Bells?"
Jacob's deep voice rumbled through the narrow hallway of their house, his eyes once again eyeing the cream-coloured flower tapestry which Bella had insisted on when they moved in, every swirl, every touch of green and red in it hurting his garage-motor-approved eyes.
But he would not be Jacob Black if he had not agreed to it nonetheless, spending an entire afternoon with papering the walls, the flowers burning into the thin skin of his eyelids.
He still heard Embry s suppressed laughter and saw the pitiful expression in Quil s eyes. But he also saw something that made all the fleer worth it the content smile on Bella's face once he had been finished.
With a light push of his hand the door their bedroom flung open, the familiar scrunching sound mixing with the soft tunes that filled the dim-lighted room, the red curtains pulled closed, preventing the unsparing sunlight from illuminating the room, the smell of camomile and tea-tree oil filling his nostrils.
"Bells?" Jacob said a little quieter, standing in the doorframe, his heart twitching again as he saw Bella curled up on their bed, blanket pulled up until it covered half of her face which was even paler than usual, the wish to take away some of her pain brewing inside of him. The want to protect her
He would protec her from every danger there was every magical creature she conjured into her world, being the danger magnet she was. But against a flu Jacob was powerless.
She murmured something incomprehensible before she hived her body around to face Jacob, pulling the cover from her face to smile chastely at her husband.
"I thought I'd go to the store. Where did you put the shopping list?"
Bella sighed, her eyes heavy with the weight of lacking sleep.
"Next to the fruit bowl," she whispered, her voice raspy and strained, her left hand which peeked out from underneath the blanket trembling a little while she spoke.
"Okay "
Jacob disappeared back into the hallway and Bella closed her eyes again, letting darkness overcome her, begging for a little sleep.
The calming tune that came from the small radio on her bed stand lulled her in a mellow slumber so unsatisfying and exhausting after two entire days spent in bed.
Her head was spinning and the hollow ache in her stomach threatened to force her unwilling body out of bed once again.
It would not be the first time that Jacob had to pick her up from the bathroom floor and carry her back to bed, carefully covering her with the blanket, cleaning her sweaty face and murmuring soothing words into her ear while forcing a gulp of water down her throat.
"Ehm Bells?"
Jacob appeared in the door again, a bright yellow piece of paper in his hand, his wallet in the other, an expression of hesitation and embarrassment etched onto his features.
"What? Is something missing?" Bella murmured quietly into her pillow, peeking through her lashes at Jacob, praying that she had not forgotten to write anything down and did not need to go through their entire fridge in her strained head.
"No, I guess not. But "
"Are you blushing, Jake?"
Her nerves came to life a little at the rare picture before her and so Bella lifted her head a little in order to have a better view at Jacob's face his russet cheeks in fact tainted with a hint of crimson.
"It it says tampons," Jacob stuttered, uncomfortably shifting his weight from his left to his right foot, resembling a little boy in such a ridiculous way that Bella started to giggle the simple muscle contraction causing her entire middle to ache in protest.
"So what?" she countered, pressing her palm again her midriff.
"I'm not buying tampons," Jacob said almost inaudible but still with determination, sounding like a child who refuses to eat it s mushrooms..
"Why?"
"Because I'm a guy, Bells. You can't I can't buy tampons."
Bella gathered all her strength to lift her body up and sit straight in bed, arms crossed in front of her chest, a mock smile planted on her face while Jacob eyed her with unease torn between his manly pride and his need to help Bella, to support her.
"Jacob Black. You are not a teenager who is embarrassed by buying condoms. I could understand that because frankly in a town like this everyone would probably known within an hour what you bought. But what in the name of god is so horrible about buying tampons?"
The animalistic groan that escaped Jacob warmed Bella's insides, reassuring her that she had him by the tail and still the wolf, her wolf, inside of him was struggling against the hold she had on him from time to time.
Sometimes he really was a softie.
Taking three big steps Jacob crossed the room and sat down at the edge of the mattress, his upper half turning awkwardly in Bella's direction while his legs were straight facing the door.
"Bells I don t don t you understand? Please do you really need them this bad?"
Bella snorted, regretting it immediately as the leftover taste from her latest bathroom trip crept up her throat, nestling on her gustative nerves.
"No, I don t understand. Jacob. And yes I need them. I would go and get them myself, believe me. I don t feel comfortable with sending you to the store, anyways. So trust me when I say I'd rather get them myself. But in case you did not notice I'm kind of the bacteria-mother-ship and releasing me on the poor population of La Push would probably resemble a gas attack. So if you want to avoid that the only thing you have to do is buy a box of tampons."
Exhausted from her longest speech in two days Bella fell back onto her pillow, the impact causing a dull pain in the back of her head and she moaned.
"Bells ," Jacob whispered, stroking the back of his hand across her flushed cheek, "you're boiling again. You actually feel warm to me. I should call a doctor."
As fast as possible Bella lifted her own arms and rested her hand on top of Jacob's.
"You won't call a doctor before you bought those goddamn tampons."
There was anger in her voice now and Jacob sighed in defeat he understood that this battle was lost.
"Okay, honey," he whispered, bending over Bella to press his lips against her sweaty forehead, "I love you."
"Love you .too .."
Bella's voice was barely comprehensible anymore, her mind already passing into her constant state of slumber and with the usual feeling of shared pain Jacob securely pulled the blanket over her body again and tip-toed out of the room, throwing a last caring gaze at Bella.
He closed the door carefully hoping the scrunch would not wake Bella and grabbed the car keys from the table next to the front door, the key pendant jingling in the silence.
Throwing a last death-stare at the tapestry Jacob stepped outside into the sunny day, swearing himself to never ever let Bella discover what he just decided that his first destination would not be the supermarket, but Sam's place.
And he begged dearly that Emily was home