A/N: since the question was asked, I will answer it: "How would Alice be able to hear Edward if they were having a conversation through thoughts?" (stormcat313). I appreciate questions because it lets me know that I need to clear things up. My answer is that Alice 'saw' what Edward was going to say and he read her thoughts. If that's confusing, my bad, but that's what happened. Or at least, that's how I see it happening in my head…

Chapter 16

Max

It seems almost normal now to wake up and see a bunch of people hovering over me. Sad, isn't it?

I groaned and tried to sit up. Jacob put his hands under my elbows and helped me lean against the arm of the couch. I felt the brace on my leg dragging across the couch material and groaned again. I hate that thing

"How are you feeling?" Jacob asked, tilting my chin up to look him in the face. He searched my face for signs of continuing pain and didn't find any.

"I'm fine," I said, my throat dry. "Could I have some water?"

"Sure," Billy said, already turning to get a glass from the kitchen. "Here you go Max."

"Thanks." I sipped my water and looked at the people around me.

Billy was calm as ever sitting in his wheelchair beside Carlisle. He didn't seem to mind that the vampire doctor was so close. The vampire in question was staring intently at me, his eyes sweeping over my face and my leg, checking his handiwork for any signs of err. Like he would find any… Sam was standing on the other side of Billy, his arms crossed over his bare chest. Do they ever wear shirts? I hadn't seen him come in earlier. His face was carefully uninterested as he looked from me to Carlisle. Jacob was not so calm. He looked worriedly at me, one hand constantly going up to sweep through his black hair.

"If you need me, I'll be home," Sam said. He probably wanted to get as far from Carlisle as possible.

"Thanks Sam," Jacob said, turning to look at his friend. Sam nodded and clapped Jacob on the shoulder. Their eyes met briefly and I saw that something had passed between the two. Sam left then, waiting until he had gotten out of the house before settling into a graceful lope.

"Why was Sam here?" I asked. Jacob winced.

"He had to hold you down," Billy said. "You were thrashing around too much." I winced as well. I didn't want to hear about this.

"Am I fixed?" I asked, changing the subject. I looked at Carlisle. He nodded.

"You should be fine. Your leg is set correctly and I took the liberty of looking at your wing as well. That at least was set correctly the first time." I know Carlisle hadn't meant to insult Jacob, but that's what he did.

"Hey, I tried my best," Jacob snapped, turning to glare at the vampire. Carlisle nodded his blonde head.

"I'm sure you did. I was merely saying that her leg was not placed as it should have been." Carlisle wasn't usually so bad at smoothing things over…

"Well it's not like I knew what I was doing." Jacob was getting way too upset over this. "You were the one telling me what to do."

Carlisle was about to respond, but I cut him off. "Hey, hey." I grabbed Jacob's arm, pulling him back from Carlisle. He had moved so that he was inches from the vampire's face. Not a safe place to stand…

"Calm down," I said, tugging on Jacob's arm. I pulled him down to my eye level. "He wasn't trying to undermine your doctor skills. Just take it easy Jacob."

He closed his eyes and held his breath. I waited while Jacob bent over me and tried to relax. I knew it was hard for him and the rest of the pack to calm down after getting so angry. When he finally opened his eyes and blew hot air into my face, Jacob looked better. His forehead had smoothed out and his eyes didn't look so murderous.

"Better?" I murmured. Jacob nodded and one corner of his lip pulled up. "Kay, go get me some food. I'm starving." Jacob's lip pulled up farther and he stood. He reached a hand out and ruffled my hair like a dog quickly before going into the kitchen.

"Not cool," I muttered darkly, smoothing my hair back. He chuckled and took some food out of the fridge.

"Call me if you need anything else," Carlisle said suddenly. I tore my eyes off Jacob's back and nodded at the doctor. "You'll be fine in no time Max."

"Thanks," I said. Carlisle nodded and handed me the silver phone. "I'll be sure to call Alice later."

"Alright." He stopped and turned back to face me. "You know Max, you can come back with me." Jacob froze and his shoulders tensed. "I can carry you back to the house."

I opened my mouth, and then closed it again. Did I want to go back with him? Did I want to stay here and be a useless lump on the Black's couch? Or did I want to be a useless lump on the Cullen's couch? There was always Jasper to consider…

"I think it would be best," I started slowly. Jacob clutched the counter, his hands bending the wood, making it splinter a little. "If I stayed here."

I saw Carlisle nod, but my gaze was focused on Jacob. He had frozen again, his hands still clutching the counter. He slowly released it, leaving dents in the wood. He slowly turned to look at me. His face was a mixture of curiosity, surprise, and caution.

"I'll call tomorrow to check on you," Carlisle said. I nodded without looking away from Jacob. Carlisle left, his jacket swirling around him. I faintly heard the engine of a car starting and driving away.

"I'm gonna go down to see Sue," Billy mumbled. "You two gonna be fine without me?"

"Yeah," Jacob said absently, his eyes on me. "Bye." Billy grumbled something and wheeled out of the house, closing the door behind him.

"Why?" Jacob asked quietly. I cocked my head, not understanding what he was asking.

"Why what?"

"Why didn't you go with him? Why are you staying here?" Did I make a mistake thinking it was ok to stay here?

"I can call Carlisle and tell him to come back and get me if you want," I said, looking down at the cell phone in my hand.

"No," Jacob said quickly. "I just… I thought you would have wanted to be with them again."

"Why?" I asked, surprised he had thought I would leave so quickly. Jacob shrugged and leaned against the counter.

"I don't know." He ran his hand through his hair and sighed. "I just thought since you love them and all, you would want to be with them as soon as you could."

"You're right." Jacob's shoulder slumped. "I do love them. But I can't go back there right now."

"Why not?"

"Jasper can't… he doesn't have as much control as the others, and I still have blood running through my veins."

"But Bella stayed there with Jasper," Jacob said, confused.

"But Bella wasn't part animal," I reminded him. "I smell even better to them because of their animal diet. Edward says my blood still smells as good as other humans, and then some because of the animal part of me."

"So you're staying because of Jasper?" I shrugged.

"Not completely." I chewed on my lower lip, unsure if what I wanted to say was appropriate.

"What else?"

"What? Am I not allowed to want to hang out with my friends?" I was trying to make the mood lighter, but I wasn't sure it was working all that well.

"Is that all?" Jacob asked, grinning. "I thought you were just taking advantage of my insane cooking skills."

"There's that too," I said, shrugging.

"Well that's fine then," he said with a laugh. I smirked.

"So I'm allowed to crash on your couch?" Jacob rolled his eyes and turned back to making more food.

"Obviously. S'not like I'm gonna kick you out or anything." He laughed, but I didn't. He didn't even notice me wallowing in my misery.

"What do you want to drink?" I shook my head and tried to push myself out of the black cloud.

"Water is fine." Jacob nodded and walked over, placing my food on my lap.

"Bon a petit." He grinned and sat on the couch beside my feet. He lifted my legs up and stopped, looking at me. "Do you mind?" I shook my head, my mouth full of food. Jacob waited until I had picked up my plate before sliding over and resting my legs on his lap.

While I ate, Jacob turned the TV on to another blood-and-guts movie. I was surprised to find myself laughing with him during the bloody parts. It felt good to laugh.

"That is so fake," Jacob sniggered.

I snorted in agreement and coughed, choking on my water. My face turned red as I continued coughing. Jacob was still beside me, unsure what he could do. I finally got some air into my lungs and stopped coughing, gulping in more air.

"You alright?" Jacob asked nervously.

"Uh-huh," I rasped, my throat sore from coughing.

"You need to be more careful," Jacob said sternly. I was about to shoot back a rude remark when he said, "I don't want to lose you." I blushed a little and looked down at my hands folded in my lap. I didn't have anything to say to that.

"I'll try a little harder next time not to choke," I said after a little. My throat burned a little so I gulped down some water.

"That's all I ask." We were silent for a few minutes. "I'll be back later," he said, moving out from under my legs and standing.

"Where're you going?"

"I'm gonna go work on Sam's car." My head snapped up at the word 'car.'

"What kind of car?" My interest had been caught.

"Just a blue C30 Nissan Laurel." The way he said it didn't make it seem like 'just' anything.

"Could I come watch? Or do you want to be alone?" I said quickly. Jacob shook his head furiously.

"No! Of course you can come." He frowned a little. "You sure you won't get bored or something?" I scoffed.

"Huh! You just don't want to let me see a Laurel. Keeping the classics all to yourself I see," I said, my nose in the air and my arms crossed.

Jacob's face lost any traces of worry as he grinned. "You caught me." He shrugged and held up his hands innocently. He came over and lifted me off the couch, pulling me tight against his warm chest. "Want a jacket or something? It's a little cold out."

"Nah, I have my own personal heater right here," I said, patting his cheek. Jacob laughed.

"Yeah, that's true, but it's not like I can hold you and work on the car at the same time."

"You just haven't learned how to multi-task yet." He snorted. "Don't worry, you'll get it eventually!" I said encouragingly.

"I'm sure I will since I have to carry you everywhere," he said with a groan. "But for now, you should have a jacket. And probably a blanket too." I glanced at my bare legs and nodded. Shorts were not the best thing to wear around here.

"Fine, whatever, just lead me to that car," I said with a wave of my hand. Jacob grinned and tossed me up so I was momentarily in the air. I tightened my grip on his neck. He caught me again, his arms lower than they'd been before.

"That's what you get for trying to order me around," he said with a grin. I scowled and smacked the back of his head.

"That's not funny moron," I said. He just laughed and walked across the room to his bedroom door.

"Just grab that jacket off the hook," he said, leaning towards the hooks on the back of the bedroom door. I snagged a black fleece jacket with one hand and lay it on my stomach. As we turned around, I leaned as far as I could and grabbed the blanket off the bed. Jacob took it and draped it over his left shoulder and out of my way.

"And now we're ready to go." Jacob's grin was in place as we left the house.

"Ah," I sighed. He looked at me, one brow raised in a question. "Fresh air."

"That's right," he laughed. "You've been stuck inside for days." I made a face.

"Yeah, and it was killing me. I need fresh air to survive." He made a face back at me.

"How do you think I felt a few months ago?" I raised a brow, asking how he felt a few months ago. "Oh yeah, I forgot you didn't know."

"Didn't know what?"

"The pack was fighting with the Cullens to keep a big group of new vampires away from Forks and Bella." My eyes widened in surprise. "It was no big deal really."

"Then why did you have to stay inside?" I didn't get it. Jacob blushed, embarrassed.

"Leah Clearwater was trying to be a hero and I had to save her scrawny butt from being torn apart by a bloodsucker. The vamp smashed into me and broke a lot of my right side."

I felt a sudden wave of worry wash over me. I don't know why, but I couldn't stand hearing about Jacob being hurt. Probably because I knew how he felt and 'cause he's my friend.

"Are you ok?" I asked stupidly. Jacob laughed.

"Yeah, I'm fine now, but back then, it took a long time for me to recover." His eyes focused out as he looked back at his memories.

"Did it hurt a lot?" I asked, not liking the look of pain on his face. He shook his head, coming back to the present.

"What?"

"I said, did it hurt?" He nodded. I frowned and let go of his neck with one arm to reach up and pet the top of his head. "Well, now that the doggy is all better, hurry up and get to that car so I can see it."

"Woof." He did an open-mouth grin, letting his tongue loll to one side like a real dog. I laughed and put my arm back around his neck.

Jacob shifted me in his arms so that I could look over his right shoulder. I glanced behind him and saw a girl about my age and a younger boy with her, both with the same color skin and hair as Jacob. They stood completely still, watching our retreating figures. The boy looked at me, confused and curious. The girl, on the other hand, glared at me.

"Who're they?" I whispered in Jacob's ear.

"Hmm?" He turned to look over his shoulder. "Oh, that's Leah and Seth Clearwater. My dad is with their mom Sue."

"Why is she glaring at me?" A small shrug was the best he could do while holding me.

"I dunno. She's a bitter person. It's probably nothing against you personally."

"Why is she bitter?" I asked, glancing back at her. Leah was still standing in the same spot, her arms folded over her chest, the same look of loathing on her pretty face.

"Her and Sam used to be in love," Jacob whispered. I looked at him, surprised. "Emily is Leah's cousin, but I guess they were like sisters they were so close. Em was visiting once and Sam saw her and Imprinted on her."

"He what?" I had no clue what he was talking about.

"Imprinted. It's when we find our soul mate. We're drawn to that person."

"So what did Sam do?" I hoped what I was thinking was wrong.

"He left Leah for Emily." I was right. I frowned. He saw and explained quickly. "He didn't have a choice really. We can't ignore our Imprint."

"But what about Emily? Didn't she know about Leah and Sam?"

"Yeah, and she tried to ignore Sam, but when a person is made to be with you, you can't fight them off for long."

"So Leah is bitter because of Sam and her cousin?" Jacob nodded. "That's so depressing."

"Yeah, it was hard for the three of them for a while, but Sam and Emily eventually got over it."

"Leah didn't," I guessed. He shook his head, looking sad. "What?"

"I understand how hard it was, and still is, for Leah. She joined my pack when I had to protect Bella when she was pregnant. She told me about why she was so unbearably obnoxious. She said she wanted Sam to suffer as much as possible. The rest of the pack just didn't have a choice."

"Has it gotten easier?" I whispered, looking back at the forms behind him. I couldn't see their faces anymore, but I imagine Leah was still scowling.

"Yeah, a little. I guess I was able to help her not be so miserable." He still looked sad though.

"That's because you're a good person Jacob." I smiled at him. He smiled back at me.

"Thanks." Jacob walked around past Sam's house and into a garage. "Here we are."

My jaw dropped. I had heard about these cars, but I hadn't gotten to see one before. The blue paint job looked brand new. The single door was my favorite feature on cars like this.

"Nice, isn't she?" Jacob said, grinning. I nodded.

"Yeah," I breathed. Jacob laughed and opened the door on the driver's side. He bent down and set me on the seat.

"So what's wrong with it?" I asked, slipping into Jacob's jacket.

"Engine problems," he said. He said a bunch of other stuff, but he was getting excessively detailed and I didn't understand it. I must have had a blank expression on my face because Jacob stopped and looked apologetic. "Sorry, I love this car and I get a little too excited sometimes. I'll try to stay in English from now on."

"Thanks," I said, laughing. He handed me the blanket and I stuck one edge under my left thigh, the other edge under my right thigh. Jacob leaned over and wrapped my calves with the end of the blanket.

"There, all comfy cozy," he said, standing.

"Yeah, but it's still not as good as your skin," I said. Jacob shrugged and grinned.

"Blankets can only do so much." He tousled my hair again. I smiled and swatted at his hand. "Not everyone can have their own personal heater you know." Jacob bent over the large toolbox and began rummaging through it.

"Well they should," I said firmly. He looked up and grinned at me.

"But they don't," he pointed out. I shrugged.

"Sucks to be them then. Bonus points for me!"

"Yeah, bonus points for you."

I don't know how long we stayed in Sam's garage. It didn't occur to me that I had just sat for hours in a garage watching someone fix a car. I didn't think of it that way. I saw it as another way to hang out with Jacob. The conversations never ended, there were no awkward silences, and I never got bored. I had fun. It seemed to be easier to have fun around Jacob. It didn't hurt as much to be with him.

"That should be good for today," Jacob said finally. He slammed down the hood and was about to wipe his hands on his jeans. I tossed him the oil rag and he grinned. "What would I do without you Max?"

"I do not know." I grinned back and ducked when he whipped the rag at my head. "You have a bad arm kiddo if you missed from five feet away."

"Hey, you moved. I would have gotten you if you didn't move." I shrugged.

"Not my fault if you can't hit me with a rag."

"But I can hit you with a rag," he said. I was totally unprepared for the pile of rags he pulled out of a bag beneath Sam's workbench. He whipped them at me, one after the other. I ducked, trying to dodge them. It took probably seven rags before he finally caught me on the left shoulder.

"Ha!" he yelled triumphantly, holding his arms above his head in victory. "Told ya I could hit you!"

"Hey, I have very limited space in here," I retorted. Jacob just grinned at me.

"Here, I'll help you up now." He held his hands out to me.

"Thanks kid." I grabbed his forearms and pulled myself up on my left leg. When I was standing, I had to hop on my good leg for a few seconds while Jacob got everything together.

"Do I look like a kid to you?" he asked, raising a brow at me. I grinned and hooked my arms around his neck. In one fluid movement, Jacob had leaned over and literally swept me off my feet and into his arms.

"Yes," I said while poking his nose. He scrunched up his face.

"I think I'm going to have to force you to use crutches if you're going to be so mean to me," he said sternly. I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Crutches are a cruel way to make crippled people walk around."

"A wheelchair then." I made a face.

"Wheelchairs make me feel old. And I'll get fat." Jacob poked my stomach.

"Yeah, 'cause using a wheelchair for a few days will definitely get rid of all that muscle," he said sarcastically. I rolled my eyes at him.

"Oh shut up and carry me to the house," I ordered. He made a face at me and stopped in the middle of the street.

"If you're going to treat me like an animal, I'm going to act like an animal." He turned towards the trees and started running at an easy sprint. When we had gone far enough into the forest, Jacob set me down on the ground. He started to walk away, already pulling at the zipper on his jeans.

"You wouldn't," I said, glaring at him. He turned and grinned back at me.

"I would," he challenged.

"Don't," I warned him. I was trying not to show him the fear that was starting to course through me. "Don't you dare."

"What, are you scared of the big bad wolf?" he asked with a scoffing laugh. I kept my face serious and nodded once. He looked surprised. "For real?"

"Yes, for real," I snapped.

"Why?" I looked away from him.

"I'm not talking about this right now."

"Max, why not?" I glared up at him. He stood over me and ran his hand through his hair.

"I'm not talking about this right now," I said slowly and clearly. He frowned but nodded.

"Fine, whatever." Our good mood had officially disappeared. Jacob scooped me up into his arms and started back out of the trees.

"Your fly is still down," I reminded him. He cursed and blushed.

"Will you…"

"I'm not zipping up your pants for you buddy-boy," I said firmly. He rolled his eyes.

"You said earlier you were freezing, and now you want me to stop again to fix my pants when you can easily fix them for me?" He clearly did not understand how I could object.

"Just fix it," I said with a sigh. He rolled his eyes again and hooked one arm around my upper chest, releasing my legs. He held me tight to him and reached down, zipping his pants.

"Happy?" he snapped. I glared up at him.

"Sure, fine, whatever." We stood glaring at each other for a minute, his arm still around me, keeping me pressed against him.

"You have something on your face," he said gruffly. He reached his free hand up and gently brushed his thumb against my cheek, his fingers tilting my face up towards his. His warm fingers felt good on my cold face so I didn't object to his thumb rubbing over my cheek.

"Gone," he said, taking his hand away. I shivered suddenly, chills going up my spine. "Cold?"

"A little," I confessed.

"Sorry." He leaned towards me, his cheek brushing against mine as he dipped and lifted me back into his arms. "Let's get you back to the house."

"Kay," I murmured. My eyelids drooped and I realized I was exhausted. I wrapped my arms around his neck and leaned my head on his shoulder.

"Are you tired?" I nodded and closed my eyes, getting as comfortable as I could, which turned out to be pretty dang comfy. He tightened his arms around me and began running.

"Am I heavy?" I whispered. I felt Jacob shake his head. "That's good." I yawned.

It didn't take Jacob longer than a few minutes to run back to his house, even carrying me didn't slow him down. He walked in the front door and sat on the couch, cradling me in his lap. I didn't open my eyes when he changed his mind and set me on the couch. He took the blanket and wrapped me in it, pulling me back onto his lap.

"Do you want to lie on the couch?" Jacob whispered in my ear, his hot breath brushing over my neck and the left side of my face.

"No, this is good," I murmured. I snuggled closer and sighed, content. He chuckled and leaned back against the couch.

The warmth from his body made me even more tired. I rested my head against his chest. He in turn leaned his cheek on the top of my head, his even breathing lulling me to sleep.

"Jacob," I said sleepily.

"Mmm?"

"Thanks."

"Mhmm," he murmured, breathing a heavy sigh. "For what?"

"Everything."

"Kay. You're welcome."

Billy

I was not surprised to see Jacob curled up on the couch, Max in his arms, when I came home. They slept easily, comfortable with each other. I had not seen my son sleep so deeply and peacefully in a long time. It made me feel better about this strange girl. If she could make Jacob look his age while he slept, she was all right in my book. I was just afraid that she would drag all her problems into Jacob's already too-complicated life. He had enough on his plate as it was. He didn't need anything more to stress him out.

"Billy," Sam called. I turned my chair around and put a finger to my lips. Sam closed his mouth and walked quietly into the house. He looked at the two sleeping figures on the couch and smiled knowingly.

"Has he told her yet?" he whispered. I shook my head.

"I don't think so."

"It won't be long now," he said, as if he knew that Jacob's ability to keep the secret was wearing thin. "Has she told him anything?"

"If she has, he hasn't told me," I said, looking at my son. Sam nodded.

"She hasn't told him then."

"Probably not," I agreed. Sam sighed.

"I'll come back later then. Have Jacob report when he wakes up. He has duty tonight." I nodded.

"Sure, sure." I glanced back at them. "He'll be there tonight."

"Good. See you later Billy."

"Bye Sam." Sam turned, closing the door quietly behind him. I looked at my son and his soon-to-be-girlfriend and sighed. This relationship would be hard on all of us, judging by Max's personality and hidden past, and Jacob's inability to be even slightly reasonable.

Sam

As I ran through the forest, the wind whipping around me and through the black fur that covered my body, I mentally prepared myself. I hadn't had to encounter the entire coven in a while. I wasn't looking forward to doing this on my own. I should have taken some backup, but I had promised Max.

"Sam?" Edward looked astounded to see me. I ducked back into the trees and shifted quickly.

"We need to talk," I said firmly. Edward must have listened to my thoughts because he frowned.

"If she doesn't want to tell you, I certainly will not. And neither will any of my family," he said, glaring down the porch at me.

"She said it was alright if you told me," I countered. "She said she doesn't care, so long as she doesn't have to say it again."

"I don't care," Edward said, pronouncing each word slowly for emphasis. I growled.

"I need to know what's threatening my pack," I said firmly.

"There's nothing threatening your precious pack," Edward snarled. "It's just Max and her feelings."

"And those feelings could do some damage if I don't know what they are. If she won't tell me what happened to her while she was gone, you will."

"No, I won't," Edward snapped.

"Edward? What's wrong?" Bella came to stand beside her husband. "Sam? What are you doing here?"

"I came to talk to one of you," I said, hoping I could get her to talk since her beau was being so difficult. "For the safety of my pack, I need to know what happened to Max."

"We can't tell you," Bella said firmly. "If she won't, we won't be the ones to speak of her distress." She sounded so stern that I had to growl once more to express my frustration.

"So none of you will tell me," I said, trying to make sure. They both nodded. "You vampires are so damn difficult."

"We try," a booming voice called from inside. It must have been Emmett. I snarled and turned, going back into the trees to shift once more.

As I ran back to La Push, my mind racing, I couldn't help but feel sorry. Not for myself, but for Max. I had been pushing this so hard because I hadn't wanted her to have to tell it. It seemed to cause her so much pain just to think about it. I had only wanted to know, I didn't care who told it to me. I had caught a break when Max told me the Cullens could inform me. The opportunity to release her of that pain had vanished with the Cullen's refusal.