Chapter Twenty Nine

Thank you for the reviews – so much! And, of course, the alerts and favourites too. Thank you to Ceasar-Flickerman for giving me an idea that sprung up in this chapter! And I meant to put this up yesterday morning but completely forgot, sorry :P PLEASE READ END AUTHOR'S NOTE!

Disclaimer – I do not own Twilight but I do own Hetani, Elisha and the plot.

Embry POV

Agony: the only word in the whole dictionary, any language or accent that could describe watching Hetani flat-line on that hospital bed. She was so still and peaceful but her life was fading out of her faster than her heart was beating and all I could do was cling desperately to the doorframe as Leah spoke to her and Seth tried to keep me standing. I watched with horror as her back arched in response to the first shock they gave her heart and for one glorious second, it looked like it worked. But then her heart skittered again and another shock was administered. I whimpered in pain with her, wanting so desperately to hold her, to comfort her, to beg her to come back to me.

Then I heard the most wonderful sound. Her heartbeat. It was back to normal, beating regularly with the occasional fluctuation as it adjusted. The nurses all breathed in relief, departing with sympathetic smiles after checking all Hetani's vitals.

"Embry," Leah breathed, glee clear in her tone. I turned my stunned gaze from the heart monitor, almost disbelieving that Hetani was not dead and saw the only thing that could top the regular lines on the screen.

Hetani's eyes.

A small sob escaped me and I was instantly next to her, Leah expertly sliding away and out the door, taking Seth with her. I barely noticed. I took my imprint's frail hand into both of mine and another sob spilled from my lips as she actually gripped back. It was feather-light, but it was a response. And she was smiling at me.

"Don't cry," she croaked, voice hoarse from days of no use. It was like music to my ears – ten times better than her heartbeat. I just shook my head and shifted so I was sitting on the side of the bed, pressing my lips to her forehead in pure, unconcealed relief.

"These are happy tears, sweetheart. God, I'm so glad you're awake," I told her, my voice breathy from happiness. She smiled weakly at me, rubbing her thumb over the back of one of my hands soothingly.

"I wouldn't leave you." Despite how quiet she was, the assurance was strong and I took comfort in that. I had been so scared that she would lose me.

"Good – because there's no way I can live without you." And there wasn't. I couldn't fathom a world where she didn't exist – was that even possible? Her face suddenly turned grave and her eyes flickered around anxiously before settling on me once more.

"H-h-how's Paul?" she asked hesitantly and I understood her trepidation. Rage surged through me at the thought of my pack brother; rage I could fully focus on as Hetani had awakened from her coma. "Embry?" Hetani's soft voice brought me back from my vicious thoughts and I realised in terror that I was shaking. Quickly looking at Hetani, I calmed down instantly as she kept me stable. My temper had never really been an issue but when it came to imprints, it was irrelevant. I gazed at Hetani, her beautiful eyes watching me carefully and my entire body relaxed.

"You should talk to him yourself – without me." A hurt expression formed on her face and I pressed another kiss to her forehead, pleading for it to go away. I hated to see her upset.

"Is he here?" she asked quietly and I realised I didn't know the answer.

"If he's not, I'll send someone else in. They'll all be dying to see you," I said gently and she smiled at me. I couldn't resist the pull any longer and leant forward, connecting out lips. Immediately, a warm, content feeling washed over me and she kissed back as eagerly as possible in her drained state. I finally knew what Heaven was like.

Seth POV

Embry was finally talking again, informing an amused Rachel of every single movement and word Hetani had said during their brief conversation. Rachel had been the one to go in after Embry and Leah had gone in after that, leaving Embry to fill Hetani's big sister in on everything because he was practically glowing with excitement. Jake had been contacted and was coming to the hospital with Nessie when he'd picked up Billy and Sue. Paul was nowhere to be found, having disappeared an hour previously and he wouldn't answer his phone. Sam and Emily were also coming over and would likely arrive before Jake and company.

"Excuse me, I was wondering if you knew where Hetani Black's room is?" a sweet voice asked timidly. My head snapped away from Embry and Rachel to see the back of a small girl. She was built delicately like Hetani with shorter, dark brown hair that rested just below her shoulders. Despite her shy voice, her body language said she was quite confident. The receptionist, Carla, looked up in surprise.

"Are you family?" she asked, obviously thinking she wasn't. My eyes narrowed slightly at her tone and I saw the mysterious girl's fists clench.

"No, I'm not. My name is Abby though – I was in the library that day." Carla's eyes went wide, along with mine and Embry and Rachel stopped their conversation to observe.

"O-o-oh. Uh, there's someone with her – but those who are waiting for her are over there." Carla gestured to where we were openly staring and Embry and Rachel instantly pretended to be otherwise occupied as Abby turned around. I, on the other hand, found myself unable to look away. Her eyes were wide yet sparkled with defiance and her face was set with determination . . . and, by God, they were the most stunning eyes I'd ever seen. Her face was soft looking, with gentle features despite her expression and I just knew she was it.

"Aw, there goes Seth," Embry commented but I hardly heard him, too busy focusing on the dark haired beauty heading towards us casually.

"Hi," she said, eyeing the three of us. I smiled widely at her voice and eagerly got up, holding out my hand.

"Hi, I'm Seth. I couldn't help but overhear what you said – did you get out ok?" Please, please, please say she wasn't hurt! She looked a little stunned at my approach but shrugged nonetheless.

"Yeah, I did. I'm really sorry about Hetani though." The emotion in her voice was so genuine and I was suddenly struck with the realisation that this girl, clearly only a freshman, had witnessed Hetani being shot with her own eyes. Surely she was traumatised?

"Yeah, but she's awake now!" I informed her cheerfully and her face transformed to accommodate a dazzling smile.

"She is? That's great!" she cried excitedly, looking beyond thrilled. Wow, she had knocked me just about breathless with that grin of hers. Oh God, I sounded like Embry.

"My sister is with her right now . . . but I could show you to the cafeteria and we could grab a snack or something while you wait," I suggested nervously and she nodded quickly.

"Yeah, I didn't have the chance to eat before I left – I was in such a hurry!" she said in relief and I knew we had to sort that out. She needed meat on her bones.

"Then come with me," I offered, gesturing in the direction of the canteen. She skipped to my side and I led her towards our destination, ignoring Embry's amused laughter behind us.

Hetani POV

As much as I had been scared of waking up and facing reality, it was so nice to be back with everyone. And, although the hospital food was gross, I was sure Elisha's mom would sort that out soon enough. The woman had a serious issue with hospital food. Since I'd woken up, I had spoken to Embry, Rachel, Leah and Nessie. Jake had just seated himself next to me, looking like a mixture of relief, humoured and cheerful at once.

"I'm glad you're back, baby sister. Embry was driving me crazy." I rolled my eyes at him playfully but then his expression turned serious. "Really, Hetani, don't scare us like that again. I don't want to lose you, ok?" I nodded mutely, the gravity of his words hitting me. I had nearly died. That thought was terrifying.

"How's Paul?" I asked. I had learned that Josh was in a juvenile detention centre for shooting me and everything, that I had been out for almost four days and the news hadn't left the papers since the second it happened. However, every time I mentioned Paul, everyone clammed up and told me to talk to him myself.

"I'm not going to help you there, Tani. Talk to him yourself." I almost screamed in frustration but seeing as breathing hurt like Hell, I wasn't going to push my body into shock.

"Fine, I will. But no one can find him!" I cried, wincing as heated pain spread across my chest. Jake looked at me reproachfully and I let him. I knew I wasn't supposed to get angry like that but I couldn't really help it.

"Do you want some good news or some really good news?" Jake asked casually and I raised an eyebrow at the chance in tone. I was intrigued.

"Sure," I urged, watching him intensely. I knew it would be good – Jake had the look on his face that said he was eager to share whatever it was with me.

"Abby came to visit you about forty five minutes ago." I smiled gently at the thought of Abby. Rachel told me it had been the freshman girl that had run for help and no one had really seen her. It was nice that she came and I hoped to see her after everyone was finished lecturing me. "And Seth imprinted on her." My eyes widened to a worrying width as a gleeful smile spread across my lips. I squealed jubilantly. That was so wonderful! She couldn't have found a sweeter guy (except Embry but I digress) and she was tough, from what I could gather – she'd handle everything brilliantly. Then a sudden thought hit me.

"And . . . Elisha?" I asked hesitantly. I had kept the wolf secret from her for so long that I wondered if it had been blown whilst I was in my coma. Jake shook his head.

"She knows something's going on but not what it is," he assured me and I let the relief sink in.

"So, how's Nessie?"

XXX

Paul POV

My phone had been going crazy for the past three hours but I ignored it, favouring just walking aimlessly over talking to anyone. I had even ignored Rachel, which was painful in its own right because I just couldn't handle being in that hospital any longer. Hetani was in there because of me. Groaning, I sat down on the log Hetani had perched on whilst I vented about the Cullen leech crossing into our territory. My phone rang AGAIN so, growling, I decided to answer it.

"What?" I snarled into the receiver. An annoyed sigh sounded on the other end and I rolled my eyes at recognising Leah.

"I thought you might want to know that Hetani is awake and she wants to see you."

"No."

"What?" Leah sounded largely confused by my simple, angry statement but I thought it was pretty self-explanatory.

"I don't want to see her."

"Well, tough, Paul. She wants to see you and if she gets any more irritated at us diverting her attention, she'll probably injure herself." That caught my attention. We all knew that Hetani was patient but, depending on how long she'd been awake, she might be at the end of her tether.

"Fine, but doesn't Embry have anything to say about this?" I demanded curiously and Leah snorted.

"Hetani wants it enough that he's willing to let it happen," she answered as though it was obvious. Rolling my eyes, I knew I was out of excuses. If Embry could find it in himself to put up with me for Hetani, then so would everyone else.

"Why are you so cheery?" I asked and I almost heard her shrug.

"You'll find out when you get here," she replied then the line went dead. Great. Deciding that I wouldn't leave if I stayed any longer, I rose from my seated position and stripped, phasing into my wolf form to get to the hospital faster.

It took you long enough!

Shut up, Brady. Just patrol.

He surprisingly listened to me and we both ran in silence until I finally reached Forks Hospital, phasing back into my human self and dressing before running into the hospital. Carla just gestured me through after barely glancing at me. I assumed it was because her eyes were fixated on Seth and a girl I recognised almost instantly. She had been the freshman that had run out to get the paramedics when Hetani was shot. Oh God. Her smile fell upon seeing me and Seth's head instantly snapped around to see what had caused the change – giving me a firm look upon seeing me. Seth didn't really glare but I knew he would learn fast if he'd imprinted on this girl – which he clearly had, judging from his glittering eyes.

"Paul, come on," Leah urged, suddenly appearing next to me. I sighed and followed her down the hall. Embry came out just as we got there and, after avoiding my eyes expertly, he left me to talk to Hetani. Leah patted me on the back then left just as silently as Embry had. Telling myself to get it together because, if Embry could handle it, anyone could, I pushed open the door. Hetani's bed was directly across from the door (a little to the right) and she was awake, reading what looked like a play, a pen caught between her teeth. She had been awake for less than three hours and she was already studying? She was seriously strange.

"Hey," I said softly and her eyes shifted up to mine. I noticed that her hair was lank and dirty looking but she didn't seem particularly bothered by it and I was distracted by the overwhelming relief of seeing her eyes open.

"Hey," she replied quite cheerfully, setting the book and the pen down on her left side. Cautiously, I slipped over and sat in the too-small chair, eyeing her apprehensively.

"How are you?" It was very pathetic that I had to resort to small talk but the sad reality was that I was desperately uncomfortable. Hetani instantly picked up it, despite how tired she looked.

"I'm ok as long as I don't yell, laugh or get angry. And I'm only allowed the lightest English book I own to study because textbooks are too heavy." She sounded perfectly fine with that, like she hadn't been shot earlier in the week. That got me angry.

"How can you be so comfortable with that? You almost DIED Hetani and it's my fault you were in there!" I demanded loudly, almost shaking. Since imprinting, my temper had mellowed but seeing Hetani be so blasé about her own life irritated me no end. Her eyes widened in shock but she remained calm, as usual.

"One, I'm not really comfortable – I know I almost died and that terrifies me. But I don't want to talk about it too much because I'll get seriously upset. Two, it was not your fault." Her tone implied that her word was final but I was far from done.

"It was my fault! I bullied that Josh kid into bringing a gun into school!" She sighed in aggravation, looking at me with wide, innocent eyes.

"Yes, you bullied him. But if you hadn't set off the chain of events that led to the library, something else would have. Paul, you know I believe that things happen for a reason and if this-." I held up my hand, halting her in the middle of the sentence. She looked surprised but didn't try and talk further.

"You should blame me." I needed her to be angry at me – it was justified and I needed it, to know that she did blame me and to get rid of the overwhelming guilt I felt every time I looked at her. Another sigh came from her and, even from the corner of my eye, I saw her wince at the chest movement. I was upsetting her.

"There's a reason I don't blame you. When I was unconscious, I was seeing people I cared about – my mom, Embry, Jake, Leah, you, Elisha. And when I was talking to Inside you, you asked me if I was mad. I've had time to think and a part of me does blame you because you were the one that did lead up to this. But the bigger, sensible, me part argues that you're still my big brother and this happened for a reason. I love you, Paul and that's not going to change because of this." She finished her speech with a hand to her chest and a wince but I looked up to see her eyes flashing passionately and I knew she meant every word. I also knew she wouldn't let me win and I felt a tiny bit of the guilt chip away.

"Fine," I eventually grumbled and her sparkling smile lit up her face. A contemplative look took its place quickly.

"Have you spoken to Rachel?" she asked curiously and I grimaced. "Go and find her. Tell her if she doesn't forgive you, I'll kick her butt," she threatened jokingly and I relaxed a little more. Nodding, I stood from my chair and, after smiling at her slightly, I left the room. Passing Embry in the hallway, I instantly tensed but he just clapped me on the shoulder and went back to spend time with Hetani. Something told me that Elisha and Rachel wouldn't be so easy to let it go.

I know there wasn't much Hetani/Embry in this chapter but I needed to get tensions out of the way, obviously. And I also think some of you might not like how easy Hetani forgave Paul but I think it's just like her and she gives justification. Anyhow, it's been less than a week but that's a good thing! I think we should estimate a week before the next update too though. Question: would you prefer to read an Emmett/OC or Jared/OC? I've got an idea for a story that could be either one - I won't write both but it would be the same OC for either one. Think and let me know! Love Bianca :) x