CHAPTER 21

Leah POV:

I pulled out drawers and looked on shelves and under the bed. There really wasn't much clutter. Apparently vampires aren't known to own much stuff. I stood in the middle of the room and realized I had no idea what I was looking for, but I had to keep looking. I was determined to find something that would lead us to our daughter. I stepped inside the huge walk-in closet. It was full of clothes, and shoes, and boots and hats, and anything else you could wear! About three quarters of it was Rosalie's and maybe one quarter belonged to Emmett. Typical. Everything was very neatly organized. There was nothing out of place.

I scouted around and then looked up. There were several shelves, and all of them had things neatly lined up. As I was moving stuff around on a shelf above my head, something fell and hit the floor. I kneeled down to discover it was an old fancy hat box, and the lid had come off in the fall. I sat the box up and looked inside. I found lots of old pictures, along with letters and newspaper articles. I held up an old faded photo and saw a very different Rosalie smiling at me. She was dressed up in old-fashioned clothes, wearing a hat and gloves. She was as beautiful as a human as she was as a vampire. Only in the picture, she looked so happy and carefree. I was so used to seeing a scowl on her face. Of course, I used to have that scowl, too. This Rosalie was standing beside another young girl who was dressed in the same period of clothing, but not as fancy as Rose's and she was holding a baby. I had no idea who she was.

I set the picture down and looked through some of the other things. I found a lot of newspaper articles from a paper called The Town Gazette. I wasn't familiar with that paper. Some of the articles were old and discolored, and were mostly wedding and birth announcements. I wondered if she was keeping up with old classmates. Then I noticed that some of the articles looked new. I picked up one of the newer ones and noticed a picture of a house. I scanned the article quickly. It was about this house and how it had become an eyesore and the town was recommending it be torn down. I looked at the picture. It was a beautiful old house with a big front porch, but you could see that no one had taken care of it in years. What did this house mean to Rose? Was it where she grew up maybe?

I found another article that stated that someone had bought the old Hale house and it was going to be renovated. I looked at the date on the article. It was from a year ago. Did Rose buy it? Was she the one fixing it up?

"Find anything?" I jumped at Esme's question. I was so involved with my investigation that I hadn't heard her come in. I was now sitting on the floor with all of the stuff from the hat box around me. Esme kneeled down beside me and picked up one of the old pictures. "Look at this," she said softly. "She's always been beautiful."

I handed her the article that I had just been reading. "Do you know anything about this?" She took it from me and scanned the article. "Did Rosalie ever mention anything about this house? It must mean something to her or she wouldn't have cut out all of these articles and kept them. Do you think that she is the one that bought it and is renovating it?"

Esme shook her head slowly as she quickly read the article. "I don't know. She never said anything to me. But I do know how much she loved that house growing up. Her family had some money during the depression because her father worked at a bank. Apparently, her parents were social climbers, and her mother would throw parties at the house and Rose loved being the center of attention."

"Do you know where this is? Do you think that she would take Maya there?" I asked her anxiously.

She looked up from the article and said, "I never thought of that. You might be right. She told me once that when she was very young, her dream was to grow up and marry a handsome man and live in her house. She wanted to raise her family there."

I reached out and gripped her arm. "Where is it? Where is this house?"

"Carlisle would know. Let's go." We both jumped up and raced downstairs toward Carlisle's study. Esme reached it first and handed him the article. We filled him in on our theory and asked him if he knew where it was.

He looked at the picture and said, "Yes. I know where this is. It's in Rochester, a small little town up north, along the water." He held up a passport. "Rose's passport." I let out a sigh of relief. At least she didn't flee the country.

"We have to go to Rochester!" I said quickly. "I just have a feeling about this." I knew I needed to tell Jake. "I'll run out back and let Seth know." Carlisle and Esme both nodded as I ran from the room. I made my way outside and started yelling for Seth. He came trotting up a few minutes later.

"Seth! We think we may know where Rose took Maya." I filled him in on what we found in the hat box and told him where the house was located. "Carlisle is going to take me there. Tell Jake." He nodded and I waited. I paced back and forth praying that my baby was safe. I was trusting that since Rosalie wanted to be a mother so badly, she would take good care of Maya.

I turned as I heard Seth trot off. "Seth!" What the hell? Where was he going? A minute later he came jogging over in human form. Oh, the shorts. I should have realized that he used my old trick of hiding to phase to keep me from seeing him naked.

"Jake said to go, but to give me your cell phone. He is going to leave Jared here, in case for some reason, she comes back here, and the rest of us are following the trail to Rochester."

I nodded. "OK."

Seth uncharacteristically pulled me into his arms and hugged me tight. "We'll find her, Leah. I know we will."

I let myself relax against him for a few seconds. Finally, I pulled away and handed him the cell phone. He dropped a kiss into my hair before he let me go. Just then, Jared came into sight. Seth handed him the cell phone then jogged off into the woods to phase again.

"Hey, Leah," Jared said as he approached me. He looked at me for a second before he put his arms around me and gave me a quick hug. "It'll be OK. Believe me, Jake is running like a mad man out there. I wouldn't want to be the leech when he finds her."

I managed a small smiled. "Thanks, Jared."

"No problem. You better go."

I nodded and turned back to the house. I walked in to find Carlisle on the phone. I looked quickly to Esme. She told me it was Bella.

"Yes, here she is now," I heard Carlisle say. He held out the phone. "Bella wants to talk to you." To me? Really? I took the phone as we walked toward the garage. I was in a hurry to get going. "Hello?"

"Leah. I have been thinking about what Jake asked me earlier. If I had any idea where Rose might go. I remembered a conversation we had not too long ago. She was talking about growing up in Rochester."

I interrupted her, "That's where we are headed right now." Carlisle had opened the door of a big black SUV for me and I climbed into the back seat. He and Esme jumped into the front and we were on the move. I told Bella about finding the hat box and what was in it.

"Wow. I had no idea. She didn't say anything to any of us about the house. I wonder if she told Emmett."

"I don't know. He seemed pretty clueless when he came in from hunting to find out she was gone," I told her.

"Hmmm. Well, I was remembering this conversation. We were sitting in the living room and she was holding Reneesme in her arms and talking about her friend, Vera. She was her best friend and she had married young and had a baby boy, Henry. She told me once that she saved Emmett because he reminded her of Henry." That must be who I saw her with in the picture. "Anyway, the way she was looking at Nessie and talking . . . I had the feeling that she was imagining that Nessie was hers and she was somehow living her imaginary life. You know, the husband, the baby, and she was talking about how she wished she was sitting on the porch of her house in Rochester."

I closed my eyes. "I hope we are on the right track then."

"I think you are."

I opened my eyes to see the scenery fly by. I had no idea how fast Carlisle was driving and I didn't care. "Thank you, Bella. Thank you for calling and . . . for your help." Man, that was hard to get out.

"Hey, what are step-sisters for?" I was shocked by the lightness I heard in her voice at that comment. "Yea, I know. Weird, huh?"

I had to agree with that. "Yea, definitely weird."

"Look, I know what's it like to lose a child, and . . . well, I hate to think of anyone else, even you, being in that kind of pain."

Wow. The freak had to go and get all . . . human on me. "I'm so sorry, Bella. I really am."

"I know. We appreciated the card and flowers that you and Jacob sent. I know it wasn't easy for either of you, but I did take your gesture to heart. I knew it was sincere. Who knows? Maybe we'll all grow up someday and become friends."

"Maybe," I agreed. Me and Bella friends?

"I'll let you go. We'll call if Edward or Alice hears anything. You'll call us if you find them?"

"Yes, I will. Thank you again."

"You're welcome. Bye."

"Bye." I closed the phone and sat there and looked out the window. If there was any good that could come from this, maybe that would be it. Right now, all I could think about was holding my baby in my arms.

We reached Rochester in what I was sure was record time. I hoped that Jake and the pack weren't too far behind. They could travel just as fast and they didn't have to stick to the road. Carlisle slowed down as he drove through the little, picturesque town. It was very quaint and old-fashioned . . . actually a nice place to raise a family. How ironic.

Carlisle found the house and pulled up just down the street from it. Of course, we had no idea if Rosalie was really inside or not, but I just had a gut-feeling that she was here. As soon as the car stopped, I made a move to open the door and jump out, but Carlisle stopped me with, "Wait, Leah!"

"Wait? Why? If my baby is in there, I need to go, now!"

"I don't want to scare Rosalie into running. I want to wait for Emmett. He's the only one that she'll listen to right now." He took out his cell phone and I heard him say, "How far away are you? Yes, we're here. I parked down the street to keep an eye on the house while we wait for you. I didn't want to scare her into running again. Make sure you have the wolves phase. I don't think the neighbors would take kindly to being invaded by huge wolves. OK." He closed the phone and said, "They'll be here in five minutes."

I rested my forehead against the glass and prayed that five minutes would go by very quickly. I hated the thought of Maya being alone in that house with a vampire unprotected. Please hurry, Jake!

Jake POV:

I had never run so hard in my life! The adrenaline was definitely pumping through my body as I raced toward Rochester. Emmett and I were out front and Sam, Paul, Embry, Quil and Seth followed. Emmett suddenly slowed and I saw him put his cell phone to his ear. "Maybe a mile. Are you there? Yea, got it. See you in five." He closed the phone and turned to me.

"Carlisle is there, parked down the street. He's waiting for us. He didn't want to scare her into running. We're about a mile out of town. I'll stop right outside so you can phase. We don't want to scare the neighbors."

I nodded. What were we, stupid? I heard Paul growl at him and for once I didn't stop him.

"Yea, OK, I know you're not stupid. Let's go." Emmett blurred and we followed.

"So what's the plan when we get there, Jake?" Sam wanted to know. "We can't just storm the place."

"I know. Emmett will go in first. He's the only one she'll listen to right now. I'll go with him. The rest of you surround the house in case she tries to run again. But remember, she has my baby with her. Proceed carefully."

I knew they all understood that, but I just needed to remind them. I was getting nervous. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to keep my cool once we got there. We stopped again just outside of town and I phased and pulled on my shorts. The rest of the pack did the same. I still thought we might scare the neighbors! A bunch of huge Indians walking around wearing nothing but shorts? I had to admit we still looked pretty intimidating! I wished we had the cover of darkness. It was cloudy and it threatened to rain, but that wasn't quite dark enough.

We made our way quietly through the neighborhoods until Emmett stopped. There on the corner was a huge old Victorian style house with a wrap-around porch. You could see that it had recently been refurbished. "There it is," Emmett said. "I'm going in alone."

"No, you're not," I said quickly. He started to protest but I interrupted. "I know that you are the only one she'll talk to right now, and probably listen to. But I have to be there. This is my baby. You have to realize how fucking scared I am right now."

"Yea, I get that. OK. You come in, but give me some space. Stay out of sight until I let you know it's alright. I'm not really sure how she'll react. And don't believe everything you hear me say, OK? I may have to play along at first to find out what she's thinking."

I nodded. I was really glad now that he was here. He had really thought this through. I was just going on instinct. I gave a signal to Sam and he and the pack moved quietly to surround the house. All of a sudden I felt arms come around me from behind. I turned and took Leah into my arms. "I'm so glad you're here," she murmured against my chest.

I filled her in quickly on our plan. "I'm coming, too." Yea, I saw this coming.

"Leah, listen, we need to proceed here with caution. I can't have you rushing in and trying to take Maya from her. That scares the hell out of me." I could see she had been crying again.

"I know, Jake, I'm not fucking stupid, OK? But you can't keep me from Maya," she said angrily.

"I won't, baby, I promise. Let me and Emmett do this first, OK? Stay close to the door, but don't rush in. Promise me."

She turned away from me in anger, but I could see she was at least thinking about it. She had her hands on her hips as Carlisle said, "Leah, Jacob is right. I've know Rosalie for a very long time, and even I am not sure what she might do. We have to go slow here."

Finally Leah nodded and turned back to me. "Go get her, Jake. Bring her back to me." I pulled her close and said, "I will." She let me go and gave me a little push. I moved over to Emmett and said, "Let's go."

Emmett and I walked across the street and stepped quietly onto the porch. He opened the door and moved silently inside. Carlisle, Esme and Leah moved onto the porch and hovered at the door. I watched as Emmett made a quick sweep of the rooms downstairs then he moved to the stairs. I moved behind him as we made our way up the steps. I was shaking I was so nervous. I stayed back as Emmett looked for Rosalie. Please let her be here.

"Hey, Rose. Why didn't you tell me you were headed here? I would have come, too," I heard Emmett say softly. I felt relief flood through me.

"How did you find me?" she asked anxiously .

"Well, when I got home and you weren't there and no one had seen you, I started thinking about where you might have gone. I know how much you love this house. You tried to keep it from me, but the bank called for you one day when you were out with Esme and I took the call. I've known for awhile about the house. I was just waiting for you to tell me. You were going to tell me, weren't you?"

"Of course I was." She sounded annoyed at him. "I wanted it to be done before I told you."

"It's really beautiful. You've done a good job. Did you do this for us? I mean, do you want to live here?"

"Maybe. Would you? Move here?" she asked hopefully.

"Sure, if that's what you want. But, I have to ask, who is this room for? Last time I looked, we didn't have a baby."

"It was for Reneesme. I thought that maybe she could come and stay with us here sometimes," she answered softly. I could hear the pain of loss in her voice.

"Oh, I see. So then . . . who is that in the crib?" Emmett asked. Be patient, Jake. Be patient.

"Isn't she beautiful? She's so tiny and soft." I heard her move. I wondered if she was picking up the baby.

"Rose? Who is she?" Emmett asked more forcibly. I inched closer to the door. I wanted to be ready.

"I want a family, Emmett. I thought it would be enough to be just me and you, but . . . after Reneesme . . . I realized I can't live without a child. I need a child."

"But this isn't our child! We can't keep her. Her parents will want her back."

"They can have more babies. I can't," Rose said in protest.

"But this is a human baby. Isn't the smell bothering you at all? The blood, the heartbeat?"

"No. I hunted this morning and took her right after. I'm fine. I would never do that! I've never had human blood. I don't plan to start now on an innocent baby." I could hear the disgust in her voice. Thank God for that. "Besides, I got used to that with Reneesme. I can handle this."

"You still didn't answer me, Rose. Whose baby is this?"

"Stop pretending with me, Emmett. You know whose baby it is. I can sense him. He's right outside. You brought him to me. How could you do that to me?" she asked sadly.

"Because this isn't our baby. It's not right."

I couldn't hold back any longer. I slowly stepped into the room. "I want my baby back."

Her eyes turned very black as she glared at me. "Stay back, Jacob." She held Maya tighter against her and I was afraid she would crush her. I held my hands up, palms out and said, "Just be careful with her."

She sneered at me. "Oh please, like I would hurt her." She looked down at Maya and said softly, "I love her." Then she looked between us and I had a feeling she was trying to figure out how to get out of this. Her eyes glanced at the door then the window. I made a small move and her eyes darted back to me. "Stay away!" she hissed.

"Rose, honey, please," Emmett started when Rosalie whipped around to look at him. "You know I could make her mine forever," she said cryptically.

I saw the look on Emmett's face and suddenly I was very afraid. "Don't even think about it. You know it's forbidden by the Volturi. The sentence for that is death. Rose, please . . . " he was pleading with her. What was she talking about? "I know you are hurting over losing Reneesme, we all are, but to do that . . ."

"We could hide from them. They wouldn't have to know," Rose said. She backed away from Emmett and held Maya close. Maya started to fuss and she put her on her shoulder and cooed to her. My hands were itching to snatch her away from this lunatic leech! I looked at Emmett and tried to convey my impatience.

Emmett moved closer and Rosalie actually showed her fangs! Oh my God! Now I get it! She wants to bite Maya and keep her as a fucking vampire baby! There was no way in hell that would happen.

"Give me my baby, NOW!" I roared. She let out this long hiss as Emmett and I moved at the same time. Emmett went to grab for Rose as I grabbed for Maya. We both missed. Rosalie blurred and was out the door. "SHIT!"

"Leah!" I screamed as I ran down the stairs. Emmett had blurred and I assumed was after Rose. Leah looked at me in shock. "What? Where's Maya? Jake! Where's Maya?" She was in a panic.

I grabbed her by the shoulders. "That bitch still has her!" We both shot out the door to find Esme there. She hurriedly told us which direction they went, and that Carlisle went, too. The pack was pleading with me to follow. "Jake? What do you want us to do?" Sam asked hurriedly.

"GO!" I yelled. "Find her NOW!" They all quickly ran in the direction of the vampires and I heard them each as they phased. All except Seth. He knew Leah couldn't phase, and I knew instinctively he wanted to be with her. I looked at Leah who was now hysterical. Esme had her arm around her shoulders, trying to calm her. I knew it was killing her because she couldn't phase and run with us.

I stood in front of her and said, "Leah, look, I know this is killing you. I have to go and follow them. I won't make the same mistake twice. I will get our baby back. I swear to you."

"But . . . what should I do . . . now? How can . . . I help?" she hiccupped. She was trying hard to catch her breath.

"Seth will stay with you. He will be your eyes and ears. Esme? Can you put her in the SUV and follow Seth as best you can?"

"Yes, of course."

"Alright. Let's go," I said. Seth ran off toward the north where there was group of trees. I knew he would undress and phase then wait for Esme to catch up. I kissed Leah quickly and took off after him. I was furious with myself for letting her get away. I would not let that happen again. I just prayed that I could get to her before she sunk her fangs into my sweet baby girl.

I could hear a lot of chatter going on in the pack after I phased. "I'm picking up so much stink all over the place. Is she running in circles or what?" Quil.

"Anyone got a visual?" Embry.

"Stick together! And if you do get a visual, follow close, but be careful. We don't want that bitch to hurt Maya!" Sam

I ran as hard as I could to catch up to them. "I see them! Emmett is with her!" Quil quickly let us see. Emmett was standing close to Rose and she didn't look angry. Maybe she was finally listening to reason.

"Surround them, but stay back." I ordered. I ran even harder. I finally caught sight of Embry. He was pacing back and forth. I stopped next to him to take a look at the situation. Rosalie was holding Maya and Emmett had a hold of her arm and was trying to talk her into giving Maya to him. Carlisle was there, too, on the other side of Rose. I phased into human form and quickly pulled on my shorts. I said to Embry, "Let everyone know to circle around them, and SLOWLY close in the circle. And if she bolts alone, without the baby, take her down, but don't kill her. You can leave that to me."Embry nodded his huge head then bumped me in the side. "Thanks, Em."

I walked slowly toward them and Rose looked at me. I could see the hatred for me in her black eyes. I bounced it right back at her. Emmett increased his grip on her arm as I moved closer. "Rose, please, baby. You know this isn't right. Give her back to Jacob. We can adopt an orphan or something, but please don't do this," Emmett pleaded with her.

"Rosalie, this isn't who you are. Listen to Emmett," Carlisle added.

I stopped in front of her and said slowly and evenly, "Give me my baby. Now." Her eyes moved quickly around the clearing. She had to know that she was completely surrounded. And this time, by wolves who were just as fast as she was.

Her eyes turned to slits as she tried to back away from me. She made no move to hand Maya to me. If I was going to get Maya back, I was going to have to take her. I took another step closer and she let out another horrible hiss. Maya started to cry and I couldn't hold back any longer. I was within reach. I glanced at Emmett to make sure he still had a grip on her arm. I prayed that he wouldn't let go.

Just then, out of nowhere, Alice, Jasper, Edward and Bella entered the clearing. I have no idea how they found us, but I decided quickly to use the distraction to get Maya. What happened next is all kind of a blur. I remember making a grab for Maya. As I took Maya into my arms I vaguely remember seeing Rose's fangs come at me and I felt their sharpness on my arm . . . a searing pain shot through my body and I was falling and afraid for Maya. . . . then there was nothing . . . nothing but darkness.

Leah POV:

Esme was driving as fast as she could to keep up to Seth. He was galloping in the woods along the highway, just close enough that I could watch him. We left the highway and we were now flying down a country road. I kept my eyes glued to Seth then suddenly he disappeared! "I lost him! Slow down!" I shouted.

Esme immediately lifted her foot off of the gas and we slowed down. She pulled the SUV over and parked on the side of the road. I waited for a few seconds wondering what to do when I caught site of Seth, in human form running toward us. I pushed open the door and jumped out. "They found her!" he shouted. I took off running toward him and followed him into the woods. I ran as fast as I could, being careful not to run by him. I had no idea where we were going, so it was best to follow Seth. Esme was right with us.

Seth slowed as we approached. Embry and Quil were there, and I noticed the rest of the pack circled around the clearing. Just then, a blur of bodies ran into the clearing at the other side and stopped. It was Edward and Bella with Jasper and Alice. Wow. How had they gotten here so quickly? I didn't care. The more help the better. She was now surrounded by six werewolves, seven vampires, and two very pissed-off parents. Rose had to realize she was out numbered and give up. She had to . . . didn't she?

Suddenly, Jake made a move to take Maya and Rosalie let out this horrible hiss. I moved to run to Jake, and Seth held me back. As I struggled against him, I felt like I was watching everything happen in slow motion. I watched in horror as I saw Jake grab Maya and then start to fall! Carlisle reacted quickly and took Maya from Jake as Jake fell to the ground. I saw him writhing in pain, and wondered why. He didn't fall hard . . . then I saw the blood on his arm. Oh my God! She bit him! I remembered then that vampire venom is poisonous to us!

I broke Seth's hold and rushed to Jake's side. "He's been bitten! Oh my God! Help! What do we do?" As Seth was rushing to Carlisle to take a crying Maya, I looked up to see Bella dive toward Jake. She grabbed his arm and sunk her teeth into it! "What the hell are you doing! Get away from him you bitch!" I screamed at her, trying my best to pull her off of him.

"No, Leah! She's trying to suck the venom out! Let her go!" Alice pulled at me and I finally backed off. "Carlisle? Can she stop in time?"

Seth now had Maya and was trying to sooth her as Carlisle crouched beside Jake and Bella. Alice still had her arm around me as I watched in horror as Bella drank Jake's blood.

Carlisle motioned for Jasper and Edward to come over and he instructed them to stand on either side of Bella to help pull her off. "NOW! Pull her back!" Carlisle shouted. Both of them pulled hard and finally jerked her away from Jake. Edward stood behind Bella and kept his arms around her as Jasper stayed close.

Bella's eyes looked crazed as she gazed down at Jake with his blood dripping from her mouth and suddenly I couldn't swallow the vomit that had been threatening to erupt. I leaned forward and let it out, along with the sobs that wracked my body. I could feel Alice's hand running along my back trying to soothe me. After my stomach was empty, I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand then I left her and threw myself down next to Jake's body.

He looked so pale and I quickly looked to Carlisle. He had barked at Esme to get his doctor's bag from the car and he was now leaning down with his ear to Jake's chest. "He's not breathing, and I can't hear a heartbeat." He looked at me. "Leah, plug his nose and put your mouth tightly over his and blow air into his lungs. One blow, got it?" I nodded and did just what he told me to do. Jake's lips were already colder than normal as I touched mine to his. I blew hard and then watched as Carlisle pushed in rhythm on Jake's chest. Please God. Don't let him die. I need him too much. We all need him!

"Again, Leah!" Carlisle called out, and I again put my lips over Jake's and blew hard. Then Carlisle again pressed his hands on Jake's chest. Esme was back and had the doctor bag. She had pulled the stethoscope out and handed it to Carlisle. He quickly listened to Jake's heart. "Leah! One more time," he ordered.

I blew hard into Jake's mouth, willing him to open his eyes and look at me. I pulled back and as Carlisle pushed on his chest I said to Jake, "You come back to me, Jacob Black. I need you! Maya needs you!"

Carlisle again listened to his heart and then said, "I have a heartbeat. It's faint, but it's there." There was a collective sigh all around.

I leaned down next to Jake's face. "Jake? Can you hear me? Baby, open your eyes!" I had my hands on his face. "Please, Jake, open your eyes." A tear slipped from my eye and hit Jake's cheek. I saw his eyelids flutter and then slowly, they opened. "Oh thank God! Jake, you're back," I rested my forehead on his.

I felt Carlisle touch me on the arm. "Leah, I need to examine him, and we need to treat this bite."

I nodded and quickly moved back so he could reach Jake. Esme had pulled out some antiseptic and was cleaning Jake's bite. I saw that she also had some gauze to wrap it when she was done.

"Jacob? Can you hear me?" Carlisle asked softly. "Just nod, don't talk." I stared at Jake and willed his head to move. He opened his eyes again and focused them on Carlisle then gave a slight nod. Seth was standing beside me, still holding the baby and I looked over at him. His eyes were wet with his unshed tears. I knew that Jake was a brother to him. He was just as scared as I was. I reached out to him and said quietly, "Let me hold her." Maya reeked of vampire stink as I held her close to my face. "Oh, baby girl, I missed you so much. I love you," I whispered.

"Alice," Carlisle called. "Get the keys from Esme and drive the car as close as you can get it. We need to get Jake home as soon as we can." Esme held out the keys to Alice. She took them and disappeared into the woods.

"Will he be alright?" Seth asked.

Carlisle glanced up from wrapping Jake's wound. "I believe so. His body is already trying to heal him. But I want to keep an eye on him. He lost quite a bit of blood."

I looked around. I had been so focused on Jake that I hadn't noticed who all was standing around. Our pack members had phased back to human form and were circling around. The Cullens were all looking on, even . . . wait, where is she? "Seth? Where are Rosalie and Emmett?"

His head snapped up as he looked around. "I don't know."

Alice blurred back into the clearing. "I parked the car just over there," she said pointing off to the west.

"Alright. Can I get some help here? Let's pick him and move him to the car." All of the pack pushed forward and gently picked Jake up and carried him toward the car.

"Carlisle? She's gone. Emmett and Rosalie . . . they're gone," I told him.

He looked around and then his face fell. I knew he was so shocked by Rose's behavior, and now I realized, very hurt by it. "I suppose Emmett felt it was best to get her away from the baby so she wouldn't be tempted to take her and run again."

I nodded. I wanted her far away from my baby, but I also wanted her to pay for what she did. "I know I shouldn't bring it up, but . . . she did break the treaty by biting Jake. He's the Alpha of the pack. You can't just ignore that."

He looked at me and said, "Yes, I know. But let's take care of Jake now and talk later?" I nodded in agreement and he followed the pack to the waiting car.

I knew I wanted to ride with Jake, but there was something I had to do first. I quickly moved over to Edward and Bella. "Bella?" She turned to look at me and I could see she had cleaned herself up, but I wondered how long it would be before I got the image of her with Jake's blood on her mouth out of my head. "Thank you," I said softly. "For saving Jake's life. I . . "

"I'm just glad they pulled me when they did. I went too far . . . I almost killed him. I'm so sorry," she said quickly.

"Yes, but if you hadn't acted so fast, he might have died anyway."

She tried to smile but it was pretty weak. "I just hope he'll be alright."

"I have to go. I want to ride with him."

"Take care of him and this beautiful little girl," Bella said as she turned her gaze to Maya. I could see in her eyes how much she missed Reneesme, which kind of surprised me in a way. She hadn't seemed that close to her, but I guess she was her mother. She had to feel something for her. At least, I hoped she did.

"She did . . . and she does miss her. We both do. But we'll be alright," Edward said softly as he put his arm around Bella's shoulder.

I nodded then hurried to the car. I always forget how Edward can invade your head like that. It's downright rude. But I found myself actually feeling better for them that were on the mend. I guess no one deserves to spend eternity hating the one they bound to. Even Bella.

This SUV was huge, but I was still wondering how they would fit Jake into it lying down. Carlisle opened the back hatch and he put down half of the back seat. The guys placed Jake in on his back to lay down and he just fit.

Carlisle turned to me. "I would feel better having him in the hospital, but I know how difficult that might be given the bite on his arm. So, could I take you to my house? I have the supplies there from when Bella was . . ."

"No. We need to go home. To LaPush. I know that Jake would be furious if we went anywhere else."

"Alright. I'll send Alice and Jasper to the house to get what we need, and bring them to your house. Sam? Is it alright if they come onto the reservation to bring us what we need?"

"Yes. But I ask that they leave after. Someone needs to find out what happened to the one that bit Jake. And now." I could see by Sam's face he was furious right now and doing everything he could to stay civil. I reached out and put my hand on his arm. I wanted him to know he had my support.

Carlisle nodded and closed the back of the car. "I understand."

Sam looked down at me as Carlisle walked away to take out his phone and make the call. "Are you alright? Is Maya OK?"

I smiled. "I'm an emotional wreck, but physically I'm fine. And I think Maya will be, too."

He smiled back and then bent down and put a kiss on Maya's head. He straightened up to say, "We'll head back and meet you at your house, OK?" I just nodded. He took my hand and gave it a squeeze then he let it go to tell the pack, "Let's move out!"

They all looked at me and Embry and Quil waved then they took off to phase and run home. Seth stepped over to kiss Maya then he looked at me. He was trying to say something, but he was having a hard time getting the words out. I knew how emotional all this had made him. He lived with us now and we were together every day. We all had formed this bond that was very unique. Finally I reached up and laid my palm against his cheek. "It's OK, Seth. Me, too."

He nodded and gave me a small smile. Then he put his arms around me and held us close for just a few seconds before he let go and turned to catch up to the others.

I opened the back door to sit in the seat beside Jake's head. I buckled in and held Maya close as Carlisle crawled into the front passenger seat. Esme was the driver. She started the car and said, "I'm sorry but it may be a little bumpy until we get back onto the road." She slowly took off and drove us down the path that Alice had made earlier.

"Bella and Edward will be bringing the supplies I need and Alice and Jasper will go out and try to find Rose and Emmet. Alice is trying to see them now," Carlisle informed me.

"Thank you," I said quietly. He smiled and nodded then turned back to the front.

I held Maya closer and looked over at Jake. He had his eyes closed and he was so pale. I reached out and ran my hand down his cheek. He opened his eyes and turned his head toward me. "Hey," I said with a smile.

His gaze shifted to Maya. "Is she," he tried to croak out, "OK?"

"Yes, she's fine. Probably soaking wet, hungry and in great need of a bath, but she's OK."

"Good." He closed his eyes again. I relaxed into the seat and loosened my hold a little on the baby. I realized how tightly I was holding her. I had a feeling I would never let her out of my sight again. She started to fuss and I realized she must be very hungry. I pulled up my t-shirt and let her latch on. She drank hungrily. I looked over to see Jake watching. I smiled at him. I couldn't wait to get them both home. I decided it would be a long time before we ever left the reservation again.