Chapter 37 Fallout

Disclaimer: the characters and all recognisable situations belong to Stephenie Meyer- this is a work of fan fiction, except for the legends and histories of the Quileute which, of course, belong to them. I pay my respects to their gods.

Thanks to BanSidhe for betaing

Jake drove her to the park and held her while she sobbed her heart out. The sympathetic woman had insisted she take the box of tissues with her. She earnestly wished her luck; Bella thought she would really need it.

It took her a long time to get herself back under some kind of control.

She was kind of surprised Paul hadn't thought to phone Jake. That would have been her first thought if she was him. She had turned her phone off after it nearly exploded in her bag. After half an hour or so, Jake pulled out his phone and turned it on. Clever boy. He rang Kathleen and the coast was clear, Paul had already been to the shop looking for her. Evidently he wouldn't take Kathleen's word and she had let him search her apartment.

The phone rang almost immediately and Jake checked the number, "It's Dad," he explained as he answered it.

"Yep, she's with me… flirting… again… she's upset but okay… he did? …stupid…no… the shop…"

Bella looked confused. Jake hung up and looked at her. "He picked a fight with Charlie. They are both okay but evidently he accused Charlie of breaking you up," Jake paused. "It did not go well."

He hugged her again. "I told Dad I would take you to Kathleen's and you will stay there until the baby is born. We can watch you more easily there. You need to phone Charlie and speak to him before he really shoots Paul this time rather than just pulling a gun on him."

"He pulled a gun on him…oh God…"

Bella rang Charlie and told him she had ended it with Paul. Charlie was worried by how angry Paul had been. She tried to apologize for not telling him sooner but she started crying again and Jake had to take the phone off her and explain. He said they would all be at Kathleen's; he would stay for backup, just in case Paul showed up again and Quil would be there too. He said she had a bag packed and in his car and he had her emergency birth bag, so they were ready for anything. He gave Charlie Kathleen's land line in case he needed to contact her and he already knew Jakes cell phone number..

He promised he would look after her.

It sounded to Bella like a well organised military campaign, maybe the pack stuff helped Jake be this organised. Or maybe…

"You knew he was going to screw up didn't you?" she asked him.

He shrugged, he didn't look embarrassed. "It's Paul." That was explanation enough.

When they arrived at the shop she asked Kathleen if she could just go to her room. Unfortunately it was the scene of one too many hook ups with Paul and it reminded her of everything. She was worn out so she went to have bath instead. Kathleen insisted on helping her into the bath and told her to shout when she needed to get out; Quil or Jake would hear her.

She lay in the bath and rubbed her tummy; the baby had bumped and jostled her but he was running out of room the bigger he got and he couldn't move as easily anymore. And then she giggled. Jake came running with his hands over his eyes, "Bells?" he queried.

"I'm okay, you have to see this," she said, "Buddy's got the hiccups." She folded her hands over her breasts to hide them. "Look Jake" she said.

"You sure?"

"I've covered my bits. Hang on I have to be really still so you can see it in the water."

He did. Little regular waves ran away from her stomach as the baby hiccupped.

"Wow, he's really alive in there."

"Yeah," she agreed. Now that was one vote she had to give Paul; Buddy had always been alive and real for him. She let Kathleen and Quil see too; Quil had probably seen worse in Paul's memories of her anyway.

Later, wrapped up in one of Kathleen's robes and most of Jacob, she thought that was how she would deal with this; she would concentrate on the baby and she could get through this. She hugged Jake.

"If I write him a letter; you'll make sure he gets it?" Jake nodded. "I just can't be near him…you know? I've tried it before but he just touches me and I lose it… I can't even think of what I want to say if he touches me."

"I know," he agreed. "A letter is good. All clear and unemotional. We will keep him away from you until you say you want to see him."

Jake gave her a hug and rubbed her back.

"He always treated women badly, didn't he?" she asked.

"Honey I can't tell you that."

"That's what you said that time we were talking about Paul on the phone; right after I told Charlie about him. Maybe if you had told me the truth then…"

"It wouldn't have helped then," interrupted Jake. "Bells you would have got involved with him anyway; you were already involved with him." He looked at her intently, "Do you really want the truth now? Would you believe me now? Or would you just say I was trying to sour your view of him."

"Yeah I see what you mean but my own view is pretty sour right now," she admitted. "I get the impression he was a bit of a man whore…"

Quil snorted. She had forgotten he was still there.

"Shut up Quil," Bella barked as she frowned at him. "So Paul was a BIG man whore," she corrected, "Who did what…? Loved them and left them…"

Quil snorted again.

"Really Quil, if you are not going to contribute, you can just shut up." Bella was angry now.

Quil lost it. "He fucked anything that offered, anywhere they offered and usually didn't bother to get their names; if he did get their names he forgot them as soon as he took the condom off… happy?"

"Quil," Kathleen reprimanded.

"Oh come on, Kathleen," he threw himself out of the chair and stalked up and down the living room. "If everyone had been honest from the start, maybe Bella wouldn't be in this shit right now. No one controlled Paul properly. Not the council, not the pack…and once he wolfed out, all his aggression was written off as wolf problems and he got even MORE second and third chances. He was bad before the change!"

"He has caused so many problems for the whole pack; Sam is sick of him…we all are."

"I know he broke Seth's arm," Bella stated.

"More than once," said Quil.

"Quil," Jake's tone was warning now.

"NO Jake," he stated. "And Charlie? He knows! How many times has Sam or some council member gone down to bail Paul out because he broke the arm of someone who didn't heal quite as quickly as Seth? Huh?" Quil was winding himself up now, "And that is the stuff that paints us all in a bad light. We risk our lives every night. It doesn't matter how many good deeds we do, how hard we work to protect the whole community, not just the natives …everyone in Forks. Nobody knows what we do for them; we risk our fucking lives for them and then Paul pounds on some civilian and we all suffer….oh those 'useless hoodlums on the reservation'… they think we are part of a gang anyway…"

"QUIL."

"She needs to know about him Jake, if she really is…"

"QUIL!" Jake shouted.

"Yeah yeah…I know…I'm going for a run," He kissed Kathleen. "I'm sorry…I know we had plans…can I have a raincheck?"

"Sure, you go run off whatever the hell is burning your ass." She kissed him back.

"I'll be back later ok?" he said as he took off out the door. "Wouldn't miss an opportunity to pound on Paul's ass if he shows up." He grinned at her.

Bella was shocked by what Quil had said but not unexpectedly; Charlie had pretty much told her all of this. "Charlie said he had parents who wanted Paul charged with …over their daughters…." She didn't know how to say it. "It wasn't rape but the parents wanted to charge him…" she trailed off.

Jake looked tortured. "I understand he can be pretty rough sometimes…"

She blushed, "I don't really know…I have never been with anyone else…" she muttered, but she did know he could be rough. She had worn enough bruises, scratches and bites to prove it.

FF_2154210_ - - 26/10/2010 03:45:00 AM