Chapter 11: Count On Me

A/N: Ok guys! New chapter time! I hope you like it!

To answer you, Twin268, the way I feel about it is that his wolf had a need that had to be filled. It wasn't really a love thing, the date with Jess was definitely Jake's idea, and I doubt his wolf was very happy about it. But you know Jake ;) His wolf needed to knock it out, so he did lol... Thank you for asking the good questions! :)

I wake up in the morning, having fallen asleep on the couch, curled up on Jacob's lap. My alarm on my phone is blaring. I'm glad that next week starts Christmas break, I'll be able to sleep in. I shake Jake, hard. He needs to wake up and I have morning breath. He looks at me with clouded eyes, smiling.

"Hey honey. Is it already time to wake up? Ugh, I feel like ass. I swear if I wasn't working my ass off to graduate early, I would just go back to sleep," he lamented, trying to keep his eyes open. I kiss him on the cheek and hop up to get to the bathroom before he does.

Brushing my teeth, I look in the mirror and see the dark circles under my eyes. Just 3 and a half more days, and I will get a break from school. These late nights are starting to get to me. I hop in the shower and rid myself of yesterday's mess. I start to think about Jake again, and have an idea.

I finish as quickly as I can and grab my towel, wrapping it around myself. I look into the living room and don't see him there. I push open his bedroom door and he's not there, either. He must be peeing outside, since I was in the shower. I sit down on his bed, waiting for Jake. I hear the front door close, then him making his way to the bathroom. My ears pick up the sounds of him brushing his teeth. When the sink shuts off, I stand up and try to look as alluring as possible. He opens the door to his room, where I'm standing with the towel still wrapped around myself. He closes the door softly and locks it, trying not to wake Billy yet.

"Bells..." Jacob murmurs, taking a step toward me. His heavy lidded eyes are staring at me hungrily. I drop my towel and his dark eyes widen, his mouth forming a small 'o' as he groans softly at the sight of my naked body. He glides up to me, so graceful that it's beautiful. His muscled arms reach out and pull my waist to him, and our lips join, crashing together.

He inches closer to me so that I have to walk backward, turning me slightly as we go. The backs of my knees hit his bed and my body falls backward. Jake catches me and eases me down slowly, climbing into the small bed beside me. He slides his shirt over his head and drops his mouth to my right nipple, grabbing my other breast with his hand and kneading it roughly. His pajama bottoms are doing nothing to hide his rock hard cock, pressing into my thigh. I groan into his mouth when his hand moves to my glistening mound, rubbing my clit for a few moments before pushing his finger into my ready slit. I buck my hips up to meet his hand, feeling like nothing else exists but he and I.

"I love you, Bella," he breathes into my mouth. "Remember that," he says. He pulls off his pants, climbing in between my creamy thighs. He reaches over to his nightstand, grabbing a condom and rolling it on. His thick dick waits at my entrance for just a moment, then plunges in. I gasp at the fullness I feel, brimming with Jacob. His body starts pumping, his throbbing cock sliding in and out of me.

"On your knees," he commands. He grabs my hips and flips me over onto my knees, pushing my chest down onto the bed. He thrusts back into me, groaning again and grabbing a fistful of my hair. "Do you like that? How does it feel when I fuck you like this?" He slams into me over and over, harder than before. I clench at the sheets, moaning in ecstasy, my body reacting solely to his will.

"So! Good! Jake! Oh! God! So! Good!" my answer comes out staccato from his motions. I feel the telltale burn of an oncoming orgasm, but before I reach my peak, Jacob's hips stutter to a stop. I can feel that he's finished, and my heart sinks a little. I guess after the first time, I expected every other time to be just as good. He flips me back over onto my back and runs his hand back down to my juicy center.

"Sorry babe, I got a little excited," he grins. "No worries, I'll still help you finish."

"You're such a gentleman!" I giggle.

His fingers stroke my lips languidly, going just to the inside of my folds to find the gem nestled there. His fingers glide up and down while he sucks on my tit, nibbling my nipple attentively. His mouth finds its way back up to mine, and he pushes his fingers inside me, sliding them in and out to a perfect rhythm. I can feel him crook his fingers in a 'come hither' motion, and my passion starts building again.

"Oh, Jake, I'm going to cum!" I whisper urgently. He kisses me harder, moving his mouth down the side of my neck and back up my jaw. He lowers his head once more to my breast, sucking on my hardened nipple. With his fingers still inside me, he brings his thumb up to rub on my precious pearl. My wave crests and crashes down all around me. I grab Jacob's pillow and throw it over my face, pressing it into my mouth to stifle the sounds.

Waiting until my beautiful ride is done, Jake pulls the pillow off of my face and kisses me again, cupping my face in a loving gesture. He gets up and tosses the used condom in the garbage, picking up my towel and using it to clean himself off. He then comes over and cleans me as well. Jacob looks up at me with so much love in his eyes, I can feel the intensity.

"You are perfection, Isabella Marie Swan. I... I want you to move in with me. Live with me here. Listen, I know we are young. But this is forever. You're already staying here because of the leeches. I know it was only supposed to be temporary, but I'm ready to start forever with you."

Just then, my phone rings. I recognize it as a local number, so thinking that it could be someone I know, I hold my finger up to Jake, then answer it.

"Hello, may I speak to Bella Swan, please?" the voice asks.

"This is she."

"Miss Swan, this is the secretary from Dr. Scott's office. I was calling to inform you that your appointment for an MRI has been scheduled for this afternoon. I'm sorry for the short notice, but Dr. Scott called and asked that they get you in as soon as possible so that we can move forward with your treatment."

The lady proceeded to tell me the address and time, being 1 pm, and what things I needed to bring. She asked me if I had anything to eat or drink yet, and thank God I hadn't. That's the reason for the early call, so they could catch me before breakfast. So I have to fast all day so that they can put me under anesthesia.

I'm just going to stay home. I'll call Charlie, maybe hang out with Leah today. She graduated a couple of years ago. She works at the local furniture store, and I know I can lounge around there all morning. That is, if she went in. I'll have to call and ask. Jake and I get dressed, and I call Charlie to update him on what is going on with the appointment. He is going to be meeting me at the hospital so that I'm not alone. Since everyone else will be at work, school, or on patrol, he will be the only one there.

When I call Leah's cell, she doesn't answer. Either she's at work, she's a wolf, or she's sleeping. Since I know that she's not on patrol, I'm going to wager that she's not phased right now. I really need to check on her and see how she's doing after her father's death yesterday.

"I'm staying home, too, so I can go with you," Jacob tells me adamantly.

"No. No you are not. You're not fucking up your grades. You have a lot of work to do. You need to go to school. Everything will be fine, this is a routine procedure. There's no cuts. Just an IV and they put me in a big tube to look at my brain. Everything is fine, Jake."

I kiss him, holding his body against mine for longer than necessary. I turn him around and pat him on the ass, and he figuratively tucks his tail between his legs and gets in his Rabbit to drive to La Push High.

I drove by the Clearwater house and see that Leah's little S-10 isn't there. I figure that she must be at work. I drive further into La Push and see her truck parked outside of the store where she works. I drive up to Rustic Home Furniture and turn off the truck, readying myself for the cold. After I put on my gloves, I head inside, looking around for Leah. I hear some voices coming from the back of the store, and thinking they were probably Leah and her boss, I cruise the floors, looking at the beautiful furniture.

"OH! Bella! It's Bella. Come out, Paul," Leah calls. "I thought you were my boss," she laughs.

"I thought PAUL was your boss," I laugh, too. "What were you guys doing back there?" I question, lifting my eyebrows suggestively.

"Exactly what it looked like, that's what it was," grinned Paul, walking out from behind Leah. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her back into his chest. They really do make the perfect couple. He kissed her cheek and let go of her. "Sorry, sweetie, I have to go. Gotta get back to the office. I have a meeting with some guy who wants a house built. If you need me... If you need ANYTHING, please call me. I will be here." We both watched him walk out appreciatively.

"GIRL! That is a really gorgeous specimen of a man you have there. I know I'm Jake's, but I can totally see you are a lucky lady." She shoved me playfully and it made me glad I had leaned against the wall. She almost knocked me over. I laughed as I tried to keep my balance. "What? It's true!"

"I could say the same thing for you, Bells," she tittered, winking at me. "I can smell you from here. You smell like wolf. Jake's smell is very... distinct. I don't think anyone could miss that," she teases as I blush.

"Leah... I don't mean to change the subject on you, but I was just coming to check on you. Why are you here? Shouldn't you be at home with Sue and Seth? I'm not trying to tell you how to grieve, I just... I think that maybe you might need them more than you think," I finish, and her face turns serious.

"I love you for checking on me. Mom is actually with Emily right now. She is helping with picking out clothes for Dad for the funeral. Seth is still a wolf. I think this will be really hard for him to come out of, because he can't calm down to phase back," she sighs. "I'm here because this place has a fax machine and printer, and I've been on the phone with the life insurance people for most of the day. I figured I might as well get paid."

"Oh, friend," I whisper, and walk over to hold her. Her body starts to shake and I worry that she will phase, but it's just soul-racking sobs. I lead her over to a couch and sit down, pulling her down with me, putting her head in my lap. I stroke her hair, running my fingers through it, and start singing.

If you're tossin and turnin

and you just can't fall asleep

I'll sing a song beside you

and if you ever forget

how much you really mean to me

I'll be there to remind you

She starts to quiet, calming down as I soothe her. I was never a great singer, but neither was Renee. I still love it when she sings to me. Music is soothing for the soul, and I tried to choose a fairly upbeat song.

You'll always have my shoulder

when you cry

Never let go

Never say goodbye

You can count on me

Like 1,2,3

I'll be there

I meet Charlie at the hospital at 12:45. I need to sign in and give my insurance card, and I guess that takes a little while? We wait after I do my intake, until a nurse calls me back. I'm really nervous.

"Chief, I know she is your daughter, but you can't be back here for the MRI. We will let you stay while they put her IV in, then you will have to go to the waiting area," the nurse warns Charlie. After last night, I guarantee she was warned about his behavior over Harry.

"It's ok, Dad. I'll be fine," I reassure him. He huffs his frustration and follows us into the hallway.

I wake up exactly where I went to sleep, which is not what I expected. The nurse told me that a doctor would be with me shortly, and that she was going to get my father, so I laid there waiting. Charlie came in a few minutes later and sat down beside me in the chair and held my hand. He's not big on affection, so it means a lot that he's doing this. The doctor walks in the room and Charlie stands to shake his hand.

"My name is Dr. Mallier. I'm a neurosurgeon, and I've come to talk to you about your MRI. I'm know that this scan was done in the mind of cutting out all possibilities of physical illness before you proceeded with therapy. I'm sorry to say that we have found a brain tumor." Charlie choked back a sob and squeezed my hand. "This type of tumor is operable, but we will need to shrink it first with radiation. It's coming close to the optic nerve, and if we do not start treatment soon, you can lose your vision."

"H-how... How big is it? Why do you need to shrink it?" I hear myself asking.

"It's about the size of a nickel. I've seen bigger, and I've seen much, much smaller. The biggest problem is where it's located. We can't cut it while it's so close to the optic nerve, at risk of your vision being lost. Basically we will shrink the tumor over the course of 6 weeks. Then we will do surgery to remove it. We will send the tumor to the lab after, to check whether it is benign or malignant."

Charlie is eerily quiet, staring into the air over the doctor's shoulder. I don't think he knows what to do with himself. And I'm so much like him... I guess I don't really know what to do with myself, either. This. This is what the letter was about. Edward was trying to make sure I got treatment for my brain tumor. Obviously I make it out of this if I follow the plan.

"What is the worst that could happen? What is the worst that could happen and I live through it?" I ask Dr. Mallier.

"We don't like to talk about worst-case scenarios. I can tell you the most likely outcomes, if that will help you though. So, the best chance is that you will come out of this alive, though thinner, with your vision intact. Radiation can take away your appetite, though we can get around that with a little help from some medical grade marijuana. A little less likely is that you will lose your vision when we are getting the tumor out. It isn't oddly shaped, so it should be easy to remove, once it's smaller."

"So, radiation for 6 weeks, then brain surgery. How long will it be after the surgery before we find out if it's cancer? And if it IS cancer, what do we do?" Dad asks quietly, squeezing my hand again.

"It shouldn't take too long. A matter of days, at most, and she would still be in the hospital recovering when we get the results. And if it IS cancer, we'll deal with it pretty much the same way. We did scan the rest of her to see if we could find anything else, and we didn't see anything. We will need to do blood work often, checking her cell counts and such," Dr. Mallier stopped talking and waited for another question, but we didn't say anything. "I'm really sorry for the news, guys, but it is my greatest hope that we will fix you as soon as possible. If you have any further questions, you can call back any time, and someone will answer them for you. The nurse will come in with information about where you will receive your radiation treatments and things like that. I'll see you next time."

"But Edward left the letter saying that Alice had these visions and gave me specific advice... So surely that means that everything will be fine, Jake. It's going to be hard, but I am going to make it through this, I just know it," I assure him.

"I feel so helpless! I want to help you. I want to do something that will make this stop. How is this fair?!" Jacob screams at the ceiling. "First Mom, and now you. I just... I just don't know what to do. Tell me what I can do to help," he almost cries. He's holding back his tears, but they are threatening to spill, glistening in his eyes.

"You're helping me already. I'm moving in here, and you're going to take care of me. I'll see if Sue can stay with me during the day, I'll need someone to, and since she's a nurse that will be handy. I don't want to put this on her yet, so I will wait until after I start the radiation. The side effects aren't supposed to start immediately, but I am expected to lose all the hair on my head at some point," I look at him with my chin lifted, too defiant to cry.

"You're moving in? Bells!" Jacob yelled, then picked me up gently and kissed me. He set me back down on his bed and looked at me sadly. "Have you told Charlie? I know Dad won't mind but I do need to run it by him."

"We talked about it briefly today after the appointment. He's ok with it, but you'll need to expect him to be here even more than normal," I chuckle.

"Are you ok? You're putting on a brave face, but I can feel that you are scared. You don't have to hide from me, love. It's ok, however you want to express your emotion. I will not think less of you if you don't take all of this well."

"I don't want to cry about it. I want to sleep it away. I want to go to sleep, and when I wake up, I want it to be g-gone," I start sobbing. "I sh-should have said something! I sh-should have told Charlie that I-I was hallucinating! I thought it was j-j-just my being crazy because Edward l-left. I c-can't even believe my sh-sh-shitty luck!" Jacob kneels down and kisses me, wiping my tears away. He puts his long arms around me and squeezes, harder than he normally would. I instantly start feeling better.

"It's a trick Sue taught me, called deep touch pressure. Rachel has anxiety pretty bad, and her panic attacks were much more manageable after I started using this. I'm not sure how it works, but it does," Jake informs me, not bothering to dry the tears running down his cheeks.

We sit this way for a while, with Jake on his knees beside me, squeezing my body. It really does help, even though I still am scared about what is happening, I'm not crying or hyperventilating. After a while, there's a knock on the door, and it opens without pause. Leah walks in and sees us, and kneels down on my other side. She laid her head on Jake's arms and wraps hers around my waist.

"What did they say, B?" Leah asks softly. I almost couldn't answer. Her father was just taken from her, and I don't want to give her anything else to cry about.

"I have a tumor in my brain," I sigh out. She looks up at me, and her lower lip trembles. "They won't know if it's cancerous until they remove it. I have to have 6 weeks of radiation before the surgery. So I at least have a little bit of time..." Leah lets go of my waist and wipes the tears from my cheeks. She puts her finger under my chin and lifts it.

"We are strong warriors. We win our battles. I will not sit here and listen to you talk about this as if you might die. You were made to be an Alpha's wife. You are the toughest of the tough. Nothing can beat you, Bella Swan. Nothing."

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