Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight

"Can I ask you something without you blowing my head off?" Jacob asked.

"Okay..."

"Charlie...he's not very nice to you, is he?"

Bella paused at the wheel and frowned. The road to La Push was narrow and windy, and she swore silently at Jacob for trying to have a heart to heart when she was trying to focus on her surroundings. Another wet, dark day.

She cleared her throat. "What makes you say that?"

Jacob looked down at his hands. "You live in a garden shed, Bella," he said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Bella sighed. No, Charlie hadn't been particularly nice to her these last eight years but she did kill his wife and scores of other people, so who was she to hold a grudge? She missed the lightness of being she'd felt with him when it seemed his heart was finally warming, but her time on her own taught her not to dwell on what couldn't be changed. If Charlie went back to outright hating her again...well, there were worse things she could face.

"Maybe you were a bit distracted by the company," she raised an eyebrow. "But if you had gotten a good look around you would've seen how great it is in there."

Jacob smiled a little but he still wasn't convinced. "I don't care if it's the Taj Mahal inside. It's still a shed."

Damn, she'd have to bring out the big guns and humiliate herself a little. "Jacob, I'm in there voluntarily," she lied. "Can't you think of any reasons why?"

His face twisted in confusion. "No..."

Of course you can't, she thought. "Think about it. What did you notice in there?"

"Um," he bushed. Obviously he didn't notice much of anything.

"Well I know you saw Rosalie," Bella huffed and cast a not so subtle glare at his shorts.

"Dude!" He cried out, mortified and shifted a bit.

"At least you didn't completely lose it," she mumbled disgustedly, recalling the not one, but two times that gross situation happened to them in the mall.

"Ok, yes I noticed Rosalie," Jacob grumbled defensively.

"And?"

"And..." Jacob put his hands up in exasperation. "I give up!"

Bella blew out a lungful of air. "Pajamas! She was in her pajamas, you moron. She was there all night. With me. In bed. Now do you understand that there are certain perks to living 200 feet from my father's house? Do you understand now why I wanted to live there?"

"...Yes," Jacob ginned. "Totally. Completely."

She sighed again and refocused her attention on the road. Jacob continued to stare at her occasionally. It didn't take a genius to guess that he was probably imagining her and Rosalie together. Bella blushed bright red. Let him have his fantasies. If it means he won't mention the stupid shed again, fine.

"So were you two getting it on last night?" Jacob grinned slyly.

She growled. "Actually we were 'getting it on' this morning. Right before you knocked on my door, genius."

"Whoa, ok ok. Jeez, is that why you've got such a short fuse this morning? I'm sorry..."

Bella immediately deflated. She was a little furious at everything this morning, but Jacob didn't deserve for her take her anger out on him. She couldn't help this feeling of bitterness and resentment. Sarah's face was lodged in her mind and wouldn't leave her. She wanted to apologize to Jacob and tell him that was why she felt so on edge...that she kept seeing Sarah's broken body at the bottom of the canyon...that her mind kept playing a loop of the car falling over the edge.

"I'm sorry, Jake," she said sincerely. "Don't worry about it, it's just girl stuff." She smiled softly. "Maybe I'll feel better if we can get those motorcycles running."

Jacob folded his arms smugly. "Now that's more like it!"

Working on the motorcycles did make Bella feel better. It kept her focused anyway. Together, she and Jacob heaved the big bike onto her truck (with a little covert help from her gift) and spend the rest of the day in his workshop. Jacob ignored his own nearly finished bike and devoted the whole day to Bella's, which moved along nicely.

Two things occurred that nearly ruined everything however.

Sometime in the middle of the afternoon, Jacob realized a critical section of the bike's frame would need to be welded. The 15-year-old just so happened to know where to get a hold of the equipment, and after promising a bewildered Bella that he knew what he was doing, ran off to who knows where on the reservation and brought back everything they needed. She frowned as he set everything up, thinking how much easier it would be to take the bike to an experienced welder rather than go through all this trouble, before realizing Jacob was probably just showing off for her. It must be a boy thing, she thought.

Jacob got everything going perfectly. But in his excitement, he forgot to tell Bella to step back...and she forgot what happens when you turn on a welding machine. No sooner had Jacob begun than he stopped in panic because Bella's arm was on fire.

For a split second anyway.

Jacob stared and sputtered, trying to make sense of the situation in his panic. He could have sworn he saw Bella's arm engulfed in flames. He was sure of it! He kept asking Bella if she was alright, kept checking her arm as if it would combust at any moment. But Bella just denied everything steadfastly. He was seeing things, she insisted. The fire never touched her arm, she was sitting too far away, she said repeatedly.

She made sure to sit far away from that blasted gizmo after that.

The second close call happened when they stopped for lunch. Billy was, thankfully, out with his buddies and Jacob didn't know the difference between bread and butter. So they left everything in the workshop and walked 10 minutes to the closest thing that sold food, a rundown burger joint down the road. It took four meals to satisfy Jacob's hunger this time, and Bella looked on wondering how close he was to phasing. Edward told her that the wolves from the 1930s were constantly thinking about their stomachs. Bella swallowed her last bite, pondering on her friend's fate, when two people walked in. She would have thought nothing of it...except Jacob's entire demeanor changed as soon as he saw them, and, more importantly, as soon as they saw him.

Bella watched with caution and curiosity as the newcomers approached their table. The boys were massive, bigger than Jacob but not quite on the same level as Emmett. They wore cutoff jeans and t-shirts that exposed some pretty impressive biceps. But that's not what caught Bella's attention. What caught her attention was how Jacob suddenly slouched as if trying to hide in his seat the second their gazes met...and the identical, elaborate tattoos on each boy's right arm. Two wolves creating the face of a third.

"How are you doing, Jacob?" The bigger boy asked. His voice was deep and authoritative. He could've passed for a man in his thirties if he wasn't dressed so...delinquently.

"Fine," Jacob mumbled. Bella watched him carefully. Her friend looked agitated, annoyed...even frightened.

The stranger paused as if weighing his next words. He too, Bella noticed, was scrutinizing Jacob carefully, calculatingly, she thought with confusion.

"Aren't you going to introduce us to your friend?" He finally asked when Jacob wouldn't move. The boy didn't wait for him however, and turned to Bella. "I'm Sam Uley. And you are?"

Bella took his outstretched hand in her own. "Bella Swan."

Sam gripped her hand and smiled. "It's nice to..."

His words hung in the air. Jacob looked up from his plate, aware suddenly that something was wrong. Bella prayed they'd all get through this without causing a scene.

Sam's grip was strong. Too strong. In the nick of time, Bella called on her gift once again to save her from an unfortunate situation. He would have crushed her hand if she didn't prevent his from closing any tighter. Ordinarily, Bella might have worried that such a move would not go unnoticed, but it was clear from Sam's face that he noticed little beyond the obvious.

He could smell them.

She saw him take deep breaths and tilt his head towards her. His eyes narrowed slightly while he inhaled some more, a quizzical and alarmed expression on his face as he tried to place the scent that permeated Bella's skin and indeed, every piece of clothing she owned. The Cullens' scent was everywhere.

"It's nice to meet you," she finished for him. Let go, let go, she chanted in her mind.

"Yes, yes," he finally loosened his grip, completely unaware just how strong it was, and smiled tentatively. "Chief Swan is your father?"

"Yup," she replied casually as she pulled her hand back.

Jacob cleared his throat and glared at Sam. "Did you guys want something? Bella and I were just leaving so..."

"I just wanted to say hello, Jacob," Sam smiled softly. "And to let you know I'm here if you ever...if you ever need anything."

"Right," Jacob said gruffly. "Thanks."

With that, she and Jacob hurriedly left the table. She faced forward while they waited in line to pay, grateful that Jacob didn't try to talk to her while the other boys were still in the restaurant. They'd probably hear them. They must be shape shifters. They had to be. How else could Sam detect the vampires' scent when Jacob couldn't? If that didn't make it obvious, the tattoos certainly did. The interaction between Sam and Jacob ran through her mind. Interesting that Jacob exhibited a dislike for him. More interesting, and much more disturbing, she realized, how Sam treated Jacob. Sam was fishing, Bella recognized with a start. His senses must be telling him that Jacob was close to phasing. How much were they telling him about Bella and the company she kept?

"I can't stand those-" Jacob started.

"Let's stop by a hardware store on the way back," she interrupted. No need for uninvited ears.

"Ok," he replied happily, distracted.

On their way out the door, Bella turned casually in Sam's direction. She expected him to still be watching Jacob, the next member, she suspected, of his pack. But he wasn't. A chill ran down her spine when she saw that his gaze was fixed on her.

"Sweetie, what temperature should I set the oven?" Esme asked as she stirred the pan full of shrimp.

Bella leaned over the cookbook on the counter. "450 degrees," she replied.

"God, that stinks!" Emmett boomed, covering his nose and walking into the kitchen.

"Then sit in the other room," Esme scolded him.

Emmett grinned. "Nah. Bella Bear misses me, don't you Bella Bear?"

"Madly," she rolled her eyes. "I just can't go a full hour with seeing those muscles."

He chuckled and posed with his arms outstretched. Rosalie sped into the room and gave Bella light kiss on the lips before leaning over the table in front of Emmett. "Should we send her home with pictures of you?" She asked him cheekily. "I think I can dig up some of the ones you took when-"

"So what's for dinner?" Emmett asked quickly.

"Chicken," Rosalie teased.

"Actually it's shrimp," Bella came to Emmett's rescue. She so didn't want to see any pictures that Emmett had taken of himself. If they were enough to be a source of embarrassment for him then she definitely didn't want to see them. Nope. No way. No thank you.

She grabbed a knife and started chopping onions and garlic for the salad. Where did the myth about vampires not liking garlic come from, she wondered. What a ludicrous weakness. Fire makes so much more sense...

A door upstairs slammed shut and a split second later, Alice stood in front of her. A split second after that, the diminutive girl weaseled the knife out of her hand and had everything chopped and ready to go before Bella could look down.

"Thanks?" Bella looked at her quizzically before mixing the ingredients together.

"You're welcome," Alice said simply. "I'd avoid handling sharp objects in a house full of vampires if I were you."

"Uh huh," Bella furrowed her eyebrows, wondering why Alice was cautioning her now after she had handled scissors and knives in the house on numerous occasions in the past.

"It's never too late for safety!" Alice sang.

Was she implying...? Did she see...?

She shook her head. Best not to tread along paths not taken. With Alice, that wasn't just a philosophical adage but a concrete marker for avoiding headaches.

"Hurry up and eat, Bells!" Jasper called from the living room. "The chess set is ready."

"She's not drinking blood," Edward mumbled from the corner. "Humans savor their meals."

"I'll be done soon," Bella said. She worked on her dinner while the rest of the family made small talk so as to not make it obvious how much they still stared at her while she ate. Bella didn't mind though. She had gotten relatively used to it. Nevertheless, she finished the meal in front of her in minutes and made her way to the living room. The clock read 7:40.

"He's on his way home," Esme whispered behind her. Nodding, Bella thanked her and sat down in front of the game. Carlisle would be home soon, and then she could ask him if Charlie had come into the hospital and if they spoke. She had been asking him and Esme that same question increasingly more often over the weeks... and every day now since the seventh fire. That was the fire that destroyed a fellow student's house though no one was home at the time, thank god. Along with the house, the fire seemed to have ripped apart through all communication between Bella and Charlie. She hasn't seen him, much less spoken a word to him, since.

"Your move, Bells," Jasper said to her softly. She snapped out of her dark thoughts and positioned her knight.

Twenty minutes passed before everyone found their groove for the evening. Edward, as usual, retreated to his piano downstairs, and Bella enjoyed listening to the music rising through the floor; he really did play quite well. Emmett settled on the couch with his classic gameboy. Esme set to work on her laptop, no doubt exchanging emails with a client or a contractor. Alice and Rosalie were pouring over a huge pile of this month's fashion magazines from every corner of the globe. As long as they didn't make her be their human pin-up doll...she shuddered in disgust.

A typical quiet evening at the house. Bella was honestly a little surprised that they didn't tire of boredom. But then again, they could sit absolutely still for hours at a time, so maybe humans just had the wrong perspective on boredom and time.

"I'm home!" Carlisle shouted from the door.

Bella didn't move from her spot but she knew Jasper noticed her emotions. She really couldn't hide much of anything from him, something that both grated on and comforted her. In one way or another every person in this room knew Bella, really knew her. Some people went about their entire lives without a single person truly knowing who they were deep down. Bella wasn't sure what good she did to deserve to avoid such an unenviable fate, but she was most certainly grateful. It gave her a warm and, yes, fuzzy feeling of security.

She continued to assemble her pieces on the board as she waited for Carlisle to enter the family room. Unlike the kids, he and Esme rarely sped through their routines. Finally, he stood in the doorway...but from the look exchanged between them the answer was no, again. She didn't need to ask it out loud, and he didn't need to spell it out either. Carlisle didn't see Charlie today. Or if he did, no prodding on his part could get the man to say a word about the daughter he was actively ignoring and, Bella feared, actively hating once again.

Author's note: No cliffhanger this time. Thought I'd spare you otherwise it would get trite.

I have been working so unbelievably hard this week that I really didn't get a chance to reply to all your awesome reviews from the last couple of chapters. I'll fix that soon enough, promise. I also couldn't my arms for half the week because of some new crossfit classes. Really, I'm a menace to myself.

Hope you enjoyed! More to come soon. Some action too :)