Here's chapter 11. This chapter will be kind of like a filler chapter, almost. So if you expect more, than I apologize. I'm trying not to go too fast or too slow. And sorry I took forever to post this chapter. I was really busy, this week. Anyway, here's chapter 11. Hope you guys enjoy! :)

Bella felt happier than she ever did before. She knew she wouldn't be alone when facing Dalanar. She had the town at her side. They promised her they would help. In fact, they already made a plan about how they'll help and what are they going to do. And that made her joyful. Not only that, but she had her friend Tom with her too! But what also made her happy, was that she had someone special close by. She had only that he promised her he would protect her, but he would always be by her side. She felt so happy, she couldn't put it to words. She never thought the time would ever come, where she felt loved.

Bella was taking a swim with Beans at the lake. It was a little late in the afternoon and both women were beat from the days work. So they decided to head down to the lake for a swim. They both swam for a while then decided to head to the shore and dry off.

"So, hows life Bella?" beans asked, after they were both settled on the sand.

"Oh, the usual."she responded casually.

Then after a while Beans spoke again.

"Bella, are you...nervous?"she asked. Bella was surprised at the question and looked at beans. "Um..I don't think so. Why?" she asked questioningly.

"Well...ya see, when we herd about what yer father did to ya, I...I can't imagine what kind of torture you must've gone through."she said sadly. Bella was surprised. She didn't know what to say. She just stared at the female lizard.

"And I can understand why ya ran away. I'm happy ya did! Really! But now, since ya found out he's comin'...to get ya...well... I just wanna ask, if ya feel nervous, or scared by any chance?"she finally asked.

Bella just stared at her in complete shock. She was completely surprised at what Beans said. She was quiet for a moment or two, thwn looked away. She gathered her thoughts before she finally answered.

"Well,"she started to say. "I admit, when I first heard that he was comin', I panicked. I was so scared and terrified that I might get caught, I didn't know what to do. I was even thinking of leavin' this place once and for all so he wouldn't find me here." she said then paused. "But then when you guys said you'd help me, I didn't fell so scared anymore." she looked at beans with a small smile. "I have to thank all of you! For everything you've all done for me! I'm so grateful, I can't explain how grateful I really am!" she said cheerfully.

Beans had to smile. "Well you don't need to thank us. You've already done so much for us too y'know!" beans said. "But I don't think I've done enough though!"she said. "Nonsense!"Benas argued. Both women bickered like that for a little while before they both started laughing at themselves. Then after a while Bella spoke.

"Hey! How did you all find out anyway?"she asked.

Beans looked at her. "Jake told us. Don't ya remember?"

"Oh right! I forgot!"bella said. She was quiet for a moment before speaking again.

"I wonder why he did that?- I mean, I'm not upset that he told you all. I'm just wondering why he did it in the first place?"she said.

Beans hesitated, before answering. "Well he seemed awful concerned for ya. You could see the worry on his face, when he was telling me and Rango everything. Then he asked if we could help. We quickly agreed of course. And when we asked the town, pretty much everyone was quick to agree too! And I could tell ya, he was awfully glad we agreed!"she said with a smirk.

Bella couldn't help but smile. She couldn't believe he would actually do something like that. She never imagined he could be so caring, so sweet, so...so... "Bella?"

She was snapped out of her thoughts when Beans said her name. "I'm sorry what?"she at Beans.

"Ya alright there? Ya kinda zoomed off there for a minute." beans said.

"Oh no! I'm fine! Really! I guess I was a little lost in thought there." she said blushing a bit.

Beans raised a brow. Then she smiled a little. "Ya know, I really think Jake cares about ya Bella. Cuz, knowing the Grim Reaper, he would never EVER do something like that for anyone."she said.

Bella quickly snapped her head towards beans, and stared at her with a surprised expression.

"And since he did do it, then that means that you are a very special person to him, Bella."she continued. "I think you really caught his heart. Cuz I see the way he looks at ya. He doesn't look at ya the way he does with eveyone; all bored, annoyed, almost 'I'm gonna kill ya' face. No. When he looks at ya, he looks at you with complete interest. As if everything you say and do is fascinating. And one could tell he deeply cares about ya, since he gets angry every time someone touches ya! Or even talks to ya! Not to mention he wouldn't allow any danger to come to ya. And I bet if anyone does anything bad to you, he'll shoot 'em for sure!" beans said.

Bella kept on staring at the female lizard with a surprised expression. She listened to every single word she said. And every thought she said, really hit her. When she finally snapped out of her frozen state, she spoke. "Beans,...what are ya tryin' to say?" Beans looked at her,

"Bella, I think Jake loves you."she said.

Moment of silence...

Then Bella started laughing.

She didn't know why she was laughing. She just was. That last comment totally blew her away. She didn't expect that at all.

When she was through, she looked at Beans with teary eyes.

"Good one Beans! Ya really had me goin' there for a minute!"she said.

Beans gave her a serious look. Bella noticed it and immediately stopped laughing. "Wait. You...were serious!"she said, completely shocked.

"Of course I'm serious! I really do think Jake loves you!"Beans exclaimed.

"But how do you know? How can you be so sure?"she asked.

"Isn't it obvious!? He's crazy about ya! He cares for ya, he protects ya, he doesn't wanna kill ya, and makes sure nothin' happens to ya! It's the truth! Rattlesnake Jake, a.k.a. the Grim Reaper, loves YOU!"she yelled. Bella shook her head.

"I don't know. It's just too good to be true."she said.

"I'm tellin' ya! I think that rattlesnake has totally got it in for ya!"Beans said.

Bella thought for a while. Then she spoke. "Are ya sure?"she said hesitantly. "Of course I'm sure. Jake loves you! And that's that!"she said. "Now my question for YOU is, do you love him?"she asked.

Bella flinched at the question. "What?!"

"I said, Do you love him?" she asked.

Bella was silent for a while, then looked down. She tried thinking of an answer to say. Then she looked at Beans. "Beans, ya think you could keep a secret?" Beans nodded. "Ok then."she said. Bella paused for a moment, then smiled. "I think I do love Jake."

...

Bella was laying on the sand near the lake. Beans left not too long ago, saying she had to go cook dinner for Rango. Bella couldn't help but smile at the fact that Beans and Rango make a good couple. That thought made her think about something else. Mainly her relationship with a certain rattlesnake.

'Does Jake really love me?' she thought. 'I mean, I love him but...does he love me? Beans seems to think that he does, but...I just don't know.'

Bella sighed. Then she got up and started slithering toward the town. But then something caught her eye. She turned her head and saw something shiny. She tilted her head in curiosity, and started slithered towards it. When she finally reached it, her eyes opened wide in surprise. The object, was a gun.

She picked it up, and observed it for a while.

'Someone must've dropped it.'she thought.

Bella was about to turn around and bring it to the sheriff, until she got a crazy idea...a vey crazy idea.

She looked around to see if anyone was near by. Luckily, no one was. Then she took the gun, and looked for a secluded place with some cactus trees.

Once she found a secluded place with enough cactus trees, she looked at the gun again. She raised a brow at it, then looked up, and tried to find a good cactus.

When she did, she aimed the gun at it. She pulled back the hammer, and fired.

BANG!

Smoke was coming out of the barrel as the bullet was shot.

Bella saw the bullet being fired out of the barrel. She had no idea where the bullet might hit, but she hoped it was close. But once she saw the spot it hit, she groaned in frustration. The bullet only hit a needle of the cactus. Bearly hitting the plant itself.

She then decided to try one more time. But that one more time, turned to about 10 times. Each time, she got more and more frustrated as she bearly even hit the cactus itself.

She growled in anger and frustration. "Why can't I hit hat stupid tree!"she yelled. She tried one more time, but she missed it completely. She growled. "What the hell!"

"Y'know you'll never hit that tree, if you keep shootin' like that!"

Bella jumped at the sudden voice, and turned around. She saw a familiar rattlesnake, who was staring down at her. She sighed in relief. "Oh, it's just you."she said. He raised a brow at her.

"Who did ya think it was. Some kind of bergaler?"he asked sarcastically. She gave him a flat look

"Well sorry for being too careful."she said sarcastically, but couldn't help but smile a bit... Although she didn't know why. He sighed and shook his head.

"What are ya even doin' out here in the first place with that gun?"he asked, straight to the point.

She paused for a minute, then looked down at the ground. "Well I found this gun laying on the sand and...well, I just thought I'd...try it out."she said shyly. He looked at her for a moment.

"So ya decide to try it out on the cactus?"he said flatly. She blushed a bit, then nodded, and lowered her head in embarrassment. She waited for him to call her a 'crazy woman' or 'stupid'. But it never came. Instead, he did something she didn't expect at all.

"Well if yer gonna use that gun, then I suggest ya use it right." he said. Then came towards her.

Bella snapped her head towards him, and her eyes opened wide in surprise. He then curled around her a bit, and wrapped his tail around her tail and the gun.

"When ya want to shoot something, ya gotta focus on yer target."he said. "Once ya know a precise target to hit, point the gun to it. Make sure ya have a clear shot. Ya don't want to shoot something you can't see. Then once ya got a clear heading, pull the hammer back. Don't move the gun at all if ya don't wanna miss. Then ya pull the trigger. Ya think ya got it." he said, then looked at her.

She hesitated a moment, before nodding.

"Alright then. Give it a shot."he said then let her go. She looked at him, then at the gun. She then looked at the cactus, and got a determined look.

She followed all the steps he told her and aimed the gun at the cactus. He scooted up to her and moved the gun slightly, then moved back. She looked at the cactus, then took a deep breath. She pulled the hammer back. Then a moment later, she pulled the trigger.

BANG!

The bullet shot from the barrel then right through the center of the cactus. Leaving a hole in it.

A huge smile spread across, Bella's face. Then she jumped up and cheered. She then looked at Jake, who had a little smirk of his own. "I knew you could do it."he said. She smiled at him, then without warning, she quickly slithered up to him and jumped on him.

He was surprised at first, and almost fell backwards, but quickly recovered his balance. "Thank you Jake! Thank you so much!"she said happily. He was surprised for a moment, then wrapped his coils around her, in a snake-like hug and held her close. She couldn't help but smile a little. Then she realized something. She looked up at him.

"Now that I realize it, I have a lot more to thank you for." she said.

He raised a brow at her. "For what?"he asked.

"Well if it weren't for you, the town would have never found out about my problem, and wouldn't be helping me. You're the one who asked them to help me. You're the one who talked to them and make them agree to help me. You're the reason why, I'm still here in this town. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be here, and I'd probably be out wandering in the desert. So I can't thank you enough for everything! And it really pisses me off that all I could say to you is thank you!" she said.

He had been listening intently to evey word she said. Never looking away or zooming out of her little speech. Every word she said, really hit him.

He stared at her for a while, then he leaned in and kissed her. She stayed still for a second, before kissing him back. He tried deepening the kiss as much as he can. He tightened his grip around her even more, until she could barely breathe. They stayed like that for a while until air became an issue. So they broke apart. Then they stared at each other. After a while, she looked down.

"My question is,"she started to say. "Why? Why did you do all this for me? I mean, I'm not much, really. I'm weak. I'm not strong, or brave. I'm big and ugly. And I'm not worth a shiny pearl either! I'm..."

"Yer right. Your not worth a shiny pearl." he said interrupting her. She gave him a surprised look, but couldn't help but get a little hurt and angry. She was about to speak when he spoke again.

"Yer worth more than a shiny pearl!"he said.

She looked up at him with a shocked expression.

"And yer not weak! You ARE stong and brave! And yer worth more than you realize. Hell, yer worth 100 times more than some shiny pearl! And yer not big and ugly either! Yer probably the most beautiful woman I've ever met in my entire life, and no other women could ever compare to ya!"he said.

Bella stared at him in complete shock. She never knew he could say things like that. Every word he said, had made an impact on her. She looked at him, with wide eyes.

"Jake, I..."she started to say. Until he leaned in and kissed her again. This time, she alnost immediately kissed him back. He brought her closer to him, until it nearly hurt. This kiss was like their previous one, except it was deeper and longer. When they parted, both were breathing hard. But he didn't dare let her go. He stared down at her, while she looked up at him. He wanted to say something to her, but couldn't make himself say it, and got frustrated. She noticed his distress.

Jake?"she said, which made him look at her. He hesitated a moment, then said, "You should go."

She was surprised. "What?"

"Yer gonna be late for yer job at the saloon, and I don't wanna be responsible for ya being late."he said.

"Oh." she said in disappointment. Then she looked down. "Ok then."she said, then startes moving out of his coils. But before she was completely out, he immediately said, "I'll meet ya there in a bit." She looked at him, and smiled. Then she quickly slithered up to him, gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, and slithered towards the saloon.

Once she was out of sight, he growled in frustration. He didn't get to tell her the one thing he's been wanting to say ever since the first day he met her.

Well this was chapter 11. Can you guys guess what Jake wanted to tell Bella? Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I'll try to update as fast as I can. I've just been a little busy lately and I don't have as much time as before to continue writing. But I promise, I'm not forgetting about this story. In fact, this story has been my motivation to finish my work early, so I can continue it. Anyway, if you guys have any ideas for the next chapter, feel free to PM me! And please review! The more you review, the more chapters I make! :)

(Warning! This message is for a guest who's been asking me some questions about the story. If you don't want any spoilers on the story, then I suggest you don't read this!)

I know your thinking a lot about the story, and I'm really happy you are. Just be a little patient with me ok. I promise your questions will be answered later in the story. Just give me some time ok. Anyway, I hope your enjoying the story. Please review! :)

Your writer, Andresome04