Leah groaned as she tried to open her eyes. Her lids felt heavy, and the room was dark around her. She was on her back in a large, very comfortable bed. Leah sat up slowly and grimaced from the sharp pain across her forehead. Muffled voices permeated from the next room, and Leah cradled the side of her head tenderly as she tried to distinguish where she was.

Jacob asked, "Are you okay, honey?"

Bella sounded sick with worry as she said, "Yeah. I just want Leah to be okay."

He soothed, "You know how this goes for us. She'll wake up when her body is ready."

Bella said, "It's been days, Jacob."

Leah gasped in alarm. How long have I been out? What goddamned day is it?

Sounding irritated, Jacob said, "She had a pretty bad head injury, Bells." Leah realized then that she must be in her new bed at their house.

How the hell did I get here? What the fuck happened? Leah remembered walking across the lot toward Quil, and then … nothing. Her mind was blank. She grimaced as another pain shot across her forehead.

Bella asked, "What time did Quil leave this morning?"

Jacob chuckled and said, "Right before he had to clock in at the garage."

Bella said, "Well, at least he went to work today. I guess he finally realized I'm capable of taking care of her."

He warned, "Don't be surprised if he comes by a few times to check on her."

Bella said, "And half of the pack. Sue has certainly warmed up to Quil through this."

Jacob chuckled again and teased, "I don't think any of us took Quil for the caregiver type."

Bella sounded sad as she said, "He really loves her."

Quil has been taking care of me? Leah's heart felt like it was stuck in her throat. For the third time in less than two months, Leah found herself wondering how she had underestimated his love for her so completely. Leah slowly lowered her feet to the floor, and her wolf snapped at her angrily.

I bet you're ready to get out and run, aren't you? I'm sorry you have been cooped up so long. As she attempted to stand, Leah wobbled unsteadily. As if coming in after a long swim, she felt heavy with her limbs stiff from lying in bed for so long. Her calf muscle suddenly seized, and Leah landed ungracefully on her ass with a thud. She chuckled self consciously despite the pain that shot through her and vigorously rubbed the cramp from her leg. The door swung open, flooding her vision with light from the living room. Leah squeezed her eyes shut in pain and groaned as she continued to rub her calf.

Jacob's voice boomed in her head as he asked "Are you okay?"

Leah croaked out, "Yes, Gigantor. Please block that damn light." She hadn't realized how thirsty she was and swallowed uncomfortably. Her right ear popped painfully, bringing instant tears to her eyes. The next thing she knew, Jacob scooped her up in his arms and placed her back on the bed.

Again, his voice rattled her as Jacob asked, "What do you need, sweetie?"

Leah whispered, "Shhhh! Everything … so loud."

Sympathetically, Jacob whispered back, "I'm sorry, Leah. You had a pretty bad head injury."

Leah admitted, "Yeah, I heard you talking to Bells. What the hell happened, anyway?"

Jacob asked, "What do you remember?"

Leah said, "Quil. Standing outside the club. Then nothing."

Jacob's frown worried her. "You have said that every time," he said.

Leah leaned away from him, confused. Incredulously she asked him, "Every time, what?"

He explained, "Every time you have woken up. It's never for very long. A couple of minutes."

"Oh," Leah said. She couldn't recall a second of it.

He said, "I'm going to go grab you some hot tea."

Leah croaked out, "Coffee, please?"

"Trust me," Jacob said and left the room. Leah grinned as Bella happily invaded the space to check on Leah for herself.

Once Leah had been helped to the bathroom and was back in bed, Jacob brought her the hot tea, water, and a canned protein shake in the hopes that she could get some much-needed nourishment. Slowly but surely, Leah drank them all. She was drowsy again when she finished, and they left her to sleep some more.

It was the feeling of someone sitting carefully on the bed that woke her sometime later. Eyes still closed, Leah asked, "Quil?"

Softly, he said, "Hey, Leelee." Her heart fluttered from the sound of relief in his voice. Quil asked, "How ya feeling?"

"So tired," she said sleepily. Leah slowly rolled to her side to face him, squinting against the light. Quil reached down to gingerly touch her cheek. His face filled with grief as she winced at the contact.

Leah asked, "That bad, huh?" She had dutifully fought against viewing her reflection in the mirror, the bruised skin visible enough in her peripheral vision.

Quil said, "It worries me a little, that's all."

Leah didn't want to admit that it worried her, too. She should have been healed within a day. Why the hell am I not healing? She forced a smile for his benefit and said, "I've got a hard head. It'll be fine."

Quil laid down next to her then and pulled her into his arms. She did not resist, draping her arm over his side.

Leah asked him, "Are you okay?"

Quil said, "No, sweetheart. I am not okay. I haven't been this worried since Jake got crushed."

Leah asked, "That bad, huh? What happened?"

Quil said, "I don't know what happened to you. I wish like hell that I did. I was sitting in the car with Embry when I heard you screaming for me. I had just seen you between some cars, so we started checking between them. Embry spotted you on the ground by the club. By the time we got to you, you were unconscious. Your eye was swollen shut, and you were bleeding from the back of your head and face. Embry and I got you in the car and rushed you to the guest house. Rose started checking you over immediately while Emmett called Carlisle. He brought some portable x-ray machines and ran some other tests. We kept you there the first two days before he thought it was safe to move you."

Leah asked, "How long have I been out?"

"Four days off and on," Quil said. "Doc checks on you daily. He should be here in about an hour, actually."

"Oh," Leah said. "Who cleaned all the blood off of me and shit?"

Quil smiled at her and said, "Rose and I did. She was very upset. Rose cares about you quite a bit."

"Thank you both for doing that," Leah said, holding him tighter.

Quil asked, "Do you remember the attack?"

Leah smirked and asked, "I was attacked?"

Quil chuckled and said, "That's a no, I guess. I'm sorry I didn't get to you in time. Carlisle said you might not remember when you woke up and that your memory might come back slowly. Trauma and all that shit."

Leah joked, "I wish my brain would choose to forget some other trauma." A moment of absolute silence passed, and Leah sighed, curling her fingers around his shirt.

Tentatively, Quil asked, "Would you choose to forget those few months together if you could?"

Leah wasn't sure how to respond. Quil's grip on her loosened a bit as he nodded once and looked away, taking her silence as a confirmation. "Don't do that," Leah said sadly.

Staring at the wall beyond the foot of her bed, he asked, "Don't do what, Leelee?"

"Assume you know the answer," she said. "I don't even know the answer. If you are asking if I regret it …"

Quil turned to look at her, silently begging her not to say it if she did.

Leah admitted, "The only thing I regret is not realizing you loved me as much as you did."

"I still do," he said, sliding his hand across her hip. Leah shivered, the familiar touch leaving her wanting and uneasy.

Softly, Leah said, "I know."

A knock at the door had them pulling apart as Quil sat up on the side of the bed again. Leah sighed as she sat up, staring at the back of his head and silently loathing herself for his pain. Her heart ached guiltily, wanting what it wasn't supposed to have. The door swung open, revealing Carlisle and Sue. Quil stood quickly to let Sue take his place, and she eagerly embraced her daughter.

Quietly, Quil warned them, "Don't talk too loud."

Carlisle gave her a warm smile and asked, "Sensitivity to sound?"

"And light," Leah grumbled, squinting up at him over her mother's shoulder. Carlisle chuckled and adjusted the door so that the light no longer reached her face, and Leah smiled at him gratefully.

Carlisle said, "As it happens, I don't need it to check on you."

Leah said, "Let Emmett know that I said it was perfect timing with this bed."

"Yes, it certainly was," Carlisle said. "So, how is my patient?"

Leah answered, "Weak. Tired. My head is pounding. My ear popped earlier, and I damn near yelled."

Carlisle knelt on the floor by her bed and said, "Let me take a look." He sucked air through his teeth nervously as he pushed her hair away from her ear. Sue opened his medical bag and quickly handed him what he needed. Carlisle carefully cleaned the dried blood from her ear before taking a closer look. He said, "Your eardrum isn't ruptured, but there is some significant swelling. Sometimes fluid can get trapped behind the eardrum, causing bleeding and sensitivity later on. It's common with ear infections and excessive headphone use. The swelling from your injuries likely caused it. It will heal over time on its own, but it will be sore for a couple of days. Don't be alarmed if it drains more unless it is excessive or the pain gets worse. It may pop more as the inflammation comes down."

Leah said, "It must have been pretty bad. I didn't even take this long to heal when my side was split open." The look on her mother and Quil's faces was all the confirmation she needed.

Carlisle said, "You have improved a great deal, though you did give everyone quite a fright. What do you remember, Leah?"

Leah said, "I remember Quil hiding behind the corner of the building and beckoning me to walk over."

Quil looked at the others nervously and said, "Leah, that didn't happen."

Leah said, "Yes, it did. You were watching me escort the dancers out."

Quil said, "Yeah, Leelee. From the car, so no one would see me. You were completely out of view from the car when we found you."

Leah was suddenly feeling very crowded. The room felt smaller as she sucked in a deep breath. Leah asked, "Can we all go sit in the kitchen or something. I need … I need …" Leah huffed in frustration, unsure of what the hell she needed. Her heart and breathing sped up, and she fought to hold back tears.

"Let me," Quil said quickly, and Carlisle stood to move out of the way. Leah buried her face into his neck and focused on her breathing as he lifted her from the bed. Quil carefully carried her to the kitchen, where Bella sat feeding Sarah. He gently placed Leah down and helped her ease into a kitchen chair. The soft, natural light was more tolerable than the bright yellow bulbs in the rest of the house, and her eyes began to adjust as Leah calmed down. Everyone sat around her quietly except Carlisle, who bent down to kiss the top of Bella's head affectionately. He repeated the gesture with Sarah, who bounced in her highchair happily with a mouth full of mashed banana.

He casually rubbed Bella's back as he looked toward Leah and asked, "Are you prone to anxiety attacks, Leah?"

Leah said, "Not really, no. Is that what that was?"

Carlisle said, "It seems so. Do you feel more comfortable now?" Leah nodded and looked over, her eyes landing on the usual bowl full of muffins.

Leah asked, "What day is it, anyway?"

"Wednesday," Sue said.

Oh, yeah. Four days. Leah scowled in frustration at her confusion. She said, "I wish I could remember what the hell happened."

Carlisle said, "Sometimes it's best to allow those things to come back slowly. There is always the chance it never will. You had multiple skull fractures, Leah. Your left eyebrow was fractured, your right cheekbone was as well. It was lucky nothing was shattered from the looks of things."

Quil said, "I just don't understand why she thinks she saw me out there."

"You were moody as hell that night," Leah said as she tried desperately to remember the events of the evening. "I saw you outside earlier, and you refused to talk to me. Then later, beside the building."

His eyes widened in alarm as Quil said, "Neither of those things happened, Leah. I swear. Whoever you saw was not me."

You're not him. Leah winced at the memory of her own words, and pain jolted through the back of her head. Mother fucker. She cupped her head in pain as her expletive further triggered the memory. The phrase had spilled from her mouth after her head smacked the brick behind her. Leah saw herself gripping onto familiar wrists and then pushing him away from her. She gaped up at Quil in horror.

Leah stammered, "It … it was you. I mean… it wasn't you, but it was you!"

"Leah," Quil said, his voice rising in defense, "I fucking swear-"

Leah said, "I mean that he looked like you." Quil stared back at her in disbelief. "I'm not fucking crazy, Quil," Leah said. "Why would I go out of sight with a stranger right now?"

Carlisle asked, "Do you remember hitting him back at all?"

Leah searched her memory again, though nothing else was coming. Her head began to throb from the strain, and she buried her face in her hands, shaking her head.

Carlisle said, "I scraped some tissue from under your nails, but I haven't had the opportunity to thoroughly analyze it just yet." So swiftly that Leah nearly missed it, Carlisle retrieved a bottle of tablets from his bag and handed them to Leah. He continued, "It has been particularly busy at the hospital this week." Carlisle explained, "These are pain pills, Leah, just in case. If you don't need them, please keep them locked up." He turned to Bella and said, "Do not take them under any circumstances, Bella. No human should. They are ..." he turned to smile at Leah and finished, "wolf-strength."

Leah chuckled and asked, "What the hell are they? Horse tranquilizers?"

Carlisle grinned and said, "Basically. For the wolves, they are about the equivalent of a Percocet for a human."

Leah shook the small bottle at Bella and asked, "Put these in your safe?" They would be convenient for emergencies with the wolves. Leah had gotten this far without them, and they seemed unnecessary. Bella grinned and nodded, taking the bottle from Leah.

Sue finally spoke up as she asked, "Leah? Did the attacker mention Hodie?"

Leah gasped at the sound of Hodie's name. She had not even thought of him.

I'll be sure to tell Hodie you said Hello.

Nodding, Leah tried to choke back a sob. The mention of him brought back the memory of Quil sneering over her, followed by lifeless blue eyes staring back at her. She began to feel panicked again and suddenly wondered where her phone was.

Leah asked, "Where is my cell?"

Quil said, "He took it, we think. It wasn't on you when we found you."

Sounding every bit as worried as she had when Leah first woke, Bella said, "Makes sense if he's searching for Hodie."

Leah asked, "How the hell am I supposed to hear from him now? How am I supposed to know if he's safe? All my pictures of him? Everything is on that memory card."

Quil stood abruptly and said, "I gotta head back to work. I'll send Jacob over to carry Leah back to bed when she's ready." Without another word, he walked out and let the screen door shut a little too hard behind him. The noise made Leah jump, and Bella glared after him angrily.

"God damn it," Leah said and sobbed as her mind swam with guilt. Worried about Hodie. Worried about causing Quil any more pain. It was no wonder her mind had shut down for four days. She needed a fucking reality break.

Jacob walked through the door and immediately scowled protectively. He pointed toward the garage and asked the room, "Did he do something to make her cry?"

Wiping her tears away carefully, Leah said, "No. I'm just a mess. That's all." Jacob glanced toward her suspiciously, clearly not believing her.

Jacob asked, "Are you ready to lay back down?"

The idea of shutting everything out again suddenly seemed like a brilliant idea, and Leah nodded. Jacob lifted her straight from the chair and carried her back to her new bed.

He asked, "Are you sure you're okay?"

Leah sniffled and said, "Yeah. Thanks, Alpha." She laid down carefully and closed her eyes. She heard Jacob walk back into the kitchen and immediately start complaining.

He asked them, "What the hell set Quil off anyway?"

Bella said, "She got upset because she has no way to hear from Hodie, and she has lost all of her pictures of him. I guess it was just too difficult for Quil to see it right now."

Jacob said, "He has got to realize that Hodie is her imprint. Whatever happens, that's not going to change."

Bella said, "Her heart is broken, Jake. He's broken-hearted for her. Despite everything, he just wants to protect her."

His tone softened as Jacob said, "I know, that, Bells."

Carlisle said, "I didn't get a chance to discuss everything with Leah. Her emotional state seems very fragile right now. She needs to avoid stress while she is healing. I'm already concerned about how slowly that's going."

Jacob said, "Well, we tend to heal faster with our imprints around. Leah was already having a hard time getting enough rest before being injured."

Carlisle said, "That could have something to do with it, yes. However, I know Quil has been caring for her a great deal. Everyone is grateful for that, but if his reactions continue to upset her, it might be best if he spends a little less time with her for now. Especially if she is confusing him with her attacker." Leah was surprised to find herself disappointed over the advice.

As if reading her thoughts, Bella said, "He's the only one that seems to be able to calm her down since Hodie left. She started having nightmares."

Curiously, Sue said, "Nightmares? That's not like Leah. She has never really had a problem with those."

Bella grumbled. "Not like me. I hate it for her. She woke up screaming the other morning and scared the hell out of everyone."

Carlisle said, "Trauma manifests itself in many different ways. It's different for everyone. I will head home and get a better look at the tissue samples I took. Should have a few other results as well."

Bella asked, "Like what?"

Carlisle explained, "Just checking for any infection, some metabolic tests, vitamin levels, and such. Anything that could possibly hinder her healing time."

Jacob chuckled and asked, "You actually really enjoy learning about how we work, don't you?"

Carlisle said, "Any knowledge we can gain about the shifters is the knowledge we can beneficially apply to the future health of the pack, Jacob."

Jacob said, "Thanks, Doc."

Carlisle replied, "It's the least I can do."

Leah heard the sound of scraping chairs as the others stood and continued on with their day. Leah buried her face into the pillow where Quil had laid beside her. His scent lingered there, and Leah hugged it to her like a security blanket.

It had not only been the thought of not hearing from Hodie that had upset her so much. It had been the realization that it was the first time she had even thought of him since waking up that bothered her. Since Hodie left, Quil had been at her side nonstop. Between the memory dreams and the comfort of his presence, it was becoming increasingly harder to distinguish her feelings.

What the hell does that say about my feelings for Hodie if I can dismiss him so quickly? Leah thought again of the lost photos on her cellphone, and fresh tears began to fall. Her wolf had remained quiet through all of this, curled up and resting quietly inside of her. Deciding to take a cue from her so-called spiritual counterpart, Leah forced herself to try to sleep again.

Unfortunately for Leah, her subconscious mind was wide awake. She dreamed as she slept, jumping back and forth between different timelines. One thing stood out to her, for sure. Leah had a clear pattern with men that ended with her fighting monsters and feeling alone. Leah did not feel unloved. She was surprisingly aware of being very loved by everyone around her. In her memories, Quil had only announced his feelings out of jealousy. The dreams left her feeling confused and suspicious. Quil was not innocent of cruel words or manipulation, either. Not to mention, like it or not, he had an imprint that was not Leah.

As he invaded her dreams, the sensation of his hands on her body confused her further and left her wanting. When he was inside of her in her dreams, she could feel him there. She could taste the whiskey on his breath from their first kiss, feeling her lips tingling as he pulled away.

Leah woke sometime during the night as someone sat beside her. She glanced over to find Quil staring at her silently. She grinned at him sleepily and said, "Hey." He reached over and rubbed her arm before wrapping his hand around it gently.

"Go back to sleep," he whispered, and Leah closed her eyes.

The theme of her dreams dramatically changed as she fell back to sleep. Her memories became fuzzy and blurred together. Arguments that she knew had happened with Quil were suddenly between her and Hodie. Hodie told her repeatedly that they were not meant for each other and that there was someone else out there for him. The dream quickly shifted to arguing with Sam, inundating her with a pain she hadn't felt for him in over a year. She was suddenly transported to the night on the cliffside. The sensation of the tree bark digging into her back was jarring, leaving her confused even further as the dream shifted again. Suddenly, instead of Sam angrily fucking Leah into oblivion in the woods, it was Hodie. Leah tried to walk away from him, to leave him behind in the woods the way she had left Sam. A door slammed shut in her face, and Leah had transported again. A loop began in her dream where Hodie was constantly angry, accusing her of cheating on his front landing. Instead of running away from him, Hodie would shove her. Somehow as she fell, she would end up naked on his bed with him painfully pounding into her from behind. Before she could orgasm, the dream would shift again, leaving her angry, heartbroken, and the most sexually frustrated she had ever felt. Leah was lost in the cycle, aware she was dreaming and struggling to change the outcome when the pieces did not fit together.

"I thought you went home."

The sound of Jacob's voice jarred her, finally, from the endless loop she couldn't escape on her own.

"No."

Jacob asked, "How is she?"

Leah's eyes fluttered open as Quil let go of her arm. The space he left behind was oddly tender, and Leah groaned as she pushed the hazy dreams away.

"She's fine," Quil whispered and rose from the bed. Leah watched him step past Jacob and out the bedroom door. The front door opened and closed quickly as a confused Jacob watched him leave. He finally turned back to Leah and froze.

Leah asked, "What's wrong?"

Jacob growled as he pointed at Leah's arm where Quil had gripped her and asked, "What the hell did he do?" Leah lifted her head to look and gasped at the purple bruise quickly forming on her skin.

You're not him. The memory slammed Leah again, knocking the wind from her. She pointed after Quil frantically as she struggled to breathe. "Not … him," Leah choked out. She leaned forward where Quil had been sitting and found none of the lingering scent of him that she knew so well. "No scent," she said. Jacob's eyes widened, and he furiously bent down to sniff the air closer to her.

"Sonofabitch," he snapped and ran for the front door. Within seconds, his howl was ripping through the night as he called for the pack.

Leah stood slowly, trembling. It had been here. It could have killed me at any fucking moment, she thought. The front door banged back open as another howl ripped through the air.

"It was a warning," Jacob said as he reentered the room. "Your dream about it being in the house. It already knows exactly where you are, Leelee."

What if it had attacked Bells or Sarah? What if everyone had been asleep? Leah was trembling anxiously, her head pounding so hard that she grew lightheaded.

Leah asked, "It's not safe for me to be here anymore, is it?" Jacob pulled her into a hug and kissed her forehead. He helped her sit back down as her weak legs wobbled under her.

Jacob assured her, "We're gonna find it, Leah. You don't have to go anywhere."

Mournfully, Leah said, "I'm putting everyone in danger, Jacob."

A groggy Bella walked into the room with a sleeping Sarah on her shoulder and asked, "What's happening?" Jacob spun to kiss her and walked her backward to sit on the bed next to Leah.

Jacob said, "Lay Sarah by Leah and lock the front door. I'll lock the back behind me. Then come back in here and lock this door, too. You and Sarah stay with Leah. Don't let anyone in." He spun and ran toward the kitchen.

"Jake-" Bella yelled after him. She gently laid Sarah on the bed next to Leah and ran to lock the front door as he asked before shutting the three of them into the spare bedroom.

Bella carefully sat down and asked Leah, "Can you tell me what's happening?"

Leah said, "It was here. It looked like Quil again, but it wasn't Quil."

Bella's eyes widened in fear. A little louder than intended, Bella asked, "It was in the house?"

Leah wanted to kick herself from the fear in Bella's voice. I'm supposed to be a protector, damn it. I can't even protect myself. Bella held her hand while they waited in anxious silence for the pack to return.