MAJOR A/N: A few things. Um, it snuck up on me, but this is kind of the last chapter. And when I say "kind of," I mean, it is. Isn't that crazy? The story finished itself today. Everything's been resolved, and the characters have no more short-term problems to take care of, and I've never been one to drag something out when it's over.

Secondly, I want to say thank you to everyone who stuck through until the end and put up with my procrastinating. You guys really rock.

Third, anyone know what happened to the space markers? All of my stars disappeared to tell you when it's a new scene… Because I went back and reread chapter nine and I was like, "Um… where'd they go?" So now I have to go and put appropriate line-markers in ALL of my stories. Which is terrible for a lazy person like me.

And last, the ending is horrible. I want to apologize in advance. I'm really bad at ending stories. I never know how to write that last epic line, other than to say, "this happened, and then this happened, and then nothing happened anymore, so they lived happily ever after." I was thinking of doing a "10 Years Later" type thing, but I've always hated epilogues like that (with the sole exception of JK Rowling's Harry Potter). So I'm not even going to attempt one. I was also thinking of putting the last chapter in Cellie's point of view, but again, as she thinks in pictures and not words, that would have been impossible, unless I put it in comic-book form. And then, you still wouldn't have gotten the full emotional effect. So, that was a no-go, too.

This will just have to do. Ciao until my next story!

TEN

"How dare you?" Noelle said, furiously, eyes flashing. "After I explicitly said, no Deaf school, you set this scholarship thing up behind my back?"

Every thing in me told me to keep quiet, that silence was the best way to handle this enraged woman. Especially here, in her home, where she reserved the right to kick me out at any moment. But I knew that silence wouldn't get me the outcome I was looking for right now.

"I know what's best for my daughter, Embry! I'm her mother. And Cellie doesn't need to be in that type of environment. All she's ever known is this house with its gadgets and high-tech everything that she needs in order to live a normal life. I only agreed to the art class thing because you promised to go to every class with her. She's not used to mingling with people her own age - "

"She won't," I interrupted, softly.

"You're damn right she won't," she continued, but that's not what I meant.

I shook my head. "No, I mean she won't live a normal life. Ever. Your daughter is Deaf, Ms. Donovan - "

"I know that," she hissed.

"She's Deaf," I continued. "And normal for you is not the same thing as normal for her - "

"I KNOW THAT!" she repeated, loud enough to shut me up. Her eyes were glassy, bright, and brimming with unshed tears.

She turned abruptly and headed for the kitchen. I noticed her hands were shaking as she tried to fill a glass with some tap water. She gulped the water down quickly, then turned and sat down heavily in one of the chairs.

"I try so hard," she said, having gained back a small amount of control. "I buy the most expensive things, even though I can't really afford it." She waved a hand through the air, gesturing towards the 'Christmas lights.'

"And I work at night… and on the weekends, every weekend, so that I can home-school her during the day. I encouraged her to try to go out someplace… where she can meet people, try to make friends, but I guess the library isn't exactly - " she paused and gave me a pleading sort of look. "She met you, didn't she?"

I nodded.

She sighed. "She's so lonely," she said quietly, and it wasn't a question. She stared down at the table, but I knew she was waiting for me to answer.

"She is," I replied.

"And if she leaves, if she goes to school, she won't be… but I will." She raised her eyes and looked at me sadly. "She's the only part of her father that I have left. I love her too much."

Separation anxiety seemed to be a common theme around here.

"I know," I said, softly. "Except, she's not him. And she's not you. I know you've only had each other for a long time. But, you are separate people. And you need to live separate lives."

"So you want her to leave that badly?"

"Hell no!" I swore. Then, my eyes widened as I remembered who I was talking to. "Sorry. Of course I don't want her to leave. I lo - I… really care about Cellie. I care about her more than anyone I've ever met. She's my imp - my best friend."

At this, she smiled a teary sort of smile. "And here I thought I had found a kindred soul."

I blinked.

"I mean, you are nowhere near as selfish as I am," Noelle explained. "I thought you were on my side before."

If only she knew.

"I'm on Cellie's side," I declared, firmly.

She smiled again. "So am I."

3 Months Later

ME THINK BLUE DRESS, EVERYONE LOOK BEAUTIFUL, Cellie suggested.

NO. ME LIKE PINK, Rachel interrupted.

MAYBE BOTH? Emily intervened.

WHAT YOU THINK? Cellie asked, looking to her right where Kim was sitting.

Kim shrugged, and ducked her head as all the girls' eyes turned to her. I-DON'T-KNOW. ME LIKE… YELLOW, MAYBE.

" - going to do, Embry?"

I pulled my attention away from the girls and turned to Quil, who was looking at me expectantly.

"Huh?" I said, intelligently, and he rolled his eyes.

"You graduated early, congratulations. Now bring your big head back down here with the rest of us small-brained people. What are you going to do in the Fall? When Cellie goes to school?" he asked.

I grinned, and turned back to Cellie and the girls. They were discussing bridesmaid dresses for Kim and Jared's wedding. From all of the excited gesturing that Cellie was doing, I assumed that Kim had asked her to be in it. Which was really nice of her, considering she hadn't even known Cellie for six months yet. Again, I marveled at how easy it seemed to incorporate Cellie into our little "Wolf World."

"I don't know," I said, hesitantly, pulling my attention away again. "I was thinking WSU. You know, Washington State University… in Vancouver."

"Near Cellie's school?" Quil asked, knowingly.

I nodded. "I… I don't know what she'll think of that, though. I don't want her to feel like I'm not letting her live her life, or anything… like I'm keeping an eye on her."

"But, you are," Quil said.

"Yeah…" I shrugged.

"I don't think she'll care," Sam interrupted, coming into the living room from the kitchen. He tossed Jared a bag of chips, then gestured toward the girls. "You're an idiot if you don't see how much she loves you."

Quil nodded, and Sam went back to watching TV with Jared.

"Yeah, man, he's right," Quil agreed.

"I know, I just don't want to hover," I said.

"Talk to her about it," Quil suggested.

"Yeah, I will."

Jared dropped Cellie off first, then Kim, which surprised me. Usually he would drop Cellie off, then me, so he could spend extra time with Kim before he had to take her home.

This time, he drove me home last, but he stopped in front of my house and cut the engine.

I raised my eyebrows. "You inviting yourself in?" I asked, jokingly.

He shook his head and didn't laugh. Whatever this was, it was serious.

"I don't know how you're going to feel about this, but I already got everyone else's opinion, and I wanted yours, too," he said.

"No. I don't think you should get a tongue ring," I said, seriously. " I don't think it would be good for your image… or Kim's, come to think of it."

"Shut up, Embry," he said, exasperatedly. "This is serious."

"Okay, okay, what?" I was getting kind of worried now, but didn't want to let it show.

He took a deep breath, then said, "I want to invite Jake to the wedding."

Immediately, my insides froze. "What?" I said, as if I didn't hear him. But I did. And we both knew I did.

"I already talked to Sam about the two alphas thing, and he said it might be possible if they sit very far away from each other, and don't look in the others' direction."

At that, I snorted. "Desperate measures, huh?"

"I talked to Quil. He wasn't exactly for it, but he said to ask you, and he'd think about it…"

"I don't know. Will he be able to stand being away from his freak girlfriend for so long? Unless you invited her, too - ?"

"Wife," Jared interrupted, quietly. "They're married, now."

At that, I felt a weight settle in the bottom of my stomach. Married. Jacob Black was married and didn't even bother telling me. Or Quil. His so-called best friends. I shook my head, bitterly. "Figures."

"But, no, I didn't invite her. It's supposed to be a happy day, you know? I don't want to make it any more awkward or complicated than it has to be - "

"Then, rescind your invitation, and tell him to stay home," I stated, firmly, coldly.

Jared sighed, and we were silent for a moment.

"We used to be friends, Embry… All of us," he said, quietly.

"He traded that in, Jared, when he went with them. We live in two different worlds. He can't be part of both of them. His little Bella Swan learned that, too."

"I'm not asking him to be part of the pack again. I'm just asking him to come to a wedding. If it's impossible, if Sam wants to kill him on sight… or you and Quil really can't stand physically being in his presence, we'll know within the first few minutes of him being here, and ask him to leave. That's reasonable, right?"

I sighed, and shook my head. It would probably be a disaster. "Whatever, Jared. It's your big day."

He grinned. "Thanks. Kim is inviting Leah, too, by the way. So heads up."

Yeah, it most definitely would be a disaster.

"Good luck."

I got into WSU. Early decision. And I don't know what the hell I was so worried for. Cellie was ecstatic when she discovered I'd be going to school only twenty minutes away from her. Because of course she got the scholarship. Her biggest problem now was trying to decide if she still wanted to be an ASL teacher, or if she wanted to pursue an art career.

I told her she could do both, or she could combine them somehow and teach art classes in sign language. She rolled her eyes at that.

And naturally, both of our mothers were greatly relieved when they found out that we'd be going to school so close together. Turns out my mother was just as worried as Noelle's about me going away.

But not worried enough to consent to me and Cellie moving into an apartment together. Yeah, I tried.

Kim and Jared's wedding went fine. No major disasters occurred, after Quil asked Jake to leave. Turns out he and Sam really couldn't be in the same vicinity without getting into some kind of fight. And it was over something stupid. Sam had complained about the punch having too much citrus and Jake had said it tasted fine. Yeah, really.

As for me, I couldn't bring myself to say anything to Jake other than, "Hello." I still had my own issues to work out with him.

Which meant he probably wouldn't be getting a wedding invitation from me.

Leah came, though. And she brought a friend. Not a guy, but it was nice to see that she was making friends at her school. It was no surprise for any of us that she stuck with Jake until he left. Then, she latched on to her brother. As far as I know, she didn't say a word to Emily or Sam. Which made sense, since the last wedding she had attended was theirs, so I'm more than 100% sure that this was bringing up unwanted memories for her.

In a super cool gesture, Kim had arranged for an interpreter at the wedding, so that Cellie could follow the service along with the rest of us. I could tell that Cellie was touched, and so was I. But it ended up being kind of unnecessary because Rachel stood next to her and interpreted everything anyway.

In the Fall, Cellie and I went away to our schools. In the beginning, she had problems adjusting, after having been home-schooled for so long, but I was there when she needed me. And she was there when I needed her in a way that the pack could no longer be because I didn't see them everyday.

So basically, everything worked out. Exactly the way it was supposed to.

- FadingSlowly