Cold fingers gently lifted my arm and I barely managed to hold back a scream of pain.

"Your wrist is probably broken. Your leg as well. A small concussion but I don't think you have any internal damages and all the other wounds are superficial. But we need to get you to a hospital."

I was supposed by be shocked by this sudden turn of events. Gaia who I trusted with my life, who I had known all my life, was a vampire. The most natural thing would be to start running screaming my head off. Not that I could in my condition but I should have wanted to.

Surprisingly I wasn't afraid at all. Knowing she was a vampire and thus more equipped than I was to deal with monsters and other things that lurked in the dark only made me feel safe. Gaia was a vampire but that didn't change the fact that she had been there most of my life. Caring for both my mom and I she had been like a fairy godmother always making sure we were safe and calling everyday even in the short period she and my mom were not speaking and constantly checking up on us even after we moved to La Push.

She could and would protect me and judging from the way she gently peeled off the sleeve from my broken wrist she knew what she was doing. I guess when you grew up with a ditz like my mom you pretty much appreciated expert help no matter where it came from. Even if it came from someone who lived off human blood.

Blood red eyes looked into mine and I flinched slightly at the unfamiliar eye color.

"You are not in shock are you?"

I shook my head and regretted it instantly as my head throbbed even more.

"Not really. I just don't think there is anything left in the world that can shock me."

Her bell like laughter seemed to cover me like a comforting blanket.

"I guess not. Besides you are a Heinz and made of sturdier stuff than most."

She cradled me gently to her chest and patted my hair comfortingly like she used to do when I was a kid and I relaxed as I leaned into her.

"My car is just down the road."

"You have a car?"

She raised a perfectly shaped brow at me.

"That's your only question? With all that just happened you are shocked that I have a car?"

I shrugged and winched in pain. For some reason I found the idea of vampires driving cars a little odd. Gaia shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"If I didn't know you I would have been assuming you hit your head pretty hard. But then again the way your mind works has never seized to amaze me. Even if I am over seven hundred years old."

That wasn't really comforting.

I knew my mind worked in odd ways much like my mom but getting that confirmed by someone who had lived for hundreds of years was not exactly soothing.

A little voice inside my head meant that I should have been more concerned about the fact that this woman I regarded as an aunt was several hundred years old rather than the fact she thought of me as odd.

Gaia's car was a silver BMW and she buckled me up gently her hands never even touching any painful spots but I still gasped in pain as the belt buckle touched my side. She gave me a worried look before going out of the car again.

It was dark outside and I could barely see her as she ran back and forth seemingly picking up something. A sudden burst of flames made her visible and for just a short second I saw those pink lips curled in an inhumane snarl that made my heart stop dead in my chest. Just as quickly as that expression came it was gone and left was only a slightly worried looking Gaia.

Of course. She was burning the vampire so that it died. Quil had told me that the only way to kill a vampire was to burn it but I had not paid much attention to him. After all it wasn't like that little bit of knowledge could do me any good as I would first have to convince the vampire to stand still so that I could set the vampire on fire.

Somehow I didn't quite see that working.

Gaia got back into the car and started the engine. The light from the growing fire illuminated her face and made her seem almost angelic. I had always thought of her as an angel and yet knowing that she was far from it didn't really change my opinion. It did of course help that she had threated my wounds much like a friend would and not even once seemed tempted or bothered by my bleeding in any way.

I was feeling dizzy and sleepy as the adrenaline was leaving my blood and the throbbing kept growing in my arm and leg until I wondered if it would be less painful if I just gnawed them off. It sounded very tempting about now especially with the pace it was swelling.

Before I could put my plan into life we were at Forks hospital.

Gaia tried to lift me gently out but it still hurt like hell. The nurse behind the desk just took one look at me before rushing after a doctor. I must have looked as bad as I felt.

The doctor presented himself as Jack Ripps and was a middle aged man with a friendly glint in his eyes. He had to have the most unfortunate name for a person in his profession as the first thing that came to my mind was Jack the Ripper. Not someone you would let anywhere near you with any kind of sharp object or medicine.

It was pretty much what Gaia had told me. A hairline fracture to my wrist, some cracked ribs and a broken leg and I needed to stich up a rather nasty gash in the back of my neck that still bled quite freely.

I didn't really care much after the drugs and only dimly noticed that Gaia introduced herself as a close friend of the family and that we had been out hiking and had not made it back until it got dark and I had tripped taking a tumble down a very steep and rocky slope. When asked about the finger shaped bruises on my wrist she explained that she had panicked as she dragged me to the car. Nothing in her face reviled that she was lying.

Actually she looked like the perfect worried relative as she petted my hair and listened to the doctor and not like someone who had just ripped apart someone just like her. Finally it was over and Gaia supported my weight back to the car.

"I need to speak to the wolves."

Her dark red eyes flickered over me.

"But I think that can wait. You look like you are about to drop pumpkin."

I wanted to ask how she knew about the wolves, why she had suddenly dropped by for a visit when I had not seen her for years and how this whole vampire guardian angel thing worked but my mouth felt like it was full of cotton and the sounds I managed to make sounded more like garble than actual words.

Even as she talked I could barely pay attention, my eyelids feeling like they were weighed down by stones and I probably caught only a quarter of what she was telling me, feeling a bit relieved as she promised to be the one to explain my injuries to my mom. Whatever she came up with would be much better than anything I could and telling the truth was really out of the question.

She suddenly stopped the car just near the border. Her beautiful face had a slight frown and she shook her head.

"They are coming."

She didn't need to say who they were.

"They will be here in a second so just sit here. We can take this confrontation when you feel better."

I wanted to protest. Being alone wasn't exactly on my wish list right now but before I could manage to make my mouth work she had brushed the bloodied hair off my face and then she was gone. Only a second after I heard the sound of wolves howling.

Sam was first out of the darkness, his black fur almost making him invisible in the dark background. His teeth gleamed as he sniffed around the car and he was soon joined by a larger russet wolf. I wondered dimly why I wasn't afraid. Two horse sized wolves were sniffing around the car and it was supposed to be the stuff of nightmares.

And then I saw a familiar dark silvered figure rushing towards the car. Paul was jumping around the BMW yipping and yelping like an oversized puppy. And all I could think about was to get out and to him. Where I was safe.

My injured hands slipped against the belt buckle and tore open the wounds on my knuckles but I didn't care. My feet were so unsteady that I had to lean on the car to stay upright.

Paul's dark eyes were fastened on me like nothing could tear them away and he yipped again, his tail wagging hesitantly behind him.

Usually he would have rushed towards me. Before I knew that this large thing was Paul he would but he seemed hesitant to do so now. Instead he lowered himself flat on the ground and whimpered. I almost tripped as I walked to him and buried my fingers into dark silver fur. My arms slid around his neck and I buried my face into neck not caring that my face was dangerously close to those large canine teeth.

It was the first time since I had found out that the wolf was Paul that I had initiated touching him in wolf form. There had been that time when Paul had his little break down but he had come to me then and I had not seen his wolf form since.

It felt like I was crossing some important boundary but I was too hazy to collect my thoughts. Instead I just hugged the wolf closer and breathed in the scent of wet wood and wet dog. Those two shouldn't be that pleasant but they were.

Safe. I was safe.