Jacob PoV

The day seemed to last forever. As I had feared Sam kept me on patrolling duty the whole day, probably punishing me for my earlier behaviour. He made me patrol the woods outside the reservation, the farthest away from Bella I could be.

It was no wonder my mood was bad, and everyone kept away from me. Even Embry, my best friend apart from Quil whom I was paired up today kept his distance, not even once trying to talk to me. Still the thoughts of the pack were inside my head, but I did my best to ignore them. They were merely more than reports of their status anyway.

I thought of Bella and last night and how good it had felt to hold her in my arms. At some point she had fallen asleep, trusting me to keep her safe. My chest had swelled, and a feeling of pride had swept through my body.

Letting her go home with Charlie was nearly impossible but I knew I had to take things slow if I wanted to keep her at my side. She was still in love with that bloodsucker although it looked like she was beginning to doubt her feelings. Maybe someday she would have forgotten him completely and then…

My thoughts were interrupted when Embry showed at my side, hitting me lightly with his front paw.

Hey, Loverboy. Time's up, you can go home. Seth will take over for the night.

I growled at him for the Loverboy, but he merely grinned a wolfish grin and began running towards the reservation.

I had my mind elsewhere and almost without my own doing my feet carried me towards Forks, towards her. I had promised to visit her if I could so we could talk about everything. I didn't know if I was afraid or relieved. I would have the chance to explain myself and apologise for my yelling at her but at the same time I didn't know what to expect. Last night had seemed to go well but what if she had changed her mind during the day? If she thought I was nothing compared to her precious bloodsucker and leave me for good?

Too soon I was standing in front of her house. Night had begun to fall, and I was not surprised to find Charlie's car parked up front. I turned and put on the shorts I had stripped to my leg. Then I went up to the front door and rang the doorbell like a good little boy.

It was Charlie who opened the door. He looked tired but he smiled at me briefly. "Hey Jacob, nice to see you. You here for Bella?"

I nodded. "If it's not too late…" It seemed the right thing to say even if every cell in my body wanted to storm right past him and get to her room. I couldn't say what I would do if he didn't let me enter.

"Well, Bella's been sick all day and up in her room. You can check on her if you want but she is most probably asleep," the Chief of Police shrugged.

Worry swept through me. Sick? Bella sick? My fists clenched involuntarily and the urge to shove Charlie out of the way and run upstairs intensified. Charlie must have noticed my distress because he put a hand on my shoulder and squeezed, trying to calm me down. "It's nothing serious son, just a little fever. She'll be up and about in no time."

I couldn't do anything but not, not trusting my voice to not keep yelling at Charlie to get the hell out of my way and let me see Bella. Charlie stepped aside and motioned for me to get upstairs. "But only for a few minutes. She needs her rest," he said firmly when I got up the stairs.

I opened the door to Bella's room as gently as I could and peeked inside. As Charlie had said she was fast asleep, lying on her back, her arms outstretched on the side. Her face was an unhealthy shade of red and her forehead was damp when I sat down on the bed and gently brushed it with my fingers.

She mumbled something in her sleep before she opened one eye. Her gaze was clouded and unsteady, but she relaxed visibly when she saw me. "Jake…" she whispered and immediately coughed.

"Hey…" I replied as softly as I could even if everything in me shook with worry. "I'm sorry I wasn't here when you got sick." A small frown appeared on her head. "Why?" she breathed. "Couldn't come… Couldn't know."

"Yeah, I know but I should have been there. You were alone all day. What if something happened?" With a lot of effort, she took my trembling hand in hers and put it to her too hot cheek. A look of relief crossed her face as if my sheer presence comforted her. A rather pleasant thought.

"Here now…" she mumbled, already half asleep. "So warm…" Once more she opened her eyes. "Stay."

I wanted so much to stay, to be at her side, watch over her, do everything to make her better but I knew Charlie wouldn't allow that. A flash of anger shot through me, anger at Charlie, at her illness, at this whole situation. Why couldn't we be like any other couple? Why did I have to run around in the woods all day, looking for a vampire when my… I stopped abruptly. The words that came to me burned in my throat, ready to be let out but I couldn't.

It was not real.

"Oh Bells…" I sighed. "You don't know how much I want to… But I can't. Charlie…"

"Please…" The words were little more than a whisper, but I could hear them as clearly as if she had screamed them. My heart skipped a beat and I fought hard with myself. There was no way Charlie would let me stay with his sick daughter all night, so I wouldn't even bother to ask him. But maybe there was another way…

I placed a small kiss on her damp forehead before I stood up. "Be right back," I promised as I gently freed my hand from her grasp.

Charlie was sitting in his recliner, a beer in one hand when I came back down. "She's sleeping," I told him and he gave me a small nod. "Nice of you checking on her." Wow, he must be really worried about his daughter, I thought. He had never been one to throw around long sentences like that.

"I'll come back tomorrow." I exited through the front door and made my way to the woods just in case Charlie was watching. Which he wasn't but I didn't want to take any risks. Not tonight.

So instead of turning and getting back home I made a detour until I was at the back of the house. The lights in Bella's room were turned off but the window stood slightly open which was enough for me. I jumped, using the tree as a help and opened the window enough so I could slip back in. Bella had fallen back to sleep and I tried my best not to wake her when I stretched beside her on her bed. One hand found her face again, stroking her sweaty hair, tracing the outlines of her face, pushing a damp strand of hair behind her ear. Bella sighed and shuffled a little closer to me. When her hand touched my bare chest, a smile appeared on her face and she buried her face at my side. I lifted her up until her head rested on my shoulder and her hand laid securely on my chest.

"So warm…" she whispered in her sleep. "Don't go…"

I chuckled quietly and nudged her gently with my nose. "Don't worry, I am not going anywhere." Bella yawned and cuddled even closer so there was not one inch of air between us. "Good…" Then she went back to sleep.

I closed my eyes too. I thought that I was too wound up to sleep, too filled with emotions but in the end I must have been more tired than I thought because after a short while I drifted into sleep, Bella at my side. Everything as it should be.