CHAPTER 31
GETTING BETTER
Leah woke to feed Noah sometime around three then after he was asleep again, she walked into Sam's room. She found Emily uncomfortably curled up in a chair and walked over to touch her lightly on the shoulder. "Em, I'm here now. Go get some sleep."
Emily woke and nodded then unfolded herself from the chair to kiss Sam on his forehead before heading off to bed. Leah picked up the stethoscope and listened to Sam's lungs. They sounded good and she decided he could probably do without the oxygen now, so she turned off the tank and removed the mask from his face. His eyes fluttered as she pulled it away. "Sam? It's Leah. How are you feeling?"
Sam's eyes opened slowly and he looked around. "Uh, better, I guess. My chest doesn't hurt as much."
"Your lungs sound good, so I'm going to leave the oxygen off for now," Leah told him. "Let me know if you need it again, OK?"
"Water?" he asked.
Leah poured some water into a cup then put her arm behind his shoulders to help him sit up to drink it. It was strange touching Sam again, even in this capacity. She had spent the last couple of years trying to stay as far away from him as possible . . . now here she was with her arm around him . . . something she never thought would happen ever again. She had spent so many months hating him for hurting her, and now, she could see a little of the old Sam that she had spent so many years loving. Leah's hand moved to brush his hair off of his forehead and he smiled. "I guess I've finally forgiven you, you know. I'm sorry I was such a bitch to you and Em and . . . well, to everyone. Shit happens. I should have realized that and moved on."
"I am so sorry, Leah. I will never be sorry enough. All this time, watching Paul fight his imprint so hard . . . made me realize that maybe I quit too soon. I tried to fight it, but . . ."
"Hey, don't do that," Leah interrupted.
"No, it's true. I tried to fight, but not nearly as hard and as long as Paul. The elders told me it couldn't be broken and I just believed them. Don't get me wrong, I love Em, I do, but . . . " Sam stopped as he suddenly noticed the ring on her left hand. Smiling, he said to Leah, "I knew he was determined to get that ring on your finger. Good for him."
Leah looked in Sam's eyes as she said, "Sam, I'm happy. Really happy. There's no reason for you to feel bad about anything. It's in the past."
"I'm glad, Leah. I'll always, always miss you, but . . . I'm glad."
When Sam was finished drinking, Leah let go and took the cup from him. "Thanks," he said softly. "Where's Em?"
"I sent her to bed. I told her she needs to take care of herself and the baby."
"Good. At least she listened to you. I told her the same thing. Apparently all the women in your family are stubborn."
Leah rolled her eyes at him. "I guess we have to be, considering the men we have to deal with."
Sam chuckled. "I guess."
"How's your arm?" Leah asked. "Can you move it?"
Sam tried to move his arm, but winced and shook his head. "Still hurts like hell."
Just then, they heard the back door open. Leah wondered who would be coming into the house in the middle of the night. "Hey, how he's doing?" Jacob asked as he walked into the room. He looked exhausted.
"I'm still breathing, thanks to Leah here. And Doc Fang," Sam answered.
Jake smiled and went to Leah to fold her into his arms for a hug. "God, it's good to see you."
"Really? Tired of no one around to call you a girl?"
Jake's chest rumbled under her cheek as he laughed. "Yeah. Believe it or not, I actually missed that."
Leah stepped back and shook her head at him. "Yeah, right."
"So, what's going on out there? Talk to me," Sam demanded.
"As far as we can tell, there were only two of them. I talked to Jasper at the line and he said they haven't come across anything else and neither have we. Embry, Quil, and Jared are back out there now. I thought we should keep up a 24/7 patrol for now until you decide otherwise," Jake reported as Sam nodded.
"Who were these leeches and why were they here?" Leah asked.
Jake shrugged. "I asked Jasper that. They were obviously newborns. I guess when Jasper and Emmett caught the one on their side, Jasper tried to get some information out of him. He said the thing was so frenzied for blood, they couldn't get anything out of him. He kept trying to attack them so Emmett killed him."
Leah nodded then asked, "So he doesn't think they were part of a new army or anything?"
"Nope, I guess not. Just stragglers."
"Good work, Jake. Sure you don't want this job?" Sam asked with a smile.
"Hell, no!" was Jake's answer. Sam just shook his head at him. "Look, guys, I'm beat. I'm going home to get some sleep. Make sure he gets better soon so I can go back to being just a grunt," Jacob said to Leah.
"I'll do my best," Leah promised as Jacob turned with a wave and left the room then they heard the back door close.
"I see Billy hasn't put his foot down yet about Jake taking Alpha?"
Sam shook his head. "No, but I wish he would. I got a baby coming. It's time he steps up."
Leah smiled at that. "Poor Jake."
"Hey, it's his destiny, not mine. He's next in line to the throne. He just needs to grow up and get over it."
Leah sunk down into the chair and said to Sam, "You need to rest. I'm going to hang out here in case you need something, OK?"
"I'm fine. You don't need to baby sit me," Sam grumbled.
"Oh stop it. You love all the attention and you know it."
"OK, maybe a little," he admitted with a smile. "Especially from you." Leah shot him a look. "Come on! I've had to spend the last couple of years seeing how much you hate me. It's kind of cool to have you be nice to me for a change."
"Yeah, well, don't get used to it."
That made Sam smile. "I won't."
Sam finally closed his eyes and went back to sleep, so Leah tried to make herself as comfortable as she could in the chair then she finally drifted off. She woke in the morning to the sound of Noah crying.
"Leah? Baby, Noah is hungry and there are no more bottles." Leah opened her eyes to see Paul standing in front of her holding Noah.
"Leah, please feed the kid! He's loud when he's hungry," Sam grumbled from the bed.
Leah took Noah and put him to her breast and he instantly quieted as he ate. "I'm sorry. I guess I was more tired than I thought," she told Paul. She never slept through Noah crying.
"It's OK," Paul told her then he turned to Sam. "So, how's our almighty Alpha this morning? Grumpy, I see."
Sam wiped his face with his hand and said, "I'm OK. I can finally move my arm a little without it killing me, so I guess it's healing."
Paul nodded then said, "I'm going to hit the shower then grab something to eat. I'm on patrol in a half hour."
"Hey, how are the boys getting to school?" Leah asked.
"Shit. I forgot about that."
"Call Seth. He's got wheels now. He can come and get them," Leah suggested. Her mom had told her that Jake found an old car for Seth and the two of them had been working on it. They just got it running a couple of weeks ago and Seth was loving his freedom.
"OK, I'll go do that." Paul walked out and Leah looked down at Noah. She tried to smooth his hair down, but as always, it stood straight up. Then she glanced up to find Sam staring at her. It was then she realized she hadn't covered herself to feed Noah. But it really wasn't anything he hadn't seen before . . . it had just been a very long time. She suddenly wished that Noah wasn't such a slow eater.
"You look amazing feeding a baby, Leah. So natural," Sam said tenderly. "Something I always hoped I would see. Just always thought it would be my baby."
Leah closed her eyes. "Don't Sam."
"I know. Sorry," he said with a small smile. "You know I'm actually looking forward to being a father. At first, when Em told me, I was terrified. But now . . . I'm kind of getting excited about it."
"Good. You should be." That made her think again about how she taken that all away from Paul. The excitement, the anticipation . . . he never had that. Maybe he would . . . someday.
"Leah? I need to know where you stand on . . . you know, as a pack member. Now that you're a mom, does this mean you aren't going to phase any more?"
Leah looked up at him and sighed. "I don't know, Sam. I haven't phased in over a year, so I don't even know if I still can."
"Do you want to? I mean, I don't want to make you feel like you have to, but if you want to . . . well, you'll always be a member of the pack, OK?"
"Yeah, I got it. Thanks," Leah smiled.
Paul came in and announced that he called Seth. "He'll be here in a half hour. Tyler was already awake and in the shower and I just got Travis out of bed."
Noah was finally finished, and Leah put him up on her shoulder to burp him. "Well, this one really needs a bath. He didn't get one last night. Since the bathroom is right across the hall, I think I will give him a bath and get him dressed for the day. Is that OK, Sam?"
"Sure, I'll be fine."
"Em is making breakfast, so I'm sure she'll be in soon," Paul told him.
Leah walked out of the bedroom to the room next to it and looked for Noah's bag. Paul followed and took the baby from her. "You look tired," he commented.
"So do you."
"This isn't exactly the homecoming I had planned for you, you know."
"Yeah, I know." Leah had found the bag and was taking out clean clothes and the baby shampoo.
"You think Sam will be well enough for us to go home tonight?"
Leah picked up Noah's things and moved toward the bathroom. "Yes. I'm sure he'll be up and out of bed later today."
Paul followed her to the bathroom. Suddenly they heard footsteps running down the hall that could only belong to Travis. "Paul? Leah?"
Paul laid Noah down on the towel that Leah had laid out and then stuck his head out of the bathroom to see Travis come out of the bedroom they had used. "Over here, buddy." Travis came running and grabbed Paul around the waist. "I thought you were gone!"
"Nope, I'm right here. Noah's getting a bath."
Travis came into the bathroom and Leah smiled at him. "Good morning, little man. Noah, say hi to your Uncle Travis."
Travis looked down at the baby and smiled. "He's so little."
"You all ready for school, Trav?" Paul asked. "Seth will be here soon."
"Yeah. Emily is making breakfast. She said I could come and say goodbye before I left."
Paul took Travis across the hall to see Sam. He didn't want him to worry about Sam all day while he was at school. Sam sat up and talked to Travis and he felt much better. He wanted to know all about the "bear" that got him, and Sam told him that he didn't feel like talking about it right now, but maybe another time. Travis nodded solemnly then ran as Emily called him for breakfast. Paul looked at Sam and said, "Well, guess we'll have to come up with a good bear story, huh?"
Seth stopped outside and honked for the boys and they all went to school. Emily brought a plate of breakfast for Sam and told Leah and Paul that she had left some on the stove for them. So, after Noah was bathed and dressed, they made their way to the kitchen. Paul hurriedly shoved down a plate of eggs and bacon then kissed Leah on the forehead and headed out to patrol just as Jared, Embry and Quil walked in. Since all the other boys went to school, it would be just Paul and Jake on patrol.
Leah made some breakfast for all of them while they all fussed over Noah. Once they ate, they all went home to get some sleep. Leah picked up Noah and made her way back to Sam's room to find Sam sitting up talking softly to Emily. "Knock, knock. Can we come in?" Leah asked.
"Sure," Sam answered. "I haven't had a chance to get a good look at this kid yet. Bring him over here."
Leah walked over to the bed and held Noah so Sam could take a look. "I know, I know . . . he looks just like Paul. That's the first thing that everyone always says."
Sam chuckled at that. Then Leah asked, "How's the arm? Can you move it yet?" In answer, Sam lifted his arm and moved it around. "No pain?"
Sam shook his head. "Nope. It's a little stiff, but I think that will work itself out."
"I would still take it easy on that arm today. Don't put any stress on it, OK?" Sam nodded and Leah turned to Emily. "Em, can you take Noah? I'm going to take out this IV and we are going to get Sam here out of this bed."
"Bout fucking time," Sam said softly.
"Hey! No cussing around the baby," Emily scolded. Leah snickered at that as Sam rolled his eyes.
Emily took the baby and Leah went to work on getting the IV out of Sam's arm. "OK, there you go. Just turn your legs to the side here and sit on the edge of the bed for a minute before you stand. You're sure there's no pain? Especially in the ribs?"
"Yes, Mom, I'm sure," Sam said sarcastically.
Leah reached out and tousled his hair then turned and gathered up all of the IV things and threw them into the waste basket. Turning back to Sam, she told him, "OK, stand up, big boy." She stood close in case he was unstable, but he stood up and grinned at her.
"See? I'm fine, Leah. Good as new . . . thanks to you."
"And Carlisle," Leah added.
"And Carlisle," Sam added.
"Well, if you are up to it, you can shower and get dressed and then go about your day. But, I don't think you should go out on patrol today. Too soon. Wait at least until tomorrow. Make Jake suffer at least one more day."
Sam laughed at that. "Sounds good."
"I need to get all of these supplies packed back into these cases then I guess I will head over to Mom's," Leah told them.
Sam walked around the bed then stopped in front of Leah. "Hey Leah? Thanks."
A smile spread across Leah's face as she said, "You're welcome. Anytime."
Emily, still holding Noah, followed Sam across the hall to the bathroom like a little mother hen looking over her chick and Leah smiled. All this time she had spent avoiding them like the plague . . . now suddenly, the hurt was gone. All because of Paul.
"So, you gonna marry her or what?" Jake wanted to know. He and Paul were the only ones on patrol until the others got out of school.
"Of course I'm gonna marry her. I love her," Paul answered.
"Like I couldn't tell. You dumped my sister for her and you've been mooning over her for the last year."
"Hey, you know I didn't mean . . . "
"Yeah, yeah, I know you didn't mean to hurt Rach. Whatever. So what it's like finding out you're a dad?"
"Well, I was completely shocked and pissed before I went to Spokane. But after I held him for the first time, well . . . I was amazed at how much I loved that little baby. It was like instantly I would die for this kid, you know?"
"Yeah, I guess. I wouldn't know." Everyone was amazed at how Jake just couldn't quite let Bella go. It had a year and a half since she married her leech, but Jake still didn't date and he never talked about it . . . ever.
"Dude, you are gonna have to get over her and move on. It's been way too long. There are a lot of girls here on the rez that would kill to go out with you. You don't need to die a virgin, you know."
"Who says I'm still a virgin?"
"Bro, come on. Everyone KNOWS you're still a virgin . . . and that's just not right. At least go out and get laid! Who says you have to fall in love?"
"Thanks, Paul, for that great advice. You can say all that because you have the love of your life now. You've been killing us with your misery for almost a whole fucking year! And I didn't notice you banging anyone while Leah was gone."
"Yeah, I know. I tried . . . once. Just couldn't do it. I guess I get where you're coming from. I couldn't give up on Leah. Not for anything."
"Well, I can't give up either. I told Bella I would fight for her until her heart stops beating, and so far, she's still alive. He wants her to finish college before he changes her for some reason, so . . . I guess I keep thinking I might have a chance."
"Do what you gotta do, bro. Waiting worked for me. But, maybe it helped cause I got her pregnant. Maybe you should find a way to get Bella alone and plant your seed, huh?"
"You always have such a great way of putting things." Jake stopped and looked out over the cliff at the water below. "But thanks for the talk, man. Embry and Quil are pretty sick of me, you know? Embry has a different girl every week and Quil is all about Dora the Explorer and pre-school parties. Who knew you would be the one I could talk to? I spent a lot of time hating you."
"I know. I was a jerk for a long time . . . and all that with Rachel. I'm really sorry about that. I really never meant to hurt her. I know I keep saying that, but it's true. How is she doing anyway?"
"Good. Really good. She found a job at a TV station and she loves it. She even has a new boyfriend, I guess."
"I'm glad. She is a really beautiful girl and she deserves someone that can love her like I couldn't."
"Come on . . . enough of this girly shit. Let's finish this patrol and go home." Jake took off and Paul followed. He really felt bad for Jake, and hoped he helped a little, but he was in a hurry to get back to his family. His family . . . he liked the sound of that.