It had been a couple of days since Kali and Jacob had learned of her illness. Jacob never left Kali's bedside. He had Edward and Bella bring a laptop to the hospital so that he could spend countless hours doing research. It didn't seem to do anything but make him worry more and more. After seeing endless amounts of pictures of patients with similar size and placement of Kali's tumor he couldn't help the sense of dread that would overcome him. There had been very few success rates of radiation and chemo, about 20% of the people lived through their original prognoses and still died a few weeks or days later. He could only find one article about a woman that survived all of the medication and reduced the size of the tumor enough to have it removed but Carlisle explained that hers was a very different case than Kali's.

Frustrated with the news, Jacob dug even deeper. He was convinced there had to be some scientific way to save the woman he so desperately loved. He wouldn't give up until the day she took her last breath. Kali had begun the downward spiral soon after being admitted into the hospital. She had a hard time staying awake long enough for the nurses to come in and check on her. They were constantly taking small samples of blood and checking her vitals. Then giving her whatever medication she needed to keep the pain away. She complained of being cold repetitively until Jacob would sit on the bed with her, taking a small break from his research. Her skin was ice cold and pale white, she looked almost nothing like herself, except on the rare occasion when Jacob could get her to smile. Then, and only then, could he see the Kali he fell in love with in that small dive bar.

Carlisle was also always around, reminding Jacob that there was always another option with his sad eyes. To which Jake would glare and go back to reading whatever depressing article he had found. Until one day.

"Carlisle! Carlisle!" Jacob hollered as he ran down the hall outside of Kali's room. Carlisle had just left and was about to turn the corner when he heard Jacob. When Jacob had finally reached Carlisle he handed him the piece of paper that had Kali's salvation on it. Carlisle quickly read over it.

"It's a clinical trial, in Thailand. They've begun their recruitment a couple of days ago now that they have approval to test on human subjects. It's these two German surgeons. They've been studying these types of tumors for decades. I think this could save her life, Carlisle. Do you?" Jacob searched his eyes hoping for him to confirm the hope that was beginning to bubble up inside of him. "I haven't told Kali about it yet, I was hoping we could do that together."

"Jacob, I don't know…" Carlisle started and looked back down at the paper in his hands. "It's brand new medicine. I mean sure there's a possibility but-"

"That's all I need. I need there to be a chance it could work. That she could live another sixty years."

"There's also the possibility that traveling that far could kill her before she even gets the chance to meet these doctors." The seriousness in his voice brought Jacob down from his momentary high. "Spending fourteen hours on a plan with no medical supervision is extremely dangerous. She could have another cardiac episode, then what? Do you know what to do in that situation? How to react?"

"I'll learn! You can teach me!"

"No, Jacob. I can't because I don't think this is an option for Kali. It's too experimental and risky. She could be spending her last days surrounded by the people she loves and who love her. Or you can make her last days consist of airports and airplanes where she doesn't have a chance to tell anyone goodbye."

Jacob felt the tears begin to form again. "How about we let her decide whether she wants to fight for her life or not?" He said firmly and stormed away from the one person he thought would be on his side. When he got back to the door that led into Kali's room he took a couple of breaths in an attempt to calm himself down. He didn't want to worry her anymore that she already was. He plastered a smile on his face and walked in. She was actually awake and sitting up watching some soap opera on the television. She seemed wrapped up in the world of cheating husbands and people coming back from the dead, as she didn't look over until after the door closed behind Jake.

"Hey, beautiful." Jacob said taking two giant steps to close the distance between the two. She gave a small half smile and winced.

"Yeah right." She remarked looking down at all the things coming out of her arms and hands. "Real beautiful." She said under her breath, as though he couldn't hear her. He frowned and sat on the bed, careful not to tug on anything.

"You will always be beautiful, baby. Don't ever forget that." He said as he brushed back the hair that was covering her face. He ran his hand down her cheek gently until it was under her chin and pulled her face up to meet his eyes. They still had that same light that would always hold her pure soul. She gave him a real smile briefly before remembering what she wanted to tell him.

"I called my father." She said solemnly. "Mom and him are getting the first flight to Washington they could find. I didn't tell them everything, just that I'm in the hospital and that they should come soon, as I'm not well enough to travel yet."

"Oh honey, I'm so sorry. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her head into his chest as she began to sob, gripping his shirt in her fist. "I know this isn't fair, at all. You deserve so much better. A much better life." He let the tears fall for the first time since her diagnosis. He rested his head on hers as she let out all of her frustrations. After a few minutes the sobs slowed and she pulled away. Jacob reached over to the bedside table and pulled a few tissues from the box, handing them to her as well as keeping one for himself as he cleaned himself up. It was silly to get emotional right now. He had a solution, he just had to convince her it was the right one.

"So, I have some news I need to tell you about." Jacob started and Kali looked up expectantly. Before he could finish the nurse, Daisy, walked in.

"Good morning, sunshine. Time to take another sample." She walked over to the side Jacob was on and he jumped up out of the way. Daisy was probably in her late thirties, early twenties and was Kali's regular day nurse. There was a different one at night, Jamie. Daisy was a short blonde with the same pale skin most people from this part of the country had. She was always very kind to Kali, which made Jacob like her. When she was done she told them she would be back in couple of hours to give Kali more medication. After the door closed behind Daisy, Kali turned her attention back to Jake.

"You were telling me you had news?" She reminded him.

"Yes, you know how I've been doing all this research about your condition. Well there are these two German doctors that have been studying treatments for years and found there's a high concentration of people with similar tumors as yours in Thailand. They've come up with a new medicine that was very successful on rats and have approval to being testing on human subjects. There's a hospital in Thailand that we can go to, if they think your eligible –which you totally would be-"

"Jake…" Kali interrupted. He looked at her like he had just received a new puppy causing her to wince. "I can't even fly across the country. You think I can fly to the other side of the world? I can't make myself stay awake for more than a couple of hours at a time, there's no way I could make it all the way to Thailand, as amazing as that sounds." Her voice rang with defeat. Jacob wasn't going to let her give up that easily.

"We can figure something out, there's got to be a way to get you there safely. I don't care how much it cost. I'm going to get you that treatment. "His voice was more forcefully than he intended it to be. He saw her cringe at how loud he got and he immediately softened. "Kali, I need you. I need you to fight with me." He walked back towards her head and took her hand as he knelt on the floor. "Will you fight with me?"

"Jacob…" She closed her eyes and took a shaky breath. "Let me think about it, okay? Talk to my parents about it." He nodded, that was fine. He needed to send all of her charts to the hospital in Thailand anyways before he could put her on a plane. She turned back to the show she was watching and he sat next to her again thinking about how he was going to get her to Thailand.

Later that evening Kali's parents had arrived to Forks and were in the hospital. Dr. Weldmen was explaining her condition and treatment options. Jacob and Kali sat quietly and let everything sink in for them. Kali's mom, Angela, burst into tears and wrapped Kali in a tight embrace as Michael slowly sat in the cushioned chair that Jake spent majority of his nights in. Carlisle was standing in the corner of the room, by the door, listening sorrowfully.

"You? You saved her?" Michael said as he looked pointedly at Carlisle.

"I resuscitated her, yes." He answered and took a step closer. "Her heart failed and I used a defibrillator to bring her back." He explained calmly. Michael stood and walked swiftly over to Carlisle.

"Thank you. Thank you so much. You have no idea." His voice cracked on the last word and he abruptly pulled away, probably first noticing how cold his skin was.

"Of course, my pleasure." Carlisle took his place back in the corner.

"Did you have any questions?" Dr. Weldmen asked pulling their attention back to the scans on the light board.

They both shook their head and Dr. Weldmen gave a swift nod before walking out of the room, Carlisle following suit.

"We're taking you home." Michael said as he rushed to Kali's bedside.

"Dad-"

"I don't want to hear it, we're taking you home. We're going to take care of you."

"Dad, I can't fly. They're worried my heart might fail again." She pressed trying to make him realize how serious this was.

"But honey, don't you want to be home? With you family? With your brother?" Angela asked softly.

"Of course I do, but I don't want to die in the process." She chuckled before grimacing. Jacob felt his heart stop briefly at the thought. Her parents both looked at each other for a long minute.

"Okay, dear. We'll figure something out. I'm gonna go find that doctor." With that Angela stood and left the room.

"Michael, I wanted to suggest something. If we can find a way to fly her safely, there's a clinical trial going on in Thailand for people with similar tumors as Kali. They've had a lot of success with rats and are moving to treat on humans. I was thinking, maybe we could try and get her in it." Michael sat very still, contemplating this option.

"But if she can't make it back home, how in the world are we going to get her to Thailand?" He asked.

"I haven't figured that part out yet…" Jacob trailed off. He had been racking his brain all day.

"What if we hired a doctor to go with her on the plane? You know, in case something happened during the transport?" Michael suggested. Jacob nodded. He had thought of that, but then he remembered what Carlisle had said.

"I don't know if we could find a good doctor that would agree with that. I told Carl- Dr. Cullen about the clinical trial. He didn't seem to think it was a viable option for Kali."

"We can find another doctor." Michael said confidently.

"I don't want to go to Thailand. I don't want to die on an airplane. I don't want to die in a foreign country with strange doctors poking and prodding at me. I want to live the rest of my life here, with you. In America." Kali spoke with such determination in her voice it caught Jacob by surprise.

"But honey, if this works you could live. Really live." Michael argued.

"Or I could die, which is a much more likely outcome." Jacob had never seen Kali act so stubborn. She was usually so passive about big decisions. They all sat in an awkward silence. None of them knew how to relieve the tension that had surrounded them.

The next two days involved Kali's parents constantly by her side. Which she didn't mind but she would have enjoyed some alone time with Jacob. He was always there, on the computer, calling hospitals, talking to doctors. It broke her heart to see him like this. She had no idea how her death was going to affect Jacob, being imprinted on her and everything. She wanted to ask, but thought it was too soon. They weren't there yet. She did wish that her mother would quit fussing over her. Constantly asking if she needed more blankets or water or for her to adjust her bed. But she didn't want to get frustrated with her, she was just being a good mom. Her father had been slightly distant since she shut down his plans to ship her off to the other side of the planet. She didn't quite know how to fix that one. She wanted to give in and just let them have their way. But she didn't want to be in Thailand at the end that was for sure.

Late that evening, Kali had convinced her parents to go to the hotel and get some rest. They tried arguing with her but she stood her ground. They were going to worry themselves into an early grave if they didn't take a break every now and then. After they left, Jacob crawled into bed with her. He was so gentle with her, as if she was made of glass. Which to him, she probably did feel like it. She sighed deeply and closed her eyes. She was so tired all the time. She began humming a tune that her mom used to sing her to sleep as a child. The memory made her think of her little brother, Ethan. He was so young when he died. She hated that her parents were going to lose another child in their lifetime. It wasn't right, children are supposed to outlive their parents, not the other way around.

As Kali hummed to herself, Jacob counted her breaths. She always had such a pretty voice. He wished she would sing more often. She mumbled something causing Jake to raise his head so he could see her face. She was starring at the door with wide eyes.

"Ethan, so little." He made out as she continued starring. "So young. You look exactly the same. You haven't aged a day." She remarked surprised. "How have you not gotten any older?" She questioned furrowing her brow.

"Kali?" Jacob asked confused.

"Do you see him? Isn't he beautiful? Perfect." She mumbled before closing her eyes and falling asleep quickly. Jacob was puzzled but figured she was falling into a dream about her little brother. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep as well.

The next morning Jacob awoke to Kali's voice. He stirred as his eyes fluttered opened. Kali was sitting upright her legs crisscross. She was talking but Jacob didn't see anyone else in the room.

"Kali, what's going on?" Jacob asked rubbing his eyes and sitting up.

"Jacob, maybe we should go to Thailand." Kali said and turned around to look at him. Her eyes were bloodshot and watery as though she had been crying non-stop. Alarmed he gripped both of her shoulders in his hands, probably more roughly than he meant.

"What's wrong? What happened?" He interrogated urgently.

"I can see him." He furrowed his brow confused.

"Who, baby? Who can you see?" He asked, much more gently.

"Ethan. I see him. Everywhere, he's sitting right there." She said as another tear fell down her cheek. He quickly wiped it away and looked to where she was pointing. He starred at the empty green couch.

"Kali…. There's no one there." He assured her tenderly and pushed her hair back behind her ear.

"I know there's not." She snapped. "I'm not crazy. I'm sick. My tumor is telling me my dead brother is sitting on that couch. I'm getting worse. I'm starting to hallucinate." She began sobbing. "I don't want to die, Jake. I don't." She flung herself into Jacob hiding her tear-streaked face. He wrapped his arms around her tightly.

"I'm not going to let that happen. I promise. I told you, I'm going to make sure you're okay. No matter what." He said quietly into her ear as she shook with sorrow. He was going to get her Thailand, if it was the last thing he did.

Later that day, Jacob had received a call back from the doctors performing the clinical trial to confirm that she was a candidate, but even better than that, they were going to pay for her flight to Thailand. They did agree, however, that a qualified doctor should be on board with her just in case her heart can't handle it. Jacob spent all day running around the hospital to just about ever department searching for a doctor willing to travel to Thailand with them. He had no luck. He even asked Dr. Weldmen, but he was so against traveling that he wouldn't agree either. Carlisle was his last hope.

"Carlisle…" Jacob started trying to sound firm. "We need you. We need you to come to Thailand with us. It's our only hope. She's going to die here, but they could save her. They said so themselves." Carlisle was standing at a nurse station with his back to Jacob. He was writing in a chart as Jacob spoke. He stopped and sighed.

"You're not going to let this go, are you?" He questioned and turned around to face the desperate man in front of him.

"I can't. Not when there's a chance, no matter how small, of her living."

"There is another way, Jacob. She could live a long, endless life. Just let me change her, then she would never get sick again." Jacob felt the angry bubble up in his chest.

"I told you. No. She would be dead. Her heart would not beat, she would never age, never grow old. She want's children someday, I would never take that away from her."

"Have you even asked her what she would want? Did you propose this as an option for her?" Carlisle probed.

"It's not an option for her." Before Jacob could continue with his rant, Carlisle had began walking toward the elevator that would take him to the floor Kali was located on. Jacob was quick on his heels.

"This is none of your business, Carlisle. She's not in a right state of mind! She's hallucinating her dead little brother, she would probably agree to anything right now, just to feel better."

"She's hallucinating?" Carlisle stopped before pressing the button to call the elevator.

"Yes, it started this morning. She knows it's not real, but she's terrified. She knows that the end is coming." Jacob put his hands over his face in an attempt to compose himself.

"Still, she needs to hear all the options." Carlisle mashed the elevator button and headed up to Kali's room.

They walked in together. Kali was laying down on her side, her back towards the door. She was so still Jacob felt his heart stop before he heard the faint beating of her heart. She's still here…for now. He thought to himself before walking over to her. He gently placed a hand on her shoulder. She rolled over slowly and gave a weak smile.

"Hi," was all she said as she reached her arms out to him. He knelt down beside the bed so that he could hug her more deeply.

"Carlisle wants to talk to you about something. I'm only allowing it so that he'll drop it once and for all." They both turned their attention to Carlisle.

"I know that Jacob doesn't approve but there is another option to save your life. A way that doesn't involve spending fourteen hours on a plane to become a test subject." Kali raised her eyebrows and looked back at Jacob, he didn't look as happy as she was starting to. She didn't really want to have to travel all the way to Thailand, so if there was another option, of course she was going to take it.

"Let's do it." She said confidently.
"Just listen." Jacob said sternly, she nodded and turned her attention back to Carlisle.

"I could change you, I could make you into a vampire. Like me and my family, you would live forever, never grow old, you would never die from any disease." He explained as if it was the simplest thing ever. Kali felt like all the air had escaped the room. A vampire? Forever?

"Um…" she wasn't sure how to respond. She caught a glimpse of something from the corner of her eye. She turned her head to look out the window only to see Ethan sitting on the windowsill swinging his legs as if to remind her of her condition and how quickly it was starting to take over her mind.

"Can I think about it?" She asked never taking her eyes off of Ethan.

"Of course, this is a huge decision. You should talk it over." He placed his hand on Kali's leg and gave a light squeeze. She didn't have any reaction and felt his hand leave her as he walked out of the room.

"Kali, are you really considering this?" Jacob asked angrily. "You can't be serious."

"I don't know Jacob. I just need some time. Two weeks ago I didn't know any of this existed and now I might have to become a vampire just to stay alive."

"Here's the thing with that- you won't be alive. You have to die to become a vampire. The poison will kill you, it will stop your heart. You'll spend three days in agony as the venom takes over your whole body. That's not something to take lightly, Kali." She hadn't been told the process to become a vampire. The only thing she had to go off of was the movies she's seen.

"I didn't say I was going to do it Jacob." She snapped back.

"I know… I just want you to know everything about it."

"He said I would never grow, never age. What about you? You would grow old, right?"

"Not necessarily, if I shift back and forth as a wolf, I'll stay the same age." Her eyes widened.

"Oh…I could never have children though, right? If my body is frozen, it won't be able to grow a child…"Kali answered her own question.

"I know how much you want a family, that won't be possible if you do this. So please just think about it. At the end of the day, it's your choice. I will be by your side no matter what. But I think that Thailand is going to be our best option." With that he left the room to give her some space to think. He knew Kali, he knew that she would make the right decision.