Necessary

A/N for 2018-09-4 - Warning: This chapter ends in a bit of a tough place. If you don't want to be left there, I suggest waiting until the next chapter is posted.

Finally: for those of you who've come on over from "Under the Broken Sun," it got nominated for an award over on TwiFanFictionRecs DOT com. So, if it tickles your fancy, feel free to vote for it.

Thank you for doing what you do best: reading, reacting, and reviewing!

~ Erin

They were just sitting down to an early dinner, a cobbled together assortment of leftovers, and the most wilted salad Bella had ever seen, when the approach of a truck made them look up.

"You expecting someone?" Billy asked Jacob.

He shook his head, taking another bite of pizza.

They heard the slam of a door, and then the thumping up the ramp to the house.

Jacob got up to open the door. Bella could see his form stiffen as he opened it, and then relax, seeing the delivery man there.

"Gotta package for Bella Swan."

"Oh," Bella said, getting up.

"Sign here, ma'am."

She took the pen, scrawling out a signature, not able to make sense of Jacob's wrinkled nose.

The driver left, and Bella, looking at the large box on the porch, wondered why Jacob was still looking at it.

"Let's open it out here so the smell doesn't come inside."

What smell? She wondered, looking at him quizzically.

"Yeah, I can smell it from here," Billy chimed in. Bella looked back, but his face wasn't distorted like Jacob's.

"Um, sure."

She pried open the box, revealing a card at the top, and an immaculately ordered clear plastic bag of clothes. The note's fine script read "Dear Bella, I'm sorry I waited as long as I did to help you in the only way that mattered. I hope you'll forgive me for that foolishness. As for more practical assistance, these were the clothes I bought for you. I thought you might have some use for them. - Edward"

She stared at it.

He hoped she would forgive him? She almost choked on the words. She couldn't quantify her gratitude, even if she could imagine the sum they'd demanded of him for her freedom.

She wondered if he'd secured Sally's too.

"I'm just gonna put these in the wash," Jacob said, picking up the bag, pinched between two fingers.

She sniffed carefully. Nothing, just...Edward's smell. It was almost soothing.

Jacob's face was wrinkled with disgust.

"Um, sure." Clearly something about it bothered him.

He disappeared, and she heard the distant clunk of the washer top close, and then the ensuing hum of it starting.

- 0 -

She wasn't sure if it was a sound that woke her, or the substance of her dark dreams, but she stood by the window, making herself stare at the dimly lit trees, and the grass, and the moonlight that coloured it all. She wanted to see things that were real, and present, and very much not what her dreams had remembered.

Then a wolf trotted silently from one distant edge of the property into the dark of the trees. She gasped and blinked, rubbed her eyes, and then squinted, looking again. Nothing. It'd been huge. Huge. Was she dreaming? Seeing things? Her mind tried to puzzle out where the wolf would have had to have been to appear so large against the scale of things she'd seen around it.

She was tired, she told herself. Perhaps the angle of the ground, and the house were just right enough to create one of those optical illusions they'd learned about in school. That must be it.

But still, a wolf, so close to the house. She'd have to talk to Billy. Obviously they needed to keep their garbage inside, or be more careful with other attractants.

Jacob was already off to school when she woke up, Billy grunting in acknowledgement of the wolf sighing. "Not in the city anymore, kid. We get wild animals here."

She nodded, but wasn't reassured by his nonchalance.

"Wolves are our traditional spirit animals, Bella. Gotta special place for them in our tribe. You don't need to worry about them bothering you."

It seemed an odd thing for him to say, but she dismissed what now seemed like silly worries, in the light of day. There were more pressing needs.

Like groceries.

And returning the very large sum she'd found in Edward's jacket pocket. She hadn't looked at it that night. After the package arrived though, she'd pulled it out, horrified to find close to five thousand dollars in crisp, folded bills.

"I'm gonna run into town, get some things from the store. Get that money back to the Cullens."

"How're you planning on doing that?" Billy asked, suddenly alert.

"I'll put it in my account, and then write a cheque. Give it to Dr. Cullen, see if he can return it to him."

Billy looked like he wanted to say something, but shrugged instead. "OK. Then we get you set for homeschooling, or school, OK?"

This was a bit of a sore point between them. Billy didn't want her to waste time in repeating the school year through correspondence, and Bella was dead set against attending school in Forks.

"Always go to school here on the rez," he'd said. "Help keep Jake honest."

"Sure," she said, smiling. "Homeschooling."

He grunted, but didn't press the point further.

- 0 -

She'd eyed the wad of cash, and the bank machine envelopes dubiously, deciding she'd feel better, knowing it physically deposited into a teller's hands. The clerk looked at the stack of bills, and mumbled, "just a sec. Need to get a bank manager to witness a cash deposit this large."

"Sure," Bella said, waiting, drumming her fingers on the counter.

This business done, she wrote out a cheque, and put it in an envelope. It had taken several attempts to write the note that accompanied it. She'd struggled to find the right words to thank the man who'd secured her freedom.

Dr. Cullen, though, wasn't at the hospital. No one seemed to want to tell her when he'd be in next. She sighed, and decided it would be better simply to mail it, using the return address on the box as its destination. It was a relief to slide it into the mailbox. Holding onto his money had made her feel uneasy. He'd already done so much on her behalf. To be indebted further, even temporarily, while she was responsible for these funds, was almost a physical discomfort

Her next stop was at the grocery store. She'd been there only once with Charlie, and its geography was still unfamiliar. List in hand, she was standing, staring at the cereal aisle, trying to find something reasonably priced, that they could all eat, when a familiar voice called out to her.

"Bella?"

She turned, startled at being recognized.

"Sally!"

She almost burst into tears, feeling her friend's body safe in her arms.

Pulling back, she looked at her, face clean of paint, and dressed in normal clothes. "How—?"

"Edward," she said, "he came back, after you left with him, and he," she lowered her voice to a whisper, "he paid my debt."

Another woman, and a girl about Bella's age rounded the corner.

The woman smiled at Sally expectantly. "A friend of yours, Sally?"

"This is Bella," she said. "Bella, this is Mrs. Weber, and Angela. They're...I'm staying with them for now."

Mrs. Weber smiled at Sally kindly. "You make it sound so temporary, Sally. We're just sorting out the paperwork so it's all formal. Where do you know each other from?"

Bella could see that Sally's face was a match to her own: paling, and unnaturally still.

Mrs. Weber shook her head, lowering her voice, "sorry, I know you don't want to talk about it, Sally. I didn't mean to pry."

"It's OK," Sally said, not quite above a whisper.

"It's good you have a friend in town. Are you nearby, Bella?"

"Out near La Push," she said.

"Going to school here?" Angela asked hopefully.

"I um, was thinking of homeschooling."

"Oh," Sally said, her face falling, looking at Bella, almost pleadingly. "I'm um, starting school tomorrow."

Bella could see the fear blossoming in her friend's features. That familiar, and protective pull, tugged at her midsection.

What kind of thanks would it be, to ask for her friend's freedom, and to leave her alone to face what she was too chicken to do herself?

"But if you're going to be there, maybe I'll try too," Bella said.

"Really?" Sally asked, the blood returning to her face.

Bella nodded. "But I should let you guys get your grocery shopping done, and mine too."

"Of course," Mrs. Weber said. "And we need to get back to the twins. Nice to meet you Bella." She rifled through her purse, writing down their phone number on a piece of paper. "In case you girls want to chat." Then she smiled, and the girls waved, and they were off to the till, their last items now in their cart.

- 0 -

Billy had helped her put the groceries away, when they heard the rumble of a car approaching the house.

"Must be Sue," Billy said. "Come back for the carcass," he grinned, pulling out the empty springform pan.

Bella laughed. The cheesecake had been delicious. And devoured. She'd never seen anyone eat like Jacob could. Perhaps it was good she was going to be going to school in town. It would mean easier trips to the grocery store.

It wasn't Sue, though.

It was Mark, and a deputy, and a woman that looked vaguely familiar.

"Hi Billy," he said, grimly, not acknowledging Bella.

Bella's breathing was too fast, and a familiar feeling of panic was creeping up her back.

"I need to talk to Bella," Mark said.

He still wasn't making eye contact.

"Well, bring the party inside then," Billy shrugged, wheeling himself away from the door to let them enter.

"This is Pam Stevens," Mark said, "I believe you've met before."

It clicked. She was the social worker she'd met right after...right before she left.

"And you know Deputy Al Smith."

She didn't, but she nodded anyway.

"We're here Bella, because you've been released on the condition that you're not a flight risk, which was because, frankly, of who your dad was."

Bella swallowed.

This wasn't just not good, it was very, very bad.

The urge to run was strong, and she struggled to keep her feet from moving.

Billy looked on shrewdly, turning from face to face, clearly trying to find some clue as to their reasons for being in his house.

"You made a significant cash deposit today."

"Yes," she said. This was true.

"And you didn't disclose that you had that cash, the other day."

"That's because it's not mine. I mailed a cheque for it."

"Whose money is it, then?"

"Edward Cullen's."

"And why would Edward Cullen leave you with five-thousand dollars in cash, Bella?"

"He gave me his jacket, the other night, when Billy and Jacob came to get me. I didn't have one. I was going to go back and give it to him, but—"

"I told her not to bother. Pocket change for the Cullens. Figured we could do it later."

"And why didn't you return it, Mr. Black?" Mark asked.

It was Mr. Black, now. Not Billy.

He shrugged. "Just didn't think anything of it. I should have. I'm sorry, Bella," he added, turning to her. "There's nothing fishy here, Mark—"

"Sheriff," he clipped out, his angry jaw was clenched. "Because you have drug charges pending, Bella, and you've now produced an unusually large amount of cash, I have to question its origins—"

"If you call the Cullens—"

"Dr. Cullen is away right now. I know because we coordinate emergency services. So I can't ask him."

"Edward—"

"I don't know Edward. I just know that you, a kid I also don't really know, has come back to town with a list of charges a mile long, after running away from a group home, with a lotta cash in her pocket, that she didn't tell me about when I asked."

Then he turned and signalled to his deputy, who produced a piece of paper, "this is a warrant to search your home, Mr. Black, which we're going to do now, and then I'm taking Bella into custody."

Bella sat down on the chair, because she was afraid she was going to fall down.

Billy looked at the paperwork, and then moved closer to Bella, taking her hand. "Bella, honey, I think you need to tell them what...happened to you."

"I have no proof," she whispered. "Nothing."

"Jacob and I saw you. I'll work on finding the Cullen boy, but you have to tell them. They need to understand."

She closed her eyes, and then breathed out shaky air. There were tears that peeked over her eyelids. "If I tell them," she whispered, "people will know. My dad would be so ashamed—"

"Your dad would be happy to have you here, alive and safe, with us." He squeezed her hand. "Tell them, please, or I can, but I think you should."

Putting her eyes to the floor, she began talking, making real with words, all that had happened to her, since she left Forks.

- 0 -

Mark had listened, not unsympathetically, but more shrewdly than anything, to what she'd had to say.

She didn't bring her eyes up to meet anyone else's in the room.

"Do you have any proof of this, Bella?"

She shook her head. "My friend Sally, she's staying with the…" she searched for the name, and then pulled the number from her pocket, "the Webers, I think."

"How old is she?"

"Fifteen."

He shook his head. "Too young."

"Edward can verify it." She'd already given them his address. The box, that he'd sent her things in, had been burnt. Along with the note. Damn Jacob's sensitive nose.

Then the deputy walked out with her backpack. Someone had finally gone digging through it. Just not her.

"Here," he said, lifting his chin towards it significantly, holding it out, open, to Mark.

"These yours?" Mark asked, pulling out a small ziploc bag, several little pills forming a neat line along the bottom of it. The brand and dose were stamped on each one.

"No," she said, shaking her head.

"Your backpack, though?"

"Yes, but—"

"I'm sorry for what's happened to you Bella, I really am, but I have to remand you." He looked at the bag. "This is evidence." He sighed, and then said, "Stand up, please, Bella."

Billy objected at this point, seeing what was coming. "Do you really need to do that?"

Mark ignored him. "Do you have any weapons on you?" he asked.

She shook her head.

"Arms out, please."

She tried not to flinch when he patted her down. She wasn't successful.

"Come on, please," Billy said, watching pull out his handcuffs, "she isn't gonna give you any trouble."

Mark was watching Bella's face whiten at the sight of them.

"I'll go with you," she said, clearly anxious.

"Turn around, please."

She wanted to comply, to avoid what she knew was a futile struggle, but her body refused her mind, and she pushed away, struggling for the door.

It was ugly.

Al jumped to catch her around the waist, and they both went down, she with a hard thump to her side. A scrape up her arm.

Bella knew Billy was talking, trying to calm her down, to reassure her, but the words simply slipped over her panic, and sobs, as she felt the pinch of the metal in her wrists, and the rough pull of both men's arms lifting her up.

She was pleading. Begging. Saying things that made no sense. Kicking. Trying to stop them from taking her.

Mark and his deputy continued their grim task, Pam following close behind, as Billy watched helplessly from the porch, his face taut and pained.

Then she was in the back of the squad car, a cage in front of her, and locked doors to either side, being taken to yet another place she didn't want to go.

DISCLAIMER: S. Meyer owns Twilight. No copyright infringement intended.