! Are you crazy?" Claire screamed. Quil had to leave the room, he couldn't be sure that he could control his anger at the moment.

"Claire, I want to be with her forever. She's my soulmate," Lana cried, pounding her fist on the table.

"But why do you have to die for that to happen?" Claire howled.

"Are you seriously asking me that? Claire your husband is immortal, how can you not understand?" Claire did of course, she had thought about it countless times although becoming a vampire had never crossed her mind. They hadn't talked about her aging and his immortality for a very long time because every time she brought it up, they fought. He wanted to stop phasing when she turned 30, but the very idea of him aging, of giving up the pack and his life killed her. She wanted him to have forever, to have the forever that both of his best friends were guaranteed being imprinted on half vampires.

"I get it, but Lana, it's like killing yourself," Claire said grabbing her sister's hand from across the table.

"There is no me without her," Lana declared with a sob and that was the end of their discussion. For what could Claire really say to that, she knew that feeling all too well. So Claire sat with her, whispering to her soothingly as she cried. Once Quil had calmed himself, he returned to the kitchen rubbing Lana's back until she finally stopped.

They did eventually drag themselves over to the party an hour or so later, Lana moping her way through a round of greetings before dropping onto the couch between Mark and Trisha, who had been previously chatting but were now staring awkwardly into space as Lana sobbed between them.

The couple of honor stood locked together, their best friends, Kim and Jared, at their side reminiscing about times Claire was too young to remember. Claire left Quil to play "remember that time when" and returned to her sister who she was worried about. She needn't be worried, Lana now sat between Leticia and Soledad, who held her baby brother, Fredrico, in her lap, speaking to him in soft fluent French. He wasn't speaking yet, only about a month old, but his clear grey eyes did seem oddly cognoscente as she spoke and Claire could have sworn she saw him nod.

Soledad, not known for her amazing range of emotion looked thrilled as she held her little brother close, ignoring Leticia, Claire and Lana as they discussed her aunt's departure and Randy who her hopped around her trying to catch her attention with a rousing chorus of "You are my Sunshine".

"Leticia, I know you know something, please," Lana pleaded, grabbing on to the hem of Leticia's soft pink dress.

"Lana, I'm sorry she hurt ju but ju are just going to have to move on, bebe, it is all for the best," Leticia sighed smoothing out her hair which was still arranged in a chaotic bun.

"Don't talk to me like I'm a child, Letty!" Lana screamed stomping out of the room like one.

"You do know what happened," Claire said shortly watching the beautiful woman from the corner of her eye.

"Yes, I do… she told me she would go last veek. She is also hurtin bebe," Leticia said patting Claire's knee as she moved to follow Lana.

"Wait, what happened?" Claire asked, grabbing Leticia's wrist before she could walk any further.

"She doesn't vant to watch her die, Claire."

"What? She's dying?" Claire shot out of the couch, grabbing on to her shoulders roughly.

"No, vell not this second. Giselle is vell over two hundred years old, Claire. Lana is a human, Giselle vould like for her to stay that way, but she only has 60 more years maybe, this will seem like just a few months to Giselle and she can't bear the thought of having to vatch that," Leticia said honestly pulling her hand out of Claire's and caressing the girl's cheek. Leticia had the uncomfortable talent of saying exactly what was on her mind, the entire truth no matter how terrible it might be.

"I mean, look at you. It seems like I met you as a young lady just yesterday and now you are a beautiful woman about to have her own little bebe."

"What?" Claire looked around, making sure Leticia was still talking to her.

"You're pregnant, you must know. I can smell it, two months I would say. I thought you vere waiting for the right time to tell us," she said quickly. Claire's legs felt weak and she grabbed onto to Leticia for support, her head spinning in a wonderfully intoxicating way. Quil was at her side in second, lifting her to his chest and Leticia smiled.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" Quil asked guiding her to the couch.

"Leticia said—she said I'm pregnant," Claire stammered looking around at the small crowd that was gathering around her. Anna winked at her, taking a slow step forward, inhaling deeply and then repeating. She closed her eyes and the room grew intensely silent, waiting for the expert verdict. Anna had the best sense of smell in the pack and she was also a mother so she knew well the changes that occurred during the first trimester that altered the scent of the mother in such a way that wolves and vamps alike could smell it.

In one quick swoop, Anna gave a thumbs up and the room erupted in cheers, covering Lana's pained sobbed from the front porch, as Claire leapt at Quil covering his face in kisses.