Moonlight in Forks

The Wolf Charm

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to SM.

It was late when Jacob drove Bella home to Forks. They had spent the evening at his house, eating popcorn and watching old movies. Billy was over at Sue's again, so they had the place to themselves, for which they were both grateful. Bella didn't feel up to socializing, and Jacob was just glad to be alone with her, without his father's watchful eyes on them.

Jacob kept one arm tightly wrapped around Bella the whole time on the journey back-for once not complaining at the old truck's internal speed limit-instead spending time soothing Bella's frazzled nerves.

Bella was grateful for his calming presence. Alone she would have fallen apart. With him by her side she was just about able to hold it together. Occasionally she would emit a quiet sob when an image of Bree entered her mind, but mostly she managed to maintain her composure, although her red eyes gave away that she had been crying. The main worry was having to come up with more excuses to Charlie. Her father was no fool. He would know straight away that something was up, especially after his earlier questions. She had looked bad when she left the house just after dinner. She looked way worse now.

Jacob parked the truck and switched off the loud engine. As the last rattle died, the silence became deafening. "Are you sure you can handle this?" He asked worriedly. "I can come in with you and distract Charlie for a bit."

Bella shook her head, wiping at another stray tear that had managed to escape from the corner of her eye. "No, if he sees you, then you won't be able to sneak into my room. Wait for me upstairs."

"Okay." Jacob wasn't happy at the prospect of entering the house surreptitiously.

He wished they could be open and honest with Charlie. All this going behind his back was aggravating. But they knew the police chief wouldn't be comfortable with Jacob spending the night in Bella's room, even if they were only just sleeping. Charlie was very old fashioned that way. Billy was more easygoing about stuff like that. If they were careful, he left Jacob to his own devices, trusting him to make the right decisions.

Jacob hugged Bella closer for a few more minutes, hoping to infuse some of his strength for the task ahead. Then he gave her a quick kiss and climbed out of the truck.

Bella watched him disappear around the side of the house. Without him there to hold her together, the tears came back. She tried to stem the tide, but nothing worked. She was just too emotionally drained to even begin to control them. Giving it up as a lost cause, she took a deep breath, jumped out of the truck and headed for the front porch.

Once inside, she headed straight for the stairs.

"Bella?" Charlie called after her from his usual spot in his recliner as she walked hastily by.

With one hand on the banister, Bella turned to look at him without speaking. Charlie's eyes bugged wide when he saw the tears. He lurched to his feet and came over to her.

"What is it, Bells? What's wrong?"

Bella shook her head furiously, trying to find her voice, to come up with a viable excuse for all the tears.

"Is it Jacob?" Charlie asked cautiously. "Did something happen between the two of you?"

"No." Bella managed to gasp. Her throat felt raw from all the crying. "He's been great. More than great, actually."

"Then what is it? Why are you so upset?" Charlie grabbed her shoulders, his eyes wide and anxious. He hadn't seen her this distraught since that Cullen boy had left her. As soon as that thought entered his head, he frowned. "Does Edward have something to do with this? He hasn't been hassling you has he since the breakup?"

Bella assumed she must look even worse than she imagined. But luckily, Charlie had inadvertently given her an out. Why shouldn't she blame Edward for her current state? He was partially responsible after all.

"Yes, it's Edward."

"What did he do?" Charlie growled.

"Nothing bad, Dad. I just had to talk to Edward about…some things that were hard. I'm fine."

Charlie's anger died, and was replaced by disapproval. "I'm guessing you told him about you and Jake?"

"Yes."

"You don't owe him an explanation, Bells. Its none of his damn business what you do."

"Probably not, Dad, but I didn't see any alternative-he was still hoping I would change my mind-so I felt it best to tell him the truth."

Charlie shook his head slowly. "How did he handle it?"

Bella didn't answer.

Charlie studied her face for a minute, and then nodded. Her silence was answer enough. "Well maybe its for the best that he knows. Hopefully that will be the last time you have to deal with him."

"Hopefully." Bella sniffed.

Charlie sighed.

Bella could feel her finite hold on her control slipping. "I'll be in my room." She mumbled, shrugging out from under his hands.

"Okay." Charlie agreed. "But I'm here if you need me."

"Thanks, Dad." Bella dived in for a quick hug, before stumbling up the stairs to her room.

It had been the longest day of Bella's life. And it still wasn't over yet. But though the night dragged on relentlessly, it was not the worst night of her life. She took solace from the fact that she wasn't alone, she had Jacob with her to hold her in his arms, to rock her gently, to whisper soothing words of comfort in her ear as she cried.

And, boy, did she cry.

Bella's hindsight seemed remarkably clear that night. She could see every mistake she had made, every bit of harm she had done, the small things and the big things. Each pain she had caused Jacob and Charlie, each wound she had given them, all because of the Cullens and her refusal to see them for the selfish beings they were. Jacob had remained loyal throughout, letting her work through things, trusting her to come to the right decision. So had Charlie. She was so lucky to have them in her life. Without them keeping her grounded, her future would have been grim indeed.

She had done so much damage, she was lucky she had escaped from their influence. She had a chance at a life, a future, unlike poor Bree.

Jacob said little, he just held Bella on the bed and let her tears wet his bare shoulder. He knew what she was feeling, how she was blaming herself, how she needed to come to terms with everything in her mind. He wasn't going to comfort her with pointless excuses. She had hurt many people who cared about her. She had hurt him. Over and over. But he kept coming back because he loved her-just like Charlie, Renee and all the others who had fought so hard to keep her humanity.

He had forgiven her. She just needed to forgive herself.

It took longer than it should have for Bella to cry herself out. It happened, though, and she eventually was exhausted enough to sleep. She still felt the pain of her wrongdoings, but it was a bittersweet pain, one she could handle. It would always be with her as a reminder, she would always be aware of it, asleep or awake, but she was finally at peace with herself. She could move forward with an easier heart.

The morning brought with it, if not a brighter outlook, at least a measure of control, some acceptance. When she woke up, there was no disorientation. She opened her eyes to find her sunshine smiling down at her.

"Hey, Jake." Bella's voice was hoarse. She cleared her throat. "I'm sorry for all of the tears. I swear that my eyes will remain dry for the rest of today." She promised.

"Oh, really?" Jacob's smile turned into a teasing grin. "Are you sure about that, honey?"

"Very sure." Bella said with certainty. "Nothing on this earth will make me shed any tears today?"

"Oh, well, that's a shame." Jacob's dark eyes were dancing. "I rather thought you might shed a few tears over this. Close your eyes."

"I've just opened them!"

"Bella!" Jacob said sternly. "Close your eyes."

Bella sighed theatrically and did as he asked.

"Now hold out your hand."

Bella obligingly held out her hand. She heard the sound of metal links clinking quietly together as something cool was draped across her palm. Using the pads of her fingers, she explored the mystery object, feeling the smooth outlines of a silver bracelet.

"You can open your eyes now." Jacob said huskily.

Bella opened her eyes and looked down at her hand. She had been right; it was a bracelet.

"I didn't make the bracelet." Jacob admitted, sounding rather shy. "It used to belong to my mom."

"Oh, Jacob." Bella breathed. She examined the bracelet more closely. Fastened to one of the links was a tiny wooden carving. She held it between her fingers, awed by the amazing amount of detail involved in the little figurine-the miniature wolf was utterly realistic. It was carved out of some red brown wood that matched the color of Jacob's skin.

"Do you like it?" Jacob asked.

"Like it?" Bella declared. "I love it, you idiot!"

Then she broke her promise to Jacob just after making it-she did burst into tears-happy ones this time.

A/N-thanks for reading. Some fluff after all the angst.