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Music:
As I am (intro) – Alicia Keys (instrumental)
Sweet child of mine – Guns 'n Roses
Mysterious ways – U2
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Chapter 19: Quil – Why? Because I care
These past few weeks I've been busy, busy with life and busy with thinking. I just came from Claire's house, she's having a bit of a cold and I felt I needed to watch her more. What a relief she now lived on reservation here. The reason why was a bit sad, but it all turned out okay.
Their old house had water-damage and they discovered wood-rot and mould in the walls. It was beyond saving and Frank and Nina had little money. The elders had quickly offered them a new place here and Frank found a new job too. The whole pack helped with fixing up the little house and we helped them to move in.
It's night and I'm getting ready to do some patrolling. Not that it's really necessary, after those Volturi guards were killed, no strangers had ventured on our lands. But still, I guess it pays to stay vigilant. Also, 'running wolf' feels good, to stretch out, the wind in your fur. I was walking to the tree line, flexing my muscles a little, I've been sitting outside listening to Claire's breathing for some time.
It would be weird to hang around inside so late. Nina was already a bit suspicious of me, wondering why I cared so much for her daughter. Luckily she was happy she always had a free babysitter on hand. And the support of everybody in our group. Yeah, a group of seventeen spirit wolves and five imprints, plus family of course. We've been getting closer again, socialising more, I like it.
Family, it was such a big word, it involved so many different kinds of people now. Sometimes that was obvious, other times we seemed to forget, because it didn't matter what we were. Blending in with each other was quite easy these days. Our bonds flowed from one into the other. Sure, to some I felt more connected, like to the members of our pack of five. (yeah, yeah, I know that includes myself, har, har)
Or should I say six? Thinking of 'our pack', one extra person pops up too, May. I'm not sure why that is, how that came about. Maybe because she spends so much time with us and with Sam's pack. Her peculiar scent mixing with ours. And when she had just fed, her skin was darker, a warmer colour than the rest of the Cullens. Her background was a big factor too, there's no denying that. Oh well, I guess we just loved her like a sister.
And she loved us back, completely. Even now she knew everything, she didn't judge us and just offered support. How I found out about that…, it still stuck with me. An ordinary day at school, Tribal History with Mrs. Brownstone. May was outside in a tree, looking in through the window. That's how she attended class. For communicating we used our cell-phones. Only when absolutely necessary of course. Our teacher was very strict and sharp.
Well, we used the phones then, when a sharp pain shot through the fingers of my right hand. Out of the blue. I hadn't moved them, so instantly I knew it was Claire who was hurt. I always had a sense what was going on with her. Most of the time it was a shimmering feeling in the back of my mind. All of us with imprints had that. But when it was more intense with her, it was the same for us guys. I had wondered about Sam and Emily and when Sophie was born, ouch!
I wanted to jump up and run to her, but I hesitated, did I really need to? My phone buzzed in my pocket and I took it out quickly, a message from May. -Stay, I'll check on her and let you know what's going on.- I stared at it and then at her outside. How did she know? Typing in that question, I sent it to her while looking back up…, she was gone. A minute later I got a response. –Claire stuck her fingers where she shouldn't have. A closing door. A bit sore and bruised, I smoothed it over. How I knew? Zack talked about imprinting last summer and I've done some research.- My mind went blank for a moment, until Mrs. Brownstone called me. "Mr. Ateara, pay attention!" she said with a raised voice. I did my best, but I couldn't concentrate. She knew all this time and never talked to us about it? Why? Hmm, we weren't open with it either. Was that intentionally or did we just forget or something?
After school May and I talked, while Claire played like nothing happened. She told me what she had observed with all of us. How she concluded that with 'the young ones', it was actually quite similar to what real wolves had with the pups of the alpha pair. Mixed with the kind of bond twins often had. I gave her a look for that. She only replied with: "talk to Will and Adam."
With a sigh I decided I would actually go to them. I came to the conclusion they needed a talk about imprinting, Sophie couldn't be avoided for ever. Still I half hoped no one would imprint on her. Wow, sitting with them, offering guidance, that was nice. And May was right, though, luckily, I was the only 'twin' that felt what the other one did. The thought that Claire could feel my pain or other,…no, that would've been so wrong. Horrible.
I stripped my clothes smoothly and tied them up. Then I phased and started running. It felt good to be powerful. My mood was interrupted quickly however, as I caught on to what Seth was hearing. Esme and Edward's voices filtered through the trees. "Edward, do you think she's going to be alright?" Esme asked, she sounds worried. "I can still hear her thoughts, he replied, she just hasn't got the energy to move, even one small muscle." Who were they talking about?
Embry was with us too and we could only think of one person. Seth took off towards them, we followed his lead. "I'm going hunting, Edward said, you stay with her,…Seth is near, tell him what happened." A whooshing sound told us he was rushing away. "Why did you go so far May?" Esme pleaded, why didn't you wait for Carlisle?" It stayed silent.
We watched as he ducked under a branch and slowly walked into the little clearing. Esme was sitting with her back against a tree, May was in her arms, limp and motionless. Like she was unconscious. Was that even possible with a vampire? She was so pale, an image of Bella after the cliff-dive popped up in our heads. So fragile, not breathing. Of course it's not necessary for her to do so, but still…. Seth lowered his head to see her face. His worry rippled through to all of us and we sent it right back, feeling the same.
'What happened?' he asked with a whine. 'Mother Cullen' sighed and seemed to understand. "She went to the hospital without anyone knowing and started healing this boy that's been in coma for four years." Carlisle found her after ten minutes." He supervised, but didn't realise how far she pushed herself until it was to late." She paused and got a pleading look from our youngest member.
But before she could say anymore, a noise in the distance distracted us. Moments later Edward appeared with a deer in his arms. He hadn't bothered with staying quiet. Gently he put it on May's lap. There was no response. The heart of the creature was beating very faint. Edward let out a disapproving grunt. Then he bit into the deer's jugular slightly, blood started dripping. He raised the opening to our sister's white lips and waited.
Her nose twitched and her lips parted. Slowly she latched on and started drinking. Just sipping at first, but after a minute or so her instincts were kicking in and things sped up. When it was drained, he took the carcass away and went for another kill. May looked a little better, emphasize on 'little'. Her eyes were still closed, the lids so dark, it looked like a boxer had punched her in the face twice. Seth had crawled closer, his nose now touched her limp hand. Arctic. So cold, her skin like snow in a blizzard. He yelped in shock and looked up at Esme.
"We're not sure what it's going to take for her to be back to normal," she said. "I surely have never seen a vampire in this state." Her eyes went down to the girl in her arms. "A lot of blood I guess," she mumbled in an afterthought. Embry was almost there now too. 'Can we help?' he asked Leah. She just joined us from Charlie's house. Sue practically lived there now, so brother and sister spent more time there also. 'Seth, you stay here, she ordered, Quil, check to see if there's anyone around.' Embry and I will help Edward with the hunt.' We did as she asked, I tracked in circle around the little clearing, listening carefully. No one was in the woods with us and that was a relief.
It took another deer for May to open her eyes. That hardly set us at ease, they were so dark and dull. Edward's third prey was an elk, a large buck. She managed to hold it up herself to feed. Another elk later and she was sitting by herself, looking more alert. Seth lay down next to her, his tail covering her legs like a blanket. Gently she passed her fingers through his fur, her eyes soft, finally showing some emotion.
May was going to be alright, in time. That better feeling didn't last long however, when Jake joined the pack-mind. He was in a bit of a panic mode and our memories of the last few hours didn't help. Nessie was with him at the house and she looked upset, at the brink of tears. "Are they with her Jake?" she asked with an anxious voice. He nodded and the girl let out a sigh of relief. "How is she doing?" her next question to be fired. "Aunt Alice couldn't see her anymore." – Of course, that explained things.
He studied May through Seth's eyes and his mood changed a little from anxious to angry/ frustrated. The same questions Esme had been asking started whirling around in his head. Why?! He tilted his head from side to side in response to Nessie's questions. To indicate to her that she was stable, but 'there' yet. That calmed things down some.
Jake stayed with us a while longer and watched as Edward brought in his last catch, a young adult black bear. May frowned and he reacted to her thoughts. "I found him at the bottom of a small cliff, he explained, his hip was broken, he would've died a slow painful death." She gave in with a sigh and held out her arms. After she was done, she indicated that she was full right now.
At that moment we were all at the clearing, supporting the three Cullens. Jake phased out to talk to Nessie. May prepared herself to stand up, but Edward stopped her. "No, he said firmly, you're not fully recovered yet, you need to rest and in a few hours we'll hunt again." Maybe seals are on the menu then." She wanted to object, but the expression on his face told her he wouldn't budge. "Fine!" she exclaimed with low, rough voice. Her first word in a long time.
She sounded like someone who had a sore throat from a cold or something. Seth got up and started to move slowly. In the mean time Esme was standing again, with May in her arms. "Wait you guys, she whispered, and girl (her lips curled up a bit), I want to thank you for being here." You too mom," she added. We nodded. Esme replied: "Of course we are here sweetheart, we love you."
We escorted the three back to their car. I was thinking about possible answers to the one question. Edward obviously listened in and got some kind of explanation from our sister's mind. He wasn't pleased though, gritting his teeth as he shared it with us. "A test!" he spat at her, you gave everything for a freaking test!" Staring at May he tried to get more. But apparently she was blocking him, because he let out a growl. "No, he said in an aggressive tone, that's not all, what are you hiding?!" She turned her head away from him and leaned in against her mothers chest. That didn't stop Edward from pushing however. "Answer me, he almost screamed, you've upset everyone, we deserve it!" We were stunned at his attitude.
'Edward, take it easy man, Seth thought, this isn't the way.' He didn't like the way Eddie was treating her. She was still quite weak. Sure, it was her own doing, but still her body had endured a lot. Esme felt the same and gave her son a stern look. He threw his hands up in surrender. "Alright, he said, I'll leave it for now." They got in the car and drove off.
We banded together and went towards the big house. Our thoughts were going over all the stuff that happened this year. The car build-off, the threat of the Volturi, the fight, little Sophie, May knowing about imprinting, the family meeting and now this. We didn't know every detail of all those things. Sam shared most of his memories from the fight with us for example, but he edited out something. We weren't sure why and if this was important right now.
Why did she choose to test herself today? Why not before? Or later? And why this patient? She couldn't have known he was coming. It was not about him, or she would've worked slower and with Carlisle's supervision. She knew this case was a lot to take on, she could've asked for our help, to copy our energy. Why didn't she? The wheels were turning in our minds. The answers were there somewhere. We just had to dig them out. Aahh, sigh!
We arrived at our second home, yeah, we were here often. Changing back and putting our clothes on was next. Filing into the house we saw Jake, pacing at the foot of the stairs. Esme and Jasper were blocking his path. He stopped when he noticed us. My friend needed comforting. "I want to see her, he said, but they won't let me." I want to ask her why, what's going on?"
Walking over to him, I put my hands on his shoulders. He looked at me with worry in his eyes. "Jake, we're going to get answers, I told him, but not this minute." You need to calm down and wait." His eyes softened as his shoulders dropped. "How did you get so grown up and wise, Ateara?" he quipped. We grinned at each other. For once he looked our age and he didn't have to be the cool, collected alpha.
Ten minutes we were sitting down when Carlisle came in. Esme and Jasper let him through immediately. There was a moment of silence and the slight sound of movement upstairs. "Father, I'm alright," May said, her voice a little clearer. "How is Alex?" – There was a pause before he answered: "Awake and confused." He missed four years of his life." Other than that he's like you, low on energy." And of course he's lost muscle tone." – That was amazing news. Truly a miracle. But she only reacted with 'Oh'.
What?! The good doctor however seemed to understand what she wanted to hear. "He's feeling everything, don't worry, he's going to make a full recovery." We called his family, he has a lot of questions." There was another pause before he added: "And so do we." Explain to us, why?" The big question.
May sighed and didn't reply, only asked to see everyone. She felt she was ready for some visitors. And she got them, the whole family crammed into her room, which looked really small at that moment. Nessie crawled onto the bed to sit next to our 'wolf-girl'. Her little hand swiftly found one left cheek. May's black eyes showed sorrow. "I'm sorry I upset you pumpkin," she said softly. "I just wanted give my all to see what I could accomplish." On my own," she added, looking at us, the pack, at the foot of her bed.
Edward huffed. "That's not the whole truth, he stated as a fact, "and you know it." May averted her eyes and remained silent. "What is the whole truth than?" Jake asked, staring intently at her. "I don't know, Edward grumbled, she blocking me by reciting stupid commercials in her head, in Dutch." Hmm, I couldn't help smiling a bit, she was getting better if she was able to do that.
I went back to my earlier train of thought. Thinking of things in the past that might have caused her to act this way. Well, the fight was definitely a big factor. She worked with Carlisle every day after that, instead of once a week like before. But why she chose today and picked the comatose guy. That felt very important. Damn, my brain never worked this hard!
Earlier I already established for myself that she didn't do it for him, for a stranger. No, not really. Than for who? I saw all the puzzle pieces, I only had to put together. Slowly I found an answer to my last question. She would do something like this for family, for someone she cared about. Wow, yes, this was the key, come on brain!
Meanwhile Jake tried to pry it from May by pleading. "Please May, he was practically whining, tell us everything, you can trust us." He sat down now on the bed, opposite of Nessie. Taking her hand he gasped. "You're still colder than normal, he exclaimed, that's not right." His free hand started to shake a little. "What if your father hadn't been there in time, he said louder, you might have died or something!"
She took his shaking hand in hers and squeezed it gently. "Shh, calm down alpha man, she cooed, you know vampires can't die from anything other than fire." His eyes were blazing in anger now. "Are you sure about that, he spat at her, has that ever been tested?" And you know you aren't exactly a normal vampire, are you?" She looked shocked after he said that and snatched her hands back to fold them in front of her.
Her eyes went down a moment as she thought about things. She must know he only said that because he cared. Studying her more closely I saw something else. She was breathing again, a good thing, and it told me a lot, her whole body spoke to me right then. Like a kid, like Claire, when she broke something. Afraid of getting caught by the owner of the item.
The puzzle pieces started falling into place. What important date was in the near future? Who had something in common with this patient? I knew the answers. I turned to Edward, who must have been reading my mind. His eyes were big as he also realised what this was all about. He took a deep breath before facing May. "A birthday present!" he exclaimed, you nearly killed yourself and won't talk because of a surprise?!"
All eyes in the room focused on him now. May's look said she got caught, we were right. No one said anything for a second. Then it was Jake who opened up: "What are you talking about Edward?" How could this, he waved his hands at May's form, be a present?" Edward crossed his arms and I jumped in. "Think Jake, I said, why, or should I say for whom, would she do something drastic like this?"
He opened and closed his mouth like a gaping fish. Embry had no problem replying. "For family and friends of course." He wanted to say more, but I cut him off. "And who's big birthday is coming up in ten days?" I saw it clicked in Jake's mind. He turned to May and lifted her head up with his finger. "Look at me May, he instructed and she slowly opened her eyes, "you want to heal my father, for his fiftieth birthday?"
She nodded and pleaded with her eyes for him not to say 'no' or something. He let out a frustrated sigh and everyone started mumbling. Esme still asked her why she went behind Carlisle's back. She thought no one would allow her to try, for real. The others agreed that it was way too much of a gift. Someone said she should do it in steps, spread it out so she would be safe. Alice was looking into the future. Edward was reading minds. When the pixie seer came back from her vision she called out: "Quiet!" We have to make some sort of arrangement, or this stubborn healer is going to sneak into Billy's room and do it anyway, on her own, the whole deal." Edward shook his head, Leah rolled her eyes. This was just so her.
Jake first said he would talk to his dad about it. May objected, but after some looks she asked for a compromise, to wait until the day before. Jake reluctantly agreed to that. But he stipulated that she couldn't do it without him, he was going to be assisting her. She only said 'of course'. Carlisle laid down some rules about feeding, where we were going to do it and how long the whole thing could last. Also, she must show him her eyes after finishing. "Yes father, she said, I'll do it your way."
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Birthdays:
Billy: 05-09-1958
Kim: 03-03-1990
Carlisle: 03-10-1643
Sue: 03-22-1965
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