An Occasion

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to SM.

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

Part Four-More than One

Jacob whipped the pizza slice that Billy had just choked on out of his hand, while simultaneously passing him a glass of water. Bella was really impressed with his dexterity. And even more impressed by the way he managed to down the rest of his father's pizza slice in record time. He was licking the last remnants off his fingers by the time Billy had finished chugging down the water.

"Better?" Jacob asked as he swiped the empty glass out of Billy's shaking hands.

"No!" Billy snapped as he rolled his wheelchair around and headed out of the kitchen, muttering under his breath about stupid teenagers all the way.

"You can't avoid me forever, Dad." Jacob called after him. "I want answers!"

"You seem to think you've got it all figured out already." Billy yelled over his shoulder. "Come back to me when you've worked out the rest. I'd just love to hear it. Now why don't you take Bella home before we have the police chief howling outside the door because we kidnapped his daughter. I mean, for all you know, Charlie is probably part of the pack."

"He always gets like this when confronted with something serious." Jacob fumed quietly to Bella. "We're not going to get anything out of him tonight. Not while he's in that mood." He sighed heavily in defeat. "I guess I should take you home."

"I'm sorry, Jacob."

Bella was full of regret. She felt guilty about dragging poor Jacob into her mess. She should have just sucked it up and endured the stupid prom. Now look at all the unnecessary trouble she had caused. She wondered where Edward was right now, probably in her room waiting, she guessed. That was one confrontation she wasn't looking forward to. He must have quickly outrun Billy if Jacob's father had made it back to the house before they did.

She glanced at Jacob, only to find her gaze level with his impressively muscular chest. He must definitely work out, she thought briefly, suddenly realising he was still shirtless. "Um…. maybe you could put on another shirt before you take me home." She mumbled, her cheeks growing warm.

"Oh, yeah. Good idea." Jacob agreed, smirking at her obvious discomfiture.

Most of their conversation on the way back to Forks consisted of Jacob's constant complaints about the stench inside the Volvo. He insisted on driving with all the windows open to get some fresh air. Bella didn't know what he was talking about, there was no smell. She was beginning to think he was making it up just so she had to practically sit on his lap for warmth as she huddled against him. How come he was able to maintain his body heat in the draughty interior and she wasn't?

By the time they reached her house, Bella was calmer but still a mess. Charlie's cruiser was in the driveway-she hadn't realised how late it was. As soon as Jacob cut the Volvo's engine the police chief appeared on the front porch.

"Bella, you are way past your curfew…." His words cut off when he saw Jacob climb out of the driver's side. "Jake?" He said in confusion.

"Hey, Charlie." Jacob answered cheerfully as he gave the older man a friendly wave. He ran around to the passenger side and pulled the door open, before ducking inside so he could help Bella out of the car.

"I'm back." Bella said glumly as she leaned against Jacob for support as she hobbled toward her confused parent. She was sick of the bulky walking cast slowing her down. "I'm sorry if I'm late. I lost track of time."

"Where have you been?" Charlie's bewildered expression turned ominous.

"I was hanging out in La Push with Jacob and Billy. Jacob kindly drove me home." Bella's voice was unsteady as she spoke. Lying was not her forte, so she was going with some semblance of the truth.

"Jake drove you home in your boyfriend's car?" Charlie's eyes were tight as he glared at both of them. "Where is Cullen? The last I heard you were heading to prom with him. And now you're telling me you've been in La Push all this time. If you're going to lie, at least make it sound believable, young lady."

"She's not lying, Charlie." Jacob said, backing her up. "She was in La Push with me. Call Billy, he'll confirm it."

"But…but…explain to me how you are driving the Volvo?" Charlie demanded, folding his arms across his chest.

Jacob gave him a sheepish smile. "I kinda crashed Bella's prom. Blame Billy. He asked me to."

"What?"

"Yeah, I know. Crazy right." Jacob laughed nervously. "Don't worry, I won't do it again."

Charlie stared at him incredulously before his eyes travelled to Bella. He seemed to notice the state of her for the first time. Her hair was a tangled mess. The white shirt Jacob had loaned her was covered in muddy streaks from when she fell off the bike. "What on earth happened to you, Bella?"

Again, Bella decided that the truth, or part of it anyway, was the best option. She was too shaken to pretend that she'd spent an uneventful time in La Push.

"After Jacob crashed the prom, I bribed him with a hundred dollars to help me sneak out of prom. I didn't want to go in the first place…. only Edward insisted on taking me. He thought it would be a wonderful surprise. You know how much I hate surprises." Bella haphazardly explained. "Of course, Jacob only had his bike. But somehow, we managed to make it work. But Edward came after us and that's when we encountered the bear." She tried to say it calmly, but her voice became high and shaky. "Its not a bear, though-its some kind of wolf…."

"It has nothing to with my dad, though." Jacob cut in hastily as he tried to stop Bella saying too much. He gave her a meaningful look and her face turned red.

"Jacob's right. Billy wasn't there. Not at all. No way. Didn't see him." She babbled.

Charlie's eyes grew round with horror. He strode forward and grabbed the tops of Bella's arms. He had hardly heard what she said about Billy. All he had registered was the wolf part. "Are you okay?"

Bella's head bobbed in a weak nod.

"Tell me what happened."

"Um…." Bella glanced anxiously in Jacob's direction, her eyes begging for help.

"The wolf didn't pay any attention to us. It was more interested in Cullen. He ran off and the wolf chased him." Jacob clarified. "So, after they were gone, I picked up Bella and we took off in the Volvo and headed straight for La Push."

Charlie let go of Bella's shoulders and wrapped his arms around her. For a long moment, he didn't say anything, until eventually he murmured. "Wolves."

"What?"

"We've had a few reports recently of bear sightings by worried hikers. I've been looking into it with the rangers help. But they said the tracks they've found were wrong for a bear-but wolves just don't get that big."

"This was one huge!" Jacob blurted out before he could stop himself. "Um…. but it has nothing to do with my dad. Nothing at all."

Charlie shook his head, frowning with anxiety. He was deep in thought, not really taking any notice of what Jacob had just said. "This is serious. How may did you say you saw?" He asked, turning his attention to Bella again.

"One." Bella squeaked.

"I see." Charlie mused. "As much as I detest that boy you've been dating, I have to admit he was brave to distract the wolf like that so you and Jake could make your getaway. We can only hope he managed to get away himself." He patted Bella on the shoulder. "I'm sure he's fine, Bella. Don't worry. I'll take care of it from here."

"I don't think you need to worry about that." Bella mumbled as Charlie headed to the phone to call the station to report what had happened to them. She shook her head to clear it, letting out a long-held breath she hadn't realised she had been holding. "I'm glad that's over. Are you hungry?" She asked Jacob who was standing next to her looking miffed. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm great. Charlie now thinks your boyfriend is some kind of hero when we both know the exact opposite. And tonight, I find out that Billy's a werewolf. Apart from that I'm all good." Jacob replied sarcastically.

Before Bella could respond, Charlie joined them again after finishing up his call. "It looks like you don't need to worry, Bells."

"About what?" Bella asked distractedly. Her attention was still focused on Jacob.

Charlie rolled his eyes. "About your boyfriend. Mac just told me that Cullen showed up at the station not long ago looking for his father. Carlisle Cullen was there regarding an unrelated police matter. He took his son home. I hope that puts your mind at ease-though I will need to interview him in the morning to get his version of events."

Bella smiled weakly. "That's great. I'll call him."

"Not tonight you won't." Charlie stated firmly. "You look a mess."

"Thanks, Dad." Bella said sulkily.

"You know what I mean." Charlie reached out and ruffled her hair like a five-year-old. "You've been through a lot tonight. You must be tired."

"A bit." Bella agreed grudgingly.

"And I better drive you home." Charlie turned to Jacob.

"Thanks." Jacob muttered, shoving his hands in the front pockets of his jeans.

"You know it's been an odd day all around." Charlie reflected as he reached for his jacket and shrugged it on. "I was in La Push today and I saw Harry, he was out in front of the store down there with some of his friends. Billy was there, too. And Old Quil. I waved hi, but they…well, I guess I don't know if they saw me. They were all deep in conversation about something. As I passed, I overheard Billy say something about- "we'll be watching"-weird, right? And then Harry said- "we're all in this together"- at least that's what it sounded like. They are definitely planning something. Maybe another fishing expedition. I'm sure they'll fill me in soon. I could do with some relaxation time…and Old Quil's got that boat."

All the while Charlie had been rambling on, Bella and Jacob stared at each other. It was all slowly coming together. When Charlie went off to hunt for his keys, Bella pulled Jacob to one side so they were out of earshot. "Jacob, do you realise what this means?" She whispered.

Jacob nodded, he looked dumbstruck. "There's more than one. Billy's not a lone wolf." He responded in a hushed tone. "Harry and Old Quil must be part of the pack."

A/N-thanks for reading! Please review.