Author's Note: As I said, I'm updating the first two chapters of this story. But I forgot to add, regardless of whether I have a jackton of updates or not, I will be uploading another new story on Christmas, a Maggie/Bella fic, as I promised an awesome reader of mine. Hopefully you guys don't mind all the new stories, but if you do, sorry but too bad because I did promise and all. Anyways, hopefully this story is good enough to tie at least a few of you over until I can get around to actually updating something.


Chapter 2

It was hell for the three's foster family for the last two days that Bella, Bear, and Lex stayed with them. Not only did they make every moment spent in the couple's presence as hard as possible, but they made a mess. Lex even threw a pretty good diva tantrum after she was "caught" hosting a party in the house when the couple came back after realizing that they couldn't stay away from their house until the kids left. To top it all off, Bella and Lex made it very clear to Bear that he wasn't to help the couple in any way, and at one point, they even sat on the large boy to prevent him from picking up after himself after he accidentally spilled his dinner. It was priceless to see the look on the couple's face when they realized how much Bear did for them before, and how much worse it was now that they had attempted to betray him.

Yes, it was petty. But revenge was revenge, and it felt so, so good.

The couple looked ready to dance and cry and thank Jesus right there on their front porch when it was time to leave. Lex made sure to put their meager possessions into the trunk as slowly as possible, just to prolong the agony. The couple looked ready to have a heart attack every time that Lex claimed she "forgot" something and went back inside.

Still, Lex could only torture them for so long, and Oliver was getting impatient. Soon, Lex and Bear were crammed into the back of the car with Bella in the passenger's seat, as even clothed prolonged contact would start to hurt her, and Bear was too big to stop it. Bear sitting in the front wouldn't help either, as he was so big he hindered Oliver's ability to properly control the car. Bear was already uncomfortable, as he had to slouch in the seat.

"How many times do I have to tell you? It's okay, Bear," Lex said with a roll of her eyes as Bear once again tried to give Lex more room. Bear's mumbled apology as he stopped trying to shrink himself only made Bella laugh.

"Don't worry, Ollie, it's only another thirty minute drive, a plane ride, and a ten minute car ride to our new home; then you won't ever have to see us again," Bella tried to soothe the clearly stressed out man. After all, they only had to spend about a year and a half left before Bella and Lex turned eighteen, and about two years for Bear.

"Unless another family tries to fuck us over," Lex added. "So let's hope this family's a good one, yeah?"

"Most definitely," Oliver grumbled in agreement as he hunched over the steering wheel, eyes glued to the road. Yes, the kids were a huge pain in his ass, but he did have to admire their will when it came to keeping the three together. Not that he'd ever admit to that.

"But wait, if we end up in a good placement, who is going to drive our dear Ollie crazy? He'll be all alone," Lex said, a touch of wickedness to her voice.

"I'll manage. Now will you please, for the love of all that is holy, shut up?" Oliver all but begged, seemingly already at his limit.

Lex opened his mouth to give him even more hell, but Bear put a calming hand on her shoulder. Luckily for their social worker, that was enough to shut Lex up. The car fell into a tense quiet as everyone did their own thing.

Bella, however, couldn't stay quiet for long. "So when are we going to get something to eat?"

"Who knows?" Oliver groaned. "But you're just going to have to wait."

"Tell that to my stomach," Bella mumbled, putting a hand over the body part as it growled loudly.

Oliver didn't answer, not wanting to get dragged into another round of torturous back and forth with any of the kids. He instead focused so completely on the road in front of him that his eyes started to hurt.

Stretching herself backwards so she could be closer to Lex and Bear, Bella whispered, "Is his face going to be okay if he keeps doing that?"

Lex leaned over to get a look, then pulled back and shrugged. "Who knows. At least he'll be funny to look at."

Oliver gritted his teeth, forcing himself not to respond. His savior, however, was the time; it wasn't long before the airport came into view. Oliver had parked, grabbed the threes' stuff as well as a small bag of his own, and was dragging it all towards the airport before the kids were even out of the car.

"Well, someone clearly wants us gone," Lex commented as she watched the man struggle to carry it all. "I totally should have put some more weight in that."

"That's not nice," Bear mumbled. "He's doing his best."

"Right, it's not his fault that his jackassedness makes him so crappy," Bella agreed with a nod.

"That's not what I…" Bear started to say but trailed off with a shake of his head. He knew Oliver wasn't going to be let off the hook until the man was leaving them again.

"Come on, let's go. I don't want Oliver to try to weasel out of taking us down to our 'new home,'" Lex said, doing air quotes and an eye roll when she said the last two words. She walked after Oliver, and with a glance and shrug shared between Bear and Bella, they followed.

Getting their boarding passes and their luggage checked was the easy part, but Bella felt her heartbeat start to pick up dramatically as she eyed the security line. Sensing their sister's fear, Bear took up the back with Lex in the front, with Oliver in front of Lex, oblivious to everything going on. Everyone who took one look at Bear decided that it was best to put some space between them and the big boy, so Bear didn't have to even worry about someone on the other side of the barrier between them brushing up against Bella.

When they made it to the security checkpoint, they handed over their ID one by one, and Bella had to pull back the hood of her hoodie so she didn't look suspicious. Already, she was uneasy at having bare skin out in the open, but she knew it would only get worse. She followed Lex to her line, trying to hide her nervousness––this would be something workers could pick up on and decide to harass her for. She quickly pulled her hoodie over her head and threw it in one of the bins, along with her shoes and gloves, and after checking her pockets, her backpack joined her clothes on the conveyor belt.

Only when Bella was ready to go through security herself did Lex give in to the complaining security screener and step through the detector. Nothing dinged, and the grumpy man decided not to stop and mess with her anyways, something Bella noted with relief, as it had happened before.

Bella went through next, and once again, nothing dinged. But as she stepped through, her heart felt ready to burst out of her chest, as the security screener was so close they were only an inch away from Bella's bare arm making contact. Thankfully, that didn't happen, and Bella no longer had to worry about having an episode in front of the public and possibly causing her and the others to be detained and possibly miss their flight.

Bella was dressed in record time––although she didn't dare pull up her hood again, as it would still look suspicious and even dangerous to those who saw––and looked up at Lex, only to catch the annoyance on Lex's face as she glared back towards the checkpoint. Following Lex's gaze, Bella felt her own spark of anger as she realized that Bear had been pulled aside despite not setting off any alarms, having been deemed suspicion.

"Oh, for crying out loud," Oliver muttered, shaking his head as he also realized what was happening, and that security was searching Bear again and again. He hurried over there, and after some words with the security staff, got Bear released.

"At least Ollie's good for something," Lex grumbled, making Bella laugh softly, as she had been thinking the exact same thing.

Bear joined them fully dressed and ready to go a moment later, and as they walked further into the airport to search for their gate, Bella started getting antsy all over again. It was stupid, Bella knew that––especially since only her face was bare, and it would take a pretty large person to be able to manage skin to skin contact when bumping into her––yet Bella couldn't help but fear the possibility. Any kind of contact with strangers made Bella feel nauseous, but the thought of actual skin contact, the pain she'd feel, as well as her reaction to the pain being seen by others, was enough to freak the brunette out.

Without needing a word or a glance, Bear and Lex each pulled up on a side of Bella. Bella felt guilty immediately since she felt like her two best friends felt they had to do this, but they didn't sigh or even look put out. All they seemed to want to do was protect Bella, and it didn't feel like they were doing this because they felt like it was a job or chore, but that they were doing it because they simply wanted to protect their friend.

Where would I be right now? Bella wondered to herself with awe. Where would I be right now if I didn't have Lex and Bear in my life?

Almost as if Lex and Bear had read her mind, Bear gently and shyly took one of Bella's hands in comfort as Lex nudged B's side lightly with hers and, said with a cocky yet gentle grin on her face, "We're here for you Bells. Always and forever."

"Ditto," Bella said with a small smile of her own as she ducked her head.

Her growling stomach let itself be known a moment later, and Bear's quickly followed. Lex insisted they stop, since she was hungry too, and Oliver, making it very clear how reluctant he was about everything, bought their food from a bagel place they had nearly passed. He looked ready to complain when he saw the cost of how much they ordered, but wisely kept his mouth shut and paid.

The group kept walking after they got their order, but it was all devoured before they even made it to their gate. It was one of the things the three had unconsciously picked up on due to all their years in the system; not only did they have to get as much food as they could, as they never had any idea when they would get food again or how much, but they also learned to eat fast or risk someone else outside of their little group taking it.

They made it to their gate with fifteen minutes to spare before boarding, and Lex made sure to complain loudly, right in Oliver's ear, about how bored she was. Bella and Bear kept their mouths shut, although both were amazed at how Lex did everything she could to annoy and torture the guy. She could really, really hold a grudge. In fact, after witnessing a similar case first hand when they were younger, Bella doubted that Lex would ever forgive Oliver for nearly splitting them up, even if it wasn't completely his fault.

Boarding was announced, and Lex insisted on being the last to board. While she didn't answer Oliver when he asked why, Bella felt herself grow warm in embarrassment and happiness as she realized she was the reason. She hated being such a burden on them all, but it was always nice to feel like she had a big sister looking out for her.

Bella risked pulling her hood up, as she knew boarding was when she was most likely to encounter bare skin touching her. Bear, in one of his rare assertive moments, insisted on going first, after Oliver. Bella got to watch in awe as everyone, seated or not, did their best to make way for the incredibly large boy. And since Bella was sticking close to him, pretty much clinging to his shirt, she got to her seat with only a few nauseous shivers after a few people's body parts grazed her.

Unknowingly to her, Lex was keeping a worried eye on Bella. She had noticed that Bella was flinching more and more from any contact besides the contact––always with a cloth barrier between them––she had with Lex and Bear. Not only was Bella's reactions to the possibility of a stranger's touch getting worse, but her reaction to skin touching skin was getting more severe. And so were the nightmares.

While Lex knew now wasn't the time or place to bring it up, Lex wondered if they were doing the right thing––if Lex and Bear shouldn't start having some short skin to skin contact to try and help Bella get past her problem. But Bella's reactions, the way her skin redenned like someone had actually held something hot against it, the pain Bella seemed to endure with even the briefest of contact...was it worth it? Could Lex even stand the pain she would see her sister in if they tried?

"Lex, these are our seats," Bella said, jolting Lex out of her musings. Lex slid in so Bella could be between her and Bear, with Oliver a few seats away. The two girls tried to put up a fight when the flight attendant insisted that Bear be moved due to his size unbalancing the plane so that they could at least be moved with him, but there wasn't much they could do. Eventually, they had to give in and be separated from Bear. When their new seatmate came back, he gave them a dirty look, as he had seen the two girls change seats so that Lex was now between Bella and the older man when he approached. Lex gave him an overly sweet smile, telling him she didn't give a rat's ass what he thought in the politest voice she could muster, as they settled in for their long flight.

"Ready for the next eight or so hours?" Bella whispered to a clearly grumpy Lex.

Lex replied with a low grunt.

Bella fought a small smile off of her face. Sure, the three of them might not be ready to land in Alaska, but without a doubt, Bella knew that Alaska was even less prepared for them.