It felt like mere minutes before someone was nudging her awake again, but as the dreamlike images of yesterday arrived once more—her elation over the divorce paperwork, curled up on the couch with Carlisle, Embry's panic as he pleaded from the yard, the small room that held Jacob with his broken bones and blood—she slowly came to her senses, realizing it was neither a dream nor her imagination at work. Yesterday had just been that chaotic.

"Esme," Carlisle whispered, running a cool fingertip behind her ear and down her neck. The motion pulled her out of the last bits of sleep and she groaned.

She hadn't even opened her eyes yet, but it felt very, very early. Through the thin slit in her eyes, she could barely make out the rough shape of the furniture, which meant it was still dark outside.

"I have to go check on Jacob," Carlisle said.

That stirred something in her and she fought with the blanket that had gotten wrapped around her body overnight. "I'm up," she mumbled. "I'm awake."

"I see that," he laughed, helping to untangle her. His lips grazed the side of her face once she was free. "Shall I put the coffee pot on?"

"Mmm, yes please." She flopped back in a heap as soon as he was gone. She could hear him tinkering in the kitchen. She could also hear the almost silent swoop of quick feet as the other Cullen's moved deftly around the house. They tried, for her sake, not to be quite so graceful when she was around. It was easy to be startled when your company was capable of making no noise at all.

She sat up, figuring a quick shower and a change of clothes was in order before she went to the reservation again. As Carlisle finished with the coffee, she hurried upstairs into his bedroom to get ready.

By the time she was finished, leaving the bathroom in a wave of steam, Carlisle had left her coffee in a travel mug on the dresser. She took a sip and gathered her things, joining him in the living room.

He'd been busy while she was showering, collecting an array of medical supplies. He didn't boast about it, but she knew he kept quite a supply in the house. Though it made sense, considering his profession, it was also odd seeing as gauze and morphine and suture kits were all useless for a vampire. That being said, she could only assume that Carlisle had begun to stockpile his reserves once he'd met her—once it became evident that love had tied them together. He was prepared for anything, but whatever the reason now, Esme was glad because it meant that Carlisle had been ready when Jacob had needed him.

Thankfully Esme was far less accident-prone than what she'd been told of Bella's last human year and none of these things had been needed.

"Are you ready?" Carlisle asked her.

She nodded. The light outside was just starting to crest through the trees and it cast a lime and silver haze across the yard. It was wet and slushy, the ground slick, so Carlisle held her hand on the way to the car, in case she should slip, but she felt awake and steady now.

He turned the heat on high as soon as they were both belted in, but they were pulling onto the reservation before the engine even had time to fully warm up.

"They just let you drive onto the property?" Esme observed.

"Sam's in the woods," Carlisle said, turning his head towards the trees.

A large black figure moved in the shadows, following them silently all the way to the Black residence. When Carlisle parked, Sam exited the trees, no longer a wolf, but a human, clad in a pair of jean shorts that had seen better days.

He looked tired, purple circles marring the skin beneath his eyes. Esme wondered if he had been up all night.

Sam didn't approach them, only made his presence known, and let them visit unimpeded. The rest of the pack and the assorted friends that had been gathered here yesterday had clearly gone home to sleep.

Esme admired Sam's dedication to his role as pack leader.

She was the first one up the stairs, followed closely by Carlisle with his black bag which had become an all too familiar sight lately. She moved to knock but Carlisle shook his head and opened the door. It wasn't locked.

"Jacob's still asleep," he whispered.

As they moved into the house, she spied Billy in the kitchen with a mug. He raised his hand in a silent welcome as Carlisle nodded and slipped into Jacob's room.

Esme followed the hall to Billy first. "How's he been?" she asked.

"Not bad. He got a little restless around midnight, but Carlisle showed up just in time to get him settled again."

Carlisle? Esme tried to control the grin that threatened to spread across her face. First name basis was definitely an improvement from the doctor and definitely from leech.

"Did he sleep the rest of the night?"

"Like a log. Didn't even snore."

"It does seem oddly quiet here," Esme said.

"It's just me and Jacob right now. Rachel went to stay at Sam and Emily's for a bit. She wanted to be here, to help look after him, but where she goes right now, Paul also goes—he and Jake have a tense relationship as it is—so we thought it best to keep Paul away for now."

Esme suspected it might also have something to do with Carlisle coming and going so frequently from the house. She didn't say it, but Billy caught her eye and she knew.

Carlisle appeared in the doorway to the kitchen. She smiled, but Billy looked up, surprised, spluttering on his coffee. "You're a quiet one, Doc."

Carlisle ducked his head, offering a genuine smile. "I'm happy to report that Jacob is healing remarkably well. I suspect that he'll be up walking again by the end of the week."

"That's good news," Billy said. "Really good."

"I'll continue to check in on him, however, when he does start moving around again, I would suggest that he doesn't phase right away. I suspect that the transition from human to shifter puts a lot of stress on the musculature and I would worry that he might re-fracture newly healed bones."

"Understood," Billy said.

"I've also told Jacob this," Carlisle said, the corner of his lips twisting, "though his reply of sure, sure wasn't as convincing as I would have hoped."

Billy snorted. "Kid got his mother's eloquence and sarcasm. But don't worry, I'll make sure he understands. He's gonna be grounded for the better part of his youth anyway, so he won't have a lot of time to go running off in the woods."

Esme patted Billy's shoulder. She knew he'd have a hell of a time trying to contain Jacob once he was good and healed.

Carlisle cleared his throat. "He asked to see you, Esme."

"He's still awake?"

"Yes." He gestured to the door.

"Ask him what he wants for breakfast," Billy requested. "Actually, never mind. Kid gets whatever I feel like making him."

Esme chuckled. "Somehow I suspect any kind of food will satisfy him." She left Billy and Carlisle in the kitchen and ventured into Jacob's room. The curtains were drawn, letting grey light spread across his brown bedspread. He had a binder wrapped around his torso now and some kind of sling holding his arm.

"Hey," he said, sounding groggy but eager to see her. Whether it was from sleep or the medication, she couldn't tell. He attempted to lift himself up on his elbows, wincing as he went, and Esme rushed to his side to help.

"Careful," she told him.

"Sure, sure," he grunted.

She grinned at his persistence. "How are you?"

"Oh, you know, just peachy."

She sat by his side. "Looks like someone finally wiped the blood off your face."

"I think that was dad actually. Let me tell you, if anything makes you feel like you're an infant again, it's having your wheelchair-bound dad scrub the dried gunk off your face. We've both agreed not to talk about it for the duration of our lives."

She rolled her eyes. "He's just worried. It helps to have something to do."

"Yeah, well, I'm not so incapacitated that I can't wash myself from now on." He blew out a grateful breath between his cheeks. "So, Embry is going to bring my school work by. Do you think you could stop by for tutoring since I'm going to be stuck in bed? I know we have the library thing going on—but since I can't exactly get there . . ." He gave her a signature Jacob grin.

"I'll talk to Carlisle. I'm sure we can work something out."

"Nice," Jacob said, flopping back down and getting comfortable. "Dad says I'm grounded for life. You think he's serious or just bluffing?"

"I think you scared him, Jacob," she said seriously.

"Ah, man, don't do the guilt thing. Why are parents and teachers so good at that?"

"It's part of the job description."

"Well, don't worry. I won't be driving again anytime soon. The Rabbit is wrapped around a tree and all my savings are wrapped up with it." He narrowed his eyes. "That should be punishment enough."

Esme hummed. "Not really."

"Don't tell me you're siding with dad?"

"I'm erring on the side of safety and following the rules of the road."

"I should have known," Jacob said, face twisted in some kind of smirk. "The Doc said you don't even like when he drives fast. And he has perfect reflexes."

So Carlisle and Jacob had been chatting. That realization warmed her. "He's right," she said. "And he's very good about it when I'm in the car. I know you feel invincible, but you're still very breakable."

"Trust me," he sighed, fiddling with his bedspread. "I know that now. Never thought I'd let a vamp purposely break my bones."

"And let's hope you never have to again."

"Yeah. Right."

He looked sort of defeated and Esme felt bad. "Is there any hope of saving it?"

"Probably not. It's still in the woods. I didn't have insurance on it and we didn't want to draw attention to the reservation by reporting the accident, so it'll probably just rust into a marshy pile in the green wasteland that is Forks. Ah, whatever." He yawned. "Is dad making me food?"

"As we speak."

"Cool." His eyes grew heavy again. The new morphine drip Carlisle had set up was clearly into Jacob's system now.

"I'll be back later," she promised.

"With snacks?"

"With snacks," she agreed. And he was out.

Esme spent the rest of the day with Carlisle, going back and forth from the reservation. Sometimes Jacob was awake and sometimes he was passed out. But she brought the snacks as promised, filling up Billy's poorly stocked cabinets. Even from bed, Jacob was eating him out of house and home.

"Believe it or not, this is far better than it usually is," Billy told her. "With Paul here a lot of the time, it's a stretch to keep them both fed."

"I can imagine," Esme said, shoving another container of cookies into the cupboard. Bella had been busy baking, and though Jacob said everything had a vampire-ish smell to it, he also said he wasn't going to turn down chocolate chips. So, for the first time in months, Bella had someone to cook for other than her and she was giddy about it. "How's that going anyway?" Esme wondered. "The Paul thing?"

"I mean, do I wish he and Jacob got along better? Yes. Is he a well-meaning kid? I think so. Do I wish Rachel would take her time and not rush into things? Definitely. But sometimes things are meant to be, even if I don't quite understand it."

"Are you worried about when Jacob starts dating?" Esme asked.

Billy shrugged a little but smiled. "He's my last one, so yes. Though it's a little more complicated for a shifter."

"How so?" Esme asked, holding the cupboard doors together precariously to see if anything would fall out.

Billy rolled over to the table. "There's this thing called imprinting that sometimes happens to them. It's sort of like fate intervenes and one day there's just this person who becomes your whole world."

"Is that what happened with Paul and Rachel?"

"Yes . . . She came home. He took one look at her. And he just knew. It's partly why I tolerate him. Why I force Jacob to be civil. I know there isn't a lot he can do to control it, but I also know he'd go to the ends of the earth to make Rachel happy."

"That seems kind of . . . strange," Esme said. "To navigate a world where one day that choice is made for you."

Billy nodded. "It can be. But it doesn't always happen. Jake insists he's never going to imprint, but . . ."

Esme tipped her head. Billy had a thoughtful expression on his face. "What?" she pressed.

"The genes run very deep with him, so I'd say his chances are pretty good. It was his great-grandfather, Ephraim Black, that originally established the treaty with Carlisle. In another world, it might have been Jacob that took up the mantle of pack leader."

Esme tried to imagine Jacob shouldering that burden of responsibility. His easy, carefree nature would have slowly been crushed under rules and constructs. Maybe even some of his sympathy.

"Sam is a good man," Billy said quickly. "Don't get me wrong. And he lives up to the legends of our ancestors. But as the alpha, his worldview has become very black and white. He's tolerating Carlisle's presence for Jacob's sake, but it wasn't an easy fight."

"Is it still a fight?" Esme wondered.

"Not so much. But Sam's been watchful. He's uneasy about the relationship that Jacob's developed with the Cullen's. Now Seth talks of them incessantly, too. And Embry and Quil don't seem to mind them all that much."

Esme sat down next to Billy, studying his old, weathered face. "Is there something you're trying to tell me?"

He reached out to touch her hand. "Jacob will do everything in his power to protect you, Esme. But the word of the alpha is all consuming. He cannot disobey a direct order."

The hair on her arms stood up as Billy spoke. This was a warning.

"He's told me about your plans for the future. And it's not my business to comment, but I do feel the need to tell you that the treaty extended to more than just land. It was agreed that the Cullen's would never bite a human here. That they would never change anyone."

Esme blinked hard. She really hadn't given her future much thought beyond what she would become. She hadn't considered when or how or even that she would have to leave Forks. That she would have to leave Jacob.

"So, what you're saying, is that in order for Carlisle to protect the treaty in Forks, I am going to have to say goodbye?"

Billy nodded. "I'd like to think that a span of years would be enough, but knowing what I do of Sam—"

"He'll still consider the treaty broken," she said.

"Yes. He knows you were human when you lived here. If you return to us, no longer human, he may very well send the pack to destroy the Cullen's."

Esme sat back, feeling winded.

"Nothing is certain, of course," Billy said. "And Sam often takes counsel with the elders. I just . . . once he's phased, we no longer have any say in what he tells the pack. I just don't want to see you hurt at the end of all of this."

She tried to smile, laying her other hand over Billy's. "Thank you for telling me. I guess those are things I'll have to figure out when the time comes, but let's just focus on getting Jacob well for now."

Billy nodded and let that conversation drop, moving on to more mundane topics.

On the drive home with Carlisle, she was quiet. He looked over several times, concern evident in his features, but she didn't have the energy to fake a smile for him. Billy's words had left an unexpected sting. She had anticipated the challenges that came with vampirism—the bloodlust mostly. But in a strange way, knowing Jacob was a shifter had eased that part of her mind. Vampires weren't called to their blood the same way they were to others. It was an adaptation that ensured the pack's survival. So some naive part of her thought she'd get to keep Jacob in her life—even if it took a while.

But now, with Sam and the treaty building a wall between them, it seemed as though she'd have to say goodbye to him after all.

Carlisle reached across the car and took her hand, lifting it to press a kiss to her knuckles.

He didn't have to say anything, that little bit was enough.

That afternoon Carlisle was scheduled to work, though he promised he'd be back in time to check on Jacob with her later.

Until then, Esme was left to spend the rest of the weekend in the company of the other Cullen's. It was a usual, rainy day and some of the family were planning a quick hunting trip. Although it was unnecessary, someone always stayed with her while the others were gone.

Today it was Emmett and Rosalie that had silently volunteered to stay behind, which worked out well because Esme had a favour to ask. She quickly finished up some of her classroom prep for Monday and as soon as the others had raced into the woods, went to find Emmett. He was standing in front of the TV when she arrived, shaking his head at the results of a hockey game.

A fight broke out on screen and he only turned to her when the referees had finally pulled the players apart.

"Having fun?" she asked.

"Eh . . . I'd rather be playing said sports, especially since I'm destined to repeat my senior years of high school for eternity, but family baseball is just as good when it happens."

Esme's brows pulled together. She vaguely recalled hearing something about some pretty incredible baseball games from Carlisle.

"Oh, right!" Emmett said. "You haven't seen us play yet."

"I think we'd both remember that." She glanced at the TV, but it looked like the game had just finished. "Can you help me with something?"

"Are we pranking Carlisle?"

"No."

"Edward?"

"No pranking. Nothing like that."

"Oh, well," he sighed, faking disappointment or perhaps genuinely disappointed—it was hard to tell. "Whatever you need. I'm here."

She smiled. "I need you to unwrap a car from a tree."

Both his brows shot up. "That's not at all what I thought you were going to say."

"What did you think I was going to say?"

"Never mind that now. Let's go." He didn't question her about it anymore or tell her it was a terrible idea. He was just happy to help her, and that was one of the truly great things about Emmett—he was always there when you needed him.

"How do you want to do this?" Esme asked as they cut through the garage. "Do we need some sort of—"

"Nah," Emmett said. He glanced at his jeep but shrugged. "I'll just pick it up. Kid's car isn't that big anyway, especially if it's an accordion now."

"Like you'll just . . ." Esme mimed picking something up.

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Alright then." In all actuality, she'd watched Emmett lift boulders over his shoulder for fun. This should be easy. But as she drove him out to the crash site and pulled up along the crushed wreck that was once Jacob's car, she still gaped when Emmett hopped out and easily lifted the vehicle, carrying it out of the ditch.

"So I'll meet you back at the house?" he said.

Esme nodded and Emmett grinned that familiar, blinding grin as he disappeared into the forest, most likely enjoying the look of shock on her face.

When Esme finally pulled up the driveway, she was unsurprised to find that Emmett had beat her there. He had already opened the garage and deposited Jacob's car inside on an empty patch of concrete workspace.

Rosalie entered at the sound of their return, standing at the top of the stairs leading into the house. She wore jeans and a grey flannel, with her long locks folded into a loose bun. She looked stunning, and completely out of place as she walked barefoot across the oil marked floor to stand beside Emmett. "What on earth is this?"

"What's left of Jacob's car," Esme said, joining them both to observe the extent of the wreckage.

Rosalie glanced at Emmett. "Please tell me no one saw you?"

"Babe, do I look that dumb?"

Rosalie murmured something that Esme couldn't hear, but Emmett just chuckled. Then Rosalie made a slow round of the metal heap, eyes flitting quickly left and right—possibly intrigued—while Emmett sat down.

"So . . ." Rosalie eyed them both after a beat. "I know what it is, but what's it doing here?"

Esme bit her lip. "I know it's really bad, but do you think you could look at it? Maybe tell me if anything is salvageable?"

"I thought you were against him drag racing?" Emmett said from his perch on a stack of tires.

"I am. Most definitely," Esme said. "But he put so much time into this car and it means a lot to him."

"You're too nice for your own good," Emmett said, but he hopped off his perch and immediately unbent part of the frame. "I mean, if anyone besides Carlisle could make me feel sympathy for some wolf-child, it's you. It's like you two were made for each other."

Rosalie nudged him in the arm but gave Esme a small grin. "I won't make any promises. But give me a few days. I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks, Rosalie."

Emmett rubbed his hands together. "I love a project."

As he walked into the house to change his clothes, Rosalie just shook her head and came to stand beside Esme. "He gets really excited when he gets to hold the cars up. Like I somehow forget that he's really strong." She paused. "Did he really just run home carrying a car over his head?"

"Yes, pretty much."

"Great," Rosalie said. She looked slightly concerned, though unsurprised and eventually set to work straightening out dents to see what she was working with. Esme left her to it and for the rest of the weekend, she could hear the hard knock of metal on metal as they worked.

The following days passed in a blur of tasks, most of which revolved around the reservation. Esme had spent so much time there lately, even alone with the boys, that it amazed her that there had ever been an issue with her travelling back and forth.

Despite Billy's warning about Sam and her future, the tentative truce between the two sides had made it far easier for Esme to navigate being with both Jacob and Carlisle. Alice was heated as ever, having no clue where half her family was seeing as someone was always in the company of a wolf, but aside from that and Jacob being injured, it was one of the best weeks of her life.

Now that Jacob had been cleared by Carlisle, however, the treaty had returned to full effect and Carlisle could no longer step onto the reservation. Even so, he'd given her no grief about driving out after school today. She'd taken to spending a few hours after school each day at the Black residence, helping Jacob stay caught up with his homework, and she was amazed when Embry, Seth, and Quil also managed to cram themselves into Jacob's tiny room.

"Our snack stash is getting low," Seth said, looking dejectedly at an empty container that had previously held a batch of muffins Bella had made.

"Add it to the pile," Jacob told him, nodding to a stack on his dresser.

Esme made a mental note to ask Bella if she would mind making some more. As far as she could tell, Bella was glad to have someone else to cook for and the boys were very appreciative. After a few days, they'd stopped mentioning the vampire smell altogether.

"Do you think we can go over that simile and metaphor stuff again tomorrow?" Seth asked. He stared at his homework, flicking his pencil off his chin. Finally, he closed his book. "I give up today. I'm beat."

The other boys rolled their eyes, but Esme gave them a look that kept them quiet. Seth was a year behind them all, so where they now felt confident, he was still learning.

"Of course we can," she said.

"That would be great. Thanks." He snatched his bag off the floor and stuffed his books inside. "I gotta go, Leah's been texting me about dinner for like an hour."

"Tell her she can come over if she wants," Jacob said.

"Nah, she's worried she'll run into Sam. It's bad enough when they're both wolves."

The group made hummed agreements and Esme slowly put the pieces together. She looked up at Seth. "Your sister's transformed? I thought it was a male gene only."

"So did everyone else," Seth said. He shrugged with a goofy grin. "But, hey, Leah's always sort of done her own thing. I don't mind it anyway. This way she can know too and we don't have to hide it from our mom. It's easier that way."

Esme waved as Seth left. She'd learned more about the wolves than she ever expected to, but the one thing that struck her was how secretive they tried to be within their own community. Not everyone knew, and those that did were sworn to secrecy. It was difficult for some of the boys, not being able to tell their parents, so they'd taken refuge in houses like Jacob's where Billy could act as a buffer when late-night activities kept the boys away from their families.

She turned to Jacob. "Why doesn't Leah want to run into Sam?"

Jacob stuffed an entire piece of banana bread in his mouth and swallowed in one gulp. "That's not even something I can fully explain. But it has to do with stupid imprinting and their cousin and a bunch of relationship drama."

Esme waved her hand. "We can leave it at that. Sounds like none of my business."

"Wish we could just decide when it's also none of our business," Quil muttered. He sighed and rolled to his feet. "I'm out, too. Gotta go home at some point or my mom will lose it."

"Same," Embry said. "Thanks for coming down again, Esme. We'll see you tomorrow."

They left and then it was just her and Jacob. "So, I have some good news," she said.

"I can get out of this bed?"

"Carlisle said tomorrow, as long as you don't transform."

"Sure, sure," he said. "But I feel fine just so you know."

"Well that's good because I had Emmett dig your car out of the forest—" Jacob's mouth opened but he didn't say anything, so Esme continued. "Rosalie took a look at it. She thinks . . . well, honestly there were a lot of things I didn't understand, but basically, the inside isn't completely broken. And they've managed to pop the frame back into some recognizable form. She said it would take some time, but that when you were feeling up to it, she'd help you get it running again. And before you ask, I've already cleared it with your dad. You're not allowed to drive it right now, but he agreed to let you work on it."

Jacob's jaw got progressively lower until it was just about resting on his chest. Then he launched himself at her, squeezing his massive arms around her. The hug was suffocating, but Esme just squeezed him back.

"You really are the best," Jacob said. "I don't even know how to thank you!"

"How about you aim for an A on your next essay."

"A solid A- we could probably talk about."

Esme laughed. "Good enough."

Jacob sat back against his headboard, too giddy to even think about continuing with his work. They'd made good progress anyway tonight, so Esme let him off early and gathered up her things.

"You're coming for dinner tomorrow, right?" Jacob said as she headed for the door.

"Definitely."

"Great. See you then."

Esme pointed to his bed. "Get some rest tonight. And nothing crazy until tomorrow."

Jacob saluted her and flopped down on his back, grinning up at the ceiling with his hands behind his head.

The weather outside had turned from pale grey to sleeting rain to slush and navy skies. It was still cold, not enough that she needed her hat and mitts anymore, but enough that she still turned her heat on as soon as she got into her car. Each day brought spring closer and Esme couldn't wait to be rid of the random bouts of snow for a while.

After waving goodbye to Billy, she reversed down the Black's gravel driveway and pulled onto the main road leading out of the reservation. The streets were quiet, most people already settled inside for the night, and the trees rose up around her as the winding roads began to converge closer to the highway leading into Forks. She was often the only vehicle passing through at this time of night, so it was the unusual sound of tires screeching over gravel and the bright flash of headlights that pulled her attention.

As she looked over her shoulder, she already knew something was wrong. Many things happened at once then, but none so terrifying as the side of her car buckling under the force of the colliding vehicle.

She felt her head crack against the window, bouncing back and forth. Her hands locked on the steering wheel as her car spun. Her body tensed, curving inwards, away from the sound of crunching metal and shattering glass. When her car finally stopped and she came to a standstill, she could barely open her eyes.

The world around her had grown thick with fog and as someone approached through the smoke, Esme tilted her head back. The figure focused for only a second, but it was long enough for her heart to stop.

"Charles?" she said.

Then everything went black.