CHAPTER 18

*****BELLA POV*****

THERE WAS HEAT along my right side again as I started to wake up. It wasn't just heat, there was a body lying next to me! My eyes flew open and in the soft light of early morning, I discovered Jake lying in the bed with me, sound asleep. I was snuggled up very close to him, his arm resting across my hips. I didn't know why he was lying with me, but I liked… a lot. My heart got all fluttery, and a new warmth flooded through me, that had nothing to do with the heat coming from Jake.

Not wanting to wake him, or have this moment of closeness with him end, I just laid there and studied his face, enjoying the smell and feel of him. Even though I was injured and in the hospital, I was so much more rested than I had been in a very long time. I wondered if it was because Jake was next to me.

After a little while the memories from the previous night started to come back to me. Edward is back… but why? Most of the memories were very fuzzy and I couldn't figure out what he was doing or why he was by himself in my room. Why had his presence frightened me? Maybe Jake or Carlisle could shed some light on what had happened.

One thing I remembered very clearly was the look in Edward's eyes when he met my gaze. The thought of it made my heart ache for him… his face and eyes were a nearly perfect reflection of what mine had once been. I thought I'd feel anger toward him if I were to ever see him again, and maybe it was because of that look, but all I felt was pity. What could have possibly happened to him to cause him to have such a tortured look? Another question that would have to wait to be answered.

Still watching Jake's peaceful face, I hoped that I would be able to stay awake longer today. I missed talking and laughing with him. Maybe I could even go home soon. Although, remembering the pain from the previous night, that may still not happen for a while. Thinking of the pain made me realize that nothing hurt, not even a dull ache anymore. I hadn't tried to move yet, though. To give it a little test, I breathed in deeply and there was no pain in my ribs. I then remembered how the pain had almost completely disappeared when Jacob had held me. I wondered why… what could have possibly caused that to happen? Was Jake the reason I still didn't have any pain? Yet more questions that would have to wait for an answer. I felt like I'd missed a lot while I was unconscious.

Suddenly, Alice's head peeked over Jake's large frame.

I smiled and greeted her quietly, "Hi Alice!"

"Bella, you're awake!" she replied in a whisper. "It is so good to finally see your eyes open again."

"What are you doing here so early?"

"I came to get Jake up. Unfortunately for you… you seem to be enjoying this arrangement." She smiled and winked knowingly, making me blush. "Charlie will be coming to see you soon and Jake didn't think he would appreciate finding him in bed with you."

"Oh! Yeah, that's a good call."

"I'll give you a moment to try to wake him up." She disappeared from my view.

I moved my upper body for the first time this morning, trying to angle a little away from Jake so I could free my right arm. No pain. Since there was no good way to reach up to his face, I put my hand on the arm that was resting on my hip and shook it gently.

"Jake, wake up."

He was really sleeping hard, but after trying a couple times, he finally stirred and blinked his eyes open. Looking down at me, he smiled warmly.

"Good morning beautiful," he said as he caressed my cheek. "How do you feel this morning?"

"Very rested… and no pain so far. Sorry to wake you, but Alice is here, and she said Charlie will be coming soon."

Jake lifted up onto his elbow and looked around to where Alice was sitting. "Thanks Alice. I don't need any new holes in my body, and the last thing I want is for Charlie not to trust me."

"You're welcome. I need to get going for now, but I'll be back later this morning. Do you need anything before I go?"

I spoke up hesitantly. "Um, actually, do you think you could help me to the bathroom?"

"Sure! I can do that," she said with an understanding smile.

Jake looked back at me. "I'm going to stand up first and see how you do with the pain. Are you ready?"

I nodded, trying not to tense.

Jake slowly sat up then swung his legs off the bed and stood up.

Immediately the pain returned, stealing my breath away and I grimaced.

Jake had me in his arms within moments and the pain disappeared again.

"What the heck is going on Jake? Why does my pain go away when you are touching me?"

"We don't know honey. There have been a lot of weird things going on between us since you got hurt and none of us are sure what it means."

He carried me into the bathroom with Alice right behind him and set me down gently. Alice was right there to support me, and I could see the worry in his eyes as he backed away toward the door. He hesitated when I gasped as the pain hit again.

"It's okay Jake. It hurts more the moment it hits me, but then it's not so bad," I lied, trying to hide the severity of the pain. I hated seeing the worry on his face.

He gave me a doubtful look, but nodded and left the room, shutting the door. Alice gave me a matching look but didn't say anything either. I didn't really fool either of them, I guess.

When I was done, Jake returned to carry me back into the room, the pain disappearing again when he picked me up.

When Alice was gone, Jake settled us back on the bed with me leaning against his chest, then filled me in on everything that had happened since I'd been unconscious. He told me of him hearing my voice, the strong pull for him to be with me, and my unconscious reactions to his presence.

"Just like your scent intensifying to me every day, so many things between us are becoming stronger… and stranger. In fact, so many things between us resemble what happens when one of us imprints on someone, Sam has started to consider what we have as some different form of imprinting."

"Wow, that's a lot of info to absorb," I said, trying to take it all in. "You really heard my voice in your head?"

"Yes, once when Victoria was attacking and again last night when Edward was here. And I don't have to be in wolf form. Did you call for me either of those times? Have you ever heard my voice?"

"No, I've never heard your voice, but I did try to call out for you both of those times. I wasn't able to speak either time, though, so it was just in my thoughts… I was trying to say it out loud both times."

There was a small knock at the door, and Carlisle popped his head in a moment later, smiling upon seeing us before fully entering the room.

"Good morning you two. Sorry to barge in like this, but Charlie will be here shortly. How are you feeling this morning, Bella?"

"I'm fine as long as I'm close to Jake, but when he moves away from me the pain returns. It's improved a bit from last night, but it still takes my breath away." I told him about the trip to the bathroom.

"Hmmm…" he rubbed his hand over his jaw, considering the situation. "I have been thinking about this most of the night. Would you mind if we tested just how much contact you need with Jacob to keep your pain under control?"

I took a deep breath at the thought of the pain. I was curious for the answers myself though, so I agreed to test it out.

"You don't have to do this Bells," Jake said softly.

I looked up at him. "No, I want to. I think it will be good for us to know."

He nodded in reluctant agreement.

Carlisle had us test out several differing degrees of separation, sometimes with Jake's hand resting on my hip or back or shoulder, and sometimes with no contact. We discovered that we did not need to be touching, but I did need to stay within a few inches of Jake, never more than a foot away, in order to keep me pain-free.

"This is incredible," Carlisle marveled when I was settled against Jake's extra warm body once more. "Your pain level seems to be connected to how close your torsos are to each other. Or maybe your hearts? I think it goes without saying that there is no medical explanation for this phenomenon. It has to be some sort of magical connection… do your tribal legends mention anything like this Jacob?"

"No, nothing that I'm aware of. I will need to check with the tribal elders to see if any of them remember anything."

"What are we going to do about Charlie?" I asked.

"Well, I see two options," Carlisle offered. "You can let him see you sitting up with Jake like this, which I don't think he would find too odd, especially if I am here and fine with it. Or I can give you some medicine that will knock you out for a few hours.

"Regardless of what you choose to do, after what happened last night, most of the nurses are uncomfortable coming in here now, as long a Jacob is here. I would have preferred to keep you a few more days for observation, and to ensure you are getting plenty of rest, but since Jacob leaving is not an option, we will need to discharge you as soon as possible. Also, Alice keeps getting flashes of Edward coming back to try again, even though he has promised not to bother you anymore he is obviously still thinking about it.

A growl grumbled low in Jake's chest at this information. Carlisle ignored it and continued.

"When you are discharged, it will be necessary for you to have someone to help you with your personal needs that you probably wouldn't want Jacob or your father helping you with, such as bathing and using the restroom. This would have been necessary even if you'd been able to stay in the hospital a few more days. I am assuming that you now also would like to be somewhere it will be okay for Jacob to be there with you all the time.

"I had intended to offer for you to come stay with us for a short time, Bella… and you would have, of course, been welcomed as well, Jacob. I realize that may not have been agreeable to you, and now since Edward has returned, that is no longer a viable option."

"No, I definitely would not have been comfortable with that arrangement, whether I was there or not," Jacob said, somewhat apologetically. "I trust ya Doc, but to live in your home, or have Bella there without me, even for a short time, would definitely be more than I could handle."

Carlisle nodded in understanding. "Can you think of anywhere else you could stay?"

Jake and I smiled at each other and said "Emily" simultaneously.

"Sam and Emily should be coming up sometime around noon," Jake said, "so we can talk to them about it."

"Okay, then that leaves the question of how we want Charlie to see you. In my opinion, he will accept this transitional situation much easier if he doesn't see you so pain free as you are with Jacob. So, I would recommend going with option two and letting me give you the pain medicine. I don't like giving drugs when they aren't necessary, but its only when Charlie is around and until we can get you out of here. After that, you'll only need something for the pain for the times you can't be with Jake."

I sighed in resignation. "I would rather not be drugged up anymore, but that does sound like the better choice, for now." I looked up at Jake, "At least you won't feel so stuck here."

Jake gave me an incredulous look. "Are you kidding me Bells? I'm not stuck here. I'm exactly where I want to be. And I'd rather have you awake and able to talk with me than passed out on drugs, but I agree, that is probably the better way for now."

"Okay then," Carlisle said, pulling a syringe out of his coat pocket and setting it on the rolling tray next to my bed. "This is a very fast-acting medicine, so if you don't mind, I would like to take a look at your back and side first. Are you okay if I do that with Jacob here?"

"Yes, that's fine," I said, "if it won't bother him seeing it." I looked at Jake.

"I can handle it… I promise I won't get worked up. I'll look away if it bothers me too much."

Carlisle helped me lean forward and unsnapped the back of my gown. Jake gasped quietly.

I looked over my shoulder at him and his face was a little sallow, "Is it that bad?"

"It's just more than I was expecting," he said quietly.

I could feel Carlisle's cold hands gently pressing along my spine and then on my ribs. Even with him pressing on the bruised areas, I still felt no pain.

"Her pale skin makes the bruising more pronounced," Carlisle tried to reassure Jake, "so it looks a little worse than it is. You hit the ground with a lot of force though. If your arm hadn't taken the brunt of the hit, you would have ended up with several cracked ribs and maybe some damage to your spine. As it is, you got lucky that there weren't more severe injuries."

Carlisle refastened my gown and then reached for the syringe.

"Once you're asleep Bella, I'll help Jacob get you settled. This will only take a few minutes to take effect. It's not a large dose, so you will only be out for about three hours or so. Are you ready?"

I nodded. "Ready. Thank you so much for everything Carlisle."

He smiled at us warmly as he put the medicine in through my IV. "You are very welcome, Bella. None of us ever stopped caring for you, and it brings me joy to see you happy, and to be able to help you. I am also appreciative that both of you have let me help… my curious nature is enjoying the excitement of discovering the things happening with you two."

Jacob chuckled at that. I looked up at him, amusement sparkling in his eyes, and I smiled.

"I'm glad we could help satisfy your curiosity Doc," Jake said.

We all laughed, and I was already starting to feel the effects of the medicine.

I looked up at Jake again, slowly blinking and relaxing against him. I mumbled an "I love you" to him as my eyes slid shut.

"I love you too Bella," he said, kissing the top of my head.

That was the last thing I was aware of before I dropped off to sleep.

.

*****JACOB POV*****

CHARLIE WAS DISAPPOINTED that he'd missed seeing Bella awake again. I could tell he was missing her. He hadn't seen her since the very first time she woke up, and I felt kinda bad. It wouldn't be too much longer though. I felt positive that Emily would be more than willing to help take care of Bella, then he could see her all the time.

Sam and Emily arrived a little before noon. I knew Bella should be waking up soon, so I kept part of my attention on her while I explained the situation to them, including that Edward was back. I let them know what had happened with him the previous night and that I'd almost phased right there in the hospital room. They were shocked to hear that he was back and about my ability to relieve Bella's pain. Sam seemed especially irritated that Edward had been able to get alone with her, which was no surprise.

"Why in the world is he back?" he asked. "What was he trying to do… what does he hope to accomplish?"

I shrugged. "Doc said he wasn't sure, just thought he wanted to try to speak with her. Doesn't make a whole lot of sense considering she was unconscious, but I don't have any better ideas. I haven't had a chance to talk about it anymore with the doc since he spoke with Edward last night, so I don't know if he found out anything else."

I asked them if either of them had ever heard of anything happening like what Bella and I were experiencing. Recently, Emily had started trying to get all the legends written down, so we didn't have to rely on just a few tribe members trying to remember them all… especially now that so many new things were happening. Neither of them had ever heard any story even close to what Bella and I were experiencing.

As I expected, Emily was thrilled to let Bella stay with her while she recovered. She had such a sweet, loving spirit. I loved that she and Bella were becoming closer.

Bella started to stir and let out a quiet pain-filled moan. I immediately was beside her and gently gathered her into my arms. She was tense when I started to pick her up, but instantly relaxed once I had her resting against my chest. She wasn't waking up yet but snuggled her face into me and sighed deeply.

"Wow Jake," Emily said, "she really does respond strongly to you. That's incredible."

I sat down on the bed and Emily came to stand beside me. She placed her hand on Bella's head and looked from her face to mine several times.

"I know this is going to sound crazy, but it's like I can see a new connection between you. I think this thing that happened with Edward was significant somehow."

I looked at her skeptically. "Really Em? Are you becoming psychic now or something?" I teased, laughing lightly.

She gave me a wry look. "Ha, ha, very funny. No, not psychic, but it's… something. I've been umm… tuned into you for a while, I just didn't say anything before. Probably cause I didn't want to hear your little snide comments." She swatted me lightly on the shoulder.

I eyed her curiously for a moment. That wasn't the first odd thing she'd said recently. "Seriously though, you might be onto something because it was right after the whole thing with Edward when I held Bella and her pain went away. Maybe there's something to that."

Bella stirred again and was gazing at me with groggy eyes when I looked down at her.

"Hi there," I said to her, and she just smiled, obviously not quite awake yet. "We have company." I lifted my eyes toward Emily.

She lazily turned her head to follow my gaze, and her smile widened when she saw Emily, but she still didn't say anything. Emily smiled back at her.

"Hi Bella," she said softly, "good to see your eyes opened."

Bella slowly nodded a couple times then turned her head back to look at me again. She blinked several times, her eyes staying shut longer between each blink until they didn't open again.

"The medicine clearly hasn't worn off completely yet," I said, chuckling lightly at how cute that was. "Can you guys stay for a while? I know she would love to visit with you."

Emily looked at Sam.

"Yeah, we can stay. I don't need to be back for a couple more hours," Sam agreed.

Bella woke up fully about a half hour later. She was excited and grateful for Emily agreeing to help take care of her. They stayed for around an hour and Bella was alert and talkative, relaxing against my side with the head of her bed inclined. Alice came in near the end of their visit and stayed for a little while. It was really something… a vampire and two werewolves spending time together all because of one girl who we all loved.

Just as they were all getting ready to leave Angela showed up. Bella was very excited to see her and have her three best friends all together.

"Thanks for calling to let me know Bella was awake," Angela said to Alice.

"No problem! You can thank Jake though, he's the one that asked me to call you."

Bella introduced Angela to Sam and Emily and let her know the plans for her to stay at Emily's until she was more recovered.

"I have a favor to ask you Angela," Bella said after everyone else had left.

"Sure, what do you need?"

"I was hoping you'd be willing to get my assignments for me and bring them to me down at Emily's a few times a week. I won't be able to return to school for a while still, but I will have some time throughout the days when I could work on school a little at a time, so I don't get too far behind."

"Absolutely I'll do that for you!"

"That's so great. I really appreciate it. I think I be discharged this evening sometime, so I'll call the school in the morning to make arrangements and you just let me know when you are able to come to Emily's. Ben's welcome to come with you as well."

Angela's easy smile faded a little. "Ben and I actually broke up on Thursday."

Bella brought her hand up to her mouth. "Oh no, I'm so sorry Angela. Are you okay? Do you want to talk about it?"

"I'm alright. It was my decision, although he said he was feeling it too. We've just grown apart and now we've decided to go to different schools, so it just didn't make sense to stay together anymore. I think it hurt him more than he showed though, so I feel kinda bad for him.

"Well, call me anytime if you want to talk… or feel free to visit anytime, I'm sure Emily wouldn't mind at all."

Bella wrote down Emily's phone number to give to Angela. She stayed for a while longer, chatting about things going on at school, then Bella and I were alone again.

After an hour or so to ourselves Carlisle came in to give Bella another dose of the pain medicine before Charlie arrived. Bella was getting sleepy anyway and I knew she had been fighting it for a while. It had been a big day for her… even pain free, her body still had a lot of healing to do.

I let the doc know that Emily had agreed to help with Bella's recovery and when Charlie got there Carlisle went over the plan for Bella's release from the hospital with him. Charlie's only concern was being a burden on Emily. I assured him that Emily was happy and even excited to help and would never consider Bella a burden. Charlie agreed to the plan, so everything was set.

.

BELLA WAS RELEASED later that evening and Charlie drove us down to Emily's house. It was so good to get out of that hospital. Sitting together in the back of Charlie's cruiser, we rode with one of the windows part-way down. The evening air was a little damp and chilly, but we both wanted the fresh air, and with my heat, Bella was comfortable. Alice had packed up some things for Bella and brought them up to the hospital earlier in the day, the bag now setting on the seat beside Bella.

Just as we were leaving the city limits, I got the same uneasy feeling I had the night Edward showed up. Groaning internally, I guessed he was probably watching from somewhere. Feeling certain that he was in my head, and figuring this might be my only chance, I decided to share some thoughts with him. Maybe it was a little spiteful and childish, but there were some things he needed to know.

I let the images play through my mind as I thought back to when Sam found Bella in the woods, and when she first came to La Push, broken, lost, empty eyes, hurting; then I went through a myriad of thoughts, like a movie playing of our time together while she healed, her arms wrapped around herself in pain, me loving her through it, her slowly coming back to life; our first kiss and her face since then, bright, flushed, shining, and full of life… looking at me with adoration and love, kissing me eagerly.

I looked down at her, relaxed against my side, and I caressed her face, letting the love I have for her wash through me. She looked up at me smiling, so beautiful, and she was responding to my touch and the look of love on my face. Her heart had started racing, her breath catching in her throat, and a look of desire coming over her face, matching how I felt. She reached up to run her hand over my cheek and neck.

I hoped the leech was still watching, but I didn't really care anymore. What I wished for most in that moment was to be alone with Bella so that I could kiss her. I settled for a kiss on her forehead then took her hand, lacing our fingers together, and gazed out the window, so I didn't get carried away. As my eyes moved from Bella to the window, I caught a glimpse of Charlie smiling our way in the rearview mirror.

I didn't feel like we were being watched anymore as we crossed over the treaty line less than a minute later … not that I wouldn't put it past Cullen to break the treaty at this point.

When we got to Emily's I carried Bella inside. Carlisle had instructed Bella to walk as little as possible until further notice, to protect her spine, which made it easy to excuse carrying her everywhere to keep her close to me.

We got settled on the couch together where Emily had laid out pillows and a light-weight blanket for Bella. I was so relieved to be back on the Reservation, in my home away from home, with Bella safe at my side.

Charlie was staying for dinner and Sam showed up with my dad not long after we arrived. He had visited a few times, but it had been a couple of days, so it was good to see him.

When dinner was ready Emily brought me and Bella each a plate of food and everyone else also brought their plates into the living room, so we could all eat together. The little house was filled with lively conversation and laughter, like always. About an hour after we had finished eating, I noticed Bella getting quiet and not long after she was asleep.

Emily had made up the guest bedroom for me and Bella, but we couldn't go there until Charlie left. I wrapped my arm a little tighter around Bella to make sure she stayed upright. Emily notice Bella then and smile at me knowingly.

"Well, I hate to break up the party, but I think we need to call it a night," Emily announced. "It seems the patient has pooped out on us. Charlie, you are, of course, welcome here whenever you want to come visit Bella… and I expect to see your face for dinner every night while she is here… I insist. You too Billy."

"Yes ma'am," Charlie teased with a mock salute. "I haven't thanked you yet Emily, but I really appreciate you taking care of Bella like this. It does me good to know she has such a great friend."

"I'm happy to do it for as long as it's needed. I'm just thankful that she is doing so much better."

Emily gave Charlie a hug. He was stiff for a moment, taken by surprise, but then he relaxed and hugged her back.

"I can give you a ride home Billy and Jake, if you'd like," Charlie offered.

"I'll take you up on that Charlie, but I think Jake is staying here," Billy said nonchalantly, helping to try and ease Charlie's mind before he had a chance to object.

"Yeah, I'm staying to help whenever Bella needs to move around since Doc wants her to stay off her feet for the next while."

Charlie hesitated, eyeing me apprehensively. He liked me a lot, definitely more than most fathers liked their daughter's boyfriends, but I was still a teenage boy dating his daughter, so I could understand his hesitation. I decided to be up front with him and address his concerns before he could make them.

"Charlie, I promise you nothing inappropriate is going to happen. Besides the fact that she's injured, I would not do anything questionable with her, or that you would not approve of. I respect you too much for that, but more importantly I respect Bella too much. I love her and would protect her with my life, including her virtue." He would not approve of me sleeping in the same bed with her, so it was a small lie, but if he understood why I needed to stay with her, he might feel differently… and my dad was okay with it, knowing the full truth, so I felt okay with that.

He looked at Billy, "You knew about this?"

Billy nodded, "Yes, Jake discussed it with me, and I trust him to do the right thing Charlie. He'll keep his word to you."

Everyone was quiet while he studied me for another moment before nodding once, "I appreciate you being straight forward with me Jake. I'm trusting you with the thing that's most precious to me in the world, so you had better keep your word."

"I will… always," I replied with all the conviction I felt inside.

"Alright Billy, let's get out of here so they can get Bella settled."

Emily and I wished them a good night and Sam went to help Billy into Charlie's car.

I gently laid Bella down in the guest room and left so Emily could get her changed for bed. Moving quickly, I grabbed the bag that my dad had brought for me and headed to the bathroom to get changed as well. I wanted to get back to Bella as fast as possible to limit her pain.

When I returned to the room, the covers were pulled down and Bella was lying in the middle of the bed, groaning quietly her face scrunched up, obviously hurting, but still asleep. Emily was covering Bella with a light-weight blanket… she knew Bella would never need more than that while next to me, and even that might prove to be too much.

As soon as I laid down next to her, Bella calmed and her face relaxed. She moved in her sleep to get closer to me again.

"Look at her move toward you Jake! Isn't that something." She looked fascinated at the way Bella was so aware of me.

"I certainly enjoy it," I said, grinning.

"I bet you do." She laughed quietly then her face turned serious. "That bruising looks so bad though."

"I know, I saw it yesterday. Doc said it looks worse because of her pale skin, but I think he was just trying to make me feel better."

"It's no wonder she's in so much pain. We may not know what has caused it, but it truly is a blessing that you can take that away for her."

"Yeah, I've thought about that a lot."

"Well, I'll let you get some rest. If she needs anything in the night, just bring her to my room. I'll leave my door open for you."

"Thanks again for doing this Emily."

"You know I'm happy to."

"I know, but I still want you to know that I appreciate it more than I can express."

"Well, you're welcome, Jacob. Good night."

"Night Em."

I could hear the sounds of Sam and Emily cleaning up the kitchen and talking quietly through the closed door. If I tried, I could probably hear what they were saying, but I tuned them out instead and just focused on Bella.

Pushing the hair back from her face, I caressed her cheek and neck with my fingertips. She turned her head toward my hand as I touched her then when I took my hand away, she turned back toward my body. Just like Emily, it still left me in awe that she was that aware of me in her sleep.

As I watched her, Bella's lips started to move. It looked as though she were speaking, but I couldn't hear anything. I moved to lean in closer when her voice became audible. It was just unintelligible mumbling, but I smiled as I realized she was talking in her sleep. Within all the gibberish, I was able to make out my name and the words "love" and "warm". After a few minutes, the mumbling stopped, and the only sound was of her deep breathing. I continued to gaze at her beautiful face, but it didn't take long before I drifted off to sleep as well.

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