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

It wasn't until Old Quil was done with his ritual that Leah was able to get a moment to ask Paul exactly what happened. The two Quil's volunteered to watch over Seth. She was grateful that they had because she didn't care to watch how her parents dealt with the fact their son had become a man in only a few hours.

"What the fuck happened this morning? He's…" she struggled to find the words.

"I know," Paul agreed, shaking his head.

"I assume he had to be pushed?"

"Yes, Jared got him to phase and then called us. Seth was pissed, irate—ready to dismember him. But he's always idolized Black, so that worked in our favor. We told him about the legends and then were working on a few things with him. We knew he needed to phase back, but you still have to run off some of the built up anger you have from the first phase."

She nodded before asking, "Why hasn't he said anything about it?"

"I don't think he remembers. I don't know that there are words to describe the things that happened today."

"What?! It wasn't like yesterday," she asked, emphasizing the unspoken meaning of that single word.

"Kinda. They got into it. Same shit, new day—I guess." At her confused look, he clarified, "Jared and Sam."

"So when he said—you all know…"

Paul had the decency to blush. His attempt at an apology was weak, but better than nothing, "I'm sorry. It's just," his hands brushed through his hair. "Well, when you're ordered; it's impossible."

He met her eyes while he finished, "Not that it helps, but it was early in the pack. Just the three of us; the others only know because of a slipped memory or two—not the whole story."

She nodded stiffly, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment and anger, replying, "I doubt it was that hard for them to put together. It's bad enough that I have to know and deal with this shit, but now Seth does too."

"Like I said yesterday—it's pretty obvious you've made a choice. Though where Bella fits into all this I'm not sure," he frowned. "I will admit if anyone could resist the temptation of an imprint it would be him. There are days he does really well, you know, doesn't think of her or feel the pull. It's mostly after seeing her that it causes him to feel it...huh."

"What?"

"Nothing. I mean it might be nothing. How much do you understand about imprinting?"

"I don't know. Soul mate, your other half; some crazy rainbows and unicorn-shit."

He laughed at her summation. "Okay, so the thing is with imprinting—it's a constant pull. In the beginning it's impossible to resist. You need to be around them. If the relationship progresses, then the pull is still there, but it's less. Manageable. Does that make sense?"

"I guess, but what does that have to do with Jared?"

"It's not that way for them. He can go days, probably weeks—though she'd never stay away that long—without seeing her. It's like she's imprinted on him, instead of him on her. The imprinter is what the imprintee needs which when faced with eternal love and devotion—and well, our hot bodies too," he joked before continuing. "It's inevitable that the relationship would develop into a romantic one."

She poked a finger into his chest, a frown appearing, "Fine, but this doesn't have to anything to do with what happened with Seth today. So, are you going to finish your other tale?"

"Yeah, anyway, their conversation got heated. Quil phased out and so did I. I can't really speak to what was said, because none of the guys could talk about it. But basically your brother went all alpha male on them and no one but Quil and I are able to think, speak, or go near you."

"What are you saying?"

"Well, remember how Jared told you how hard Alpha orders are to resist? Seems your brother was able to bind the other four pretty tight with an order. As it looks now, he doesn't remember doing it so until he does we're stuck abiding by it."

"Jared…"

His answer wasn't the one she wanted. She looked as stricken as she had in Jared's memories. The day Jared had relived more than once—the day on First Beach. He and Jared had been friends of a sort, so the times they were assigned to patrol together, Paul didn't say anything if Jared was focused on his memories of Leah. There were times those memories seemed to be the only thing that kept Jared sane.

At the same time he became concerned that she was going to cry, a fire flashed in her eyes and he cowered instinctively. "If that little shit thinks he can get away with this, he's got another thing coming. I don't care how much bigger he is than me—I'm still his older and much wiser sister!"

He watched as she stormed off, not envying Seth at all. He wondered if there was some way that he could tell Jared that Leah wasn't going to take things lying down. Though at the moment there wasn't a plan coming to mind and he hated to cause Jared more pain.

It didn't matter how Old Quil had tried to prepare them. When Seth walked in the room, Sue found herself suddenly distracted by the view of the parking lot the room's single window afforded her. Harry was handling it much better, but she supposed he had seen the changes in the others before. Perhaps not as drastic, but changes none the less.

When she felt like she could face reality, she turned. Her eyes brimmed with tears and her breath whooshed out as she was embraced by the large, warm person who was her son.

"Mom, I thought you were mad at me."

He couldn't even get close to resting his head on her shoulder, not like he had been able to do only days ago. Memories flashed through her head. The day he was born when she and Harry had counted ten tiny toes and fingers; his first hesitant steps, first words. His first day of school; each and every memory made her wonder if she had lost her son forever.

"I'm not mad, honey," she confessed. "I'm just overwhelmed."

The two Quil's had explained the situation. Even if Seth didn't remember phasing, his senses would still be acute and he would be able to tell the truth from a lie. Until Old Quil had an opportunity to talk with both their children—it had been decided it was for the best not to push any boundaries with Seth.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here earlier. Why didn't you wake me up," he asked confusedly.

"Aww, honey, everything was happening so fast. I barely remember the order of things this morning. Now, give me a kiss and visit with your dad for a bit. He's going to need his rest, so I think it's best if I'm the only one who stays the night."

"Okay, mom."

Leah had been in the midst of storming to her dad's room when she thought better of the idea. The last thing she wanted to do was set her brother off. Knowing her luck, he would turn into a giant wolf and then the secret they had kept for centuries would be out. Instead, she paused by the information desk and asked for the room number of her cousin.

The volunteer pointed down the hallway to the pair of elevators which would take her to the second floor. She wasn't sure this was a good idea either, but sooner or later she would have to face her cousin. It would probably be better to do it on her terms and before they had some awkward run-in at a pack function.

She entered the elevator and pushed the button for the second floor. The moment the doors closed and the elevator began its ascent; her stomach began its descent. It had dropped from the middle of her torso and felt like it was going to fall out and land at her feet.

When the doors opened, she almost chickened-out, but shook herself. I'm stronger than this, she told herself. She got out of the elevator and followed the signs to room 202. Knocking softly, she waited until she heard Emily's voice bidding entry.

She was somewhat prepared for what she saw. Jared had explained the extent of Emily's injuries when he had showed up in Leah's bedroom in the middle of the night. White bandages covered the right side of Emily's face and Leah suspected there were some hidden by the hospital gown.

"Hey, umm…Emily. I just wanted…to stop by and see how you were doing," she offered nervously. After taking a quick gulp of air she continued, "If you want me to leave…" pausing she bit her lip, "I can. It's just…well, my dad's here and Seth…well, I'm trying to give them…I don't know…time or something. Crap this is coming out all wrong," she frowned. "I'm sorry, I'll leave."

Surprisingly Emily laughed slightly before groaning in discomfort. "Leah, it's fine. Maybe we should talk while we've got the chance? Otherwise, we'll end up having an audience."

"That's what I was thinking too," she agreed with a small smile toward her cousin.

Their conversation was long overdue. It seemed whatever Leah had been trying to avoid wasn't going to go away, so it was better to get it out there. The tragedy of yesterday was a wake-up call.

Moving closer to Emily, she grabbed the metal folding chair and pulled it close to the bed. Purposely, she sat on Emily's left side, knowing that this wouldn't make it as hard for Emily to see her. She didn't think Emily's vision was affected, but the bandage on her face covered her right eye completely.

"I know it seems like so little, but I'm sorry about yesterday. I didn't know that was going to happen—I didn't realize what was happening until it was too late."

"I shouldn't have kept pushing you. I was so excited and I thought that maybe Harry and Sue would start talking to me again. It was silly to think that way. I never should have told you what I knew either. It wasn't any of my business—it's just hard because I don't know if Sam and I would be together if it wasn't for the imprint. He was yours first, but I love him so much, Leah. I can't imagine living without him."

Her cousin's words were reminiscent of her thoughts about Jared. Things didn't happen randomly; usually they had a reason. If Sam hadn't disappeared, Leah would never have looked twice at Jared and sure, she was happy with Sam, but was it enough for them to last forever? That she wasn't as sure of. Maybe it was time for a confession of her own.

"Do you want to know why I was so mad? Why I told the two of you that I didn't want any contact?"

She waited for Emily's nod before continuing, "When Sam disappeared, I was so lost—I felt so alone. I know I had my parents, my brother, and everyone who helped search for him, but it wasn't enough—or it wasn't what I needed, I don't know. All I know is that once they stopped the search was that I had to make a decision—the hardest one I've ever made in my life. You weren't there, Emily but the facts they spoke so loudly—screaming in my face and telling me that he was never coming back."

"What was I supposed to do? I'd tried. I'd waited, hoped, prayed—done everything I could think of to turn the reality of the situation into what I wanted it to be. The day I had made my decision, the day I decided that I couldn't ignore the facts any longer—I went to First Beach to say goodbye. There was nothing physical to say goodbye to, but it seemed fitting to do it there. I sat there remembering everything I could about Sam; I even imagined what our future together would be like because it was the only way I would be able to say goodbye completely. I was closing the door on over two of the best years of my life and letting go of the pain from the last two weeks."

"Leah…I'm sorry," Emily whispered softly, stretching her hand across the bed toward Leah.

Leah reached forward and laid her hand on the bed next to her cousin's, accepting the comfort Emily was trying to give. Taking in a shuddering breath and blinking back tears she continued, "I didn't know Jared was there and had seen me. Not until he sat near me and held me while I cried. While I mourned for everything that was—that could've been. I needed someone to listen; my parents they tried, but it didn't feel like they understood. Seth—he was too young and I didn't want to burden him. I've never had a ton of girlfriends. Sam and I had been together for so long, that I guess I let those friendships go to the wayside. But Jared—he offered comfort and distraction by being someone who would just listen."

Emily squeezed Leah's hand and Leah looked up and met her gaze. "I didn't know what was going to happen. I didn't think it was possible to feel that way about anyone nor that quickly. Two weeks was all it took. We didn't say anything because it wasn't the right time. I loved Sam, I did, but it was different—it would be an insult to his memory for both of us to flaunt our relationship like that."

"But Sam came back," Emily clarified.

"He did, but he didn't. If that makes any sense?"

Emily nodded, "I didn't know him well before, but I've seen how they change afterwards—their personalities and mannerisms—just enough that you know something happened, but not so much that you can pinpoint what it is. Like they've lost their innocence," she finished with a frown.

"Something like that," Leah agreed. "So, Sam was back from the dead with more secrets than even I could imagine. Things happened so quickly. I went from him being dead and saying goodbye, to falling in love with Jared, to Sam's resurrection and his proposal. Not even knowing why he was so haunted—I couldn't abandon him. I wasn't expecting his proposal, but what else could I say but 'yes.' Anything else would've broken him completely. So, I chose to break Jared instead."

"And when Sam imprinted on me…"

"I was mad because I needed a friend, a confidant—I needed to have someone I could share my deepest secret with. It wasn't because the two of you fell in love. I was mad at myself for not saying 'no' to Sam; for hurting Jared. I couldn't take back the words that I said and soon it didn't matter…"

"Because he phased and you weren't allowed to know the secret, so any choice you had was taken away."

"I'm sorry, Emily. I really am."

"Me, too. I never stopped to think about what you went through while Sam was gone and I'm sorry for that. I'm sorry that I wasn't your friend when you needed me. Maybe we can start over?"

"It will probably never be the same as it was."

"No, it won't," Emily seconded with a shake of her head. "But maybe it can be better."

AN: Alright, so I promise pinky swears that next chapter will be Old Quil and the Clearwater siblings figuring out a few things as far as their destiny, their roles in the pack, and also getting some clues into the oddness of Jared's imprint. The light is at the end of the tunnel - I can see it.

FF_8756144_26 01/09/13 9:48PM