Hi! So back again to this wonderful fandom and back again to Leah and Embry who continue to get under my skin with new story ideas. I hope that you like this one as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Just a couple of things-Leah is not a werewolf in this story. Seth is but Leah doesn't transform because she is imprinted on. As most of this story is AU that's what i'm going with. I am also working on the assumption that Josh Uley this time around is Embry's Dad. Embry's Mom might also have a different name...Also I may be giving Leah and Paul a friendship thing that I don't quite understand yet either.
And to be clear...I don't...I don't mind Emily per say, I get the imprinting thing but I do think she and Sam are a bit rubbing salt into the wound (bridesmaid really?) and from what i've read in the background it does seem like Sue knows from the attack onwards what has happened and supports Emily which might make perfect sense to her but to her ignorant daughter...so yeah for a while were not Sue or Emily friendly...I have never been Sam friendly.
Not sure on custody issues on Reservations either but please do let me know if I get something wrong and I will try to fix it.
This story is ECLIPSE only. And we will steer away from Bella because her relationship with Edward in THAT book makes me feel sick.
Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.
Please Read and Review.
Also I swear in my stories...Don't like, Don't read.
Rain From Heaven
AU-In which Leah is pregnant leaving when Sam imprints on Emily (during the events of Twilight/New Moon). She comes home for her father's funeral with her son and meets the newly transformed wolf…Embry. Leah is not a werewolf.
Chapter 1-The Angry Heart
She doesn't envision coming back here. She doesn't want to be here. But she has to be. It's her father's funeral after all.
She doesn't want to be here. Actually right now Leah would take anything over being here, which considering that she had done eighteen hours of labour with nod drugs was really saying something.
Fecking Rebecca…all that hippie do it natural crap. Too much sun.
But she's here and she said she would come. Seth was the one that asked her, she put the phone down on her mother and then Seth rang her in tears and begged her to come, said he was scared, that he needed her and Leah had not been able to turn Seth away when he had used that tone of voice. Not her silly little brother who had picked her up from the airport hit with one of the worst growth spurts she had ever seen and who had looked small and large all at the same time.
And that was before he saw her…or more importantly who she was with.
She had gone to Rebecca's when she had left La Push. She had not given an explanation other than what was obvious. She had gone because her fiancé had ran off with her cousin and both her parents had seemed fine with it, hell…her Mom was even helping with the arrangements. She had not been able to stay after that and she had taken her debleated college fund, packed a bag and left one morning and not looked back. She had gotten out, gotten to the plane, gotten to Hawaii and there Rebecca Black had opened the door and opened several wine bottles and had helped Leah get through her grief and her anger.
Rebecca had only told her father that Leah was with them and then she had not told him anymore which was good because Leah had then just found out after three months of not bleeding that at the tender age of nineteen Sam had done the unthinkable, strung her along, dumped her, cheated on her with her cousin (and God only knows in what order) and then gotten her pregnant.
She had stared at that stick in a state of utter disbelief for a very long time.
The easiest thing to do was to get rid of it but Leah had never been a woman brought up to do that, granted she was pro-choice but at the same time she had wanted children with Sam so much she had been ready to give up most of her life to do it. And now that she was pregnant she knew that it was going to be so much worse because she was alone. So yes…perhaps the easiest thing that she should have done was get rid of the baby, maybe the easiest thing all round for her and for Sam…carefully she did not think too much of that…she tended to get an almost shaky kind of rage when she thought about Sam.
But at the same time she wanted to be a mother, she had spent a long time in Rebecca's bathroom staring at herself in the mirror (and face down on the floor too) wondering just what it was about her that Sam didn't like, what it was that he liked in Emily that he never liked in her. The way he had handle things and her parents reactions to it had opened up old wounds and insecurities and had taken chunks out of her that she was not sure she would get back.
The more she laid awake in her borrowed bed though the more that she thought she could do this…she had some money saved up not a lot but some, she could go to community college, she could take classes at night and work to get her degree and work her jobs to support herself. Rebecca and Solomon had both made it clear that she was more than welcome to stay in their house, they both travelled so much to work anyway and this was Hawaii and as much as she didn't like the sun (she was from Washington she wasn't used to it) she did have to admit that it wasn't hard to get a place.
Leah was a practical woman and she had grown up watching her mother cut out coupons and squeeze pennies out of dollar bills. And so while it was the most radical decision she had made she knew she could do it. And she knew she could keep her baby, raise it, love it.
That created it's own problems…
Sam…Sam was again another problem, a problem that she never seemed to be able to escape. Because there was no doubt in her mind that Sam was the father of this baby and once she knew that, once she could accept that, that created a whole other bunch of problems the main one being that she didn't want Sam back in her life. She didn't trust him, didn't want Emily who had been her best friend to take her baby, it might seem irrational but she was hormonal and emotional and so in her own head it made sense, if Emily could take her fiancé then why couldn't she take her baby? Her parents had clearly decided that her side was the one to take, the Elders had been in Sam's pocket even before his little disappearing act…what choice did she have but to guard this little secret to her chest and never let him back in?
And the second that she thought about it she felt bad. Because Leah knew…she knew the issue that Sam had with his Dad, she knew that the wounds cut deep, she knew that it had plagued him for a long time, knew that despite the bubblewrap Dorthey had wrapped him up in there was always going to be the question of why his Dad had not thought he was good enough to stick around with. Now while a part of Leah did take an immense petty pleasure in making Sam feel the same way she felt when he had chosen Emily over her, she didn't want to hurt this little thing growing inside of her, this little human that was slowly taking her over inside out.
Twice she picked up the phone and debated calling him and then she put the phone down.
Quite frankly Rebecca was right. Sam had made his bed…it was time for him to lie in it. With Emily if that was what he had chosen. Leah had to focus on Leah…and her baby.
So she squared her shoulders and built a life for herself and when she had been walking down the beach and her water had broke she had gone to hospital for what could only have been described as an intense eighteen hour labour (there were several other words that she could have used to describe it but none of them were very polite) and at the end of it there had been her darling treasure that had been her baby boy. Born with her eyes and a tuft of dark hair on the 9th April.
(Ironically…not that she was supposed to know this but it was the exact same day that Jacob Black found his way around her ex-boyfriends gag order)
She had held him close and looked at his bright eyes and cried more than she cared to admit.
Jude Anthony Clearwater was born happy and healthy and whole and quickly because the only man Leah cared about. He was a good baby, a happy baby and fell asleep in the second night—scaring her to death she might add—and she found that she adapted well to motherhood in a way she had really not anticipated she would.
She went with Jude because she liked the name (and though she didn't want to admit it Rebecca had told her point blank that even she thought Joshua was a bit too cruel). She spoke to Seth sporadically but never mentioned him simply because her brother leaked like a bucket with a hole in it, so when Seth called her one spring afternoon where she had been sat watching her son kick his little feet about and smile that little smile that made her melt when she picked up his stuffed dolphin she had not been expecting the news that her father had had a heart attack and that he was dead.
And that was how she ended up back here.
She had not wanted to bring Jude but Rebecca and Solomon were on a six month tour with his surfing company and she'd not had the option of childcare for the week it was going to take her to but her father to rest. Besides…it made no difference to her, she told herself. She was Jude's mother, she was the only parent on the birth certificate and Sam could huff and puff and do another little disappearing act before she let him take her baby. Hawaii was a very different place to the mainland and as cruel as it sounded Sam did not have options for a long custody battle with her.
She told herself that as she got off the plane and caught sight of her brother's face.
Seth took off his sunglasses his mouth open.
Had it not been for his red rimmed eyes she would have found the whole thing amusing.
"Oh. Fucking hell Leah" he said taking in Jude. "What the hell have you done?"
Leah rolled her eyes.
Thank God for Starbucks.
"Wow" Seth said after inhaling two muffins and stirring far too much sugar into his coffee for her liking. "I mean…wow"
"Yeah" she said passing Jude his little pacifier.
"I don't know…wow"
"Seth can you say something else please?"
"Like what?"
"I don't know…how's Mom?"
The second she said it she hated herself for it. She didn't know why she cared about her mother all of a sudden but here she was asking the question when it was clear that her mother had not tried to find a way to speak to her—granted Leah was not sure what she would have said but that was by the by.
"She's…gutted…not saying much. She's…she's had support. Emily's been handling—"
He trailed off at the look on her face.
"Don't" he said flatly. "Don't go there and start a fight please Leah, I mean your right but not before Dad's funeral"
He looked so tired that her heart broke for him.
"Are you sleeping?"
Seth shot her a look and then. "No"
"School been okay?"
"Sam's spoken to them"
"Why?"
Seth opened his mouth and then. "There's a lot you've missed in the past year and half" he said quietly. "Sam's now being fastracked to Elder."
She very carefully didn't choke on her bagel. Instead she turned to Jude and for a second Seth followed her.
"Leah…I get why you didn't tell anyone but do you really think bringing him here is going to help? Sam is going to want to see his son"
"I wanted to marry Sam" she said tartly. "We all don't get what we want in life Seth"
Seth nodded and then.
"Can I hold him?"
Leah brightened at that and she unhooked Jude from his high chair and passed him to Seth who held him with a slightly alarmed expression as if he was the cartoon in the Lion King. For a second he stared at him and Jude stared back and then.
"Is he having fun?"
Leah rolled her eyes and gently arranged it so that Seth was holding him correctly. Seth still looking terrified stuck his tongue out and he visibly relaxed when Jude batted his hands at him.
"Seth?"
"Hmm?"
"When did you get a tattoo?"
"Consider it my teenage rebellion"
"Aha"
There was a pause and then.
"There's something else you should know"
"Oh God"
"Joshua Uley had another son"
Leah stared at him for a second and then.
"Is it that friend of Jacob Black's…I don't…I don't remember his name Edmund—"
"Embry but I am going to tell him you said that" Seth said grinning. "Yeah…he's never wanted to know but then…certain things developed between him and Jacob and Sam and it's clear now…Sam's his half brother. Pushed the wedding back a bit"
It was said mildly but Leah caught the undercurrent of smugness in her brother's tone and her love for her silly little baby brother was increased ten fold.
"Well" she said fishing out her wallet. "I say we have another muffin to celebrate that"
Seth's smile was almost as wide as his nephews.
She had stayed at a hotel…well…the closest that you could get for La Push which was outside the Reservation. She didn't…she honestly didn't think that she would be able to see her mother before the funeral. She had not even wanted to take Jude but miraculously her baby boy slept on her lap all the way to the burial and she stepped out seeing Seth stood by the car with their mother and she swallowed hugging her son closer. She wished now in hindsight that she'd had the sense to cover his head but that would get him to fuss unnecessarily.
For a second she felt her mother's eyes on her and then.
"Fuck me"
Leah sighed.
"Hello Paul" she said turning to face Sam's right hand man.
"Hello?" Paul said looking at her with wide eyes. In a pair of second hand slacks and a blue shirt he looked semi decent. She shot him a tired look.
"Hello?" Paul said again raising his eyebrows to the heavens. "She disappears comes back with a baby and all she can say is hello"
"What do you want Paul?"
"Nothing, I came…I came over to say hi Leah don't be a bitch about it."
"Why am I always the bitch?"
Paul shot her a look that tinged for him just on the edge of sympathy. There was a pause and then.
"It's Sam's baby isn't it?"
"He's my baby Paul"
"Aha" Paul said in a deeply sceptical tone. "Keep telling yourself that sweetheart"
She was about to open her mouth when.
"Leah?"
She turned.
"Seth?"
"Mom says she wants you to sit with her"
She shifted Jude for a bit in her arms and looked out over the burial sight. She knew she was getting looks.
"I don't—"
"Leah just…please okay…you can go right after this if you want to but…but she needs this"
Leah sighed.
"Is he…is he coming?"
"Course he's coming" Paul said flatly. He didn't obfuscate her which she appreciated.
"He's an important member of the tribe and Emily helped your Mom organise this…of course they are coming"
She sighed.
In truth she had known this.
But still.
She hoisted Jude up on her hip a little bit more and looked for the first time at the coffin that housed her father. Suddenly for the first time it seemed to hit her, that it was her father in that box and she felt her throat constrict.
"It's not about me" she said to Paul. "You tell him that, you tell him that if he makes a scene here I will rip his throat out with my fingernails"
Paul shot her an appraising kind of look but he nodded nonetheless.
Leah squared her shoulders and took sight of her Mom standing there watching her.
Showtime.
She knew the second Sam turned up because of the hushed whispers. Her Mom had barely been able to say anything, had looked from Jude to the coffin to Leah and Seth and back again and then her entire body had seemed to tremble. Leah had wanted to reach out and touch her but she knew her arms were full of baby and besides…what good would it do? Charlie Swan looking miserable showed her where to sit and then gruffly…
"You got a damn pretty one there Leah"
"Thank you" she said hoisting him closer. Charlie nodded and went to sit with Billy.
She knew the second Sam and Emily turned up because she had just arranged Jude on her lap when he and Emily holding hands turned up. Sam's eyes swept down the length of the mourners and then he stopped dead when he saw her and Jude on her lap. Emily looked at her too but Leah didn't look at either one of them. She turned to Seth who was glowering.
"You alright?"
"Yeah I just…I know what he's thinking" Seth said back grimly. The veins in his forehead were sticking out and his hands were shaking and she reached out to touch him. She had thought that it was the heat the other day that had made him so hot but now she could feel his skin.
"Are you sick?"
"No. Why?"
"Seth you'll like a hundred degrees"
"I know I just…not now"
Leah opened her mouth but then there was a cough and she saw Sam take his seat. For one second she broke the cardinal rule and she looked at him and saw that his eyes were fixed on Jude's. He must have known she was looking because he dragged his eyes back up to hers and for a second she stared at him. Leah had thought that she had trained herself to feel nothing in the months that they had been apart and she was pleased to see that actually while the thud of pain was still there the thud of love had gone.
Jude fussed a little at the noise and she dropped her gaze down and looked away her hair covering her shoulder and his face.
Something metal hit her hands and she turned. Seth had his eyes down but in his hand bumping against her own were car keys.
It was his car, the beat up old one that he had kept together with string and a prayer most of the time. Seth didn't say anything for a second but then as the music started he turned to look at her.
"Your going to need them" was all he said.
Leah nodded and took the car keys and sat there holding them in one hand and her son in the other and watching as her father was laid to rest all the while knowing that the confrontation she both wanted and wanted to avoid was coming.
It was inevitable perhaps.
But her heart was still angry.
And that meant that she could delay.
And there you go, I hope you enjoy and see you soon!
Next Chapter-The funeral is over and Leah knows she has to run...at the beach she meets someone. And the rest as they say is history...for him anyway.