A/N: Hello lovelies! I know it's been awhile, we've had a busy last 6 months buying a home and moving, family deaths and holidays but I've been working on this when I had a few minutes here and there. It ended up being longer than I planned but there was no good place to break it so lucky you! Thanks for reading and enjoy!

Chapter 14

Jacob glanced over at Bella as he turned the truck onto the dirt road that lead to his cabin, her scent had an anxious edge to it and it was making his wolf whine. "You okay?"

She turned to face him, fiddling with the cuff of her jacket as she chewed on her lower lip. "I just...haven't been back in awhile. Charlie and I haven't seen each other much since I went to college. We talked on the phone some but not much since..." She trailed off for a moment, her hand lifting to the scarf on her neck and Jacob barely held back a growl. "I just don't know what to say to him. How to explain where I've been, what happened, why I'm here."

Jacob hadn't thought much about that either, too focused on getting Bella away from the leech and safe, but now he knew they were going to have to come up with something to keep the Chief from asking too many questions. Charlie was too smart to accept a simple explanation. "Once we get Paul taken care of we'll think of something. And we need to figure out where you'll stay that we can keep you safe. I'd say you could stay with dad but Charlie stops by a lot." Jacob hesitated, unsure of how she'd take his next suggestion, but decided it couldn't hurt. "You could stay with me."

He didn't dare look at her face, unsure what he'd see there, and resisted the urge to squirm at the silence that filled the cab. "Never mind, it was a stupid idea, you'd probably much rather stay at a hotel."

He was already mentally trying to figure out how to patrol any of the nearby hotels when Bella's voice caught him off guard. "I thought you still lived with your dad?"

He gestured to the road as he drove, noticing she hadn't said no yet. "Built my own place awhile ago, after we fixed up dad's house and made it more wheelchair friendly. It's only half a mile from dad's, he just has to yell out the backdoor and I can hear him, but have my own space and the Pack can have meetings or hang out without disturbing him. It's not much, one day I'll add more onto it, but its warm and dry."

He was rambling now but couldn't seem to stop, until he felt her hand on his arm and her slightly amused voice. "I'd love to see it Jake. If you're sure there's room."

He nodded, knowing his couch wasn't comfortable but he'd make do so she could have his bed. His wolf was too happy with that image and he had to remind it to settle down, she was just coming out of something traumatic and the last thing he wanted to do was upset her and push her away. As they rounded the last turn he glanced at her to see her reaction, his wolf eager for her approval. The little two story cabin was nothing fancy, he'd gone for practical for now until the business grew, but he was proud of it. He saw Bella take it in as they parked, the admiration in her eyes making his wolf purr, and she turned to him with a smile. "It's beautiful Jake."

He couldn't help the sunny grin at her words, jumping out of the truck he hurried to open her door, catching her arm as she stumbled on the groung and enjoyed the way she leaned against him briefly as her feet found purchase. He released her arm, daring to let his fingers linger down to hers and waited to see her reaction. He felt her tense slightly, hesitantly brushing their fingers together as she seemed to wrestle with herself and he turned her face up to his with his other hand. "Bells...there's no rush. You've been through so much for too long, I don't want to push you. I'm here for you, as a friend, protector, and if you decide something more..." He trailed off, tucking an errant strand of hair behind her ear and enjoying the color in her cheeks as she studied him. "Whatever you need Bella, I'll be that for you. You're in control of this."

She offered him a small smile, her eyes full of gratitude, and she laced her fingers with his as she stretched up to press a kiss on his cheek. Before he could react they heard the cars approaching and he gave her fingers a brief squeeze before leading her to meet the others. He could hear Paul swearing angrily as the car came to a stop, Seth throwing his door open with an annoyed look. "Paul I drove as careful as I could and if you don't shut up-"

Jacob chuckled, pulling open the door to see an angry Paul clutching his arm and a frazzled Rachel trying her best to soothe the irritable wolf. "Ease up Paul, he could've made you walk."

Paul snarled at him, but it was without his usual bite. Jacob could tell his packmate was hurting more than he let on, and he jerked his head to the others. "Let's get him inside. Sam, I need you to go get the doctor. And the big one."

The Pack let out a chorus of growls and Jacob raised his hand. "I know, I don't like it either, but you all know what has to be done and he's the only one who can do it."

He saw Sam nod and lope into the woods and he turned to Seth as Embry and Quil helped Paul out of the car. "Take the girls to dad's and stay with them, he should be out fishing with Harry. I'll come by once it's done. Give me just a minute."

He turned to Bella, still holding his hand he noticed happily, and pulled her to the side. "Bells, I need you to explain some things to you later but the important thing is there's a family of vampires in Forks." He saw her eyes widen in alarm and raised a hand to calm her. "They aren't like James. They don't kill humans. Long story, but we have a sort of peace treaty with them, I'll tell you more about it later. The leader is a doctor, he's helped us out before. I need him to help with Paul, I want you to go with Seth and the girls and I'll come get you as soon as I can okay?"

He saw the worry in her eyes, he was about to reassure her, when she surprised him. "I want to stay with you."

"Bella I don't think...this is not going to be pleasant for Paul, for any of us." He gently grasped her hands, giving her the option to pull away and couldn't help feeling happy when she didn't. "Listen Bella, you need to understand what's going to happen with Paul. We have accelerated healing and his bones have been trying to heal since he was hurt."

"That's good though isn't it?"

"It would be but they've healed in the wrong position. He'll end up crippled and unable to phase if we don't help him." He saw the wheels turning in her head and the sudden horror as she realized what that meant.

"You're going to break them again?"

"Not us, the doctor. We're strong enough but don't know how to do it right. He's helped before-" Jacob cut himself off, hoping she wouldn't notice, and waited for her to say she'd changed her mind.

"Please? I feel safe with you. And you said they're different. I'll stay out of the way I promise."

Her plea tugged at him, on the one hand he wanted her to feel safe but on the other he wanted her to be safe and while he knew the Cullen's frequently interacted with humans at the high school and hospital he wasn't sure he wanted to tempt fate. But the way she was looking at him, her gaze full of absolute trust, he couldn't find it in himself to deny her. His wolf surprisingly was quiet, they both knew the doctor was the safest around humans since he cared for them at the hospital and the biggest Cullen was fairly harmless as well. Blowing out a breath he nodded, deciding to trust his wolf and Bella. He could always send her off with once of the other wolves if things got too heated. Bella's eyes brightened and she squeezed his hand, following as he headed back to Seth and the others. "Go ahead, Bella's staying with me."

He could sense their surprise but no one said anything, Seth giving him a nod before pulling away. He stopped to grab Bella's bag out of the truck, taking her inside with Quil and Embry trailing behind. Paul was curled up on the sofa, his body sweating and shaking under the blanket and Jacob shot him a sympathetic look. "Quil, grab one of your grandfather's bottles for him, maybe it'll help take the edge off."

He saw Bella watching the injured wolf, stepping forward when she reached up to stroke his hair. "Bells..."

Paul jerked from her touch, glaring at her, and Jacob was about to snap at him when Bella shushed them both, gently running her hand over Paul's hair again as she hummed under her breath. Shockingly Paul relaxed slightly at her touch, letting her stroke down over his uninjured shoulder. Quil entered with the moonshine, eyebrows raising in surprise at the scene in front of him and Jacob only shrugged, just as stunned as he was. He took the bottle and set it on the table in front of Paul, holding up Bella's bag as he stood. "Thought you might want to change, maybe wash the vamp smell off."

She nodded, giving Paul's arm a last pat before moving away, surprised at the low whine that he gave at her departure. Jacob watched in amusement as his packmate begrudgingly took the bottle off the table as Bella followed him down the hall to the bathroom. He pulled a clean towel out and motioned to the shower. "Plenty of hot water, just leave your clothes in here until I can show you the washer."

Bella nodded, her face tight with worry as she glanced back at the living room. "Will he be okay?"

"Well it isn't going to improve his attitude any." When she shot him an exasperated look he chuckled and squeezed her hand. "We'll make sure he's okay Bells. And you too."

Daring to press a kiss to her hand he grinned at her blush as he backed out of the bathroom, letting her close the door behind him. He leaned his forehead against the wood, taking in the sound of her heartbeat for a minute before noise at the front alerted him and he reluctantly left to find Sam coming in with an annoyed look. "They're coming, but the big one wasn't there so he's bringing some of the others to help."

Jacob nodded, his ears picking up the sound of an engine coming up the driveway, looking around at the others. "I know it's difficult but we need their help so I need you all to control yourselves. If you can't then you step outside."

They all nodded, knowing what was coming would be unpleasant for all of them, and Jacob squared his shoulders as he heard a sharp rap on the door. As he passed Sam he paused and murmured, "You're in charge of keeping Bella safe. If it looks like it's getting bad, take her out of here."

His beta grunted an affirmative and Jacob clapped his shoulder as he moved past, his nose catching the familiar scents. The Cullens still had the rotting corpse smell but it was dulled from their animal diet enough they could be in the same area without his wolf wanting to burst out of his skin. Mostly. Pulling the door open he came face to face with the leader. "Carlisle."

He couldn't help the Alpha timber that rolled through his voice, his wolf did not like that they were inviting leeches into their home, treaty or no treaty, but the doctor took it in stride respectfully tipping his head. "Jacob."

He glanced behind him to see the other Cullens, his brow wrinkling in doubt. "Sam said Emmet wasn't there, we need as many people as possible to to hold Paul. Are you sure you're up to it?"

The icy blonde eyed him with distaste and ignored him, sweeping past him in a haughty way that had his wolf rumbling in his chest in annoyance. Behind her the little pixie vampire danced over the threshold, giving him a dreamy smile as she glided past and he closed the door as he counted backwards from ten before entering the livingroom. He could feel the Pack's tension rolling off them in waves, all of them watching Carlisle as he gently probed at Paul's arm. The hotheaded wolf was chugging the bottle in his uninjured hand, the fine tremors running through his body making it clink against his teeth and Jacob placed a hand on his shoulder to calm him. His packmate relaxed slightly, flinching as Carlisle pressed against the bone, a wounded yelp escaping him. The chorus of growls caused Carlisle to look up at Jacob cautiously and he shot a look at the others, silencing them without a word. As he watched the doctor finish Jacob kept one ear tuned into the sound of the shower running in the bathroom, Bella's heartbeat grounding him. He noticed the two females tilting their heads curiously, he knew Bella's human heartbeat was slower and quieter and he wondered if letting her stay had been the wrong choice. He met Sam's gaze across the room, glancing at the hall and back at him and his Beta nodded as he moved to place himself closer to the entrance, easing Jacob's worry a fraction.

"I think we're ready Jacob."

Carlisle's voice broke through the thoughts running through his head and he turned his attention to the doctor. "How bad is it?"

"Far better than last time I had to do this." Jacob barely managed to cover his flinch and he saw Carlisle give him a sympathetic look. "The worst will be the fingers, they're still a delicate area even if the bones are stronger."

"Let's get it over with..." Paul's speech was slurred slightly, slumped over on his good side and Jacob eased the bottle out of his hand.

"He's right, that moonshine has him buzzed but it won't last long." Jacob nodded to Quil and Embry, the two of them helping him move Paul to the clear spot on the floor. Jacob knelt by Paul's head, watching as Rosalie crouched next to Carlisle to assist him, Alice hovering over them. Embry and Quil each took a leg and Jacob nodded an affirmative to Carlisle, bracing himself as the doctor grasped Paul's arm and made the first break.

The snap was lost in Paul's howl of pain and anger, his brother thrashing beneath them as he snarled and tried to throw them off. Jacob heaved all his strength into keeping Paul's arm down, his Alpha tone rolling out through gritted teeth. "Paul, you will not phase!"

He was met with a fresh snarl of rage, the wolf and man panicked and instinct driving them to fight the Alpha order even as Carlisle and Rosalie made another break. In the howl of agony Jacob didn't hear the familiar squeak of the bathroom door, the hurried footsteps or Sam's shout of warning, only hearing the now familiar sound of a heartbeat as Bella dropped to her knees next to Paul's head. His own heart sped up at having her between him and the three vampires, who were all staring at her in surprise, Paul still snarling and thrashing beneath them all. "Bella! You need to get back, this isn't safe."

She shot him a look, ignoring the vampires as she reached out to stroke Paul's forehead, shushing him gently. To everyone's amazement Paul settled almost instantly, his chest heaving as he closed his eyes and leaned into Bella's touch. Silence fell over the room, all eyes on her, and Jacob dared to loosen his grip on Paul's arm to touch hers. "Bells...we aren't done. You don't have to stay here, we can hold him."

She peered up at him through her still wet hair, shaking her head stubbornly. "I'm not leaving him. If this helps him even a little, I'll stay. I know I said I'd listen to you but I want to help."

Jacob was torn between pride and selfishly wishing she would move away from the danger but he only nodded, knowing she trusted him and the rest to keep her safe. Looking over her head at Carlisle he gestured for the doctor to continue working, gripping Paul's arm tightly as he waited. Paul cried out at the next break, his body jerking again but not fighting them as hard and Jacob watched in amazement as Bella continued to soothe the injured wolf. He could feel Paul relax somewhat underneath his grip, tension still there as Carlisle checked the new breaks to make sure they were in line as the rehealing started.

There was silence, broken only by Paul's harsh breathing and Bella's murmurings as she wiped his brow with a cloth. He noticed the pixie vampire had moved back, watching Bella with wide eyes, his brow wrinkling in confusion at the odder than normal behavior. Carlisle started working on the lower arm, Paul's cries pulling Jacob's attention back to him and he noticed Paul wasn't fighting them as much, as long as Bella was continuing her ministrations, something he was both grateful and amazed by. With Paul somewhat calm, Carlisle and Rosalie were able to work quickly, short jerks and hoarse cries from Paul his only protest as Bella calmed him as best she could. Carlisle made sure everything was setting properly before standing and nodding at Jacob. "He needs to rest, I would give it a few hours before you move him anywhere. Try to get him to eat when he isn't sleeping, his body will need the energy. I'd give him something for the pain but you know I haven't figured that out for your metabolism yet after you and last time."

Jacob caught Bella's raised brow and turned away to hide his pained expression from her, steeling himself to shake Carlisle's hand as the two female vampires glided in front of them. He didn't miss the looks they shot at Bella, his wolf rumbling anxiously, but he pushed it aside as he walked the lead vampire to the door. "Thank you for your help."

"Sam didn't say what happened, just that you ran into a vampire. Is there anything we should be worried about?"

Jacob didn't miss Carlisle's eyes dart to Bella and he realized she hadn't put her scarf back on, James' handprint shaped bruises starkly visible on her skin. "It concerns her but I don't know all the details yet. When I do I'll call a meeting."

Carlisle nodded, ducking out the door and leaving Jacob a moment to breathe before he headed back to the livingroom. He nodded to the others that they could leave, Sam clasping his shoulder briefly before they filed out of the house, leaving them in blessed quiet. Bella had placed a pillow under Paul's head, the wolf succumbing to the exhaustion despite his pain, and Jacob squatted beside her as she fussed over his blanket. "Bells? We better let him rest awhile so we can move him after he heals a bit."

She nodded, following him as he led her to the kitchen, his stomach growling embarrassingly loud. "Sorry, been so busy I haven't had time to eat."

Bella tsked at him, stepping past to open the fridge and survey the contents with a critical eye. "For heaven's sake Jake, there's nothing in here but condiments, leftover pizza and a jar of pickles!"

He shrugged, reaching past to grab the pizza box, laughing at the aghast look on her face. "I'm a busy bachelor Bells, what were you expecting?"

He watched as she threw her hands up in exasperation, noticing how cute she was when her face wrinkled like that, and took a large bite of his pizza as she dug through his drawers. Coming up with a scrap of paper and pen she started scribbling and he moved to look over her shoulder as she wrote down a list of food. "What ya doin Bells?"

"Making a grocery list. He said Paul would need to eat and I assume he's staying until he's better. Plus if I'm going to stay here I'm not going to starve."

He chuckled, offering her the slice of pizza and watched as she took a distracted bite, the pen scratching loudly against the paper. "I'll make up the bed for you later and bring some more of your stuff in. We can store the rest in the Taj at dad's for awhile."

She glanced up at him, raising her eyebrow curiously. "The Taj?"

Jacob felt his face heat up, feeling like he was the awkward teen with a crush again and took a big bite of his pizza. "Never mind...I didn't expect you to remember."

Bella turned, grabbing his hand and peering up at him. "Jake, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing important. Just...one of the summers you visited we spent a lot of time there and you called it our Taj Mahal once. I just sort of always referred to it by that afterwards..."

He moved to snatch another piece of food, Bella standing next to him quietly and he mentally kicked himself for bringing up the subject.

"I kind of remember that. You were fixing up an old car, right? A...bunny?"

Jacob laughed loudly at that, nearly choking on his food. "Rabbit Bells, it was a Rabbit. And yes, that was my first car. Unfortunately right after I finished it I phased and couldn't fit in it anymore. Had to sell it that fall to pay for more parts."

She still had ahold of his hand, unconsciously tracing patterns on the back of it that were sending goosebumps up and down his arm. "I wish you still had it, if I remember right you promised to take me for a ride."

"Well you'll probably be more comfortable in my newer truck, it doesn't have the soul the older ones do but I had to get something I could get dad around in. When you're done with your list I'll call one of the guys to keep an eye on Paul and we can go to the store after we stop by dad's and update Seth and the girls." He winced slightly thinking about that. "I have to deal with Rachel before dad gets home from fishing."

Bella rubbed his arm before picking her pen up and adding some more things to the list. "I'm just about done. Just have to grab my bag."

Jacob followed as she moved to the livingroom, kneeling to check on Paul before grabbing her purse off the couch. Jacob grabbed the scarf and draped it around her neck, his eyes focusing on the bruises and he couldn't help the rumble in his chest seeing how much they'd darkened since they'd left Seattle. Bella put her hand on his cheek, drawing his attention to her eyes and she leaned up to press a kiss to his cheek. "I'm ok Jake."

Once again he was astounded that she instinctively knew what his wolf needed, what he needed, and he gripped her hand tightly as he gave her a small grin before leading her from the house. As he helped her into his truck Sam appeared, making Bella squeak in surprise. "Sam, I'm going to stop by dad's to deal with Rachel and take Bella to the store. Keep an eye on Paul."

His Beta nodded and disappeared into the house, Jacob climbing in and starting the engine, his hand automatically finding Bella's and feeling his wolf's satisfaction when she twined their fingers together. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, his wolf preening slightly when he saw how happy she looked. He knew he'd promised her he would take it slow, and he would, but the fact she was quickly becoming comfortable with him gave him hope she wouldn't take too long to test whatever was between them.

A/N: Thanks for reading! Drop me a note and let me know what you thought, hope you're having a good new years!