In the moment that it dissolved, every emotion that the imprint had displaced assaulted Sam at once. It was so stunning that he dropped to his knees. He was simultaneously overcome with joy, anger, lust, bliss, love, and despair. But first and foremost was guilt, but not primarily about what he had done to Leah, because he had never abandoned her in his heart. She had been the only thing that kept him going, the only piece of his heart that remained unchanged. No, his guilt was for his family, whom he had deserted. He had remained oblivious while his grandmother was hospitalized and left his mother to fend for both of them without any support. He might not have abused them the way his father had, but he had left them all the same.

He found himself stooping on the floor with Emily leaning over him. He gently but firmly pushed away the hand that she had placed on his shoulder. "I'm okay. I'm okay. But I have to go. I... Thanks. Just, thanks." They were the last words he spoke to her for a long time.

When he stumbled out of the cabin, he was momentarily torn. He wanted badly to go to Leah and tell her that it was all over, that he was finally free. He could hardly wait to see the look on her face. Even if she didn't immediately take him back, even if she didn't let him sweep her into his arms and pick up their romance where they had left off, she was still the best friend he had ever had. She would still be happy for him, and hopefully for herself as well.

First, though, he wanted to tell his mother. It felt like ages had passed since he had seen her, although it had only been days. But the version of him who had recently seen her was an imposter.

He stopped at home on the way to the Clearwaters'. He didn't knock; after all, it was his house too. She looked up from her armchair, where she was reading a book. Her lips turned downward into a frown. "Sammy? What's wrong?"

He exclaimed, "Nothing's wrong. Why would anything be wrong?"

"You're here in the middle of the day." For months, he had been so neglectful that his very presence was cause for alarm. He swore to himself that he would not allow their relationship to deteriorate in this way again.

He smiled at her. "Actually, everything's good. Where's Grandma?"

"Taking a nap. She gets pretty worn out pretty easily these days. But how are you? That's what I really want to know."

"Good. Really good. Everything is better than it's been in ages."

She sat very still as she examined him, and then a look of comprehension spread across her face. "Oh, wow. Are you telling me what I hope you're telling me?"

He grinned. "It's gone. It's really gone."

"How?" she breathed.

"Something happened that made her open her eyes. Did you hear about Quil's imprint?" he asked.

"Oh no. Another one?" She closed her book and set it on the coffee table.

"It gets worse. The girl, Claire, she's two."

"Too what?" She didn't understand.

He shook his head. "Two, as in two years old."

"What?"

"I know."

"That's disgusting!" Alison exclaimed.

Sam agreed, although he knew that if Quil had any inappropriate thoughts about Claire, he would not be able to hide them from the pack. "Well, apparently there's nothing... you know... sexual about it. Yet."

"Yet?" Allison was appalled.

"I know. On top of it all, she's Emily's niece. She's not too happy about it."

She visibly shuddered. "The implications are pretty horrifying. It's been bad enough for you, and you're at the whims of an adult, albeit a selfish and immature one. But setting aside the inappropriate nature of having a child imprint, imagine being at the mercy of a temperamental toddler! Every time she throws a tantrum to get her way, does he have to give in? Any parent with an ounce of sense will tell you that that's the best way to create a spoiled brat. A little child having a personal slave? What a terrible idea."

Sam agreed. "I know. It's pretty bad. And everyone does seem to think that it will become romantic eventually."

"That's sick! That's wrong!"

"It's pretty bad. But the good news is that Emily thinks so too. It made her second-guess our imprint. We talked about it, and she was finally willing to hear the truth."

At his pause, his mother prompted, "And?"

"And it's broken. It's done. It's all over. I'm free." Sam crossed the room and bent down to put his arms around her. He held her carefully, not wanting to squeeze her too tightly. But she surprised him with her strength. Her grip around his neck was tight.

Her voice was thick. "So you're back? Is it really you?"

"Yeah mom. It's really me." Now he could make promises and know he wouldn't break them. "I'm back, and I'm not going anywhere."

"Thank God. I missed you."

Allison actually tried to pull away first. Sam held on a little longer, but eventually he did let go. He cleared his throat. "Thanks, Mom."

Now she looked excited. "So what was Leah's reaction? You have to tell me all about it!"

"Actually, I haven't told her yet."

His mother gaped up at him. "What? Why?"

"This just happened, mom. Like, minutes before I got here."

She put her hands on her hips. "And you didn't go right to her? Why not?"

"I dunno." He shrugged. "I'm on my way now, though. Do you want to come?"

"Why? To watch make sure you grovel properly?" She grinned. "Actually, that could be fun."

"No! Well, I am going to do that. But it's Harry's birthday today. We all went to the cemetery this morning. They're doing a little thing at the house. Billy and Charlie were going to see if they could catch some fish and bring them over. You should come too."

Her eyes lit up. "I'd love to! But I shouldn't leave your grandma here by herself."

He heard a shuffling noise from the hallway, and she appeared, supported by her walker. "Who's that I hear? Sammy, is that you?"

In his enthusiasm, Sam picked his grandmother off her feet. She still didn't know about his transformation because the council was quite strict about who could be told of their secret, so he simply invited her to the Clearwaters'.

When they arrived, Sue's car was in the driveway, and an old red Chevy sat behind it. Sam could hear the low voices of Jacob and Leah from the back porch. He was telling her his favorite memories of his mother, and she was laughing. He needed to help his grandmother up the steps before he went to find her. Inside they found Sue, Seth, and Bella in the kitchen. Sue was putting a tray of rolls into the oven, and Bella was washing berries in the sink. Seth was seated at the table facing him, and sitting across from him was a girl with long, dark hair. Seth smiled at him. "Hey, Sam." Sue greeted his mother and grandmother and led them into the living room.

Rachel Black turned and narrowed her eyes when she saw him. He wondered what rumors she had heard about him, Leah, and Emily. The twins had always been protective of Leah, and over the course of their childhood, they had witnessed his biggest mistakes, and they all involved Leah. What did she think of him now? "Sam! I didn't think I'd see you today. I thought you'd basically disappeared."

"Me? I've been here the whole time."

"Really?" Rachel leaned back and narrowed her eyes. "Maybe I've been misinformed. That's not what I heard. Or is it just that you've been hanging out with... other people." She clearly had to stop herself from saying something worse about Emily.

Sam smiled broadly at her. "Nope. I'm right here, exactly where I want to be."

Seth must have seen something in his expression, because he tilted his head and looked quizzically at Sam. "Yeah?"

"Of course. I was just going to go find Leah. I've got to talk to her."

Seth just nodded, but Rachel was skeptical. "What for?"

He was tempted to tell her it was none of her business, but he held his tongue. "Just wanted to talk to her. She's expecting me."

"She's out back with Jake." Seth gestured in their general direction.

Rachel frowned at both of them. "Wait, what's going on? This is your house, Seth. You don't need to let him in, let alone talk to her."

"It's okay. He came to the cemetery with us this morning. He would have come straight back here, but he had to change," Seth explained.

Rachel would not be redirected. "Okay, maybe I missed something. Since when are you guys all buddy buddy? Are you, or are you not, living with their cousin? Dating her and stuff?"

"I'm not living with Emily," Sam clarified. Beyond that, though, he had no idea what to tell her. As far as he knew, she hadn't been informed about the pack, let alone imprinting, and Jacob and Billy wouldn't be pleased if he took it upon himself to do so. "We're not seeing each other, and we never dated."

"Oh. But what's going on, then?"

"It's been a weird year," Seth offered vaguely.

Rachel looked back at him. "And obviously those two had more than a little rough patch. Seth, she's not wearing her engagement ring! And unless everyone I've talked to in this town is hallucinating, he shacked up with that Emily girl. Isn't she your cousin or something?"

Seth mumbled, "Uh, second."

"What the heck, Sam? Seriously?" Rachel finally noticed that Bella looked terribly uncomfortable standing behind the counter. Her eyes kept darting between the Rachel, Sam, and the door, and she was clearly trying to find an excuse to leave. "Look, can I talk to you privately?"

"Actually, I really need to talk to Leah."

He tried to back away, but she just stood and followed him. "Well, I really need to talk to you. How about that? Come on." She went to the front door and opened it, and then she glared at him until he sighed and followed her onto the porch.

"Look, Rachel," he began.

But she immediately cut him off. "No, you look. I don't know what your problem is, Sam. All I know is that you've been bad news since the beginning. Granted, you've had your moments. You actually had me fooled for a while, but now I know it. You cheated on her with her own family, for fuck's sake. Where do you get off?"

"It's not like that, Rach." In many ways, what he had done was worse than cheating, but there wasn't a word for what he had done. He couldn't explain it to Rachel. "Leah's the only girl I've ever loved."

"Yeah? If that's how you love her, then she'd be better off if you hated her."

"I could never hate her. Never. The thing is, I know I've screwed up. But I'm not going to hurt her. I swear it."

She was yelling now. He could see his mother peeking at them from the window. "Please. Your promise is worthless. You should just stay away from her, Sam. You're a dirtbag just like your dad, and if you care about her at all, you'll leave her alone and let her be happy. You..."

"Rach?" Leah and Jacob appeared behind her. Leah was speaking.

"Lee! Man, was I that loud? I didn't want you to hear that."

Leah smiled. "Don't apologize. I appreciate it, really I do. But it's okay. I'm okay."

"Then are you going to ask him to leave?" She gestured at Sam.

Leah shook her head. "No. We're here for my dad today. He loved my dad, and my dad loved him. So he should stay."

Rachel's face fell. "You can't mean that. If your dad was around to see what happened, he wouldn't have loved him then. He'd have shot him in the face."

"Maybe," Leah chuckled. "But I don't think so."

"What? Has everyone around here gone insane?" Rachel demanded.

Jacob reached for her arm. "Kind of. Come inside, Rach. Whatever's between them is between them."

"You can't be serious! I'm not leaving her alone with him, and neither should you! She's always had a blind spot when it came to Sam, but what's wrong with all of you? Even Seth is in on this. It's crazy! He's a cheating scumbag!"

Leah smiled. "Man, I wish you'd been here a few months ago. But Sam's not a cheater or a scumbag. Trust me."

"What? He moved in with Emily, didn't he?"

"Rach, just leave them to it. Leah can take care of herself, really." Jacob tried to pull her inside, but she still resisted, and he didn't want to force her physically.

Leah agreed. "It's okay, really it is."

"I can't believe you took him back!" Rachel argued.

"Who said I took him back?" Leah answered, and his heart sank.

But Rachel was pacified. "Oh, well, that's okay then."

Jacob finally managed to move his sister inside, and Sam turned to Leah, admitting, "She's kind of right, you know."

Leah just shrugged. "She's right and she's wrong. It's okay."

"But it hasn't been okay, not at all. But that's changed," Sam began.

Leah was looking past him. "A lot's changed," she acknowledged. "Things are better."

"Yeah," he said softly. "They're a lot better. And now everything's changed."

She wasn't paying attention. "I'm not sure what to tell her. I wish I could tell her the truth. It'd be nice having somebody else to talk to about all this insanity. But even if it were allowed, she'd just think I'd lost my mind. I'd probably have to phase in front of her to convince her. Can you imagine?" She giggled. "I'd start stripping off my clothes so I didn't ruin them, and she'd probably think I'd switched teams and was trying to get some. Then again, maybe she'd go for it. Did you hear she's got a girlfriend now?"

That distracted Sam enough that he didn't immediately try to redirect the conversation. "Really?"

"Yeah. She and her roommate have a thing going. She told Jake and Becca. Hasn't told Billy yet."

"Huh. I thought she was straight."

Leah shrugged. "Obviously not. But she could be bi, I'm not sure. I'm not sure she knows yet. Anyway, don't tell her I told you."

"Of course."

"Let's go in, okay? I feel weird standing out here when everyone else is in there."

"Wait." He reached for her hand. "I need to tell you something."

She looked up at him with guarded eyes. A year ago her face would have displayed an expression of undiluted adoration. Would he ever see it again? "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Why does everyone think that? It's good news. I promise." He nervously rubbed at the back of his neck. "Actually, now I feel like I should have prepared a speech or something. I should have written it down. Maybe on some little index cards, or just a plain old piece of paper. I could have typed it, otherwise I'd have gone through a ream of paper trying to find the right thing to say. You know how bad I am at words, and this, well, it sort of deserves the right…"

Leah rolled her eyes and interrupted, "Sammy, you're babbling. Just spit it out."

"Oh, sorry." He smiled at her sheepishly. The old Leah would have waited patiently for him to gather himself and, if he could not, would have guessed whatever he was thinking. But the innocent, carefree, sweet girl that he had fallen in love with was gone. In her place stood this impatient, fierce, brave warrior. He missed the old Leah, but he loved this version of her even more. "It's just, well, it's gone, LeeLee. The imprint. It's gone."

Her lips parted slightly in surprise, and her expression froze. He smiled as he heard Jacob and Seth shush everyone else inside so they could properly eavesdrop. They were almost as invested in the process as he was. As he tentatively slid his hand up her arm, he realized she was trembling. "Don't say that," she whispered.

It certainly wasn't what he had hoped to hear. "What? Why?"

Her voice was so low that even he had trouble hearing her. "Because I can't... I don't..."

Was it too late? Had she already moved on? Had he lost her for good? "LeeLee?"

She hid her face from him, and he was afraid of what her expression would tell him. He didn't press her any harder because he was afraid of what she would say. Eventually she murmured, "The thing about having a heart is that it can be broken. The thing about hope is that it can be crushed, and maybe it would be better not to hope at all." It sounded like she was talking to herself and not to him.

He pulled her close, tucking her head under his chin. Her hands remained trapped between them. She wasn't yet ready to return his embrace. "Oh, baby. But you're all heart. You always were, and you always will be. No matter what. But it's the very strongest heart, and the bravest, and the biggest. It's more important to me than anything in the world, don't you know that? If you can bring yourself to trust me with it again, I'll take such good care of it."

Then her trembling turned into shaking. She refused to look at him, keeping her face buried in his shirt. He felt her tears through the fabric, and he was afraid she would reject him. But she opened her fists and slid her hands around his back, and the way her fingers dug into him told him she wasn't trying to leave. Eventually she choked out, "You've always had it. I tried to take it back for self-preservation, to save myself, to try to hold myself together while everything was falling apart, but I just couldn't. I didn't know how."

Into her hair he spoke, "Me neither. That's what saved me. She couldn't have my heart, would never get it no matter what, because it belongs to you. It always has. You kept it safe. You kept me safe. You kept me from disappearing, from getting lost, just like you always have."

She looked up at him with shining eyes. "And you. I'll never forget how much it hurt, but the person who did those awful things, they really weren't you, were they?"

Relief flooded through him. He was hugely grateful that she understood. He would never have chosen another woman over her if he had any choice in the matter, and, in fact, he had not. The imprint had spoken with his voice, but the words were never his. "No. That wasn't me. So I hope you can forgive me. And we can be together. The way we always wanted. The way we always were."

The corner of her mouth quirked up. "No, I don't think so." At his crestfallen look, she hastily clarified, "What I mean is, if it wasn't you who did those things, who said those things, and I know it really wasn't, then there's nothing to forgive, is there?"

"Oh, LeeLee… I don't deserve that. Not at all."

She shook her head. "Sammy, if you really managed to break this, if it's truly gone, then what you did was the impossible. It's never happened before. Never. In the history of our people, what you managed, it's completely unheard of! Do you realize how amazing that makes you?"

"If I did anything," he answered sincerely, "it wasn't about me. It was for you. Only for you, because of you. You're everything, and I could never have done it without you."

She studied him closely, looking for the truth in his eyes. She murmured, "You really did it, didn't you? You broke the imprint!"

"For you," he insisted. "All for you. I couldn't let her keep us apart."

"You're amazing. Did you know that? They said it couldn't be done. No protector has ever broken an imprint!"

"No protector ever lost you to an imprint," he explained. "You're the amazing one. The first female wolf, and the bravest protector."

She argued, "Says the one who took on the entire army single-handedly. You're the one who killed Victoria."

He grinned, happier than he thought he ever would be again. "But you're the one who saved my foolish, sorry ass."

And then he saw it. The loveliest smile spread across her face, her eyes warm, her lips sweet, and that perfect little dimple appearing in her cheek. His smile. How he had missed it. "You are a fool, Samuel Uley."

"Your fool."

She took a shaky breath, and then she let out a throaty laugh. "God. It's really you, isn't it? Just you?"

"No. It's us." He leaned down to kiss her, but before their lips could meet, he heard a voice behind him.

"In the name of Harold Clearwater, get your hands off that girl!" Billy yelled jovially.

Sam and Leah separated, turning to see Charlie pushing Billy up the driveway, a large cooler sitting in his lap. Charlie grinned. "I hope everyone's hungry. We got a great haul!"

"And Charlie here got a real monster with your dad's favorite lure." Billy pointed back at the car. "Got even more in the car, actually."

Charlie told Leah, "Tell your mom to make some room in the freezer. There's no way we can eat it all today."

Billy snorted. "You forget we're feeding a pack of hungry wolves. You better make sure you save some for yourself and Bella before it disappears."

Sam and Leah picked up Billy's chair and put him on the porch, where he rolled through the front door. They followed him in. Their intimate moment had been interrupted, but now Sam was confident that he would have the chance to have many more. He could feel it in the way that Leah squeezed his hand as she pulled him inside.

Jacob clapped Sam on the back and gave Leah a wink. Even Seth had a shit-eating grin on his face. Sam wouldn't have blamed her brother if he hated him forever, but Seth was just too nice, and taking on the coven singlehandedly had earned him respect in the pack. And as Leah had pointed out, he had done the impossible by breaking his imprint, and all for her. Rachel knew none of this, and the look on her face was more of a scowl.

But his grandmother's face lit up when she saw their entwined fingers. As they passed by her chair, she touched Leah's arm. "Has he finally come to his senses, dear?"

Leah smiled. "I think he has."

Grandma nodded sagely. "I'm glad to hear it. He loves you even if he's no good at saying it."

"I know," Leah smiled.

Leah let go of him so she could bend down to hug his grandmother. After they separated and Leah moved forward, Grandma grabbed his hand with more strength than he knew she possessed. "But that doesn't mean you get to treat her badly, do you understand? You know that I love you more than anybody. But that doesn't mean I think you get to treat that girl with any less respect than she deserves. You listen to that, Samuel."

He promised sincerely, "I will."

She glared at Sam and whispered, "So I don't want to hear anything else about you and that hussy, or so help me…" She dug her fingernails into his skin, and he momentarily wondered if Leah had been the first female shifter after all.

That afternoon, they feasted on all the things that Sue wished Harry had eaten less of, from his fish fry down to his favorite beer and most decadent dessert. Billy and Charlie became progressively more tipsy, their tongues loosening to tell embarrassing stories about their dear, departed friend. Rachel even repeated the silly jokes he had told her as a child to make her laugh. Sue held both her children close and said that her husband lived on in them.

As Sam watched the three of them, he hoped that he would someday become an official member of their family. Now that he was here with them, fully present, wholly devoted, and as completely in love with Leah as he had ever been, he knew it was only a matter of time until he asked her to marry him again. They would raise a family together. He was certain even if she did not know it yet. He would ask her to name their eldest son Harry.

X-x-x-x-X

Leah paid Emily a visit the very next day. Their emotions were too raw to speak of what had happened. Emily actually wouldn't open her door at first, claiming that Leah was only there to gloat. She only unlocked it when Leah said she was there to talk about Claire and Quil. The girls' relationship could not be repaired, but they could at least agree that the bizarre child imprint was in no one's best interest. She had spoken with Old Quil, who had heard of her broken imprint and urged her to try to fix it. She was so lonely that she actually tried, but she found that it was impossible. She had given up her power over Sam, and there was no way to get it back. The elder was disappointed, and he privately railed against Leah, but no one listened any longer. As for his grandson, Old Quil was convinced that teenager could wait in an ageless stasis until Claire came of age before forming a romantic bond, but that thought only repelled Emily further. She said that what he was proposing amounted to grooming a child for sexual abuse, and he immediately backed off. Neither did Kim offer any support to the pairing; she was too busy trying to convince Jared that they were truly meant to be together. Oddly, the harder she pushed, the more he began to doubt.

Emily made plans to leave La Push, but Leah asked her to stay long enough to help destroy the newest imprint. It didn't take much convincing; the only question was how to do it. For hours the girls talked in circles, dancing around the topic of Sam, Leah trying to contain her bitterness and anger, Emily trying to hide her broken heart and her shame. But between the two of them, they had enough insight to come up with a plan.

The next weekend, Emily invited Claire to spend the weekend with her. Leah was waiting in the apartment with Quil, who was eager to see the little girl. Emily asked her if they could all play make-believe. The child happily complied, and Leah announced that she was an evil witch, that Emily was a dragon, Quil was the brave knight, and Claire herself was the princess.

Leah, bearing a rice krispie treat cut in the shape of a star that she had stuck on the end of a chopstick, used the "magic wand" to send the dragon to entrap the princess in a crystal tower. Emily growled ferociously and swept the squealing girl into her arms, then plunked her onto the coffee table and plopped a laundry hamper over her head. Quil came galloping to her rescue, riding one of Emily's mops, and thrust a plastic knife at the dragon. Emily knocked the utensil from his hand and pushed him behind the couch, where Leah waved her rice krispie treat threateningly at Quil and wrapped a curtain tie around him. She sang nonsense words while leaping around him and said that he was now an imprinted slave forever. Then she sat down next to Emily in the dragon's lair, better known as the couch, and fed her woodland animals, represented by animal crackers, until Emily stretched her arms dramatically, yawned, lay across the cushions, and closed her eyes. Leah explained to Quil that she was going to find herbs for a magic potion that would turn the princess into a lowly snail, and she threatened to do the same to him if he tried to escape. Then she went to the bathroom, "accidentally" dropping her wand on the way.

Emily opened one eye and whisper-yelled at Claire that she should break the bars of her cell, and the girl giggled and tossed the hamper onto the floor. Claire immediately picked up the rice krispie treat and took a bite of it, and Leah burst out of the bathroom, clutching at her chest and moaning that the princess had drained her of all her powers. Emily sprung to her feet and said that Claire had freed her from the witch's spell, and that she was once again a princess just like Claire. She said that Leah had turned her into a wrinkly, old dragon because she was jealous of her youth and beauty. Together they untied Quil, who picked up Claire and tossed her into the air.

Leah, still lying in the hallway, said that her spell wasn't broken; ownership of the knight had just transferred to Claire. Emily explained that Claire should free him from the enslavement spell. She whispered words into her ear that she should repeat, and Claire solemnly intoned that she was letting him go, and that he was free. Quil involuntarily dropped to his knees and asked her if she meant it. Leah moved to kneel behind him and gently told Claire that some fairy tales were real, and that she really had the power to set Quil free, and without prompting, she smacked him upside the head with the gooey star and said, "Yeth! Quil fwee!" Then she tried to take another bite of the magic wand, which was covered in lint. Emily swept her up and told her to get a clean one, and Leah cut one in the shape of a heart.

Quil took a girl on a date the very next night, and Emily handed in her letter of resignation to Mrs. Lowery. Sam's hopes soared, and he could hardly wait until she was gone. With her departure, his long nightmare would be over.

X-x-x-x-X

A/N: Thanks again to Babs81410.