This one-shot is based off the third Twilight book, Eclipse. It is slightly AU (since I am making it that Alice knew all along that she couldn't 'see' the werewolves), but for the most part, it stays on track with the happenings of that book.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the idea/storyline. The rest goes to the amazing Stephenie Meyer.
"You'll promise me you'll be safe?"
Bella sighed heavily for what seemed like the twentieth time that afternoon. "Of course. Do you even have to ask? I am the epitome of safe and cautiousness."
Edward raised one deliciously beautiful eyebrow at her.
"Hey! It's not my fault danger always seems to find me!" she protested.
Edward chuckled lightly. "Ok. But please take this, just in case. I'm only a few minutes away, no matter what."
Bella sighed, but took the phone he offered her anyway. "You know that Victoria would never even think of coming near La Push, right?"
Edward sighed and pulled Bella into his arms. "I know. And I know that Jacob will keep you safe but it always helps to be prepared." He inhaled deeply and pulled away. "I'll see you later."
"Go. Enjoy your Saturday," Bella said, her heart fluttering as Edward leaned in and gave her a gentle kiss. She stood at the invisible treaty line and brought her arms up so they hugged her body as she watched Edward speed away. He was off on a much-needed hunting trip with Emmett and Jasper. Bella sighed and turned to face Quil. Jacob had a late shift the night before and was currently catching up on some much needed beauty rest, as Quil so lovingly put it.
"Phew! Glad he's gone. Now I can breathe through my nose again."
Bella glared at Quil.
"Oops, sorry," he said, trying to look sheepish. "Censoring myself might be a good idea, right?"
Bella nodded as she came towards him. "Just don't let him hear you say that. I'm not taking responsibility if he wants to rip your head off."
"Ha! If he can catch me," Quil joked. "Come on. Jacob will be wanting to know where you are."
Bella followed Quil to Jacob's Rabbit, the look of astonishment all to evident on her face.
"I know, right?" Quil said as they climbed in. "I can't believe he trusted me with his baby. I had to promise I brought both you and this thing back in one piece or he'd rip my uh… nevermind…" Quil trailed off and Bella smiled as she saw his cheeks grow a deep shade of red.
They rode in silence until they arrived at Jacob's house. Quil took extra care to make sure the Rabbit was parked safely in the garage before leading Bella up to the house.
"You ok from here?" he asked, looking over his shoulder. Bella looked too and could see a few of his brothers, already in their wolf forms, pacing near the tree line.
"Yeah, go. I'll see you later." She barely got the words out before Quil took off in a sprint towards the others. Bella smiled to herself and rubbed her arms. It was quite chilly out today. She walked up the steps and didn't even bother knocking but instead, just wandered right in to the Black's house. It looked strangely deserted. Bella found a note from Billy to Jacob on the kitchen table.
Jake-Went with Harry and Charlie. Be back late.
Short, sweet, and too the point, Bella thought, smiling to herself. Why can't all dads be like that? Whenever her dad decided to leave her a note, it was at least two pages with the list of emergency numbers attached. Bella then wandered towards Jacob's room. The door was cracked and she peaked in to see an exhausting looking Jacob sprawled on his bed. He was snoring loudly and there a small puddle of drool on his pillow. Bella grinned and closed the door. She decided to walk down on the beach while she waited for Jacob to wake up. He'd know where to find her.
The tide was out, so Bella took advantage of all the exposed rock and went looking for tide pools. It had been a while since she had done anything like this, and she was actually kind of excited. The wind had picked up a little when she got down to the beach so she pulled her gloves from her jacket pocket and put them on.
Bella wandered around for about an hour before she found anything interesting. She found a pool that had about a dozen little fish that glinted like diamonds whenever they moved. She about jumped out of her skin when the sound of a crashing wave knocked her on her butt.
"Oh great," she muttered, getting unsteadily to her feet. The back of her pants and jacket were now soaked through to her skin. Bella sighed and jumped when she heard the waves again. She looked around for the source, seeing as it couldn't be coming from the waves crashing into the shoreline. She was still several yards from there. Then she saw it.
There was a small hold in the rocks. Bella squatted down to peer inside. She was amazed to see that there was a whole cavern right underneath her feet. The crashing she was hearing was from the waves at the opening near the shore. It was echoing all the way down to this spot. Bella was about to leave and get Jacob so she could show him and they could go exploring when she felt a light rumbling. Bella didn't even have time to process that the ground was about to crumble beneath her when she disappeared down a now, slightly larger hole.
It was a short fall, and since the tide was out, there wasn't much water in there to break her fall. She landed on her right foot and her ankle bent sideways under her, causing her to sit down in the foot deep, freezing water.
Bella gasped and coughed when a small wave pushed the water into her face and up her nose. She struggled to get to her feet and out of the water, wincing the entire time. When she finally managed to climb onto a rock, she lifted her pant leg to inspect the damage. Her ankle was extremely swollen already, but she could still move it, even though it caused her a lot of pain.
"Well, at least it's not broken," she muttered to herself. Looking up, Bella was amazed to see how big this place actually was. The hole that she had fallen through seemed a lot farther away now that she was down here. She was about to start thinking of a way to get out when the phone in her pocket began to vibrate. Bella gulped and flipped it open.
"Uh, hello?" she asked tentatively.
"What happened?" came a voice she knew all too well.
"What do you mean? I'm fine," Bella said, trying to sound chipper.
"Alice saw you fall."
Bella swallowed noisily. "I don't know what you're talking about. I'm sitting in Jacob's living room right now. Mmm, this couch is comfy…"
There was silence on the other end. Bella said nothing, for fear of making Edward mad.
"Does Jacob's living room echo?"
Now it was Bella's turn to stay quiet.
Edward sighed. "Bella, please. I can hear the ocean."
Bella was about to respond when another, bigger wave came crashing up the rock. It startled her so much, that she dropped the phone. She watched it sink to the bottom and the lights on it flicker and then go out.
"Great…" she said to herself. She was about to contemplate how she was getting out of there when another wave came crashing up. Bella hadn't noticed until now, but the tide was coming in. The water was now at least three to four feet deep, and Bella was starting to shiver. She jumped when a sudden flash of light filled the cavern followed by a large boom. There was a storm brewing outside.
Jacob yawned and stretched lithely. He cracked his knuckles and his back, finally ending with his toes. His head whipped around when he saw the bright flash of lightning fill the sky, followed closely by the thunder. When had this rolled in? His thoughts immediately went to Bella, who might be stuck out in this storm and he looked out his window. Relief flooded through him when he saw that his Rabbit was right where he told Quil to park it. Anxious to see one of his favorite people, he dressed quickly and dashed into the living room.
It was empty. He tried the kitchen – maybe Bella was going to surprise him with some lunch but that was empty too. He saw the note from his dad on the table and when he picked it up to read, he could smell Bella on it. She was here, he thought. But where is she now? Another flash of lightning made Jacob's heart race. What if she was down at the beach, waiting for him… in this??
Jacob sprinted from the house, just as the phone started to ring, not bothering with shoes or a shirt, and ran as fast as he could to the oceanfront.
Bella had climbed to the highest point that she could find in the cavern, albeit it was very difficult with an injured ankle. She had her back pressed against the wall and her knees pulled up to her chest. The water was only a few inches away from her, and every time a wave came in, she got soaked. Her shivering had taken control of her body now, and even her teeth were chattering together. She was hoping, praying, that Edward was coming, but as the minutes ticked past, the realization hit her that he wasn't allowed in La Push. She only had Jacob to hope for now, and he was sound asleep when she had last seen him.
"Bella? Bella? Hello?" Edward said into Jasper's phone. "It's dead." He tossed it back to his brother.
"I'm sure everything's fine, Edward. She's with Jacob," Jasper said, trying to soothe Edward's growing anxiety.
"It sure didn't sound like she was with Jacob. She's in trouble. I need to go back," Edward said quickly. He turned to run but Emmett came up and stopped him.
"Whoa there. Calm down. Like Jasper said, she's with Jacob. What could possibly happen?"
Edward froze in his attempts to get away. "What's wrong?" Jasper said, immediately picking up on Edward's change of mood.
Edward slowly turned his head to face Jasper. "If she was with Jacob, then how did Alice see her fall?"
Both Jasper and Emmett were speechless as Edward took off towards the house. They had no choice but to run after him.
When Jacob finally reached the beach, it was pouring and lightning was striking every few minutes. He whipped his hair from his eyes in his desperate attempt to find Bella. He checked their favorite log… nothing. He checked the lighthouse point where you could catch a glimpse of whales from time to time… nothing. Just as he was about to change into his other form and ask his brothers, he caught her scent. It was faint from all the rainfall, but it was there. Praying she was ok, Jacob took off running towards the tide pools.
Just as Bella thought this situation couldn't get any worse, it started pouring. And she just happened to be sitting directly under the hole that she had fallen through. Whimpering, she slowly scooted out of the waterfall of rain and found herself at the very edge of her rock perch. More violent shivers rocked her body and she jumped again when a loud boom of thunder echoed throughout the cavern. Much to her surprise, a wave of water came down and drenched her from above. The tide was coming in.
Bella was about to readjust her position on the rock when two waves, one from above and one from below, hit her simultaneously, knocking her off the rock and into the freezing water. Bella surfaced, coughing and shivering. She paddled towards her rock and was about to try and climb back up when another wave hit and slammed her into the rock instead. Bella cried out as her left arm was crushed between her body and the sharp edges on the rock. Much to her dismay, the current pulled her back several feet and then suddenly brought her forward very quickly towards the rock again. Bella was now stuck in the rhythm of the ocean surge.
Jacob searched frantically as she saw the tide quickly coming it. It was moving much faster than usual because of the storm. He was about to turn around try another spot since he had lost Bella's scent when he heard someone cry out. He recognized that voice and his heart wrenched when he saw a wave come up and disappear down a hole in the rocks. Jacob ran over and looked down into the hole, but all he saw was the dark ocean water. He was about to leave when Bella whipped into view and was then promptly pulled away again.
"Bella!" he cried out, and without hesitation, jumped down into the hole. The rock ledge he landed on was very close to the top – he was eye level with the edge of the hole.
Jacob squatted down in just enough time to see Bella get pulled under by the current. Again, without hesitation, he jumped in the water after her. He saw Bella getting thrashed in the current, grabbed her arm and quickly swam to the surface. Bella was lifeless in his arms as he hastily climbed onto the rock and gracefully jumped from the hole. When he landed, part of the hole started to break away again, and he quickly jumped away, out of the rain and into the safety of the trees.
He laid Bella down on the grass and leaned in to see if she was breathing. She wasn't, but there was still a heartbeat. Jacob pressed his lips to hers and gently blew a breath into her lungs. It took five more tries before Bella started coughing and coming back to life.
"Oh Bella," he said, pulling her against his chest. She started shivering again but was glad for the intense warmth that was radiating from Jacob's body. "Why did you do that? Why didn't you wait for me?"
"I was about to come and get you," Bella said through her chattering teeth. "But the ground, it just, disappeared and I fell."
Jacob sighed and smiled down at her. "Are you hurt?" he asked, giving her a once over.
Bella nodded. "I think I sprained my ankle." She winced as Jacob slid up her pant leg to look at it.
"Ooo, yep. You definitely did something to it. Here, let's get you back to the house." He hoisted her easily into his arms and took off running.
"Edward," she breathed, suddenly.
"What about him?" Jacob asked, immediately tensing.
"I had his phone and I talked to him while I was down there but I dropped it…" she trailed off.
"It's ok," Jacob said. "You can call him when we get back."
Bella nodded and cuddled closer to Jacob's chest. He was glad that she couldn't tell that his heart rate had sped up considerably.
"What do you mean, you can't see her at all now?" Edward demanded, towering over Alice's lithe form.
"Calm down, Edward," Alice said. "You and I both know that this is a good sign. It means Jacob is with her." She went on buffing her nails from her place on the couch. "I'm sure she'll call you soon."
Edward was about to snap back at her when Emmett's phone rang. He was over to Emmett and had the phone flipped open faster than any of his family had seen him move.
"Bella?"
"Um, hi," came her unsteady voice from the other end.
"What happened? Are you all right?"
"I'm fine, Edward. I just uh, I need you to come get me."
Edward's eyes grew dark. "Do I need to bring anything?"
Bella hesitated before answering. "Um, no. But, Carlisle might want to be at your house when we get there…"
Edward tightened his grip on the phone. "I'll be right there," he said quickly, snapping the phone shut.
"Well?" Alice said, standing up.
"She's hurt. I knew it! That damn dog can't keep her safe for even a few hours!"
Edward threw Emmett's phone at the window, and Emmett caught it just before it went through.
"Never again. She it NEVER going back there. This is three times now…" he trailed off and dashed out of the room to the garage.
"Well," Esme said, coming into the room. "At least he didn't overreact." The rest of the Cullen family laughed melodically.
"Maybe we should get you something dry to wear," Jacob said as he brought Bella a cup of something steaming.
She shook her head and shivered violently again. "No. Just take me to the treaty line. He's probably there already."
Jacob sighed and took the mug from her. "Ok. Let's go." He gently lifted her blanketed body into his arms and took her outside. He set her carefully into his Rabbit and quickly drove towards the drop off point.
Much to Jacob's dismay, he saw that Bella was right. He was already there, pacing impatiently next to his car.
"Should I carry you or…" Jacob trailed off. He surely wanted what was best for Bella, but in turn, didn't want to piss of the boyfriend any more than he clearly, already was.
"No, I'll be ok. Thanks for coming to my rescue," she added as she opened the door, untangled herself from the blanket and spun her legs out.
"Anytime, Bella. I just wish I could have been there sooner."
Bella's face softened. "Oh Jake, it's not your fault. I'm the clumsy one and danger magnet, remember?" Bella then turned and carefully pulled herself to a standing position. She said goodbye once more to Jacob and shut the car door. Using the car as a crutch, she slowly made her way towards a now fuming Edward. Once she reached the end of the car, she resorted to clumsily hopping towards the line. Just as she thought she wasn't going to make it without falling, Edward rushed forward and gathered her in his arms.
"Don't ever hang up on me like that again," he said, burying his face into her neck.
Bella smiled and pulled away. "About that…"
"What?"
"Well, your phone. I sort of, dropped it. In the water…"
Edward smiled. "It's just a phone Bella. I'm just glad you're here now, safe." He carried her to the passenger door and opened it without difficulty. He gently set her inside and kissed her on the forehead. He was back in the car in a flash and they were headed back to Forks in no time. Bella looked in the side mirror and wondered when Jacob had driven off, for she hadn't noticed.
"Tell me everything," Edward said, turning up the heat. "I see the mutt wasn't even decent enough to get you into something dry…"
"Hey now," Bella said. "That was my idea. I didn't want to delay getting back to you any longer than it was already taking."
Edward sighed. "I'm sorry. Please, tell me what happened."
Bella launched into her lengthy story and Edward listened patiently. When she got to the part about her arm, Edward gently wrenched up her sleeve and sighed heavily. "These might need stitches," he said, bringing his eyes back to the road. "And they'll definitely need to be cleaned."
Bella just grimaced and focused on warming her hands.
"We're almost there," Edward said after a few minutes, turning onto his winding driveway. Bella was embarrassed to see the entire Cullen family awaiting their arrival on the front steps.
"Causing trouble again, Bella?" Emmett asked as they made their way to the house. Bella just laughed while Edward shot him a dirty look.
"Put her on the couch, Edward," Carlisle said. Edward gently set Bella down and went to grab a few blankets.
"Make sure you check her arm too," Edward said to Carlisle as he left the room.
"Bella, may I?"
"Oh yeah," she said, struggling to remove her icy jacket. Edward was back now and immediately assisted her. "Thanks," she mumbled. He then draped a blanket over her shoulders. Bella was glad for the warmth.
"Hmm… I don't think you'll need stitches, if you promise to be careful," Carlisle said after examining her arm for several minutes. "As for your ankle… No walking on it or using it of any kind for four weeks."
"What?!" Bella said, as he started to wrap it in some medical tape.
"You could damage it permanently," he said, gently applying the clasp to keep the tape secure.
Bella sighed and leaned into Edward, who had come to sit beside her.
"Don't worry. I can take you anywhere you want to go," Edward reassured her.
"I know that," Bella responded. "You already do that…" He smiled down at her.
"Do you want a brace for it too, or will the tape be enough?" Carlisle asked.
"The tape is fine," Bella said, just as Edward said, "Maybe we should have a brace as well." They looked at each other and laughed, as did the rest of the Cullen's.
"I just want you to be safe," Edward said, leaning in to nuzzle her neck.
Bella shivered and he pulled away, much to her annoyance. "I know," she said quietly. Edward then wrapped the blanket securely around her and took her to his room, where they could have some privacy.