Hi all, remember it's a short fic so things will move pretty quickly throughout. i wont be dragging things out, the angst will be secondary to the Blackwater fluff. Also the story is All Human but I've added wolf and imprint themes. Jacob's anger is like his wolf self and he usually has control unless really stressed or upset like a 'real shifter.' Leah is his imprint and being apart is difficult. so yeahhh...

up next in chapter 17 we meet Bella!

Happy holidays

I do not own Jacob Black...but I wish I did...in real life...sometimes...lol

SIXTEEN

Leah went to work the next day but it wasn't easy. She didn't want to smile or laugh or joke or make small talk with her patients to make them more comfortable while she dug around in their mouths. The only thing she was in the mood to do was bury herself under the gold duvet on her bed and forget the last twenty-four hours.

It had to be a nightmare, it just had to be. But the plaster on the side of her face reminded her otherwise. Jacob had done this in a fit of rage over his ex-wife. That a woman could make him lose his head like this worried Leah. She wondered so many things, had Jacob and Bella been abusive to one another? Had he gotten violent with or around her in the past? Embry had suggested that he had when Bella asked for a divorce and told him about Nessie but Leah didn't know the details.

Leah couldn't help but worry. But who could she ask? She didn't want anyone to see her face nor did she want to tell anyone about the incident. In spite of what he'd done she still felt protective of Jacob, and didn't want to malign him. He cared about his daughter so much and something like this would paint him in a bad light if he ended up going to court. No matter what, Leah knew that he'd never hurt Nessie. She believed him when he said that he'd never meant to hurt her.

It had been an accident, Leah knew that. But it still hurt, it still felt like a betrayal of her trust. He mightn't have done it purposely, but he'd lost control. That was what mattered.

When lunch came Leah needed to escape the office and the worried looks of her two members of staff. Megan and Sheila were both overly concerned despite the good cover story Leah had come up with. She'd told them how she fell holding a huge vase – that she'd been trying to put it on a high shelf in the garage and lost her balance. It had seemed like a simple enough explanation but it hadn't been enough for them not to worry.

As she walked onto the street Leah checked her phone to see she had one missed call from Jacob and three from…Sam? Leah stopped, staring at the screen in shock. She almost didn't believe that it was real. Why was he calling? She knew that Jacob had likely called to see if she'd talk to him, and quickly brushed that aside before she completely lost her meagre appetite for food.

But as she moved to put her phone away it vibrated and Sam's face flashed on the screen. Leah shook her head and sighed in frustration.

"Hello?"

"Leah? Why didn't you return my calls?" Sam's voice was filled with concern and it immediately threw Leah off.

"I am only just seeing them. What do you want Samuel?" she replied, not bothering to hide her annoyance - or her curiosity or that matter.

"I heard about your little emergency last night. I wanted to know if you were okay, and to find out what happened."

Leah snorted in disbelief. "I'm not your problem anymore, in case you forgot. The divorce means you have no right to my personal business. I can't believe that Martha would call you and tell you about that! It was barely two stitches on my cheek!"

The owner of the clinic knew Sam well through her husband, but that didn't give the woman the right to notify Sam when she knew that he'd left Leah. Everyone in Sam's circle knew that he'd left Leah! It was just another opportunity for Martha Turney and her stupid high society friends (the original members of the First Wives' Club Leah no longer belonged to) to gossip about her. {I know the FW'sC is about divorced first wives but I dont mean it like that}

Yes I'm aware of the protocol Leah and so is she; but the nurse told her that you were very distraught when Martha inquired about the visit. She called me worried about you Leah! You won't talk to anyone anymore."

Leah scoffed. She had no reason to maintain relationships with those women, they were no longer in the same social circle. "That was doctor-patient confidentiality that she violated, I don't give a fuck how concerned she was. She should have called me if she wanted to know."

"Fine, alright? I didn't call you to fight so stop being so aggressive. None of that matters right now. Just because we're divorced doesn't mean I don't care that you were hurt. What happened Lee-Lee? Are you alright?"

Leah's jaw dropped at the old nickname he used to call her. How dare he try to manipulate her? How dare he try to act as though he still cared? How dare he try to give the impression that her wellbeing somehow mattered in his life? If that were true he wouldn't have cheated for two and a half years with her cousin! Leah shook her head, her body literally vibrating with indignant tremors. "You know what? Fuck you Sam!" she screamed into the phone, not caring that she was scandalizing herself on the street in front of her own dental practice. She quickly ended the call and stomped off to the deli two blocks over for lunch. She didn't want to go to her usual place with Jacob. Right now, she needed to get away from anything that reminded her of both the men she'd given her heart to.

JACOB (same day late evening)

"Dad I fucked up. How am I going to fix this?" Jacob whined as he sat with his father at the table, his head in his hands. He'd told him about what happened with Bella and then at Leah's. Nessie was up in her room playing before bed, and they'd just finished dinner.

"Yes you did. If I wasn't a weak old man I'd kick your ass myself Jacob Black. We both know you rarely get like that. But you should have been more careful, it wasn't acceptable to let your anger get the better of you. Hurting her is a serious offence and she may never forgive you for this, but on the other hand, she might. You just need to give her a chance to clear her mind. But if or when she's ready to talk you better have the right words ready."

"I know I know. I just…snapped. I wasn't myself. And now she's scared of me…or she hates me."

"You hurt her but I don't think that Leah hates you. That woman loves you."

Jacob looked at his father, surprised. "She's never said it."

"That doesn't mean she doesn't feel it. Anyone can see that you two are in love, Jake. Even Nessie knows. You could still get exactly what you want but you've got to stop letting your anger over Bella get the better of you or things like this will keep happening. Bella's ruined your life enough already, she made her choice and she's gone, so stop letting her control your actions."

"I'm trying Dad, I am, but what am I supposed to do? She's going to take Nessie to Canada."

"Jacob, she's theirs. You've GOT to start accepting it! We can't keep having the same conversation over and over again son! You're going to lose her completely if you can't make peace with reality. None of us like it. That's MY granddaughter as much as Charlie's! But what can I do? We were dealt a low blow, but we won't break. You know that. We're Blacks. We're from a long line of Great Chiefs and Protectors. We. Don't. Break. No pale-face is going to ruin this family - even if they take her to Canada she'll always be a Black. And you've got Leah now, if you fix things with her you can make your own children, your own blood."

Jacob's body tingled at his father's words. Every time someone said that Nessie wasn't his it just made the rage coil and snap within, like a beast. Sometimes he imagined killing Edward Masen, just so that he'd never have a chance to replace him. "No one can replace my Ness. She's mine no matter whose DNA she carries, Dad," Jacob growled.

"I know, I know, relax. I would never want her to be replaced either son, she's a wonderful little girl. You are her father Jake, but more than that you've been her Protector and now the time has come for you to really live up to that role. Think of it as getting Nessie ready her to walk her path with confidence and strength. She needs your support to enter the new world that her mother and biological father have planned."

Jacob bowed his head in shame. "Leah basically said the same thing…that we need to prepare Ness."

"Of course you do."

"I just don't think I can do it. I don't think I can let her go. What if they don't give her what she likes to eat? What if they force her to do things she doesn't want to do? What if they don't put her to bed right?"

"Jacob, Bella's her mother. She knows what Nessie likes and doesn't like. She'll teach Edward. I know she will. As much as I don't like what she's done, she'll love her daughter the right way, she never stopped. The only reason she left was to give you what you asked for."

"I didn't ask her to stay away – that was on Bella. She did what she wanted, whose honeymoon lasts this long? Ness has been so hurt by her mother's absence, and I shouldn't have to take the blame for that. All I wanted was to keep my daughter home with me for a longer time."

"Children are resilient, she'll be okay."

"She lost Bella and now she'll lose me. It will make her tantrums worse."

"She's not losing anyone. We'll call her, we'll talk to her on the video thingy. We'll make it work. We've still got six months to have her here with us. We'll get her sorted, but you've got to maintain a cool head in between time."

Jacob felt like a fool. Leah had been right and he'd been so focused on his hatred for Edward and Bella that he'd hurt her. He wished he could talk to her, he wished she'd let him come back. It was probably over now. He'd never deserved her anyways. She'd always been out of his league.

"Stop wallowing son. Go take a shower and get some rest. You're exhausted Jacob."

Jacob nodded. Maybe his father was right. He'd give Leah some space and try to get his life together in the meantime. Maybe there was still hope that she'd forgive him, Jacob just hoped it would be sooner rather than later. He felt as though half his heart was missing. If he lost Nessie too, he'd have absolutely nothing left.