Being There

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

A/N-thank you to everyone who kindly reviewed the last chapter. Your wonderful feed back keeps me motivated.

Nikki :)

Part Twelve

Jacob and Bella stood on the back porch of the house and stared out into the surrounding forest. A unison of howls crescendoed through the air. Bella glanced at Jacob; she could see the muscles along his arms rippling as if he was fighting the urge to phase and join his brothers. She touched his arm gently. "If you need to go, I'll be fine." She told him.

"No," Jacob said adamantly. He took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze as he kept his eyes on the trees.

More tense moments passed before to their surprise they saw movement. "Stay here," Jake ordered Bella as he ran down the back steps and across the lawn. He disappeared into the trees.

Bella strained her eyes to see what was happening. She could hear the faint sound of voices and what sounded like a female sobbing. She sat down on the steps and waited impatiently for Jacob to return. The minutes felt like hours before he finally emerged from the trees, but he wasn't alone. A gasp left Bella's lips as she saw Sam following behind Jacob, in his arms he was carrying a girl. As they all drew nearer she recognised Leah Clearwater. She was semi naked, only a pair of cut off sweats covering her body. She was weeping; her head buried in Sam's shoulder as he carried her gently toward the house, a distraught expression on his face.

Jacob reached Bella first. He took her hand and pulled her into the house, his face was grim. "Leah phased, Bells."

"She...but how?" Bella's eyes widened in shock.

"I don't know, there has never been anything about a female phasing before." Jacob seemed as stunned as Bella felt.

Bella decided to take charge. Poor Leah needed some clothes, the ones she must have been wearing when she phased would have been shredded. "Jake, I'm going to run upstairs and get Leah some of my clothes. Get Sam to take her up to my room."

"Okay," Jacob left to tell Sam.

XXXXXX

Leah lay on Bella's bed, her body shaking badly. Bella had ordered Jacob and Sam to leave so that Leah could have some privacy. Jacob had to haul Sam out of the room as he refused to go. Bella quickly rummaged through her clothes and handed them to Leah. She took them silently and struggled to put them on as her whole body was shuddering; her skin coated in perspiration.

"Let me help," Bella offered. She knelt beside Leah and pulled the shirt over her head and assisted her with the sweat pants. The sweats were too short in the leg but at least they covered her.

The two girls sat across from each other silently for a while, neither speaking. Leah's eyes were glassy as she took deep breaths; the sweat pooling on her brow.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Bella asked eventually when Leah's breathing calmed down.

"My dad," Leah wiped at her eyes and seemed shocked when her hand came away wet with tears.

"Your dad?" Bella questioned.

Leah's eyes came into focus and she looked at Bella desperately. "I was arguing with my dad. I had been feeling hot all day and thought I was coming down with a temperature. He only came to my room to check I was okay but I yelled at him. I don't know what happened...I turned into this thing right in front of him...he he..." she stopped talking as more tears leaked out of her eyes.

Bella shifted closer to her and put her arms around the shaking girl. She winced as Leah's hot skin burned hers, but she held on trying to offer what little comfort she could.

XXXXXX

"I need to go up there," Sam insisted as he heard Leah crying again.

"No," Jacob stood in his way to stop him. "Let Bells handle it for the moment. The last thing Lee needs is you charging up there."

"She needs me. Bella can't handle or even begin to understand what Lee has been through." Sam was on the verge of issuing an Alpha command on Jacob to get him to move.

"Bells was there when I phased remember. She was amazing Sam. I don't know how I would have coped without her. She calmed me down and made it all so much easier then it would have been." Jacob's words made Sam pause and he retreated to the couch, his head in his hands.

"I just want to be there for her," he mumbled in despair.

Jacob sat in Charlie's recliner. "But you can't, Sam. You and Leah have a bad history; you're with Emily now."

"It's all such a mess. Lee doesn't deserve this, not after what I put her through." Jacob was shocked to see his Alpha's normally stoic façade crumble.

"None of us deserve this but we have to deal." Jacob sighed and glanced back up toward the stairwell. He could hear the door to Bella's room opening and the sound of them preparing to come down the stairs. Sam stood up quickly and made as if to run straight to Leah but Jacob put a warning hand on his chest stopping him.

The two girls finally entered the room. Bella came first with Leah following behind. "I'm going to run Leah home, she wants to check how her dad is. He got quite a shock and she's worried."

"Lee we need to talk about what happened," Sam pushed past Jacob and went over to her.

Leah shrank back from him. "Bella explained some of it. I have had enough for one day. I need to see my dad."

"But Lee Lee," he protested.

"Do not call me that," Leah yelled at him. Her body began to shake again. Bella quickly put her arms around Leah and held on. This seemed to calm her as the shaking stopped and her breathing became easier.

Jacob watched all this with interest. Bella had done the same thing to him when he had first phased. He had more control now so she didn't need to calm him so much but it seemed that she had a knack for it. He didn't think Sam had noticed, his leader was still too distraught over the fact that his former lover had phased. He decided to take charge again.

"Sam, I'll go back with the girls. Why don't you check up on the others? They must be wondering what's going on," he suggested.

Sam shot Leah a tortured look before agreeing. "I'll see you again soon, Lee." He promised.

Leah did not respond, she hung her head and looked away. Sam ran a hand through his short hair and gave her one last sad glance before leaving the house.

XXXXXX

Jacob and Bella dropped Leah off at her house. Her father, Harry Clearwater, was waiting outside. As soon as he saw her get out of Bella's truck he ran over to her and engulfed his daughter in a tight hug. "Oh my little girl," he mumbled. "Are you okay?"

Leah collapsed in his arms and began to sob. "I'm sorry dad. I nearly hurt you."

"Hush now sweetheart," he whispered. "None of this is your fault. Come inside and we'll talk." He looked over at Bella and Jacob. "Thank you for bringing her home."

"That's okay. I'll see you again soon, Leah," Bella called out to her.

Leah pulled away from her dad briefly to mouth thank you before he led her back into the house.

XXXXXX

"You were amazing today, Bells," Jacob said in admiration on the drive back to Forks.

Bella turned to give him a small smile. "I really feel for her, Jake. I'm just glad that Harry was okay. She told me he has a history of heart problems and was more panicky that something had happened to him then about herself."

"Yeah," Jacob slid across the bench seat and put a comforting arm over her shoulders. They sat in contemplative silence the rest of the way back as they pondered over what this meant not just for Leah but the pack too.

XXXXXX

Charlie was already back when they returned. He had picked up Billy on the way back from work and the two men were sitting in the living room enjoying a cold beer. Bella had completely forgotten that they were all having dinner together.

"Bells, do you think you could distract your dad for a sec while I talk to mine. I need to let him know about Leah," Jacob whispered.

"Of course," Bella agreed. She called out to Charlie. "Dad can I talk to you privately for a moment?"

Charlie looked over at her in surprise. "Okay kiddo, I'm coming."

Billy looked at Bella and Jacob curiously. "Is everything alright?" He asked with concern.

"Yeah, I'll keep you company while Bells talks to her dad," Jacob gave Billy a meaningful look. Billy's expression became serious as he realised it was a ruse so his son could tell him something important.

XXXXXX

Dinner was an enjoyable affair. Bella had outdone herself with the cooking. As usual most of the freezer was packed with fish but she fancied making something different. When she called her dad into the kitchen she made the excuse that she needed some ingredients to make up a lasagne. He had huffed in annoyance telling her it was only Jake and Billy, that she didn't need to go over the top with the food, but she had been insistent. She had shooed him out of the house down to the local store to get what she needed, giving Jake and Billy time to talk.

While they were eating Billy kept up a stream of jokes about Charlie in his younger days. Bella was surprised to learn that her dad had been a bit of a rebel when he was a teenager, constantly getting into trouble at school. Charlie had not been amused at his friend for revealing all these little titbits but Jacob and Bella enjoyed hearing Billy's tales and seeing his daughter laughing happily made Charlie get over his irritation at Billy.

Jacob and Bella did the washing up while the two men retreated to the living room and parked themselves in front of the flat screen to watch a Mariner's game. After all the earlier drama it had been a pleasant and relaxing evening for both of them just doing normal every day things. Jacob dried up the last dish and put it away in the cupboard.

"Do you feel like taking a walk honey?" He asked Bella.

"Yeah, that would be great. I'll go get my coat while you tell our dads." Bella left the kitchen to get her coat.

"Dad, Charlie, Bells and I are going for a walk," Jacob told the two men.

"Don't wander off too far," Charlie tore his attention away from the game long enough to warn him.

"We'll stay local." Jacob promised.

XXXXXX

It was still light outside as they left the house. There was a brisk wind blowing, but with Jacob's arm around her and her thick coat on, Bella was toasty warm. They wandered off down the little high street and headed toward the diner. There were a few people about doing the same as them, taking advantage of the fact that for once it wasn't raining and getting some exercise.

"You did great today honey," Jacob said proudly.

Bella smiled up at him. "So did you. It must have been hard dealing with Sam. I know that he used to date Leah once."

"Yeah," Jacob mumbled, he didn't want to have to explain that story to Bella, that Sam had inadvertently imprinted on Leah's cousin Emily Young and as a consequence broke Leah's heart. In fact he wished he had never been told about imprinting at all; the fact that some random girl you had never met before could suddenly become the centre of your world sickened him. All your choices taken away because of some ancient werewolf magic.

"Are you alright, Jake?" Bella saw that he was frowning.

"I'm fine," he pulled himself out of his funk and leaned down to kiss her. "Just thinking about poor Leah."

Bella sighed. "Yeah. I hope that she's okay."

"She will be, Bells. It's always hard at first but we'll all support her."

"It's going to be hard for her and Sam though. I mean because they dated before. I wonder why they broke up," Bella mused.

Jacob shrugged, pretending that he didn't know. "Not sure. Hey do you mind if we pop into the diner? I'm feeling a bit hungry."He said to distract her.

"Again? Jake you've just eaten," Bella stared at his taut stomach.

"It takes a lot of fuel to keep this body in tip top shape," he banged his chest like a caveman.

Bella rolled her eyes at him. "Jeez, come on then. You're paying." She tugged on his arm and led the way forward.

Jacob breathed a sigh of relief that he had managed to distract her from the Sam and Leah issue for now. The last thing he wanted was for Bella to find out and worry that it would happen to him. He knew it never would, he was sure that they belonged together; but he knew Bella, if she found out she would worry and that was the last thing he wanted. They were both happy and that was all that mattered.

A/N-thanks for reading.