Lost and Found

Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

A/N-thank you for the kind reviews!

Part Fifty Three-Leah's Heartache

Charlie had never seen Old Quil look so frail. The elder may be advanced in years but he had always come across as robust and full of vitality. His complexion had a waxy pallor and when the old man tried to speak he had difficulty drawing breath. His grandson and daughter in law had been keeping a vigil by the old man's bedside, both were completely distraught. They relied heavily on Old Quil and his wisdom. Sam had a quiet word with his pack brother before Quil junior took his mother, Joy, out of the room to give his grandfather, Sam and Charlie some privacy. Harry had gone on home after Charlie and Sam had arrived.

"Are you sure you want to do this now, Quil?" Charlie asked in concern. "You should be resting."

Old Quil coughed a few times before clearing his throat. "What I need to tell you is of utmost importance. I cannot delay. Enough chaos has been caused already." He choked out.

Charlie frowned before glancing at Sam. He was surprised to see Sam sitting rigidly in his seat, looking very uncomfortable. He had been in a strange mood since they had dropped Bella off at the Clearwater's. "Okay, Quil, go ahead." Charlie ran a hand over his face as he prepared himself for more news he didn't want to deal with.

"I have already spoken to Samuel about this before." Old Quil wheezed. "But since our talk I have learned some more disturbing information and it worries me. I can no longer justify keeping this to myself. You all need to be aware."

Charlie's eyes widened in alarm when the old man mentioned the word disturbing. "Please tell me this hasn't got anything to do with my daughter." He begged.

Old Quil sighed and lay back on his heaped up pillows. Sam's expression had become anxious. He knew this was going to hit the young man hard. "I am afraid so, Charlie. Please suspend your disbelief and listen to what I have to say before you pass any judgements."

"I can't make any promises." Charlie said grimly.

"Fine." The elder coughed again before forcing himself to continue. "I need to tell you about imprinting…."


Bella was shocked at the state of Leah. Normally she oozed confidence. But now she sat on her bed curled up in a foetal position. Her eyes were brimming with tears and as Bella watched they spilled down Leah's cheeks. Sue had warned her that her daughter was upset over her break up with Sam, but Bella hadn't expected it to be this bad. As far as she was aware things hadn't been that serious between them. Sam certainly never took Leah out on any romantic dates. It was only that morning that she realised just how serious it had been on Leah's part.

"Lee, I am so sorry." Bella whispered as she perched on the edge of the bed. She put a gentle hand on Leah's hair and stroked it soothingly. "I wish there was something I could say to make you feel better, but I'm here if you need to talk."

Leah's whole body trembled as she turned to look at Bella. She was utterly heartbroken. "He wouldn't even come to see me."

"I know. He should have had the decency to do that at least. I'm so mad at him." Bella admitted as she continued to stroke Leah's silky hair.

"There's someone else." Leah rolled onto her back and stared glassy eyed at Bella. "I always felt he was holding out on me. I just didn't want to admit it to myself."

Leah's words made Bella's face pale. She lowered her head to hide her guilty expression. She knew Leah would hate her if she knew who that person was. She swallowed a few times as she tried to regain her composure. Bella didn't want to give herself away. "Um…I don't know anything about that." She mumbled.

Leah had retreated into herself again. She didn't hear Bella's weak denial. Instead she pulled her knees up to her chest and looped her arms around them. "It hardly matters now anyway. I've lost everything." She said in despair as more tears spilled from under Leah's closed lids.

"I know it feels like that now, Lee. But you'll get over this. You'll meet some great guy who deserves you. Sam didn't." Bella replied desperately. Something wasn't right here. Leah was acting as if someone had died not like she had just broken up after a brief fling. "You haven't lost everything."

"Last night I miscarried Sam's baby. I was eight weeks along. That's why I called. I just really needed him to show that he gave a shit, but he wouldn't even let me explain. I really, really needed him to show that he cared." Leah wailed. She rolled away from Bella so she was facing the wall. "My mom is angry with me; she can't believe that I got pregnant in the first place."

Bella was horrified. Her hand shook as she put it over her mouth. She felt sickened. Poor Leah! No wonder she was so distraught. She had tried to reach out to the man she loved only for him to dismiss her before she had a chance to tell him about the baby. Bella's anger at Sam increased and she felt angry tears welling in her own eyes. He may not have known but he should have gone to meet Leah. Bella knew that deep down her anger at him was also mixed in with guilt that she was the reason behind why he had ended his fling with Leah in the first place. But right now it was easier to place the blame squarely on his shoulders.

"I am so sorry, Lee." Bella whispered brokenly. She couldn't find any words of comfort. Instead she lay behind Leah and wrapped her arms around the other girl, drawing her close to her warmth. "You're not alone, Leah. I'm here."

Leah didn't reply but she did shift closer to Bella. The two girls lay there in silence, both lost in their own sadness.


"You're telling me that Jacob and Sam have imprinted on my daughter." Charlie thundered as his eyes drifted toward the boy he thought of as a son. Sam seemed stunned; his eyes were fixated on the elder as if he couldn't quite believe what he was hearing.

"Not quite like that." Old Quil interjected tiredly. "I am only making presumptions at this point. I have only what Jacob and Sam have told me to go on. I believe that Bella's connection to Jacob is the strongest, and that is based on past observations, but I cannot dispute what Sam tells me he feels."

"Sam!" Charlie snapped at him.

Sam jumped as if Charlie had physically hit him. He recoiled away from the older man and crossed his arms defensively across his chest. He was still trying to process what the elder had just told them. It couldn't be true. Jacob and Bella were close but that was because they had grown up together. There was no way that the younger boy had the connection that he had with Bella, he would have felt it through the pack mind. But then Jacob was good at keeping things to himself, he was even better at hiding his most secretive thoughts than Sam was. Sam refused to acknowledge that this was because he was destined to lead the pack.

"I told you how I feel, Charlie." Sam said eventually. "I was honest."

"Not honest enough." Charlie replied bitterly.

"They wouldn't let me tell you. I wanted to. I wanted to tell Bella." Sam became desperate as he pleaded his case. "I love Bella. I love her."

Charlie didn't know what to think. He looked at Old Quil. The elder was watching Sam curiously. He seemed as surprised by Sam's passionate declaration as he was. "You won't be telling Bella anything, Sam." Charlie sighed heavily. "Your feelings run deeper than I realised. I didn't want to have to do this, but with the way things are I think you should move back in with your mom for a while."

"You're kicking me out." Sam said in a hurt tone.

"It's not like that. I have to think of Bella. She is my first priority." Charlie found it difficult to meet Sam's eyes. It was killing him but he had to think of Bella's welfare. Having her and Sam in the house was like a pressure cooker waiting to explode. He had already witnessed the underlying tension between them. "It's for the best."

Sam stood up abruptly. He couldn't hide his pained expression as he glared at the two men. "Funny how no one seems to be blaming Jacob for the same thing." He said bitterly.

"Jake doesn't live under my roof." Charlie ran a hand over his face. "This is not easy for me, Sam."

"You think it's easy for me?" Sam shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans as he backed toward the door. "Imprint or not, I love Bella. Since when did that become a crime?"

With those parting words he left the room.


Jacob picked Bella up from the Clearwater's. He had borrowed his mother's car without her knowing. Sue had asked Bella to leave after she had come into her daughter's room and found the two girls wrapped around each other. She had warned Bella to keep the news about Leah's miscarriage to herself, even Harry didn't know about it and Sue wanted it kept that way. Bella hadn't felt comfortable with this. Leah was closer to Harry than to Sue. He would be the best one to comfort his daughter, keeping this terrible tragedy to herself could send Leah over the edge.

"I really think you should tell Harry." Bella protested. "Lee is devastated."

"I know what is best for my own daughter." Sue had replied haughtily. "Don't think I'm not aware of the part you played in this, my girl. I am no fool, messing with people's feelings causes nothing but heartache for others. Others may fall for your innocent little girl act, but I know your type. You enjoy all the male attention. Sam is an idiot just like Jacob. I pity both of them."

This was the second time that Sue Clearwater had passed judgement on Bella and it riled her. Irrational anger welled up inside her and she glared at the older woman, taking in her mean mouth and narrowed eyes. "Maybe you should look closer to home before you start throwing accusations around." She retorted.

"Get out." Sue spat.

"Gladly." Bella had stalked out of the house with angry tears spilling down her cheeks.

"Talk to me, Bells, what's wrong?" Jacob begged as he drove his mother's car back home. He wanted to get there as quickly as possible before Sarah noticed the car was missing.

"I want to but I can't." There was no way she was able to tell Jacob about Leah's miscarriage. It wasn't her secret to tell. She tried to push the memory of Leah's heartbroken face out of her mind. It was just too painful to think about. And what was she supposed to do about Sam. He didn't know, and she was going to find it hard not to say something. Leah had pleaded with her not to tell him, she didn't want his pity.

"You can trust me." Jacob promised as he took his eyes off the road for a second.

"I know I can, but this isn't my secret to tell. Can we leave it at that?" Bella prayed that he wouldn't push her to tell him but thankfully he just nodded his head and didn't press any further. That was one of the things that was so great about Jacob; he knew when to back off.

"Well when you can tell me I'm here." Jacob reached across and took Bella's hand in his.

"Thank you." Bella gave him a grateful smile before settling back in the passenger seat and closing her eyes.

A/N-thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think, thanks.