Posted: January 1, 2019

"Maybe you can go get started sorting some of the new stock in the back, Bella?" Mr. Newton said. He eyed Mrs. Newton meaningfully, and Bella looked at the both of them, and moved quickly to the back.

Their low voices did not obscure the angry tone in which their words were exchanged.

"That girl is trouble!" Mrs. Newton hissed.

Much as she didn't want the woman's opinion to matter, Bella felt the flush of embarrassment, and the horrifying presence of tears brimming.

She'd panicked, yes, when Mark had asked to talk with her, and theoretically gotten lost, but did that really justify this kind of reaction?

"You heard what Jessica told Mike!"

Oh, Bella thought. That explained a lot. She could imagine that Jessica's side of the story didn't paint her well.

She took a deep breath in front of the stock room door, and then stepped inside. It was full, boxes stacked, some precariously. She began shifting them, making sure they didn't fall as she worked to sort items.

After a few minutes, Mr. and Mrs. Newton's voices grew louder as they approached the room, and then abruptly silent. Then the door was soon yanked open.

"Go home, Bella," Mrs. Newton said without preamble.

"Cheryl!" Mr. Newton reprimanded her.

"Me or her. Your choice," Cheryl hissed at her husband.

Mr. Newton sighed, and rubbed his face with his hands. "Why don't you head home, Bella? I'll pay you for your shift, and call you later."

Her throat felt too tight to allow words out, so Bella nodded, and with as much dignity as she could, pulled off her work vest and name tag, and walked out of the room. Grabbing her bag from behind the counter, she walked quickly out the main entrance, eyes down, trying not to let her emotions loose. She didn't even register the two shapes approaching the store, until one of them called out.

"Bella, wait!"

She looked up, blinking, voice husky with emotion. "Billy?"

"Hey," said another voice—Jacob's, she realized.

"What're you—what're you doing here?" she blurted out.

"Came to see you. Make sure you were OK," Billy said.

She was feeling anything but that at the moment.

"I'm OK."

"And I'm the Queen of Sheba. What's up?" Billy asked.

"Well, I think I just got fired."

"That sucks. Sorry to hear it," Jacob said softly. He still stood squarely behind his father's chair.

Bella gave a weak and flickering smile. "Thank you," she made herself say. Jacob, despite all he'd done, still made her nervous.

Billy, seeming to sense her apprehension, said, "Don't worry, he's on his best behaviour. Right, Jacob?"

"Like a dog on a leash, yep," Jacob said, only a note of bitterness there in his attempted grin. His tone shifted when he asked, much more softly, "You really OK? I wasn't sure what they were doing, after we took out those other two."

The 'other two' pulled her back into the grip of that not so distant, and terrifying night.

"Yeah. I am. Thank you. You saved me." She meant it, but she still looked around nervously, wanting to make sure she wasn't overheard.

"Anytime," Jacob breathed out, clearly aiming for humour, and missing it. "God, that stunt they pulled—we almost attacked. They hadn't warned us." He shook his head angrily.

Bella swallowed, imagining several ugly, alternative outcomes.

"Sam's a good leader," Billy said, turning and eyeing Jacob.

Jacob's face twisted a little, but he nodded. "Sure."

"I was going to ask about rescheduling lunch, but maybe you want to go for coffee now, seeing as you're free?" Billy asked.

Bella wanted nothing more than to go home, and find Edward, but she felt a pang of obligation to Billy. Jacob's form, lurking over his, intimidated her.

There was an awkward pause while she said nothing. Jacob cleared his throat. "I'll drop you off, Dad, then run some errands, OK?"

"Sure," Bella said, feeling a wave of shame that it took this to put her at ease. He'd risked his life for her.

So it was that Bella found herself across from Billy at the local diner, he nursing a cup of coffee, and she a weak cup of tea, largely untouched.

"Things going OK with the Cullens?"

"They are, yes." She smiled a little.

"Huh," Billy said. "Thought it would be more weird, living with people who don't use toilets and stuff."

Bella snorted out her tea.

"No waiting for the bathroom, at least," she finally managed, wiping her face.

"True," Billy said, smiling. "Hadn't thought of that."

There'd been one bathroom between the three of them at Billy's house. It hadn't been so bad most of the time, but Bella discovered that Jacob could take a long time using it. A long time.

"And you?" She asked. "How're things? With Jacob home again? You know, waiting for the bathroom?"

"Good," he said, still smiling. Then his expression became more serious. "Being away gave him some . . . perspective on life."

"Is that code for accepting I'm with Edward? Without making his face twitch?"

Bella decided she liked the sound of Billy's chuckle.

"Yeah, something like that." He took a sip of coffee. "And how is living with your boyfriend?"

There was something in the way he said it that Bella couldn't put her finger on right away. Instead of answering, she looked up at him through her eyelashes for a bit. Then it struck her. It was exactly the way Charlie would've asked such a question. "It's good. Really good."

"Mmm," Billy said, studying the contents of his cup, like they might say something to him. He added more sugar, and stirred it in a lazy clockwise motion. "Sorry about your job."

"Me too," Bella sighed. She was holding onto a the faintest glimmer of hope, that Mr. Newton might intervene on her behalf, but it was the slimmest of things.

"Any idea what happened?"

Nodding, she sighed. "Fall-out from the other night. I'm sure you heard what happened."

"Not really," Billy said, shaking his head.

She explained, with as little detail possible, what had happened at Sally's party. She also told him about Mark's apology.

"There's a line about good intentions, that your Dad liked to use," Billy said.

Bella waited, eager for this small gift of her father, wrapped in Billy's words.

"The road to hell is paved with them."

She chuckled. She could imagine Charlie using it a lot.

More slowly, and much more softly, Billy asked, "What happened, in the woods?"

She understood he wasn't asking about Mark.

"He took me," she said simply.

"I know that part," Billy replied patiently. "I don't know why. It sounded like he . . . protected you? From what Jacob said?"

Bella's eyebrows nudged together. "Um, sort of. He wanted me so he could . . . offer me to someone."

"Offer you?"

"Yeah," she said, taking a sip of her tea.

Billy frowned into his coffee, then shook his head.

"He was a Dacian," Bella started. Edward had explained what they were after Mark had left.

ooOOoo

"When the Volturi destroyed the old Thracians—" Edward started.

"The who?" Bella asked.

"Before the Volturi, there were the Thracians. They were a very different sort of ruler to our world."

"Oh?"

"Carlisle hasn't told me much about them, but the Volturi adopted part of their . . . feeding model."

Bella waited, not quite sure she wanted an explanation of what that meant.

"Their food was prepared for them, by a special order of vampires called Dacians." Edward looked up at her, fiddling with one of the candles on the table.

Bella felt brave, nodding for him to continue.

"The Volturi destroyed all but a few of the ruling, and servant order. As Carlisle understood, they left those few battered remnants to wander as warnings of what the Volturi were, and are willing to do for power." Now as he looked at her, he'd asked, "Are you OK with me telling you this?"

"Yeah, it's fine," Bella had husked out. She was safe now. She wasn't walking into her new life with blinders on.

"The Dacian was very singular in purpose—and his mind was very . . . fractured. He was very old."

"He was a freaking psycho, Edward." A flare of rage ruffled the silence of her mind, remembering how Carlisle had let him go.

"He won't trouble us," Edward assured her. "And Carlisle gave his word. It means something to us—and particularly to Carlisle, that our promises hold their weight."

"Does it mean less to you?"

His face transformed, only briefly, the expression flickering over it. "When someone is holding the woman you love hostage, nothing means anything. I would have promised him every soul in Forks to get you safely away."

Bella swallowed, and nodded slowly, not sure what to do with her own fingers, before asking Edward her next question. "What was he planning on doing with me?"

Edward's eyebrows lifted for a moment, and then dropped. He abandoned the candle, and took her hands into his before he spoke again. "He was going to take you, and find one of his former masters."

"Oh." She wasn't sure what else to say. Her hands felt more cold than they should be, even in his grip.

"The chances of him being successful would've been very slight."

"OK."

"But you were in danger, because we left you unprotected. That won't happen again."

Bella considered all this for a while. "How would they prepare people? The Dacians?"

Edward only shook his head.

"Why won't you tell me?"

"Because I don't think you want to know."

"Tell me."

"Bella—"

"Please. It isn't idle curiosity, Edward. I'll be like you. I should know."

"You won't—"

"My world has already seen many ugly things, including the Dacian. Pretending it's not real won't make it better."

Edward squeezed her fingers gently before answering, his features pained. "They were very different times, Bella. The Thracians kept dominion in small enclaves. Each one had its own castle, and stable of Dacians. The local populace would bring them offerings."

"They would give people to them?"

Edward had nodded. "Are you sure you want to know?"

"Yes."

"The Dacians' job was to keep them calm. Clean them. Feed them. Make sure they were well cared for, sometimes for days, sometimes for weeks, before they were given to their betters."

Like a fattening house for cattle.

Bella struggled with the notion of humans knowingly offering their own to Vampires. "People would give people to them?"

"It was almost a thousand years ago, Bella. The Thracians were Gods to the people. They kept their populations . . . I won't say safe, but stable, certainly. It suited their purposes. And there are always unwanted people."

She cringed, imagining who fell into that category.

"When their charges were ready, the Dacians would take them to small antechambers, where they'd be left for the ruling parties. They liked to . . . enjoy their food before tasting it."

Suddenly Edward's reluctance for explanation became clear.

"The Dacians were much like us in diet, but they weren't allowed mates. They were almost a religious order in that regard. Very strictly controlled."

"Yes," Bella had whispered, grasping more of what her captor had said.

Edward's squeeze became tighter. "One of us will be with you at all times, Bella. Nothing will happen to you. Nothing."

ooOOoo

She mulled over this as she looked at Billy. She gave him the outlines of what had happened, avoiding the creature's motivations.

"Sounds frickin' nuts. And they let him walk away?"

"Carlisle did, yes," Bella said. She wondered if Billy grasped the distinction.

He simply shook his head in a vociferous movement.

While she hadn't objected to having one of the Cullens nearby, she had asked for space, and intervention only when necessary. She wondered who was watching now. Edward had told he'd be in Port Angeles for part of the time she was at work.

The desire to see him, now, was strong.

"I should let you go, I expect Jacob's waiting," Bella said.

"He can wait a bit," Billy replied, voice level. "And you don't need to worry about him, in any sense."

"If you say so BIlly." Her tone was less than convinced.

Billy's voice lowered. "He's young, Bella. And he's had to deal with more than most adults ever have to. Please don't write him off for his mistakes."

She shook her head. "Our choices do a good job defining us."

"Yes, I'm sure the Newtons feel that way too." He lifted his eyebrows.

"That's so not a fair comparison, Billy." She looked at him sharply.

"No, it isn't. I figured, for someone who's had a lot of experience in being misjudged, that you'd have some empathy for what Jacob's been through. He knows what it means to lose a parent. To be thrown into a world he had no choice about. Sound familiar?"

It did, but not enough to excuse the lines Jacob had crossed.

"I didn't hurt anyone with the truth, Billy. Keep things from people. Ignore them when they said no."

"I am the last person to say that Jacob hasn't made mistakes. We all have. I just . . . he's young, Bella. I'd hope you'd see that he can grow, and change. Remember that he did many things right before he did things wrong."

Remembered flickers of kindnesses Jacob had done in those early days in their house flitted through her mind. He had been kind.

And then he'd wanted more. Just like other people had wanted more.

You thought Edward wanted more, she reminded herself.

No, Jacob had been kind. Had protected her in more than one way.

"I'm not asking for you to forgive him, Bella. Just maybe, be open to it . . . someday."

Someday seemed reasonable, but her face remained fixed as she thought.

"You're family to us Bella. I'll—we'll always be there for you. I want you to know that. It's important."

Family.

He reached over and squeezed her hand lightly before pushing him back from the table.

"Come on," he said, "help this poor old disabled man to the door, so he can stop hassling you."

The small chuckle was automatic. "Poor old disabled man my butt," she muttered, but got up to push him to the door.

"Someone's gotta be your parental imposition. You'll grow up all wrong without it you know," he said, winking.

"Thanks Billy," she said drily, but there was real affection beneath it.

But in the parking lot, by Billy's truck, she leaned over and gave him a hug. "Thank you for the tea," she said. "And the parental imposition."

"No problem. Anytime."

Jacob waited a circumspect distance away, hand raised in farewell. Before she could turn and walk towards her own—her borrowed car, she reminded herself—he called out. "We're having a bonfire, Saturday night, if you and your friends want to come. Paul always does well, having an audience, for when he puts his foot in his mouth." He smiled tentatively, watching her face, like he wasn't sure if the expression was welcome.

Billy studied the ground in front of the truck, his jaw tight, turning his head towards Jacob. Clearly, he hadn't expected this invitation.

They'd had several good bonfires on the beach in the short time she'd had with the Blacks. Maybe they could have more of them.

"Maybe," she said. "Let me ask Sally and Angela."

"Awesome," Jacob said, and turned to go.

The signs were subtle, but Bella knew Edward was jittery when she returned home. He greeted her silently, and abruptly in the garage, making her start with his sudden presence.

"Sorry," he said. "You're home early."

"Yes."

"And you're not at work."

"No," she sighed. "Think I got fired."

"I'm sorry."

She pulled back and looked at him. "You're not surprised. You knew."

He grimaced a little. "I heard Mrs. Newton's thoughts," he said. "I didn't know, but I suspected. Should I have told you?"

She thought about it for a moment. "No, but thank you for asking."

This seemed to relieve him.

"You had visitors," he said next.

She wondered how much he would pretend not to know. Surely he would have heard from whoever was with her, what had happened.

"Billy came to see me. Jacob too."

Edward seemed bristly to her, but she ignored it and went on.

"Nothing bad. We went for coffee. It was good. I was glad to see them." God help her if her voice didn't vibrate with emotion.

"They upset you."

"No, Billy reminded me . . . of some things I needed reminding of."

Edward's frown persevered.

Bella moved towards the house, tugging his hand, and he moved with her. It was devoid of other occupants, as far as she could tell, though her senses were hardly reliable. She sat down on the couch, pulling around her one of the many blankets that were now scattered around the house. Then she welcomed Edward's arms as a second layer.

"Jacob invited Sally, and Angela and I for bonfire on Saturday."

Edward looked at her, nodding.

"Think I'll go, see if they'll go with me. Make up for ruining Sally's birthday."

The nodding stopped, and Edward stared, his eyebrows and mouth two perfectly inverted triangles. "No," he said simply.

"No what?"

"You can't go."

"What do you mean, I can't go?" She was imagining some other commitment. "The trial isn't until next week—"

"After what happened the other day, you really have to ask?"

"Why, did Alice see something?"

He turned her arm over, looking pointedly at the thin red line that still stood out against her pale flesh. "Alice didn't see anything. She wouldn't, not with the wolves. But, I've had enough of having your life toyed with by supernatural creatures I don't trust."

"You don't want me to see any of the wolves?"

"Absolutely not."

"They're my friends, Edward. If they hadn't helped, you wouldn't have found me-"

"I can't get to you on the reserve, Bella"

"No, and you couldn't before, and I was fine."

He looked at her arm again.

"That was an exceptional case, and you know it—"

"No, I don't. They're werewolves"

"And you're not my jailor."

It sounded like a snap, the air moved so quickly into his nose.

She regretted her choice of words immediately.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean that," she mumbled.

Edward shook his head, and brought his hand to her cheek, stroking it with his thumb. "You are . . . so important to me. The thought of anything bad happening to you." Now his position shifted, so that he held her in his lap. "I felt like I had a knife in my gut, when you were taken."

Her own innards spasmed, knowing his distress.

"I will soon be like you, Edward. And then I won't be able to see them. You won't have to worry about me then. And I think, if you consider it, really consider it—that you'll see I'm safe with them. They came when you asked. You have a treaty with them. They've given you no reason not to trust them."

His breath ruffled her hair.

"Is it so important to you, that you go?" he asked.

"They took me in when I could barely stand to be in my own skin, Edward. They gave me a home. Billy was my dad's best friend. I'd like to leave that part of my life in as positive a way as possible."

She felt Edward's face tighten, as it rested in her hair.

"They're dangerous, Bella."

"You're dangerous."

He groaned, shifting her slightly in his arms. "Yes. I am. But I'd never hurt you."

"And I don't think they will, either. I don't think they'd risk asking me there, if they thought that would happen."

Edward's "OK," was almost inaudible.

"Pardon?" she asked, not sure she'd heard right.

"OK, but I have some requests."

"I'm listening," she whispered back in disbelief.

He paused, clearly considering his requests, or perhaps his wording. "Would you allow me to accompany you to the boundary? And have one of the wolves meet you there?"

She'd expected something ridiculous. Or more of a fight. Not this. Blinking, she said, "OK. Those seem very reasonable." She squiggled in his arms, making sure she could see him.

Watching his face shift from one emotion to the next, she understood what his reasonableness cost him.

"Thank you," she added more softly.

He pulled her to him again. "I love you."

"I love you too."

He didn't speak anymore, not with words at least, but let his lips articulate, over hers, the powerful feelings that she felt blossoming in her body. There was a much more rudimentary communication with their hands, and then a descent into sweet togetherness that required no words at all.