"You sure know how to pick your fights." I snorted, letting go of her hand. I was hoping to lead her past the flurry of guys that tumbled out the door after Sam and I and towards the truck so we could get it looked at. For all her quiet features, she seemed a little temperamental.

"I guess." She shrugged nonchalantly at that, but kept her hand suspended in the air. It had to be sprained at least.

"Well, luckily for you, these guys are made of rock...and not so luckily for you, we need to go to the hospital and get it looked at." I sighed, moving my hand to the lower portion of her back and tuning out the sounds of the guys fighting and yelling.

"Aw, come on. It was just a light punch. I don't need a hospital." She wasn't as willing as I was hoping she'd be. In fact she was outright just not moving. Great. Just as stubborn as her sister.

"As much as I'd love to pretend this didn't happen, we're going to a hospital, honey." My retort was pretty forceful as I clamped both hands onto her shoulders and started pushing her towards the back door again.

"Great." She started moving towards the door, surprising me a little. Not as stubborn as her sister. Close. But not the same.

I guided her through the kitchen and down the hallway to where she started putting on her shoes and coat, sitting on the stairs. I fished through my jacket pockets, not finding the keys. It was spring so I decided it was possible I'd worn a lighter jacket. I stuck my hand into a rosey plaid jacket and pulled out my car keys, handing them to her. She took them with a question in her eyes.

"Just go jump in my truck, alright? I need to talk to Sam, just push the button right..." I peered at the black remote for the unlock button and pointed at it. "There." She nodded, not saying a word but continued to tie her shoes.

I sped through the hallway and kitchen to outside. I couldn't seem to find anyone in the back so I kept walking into the woods until I found Sam standing with his arms crossed, looking stern as ever.

I leaned up to his ear, placing my hands on his shoulders. "I'm going to go take her to the hospital in the truck. Meet me there if things calm down?" I raised a brow as he looked back at me with straight lips.

"Yeah. I will. Be careful out on the roads, they're still icey." He pecked me on the nose and looked back towards the fight that seemed to be going on in the center of a circle of boys and men. I iguess this was just how they solved things? Battling it out?


"So you're seriously going to just sit there and not tell me anything about my sister? Who you spent months with?" Bella was snippy in the truck as I stared at the road, not giving her a response but for a shrug.

"Great. Just. Great. I don't know why I thought you guys would be any more willing than the Cullens." She grounded out unhappily. "Alice wouldn't tell me anything except that she "promises to take care of my sister", like I know what that means." Her tone turned more mocking now, as I felt the pressure in my head building up and up.

"Look, Isabella-" I started out hastily.

"Bella." She corrected, crossing her arms over her chest carefully.

"Look, Bella. They have their own reasons and I can promise you Alice is taking care of her. She'd give her life for Ira." I huffed as we turned into the hospital parking lot. "Now enough. This is just how things are, deal with them." With that I jumped out of the truck and locked it, huffing my way up the stairs to the emergency room to sign her in.

I was told it'd be a few minutes before the doctor could get to us and to sit down so I did. I collapsed in silence next to Bella who seemed just as happy to not talk to me as she was to sit there, pouting.

"Kai. You look great." Doctor Anna was smiling pleasantly at me as I sat next to Bella but she was looking around me. Probably for Sam. He'd stuck behind to keep Paul in ropes, and to make sure Jake didn't lose his arm...or ribs or anything.

"Thank you." I grinned back, I hadn't seen her since the morning after the wreck. I'd been an outright mess, mute, and essentially a walking vegetable.

"Well, you must be Miss Swan then? I'll lead you back to exam room five." She motioned towards the back, her eyes darting away from me toward the pale girl beside me. Bella stuck out like a sore thumb in here.

"Right." Bella sighed and stood, looking back to me as though I was meant to follow her back. That wasn't happening. I could stand waiting rooms but the exam rooms had me on edge.

"I'll be here when you're all done." I gave a thumbs up as I settled into my uncomfortably hard seat. At least it wasn't plastic, right?

I'd flipped through magazines for a portion but eventually gave up and amused myself with reminiscing over the past few months. I felt like I had more action in those than I've ever had in the last decade.

I sat at the kitchen table, Irene sat across, her cup just as untouched as mine. I think I'd poured her a cup of tea simply out of habit, I didn't think things through anymore. Wasn't interested in it. The leaves hadn't begun to fall yet but I knew autumn was approaching. She'd have to leave soon.

"Kai..." She broke the silence finally, forcing me to drag my attention towards her eyes. They were ochre coloured. Like wheat or bread. I couldn't remember the taste of bread.

"I know you don't want it. Trust me. I do. But we have to leave. We're on timer every time we come here." She was bartering. Pleading, even, for me to understand why the Cullens and by effect, she had to leave.

"I know." My voice cracked out of a lack of use. I hate the cracking noises, I make.

"You know Jasper's been under some heavy fire from Cat lately." She spoke again after the silence ensued.

I looked back at the brown haired girl in front of me, she'd always enthused me with stories about her coven. Sometimes Rosalie would get a new car, work on it, and sell it. Sometimes Cat would get into trouble with her mate, Jasper. She was a sweetheart, soft in her care of her family and any humans around them. I only remembered her for her hair and her almost emancipated figure. Her hair was always straight and hung so low down her back that she kept it up in a bun or in braids.

"Yeah, he wrecked the bike." Irene grinned, revealing the set of pointed white teeth that I found oddly comforting. She'd kept me safe somehow, despite Sam's efforts, she'd kept me safe from falling into nothing.

"How bad was it?"I tilted my head, watching her expression morph in less than a second. Her mannerism's weren't human like Alice's or anyone else's. It was alarming for Sam but still left me with the uncanny feeling of warmth.

"Oh he totaled it. Smashed it into pieces after she got out of detention with Woods." She snorted, looking down into the cup in front of her. Woods was interesting. I figured he'd have been killed by now, showing up on their territory, revealing he'd been her husband...Jasper had anger issues as it was with Catharin's safety.

"How's Bella?" I brought up her twin out of consideration for touching all our usual subjects. She worked like clockwork sometimes, it'd go from her favourite sister, Cat, to Rosalie, to Bella and then Alice. I hadn't met Cat at the wreck, Jasper felt it was too dangerous for his mate to be in the same area as the wolves after their run in in the 60s. She'd never really been comfortable around me from the smell Sam always left, according to Ira.

"Oh. She's...she's suspicious. Too suspicious." Irene sighed and looked out the back window with tightened lips.

"She knows theres something wrong...but...what can I tell her? Oh by the way, sis, I'm leaving to be with my family who isn't you and happens to be over a hundred years old? I really do love you but I love Alice more?" Her words became hotter and hotter, prompting Sam to walk awkwarding from the living room into the kitchen. Overprotective as always.

"You could have just left her out in the beginning, Ira." Sam mentioned his two cents quietly, revealing the history they once had. Childhood friends into oddly polite mortal enemies.

"Yeah, theres a great idea." She replied dryly. "Why don't I just turn up dead, right? Can't have any kids anyways, why should I bother trying to be an aunt?"

"I didn't mean it like that." Sam frowned as he quickly exited back out at the sight of my unhappiness with him disrupting our time. Irene looked back at me, long chestnut hair swinging back over her shoulder as she sighed again.

"I guess its just going to be hard. I just didn't want things to go like th-"

"Kai?" I jumped a tad as I looked back into Sam's concerned eyes. "You alright?" I'd come a long way since then but he was always worried I'd fall back into the silence.

"I'm fine...just...remembering." I smiled and placed my hand over his on my knee. "So how goes the wrestling matches?" I winked at him, attempting to inject humour into the situation.

"Oh lord, not so well. Paul's determined to knock out Jake's teeth and Jake's determined to have Bella...its just insanity." Sam shook his head, seeming to have relaxed a little under my touch.

I raised a brow, "Does Jake know Bella's just not that into him?" I asked plainly.

"Thats the best part, he does know but he thinks he'll win her over by being around and dissing her sister with her." Sam snorted, amused with Jake's retarded tactics.

"She was rowdy in the truck, kept wanting to know details about Irene and I's conversations." I nodded as I thought about it all. She'd been really frickin' determined to get to the bottom of her sister's disappearance into Alaska.

"What'd you tell her? You know the Volturi would skin her alive if they found out her sister somehow figured it out." Sam pursed his lips, looking almost worried. I kept forgetting that he still cared about Irene in the slightest, only to the point of keeping her up and running.

"I know, I know. I just said that she'd fallen in love and eloped with her lover." I began to grin as Sam rolled his eyes at my lack of seriousness. It was partly true. She did technically elope but she did it with her mom's approval. Apparently she'd been all for a gay ol' follow your heart outing to the isolated part of America. I should call my mother.

"I should call my mom." I mumbled it partly to myself and partly to Sam, who shrugged. He kept up with his mom, checking in at least once a week considering she lived just across the reservation.

"I'm pretty sure she's actually coming down here in a few days." He replied slowly, analyzing my face for any bad reactions.

"...And? You didn't think to like, maybe, tell me when you found out?" I raised both brows, trying to not glare at him. He was stressed already with the pack's growing numbers, the elder's insistence to prepare better for rogue vamps, and my own issues.

"Hey now, I forgot." He raised both hands in surrender but his eyes left mine to look behind me. I looked over my shoulder to see Bella coming down the hallway, her hand in a cast. Seems like she broke it. Damn.