Ashley's movie was disturbed late Friday night by the sound of Seth's phone, vibrating on the side table. Her resting legs shifted with him as he twisted his body to put down the bowl of popcorn they had been munching on in exchange for his phone.
"Hey Jake," he said, after checking the caller ID. Ashley patiently paused the film.
"Yeah, I got it. Cell phone duty," Seth rolled his eyes. He had gotten his assignment the day after the initial training session. Spending the battle separated from the fight still wasn't his favourite idea, but 'at least he wasn't stuck at the reserve with the kids', as he put it.
Ashley had felt a mix of disappointment and relief at the news. When Seth first returned from the pack meeting with his updated duty, she feared the pack reconsidered, and that his begging had been answered with their allowance of his participation in the action. That, however, wasn't the case, and Ashley shouldn't have doubted Leah's protective nature over her baby brother.
His new role was to stay in his wolf form on the mountain, where Bella was set to be stationed, and act as a form of communication between the pack and Bella. According to Jake, it was more for his and Edward's sake than Bella's, as Jacob gave Seth direct instructions to keep Bella up there, stopping either of them to fulfill their desires of joining in on the fight. Seth still saw it as a defeat, but Ashley couldn't help feeling relieved that he was still out of harm's way, though she also felt let down over the fact of Seth not staying at Emily's with her, Collin, Brady, and the other imprints.
"Oh! Okay," Seth said, catching her attention and causing her heart to thud. "Well if Edward's up there with her, I guess I'm not really needed, huh?" Ashley sat up and there was a quick break in the conversation. "Yeah… it was worth a shot. Alright, what time should I be there?" He paused again, waiting for his Beta to respond. "You're staying up there tomorrow night too? It's going to be pretty cold for Bella. Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow. Bye."
Seth hung up and grabbed the popcorn bowl again, turning back to the still-paused movie. He didn't notice Ashley's expectant look until he turned to her, confused as to why the movie hadn't picked up again.
"Oh its nothing," he explained. "Bella just convinced Edward to sit the fight out, and stay hidden with us. At least he'll provide better company. No offense to Bella, but at least with Edward the communication isn't one-sided."
Right, Ashley thought after a momentary lapse in memory. Mind-reader.
Seth had spent the day following the initial training session explaining the Cullen's special gifts to her. Similar to Seth's hearing, Leah's speed, and Jared's eyesight, some vampires had special gifts. Jasper could control people's emotions, Alice could see the future, and Edward could read thoughts. Unlike the pack though, it was all the time, and anyone. Ashley figured that must get awfully tiresome and depressing after a while, but his gift was especially useful for translating.
"And you're still going up tomorrow?" she unimpressed.
"Yeah. Jake'll be there , but he'll be heading down pretty early tomorrow morning, just to make sure he has more than enough time to make it to the clearing. I'll stay up there until the battle is over, at which point I will meet you back at Emily's," he stated simply.
"So why do you have to go too?" she asked in one last effort. She was slightly jealous of Bella's sway over Edward's participation. She knew she didn't really have a right to be, Seth wasn't in danger after all, but she still would've liked him to stay with her instead.
"Jake isn't staying up there for the fight. Are you kidding? Nothing is keeping him from that. Which isn't fair by the way. He's only two years older than me and he gets to lead this missions, while I'm stuck on guard duty with the rest of the kids," Seth rolled his eyes. "'Sides, Edward's mind reading isn't as powerful as the pack connection. He won't be able to see what's going on without me."
Ashley nodded slowly. She figured it was about time she just accepted things the way they were. It could be a lot worse, and she knew Daphne wasn't having the easiest time with this. Paul wasn't a fan of the Cullens to begin with, so although they were fighting a common enemy, it still put him on edge. It would take a lot of control for them not to turn on each other once they got going. Daphne was wary of the Cullens' loyalties, and being almost a third of the way through her pregnancy didn't exactly help. Her hormones were running wild, and although Daphne knew Paul could handle himself, Ashley still walked in on her sobbing uncontrollably once or twice over the past few days.
She hit PLAY on the remote, though Ashley was no long paying attention to the screen. Instead she went over the faces of the pack, silently worrying for each one. Though everyone said there is nothing to worry about, with the alliance between the wolves and vampires it will be more than a fair fight, it will be stress-free, but that didn't dissolve the uneasy feeling of worry that had become increasingly more prominent in the last 24 hours.
Seth saw the distress and put the bowl back down, holding out his arms towards her. Wordlessly, she crawled over the couch to him, and sank into his lap. He held her tightly, stroking her hair.
"You knows it's going to be fine," he said patiently. Ashley nodded and nuzzled into his chest. A few moments later he loosened his grip, and tilted her face up to his. His kiss was soft at first, growing more passionate as time passed. Ashley moved so she was straddling him, digging her fingers into Seth's hair. She pressed herself against him, and he encircled her waist, keeping her close.
Suddenly, Seth broke the kiss, gasping for air, but Ashley continued kissing down his jawline to his neck. A sigh escaped from his lips before he stopped her all together.
"I hope you know what you're doing to me. And if it wasn't for the fact that your mother just pulled into the driveway, this might have ended a little differently," he smirked.
Ashley smiled, kissing him softly one more time before returning to her previous position, with her feet resting in her boyfriend's lap. Soon after, the door clicked, and Terry walked in.
"Hey Kids! How's the movie?"
After a few generic comments about the movie, the pair stood up, Seth excusing himself for the night with the reason of getting up early the next morning for a boys' hiking trip.
"Oh, right! I almost forgot about that. And Ash, you're having a girls' day at Emily's right?"
"Yeah, it should be nice having a day with just the girls," Ashley feigned the excitement in her voice, putting on an act for Terry's sake.
"It will be nice to get away from the boys for a while, eh?" Terry teased.
Ashley locked her arms around Seth, but her smile didn't falter.
"Yup!"
"Well, have fun Seth," Terry smiled. "But be safe. You know the wolves have been an issue this year. And Ashley, I can drop you off at Emily's on my way to Sue's tomorrow if you want?"
Sue volunteered to host Terry for the day to keep an eye on her.
"That would be great, thanks Mom!"
"Alright, well I'll see you tomorrow, love you," Terry called as she walked up the stairs. "Bye, Seth!" she waved.
"Bye Terry!" Seth called after her, now comfortable calling her by her first name. "And you know we'll be careful!"
The two teens walked towards the door.
"Aren't you coming upstairs?" Ashley said, pouting.
"I-" Seth was cut off by a loud howl. "I guess that's my cue. Guess Jake needs me tonight after all."
She put her hands on his chest and wrapped his arms around her before kissing her goodbye. He held her to his chest for a moment, and Ashley could hear his heart, even beneath his chest.
"I love you," she murmured into his chest.
"I love you too," he responded into her hair. He kissed the top of her head one last time and took off into the woods, leaving Ashley shivering in the threshold.
Rosie followed Ashley up to her room, scanning to ensure Seth wasn't returning before jumping up on her bed. Ashley changed into her pajamas before crawling under the covers, shuddering from the cold. Rosie curled into her side, resting her nose near Ashley's. She gave her owner a quick lick on the face before closing her eyes. The girl giggled, and soothingly patted her dog to sleep.
Ashley did fall asleep that night, but it wasn't for long. Sometime around dusk, she stirred. She reached out for Seth's figure and found only the coarse fur of her husky. Rosie lifted her head groggily before resting it back down on the bed. Ashley sighed, and threw the covers off herself.
She crept downstairs, trying not to disturb her mother. Just as her foot touched the cold hardwood of the main floor, she heard the door ease itself open, and saw her sister's figure slip though the crack.
"Hey," Ashley offered quietly, trying not to scare Daphne. Her efforts were in vain, as the elder sister jumped slightly before smiling.
"Hey yourself," Daphne countered, making her way to the kitchen. "Did Seth just leave?" she inquired as she filled the coffee pot with water.
Ashley jumped up to sit on the counter. She twisted behind her to grab the coffee grinds for her sister.
"No, he had to leave last night. I thought you would have heard the howl," Ashley raised an eyebrow.
"I'm sure I did," Daphne blushed, suddenly more attentive to the coffee beginning to drip into the pot. "I just wasn't really paying attention," she admitted.
"Can't blame you for that," Ashley laughed.
The sisters fell into a comfortable silence, both lost in their own thoughts. The silence was eventually broken by a text from Emily, inviting the girl over whenever they so desired, as everyone was awake and falling into their roles by now.
Even Terry got up surprisingly early, though she credited the irritable smell of coffee for her early rise. Within the hour the women were out of the house, and on the way to their respective friends' homes.
Terry waved out the driver's side window as she pulled away. Ashley and Daphne linked arms as they made their way into the Alpha's home.
Inside they found Kim, wrapped in her boyfriend's sweater and staring nervously at her phone, as if expecting a text from Jared any moment. Emily was standing at the back door, sipping at the mug in her hand. Ashley hugged Kim quickly before making her way over to the eldest woman, trying to see what she was seeing.
After a quick moment, she saw a flash of colour. Her heart thudded, but slowed quickly when she realized the brown blur was much too dark to be Seth's sandy coat.
"It's Collin," Emily explained, not looking away from the forest. "Brady is nearby, ready to relay news if there is any. They won't change unless there's something to tell."
Ashley nodded, and made her way towards Kim, sitting down next to her first friend from La Push. Daphne had taken her sister's place at the back door with Emily, and Ashley grabbed the remote to flick on the TV. It lit up to the last channel it was on, the local news. The ticker at the bottom of the screen read "Seattle Sees a Break," as the anchor explained how the unusually high homicide rate dropped to zero for the first time in weeks, seemingly overnight. Ashley quickly shut of the TV, releasing her friends hand and walked towards the kitchen.
The youngest girl began pulling items from the cupboards. She had cooked in the Uley house often enough to know where everything was, and Emily made it clear what was hers, was everyone's, so Ashley had no reservations as she fell into the comfortable pattern of pulling ingredients from their homes to prepare muffins.
Ashley had just turned to pour her newly mixed batter into the lined muffin tins when they heard a painful howl in the distance. She froze, feeling as though the air had been knocked out of her body.
Kim stood, while Daphne and Emily were on full alert. The women looked expectantly at the edge of the forest, but there was no movement.
For a moment, all Ashley could feel was relief. The relief of knowing her partner was safe, away from the action.
When a second, equally as pained howl ripped through the silence, Ashley dropped the mixing bowl, batter coating the kitchen. She could feel herself falling apart. Suddenly she wasn't so confident in her comfort.
Even if it wasn't – she couldn't finish that thought. Ashley breathed shallowly, trying not to let her mind wander into that dark place. Her hands clenched into fists, digging her nails into the skin of her palms, trying to keep her composure. He's safe, like he should be. But someone still isn't.
She looked around at the faces of her friends. Each with their own varying level of fear. Emily's rock solid composure was faltering, and Kim had broken down in sobs. The most painful though, was her sister, clutching her still flat stomach. No matter who it was, it was a painful loss for everyone.
No one moved. No one spoke. They all just waited, staring at the back door.
Ashley doesn't know how long they stayed like that, the utter silence had a way of making time immeasurable. But eventually, a figure emerged from the trees.
Kim's cries got louder as she jumped up and ran into Jared's arms. He caught her, his mouth falling immediately on hers. Ashley was jealous of the assurance Kim must have been feeling.
He's just taking a little longer. It had further to run. He's fine. She told herself.
Jared and Kim were still in a tight embrace when a second figure finally appeared from the woods.
Relief washed violently over her as Seth came into view. Ashley's felt his warm figure collide with hers, before she was swept off her feet, as they spun in circles.
"Oh thank God," she whispered, pulling herself tighter to him.
"Hey there," he smirked, as if today were no different from any other.
"What happened?! We heard the howl," Ashley looked anxiously around at the company. Jared and Kim had moved to talk to the waiting girls.
"It's Jake," Seth admitted slowly. "Leah tried going after a newborn by herself, her own stupid way of trying to prove herself, and Jake stepped in. One of them got their arms around him, and well, he's hurt pretty bad."
Ashley stood there more a moment, processing the information.
"Is he…" she trailed off.
"He's going to make it. Carlisle is treating him personally, and you can't really argue with a few centuries of medial experience," he joked, lightening the mood, but she could still see the worry on his face.
"And Leah? Paul? Sam?"
"They're all fine. Paul and Sam carried Jake home, and Leah ran off feeling pretty guilty about the whole thing. I'm sure Sam'll rip her apart later," he somberly looked at her. "As headstrong as Leah can be, she genuinely feels bad Jake got hurt. Especially considering we all could feel the pain he felt." Seth winced.
Ashley looked up in time to see Jared kiss Kim goodbye, before glancing in their direction. Seth nodded, to which Jared responded with a singular quick nod, before he turned and ran back into the forest.
"Hey," Ashley said, grabbing his attention when she noticed Seth looking longingly after Jared's retracting figure. He looked down at her, and she jerked her head in the direction Jared was standing a moment ago. "Go."
Seth hesitated. "You sure?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Go make sure Jake is, and come back whenever you're done, okay?"
"Of course," he responded, leaning down to kiss her before bounding into the woods after his brother.
Ashley made her way back over to Emily, Daphne and Kim. She hugged her sister tightly with relief, as well as the other Quileute girls. Emily's phone rang, and she politely excused herself, explaining that it was Sam.
Ashley suddenly felt her face flush as she remembered the chaos she had left in the kitchen. The trio made their way into the house, where they found Emily collecting her purse and keys before heading towards the door, seemingly forgetting all about the mess.
"I'm going to the Blacks," She stated. "Feel free to stay as long as you want," she called as she headed out the door.
Ashley got to work quickly, grabbing the cleaning supplies from the laundry room. Kim helped her tidy, while Daphne busied herself with finishing up some of the laundry Emily had left from that morning.
The group returned about an hour later. Daphne had patiently waited for her loving reunion with Paul, having being cheated from one earlier like the rest of the girls. Ashley looked over once quickly, but had to look away. Their embrace was so much more intimate than any of the others. The two of them seemed to have that much more to lose in each other with a baby on the way.
Emily and Ashley fell into the familiar pattern of preparing a meal for the hungry wolves. Everyone fell back into a familiar pattern actually, but there was still an uneasy air that hung over the cabin. With one of their brothers absent, some of the smiles seemed forced, the laughter a little too loud. Everyone was concerned for the fate of their friend. It wasn't only physical, Seth explained quietly in her ear as he offered his help in the kitchen, but emotional as well. Jake's feelings for Bella had reached their limit, and he knew it. He was going to give her up, and it was going to be one of the hardest things he'd ever done.