DISCLAIMER: I do not own Twilight or it's characters, this is merely a work of fanfiction.
A/N: Thank you for being patient with me for this update, a lot has happened in my life since I started this piece, and it has taken up so much of my energy. Thankfully, we are starting to catch a break. This chapter is short, but the next chapter should be longer. There will be two more chapters after this, "Winter" and "Spring". Let me know what you think. Thank you guys!
Leah's POV
I looked out the window over the kitchen sink, watching Bella drink her morning coffee on our newly added wrap around porch.
It looked like a scene from a postcard, Bella sitting on a rocking chair, staring out at the rising sun, the orange and red leaves creating a scenic background. Jack O' Lanterns lined the porch, giving a soft glow to her morning ritual of sipping coffee in her rocking chair.
Sam and the pack had built us the gigantic covered porch for Bella's birthday, though I knew through the pack mind it was just as much for them as for us.
It was big enough to allow a large table to be placed on the back portion, with a couple of rocking chairs and more along the long side of the house. The added space assured there would always be enough seating for pack meals.
Bella loved sitting on that porch in the mornings and watching the sun rise before the wolves descended to eat all of her well cooked food. She pulled her blanket tighter around her and I sighed.
Bella had been meaning to go to her storage unit and get out some of her winter clothes and Charlie's old shirts, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it. I volunteered to do it for her, but she said it was something she needed to do by herself.
The breeze shifted and the cool winter air blew through the open window. Even with the cool fall air it was best to keep a few windows open, knowing the house would soon be stuffed with over-heated wolves.
Bella had lined the back porch with pumpkins, asking each wolf and imprint to carve one when they stopped by. It created a beautiful soft glow that lit her early morning coffee, and our late night chats after everyone had long since gone.
It was already fairly cold for this time of year, especially for someone as small as Bella, but she would just throw another blanket over her and say she was fine. She loved the porch so much, I didn't protest, besides there was always a pack member nearby to share their warmth if she got too cold.
We continued to have the occasional nomad cross through our territory, and we now all understood that the pack was here to stay, at least for now. In light of that, the counsel was looking for ways to make sure the members of the pack had the best possible futures.
We had to stay on the reservation, that was true, but that didn't have to be the death sentence some once thought it was.
As members of the pack, we were the future leaders of our tribe, and we understood that we needed to educate ourselves so that we could do the best for our people. The packs education was the number one priority when the counsel realized we weren't going to stop phasing anytime soon.
Those who hadn't finished high school were finishing online, and everyone was discussing online and remote options for college. We had to be able to advocate for our tribe if we wanted to get anywhere in the future.
Every day I was more amazed and grateful that Bella was my imprint. She may not have been born Quileute, but she loved the pack, and she was an amazing asset to the pack as well as the tribe.
Bella's POV
I sat on the cold concrete floor at the entrance to the storage unit. The cold seeped through my leggings, causing goosebumps to raise up and down my legs.
I stayed in place though, leaning my back up against Paul's warm legs, as he stood behind me.
I wanted to come to the storage unit where Billy had put all of our stuff when I left Charlie's house. I thought maybe I could get out some of his old shirts and wear them, to help me feel close to him.
Things were changing so rapidly, and while it was all for the best, I longed for something comforting and familiar, I wanted something of Charlies.
What I hadn't accounted for, was the way his scent would affect me.
When we rolled up the aluminum door that sealed the unit I was hit with an overwhelming wave of Charlie's scent, and it literally knocked me on my ass. It had never occured to me that Charlie's scent would linger on everything within.
Of course, I hadn't been able to smell it before my marking.
I was immediately filled with a deep ache for the absence left by my father. I had to just sit down and stare for a few moments, at the furniture and boxes that had once made up our life together. Renee never understood this level of attachment, this level of love, flitting from this place to that without a care.
Paul said nothing as I stared blankly.
I brought Paul with me because he was Leah's best friend in the pack, and frankly, because he was a bit of an asshole.
I figured if I became too overwhelmed with emotions, he wouldn't hesitate to pull me back together, however harsh it might 's what I needed right now, not the calm reassurance of Jacob, or Quil, or Embry; but the "build a bridge and get over it" attitude of Paul Lahote.
He allowed me a few moments of silence before he nudged me with his foot, "Get up Swan, I don't have all day."
I giggled softly, this is exactly why I had brought him. I didn't want to sink into sorrow again. I pulled my knees up and pushed off the ground so I was standing again.
"Alright, Alright Paul, I'm up. Can you grab that box back there that says 'Charlie's Shirts'?"
Paul nodded and started to weave through the furniture and boxes to the back right corner where the box was on top of a tower of cardboard boxes.
I was right to bring Paul, he knew what it was like to lose his father. He never talked about it, but Leah knew. They patrolled together and he didn't try to keep her out of his mind as much as he did the rest of the pack. He knew what this was like.
Paul lifted the shirt box down easily and made his way back to me at the front. He set it down next to me and peered down at me.
"Now I know you didn't drag me all the way off the rez just to get that one box. What are we really here for, and why couldn't you ask Leah?"
I bit my lip, I hadn't told anyone this yet. I wasn't sure if I should tell him. What if she saw it in the pack mind during patrol?
"Can you keep a secret Paul? From the pack?"
He squinted down at me as if he could scare it out of me , "I can, but I won't keep a secret that would hurt Leah. She's like my sister."
Holy shit. Who knew Paul had a sweet side?!
"Paul," I huffed out on a breath, "We are here for Charlie's shirts, that's true...but mostly we are here to find my Grandma Swan's jewelry box. I want to give Leah her wedding ring for Christmas, and I know it's somewhere in Charlie's stuff. He always said it would be mine one day, but I have the bracelet, and I want her to have my ring."
Paul rolled his eyes but patted me on the back good-naturedly.
"Damn Swan, you can't just go to a jewelry store like the rest of us. You have to go around giving out heirlooms?"
I shrugged my shoulders at him, I couldn't help it that I had a family ring. I bet he was just jealous he had to spend money on Rachel's ring. She had insisted on having one, even though he had already made her a bracelet, with the help of Sue. She was a bit high maintenance.
"Alright, tell me what I'm smelling for? I'm not spending all day digging through boxes."
I repressed a laugh that tried to surface, we would get nowhere if we volleyed back and forth like this all day, and we typically could.
"It's in a tiny oak chest, about the size of my forearm."
I held up my arm in demonstration and Paul snorted at me in amusement. He waded back into the sea of furniture and boxes, stopping to sniff here and there.
I turned my attention to the box in front of me, opening the top with my keys to be met with a pile of flannel shirts. They smelled like Charlie and I wanted nothing more to sink into a big pile of them, and sleep there.
Like a morbid, comforting, flannel nest.
If I thought the pack would let me get away with it, I would do it, but they would never allow me to sink too deeply into my sorrow. I think they were afraid they wouldn't be able to pull me back out if it happened again.
But I knew in my heart, I would always come back to the pack.
As long as there was one member left, they were my home, they were my family.
That's how it worked.
My spirit responded to them now, even on my darkest days.
I heard a shifting of boxes and looked up to see Paul pulling the oak jewelry box off a tower of boxes in the very back.
"Got it!" he yelled while making his way back to where I stood.
He set the chest on top of the box of Charlie's shirts and I knelt down to look at it closer. It was a beautiful little thing. Grandpa Swan had bought it for Grandma Swan on their honeymoon in Tennessee all those years ago. She kept her most precious possessions within.
A black and white picture of her and her sisters, a baby picture of Charlie, and several rings and trinkets. I saw the simple gold bands, sitting in the corner of the box. It was a simple wedding set, a small diamond set in the middle with a plain gold band to go with.
It was perfect for Leah, she never wanted anything flashy.
Truthfully, she didn't need it.
She was stunning with or without, and the sun itself seemed to shine from beneath her beautiful tan complexion.
I made room in the cardboard box for Grandma Swan's jewelry box and stowed it away so Leah wouldn't see it being carried in the house.
"Alright Paul, let's lock it up and go. I'm done for now."
He gave me a quick nod and then rolled down the big iron door, locking the padlock on the storage unit and the memories for a little while longer.