Disclaimer: All the Twilight stuff belongs to Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended. I'm just playing in her sandbox.

~oooOooo~

Chapter 7 Natural

DALE POV

"That's just unfucking believable, Marvin!" I yelled as I brought the bike to a stop in front of the garage area, "How the hell did that kid get it this smooth?"

"I have no idea, Dale, and I've been in the garage with him the whole time. Kid just has some kind of knack with a wrench is all I can figure," he said with a puzzled look on his face, running a hand through his hair.

My guys had been testing the bike all morning while Jake had been sent to pick up some parts a good ways out of town. He would be gone several hours, giving us time to discuss the new wonder kids modifications on the bike and test it out on the track. Jake had been in the shop now a little over a month and I had given him pretty much free reign with my number two bike. 'Monitored' free reign that is. Marvin stayed with him through each step and they discussed what he wanted to do to the bike before he did it. Bikes were money and I hated to have to put a new engine in because someone made a stupid mistake or got careless.

I rode the modified bike, we tested it in the shop, and I had the performance numbers in front of me. We just didn't know how he did it. Jake was getting more power out of the bike than we had ever been able to, and it was smooth as glass at speeds in excess oh a hundred and fifty miles per hour. Damn.

"Jacob!" I called to him as he was unloading parts from the back of the truck. "Damn good job on that bike, man! How the hell are you doing it?"

"What, did you take it for a run?" Jake asked with a note of anxiety in his voice.

"Hell yea I took it for a run this morning! Smooth as glass. We hooked it up and did the numbers on the engine as well. What Marvin and I can't figure out, Jake, is how the hell you're doing it!"

"Marvin was there to oversee everything, Dale, if there's a problem . . . "

"Jake, Marvin and I have been racing for several years now, running these bikes and building them night and day to try and get the best speeds on the drag strip. Winning is the name of the game because winners get sponsors, man. Simple as that. Money."

Jake started to speak and I put my hand up, wanting to continue . . .

"Let me get this straight, kid. I am the only one who taught you how to work on bikes, and engines for that matter, right?"

"Yea, Dale, you know we used to mess around out in my dad's garage all the time."

"And that's the only training you have, just what I taught you and what you tinkered with? Have you taken any classes or read books or worked with another mechanic at all, Jake?"

"Just you, Dale. I read magazines that talk about performance and Bella and I rebuilt the two bikes we rode up here on, but other than a few cars mixed in, that's about it. I guess I just really like tinkering with engines, I don't know."

"Well, shit! Jake, that number two bike you have been 'tinkering' with now runs far better than my first line bike. The number two bike is running 2-4% faster and rides smoother than my number one. Kid, how would you feel about being in the pits for the season and traveling with us? I know I had talked about you staying here and holding down the fort, but the number two bike just got bumped to number one, and I need you to keep it what way while we're on the road!"

"Seriously? That's awesome!"

Jake looked like the kid that just got handed the keys to the candy store. I wanted him to know how well he was doing, but I wasn't sure I wanted him to know just how important he had become to my team. The kid was a natural, he just seemed to 'sense' the right thing to do to an engine to get what he wanted out of it. Damn, I would give anything to have that myself!

"Take the day off tomorrow, kid. You and Bella both, get out of here and see the sights around town, have a long weekend. We leave beginning of next week and I know you will want time with her before we go."

Jake looked as though I had slapped him.

"What, a day off is a bad idea to you?"

"No, no. Thanks for the day off, that's great. It's just that, I can't go on the road for race and leave Bella here. It's a long story, Dale, but she has been there for me since Billy died and I just can't leave her here."

"Jake, I don't want to pry into things that are not my business, but didn't you tell me you guys were just friends? I know you share the apartment, and I assume there is room for two on a king sized bed, but unless there is more there that I don't know about, it doesn't make sense for you to be so attached to her."

"It's a long story, Dale, but I won't leave her."

"Fine fine, damn it, Jake. Bring the girl. I need you on the crew! But she will have to help out."

"Thanks, Dale. She doesn't mind getting grease on her. Let me talk to her about it, though before you mention it to her, alright? I'll give you an answer Saturday, that gives me time to go off with her tomorrow and discuss it."

We shook hands and I watched the boy walk back into the garage to put the parts he had unloaded away. I had paperwork to do, I sat in my office finishing the last of the paperwork, Bella brought in coffee.

"Thanks, hon."

"You're welcome, Dale," she said as she left my office.

Bella had been working with my wife Tammy in the front office, filing and doing accounts when there were no visitors to deal with. It was working out well, Tammy being pregnant and all, she enjoyed the company. Bella had picked up on how we run things so well, that Tammy was able to leave a little early in the evenings, getting off her feet for a few hours before I got home. Hell, with Jake around, I had even been able to leave with her some days and we were spending more time together alone than we had in several years. Tell you the truth, I was getting spoiled to it.

~oooOooo~

JacobPOV

The crew were to head to Louisiana, Phoenix then Atlanta before heading north to Pennsylvania and Ohio, finishing in Rockingham, NC in September. It was March. When Bella and I had arrived here, Dale had just returned from a disastrous race in Orlando. The bike had malfunctioned and the number two bike that they were forced to race with had not placed well. A lot was riding on the race in Louisiana, and I wanted to be there for him. He had helped Bella and I out a lot, I would just have to see what she thought about going on the road.

The apartment Dale was letting us use had worked out well, though Bella had been skeptical in the beginning. There was only one bed and Bella didn't yet feel about me the way I felt about her. She insisted that I was her 'best friend' and wouldn't allow it to go any farther.

"Jake, stop!" she had said as we lounged on the couch watching a movie one evening. I had put my arm around her, which was normal for us, but that night I leaned in to kiss her.

"Jake! You're my friend, you know friends doesn't involve kissing."

"Bells, why won't you let yourself go and realize how you feel about me," I said softly as I nuzzled her neck.

She didn't say anything, she just got up to refill our sodas from the kitchen. When she came back with the drinks, she handed mine and sat on the floor in front of me, leaning on the sofa and watching the movie.

"Bella, is it him? Is that the reason we are only friends?"

"Jake, I . . . I just can't. It wouldn't be fair to you. I'm not one of the bikes that can be fixed, I'm never going to run right. Just leave it at that, okay?"

"No, that's not true. I could be there for you if you would only let me! You know you care for me, right?"

"Yes, I care for you. I love you, you know that. I wouldn't be here for you if I didn't, but Jake, you're my friend and that is all it can be. Thee is nothing else in me to offer," she said as she looked down and fidgeted with the ice in her coke.

"How can that be! He left you, Bella. He left you in the woods and never came back! How can you still care for him, how could he have ever cared for you and done that to you?"

I knew I had gone too far.

"Stop it, Jake! Just STOP!" she yelled as she ran and buried her face in the pillows on the bed, crying.

I didn't need her say it to know it was the truth, I lived it. She screamed every night. Every. Night. I would hold her and she would settle down and give in to restful sleep after awhile, but the dreams were there every night. She called his name, she begged him not to leave her. She told him she loved him.

Every night.

At least she was eating now and she had gained back some of the weight she lost. The month after he left, she wouldn't talk unless you asked her a question, and she would only eat enough bites to stop people from yelling at her to eat. Charlie sat up with her during her nightmares.

After she brought the bikes to me and we started working on them together, her daytime hours improved. She talked, she ate, and she even smiled sometimes. She never spoke of him, and she never told anyone what happened. The story around town was that Dr. Cullen got offered a lucrative position in Los Angeles and the family had to quickly relocate there. They all left, and that was all we ever heard about it. Alice never even called her, which was really weird because she and Alice were best friends. The whole thing was fishy, as though there were some hidden reason for all of it, but Bella would never talk about it.

My dad and Sam had been excited that the Cullens left, people on the reservation at La Push had never liked them and the legends and rumors of old told the tale that they were not allowed on the res. Superstitious old fools. It didn't matter, they never came there, not even to First Beach, and they were gone now anyway.

I turned off the movie, and went to the bathroom to put my flannel pajama pants on, returning to sit on the bed opposite the side where Bella lay. Her tears had stopped, and she had showered and put on her old sweats and a tee shirt and was ready to turn in for the night. I crawled under the covers and touched her shoulder, encouraging her to turn over and talk to me. I wanted to continue the discussion about Cullen, I wanted to make her see that he was not worth it, but I could not stand to see her cry.

Instead, I told her that we both had the day off tomorrow, making it a long weekend. We had taken no time to see the sights around Calgary, though neither of us had ever been there before. It was mid winter, and most days were too cold to go anywhere on the bikes, but it was supposed to be up in the fiftys tomorrow, and I wanted to go sightseeing with her.

"Lets go see the zoo that everyone talks about, want to?" I asked.

"Sure, Jake, that sounds like fun! Lets sleep in and go midday when it is the warmest, kay!"

"Kay, night Bells."

"Night, Jake," she said as she rolled to face away from me, like she did every night.

It was only a couple of hours till the screams began. The talking, begging him not to leave her, declaring her undying love for him. Again. I held her till she calmed, and vowed to kill the son of a bitch that did this to her if I ever laid eyes on him again. Morning came, well late morning that is. I guess we both needed to catch up on our sleep as it was ten before either of us opened an eye. The sun was shining and it was quite pleasant on the bikes, with enough sweaters and coats!

The zoo was everything it had been advertised to be. The animals had habitats to live in and were not caged and they seemed healthy and happy. It took a couple of hours to see the zoo, there were that many exhibits. We had packed a lunch to bring with us and headed for the campground attached to the zoo. The Calgary zoo was located on an island in the middle of the river that ran thru town. The river came from the distant mountains to the West, the upper part of the Rockies and the continental divide, part of which was Jasper and Baniff National Park. The mountains were gorgeous looking up in the distance with their snow capped peaks. Needless to say, the water in the river was like ICE! We sat at the Western tip of the island, starring at the skyline of the city and the mountains in the distance. It seemed surreal to have a city poking up in this setting, here on what could be imagined to be a desolate, rocky shore and wilderness in the distance.

"Lets build a damn," Bella said as she took off her shoes and socks and rolled up her jeans.

"Are you loco, chica? That water has to be 40 degrees or something."

"Come on Jake, you never seem to get cold! Look at you, you don't even need your jacket out here today! You're abnormally warm and you know it," she said as she tip toed into the river.

The river was maybe twenty yards wide on each side of the island, but most of it was only a foot or so deep, unless you got into the narrow main stream of current. Bella set about stacking stones on top of one another in one of the smaller eddies. It wasn't long before she and I had created about a twenty foot area that was deeper than the rest, kind of a small swimming pool - well, wading pool. It was really only a foot or so deeper than the surrounding area, but given the amount of work it had taken, we considered it deep and wide!

Though we thought it had only been a little while, we looked up startled to see the pink and orange colors staining the sky! We had stayed all afternoon, and the sun was setting!

"I'm f..fr...free...freezing, Jake!" she said as her teeth chattered.

We had been laughing so much and exerting ourselves by moving the river stones to form the damn that we hadn't really noticed how cold it was till we stood still for a few minutes, watching the sunset. Bella's lips were blue!

"Come on, lets warm up," I said as we walked out of the river to the picnic table where we had parked the bikes.

We had brought a blanket to have the picnic on, not knowing that there would be tables, and I wrapped it around us both to warm her up. I really did seem to always run hotter than normal, and the extra body heat proved useful! I had her warm in just a few minutes, warm enough for me to unwrap myself from the blanket and sit in front of her, rubbing her still blue feet to warm them, before we put shoes back on.

"God, you're so warm, Jake. Thank you! That feels great - except for the tingling as the feeling comes back into my feet! Ouch!"

"Serves you right for wanting to play in the damned river, silly one."

"Admit it, you had a great time, didn't you?"

"I did. I admit it," I said as I put her shoes and socks back on for her.

I moved to wrap myself back in the blanket with her and finish watching the sunset. Her mood was light and playful and I thought this might be a good time to talk to her about going out on the road with Dale.

"Bells, Dale really likes the modifications I made to the bike. He is moving the number two bike to number one."

"Wow, Jake, that's great. Tammy is happy with me in the office, as well, though I miss helping you in the garage!"

"You mean that, Bells?"

"What?" she asked.

"You miss being in the garage and helping me?" I said as I shoulder bumped her.

"Yea, I do, kinda," she said shyly. "I like being near the bikes."

"Well, you are gonna love this, then. Dale has asked me to join the pit crew and go on the circuit with them for the next few months. What do you think?"

She froze. I had not seen that look cross her face since before we left Forks. In fact, since the night he left her in the woods.

"No, no, Bells. BOTH of us, we would both go. I told him I wouldn't go without you, and he agreed if you would be willing to work with the crew, gopher and such. I told him you were great in the garage and you would like it! I was right, too, wasn't I! You do miss working on the bikes in the garage with me."

"I don't know, Jake. I haven't even let Charlie know where I was, I only told him I was safe and with you. I miss Charlie, but there is nothing for me in Forks, I don't want to go back."

"Bells, the second race is in Phoenix, you can show me around your town. It'll be GREAT!"

~oooOooo~

BPOV

Jacob was right, working on the bikes with him on the crew was exciting. I got to fire up the bikes and ride them sometimes when we were moving them from place to place. I had become an excellent rider, and was a perfect fit on the bike. Less weight, greater speed and all that, yet my long legs allowed me to balance and function with the controls. It was awesome.

Louisiana was amazing, I had never been east of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and the terrain was so completely different that I loved admiring and exploring the countryside on our off days. We had left our bikes in Calgary, but often borrowed some from Dale and even with the increased speed, I had become such an accomplished rider that riding seemed no longer dangerous or threatening to my safety. I only saw "him" when I did something dangerous,and the bikes had become routine for me. I longed to see 'him'.

I was in the garage at the track after the race in Louisiana, we had placed well with the bike Jake had altered, Dale riding it. The finals were in two days.

"Bella, bring the number two bike out of the carry all and in here please," Martin said.

I went to get it, removing the tie downs and backing it out of the trailer. I don't know what got into me, the nitrous oxide was not set up, but I saw the track in front of me and I just couldn't help it. I HAD to see him. I cranked the bike and instead of heading back to the pit, I headed out to the drag strip. I stopped at the lights, I hadn't burned the tire or prepared in any way and I was only wearing a helmet and jeans, not riding gear. It didn't matter. I hit the lights to start the flashing from red to yellow to green, then . . . I rolled the throttle. The bike roared into motion, my body started to lift off the seat, my arms holding me to it. As I increased in speed, the wind pushed me down, affixing me to the bike, forcing me to become a part of the machine.

He was there, holding a hand out - "Stop, this is dangerous!"

I saw his form as clear as that last moment in the woods, looking at me, speaking to me. This time, he looked at me with love, as though he didn't want me hurt. For a moment, the whole in my chest closed. His form was there at the quarter mile mark as well, and a little further down the track, he was there again! I had done it! I managed to see him again! I was so happy, I was sobbing tears by the time I stopped the bike at the end of the track. I was unprepared for what happened next.

Jake was there in a flash. "What the hell, Bella! Are you trying to kill yourself?" he roared.

"No, Jake, I just, I just . . . I don't know. I wanted to try it, that's all!"

Martin and Dale came flying down the track in Dale's pickup.

"What the hell?" Dale screamed as he jumped from, the truck.

"She didn't mean anything, Dale, there is no harm done. The bike is fine, and so is Bella. No blood, no foul," Jake said as he tried to divert what was sure to be an onslaught of cussing and probably me being asked to leave, or Jake fired for defending me.

Dale looked at me incredulous.

"Bella, you just made better time for the quarter mile than I did this week at this track! Where the hell did you learn to ride like that and why didn't you tell me?"

Jake and I looked at each other and just shrugged our shoulders, astounded that Dale did not seem angry. You could have knocked us over with a feather when Dale turned to Martin and said,

"I think we have an alternate rider for the race tomorrow."

~oooOooo~