Bella woke again as Paul gently shook her shoulder. She yawned and tried to stretch but realized that her body was weighted down. Taking in her surroundings she saw that Brady was curled into the arm of the couch with his head resting on her arm, and Collin was draped half off the couch and his head was pillowed in her lap. She smiled remembering running her fingers through his hair as he fell asleep. She was slightly surprised to see Embry passed out in the arm chair across from her, and it made her happy to think that nearly all of her boys were safe and sound.

Paul helped her to stand without jostling the boys too much and together the quietly walked out on the porch. Bella sighed as Paul's warm around circled around her and she resting her head on his chest.

"Ya know, if I hadn't seen for myself how those mutts feel about you, I might have to kick their asses for hogging you" he chuckled and Bella hid her grin and lightly slapped his arm. She pulled back and took him in. She could see his contentment, but there was tired bags under his eyes and he looked worried.

"Tell me." she said as she guided him to some old rocking chairs.

Paul frowned and looked into the woods. "We're all runnin a bit thin right now." he sighed, wiping a hand down his face. "Baby Alpha's been doing his best to help us out but with Sam and now Quil…" he trailed off and Bella was immediately more alert.

"Is he okay?" she asked. "I wish I could have warned him. I'm not even sure how I knew all of that, but I just… knew."

Paul nodded. "He's.. trying to deal. He always felt like there was more to the story with his dad than the old man said, but he never thought.. His parent's always seemed… good, ya know? They didn't argue or fight, they never yelled… I would have given anything back then for parents who didn't want to actively murder each other." he said with a frown.

"I think…I think fighting can be important sometimes." Bella said softly and Paul looked at her in confusion.

"You want us to fight?" he asked in disbelief.

"No, not like… I guess, I always thought that when people argue and fight, it's because they care. Maybe that doesn't make sense, but..I guess, I would rather care enough to push each other than to not even want to bother." she shrugged. "Plus, the making up part is nice I hear" she smirked and Paul laughed loudly.

"Listen, if you want to argue about taking out the trash, and who does the dishes… I can do that, but we need to make a promise right now."

Bella took his hand.

"Right now, we promise that no matter how shitty our day has been, no matter how annoyed we are when this little girl decides she doesn't want to nap for the 3rd day in a row, or when those overgrown puppies in there start dating and you hate all the girls… at the end of the day, we are a team. We promise right here and right now, that even if we argue, we never lose sight of who's team we're on, okay?" Paul finished and saw tears in Bella's eyes.

"I promise, that no matter how annoying you get, I'll always be there to kiss you goodnight and to remind you what an amazing dad you're going to be."

Paul's own eyes began to sting and the rested their foreheads together for a moment before a throat cleared behind them.

They turned to see Quil walking up the path, head down and hands in his pockets. Bella could see that his eyes were rimmed in red and her heart clenched.

Quil slowly looked up and scuffed his foot in the dirt. "Ya know, the pack is gonna be pretty pissed if I just walked up on a secret wedding." he tried to joke, but there was a tightness in his voice. Bella blanched at the word wedding and Paul chuckled.

"Don't worry sweetheart, I won't ask until I know you'll say yes." he smirked before clapping Quil on the shoulder. "Why don't ya'll take a little walk and I'll get the boys up and fed." he said before walking inside after a light kiss on her head.

Bella watched as Quil dropped his head and gestured towards the trail leading to the beach. She nodded slightly before they slowly started walking.

They walked a while in silence before Quil finally spoke.

"He was a good dad." he said quietly, not looking up from his feet as they walked.

"I always knew…or I thought.. Grandpa's story never really made sense to me. Like he was leaving something out, something important and everytime I asked he would just shutdown."

"I'm so sorry Quil." Bella said as she stopped him with a gentle hand on his arm.

"I have this memory." he said. "Dad took me down to the tide pools. Have you seen them?" he asked and Bella nodded. "I was maybe 5 or 6 and it was my favorite place. Dad would take me there and he'd show me all the cool animals and we'd pick up these really nice rocks. But that day… we had been laughing and joking and he was chasing me down the beach when all of a sudden he just…stopped." Quil wiped his face quickly. "I was so confused because it was like he ran into a wall I couldn't see. His smile fell and he just started crying. I was scared and confused and when I looked around all I saw was Jacob and his dad playing in the sand. But now.. Now I remember, it wasn't just Jake. You were there too. I used to see you a lot with Jake and Sarah and I used to get so mad when my mom wouldn't let me come play but I guess now we know why." he shrugged and Bella felt her heart crack open. She didn't remember that day specifically, but she has so many memories of building sand castles and playing at the beach with Jake.

They finally made it to a shady place on the beach and Quil helped Bella to sit in the sand before sitting down next to her. He brought his knees up and rested his head on his folded arms.

After sitting a while in silence Bella quietly asked "do you want to know…what the spirits showed me about that night?"

Quil sat quietly for a minute before he nodded once.

Bella closed her eyes for a moment before leaning her head on his shoulder. "In the meeting with the council I told them that even without shifting, the father's of the pack still had the ability to imprint." she sighed. "For you dad..for our dad… it was my mom. All it took was one look and he was hers. I don't know what would have happened if Old Quil hadn't… if things had worked, but when my mom left, when she took me, something broke inside of him. I know you've seen in Jared's head, in Paul's…and Sam's" she added quietly. "You know that the bond will make them be whatever the imprint needs and I think without any guidance, you dad's spirit was just lost."

"Well, that night, your dad had been looking for something in Old Quil's house and he found a stack of old letters from Renee. She had tried, at the beginning, to let him know me. Even married Charlie, she still loved him, but he'd never gotten them. He took them, and read each one. Each letter got shorter and shorter, but the final letter… it was rough." She took his hand in her own and twined their fingers together.

"I was 8 when I first got sick." she said softly. "No one here really knows because Renee didn't want Charlie to freak, but it was bad. The doctors weren't sure…they didn't think I would make it." She winced as Quil's hand tightened around her own. "I don't remember much, honestly, about my time in the hospital but it's part of why I hate them so much. What I do remember is that one night, Renee had gone home for the night and I was alone in the hospital room. I had felt so bad that day, and my fever was really high and I saw… well I saw Sarah. I was so happy. I thought she had finally come to take me away" Bella wiped her eyes. "I remember so vividly her standing next to my hospital bed and feeling her kiss my forehead. She told me over and over again that everything would be okay and as I fell asleep she sang to me."

Quil sat completely still. "The next morning the doctors were so amazed. My fever had finally broken and the antibiotics were finally starting to work. My mom claimed it was a "Christmas Miracle", but Quil… I learned a few months later that it was that night… It was night Sarah…" Bella choked on a sob.

Bella was quickly wrapped in Quil's arms and he held her tight until she felt she could breathe again. "I've never told anyone that before," she whispered.

"The letter, Quil, Renee she… told your dad that it was his fault I was so sick. She said.. She said that he never cared about me or her and that she wished he had been in the car with Sarah" a furious growl erupted from Quil and Bella clung to his shoulders. "I can't excuse her Quil, I can't but… knowing what I know now, seeing Emily after what happened with Sam… I don't think Renee escaped the damages of a broken imprint either…"

Quil sat silently for a while and stared into the waves crashing on the shore. "He did it, didn't he?" he asked quietly. "It wasn't the storm…he crashed the boat on purpose?" Quil never looked away from the waves.

"I'm so, so sorry Quil" Bella whispered. Before she could say anything else Quil jumped from his seat next to her before running towards the wood, bursting out of his clothes in a rage.

Terrified, Bella whipped out her cell phone and dialed Paul's number "Paul, you need to hurry.. I think Quil might kill his grandpa."