AN!: I suck. I am the worst author on this site. i'm horrible. yeah, i'm really beating myself up about how long it's been since i updated. it's been at least a month and i never meant for it to take this long, but a lot of things came up. I got kicked out of college for my grades, then it was my birthday and there was all that rukus. now the kitchen is being remodeled, and my mom took my laptop away. and since im not in school i don't have as much time to write. it's just been one problem after another really, and add writers block to that and you end up with a severely late update. i really can't apologize enough. But, let me just get this chapter up pronto and you guys can catch me again at the end of the chapter. i hope you like it.

Chapter 37

"I hate you." Bella grumbled as Alice led her to the dressing room, the 8th of the day, with a whole new armful of clothing.

The pixie-like vampire just smiled and shoved her through the door easily as Angela giggled from behind her.

"Come one Bella, it's no big deal. Besides, you have to admit that Alice is good."

"Traitor!" Bella shouted from inside the little room as she sifted through the pile of clothes sitting in front of her.

Alice just laughed.

"Don't worry Bella, I have a feeling that you'll find a winner this time."

"And if I do will you promise to redirect this torture on someone else? Angela seems to enjoy it."

Alice rolled her eyes.

"Yes, I promise." She sighed dramatically. "My gift is wasted on the unenlightened. Do you actually know the names of any high end designers?"

Angela snorted.

"This is Bella we're talking about. She wouldn't know Chanel if it tackled her and she wore it to school."

Alice's eyes brightened.

"Finally! Someone who appreciates the fine art of fashion. Ang, I think you're my new prodigy."

"Hey!" Bella exclaimed from inside the dressing room. "Alice, stop stealing my friend! Angela, stop letting her!"

The girls just giggled as they separated into their own dressing rooms and began sifting through their own piles.

The men however, sat outside patiently, unaware of the battle going on not more than 30 feet from them. Well, Ben was honestly unaware. Carlisle on the other hand was expertly faking his ignorance as he hid his amusement at Bella's obvious annoyance.

Ben shook his head as he caught the doctor's eye.

"You sure are lucky."

Carlisle raised an eyebrow.

"How so?"

"Because your girlfriend isn't a shopaholic like mine." He said with a grin. "This has got to be rare for you."

Carlisle chuckled.

"You seem to have forgotten that Alice is my daughter. I believe that makes us fairly even."

Ben rolled his eyes.

"How could I forget? I've changed my mind. You're screwed man."

The blonde smiled and nodded in agreement before standing as Bella snuck out of the dressing room to where he and Ben were sitting.

"Having fun love?" the doctor asked with a knowing smirk.

She glared at him halfheartedly.

"What happened to rescuing me from your daughter?"

Carlisle shrugged innocently.

"It slipped my mind?"

She snorted.

"Yeah. Right."

Ben grinned.

"Alice did promise that this was the last clothing store. The quicker you finish with the enormous pile she has for you, the sooner we can get out of here."

Bella stuck her tongue out childishly.

"Easy for you to say. You can sit out here and complain with your partner in crime. I on the other hand have no one to commiserate with, as Alice has already managed to turn Angela to the dark side."

Carlisle looked at me in amusement.

"The dark side Bella?"

The brunette nodded.

"Your daughter is evil. Haven't you noticed?"

"Only when she's within 5 miles of a clothing store." He replied as Alice herself stepped out of the dressing room to glare at her adoptive father.

"Thanks dad." She said with a roll of her eyes as she grabbed the brunette and started shoving her back around the corner, much to Bella's displeasure.

Ben shook his head.

"The Cullen house must be a lively place, huh?"

Carlisle chuckled.

"You have no idea."

Half an hour later and the group found themselves walking down the main road towards a local bookstore where Bella was planning on picking up a new copy of Wuthering Heights as hers had finally bitten the dust.

They never made it.

Alice stopped in midstep, her eyes unfocusing as she stared into the distance.

Carlisle was the first to notice and reacted quickly as he nudged Bella forward to keep Angela and Ben distracted while he waited for Alice to snap out of it.

"Alice?" He whispered quietly. "What do you see?"

She blinked and then looked up at him.

"Nothing. I can't see anything at all."

He frowned.

"The tribe?"

She shrugged.

"I can't be sure, but it would make sense. You'd better tell Bella. It could be Jacob."

Carlisle nodded and he and Alice trotted forward to catch up with the trio. At a glance from her father, Alice hooked an arm around Angela and Ben's shoulder and strode ahead with them as Carlisle reached out and drew Bella to his side.

She looked at him in confusion, aware of Alice's distraction.

"What's going on?"

"The future disappeared again."

"Oh," She said, catching his implication. "You think some of the La Push kids are here?"

He nodded.

"Considering the fact that it could very well be Jacob I figured that you would appreciate knowing, especially as I am here and he did not react well to the news of our relationship."

Bella smiled and laced her fingers with his.

"Thank you. I love you, just so you know."

He grinned.

"I do, but I shall never tire of hearing it. Shall we?" He asked, gesturing to the trio that was easily outpacing them,.

The brunette nodded and continued to let her hand rest in his as they pulled up alongside the rest of the group.

Alice looked over at her with a smirk.

"So Bella, I hear the sight of blood makes you faint."

Bella glared at Angela and Ben.

"Traitors. I didn't faint! And it's not seeing blood that I don't like, it's the smell."

Alice raised an eyebrow.

"Blood doesn't have a smell."

Bella wrinkled her nose.

"Yes it does, or at least it does to me."

Alice rolled her eyes.

"Where is this bookstore of yours Bella?"

The brunette looked around, furrowing her eyebrows.

"It should be right around the-" She stopped in her tracks. "Corner."

Not 50 feet in front of her, Jacob Black stepped out of a store onto the sidewalk, headed in their direction. There was no time to try and hide whether they wanted to or not, for the senses of a werewolf are almost as strong as those of a vampire, and Jacob had picked up their scent in seconds.

Angela followed Bella's line of sight before grimacing.

She looked at Jacob and then back at Bella.

"Unless you guys need the backup, it might be better if Ben and I make ourselves scarce." She said, knowing that the conversation probably would not be a peaceful one.

Alice nodded.

"Good idea. I'll go with you guys. We can go wait in the bookstore. I need another copy of Hamlet. Mine seems to have mysteriously disappeared and naturally, Jasper is denying everything."

The couple that remained cracked a small smile at her statement. Bella, because she knew exactly what had befallen the poor book, having seen Jasper chuck it at Emmett (after one of his less tasteful jokes) and it splitting into several irreparable pieces. Carlisle let the corners of his lips curve upwards because he know that though Alice wanted to be there for the dialogue with Jacob, she chose to retreat with Ben and Angela so that she could continue to watch the futures of the two humans as well as the rest of the family.

The smiles were short lived though, as the young werewolf strode towards them with nothing short of rage adorning his features.

"Bella," Carlisle said quietly. "If it looks like the situation is disintegrating rapidly and heading towards violence, promise me that you'll go find Alice and the rest of the group and get home as quickly as you can, okay?"

"No way. I'm not the one who needs protecting. Jacob would never hurt me. There's no way I'm leaving you alone with him." Bella said adamantly.

Carlisle frowned.

"Young werewolves aren't safe. I don't want you to get hurt."

"I know," She replied gently. "But you don't have to worry about me. Besides, what if I leave you two alone and he attacks you. He's bigger than you, and he's stronger than your average human."

"So am I." The blonde said with a smirk.

"I know, but I'd rather not find out who's stronger. I can't lose you Carlisle. I wouldn't make it this time."

His expression softened and he would have pulled her into his arms but for the werewolf that was closing in and would not have appreciated the sight.

Bella, in an attempt to diffuse the situation, spoke first.

"Hey Jake, what brings you to Port Angeles?"

"I could ask you the same thing." He spat. "You couldn't keep your sordid affair behind closed doors?"

Bella sighed.

"We didn't know you'd be here. You don't usually leave the reservation and there was no reason to suggest otherwise today. Why are you here anyways?"

"What, I can't leave home for a few hours? The pack doesn't have me on a leash. I am no common mutt. I was born to be what I am. Unlike some." He finished spitefully, eyeing Carlisle.

The blonde, who had remained silent for the most part, spoke evenly.

"I do not disagree with you. However, I have never wanted to be what I am. It might please you to know that when I first learned what I had become I rebelled against it, trying every method of suicide that I had knowledge of. I envy you your birthright. You were meant to inherit your gift, to become what you are, a protector of your people. My abilities were thrust upon me, due to circumstances that I could not control, and I was turned into a monster feared by humankind."

Bella's eyes latched onto his sharply.

"You're not a monster Carlisle. You are as much a protector as Jacob is, perhaps even more. You spend your time saving lives while some simply intend to cling to ancient prejudices and sling insults."

Her last few words were directed towards the young werewolf and his eyes narrowed as he responded.

"Have you ever asked why he saves lives now Bella? He's probably trying to make up for all of the people he's sucked dry."

The brunette's eyes flashed dangerously.

"You should do your homework before you make accusations like that one, because then you would have known that Carlisle has never tasted even a drop of human blood."

Jacob blinked, surprised, but dove right back in.

"That doesn't make him any less dangerous! He could kill you easily. He could crush you by just squeezing too hard. He's too dangerous for you!"

The blonde raised an eyebrow.

"And you aren't?"

Jacob growled.

"I would never hurt her!" He hissed.

"I know," Carlisle responded. "For I feel the same way. But you also know that your shape shifting is controlled by your emotions. One slip and you could kill her just as easily."

Jacob's expression faltered as he contemplated the doctor's words, knowing them to be true, but not wanting to accept defeat.

Bella rolled her eyes as she knew he was trying to come up with a good retort.

"Alright, we've established exactly how apparently fragile I am compared to you supernatural freaks of nature, and it's obvious that neither of you would intentionally hurt me, so can we please get over it and move on?"

She looked first at Carlisle, who smiled softly in agreement, and then at Jacob, who was scowling but nodded anyway.

"Good," She said happily. "Now it's obvious that you guys won't become friends anytime soon, but can you at least try to get along?"

Jacob opened his mouth to object but Bella cut him off, eyeing him evenly.

"If I were you I'd think before I spoke, because if you say no then you can be sure that you won't be seeing me down on the reservation again."

He paled considerably before agreeing to her terms as Carlisle nodded his acceptance as well.

The brunette grinned.

"Good."

She opened her mouth to continue speaking but stopped as she noticed Alice running towards them.

"What's wrong Alice?" Carlisle asked, noticing the fear in her eyes.

"It's Edward," She whispered. "He's coming home."

AN2!: Hey guys, so i guess my explanation was in the beginning and i dont need to repeat it, but i'd like to repeat the apology. gosh i feel bad.
On the bright side, you guys are finally getting your drama! edward is very nearly back! i hope this next section will meet your expectations when i write it and get it posted. i hope i can get it up sooner than i did this one.
I have a philosophical question to make up for it!
question #?: (i don't remember what number we're on. lol.)
Okay, so, what do you guys think about joining the army (or whatever military your home country has)

Hasta!
-Kristi