CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN

(JPOV)

The journey back home was long and tedious. Rana was still weaker than she had ever been and she struggled to keep up with me the closer we got to forks. I stopped several times, giving her the rest she needed when I saw her body begin to tire from the exertion. She had insisted we keep going, but the worn look that plagued her porcelain features told me not to push her too hard, despite the ever present pull to get back to Bella. When night crept in, we slowed our pace even further, Rana's vision becoming unclear in a way I didn't understand. She had stopped just shy of the Canadian border, her expression blank and afraid when she told me she could no longer see. I was quick to use the only resources I had around me to make a safe place to stay for the night, forming a shelter from the many thick branches of the overgrown trees that surrounded us and hunkering down there with her for the remainder of the evening. She was terrified from the sudden loss of her sight and I had promised her that she could rest peacefully with me near. That I would protect her if needed. She seemed to take very little comfort from this and when dawn broke the next day, her worry only grew when her vision remained stolen.

"I still can't see." She gasped, whipping her head toward the sound of my voice.

"Something's happening to you, Rana. I need to get you to the Reservation."

"No!" She protested, stumbling forward with no sense of direction as I took hold of her by the arms.

"Billy can help you. The elders will know something."

"They will known nothing and it will only give them the upper hand in destroying me if they so choose to! Coming with you was a mistake. I've lost my vision. How can I go back with you when I'm blind?"

"I know you're scared! But coming back with me is not a mistake, Rana. We're nearly there. One more day of travel at the most and we'll be home."

"I'm just slowing you down, Jacob. Go on without me."

I shook my head in protest and tightened my hold on her.

"I'm not leaving you behind."

We set out a short time later, the rain falling down around us in buckets as we continued on. She stumbled along the way, tripping over everything and becoming agitated with me when I tried to help her.

"This is a sign..."

"No it's not." I argued, taking her by the hand and seeing her jump at the sudden feel of my touch. "I can get us home a hell of a lot faster... if you trust me, Rana."

She stilled at this, her eyes wide and unfocused as she blindly looked my way.

"How?"

"I can phase back into wolf form and you can ride me the rest of the way. It's better than this- and we'd be back home in half the time. We've already been out here for two days and -"

I paused then as the wind shifted and a new acidic stench suddenly poured its way over me. It's potency burning my lungs. My tremors rocked through me as I phased and landed on all fours, my eyes roaming the trees above us as Rana let out a strangled cry.

"Jacob!"

Blood red eyes framed by thick blonde hair met mine and a hiss echoed off the trees around us. My roar was deafening when Rana's head was snatched back in violent warning to me.

"Don't even try it. Or I'll end her."

Rana moved faster than my eyes could follow, tearing away from the blonde vampires hold with matched strength of her own and landing a powerful blow to her side. The loud sound matching that of smashing concrete as they fought. I circled them, snarls pouring from me as Rana struggled to keep the upper hand without her sight to aid her. I charged toward the blonde leech, clamping my jaws around her granite arm and separating it from her as she screamed and turned her attention toward me. Her blow knocked the wind out of me and she was quick to lunge for the kill.

"You destroyed my sister! Tanya is gone because of you."

Recognition sunk in as she screamed this to me, her taloned hands digging harshly into my back and slicing it open as she tried to lock her vice like arms around me. I felt some of my ribs break just as Rana jumped on top of her, forcefully ripping her off me with a hiss of fury, her stone hands wrapped around her throat as they fought to the death. I staggered and tried to pull myself back up, the effort alone painful when I heard Rana's scream surround me. Her wrath untamed as she began to savagely tear the blondes head from her body. I ran to her, going in for the kill and sinking my teeth into her neck, tearing pieces of granite flesh away bit by bit.

I watched in sick satisfaction as the purple smoke soon filled the sky above us. My eyes wide when Rana made fire effortlessly from her very hands and turned the remains of Tanya's sister into nothing more than ash.

Even without her sight, her senses were unparalleled and I marveled at her abilities. I hunkered down next to her, seeing her stagger forward in a weakened state now from the fight. She braced herself up against me and I nudged into her for support.

"Are you alright?" She asked, gently touching my back and pulling away a bloody hand. "You're hurt, Jacob."

I shook off her hand with a huff, assuring her I would be okay and seeing the motherly concern on her face now.

"Something's telling you that Bella really needs you... isn't it?" She soon asked. I huffed once in reply before she continued.

"I've never even touched one of your kind... until you that is.

She sighed with half a smile touching her lips, her hands trembling some when she took a cautious step back from me. I lowered myself down further next to her, feeling her hand stroke my fur while I stayed low so she could climb on. Her lack of sight making it hard for her to balance herself before I rose up to full height. She was unsturdy and I waited till I felt her cold hands tightly fist themselves into my fur before I took off for home. I pushed down the growl that threatened to spill from me from her mere closeness, the wolf instinct making it hard for me to have her as close to me as she was. I fought against it and tore through the forest with a speed I had never known. I ran faster than I had ever run as crystal clear images of Bella's tears invaded my mind. I focused in on them, seeming to connect with the pack mind just as I crossed over the state line of Washington. Her face paled and her eyes were entirely void of the light I loved to see in them. I let out a whine as more of the packs images of her played out in vivid color before me, each one making me push myself harder, willing my legs to run that much faster.

Her endless tears and sleepless nights.

Her voice whispering my name as she peered out her bedroom window, searching for me when I wasn't there.

Her tiny frame looking all too frail now.

Her days of sickness.

I felt Rana's hands dig further into my thick fur as my speed continued to pick up, jostling her around and hoping she would hold on until we reached Forks. Another whine escaped me as a different vision suddenly cut into the packs images, my run faltering to a mere jog when the sight of Bella's naked body beneath mine flashed before me. I halted where I was, hearing Rana's voice of question in response but unable to focus on it as the vision continued on, leaving me stunned and frozen where I was from the sight of it.

Bella's face lit up with untamed joy as she peered down at her hands that were resting on her round belly, her words whispered when she spoke them into the silence. "I love you so much already."

The vision was then torn from me as Rana yelled my name, effectively redirecting my attention.

"Jacob! What's wrong? Why are we stopped?"

I huffed to her in reply, shaking my head in a vein attempt to clear it and gazing up at the path ahead of me.

What the hell was that? I had never seen ahead into the future before.

Was Bella pregnant?

My legs felt heavy and burned from exhaustion as I quickly took off again for Forks, my speed making Rana's grip tighten again as she tried to steady herself. The pull to Bella was so strong that it blocked out anything else around me, numbing my senses to anything other than her sweet smell and the need to have her in my arms again. Where she belonged... Where she would forever belong.

I didn't work right without her.

When we were closing in on Charlie's back yard, I lowered myself, allowing Rana to climb off. I hurriedly phased back and pulled on my shredded jeans, my ears picking up on the sound of Bella's erratic heartbeat as I turned to face Rana, her look shocked when her gaze focused on my own.

"I can see again, Jacob." She gasped, holding out her hands in front of her and looking at them in disbelief.

"Your vision is back?" I asked, seeing her gaze up toward the towering trees above us with an eager expression.

"Yes. I don't know why... but it is. We're close now aren't we?"

I nodded, glancing ahead and seeing Rana's eyes follow mine.

"I have to-"

"It's okay. Go to her. She needs you. I will follow behind."

"You have to stay hidden." I replied, taking off on a dead run the rest of the short way as she scurried up into the nearby trees. Bella's heartbeat was so fast and her fear hit me hard when I reached the border of her house. My lungs burned as I paused briefly by the tree line, hearing the voices come from within as the front door to Charlie's house flew open and Bella staggered outside. The sight of her made my breath hitch as she stumbled weakly forward, nearly falling down while she gasped. Tears clouded my vision as I watched her crawl across the porch, the sky beginning to pour down rain again in an endless supply. Her sobbing soon filled the forest around me, each cry from her tearing me open, like a jagged blade ripping its way through me.

Billy and Charlie were fast behind her, their look of concern evident as I went for her, running fast to catch her frail body before she fell to the soaked ground below. I caught her in my arms, desperately pulling her to me and feeling her shake from the cold. She cried harder as I hauled her up in my arms, holding her as close to me as I could get her.

"I'm here. It's okay, honey. I'm right here."

She looked up at me, her eyes red rimmed, full of dispair and disbelief when they met mine. The pain in her gaze made me hold her even tighter, willing her to believe that I was really here with her now.

"No-..." She cried out, closing her eyes as if she thought I was just an illusion that would fade from her.

A sudden roar from behind me tore my attention away from her as I met Sam and Paul's angry wolf gaze, it's fixation on Rana while she slowly approached us in timid fashion. Dread gripped me by the throat as I yelled to her, knowing what would happen if I didn't say something right now. They didn't know her. They would destroy her without a second thought.

"No!" I shouted to them. "Don't! She is with me. Rana- Go back... I will look for you after- They don't know you and they will kill you."

Rana retreated from them instantly as I picked Bella up, carrying her trembling body past Charlie and Billy and into the house.

"Jacob... Son?" Billy questioned, his eyes telling me he wondered if this was the real me returning.

"It's me, dad. Just me."

Bella shivered violently as Charlie spoke, his words all running together with his worry for her. I moved with her to the couch, trying to lay her there and get some blankets but she held onto me for dear life, her tearful words making me pause.

"Don't let me go. Please don't." She begged.

I lifted her back up in my arms, feeling her huddle herself into me as her teeth chattered, causing my worry for her to only grow.

"She has to get out of these wet clothes. It'll only make her worse. She's sick enough. She has to get warm- fast." I offered to Charlie, quickly taking the stairs to her room as she clung to me. "You're gonna be okay, honey. I promise. I'm here now. I'm right here."

She was so exhausted that her eyes struggled to stay open while I helped her out of her drenched clothes. I kissed her forehead, pressing her shivering body close to mine.

I had left her alone... abandoned her when she needed me most.

Guilt weighed heavy on me as I helped her slip into some dry sweats. She reached for me when I released her just long enough to turn the comforters of the bed down. Her eyes wide with fear from my short absence, like she were afraid that I were leaving her again... that I was gonna run away from her. My heart broke from the fear that I had placed in her over the past few weeks.

I gathered her in my arms, holding her closer to me and tucking us both under the heavy blankets. Her trembling soon ceased and her eyes closed when she whispered my name once before sleep claimed her.

"I love you so much, Bells."

A/N: Hello to all my fantastic readers! Back again for another update. I'm sorry it's been nearly a week since my last one! But there will be another new chapter posted before the weekend! :-) I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please review and tell me your thoughts! As always... Thanks for reading! Till next time!