Leah was anxious about her first day at the station. So much so that she had arrived 45 minutes early. She didn't want to seem too eager so she sat on a fallen tree just inside the forest. Reviewing how this had all happened.
Leah had followed Charlie's instructions and applied online Monday morning. By about noon her phone rang and a kind woman had asked her a few questions over the phone. Leah assumed she had said the right things because the woman asked if Leah could come in on Thursday to speak with the Captain at the Port Angeles station. Leah was a nervous wreck leading up to Thursday. She hadn't really understood how much she wanted this job until the idea of losing the opportunity had come up. With an income Leah could really work on the house and make it so much better. She would renovate the bathroom first. She also wanted the position because compared to her other options it was the best by far.
When Thursday morning came Leah fretted over the clothing she had bought. She had gone to a fairly inexpensive clothing store in Forks and grabbed a simple black dress as none of the pants fit her properly. For what seemed like the millionth time she wished she hadn't phased so she could wear pants and a blouse. Sue picked her up and then drove back to the Clearwater's allowing Leah to borrow the car for the day.
When Leah arrived at the police station in Port Angeles she felt like she might vomit. A woman in uniform greeted her from the front desk and ushered her into the back office where she sat in a small waiting area. Leah watched as officers buzzed around the office, carrying papers or coffee. It didn't take long for an older man to walk up to her and extend his hand.
"Leah, Clearwater?"
Leah stood and nodded as she shook his hand, maybe squeezing his hand a little too hard due to her nerves.
"I'm Captain Jim Brown" he glanced at their hands before releasing hers and leading her back to his office.
Jim motioned to a chair across from his desk and sat in his chair.
"So, Leah, you seem like you work out a lot" Jim stated as he eyed Leah's large shoulders and arms.
"Uh, yeah kind of" Leah wasn't expecting this kind of comment. She had only prepared for standard interview questions like 'where do you see yourself in five years?'
"What kind of work out routine do you have? Judging by that handshake I might have to tell the boys to pick it up" Jim chuckled.
"Uh" Leah was thoroughly panicked now, she had to think of a convincing lie quickly.
"I used to do track and field in high school and just never dropped the habits" Leah stated patting herself on the back as running as a wolf was kind of like running track. Lots of running and jumping.
"Oh yeah? My youngest son does long jump. What was your event?" Jim smiled now, with a bit of fatherly pride.
"Uhm, a bit of everything?" Leah didn't know too much about track but she knew people did multiple events.
"Wow" Jim leaned back in his chair and eyed Leah, impressed. "How'd you balance your school work with all the practice?"
Leah shrugged, she was going to get caught up in this lie. He obviously knew a lot about track and she didn't know enough. She had to back pedal.
"Well, I dabbled in everything but my main event was hurtles. I didn't practice for the others, just gave them a shot at meets" Leah smiled sheepishly.
Jim laughed loudly "I like your style. Did you place in any of the other events?"
"No, none of the other events" Leah smiled sheepishly.
"Well, Chief Swan should have no problem making a decision" Jim said as he stood, extending his hand to Leah again.
"What, that's it?" Leah stood and shook his hand, confused.
"Yep, a bit unnecessary if you ask me. I don't really have a say in who they hire over in Forks." Jim led them out of his office "I can always put in a good word but I don't think you'll need one. I'm sure Charlie will like you too"
"So this wasn't an interview?" Leah couldn't stop the stupid question from leaving her mouth.
"No, I'm just here to get a feel of the person because I've had a lot more people come and go through my doors. Charlie has got a station full of lifers" Jim laughed loudly as the two loitered by the reception desk "I'm sure he'll be glad to have some young blood, especially in your physical shape."
"Thank you?" Leah was a bit lost still.
"You'll have no problem running down all the purse thieves in Forks" Jim suddenly got serious "but if you ever decide Forks is too quiet you give me a call, I'll make some room for you over here"
"Jim, you can't poach Chief Swan's people. You know he's having a hard time filling that position" the receptionist scolded Jim.
"I know, I know" Jim frowned at the woman then turned back to Leah with a smile "good to meet you, Leah" in a more hushed voice "give me a call when you get bored over there"
"Uh, good to meet you too" Leah nodded once before leaving.
Leah glanced at her phone, it was still 15 minutes until she was supposed to start but she couldn't wait any longer. She checked to make sure no one was looking before she exited the woods, making her way into the station. As she did she noted a few people milling around in the break room, one was putting a lunch bag in the fridge. Bella had texted her the night before telling her not to pack a lunch but now she felt stupid. She also didn't know if she should go into the break room or stand in the front lobby or if she should go towards Charlie's desk. She continued to stand in the lobby awkwardly as she looked around and noticed a few faces she recognized. Notably was the deputy who had come to the school with Charlie when she punched the Liam kid.
As if on cue the deputy made eye contact with her and waved her over. Leah put up her walls and walked over to the break room.
"Leah, right?" The deputy asked once she reached the breakroom.
"Yeah, Robert?" Leah countered.
He nodded and grinned at her.
"Wait you were here a little while back for punching that high school boy!" A different officer blurted.
"Yeah, that's right. You snapped Charlie's handcuffs." Another added.
"They were faulty...must have been a weak chain link" Leah mumbled, hiding how mortified she was at the fact that she was here not too long ago facing assault charges.
She could see the other officers were looking at her skeptically now, probably wondering why Charlie had hired someone who assaulted people.
"C'mon guys, that kid put his hands on Charlie's little girl" Robert interjected. "I would have broken the guys nose if it were me"
Leah gave Robert a grateful smile. The group broke into hypotheticals of what they would have done to the boy if they had been in Leah's shoes. One slapped Leah on the back and laughed.
"I like you already. Bella takes care of us over here so we like to help her out, any chance we get."
"Is anyone planning on working today?" Charlie's voice cut through the playful chatter and everyone turned to look at him sheepishly.
Charlie walked into the breakroom holding two paper bags.
"Oh man, did Bella send treats?" One of the officers eyed the extra bag excitedly.
"No, this is for Leah" Charlie shoved both in the fridge.
Leah eyed the closed fridge and smiled a little to herself. Everyone strayed off to their work and Charlie smiled at Leah.
"They're not giving you too hard of a time are they?"
"No, not at all" Leah assured Charlie.
"Good. Come with me"
Leah followed Charlie back to a storage room and he pulled out a worn uniform top, handing it to her.
"We'll have to order you a new uniform but this should do for now. Come find me when you've changed."
Leah quickly pulled the shirt on over her tank top, noting it was a bit big on her. She tucked the bottom of it into her jeans and left the storage room to find Charlie.
Her first week was uneventful. She rode with Charlie as he explained rules and situations to her. He explained she wouldn't be given a gun until she took and passed a safe gun handling class at the Port Angeles station. The most eventful thing they saw in the week was the local drunk causing a disturbance at the supermarket. Charlie greeted him by name and they brought him back to the station to sober up.
Charlie explained they didn't see much in Forks. He then told her about the wild animal that was killing people a year back.
"Then there were the wolf sightings and everyone thought a pack was killing those people"
"Yeah...that was our pack looking for the killer"
"Oh." Charlie was taken back by this a bit.
"Yeah, Dad led the hunting parties so you would never accidentally run into us" Leah laughed lightly.
Charlie laughed loudly "he should have just told us to stay home, instead of wasting our time"
"You would have never listened after Bella told you she came face to face with one of us" Leah snorted at how idiotic Sam and Jacob had been.
"Ah, you're right"
They drove in silence for a few minutes.
"Who did Bells run into?"
"Sam and Jacob for sure, maybe Paul and Jared, possibly Quil"
Charlie made a strange noise and when Leah looked over at him he looked shocked.
"You okay Charlie?"
"Jacob is a part of your group too?"
"Mhm, he's actually supposed to be the a
Alpha because his Grandfather was the last true tribe leader but he doesn't want the position. So he's left it to Sam"
"I see"
"Sorry, Charlie I thought you knew because Jacob was there the night I was getting scolded"
"It makes sense, I guess I just have a hard time coming to terms with all of this"
"That's okay, take your time with it. I'm not particularly stoked about all of it either"
They parked in the middle of downtown Forks, each carrying their packed lunches.
"You said your group was looking for the killer…" Charlie trailed off as he sat down on a bench leaving the implied question hanging in the air.
"Yeah…" Leah hesitated, she couldn't tell anyone about what the Cullens were but she didn't know if this included telling someone about vampires in general.
"Is it more crazy supernatural stuff?" Charlie pondered over Leah's hesitation.
"Yeah"
"Has the threat been taken care of?"
"Yes."
"Then I don't want to know. Whatever happens on that reservation is crazy enough for me. I rather not talk about that kind of stuff"
"Fine by me" Leah grinned as she pulled a B.L.T. from her paper bag.
The two ate their lunch in a comfortable silence, both thoroughly enjoying the lunch Bella packed for them.
"Bella must have packed her sandwich in your bag by accident" Charlie chuckled as Leah pulled a second BLT from her bag.
"Ha, maybe" Leah chuckled half heartedly as she held the sandwich contemplating pretending to be full.
As if her stomach knew she were teetering on whether or not to eat the sandwich it grumbled loudly in protest.
"Or you know, she packed me a second sandwich" Leah grinned at Charlie as she unwrapped it, quickly taking a large bite.
Charlie shrugged and turned his attention back to his lunch frowning at the baggie filled with sliced vegetables.
"She gives me grief about my diet and here she is condoning a second BLT for you" Charlie scoffed and bit into a carrot with a loud crunch.
"It's another wolf thing" Leah took another bite allowing Charlie to decide if he wanted to push the subject or not.
Charlie grunted his understanding and looked off at the soccer field in front of them. Leah wasn't going to explain further if Charlie didn't ask. The silence suddenly didn't feel so comfortable and Leah hastily finished her lunch.
"So what's pepper spray like?" Leah asked, looking for any kind of way to break the awkward silence.
"Not great" Charlie laughed lightly as he returned to his friendly demeanor.
This time Leah grunted her understanding and the two started back to the cruiser.
"If you're really curious I can show you at the end of the day" Charlie stated nonchalantly as he slid into the driver's seat.
"I mean I'm kind of curious…" Leah answered once she was in the passenger seat.
Leah wasn't so much curious about the feeling of it but how effective it would be on her wolf genetics.
"I believe that it's good for our officers to understand how their tools feel before they use them on someone else." The corner of Charlie's lip pulled up slightly. "I never force it upon my officers though, strictly voluntary." He quickly added.
"Alright, let's do that then. What else, the taser?" Leah was morbidly excited now.
"Yeah, sometimes they volunteer for a few good whacks from the baton" Charlie mentioned off hand as he thought back.
"Yeah, let's do all of that at the end of the day" Leah nodded once.
Charlie made an odd noise and Leah saw him quickly glance at her in surprise.
"Well usually an officer only volunteers for one maybe two but even then they're heavily spaced out." Charlie explained incredulously.
"Well…" Leah thought for a second "we'll start small then ramp up and I can stop if it's too much" she grinned at Charlie only really slightly concerned about the pepper spray.
By the time the end of the day had rolled around the entire station heard of Leah volunteering for three examples. Charlie and Leah stood on the grass out front the station, the rest of the officers stood close by watching.
"The baton is only really used as a defensive tool for the officer" Charlie explained, speaking loud enough that all the officers could hear even though they had all already heard this before.
"So start coming at me like you're real upset with me" Charlie instructed Leah.
Leah started towards Charlie and as she did he held the baton in front of him like a barrier between the two of them.
"Don't take it easy on me Charlie, I want everything you've got" Leah smiled her cocky smile, knowing this would hardly hurt her.
As Leah got into Charlie's space he used the baton to jab at her to keep her at bay. He was purposely jabbing her stomach each time and Leah frowned slightly knowing this would work plenty on a normal person.
"Now, let's say after that you're still coming at me"
Leah continued to press forward towards Charlie.
Charlie began a swing towards Leah's stomach and she knew she could avoid it with her wolf speed but that wasn't why she was here so she just braced herself and hoped she didn't lose her lunch. The baton made contact with a significant thud and Leah doubled to hold her stomach. It briefly hurt but before Leah could straighten up again Charlie had swung at the back of her knees causing Leah's legs to crumple. Leah's knees hit the grass hard and she placed one hand on the grass to keep from face planting.
"Now the assailant is on the ground and easier to handle." Charlie explained "At this point we can place them in handcuffs and inform them of their rights." Charlie extended his hand out to Leah to help her up. Leah took his hand and stood, brushing grass off her knees.
"So what do you think?" Charlie asked, watching Leah to make sure she was okay.
"Seems pretty effective," Leah grinned at Charlie "so what's the taser for?"
A few officers chuckled at Leah's remark.
"Well maybe we should save that for another day" Charlie suggested as he collapsed his baton and replaced it on his belt.
"Oh c'mon Charlie, your little stick didn't hurt that much, let's give the taser a try" Leah insisted with her patented smirk.
Charlie hesitated slightly, he still viewed Leah as a little girl in some senses and had the parental urge to protect her from any harm.
"Yeah, c'mon Charlie we wanna see the newbie get put in her place" one of the officers called out.
The youngest, probably in his late 20s, shoved him before breaking from the peanut gallery and walking over to Leah.
"I can support you so you don't fall too hard when it hits" He smiled kindly at Leah before smiling at Charlie.
"Alright" Charlie said hesitantly as he upholstered the taser "but these things are no joke"
The young officer linked arms with Leah, tightly then grinned at Charlie.
"Hey boss, don't hit me I tried it once and that was enough for a lifetime" he laughed and Leah and a few others joined.
"Well this would be used if the officer judged that the situation was a bit too dangerous for a baton. Plus its effects aren't long lasting like a beating from a baton." Charlie explained.
Charlie took aim at Leah's thigh and looked up at her again.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, do it" Leah confirmed only a little nervous.
Charlie fired and two prongs embedded themselves in Leah's upper thigh. She was then quickly hit with a sudden shock. All her muscles contracted and she lost all control of them. Her muscles shook violently and Leah was having a hard time figuring out if it was the electrical current or her wolf threatening to come out. She was in her own head reassuring her wolf that everything was okay, there was no real danger and no need for her to make an appearance. When the shock stopped Leah's muscles relaxed significantly but there was still a slight shake to her body. Only once it had stopped did Leah tune back into the world around her.
"Give her another one, Chief, she's still standing" A different officer called, with a slight surprised tone.
"No, I think she's got a good understanding of what it feels like" Charlie unclipped the wires from the taser and holstered the tool before making his way over to Leah.
"Yeah, that was a really weird feeling" Leah laughed good naturedly.
The officer released his arm from hers and whistled low.
"When I got hit I crumpled to the ground with a serious case of lock jaw," he explained "took me a good ten minutes before I was up for standing again"
Charlie carefully removed the prongs from Leah's leg and began balling up the wire to be thrown out.
"Okay so pepper spray" Leah smiled at Charlie, feeling invigorated and overjoyed that she was able to contain her wolf through something like that.
Leah's excitement wasn't lost on the other officers and they all looked at her with varying looks of shock, surprise and disgust.
"No, that's enough for today" Charlie said as he started back towards the station.
"Oh come on Charlie the pepper spray is the whole reason we did this"
"I mean if she can stay upright after a taser shot to the thigh I wanna see her take a face full of mace" An officer reasoned with Charlie.
"Are you really sure you want this?" Charlie looked at Leah unsure of how he should be feeling.
"Yeah, hit me!" Leah stated enthusiastically.
"Alright, someone run in and grab some water bottles and towels" Charlie called to the peanut gallery without looking at them.
"I'll grab them" the young officer beside Leah called as he jogged back to the station.
"Once you get sprayed don't rub your eyes or touch your face, it'll make it worse" Charlie instructed Leah.
She nodded her understanding and noticed the peanut gallery moving up wind from where she stood. The young officer came back out of the station with towels and water bottles in his arms and stood with the rest of them.
"You're absolutely sure about this?" Charlie asked, skeptically.
"Yeah" Leah grinned, the taser hadn't really hurt at all so she figured this couldn't be that much worse.
Charlie sighed recognizing the determination in her eyes and pulled out the pepper spray pointing it at Leah's face.
"Okay, here goes" he said just before firing a quick blast at Leah.
Leah grit her teeth as the spray hit her and instantly made her face burn. Her eyes,nose and mouth instantly started watering out of control. Surprising Leah completely was the fact that her wolf didn't know if this was danger or not. Her wolf was confused by the threat and stayed passive as Leah stood with her hands on her knees, allowing all the fluids from her face to flow onto the ground. The wolf seemed to be waiting for Leah to find and identify the danger. This pulled Leah away from the pain her focus solely on her inner self. Had she really cracked the code of being a shifter? Was it really just acknowledging the wolf as a separate soul within one's body? Leah thought this would answer many of her questions, not create even more. She spat at the ground already feeling the pepper spray wear off. Someone was trying to hand her an open water bottle as she stayed hunched over and she realised she now needed to act like a human who had been pepper sprayed. She took the water and took a big gulp, swishing it around in her mouth before spitting it out. She listened to the people around her. They were laughing and joking around and she felt a hand on her shoulder. Leah straightened up and poured the water over her face, feeling even better with that. She was careful to not let her relief show on her face, she kept up a scowl and squinted her eyes.
"How you doing, kid?" Charlie asked from her side, removing his hand from her shoulder.
"I've been better" Leah forced her voice to sound hoarse.
"She's no kid, Chief" an officer called.
"Yeah she's a beast!" Another added.
Leah took a damp towel that was offered to her and put it to her face to hide her smirk. If only they knew.
"Man, you're crazy," Leah recognized the voice of the young officer "half these guys have never even felt a taser or pepper spray let alone back to back"
"Yeah that's why she's the Beast!" Someone called out from the direction of the parking lot.
When Leah removed the towel from her face she saw that the peanut gallery had broken up and were heading to their cars. Leah poured water on her face again to hide the fact that her face was no longer weeping from every hole.
"Hey, do you need a lift home?" Charlie asked Leah, obviously falling for her act too.
"I can give you a lift" the young officer quickly offered.
"Nah I'm good, I've got a ride showing up soon" Leah assured them both, giving Charlie a secret look trying to convey to him that she was fine.
"Are you sure cuz-" the officer was cut off by Charlie
"Come on Wyatt, it's been a long day. I'm sure Leah's ride will be here any second"
"Yeah okay," Wyatt nodded once and followed Charlie to the parking lot "see you tomorrow, Leah!" He called as he looked back at her and waved.
Once Leah saw that everyone was gone she snickered to herself. She quickly put the water and towels back in the station. Once she was back outside she made her way to the woods, her snickering turning to chuckles. Once in the forest she phased faster than she'd ever managed before. She knew she had cracked the code to being a shifter then.