Being There

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

A/N-thanks for the reviews on the last chapter. I really appreciate it. Nikki

Part Twenty Five

The meeting was to be held in an informal setting. Instead of the big council hall, Bella and Jacob were led to a small room at the back. Billy and Harry were waiting outside for them. "Hey Bella, are you okay?" Billy asked her.

Bella glanced up at Jacob who squeezed her hand reassuringly. "A bit nervous." She admitted.

"That's to be expected. It's going to be fine." Harry gave her a reassuring wink. "After all you have the best on your side."

Bella smiled at Harry in relief. She loved Leah's dad's jovial nature. He reminded her so much of Seth. "I know, thank you."

"You'll have me with you." Jacob assured her.

Billy shook his head. "No, Jake. Bella will go in alone."

"You are joking, right?" Jacob glared at his dad as he put a protective arm around her shoulders. "I won't have Bells put under any stress, especially by those old men in there."

Bella could feel his body beginning to shake. She had noticed that ever since she had become pregnant he had become more overprotective; she began to wonder whether this was a wolf thing and would explain his unusual outburst at Eric and Mike the other day. She put a calming hand on his arm. "I'll be fine."

Jacob gazed at her worriedly, her touch soothed him and he stopped shaking. "But Bells, you've been so unwell recently with morning sickness. I worry."

"I know you do but if I am to show the council that I'm worthy of you then I need to show them I can be strong." She tried to sound confident although she was feeling far from it.

"I'll be in there too, Jake." Harry told him. "I'll make sure they mind themselves."

Jacob still wasn't happy about it but he finally backed down. He took her face in his hands and kissed her gently. "I love you." He said earnestly.

"I love you too. See you soon." Bella stepped back from him and went to join Harry.

"Ready?" Leah's father asked as he opened the heavy door for her.

Bella took a deep breath and nodded. She slipped past Harry and entered the room, the door closing with a bang behind them.

"I should be in there." Jacob stared at the closed door.

"She'll get through this, Jake. Bella is a strong girl. I don't think even she knows how strong. I think she is going to surprise herself today." Billy said confidently.

Jacob didn't answer as he kept his eyes on the heavy door waiting for Bella to return.

XXXXXX

Harry pulled out a seat for Bella and she sank into it gratefully. She felt so shaky that her legs were trembling. She panicked that she would topple over if she had to stand in front of these intimidating men. Harry left and took his place in the only other empty chair. The elders sat behind a long wooden table. The only other elder Bella recognised, apart from Harry, was Old Quil. He was in the centre of the group and he looked as fierce as the rest of them. Billy had assured her he was now on their side, she just hoped he hadn't been misleading Jacob's father.

"Welcome...Ms Swan." Old Quil greeted her in his gravelly voice.

"Nice to meet you." Bella hated that her voice sounded so timid. She sat up straighter in her chair.

"You know Harry of course." Old Quil glanced at Leah's father; he gave her a wink. The others glared at him disapprovingly.

"This is a serious situation, Harry Clearwater." Bella turned her eyes onto the old man sitting on Old Quil's right. His patrician profile and long greying hair tied back loosely at the nape of his neck marked him out as someone in authority. Harry didn't seem intimidated, he just stared the other man down, a bored expression on his face.

"Yes it is serious, Jeremiah when we have to force a young, pregnant girl to stand trial in front of a bunch of old fools just because she fell in love with one of our own. This whole meeting is preposterous." Harry snapped.

Jeremiah looked outraged. "I should have known that you would flout authority like you always do Harry Clearwater. Your father would be ashamed at the way you carry on."

Harry's normally jovial expression darkened. "My father would have agreed with me. It's time we all pulled our heads out of the sand and opened our eyes to the modern world. Times change and so do the way we deal with things. The old traditions have to move forward too."

"Yes, we all know why you push for change. Look at your own daughter running wild within the pack. She has caused nothing but division; the Alpha is now unstable. His relationship with his imprint has become unsettled all because of your daughter." Jeremiah snarled.

Harry's chair fell back with a crash as he stood up, his black eyes flashing fire. "I warned you the last time not to mention my daughter's name again. She is out there risking her life to keep imbeciles like you safe. I will not hesitate to fight you old man, no matter what your age."

Old Quil banged his gavel down on the table to restore order. "Sit down both of you. This is no way to behave in front of an outsider. Show some decorum."

Bella flinched at being referred to as an outsider. Her eyes flicked to Harry as he picked up his chair and sat back down, his eyes still showing his anger. Jeremiah gave him a smug smile before turning to scrutinise her. The other council members looked uncomfortable.

"You are from Jacksonville I hear." Jeremiah stated.

"Yes, well I wasn't born there but I lived there before coming to stay with my dad." She said quickly.

"And you are Chief Swan's only daughter?" Jeremiah raised one eyebrow questioningly. So far he had kept his tone neutral.

Bella frowned. Where was he going with this? They knew perfectly well who she was. "Yes."

Jeremiah snorted derisively. "Your father is a good man. It must have destroyed him to have such a wayward daughter."

Harry stood up again. "How dare you even dare to come out with such rubbish."

Old Quil banged the table again. "Harry is right, Jeremiah. What are you trying to accomplish with this diatribe?"

"That she is not good enough to be a future chief's wife let alone a mother to the future Alpha's children. She has run with our mortal enemy. Are we supposed to forget that?" Jeremiah roared.

There were angry mutterings amongst the other elders. Bella could see that at least half of them agreed with Jeremiah's assessment of her. She saw Harry clench his fists. Leah's father was on the verge of losing his temper. She needed to do something and quickly. She shoved her chair back and stood up, her legs shaking.

"You have no right to judge me, any of you." She called out, thankful that her voice sounded calm.

"We have every right young lady. The stability and the well being of our protectors depends solely on the partner they choose and..." Jeremiah began.

"Partner they choose?" Bella said incredulously. "None of them chose. Their choice was taken away, destroying lives in the process."

"You know nothing at all. See I told you. She is an outsider who has no loyalty to the tribe or the well being of the pack in mind." Jeremiah pointed a quivering finger at her.

Old Quil banged his gavel down dangerously close to Jeremiah's hand. He looked at the leader of the council in shock. "What are you doing?"

"Shutting you up, Jeremiah before you say things you cannot undo. The young lady...Bella is right. Times have changed and we need to change with them. The pack in their own way are trying to move forward, our constant interference has done nothing but piled more stress on them. They are our protectors and seek our guidance when they need to. We have no right to tell them how to run their lives...or who they choose to love." Old Quil said firmly.

"You would say that. Look at your successor imprinting on an outsider who carries another man's child. I think that it shows your family is no longer fit to head this council." Jeremiah stood up and hit his fist on the table looking at the others for support.

Bella didn't know where it came from and afterwards she would never have imagined that she would have the courage to speak out, maybe it was the intensity of the situation but she found herself crawling onto her chair and standing up so that she was towering above the rowing men.

"You're wrong, Jeremiah." She yelled out, fists clenched. "Quil imprinting on Jessica Stanley is the best thing that has happened to him. I have never seen him so grounded and focused. At the moment they are just good friends and who knows maybe that is all they will ever be. But what it has done is change Quil for the better, made him grow up and drop his childish side. I have seen first hand how good he is for my friend. One day he will make an excellent member of this council."

She took a deep breath as she studied the shocked faces of the council members. Harry was sitting back in his chair. He gave her an encouraging smile. Even Old Quil's lips were twitching. As for Jeremiah he looked stunned as he stared up at her. "You talk about Leah destabilising the pack but in fact it is the total opposite. Sam Uley was forced to lead because there was no one else and he has done an excellent job in difficult circumstances. The threat that we have all been under has passed and now he is back to feeling torn in two. He loves Lee and she loves him, he stays with Emily out of guilt of what happened between them. I believe he fought the imprint with her from the beginning and still fights to this day. He wanted the choice to love but his so called 'imprint' took it away from him. He is unhappy and that is what is destabilising the pack. Human choice against what the spirit wolf thinks it needs. Is that fair or right for the human part of each pack member to be forced to be with someone they do not love? Haven't they lost enough already?"

There was a moment of silence before the old men began to talk. The man sitting next to Jeremiah gave her an encouraging smile. "We haven't been introduced, my name is Noah and what you just said so passionately shows me just how much strength and heart you have young lady. Not just that but you have the pack's welfare and interests as your top priority. I have no further need to seek answers about why you would make a good partner for our future chief, your actions have said it all. Who agrees with me?"

The other members nodded one by one and Harry clapped loudly making Bella smile in relief. Old Quil banged his gavel down again and declared the meeting closed. Jeremiah was the only one who had nothing to say.

XXXXXX

"You should have seen her." Harry told Billy and Jacob afterwards. "She was sensational, standing up on that chair and berating the old fools. Excellent work Bella."

Bella hid her face in Jacob's chest. The meeting had sapped her energy but inside she felt proud of what she had achieved. "I'm proud of you, honey." Jacob whispered to her.

"Can we just go home now, Jake. I'm tired." Bella yawned as he lifted her up in his arms and carried her out to the car.

"I'm having dinner with Harry's family tonight so it will give you two a chance to be alone." Billy told his son as he watched Bella's eyes close.

"Thanks dad." Jacob said gratefully. He helped Billy into Harry's truck and watched them drive away before he climbed into the Rabbit and headed for his house.

XXXXXX

Jacob lifted Bella from the car and into the house. He placed her easily on the battered old sofa while he went around and switched on all the lights. Bella smiled at him tiredly as he sat down next to her. "Are you hungry?"

"Only for you." She said jokingly.

"I've missed sleeping with you, Bells." Jacob admitted. "It's been horrible sleeping in my own bed again."

"Me too." She admitted. "I can't seem to sleep properly without you now."

He stroked her hair back from her face as she yawned again. "Come here I'll do your hair." He offered.

Bella slipped onto the floor and made herself comfortable between his legs. Jacob began to brush her hair getting out all the tangles and snarls until it shone. As he did once before he parted the silky strands into sections and plaited it expertly and tied the end off with an elastic band. Bella sighed in contentment. Her body felt totally relaxed as he brushed her hair.

"Thanks, Jake."

"Come on honey. You need to rest. Let's go to bed and lie down for a while. At least I'll get to hold you." Jacob held out his hand and helped her to rise.

Bella followed him to his room and undressed quickly. She flung the dress on the floor and borrowed one of his t-shirts to sleep in. Jacob slipped off his shorts and climbed onto the bed opening his arms in invitation. She quickly climbed in beside him and snuggled into his body as he wrapped his arms around her. "I wish I wasn't so tired." She grumbled as her eyes began to close.

"There's always the weekend. I was thinking we could spend the day at the beach and you could sleep over here. My dad said that he's gonna ask Charlie and Harry if they want to go fishing." Jacob suggested.

Bella opened one eye and smiled. "That sounds lovely. I can't wait."

"Me either. Love you honey." Jacob kissed her on the lips as she closed her eye again.

"Love you too." She murmured before falling into an exhausted sleep.

A/N-thanks for reading!