AN – I do not own the characters of Twilight. They belong to Stephanie Meyers.

Chapter 19

QPOV

Sniffing the air, I wake from a decent night's sleep to the aroma of coffee drifting through the bedroom door. At first, I was disoriented until I remembered that I was in my cabin. I allow myself a small smile. It felt good to be home. I prop myself up on my elbow to check on Tia. She's sound asleep. I carefully untangle my legs from the bed covers and walk into the kitchen to find Sam sitting at the table with a mug in hand. I pull the bedroom door closed behind me and I grab a mug from the cabinet. After pouring myself a cup, I take a seat that the table with Sam.

"So, what has you here at this early hour Sam?" sipping my coffee.

"Yeah, early…right. You two have been sound asleep for about 13 hours. It's almost noon lazy bones. Uma and Emily came up to bring you two breakfast but you weren't awake so they left it in the oven for you." Sam seems so much more relaxed now that we're back home. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you for a few without everyone around, if you don't mind."

"Nope, don't mind at all." I hop up from the table to check out what is in the oven. I find a breakfast casserole and some of Uma's muffins that I love. I grab a plate and dig in; making sure that there's plenty for Tia when she wakes. Thinking of her, I wonder if I should wake her or just let her sleep for now. Sitting down at the table, I decide that sleep was probably best for her for the time being. "So what do you want to talk about?" I ask as I start eating.

"Quil, I know you well enough that I shouldn't have to say this but given that I'm the only male family figure in her life now, I'm going to anyway. I want you to be very careful with Tia for the time being. You two have been through a lot and haven't had much of an opportunity to work on your relationship but given that you will be spending a great deal of time with her during her recovery, your wolf might make things …difficult…for you."

Pausing in mid bite, I look at him and raise an eyebrow. "Um..do what?"

Sighing, Sam just gets to the point. "Your wolf is going to soon want to proceed further with your relationship with Tia but you already know that she can't handle that right now. Just be aware of this is all I'm saying. I completely trust you two up here alone. I just want you to cool your jets if your wolf starts getting antsy."

"Ah, got it." Turning redder than I ever thought possible, I pick up my coffee. "Did you really come up here just to tell me to behave myself?"

Sam laughs but then turns serious. "No, not just that, but I did feel the need to play the role of big brother there for just a moment. I also wanted to let you know that I've asked Sue to come over and check out Tia. We need to keep a close eye on her. She hasn't been eating much. We don't want to her get sick physically while she's dealing with her emotional pain. Don't want to compound her problems."

"That's a good idea. I'm going to work on getting her to eat more. I'm sure Emily and Uma's cooking with entice her a bit more." I stab a piece of casserole. "Sam, …what if Tia isn't the same when she comes back to us?" I hesitate. "What if she feels differently about …things?"

"Like your imprint bond? Quil, I don't think you need to worry about Tia's feelings for you, but I wouldn't be surprised if she doesn't come out a little bit different from this. She has seen her mother die in her mind, not something that one can easily forget. It has to be hard on her." Sam refills his coffee mug. "Look, I'm taking you off of patrol rotation for this next week. I want you to spend time helping her. If you start getting cabin crazy, just let me know and I'll set you up with some short patrols. I'm going to have one of the pack within ear shot at all times so that if you two need anything, all you have to do is tell them. I've told the others that they can come up to visit you but under no circumstances are they allowed to come in here and overrunning the place. One of the girls will stop by at least once a day to check in on you."

"Thanks, it really helps to know that I'm not handling this on my own."

"No problem, all you have to do is let us know if you need anything." He stands putting his empty mug in the sink. "Ok, I'm going to head back home. Emily isn't happy that I came up here early this morning rather than sleep in. I'm going to go home and catch a bit more shut eye. I'll talk to you soon." Sam waves and heads out the back door.

Sighing to myself, I clean up from my meal to go check on my girl. During my talk with Sam, she woke up and has returned to her blank stare. I tuck a piece of hair back between her ear as I sit down on the bed beside her. "Hey love, do you feel like eating something? Emily brought us some breakfast casserole and some of Uma's muffins. How about you go to the table and let me fix you something to eat?" I place a kiss on her cheek.

It's kind of eery to watch how she reacted. Tia got out of bed and walked through the door. She went to the table and sat down. I set the plate of food in front of her and she picks up her fork to eat a couple of bites. There's no emotion in her face. She maintains the stare and doesn't make a sound. I pour her a glass of OJ which she drinks.

And so begins our routine of sleeping, waking, eating and moving around a bit. The first day went by slowly for me. The lack of activity was actually exhausting mentally and physically.

The day of Jemilla's funeral arrives. Sam, Emily and Uma decided to fly down to Vegas for the ceremony and fly back almost immediately afterwards. I can't even tell if Tia knows what is going on around her. Surely soon, she will break free of her own mind to come back to us.

Days turn into weeks. Sue checks in every other day, taking Tia's vitals to be sure that she's eating and drinking enough. Emily and Uma come by in the mornings to help Tia dress and clean the kitchen. One my pack brothers stops in every once in a while to see how we're doing or just to hang out. With each passing day, I feel my sense of helplessness grow as there's still no change in Tia. I decided that I had to take Sam up on his offer to run short patrols, but I only agree to do the runs if he or Jared stayed with Tia while I was out. I also talked Jared into bringing me my dock for our music as well as my flat screen and PS3 from the house. I needed distraction badly. By the middle of the third week, I dug into my online classes. After a bit of research and a look at my transcript, I realized that I would be able to graduate in May if I worked at it.

TPOV

The mists surround me as I continue to walk through the forest, only now the night animals were quiet. I am terrified but I feel a strong arm around my waist. I cling to that arm as if it were my savior, knowing that it would protect me from whatever may come. I continue to struggle to reach the living room. Suddenly my mom appears at the end of the hallway in front o me. She is dressed in white and a bright light surrounds her. "Goodbye Tia. I love you." No! Mom! You can't leave me. No! Mom! Stay…please?" I start to beg, tears coursing down my cheeks. The arm around my waist tightens in response but my grief is too strong to notice. I fall to my knees in the hallway in anguish. Then, I look up to see the silhouette of a man with his hand held out to me in front of me. I put my hand out for him but I can't quite reach his hand.

Then, the mists surround me as I continue to walk through the forest, only the night animals…

QPOV

We're well into the fourth week. I'm standing in the living room looking out the window at the waves at First Beach talking to Jared. I don't know how I would have made it this far without him. He's been with me through my mini break downs and angry moments. He's knocked some sense into me more than a couple of times, always helped me to pick myself back up. We were discussing the latest news coming out of Seattle concerning more attacks when it started.

Tia was screaming, loudly as if something was tearing her apart bit by bit. I jumped out of my skin when her voice broke the silence of the cabin. I dropped my glass onto the table and flew into the bedroom with Jared right behind me. I was sure that something or someone had attacked her. I was ready to take it on.

What we found instead was Tia curled up in a fetal position, yelling at the top of her lungs with her hands over her ears. She's wide awake and shaking horribly. I pull her up into my arms making calming noises, only I can't seem to get through to her. I start rocking her, rubbing her back soothingly; still nothing. I look up at Jared, silently asking for help. He nods at me, pulls out his cell, and calls Sam. Within minutes, Uma and Sam come through the door. Uma walks straight to Tia's side and lays her hand on her temple quietly saying something in her ear. The screaming subsides and I feel the tension in her release. I continue to rock with Tia. God, I was worried and anxious before, now I'm terrified for her. I feel like I'm falling apart.

Sam sits down on the bed and Uma pulls out the makings of her special tea. Jared walks into the kitchen to boil some water for the tea. Uma takes the hot water from him and prepares the drink. She helps Tia drink the contents of the mug and looks over at me. "She'll be back soon Quil." Giving me a sad smile, she explains to me and Sam how to fix more of the tea if she should need it. Jared drove her back to her house.

After Tia had drifted back off to sleep, I laid her down gently on her pillow and tucked a blanket around her. I walk out of the room and out the front door for some fresh air.

SPOV

I could hear Tia's screams well before we turned off the main road. I tightened my grip on the Jeep's steering wheel rather than letting my worry show on my face, not wanting to give Uma any more reason for concern. Walking into the house, we went straight to the bedroom to see Quil trying to calm her down but the look in his eyes told me that he couldn't take much more. Uma set herself to making the tea that would help her. Once she had fallen asleep and Jared had taken Uma home, I followed Quil out to the front porch.

He's leaning on the railing looking out into the night. He's holding on so tightly that I can hear the wood crack under his hands. His head is bowed down and his shoulder sag under the strain of what he had just experienced.

I walk over to him and put my hand on his shoulder. "Quil, I completely understand what you're feeling. I felt the same way as Emily healed from my accident. Uma assured me that this is a good sign even though it's hard one to endure. She'll be coming back to us, back to you."

He sighs and raises his head to look at me. His eyes show his anguish. Sighing, he looks back out over the beach below. "I know, but I miss her so much Sam. It's like there's a hole in my heart that can't be filled until she's better." He wipes his hands over his face in frustration.

"She's in a better place than she was that first night of the dream Quil. It's just a matter of time now." I add. "Do you want to go take a quick run? I can stay here with her if you do." He finally lets go of the railing and turns around. "Yeah, I think I need to. I'll be back in about 30 minutes." I watch as he turns to walk off the porch and doesn't bother undressing. He phases and takes off. Within 10 minutes, I hear him howling out his sadness from a mountain top. I've done the same and understand how much of a release that action can be.

Knowing that Quil will be out a while longer, I go into the kitchen to take frozen lasagna out of the oven and put it in the oven for later. Emily had left some fresh baked rolls on the counter and a salad in the fridge. Turning on the tv, I sit down on the couch to catch the news and sports updates. During one of the commercials, I hear a very quiet sniffling come from the bedroom.

I stick my head in to see that she's awake, crying softly. I pull her into my arms, smoothing her hair away from her face. She doesn't react to my actions so I decide that I'm going to talk to her. "Tia, you're safe with your family now. We will always be here for you. Quil loves you very much and will never leave your side. Come back to us soon. We all miss you little one." I kiss the top of her head and her sniffling stops. I feel her hand close over mine. Smiling, I hold her until I hear Quil come through the door. After he showers and eats, I go back home.

QPOV

That first day of screaming was the worst. Tia continues to have these episodes but the tone of her screams has changed, from terror filled to heart breaking anguish. She has a couple of episodes a day for the next week. Each time, I pull her into my arms and hold her while she sips her tea. Once she's asleep again, I allow myself a moment of fresh air to collect my thoughts. I have to keep focused on getting her back.

New Year's Eve came and I celebrated with Jared and Kim who only stayed until they saw that Tia and I were exhausted. I crawled into bed beside Tia, pulling her into my arms where she belongs. Today had been a better day. She only had one screaming episode and managed to eat a bit more than usual. I sigh, give her a kiss on the cheek and fall asleep.

TPOV

The mists surround me as I continue to walk through the forest, only now the night animals were quiet. I am terrified but I feel a strong arm around my waist. I cling to that arm as if it were my savior, knowing that it would protect me from whatever may come. I continue to struggle to reach the living room. Suddenly my mom appears at the end of the hallway in front of me. She is dressed in white and a bright light surrounds her. "Goodbye Tia. I love you." Tears coursing down my cheeks, I reply "I love you too Mom. Goodbye." She disappears. I fall to my knees in the hallway in anguish. Then, I look up to see the silhouette of a man with his hand held out to me in front of me. I reach out my hand and take his. The mists begin to clear…

QPOV

I wake the next morning to see that snow had started to fall during the night blanketing the trees and the eves of our cabin. I lay still for a moment watching a blue jay flit from one part of the roof to another, looking around curiously. I raise my arm over my head and tuck it underneath my pillow. I look down thinking that Tia was still asleep. I was wrong. She was lying quietly on my shoulder, watching me.

"Good morning love." I whisper to her. She smiled up at me and I thought my heart was going to explode with happiness. Instead of bounding out of the bed in excitement, I tightened my arm around her and we laid there in bed in quiet contentment for the rest of the morning.

Within the week, Tia has finished most of her recovery. She's up, moving around on her own, eating and interacting. She's not talking much but she's trying. There's a constant, deep sadness in her eyes. Our friends trickle in to visit and I made sure that no one stayed overlong. When it was just us in the cabin, we watched movies, read books and fell asleep in each other's arms. On Thursday evening after dinner, Tia looked up at me. I raise an eyebrow seeing that she needs to talk. "Tell me what happened Quil. I need to know." She whispered.

I take her over to the couch and pull her onto my lap. I tell her the whole story from her dream at the bonfire to our return from Vegas. I told her that her recovery has been a slow one but that didn't matter because she was better now.

"How long have I been…out of it?" she asked.

Sighing, I answer "About 6 weeks." I pulled her into my lap and she buries her face into my neck. The tears start to fall again but this time, they're in grief for her mother. I hold her until her she stops. Sniffling, she sits back up and I dry her tears gently with my thumb.

"You've been with me this entire time?"

I nod my head to answer her. "Yes, and I have every intention of staying by your side Tia. I love you."

Placing her hand on my cheek, she smiles sadly. "Thank you Quil." She puts her head back down into my neck. I tighten my arms around her and lay my cheek on the top of her head. A tear of happiness escapes down my cheek. She's back.