Chapter 12 - Reunions

Here's the chapter you've been waiting for!

It was a day that started much like any other. Dawn broke over the horizon, waking the sleepy town from quiet dreams of simple life. In La Push, Leah Clearwater slumbered quietly in her bed, Emily Uley kissed her husband goodbye as he left for work. A new life was welcomed into the tribe at the hands of Sue and blessed by Billy. Down at the police station, Paul Lahote drank black coffee while going over case files. In the woods a deep russet wolf stretched his legs, scaring deer from their nests in the thicket.

Bella Swan was busy in the kitchen that morning cooking breakfast for her father, while he shouted requests from the living room.

"Dad, you're going to have to wait a minute. I'll burn the bacon if I walk away right now." She knew that her dad was frustrated at not being able to do everything for himself, but if this kept up it was going to be one long recovery period for both of them. Charlie had exhausted himself just getting down the stairs and once he settled in on the couch, found getting up proved harder than he thought it would be.

Bella glanced gratefully at the painkiller laid out on her father's breakfast tray next to the orange juice. She was ninety-nine percent certain that he'd take it with minimal complaint today.

"Bells, you call Bill up yet?"

Breathing deeply, Bella reminded herself to count to ten. "No, Dad. Kinda busy in here."

"Well, if you'll bring me the phone I can do it. Game starts at noon today."

"In a minute, Dad." Bella rinsed her hands, dried them on the kitchen towel in a hurry and then reached for the bread to pop in the old electric toaster. "Charlie seriously needs some new appliances," she grumbled to herself, giving the handle a wiggle and forceful snap to get the slices down.

Two seconds later he called out again, making her roll her eyes. "Hey Bells, we got any swiss cheese in the fridge?"

She shook her head in irritation, feet already making their way over to the fridge. "Don't know, Dad."

"Swiss is really good on eggs."

Bella sighed heavily. "I'll look, Dad." Bella jerked open the refrigerator door, the cool air doing little to calm the heated irritation rising on her cheeks. Pawing through the meat drawer, she accidentally elbowed the milk carton, knocking its contents to the floor. "Shit!" Then to make matters worse, the doorbell started to ring.

"Hey, Bella, someone's at the door," Charlie shouted as though his daughter was deaf to the pealing.

That proved to be her breaking point. "Screw it." Bella slammed closed the refrigerator, switched off the flame on the stovetop then tossed the pan to an empty burner, pausing briefly to glare angrily at the broken coffee pot. Of all the days for it to go on the fritz, this was definitely not the one. Quickly, Bella wiped off her hands on the seat of her jeans while hurrying to the front door. The bell rang again just as she was passing Charlie's gun and holster hanging on the wall. Tempting. Very tempting. "I'm coming!" she shouted, already aggravated at whoever the impatient visitor was.

When she opened the door, all of the frustration from the morning faded away. The man who waited greeted her with a bright smile, holding out a steaming cup of coffee. "Sounds like you needed this today," he remarked, trying desperately to stay solemn and failing miserably.

Bella was bound by no such restraint. "Matt! Oh my, God, Matt!" she cried, launching herself forward into his arms, nearly knocking the cup from his hands in the process.

Matt laughed at her exuberance. "Good to see you too, sweets."

"Why didn't you call?" she asked, untangling herself from his arms. "I wasn't expecting you until tomorrow."

He kissed her lightly on the cheek, then swatted her behind playfully. "Because, darling girl, I love to surprise you. I'm here to sweep you off those cute little tootsies of yours and be your servant. You'll be the envy of every woman in town."

"Well, you can start by helping me drug my father. Come on in... if you're brave enough."

"He been that bad?"

Bella gave him a pointed look while blowing out one long exasperated breath. "You have no idea."

When the pair walked into the living room Charlie looked up from his spot on the couch, genuinely glad to see Matt. The two had met several times over the years and as a father, he'd always been secretly grateful Bella had someone like him on her side. Both mentally and physically. Matt was an imposing looking figure, no guy would dare look her way if he was around.

It made no nevermind to Charlie Swan that the guy was gay, so long as he treated his little girl fairly. Besides, he'd been called out to enough domestic issues in Forks that nothing fazed him anymore. Although, finding Bob Mallory parading around in his wife's hot pink panties, wearing a tiara while stoned off his ass did throw him for a loop. Charlie went on a week long bender trying to erase that image out of his brain. After that night, he sent a deputy to any calls made from that neighborhood.

"So that's what the squealing was about," commented Charlie, reaching out with his good arm to greet him. "Nice to see you, son."

Matt shook his hand gently, taking in the sling and slowly healing cuts to his forehead with stride. "You too. Hope you look better than the other guy."

"Yeah, well, he's cooling his heels in a jail cell, dealing with detox withdrawal. I'd say I'm a whole lot better off than him. View here is better too."

Bella saw her chance to escape for a few minutes. "So's the food. I'll have yours out in a minute, Dad."

"Need any help, Bella?" Matt winked conspiratorially while Charlie focused on ESPN. She waved him off, keeping up the charade. "Nah. Keep my dad company for a bit."

Charlie waited until Matt settled down into the recliner before starting in. "So, how's the gallery, kid? Tribal art turning much of a profit these days?"

The question might have been offensive to anyone else, but Matt had grown to expect it by now. It was in Charlie's nature, part of being a cop, that made him give everyone the third degree. What he didn't expect was to surprise Bella's dad half out of his wits during the conversation after the first question.

"Really good," he replied. "I can't wait to get the new one up and running. Should be open in another month if everything keeps going our way."

Charlie looked at him a little skeptically. He might be a small town cop, but he knew for a fact that art never paid the bills on time. Something that on more than one occasion he and his daughter had butted heads about. "You opening another one up in Seattle?"

Matt was more than a little taken aback and unsure of how to really answer the question. "Bella didn't tell you?"

"Bella was trying to keep it a surprise." Both men glanced with looks of confusion creasing their brows when she walked in, breakfast tray in her hands with an amused smile on her face.

"Tell me what?" demanded Charlie, wanting to know just what it was that he was being kept in the dark about.

"The new space is in Port Angeles. Matt has asked Leah and I to run it." Bella watched her fathers face turn from confused to jubilant. "Which means, I'm moving home. Well, not home. Port A., but close enough."

"By god! This is a good day! My baby girl is finally coming home for good. Where's the phone? I can't wait to tell Billy!"

"Settle down, Dad. I don't want to warn you again about breaking your stitches open. You can tell Billy all about it this afternoon. Now, eat your breakfast before it gets cold."

Charlie shoveled eggs in his mouth like an obedient child, eager to hear more. Suddenly it didn't matter what he thought of art. If it brought his daughter back home, it was the best career path in the world. "So, does Sue know about this?"

Bella nodded her head slowly, watching her father's every move. The pills tended to make him sluggish and she knew that sleep wasn't far behind. "Yep. She knows. I asked her not to say anything to anyone."

"Why the hell not? Everyone's gonna be thrilled. Not to mention, Jake's-"

She didn't want to hear his name yet. She wasn't ready. Bella jumped up from the sofa, snatching away her dad's breakfast tray, shoving the medication and OJ into his hands. "I think I'll go get the dishes done and drink the coffee Matt brought before I turn into the wicked witch of the west. Make sure you take that pill. No stuffing it between the cushions."

Bella was up to her elbows in soap and grease when Matt appeared next to her, picking up a dish towel to dry and shooting her a sidelong glance. "So, you haven't seen him yet?"

The dirty pan in the water suddenly became much more interesting. "Seen who?"

"You know exactly who I'm talking about. Don't try to avoid the question or play innocent with me. It won't work."

"I'm not avoiding anything," Bella huffed. "In fact, it almost seems like Jake's avoiding me. I've been here a week and haven't heard a word from him, but he sent a friend over to help me bring Charlie home yesterday. What the hell's with that?"

"Six years is a long time. Maybe he just isn't ready yet."

"I don't give a damn if he's ready or not." Bella began scrubbing the pan with a fury, practically taking off the finish "He's like a son to Charlie and he hasn't shown up to visit him once. Quite frankly, I'm pretty disappointed with all of my dad's so-called friends down on that reservation."

"Well, talk to them. I gave your dad my phone so that he could call up his friend Billy. Looks like he'll be over here this afternoon to watch the Seahawks play." Matt laughed a little when Bella shot him an incredulous look. "I'm sure you can get in a conversation during half-time or something."

"Or... maybe we can ditch this joint for a little while." Bella nodded, indicating the ancient brewmaster that took its last wheezing breath. "Damn good thing you brought coffee because that old monster broke this morning."

"Ah, I see. Looks like our destination will be Fork's finest department store."

"You mean five and dime," corrected Bella. "This town still shops at Woolworth's cousin. Their motto is 'If we don't have it, you don't need it.'"

Matt laughed a little, thinking back to the old general stores from his last lifetime in this realm. "So long as you can get a coffee maker, who cares, right?"

"Well, when Charlie passes out from his pill I gave him, let's sneak out. I need to pick up a few things anyways."

"Sure thing," Matt agreed. "I need to drive up to PA and find a hotel."

"Like hell you do." Bella leaned her head on his broad shoulder, more grateful than words can say that he was there with her. "You're staying here with me."

"Can't babe. Not convenient. I have too much work to do."

"Well, you don't have to be there until sometime on Monday, right? So, you can cozy up with me in my bed and we'll snuggle all night."

When he didn't say anything, Bella knew he was thinking about it.

"Come on... you know you miss my cold toes on your legs. I'll even put my frozen hands on your back when you least expect it."

Matt rolled his eyes sarcastically. "What a romantic proposal."

"Well darling, if you're after romance..." she trailed, batting her eyelashes at him furiously.

"Ok Ok. I'll get my bag." He conceded, then wheeled around and headed outside to his car as Bella called back to him. "Up the stairs, first door on the right."

Once outside, Matt's senses were on high alert. The scent of magic surrounded the place, saturating the nearby forest and air.

Something else niggled in the back of his mind. An itch, a calling. Something about Bella's house. As if a piece of magic had been concealed within its walls. The second he had stepped inside the vibrations of it seemed to surround him. Old, quivering, calling out to the ancient blood of his people flowing through his veins.

The magic of the fae lived in the Swan house.

The invitation was just what he'd been hoping for. It was a secret he needed to uncover.

There was no time to explore after Matt tucked away his belongings in Bella's bedroom. She appeared in the doorway, keys jingling in between her fingers, ready to depart.

"He's out cold. Let's go now before he wakes up."

Bella darted between the aisles, hiding like she had a crimson target painted on her back. Hiding behind a display of Lifebuoy soap, she cautiously peeked around the corner only to be met with a pair of mud stained boots blocking her line of sight. She peered upward, brows raised, a small unapologetic smile at being caught, playing on the corner of her lips.

"Hi Mike." This wasn't quite how she planned on running into anyone from her past.

"Bella? What the hell are you doing?"

"I - uh... owwww!"

"Gotcha!" Matt's booming laughter preceded the suction cup end of a dart now stuck to her butt.

Mike craned his neck to get a better view of her backside. "Looks like you must have failed evasive maneuvers 101 in college."

"Something like that," she replied, scrambling up to her feet. "Nice to see you again, Mike."

"You too." Before she could blink, he pulled her into an awkward hug, which she responded to like a guy with a one-armed pat. She pulled away quickly, as though a military retreat had been sounded.

"Um, Mike, this is Matt. Matt... Mike Newton. We went to high school together."

"Nice to meet you." Matt raised a brow, grinning down at Bella when she had slipped out of Mike Newton's grip and slid cautiously into his arms. He'd heard the story of the guy's relentless pursuit of her as a teenager and it looked like he was hot on her trail again after only thirty seconds. Thick-headed son of a bitch.

Mike's eyes darted between the two, finally settling on Bella, as though searching for something to say. "Um, how's your dad doing?"

"Good. He got released from the hospital two days ago and he's home driving me nuts."

"So, does that mean you're in town for awhile? Because we could go out and catch up or something. I mean, it's been years, we can-"

"Mike? Mike... where did you go?" Bella felt a sick churning in her gut. She knew that voice. All these years later and it still sounded like nails on a chalkboard.

"Well, well, well. Bella Swan has returned." The venom dripped off of her tongue like poison honey.

Drawing her back straight, Bella looked her squarely in the eye, refusing to let her old enemy get the best of her. "Hi Lauren."

"Who's your friend?"

"This is Matt. Matt this is-"

"Lauren Mallory." She dangled her hand out like a queen as if conferring some great honor. Matt only squeezed Bella a bit tighter, ignoring her blood-red talons. He smiled for all he was worth, making polite conversation. "Ah, another old friend of Bella's? Nice to meet you."

"Hmm... something like that," she responded, looking at Bella with disdain.

The anger rose inside of Bella like a volcano ready to erupt. Five seconds with Lauren and she was ready to slap her. "Matt, we really need to get going before Charlie wakes up."

"Oh, of course. You must be here looking after Daddy. Guess this means he'll finally retire and someone with better reflexes will take his place. After all, Andy can't run Mayberry forever."

"Lauren!" Mike paled, appalled by their old friend's crassness. It didn't seem to faze her one bit though because she kept prattling on like an out of tune magpie.

"I'm just stating a fact. Charlie Swan has never been more than a bumbling small town cop. If we'd had a real sheriff, then maybe that greasy punk would been the one in the hospital."

Bella felt Matt's arm tense around her and Mike Newton looked like he could fall through the floor. His cheeks were splotched red with embarrassment. Lauren might have been able to bully her years ago, but not anymore. She smiled sweetly and looked Mike in the eye. "It's ok. Some things never change. Lauren is still a bitter bitch."

For half of a second, she looked like she'd been punched in the gut. Then her overly painted lips turned up in a wicked sneer. "Been down to the reservation yet? When you go, make sure you tell Jacob Black I said hello. I felt so bad breaking his poor, native heart. But really, he was fun... quite skilled in bed."

At the mention of Jacob's name, Bella lunged, only to be pulled back by Matt. "I think it's time for us to go. Come on Bella."

Matt hauled her bodily out of the store. Once outside, Bella let loose, turning on her heel to go back inside. The urge to punch something, or rather, someone- was overwhelming. "Fucking bitch. She was a brat in high school and it looks like she's even worse now."

"Babydoll," he soothed, "as much as I'd love to let you go back in there and start a catfight, you need a coffee pot. Is there a Walgreens in this town?"

"Yeah, let's go."

Matt proved to be just what she needed. Dragging her into all the small shops that Bella never paid attention to when she lived in Forks, even pulling her into an old-fashioned ice cream parlor, charming the pants off the elderly woman behind the counter and tasting every flavor they made. By the time they got back home, Bella was laughing again, ready to take on the world.

The pair stumbled through the door, cheeks pink with excitement and eyes glittering with happiness. The laughter died on Bella's lips when she saw what waited for her in the kitchen.

Jacob.

Bella's breath caught in her throat. Slowly she allowed her eyes to take him in. He lounged casually against the counter, scuffed black boots on his feet, one crossed over the other. Her eyes travelled up the faded jeans that covered his long legs, to the plain black t-shirt stretched a bit too tightly on his body. Jacob's strong, heavily muscled arms were crossed over his chest, the black markings of his tribal tattoo peeking out from under the right sleeve.

Then slowly, she allowed herself to glimpse at his face. From the hard line of his jaw to his full lips. She roved over high cheekbones and glossy raven hair that had grown longer in the intervening years, now pulled back tightly in a leather cord, until finally, meeting his eyes.

Hard, uncompromising. Then quite suddenly the world melted away with them. Whatever anger had simmered there was replaced by love and devotion. Bella threw herself at him. In seconds she was caught up in a hug so warm and familiar, that a part of her never wanted to leave his side. "God, I've missed you," she breathed, knowing that only he could hear her words.

The quiet beating of Jacob's heart called to her like a drum, pounding and ancient, stirring something deep inside her soul. Bella looked up and found herself caught in his gaze, knowing instinctively what would happen next... and she wanted it.

Bella longed to feel his lips against her own. To again feel them skim over the line of her jaw, to have his hands tangled in her hair, just as her own fingers itched to free the cord that held his and touch its silken strands.

My Jacob.

The childhood phrase reverberated through her brain like a mantra. A pull that could not be denied. A demand, a claim staking itself in this very moment.

"Bella..." her name fell from his lips with all the reverence of a whispered prayer. Jacob's hands drew her near, one resting upon her shoulder, the fingers of the other combing through her long hair, stroking the length of her neck and pulling her close to him.

Jacob's lips began to brush softly against her skin, his cheek warm on her face. Bella turned her head ever so slightly, that she might feel his touch again, the love he had once imparted so freely in the promise of a kiss.

"Hey Bella, where do you want this..." Matt's words and physical presence interrupted the moment. The softness which had come into Jacob's eyes faded away, replaced by a hard, glittering anger which Bella could not name.

Yes, I know... you want to hit me or throw something because I left you a nasty cliffhanger. Jacob and Bella finally in the same room... YUM!

I could be easily convinced to update again...