Four days in a truck cab was a new sort of torture for Bella. The longer the road stretched before them, the more she felt squeezed together, pushed and confined, the restless uneasiness building until she thought she would break. Leah was worse. Bella knew she would've run herself ragged if they'd let her, but they couldn't. Not with vampires so close.

"Is it them?" Leah demanded the second night.

"I don't know," Bella said truthfully. She couldn't smell them like Leah could. "It might not be."

She couldn't decide which would be worse.

"If it comes to a fight, you run," Leah growled on the third night. She'd taken a shift driving so Sue could sleep. It was nearly dawn, and Leah was so tense, Bella could almost smell it. "You run, and don't look back."

"Have you ever seen a pregnant lady run, Lee?"

Leah shot her a dark glance, and then a smirk brightened her face as she snorted. Bella chuckled, pleased as the tension in the cab drained away with their laughter.

"It's so weird," Leah said, when their laughter died down. "You being pregnant."

"Yeah," Bella brushed her belly. "It's weird for me too." She glanced over at her. "Who told you?"

"Charlie."

"My dad told you I was pregnant?" Bella yelped, and then slapped her hand over her mouth, glancing back at a sleeping Sue. "What the hell, Lee?"

"He overheard Sue talking to you one night," Leah shrugged, almost sheepishly. It reminded Bella of Jacob. Since she'd left Florida, everything reminded her of him. "Sue didn't tell him anything." Leah continued. "He just knew. So naturally he drove straight to Billy's to beat the shit out of Jacob."

Bella groaned, embarrassed and yet oddly pleased that Charlie had guessed exactly who was responsible for her current dilemma. "So Billy knows?"

Leah nodded. "And Paul. He and I sort of overheard Charlie shouting at Billy."

"Oh my God," Bella wailed, shrinking down. "Paul?"

Leah grinned, "He had a few choice words for you and lover boy."

Bella didn't know which embarrassed her more. The fact that Charlie had gone patriarchal and chewed Billy out since Jacob wasn't available or the fact that Paul Lahote knew Jacob had knocked her up. "Lee," Bella sat up suddenly, her face red. If Paul knew, then the entire pack knew too. God, the entire rez probably knew by now. "Is there anyone in La Push who doesn't know I'm pregnant?"

"Jacob."

It cut deeper than Bella expected. She leaned away from Leah, her eyes drawn to the blurred trees and rocks flashing past them as the truck roared westward.

Jake.

"What did Sam say about it?"

"Sam?" Leah grumbled. "Why do you care?"

"What did he say?" Bella repeated, still staring out the window. She needed to know. "He's still Alpha, Leah."

"Not mine," Leah snapped. "And he's definitely not yours."

"Exactly," Bella turned. "Will there be trouble?"

Leah's mouth dropped open for a split second before she snapped it shut. "If he makes any trouble for you, I'll rip his throat out," she growled. "But he won't."

"Lee,"

"He didn't say anything," Leah interrupted. "I think," she sighed. "He looked relieved. Like someone picked a huge weight off his shoulders." She shrugged and jerked the truck towards an exit ramp. They bumped to a rough stop, and Leah scrambled out of the driver's seat, shedding her clothes so fast, Bella barely heard her low 'You drive,' before she was gone in a flash of silver fur.

She didn't see Leah again until they crossed the border into Washington state. A blur of silver streaked out of the trees. Leah shook herself and let out a happy yipping bark that earned her a dark look from Sue as the wolf tore down the road, in plain sight.

"Home," Sue murmured. "The air makes them act like puppies."

Bella rolled down the windows and sucked in the fresh smells of pine and clay and home. Almost home. Sue was right; there was something about the feeling of the Washington air on her skin that felt right. By afternoon, the gloom had deepened, and the clouds gathered on the horizon, promising rain. About an hour outside of Forks, Bella caught the mournful howls of wolves. She tensed, listening, trying to separate out the distinctive voices. But she could only recognize Leah's sharper soprano howl. There was an edge to their howling, like a warning.

"Will they follow us?" Sue asked.

Bella nodded. The vampires had continued to follow them, always about a mile behind, never closer, but never wavering. Leah had been on constant alert, and her mother and Bella could see she was worn to the bone. Bella frowned when the howling changed, and then suddenly stopped. Her eyes flashed to the woods that surrounded them. She couldn't see the pack, but she knew they knew she was here, and what had followed her back home. She wondered if they were tired of her yet. She was tired of her, and all the trouble she caused.

"Bella," Sue reached across the seat and laid a hand on her shoulder. The truck had stopped.

Bella recognized her father's police cruiser before she caught sight of the old house. Her heart tumbled against her ribs as she took a deep choking breath. The front door swung open, and—

"Charlie." She was out of the truck and hurrying across the yard, before the screen door closed. Charlie caught her, and hauled her into his arms. For a long bittersweet moment, she was his little girl again, and he was her dad, smelling like beer, cheap coffee, and that odd sour edge that clung to him after he'd spent all night at the station. "Charlie," she tried to step back, to look at him, but he didn't let go. So she relaxed against him for another long minute, and let him love her.

"Isabella Marie Swan," Charlie's voice was rough and thick. He kissed the top of her head and stepped back. "You're grounded."

Bella nodded, "I love you too, Dad."

He scrubbed his hands over his face, and then let himself look her over, blushing at her very round pregnant belly. "I'm going to kill him," he grumbled under his breath. "I swear, the second he shows that goofy face of his in Forks again, his ass is mine."

"Charlie," Bella took his hand and squeezed. "I'm not staying in Forks." He frowned and pulled his hand free, crossing his arms. Then he glanced over to where his wife was still sitting in the truck, waiting for Bella to say goodbye. Charlie's shoulders slumped. He looked tired, and older, his hair more gray than she remembered.

"Where will you go?"

"La Push."

"He's not back, Bells," Charlie said in a tone much too soft for a man hell bent on demolishing the boy who'd knocked up his daughter. "No one's seen him since,"

"Three days before the wedding." Bella finished for him.

"Geez, Bells, only three days before?" His face was scarlet. She dropped her eyes and shrugged, her own cheeks warming. "Why didn't you just call the whole thing off and make it easier on the poor bastard?"

"Easier on who, Charlie? Edward, who we both know you hated from day one?" She almost laughed as she watched her father's squirm. "Or Jake?"

"Are you camping down at Billy's?" She shook her head, letting him change the subject. They both knew he'd already forgiven Jacob, and was secretly glad it was him and not Edward. Bella shivered at the thought. "But you'll stop in and say hello." It wasn't a question. "Billy's worried about you too."

"Is he?"

Charlie grunted, "You're practically his daughter now."

"I guess," she said slowly. It was a hopeful thought, a warm thought. That kind of hope was dangerous. It wasn't Billy's decision in the end. It wasn't hers either. But it was nice to think that maybe Billy had forgiven her. "Is he angry at me?"

"He was. But love and anger are two sides of the same coin, you know."

"You've been hanging around Sue too much," Bella smiled softly. "Can you bear to share me with Billy?"

"So long as I'm still your favorite," her father gave her another quick hug. "Call me when you're settled. And tell my wife I miss her too." He waved at Sue, and then kissed Bella's hair. "I'll make sure the doc on the rez knows you're coming in to see him in the next day or two."

Bella nodded, "I'll call him." It was a white lie, and they both knew it. But Charlie needed it and she understood. "Call mom for me? Tell her I'm here?"

"Sure."

She gave him another hug and turned to go.

"Bella," Charlie called after her. She paused and glanced back at him. "Welcome home, kiddo."

Forks wasn't quite home anymore. She nodded. It was almost home. Almost.