Bella's first holiday living with Charlie, fondly referred to as Fuck Thanksgiving, was the best one she could remember. Billy and Jake had invited the Swans to their house for the day. Jacob's older sisters chose to ignore their father and brother during most holidays. While Rebecca lived in Hawaii with her husband and growing family, Rachel was living in Port Angeles. She had volunteered to work instead of coming home, claiming the holiday pay was too much to turn down. Billy masked his sadness well, as he always had, but Jacob was stomping around the house with his face set in a heavy scowl. Bella hugged Billy and began to make her way to the kitchen to see what the issue was.
Billy tugged on her sleeve to stop her and said, "You might not wanna, Bella. He's a crank ass today."
Charlie sat down on the couch, and Billy tossed him a beer from the small cooler at his side. "Stayin' outta his way, today, eh," Charlie asked.
"Damned right," Billy mumbled back.
"Let's go see if I can go calm down the lady of the house," Bella joked. She turned and jumped, finding Jacob smirking in the kitchen doorway. He wore his mother's old apron tied around his t-shirt, his long hair pulled back in a single braid. Absolutely nothing about the hideously faded floral apron took away from his masculinity. Her breath hitched as she blushed.
"Oops," she said and grinned before slowly backing towards the front door. Jacob glared at her mischievously and started untying the apron. "Looks like the little lady caught me," Bella yelled and ran out into the front yard. The apron landed in Charlie's lap as Jake flew past him after her. She knew without looking back that those nosey old birds would be watching from the door. Around the yard, Bella ran from Jacob, between the house, cars, and garage. She was quickly out of breath, changing direction when he would try to cut her off. The grass was slick from the recent rain. Bella had miraculously managed not to fall on her own, but a barefoot Jacob found a slippery spot. Dropping down on his knees, he slid at her, swiping her legs out from under her. Jacob cradled her against his chest and rolled, bringing them both to a very wet, muddy stop. The laughter flowing from the house was followed by coughing and groaning as they attempted to regain their breath.
"You k-kids oak-kay", Charlie asked through his laughter as he wiped tears away on his shirt sleeve. Jacob and Bella laughed and stood to assess the damage. Grass and mud stains had thoroughly ruined her shirt. Jake, however, resembled someone who had cannonballed into a mud-hole. Both had managed to bang elbows while Bella would have a few bruises. Billy and Charlie got them towels to clean off the best that they could before going inside. Jake tossed Bella one of his clean t-shirts and ran to grab a quick shower. Afterward, they worked together to finish up making their holiday smorgasbord of typical game night favorites.
"I have to give Jake some points for his abilities in the kitchen. He's only fifteen, but he was a better cook than Renee or Charlie by miles," Bella teased.
"Hey, hey," Charlie chastised, "I'm a better cook than Renee."
"That's not really saying much, brother," Billy teased. "I remember Renee's cooking." He turned to Bella, grimacing, and she laughed.

Bella helped Jake clean up while Charlie and Billy returned to their seats in front of the TV with their beers. Jake asked if Bella wanted to watch a movie, and they made their way up the narrow stairway to his bedroom. Jacob made himself comfortable at the head of his bed and grabbed the remote from his bedside table.
"Have a seat," he said, patting the bed next to him. Bella kicked off her shoes and crawled up onto the bed between Jacob and the wall. The combination of too much food and Jacob's body heat made Bella drowsy. As Jake hugged her comfortably to his side, she fell asleep with her head on his shoulder.

(JPOV)

Jacob leaned back comfortably against his headboard, barely paying attention to the movie in front of them. The screen had cast a soft blue hue on her pale skin, causing her to appear even more ethereal than usual. While she had always had a slightly otherworldly appearance, certain parts of her features became more dramatic as she had physically matured. His eyes trailed down her side and over the swell of her wide hips. Though he had certainly felt attracted to her since her return, he worried about how to deal with it. With a sharp intake of breath, he reverted his eyes to the screen quickly, grateful that she had already nodded off beside him.
Way to act like a douche, Jacob.
He groaned as he attempted to refocus on the movie and realized it was nearly half an hour through. He had not retained a single thing. Giving up and hitting the mute button, he allowed his mind to drift back to Bella. Her brow creased in apparent frustration, and she mumbled incoherently. He bit back a chuckle, reminded of their many naps together as children.
Bella had been a tiny child, slightly underweight for her age. Though a good deal shorter, Jacob had been quite plump. As soon as the school would let out for summer vacation, his excitement would become nearly unbearable at the prospect of her visits. Summer after summer, Bella would spend weeks with Charlie. During that time, he would pay Sarah to babysit Bella during his work shifts. Charlie could barely get the car in park before Bella was throwing open the door to run at Jacob. Sometimes they would collide and wind up in a heap on the ground. Other days she would stop just in time to snag his hand and pull him after her toward the beach trails as she tripped over her own feet. Sarah's voice would go unanswered, calling for them as the two dug into the mud and hopped over the tide pools. Most days, she would have to hose them completely down before they could come inside the house.
Her lack of grace had never deterred her playfulness. She had always been on the tomboyish side, detesting the dresses Renee would send her with for the summer. She wound up spending most of the summer in clothes Charlie bought or Jacob's t-shirts. Gradually his shirts had changed from nearly too small to a couple of sizes too large for her. She wore them proudly, undeterred by the way they sometimes swallowed her as the one she was wearing now did.
Often determined to do whatever Jakey wanted to do, she'd never hesitated to copy one of his reckless stunts or flat out tackle him into the mud. One of their fights had ended with her slugging Jacob in the eye. Her anger and bravado immediately dissipated, and she, rather than Jacob, was the one who broke down in tears. He wrapped his chubby hand around hers, calmly walked her into his house, tucked her into his bed, and told her she needed a nap. Sarah and Billy had stood by, dumbfounded, as she squeaked out an okay while grinding away tears with tiny fists. Though they had an occasional fight, the two could never stay mad at each other for more than an hour. They had grounded each other, defended each other, and refused to be separated as much as possible until Renee stopped letting her spend her summers in Forks.

The last few months of blissfully ignorant adolescence before Sarah passed away remained ingrained in Jacob's mind. The loss of his mother was the worst pain Jacob had experienced in his short life, but only second to that was the betrayal he felt when Charlie walked into the lodge where Sarah's funeral potluck was held without Bella at his side. Bella's presence was the only thing Jacob wanted and she wasn't there. An angry, eight-year-old Jacob tucked his body underneath a side table skirt and remained alone, hidden from those who would disturb or try to comfort him. Charlie had spent most of the evening at his Billy's side, comforting, consoling, and helping to usher along those who tended to overwhelm the distraught widower while Rachel and Rebecca had huddled silently in a corner with their school friends. As the last few people were later being ushered out of the lodge, Jacob absently peeked under the table skirt, watching the light bounce off of Charlie's carefully polished shoes. As those same shoes turned and headed directly toward him, Jacob had dropped the table skirt, turning his back to the room. He let out a surprised squeal as two strong hands wrapped around his chubby little waist, swiftly dragging him out from under the table.
"Jacob Ephriam, where the hell have you been?" Billy's voice boomed with irritation, angering Jacob further.
"Billy," Charlie soothed, "Let me go have a little chat with Jake." Jacob crossed his arms over his chest, brow furrowed, and silently shot eye-daggers at the floor. With that, Charlie harrumphed, hefted Jacob under his arm sideways, and carried him out the door. He'd begun to kick out just before they reached the outside picnic tables and Charlie sat him down on one of the tabletops.
"I'm sorry, Jacob," Charlie said calmly, bending down to look into his tear-stained face, his hands resting lightly on Jacob's small shoulders. "I'm sorry Bella couldn't be here. She wanted to be, son. She's mad about it, too."
"She is?" Jacob croaked sadly, "Why didn't she come?"
"Her mom said no. Bella had been at home for a few days last week because she was sick and couldn't miss any more school. She did want to come."
"She was sick?" Jacob looked up at Charlie, worried. "Is she better?"
"She's better, son," Charlie said, forcing a tired smile and ruffling Jacob's hair. "I know everyone is sad right now, and that's okay. It's okay to be mad sometimes, too. Just because Bella couldn't be here doesn't mean she doesn't care, buddy. I'm going to try to be here for you and your dad and sisters as much as I can."
"I know," Jacob had said softly.
"You do, huh?" Charlie asked and chuckled.
"Well, yeah. You're Daddy's best friend. Just like Bella's my best friend," Jacob said. "Bella would be here if she could."
"That's right," Charlie said. He stood up straight and sighed. "Do you know my number, Jacob?"
"Yes," he said and grinned. "It's by the phone for 'mergencies."
"That's right," Charlie chuckled. "It doesn't have to be an emergency for you to call me, Jake."
"It doesn't?"
"Nope," Charlie said, "If you just need someone to talk to, you can call me then, too, okay?"
"Okay," Jacob said. He hopped down from the table and threw his arms around Charlie's waist. "Will you tell Bella I'm not mad at her?"
"Do you think she thinks you're mad at her," Charlie asked him.
"I was mad at her," Jacob said guiltily. "She always knows when I'm mad."
"She does, huh?" Charlie chuckled. "She always knows when I'm upset, too. I'll tell her, okay?" He reached down and wrapped Jake's hand in his own. "Let's go check on your dad."
True to his word, Charlie was around almost constantly for months after that. Finally, the next summer vacation came, bringing with it the breath of fresh air that was Bella for Jacob. Though she had missed most of the worst days after his mother's death, she had helped him heal that summer more than she could ever know.
Shaking away his thoughts of the past, Jacob stared down at the person he had missed more than anyone in the world, save his poor mother. She began to stir, mumbling another incoherent sentence into his shoulder. He pulled her slightly closer, grinning wider as she snuggled into his warmth with a soft smile on her face. Of all of the memories of Bella that Jacob would cherish, he wondered if any could top today. As the movie credits flashed across the screen, Jacob leaned down to place a feather-light kiss on the forehead of his life-long friend sleeping peacefully against his side.

(BPOV)

What only seemed like a few minutes after she had closed her eyes, Jacob woke her. She blushed and sat up bashfully.
"Sorry I fell asleep," she said and tried to fight back a yawn.
"You can sleep on my shoulder anytime, honey," Jacob said and beamed. He tentatively brushed a loose strand of hair away from her face, staring at her silently. Bella stuck her tongue out at him to break up what threatened to become an awkward moment, making him laugh. Bella crawled to the side of his bed to retrieve her shoes.
"I guess we should go check on the old boozers," she said, grinning. They clambered downstairs loudly, breaking up another manly gossip session. Billy yawned a goodnight to Charlie and smiled drunkenly. Bella hugged Jacob and Billy before driving herself and Charlie home. That night, she showered and slipped back into his much too large t-shirt. Bella went to sleep, intentionally ignoring thoughts of how close his face had been to hers or how content she had been as she had snuggled next to him.

Later that week, Renee started blowing up the phone. Out of Rehab, she sounded chipper and full of life. While Bella was happy about her mother's sobriety, she tried to cut the call as short as possible. Sobriety didn't make her trust Renee or fear her narcissistic behavior any less. When Renee's attempts at conversation and inquiries into Bella's social life began to feel too pressing, Bella began ignoring her mother's calls altogether. She and Charlie had their first big argument over it after Renee called him to complain.
Bella couldn't bring herself to tell him why she didn't want to talk to her mother. She had started having nightmares about Renee forcing her to move back to Phoenix. Back over the bar, over the noise, and around the sleazy guys that Renee brought home before Phil. Back to the nights when she went to bed on an empty stomach while Renee got drunk downstairs. Bella had nightmares about Renee tucking her into her old, tiny bed, only to be awoken by staggering drunks falling on top of her. Sometimes she'd wake up in a cold sweat, still feeling their hands on her as she tried to push the dreams away.
She decided that there were just too many things that it would hurt Charlie to hear, and while she was aggravated at his interference, protecting his feelings had somehow become high on her priority list. Bella wanted in so many ways to make up for all the time they had missed. She was unsure of how to do that aside from actively not bringing any more trouble or sadness to his life than she already had.
Despite her attempts to dissuade his interest in the odd circumstances of her and Renee's relationship, Charlie persisted. He came home from work one evening and brought her up as they were having supper.
"Your mother called me at the station today," he grumbled. Bella looked up at him cautiously.
"Oh?"
"I flat out asked her why you don't want to talk to her." Charlie glanced up at Bella from his untouched dinner plate, waiting for her reaction. "She said she has no idea." Bella giggled at his impression of Renee.
"Can we not do this again?" she asked him, stabbing her food with a little too much hostility. "I already explained that I really don't want anything to do with Renee. I live here now and I refuse to deal with her crap anymore."
"What the hell did she do, Bells?" Charlie stared at her pleadingly, but Bella stared at him blankly, shaking her head as she chewed.
"Fine. I give up," he said with frustration. "I'm not going to try to make you tell me, Bella. I'm in no rush for the silent treatment you're giving Renee, but you can talk to me when you're ready, even if you still don't want to talk to her." Charlie started eating, and Bella got up to scrape and wash her plate.
"Thank you, Dad," she said quietly. He nodded in response, chewing a particularly big bite. Bella put her plate in the drainer, kissed his cheek, and went upstairs to work on homework.

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