CHAPTER 29

WHEN I GET HOME

Leah went to class to take her last final later than morning then she made her way back to the dorm room. Paul insisted on keeping Noah by himself this time, as Leah was only going to be gone an hour or so. She left some milk in a bottle for him in case Noah got hungry before she got back, and he assured her he could handle things.

She opened the door when she returned to find them on the floor. Noah was on his back on a blanket, kicking and cooing and Paul was smiling and talking to him. "Oh look, buddy, Mommy's home." Paul took one of Noah's hands and held his arm up as he said in a high voice, "Yay! Mommy's home!"

Leah rolled her eyes and put her bag down. "So, how did it go?"

"Well, we went to the liquor store and bought a bottle of Jack, then stopped for a couple of porn magazines, and ended up at the strip club. I even taught Noah how to tuck a buck." Paul gave her a big grin. "You know, guy stuff."

Leah laughed and shook her head at Paul as she sat down next to him. She picked Noah up and held him close and said, "Your daddy thinks he's so funny. Tell him, we only do that on Tuesdays."

Paul chuckled and leaned over to kiss her. "So, how was your last final?"

"It felt very . . . final." Paul put his arm around her and drew her close. "But, it's OK. I'm glad it's over. Now, how about lunch? Cafeteria, anyone?"

Paul groaned and Leah said, "Come on, I have to use up my meal card. And you have to experience campus food at least once."

"Fine," Paul whined.

Leah bundled Noah up and grabbed the diaper bag and off they went. They ended up with several trays full of food, and used up the rest of Leah's meal card. Paul ate his fill and declared it wasn't as bad as Leah had made it out to be.

"That's because you only ate it once. When you eat it every day, it becomes pretty bland," she replied.

After they finished, they made their way back to the dorm so Leah could start packing. She fed Noah and laid him down for a nap then Paul took her in his arms and she found herself taking a short break with him before packing. As they lay there in the afterglow, Leah smiled and said, "I forgot how insatiable you can be."

"Me? I thought it was you!" Paul quipped.

Leah smacked him as he laughed and then rolled out of his arms to get dressed. "Come on, sexy boy, there's work to be done."

Leah finally got dressed again and pulled out some boxes to start packing. Paul helped until there was a knock on the door. "I'll get it," he told Leah who had her hands full of baby clothes.

Paul opened the door, shirtless of course, wearing only his jeans, and Leah's friend, Jenny stuttered, "Oh, I'm sorry . . . I was, um . . . was looking for Leah?"

"Come on in, Jenny!" Leah called from behind Paul as he stepped back to allow her and Molly to come inside.

"This is Paul. Paul, this is my friend, Jenny, and her beautiful little girl, Molly. They live here in the building."

"Hey, nice to meet to you," Paul said with a smile.

"Yeah, nice to meet you, too," Jenny said to him. When Paul excused himself to walk to the bathroom to grab a t-shirt, Jenny mouthed "Oh my God!" to her and Leah laughed. Sometimes Leah forgot how the guys from La Push could take your breath away if you weren't used to seeing them on a regular basis.

Jenny put Molly on the floor and got out a few of her toys as she said, "I didn't know you were visiting, Paul." He had walked back into the room wearing a tight-fitting green v-neck t-shirt, which Leah had to admit looked almost as good as no shirt, and plopped down onto the couch beside her.

"Just got here a couple of days ago. I came to take Leah and Noah home."

"Really? For Christmas?"

Leah shook her head slowly. "For good." Then she held out her hand so Jenny could see her engagement ring.

"Oh my God, girl! It's about time!" Jenny cried out. "Good move, Paul, bringing a ring. And it's gorgeous, by the way."

Paul smiled and said to Leah, "I like this girl."

Jenny laughed at that. "Leah told me all about you, Paul, and any idiot could see how much she loves you. I kept wondering why the hell she would stay here and try to do this alone when she had someone like you. I don't have that luxury. I AM all alone. Well, except for my little sweetie pie, here."

Paul looked over at Molly and asked, "How old is she?"

"Just turned eight months. And as you can see, she's crawling now." Molly took off crawling toward Paul then stopped and looked up at him.

Paul smiled at her sweetly. "Hey, there, cutie. How are you?" Molly smiled at him, and he babbled some more at her.

"Wow, look at that. She usually shies away from strangers. Especially men."

"Paul has a way with kids. You should see him with his little brother, Travis."

"Oh, the artist," Jenny replied as she nodded toward the wall where Leah had all of Travis' drawings displayed.

"Yes, that's the one."

Paul held out his hands and Molly patted his large hand with her own little one and smiled at him. He slowly moved to pick her up and she let him. He sat her on his lap and talked softly to her as Leah smiled.

"Well, Leah, I can see you have your work cut out for you. You're going to have to have a little girl next."

Leah turned to her and said quickly, "Not just yet. Maybe in a couple of years."

Just then Noah started crying and Leah moved off of the couch to go and pick him up. "Someone needs a new diaper, huh? Ooh, and it's a stinky one." She made her way over to the bed with Noah and picked up the changing pad and diaper wipes.

"So, Jenny. Are you here to study nursing, too?" Paul asked.

"Yes. I decided I needed to do something to be able to support Molly and me, and nursing pays pretty well."

"So, I take it Molly's dad isn't in the picture at all?"

"Nope. Ran as fast as he could in the other direction as soon as he found out I was pregnant, the asshole. We had only been dating for a month . . . we used a condom, but I guess they aren't always as trustworthy as they should be."

"Sorry." Molly was getting fidgety, so Paul set her down on the floor as he said, "It's hard for me to understand that after holding Noah. Although, I know there are people out there like that. My parents are two of them. My wonderful mother always told me I was a result of too much Tequila and a broken condom. She's real sweet."

"Sounds like it," Jenny commented. "My parents are supportive, although they weren't at first. But once they saw Molly, they both melted. I guess she has that effect on people."

They chatted for awhile until Leah returned with a cleaner Noah. She handed him to Paul then sat down and started packing Noah's things into a box. Jenny's heart swelled as she watched how Paul held the baby and smiled down at him. She wished more than anything that Molly had a father like that.

"So, are there anymore like you at home in La Push? If so, I think I will be visiting this summer."

Paul laughed and Leah said, "Maybe we should hook her up with Embry?"

"You really want to do that to her?"

"Stop it. Embry is sweet." Then she turned to Jenny and said, "And buff, like this guy. We grow them that way in La Push, you know."

"Well, then I am DEFINETLY visiting you this summer!" Jenny and Leah laughed as Paul actually looked just a tad embarrassed. But just a tad, Leah noted.

"We were just getting ready to order some pizza. Stay and eat with us, OK?" Leah asked her.

Jenny smiled and said, "I would love to, thanks."

They spent the evening eating pizza and sharing stories about themselves. Molly played and even let Paul feed her some mashed bananas.

"I am so going to miss you," Jenny said as she hugged Leah before she left. "But I am happy for you."

"I will miss you, too." Leah pulled away and kissed Molly on the cheek. "And I'll miss you, little one. And I want you to plan on visiting this summer. I mean it." She turned to Paul and asked, "Paul, write down your phone number for Jenny, will ya?" Paul nodded and quickly grabbed a piece of paper to do just that. "I want to stay in touch."

Jenny smiled as Paul handed her the paper. "Thanks. I would like that." They all said their goodbyes and then Jenny and Molly left.

Paul turned to her and smiled. "She's really nice. I'm glad you had her here with you."

"Me, too. So, what do you think? You think she and Embry might really hit it off?"

Paul laughed and pulled her close. "Will you stop matchmaking! Let Embry find his own woman."

Leah smiled and inhaled Paul's scent as she pressed her cheek to his chest. "I'm glad you found yours," she said.

"Me, too. And I will never let her go again. Ever."

As Leah finished packing up the things she wanted to take home with her later than night, she started to get cold feet. She was sitting in the middle of the floor while Noah slept in his crib when Paul came in the door from his trip to the store for ice cream. "Hey, what's up?" he asked as he put the ice cream in the freezer.

"What am I doing, Paul? I am one semester from finishing this degree. How can I just pack up and leave?"

Paul closed his eyes and sighed. He was afraid of this. He knew it wouldn't be that easy to get her out of here. Plopping down on the floor next to her, he put his arms around her to say, "I know, I get that. But you didn't plan on having a baby halfway through this, did you? He kind of changes everything."

As Leah laid her head onto Paul's shoulder, she sighed deeply, "I know. And I love him, I really do. But . . . I feel like such a failure leaving like this."

"You are not a failure. You have learned so much . . . more than enough to help the pack if we need it. And I hate to even suggest this, but . . . maybe there is some way you could work with the leech doctor or something, you know, if there is anything else you need to know."

Leah sat straight up and stared at him. "You want me to go to the bloodsucker and ask him for help? I thought the whole reason for me coming here was so we wouldn't have to rely on him."

"I know, I know. And now we won't have to because we have you. I just meant, if you needed advice or . . . oh I don't know what the fuck I meant. I just want you home, Leah. I know I am being completely selfish here, but I want you and Noah home where I can take care of you both. Is that so wrong?"

Leah smiled and touched his cheek. "No, it's not wrong. It's what I want, too. I just feel bad that I didn't finish what I set out to do."

"Have you talked to someone here about that? I mean, is there a way you can do it online? Or at another school? Something?"

"Yeah, I have. There is one class I can take online, but doing the practicals," she saw Paul look at her curiously. "Practicals are spending time in actual working conditions, like doctor's offices, hospitals, nursing homes . . . places like that."

"We have a hospital in Forks, and a doctor's office and . . . "

"I know. Maybe I can find a way to do this."

"You can. You're stubborn enough, I know that."

She smiled at that then kissed him softly on the lips. He tasted so good. "God, I've missed you."

Paul groaned and pulled her close and kissed her hard and long. He leaned her back until they were laying on the carpet and his hands were making their way up under her shirt.

"Baby, I want you," Paul breathed into her ear.

"I know, me, too," she said quickly as she pulled his shirt over his head. He did the same for her and was reaching for her jeans when Noah started crying. Paul was kissing her lips again and it felt so good, so she tried to ignore his crying until he got louder.

Paul pulled away and looked down at Leah. "Sorry," she smiled. "The other man in my life is calling." He sighed and let her go, rolling to his back on the floor.

Leah got up to pick up the baby. "Hey, there, sweetie," she cooed softly. "I know, you're hungry," she said as she moved over to sit on the couch and feed him.

"Man, that kid eats alot," Paul said as he sat up and looked at her.

"Takes after his father."

"Damn right!" Paul said with a grin.

Paul picked himself up off of the floor and got the ice cream out of the freezer then grabbed a spoon. He sat next to her on the couch and opened the carton and took a bite. Then he dug in and got some more and held it out to Leah. She smiled and ate it then said, "Not exactly the way we planned, huh?"

"Nope. But hey, at least we're half naked." They laughed at that and Leah realized that being with Paul and Noah together was more important than anything else in the world. She would find another way to finish her degree. Right now, she was going home.

The next morning Paul loaded the rest of Leah's things into the back of the truck and then finally Noah and Leah. "OK, here we go," he said to Leah with a grin as he climbed behind the wheel. Smiling a little sadly, Leah turned and looked out the truck window at her dorm. "I know this is hard for you, Leah, but I know this is right."

Turning back to look at Paul, Leah felt her heart soar just at the sight of him. "Yeah, I know. I'm going home to be with the man I love." She scooted over and kissed Paul on the lips.

"That's me, right?" Paul asked her and she laughed.

"Yes, that's you. Now get going before I change my mind." Leah slid over and buckled her seatbelt as Paul replied with a grin, "Yes, ma'am."

They spent a very long day on the road and pulled up to Sam and Emily's around nine that night because Leah insisted on picking up the boys. "I've spent seven long months missing them. I am not waiting one more night."

So, of course, Paul gave in. Opening the truck door, he stepped out to stretch then open the back door and unbuckle Noah's car seat to carry him inside. Actually, he couldn't wait to see the boys either. This was the longest he had ever been away from them since they moved in, and he missed them more than he wanted to admit. But he was in a hurry to get home, too. Having all five of them under one roof . . . he couldn't believe how badly he wanted that right now. He knew it would be a tight squeeze, but on the drive out to Spokane, he had thought about talking to Chuck about drawing up some plans to add on to the house. Maybe a couple of bedrooms and another bathroom. If Chuck could get him the material at cost and he could do the work himself, he might be able to swing it.

Paul joined Leah at the porch steps then stepped up to open the front door. "Hey, we're home!" he hollered. Nothing. "Hmm, that's weird," he commented as he looked at Leah. "The boys knew we were coming home today."

Just then Travis came running into the living room from the back of the house. "Paul! Paul!" Paul had just enough time to set Noah's car seat down before Travis launched himself into Paul's arms. Travis locked his arms around Paul's neck and buried his face into Paul's shoulder.

"Hey, buddy, it's OK. I'm home now," Paul said lovingly.

Travis popped his head up to say, "I know, I'm glad, but something bad happened. Sam got hurt real bad!"