A/N: It's been a while. Hopefully, chapter 47 was able to soak a little bit in the mean time. This chapter isn't anything wildly special. It really just leads to the next one.

As always, enjoy.

XLVIII.

the road is long, we carry on
try to have fun in the mean time

Quil loudly emerged through the doors of the Forks hospital. "Hospital squad!"

The receptionist flashed him a look. Leah turned to her apologetically, and then got up from her usual seat in the waiting area and walked over to Quil.

"What are you doing?" she asked him, her voice low but sharp.

"Auntie Sue's got radioactivity surgery, right?" he asked. "We're all here for her."

"It's radiation therapy, dumb-ass," Leah said, "and I know you're as high as a kite right now, but I didn't think you were having hallucinations. Who's we?"

He gestured over to the doors, where Emily, Sam, Kim, Embry, Seth, and Jacob entered the waiting area.

Quil turned to them and stuck his tongue out. "Gang, gang!"

Leah shushed him and went over to Emily.

"Hey, Lee," Emily said.

"When did you guys decide to care about my mom?" Leah demanded.

"Don't be so dramatic," her cousin replied. "Today's important. And, uh, it's her birthday so we're surprising her."

"Her birthday's the fifteenth, which is tomorrow."

"I know my Auntie Sue's birthday," Emily replied. "That's the surprise. So lighten up." She gave Leah a smile and a squeeze in the forearm.

Leah actually lightened up a little bit. All nine of her people were here for her mother, which was good. It was great. Then she realized that two people were missing.

"Where are Bella and Paul?" she asked Emily.

"They went to the store to get balloons and stuff for Sue. And a cake for Jacob."

"It's Jacob's birthday, too?"

"Yeah. Can't you tell? He looks aged already."

Leah looked over at Jacob, who was talking to Embry, and wished she hadn't. She didn't even like to think of Jacob anymore since he had kissed her. A part of her was still on that porch, frozen and confused and drunk. He looked back at her for a moment, and she quickly turned away. She couldn't remember being this embarrassed.

Get the fuck over it, she told herself.

"Let's sit down," she told Emily. "It'll be a while."

Leah and the seven other people there all sat around in the waiting area, and she realized that things weren't boring when they all linked up. They were all back together—like, back together, and it didn't matter if they were at the beach or at a hospital or Emily's house. She knew that she was lonely and cold and all of that, but her people brought her back.

"You been taking care of yourself, girl?" Leah asked her cousin, her fingers tapping along the blue plastic chair.

Emily didn't have a journal or novel or anything in her hands; Leah could tell that she didn't know what to do with herself if she wasn't writing.

"Me?" Emily asked. "I almost died on the way up here because the roads are icy as fuck."

"Be more careful," Leah said.

"Yeah, yeah. Aside from that, I thought I was in trouble for a minute, but now I'm good."

"Hmm?"

"I thought I had sex back on New Year's since my bedroom smelled weird, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't me."

"Who do you think it was, then?"

"I don't care. I don't know. All I know is that I shelled out a bunch of money replacing my mattress, but it was absolutely necessary."

"Well, you know it wasn't me," Leah replied. "I went home early that night."

"I can hardly even remember New Year's," Emily admitted. "It was a wreck."

Behind Emily, Jacob entered Leah's vision as he walked towards them. Her gazed turned up and followed him. He gestured to the seat next to Leah, on her other side. "This seat taken?" he asked.

"Go right ahead," Leah replied. Then she turned back to Emily. "I got a lot of sleep that night."

"I really wished you stayed, Lee. It was a lot of fun." Emily turned to Jacob. "What'd you think of the New Year's party?"

Leah looked at him with carefully pleading eyes. She was still confused as to how she felt about him kissing her; she didn't need him reiterating everything.

Jacob's eyes darted from Leah's to Emily's.

"I don't remember," he told Emily quietly. "I was drunk."

Leah relaxed a little bit.

"Happy birthday, by the way," Emily said.

"Yeah, happy birthday," Leah added. "Do you have anything planned?"

"Well, I'm here, so it's already a party," he added, his voice just a little sarcastic.

"We should all go get some dinner once Leah's mom is all done," Emily suggested.

Embry then walked over to them, sitting on Emily's other side. "Where?" he asked.

Emily, who was on somewhat good terms with Embry without actually dating him, just shrugged. "Wherever Jake wants," she told him.

"Pick wisely, man," Embry told Jacob.

"You've got it."

Emily and Embry were soon talking among themselves, their voices low, almost secretive. Leah didn't care to know what they were discussing, anyway.

She just wasn't sure if she wanted to speak with Jacob or not. A couple of years ago, she would have thought herself to be a decisive person, but now, she didn't even know. She would have thought that decisiveness would come with age, but apparently not.

"So, how's your mom doing?" Jacob asked.

"Well, she's got radiation therapy on her birthday," Leah replied, her voice strangely bright. "So you win some and you lose some, I guess. How's your day been so far?"

"I'm twenty," Jacob said. "Pretty exciting."

Leah raised her eyebrows. "Really, now?"

"No, not really." And then they were laughing and it didn't mean a thing.

When they calmed down, she said, "I wish I told you earlier."

"Told me what?"

"That being twenty isn't really all that," she clarified.

"That would have solved some of my problems," he replied. "Now I'm screwed."

She smiled. "Sorry 'bout it."

Leah typically wished she was a better conversationalist, but now it was an aching. She didn't know how to continue conversations, despite the fact that she loved to have the last word. She was good at making things awkward, and she didn't like to wait on people to keep talking, so she only filled the space with more irrelevant words, filler words. Even when she thought she was more mature than people, she was really just as annoying as the rest of them. All she wanted was to talk and be heard.

And instead, she chose nothing.

She and Jacob sat in silence until her stomach groaned, loud and slow.

Leah checked her watch. It was 4:30 and she hadn't eaten all day. She thought about going on a quick burger run, but something in the pit of her stomach told her not to go. The roads were icy, anyway.

Suddenly, Charlie Swan entered the waiting area. He quickly greeted everyone and took a seat next to Jacob.

"Hey, kids," he said.

"Hey, Charlie," Jacob replied.

"How bad are the roads?" Leah asked.

"Awful," the chief of police replied. "I wouldn't even bother going out if you don't have chains on your tires."

Leah's stomach grumbled again. Her tires were bare as the trees this time of year. Stupid, stupid.

She checked her watch again.

"Lee, what's the time?" Emily asked.

"4:33."

Emily leaned forward, setting her elbows on her knees and sighing. "Where the hell are Bella and Paul?"

"I wouldn't even worry about 'em," Leah replied. "They're probably driving extra slow, anyway."

"Where are they coming from?" Jacob asked Leah.

She turned to him. "The store. It's a surprise."

He expressed a skeptical look. She just smiled coyly.

Leah checked her watch again moments later, and it was 4:35. Static blared from Charlie's direction, and he quickly brought his radio up to his mouth. He spoke so fast and in such a code that nobody could tell what was going on. He stood up and began to exit the building.

"Everything okay?" Jacob called.

"Accident on the highway," Charlie responded. "I'll be back."

A/N: I write too many car crashes. Whoops.

Thanks for your attention, and let me know what you think,

HS