A/N: Yeah, I know, I'm late… Again. But I'm glad you've stuck with me this far, and I'm sad to say this story is coming to an end pretty soon. Some chapters left until it's completed! But this is now, so enjoy this one!

Tom was sat leant back against a rock with his daughter's head in his lap stroking her hair tenderly. He hadn't left her side since she came crashing to the ground, and he swore he would guard her as the only family she had left. The only time he had torn away from his offspring was when Carlisle came over, requesting his permission to examine her. The Cullen matriarch had told him that even though he had never experienced vampires fainting, she seemed to be in a healthy state physically, much to Tom's relief. Said vampire looked down on his daughter and continued to stroke her golden curly hair.

They had stayed in their little camp all day, and the last rays of the sun fell above the treetops, and an orange hue spread out on the early evening sky. There had been no change in the unconscious vampires and wolves but hadn't they been breathing they would've been thought dead. Luckily, they were, though Alice, Kate, Tanya, Amy and Eleazar let out breaths quite unregularly. Just the fact that they were breathing eased the others, since a vampire doesn't need the intake of oxygen like other living things. But it was by that only sign the others could tell they were alive.

Bella was sat on a log close to her family by Jacob, who had now shifted into his human state.

She stared off into the depths of the forest when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up and saw the face of her husband. He looked at her saddened and she returned his gaze with the same look before returning to look into the nothing.

It was when Edward's hand slipped off her shoulder she heard the whimpering of a wolf. She turned her head towards the sound and noticed it came from Seth. Jacob had heard it as well and immediately rose up and walked over. Leah was resting her head on her brother's neck, but removed it once she felt him stir under her chin.

The young wolf let out hoarse whimpers and coughed weakly but did not move.

"Seth." Jacob said as he crouched down by his head. Seth continued his whimpering and coughing, but did not respond otherwise.

"Carlisle!" Bella shouted over her shoulder as she was stood by Jacob, looking intently down on Seth's wolf form.

Carlisle shot up and over to them and he too kneeled down by the wolf's massive head. He turned his head his way.

"Seth. Seth, can you hear me? Let me know if you can," Carlisle called. They waited expectantly for a movement, but the only response he received was whimpering.

Why can't he move? Bella thought to herself as she watched the scene before her.

"Jacob, can you hear him?" Carlisle asked him without looking at him. He opened Seth's eyelid to see if his eyes were rolling. They weren't, which meant he wasn't entirely conscious.

"Kinda… He's here, but at the same time he's not. Like, I can hear him, but I can't tell what he's thinking." Jacob explained with an unsecure shrug.

"Well, at least he is here. It's a start." Carlisle told them as he looked up to Edward.

"A good one, hopefully." Bella piped in.

"We will have to see. Let me know if there are any changes." Carlisle said as he stood up.

. . .

"How are they doing?" Carlisle asked as he kneeled down by Alice and Jasper's side.

Jasper sat on the ground with his mate's head on his lap and he held her hand whilst stroking his thumb at the back of her slim hand.

Garrett was farther away, sitting on a rock, watching over the two sisters. Tanya's head rested on Kate's stomach and they were laid on the ground alike a blond pile of sleeping kittens.

"Silent as the grave…" Garrett answered gloomily as he held his eyes down on the Denali siblings.

Jasper let out a deep sigh at this. Carlisle turned his attention towards his adoptive son. He lifted an arm and placed it on Jasper's shoulder, giving it a supporting squeeze. The young blonde male looked up and met his equally golden eyes.

"Don't give up hope, son. Just give it some time, and you'll see they will return to us. She will be alright, Jasper." He said wisely and Jasper turned his head down again.

"After the amount of time we've waited, they should've been at least movin' by now… And we don't know if they're fine. Her ribs were crushed." he answered with a nod downwards to Alice.

"Let me see here…" Carlisle muttered as he shifted closer to Alice.

Jasper watched him as he ran his arms searchingly down the small woman's sides outside her sweater. He pushed two fingers down each rib bone, checking her thoroughly before he pulled back with a small sigh.

"Not anymore, they have healed. That's good news, considering she was paralyzed. The only thing left for her now is to wake up. Give her some time, Jasper, and she will awake. She's stronger than you think…" Carlisle told him as a fatherly advice and patted his shoulder once before he stood up and headed over to Garrett.

Rosalie, having heard the conversation, was now in deep thought. She was leant back against a tree frowning as her head ticked. She bit down on her knuckles in concentration.

"The only thing left is to wake up…." She muttered to herself. It was something with that sentence which made a bell ring.

"Hmm…"

"What is it?" Emmett asked as he appeared at her side. She didn't turn to him, her brow furrowed more, rather.

"Vampires can't sleep." She simply stated as she removed her hand.

"Uhm, well spotted," Emmett replied confused as he crossed his arms.

"Therefore, them being unconscious right now is technically not possible. They are in a weak statement, but vampires are never weak unless hurt," she explained as she looked up to her husband. He quirked a fine, dark brow up as he pondered on this. What she said was true, but what had this to do with anything going on?

"Where are you going with this, Rosie?" Emmett asked her, and she turned to face him whilst letting out a frustrated sigh.

"When we're weak, Emmett, what do we need?" she asked him, trying to make him follow her state of mind.

"Blood." He answered without as much as blinking. Rosalie made a realization-gesture with her palms in hope he understood her.

"Exactly!" he exclaimed.

"So, what you're saying we need is to feed them blood and hopefully they'll awake?"

"Essentially. I have a feeling blood will rouse them, though I don't know what to do about the mutts."

"Let's check your theory first." He told her as he urged her towards Carlisle.

"Carlisle!"

He turned to face them as they called for him. He saw them jogging down to him and he had concern written on his face.

"We think we know what could wake them up!" Rosalie told him urgently and Carlisle lifted his brows in surprise.

"What do you suggest?" he asked as he shifted his gaze between Emmett and Rosalie.

"They probably won't wake up by the minute, not by the looks of it. But, if we could feed them, then maybe that will trigger a response. We already know they aren't all lost, so why not give it a try?" Rosalie explained ardently. Edward walked over curiously as he heard the conversation, and after sharing a look with Carlisle, he spoke up:

"That could actually work." He said intelligibly as he thought over it as well.

"It certainly can't hurt," Carlisle agreed as he nodded conformingly.

"How did you come up with this?" Edward asked her curiously. He didn't take his sister for being dense, but her recklessness stopped her from thinking logically at times, and it surprised him that the situation they went through now didn't block her.

Rosalie crossed her arms and sent him a firm look.

"Your trust in my brains worries me, dear brother." She told him cheekily and Emmett snickered at her comment. Edward barely suppressed the eye-roll threatening to emerge behind his eyelids, but instead crossed his arms as he spotted Jacob in the corner of his topaz eyes.

"What's up?" he asked restlessly as he stopped by Edwards flank.

"Rose might have figured this out. Well, with our people at least." Edward told him and Jacob sent him a look that clearly said 'really? She did?' The male vampire answered his thoughts by giving him an affirming nod.

"Good job, Blondie." He said as he looked over to her, and he couldn't help but smirk as she shot daggers at him with her glare.

"Alright, it seems we have a plan. Edward, get Emmett and see if you can't bring back a buck, I'll stay here with the others in case-" Carlisle began but a voice behind them cut him off.

"I'll come along." Jasper said as he walked up behind them.

Carlisle turned and met his firm gaze.

"Son, we need a blood-filled animal." He told him knowingly.

"I'm aware." He simply answered as he followed his train of thought.

Carlisle fully turned and looked at him unsurely.

"Jasper, are you sure you are capable of resisting your… natural instincts?" he asked hesitantly yet directly and Edward shared an intern look with Rosalie.

"Carlisle, I'm not going to sit here doing nothing when there is something to be done. Besides, the more we are, the faster we can try this out."

"Jazz, you know hunting turns you feral," Edward reminded him.

"I know that just as well as you do, Edward, but right now I've something else on my mind than blood. Let's just get out there, and bring back a buck." Jasper told him and Edwards gaze fell down as he was reminded of Alice and the others as well.

"You sure?" Emmett piped in, stepping forward with Edward, ready to do the task given to them.

Jasper responded to this by jogging past Rosalie, Jacob and Carlisle and up to them before accelerating into a sprint.

Carlisle looked after his sons as the swooshing sound of branches and crops bent to their speed when they left camp and disappeared into the forest.

. . .

Esme walked over to Tom where he sat cradling his daughter's head in his lap, guarding her as a wolf would do towards its cubs.

His sangria red eyes shot up in alert as he noticed her slim legs before him, but soon relaxed as he recognized the Cullen matriarch. He tried reciprocating her gesture but it turned out into a stiff quirk of his right muzzle instead.

"So you're the father we have heard so much about," she stated warmly as she met his eyes. He simply nodded and traced a seam on Amy's leather coat.

"It would seem so." He responded distantly as his thoughts fell upon his deceased first-born.

"We are terribly sorry for your loss…" Esme told him, knowing what bothered him.

He looked up at her again in slight shock, and gave her a nod of respect. This woman and family he barely knew, no, scratch that, didn't know, showed their concern towards him, a foreigner and more importantly, a former Mexican member. He was trained to kill, just as his daughters and wife had been, and was close to doing so before Amy had found him with Maria. What happened thereafter vexed him greatly, and he almost hoped he could forget what he had seen happening to Beate. Another greater part of him wished he could've done something, anything, to go back and prevent it from happening.

Esme saw the glimmer in his eyes fade as he fought his inner self and crouched down before him.

"Is she still hanging in there?" she asked as she looked down on the teen's still form.

"I believe so. She is cooling down, and I caught her twitching an arm earlier." He told her as calmly as he could and she lifted a hand to brush the curly bangs out of her face. She noticed they were the same temperature now and she turned her face her way to have a closer look on her. She seemed to be in a fine condition; the only thing unusual was that she had fainted. She didn't even think that was possible for a vampire.

After a moment of thought, she looked up again.

"There was nothing you could do, Tom. Not for Beate, neither for her. Amy is tougher than you may think. But her sister… Beate wasn't weak; it was just that Cormack was stronger…" she began and he looked past her shoulder in thought.

"I didn't even get to her before it was too late…" he said above a whisper and Esme placed a supporting hand on his broad shoulder.

"I am sure she didn't want her father to get hurt… She was so brave, so kind," she told him gently and he met her eyes, obviously hurt.

"Seeing your own child die before your eyes isn't something I would call right." He said, much harsher than intended.

"It isn't, but sometimes, our loved ones do unexpected things to protect us, no matter what the risk," she said sensibly.

"As I should have done for her!" he exclaimed and she closed her eyes and nodded slowly.

"I understand how you feel. I would do the same for my own children in a heartbeat, and I can tell you this much: I've lost a child of my own, and one thing I learned from it is that even though how much it hurts, how much I wish it didn't happen, somebody else needs you." She paused whilst looking down at Amy.

"Right now, your child needs you. She needs you to be there for her, where she has no one left but you. She needs her father." She told him as gently as she could.

He looked down at his daughter in comprehension, taking in what Esme just said. She wasn't entirely what he had expected her to be, he'd give her that, but there was something else about her presence that calmed him. Soothed him. Made him calm as all of his anger fade into nothing… Well, at least for a while.

He met her eyes moments after and tried to return her warm smile.

"But you look like you could have use of a hunt. Tell you what; I'll watch her so you can feed. And whilst you hunt humans I hope you'll be careful while you're away." She told him with a supporting smile, trying to suppress the disgusted feeling running through her body.

He gave her a suspicious look as he grew more protecting of his daughter.

"It's alright. I'll watch her as she was my own, which I can admit saying she has grown to be. You need it, Tom." She said, urging him.

"Fine. Half an hour." He said as he reluctantly stood up.

"Take your time, we'll keep her safe. I promise." She said and stood up with him. She walked over to take his place by Amy and she noticed he lingered there as he watched her sitting down.

"It's alright. Go." She assured him as she placed a supportive arm around Amy, cradling her to her lap. He hesitated only for a second and watched Esme tend to his daughter before he whipped around swiftly and took off.

After sitting there for a while in peace, Esme felt something stir under her arm.

She looked down at Amy's former still body, but she saw now that the girl was conscious once again. The woman shifted her seat to give the weakly wriggling girl some space.

"Carlisle!" she called and her husband shot his head up in alert at the sound of his mate's call. He saw her sitting further away and made his way over with Bella and Rosalie in pursuit.

"What's the matter?" he asked her, but his question was soon answered when he saw Amy moving on the forest floor.

"I think someone's done snoozing," she told him relieved as she stood up to a crouch.

Rosalie was about to move down to the girl when she let out a whimper and arched her back slightly but Carlisle placed one hand in front of her, stopping her.

"Wait. She'll come around by herself." He told her gently as he peered down at Amy, hearing her let out a faint whine.

After the girl had squirmed around on the floor for a second, her eyes as orange as the morning sunrise fluttered open slowly and blinked hard once before she stopped squirming. She was able to make sense of where she was and what was happening, and when she noticed the hovering shadows around her she managed to lift her head above the ground and fixate her eyes on the first being she saw: Esme.

The woman crouched down before her was smiling warmly, a smile which reminded her much of her mother's, and one moment, she wondered if she was dead. But the woman's congenial voice told her otherwise.

"Welcome back, Amy…"

The young vampire looked around as she realized she was lying on the grassy ground, but she grew anxious when she couldn't see her father amongst them.

"It's alright, you're safe," Esme cooed as she saw the girl looking around in distress.

"What happened?" Amy asked with a surprisingly steady voice and frowned in thought.

"You fainted, we believe. That's in truth something impossible for a common vampire, so you gave us quite the shock!" Carlisle answered with a slight chuckle, his tone mild.

"But then again, you're not like any vampire." Esme finished for her husband with a smile and a small wink.

"How are you feeling?" Bella asked the girl as she cocked her head slightly. Amy felt the urge to stand and dare her body to move, and it was then she remarked she could move with no problem. Well, she didn't feel any pain at least.

She responded to this by pushing herself off the ground and scrambling her long legs up and stocked them slightly unsteadily.

"Oh, okay…" Bella muttered as she and Esme backed up a bit, giving her space. They watched the girl stagger up and when she was finally up, Carlisle walked over to her to check on her.

"Whoa, easy now…" he told her when she swayed, tripping in her own feet. She grabbed her head as she grew dizzy and let out a groan.

"Ah, my head…" she moaned as Carlisle held her steadily.

"Take it easy, your body went through a major change when your ability extended, and we don't know what really happened to you in the first place. Though, my theory is that once you had a breakdown, your power evolved, which drained you of all energy, both emotional and physical. That's why you're feeling numb at the moment, correct?" he asked her and she managed to nod stiffly in response. He stroked her back soothingly and slowly let go of her shoulders once she managed to stand on her own.

"Take it easy for now. Your headache will fade by time, probably." He advised her as he backed away from her to meet her eyes. The girl looked up at him and nodded again in agreement.

"My girl!" a voice called from behind them and as they turned to face the recognized owner of the voice, a swooshing sound was heard and a moment after, Tom was stood beside Carlisle. He looked at her both relieved and desperately, frozen at his spot before he soon moved in to hug her close.

His large arms engulfed Amy into a bear hug and she wrapped her more arms up around his back and breathed in the safe smell of her father. After a moment like this he pulled back to look her up and down for injuries.

"Are you alright?" he asked her worriedly.

"Yes, I'm fine. Feeling a little clumsy, that's all." She assured him as they turned to the Cullens.

"Wow. Clumsy and vampire is two things I've never thought could fit together!" Emmett's voice called from behind the trees.

The six of them turned and watched Edward, Emmett and Jasper appear out of the trees. Jasper and Emmett first with Edward in the back and the latter carried a dead buck over his shoulder.

Carlisle and Jasper shared a look, and he noticed Jasper's eyes carried the same color as they had before he left. Not a bright yellow-like after a hunt, but more of a dirty golden, which meant he had kept in control whilst doing the task they now had successfully returned from.

"Up and moving?" Emmett asked the Scandinavian girl.

"Up at least." She answered given.

"Well, that's good. Hopefully after we try this, they'll be moving," he said as he nodded towards Alice and the other limp vampires.

"Maybe… you should take her for a walk? Try to get her body responding normally again," Carlisle suggested as he turned to Tom and Amy. The red-eyed vampire laid hungry eyes on the buck briefly before looking back at Carlisle, knowing where he was getting at.

"Yes, let's. Come along." He agreed before leading Amy towards a forest path. The two of them left, Amy tentatively walking behind him.

The two of them had no control over their thirst whatsoever and doing this wouldn't do any good with them around, so sending them off would seem only fair.

"Let's try this and bring them back." Jasper said somberly and made his way over with the others, soon facing Garrett and Carmen sitting with the soon-to-be-awake vampires.

A/N: There you go. I had major problems with this (boring) chapter, but this will have to do. And I apologize yet again for late publishing, but I've had too much on my hands.

Until then,

~Dragon