A/N Hey guys. Here is another update for y'all. I'm so sorry it's been so long. I have swamped at work at the moment. I try to update as fast as I can for y'all. Anyway, be sure to Favorite and Follow. Reviews are always welcome.

Chapter 19

Anabelle smiled kindly at the nurses rolling her through the hall until they stopped at the end of it. She positioned herself up, seeing the pack and her father smiling brightly at her and waving. She smiled back and waved when Paul approached and handed her her iPod and earbuds telling her, "Doctor said it helps when listening to music when they put you to sleep. I made a playlist of your favorite songs."

Anabelle grabbed the iPod before smiling and placing the buds in her ears. She was then led to the elevator and brought up to the fifth floor where all the procedures took place. She frowned at the bare walls before playing with her hospital band she got when she was registered.

Two nurses then appeared behind two metal doors that led to the operating room. This made Anabelle tense and close her eyes. A short Indian man then appeared at the head of Anabelle's head making her flinch suddenly.

"Hello Ms. Anabelle, my name is Dr.Mina and I am your anesthesiologist for your procedure. Do you have music to listen to?" Anabelle nodded and pointed to her ear. "That's good. The first thing we need to do is transfer you to this table." He patted a table covered with medical paper on it." After a nod from Anabelle, he felt herself being lifted by a medical team. She shuddered at the cold, hard surface and drew an uneven breath. "So now I want to make sure you're comfortable. Are you comfortable?" Anabelle nodded after moving closer to the pillow behind her head.

"Now I will administer the medicine to make you fall asleep ok?" Anabelle nodded uneasily before the doctor brought a machine over with a blue mask. "Now when I put this over your face I want you to breathe in and out. You will slowly fall asleep as you continue breathing." When the mask covered Anabelle's face, she took deep breaths. In. Out. In. Out. Until she slowly lost consciousness.

Jacob sat on a couch in the first floor hall where the rest of the pack were gathered. It has been an hour and a half since Anabelle's surgery began and he was in utter agony. Leah and Seth left along with Sam, Emily and Jared so they could check in with their families leaving the Lahotes', Jacob, and Embry.

"You doing ok man?" Embry asked, sitting down next to Jacob. He watched as Jacob shook his head solemnly.

"I just want to go see her. I wanna know how she's feeling. If she's dreaming while asleep. Can she hear them? I just... I'm getting antsy." Embry, having no imprint himself, didn't know what Jacob was going through but knew it had to be pretty painful. Having your imprint in the hospital for any reason was not a good position to be in.

"It'll be ok man. You'll see. Have you read the letter yet?" Embry asked motioning to the piece of paper in Jacob's hand. After a shake of a head Embry continued, "You probably should. To give you a piece of mind. She wanted you to read it, right?"

"Yeah but, I'm just scared of what it'll say. She said it has everything she's been wanting to say but didn't have a chance." Embry shrugged before getting up to go to the restroom. "You never know unless you read it." Jacob sighed and grabbed the envelope.

He carefully opened it and grabbed the piece of paper inside before opening it and reading what it said.

Dear Jacob,If you are reading this, I am currently in surgery or asleep and recovering. I am writing this because I have been, in no uncertain terms, a chicken. I have been wanting to tell you how I feel for a long time but have not thought of a way to do so.But here I am. Telling you in a letter. You could call it a love letter if you must. That's what I like to think this is.I guess what I'm trying to say is, since the moment I met you, everytime you were in my presence, I have felt this warmth and security. I don't really understand what that means but I trust myself in believing that I know.It means that I'm falling in love with you Jacob Black. I really am. I've known this since the night you came to Emily's soaking wet. When I read to you before you fell asleep. Even when you had problems with Bella hours before, you still made time to ask me about my day and assure me that everything will be alright.But the following weeks only furthered my feelings for you.At first I thought it was just a silly crush that I had for my brother's hot friend but I realised it was more than that. I feel like I can talk to you about anything that's on my mind. And without a doubt in my mind, I know you will always listen. You brighten my day just by smiling and saying my name. The tiniest thing will make me blush. Like a smile or a wink. Not only do you brighten my day everytime I see you, but you make my life worth living.Every single day you drive me to school, I look forward to talking to you. And listening to music. You say the corniest jokes I've ever heard. But yet I still laugh. Even when you've had a shit day on patrol, you still give me a smile everytime you look at me. And I can't help but smile back because it's so infectious.I have never been an outspoken person. I've always been a loner with not many friends who sits alone at lunch, engrossed with my homework. But with you and your positive spirit and caring soul, you have taught me to not hide in the shadows or be alone. You teach me how to be myself and help me understand that being happy is far more important than living your life with barriers surrounding it.I know all this might sound crazy but I know that in my heart, it's the most logical thing I know.Sincerely,Belle

Jacob sighed and smiled brightly before wiping his eyes and the tears that were beginning to appear. She was in love with him. Anabelle Lahote was in love with him, Jacob Black. He couldn't believe it. Suddenly pent up with energy, he bounded off the couch and ran towards Embry, who was at the water fountain.

"Woah dude! You ok there?" Embry asked. "What's up?"

"She's in love with me." Embry looked at him in confusion.

"Who's in love with you?"

"Anabelle, you idiot!" Jacob said smacking Embry on the head. "She said so in the letter she wrote me. It's all in here." He handed him the letter.

After reading it over, Embry gaped at Jacob before saying, "Holy shit! Dude! This changes things right?"

"This changes everything!" Jacob exclaimed. "This letter is what I've been waiting for. Paul said not to push her or tell her anything. And look!"

Paul suddenly appeared with a hopeful look on his face making Jacob straighten and looked in his direction. "Hey guys." Paul said. "They're getting ready to bring Belle to her room so they're asking us to set it up. Y'all want to come and help?"

Embry and Jacob both readily agreed and followed Paul up to the 5th floor where the ICU was located. They stopped at two metal doors before Paul pressed a button, emitting a beeping sound. "Hello, who are you here to see?" A raspy voice said through the speaker.

"Hey Janice! It's Paul."

"Oh, hi sweetheart. Let me ring you in." The doors then buzzed, making Embry and Jacob look at Paul in question.

"Yo Paul. How do you know everyone here?" Embry asked. Paul's face then darkened.

"You'd be surprised how much I've been here. And how many people I know here." Jacob and Embry both shared a look before following Paul through the doors.

Jacob frowned when they stopped at a room with a wall of windows leading into the room. There was a TV on the wall and couch in the corner. "Her bags are over there. We need to get her stuff ready when they bring her in." Paul said, opening one of the bags containing her bath products.

Shrugging, Embry and Jacob started to go through Anabelle's things and organize them for when she uses them. After organizing her activity books and things to do during her free time, Paul instructed them to put her clothes in the little closet next to the bathroom.

Everything was running smoothly until they got to the bottom of her suitcase. "Oh look what we have here!" Embry taunted, holding a pair of Anabelle's underwear. "Victoria's secret is no longer a secret." He laughed while Jacob and Paul both growled and Paul snatched the underwear from Embry's hands and put them in a small drawer.

"You're so immature Embry." Paul grounded out while placing the luggage on the floor. "We're done. Dad just texted saying they were bringing her in. We have to leave so they can wheel her in. There's not enough room."

They all filed out of the room and into the waiting area where they were met with Gene and Dr.Cullen. "Hey boys. You get her room ready?"

"Yeah everything is set up. Where's Belle?"

"She's being brought to her room and then my medical team will be connecting her to the necessary machines so that we can monitor her progress while she is waking up." Dr.Cullen said. Suddenly Gene's phone rang making him step away and out to the waiting room outside the ICU.

"And when will that be?" Paul asked.

"Not to worry, she will start gaining consciousness in a few hours. She is just sleeping off the trauma that happened during surgery." After being contacted by a nurse, Carlisle led the Quileute's to Anabelle's room.

Jacob didn't want to see her like that. He remembers seeing his dad like that a few years before he phased. His diabetes was causing him problems and he needed medical attention for a few weeks. All the tubes and iv's that were inserted made him feel sick to his stomach. He could feel the pull coming from her room making his heart ache.

But he couldn't resist for too long. He slowly stepped towards her room, Paul, Gene and Embry already sitting down. Walking through the threshold, Jacob looked at his imprint sleeping in her hospital bed and nearly collapsed.

Anabelle's body lay on the bed, her breathing steady, only the beeping of her heart monitor can be heard. Jacob sat in the chair next to her and grabbed her hand, warming her cold hand with his touch.

Jacob looked over when he heard someone sit down next to him. "So are you going to tell me what's in that letter or what?" Paul asked, keeping his eyes trained on his younger sister.

Jacob grinned and shook his head, looking at his imprint before speaking. "You really want to know?"

Paul rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Of course, idiot. Why would I have asked?" Jacob shook his head and chuckled.

"She said that she's falling in love with me and she has been since the leeches came back. It's just- so surreal. And before you get angry, I didn't tell her anything. I swear. She did this all on her own."

"Don't worry. I believe you." Paul said, shrugging. "I knew she would rack up the courage to tell you. I just didn't know when." Jacob gaped at him.

"You knew she liked me. Or was falling in love with me. And you didn't tell me?"

Paul scoffed. "It's not really in my agenda to tell you whether my sister likes you or not. Plus, you think I like this? She's fourteen. Freshly fourteen."

"That's not the only thing Paul." Jacob said, shaking his head. "There's something else, isn't there?" Paul glanced at him and sighed.

"I've always been protective of Belle, ya know? I made sure she was included during recess. I helped her with her Spanish when she was learning it. I fought anyone who picked on her whether I could take them or not. She's used to being alone and not having many friends. They always found some way to disappoint her. But me? I try to never disappoint her. I kept being a wolf a secret because I didn't want her to see me any different.

I just wanted to be her big brother. Someone she could look up to. I wanted to be the only one she could count on. Our Dad is always traveling for his job and he's never home. I had to basically raise her as best I could. Everyone knows me as the asshole who just thinks about getting with girls. But honestly. The only girl I'm worried about, is the one laying right there on that bed."

Both shifter looked at Anabelle, her hair matted, face pale, and her chest rising at a steady pace. "Well you already know this but I'll say it again." Jacob started looking at Paul with a confident expression. "I love your sister and I will do anything in my power to keep her safe, healthy, and happy. Even if I have to rusk my life doing it."

Both men nodded at each other, a sense of understanding overtaking them both.