Monday morning, all of the Cullens went to school. Nessie was a freshman. Edward, Bella and Alice were sophomores while Emmett, Jasper and Rosalie were all juniors.

Nessie felt herself dragging more and more as the day wore on. She felt tired and weak as she walked into her final class of the day. She didn't answer any questions or participate in any way which worried her teacher. She'd always been a bright student, eager to participate in the activities of the class.

When the final bell rang, Nessie stood up, only to practically fall back into the chair.

"Are you okay, Renesmee?" the teacher asked.

"I'll be fine, Mr. Anthony. Just need to rest for a moment."

"What about your family? Aren't they waiting for you?"

'Daddy, send Uncle Emmett to get me. I can't stand up.' She smiled at the man. "They'll come and get me when I don't show up out front."

Not more than a few seconds later, Emmett walked into the room. "Nessie, what's wrong?"

She didn't answer him. Instead, she tried to pull herself to her feet only to have her knees completely give out under her. Emmett was beside her in a second and scooped her into his arms. He grabbed her backpack with one hand and carried her out to the car.

Settling her in the backseat with her parents, Emmett sped home to have Carlisle check the young woman over.

"What happened?" Carlisle asked as he met them at the door.

"I don't know. She apparently can't stand up. Can't even lift her arms enough to wrap them around anyone's neck. Carlisle, what's happening?"

"I don't know, Edward. I'm almost thinking that it has something to do with the imprint and the fact that Jacob's been gone for so long. She hasn't been away from him this long in her whole life."

"I've had enough of his hurt pride bullshit," Leah fumed. She headed for the woods.

"Leah, no!" yelled Bella. But Leah didn't listen.

"Bella, come inside and help me with our daughter," Edward said, taking his wife's hand.

Bella followed him inside, turning at the doorway to look at the woods where Leah had disappeared. "This is a mistake," she whispered just before walking into the house with her husband.

Leah sat on her haunches in the forest as Seth came out to phase and make his usual report to Jake. As soon as he phased, she got hit with the questions.

'What's going on, Leah?'

'I'm tired of seeing how much Nessie's hurt by his absence. He needs to know what this is doing to her. He's not thinking about her just himself and how hurt he's been by this whole thing.'

'Nessie asked you not to tell him.'

'Not to tell me what?' Jake was here. Leah took a deep breath and opened the memories of the past two weeks. She showed him the memories of the night that Nessie was attacked that she had shared with her. Then, the final nail in the coffin; she showed him Emmett carrying Nessie to the car because she couldn't walk. 'What was all that?'

'It's what you did to her, Jake. She made me promise not to tell you but I can't sit back and watch her die because of your stubborn pride.'

'She was attacked that night? That's why I smelled another man all over her?'

'She was nearly raped. It would have happened if she hadn't snapped and tore off the man's head. But as bad as that would have hurt her, it's nothing compared to what you've done to her. You need to come back. Unless you want her to die. The doc thinks this is all about the imprint. She's never been away from you this long. If you ever cared for either her or Bella, come back. Save her.'

The two of them heard the mournful howl that echoed through the link between them. They joined Jake's misery with their own. The howls rang through the forest into the late afternoon.

The Cullen home mourned with the wolves for the child that was slipping away from them. There was nothing they could do to save her. They all knew that now.

Only Jake could save their beautiful little girl. The only question was would he.

Jake had started running back toward the Cullen home as soon as he explained things to Billy.

"Go back to her. I'll be fine, Jake. Just make sure you pick up the phone once in a while and call me."

"I will, Dad. Thank you."

He phased and ran into the woods, praying that he wasn't too late.

Edward sat on the front porch with his head in his hands. Jasper had run off because he couldn't handle the emotions tearing the family apart. Alice had promised him that she would call as soon as anything changed.

That had been a fight he'd hated to see. Alice and Jasper never fought. They loved each other so much that they didn't even need to talk to communicate. Look at the way they'd been at the airport when she and Bella had brought him back from Italy.

He'd almost felt like he was peeking through their bedroom window watching them.

Bella was upstairs sitting beside their miracle child. She was so torn between wanting to stay with Nessie and not wanting to see her wasting away that it physically hurt Edward to watch.

Alice was torn between running after Jasper and staying with her niece.

Esme and Carlisle just sat on the couch in the living room comforting each other. Rosalie and Emmett were sitting on the floor outside Nessie's room wrapped in each other's arms.

He could hear Bella's sad voice talking to their daughter. "Daddy loves you too, baby. It just hurts him so much to see you like this. It reminds him of what Jake showed him of how I had been when he left me for my own good. Not like it helped any. I was miserable without your dad. I felt like there was a giant hole that had been torn open in my chest. But after Daddy came back to me and we got married, I was whole again. Or at least I thought I was. You were what made me whole, baby. My little nudger. I fell in love with you from the moment I figured out that you were there. As much as I went through while I was pregnant with you, I would do it all again for you. If it meant having you healthy again, I would go through all of it again without even thinking about it. Come back, baby. Please. I'm begging you." Her voice broke and Edward could almost see that she had collapsed against their daughter sobbing without tears for the daughter she might lose.

'If she dies, I'll kill him. I'll rip his head off and shove it up his …'

Just then, a large russet wolf burst through the trees. Jacob was back. The question was: was he in time to save Nessie?