"Jake," I breathed the name, clasping both of my small, pale hands around his huge, tan one. "You're awake! I can't tell you how worried I was… Jake, I thought you'd never come back to me! What do you think could have caused it? The doctors are so confused, Jacob! They couldn't come up with any explanation, and I was starting to think that-that-"

"Bella," he whispered, laughing slightly. "Calm down, Honey. I'm fine now. That's all that matters."

Tears spilled out over my cheeks, and even as they did, I willed myself to stop crying. We were out of the woods now. The twenty-four hour coma that my Jacob had fallen into was over, right? Well if that was true, then why did I feel so helpless? I sighed, my breath shaking, and rested my head gently against his solid chest.

"I'm sorry, Jacob."

"Don't, Bella," he ordered, stroking my cheek. I leaned my cheek into his palm. "You have nothing to be sorry for. I'm just glad I woke up to your beautiful, smiling face, and not Mike the Giant Marshmallow complaining about his weak-ass stomach."

I giggled softly, nodding my agreement. The movies, Mike, Jake… It all seemed like a distant memory now. My mind was filled to the brim with the painful memories of Jake shaking, turning his body violently in the comparatively small, pale hospital bed. He'd been screaming something… Something that brought a fresh round of tears to my eyes as I considered it.

"Edward!" he'd shouted fiercely, "Get away from her, Cullen!"

I began choking softly, sobbing with my face buried in my hands. It was my fault. I'd done this to Jake. I'd made his time at the hospital a living hell, simply because I kept bringing up the Cullens, kept ripping open old, healing wounds for the both of us.

"Bells," Jake beckoned, stroking my matted, tear-soaked hair. "Look at me, Bella."

I shook my head vehemently, but instead I stood up from my seat on the bed beside him. I crossed to the other side, lying down on his left side, snuggling into his bare shoulder. Happily, he obliged this action, closing his arm around my frame, crushing me to his body.

"Jacob," I cried, the sobs becoming stronger, wracking my entire body.

"Shh, don't cry, Bella," he soothed. "Please don't cry."

At last, I began to gather myself, hiccupping a few times before my hysteria ceased. "'Edward!' You kept screaming 'Edward!'" I informed him. "What's going on with you, Jake? You're not yourself these days."

"I know that, Bella… And I'm sorry if I scared you. Now that you mention it, I do remember dreaming about Cullen in the midst of all of this… He was coming after you, sucking you back into his lair with that sparkling personality of his… But I can honestly say that I have no idea what happened to me the other night. Maybe we should go back to La Push. Billy will know something…" he resolved, standing up and chastely ripping the IV out of his wrist.

I gasped, partly from the horrifying display and partly from the shocking cold that engulfed me the second Jacob's body was gone from mine. "Jake… Y-you… the doctor… that's…"

"Don't you dare try to talk me out of this, Bells," he said, shrugging on his white, v-neck t-shirt. "I know my own body. I'm fine."

I closed my eyes tightly, pressing my fingers harshly to my temples. Wasting no time, Jake lifted me off of the bed and into his arms easily, picking up my bag on the way out. Only one thought crossed my mind as he dashed out of the hospital, too fast to be seen, and that thought was: "It's going to be a long week."

Okay, so maybe it was wrong to feel happy about Bella's sullen reaction. But can you really blame me for being excited about her worrying? She loves me. I can tell from her reaction.

"Jake," she whined slightly, her hand on my bicep. "Why couldn't you at least have let me drive you home?"

"I told you, Bells, I'm perfectly fine," I quipped, trying my hardest to ignore the fire that was spreading over the surface of my arm at her touch. "Besides, you're stressed out, and I don't want you putting yourself in danger. I'm a perfectly capable driver, Bella, whether you trust me or not."

I smirked out the window, knowing that I had her there.

"You know I trust you, Jacob," she finally resigned.

"Just how much do you trust me, Isabella Swan?" I asked, a plan formulating in my mind.

"With all my heart," she answered firmly, just as I knew she would. I didn't reply, but moved my right hand off of the steering wheel and around her shoulders, pulling her body close to me. I moved my left hand to the bottom of the wheel, now steering with only three fingers. Bella didn't as much as flinch.

"I told you that I trust you, Jake." She leaned her head against my shoulder, snuggling close to my side as she shivered violently. I rubbed my hand up and down her arm gently, soothing her. "I just want you to be okay."

"I could say the same thing to you," I whispered, turning into the reservation. "I've never worried about anyone like I do for you, Bella."

And it was the truth.

"Any ideas?" Jake asked, looking down reverently into the eyes of his wheelchair-confined father.

Billy shook his head, a dismal look filming his dark, brown eyes. "Nothing comes to mind, Jake. Sorry."

Against my better judgment, a melancholy sigh escaped my lips at the news. Recognizing this action, Jake took me into his arms once again. Surprisingly, however, I didn't feel like crying. I was much too exhausted for that, and, besides, I felt as if my tear ducts had been drained. Instead, I pressed my face to Jacob's chest for what seemed like the thousandth time that day, memorizing the nice, rustic smell that he had.

"I'm sorry, Bella," Billy repeated, awkward at having witnessed this private display between the two of us. "I promise we'll keep searching for possible issues… but for now, I think you should be getting home to Charlie."

I suppose I was not supposed to see the questioning look that Jake sent Billy's way, but I did, and somehow I knew what it meant. He knew exactly what was wrong with Jake. It just wasn't something he could tell his son while I was in their presence. I felt relief. Perhaps there was hope after all.

"He's right, Jacob," I obliged, noticing that he was about to argue. "He'll worry if I'm gone too long. I think making him cook his own dinner one night is bad enough."

"Fine," he nodded, after taking a moment to mull it over. "But I'm taking you home."

"That sounds reasonable," Billy piped up. "We'll have dinner at Harry's tonight. See you there, Son."

A/N: Okay, so it wasn't as good as the first chapter, and for that I am truly sorry. But I realized today that this story was my baby, and by quitting on it I had done the very thing that I hate to see. Therefore, I will continue updating it for as long as the reviews keep coming. : ) I actually love this story, and I have the next few chapters mapped out already, so REVIEW.

Thanks,

C.J.