Disclaimer - All Characters and Copyrights belong to Stephanie Meyers.

Author's Note - Hi, hope you all like this story. Sorry it's been a while since I last updated it. Please feel free to leave any comments about the story. Enjoy.

Chapter 2: After Effects

La Push

Billy's POV

It had been a tough couple of weeks after Jacob's surgery. Sam was still running the Pack for Jake. Unfortunately, things had not progressed as hoped for by the whole Reservation. News quickly spread about the accident the Chief's son had endured. Everyone had stopped by to give Billy their best wishes for his son's recovery. No one had actually seen Jacob since it occurred. People had only snipped together bits and pieces of a part of the story. The story going around the Reservation and the town of Fork's, was that Jacob was hurt by a hit and run vehicle near the Reservation entry way. Most people on the Reservation, and in town, speculated that it had something to do with the Cullens. People were convinced that the Cullen's sudden departure, the fire at their house, and now the injury to Jacob were somehow related.

Billy was polite and accommodating throughout the couple of weeks for people dropping off care packages. Even with having the Pack eating almost every meal at their house, the Blacks had more food then they knew what to do with it. People from both Forks, and around the Reservation dropped off meals for the injured son, and the crippled father, who was now his primary caregiver. Billy tried to object to the politeness, but gave up after a while. No one would take no for an answer. Sue and Charlie had become permanent fixtures at the Black's house.

Charlie felt more guilt then any man should be allowed to carry. He was paying for every need of the Blacks. He was in the process of having the Pack build onto the current Black household. He was adding a second floor to the house, and building two new wings to the first floor. With Billy's reluctant permission, he was in the process of selling his home in Forks. He would use the money from the sale of his home to move into one of the new wings of the Black household. He argued he had nothing left for him now that Bella was gone, presumably dead. He figured he would help out where he could, when needed. One wing of the new household would be for him. It would have a master suite, and an additional room for an office. The upstairs, was being remodeled for Rachel's and Paul usage if they wanted it. A master suite with its own bathroom, and two additional rooms and a second bathroom would be built up there. The final wing of the first floor, would be Jacob's space to recover in. A master suite, and two additional guest rooms would be built in his space. Once Jacob was resettled in his new area, then Charlie would have the rest of the home brought up to date. Work on the home was moving along quickly, with the Pack handling the bulk of the work, and other members of the tribe contributing to the construction as well, once word spread about the project. Nothing was good enough for their Chief, and future leader.

Sue despite doing her best when the accident occurred, was constantly checking in on Jacob for his medical needs. They had taken Jacob to the clinic on the Reservation, but little additional medical solutions were given. Between his own healing ability, and what medical attention Sue was able to provide, they had reached their cap on alternative paths of medicine. The specialists they would need to consult with to completely heal him were off the table as options. They could not risk exposing the Pack to outsiders, even if it meant healing their Alpha.

So with his two oldest friends by his side, all Billy could do now, was deal with the hand dealt to him, and his extended family. Billy was thankful that Rachel was stepping up to the plate to help. He feared she would take off to the hills after Lahote had imprinted on her. True, she had heard the legends growing up, but both his girls were very head strong, and he never knew what to expect. He could never hide the disappointment he had felt when they left Jake and himself to fend for themselves after Sarah had passed. He was just relieved to see it wasn't a reoccurring pattern of behavior. Ever since the accident, Rachel was one of the few people that Jacob allowed entry to his room. He had to chuckle though, despite the severity of the situation. The only people brave enough to fight Jacob on his demands to be left alone, where the women in his life. Rachel, Emily, Sue, Leah, Kim, and even little Claire were the only ones able to get in the room, and come out of it without being yelled at. Even Rebecca, (who after coming in from Hawaii to see him once she heard about the accident, and then getting into a three hour shouting match with him), survived to be allowed to enter and leave his room at will.

Embry, Quil and Seth would all surf the rage storm in order to assist with his his general care. Only himself, and Charlie were the only males able to come and go at will without being accosted by Jacob's tirades. Billy guessed, that Jake felt that Billy already knew the pain Jake was going through, and therefore would never subject his father to anymore grief. And despite Charlie's action causing his condition, Jake always viewed Charlie as a second father, and all around standup guy. Jake knew a little about the support Charlie had given Billy, and the family, when Jake's mother had died. Furthermore, Billy suspected Jake knew all that Charlie was doing to help right the wrong he had caused when he pulled that trigger that night. Billy also knew that Jake was always in favor of telling Charlie the truth. Not only to protect Charlie's safety, but to help change Bella's mind about being a Vampire. Billy knew, Jake had thought, that if Charlie had been in the know of the situation to begin with, he would never had pulled the trigger. The Tribe's silence on the Cold ones, and their roles as Protectors, were all equally as guilty on what occurred that evening several weeks ago.

Billy was just worried about Jake's sanity at this point. Jake was still laid up for the most part, and made little attempt to move around. The result of the accident had left Jake partially paralyzed. He had no current movements in his legs. Whatever healing capacity his wolf had, it was working overtime to keep what little circulation he had in his lower body going. Sue had secured a prescription from the clinic for pain relievers for Jake, but his high metabolism was quickly eating away as those dosages. There was one good thing that resulted from the destruction of the Cullen place. Before they had burned the place down, Leah had come across an old medical bag from the head Leech himself. Inside they had discovered some script pads, and had been forging additional prescriptions to cover the additional medical dosages Jake needed to get by. So far the ruse had been working, but of course nothing lasts forever.

Billy had been watching a ball game while he thought Jacob was resting. He was interrupted from his few moments of quite by the telephone ringing. Billy sighed but rolled himself over to the phone, and then answered, "Hello?" Billy stiffened when he heard the response. Billy quickly looked around for anyone else, and was thankful that Charlie, was at work. Billy shored himself up before he resumed the conversation, "Yes, what can I do for you?"..."I see. Yes, I understand your concern, but it was necessary for the health of my son."..."Frankly, we are still dealing with cleaning up your messes around here, and I am not sure I should divulge anything to you."..."Very well. I don't need your threats, and I am only doing this so my son continues to get the help he needs."..."Well save your apologies for anyone who believes them. After you left we were attacked by two different Vampire forces. The first were stragglers from the red head's Newborn army. We eliminated around 5-8 of them. However, that is not what caused the injuries to my son. A stray band of the Newborns had gone after Charlie. They were taken care of quickly by the Pack. However, soon another band of mature Vampires came looking for your family. They came into Forks, and then attacked Charlie. It was during that battle saving my best friend, the father of the girl you stole from his life, that my son was injured. As a result of the battle, my son became paralyzed, and because of what he is, the normal painkillers are not helping him enough. So there you have it. If you want to cancel the drugs, then go right ahead."..."No, I am not interested in your help, Doctor. If you want to stop the drugs, I can't stop you. However, we are not interested in having any of you return interrupt our daily lives again. I would appreciate if you never call here again, and leave us alone to let us try and rebuild our lives."..."Goodbye Dr. Cullen."

Billy sighed, and cried into his hands. When would his family's grief end? Surely the Spirits had tested them enough. When were they do for a break, and a streak of good fortune? All he wanted was his son to be happy again. If anyone in this whole messed up world deserved some happiness, it was his son lying in the next room suffering. Jacob Black was a happy child, who had his whole life stolen from him, because of his lineage. All anyone had ever talked about Jake, was about the joy he brought into the lives of others. And his ultimate reward for all his sacrifices, was to lose the girl he loved, have his freedom stolen from him, and now, perhaps be damned to the same prison that contained Billy. No life was not fair. Billy composed himself and rolled his way back to the game. Although it no longer provided the same solace he had needed when he had started it an hour ago.

Billy was soon wretched from his melancholy by a knock at the front door. Billy reluctantly peered out his window to see Embry and Quil standing outside pushing a wheelchair with Claire in it. Billy felt a smile creep up his face, as he could tell that Claire had enjoyed the ride over. She was still laughing as the men twirled her around in the chair. Billy gently called out, "Come in." Embry and Quil carefully entered the Black home.

"Hi Billy!," both men greeted at the same time. Claire thought it was funny they answered at the same time and giggled.

"Morning men," Billy replied. "What brings you here today?" As if he really needed to ask. With the renovations moving along smoothly, Sue felt they should get Jacob use to sitting, and moving around in the wheelchair. With his progress moving slowly, almost to a stand still, they knew they would have need of the chair's services sooner, than later. Of course once the notion was introduced, the arguments started, most adamantly from Jake himself. Billy whistled, "Are we sure you guys are up to tackling this today?"

Embry replied, "Well, it's either deal with Jake today. Or else deal with Sue, Leah and the other La Ladies of the Pack for the rest of our lives."

"Plus we know this would come to a head eventually anyway," Quil added in. "And also they threatened to not feed us anymore until we manned up."

Billy laughed, "Sounds about right. Well you know where he is. I'll just sit out here and watch cartoons with the little one. Good luck." Billy switched on the cartoons, and helped Claire crawl up his lap to get settled in. Billy watched as the men walked to Jake's room, they held their breath before they knocked and walked in. Billy had to cover Claire's ears as Jake tore into a colorful speech about where his two best friends could go, and where they could shove their wonderful gift. Billy noticed Claire started to shift around in my lap, until she was able to maneuver out of her seat. She waddled over to Jake's room and slowly pushed open the door. It was at that point that the shouting stopped.

JPOV

It certainly has been a rough couple of weeks for me. I was still in many ways trying to comprehend just how much my life had changed in so little of time. First off the pain was constant. My healing ability was being taxed by the severity of the injury I sustained that night in front of Charlie's. I was depressed that I had not woken up magically cured after the event. I guess gunshot to the back was about the limits to our wonderful wolf healing powers. Well I guess that will put to rest Quil's moronic idea to try to cut off an appendage.

No matter how much I was suffering, I held no animosity towards Charlie. There is no way he could of known what would happen when he took that shot. He had just witnessed several large animals rip apart 4-5 human like creatures. No wonder he freaked out. The Pack has been great since the surgery. I'd imagine I would be dead right now if they, and Sue hadn't acted as quickly as they did. However, that does little to comfort the pain I am constantly in, and the fact I can't feel my legs. I now know the hell that my father goes through daily. Put despite all of my understanding I can't seem to keep my anger and despair in check anymore. I miss my old personality. All I have now is this persona of hate and anger.

The men around me get it worst. I am not sure if it's the Alpha in me wanting to prove my worth or rank value despite the injury. Sam has had to take back on role of Alpha again. "Long live my rule," or lack there of, I guess. I suppose my greatest contribution to the tribe will be the exile of the Cullens. Correction of a mistake made by my grandfather, Ephraim Black. The guys all try to come and cheer me up, but I just don't have the patience to get out of my dark hole. I only tolerate a couple of my Pack mates, and quite frankly if I didn't need the help with personal care, I wouldn't even bother with them.

My appetite has been decreasing since this occurred. I just can't seem to care about eating. Why bother? What use am I to anyone now? None! Of course my twin sisters are finally back in town to grace us with their presence. I guess I was right when I said all it would take would be my funeral to occur to ever see them again. At least Rachel had made some minor attempts to come home over the years. Unlike Rebecca, who treated us like a family that has abused her all her life. The twins always hide and cry behind the mantra that they missed our mother. Did they not think that Dad and I missed her as much as they did? Were we not as capable of love as much as them? They acted like they had the market cornered on grief. Well get in line ladies, we suffered as well. When Rebecca showed up, we ended up fighting for hours. It did nothing to improve my mood, but by the end of it, I just went with the notion, she didn't have to come back now, but she did anyway. We have a long way to go to repair our relationship, but if she is serious, well I've always been a sucker for a girl who cries. And wouldn't you know it, just as I thought my life couldn't be anymore of a hell hole, that son-of-a-bitch, Paul "The Asshole" Lahote Imprints on Rachel. Well Fuck me Spirits, you got me again.

So everyday, I am visited by any of the Pack's Imprints, Sue, and Leah. Somehow, Leah is the only Pack member who won't leave when I yell at them to get out. She just plops her ass at my desk, and rambles on about any random thought she has, or else she just stares at me. I swear if the drugs didn't tire me out so much, I might throw her through a window. Then there is the worst of the lot of them, Claire. No matter what kind of foul mood I am in, she just walks in and starts babbling away, and eventually a smile starts to crack my wall of bitterness. Unfortunately, she's not around 24/7, and I eventually sink back into my depression.

The worst part of being stuck the way I am now, is the time. Of course I can hear the pounding on the walls from the Pack and the builders as they work on our home. When they told me about the changes that were coming to our home, I at first cried to myself, over Charlie's generosity. I've always known about the help Charlie gave us when my mom passed away. However, here he was helping us again. He didn't have to, we had forgiven him, even if he couldn't forgive himself. But Charlie Swan was a stand up guy, who always stood behind his mistakes, and manned up to them. But after I had cried over his help, I cried again, as I realized that I couldn't help to make any of these changes. I had always imagined me dragging my Dad out of this shack someday to a better a home. Now those dreams are gone, and I would now have to rely on the help of others. I would now get the same look of pity that others gave him. Oh sure people respected my father, but hidden at the back of their stares, was always that gleam of pity. And now, I would be on the receiving end of those looks. I felt worthless.

To top it all off. The cherry on the top of my shit sundae, was the not knowing. Not knowing if the girl that I loved was dead, or a walking corpse. I knew, even as I gave that speech in the field that day with the Cullens, that I was giving away a part of my soul. However, I could no longer justify sacrificing my Pack, and tribe members lives around my love for Bella. It wasn't fair to anyone in my life to continue to put her above everyone else in my family. Especially when she made it clear, it was a done deal, she would become one of them. If we're just me I would lay down my life to ensure that wouldn't happen. But even then, I probably still would of sought her companionship, even after she turned. I'm glad that I wasn't phasing anymore, my grief for Bella would most likely consume the rest of the Pack. It would make Leah's wallowing look like child's play.

I was resting comfortably one afternoon when I heard the phone ring. I had been frustrated for the last couple of days, as I had been arguing with Sue and the Pack girls about getting a wheelchair. I still wanted to sulk for awhile yet, but Sue was adamant about me trying to move around in a chair. And of course the girls formed the same opinion. I had finally succumbed to the pain medicine, when I was disturbed by the phone call. At first, I was able to drift back asleep, but soon was startled when I recognized the voice on the phone with my father. I was starting to get riled up at the nerve of this bastard calling us up, but was shocked when I heard, "Jacob! No, I want to know. Shut up Edward. What happened to Jake?" Then the call ended. She still sounded the same, but maybe I just imagined it all.

I had finally managed to settle down again, when there was a knock at my door. I didn't even get a chance to yell at the intruder, when the door was thrown open, and Embry and Quil walked in pushing a wheelchair. But of course. "What the fuck is that?"

"Geez, Jake. I don't know. Quil what do we call that again?," Embry mouthed off.

"I know what it's called asshole, but why do you two dumbasses have that piece of shit?," I glared. I told Sue and the girls in no uncertain terms, that I did not want a mother fucking chair now. It's too god damn early for this crap. I'm still in a shitload of pain. I have no desire to be pushed around this fucking Reservation as the latest charity case."

"Look man we get it," Quil piped in. "We told the girls you didn't want this. But give us a break, they are raking us over the coals here Jake. We didn't have a choice."

"You've got to be kidding me! How did your choices get taken away, huh? They threatened to cut off your food supplies?," I deadpanned. But one look at their shifting eyes confirmed that for me. "You traitorous bastards. I have half a mind too...". I never did get to complete that thought. Just as I as about to tear into my former friends, I could see my door starting to slowly move. Apparently the two numb-nuts, don't know how to close a door either. So I just stared as little Claire slowly pushed the door open. It was like watching the old King Kong movie, as the giant village doors slowly open to reveal the sacrifice to the monster.

Once she had determined she had sufficiently opened the door to allow her entrance, she waddled over to me. "Jakey, dunt ya wanna wide in fun wee chair? Kwil an Emby wet Cwaire wide, an it fun. So dunt ya wanna twy too?"

I looked over at Quil and Embry who both had shit eating grins on their faces. God damn it to all that is my life. Not wanting to scar Claire for life with another foul language tirade, I took the only route left me. "Of course I do sweetheart. But only if my best gal goes with me. You ready to go for a spin?"

"YAY," Claire shouted!

"Yeah, Yay!," the two idiots shouted.

"yay," I whispered. The guys loaded me into the chair, and off we went with Claire laughing and giggling all the way. I think I even managed a smile by the end of it.