A/N: Happy belated Easter, to those of you who celebrate it. With the school year coming to a close and the holiday weekend, I wasn't able to get this chapter ready by Friday. I hope to still get the next up by this Friday though.

As always, I do not own the world or characters, I just enjoy telling my own story with them :)

CHAPTER 38

BELLA POV

I woke to Jake's warm arms still holding me close, feeling refreshed after my short nap, though I was still starving. Voices, laughter, and the wonderful aroma of dinner filtered in through the closed door as I turned in his embrace to face him. His smile greeted me in the soft light of late evening coming through the windows.

"Hey," I said.

He pressed his forehead to mine. "Hey there. You feeling better? You hungry?"

I nodded and opened my mouth to speak, but my stomach growling loudly answered for me. Jake huffed out a little laugh through his nose, kissed my brow, then moved to get up.

When we emerged from the bedroom, everyone was already there, including Billy, Sue, and Old Quil, and it looked like they had just started eating. The house slowly quieted as each person noticed us and I froze, Jake's hands moving to rest calmly on my shoulders. There were several moments of silence which seemed to me to stretch out forever. I shifted on my feet… I definitely did not enjoy all of the attention focused solely on us.

Billy finally broke the silence, his eyes dancing with excitement. "Hear we missed quite the spectacle earlier."

"Oh man, it was insane," Seth exclaimed.

"I've never seen anything like it," Quil said.

"I doubt any of us have ever seen anything like that," Embry added.

"Or ever will again," Sam mused.

Conversations started to pick back up again as Billy rolled his wheelchair over to me and Jake. He reached his hand out to me and the much smaller hand that I offered him was engulfed between both of his as he smiled at us.

"Emily filled us all in on what took place earlier. I'm happy for both of you. I know it was bit of a rough road getting here, but I knew something special was coming for you. I'm sure it's a relief to finally have answers to everything that's been happening." He caught and held my gaze. "I'm glad it's you, Bella, as I know Jake is. You two were so close when you were younger… even when you thought boys were gross," he chuckled, "you always ended up spending most of your time here together."

He dropped his gaze for a moment, still holding my hand firmly between his much larger ones, then looked between the two of us. "I know you don't remember much about your time here back then Bella, but you know, I think Sarah always knew." His voice caught and he looked away again. My vision blurred seeing the moisture collecting in his eyes. He cleared his throat. "I think she could see something special between you…"

I placed my other hand over top of his and squeezed both of them.

"I do remember," I said just loud enough to be heard over the other noise. His eyes went wide and flew back to mine and then to Jake's. At his shocked look, I nodded. "I got all of my memories back… the magic unlocked that part of me that I'd shut away.

He squeezed my hands firmly, almost too hard, and this entire face crinkled from the huge smile he beamed at us. "Well, how 'bout that!" A laugh came from deep in his belly. "I will definitely want to hear more about everything." He shook his head and released my hands, still smiling wide as he rolled away.

"Let's get some food before these yayhoos eat it all," Jake said, and we headed to the table.

Jake joined the guys at the table, and I sat on the couch between Emily and Angela. Throughout the meal Jake and I exchanged many looks at each other. I couldn't stop myself from seeking him out, my eyes wandering to him frequently, sometimes intentionally and sometimes without realizing what I was doing, but each time he was seeking me out as well.

When everyone was pretty much done eating, several of us started gathering all the dishes onto the counter to be washed. As I rounded the table to get more of the plates, I let out a little squeal when a strong arm wrapped around my waist, and I landed on Jake's lap. He pressed his face into my hair and breathed in deeply as he ran his nose up the length of my neck. A shiver went through me, and I closed my eyes, enjoying his nearness, but I also wanted to block out the looks from others that I knew were focused on us.

I whispered, "What are you doing Jake?"

A breathy exhale escaped me when his lips grazed my ear as he answered, "Let the others clean up. I need to be close to you right now."

A small part of me wanted to argue because now that I was healed I could finally help again, but the much larger part of me had been dying to get close to him again, so I pushed my arguments aside. Jake left his face buried in my hair for a while longer and I rested my head on his shoulder as I began absently running my fingers through his hair. Our displays of affection earned us a couple comments about returning to the bedroom, which we ignored, but Embry came to our defense.

"Come on guys, give them a break. They just imprinted a few hours ago."

There were a few more snickers, but no one made any more comments and conversations continued around us. Jake and I didn't speak, we just basked in each other's presence for a while. The need eased after a bit of time and we were able eventually joined back into the conversations as well.

A small flicker of something in my periphery drew my attention across the table, to where Paul was sitting. As I focused my attention on him, he seemed to have sort of a glowing halo around him, like there was a light shining behind him, and as I concentrated on it more, a strange urge grew inside of me. I closed my eyes and shook my head, but the urge stayed and when I looked again, he still had that same halo around him.

Paul must have felt my eyes on him because he turned his head toward me. His brows went up and his eyes widened as he stared. "Are you glowing, Bella?"

I looked down and sure enough there was just a shimmer of golden light emitting from the center of my chest, barely visible through my shirt.

Everyone quieted again as Jake touched his finger to the light, his amazement coming through our mental link. Emily's hand landed on my shoulder, drawing my gaze up to her.

"It's your powers Bella. Are you feeling anything?"

I looked at Paul again, and the sling that his arm was still strapped into, and nodded my head.

"Yeah," I said and swallowed hard, insecurity welling up inside me. "I umm… I think it wants me to heal Paul's shoulder."

"Heck yeah!" he exclaimed with a grin. "That would be freaking awesome."

I had started to tremble a little at the idea of doing this in front of everyone, but then a calm washed through my mind. I closed my eyes and took a deep steadying breath and realized that Jake had sent the calming feeling to me.

You ready for this?

I nodded as another wave of calm flowed through me.

You've got this. You're gonna do great. Jake pushed back from the table and we both stood. Once I was standing beside Paul, Jake a supportive presence behind me, I wasn't sure what to do.

"Just reach for your power," Emily said from where she was still standing on the other side of the table, "and it'll show you what to do. You'll just feel it."

I wiped my clammy palms against my jeans then shook out my hands and closed my eyes. I searched inside and immediately found a warm glow deep in my chest and recognized the power. I felt it pulse as I reached for it, and it spread through me a little, then withdrew. I concentrated on it more, thinking about it spreading and the warmth and glow travelled through my whole chest. A few gasps came from around me, but the warmth and light withdrew again. It needed somewhere to go, so I opened my eyes and Paul was staring at me with wide eyes, though I wasn't sure why since I hadn't done anything yet.

I gave him a hesitant smile. "Is it okay if I put my hand on your chest?" He nodded. I brought my hand up and then wavered, feeling awkward. He took my wrist and placed my hand on his chest for me.

"It's okay Bella, I trust you," he encouraged me, then a mischievous grin drew up his lips. "I promise I won't bite."

I laughed and rolled my eyes, my hesitancy leaving me, though I still felt a bit uncomfortable. I took another deep breath and closed my eyes again. I pulled at the glowing warmth once more. This time it continued to spread all the way to where my hands were touching him on his chest and back, then flowed right into Paul.

With my eyes closed, I could see where the power flowed and what it was doing. The light travelled first to Paul's head, and he let out a breathy "Wow," as the pain was blocked from his mind. Once that was done, the light moved to his shoulder, and I could see the still broken bone illuminated by the healing power. I gasped at the beauty of it as I watched the bones being knit back together, in complete awe at the fact that the power was coming from me… I was doing that! It just didn't seem real.

When it was done, and his shoulder was whole again, the light faded and the warmth returned to the center of my chest. I felt more connected to the power, more aware of it now, than I had just a few minutes ago.

When I opened my eyes, Paul was smiling at me as he removed the sling and moved his arm all around. Everyone else was talking excitedly. I had done it!

I returned Paul's smile, then turned to look back at Jake, but I couldn't find him as the floor shifted and the room swayed and spun around me. My vision closed in at the edges and several people called out my name in alarm. Firm hands gripped my arms, I blinked, and was suddenly lifted off the floor, cradled in Jake's arms.

"What's wrong Bella?" I could hear the concern in his voice and feel it coming through our connection, but I couldn't focus on his face. My head plopped down hard on his shoulder as I went completely limp, and words did not come easily.

"So…tired," I finally, oh so slowly, managed to get out. Drifting toward unconsciousness my eyes slid shut and I heard Jake's voice, muffled and distant.

"I think I can help you."

Warmth flowed through me again, but it wasn't from inside of me this time. The warmth spread and filled my entire body and it felt… it felt like Jake. It was Jake… his strength… his power… his love… just, him.

Slowly my energy returned. When my eyes opened again, Jake was glowing with the same warm golden light that I had seen in me, flowing from his chest, down is arm, and into me where his hand was pressed against my sternum. We looked into each other's eyes and the connection, the bond between us was so powerful… there were no words to describe it.

Just like when we were on the porch, the world began slipping away. The voices that were a distant buzz faded completely and, though I wasn't feeling overwhelmed like before, the complete peace and calm we experienced earlier returned. It was as if nothing else in the world existed but me and Jake.

This is incredible Jake.

He pushed my hair back and caressed my cheek. You're incredible Bella.

I pressed his hand more firmly against the cheek he was caressing, just wanting to feel his heat and his touch longer, never breaking away from his gaze.

How did you know you could do that? I asked him.

I just felt the power reaching for you, so I followed its lead.

Did I glow too, when I was healing Paul?

Yes. It was beautiful.

I didn't know what exactly was causing these times of peaceful solitude with each other, but I wished we could stay lost inside of it forever. The outside world started creeping back in to intrude on us once again and I sighed in resignation, kissing the palm of his hand as he pressed his lips to my forehead.

Jake stood up and set me on my feet. He had apparently carried me into the guest room while I was out of it, to sit on the bed. He pulled me against him, and I stood in his arms, my head on his chest, and watched out the still opened bedroom door as everyone milled about, talking excitedly. I was pleased to even catch a glimpse of a smile on Leah's face, though I wasn't sure it made it to her eyes.

I remembered then about the burden for the pack that I had felt that night at the bonfire and it made complete sense to me now. This was our family and together with Sam and Emily, we were their leaders and protectors. It felt odd that in just a few weeks' time I had gone from an outsider to someone so intricately involved in it all. I wasn't sure I was ready for all of this.

When we got back out to the kitchen everyone wanted to know what happened to me.

"Well, I apparently use up my energy to heal and Jake can give it back to me," I answered simply, though there was more to what happened between us, that was the gist of it. Jake started fielding some other questions and I went to help Emily with the dishes… wanting something normal and mundane to do.

"You did good tonight," Emily said after we'd been working for a bit. "You figured out how to draw your power out faster than I thought you would."

I smiled at her. "Thanks. I felt like an idiot at first, but you were right, once I found the power and tapped into it, I was able to just figure out what to do."

"It will get easier the more you use it. Of course, the only thing we know you can do right now is heal, so you'll have to pay extra attention to other things you might feel the urge to do since you won't probably have much need to use your healing powers very often."

"I'll try to be aware, but I'm not sure what I'm trying to be aware of."

Before she could reply, a tingly jolt zapped me where our hands touched. The plate I was passing her slipped from my fingers and went careening toward the floor. My other hand shot out to grab it, sending a small wave of soapy water over the edge of the sink and all over both of us. We jumped back then looked at each other in surprise before laughter bubbled up between us. My surprise deepened, however, when I realized that I had actually caught the falling plate!

"Sorry about that," I said as we grabbed some towels to clean up the spilled water. "I guess I'm still a klutz."

"It's alright," she responded, still laughing lightly. "You caught the plate though, so your reflexes are good."

"I seriously don't know how; my reflexes are usually horrible. Normally I would have just helped it along its journey to the floor when I tried to catch it."

Emily shrugged. "Guess you just got lucky then."

Nodding, I pondered this for a bit longer, but decided she was probably right, and our conversation went on to other topics as we finished the dishes and I forgot about it. When we were done, we both went to change into dry pants since the water had sloshed all over our legs. I was going to need to replenish my stash of spare clothing soon.

When I came back out, Billy, Sue, and Old Quil were saying their goodbyes. Once they were gone the whole pack sat around the table to discuss changes that would happen moving forward. Angela and Kim stayed along with me and Emily since these changes were going to affect us all to some degree.

I leaned against the counter close behind where Jake was seated at the table as he and Sam explained the situation now that there were two Alphas. Suddenly Jake's arm snaked around my waist, and I found myself sitting sideways in his lap once again. I was doubly startled because I didn't recall moving, but at some point I had apparently drifted closer to him. My face began to heat, but Jake just gave me a little smirk and didn't even miss a beat in the conversation. There were a few smiles around the table, and one scowl, but no one made any comments like they had earlier, and I felt something settle inside myself that I hadn't realized was agitated. It must be the newness of the imprinting affecting us.

When I tuned back into what was being said, Jake was explaining that each pack member had a choice whether they wanted to switch to Jake's pack or stay with Sam, but that he and Sam would make adjustments later if it was necessary. They were all given the night to think it over, however Jared, Paul, Embry, and Quil all immediately made the choices that Sam and Jake had guessed they would. Seth was more indecisive than I expected and he and Leah both said they would make their decisions the next day. They talked over some logistics of the patrols, then they left to figure out how everything was going to work while in wolf form, leaving us imprints to spend some wolf-free time together. Not that I necessarily wanted to be separated from my wolf at the moment.

Only our four guys returned about an hour later, joining us in the living room. Jake immediately picked me up, sat in my spot, and plopped me on his lap, that agitated bit inside of me settling once more. I wasn't necessarily aware of the unease until he returned, which I found interesting. However, I was starting to wonder how we were going to part with each other for the whole night.

The guys told us what all they had discovered, and apparently, it was fairly easy for the pack members to switch packs by simply making the decision to follow Jake instead of Sam. As soon as they made that decision, they were no longer able to hear the members of the other pack. Sam and Jake figured out that they could still communicate with each other, however they could now control the information that was shared. So, within a pack, their thoughts were still open for all to hear, but between packs there was no communication except through the Alphas.

"It's going to take a lot more coordination to make everything work," Jake was saying. "So, there are some good things and also some challenges that are going to come out of the split, but hopefully we'll be able to work it out easily."

Jared and Kim left at some point and as the conversation continued, I started to get a little distracted, my focus turning to Emily. Maybe I was just getting tired after such a long and crazy day, but whenever I looked at her, my vision blurred, like when you're looking at something without focusing on it. But when I looked anywhere else, my vision was completely clear. As I let my mind focus on it a little more, I remembered the little zap I experienced when we were doing the dishes. Was that what she was talking to me about earlier, and maybe my powers were trying to show me something?

Without saying anything, I got up and went over to kneel down in front of her. She just watched me curiously as I studied her. Being closer to her, I realized she looked blurry to me because there appeared to be something around her, causing the air to shimmer and the hairs on my arms stood up.

She smiled at me with what I thought might be an expectant look in her eyes. Everyone had stopped talking and they were watching us. I reached out and touched my fingertips to her hand and a strange feeling passed through me… sort of like that feeling you get when you rub a static charged balloon over your skin, and I quickly withdrew my hand.

"Did you feel that?" I asked her.

She shook her head. "No, I didn't feel anything. What did you feel Bella… what are you seeing?"

I think she knew it was my powers and was trying to encourage me.

"You looked blurry to me, and when I came closer, the air is sort of shimmering around you." I showed her the raised hairs on my arms. "And I can feel it when I touch you… like static electricity."

"Touch me again and focus on your power to see if you can determine what it means," she suggested. I got the feeling that she already knew but wanted me to discover it on my own.

I laid my hand on hers again, feeling the current, and closed my eyes, focusing on the warmth in my chest. I gasped at what I saw and pulled my hand away, not believing it.

"What did you see Bella?" she asked softly.

"I think I saw it wrong." I slowly put my hand on hers again and closed my eyes once more. I didn't want to be wrong about this! Focusing on the warmth in my chest again, the exact same thing was shown to me.

I could heal Emily's scars!

I could make them go away.

I looked at Emily again and moisture was brimming in her eyes.

"You know, don't you?" I asked her quietly.

She nodded, "I wasn't completely sure, but I dreamed about it and Grammy Jo agreed with what I thought I saw. She told me to let you discover it on your own so it would help you gain knowledge and strength. I didn't think you would do it so quickly though."

"Do you want me to?" I asked her. "Something like this will be hard to explain."

She let out a choked laugh. "I don't care about that. Of course I want you to."

I nodded. "Okay."

Jake, I'm going to need you to keep me from falling over, I thought to him.

He knelt behind me and placed his hand on my back. I think I can do better than that. I'm going to try something.

"What's going on guys," Sam asked as I touched Emily's hand and closed my eyes again.

The heat throbbed eagerly in my chest like it couldn't wait to be used again. With just the slightest tug, the heat and light spread through me. The power was showing me to do something different from when I healed Paul… maybe because they were scars and not a current injury?

Following the power's prodding, I reached up and touched the scars on Emily's face and watched through closed eyes as it travelled to her skin and began to change it.

Emily sucked in a breath through her teeth and my eyes flew open to look at her.

She gave me an encouraging smile. "I'm alright. Just feels really weird."

I nodded and closed my eyes again. This healing looked different than the healing of Paul's shoulder, but it was still beautiful. After a few more moments had passed, I heard the other three in the room gasp as they realized what I was doing. Slowly, I moved my hand along her scars as the light guided me.

When I was about half-way through, I realized that I wasn't feeling drained; my energy was being replenished as quickly as I was using it. I kept my focus on Emily but guessed that Jake was giving me energy at the same time as I was using it… that must have been what he wanted to try.

I lost track of time, so I had no idea how long it took, but I felt positive that I would not have been able to do it all at once if Jake hadn't figured out that he could replenish me as I went. When I was done, and the light and warmth had withdrawn back into my chest I looked at Emily and she was feeling her face and looking at her arm. The scars were gone, and her skin was smooth and unmarred, no blemishes of any kind left. Her eye and mouth were no longer drawn down; her face was perfectly smooth and absolutely breathtaking. Jake and I stood up and moved away as Sam came over and fell to his knees in front of her, openly weeping. He hesitantly touched her face and her arm then started kissing all the newly smoothed skin from her hand to her face then buried his face into her neck and she wrapped her arms around him, tears falling down her cheeks.

I was crying too as I watched them. I couldn't believe I had just been able to do that. Jake wrapped his arms around me from behind and kissed my temple.

"You're absolutely amazing Bella," he said quietly in my ear.

I looked at Angela who was smiling with tears on her face—I didn't know if she even knew the story. Even Embry had tears shining in his eyes as he smiled at Sam and Emily.

Jake's arms moved away, and I was suddenly lifted off my feet and twirled around. I let out a little surprised yelp. Sam had picked me up and was hugging me tightly, my feet dangling. He set me down and grasped my face between his hands, tears still rolling down his face, but he was smiling now. I put my hands on his and smiled back at him.

"Thank you, Bella. I don't know if I could ever thank you enough. You have erased the reminder of my greatest failure and I will never be able to repay you." Then, he kissed my forehead and released my face.

I didn't know what to say. I didn't feel like I could take credit for it because it wasn't really me. But that wasn't right… this power was a part of me now. It was a gift from Jake… a part of him that had become a part of me, and I now carried inside of me.

"I can't believe that I did that… that I figured it out and did that," I said softly.

"I can." Emily hugged me and didn't let go for many long moments. "Thank you so much Bella. I can't even express to you what this means to both of us." She pulled back and held me by the shoulders. "And you're a natural at this. Just keep paying attention and there's no telling what you're going to be able to do."

Before long, we realized how late it was getting so Angela and I decided to head home. We said goodnight to Sam and Emily, then Jake and Embry walked us out to my truck. As I anticipated, it was much harder to leave Jake, and I found I could barely even stand it. I could tell he was struggling with it too.

"I'll come to your house first thing in the morning," Jake said. "We can spend most of the day together, though I will have to go on patrol for a few hours in the afternoon."

My head moved against his chest as I nodded and held him tight. "Okay," I agreed quietly, but it didn't feel like it was going to be all that okay.

He put his finger under my chin and tilted my face up to him before his mouth covered mine and our lips were moving together in a slow, tender kiss that neither of us wanted to end. I sank my fingers into his hair, drawing him even closer as the electric current throbbed between us.

I made a small noise of protest when he finally pulled away, then sighed in resignation and climbed in my truck. Jake was right behind me, blocking the door to keep me from shutting it. His hot fingers slid into my hair, and he pulled me to him, nuzzling against my face before claiming my lips for one kiss goodnight. I savored the feel and taste of him more than ever before.

I love you, Bella.

I love you too, Jake.

My insides felt a little hollow as I drove away. I tried to push the feeling away with thoughts of seeing him tomorrow… it didn't work.

"It's a lot harder for you to leave him now, isn't it?" Angela asked quietly after we had been driving in silence for a little while.

I sighed deeply, "So much harder! It has to just be because the imprinting is so new."

Angela was shaking her head in contemplation. "No, I don't think so. Embry and I don't like to leave each other, but we don't struggle as much as I noticed you guys struggling tonight. You're bound to each other in ways that none of the rest of us will ever be. Remember when we talked about how in tune he seemed to be with your needs?"

I nodded.

"I saw that happening on a whole new level tonight. It's really pretty fascinating to see."

"Part of that is probably due to our telepathic connection….it goes both ways now."

"Really!? That's so cool! I guess I'm not really that surprised. Is it weird to be able to hear his thoughts in your head?"

"Yes, definitely… it startled me a couple times." I laughed softly. "We can share more than thoughts. We can share emotions and feelings too."

"Oh wow. That has to be a pretty cool experience."

"It is. It's actually totally amazing!"

The rest of the way to Angela's house we talked about all the crazy things that happened over the course of the day. And I told her more about the other things that happened after Jake and I imprinted. It was impossible to believe that it all happened in just one day! I started to feel exhausted just thinking about it.

When I got home, I slipped my brace back on my arm before heading into the house. That made me remember that I wasn't supposed to be driving yet, nor should I carry my backpack into the house. I'd have to remember to ask Jake to bring it in for me in the morning. Pretending to be injured was going to be tricky.

Charlie called to me from the living room when I walked in the house and I went in to see him for a bit. I was surprised to find him wide awake, studying me with a concerned look as I crossed the room.

I furrowed my brow. "What is it, Dad?"

He ran a hand over his head and scratched his neck. "I got a very unexpected call tonight," he said, still looking at me carefully. "Were you aware that Edward was back in town?"

My eyes went wide. "Edward called here!? What in the world for?"

"He didn't say, he just asked me to have you call him. I had half a mind to tell him to go jump off a bridge! So, you knew he was back?"

I sighed heavily and plopped down on the recliner. "Yes, I've known for a while… I've even seen him a couple times. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I didn't want to worry you. I never dreamed he would call here!"

"A heads up would have been nice, but I'm not really worried about that." He was studying my face again. "Are you alright Bells?" His face was all bunched up and tense.

"Yeah Dad, I promise I'm fine. Getting over him was the hardest thing I have ever done, but I did get over him. I'm with Jake now, and I'm happy. Nothing is going to change that… especially not Edward."

He studied me for a minute longer and must have been convinced by whatever he saw because he relaxed and smiled.

"I'm glad to hear it, Bella. Jake has been so good for you. You seem to be happier than you have been since you moved here."

"I am Dad. I'm probably the happiest I have ever been in my whole life." A big yawn overtook me, and I really started to feel the day weighing on me… even with the nap. Not to mention that hollow ache of missing Jake had grown. "It's been a really long day and I'm beat. I think I'm going to head to bed now."

"Alright. Night kiddo."

"Night Dad."

I took a quick shower and was relieved to climb into bed. It really had been a long day! I was having a hard time getting warm, though, and I was restless and feeling an incredible sense of loneliness and need for Jake's presence. I wondered if he would still be awake and was debating if I should say something to him, but he beat me to it.

You still awake honey?

Jake! I just got into bed, and I was lying here missing you. I don't know if I can do this.

I know, I'm feeling it too. We need to at least see how we do for the night. Just go to sleep and I'll be there in the morning.

Okay, I thought reluctantly. Good night, Jake.

Good night baby.

I tossed and turned for a long time. Finally, I was able to drift off into a very restless sleep, longing for Jake.