Author's Notes: Oh my God - I'm so sorry this took so long to do. I've been so busy with school and finals that I haven't been able to update. So this one is a shorter one, but hopefully they'll get longer again. Thanks to all my readers, and especially to people who comment. It really makes this all worth it.

When Jacob said that things had been taken care of, I was suspicious. Who wouldn't be? But I let him (for some reason that I had yet to figure out) guide me into the hospital and down the hall to one of the rooms. When I saw who was waiting for me in the room, I wheeled around, trying to exit as fast as possible, but only succeeded in colliding with the hard, toned stomach of Jacob Black, who was about as effective as the door when it came to keeping me in the room. Turning back around after giving Jacob a "you will die" look, I sighed.

Bella was looking frightened. Edward was calm. Alice didn't look surprised. Jasper wasn't there. Dr. Carlisle was merely looking resigned, which echoed in his words as he said quietly, "I thought Bella was supposed to be the clumsy one." Alice grinned, and I scowled at her, but didn't say a word. Why on earth did I have to have a Cullen for my doctor? Was there no one else in the hospital who could attend to my ankle? I felt a large hand on my shoulder and glanced over it to see that Jacob had come up behind me, his chest against my back like he was protecting me from something, like a guard dog. I wasn't going to object since I was in a room full of lunatics.

"I'm not clumsy. It was a momentary lack of spatial awareness that resulted in a quick tumble down a hill," I said shortly, "And my ankle isn't broken." I said this purely because Jacob was standing behind me, and while I couldn't see it, I could imagine him rolling his eyes all too perfectly. Resisting the urge to kick him, I looked back up at the Cullens and Bella, all of whom were watching me as if expecting something. I stared back in silence, eyebrows lifted, waiting for the good doctor to just give my ankle a look-see and turn me on my way. Finally he nodded and gestured to the stupid bed for me to sit on.

Throughout the process, no one really said much of anything. I don't remember much of it...I'm pretty sure they drugged me so they could set the bone again (because Jacob's diagnosis had been right: the bone was broken) and when I next could think clearly, I was staring down at a bright pink cast that was disturbingly similar to the color of freshly chewed bubblegum. Needless to say, I was not excited. I wasn't the world's biggest fan of pink, but apparently in my state of drug-induced euphoria (ah, laughing gas...), I had decided on the color. When I asked Carlisle if he could change it, he told me sorry, but no. I sighed.

Armed with two crutches, I hobbled out of the emergency room as gracefully as one could with what felt like an extra set of legs that kept getting in the way. Jacob walked beside me – Edward, Alice and Bella all trailing out after us. It was like a funeral procession sans the dead body. When we got to Jacob's car, I was about to get in when I realized that Jacob had turned and was talking to Edward. Neither of them seemed very enthused about the fact that they had to have a conversation. I blinked in surprise when Edward responded to something Jacob said by lifting his hands in front of him, taking a step back as if apologizing for something. I didn't think I had ever seen Edward apologize for anything. I took a step closer, curious to see what had gotten Jacob so riled up (he was shaking...literally, I could see it) and Edward so on the defensive. However, fate was not on my side because as soon as I started towards them, Edward said something and nodded to me pointedly. All conversation stopped abruptly and Jacob came back towards me, opening the door with a brief, "Get in." Seeing as I didn't feel like walking all the way back to my house (half an hour, driving), I sighed and clambered into the car awkwardly with my new crutches.

"What was all that about?" I demanded as soon as he got into the car on the other side. He shrugged, pulling out of the hospital parking lot and onto the road, "You'll see." What a cryptic, useless and annoying answer. I glared at him. It seemed like someone had decided that I just wasn't allowed to know any secrets. I hated that person. Settling back into the seat, I stared out the window, refusing to look at Jacob's handsome face. As the trees flew by, I watched them go, a blur in my mind. I was tired. Jean would be wanting dinner soon. I still had homework. It had turned out to be one hell of a Saturday.

"Jake, you missed the turn-off," I said sullenly and yet victoriously – hah, he had made a mistake.

"No, we're going back to the woods. I need to show you something."

I opened my mouth to protest, but I knew that it wouldn't do any good. From what I had gathered from Jacob Black, he was as stubborn as I was and had the bulk and brawn to back it up. And plus, in my present maimed state, I wasn't going to get anywhere fast.

As Jacob's car bumped along the dirt road that took us to the forest, I felt myself growing more nervous. Jacob had suddenly fallen silent, and a low gray fog had rolled through the trees. The sun had fallen too low to burn it off, and as he stopped the car near the edge of the path that led deeper into the forest, I could look around. The fog and mist was thicker now, damp and cold.

"Jake..." I growled when he came around to help me out of the car, "I should be resting." He merely shook his head, gathering up my crutches and handing them to me. I sighed, starting forward awkwardly with them as he guided me down the path. I didn't know why I was going. I didn't know why I was following him down the path. Fifteen minutes passed – I was cold, wet and in pain. Jacob was walking at a brisk pace and it was hard to keep up, but I wasn't going to say anything about it. To be honest, I was getting creeped out by all this. It was like something out of a movie.

When Jacob stopped, he turned to look at me, saying sternly, "Stay there." And then he turned and walked into the bushes. What happened next, I could explain. There was a sound like rushing wind, a snap...fabric flew into the air. With wide eyes, I started backing up but froze when something came through the trees. It was a wolf...a huge wolf. Almost as tall as a horse, thick russet fur and large brown eyes. I screamed.

The wolf came closer, completely silent on the forest floor, head lowered, eyes fixed on me. I started backing up, tripping over my crutches, staring up at the wolf. I'll admit – I was terrified. I had no idea what was happening. I had no idea where Jacob had gone, where the wolf had come from... Anything. As it came closer, I froze, my breaths coming in uneven, shaky gasps. The wolf-beast-thing dropped down in front of me, resting its head on its huge paws, staring at me with its big eyes...its...familiar eyes. I leaned forward slightly, staring at the wolf.

"Jacob?" My voice was a gasp, a faint question in my voice.

The wolf nodded.

My eyes widened. "Oh my God..."

The wolf crept forward slightly, still watching me with those intelligent eyes.

With a trembling hand, I reached out, stretching towards the wolf. It gently bumped my hand with its nose, creeping forward again. I slowly ran my hand over the fur on its face, staring in disbelief. "I've gone insane, haven't I," was all I could manage given the shock that had paralyzed my body. "Completely mental," I gasped. Absolutely and completely mental. Jacob-Wolf tilted his (its?) head to the side, staring at me with what I swear was a smile on his face. Disturbingly, it showed long, gleaming white fangs. I had no idea what I was supposed to do. What was there to do?

"I don't believe it," I stuttered, still refusing to believe that Jacob had just turned into a wolf. That he was...a werewolf? No, no, no...it didn't make sense. I snapped my hand back from his head, "Show me." The wolf tilted his head to the side, looking at me uneasily. How ironic – the huge wolf was looking at petite little me warily. Shouldn't that be the other way around? "Show me," I repeated, pushing myself back and away from the wolf. If wolves could shrug, this one certainly did before pushing itself to its feet, backing up and away from me. I watched, completely unnerved, completely unsure of what to do or say. And then there was that same crack.

The wolf was gone. Jacob was standing in front of me. Jacob was standing naked in front of me. My eyes widened, aware that I was staring at his naked form, but finding it a bit difficult to look away, and then I forced myself to, but the image was already burned into my mind. iAll/i of Jacob.

"Amber."

That was my Jacob's voice. Wait – my Jacob? Since when did I start calling him my Jacob? Ok, so that was just weird. Moving on. That was Jacob's voice. That was most certainly his body. But that had been a wolf...

I scrambled to my feet, whimpering in pain as my ankle throbbed with pain. Gathering up my crutches, I began to back away, trying not to look at Jacob, who was still standing naked, looking too comfortable in his nakedness. I chanced a glance back over my shoulder – Oh God, he was fine. I started to hobble away, ignoring his voice as he called out to me. My head was pounding – I was so confused, frightened, overwhelmed...everything I ever knew was just crashing down around me. I heard Jacob calling to me again, but I didn't listen. How I was going to get home, I didn't know. I just wanted to get home.