Bella McLeod

Healer

This is my first Twilight fic, and it is a femlash, featuring Bella and Rosalie as a couple. So, if you don't like, please head somewhere else.

As an introduction, you may want to read "Snape McLeod" since the Bella that trained Tobias there is the same one here, only a decade later. It's not a requirement for you to read it, especially since I will try and untangle things as the story progresses. I altered the timeline to fit my needs, so… she met Snape in 1997, they parted ways in 2000 and it is now 2011, when she moves to Forks with Charlie.

Bare in mind that I do not own Twilight, nor its characters, so if you recognize any of them, THEY'RE NOT MINE. I only own the idea of making Bella Swan part of Clan McLeod.

I also not own the Highlander series, characters and concepts.

Remember to leave your reviews…

Bella McLeod

Chapter 17

Healer

I went back home, still processing all that Bella had revealed that night and basking in the fact that my mate had accepted me regardless of the fact that I'm not human.

I was greeted by Edward by my car as soon as I parked. He had a worried look on his face.

"Mind coming with me for a brief hunt?" He asked

"Sure. Let's go" I said smiling to him, not really bothered about his attitude right now.

We ran a great distance before he finally stopped running, and as always, it was annoyingly quite the task trying to keep up with him.

"I'm glad that things seem to be working out with you and your mate" he said sincerely, but I knew he was about to ruin his heartfelt comment

"Yes, I am. And I'm sorry. But now more than ever I think that she is a threat to our family and you cannot ask me not to tell them. You know they deserve to know"

"Edward, the problem here is that it is not my secret to tell. I really would appreciate if you kept it to yourself. I'll work on talking her into telling at least Carslile" I could see that Edward was debating with himself about this matter. Finally he nodded and with that I knew he would not tell anyone, including Jasper, about what Bella told me. "Thank you" I told him relieved

It was very hard all through the night, arguing with my family about what I was going to do regarding my relationship with Bella. I told them that we had talked about us, and that she knew what we were, without me telling her, statement which was confirmed by both Edward and Jasper.

"It´s actually insulting you'd think I would actually flat out tell her, mate or no" I told them annoyed by their lack of trust.

In the end I just told them that she was fine, and that she proved to be a really smart, funny and strong woman, which I already knew.

"How's her wound?" asked me Carslile "Is it healing alright?"

"She actually is fine. I was quite surprised. She is not even weak" I said smiling

Alice then interrupted my musings. "Well, you should prepare a picnic basket for her for your date on Saturday" she said "The weather will be great for an outing"

"Great as in our benefit? Or great as in sunny?" I asked curious about the smirk on her face.

"She'll enjoy it" she said "Come on, we have to pick up your clothing for the rest of the week." She said and headed to my wardrobe.

I followed her slightly annoyed. "I can dress myself and pick up my clothes on my own, thank you very much"

"Come on Rose, you do want to impress her right?"

"I don't need to" I snarled

"Oh, but you need to keep up. You'll have to at least give her a ride to school now"

"What? Why?"

"Duh! Because it's what people in a relationship do" She said putting her hands on her hips. "And don't even think of telling me that she could give you a ride too!" I looked at her still annoyed waiting for an explanation "First of all, she does not know yet where we live. Secondly, just picture both you and Bella getting to school on your BMW" I purred smiling at that. "Now picture both of you arriving to school on Bella's truck" I snorted

"Okay, I get it. But please don't say anything to her about the truck. I actually like it and I know she loves it. It has great potential once I finish adjustments and make it safer"

I arrived next morning to Bella's house just as Charlie was leaving. He glanced curiously at me before waving and heading out, and I couldn't help but wonder what had Bella told him last night.

Bella's heartbeat stuttered a few minutes later when she realized I was there. I smiled at her sight, and was pleased to see that she was wearing my jacket and her rain coat was secured on her hand.

"Do you want to ride with me today?" I asked opening the passenger door for her, amused by her expression.

"Yes, thank you," She said, trying to keep her voice calm.

"I see you're wearing the jacket. I'm glad, I don't want you to get sick or something." I told her once we were both inside.

"I'm not quite that delicate," She said.

"You better not be. After all you did survive being pierced from side to side with a sword." I said, still concerned about that. "Still, I rather not see you hurting, even if you're tougher than I originally thought" We drove through the fog-shrouded streets. Last night all the walls were down… almost all at least. I didn't know if we were still being as open today.

I glanced briefly at her, remembering that she did not like when my eyes were off the road while driving, which reminded me about what she said and once again of her friend Clara.

"What, no questions today?" she asked me with a smirk on her face

"I don't want to bother you with them" I said.

"I know there's more you want to know and it is troubling you. You have no base to go through, I at least have the myths and all those urban legends of your kind to go through as a baseline, you don´t. It troubles me the fact that you don't ask." She said placing her left hand on my right one.

"No, that's the problem. I do want to know, but only because I want to know everything about you, not because it actually matters in making a difference. It matters because you matter, but nothing you tell me will change how I feel for you." I said softly and she frowned "What?" I asked

"Well, it's just that it's the same with me. I do want to know you better but I don't think we will accomplish that in just our second day of honesty. A relationship needs time to strengthen."

I smirked at that "Good thing time is what we've got the most. Right?"

"Right" she said smiling now. "By the way, where's the rest of your family?" she asked.

"They took Edward's car, as we usually do." I shrugged as I parked next to the Volvo

I met her at the front of the car, staying very close to her side as we walked onto campus. I wanted to close that little distance, to reach out and hold hands, but I was refraining myself, I didn't know exactly where we stood regarding PDAs at school or about how open we would be with our relationship at all. Sure, she said last night that she thought of me as her girlfriend, but none of us had spoken about where we stood when others came.

"Why do you have cars like that?" she asked me pointing to my convertible. "Shouldn't you be looking for privacy? There are very few of us that spend in onstentious things, precisely because of privacy and paper trails." She added musing about it

"An indulgence," I admitted with an impish smile. "We all like to drive fast."

"Figures," she muttered under her breath.

Under the shelter of the cafeteria roof's overhang, Jessica was waiting, her eyes about to bug out of their sockets. "Hey, Jessica," greeted Bella when we were a few feet away.

"Good morning, Jessica," I said politely.

"Er… hi." She shifted her curious eyes to me, most likely trying to gather her jumbled thoughts. "I guess I'll see you in Trig." She said giving Bella a meaningful look, and I suppressed a chuckle.

"Yeah, I'll see you then." She walked away, pausing twice to peek back over her shoulder at us.

"What are you going to tell her?"

"Hey, I thought Edward was the mind reader!" she hissed.

"He is," I said, startled. Then understanding dawned on me. She was as unsure as I was regarding what we would tell people. "However, I don't need to be a mind reader to know she'll be waiting to ambush you in class." I told her playfully. She groaned "So what are you going to tell her?"

"A little help?" she pleaded.

I shook my head, grinning wickedly. "I'll be listening to hear that myself." I turned and walked away. "I'll see you at lunch," I called over my shoulder. I guessed that gave her the chance to decide for sure if she really wanted to be with me.

The fog had almost dissolved by the end of second period, but the day was still dark with low, oppressing clouds. I smiled up at the sky and finally decided to skip my next class in order to be able to be near Bella's trig class to hear what she had to say.

"Tell me everything!" commanded Jessica as soon as Bella was there.

"What do you want to know?"

"What happened last night?"

"She bought me dinner, and then she drove me home." I was a little disappointed to hear that. Even when it was not a lie, she made it sound as if it was nothing.

"Was it a date, did you tell her to meet you there?" Asked Jessica

"No, I was very surprised to see her there." Which was truth

"But she picked you up for school today?" probed Jessica.

"Yes, that was a surprise, too." Explained Bella.

"So are you going out again?"

"She offered to drive me to Seattle Saturday because she thinks the truck isn't up to it, does that count?"

"Yes."

"Well, then, yes."

"Wait!" Interrupted Jessica. "Did you finally kissed? You almost did on Sunday right?"

"Yes," mumbled Bella shyly after a few long seconds.

"Yes you kissed her?"

"No." she paused "She kissed me" and I could hear the smirk on her voice.

"So, you are dating now. Right?"

"I claimed her to be my girlfriend and she did not mind. She was surprised but pleased. So yeah, I believe we are dating."

"Please, Bella," begged Jessica "Give me some details."

"Well… okay, I've got one. You should have seen the hostess and later on the waiter flirting with Rose, it was over the top. But she didn't pay any attention to them at all."

"Was this before or after your claim?"

"Before"

"That's a good sign," said Jessica "Was the hostess pretty?" I searched for a memory of the hostess and I had to say that she was indeed pretty, but nothing compared to my Bella.

"Very" answered Bella

"Even better. This means Rosalie does like you."

"I'd like to think so, though I'm aiming for more than like" said Bella sighing

"She's so… intimidating. I wouldn't know what to say to her if I were in your shoes." Said Jessica. "and she is unbelievably gorgeous. If I was into girls like you, I would be drooling over her too" she admitted

"There's a lot more to her than just her looks." Said Bella with confidence

"Really? Like what?" curiously asked Jessica.

"I can't explain it right… but she's even more unbelievable behind the face." Started Bella. "You all know the Ice Queen. But she is kind, and funny and sensible and caring. She is an amazing being"

"You don't just like her. You love her, don't you?"

"Yes," said Bella without hesitation "I do, so much that I can barely contain my feelings whenever she is around," she whispered back.

Bella then sighed and decided to change the focus from her to Jessica and Mike. I was beyond myself knowing what I had heard from Bella, and more so because she knew I would be listening and she did not lie at all, not once during Jessica's inquisition. So I headed for my next class with a huge grin on my face.

When the bell rang for lunch I was already outside Bella's classroom and I was able to hear Jessica questioning Bella about lunch arrangements.

"You're not sitting with us today, are you?" she guessed.

"I don't think so." Answered Bella stopping by my side at the door.

Jessica took one look, rolled her eyes, and departed. "See you later, Bella." Her voice was thick with implications.

"Hello." I greeted Bella, still with the stupid grin on my face.

"Hi." She simply said, smiling up to me.

Walking with Bella through the crowded lunchtime rush was an interesting experience, everyone stared as always, but for once, I didn't mind, I was actually glad about it, I wanted everyone to know that Bella was taken and so was I, so I hastily took her hand in mine and I interlaced our fingers together, leading her to the Cafeteria, where I had to let go in order to fill a tray with food.

"What are you doing?" she objected. "You're not getting all that for me?" I shook my head, stepping forward to buy the food.

"Half is for me, of course." she raised one eyebrow.

I smiled to her and led the way to the same place we'd sat that one time before. From the other end of the long table, a group of seniors gazed at us in amazement as we sat across from each other. "Take whatever you want," I said pushing the tray toward Bella.

"I'm curious," she said as she picked up an apple, turning it around in her hands, "what would you do if someone dared you to eat food?"

"You're always curious." I grimaced, shaking my head as I lifted the slice of pizza off the tray, and deliberately bit off a mouthful, chewed quickly, and then swallowed. "If someone dared you to eat dirt, you could, couldn't you?" I asked her.

"Actually, I did once… on a dare," she admitted. "It wasn't so bad. It was actually better than the whiskas for cats" she added pulling a face

I laughed. "I suppose I'm not surprised." I looked over Bella's shoulder hearing Jessica filling in Angela on what she had learned today. "Jessica's catching Angela up and both are analyzing everything I do, they'll break it down for you later." I pushed the rest of the pizza toward her. Bella put down the apple and took a bite of the pizza, looking away. "So the hostess was pretty, was she?" I asked casually.

"You really didn't notice?" she asked amused

"No. I wasn't paying attention. I had a lot on my mind." I whispered "Something you said to Jessica… well, it bothers me."

"I'm not surprised. You know what they say about eavesdroppers," she said in a defeated tone.

"I warned you I would be listening."

"You did," she agreed, but her voice was still rough. "Though in part I was hoping you wouldn't"

"Why didn't you say so then?" I asked confused. "I would have refrained from eavesdropping"

"Because part of me also wanted you to listen" she finally said. "I bet I know what bothered you"

"I bet you'd lose"

"So it does not bother you what I last said to Jessica, when she asked about what I feel?" she asked, hope on her voice

"Well, yes it is." And a veil of sadness covered her eyes "You aren't precisely right, though." I said reaching for her hand "It's not what you said, is that you did not tell me that. You told that to Jessica, and officially I shouldn't know that. Therefore, you have not told me yet how you feel" She glanced up and looked me in the eye

"That's quite a distinction." She stated with a mild smile on her face

"If it's any consolation" I continued "I feel exactly the same"

"You're doing it again," she muttered.

"What?" I asked truly confused

"Dazzling me," she admitted

"Oh." I frowned. "Sorry"

"It's not your fault," she sighed. "I don't think you can help it." She said tracing soft pattern on the palm of my hand.

"I have another question for you." I asked, remembering about what Alice told me.

"Shoot."

"I know that you going to Seattle this Saturday, was just an excuse to get out of saying no to all your admirers, myself included" she made a weird face at that.

"You know, I haven't forgiven you for the Tyler thing yet," she grunted. "It's your fault that he's deluded himself into thinking I'm going to prom with him."

"Oh, he would have found a chance to ask you without Edward's help at traffic jam, he was trying to be amusing, I on the other hand, thoroughly enjoyed watching your face when he popped the question" I chuckled, "After all, I asked you, and you still turned me down"

"Oh, so that was only for revenge?"

"Obviously." I smirked "But you never told me, are you resolved on going to Seattle, or do you mind if we do something different?"

"I'm open to alternatives," she allowed. "But I do have a favor to ask."

"What?"

"Can I drive?"

I frowned. "Why?"

"Well, mostly because your driving frightens me."

"Of all the things about me that could frighten you, you worry about my driving."

"Well, I am worried about that. I told you, I've been in more than one car accident, and it's never nice. You driving as fast as you do, is something that will take time to get used to"

I rolled my eyes. "And still you came to school with me today"

"How could I say no to an offer to spend time with you?"

I shook my head in disbelief. "Will you tell your Watcher you're spending the day with me?"

"With Charlie, sometimes less is always more." She said lowering her voice "I kinda hate how observant he is. Plus he already knows too much about my life. Probably even more than Duncan himself. Now that I think about it, I have no idea how much information has been shared between my Watcher and his about us and our relationship. Might be worthy to inquire about it" she shook her head "Where are we going, anyway?"

"Your train of thought is derailed, you know that?" I told her playfully "The weather will be nice, so I'll be staying out of the public eye… and you can stay with me, if you'd like to."

"And you'll show me what you meant, about the sun?" she asked clearly excited by the idea of unraveling another of the unknowns.

"Yes." I said "That is if you don't mind spending quality time alone with me"

"As it happens, I don't mind being alone with you."

I smiled "You should tell Charlie, though. Or at least Duncan."

"Why in the world would I do that?" she asked fiercely

"To give me some small incentive to bring you back."

She smirked and spoke aloud "I think I'll take my chances."

Revised A/N (May 2022): So how is everything coming along now? We will eventually deal with Raoul again and some other unexpected guests…

Oh, I forgot to mention I have blog under a different pseud, where I randomly post "rants" about stuff… if you care to check it out and let me know what you think, it'd be greatly appreciated… here:

tithaniacommx . wordpress . com

you know, just delete the spaces in between.

Original A/N: Hey guys, finally an update, isn't it great? I know it's short, but better this than nothing right?

I might update again this week, on Friday, but no solid promises there, since it's an official Holiday here, I might not get up after all..

Thank you all for adding this fic your alerts and favorites, and thank you so much for adding ME to your alerts and favorites. I am honored.

Remember to leave your reviews… they nourish my imagination.

And if you have a twitter account and are interested, you can follow me at OriginalHealer