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Everything in her vision was a blur. She opened her eyes, and immediately Alexander knew that she was alive. Mentally she groaned. This was ridiculous. Lifting her hand slowly, she grasped the tube that went down her throat and gave it a yank. This was the worse form of cottonmouth anybody could possibly have. Alexander choked a little and then groaned. With everything suddenly in focus Alexander looked around. She was in her own private hospital room plugged up to a respirator, stuck up like a pin cushion with morphine pumping through her veins, like she was some sort of science experiment.

Her body felt like lead, almost as if it didn't belong to her and that annoyed her more than anything. She reached under her gown to pull off the heart monitor when a warm hand touched hers. She jumped her heart rate going up slightly

"Don't do that. Carlisle isn't at this hospital to check up on you today. Don't send the world into another panic again four days later."

Alexander swallowed as best as she could. "Aunty?" She croaked.

"You don't even know your own mother's voice?" the woman teased.

"Sorry. Hearing a little impaired." Alexander smiled. "Amelia what are you doing here?"

"Can't you just call me mother?" she teased again. "I've been worried sick about you. I was on the first red-eye flight out here as soon as they called me." Amelia smiled.

Amelia and Alexander looked quite alike. Except Amelia was lighter and shorter and had a sense of grace and elegance about her. Her daughter obviously was not so smooth, Alexander's charm was more like a diamond in the rough.

"Your father is most upset, you know. You just can't seem to go anywhere without attracting trouble. He thinks that perhaps its better you come back to New York."

"I'm not going anywhere. I was close. I-!" Alexander choked, not because she wanted to cry but from her dry throat again. Her mother poured a glass of water and held it up as Alexander drank. "I need a little more time. I can kill him. I know I can and maybe great grandma can see that I accomplished killing that godforsaken plague she left behind!" Alexander was angry.

"I understand that but don't kill yourself in the process. Our family is strong and although our kind can plunge this world into confusion but there are only so much of us left." Amelia cooed.

"I understand that, Ma , but damn it. Things are in the way."

"Embry waits here for you to wake up every afternoon. Sometimes he even sleeps here. I don't think he's in the way. I think that fact that you're trying to remove him is what's messing you up…" Amelia trailed off.

"Mama, since have you been the stickler for romance. All the Blackfox women are doomed for failure on their first attempt at love."

"Then don't be another first." Amelia sighed, stroking her daughter's tangled hair. "I hate seeing you like this but you've set out to do what you're doing with an unfathomable determination."

"Yeah well maybe he should have never killed a good friend of mine. And maybe he should have never destroyed my knee the way he did."

"Revenge is n-!"

"Is a dish best served cold!" Alexander growled slowly pulling herself up to sit.

"And then what comes after revenge?"

"My life! Lovers, travel, kids… shit, mama, I don't know. Just not having to look over my shoulder like the last three generations did." Alexander sighed heavily. "What's today?"

"Monday. It's a little after 2:30. Embry will be here soon." Amelia smirked and Alexander furrowed her eyebrows.

"Don't let him in. Make up an excuse. I don't want to see him."

"I will not do that." Amelia stated shortly. "You're being as ungrateful as ever just because someone sees you in a moment of weakness."

"This isn't weakness, mama. This is crashed and burned!" Alexander exaggerated.

"Whatever. I am not doing it. He told me that you probably wouldn't want to see him when you woke up but I begged to differ. Prove him wrong Lexi, he's been real beat up about his lately."

"Fine, I won't talk. Get Carlisle to discharge me today."

"Whatever but you're seeing him. And you're sure as hell not leaving the hospital today. Maybe Wednesday, but not today." Amelia smiled triumphantly.

"Mama, you're a pain in the ass like the rest of them." Alexander whined. Amelia held up her hand.

"Regardless of what you say, you still need support like everyone else. Everyone had bets on when you would wake up. Carlisle and Embry said in a week. I said three days, looks like mother always knows best. Be silent Embry's coming. I'll go call Carlisle."

"Ma! No!" Alexander began to protest but once again her mother held up her hand. Embry rounded the corner but stood outside the window. The blinds were partially open and Alexander could feel slight anxiety growing in her belly. He was looking down at the floor, there was a crease between his eyebrows, and the beginning of dark spots under his eyes. Alexander's jaw locked as Embry looked up to see her staring at him. Her cheeks filled with color as her eyes widened with embarrassment.

"How cute. My hardcore daughter is blushing with nervousness. To be young again." Amelia teased and Alexander shot her a hard look. Embry ran his fingers through his hair, trying to smoothen it out. Amelia got up and opened the door, beckoning him in as she walked out to call Carlisle. Embry walked in and closed the door behind him.

"Hi…" he said breathlessly, trying to keep the huge grin off his face. Alexander said nothing, but just stared at him. He stuck his hands in his pockets self-consciously.

"Alexander… Lexi, I'm sorry. I wasn't there for you- I-!" the beeping on the heart machine made him look up at her. She gave him a dangerous look, face red.

"Not what you want to hear, huh?" he whispered. "I wonder how come you can't talk." Alexander gave him a feeble shrug.

"I really missed seeing those eyes of yours. And your face isn't swollen anymore." She smirked and beckoned him closer. Embry came up to her side and took her hand. He frowned when his eyes landed on the cast on her broken wrist. Alexander flicked her finger and he looked up at her face again. Passing his hand gently along her jaw line and smoothening out her eyebrows, Embry sighed. Alexander closed her eyes and allowed him to take in his fill. He took a comb out of the bedside drawer and began to slowly untangle her hair.

"You must be jilted in the brain, Alexander, or your body must not be functioning like normal because normally, you would pull away and say you're fine." Embry teased, taking advantage of her injuries. "You're not trembling either." Alexander's eyes fluttered open, he was right. She could feel his emotions perfectly fine, but her usual trembling stopped.

"Does that mean your feelings for me has changed?" The hopelessness in his voice made Alexander's eye twitch. She could tell he spent a greater part of the last four days beating himself up over this. Jerking her head away, a sharp pain shot through her body and she gasped. Damn, her neck was sprained. No wonder why they put the ridiculous brace around it. Embry looked stricken and pained to see her like that. He was trembling now, shaking as though thinking about something that he couldn't stand. He snapped the comb easily.

"That bastard who did this to you is still on the loose. I promise you Alexander, I won't leave you alone!" Embry growled. Alexander rolled her eyes, it was like the gods were laughing at her. She watched Embry questioningly, yet, she couldn't grasp what it was that was sort of freaking her out about him. There was some instinct to move away from him, his rage, his anguish, yet she couldn't go anywhere plugged up to this bed. With as much swiftness as she could muster and collided her cast covered hand to his gut. Alexander dropped her hand immediately and made several faces, all ending with her mouthing curse words with no sounds. Embry's face contorted again.

"I'm sorry! Maybe you are back to normal- somewhat at least. But you've never hit me and reacted like that…" Embry thought for a moment. Alexander rolled her eyes and slid back down into laying position, he sat on the couch across from her. She didn't look at him, he looked at his hands and he began to speak again.

"There are a lot of things slowly coming to light that we need to talk about. Not right now but soon. Despite how frustrated you make me, and no matter how much you try to wall up your emotions and become an ice queen… I want you to know that I still want to be with you." He concluded and opened the door. "I'll let you sleep. See you in a few days."

~__~

By Wednesday, Alexander was back in the house. The usually crowd came to visit and talk to her. She was grateful to them for not having pitiful eyes and sympathetic smiles. Her mother left to go back to New York that same day after making sure she was settled and Carlisle put her under house arrest for another week to make sure she didn't go into any forms of relapse. Alexander was at home- sprawled out on her bed. There was a brace on her knee, because she refused to walk out the hospital in a cast, a brace on her wrist, numb off of painkillers, a bag of marijuana in her next hand as a medical herb her mother left her, and lastly bored to tears. Literally. There was just too much to think about, all on her plate at once. She was in the house alone today, only because everyone came to visit her, all coming in shifts as if to make sure no more damage came to her. Embry should be on his way back from his part time job since he missed so many days already, Aunty was fast asleep in her room and it was only 8pm. Tomorrow and Friday she would be sent to stay with Emily, obviously because no one wanted her alone. Alone was just what she needed though.

Alexander rolled over as best as she could without disrupting her knee. Love, life, lies, and liberty. It all revolved into her life right now. Liberty was scarce though. The painkillers made her drowsy but her mind refused to comply. She was fed up with this game that asshole wanted to play. It was time to kill him and get it over with. Enough with staking out the damn forest. Fuck whatever those werewolves thought. It was time to end this damn cycle of give to get back. Great grandmother Amrita Blackfox was going to own up to her shit and her ex-husband was going to die by Alexander's hand. The napalm she had ordered from her friend was in a small package on the floor. This time, that asshole was going to eat fire, and burn from the inside out, even if that took off Alexander's arm. He was going to go up in flames while still in one piece.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on her bedroom door. She didn't look in the general direction because she already know who it was.

"Welcome back."

"Tadaima." They both said at the same time. Alexander's voice hoarse. She hadn't been talking much.

"How have you been feeling?" Embry asked hopefully. Alexander pointed to the prescription bottle of painkillers on her dresser.

"Oh. Nothing at all, I see." He joked feebly.

"You know, it would be much better if you came into the room and at least sat on the floor so that way I can see you better." Alexander whispered. Embry obeyed and sat on the floor next to her bed. "Good boy…" she said stuffing the bag of marijuana under the pillow while playing in his hair with the other hand.

"Have you eaten?" he asked.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because the painkillers make me nauseous."

"That's why you have to eat. Just in case." Embry started, "I suppose this is not what you want right now. I'm sorry. You never like anyone worrying about you like this."

"Glad someone took notice."

"But it doesn't stop us from worrying." There was a few minutes silence before he spoke again. "…just feel responsible. I could have picked you up."

"Stop babbling." Alexander whispered annoyed.

"No. I was sleeping soundly while you were being half beaten to death, Alexander. It's only right that I feel guilty about it! What kind of boy-!" he was cut off.

"Are you retarded?!" she choked out her voice still hoarse, cracked but harsh. "Or simply a wreck. Give the damn cliff the credit not some sneaky bastard. So I got hit a few times, do you see any bruises? No! Any permanent damage? Not inflicted by him. I'm not saying its fine, but I just want you to understand that I do not blame you. Why should I? Shit happens- mostly to me so don't worry about it. Like Jacob said. I'm a magnet."

"That still doesn't make it right. I couldn't protect you."

"Embry, if you knew everything bad that was going to happen to me in this world would you try to stop it?"

"Yes."

"Idiot! That would only mean you are causing the domino effect of all the other bad things. I don't mind if you want to protect me, I just don't like over berance. Do you understand where I am coming from?" She finished slowly.

"That's the first time you said that you don't mind me wanting to protect you."

"Shut up and stop feeling guilty. Deal!" Alexander demanded gripping his hair. Embry smiled, his girl was somewhat back to normal.

"I understand. I am such a masochist for you." He teased.

"You're cu-razy- I would have told whatever broad that was abusing me to piss off already." Alexander shifted again, changing her body positions.

"But you're not just some broad."

"Whatever, we'll see how you feel about that if we ever get to have sex. I'm tired of using my hand after all." She responded bluntly.

Embry's face colored lightly, but she couldn't see it because her head was turned in the other direction. "That might be soon, I guess."

Alexander whipped her head to face him, then grasped her neck. "What?! It takes a life or death situation to get you to relent to that simple request?" she exaggerated. "If I had known that I would have ordered trouble sooner."

"Please don't."

"A late for that. By the way, you're slightly blushing. By any chance are you a virgin?"

"Perhaps." Embry shifted uneasily.

"By Jove! You are! I've finally met a seventeen-year-old male virgin." Alexander said in mock fascination. "I am going to have so much fun with you."

"Be gentle." He said playfully.

"Like hell." she concluded.