Chapter 34! We're getting there, guys! The end. However, I do need to take a moment to say how much I really appreciate you guys. I was going through all the reviews from you from both stories, and, guys, I cried. Honestly, all of you are so humbling. It's so awesome to know that you all wait for and want to read what's in my head. I mean, I've never had a "fan" in my life, and now I have all of you?! How amazing is that? So really, thank all of you for all the support and encouragement. It really does mean a lot to me. Ok, now, enough with the mushy stuff. Onward! The return of our beloved! Woo-hoo!

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Please Enjoy!

RPOV

Days passed. As did the storm, which had finally decided to throw down on us. Even the power outage that Aunt Alice had seen had come. Luckily, we had a few generators so that the machines hooked to Jacob kept going. The few times that I'd left his side were the few times he'd spiraled. The first time had been the worst, but at least I'd only gone to the bathroom. When I'd needed a shower, I'd put my worn shirt next to his face. It worked long enough to let me get a shower in. When I'd come out of the bathroom, he'd been thrashing around, limbs going wild. Mom and Dad had been trying to catch him to hold him still. I'd thrown myself across the room to take one of his hands and stroke his face with my free hand. He'd calmed instantly.

I'd had my shower for today. September had ended, and October arrived. It saddened me to think that this was supposed to be my wedding month, a month of rushing, trying to tie up loose ends. Instead, I was sitting next to my unconscious mate with a washcloth and soapy water. Mom had cleaned most of the grime from Jacob's upper body after I had fallen asleep that first night. I'd washed the rest off the next day. He'd been sweating a lot recently, eyes moving fervently under his closed lids. Dad had said that it was a good sign. He'd started to dream again. He'd also told me that that night, when he'd arrived in the clearing, he'd been scared because he hadn't been able to hear Jacob's thoughts. There'd been an eerie nothingness from him, and Dad had feared the worst.

The pack had been in and out, offering their support. They'd even gone hunting for me and brought me the blood in a glass.

Billy had been brought up. I'd offered to give him some alone time, but he'd refused, saying that Jacob needed me more. We'd spent hours in silence just watching Jacob's chest rise because a tube was breathing for him. Grampa Charlie and Sue had come, too.

Now, a knock came at the door, pulling me out of my nonsensical ramblings. It was a quiet sound, and I knew who it was. Dropping the cloth back in the bowl, I covered Jacob's lower body with the sheet once more.

"Come in, Claire," I called from the chair that I'd just sank into.

The door opened softly. Claire and Quil were standing in the doorway. I smiled as Claire wrung something in her little hands.

"Go on, Claire. It's ok." Quil nudged her forward. Her bottom lip was between her teeth and a frown pulled her brows down low.

"Hi, Aunt Nessie," she said eventually.

"Hey, Clairebear."

She came into the room, her eyes on the bed. I was in the way so all she could see was his sheet-covered feet. Her eyes were wide, scared, and teary.

"Is Uncle Jake gonna be ok?" she asked.

I wanted to reassure her and say absolutely, but I just couldn't lie to her. "I sure hope so. My dad says he's improving. It'll take time, though."

This was her first time seeing him after all that happened. I'd known she wanted to see him, but with Jacob being so touch and go for the last week, I hadn't wanted her in the way if something were to happen. I also didn't want her to witness anything too emotionally scarring.

She looked down at what she held in her hands. Her black hair fell out from behind her ear to fall in her face. "Well, I made him something. And I put happy thoughts of him waking up into every braid."

I smiled. "I'm positive he'll love it."

"Can I put it on him?" Her eyes were hopeful.

Taking a deep breath, I was fully prepared to say no. In this past week, I hadn't wanted anyone near him, not even Carlisle and Dad. Those two were necessary, though, to Jacob's health. My protectiveness ran deep with Jacob. He wasn't capable of protecting himself, so I had to do it, as his mate and lover. But looking at Claire's trembling lower lip, I couldn't do it, just couldn't say no. Jacob needed the love of other people to help pull him through this. Not just me. And the love of an innocent little girl could do so much for a man who wanted a daughter of his own one day. And Jacob adored Claire.

Smiling, I motioned her over with a jerk of my head. "Sure. I'll help you."

Grinning, she rushed over into my arms, but paused when she saw Jacob fully for the first time. Her grin left and her tears swelled up. I looked back over to him and realized what she must be seeing. His throat was still a ravaged mess. The wound on his sternum was sewn shut, but more ragged than last time. That beautiful russet skin was covered in cuts and bruises, even his face. His nose had been broken and jaw fractured.

When Claire sniffled, I pulled her into my arms and stroked her hair. "It's ok, Claire. He's safe. And between me being his imprint and you making that bracelet, I'm sure he's going to pull through, ok? Just keep that positive thinking up, ok? For me? For Jake?"

She sniffled again, wrapped her arms my neck, and buried her face in my neck. I rubbed her back as she cried into my hair. Quil came into the room, shutting the door behind him. He knelt beside us to rub her back as well. As soon as he touched her, she relaxed against me. Moments later, she pulled back and climbed into my lap. Reaching under the sheet, I pulled Jacob's hand out into the open. The pulse in his wrist jumped at the contact. Pulling his arm out away from the bed, I held it while Claire wrapped the bracelet around his wrist, tying knot after knot so that it stayed in place.

"There,"she said, satisfied with her work. "Now, all my happy thoughts should sink in."

I placed Jacob's hand back on the bed above the sheet so that Claire could see her gift on him. She smiled at me again, and then leaned forward so that her elbows were resting on the side of the bed and her face was on the same level as his.

She kissed his cheek. "Love you, Uncle Jake. But remember what I said about Aunt Nessie's heart. You hafta come back, ok? I can't have an aunt without an uncle. That's just not nice."

My heart melted. If anyone could tell Jake what to do, it was Claire. I looked back to his face...and almost stopped breathing.

Jacob was smiling. Not a big smile, however. Just the corners of his lips were tilted up, but it was definitely a smile.

"Ness?" Quil asked, probably concerned with my sudden stillness.

I nodded toward Jacob. "You see that?"

His eyes went to Jacob, and widened.

"What?" Claire asked.

I squeezed her to me. "He's smiling, Clairebear. He heard you! You did it!" I kissed her cheek. "You're happy thoughts are working."

Quil looked back to smile at Claire, whose grin was radiant. He held a hand out to her. "Come on. Let's go tell everybody," he said.

She took his hand and hopped off my lap. Over her head, I mouthed, "Thank you."

He'd done that so that I could have some time with Jacob. As soon as the door shut behind them, I leaned forward on the bed, just like Claire had done, and took Jacob's hand.

Watching his face carefully, I stroked his forehead and hair. "I know you're in there, Jacob. If you can hear me, just follow my voice. Come back to me. Please. I need you. We all need you. We're all lost without your warmth."

Tears slipped from my eyes once more, and I kissed his hand, then his lips. I hadn't cried in days, but that smile gave me a renewed hope. I'd also stopped talking to him, but no longer. I was going to talk as much as I could about everything. Show him every memory I could muster up. Maybe it would help kickstart him into waking up.

Crawling up into the bed, I wrapped myself around him with my lips at his ear, ready to get to work.

ShelbyPOV

Sighing, I rubbed my ever-growing belly and wondered how Nessie was doing. Nobody except Carlisle and Edward were really allowed near Jacob, and she didn't like too many people in the room. Those that were allowed inside weren't in the room long.

Seth's arm tightened around my shoulders. When I looked up at him, he offered me a smile before leaning in to press a kiss to my lips. His other hand also rubbed my belly soothingly. Every time he did that, the baby kicked or punched. That had started up a few days ago. And even though I knew Carlisle had been worried about Jake, I'd gone to his study to talk to him about it. He assured me that the baby was perfectly healthy, just growing fast. He wasn't at all surprised at the movement.

"You ok?" Seth asked.

"Yeah. Just worried about Nessie."

Seth was about to say something when a pounding on the stairs captured our attention.

"Aunt Emily! Aunt Emily!"

Emily, who was standing in front of the window-wall with Leila, turned in surprise. "What is it, Claire?"

The little girl ran to the middle of the room, her hair flying out around her. I was kind of surprised her cheeks weren't broken from smiling so hard, and her eyes glowed.

"Uncle Jacob smiled!"

The room totally froze, everybody sharing a disbelieving glance.

Sam knelt in front of Claire. "What?"

She turned to him, still beaming. "Uncle Jacob. He smiled! I put my happy-thought bracelet on him and then told him to wake up because I couldn't have an aunt without an uncle, and he smiled." She turned to the stairs where Quil was still standing. "Tell them, Quil."

With his own grin, he nodded. "Jake was definitely smiling. Just a tilt of the lips, but it was there."

"Is he awake?" Seth asked Quil.

Quil's smile died down when he shook his head. "No, but I suspect Nessie's talking to him again. The man's in there, I know it. He just needs some coaxing. And, really, who could disobey Claire?"

We all chuckled as she beamed brighter in the middle of the room.

"So there's hope, huh?" I said to nobody in particular.

Esme answered with, "There's always hope, dear," as she handed me a mug.

I took the hot chocolate with a smile.

JPOV

I was lost. That's all that raced across my head over and over. Something was missing and had been for a while. In my mind, I was lost in a dark forest. And for some reason, I couldn't cross the barrier between sleep and wakefulness.

Where was the whispering?

I remembered some sort of wind that sounded like words in my ear as well as wonderful feeling enveloping my head, like it was being rubbed. I'd found comfort in it, and had been searching for the origin of it when it had abruptly cut off. It hadn't been back, and I'd been lost ever since. All I knew was that Nessie wasn't with me, and not in the world I'd been dropped in either. I'd searched this place for her.

I did have one companion, though. My wolf. He was just as trapped and lost as I was. We were both looking for a way out, a way back to our home, friends, family. Our mate. God, what must my absence be doing to Nessie? Something was wrong, and I wasn't in the real world. I was trapped in my own head with my last memories being Tristan's claws slicing my throat. Everywhere I turned, I saw it all play out in front of me the way someone else, the way Nessie, would have seen it.

I was just in the middle of watching the scene play out for the millionth time when that sweet pressure touched my head again. My hand also wrapped around a phantom pressure, as if someone were holding it. Maybe they were. I'd felt this multiple times over the course of...days? How long had I been in this nightmare?

When the whispering started again, the wolf whimpered sadly, as if he knew what it was and knew that we couldn't get to it.

Feeling desperate, I turned around, and started down the path I'd just come down. Over and over the scene with Tristan popped up between gnarled trees.

This was wrong. All of it was so wrong.

I was just stalking past a Tristan and Jacob right at the moment of the slashing when something else slammed into me. I was overwhelmed with images and scents.

Staggering, I fell against a tree and tried to decipher what I was seeing. But it was all too much. I gripped my head as it pounded. The wolf howled and yipped, rubbing up against me. Faster and faster the images spun and blurred.

Finally, I fell to my knees. My stomach revolted, and I heaved. Of course, nothing came out. This was a dream state and I hadn't eaten anything in it.

Eventually, I curled up into a ball, and passed out.

However long later, I woke up to more whispering, but softer this time. And the images had toned down.

Getting to my feet with the wolf's help, I looked around. The "sky" was no longer a blanket of stars, but a quilt of images. It was like there were many different television screens glued to the ceiling.

"What the hell?" I said out loud. My voice was just a hoarse whisper. My inside self must be an echo of my outside self. Damn. No talking when I got out of here.

But the voice could wait. All I could do was stare up. Visions-no, memories-played out. I saw myself in almost every screen. Nessie was there, too, but these were her memories. She was showing them to me.

There was one that caught my eye.

The night we'd actually gotten together. She'd run all the way to the cabin. I opened the door when she'd knocked. I'd been surprised to see her. And then, soaking wet from the rain, she'd jumped into my arms and kissed me. Really kissed me for the first time.

Closing my eyes, I could still smell the rain. Feel her in my arms, her lips crushing mine. I wanted that again. I wanted her in my arms where she felt safe, where I felt safe.

Opening my eyes again, another image caught my eye. Her dream of our future kids. If I didn't make it back, if I stayed trapped here, they'd never exist. And I wasn't about to let that happen. Nessie deserved a family. And when she got one, it would be with me.

The first time we made love popped up next to that one. I'd been angry that night because of her insecurities, that she could think that I'd ever love another woman the way I loved her.

But the one image that got me to tears was of her slipping a ring on my finger. A ring that she had been thoughtful enough to have made for me to match my mother's ring that was now hers.

Dammit, I was going to get out of here. This was crazy.

"Jake?"

I froze with my head still tilted back.

A laugh. "Come on, Jake. I'll race you."

Whipping around, I saw Nessie standing there in jeans and her favorite sweater. The sight of her tugged at something that I could only call my soul. She was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen with her copper curls, chocolate eyes, and creamy white skin.

She smiled and held out her hand. "Come on! I'm starving," she said laughing.

My smile froze as I realized this was also a memory. From beside me, an image of myself appeared, grinning, eyes shiny with love.

"Ok, ok," the image of me said before phasing and trotting to her side.

She turned to stand beside the wolf and dug her hand into his fur. It was then that I saw that there was a vague glow coming from both of the visions, a kind of light. I'd been craving light since I'd gotten dumped in here. And I wanted to follow it.

"I hear it," she said, her head tilted to the side. "Let's go. Follow me."

The wolf that was trapped here with me shared a glance with me. I think follow, she says follow? Before I knew it, the images of Nessie and me were disappearing down the path. The wolf beside me let out a yip.

"No," I whispered. "Come back."

I didn't want her to go. I needed to look at her forever. Trotting and jogging, the wolf and I followed them down the path, paying no nevermind to the scenes of Tristan tearing me apart. Which was good. Every time I saw it, I wanted to scream. That had been the second time he'd gotten me. I wanted to rip him apart. Jane, too, for forcing this on us. If she hadn't brainwashed him, none of this would be happening.

But I couldn't think about that right now. All I wanted to do was follow those copper curls and jean-clad hips back to reality. Her image and mine started running, pulling away from me.

No! I couldn't lose sight of her, not now.

Falling into a flat-out run, the wolf and I dodged the roots of those gnarled trees and giant, sharp boulders. It seemed like they just appeared in the way to stop us from following. Well, that wasn't going to happen. Nessie was my life, and I'd follow her wherever she went. Now that I had her in my sight, I wasn't going to risk losing her.

As we ran, a bright light started to grow, as if the the sun were rising on the horizon. But that wasn't the sun. That much I knew.

The images of me and Nessie were starting to blur, to sink into that light. The light that we were all running toward. After another minute or so, the light was so blinding my eyes watered and my head pounded. But I was losing sight of Nessie, so I knew I had to keep going.

"Nessie!" I tried to yell.

Finally, the light totally engulfed her. And I panicked.

"No!"

Before I could rethink it, I jumped into that bright light, the wolf hot on my heels.

RPOV

I was grinning at the image of me and Jacob hunting in the woods, the day I finally beat him in our race. I'd long ago closed my eyes to better concentrate on the flow of memories.

Anything and everything I could remember I'd been throwing at him for days. Ever since Claire had made him smile, I'd talked myself out of a voice and had resorted to gently pushing memories into his head.

Close to falling asleep with my head next to him, I imagined his hand squeezing mine gently. The sound of the monitors lulled me to that place that's between awake and asleep. So close.

I frowned when there was a pressure on my hand. Someone was holding it. But who? It was nearly midnight. Everybody was passed out or on patrols.

Wait a second-

Shooting straight up in the chair, my eyes shot to his face. Nothing. His eyes were still closed, but moving under the lids furiously. Then, I looked at his hand. Sure enough, it was squeezing mine. Eventually, the pressure got so bad I thought he might break something.

"What the-"

With a huge jolt, Jacob's body tensed. His upper body flew off the bed, eyes wide open, mouth working against the tube in his throat. Air rattled down his throat as he breathed on his own.

"Jacob!" And then my brain clicked. "DAD! CARLISLE!" I screamed as I jumped on the bed, straddling Jacob's hips. His hand came up to paw at the tube. I gripped his wrist and met his eyes. "No, Jacob. You can't take that out. Carlisle's on his way up. Just hold on, baby."

A moment later, the door crashed open. Dad and Carlisle were there in seconds. Dad pulled me back but not off the bed. Carlisle leaned over Jacob.

"Do you want the tube out?" he asked calmly.

Jacob's eyes were wide when he nodded.

"Ok. You have to stay still otherwise it will hurt."

Jacob nodded again, and then locked his eyes with mine. I held them while my grandfather did his thing. He gripped the tube, counted to three, and pulled it out. Jacob gagged and coughed. His first real breath was a wheeze and rattle, but it was there. He was breathing on his own.

As soon as he calmed enough, he tried to talk.

I put my fingers to his lips. "Shh, don't talk. It's ok. Whatever you need to say can wait."

"She's right, Jacob," Carlisle said. "Your vocal chords were injured. Waiting to try to talk until everything is healed is a good idea. Now, I know you're disoriented and you want answers, but no talking. Just wait."

Again, Jacob nodded before his eyes swung back to mine. We stared at each other while Carlisle performed all his tests and monitor check-ups. I was still straddled over his waist, holding his wrist. He moved his hand so that he could lace his fingers with mine. His other hand, the one with the bracelet on it, came up to cup my cheek. Closing my eyes, tears welling, I leaned into the touch. The skin of his palm was still warm, beating away the chill I hadn't realized was there.

"I missed you so much," I whispered.

When I opened my eyes, I found that the room was empty except for us, though I could hear voices in the hallway.

"Do you want to see anyone right now?"

He shook his head and mouthed, Only you.

My heart melting, I smiled. "Oh, Jacob!" Leaning over him, I showered every inch of his face with kisses until finally landing on his lips. At first, he hesitated, and I wondered why. But then he kissed me back and the world was right again.

Releasing his hand, I tore at the chain around my left wrist, freed his ring from my finger, and slid it onto his finger. Flexing his hand, he studied it but rubbed my back and side with his other hand. Then he brought my left hand to his lips to kiss my ring, his eyes returning to mine. After a moment, frowning, he rubbed his thumb under my eyes.

Apparently, I looked as exhausted as I felt.

Still frowning, he tugged me down next to him, on his right side away from the chest wound. Tucking me into his side, he kissed my forehead, his lips staying there as if they didn't want to be anywhere else. The hand that wasn't wrapped around me came up to close my eyes.

Sleep.

He was telling me to sleep.

Happy to oblige, I cuddled into his side as his arm tightened around me.

But fear drowned me. What if he went back to sleep and didn't wake up again? Struggling to sit up, I found that he was watching me. He shook his head, but it must have hurt because he stopped and flinched in pain.

Using his forefinger, he pointed down and mouthed, Here.

It took me a moment but I realized he was saying that he was going to be here. I must have projected.

He nodded in affirmation.

Leaning forward, I kissed his chest. "I love you so much. I just can't lose you."

The head shake wasn't as big this time, but I knew he was telling me that I wasn't going to lose him.

I'm here, he mouthed.

Startling me, he moved around so that the sheet covered both of us.

"Jacob, you're still healing. Moving like that could hurt you."

He gave me a look with a raised eyebrow. Fingers digging into my hip, he urged me to lie back down. I couldn't go without another kiss, so I leaned up to press my lips to his.

It was a long, lingering press of lips. One of the most precious kisses of my life, and I would never, ever forget it.

JPOV

Holy shit it worked. Now I knew what people meant when they said to always follow the light. Hot damn. I was back. Nessie was actually curled up beside me, but I kept having to pet her just to keep believing it. Her hair was thick and coarse, skin still milky and smooth. It felt like I hadn't touched her in years instead of days. Because no doubt I'd been out for a while. The circles under her eyes had spoken of several nights of uneasy rest if any at all. And I felt guilty as hell about that. If I hadn't yelled at her in the shower, she wouldn't have needed to go up to the cabin alone. Somebody would have been with her. Hell, if I'd have let her stay and shower with me…

I scrubbed my face with my free hand. All I knew was that I was back, out of that nightmare. And it was all because of her. She'd pulled me back from the brink, and I owed her my life. If she wanted to wash me, she had an open invitation. Never again was I going to let my pride get in the way of something like that. She was as protective of me as I was of her. It was the alpha-ness of the two of us. She complimented me as well as kept me sane. I hugged her closer to me.

"Would you like some water?"

Looking over Nessie's shoulder, I found Edward leaning against the door with a glass of water. Instantly, my throat felt like the Sahara Desert. I nodded, but he'd seen my thoughts. Chuckling, he brought the glass over. It had a little bendy straw that he bent toward me. The first swallow hurt like a bitch, but after that, it was easier. And it tasted damn good. Licking my lips, I tasted Nessie's kiss. Even sweeter.

Thanks, I thought at him.

"You're very welcome." He looked down at his snoozing daughter. "Again, I owe you for saving her life."

Don't get all emotional on me, Edward. It's still me.

Smiling, he shook his head and punched me lightly in the arm. "You are such a pain in the ass." Those topaz eyes turned gentle. "But you're our pain in the ass. It's good to have you back, son."

It was my turn to smile, but that's all I could manage. Suddenly, my eyes were so heavy, I struggled to keep them up. I felt a hand on my forehead.

"Go ahead and sleep. I'll watch over you. If I find you slipping, I'll wake you up."

Promise? I didn't really care if I sounded like a little kid. I wanted that damn promise.

"I swear it."

That was all I needed to hear. Though the darkness panicked me, I kept chanting Edward's promise in my head as I drifted off.

If I dreamed, I didn't remember.

Who else loves Jacob? I mean, really! Ok, so there's a really EPIC event that I have to write out for the end of this story. And all of you know what it is. But if you don't know and haven't guessed, I'm not telling. And for that chapter(not sure when it will be yet) you might, possibly, maybe need more tissues. :) Don't forget to review, good or bad, I love them all. Reviews from you guys are like my chapters for y'all. Just remember that. Love you! xoxoxoxoxo