A/N: Sorry this is a short one, just needed a little filler! I'll try and get another one out this week!

Chapter 25

We left for the small airport in Port Angeles at dawn the next morning. The ride was quiet. I simply stared at the scenery passing outside my window. I had slept like the dead the night before, but I still felt slumbersome, I barely had the energy to lift my head...emotionally exhausted is what my dad called it, that really didn't seem to cover it though. Mom and dad were talking quietly in the front seat while Rose played a game on her cell phone next to me. From what I could gather from the conversation Seth had gone to LaPush last night to sort everything out with Sam and the rest of the pack. The Volturi would go to LaPush, they were certain of that. Leah, Ely, Embry, Seth and Ethan were going with us, that left only Brady, Colin, Paul and Quill to protect the tribe.. Sam was going to start phasing again, that was the only solution. Three more boys had phased just since my family had arrived a little over a month ago, they were sure there would be more. When all of this was over, Jake would have a bigger pack to take care of. I had written Billy a letter before I went to sleep last night, asking Rose to make sure he got it. I hadn't gone to see him since Jake disappeared, it was cowardly of me, but I just couldn't face him, I certainly couldn't go to his house, the house where Jake had grown up. I was ashamed of myself, ashamed of my weakness, but all I could do was apologize and hope that Billy understood. I had also asked him to come with us, partly because I wanted him safe, but mostly because I knew that Jacob would have never left his father behind. I hated leaving all of them behind, I hated having to run, I hated all of this. They were staying because it was their duty, we couldn't exactly hide an entire reservation of people for an unknown amount of time after all. I still didn't have to like it though. I felt cowardly, running away, but I was out voted, and Jake was going to be there, and I had to be with him.

I don't remember much about the plane ride down to Louisiana. I slept most of the way. When I stepped off the plane into the bright sunlight the heat nearly stole my breath. It was barely May and yet the heat and humidity were overbearing. Emmett and Esme were waiting for us, and we all took our turn with the hugs, even the wolves. An hour later we were standing on a large boat dock overlooking the brownish water of the Gulf. I had made the mistake of referring to it as a boat, Emmett had given me a disgusted look and told me it was in fact a ship. So the "ship" was to be our home for the next..however long. It was a nice ship, I'll give them that. It was an old cruise ship, but not like the huge ones prowling around the ocean. It was about half the size of the big Carnival ships you see in the commercials. It was 7 decks high. The lowest deck was all engines and water and fuel, probably a place I would never go. Other than a few mechanical changes it hadn't been touched. The rest of the ship had been totally gutted and redone. The next deck had a huge rec room in the aft section, complete with pool tables, air hockey, 2 wide screens and every gaming console I could think of, a small bar and an area for playing board games, and if I knew Esme, there was a closet somewhere that held every game imaginable. The rec room literally took up half of the deck, the other half was a gym filled with equipment and an infirmary. At first I didn't understand the need for all of this, but then realized that we would all be stuck on this ship for an indefinite amount of time, the wolves get antsy after being cooped up for too long. Up next, in the bow section of the 3rd deck was a large theater room with stadium seating, a galley and a large dining room. The aft section was split up into 4 huge suites. Embry and Abby snagged one, as did Seth. Mickie also grabbed one for her and Bay. The 4th deck was the vampire deck. There were 7 suites on this deck, Esme and Emmett had torn down walls and made the small staterooms into huge rooms. All the vampires were staying on this deck. The 5th story had 4 large rooms in the middle. The aft section was an open deck with a large pool and a full bar. There was also a small library and the forward section was a glass enclosed lounge area. Ethan took one of the rooms, Leah and Ely took another. The 6th deck was smaller, only 1 large room was made on this deck, there were also 14 original staterooms, and a large open area with a hot tub. I took the large room for myself. The 7th deck was an open sun deck. Esme, Emmett and Wyatt done all of this in such a short amount of time, even though I grew up with vampires it still amazed me what they could get done. I guess anything is possible when you don't have to sleep. Esme had of course made it as comfortable and luxurious as possible. The redone suites were all beautifully decorated in differing color schemes. The room I chose was done in pale blue. Esme had even thought to put in the good thick squishy carpet I loved so much. It was a pale sand color, the walls only a shade darker. There was a huge window in the outer wall with sheer white drapes. A king size bed was on the left hand wall flanked by two honey colored night stands. Across the large room was an entertainment center that housed a flat screen TV and a DVD player, along the door wall was a large dresser and a large mirror. The bathroom was to the left, it was small, with a toilet, sink and one of those corner tubs. I sat my bags down on the bed and began unpacking, Carlisle was getting Jacob and all of his equipment set up in the infirmary, so I had a few minutes before I went back down to Jacob. After putting my clothes away I went to the large window and looked outside. Apparently we were already on our way, I could see the boat dock in the distance. We obviously weren't wasting any time.

I made my way down a short hallway to the elevators and punched the button for Deck 1. A few moments later the doors were opening and I was heading towards Jacob. Carlise and my father were in the room with him, making sure he was hooked up to all the necessary machines.

"Any changes?" I asked as I stepped towards Jacob and took his hand.

"I'm still getting thoughts from him, they're starting to make a little more sense." my father said.

"That's good right?"

He ruffled my hair as he put his arm around me. "Hopefully" he told me.

"I was wondering earlier, " I said, pausing to turn and face Carlisle. "Why hasn't his werewolf healing kicked in?"

"I believe his healing is directly tied to his phasing, if he hasn't been able to phase, perhaps that's why his healing has slowed down. It's just my opinion though. I can't be sure." he said.

"Is there any way to make him phase?" I asked.

"I've spoken to Seth and Leah about that, there's no way to force it. Time will tell." My father said.

"His vitals are greatly improved Renesmee," Carlisle said from across the room. "He's getting stronger every day, if his problems were only physical, I would say he would wake up at any moment, but I have no idea what other trauma he's been through. He's safe, he's back with us. Focus on that Renesmee, we'll deal with anything else as it comes along." He left the room after quickly kissing me on the head.

"Did he just skip out the door dad?" I asked, looking up at him.

He gave me his signature smile and nodded. "He hasn't seen Esme in a month, I think they'll be busy for a while." He gave me a wink and I couldn't help but giggle. It felt good. Carlisle was right, I was going to be thankful for what I had right now, and deal with the rest later.