A/N Quick correction from the Favorite Story post yesterday. I just realized I listed a story twice and accidentally excluded this one s/7410233/1/Be-Like-Water . It is a completed story and another one that I love.
This is it, friends. The last post for this story. I do have a few other stories in the works that aren't yet published. A Bella/Sam story, and a couple of VM one-shots floating around in my head that may make it on a page one of these days. Please follow me for notifications of future postings if either of those sound interesting to you. Thank you so much for all the reading and reviewing. Be well. :)
Bella wasn't really prepared for Paul's reaction when they watched the last season in episode 2. All the trauma revealed. Poor Beaver. And Veronica. Bella saw Paul shaking, but not the normal "I'm so angry, I might phase" shaking. He looked a little hollow. Bella recognized this kind of shaking. This was fear. And horrible memories. And things that haunt you. She didn't say anything, because sometimes there weren't words for this. Instead, she climbed into his lap, and wrapped the blanket around them both while she ran her fingers through his hair to soothe him. He kept staring at the tv but wrapped his arms tightly around her. It was almost too tight, but Bella decided she could live with it for a little bit. Who needed to breathe, right?
When the episode ended, Bella turned off the tv, but Paul still hadn't really moved. So she laid down, bringing him with her. His arms were still wrapped around her middle and his head was on her stomach, like a little boy might hug an adult. Bella kept running fingers through his hair, down his neck, then smoothing hands across his shoulders. She wanted to tell him he was safe with her. But that was a lie. She was a magnet for trouble and nobody was safe around her. She wanted to promise him it would all be okay, but she couldn't do that, either. His very existence put him in danger. So she held and touched and hoped that in this one moment it was enough of what he needed.
She felt him fall asleep. His slow breathing fanning across her belly with each exhale. Luckily her Dad was working late, because while this was completely innocent, even she was aware that it wouldn't look like it to anyone else. Bella continued her ministrations and before long Paul's warmth and presence was enough to lull her to sleep, too.