Chapter 5 already? Whew. Guys, I can already tell that this final installment of this series is gonna be epic...if I can write it right, ya know? One thing I already know is that there will be a fight. It won't just be staring at each other like BD Part 2(the book). Sorry, but the book's ending left something to be desired. However, this one (hopefully) will not. Anyways, we're far off, but I thought I'd let ya know.

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Please Enjoy!

JPOV

It took two days for Walker to wake up from the surgery. Every time we went to check on him, he'd filled out his skin. Carlisle had taken some blood from Caden. Apparently their blood types matched. Christa had brushed out his hair and washed him the best she could without invading his privacy.

In those two days, Nessie had completely decorated our house. She and Alice had gone to an arts and crafts store. I'm pretty sure the two women had bought out everything they had in the way of Halloween-even though it was past-, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Also a ton of picture frames. I'd been stunned when I'd come home from my double shift of patrols. Since Seth was down for father/son bonding, I'd stepped in for him. The day after Walker's surgery, I'd gone to the cabin to find the fires roaring merrily, framed pictures on the walls, on tables, and the mantle. Nessie's favorite wedding picture had been blown up and hung over the mantle. The house smelled of spicy cinnamon and sweet vanilla. Candles in fall colors, like the colors we'd seen in Tennessee, were burning in jars throughout the house. There were new rugs on the hardwood floors and throw blankets on the couch. Fall decorations could be seen here and there in usual fall colors.

I'd also smelled beef stew. Nessie had gotten the recipe from a woman who owned a diner in Tennessee, a diner we hadn't been able to get enough of.

Now, Nessie was in the kitchen cutting up some hamburger that she wasn't using and wrapping it up before sticking it in the freezer. Then she pulled out some homemade garlic bread that was on a pan. After she tossed it into the oven and took a moment to breathe, I wrapped my arms around her.

I kissed the side of her neck. "Now this is a home to come home to."

She rubbed her hands over my arms. "You like it?"

"I love it. It's not a cave anymore."

"Have you heard anything about Walker?"

I shook my head, chin on her shoulder. "No, but I did look in on him. Christa was fast asleep. He looks a bit more filled out. I left before anyone knew I was there."

The phone in my pocket buzzed.

"Hello?" I said after digging it out.

"Jacob," Edward said. "It's Walker. He's up. We thought you might like to know."

"How up is up?" I rubbed Nessie's neck as she watched me.

"Groggy, still coming out of it. Definitely not up for visitors but Christa refuses to leave. She mentally threatened to rip me apart if I tried to remove her."

"Uh, wow. Well, Ness is making dinner, so that'll give him time to wake up before we go to see him."

There was a pause. "He's not up for questions, Jacob."

"That's fine. I wasn't planning on it. I just want him to know that we're all here. Is Tricia still there?"

I could hear the smile in his voice. "Oh, yeah. Her parents sent Charlie over after she hung up on them as they demanded to know where she was. Apparently, they 'know she's with that Indian man'."

I scrubbed my face. "Aw, crap."

"I like her," he said enthusiastically.

"Of course you do. And what is Charlie going to tell her parents?"

"That she's seventeen and is old enough to make her own decisions. He's also planning on telling them that Walker's back but sick again. It'll help keep them away."

"And keep Tricia closer. Is that a good idea with both women around?"

It sounded like he'd shrugged. "No murderous thoughts from either one. Walker hasn't come out of it enough to talk and really know where he is yet. I think the two women are fine together. After all, Tricia harbors no feelings for him other than as her brother. If anything, she's supportive of Christa taking care of him."

"How long has he been actually awake, Edward?" I asked suspiciously.

"Oh aboooouuuut...two minutes."

I laughed. "You saw him coming out of it. He wasn't awake when you called me."

"This might be true."

Chuckling, I said, "Ok. We'll be down there after we eat. If anything changes, let me know. He's one of mine now. We'll help him pull through this."

"Of course. See you later, son."

When we hung up, I just stared at the phone.

Nessie ran her hand up my arm. "What is it?"

"He called me 'son'."

She laughed and shrugged. "Well, it's true. By marriage, you are his son-in-law."

I wrapped my arm around her shoulders, pulling her into me. "I know. But it's so weird how the mentality has changed between us. I mean, I see him as Bella's husband, as your dad, but he's still just Edward. No longer my rival, but I could never call him dad. What's funny is, it feels okay when he calls me 'son', like it's right."

She squeezed me. "A lot of sons-in-law don't call their fathers-in-law 'dad', Jake. But, trust me, Dad understands."

I smiled down at her. "You're telling me if it's not broke, don't fix it?"

"Exactly."

We grinned at each other before I kissed her forehead.

ChristaPOV

I'd been trying to read one of Edward's philosophy books when I'd heard something off about Walker's breathing from the bed. Glancing up, I found his eyes blinking rapidly as he mumbled.

"Walker." I squeezed his hand. "Walker, it's ok. You're ok. It's me, Christa. Let me get Carlisle."

As I stood up, his hand shot out to grip my wrist with surprising strength. He shook his head as his breathing became labored with exertion.

I stroked the hair out of his eyes. "It's ok. I know you don't want me here. I just couldn't help but watch over you. Let me get someone, alright?"

His grip tightened on my wrist, eyes turning sad, filling with tears.

I'd heard Jacob and Embry in the hallway two days ago. Embry had told Jacob that Walker had known he was dying and welcomed it. Later, Embry had also told Jake that Embry had told Walker that I was here, that I'd wanted him home from the get-go and had replied that he couldn't. Whatever that meant, and it wasn't hard to guess. He'd left because of the whole love-square thing. He hadn't wanted to be my imprint after Embry had told him, and had left, not bearing to be around Tricia and Embry, knowing he would never be with her. But why had he come back if he'd wanted to die?

"Stay," he whispered.

"I'm not Tricia. I'm Christa," I said slowly.

He managed a nod. "I know."

Slowly, I sat down, keeping eye contact with him. He turned my hand so that he could hold it, putting pressure on my fingers. I realized he was trying to squeeze them. Mentally, I called out to Edward, but squeezed Walker's fingers in return.

I stroked my fingers through his hair, unable to keep from touching him. "Why, Walker? Why run? Why not come talk to me? Just because you're my imprint, that doesn't mean we have to be together. Why would you want to die, Walker? You couldn't just come to me?" In the middle of my rant, I'd started blubbering and crying.

He gripped my hand and shook his head. Before talking, he swallowed hard. I grabbed the cup of water next to the bed with the straw. He took a few sips, eyes closing in relief.

When his eyes opened, he just stared at me, squeezing my hand with increasing strength.

"It's not that I wanted to die to get away from you." He swallowed hard. More water. More relief. "Christa, after Embry led me to the conclusion about you, I was terrified, but I knew it was true. After how I treated you, any other woman would have called me an asshole and never have anything to do with me again. You stayed. It was the fear that drove me off. I was a coward and couldn't face you. That's what I meant by 'I can't' when I talked to Embry." He paused to breathe and rest for a moment. "I couldn't face you after what I'd done to you and how I'd treated Tricia. So I ran."

Blinking hard with my eyes wide, I tried not to cry. He laced his fingers with mine.

"I am so, so damn sorry." Weakly, slowly, he lifted my hand to his lips. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "Don't leave."

I stroked his wrist and forearm with my free hand. "I won't. We'll talk about this later, ok? Just let me get Carlisle and Edward. I won't leave. Do you want to see Tricia? She and Embry are here."

He shook his head. "Just you. And the doc."

I nodded. "Ok." I spoke up. "Edward or Carlisle, you can come in now. I know you're out there."

A moment later, Carlisle came in. Walker and I never broke eye contact while the doctor did his thing. He answered Carlisle's questions but kept his attention on me.

"Well, it seems as if you're healing pretty well from surgery. Looks as if sleeping it through for two days has helped to revive you. You've filled out with the fluids and blood that we gave you. Also, Walker, I want you to know that I fixed more than the fresh wound. There were other wounds that had healed incorrectly. While you were under, I took the liberty to fix them so that there wouldn't be complications later down the road."

Walker finally looked at Carlisle. "Thank you. I appreciate it."

"You're very welcome, Walker."

"Thank you, Carlisle. For everything," I said.

He smiled, placing his hand on my shoulder. "It's not a problem, dear." He turned back to Walker. "No sudden movements. Your insides are still healing, though since they were made from a knife of some sort, I will assume they will heal quickly. Unless it was silver?" The last was a question.

Walker shook his head. "I don't know."

"Well, nevertheless, Caden says that since we reopened the wounds, they should heal with your wolf's abilities. Hopefully he's right, and you'll heal in a day or so. Now, I believe I will excuse myself. The deer are waiting."

Now that I looked at him, his eyes were nearly black. He hadn't been hunting since before Brayden had been born.

"Sorry, doc," Walker said weakly.

"Don't worry. We're all just glad that you're back and now on the road to recovery. Now, if you'll excuse me."

We said goodbye one last time before I turned back to Walker. For a long while we just stared at each other. Beyond the window and the woods, the sun was slowly moving across the sky.

"What happened to you, Walker?"

His gaze lowered, a pained expression crossing his face.

"He's talking?"

Startled, I turned to find Jacob and Nessie in the doorway. Nessie was wrapped around his arm, looking worried. Jacob was the one who'd asked.

I nodded. "A little. Carlisle says he's healing nicely, but still weak, of course."

"Of course." They came into the room. Jacob smiled at Walker, and crossed his arms. "Do you know the shit you've put us through?"

"Jacob-," Nessie started.

He looked at her. "No, Ness." Looked back at Walker. "Look, man, I know you're healing and you feel like shit. You looked worse when you came in. But, man, really next time this crap goes down, don't take off. I'm not saying you have to talk about it immediately, but don't just run out there. Things are different now that you're in our world. This isn't just a pack mentality. It's a family one, too. If you needed space, I'd have made the order, Walker. You probably thought it would just be you in danger, but in reality, you taking off put all of us in danger. I don't know you from Adam. If you'd gotten captured, I wouldn't know if you'd have spilled about us. I wouldn't-,"

"I didn't."

All eyes went to the bed.

"What?" I asked.

He met Jacob's gaze. "I didn't rat you guys out."

"Walker, what are you saying? Were you-?" I couldn't even finish it.

He cleared his throat, and worked his way into a sitting position. I helped as best I could. He gave me a weak smile in thanks as Jacob and Ness moved closer.

"Apparently, there's a pack of my kind of wolf in southern Washington. I never made it past them. There are rules to being my kind of wolf to travel through territories." He laughed, but not like it was funny. "Caden and I need to have a little rule chat. Anyway, at first they just asked me questions. The second in command believed that I wasn't a threat, and wanted me to meet the pack leader. So I had no choice. When an alpha male wants you to do something, it's not a request. The pack leader came back. That's when it all turned on me. They'd found another in the territory, one of Tristan's. She recognized me, and the pack leader saw it."

Walker's eyes moved over my shoulder and lost focus, like he was back wherever he'd been. His voice had gone flat in the emotionless way people retold traumatic stories. I brought his hand to my cheek.

"They tortured us for...hell, I don't even know how long. Knives, claws, fire, whatever they could find. You see, they thought I was part of Tristan's pack, and the pack leader has a beef with him. So when the girl recognized me, he thought we were scouting his territory. Apparently, it's well known that Tristan is looking to settle here in the States. I learned things, but I never ratted you out. I knew that if I said something about you, about where I actually came from, they'd want to come investigate you. I knew that you couldn't handle that without proper explanation. I would have mentioned Caden, but I didn't know whether or not it would help, so I kept my trap shut."

Silence greeted that monologue. Silence and shock.

Jacob sat down hard in the only other chair in the room. "You...you went through...torture...to protect us?"

Walker smirked. "Come on, Jake. I don't hate you guys. I've never blamed anyone but Tristan for what happened to me. You took me in. Caden trained me so that I could control this to be close to my family. I may have been an angry moron when I left, but I've never been disloyal."

I squeezed his hand, neverminding the tears now rolling down my face. Walker brought his other hand around to stroke my cheek.

"How did you escape?"

The room turned to find Caden in the doorway, his arms crossed over his chest as he leaned against the frame. And then we all turned back to Walker.

"The girl. I haven't quite figured out the whole grow-your-own-claws thing yet. One night we managed to communicate with our feet in the dirt. I had no choice but to trust her. So I made the deal that if I kept their attention on me, she could heal enough to get loose and shift. She'd also said that she was like Nyla. I assumed that meant she was born a werewolf and could shift faster than infected wolves. The plan worked. We got loose. We went in opposite directions. On the way out, I got caught by the pack leader. Got into a fight with him. My anger came out and so did the claws. I left him bleeding in the grass and took off. The next thing I remembered was seeing Tricia. I don't remember the trip back here."

"And now you're here," Caden said.

Walker nodded. "Now I'm here. I don't know what happened to the girl. But I do know that the moment I saw Tricia, I knew I was back." His eyes flicked to me. "I just wanted to die, you know? To...rid this place of me and my idiocy. I hurt the two women that I care most about, except for my mom but she's a given."

"I think you would have caused them more pain had you let yourself go," Nessie said, coming up to stand next to me, her hand on my shoulder. Then, she turned to the room. "Come on, guys. Let's let them be. Walker's no doubt exhausted. And they both need rest."

When everyone just stared at her, she raised her eyebrows and snapped. "Now. Not later, people. Let's go."

I looked up at her as she patted my shoulder. "Thanks."

"No problem," she said with a smile as everyone started to file out. Then she looked over at Walker. "I'm glad you're ok. But you're staying around. Period. No more running off, and no more giving up."

Walker chuckled then grimaced. "I'll try to remember that, alpha lady."

"You'd better or it won't be me that comes after you. I'll let Tricia and Christa have their way with you. And it won't be in a good way. Understand?"

He nodded. "Thanks."

"Have a good night." And then she walked out, meeting Jacob in the hall with a hug and kiss.

The alpha couple gave us one last wave before walking out. The sun was just starting to set over the trees, and my mind was racing while my body was exhausted. I hadn't slept well since the moment I walked in this room. And now, after the story he'd just laid out, I didn't want to lose him from my sight for two seconds, let alone long enough to get a decent nap in.

"Are you hungry?" I asked.

He shook his head. "No. I just want to lay here."

Nodding, I stood up, ready to find something to do. "That's fine. I'll just-,"

"With you."

My gaze shot to his face. "What?"

"I want you to lay here with me. If you want to."

To make a point, he moved over on the wide bed, creating room for me.

"Are you sure?"

He nodded. "I have never been more sure of anything in my life."

Smiling, I leaned down to press my lips to his forehead. "Let me get into my pj's. I'll be right back."

Not three minutes later, I was crawling in beside him. It was awkward at first because I really wanted to believe that maybe we were going to try to be together, but I was scared. And then, he wrapped his arm around me, pulling me into his chest. His other arm wrapped over my waist. The pull on his wounds had to hurt but he never flinched or made an outward sign that it affected him.

When his lips pressed to my forehead, I started to hope.

RPOV

After about ten minutes, I checked in on Walker and Christa. And was pleasantly surprised. Christa was curled up into Walker's side, his arms wrapped around her tiny form. Quietly, I walked across the room to pull the drapes closed. They both needed sleep, and I was hoping they'd each get a couple more days in.

"Good night, Nessie," Christa whispered.

"Yeah, 'night, Ness," Walker echoed.

I couldn't help but grin. "Good night, you two. Yell if you need anything, but get some sleep, ok?"

She yawned first with a nod, then he yawned, burying his face in her hair.

It's about damn time, I thought as I shut the door behind me.

I made my way back downstairs where some of the pack was gathered. Jacob, Embry, Seth, and some others were gathered around the dining room table as Esme and Mom put dinner out.

"So what's going to happen now?" Morgan asked from her perch on Lucas's lap. "Surely that other pack can trace Walker here. What does that mean for us?"

All eyes went to Caden.

He shrugged. "It depends. Walker said he left the pack leader bleeding. It takes a lot to put the pack leader on the floor. If Walker could do that, he could have killed him."

"And what if he did?" I asked as Jacob pulled me onto his lap. I wrapped my arm around his shoulders and settled in.

"Again, that depends. On how much of a dick the pack leader was. Walker said the second in command liked him. That means there was an instinct to trust him. I wonder how much of the torture he committed if he liked Walker. Actually, let me remedy that. I wonder how much he did voluntarily or if the pack leader made it involuntary."

Jacob stroked my back. "You don't know anything about him? I mean you and Leah spent the same amount of time overseas as Ness and I on the honeymoon. Didn't you guys get back right before Brayden was born?"

He nodded. "Yes. All we were told about that pack was that it was small because the pack leader was paranoid. It certainly goes with Walker's story. Edmund could have easily told if Walker was lying or not, but the paranoia forced him to ignore it. On the plus side, he hates Tristan. Unfortunately, I'm not sure how he would react to me. Leah and I found out that there were rumors about me detaching from the pack. We did manage to get some support. At my call, they'll all be ready to fly here. They're just waiting."

"Why are they going to help us?" Jacob asked.

"Leah's presence helped. The phenomenon of the imprint to your people is the same as the effect of a 'true mate' in my world. Once she did her explaining, they came together. We all told stories of how much we hate Tristan. It was rather refreshing. Though some of them weren't as receptive. They liked his tenacity for taking over the States the way we have over there." He leaned forward, putting his elbows on the table. "If Edmund survived the fight with Walker, then he'll be on our side against Tristan. I'm sure we could get an understanding between him and Walker. There are a couple other, rather large, packs here in the States that will side with us. I've already contacted them."

Embry sat forward to pile some mac-n-cheese on his plate. "So, how many packs all together?"

Caden scrubbed his face. "I'd say five for sure. One or two are on the fence and told me they'd decide when I made the call."

"Only five?" Shelby asked as she walked in from feeding Brayden. She'd always said breastfeeding in public was indecent even though now she understood.

As she settled into the chair beside Seth, Caden smiled, "You have to understand, luv, these packs aren't small. Jacob's pack and the one we have in jail are tiny compared to these other packs. Anywhere between two hundred and four hundred. And they've all been dying to move to the States. And thankfully for us, they're all civil with each other, overlapping territories. They said they wouldn't mind overlapping here as well."

"What are you saying?" Seth asked, wrapping his arm around Shelby, his other hand brushing over his son's head.

Caden's grin was full of satisfaction. "That means, my dear friend, that we could fortify this entire side of the country. We'd be a force to be reckoned with. Not even your vampire royalty would dare come against us."

Jacob and I shared a look, and I knew we were thinking the same thing. With that kind of support, we'd be safe. Free to start a family. And the Volturi would have no choice but to leave us be or risk being decimated.

Jacob looked over at Caden. "Would one pack be willing to come without threat? Just to meet, maybe look at territory?"

Caden grinned. "Absolutely. I know the perfect one." He shared a look with Leah. "Emma and Calahan," they said at the same time.

"Great," Jacob said. "Ask them to come here. And while they're en route, if they decide to come, you can teach us the way of territories."

Caden nodded. "Absolutely. They'll be visitors so they'll have to see to that all of the niceties are met." His gaze moved to me. "I've told the packs that I trust about you. They know that you're alpha female but not wolf. I'm going to have to teach you the way of the females if others come to live here, around us. You're going to have to be strong, and not so nice. At least not at first."

I shifted in Jacob's lap and set my glass down. "I thought these are friends of yours."

"They are, but you can't forget what we are. I told you that most packs are run on fear. Just because they're nice now doesn't mean they were in the beginning. They had to show their strength to keep the spot, to keep others from questioning them. You will be another alpha female that will have to show that you're not just alpha in name, but that your pack respects you. And not from your compassion, but out of fear as well. These females will need to know that you can be tough when need be. Same goes for Jacob."

Jacob squeezed my waist, grabbing my attention. "Do you think you can do that?"

I knew what he was asking. His eyes pleaded with me to say I could do it. This would mean the ultimate protection. If we could all get along. This was my test to prove to the supernatural world that I wasn't just a half vampire, half human girl, but a strong, confident, alpha female of a pack. It was my test to prove that I could back up my male when he needed it the most.

I nodded, sitting up straight, and lifting my chin.

"Yeah. I can do that."

Jacob grinned, eyes flashing in light of my confidence.

For him, and for my family, I would do anything.

Ooooooo, Nessie's getting AWESOME! Who else liked her little display of authority gettin' everyone outta the room? I know I did! Please, please, please, please review? Or pm me if you have a question. I do not mind at all. I love you guys too much not to help you navigate my brain. So ask away! xoxoxo