Quote of the day: The broccoli says 'I look like a small tree', the mushroom says 'I look like an umbrella', the walnut says 'I look like a brain', and the banana says 'Can we please change the subject?'

Chapter 27

BPOV

"Bella!" Renee's high voice shouted as she burst through the door of the Clearwaters house.

I had expected this in the week that followed the phone call from Louise. From my original memories of three years ago, I could see a slight difference in Renee. Heck, she was ever fairly different from my memories in my dream. Her face was more wrinkled and tanned but her eyes still held the child-like glow of innocence. Her mother now wore fancy designer clothes and jewelry that would probably rival the Queens royal jewels. Her hairs was a rich chocolate brown, similar to my own, but it now held several blond streaks.

When Renee come face to face with me, she gasped dramatically and said. "Oh, Bella. You have grown so much. Look how beautiful you are!" Before I knew it I was pulled into a hug.

"Um, thanks mom." I said awkwardly.

Renee released me, holding me at an arms length. "Well, why don't you start packing some things and then we will come back for the rest."

"Wait... What?"

"Come on, Phil's in the car. You will love Phil, he is so sweet and so kind and handsome too." Renee grinned, her eyes glazing over slightly. I internally shuddered, not wanting to think of whatever gave her mother that look.

"Mom, wait! I don't want to go. I want to stay here. With the Clearwaters. With my friends." My voice rose and desperation leaked in.

"Nonsense, Bella! I am your guardian. Besides these people don't have the money to look after you, or the money to send you off to a good college."

My mouth dropped open in shock at my mothers insults. "Mom-" I started in outrage.

"How dare you!" Someone growled and I turned to see that it was Leah. Her brown eyes simmered with anger and hatred, her body trembled with fury. "How dare you! We were the ones that took Bella in when you were of gallivanting around. Tell me, how long did you visit Bella in the hospital for... A day or two after the accident, a week maybe... It couldn't have been more than a month, you don't seem like that reliable of a person." Leah trembling increased.

"Leah, you need to go outside." Leah either didn't listen to me or she couldn't hear me above her angered thoughts. "Harry!"

"Don't you dare assume that, young lady." Renee shouted back. "I stayed with my daughter for a year after the accident. The doctors said she may never wake up, I had to move on with my life. There was no use staying there loosing those years at the side of a hospital bed waiting for someone to 'maybe' awake up."

I gasped and my own anger and betrayal welled up within me.

"That 'someone' was- is your daughter." Leah screamed.

"Leah, you have to go outside now. Bella can deal with her mother." Harry said calmly, hoping to sooth some of his daughters anger. He pushed her towards the door, with just enough force to get her going and looked back at me with a reassuring nod as if to say 'don't worry she will be fine'.

I sighed and then turned cold eyes on my mother. "I think you should leave. In less that a month I will be eighteen and then you have no legal hold on me... Besides it appears that you have created quite a life without me."

"But- Bella, I... I sorry it took me so long to see you after you woke up. Me and Phil were on a cruise around the world paid by one of his friends and..."

"I don't want to hear excuses, Renee. You walk in here and insult the people that I have come to love as a second family, after not seeing me for almost three years!"

"I paid for your hospital bills, didn't I. I kept you on life support until you woke up, I could have just asked them to pull the plug..." Renee was cut off by a vicious growl coming from where Leah and Harry had just went. She had phased and she was pissed.

"I know mom, and I am truly thankful for that. However that is all that you've don't. As soon as Charlie found out that I was alone after waking up from a coma, which he had no idea about, he called me almost every hour..." My eyes began to water as I remembered that. I had found the phones calls incredibly annoying then. He would call, ask how I am, make some small talk before hanging up and calling me again an hour or so later. Now when I think about it, that was just Charlie's way of showing that he cared. He would've probably booked a flight and came to me but I had talked him down to that.

"You weren't there when I needed you and now I don't need you." I muttered.

"Fine, but don't come running to me when you find that you DO need me, Isabella." Renee said sharply before turning around and leaving.

I sighed, that could have gone better. I had been worrying all week about what to say when Renee finally got here. I remembered when I had hung up the phone.

FLASHBACK

"Bella, what's wrong? What did she tell you?" Sue asked kindly, her hand brushing my upper arm in a motion that said 'I am here if you need me'.

"They found, Renee, and they said Renee will come by within the week." I muttered numbly. What do I do? I can't leave, I had Edward, the Cullen's, Leah and Seth, Sue and Harry. I didn't want to leave. I want to stay here with everyone.

"Oh sweetheart, that's great news. You and your mother can be together and-" Sue started smiling slightly but secretly she was sad. I could see it in her eyes, she too had come to see me as family.

"I don't want to go." I told her. "If I decided to stay, would you let me?" I asked or more like pleaded.

"Of course we would, Bella. Don't be silly. Everyone would be happy if you stayed but think it through carefully. I don't want you to regret it." Sue told her.

I would probably regret leaving more than I would ever regret staying. I thought to myself and it was true. If I left then I would leave behind this life I had began to care for, if I stayed behind I would leave the mother that never really acted as a mother should. Wasn't she the one that had forgotten to put money on the gas and electric, forcing me to go out and get it in the dead of night, on the dead of night that I was attacked in the alley.

"I won't regret any decision I make." I told Sue firmly, but secretly I had already made up my mind. I was staying and not even my mother, who carried all legal claims to me, could force me into leaving.

END OF FLASHBACK

Sam's POV

We have been training with the leeches for just over a month now and just like Bella had said our numbers had began to steadily grow. Quil had joined us, much to his pleasure. It was obvious that he was happy to be back with his friends. Along with Quil, came some distant pack members. Those who didn't have strong pack blood lines but the gene had triggered anyway. I couldn't help but get worried, if the pack needed to expand then this meant the the newborn army was getting dangerously close.

Me and Jared were patrolling the Quileute part of the treaty line, when we felt a rush of pain and anger before an agonized howl was released into the air. Someone had phased.

"Oh my God! Oh my God!" Leah's hysterical voice entered there mind. I had almost forgotten that Harry had told me Leah had showed signs of phasing. Along with her panicked words Sam got quick flashes of, what he guessed were, Leah's paws, Harry trying to calm her down and a woman who held similar characteristics to Bella. It was her mother.

"Leah, it's Sam Uley, are you okay?" Sam said, springing the action with Jared following at his rear.

"Okay! OKAY! I am a wolf! A WOLF! This shouldn't be possible, no, it isn't possible. It's one horrible, crazy, imaginative dream." Sam hadn't expected any less from Leah, everyone freaked out the first time after phasing. Heck, even he freaked out. The only one who hadn't was, Quil, and that was because he thought that it was, and I quote, 'freaking awesome'.

"Leah, calm down. It is not a dream. If you don't calm down you might hurt Harry." As if she was a robber caught in the act, Sam saw Leah freeze, her pain and anger fading to guilt as she looked at Harry.

"Oh, God. I could have hurt him... Or killed him." Her mind began to rant.

"Leah, we are almost there. Start walking into the forest." Sam told her, if she didn't listen he would have to Alpha command her but truthfully he didn't want to. Using the Alpha command was something he was determined to use as a last resort. Much to his relief, Leah did what he said. He had expected her to be angry with him and ignore him after their breakup...

"Don't get me wrong Sam, i'm not doing this for you." Leah told him, picking up his thoughts.

Just as Leah told him this Sam and Jared with hit with one of Leah memories. It was one of Bella and Leah.

"You know, most people think that the most painful thing is loosing the one you value, the truth is, the most painful thing is loosing yourself in the process of valuing someone too much. Don't loose yourself Leah, not over someone who doesn't value you as much as you value them."

"You keep asking yourself why you aren't good enough, am I right? Have you ever thought that maybe he wasn't good enough for you?"

"When a relationship ends, what hurts more is not the end of it, but the way you behave like strangers with the person whom you once thought you can't live without."

"You're going to have to thank Bella." Jared commented.

"What?" Sam said taken aback.

"Well, yeah. I am sure Leah would have been much more difficult if Bella hadn't mellowed her out."

"Hey! I'm still here you know." Leah exclaimed. "And I am not 'mellowed out' thank you very much. I just happen to see the logic in what Bella tells me."

"Yes..." I muttered in awe, "I will definitely have to thank Bella."

One by one, Bella managed to win over the pack. First it was Jacob. It was not surprise that Bella was his childhood friend and crush, however Jacob also knew that if he didn't imprint on Bella then he didn't stand a chance at getting her... and he didn't, imprint that is. Then it was Jared, if it wasn't for her, Jared might have taken longer to find Kim or at least that is what he thinks. He feels that he owes Bella in some way. Now, there is Leah. Who Bella helped get over her bitterness after my... very messy and clumsy breakup with her. Heck even Paul has a little respect for her after having stood up to him, not many girls did that.

"Imprint? What's an imprint?" Leah asked once again picking up on my thoughts.

"It is the way a wolf finds his mate. Like love at first sight but only stronger." Jared answered as his mind flipped back to the day he imprinted on Kim. "Sam imprinted on Emily."

"Oh..." In Leah's mind me and Jared heard Bella's voice saying, 'Somewhere out there, there is the perfect person for you. He will compliment you in every way.' "Will I imprint?" At this thought I could help but wonder a little if Bella had seen Leah imprint on someone, but I had no way to tell for sure.

"You might... It is suppose to be really rare but already three of the pack have done it." I told her.

"Wait three?" Leah questioned.

"Yes, Quil imprinted on Emily's niece, Claire." Jared told her.

"Claire... What?" In Leah's mind we both saw a young girl, no more than one years old. "She has to be like four now. What kind of pervert imprints on a four year old!?" Leah shouted in there minds outraged.

"Leah, calm down. It is not like that. When we imprint, we will be everything and anything our imprints want you to be. We can be a love, a friend or a brother. Quil only thinks of Claire as a little sister."

"He better!" Leah growled.