I don't own any of the loveliness that is Twilight… But I do play with it from time to time.

This one goes out to the Ally for her first time review and I of course cant forget to send a shout out to deviLISH-innocence for her unfailing support.

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Running as fast as we could, we made it to the back door within seconds. There was no hesitation involved when Sam slammed the door back on its hinges nearly shattering the glass as it shook against the wall. Rounding the corner into the kitchen I was almost instantaneously gathering Alyssa in my arm. Sam was doing the same with Emily.

"What happened? Are you alright?" I asked Alyssa as Sam was looking over Emily for any sign of damage.

Nobody answered at first. The girls were in a fit of giggles at our concern. When everyone was settled and the girls were placed back onto their feet Sam asked again.

"Emily, what happened?" His tone was almost pleading.

I had gathered by this point that nothing was wrong at the moment. Emily, Alyssa, Kim, and Carmen had huge smiles covering their faces while the rest of the Christmas guests looked as confused as Sam and I.

"Well honey, I kind of got you another Christmas present this morning. I guess I'm just excited to give it to you." The look on Emily's face screamed fake innocence. It was obvious she was hiding something.

Alyssa and Kim smiled further and stared to nod their heads. They were clearly in on the joke.

"You were screaming over a Christmas present?" Sam asked in a voice that made it clear he was slightly annoyed with Emily's uncharacteristic reaction. "You are aware that you scared the hell out of Jake and me, right?"

"I'm sorry hun, I really am. Do you want to see your present now?"

He didn't look too amused with Emily's nonchalant attitude but it's nearly impossible to deny an imprint so he caved. "Sure, that would be fine."

Nearly everyone in the room was still completely lost. I only got more confused when Emily grabbed Sam by the hand and led him down the hall. When they disappeared into the master bedroom I turned to face Alyssa. I was looking for an explanation but she just looked at me.

"Well . . ."

Shaking her head and grinning she responded with a simple "you'll see".

We couldn't have been standing in the kitchen for more than a few minutes before Sam's voice could be heard from down the hall.

"I'm going to what?!"

Half a second later Sam was sprinting into the room with Emily clutched in his arms. The term "smiling from ear to ear" became a literal statement in that moment.

"I'm going to be a dad."

Cheers rang out throughout the room and both Sam and Emily were engulfed by a rush of congratulations and hugs. A few moments later we all separated. Emily and Sam were locked in an intense stare. It was definitely one of those instances in which looking away seemed absolutely necessary.

Taking in the room it didn't take long to realize who was missing. Leah had bolted sometime during our celebrating. I didn't really blame her though. It was just like when I heard about Bella and Edward getting married and ran. This had to hurt for her.

Alyssa must have noticed the absent member of our little family too. She gave my hand a gentle squeeze with her much smaller one

"You should go find her." I knew she was right but it was our first Christmas together and I didn't want Alyssa to remember this day as the Christmas I bailed on her for the pack.

"Are you sure? It's Christmas after all."

"Exactly, she can't be alone out there. It just isn't right. She needs a friend Jake."

"Okay, I'll be back as soon as I can. I love you."

With that I pecked her on the cheek and made my way out the door. When I was in sufficient tree cover I changed out of my clothes, tying them to my leg, and phased. In a flash I was flooded with all the sadness and memories flowing through Leah's mind. This only lasted a minute or so before I heard an internal grown at my presence and she was gone.

It was obvious that she didn't want to share a mind with me but it didn't seem right to leave her alone in the forest, especially on Christmas.

As I approached the spot I had last seen in her mind I heard Leah's desperate sobs before I saw her. As I rounded a fallen tree I came to find Leah, sitting against the base of a tree naked as the day she was born. She was crying and shaking as the sobs racked through her. I had never seen her look so vulnerable.

In that split second Leah was no longer the shrew. Her demeanor as a cold hearted, for lack of a better word, bitch was shattered. Despite the fact that she was older than me and that in daily life she annoyed the hell out of me, despite the horrible things she had said and thought in the last year in that moment She was just Leah. The mask she had been putting up since Sam first met Emily was ruined. She was in pain and that's all that mattered. My pack sister needed me.

I turned behind a tree and phased back. No matter how impossible modesty was within the pack we still tried to be discreet, especially where Leah was concerned. I pulled the pants off of my leg and pulled them on. When I came around the tree Leas was trying to compose herself. I pulled the shirt from my leg and handed it to her.

"Thanks" she mumbled as she tried her best to cover herself.

I took a seat next to her. "So do you want to talk?"

She scoffed at me. "Talk about what? How the guy I am in love with is having a baby with my best friend? Or how about how I can't just be happy that two people I love have found true happiness with each other? God Jake, I'm pathetic.

"No, you're not. Hell you're stronger than I can even imagine. I ran away from everything and everyone I've ever known because a girl I never really had. You're here. You face Sam and Emily every day and haven't completely lost it. I look up to you Leah."

"You look up to the bitter harpy? . . . Don't let that get out. You'll never live it down."

I was glad she was able to joke with me. No matter how badly I talk about Leah I really do care about her. She deserves happiness. We sat there in the woods for about an hour talking before Leah felt ready to go back to the house.

"You know Leah . . . It could happen for you. You could find your Alyssa some day. He's out there somewhere."

"I honestly don't want to think about it Jake. Imprinting would be ideal but I'm not going to bank on it. Hope is a dangerous thing." With that out in the open we silently made our way to Sam's back yard. We were both thinking over the days events.

As we arrived at the edge of the trees Leah stopped dead in her tracks. "Umm, do you think you could go borrow some clothes for me . . ." She was tugging at the hem of my shirt. "This is already going to be humiliating enough without walking around half naked."

"Sure sure" I chuckled.

I jogged up to the house and slipped in the back door. When I walked in it looked like business as usual, that is except that Sam was acting as Emily's shadow as she bustled around the kitchen fixing the enormous dinner. Alyssa was happily playing Barbie with Quil and Claire in the living room. Almost everyone else was engrossed in A Christmas Story which was blaring out of the living room's TV.

As soon as I walked in Alyssa vacated her game to greet me with a warm hug and a kiss. Seth and Sue weren't far behind her.

"Is she okay, Jake?" Sue asked, true concern radiating from her.

"She'll be okay. At the moment she just wants some clothes." Sue nodded her head and walked to the chair by the front door to retrieve a lightweight sweater and jeans. It was obvious that someone had ran home to get her a new set of clothes and from the quality of selection I'm guessing it was Sue instead of Seth. She handed me the outfit and a grocery sack full of girly stuff that I would rather not think about in association with Leah.

I was turning to leave when Alyssa tugged on my arm. "Can I come with?"

I didn't really understand why she would want to go talk to Leah. They got along just fine but she hadn't exactly developed a rapid friendship with her since coming to La Push. It didn't make sense to me but like I said what an imprint wants an imprint gets. So I pulled her coat off the hook it was hanging on. She happily bundled up and we left the house.

Approaching the wooded area I could clearly hear Leah grumbling before Alyssa could even make out a noise.

"Hurry up Jacob Black . . . What is he doing, making me new clothes?"

I couldn't help but laugh at her grumblings. Of course I looked a bit crazy to Alyssa, who still couldn't hear her, but I didn't mind. Leah heard my laughter and walked out from behind a tree.

"Finally, Geez took you long enough. . ." She stopped talking when she noticed Alyssa at my side. "What are you doing here?"

Now even if I had accepted that Leah wasn't the impossible shrew that everyone thought shewas her being rude to Alyssa wasn't going to be accepted.

"Watch yourself Leah." I said with a threat clear in my voice.

"No, Jake its okay. I'm not expected company I'm sure." Surprising me more than usual she let go of my hand walked right up to Leah and hugged her. Now Leah Clearwater is not a touchy feely person in the least. At first she just looked at me obviously trying to figure out how to react.

I was just as lost as her. So when I shrugged she reluctantly hugged her back. Once Alyssa had her hug she pulled away from the very confused werewolf.

"I know you don't really know me well but you and Jake are close so I would like to get to know you too. I want to be your friend Leah so if you ever need to talk . . . about anything . . . I'm here for you."

Leah's face went from utter shock to calm within seconds. A small accepting smile filtered onto her face. "Thank you Alyssa. That means a lot to me."

None of the imprints had made an effort to befriend Leah. She had always been on the outskirts of the pack. Being the only girl must be hard.

We rejoiced the pack a half hour or so before dinner was served. Sam was still hot on Emily's tail as she finished the food. Walking in the door, Sue nearly tackled Leah into a hug. I heard Leah's soft mumble of "I'm getting that a lot today" and had to bite my lip to keep from laughing.

The rest of the evening was light and fun. We ate another Emily Young masterpiece dinner and then watched the original How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Claire loved it but fell asleep on Quil's lap shortly after the credits started to role. Most people were starting to head home for the night so Billy Alyssa and I decided to follow suit.

I was pretty jazzed when I was walking out the door and caught a glimpse of Leah and Emily in the kitchen. She was actually giving Emily a hug. It looked like she was trying her best to be happy for the mother to be. It was going to be a rough road for her but Leah's a strong person. She was making an effort.

We went back to our house and got Billy into the house without any trouble; Alyssa and I had decided that we wanted to go for a walk on the beach so it was just a pit stop for us. While Alyssa was changing into more comfortable clothes I gathered up our presents to each other and packed them into a duffle bag. I figured that if we were going to be on the beach anyways we might as well open our gifts there.

When Alyssa was ready we said goodbye and goodnight to Billy and headed toward the ocean hand in hand. My only hope was that she would like the gifts I had gotten her.

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I know I said that this wouldn't be up anytime soon because of my finals I got bored in class and ended up writing the majority of it. I know its shorter than usual but that's just how it is if I'm going to update more often.