Chapter 14: Emergency

A/N: I own nothing. Characters are all Stephenie Meyers' creations. Smooches to the usual suspects Gabbysway2 and CorrinaT for being my cheerleaders.

I have to say a huge thank you to Boydblog just because she's awesome and agreed to be my beta and whip this baby into shape. I would also like to thank Edwardsisobel for pre-reading & offering her feedback. Those two helped me refine it, but I may have broken it again, so any errors below are on me.

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I stared transfixed by Victoria. I wondered for a moment whether my eyes were playing tricks on me after the day I'd had, conjuring up the last person I'd expected, or wanted, to see, albeit the one person who I knew I'd have to find before long to ensure the safety of everyone I loved. But it was no trick – she was standing right before me, grinning her leonine smile.

Her hair shifted with the light breeze, flowing and curling around her face. Neither of us seemed willing to move, although she almost appeared to be daring me to attack her, or maybe she was planning the best method of extracting her revenge now that I was immortal like her.

Immortal, the word felt meaningless and reckless in light of the danger I was facing. I made the first move, bending into a more protective stance and baring my teeth. If she wanted to take my life, I would ensure she paid a fair price for it.

I heard Jacob's heart thundering behind me. My odd two-stepping had left me roughly halfway between him and Victoria. I turned my head slightly to see him, wanting to tell him to go.

"Bella!" he shouted before I heard a vicious ripping sound and he exploded out in all directions at once. I watched his transformation, trying desperately not to be horrified by the way his body distorted as it tore itself apart to create the monster wolf that hid inside. He came to rest with his muzzle mere feet away from me. I could feel the warm wetness from his breath on the back of my neck. The smell of him in wolf form was disgusting and almost overwhelming, yet I refused to flinch. I knew from the way he had shouted my name that he had changed only to protect me; I was safe from his attack. Too bad he wasn't safe from Victoria.

Vicious snarls ripped violently from Jake's chest, filling the air like thunder rumbling during a storm. I didn't want to turn away from my biggest threat, but I had to tell him to run. This was my fight and I wouldn't see him hurt because of me.

I turned my whole body to him, watching his reaction closely so that I could see if Victoria intended to attack. I knew his face and body would easily give away her intention. I heard a soft, girlish laugh from her direction, I wondered if she thought I was in danger.

I stared in awe at Jacob. He was so close to me that I could see every drop of frothing saliva that was building on his teeth as he continued to growl and snarl at Victoria. He stared pointedly over my shoulder, almost as if he was seeing straight through me to watch her. I had no idea what she was doing behind my back, but I watched Jacob closely for the tiniest movement indicating that I should drop or turn, almost willing myself to try to read his mind. I opened my mouth to tell him to go, when time seemed to stop and everything happened in slow motion—slower even than any instant replay on TV.

Odd sounds that didn't belong in the forest filtered into my mind; tyres squealing to a stop, an engine being turned off, doors being ripped off their hinges. Confused growls and Edward's voice shouting, "Bella's in danger!"

I tore my eyes away from Jacob and watched as Edward came into view and threw himself in Victoria's direction. She was outnumbered and the three vampires would easily be able to overpower her. There would be no escape for her now, and no one needed to be hurt.

My relief lasted less than one sixteenth of a second. Emmett and Jasper flew from the Jeep in the wrong direction; they headed toward Jacob and not Victoria. I tried to view the scene from their perspective and realised in horror that Emmett had obviously misunderstood Edward's yelling and Jasper had misinterpreted Jacob's rage. They would have seen Jacob snarling at me from less than a few feet away. They had thought he was the danger. As realisation of their mistake dawned on me, I began to scream at them to stop, but it was already too late. They were already on top of him, grabbing and clasping, pulling away great tufts of hair as Jacob howled out in pain. My horror filled screams of 'No! Stop!' did nothing to quell their attack.

I heard the sickening sound of bones crushing, and listened in agony to the long painful howl that issued from the beast that contained my friend. Jacob's legs buckled at odd angles beneath him and he fell to the ground under the weight of the two vampires assailing him. I reached out and grabbed Emmett arm, tugging it while continuing to scream at him to stop.

Emmett was too involved in the fight and, thinking he was under attack, seized my arm, twisted it and threw me across the woods with all his strength. I felt myself flying through the air before slamming into a tree, sending it in turn crashing to the ground underneath me. I managed to get my feet beneath me before I landed, quickly before wheeling around and preparing to launch myself toward them to stop their attack. I was seeing red and would do anything necessary to stop them. I didn't want to hurt them, but neither could I let them continue to hurt Jacob.

As I launched myself, I heard the only sound in the world that could stop me from trying to save Jacob; Edward's pained scream and a sound I had only heard once before—when I was in the ballet studio with James—the high-pitched keening of vampire skin being torn apart. The noises combined to pierce my heart more absolutely than anything I could have imagined. I focused on the direction of the sound, twisting myself fluidly in the air before landing face to face with Edward. His expression was one of grim resolve; he was determined not to let me see the pain he was in. Victoria held a large chunk of flesh from Edward's arm between her teeth. I shuddered as I watched her draw it into her mouth and forcibly swallow it. My eyes flittered back to Edward and I knew he had let his concern for me hamper his own fight. Victoria had used his one moment of weakness to attack. What had happened to him was my fault.

I saw red again. This time everything in my vision was tainted with it as bloodlust filled me. It was primal and urgent but had absolutely nothing to do with my thirst. I launched myself onto Victoria, clawing roughly at her face with my hands. I grabbed and tore at her skin, feeling satisfied each time my fingers gained purchase and I was able to remove chunks of skin and hair. Nothing could stop my urgent rage, all the anger that I had bought with me into my new life ripped to the surface. I violently poured it all out on her.

Strange sounds filled the air, but I couldn't be concerned about them. My primary focus was the red-headed bitch in front of me who would pay for the stress I had endured in the last few weeks. It was amazingly cathartic to feel the power I had coursing through my muscles, reminding me that I was no longer weak. I was no longer a mere human. I could do damage, and I would ensure that I did.

As I gave my body over to my strength, I found I had the capacity to continue my attack as well as take in my surroundings. I realised Emmett and Jasper had stopped their attack on Jacob—I couldn't bear to stop and to think about the possible reason—and were gathering firewood. I could also see Edward staring at me with slack-jawed amazement before his bearings returned and he joined in my fight. Except instead of trying to push me out of it to protect me, he joined me to double up on Victoria. Although it shouldn't have surprised me, I was a little shocked at how well our two fighting styles complimented each other. Even without the benefit of being able to read my mind, we were almost coordinated as we ducked and weaved, and ripped and pulled in unison until Victoria was screeching in agony. Each chunk of skin we removed was thrown onto the pile of firewood.

As tempting as it might have been to prolong her agony for threatening me and my loved ones, I just couldn't. I was too compassionate for that. I nodded to Edward to let him know it was time. In less than a second, Victoria's head had been ripped from her shoulders and the fire was consuming the tendrils of her red hair.

I turned my back on the sound of the fire crackling and the thick purple smoke that was bellowing from it. The smell of the flame stoked my survival instinct. I knew deep within that I needed to get away from that smell. It was the scent of death and danger. I felt Edward's arm twist around my waist from behind and felt his lips on my ear, "Are you alright, my love?"

I nodded, reaching down before realising he had encircled me with was his injured arm. I clasped it gently before raising it up to my face. I gasped when I realised just how great a gash she had ripped from his arm. The wound was already starting to heal, but I could easily tell it would never be complete again. A piece of Edward would always be missing because of this episode. Edward wrapped his other arm around my waist, and stroked my cheek with the hand on his injured arm. "I'll be fine, love," he whispered softly into my ear.

As soon as I realised that Edward really was okay, another thought permeated my mind until I could concentrate on nothing else. My eyes scanned the ground, searching for the sight that I truly didn't want to see. As soon as I saw it, I gave a muffled cry. A broken pile of fur, sticky and tangled with blood rested where I had witnessed Jacob fall. I couldn't hear a heartbeat and it didn't look like his chest was rising and falling with breath either. Finally the thought I had been suppressing since I had started my attack on Victoria flooded into my mind; had Jasper and Emmett stopped their attack because they had realised she was the true danger or was it because he was...

I still couldn't entertain the thought. "Jacob!" I cried, tearing myself out of Edward's arms.

I threw myself beside the bloody mound, his freshly weeping wounds holding no appeal in my distress. I raised my eyes to look for help. Emmett and Jasper looked dumbstruck and cast their eyes toward the ground in a muted apology, but I couldn't find it in myself to be angry with them. They didn't know anything about the discussions between Jacob and I. They didn't know that he was still my friend, despite everything that had happened since the last time we'd met, or that he was just trying to protect me. But the fact that I didn't blame them didn't change the fact that Jacob was lying in front of me, broken, damaged and dying. I finally found the pair of eyes I was searching for. "Edward. Please," I sobbed. "Help him."

Edward was at my side in a flash, with Emmett's phone pressed to his ear. "Alice, I need to speak to Carlisle." He paused for a second. "Now, Alice!" Edward's voice held an authority that left no room for further argument.

I could hear Alice's confusion, but I was too exhausted to process actual words. Even with everything I had endured since my change, I had never felt so completely drained in my existence. In reality only about five minutes had past since Edward's arrival, but those five minutes felt longer than my entire human life. I couldn't breathe, because the guilt that I was the reason Jacob was so broken and battered kept eating away at me.

Edward placed his hand on my shoulder. "We need to get him into a bed. We can't take him to the hospital like this, but I can't treat him here."

"You treat him?" The words didn't make sense.

Edward smiled grimly. "Two medical degrees remember, plus I'll have Carlisle on the phone. We'll just have to check into a hotel or something, and soon."

"No," I whispered, trying to find enough breath to push out sound. I wanted to say so much more, but it wouldn't come.

"Bella, we can't argue about it," Edward pressed urgently. "Unless Jacob is treated soon..."

I shook my head. Charlie's motel room was near enough that we could be in and helping Jacob long before we had time to rent anything. "No, Charlie has a room," I finally managed to force out.

Edward nodded. "Let's go."

Emmett and Jasper moved to help shift Jacob into the back of Jeep, I wasn't sure whether to argue or not, but the looks of utter remorse on their faces made me move out of the way and let them help. We quickly tore the rear seats out and squeezed the hulking wolf into the back of the Jeep. He gave a small whimper as we did, which made me breath a tiny bit easier, it was a sign of life. After I gave everyone directions to the hotel, Edward and I climbed into the front seat, leaving Jasper and Emmett to run there on foot. Just as we drove off, I thought I saw something move toward the fire that was still burning, but when a bird flew out of a tree not far from the fire I dismissed the idea that there was something else out there.

With all the urgency we were under to get Jacob treated as quickly as we could, time seemed to speed up, taunting me in a cruel fashion. Before I really knew what was happening we were meeting Jasper and Emmett in the parking lot of the motel. Emmett presented a blanket, no doubt stolen from someone's washing line. Then we were halfway up the stairs to Charlie's motel room, Edward, Jasper and Emmett sharing the load of Jacob, who was alternating between low whines and monstrous howls. I took the lead, banging hard on the door when we came to it. "Charlie! Open up. Now!"

The door opened and I saw Charlie, I had obviously woken him because his eyes were still heavy with sleep. He actually looked rested but his voice was laced with confusion. "Bella?"

"We need to come in." I wasn't asking permission and I gently pushed him to the side to clear the way for the boys.

"What the hell is he doing here?" Charlie fumed when he saw Edward. But then he noticed what they were carrying, and heard the noises it made coming from beneath the blanket. "Oh my God! What is that?" I could see horror dawning on his face as he made out the shape of the giant wolf under the blanket.

"Dad, not now, please." I opened the door to the bedroom which Jacob had been occupying. The boys laid Jacob on the bed as gently as they were able to.

"Get him out of here," I growled at no one in particular. I didn't want Charlie seeing what was going to happen next, although it wouldn't take him long to work out something was wrong. Emmett jumped up and led a grumbling Charlie back into living area.

I climbed onto the bed behind Jacob and pulled his head into my lap. He let out a low whine as I shifted his muzzle. Edward hooked a hands-free headset over his ear and called Carlisle back, as he was waiting on instructions, he turned to me. "I need him to phase back, Bella. Can you help him please?"

I had no idea what I needed to do to help him, the only clue I had was that Jacob had told me anger was what triggered his initial transformation. Maybe peace and calm could help him back.

I stroked his muzzle gently, glad I couldn't cry anymore otherwise it would have been impossible for me to see. "Jake, you need to come back to me. Edward wants to help you, but you need to come back to us."

I could hear whimpers escaping from him and his shape seemed to shimmer slightly. Slowly, over the course of a minute, his body seemed to contract into itself until finally Jacob lay in front of me covered only by the blanket wrapped around his lower body. His black hair was matted with blood, but there were no open wounds on his body, instead he was criss-crossed with a series of scars that looked months old. As I stroked his cheek, his eyelids fluttered a little and a tickle of blood ran from his mouth.

Edward murmured urgently into the phone, receiving quiet clinical replies from Carlisle. I gave him an odd look as he picked up each of Jacob's limbs and checked over it, ignoring all of the broken bones and blood. He looked back at me. "They don't think they bit him, but I have to be sure. Even a small amount of venom will be deadly to him."

I nodded vaguely. "Let me know if there is anything I can do." I heard the motel door open and close and I assumed Charlie must have left.

"Bella, just be there for him, that's helping."

I nodded.

"Damn," Edward muttered suddenly. "I think I'm going to have to re-break a few of these bones, they're healing too fast and setting wrong. Jasper, I need you to act as anaesthetic."

Jasper shook his head slightly. "I don't know if I can."

I caught his attention. "Please, Jasper?" I jutted my lip out the way I had seen Alice do, hoping it would convince him.

"I don't know if I can with the emotions in here at the moment." He looked back at me again. I knew he was blaming himself for Jacob's condition just as much as he had for everything that had happened since my birthday party. "I'll try. But I've never been able to keep anyone under for long."

I took in a deep breath, trying to get my own thoughts in order and calm myself to help Jasper as much as possible. I wasn't sure whether it worked because I was in so much turmoil. Jasper nodded in thanks, appreciating my effort nonetheless. I watched as he placed his hands gently on Jacob's chest and then winced as he began to work, his face was lined with pain as he pushed calming emotions out to Jacob and absorbed the pain into himself. Edward nodded his satisfaction that it had worked enough for him to do what he needed to. I braced myself for what was to come, placing my hands gently on Jacob's shoulders to soothe him.

Edward placed his hands around Jacob's femur and then a sickening crack filled the air. I closed my eyes as Jacob's muscles flinched beneath my hands. The bedroom door slammed open just as Edward re-broke another bone. This time Jacob cried out in agony, as Jasper's talent slipped the moment the door crashed open.

"What the hell are you doing to him?" A voice that was both familiar and foreign cried. I looked up to see a dark-skinned man standing in the doorway wearing nothing but cut-off shorts. I vaguely recalled the voice and face from my human years and was able to guess who it was based on Jacob's words when he met me in the forest. I called Sam down from La Push.

"Sam. We're trying to help Jake," I said, my eyes falling back to the pained face below me.

Sam scoffed loudly. "I saw what they did to Jacob. It was playing over and over in his thoughts while you all carried him up here. He was just trying to protect you, even though you are nothing but a bloodsucker, and they attacked him."

I turned back to Sam, pleading with my eyes to just shut up and let Edward help him. And when that wasn't enough, "Please Sam. They didn't know, they thought he was the danger."

Jacob screamed again, and Jasper glanced my way apologetically, his guilt hiding behind his eyes.

"Jasper, no," Edward murmured. "It wasn't your fault."

Sam bristled and began to quiver, the same way Jacob had just before phasing. We were in too confined a space for him to phase with all of us in the room. There was no way Jacob wouldn't suffer further damage if it happened. Sam's voice shook with anger as he growled, "As if attacking him wasn't bad enough, now you are torturing him?"

"Sam, please," I whispered. "Edward is only trying to help."

Edward was ignoring everything else in the room, racing to reset Jacob's bones in more natural positions before they started to fuse together again.

"No. Sam." Two words, that was all I heard, but from those two words relief flowed through my body. It was Jacob's voice that had spoken, whispered and broken but there.

Jasper used my relief to calm himself and push that calm into Jacob again. He fell back to sleep. Edward looked at me. "Incoming," he whispered and gave me a grim smile. I knew exactly what he meant but was powerless to stop it.

Charlie burst through the door with Emmett trailing behind. "Emmett!" I hissed too quietly for Charlie to hear.

"Sorry, I couldn't stop him. I didn't want to restrain him by force." He pushed the sound out so fast and quiet I knew Charlie didn't notice, but he did notice me nodding sadly back at Emmett. The entire quiet conversation happened before Charlie had even stepped into the room.

"Bella, I need answers. You waltz in here hours ago, tell me you're dead when clearly you're not and that I should move on, and then you come waltzing back in here with them and a giant howling animal covered by a blanket." Charlie stopped and looked around. "Where's it gone?" He gasped as he saw Edward working over Jacob. "And where the hell did he come from?" He shook, whether from rage or shock I didn't know.

I wanted nothing more than to close the distance between us and wrap him in my arms to block out everything else that was happening. He didn't deserve to have the mythological world crash into his so absolutely. I shook my head, unwilling to untangle myself from under Jacob's head to go to him.

"Charlie, come with me. I'll try and explain a few things," Sam said as he pulled him from the room. At least Charlie's presence had aided our cause in one respect.

A wave of guilt ran over me, after all it was my suggestion to bring Jacob back to Charlie's room. If we'd gone somewhere else, we could have avoided the unnecessary drama.

Jasper groaned. "Please, Bella, this is hard enough for me as it is."

"Sorry."

I concentrated on Edward, watching his eyes as they flittered over Jacob's injuries.

It was a tense half hour after that. I heard raised voices coming from the other room as Emmett, Sam and Charlie talked. I desperately hoped they could keep themselves under control. Finally, Edward said good bye to Carlisle, hung up the phone, and pulled the hands-free off his ear. He looked almost as exhausted as I felt.

He moved closer to me, before reaching to me and stroking my cheek gently. "I've done all I can for him, love. Carlisle is heading back now."

I looked at his face, looking for any trace of a lie, worried he was trying to protect me from the truth. "Really?"

He nodded. "He's stable, Bella, that's all we can ask for at the moment. Everyone is coming back. They agree that everything going on here, and you, are more important than the family's safety. We'll just have to leave it to Charlie to decide what to do about us." He smiled sweetly before winking. "About whether to lock us up or not."

I chuckled as I thought about just how well a jail cell would hold the Cullens—or not, as the case may be.

"Jasper's not going to be able to keep up Jacob's artificial sleep. So I need to go get some traditional pain relievers."

I nodded, continuing to stroke Jacob's face as it rested in my lap. I turned to one side, offering Edward a kiss—the first since I'd run away from him. I couldn't help the small moan that escaped my throat when his lips touched mine.

I heard a groan and Jacob's voice whisper from below me, "Really? Get a room would you."

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