IMPORTANT: This is the last chapter! There will be an Epilogue, of course, but really, this is the end of Take A Chance On Me. Honestly, it turned out better than I expected, and hopefully you all feel the same. Let me know by leaving a review?

Note: The Epilogue will be wrapping up this story and will also open up for the sequel (honestly, I usually hate writing sequels, but I can't resist because the idea of Georgia/Embry is growing on me.) So make sure you set me/this story on Alert to find out when the next story is posted!

As always, enjoy!

Chapter 21:

"I read once that the ancient Egyptians had fifty words for 'sand' and the Eskimos had a hundred words for 'snow.' I wish I had a thousand words for 'love,' but all that comes to mind is the way you move against me while you sleep…

And there are no words for that."

- No Words by Brian Andreas

For some strange reason that I could not seem to fathom, the first memory that surfaced in my head was the moment I was first told that I had cancer.

It was only three and a half weeks after we had buried my parents – a funeral that was long and drawn out and too painful to even think about. I had lost a lot of weight in such a small amount of time – more than could ever be considered healthy – and Eli thought that I was depressed. I think that he believed that I was so upset about my parent's death that I had thrown myself into some sort of crash dieting or had lost all appetite for food.

Now that I think about it, that wasn't exactly untrue, but he was far off on the reason for the weight loss, and his concern – however misguided – was well placed. He had driven to the hospital with ease, calm and collected as we made plans to splurge and get something nice to eat for the three of us for dinner that night instead of settling for takeout.

The visit itself didn't take long; I waited a little while in the waiting room before being called into the back, where I blandly relayed to the attending nurse that I hadn't been feeling well and I had lost a lot of weight. Then, for some reason, my thoughts had strayed to where I had tripped going out of my room the week before and banged my limbs against the doorframe. The bruise had yet to fade away, and for some reason I felt compelled to tell this to the nurse. When I did and showed her the bruise, something about her expression changed – still kind but guarded and blank, as if she knew what was wrong by just a look.

After, they had taken blood and I was sent home. Two days later I had gotten the inevitable phone call: "Yes, we're looking for Miss Annie Stratford. We're calling because we've received the results for her blood-work and need her to come in at her earliest possible convenience."

When Eli took us back to the hospital the day after, my stomach had been doing flip-flops. Sometimes when a bad occurrence is on the horizon, it's as if the subconscious knows before the rest of the mind has time to comprehend it – it's that feeling of foreboding you get right before the drop from the top of a roller coaster or the ache in the chest right before you need to give a big speech and you're worried to embarrass yourself. You just know, but you don't know what you know – until it happens.

I remember that I had to stay several nights in the hospital, having tests done and blood-work sent to labs to find out exactly what was wrong with me and how it could be 'fixed'... Those days had blurred together in a mixture of medication and whirring medical machinery, with nurses and hospital staff going in and out of my sickroom with piteous looks on their faces. All I wanted to do was scream at them – the looks they gave me drove me insane; expressions that just blared, "Oh honey," in a cooing, sickly sweet voice that oozed honey and false care.

Not that they didn't care; most of them were really nice and tried their best to help in whatever way that they could, but none of them could bring about a miracle. After all, they talked and laughed as if nothing was wrong, but they were still filling up my body with poison.

But that wasn't even the worst part.

No, what I believe was the most annoying part of that week and a half spent at the hospital was the noise.

There was never a moment of silence or peace – whether it was the people stomping around and speaking or relaying why they were taking another tiny vial of blood, or the worrying tones of my brother, or Charlotte's tearful crying as she struggled to understand what was happening, or even those stupid machines. The machines were the worst, I had to admit – especially that damn heart monitor. The damn thing blared a constant rhythm day in and day out, all through the night without stopping or pausing in its steadiness. It drove me nuts, and by the time I was released from my faux prison, I was bordering on insanity.

The moment that I became conscious after my run-in with the vampire, the first sound that I heard was the heart monitor – for several cringe-worthy moments I thought that I was still in the hospital back in Louisiana, and that all of my time in La Push with Seth and Brady and Embry and Collin and everyone else I had come to care for had just been some dream that my mind made up.

Fear and pain and sadness surged up my spine as my eyes refused to open, both crusted together and staying that way because all I wanted was to go back to sleep and stay in my imaginary world. I whimpered, my lungs feeling achy while tears slipped out of the corners of my eyes. My head flopped onto its side as I buried my head into my pillow, wanting nothing more than to sink down into the mattress forever.

"Annie?" a male voice breathed out, familiar and warm and comforting. I felt a hand on the back of my forehead, then cool and gentle fingers stroking the side of my face on my hot skin. I automatically turned my face into the comforting touch, shuddering and choking out a sob. "Annie, sweetheart, it's Eli; can you hear me? You're okay, I promise – you're safe; the police found you; you're safe in the hospital, you're okay."

Police? Then that meant – it was real. A vampire had actually, legitimately, kidnapped me and I had a really gorgeous werewolf as a best friend and boyfriend. But… the police? That didn't make sense. How could the police have found me? They wouldn't have stood a chance against the vampire, I knew.

My eyes popped open, unaccustomed to the light in the room. They struggled to adjust, seeing only shadows and black figures until the world came into focus. Eli stood above me, pale and worried, with his short hair hanging into his face. A surge of unexpected emotion flowed through me at the sudden sight of him, making my lower lip tremble.

Eli's brow furrowed. "Annie? You're safe, I swear. You're here, you're home."

And with that, I burst into tears.

He was right.

I was home.

After my sob fest, Eli managed to get me calmed down enough to explain to me what had happened – or at least, what I assumed he had been told.

The cover story was that some mentally unstable imbecile had broken into the hospital and kidnapped me for 'reasons unknown' and brought me to somewhere in Seattle. Thanks to some excellent detective work by the tiny police department that protected the city of Forks, I was found only a few hours later. Apparently my attacker wasn't that great at covering his tracks.

When Eli asked me if I remembered anything, I just shrugged and played dumb, which was easy enough with the amount of painkillers that were flowing through my system. Once the initial burst of adrenaline had faded from my body, I realized that my limbs still felt tired and sluggish. I was walking on a cloud at the moment, pumped full of morphine that made it easier for me to breathe and cope with my frantic thoughts as they struggled to deal with the complicated situation.

I had fallen asleep listening to Eli's voice soon after that, not really wanting to but knowing that I could not stay awake any longer.

The next time that I woke up, I was a bit more coherent. My brain and my body seemed to finally be cooperating with each other as I sluggishly came back down to Earth, still feeling the pull that called me back into dreamland.

My eyes fluttered open and my head automatically flopped over to the side to search for Eli. It seemed that he was gone for the moment, but Seth had taken his place.

He was slouched in the chair next o my bed, gangly limbs flying in several different directions. His eyes were closed and surrounded by dark circles; his head was flopped over to the side, resting on his arm.

A strong wave of emotions flooded through me just as quickly as it had done when I had first seen Eli. My throat ached as I coughed, tears slipping out of my itchy eyes as I sniffled. He's here, he's safe, he's here, and he's safe. It was not as if I hadn't noticed that he was absent the first time that I had woken up, but I guessed that was to be expected – though, through my drug induced haze, I guess that I had not realized how much I had been worried about him.

He's here, he's safe.

I covered my mouth to stifle any sounds, not wanting to wake up Seth since I knew that he probably had not been sleeping well – if he had been sleeping at all – but he apparently heard me anyway. At the sound of my cough, his eyes popped open and immediately focused on me.

My face crumpled as I broke down, covering my mouth with both of my hands and unable to look away from him. He was immediately up and out of his seat, leaning over the bed as he carefully took me into his arms; I was pressed into the safety of his chest, feeling protected for the first time in what seemed like too long.

His hands made warm circles into my back as I clutched at his shirt with whatever strength I could muster, holding onto whatever parts of him that I could reach.

And then, I realized what being with him meant: I still had a chance to tell him.

"I need to tell you… something," I croaked out through parched lips and a dry throat. "It's really –" I frowned then, unable to come up with words. It was as if my brain was having trouble keeping up with my mouth – I knew what I wanted to say, but the words refused to form on my lips.

Seth just hushed me, stroking my hair in a way that could have easily lulled me to sleep. "It's okay, Annie; it's all going to be okay. Whatever you need to tell me can wait until you're better."

"No, I need – you have to know that –" Frustrated at how my mouth refused to cooperate, I hissed and pulled back half an inch, my conscious mind taking half a second to scream out, 'Fuck it,' before I managed to grab him on either side of his face and slam our lips together.

I did my best to put everything I was feeling into that kiss, attempting to tell him how I felt in such a way that words would not: all the love I had for Seth, all the happiness that I felt at being near him again, and all the hope that I had for our future.

I was a pile of emotional mush and, after the initial shock had died down, Seth finally pulled away, placing an overwhelmingly gentle kiss on my forehead. "You're safe," he murmured into my ear as his warm breath hit my neck. "You're with me again; I've got you."

I shuddered. "I was so scared –"

"I know you were," he interrupted. "I know, and I'm so sorry that this happened to you. We got you out of there as fast as we could; thank God we got there when we did because you were unconscious and by yourself… at first I thought that we were too late –" he swallowed, Adam's apple bobbing in his throat. "– Annie, you weren't breathing; we thought you were dead."

I cried, pressing cheek against his, feeling several of his tears drop onto my neck. Oh God, he's crying, too.

"And then that… that leech got away," he continued. "He was long gone by the time we got there; Collin, Jacob, Sam, Jared, and Paul managed to track him all the way to Edmonton, but the scent just ended up disappearing. That thing is still out there, and now –"

I kissed him again just because I could – and, a little less important, to get him to shut up. "Just stop…" I struggled to find the word, as it was on the tip of my tongue. "Stop talking."

He kept his mouth shut.

"I was so… scared," I told him, my words slow and assured. "But it wasn't from the…" Unable to think of the word I wanted, I instead said the one that he had used. "Leech. It was because the whole time I was there, I was terrified that I would never get to tell you…" I stopped midsentence, unable to continue.

"What?"

I pulled away from him just a bit to be able to look into his eyes. "I love you."

Seth's death grip on my hand hadn't lightened in the slightest. His thumb drew warm circles on the back of my palm, making my skin tingle. Sighing in contentment, I let my head fall to the side on my freshly fluffed pillow, taking the time to study him. His eyes were shut and still surrounded by the dark circles that I knew would fade over time. He gave off the illusion that he was snoozing at that moment, but I knew better – his body was tense and on full alert, muscles prominent under the thin fabric of his shirt.

I took the time to observe him: Seth Clearwater was naturally beautiful in a youthful way that most people struggle to achieve. His lashes were long and thick enough for most women – myself included – to be envious. His skin was the color of dark toffee, with full lips and a blinding, breathtaking smile that I honestly had not seen enough of as of late.

But that wasn't the only thing that made him beautiful. It was his personality, the way that his laugh could light up a room, and the way his eyes sparkled whenever he was being mischievous or sneaky. The way he was so pure and utterly good, and attempted to optimistically look at the bright side of every situation and make people happy even when he himself was not.

And I was happy to realize that he was all mine.

"You're staring," he muttered, voice low and husky from exhaustion. He shifted in the uncomfortable chair next to my bed, twisting to rest his head on his forearm as his eyes blinked open.

"Am I not allowed to stare?" I asked, my voice still rough and scratchy from lack of use and sickness.

"You're supposed to be sleeping," he replied, eyes narrowing at me accusingly, though his gaze was still gentle. "It's almost two AM."

"You should be sleeping, too," I pointed out, attempting to cross my arms over my chest but failing as I became tangled in the cords of my IV and the monitor that was attached to my hands. I scowled at it, attempting to uncurl them.

Seth sighed as he took my hands in each of his, patiently untangling the wires and tubes from around me. "I'm not the one in the hospital bed," he told me, pointedly looking down at the wires and back up to me.

"Didn't you hear my…" I frowned, hesitating.

"Jailors?" he offered.

"Yeah," I mumbled, suddenly not having the heart to joke anymore. According to Carlisle, who I had finally been officially introduced to, my trouble formulating words was a result of minor brain damage. My head had been without oxygen for a long time and as a result, I now had trouble formulating sentences and remembering words. It was a complete pain in the ass to not be able to speak like I normally would, but I had been told that it would no doubt fade – eventually.

No one else seemed to have a problem helping me to finish my sentences, least of all Seth, but it still aggravated me to no end that I wasn't able to think correctly.

"I'll be out of here in a few days," I slowly continued, "so you won't be able to use that – that –"

"Excuse?" he finished casually. "Thank God," he mumbled, leaning forward to rest his head on the bed next to my arm. His dark skin and hair were almost shocking against the stark white of my blankets and bed sheets. "I can't wait until you're out of here."

I gently pulled my hand out of his and rested it on his head, gently threading my fingers through his hair.

He sucked in a breath and leaned forward, murmuring, "That feels good."

"You need to sleep," I insisted, patting his head. "You may be a werewolf, but you aren't completely invincible against sleep depri- sleeplessness." I scowled, as I wasn't able to fully remember the correct word, sinking lower in my seat. At least, now I knew how Georgia felt.

"I can deal with a lack of sleep. Being tired is nothing, as long I can be completely sure that you're okay."

"I'm not going anywhere." I paused. "At least, not anytime soon."

He lifted up his head and I saw something stern flash behind his eyes. My hand fell back onto the bed, feeling cold; the determined look on his face surprised me, as it left no room for any opposition of any kind. "It is never going to happen again. I'm never going to let you out of my sight again."

"Seth –"

"I'll be sneaking into your room like I always do –"

" – You realize that this is –"

" – Every time you leave the house, I'm going to be your chauffeur and bodyguard –"

" – You have officially lost – "

" – And I'm going to transfer to Forks High –"

I barked out a breathless, disbelieving laugh before I reached out and covered his mouth with my hand to prevent him from speaking. "Wait, wait, wait; you want to transfer to Forks High? Have you told your mother this?"

He pulled my hand away. "No, but as soon as you feel ready to start school, that's when I'll transfer."

"You realize that's completely –" I paused. "Insane?"

His eyes narrowed as he pulled himself up to sit on the edge of the bed, as if being over me would make his ideas any less crazy. "You are the insane one if you think that I'm going to let you go to a high school by yourself in your condition with teenage boys staring at you over eight hours a day –"

"Seth, honey," I reminded gently, as if I was talking to a child, "you are a teenage boy."

"That's completely different!" he argued.

"How is it different?"

"Because I'm not looking to steal your virtue or –"

I snorted in laughter, covering my mouth with my hand. "I was just kidnapped by a… by a –"

"Vampire," he said.

"– Vampire," I repeated, "and the only problem that keeps running through your head is that you're worried about my virtue?" I tossed my hands up in exasperation, amused at the expression that was slowly making its way onto his face. "And here I thought that you were the one looking to steal my virtue all along!" I teased.

Seth gave me a sour look. "This isn't a joke, Annie."

"No, it's not," I replied seriously. "God forbid some teenage boy try to befriend me and then attempt steal my virtue."

He looked pained, and suddenly his voice took on an entirely new tone – one of frustration and anguish.

The amused and playful smile slowly faded off of my face as I was struck with how serious he was actually being. I scooted over to the side of my bed, patting the empty space with my hand so he could sit next to me. "That really bothers you, doesn't it? The idea of some other person..." I scrunched up my nose.

Seth sat, curling on his side as he pulled me into his chest. "The idea of someone taking you away from me? It scares the hell out of me. I can't lose you, Annie. Whether it's to some idiotic jock at your school or to a vampire with a sick fascination – I can't lose you."

"You aren't going to lose me," I reassured him softly. "Never; you're stuck with me for the rest of our lives."

The sides of his lips twitched upward. "I think I can live with that."

I smiled back, courageously leaning forward and placing a gentle kiss on his cheek, right next to his lips. My head then fell into his neck as his hands came to rest on my waist; I could still feel the heat of his skin against mine through the hospital gown. "Either way," I told him, "you changing schools is unnecessary."

He frowned, hand automatically tracing up my side to rest on my forearm. "I –"

"No," I pinched his lips together to keep him from interrupting me. "Let me finish," I commanded. "I have two really excellent reasons why having you go to school in Forks is a complete waste of time."

He rolled his eyes, playing with the long string that held my gown together. "Enlighten me then, Oh Wise One."

I held up one finger. "First, I've given it some thought over the past few days and I think that, with the situation and all, I'm just going to drop out and get my…"

Seth's eyebrows shot up to his hairline. "Your GED? You're serious?"

I shrugged. "Yeah. I thought about it and I never really wanted to spend my senior year at a new school anyway, and I don't want to take a chance that something bad happens at school, so I figured that this would just be the next best thing. I think it'll be cool."

"And after you get your GED? You can't stay out of a classroom forever – I thought you wanted to go to college?"

"I do," I confirmed. "But I'm obviously not healthy enough for that kind of schooling at the moment, so it can wait. If I decide on college immediately after high school then there are always online classes. Maybe if life turns out in my favor, I can eventually go to… cooking school."

Seth nodded thoughtfully, thinking over my logical arguments. After a short pause, he asked, "What's the second thing that makes me going to Forks High unnecessary?"

I gave a heaving and dramatic sigh, leaning back on my pillow as I tossed an arm over his waist. "You've ruined me for all other men."

The bed shook as his body rumbled with a deep laugh, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he smiled. As if unable to help himself, he pulled up the blankets to my neck, smoothing them out before he pushed a stray strand of dirty hair out of my face. "Thank goodness for that, because this," he gestured to where we were lounging on the bed, "would be kind of awkward otherwise."

"You're the only one for me, Seth Clearwater," I promised assuredly. "You can be sure of that. I love you."

He sighed contentedly; slowly, I could feel him start to relax as his exhaustion finally started to catch up to him. "I'll never get tired of hearing that."

"And I'll never get tired of saying it," I replied honestly, slowly raising my hand to stroke his cheek.

Seth's eyes fluttered shut as he pressed his own hand against mine, keeping it in place. Slowly, he thread our fingers together.

"Get some sleep," I gently prodded him, leaning forward to place a kiss on the tip of his nose. "You're exhausted, and there's no need for you to be torturing yourself anymore."

"Only if you get some rest, too."

"Deal."

Unlike our nightly escapade where Seth had taken me to the secret spot that he had once shared with his father, I was not the first one to fall asleep. I kept my eyes open long after Seth had slipped off into dreamland, thinking about nothing in particular.

Seth looked young in his sleep.

Well, he already looked young, but now he looked even younger. From a boyish man to an innocent child – his features were softer when he slept; less stressed, though, that may have been because we were together again. I doubted that he looked that peaceful when we were apart.

I ran a hand gently through his hair, not even pausing when he shifted in his sleep, grip tightening around my waist. Even unconscious, he was still worried that I would disappear. I didn't blame him. Even now, it felt like once I closed my eyes, he would just cease to be and everything would turn out to be some sort of dream that my brain had concocted.

We were quite a pair: a werewolf and a cancer patient. Who would have guessed?

There were so many issues: what would happen after I got out of here, how Eli would react when I told him my plan to drop out of high school (and how Charlotte would probably want to drop out of school with me), whether or not the cancer would go away or I would be stuck with it forever… The vampire – Kendrick - was still out there, too, waiting and probably biding its time. On the brighter side, we still had Kim and Jared's wedding to look forward to, then the first Wolf Baby would be coming soon. Finally, as I had been told from Seth, I should be expecting a visit from Georgia and by default, Embry – who had apparently become Georgia's tagalong in the time I had been unconscious.

But despite all of this, it was still me and it was still Seth, and he still loved me as much as I loved him. Deep down, I guess that was all that really mattered – no matter how hectic life may get, you can always count on the fact that there are still people out there that love you and want to be with you through the ups and the downs.

It had taken me a long time to realize that I didn't have to shut everyone out of my life – that the people I had befriended, the relationships that I had made, and the love that I had found were the things that made me strong.

Looking down at Seth's sleeping face, I shook my head and settled down next to him, curling up into his body like it was made just for me. Pressing my face against his t-shirt, I let myself rise and fall as he breathed, listening to the beat of his heart within his chest.

Slowly slipping into sleep with him, I let myself smile.

Yeah. We would be okay.