KATIE POV:

The week flew by, between homework, tests, and abusive father trial paperwork, I was swamped. You know, the usual stuff that keeps teenagers busy.

Bella and Charlie had finally stopped looking at me as if I were made of glass. While the Rez boys, on the complete other end of the spectrum, had finally lost that murderous glint in their eyes every time their keen eyesight caught on one of my faint scars.

Seeing my father had triggered lots of painful memories that I did my best to stay ahead of. More than once, Charlie or Bella came in to wake me up when nightmares caused me to scream or cry myself awake. The illusion of safety I had conjured here had been ruined for me. I know people started to notice again. But I couldn't help it.

The only exception to this was Jacob. His treatment of me never changed. I was still Katie. Still me. Which was highly appreciated. But what sucked was I hadn't been able to see him much this week, he was busy with "whatever it is him and the boys do on the Rez" and I was drowning in homework and training. So instead of our normal daily visits I had only seen him earlier this week, I didn't expect to miss him this much. Over the past couple of days I found myself constantly glancing over my shoulder with a smile, expecting Jake to be there to laugh with me, and not understanding the ache in my chest when I realized he wasn't right beside me.

Anyway. Life goes on. Me missing Jake became my primary issue after my father was dealt with. Charlie was a godsend and helped fill out most of the paperwork. Another officer came by to grab a statement from me and Charlie held my hand through it. A quick incarceration later and my father was locked behind bars for the foreseeable future. What was lovely was since I am a minor, I didn't have to go to trial. Let's hear it for the justice system!

It felt like a lead jacket had finally been taken off my shoulder. I felt like I could finally truly breathe again.

Life had improved for me. Forks was becoming my true home.

Edwards sister Alice had a weird fascination for my wardrobe and dropped off a whole new set of clothes for me so I could finally stop borrowing from Bella. My classes finally got to new material so I actually had to pay attention in class. And living with Uncle Charlie and Bella had been a surprisingly smooth transition.

—————-

The Friday after "the event", as I called it, I woke up to the buzzing of my alarm clock.

My feet hit the cold ground and my body gave a burst of pain. Dizziness crashed over me, along with nausea.

Crap.

Shaking my head, I stood up. Bad idea. The room spun and black spots danced in front of my eyes. Cold sweat was damp on my forehead and back. I was burning up in my sweatpants and sweatshirt that I wore to bed.

Crap.

I stumbled to the bathroom that Bella and I shared and barely made it to the toilet before I was violently sick. My stomach lurched again and again and tears blurred my vision.

In a haze I kicked off my sweatpants and pulled off my sweatshirt till I was lying on the cold tile in my underwear and an old t shirt that Jacob let me borrow when my shirt had been completely covered in grease and mud from the countless hours we spent in the garage. I closed my eyes and oblivion swept in.

Light shaking of my shoulder woke me. I looked up to find Bella and Charlie standing over me with equally concerned looks on their faces.

"Oh Katie, you threw up? Is it the stomach flu? Do you need anything?"

While Bella's Questions were very sweet, my head was pounding and I was in no shape to form any answers.

Charlie looked at his watch, "Katie I'm gonna call the school and let them know you're out sick, ok? And don't worry, cases of the stomach bug have been going around town lately, you'll feel better soon." I mumbled a reply and went back to laying down with my head on a towel.

A few moments later Bella came back upstairs and put a water bottle next to me. "I've gotta go to school, but please don't die." Again I mumbled a reply, too busy trying to stem the rising nausea.

Maybe something I should've mentioned about myself. I. Hate. Throwing up. I hate it. I would rather be any other type of sick than throwing up. Every time I throw up I cry. It's reflexive and makes me exceedingly sad and I can't control it. And as much as I knew Bella needed to go to school. I still wish someone was here to hold my hair back or be with me.

Ignoring the tears burning my eyes, I took a swig of the water, swished out my mouth and laid my head down on the makeshift towel pillow. I didn't fight the darkness coming in at the edge of my vision and oblivion swept over me once more.

————-

Jacob POV

It was just past 11 pm when I stumbled home from patrol. Mud and dirt covered my legs and was flecked on my bare chest. I didn't care. I was too tired. Sam had uped our patrol due to increasing vampire activity outside and around Washington and since I was one of the only wolves that could handle the increase load, I was running the most. I didn't mind, the freedom of running was my favorite part of being a shifter, but it did come with some drawbacks. Like running 12-14 hour patrols, getting some sleep and then running it again. I'd been so busy I'd only gotten to see Katie at the beginning of this week. All these thoughts went out of my head as I grabbed the front door of my house. I barely made it to the bed before I passed out.

I woke up to rain drops falling on the little window in my room. It was lighter outside but since it was cloudy I had no idea how long I had slept.

My head felt much clearer and my body more comfortable than it had this whole week so I'm guessing I slept about 9 hours. Lets hear it for actually getting the recommended amount of sleep!

After a brief shower where I scrubbed off the dirt that coated me like a second skin and devouring some breakfast I felt even better.

I ran outside, hopped on my motorcycle and a quick ride later I was at Emily's place. That always amused me, that we called it Emily's place even though her and Sam lived there together. But it was unequivocally Emily's place and the go to place for the whole pack. It didn't matter if you needed food, a place to sleep, or just a place to hang; Emily welcomed everyone.

I turned off the engine for the bike, the growl cutting off suddenly. The rain had dropped to a light mist hovering over the ground. My ears pricked up at the noise coming from inside the house.

"We can up the rotations later, I don't know why their activity is increasing but we must be ready." Sam announced to the group.

I mentally groaned, I was already, quite literally, running myself ragged as it was. And the little ones, like Seth, wouldn't be able to handle it. I would run myself to the ground before making Seth face that amount of exhaustion.

Sighing I opened the door and walked inside. Sam gave me a nod when he saw me. Emily waved at me with a sweet smile, the scars on her face pulling her skin tightly. Though I was used to her appearance by now, the thought of me losing control and hurting Katie crashed through me like a storm. Sam loves Emily more than anything else in the world, but he lost control for a second and Emily payed the price. And that was when Sam was a grown wolf, not like me, still a relatively young shifter with the temper to match. That's what haunted me at night. The thought of truly succumbing to the monster inside of me. Of the fact that maybe I didn't deserve Katie. Because Katie, that girl deserved the world.

I shook my head, trying to clear those thoughts from my mind as Emily walked over and said "Good morning Jake! Bella just called your house and when she couldn't reach you she called me. She said that she didn't know if you and Katie had plans today, but you should cancel them."

Katie and I, in fact, did not have plans today because she's been so busy with trying to teach herself AP Calculus and Chemistry, and I had been running patrol, that we hadn't had much time to talk. Nonetheless, anxiety ran through me at her words, why did Bella want to cancel our nonexistent plans?

Emily continued saying "Bella said that Katie is really sick, and she's too ill to go to school today. I would go over and bring her soup, but Sam doesn't like it when I go into vampire territory when he's out on patrol." She finished with a sheepish smile.

Just as she finished, an ache echoed inside me. It felt distant and was laced with the sent of wildflowers, jasmine, and a hint of lemon. It was from Katie. Even with her aching and sad, her scent was intoxicating. I latched onto the feeling and tried to pinpoint how this bond worked. I'd have to ask Sam later. I knew the bond felt way stronger for the males, but was it a two way street of emotions? Could Katie sense me?

Emily patted me on the shoulder and said "Don't worry, I'm sure it's just the stomach bug or something. It'll pass and she'll be good to go in no time."

Paul walked over and plunked a tin of soup in my hands and draped a soft quilt over my arm. "You'd be a dumbass to not visit your sick mate," Paul said with crossed arms. I glanced at the blanket and sniffed, smelling...myself?

"Dude, is this my blanket?" I asked Paul incredulously. He shifted his weight and said "Yeah, she's sick, she could probably use some comfort. I don't know why that's you of all people," he said with a smirk "but it is. So don't screw it up."

Then I remembered something. "Ah crap. I have patrol again tonight." I groaned. Paul looked up at the sky and sighed, as if thinking why me? But then gave me square look and said "I'll cover for you. I'll take your shift and mine. Now stop complaining and go, she needs you."

I gaped at Paul, the temperamental, hot headed, wolf was being considerate and selfless in order to help me and my mate. I was speechless with my appreciation. Seth, Embry and Quil looked even more shocked than me.

Then Seth piped up with "Tell Katie I say hi! And that I miss her! And that she should bring ice cream when she comes over again!!!" Which made both Paul and I crack a smile.

I nodded at Paul, finally voicing my gratitude, "Thanks, Paul." He gave me a crooked smile "Don't mention it."

Emily took the soup and the blanket and put them in a bag so I could carry them on the bike.

I quickly walked out through the mist, jumped on my motorcycle and headed out towards my imprint.