A/N: Hi again everybody, hope you had a good Christmas, and/or whatever else you celebrate this time of year. I'm still on Vacation so I had some time to update a little so here it is. I don't have much in the way of more writing but I'll post what I have. As you know, I'm not posting any promises as to when an actual update is coming your way so all I can tell you is this: I will post, when I post. Happy reading.

Chapter Twenty Four

Bella POV

I hung up the phone and turned to Charlie. "Billy and Jacob are coming over," I relayed.

"Again? Wow we should go over there some time instead of dragging them all the way out here."

I smiled. "Date and time, dad."

He grinned. "So what is it this time?"

"Just to hang out. Jacob wanted to ask me something in person and Billy didn't want to be left home alone so he decided to tag along."

Half an hour later, I could hear Jacob and Billy pull up in Jarred's truck. I ran to the door and opened it. To my surprise it wasn't just Jacob and Billy, Sam was there too. They came up the walkway and Jacob wheeled Billy in.

"Hey, guys," Charlie greeted them warmly. "Hey there, Sam, wasn't expecting you."

"I just wanted to ask Bella something," he said politely.

"Well aren't you the popular one, Bells," Charlie grinned, patting me on the back. "Why don't you kids catch up while Billy and I go find something to watch on TV.

"Sounds good," said Jacob. "Come on, Bells." He took my arm and steered me away from the house where we couldn't be overheard.

This couldn't be good, whatever it was these two wanted to talk to me about, it had to do with the Cullens. Why else would Sam be here?

"What's up, Jake?" I asked, trying for nonchalant.

"Well, I called you yesterday," he began.

"I wasn't in," I said. "Why didn't Charlie tell me you called?"

"I said it wasn't important and I'd call later," he said. "But what concerned me was where he said you went."

My eyes widened. "You can't tell me where I can and can't go, Jacob."

"Jacob is just worried about you," Sam put in.

"I get enough worry from my dad, I don't need every werewolf and vampire in the state of Washington worried about me too. I can take care of myself, and I do know what threats are. Believe me when I tell you for the millionth time: the Cullens are not a threat to me."

"Yes we understand that," Sam said. "But from my understanding of the behavior of newborn vampires, I must express my confusion as to why you would go over there."

"Dana's not like normal newborns. She's more rational and she's more in control of her... more feral side."

"And how do you know that?" Jacob asked, suspicious.

"Alice had a vision. She knew Dana would be safe less than two months after her change."

"But you told me before that her visions weren't always accurate," Jacob accused.

"This vision was firm, some things are vague and can change with a snap decision, but others, like this, are definite."

"But how could you know that?" Jacob said, getting frustrated.

"Because I trust her!" I nearly shouted. "What part of that don't you understand? She's never given me a reason not to trust her. Neither have the others. Get that through your head, Jake!"

"Okay, Bella, calm down," Sam said like he had to deal with emotional teenagers on a regular basis, and he did. "I figured there was some special circumstance. After all, you're not stupid. So I just wanted to know a few things."

I took a deep breath and calmed down. "Okay then, what did you want to know?"

"Well, first, when was the first time you went over there since the completion of her change?"

"Four days ago."

He nodded. "How was her behavior when you got there?"

"Well she started out holding her breath so she wouldn't smell me, but she needed air to talk."

"And?"

"She looked like she was fighting something off when she took a breath. Emmett and Jasper held her, just in case."

"So you were the test?"

"Not really, Alice said it would be fine."

"Okay, go on."

"Well, she regained control and then continued our conversation like nothing had happened. Jasper obviously sensed it was okay because he let go of her arm and Emmett did the same."

"And for the rest of the time you were there?"

"She was just fine for hours, I even sat next to her."

"But?"

"Well, Edward didn't know I went over there, so when he found out... well he wasn't very impressed."

"What did he do?"

"He just got really angry at Alice, which scared Dana and unlocked some sort of defensiveness in her. Edward's attention was drawn to her and accused her of not knowing her limits, which threw Dana for a loop."

"What does that mean?"

"Well she snarled at him and tried to attack him but Emmett and Jasper grabbed her. She calmed down with Jasper's help, and then Jasper started yelling at Edward for shouting at someone who is ruled by her emotions. Told him to think before he opened his mouth."

Jacob sniggered.

"And then?" Sam asked.

"Then Edward apologized to Dana, but refused to forgive Alice for putting me in danger. He still hasn't spoken to her since that day. We had a relatively normal conversation after that. Esme made me dinner. Then it got late, I was getting tired so Edward took me home. That's it."

"And since then?"

"Nothing worthy of note. The second day Dana took about fifteen seconds to get used to my scent when I walked in the door, but after that, no more incidents."

Sam nodded. "How would you rate her control?" he asked.

"I think, on a scale of one to twenty, twenty being Carlisle's level of control where he can be around fresh blood and not even be tempted, and one being the worst newborn who can't be within a mile of a human without trying to take a bite out of them. I'd say fourteen."

"And where would you place Edward on that scale for comparison?"

"Nineteen."

Jacob raised his eyebrows in disbelief.

"What about the one who changed the girl? Jasper?"

"Um... twelve I guess. He's alright as long as there's no fresh blood around. He's improved greatly since the incident with Dana, though. There was a time when he had to struggle to be in the same room as me. He's got no problem with that now."

"So in your opinion, nothing like what happened before could happen again?"

"Right. What happened before was a freak accident. Dana was to Jasper what is referred to as his singer."

"Singer?"

"Her blood sang to him. She smelled better to him than anything he's ever smelled before, nothing will ever compare."

"And how do you know this?"

"Because I'm Edward's singer."

Jacob gasped. His fists balled up and his hands shook. Sam laid a hand on his shoulder and I backed away a pace.

"Edward has never done anything except protect me," I said jumping to the defense.

"Of course," Sam said diplomatically, giving Jacob a stern glare. "So what you're saying is that now that he has smelled her scent, nothing will ever smell as good to him so he's in better control?"

"Exactly."

"Good. Now all that remains is to have a talk with the Cullens. You may be there if you want to."

"Okay, when?"

"Whenever is convenient. I was hoping to do it today."

"Okay, hold on a second," I took my cell phone from my pocket and dialed Alice's number.

"Hello, Bella. Care to tell me why your future is blank?" Alice answered cheerfully.

"Hi, Alice. Obviously that would be caused by the presence of wolves. Jacob and Sam dropped by to ask me a few questions. They also wanted to talk to the family at the earliest convenience."

"Okay... now is good I suppose, Edward is on his way back now from hunting and everybody else is having fun watching Dana and Emmett sparring. Dana kicks butt!"

I laughed. "Okay then, we'll be there soon."

"Bye, Bella."

"Bye," I hung up and turned to Sam. "Now is good, she said everyone should be there. I'll just go tell my dad where I'm going."

I went inside to find Charlie and Billy on the couch watching baseball and chatting.

"Hey, dad, I'm headed over to the Cullens' now," I said over the TV.

"But, Bells, we have company."

"Sam and Jacob are coming too."

He looked at me in confusion, knowing how much the Quilleuts disliked the Cullens.

"Have fun then, Bells," said Billy. "Tell the boys the same, kay?"

I smiled at Billy, grateful to him for covering for me. "Sure thing, Billy, see you. Bye, dad."

I ran out the door before Charlie could call me back, grabbing my truck keys off the hook as I went.

A/N: Well, there it is. You know the drill people; R&R!