Forty-Three

Leah was thinking about her father, Harry Clearwater. She thought of him often, to be honest. It didn't matter how many years had passed since his death; he was always, somewhere in the back of her mind.

It was raining when her alarm clock buzzed in the morning, filling the tiny house on the reservation with a jumble of noise. Mike hadn't slept over the night before, and the side of the bed where he usual lay in the morning was cold, with the sheets still tucked in against the mattress.

Yawning, she pushed aside the covers, and grabbed her glasses, turning the blurry surroundings of the grey bedroom into sharper focus. The clock on her night table read: 6:00 AM, and she grunted, in sharp rebuke. There was one new text message on her phone, and she smiled when she realized that it was from Mike.

It was simple, just a handful of words, sent one minute after midnight:

Happy Birthday. Wanted to be the first to say it to you.

There was a smiley face, and a single red balloon attached to the message.

After the emoji, she read:

Can I come by later? Dinner?

She didn't need to think about the reply, and hastily typed:

Yes!

Leah didn't spend too much time fixating on the evening. She drove to work at the reservation preschool, like any other day. Enjoyed both the time she spent educating the disciplining the youngsters.

After parking her car in the carport after her drive home, she noticed that Mike was standing with grocery bags in hand waiting at her front door. for the briefest second, she thought to herself, that she really needed to get him his own key.

When he saw her his smile transformed his face.

"What's all this?" She asked, eyeing the bags in his hands. They were canvas totes; reusable and she saw the feathery leaves of celery poking out from the top of one.

"Groceries. I'm going to make you dinner."

"Dinner?"

"Yes, silly," he kissed her cheek. "We can't always live on burritos and beers from The Evergreen."

She followed him into her tiny kitchen, where he gestured for her to take a seat in one of the barstools against the counter and relax. "I can't remember the last time someone made me dinner, honestly."

Mike nodded, "We can fix that, don't worry."

Leah watched him chop and dice vegetables before dropping them into a simmering pot. "When did you learn to cook?"

"When I was younger. Dad was always at the store late, and mom worked too. This was something I could do to get us all together at the end of the day."

Leah smiled, visualizing a tiny Mike doing this same thing for his tried parents after coming home from work. "Smells amazing," she told him.

Mike's phone rang, his ringtone was a voiceover of Vin Diesel saying, "Hmmm, it's been a long time since I smelled beautiful," from the Chronicles of Riddick. A ringtone that she had made fun of him for, incessantly.

She watched him gesture, haphazardly with his hands, which were covered in onion grease. Leah stood up from the barstool and plucked it from his back pocket, swiping the connect button and putting it on speaker. She read Jessica Stanley's name on the screen.

"Hey, Jess," Mike greeted. "I've got Leah here with me. I'm cooking her dinner. It's her birthday."

Jessica cleared her throat on the other end of the call, "Oh my god! Leah, Happy Birthday! Oh my gosh, I miss your cooking."

Smiling, Mike thanked her. "So, what's up?" He asked, after Jessica stayed quiet on the other end of the call.

"Oh, yeah. I guess I lost my train of thought," Jessica explained. "I just wanted to tell you that the article was published this morning. I mean, I'm sure you got a chance to see it and all, but it's out in the world now."

Leah remembered the article all too well. She pulled her own phone out and typed in Jessica Stanley, Seattle Times, Wolves, into her search engine and the article was the only link to pop up.

Mike was saying, "Can you send me the link?"

"Sure!"

Leah looked up, "I got it."

Continuing to chop, Mike said, "Read it aloud. Hand on Jess."

Leah skimmed the article as quickly as she could, but Mike's insistence made her start reading:

"Only a few years ago, wildlife officials in Forks, Washington were threatening of a mass extinction of the wolf population in the Olympic National Forest. Wolves, among a handful of other endangered animals in the region, have been hunted to the point of population depletion in the last decade.

The surprising news of several sightings, of not only packs of wolves, but wolves larger than automobiles has the locals stumped. In an interview with local reporter Jessica Stanly, several residents of the tiny town of Forks had a lot to say on the matter."

Leah read on, "Joe Finley, of Forks, commented, "You can't pay attention to what people see in the night around here. This is Big Foot Country, and a lot of strange things are living out in those woods. I'm not saying they're real, and I'm not saying that they aren't, it's just the woods at night are not to be trusted that's all." Fellow resident of Forks, Maggie Crocket says, "It's the nuclear facility in Satsop—yes, I know the authorities want us to believe that it's not operational, but they went to all that trouble to build those towers and then what? They didn't pull the plug? I think not. They are doing experiments on animals twenty feet underground there, and it needs to be stopped." Mike Newton, had this to say, "I haven't seen anything, but I'm sure no one would lie about something like that.""

Mike whooped when he heard his name read aloud. "You quoted me? I can't believe that!"

Jessica laughed, "I know right, this is so crazy."

Leah read on, while Mike and Jessica chatted, and she kept her thoughts to herself. There wasn't any mention of the Tribe, or generational curses, or shapeshifters. It was just a generic article about large animal sightings in the woods.

"So, the article is getting so much buzz. My boss, all my coworkers, it's really generating a lot of buzz from the internet. Sparking a lot of conversation about animal conservation, and also the many weird things that are potentially living up in those woods."

Leah tried not to roll her eyes, thinking of the Cullen's, also living up inside those same woods. "This is really great, Jessica," Leah offered. "Really, really good."

"Thanks, Leah. That's so nice of you to say that. And Happy Birthday, again. I can hear that Mike is still prepping your dinner, I don't want to keep you. I just wanted to you know it was out there."

"Thanks, Jess," Mike said. "I'm finally famous."

Leah helped Mike hang up the phone, and afterward she tucked it back into his jeans pocket. "I didn't know you wanted to be famous," she teased, pulling herself into him, wanting a kiss. He was careful not to touch her with his dirty hands.

"I guess, every boy wants to be superman or the Joker. Either way, famous," he explained, a little dazed by her forceful kiss.

"How much longer until dinner, do you think?"

He stuttered, "A half hour, maybe forty-five minutes."

"I'm going to go take a shower, then."

"A shower?" he whimpered.

"Yep. I'll be back."

Hours later, after they had eaten, and gone to bed, Leah was awoken by her phone ringing. The sound was comical, a sharp ringing bell breaking open the silence and darkness of the night like a cracked egg. Leah bolted upright in the bed, and Mike exhaled a low curse followed by a pathetic moan.

"What time is it?" He groaned.

"I don't know," she answered, fingering her nightstand until her hands found her glasses. The phone rang again, another sharp, shrill cry. "It's two in the morning, I think." She grabbed her phone, saw that it was Emily on the other end, and swiped her finger across the screen to answer it. "Hello?" She started groggily. "Emily, is that you?"

There was a silence on the other end.

"Emily?"

"Hi, Lee. It's Sam." His voice was hoarse, uneven.

At first, she was stunned. She hadn't heard his voice in a long time. At first, she thought it must have been years, but then she remembered a few weeks ago, when she had confronted him on the Cullen's behalf at the river. And he certainly hadn't called her Lee since before… "What's wrong? Where is Emily?"

"She's fine," he replied. She could hear a hitch in his voice. A strange kind of emotion that she had never heard from him before. "She just had the baby," he confirmed. "A little girl."

"Oh my god," she replied. It was all she could think to say.

Beside her on the bed, Mike had been trying to fall back asleep, but at her exclamation, he sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. She felt the warmth of his hand press into the small of her back, offering comfort.

"Is she, okay? Is the baby, okay?"

Sam whistled, long and low, a sound of triumph and joy. "They're both really good. Emily is amazing."

Leah tilted her head, happy, truly, for both of them. "You already knew that, though."

Laughing, he said, "Yeah, I did."

"So… Give me the details. When was she born? How much does she weigh? What is her name?"

"She was born about a half hour ago. Not quite on your birthday, but the day after."

"Good. I'm glad that she gets her own day."

"She's a big baby. Almost nine pounds."

"And her name?"

Sam sighed. Leah could tell that he had tasted this little girl's name only a handful of times, but he probably would never get tired of saying it. "Fern. We're going to call her Fern."

"Fern." Leah tested the sound. It felt good to say.

"Emily wanted me to call you. I'm sorry if this is—"

"No," she reassured. "I'm glad that you called."

"I know it's late."

"It's alright, really. Are you guys up for visitors?"

He exhaled. "I didn't want to say nothing. Emily asked. She asked if you could come. Come and see Fern."

"Are you sure everything is, okay?" Leah asked.

"It's great." She could hear him fighting back tears. "Really great. I'm just so happy. And it's been so long since we've talked like this, Lee. I've missed you."

Had she missed him? She had hated him, mercilessly, for several years. She had cursed him, wished him dead, but now…

Mike's hand stroked up the flesh on her back, making her shiver.

"I've missed you too. We'll be by in a bit."

"We?"

"Yeah. I want you to meet my boyfriend."

Leah was pleasantly surprised when Mike got out of bed, with very little whining, to get dressed and head out to the hospital with her. Mike often surprised her. His kindness, his humor, the veneer of joviality that he used to hid what she suspected was a crippling self-esteem issue. He used kindness and oversharing as a coping mechanism, the same way she used anger and rage to mask her own idiosyncrasy.

"And this is your cousin, Emily?"

"Yeah," she regaled. "We used to be really close. Close as sisters."

"And you too had a falling out and only just started speaking?" He was so serious, as though studying for a test. It made her laugh.

"That's right."

"And you were fighting over this Sam guy, who she later married and is now the baby-daddy?"

Snorting, Leah said, "Yep. Sam and I were together first. For a long time. Most of high school."

Mike sat further back in the passenger seat of the car Leah was driving. "Do you still have feelings for this guy…?"

There were still hours of darkness left ahead of them, and the roads around Forks were deserted, peeling her eyes away from the road, Leah made eye contact with him. "No. I haven't had feelings for him for years. Ever sense then. All this time. It's just been anger and hurt. They both hurt me. Deeply. I want to get past that, but it's hard."

He took her hand. "I get it."

"I'm with you, now. I don't want to be anyone else."

Leah knew he was reddening, despite the darkness of the car. He always did when she said things like that.

"I'm just surprised, I guess. I haven't even met your mother or your brother yet. Meeting this cousin is cool and all, but I feel like I'm stepping into a momentous occasion."

"You're probably stepping into the emotional roller coaster that I've been living for the last few years, yes."

The hospital was the size of a two-story house, with a handful of examining rooms on the first floor, and a few admittance beds on the second floor. After greeting the night nurse at the front table, they were guided up the stairs to room 203 where Emily and the baby were.

After knocking, Leah went in. It was a large room, sectioned off with a large looping curtain hooked to the ceiling so multiple patients could share the space. The first part of the room was dark when they entered, but Sam stood and poked his head over the curtain when Leah announced herself.

He looked shaky and altered to Leah's eyes. Not just because she hadn't seen him in a few weeks, but mostly because of the events of the night. She heard Emily greet her with an excited 'hello,' from behind him.

"Hi, Lee," Sam greeted.

"Hi, Sam," she said back.

Mike held out his hand, "Hey, I'm Mike Newton."

Sam took it, and shook it. He was nearly a head and a half taller than Mike. "You're… Leah's boyfriend?"

"That's right," Leah told him, putting her hands on Mike's back and guiding him away from Sam, and closer to where Emily was laying.

When they turned the corner behind the curtain Leah saw Emily sitting up in the bed, her long hair braided up away from her face, and her hospital gown was pulled down to reveal one large veiny breast and a teeny-tiny infant suckling at it.

Mike exclaimed, quickly shielding his eyes and turning away.

Sam and Emily both looked taken back.

"It's okay," Leah reassured them, "He was just being polite. It's okay," she told Mike. "Baby's just feeding. It's natural."

Mike was blushing, but he turned back to Emily. Diplomatically, Sam grabbed a sweater from the small couch beside the bed, and covered Emily and the baby.

"Congratulations," Mike said, bridging the gap from the silence that seemed to take them all over.

"Yeah," Leah affirmed, "Congratulations. She's so little."

After the baby finished feeding Emily pulled her from the breast and handed her to Sam, who took her with only the slightest hesitation. It made Leah smile, to see him rocking the infant gently, cradling her tiny pink-bonneted head with a tender palm, cooing softly a litany of nicknames under his breath.

"What do you think of the name?" Emily asked.

"Fern?" Leah tasted it again. "It's unique, yet traditional. I like it."

"I kept seeing the ferns that surround the porch at our house, I feel like every time I looked at them, she would give me a good kick, like 'Hey, mom, that's my name.'"

Mike laughed. "I really like the name. It's very sweet."

Smiling, Emily thanked him.

"Have you guys picked out a middle name yet?"

Emily looked to Sam, smiling a secretive smile, that Leah couldn't help but notice.

Sam answered, "We were thinking of Lee—her full name would be Fern Lee Uley."

"Lee?" Leah questioned. For as long as she could remember Emily and Sam had both called her Lee.

Emily reached for her hand, "For you. For my best friend. My sister. What do you think?"

Sam cut in, "If it makes you uncomfortable, we can change it. We haven't filled out a birth certificate yet, or anything."

"Well, I'm shocked," Leah admitted. "I don't know what to say, no one has ever tried to name someone after me." She felt Mike's hand rise up her back, moving in comforting circles. "I mean, who am I to object. Are you going to spell it 'Lee' like me, or the more feminine 'Leigh?'"

Emily was firm, "L-E-E, for sure."

Sam kissed the baby's head, catching everyone's attention.

"So," Emily finally said. "Mike Newton," she said his name slow, rolling out the syllabus. "…Tell me about yourself? What do you do? Where do you live? What are your intentions for our Leah?"

"Here she goes," Leah intoned.

"Going nowhere," Emily objected. "Stationary. One hour passed birth. I couldn't stand up right now even if I wanted to do. Mike, come," she gestured to the chair beside the bed, "Come. Sit. Tell me everything."

Mike obliged, although he took the seat slowly, eyeing Leah for support.

"Hey, Lee," Sam began, "Will you take a walk with me? Grab some coffee?"

Leah followed him out into the hall and down toward the tiny cafeteria in one of the back rooms.

"I'll bet your glad Carlisle Cullen didn't need to be involved tonight."

"It was an easy birth," Sam explained. "Just a few hours of contractions, and hour of pushing, and she was out. Emily didn't even get an epidural."

"I doubt she would say it was easy, regardless."

They both grabbed two empty cups. "Normally I hate coffee this late," he told her, taking the coffee pot and pouring it into three of the cups.

"Yeah, I remember."

For the forth cup—Emily's—he grabbed a teabag and bent down to get hot water out of the machine.

They each grabbed two cups, and headed back the way they had come. Sam stopped Leah in the hallway on the way back to the room. Both palms fingering piping hot cups of coffee. "Hey, Lee," he started.

"What?" She took a step away from him, his gaze made her feel uncomfortable, suddenly.

He shook his head, mystified. "It's just so good to see you. To talk to you."

Shrugging, Leah teased, "It's good to talk without being on the other side of a river bed, without a squad of vampires on one side and a squad of shapeshifters on the other. I heard that there are two new pack members."

"Yeah," she watched him lean against the wall, the full exhaustion of the night setting in. "Jack and Tina."

"Another girl?"

"Does it bother you that you're not the only one, now?"

Grinning, she said, "Not at all. It's nice to lose that title." His eyes wandered downward, examining the floor. "What's wrong, Sam?"

"I heard that the Cullen's are leaving, is that true?"

Leah searched back through her memory, she had heard as much from her mother, Sue, and she did remember mentioning it in passing to Emily.

"Don't be mad at Emily," he pleaded, seeing her expression change. "She didn't know it was a secret."

"It's not. It's just I didn't think too much about it."

"Have you spoken to Jacob, recently?"

She shook her head. "Not in a while. Renesmee was sick a few weeks ago—that night that you and the wolves came to the boarder. We don't speak that much, honestly. The pack disbanded years ago."

Sam nodded. "I would imagine that he would go with the Cullen's. Not wanting to be away from Renesmee."

Leah wasn't sure. She spent very little time thinking about Jacob Black and his weird romantic history. "Is this about the article in the Seattle Times?"

Sam shook his head, oblivious. "There's a new vampire on the Cullen compound. A very old vampire. Older than Carlisle, and apparently, he's planning on living with them now. It was him—his presence— that made all of us change that day. Everyone except for you, I guess. It also caused Jack and Tina to shift for the first time."

"Yeah, I think I saw him that night that I was there. Jacob didn't care too much for him."

"If the Cullen's leave, then there won't be a need to shift any longer. The tribe will be safe."

"Until another vampire wanders in," she objected.

"Maybe, or maybe we'll have a whole new generation of kids who don't have to transition into wolves to protect the tribe."

"What are you trying to say, Sam?"

Taking a deep breath, Sam said, "I have no ill-will toward Jacob. I want him to be happy. If the Cullen's go, I have to believe he'll go with them."

"I still don't understand what you're trying to say, Sam?"

"If you see him," Sam offered, "…Tell him to be careful. Carlisle isn't a fool. He knows what kind of company he keeps. And Edward and Bella, they'd do anything to keep their daughter safe. Just like I would do anything to keep Fern safe."

Leah eyed him, unsure of what to say next.

"Let's get back," he said. "I'm sure Emily has scared your boy long enough."