A/N: This chapter is dedicated to pricel, Scooby Lady, KD Skywalker + Romace4eva. You guys wrote me freiken' essays as your last reviews. Thank you so kindly for your extensive thoughts!

The majority of you compared Silas' gift to Renesmee's. I'd like to get it in the air that while hers was the inspiration, it will differ from Ness' and prove to be a gift in his own right. He is related to Jasper. Yes, that is significant. You'll see why later. hehe

A few days passed. Jacob came over on Friday, yesterday, to do some homework. We didn't get much time to talk, as I too had homework to catch up on after missing three days of school.

Today, we were with the inner-circle on the cliffs.

Sam, Jared, and Paul were showing off. They were 'cliff diving'. Apparently it's a popular recreational sport. All of the La Push boys did it, and sometimes the brave kids of Forks would give it a try on the lower cliffs.

These three wolves, more or less indestructible, were messing around here on the higher cliffs. Jacob denied the offer to join them. He pointed out he was still breakable, and would rather not die today.

I was sitting on a quilt under a tree with Jacob, Emily and Kim. The lot of us made up the entire inner circle, excluding the council members.

Silas was at the Clearwater's.

Jacob was in an animated conversation with Emily, and I was sitting with Kim on the opposite end of the quilt.

I asked Kim, "So, what exactly is imprinting?"

That question roused Emily's interest. Both her and Jacob stopped talking and glanced at Kim.

She smiled. "Well, you need the background information to understand. I sit next to Jared in one of my classes. He never really paid any attention to me, really, until after he phased for the first time. Then all of a sudden, he was always there. It was very flattering. He was constantly talking to me after he imprinted, and inviting me places."

She smiled a little. "After two months passed, he told me about the werewolf thing and showed me. I was freaked out, but I was sort of okay with it because it was still my Jared."

Jacob asked, "What about you, Emily? Is imprinting how you and Sam happened? I mean, he was kind of serious with Leah, then all of the sudden…"

Jacob trailed off awkwardly.

I asked, curious, "What happened with Leah?"

I couldn't say I really knew her that much. When I was little and I would visit Billy's house, sometimes she would be over there. I remembered once having a tea part with her and Jacob's sisters, but that's about all I remembered. Now I just saw her occasionally when I need Seth to baby-sit.

Emily sighed, "Leah is my cousin. We were always very close, being the same age. Twice a week every week, since we were eight, she would come over to my house."

I watched Emily's eyes grow a little distant. "Sam was in love with her. They loved each other. One weekend about a year ago, right after Sam got back from disappearing after his transformation, I was at her house. He came over, saw me, and imprinted."

She skidded over the drama that must have caused, "I know Leah is still upset, but we've been working through it together."

Jacob asked suddenly, in a very hesitant whisper, "Your scars… They weren't a bear, were they, Emily?"

Emily shook her head a little and quietly answered, "No, it was Sam."

She directed her attention onto me suddenly. "Bella, a few days ago when Jacob found out, you told Sam that you were bitten by accident. Did you expect him to back off of the subject as soon as he did?"

Honestly, I hadn't. The way Jasper spoke about the tension right after the tree accident made it sound like the wolves were not willing to easily forgive.

I answered, "Not really."

She explained, "Sam understands what it's like, to accidentally hurt the person you love because of what you are."

Jacob looked like he was going to pass out. He asked, "Will it be like that for all of us? Will I be unable to stop myself, too?"

He glanced at me and frowned. I understood why. He was worried about hurting me, and more than likely Silas. He could kill someone as small as Silas if things got too out of hand.

Emily shrugged. "I don't know."

Kim offered, "Jared hasn't seemed to have any problems."

I tried to change the subject, "So, when do I get to meet Jared, anyway?" When we got here, he was already in the water. None of the boys have come back from diving yet.

Kim glanced over her shoulder and called, "Jared! Come and meet Bella!"

I watched in slight amusement as the young man, who had been wrestling with Paul, instantly broke away from the melee. He sprinted over to us, sinking onto the ground beside Kim. He wrapped an arm around her waist, kissed her cheek, and then smiled at me.

I was startled when I looked at his face. The right side of his jaw line had an eerily familiar scar. It perfectly matched the one on my neck. His was easier to see, though, because of his dark skin. It was as white as marble.

Jared noticed my reaction and ran his fingers along the wound. He laughed bitterly, "Your bloodsucker did it the day of the confrontation. I'm the gray wolf, remember me?"

I did remember. Jared was the wolf that was holding onto Jasper's leg when I lost my balance. Jasper had taken one seriously hard snap at the muzzle.

I glared at him playfully, "My leg broke because of you."

Jared visibly blushed, "Yeah, sorry about that. Really. Sam thought the guy was going to grab you and run, he told me to hold him down. Sam did try to catch you!"

I remembered that, too. The black wolf, Sam, had almost made it to me. Then Jasper got in between us and Sam had to back off.

Remember, nothing makes a vampire more fearsome than a threatened mate.

Sam and Paul joined us under the tree. Sam announced, "It's because of Jared that I recognized the mark on your neck the other day."

All of this remembering of the times Jasper helped me through something, protected me, was starting to make the hole in my chest flare.

I diverted the topic, "Let's talk about something else."

It was obvious the wolves were uncomfortable with my emotional attachment to their mortal enemy. Jacob, however, did change the subject to something else.

By the time we were ready to leave, he had promised to take me cliff diving off the big cliff as soon as he was indestructible, and able to jump with me.

The next day some of us were at the beach.

Jacob, Embry, Quil, and Seth were here. They were in the water, though.

I was trying to teach Silas to swim with Jacob for a while, but then the winds picked up and the water got a little rough. Even though the tides were not very strong, little Silas freaked out and started crying.

So I was now leaning against some driftwood with Angela, Jessica, and Mike. Silas was a few yards away, playing in the sand with Eric and Tyler. I was glad my school friends were so open to the idea of him.

Jessica smiled and suddenly announced, "He's so adorable."

I smiled, too. "I know he is. He's a little ham for the camera." I beamed like a proud soccer mom.

Angela asked, "So, how did you come across him?"

Everyone was looking at me now, even Eric and Tyler.

I didn't tell anyone much about him yet. All they knew was that I was his legal guardian, and I hadn't wanted questions at the time.

I used the story I had created months ago. "Well, you know that I was on a road trip this past summer. The whole reason I went was for Silas. A friend of Dr. Cullen's sister called him and said that he needed a family. Jasper took immediate interest."

Jessica asked, "What happened to the family? How did they know to contact Dr. Cullen?"

I sighed, "He was very close to his sister, you know. That's why he got her two kids when she died in the car accident. Old friends of her knew that and looked him up. They said that her husband's young cousin, Silas, needed a home. There was a fire when he was only a few weeks old, and his parents died."

That much was the truth. It's what the people at the foster care told us.

Mike asked, "How come you got stuck with him when the Cullen's up and left?"

I swear I saw red and I snapped my head to the side, my fierce eyes locking with Mike's. I sounded feral when I half-snarled, "What did you just say?"

A lot of the people near us were suddenly staring at us with curious looks. Angela and Mike were wide eyed.

He tried to stammer something, but I cut him off harshly. "I didn't get stuck with anything, Michael Newton. How could you even say that? Do you think I wish that Jasper had taken Silas with him? Do you think I don't want him?"

He had just unleashed my inner momma-bear.

For the first time in a long time my heart felt something besides pain. I felt rage- fury. I felt the intense power of my love for my son, and the degree of mean I was willing to become to protect him.

My friends were staring at me like I was foaming from the mouth. I almost was.

Angela quickly changed the subject to school, and I shot her a grateful glance when the others weren't looking. The last thing I wanted right now was for dad to have to get me out of jail because I accidentally broke someone's nose.

Today I will recommend The Adventures of Alice in Smutland written by voldemortperfumes. She takes a while to update, but that's because the chapters are thought out and poetic. It is smutty, halarious, and features all our favorite characters! You know you want to check it out. *pokes*