Choice
Chapter6

Emily:

I notice the way he looks at her. The longing, adoration and regret in his eyes. Or the sighs of impatience when he can't see her. And then she let him hold her daughter. For a moment there I saw what should have been, Sam standing next to Leah holding their child and smiling like the big happy family they were supposed to have. Was it my fault? Did I make everyone so miserable? Is this my punishment, watching my husband yearn for another woman who is happily married to another man? Not to mention the little girl that is now the apple of everyone's eye. Sarah Black, I have to admit she's a beautiful baby, but the attention that Sam shows her, It's like he believes for a moment that she's his daughter. It hurts my heart to see the way he looks at them, knowing he will never look at me like that. All because I know that he knows what should have been...

"Sam! Breakfast is ready." Emily called.

She smiled as she watched him run down the stairs and kiss her on the cheek before sitting down at the table in front of the large plate of carbohydrates. He seemed happier lately, probably because that pretty vampire Rose and Seth have finally left town. They refused to leave until the small threat of vampires was gone from Forks and surrounding areas. Of course that drove Sam nuts because he knew anytime he went to the Black house, he and his body parts were constantly threatened. The animosity between him and the vampires only grew when it prevented him from seeing Leah and Sarah on a daily basis. Now that they've left again due to Renesseme's ever changing age, Sam was running over there with "pack business" supposedly in regards to Leah and Sarah's well being. They had been invited to the first birthday party, and even the second, Leah had even allowed Emily to watch Sarah a few times throughout the year when Sue, Seth, Rose and Harry were unavailable. But Emily didn't mind that she was last, she was just happy to be on the list.

"That was great Emily, you're the best." Sam said while dusting off his chest from crumbs.

"I thought I would go over to Leah's today. I made fresh blueberry muffins." Emily said, emphasizing the warm treat by lifting the basket in her arms they were sitting in.

"Her favorite." Sam stopped moving realizing what he said and stared at her. She smiled and nodded breaking the tension. Of course Sam would know what Leah's favorite food was, he was nearly married to her.

They locked everything up and began their walk over to the former Clearwater house. It seemed like a perfect day outside, something very rare in their town where rain dominates most days of the week. The sun was bright and the birds were chirping, giving the Uleys a peaceful moment in time that they could share together.

Sam stopped walking and froze to the spot where he was standing. Emily turned and looked back. Dread creeping into her heart as she stares at Sam's face. She wants to ask him what's wrong, but refrains from doing so when he holds his hand up for her to be silent. His face grows darker and turns sharply towards the woods. His eyes widen and now Emily can't hold out not knowing what's going on any longer. She runs to him, and he engulfs her in his arms protectively while still listening intently. Emily cringes when she hears a loud panicked howl coming from the direction they were facing.

"Sam?" Emily whispers in fear.

He looks down at her and she can see the turmoil in his eyes. The choice: Abandon his imprint to help his pack mate or find safety and risk the time spent to accomplish that. She had her answer when he pulled her tighter to his chest before he took a deep breath and picked her up in his arms. Emily dropped the basket and held onto Sam with both arms tightly. He sprinted back to their house where he left her standing in the middle of the kitchen with strict instructions to call Jared and Kim.

Jared dropped Kim off before running into the woods himself. She tried to ask if he knew what was happening, but all she received was a grunt and a shrug of the shoulders. Kim sat with her and they waited on news of their loved ones. Time passed at a snails pace to each of the girls, but in reality it only been 30 minutes before Sam busted through the door caring the shoulders of a bloody Jacob Black while Jared carried in the feet. They laid him down gently on the carpet and moved away walking back towards the door.

Before Emily or Kim could move, Sam came back to her and knelt down.

"Call the Cullen's. We need a doctor." Sam said. When Emily failed to move or tare her eyes away from the non-moving body, Sam grabbed her hands. "Emily, please. We need him now."

She nodded with a jerking movement of her head to show she understood. As Sam walked out the door, Emily froze and ran to follow him out.

"Leah! Where is Leah?" Emily yelled to get his attention. To get some answers. To get some relief from this numb feeling traveling through her entire body.

"Emily-" Sam begins but is cut off.

"Where is she Sam? Tell me she's okay! Tell me you know where she is! Tell me her and Sarah... Oh dear god...Sarah..." Emily can barely finish the sentence as tears are falling from her eyes faster than she can wipe them away. The sobs soon become uncontrollable and she falls to her knees clutching her sides.

Sam kneels down in front of her and tries to put a comforting hand on her shoulder. Emily looks up and asks, barely above a whisper, "Where is Sarah?"

Sam clutches his jaw tight together and looks to the ground.

That was her answer. "God no...Sarah..."

"Emily, please help Jacob." Sam requested again of her.

Emily nodded and with Sam's help she was lifted off the ground and back onto her feet. He helped wipe away the tears before turning her back around towards the house. She walked back in to see Kim leaning over Jacob's body trying to wipe the blood away in order to view the cuts and bruises. There was so much blood it was hard to tell.

"I'll...um...I'll get some warm water and towels." Emily said trying to clear her throat from the emotions still threatening to overwhelm her. She started in the kitchen by pulling out a small bowl and turning on the water faucet, standing there waiting for the cold water to turn warm.

"Emily!" Kim screamed from the living room. A loud crash was heard before she made it around the corner.

When she got there, she could see Jacob had stood and knocked over a vase that had been full of sunflowers. She walked towards him as he staggered away from Kim's outstretched hands.

"Jacob, your hurt, lay back down so we can tend to you." Emily pleaded while still keeping a safe distance from the bloody man.

He began limping to the door. Emily moved to stop him but was held back by one of his large arms.

"I won't leave her." Jacob whispered, mostly to himself Emily thought.

She didn't stand in his way. No instead she decided to follow him out the door. Running back in and grabbing her coat, she told Kim to stay and lock the door. Without hesitation she continued to follow Jacob through the break in the trees into the dark forest. Jacob she noticed, was in a slight daze, his only sole purpose was to get to Leah and Sarah right now, Emily figured. It was why he didn't notice her when he suddenly phased into his wolf form and took off into a sprint. Emily began running with all her might, pumping her legs as fast as they would let her. She thanked god that her long legs were built for speed, it was why her and Leah were champion track runners in High school, and nobody could beat them except each other. The idea of Leah made her push herself harder, she would never be able to live with herself if she slowed down due to her own exhaustion and failed to help Leah and Sarah.

Emily stumbled over a fallen branch and cursed for the timing, a small crunching sound was heard coming from her right ankle and she grimaced in pain. She looked back up to see Jacob disappear from sight over the hill. Getting up from the ground she limped to the nearest tree and leaned against it trying to catch her breath. Growling noises up ahead made her head snap in the direction Jacob had went. She pushed away from the tree and limped quickly, trying to keep some of the weight off the throbbing ankle. As soon as she made it up the hill, she looked down to see a steep cliff that she wouldn't be able to get down and Jacob who was snarling at a small pack of Vampires while standing in front of a bloody Leah who was clutching a crying Sarah to her chest. Leah and Jacob were backing away slowly until one of the vampires grew anxious and lurched at Jacob, going for his back with his arms. Emily inhaled sharply and Leah made a mad dash up the hill towards her. Leah slipped, she looked weak and blood was dripping down the front of her dress and down the arm that was holding Sarah. Emily reached down with her hand to catch Leah's hand before she slid back down. Leah looked up shocked to see her, but didn't ask any questions just pulled Emily further down and hoisted Sarah up.

"Take her, Em." Leah pleaded.

Emily grabbed Sarah with her other arm and pulled over the edge towards her body. While holding Sarah close she reached back over to grab Leah.

"Leah, come on!" Emily yelled trying to get her attention.

Leah looked up at Emily with tears in her eyes. "Tell Sarah that we love her, and that we'll always be with her."

Emily stared at Leah in shock and was thrust back into the reality of the situation when a vampire ran up the cliff and started pulling Leah down. She clutched Sarah tighter to her chest, wanting to help Leah and wanting to protect Sarah.

Leah made the decision for her, "EMILY RUN!"

Emily saw Leah shift before standing to turn. She saw a vampire make eye contact with her and turn towards her. She pulled Sarah as close to her body as she could and began running. The pain in her ankle made her slow, and it was only moments before she felt a cold hand on the back of her jacket.

The thought crossed her mind that she failed. She failed Sam by not listening to his order to stay home. She failed Leah by not being able to pull her up over the cliff. And as she looked down into Sarah's big brown eyes, she realized she just failed her by not protecting her. The one thing Leah has ever truly demanded of her. How she wished she had one more day. One more chance to say 'I love you' to Sam, One more moment to tell Leah, that through all they've been through, she never stopped loving her like a sister. One more minute to thank Jacob for finally giving Leah the life she deserved. She just needed one more damn second!

Before one more thought could cross her mind, a black as night wolf came through the trees and intercepted the vampire at her back. She fell to the ground with a grunt because she turned to avoid the shock of the fall instead of Sarah. She watched as Sam tore the head from the vampire with Jared, Paul, Embry and Quil following behind and helping him tear the cold one apart limb by limb.

Sam came up to her, nostrils flaring. She pointed to the top of the hill, "Leah. Jacob. Help." she managed to get out in between catching her breath and speaking over the pain.

Sam turned and three of the four followed him and disappeared over the hill leaving Quil to help her up and onto his back. He pawed the ground and she understood to hold on tight. Quil took off running through the forest making the trees all looked like a blur to her. At this point Sarah had stopped crying and simply clutched at Emily's jacket for dear life. She could tell the toddler was scared, but knew that crying was not going to help her right now. Emily knew at that point, Sarah was truly Leah's daughter.

Finally making it through the break in the woods, Emily slid off of Quil's back in front of her porch steps and fell to the ground instantly. She wasn't going to make it to her door without help. Kim ran out with clothes in her hand. Quil ran behind a tree and came back dressed in a pair of cut offs. Kim reached down to pull Sarah into her arms and instead received a piercing scream for her actions.

"It's okay Kim, I got her."

Kim stepped back and allowed Quil to pick Emily up off the ground and make their way to the porch. She was settled on the couch with Kim examining her ankle and various other cuts and bruises on her body. Sarah had yet to release Emily's neck from her hard grip and Emily, if she was honest, didn't want to let her go either. They were the closest thing either one them had to Leah. In looks, in scent and in memories. Emily sent up a silent prayer that they were all safe and that Sarah would have parents to go home to at the end of the day. The only thing she couldn't explain was the fact that when she turned her face to look out her front door and saw nothing but tress, heard nothing but the wind and felt nobody but the ones in the house. A feeling came over her raising the hair on the back of her neck. That was never a good sign.

~Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! I love reviews and all of yours are so nice! Now I can't wait to see what you think of this chapter. I know heartbreaking right? I should be shot for writing so much drama...(Put the gun away)...It was really difficult to write the Jacob part, only because I cried knowing what he was going to do. In my head it happened a lot more tragic, hopefully I was able to express that in my writing. Anywho you know what to do! Review!

~Smo