Jake's POV

"Jake, phone!"

Emmett's voice boomed across the courtyard to my cabin, so much so that I could easily hear it from my bed.

I rolled over and looked at the beauty lying next to me. Nessie was asleep and her luscious brown hair framed her face against the pillow. She had stayed the night as she often did these days and slept in my arms.

I was reluctant to leave her, but even Emmett wouldn't disturb me unless there was a reason. I checked the clock and saw it was 12:00pm - ok, maybe that was the reason. Living with vampires was a sure way to confuse your sleeping habits.

Quietly removing my arm from under Nessie, I left the cabin. Emmett gave me an amused look as I crossed the square in my boxers.

"Don't start!" I warned him.

"Didn't say a word," he said and raised his hands in surrender while laughing. "But does Eddie know what you wear when sharing a bed with his daughter?"

I growled, and Emmett only laughed louder. I grabbed the phone off him and stalked off into the main house. I threw myself down on the living room sofa and took the call off hold. "Hello?"

"Shit. I woke you up, didn't I?"

There was only one person's brash voice that would ever start a conversation by cursing.

"Good morning to you, too, Leah," I mused.

"Don't you mean good afternoon?" she threw back bitterly.

Leah was clearly in a bad mood, and I considered hanging up and going back to bed. I really didn't want the headache and, despite how great she was, she still had the ability to ruin my day regardless of the distance between us.

"Do you want me to hang up?" I asked calmly.

She was silent for a minute before answering quietly. "No."

"Ok, good. Now that we've established that, are you going to tell me what's made you so especially chipper today?" I smiled into the handset. I knew I shouldn't be facetious, but it came so naturally.

"Nothing. For some stupid reason I thought I'd see how you were, but I wish I hadn't bothered now," she snapped.

I let out a sigh; she was going to be hard work today. I decided to try a different approach. "Leah, I'm sorry, ok. I didn't mean to be so sarcastic."

"Yes, you did."

I couldn't help but laugh, she knew me too well. "Ok, so I did."

It at least seemed to break the ice as finally I heard her chuckling in response. "You're not allowed to do that. It's cheating, Jake."

"What is?" I asked innocently.

"Making me laugh, you fool."

I smiled to myself this time, as I lay out fully across the sofa and relaxed. "Sorry, you know me - whatever it takes to get the job done."

"Yeah, sure, whatever."

Although a little blunt, the animosity in her voice seemed to have dried up.

"So what's up really, Lee?"

"Well, I did actually want to see how you were. I know I've been busy, but I realised we hadn't really talked much lately."

"Aw, how sweet. You missed me."

"Shut it Jake," she threatened playfully. "I'm not against coming up there kicking your arse."

"You can't do that. I need to look all pretty for my holiday," I replied.

"What holiday?"

"Well, Carlisle's been going stir crazy not working, so Bella and Edward decided we should all go to Isle Esme and get him away from the lab. We leave tomorrow."

I was actually excited about the trip. It would be mine and Nessie's first trip away and it was impossible not to look forward to some real sun.

"Oh, well that sounds nice, Jake." She actually sounded almost happy for me.

"Err… yeah, I think so. It's funny watching the Cullens organise for it, though. They have to plan their pre-flight meals so that they don't get peckish on the way."

She finally let out a small laugh. "That's gross."

"Tell me about it. Get this, though. According to Emmett, Bella's the lucky one; she gets to go out and feed last because she's still thirstier than everyone else. So while we are getting the cars packed up, she'll be out having a feast. It makes me wonder what the hell I have got myself into when I think that she could be my mother-in-law!" I smiled to myself. Who knew when I was little and imagined my future, this would be it.

Leah sounded disturbed nonetheless. "That's just way too weird, Jake."

"Yup! So what about you? And look, I really am sorry too; I haven't been in touch with you for a few days either. I know Seth said there's been no more sightings of the leeches, but I still like to hear it from you, and how's your leg?"

"It's fine. Things are fine." Her response was unconvincing.

"God, you are such a crap liar. How's Cris?" I asked.

"Him and Lee left two days ago. I think the funeral is today." The sadness in her voice was suddenly so obvious.

"You think?"

Ok, something was definitely wrong - even without her sounding miserable, Leah always knew exactly what Cris was doing, just as he did her.

"Yeah, I think. That's what I said Jake!" She snapped, her bad mood returning.

"Tell me… what happened?" I sighed.

"Nothing." She said threateningly.

I answered her back with my own warning tone. "Leah!"

There was another long silence between us, but I wasn't giving up. She called me after all and I was still her best friend. I didn't care what anyone else thought or said.

She spoke in almost a whisper. "I kind of messed up."

"How exactly?" I queried cautiously.

"I tried to push our relationship," she answered bluntly.

"Oh," was all I could summon up. I never imagined she would be the one to make a play for Cris. I always assumed it would be him. Leah had always avoided physical contact and emotional situations.

"Yeah, oh," she mimicked.

"Jeez, I'm sorry, Lee. I'm guessing that it didn't work out as planned?" I dreaded to think about what had happened. Knowing how volatile she can be, I doubted it ended well.

"Don't say you're sorry when you're not! You're the one who was going on about imprinting being able to break us apart ... well, bravo - that was part of his exact reasoning too," she spat down the receiver at me.

I sighed, unsure of how to proceed. "Yeah, I said that, but it doesn't mean I want you to be hurting, Lee. Think about it though - can you honestly say it's not a risk? I know exactly what Cris means from experience. I've seen you struggle. Hell, I've caused you pain myself, and I would do anything to make sure you never suffer any more. He's just looking out for you. It doesn't mean he doesn't care."

"Everything is a risk Jake, and I was damn sure he was worth it. It doesn't matter though, because he obviously doesn't care enough. I must have misunderstood him. I just hate that everyone thinks I'm so weak. Even now, imprinting ruins my relationships before they even get started. I'm destined to just be alone." Her voice sounded so little.

I felt her pain. "It will work out, trust me. Cris will be fine. It's not like you reacted really badly or anything, did you?"

Silence followed on her end of the line.

"Leah?" I questioned.

"Maybe." She said faintly.

"You bitched at him, didn't you?" I asked, although it was more of a statement.

"A little," she muttered.

"Well, you either did or you didn't. A little doesn't really come into it with you involved. You've said sorry, though?"

I knew what it was like to be on the receiving end of a hurt Leah. She tended to hit hard and not look back. Cris wasn't the kind to take it, though. Sure, he was one of the most patient guys, but he would also expect an apology in return for taking bullshit.

She sighed again. "No. I avoided him until he left and haven't called him since. Now he's got this funeral, and I feel like I've let him down. After everything he's done for me, I went and ignored him when he probably needed me the most. Whether I liked his reasons or not, he's only ever had my best interests in mind, and look how I repaid him. I'm so selfish. Some of the things I said to him were horrible. I called him a coward for God's sake."

"He'll forgive you." I tried to reassure her.

"Maybe, but I might not forgive myself. It was me that pushed things. I asked him to kiss me and he did, and I said I would be ok, but I wasn't." She sounded so desperate.

I felt a lump in my throat when she said that he kissed her, but pushed it aside. It wasn't fair to her, and she didn't need that from me. "Christ, where's bitch Leah? I'm starting to miss her." I forcefully joked.

I was relieved when at least she chuckled lightly. "She's still here somewhere, don't worry."

I paused and took a deep breath as I found the courage to ask her something. "Do you love him?" I wasn't sure I was ready for the answer, but I needed to know.

"What?" she said horrified.

"You heard me." I answered nervously.

"Honestly?" she sounded scared this time.

"Honestly, Lee." I said ever so softly.

"… Yes …" she spoke with no more than a whisper, but I heard it.

Once again, a small part of me was jealous. I loved Leah too, but not enough. It was crazy and selfish to hate it, but Cris loved her enough; I had seen it and felt it when we talked about her while phased the other day, and now to find out she loved him too was hard.

Worse though - what if Leah was hurting and it was my fault? Had I, inadvertently, been the cause of her heartbreak once again?

After all, it was me who had spoken to Cris and re-emphasised how he could hurt her. If there was ever any doubt in his mind to whether he should develop their relationship, I certainly tipped it the other way.

I didn't want her hurt this way either though, and I never really thought she loved him, just liked him. It may have changed things if I did, but then, I was so caught up in my own feelings that I didn't consider her perspective.

It was too late, though. What was done was done right?

It was probably for the best anyway. She was hurt now, but he would forgive her and they would be friends again. Simple.

Just then, I heard movement in the house and knew our conversation would soon be overhead. "Look, I've got to go, Leah, but just call Cris later. I promise it'll be ok. Just apologise."

"Maybe. Hey, thanks, anyway Jake, and if I don't speak to you before, have fun at Isle Esme." She sounded sad still, but at least genuine.

"Thanks, Leah. I'll call you soon, ok? Chin up." I said supportively.

"Sure, see ya." And with that she hung up, leaving me with nothing but a dead line. She never was one for long goodbyes.

I put the phone down, sighing. Only Leah Clearwater could go from one doomed relationship to another.

"You know he might never imprint?"

I snapped my head around and saw Edward standing in the doorway. Figures it had to be the damn mind reader in the house.

"Aren't you bored of reading my thoughts yet?" I muttered.

"Slightly, but I don't really have a choice." He laughed lightly before taking a serious stance. "The damage you've done can still be repaired you know?"

"What are you talking about?" I snapped.

"I know what you said to Cris and your feelings and opinions about him and Leah." He showed very little emotion; the stone cold vampire was often impossible to read.

Immediately, I felt guilty. "Edward, I love Nessie so anything you've heard me think isn't important. I have made my choices. You don't need to worry." I reassured him.

"Jake, I understand that you love my daughter, but it's ok to love Leah, too and it's ok to be jealous. It isn't, however, ok to deliberately interfere," he scolded.

"I didn't interfere," I said defensively.

He raised his eyebrows at me sceptically. "Look, we both know about love triangles and luckily ours worked out. Yes, Bella chose me, but a part of her still loved you and yet, she, too, made her choice. Fortunately, destiny meant that she got to give you Renesmee and the imprint healed you. In this triangle with Leah, you are the Bella, but the difference is Leah doesn't get her happy ending because you interfered. If you really love her, or ever did, you would do what is best for her and not your ego. I tell you again Jake - it's not too late to repair the damage. Even if you fail, or it doesn't work, you will have tried."

"But the risks … Leah …" I stuttered as the truth of Edwards words sunk in.

"If you want to consider risks, then I could have killed Bella, but I didn't and we worked out to be quite happy," he said confidently.

Finally, I had to laugh. If nothing else, his example lacked comparison. "Err, Edward, I hate to correct you, but if you remember, you did kill Bella. She is a vampire after all."

Unsurprisingly, I earned a frown in from him, but it at least gave me a chance to make my exit.

The remainder of the day flew by without any more drama. I somehow managed to steer clear of Edward after his scolding and instead spent the majority of my time messing around with Nessie and packing together.

Unfortunately, despite how busy I kept myself, I still couldn't manage to shake the guilt I felt over Leah's pain. Even a full night's sleep didn't help and by morning, Nessie had finally had enough and confronted me - apparently, I'd been tossing and turning all night so she knew something was up.

I couldn't lie to my imprint, so I explained what I had done and got yet another lecture for interfering. I knew I only had myself to blame, but really, it was like everyone was 'team Leah' or something. It wasn't even like I did it with bad intentions or anything. Ok, so my reasoning might not have been completely unselfish, but had I really ensured their relationship would never progress?

I reluctantly pushed the thought away; I was going to be on holiday soon. We were due to leave in one hour as soon as Bella got back from feeding. She had insisted on going alone as Nessie was becoming anxious about flying and Edward and I were having a job to calm her down.

Finally, Nessie seemed to be comfortable with the idea. Especially when we pointed out all the ways we could survive if, god forbid, the plane did crash. I had promised to kick Emmett's ass after finding out he let her watch the film 'Alive.' Nessie's fears were the result of an extremely intelligent, overactive imagination and a plane crash movie.

I started to load the cars up, while the Cullens all went about their own business - saying goodbye to Tanya and family (Esme), checking enough clothes were packed (Alice), ensuring the play station was wrapped up securely for transport (Emmett).

It was no surprise, but welcomed all the same when I felt my baby girl wrap her arms around me. I had just lifted in the last bag and turned and kissed her lightly.

"You ok, now?" I asked sincerely.

She grinned back at me. "As long as you're with me."

"Good." I leant in and kissed her fully, knowing we would have very little alone time over the next two weeks.

When we broke apart, she looked back at the house and frowned. "I wish we could get going already. I just want to get there now."

"It's ok. Bella won't be long, then we'll be on the way and you can sparkle and shimmer in the sun to your heart's content." I brushed the tip of her nose playfully.

"You know I don't shine," she snorted.

"To me, you do." Ok, so it was lame, but I loved her so I was allowed to make cheesy comments.

"That's definitely all your bags right?" I nodded my head towards the trunk before I closed it for what I hoped would be the final time.

"Oh, shoot. No, one little bag left at your cabin." She giggled, and I rolled my eyes playfully.

"Ok. Go get it then and be quick." I slapped her bum and sent her in the direction of my cabin.

My mind trailed back to Leah and I wondered if she had called Cris yet. It didn't matter how long I had been gone, La Push was in my blood and all of my pack were never far from my mind. I waited patiently for Nessie, taking in my surroundings. I was looking forward to experiencing real heat. I had never been on holiday before like this. It was especially nice that even though I was older, there were so many things Nessie and I would get to experience together for the first time. It was definitely nice to have that connection with someone.

I continued leaning against the car, mulling over things, but my peace was shattered by a high- pitched shriek. All I can say is that if I thought Leah screaming was enough to send me gray, hearing Nessie do it was enough to stop my heart.

As a result, my legs were moving before my mind had even processed everything. As if synchronised, I met the Cullens and Tanya's clan at my cabin at the same time. Immediately, I pulled Nessie, who was sobbing and shaking, into my arms. She pushed me away, clearly disturbed, and pointed to the undergrowth not far from the cabin.

A native boy with long, black, braided hair lay just outside of the tree line. Blood was pouring from all over him, his limbs looked distorted and I felt sick as I realised some on them were actually missing. He tried to crawl towards us as his mouth pooled with blood, reaching out his severed arm in a gesture for help.

I felt Nessie go limp in my arms and tore my eyes towards her. She had fainted so I picked her up and cradled her in my arms.

"Oh my god," Esme cried out, "that's … that's…"

"Who the hell is it?" I heard Emmett snap.

It wasn't often you saw vampires taken aback.

Edward replied, just as shell shocked. "That's Nahuel."

AN

Ok, so what do you think is going on?

How much am I going to be scolded for the Nessie and Jake moments?

What do you make of Leah and Cris?

Tell me, tell me please!

As always thanks to the previous reviewers and my beta. Loves ya. xxx