CULLEN FAMILY: Esme and Carlisle. Rosalie and Emmett. Jasper and Victoria. Edward. Alice. Wensley and Jessica.

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

Rated: T.

Author: xPaige Turnerx

Summary: COMPLETED AND WAITING TO POST. "Trust me, dating a vampire and having a wolf for a brother are the LEAST complicated aspects of my life. Every now and then my nose reenacts the elevator scene from The Shining, and I randomly wake up in the woods. Normal was shot to Hell a long time ago."

"At the center of your being

you have the answer;

you know who you are

you know what you want."

-Lao Tzu

After almost an hour of trying to talk Charlie out of grounding her, Bella managed to at least negotiate a time frame and conditions. She was grounded only for the week, and apparently was allowed down at the Res still. But she couldn't have Lauren and Mike over, nor any other mysterious friends she refused to introduce him to (his words that she had to roll her eyes at), and she couldn't go to their houses. The only reason she could see Jake was because Charlie knew they were fighting and wanted them to make up, and something about Jake being family so it didn't really count as hanging with friends.

Mostly Charlie just really loved Billy and Jake and could never keep Bella from them.

So she found herself sitting in the passenger seat of the cruiser as they ventured down to their lifelong friends, some old song from the fifties playing on the radio. Otherwise it was silent, and had been for about twenty minutes. Normally Bella would be completely cool with keeping the silence. She was a girl of few words and Charlie was a man of few words. The result? Very few words. This time was different though. It wasn't that she wanted to have a big conversation, in fact she was a little tired out from them after the previous night, but she felt it needed to be done. Before word got out, spread around the tiny little town, and got back to Charlie.

Not that there was, exactly, anything for the town to talk about. She and Alice were just friends, as far as everyone knew, even as far as Bella knew. Obviously there was something between them, something more, something Alice hadn't been able to name in the car, but it hadn't fully blossomed, so to speak. It was still just... potential. They were still just friends, and Bella didn't know how she felt about that.

Part of her was wildly okay with it. As she said, things scared her, and once you toss emotions into the mix, she was usually the first to run the opposite way. Run far, run fast, and never look back. Another thing she and Charlie had in common, according to Renee.

On the other hand, she couldn't deny the incomplete sinking feeling at the thought of her and Alice only ever being friends. Of Alice only seeing her as a friend. It churned like acid in her stomach and took the breath right out of her in a completely different way. A really, really lame way.

Tricky business, this was, and generally the kind of thing a child talks to their parents about. Renee would be all over this, she would have spotted it before Bella, pried the details out of her, and offered advice. Helpful, if not aggravating.

Charlie was the total opposite. He gave Bella all the privacy she'd ever need, never pried into her life or looked too closely unless there was a cause. Let her have her space while letting her know he was there if she needed him, but ultimately minded his own business. Bella really, really appreciated that about her dad.

Right now, however, she kinda wished Renee was there to get the ball rolling.

"Dad."

Charlie blinked a few times, glancing at his kid before looking back to the road. He grunted, moustache twitching. "What'cha need, Bells?"

"I have something to tell you, I think," she said quietly, fiddling with the sleeve of her coat. Forks was officially stepping into winter now, with the lightest blanket of white covering the sleepy town. While it still rained and was entirely too wet for her liking, the snow seemed to stick around. It made the roads a little hazardous and walking treacherous.

Her dad hummed, nodding his head. His eyes shifted in her general direction, but he was pretty committed to watching the road. Vampire reflexes, he did not have, so she was thankful. "I'm all ears, bud. You can tell me anything, you know that."

"Yeah, I know." She sighed, looking up to the ceiling and searching for the right words. A tactful, gentle way to put it so she could ease him into the conversation. A comfortable segue to ensure his response was at least civil. Hmm. "Raise your hand if you're gay!" she blurted out instead, lifting her hand up, and was absolutely floored when Charlie did too. "Holy shit, you're gay too?!"

He laughed at that, a sharp, short bark and shook his head. "Nah, but I thought it might make you feel better," he said as his cheeks darkened.

"A little," Bella whispered to herself, her eyes wide. Well, okay. He was cool joking about it, so it couldn't bother him that much. "I am, though. Gay. Me. Into the girls. Just to be clear."

Charlie nodded, the smirk of his face smoothing out into a small smile. "Yeah, I know, kiddo. Your mom called me up, jeez, it must have been three o'clock in the morning, one night when you were thirteen. Told me you were gay, demanded my opinions on the matter, gave me a lecture about stigmas and how hard your life could be, how difficult it'd get."

He chuckled, shaking his head with a wistful look, and Bella was once again reminded of how much she missed her mother. Renee was a card and a half, a fireball of bright, wild energy that Bella was surprised anyone could keep up with. She was so vibrant, so full of life and joy, so... much. Just so much, most times it exhausted Bella. But she was Renee, she was her mother, and she was always there for Bella. The whole mom thing wasn't her strong suit, but she loved Bella so fiercely that it made up for it.

Honestly, when Bella sat down and really thought about it, she was overcome with utter disbelief and gratefulness to have landed parents like hers.

"I'll tell you what I told her, Bells. You're my kid, you're my daughter, ain't nothin' in this world or the next gonna change that. You're the single most important thing in my life, and I love everything about you. You wanna date boys, you go right ahead. You wanna date girls? Would probably make me feel a little better, 'cause I know firsthand how dumb boys can be. You're loved by me and safe under my roof, so if anybody ever dares to give ya a hard time, come tell me. I got your back, bud. Always will."

"Well you're just a big old softie under that gruff shell, aren't you?" Bella laughed as her eyes burned, feeling weights she never knew she had, lift from her chest. She bit her lip painfully, reaching over to pat her father's shoulder. "Thanks, dad."

He grunted again, a suspicious sniff he tried to hide by looking out his driver side window. "Yeah, well," he cleared his throat, "not a big deal. I know I haven't been as... eh, involved in your life as other fathers, and I'm not real good at the whole emotional thing."

"You're there when it counts," she told him sincerely, leaning against his arm and resting her head on his shoulder. "I wouldn't trade you for anybody else."

A few heartbeats of silence passed by, where the two enjoyed their connection. It wasn't often they opened up like this, especially to one another, so they let the moment last... as long as they could, at least. It still got a little uncomfortable after a while and Charlie huffed playfully. "You're still grounded, ya know."

"Dad," Bella snorted, giving him a light shove and sitting up properly again.

The rest of the car ride passed by in a flurry of giggles and laughter, Charlie trying to pry out information on Bella's dating life. Playfully, of course. He never pushed too hard, but he did try to guess her type, and started asking if she was dating any girls from school. He went down the list of what few kids he knew, and for the most part was oblivious to her infatuation with a certain pixie.

She found it, maybe, a tad suspicious that he'd named literally every girl Bella knew, but Alice. So perhaps he wasn't as oblivious as he seemed.

Either way, by the time the car pulled up in front of the Black house, Bella's mood was sky high and even the dread of dealing with Jake's drama couldn't bring her down.

The frozen gravel crunched under her police issued combat boots, and Bella was thankful Charlie had smaller feet for a man. She got all the hand-me-downs she could ever need. Instinctively, she blew warm air onto her chilly fingers, and followed her father to the porch, shoving her hands into her pockets. "Send him out, will ya?" she called after Charlie.

He nodded, letting himself in, and she listened as he shouted at Jake to get his ass out into the yard. "I'm sick of you two bickering like a bunch of toddlers. You're brothers, for god's sake, now act like it!"

Surprisingly, Jake didn't drag his feet. He was out the door in minutes, hopping down from the porch much like that fateful day. He still only wore a pair of jeans and a sleeveless shirt, and Bella frowned absently as she gazed at the muscles under his dark skin. "Where's your coat?"

"Don't need one," he grumbled, arms crossed over his chest. "We run a higher temperature than humans, this is like a breezy summer day for me."

Bella scoffed, shaking her head. "Well, aren't you special."

"You stink like leeches," he spat suddenly, his face twisted up in disgust. "It's soaked into your skin, I can hardly smell you. What, are you wrapping yourself up in them? Jeez, Bella, you couldn't even shower first?"

"It smells good to me, I didn't want to wash it off..."

Shoulders trembling, Jake's face darkened with an anger that looked so foreign on his usually happy face. "Oh, well as long as it smells good to you, by all means, waltz around my house smelling like a corpse. Oh, look at that, a reaction! Finally told you, did they? And you still stink like them, you're still hanging out with them. You know, I think they have a word for that, Bella. Necroph-"

"Stop it!" Bella snapped angrily, eyes flashing a chilling blue beneath her glasses.

Jake scoffed. "Why should I? It's disgusting, Bella. They're dead, they're walking corpses that feed on actual people. Why should I stop?"

"Because you're hurting my feelings," she mumbled, losing her energy. She wasn't here to fight, she really wasn't. She was sick of fighting, and if she did, if she fought him one more time, that was it. She'd go too far, she would ruin things, she would win this time.

That seemed to stop him, or at least give him pause. The fire in his eyes was gone, the rage in his face more... of a pained look. "Yeah, well, you hurt my feelings."

"What, because I broke my promise and I'm hanging out with my friends?"

"No."

"Because I decided to stop being immature like you and act like an adult?"

"I'm not-"

"Because I refuse to treat people so terribly just for being who they are, something they have no control over?"

"Because you chose them!" he finally shouted at her. His arms dropped to his sides and he stalked forward, face screwed up with hurt, dark eyes that began to water. "You chose them over me, Bella! You haven't been back, you haven't called, you haven't even sent a text since that day! You're glued to their sides, I've heard it from all the Forkians, and you haven't given me a single thought since then! You left me behind, again!"

That's why he was so upset? He was upset at her because of her, not the Cullens? To be honest, Bella wasn't expecting that. Her face softened and she pushed her glasses up into her hair, stepping forward to place her hand on his arm. "Jake, I thought you hated me. You were so mad last time I saw you..."

"I know," he said miserably, staring down at his shoes. Sometimes, with how large he'd gotten, how mature his body looked, she forgot he was only seventeen. Still just a kid. "It's this damn Shifter gene, Bella. I get... I get so angry and that doesn't even come close to explaining it. There's just this rage that consumes me and I can't think properly, but I'm working on it, I've been working on it since that day. I can't believe I attacked you, I'll never forgive myself, and I couldn't apologize because those fucking leeches won't let me into Forks anymore."

He was ranting, speaking so fast and tripping over his words. "I hate them, Bella, I hate them so much. Because my blood demands it, and because they took you from me. I feel it deep in my bones, how much I hate them, and then they go and pull that shit? Keeping me from Forks to protect you? They care about you enough to try and forbid me from Forks? To risk this treaty they've been working so hard to keep up, all for you? How the fuck am I supposed to keep hating them now?"

"Ehm... what?"

He ran his hands through his hair, making it stick up in odd places, holding the back of his neck. "That little one, she was so mad when they came to the border. She looked so pissed, three of them had to hold her still. I knew if they let go for even a second, she'd be across and on me like that. Just as fast as I'd be on them if they ever hurt you. How can I fault them for it, how can I not appreciate that, Bella?"

"Sorry, I don't think I understand what's happening here?" she asked, head tilted to the side. Was he... he was obviously upset, but complimenting the Cullens?

"Neither do I!" he roared. He leaned against the cruiser, hands in his pockets, and let out a petulant growl. Literally, like a dog, he growled. Bella blinked a few times before leaning back against the car next to him. "I do hate them, Bella, more than I could ever properly explain to you. But I think that's because it's... instinctual, and more irrational than I'd like to admit. I wish they were dead, like really dead, and that you'd never met them." He sighed deeply and finally let his head roll to the side, eyes finding hers. "But I guess, if you must be friends with them, if you need them in your life... I can keep my hatred to myself. I'll, uh, be as supportive as I can. I just want my brother back, just please don't leave me behind. Please."

Unable to stop herself, she scoffed up at him. Her breath curled like smoke in the cold air before her, his face crumpling in rejection again. She rolled her eyes and grabbed his arm, heat rolling off him in waves, and hugged it tightly to her. "You never lost me, you big oaf," she said with a little grumble. "We were both being assholes and we both needed to cool down, but I'd never leave you behind. I promise."

They both winced at that, still a sore subject. "Don't promise me," he said seriously, but gently. "Prove it instead. Show me. Because I miss you like crazy, dude. There's a lot of shit going on in my life right now, and since you finally know about Shifters, I can spill to you. Which I desperately need to do because I'm strugglin'."

"Same," Bella breathed, more excited than she meant to be. He quirked his eyebrows, giving her a curious look, and hopped up onto the hood of the cruiser. Bella climbed up beside him and they both laid back against the windshield, letting snowflakes fall on them. "My life was turned upside down last night, but you go first. Yours seems serious and I kinda like mine."

Jacob laughed, his massive body shaking the car, and rested his hands behind his head. "Where to begin? Alright, so I've been a wolf for about a year now, which is really messed up. I mean, there are upsides, like really, really cool upsides, but mostly I hate it. Because that's what we do, we hate all the time, just everything. Or feels like it. I'm just always in a bad mood, but maybe that's because of Sam."

"Sam?"

He held up a finger. "I'm getting to that. Sam Uley, he's our pack leader. You met him last time, he explained the gist of shapeshifters to you?"

"Ohhh," Bella's face scrunched up at the memory, "yeah, he was kinda weird. Gave me the creeps."

A noise of agreement came from Jake. "Yup, he's an asshole. The real kind, not like you. Hey! No pinching, we're not five anymore. Anyway, he pretty much runs the pack like his own personal cult, and it drives me fucking insane, Bells. Mostly because I have no choice but to obey, and when he pulls rank like that, I can't even... I can't even not like it. It's hard to explain," he waved his hand around, much like Bella had earlier, and her heart warmed, "but when he's being all Alpha-y, I'm being all wolfy, and I want to listen, I want to make him proud, I want to be one of them, all while losing my mind trying to stop."

"Pack mentality," Bella said quietly. She turned her head to see Jake looking at her earnestly, looking for some kind of explanation that would make him feel better. "It's something wolves have. Actual wolves. A pack mentality, they all start thinking alike, like one mind or whatever. Makes them more efficient at hunting and fighting. There might be some connection there."

He nodded, sighing under his breath. "Yeah, that makes sense. Well, he uses it to his advantage all the time, and I just... I really wish those bloodsuckers didn't change the treaty." Jake's face darkened again, the shadow of anger and hatred back. "You shouldn't be here, Bella, it's not safe anymore. Sam really doesn't like you, he's got wolves in the trees right now, watching us."

Without hesitation she stuck her hand up in the air, turning it this way and that to give the middle finger to all the trees.

"I don't even know him. Why doesn't he like me?" She was getting real sick of people she didn't even know, hating her guts for no reason. That was three now.

Jake leaned up on the hood, stretching his torso to look around the fields and off into the treeline as he grabbed her outstretched hand. He frowned and laid back again, shaking his head. "Probably something to do with the Cullens, and how buddy-buddy you are with them. He hates them even more than I do, but I think it's more personal for him. Dunno why, couldn't care less..." he pretty much shrugged at her exasperated look, indifferent to this man's hatred of her friends. "But I don't want him taking it out on you, and I don't know for sure he won't. I mean, his whole front is protecting humans from bloodsuckers, but I wouldn't put it past him to try something."

"Okay, freaking out just a tad," Bella muttered, glancing to the trees and flicking her glasses down onto her nose again. "My last tango with a giant wolf didn't go so well..."

Barking out a laugh, Jake nudged his shoulder against hers. "You did surprisingly well, from what I can remember. The rage swallowed up most of my rational thought, so it's a little fuzzy. Either way, you shouldn't worry much. I got your back, Bells."

This was the second person to say this to her today, and also from one of the most important people in her life. Her eyes stung but she blinked back the tears. His teasing would be relentless if she let them fall. "I thought you have to listen to his orders?"

"Yeah, kinda," Jake pouted with a huff. His face was hard, but his eyes were still hurt. "I'd fight it for you, Bella. I'd fight them all, even if I'm outnumbered ten to one. Plus, Quil, Embry, and I are working on that. On disobeying him... or, well, sorta. We can't outright do it yet because he's gonna be pissed if we actually do it. So we should probably make sure we can before we do, because he's got so many wolves, dude, and it's just the four of us."

Bella's brows furrowed, her curiosity winning out over the fear creeping into her heart. Despite his promises to stand by her, she didn't exactly feel safe on this side of the border anymore. She, too, wished that maybe Alice hadn't reacted so strongly. Jake was stuck here, and she wasn't about to leave him behind, which meant she had to keep crossing over into danger.

Stressful. When did her life become so stressful?

Arms crossed, she shook her head and looked up at him. "You said the four of you?"

"Yeah!" he seemed to perk up at that, sliding to the edge of the car to let his feet touch the ground. "Leah, she just shifted for the first time about... a week ago? Maybe a little more. The first girl in, I dunno, forever?"

"Take that, lupine patriarchy...?"

He snorted and rolled his dark eyes. "Way to support your own sex, brother. She's pretty cool though, a total badass. She's refused Sam twice now, like, I'm not even sure if she's in the pack. Which is weird because he basically looks at you, says sit, and you sit. She actually flipped him off when he commanded her to shift last night!"

"I'm glad you made a new girl friend," Bella laughed.

Jake blushed, scratching his cheek and looked away. Bella's eyebrows rose but she tucked away that speculation for a later date. "Yeah, I don't know about that. I thought being a wolf made me angry, but she's just on a whole other level. Mood swings like you would not believe, but she's trying to help us learn how to say no to Sam, so. Yeah. The four of us. I don't know if she'd back us in a fight, but at least she wouldn't be there to kick our ass, either."

Nodding, Bella slid to the edge of the car, her feet dangling above the driveway. She stared down at them, leaning against her brother. "That's pretty shitty, Jake. Your whole Sam, deal. I wish there was something I could do to help, but alas, some of us around these parts are simple mortals. We trip on shoelaces and can't turn into Kujo in the blink of an eye."

"Eh," Jake shrugged again, looking up into the sky. He squinted at the giant grey cloud blotting out the sun. "It's an explosive situation, to be sure, and will probably be hell when it finally goes off, but for now it's alright. I'm mostly worried about you, hanging out with leeches in Forks, and being stalked by wolves down here."

Bella rolled her eyes. "Those leeches, as you so kindly put it, are my friends and would never hurt me." She decided to leave out the part where she was sure Rosalie wouldn't blink twice at the thought of killing her, and that Wensley might actually do it. She hadn't missed that little 'bite her or kill her' jab he shot at Alice, and she'd been trying not to think about it since. Nevermind those Volt... Vult-whatevers, Alice had ranted about in the car. Descending like a cloud of death, she'd put it?

Apparently, the supernatural world was wildly melodramatic.

"Hah," Jacob scoffed and growled, all in one. "You might have found a bunch that like to play house now and then, but they're killers, Bella. Make no mistake."

"I thought you were going to be supportive..."

"This is me being supportive," he deadpanned. "Do you hear me threatening their lives?"

"I slept with one last night."

She watched, in a numb and resigned sort of way, as Jacob snarled and slammed his fist into his open palm. She waited patiently, staring down the long road, while he continued his fit, not unlike a parent out-waiting their pouting child. "I'll kill it, Bella! I swear I will if they so much as-"

"There it is!" she chimed, pointing up at him. "There's the death threat."

"You slept with a bloodsucker, what do you expect?!" he exploded at her.

She shoved him roughly, enough to send him sliding down the wet hood of the cruiser, onto the driveway below. After a moment, long enough for him to cool off a tad, she leaned over the edge to look down at him. He had the tact to look sheepish. "I expect support. Proper support. I slept with Alice, yes," she held up her hand as he scowled again, "but that was it. Slept. It's a whole story, but I don't want to get into it right now."

"Your heart skips a beat when you say her name," he muttered after a few tense seconds. He watched her watch him, working his jaw a few times while he struggled to reel in the heat of his anger. "You need support because it means something, doesn't it? You like that bloodsucker, for real."

A blush burned her cheeks and she nodded meekly. "I think so, yeah."

"You're killin' me, Bells."

With a small smile and an exaggerated sigh, Bella stuck out her hand to pull him back up onto the car. "Get up here so I can explain it to you, so you can then explain it to me, because I'm just... I'm freaking out. But you need to put aside your wolf hate and forget that she's a vampire, or I'm gonna shove you off the car again."

"Damn it! ... fine, help me up."

.

.

.

It was late by the time Bella and Charlie made it home, especially at the crawl they had to do on the icy, wet highways. Something about that one road, connecting the Res to Forks... it made Bella's gut churn painfully every time she was on it. But they'd made it, like she assumed they would because why wouldn't they? Why was that thought even in her mind?

Charlie muttered something about crawling into bed so he could get up for work in the morning, and coming home straight after school to continue her grounding, before he dragged himself up the stairs. Bella watched him go, amusement and affection seeping out of her, while she dallied around in the kitchen. She sent Alice a quick text to let her know she was back and that things went well with Jake.

After a quick midnight snack, Bella flicked off all the lights and made her way upstairs. She couldn't stop the eager bounce to her step, knowing Alice might be there at her window waiting, because she certainly wasn't at the front door. Bella had checked, and maybe, possibly hovered there for a couple minutes.

Her bedroom door swung open and she had only a moment to smother her scream, not wanting to wake Charlie, whom she heard snoring from his closed door. Bella bit her knuckle, her fists clenched as she desperately tried to calm her heart, and glared fiercely at the intruder.

"Heya, Boo," Emmett greeted happily and a little too loudly. Bella closed her bedroom door and leaned back against it, still trying to get her breathing under control. Emmett seemed to notice, his big head tilting to the side as he idly glanced at her chest. "They were right, it's pretty easy to mess up that drum. You should ask Carlisle to run some tests, I'm not totally sure that's normal. Or start drinking more tea, I hear that helps. You're too stressed."

"I wonder why," she snapped sarcastically. She rolled her eyes and headed for her bed, sitting on the edge and staring up at the largest Cullen. "What the hell are you doing in here?"

The giant boy shrugged, sitting on the edge of her desk. She jostled, ready to jump up and catch her dinosaur of a computer if his sheer weight broke the entire thing. It was likely; he was twice the size of the thing, easily. "Since it's late and I know humans get cranky when they're tired, I'm not going to hold your lack of hospitality against you. Especially after this morning and how much effort I put into cutting up all that fruit for you."

What a drama queen. "I'm sorry, Emmett. It's very good to see you. What brings you by at such a late hour?"

"Right," he grinned happily, running a hand through his black hair. "About that... so, hmm. They told me to break it to you in a way that wouldn't freak you out."

"Uh oh."

She didn't see that going over well.

Seemingly thinking along the same lines, Emmett nodded with a slightly frustrated look. His big, bright eyes shimmered like sparkling gold in the darkness of the room, the only light spilling in from the window he somehow managed to squeeze through. "Well, you and I were never ones to beat around the bush. That seems to be working just fine for us, so I'll spell it out for you. Basically, we're pretty sure you're being stalked by vampires."

"Come the fuck on," Bella whined, throwing herself back against her mattress. "No. No, just – nope. Not happening, this isn't happening. Emmett, I'm serious. No! Okay? I don't have room for any more of this shit, so take it back. Tell me you're joking."

His face was sheepish and mildly concerned when she peeked at him. "Wish I could, Boo." The giant got to his feet, surprisingly silent for his size, and walked around the room. He picked up things here and there, studying them closely as if they held all the answers to all the questions in the world, and put them back down again. "We get nomads who pass through now and then, not really often enough to have a protocol set up. If we catch them in Forks, we send them on their way, and most are happy to distance themselves from us. Large covens like ours are almost unheard of."

"Why do you think I'm being stalked?"

It took entirely too much effort to force those words out.

"Smelled 'em," Emmett replied, waving at the window. "For a couple days now, we've caught wind of a few different scents. Mostly in the woods, and skirting around our land. We hoped they were just passing through, but Rose and Wensley were suspicious that we hadn't seen them yet. Like they were hiding from us."

"Okay...?"

He sighed and shook his head, coming to sit beside her on the bed. After a brief hesitation, he scooted to the far end to put distance between them. "I don't know if Alice told you, but you smell really good," he said and looked at her. Bella nodded because, yes, Alice had mentioned it that very morning. "Like... so good, Bella. You're what we call a Singer. Your blood calls out to any vampire who catches a whiff, intoxicating, addicting, and promising oh so much reward. Almost like a gravitational pull, your blood literally draws vampires in."

"That doesn't sound very safe..." she muttered.

"No," Emmett agreed with an uncharacteristically serious look in his eyes. "It's not. Alice came by earlier, she wanted to wait for you here because she couldn't see when you'd get back. There are three foreign vampire scents in your room, and... uh, all your shirts are missing from your hamper."

Bella jolted to her feet, running over to her dirty laundry hamper. Usually, she'd be embarrassed, rifling through it and tossing boycuts across her room, but that took back seat to her panic and growing horror. Not a single shirt was found inside. "What the fuck? Emmett! What the actual fuck?"

"And metaphorical, theoretical, imaginary fucks, too," he nodded, hands on his hips as he stood beside her, staring down at the basket, "So... yeah. Pretty sure you've got at least three on your trail."

She turned to him, at a loss for anything right now. She grabbed his shirt in her hands and stared up at him. "What does that mean? What... what if they hurt my dad? What do I do?"

"Easy, Bella," he urged. Big stony fingers wrapped around her wrists and he gently pried her grip from his shirt, leading her back to her bed. She collapsed onto it when her knees hit the mattress. "We're gonna find them, and give them the boot or, ya know, put 'em six feet under. Maybe you haven't noticed, but this family is growing oddly attached to you. Alice isn't about to let some mangy nomads take you away from her, in fact, she's looking for them as we speak."

Bella perked up. "Through her visions? She can find them like that?"

"Normally, yes, quite easily," he said slowly, his brows furrowed. "Alice really makes life ten times easier than it usually is, but this time is a little different. The wolves always get riled up when nomads pass through, and they affect her visions. That, combined with you throwing her visions off even more... she's struggling. If they weren't after you, I think she could do it, but because it involves you, man, I don't know. We'll get 'em, either way. We always do."

"I still don't feel great about it."

Emmett grinned then, sitting up straight to flex his muscles. Bella could see the sleeves of his t-shirt strain and threaten to rip. "You have nothing to worry about there, Boo! It's why I'm here. You'll always have one of us watching the house while you sleep, nobody's sneaking up on you. Tonight's my night. And during daylight hours, so to speak here in cloudy Forks, you're safe. They're not gonna rip your throat open in the middle of Town Hall, ya know?"

She gaped up at him and he winced.

"Oh, yeah, that probably didn't help. All I'm saying is you'll be fine. You're never alone when you're on this side of the border, and no vampire wanders down to the Res. Those dogs will rip you to pieces faster than you can say down, Yeller, down! Plus they stink and that's enough to kill anyone's appetite. So relax, my bumbling little fawn of a friend."

A deep sigh escaped Bella's lips and all she could do was nod. Really, that was her only option because, yeah. This was her life, apparently, and what else could she do? They were vampires, for shit's sake. Faster than her, stronger than her, and probably a whole bunch of others more than she was. If the Cullens wanted to help her, of course she would let them. It was either that or die, so... not exactly a hard choice. Mostly, though, she mostly just nodded because she needed to sleep. This had been the longest day of her life, and she just wanted to sleep it off.

So she got under her blankets, kicked off her pants and let them fall out the end, and gave Emmett and the window a pointed look. "I appreciate it more than I could politely say in this moment, Emmett, but you're not watching me sleep. You guys don't get cold so I don't feel bad about kicking you out of my room. Feel free to take a book, if you want."

"I guess only pixies are privy to your bed, hm?" he asked with a wiggle of his eyebrows. He ducked under the random book she threw at him from her desk, and laughed. "Alright, I'm going. Holler if you need anything, I'm just under your window here. Oh and, uh, if Esme asks, I apologized for my lack of manners this morning."

"You didn't actually, you know."

"Well you're not actually offended, so there. Plus, I'm bound to do it again, and why waste my breath apologizing over and over, when I can just do it once one day far, far down the road?" His tone was light and breezy, so happy and carefree that it soothed the acidic ball of nerves that weighed heavily in Bella's stomach.

It was really hard to be scared when Emmett was around, she was finding, and not just because of his intimidating size. Jake was just as big as this mountain of a man, if not taller, but Bella had always fallen into the older sibling side of the relationship there. When there was danger, she was scared for him more often than herself, and while she didn't let that deter her, she still suffered the anxiety that came with it.

Emmett was, for some new and delightful, albeit a tad embarrassing reason, the closest thing Bella ever had to an older brother. Yes, they were merely friends, but it was a role he naturally fell into, and Bella didn't have the heart to fight it. She'd always wanted siblings, growing up in Phoenix. Leaving Jacob had been... difficult, and she tried to bury it the best she could.

Trying to smother the affection in her chest, Bella hugged her pillow close. She watched the giant run his fingers along her bookshelf, plucking a cover from her collection, and head to the window. "Emmett?" she called softly, knowing he would hear. His movements stilled, head hanging out the window until he brought it back in. "Who are the Volt...ies?"

"Volturi?" he asked, head tilted. She nodded and once again, a grim sort of seriousness slid onto his face, eyes darkening shade by shade. "Seriously bad news, Boo. Best to give them a wide birth and fly under their radar, okay? Who told you about them?"

"No one, really," she whispered. Her fatigue was creeping up on her, fast. "Alice mentioned them in passing after something Wensley said this morning."

A light sigh heaved Emmett's shoulders and he straddled the windowsill, staring down at the cover of her book in his hands. "Wen's a good guy, even if he doesn't show it. Angry to everyone, about everything, unless it involves Jess, but it's not who he is. He's been through a lot, kinda like Rosie, but they really are good people. Give 'em time, give 'em patience. They'll come around."

"Okay. Thank you, Emmett," she finally said, pulling the covers up over her shoulders. "I'm glad it's you who got first watch, or whatever."

Those amber eyes sparkled and the grin he offered was fiercely endearing. "Me too! Heard you trip twice on your way up the stairs, haha!"

.

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KELLY!

Yeah, so, how'd you like Bella coming out to her dad? Not gonna lie, I used this method when I came out to half my family. Alas, I did not receive such grand results. Got that disappointed "oh no, ohhhh paige, no. Maybe you're confused?" but whatever, this isn't about me.

It's about Bella and her adorable vampires that understand humans get grouchy when they're sleepy. I've been adding a couple chapters here and there, to lengthen this story out some, and because you guys just inspire me to add more. You deserve more. But yeah. These new chapters I'm adding. I like 'em a lot. I think you guys will too.

peace

Paige.