A/N: Hey you, welcome to the last chapter. Hope you like it. Thanks to all who read and reviewed my story, it encouraged me highly. Without you, I wouldn't have finished the story, like I always leave stories unfinished with no one to keep me going. Thanks a lot! You're wonderful!

Besides, I've been watching Eclipse lately. Good film, though a little stuffed and crimped because they couldn't manage to put everything into one film. Well, I'm only writing you this because I wanted to say that the actress they put in as Leah looks quite ugly. Maybe she's exactly right for Leah as she was in Eclipse, but since I got better acquainted with her and found her to be more lovable than they're all thinking, I thought she'd have deserved a better face.

Well, I've said enough. :)

No, I haven't! There's a bonus chapter about Seth's view of chapter 16 on my mind. If anyone expresses interest, I'll write it ;)

Chapter 23 - Human

I didn't know how long I'd been sitting at the table with my head in my hands. I heard the kitchen door crack open, steps hurrying in my direction. The next instant, Mano's arm was around my shoulders. He didn't say a word for a while, he just kept stroking my back and holding me.

After quite a while, I managed to speak up to give him intelligence of what was wrong with me.

"Mano... I gave Sam quite a hard time just yet..."

"Who's Sam? Your... ex-boyfriend, right?", he asked quietly.

I nodded. "I... just told him I wish he might go to hell. I told him I don't want him anywhere in my life anymore. I wanted him to suffer... but... but... his pain hurts me now."

His arms tightened around me. I wondered if he wanted to say something, but he just held me close.

"I... I don't know anymore if it was right to throw it at him like that. I feel so bad."

His hand stroked my face, resting on my cheek.

"Leah?"

I looked up, my eyes filled with tears, but I wasn't ashamed in front of him. "Yes?", I whispered.

"I think it's right. I... don't exactly know what he's done to you. But you have to let go... and let him know you let go."

I sighed. "But maybe I could have done it a bit less hostile... it just burst out like this... and I wanted to hurt him."

"You would have kept the rage inside, then.", he stated quietly.

"True."

I gave up on my composure and leaned into his arms to cry myself out. It lasted a while, and Mano waited patiently until the sobs ebbed and I managed to lift my head.

I got up stiffly and walked over to the sink, resuming the dishes. This time, Mano dried them, and he didn't put questions.

The door opened again. I turned slowly, suspicious, but it was Rebecca with Kaili. Becky saw my mood immediately, but as she looked from me to Mano and back, she felt I had someone to comfort me. I could see she tried to hide her smile. She was happy for me to have found a new life, and that I was beginning to trust in love again.

Becky crossed the room and took my place by the sink.

"Get out already.", she told me, touching my shoulder lightly.

"But...", I started to protest, but she would hear none of it. Shrugging, I backed out the door with Mano taking my hand.

He led me out the front door and we went for a walk.

I was quiet at first, unsure what to say, just thinking to myself how odd life was sometimes. It made me laugh out, causing Mano to look at me, puzzled.

"I was just wondering... just yesterday, our biggest problem was an army of leeches" – I still spoke the word with disgust – "and here I am, a day later, facing only human problems."

Mano laughed with me. "You are human, Leah. Everything about you is so human. The way you deal with all of it, the way you're passionate in love as in hate... I can find nothing inhuman in that."

I smiled. Right now, I felt pretty human. I felt like I was making mistakes.

And I felt hope, hope for my future, even hope that I would someday stand in front of Sam and look him in the eye and say I forgave him. I wasn't sure we could ever be friends. But I didn't care. All I cared for now was my life here.

I stood still all of a sudden, lifting my hands up into the air.

"Wow. I feel so free...", I whispered with a smile spreading on my face.

Mano wrapped his arms around me from behind, and I leaned back into his embrace. I couldn't help but smile at the thought that he was my boyfriend now. A man who was really interested in me, was in love with me, and was there when I needed him.

Still smiling, I turned my face toward him, searching for his lips. I saw my smile mirrored by his as our lips met. Kissing Mano felt good, was an amazing sensation to me. And everything else I'd wanted seemed so distant now...

The guilty feeling about my strike at Sam was vanishing, I felt the sting, but it didn't bother me now. It felt like the clean, fresh air after the thunder storm. I was able to breathe again.

The peaceful, normal life that followed the events of my first time on the Big Island seemed odd, at first. I got up in the morning, spent my time looking after the kids and keeping the household running, used my free time to meet Mano and did everything a 22 year-old was supposed to do. Maybe I wasn't normal, but I was content. For the first time since years, I had found my place to be.

The packs had gone home, except for Seth, who was going to spend the rest of the summer holidays with Ka Hiwa. After the summer, either he would move here or she would move to La Push. A long-distance relationship seemed unthinkable for them.

I hadn't heard of Sam since, and that was okay with me. I hoped for a day still far in the future for reconciliation, but I was glad I wouldn't have to see him for a while now.

I stayed in e-mail contact with my pack, especially Embry, who had become a very good friend through these times of comradeship. I hadn't phased since the battle, and I was thinking about keeping it that way.

The Hawaiian dog pack enjoyed a time of rest, but they would keep up the patrols so they would be warned in advance if ever there was danger from bloodsuckers again.

Pili was frequently asking questions about all those cool men he'd met and what they were doing. We tried to answer them without giving too much away, though we knew one day he would know anyway.

Normal life as a nanny and housekeeper, while Rebecca was taking more appointments, now I had time to care for the children again.

I let the faucet run to rinse the plates I'd been already doing – so much less dishes had to be done with only five or six persons to take part in the meals. I hummed quietly as I resumed my work, lost in thoughts.

I was in control of my own life now. I didn't know about the future, I knew I should go to college and maybe start a career. But for now, I was content to stay here with Rebecca's family – and with my boyfriend. Every day we spent together, I found myself more capable of trusting him. What we had was a normal human relationship, based on trust and a bond of love that was still delicate, but growing stronger.

There was nothing magical about our relationship. And, as I was glad to believe, there was no concept like imprinting in the Dog Warrior's history. Fate wouldn't take him away from me. I hoped for it to last.

I heard the kitchen door open and recognized the now familiar step. I turned, feeling my cheeks flush as my face stretched out into a wide smile, waiting for him. "Hey."

Mano crossed the kitchen in a few steps and swept me up into his arms. I leaned my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat, until he pulled my face up to his and kissed me. I put my arms around his neck, pulling him close, kissing him back intensely.

We both lifted our heads and took a step away from each other as we heard steps coming toward the kitchen door. I was supposed to do the dishes instead of dripping the dishwater to the floor while being distracted. Mano took my hand, grinning at me.

Rebecca opened the door and smiled as she beheld us standing there with our hands linked, right in her kitchen. She never lost patience with us for hardly letting each other go and gladly took Mano in as an almost permanent guest. I guessed she was too happy and relieved for me to be happy again that she didn't care.

"I'm sorry Becky. I know I should have been through with the dishes already...", I apologized.

Mano laughed and sqeezed my hand. "Yeah... but she got sidetracked.", he stated.

Becky rolled her eyes, but she was laughing. "Well, you've got a wonderful help for doing it now.", she teased.

"Oh no! I should have stayed at home, had I known this terrible punishment!", Mano lamented theatrically. I got my arms around him, locking him in place. "Please?", I said, looking up to him with the sweetest smile I could pull out.

"Of course.", he breathed. "Anytime, for you."

He kissed me on the cheek, then he got himself a towel. With a smile, I put up work again.

Rebecca left with another comment on distraction, and we did our task in perfect team work.

"Leah?", Mano asked after a pause.

"Yes?"

"Do you... still want to quit?", he asked soberly.

I frowned, understanding failing to come. "Quit what?"

"Your... protector job as a wolf."

"Oh." He'd known I came here to quit, before that vampire mess came along.

Right now, I felt content, and human. Still, I wasn't sure...

"I'm... frozen in time while I'm a wolf. I'm not aging. I'm not gonna get old with you if I keep phasing..."

While I spoke the words, I already felt the foreboding of outliving him. I didn't want that.

"So you won't be running with me."

I looked at him. "But I will have a normal human life."

He smiled at me, reaching for me to pull me into his arms. "Yes, I want you to be human. As long as you're with me."

I kissed him, before I pulled back to continue. "Still..."

I was stopped mid-thought by a dragging pain in my abdomen. My hand flew to my stomach. I knew it before I could realize it was there. This was a feeling I hadn't felt in four years. I was familiar with the pains that came with menorrhea. I stood frozen as the pain ebbed and flowed again, before it eased and was gone again.

Was that really true? Was I returning to normal after all? I didn't believe it yet, being too good to be true – but I already hoped. Pictures of Kaili flew by before my mind's eye. Pictures of my own child, one day...

"Leah! Are you alright?" Mano's voice sounded highly disturbed and worried.

I relaxed as I leaned into him. "Yes.", I breathed. "Everything's right now."

The END