Chapter Eight

"Well, Well. What do we have here?" A pale young man with light brown hair and hard black eyes chuckled into the eerily still air.

Harry backed up against the edge of the tree line where the trail ended at the top of the cliffs. He kept his eyes trained on the three figures and a shaky hand reached slowly for his wand.

The other two people accompanying the brown haired man who spoke, seemed to be about the same age and equal in oddly translucent skin tone.

"Are you sure that's him, Riley?" Asked a boy that reminded him strangely of a dark haired Ravenclaw from Hogwarts named Rodger Davies; the teen didn't remove his eyes from Harry's slowly retreating form.

"Positive" Confirmed Riley with a sinister smirk.

"And even if Victoria has trouble taking down that big brute of a mutt, with the loss of this one, he will be nothing." The last figure practically sang out, curly blonde hair falling in front of his eyes as the tall lanky from took a step closer. "We will have no problem taking down that wolf pack without its 'Beta'" He spat the word like it was a curse.

Harry narrowed his eyes angrily and gritted his teeth. Who the hell did these fools think they were, threatening him and the lives of his new friends and lover? As soon as they had mentioned Paul, something in Harry snapped, allowing for the comforting warmth of his own power surge though his fingers, protecting him against the unnaturally cool air. He grasped his wand tightly and let out his own challenging smirk. They were in for a very unpleasant surprise.

"Are you finished?" He punctuated his accent haughtily, green eyes flashing in annoyance. He shifted his stance and raised an eyebrow mockingly.

"Oh, I'm going to have fun killing you but not after a bit of play time." The blonde one said with a laugh. "The poor human has no idea what's in store for him." He began to slowly walk in Harry's direction. "Come on pretty boy, don't be scared. I just want a kiss you silly little faggot." The group laughed menacingly.

"Now Cole, you know better than to play with your food." Chuckled the black haired vampire.

As the blonde drew nearer, Harry lazily drew his wand and pointed it at the boy. "Aw, what's this? Do you have a present for me?" The group of vampires laughed again.

"How'd you know?" Harry stated disdainfully before lazily casting a 'Confringo' and watching in amusement as the young bloodsucker flew back twenty feet, an arm loudly cracking off after the powerful hex hit it.

The other two looked on in horror as their fallen comrade squirmed on the wet ground, moaning in pain and shock. Riley slowly turned back to his prey, who was twirling the stick in his hand with a bored look on his face.

"Not so talkative now, are we?" Harry looked back and forth between the two standing vampires with a derisive expression.

"What are you?" Riley whispered in shock, taking an unsteady step backward.

Harry just smirked and began to stalk toward the pair much in the same was Cole had stalked toward him just moments before. "Come on pretty boy, don't be scared." Harry whispered mockingly, pointing his wand directly in between the brown haired teen's eyes.

Suddenly the black haired vampire lunged toward the young wizard. "Not smart" He said quickly, without emotion, before shooting a malicious 'Sectumsempra' at the foolish undead boy.

Green light flashed through the air, quickly followed by an inhuman scream.

-0-

Paul was trotting around the edge of the South perimeter, listening to Seth and Jacob go on about whatever they thought was important that evening. He paused for a moment when the wind picked up; something smelled off. A low growl broke through the humid air. 'Vampires' Paul thought and Jacob and Seth's conversation ceased immediately. Suddenly an orange blur crossed into his peripheral vision and the massive wolf took off after it in an instant.

'It's the red head. She's going East! I'll try and cut her off before the edge of the territory; you boys just try and keep up!' Paul laughed excitedly and continued to sprint after the orange blur, dodging trees and rock, determined to catch the blood sucker before it made it too the Cullen's side of the river. His body stretched with each stride and he panted happily; he was in his element chasing vampires.

He could hear the excited and anxious thoughts of the other two wolves as they took off after him. Paul started to become slightly frantic as the woman continued to avoid him while they were getting closer and closer to the boundary. He let out a snarl and skidded to a halt as she jumped to the other side of the river after a swift dodge of his giant fangs.

'Fuck!' He yelled in his head and he heard the sound of giant paws closing in from behind him. 'Where are those asshole Cullen's when you need them?' He began to stalk back and forth on a small strip of dirt on the bank where Victoria had crossed, waiting impatiently for Jacob to join him in his sulking. Suddenly something hard smashed into his side, sending him sprawling across a rocky patch of mud. Paul let out a loud whine and hurriedly picked himself off of the ground, determination and eagerness shining in his eyes.

"If I knew you were distracted so easily I wouldn't have bothered sending my newborns after your new boy-toy." The unearthly woman stated with a deadly smile.

Paul froze. There was no way. She was trying to anger him; she knew he would lose coordination to his rage. Or she was trying to divert him; she knew he could over power her and was trying to get rid of him. Harry was in New York, wasn't he?

"I must commend you, he's very handsome. Those eyes…so exotic." She said with a sinister grin, slowly making circles around him. "You should have seen the poor boy pout when he realized you weren't home, decided to go watch the sun set while he waited. But don't worry; he won't be alone for long. Actually I'm sure he has some company by now. No need be anxious about getting home; he won't be alive much longer. After all, my boys like to play rough and little Harry looks so… fragile."

Paul let out a furious roar as he flung his body at the vampire. She quickly side stepped him and brought sharp claws down on his face, slicing through the fur like butter. Paul ignored the pain and continued his ruthless yet futile attack.

Victoria shouted in glee. This was exactly what she had been hoping for; the beast was too emotional to fight properly. She wanted to end this quickly, then she could enjoy the aftermath of slowly destroying every shape shifter and vampire in this god forsaken city. She laid a devastating blow to the animal's neck and watched as he squirmed around on the ground trying to pick himself up before collapsing only half conscience. The red head slowly walked over to the struggling body before landing a damaging kick to his back. The brutal assault continued until Paul was hanging on the edge of conciseness, his severe worry for Harry keeping him awake for jus a few more moments.

'PAUL!' The shifter whined loudly from the ground as Jacob leapt over him and took down the red headed woman, who was about to land a final stomp on his head.

'Get Harry. Please… they're goin-, going to…please.' Paul weakly begged from the ground as Jacob fought fluidly with the woman.

'Where is he Paul?' The grey shifter heard a young voice shout in him mind. 'I'm getting help!'

'Seth, I don't-' Paul fell silent for a moment, trying to calm the rapidly growing panic that was bubbling up in his gut. Or was it blood? What had that bitch said? Watch the sun set? 'The cliffs. Please!' He watched on helplessly as Jacob began to over power Victoria but in a short opening she was able to bolt across the boundary only to be chased by a group of anxiously waiting Cullen's. His vision swam and he gently closed his eyes and tried desperately to keep in the horrified sobs that were pushing their way up his damaged throat. When he opened his eyes again, he was back in his human form and a naked Jacob and Dr. Cullen were bent over him.

"Please. Just go to Harry." He whispered, letting darkness invade his vision and the on slot of emotions finally brake the dam he had built up, allowing for his desperate cries for his lover's safety to ring through out the chilly evening air.

Jacob placed a hand over his eyes and tried not to hear the awful defeated sounds his rival was making. Dr. Cullen bent down and brushed the older shifter's hair from his face to watch as the long gashes along his face slowly begin to close up on their own, leaving only drying blood on the crying man's face.

"We need to get to Harry." Carlisle stated evenly after he had balled up his shirt and placed it under Paul's neck for support. "Paul will be fine here for now." He backed up, glanced at Jacob and waited for the teenager to shift so they both could start running to the cliffs and praying that Harry was still alive.

-0-

"Incendio" Harry said blandly, pointing his wand at a twisted and broken body. He breathed out a loud sigh. Why was it always him? Could he not go anywhere with anyone without having someone or something make an attempt on his life? He lowered his wand and turned to look out over the edge of the cliff. The sun was casting striking orange, pink and red hughes across the scattered clouds. The ocean threw dark blue waves enthusiastically toward the golden shore and against the rocky cliffs. He couldn't help smiling despite what had just taken place. It would be best just to not tell anyone of it; he couldn't even imagine the Ministry paper work involved with something like this. What a hassle that would be.

Behind him a severed hand twitched.

"Incendio" The white hand went up in flames without Harry even turning around to look at it. "Paul, you better be home by now." He finally tore his eyes away from the beautiful picture in front of him and looked down at the front of his tented shorts. "All this fighting as made me horny." He said to himself with a smile.

When he turned around to go find his wayward boyfriend, he almost fell off of the cliff in shock as three massive wolves sprinted toward him.

"Hey guys!" He said happily as he threw a wave at the trio. Suddenly he was grabbed into a powerful embrace and was carried a few inches off the ground along the edge of the cliff. "Hey! Where are you going with me? Put me down, Damn it Seth!" He yelled and kicked at the boy as his wand fell out of his hands and rolled to Sam's enormous bare foot. He had one more body to burn, if they saw it he was in deep shit.

"Are you Ok?" Jared asked desperately as he gripped the British man's face tightly, looking for injuries, over Seth's broad shoulder.

"You mean besides my now broken jaw?" Harry asked sarcastically. "For real, Seth! That's my injured shoulder, you twat!" The smaller boy hastily put him down, deciding instead to stare at him with wide eyes, hardly believing he was real.

"What the hell has gotten into you three?" He was pissed now. The next werewolf that man handle's him was getting set on fire too.

"They said-, Paul said-, Vampires!" Seth panted in fear and exhaustion. The other two weren't much better. They kept glancing around as if something was going to attack them at any minute.

"Paul?" Harry said bemused with a raised eyebrow. "Well, you go tell Paul that he better be waiting for me in bed in…" Harry glanced down at his watch, taking notice of his drastically deflated erection. "Six minutes tops."

Nobody smiled. Sam took a break from his paranoid shifting to give the young wizard a serious look. "Harry, have you seen any… vampires around here?" Just as Sam finished his question the last remaining broken pale body on the ground shifted slowly into a standing position.

"You mean like that one?" Harry pointed behind the alpha with a humorous chuckle. The group of shape shifters whipped their heads around so fast, Harry was sure they had all gotten whiplash.

With one arm and a grotesquely hanging jaw, the blonde vampire made one last suicidal attempt at the green eyed boy's life by charging straight for him with a furious roar. Jared stepped in front of the group and pushed Harry and Seth back… straight over the cliff.

Harry gasped as reached out to grab at anything as gravity took over and pushed him body directly to the rolling waves. Seth falling directly on top of him.

Sam watched as Jared quickly ended the crippled vampire as Jacob and Carlisle Cullen broke through the trees. He looked over the edge of the cliff and after seeing neither boy resurface, he dove in after them.

Jacob looked on in shock, not sure of what he should do. The brown wolf took a moment from ripping apart the remains of a newborn to snarl at him and gesture toward the drop off with his massive head.

"Meet us at shore." He said authoritatively to the old vampire next to him. The doctor nodded and took off back into the trees. Jacob took a running start and dove off into the unforgiving cold water without hesitation. As he broke through the surface coming up he saw Sam supporting a coughing Seth.

"I can't find Harry!" Shouted the alpha, franticly searching the dark water for the other boy.

Jacob didn't even acknowledge the statement. He dove down as deep as he could, searching desperately for any signs of the green eyed boy. He came back up for air after half a minute. The waves were beating on his surfaced head mercilessly as he looked over the top of the water. Upon going under again, the teenager's foot collided with something soft; flipping in the water he reached down and grabbed at the heavy mass.

When he broke the surface again, he was holding Harry's unconscious form.

"Fuck!" He yelled out as a giant wave pushed them both under. He draped Harry's body around his shoulder and began the long haul to shore. Suddenly Sam was helping him pull the unmoving body to solid ground and they had reached the beach before Jacob could panic any further.

"Get him on his back!" Jacob shouted in between gasps for air. Sam maneuvered the body, glancing back at the coughing Seth sitting up in the sand. He reached down and placed a shaking hand on the pale neck to feel for a pulse. "Shit." Sam whispered quietly, not wanting Seth to panic.

"Nothing" He said softly to Jacob as the younger boy turned Harry's head and ripped open his shirt.

"Come on, Harry." Jacob said hopefully as he began mouth to mouth resuscitation, pushing on the flat stomach with resolve. Only after a few pumps did the young man begin making strange burping noises and twitching. A few moments later, Jacob let out a sigh of relief as Harry began to throw up water and the contents of his stomach, turning on his side to relieve some of his pain.

"That's it, that's it. Let it all out." Jacob lightly patted on the thin back. The wizard gasped for breath, letting out violent coughs every few seconds. The shifter bent closer as he saw the other boy start to mouth something. "What is it, Harry?" He asked gently.

"Sss…ser." The eighteen year old began to cough again. "Seriously?" He finally gasped out.

Jacob laughed and looked up when he heard Carlisle join in. "I'm just in time. Sam, Jared went ahead and grabbed some blankets from your home." The alpha nodded his head in acceptance as he ran a soothing hand across Seth's back. "Why don't we get him cleaned off?" The vampire gestured to Harry's shaking body.

Jacob looked up at the man in confusion before glancing at Harry's shivering form before blushing violently. "Yeah," He said without meeting anyone's eyes. "I think Harry would appreciate that." He carried the weak and gasping boy into shallow water, gently set him down and helped him get his soiled and wet clothes off of him. Harry moaned at the cold water and tiredly rested his head on Jacob's muscular thigh once he was undressed.

"You're warm" A bundled up Harry choked as Jacob held him close on the beach. The teenage shifter smiled at him and hugged him closer to protect him from the cold night air. "Where's Paul?" He asked in a troubled voice and was immediately assaulted by violent hacking coughs. Jacob held him closer and whispered quiet instructions until the wracking coughs turned into loud wheezing and pained gasps.

"Don't worry about him yet. He ran into some trouble but Sam and Carlisle are going to bring him home now." Jacob kept it vague, not wanting to scare him. "But we need to get you to a hospital. I'm sure Paul will meet us there soon."

Harry began to struggle in his arms and started to cough again and gasped for air while shaking his head. "No!" He finally managed to croak out, arms clutching around his burning lungs.

"Yes." Jacob wasn't going to argue with him. He knew how to take care of near drowning victims; take them to the hospital. "You can barely breathe. Besides you're a doctor, you should know the precautions taken after this! Observation for twenty-four hours! See, I'm learning to be a lifeguard too." He looked overly proud at this statement.

"No, I don't need to go. I know," he whispered pathetically.

"I get it Harry; you are a doctor…in training. I don't care what you say; we are already half way there anyway."

It was true. During their argument Jacob had managed to get him half way to Forks General. Harry let out a frustrated moan and closed his eyes, trying to steady his erratic breathing and decided just to enjoy the warmth of his rescuer and wait for the shit to hit the fan.

-0-

Paul groaned quietly from his dark room. He shifted his hand slightly and tried desperately to open his heavy eyelids only to have his body erupt into pain.

"Try not to move." The professional voice sounded just a few feet to his left and the sounds of three pairs of feet shuffling closer rang out into the tense air.

Paul tried to speak but he choked on his words when a white hot burning sensation shot down his neck and back. 'Where am I?' He thought briefly before all his memories suddenly came tumbling back at him. He tried to sit up but gentle hands and steering pain along his spine and ribs forced him back. The injured shifter went to see the source of the voice but soon realized that there was something keeping him from moving his head to the side.

"Harry?" He managed a broken whisper as tears of pain and desperation leaked out of his swollen eyes, down his tanned cheeks and onto the top of the neck brace.

"He's at Forks General in the care of the best Healers in the Western United States." Paul could barely recognize Jared voice in the panicked haze that was wrapped around his mind. "Don't worry, Jacob and Seth are there with him and Sam was just about to call his family." Paul braced himself for the worst.

"Paul" Sam said softly from between Dr. Cullen and Jared. "Harry is going to be just fine." He reassured with a warm smile.

Paul gasped in relief as another muffed sob tried to make its way out of his bruised throat.

"In fact, you could take a lesson from him." Jared interjected. "He laid the smack down on three newborns and you got your ass handed to you by a 'normal' one. On the other hand, you might want to increase the intensity on those swimming lessons."

Dr. Cullen laid cool hands on Paul's clammy forehead and muscular neck as the giant man tensed and looked at his friend questioningly.

"Relax." Carlisle murmured soothingly as he shot Jared an annoyed look. "We'll take you to see Harry in the morning if you're feeling better but for now you're our top priority. You got a pretty good beating a few hours ago. I'm surprised you're awake already."

Paul shot Jared another questioning look and appeared to be become increasingly annoyed with them avoiding the topic of Harry.

Sam sighed loudly and stepped closer to lay a hand on Paul's arm. "Look. Don't worry about it now. Just try and get some rest. When you wake up we'll take you to go see him and then you can see for your self."

Paul stared blankly at the ceiling and a few seconds of thick silence rang through the air.

"We're sure he is going to be fine." Dr. Cullen soothed, his amber eyes looking at the giant shifter in sympathy.

The massive man just closed his dark brown eyes in response as a wave of physical and emotional exhaustion swept over him. The odd trio met each other's eyes nervously.

"We're going to leave you to get some rest and heal up a bit more. Try to take a nap, just limit the movement as much as possible." The handsome blonde vampire finished before quietly exiting the room with the two shifters.

When they got down the narrow stair case, Sam drew out his phone and dialed the number that Harry had given Paul in case of emergencies. "Better get this over with." The alpha sighed heavily.

-0-

"Good job this month everyone. Any suggestions for improvement?" Lore looked out to the rest of the room at the contented faces of the family heads. "Nothing? That's what I like to hear." He said with a charming smile as a low rumbling chuckle filled the room in response.

Remus admired the young alpha's charisma. He never minded coming to the weekly meetings with the pack; there was typically never any disagreements among them and everyone was still running high off of the full moon. The volume in the room rose as everyone began to say their goodbyes and head to bed. Remus waited for a few moments so he could follow Logan and Lore back to their home to pick up Teddy from Mrs. Aurelius.

As he watched Lore address the concerns of an elderly man at the back of the room and Logan share a booming laugh with a man almost as big as he was, he felt his phone vibrate. He shrugged at the unknown number and put the speaker to his ear.

"Hello?" The graying werewolf asked as Lore glanced over at him briefly as he spoke.

Remus grew tenser and tenser as he listened to the Quileute alpha describe the happenings of that evening. Remus closed his eyes and began to feel faint, shuffling unsteadily back toward the chairs to balance himself. As the deep voice came to a stop, Remus managed to choke out a worried "I'll be there as soon as I can" before closing the phone with a deep breath and a shutter. He rested his head in a hand as he felt a heavy hand land on his shoulder.

"What's going on?" Lore's commanding voice shook him out of his daze.

Remus stood up abruptly and began to stride quickly toward the door. "I have to go, can your mother watch Teddy for the night? It's an emergency." By this point the few remaining werewolves in the room had their attention on the anxious man. Logan nodded and looked concerned for his friend.

"Of course." He said confidently.

"Wait! Is it Harry?" Lore's eyes were wide and worried as he ran toward the door and grasped Remus' arm to keep him from leaving.

Remus grid his teeth in frustration at the younger man. "Who else would it be?" He growled out angrily.

"I'm coming with you." He stated, leaving no room for argument.

"Fine. We are leaving now." Inside the older man knew that letting the alpha accompany him was probably not the best decision but his eagerness to make sure his oldest son was okay put the thought aside.

"Let's go."

-0-

Harry wearily opened his eyes a crack only to close them again at the soft light and the on slot of dizziness. He was partially sitting on a firm hospital bed with a pile of warm blankets on top of him. A steady beeping sounded to his left and as he moved his aching head slightly, he felt a moderately sized tube slide across his shoulder. There was an uncomfortable feeling in his throat and when he groaned in pain, he noticed it was muffled by something.

"Hello there, Mr. Potter. I'm surprised you are awake." said a pleasant female voice to his right.

He opened his eyes slightly again and the intense groggy feeling returned. The woman was a pretty red head in her mid-thirties wearing a traditional white lab coat with a tiny wand shooting sparks on the collar. She turned and shot a grin at a dark blurry lump that was Seth and Jacob slouched in the corner. "Cute friends you have there." The woman's musical voice instantly relaxed him so much he didn't even understand what she had said. She then bent down and stuck a small needle in his arm that drew a small tube of blood and then replaced it with a syringe full of a clear liquid.

"Out with the old, in with the new" She said with a beautiful smile. For a moment, in his muddled mind, Harry might have believed her to be an angel. He smiled goofily at her around the ventilator he was hooked up to. She laughed at him good naturedly and brushed his hair back gently. "Good night." She whispered soothingly over the rhythmic beeping.

Harry let out a low hum as the sedative hit him like a freight train and fell into a peaceful sleep.

-0-

"Get the fuck out of here."

Seth was woken up immediately by the hostile sounding voice. He looked around startled and was instantly drawn to the furious blue eyes staring him and Jacob down murderously. The man had dirty blonde hair and was about the same towering height and bulk as Paul. The guy was clad rather formally in a pair of khakis, a light blue tie and a navy sports coat; the way the he dressed reminded Seth a lot of Harry. He looked over at his older pack mate and noticed he seemed to be just as surprised. Around the gigantic man, the teenager could see what appeared to be Harry's guardian clutching the unconscious boy's hand and whispering soothingly into the thick black hair.

"Don't make me tell you again." The blonde commanded. Seth had the odd urge to do what ever this man said as fast as possible. He kept his eyes down and reached over to grab Jacob by the wrist to pull him out of the room.

"Hey asshole, I don't know who you are but" Suddenly Jacob was sprawled out in the chair clutching his face and groaning. "Holy Fuck!" He yelled in pain and shock; it wasn't that often that someone from outside of the pack was physically able to hurt him.

Lore lowered his fist slowly, rubbing his fingers with an angry scowl. "I said get the fuck out of here."

Jacob's nose was already beginning to heal but the blood splattered down his face did nothing to hide the damage that was just there moments before. The teenage shifter began to shake uncontrollably and started to push himself up at the larger man but Seth grabbed him again.

"Come on Jacob. We need to leave." He spoke submissively without looking up from the ground but nonetheless feeling the blonde's gaze burning into his head. For some strange reason Jacob got up and followed him out of the room without a fight.

"Who was that?" The older boy asked in astonishment once they made it out and the door was slammed behind them. "He made me feel" Jacob blinked at the ground for a few seconds "like he was an alpha." He finished slowly, realization flashing in his eyes. "Oh my god. I just got punched in the face by Harry's alpha."

Seth looked at Jacob strangely; the boy almost looked happy about getting hit. Seth rolled his eyes and went to sit on an uncomfortable looking bench in the hallway.

Jacob turned toward him slowly. "What if Paul shows up soon?" A smile slowly stretched across his face and his dark brown eyes lit up in uncontained glee. "This is going to be awesome!" He all but yelled excitedly. He rushed to the bench and threw a heavy arm around the smaller boy. "I put $10 on the blonde." He said with a suppressed laugh.

Seth shook his head with his own grin. "You're on."

-0-

Lore reached out and gently stroked a large hand through the soft black hair and the pale clammy forehead of the fragile looking teenager in the hospital bed. The sun was just about to start to rise in Washington and the sky was lit up with dark blue and deep orange. Lore glanced that the watch Harry had given him and read the hands at 5:00 am.

"I hate seeing him like this." Remus whispered from beside the young alpha, holding one of Harry's limp hands lightly. Lore didn't say anything, just leaned over the boy and placed a soft kiss on his brow before resuming his seat beside the bed.

"This isn't fair." Lore whispered brokenly, letting his tired eyes fall shut.

"Lore," Remus set a comforting hand on the man's broad shoulder "No one knows that better than I do."

The nurse had just left after explaining the circumstances to the two men. Because of Harry's difficulty breathing and inability to stay conscience when he had arrived, they had been forced to put him on a ventilator. Already the oxygen level in his blood had increased significantly and the boy was beginning to breathe regularly on his own. They had just begun to wean him off of the oxygen and would remove the ventilator within the hour. They planned on releasing him that afternoon.

"Go home and get some rest." Remus encouraged the large man even though he felt as tired as the blonde looked.

Lore just shook his head and stared at the unmoving form in the bed. After a few moments of silence he spoke up.

"I still love him you know." He pressed his lips together tightly. "I'm sorry." He said with a shake of his head. "You don't want to hear this. This is not about me right now." He reached out a calloused hand and lightly set it on Harry's elbow.

"No, go ahead." Remus encouraged, turning his attention to his alpha.

Lore let out a sigh. "I just thought the sooner we stopped, the less it would hurt. But honestly, I couldn't imagine it hurting any worse."

Remus laid a comforting hand on the muscular back.

"I hate that Paul guy. I hate that whole fucking tribe. And Harry. How could he?" Lore choked on a sob and the old werewolf looked at him slightly surprised. "He's already replaced me and I've never felt so alone." Lore closed his eyes tightly as a single hot tear ran slowly down his face. "It's been two months and that shifter has lead to nothing but grief for him. Look where Harry is now!" Lore said sharply, gesturing angrily to the frail looking teen with a clear tube taped into his mouth and heart monitoring nodes on his chest. The tears were running freely and Remus grabbed the much larger man into a tight embrace to try and calm him down.

"I know, I know." Remus reassured "Everything will work itself out soon. Just give it some time." Quiet shushing sounds echoed around the room, just barely covering up the quiet sobs coming out of the most intimidating alpha in the United States.

"That fuck isn't even here now!" Lore suddenly yelled in rage and jumped up out of the chair and began to pace across the hospital room with a heavy hand on his forehead.

Remus knew his alpha was being unreasonable and just sighed and turned his tired eyes to his son. He made a move to grab the small hand but stopped suddenly as it jerked softly. At a slower pace, Remus gently place the five thin fingers in his own and watched closely as unfocused deep green eyes opened partially.

"Hi Harry." The old werewolf whispered quietly and carefully brushed his hand on to the slightly warm cheek. Harry blinked so slowly that Remus had suspected he had gone back to sleep and just as he had begun to lean back in his chair again, Harry's eyes opened again. There was a gentle tugging on his hand and Harry made a move to pull at the tubes in his throat.

"No Harry. Don't touch them." The graying man gently captured the wandering hands and held them firmly. Even in Harry's sedated state he still managed to shoot Remus a dirty look. "Lore, call the nurse, please."

Lore, who had up until this time been too distracted with his anger, finally noticed the pair.

"Harry." He breathed out excitedly and practically flew to the bed. Harry just looked blankly at the giant blonde and then seemed to shoot Remus another dirty look.

"Please Lore? The nurse?" He asked losing patience as Harry made another weak attempt at the ventilator.

"Yes, of course." Lore sent on last longing look at the dark haired boy in the bed then took off down the hall to find some help.

-0-

Paul groaned and rolled over painfully in bed. As he squinted his eyes open he was meet by the soft pink glow of the rising sun. For a brief moment he tried to remember why he was in so much pain, when suddenly it hit him.

"Fuck!" He yelled, jumping out of bed only to almost collapse on the floor in surprise at the burning pain.

The door to his room flew open at the sound and a tired, angry looking young woman appeared in the threshold. "Paul! What the hell are you doing?" She yelled and walked over to fruitlessly try and pull the much larger man into bed.

"I have to see" He panted from the ground for a minute "Harry."

"No. You have to get back in bed before you hurt yourself permanently." She continued to try and push him around and smiled thankfully when she heard Sam's heavy steps begin to come up the staircase.

Unfortunately, Paul had heard them too and knew that this was his only chance to escape. He quickly ripped his arm out of Leah's strong grasped and took off toward the open window, landing on the wet grass painfully. With the help of his adrenalin, Paul phased, picked himself up off the ground and took off toward the direction of the hospital, hearing quick light steps follow right behind him the entire run.

'Paul, stop! God damn it!' He heard Leah's fierce commanding voice echo around his head. He was so close, he couldn't stop now. The intense burning in his legs and back and neck was worth making sure Harry was okay. There was a reason his pack mates were keeping him away from his little boyfriend and it as driving him crazy. As he drew closer and closer to the large white building he began to look for a good place to phase back. As soon as he reached the edge of the woods boarding Forks General, he changed back, only to be tackled by a big furry mass.

"Ahh!" Paul screamed in pain as every bone in his back protested to the rough movement as his naked body was slammed into the ground. As he tried to catch his breath underneath the massive wolf, Sam emerged from the woods with a pair of shorts, flip-flops, and a tank top in his hands. He gave Paul a hard look.

"Forget something?" He asked, his lips pressed into a thin line.

Paul just groaned again and tried to push Leah off of him. When he was finally able to sit up he gave Sam a thankful look. "Yeah," He said sheepishly "I'm not sure that would have gone over well."

Once the trio had dressed, they made their way to the hospital in a much more reasonable pace, although the largest of the three kept getting ahead of the group. When they finally reached the corridor where Jacob and Seth were napping on a bench, Paul was shaking with anxiety.

"Calm down." Sam said softly, laying a heavy hand on Paul's large shoulder. "His father is in there and I can't imagine he's too happy about this situation. You have to calm down and keep yourself together, Okay?" The alpha drew the larger shifter in a rare brotherly embrace, holding him tightly and offering the only comfort he could give. "Go say hi to Harry." He whispered in Paul's ear with one final squeeze.

"Thanks." Paul whispered back and disappeared behind the heavy white door.

Sam turned to look at the two boys on the bench who were blinking tiredly just moments before but now looked to be smiling widely and watching the door intently. The alpha just shrugged; who knew what those two were up to.

-0-

"Where's Teddy?" Harry asked in a scratchy voice.

Remus and Lore were still sitting watch by his bed, endlessly integrating every doctor and nurse who came close to the room. In returned they had been reassured that now that the young man was off of the ventilator and breathing fine on his own, they were just keeping him for observation for a few more hours. In the afternoon a doctor would run a final check up on Harry and then he would be free to go.

"He's with my parents, crying incessantly for you to come home." Lore smiled softly at the green eyed boy. Harry smiled back; he felt like crying too.

"I should go get him. I don't want him to be too much of a bother." Remus looked worried for a second, glancing at Lore than the door to the room and back. "Where is Paul, Harry?"

Harry rolled his eyes. He and Remus both wanted to avoid a confrontation between the two giant men. Without anyone to stop them, Paul and Lore might just kill each other.

"Jacob just said they were holding him hostage in La Push until he's well enough to make it over here. They said he has severe damage to his back and neck…" Harry trailed off looking upset. He shut his eyes tightly and tried to hold in his tears. He was sure that Paul was probably equally as worried about him.

"So it will probably be some time before he gets here?" Remus asked worriedly. He hoped that the russet skin man was okay; the big brute was quite friendly, good with kids and most importantly, made Harry happy. He actually reminded Remus a lot of Lore, which is why he knew it would be a disaster if they met unsupervised.

Harry shrugged and Remus slowly got up from his seat. "I'm going to get your brother

really quickly. I'll be back as soon as I can." He leaned forward and kissed Harry on the brow, making the boy scrunch up his face with a sheepish smile. Remus turned and gave Lore a hard look. "Behave" and added softly "Please?"

Lore gave a quick nod and looked away as the older werewolf made his way hurriedly out of the room.

A few minutes later Harry was laughing softly as his alpha told him stories about his childhood of being a rambunctious and unmannered toddler.

"So I picked up this nasty black snake and just put it in my mom's lap. You should have seen-" Lore stopped abruptly and stiffened with a glare as the door to the hospital room opened quickly and a large tan mass practically ran over to the bed.

"Harry!" Paul cried out in relief as he saw his boyfriend awake and aware in the hospital bed. He completely ignored the other figure in the room as he went over to grasp the thin pale hand and cup a blushing cheek. "What's wrong?" Paul stilled as he took in Harry's wide eyes and apprehensive face as the heart monitor increased its frequency in beeps. He followed Harry's gaze to the massive blonde sitting stiffly to the side and fixing him with a glare that could melt ice. Paul threw him a nasty look and just a moment later, Lore had gotten up and fisted Paul's shirt in a giant fist.

"Get out." The alpha hissed just inches from the russet man's face.

Paul, despite his injuries, returned the intensity. "Make me." He hissed back, stepping forward so that the two men were just centimeters apart.

"Hey! Take it outside you two!" Remus called from the door as he walked in with a crying toddler. "Hey Paul." He added as he strode by the impending fight with little interest.

"Wow, thanks Remus." Harry said sarcastically looking rather distressed as Lore and Paul tried to drag each other out of the door. Once the two made it outside of the threshold a fury of noise broke out, Harry manage to catch a glimpse of a dark fist flying threw the air as the door closed.

Remus just set the hysterical little boy in Harry's lap. "They already met, there was no stopping them. It's probably better this way." The graying man said with a comforting pat on Harry's thigh. Kill each other indeed.

Harry nodded and turned his attention to his little brother. The boy was sporting black hair and green eyes that matched his own, his eyes were red from crying and there was a trail of mucus flowing from his nose to his mouth. Teddy babbled in between great heaving sobs as he clutched at Harry like a life line.

"Hey Baby. Don't cry, I'm right here. I'm okay." Harry whispered as he whipped the boy's snot on his sleeve and clutched the tiny body closer. He began to gently rock the shivering boy until the loud sobs quieted into small cries and sniffling.

-0-

Paul landed heavily on the tile floor and skidded back a feet before stopping. "Shit!" He yelled as he grabbed his stomach and picked himself up only to throw his body into the man walking toward him. The pair wrestled around on the ground for a few moments, ignoring the "Woo Hoo!" from Seth and the shocked faces of Sam and Leah.

"Cut it out! This is a hospital damn it!" Sam yelled angrily as he tried to pry Paul off the other man. The group could tell that Lore was gaining the upper hand and no one wanted to face Paul if he lost to his boyfriend's alpha.

Lore felt something pull at his oxford as he tried to beat the shit out of that loser that Harry calls 'his boyfriend'. He whipped around quickly to try and knock off whoever was trying to interfere and froze. Before he could say or do anything, a fist punched his jaw almost of its hinges. He went down hard but recovered fast enough to get another look at the beautiful person that was capturing his attention so well before he took another hard blow to the chest.

"Paul! Stop!" A frantic voice screamed desperately at the beat up shifter pushing him away. "Leave him alone! Please!"

Paul fell back into Sam and looked up at the scene in front of him. "Leah, what the hell?" Leah was crouched over a fallen Lore who was looking at her in wonder. She gently touched his jaw with a genuinely worried expression; when he flinched, she winced as though it had hurt her too. Her beautiful face grew hard as she whipped around and punch Paul in the jaw as hard as she could.

"What the fuck?" Paul yelled angrily with a hand on his jaw, leaning heavily on Sam. Lore threw another murderous look at him before turning to Leah, his face softening. "Hi." He said breathlessly as he stared at the most gorgeous women he had ever laid eyes on. He felt his world shift into focus and every broken piece fall into place as he stared into the dark, expressive eyes that reflected his feelings in their endless depths.

"Hi" She returned shyly, her cheeks reddening brightly as a small smile pulled at her lips. She admired the handsome man before her. He had a distinct air of authority that drew her in and the most beautiful blue eyes she had even seen, not to mention his stature. Imprinting. It had finally happened to her when she was so sure she would be alone forever. 'So this is what its like?' She thought happily.

"Jacob, Seth" The two boys just barely managed to pull their attention away from the bizarre scene in front of them to look at their alpha. "Go home. Tell Emily I will be there soon." The two nodded but continued to watch the strange couple on the floor. "Now." Sam had to assert again before the pair even started to move. "Let's go talk to Harry." Sam whispered softly to Paul, who looked horrified at the new development.

He nodded and hurried back into the room he had wanted to be in all along.

-0-