Summer finally came and school was dismissed until September and Layla couldn't have been happier. She wanted to book the first flight to New York and, hopefully, stay the entire summer. She didn't know how much more she could take, seeing Embry every day but not being able to be near him without having a panic attack. She had blown through her stash and, with the help of Jay, had found someone reliable to buy from. Layla was walking back to Eric's house instead of driving, loving how warm and clear the skies were. It was going to be Jake's birthday soon, and Leah had enlisted her help to plan his 18th birthday party, trying to cheer her up.

Layla had ordered a cake just for Jake to eat, then three more to feed everyone that Leah had invited. She'd insisted on having the party at Eric's house, as it had a bigger dining room, living room, and kitchen. Leah had convinced Layla to order pizza instead of trying to make enough food for the guys. Leah had bought decorations, ice cream, and a gift for Jake. Layla went overboard in buying gifts for Jake-he'd quickly become one of her best friends and she loved to spoil her friends. What Leah didn't know is that Layla paid for them to take a limo to Seattle and stay at a 4 star hotel for two days and two nights, as a mini vacation for the lovebirds.

Emily had come over to help Leah and Layla decorate, but she couldn't do that much. She was in her third trimester and everywhere she went, her tummy led the way. Layla had convinced Leah to have his party on a Thursday, so they could take off to Seattle right after. It was nearly 6 when Seth got back with the cakes and the pizzas were delivered. Leah had called and told everyone to be there at 6:30 while she went down the road to get Jake, having convinced him that she lost a bet to Layla and they had to spend the night watching sappy movies with her.

When Leah left to get Jake, Layla turned off all the lights and everyone had hid from sight: Sam, Emily, Layla, Quil, Jared, Colin, Seth, and even Paul stuck around. Even Embry had showed up. When Leah pulled Jake in, Emily turned the lights on and everyone had yelled 'Surprise!'. Jake was startled, but very happy.

Layla cranked the music and started handing out pizza, chips, and drinks. They had sang to Jake as he made a wish and blew the candles out. It took Jake nearly an hour to open all the gifts everyone had given to him, except for the surprise trip. Layla waited until the party had dwindled down and all the food was gone.

"This is a present from all of us." Layla said, handing an envelope to Jake.

He grinned and opened the envelope, his eyes going wide. "Are you serious?" he asked, getting excited.

"Yup! The limo is going to meet you all at the entrance to the rez in half an hour, so you two better pack and hurry!" Layla said, loving how happy he and Leah looked.

Jake thanked everybody and pulled Leah excitedly to go grab a couple changes of clothes before heading off to the limo.

Emily volunteered to help clean up, but Layla declined, saying the guys could clean up this once. Layla put Seth, Quil, Jared, Colin, and Embry to work on cleaning everything up, Paul having sulked to his bedroom a while ago.

Embry grabbed his stomach and groaned, running to the kitchen sink in time to throw up.

"Oh, gross!" Seth called out, backing up.

"What happened?" Layla called out from the dining room.

"Embry blew it!" Colin yelled.

Layla frowned and walked in, seeing Embry hunched over the sink, heaving.

"I'm outta here. If I hear someone throw up, I'll start throwing up." Seth said, heading for the door.

"Me, too." Quil said. "Besides, I gotta head to bed. I have to watch Claire tomorrow."

"I think I'm gonna be sick, I gotta go." Colin said, looking disgusted.

"I'm outta here, too. I'm not sticking around for him to throw up on me." Jared said.

"I'm taking Emily home. She doesn't need to catch what he has." Sam said, ushering Emily out of the house.

Layla bit her lip, seeing Embry still leaning over against the sink, gagging. She pulled the hair tie from her wrist and pulled his hair back into a low ponytail so he wouldn't throw up all over it.

"Come on. You need to lay down." Layla said.

She grabbed the mop bucket and held it close to Embry's mouth as she slowly maneuvered him to her bedroom, figuring she'd never be able to get him home.

They barely made it halfway down the hall before Embry started throwing up again. Layla held the bucket nearly his head and looked away. 'Poor guy.' she thought.

Layla finally helped Embry to her bed where she laid him down gently, setting the bucket next to him before running back to the kitchen and getting the empty ice cream bucket, rinsing it out and bringing it to her room. She took the nearly full bucket and rinsed it out, spraying it with disinfectant. She walked back to her room, seeing Embry curled on his side.

She moved to take his shoes off, slipping them under the side of her bed so neither would trip over them. She felt Embry's head and noticed he felt hotter than normal.

"Can you sit up a little bit? You're running and fever and you've nearly soaked through your clothes." Layla said.

Embry tried sitting up and Layla leaned in, pulling his shirt off and fixing his hair so it wouldn't get in his face. She tugged his pants off until he was in his boxers. Layla laid them in her bathroom so she could put them in the washing machine later. She grabbed a wash cloth and soaked it in cold water before bringing it back to her bedroom. She gently wiped the cold, wet cloth over Embry's face and mouth before wiping his neck, trying to lower his fever. She went back to the bathroom to wet the wash cloth again before going over his chest and arms. He groaned before grabbing the bucket, leaning over the side of the bed and Layla, throwing up. Layla frowned, feeling bad for him. She gently rubbed the cold cloth over his back and the back of his neck. Embry stayed laying over her lap, closing his eyes. Layla gently rubbed his back with the cloth before moving it down to his lower legs and feet. Embry moved his head to her lap and Layla took that opportunity to tie his hair back better, so it wouldn't swing over his shoulder when he threw up. She tied it in a high doubled up pony tail to the top of his head, trying to comb it with her fingers.

"Do you want me to call your mom? Or...Audrey?" Layla asked. Oh, she hated saying that last part.

"Mom's out of town. Audrey...won't care." Embry whispered.

"Then you're just going to stay here." Layla said. "Do you want Tylenol or Motrin? It could help your fever."

Embry groaned out a no, breathing hard. Layla gently rubbed his back, feeling his muscles relaxing slowly under her touch. She hated that he felt so bad.

"I'm going to empty this bucket and get a few bottles of water, but I'll be right back, yeah? Let's get you propped up." Layla said.

Embry moved slowly, holding the clean bucket while Layla arranged the pillows so he would be comfortable. She quickly went to rinse the bucket, then to toss his clothes into the washer and turn it on, then returning with a clean bucket and an armful of bottled water. Embry looked over at her as soon as she walked through the door.

"I'm going to change. I love this dress but I can't wear it all night." Layla said, grabbing pajama pants and a t shirt from her dresser, stepping into her bathroom and changing quickly. She walked back over to the bed and went to wipe the sweat from Embry's forehead. She said next to him and Embry leaned over into her lap, seeking comfort.

Layla scooted further into the bed so she wouldn't fall off, pulling the clean bucket closer to arms reach and leaned back on the pillows into a half sitting-half laying position, Embry following her. He rolled onto his side and laid his head on her chest, wrapping the rest of himself around her. He threw up three more times before his stomach finally settled around 4 AM. Layla rubbed his back gently each time, whispering soft, calming words to him. By that time, Layla, too, was exhausted but couldn't fall asleep in case Embry started throwing up again.

Embry had sweat enough to not only soak through her bed sheets, but her pajamas, too. Layla laid still, glad that Embry had finally calmed down enough to fall asleep, his head still on her chest. Sam had sent a text around 8 that morning, asking if Embry had made it home. Layla had texted back, saying that was still at her house, currently not puking and asleep on her. Sam sent back a smiley face.

"Embry? How are you feeling?" Layla whispered, gently rubbing his back.

"Like I got ran over by a truck." Embry muttered.

"Do you want to take a shower?" Layla asked. "I can run you a nice cool shower and it should help with your fever, too."

"I can't move." Embry whined.

Layla moved and helped Embry stand up and helped him walk slowly to the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. She sat him on the plastic chair while she started a shower, making the water room temperature. She walked back over to Embry and helped him stand back up, pulling his boxers off and helping him to sit down slowly into the water. He leaned against the shower wall, groaning. Layla watched him, seeing that he still felt awful. She decided to pull her clothes off and put the chair back into the shower. She stepped into the shower with Embry, maneuvering him easily to sit down. She grabbed the wash cloth and body wash, washing him gently from his shoulders down, making sure she got under his arms and the backs of his legs.

"Can I wash your hair? You've sweat so much part of it is stiff." Layla said.

"Mhm." Embry said.

Layla tried thinking of a way to wash his hair that didn't involve her sitting on him. Embry blinding reached for her and pulled her into his lap, as if he could hear what she was thinking. She grabbed the moveable shower head and wet his hair. She scrubbed shampoo into his hair and scalp, feeling him shudder when she started on his scalp. She grinned, knowing how great it felt when someone did that to her. She rinsed his hair and rubbed in a leave in conditioner.

"You need to brush your teeth." Layla said, pulling a spare toothbrush and her toothpaste from the edge of the bathtub.

She stood up so he could brush his teeth. She climbed out of the shower and grabbed her towels and setting one on the closed toilet lid for Embry to sit on while she dried him off. When she saw he'd finished brushing, she turned the water off and helped Embry out, moving him to sit on the towel on the toilet. She made him turn his head down so she could wrap a towel around it. She then moved and dried him off with another towel. Embry watched her, seeing how gentle she was being with him, as if he could break. When she had finished drying him off, she pulled out powder.

"I know it's girly, but it'll help where you have sweat so much, so you won't get a rash." Layla explained.

Embry nodded and watched as she pat a fine layer of powder over him. She helped him stand up again and she wrapped a towel around his waist.

"I've got to get your boxers from the dryer and change the bed sheets. But I'm going to sit you in the computer chair. Is that okay?" Layla asked.

"You don't have to." Embry said.

"But I want to." Layla said.

Layla led Embry back to her bedroom after wrapping a towel around herself. She went to her dresser and dropped her towel, changing into a clean pair of pajamas. She went to the bed, pulling the sheets and pillowcases off, taking them to the laundry room. She came back with his boxers and helped him slip them on. She then pulled clean sheets from the drawer and put them on her bed. Layla walked back over to Embry and helped him lay back down in bed.

"Do you want some Gatorade? Or applesauce?" Layla asked, pulling the towel from his head. "Can I braid your hair?"

"Yes, and yes." Embry said. "Anything you want."

Layla smiled and moved to slide in behind him, combing out his long hair and braiding it. When she finished, she slid out of bed and brought two bottles of Gatorade and a bowl of applesauce and a spoon. She held out a spoonful of applesauce to him, then bit her lip.

"You probably want to feed yourself." She said, holding the bowl out to him.

"Do I have to?" Embry asked, looking at her.

Layla shook her head and got another spoonful, feeding him applesauce until the bowl was empty. She then opened a bottle of Gatorade, holding it to his mouth, letting him drink. When he had had enough, he lay back on the bed, closing his eyes.

"I'm going to clean up the bathroom." Layla said.

"Will you stay?" Embry whispered.

"Do you want me to stay?" Layla asked, genuinely wondering.

"Yes. Please?" Embry said.

Layla climbed back into bed beside him, opening her arms. Embry leaned over onto his stomach, pulling her closer and laying his head on her chest, throwing his arm and leg around her. His tensed body relaxed slowly as she started rubbing his back gently.

He was asleep within minutes.

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A/N: Mmhmm, we know who's there for him and who isn't. Leave me reviews if you want another chapter tonight!