~*~

Ev'ry guy here'd love to be you, Gaston
Even when taking your lumps
There's no man in town as admired as you
You're ev'ryone's favorite guy
Ev'ryone's awed and inspired by you
And it's not very hard to see why

My What a Guy, Gaston!

~*~

Bella sighed and sat down on one of the comfortable couches in the emergency family waiting room at Forks Hospital. She had found over the last four and a half weeks that these couches were extremely comfortable. They were almost as nice as the ones in the Cullens' house, another complication keeping her in Forks. Carlisle had a will and according to it all of their possessions, the house, the money all of it had been left to Bella in its entirety. She felt strange as she had listened to the lawyer read it. That hadn't been very complicated, but waiting on her father to recover had been. He had spent the first week in Forks in a coma. After that first week he had awoken and that was when they knew he would be okay, though if he would make a full recovery had still been up for grabs. Then he had relapsed a couple of days but now he was finally, solidly on the mend. He was going to have to do a lot of physical therapy, but Dr. Vitalis said that if he was diligent he could be back in his cruiser in a couple or three months. In the meantime, Deputy Mark would act as interim sheriff until Charlie could get back on his feet.

In the mean time, Bella had gotten much closer to Sue Clearwater, who had married her father at the beginning of the summer. She was glad because it meant he wouldn't be going home to an empty house and she wouldn't need to worry if he was being taken care of properly. Bella knew that Sue wouldn't let anything keep her father from recovering and so she had begun to think about going home. Her heart ached to see Aro again and being back in Forks brought back confusing, sad memories that she didn't want to have. She didn't want to think about Edward or the Cullens- it was still too painful.

Bella opened her eyes as she felt someone sit down on the couch beside her.

Jacob looked over at Bella with his usual goofy grin. "How ya doin' Bells?"

"Better now that Charlie's on the mend." She said with a nod, "You?"

"Pretty good. You look exhausted though Bella. You should come back and sleep in a real bed." he suggested.

"The couch is fine." she said, stifling a yawn and reaching over for her cup of Starbucks and taking a deep drink of it. "Pretty soon Charlie's going home and I will be too." She said. "Then I can catch up on all the sleep I missed."

"So you're staying in Forks?" he asked, trying to hide the excitement from his voice, unsuccessfully.

Bella sighed slightly, "No." She said, pulling her feet up on the couch and resting her chin in her knees, turning to sit so that she was facing him.

Jacob's brow furrowed. "Then...where are you going?"

"Back to Italy."

"Italy...ITALY?! Is that where you've been all this time?!" he yelled, forgetting they were in a quiet waiting room.

"Jake shuush, we're in a hospital!" Bella protested, looking around at all the people turning to stare at them. "What's wrong with Italy?"

Jacob clenched his fists. "Isn't that where those royal leeches live?" he whispered harshly.

"Please don't act like you're still in kindergarten, Jake." She said with a sigh. "Vampires. And yes."

"Is that who you've been with this whole time?!" he asked, still with his sharp, raspy whisper.

"Yes, actually." Bella said.

"Are you Kidding?! They'll kill you!" he said, his voice rising again.

Bella sighed a bit, "They're not gonna kill me, Jake. I've been there for almost three months and look it's a miracle I'm not dead!"

"Yet..." he mumbled. "Bella...you can't go back there."

"Why?" She asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"Because...haven't you spent enough of your life with lee...vampires?" he whispered, looking into her eyes.

Bella's eyes narrowed, "Jake.. I have to go back.. it's Vampire law.. I'm their ward now.. humans can't know about that world.. before the Cullens took responsibility for me.. now I don't have anyone to take responsibility for me."

"But you've already left...apparently they don't follow their own laws, why should you?" he ascertained.

"They made an exception because my Dad might've been dying, Jake."

He scrutinized her. "There's something you're not telling me..."

"Fine.. come on a walk with me." She said, "I don't think you're going to like what I've got to say." She muttered, standing and shoving her hands in her jeans pockets.

Jacob rose and towered over her. "Lead the way..." he said gesturing forward.

Bella walked down the hall and out of the hospital towards a little patch of yard out in back where you could walk and where the patients could go out and sit so they could look at something besides hospital walls if they were well enough to actually go out of the building and get out of their room. "I'm going back because I'm in love with someone in Italy." She said, once they were out of hearing distance.

Jacob clenched his fists and shut his eyes tight, trying to keep from shaking. "You're in love with another one?' he said quietly.

"I didn't mean to." Bella muttered, defensively.

Jacob scoffed. "But you did...how could you Bella?"

"I don't know." She whispered honestly. "It just kind've.. happened."

He began to laugh, almost hysterically. "I don't get it...I just don't get it..."

"Get what?"

"I've loved you all this time...you've known that, yet you insist on falling in love with monsters..." he looked her. His eyes were a stark contrast to the humor in his laugh.

Bella groaned, "Jake.. you're my best friend.. but I don't feel /that/ way about you. I'm sorry." She said.

"Fine...date the undead. One day you'll learn..." he muttered.

"Learn?" Bella asked, her tone obviously annoyed.

"That I'm the only one that can give you what you need...what you deserve..." he said, his eyes soft.

"That's not true." Bella whispered.

"How would you know?!" he yelled.

"Because I'm not missing anything Jake.. I feel complete again."

Jake continued to suppress the urge to phase. "Bella...I..." he let out a frustrated sigh.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, looking away, "Did you think just because I came back here I was.. just.. just going to .. fall into your arms and we'd go live happily ever after?"

Jacob chuckled dryly. "A guy can hope can't he? I had just been hoping you'd come to your senses..."

"I am sensible, Jake!" Bella exclaimed in frustration.

"Apparently not...or you'd stay here where you belong." he said, keeping his tone level.

"Where I belong.. is in Italy.. with Aro." She said low, not realizing that with would drive him even crazier.. not only had she fallen in love with another vampire, a royal vampire, but THE royal vampire- Aro Volturi..

"Aro?!" he said, his whisper almost silent. "You've fallen for the leader?"

Bella looked away, closing her eyes, "Yes." She said simply.

"Well...that's different...alright...fine..." he said, apparently conceding.

"Fine." Bella said simply. "I'm going to go now. I want to go check on Charlie one last time before my plane leaves." She said with a sigh.

"Bells...can you at least stay one more night. Everyone at the res would like to see you..." Jacob said quietly.

Bella groaned, "Not a whole night. My plane's out in a few hours.. but.. I could come visit before I go." She conceded finally, "I really miss them too." And the truth was.. she did really miss them.

Jacob smiled. "Alright...thanks."

However, as Bella was soon to find out, a trip to the reservation wasn't all Jake had in mind. They visited back and forth in his Volkswagen as he drove them towards the reservation and thing seemed almost like old times when they got there, visiting Billy and the others in the pack. They had a big meal for supper and visited and watched the Seattle Mariners.

Eventually, though, Bella had begun to get tired and she knew she needed to get back. Her plane was leaving soon and she stood. "Jake.. you should take me back to town." She said, "I've got to go soon."

"We just need one more stop. Emily has been dying to see you...she wants to send some food with you." Jacob took Bella's small hand in his huge one and lead her to Sam and Emily's house. He sent her inside and stopped to visit with Sam. What she didn't know was that Jacob was explaining that he was taking Bella's ticket and going to Italy, and that Sam needed to keep her there.

"Great then I won't need to eat horrible plane food." Bella joked with a grin.

"There's Sam...I need to discuss a few pack things...I'll be in in a minute..." Jacob walked away to speak with his Alpha.

Bella still did not notice that anything was going wrong as she and Emily stood in the kitchen talking. She didn't even noticed the worried look in Emily's eyes- probably because she was so concerned with getting back to Aro. She was missing him terribly and she was worried about him.

Once the plan was in place, Jacob snuck his way to his Rabbit and drove off to the airport. Once he was safely away, Sam went inside with Bella and Emily, locking the door behind him and hiding the key. Sam looked at Bella. "I'm sorry Bella..." he said as he walked into the kitchen.

"Sorry?" She asked, oblivious.

"We're going to have to ask you to stay here..." he said in his deep stoic voice.

"Then I'm going to have to stay no." She said simply, not realizing they weren't really asking.

"It's not a request..." he said sternly.

"What do you mean? You can't... keep me here." She protested with a sigh.

"I'm afraid you don't have a choice." he stated.

"What do you mean?" She asked, suddenly beginning to be a little afraid. "I'm not staying here.. I have to go home.. my plane leaves in like.. an hour!"

"Your seat has been filled..." he said cryptically.

"Damn it, JAKE!" She hissed, furiously, her brown eyes burning with anger.

"We have to protect you Bella..." he said, turning away from her and walking to Emily.

"I don't need bloody protected! I'm almost nineteen years of age and I know what I want! I want to go home!" She whispered, her voice catching as she realized what she'd said.. home.. home was Italy now.. with Aro and her new family.

"This is your home!" he said, his tone rising.

"No! Italy is my home!" She exclaimed, glaring at Sam. "This /was/ my home! It's not anymore. I have a new family!"

"Not for long..." he mumbled before taking Emily into another room and slamming the door.

Bella sighed, "I'm out of here." She muttered under her breath. She looked around the room spying a rolling pin that was laying on the counter. She looked towards the shut door cautiously and then grabbed the rolling pin in her hands. Bella felt very much like one of those dreams where you're watching yourself do something from outside your own body as she brought the pin back and smashed it through the front window. She dropped the rolling pin and began to scramble out as quickly as she could.

She was met outside by a pack of over-sized wolves growling at her.

Bella's eyes widened as she fell backwards into the house upon seeing the wolves and crashed to the floor as she tried to get down from the window without falling. She lost her footing and careened backwards bashing her head hard on the counter edge as she went, splitting her temple.

In seconds, Sam was by Bella's side in his human form. He was tending to her wound like a pro. "I'm sorry Bella...but we have to..."

Bella hissed in pain as he attempted to clean up her forehead with rubbing alcohol. "Sam.. this isn't your fight.. it's about Jake being so jealous he can't see straight because I don't love him.. why can't you just let me go back to Italy?"

"Because you are not safe with them..." he said softly.

"Sam," She attempted to joke, "I'm not safe walking across the street or down any random staircase either. I'm my own worst enemy."

He chuckled lightly. "Falling on the sidewalk, won't drain all of the life from your body. Think of Charlie..."

Bella sighed, "Charlie's married.. Sue makes him happy and he's going to have plenty of Grandkids to keep him busy from Seth and Leah." She pointed out. "I can still email him and call him."

"But you're his daughter Bella...this is twice now that you've made a decision that rips you from his life..." Sam's wise eyes met hers.

"I didn't decide.. Sam it's the law .. I had to stay there at first.. and I didn't realize that I loved Aro until it was too late to DO anything about it. I can as soon as tell my heart to stop loving him as I can control the moon and the sun."

Sam looked away. "I can't Bella...it's our law too, to keep the people safe from the Cold Ones..."

"I'm not in danger though!" She protested. "And these aren't 'your' cold ones anyway. You have no treaty with the Volturi."

Sam couldn't see any way to make her see reason. "Fine...but there's no where you can go now..." He stood up and walked away. The rest of the wolves were standing guard outside. Bella was alone in the house now.

LOL Sorry team Jakers but we just COULDN'T resist . He totally deserves this nice little comparison and the story just wouldn't be complete without a hostage situation!