Lost and Found

Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

A/N-thank you for the awesome reviews!

Part Eighty Four-The Last Goodbye

There were just too many of them. Jared and Sam didn't know which way to turn. As soon as they killed one vampire, there was three more waiting to take them down. They were pushed further and further back toward the mansion as they tried to defend it. In the end they were forced to retreat. They knew their brothers were on their way. They could feel the urgency through the pack mind link. But they also knew they couldn't hold out against the overwhelming numbers that were headed their way. Then things got more complicated. Jared noticed that some of the newborn vamps were beginning to climb the outside of the building as they sought an easier way to get inside, once one started to ascend the others followed like sheep. There was no way that Sam or Jared could follow them to pull them back down.

"Becks is up there." Jared said in alarm as he fought valiantly beside Sam to keep the other newborns from getting inside the mansion.

"So is Bella." Sam felt panic consume him at the thought of her getting hurt, or worse turned into one of them. He howled helplessly as he shook off a particularly large vampire which had tried to squeeze the breath from his body. From the corner of his eyes he watched as the newborns scuttled quickly up the sides of the tall building. Soon they would reach the top floor where Bella and the others were hiding. He threw a desperate glance at Jared, who was snapping and snarling at his own assailant as he tried to keep the rabid vampire at bay.

"Jared, you need to go inside." Sam ordered him suddenly as he ducked and caught hold of one of the large vampire's arms in his sharp teeth and wrenched it off.

"And leave you here alone?" Jared questioned in disbelief. "You'll be slaughtered."

"The girls are up there. The vamps will reach them soon. Our brothers won't reach us in time. I'll try and hold them off as long as I can. Please Jared, go. Go now."

Jared knew Sam was right. They were losing the battle. He needed to be with Rebecca. He would fight for her until his last breath. "Sam, I…."

"Go, Jared." Sam yelled at him through the pack mind link. "Protect them."

"I promise." Jared vowed.

"If anything happens to me, tell Bella…." Sam didn't get to finish his thought. The large vampire, along with an accomplice, grabbed hold of him and began to pull him down. Others joined in and Sam was forced to use all his remaining strength to fight them off.

"I'll tell her." Jared promised Sam sadly as he whirled around and dashed inside the mansion through the opened patio doors. He cast one last glance at his brother. Sam was roaring his defiance at the vampires as they came at him en-masse to finish him off. Jared couldn't bear to look anymore. He needed to get to Rebecca and the others. He dashed up the stairs in his wolf form, glad that the mansion was so big that it had enough room to accommodate his large body.

Jacob and Ephraim ran ahead of the pack as they kept pace with each other. On their other side were the Cullen's, easily keeping up with them as they zigzagged and weaved their way through the trees. Behind ran the other wolves in a tight V-formation. They were forced to witness Sam's desperate struggle as he fought the vampires trying to take him down. They suffered right along with him as he was brought to his knees by the sheer weight of numbers.

"Hold on, we're coming." Ephraim called to him desperately.

"We're nearly there." Jacob could see that the trees were thinning ahead of him. He was the first one to break through into the open air. He slid to a halt as he was faced with a group of rabid vampires. In the distance he saw Victoria's flaming red hair blowing wildly in the wind as she directed the newborns to create havoc. Rage, like he had never felt before in his entire life, consumed Jacob. He snapped and snarled at the vampires as they tried to take him down. He had one target in mind, and that was to rip apart the witch who had tried to harm those he loved. He leapt high in the air and managed to avoid the group of newborns who were surprised at his sudden move. He left them behind for his brothers to deal with as he headed straight for Victoria.

Sam knew he was done for when he felt the vampire's sharp teeth bite down hard on his right foreleg. He was buried beneath a heaving mass of newborns as they all tried to feast on his blood. But they were thwarted in their efforts. With a wild roar the pack burst forth and began to scatter the rabid vampires in all directions as they vented their wrath on them. Intermingled with the wolves were the Cullen's, who fought beside them, easily overcoming the more inexperienced newborns. Sam felt a cold hand on his flank and he opened his weary eyes. Carlisle Cullen was hunkered down beside him, examining his wounds. There were deep gashes along his sides. One back leg was fractured, but it was the small bite in his leg that had the doctor most concerned. His golden eyes met Sam's and he gave him a look of untold sorrow.

"I am so sorry." Carlisle said sadly.

A single tear trickled down the fur along Sam's face as he closed his eyes and succumbed to darkness.

Jared reached Charlie and the girls just in time. The newborns that had climbed up the sides of the mansion had reached the top and broken through the windows. Jared found Charlie standing in front of Bella and Rebecca, who were huddled behind him. Charlie was fighting off the vampires with a large broom in his hand. If the situation wasn't so dire, it would have been comical.

"Jared." Rebecca cried out in relief when she saw him squeeze his large frame through the doorway. The vampires whirled around to face him. They seemed stunned as they watched the huge brown wolf stalk slowly toward them with his mouth open in a snarl. His white teeth glimmered in the darkness. Jared lunged, sending the newborns scattering in all directions. But they had nowhere to go. Jared was blocking the doorway.

While Charlie ordered the girls to cover their ears and shut their eyes, he watched as Jared skilfully dismembered the vampires, who were running chaotically around the room trying to escape the experienced wolf. When it was over, Charlie grinned and approached Jared; he was holding something small in his hand. "Need a lighter?" Charlie flicked the small lighter on as he gestured toward the dismembered limbs of the newborns, they were still wriggling on the floor as they tried to reattach themselves to their respective owners.

Jared phased back into his human form, hurriedly putting on his shorts before the girls opened their eyes. He didn't care if Rebecca saw him naked, that was nothing new to her, but Bella was another matter. He grabbed the lighter from Charlie and motioned for the older man to lead the girls out of the room. Once he was satisfied they were some distance away, Jared began to burn the bodies.

Victoria's red eyes flared with an unfathomable anger as she finally noticed her nemesis approaching. Her lips drew back across her venom soaked teeth as she grabbed some of the newborns and began to throw them at Jacob as he came roaring toward her. The newly turned vampires were stunned that their leader was sacrificing them as she tried to avoid Jacob's sharp teeth. She cried out her defiance as she whizzed around the ornate gardens, doing her best to keep out of Jacob's reach. But every move she made, he did the same. When she went left, so did he, when she tried to dodge right, he was in her path. There was no getting away from him. She couldn't understand how he was able to keep up with her sudden moves. This was not the same, inexperienced pup that had killed James. He had grown, and in doing so, increased in strength, size and agility. Despite all her careful planning she had forgotten one crucial fact. Humans aged quicker than vampires. She had not anticipated that Jacob Black would change so much in all the years she had been plotting her revenge. In her mind he did not have these skills.

Jacob circled her as he dodged another newborn which Victoria chucked at him. She cursed him wildly as she backed away, her eyes darting from side to side as she tried to find her best avenue of escape. Jacob pushed forward, forcing her to retreat to the forest behind her. Victoria kept her eyes trained on him the whole time, so she didn't see the large shadowy figure waiting in the wings. By the time she did it was too late. Her red eyes opened wide in shock as a large red wolf leapt out from the trees behind her and crushed her with his great weight. She tried to fight him, but this wolf was old, and very experienced. He had fought much more skilled warriors than her.

"Go find Bella and the others." Ephraim ordered Jacob as he sank his teeth into Victoria's neck and pulled. "I will deal with her."

Jacob did not disobey. He didn't care for revenge now. He just wanted to find Bella and make sure she was safe. Ephraim could have the pleasure of ending the red head's life. He weaved his way through the battling vampires. The newborns were being picked off one by one and there weren't many left. Fires had been started as the wolves and the Cullen's began to dispose of the fallen newborns. Jacob reached the mansion without interruption and was relieved to see Charlie, along with Jared, Rebecca and Bella stumbling out of the mansion into the open air. As he looked up Jacob could see that the top floor of the tall building was on fire.

Jacob wasted no time in phasing back into his human form. He tugged on his shorts and then hurried over to Bella. She let out a surprised shriek when he scooped her up in his strong arms and buried his head in the crook of her neck. He inhaled her sweet scent and closed his eyes. He heard her whisper his name and her fingers dig into his sweat soaked hair as she began to frantically kiss any part of him she could reach.

"Oh, god, I've been so scared, Jake. I love you. Do you hear me? I love you." Jacob raised his head and stared into Bella's beautiful brown eyes. Her pale face was streaked with dirt and she looked tired, but apart from that she was unharmed. He thanked the gods, the spirits, anyone who was listening that she was alive and well, before crushing his lips to hers.

"SAM! OH, MY SON!" It was Charlie's anguished cries that pulled them apart. Jacob placed Bella back on her feet as they both turned in the older man's direction. What they saw broke their hearts.

Striding toward them, carrying Sam in his arms, was Carlisle Cullen. His expression was grave as he finally reached them and hunkered down to carefully deposit Sam's broken body on the ground. Charlie cried out Sam's name again as he fell to his knees beside the boy he thought of as his own. "Oh, my boy." Charlie took Sam's limp hand in his and began to rock back and forth as tears ran down his face.

Bella was frozen in place as she stared at her father, and then at Sam. This couldn't be true, it couldn't be happening. She began to shake as she glanced up at Carlisle Cullen. The doctor's golden eyes were full of sadness as he put a gentle hand on Charlie's shoulder. "Do something!" She yelled at Carlisle. "You're a doctor. Save him!"

"He was bitten. The venom has taken hold. There is simply nothing I can do." Carlisle replied gently.

"Suck it out of him." Bella demanded. "Esme did for Sarah."

Carlisle swallowed thickly as his eyes met Jacob's. He could see that the young Alpha knew. It was different for wolves. Sarah was still human; her blood was different from a wolf's. If Carlisle attempted to suck the venom from Sam, he would simply be ingesting wolf blood, which would kill him before he had a chance to finish the job. That's why it was essential that the spirit wolves made sure not to get bitten, for them it was fatal.

"There's nothing that can be done, Bells." Jacob said softly. He felt like his soul was shrivelling inside as he was forced to watch his pack brother draw in painful breaths. It was obvious Sam didn't have long to live.

Bella was outraged. She glared at Jacob and Carlisle. "You're giving up on him? How could you? DO SOMETHING!"

"Bells, please." Jacob begged her.

Bella began to lash out at him as he tried to catch hold of her arms. "Leave me alone. I can't believe you're giving up on him, Jacob. You never give up. Do something. You can't let Sam die, you can't…." She fought Jacob as he trapped her against his chest. She heard his heart hammering violently as he tried to make her a prisoner of his rib cage in his efforts to comfort her. A sob was wrenched from her throat as she finally caved in and sagged against him. "He can't die." She whispered brokenly. "He can't."

Jacob closed his eyes in anguish. He held back his own tears as he tried to keep his emotions in check. Now wasn't the time to fall apart. Sam had saved them; he had sacrificed himself in order to give the pack time to reach the Cullen's. In doing so he had saved everyone… he had saved the girl he loved. Jacob opened his eyes again and looked deep into Bella's. She stared back up at him, her eyes shimmering with tears. "Go to him, Bells. Sam needs you right now. Go to him, and tell him what he needs to hear."

Confusion crossed Bella's face for a moment before understanding dawned in her eyes. She continued to look at Jacob's beautiful face before she nodded her head and walked over to Sam. Carlisle left Charlie and came to join Jacob instead. "It's a noble thing you're doing." He said quietly.

"Is it?" Jacob questioned as turned away from the sad scene in front of him. "Even now I want to stop her."

"But you won't." Carlisle replied.

"No." Jacob ran a hand through his hair as he walked away to give Bella and Sam some privacy.

"I am so proud of you." Charlie said as he held Sam's hand tightly. "You are the best son a man could have asked for."

Sam tried to smile but the effort was too much for him. He was in so much pain. The burning inside him was torment. He so wanted to close his eyes, but he wanted to see her one last time…if he could just hold on for one more moment. Then she was there. He heard Bella whisper something to Charlie before the older man nodded, leaned down and kissed his brow, before getting up to leave.

"Bella." Sam choked out. His vision was wavering; he was finding it hard to see. Suddenly her beloved face came into view as she hovered above him. He felt her clasp his hand between hers. "I love you, Bella." Breathing was agony.

Bella lowered her head and stared into his dark eyes. "I love you too." She whispered as she smiled tremulously at him.

"I always knew." Sam mumbled. "I knew."

"I know you did, sweetheart." Bella leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. Sam reached up and cupped the back of her head as he held her there for a moment.

Tears trickled from under Bella's closed lids and dripped onto Sam's face. He felt the wetness coat his skin and his body relaxed and the pain began to ease. He felt at peace now that she had told him how she truly felt. He looked at her beautiful face once last time as his vision began to dim. "I'll love you, forever." He murmured as he breathed one last time. His hand dropped back down to his side and his body went limp.

Bella felt Sam's soul leave his body and she crouched over him, her face hidden in the crook of his neck as she whispered her last goodbye.

A/N-thanks for reading! :'(