A/N: I have good news, and I have great news. Good news is, I found chapter 4 (obviously). If I has just tried to stay organized, I'd be able to find these things so much easier. In great news, my parents actually admitted that they were getting me a computer for my birthday, which is super soon, when they saw me struggling to figure out how to afford a new tablet (which I need for various work, and sadly it kind of comes first) and a computer at the same time. So maybe someday soon I'll actually be able to start writing properly again, instead of struggling to find old works that are full chapters and not trash. Now, enough of my babbling, I really do hope some of you are enjoying yourselves with my finds :)

Chapter 4

"Bella, what happened to you?" Jacob whispered worriedly as he rushed over. He actually had to help Bella through the window, she was so tired, and once she was safely inside, she let herself just fall onto the floor. "Are you okay?"

"Just tired." Bella threw her arm over her eyes, trying not to think too hard about what happened. "I ran into Leah just now."

"You mean Leah Clearwater? Leah 'hardass tattletale jerk nugget' Clearwater?" Okay, now Jacob was alarmed. Leah had been the only one who had actively and successfully impeded some of Bella's wilder adventures over the years, and now she knew Bella was here. This was trouble.

"Yeah." There was nothing hard about Leah now, though...except her head. Not that Leah's hard head was anything new, she had been famous for it. "You didn't tell me she was back." Leah had graduated high school early out of pure determination to get out of La Push, and was supposed to be at college right now.

"I didn't think to. In case you haven't noticed, Bells, it's been a little crazy since you got back." Bella didn't answer, and Jacob started to worry. Why wasn't Bella saying anything? "Bells? Hello?" Jacob crept over to Bella's body, and after still no answer, Jacob picked Bella's hand up off her face and moved it aside.

Somehow, in the span of a minute, Bella had fallen asleep.

"Damn it Bella." Couldn't she have at least waited to get in the closet before falling asleep? Jacob couldn't exactly leave her out here when she was supposed to be hiding.

Seeing no other choice, Jacob slipped his hands under Bella's armpits and started dragging her into the closet. Maybe Jacob hadn't gained as much muscle as he thought, because it was a struggle. Pulling was hard, pushing was near impossible, and of course Bella wouldn't wake up. Eventually, Jacob had to settle for half rolling her into the closet, then kind of stuffing her limbs in with her.

All Jacob could do was hope that Bella wouldn't kill her for squishing her in like that as he collapsed into his own bed and fell asleep...or would have if he could forget about Leah. Leah, who knew Bella was here and might tell someone and put Bella's life in danger.

"Damn it." He rolled over and grabbed his phone from the nightstand, flipped it open, and called.

Leah answered before the first ring was over. "What do you want, Jacob?" Wow, for someone who sounded so irritated, she sure did answer fast.

"Uh, um…" He really should have thought through what he was saying more before he had called. Jacob really had no idea what exactly to say. "Uh you see...it's about Bella."

There was a pause of silence, and then the rustle of fabric as Leah jumped out of bed. Jacob waited for Leah to answer, and it wasn't until he heard multiple doors close that Leah finally spoke.

"What happened? Is she okay?" Leah hissed, sounding on the verge of panic.

"Yeah." Why was Leah so freaked out all of a sudden? What did Bella tell her to be this worried? "She's fine. Just, uh…" Jacob felt another flash of guilt at how he hid Bella in the closet. "Sleeping."

Leah found herself frowning in concern. There was just something about the way Jacob said "sleeping" that made Leah sure Jacob was hiding something.

"Jacob, what did you do?"

"Hey, I didn't do anything!" Jacob protested, quick to defend himself. "I just had a little trouble getting Bella in the closet."

"What?" Leah demanded in disbelief. Had she even heard Jacob right? "Why the hell is Bella in a closet?"

"I don't have anywhere else to hide her, okay?" Jacob grumbled back. "She fell asleep before she could hide, and we couldn't just leave her out where anyone can see her—"

Leah almost offered her own home for Bella to stay hidden at, only to realize that her situation wasn't any better. She still lived with her parents and Seth, when she wasn't with Sam, and if Bella was so desperate to stay hidden that she'd sleep in Jacob's funk tank, there's no way she'd be comfortable being in the Clearwater guest room. Everyone would know she was there.

"Forget about it, this isn't why I called you. Bella told me she ran into you tonight." Jacob wanted to pace as his anxiety rose, trying to figure out what he could offer Leah to keep her quiet.

"And?" Leah relaxed against the sink of her bathroom, looking around for something to do while she talked. For some strange reason, Leah just couldn't find it in her to stay still when talking about Bella.

"Whatever you want, I'll do it. Just please don't tell anyone about Bella. I'll pay you everything I have, I'll wait on you hand and foot, I can be your own personal butler if you want—"

"Wait, what? I'm not going to tell anyone. Didn't Bella tell you I promised her already?" Did Bella trust her that little? Just the idea of Bella not having faith in her, especially after their talk, made Leah's hackles rise.

"No, she kind of fell asleep before she could say much." Jacob sounded pretty sheepish about that. Most likely realized he had called to protect Bella for nothing. Classic Jacob, rushing to Bella's aid before he even knew if she needed help or not. It wasn't something Leah disliked about him over the years, but damn could it be annoying. "...are you sure you won't tell anyone?"

Leah focused back on the conversation only to hear those last words, and scowled. Either Jacob trusted Leah way less than she realized, or he had really jacked up his protectiveness to a whole other level.

Of course, that's when the long cut along Bella's face, neck, and who knows where else came to mind, and Leah shuddered in remembrance. Her own protective instincts rose, and her heart hurt for how much Bella must have suffered to get that kind of wound. If Jacob had seen that on Bella, she couldn't blame him for being in overprotective overdrive.

"I won't tell anyone, Jake," Leah said at last, unable to keep herself from letting out a huff of annoyance. "I'm not cruel."

"Yeah." Why the hell did Jacob have to sound so unsure when he agreed? He was asking to get punched. "Yeah, of course."

Leah and Jacob stayed on the line for a moment, both silent, both unsure of what to say next. Right as Jacob was about to awkwardly say goodbye, Leah sighed.

"Just keep me updated, okay?" The worry in Leah's voice was what got to Jacob, really reassuring him that she wouldn't tell anyone. "Whether you like it or not, I'm involved now. I'm not going to be happy if you try to leave me in the dark."

"Sure thing." As much as Bella allowed, anyways.

"And why the hell aren't you asleep? Don't you have school tomorrow?" What was Leah turning into, her mom? But she couldn't stop herself from asking, if only for Bella's sake. If Jacob had school, what would Bella be able to do for all of those hours? Maybe Leah should offer to hang out with her…

"Shit!" Jacob cursed, realizing it was already nearing five o'clock in the morning. "You're right I have to go, night Leah."

"Jake, wait—" Before Leah could try to offer herself to help keep Bella busy, Jacob had hung up. "That damn…" Leah started to call him back, only to stop. Knowing how stupid he could be sometimes, he probably left his ringer on. She didn't want to risk calling back and possibly waking up Bella or, worse, someone else in the household. She had no idea how she'd be able to explain calling Jacob so early without mentioning Bella.

Letting out a groan, Leah went back to her bedroom, only to freeze in surprise. Oh yeah, Sam was here. He had slept over and had been asleep by the time Leah could come back from her time with Bella. He was why she had left the room in the first place when she took Jake's call.

For some reason, beyond her annoyance at Sam falling asleep in her bed while they were still fighting, Leah just couldn't bring herself to climb into bed with him for a second time. She almost felt...guilty.

The guilt was just stupid. She shouldn't feel guilty just because she worried about Bella Swan...she had no reason to feel guilty about Bella Swan.

The intensity of Bella's eyes, the way Bella felt under her, flashed through her mind. It had been an accident, being on top of Bella for so long. There was just so much going on at the time…

Screw it, Leah couldn't deal with this anymore. She was going to sleep on the couch. Sleep, and not give one more thought to Bella Swan or Sam Uley.

If only Leah's dreams agreed with her.