Bella sat in the back seat with a towel wrapped around her still bleeding leg. Had she not been banned from using anything sharper than a pair of children's safety scissors, she could have cut the tension with a knife. Edward was pressed against Bella's side while Rose shot him dirty looks from the front seat. Emmett, who'd insisted on driving in case Rose decided to plunge the car off a cliff to rid the world of the scum commonly referred to as Edward, was the only one oblivious to the tension.

"So Bella," Rose said. "Have you heard from Jacob lately?"

They'd texted a few times, but it wasn't the same. Their conversations were short and awkward. Bella hadn't seen Jacob in person since the Fork's High Back to School Dance in August. Somehow, in the heat of the moment surrounded by crepe paper and sweaty bodies they'd almost crossed the line from friends to possibly more than friends. Bella still didn't know if she regretted pulling away at the last second. Just when things couldn't get even more complicated, Edward came along with his beautiful golden eyes and talk of true love. What Bella wouldn't give to go back to last summer when her biggest worry was how to avoid Alice's third back-to-school shopping trip.

"Who's Jacob?" Edward asked.

Rose didn't have the monopoly on dirty looks.

"No one," Bella said. "Just a friend."

"No one?" Rose asked, raising an eyebrow. "Is that what you call your boyfriend?"

"He's not my boyfriend," Bella said firmly.

Jacob was a lot of things to her. Best friend, a partner in crime, shoulder to cry on but not boyfriend. Like pigs flying and long-dead princes come back to life, some things were never meant to happen.

"You sure?" Rose asked.

"Yes," Bella said firmly.

With his award-winning smile and movie star good looks, Jake could have any girl in La Push. He had no reason to settle for a clumsy orphan from Forks. What happened at homecoming was a mistake caused by alcohol and raging teenage hormones.

"Positive?" Rose asked. "What about the wedding?"

Edward tensed up. "Wedding?"

Screw Rose and her constant need to stir the pot. What Emmett saw in her Bella would never know.

"It wasn't a real wedding!" Bella snapped. "We were five!"

The "wedding" took place on First Beach during one of Bella's summer visits to Washington. Rachel, Jacob's older sister, had come down with a major case of wedding fever after watching The Princess Bride. After she'd married every cat, dog, and stuffed animal in La Push, she set her eyes on not-so willing little brother and Bella. Six-year-old Jacob's pouting in the pictures still made Bella laugh a decade later.

"Come on Rose, lay off," Emmett said, laughing. "Every kid gets married a time or two. I've been married to all of Alice's American Girl dolls at least three times."

Bella could believe that. Alice was the kind of girl who had a wedding board on Pinterest before she'd even found a boyfriend.

"So you're not really married then?" Edward said, looking relieved. "I'm not too late?"

"Too late for what?" Rose asked, raising an eyebrow. "Are you going to fight Jacob for Bella's hand?"

"Hey, look!" Bella said before Edward could answer. "We're here! Better get inside before I bleed to death!"

Emmett wheeled Bella into the emergency room where they found Carlisle at an Ipad at the nurse's desk.

Emmett cleared his throat. "Hey, dad. Long time no see."

Carlisle looked up and shook his head. "Oh, Bella. What have you done to yourself this time?"

This wasn't the first time Bella popped in during his shift and it probably wouldn't be the last.
"She fought a lamp and lost...again," Rose said.

Bella had already had two lamp-related injuries. In seventh grade, she burned her arm on a faulty lamp in the school library. Two years later, she tripped over the cord to her desk lamp and fractured two toes. Maybe lamps should join knives and the pressure cooker on the list of household objects Bella wasn't allowed to use without supervision.

"We really need to invest in some less breakable furniture," Emmett said.

Bella had broken more furniture than the rest of her siblings combined. It was nothing short of a miracle that the house was still standing.

Bella blushed. "Sorry."

Carlisle sighed. "It's okay. Just try to be more careful next time. "I'll have one of the pediatric nurses down with a suture kit." He tapped on the

"Nurse Victoria!" Edward exclaimed. "No! We just escaped that foul witch! Can't you help Bella?"

"I wish I could, but it's against hospital policy," Carlisle explained. "I'm not allowed to treat my children." He looked at Bella. "It's your call. Nurse Victoria is the only one free right now. If you want someone else, it will be at least an hour."

While Nurse Victoria could use some practice on her bedside manner, Bella had to admit she did an excellent job with stitches. If not for her, Bella would have a lot more scars.

"Nurse Victoria is fine," Bella said.

Nurse Victoria wasn't likely to pull any tricks with Carlisle watching on. After the incident with the TV, Bella was far more worried about Edward. A public meltdown over modern medical equipment would win him a one-way ticket back to room zero.

"Emmett," Carlisle said. "Why don't you and Rose take Edward to see the garden?"

The go-to place for troubled Forks teens to complete their community service hours, the Fork's Hospital garden was one of the most beautiful places in town. It gave patients a place to enjoy the rare sunny day and families a peaceful place to wait for news of their loved ones. The lush plants, comfortable benches, and a bubbling fountain made it easy to forget your worries.

"You'll like the garden," Emmett said to Edward. "There are plants, trees, and birds from all over Washington."

Emmett would know. He'd put in his fair share of hours in the garden.

"And no scary TV wolves," Rose added with a sneer.

"But what about Bella," Edward said, grabbing Bella's hand. "She's hurt. I'm not leaving her here alone."

"I'll be fine," Bella said. "Carlisle will still here with me."

"I won't let anything happened to Bella," Carlisle said.

Edward stared and Carlilse for a second then nodded. "Okay." he reluctantly released Bella's hand. "Be brave my love. I won't be far if you need me."

With Carlisle watching like a hawk, Nurse Victoria gave Bella 29 perfect stitches.

"You should really consider having Bella admitted overnight," Nurse Victoria suggested. "This is the third time I've stitched her up since July. Her clumsiness could be caused by a neurological problem."

"We'll take that under advisement," Carlisle said.

That was a polite way of saying 'Not a chance.' Bella had already been poked, prodded, and tested but there was no reason for her accidents other than clumsiness. Carlise hoped her coordination would improve with age, but Bella wasn't optimistic. She was probably doomed to a lifetime of stitches and bruised shins.

"It wouldn't be any trouble," Nurse Victoria said. "I already have a room set up."

Bella would bet her allowance it was room zero.

Carlisle's face hardened. "Bella, why don't you head outside and find the others. I need to have a word with Nurse Victoria."

Bella smirked. While Carlisle was usually calm and collected, "Dr. Papa Bear' came out when his children were threatened. Before Nurse Victoria could protest, Bella shimmed off the bed and went to find the others. She hoped Emmett, Rose, and Edward hadn't gotten into too much trouble. The garden was the only place in the hospital that didn't make her anxious and she'd hate to see it ruined.

As usual, Bella wasn't paying attention to her surroundings. She rounded a corner and ran right into a man wearing a hospital gown. The man grunted and dropped the plastic bag he was carrying. In a move Emmett called 'The Bella,' Bella fell and landed on her rear. Horrifically embarrassed, Bella looked up to apologize. Her jaw dropped when she realized who it was she'd run into.

"What are you doing on the floor, Swan," Jake asked, offering her a hand up. "Get up and give your best friend a hug!"

Bella didn't take his hand. "Jake? What are you doing here?"

Jake shrugged. "I was cleaning out the garage and found a box leftover from Paul's New Years' party."

Bella started drumming her fingers on the floor. "And?"

"I invited Embry and Quil over and it sort of...um...blew up in my face."

Bella would have never expected something like this from Jake. He was usually so responsible.

"So you're the one who ended up taking a firework to the face."

"Guilty as charged."

Ignoring the pain in her leg, Bella carefully rose to her feet. "I live less than five miles away. Why didn't you call me?"

Jake looked away. "After what happed at the dance..well...you know."

"I know what?"

Bella did know, but she wanted to hear Jake say it out loud.

Jake ran his fingers through his hair. His usually neat mane was a rat's nest of dirt and dried blood. "I thought you didn't want to be friends anymore."

"That's not true," Bella said firmly.

The last thing she wanted was to lose Jake as a friend.

"Then how come you stopped coming to La Push?" Jake asked.

"Because I was afraid you didn't want to be friends anymore."

Bella feared if she saw Jake face to face he'd tell her it was over, that one almost-kiss marked the end of over a decade of friendship.

Jake smiled, filling Bella with the comforting warmth of a hundred bonfires. "Guess we've both been pretty dumb."

Bella smiled back. "You could say that again."

Maybe friendship with Jake would progress to something more. Maybe it wouldn't. At that moment, Bella didn't really care. She was just happy to have her friend back.

"What do you say we get out of here," Jake said, still smiling.

"Get out of here?" Bella asked. What do you mean get out of here?"

Carlise had warned his children of the danger of fireworks. He'd treated countless patients dealing with the psychological ramifications of missing fingers and horrible burns caused by fireworks. Jake needed to be in bed resting not running around La Push like a wild animal.

"I'm clear to go," Jake explained. "I won't need surgery or a visit to the burn ward like they thought when I came in. The doctor says it's a miracle."

"How is that possible?" Bella asked.

First, a dead prince came back to life. Then Jake experienced a miraculous healing. What the heck was going on in Forks?

"Best I can figure my brain calculated how much surgery would cost and told the rest of my body to man up," Jake said. "Whatever it was, I'm glad to be going home. That nurse Victoria gives me the creeps.

"Same here."

"And that awful smell," Jake wrinkled his nose. I've never smelled anything like it."

What smell was Jake talking about? Bella had been in a tiny ER room with Nurse Victoria for over a half-hour and hadn't noticed any smell other than the usual hospital scents of flowers and antiseptic.

Before Bella could about the smell, Jake changed the subject.

"Are you up for a trip to La Push?" Jake asked. There's a bonfire tonight and I'm sure everyone would love to see you. Even Leah misses you."

Two paths appeared before Bella. On the first, she turned Jake down and went to find her siblings. She'd be forced to spend the rest of the day listening to Rose's snide remarks and explaining to Edward that while he seemed like a nice guy, he needed to stop calling her beloved and planning their wedding. On the second path, she went with Jacob to La Push. She'd spend the day reconnecting with old friends and enjoying a mountain of Emily's delicious cooking.

Jaked reached into the bag at his feet and pulled out his car keys.

"Come on," Jake said, jingling the keys. "You know you want to. It will be fun."

Bella's jaw dropped. "Don't tell me you drove yourself here."

She'd assumed he'd arrived in an ambulance or been driven by a friend. How on earth had he made it to the hospital in one piece bleeding with one eye swollen shut.

"What?" Jake said. "Embry and Quil weren't sober enough to drive and ambulances are expensive. It was no big deal."

Bella begged to differ. The path leading her back to Edward disappeared. There wasn't a chance she'd led Jake drive back to La Push alone. She'd never forgive herself if he ended up wrapping his car around a tree.

Bella snatched the keys. "I'll come with you to La Push, but I'm driving."

"But!" Jake protested.

Jake never let anyone, especially someone with a history of breaking things, drive his precious Rabbit.

"This isn't up for debate," Bella said, shoving Jake's keys in her pocket. I'm driving and that's final."

Jake pouted. "Fine, but it's still my car. I pick the music and that's final."

Bella stuck out her hand to shake. "We have a deal. I drive while you play DJ."

Just before they pulled out of the parking lot, Bella thought to text Emmett.

Heading to La Push. Make sure Rose and Edward don't kill each other.

If anyone could deal with a formerly dead prince and an angry Rose hell bend on sending him back to his grave, it was Emmett. Bella was 95% sure everyone would still be in one piece when she came back home.

Good luck, Emmett. Bella thought as she pointed the car towards La Push. "You'll need it."