Chapter 25: Save You

A/N: I would love to thank everyone who has reviewed, commented, read or even thought about reading my story. It warms my heart that I have a constant readers, you guys mean the world to me. And to those who are new to this story, I would like to say hello and welcome. I am glad that I got a positive response to the storyline that I have introduced; I am glad that all of you are willing to follow me there and I hope that you continue all of you enjoy what I am reading.

Sue's POV

It had been a hard six months that everyone has had to endure, it is so hard for a mother to see their child so heartbroken and it is sad when that heartbreak has left with her with so many unanswered questions. The moment that I saw the expression on Leah's face when Seth and I picked her and Carlisle up from the airport I knew that she would never be the same at least not until he came home. Seth told me that the moment that the Cullens found out that Carlisle went straight to L.A to console Leah, I would have gone myself but everything came in a flash and I was so wrapped up in the pain that my daughter was experiencing. We didn't go home we went over to the Cullens and Leah forced the small one, I think her name is Alice to explain everything that she saw when she had one her vision, that was still so strange to me to know someone could see the future. As I held Chris in my arms I heard what she told Alice, how she saw a group of Vampires heading the direction of Jeremiah's family but that was it nothing else, not who it was or what they were doing but she knew that they were not friendly ones. My first instinct was to think that he just up and left her but I the minute I thought that I was Edward look at me and shake his head, in that instance I remembered what Seth told me that he could read minds. But even if he didn't shake his head at me I knew that what I thought was completely he loved my daughter and their child so much and he would never hurt them that way. I had a family, he had people that he loved and that loved him back and he never seemed like the kind that would turn his back on everything. I left Chris with Leah who just sat on the cough so expressionless and went over to Carlisle who by himself looking out into the forest.

"Excuse me Carlisle," I tell him

"Sue what kind I help you with?" he asks

"Look I heard everything that you daughter told us but I still have a bunch of questions," I tell him

"I'm afraid everyone does," he tells me

"Did he have any enemies that would think about kidnapping him, can you guys even be kidnapped?" I ask

"Well although I have known him a short amount of time I consider us to be good friends and he has opened up to me as much as he has opened up to your daughter and what I know and his past I don't know of anyone who is still alive that would do this to him. Of course there are possibilities that have entered my mind," he response

"Like what?" I ask without even thinking

"Maybe the government, truth be told they never knew or they never wanted to know what happened to him and now that he had decided to make a home and have family maybe they were able to pinpoint his location and followed him to L.A where his family is but since Alice never had a vision of this, I believe it to be unlikely possibility," he tells me

"Okay but you must have other theories," I tell him

"Well again I go back to the vision that my daughter had and if she right and she normally is it means that a small contingent of our kind has taken it upon themselves to kidnap a member of our coven. I know that he will never be a Cullen but I will always consider him to be a part of my family and in turn a member of this Coven. So either Jeremiah had not been completely honest about his past, which I think is highly unlikely or someone that we have wronged has come back to take their revenge,' he tells me

"So in other words you don't know do you?" I ask not really having to wait for him to respond because something tells me that I already know what the answer is

He nods in response

"What did you tell his family? I ask

"Well believe it or not they knew or at least his mother and sister knew that he was a Vampire and that Leah was a shape shifter. We told them the truth that he was kidnapped and that we don't know who did it but we would tell them when we found him," he tells me, I felt bad for them that someone that they cared for deeply had been hurt and taken away from them and they wouldn't be able to help or even know the truth about what was really going on

It was a position that I knew too well, because the truth was that me being human and me being with Charlie meant that I would never be in the inner circle and would never have firsthand knowledge of what was really ever going on but it wouldn't stop me from finding out I made sure that when I wasn't with Leah and the baby I would be with either Jacob or Carlisle trying to find out as much as I could. That was another problem we had when Charlie found out about what happened he immediately demanded that we called the L.A.P.D and the FBI because he knew that Jeremiah had spent some time in the military so he believed that the government should be involved. No one knew what to say he was right under normal circumstances they police should have been involved but this was definitely not a normal situation; thank God for Jacob who came up with a good story for why that was a bad idea, he told Charlie that Jeremiah was AWOL and that informing the police and the F.B.I would lead to more problem. I saw the anger in Charlie face when Jacob told him that, he had such respect for those in the military and for him to hear that someone would willing disrespect the country was something he could not forgive but this was all for not because Jacob told him that he left because his mother was diagnosed with cancer and they would not give him any leave to see her. You could tell that his opinion of Jeremiah had softened. I knew that all of these lies would bite us in the ass eventually but the truth was that this was my future son in law that was missing, this was the man that my daughter loved, and the father of my grandchild it didn't matter to me how me lies we would have to tell or how much money would be spent or even how many favors had to be asked; we had to find him there was no doubt about that I would not allow us to have a let down we would find him. And I knew that I wasn't only doing this for myself but also for his family. I got the number of his mother from Carlisle and I called her every week to inform her of any progress that we made. Carlisle had called Jeremiah's family in Ireland and informed them about what happened, a few days later they had all come and the older one talked with Leah for awhile, my guess is that she spent that time consoling her. I was glad when I saw the slight traces of a smile coming from Leah, I didn't hear much of what was said but I did hear a few words; hope, love, family. I promised myself that when this was all over that I would that her for everything that she did for my daughter.

We had hope, but that hope quickly went away when I found out from Seth every contact that the Cullen had around the world had been used and nothing came of it. Hell Jacob even had the boys travel up and down the coast of the U.S and even into Canada looking for any foreign vampire scent. Of course Sam had to be Sam, he argued that we would be leaving the reservation unguarded by spreading our numbers to thin.

"I know you may hate the guy but Leah doesn't, so if you are going to be so fucking stubborn on the matter know that this isn't for Jeremiah this is Leah and her son, my grandson," I told him when he decided to open his big mouth

"What do I care about a half leech/" he quickly retorted

"That child or as you so eloquently stated half leech is a member of this tribe, and we look out for those of our kind. Samuel you know what it is like to grow up without a father and how hard it is to grow up without that figure in your life, Joshua left you and your mother without even a goodbye, are you willing to condemn my grandson to such a fate? Although I am still saddened by the fact that Harry died I am glad that he was with us long enough for him to be Leah and Seth until they became young adults. The fact is that Charlie will never be his father and I would never ask that of him but I am glad that Seth has a male adult around so that if Seth would ever have any questions that I am in no position to answer at least their would be someone there that he is comfortable with that could answer those questions. Look Sam you have become a good leader to our people and you have protected them quite admirably, the fact that I even allow you in my house even after what you did to my daughter is proof enough that I believe that you have become a decent man. You definitely have your faults but you are a good man; I have seen that in the way you love my niece and in the way you protect these lands. So I am asking you, no I'm begging you to do this, to send the boys to look for Jeremiah and those who took him," I told him

I saw the expression on Sam's face soften

I knew that he was thinking it over and it would have been so easy for him to say no but he nodded

I gave him a quick hug and let him go, he needed to leave you could see it in his face

That conversation was about 5 months ago and in the end nothing came of it, the boys had not found any scent that was new. When they all got back and told us, Edward and Jasper went back to L.A to see what they could find. I talked to Carlisle and he told me that they found two scents and they seemed familiar but something was throwing them off he said that it smelt like chloroform but a thousand times stronger, they followed the scent to a private airport but then nothing because apparently all the travel logs were missing so no one knew where there final destination would be and that an employee of the airport said that they only dealt with someone on the phone so they could not give a description of what they looked. It was the first and only solid lead that we had in the last six months and still nothing, all we knew that it was more than one vampire and that there was a strange scent that mixed in with their scents and that they had left vie an airplane.

There was definitely good days and bad days for my daughter, there were days when she wouldn't even come out of the room expect for when she had to get thing for Chris or when he needed to be bathe. Everyday that child looked more and more like his father and I didn't know how Leah would respond to that, sometime I would see her smile when he did something that was far beyond cute and then there were times when I would see a small tear fall down her cheek when she looked into her son's eyes. Everyone knew that when she had the Ipod that Jeremiah bought her on that she wanted to be left alone. And then there were the days when she was more sociable which meant that she would snare at anyone who made her mad, I think that the only people that she never went off on were me and Chris. But at least I was glad that she wasn't completely closing herself off to the world, which was something that I was holding on to.

"How are you feeling?" I asked her once making sure that she didn't have that damn Ipod on, which is always had at it's maximum volume

"Fine mom," is all she said

"Leah, talk to me," I begged her

"I feel so lost mom, like I'm dead inside. I'm dead without him, the only reason that I am able to get up in the morning is because know that our son depends on me to be strong enough for him. But everyday it takes all the energy that I have no to break down. I wish that home and that I could feel his arms around me where I know that I could be forever," she told me

"Have faith my daughter, Jeremiah will come home. He would never leave and your child willingly, that's what you need to hold on to," I told her

"But what if he is hurt, what if something happened to him and can't remember who we are and that is why he hasn't come home to me. Worse yet what if he is dead?" she asks me

"You can't think that way Leah, you'll drive yourself insane with worry. Just have faith that's all I can tell you," I told her

She sighs as she hears Chris cry; she walks into her room and locks the door behind her. That child had been crying a lot lately, I knew that Chris knew that his father was gone; I had seen how observant that child had become, anytime that Leah would cry I saw how Chris lifted his tiny hand and placed it on her cheek trying to console her.

I knew that she was fighting with everything she had not to break down and that made me proud of my daughter. But It didn't stop me from hoping that my son in law would come home to everyone that he love, to his family, to my daughter

Athenodora's POV

I was traveling the halls of our new home more and more everyday now; it was all still foreign to me. So much of my life had spent in that great home that I loved dearly but my sister was right we needed to make a new home she said that it was because we needed to stay off of the radar of everyone till our plan was ready to execute but that wasn't it to me. We needed to leave that home because of all the memories that we had of that place and I knew that I couldn't stay a minute there or I would break down, I had lost the love of my life, I had lost my friends, my family and I would always be left wondering why all of this had to happen. Were the Cullens so bad that the entire Guard along with our husbands to go to fight them; was all of this bloodshed necessary? Did they have to kill everyone that I loved? Were they just defending themselves or was this something more? Did my family go to make peace with Carlisle and his coven or did they go to destroy their way of life? I was left with so many unanswered questions and I don't think that I would ever get my answers. I knew that Sulpicia truly believed in her heart of hearts that what we were doing was right, the Cullens needed to pay for what they did and using young Jeremiah was exactly what deserved. I wish that I had the same certainty that my sister had, I was I able to believe whole heartily that what were doing was right but I wasn't sure of anything anymore.

These were the thoughts that I always pondered as I made my way up and down these halls. The ability to have several trains of thoughts made it easier for me to hide these thought from everyone especially Sulpicia, she needed me to be strong for her, she needed me to back her play. Our numbers had growing over the last few months, we decided that we needed a batch of newborns if we were going to pull this off; each one had been selected on their backgrounds. Sulpicia had once told me that in Aro's study was a collection of potential candidates; all had a background in the military so we knew that they could easily be trained and they could all be asset to us. One specific newborn had risen above the other; his name was Nathaniel he was a military man much like Jeremiah. It wasn't before long that Jeremiah decided that he would his captain, his right hand man. There were many nights when those two would speak of strategy and would spar until the sun would come up. Anytime that I am around him I would get this strange feeling the pit of my stomach; I didn't know what it meant but it felt good, it was a feeling that I hadn't felt in such a really long time and I didn't know how to explain it but I knew that It made me happy whenever I was around Nathaniel, and I knew that he felt the same way because he would always smile at me, which would always make me smile at him. All of these thoughts that were in my head quickly went away the minute I saw Jeremiah leaning against one of the pillars looking out into the markets of Volterra.

I went up to him; I knew that he noticed my presence. To the human eye you wouldn't have seen it but I noticed the slight movement of his head, which I took as him acknowledging me.

"My liege," I told him as I bowed

"Athenodora, you never have to call me that. Jeremiah will be just fine," he tells me

I smile as a lean with my back against the pillar next to the one he is leaning against

"Certainly whatever makes you happy," I tell him

"Thank you," he says as he looks out into Volterra

"Have you seen your lovely wife?" I ask

"Oh you know her, she is out doing what she normally does," he tells me

"What's wrong Jeremiah? You seem really distant," I ask

"Nothing I just feel so out of place here and I don't know if that will ever go away," he tells me

"But this is your home, this is your family," I tell him

"I know Athenodora, Sulpicia has told the same thing when she asked the same question but I don't feel like this is my home. I walk around this place everyone calls me master and bows to me; that just doesn't feel right. I'd rather be alone with my thoughts than be considered the leader of this city, of these people. How am I supposed to be this kind of royalty among our kind when I feel like I'm a regular guy or as regular as I can be. These clothes that I am wearing seem so strange to me, they're robes that make me look like a monk. I'd rather be wearing a dress shirt and pants and yet I wear these because I am suppose to. Sulpicia looks so normal in these clothes but I feel like so strange and yet I cant explain why. The only time I feel like myself or who I use to be is when I am training or sparring with Nathaniel. That isn't right, isn't?" he asks me

"Don't worry Jeremiah give yourself sometime and trust me it will all start to come back to you," I tell him

"God, I hope he doesn't because if his memories come back to him then we are all dead, literally," I think to myself

"Thank you Athenodora, don't tell my wife this but I feel more comfortable around than her; you have become a true friend to me, a true confidents. You have been so understanding with me and have answered all of my questions about this life, about who I am suppose to be; I can see how hard it is on Sulpicia the look on her face says it all, she wants me to be her husband, the man that is suppose to be in love with her but I cant be the same guy she fell in love with; all of the memories that she talks about, all of these experiences that we supposedly had are so foreign to me that it feels like it is the completely other guy that she talking about. That she fell in love with someone else and she is trying to make me into this guy that she is talking about. But I am not him, I'm not this guy I'm me and it seems like she can't understand that," he tells me

Had I been so wrong about all of this, all of the conversation that Jeremiah and me have had recently made me realize how much of a good man he really was. I loved Aro and I definitely loved my husband but the truth was that they felt that they were better than everyone else but Jeremiah never felt that way or at least he never showed that. Anytime someone came up to him he always spoke to him or her with such respect even the servants, which always bothered Sulpicia she would immediately chastise Jeremiah for acting that way. She would always tell him that he needed to treat the servants as servants and the peasants as peasants. He would always shake his head at her and tell her that if he is suppose to be the ruler that she had made him out to be then he needed to treated everyone in his kingdom equally and that just because he was considered royalty among these people that it didn't mean that he was better than anyone else. He took this point to home when he decided to use the money in our accounts to begin the remodeling of the entire city because he felt that the standard of living in Volterra had fallen off and everything needed to be upgraded. Sulpicia was not happy to say the least but it wasn't like she could say anything because she would have been in danger of telling him the truth that he wasn't really everything that she had portrayed him out to be. Jeremiah was right we needed to take care of our people. In their final years Aro, Marcus and Caius had become so wrapped up in what was happening with the Cullens and how they were threatening their position of power. They had forgotten about our people, they had forgotten about our responsibilities to them and how we needed to take care of them.

"It just be the person you think you are and everything will turn out just fine, if you try to be someone else then you would just be lying to yourself," I tell him

But before he could respond to what I just said I felt someone come up to us, it was Sulpicia

"Now what are my two favorite people talking about?" she asks as she passes by me and wraps her arms around Jeremiah's stomach and leans into him

"Nothing dear, we were just talking about how well the newborns have been doing," he tells her

"Oh yes, they have been great especially Nathaniel who has become such an asset to us and has become such a fine captain in the guard," she tells him

"Yes he has, which is why I want him with me when we travel to the states," he tells her

"What about Heidi and the guard?" she asks him

"Well I believe that Heidi is a strong warrior, which is why I feel that it best that she stay here along with the majority of the guard to protect the city. I will only be taking Nathaniel and a few of the newborns; the reason is that this is a recon mission. I want to test out the defenses of the Cullens and the Native Americans living there. And if all goes to plan then we will back gather the guard and return to eliminate them once and for all," he tells her

There is a slight hesitation in his face, I know that Sulpicia didn't notice it but I certainly did. We are thrusting him into a battle where he would be fighting those he loves and the truth is that it became harder and harder to continue to lie to him. He didn't deserve this even those he was responsible for the killing of those that I loved.

Then the reason that I had smiling so often lately came up to us

"My lord," he says to Jeremiah as he gives me a wink

I smile of course

"How many times have I told you Nathaniel, I never want you to come me "my lord", "my liege", or even "sir". Just call me Jeremiah and I will just call you Nathaniel; we are equals nothing more nothing less," he tells him

I see that Sulpicia is rolling her eyes but it didn't matter as no one really paid her any attention

"Is everything ready?" Jeremiah asks

"That is what I came to tell you, we are prepared to leave when you are," he tells him

"Then lets go," he tells him