SM Owns the Characters
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Just a short chapter this time, to move things along a bit.
The Road to Recovery
PPOV
With the deer butchered and everything cleaned and put away, I made my way back into the house carrying the four steaks on a plate.
As I walked into the front door, I automatically looked for Bella. She was fast asleep on the sofa with a blanket over her. Old Quil was sat in a chair nearby watching her silently.
"Is she ok?" I asked, crouching down so I could look into Bella's face.
"Yes, the tonic I gave her will help her to have a more natural sleep. She is exhausted, and far too pale."
I nodded to him and put the steaks in the fridge before going back into the front room.
"I heard what you told her, I didn't mean to but with the extra hearing it's kind of hard not to listen. I'm sorry about your first wife, and I appreciate what you are doing for her." I said, as I sat down on the sofa near Bella's feet.
"You don't need to thank me Paul; the Swan's are an extension of my family. I would do anything for them, especially Bella. She reminds me of my Molly, and I want you to have the happiness with a Swan that I did not."
"So you think that she will be ok?" I asked, even though we knew what was going on with Bella now. I was still scared that something was going to happen, and this was just a little peak of possible happiness for me.
"I know she will be, give it a few months and Isabella will be healthy again. I don't think she likes my tonic very well, but I should have guessed that. The Swan's have this very weird talent of being able to smell the scent of blood, I couldn't imagine what it would smell like but from seeing Isabella's reaction I would guess it's not a very nice smell."
"I didn't realise that, I will to ask her what it smells like." I replied, for us wolves it smelt of rust and dirt.
Bella suddenly stirred and woke up; she looked at me and smiled before turning to look at Old Quil.
"You drugged me." Bella accused him.
Old Quil grinned, before answering her. "I did not drug you; it was just some herbs that would encourage your body to sleep if it needed the rest."
"I do feel better, so thank you I guess."
An hour later and Bella was grilling us some venison steaks, Old Quil was watching her making sure the meat was not over cooked. Bella complained again about all the blood as we sat down to eat them, I could see that she was struggling to eat them. Eventually she managed to eat it, even though by the end of it she looked almost green.
"I will find a way of hiding the smell of the blood in the tonic; I will have it ready by tomorrow afternoon." Old Quil whispered, as we were getting ready to leave.
"Thank you for the help, I guess I will see you soon for the next glass of tonic." Bella grumbled.
"You don't need to thank me Isabella, and I will pass the tonic onto Paul. You need to drink it every night before bed." Old Quil told her, before surprising both of us and pulling her into a hug. "Don't be a stranger Isabella, maybe when you visit again I can get the box of photos I have here of your Aunt and Grandparents."
"I would like that, thank you." Bella replied, before we left the house and made our way back to my house to collect her truck.
I stayed with Bella until Harry Clearwater dropped Charlie off; I left with Harry once they were both settled in front of the TV. I placed a light kiss on Bella's forehead, already noticing her skin didn't seem so cold and her skin not so pale.
The trip back to the Reservation started off quiet, as we passed the boundary line, Harry broke the silence.
"Paul, how often can you come up to Forks?" Harry asked, almost whispering.
"I usually come up every day, sometimes for dinner, or if I have patrol at night straight after. Why?"
"He is getting weaker and slower, and with Bella not being well either, I'm worried about them. If Charlie was to have a fall, there is no way that Bella could help him up."
"Then she would ring 911." I told him, thinking it would be the most obvious thing to do.
"I know that, but he is trying to hide the worse of his illness from her. The medication he is on from the doctors is not having much effect. Old Quil's tonics seem to help, but even he will admit that Charlie's body will soon get used to them." Harry explained, making me stare at him in shock.
"So he hasn't got long left?" I asked.
"Get that thought out of your mind; Charlie will fight this until the end. Old Quil is making new tonics for him. He is reading his grandfathers recipes and going back even further."
"Bella should know, she needs to know this." I growled out, she needs to know what was happening to her dad.
"Charlie does not want her to worry about him; she needs to get better herself. That girl has always been a worrier; imagine if the shock of finding out stops her from eating properly or sleeping properly."
"Her iron levels will go down, and it could affect her heart." I told him.
"Exactly, and if something was to happen to her, and please don't get angry, but if she was to die. Charlie would not be far behind her, Bella is the reason he is fighting this disease."
I couldn't stop the growl, at the thought of Bella dying and leaving me. I know that I would not be able to live; I would have nothing to live for.
I watched as Harry shifted in his seat and slowed down a bit. "Do I need to pull over?" he asked.
"No, sorry, I'm fine. Just the thought of Bella no longer existing." I replied, watching as Harry relaxed again.
"If I was to talk to Sam, would you be ok to spend the evenings there. Keep an eye on Charlie until he goes to bed?" Harry asked, as he pulled up outside his house.
"I don't have a problem with it, what about during the day? With Bella at school, I would be needed to patrol."
"My Suzy will be up every day, and she will either take him to the station or down to the Black's. Emily has also offered to come up and help keep the house in order, do the shopping and prepare meals."
"Not sure how Bella would feel about that, I know that she usually does all the cleaning and grocery shopping, she is a good cook and enjoys cooking." I explained, knowing that Bella was too independent, and would hate having help.
"Well she is pack now; I guess she has not really got to know the other imprints?" Harry asked, shaking his head.
"No, not yet. I think she is scared, the last people she made friends with up and left her like garbage." I told him, I was not going to force Bella; this was something she needed to do in her own time.
"I don't blame her, but you could both do with the extra support. Maybe if Emily comes up and gets to know Bella on her own, they may become friends. Go, I will speak to Sam tonight after the council meeting."
I nodded before leaving the truck; I waved quickly as Harry drove away, and I opened my front door, but didn't enter. Bella's scent hit me straight away, the house seem so quiet and uncomfortable without her here. With that thought in mind, I ran around to the back of the house and phased.
I was automatically hit with Jared's thoughts, I try not to pay much attention to his or Sam's thoughts but I couldn't stop when Jared was going over a conversation he had had with his parents.
"Will they really kick you out?" I asked.
"Yes, they think I'm on drugs and getting into trouble by hanging out with you and Sam."
"Shit man, talk to Billy. He will tell your parents something." I suggested.
"You think he would, if they kick me out where will I go? I can't move in with Kim, her parents think we are too young and too serious."
"I have spare rooms at mine, you can stay at mine." I offered.
"But I won't be able to pay rent, unless I give up school."
"You won't need to; my mom still pays all the bills. The money you get from the council would have to go towards food. Don't worry, man, talk to Billy. Worst case I get a lodger."
"Why are you phased anyway?" He asked, knowing that he still had another four hours before his patrol was up.
"House is too quiet, with Bella back at hers and nothing else to do. If you want to finish early I can take over. Go see Billy now, they have a council meeting in a few hours so he is around."
"Ok, howl if you come across anything." Jared thought, before he turned around and started to run back towards the Black's.
When he got near the tree line to the Black's his thoughts disappeared. I picked up Jared's scent before running around the usual patrol route; slowly making my way to Fork's to check on the Swan's.
