"He's still not awake?"
"No, he's awake, Bella. Just trying to collect his thoughts. He's really confused."
"Who wouldn't be, one moment he's dead then the next moment he's alive! It's enough to confuse anybody."
"Shh… he's going to open his eyes now."
Jacob's eyes fluttered open, his gaze meeting a white ceiling. He looked to his left, to see the faces of whole Cullen family, all grinning at him.
"How do you feel, Jacob?" Esme said, as she reached out and touched his forehead with a white damp cloth.
He groaned, "Like I've been hit by a train. What happened? Where's Leila?"
The Cullens looked at each other, before turning to Edward. He bent over him, his gaze, surprisingly gentle and he smiled, "Jacob, you died."
He stared at him, "Well, I must be in hell then, if I'm dead and you're here."
They all laughed, even Nessie, but Edward shook his head, "No. Seriously. You died, Jake. Carmille shot you with air and you had a hole in your stomach."
"Yeah… yeah… I think I remember that." Jacob said, searching his memory. "I told you to say goodbye to Bella and Nessie…"
A pained look got into Edward and Bella's faces, "Yes, you said that."
"And I said 'I love you' to Leila?"
Edward nodded, and the Cullen's smiled as Jacob's face burned with embarrassment. "Where is she anyway?"
"Up in one of the rooms in Bella's house." Alice said, smiling at first before looking sadly at him, "She… didn't breathe for almost an hour. We were afraid she was dead."
Carlisle nodded beside her, "Yes, I was going to pronounce her dead, actually. But something weird happened."
Jacob's eye furrowed. "What? What happened?"
"She breathed." Carlisle continued, "She was lying on the table, but it's been thirty minutes since she died. I was about to cover her with a sheet when she arched her back, taking in a giant breath of air, as if she was under water for a long time. She whispered, 'Jacob' and lay back down. Her vitals returned to normal after that." He shook his head, "Looks like it's just not her time yet."
Jacob smiled to himself, "Yeah. It's not our time to go yet…"
Esme looked up at him, "Did you say something, Jacob?"
He shook his head, "Nope. So how long have we been out?"
It was Emmett who answered this time, "Three days, man. A pretty hard three days. Your snoring would wake up the dead."
They all laughed, and Nessie reached out for Jacob. Bella placed him on his lap and he smiled at her. "See, I told you we'd be back."
She smiled at him and raised her palm to his face. Jacob blinked and realized she was watching Leila's memories again.
It was the time that he and Leila met, and he was watching Leila as his other self introduced himself to her and sat behind Seth. He looked at her face, seeing her blush, and noticing her breath got quicker. Then he was floating on the road to the Cullens, with Sam and Seth in the car. He was riding shotgun, with Leila behind him. As his other self stared out of the window with Leila holding on to the back of his seat, he noticed that she was actually playing with his hair on her fingertips. Then another memory, apparently taken during Leila's sleep, showed Leila and Jacob lying on the tree, with Seth at her lap. She looked contented and happy.
But then came another memory. A ten year old girl, who was apparently Leila, was in a house, kneeling beside an old man, watching what looked like the tribe shaman. He was shaking a small rattle by her head, and she watched it, a little bored. She yawned a bit, and Jacob smiled as she closed her eyes as if falling asleep.
He watched as the shaman straightened up and looked at the old man beside her. Seeing his eyes, he realized he had the same sapphire blue eyes, and he realized he was her grandfather. The shaman spoke, "This child is not fated to come into the hands of a Makah warrior. She is already spoken for."
Her grandfather looked a little alarmed, "What do you mean?"
"A long time ago, I gave this girl powers unimaginable." The shaman said, "So it had. But now the fates have a different plan for her. She is destined to be with someone as powerful as her, with dark hair and eyes. He will be one runs like the wind in the forests, whose blood comes from the line of rulers, and the slayer of the unjust. Their union shall be blessed. That is what the fates decided for her."
Jacob blinked then, as Nessie removed her hand. He looked up at the Cullens, and his brain finally understood.
"So this is what it means?" He said, "I'm her soulmate…"
Alice shrugged, "She's been seeing you in visions. Why else did she run this far to find you? She knew she would be safe with you."
He looked around at all of them, before turning to Edward. "Take me to her. Now."