A/N: Thanks for all the reviews!

Because you guys have been awesome and waited for me, this chapter is super long. I hope you like it.

ALISON ANDERSON

I stood on the edge of the cliff, my arms outstretched on both sides of me, inhaling the breeze, feeling it surge through the emptiness in my body - both literally and metaphorically. Two weeks passed since we decided to - and actually did - move in together at the beautiful cottage near the Black's. It really was beautiful, and cozy. Colby stayed with me for a couple of days before having to go back to his pack duties and work, full-time, with his father, Jacob, mainly because he opposed us moving in alone, even if it was within running distance, and said Colby would have to provide for both of us if we were going to be alone, which he gladly accepted.

He would come back at eight every night, eat and talk to me. Then, he would go to bed at two in the morning or so, when he was truly exhausted, getting up at five for his patrol. His uncle Paul and his sister Sarah were completely against this routine; they yelled the other day, a lot, when he thought I was sleeping, just outside the cottage. Since he was their Alpha, though, their argument didn't do much. He kept on doing what he was doing, for my sake. To make me happy. But, how could I be happy when all I did was exhaust him, cause him pain?

If I had to reduce all my fears to one it would be this - being a burden. Being someone else's responsibility. Being vulnerable, and needy. Colby was an amazing person. He deserved better - someone who was stronger than me, someone who didn't fuck up his routine and his interactions with his family because she was too selfish, someone who wasn't a human-blood-craving monster.

Someone who wasn't me.

I barely slept, relishing every moment we had together. If I didn't know any better, I'd say my heart only beat when he came back home, to me. When we weren't together, I wasn't exactly in pain, but I wasn't anything either. I was empty. Nothingness filled me. I didn't eat, or drink any blood, though I told him I did when he wasn't around. I was getting weaker and weaker every day, and on some level, I embraced it. I liked feeling exactly as empty in my body as I did in my mind.

Every morning when he would leave, I would wait in bed until he was out of hearing distance and get out, running in random directions. Sometimes I would encounter animals and I would want to hunt them, but I couldn't; I found out my teeth weren't as sharp as they should be, and I ended up torturing the creatures instead.

He had told me to go spend time with his sister and mother, or my extended family in La Push, as he worked, but I was pretty sure Sarah wouldn't want to be around the reason her twin was way too tired all the time, and Mary was almost due - with a human baby. Everyone in my extended family, even Quil, had someone to protect from me, from my urges. Maybe my teeth weren't sharp enough to cut through bears, but even human teeth could cut through human flesh. I wasn't going to risk it, especially when I'd completely run out of donated blood.

I listened to the sounds around me. The wind whooshed against the trees, the waves crashed with the stones below, but there were no wolves or humans within hearing distance. Amazing. I took off my dress and stood there in my bathing suit, jumping off the cliffs. It wasn't my first time coming here. But this time was different; I didn't aim for the water.

I aimed for the rocks.

COLBY THOMAS BLACK

I was working on a 1994 Corvette, rolled under it, since I was now head of the Restoration department, when I felt sharp pain surging through my body. I screamed involuntarily, drawing the attention of a very confused Embry, who drew me out. "What, did you hurt yourself just looking at the car?"

No. I barely ever felt physical pain, unless it was a serious injury which, given my strength, was particularly rare. The only explanation I had was the scariest; it was the bond. The imprint bond, between Allie and I. I hadn't been feeling much of her in weeks. I stood up. "It's Alison."

His eyes widened. "Do you know where she is?"

I shook my head. "Probably at home, or at the Rez, I don't know!" I took out my phone and dialed her number as fast as the processor could handle, but her phone was off. Sarah, I called in my head, knowing my twin would be there since she had no reason to be on patrol right now, Help.

What's wrong? she said, You're panicking, what happened?

Something's wrong with Alison, I said, grabbing the keys to my Rolls-Royce Wraith (I had been working on the Ferrari to give to Alison), I can feel it, but I don't know where she is. Is she at the house with you?

Dude, we haven't seen her since you two moved in together. What? She's never around here, and Mary's been asking about her as well. No one has seen her recently.

Fuck, fuck. Who's on patrol? I couldn't remember, I couldn't think. I slid into my car and turned the engine on.

Bryce, she said, Randy's supposed to join him in a moment, but he's here with me now.

Goddammit. The only wolf out there who could help me look for her as I drove back from Port Angeles was the one wolf who couldn't find her - not because he was incompetent, but because I'd given him an Alpha order never to approach her. His body wouldn't even be able to find her, unless I ordered him to, myself, which I had to do in wolf form. Get Randy on it. Find her.

Should I go with him?

No, don't phase yet, I said, Go with him, but don't phase. You're the only one I can contact right now. Get Paul and Quil, too; they're familiar with her scent.

I was driving at double the speed limit and it still couldn't get me there fast enough. What could have happened to her to cause her so much pain? Did she get into trouble? Did she go hunting? But she said she still had enough donated blood, and if she could kick a newly-phased Bryce off of her she wasn't going to get that hurt by a bear or something, no matter how big it was.

Think, Colby, think. If she wasn't at home, where could she go? She was extremely careful not to cross paths with regular humans, so she couldn't be very far away. Sarah, anything yet?

Randy picked up her scent in the forest, headed east, she said, We think she headed towards the cliffs.

Where the guys dive?

No, the other ones - the one we used to go to with uncle Paul - the higher ones.

By that time, I'd made it to La Push. I was three minutes away from where they thought she was. Meet me there.

It was taking every fibre of my body to stop myself from phasing, no matter how hard I shaked. I had to reroute my thoughts, to only concentrate on the process of reaching her rather than what had possibly happened to her. I was a little relieved I was still feeling her pain, it meant she wasn't dead.

As soon as I reached the cliffs, I stepped out of the car and looked around frantically for her. Her scent was everywhere. Randy and Sarah joined me, now both in wolf form. I saw her dress near the edge. No matter how much it hurt to just consider it, I stood on the edge of the cliffs and looked down. She wasn't there. I scanned the whole area down there for signs of life, but there wasn't any. The only abnormal thing I could find was an oddly colored, huge rock which the waves kept hitting. I looked closer, eternally thankful for my superhuman vision, only to find out it wasn't "oddly colored." The color was slowly being washed away by the ocean.

It was blood.

I turned to the wolves, now four, taking off my shirt and jeans, stepping out of my shoes. "Get help!" I yelled, shaking, "Now!" My voice was foreign to me, and I was shaking like never before. Partly of fear, but mostly of worry and anger. I turned around and without thinking, jumped.

The mere seconds between my jumping and the moment I hit the water passed like days. I held my breath, hearing Sarah howl in the background - a pained, urgent howl. The water hit my body and I let it submerge me. I opened my eyes and looked around for her. For Alison. I knew she was in here, both by instinct, scent and the faint trail of blood surrounding me. Because I was partly vampire, I could go longer than an average human without having to breathe, and even if I didn't, I couldn't possibly be distracted from this. I dove around, scanning every inch, following the blood trail. In my head, this could have gone on for weeks, but I knew it was only about fifteen minutes. The trail sank below my level and I followed it with my eyes, until it stopped.

I found her.

She was unconscious, her face holding no expression whatsoever. Her arms and legs were sinking with her at extremely abnormal positions. Her back was bent backwards at a truly terrifying angle, but her heart - her heart was still beating. Her heart never stopped. I carefully grabbed her, trying my best to support her weight while avoiding to press into her various deep wounds. I took her to the surface of the water, still shaking uncontrollably, panting, panicked. Sarah had went down there, to the shore, and phased back. She ran into the water when she saw me, gasping when she saw Allie. She held out her hands towards me, offering to take her, looking at me, not saying a word. I held her closer to my chest, refusing to let go, even if it was to one of the closest, most trustworthy people in my life.

"We called for Carlisle, he's on his way," she said, Paul and Quil appearing behind her, "Randy went to get Collin's brother, he's familiar with, you know, everything. The only doctor around. We didn't know what the extent of-"

"Please shut up," I breathed, walking on the shore, their image and voices completely blurred out of my vision. The only thing I could see was Alison - with her pale face and blue lips. I leaned forward, checking for her breath - it was faint, barely there. I carefully lay her down in front of me and pumped her chest, blowing into her mouth, until she threw up a little water and her lungs functioned better, but she didn't open her eyes yet. Her heart beat just a little faster, but she was still unconscious, bleeding.

"Don't you dare, Alison," I breathed, only now realizing I had probably been crying for a while, my arms on both sides of her, "Don't you fucking dare."

I barely registered my surroundings until Paul punched me hard in the shoulders. I growled at him, looking away from Allie. I noticed Collin's brother crouching down on the other side of Allie and felt my rational thinking being completely discarded as I growled at him, too, as soon as he reached his hand to feel the break in her arm, both Quil and Paul using all the power they had to restrain me and pull me away from her.

"Focus!" Paul roared into my ears, "She needs his help!"

But I couldn't focus. I couldn't trust someone I'd barely known with her life like that. It was probably the indescribable fear that trapped every inch of my shaking body that prevented me from phasing right there and then, but I still couldn't control my instincts. I couldn't step away, I couldn't, as if my proximity would heal her. I tried to break through their grips, but couldn't. I looked at Sarah frantically and she was about to walk towards me when Randy pulled her towards him protectively. What the fuck was wrong with all of them? I wouldn't hurt either of them!

After Collin's brother inspected her unconscious body, he turned to Sarah and Randy, earning himself another growl from me. Paul's grip tightened around my chest. "Don't make me fucking sedate you, kid."

"Her bones have already healed, but they're all in the wrong positions," he said, still looking at Sarah and Randy. "She also hit the back of her head pretty hard, it's only stopped bleeding right now, but I don't know the extent of brain damage the fall might have on her, if she wakes up."

If. If.

Paul and Quil both expected me to lunge at him, tightening their grips, growling themselves, but I didn't. I slumped into my knees and carefully took her into my arms again, burying my head into her barely-moving chest. "Wha - what - what needs to be done?" I didn't look at him, only at her. Her lips were starting to regain color.

"For now," he said, standing up, "Take her somewhere warm and comfortable and then somehow re-break her bones again so they could heal in the right position, I don't know how, with her abnormal strength.."

"I do," I said, my voice void of emotion. I knew Carlisle had done the same with my father long ago. "What else?"

"We could run some scans on her head, see if there's an internal bleed somewhere," he said, "If there is, she needs surgery right away. If there isn't, she'll have to be monitored for brain activity. Best case scenario, she'll wake up soon."

Worst case scenario: she was basically dead.

I ran my hands on her cold, delicate face, brushing away her blood-smeared short hair. Her faded pink lips were parted slightly, her red, one-piece swimming suit torn around her tiny body. She had lost a lot of weight lately, I noticed, and her eyes was stroked with dark circles. I had no time to waste; I stood up, holding her, her limbs sticking out in their new positions. I ran, as carefully as I could, up the pathway and back to my car. "Paul, the keys are in the ignition. Take us to my house. There's a hospital bed there." I wasn't about to leave her.

"Maybe you shouldn't be so close to her," Quil suggested, "You're-"

"If you're even suggesting," I growled, grabbing my shirt off the ground, covering her with it, getting into the backseat of the car with her, "That I would hurt her, or phase that close to her.."

"You're a mess, Colby, maybe he's-"

I cut Sarah off, shutting the door. "I am perfectly capable of taking care of my own imprint," I hissed.

She sighed and got into the front seat next to Paul, calling Mom. "Mom, we need the bed - yeah, that one - yes, we found her - no. It's worse than we expected," she whispered, "Good, okay. Paul's driving. Okay. Bye." She turned to me. "Carlisle will be there in half an hour; he flew down from Vancouver."

Mom had gotten me a blanket that I didn't need and threw over my shoulders as I kneeled down beside Allie, who was still unconscious, lying in a hospital. There was a risk of exposure, because of her healing rate, but the scans she needed couldn't be done at home so urgently. Carlisle said he would try to keep things as quiet as possible. Before we made it here, he re-broke all of her healed bones and reattached them in the right positions. There was a selfish part of me that wanted the incredible amount of pain resulting from the re-breaking of the bones to somehow wake her up, but it didn't. Her body convulsed and reacted, her breathing rate changed, but she stayed completely unconscious. Still.

I only took my eyes off of her when I had to change into something more decent than my soaked boxers, and when Mom and Sarah helped dress her after Carlisle braced her bones. She was basically attached to sticks, for her back and elbows. The only thing we were sure of until this very moment was that the break in her back hadn't affected her spine, thankfully.

The only people in the room, aside from Allie and I, were Sarah, Mom, Embry, and Dad. Everyone else - literally, everyone we knew - was outside in the hospital, or at our house, cleaning up the mess. I took one of her hands into mine and rested my head on the edge of her bed, sighing. Not moving from my position, I said, "Dad, I need you to take charge of the pack. Nobody's going to change when they patrol, except for me. We still don't know what happened," - Not even Alice had any idea, since she wasn't keeping tabs on Alison at the time - "Somebody - something might have caused this. Make sure everyone's safe."

My voice was as cold and as void of emotion as I felt at the time. "Don't worry about any of that," he said.

"Sarah," I called, still not moving my head, my eyes closed. "Please get her some clothes and whatever she might need from the cottage."

"Done."

"Embry," I took a deep breath, "We can't call William, her uncle, because he doesn't know about her transformation, or any of us, and I'm sure everyone would like to keep it that way," - William was Embry's father-in-law, and with the baby coming, I knew he didn't want any troubles with Mary's side of the family - "Call her father instead. His number's at the cottage, on our nightstand," - I flinched - "But make sure he doesn't come here without being properly briefed about everything. We don't want any scenes or anyone phasing at the hospital."

"Are you sure it's a good idea to call him? I mean, he-"

"She might die."

"Colby.." Mom breathed, patting my back.

"Mom, please," I said curtly, "Embry, he has the right to know. Imprint or not, she's his daughter."

"Okay. I'll go with Sarah," he said.

"Mom, please tell everyone else to leave," I whispered, knowing full-well she, and everyone else, could hear me, "Carlisle already made an exception for me so I could stay beyond visiting hours, no need to draw attention."

"They care about her, Colby. And about you, too," Sarah said.

I sighed. "I know. I appreciate it. But, please. It's safer for everyone to go back to their homes. We'll keep them updated."

I heard the door open and Carlisle walk in. "I have the results from the scans," he said. I turned my head to him. "It doesn't look too bad, but we need to get her into surgery right away - relieve the pressure on her brain, with a craniotomy. It's not the least invasive method, but with her healing abilities, this has the best recovery shots. Who's her legal guardian?"

"She's eighteen." Her new documents said she was, anyway. "And unconscious. This counts as an emergency surgery, no? You don't need a consent form to operate."

He nodded. "Someone is going to be here shortly to prep her for surgery. Please let them."

"Is she going to wake up?" I had to know. I had to prepare. I had to have expectations.

"There's a good chance of that," he said, "But we will know if there's any brain damage when she wakes up."

Brain damage. Was that even possible for her? Could her brain be damaged beyond her ability to heal? Nobody knew. None of us were in that situation, and her body was completely unique anyway.

I had to leave the room while they prepped her, not for lack of permission but to avoid any scenes. I could take the worry and pain without having to cause a scene. Sarah hugged me as I waited, but I didn't hug her back. I didn't have it in me to do that, or talk, or exist in any sort of manner. Just the mere thought that I could have gone through the day, having no idea what had happened to her, and just came back home to find it empty while she was already long gone terrified me. I buried my face in my hands. She could have died. She could still die. And, why?

What happened?

Did she go cliff-diving? All alone? Maybe. Maybe she thought she could handle it with her new strength - and she could, if she landed in the water. She knew how to swim as a human, but it was still dangerous. When Mom and Dad went cliff-diving, he always jumped first, in fear she might hurt herself, and she was more vampire than all of us (with the exception of the Cullens, of course). Maybe that was what happened, especially that she was in her swim suit.

But the rock where she supposedly landed - the one soaked in her blood - was far off where you would normally land if you jumped right, and given her superhuman vision and reactions, there was a tough chance of her landing the way she did. So, maybe she went to cliff-dive, but was pushed. But there wasn't any other scent there, apart from hers - maybe she tripped and fell. What were the chances of that? The only other option would be if she had actually jumped. With the intention of hitting the rocks.

Jumped off a cliff. The highest fucking cliff around, to hit the rocks. This would mean she calculated it well, and calibrated her movements accordingly. She wore her swim suit, and jumped. Alison wasn't Emmett; she didn't try to test the physical limits of her body. She didn't fight once ever since she transformed, and she wasn't interested when Sarah asked her to playfully fight her, just to see how strong she really was, so that couldn't be the reason. The only other reason was obvious.

The only other reason was suicide.

The only other option was that she thought hard and came up with a way to kill herself. Quickly, quietly. She didn't leave any notes, or run away. She didn't call me, or say goodbye. She just decided to end her life.

No, no, no.

How could she try to end her life? Alison wasn't suicidal. No. No. Never. Just this morning, she kissed me, told me that our new living arrangements were great, but she wished I could take it easy on myself with the work and the pack. I'd laughed and told her I was perfectly fine doing all of those things, and I wasn't going to back off. I told her I did this because I loved her, and I wanted her, and I wanted this life with her, more than anything. She'd smiled in return and kissed my cheek, waving me goodbye as I ran off and phased for my patrol. She seemed..normal. She seemed okay.

Whenever we were together, I barely tapped into our connection. I wanted her to feel safe feeling whatever she wanted, especially since she hadn't expressed her feelings towards me in any way. I wanted to know if she loved me when she did tell me, not through the "magic shit" as she called it. When I wasn't tapping in, I could only feel her in emergencies.

Like today.

Stupid fucking Colby.

If she did jump willingly into the rocks, if she did try to end her life, she must have been depressed for a long time. A tough person like Allie wasn't likely to be in this situation unless heavily provoked, no? I could have known. If I'd invaded her private bubble a little, I could have known, I could have talked to her, I could have protected her from herself. I could have gotten her help, I could've, I could've..

She wasn't dramatic about it either; she didn't threaten, or tell anyone. She didn't hesitate, apparently. She was so driven to do it, that she just jumped right off. She was so depressed, she didn't even think of the other people who might have been concerned, like me. Her boyfriend. Her imprint. Did she not think I'd feel it and come look for her, or did she not think that far into it? Did part of her want to be saved? Was that why she didn't go farther away, where we couldn't reach her in time?

I didn't know, and it drove me crazy.

Paul sat down on the other side of me. I turned to Sarah. "Go stay with Embry, you can handle John Anderson when he arrives. Make sure Mary is far away from him as he receives the news, and if he's not ready, don't let him know where we are." She nodded, patted my back, kissed the top of my head, and left, sighing. I turned to Paul, who was, surprisingly, the calmer one here. "Thank you."

"What for?" his voice was low. He shrugged. "You handled this pretty damn well, kid," he said, "I don't know if I could've kept myself from phasing that long if it was your aunt Rachel."

I snorted. "Yeah, I handled it pretty well," my voice was monotone.

"What?"

"I think it wasn't an accident, Paul," I whispered, the words sounding more real as I heard them.

"Do you think someone might have pushed her?" I shook my head. "No, fuck, no. You think it was suicide?"

I didn't answer him right away. Instead, I looked down at my feet, my chest tightening with the pain of the thought. "She was a normal, cynical twelve-year-old girl when I met her," I said, "Seven months ago. She was a little, human girl with two parents seven freaking months ago," I whispered, "And now, look at her - looks eighteen, found out she was part vampire and part wolf," I said, "Lost both her parents - one of which she scared off and never heard from again, lives in fear of hurting a human because she's thirsty for their blood, and resides alone, with someone whom, imprint or not, she only met months ago, and has been recently absent most of the day," I said, "I am fucking stupid for not figuring this out earlier."

I knew she would break down, I knew she would explode, but I expected her to cry, or go on an eating frenzy, or start dressing like one of those creepy early 2000's teletubbies. I half expected her to break up with me, or go running to her old friends. I expected anything and everything of her.

Except this.

I couldn't even be mad at her. The idea of suicide in general makes me angry - giving up on everything because life was too hard - but I couldn't get angry. I couldn't, because I was partly responsible for this - for her. I was meant to protect her, it was my job to make sure she was okay, and I failed her. I failed her miserably.

"She's going to be okay," Paul said, "You'll get your chance to make things right for her. Don't think otherwise."

The door to her room opened and I snapped my head up to see them getting another bed in, moving her onto it and pushing her into the OR, which was on the same floor. Carlisle followed her, giving me a last look and a quick, supposedly reassuring nod before he went in as well. I balled my hands into tight fists. Paul patted my back, and both my parents joined us. Mom was the one with the most expression on her face - pained, worried. Dad kept glancing at her every couple of minutes like he was making sure she was still there, and when he wasn't glancing at her, he looked at me sympathetically but carefully, as if I might snap at any second. I decided to break the silence, "How's the pack arrangement going?"

He rolled his eyes. "I was Alpha before your mother was even born, think about that."

I knew where he was coming from but I didn't appreciate the humor right now, when I was trying to make sure everything was going well. Plus, he was only Alpha for ten years (he married Mom when she was six, and I was Alpha by the time I was almost four) and I had been in charge for twelve years, so I didn't respond. At the same time, I was trying not to think about how they were drilling into her skull right now, operating on her brain, so I tried to change the subject. "We're going to have to call the Corvette guy, tell him he wouldn't be picking it up tomorrow as planned."

"Stop worrying, honey," Mom said, kissing my cheek, "Everything's handled." I didn't say anything in return. "Carlisle said the craniotomy could take four to six hours, maybe you should get some sleep," she said softly, patting my hair, "You've been through hell and back."

Yeah, I'm sure I have. I've had it so rough, what with all my family being around me the whole time, and everyone else helping me through the catastrophe that didn't occur to me, but the love of my life, who only has me. I'm the only person she has in the whole world, and I can't even be there for her properly through this. She doesn't know I'm here, and she might die thinking she was the worst, most fucked up person ever. So yeah, I've had it just so rough.

Mom gasped slightly, tears forming into her eyes. I hadn't realized I'd projected those thoughts into her mind. She put her hand on my cheek and thought, It's going to be okay. In my head, I could see myself with a healthy, beautiful Alison, who was laughing and playfully hitting me as we sat on the couch. I knew Mom was trying to make me more optimistic about all of this, but I didn't want to be optimistic. I didn't deserve to be optimistic. I pushed her hand away gently.

Her face looked pained and it must have alerted Dad because he patted her back. I sighed and looked down again when I heard Sarah's voice in my head. Colby.

What's wrong?

Embry just called Alison's dad's number, she said, His fiancée answered. He died yesterday. She'd called Alison this morning with the news.

A/N: I think this was the longest chapter in this story, over 5.4K words. Major events here - intense. Yay? Nay? What did you think? Review review review please vv :D