Again, I can only apologise for how long this has taken me. But I owe it to those who have been kind enough to persevere to actually finish this fanfic. Thank you for reminding me just how much I love writing Bellisle's story.
Just when Bella imagined that things couldn't possibly get any worse, Charlie stumbled into the clearing in full uniform, his gun pointed determinedly at the pack leader's chest.
'Sam Uley,' he called out in a tone that the wolf did not attempt to argue with; instead he held his hands limply above his head in the well-known gesture of surrender with a look of bewilderment glazing his confused expression.
'Jacob Black,' Chief Swan shouted in an equally uncompromising tone, 'I suggest you phase back right now otherwise you are going to have a lot of explaining to do.' His gun didn't move from its target as he spoke and Jacob instantly fell to the floor in a bundle of limbs.
'You are under arrest,' the Chief of police stated formally, his voice unwavering despite the pain the action must have cost him.
'What for!?' The wolves present didn't seem to understand what was happening, which suited Bella just fine, because she knew about as much as they did.
'Conspiracy to murder,' the Chief continued, proceeding to read the two men their rights as he cuffed them and walked them back to his vehicle which was parked just outside the treeline. 'And no phasing,' he warned, thankful for their co-operation and that the armed team who lined the woodland had been unnecessary, 'I will not hesitate to out you two if you try any of that with me.'
'What are you doing?' Bella hissed furiously as her dad brushed past her, keeping the two werewolves as far from her as he possibly could.
'Looking after my own,' Charlie retorted gruffly, 'the only way I know how.'
'How did you know?' Bella pleaded, desperate for answers. She had been thankful for her father's intervention and though admittedly the situation with the werewolves would still have to be addressed, she felt better that it could be done so on more even ground now that Carlisle wasn't in immediate danger.
And the knowledge that he had been in danger was what terrified her the most, because there was no doubt in her mind that they would have killed him. She wasn't naive enough to believe that her tenuous link with the werewolves would provide her with immunity from the treaty either and that saddened her, because once upon a time she had considered them her closest friends.
With no real charges against them, Chief Swan had been forced to release Jacob and Sam later that same day, which he was relieved to be able to do because he hadn't wanted to bring them in in the first place, but they had given him no choice. Without exposing the entire supernatural race and his daughter as a result of that, there was no way he could build a case against them. The well-respected Chief certainly wasn't going to start listing 'vampire' or 'werewolf' as reasonable occupations on his statement forms, so he sensibly chose to let them leave with a whispered warning to stay away from his daughter.
The weekend was over before Bella knew it and Carlisle grew increasingly withdrawn as the minutes ticked past.
'I should have told you.' The apology was obvious in Carlisle's voice as he pulled Bella into his chest and rested her head on his cool skin. 'You have shown time and time again just how capable you are, and my desire to protect you only ended up putting you in even more danger. Say you can forgive me, Bella, please?'
She did, immediately, but Bella couldn't help the shiver of fear at the thought of Carlisle running off into the woods without her.
'I need you to trust me,' she implored and he pulled her close in response. Suddenly the anxious young woman who had questioned every aspect of their relationship up until that point was now taking the lead and showing him which way to go. She knew as she comforted him that this was exactly where she wanted to remain, by his side, guiding and supporting him and the rest of his family as they dealt with whatever the werewolves threw at them.
'I think, I think I want to change now,' she muttered, allowing him to wipe the tear tracks from her cheeks and replace them with soft kisses. Carlisle led her up to the room that they shared, careful to avoid his family who had gathered around the kitchen table. She giggled as he closed the door to give her some privacy.
'I don't mean my clothes,' she chuckled and fell down onto the bed, exhausted from the havoc her emotions had wreaked on her body. Carlisle looked at her as though she was psychotic and his confusion only made her laugh harder, until she was pleading with him to stop. Unfortunately, he had no idea what was so funny, so he couldn't and it was some time before she calmed down enough to explain.
Eventually she regained her composure and crawled onto the handsome doctor's lap to rest her head back on his chest. She traced her fingers along his muscular shoulders as a distraction from the weight of what she was about to say.
'Remember a while back, when you found out what I was and you told me I would have to make a choice?'
The vampire growled his response, the noise emanating from low in his chest. Bella took that as confirmation that she should continue.
'Well I had already made it. Right then I knew that I would do whatever it took to stay here, with you. This week just showed me how maybe we should speed that up a little bit?' It was phrased as a question; though Bella knew what she wanted, she needed his approval because she was ultimately doing it for him. Carlisle realised that immediately and was humbled by her willingness to sacrifice what she was to better fit in with his family.
'Bella,' he soothed, stroking her hair gently and holding her with his available hand, 'you are already as much of a member of this family as you could possibly be. You do not have to change at all.'
She sighed in frustration; this was not the answer she had been hoping for.
'But I'm not like you,' she retorted, fully aware that she was whining, 'and I'm not like them,' she spat her reference to the werewolves angrily, 'so that leaves me all on my own.'
Carlisle smiled at her childish tone and kissed her lightly on the forehead,
'My beautiful, precious Bella, you are not on your own, even for a second. You know that, tell me you know that.'
She 'mmphed' in reply and the head of the Cullen household lay down on the heavy quilt, pulling her back with him.
'What are you doing?' She demanded, her good mood not entirely restored despite his attempts. Carlisle replied by nuzzling the sensitive spot behind her ear and leaving a trail of kisses all the way down to her neck, at which point he finally bared his fangs.
The action sent a wave of anticipation through Bella's body.
'I'm showing you,' he explained between kisses, 'why I am not going to turn you right this minute.'
Bella followed Carlisle out into the garden, absent-mindedly rubbing the place on her throat where there had been two very distinguished puncture marks just moments before. The sun was shining and Doctor Cullen rolled up his sleeves as he stepped out into the light and then…
Nothing. Absolutely nothing happened. No shimmer, no intoxicating, multi-coloured rays of light dancing across every inch of his bare skin. Carlisle Cullen was stood out in the sunlight and he looked just like any other twenty-something. It was unnerving.
The rest of the household had noticed the movement and had followed the couple out into the light, shimmering and shining as they always did.
'What have you..?' Bella began, but she just couldn't' find the words.
'Are you sick?' Emmet started, pinching at Carlisle as though he could force a different result. Despite everybody else's clear concern, Alice clapped her hands joyfully and practically squealed with glee.
'Go on, Alice,' her father encouraged with a broad grin, showing every one of his brilliant white teeth.
'It's your blood, Bella. This is what drinking from you has done to him. It's like he's human.'
She felt repulsed, bile rose in her throat and Bella had to physically fight herself not to be sick right there in front of him. But there stood her partner, casually wearing that familiar blue shirt and a pair of faded jeans, looking like any other man his age, like any other human. This was what she had done to him without even trying and she hated herself for it.
She expected him to walk away, but from his almost jubilant expression, humanity appeared to be the one thing that Carlisle Cullen truly wanted in that moment.