Chapter 28! AHHHH only one more chapter left, guys! I'm so excited! And so far people seem to be digging the fight scene. Or I haven't gotten any thumbs-down reviews yet. I was a little concerned about it at first, but thought "oh what the hell, I have it written" and posted it anyway. So I'm glad you guys are liking it.

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Please Enjoy!

Two days later...Friday

JPOV

Leaning back against the bathroom counter, I watched as Nessie took her shower. It was more of a bath seeing as how she was sitting on a bench to keep the cast out of the water and scrubbing off with a washcloth.

I was here just in case she needed something. That's what I'd been doing the past two days. Helping her around to the bathroom, change clothes, and whatever else she needed. It was my job as her husband after all. She'd needed a transfusion while she'd had to go under for Carlisle to surgically put the leg back together, and she couldn't hold anything other than crackers and water down. Carlisle said her body was still in shock, which didn't surprise me at all. The bite that Jane had given her had started to heal after Adam and Derek brought her some fresh deer blood. The venom had stopped burning only after Edward had sucked most of it out. I would have done it, but they were scared the venom would hurt me, even dulled by the blood. Carlisle had had to stitch up the gash on her neck. Apparently the wolf infection hadn't even fazed her.

I'd had to have my own stitches in my stomach. They'd hurt like a bitch at first, but now the wound was almost healed. The stitches would probably come out tonight or tomorrow. My hearing had come back, but I had a high ringing that sounded more like a beep every now and then. Carlisle said only time would tell if it would go away.

Walker had survived the surgery and was healing rapidly. Haleigh and Christa had slept in the room with him, helping him heal that much faster. Carlisle believed he'd be able to go home before Christmas Eve. Haleigh had said she'd given up writing her letter to Santa because she wanted to help mommy make daddy feel better. Man, that kid was somethin' else.

Eric, Walker's wolf, had been given the funeral pyre he deserved. All the packs here had stayed long enough to pay respects. The newest pack had left just after that. The pack leader had been a nice guy, and was curious about me and my pack to the point he'd said that he would send someone out to study us if that was ok. I'd agreed. The more these wolves knew about living in peace with each other, the better.

Shelby and Caden were the least hurt out of all of us. Caden only had to have a couple stitches but was otherwise perfectly healthy. Shelby had some bruising on her breastbone and had suffered a mild concussion, but was home with Brayden and Seth.

The moment Nessie had been cleared from her transfusion early Thursday morning, she'd wanted to come home. Edward had carried her up here since I definitely would have popped my stitches. Luckily, Carlisle was going to take the cast off tonight, thinking that the amount of blood she'd had lately had helped her heal faster. We were going to head down there once she got out of the shower.

Earlier this morning, Alice had come by with a letter from Aro. The envelope had looked older than me, but had had my and Nessie's names scrawled over it. He'd been apologizing, apparently rethinking all of his past actions against us. I didn't believe any sort of sincerity, but Alice said that he'd made the decision to permanently leave us alone. She said he kept thinking about his death. Ness had told me to toss the letter in a drawer just in case she needed to remind him. I did.

"Jake?"

"Hmm?" I mumbled, her voice pulling me out of my thoughts.

She held the washcloth out to me after opening the door to the shower. "Can you get my back?"

"Sure." Pushing away from the counter, I took the wet cloth from her while she turned around and pulled her hair over her shoulder. There were leftover bruises starting to yellow on her skin, but they didn't make me angry. They made me proud. She'd fought, and she'd survived.

As I scrubbed her back, she purred. "That feels so good. You have some magic hands."

I laughed. "All I'm doing in scrubbing you down."

"Yeah, but it feels divine. You don't even know." And then she growled. "I cannot wait to get this damn cast off. Everything itches."

"That's how I felt when I got all my bones broken on my right side and Carlisle wrapped me up, telling me not to scratch. That was all I wanted to do."

Back clean, I handed her the rag back when she turned to wash off the soap. "Can I ask you something?"

I gave her a look. "No. Absolutely not," I said dryly. "I'm your husband. You can ask me whatever you want."

She smiled. "I love it when you talk like that." But then she got serious. "Are you okay? I mean, after...killing Tristan?"

My heart melted for this woman. She was worried about me. I leaned against the shower wall, and reached out to stroke her cheek. "I'm fine, baby. I promise."

"Are you sure?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Seeing that he went after you like that…" I shook my head, growling, not able to meet her eyes. "You were right. There was no way to let him live. Not after all he'd done to us, to you. He tried to take you away from me, not just kill you, but take you, claim you." When her eyes filled with tears, I crouched down and took her hands. "Renesmee Black, you are mine. And nothing will take you away from me without serious consequences, unless it's natural causes. Those I can't punish. But everything else? Better not even try it. I won't tolerate it. I don't know why I wasn't more pissed over it before, but I swear to you now that I won't let another man touch you that way without something of his missing afterward."

Her tears fell and she leaned in, pressing her forehead to mine. "I love you so much," she whispered.

"And I love you. More than anything. I'm so sorry for everything, for not caring enough."

She shook her head. "Don't. It's ok. We're good, Jake. We're safe now."

Reaching up, I stroked her cheek again. "Because of you, of your strength to face him. I'm so, so very proud of you."

Now, she started crying. Hugging her to my chest, I reached over to turn off the water, and then grabbed a towel to wrap around her. Getting her up out of the shower, I helped her into the bedroom. Though her wound extended up past her knee, the cast stopped below it so she could walk. Above her knee was just stitches that Carlisle had said were okay without the cast.

It took a little bit, but we got her dressed in her underwear, old sweats of mine to get over the cast, and an old hoodie of mine. She was drowning in my clothes, but I could handle that. Before going out into the cold, we towel dried her hair. Didn't want her getting sick on top of everything.

"Thank you, Jacob," she said softly. "For taking care of me."

"Ness, how many times do I have to tell you that I'm your husband? It's my job to take care of you. And it's a job I love. I wouldn't give it up for the world. Your health is mine."

That smile was the one I loved most. Her happy smile. The one she'd always worn before all of this crap started. As long as she kept smiling at me like that, I felt like I could do just about anything.

When we were ready to go and Edward was there waiting, I tucked all her hair into the hood and shoved it on her head because all that hair still wasn't totally dry.

Once we got to the house, I surprised to see that the small prison was getting torn down. Another sign that this was well and truly over. In his letter, Aro said he'd told the remaining members of Tristan's pack that if they came against us or any other vampire again, the truce was void with them and he'd track them down to kill them. Their main tormentor was dead at Caden's hands. It was time to let it go and enjoy the peace. Edward and Jasper had relayed the message to our prisoners and then set them free, making sure they left the area by following them out.

That from Aro, I believed. No doubt he'd had enough of the Cullens and werewolves for a long time.

Nessie grinned up at me after Edward put her back on her feet. "It's really over, isn't it?"

Edward nodded. "It seems so. Alice has been watching and has seen nothing to worry over."

"What about Cricket?" I asked as we went into the house.

"What about me, Pongo?"

Cricket was standing in the kitchen doorway, holding a wooden spoon that had what looked like wax on it instead of food. Ness and I exchanged a confused look.

I shrugged. "Just wondering about your visions."

She grinned. "Not a one! And everything feels right. It feels done, like I got what I wanted. Safety."

We grinned at each other before she spun back into the kitchen.

"Oh," she said, turning back to us. "Trey and I are moving out."

"What? Why?" Ness asked.

Cricket gave her a kind of creepy smile, like she knew something that we didn't. "Don't worry, it's not you. Aunt Alice is putting us in an apartment. Trey found a job as tech apprentice with some company that has a location just outside of Forks."

"Oh, so you'll accept it from her, but not me?" Ness demanded.

Cricket was all wide-eyed innocence. "She's my aunt. I have to listen to her."

"Jerk."

We all laughed.

Ness stomped to the stairs, shaking her head. "Whatever. Can we get this show on the road? I really want this cast off."

Rolling my eyes, I went to her, wrapped an arm around her waist, and helped her up the stairs. Carlisle was waiting for us outside the ER room. Walker must have been moved to recovery. Speaking of, the door opened and Christa came out with a scowl.

"What's up?" I asked.

She glared at the door she'd just closed and pointed at it. "That man is...is...infuriating."

Frowning, I said, "What happened?"

Christa shook her head. "I can understand that he doesn't want Haleigh to see how bad off he is, but I'm his wife. I mean, first he bitches that I wasn't in there when he woke up and now he doesn't want me in there. I think the meds are screwing with him."

Ness laughed. "It's not the meds. It's the fact that he's a man." She squeezed my waist. "I have one of my own. Trust me."

"Hey!" I said.

Both women laughed.

"Want me to talk to him?" I asked.

Christa chewed her lips. "I don't know. It would seem like tattling."

Chuckling, I said, "I am a guy. If anyone can talk some sense into him it's another man."

"If you think you can," she said waving her hands around, "go for it. But that stubborn ass won't listen to me."

Carlisle stepped up. "Why don't you do that while I get the cast off Nessie. It'll be loud so you'll have some privacy."

I looked down at Ness. "You okay with that?"

She nodded. "Yeah, go for it. I'll be fine."

Leaning down, I kissed her. "Be back in a minute."

Christa took my place and went into the room with Nessie and Carlisle. I went for the door to the recovery room. I didn't even knock before I just strolled right in. He'd probably tell me to go away.

He was sitting up in the bed, back to the headboard. Haleigh was laying on the bed the length of his legs, tucked in beside him as close as she could get. What I could see of her face was red and splotchy, like she'd been crying. He'd probably tried to get her to leave, but he was her dad now. Daddy's girls didn't give up that easy.

"Hey, man," I said quietly which was stupid since the saw had started up next door.

Walker looked up from stroking her hair. "Hey. You look good."

I chuckled. "Thanks. Stitches are coming out today after Ness's cast comes off. You don't look so bad yourself."

He shrugged but winced. "Apparently, alpha werewolf healing is faster than beta healing. Caden said a lower member of the pack wouldn't be healing this fast from wounds caused by another wolf. And I had Christa with me, supposedly." The last was said bitterly.

Giving him a look, I sat down in the chair beside the bed. "Don't do that. You know full well she slept in that chair beside that bed."

"She wasn't there when I woke up."

"Don't make me hit you," I said angrily. "Walker, look what's curled around your leg." When he looked down, I said, "You have a kid now. Christa had a responsibility to Haleigh, too. It's not just you and Christa anymore so don't act that like that. You were out for the count and Haleigh needed Christa. She was scared, man. Kept asking if Daddy was gonna be okay. Appreciate that and let it go. But why don't you want them in here?"

He snorted. "If I don't want Haleigh to see me like this, I really don't want Christa to see me hurt."

The urge to hit him strengthened. "Walker, I think you're forgetting a vow. 'Sickness and in health', remember? She's your wife. And she's a woman. It's a woman thing to want to take care of us."

"I know. But I just feel so weak, and I don't want them to see it."

I stared at him. "You're joking, right? Look, Ness told me what happened. Dude, you were drowning in your own blood and still took out Malik. If that's not strength, I don't know what is." Standing up, I went for the door. "Like I said, she's a woman, and your wife. She wants to take care of you. Let her. Trust me. Being weak for a little while to heal just allows you to be that much stronger for her later. It's the price we have to pay. As prices go, it could have been a hell of a lot worse. Don't push your family away for pride. It's not worth it."

And then I left, leaving him to think about that. Next door, the saw had cut off just before I went in. Christa looked at me expectantly.

"I think he'll see you now," I told her with a smile.

Her body relaxed. "Thank you. You're the best."

I shook my head. "Nope. Just a guy."

She hugged me before disappearing through the door. I turned to Nessie. She was laying back on the bed, an arm over her forehead and eyes, and she was wincing. Carlisle was peeling off the cast and wrappings as gently as he could. I took her hand and she squeezed my fingers hard. The leg of my sweats was pushed up to her thigh.

"How does it look, doc?"

"Well, the swelling is gone. The redness is probably just from me messing with it." Gently, he wiped off the dried liquid that had oozed from the wound to look at the stitches. "Looks like the skin is healing nicely. Ness, I'm going to palpate, okay? I need to see if the muscles are healing."

Biting her lip, she nodded.

He started squeezing up her calf. Every now and then she hissed through her teeth. Her hand was a constant vise around mine. Using my other hand, I stroked her hair.

"How does it feel?" he asked her.

"Like pins and needles," she said through her teeth.

"Alright. Let's try stretching it. I'm going to start by moving your knee up to your chest. The stitches will pull but I want you to try to feel past that if you can."

When she nodded, he counted to three and gently bent her leg, pushing her knee to her chest. She ground her teeth together, jaw clenching. And then Carlisle stretched out her leg, foot toward the ceiling. Nessie took in a deep breath and let it out slowly through her mouth.

"Good," Carlisle praised. "Any pain other than the stitches? Any little thing I need to know."

She shook her head. "Muscles are just tight. The stretching feels good."

"Good," he said again. "Try pointing your toes. Slowly."

She did as he moved her leg down, parallel to the bed. Making all kinds of noises under her breath, she pointed and flexed her foot.

"So much better," she breathed.

"You want to try to walk on it?"

Finally, she moved her elbow and nodded, sitting up. She was able to swing her legs over the side of the bed, her hand still gripping mine. I grinned encouragingly as she gripped my hand and slowly slid off the bed, stepping first on her good leg. I stiffened my arm to give her something steady to hold onto.

"Don't let me fall?" she asked.

"Never."

Slowly, she put weight on the other leg. Her breathing got heavy for a moment as if she anticipated the pain, but after a moment, she relaxed, body losing its tension. It took a long moment of her just standing there, before she started to move. Baby steps, she shuffled over the hardwood floor.

Carlisle shadowed her. "Good. Must not be so bad due to you walking on it with the cast. You were still putting pressure on it. The cast was just keeping everything together. The muscle looks good."

"It feels good."

I moved with her as she walked around the room. And then she let go of my hand. Still shadowing her, I was ready to catch her if she needed it. She didn't. Every now and then, she'd stop to stretch it out a bit.

"Stairs?" she asked.

Carlisle raised his eyebrows. "You know your body. If you feel comfortable with it, you can try. Jacob or I need to be with you, though, just in case."

"Of course," she said as she went for the door.

I followed her out to the stairs. She gripped the railing and started slowly down the steps, bending the knee more. I could see the wince every now and then, but for the most part she was grinning.

Shaking my head, I still couldn't get over how strong my wife was.

RPOV

Finally! That cast was off and I was walking normally again. Well, almost normal. Sharp little pains still shot up to my knee, but they were beginning to die down. More stretching should take care of them.

As I walked and stepped down the stairs, the sweat pants leg fell back down my leg, covering all the stitches and mangled skin. Jacob's heat followed me all the way down, shadowing me, vowing to catch me if the leg gave way.

It didn't, and I made it to the kitchen. Cricket was doing something and I wanted to know what it was.

Quietly, I leaned over her shoulder.

"Whatchya doin'?" I whispered in her ear.

Jumping a foot off the ground, she spun around, hand over her heart. "Woman! What the hell? You vampires need to stomp your feet or put bells around your necks. Geez!"

Laughing, I backed up and looked around her to the stove. There were slabs of what looked like wax, glass bottles, and wicks.

"I," she said, "am making candles and soaps. When I can get my hands on the supplies, I can make some extra money. It's how I survived at home." She turned back to the stove and stirred the wax. "I actually had people want me to set up a website so they could order my stuff." She shrugged. "I may just start my own little business."

Jacob came up behind me. "You should talk to my sister, Rachel. She wants to start up a little shop like that. Maybe you could get in on the action."

Cricket nodded. "I may just do that. But these are Christmas presents. Figured this was a good way to pay you back for letting us crash with you."

"Aww, thank you. That means a lot. Where's your other half?"

"Out with Paul getting Rachel's present."

"Ah."

A throat cleared behind us.

Carlisle was in the doorway, looking at Jacob. "You wanna get those stitches out?"

Jacob sagged. "Absolutely!"

My grandfather chuckled. "Let's get back upstairs."

I turned to follow them, but my leg was too tired. I'd overworked it, and it collapsed. Jacob's arm shot out to wrap around my waist and held me against his body.

"Thanks," I said, gripping his shoulder.

He grinned. "Told you I wouldn't let you fall."

I smiled at him as Cricket said, "You got the cast off?"

I nodded.

"Cool. What's it look like?" she asked eagerly.

"Gross," I answered.

"Awesome."

I rolled my eyes and patted Jake's chest. "Come on. Let's go get your stitches out."

As Jacob practically carried me out with one arm, we went for the stairs. Carlisle followed.

"Ness, I have a crutch that I want you to take with you just in case Jacob isn't around to catch you."

"Good idea," I agreed.

Once we were back in the room, it was Jacob's turn to sit on the bed. I took the chair beside it while Jacob slipped out of his shirt and laid back. The skin where the wounds had been was pink and puckered under the stitches. Carlisle slipped on some gloves and went to work. In less than five minutes, the black thread was out of his skin and in the trash.

Carlisle turned to me. "Ness, I want you to come back on Monday. If the skin is more healed, we'll take yours out, too." He went over to the closet and pulled out a grey crutch, handing it to me. "If you're alone, use this, okay?"

Taking it from him, I nodded. "Yeah. Got it."

He clapped his hands. "Well, the two of you are free to go. I'm done with my exams. Now I need to check on Walker. If you'll excuse me."

Taking a deep breath, I stood up and put the crutch under my arm.

"You okay to walk home?" Jacob asked.

"I'll try."

He went ahead of me to open the door. "Just let me know and I'll pick you up."

As I passed him, I patted his chest. "You're such a Prince Charming."

"With fur and fangs," he remedied.

"The best kind."

Chuckling, he followed me out to the stairs, keeping a hand on my back. He really was awesome. It took a good five minutes to make it down the stairs. I had to stop every now and then because the muscle tightened up. But eventually, I touched down on the bottom floor and blew out a breath of relief.

Aunt Rosalie was waiting at the bottom with a wrapped package. Grinning, she held it out to me. "This came today."

Taking it from her, I gripped it to my stomach and grinned back. "Excellent."

"What is it?" Jacob asked.

"Your Christmas present."

His eyebrows shot up. "Ah. So you did figure something out."

I nodded. "Mhm."

Aunt Alice had sent me a picture of what the jacket looked like. I'd deleted it immediately so Jacob wouldn't see it. But it was perfect.

It was perfectly wrapped so I shoved the box onto chest. "Here, you hold this while I try to walk."

Most of the family was out hunting. Mom and Dad were in their cottage, taking a much needed break from the rest of us. Our four visitors had left the night of the battle. The Denalis had seen Carlisle and then disappeared. I still hadn't seen them. But it was understandable that they really didn't want any company right now. They'd been held captive by Jane, their home torn apart.

We said our goodbyes and took off for home. The snow hadn't made its grand return yet, but it was well on its way. The forecast said it was going to be a white Christmas so we were starting to prepare for that. Derek and Adam had chopped up enough firewood for us and Seth and Shelby. They'd even gone out grocery shopping for us. Lucas and Morgan had sent us some get-well flowers that were gorgeous. They stopped by at least twice a day to check in on us. Caden and Leah had holed themselves up into their house. All we got were texts, letting us know they were still alive. Walker had told Bianca to start up the construction process on Roderick's land so the pack could get started with their new life, so most of his pack was up at the site. Xavier had stopped by multiple times to check in as well. He was such a sweetie.

Quil and Claire were at the house, though. Claire asleep in Quil's arms. She'd refused to leave Haleigh.

We'd all be jumpy for a while. It would take a while for it to sink in that we weren't in danger anymore, that we were truly safe.

Another sign was that Adam, Derek, Sadie, and Blake weren't anywhere to be found. No more need for personal guards.

It was just me and Jacob walking back to our house.

Life was good, and was only going to get better.

ShelbyPOV

Hope. That's what I had now as I looked at my son in his father's arms. Hope that we were truly safe and able to start the healing that we all needed. Seth and I had locked ourselves in our home all day Thursday, making love, talking, and taking care of Brayden.

Seth was doing better, constantly talking to Calahan when he felt off. Calahan would calm him down and talk through all the thoughts and dreams, breaking them down. He was a good man. Somehow he always knew when Seth was having issues, because he'd call, knowing Seth didn't want to constantly bother him, to check up.

The next time I shifted, Seth would phase with me. Since Caden seemed to be indisposed for now, Calahan had offered to help teach me to shift on a dime the way Caden had been working with me.

Right now, were at Charlie and Sue's place. Sue was fussing over me, all the bruises and cuts, even though I'd told her that Carlisle had done his thing and deemed me fit.

"Shelbs?"

Seth's voice pulled me out of my thoughts. I shook my head. "I'm sorry. What?"

He smiled as if he knew where my mind had gone. "You wanna feed him or try a bottle?"

Getting up, I went to take Brayden from him. "I'll feed him. Carlisle doesn't think he'll do well on a bottle. It would be best to breastfeed him until he's ready for baby food."

Seth nodded. "Right. Forgot he said that."

I smiled at him. "That's ok. I'll just remind you."

He forgot stuff a lot lately, but then again, he was fighting the demons in his head. That was fine. I'd take care of both my boys until Seth was better. I didn't mind. It felt good to be needed. After I'd first killed Nyla, it had been hard not to get nauseous. But then, I'd seen Brayden for the first time since I'd left for the fight and it all disappeared. I'd had to do what I'd had to in order to protect my son. Surely, Nyla would have come after him or Seth if she'd been allowed to live. As her body had fallen to the ground, lifeless, the wolf in me had purred in satisfaction. We'd killed the bitch that had helped kill our mate and had killed Jordan.

The remorse I'd felt had vanished when I'd looked around at all that was good that would survive because there was one less monster in the world. I wasn't a monster.

Just a mother that would do anything to keep her cub and family safe.

TriciaPOV

The moment I'd seen Embry running down the street toward Rachel's driveway, I'd shot out of the house and run into his arms. And had stayed there ever since.

In Port Angeles, we were looking at rings, just like he'd promised. His arm was wrapped around my waist as I searched the cases, never more than an arm length away from me. The entire shopping trip, he hadn't complained once. Just followed me around, making various comments. I'd found a couple rings that I liked and had taken pictures of them.

Embry had been right. Once the ice was broken, I'd come to really get along with Jacob's sisters. They were as nice and sweet as Jacob was. And Henry was adorable. Every time we'd gone over to Emily's house, he was wherever Leila was. Haleigh and Claire had watched over them, playing with their dolls. Claire had kind of adopted Haleigh as her sister. They grew closer every day. When Christa had called to ask that Haleigh be taken to the Cullen house, Claire had demanded to go with the little girl. Quil had been powerless against that attitude.

"Come on," I said, tugging on Embry's arm. "Let's go to the next store."

Chuckling, he followed me out. "We don't have to go to all the stores today. You have time."

I shot him a look over my shoulder. "You are not a woman. You don't understand the excitement of picking out an engagement ring." Stopping, I turned to wrap my arms around his waist. "This is huge for me. Mom always wanted me with a good man and married, or at least engaged, soon after meeting him." We both laughed. "This will be a dream come true for her."

Grinning, he pulled me in against his body. "And what about you?"

"Definitely a dream come true for me. I just feel like...like...I don't know. It sounds stupid but like a princess or something. You dote on me so much."

He buried his face in my neck. "More like my queen," he whispered.

Okay, if he did more than this, we'd have to go home. To bed. Or the couch. Or the kitchen counter.

"Embry," I chided halfheartedly, trying to push him back.

He just hugged me closer. Close enough to feel the hard length of him through his jeans.

"Ring shopping, Embry," I said with a throaty laugh. "We're supposed to be ring shopping."

"Supposed to be," he mumbled into my skin. "I just wanna take you home and lick every inch of you."

My eyes rolled. Didn't matter that we were on the sidewalk, people watching us. And it didn't matter that he'd already done what he wanted to do again. He'd already put his mouth and hands all over my body all day yesterday. And last night, he'd told me everything that had happened. I felt for Walker's pack at their loss and was concerned for my brother. So I'd called him, but Christa had answered. She'd said he was asleep with Haleigh wrapped around him. She'd sent me a picture after hanging up.

Finally, I managed to push him back. "You already did that yesterday. Today, you promised me shopping. And tonight, I ravish you, remember?"

He frowned. "I don't remember making that agreement."

"That's because it wasn't an agreement. That's what's going to happen tonight and you're going to get over it."

Growling softly, he leaned down to press his lips to mine. "I love it when you tell me what to do."

"You also love it when I set my nails in your skin." I emphasized that by digging my nails into his biceps.

A shiver ran through his body. When he opened his eyes, they were dark with lust and anticipation.

"One more shop, and then we can go home. How does that sound?"

His grin was pure sex. "Now that is an agreement I can live with."

WalkerPOV

Christa had come back in the room, but hadn't tried to talk to me. I suspected Jake had told her he'd talked to me. She'd gone to take a bath and had been in there for over an hour. I'd called out to her to make sure she hadn't fallen asleep and drowned. She'd answered by draining the tub and filling it back up.

Now I heard the tub drain once more, but she didn't fill it back up. Instead, I heard movement and the rustle of clothing. Haleigh was still passed out beside me, her head tucked in against my covered thigh. I'd been stroking her hair the whole time, Jacob's words running through my head.

The door opened quietly. Christa's hair was up in a clip, some of it hanging down around her face. Man, I loved those curls. They glowed like a halo from the light coming in from the bathroom.

"She still out?" she asked.

I nodded. "She'll be up all night if she wakes up."

"That's okay. I probably won't sleep much. I haven't been lately." There was nothing accusatory in her tone, which made me feel even more like shit.

Sighing, I patted the bed on my other side. "Please?"

As she came to sit beside me, her fingers played over her wedding ring. I looked down at my hand. My ring was there, having been placed back on my finger during my surgery. Christa had told me she'd done it.

Since I was in the middle of the bed, there was room for her to put her back to the headboard. We sat shoulder to shoulder. I took her hand in mine. "Baby, I'm sorry," I whispered. "I was an asshole. Jake was right. You're my wife and made a vow to take care of me. I just didn't like feeling weak. Like last time. And especially now that Haleigh's around. But I'm glad you're here, both of you. And I, now, understand that you had a responsibility to her while I was out. I'm sorry I got mad at you."

Expecting her to give me a lecture or a talking-to, I was surprised when all she did was sigh and rest her head on my shoulder, her thumb stroking my knuckles. "It's okay. No matter how much of a fit you threw, I was going to be here anyway. You're just so hard-headed. Figured you needed another guy to yell at you. Jacob offered, by the way. I didn't ask."

Laughing softly, I leaned over to kiss the top of her head. "So you forgive me?"

"Forgiven, forgotten."

I kissed her head again. "You're too good to me."

She lifted my hand to kiss my ring. "You almost gave your life to protect ours. You're too good for me."

Pulling my hand free, I wrapped that arm around her shoulders. She snuggled into me, her head resting over my heart. "You've needed someone who will do anything to protect you. You and Haleigh both. I'm just doing what I have to. You're my family. A man protects what belongs to him."

She gently patted my stomach and looked up at me with a smile. "Then I know we're well-protected if you're my man."

"You better believe it. I'll always protect you. Both of you, and any future kids we have."

Sighing, she snuggled closer to me and fell asleep within minutes. Slowly, we both started to sink down the pillows and lower onto the mattress. Haleigh cuddled into my chest against my wounded side.

But I endured the pain.

It let me know I was alive. And still a fighter.

Walker, Walker, Walker. Ugh. And Embry! OMG! I don't think Tricia's going to be getting a lot of sleep any time soon. Anywhozzle! Let me know what you think! Love ya! xoxoxoxoxo