Disclaimer: I do not own anyone or anything from Twilight!
I had just put Renesmee down for her nap when I decided to go downstairs. I was planning to find Leah and seeing if she wanted to watch a movie or maybe play chess. She had once told me that when she was younger her father played chess with her, but when he died she had stopped playing altogether. My hope was to get her back in to the game. I found her in the living room all dressed up in a long black skirt and matching blouse. I don't think I have ever seen her all dressed up before. I had to admit that I was a bit shell shocked.
"What are you all dressed up for?" I asked coming to sit on the couch next to her. She jumped when she heard my voice since she had been staring at the wall lost in thought. I smiled teasingly hoping to get a smile out of her in return. "Do you have a hot date? Do I need to give you the talk? Should I warrant you a curfew?"
Leah laughed and shook her head, though I could tell that she still had something on her mind. The fact she was blocking her thoughts told me that she did not want to talk about whatever was on her mind. "You should wait to do all that for when your daughter is older."
"Don't remind me." I cringed at the reminder my little girl would one day be dating. I suppose I could be happy because she would end up with Seth, but still I did not want to think about her dating until I was forced in to reality. Hopefully I had a few more years before I had to give my daughter the sex and safety talk. Maybe I would make Leah give her the talk since it should really be women to give her the talk and Bella wasn't here to do it. I would've asked one of my sisters or more for all intents and purposes, but there are certain aspects they lost when their human lives ended and Leah still being mostly human she would be able to explain things better. "So where are you off to?"
"I am going to the cemetery to visit my father." Leah said as she sighed deeply and looked down at her hands. I finally got a peak in to her mind as I saw flashes of the last time she saw her father. It had been when he died after she phased for the first time. He had been reaching out to touch her, but his hand fell right before it made contact with her fur. When she spoke I was sucked out of the memory with her since it ended. "This is the anniversary of his death."
Reaching out I placed my hand over hers. I did not remember my family and so I did not have any pain over their deaths, but I knew loss and I knew Leah must be hurting. "Well would you like me to go with you?"
"You don't have to do that." The Quilette shifter stated quickly and I could see that she actually appreciated the thought. I knew that every year she visited her father and usually Seth went with her. Sam, when she had been in his pack that is, never wanted her to go. He told her it was a bad thing to be hanging on to the memories of the past. "I am sure that you have much more interesting things you could be doing."
"I want to and I am sure Ness and Seth want to go as well. You do not have to go through this alone." I stood up quickly letting her know that there was no way she would be changing my mind. We were a strange sort of family and families stuck together. "Give me a few minutes to wrangle up the other two and then we can go. Since I have permission to be on La Push we do not have to worry about the treaty."
Leah reached out to punch my arm and I know it is her way of saying thanks. "Well don't take too long. I need to stop at the flower to pick up some flowers. Mom never visits anymore since she got with Charlie and she would be pissed if I took them from her garden like I used to."
"Well I am sure that Esme wouldn't mind if you used some of her roses." I said as we both went up the stairs to gather up Renesmee who was sleeping and Seth who happened to be playing video games.
"Well if would make her happy then I can do that. It will save on some cash." Leah replied as she went to tear her brother away from the X-box and I went to gather my daughter. Ness would happy to get out of having her nap considering she hated nap time.
Once everyone was downstairs I found my mother in the kitchen and told where we were going and before I could even ask about the flowers she suggested. We all went outside and she gathered up a bunch of roses before handing the bundle to Leah. "If that isn't enough then just come back and I will get you some more."
The she-wolf laughed as she held the large bundle of multicolored flowers. "I am pretty sure that this is plenty enough, but thank you for the offer Esme. You grow really beautiful roses which is not easy to do in a place like Forks."
"Since I have nothing other than time to waste it has become a hobby of mine. Oh I have something else for you." My mother smiled in return before rushing off and then coming back with a red and blue cross. "I always put one of these on my son's grave when we are in the area and I have a bunch of them. I thought it may be nice for you to give one for your father."
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It did not take us long to get to the graveyard. We stood in front of Harry Clearwater's grave for a while until Seth couldn't take it anymore and told us he would be taking Renesmee down to First Beach and that we should meet him there. I nodded since I did not plan to leave Leah's side. My hand was still tightly holding hers as we both knelt down next to the grave. I did not say anything because I wasn't sure what one should say in this conversation. I did not have to worry about the members of my family dying and so I had never really had a need to think about or deal with death.
"Do you think he was in pain?" She questioned out of the blue without turning to look at me as she used her free hand to run her fingers along the cool stone of the head stone. "Mom said the doctors told her it happened fast and he didn't feel anything, but I don't believe her. He was clutching at his chest and so that means he had to feel something."
I wanted to comfort her, but I was pretty sure that nothing I said would make her feel better. Still, I had to try something. "I am sure that he did not feel a thing and even if he did I know he would never have blamed you. His heart was weak and nothing you could have done would have stopped it from failing. If not the shock of seeing you phase then it would have been triggered by something else entirely."
Leah scowled deeply before laying her head against my shoulder. "But it was my phasing that caused it. He expected it from Seth, but he never saw it coming from me. It is because I am a freak. He would still be alive if I was normal like I should have been."
"You can't blame yourself for something you had no control." I reasoned and reached out to stroke her silky black hair. "The death of your father is no more your fault than it is mine. It was the arrival of my family which triggered the change in your body. If you want to be angry and blame someone then you should blame me and my family."
The girl wolf sighed and stood up wiping the dirt from her skirt. "I would blame you if you had eaten him or something. For a long time I did blame you. I hated you for ruining my life, but really you didn't do anything wrong. My dad once told me that everything happens for a reason and for the first time in my life I have to agree with him. If I had never phased then I would have never met you and I can say it now even if I could not say it back then, but you, Seth, and Ness have become the most important people in my life. I don't know what I would do without you guys. I think my dad wanted it to be this way. He told me that I would find happiness after Sam and he was right. I may not be in a relationship right now, but really who needs a relationship? I am content to live my life the way it is."
"Maybe one of these days I will be able to look at Bella's leaving in the same regard." I told her hopefully running my hands in my hair. I looked up at the sky and saw a storm approaching. "It looks like today will be the day Renesmee gets to see her first ever vampire baseball game. It will be interesting to see if you and Seth can keep up with us. Do you even know how to play baseball?"
She snorted in amusement as we started walking the direction of first beach. "I am queen of the pitchers. When I was in high I used to pitch for soft ball. I haven't played in years though so it should be interesting to see how well I do after all this time. I wonder what my extra abilities will bring to the game."
"I guess we will see." I shrugged and smirked at the image of Leah Clearwater in a baseball cap. "You may have to fight Alice for the spot of pitcher. She has played that same position for as long as she and Jasper have been in our family. She will not be willing to give it up without a fight. Emmett will no doubt like seeing a fight between you and Alice, but I think he would like it more if mud were involved and much less clothing."
"Well that will be one of the easiest fights I have ever been in." She grinned before punching me in the shoulder and taking off. "Catch me if you can vampire boy! You mentioned baseball and I know I want to play. Dad loved baseball and I bet he is watching from his place in heaven. Shifters rule and vampires drool so now you are going to learn the hard way that Clearwater's are better at everything!"
I laughed and took off after her. Bella had never really liked baseball and after she turned she refused to play and because I had not wanted to leave her home alone I had stopped playing as well. It would be nice to get in to the sport again and a bonus to get Leah's mind off of sad topics. I quickly followed after her and passed her without much challenge on my part. To tease her I started running backwards and stuck my tongue out.
"Stick that tongue back in your mouth before I rip it out." She snapped narrowing her eyes and willing herself to run faster.
"Don't be a sore loser Leah." I took her hand in mine as we both still ran and kissed her knuckles before dropping it. "Can I help it if shifters drool and vampires rule?"
TBC…
AN: I know this was not the greatest chapter, but I still feel blah and I wanted to post something anyways. Let me know if you all liked this or not. In the next chapter it has been a few months and Nessie looks old enough to go to school. I am excited about this chapter because I get to write her as older.
Please R&R like always!
Preview for the next chapter:
"It's not fair!"
"Ness you know why you can't go to school."
"Seth gets to go!"
"Is that why you are so upset?"
"You don't understand anything!"
"Little help here Leah?"
"What do you want me to do?"
"Make her stop acting like her mother."
AND
"Are you done throwing a tantrum?"
"Dad doesn't get it."
"Well he is trying which is more than I can say about some fathers." "Do you want to tell me what is bothering you?"
"I want to go to school."
"You are probably the only kid I know to ever say that."
"Why can't I be normal?"
"Normal is overrated."
"How would you know?"
"Because I was normal once."
"You were?" "Do you miss it?"
