Pulling into La Push was not disappointing. The sound of the lone car approaching on an otherwise desolate road, when Jake knew she was about a half hour out, a half hour ago, meant that their arrival was announced. That is, if they weren't able to hear the coughing and sneezing the entire trip there already.

A few members of the pack were waiting at the front door of Jake's house, and Bella, despite her sniffles, grinned at the sight, giving a wave as she pulled in beside Jake's Rabbit.

"Oh, they're even hotter than those pictures," Stephanie insisted. Bella knew that they could no doubt hear her.

"I know, Steph. I know. Believe me, wait until they're all together. It's a hundred times-" a sneeze interrupted her, "-better."

"I'm going to wait here a second. I think I'm going to sneeze something deadly." Right. That was the moment Bella was hopping out of the car.

"Bells!" Jake cried, surging forward. She warded away his hug as she felt a sneeze coming on and released it into the crook of her arm.

"Sorry," she sniffled, pulling a tissue from her pocket. "Boyfriend had the flue and now we're all sick." She sneezed again. "I think I'm still contageous."

"Ah, but we're too hot to get sick," Jake winked. Bella let him hug her anyway, and she gave a loud sigh at his warmth, feeling amazing for her chills and aching limbs. "Good to see ya, Bells."

"You too, Jake," Bella admitted.

Jake's gaze flitted to the car. "I thought you were bringing another?"

"Hayley is going to fly to Seattle once her interview with Sea World's over. But Stephanie's in the car. Doesn't want to contaminate you guys either."

Stephanie waved at them before sneezing herself. They had been sick as a dog and Bella blamed Stephanie for it. Blamed Boyfriend, but mostly Stephanie for hanging around him in the first place.

"Boyfriend?" Angela asked in surprise. Bella glanced to her, not seeing her over the muscled men. She was standing her distance, no doubt not wanting to get sick. Bella didn't blame her. With the wedding less than a moth away, getting sick was last in the books.

"Her friends with benefits," Bella explained, waving it away as if it was nothing. She surveyed the men that were entirely shirtless, and grinned. "I'm going to like it here a lot more than before, Jake, I will tell you that much."

"But first some of Sue's soup, kiddo," Jake decided, ruffling her hair. Bella sighed in absolute delight. "Tell your friend to get out. It's only about a block from here."

"I'd rather drive," Bella admitted. "My legs hurt."

"Suit yourself. You know how to get there?" Bella vaguely remembered, but gave Jake a reassuring nod anyway.

"I promise my greeting will be a lot warmer once I'm not feeling like I'm dying," Bella insisted.

Charlie was at the diner when she pulled in, and Sue was already informed of the arrival, because the soup was already ready. Bella held her breath as she embraced her dad, and then his girlfriend. "Good to see you, kiddo," Charlie grinned.

"You too, dad," Bella returned. "It's been forever, hasn't it?" But even he had stepped back a bit to keep from breathing in her air. "Ugh, I know, Stephanie got me sick."

"Stephanie!" Charlie embraced the girl that he considered his step-daughter. "Nice to see you all so grown up."

"You too, Charlie. All grown up with a girlfriend," Steph grinned before she jerked away from him to sneeze. She groaned. "Sorry."

"Let's get some soup for you, kiddos."

Even more of the pack was gathered around the bar area, and Bella and Steph slid into the booth across from it, two steaming bowls sitting there ready to be eaten. Each sip was heaven and Bella sighed as she finished it. "Sue's really still got her cooking game."

"She sure does," Charlie agreed. "Makes sure I don't starve."

"I was worried you might," Bella admitted as she rested her head on her hand.

"Well, I'd love to stay but I've got the nightshift tonight, Bells. I'll see you in the morning. I hope you're feeling better."

Bella gave a nod to her dad, not wanting him to get too close for fear of too much contamination. "Yeah, I'll see you, dad. Bye."

Once Charlie was gone, her stomach felt like it was doing flips.

"I might be dying," Bella groaned, curling up on her side in the booth, not minding that Jake was laughing at her and the rest of the pack was watching her as well. "How far of a drive is it to the house from here?"

"Less than a minute, if you take the back road."

That was comforting, but it still meant she had to walk to get to the car, and then inside. She groaned again and uncurled an arm to reach for the steaming coffee on the table. "Fuck this... Can I inherit some of your genes so I'm never sick?"

"I don't think you can change that once you're already born," Jake said carefully.

"Screw all of you," she muttered.

"While I'd love to," Embry spoke up, "I've got patrols so... see ya." She couldn't help but laugh when him and Quil got up, leaving to head out on patrols. Which meant Paul and Seth were coming back from them. She didn't know if she should be elated Seth was joining them, or dreading the fact Paul would be as well.

She decided to go for neutral territory. "Can someone please be a heating ... pad? Body? I don't care... I have the chills now."

"You're pathetic." Ah, and the Lahote whore had arrived. She groaned, hearing Stephanie give a sigh as she sipped from some steaming drink. Bella didn't really care what it was. She sipped her own coffee, but it didn't help much. "Leech lover-"

"Shhh," Bella murmured, hugging the drink closer to her. "Please... everyone just stop talking at once."

"Uh... Bella, no one was talking but Paul."

"Paul... stop talking," Bella murmured. She sighed and waited a moment as the shop was silent, before opening her eyes. She yelped and banged her knee on the table when she found Paul's feet in front of her face. His bare, muddy feet. "You're disgusting!" But she felt ill all of the sudden. "Oh, no... Steph, did Boyfriend get sick?"

"For like a whole day," Steph sighed, leaning on the table as she sipped from her tea again. "Boyfriend pretty much couldn't hold anything down but water."

Ugh. "I think I'm going to be sick." She barely managed to make it out of the booth before she sprinted towards the bathroom, and promptly got sick. She barely registered it was the mens room. Quite frankly, it didn't matter, as long as there was a toilet. Or any other functioning system with a drain.

But vomiting made her feel so much better… And when she managed to walk out into the sitting area again, she wrinkled her nose. "Your concern, mutt, is worrying. Stop that." Paul had been looking like he was going to go into the bathroom after her. His grip on the table tightened with her words though, as if holding back his anger. "What they say about Men's rooms are true. Really filthy." She sat down on the booth, and shoved away Paul's muddy feet with her own. Her head dropped back.

"So, how long have you been sick?" Sam asked curiously.

"Well, we left four days ago, so three and a half days," Bella muttered, her eyes closing.

"So it's almost over then!" Jake said helpfully. "Maybe you'll wake up tomorrow feeling brand new."

"Doubt it," Stephanie sighed. "I'm sorry I got us into this shit, Bella."

"Hey, I got us into that car. That was a miracle in itself," Bella sighed.

"Yeah, but Boyfriend always gets sick."

"And Boyfriend's always around the house to fuck you. I mean, you win and you lose. I told you he was a parasite." Bella didn't need to open her eyes to know that the wolves were snickering at the choice of words. "Not that kind of parasite, you brats."

"He leaves the worst hickies," Steph groaned. "And catches every single disease he comes in contact with. I don't think there are many different types of parasites out there. He's definitely a parasite."

"I need a heating body to keep the chills away," Bella groaned, her eyes squeezed shut. So she missed the silent war raging as the wolves all glared at each other, daring them to take the spot along side a sick Bella. "Paul... will you be my heating pad, and then we never have to see each other until the wedding? I think that fills Sam's monthly quota for the year in a few hours..." She opened her eyes to see his jaw had dropped and he seemed stunned by her request. "Besides, I don't trust the others to keep me from being taken advantage of in my delirious state. At least I know you won't fuck the leech lover."

"Is there a story behind that nickname?" Stephanie asked.

"This one time, while I was swimming in this shabby creek, I got a few leeches. No big deal. But this twat decided that I wouldn't live it down." Bella's excuse was lame, even to her own ears, but Steph groaned as her stomach seemed to get queasy too. Paul didn't slide out of the booth to let her out. He was still staring at Bella, a faint growl coming from him.

Bella squeezed her eyes shut, falling forward until her cheek rested on the table. "I'll love you forever and ever," Bella promised in a sigh. "And we won't have to see each other until the wedding-"

"Fine, but if you sneeze on me, I will leave so fucking fast-"

"No promises," Bella muttered.

So it was decided that the girls needed to go back to the house and rest, so that they could get as well as possible. And so Bella led Steph back to the truck, their steps slow as they tried not to move too fast, and Paul gave a growl. "Give me your fucking keys. I'll drive."

"You could say please," Steph muttered. But Bella gave him the keys and Steph curled up on the backseat, not bothering to buckle in. Bella sat up front, and tried to shove a few of the disgarded tissues in the back.

"A bit messy. We didn't stop much. And we just kept buying tissues."

"You look like shit. No wonder."

The Swan Beach House was what Charlie and Sue's new home was called. After Sue sold her old house, plagued by the memories of Harry, she had bought the Beach House with his life insurance policy. And after dating Charlie for a year, they had moved in together. Bella had only seen pictures of it, in emails and texts. So when they pulled up to it, Bella was a bit taken away. It was nice.

Really nice.

"First floor is for you guys. Charlie and Sue live in a sort of suite upstairs," Paul muttered under his breath as he turned off the car. "Out, Swan."

"I need to get my stuff-"

"Just get in the house."

"Maybe I should have gotten a heating body that didn't talk," Bella muttered.

The trunk opened as Bella fished the key from under the mat, and as she opened the door, Stephanie went in to claim her room. Bella glanced back to see Paul fishing out two large suitcases and carrying them with ease to the door. "Get inside and never mention this, or I won't do it again."

"I didn't think you wanted to do it again."

Paul huffed in anger, and Bella rolled her eyes, but sat on the couch, letting him take the bags wherever he wanted to. Stephanie disappeared into one of the bedrooms. When Paul returned, he fell onto the couch and leaned back casually, his arm stretched out on the back of it. "Your pale friend is already snoring."

"Yeah, that's why she's in the farthest room. She gets loud." Bella reached for the decorative box of tissues, and put them on her lap before she scooted closer to Paul, and as soon as their skin touched, she sighed quietly at the scorching heat. He was so warm. She swore he was warmer than the others. She felt like she was on fire whenever they touched – be it a slap to his face or this. And he didn't jerk back, but he did stiffen slightly. "Fuck, I don't owe you anything," Bella murmured, closing her eyes to the warmth he offered. She pressed her cheek to his bare chest, sniffling in disdain. Good God, could she please get over this quickly. She didn't want to be sick while she was here. That would ruin everything.

"I think you do."

Bella sighed, choosing not to reply as Paul stretched out under her, on the sofa. After long, she drifted off and settled more comfortably into his side. Paul stared at the ceiling, willing his breathing to stay even. Fucking hell, this was worse than Sam's anger tests. The woman that loathed him, and he hated her, was laying across him, and he couldn't react the way his body was trying to. No. He would not lust after the leech-lover. He did not want sloppy seconds of the fucking mosquito.

He began to count tiles, picturing Sue naked. That would be better. And it was working, sort of. Until Bella's arm snaked around his waist and her skin felt too hot, even to him. Hot and her small hands... Fuck.

He growled, moving her hand off of him, but it only went back to its location and he gave up, his fingers gripping the rail of the sofa. He couldn't phase. He couldn't phase.

He would hurt her.

The thought made him calm down almost immediately. He never wanted to do what Sam had done to Emily. He never wanted that for anyone. The stares, the whispers. Emily cried about it all the time, at least she did in the beginning. And Paul would uncomfortably stand there, unsure what to do. He didn't deal with the emotions of women. He fucked and left. That was always his rule. He never got emotionally attached. And he never let them get emotionally attached either.

He never slept with a girl that had a crush on him, he never slept with a girl that wrote flirty letters to him. No, he went out to the bars, found a girl that was interested in him for a night only, and that was it.

"Paul...?" Fuck, was she still awake? "Stop growling... you're vibrating." And fuck him, the growling stopped. He didn't even know he was still doing it. There was a thin sheet of sweat on her, but she didn't seem bothered by the heat. In fact, she looked like she enjoyed it. He hated how his wolf listened to her. Like he was some puppy. He hated it, and he hated her.

"Paul!" Bella snapped, her eyes opening, and she leaned back slightly. "Growl at a tree later, seriously, but you agreed to be my bitch for a few hours, so please..." She sighed and Paul glanced at her to see she looked tired. Fucking tired. Fuck him. He was screwed. "If you don't want to do this, I'll ask Seth or something..."

Fuck, fuck, fuck... He needed to fix this. Why was he panicking to fix this? He wanted to leave. But she didn't. Fuck. "No, I was just thinking about something from patrols. Jared's a little shit." Bella didn't believe him. "How is this comfortable? Wouldn't you rather be in like... I don't fucking know, pajamas or something?"

She glanced down at her jeans and t-shirt. No wonder she was sweating. She could feel it clinging to her shirt and skin. "I don't think I have enough energy to actually climb to my room and change," she admitted. "So... this will do."

"Oh, for fuck's sake," Paul muttered. "I'm not doing this if you're in jeans. It's annoying as fuck. Let's go." He stood swiftly and then bent down, grabbing her just as quickly.

"Hey!" Bella cried. "Paul!"

"This is only happening once, so you better remember this," Paul warned. He carried her through the room and deposited her in the bedroom that was hers, and then went towards her suitcase, unzipping it harshly and grabbing the pajamas laying on top. "Change."

She huffed, falling on the bed and slid her jeans and t-shirt off, before she tugged on the cotton shorts and the tank top. She didn't even seem to care that she was changing in front of him. It wasn't like she didn't cliff dive with the pack in a bikini before. Fuck, now he couldn't get the image out of his head. Long legs. He always thought she would be short, stubby. But no, they were long. And lean. And fuck... Why did God hate him?

"Better?" she huffed, and then she sneezed. He made a plea to anyone that would listen that they'd keep him from strangling her.

"Get in the bed."

"I'm not fucking you tonight, Paul," Bella said in a warning tone, but the effect was lost as she sneezed again.

"I prefer women that don't sneeze on me in the process, thanks," Paul snapped back. "Get in the bed."

Bella eyed the dark blue bed that was laid in front of massive bay windows looking over the beach. "Fine." She crawled under the covers and Paul made sure she was going to stay where she was before he made the stupidest decision of his life. He approached the bed and crawled into the other side, aware she was watching him.

"Now, is this more comfortable?"

"You don't seem like a snuggling guy," Bella said, and there was a bit of humor in her voice. She stared at him a moment, before she moved closer under the covers. But she still wasn't as close as they were on the couch.

"I'm fucking not so get over here and stop complaining."

"I'm not complaining," Bella smirked. Paul resumed staring at the ceiling, picturing Sue or any other old lady he could think of, naked. It wasn't working very well when her arm wrapped around his middle again and he let out a puff of air. "Is this okay?" she questioned after a second of him holding his breath. Paul waited a minute before answering.

He didn't trust his voice to not sound like a puberty-driven teen. "Fine."

He couldn't do this. What the fuck had he been thinking? Oh, that's right he hadn't been. He had jumped at the chance because his wolf was a pansy. Because she had asked specifically for him.

"Paul?"

"What?" he bit out.

"Thank you."

The anger dissipated with the two words, spoken so sincerely that he could have sworn he melted into the mattress. Fuck. He was so screwed. "No problem," he muttered under his breath.

"And Paul?"

"Did you want someone to talk to, because you picked the wrong person."

"I hope that the girl you like likes you back," Bella said quietly. He tensed. What? "Jake told me that was why you hung up on me last we talked... I just... I have my doubts, but moments like this I think you deserve her."

She liked this. She liked moments like this. Paul hated this. He absolutely hated times like this. This was sappy, this was romantic. He didn't do them. "Yeah," Paul sighed, not showing his inner battle. "Me too."

"How conceited," she giggled. Fucking giggled against him. Sue wasn't working anymore. He had to think of someone else. That old hag that worked in the gas station... Yeah, that would be perfect.

"Fuck off."

She quieted and Paul was sure she was asleep this time, as her breathing was shallow and her heart rate had slowed considerably. She was a mouth breather. Fucking great. He hoped it was only because she was sick. He hated mouth breathing. And with each breath she took, he could hear how congested she was. Fuck.

He carefully reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone and he texted Sam. "Fucking bring Theraflu or some shit here. I can't stand her breathing."

Sam would be the only one that wouldn't tease him about it. Couldn't Paul just do something nice for once? Fucking hell.

"Get it yourself. Tara's throwing a tantrum."

"Can't. She fell asleep on me. I can't feel my arm."

There was a longer pause between the texts and Paul was worried that Sam wasn't going to do it. Then what? Paul would be stuck listening to the awful sound of wet throat. "You fucking owe me. Babysitting duty Saturday."

"Fuck," Paul muttered. He hated babysitting. All the rats did was shit and eat.

He tossed the phone towards the foot of the bed, exhaling in frustration. He couldn't get mad. He brought it upon himself. Fuck.

"You're growling again," Bella murmured.

He grimaced, and fuck him, the growling stopped.