A.N: Happy Sunday! If you celebrate Easter then happy Easter! Thank you to Guest for your review - I loved the little face. And to everyone who had reviewed so far, thank you and I hope you're still enjoying it - whether a silent reader or a reviewer who I chat with via PMs. It's so cool to have all of you!

This chapter was a long one. 3790-ish words. It's pretty packed and a lot of development happens, so I hope you enjoy it :D

TWENTY-SEVEN

in the world

The battle began, and a switch flicked in all eight of the wolves' minds. There was vampire friend, and vampire foe. And as the vampires approached, their scent blocked everything else out of the wolves' minds and drove their concentration to a singular task.

Destroy them.

One moment breathed into the next and they were attacking. Dodging. Biting. Clawing. Working with the Cullens.

Paul chased down and bit into the neck of a vampire. It hissed as the sound of cracking glass-like marble filled his ears and then its head was separated from its body.

Embry dodged the joint attack of two males chasing him down recklessly. He pounced from one side of the clearing to another before leaping off a wall of stone and turning his body in such a way that when he landed, it was with them cornered. Then he attacked.

Jacob came from nowhere - from Bella and Cullen - and bit at the vampire that was about to leap onto Quil. Teeth slicing through marble so easily. Quil joined, leveraging his teeth against the hard stone and pulling as forcefully as they could before the two tossed the body in separate directions.

Brady and Sam swiped at vampires that were surrounding them. Trying to get their hands on them. The two clawed out in synch, catching the vampires off guard and knocking them away enough to create an opening for the blonde Cullen to take down two of them with one fell swoop.

Jared went low, taking their feet out from under them before slicing into them with his claws while they lay on their back. The vampires yelped, but it was drowned out by the booming sound of stone hitting stone, and the sound of tearing.

At some point, three vampires clung onto Sam. He shook them off and the big Cullen handled the rest. When he was done, he stared at Sam and grinned gleefully.

What felt like mere minutes later, the vampires were all dead and the Cullens were burning their remains.

There was a lull in the Pack mind. Enough to register the words they were saying. The Volturi were coming. The Wolves needed to leave.

Sam felt the pain then. The three vampires he'd fought had pulled at his fur, ripping it from his body. One must have kicked his leg or crushed it in their grip because he could feel the sharp throbbing turn into waves of pain. He hadn't noticed it before, but he would heal.

Sam knew they needed to leave. They all agreed.

They would have too, but the breeze changed and they all caught the scent of one final Newborn. It launched itself towards Sam, but Brady got in the way. There was a yell from one of the Cullens but all they could hear was how scared Brady was.

Sam was paralysed in the fear himself.

Then Jake lept. He chucked the vampire off Brady and they began fighting aggressively. Snaps and claws, bites and lashes. Too quickly for Sam to process. Then the vampire got its hands around Jake and squeezed.

The crack was quiet but Jake's whine was loud - and then Sam felt it too. Bone crushing pain and it was all he could do to not howl out with Jacob!

Paul attacked - ripping the last vampire apart but the damage was already done.

Somehow Jacob phased and Sam was separated from his pain. He could breathe again. But Jacob was hurt. Badly.

Phase! Jared ordered and they all did.

Getting the clothes they had stored away, they all put on as little as they could get away with and ran to Jacob's side. He was crying out silently, tears rushing down his face as he struggled to get out any words.

Sam limped - leg still broken and healing incorrectly - but it didn't matter.

"Jacob?" Brady asked. His voice trembled as he looked at his packmate and Sam knew exactly what was going through his mind but he didn't have the time to tell Brady it wasn't his fault.

The doctor was already at Jacob's side. "I need to set the bones before his accelerated healing kicks in. It's already starting," he said solemnly.

"He needs to leave," Edward said. "We're not going to win a fight with the Volturi."

Sam bit back a snarl by sheer force of will, but only because he understood what Edward was really saying behind his abrasiveness. "We'll take him back to Billy's. You can treat him there," he said.

The doctor nodded. "I'll be there as soon as I can."

Bella Swan gave useless words of encouragement and then the wolves carefully, and slowly, picked him up. He tried not to scream or cry, but there were moments of the journey where he couldn't hold it in and Sam felt crushing guilt.

The pain in his leg was almost enough to stop him thinking about it but when Jake got back to Billy and he looked at his son with so much sorrow, it wasn't enough.

"Sam?" Jared called. "You need to get off that leg till Dr Cullen can fix it."

But Sam didn't sit down. He just stood there watching over Jake. Jared said something. Probably something along the lines of it not being his fault, but Sam wasn't listening.

He stood there until Cullen came, and listened to the cries of sheer agony as the doctor rebroke all the bones on the right side of Jake's body. He had to break some on the left that had started compensating. They couldn't even give Jake sedatives because he would burn through them too fucking quickly.

Eventually, Jake blacked out because of the pain and the house gave a collective sigh of relief. The twins went home to their mom. Jared to Kim. Quil and Embry said they would stay by Jake's side until he woke up and Paul just looked at him.

"Call Naima," he said. And then he left.

But he didn't call her. He couldn't face her. Instead, he laid in one of Billy's girl's old room and waited for Cullen to come to him.

"This is going to hurt immensely, Sam," the doctor said. Sam's eyes flickered to Jacob's room.

"Fine," he said.

The doctor pressed down on his leg and Sam was in so much pain. Blinding pain, made somehow worse by the doctor's freezing cold hands. Eventually, his mind couldn't take the manipulations and it shut off. He wished it hadn't.

When he came to, it was dark outside. He was remarkably less delirious and no longer in pain. He gave his leg a twitch to test the waters and there was only a slight twinge at his thigh. Like he had pulled a muscle.

More importantly, though, Naima was asleep right next to him. Her body was in a chair but the top half of her was resting against the mattress, her hand under her head and her hair splayed out around it.

Someone had called her, or she had demanded to know where he was. He wasn't sure which one, though he would bet that it had been the second. Especially since he was sure that Billy would have somehow got in contact with Eve to let her know about Jacob. The man was still under the belief that Imprints were soulmates, as much as he denied it.

But she was there. For him.

She had come to see him and decided to stay. He looked at the old clock on the wall opposite him. Assuming it wasn't broken, the time read three in the morning. Naima had chosen to stay with him through the night even though he knew it would cause some tension between her and her dad.

Why had she done that?

He went to stroke her hair but then pulled his hand away. He didn't want to disturb her and she'd told him once that she was a stupidly light sleeper. He drew his arm back and stared at the ceiling listening to the clock tick as his thoughts swirled around.

Sam had been worried that with the thoughts of all eight wolves, no one would be able to concentrate. But somehow the Pack mind had worked as one. It was too much to think about at the time but now, as Sam lay on the bed, there was nothing but time to consider it.

They had worked as something else. Something beyond the man - and even the wolf. It had been instinctual.

Almost like they could see simultaneously through each other's eyes, categorise movements and thoughts, and focus on their own at once.

Almost like there was a radio station playing multiple songs in their heads. They knew all of the words to all of the songs, but they could choose to tune in or out of the one they liked the most.

The memories were fading away now - like a dream - but it was jarring how easily it had all slid into place. And it hadn't started until they had all pounced as one.

Was that what the journals had been talking about? When the man was separate from the beast?

Sam clenched his eyes shut and tried to focus on the moment it had stopped working. It was hazy, but he suspected it was the moment the memories became clearer. That split second where his mind had disconnected from the others and he'd felt the pain.

He had let his guard down. The leeches had all been dealt with and Colin had informed them all that the Red-headed bitch was dead.

He had let his guard down and the pain had clouded his mind. Then the vampire had attacked Brady.

If Jacob hadn't acted, Brady might have died.

But if Sam hadn't stopped - hadn't let himself get side-tracked - Brady would have never needed to defend him. Brady wouldn't have been attacked.

It was his fault.

And now Jacob was lying in a room in so much pain that he couldn't speak. Sam had all but healed. A broken leg and a concussion was nothing. The worst of it had been walking back to the Rez or the doctor re-breaking his bones.

But he'd only been out a few hours and he'd already healed.

Jacob hadn't.

He remembered the pain as the right side of Jacob's body had been crushed and shuddered. Jacob wasn't so lucky.

There was a quiet murmur from beside him. Naima was shifting ever so slightly like his shudder had woken her. She let out a little sigh and Sam watched her eyelashes flutter a couple of times before they snapped open.

"You're awake," she said, quietly but intensely as she sat up. "Are you ok? Are you in pain?" Naima looked at his leg and then back at him like she was checking to see if there were any signs of his discomfort.

"I'm fine," he said. His voice was scratchy after hours of no use and she narrowed her eyes. She had probably taken his hoarseness as an indication that he wasn't ok so he caught her hands in his before she could panic. "I'm fine," he said again. "Look."

He went to move his leg under the blanket and she squeaked.

"Don't move it!" she said.

"I'm healed," he assured her. "Watch."

He pulled the blankets back and flinched. There was an ugly bruise exposed on his leg that still hadn't healed, but he assumed it would within the next few hours. He placed both feet on the side of the bed next to her chair and then stood up.

Naima watched him silently until he took a couple of steps towards the door and then turned back to her. "See? I'm fine. I'm safe."

Naima reached out a hand slowly and Sam couldn't stop himself. He pulled her into a hug.

The one they'd shared before he'd left had been bittersweet and tinged with the knowledge that he may not be back. But this one? This one felt like relief. Like he was coming home.

The scent he'd smelled all those months ago on the wind wasn't exclusive anymore, it was just Naima. Coconut and shea from her hair products, leftover spices from her food and something that just smelt comforting and delicious. He nuzzled into her neck and, to his horror, he started purring.

"Is...that a wolf thing?" she asked somewhat hesitantly.

"Maybe," he said after a pause. "I don't think I can stop it."

Naima giggled and pulled away from him slightly. "It's ok. It just tickles."

Sam didn't want her to let go. He wanted to stay nuzzling her and breathing her in all night. It was a remarkably good distraction from his earlier thoughts. Naima, it seemed, felt the same way because she walked back to the chair and sat down on it.

"You can sit on the bed if you want. Like I said, I'm fine."

Naima looked away and fiddled with her nails, scratching polish off of them. "I, uh, I'm ok here."

He was about to tell her it was fine, but then he remembered who he was talking to. Naima, who had hardly even done anything more than hold his hand for a few seconds. Who had taken months before she was comfortable giving him a hug. Who had felt weird that she was sleeping on his couch. "Sorry, I forgot."

She shook her head. "It's stupid and not worth thinking much over, I know. But sometimes...I grew up so differently and it can be a hard habit to break." She smiled awkwardly.

Sam took pity on her and the situation and sat back on the bed, even though it made him incredibly sad. Even if it was just because he wouldn't get to keep his arms wrapped around her. Naima seemed to force the awkwardness out of her body, though, and she took his hand in hers.

They were quiet for a little while. Both lost in their own thoughts and he wondered what she was thinking again. It wasn't much later that she let him know. "It's over, right?" she asked. "The fighting is over?"

Sam hoped so, God he hoped so. But he wasn't so sure. There was still the issue of Bella Swan and the Cullens. They still lived in Forks, and as far as he could see, the girl was going to choose the vampire.

And if they decided to change her then it was in direct violation of the treaty, no matter how far they took her. They may not hunt the Cullens down once they left, but they would certainly not let them go peacefully.

"I don't know," he said. They'd promised no more lies. "It all depends on what the Cullens and Swan do. If she stays human, fine. But if she chooses them…"

"Even if it's her choice?" Naima asked.

Sam nodded. "The treaty stipulated they weren't to kill or turn another human."

Naima was quiet for a minute. In the interim, she was tracing patterns on his hand again. Sam fought the tingles as they raced up his spine. Eventually, she spoke again.

"What if you amended the treaty?" she asked. Sam frowned but she spoke again before he could. "You think she's going to choose them, right? So let her. Tell them to leave Forks, take Bella, and not to come back. They know their presence affects the tribe now."

"We can't," he said.

"Why?" she asked in that way that lacked any agenda or intention. She was purely just asking why.

Why? Why couldn't they let Bella Swan run off and turn herself into a Leech? He knew what she was getting at; it would be so much easier to just let it happen. To tell the Cullens to never return and guarantee the generations that followed wouldn't have to suffer the same fate they had.

But he couldn't. He was the Alpha of the Pack. And to let them just slide on through doing what they wanted? He couldn't.

They had worked so hard to protect that one girl that for her to throw away her humanity felt like a slap in the face.

"I can't," he said.

"Ok."

He knew she didn't understand, but she also wouldn't judge him. She hated judgement born from not understanding, just like he hated hypocrisy. And maybe that was why he couldn't let it go. "If I let them turn her without trying to stop it then all the sacrifices our ancestors made, all they stood for, was for nothing. I don't like what I am now, but I won't let that affect the responsibilities I do have to my Pack. My people."

You.

Naima gripped his hand tighter. "I get it," she whispered. "And I'm sorry."

He wanted to pull her to him and kiss her. Pour all of his thank-yous and I love you into it so that she knew exactly how he felt, and how much he appreciated her for those simple sentences. The ones that just got him.

But he wouldn't. He wouldn't impose himself on her, make her have to sift through any guilt or worry or anger or hurt because of her religion or not wanting to hurt his feelings or...whatever.

Instead, he whispered a thank you and hoped she would understand the feelings behind it.

"What will you do?" she asked.

"Play it by ear. Nothing's certain yet."

Naima sighed and sat back in her chair. It strained their hands, but she didn't let go. "This is all really complicated and intense."

Sam snorted. "That's one way to put it."

Naima rolled her eyes, but it was interrupted by a yawn. It reminded him of his earlier questions.

"How long have you been here?" he asked.

She hummed. "I probably got here about seven. You were already asleep."

"And you stayed this entire time?"

"Well, Sue got me food and some pyjamas. Eve stayed for a little while to make sure that Jacob was going to be ok, but she left when Bella Swan arrived." It didn't seem to dawn on her how big of a deal it was to him that she had stayed for him. "Your grandad came to see you too."

He frowned. It wasn't like he hadn't expected to see his grandad. He'd been injured after all and Levi was family. But somehow he had expected the man to let him lie. He didn't know what to make of it and Naima didn't offer up anything else.

She did yawn again though.

"You need to sleep," he said.

"When you go back to sleep," she said stubbornly. Now it was Sam's turn to roll his eyes.

"You're about to fall off the chair. Sleep on the bed. I'll sit on the chair."

"Um...I don't think so. I'll sleep here and if it gets too uncomfortable I'll go to the sofa." She was glaring at him, daring him to disagree, her arms all but crossed over her chest.

Sam got off the bed again for the second time that night and stood up. "Sleep on the bed, Naima. I'm not tired." He was, but she wouldn't back down if he even hinted at it.

"Liar. I saw you trying not to yawn." She stood up herself and stood in front of him. "Go back to bed!"

Sam shook his head. "I'll be fine."

There was a spark of annoyance in her eyes. "I hate it when you use that word," she muttered. Then she turned around and looked at the bed. She seemed to be thinking about something; she was rubbing her fingers together, the sound louder than it should have been in the silence of 3 am. She did that a lot when she needed to solve a big problem.

He knew she'd solved it when the rubbing stopped. She turned back to him and he raised a brow at the determined look on her face. She was not sleeping on the couch.

"Fine," she said. "We'll both sleep on the bed."

"What?"

"We're tired - you're still healing - and the sofa has that annoying plastic on it that squeaks when you move. It'll wake the house. We'll both sleep on the bed."

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yep." She said it too quickly.

"A little while ago you wouldn't even sit on the bed with me," he deadpanned. "I'm going to sleep on the couch. Night Naima."

He was about to reach for the doorknob he heard her feet patter on the wooden floor as she scrambled around the chair. And then her hands were on his wrist. "Shut up. I'm allowed to change my mind. Come on."

She pulled on his arm and Sam found himself letting her drag him to the bed.

"Which side do you prefer?"

Sam looked at the double bed and then back at Niama, highly confused about what was happening. "What are you doing?"

"Don't be dumb," she said.

"You know what I mean."

She sighed. "I just - I'm really tired of having my dad's voice looming over everything I do. I trust you, and we're… best friends. And I...I was really worried you wouldn't come back," she whispered. "I just need to make sure this isn't a dream."

Sam understood that. And if she was sure then he would gladly sleep next to her in the bed. But…"Are you sure?"

She nodded.

Sam looked to see if she was actually sure or if this was just some way to...he didn't know. But she looked sincere and she was still tugging on his hand so he gave in and followed her.

They lay down next to each other, her back to his chest with enough space between them that it wasn't weird, but Sam still didn't know what to do with his hands. He'd fantasized about having Naima in his bed, but not like this.

This was innocent and trusting. He treasured this.

"Are you too hot?" he whispered.

She shook her head and then reached around and took his arm. She brought it around and rested it over her stomach laying her own arm on top. It brought them a little bit closer.

"No. I've been really cold recently. You're the perfect temperature," she whispered back. She already sounded sleepy, like she was talking to him in a dream.

Sam nodded one more time and then breathed her in again. The guilt that hung at the back of his mind, waiting for him to let his guard down in the minutes before sleep shrunk back to a manageable size again.

She was here. He was alive. Everything would be alright.

A.N: So...are they cure or what! I would love to hear feedback about this one if you've got the time. It was a bit painful to write and write well (the fighting) and I didn't want Naima's thought process to feel too rushed...