Troubleshoot

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to SM.

Due Diligence

"I don't know what to do, Sam." Paul confided in a low voice. Usually so cocky and sure of himself, his lack of confidence sounded alarming to Sam. "It looks like there could be some truth to the crap Bella was spouting about Rachel."

"Are you doubting your imprint?" Sam asked levelly.

"No – I don't know." Paul admitted. "I mean it doesn't look good, does it? Why did she have that tacky engagement ring of Bella's? And she had Chief Swan's driver's permit, too. The cop told me that it was found inside a wallet that was in the same bag as the ring."

"Have you asked her?"

"No, not yet. She's still out of it. The docs have diagnosed concussion, but we're still waiting on more tests." Paul held the phone close to his ear, glancing uneasily over his shoulder now and then to make sure the cops weren't hiding around the corner, trying to listen in. "I'm worried the cops think I'm in on it or something. I need to get out of here, its not safe. But I can't leave Rachel. I need your advice, Sam."

"Let me think." Sam answered grimly.

"Hurry." Paul urged.

The ponderous silence on the other end of the phone seemed never ending. Paul felt an unexpected icy blast of chill in his blood, the coldness bringing the synapses of his brain to a standstill. Part of it was pain at Rachel's perceived betrayal, yet it was one he would endure, one he would force himself to sleep through night after night with the anesthesia of false hope making him believe that the woman he loved wasn't a narcissist. The spirits wouldn't have paired him with Rachel without some divine reason. The imprint was supposed to reflect the good in the wolf's soul, enhance his strength, make him a better person. What did it say about him if it was true, that Rachel had really done all those bad things?

"Rachel has concussion, you say?" Sam's deep voice broke through the maelstrom of Paul's dark thoughts.

"Yes."

"That's not so serious." Sam continued thoughtfully. "She can be treated here on the res. Sue will look after her. Get out of the hospital now, Paul. Leave before the cops ask you anymore intrusive questions and bring Rachel with you. You can both stay with me and Emily for the duration, until all this mess blows over."

"It won't make any difference. The cops know my name. They know where I live." Paul replied frantically. "They'll just follow us there."

"They have no jurisdiction here." Sam's tone remained calm and focused. "Protecting your imprint is your highest priority here, Paul. Put all doubts out of your mind. I am sure Rachel has a perfectly reasonable explanation as to why those things were in her possession. I heard from Quil that Charlie Swan's house had been broken in to. I bet whoever took those things was forced to leave urgently to avoid capture and I bet Rachel just accidentally stumbled across them by chance. Maybe she was going to talk to Bella, to sort things out, to return them. Did you ever think about that?"

"You really think so?" Paul said dubiously. The little fairytale that Sam had woven sounded too good to be true. However, he was so desperate for reassurance that he found himself falling for the obvious lie. "You could be right. Rachel is not a thief. She's a good person."

"Of course, she is. She is your imprint." Sam pointed out for the second time. "Do as I say, Paul. Bring Rachel here. But make sure to be discreet about it. We don't want too many questions asked."

"Sure." Paul felt better now that there was a firm plan in place. "I'll see you soon. And…thanks, Sam."

"We're a pack. We look out for each other." Sam affirmed, a hint of pride in his voice. "Take care, Paul."

Then he hung up.

The next forty-eight hours passed agonizingly slowly for Bella. She spent her time traipsing back and forth to the hospital, praying as well as hoping for a miracle. She didn't go home, not wanting to be in the place where strangers had rifled through her things. She didn't care about the items that were stolen, none of that mattered. It was more to do with the fact that her personal space had been violated, her safe space had been breached.

Instead, she stayed in La Push with Jacob and Billy. Father and son had put aside their differences in the wake of the recent tragedy. They were communicating again. Just like the old days. It was like the whole Rachel debacle had never happened.

As for Rachel and Paul, they steered clear of the house. Jacob had heard on the grapevine that they were staying temporarily at Sam's. It seemed that Paul had managed to track down his imprint quite quickly after all. Jacob neither spoke or communicated with either of them, too busy being the emotional rock for both Bella and Billy as he did everything in his power to ease their suffering.

Jacob knew it eased Billy's mind greatly that his daughter was safe and in close proximity to the house. It was one less worry on his mind while he grieved for his friend. As for Jacob, he was just glad that his sister had the sense to stay out of his way. He was still livid with her, but didn't have the time or the energy to deal with her now. That would all come later, when he was sure that Charlie Swan was finally on the road to recovery. For now, his focus was on Bella. All other problems were secondary.

So far no one had been to Forks to investigate the damage at the Swan house after the robbery. One of Charlie's deputies – Mark Swain – had tried to contact Bella several times about it. He had been forced to step into Charlie's role at short notice, there being no other suitable candidate. He was trying his best, but he was young and lacked Charlie's wealth of experience. Bella snapped at him several times, telling him she didn't care about a few lost valuables, and just to proceed with the investigation as he saw fit.

On the third day since Charlie's accident, the sun rose, adorning the sky like a ball of molten gold. Bella made her usual trek to the hospital, still feeling tired and dazed after another restless night spent tossing and turning with worry in Jacob's arms.

Jacob was getting increasingly worried about her. She wasn't sleeping, she wasn't eating. Always one to drop the pounds easily when she lacked nutrition, Bella looked thin and weak like in the early days after Edward Cullen had left her the first time. No entreaties from him made a difference this time.

"I just don't feel hungry." Bella had snapped at him when he tried to encourage her to eat a bit of toast. "I can't think about food when my dad is lying near death's door in a hospital bed."

"You'll be at death's door too if you don't look after yourself." Jacob snapped back at her, finally losing patience. "Charlie is going to need a lot of looking after when he comes out of hospital."

"Which won't be for quite some time." Bella argued, her face was tight and strained. "You heard the doctors. Its going to be a long road to recovery. There are the physical, cognitive, and psychological after effects to consider - which can make returning to work difficult, or even impossible. The house will need to be adapted to accommodate him when he does finally come home. I don't even know where to begin to start with that – "

"I'll help you." Jacob cut in swiftly. "I have experience with that. You are not alone in this, Bella, honey. So, stop acting as if you are."

"I know you have my back, but you can't be there all the time. You have other responsibilities – work, Billy, the pack."

"Hey, I will make the time. The guys can pick up the slack for a while, they've already told me. Sue Clearwater will help me out with Billy. I can fit work around Charlie's schedule." Jacob put his hands on her shoulders, trying to massage away the stiffness. "We'll draw up a time table – "

"You make it sound so simple." Bella interrupted with a choked sob. "I feel so overwhelmed, Jake. I just want dad to wake up, to be okay."

"He will, Bella, honey. He will. Whatever problems we face, I promise we'll find a solution."

Jacob pulled her into his arms. In his embrace the world stopped still on its axis. There was no time, no sun, no wind, no rain. The never-ending circle of Bella's frantic thoughts slowly began to wind down. She was grateful for Jacob's unfailing optimism, his never-ending patience. His love was so pure. Unselfish. Undemanding. Free. She pressed her body against him, soft and warm. This was the love she'd waited for, prayed for. She inwardly thanked God for Jacob, and hugged all the tighter. A love like this was to be cherished for life. She didn't know what she would have done without his unwavering support.

"I'm sorry, Jake." She apologized in a whisper. "I just had a little wobble."

"You're allowed to, honey. You've been riding on an emotional rollercoaster these last few months. If anyone is allowed a little wobble, its you." Jacob smiled as he pressed a loving kiss on the top of her head.

Bella and Jacob made the familiar trek down the hospital hallway to Charlie's room in the CCU. It had as much personality as the rest of the hospital. The floor was slate grey and the walls dove. Above the ceiling was made with polystyrene squares laid on a grid-like frame. The light felt too bright for Bella's eyes after the darkening gloom outside, now that the morning sun had been replaced with the usual rain. She found it abrasive, enough perhaps to bring on another one of her anxiety headaches.

The headache only increased when she was accosted by two cops, their faces unfamiliar, their grim expressions suggesting that unlike Deputy Mark Swain, these two were not going to be so easily rebuffed. She tried to give them the brush off anyway, but they wouldn't be deterred from what they had come to say. Unbeknownst to Bella, they were the same cops who had given Paul a grilling.

"We have left you several messages, Ms. Swan." The older of the two men said impatiently.

"I haven't had time to scroll through my messages. My dad is fighting for his life, as you well now. I have other things to focus on." Bella snapped.

Jacob put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Can't this wait?" He asked calmly. "We were just about to go in and see Charlie."

"And you are?" The older man demanded, easily falling into his role of bad cop again.

A glimmer of impatience lit up Jacob's dark eyes. "I'm her boyfriend."

"Name?" Bad cop asked crisply.

Bella glanced up uneasily at Jacob. She could feel his hand tense on her shoulder. He was clearly pissed off at the cop's brusque attitude.

"My name is Jacob Black."

"Black?" Bad cop glanced to the side at his colleague. "Sounds familiar."

"Very familiar." Good cop agreed. He scrutinized Jacob carefully, craning his neck to get a good look at his face. "Yes, I can see the similarities now."

"What are you talking about?" Jacob scowled.

Good cop took over the conversation. He smiled congenially at Jacob and Bella. "We had the pleasure of meeting one of your relations just the other day." He said pleasantly.

"My relation?"

"Yes – Rachel Black – I take it she is a close relation? A sibling perhaps?" Good cop looked up at Jacob enquiringly.

"Rachel is my sister." Jacob said warily. "When did you meet her?"

"Oh, in a setting very similar to this one." Good cop continued, his smile broadening. "She was with her boyfriend, too. Oh, what was his name again?" He snapped his fingers together as he pretended to think.

"Paul Lahote." Bad cop interjected with a frown.

"Oh, yes, that's it – Paul Lahote. Is that name familiar to you at all?"

Jacob exchanged a worried look with Bella. "Just stop with the bullshit and get to the point." He replied harshly. "What has Rachel done now?"

Bad cop drew himself up to his full height, a hint of a sneer on his thin lips. "Drop the attitude, son. Your sister has a lot of questions to answer. Do you happen to know where she is?"

"Tell me why you want to talk to her first?"

Bad cop rocked on his heels. "We're investigating the circumstances behind the pile up on the highway just outside of Port Angeles."

Jacob exchanged another uneasy glance with Bella. "And you think my sister was involved in this accident?"

"Oh, I think she was involved in a lot more than that." Bad cop declared smugly. "We've done our due diligence and our inquiry's have led us here." His pale, watery blue eyes settled on Bella's white face. "We have reason to believe she was behind the break in on your father's house. Several items belonging to you and your father were found in her possession. That's why we have been trying to contact you, Ms. Swan. Now will you do us the courtesy of answering a few questions?"

A/N-thanks for reading!