It had been five days since Jacob had returned days that felt like five years. Never in my life had time dragged by so slowly. I hadn't slept since that night and it was beginning to get to me. I was still putting in eight hours a day at the diner, I was doing anything I could for Billy, and all my spare time was spent sitting next to Jacob's bed. I knew it was ridiculous, but I had no choice. I had to be somehow helping at all times, or I felt restless and useless. Keeping busy helped.
I pulled up to Newton's store. I didn't want to be there, but Billy needed some things and I promised I would pick it up. It wasn't long after walking in when Mike came swarming over.
"Bella." He greeted me with a smile that my sleep deprived mind couldn't seem to reciprocate.
"Mike, hey. I'm here to pick up the order for Billy Black."
It took him a moment to register what I said, "Oh right, his kid is sick or something right?"
"His name is Jacob and yes, he's very sick." I was positive I looked as delirious as I sounded.
Mike got the hint, "Let me go get it."
I waited at the register for Mike to return with the large box, "This is pretty heavy, do you need help outside?"
"I'm sure I'll be fine." I pulled out my wallet. "How much will it be?"
"Billy just has us charge it to his card normally."
"Well, this isn't a normal situation. How much is it?"
"Umm... one thirty-two seventy six." Mike looked at me awkwardly.
I handed him a hundred and forty dollars cash, "Keep the change." I grabbed the box and made my way back to my car. I pulled out my list and looked at what else needed to be done.
Sophie had given me the day off, so I was trying to get a lot done. I put the truck in gear and headed back to Charlie's house long enough to grab the weeks worth of meals I had prepared this morning.
I was halfway to the kitchen before Charlie caught me, "Bells, geez, how long have you been home?"
"Only about two minutes." I pulled several casserole dishes out of the fridge. "I made some stuff for you too."
Charlie huffed, running his hands through his hair, "You gotta slow down and relax a minute or you'll run out of steam."
"I have to be there, Dad. I just have to be." I started stacking everything into a box.
"I understand that Bells, I do. I just want you to take care of yourself too."
"Thanks, Dad. I'll be okay."
"I stopped by Billy's today." Charlie smiled at me, "He couldn't stop raving about how great you have been. He said he couldn't do it without you."
"I just have to help." It was all I could say.
"I know, Bells." He gave me a quick hug, "Let me take this out to the truck for you."
I drove to La Push, thinking for the millionth time how much more convenient it would be if my truck had enough power to go just a little bit over the speed limit. There were several cars in front of house, indicating that everyone was probably here. Jared came out to greet me.
"Will you grab the box in the back? It's Billy's order from Newton's." I instructed him, grabbing the box of food.
"Sure thing." Jared lifted it as if it weighed no more than a slice of bread and followed me into the house.
As I suspected it was alive with activity. I peeked in the living room to see what everyone was up to. Embry and his girlfriend, Sara, were passing around pictures and I could only assume that they were ultrasound pictures. It was still so strange to me that everyone's life was still going as if nothing had changed and it was all I could do to have time for regular things like eating or showering.
Jared set the box down on the counter and headed back into the living room. I set my box down, but instead of heading into the living room, I headed back to Jacob's room to see how he was doing. I was shocked to see my rocking chair sitting next to Jacob's bed.
"Charlie figured you'd be tired of sitting on the floor so he brought this over this morning." Billy said from behind me.
I made a mental note to thank Charlie for doing this for me, as I tried to keep from crying. "How's he doing today, Billy?"
Billy sighed, "No change."
I sighed, "I think I'll sit in here with him for awhile if you don't mind. I brought you the order from Newton's and some food for when I'm not here to cook. There's instructions on everything."
"You are too good to me, Bella. How much was the Newton's order?"
I waved him off as I settled into my rocking chair, "I took care of it."
Billy sighed, knowing better than to argue with me and turned to leave.
I sat just watching Jacob fitfully sleep for a few hours before the door flew open. I laughed seeing that it was Peter. "Bell! Show wif me!"
I raised my eyebrows, not understanding what he was trying to say to me. Seth peeked his head in, "We're watching tv, come join us. It'll be good for you."
Peter put his hands on his hips, stomping a foot, "Good Bell."
Seth laughed, "What he said."
"I'll be out in a moment." I smiled, looking back to Jacob for a moment.
"He'll be okay." Emily's soft voice said from the doorway.
I didn't look up, "How do you know that?"
"He has to be. He's gone his whole life waiting for you to answer him, he won't leave without it. You do have an answer for him don't you?"
I nodded slowly and sighed, "Yeah, I do."
"Bella! It's starting!" Seth called, startling me.
I squeezed Jacob's hand and walked back out to the living room. Seth patted the empty space next to him, encouraging me to join them. I thought about what Jacob had said all those years ago, about how being with him would be as easy as breathing. I finally started to understand what he meant. I fit into his life perfectly, becoming part of the pack almost instantly. I didn't have to worry about being eaten or accidentally hurting myself and throwing the whole family into a wild rage. Being a part of this life was so easy and uncomplicated. "What are we watching tonight?"
"Not what I wanted to watch, that's for sure." Jared grumbled.
I laughed, "So what is it?"
Embry smiled, "It's a show about these random people all over the world that suddenly get super powers."
I had to agree with Jared, it didn't sound all that exciting, but I watched anyways. As we went through the episode, Embry told me what powers each person had.
"Oh and she can't die." Embry said pointing to the girl in the screen.
I couldn't help but laugh, "She can't die?" I looked at the girl he was talking about, the one that was currently very much so dead, laying out on a morticians table.
Embry rolled his eyes, "Just watch."
I watched as the mortician pulled a large piece of wood out of the girls neck and moments later she came back to life. "How does that work?" I couldn't help but question.
"See, if she cut off a toe or broke her neck, she could just grow it back or pop it back into place. But the wood was still wedged in her skull, keeping her bodies ability to heal itself until it was out."
I stopped short, "Say that again."
Embry looked confused but repeated himself, "Well if she broke her neck-"
"No, the last part." I insisted.
"The wood blocked her healing powers."
I looked at Billy, hoping he had the same thought I had, his eyes lit up, "I think you're on to something, Bella."
We both made our way quickly to Jacob's room, the others following closely.
"What did I say?" Embry asked, clearly confused.
I kneeled in front of Jacob's bed, lifting the blanket up enough to reveal his bandages. "You say she scratched him right?"
Paul nodded, "Yeah but what does that have to do with anything?"
Billy began unwrapping the bandages, revealing the infected flesh bellow it. The four slashes barely visible in the gore. The flesh was swollen and a disgusting yellowish green.
"What if a finger nail got lodged in the wound. The piece of vampire inside of him could be poisoning him and blocking his ability to heal until it is removed." I explained.
"Just like the girl in the show." Paul nodded with understanding.
"Bella, get some pliers and make sure they are sterilized and get me some clean towels and bandages."
I rushed to get what he needed and returned in moments with what he needed. Sam was kneeled in front of Jacob with grim determination. "You guys will probably want to leave."
Everyone nodded and slowly filed out, but I stayed put. "Bella, you're not going to want to see this." Sam said.
I crossed my arms over my chest, "I'm not leaving."
Sam went to work, opening the wounds and searching for any foreign object. Each time the pliers punctures the wounds a fresh wave of puss and blood erupted out and streamed down his leg. I nearly threw up many times but I couldn't bring myself to leave.
I was beginning to loose hope in our mission after going at it for half an hour. It shouldn't have been so hard but we were looking for something as small as a chip of nail in the marred flesh of Jacob's thigh. I leaned against the wall, letting disappointment rush over me.
"I think I found something." Sam said in an excited whisper. His hands began to move frantically, using as much precision as possible to extract whatever it was he had found. I leaned in close, ignoring my nausea, trying to see what it was.
Sure enough, Sam pulled out a small sliver of a finger nail that had imbedded deeply into his skin. Within moments, Jacob seemed to still. For the last few days, he had slept fitfully, breathing heavily with his closed eyes furrowed in pain but suddenly he stopped. His breathing had evened out and his eyes relaxed.
Billy's eyes teared up, "Thank you, Bella."
I stood there in shock and awe that I had been right. I willed Jacob to wake up but I knew deep down that after such a sickness he wouldn't be up and bounding around for awhile.
"He should start to heal now." Sam set to work wrapping his leg in clean bandages. Once it was done, he took the bloodies towels and the pliers and headed out.
Billy looked at me with a broad smile, "Once again I am in your debt."
"As long as he is okay, I'll let this one go for free." I teased, feeling a giddy joy fill my system.
Billy and I stayed with Jacob for a long time, both waiting for his eyes to pop open. I tried to satisfy myself with the knowledge that his fever was going down but it still wasn't enough. Billy headed to bed once the pack headed home, but I couldn't leave him, not when he could wake up at any moment.
It had been dark for a few hours before I finally gave up, crawling into bed next to him as I had thought about doing several times. Now that I knew he was going to okay it was like my body finally kicked into gear again and I instantly felt more tired than I have ever been in my entire life. I fell asleep quickly with his warm body next to mine, more comfortable than I had been in a long time.
