Bella's Choice

7

Bella was in the same car as before. Kol had kept her on his lap, unwilling to let her go after having such a fright, and Charlie was beside them on the back seat. Elijah was still driving and Rebekah had gone in the other car. Klaus was with them this time, in the passenger seat. Bella acted as if she didn't realise what they were doing but she knew that it was in case Edward or Alice attacked them again. They wanted Klaus with them so they could be best protected. Even if she hated people putting them in danger for her own safety, she knew that in this car, in case of an attack, the only ones in danger were her father and herself, so she was glad they were here to prevent any tragic end to this busy day. She was planning on asking her father to spend as much time as possible on the reservation anyway. There he would be protected by the wolves.

"Where are you all staying then?" Charlie asked them while Elijah drove according to the speed limit.

Bella was so deep in her thoughts that she hadn't realised that her father had been talking with Elijah ever since they had started the car. Kol's lap was way too comfortable and it was easy for her to loose herself in it.

"We figured that we'd stay at the motel for a while... It's not much but with the short time we had to plan, we couldn't find a house to buy or rent around here. Kol was in such a hurry to get here it only gave us a day to plan everything." Elijah replied.

"Yeah, there isn't much around that time of the year... In the winter time there are a few places to rent, people that come here only for the summer and go back in the south for the cold days but those places aren't for rent around this time of the year. I don't like you staying at the motel though, it's not the best thing... Ever since the owners got divorced 2 years ago the place has been falling appart... It's like the place has seen a war or something. You should stay with us. We have a spare room, the couch flips into a bed and I'm sure Bella wouldn't mind sharing with Rebekah." Charlie suggested.

The message was pretty clear. He didn't mind them around and was willing to support them and to get to know them but he wasn't ready to see Bella and Kol spending the night together, not so soon.

"Rebekah will love that." Klaus commented.

He knew that his little sister was dying to finally have a true friend and she saw in Bella the occasion to finally bond with a girl that would stay in her life forever.

"Thank you, that's very generous of you Chief Swan." Elijah replied, accepting the offer on behalf of his family.

"Oh, go ahead and call me Charlie. I have a feeling we're going to see a lot of each other from now on, might as well be on first name basis. We're almost family now anyway..." The man replied.

Klaus was about to say something when he was interrupted by Bella's rumbling stomach. Knowing that everyone, even her father, had heard it, she blushed deeply and tried to hide her face in Kol's happy chest. The youngest Mickealson male chuckled and tightenend a bit his hold on her, happy to have her this close to him after what had happened. He felt as if he had known her for years instead of hours, and, in a way, he had. He felt like they had known each other since the begining of time and would stay linked, no matter what, until the end of times.

"I think I'll spare you the cooking tonight Bella, we'll just order a couple of pizza or something." Charlie chuckled before looking to the front seat and Klaus and Elijah and asking "You guys like Pizza right?" He wasn't sure if Bella told him that they also ate or if they only drank blood.

The details of the supernatural were still a bit blurry for him. It was all too new.

"Sure we do. Only Cold ones are too limited to eat and drink only blood. We, however, love food." Klaus replied.

"That will give Bella a well deserved break from cooking and it will be there fast if I'm the one ordering." Charlie said as Elijah parked the car next to the cruiser and close to Sage's car.

"The perks of being Chief of Police in a small town I assume?" Klaus asked kindly.

"Exactly." The police officer nodded as everyone got out of the cars.

"Right... What dad is not telling you is that his Chief title has nothing to do with the fast delieveries from the local pizzeria, nor has his fidelity to the place... He only gets priority because the widow that runs the place has a major crush on dad." Bella replied, making her father blush.

"Bella, she's something like 50!" Charlie complained.

"So? It doesn't stop her from thinking you're to her taste does it?" Bella replied.

"I take it you're not a fan of the lady then?" Klaus asked.

"She's very nice and a good friend but nothing more... She's not my kind of woman...even if she was a bit younger..." He replied, embarrassed.

"Yeah well, what is your type of woman I wonder..." Bella muttered under her breath.

Her father chose to ignore her and act as if he hadn't heard a thing.

"You don't cook then?" Elijah asked Charlie to spare the man and change the subject.

"No, not really..." Charlie replied with a blush that could rival his daughter's.

Bella chuckled.

"Dad could burn water. He's a real danger in a kitchen... Sometimes I wonder how he didn't blow up the house when I lived with Renee." Bella explained.

"I did go through a few microwaves... I don't know what I'm doing wrong, those things just keep on breaking down on me... Good thing we have deliveries in Forks too." Charlie complained, making everyone chuckle.

.

"So that's the truck you love so much..." Kol asked Bella with a slight frown as they walked in front of her beloved red truck.

"Yes...Why?" She asked.

Everyone was around them, waiting to know what was going on now before going in.

"Well, for once I have to agree with Edward... I know it's the kind of car that could survive any run in with another car but it looks like it could also break down in the middle of the road anytime..." Kol explained his point of view.

"And how would you know brother? You spent the last century in a box. You can't know that much about cars. You weren't even around when they started selling them to the public." Klaus said, making Bella smile at him in thanks.

She felt that Klaus would be the big brother she kept asking her mother for when she was a kid but never got the chance to have. She could feel a bond forming between her and all of Kol's family but beside the one with Hol, it was the strongest with Klaus, maybe because he needed it more than the others, she thought. Rebekah came in close 3rd though.

"The engine was completely rebuilt by Jacob... The thing runs great." Charlie protested.

"Yeah, rebuilt by the guy that forced a kiss on her and broke her hand... I'm not sure I like it anymore..." Kol replied, glaring at the truck while Bella stood by his side with her hand in his.

"You're just trying to find an excuse to buy her a new car because you want to buy her things and you saw in your 'Bella's life' dreams that she was difficult when people tried to buy her expensive things." Rebekah said, rolling her eyes as Charlie chuckled and opened the front door, inviting officially the Original family inside.

Everyone understood that when Rebekah said 'people' she really meant the Cullen's and mainly Alice and Edward. They had been the only ones who had tried to force overly expensive things on Bella.

"Talking about my hand, it doesn't hurt anymore... I think that your blood healed it along with the bruises. I'll be able to take that thing off." Bella exclaimed happily, showing her wrapped wrist.

"Good, now let's go in and get you something to eat. You need to rest. We'll talk about me buying you lots of things when you're not so tired and can argue." Kol said, leading her inside softly.

Bella just smiled at him but couldn't help but compare him to Edward who would have used her tired state to argue her into accepting whatever he wanted. Kol was much better than that, more noble. She had known it and he was just proving it to her every chance he got.

"How about you buy yourself a new car and you'll drive me around in it?" She suggested while she showed them all the house.

There wasn't much to see but she wanted them comfortable to move around. Her father was on the phone and after asking everyone what they wanted on their pizza, he was ordering.

"Always the peacemaker... I like it." Kol replied, taking his hand out of hers to put his arm around her waist before dropping a quick kiss on her forehead.

She didn't protest. She just smiled.

.

After giving everyone a tour of the house, it was decided that both Sage and Rebekah would stay with Bella, Finn would sleep in the same room as Charlie, Elijah and Klaus would share the spare bedroom and Kol would sleep on the couch downstairs. Bella knew that everything had been arranged to protect her and Charlie the bast way possible. Finn stayed with Charlie to protect him and Sage was added in her room because they wanted to be sure that she was safe in case both Alice and Edward came together to get her. Kol was downstairs to each Charlie's peace of mind and to keep an eye on the front door. Elijah and Klaus were going to take turn on staying awake and keeping an eye and an ear open around the house.

By the time they all put their bags down, the pizzas they had ordered arrived, hand delivered by an overly flirty own by the way, which amused everyone in the room. Elijah payed before Charlie could take his wallet out and they all settled in the living room, in front of the TV, to eat and talk.

They used this time to get to know each others better.

Bella already knew a lot but she didn't know everything. Charlie seemed to get along very well with Elijah and Bella liked that. She was glad that her father had a vampire friend to protect him in case the wolves failed. She couldn't help it, she was mad at them all because of Jacob and tended to think low of them all at the moment.

They were half way through their meal when the doorbell rang.

"Cold one." Klaus growled after sniffing the air.

"Jasper!" Rebekah squeeled after sniffing it too.

"Well, let him in." Charlie suggested when he saw how much Rebekah seemed to like him.

"Thanks Charlie!" She replied before kissing Charlie on the cheek in thanks and rushing to open the door.

She had been afraid Charlie wouldn't allow Jasper in because of Alice and Edward and was happy when he gave her authorisation to let him in. She opened the door and greeted Japser shyly.

"I can't stay long, I need to hunt tonight. I came to warn you that the Cullen's will all be living in an hour. I'll go with them to escort Edward and Alice up to Denali and then I'll come back to help protect Bella and this town against Victoria and her Newborn army. I'll be staying at the Cullen's. Carlisle asked me to tell you that you are welcome to stay in our house if you want but that he'll understand if you were to decide to stay here instead to keep Bella and Charlie protected." Jasper explained kindly.

"No offence mate but I'd rather stay here where I can protect Bella and where it doesn't smell like your brother all over the place." Kol replied.

"None taken. Bella, Rosalie, Emmett, Esmee and Carlisle wanted me to tell you that they will stay in touch." Jasper said to Bella particularily.

"Thanks... I will too." Bella smiled softly.

"Good. Now I have to go, I want to hunt before I have to take them all the way to Alaska." Jasper finished before he gave Rebekah a smile full of hope and told her "We'll need to talk." and was off.

"Well, I guess there will be a lot of talk tomorrow at school... Good thing there is only two days left until graduation." Bella said.

"Did we miss prom?" Rebekah asked.

"Yes, it was last saturday." Bella replied.

"Did you go with Edward?" Kol asked, jealousy in his voice.

"No. He forced me to go last years so I managed to avoid going this year." Bella explained.

"Forced you to go?" Charlie asked.

"Yes, I really didn't want to go but he insisted and made it a surprised so I didn't have a choice but to go. He had Alice dress me up and everything... I didn't really like it... I don't like dancing and I would have been much happier staying home and reading a book or something..." Bella replied.

"You only don't like dancing because you never danced with me, I'm awesome. You'll see, you'll love it and you won't ever be able to get enough of dancing in my arms." Kol flirted, making her blush and chuckle.

She knew that he was doing this to distract her and it worked. He knew her well. He was perfect for her.

"So Bella, what are your plans for next year?" Sage asked her.

"Well, I got accepted in Dartmouth and in the university of Alaska but I don't really want to go to college just yet... I only applied because Alice convinced me too... At first I was planing on going off to look for Kol but then I met Edward and my dreams of Kol got less frequent... I figured I'd go with the flow of things... But a few weeks ago, when Edward started saying that he'd only change me if I married him first and got in college with him I figured I'd accept..." Bella replied.

"You wanted to be a Cold one?" Elijah asked, surprised.

"You love him so much that you'd want forever with him?" Finn asked while Kol looked down.

"Of course not." Bella replied immediately, making Kol look up when she continued: "I didn't really want to change to be with Edward... As soon as he asked me, I started getting dreams of Kol again and I figured that I couldn't do much against Klaus if I was human so I was planning on changing to be stronger and more capable of fighting Klaus to get Kol back... I know that Rebekah knows of a way for Cold ones to become Originals anyway so it wouldn't have been permanent." Bella explained, surprising everyone.

"That's some pretty good planning..." Elijah commented.

"You would have fought me to get him back?" Klaus asked, surprised that after knowing about him she would have been brave enough to fight him.

"Well, I would have asked nicely first. Attacking you immediately would have been just wrong. I would have introduced myself and explained what I wanted...and prayed that you were kinder than you seemed to be." Bella replied.

"Isn't she the best?" Kol exclaimed, enamored.

"The worst part is that she probably would have gotten it... The link she has with Kol extends to me... I feel it, she's our sister..." Klaus said.

"Yes, I feel it too." Rebekah added as her other brothers nodded.

"Don't you usually dagger your family members?" Bella asked Klaus with an amused smile.

"You might have been capable of convincing me to undagger them all..." Klaus said before he added "I was going to do it as soon as our mother's coffin was secure anyway..."

.

"I think I'm going to go to bed now... This day has exhausted me...too many emotions I think." Bella said after another hour of talking with everyone about divers things.

"You get some rest Bella, you've got school tomorrow after all." Kol said as he hugged her to his side and kissed her forehead protectively.

They had prepared earlier the beds for Sage and Rebekah so everything was ready.

"Good night everyone." Bella said, waving at the entire room.

"Goodnight." They replied.

"And don't worry about tomorrow Bella, I'll drive you to school and pick you up. One of us will hang around the school the entire day to keep you safe." Kol told her.

"You're going to drive the Chief of Police's daughter to school when you don't have your license?" Bella asked him, laughter in her eyes.

"I think I can make an exception just this once. Something tells me that he already knows how to drive." Charlie replied.

"I'm just that good! I learn fast." Kol added with a flirty wink in Bella's direction.

.

Charlie waited until Bella had left the bathroom and gone back into her room to ask the question he was dying to ask:

"So, what is going on with this Victoria? I know that she's after Bells but what is this army of hers? What are we going to do?" He asked them, very serious and all traces of laughter gone from his face.

"I'll go upstairs and keep an eye on Bella. I'll hear everything anyway..." Rebekah announced, going up the stairs to get ready for bed and be present in case anything happened to Bella.

"What did Bella tell you about all this?" Kol asked him, just as seriously.

The atmosphere in the room had changed completely.

"She told me why this Victoria was after her but that's it. Billy told me that the wolves were failing at catching her. They don't know anything about an army." Charlie replied.

"This crazy bitch is going for the 'a mate for a mate' thing. Since James was killed while trying to kill Bella, I don't think telling her that Edward left and that things broke off with Bella would change anything. She'll still want Bella dead." Elijah explained.

"Okay...and what is this army of hers? I'm guessing that Newborns aren't actual babies is it? I mean, she didn't change a bunch of babies right?" Charlie asked, an apprehensive look on his face.

The Originals chuckled.

"No, not at all. Cold Ones are at their strongest when they're in the first year of their life. That's what we called Newborns. A while back, in the south, they used Newborns army to war for territories... A Newborn army doesn't need thousand of people like a human army. They only need 20 people and no human army would be able to stop them. It takes a lot to manage them... that's why it's good that Jasper is coming back for us, he was created for one of those armies a long time ago and only managed to escape because of his gifts. Usually, Cold Ones don't live longer than a year in an army." Kol explained.

"How do you know that? You didn't seem to know the Cullen's..." Charlie asked.

"I don't but I've heard of Jasper...he was known as Major Jasper Whitlock back then and was very famous in that area. I was in the south looking for Katerina for Klaus... She's..." Kol started but Charlie cut him off.

"Yeah, I know, she's a double of a girl from your past that betrayed Klaus. Bella told me that part." Charlie said.

"They're the ones behind all the murders and disappearances in Seattle." Elijah stated.

"Do we know how many Newborn she's created?" Sage asked.

"I don't think so and without Alice's power, we won't be able to..." Kol replied.

"Maybe we can estimate... Charlie, can you find exactly how many people have gone missing lately? Along with how many people where killed?" Elijah asked.

"Sure I can but how will you be able to tell from the normal disappearances and the supernatural ones?" He asked.

"Seattle's crime rate is pretty stable so we'll be able to have a pretty accurate estimation." Klaus replied.

"What about your hybrids in Seattle, did they tell you anything?" Finn asked his brother.

"They have never encountered Cold Ones before and apparently, the red haired bitch keeps them pretty much in line." Klaus replied.

"Won't she need someone from around here if she wants to sneak in? I mean, Billy told me that the first time the wolves crossed her she didn't seem to know the place very well and now she acts like she knows every tree... She seems to know every details about this place..." Charlie informed them.

"It could be, but it could also be that she was around a long time and got to know the place..." Elijah replied, not willing to Kill Charlie's hopes but knowing it was necessary.

"Except that she was never around for more than a few minutes... She runs through to test the defenses and leaves... And no matter how hard you study the maps, you can't know as much as she knows without having spent years walking through here..." Charlie replied.

"What do you have in mind Charlie?" Sage asked the Chief of Police kindly.

"I just looked through it today now that I have most of the facts... A little after Bella came back from Phoenix hurt last year, a couple from around here came to the station to report their son was missing. Since the boy was studying in Seattle, I couldn't file the report so they went to Seattle to do it. It was right before all the murders and dissapearences started. Of course it's a big city and the police over there didn't find anything. It just came to me today after I left Billy's... That boy, Riley Pierce, knows this place a lot... He hiked and hunted a lot in those woods with his father. He basically spent his entire childhood around here hiking when he wasn't at school. Bella told me that Alice couldn't see much about the army and that she couldn't see anything about Victoria's actions... What if this Victoria changed Riley so that he could do the decision making? This way Victoria can stay out of Alice's vision reach right?" Charlie asked, eager for some answers.

"That's actually not bad thinking at all Charlie... She could be doing that..." Elijah said thoughtfully as the other nodded.

"Isn't there anyone else that could give us some answers?" Finn asked.

"Actually, I have a witch that owes me a favor not far from here. Since it's a favor that will save a lot of human lives she'll be willing to help me. I'll call her tomorrow and see if she can get us some answers." Elijah announced.

"Will we be enough to handle them, keep them from going in town and protect Bella and Charlie?" Sage wondered.

"Well, I'll call in my hybrids to help, we'll have the Major and we can always ask for the Quileuts to help. I'm sure that they won't want to just stand by when so many of their enemies come and invade their town." Klaus replied.

"True." Kol said.

"I'll give Billy a call tomorrow morning." Charlie announced while nodding.

"It might be better if we met him..." Elijah suggested.

"Sure, I'll take you there tomorrow before I head to work." Charlie agreed.

They talked some more for a couple of hours before they all went to bed. The next day was going to be a big one and they all needed to be fully rested in case there was an early fight.

.

After he settled in his bed, Charlie felt better than when he woke up that morning. He had been afraid of loosing his only child but now he knew that his daughter would be safe. Somehow, he had been accepted into this big family of vampires and they would all be safe.

.

In Mystic Fall's, Caroline had explained to Elena and her Salvatore boyfriends that the Originals were gone for now, then she called Tyler and told him that it was safe to come back since Klaus was gone and promised not to use the sire bond anymore, he had released him. Of course he didn't answer and instead he left her another voice mail later (when he knew she wouldn't be able to answer because she was in class), telling her that he wasn't ready to come back, that he had to break the sire bond on his own. She was ready to accept it when she decided to listen to it again.

The second time around, she concentrated, looking for a clue as to where Tyler was so she could surprise him there and she heard a faint feminine voice in the back ground:

"Come on Tyler, the bed is getting cold without you in it and I miss you in me..."

Then, just as Caroline's heart was breaking, she heard Tyler say in a louder voice:

"So, yeah, Like I said, I'm working hard on breaking it...the sire bond I mean...gotta go. Call you back later babe."

Caroline had never felt so betrayed in her entire life. She tried calling back Tyler and without any surprises he didn't answer. She decided to leave him a voice mail of her own.

"Hey Tyler, it's me again. I heard your message. Wanna know what else I've heard? Your little whore talking in the back ground. I trusted you and you really hurt me. I actually thought you deserved to be trusted, I was willing to fight for you, for us. You've really hurt me. A lot. How could you do this? You say you're going away after almost killing me because you want to train to be stronger and you end up cheating on me? -BIP"

The allowed time for a message was passed but she wasn't done talking so she called again and left another one. The first message had started out angry and finished with her in tears. This time, she was crying the entire time:

"Me again, the girl you cowardly bit and left dying before going away, pretending it was for me when you actually were going to cheat on me. Did you know that my father died? It's your fault you know. He died trying to help you. You killed him. You killed my father and left me. You broke my heart too. Who is this bitch? What does she have that I don't? How could you do this to me Tyler? I was falling for you... I was so involved in this...-BIP"

"Damn it." Caroline cursed before she dried her tears and called again.

She was back to being angry and it would be heard in the tone she used.

"Surprise, me again. I wasn't done talking you little bastard. I'll never forgive you for making me cry. Did you know that Klaus flirted with me? He invited me to a ball and everything. I resisted his charm out of loyalty to you. I felt something for him but because we were together I resisted... But he loves me, he said so. It's because he loves me that he broke your sire bond. And you broke my heart. You made me cry... I hate crying and I...-BIP"

She dialed the same number again. This time, she wasn't crying at all. She was full of anger and ready to let it out. She vaguely wondered if she had already gone through the right stages of grief in such a short time or if it will come back again. She knew that the first one was denial, she hadn't voice this one but had been through it in her head before calling Tyler, wondering if it was all a mistake. Then came grief, and anger. She definitely knew these ones and had voiced them already. She was still stuck in the "anger" stage of grief... What came next again? Bargaining? she refused to let herself fall this low with him. No, she wouldn't be bargaining anything with Tyler anymore. What next? Acceptence? Yeah, she wasn't ready for this yet.

"I hate you, Okay? I fucking hate you for hurting me this way! This whory bitch better be good in bed because you won't find anyone else to sleep with you around here, I'll make sure of it. I'll also be talking with your mother, I think she has a right to know what kind of man she's been raising... Seriously, did you have to leave for this? Just stay away from me and from Mystic Fall's, I don't want to see you ever again. Tell your bitch that she...-BIP"

"Caroline again, finishing what I have to tell you. You can tell your evil little bitch that if she ever comes near me, my town or my friends I will end her. And you. I will end you both. I truly hope she was worth it because you just lost everything you had going in this town... and it was good." She finished before she hung up much calmer.

"Damn it, I forgot to say something..." She muttered before she called Tyler's number again:

"By the way, in case you didn't get it with my previous messages, I just broke up with you. Don't call me ever again, I don't want to hear from you. Come near me and I'll get Klaus to go after you and your bitch. Goodbye Tyler."

When she hung up the phone this time, she was much calmer than she was before.

"You're okay honey?" Liz asked her daughter.

"I... I will be mom." She smiled sadly.

"Do you need anything?" She asked her daughter.

"Ben and Jerry's ice cream and a hug?" Caroline asked with a small, sad smile.

"You've got it honey. I'll be right back."

Caroline didn't really know what the future had in store for her but as she spent the night trying to forget about Tyler, she thought about Klaus and got a feeling that he would be in her future for a; long time. She needed to take time to forget about what Tyler had done to hurt her but she felt that she wouldn't be able to resist Klaus for long now that she didn't have a boyfriend to stay faithful to.

What was Klaus doing right now? Was he thinking about her? Was he coming back to Mystic Fall's at some point? She fell asleep thinking of this and dreamt of Klaus punishing Tyler in funny and humiliating ways for hurting her and making her cry.

Biggest chapter so far!

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Lorelei Candice Black