Okay, here is Chapter 6! Sorry for the sporadic posting, but I get distracted easily with other obsessions. However, do not fear, you do not have to worry about the story dying. I will finish it.

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Carlisle's POV

"He's alive." I stated. I heard a sigh of relief from the other end of the receiver.

"How alive?" The gruff question caught me off guard, but I understood what Billy Black was asking.

"He's in a coma. His pulse is weak, his breathing is often labored, but I am optimistic that he will recover." I was not lying to Billy. I was fairly positive that Jacob would recover. I just had no idea how or when that would occur.

"Because of Edward's presence?" Sam chimed in. I knew he was there with Billy.

"Yes. We agreed that it was likely that Edward's presence would heal Jacob. Edward seems very willing to stay by Jacob's side until he is well and then the two of them will work things out together." I knew Edward very well. He never did anything half-way. If he was sitting by Jacob's side right now (which he was), he was going to stay there for at least as long as necessary.

"That's one reason I think he should remain here while he recovers. Plus I would like to keep him close to me in case something goes wrong." I did not think I would get much argument out of Billy or Sam at this point, but I did not want to assume anything.

"Yes," Billy said. "He should stay where he can be looked after closely." He sounded hesitant. I imagined he was fighting feelings of hatred toward my family and what we were and desire for his son to have the best care.

"Mr. Black, I think Jacob needs an IV, a feeding tube, and a catheter. I'm asking your permission." I, again, knew that Billy would do whatever was best for his son, but I could not help but worry a little about his response. "Jacob has lost a lot of weight since I saw him last. It's important that we get him the nutrients he needs while he recovers. If he were my patient at the hospital, I wouldn't even ask, but the situation here is unique."

"Is it absolutely necessary?" I had been thinking about this since Jasper had called me from Canada. If the boy did not get any food or liquids, he would starve and dehydrate to death before he ever recovered from his original illness.

"Yes." Explanations were not necessary. Billy was an intelligent man and he did not need me to break it all down for him.

"If you have to, then I guess I don't have a choice. I want my son back Carlisle." He spoke the last sentence very firmly with a touch of threatening. This man impressed me.

"Alright. Good. You and the pack are welcome to come here and visit him any time you like. I just ask that you do not all come at the same time." The thought of an entire wolf pack in the same house as my family of vampires did not sit well with me. I knew that a situation like that would not go well.

"Thank you, for everything." Billy was a man of few words, but the ones he spoke said everything.

"Goodnight, Mr. Black and try not to worry too much about Jacob. He is safe here. I guarantee it." I hung up the phone and sighed. That conversation had gone better than I thought it would. I had underestimated Billy Black. His love for his son outweighed his hate for vampires and I had thought it would be the opposite. I respected the proud Native American much more after our conversation than I had before.

I stood and walked around my office gathering the things I would need for the procedure. Doing the procedure now was better than waiting until later. As I walked out of my office and toward Edward's room, I reflected on the last time I had doctored the young wolf. Not surprisingly the situation had been almost as bad as it was now and it had also involved Edward, although he did not know why and I had no idea at the time.

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I ran to the house and grabbed my bag, dashing back out without so much as a stop for anything else. The boy, I knew, would be in great pain. Edward met me at the border after dropping Bella at home and we raced over the line we were never to cross. I had never actually been on reservation land. I had heard of its beauty, but I did not take the time to enjoy it now. When the treaty had first been made, the wolves had found us not far from their reservation line on land that was now considered our territory. That was part of the reason why they had been so lenient with us because we had not actually intruded on them.

As we ran through the forest now, I could smell the shifters everywhere. They were old trails. I knew most of the pack would be at Jacob's house waiting impatiently for me. I would have arrived sooner, but we had been held up by the Volturi. That was something else to worry about, but I put the boy ahead of it. He needed immediate help and my full concentration.

We came to a small red house set in a nice sized clearing. We knew it was the right house because a small group of young men, a young woman, and an older man in a wheelchair sat outside. We slowed to a more human pace as we approached so as not to startle or anger anyone.

"He's in the back of the house in his bedroom." I took Billy's statement as an invitation into the house and walked right past all of them and through the door, Edward right behind me.

When the Volturi had left, the entire family had insisted I not come to the reservation alone. I did not think anything would happen to me but I agreed. Edward had been the obvious choice. For one, the wolves knew him better than the rest of us, two he could read their minds in case there was a problem, and three, Jacob might feel more comfortable around him despite their hatred for each other.

We walked into Jacob's small room. It looked just as I would expect any busy, teenage boy's room to look. There were clothes on the floor, their cleanliness status unknown. Bits of his childhood like an R2D2 figurine on his dresser mixed with bits of his coming adulthood like the stack of books on the floor. Among the pile was Hemmingway and on top of that pile sat a brown wolf statuette with its head raised to the sky and its mouth parted in a howl.

Next to the pile of books was the bed where a very pale looking Jacob lay cautiously watching us enter. I went straight to the side of the bed and set my bag down. Jacob was sweating and the pain on his face looked as if it had always been there. I put myself in doctor mode. Forgetting about our rivalry, the newborn battle, and the treaty, Jacob was my patient and I was going to do the best I could to help him.

"Okay, Jacob. How are you doing?" A stupid question, though necessary.

"It hurts…a lot." was his reply. His voice was gruff and quiet as if it hurt him to speak. I would need to examine his ribs closely. He gave me a pleading look and I regretted that my examination was likely to put him through more pain.

"I need to examine you to find all of your broken bones and see if you have any internal bleeding. It's going to hurt, but I will be as gentle as I can." He nodded and then winced. "I'm going to touch you now." I thought it best to warn him, it would be the worst thing for all three of us if I startled him and he happened to phase. I reached my hands for his neck, intending to start at the top and work down. He flinched but said nothing.

I worked my way from his neck down his shoulders, his forearms to his hands, his chest and ribs, stomach, waste and hips, finishing with his legs and feet. My exam turned up a broken collarbone, a broken arm, three cracked ribs, and a broken leg. Luckily he had no internal bleeding, no punctured lungs, and no open wounds. However, his ability to heal quickly was beginning to cause a problem. His bones were healing before they could be reset into their correct positions. I could think of only one thing that we could do to fix the issue.

"I think I'm going to need to re-brake your bones." I stated. A look of horror came to Jacob's face and he settled his gaze on Edward. If I did not know any better, I would have thought Jacob were looking for comfort in my younger son. Edward gazed back at the injured boy sympathetically. "If we do not set your bones back in their proper place, they will be weak and you will have pain and difficulty the rest of your life."

Edward. I thought to my son. Reassure him that this is the best way. By the way the two had looked at each other, I felt that Edward would be better suited to convince the young shifter.

"I agree with Carlisle. Your bones are already healing and not in their proper places. If they stay like that it will cause you all kinds of pain maybe for the rest of your life. What if you can't phase with damages bones?" That was a very good point. It was likely Jacob's bone structure was a very important part of his phasing. "I know you can take the pain, Jacob." He seemed to be answering something Jacob had thought.

"I guess I don't have a choice." Jacob finally answered. "But please try not to accidentally kill me." I chuckled at that. Jacob was worried we would not know our own strength and actually hurt him more? I understood his fears especially after today's fight. Edward gave me a look that said he agreed with what I had just thought.

"Don't worry about that. We will be very careful and precise." After that Edward and I began discussing how best to go about our endeavor while Jacob lay quietly wincing in pain every so often. When we finally decided on leverage, position, and order in which to re-brake the bones, we set to work.

As Edward positioned himself to support Jacob by sitting behind him, I noticed tension in Edward that I could tell had nothing to do with proximity to the wolf. He did not appear thrilled about our task, and the first two times Jacob screamed at the top of his lungs when I broke his arm and collarbone, Edward cringed. I told myself it was the piercing sound bothering his ears that caused the reaction, but when I broke his leg and Jacob screamed for the third time, Edward made no response to even indicate he had heard that time. I was beginning to wonder if maybe Edward's reaction had other meanings but I did not plan on bringing the subject up.

Edward and I settled Jacob down and made him as comfortable as possible. I had given Jacob some instructions telling him not to get out of bed, or phase, or do anything that might endanger his recovery. He agreed knowing his recovery would not take nearly as long as a normal person's. I went to leave and turned back to see Edward hesitate to follow me. He appeared to have something he wanted to say to Jacob. I turned and continued walking out of the room intending to leave the two to talk, but found Edward right behind me leaving Jacob alone as he closed the door.

We walked down the hall, through the living room, and out the front door to where Billy and the pack were all waiting. While I had prepared things to start re-braking Jacob's bones, Edward had slipped out to inform the group so they would not come bursting in and try to kill us when they heard Jacob scream. The group looked at us, their eyes lined with concern hinted with anger, not surprisingly.

"Jacob is resting now. We reset his bones and they should heal wonderfully as long as he is careful." I was sure they understood what I meant. "The pain medication I gave him is not likely to last long with his high body temperature. I did not even know how much to give him really, but he seems to be comfortable. I will return in two days to check up on him and see how he is progressing. If he needs anything before then, do not hesitate to call me." I handed Billy my card. He nodded and held his hand out to me.

"Thank you." Such a simple word, but it held so much meaning coming from a man who hated that I even existed. I took his hand, nodded and walked away. As Edward and I headed into the woods, I did not feel ready to pick up our leisurely, human pace. I felt weary and had some things I wanted to discuss with Edward before we arrived home. We walked in silence for some time until I could not hold back my curiosity.

"Thank you for your assistance. I was afraid your history with Jacob might make things difficult, but the two of you seem to be on better terms."

Edward nodded. "Yes we do don't we." Something was distracting him.

"What is it Edward?" Edward always felt comfortable talking to me, but sometimes he needed a little prodding or he would just keep everything to himself.

He was quiet as we continued walking through the woods. When he finally spoke, his words were quiet and slow as if he were not sure how exactly to say something. "You know Jacob has being blocking his thoughts from me for some time now?"

"Really? That's an amazing feat." I stated simply.

"Yes. But even more amazing is that he continued to do so even when he was in all of that pain."

"I noticed you answered an unspoken comment at one point."

"That was the only time he actually let me in purposely. At the points when his bones broke and he screamed I caught glimpses where he lost control, but his mind was clouded with pain and I could not make anything out." He watched the ground as we walked and kicked a twig a few feet ahead.

"Why does it bother you so much? He hates you does he not? He likely just does not want a vampire roaming around in his head." He shook his head.

"Jacob is such an opinionated, vocal kind of person. I cannot help but feel like there is some secret he is trying to keep, from me in particular." He became silent again as he slipped back into his thoughts. I figured either Jacob was exaggerating the importance of his secret or Edward was thinking too hard again.

"Well, if it is directly related to you, I am sure you will learn it eventually. Secrets are very hard to keep from a mind reader, but don't press the subject. You don't want to aggravate the situation." Edward was known to have moments of irrationality and mysteries like the one he was currently dealing with would drive him there.

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Walking into the room, I found it exactly as I had left it. Jacob was lying on the bed, covered to his chest in the comforter and Edward was sitting in a chair on the opposite side of the bed. He looked at me with a look that told me he had heard all of what I had recollected.

"Do you think I should have seen this coming?" he asked. I sat my things on the bed and placed my hands in the pockets of my lab coat. Settling my eyes on Edward I was not surprised to see him looking just as healthy and young as ever, but a pang of sadness went through me. Edward's current situation should have brought on tired, sunken eyes, worry lines, and his stress and lack of self care should have made him look older.

"No, Edward. How could you have ever seen something like this coming? You shouldn't blame yourself. Jacob did this for his own specific reasons, of which you can ask him about when he gets better." Edward was blaming himself. I somehow knew this was going to happen. The man constantly felt as though his mere existence was a hindrance to everyone around him causing destruction everywhere he went. At times when he felt this way the most strongly, like now, it was hard to convince him otherwise. The best thing to cure Edward's mood would be Jacob and his explanation.

We said nothing after that. I set to work on the IV and feeding tube for Jacob and Edward assisted me. As I collected my things and turned toward the door, I looked back at my sullen son. He had resumed his place in the chair next to Jacob and was watching the boy. His expression was unreadable, but just as I began to look away I saw Edward rest his arm on the edge of the bed bringing him slightly closer to my patient. You never know, I thought knowing he would hear me, maybe this was the best way to bring the two of you together.

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Now just so you know I do not feel particularly confident about this chapter, but I had to get a new perspective and Carlisle's was best for this particular flashback.

Feel free to review I it makes me happy to see them in my e-mail and I love hearing what you guys have to say!