Author's Note: So sorry! Don't hate me for the long waits lately. Grad school courses are laying it all on thick. Between multiple group projects, individual projects, tests, homework, and my job, I hardly have time to sleep, much less write. Not sure when Waiting in the Sunlight will be updated. I can promise it will be up as soon as I c an, but I have no clue when that will be.

DISCLAIMER: Stephenie Meyer, along with Little, Brown and Company, owns all the rights to the Twilight Saga. I own nothing and profit nothing from this story.

Previously on Learning to Live Again…

We went down the stairs and chatted with Talia. She beamed at the idea. She'd been dropping hints because she was hoping that Celia would find a replacement before she left. Talia didn't want to leave the store empty handed. We agreed that I would start on Wednesday. That gave me the following day to get done anything I needed before I started working.

After we got things settled, I headed for the truck. I didn't see any sense in driving back to Forks only to come back down for the pack meeting. Jacob and Quil would both be in school, so I decided on someone else to hang out with.

I pulled up to the house around noon. I carefully extracted myself from the truck. Regretfully that was one thing that would need to change when the baby arrived. My old truck was not baby safety approved. I wasn't too sure how I was going to afford something that was new and nice enough to drive a baby in. Maybe I could pick something cheap and broken, and I could pay Jacob to fix it. Sighing, I turned toward the house and walked up the steps. I knocked on the door and waited. After a few minutes I knocked a little harder.

"This better be important, Quil!" The front door ripped open and a scowling Leah stood before me.

"You're not Quil."

"No, I'm not." She sniffed the air.

"I can hardly smell you. You reek of him."

"Oh," I said, not sure what else there was to say.

"Why do you smell like him?" Weird question if it would have come from any normal human being. Only I didn't appear to have the capability to hang out with normal, run of the mill mortals. It just wasn't in the stars for me, and I was perfectly fine with that.

"I was with him this morning." Not a total lie. I was, even if I wasn't awake for it.

"Uh huh," she said with her eyes narrowed. "Well, to what do I owe today's visit?"

"I needed something to do and everyone else has a life, work or school."

Leah snorted. "Gee, thanks, Bella."

"It's true. You have just as much life as I do. Though starting real soon I'll have a life."

"Meaning what?"

"I got a job today."

"Where?" I took a look around. The clouds looked like they could open up and drown me at any moment.

"Can I come inside and tell you, or are you going to make the pregnant lady stand outside all day and quite possibly catch pneumonia?"

"No need to pull the knocked up card out. All you had to say was that you planned on staying awhile," she joked.

Leah opened the door wider so that I could go inside. We walked into her living room and sat down on the couches. The room looked almost identical as it did when Sue still lived there. Only a few pictures were missing from the mantel.

"Well, I thought you could figure that out. Sorry I overestimated you."

"You sure are in a feisty mood today."

"Only with you, Leah, only with you. Someone has to give you crap, and all the guys are too chicken to do it."

"Aw, but they are, aren't they? I like it that way. More fun for me," she said beaming.

"You have to be able to take it if you plan to give it."

"I can take it; I just like giving it better."

"Whatever."

"So what about this job?"

"It's for Quil's mom. I'm going to take over the payroll, inventory, and other stuff like that."

"Sounds like something that you could do well."

"I hope so. It sounds like a lot of responsibility. More than I would give a twenty year old. One mess up with me and I could screw up the whole business."

"I think you're over exaggerating a bit, Bella. Plus, I think when you're having a child, people tend to assume, or at least hope, that you're responsible."

"It was irresponsibility that landed me this way."

"No, you practiced safe sex both times, so bad luck landed you this way. Well, that fate, destiny or some other shit like that. Who knows, not me that's for sure. And when I say hoping, I meant that if you're planning on raising the egg you're cooking, most would hope that you would at least be on you're way to being responsible."

"I guess. And I am, responsible that is, for the most part. I still think she's only giving the job to me because of Quil being possible daddy number two."

"Well, duh. I mean, no offense, you're a great person and all, but she'd have no reason to even give you a second thought if it wasn't for the fact that you may hold her first grandchild in there," she said pointing to my enlarged belly. I swore I could see it grow before my eyes.

"What happens if she's not his?"

"If it doesn't matter to Quil, then I don't think it will matter to her either. Have you given any more thought about that?"

"More thought about what?"

"Quil and being with him."

Ugh, not what I wanted us to talk about. I didn't really know what I wanted us to talk about, but this was not it. I couldn't talk about this. I was a bad liar and she would get it out of me. Leah was just like that.

"Leah, I don't really want to talk about that now."

"Well, have you?" She pushed.

"Yes," I whispered.

"And…" I sighed.

"Can we talk about this later?"

"When is later?"

"Tomorrow."

"What will one day do?"

"Enough," I muttered.

"Is that right? Well, that's interesting to know. One day will made a difference in being able to talk about it. Let me think why that could possibly be."

"Just leave it alone, Leah. Please."

"Not uh. Think, think, think." Her eyes crinkled and a small frown formed on her face. "Oh! It's the meeting tonight. Something about it will let you talk tomorrow." She waited for some clue as to if she was right or not. I stared straight faced back at her. "Okay, don't tell me, but I know I'm right. So is it good news? I think it is since you're not being bitchy or crying."

"You said I was feisty earlier. That could mean I'm in a bad mood and that would mean that it didn't go well."

"Yeah, but you're feisty when you're in a good mood. It's different that being bitchy. Feisty is in good fun, while bitchy is all about anger."

Well, I guess you're the expert since you're the queen of being a bitch."

"See, that there is being feisty. I know that you don't really mean it."

"Sure, I'm feisty then."

"Which means it's good news. You decided to give him a chance. That's why you smell like him." Suddenly her eyes shined with new awareness. "Oh my God, you two had sex!"

"What? No, I don't smell like sex, I just smell like him."

"Nice try working around the actual accusation, Bella."

"What are talking about? I didn't do that. I answered the question."

"If you were innocent you're simple response would have been, 'Duh, why do you think he's possible daddy number two.' But you didn't go with the simple response. I of course know that the two of you have had sex. And I didn't even say you had sex today, I just said you'd had it. So that all leads me to believe that you two have had sex in the time since he phased last. So that's what, three days roughly. That gave you more than enough time to wash the sex smell off."

"You sure do put a lot of effort into analyzing things. Maybe you should look into being a psychiatrist, or perhaps even an investigator, that way you could sniff you're way to the clues."

"Funny, Bella. I almost put as much time into analyzing as you do deflecting questions."

"I'm not deflecting anything."

"Yes, you are. You just did it again. You're tying to pick an argument over this so that I won't remember my questions."

I narrowed my eyes. "Stop analyzing me."

She narrowed hers back at me. "Stop avoiding my questions."

"I hate you."

"I hate you too, little sister."

"We're not sisters yet and I'm only a few months younger than you are."

"But we will be and you will be the little sister that I always wanted but got stuck with Seth instead. I already know that Charlie bought a ring. He's been muttering to himself all week about getting up the courage to ask Seth and me for permission to ask Mom. So think of all this as practice. You were an only child and never got this experience. And all I got was a little brother, not the same as sisters fighting."

"It will be nice to have siblings finally."

"And the best thing, that makes me the aunt officially."

"Yeah, I guess it will."

"That means I should get to know the dirty details, so spill."

"You don't give up, do you, Leah?"

"Nope, so you might as well tell me now. We still have a few hours before the meeting and I can use every second of that time to bug until you cave. And by the way, you will cave. I'll make sure of it."

"Fix me lunch and I'll give you a sneak peek into tonight's topic of interest."

"I'll make cupcakes too if you give me everything." Cake sounded too tempting to pass up.

"Chocolate on chocolate and we have a deal. Just try not to let Sam or Quil know that I told you before."

"Sam knows?"

"Well, yeah, he's the Alpha. We kind of had to go through him to set up a meeting."

"Damn, I wanted to know before anyone else. 'Cause you know I so predicated this that day in the hospital. Quil had an air about him that I knew he'd succeed in winning you over."

"Yeah, yeah he did."

After I finished my lunch and the cupcakes were securely placed in the oven, timer on, did I gave her the plan of Quil stopping and then us hoping and praying that doing so would end the chance of imprinting. When I finished Leah sat dumbfounded.

"They're just going to let him stop?"

"Yeah, after the baby is born. They want us to take the next couple of months to make sure it's what we both really want."

"Wow, I don't foresee Jacob taking this well."

"Yeah, I'm a bit worried about him. Quil thinks if he truly wanted a future with me that he would have manned up and thought of a solution rather than ignoring it. I think even if he had thought of it they wouldn't let him. Not with him being rightful Alpha."

"Yeah, he has more responsibility to the pack and tribe than Quil does. I still think he'll be pissed. We might want to keep the meeting outdoors."

"I don't think he'll lose control."

"Always better safe than sorry."

"I just don't want to hurt him."

"You still love him."

"Yes, I do. Not exactly like I used to. I'm in love with Quil now. I want my future with him. But I still hold very strong feelings for Jacob, just as I do for Edward. They were both huge parts of my life, you can't just let go of that."

"Trust me, I know what you mean."

"Things happen for a reason, Leah. I think I've heard those words come out of your mouth a time or two."

"Doesn't mean that there's always a reason. And it's easier to believe such things about other people's lives rather than your own. But anyway, enough about my depressing self, I want to hear more about this meeting. I bet Old Quil shit bricks when he heard what Quil wanted to do."

"Yeah, he wasn't too pleased. He voted no."

"Who voted what?"

"Old Quil and that man I don't really know, Rafe, voted no."

"That old bat. He's like the grumpiest man on the reservation. Of course he would vote against someone else's happiness."

"He said it was because the tribe should come before one's self."

"It's not like having one less wolf is going to hurt the tribe. There are by far more of us than any other pack has ever had even without Quil. Some people are just stuck in the past. That's two. I would assume my mom would vote yes. What did Billy and Levi say?"

"Levi said yes because of what happened with you and Sam. He knows that Sam loves Emily, but he doesn't think a wolf should be pulled away from someone that he's already chosen for himself."

"I always did like that man. He doesn't speak much, but it's usually pretty smart to listen when he does."

"Yeah, I got that impression last night."

"So it was tied, and what Billy broke it in your favor."

"Precisely. He added the part about waiting until she's born and who she belongs to. I think he thinks Quil may change his mind if she belongs to Jacob."

"What do you think?"

"I don't think he will. I think it will hurt initially, but I think he'll stand by us. Down the line we can have our own children together. I don't think he'll lover this one any less because of her blood, but I know I want a little piece of him. Especially a little boy. I really want a little Quil." She laughed.

"Oh, so you want big trouble then." I shook my head.

"Quil will already know every trick in the book, so our son won't have a fighting chance at pulling them," I smiled. Leah smirked at my response and I felt my smile fade. "What?"

"That or he'll have a dad helping him." I completely frowned at that thought.

"Quil wouldn't do that, would he?"

"He's Quil, Bella. Before wanting you, he looked for trouble, anything he could find."

"Hmm, well, I guess I better get him trained before any boys come."

"Good luck with that."

"Thanks, I think I'm going to need it." I heard the buzzer go off, and my eyes widen in excitement. "Cupcake time!"

"They still have to cool before we can ice them."

"I don't wanna wait," I pouted.

"Unless you've developed some cooling power that I'm unaware of, then we wait." And that we did, but it was worth it. Each bite was like a little piece of heaven in my mouth.

I helped Leah clean up and we headed for Sam's house. The boys would get out of school soon and be making their way there as well. We walked into the house after Emily greeted us at the door. She was glowing with pre-wedding anticipation. Sam had yet to return from work himself. The three of us chatted about baby and wedding stuff. Emily was hinting that she wanted to throw a baby shower. I really tried to discourage her, but I don't think I succeeded. From the sounds of it, Celia and she had already teamed up.

A little while later, Sam came in and walked straight over to Emily. I saw Leah turn her attention else where in the room. I wondered if she would ever get a happy ending, or at least a pain-free one. She deserved someone of her own. I questioned in my head if she would be able to imprint. She was the only female, a first in tribe history. Was imprinting even possible for her? Even if it was, I didn't think she'd want it. She associated too much pain and heartbreak with it. Falling in love on her own terms would be what Leah would want. She's want that control. I think she needed it, to feel in control of at least one part of her life.

Another fifteen minutes passed before I heard the loud laughter and yelling that followed the pack every where. Any second they would all come through the door and the meeting would start. After that, who knew what would happen.

Author's Note: Leah time! I felt like she needed some more spotlight time in this story. Not many of you guessed her after last chapter. Most said Katie or Billy. Though remember Katie would be in school with the boys. Anyway, how did you like the chapter? The pack hears about Quil's future plans next chapter? Any guesses on what the reactions of the pack will be.