*A huge thank you to whoever nominated me, jacobiterose, for this year's Energize WIP Awards!

*I in no way shape or form, own these characters, or any rights to the unbelievable fortune that Stephenie Meyer is surely raking in due to the invention of these characters.

*Thanks to all of the very kind reviews and critical, that I have received. I love them all, for the encouragement, as well as the teaching. I love you all!

Chapter 7

Logistics

Bella awoke, her head feeling like her it was stuffed with cotton. When she opened her eyes, things were hard to focus on. Her stomach was rolling and she felt a throbbing pain in her right hand. Turning her head slowly, she looked up to her right and realized that not only was she in her bed, but that Carlisle was adjusting something on a pole. Following the pole up, she saw that it was blood and her stomach gave a great heave as she leaned over the bed just in time to throw up on the floor, a bit splashing on Carlisle's shoes.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" She weakly croaked out. Carlisle laid her back down on the bed.

"Bella, if you think that this is the first time that my shoes have been vomited on, then you are sorely mistaken." He wore a crooked grin. Alice arrived right then, with a wrinkled nose, a new pair of shoes in her hands for Carlisle.

"Seriously, Bella, if I ever have to have a vision of that again, I'm gonna, well, just don't, okay?"

Bella rolled her eyes at Alice's prissy tirade. "I'm fine, Alice, thanks for asking." Bella's words were slurred and loaded with sarcasm. Alice looked remorseful.

"I'm sorry, Bella, I should realize that this is no time to joke. It's just that I'm nervous is all." Alice looked up cautiously at the bag of blood going into Bella's arm.

"You just need to be still and quiet, Bella. You've been through a whole lot." Carlisle had a very serious and concentrated look on his face.

"Oh, that's right. I forgot. Carlisle, who's blood is that going into me?"

"That would be Charlie's blood. He's the only O Negative that we could find. Your blood is AB Negative and is really hard to come by, but lucky for you, Charlie's a universal doner."

"Where is Charlie?" Bella suddenly asked panicked.

"Charlie is resting in Sue's guest bedroom. He knows, Bella. He's about as angry as I have ever seen a man, but he's okay. He gave quite a bit of blood for you as you lost so much when I had to suck the venom from you, so he'll be out of commission for a while." Carlisle's eyes were more troubled then Bella could ever remember seeing them.

"So he got to me, driving down the road. Great. I'm pretty much going to have to stay right here, aren't I?" Carlisle didn't answer, but brushed the hair out of her eyes.

"It's best for you for now, Bella. There will be a meeting in two hours and we're going to figure this whole thing out."

Bella had a forlorn look on her face. Carlisle noticed her distress. "What is bothering you so badly, Bella? You will be safe here, you know that."

"It's not that, Carlisle, it's that I'm going to miss my pottery classes. They were the only things keeping me sane and now even they are gone. How am I going to deal with the anxiety of being hunted now?"

"We'll figure something out, Bella. You just rest for now. I'll wake you when the meeting starts." Just then a glass broke in the kitchen and Carlisle went running out to see what the problem was.

Alice was pulling the dishes out of the dishwasher as she began to have a vision. The glass lay splintered into a thousand pieces as Jasper held her. Jacob hovered nearby, not sure what to do.

Carlisle approached slowly as he saw Alice staring off into space. He waited as he and Jasper helped her over to the couch as she finished her vision. Suddenly her eyes were clear and a shocked expression was on her face.

"What is it, Alice?" Carlisle's voice was soothing.

"He's not working alone." Alice's voice was shaking and her eyes still wide, showing signs of emotion.

"What do you mean, that he's not working alone, honey?" Jasper rubbed her back lovingly.

"He's working with", Alice stopped for a moment and shook her head as if to make the vision go away, "he's working with Victoria."

The entire room stopped. Jacob steadied himself against the wall as Alice continued. "He wants Bella dead because she chose Jacob and Victoria wants her dead because she is the reason that James is dead, so they've joined forces. They're . . . lovers." Alice buried her head in Jasper's shoulder

Carlisle stood and put his hands in his pockets, looking at Jake. "You know what this is going to mean, Jacob?"

Jacob nodded. "Bella is on full lock down until both of them are dead. We'll come up with a plan of action at the meeting tonight, but I want Bella there. She deserves to know what's going on."

"I don't think that that is such a good idea, Jacob." Carlisle protested.

"Damnit, Carlisle. She is no stranger to having her life threatened. There's just no way, that she's not going to be a part of a discussion about her own life!"

Carlisle was silent. "Perhaps you're right, Jacob. I will make sure that she has pain meds before she attends, though. I am going upstairs and I'm going to change her dressing on that wound, but I will not give on this. As her doctor, Bella does not need to go into shock. She's already been attacked today." Carlisle folded his arms in front of his chest, but his face remained calm.

Jake thought about this for a moment and then nodded his head. "Okay, Carlisle. I can see your point. Just don't overdo it, okay?"

Carlisle nodded and smiled. "I've been at this for some time, Jacob. I assure you that Bella will be quite lucid. I'm thinking that maybe it's time to call our friends, the Denali's down. We're going to need some help with this one." Carlisle flipped open his cell phone and dialed as he headed outside.

Eleazar Denali listened intently to Carlisle. "I understand, old friend and of course we are more than willing to help. I am just sorry that you are forced to carry this out on your own son, Carlisle."

"Bella is as much my daughter as Edward is my son, Eleazar. Edward has broken the treaty and attempted to change a human, without the consent of the Volturi, leaving both of our families at risk."

"Very well, Carlisle. I will say that you can count on all of us, save Irina. She will no doubt choose to stay here as she blames Bella, unfairly, for the death of her mate, Laurent. However, Carmen, Kate, Tanya and I will be there. We must preserve the sanctity and safety of our families."

"Thank you, Eleazar. You are such a dear friend and we are most appreciative of being able to count on you in times such as this."

"Think nothing of it, Carlisle. We have seen too much together to turn away requests such as this. We will arrive tomorrow. See you then."

"See you then, Eleazar and please pass on our gratitude to the rest of your family. If you would, please pass on my humble condolences to Irina. I know that it must be devastating to lose your mate, no matter the circumstances."

"You're a good man, Carlisle, and I will do that. Thank you."

"See you tomorrow."

"Goodbye."

Carlisle stood sterilizing Bella's wound, once more as Jake sat quietly by her on the bed. She looked between the two of them, the silence and heaviness in the room like a smothering blanket.

"Look, you two. You might as well tell me what's going on here. You two are either giving me the silent treatment, or you've found out some kind of information. Alice is avoiding me like the plague. She saw something, I'm sure of it and I want to know what it is that you know."

Jake smiled over at Carlisle. "See, it's pretty much pointless to try and keep anything from her." Carlisle couldn't help but smile.

Jake took Bella's good hand in his own and squeezed it tightly, giving her strength through his touch.

"Bells, you're right. Alice had a vision and it is a big piece of information, but it's going to be hard to hear." Jacob waited for her response.

"Look, I'm not exactly a virgin to the supernatural world or to human nature, so please, just tell me!" Bella was growing impatient.

"Alice saw that Edward has joined forces with Victoria." Jake just laid it out for her, without pulling any punches.

"Victoria? Are you kidding me? How in the world did they figure that one out?" Bella was angry and it showed as her eyes burned into Jake.

"Apparently if Edward can't have you, then no one will in his mind. As for Victoria, it's personal. She blames you for James' death, as if it wasn't his own insatiable need to track you and consume you that caused him to be torn apart and burned, knowing that you were under the protection of the Cullen's."

"So it's their mutual hate of me that has driven them together? No doubt Victoria has enticed him into her company using her wiles."

Carlisle spoke up as he redressed Bella's wound. "They have become lovers, Bella and with Edward's altered mental state, I doubt that it was very hard to ploy him into being used in such a way." Carlisle pulled out a needle and a vial of pain killer. Bella buried her face in Jake's chest as Carlisle filled the syringe and injected it into Bella's shoulder. Suddenly, Bella felt a relaxing warmth spread throughout her body and she became sleepy.

"I know what this means, you know." She said behind sleepy eyes. "I'm pretty much sequestered to this house, now. I hate him for that the most. I wanted to take that pottery class."

"There, there, now, Bella. You just rest and let the painkiller do its work. We'll wake you when the pack gets here and know that the Denali's will be here tomorrow to help end this. Just rest here with your mate. You are safe here."

Carlisle's soothing voice lulled Bella into a deep sleep. Jacob smiled his thanks and cuddled into Bella, holding her tightly.

"You know, Jacob," Carlisle whispered, "I think that I have an idea about that pottery class that she keeps going on about. If that's what keeps her sane right now, then she should have it."

"We can't risk her going to it, even with the pack watching her, Carlisle. It's just not safe." Jacob refused to let her out of his site for even a moment.

"Well then, I'll just have a talk with Sue and we'll see what we can work out to bring the pottery class to Bella." Jacob gave Carlisle a strange look. "Come with me, we'll discuss it downstairs and then you can introduce me to this Sue Clearwater. Bella just happens to have a second family, with nearly bottomless coffers of funds." Carlisle gave Jacob a wink as they made their way downstairs.

The pack convened with the Cullen's in Jacob and Bella's small living room that was entirely too small for such large men as made up the pack. Carlisle took the floor.

"It has come to our attention that Edward is not working alone, but with Victoria, who's mate we killed after luring Bella to Phoenix a couple of years back. It seems that Victoria is out to get Bella and, well, Edward is just too mentally unbalanced to see any wrong in this. Of course this will mean that Bella will be pretty much housebound and have to be guarded by one of us at all times."

Bella let out a great yawn as she sat on Jake's lap on their sofa, to let more people sit.

Sam answered for the pack. "We have been picking up two different scents lately. I can't tell you how many times that we have chased them to the Canadian border recently. In order to catch them, we are going to need bait. We are going to need to lure them to one spot and try and descend on them as a team. I realize that we have never worked together before, but we are willing for Bella's sake if you are."

Carlisle smiled. "Vampires working with werewolves, that is a first indeed, but we are more than willing and thankful that you are too. Bella is as much a member of our family as any of us are and we will see this finished. What do you suggest as bait, Sam?"

Sam thought for a moment. "Bella's blood." Bella turned white. "Sorry, Bella, but that is exactly what they are after. I say she marks a trail that leads them to one place that we can all converge upon."

Carlisle considered this. "That's a good idea, Sam. Bella, are you willing?"

Suddenly Bella squared her shoulders and stood up to her full five foot two. "I think that I have a better idea than that." Carlisle and Sam exchanged glances.

"What were you thinking, Bella?" Sam asked.

"Ta'ha Aki's, third wife."

"No!" Jake stood to his feet, suddenly, anger in his eyes. How can you even joke about that, Bella."

"I'm not joking, Jake. Victoria is far too clever to fall for just my scent. She's going to know a trap a mile away. They're nomads, Jake. They live by their wits, but she cannot pass up the scent of my own blood flowing from my own body. I trust each and every one implicitly and I will see this finished. Carlisle, I'll need your help on where the best place to cut would be, but I will do this and I'm sorry, Jake, but I started this whole mess by being with Edward at all and I'll finish. I'll not live in fear of Victoria or Edward, or anyone else for that matter that seeks to terrorize our lives. We can't live like that."

Jake sat with his head in his hands. He knew very well that when Bella dug her heels in, that there was very little that he could do to stop her. Her little five foot two self, was a force of nature, all its own. "Fine, but I stay close to you, understood?" Bella nodded her understanding. "Carlisle, you say that the Denali's will be arriving tomorrow from Alaska to help?"

"They will be here tomorrow afternoon."

"We'll need them." Sam backed up a bit, letting Jake take the lead. He smiled to himself, it was about time that Ephraim Black's son took his place.

Jake continued. "I say that we choose a specific spot and that we break off into little groups. We can close in on them as they close in on Bella, but we'll have to take out Victoria first. She's strong and fast. She poses the biggest problem. Sam, Quil, Jared, you all take point on Victoria and get her out of the game. I'll stay with Bella and the rest of you will be split into outer lying guards and hunters." The pack seemed to respond well to Jake taking point. Sam was pleased with this.

"I know where ground zero should be." Bella spoke with a flat tone. "There was a secret spot that Edward used to take me to. A meadow about three miles into the mountains, where fox gloves and wildflowers grew. We would lay there on sunny days and he was free to let his skin shine." She sent an apologetic look at Jake, who only nodded her on. "If Victoria can mess with his head, then two can play at this game, except I have something that Victoria doesn't. Blood. And I am his singer. If you all can dispose of Victoria, which won't be easy, than Jake can take care of Edward when he comes for me, because have no doubt, he will come for me." Bella felt a shiver run up her own spine at her own words. Turning to Jake, she said. "Please help me upstairs to lie down, before I get myself into any more pain killer induced trouble." She had a shaky smile and lightened the mood of the room as everyone got a little chuckle at her candidness. Jake did, however get up off of the couch and picked her up to carry her upstairs.

"Well, that's my little sister!" Emmet smiled. "She's got balls!" Rosalie slapped the back of his head and he winced. "Ouch, Rose!" The Pack got a chuckle out of this. And so it was decided. The battle plans were in place, only logistics to work out on the Cullen's and Denali's part. Slowly the group receded and allowed Jake and Bella their space, save Carlisle, who stayed behind to give Jake instructions on how to care for Bella's wound. After showing Jake how to clean and dress the wound, he smiled at him as Bella fell back asleep. "See you at sunrise tomorrow."

"I'll be there." Jake gave Carlisle a broad smile and shook his hand. Carlisle left and Jake headed upstairs and sat on the bed and looked at his Bella's sleeping form. She was courageous enough, but almost to a fault sometimes. He hoped with all of his heart that this came off as promised, because he had no desire to live without his heart's mate.

At 7:00am, Bella was awoken to the irritating sounds of loud trucks outside of her house. Squinting at her bedside clock, she sat up, feeling a bit on the grumpy side. She got out of bed and put on her robe and slippers. Calling for Jake, he was nowhere to be found. As she stepped outside, her mouth fell open. The entire pack and the Cullen men were there, hammering away at a frame to an addition to Jake and Bella's modest dwelling. It was freezing, but Bella walked ahead toward the guys. "What in the world is going on here?" She couldn't help but laugh a bit at all of them already out of their shirts looking like a fireman's calendar.

Carlisle, who looked even better then Bella would have imagined without his shirt on, walked toward her with a smug smile on his face. "Well, you kept on and on about that pottery class, Bella. If you can't get to the pottery class, than I guess the pottery class will just have to come to you."

Bella stared at him in confusion, just as a cement truck backed up to poor a load of cement for a foundation. Coughing at the smoke from the truck, she waved her hand in front of her face.

"I talked to China yesterday, Bella. We Cullen's, well, we've got a bit of extra change lying around. You are getting your very own pottery studio and China will be well paid to be here on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays." Bella threw her arms around Carlisle.

"Oh my God, Carlisle! This is amazing!" Carlisle gallantly gave Jake the credit. "You can thank me for the funds, but it was Jacob's idea. Give him a hug, too, Bella." Bella ran to Jake and jumped onto him wrapping her arms and legs around him, kissing him hard on the lips. Jake hung on to her hips and smiled under her kiss as cat calls rang out from the guys. Bella's hand dressing started to come undone.

"Alright, you two, either get a room, or let me redress that wound, Bella." Carlisle, pulled on a T-Shirt and started to lead Bella back to the house.

"Hey, Carlisle just made a joke!" Emmet stared after him in amazement. Jasper just shook his head at Emmet, laughing to himself at the whole spectacle.