The Twilight Series belongs to S. Meyer, no copyright infrigment is intended. I'm just playing with the characters.

AN: I haven't got many reviews for the last chapter but I decided I'd post an update sooner rather than later.

Two weeks—fourteen days—336 hours—20,160 minutes—she could take the time to figure it out into even smaller increments if she desired. It was how long it had been since Sam had been discovered missing. It was how long it took for them to give up hope.

Them—the search party, the police, the tribe. Not Leah or Allison. But she was quickly coming to realize hope could only do so much. She knew the facts, understood them. The human body could live three days without water, a few weeks without food—but you still needed shelter, covering from the elements.

It had rained nearly every day since he had been gone; falling in icy sheets. She overheard more than one person say they would be lucky to find his frozen corpse before the animals got to it.

The first time she heard someone say it—she railed at them. Charging at them, fists clenched; she pounded on their chest, screaming at them to take it back. They were wrong—he was alive—she would know if he wasn't.

But now she doubted her feelings, intuition—the facts stared her in the face. Never changing; they were what they were. At what point was it okay for her to let go? When was the right time to say goodbye? Today, tomorrow, next week?

The answer didn't come to her. No matter how hard she prayed. How much she pleaded to each and every god she knew of—it didn't change the facts. Sam was gone and was never coming back.

Finally on day fifteen she gave up hope. It was the hardest thing she had done in her short life. Giving up on someone she loved. Harder still was the fact there wasn't a body—nothing tangible to say goodbye to.

It's why she found herself on First Beach in the early hours of the morning. The sun had barely peeked over the horizon; she could feel the warming rays of it at her back. When she thought about it; it was the first sunny day since he went missing.

Maybe this was the sign she had been waiting for. He was giving her permission to let him go. Her heart felt a little lighter at the thought. She was strong and though she would never forget her first love—it was okay to let go and keep living. He wouldn't want her to give up just because he wasn't there.

She sat there with her knees pulled to her chest. Her arms wrapped tightly around them while her chin resting on her knees. Her eyes closed as she thought back to everything she remembered about him. How he made her feel. The love she had seen reflected in his eyes when he gazed at her. The sound his heart made as it thudded against her ear while she laid on his chest.

It was those things she would hold close to her heart. Those things she vowed to never forget. His smile, the laugh lines that surrounded his eyes, the wrinkles in his forehead she teased him about when he was being too serious for his young age.

As a small child he had been thrust into a mantle of responsibility. His mom did what she could after Joshua Uley abandoned them—but that meant long hours at work to provide for them. Sam had learned too early how to be independent and take care of himself.

During their time together, Leah had tried to help him be less an adult and more the teenager he was. Her efforts weren't always met with excitement but it didn't matter. The times she would piss him off, it never took much for her to get him laughing again. What was the point to life if there was no joy in it?

Lastly, she imagined what their future together would have looked like. Graduating from college; triumphantly holding their degrees aloft. A simple ceremony on the beach surrounded by family and friends. A key scraping the lock to the door of their first house.

Two blue lines on a pink plastic stick. Her belly rounding each day until he couldn't wrap his arms around while standing behind her. The day she would experience both the pain and joy of labor. And there would be more than just one addition to their family—two or three, maybe a dog too.

They would grow together—experiencing good and bad times and learning how to be better partners, listeners, and lovers. Their family would grow over the years as their children left the nest, married, and had children of their own. They would ease into their golden years surrounded by their loved ones.

And when it came time to say goodbye—they wouldn't be afraid. For they had lived their whole lives, doing the things they wanted to do, saying the things they needed to say—there was no reason to fear the end because it was only another beginning.

He watched nearby while she said goodbye. Not sure of his place; whether he should leave, stay, or comfort her. Like her, they too had come to say goodbye to their friend.

Though he would never diminish the goodbye she was trying to say. Sam was someone who he had known since they were young. Birthday parties, camping trips, and playground games were nowhere equal to what Sam and Leah had shared.

And Sam had been extraordinarily lucky. Leah was a girl who was very unaware of her beauty—both inner and outer. Her smile and laughter could light up a room. He wasn't sure whether his feelings were jealously or just noticing someone who had never looked at him that way.

There was always your first—your first crush, first love, first dream. And she had been his. He could remember the first time he noticed her. Noticed how she was different from other girls—special, unique, and lovely. Her nature was gentle and kind but she would fight just as fiercely for those she cared about.

It was a dark secret—the true life on the reservation. The pictures of powwows and ceremonies showed such a little part of their life. Not every day was glamorous or happy. There were the broken families, people living in poverty, and the depression and its co-existing substance abuse.

The first time she caught his eye was on the playground when a group of older boys were picking on a younger one. She bravely stood up to the older boys—a tiny fist clenched as she told the leader Kyle, 'Pick on someone your own size.' Her clenched fist didn't stay still for long; within moments it connected solidly with Kyle's nose. He cried out and clutched at his bleeding nose; wailing that she had punched him.

She walked away with her head held high, her black braids swinging with each step she took. When she reached the younger boy, she held her hand out to him and helped him off the ground. Her following actions motherly as she brushed the dirt off his back and wiped the tears from his eyes. Her tiny arm wrapped around him and she walked him towards the school; glaring at anyone who dared to look their way. Her eyes challenged them to pick on her new friend.

He wasn't sure how long he stood there in the shadows watching her and reminiscing when her sobs started. Each wail pulled at him, begging him to venture closer. He couldn't just leave her here alone in her grief.

He walked toward her; his movements unconscious and moments later he was behind her. It was mere seconds before he knew what to do. He sank to his knees behind her, his arms wrapping around her without another thought. Instinct guided him as he murmured soothing words to her.

He felt his eyes burn with tears and he didn't try to hold them back. She of all people would understand. They cried and mourned together. Her for her lover and him for his friend—someone he admired and looked up to.

It didn't take long before his knees began to hurt and he had to switch positions. His arms moved from hers and she cried at the loss of them. He sat down on the cold ground and then reached forward and tugged her onto his lap. His head dropped to rest against hers.

"I'm so sorry, Leah," he whispered. "I don't know what to say."

"There's nothing to say...he's gone...I have to accept it..."

He didn't know what to say to her quiet whisper but he had to try, "Not if you're not ready."

"Life isn't fair. It's just fairer than death is all."

He racked his brain trying to remember where he had heard that before. His long silence prompted her to continue, "The Princess Bride."

"Oh, I thought I recognized it."

"The twins and I used to watch it every summer much to every one's dismay. Poor Seth, I don't think he's forgiven me for it yet."

"Probably not."

"It's just the facts are there; right in our faces. I can keep praying and hoping but in the end...it will still be the same result," she paused to take a shuddering breath in. "Does that make me a bad person?"

"Why would you think that?"

"Because...it feels like I'm breaking a promise. Like you shouldn't give up someone you love."

He thought about what she was saying and weighed his next words carefully. The only people he had ever loved and lost besides for Sam, were family members. Those losses weren't in league with hers; he loved them but wasn't in love with them. His plans for the future didn't involve them to the extent that Leah and Sam's had involved each other.

In the end as much as the truth hurt and as hard as it was to say what he needed to say; he did. "I don't think you're a bad person. Not at all. Sam wouldn't want you to give up on your life, your dreams, or your future just because he isn't here. You have your whole life ahead of you."

He felt her nod against his chest. There were no words needed. He tried not to focus on the feel of her in his arms and how perfect it felt. Instead he watched the waves rolling to shore and enjoyed this moment, knowing it no matter how long it lasted—it would be too short.

AN: So, you've gotten your first peek at our mystery wolf. Now you just have to start looking for clues. ;D

FF_8756144_5 12/4/2012 8:34PM