Guess what?! I still don't own anything but the plot!

Happy Birthday to my buddy DaCoops!!! *hugs*

Love in the Time of Zombies

Chapter 6

Isabella Swan-Forks WA

Alternating between picking at my nails and chewing a hole in my lip, my nerves run the gambit as Jake pulls into the driveway of the house I'd known so well growing up.

"Don't worry Izz, Charlie isn't going to be mad at you," Jared murmurs soothingly as he turns in his seat, takes my hand, and gives it a squeeze, "At this point, I figure he'll be thrilled that you're alive with all that's happening."

My gaze flutters between the warm smile of the Quileute trying to placate me, my father's beat up police cruiser, and the graying face of the two story house. "What if he doesn't want me?" I hear myself squeak.

I jump as Jake opens my door and extends a hand out to steady me as I exit the Land Rover, "Little girl, this is Charlie we're talking about. He might be a big and bad ex army guy and current Sheriff of this podunk town, but you are still his baby, and if anything could make Charlie happy, it's you. Stop worrying and get your saggy butt in there before he starts thinking we're zed's and takes a shot at us."

Jake must have had a psychic moment, because in the next instant, the front door of the house is thrown wide and the impressive form that is Charlie Swan fills the gap. "Bella?" his voice echoes across the lawn. "Bella!"

In the span of a few heartbeats, I'm caught up in a crushing hug and swung around like a rag doll while my senses are assaulted by the scent of Old Spice and leather. His warm lips graze my forehead, "Is it you? Are you really home baby? Please tell me I'm not dreaming this."

I sniffle and nod against his neck, "Yes daddy, it's really me. I'm home." I try to pull back as to not soak his blue checkered flannel shirt with my tears, but he refuses to lessen is vice like grip on me. Over my head, he profusely thanks Jared and Jacob for getting his "little girl" home safely.

"I was going to come looking for you if you weren't here by noon today," he mumbles into my hair, "After we got cut off on the phone, I got a little frantic." He finally sets me on the ground and our matching chocolate brown eyes lock. "The infection has made it to Port Angeles Bells. Most everyone out here are holing up, preparing for the worst, or fighting to get across the border into Canada."

"The borders are closed though, aren't they?" Jared asks after sitting my bags on the porch and joining Jacob next to us.

Charlie nods, his expression turning grim, "Yeah, they closed this morning. A couple of people found their way here when they couldn't get passage on any of the ferries. That's how I found out about the outbreak." He tugs my shoulder, "Let's talk about this in the house, being exposed like this makes me a tad nervous nowadays."

We follow him in and the first thing I notice is that although the outside may be drab, the inside of the house is not. The living room is a buttery gold with trim that reminds me of the chimney bricks that run up the side of the house. I twist around to peer into the kitchen and nearly cry with happiness when I see that the tired yellow cabinets are gone, having been replaced by a warm maple stain and the once gray walls are now a soft blueish violet. This is most definitely not Charlie's doing.

"Who painted this for you dad?" I ask offhand as he fetches sodas from the fridge.

When he shuffles in, I catch the red hue on his cheeks while he hands us our drinks. "Erm," he stammers and nervously rubs the back of his neck, "My girlfriend did Bells. Does it look alright?"

I can't help but smirk at his uncertainty, "It looks great dad, I just knew that it couldn't have been your handiwork, you can't coordinate your socks, let alone paint schemes."

"You'll have to forgive Charlie Hells Bells," Jared grins, "Little Miss Clearwater has obviously done a number on his brain. Mr. Army guy doesn't know what to do with a woman at the helm."

"Yes I do," my dad defends, "It's simple really. I do what she tells me, let her win fifty percent of the fights, and never forget to take out the garbage."

"You're whipped," Jared cackles, dropping onto the sofa beside me and Jake.

"Don't you dare put your feet on that table," his boyfriend glares just before the heels of Jared's feet touch the wood. He draws his legs in and sheepishly lowers them to the rug.

"Pot, meet kettle," Charlie retorts with his own laugh, "I'm just experienced enough to not only acknowledge it, but be happy with it."

The house phone starts ringing and dad excuses himself to answer it. I take the time to leer at my best friend, who immediately shifts uncomfortably under my gaze. "Why didn't you tell me that my dad had a girlfriend?"

Jake drops an arm around me and leans down to my ear, "Because Charlie asked us to let him be the one to tell you and we couldn't tell him no. You're his daughter, he deserved the right to tell you himself."

Dad stomps back into the room, his gun belt and police jacket in hand, "I've got to head over to WalMart. Leah says somebody is freaking out in the parking lot." He leans down and kisses my forehead, "Lock the doors and keep away from the windows. I will be home as soon as I can."

"Bullshit," I snarl, lurching to my feet as he walk away, "We're going with you dad. It's not safe anywhere else. We have weapons too, so we can help if it's zombies." We show him our machetes to validate my words.

He thoughtfully rubs his mustache for a minute before sighing and giving us a curt nod, "Fine, but you stay back and do exactly as I say, no more, no less. Anything else I'm locking you in the back of the cruiser."

We give him a solemn nod and quickly change into more sturdy clothes. We are most likely going to be hunting zombies after all.

Edward Masen-Forks WA

"Why are we waiting for the Sheriff to show up again?" Rosalie asks, cracking her gum loudly, "We can take care of this no problem."

I roll my eyes, ignoring the loud snarling coming from the car behind me, "Because the man's wife and child are standing ten feet away and they are scared shitless Rosalie. I can't fault either of the for wanting a police officer that they know and trust to confirm what we've told them. I'd do the same thing if I were in their position."

I look over her shoulder to spot Alice and Jasper pacing around the rusted out Tempo that contains the newly reanimated man. It's so hard to believe that they are only fifteen and sixteen years old, they way they are poised to deliver the killing blow. Jasper carries himself like a much older man and Alice could pass as a ten year old, if it wasn't for the extensive skills she has at her disposal.

"Do all doctors have their balls drop off, or just the ones from Chicago?" she retaliates, tapping her boot with the end of her bat.

"I don't know, I'm too busy saving lives to grope men's crotches," I answer, "Besides, isn't it usually a strippers job to find things like that out?"

"You're doing such a bang up job Doc," she gestures to the guy in the car, "I can't wait to see what you do for a hat trick."

"Stop it children," Alice chirps from the far side of the car, "You argue worse than a pair of old women. And you two are supposed to be the adults here, you should be ashamed of yourselves."

"Sheriff's here," Jasper announces in a flat voice, successfully diffusing the escalating tension.

The gray cruiser parks alongside us and a Land Rover stops beside it. Two humongous Native Americans emerge from the SUV while a dark haired man and a young woman exit the cruiser. I'm surprised to see a machete strapped to one leg and a hatchet hanging from her belt, she doesn't look old enough to be a police officer. Her waist length red brown hair curls slightly at the ends, swaying slightly in tandem with her pace. The mahogany locks are a stark contrast to the black leather jacket that adorns her lithe frame. A knot forms in my stomach when the girl's mocha hued eyes, half hidden behind a pair of sunglasses, pass over me as she follows the Sheriff. The Indians that flank her give me a hostile look and I shake myself out of whatever haze that had begun to fall over me.

They stop in front of the distraught wife and her son and the Sheriff begins his inquiry without an ounce of hesitation. I scan the parking lot while waiting for his decision, then the distinct feeling that I'm being watched makes the hair stand up on my neck. With covert glances, I glimpse around until I notice that the brown eyed girl is peering at me, a little smile playing at the edges of her lush rose stained lips.

Shit. Did I just call her lips lush?

Hi she mouths while tilting her head slightly as to gaze at me over the rims over her shades.

I silently return the greeting, trying not to squirm under the now heavy air pushing down on me.

She points to herself Bella then points to me and lifts one slim eyebrow.

Edward I qualify, this time allowing a smile to find its way onto my face. I'm so going to hell.

"Bella," the Sheriff calls out and her head snaps to look at him, "Take Mrs. Lawrie and her son into the store and have Leah put them in the office until the situation has been dealt with."

"Okay dad," Dad? She flashes an apologetic smile in my direction before walking over and taking the distraught woman's hand, "Come on hun, let's get you and your boy inside."

"Me and Jazz will go with you," Alice chirps, a bright smile on her face, "There are some things I need to get anyways. I just have to put Felix in the camper and we can go."

"The more the merrier," Bella answers, unruffled by the smaller girl's unbridled enthusiasm. One of the massive guys flanking her also volunteers to accompany them, this she rolls her eyes at, but makes no move to dissuade him.

I stand still as a statue while they march past, my brain suddenly mush as she nears. As Bella walks by, she lays a hand on my forearm and I almost jump when something akin to an electrical jolt runs up my arm from where her hand is connecting with my bare skin. "Don't get dead Edward," she whispers in a voice that reminds me of warm honey, "I'd really like a chance to get to know you."

"Uh, erm,...I'll do my best," I stammer out, cursing the flash of heat that has spread across my face and simultaneously resisting the urge to reach out and caress her auburn curls.

I must be way out of practice when it comes to socially interacting with women or something because Tanya nor any of the female employees of the hospital ever made me react like this, it was usually the other way around.

Wait a damn minute. What the hell is wrong with me? I'm still married! Yeah, Tanya might have turned out to be a cheating bitch, but it still does not give me the right to be drooling after some girl with a pert ass. Shit! Stop looking at her ass before her father shoots you!

I close my eyes and pinch the bridge of my nose, thoroughly disgusted with myself. Luckily I don't have time to brood because the Sheriff starts barking orders on how to deal with the reanimated man in the car.

Rosalie Hale-Forks WA

"Damn, I don't have my zombie killin' hat," Jared, I think his name is, chortles, "Maybe I should go in and buy one real quick before things start getting messy. Meh, I'll just text Jake and have him pick one out for me while he's in there."

"Just open the door when I tell you to," Chief Swan orders while drawing his service pistol.

I ready my trusty bat and prepare for the fucker to dive out as soon as it gets a chance. Out of the corner of my eye, Edward, his gun in hand, moves to the Sheriff's right side as back up in case the man misses the head on his first shot.

"One...Two....Three," Jared and Edward yank the door open and the parking lot is filled with the grotesque moans of the zed. As predicted, the thing hurls itself at Chief Swan. I swing at its head from the left, but miss as two shots ring out and it's head is turned into a gory party favor.

"I give it a score of eight for sheer morbidity but ten points for overall dramatic effect!" Jared bellows and proceeds to improvise a little victory dance next to a stoic Edward.

"What drugs are you on this week Jared or did Jake finally screw the last of your brains out?" I'm shocked to hear Chief Swan ask with a chuckle.

"All Jake my fearless Chiefy," the Indian replies with a smug grin, "Like Leah hasn't had you eight ways to Sunday already, so you have no room to talk."

Charlie rolls his eyes, much like his daughter, and turns away so no one can see the blush that's taken over his features, "Why don't you kids head on into the store while I call the hospital to come and collect the body. Tell Bells that I'll be in shortly."

"Is it okay if I bring Felix?" I inquire despite the fact that no animals are allowed inside the store, "He's got a good nose for sniffing those things out and I think we'd be safer with him in there with us instead of being cooped up in the RV."

The dark haired man nods and waves me off as he starts back towards his cruiser. After sheathing my bat in its sling on my back, I rush to the motor home, pull the door open, then hastily snap his leash on before the excitable mutt can escape. "Dammit dog, stop trying to take me for a walk!" I hiss and give his tether a sharp tug so he gets the message.

"Damn, that's one big dog," Jared muses as we stop in front of him. He carefully extends a hand for Felix to sniff, no fear of the gigantic canine whatsoever. The dog takes a brief whiff and then happily begins trying to lick the skin off the man's hand, inciting another guffaw from him, "At least we know he's got good taste."

"Come on you lug," I pat his haunch and start trudging towards the building.

"Do you want me to take him Rosalie?" Edward asks, making me jump. I'd forgotten he was still out here. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

"Not your fault," I state with a shrug, "Everybody's a little jumpy these days..soon enough we'll all be really jumpy I'm guessing."

His eyes flit around the lot as he bobs his head in agreement, "Probably. Can I tell you something without freaking you out?"

"As long as you aren't going to tell me that you're pregnant with an alien's baby coppertop," I tease as the automatic doors slide open and we walk into the store.

"Nothing like that," he replies and puts his hand on my shoulder as he leans close, "I've got a bad feeling that something is going to happen but I have no idea what. Keep your eyes open, okay?"

Edward, much like Alice, seems to have an uncanny knack for all things weird, but in the day that I've known him, he's been nothing but honest, so I ruffle his hair with my free hand, "Gotchya. Maybe we should hunt down Frik and Frak before they have a chance to steal half the damn store?"

"We're over here!" Alice's voice emerges out of the cacophony of sounds. We turn to see her and Jasper with two shopping carts already half filled with various items.

"How in the hell did you manage to collect so much so fast?" Edward gawks at the teenagers, "We were only out there for ten minutes, max!"

Jasper shrugs and points to his bouncing girlfriend, "What can I say? She's got a talent for shopping. I just grabbed whatever she said we might need."

"Don't you mean she's got a talent for shoplifting?" I snicker and barely dodge an elbow Alice playfully aimed at my ribs.

"Did you happen to see where Bella and Jake went off to?" Jared asks while standing on his toes and surveying the space.

"They took the woman and her son over to another woman, who I assume is Leah," Alice explains, "Bella didn't look happy at something this Leah said to her though, so I'd tread carefully if I were you."

"Yeah, Leah is her dad's girlfriend," Jared explains, his expression worried now, "She used to babysit Bella when she was little."

"Why would Bella be upset over her dad being happy?" I ask, confused over how she could be so shallow.

"Because Leah is only six years older than Bella and she just turned eighteen a few days ago," he qualifies with a sigh, "I found Jake, see you later," he strides away at a furious pace before anyone can answer him.

Just then, Charlie, accompanied by a handful of new people, rushes in and they start shoving carts in front of the doors, "Close the doors now!" he shouts, spurning us all into action.

"What's going on?" I ask a big dark haired guy dressed in military fatigues.

"Two bus loads of zombies from up the road and a fuckload coming in from the direction of the hospital, according to the Sheriff," he declares after reaching up and disabling the door sensor.

I shove another cart at him to throw onto the growing pile, "I'm Rosalie. Pleasure to meet you."

He gives me a smile that makes me need to go find a change of underwear. "I'm Emmett McCarty and the pleasure is all mine cupcake. Maybe I'll get a chance to prove it to you when we aren't preparing for an invasion of zeds."

"Hmm, maybe I'll let you," I smirk, feeling oddly buoyant in spite of the imminent threat making its way towards us.

Okay, I had to end it there before this ended up being a million pages long. Sorry if it's inconvenient. You know I love you! Love me back and leave a review!!!!