Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.
Charlie was washing the cruiser when Bella came home from work. Luckily, Mr. Newton had given her the job back when she came in not long after things ended with Edward. With Mike gone things were quiet around the store, she got more work done. She was walking past her dad when he called her name.
"Jake called a little while ago. He wanted me to tell you that he can't come over tonight, he's sick."
"Okay."
"You two are friends again?"
"We're more than friends."
"Define more than friends." Charlie inquired with a quirked eyebrow.
"Let's just say that he caught his cold from me. That's how much more," she said as she stood next to him.
"You two haven't…"
"Dad, why are we having this conversation…again?"
"I wouldn't mind since its Jake."
"No Dad, we aren't having sex. There's been some heavy petting while we make out, but ninety percent of the time we keep it over the clothes," she said, knowing what it would do to him.
He glowered at her before setting down his wrench.
"How long has this been going on?"
"Nearly a month," she admitted, looking down at her hands.
"You didn't wait long after Edward, did you?"
"Would you rather that I sink back into depression?"
"No. Just tell him that if I see him going below the belt I'm breaking his hands."
"I don't wear a belt Dad," she said with a teasing smile.
"You know what I mean," he said rolling his eyes.
"I'll tell him."
She went inside and started dinner. The chicken was almost done and she was draining the potatoes when he came in.
"I meant to tell you that Sue and Seth are coming over for dinner."
Her eyes widened in surprise and she looked down at the food.
"I can make more."
"That's enough."
"Seth's a growing boy dad. I'll make some more chicken. We're out of potatoes; let me see if we have any instant."
"That kid is small, he's not going to eat that much," he said with a scoff.
"I've seen him eat, have you?"
"Not recently."
"He will eat over half of this," she said adding potato flakes to the potatoes.
Charlie looked at her unsurely as she added more corn to the pot and opened another can of biscuits. He shook his head before walking away. Bella finally slowed down once the biscuits were in the oven. She had been able to thaw out the chicken easily enough and it was now frying in the pan.
Sue and Seth came in just as everything was done. Sue went to talk to Charlie but Seth came into the kitchen.
"Remember what we talked about Seth," Sue called.
"Yes ma'am."
"I made plenty. Eat as much as you want."
"I ate before I came over. But I'm still hungry."
"Make you a plate," she said handing him one.
"This looks great Bells," he said as he forked a drumstick then a thigh.
"Do you want something to drink?"
"Whatever you have is fine."
She placed a can of Coke in front of him before walking away.
"Let me know if you need anything," she called over her shoulder.
"I will," he said with a mouthful of food.
She walked into the living room to see her dad and Sue sitting close together on the couch. That was the way that she and Edward would sit. She usually sat in Jacob's lap whenever she could. She still craved close contact, just in a different way.
"You aren't eating?" Sue asked.
"I'm gonna let him eat first. We can have what's left."
"That's how it happens at home. The kids eat first then I eat whatever they haven't."
"The way you two are talking I'm afraid he's going to eat me out of house and home," Charlie laughed.
"That's nothing to joke about," Sue said.
"Is there something going on between you two?"
"You haven't told her?" Sue asked.
"It seems you weren't the only one hiding a relationship."
"It runs in the family?" Sue asked looking between the two of them.
"You gave me grief about Jacob. Why didn't you tell me then?"
"The timing was off. I didn't want to scare you."
"I'm not easily scared, you know that."
"It's still new. We've only been together a week."
"Have you gone out on a date yet?"
"No." They both said at the same time.
"Why not go out to dinner? Do not take her to the diner," she said giving her dad a pointed look.
"I'd have to take Seth home. I can be back in an hour," Sue said before standing.
"He can stay here. Jake left his X-Box here when he came over with Billy the other night."
"Where is it?" Seth asked.
"My room, upstairs, it's at the end of the hall."
"You're not going to see him for the rest of the night," Sue said.
"What are the two of you still doing here? Go."
They were gone five minutes later. The sounds of zombies being killed floated downstairs while Bella heated up a plate of food. She had been right when she said that she needed to make more. Seth had eaten over half of it.
She was washing her plate when her phone rang. She ran back into the living room to grab it from off the coffee table.
"Hello?"
"Hey."
"You sound like crap."
"And you sound better."
"I feel better.
"I'll feel better before I go on patrol."
"What did you do today?"
"Not much. Embry came over. I got him sick so he's staying here tonight."
"Hey Bells," Embry said in the background.
"Now I feel bad. Both of you are sick because of me."
"You can make up for it by coming over tomorrow."
"That would only benefit you," Embry said from closer than the last time.
"I'll come over tomorrow. Make sure he's there."
"Why does he have to be here?"
There was an audible smack then a groan.
"He punched me in the nose!"
"Did he break it?" she asked pointedly.
"No," he said with a huff.
"Then you got lucky," she reprimanded.
"It still hurts," he grumbled.
"Don't be so selfish then. He's my friend and I want to see him."
"Fine, Embry, Bella wants you here tomorrow."
"Thank you," he said.
Bella laughed as they joked back and forth. She got off the phone with them half an hour later to hear Seth coming down the stairs.
"Is there any chicken left?"
"There are a couple of pieces. Knock yourself out."
"Thanks."
"Not a problem."
The rest of the night passed quickly. Her dad and Sue came back around ten and Sue and Seth left a few minutes later. Bella was getting ready for bed when Charlie came to stand at her door. She smiled before telling him goodnight. The light was out in his room a minute later. She got into bed then texted Jacob to tell him goodnight. She was asleep a few minutes later.
XXXX
Embry was pulling up at the same time Bella was the next afternoon. They walked quietly side by side up the stairs, he opened the door but let her go in first. Once inside he went in search of something to drink while she went looking for Jacob.
She found him asleep and sat on the edge of the bed. She ran a hand over his back slowly but he didn't move. She brushed her lips over his cheek, chin, and finally as she was about to kiss the corner of his mouth he stirred.
She kissed him lightly as he wrapped his arms around her waist. She pulled away before he could take advantage of the situation.
"Easy Tiger, Embry's here. I don't think he wants to walk in on us."
"You're right, I don't," Embry said from the other room.
"Did you bring my X-Box?"
"You mean the one that our dads were playing when I left?"
"That's the one. Baseball?" he questioned.
"No, they were playing hockey. Your dad said that he would bring it home with him."
"You can come back here Embry," Jacob offered.
"I'm watching a movie."
"Come on, out of bed," Bella encouraged him.
They were in the living room when someone knocked on the door two hours later.
"It's open!" Jacob called.
Jared came into the room a few seconds later. He took one look at them and shook his head.
"No wonder you didn't want to get up," he mumbled.
Bella's head lay in Jacob's lap while her feet rested in Embry's.
"You've got both of them under your spell now?"
"It didn't take very long. It was pretty easy," she said with a lazy shrug.
Jared laughed before sitting in the recliner.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"How do you feel about polygamy?"
"Why?"
"I just might ask you to marry me one day."
"You'd better be kidding," Jacob warned.
"What if we aren't?" Bella asked.
"Then I guess I'd better work fast."
"Looks like it," Bella countered.
Embry and Jared laughed at the exchange before Embry said that he needed to leave. Jared stood to take his spot and Bella put her feet in his lap.
"Keep your hands to yourself," Jacob warned.
"What if I can't help myself?" Bella asked.
"Keep her around, she's funny," Jared laughed.
"I told you."
"You should have given the vampire the heave ho sooner."
"I'm not with him now. Don't hold it over my head. Give me my feet back," she said pulling them out of Jared's lap.
She was in Jacob's lap with her head on his shoulder moments later.
"So it's like that?"
"Don't worry, I'll still marry you."
"That's what matters. I'm gonna go. Don't do anything that I wouldn't do," he said as he shoved Jacob's shoulder.
Silence filled the house once the door shut behind Jared. Jacob knew that he needed to talk to her about things. How do you bring this kind of thing up?
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"We need to talk."
"We do? Did I do something wrong?" she asked, her eyebrows furrowed.
"You know that I will eventually imprint."
"Because you were born to be alpha of the pack?" she asked cautiously.
"Right," he said with a nod.
"I know that it will happen. I've accepted it. Can we not talk about it now? Things are going so good for us."
"When would you rather talk about it?"
"When it happens," she said lightly.
"We need to talk about it so that when it happens we'll be ready."
"I don't want to plan it out. When it happens there won't be anything we can do," she said, tears forming in her eyes.
"Yes there is!" he said in a strained voice.
"What would you do?" she asked in a scared voice.
"I would ignore it."
"You would ignore it? Isn't there a law against that?" she reasoned.
"I don't care, if I can't be with you than nothing else matters," he said stubbornly.
"You'll feel the same way about someone else. You would walk away from them?"
"Yes."
"Stop and listen to what you are saying. You aren't making sense," she said with a shake of her head.
"I told you that I would do anything for you."
"Well I never asked you to promise me that. If you want to promise something then promise me that when you imprint you won't do something that you'll regret later," she pleaded, her voice thick with sorrow.
"I won't regret it later."
"Yes you will. You won't carry on the wolf gene with me. I know how important that is to you because it's important to your dad."
"Leave him out of this," he warned.
"No I'm not. Do you want to let him down, what about the pack, Jake?"
"Damn it Bells; I'm doing this for us."
"I don't want you to. Promise me that you won't," she pleaded once more.
"No," he said, his lips forming a tight line.
"Fine," she said before climbing off of him.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"You won't listen to me, so I'm calling someone that you will listen to."
His dad was home twenty minutes later. Sam was walking through the yard while Bella was helping Billy out of the truck.
"I've got him," Sam said.
"Go home Bells. Sam and I will handle Jake."
"Okay," she said quietly.
She was at her truck when Billy called her name. She turned to face him with tears pricking her eyes.
"You did the right thing. I'll make him see that you're right."
"Thank you," she said with a feeble smile.
She got in the truck watching the two men go up the ramp. She knew that Jacob wasn't going to like that his dad had called Sam, but she was glad that he had. Jacob needed a dose of reality; he was acting like a spoiled child. Bella had never seen him like that before.
