Moonlight

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to SM.

A/N-thank you to everyone who kindly read and reviewed the last chapter.

Chapter Thirty-A Revealing Talk

Even though Bella did feel some sympathy for Alice's situation, she knew that the newly formed pack would not take kindly to her letting any Cullen stay, even if it was only for a few days. It would seriously hinder their ability to protect the wider areas surrounding La Push-Forks was considered part of the Cullen territory. They would question her loyalty, and she wouldn't blame them. She owed them big time for all the sacrifices they had already made on her behalf. But mostly, Bella felt like she would be betraying Jacob if she allowed herself to be swayed by Alice's plight.

"I'm sorry, Alice…. but my answer is…." Bella's refusal was interrupted by the sound of Charlie's cruiser pulling into the driveway. She shared an alarmed glance with Jacob, before hurrying to open the door.

Charlie trudged slowly up the walk, his eyes on the ground and his shoulders slumped. Bella walked forward to meet him, he didn't seem to be aware of her until she stopped in front of him, and in a rare show of affection, she hugged him around the waist. Charlie swallowed thickly as he embraced her back fiercely.

"I'm so sorry about Harry, Dad."

"I'm really going to miss him." Charlie mumbled.

"How's Sue doing?"

"She seems dazed, like she hasn't grasped it yet. Sam's been around, trying to help out…. but Leah is finding it difficult having him around." Charlie sighed, dragging his fingers through his already mussed-up hair. "Those poor kids. Leah's just a year older than you, and Seth is only fourteen…" He shook his head.

Charlie kept his arms tight around Bella as he started toward the door again.

"Um, Dad?" Bella began, she figured she better warn him about Alice's presence. She hoped to get rid of her as soon as Charlie was settled. "You'll never guess who stopped by."

Charlie looked at her blankly until he noticed Jacob's large frame filling the doorway. "I thought you would have been at home with your old man." He said disapprovingly. "He needs your support right now, Jake. You should head on home."

"Dad, listen, Jake kindly drove me home. He's already seen Billy. I need to tell you…"

But Charlie was barely listening. His head swivelled around, and he spied the Mercedes across the street, the porch light reflecting off the glossy black paint. Before he could explode with anger, Alice pushed past Jacob and ran lightly in their direction.

"Hi, Charlie." Alice was all apologies, her tone subdued. "I'm sorry I came at such a bad time."

"Alice Cullen?" Charlie peered at the slight figure in front of him, his eyes heavy with suppressed grief. "What are you doing here?"

"I was in the neighbourhood."

Charlie's tone turned suspicious. "Alone?" He asked.

Bella felt her father's arm tighten around her shoulders. She was silently fuming at Alice's sheer audacity. Bella could predict what was coming next. It was like a slow-motion car crash as she watched Alice take advantage of Charlie's grief to get what she wanted.

"I know this is a difficult time for all of you." Alice put on her most sympathetic voice, her tone dripping with false sincerity. "I would love to stay and help in any way I can."

"Of course." Charlie said mechanically. "We'd love to have you. I'm going to be really busy doing what I can for Harry's family. And Jake will be caught up with taking care of his father over the next few days. It will be nice for Bella to have some company."

"Dad, you don't need to agree to this." Bella protested. She noticed Jacob practically vibrating on the doorstep. He had remained silent throughout the whole exchange as he fought to keep his anger toward Alice in check. Bella knew how he felt. "I'll be perfectly fine on my own. Or, better still, I could come to La Push with you and make myself useful." She suggested as an alternative.

Charlie seemed touched by her offer but still rejected it anyway. "That's very thoughtful of you, Bells, but I don't want to crowd Sue or her kids too much. Its best its just me and Billy."

"Okay." Bella said in defeat as he gave her shoulder one more squeeze before he headed inside the house.

As soon as Charlie was out of earshot, Bella rounded on Alice in a fury. "How dare you take advantage of my father's grief like that!"

Jacob soon joined her. "You manipulative little leech!" He snapped. "What game are you playing?"

"I'm not playing any games." Alice said defensively, glaring up at him. "I can see I'm needed here. And Charlie likes me. It will do his heart good to know that I'm here with Bella. Giving him piece of mind is a good thing, is it not?"

"Dammit!" Jacob cussed under his breath. He grabbed Bella's hand and led her to the other side of the road. He guessed that Alice could still probably overhear them even from this distance, but at least it gave them a modicum of privacy. "I hate this, Bella. I don't trust her intentions…. but this is the Cullens territory and it puts me at a disadvantage to do anything about it because of the damn treaty. And she knows it!"

Bella shared his frustration. "As much as I despise what she's done, she's given me little choice but to put up with the situation. Charlie has always had a soft spot for Alice, and he's grieving, I can't exactly fight him on this one." She sighed irritably. "Once a few days have passed, I'll have a better opportunity to kick her out."

"You should come stay with me." Jacob said fervently.

"As much as I love that idea, you know that's not possible." Bella looked up at his worried face. "I don't want you to feel more pressured than you already do, Jacob. You're already being pulled in so many directions-Billy needs your emotional support, you've got your pack duties and school on top of that. I don't want you burning yourself out trying to protect me twenty-four seven."

Bella took a step closer and grabbed his hands. "Maybe having Alice here is not such a bad thing- she's taken advantage of my dad's good nature, but in turn I can take advantage of her presence. With her hanging around, hopefully it will stop Victoria making a move. She'll add another layer of protection in the short term while you and the others are focused on other things. After Harry's funeral is over, she'll have no excuse to stay, and I can give Alice her marching orders without arousing Charlie's suspicions."

Jacob threw his arms around her. He didn't like the idea of Alice Cullen staying around, even if it was only for a few days, but he could see the sense in Bella's explanation as to why it would it work to their advantage in the short term. Even though he didn't trust the manipulative little leech, he trusted Bella's judgement and trusted that she could handle herself. "Okay." He said, giving in.

Bella melted against him, relieved that he was managing to see things from an unbiased perspective, but the greatest thing about the whole sorry saga was his willingness to trust. She was touched by his faith in her and she adored him even more for it.

Jacob's hug was stronger than anything she'd ever known, as if holding her wasn't quite enough, he had to feel every ounce that she was press into every ounce of him. In that moment of feeling so close she felt more awake somehow, more alive than she'd felt in her whole life.

As Bella got ready for bed that night, she gave Alice a grilling, warning her that she would not tolerate Charlie being taken advantage of anymore, and finally extracting a promise from her that she would not tell the other Cullens about Victoria or the wolf pack.

The next day she woke early, from a deep and dreamless sleep, feeling surprising well rested after all that had happened the day before. She surmised almost drowning could do that to a person. There was no sign of Alice in her room. The blankets she laid out for her as a ruse for Charlie remained untouched.

As Bella headed toward the stairs, she could hear Alice and Charlie talking in the kitchen. She frowned in annoyance, pausing on the bottom step as she listened in to what they were saying.

"How bad was it, Charlie?" Alice asked softly. At first Bella thought she was talking about the Clearwaters.

"I'm proud of the way Bella handled it." Charlie didn't disguise the pride in his voice. "Having young Jake around certainly helped, but my daughter is strong, she grieved for a while and then moved on with her life."

"Really?" Alice sounded dubious and slightly aggrieved by his answer. "Can you tell me exactly what happened when we left?"

There was a pause while a cupboard door was closed and a dial on the stove was clicked off. Bella waited, listening intently for her father's response. Alice was clearly fishing for information about her emotional state following Edward's departure and it was pissing her off.

"There's nothing more to say." Even Charlie sounded slightly suspicious now. "I really think these are questions Bella should be answering herself, not me."

"I'm sorry, Charlie." Alice was all contrite now. "I was just worried that she might not be entirely honest with me if I asked. Its good to know she coped well, though. I'm glad."

"She had a lot of support around her." Charlie continued. "Teenage relationships can be fickle. I never expected it to last. And, deep down, I think Bella's happy that her brief relationship with your brother is in the past."

Alice murmured something Bella couldn't hear before asking. "What about Jacob Black?"

"They're close. Real close." Charlie replied firmly. He paused for a moment, and his voice was lighter when he spoke again. "He's a year or so younger than her, and I know she used to think of him as a friend, but I think maybe its something more now, or headed in that direction, anyway." Charlie's tone was almost belligerent now. It was clearly a warning, not for Alice, but for her to pass along. "Jake's mature for his years. He's taken care of his father physically the way Bella took care of her mother emotionally. It matured him. He's a good-looking good kid, too-takes after his mom's side. He's good for Bella, you know. And I won't have anyone or anything messing that up."

"Then its good she has him." Alice agreed quietly.

There was the sound of cutlery being put in the sink.

"Listen, Alice…" Charlie hesitated. There was a scraping of a chair being pulled back as he sat down. "I'm glad we've had this conversation because there are a few things I need to make clear."

"What's that, Charlie?" There was a tinge of anxiety in Alice's tone as she spoke.

"Now, you know how fond I am of you, but I have to tell you the only reason I let you stay here is because I can tell Bella is happy to see you, but…if this little visit of yours is a precursor to that scumbag brother of yours coming back to visit, too, then I'm warning you right now, I won't tolerate his presence here. And if he dares to show his face, I'll slap a restraining order on him so fast he won't know what's hit him."

Bella could hear the suppressed anger in Charlie's voice as he reached the end of his little speech. Despite his grief over Harry's passing, he was still doing his best to protect her. She felt tears prick at the corners of her eyes and she sucked in her lower lip to keep them from falling.

"Edward…he…. he doesn't even know I'm here." Alice confessed shakily. "The last time I spoke with him, he was in South America."

Bella stiffened when she heard this new information, and listened harder.

"It sounds like the perfect place for him." Charlie muttered. "Well, I hope he stays there."

For the first time, Alice's voice had a lot of steel in it. "I wouldn't make assumptions, Charlie."

The chair scraped across the floor again, signalling that Charlie was getting up. The faucet ran, splashing against a dish. "Just make sure you pass the message along." He said, the conversation drawing to a close.

Bella decided it was time to make her grand entrance. She knew that Alice would have known she was eavesdropping. She wondered if the little psychic had dropped that little titbit of information about Edward purposefully so she would hear it.

"Hey, Bells." Charlie greeted her when she stepped into the kitchen. "I've made some toast. Help yourself. I can't stay. I promised Sue I'd come over early."

"Thanks, Dad. Are you sure I can't come with you? I'd like to help." Bella offered again earnestly.

"I'm all good." Charlie gave her a wan smile of thanks as he dried his hands on a paper towel. "I'll catch up with you girls later."

"Bye, Dad." Bella sighed as she reluctantly watched him leave. When she heard the front door close behind him, she turned to face Alice, her expression hard, and this time when she spoke, her voice was cold. "Now he's gone, I don't see why I have to keep up this pretence. And I won't tolerate you trying to fish information from Charlie. Next time come to me. Now get out, Jake is coming over soon and I want some privacy."

A/N-thanks for reading. Please review.