A/N: No, your eyes do not deceive you! This is an update! My sincerest apologies for this year-long hiatus. A senior thesis is apparently an unforgiving behemoth, but I finished it and graduated with honors from college in May! I just want to thank you all for your continued patience and support, both for me and this story that has become a stubborn, at times difficult-to-write child. I have been warring with my version of Kim for about five years now, and I never thought I would get such an amazing response when I first began. Thanks again to every single reader. It means so much to me that so many of you enjoy my imaginings that I occasionally get the chance to put to paper. Without further adieu, I give you Chapter 23. No, this is not the end! Kim has a lot more adventure ahead of her... As always, please read and review if you like!
"KIM! Thank God, Kim. Thank God. I didn't think you were gonna wake up. I never thought I'd see you again or hold you again or kiss you again or tell you how sorry I am or tell you how much I freaking LOVE you again. I thought…"
"Jared," I whispered, my desert-like throat only allowing a quiet whisper to escape.
"Yes, baby?"
"I'm sorry. I love you."
"Oh, Kimbo. " He grabbed my left hand, holding onto it for dear life and openly crying, not caring that his entire pack was bearing witness to his break down or that he was drowning me in salty tears.
"Love you, Kimbo. Love you, love you, love you."
With some difficulty, seeing as my face had been smushed due to my oh-so-graceful swan dive into the concrete, I smiled up at him as I felt myself being lifted into some kind of vehicle and the board underneath me secured into place. Jared hopped in next to me, never loosing his grip on me, with one of the Cullens (who'd apparently arrived just as their usefulness had vanished with Jane and Antonia's demise) right on his heels.
He smiled back just as awkwardly, his lopsided grin much more lopsided that usual and the other side of his face swollen and slanted grotesquely.
And he was still so unbelievably super freaking hot. Damn it all.
"Jared, Kim is stable. She's going to be fine. I've already dressed her wounds and established that she isn't concussed. Now, let me reset your jaw."
His eyes never left mine as he responded to the vamp. "Later, Carlisle."
I raised my eyebrow at him and nodded as best as I could with my head trapped the way it was.
Jared huffed, but complied, letting Carlisle take his face into his grasp. His hand left mine briefly and I saw him grab the seat underneath him. As the good Dr. Fang pushed his hands in opposite directions, taking Jared's mandible with them, I heard a loud, crunchy-popping noise followed by a string of colorful profanities that would have put Rachel to shame.
Speaking of…
"Is everyone else okay?" Damn whispery voice bullshit.
"They're fine, baby," Jared slurred out, his jaw temporarily immobile after being hinged properly again. "They're all okay."
I breathed a sigh of relief, closing my eyes and relishing in the calm that I was finally able to let wash over me, even if it didn't last long.
And it certainly didn't…
I woke up to the shrill beeping of a heart monitor, the smell of ammonia, and a nauseating ache thrumming along the entire left side of my body. My face was on fire, and so were my ribs. Slowly opening my eyes, I squinted at the area around me, seeing nothing else but bright white lights which burned at my corneas and sent a sharp pain between my temples.
Groaning loudly, I groped around blindly for my glasses when a hand from my left slipped them into my hand. Jerking back to the right, I tried to place them on my face to see who was in the room with me, but I moved my arms too quickly and felt the needle from the IV I was hooked up to shift in my arm, creating yet another painful sensation that was just as unwelcome as the other ones.
"It's just me, Kim."
Sam? What was he doing here?
"Where's Jared? Is he ok?" I managed to choke out through a dry throat. He leaned toward me to pass a small plastic cup of water into my hands, then leaned back in the wooden chair and stared at me warily.
"I made him leave the hospital. Council's orders."
"Council's or—"
"Kimberly, I'm more or less here to make sure you don't go anywhere. The Council has called an emergency meeting to discuss what happened and…." He trailed off, looking incredibly uncomfortable.
"To discuss me," I offered.
His cautiousness turned to sympathy, and this display of emotions from Alpha Sam unnerved me.
"Just so you know, I'm almost positive that I can't force you to do anything, even if I wanted too."
"I understand, Sam. I know protocol. I know you're in a tough position. It's okay."
"Yes, but Kim, Jared is my best friend. You mean the world to Emily. And if I'm being honest, me too. You saved every last one of us last night. You're part of this pack. You're one of us. I can't lie and say I understand or that I'm not freaked the fuck out, but you're not the enemy, Kim."
The sense of urgency in his worried tone bothered me. What had I woken up to?
I looked around me at the various controls of the hospital bed, finding the button that would allow me to sit up more and feel less ridiculous for addressing Sam Uley at this awkward turtle angle that gave me a double chin and a croaky voice.
"Sam, what the hell is going on? And how long have I been out?"
He sighed loudly, rubbed the bridge of his nose, and then crossed his arms, taking on a defeated posture that I assumed meant whatever news he had to impart didn't bode well for me.
"You've been asleep for the past five days." I whistled lowly, blowing the air out from between my front teeth because my face still wasn't moving quite right.
He nodded before speaking again. "The Council has gone above my head and invoked some ancestral emergency procedure. I still have control of the Pack, but they have control of me...sort of. It's hard to explain. I understand they're hesitancy. I really do. No one like you has ever been encountered before. But you're still Kim Connweller, for God's sake, and you're an imprint. They wanted to me to—arrest you or whatever form of taking you into custody before being tried before the Council there is."
I could feel my face, or at least the uninjured half of it, fall into my sarcastic, dopey, 'you gotta be shittin' me' face.
"I couldn't do it. I refused. To make matters worse, Jared saw it all in my head when I made him leave you and phase a few days ago to finish healing, and he's threatening to assassinate the whole damn slew of them. I had to slam down an order on him before he could run off and kill every last elder of our tribe over you. I've got him on lock down in your new house."
"Are the elders seriously that concerned about what I'm going to do to…the tribe? That I'm dangerous?" I knew that they would be extremely concerned about me, but to make me appear before a sacred, secret tribunal? That hadn't happened since…well, I didn't even know.
"You're a mystery to them. You're not a wolf and they don't have control over you and neither do I. You're basically what appears to be a superwoman with no kryptonite. They don't know how to deal with that."
I stared off into space for a few moments, weighing my options. "Maybe it would be better if I left here. I can move off the reservation, maybe get a place near Port Angeles so I can still see Jared. I won't be on tribal lands and they won't have to worry."
"Kim, this is your home. This is where you belong. And besides, running never solves anything. Trust me." He had a faraway look on his face, no doubt thinking years back to his first phase and love triangle fiasco.
"Anyway, if you do the right thing and stay, you're going to have a lot of explaining to do. You'll have to sit before the Council and the Pack and explain what the hell is going on and why you kept this to yourself. I myself am kind of pissed you never even gave us an inkling, but I'm sure you have your reasons, no matter how half-witted they probably are."
"Sam, I couldn't—"
He put his hand up and looked at me sternly. "I don't want to know right now, and you aren't up to defending yourself at the moment. Cullen is going to come give you a final check up so I can take you home tonight. The Council wants to convene first thing in the morning if you're healed up enough."
"I can heal myself, at least the little stuff, if you'll get these bandages off of me."
His face contorted into an expression that I would consider the definition of shocked and awed. "Seriously? Actually, don't answer that. I don't even want to know." He leaned over in his chair towards me and began gently pulling the gauze away from my face. "I'd get the gauze off your hip, but Jared would find out that I'd seen you partially unclothed and gauge my eyes out or something."
That brought a smile to my face, which I quickly retracted with a wince as the stitches in the skin of my forehead shifted painfully, and the bones that made my left cheek work refused to move properly. "I need to see him. I need to explain—"
"Kim, the Council has told me that they prefer you say nothing to anyone until you're in front of the tribunal. They don't want any…outside influences on your testimony or for you to influence anyone else's testimony."
"Anyone else's…. Who else are they subjecting to this?" I felt my throat clench at the idea of putting my family or my friends through any kind of questioning or undue stress. "Are they giving my parents a hard time?!"
Sam suddenly looked stern at my outburst. "Your parents knew about this?"
Oh, shit. "I mean, they knew some of it," I stammered, trying my best to backpedal after realizing I'd said to much.
"Kim, this emergency protocol thing—whatever I know, I have to tell the Council. That's how it works. So just…keep your mouth shut. Please."
"Ok." Having nothing else to say, and unable to say it even if I did, I squinted at the heart monitor I was hooked up to, attempting to see my reflection so that I could mend the gash in my head. Just barely being able to make out the red opening above my left eyebrow, I focused on the spot, zoning in on it with a soft thrum of energy from my diaphragm. Although a sharp stinging sensation followed the cinching up of the wound, I breathed calmly through my nose and finished closing it up, a small scar all that was left to show for the injury. Looking up at Sam with a small smile and a shrug, I caught him staring at place where the gaping hole had been.
Shaking his head again, he whispered, "And I thought I had supernatural abilities…" Trailing off, Sam perked up a bit as if he heard something. Not one to enjoy being left out of the loop, I drew up a bit of adrenaline and shot one of my small, invisible force fields around us and out into the hallway. I felt a familiar, graceful swooping motion coming our way, and as soon as the door opened I saw the perfectly coifed visage of Dr. Cullen.
"Ah, Kimberly, it's nice to see you awake!"
I forced a smile as he pulled the chart off the end of my hospital bed and pulled out some X-rays to study.
"Well, your vitals look good. You have a broken cheek bone, a few gashes that required stitches, and several broken ribs, but luckily no internal injuries to your organs. I'll have you stay here for another few days so that I can monitor your condition, particularly that head injury. We'll increase the pain medication in your IV now that you're awake and start trying to get some solid food in you. You've taken quite a beating, but you're on track to heal nicely. Do you have any questions at the moment?"
"What can I do to get out of here sooner?" That got a laugh out of the men in the room, but I don't think they realized how serious I was. "Dr. Cullen, I have the ability to heal myself. Literally. I don't know the intricate details about the proper way for bones to be set or healed or whatever, but maybe you could give me a crash course? I can't be away…in here that much longer."
Dr. Fang looked from Sam to me repeatedly with a puzzled look on his face.
"It's true, Doc. I just watched her heal a pretty nasty cut on her forehead," Sam offered.
"Edward told me some of what he saw in the wolves' minds, but I suppose I hadn't considered the extent of your capabilities. Unfortunately, unless you can grow the fractures in your cheek and ribs back together, I don't know if there's anything—"
"I can," I interrupted him. "At least, I can regrow skin and tissue. That's all I've ever tried to do but maybe…maybe I can heal these, too."
"It's a bit too risky, I'm afraid. Maybe one day you'll be able to, but if you make a mistake or do it the wrong way there could be serious ramifications and the use of those parts in the future may not be up to par."
I sighed, begrudgingly nodding my head as I acknowledged that he was probably right. I would just have to wait it out for now.
Six days and a few vats of stale Jell-O later, I was fit to be tied, up to the ears in boredom and cabin fever. I was only able to talk to Jared via messages I sent through the wolves that stood watch over me. My parents had been allowed by the Council to visit me under the supervision of either Sam, Jake, or Paul, the only three wolves the Council and Jared could mutually agree were suitable to guard me. Apparently my imprint was too partial to be trusted, and none of the others were high enough in the ranks for Jared's taste.
Carlisle finally decided to take pity on me and agreed to release me under the condition that I in no way did any physical activity, normal or otherwise, for at least another week.
Once in Sam's pick-up truck and secured safely in between Sam and Jake on the bench seat, we were headed for the recreation center. Apparently, that's where my tribunal would be held.
I'm sure that would be quite the sight: a beat up teenage girl being towered over by a bunch of old Council members using a pack of reluctant shapeshifting wolves to strong arm said teenage girl into…something. I wasn't sure what exactly they thought they were going to accomplish, but I'd give them their moment of "upholding security" if it meant I got to live in peace with my hunky wolf-man the rest of my life on the land that was my home and the home of my ancestors.
"Will Jared be there?"
Sam cast Jake a bemused look over my head. "Facing the possibility of being an official outcast and that's the first question you ask."
"Oh, please, like you're surprised. Just answer the damned question."
Jake snorted as Sam shook his head. "He'll be there. The whole pack has to be there, if you care. That's why I'm still here and not on my way back east."
I had the decency to pretend to look ashamed. "Sorry Jake. In my defense, this whole thing wasn't exactly my idea."
"I know. I think it's a bunch of bullshit if you ask me. But I'm not the Chief yet and my dad is determined to do things by the book. Plus the elders…they're just excitable. They've gotten bored with trying to boss around me and Sammy here and they need something else to occupy their time. I mean, anyone who thinks a shrimp like you could be dangerous is half quacked anyway." He smiled at me and ruffled my hair gently.
"I'm older than you, y'know. And I could pulverize you if I really wanted to."
He shrunk away from me a bit and Sam looked warily at me.
"Oh my God, guys, are you serious? I'm just kidding! Relax!"
"Sure, sure, just kidding. That's what they all say before they crush you to dust," Jake said with a smile before throwing his massive arm around my shoulder. "Do me a favor and refrain from saying things like that in front of the Council okay?"
I laughed as heartily as my decrepit body would allow and punched his left leg.
"Actually, on second thought, please say something like that to Old Quil or Collin's uncle. I need a good laugh."
Sam cut him a half-heartedly stern look that oozed of amusement before glancing at me. "You two are ridiculous."
I smiled up at him and patted the hand that rested on the gear shift between my calves. "Thanks, Sammy."
He rolled his eyes but smiled back. I could still feel the tension in the car though: they were both worried about what was going to go down at this meeting. I wasn't too confidant myself. I couldn't change what I was, and even though I had complete control of myself, they had no control over me, and no knowledge of what I was or histories and legends to inform them. All I could do was hope that they would take my explanation to heart, to listen to my testimony and find it in themselves to trust me and my heritage.
The three of us fell into a comfortable silence as we left Forks and crossed into the reservation. I could make out various flashes of fur running through the woods on either side of the road, following us towards our destination. I reached out a bit and could feel Quil, Blade, Travis and Tala on one side, the unmistakable aura of Jared accompanied by Seth and Paul on the other side. Feeling Jared's presence after several weeks without any contact with him was momentarily debilitating, but then gave me a rush of energy I hadn't felt since the bonfire we'd been at before he left.
Suddenly, I knew that I had to be in his arms one last time before this went down. I needed one more moment with him just in case this didn't go my way. His proximity made me feel anxious, and the two wolves in the cab with me could feel my restlessness. Sam groaned something about being a softie, pulled the car to the side of the road abruptly, motioned for Jake to get out of the car, and turned to me as he opened his door.
"Don't make me regret sticking my head on the chopping block. If the two of you don't show up, the Council will make my life hell and in turn I will do the same thing to your lover boy out there." Sticking his closed hand out, we fist bumped and I smiled brightly at him.
"Sir yes sir," I muttered happily, grabbing his hand to slow him down long enough for him to see my grateful smile. Jake had already disappeared into the woods as Sam moved to the front of the truck, sitting vigil until Jared emerged from behind some trees a few yards in front of where we had stopped.
Through the windshield I could see Jared nod at Sam and barely register what his alpha was saying as the keys were thrown at him, his stare fixed on me from my spot in the truck. I leaned forward instinctively, mirroring his position with the way my body was facing as best as I could with broken ribs.
Jared jerked open the driver's side door and was still half out of the cab before I was wrapped gently in his embrace. I could feel his breath on the right, uninjured side of my face as he whispered my name. My insides melted into a puddle of goopy Kim at his nearness, and I lifted my right arm to wrap around his shoulder.
"Jared." I said his name in a rush of breath that came out as I sighed in relief. There was something still so magical about what we shared. It was like the air between us shimmered and expanded to accommodate the feelings between us.
Nothing else was said as he slid his legs the rest of the way into the car. He shut the door with one hand while the other one kept me secured against him. We just sat there quietly for what felt like both an eternity and a single moment, wrapped up in finally being with each other again, no matter how brief our time would be.
I buried my nose in the crook of his neck where the dip of his collarbone was. I could feel him nuzzling my hair and breathing in my scent, one hand rubbing soft circles along my lower back while the other kneaded at the back of my neck. He pulled back slightly, and we each took in the other's face. His was markedly uninjured, and he appraised my cheek with concern before pressing his lips to mine, slowly caressing them like a soft whisper to avoid hurting me. I smiled as much as I could against him before returning the kiss with as much fervor as I could. He matched my enthusiasm and took my bottom lip in his mouth, suckling it and licking it and rolling it with his teeth the way he knew drove me crazy. I could feel a wetness on my cheeks and realized that I was crying. God, how I had missed this. It didn't take long for my wolf to notice, and he pulled back an inch to stare me in the eyes.
"I love you. I love all of you. I don't care about the other stuff. Whatever it is. Whatever you are or whatever you can do. Whatever happens. I love you. I will burn down anyone who tries to get in my way of loving you. I promise."
I wanted to laugh at his melodramatics, but I could tell that he was dead serious, and I'd do the exact same for him, anyways. So I kept my face straight and told him exactly what was in my heart.
"I love you. I'm going to give you the explanation you deserve and when this is all over we're going to move in together and as soon as I'm able I'm going to show you just how much you mean to me in every way and position possible. And I know you would. I just hope it doesn't come to that. I don't know that either one of us would be able to live with that."
"Sam said they could exile you. They could even have you ki…killed. He doesn't think they're entertaining that option, but it makes me sick to even…" He choked on whatever words he was about to say.
Cupping his cheek in my hand, I nudged him to look at me. "While I don't think they will, all things considered, they couldn't even if they tried. I promise you that."
He looked away from me for a moment, but then whipped his gaze to meet mine. I could see the shift of emotion in his eyes. He looked…weary. "There's a lot of stuff I don't know about you, huh?"
"I'm still me, Jared. Weird, quirky Kim to the core. But yeah, there's some…other stuff. Stuff that doesn't change who I am, only what I'm capable of. Does that…are you…are you afraid of me, too?"
He looked pained. "Kim, I…"
I held up a hand. "No, wait. I…I don't think I could bear it if you were scared of me too, so just don't answer that. Please, just…"
He grabbed my hand and brought it to his mouth, kissing my palm and the pads of my fingers. "Do you think I'd be here if I was afraid of you? If I thought that you would hurt me? Actually, I probably would be, but that doesn't matter because I'm not. I've thought a lot about what you said to me the night I left, Kim. It's weighed heavy on my head and my heart. You trusted me. You put your faith in me. It's time for me to buck up and do the same for you. No matter what happens, you can consider me your ride or die bitch."
I burst out laughing and he did the same, resting his forehead against mine as I relished in his ability to lighten the mood, no matter how stupid he made himself look in the process.
Once we'd both quieted, he took my hand in his again. "Love you, Kimbo."
"Love you too, Jare-Bear."
After one last kiss to my nose, he helped get me readjusted in my seat and turned to put the key in the ignition.
With that, he pulled the truck back onto the road and steered us towards the Council meeting, my fate, and our future. And just like that, with Jared by my side, I knew with all my heart that everything would be okay, one way or another.
A/N: Thanks again to you all for your continued support, especially for those who sent reviews and emails kicking me in the pants for not updating! Your reviews and responses are always very much appreciated. Thanks for not giving up on me and my musings! Till the next chapter...
~JennieMae