I'm so sorry that it has taken me this long to update. Work and holidays have absolutely driven me bonkers...its never taken me this long to post. I've had a lot of people add me to their story alert lately so THANK YOU, it always puts a smile on my face. I hope that you all review...hopes are high. Anyway, one more chapter in Jacob's story. Thanks to Kate Pedroso, my beta!

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to Stephenie Meyer and her wonderful Twilight series, all the rest are my own making. Stephenie, I hope I did Jacob justice.

Billy had been in the hospital for almost three weeks by the time he was finally discharged. The remainder of his stay after his surgery had been uneventful for the most part, and Billy had woken up the afternoon after our trip to the tux shop. He'd been sassy and anxious to go home ever since. His irritability had only grown to grate on my nerves, and by the end of his stay I was having a hard time being with him in the room for any extended period of time. I knew we were both feeling trapped inside and needed to get out of there.

Magazines, flowers, cards, pictures, balloons, clothes, DVDs, and other items had nearly taken over every open space, so that a person could feel claustrophobic when they walked in, especially people like me who took over half the room to begin with. I should be happy we're finally getting out of here, I thought as I packed various items. Shoved might be a better word. Under the relief I felt for leaving the hospital was irritation and even anger, all directed at one source.

"Easy there, you're going to break something," Leah said. She came over and took the box with vases of flowers out of my hand, shielding them protectively from me. "I'll just take care of these."

Leah had been great since our talk. She'd been by many times to visit and to relieve me now and then so I could get a good night's sleep at home once in awhile. She had become like a surrogate sister to me since Rachel had to go back to school, and since Becca hadn't been able to stay for very long once she finally got here.

"Sorry," I mumbled.

"Seriously, what's wrong, Jake?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Well, some bug has crawled up your ass during this last week," Leah said with a frown. She stopped packing a box with DVDs and turned with her hands on her hips. "If I didn't know better I'd think you and Paul traded bodies or something, because he has actually been very relaxed lately and you have become a frustrating pain in the ass."

"The problem is that I know it." It didn't take much for me these days to go from being on edge to losing my patience. It wasn't like me.

"So what's the deal?"

I just looked at her, hoping my stare would convey that I really didn't want to talk about it. She just pushed the sleeves of her t-shirt up around her shoulders and squared her stance. She stared right on back.

"You know, I might be a woman, but the fact is I could still kick your ass." She looked so damn serious about it that I couldn't help but smirk. When she saw that she flexed her muscles and growled playfully, raising one eyebrow. "Or at least give you a run for your money."

I chuckled. "Alright, alright. Just not here, ok? Later." I could hear Billy's voice in the hallway, and I didn't want to get into it in front of him and his guest.

"I'm going to hold you to that and you know it."

"Sure, sure."

Billy rolled into the room with Charlie doing the pushing. "Avoid the cafeteria at all costs, it just might land someone in here with food poisoning," Billy said with a smile. He'd been in a much better mood knowing he was going home.

"I always thought bad hospital food was a cliché, but they've got it down here," Leah agreed.

"Thankfully, your mom has been supplying us with food, or Jacob would have starved," Billy said. Sue had been bringing by food almost every day, and I truly was thankful for it. I was thankful to all of my 'extended family' for being there for us during this time.

"I'm more thankful that Charlie came by every afternoon to keep you busy after you woke up. You were driving me nuts." I clapped Charlie on the back. He had come by every day after his shift and to watch whatever game was on during the weekend so that I could go over to Sam's place for a few hours and work on the arch for the wedding.

"You haven't been such a peach yourself," Billy joked.

Charlie put his arm around my shoulders; as much as he could anyway. "Growing man like this needs fresh air. I'd have been cranky if I was cooped up in here too."

"Well then how 'bout we all just get out of here?" Billy had been trying to wheedle his way out all morning.

"You know the nurse was going to discharge you as soon as she could, dad. Try and be a little more patient." At times I felt like our roles had been reversed and I was giving all the parental orders. "She had to get in touch with that home care agency before she could give us more information, remember?" Billy was going to need a nurse to come in at least every other day to do dressing changes on his leg and give him more antibiotics at home.

He gave me the obligatory 'sure, sure' while the rest of us laughed. The disappointed look on his face was too funny not to.

Charlie picked up his jacket and shook Billy's hand. "I've got to get out of here. I told Bella that I would cook dinner for her tonight."

"Poor girl," Billy said. That brought on another round of chuckles.

"Well, my idea of making dinner consists of bringing a large pizza home. I'll see you guys later." He waved to Leah and me before turning to Billy. "I'll see you for the game tomorrow."

"Hey, Charlie. Do me a favor and thank Bella for stopping by." I plastered a tense smile on my face and tried to keep my tone somewhat pleasant, but there was a definite edge to it.

He looked somewhat puzzled, just as I knew he would. "Sure, but when…" He looked me in the eye and stopped, then nodded. "Have a good night you guys."

We repeated our goodbyes and then Billy transferred himself from the chair to the bed. "I didn't know Bella stopped by. Well, that was nice."

Leah looked over at me from the other side of the room and shook her head. I couldn't help but smile and do the same. The sarcasm had gone straight over his head.

"Jake, why don't you help me take this stuff to my car. I'll drive it over to your place for you. That way when Billy is discharged you guys can head right out."

"Sounds good. Dad, I'll be right back."

We loaded up our arms with boxes and bags so that we could barely see where we were going. We didn't need to make more than one trip considering it didn't matter how heavy things were. The day outside was overcast and there was a light mist of rain in the air. I took a deep breath of it, and a great calming sensation fell over me.

"No matter how much it rains, I still love the smell of it."

Leah looked as if she was considering that one. "I love the smell of rain, but it would be nice if the sun would shine with the rain now and then."

"Good point."

Leah climbed onto the hood of her car and I leaned against the front bumper.

"So I've got a pretty good guess what's been on your mind now," Leah started.

I nodded. "I bet you do."

"It's later so…talk."

"What's there to say?"

"You're pissed, Jake."

"You're damn right I'm pissed." The anger started to bubble inside and a bitter taste filled my mouth. "I couldn't count how many times all of you guys have been here. Charlie came everyday…hell, even Carlisle stopped by every couple days. But did she bother? No. Not a visit, not a phone call, nothing. How is that possible?"

"Sent messages with Charlie and Carlisle," she said, trying to make me feel better. Instead I gave her a scathing look. She scooted closer to the front of the hood and put her hand on my shoulder. "I don't know, Jake. I'm not even going to try to think of reasons. She must have had one. You know she loves you."

I pulled away from her hand and away from the car. "Ha! What? You show someone how much you love or care for them by ignoring them during a time when they could use you most?" I ran both hands through my hair. I looked up at the sky and quietly groaned. "I don't want to talk about this anymore. I'm going to become that bitter person we just got rid of." I looked at her out of the corner of my eye.

She shrugged. "A little bit of the old Paul, a little bit of the old Leah. Not a good combination. I liked the old Jake best. Try not to let it eat at you today. Billy is finally coming home." She shoved off the car and gave me a quick hug. "Thing will get better, Jake. Have a little faith."

"A new, positive and happy Leah, eh? Not too bad."

She poked me in the ribs and got in the car. "See you later."

I waved goodbye and then made my way back upstairs. I made it there just in time to hear the nurse say she had all of Billy's discharge paperwork done.

"Ready to get out of here?" she asked.

"More than you know," he answered with enthusiasm.

The first night at home hadn't gone so badly. Billy and I were both extremely happy to be home. So much so that both our moods improved immensely as soon as we got in the door. There was a big banner hanging in the kitchen welcoming Billy home, and Sue had left dinner for us in a crock pot on the counter. The house had recently been cleaned and when I went to my room I saw that the laundry had been done and the bed had been made. The same went for Billy's room. I almost did a little happy dance right then and there.

We had dinner early, and later in the evening people started to stop by. Before long the house was too small for everyone to fit into it, and people started to spill outside. Sam started a fire in the yard and we took out chairs.

Billy tired early and Sue helped him to bed before going home. The pack stayed out in the yard late into the night, enjoying each other's company and the very clear sky.

"You going to come over tomorrow?" Sam asked. "Emily would love to see you."

"Where is she tonight?" Jared asked.

"She was tired," Sam said, looking into the fire. Emily hadn't been feeling the best since the first week Billy had been in the hospital.

"Yeah, I'll be over, but I'll have to be back sometime early in the afternoon. The homecare nurse is coming for the first time, and Billy wants to make sure I meet her."

Quil's ears perked up. "Nurse, huh? Nothing sexier than a nurse."

"Oh really," Embry said. "What if she's really old?"

Quil struggled to find some smart comment for that one and Embry smirked. "Want to bet?" Quil asked.

"Odds are in my favor, my friend. I'll take your bet. Hey, if you think nurses are so sexy, maybe you should talk Claire into it when she gets older."

"Or at least into getting a cute little nurse's costume," Paul said.

"Hey now, that's my two year old niece you're talking about. Save that talk until she's legal…or at least close to it," Sam warned with a laugh. "Either way, you better not let Emily hear you talk like that."

"Oh hell, we aren't that crazy," Embry said.

That night I slept more soundly than I could remember. I was sleeping so hard that I missed my alarm clock and Billy had to nearly break down the door to get me to wake up.

I stared, bleary eyed, at the alarm clock before knocking it off the nightstand. I got to my feet and opened the door before turning around and falling back to the bed. Billy rolled into the doorway.

"Sam called. He says he was expecting you an hour ago, so he got worried. Are you ok?"

"I'm fine. I guess I was just a helluva lot more tired than I expected. Either that or knowing I didn't have to go back to the hospital this morning let me sleep like a baby." I sat up, my head still not completely clear. "I almost feel like I'm drunk or something."

"When have you ever been drunk?" Billy asked jokingly. Truth was, I'd never been drunk in my life.

I laughed. "You know what I mean."

"Why don't you jump in the shower? I'll throw a box of cereal and a gallon of milk on the table for you."

"You're in an oddly good mood."

"I'm no longer in a hospital. What's not to like?" He smiled wide and I couldn't help but do the same.

The shower did the trick, and between that and an entire box of fruit loops, I was feeling much more alert. The sun was shining bright outside and feeling it on my face lifted my spirits even more. I broke my motorcycle out for the first time since Billy's hospitalization, and the wind blowing by me felt like heaven.

Emily opened the door and stood in the entrance while I parked my motorcycle. She looked pale, but her face was all lit up with a smile. "Hey stranger," she said, holding her arms out for a hug. "Long time, no see."

"Missed you too. How are you feeling?" Now that I was done worrying about Billy it left me open to worry about others.

"I'm great," she said, and her thousand watt smile turned up a few more notches.

"I'm very glad to hear that. Is Sam already out back?"

"Yep…he's been out there for a few hours already. He's still not letting me in there," she said, pouting. "I wish I knew what was going on." She looked at me, turning that pout on full force.

"Oh no, forget it! That's not going to work on me. He'll let you know what's in there when the time is right. Be happy to be surprised."

She chuckled. "Darnit, I thought you might be soft to telling me since I haven't seen you in a week. Will you at least do me the favor of taking this tray out there?"

She had made sandwiches and lemonade for lunch. I picked one up and took a bite out of it. "Just had to take a sample," I said while chewing.

She swatted me with a towel and I went to the work shed. Sam had Seether on in the CD player and had cranked it to a deafening level. He was using a sander on the arch and hadn't seen or heard me come in. I put the food down on the nearest clean surface and went to the radio, turning it down to a tolerable level. That caught Sam's attention and he turned around.

"Sorry I'm late."

"What?" he yelled, pulling out earplugs and pushing the goggles he was wearing up on his forehead.

"Sorry I'm late," I repeated.

"Oh, no problem. I just got worried that something was wrong with Billy or I wouldn't have called."

"No, he's actually doing great this morning, and I slept like the dead. It felt great. Oh hey, Emily made some lunch."

"Great, I'm starving," he said, digging in full force.

"She's getting anxious about what's going on out here. She tried to pout it out of me."

Sam laughed heartily and then started coughing like he was going to choke. I offered him a glass of lemonade and then gave him a good pat on the back. "Thanks," he said, continuing to cough. "She's been doing that all week. I think she is getting more anxious about what it is, considering we've been working on this 'surprise' for weeks."

"You ever think she'll pop out here sometime when you're not around and take a peek?"

His grin widened. "No, because I've warned her that if she does I'll go back to the tux shop and get the ladies there to order neon orange vests and ties for the wedding."

I laughed hysterically. "And she believed that?"

"Hopefully, 'cause it's the only thing keeping her out of here at the moment." He finished off the sandwich in two bites and then started on another as I observed the arch and what was done, and what had yet to be done.

All four posts had been clearly defined. Three of them had the roses and vines finished, so we only had the last post and the connecting arches left. It was moving along beautifully. I put on some gloves and picked up some tools to start carving. It felt good to be working with my hands, to have nothing to worry about besides what they were creating. Sam finished his lunch and then joined me. We worked in synchronization, not having to speak, but knowing what to do. We worked that way for hours before breaking ourselves out of our concentration. Sam looked down at his watch and announced, to my shock, that it was late in the afternoon.

"Crap, the home nurse is going to stop by. I need to get home." Sam followed me into the house, where I went to wash my hands.

"Jake, would you mind if I came over too? I haven't seen Billy for a few," Emily said.

"Of course not, come on over if you want. You'll have to drive yourself though, I have my motorcycle."

"I'll take you over, Em," Sam said.

Emily grabbed a big plate full of cookies and walked outside. I followed them on my motorcycle. My mood had taken such a dramatic turn since the previous day. I felt so good I couldn't describe it, couldn't even describe why I felt so good. It was like the anticipation you feel on Christmas Eve, knowing the next morning you'd have gifts to open. It was excitement, and it was very confusing . But I didn't sit and ponder about it because I didn't want to bring down my good mood.

When we pulled up in the drive it was empty. Either we missed her or she hasn't shown up yet. I bet on the 'missed' option and hoped that Billy wouldn't be too upset that I hadn't been there.

I followed Sam and Emily into the house, and the moment I stepped in the door the hair on the back of my neck stood up. It was like a current of electricity had passed through me.

I caught Sam by the arm as Emily continued in. "Do you feel that?" I whispered to Sam cautiously.

"Feel what?" Sam asked curiously.

"Something is…different." I sniffed the air. There was no vampire scent that I could detect, so I wasn't worried about that. Instead, the scent I caught in the air was distinctly fruity and very appealing.

I followed Sam's lead into the kitchen, where we found Emily sitting at the kitchen table next to Billy.

"Hey, you're late. You missed her. She'll be back tomorrow."

"I figured," I winced. "Sorry, dad. We got kind of caught up." I was still kind of distracted, looking around the kitchen. The feeling of electricity was still running through me from an unknown source.

"I know who you're working with," Emily said. "It's this girl I met a few weeks back and I've seen her a few times since. She kind of hinted to me that she would be working with you after I mentioned your name once. I hope you don't mind…confidential stuff and all that."

"Oh no, I don't mind. She is a very nice woman."

"Young or old?" Sam asked.

"Young. She can't be older than early twenties."

"Well, I guess Quil won that one," Sam said with a laugh.

"Oh, and quite beautiful," Billy continued, winking.

"What's her name?" I asked him.

"Eden Cross."

Please leave a review! I'll try and add another chapter this weekend some time but I'm interested in what people are picking out of my story...both the overt things and the hidden ones. :o)