Disclaimer: Nothing is mine.

Chapter Twenty-One- The Dirt Whispered

"Echoes of songs still lurk on distant foreign shores,

Where we danced just to please the gods that only ask for more,

So it goes

But still we give ourselves to this

We can't spend our lives waiting to live

On cold nights

In a prayer for dawn

But daylight

Isn't what she wants"

-Rise Against- "The Dirt Whispered"

Leah's POV

Running was the quickest option, of course. Which is the reason we were all tearing through the woods right now, on our trek through Alaska to get to the Denali's home. We'd been running for about an hour now, and we were nearly there.

Jasper had us each take different routes, so we would be surrounding the house when we arrived. Jasper decided we would be split up into groups of two. He was with Bella; the best fighter and the newborn. Emmett was with Esme; the strongest and the weakest. Alice was with Rosalie, Seth was with Jacob and I was with Carlisle.

Carlisle and I stopped in our designated spot and waited for Jasper's signal. Alice was far away from us wolves and looking into the futures of Emily and Kim to determine how many vampires were inside. She would signal to Jasper, who would then signal to the rest of us, if needed.

They determined that Jasper, Emmett, Carlisle and I would go inside. Jasper and Emmett would deal with Tanya and Irina, Carlisle and I would find the girls. Jasper sent Bella to Alice and Rosalie and he signaled for us to follow him.

Jasper ran forward, kicking open the front door, Emmett followed right behind him. Carlisle and I went next, me in my wolf form. By the time I got inside, Jasper had already taken down one vampire, who was just a pile of limbs on the ground at his feet. Emmett took care of the other. Jasper yelled for us to find the girls, just as another female vamp came out of nowhere.

Carlisle and I started toward the scent of the girls. Emily's was the one most familiar to me, so I stuck with hers. Carlisle opened the basement door and stopped. He turned to me, "Maybe you want to shift back."

He turned his back to me as I shifted. I realized I didn't bring any clothes with me, but Carlisle had taken his shirt off and was holding it out to me. I took it and slipped it on. It was barely big enough to cover all my lady parts down below, but I appreciated the thought.

I started down the basement stairs, with Carlisle behind me. As my feet touched the cold stone floor, my eyes landed on Emily, hunched over in the corner. Kim was sitting next to her, clutching onto her. Claire was curled up in Emily's lap. All three had their eyes shut tightly.

"Emily?" my voice came out, so soft I wasn't sure if they'd heard me.

Her head snapped up. Kim and Claire following her gaze. "Leah!?" she yelled, then launched herself onto me. Claire gripped my leg and promptly started to cry against the bare skin of my calf.

I reached down and picked her up when Emily let me go. Kim hugged me then, so tightly I wasn't sure if she planned on letting me go.

Carlisle laughed behind us. "You're safe now girls, what do you say we take you home?"

Emily nodded her head, tears forming in her eyes. Carlisle moved behind us and a second later a light came on above us. It was then I got a clear look at all three of the girls. My heart broke at the sight of them.

Emily's scarred face had a huge gash on the other side of her face, splitting open her lip. Kim had a black eye and several bruises visible on her arms and neck. I shifted my gaze to Claire, who seemed to be unharmed physically, but mentally I couldn't imagine what this was doing to her. We had to get her out of here now.

Emily looked at my lack of attire and said, "Leah, they might have some clothes upstairs, if you want to go look." She reached to take Claire from my arms and I quickly went up the stairs. The rest of the Cullen's were in the house now.

Esme turned to look at me when I came into the room. "We're cleaning up in here, so that the girls won't have to see. Are they okay?"

I sighed. "More or less," I told her.

Sadness passed over her features and she nodded. "I'm going down to see if little Claire is okay," she pointed up the stairs. "Go find some clothes for yourself so my husband can have his shirt back," she teased as she walked by me.

I blushed and quickly ran up the stairs before anyone else saw me. Just as I reached the landing, Alice came out of a bedroom and held out some clothes to me. "Here ya go," she chirped, thrusting the clothes into my hands and disappearing. I ducked into a bathroom and quickly dressed.

When I came back down, the room was cleaner than before. I handed Carlisle his shirt and thanked him for it. Bella appeared at my side, wrapping her slender arms around my waist. I smiled at the sensation of her chilly touch to my warmer skin.

Esme came into the room, holding little Claire, with Kim and Emily following behind. Bella breathed out a sigh of relief. "I'm so glad Claire's okay. I thought Tanya had really hurt her there for a minute," Bella whispered.

"I did too, I hope this wasn't too traumatic for her," I said. Bella nodded against me.

Claire's laughter brought our attention back to her. Esme smiled at the little girl in her arms. "I think I should drive the girls back, it might be better for them if I do," she said.

Carlisle agreed with her, so Esme piled into Tanya's Mercedes SUV with Kim, Emily and Claire and they pulled away from the house. Carlisle said it was safe for us to return home, so we set off running again.

Bella lagged behind me the whole run back. Even for a vampire, she was slow. When we arrived back at the Cullen house, Bella pulled me into the woods. When we were far away from anyone's wandering eyes, she pulled me in for a kiss.

Her tongue danced around with mine, her hands slipping under my shirt to fondle my breasts. I moaned quietly and she smiled into our kiss. I pushed her back on the forest floor, straddling her waist. She reached up and pulled my shirt over my head.

I was briefly glad she didn't rip it, as I didn't have any other clothes with me. I didn't have time to think about it too much, though, as Bella caught my nipple in her mouth. She swirled her tongue around my nipple, and pinched my other one between her fingers. With her mouth and one hand busy, she reached into my pants with her other hand. Wetness instantly pooled between my legs as her icy touch found my hot, throbbing center.

I growled and pushed her away so I could kiss her. Trailing kissed along her jaw line, and attacking her neck with my lips. Her hands tangled into my hair, trying to force my kisses lower. She flipped us over so she was on top of me. Her hand found its way back into my pants and bean working her magic between my folds.

I pushed my hips against her hand, losing myself in the sensations she was creating in my body. My back arched against her, pushing our breasts together and I came against her hand.

She pulled my face to hers and kissed me deeply as I slipped my hand into her pants to return the favor. I wanted nothing more than to taste her sweet juices that were running down my fingers, but I knew we had to be back at the house soon. When Bella came, she screamed out in ecstasy and kissed me, her tongue tasting sweet against mine.

I withdrew my hand from her pants and stood up, holding out my hand to her and pulling her to her feet. She laced her fingers through mine and leaned up and kissed me again. "I love you," she breathily whispered against my lips.

"As I love you," I whispered back.

Bella and Leah arrived back at the house, just as Esme was pulling into the driveway. Kim and Emily hopped out and Leah noticed they had their cuts stitched up, and Kim's arm had a white bandage around it.

Esme opened the back door and got Claire out of her seat. Bella and Leah followed them into the house. Esme led them straight into the kitchen and started to cook for them. Bella joined her after a moment.

Emily sat at the kitchen counter with Claire in her lap and she laughed. "It's so strange being in the kitchen and having someone else cook. I'm not used to it," she said.

Esme smiled. "Those boys need to learn to give you a break once in a while," she told her.

A look of sadness crossed Emily's features. "I miss them, though, I wonder how they've done without me," she said.

Kim placed her hand on Emily's shoulder. "We'll see them soon, right?" she looked over at Leah.

The female shape-shifter nodded. "Carlisle's calling them now," Leah told Jared's imprint.

She smiled at me. Esme put a plate in front of her and Kim and they dug in. Esme then took Claire from Emily's lap and put the little girl in her own so they could both eat.

Bella took a seat next to Emily, and Leah next to her. Aside from how they'd ended up in the Cullen's home, Leah thought it was nice to see Kim and her cousins again. The girls were chatting happily when Carlisle came into the room.

"Sam says he and the pack refuse to come onto our land. We'll have to go meet them at the border," he said.

Emily's heart dropped into her stomach. Tanya and Irina had kidnapped her on her way home from Charlie Swan's house, and the only thing she had been able to think was she hoped Sam would save her. The whole time she was in their basement, she prayed Sam would find her and rescue her, be her knight in shining armor. She'd had plenty of hours down there to fantasize about Sam saving her.

Needless to say, her fantasies had been smashed when Leah came into the basement with Carlisle. Emily had asked Esme where Sam was, she thought he was just upstairs helping clean, but when Esme informed her that Sam wasn't there, her heart broke. Sam didn't come to save her, her estranged best friend had.

Now Sam couldn't even come to the Cullen's house to pick her up. He wouldn't even be able to take her to the hospital to get her wounds stitched up, as Esme had already had that taken care of.

To Emily's right side, Kim was having similar thoughts. She'd only thought of Jared, praying for him to come and save her, being shocked when Leah had shown up with the Cullen's. Kim was sure that Jared would have come to her if he could have, but Sam must not have let him. Sam was Alpha, and what he says, goes. If Jared didn't have to follow Sam's orders, Kim knew he would have come to save her for sure.

Claire was just happy to be going home again. She missed her mommy and daddy. When she got home she hoped she'd get to play with her sister again. And maybe go to the beach with Quil again. She liked the colored rocks there.

Leah was angry at the way Sam was behaving. Sure, it had been the Cullen's choice to exclude them from going to get the girls, but he could at least come and get them himself.

Esme stood up, Claire clinging to her neck. "Can I see my mommy, Auntie Esme?" she asked excited.

Esme's eyes lit up, "Of course, dear. Let's take you home now."

Claire squealed and held onto Esme's neck. "Only if I can come back and see you!" she said quietly.

Esme smiled and said, "Anytime you want to." She loved children, and not being able to have her own made her appreciate any little time she got to spend with any child. It was one of the things she loved about having a house full of young vampires and shape shifters.

Carlisle decided everyone should go to the border, since Sam would most likely have the entire pack with him. Esme loaded Claire into the SUV with Kim and Emily. The rest of the family and the wolves would run inside the tress line, just alongside the car.

After a few short run, they reached the border. As expected, Sam was standing in the middle with the rest of the pack standing around him.

Esme parked Tanya's SUV on the side of the road as the rest of the Cullen family came out of the trees and formed a line. Quil's eyes lit up when Esme helped Claire out of the backseat.

The little girl was smiling and her small arms firmly wrapped around Esme's neck. Kim and Emily climbed out of the car and came to stand with Esme.

At the sight of more bandages on Emily's face and arms, and one on her neck, Sam lost his cool and charged forward. Jasper calmly took two steps forward and said, "Stop there, Sam. You cross this border and it will be the last time you ever do it."

Sam stopped in his tracks and faced Jasper. "What happened to Emily?!" he shouted.

Carlisle stepped up beside Jasper and said, "I think that is something you should ask her. We only found her and saved her. Emily is here, Sam, you should take her home. She's been through a lot and I can imagine all she wants is some attention from you."

Sam's face softened and he turned to Emily and held out his hand to her. She tentatively stepped forward and walked into his arms. Kim outright ran to Jared. Quil looked more than a little hurt when Claire made no move to come to him.

Esme walked forward so that she was next to Carlisle and spoke to Claire, "It's time for you to go home now. Quil will take you."

Claire sniffled and buried her face in Esme's neck. Quil looked positively terrified at the sight. Claire looked up into Esme's eyes and asked, "Can I come back and see you again?"

Esme smiled. "Anytime you want. Quil knows where we live," she smiled in Quil's direction and he nodded in agreement.

Claire squealed and hugged Esme again. Esme put her on the ground and Claire hugged Carlisle's legs. He patted her head and ruffled her hair, then the little girl blew a kiss to Leah and finally ran to Quil.

Sam angrily muttered to Quil to take Claire home. Carlisle noticed there wasn't a car behind any of the wolves so he said, "Quil, you may drive this car if you wish. When you are done with it, you can do with it as you want."

Quil looked down at Claire and took the keys from Esme. Claire settled into the backseat again and Quil drove off.

When they were out of sight, Sam said, "Claire can't visit you. She's one of ours and I won't allow Quil to cross the border. We're done here." He turned to leave, but Emily stayed where she was.

"That isn't fair, Sam. The Cullen's put their lives at risk to come and save us. Claire likes it with them and if she wants to visit, she can," Emily said firmly.

Sam shook his head, "No. That's final."

Emily crossed her arms. "Where were you when the Cullen's came to Alaska to save Kim, Claire and I?"

Sam answered, "I was here."

"I wanted you to save me. I wanted you to be the one to show up in the basement and carry me home, but you never did. And I wanted you to be the one to tend to my wounds and comfort me and tell me everything was going to be okay. Instead, it was Leah who was the one to show up in the basement with Carlisle, and it was Esme who took us to the hospital. The Cullen's saved us, and we owe them," she said.

Sam relented. "Fine, whatever, okay. Can we go home now," he took Emily's hand and she took one step before firmly planting her feet again.

"You owe them a thank you, Sam," she said.

Sam stopped and turned around to face the Cullen's. "Thank you for saving my future wife. And for saving Kim and Claire," he had to force the words out.

Carlisle nodded and said, "We were glad to help."

With that, the wolves left with Kim and Emily. And the Cullen's returned home. Leah immediately pulled Bella up to their room. They sat down on the bed and just wrapped their arms around each other.

After a few moments Leah said, "See, I told you I wouldn't let anything happen to you."

Bella smiled. "You kept your promise. So I guess I owe you something now," she said as she leaned up to kiss Leah's cheek.

"That you do, Bella," Leah smiled.

"Leah, what are we going to do?" Bella asked suddenly, her voice had a trace of panic.

Leah's features twisted in confusion. "What do you mean?" she asked.

Bella pulled away from her and turned on the bed to face her love. "What are we going to do about us? I've been thinking about this a lot lately. You know since I'm a vampire I'm immortal. So what about you?" she asked softly.

"Bells, as long as I keep phasing I'll live forever too, you know," Leah told her. She took Bella's hand in hers.

"I know, but I couldn't ask you to do that," she almost whispered.

Leah scoffed. "You don't have to ask me. Besides I'm not doing it for you, I'm doing it for me," she said.

Bella looked up. "What do you mean?"

Leah smiled. "Why would I want to live a normal life and then die when I can be a werewolf forever and stay by your side for all of eternity?"

"Do you even want to be a wolf forever? Do you like it that much?" Bella asked.

Leah thought about this. "I didn't like it before, but I do now. I like feeling the wind in my fur, I like the speed and I like knowing that I can protect you, even if you don't need to be protected," she said quickly when she saw Bella was about to speak.

Bella smiled at this and lay down on the bed, Leah lying down next to her. Bella tilted her head to look at Leah and said, "So I get to stay like this with you forever?"

Leah nodded. "For all of eternity."

Bella pressed her lips to Leah's. The kiss held so much emotion for both of the girls. It was a kiss full of love and promise; it was a promise that their love would last for eternity.

The End

A/N: Yes, this is truly the end…..unless you wanted the BIG dramatic ending, which will be up very shortly. Thanks so much for the reviews, you guys are the best! I really enjoyed writing this for you all and I'm so happy you all enjoyed my first real attempt at femme-slash! And I'm so sad this is ending. :( Guess now I'm off to write boy-slash. *dances* That's pretty fun too! Thanks for reading, and especially thanks for all the love. You guys rock!

By the way, I'm signed up as a Beta, so if you need one, I'm pretty good! (I beta my own stories, if that's any indication)

~LCM~