Leah had been crying for hours before her sobbing finally sent her sleeping in Jacobs arms. Jake couldn't help but feel protective over her. Even though it's been so long, he never stopped caring for her. Benjamin stayed close by, feeling a little uncomfortable about the tender moment the two friends were sharing. Even while Jacob was holding her, Benjamin couldn't help but have thoughts and urges of wanting to be the one to protect this stranger. The small talk that they had in the forest made him feel open. Even though he didn't say much he knew that he was connected to Leah, and he wanted to get to know her. This whole imprinting confused Benjamin though. Jacob could tell that he had more questions, but he knew it wasn't the time to ask them.

Jacob was so caught up in Leah that he hadn't noticed Esme and Renesmee walk into the room. Jacob's wolf was pleading for him to take notice of Nessie, but Jacob didn't want to leave Leah alone. He was worried about her. Nothing had ever been easy for Leah, and even though he loved Nessie with every fiber in him, sometimes he wished that imprinting wasn't something that all wolves had to go through. Leah never wanted to be a wolf, but when that was pushed on her she felt like a complete outsider in her own pack. Being the only girl wolf, she wasn't able to fully connect with the rest of the pack. He knew that leaving Sam's pack would devastate Leah, but he needed to do what was best for his imprint, and if that meant leaving her behind . . . Jacob did not want to think about it, even though it was always at the forefront of his mind, right next to Nessie. "What's going on?" Esme said, slowly putting down the groceries she had in her arms. "Leah imprinted on Benjamin". Jacob stated, not taking his eyes off of Leah. He thought about all the good times that they had in La Push. About how different it was before Bella, Edward and Nessie. Sometimes, in secret, Jacob wished that it was Leah that he had imprinted on. Not because he liked her in that way, but because he wanted to be able to take that pain away from her. Leah had gone through so much, and he just left. Left her alone to deal with all of her problems. He was the only one she had, and ten years went by before she saw him again. Jacob felt like a dick. His whole body turned hot as he thought about everything that happened, all the people he's lost. The war took so much from everyone, but it took even more from Leah. Jacob wasn't there for her then, but he promised himself that he would be now. "Jacob?" Nessie's voice only momentarily shook him out of his guilty gaze. Looking over to her, he put a warm smile on his face as he gently set Leah down and walked over to her. "How did the shopping go?" Jacob wanted to think about something else, anything else. His thoughts were going crazy with regret as his wolf tried to get him to focus on his mate. Staring into her eyes, Jacob could tell that there was something bothering Nessie, but he never wanted to pry. He always wanted her to feel comfortable enough to tell him what was going on with her. "I-it was fine Jake . . . is that Leah Clearwater?" Jacob turned back to a peaceful sleeping Leah on the couch and smiled. "Yes, yeah, um she imprinted on Benjamin and freaked out about it. I'm not entirely sure what's going on though, I've never seen an imprint do this to a wolf". Jake said, finally stating one of his fears. Since the elders were slaughtered during the war there was no one to really go to about these questions anymore. He tried to rely on his great-grandfather's journals, but his ancestors were just as clueless when it came to shapeshifting and what came with it.

Jake was scared for his best friend, and he tried not to show it. Nessie needed to think everything was fine while he figured out what to do next. While he was thinking about all of this he felt a loop warm hand glide over his cheek. Before he could protest though Nessie was taking him into her world, showing him what she saw. The way he was looking at Leah on the couch, and how he didn't move a muscle when his mate walked into the room. Again Jake felt shitty. He never wanted Nessie to feel like she was any less than what she would always be to him. They had been through so much, and Jacob wasn't going to screw up what they had. Once she removed the connection he held her hand for a moment, letting her know that he was going to do better.

"Me and Esme were going to make dinner, do you want us to set aside a plate for Leah?" Jake frowned, not sure if Leah would want to have dinner with them. "I'm not sure if she'll be up for that, I can help with dinner though". Jacob quickly added in, reaching for the groceries that Esme placed on the carpet. "Ben, get in here and watch Leah for me". Jacob walked to the kitchen and quickly made work of putting everything in its place, waiting for Nessie and Esme to join him. "Do you think it's wise for Ben to be in there with her?" Jake looked at Esme in a questioning way. "That's her imprint, he wouldn't hurt her". Esme smiled a little, turning to face Nessie "I wasn't talking about him". She whispered, but Jacob just ignored it, knowing that even though Leah wasn't the greatest at showing her emotions, she would never try to hurt a vampire while in a house full of em. "Let's get cooking".

When Benjamin walked back into the living room he felt his throat tighten a little. Leah was still fast asleep. Benjamin had nothing to worry about. He just wanted to show Jacob that he was able to be there for Leah like he was. Ben decided to sit back on the coffee table and just watch her sleeping form. Benjamin's mind was running with thoughts as he tried to think about everything that had happened in the last two hours. He had a soul mate. No matter what Leah said he felt the change. The pull to want to be around her. Surprisingly it didn't scare him. He always wanted someone that he could share his life with, someone that loved him and was always there for him. After the war everyone wanted to get back to normal, but for Ben that meant going home to an empty house. His entire life had been taken from him in a matter of minutes. He wondered how the war must have affected the humans. From time-to-time Esme would catch him watching the news back then. Wanting to know what the humans thought of this traffic "accident" as they called it. He thought about what that must have been like for Leah. To be in the middle of all of it, and not be able to tell the world what really happened. While Jake was helping with dinner Ben decided to do something a little reckless. His thoughts were not allowing him a moment of peace, and he still had so many questions. Even though he felt bad for Leah because of the circumstances he felt like he needed to know more about her, and about this imprint.

Leah felt a cold hand on her shoulder, shaking her slightly. Her eyes were irritating her as she once again woke up on the couch of the Cullens. "What is it Bengie?" It flew out of her mouth before she had a chance to take it back. What the fuck is going on with me?! Leah thought as she fully opened her eyes. Groaning, she threw a pillow at a shocked Benjamin. "Look, I'm only half awake okay, so ignore whatever I just said". Benjamin tossed the pillow aside and smiled. "It's fine, you're not the first woman to call me that". Leah groaned again, this time because her wolf was hurt. Now that she had gotten all of the crying out of her system Leah decided that it was time to go. Besides the horrific smell that was still invading her senses she didn't see a point in sticking around. She could hear Renesemee in the kitchen with Jake and Esme, and she didn't want to pull him away from his imprint. Standing up, she was just about to walk towards the side door when she felt a hand grab hers. Expecting it to be Benjamins she turned towards him with anger filling her eyes, only to look shockingly at Renesmee. "Jake wanted me to ask if you wanted to stay for dinner? Were you leaving?" She still had a firm grip on Leah's hand and she could feel it start to burn. Snatching her hand away Leah screamed as the burning got worse. It was like a fire had consumed her entire body. Leah's wolf was thinking about Benjamin, yearning for him to come and protect her from whatever evil forces were trying to hurt Leah.

A shocked Renesmee looked on as Ben ran over to her at human speed, grabbing her hand and taking a look at it. As he inspected it though a frown started to form on his face. "There's nothing there" He said, looking over her hand.  He must have thought that Leah was just being dramatic. This was the first time so many vampires had touched her in a short period of time. No wonder she screamed. Thought Renesmee as she stumbled back into the wall. Ben said something about walking Leah back to the treaty line, she growled (probably not wanting him to walk her) but he just ignored it and lightly pushed her out the house. Renesmee was in a daze as she thought over the events leading up to what just happened. She didn't think that it was a big deal to Leah . . . at first. Sometimes it was hard for Renesmee to remember that she was different then other humans. She had powers like a vampire, did not age fully like a human would and her skin was a tad bit colder. To the Cullens Nessie was just as fragile as a human. Emmett barely played around with her anymore, after the whole scrapping of a knee as a kid. No one cared that she was fine, even if it healed days later. After that though, everyone started to treat her like she was fully human. It annoyed her that even her own family wouldn't treat her like what she was. "Don't mind Leah, she can be overly dramatic sometimes". Nessie flinched, turning towards her imprint and frowning, "I didn't hear you come in". She mumbled. Jake hesitantly stood next to his mate and put an arm around her, hoping that the heat would calm her nerves. "Sometimes I forget about the things I can do". She mumbled, looking down at her hands. She traced where a cut used to be three years ago. An accident when she was helping Esme in the kitchen. "Leah reminded me of that . . . that I'm not fully human." Turning to Jake, Nessie kissed him on the cheek before turning back towards the kitchen, only to have Jacob grab her arm lightly and turn her towards him. "Is everything okay? Leah didn't say anything or do anything did she." It's weird how Renesmee knew that he wasn't really asking a question. He knew that Leah would never do anything as stupid as hurt his mate, but he still needed to ask. If Nessie felt some type of way of having Leah here when he didn't run it by any of the Cullens . . . well, he would understand. Even if she is Ben's mate now, she hasn't been around since the war. And even then, she made it clear where she stood. "Nothing happened." She simply said.

Later that night while everyone was scattered through the house doing their own thing, Renesmee slipped away from a sleeping Jake to go think. Heading into the forest her destination was only a few hundred miles away. Once she felt the stone walkway under her shoes she knew that she was getting close. Walking up the steep path she remembered when she was a kid and her parents would swing her on their arms, right up this path. Humming a lullaby from her father's piano, Renesmee slowly walked up to the cottage door, her childhood home, and opened the door. She wasn't shocked to see that everything looked exactly the same. Esme took time out of her day to always clean this place up for her, she guessed to keep the memory alive. Walking over to the small living room Nessie held a picture of her mother in her hands, tears forming as she remembered her smile infectious laughter. The way she took care of Renesmee, like she was the only one that mattered. "I miss you so much mom" Renesmee sighed, holding the picture close to her heart. "I wish you were here, oh how I wish I could talk to you and get your advice." Nessie closed her eyes, tears flowing as she thought about all the years that went by without her mother in her life. She thought about how crazy it was to get to where her mother and father got to, to have her. Their love story was the only thing keeping Renesmee going. Silence filled the cabin as one candlelight flicked in the corner. She held the picture up and smiled back at a happy mother holding her daughter. "I met someone". Those words fell off of her lips, but she hadn't realized that they came from her. More silence filled the small space, the only sound being heard was a tear hitting the wood floor.