A/N: Happy Holidays everyone! I am glad you are enjoying the story so far. Here is another chapter before the holidays get under way. Reviews always make great presents. As always, I do not own these characters, I am just taking them out of the box to play with for awhile.
Bella's new addition to her jewelry collection did not go unnoticed for long by the small Forks High student body. After all, who could ignore a ring like that especially when it was placed where it was; on the ring finger of her left hand? She had tried diligently to be inconspicuous about it knowing what the automatic assumptions would be. And she hadn't been wrong.
Whispers followed her as she walked down the hallway to her next class. Eyes scanned her figure trying to locate the "baby bump" under the skinny jeans and tight v neck top that Alice suggested she wear (for very likely this exact reason) when she called her at six in the morning right after Edward telling her that they wouldn't be in school due to the sun. With the uber tight jeans, she couldn't even cram her cell phone into her pocket.
Fighting the age old instinct to cower in an empty classroom until the bell rang, she pep-talked herself into putting her big girl panties on and continue forward as if nothing were amiss. She rolled her eyes when she saw Lauren Mallory approaching with a smirk. What the hell else was new?
Shoulders back, head up, Bella. You killed an original vampire, surely you can face down the likes of Lauren Mallory and her vicious tongue.
A small crowd had started to gather as if they sensed confrontation was imminent and they all wanted to get in on the excitement. Bella was resolved to walk past Lauren but Lauren had other ideas. She purposefully shouldered Bella causing her to drop her books.
"Hey, watch it!" Bella shouted as she bent over to pick up her books that had scattered on the floor around her.
"Maybe you should watch where you're going, Swan. Wouldn't want to hurt the little fetus. After all, it's the only thing tying you to Edward Cullen."
You wish, bitch.
Bella slowly stood up, giving Lauren a death glare as she did so. "Think that, Mallory. If that's what helps you sleep at night." She seethed. "And God knows you need all the beauty rest you can get." She added knowing attacking Lauren's vanity was her weak spot.
A bunch of awed mumbles came from the group surrounding them and a few more students stopped to watch what was going down.
Lauren's expression soured. She never expected Bella to fight back. "It's so old school to trap a man by getting pregnant. It's too bad Edward is too much of a gentleman to turn his back on you."
Bella laughed refusing to let this bitch bait her. An epiphany suddenly hit her. If the whole school wanted to believe she was pregnant; let them. She knew the truth.
"Don't let her get to you." Angela, who had come up to stand beside her, whispered.
"You're not denying it, I see." Lauren prodded.
"Why bother? You won't believe me either way and frankly I don't care enough about your opinion to waste the time and energy when I have better things to do…like going to Dartmouth and planning a wedding. Now if you excuse me, some of us have class." She started down the hall again with a smile, the students surrounding them parting like the red sea.
"That was hot." Mike Newton whispered from his seat next to her in history class.
Bella was unable to stop the blush from rising to her cheeks. Why was it every time Edward wasn't around did Mike think he got a free pass to hit on her?
"What it was, was stupid." She mumbled back knowing Lauren was probably even now thinking of ways to retaliate. "Besides I thought you liked Lauren and her crew."
Miek shrugged. "Sure she's got a nice bod and all but there's like nothing but space between the ears, you know. I like a girl with beauty as well as substance." He said suggestively, letting his eyes roam over her body.
She cleared her throat and shifted uncomfortably in her chair not knowing how to respond. Luckily she didn't have to. Damon came over to them and placed his palms face down on Mike's desk causing him to lean back in his chair.
"You must be very confident in your abilities to pass the final, Mr. Newton, if you aren't interested in listening to my test review." Damon said in his most sarcastic droll, plagiarizing something he had heard Alaric say once or twice.
"Uh..uh..no sir." Mike stammered.
"Well then I suggest you pay less attention to Miss Swan, here." Damon winked almost imperceptivity at Bella. "And keep your eyes and ears focused on the front of the room."
"Yes, sir."
"So I heard you went all "bad ass" on Lauren Mallory earlier." Damon waggled his eyebrows at Bella as they sat in the classroom after school. She had opted to help him grade papers as part of her "extra credit" work a few days a week. It allowed her extra time to spend with her brother since they couldn't afford to be seen together outside the classroom lest it be deemed inappropriate. Damon groused at allowing something dictate his behavior but for Bella's sake, he would play nice. It wouldn't matter after next week's graduation anyway.
"I wouldn't call it bad ass." Bella responded hesitantly. "Bad ass would have been if I punched her."
"Why didn't you?"
"I wanted to. Believe me. But you can't just go around punching people because you feel like it." She shot him a pointed look. "Besides what anyone else thinks doesn't rate. Edward and I know why we're getting married. That's all that matters."
"I can fail her if you want."
"Damon. " She drew out his name in a warning tone.
"Okay, okay." He held his hands up. "Just kidding."
"No you weren't but I forgive you. It's the thought that counts." Bella's good natured smile changed and she quieted suddenly, her teeth gnawing on her bottom lip. "Can I ask you something?"
"Uh oh." Damon's look of amusement changed as well. "What's up piccola?"
"Are you happy?"
The question left Damon dumbstruck. He actually hadn't really thought about it. Happiness was never a suspended state of being for him; it came in fleeting moments, striking abruptly and leaving all too quickly. He could probably count the number of times he had been truly happy in the past century and a half on one hand; most of them occurring within the last 6 months. Isabella had been responsible for many of those times. But she would be married soon…starting a new life and he didn't know what part, if any, he would have in it.
Bella, sensing his hesitation and confusion, rushed to explain her question. "I meant, here, in Forks. Don't get me wrong. I love having you here and the time we have together but I can't help but feel selfish. You left your life…everything that mattered to you back in Mystic Falls and…"
"Not everything." He interrupted hating that she felt guilty and responsible for his happiness. "You matter…a great deal as a matter of fact. And don't forget, I left Mystic Falls for self-preservation."
"About that…do you think maybe you acted too rashly…that perhaps things might have changed had you stayed?"
"She made her choice, Isabella. If I stayed it would have only served to make everyone miserable."
Bella wasn't going to tell him that she thought Elena was regretting that choice. It wasn't her place and it would be devastating if she were wrong. "So back to my original question then….are you happy here in Forks?"
Damon sighed. "Isabella, spending time here with you, knowing you, getting close to you again has probably been one of the brightest spots in my long tired existence."
Bella frowned when he was done. "You never answered my question." She pointed out.
He sometimes hated how perceptive she was. "I am…content." He said finally and he realized he actually was. Okay, so he had been in a sexual lull; only a few one night stands here and there that ended up only making him feel empty, dirty and strangely used but he was fulfilled in other ways. There was a sense of belonging to a family that he really never had, thanks to Isabella and the Cullens. He didn't mind teaching as much as he thought he would and it gave him more of a purpose than trolling the bars in nearby cities and drinking himself into oblivion; both alcohol and blood. Oh My God…was he… maturing? Damon shook his head with a smile but still somewhat horrified.
"What's so funny?" Bella asked him.
"I think I've been neutered." He whispered in alarm.
Already he felt the rebel within him starting to chafe at his bindings. Maybe he should give Ric a call, bribe him to come out west. The Cullens were cool but they were not drinking buddies…not in the real sense of the word anyway.
"Another one?" Charlie grumbled when he pulled the newest fax from the machine. He stared at the missing persons poster with a frown, his hand shoveling through his already messed hair. "This is the third one today. What the hell is going on?"
He handed the fax to one of the other deputies. "After you make copies of this and give it to the other guys to start putting around the town put it on the board with all the others."
"Damn." The young deputy took the page from his boss. "How many does this make total?"
"I don't know." Charlie said sounding defeated. "I lost count at fifty."
He sighed, wearily scrubbing his hand slowly down his face as he sat down in the old lumpy chair behind his desk, the wheels groaning under his weight. He looked up at the two bulletin boards that were now covered with missing persons posters wondering what the hell was wrong with the world.
"I come bearing coffee." Bella said as she maneuvered between the cramped desks until she reached her father's office. She set the stryofoam cup on his desk and sat down in the plastic chair before his desk and dropped her book bag on the floor next to her with a plunk.
"To what do I owe this pleasant surprise?" Charlie asked reaching for the cup and taking a sip. "Stella's?" He asked referring to the woman who owned the local diner. He never got his coffee anywhere else.
"Of course." She grinned and rolled her eyes. "To answer your first question, can't a girl come to visit her dad?"
"Sure Bells...of course you can." He frowned. "I'm sorry if I haven't been around too much lately. We've been busy."
"Got an epidemic of cats stuck in trees, huh?" Bella joked. Forks wasn't exactly the epicenter of hard crime. In fact, she hadn't heard of anything more than a petty robbery with the exception of a few "animal attacks" of course.
Charlie frowned at her words. "Cats in trees are the fire department's territory and don't joke, the situation is quite a bit more serious than you think. In fact, I hope most of your wedding shopping is being done on the internet and Alice isn't planning on dragging you out of Forks anytime soon."
Bella snorted. Alice's shopping habits were legendary, even to Charlie. But something had her father really rattled. "What's going on Dad?"
He stood up slowly, motioning for her to follow him. When he got to the wall directly outside his office, he stopped and pointed. Bella looked up at all the paper faces that stared back at her.
"These are all the missing person reports that have come in the past week from the tri-state area. Men, women, kids...ranging anywhere from fifteen to fifty." He said moving his hand in a sweeping motion. "There are quite a few from Portland but the last one from today was from Longview...only three and a half hours from here."
"But aren't there missing persons all the time?" Bella said not wanting to believe anything odd was going on.
"Not like this, Bella." He sighed. "We maybe get a few a week...most of them young teenagers or little kids. Not fifty. Although there is no rhyme or reason as far as the people are concerned, there is a pattern here."
"A pattern?" She asked looking more closely at the places in front of her trying to reason it out.
"We separated them by state and date reported missing. Whatever is happening and I don't know what it is...it's moving north."
Bella was thankful to be pulled away from her thoughts when the doorbell rang. She had been making dinner, thinking about her conversation with Charlie. He had been adamant that she stay close to home, carry her pepper spray with her always and try to never be alone when she left the house. He even said he was glad of the fact that Edward and the rest of the Cullens seemed to always be very protective of her. It made him rest easier when he was away at work knowing she was well cared for.
"I'll get it." She shouted as she ran out of the kitchen, past Charlie who was watching a Mariner's game on the television.
She smiled as she flung open the door to see Edward standing there smiling back at her. He was leaning down to give her a kiss when he hissed instead. His smile turned to a grimace, his lips pulled back revealing a row of white teeth, his molten gold eyes turned to black as he gently prodded Bella aside and ran up the stairs not bothering with the human facade.
Shocked at the slip, she looked at Charlie who thankfully was too involved with the game to notice anything out of the ordinary. Before she even had her foot on the first step to follow Edward, he came back down the stairs much slower this time as if suddenly remembering where he was.
The feral look in his eyes was still there when he walked past her and into every room on the first floor. She did follow him then, wondering what the hell he was looking for. She found him, leaning over the kitchen table, breathing heavily, the muscles in his arms rippling with tension.
"Edward?" Bella approached him hesitantly, alarmed by his out of character behavior. "What's wrong?"
"Someone was here." He said through gritted teeth. "I can still smell the stench."
Bella shook her head slowly, confused. "I swear I haven't seen Jacob or any..."
He shook his head furiously, still staring off into the distance...still unable to relenquish his hold on the table. "Not one of them...one of us."
"Us? You mean...?"
"Yes, Bella." He turned to her, his expression softening but only slightly. "Though it's not a scent I recognize."
Well, fuck. "A vampire was here...in this house...with Charlie?" She whispered anxiously, not even thinking of her own safety.
He took the two steps needed to reach her and pulled her close to his chest, tangling his fingers in her hair and pressing his face into her neck. "Don't worry. I won't let anyone touch you."