Chapter 5 sleeping beauty

Disclaimer: the characters and all recognisable situations belong to Stephenie Meyer- this is a work of fan fiction, except for the legends and histories of the Quileute which, of course, belong to them. I pay my respects to their gods.

Jake put the phone down and went back to the bedroom. Seth was still holding her hand. He supposed he had told him to do that. She stirred and her eyes fluttered but she didn't wake up.

"It's like she is dreaming and she can't wake up. Fuck, that is the worst nightmare. Or maybe the worst one is where you think you woke up and you are still dreaming. Those are freaky."

"You have a lot of dreams Seth?"

"Yeah used to. These days it is mostly hunting things or running. I hadn't actually thought about that. But I dream less human now. Does that make sense?"

"No, I get it. I guess I do that, too." Jake paused, "How long has she been asleep, do you know?"

"She went to bed when she got home from her patrol. Mum couldn't wake her before she left; she just thought she was worn out. So she told me to keep an eye on her. I did my patrol. I came back and I knew you wanted her at the pack meeting. So I tried to wake her up then…but…" he shook his head.

"So that's at least eight hours already; maybe longer."

Jake leant against the door frame and Seth crouched by the bed. They waited for Charles and hopefully some answers.

They heard a voice call out and the door closing.

"We're in here," Jake called.

A tall slender man with dark hair, thinning on the top, came down the hall. He was probably just shy of six feet tall. He had the russet skin like the Quileute but his face was much thinner. Charles greeted Jake and glanced towards his new patient.

"She's been asleep for at least eight hours, maybe longer. Sue is not here so Seth was on patrol and tried to wake her for the meeting," Jake filled him in.

"Did you check for bites while I was on the way?"

"Ahh no," Jake almost blushed.

"Okay then," he grinned at them, "Let me have a look and I will call you back in when I have finished. Go have a drink or something to eat."

Charles was always on them to eat and drink properly.

Jake and Seth stood in the kitchen and looked at each other. Seth grabbed an apple out of the fruit bowl and tossed it at Jake, then took one for himself. Jake bit into it and chewed with determination. They had finished the apples by the time Charles returned.

He looked worried. "No bites; not even a scratch. She is clean. Seth, has she been really unhappy lately?"

Seth snorted.

"Sorry," Charles agreed, "Dumb question."

"She is always angry, but she has seemed to be a bit weird lately," Jake suggested.

"Weird how?"

"Almost like she is constantly PMSing. Don't you think Seth?"

Seth shook his head. "No I think she is just extra shitty with you. At least she has been since you became Alpha or …I dunno, but it seemed to start about six months ago. Maybe just before then."

Jake had stepped up to Alpha five months ago. But he had gotten laid six months ago. Why would that make a difference to Leah? Oh yeah… he had started dating to cover up the smell. And he had seemed to have got over Bella. He remembered discussing it with Paul that night.

" I am taking a girl to the movies on Saturday night."

Paul gives me one of those boy punches in the shoulder. "Way to go, Jakey boy."

"You know you might be right, Leah was there when Stacey rang back and she got really weird for a while."

"Yeah? She's probably just pissed that you are moving on from Bella. I reckon she was hoping you would stay as sad and lonely as she is. So you could be a club. I mean Sam and Emily imprinting was fucking years ago now and she is still wallowing. I get that it is hard for her to have it shoved in her face all the time, but it's not like they could help it."

"I started dating. I got over Bella and she was still sulking about Sam," he surmised for Charles and Seth.

"Wow ... you think?" Seth was sarcastic.

"So she might feel she couldn't talk to you about it anymore?" suggested Charles.

"Fuck's sake Charles, are you a shrink too?"

He laughed. "No but I had a lot of sisters."

"Yeah that'll do it." Jake smiled at the thought of his sisters. "So what do we do?"

"First off we need to move her to somewhere else. Shifting her may wake her up. A different environment may wake her too. It looks like she has built a circle of stones around herself; she has the required seven stones of a vision quest. If we move her out of that circle, she will have to be watched just in case. Also she needs more than one person to watch over her. Any suggestions?"

"Paul and Bella's," stated Jake.

"Okay. So let's move her."

"I can carry her there," said Jake. "But first, what do you think it is? You mentioned something about stones?"

"I suspect she is on a vision quest. I mean, you have told me that she is the least happy about her position as a wolf and the changes that phasing forced into her life. She has a blanket, a circle of stones and an eagle feather is on her side table. She is clutching what looks like wolf hair in her hand. If she was looking for answers she might have put herself into a vision quest to find them."

Jake sighed, "She lost her fiancé to her cousin who was also her best friend. So she lost her best friend as well. Then she phases, gives her father a heart attack that results in his death. She is the only female wolf and she believes she is infertile; she doesn't menstruate." He noticed Seth cringe at the mention of 'girl' things. "So she feels as if she has lost her femininity as well. Plus, add all the other stuff that we all have. We can't leave the tribe. Whatever life plans we had are no longer possible…blah blah blah."

"Plus, she has to share her head with her little brother and who wants to do that," he said with a grin at Seth.

Jake sighed again and rubbed his face with his hands. "But the real kicker for her is she gets to see inside Sam's head and to see just how much he loves and adores his imprint. And Sam in his guilt, tries to remember good times with Leah and involuntarily flashes us all moments they would both probably prefer remained private. It's a clusterfuck."

"Plus she doesn't date," said Seth. "She has no chance of moving on, because she never dates."

Jake spoke, "The pack scares guys off. Most of the gossip is how she must be 'doing' all of us, because she is always with us and she is the only girl who is always with us. Makes it doubly hard for her. Guys won't go near that… well at least, not guys she would want to date. So the pack protects her, but it also stops any guys getting through. And Sam doesn't even realize, but he scares the pack boys away from her too. He still loves her and he wants to protect her."

Jake pulled himself together, "Well, now we've aired every piece of Leah Clearwater's dirty laundry for you Charles. Does it help?"

"No," he sighed "But that is an awful lot for a young woman to deal with. It makes it completely understandable why she would literally time herself out. Usually people stay conscious; Leah has just done it a little differently." He shrugged.

"Yeah I suppose that is what she has done. She can't physically run away, so she has done it mentally. Huh." Jake stood and cracked his shoulders. "Well let's get her moving."

"Seth, call Paul and tell him we are on the way."

"Can you carry her that far?" Charles asked.

Jake just laughed. "She ain't heavy Charles, she's my pack sister." He took a close look at Charles; he looked tired. "Look, you should go home and sleep. There is nothing you can do, right?"

"No, she is stuck until she finishes the quest; they can take days. She will come back to her body when she wants to."

"Do you want me to call you if there is any big change?"

"Definitely, if her body temperature drops any more. Keep her warm. That's all the advice I have," he shrugged. "I kind of swaddled her up in the blanket so she would stay warm."

Seth interrupted. "The pack is all at Paul's anyway watching a movie, but he said the guest room is good to go."

"Cool, let's go get our sleeping beauty."

She looked like a gigantic papoose all swaddled up in her blanket. Jake slid her across to the edge of the bed. He slid one arm under her knees and the other behind her back and scooped her up easily into his arms. He cradled her against his chest. Her head tilted back. Seth helped arrange her so that her head leant forward against Jake's shoulder, with her face pressed into his neck.

She made some small noises, but didn't wake up.

Seth followed him and moved her head forward again if it fell back. Neck strain was something else she didn't need.

Jake moved at a loping stride. It jostled her less if he ran like that. It took them no time at all to reach Paul's. Bella was waiting on the veranda.

"What is it Jake?"

"We don't know. I will explain inside. Is the whole pack here?"

"Yeah, pretty much. You know what they are like." She held the door open for him. "Take her to the guest room."

The room fell silent as he made his way carefully down the hall. He placed Leah in the centre of the bed and rubbed his fingertips across her cheek.

He sighed heavily and headed back to explain to the pack. But when he straightened up, he realized they had all quietly made their way into the room. Except for Sam. He must have gone straight home after the meeting. He told them everything they knew.

"Charles said there is nothing else he can do. He said it is a lot like a vision or spirit quest. She is not in her body and she will come back to her body only when her spirit wants to." Jake's words fell like stones in water.

"Shit," from Quil. "She hates this body. Why would she come back to it?"

Everyone looked serious.

Jacob had to break this up. There was too much sadness in the air. He could barely breathe himself. "Everyone out and give her some room to breathe," he ordered.

Seth, Paul and Bella stayed and looked at him. It was their house and Seth was her brother, he couldn't throw any of them out and he needed their help to look after her.

"What are you going to do?" asked Seth. He had an unshakable faith in his Alpha; Jake always worked things out.

"I don't know." His voice carried all the weight of his indecision. Jake ran his hand through his hair and stretched his spine out, he felt damaged; wounded. He looked at her as she lay broken on the bed. "I don't know what to do," he repeated.

"Can I stay with her?" asked Bella, "You go eat some popcorn, watch the movie and take a break Jake." She hugged him. "Can you do that for me?"

"Sure, sure, Bells," he promised. He hugged her back. "Keep her wrapped up and give a yell if her temperature drops any more. I'll be back in an hour or so." He threw his arm around Seth's shoulder and dragged him off too. "Come on Seth, what is the movie we are to be entertained by?"

"Underworld!" the boys chorused from the living room.

"Fuck…again!"

"Oh, come on, dude, Kate Beckinsale is hot!" Quil exclaimed.

Embry cackled, "I can just imagine what would happen to you, if she appeared in front of you. You would be so busy drooling; she would just kick your ass."

"Hey, as long as she is wearing those boots while she does it, I would die a happy man." He sounded as if he would be, too. "And maybe that leather bustier."

"Quil, is that drool?" asked Jake as he threw himself on the floor. The pack habit was to vacate the best seat for the Alpha, but he convinced them he didn't need little shows of authority like that; he wanted obedience and respect when it really counted.

FF_2154210_ - 19/11/2010 03:08:00 AM