Leah looked at Seth and groaned "Do we HAVE to go to Mom and Charlie's for dinner? Honest to God, Seth, they can't keep their hands off each other. They're acting like teenagers, and it's nauseating!"

"Come on, Leah, it's not that bad," Seth replied with a chuckle. "Besides, they are newlyweds."

"I think it's sweet," Nahuel offered tentatively.

Leah glared at him. "Apparently you weren't the one who walked in on them yesterday," she grumbled. "I'm gonna start wearing a cowbell."

Nahuel and Seth shared a look, and Leah snapped "Do NOT go there!"

Still, it was nice having a home cooked meal for the first time in a week. Leah and Seth had been living on pizza and fast food, while Esme had been feeding Nahuel like a sultan. Even Rosalie was spoiling him, having discovered a passion for baking fancy cakes and pastries.

Sue and Charlie showed pictures from their trip and all the sights they'd seen in Seattle. Bella and Edward stopped in after dinner, and it turned out to be a very pleasant evening. Even Leah enjoyed herself and hugged Sue as she was leaving. "I'm glad to see you so happy, Mom. No one deserves it more."

Leah and Nahuel were spending more and more time together, and she just didn't know how to feel about it. She enjoyed his company, but it was complicated. She looked out over the lush forest to the water far below. This was her favorite thinking place, and she was lost in her musings when she heard a low growl off to her left.

Quil stepped out from the undergrowth and sneered at her. Leah sighed. "Look, Quil, he's a friend. He's half vampire. What do you want from me?" she asked wearily.

"What I WANT is to toss you off this cliff and see if it would knock some sense into you," he snarled.

Leah stood. "Come on, then. I think it's time you gave it a shot."

Quil growled threateningly, then quickly retreated. "I don't fight with girls," he said, shrugging.

Leah's growl echoed through the trees. "I'm not a girl, you sanctimonious ass! I'm a wolf!" She phased, pieces of clothing fluttering in the breeze as she stood her ground, snarling. Quil leaped at her, phasing in midair and landing on top of her, his claws raking through her thick fur and piercing her flank.

The din was deafening. They rolled into the brush, dust and fur flying as Leah chomped down on his shoulder. Quil yelped and swatted her with his paw, etching deep furrows in her face with his murderous claws. The ground trembled with snarling, growling and yelping and the crack of an occasional bone.

Quil grabbed Leah with his fearsome teeth and tossed her across the clearing, panting as he moved away from the rocky ledge toward her.

"STOP!" The Alpha command came from just below them, and Quil froze in midair, dropping helpless to the ground. Leah, no longer susceptible to Sam's orders, continued to charge unimpeded and disappeared over the edge of the cliff.

Seth was chasing a rabbit. He had been patrolling the perimeter of the reservation for hours, and he had neither seen nor sensed a threat of any kind. The white rabbit put on a burst of speed and raced across the meadow, leaving the shaggy wolf behind. Seth huffed and turned back to the trail, newly determined to finish his patrol with no further distractions.

He stopped and sat back on his haunches, listening carefully. He sniffed the air, suddenly uneasy. Something was amiss, and he couldn't quite put his finger on it. An eerie howl, bright with pain and surprise, broke the silence. "Leah!" he breathed as he took off in the direction of the sound.

Sam stepped to the edge and watched in horror as Leah's body bounced all the way down to the water, her four legs flailing and then, ominously, hanging limp as she sank quickly beneath the waves. He didn't hesitate, but sprang from the rock and dived to the choppy water below. He searched feverishly, surfacing once and diving again, until he spotted Leah's sodden fur, still sinking toward the bottom.

The cold water was beginning to ease the pain in Leah's body as she started to drift off. Suddenly she heard Seth's voice clearly, "Leah! I'm coming!" No, Seth, that wasn't right. Why was she hearing him now? A hand closed on her leg and she tried to kick it away, but her body wasn't responding. "No! Let me be!" As the last of her consciousness left her, her body phased unheeded back to human form.

Sam, his lungs bursting, broke the surface with Leah in tow. He took a deep breath and made sure her head was above the water as he pulled her gently toward the beach. When the water was at chest level, he lifted her in his arms and carried her to the sand. She coughed, and he turned her head to the side so she could expel the water she had swallowed. He could see now that her body was bent at an impossible angle, and her back was obviously broken. He prayed that her spinal cord wasn't severed, because he just didn't know if a wolf could recover from such an injury.

Seth took in the scene at a glance. He phased to human form and advanced fearfully. "Sam? Is she...?"

Sam nodded grimly. "She's breathing, Seth, but we can't move her. Her back is broken. I'm going to get Carlisle. Stay with her but don't touch her." He raised his eyes to the cliff. "QUIL! GET DOWN HERE!" And with that, Sam was gone.

Quil came stumbling out of the bushes in wolf form, his eyes wide. Seth regarded him evenly. "I don't know what happened here, but I will find out. Right now, all I care about is my sister. I want you to go to my house and get something to cover her with. Do you understand?"

The wolf nodded, lingering for just a second to whine softly before he raced away.

"Seth?"

He jumped. "I'm here, Leah. Are you in pain?"

She smiled weakly. "No, actually I'm not. But something's wrong, Seth. I can't move." He could see the panic in her eyes.

Seth touched her face gently. "Try not to worry. Sam went to get Carlisle. They should be here any minute."

"Sam? What was Sam doing here? Oh...the fight. Tell Quil...enough." She sighed and repeated the word. "Enough." She closed her eyes and sank back into oblivion just as Quil ran out of the woods with a blanket.

Carlisle's car bumped onto the sand. Seth wondered why he'd have taken the time to drive, then saw Nahuel and Sam leap out before the car lurched to a halt. "Don't touch her - anyone!" Carlisle yelled as he opened the massive trunk and withdrew a flat wooden stretcher.

They carried her carefully back to the house. Carlisle examined her and bandaged the worst of her cuts. Quil flatly refused his help, preferring to suffer in silence from his broken ribs and torn shoulder. He accepted it as his penance. Carlisle stepped out of her room and met the others downstairs. He looked grave.

"I've realigned her spine and immobilized her, and the bone will heal quickly. It may be a few days before we know if her spinal cord was injured. If it was, she could be permanently paralyzed." He shook his head. "I'm sorry, but we just don't know."

Seth thanked everyone for doing what they could. When they had all left, he spread a sleeping bag on the floor next to Leah's bed. She heard the movement, but Carlisle had secured her body to the board so she couldn't move, and she was lying face up. "Seth? What are you doing?" she asked softly.

"Hush," he whispered, touching her limp hand. "I'm not leaving you until you're up and about." He tried to sound cheerful.

"Carlisle told me, Seth. That may never happen. I want you to make sure Quil doesn't blame himself. Please. It was nobody's fault."

Seth growled softly, and Leah spoke sternly, her voice straining. "NO! No more! I mean it, Seth. And where's Nahuel? I know he was here..."

Seth squeezed her lifeless hand. "I'm sorry, Leah. He's headed home. He said to tell you that he just couldn't cause you any more pain." She didn't speak, but her eyes filled with tears. Seth wiped an errant drop from her cheek with his thumb and repeated, "I'm so sorry."

It was two days later that Sue was feeding her soup through a straw. She was rearranging the blanket when she saw Leah's foot twitch. "Can you do that again, honey?"

"What?" Leah asked, confused. The foot moved again.

"Move your foot!" Leah complied, and Sue yelled for Seth.

Leah's body recovered a little more each day. Within a few days, she was walking gingerly around the upstairs, and the next day she took a totally refreshing shower.

Seth was in the kitchen when Leah appeared at the bottom of the stairs with a small overnight bag. "I'm going to see Carlisle, and I want you to know I'll be back. I don't know when, but I promise..."

Seth wrapped his arms around her carefully and hugged her gently. "Don't worry; I'll explain. Be happy, Sis."

Carlisle drove onto the tarmac, right up to the waiting airplane. The jet was fueled and ready. Leah stepped out of the car and took a deep breath. "I don't know how to thank you..."

He smiled. "Let's have none of that. You know I'm happy to be of service, Leah."

Her brow creased. "I don't know if he'll even want to see me, but I have to try."

Carlisle patted her arm, his cold touch somehow reassuring. "Alice says he will, and she's an expert in such things." He hugged her quickly and whispered "Godspeed."

As the plane taxied away, Leah waved from the window and wondered what in the world she was doing. She sighed and settled into the luxurious seat. In spite of her anxiety, she drifted off to sleep and was surprised to feel the plane descending.

She was whisked through Customs and found herself standing outside the airport. She sniffed delicately and followed her nose, walking straight toward the thick jungle that surrounded the airport. His scent was clearer here, and she stepped carefully into the deep underbrush. The noise was deafening in the rain forest, so much louder than the forest she was accustomed to. Large cats, raucous birds, and small animals blended their voices as she stepped into the lush, humid landscape. She swiftly shed her clothes and opened the small bag. A simple tunic was quickly attached to her leg with rubber bands, and she stowed her clothes inside. Then, with a soft shimmer, she phased into her magnificent grey wolf. She streaked through the undergrowth, Nahuel's scent beckoning her on.

Huilen looked up from her work and blinked. "Nahuel, we have company."

He looked in the direction she indicated. "I don't see anything, Aunt. I don't hear anything either."

She chuckled. "Don't you know by now that my senses are more acute than yours?" Her eyes twinkled. "Go." She pointed. He walked half a mile before his senses picked up a familiar scent, and then he started to run.

(And here I end my tale, dear reader, because you know what happens next. I like to think they eventually return to LaPush and live happily ever after. Thanks for reading, and special thanks to those who took the time to review!)