Blast from the Past
Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.
A/N-Thanks once again for the lovely reviews. I really do appreciate the support. This is a shout out to: Spikes-kitty-kat-Tiff, TommyH, echo58, brankel1, scifiromance, Delsan13, darkness2light65, Avalon Starfire, corkyellems, alixandria, BriyerRose, FallenGrace101, JacobB'sImprintee, Dottyanne, BeckieT108, Snowdove30, chinadoll381282001, ae81, notashamedtobe, Melody-Rose-20, Shalette, twifantasyfan, viola1701e, afqtie324 and Jeniesethebeast.
Please note this chapter will not be an easy read!
Part Thirty Six-Leah's Fight
Time began to move forward slowly. As it always does real life problems reared their ugly head. Even with the worry of Edward's whereabouts still hanging over their heads; money still needed to be earned and household chores had to be completed. The one factor no one had foreseen was Leah becoming unwell. Her pregnancy thus far had been smooth, she had experienced none of the severe morning sickness that had been plaguing Bella. In fact she had felt more energetic and full of life than she usually did.
But one morning, a week after Alice's revelations, she woke and couldn't get out of bed. She had severe shooting pains in her abdomen and Sam was alarmed to see her clutching her belly. He called her mother, Sue who abandoned her shift at the hospital and came right over.
"Oh my baby girl," Sue cried out as she took in her daughter's sweat soaked body and pain filled expression. "When did this start?"
Leah was in too much pain to answer. Sam stood by her bedside; his hands clutching at his hair in agitation. "She was fine last night when I left for my patrol shift. I came back to find her like this."
"Where's Jaymie?" Sue's voice changed as she went into her professional nurse mode.
"She stayed overnight with Bella and Jake. The pixie is beginning her work with her today." He replied, his eyes pinned to his wife as he spoke.
"I'm just going to check her over, Sam. Stay strong, Lee needs to see you in control, not falling apart," she warned him.
Sam nodded distractedly as he watched Leah's mother begin her assessment.
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Jacob left Bella alone with Alice, J and Jaymie. He and Embry were going to scout the perimeter of Forks while the two women began Jaymie's first lesson in how to control her powers. After Leah and Sam's scepticism and Alice's pronouncement that it would be up to the young girl to decide if Alice could be trusted; they had brought Jaymie over to Alice and watched in trepidation as she had some kind of silent exchange with the female vampire. No words were spoken but Jaymie seemed relaxed in Alice's company and, afterwards when questioned, the little girl said that the little lady made her feel better.
Alice had now taken up permanent residence in Bella's old home. There was nowhere else they could think of to keep her safe. It was within the pack's patrol boundaries and, with it lying empty anyway, was the ideal solution. Alice had handed Bella a large wad of dollar bills in payment for rent. Bella had gasped when she counted the money and tried to give some back, but Alice had been dismissive.
"There's more where that came from," was all she said.
Amy's funeral had been a sad affair for the whole tribe. Even though she had been a thorn in the side of the elders; her good works and ability to heal had given her a special place within the tribes hearts. Old Quil had arranged a lavish funeral for her in the old tradition and the pack, their partners and families had been central figures mourning the loss of such a wise lady. It had been no surprise that she had left all her worldly goods, along with her house to Jaymie. Jacob and Sam, along with their pack brothers, transported a lot of Amy's boxes filled with jars and strange objects over to the Swan house. Alice had been asked to go through some of the items and she spent one afternoon with Jaymie, J, Bella and a reluctant Leah labelling up and explaining what some of the items were used for. In the end most of the stuff was stored in the garage attached to the house for later use.
Alice sat cross legged in front of Jaymie and held out her hands to the little girl. Jaymie did the same and placed her hands in Alice's. She flinched slightly at the chill seeping from Alice's skin but she was slowly beginning to get used to the feeling. J was perched on the arm of the couch; sucking on an ice lolly. His tongue was turning blue and he stuck it out at Jaymie, making her giggle.
"Hush J, let Jaymie concentrate," Bella admonished him gently.
J pouted for a moment before continuing to eat his lolly. Jaymie turned to face Alice again and the two of them closed their eyes.
"Now remember what I told you," Alice said. "If you want to control what you see you have to focus. Now I always limited my visions down to just close family and friends, otherwise you could be flooded with images of people and places you don't know. That could be overwhelming."
Jaymie nodded obediently. "Yes, little lady."
Alice smiled. She rather liked Jaymie's nickname for her. "Now we start by focusing on the people closest to us."
"Like mommy and J and daddy and Uncle Beff and Bells and..." Jaymie babbled.
Alice gave a tinkling laugh. "Slow down, just one person at a time. How about just your mommy for now?"
Jaymie beamed, although she kept her eyes tight shut. "Yes little lady."
"I can share your vision if you allow me to Jaymie. You will see me standing right beside you as we focus in on your mommy, okay. Normally I wouldn't be able to see your mommy, daddy or any of their friends because they are all..." Alice instructed her when she was interrupted by J.
"Cos they all big woofy dogs," he interjected; waving the stick of his ice lolly about.
Jaymie giggled again. Bella rolled her eyes at her son. "You need to let Jaymie concentrate son."
"Okay," he grumbled. Bella put her arm around him and gave him a hug. "Thank you. I love you," she whispered.
"Love you too momma," he gave her a cheeky grin and turned back to watch his best friend and the little lady.
"Right Jaymie, can you picture your mommy in your mind?" Alice asked her.
Jaymie nodded. "Mommy in bed..." a frown marred her forehead. "Little lady my mommy crying. I scared. Mommy not well." Her voice quavered as she spoke.
"Show me, Jaymie. Let me see what you see." Alice commanded.
Bella sat forward on the couch, a familiar nauseous feeling welling in her stomach. J began to whimper, his eyes closed and she guessed he too had been drawn into Jaymie's vision.
"Mommy! Little lady we need to help mommy," Jaymie began to sob as she held tightly onto Alice's hands.
"Alice what's happening?" Bella demanded after a while, her patience running out.
Alice's eyes snapped open and she gathered a sobbing Jaymie into her arms. "Leah is losing the baby. Because of the resurgence of vampire activity in La Push recently her body is beginning to push her spirit wolf to the surface."
"No no no," Bella rose unsteadily to her feet. "There must be something we can do to stop it."
Alice gently placed Jaymie onto her feet and led her over to Bella. "We don't have much time. I need to look through Amy's things. I will be quick as I can, I just hope she has what I need." Within a blink of an eye she had disappeared.
Bella knelt down and gathered a weeping Jaymie and J in her arms. "It's going to be okay, it's going to be okay," she repeated like a mantra, praying that her words would come true.
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Jacob had felt Bella's distress through their imprint bond. He did an about turn immediately and headed back for the house with Embry hot on his heels. They burst through the front door in a panic to find Bella holding onto the sobbing children.
"What's going on? What did she do?" Jacob demanded, his eyes searching for Alice.
"Hush Jake. It's not Alice. Jaymie had a vision about Leah," she ushered him closer and he bent down so she could whisper in his ear. His eye's opened wide.
"Oh my god. I never gave that a thought. I mean Sam began to display all the signs. I never thought it would happen to poor Leah too. Where's the pixie?" He asked Bella softly.
"She's out in the garage looking through Amy's things. She seems convinced that Amy would have had something that can help," Bella's face was pale with anxiety.
"I'll go and help her look," Embry offered, he felt helpless just standing around waiting. He swiftly left the house.
Jacob hunkered down by Bella and the children. He put his arms around all of them, using his comforting presence to calm them down.
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Leah lay on her side and stared sightlessly into space. Her hands still clutched at her belly but she no longer cried out with the pain. A familiar heat was running up her spine and the ache in her bones told her exactly what was happening to her body. So she did what she always had done in the past. She shut her emotions down; that way she didn't have to deal with what was about to happen.
Sue and Sam sat by her; one on either side of her. Sue had done all she could but once again modern medicine had let her down. They couldn't take Leah to a hospital; not with her werewolf genes. With Amy now gone there was no one left to help them.
"I can't believe this is happening," Sam said in despair. His hand clutched Leah's but she gave no response. "Haven't we been through enough?"
"Please Sam this is not helping," Sue hushed him. She brushed Leah's sweat soaked hair back from her face. "I am so sorry sweetheart."
Leah blinked once and then twice and when Sam looked at her he saw a dark ring surrounding the pupils of her beautiful brown eyes. It hit him like a freight train, he now knew exactly what the problem was. He lay down next to his wife and carefully put his arms around her hot body. Her skin was on fire. "I'm here Lee Lee. I'm here, please honey you can fight it. You've always been the strong one. Please Lee, please."
His wife did not answer, she lay limply in his arms as the fire began to consume her from the inside out.
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Jacob phased and headed straight for La Push; the precious vial held gently between his teeth. He had left Embry behind to guard his own wife and the children. Alice had warned him there was not much time. His paws pounded the ground as he sprinted faster than he ever had in his life. The baby's life depended on him reaching Leah in time. Adrenaline coursed through his body as he pushed his way through the tangle of undergrowth and low branches, not caring that it tore at his fur as he dashed through. Images of Bella were in his head. They had lost their little girl and if it hadn't been for Amy they could have lost their unborn son too. He didn't want Leah to go through that pain too.
Alice had told them that Leah's body was beginning to go through the change. Her inner spirit wolf that she had tried so hard to quell was resurfacing. It was a shape shifter's destiny to defend the tribal lands and Leah had been part of the pack. Her body could not cope with both the baby and phasing. One would have to be sacrificed for the other. Jacob's breath came in short pants as he pushed his body onward, his desperation pushing him beyond his normal boundaries of endurance. He would never forgive himself if he was too late.
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Leah closed her eyes and clenched her teeth. Sweat beaded on her brow as she fought with every bit of strength that she possessed against her inner spirit wolf. It had been a hard fought battle the first time she had attempted to give up phasing for good. Her yearning to bear children of her own was the spur she needed to fight. It had not been easy; the toll it took on her mental health and her body had been enormous. Sam had born the brunt of her temper and frustration as she willed the wolf away. He had been her rock and she knew that he was just as traumatised as she was right now at the thought that it was all unravelling around them; their son being the ultimate sacrifice. Her will to shut down her emotions ebbed away and a single tear rolled down her cheek, slipping down into the corner of her mouth as she began to prepare herself to say goodbye to her unborn son.
Sam held her tightly in his arms, ignoring the intense heat pouring off her body. He buried his head in the crook of Leah's neck and whispered words of love in her ear. Sue had retreated to the back of the room; her own face awash with tears as she gave them the illusion of privacy.
The sound of the front door opening made Sue and Sam exchange a look of alarm. Before either of them could react, Jacob burst into the room. He was panting heavily, his body covered in scratches and encased in dirt. His eyes zoned in on Leah and he quickly knelt by her bed.
"What the fuck are you doing, Jake?" Sam demanded angrily.
Jacob ignored Sam and pulled the small vial out of the pocket of his shorts and showed it to Leah. "You need to drink this right now." He told her quickly.
Leah stared up at him in shock. Sam sat up next to her, ready to snatch the vial out of Jacob's hands. "Where the hell did you get this?" He snarled.
"Calm down, Sam. The pixie gave it to me. Lee needs to take it right now," he said again.
"No Lee, you can't," Sam said fiercely. "There's no telling what the leech has put in it."
"Sam for fuck's sake, calm down," Jacob said again.
"No, I don't trust that bloodsucker." Sam reached across Leah and tried to take the vial out of Jacob's hand again. But Leah got there first. She snatched it out of Jacob's hand and snapped the top open; drinking the clear liquid down quickly.
"Leah what have you done?" Sam cried out desperately as he frantically pulled her back into his arms. "I will never forgive you if she has been harmed." He warned Jacob as he rocked Leah back and forth in his arms.
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Alice and Jaymie sat opposite each other, their legs crossed and holding hands. Embry, Bella and J were all perched on the couch watching them intently.
"Now focus Jaymie, can you see your mommy?" Alice asked softly.
Jaymie's brow furrowed. She was silent for a moment before she nodded. "Yes little lady. I can see mommy. Daddy mad," she whispered.
"Let me see too Jaymie," Alice asked her. Jaymie squeezed her eyes shut as if she was concentrating extra hard.
"I can't do it, little lady. I can't do it," Jaymie cried out after a moment.
"It's okay, Jaymie. It's not an easy thing to do. You will get better in time," Alice said in a soothing tone. "Can you tell me what you see now?"
"I see mommy on bed. J's daddy and my daddy looking at mommy. Grandma checking my mommy," Jaymie told them slowly. "Mommy holding belly now, she smiling little lady. My mommy better now."
Bella exchanged a relieved smile with Embry. J bounced off the couch and went over to Jaymie, giving her a big hug. Alice let out a soft sigh and opened her eyes. She gracefully leapt to her feet and went into the kitchen. On the table lay a thick book; inside were pages and pages of Amy's writing. Alice picked the volume up and hugged it to her chest. Her eyes stared heavenward and she thanked Amy in her head. "I know that you were guiding me to the right place, Amy. Thank you."
While Bella was in the living room celebrating with the two children, Embry slipped into the kitchen. He regarded Alice thoughtfully. "How did you know what to do?" He asked her.
Alice just shrugged. When she had first entered the garage and stared fretfully at all of Amy's belongings, she had no idea where to even start. The book had been perched on top of one of the boxes and had fallen onto the concrete floor. It was lying upside down, the pages facing the floor and when she had picked it up her eyes had wandered to the open pages. A list of remedies pertaining to the health and well being of the tribe's spirit wolves had been carefully written down in Amy's neat handwriting.
"Sometimes fate just points you in the right direction," Alice finally said in response to Embry's question.
Embry gave her a half smile. "You're not so bad for a vampire, little lady," he said; echoing Jaymie's nickname for her.
Alice practically skipped past him, giving him a sweet smile as she passed. It was the best compliment she had ever been given.
A/N-Thanks for reading!