Her eyes fluttered open and I was by the bed in less than a second. Those beautiful lake green eyes glanced around the room before they landed on me. The ends of her mouth turned up into a smile, she reached her hand out to me. I gently took her hand and laced our fingers together.

"Hi," Claire whispered faintly.

"Hey," my voice was thick with emotion.

"You've been crying," She noted, her brows knotting together. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing for you to worry about."

"That's what you said when I had to get that flu shot."

It took me only a minute to understand. When Claire was eight, Lisa took Claire to get her very first flu shot. Naturally, Claire wanted me to come alone. The problem was, I was suppose to be on patrol at the time of her appointment. But, I was unable to say no to her. Even at that age, she'd picked up on my uneasiness on the way to the hospital.

"What's the matter, Quil?" She'd questioned, staring at me with concern clear on her face.

I had forced a smile and said, "Nothing for you to worry about." She had fixed me with a look that told me she didn't believe that.

The look on her face now in the present time was oddly close to the look she'd given me then. "Tell me," She demanded, her voice soft and weak. I sighed and sat down at the foot of the bed.

"Honey, do you remember why your here?" Her gaze drifted around the room again. I watched as her face went from thoughtful to grim.

"Chris..." Her eyes snapped back to look at me. Claire looked me over several times, making sure I was alright. "He shot you."

My thumb made small circles on her hand as I spoke, "No, he didn't. You jumped in front of me. Don't you remember?"

Claire shook her head slowly. "No... I remember Chris aiming the gun at you and then..." She paused, thinking. "I can't remember anything after that."

I nodded, keeping my eyes on our hands. "You should remember soon."

"Remember being shot or my life before my father got a steering wheel through his face?" The way she phrased that took me by surprise. When I said nothing she went on to say, "I can't remember anything about him, you know. I only know how he looked because of pictures. How sad is that? What kind of daughter am I? I can't even miss my own father because he's more like a stranger to me then anything."

The subject of Claire's father was the last thing I thought we'd discuss once she woke up. Truthfully, the topic made me uncomfortable.

"You'll remember him one day," I tried to reassure her. "But right now you need to work on remembering what Chris did so the cops can arrest his sorry ass."

Claire thinned her lips. "Have you talked to the police yet?"

"No. I was to worried about you to think about Chris's attempted murder charges."

She nodded. "Good. 'Cause I'm not telling the cops he did it." I stared at Claire for a long while, waiting for the punch line. It never came. She was serious!

"What?" Obviously, being shot in the stomach had messed with her brain - the rational side.

"Chris is my friend, Quil," She was about to go on, but Dr. Storm entering the room caused her to stop.

"Nice to see your awake, Miss. Summers," The doctor said, sending me a disapproving look. I forgot to tell him Claire was awake - like he'd requested. Oops.

Dr. Storm checked Claire over before explaining what would happen over the next few days. "We are having to keep a steady amount of morphine in your system to ensure your in no pain. Now that your stable, we're going to have to operate - remove the bullet, and stop the internal bleeding it's caused. The time you spend in the hospital after that will depend on how much damage has been done to your body."

The morphine had Claire half knocked out by the time the doctor stopped talking. "You should be ready for the O.R. in about five minutes. I'll be back then." On that note, Dr. Storm left us alone again.

Silence followed. I moved back to my former seat on Claire's temporary bed - having moved out of the way when the doctor arrived. I watched as Claire fought to keep her eyes open for as long as possible. I waited until her eyes were finally closed before moving closer.

"Your going to be just fine," I whispered, leaning my head down to her face. I pressed my lips ever so slightly to her forehead. Tears I refused to shed in front of her, lingered around the edges of my eyes.

As I started to pull away, Claire whispered, "Quil?"

"Yes?"

"Will you be here when I wake up?"

"Of course." A pleased smile crossed her soft pink lips. Her eyes opened just enough, Claire reached up and grabbed my chin. Slowly - giving me the chance to pull away - she pulled my face to hers. She planted a sweet kiss on my cheek and then her mouth moved down to meet mine.

This kiss wasn't like the one we shared at my house. That kiss had been a surprise and I had kinda forced her into it. This kiss was expected and simple. It was practically over before it started. It was wonderful though, simply because the kiss was shared with her.

When she dropped her hand I couldn't help but ask, "What was that for?"

Claire got a loopy smile on her face. She shrugged. "Can't I kiss a guy without having a reason?" I noticed her words words were a little slurred. Maybe it was the drugs that made her kiss me.

Before I could reply, a few doctors - one I recognized as Dr. Rosenberg, from earlier in the night - came into take her away. I followed along side as long as I could. When we reached the O.R. a blond nurse stopped me from going any further.

"How long?" I asked, every cell in my body itching to push the women from my path and charge into the room.

A kind smile crossed her face. "A few hours," The blond's blue eyes sized me up. "You should go home. Get some rest." Rest? While Claire was having an operation that could kill her? Not a snowball's chance in hell.

A took a seat in the waiting room, and buried my face in my hands. Not to long ago, Claire was sleeping safely in my arms. She was a little bruised, but over all she was alright. The idea of her dying was long gone from my mind. And now... she was in the next room, doctors doing God knows what to her. How could I have let this happen? Why didn't I protect her? Chris is a human! I fight Vampires all the time, and I can't keep Claire safe from weak and mindless humans?

I've failed.

I've failed Claire, and now she was hurt because of me. I knew getting close to her was a bad idea. But it was so hard to stay away. Maybe I should just leave. Leave and never return. Maybe then Claire could get on with her life, and not worry about all the dangers of the world that seemed to come her way when I was around. Once I thought there was no one better to protect Claire then myself... now, I wasn't so sure.

A cold hand came down on my shoulder, pulling me from my thoughts. I looked up, a gentle smile greeted me, and green eyes. Lisa. Claire's mother sat down in the seat next to me. "You okay?" She asked, staring hard at my face.

"Yeah, just as soon as I find out Claire's going to be alright."

Lisa nodded, her face grim now. "The nurse told me." She paused, and handed something to me. Coffee. "It's not laced with poison either." Lisa said, dryly.

A few days ago, I wouldn't have drunk anything Lisa Summers handed to me. Ever since the accident, she's had this terrible grudge against me. She blames for for the accident, and for Claire's memory loss. Since we arrived at the hospital though, we've drawn a truce.

We have one thing in common: Claire. And right now, the best thing for Claire was for the two people who she loved most to be on good terms. Now, once all this was over and ClaireBear was safely at home, things might change. But for now, Lisa and I were equals; we were friends.

XXX

Before long, the sounds of the hospital were driving me up the wall. We hadn't heard anything about Claire, and she'd already been in the operating room for an hour. I paced, fidgeted, tried to eat, and even attempted to read a magazine, but nothing kept my mind from thinking the worst.

I couldn't stop myself from taking part of the blame in what happened to Claire. But most of the blame was placed on Chris Jones. And at this point I was ready to track him down and rip his heart out. I'd do it too, if she didn't make it through this.

When the clock hit the two hour mark, I could think of nothing but the many ways Chris would pay for this. Lisa sat quietly the whole time, watching me go out of my mind.

"How can you just sit there?" I asked her, pacing back and forth in the small waiting room space. "Your daughter could die! Don't you understand that, Lisa?" She pressed her lips, but said nothing. I let out a cry of frustration, and punched the closest wall. "If Claire doesn't live through this, I'll kill that idiot human! I swear-"

"Quil." Lisa was in front of me now, looking me dead in the eye. Women had guts, I'd give her that. "You need to leave."

"Why does everyone want me to leave? I told Claire I'd be here when she woke up. I'm not going anywhere!" The rage inside me was just building and building.

Lisa pitched her voice very low. "Before you turn into a wolf, you shake violently, correct?" I just stared at her. What did that have to do with anything? She took my silence as a yes. "In that case, you really need to get out of here before you turn into some sort of giant monster in the middle of the hospital."

It wasn't until then that I realized my body had terrible tremors running through it. Lisa was right, I'd phase right here and now if I didn't get a hold of myself. Which, wouldn't be happening with the level my anger had reached.

"Call me when you hear something." I didn't wait to hear Lisa's reply. I ran out of the hospital, losing control of my body with each step.

I barely stopped to take my clothes off when I reached the safe haven of the trees. I let my natural instincts take over and change my body from man to animal. I gathered my clothes in my mouth, and ran as fast as my legs would allow.

XXX

When I reached the Clearwater's house, I was human again and dressed. My anger hadn't defused though. I could feel it, crawling it's way to the surface. When I got to the front door, I pounded on it so hard I'm surprised it didn't break.

Seth answered the door, took one look at me, and called, "Leah! Jake! Your needed on the porch."

Standing still wasn't an option for me. By the time Jake and Leah got outside with Seth - who was watching me with a curious expression - I was pacing in front of the house.

Leah took one look at me, and a cruel smile crossed her lips. "Claire try to fight back this time?"

I stopped and whipped around to glare at her. My vision turned red, and I clenched my jaw so hard it hurt, as I started for Leah. Surprisingly, she took a few steps back. Jake and Seth grabbed my arms long before I reached her. Which was for the best I suppose - Sue might miss Leah if I were to kill her.

"Quil, your covered in blood." Jake moved his hands to my shoulders, trying to get my glare off Leah. "What happened? Was it Vampires?"

My eyes slowly moved from Leah to Jake."Vampire's I'm allowed to kill. Chris Jones is a human and I think there's a law against killing them."

"What did Chris do?"

"He came to Claire's last night, demanding to see me. The idiot pulled a gun on me, Jake!" I sighed, and relaxed my body the best I could. "Claire jumped in front of the bullet, though." I took a seat on the third porch step and covered my face with my hands again.

"How is she?" Seth was brave enough to ask.

"She's having an operation now. The nurse said it would take a few hours." I left out the fact that it had been a few hours.

"At least she's alive."

I scoffed. "Yeah, for now. Who knows what that bullet did to her body though."

"And what about Chris? Tell me he's been arrested." Leah chimed in. Her voice sounded truly concerned, which wasn't like her.

My laugh was bitter. "Claire doesn't want him arrested. She told me not to turn him in."

"And we all know you can't say no to her."

I lifted my head slowly, and met Leah's eyes. I'd expected them to reflect bitterness and hatefulness. Instead, I saw understanding. Her eyes told me she knew I honestly couldn't say no to Claire.

"Someone should be there with Lisa." Seth said, more to himself then to any of us. He went inside, to tell Sue the news no doubt.

"You two aren't going to kill each other while I call Ness, are you?"

Leah rolled her eyes. "Just go." Jake hesitated before disappearing into the Clearwater house. An uncomfortable silence fell between Leah and I. I noticed she hadn't come any closer to me since earlier. "You could take a shower if you want. Seth'll give you some clothes." Leah said at last, her voice and suggestion out of character.

"Thanks. I just might do that." I made no movement to go inside though. I'd known Leah long enough to know there was something else she wanted to say.

"I know how you feel." She said, after a minute or two.

"Feel about...?" She'd lost me.

Leah took and deep breath and let it out slowly. It was clear, she was having trouble with what she wanted to say. "I know how it feels when you think your going to lose the one you love. Whether it's to someone else or death - it hurts beyond imagination all the same. I went through all kinds of hell when Sam was gone." I noticed the catch in her voice when she said his name. Leah wouldn't meet my eyes now. "I was ecstatic when he returned. But then, everything happened with Emily... Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that I understand what your going through."

Wow. I was momentarily taken back. Who was this and what had they done with Leah? Then, shocking me even more, she walked over and hugged me. It was short, but held a lot of meaning.

"Thanks, Leah. I needed that." She flashed me a smile, and it lit up her whole face. For just a moment, she was the old Leah. The Leah Clearwater we had all grown up with and loved. The Leah with a kind, caring and loving personality and heart to match.

Maybe there was hope for her yet.