My afternoon with Rylan, actually my whole day, had been a roller coaster of emotions. Waking up after a ten-month magic coma was a bit like I imagined coming back from the dead would be. I was exhausted and happy and sad and mostly very, very overwhelmed.

Driving back from Rylan's to mine and Sam's place was literally two minutes but I honestly couldn't recall anything from waving to Rylan until I parked. I'd been on autopilot and as I sat there thinking I kept picturing the kid from the clinic, his excitement and nervousness, the way he'd bowed to me, bowed! I shook my head and groaned dropping it to the steering wheel.

There was a tap on the window of my truck and I jumped, my heart stopping and then racing as I turned to see Kim chuckling. "I take it today's been a bit much?" She asked as I climbed out.

"I love you Kim but I'm not sure I can take another breakdown about how awful it was to see me like that, what a miracle it is I'm here or anything else that will require an emotional response." I sighed wrapping an arm around her waist as we walked to the house.

Kim laughed, "It was horrible and it is wonderful." She told me squeezing me in a sideways hug, "But woman up girl, we have wolves to feed and you've been slacking for months!"

I laughed and pulled her to a stop for a hug, "I love you."

"I love you too." She hugged me back and let go before either of us became emotional, just linked our arms and continued into the house, "I brought all the ingredients for venison tenderloin with red wine and port mushroom sauce, mashed potatoes, mixed beans and honey rolls with caramel pecan pie and apple crumble pies."

"Fancy." I teased, "What's the occasion?"

"Me!" She laughed and held up her hand.

I squealed and yanked her hand closer to see the ring, "You're engaged!" I hugged her and we bounced together laughing. I pulled back, "I saw that bugger this morning and he never said!"

"I'd have murdered him." She laughed.

"Tell me everything!" I demanded linking out arms and tugging her inside.

Kim laughed and nodded, "It was last night. He was so nervous it was adorable. You know we haven't completed the mark yet but I mentioned it to him last year when you and Emily were talking about how good it was." She blushed, "I asked him why he'd never brought it up and he said his wolf was content because I was happy, he could wait for the marriage bit. I mean, we were still in school when he imprinted, hell I was just a sophomore. Then senior year you came and the whole you and Sam thing happened right after graduation and then… last year it just wouldn't have been right, so we never even talked about it. I guess he was still thinking about it because he got the ring and last night he proposed and we're going to mark and get married!" I laughed and hugged her again.

"You told her!" Emily called letting herself into the house. "Isn't it amazing!" Emily joined our hug. "I almost peed in excitement when she came into the diner at lunch wearing it!"

Kim told us how Jared proposed as we cooked and Emily talked about wanting to finally marry Paul; we talked about the mark and how much Kim would love it. For the first time not a single aspect of the conversation revolved around me or the last year, it was about the future, their future, our future together. Kim asked us to be her bridesmaids and we talked about what kind of wedding she wanted and when it would be. For the first time since I'd woken up, I felt like I didn't feel out of place or self-conscious or hyper aware of how things had changed. There wasn't ten months of magical coma between us; it was just the three of us, the kitchen and talk of out mates with music in the background we sometimes sang and danced to and laughter. If you looked past the fact that Sam and I were together, you'd have thought those hours were just a memory from the summer before.

The whole pack had known as soon as they phased and everyone turned up for dinner, which we'd expected. Jack and Rylan, Jasper, Alice, Emmett and Rosalie all came as well and we all dug in to eat.

I stole my goddaughter away from her parents when I finished picking at my plate. Sam frowned down at the amount left but didn't say anything, just kept eating and watching me as I played with Belle Selene. The other girls soon joined me, followed by the human males who couldn't quite put away the same amounts as the wolves. I reluctantly gave her back to Rosalie to eat and we all went outside while the younger wolves cleaned the kitchen. Paul and Sam razed on Jared but Jared and Sam turned on Paul who had marked but not technically proposed to Emily yet. We laughed as they play fought and eventually phased. Emmett took Rosalie and Belle Selene home first, then Jasper took Alice home to lie down since she had another headache so Jack and Rylan said goodbye as well and caught a ride with them. Kim decided to walk home as well, she had early mornings because of the bakery and soon it was just Emily, Leah and I.

"You look a bit tired yourself Bella." Leah handed me a beer.

"Yeah." I sighed, "It was a long day."

"We should get going." Emily told me gently.

"I'm not ready to sleep yet." I shook my head at her; also not ready to be alone. It was overwhelming being with any of them but I didn't want to be alone either. It was too good to be with them. I still couldn't believe how much time I'd missed.

"I'm surprised Sam isn't waking you up every half hour just to be sure he can." Leah snorted. "Or is he? Maybe you should sleep now while you can."

I chuckled with her and shook my head, "No, we sleep fine." I told her shaking my head, "He even tries not to wake me when he goes for patrol or comes back in."

"Paul says Sam told him you don't actually sleep much, you lay in his arms awake half the night. A few hours is all, and you barely eat."

I shrug, "I feel like I'm eating enough, my stomach probably just shrank. Doc Cullen says I'm all good anyways and I slept for ten months, all I need now is a couple hours emotional recharge and just being alone with Sam helps with that."

"Just make sure you take care of yourself." Leah ordered, "I get that he and I are still friends but being his emotional crutch was supposed to end when you two tied the knot, seriously, I need to get my own man." She teased. Emily and I both laughed and shook our heads.

"We'll find you a man." I tell her with a grin.

"Take your pick, half the res men are panting at your skirts, the only female wolf" Emily snorts as she laughs, "You're the prize of the pack cousin, I'm pretty sure we could find you a woman, a man and I know a certain wolf…"

Leah snorted and I could feel my eyes widen, "What?"

"He's to young for me, we could both imprint and the whole pack would see everything, besides, he's not my type, way to… happy."

"Jake!" I spun on her, eyes bugging out.

"Ew!" Leah screeched, "Quil, Quil and I maybe sort of do not have a thing."

"Quil?" I mused, "You and Quil."

"No." Leah huffed, "There is no me and Quil, we are not a couple."

"But you have a sort of not thing." Emily teased.

"We have a nothing. He's funny and sweet and has dirty thoughts about me but he's to young and to pack and to peppy."

"He's not as peppy as Seth."

"Or Jake apparently." Emily teased me.

"Have you ever seen Jake frowny faced?" I demanded.

"Rarely." Leah admitted, "He's laid back though, Quil is peppy."

"Agreed." I chuckled.

"He's not that young." Emily mused.

"I'm the same amount of years younger than Sam." I agreed.

"That's different." Leah huffed.

"Why?"

"He's barely graduated and that's not the point anyways, I don't care how old he is."

"Then what's the point?" I asked.

"He's peppy." Emily sighed and then grinned, "Paul can teach him to be less peppy. He even taught Bella to hit and that man has a real gift at pissing people off."

"Paul is not harassing Quil!" Leah hissed at her cousin.

"I thought you wanted him less peppy?" I fought a grin as I joined Emily in the quest to get Leah to admit if she liked him or not. "You don't like peppy."

Emily gasped, "You don't like Paul do you? Oh, Leah, I'm so sorry, he went and imprinted on me, that must be awful for you!"

"I don't like Paul!" Leah growled.

"Because you like Quil?" I asked fighting a laugh.

"He's to peppy. Leah doesn't like peppy."

"I thought Paul was going to fix that? No one likes that anyways."

"I like peppy!" Leah growled. "There's nothing wrong with peppy, it's nice to be around happy people, happy people make you happy!"

"So Quil makes you happy?" Emily grinned.

"I didn't say that." Leah grumbled.

"So he's not to young and he's not to peppy, why don't you like Quil?"

"He's to pack!" She huffed throwing up her arms.

"You know the pack sees you naked anyways." Emily rolled her eyes.

"They'll see any one you have sex with." I agreed.

"I don't care if the pack sees me naked and they've already seen me have sex… with your husband." She shot out at me as a low blow.

"Are you worried Quil wont be as good in bed?" I shot back innocently.

Leah growled, "Sam's not even that good, Quil's ten times better to kiss."

"So you've kissed."

Leah rolled her eyes, "Once ok, we kissed once, at the wedding and maybe a couple times last year we slept together," she glared at us, "there was no sex, just sleeping, it was a wolfy comfort thing and nothing happened. We've only kissed the once and maybe made out once but we agreed it was a mistake and not even the pack has mentioned it!"

"So you've kissed." Emily crows, "I knew there was something there."

"Nothing." Leah insisted, "There is nothing there. I told you, he's to pack."

"So?"

"So," Leah rolled her eyes, "It's the same reason Sam and I never got back together, he'll imprint, one day he'll imprint."

"You and Sam didn't get back together because he broke your heart and you didn't forgive him, friends or not, I know you cousin and you didn't forgive him."

"Fine, so I didn't forgive him, I forgave him enough to help him get his imprint which is the important point, imprinting."

"I don't think the guys are celibate." I mused, "I mean, I can't really imagine all of them just staying celibate. Unless… I mean I could see why you're a bit cranky sometimes." I teased.

"Quil's never cranky." Emily teased.

"Quil's not having sex!"

"You think he's a virgin!" I gasped theatrically.

"NO!" Leah growled and shook her head; "I'm not talking about this anymore. You two are impossible."

"You brought it up." I shrugged.

"Yeah," Emily agreed with a grin, "We're just trying to help."

"My not a thing with Quil isn't helping!" She yelped, "It's part of the problem! Do you know what kind of imagination he has? I live in his head! Plus we get images of you three and beside the whole horny toad, we're getting some regularly so don't avoid thinking about getting it brigade there are the teenage boys who think about sex because a leaf in the woods looks like a vagina!"

"Yeah but your not a thing with Quil might help with that if it were a thing instead of not a thing." Emily argued rationally.

"Until he imprints." Leah groans dropping down to sit cross-legged.

"Well, yeah, or you do." Emily nodded.

"Until then." I did a quick double lift of my eyebrows and Leah groaned falling back onto the grass to look up at the stars.

"Just admit you want hi, bad." Emily prodded, getting up to drop onto the grass and lay next to her cousin.

"Fine." Leah huffed, "He's not horrible to look at and he's quite sweet."

"And a good kisser." I remind her going to lie on her other side, "You said he was a good kisser."

"Yeah." Leah sighed, "Man I need to get laid." She groaned making Emily and I laugh.

"I think I might know someone who can help you out with that." I teased.

"Married less than a year and passing Sam along already?" Leah teased back, "I told his moves got old."

I laughed with her, "Keep telling yourself that Lee-Lee, it'll keep you from turning green next time he thinks about a mark-our-territory sex marathon on all the furniture in the house."

Emily snorted and laughed, "Paul and I have to try that one in the new house."

"Speaking of Paul." Leah turned the conversation to her cousin, "When are you two making things official?"

"Soon." Emily chuckled, "I didn't want to spoil Kim's night but Paul and I talked about it again last night too."

"You did?" I gasped excited for her.

"We want Kim and Jared to have their time though and we did the marking and had the traditional ceremony for it which was beautiful, so it's their turn. Really that was our wedding, the legal one is more for my parents and our future kids."

"Near future or far future?" Leah asked pointing, "Shooting star."

"Make a wish." I told them as we saw a succession of five shoot across the sky.

"Near." Emily sighed as a few moments, "Not like nine months near." She immediately answered the question on my tongue. "Near though." She sighed again, "I'm not sure how ready Paul is but I am. Hopefully in the next year or two anyways."

"What about you and Sam Bells?"

"No." I shook my head, "I'm not sure how Sam feels about it and I know technically we've been married almost a year but really it's barely been a minute since we met and so much has happened. I just want time to be Sam and Bella."

"What is it?" Leah whispered taking my hand.

"I don't know if they'd be in danger." I admitted quietly, "Kalen told me never to let my guard down and I know I'm powerful and I'll pass that power onto my kids, Sam will pass his gift to our kids to but I don't know how to use my gifts, I can't teach them to protect themselves and what if they can't? What if the vampires or the werewolves decided a quarter bred elf was controllable or what if they decided to avenge the whole expel vampires from existence thing I did by going after our kids? What if…"

Leah squeezed my hand and I took a breath cutting off my rant, "Your kids will be powerful and protected, their kids and their kids kids will be powerful and protected, whether they can master fairy magic or not, whether they are wolves or not, they'll be loved and cared for and as safe as humanly and supernaturally possible."

I sighed and turned my head to her, "I know, logically I know, but I'm not ready. I just want to be me and Sam for a while."

"I don't think there is anything wrong with that at all." Leah smiled at me.

"You're only nineteen." Emily agreed. "Paul and I are still young. In a year or two maybe and in five or six or ten years, when you're ready, you and Sam can have a family."

"Exactly." Leah agreed. "Until then… practice makes perfect."

"You just want to live vicariously through us in our mates heads." Emily teased.

"Hey I said Quil was better than Sam, I didn't say he was better than Paul."

We all laughed and Emily smacked her cousin's chest, "I knew you had it for my wolf."

"Please." Leah snorted. "Your mate has one good feature and I know from his head you make good use of it."

"His tongue?" Emily teased.

"Ew!" I screeched.

Leah laughed, "Now you know how Paul feels when Sam replays nights with you."

"My poor brother." I commiserated.

We talked easily about nothing important for a while longer but slowly I drifted off. The nights weren't cold in July, they were still cool but with Leah's warmth beside me it was nice, the ground wasn't soft but the air was fresh and smelled like ocean salt and the woods.

I woke slightly as Sam lifted me, I saw Paul carrying Emily and bit back a grin as Quil lifted Leah easily to hold her against his broad chest, then with a last smile for my brother, I snuggled into my mate's neck and closed my eyes again.