Chapter 10:
Bella POV:
I knocked on the door and heard Carlisle call out, "Come in." I opened the door slowly and stepped inside his office. This is the first time I had been here. It certainly was a lot different than his home office. This one was very clinical, and not very personal. A few certificates hung on the wall, along with a couple of very nice painted landscapes. A beautifully framed picture of Esme sat on his massive desk, which held some office supplies, a phone, and a stack of file folders. One folder was open, and he was reading it when we walked in. He stood up and greeted us warmly. "Hello Bella. And Jacob! Please come in."
Jake followed me and closed the door behind him. He came to stand beside me and put his arm around me. Very subtle, Jake.
"How are you feeling this morning, Bella?" Carlisle asked.
"Tired, but OK, I guess." How is one supposed to feel after being bitten by a vampire for the second time?
Carlisle nodded. "Why don't you have a seat over here and let me take a look," he said as he pointed to the other side of the room where there was a small examination table. I walked over and sat on the table. Carlisle opened a drawer on the cabinet beside the table and pulled out a few supplies. I moved my hair to the side so he could get to the bandage. He peeled it back carefully and removed it.
I heard Jacob pull in a hiss of air as I looked at him with a warning. I could see the anger flash in his eyes. I had not seen it yet, but I was sure it looked bad. I looked down at the scar on my wrist from the bite I got from James and remembered how awful it looked at first.
"It looks like it is healing well, Bella. There will be a scar. I'm sorry, I can't do anything about that I'm afraid," Carlisle observed. "But it is far enough back and high enough that your hair should cover it just fine. I'm going to clean it again thoroughly, then put a smaller bandage on it. This one will be more waterproof so you can shower and wash your hair and not worry about getting it wet. You can remove it all together in a couple of days." He reached over and got the supplies he needed then proceeded to clean and bandage it.
"I also have written out a couple of prescriptions for you," he said as he worked. "One is for an anti-biotic that I want you to take for one week, just to make sure there is no infection at the wound site. The other is for an iron tablet that I want you to take once a day for a month. You lost quite a bit of blood and you will probably be somewhat anemic for a short time. Try to get a little more iron in your diet through red meat, too."
Again I could see the anger growing in Jacob. I pleaded with my eyes, "Please, Jacob. Stay calm."
"OK," I said to Carlisle.
"There that should do it," he said as he finished. He turned to Jacob. "Jacob, it's good to see you walking on that leg already. Would you mind very much if I took a look at you? I am surprised at how fast your body has healed."
I looked at Jake, and mouthed, "Please?"
"Sure, sure," he said and walked over to the table. He held out his hand and helped me down, then took my place there.
Carlisle picked up his arm, felt around the shoulder, the elbow, then ran a hand down his arm and held his wrist. "Amazing," he said quietly. "Could you squeeze my hand, please?"
Jacob did as he asked. "Very good. Now, scoot back on the table and put you leg straight out." Jacob scooted back and put his leg up. Carlisle started at the knee, feeling all around, then down his leg to his ankle. "Any pain at all?" he asked Jake.
"Nope. Feels fine."
"Have you phased yet?" Carlisle wanted to know.
"Yeah, last night, then again early this morning I went for a run. It was stiff at first, but once I got going, it felt fine," Jacob answered.
Carlisle put his leg down. "Jacob, your body's healing process is amazing! Your leg was very hard to repair. I was worried it not would heal properly without surgery. But it has, and more quickly than I had anticipated. Thank you for letting me have a look. "
Jacob cleared his throat. "Umm, Dr. Fa . . . I mean, Dr. Cullen. Thank you for what you did for me . . . and especially for Bella. Thank you for saving her." His voice broke a little on that last part.
Carlisle put his hand on Jacob's shoulder. He smiled at him and said, "I'm just glad I could help."
Jacob stood up and came to my side again. This time he took my hand and squeezed it.
"Here are your prescriptions, Bella. I think you'll be just fine," he said as he handed them to me with a smile.
"Thank you, Carlisle. For everything," I said. Jacob turned toward the door. I put my hand on his arm and said to him, "Can you give me just a minute with Carlisle? I'll be right out."
"No, Bella. I'm pretty sure I know what you want to ask, and I think I deserve to know the answer, don't you?" he answered, looking me right in the eye.
I put my head down and took a deep breath. I looked back at him and nodded. I walked back toward Carlisle who was throwing away the old bandage and supplies he had used.
First things first. I reached into my pocket and pulled out Edward's ring. "Carlisle? Could you please make sure Edward gets this?" I held the ring out to him and he took it and nodded silently. Then I asked, "What about the Volturi? They want me to be a vampire. What do we do now?" I asked quietly.
He took a deep breath and looked at me. "Bella, when and if the time comes, I will personally go to Italy to talk to Aro. I am hoping that he will listen to reason when he hears what has transpired. Actually Bella, you may not realize this, but you were bitten twice, and even though the venom was removed quickly, you still never changed at all. This is not always the case. Sometimes it only takes a small amount of venom. I am wondering if your 'shielding' capability is keeping that from happening. Once I have shared this with Aro, I am hoping he will rethink things. I also think once he knows that you are with Jacob, being what he is and all, things will be different. In any case, please don't worry. In the meantime, I trust the pack will protect you. But if something goes wrong, and you need to contact me, you have my cell number and you can call me anytime. I will always be available for you, Bella."
"Thank you," I said, very relieved. "Umm, how is Edward?" I asked. I really needed to know that he was alright.
He looked at me, trying to hide the concern from showing. "You already know that Rosalie and Emmett took him to Denali last night. Alice and Jasper went there this morning. He is going to stay there for awhile, and we will decide where to go from there. They will take good care of him." He stopped, as if he were trying whether he wanted to say more. Finally he said, "I am very disappointed in Edward's behavior. Edward was hurt, Bella, but Rose told me on the phone this morning that he is very much ashamed at what happened. He never wanted to hurt you."
"Yeah, I bet," muttered Jake. I glared at him then turned back to Carlisle.
"I know that Carlisle. I wish that I could have . . ." I started, but Carlisle interrupted. "Bella, it wasn't your fault. Please know that. He knew there may be a chance that you would choose Jacob. Alice had sensed you wavering. He thought he could handle it. I'm sorry that he couldn't."
"You know that he can never come back here," Jacob said. I started to talk, and he put his hand up. "Bella, it has to be said." He looked at Carlisle. "You know that technically he broke the treaty when he b . . . he did what he did to Bella. If he stays away, I think the pack will accept that. But if he shows up here again, I can't promise anything. You know the penalty."
Carlisle nodded. "I am sorry, Jacob. It was never his intention to change Bella unless he was sure that she was ready. We were going to do it away from here to avoid this situation. This is most unfortunate, and Edward is truly suffering for what he has done. I understand that by this proposal you are saving his life, and I am thankful for that. Do I have your word?"
"You have my word as Alpha of the pack," Jake answered. I looked over at him. Alpha? When did he decide that?
"Jake?" I looked at him, and asked. "Bella, it's OK," he answered.
Carlisle looked between us. "So, Jacob, heir of Ephraim Black, you've taken your rightful place? I wasn't aware. . . "
"Just now," Jacob explained. "Like I said, you have my word." Jacob held out his hand. Carlisle nodded and shook it. "I will speak with the pack, and with my dad and the elders."
"Thank you, Jacob. I know this is very hard for you, but I do so thank you."
Jacob just nodded.
Carlisle then stepped over to me and placed his hand on my cheek. "Please know that Edward has his family around him and that we will take good care of him. We all just want you to be happy, Bella. I mean that. We all care for you very much and will always think of you as family."
I just nodded as I felt my throat tighten and tears form in my eyes. They had been my family . . . I still cared for them all very much.
Jacob was standing in front of the door, his head down. I went to him and took his hand. He looked up and I smiled at him. As he opened the door, I turned and said to Carlisle, "Thanks again. Good-bye."
"Good-bye, Bella, Jacob." He gave me a small wave.
I walked out into the hall, and Jake closed the door behind him as I wiped my eyes. I looked up at him, my tall handsome hero. "Jacob Black, you do realize what you've just done?"
He shrugged and said, "I had to do it sooner or later. Now seemed like a good time." He smiled at me and squeezed my hand. "At least it'll make my dad happy."
I smiled back. "Let's go home."
"Best thing I've heard all day," Jake said as he slung his arm over my shoulder and started walking to the door.
Jacob POV:
"I guess that Dr. Fa . . . OK, Carlisle, isn't such a bad guy," I admitted as I drove us through town.
Bella laughed. "Wow. That was hard to spit out, wasn't it?
"No, not really. If it weren't for him, you wouldn't be here with me right now." I reached over and took her hand. "I owe him a lot."
"Where are we going?" Bella asked as we passed the street to her house.
"You said, 'let's go home.' So, I'm going home – to La Push."
The drive home to La Push was a nice one. It was a rare sunny, warm day for Washington, and we had the windows down as we drove. Bella's hair was flying all over, and she let it. She said that it felt good to be "windblown." I thought about taking her for a ride on the motorcycle later. It was a good day for a ride.
Instead of parking in front of the house, I pulled the truck around to the garage. I had picked up the spark plugs I needed for the truck while Bella was in the drug store filling her prescriptions, and I wanted to take some time to put them in.
"I'm going to go in and make us some sandwiches for lunch. Be out in a sec, OK?" Bella leaned over and kissed me, then got out of the truck and went into the house. It was good to see her feeling better.
I got out and popped the hood of the truck then turned around to grab my tools. "Shit! Geez, Sam! You scared the piss out of me!" Sam had come into the garage so quietly I hadn't heard him, and was standing there glaring at me.
"What the hell, Jacob? When were you going to tell me? How long did you think you could hide this from me?" I could see that Sam was furious. I just wasn't sure what had pissed him off.
He came over and shoved me into the truck. "Do you hear me, Jacob? What the fuck were you thinking?"
"Hey! Knock it off, Sam! Why don't you just tell me what the hell you are so pissed about?" I yelled at him.
"Seriously, Jake?" Sam put his head down. When he looked up, he said evenly, "The treaty, Jake. He broke the damned treaty!"
"What? How . . . who told you?" How did he find out? How in the hell did he find out?
"That's all you have to say? You want to know who told me?" Sam asked.
"Yes, Sam, I want to know!" I shouted at him.
"Apparently you took a run this morning. Jared and Paul were on patrol." he replied.
"Damnit!" I turned away from him and ran my hands through my hair. I thought I was alone. I was so wrapped up in my own head, I didn't hear anyone else. And of course that fucking brown noser, Paul, would turn and run right to Sam. I turned around and looked at him.
"Paul had no right to run to you," I said as I put my finger in his chest. He shoved it away, and took a step back. "I thought about coming to you. But this is personal between Bella and Edw . . . him. And he's gone. His family has taken care of it. They have taken him away and he is not coming back, OK?" I walked to the bench and picked up a wrench, turning in my hand just trying to calm down.
Sam just stood there with his arms crossed over his chest. Silent, seething.
I turned around and said, "Look, Bella is fine. She told me he lost control when she was telling him that she didn't want to marry him. It was stopped in time, and Carlisle sucked the venom out. He saved her life." I had to stop. I still couldn't believe how close I had come to losing her. I took a deep breath then said to Sam, "She does not want to start a war over this. Don't you think I wanted to kill the son of a bitch for what he did to her? I wanted to rip him apart. I still do! But Bella begged me not to. She wanted me to understand what it would do to all of us. There may be a time when we need them." I stopped there, walked over to Sam and stood tall in front of him so I could look him right in the eye. "Carlisle assured me that he would take care of it on his side. I agreed to take care of it on mine. It was my decision, and I agreed. Period. End of story."
That's when he exploded. "Are you fucking kidding me? You decide to pull the Alpha-shit now?" He put his hands on my chest and shoved me. "Huh? NOW you want to make the decisions? FINE! GOOD! Take it, Jacob. TAKE IT! It's about fucking time! I am so sick and tired of dealing with this shit! With ALL of it! I'm out of here." Sam turned and took off at a run.
Before I knew what I was doing, I took the wrench that was in my hand and heaved it with all of the rage I was feeling. It went right through the garage wall and out into the yard. "DAMNIT!"
That's when I looked over to see Bella standing in the doorway, staring at me like I was a monster or something. I closed my eyes and ran my hand through my hair. Well, shit.