Good-Byes

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Twilight characters.

Leah sits on the wall just outside the girls' dorm, her bag already packed and sitting on the ground next to her. The rest of the weekend was spent with her being under close monitoring and when she grew tired of the supervision, it then led to Billy being called out 'to issue her a command'. Instead, Billy had talked her down and even sat with her for a few hours giving her time away from 'the stupid heads'. She had lain down beside him; snuggling up to his warmth and letting his familiar, warm scent lull her into a light nap.

They hadn't talked about Jacob; maybe it was because there wasn't anything that either of them could say that would change the facts. The fact of the matter is that Jacob Black hasn't phased yet and the older he gets the slimmer his chances are.

Leah is grateful that she got to see Billy before she left as he won't be there to see the others off. Sue would most likely make an appearance on behalf of her family, Harry was a tough call and Seth was highly unlikely as he was starting to show signs of phasing.

Her ears twitch as they catch the sounds of many feet moving in her direction. So far what she had gathered from Friday night or Saturday morning's meeting at IHOP is that Lance was coming, meaning that wolves from the Iskut tribe were coming; if Lance was going then Kira, Mira and a few other girls were going as well. From the Quileutes there would be the twins, Quil, Embry and Sam; twelve inexperienced wolves to be coupled with at least twelve experienced wolves.

"Ready?" Terra asks as she stops in front of Leah. Leah looks up to see a hard look upon her face; both females are very proud, determined and stubborn. Leah feels certain that once she becomes the alpha female of a pack that she and Terra will get along but until then she can't stand the heifa.

"I've been the one waiting." Leah states as she fixes a hard glare on Terra. Leah fights back a smile as she hops down off the wall, grabs her bag and walks off as Terra fixes her with a dark look.

The ride to the airport is a loud silence as everyone is a buzz of excitement about the upcoming mission. With so many shape shifters in the area, Washington was one of the safest states from vampire attacks compared to anywhere else in the US. Not even the sunnier states such as Florida, Arizona, New Mexico and parts of California are safe from the vampires; these areas having more a nightlife leaving the vampires to feed freely on unsuspecting, intoxicated and strung out humans.

The team meets up at the Seattle Tarmac and as Leah looks around she takes in the wolves, in regards to her sisters she already knows each of their strengths and weaknesses. They all already know how to coordinate their attacks to move in for a quick and painless kill for their prey. Some even possess knowledge about magical beings, Mira being the primary go-to person about witches. This mission is simple, concise and straightforward: kill all the leeches. However, the purpose behind the mission is a bit more subtle if you're completely trusting of the High Council. Even though there are four wolf tribes total; there's only two alphas, one male alpha from any of them. The High Council is looking to give her to Lance; give the two packs used to working together as there is the possibility of the two tribes uniting.

The son of an alpha not phasing is unheard of in all the history of their lives. Jacob is the first and it's obvious that the High Council is not taking any chances of their being a weakening with the La Push pack. Leah's nose crinkles as she thinks over how in the past it's not unheard of for older males to mate with the much younger female. Mating with Billy, although she both loves and respects him, doesn't sit well in her stomach or with her spirit.

"Am I that disgusting?" Leah's eyes focus as she looks up to find Billy standing before her, a huge smile on his face but his eyes not sharing in the happiness.

"Oh, sorry, sorry," Leah apologizes waving her hands in front of her quickly. "I didn't know you were there; I – I wasn't paying attention." She adds the last part softly so that no one else will here. Spirit warriors are to always remain vigilant and observant about their surroundings, never drop their guard; lose your focus and you just might lose your life.

"Leah," Billy begins seriously as he closes the gap in between them. Leah looks up at him, his voice deep, grave but at a volume low enough for her ears only to hear. "I want you to know," Billy begins but is cut off by Leah.

"They don't think he's going to phase and this is about me getting used to my soon-to-be 'husband'." Leah states with a frown as she begins rummaging through her bag and pulls out her ID. "Regardless of how Jacob really feels about me doesn't matter because of what I am. I want him to be happy, Billy. Can you tell him that?" Billy sighs and nods his head. He can't help but smile down at the young girl before him.

He had watched Leah grow from a tiny, underweight newborn baby with a head full of black hair and bright eyes to the scrawny, long-legged girl that was sometimes a brat but had somehow managed to take hold of his son's heart. From what he heard she was still a brat, sometimes, but she was determined, focused and had a good head on her shoulders. She was bright to have already seen the High Council's reason for this mission; he was worried that he'd have to try and covertly explain it to her.

"He'll only be happy with you." Billy says pulling Leah in and giving her a tight hug. "That was from your brother," Billy says as he pulls back and sees the confused look upon Leah's face. He chuckles, "And this is from your parents." Billy adds as he kisses her forehead twice. "Be safe and keep an eye on my girls." Billy says before walking to talk to the twins. Leah feels her smile widen, there's just always something about Billy that made him a huge ball of sunshine, a trait that Jacob has inherited from him.

Leah makes it through security and, like a good alpha female, talks to Lance and the other team leaders about their expectations and plans. She can feel every adult's eyes on her as Lance lets a subtle brush of an arm or a lingering touch exchange between the two of them. As much as she wants to, she doesn't shrink away, slap him or even yell at him ordering him to keep his hands to himself. Instead, she sighs to herself and bears the touches coming from the wrong person.

Jacob sits in the recliner, his shoulders hunched, one foot propped up on the coffee table and his nails biting into the old worn green material. His brow is furrowed as Bella sits in the old worn yellow couch across from him, her body posture speaking volumes about the comfort level in the room. She had called yesterday, asking him to come over so that the two of them could talk. But right now, no one was talking and nothing had been said in the 17 m and 56 s he'd been sitting here.

Jacob knew that he had been so close to finally phasing; he can't help but smirk at how satisfying it would've been to wipe that smug look off of Lance's face. But then he would've blown the shape shifters' secret wide open. Innocent humans would have probably wound up dead. At the thought Jacob looks over at Bella to find her still fidgeting nervously and his eyes soften. He's never wanted Bella to get hurt before and it's obvious that she's only going to continue being hurt.

"Bells, look I'm – I'm sorry about Friday night." Jacob breathes out. His brow furrows as she looks up at him in surprise. "But the party came up last minute. I really wanted to go but I had already made plans with you." He admits and clasps his hands together. "I like you Bella; I do but not as much as you like me."

Jacob watches as Bella's eyes widen and begin to glisten over with unshed tears. He knew that this would be the hard part and he hoped to never have to deal with it. Maybe because on the rez couples were chosen early; it was as if you just knew who would complement you best or maybe it was all based upon scents like Old Quil sometimes explained it. Your potential mate's scent will just call out to you, it'll be a song that you'll forever want to sing, hum and dance along to; that's how he felt about Leah.

"The truth is I'm in love with Leah," Jacob states and a smile spreads across his face.

"Leah?" Bella breathes out as her face scrunches in confusion.

"Yea, Leah, Leah Clearwater. The girl,"

"The girl you almost kissed at IHOP?" Bella sneers as her eyes darken. Jacob doesn't say anything in response to Bella's accusation but nods his head. He doesn't need any reminding of the 'almost' kiss with Leah.

"Look it's how I feel and if you can't deal with it then that's fine." Jacob says after a few more minutes of silence. He stands up shrugging his shoulders as Bella looks up at him in surprise. "You take care of yourself, Bella." Jacob finishes off with a nod as he heads towards the door.

"Wait, you're leaving?" Bella cries jumping up from the couch. Jacob turns to look back at her as she's stopped short of touching him, her head hanging down and her eyes quickly darting back and forth across the ground as if the answer she seeks is rolling around on the floor in between them. "Can we not be friends anymore? Just because I don't like Leah?"

"This isn't about you not liking Leah – well, it could be," Jacob says with a small frown. "But look Bella there's more to it. I can't hang out with you anymore and its best if we just…I don't know."

"Billy's making you do this, isn't he?" Bella demands as her hands clench into tiny fists. He sighs and gives a short 'no' as his response. "I don't believe you." Bella says slowly shaking her head. Her eyes and nose burns, her head is throbbing and her heart is pounding.

"Well it's true, Bella. Whether you want to believe it or not. Take care." Jacob says with a sigh as he turns and walks out the door. As his boots hit the pavement he can hear Bella's breathe hitching, her heart beat racing and he pauses for moment thinking that maybe, just maybe he may have heard something break. Resisting the urge to look back over his shoulder he continues on, the sounds of her hurried footsteps beating down on the wooden steps up to her room.

As he starts the engine on the truck up he can't help but give a happy and yet rueful smile; lately his senses have been improving. It's been real subtle and almost unnoticeable as his eyesight has always been perfect but then he thinks back on the small flecks of dark brown in Leah's eyes. How this morning when he awoke he overheard Billy talking to Harry about the mission just being a sign to show who the High Council was picking as Leah's mate. This wouldn't have been so extraordinary had not Jacob been upstairs, clear on the other side of the house and his door closed. Even the tumble down the hill has seemed to show more of the change that was coming – he hadn't been hurt and whatever cuts and scrapes he should've had were gone before Bella had left. As he drives off Jacob only hopes and prays that his transformation takes place in time to prove himself.

A/N: He did it! Jacob cut Bella loose! WOOHOO!

Okay, again another chapter I didn't proof but last night was real busy and I didn't get to work on the next chapter of Wake-up Call as I had hoped. And tonight is $6 Tuesday at National Amusements so that is where I will be and...hopefully I can finish typing up the chapter tomorrow night.

Is anyone else excited about The Deathly Hallows? I AM! W00T!

Well you all know what to do after you read just go ahead and review. Tell me what you think and how much you hate Isabitch, cuz I do. Hahaha.

Oh! And the question was posed of how come my niece didn't see the wall that she ran into. Well...she was delirious with joy. It's a wonderful feeling but it can be dangerous when we are in motion. I've busted my head open and probably would've needed stitches if my Dad wasn't in the mood to sit in the emergency room. LOL. One of the few times I busted my head to the white meat. Ew! I know, I know. But yea that's a tidbit more about my family and those kids who see spinning around and around and you wonder why - it's cuz they are seeking that delirious joy! It's a high that comes without spending any money and start scratching like a crackhead from the after effects.