Author's Note: Hi everyone!!! Here is the next chapter, thanks once again for the wonderful, wonderful support! You guys inspire me so much, and you rock so hard!!

Ch 21: Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

Jacob almost lost count of the days as he ran. He'd do half way to L.A and back, then once made it all the way to the Canadian border. Running as a wolf was freedom. He ate when he wanted, slept when he needed to, yet missed his home horribly. It was a constant belly ache of his. However, time seemed to be on his side. He was down to three days. In three days time, he'd be back in La Push holding his son, laughing with his friends.

And he'd be close to Leah. He felt himself grinning like an idiot.

He never thought it would happen, hell, he had tried to force it, but this thing with her had snuck up on him. And honestly, the girl spun him around. But, he thought with a smile, it kept him on his toes, and it was in a good way.

It was nightfall when he mozied down the deserted highway. It was warm, so he figured he was in the south somewhere. Honestly, he didn't care where he was. He'd use his sense of smell and internal wolf compass to find his way home again. His belly was full, his throat watered, and he strolled down the highway, looking for something to capture his interest. It had to be late, bordering on midnight, easily. It was then that his keen wolf eyes spotted an object on the shoulder; a car, and the outline of a young girl pacing back and forth, a cell phone in her ear.

Well, this could only end in disaster, he thought with the roll of his eyes. A pretty young woman on a deserted highway in the dead of night with a broken down car. Now, what was wrong with this picture? When would these kids learn not to go out alone at night? He rolled his eyes. He was sounding like Billy. The mechanic inside of Jacob's brain clicked on. He could help her. Someone else might stop to help her, and their intentions may not be pure. Jacob sighed. He had nothing else to do, anyway. He'd take a look under her hood, and wait for a tow truck with her at the very least. He turned to the right and hopped the barrier. He ducked behind a tree and phased, and pulled on his shorts. Better go with a tee too, he thought, and shoved it over his head. It felt weird wearing a shirt, constricting almost. Maybe Bella was right. Maybe he had run around half naked for too long. Shirts were bugging him, after all. He threw his duffel over his shoulder and hopped back down over the barrier. As he reached her, she stopped, clutching her cell phone with both hands, and peered into the darkness. She had heard him.

"Hello?" She called.

"Hi," Jacob replied, walking slowly toward her. He didn't want to startle her. His mouth dropped. This girl looked oddly familiar. Even in the dull light from the street lamps, Jacob could see that she was very attractive, and she appeared to be close to his age. He knew her from somewhere. But where? "Car trouble?" He asked.

The girl eyed him oddly. She must have been out there for who knew how long, and suddenly a savior appeared out of nowhere. "Just a flat." She slapped her cell phone shut and stared at him.

Jacob felt heat rushing to his face. She was eying him like he was a muscled pool boy and she was a desperate housewife.

He turned his eyes back to the car. It was an old mid-nineties Chevy Lumina, burgundy in color. His sister Rebecca had one of these when they were younger. "Do you have a spare?" He asked, and walked to the front of her vehicle. She had her hazard lights on, and the lights blinked on her face. Damn it, she looked familiar.

"In the trunk. I tried to change it myself, but I guess I'm just a weakling." She shrugged her shoulders.

Jacob shook his head. "Even the pro has problems sometimes."

He subconsciously slapped himself. Why was he talking out of his ass? Just help her out, Jacob. Don't be a tool.

"Are you a pro?" She asked with a sly smile. Her eyes were roaming over his torso, and Jacob felt subconscious again. "At times," He replied. He adverted her eyes with the clearing of his throat, and opened her trunk.

"I know you." The girl said, when she joined him by the trunk. She flung her back into the bumper and crossed her arms, starring at him. "You're... you had the Vanquish, right?"

And that connected the dots. This was the girl he had spoken to when Bella was pregnant and close to delivering, when Edward had begun to hear Renesmee in the womb. Jacob had taken off like a bat out of hell, searching desperately for someone to imprint upon. Edward had loaned him his hot sports car for that, and this was one of the girls he had run into. How odd he'd meet her again on a dark road, with no one around for miles?

"I'm Lizzie... do you remember?" In the darkness her eyes grew bright, and she flashed him a grin.

"Yeah," Jacob said. "Yeah, I remember you. What are you doing out here?"

She shrugged, "I was on my way home from work, and I got a flat tire."

"Why didn't you call a tow?"

"I don't really have that kind of money." She said sheepishly.

Jacob sighed. He knew that all too well. "Well, let me see if I can help." He rummaged around in her trunk, producing a jack, the spare, a flashlight, and a tire iron. He set them on the ground.

"Can I help?" Lizzie asked.

Jacob handed her the flashlight. "You can hold that." He fitted the jack under the car and cranked it up.

Lizzie took the flashlight and aimed it just over Jacob's shoulder as he fitted the tire iron onto the nuts and gave it a spin. He breathed in her smell. It wasn't anything like Leah's, but it was alluring. She smelled like pure vanilla and something sweet. Sugar? The smell was intoxicating, and he cleared his head. He needed to keep talking. "Do you live far?" He asked her.

"No, about a mile. My roommate's at the apartment, but she doesn't drive. I was hoping that someone would stop and help."

"How long were you out here?"

"An hour or so." She bit her bottom lip, and then said, "Hey, what's your name?"

"Jacob." He replied, collecting the nuts from the flat and pulling off the hub cap.

"Jacob," Lizzie replied, smiling. "Jacob, you're my hero."

He snorted. "Thanks." He doubted she'd still call him a hero while he was a black sheep in La Push.

Suddenly, the beam of light vanished. Lizzie was pointing the flashlight over his shoulder. "Hey, where's your car?"

Oh boy. How was he to answer that without sounding weird? It wasn't everyday that stragglers walked down highways as their alter ego... and their alter ego was a wolf. "I walked."

"You walked? From where?"

Okay, Black. Think fast. Don't sound weird. "Around." I am a verbal genius. He subconsciously smacked himself again. He needed to change this tire and get out of here. "I need that light."

"Oh, sorry." She turned the flashlight back on his work.

Lizzie leaned over his shoulder and chatted aimlessly as he worked. Before long, Jacob got to his feet, dusted off his knees, and walked to her trunk carrying the tools. He put everything back in the trunk, and went back for the flat tire. "That should do it," He said, putting her flat in the trunk and slamming it closed. Okay, good deed done, I'm out of here...

"Let me repay you," She said, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

Jacob froze. Uh, repay him? What did that imply? He certainly couldn't take her money.

"Let me at least buy you a coffee," She urged.

"Oh, that's not necessary."

"I insist."

"I should really be going..."

"My feelings would be horribly hurt." And she pouted.

Jacob sighed. Well, what the hell? He was bored anyway. Was there really any harm in this? Besides, he wasn't interested in Lizzie. Yes, she was pretty, and yes they had chatted about the Vanquish before, but... but she wasn't the mother to his child. She wasn't Leah. So, maybe he could be the mysterious stranger that blew into town, helped a damsel in distress, had a coffee, maybe a donut or two, and then disappeared on the wind. Really, where was the harm? He was totally in control of his werewolf side, and posed no danger to these humans. "Alright," He said, "Is there a place around here?"

She bit her bottom lip, "Oh. Everywhere around here is closed... but, we could go to my apartment. Besides, my roommate will love to meet my hero."

Hold on. Use the brakes. Jacob starred at her. Go with her to her apartment? There was a little red warning light flashing in his brain that this was not a good idea. But really, what could happen? Maybe he was being paranoid.

"I have a cappuccino machine," She tempted.

Ohhhh, sold. He could do with about a thousand calories. He had taken down the gazelle a few hours back, and his stomach flipped at the promise of sustenance. Okay, it was settled. An hour tops at this chick's place. Besides, who was he to deny her repaying him?

What about Leah and your son, hero? His conscious nagged him. Well, what about them? He wasn't doing anything wrong here. He was hanging out with his new found friend. Again, what could happen? "Okay," He agreed, and walked around to the passenger side door.

**

Border patrol was the least favorite part of Sam's job, but he ran it dutifully and effectively just the same. The evening seemed uneventful, but then the wind blew his direction, and it carried with it a stench that made his fur stand on end.

His ears pricked. His nostrils flared. The smell was unmistakable. It was vampire, and it was fresh, and it hit Sam like a ton of bricks. Son of a bitch, he grumbled. There was a vampire on his land. He was about to rally the guys, when he sniffed again. False alarm. He knew that smell from fighting along side her. It was Bella. Bella Cullen had crossed into La Push recently. His teeth gritted. True, they were civil now with the leeches, but a little forewarning would have been nice. In fact, it would have been downright necessary. Were they looking for a fight? With Jacob gone, Sam knew there was only one other person she'd venture this way to see.

Leah.

Well, maybe he'd go over there and tell her that a little warning from her friends would be nice when they cam to visit. When he or his pack went onto Cullen land, it was never a social visit.

'Keep running the perimeter every half hour. I'm stopping by Leah's.' He thought.

'Roger that.' Jared thought back.

Sam phased back into his human form, just outside of the Clearwater's door. He was about to ring the bell, when he heard the soft humming coming from a room in the back. He stayed low to the ground, and followed the sound around the house. He paused just under an open window, and listened.

It was Leah, he was sure of it. He hadn't heard her voice that soft in years. She hummed an old Quiluette lullaby, probably to her son. He could just picture her cradling the infant, and singing so soft, it would lull the lightest of sleepers into submission. It was... it was beautiful.

He was so stunned by this development that he nearly jumped a foot in the air when she suddenly appeared before him. How long had he been standing there, flabbergasted? Long enough for her to finish the song, put the child down, get pissed off and confront him. She crossed her arms across her chest, and glared at him. How she wanted to cross the distance between them and smack the shit out of him. To dig her teeth into his jugular, to make him feel a smidgen of the pain he had inflicted upon her. But, she couldn't. If she attacked Sam here, it would get back to the council, and it would be more trouble for Jacob. Instead, she balled her hands into fists. "What the hell are you doing trolling around my house in the middle of the night?"

Sam straightened up, and cleared his head. "There were vampires here."

She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. He was keeping tabs on her know, was he? "Just Cullens."

"I picked up on their scent."

"So?"

"We didn't know they were coming."

Leah laughed out loud. "We didn't know you were coming when you sent your little pack to get us for that meeting."

"That was business."

"They're allowed to come here."

"A little warning might be nice."

Leah screamed in frustration. "Just what the hell do you want from me, Sam? A written letter each time I breathe?" She couldn't take him anymore. The sight of him was physically making her sick. His demands were getting ridiculous.

"I want you to follow the rules! Why the hell is that so hard?"

Leah gritted her teeth. "And what rules are those, Sam?"

"The same ones we all have to live by."

"Oh, well it's a shame I didn't meet Jacob when we were still dating."

She had hit below the belt. She could tell by the way his eyes narrowed, by the way he jerked his chin. He was truly pissed off. Well, good. Maybe he'd get mad and leave. "Are those the rules you're talking about?"

"What happened to you, Leah?"

Was he really asking her this? How the hell did he expect her to act toward him? All sunshine and rainbows? He had broken her heart once, and had done his damndest that it wouldn't be whole ever since. "What hasn't happened to me?"

"What's going on here?"

The two of them turned and found Seth and Sue leaning around the front porch.

"Good evening, Sue, Seth." Sam called.

"Sam, what are you doing here?" Sue asked.

"Just having a conversation with Leah."

Seth walked down off the front porch and stood by his sister. Leah wished he hadn't done that. Even thought Seth had gotten bigger, he was no match for Sam. Still, she couldn't feel her heart glow at the though of her little brother trying to protect her.

"I don't think that's such a good idea." Sue said, "In fact, I don't think you two should have any contact until Jacob comes back."

"A good idea, Sue. I was just leaving. Just going over some rules with your daughter."

"Rules I don't agree too." Leah grunted.

Sam didn't say anything. He walked past Seth and Leah and out to the road. "Good night." He said, before fading into the darkness.