A/N: I'm just not even going to say anything. Enjoy!

Paul.

She seemed a thousand times more fragile as we pulled into the driveway of the house.

I waited anxiously with my breath held as we walked inside, passing the rolled up carpet against the wall and inhaling the faint smell of bleach. Her eyes never left the living room until it was completely out of sight.

Maybe I thought something more would happen, but she didn't say a word.

Neither of us did. Neither of us have, still.

Sam wanted to have a meeting, but I begged him. Just one fucking night. Let me be alone with her tonight. Don't make me ask her to talk about it yet.

This time, he listened.

We've been in bed under the covers for hours now, completely silent but wide awake.

There are so many things I want to ask her, so many things I want to say, but I don't know how because I'm afraid of what the words might do to her. I feel like she's disappearing before my eyes and if I blink she might not be there anymore.

It terrifies me.

What does she need from me? What can I do? How can I help?

I'll do anything for her.

I'll leave the pack. I'll move us off the reservation – out of the country even. All she has to do is say the word. I'll leave tonight and fly to New York to shred that fucking leech to pieces. Jared would come. So would Embry. It'd be easy. It'd be so fucking easy, and it eats away at my heart that she won't accept that – that she'd rather slowly kill herself than trust that we can protect her.

"Are you awake?" she whispers, nose pressed into my neck.

My chin is tucked over her head, arms wrapped around her tight but not too tight – because it still feels like I might crush her. "Yeah," I whisper back.

She breathes in deeply through her nose and moves her body closer to mine. "I wasn't trying to kill myself…"

"I know."

"I just thought—"

"It's ok. You don't have to explain yourself."

"I do, though… I want to." She takes another deep breath and slides her arm across my stomach. "There's just never been a time when he's not there. I don't know how to not be afraid of him… But…"

My chest tightens and I squeeze my eyes shut. It feels like my heart is ripping into pieces. The images of her pale, limp body flood my vision and the fear of losing her becomes so great again that it causes me physical pain.

She gasps quietly.

"What do I have to do, Indie?" I croak. "I can't fucking lose you, but I am losing you. You're disappearing on me."

Her arm tightens across my waist and she buries her face deeper into my neck. "Not anymore," she says frantically. "I'm done being afraid. I trust you. I love you. Please."

"I'll do anything, Indie. I'll do anything for you. Just say the word and it's done. I promise."

There's a long pause between us, nothing but our hearts beating in sync.

"I want him dead."

It took her a long time to fall asleep, but I held her the entire time, and the entire fourteen hours she slept. And when she woke up, it was like nothing ever happened. While I moved carefully and walked on eggshells around her, she was perky and smiled and offered to cook breakfast after her shower.

I'm pacing the floor outside of the bathroom right now, making sure I can hear her heart still beating through the sound of the water. Is this a calm before the storm? She wouldn't do anything reckless, right?

The water twists off a few minutes later and I see the gush of steam squeeze out from under the bathroom door. I close my eyes and try to think about the way her skin flushes after a hot shower. The pinkness rising to the surface of her cheeks and her chest. I can hear her heart beat more clearly now. Mine slows to match hers.

"Paul?"

I throw open the door so fast it almost makes my head spin. "What's wrong?" I ask quickly.

She looks surprised, standing there wrapped in towel with her toothbrush in one hand and the toothpaste in the other. "Nothing. I was just going to ask if we could go to Emily's for breakfast instead…"

I let out a sigh of relief. "Yeah, babe, of course."

Her brows fur together. "Are you okay?"

I wish I could say I am, but I'm wound so tightly just waiting for something bad to happen. Waiting for her to fall over. Waiting for her fragile little heart to give out. Dr. Cullen's words keep ringing in my ears over and over again.

My stomach twists.

I hate that I feel like I'm on standby to lose her.

"Paul," Indie sets her toothbrush and toothpaste down.

I could crack. I could crack under her soft gaze and the way her brows are pulled together in concern. I could crack beneath the gentle touch of her fingertips against my wrist. I could crack in her arms. I'm supposed to be the strong one for her, but I could crack. I could crack and crumble into a thousand pieces right now, and then what?

She slides her arms around my waist and hugs me tightly, head resting against my chest. "I'm really sorry, Paul," she says softly.

"You have nothing to be sorry for." The words come out so fast I'm not sure they were even organized correctly.

"I do, though. I hate that I hurt you like this. I hate that I scared you and made you worry." She looks up at me, chin against my sternum, and smiles a little. "I'm okay, and I'm going to take better care of myself."

My throat feels thick when I swallow, forcing down the emotion. I'm glad I don't have to say anything, and that she knows how I feel, because if I had to talk right now I might crack and start crying. And crying in front of someone once already this week is embarrassing enough in hindsight.

Indie turns her cheek against my chest again and sighs happily. "There's no better fresh start than a full breakfast spread at Emily's," she adds.

I agree.

I let her finish getting ready and try my hardest – but fail miserably – to not hover and allow her some space. It's a lot easier said than done. I walk aimlessly around the room, kicking my stray socks and making sure there aren't any spider webs up in the corners. I don't mind spiders, but Indie hates them.

On the other side of the bed, on the floor, is the stack of discharge papers from the hospital. I pick them up and sit down on the bed, thumbing through the pages and wondering if this is considered an invasion of privacy, and then I see it.

Neat scrawl written in on the bottom of the third page.

Please contact me. It's regarding Malcolm – Carlisle Cullen xxx-xxx-xxxx

I feel my blood start to boil. I tear the page out, fold it, and stuff it into the pocket of my sweats.

What the hell could the vamp doctor possibly know about the New York leech that he couldn't say to my face? Instead, he wrote a note in Indie's discharge papers? No one ever fucking reads these things. How important could it be if he was so indirect about it?

"Are you ready?"

I set the papers down on the bed and stand up, glancing at my low-slung sweats and lack of shirt. "Yep."

We start to leave the room together but I pause, grabbing her wrist and drawing her back in. She looks up at me with those pretty green eyes and I almost melt under her gaze. I gently cup her face and lean down, pressing my lips against hers and sliding my hand to the back of her head.

Her breath is minty from the toothpaste, reminding me that I should probably brush my teeth before we leave, too.

I pull away a moment later and rest my forehead against hers. "I love you. Can I give you something?"

She gives me a curious look. "Okay…"

Tucked away in the back of my underwear drawer is the birthday present I bought her the other day. I grab the long, giftwrapped box and hand it to her. "I know you said you don't celebrate your birthday, but I'm hoping one of these years we can replace the bad memories with good ones."

A smile spreads across her lips as she turns the box over in her hands. "You got me a present?"

"Of course I did. It was my girl's birthday," I reply, taking a seat on the edge of the bed.

She sits down next to me and carefully undoes the small ribbon before pulling the wrapping paper off. The rectangular, black velvet case looks so big in her hands. She flips it open and moves the tissue paper to the side.

It's a rose gold whale tale pendant necklace encrusted with tiny diamonds. I'm not great with presents, but the second I saw it I knew she had to have it.

Her smile widens. "This is beautiful, Paul," she says, leaning into my shoulder.

I kiss the side of her head and pull the necklace out of its box. "Here," I mumble, waiting for her to gather her hair up so I can clasp it around her neck.

Once it's fastened, she drops her hair and wraps her arms around my neck, crawling into my lap, and kisses me deeply. My body ignites immediately, but I have to fight myself down and remind myself that she was just in the hospital. I rest my hands on her hips and kiss her softly, pulling away to kiss her chin and jaw. Chaste kisses.

"Thank you. I love you," she whispers.

I smile against her skin. "I love you more."

We finally make it out the door after a heated make out session with lots of heavy petting. She wanted more, but I was afraid to admit that I was scared I might hurt her, or make her heart beat too fast or too hard and cause it to give out. I'm sure she could feel it, and that's why she eventually backed down and settled for just making out.

I texted Emily to make sure it was okay for us to come over, and she decided to turn it into a pack breakfast. It makes me a little nervous – because I know how stupid Jared can be – but Indie seems happy about it.

Some of the guys are already there when we walk in.

Josie and Kim swarm Indie in five seconds flat and Emily passes off Laci to me so she can join the group hug. I bounce her softly and smile at her cooing while the girls drag Indie down the hallway and into the kitchen.

Sam and Jared are watching sports on TV, and Embry's got Liam passed out across his chest, so he's stuck there until he wakes up. It's a rule. If the baby falls asleep on you, you have to hold it until it wakes up. I carefully sit down next to him and tuck Laci into my arm.

"Guess we're both on baby duty," I chuckle.

Embry cracks a smile. "They're not so bad when they sleep."

"Aw, Embry, you scared to be a daddy?" Jared teases, shoving him with his shoulder.

Embry glares and checks to make sure Liam didn't wake up. "Not everyone needs to have kids right away," he growls. "Unlike your girl who has been trying to convince you since we were still kids. Who's the scared one now?"

"Yeah, just give her what she wants, bro," I reply, laughing.

Jared glares at me. "And what about you? You and Indie gonna pop one out?"

My smile drops, but I cover it quickly. "Nah, we're too busy taking care of your asses half the time."

"Ha ha ha," Jared laughs dryly. "I just like to practice making babies so when the time comes, I'm an expert."

"Two pump humps don't count as expert baby-making practice," Sam says with a smirk.

Embry and I both burst into laughter. Jared shoves Sam. "It worked for you, apparently!"

"Ohhhhh," Embry and I both say in unison.

The dig launches a wrestling match that everyone knows Sam will win, but it's entertaining to watch anyways. Liam somehow manages to sleep through the entire thing and Laci just watches with wide eyes and an open mouth. She's an expressive little thing, sometimes.

I smell the exact moment when bacon goes into the pan in the kitchen, and my stomach growls in response. When was the last time I even ate?

"How's Indie doing?" Embry asks me as Jared and Sam settle back into their seats.

I shrug my shoulders and shake my head a little. "She's acting like nothing even happened."

"I mean, is that really a bad thing?" he asks.

I shrug again and then remember the paper in my pocket. "Look at this," I murmur, pulling it out and handing it over to Embry.

He scans it and then sees the note at the bottom. "What the hell? That's weird."

Sam motions for the paper, eyes flitting to the bottom immediately. His brows pull together and he hands the note to Jared. "He knows the leech from New York?"

"I have no idea. Why the hell would he write it on a piece of paper instead of coming to one of us?"

"Do you think they're related somehow? Or friends?" Jared suggests. "Every fucking leech seems to know each other somehow."

He's not wrong. It seems like they all have some kind of creepy connection to one another. "Then I guess I'll do the honors of telling him to his face that I'm going to shred the fuck out that leech once we cross paths," I growl, looking at Sam with dark eyes. I think he knows he won't be able to stop me on this one.

He nods subtly. "I respect Dr. Cullen after everything he did for Jacob. There's gotta be a reason he didn't come to one of us directly."

"Yeah, but what's the reason?" Embry asks.

No one has any suggestions. We all just look at each other in silence for a minute, but then Liam wakes up and starts fussing to be fed. Embry takes him into the kitchen to give to Emily and then joins us on the couch again.

"They're going all out in there. Is anyone else even coming?" he asks.

Sam turns back to the TV. "Malachi should be here with his brothers. Twins are off the rez with Collin and Brady. Not sure if Seth or Leah and Jesse are coming."

I haven't seen Jesse since the wedding. I thought with him moving to La Push that I'd see him more often, but it's kind of just like it used to be. He's busy with work and Leah – and we all know how much of a handful Leah is, so I try to cut him some slack.

It's weird when you become an adult. You start respecting other people's priorities even if they don't include you.

I can't say I'm any better about reaching out. All I think about is Indie – especially lately.

"Hey, no food jokes," I warn Jared. "Whatever she eats or doesn't eat, just don't say anything."

He pretends to zip his lips and toss the key over his shoulder. "I have a little more common sense than that."

"That's a good joke," Embry smirks.

Jared punches him in the shoulder which leads to the second wrestling match of the morning. I angle Laci better so she can see Embry get Jared with a rear naked choke.

"Breakfast is almost done! Come set the table!" Emily yells down the hallway.

Embry releases Jared – who was starting to turn blue in the face – and we go into the kitchen to set the table. I get a free pass because I've got Laci, so I stand back and watch Sam and Jared put plates and silverware down, and Embry put napkins and cups. Emily's got all the table leaves in, which means she was expecting at least ¾ of the pack to show up.

As if on cue, the back door opens and Malachi and his brothers shuffle through. "Seth's not comin'," he announces, kicking the door shut behind them. "Somethin' about Jacob needs him to patrol cuz he's gotta do somethin'."

"Don't they have enough pack members by now that Jacob can stop worrying we might try to sneak over and attack the Cullen's?" Jared asks, rolling his eyes and pausing to smack Kim's ass before continuing to set the table.

Indie is cooking in silence next to Emily, flipping potatoes in a timely manner and dusting them with garlic powder. I watch her while the rest of the guys start to bicker about Jake and his pack.

I'm not sure how so many guys ended up in his pack, and I'm also not sure if he was trying to snag them before Sam got to them. Battle of the Alphas is what Jared and I like to call it. The last survey of pack members came back that ours is still bigger, but both are continuously growing. I've been wondering what the hell they're gonna do when Jake has to leave with the Cullen's. That freaky hybrid and her frozen family can't stay in Forks forever. And what'll Jake's pack members do then? Follow him wherever the fuck the Cullen's decide to move? Like pet dogs?

I shake the thoughts from my head and hold Laci out in front of me so she's facing me, hand supporting her head. "You're too content, you know that?"

"Don't tell her that. Her brother already gives me enough trouble," Emily sighs, holding Liam in one arm and scrambling eggs with the other.

Smiling, I move Laci back into my arm and then offer to take Liam from Emily. She doesn't need to be asked twice.

Fifteen minutes later, the table is decorated with food and the babies are set up on the living room floor with the baby monitor. There's waffles, pancakes, eggs, potatoes, bacon, sausage, and a bunch of other healthy shit that Emily is trying to force on us like strawberries and cantaloupe.

I sit down next to Indie and eye her subtly as she starts putting food on her plate – a waffle with some berries, a piece of sausage, and a spoonful of eggs. There's a small carton of yogurt next to her plate as well that she rips the top off of and starts eating.

Just like that.

It's hard, but I force myself to not continue watching her. I don't want to hover and make her uncomfortable, so I start piling food on my plate and start shoveling it in my mouth. I can't get it down fast enough. Once the first bite hits my tongue my body starts acting like I haven't eaten in days.

Thankfully, Jared holds true to his word and doesn't say any dumb shit through breakfast. Indie nearly clears her plate but leaves behind half a waffle which I gladly help finish, but not before stealing a kiss that tastes like maple syrup. Jared, of course, is unable to hold back his gagging sounds, which earns him a kick to the shin under the table, courtesy of yours truly.

No one really has any plans for today, so we pile into the living room to hang out with the babies and watch TV. Emily demands that she be in charge of the remote, so that the girls don't get stuck watching sports, and puts on one of the Hunger Games movies to watch.

Halfway through, there's a knock at the door.

No one makes an effort to answer. Sam just yells, "Come in!

When the front door opens, I can smell Jacob on the air before I even see him. Well, I can smell his vampires on him. Neither of us have really spoken since the fight on the beach. I know he wouldn't do something stupid and try to start anything in Emily's house, so I make it an obvious point to not turn and look at him.

"Hi, Jacob," Emily says sweetly, sitting up in Sam's lap. "What brings you here?"

Jacob clears his throat. "Carlisle would like to set up a meeting."

That catches my attention. Sam's, too.

"About what?" Sam asks, shifting out from under Emily and standing up.

"It's about the vamp from New York."

A fiery shiver runs down my back. Indie notices and reaches for my hand, but I don't know if it's to calm me down or calm herself down.

"We've got it under control, Black," I growl. "We don't need your family's help."

"Paul," Sam warns.

"Can I talk to you outside, Paul?" Jacob asks.

This time, I look over my shoulder. He looks genuine enough – not in a defensive stance or anything, but still.

"You should," Indie whispers to me.

Glancing at Jake again, I squeeze her hand and stand up from my spot on the couch. I wait for Jake to turn his back first before following him outside.

"What?" I bark, shutting the door.

Jake turns and stuffs his hands into his pockets, looking at me silently. It kinda annoys me. Why ask me to come outside and talk if he was just gonna stare at me?

I can feel the insults balancing on the back of my tongue, waiting to be tossed out at him. Jake and I never really got along in the first place, especially after he left us for the Cullen's, and then everything that happened with Rachel only made everything worse. It's a second nature to try and challenge him.

"You really care about her, don't you?" he finally asks.

Seems like a pretty fucking stupid question, since he knows how imprinting works, but I nod my head anyways. "You know I do," I reply.

He nods, too. "Meet with Carlisle. Do whatever you can to fight her demons."

As much as I hate admitting it, he's right. I made a promise last night. A promise to do anything for her. A promise I had and have every intention of keeping – no matter what I have to do to fulfill it.

A/N: Ayyyyyy who's ready for some real Cullen content?! And so the plot thickens. Thanks for all of your patience and kind reviews and, as always, for reading! If you have a moment, leave me a note. I hope you enjoyed xxxx