All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

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Chapter 5 - The Nightmare of PMS!

BELLA

I woke up to cramping and turned on my side after wiggling little Jacob from off of me. At first, I thought it was food poisoning or something, but then I recognized it for what it was. My period was starting.

I looked around and saw that Edward was nowhere to be found. I knew he had been leaving in the middle of the night and not returning. He had been doing it ever since the night I'd woken him up, when he'd been having a nightmare. I just assumed he was sleeping somewhere else.

Of course, he would be missing the one time I needed him to be around. Freaking JERK!

Okay, I might have been a little moody.

I dug through my trunk and sighed in relief. Under the little boxes of compact tampons, I found a huge bottle of ibuprofen. "Alice, I love you, whoever and wherever you are, I love you."

I quickly grabbed the pot to boil water and glanced back at Jacob, who was still sleeping soundly. Thank heavens.

I hurried to the creek after taking a quick pee on the potty rock. I didn't pee on a rock like a man. There was just this odd horseshoe-shaped rock with a flat top that I used like a potty. Hey, it worked.

Once my protection was in place, I felt less nervous. I didn't want to make our already strained and awkward relationship even more strained and awkward with the discussion of my PMS.

I filled the water pot and hurried back.

I had just pulled out a handful…okay, I was taking three of the pills, when Edward came back.

"Are you alright?" he suddenly asked me, watching me down the pills in one mouthful.

"I'm fine. My trunk, my business," I snapped

For some reason, he was very protective and possessive of the crap in his trunk. I didn't know why, but he was. Honestly, it was just one more reason to slap him!

Yeah, I was PMS-ing bad.

He regarded me warily and grabbed himself a cup to drink from. Alice had sent a six-pack of cups that were stainless steel and had measurements marked on them.

"You need to take Jacob today," I said not even asking.

He seemed to be watching me carefully, but just nodded in agreement. I grabbed the duffle bag and left, before I yelled at him for looking at me. Fuck, this was not good. I was even swearing in my head!

A few of the hens were following me, but I didn't mind them. It was somewhat relaxing to watch them trail behind me. They were my posse, my girls, the only girls on the island, really.

They had come to trust us, as I made sure they were well fed. Their once-slim bodies were starting to get plumper, but I knew I would never have the heart to eat them.

I took out my fishing gear, which included a large spoon I used for digging for worms. I hoped Alice didn't mind that I was using it that way. I put a worm on the line and dropped it in the water and tossed a couple of worms to the three hens that had followed me. It was funny to watch them all fight over one worm, ignoring the other two on the ground. They did eventually notice them, and I made sure each of them got one.

I grabbed a twig and poked at the moss, causing some beetles to scurry and the chickens to get excited. They really were hilarious to watch, as they danced around each other, going for the beetles.

It was then I realized my best friends were chickens and burst into tears. It was going to be a long week.

I sat staring begrudgingly at the fishing line. What I wouldn't give for some carbs. Cake, I really wanted cake. Mmm, chocolate cake would've been so good. With thick fudge frosting.

I wandered back to the house, not really caring if I caught something this morning. I was in a pissy mood.

I noticed Edward had forgotten Jacob's cup and was very annoyed. He should've known by now how important it was to keep the baby hydrated!

I filled it and marched to where I heard a thumping that I assumed was Edward. He was standing in a clearing, shooting the bow and arrows Alice had sent him. From the looks of it, he sucked.

"You suck," I said, too cranky to care.

He frowned at me. "I'm just getting used to the wind shear factor."

"Right," I cut him off. "Is that the excuse you use when you suck at golf, too?" His eyes popped wide. Before he could respond, I held up Jake's sippy. "You forgot his sippy."

"No, I didn't," he growled. "I left it on purpose. He would've most likely dropped it at some point, and I didn't want to have to make a trip to the water and interrupt your..." he regarded me for a minute, "Bitching."

"Watch your language around the baby!"

"I didn't forget the sippy, you just seemed like you wanted to be alone today," he said sternly.

I let out a huff and watched him shoot three more arrows that were all completely blown off course. "Are you even trying?" I asked.

"You think you could do better?" he snapped.

"No, but you don't seem to be adjusting for the 'wind shear factor' you claim is the problem," I said with an eye roll.

"What do you know about wind shear factor? I doubt you golf," he growled.

"I know more about sports than you, I'll bet," I snapped.

He snapped his head around in shock. He looked me up and down. "You don't play. You're too off balance."

So he'd noticed that. "You don't have to play to know it. I've watched every sport known to man."

He looked at me, appraising me again. "Why would you watch sports?"

"Well, now, if you ever took the time to talk to me, you'd know why, wouldn't you!" I spun around, annoyed with him all over again, and saw the hens watching me curiously. "Come on, girls, let's get out of here. I want to tell you about something called a Ding Dong. It's just amazing." I heard him clear his throat behind me. "The snack food, jackass!" I snapped.

"Hey, no swearing! You're such a hypocrite!" he yelled after me.

I flipped him off.

He grumbled something, but I couldn't make it out.

I went back to where I'd left the fishing gear, so I could relax and pretend like I was working at the same time. I could see why Charlie enjoyed this so much. I was lying on the bank, when I noticed it was suddenly too quiet. I sat up and opened my eyes to see the chickens had all vanished. On further inspection, I could see a few little chicken feet hiding in the bushes. I quickly jumped to my feet to see what was going on, when I heard a low growl.

Shit!

I tried to be threatening. I spread my arms out, jumping and shouting. It was then that a wild dog made its way out of the brush. His eyes were tense as he watched me.

"Yaw! Get out of here, GO!" I shouted.

He looked to me and then to the bush the chickens were hiding in. He started to stalk towards the chickens, growling lowly, but I wouldn't let him near my girls.

"Ha! NO!" I jumped between him and the bush, before he could get too close. "GET!" I screamed.

I saw a branch on the ground and picked it up, slowly feeling better now that I was sort of armed.

"Get!" I yelled and swung at him, not really trying to hit him. I really didn't want to provoke more of an attack. I just wanted to get him to run away.

He gave an aggravated bark in response. He wanted past me to get to my chickens, but I wasn't going to let that happen without a fight. I swung again, shouting at him and he barked, snapping at me, but I wasn't about to back down.

We heard fast movement coming from the side of us, and I hoped to God it was Edward and not another dog.

I heard it stop, and then I heard a soft thump and a whine.

Edward had shot the dog in the hind leg. It ran off whining. I sighed in relief and collapsed to the ground.

Edward came stomping forward. "Are you insane! What on earth were you thinking, picking a fight with a wild dog?"

"He wanted to eat my chickens."

"Let him eat the damn chickens, Bella! That dog could've killed you!"

"I had a stick!"

"Right, because that would save anyone!"

I surprised him by whacking him hard in the hip with my stick and stormed off. Asshole.

"Next time something is attacking you, shout for help, damn it!" I looked back to see him rubbing his hip and cursing me.

I stormed off, but started losing steam. I felt kind of bad for hitting him. When I got to the house, the hens went about clucking up a storm, I assumed telling the story of the dog.

Honestly, the dog looked fairly young and he wasn't that big, not to mention he was kind of cute. I had seen bigger dogs at home. This was more like the size of an almost-grown black Labrador. I could have handled it. It was obviously just hungry. It didn't want to attack me. It just wanted to get past me to eat my chickens. He didn't know they were mine and not available for eating.

I flopped on the bed and pulled out Alice's letter. This day had gone to shit so fast, I figured I had better see what she had to say.

"Edward will figure out your condition, don't feel embarrassed about it. He will be understanding and give you space.

As for the dog, you'll need him on your side, go make friends. Edward will be too busy to be upset with you about it. Use your fish. Whimper in return to let it know you're sorry, and then sit on his head, so he can't bite you when you remove the arrow. Take a bowl of water with you to clean his wound. He will follow you home. Stop here."

Well, that was interesting.

I did as she said, gathering up all that she asked me to. I took a big knife with me as well, just in case things didn't go as well as I hoped. I walked back to the water's edge and checked the line. I needed a fish for this.

Right after I arrived, I caught a small fish. It wouldn't have been large enough to feed us all, so I could kind of justify feeding it to the dog.

I tucked the fishing gear into the duffle bag and pulled out the bowl, scooping up some water. I had wrapped the stinky little fish in a banana leaf and stuck it in the bag. I carried the bowl of water and headed in the direction the dog had run off.

It wasn't long before I heard whimpering. There was a low warning growl when he noticed me approaching. I pulled out the fish and unwrapped it. I noticed him sniffing the air. I tossed it to him, so it landed by his head. He sniffed it and then scarfed it down, while he watched me warily.

I whimpered a little like Alice had told me to, and he let me approach. I showed him the bowl of water, and he drank a little and then sniffed my hand. He let me pet his head for a minute, but whimpered when he shifted his body. He was lying on his side. The arrow was sticking all the way through his leg. It made me feel sick to my stomach, but I had to pull myself together to do this.

I talked softly to him, trying to let him know that it would be okay. Then I suddenly sat on his head. To my surprise, he didn't fight me much. I remembered the tip of the arrows unscrewed, so I carefully removed it and quickly pulled the stick through. I felt him thrash under me, but I rubbed his belly while talking softly and poured the water over his wound. He started to settle down, and I carefully got off of him. He jumped up and checked his leg, licking it.

We didn't have time to make friends, because we were suddenly surrounded by three wild cats. They were big like mountain lions. Well, one was big and two were smaller, but just as threatening. I guess they'd heard the dog whimpering and thought him an easy meal.

I wasn't going to be arrogant.

"HELP! FOR GOD SAKES, GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE NOW! HELP!" I screamed.

The dog was snarling madly, and I was screaming as loudly as I could, hoping it sounded threatening. I pulled the knife from my bag and stood up, yelling for help.

Edward came running again, thank god. He shot one of the smaller cats, causing it to jump and move towards its mother. Then he shot the mother twice and then the other small one.

The three of them started to run away, and Edward started cursing. "What is with you today?" He saw the dog take a defensive stance next to me when he yelled, "What the hell?"

"We made friends." I picked up the arrow and screwed the end back onto it.

"Does he have a name?" I shook my head no. "Sam," he stated plainly.

"Sam?" I asked and looked down at the dog and shrugged. "Sam it is," I said rubbing the dog's head.

"You need to take Jacob, so I can go get my arrows back." I looked at him worried. Those cats were all larger and more dangerous than one dog. "I'll be fine," he said and helped me put the baby on my back.

I picked up my duffle bag and bowl and headed to where I knew some lemons and limes were growing. I grabbed a mango and what Edward was fairly certain was a papaya. The chickens loved the seeds. There were some leafy greens Edward had said were edible, so I picked some for dinner. We would be having a salad, since I hadn't caught a big fish. And what I had caught, I'd fed it to Sam.

Jake was standing on the bed, holding on to the wall and bouncing happily. He was squealing at Sam, trying to get him to come closer, but Sam just licked the air in his direction and whimpered at him to talk back. I knew they were going to be great friends.

I refilled Jake's sippy and gave it to him, and then I used the rest of the water to wash the leaves I had picked.

Sam took a little interest in my chickens when we'd first come back, but I snapped at him, yelling when he looked at them. Instead of going for the chickens, he just came into the house and sat on the floor by the fire.

I started getting worried when Edward hadn't come back after a while. I put Jake down for his nap and stepped out of the house. Sam came with me, but stayed by the door, as if he was guarding Jake. Alice was right; he would be a good dog.

Sam suddenly started barking, and I was worried it was the cats coming for us. I grabbed a knife. I didn't want them to get near the baby.

Sam ran off into the forest, and I looked back at the sleeping baby, trying to decide whether or not to go after him.

A/N: Thanks for reading and please review!