Bella's POV

"JAKE I'M HOME! I MISSED YOU BUDDY!" A rich tenor shout reaches my ears and Jacob jumps to his feet like he's been shot, his face paling so much he looked like, well, a vampire.

"Shit!" Jacob curses.

"Jake!" I chastise automatically. "Watch your language!"

"You didn't tell me you'd brought a girl home Jake!" The voice chortles and the sound of a door closing can be heard. "And by the sounds of it, she has manners! I like her already!"

Jacob turns panicked eyes to me. 'It's Billy!' He mouths.

I don't hesitate. I blur to the wide bay window and instantly shove it open, performing an agile roll through it in one smooth move. "I'll be outside." I whisper, ignoring Jacob's open mouth at my swift exit.

I crouch down and peek through the window I'd just left through to see a wheelchair enter the room. I didn't want to leave Jacob but I also didn't want Billy to see me. That wouldn't be a good idea. I recognised Billy straight away even though I hadn't seen him for years. I had no doubt that he'd recognise me too.

He was heavy set with a deeply wrinkled face and dark russet skin. My vampire sight picked up that his eyes were a black colour from his brief suspicious glimpse around the room. I swiftly ducked out of his eye line as I contemplated things.

Billy Black hadn't changed much. Even my fleeting glimpse of his eyes showed me that they still held the infinite majesty and might I'd even been subconsciously aware of when I was younger. It made more sense now I knew why. Even though Jacob had told me that Billy wasn't a werewolf it was obvious that the magic and legends surrounding Jacob had passed directly through Billy to him; not affecting Billy physically, but behind those eyes I could still see the power that Billy Black held, it had just manifested itself in a different way to his son.

Even confined to a wheelchair as he was.

I frowned. Jacob had briefly mentioned the wheelchair – something to do with Billy's diabetes but it hadn't prepared me for the sight of such a powerful man (metaphorically speaking) reduced to sitting in a chair permanently. I couldn't help but feel sympathy towards Billy.

I straighten up and look through the window again as I hear Billy's strong voice. "Good day son?" Billy asks, grinning at Jacob and passing him a brown paper bag he was holding.

Jacob still looked like a ghost but he made a faint effort to smile. "Yeah. How was yours?" Jacob unsteadily walked to the table and placed the bag and its contents down with a thump. It smelt like fish and I wondered idly if Billy had been fishing with Charlie today. The thought of Charlie filled me with a strange emotion that I didn't like the feel of, so I forced myself to focus on the conversation.

"The fish were biting." Billy tells Jacob before frowning, his age lines deepening. "How long have you been home?"

"A few hours." Jacob says slowly. "Why?"

Billy frowns deeper. "Well then perhaps you could explain why it smells like the cold ones in here."

I clap a hand over my mouth to stop myself from gasping. I hadn't realised that Billy would be able to smell me. Obviously Billy had more werewolf magic in his blood than I'd realised.

Jacob's whole body goes rigid. "Does it?" He asks quickly. "I hadn't noticed."

Billy fixates his steely black eyes on Jacob, showing that he wasn't fooled for one second with Jacob's lie. "Who has been here and why? Please tell me it wasn't a damn Cullen leech." He demands.

"It wasn't a Cullen, dad." Jacob says honestly, relaxing slightly. I relax too. Billy's use of past tense told me that he hadn't realised there was a still a vampire on his property. It meant I was off the hook for now.

Billy looks less tense at Jacob's honesty. "Good. I don't see any need for you to be hanging around with the bloodsuckers… So, where's the girl who was here then?" He smoothly changes the subject.

Jacob looks panic stricken. "What girl?" He blurts.

"Aw come on Jake! I heard you speaking to her." Billy grins, rolling his wheelchair to the kitchen table I'd been sat at only minutes before.

"There was no girl here." Jacob says tersely. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Boy, Jacob needed some lessons in lying.

Billy frowns at Jacob. "Why are you lying to me? I heard her voice, plain as day." His frown deepens as a look of suspicion appears on his face. "Come to think of it, her voice was very melodic. Was she a bloodsucker, son?" He demands.

Jacob stiffens. "No." He says, through clenched teeth.

He really needed to work on his lying skills. He was fooling nobody.

"Then what was with the musical voice and the swift exit? Normal people don't just disappear Jake, nor do they have voices like wind chimes." Billy's voice is hard.

Jacob's face matches Billy's tone. "She left when she heard you coming. She knew that you didn't know that…" he falters briefly before continuing, "that she was my girlfriend and didn't want to get me into trouble. So she snuck out. Not because she was a bloodsucker, but because she was my girlfriend."

A small growl slips out from between my lips and I stand motionless until I'm sure Billy didn't hear it. Jacob's girlfriend? Oh I was going to kill Jacob for using that card. My frustration slowly disappeared as I realised this could be beneficial for me if it distracted Billy from the vampire scent still in the room.

Unfortunately, it didn't.

"Jacob." Billy says very slowly and clearly. "I was your age once and I know what a teenage boy hiding his girlfriend from his dad looks like. You look nothing like that. So… why don't you tell me what's really going on here? She was a bloodsucker, wasn't she?"

"No." Jacob's voice finally sounded sincere.

Unfortunately, Billy was obviously better at reading his son than I was. He sighed. "And you're lying again. Why on earth are you defending her? She had no right to be on our property! She is a bloodsucker!" His voice was like ice.

Jacob sighs and I notice for the first time that he looks exhausted. I study his face and something inside of me snaps. His father or not, Billy was being really unfair towards him. Jacob had a lot to deal with, including that I was alive and potentially his worst enemy. He'd spent the entire day overcoming his reservations towards me and was actually starting to respond to me like he would with any other person, human or not. Billy was not going to ruin what Jacob had accomplished today. I would not let that happen.

With an exasperated sigh I gracefully climb to my feet and roll back through the open window, coming to a smooth halt in front of Billy.

To say Billy was shocked is one of the biggest understatements possible. He turned so white I was sure that if I stood next to him his skin would have been the same colour as mine. He nearly fell out of his wheelchair in his haste to get away from me.

And for a man confined to a wheelchair he was pretty damn fast.

"Hello Billy." I say quietly, holding my hands up in surrender to show that I wasn't a threat.

It had the opposite effect. Billy's reaction to my perceived attack was instantaneous. He rolls his wheelchair, with a speed that shocks me for a man his age, towards the kitchen sink unit and yanks open the cupboards, pulling out a shotgun.

In one smooth move he has it levelled at me. I don't have any time to react before Jacob has jumped in front of me, like an arrow from a bow, his arms outstretched.

Protecting me.

My mouth, not to mention Billy's, drops open at Jacob's actions. But Jacob doesn't hesitate. "Dad, put the gun down. NOW!" He roars.

Billy's eyes tighten and his hands shake but he keeps hold of the shotgun. "Step aside Jacob! Now!" He yells, his voice as loud as Jacob's. The ferocity in his voice made me cringe.

"No." Jacob says defiantly.

Billy looks like he's going to pass out, his eyes were frenzied. "Jacob," he says, his voice shaking, "if you don't get out of the way I'll shoot you. You'll heal quickly but that thing needs to be killed. Now."

Jacob's mouth drops open at Billy's threat and one glance at Billy shows me that he's deadly serious about shooting Jacob. I open my mouth to tell Jacob to get out of the way when he beats me to it.

"No." He says again, harder this time.

Thank god I was vampire, with vampire reflexes. It was what allowed me to save Jacob when Billy pulled the trigger. A human would hear the shot long before seeing its effects and by that time it would have been too late. But I wasn't human. With superhuman reflexes I shove Jacob out of the way of the path of the bullet, which I could see very clearly before its sound reached me, with more force than I'd meant to so Jacob hit the wall with a smack.

I didn't have time to do anything else as the bullet hit me squarely on the chest, the force of it sending me reeling backwards through the air. I manage to twist my body around as I flew across the room, so I land in a crouch.

Ignoring the ringing in my ears I push myself to my feet and lunge across the room, snatching the gun out of Billy's hand before he can blink and instantaneously twisting it into a hideously deformed shape as easily as if it were made out of paper, snapping it cleanly in half. I threw what was left of the mangled piece of useless metal back to Billy without looking at him and rush over to where Jacob was lying.

"Jacob!" I cry, grabbing him and turning him onto his back so I can see his face. He looks dazed for a second before pushing himself upright. He takes one look at me and groans.

"Oh god Jacob! What's wrong? Are you hurt?" I cry, my voice shooting through octaves, mistaking his groan for pain.

"My shirt! Look at my shirt!" He chokes.

I immediately glance down to see a giant hole in my borrowed shirt but no harm actually done to my skin. I breathe a sigh of relief; it would have been just my luck to start bleeding everywhere. It seemed like only vampire teeth were strong enough to get through my skin, the way it should be.

"Shit, dad! That was my favourite shirt and you blew a hole in it!" Jacob chokes, pushing himself to his feet and glaring angrily at Billy.

Leave it to Jacob to get his priorities straight. I hadn't just been shot or anything.

"Why the hell is the leech wearing your shirt?" Billy yells, his voice strained, throwing the mangle piece of metal on the floor in obvious contempt.

Fury fills me. "I've had this conversation more times than I care to admit! I'm not a leech! I'm a PERSON!" I roar at Billy. "Just like you, Billy Black!"

"How the hell do you know my name?" He yells back.

I ignore him and calmly turn to Jacob, ignoring Billy's sudden movement. "Are you okay Jacob? You hit the wall pretty hard."

"I'm fine." Jacob says, grinning as he shows me a pale pink line on his palm. "I cut my hand open when I hit the wall but I heal fast."

"You… you don't say." I stammer, staring at the raised ridged line on his hand.

"Get the hell out of here leech or I will not hesitate to kill you." I look over at Billy's angry face and have to fight an urge to laugh when I see he's holding a thick butcher knife. Laughing at him probably wouldn't go down too well.

I raise an eyebrow at him. "If bullets don't hurt me, I hardly think a knife will. Let's be reasonable about this Billy." I tell him. "I don't want to break your knife too."

Billy's arm shake as he reluctantly lowers the knife. "Jacob," he says, his voice icy cold, "you'd better have an explanation for this. She," he spat the word out, "is in clear violation of the treaty."

"Sam gave permission for her to be here." Jacob says quietly.

Billy jerks in his seat like he's been electrocuted. "Sam gave permission?"

"There's more going on here than you realise." Jacob explains, his voice cold.

"She's a murderer! Look at her eyes! Why the hell Sam would allow that here I don't know! It's my house. He had no right!" Billy yells, his voice furious.

"Dad she is a…" Jacob swallows, "Vegetarian, okay? The only reason her eyes are red is because she is a newborn."

Billy's face goes a strange shade of purple. "I'm not sure that was the wisest thing to disclose Jacob." I exclaim, as Billy's whole body freezes.

"GET IT OUT OF HERE NOW!" He explodes. "I don't give a damn about the circumstances! I'm not having a damn newborn on my property!"

"Billy, if I was going to hurt you, I would have had ample opportunity by now." I remind him cheerfully. "So what's the problem?"

"You drink blood, leech!" He yells.

I smile angelically. "And your son turns into a giant wolf. What's your point?"

Jacob snorts as Billy's face goes red with anger. "He can't help what he is!" He yells.

"Neither can I! What's done is done!" I snap at him.

Billy turns sharp eyes to Jacob. "Your girlfriend?" He asks sarcastically.

"Shut up Billy. You know full well we're not dating and he only said that to protect me." I became increasingly more pissed off as I noticed Jacob grinning broadly.

Billy's angry face suddenly twists and he looks puzzled. "You remind me of someone… but I can't think who." He says slowly to me. "You certainly have a temper."

I can't help but growl at him. "I don't have a temper when people are being fair to me and not prejudiced about what I am!"

And the rage is instantly back. "Prejudiced?" Billy yells. "You kill people!"

"You absolute moron!" I scream, having finally snapped. "I don't kill! I'm a vegetarian! Don't you dare start accusing me of things I would never do, Billy Black! DON'T YOU DARE!"

"Bella! Don't call my dad a moron!" Jacob yells before chuckling suddenly. "Even if he is acting like one."

A choking sound coming from Billy distracts me and I turn to look at him incredulously. He's staring at Jacob, his eyes wide. "What? What did you just call her?" He whispers, his voice pure unadulterated shock. Jacob looks at me helplessly as Billy's eyes flicker to me. "Bella. That's your name. You're a newborn. Oh god. No. Please no." He whispers.

"Dad calm down." Jacob says quietly as I shoot him a worried glance. "I know what you're thinking and it's okay."

"No. It isn't." Billy chokes, not even glancing from my direction. "You're her, aren't you? Charlie's… daughter? Isabella Swan?"

There was no point in lying, Billy knew exactly who I was. I found myself nodding. Billy's face lost all colour. "I thought you were dead… Turns out you really are, just not in the way I'd expected."

"I'm not dead! I may no longer breathe, but I still have emotions. I can still communicate!" I say sharply.

Billy visibly trembles. "You're dead to me, bloodsucker." He inhales sharply, a look of vulnerability appearing on his face. "Oh god, Bella. Why does it have to be you? Why couldn't you actually be dead?" Tears trickle down his cheeks, the only thing stopping me growling at him. "Charlie… you have no idea. He was devastated. But here you are."

"Charlie … dad." I correct myself. "Is… is he okay?"

Billy wipes at his eyes angrily before fixing his gaze back on me. "He's fine." He says curtly. "What happened to you?"

"I became a vampire." I say coldly.

"Obviously." He says stiffly. "But how? Did a lee… vampire just attack you randomly?"

"I don't think that's any of your business Billy." I say, my voice like ice.

"It is when my best friend's daughter is one of the walking dead!" He snaps.

"Do you have any idea how ridiculous you sound right now?" I snap back.

"Least this explains your behaviour." Billy says accusingly to Jacob. "It… she hasn't changed that much from when she was younger." He admits grudgingly.

"I know, dad. She's still as stubborn as ever." Jacob says softly.

"She still shouldn't be here." Billy says firmly. "In fact, she shouldn't even be in Forks at all. Charlie cannot see her."

"She staying with the bloodsuckers… I mean the Cullens." Jacob corrects himself grudgingly. "Unless Charlie went there, which is unlikely, he won't see her."

I was struck by a sudden thought. "So what if my dad sees me?" Two pairs of intense eyes turned to me and I shrugged. "He'll know I'm alive then. It'll stop his suffering…" I took a deep breath. "I want to see him."

"No way Bella!" Jacob erupts. "How would you explain your changed appearance and the eight months you've been gone? Your dad went to find you in Phoenix when you disappeared! How would you explain that?"

"She won't be explaining anything!" Billy snaps. "For she'd murder Charlie as soon as she saw him! She's a newborn for god sake!"

I growl so loudly at Billy the floor shakes beneath me. "Yes, I'm a newborn but I can control myself around humans! I haven't made any moves to hurt you even with your… provocations and you have human blood!"

Billy scowls. "I also carry the werewolf gene within me. I hear that repels your kind. Charlie doesn't have that advantage. You'd butcher him before he answered the door."

"You… you bastard. He's my dad! I would never hurt him!" I roar.

"I… I think Bella may have a point." Jacob says quietly. "She can be trusted."

"And what evidence do you have to make such a judgement Jacob?" Billy yells.

"You don't know Bella!" Jacob shouts at him.

"Oh and I suppose you do?" Billy shouts back.

"Yeah actually, I do." Jacob says coolly. "You know what she used to be like and besides, I've spent all afternoon talking to her and… I trust her."

I turn to stare at him, in sync with Billy, who is beyond furious. "You can't be serious Jake!" Billy splutters.

"Deadly serious. I'll stay with her the entire time if it makes you feel better." Jacob says firmly.

"If it makes me feel better? How about staying with her so you can prevent her murdering Charlie?" Billy shouts.

Jacob sighs. "She hasn't seen him for years, dad! And he's believed her to be dead these last eight months! It's not like he's going to know who she is. But at least allow her to see him so she can live the rest of her life in peace!"

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Was I actually going to be able to see my dad after all this time? Before now the urge to see Charlie hadn't been strong; he was just someone in the back of my memories but the urge to see him had grown stronger with every passing second since I'd learned he resided in Forks.

Billy was fighting hard. "What if he recognises her? He thinks she's dead." He adds bitterly.

"We'll find a way around that, if need be. She needs to talk to him, I completely understand that. She misses him." Jacob says fiercely.

"Her eyes are red." Billy argues. "Even Charlie would notice."

"Contact lenses should work." Jacob argues back. "Look dad, I'll make sure Charlie's safe. One move out of line on Bella's part and I'll take her out. Do you understand that Bella? Don't think my personal feelings will stop me. Human protection comes first." His dark eyes fixed on me seriously.

Personal feelings? What feelings? I couldn't help but think as I answered. "I understand. I won't hurt Charlie." I say quietly.

"I wouldn't let you get that far." Jacob says firmly. "We should go."

"What, now?" I ask, stunned.

"Unless you'd rather stay here with Billy?" Jacob smirks.

"I suppose I can't stop you." Billy mutters.

"No." Jacob agrees readily.

"Unless, of course, I told Sam. I'm sure he would agree with me about the safety of Charlie." Billy says evenly.

"I'm sure he would." Jacob says cheerfully. "Except Forks is a neutral area in the treaty so there's really nothing he can do." He looks thoughtful. "Well, he could always declare war on the bloodsuckers but since they have a whole lot of visitors we're hopelessly outnumbered." He shrugs. "Guess that line of action is out." He grins and moves towards the door. "See you later dad. Try and chill while I'm gone. Too much anger is not good for you."

"You're grounded!" Billy yells in a last ditch attempt as Jacob sprints out the door.

I instantly follow him, not wanting to be left alone with Billy and he laughs. "Turn away Bella. I'm taking off my clothes."

I instantly turn away. "I'm not sure you should wind Billy up like that Jake." I say quietly. "He's still your dad." Silence greets me so I cautiously turn around to see Jacob in wolf form, a semblance of a grin on his face, if such a thing were possible. As I watch he lifts his massive shoulders in what could only be a shrug.

"But thanks for sticking up for me." I mutter as we take off running.

Towards Charlie's.