Disclaimer: All the Twilight stuff belongs to Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended. I'm just playing in her sandbox.

Author's note: My apologies to all for your having to wait for this chapter. Unexpected company, a trip to Jacksonville to return grandchildren that spent Easter weekend with me and my real life moving homes after 25 years is taking lots of time and energy. I especially appreciate all the thoughts and comments about what to do with Sam! I hope you like it . . .

Chapter 85 Sam

"Please, Jake . . . I know he was wrong, terribly wrong, but . . . "

Jacob POV

I was only gone a few hours, trying to reason with Sam was pointless. He was staying away and leaving the Cullens alone only because he had no choice. He had to follow direct commands of the alpha and I reinforced those every time I saw him. He was so filled with hatred at this point that I found it absolutely impossible to even stay in wolf form and be subjected to his thoughts.

Anger was contagious, but it was not to Sam's advantage. I thought hunting together would help, that he would calm somewhat after he had a meal; although I knew his stomach was full, his mind was still intensely centered on rage. His mental imagery made me so mad that I reached over and ripped his flank, essentially hamstringing him. It would heal, but he had to be put in his place.

He was desperate to see Emily . . . and that I could understand, though I had only begun to understand the whole magnitude of the imprint thing. I arranged to meet him on the other side of town at one of the local landmarks that no one would dare try to reach with the snow still thick on the slopes. My agreeing to bring her there to meet with him, if she wanted to come, appeased him somewhat; and he limped off on three legs, undoubtedly to find a place to lick his wounds and settle in till he healed.

I headed back to the house, just in time to get in on a discussion about circumcising the baby. Damn. I forgot that people still did that, the Quilette tribe never did. The disturbing image that having to remove the foreskin using vampire teeth conjured up was so repulsive that I was sure it would scar Edward as well as Masen for eternity if they chose to do it that way. I reminded them that werewolf claws could cut vampire skin as well, and realized instantly that I had just agreed to giving them a claw. Well shit. Don't guess it mattered, I had found out that they grew back pretty quickly when I had snagged one on a root and torn it out last week. Even that repaired itself.

I saw the look on Rosalie's face at the thought of dismembering me, well, removing a claw anyway. The blond bloodsucker was just too damned happy to be cutting on me with a hacksaw. I hadn't thought about who would do it, any of the bloodsuckers I guessed, the humans wouldn't have had the strength. She was just such a smart ass bitch, even for a leech. I wasn't sure if we hated each other or were friends that just liked to harass each other, but which ever one it was, I guess that relationship worked for now.

I tensed while she was still sawing, not because of her actions, but because Sam was near . . . too near. I ordered him away but he stayed as close as he could, justifying his presence by insisting that he was just trying to get a glimpse of Emily . . . and protect me of course. Whatever. As long as he stayed away. I ordered him away and not to touch any of the Cullen's or their family before I quickly phased back to human, relieved that I no longer had to endure his mental assault. I'd rather suck my injured finger than lick my paw any day.

We all spent the rest of Friday afternoon cutting up and smoking venison. Well, Charlie enjoyed the cooking part and Emmett seemed to enjoy the cutting up part. I just enjoyed the hell out of the situation. The vampire leftovers were cut up, in part, by the werewolf and the human cooked the meat for dinner at the vampire's house. Fucking unbelievable . . . but it was working. We all listened to Edward play the piano. It wasn't something we had heard this last week and the melodies that the leech played filled the house and brightened every one's spirits. We spent the rest of the evening enjoying a delicious dinner that Charlie and Sue prepared with Esme and Emily's help. I slept again that night, confident that Sam could not go against my orders and that there were no other dangers threatening the people near me, at least for the time being.

I was having another amazing breakfast Saturday morning when the ruckus began. Esme had made cinnamon rolls from scratch and the flaky buttery goodness absolutely melted in my mouth, along with bacon and eggs and biscuits. The commotion began as Edward ran down the stairs at a fast human pace with Bella hot on his heels apparently trying to snap him with a towel. They were both laughing loudly and smiling from ear to ear, obviously being playful. It was an odd sight for several reasons. Bella had been so pregnant since I came to visit for Christmas that seeing her move at anything other than waddling at a snails pace was somewhat startling, especially since she just had the baby night before last and she should be uncomfortable from stitches and bleeding and shit. Edward, well Edward had been so drained lately that he had not even hunted for himself in days, his brothers and I bringing meals to him to encourage him to eat and keep his strength up. The arm he burned in the fire had been weeping so much fluid that it was sapping all of his strength and energy.

I walked into the living room just after Bella knocked the love seat over and Edward pounced on top of her, pinning her on the back cushion of the toppled sofa and tickling her unmercifully. Esme tried to intervene and Bella escaped to run and hide behind me and Emmett and Jasper to protect her from him as he threatened to continue the torture outside in the snow since she wasn't playing fair. What the hell had gotten into them? I had seen people high on weed showing more ability to control themselves than these two . . . I kept glancing from Bella who was ducking and teasing from behind me to Edward who stood behind the overturned love seat with one of Esme's hands on his chest as if to hold him back. He was grinning like a madman.

The unexpected squeal coming from Masen got all of our attention. Edward was kneeling in front of him in an instant The little squirt was acting like he wanted to play with them and was determined to be noticed. What the hell? He was less than two days old and he noticed things gong on around him! The baby was sitting erect, holding his own head up as he stared with seemingly focused eyes, as much as asking Bella to pick him up by gesturing his hand towards her, stretching his little fingers out towards her then fisting them and stretching them out again. Edward was asking him if he was alright and I would swear Edward was getting responses to his questions from the little guy. I stood slack jawed, absolutely amazed at the child they had created and wondering what the hell it would grow up to be.

Emmett hit the nail on the head and deserved the fist bump from Jasper and I for putting the apparent cure that Edward had described into terms we could all understand.

Shit man, you mean you came all over her while you sucked her tits and it fixed both of you!

Jeez. In front of the Chief and his parents. That was the thing I liked most about Emmett, if I was honest with myself . . . he just said things the way he saw them, no nonsense, no trying to sugar coat it or spare anyone's feelings, just plain and simple. The resulting blush that always covered Bella's face was also a bonus.

Edward wanting to have a party and offering to eat cake was just mind blowing to me. Edward? Party? The two words just had never gone together. Edward was normally so uptight that coal would form into a diamond if you shoved it up his ass. I guess he was just really relieved with Bella safe and the baby having been delivered safely as well.

He actually admitted to being thirsty for the first time in a very long timer, and I headed off with him and his brothers to find dinner. I would tell Emily about the meeting with Sam when I got back. I wasn't supposed to meet him till this afternoon anyway. I phased in the backyard, just inside the trees and immediately picked up on Sam, pacing. He was just out of earshot of myself and the bloodsuckers, but once I phased my mind knew exactly what he was doing. I made sure he knew not to go near the Cullen's or their houses and reminded him to meet me this afternoon. I had to let him know what I had decided, after clearing it with Sue, and Emily deserved to see him. They had a lot to sooner than we had all gotten back from our hunting trip Emily wanted some answers.

"So, where are we meeting Sam?" Emily asked kind of quietly.

"Over at a place called Whiteside Mountain. It's a favorite repelling site for climbers and with all of this snow on the ground, there won't be anyone else around."

"Have you decided a fitting punishment for Sam, Jake?" Charlie asked.

"I have. I just thought that Emily should have a chance to visit with him first, before Sue and I tell him."

No one said a word. I think Emily was kind of afraid to ask what was going to happen to Sam, knowing that she would find out soon enough . . . and having enough respect for me not to try and change my decision. That spoke volumes about her character and her loyalty to the tribe. That simple act of not questioning me, accepting my authority . . . that right there cemented my decision. She deserved the very best from me both as the Chief of her tribe and as her friend. Sam was her mate, and whatever I did to him would affect her almost as severely as it did him. Judge, jury and executioner was a lot to put on any one man, especially when that man was me.

~oooOooo~

EPOV

I could hear Sam's mind the second Jacob phased into wolf form. I sensed the struggle and heard the internal monologue from Jacob's mind as well as Sam's while we were out hunting and Jacob was in wolf form. The pack mind was fascinating. Jacob completely dominated Sam's will when he chose to and Sam's thoughts were laid bare to Jacob. It had been two days since he attacked me, but the rage in him had not calmed. I had paid no attention to his thoughts the day I ran past him and he turned on me, though I heard his malice while he attempted to get Jacob to help him rip me into pieces. His thoughts now were more murderous than ever, bordering on being obsessed with dismembering and burning me . . . he saw me now as not only a filthy bloodsucker, but as being directly responsible for keeping him from his mate. I had no idea about imprinting, but it seemed from what I gathered from his mind that the bond was formidable.

We ran past him at a distance, heading into the forest to hunt. Jacob hung back, preferring to feed on our leftovers, as usual. I couldn't fault him for it, why waste the deer. My father, brothers and I fed, pausing to enjoy the midday sun of the meadow as we waited for him to finish his meal. It was a sunny winter day and the secluded meadow offered us a rare opportunity to enjoy the feeling of the sun on our skin, though it somewhat dismayed Jacob.

"How do you stand yourselves? Seriously? The sparkly shit, that's just not manly. Couldn't the women sparkle in the sun and the men glow in the dark or some other cool shit instead . . . who decided that you should sparkle?" Jacob asked me in his thoughts.

I couldn't help but chuckle.

"Edward? First you come down stairs chasing your wife like you're a teenager flirting and now you just sit there and laugh all by yourself. You can't possibly expect to keep your man card . . . hell it should have been pulled when you were able to be close to a human and not kill her, you just got brownie points for your self restraint is all that saved you," Emmett fussed.

"Actually, Emmett, Jacob here was just commenting on how girlie it was to sparkle in the sun . . . something about you not being manly . . ."

"What?" Emmett glared and shoved the wolf playfully, knocking him momentarily off balance and causing him to stumble.

"You do sparkle quite nicely," Jasper complimented him, roaring with laughter as he held his sides reflexively.

Even in wolf form, it was obvious that Jacob was laughing. Emmett picked the wolf up and tossed him a few yards into the tall grass, Jasper grabbing Emmett from behind and flinging him even further. That started it and the two vampires blurred as they moved, at least from Jacob's view, as they came at him from different directions, taunting him. Carlisle and I sat and laughed riotously as their antics continued.

"I'm relieved the arm healed so nicely, son," Carlisle smiled, "I was worried."

"She's amazing isn't she," I stated. It wasn't a question.

"The two of you together are beyond anything I've ever seen," he told me, staring off into the distance, a smile showing on his face. "You know, I asked Aro about your arm." I felt as though I had literally turned to stone . . . I froze.

"Aro Volturi?"

"Yes," Carlisle confirmed, "He had never had direct experience with a severe burn, either. His advice was the same as I was already doing, bathing the wound in venom." He paused and looked straight at me, though I already heard his thoughts. "He sends his regards and wishes you a full recovery." I paused for a moment, knowing the danger the Volturi represented as long as I was involved with a human knowing about our world.

"That's an issue I suppose we should address . . . and soon," I sighed, gesturing with my eyebrows. We knew it would come to this . . . I knew it, when I was being honest with myself. I could not hide the fact that my mate was human forever, and if it were exposed, my entire family would be held responsible and punished.

By the time we returned to the house, Bella was anxious to see Bree.

"Jacob, will you go with us to the hospital before you meet Sam? I can hear his thoughts if he approaches, but you can order him away and I don't want any problems with Bella and Charlie out with us." I spoke privately to him, at least private from the humans, while Bella went to get her coat and he walked outside with me to warm up the car and truck.

"Yea, he's still pretty intense. I haven't been able to get through to him at all, other than ordering him to stay away. His loss will be a huge blow to the pack. He was the first one to phase and he figured it all out for the rest of us," Jacob lamented.

"I gathered that from your thoughts this afternoon, while you were in wolf form. For what it's worth . . . thank you. Thank you for all the times you protected Bella and now for protecting me," I told him.

"Yea, well just remember I did it for her, bloodsucker, not for you. If you ever hurt her I will rip you apart and burn you myself." I stared at him for a long moment. There was no doubt in his voice, he was absolutely serious and his thoughts agreed. I could respect that. Though he and I had established a good relationship between us, friends even, there was no doubt that his loyalty lay with Bella. He was her friend first and foremost and in truth, he would be waiting in the wings for me to make a big enough mistake that she might leave me for him.

Jacob had arranged to take Emily to Sam over at a place called Whiteside Mountain, just past the hospital on the other side of town. I really didn't want any problems with Sam, nor did I want him anywhere near my wife, so I asked Jacob to accompany us to the hospital when Bella went to see Bree . . . the hospital was just too damned close to where he was meeting Sam.

"Got those cars warmed up yet, boys?" Charlie remarked as he rubbed his hands together, gesturing as to how very cold it was outside and hurrying down the steps towards us. Bella was behind him, followed by Carlisle and Emily. Alice had insisted on coming as well, though she was blocking me from whatever it was she had been seeing.

We took two vehicles, Bella, Alice, Carlisle, Esme and I in one, and Emily, Jacob, Sue and Charlie in Jacob's truck. Jacob would take Emily with him when we left the hospital and Charlie would ride back home with the rest of us. Charlie had insisted on meeting the girl that had been kidnapped with Bella, and Sue wanted to come with Charlie. Rosalie and my other three siblings watched after Masen while we were gone. Though Bella had wanted to bring him, Carlisle convinced her that the hospital was no place for a new baby and Masen would never pass for a normal newborn. He would not be allowed to go up onto the floor where Bree was anyway, hospital rules.

Carlisle led us to a room on the step down unit, she had been taken out of intensive care, but was not well enough to be put on the floor in a regular room. He entered the unit to check on her, returning with two people who his mind was telling me were her parents.

"Mr. and Mrs. Tanner, I'd like you to meet Bella's father, Charlie Swan, and my son, Edward," Carlisle told them, ". . . and this is Bella."

"Well, we can never thank you enough for finding our daughter and rescuing her," Bree's Mom said, tears rolling down her cheeks. She moved to stand in front of my wife and she hugged her tightly for a long moment. "You saved her life. The doctors said that if you hadn't gotten her here when you did, she would have died. I don't know how I'll ever thank you enough," she told Bella.

"I'm just so sorry they took her in the first place. They were just so totally deranged! I can only imagine what they intended to do to us," Bella said softly.

"Yes, I'm just so glad you were able to escape while they were out and get Bree out into a car and to the hospital, especially in your condition! Dr. Cullen told us that your baby was delivered just a few hours later . . . is everything alright with the baby?" Mrs. Tanner asked as she continued to hold my hands in hers.

"Yes ma'am," Bella said as she put her arm around me and pulled me tightly to her, "my husband delivered our son at our home and he is doing just fine." The look of pride in me on her face made even my still heart seem to beat.

"Well, she just woke up this morning, and she has been asking about you. I would love to know how you did it, got away from them I mean," Mr. Tanner added. I started to jump in, but Bella put her other hand on my chest, as though to stop me.

"Riley and Victoria were fighting and left the door unbolted when they walked up the stairs," Bella told them, I heard them talking about going for food and to discuss what they were going to do with us, so when I heard a car leave, I went upstairs." I was having a hard time controlling myself while I heard even this watered down version of what had happened and I found myself grasping Bella harder than I should as I stood beside her.

"I found keys, pretty much drug your daughter to the car and drove her here. Nothing heroic, we were just lucky I noticed their mistakes I guess," she told them.

I stared down at my wife. Brilliant. No discussion of ransom, nothing to complicate their abduction, just plain and simple.

Flesh out the facts and cover your tracks.

My wife was a true Cullen . . . vampire or not, and I had never been more proud of her. We went in to see Bree, Bella immediately hugging her and tears were everywhere. Her inability to stop staring at me was somewhat embarrassing, though is was the same as it had always been in high schools as well as on college campuses.

"No wonder you were so determined to get back to your husband," she told Bella, breaking the tension somewhat and causing everyone to laugh, "How is the baby?"

"Oh good gracious, how rude of me," Mr. Tanner exclaimed, rushing to scoot a chair next to the bed for Bella, "You just had a baby, my dear. Please, make yourself comfortable . . . sit down."

"Dear, sitting is probably the last thing she wants to do," his wife scolded.

"No, no. It's fine, thank you," Bella told her.

They chatted for awhile about babies and how cute Masen was and Bella showed her a photo she had snapped on my phone of him sleeping that first day. Charlie discussed the police investigation and Mr. Tanner's fears that they might try to take her again before the police apprehend them. He told him that it was unlikely that would happen, that it wasn't what criminals normally did. He tried to comfort the man as he was unable to just tell him that Riley and Victoria were dead. Charlie was covering for us as well, though fussing continuously to himself that he had to, as he stood beside Sue.

"So, you'll call me, right?" Bree implored Bella, wanting reassurance that she would hear from her.

"Of course I will! You have what, two more years at Clemson?" Bella asked.

"Yes, and I want you to come down and meet my boyfriend. Maybe you could come see a rehearsal of the band . . ."

"Sorry to interrupt," Jacob said as he stuck his head in the door. I waited for him to continue, listening to his mind to see what he wanted. I assumed he needed to get going to meet Sam, but his mind was blank. Blank. He held the door with one hand, his head peeking around it to look into the room . . . and he was staring. I followed his gaze to the center of the room, more specifically to the girl in the bed . . . Bree. She was staring back at him with an intensity I rarely saw in humans. It was as though the rest of the room had fallen away and it was only them alone.

So this was imprinting.

Jacob stepped into the room, never taking his eyes off of her and walked over to stand by the bed next to the chair where Bella sat. Bella introduced them and Jacob took Bree's hand, but didn't release it. Everyone was in the room now, and it was Alice that danced over to Bree and introduced herself, grabbing Jacob's hand and asking him if she could speak to him for a minute. I followed them out of the room and into the hall, fascinated by what had just happened.

"You need to get going," I told Jacob as Carlisle joined us in the hall, Emily following him. He stared at me for a long moment, dazed. His mind screamed for him to go right back in that room and never leave, but after several minutes he realized where he was and the appointment he needed to keep.

"Oh. Right, right. Sure," he said as he shook his head as if to throw off the thoughts he was having and clear his head.

"Mind if I go with you?" Carlisle asked, coming from Bree's room to join Jacob, Emily, and I in the hallway.

"You think that's wise, Carlisle? I've heard Sam's thoughts. He hasn't stopped thinking about ripping us apart and Alice can't see to know if it's safe," I asked.

"I signed the original treaty, Edward, as you did. I won't have you near him and we need to be represented," he explained, "He broke the treaty and consequences have to occur. Perhaps we need to renegotiate a new treaty."

"Carlisle, this won't be the time or place for that," Jacob told him.

"None the less, as the Alpha, you can control Sam and as the representative for our side, I am requesting to come," Carlisle insisted. I read his thoughts. He wanted to negotiate a codicil to the treaty . . . an exception allowing us to change Bella into a vampire in return for our not exercising our right to retaliate or demanding Sam's life be forfeit. He was trying to keep the peace as well as clear the way for us to adhere to vampire law by changing Bella.

"Fine. Let's go then. We're meeting him on top of Whiteside Mountain and it may take us a few minutes to carry Emily up there. If you come, you'll have to carry her so that I can be in wolf form and keep Sam from attacking you," Jacob told us, "Is that okay with you, Emily?"

We all turned to look at her, but her face was a mass of emotion. Her thoughts went from anger at Sam for his actions to borderline hysteria at the thought of loosing him . . . that this meeting might be her last chance to see him. "Fine. It's fine with me, Jacob, if it's alright with Carlisle," Emily said quietly. She already knew that it would be no problem for him, physically.

"Alright then, please be careful," I told them as they headed out. Sue stepped out of Bree's room at the last minute, realizing what was going on and insisting on coming along. She was a council elder in our tribe and I could not deny her.

Alice and I returned to Bree's room, just catching the tail end of Bella telling Bree about our being accepted at Dartmouth and trying to decide if she wanted to go to college now that she had an infant to consider. Esme and Charlie listened quietly to the discussion, along with Bree's parents. I was unused to sharing plans with anyone outside the family, but I trusted Bella to know what she was doing.

~oooOooo~

Emily POV

I listened there in the hallway as they decided my husband's fate. It was not spoken, but it was there all the same. I followed Jacob, Sue, and Carlisle as they made their way out of the hospital toward Jacob's truck. I had no idea how I would survive without him if that was what had been decided . . . and doubted that I would want to. I could only hope that Sam had the ability to change . . . for both our sakes.