Back to the Start
Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to SM.
Jacob and Carlisle
It was just beginning to drizzle when Carlisle turned onto the street outside the Swan house. The journey had been made in complete silence. Any attempt by Carlisle to initiate polite conversation fell by the way side as Bella kept her gaze locked on the road ahead.
As Bella unclipped her seatbelt, ready to vacate the black Mercedes, Carlisle spoke again. "I hope you think of us kindly, Bella." He said in his appealing voice, in the same, soothing tone he used on his sick patients. "We really did mean no harm…and neither did Edward." He added hesitantly. "He really was trying to protect you. He just went about it in the wrong way."
Bella looked at the him incredulously. She couldn't believe he was still trying to defend his son's actions. However, she didn't want to get into an argument, she just wanted to get away from him and forget the whole sorry episode had ever happened. "Just keep him away from me." She said, finally exiting the car.
It was only then she spotted Jacob leaning away from the rain under the shallow front porch of her house. Bella's body lost its stiff posture as soon as her eyes landed on him. Suddenly her defenses were just paper, paper that was being soaked by the rapidly falling briny drops. He ran to meet her, and before she could draw in the air her body needed, she melted into his form. She could feel his firm torso and the heart that beat within. Jacob's hands folded around her back, drawing her in closer. Bella could feel his body shake, a sign of his own heightened emotions at their reunion. She burst into tears of relief and clung to him harder.
Jacob pulled away first, wiping away her tears with a calloused finger, even this roughness bringing her more relief than her heart could hold. He was eating her with his eyes, running his hand through her hair, as if he couldn't quite let himself believe she was not part of an almost forgotten dream.
She stank, she smelled awful. Like one of them. But Jacob didn't care. She was home. Safe. That was all that mattered….
And then he saw the black Mercedes S55 AMG parked at the end of the street, its tinted windows hiding the occupant within. He tensed, his eyes darkening, his face turning hard and rigid.
Bella noticed the change in him immediately. "Jake, what is it? What's wrong?"
"Go inside the house, Bella. There is something I must do." Jacob urged her. His eyes never left the black Mercedes as he gently pushed Bella toward the driveway.
Bella glanced over her shoulder, alerted by his harsh tone. "What is he still doing here?" She questioned in frustration. She stayed clinging to Jacob, unwilling to let him go and face Carlisle Cullen alone. "He just dropped me home. Its not worth getting into a fight. Please, Jake, not here. Not outside my house."
Jacob's eyes flashed down to hers. "I'm not going to fight him, Bella."
"Then what are you going to do?" Bella asked anxiously.
"I just need to remind the head bloodsucker of a few key points in the treaty they agreed to. The treaty that is the only thing stopping me from ripping his throat out right this minute."
"Jake!" Bella said in alarm. "You need to stay calm."
She had never heard him talk like this before. Jacob was standing on the balls of his bare feet, his trembling hands now clenched into fists. He looked bigger than the last time she had set eyes on him. Somehow, impossibly, he was still growing. He would tower over Carlisle, if they stood next to each other.
"I am as calm as I'm going to be." Jacob raised his hand and touched Bella's face with gentle fingers. "Don't worry about me. I can handle it. If you're not going to go inside, then wait for me here."
"Jake, what key points are you talking about?" Bella recalled something in the old stories Jacob had told her about the treaty that the Cullens had made with his ancestors, but the details had been vague.
Jacob's black brows drew down into a frown. In the distance he could see Carlisle Cullen climbing gracefully out of the Mercedes, almost as if he knew that Jacob would want to speak to him.
"The treaty is quite specific. If any of them bite a human, the truce is over. Bite, not kill." He emphasized.
Bella shuddered at the thought. It all came crashing down then, just what danger she had been in. If one of the Cullens had lost control, or even Edward himself, while she was yelling at them…. she quickly put a stop to those morbid thoughts. She was lucky to escape unscathed.
"Just be careful." She said aloud to Jacob, squeezing his hand and then letting go.
"I will." Jacob promised, his expression softening as he smiled down at her. He touched her cheek again one last time with his warm fingers, then reluctantly left her standing at the end of the driveway, gazing after his departing figure with worried eyes.
Jacob stopped a few feet from Carlisle, his face taking on a cynical expression as the coven leader greeted him with a polite smile, acting as if they were old friends rather than mortal enemies. He was suave, Jacob had to give him that, with his blonde good looks and non-threatening manner. He was pale though, the dark circles under his eyes making him tired looking. His peaceful and loving nature, his obvious compassion, had been pivotal in persuading Jacob's ancestors, including his own great grandfather, to make the treaty with them. Ephram may have been easily swayed, but his great grandson was not.
"I am here to remind you of a few key points in the treaty." Jacob kept his eyes trained on Carlisle's face, watching his reaction carefully.
"I assure you we haven't forgotten." Carlisle said smoothly. "We want no quarrel with you, Jacob. I hope we can move forward as friends."
Jacob's hands shook slightly, the only outward sign of what he thought of that ridiculous notion. "Unlikely." He said coolly.
"Is that all?" Carlisle looked at him enquiringly.
"No." Jacob locked eyes with the coven leader, his tone deadly serious. "Keep your parasite of a son away from Bella, otherwise the treaty becomes null and void. Do I make myself clear?"
Carlisle's smooth veneer wavered. "My son meant no harm. He was trying to protect Bella."
"He really has you fooled, doesn't he?" Jacob narrowed his eyes, looking at Carlisle suspiciously. "Or does he? Maybe its not his stupidity that's driving his obsession, maybe it's something else. Maybe it's you."
Carlisle's polite smile was back in place, which made his next words sound even more threatening. "You are a lone wolf, Jacob Black. Never forget that."
"Not for long." Jacob countered, smiling right back. "I think we understand each other."
Carlisle stared at Jacob for a long moment, eyes assessing. "You may have the look of Ephraim Black about you, but you are a totally different character. Good day to you, Jacob." He said, nodding curtly. Then he climbed in his car and drove away.
When Bella woke up on Monday morning, she lay in bed for a few seconds, thinking over all that had happened. After Carlisle had left, she had gone back to La Push with Jacob. They'd spent the day on the beach, while Charlie hung out with Billy in the house.
Once or twice, Jacob was forced to leave Bella, as he ran a few quick patrols, leaving her to wander along the beach alone. When he dropped in to check on her, he was full of apologies, telling her that he hoped his schedule wasn't always going to be this crazy, but until he was sure the other vampires had left town, he was on red alert.
When they walked along the beach now, he always held her hand.
On Tuesday afternoon Bella started her first shift at Newtons. Mike had put in a good word on her behalf with his mother when he heard that Bella was looking for part time work to build up her college fund. It meant she didn't even have to interview, for which she was grateful. There weren't many opportunities for work in a town as small as Forks, so she counted herself lucky.
Jacob followed her on an old dirt bike, which he had borrowed from his friend, Embry- and Mike noticed.
"Are you dating that kid from La Push? The sophomore?" He asked, poorly disguising the resentment in his tone.
Bella shrugged. "Not in the technical sense of the word. I do spend most of my time with Jacob, though. He's my best friend."
Mike looked at her shrewdly. "Really?" He said sarcastically. "I think it's a bit more than that. On his end anyway."
"And I think its none of your business, either way." Bella replied sharply.
After work, Bella headed straight for La Push. Billy had invited her and Charlie over for dinner so the men could watch the game. When she arrived, the house was crowded. Harry Clearwater was there, too, with his family – his wife, Sue, whom Bella remembered vaguely from her childhood summers in Forks, and his two children.
"Oh, Bella, over here." Harry waved her over as soon as she walked through the front door. "I've been meaning to introduce you to my daughter."
Bella walked over to him wearing a warm smile. "Hello, Harry."
"This is Leah." Harry introduced his daughter proudly. "And Leah, this is Bella."
"Hi." Leah greeted her distractedly.
"It's nice to finally meet you." Bella held out her hand.
Leah took it and gave it a quick shake. "Likewise."
Leah was a senior like Bella, but a year older. She was beautiful in an exotic way-perfect copper skin, glistening black hair, eyelashes to die for-and preoccupied. She kept checking her cell phone every few minutes.
"He'll call." Harry assured his daughter.
"He's late." Leah retorted irritably, referring to her boyfriend Sam Uley.
"Hey, dad, aren't you going to introduce me?" Fourteen-year-old Seth Clearwater bounced into view, his dark eyes sparkling. "Hi, I'm Seth."
"Hi, Seth." Bella laughed. His easy confidence reminded her so much of Jacob. "I'm Bella."
"I know." Seth grinned.
Harry laughed at his son's enthusiasm, ruffling his hair playfully, causing him to scowl in embarrassment.
There were too many for the kitchen table, so Charlie and Harry brought chairs out to the yard, and they all ate spaghetti off plates on their laps in the dim light from Billy's open door. The men talked about the game, and Harry and Charlie made fishing plans. Sue teased her husband about his cholesterol and tried, unsuccessfully, to shame him into eating something green and leafy. Jacob talked mostly to Bella and Seth, who interrupted eagerly whenever Jacob was in danger of forgetting him. It was clear the youngster idolized him; a fact of which Bella thoroughly approved.
It was loud and sometimes confusing as everyone talked over everyone else, and laughter from one joke interrupted the telling of another.
And Bella never wanted to leave.
This was Washington, though, and the inevitable rain eventually broke up the party, Billy's living room was much too small to provide an option for continuing the get together.
"Well, it was nice to meet you, Bella." Leah said casually as they said their goodbyes. "Call me and we'll hang out sometime."
"I'd like that." Bella agreed with a smile. She liked Leah a lot, as well as her brother Seth, though both siblings were like night and day personality wise. "Is Sam picking you up?"
Leah sighed irritably. "No. He's running a fever, apparently. Says he can fry an egg on his forehead he feels so hot. I'm heading on over there now to play nursemaid."
Bella laughed quietly. She couldn't imagine a person more unsuited for the role. Leah was too brazen and impatient to play the sympathy card for long. "Have fun." She joked.
"Ha ha! Very funny, Swan." Leah drawled sarcastically as she got ready to leave. "I better say my goodbyes to the olds."
Bella watched her drift over to Harry and Sue, her curiosity rising when she saw the usually humorous Harry's expression change to one of alarm when his daughter told them about Sam. He quickly excused himself and rushed off, puffing over to Billy's side, and whispering urgently in his ear. Bella saw the color drain from Billy's face.
Jacob came up beside her. He moved so silently now that he made her jump. "You okay, Bells?" He asked.
"I am." Bella remarked. "But they're not." She pointed over to Harry and Billy.
"What's going on?" Jacob frowned.
"I'm not sure. Leah told me Sam's sick and she's going over there to nurse him. She said the same to her parents, and Harry suddenly went all weird, rushed over to your dad and whispered something to him." Bella confided.
"What do you mean Sam's sick?" Jacob demanded; his tone abrupt.
"Leah said he was running a fever – "
"Oh, hell." Jacob muttered under his breath. "Look, Bella, honey. I'm going to have to go. I'll explain later."
With no further explanation he bolted out of the house, nearly taking the door off its hinges as he did so.
A/N-thanks for reading!