Late in the evening of the next day, Kate sat up suddenly and cocked her head to the side. She leaned forward and chastely kissed Bella who was mid-sentence before saying, "I'll be back," And leaving the room.

Bella furrowed her eyebrows and sat up a little more in the bed before she could hear what sounded like her father coming down the hallway asking where she was. Kate hadn't mentioned Charlie coming.

"Bells!" Charlie exclaimed as he entered the room and rushed to her side, "You're awake and okay?" He said as both a statement and question. She looked confusedly up at him but nodded all the same, "Your coach called. You gave her quite the scare apparently," Bella sighed. Of course. "Well, I guess the more accurate account is that she called Jake who called me," Bella nodded, "We took the first flight up that we could get."

Bella scrunched her face up, "We?" She asked before shifting her eyes to the doorway that Jacob had just stepped into. He wrinkled up his nose as if he smelled something awful and made direct eye contact with her. He knew there'd been a vampire here.

0~0~0

It took a while, but after Charlie was finally satisfied that she was okay and that he had been adequately caught up on everything that had happened while she'd been in Alaska at school, he finally stepped out of the room to go find a cup of coffee.

Bella's eyes scanned over to Jacob who was sitting rigidly on a chair in the corner of the room. He'd barely said two words since he'd walked in the door.

"It reeks in here, Bella," He said finally, and Bella shrugged.

"That's not a very nice thing to say to someone who's been on bedrest," She tried to joke, and it fell flat when he just stared back at her, "I don't know what you want me to say, Jake. I'm not going to apologize, and I don't owe you an explanation." She said defiantly.

Jake stared her down before getting up and storming out of the room. Only moments later, Kate was reentering the room and bending to press her lips to the corner of Bella's mouth, "I'm sorry, darling. I didn't have time to warn you and it completely slipped my mind until I heard Charlie coming down the hallway," She paused and made a disgusted face, "Oh gross. What is that smell?" She asked as she glanced around.

Bella just laughed, "That would be Jacob," Bella said with an eyeroll, "And he had nearly the same reaction just a minute ago."

"Ew, you didn't tell me he was a mutt," Kate mumbled, and Bella gave her a look, "Fine, fine. I'm sorry. I do have to go for a while though, my love. I need to hunt. I'll be back later when they've both left for the night. I don't think your father would understand your coach hanging around," She explained, and Bella nodded in understanding. "I love you, Bella," She whispered as she bent and kissed Bella soundly, "So much," She said against soft lips.

"I love you too, Kate," Bella replied, "Even more."

0~0~0

After Charlie finally dozed off some time later in the day, Jacob looked up at her expectantly. Bella really wished that Kate was there now. But she was at the school with the team being that it was Saturday and they had a game.

Bella raised her eyebrows, inviting him to ask his questions. She wasn't going to make this easy for him. "What's that smell, Bella?" He asked and she huffed.

"You wouldn't be asking if you didn't already know, Jacob," She deadpanned and shot him a look telling him that she wasn't amused.

"Who is it?" He asked then.

"None of your business," She muttered and picked her phone up when it vibrated.

Kate: We won. I tried to tell them no. I'm sorry. Incoming!

Bella furrowed her eyebrows before the door to her hospital room was opening and her teammates were piling in. She couldn't help the smile that spread across her face and watched Charlie startle in his chair at the sudden commotion.

"La-La! You're in so much trouble for skipping practice and today's game!" Reeces called out from somewhere in the group and Bella saw Minnie and Hollywood nod in agreement.

"Oh, come on. You clearly didn't need me," Bella pointed out and the girls just shook their heads.

"It's so not the same though," Lil' K said from her spot where she had taken up residence on the foot of Bella's bed along with two of the other girls.

They continued their conversation for a while before Hollywood spotted the very confused Jacob sitting by the window. The girls had been so caught up in their own worlds and conversation, that they hadn't noticed anyone else in the room.

"Bella, who is tall, dark, and handsome over there?" She asked and the rest of the team got quiet and turned to look at Jacob who was now blushing heavily.

"Oh, gross," Bella mumbled. No matter what everyone else said, Jacob was still just a brother figure to her, "That's Jacob. He came up with my dad," She said as she motioned to Charlie who nodded at her teammates.

The team suddenly fell into hushed whispers which just had Bella rolling her eyes good-naturedly. Lil' K suddenly checked her watch and shook her head, "For CK to yell so much about how slow we move, she really does move at a glacial pace," She said and earned a few laughs. Bella's heart sank though. If Kate walked in right now, Jacob would know. Her secret would be out.

"I heard that, K," Came her favorite voice. But right now, all it did was make her heart thud into her stomach. She looked over as Kate walked into the room amidst all of the girls and watched Jacob's eyes darken and his body tense.

Oh shit.