Chapter 13:

Important!

A reader messaged me and said that while Bella's reason to not have sex from STDs was good, the real thing is that it would hurt like heck. Having sex would be incredibly painful for someone with gynecological cancer, and so Bella-literally-can't have sex.

Alright, read on, and enjoy. (Sorry for the delay)

Disclaimer: Prologue

By the time we got to the Denali house, I was feeling much better than I was earlier, stronger. I, luckily, didn't need to lean on Irina like I had earlier, allowing me to sit up straight and keep her finger from going around my port any longer for half of the ride.

Kate pulled to a gentle stop in front of the house, quickly exiting the car as Irina opened the door next to us. She crawled out and held onto the door, keeping it open for me while she extended her hand towards me in offering. Kate came around the car, standing next to her sister's side.

I took Irina's hand and let her pull me out, scooting across the seat to assist. When I was out of the car, I set my feet on the ground, and then stood. I wobbled for a second, immediately making Kate grab my shoulders and Irina place her other hand on my back as their eyes widened in panic.

I held the door for balance to gather myself, and after a moment I was centered again. I looked up at the two panicking sisters and nodded; letting go of the door for the two sisters so slowly follow my lead.

I took a step forward and got out from behind the door as Irina continued to hold my hand and back. I guessed she wasn't ready to take any chances of me falling on the way into her house. Kate closed the car door and I finally looked up to see the Denali house.

It was…amazing.

Like the Cullen house, it was large and fit the right scheme for having a lot of money acquired over time. However, unlike the Cullens, their house appeared to be more lived in and cottage like. It was more-with a lack for better word-homey.

I smiled a little when Irina began to lead me towards the house. "Are you doing okay, Bella?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."

She eyed me, clearly unconvinced when the front door opened. Tanya, Carmen and Eleazer stepped out of the house. Carmen and Eleazer both gave me warm smiles and somehow managed to scold Irina and Kate at the same time.

Tanya, however, was just staring at me and a massive grin began to form on her lips. "Bella," she greeted happily. She quickly walked towards me and was about to wrap me in an embrace when Irina snapped her hand out, catching her shoulder with a solid thud that could only happen from vampire skin mixed with vampire strength.

Tanya stopped immediately, looking at Irina shocked. The dirty blonde shook her head. "Bella was puking when we got to her house. She's better, but I don't want to take any chances," she explained.

She slowly lowered her hand from Tanya's shoulder who nodded in understanding. "Oh," she said, "I see." She looked back at me, physically checking me to see if I had any obvious issues. "I'm glad that you were able to come by, Bella."

I smiled. "I'm glad I was able to be rescued by my brave knights in shining armor," I replied, giving Kate and Irina small nudges.

Kate puffed out her chest. "It's all in a day's work."

"Since when do you ever work, Kate?" Eleazer asked from the porch. Before she could snap back, he turned to me. "Let's get you inside, Bella. If you're sick it won't be good for you out here."

I walked to the house shaking my head. "I'm fine, really. It was just a small fluke is all," I said. That was semi-true, and while it was unknown to the vampires, Irina knew about my port. Her finger tracing had to have been a good enough sign for her along with what I said in the house what was going on.

Irina scowled and she practically started to carry me inside. "It might have been, but in your condition I don't think risking it is a good idea," she said.

I rolled my eyes at the blonde, but said nothing as we walked into their house. It was even better on the inside than out, and also supported my thought of cottage from the beams and wooden parts all around it. The house was amazing to look at with exotic artifacts they had collected over their existence around the world from ancient pottery to wooden furniture that dated back to who knew when.

I loved it.

Tanya, taking Irina's place, guided me into the living room where she sat me down in the far corner of a sectional that could fit ten people. On either side of the sectional was a loveseat and an armchair for the others.

Tanya reached behind me and draped a blanket around my shoulders. I gave her a smile of thanks as I pulled it around me and buried myself into the cushions. Tanya settled next to me, making sure she was comfortable as she brought my legs into her lap and began to rub my ankles with the pad of her thumbs.

It was actually pretty soothing.

Carmen earned my attention by touching my shoulder. "Have you eaten anything, dear? You may need some food in your stomach to help you get your energy back," she said.

I nodded slowly, surprised that they actually had food here until I realized they had probably stocked up before they "kidnapped" me. "I probably do, but only something light. I don't want to aggravate my stomach anymore incase the medicine doesn't work," I explained.

She nodded. "Would soup be alright?" she asked.

"Should be."

"I'll be right back with it," she said, moving towards what I assumed was the kitchen. She paused in the opening and turned, giving me a pointed look. "Don't move."

I pointed at Tanya. "I can't."

She chuckled as Kate plopped down on the floor in front of me. She crossed her legs like any adorable child would and looked up at me. Irina seated herself on the loveseat as Eleazer took the armchair-my guess was for Carmen to sit in his lap.

Irina studied me from across the room, seeming to place things together in her mind. She must have had her suspicions before she felt my port, but that had to seal the deal. Unless, she thought it was a port, but wasn't entirely sure that it was.

That would explain why she kept staring at my shoulder.

Kate placed her hands between her legs and leaned forward, pursing her lips. "Bella?" she asked.

"Yeah?"

"Why is it that Charlie is so…against you being around us?" she asked hesitantly. I immediately felt my body go rigid. I had hoped I wouldn't have to explain that to them, not yet, anyway. Of course, hoping for it doesn't mean it won't happen or doesn't need to happen.

Tanya, sensing my stiffness, rubbed firmer circles on my ankles. "If that is alright for us to ask," she added to give me a way out.

I bit my lip. "It is," I said haltingly. I shifted when I smelt the soup wafting from the kitchen. The smell made my mouth water and I had to swallow back a mouthful of saliva. "It's just…there's a lot that has to do with it. It's kind of hard to understand unless you get the rest of it."

"Is it something we did?" Carmen asked, emerging from the kitchen. She walked towards me with a bowl of soup in her hands perfectly balanced. "Or is it just something he was worried that we would do?"

I took the bowl from her. "The latter," I replied. I set the bowl on the arm of the sectional, positioning it for me to eat out of. When I was sure it was balanced and wouldn't fall, I picked up the spoon in it.

"What did he think we would do?" Kate asked confused. "The only thing we're guilty of is maybe shop-till-you-drop."

I smiled a little when Irina leaned forward, lips pursed and hands clasped together nervously. "It has to do with your cancer, doesn't it?"

I froze with the room. Tanya's thumb stopped moving and she looked to her sister. Kate's mouth hung open, her eyes wide as Carmen and Eleazer just looked between me and Irina over and over again.

The Denalis were completely stunned as the room stayed in a tense silence. The only sound that was made was my breathing as I took in deep breaths to calm down the small panic threatening to rise in my breast.

I knew this was coming sooner or later, I reasoned with myself. I shouldn't be surprised…even if I hoped for later.

I sighed, swirling the spoon around in the bowl and nodded. "Yes," I said lowly. I glanced at her through my eyelashes. "When did you figure it out?"

She shrugged. "I had ideas. You knew places people with cancer ate, you moved up here for a personal reason, Frank and the hospital, you have a diet and you are skinny for someone your age. I never thought much of it besides oddities until I felt your port just now."

I nodded. "I figured as much." I swirled the spoon around the bowl as the Denalis slowly processed the information, letting it role through their heads. It seemed none of the others had come as close to the thought as Irina had.

"What kind?"

"Ovarian; stage three."

"Three?" Kate squeaked from the ground. She cleared her throat, forcing the high pitch out of it, and adjusted herself on the ground. "How long have you had it?"

I shrugged. "I first got it when I was seven. It was only stage two back then, though, and I was cancer free after six rounds of chemo. It wasn't until a few days after my eighteenth birthday I was diagnosed with it again borderline terminal."

"Borderline?" Tanya hissed, her voice shaking. I nodded, allowing myself to put the soup into my mouth now. She squeezed my ankle a little. "Why didn't you tell us before?"

I shrugged. "I didn't know you very well, and I didn't think that many people needed to know. It wasn't until the city thing that I realized we'd be spending more time together than I originally thought."

Tanya fell silent, rubbing patterns on my ankles absentmindedly as she went into her thoughts. Eleazer-awkwardly-spoke up, "Is that why you moved here, Bella? To receive better treatment?"

I nodded. "Yes. We were able to get the cancer down a little over the past two years, but it's been pretty stubborn. We couldn't really afford better treatment, but Phil-my step dad-met Dr. Ford's brother Tom. He's giving me treatment as a favor and it's his brother's house we're staying in."

"Ford," Carmen said, mostly to herself as she recognized his name. "I've heard of him."

I nodded. "He's an amazing doctor," I said. "There are a lot of people that have faith in him, even people who had loved ones die from cancer treated by him; they were just happy he gave them more time together."

I took another bite of the soup as Irina shifted in her seat. "I…I really don't mean to sound insensitive here, Bella, but I was wondering why Charlie would be afraid of us with your cancer. Did he think we weren't going to respect you or something?"

I closed my eyes. "Charlie…Charlie has many reasons. One of them is that he doesn't want people to think I'm vulnerable just because I'm sick." I shifted awkwardly. "There are other reasons, though, as to why he doesn't want you around me or me around you."

"What other reasons?" Tanya suddenly asked. "I can't think of anything else besides possibly offending him when we hadn't meant to or known that we did."

I pursed my lips. "You didn't offend him per se," I said. "It's…it's more of just…" I groaned, rubbing my temple with my spoon hand. This was much more complicated than I thought.

I took in a breath. I needed to be more honest with them, but it was hard to be honest with them when I had no desire to reveal to them that I knew what and who they were. Or, reveal who I was to them, and leaving out some specifics would be harder as it was the Denalis.

I slowly let out the air I had been holding in my lungs and lowered the spoon from my forehead to the bowl. I began to trace patterns in the warm fluid and I finally said, "It was several years after I was diagnosed cancer free. I moved in with my dad in my original hometown that pretty much had no idea of my previous dilemma. When I got there, I wasn't really sure how it would all go since my old school wasn't that great.

"When I went through chemo as a kid, I pretty much had all the stereotypical side effects including hair loss. I wasn't really bothered by it until the kids started to make fun of me for it. I became self-conscious and pretty much got really awkward. It hadn't changed over the years and when I got to the new school I wasn't any better, I expected it to be the same.

"However, when I got there I was mostly known as the new girl who all the guys wanted to hook up with." I snorted. "Charlie wasn't that excited about the news, but it was different to me and it was a nicer change than being the kid whom was a shadow on the wall."

I paused, turning my spoon over in my soup. The next part was going to be the hardest to talk about. Tanya sensed my hesitation and squeezed my ankle comfortingly. I gave her a small smile of thanks before I continued, "When I was there, I got involved with a boy. It was the first real relationship I had ever had thanks to my awkwardness and I became pretty close with his family. Charlie was alright with him because he wasn't like all the other guys in school who weren't too subtle about hoping to get into my pants.

"Things started to look up for me, and I thought everything was finally going to get better in my life. I was cancer free, new school, had friends and a boyfriend that I was in love with and who loved me…" I trailed off, shaking my head at the last part. I was so dumb to believe it would have worked out between us back then. "Then, a few days after my eighteenth birthday, I went in for a check-up when they discovered the cancer."

Tanya, again, squeezed my ankle. I didn't look at her this time as I continued my story, "The family had been avoiding me for the past few days, and I thought it was just because they were busy because it happened sometimes." Of course, I meant hunting, but I couldn't say that. "It was a few days after I was diagnosed that I saw him at my house. He asked for us to go for a walk and I followed him into the woods next to my house.

"I really should have seen it coming," I said with a sigh, "but I was too wrapped up in my thoughts on how to tell them what was happening. I didn't want them to be in the dark when I suddenly lost weight or stayed home from school for a few days a month. I thought they deserved to know, and I was trying to get through my panic on telling them when he told me they were leaving."

"Leaving?" Kate asked, interrupting my story.

I nodded, stirring the soup around in my bowl. "Leaving," I confirmed. "That day, apparently. He told me how the relationship I had with him and his family wasn't good. He went on about how things just wouldn't work out and it was stupid of us to continue going on with the illusion on how we were good for each other. Then, he told me to be safe and not do anything reckless, kissed my forehead and left."

"He just left you in the woods?" Irina snarled. "What kind of an asshole does that?"

For a second, I was very tempted to say, "Your cousin," but I held my tongue in time to not. I shrugged instead. "I guess the assholes like him," I said. I swirled my spoon around the bowl as Eleazer scowled.

"And I suppose that Charlie expects us to do what they did? Abandon you without a word?" he asked.

I nodded. "Yes," I said. "Charlie has always been worried about me ever since then. The first time it happened…I didn't take the separation too well. He doesn't want me to go through it again, and he's worried you'll make me go through it by taking advantage of me."

Tanya's grip on my ankle tightened with one hand for my attention as she set her other on the side of my thigh. She traced patterns with her thumb over my sweats as she gave me a reassuring smile. "We would never do that to you, Bella. I promise."

I shook my head. "I'm not the one you need to convince," I said. I took a spoonful of soup into my mouth and let the warm liquid travel down my throat, warming my body.

Kate scooted closer to the couch. "How can we convince Charlie?" she asked. "The man looked ready to take my head off my shoulders as soon as he saw us talking in the street."

I shrugged, taking another bite before I swallowed. "You, Kate, could start by apologizing to him," I said.

She jerked her head back, eyes widening. "What?" she asked.

"Apologize," I said. I looked at Irina. "You probably could too since you walked past him to the bathroom."

Irina looked just as taken aback as Kate did. "Why on earth should we apologize?" she asked. "He's the one who was practically keeping you around him like a prisoner."

I nodded. "Yes, but you did barge into the house and immediately begin arguing with him in his own home while his daughter was vomiting upstairs from the chemo treatment she had yesterday. It wouldn't hurt to own up to what you did to start getting on his good side."

Kate thought for a moment as Eleazer nodded. "It would be a good way to get his trust," he agreed. "Or, at least, his approval for us to be around Bella if he doesn't believe we'll disrespect him. Who's to say we won't his daughter if we do him?"

"That is a good point," Irina agreed.

Kate nodded. "Alright, so we'll apologize to him, but what about the rest of the family?" she asked. "I doubt that an apology is going to immediately get his approval."

I nodded. "It won't, but it's a start." I swirled my spoon around in my bowl. "And the thing is, Kate, that while Charlie won't be that happy about me being around you until he knows for sure, he won't stop me. He's a good man and smart. He won't try to keep me away from friends who can help."

Carmen gave me a warm smile at that as I took another bite of my soup. When I swallowed, I had to hold back the moan that threatened to burst from my throat. I didn't know what it was, but any cooking done by vampires was amazing.

Like food from above.

I took another bite as Tanya shifted, moving to have my calves resting on her thighs now instead of my feet. She continued to rub my legs through the fabric, seeming intent on keeping the ministrations going.

After a few moments of comfortable silence around the room, I spoke, "So, since I'll be over here, I should probably tell you some of the things you'll need to know about my chemo treatments in case any of it happens."

They nodded and Kate moved to be sitting directly in front of me. "What kind of symptoms do you have?"

I shrugged. "This time I've been able to keep my hair thankfully, but I do have weight issues as you can see. I have medicine that is supposed to keep me from throwing up, but it doesn't always work as you saw this morning. I do get exhausted easily, though, just after a chemo treatment and my first two days are generally the worst of my symptoms. There's one more thing, but I can't remember what it is."

"Are there any rules we should know?" Eleazer asked.

I thought for a second, actually trying to think of anything. After a moment, I shook my head. "No, just be careful with my port, so don't slap it and be a little gentle with me. I'm not as delicate as thin glass, but my balance and stuff aren't that great at the moment."

Tanya leaned forward. "Are there…?"

After I had answered most of the Denalis' questions about the dos and don'ts of my cancer, and finished eating most of my soup, the five vampires and I began to relax around the house a bit more. Kate invited me to play a video game with her-to which I accepted-and we went head to head for about an hour straight.

After I started to get fatigued, I stopped playing and Irina took my spot. I opted to sit on Tanya's lap-I still have no idea why I did it-and watched the two of them play. Carmen and Eleazer were playing a game of chess on the love seat, seeming to enjoy trying to beat each other in the game.

It was pretty amusing.

I only vomited once while I was at the Denali home. It wasn't horrible, but a little did come up. Tanya stayed with me that time and cleaned my mouth off before she handed me a spare toothbrush to clean my mouth up with. She then set it in a jar and said it was my official brush that I could use whenever I wanted to.

Apparently it just made our new friendship solid.

Throughout my time with them, I realized how natural it was for me to be around them. I felt like I was at home with the Denalis, like I belonged with them. It was almost like with the Cullens and the Pack, but this time it was different.

It felt more real.

It sounded crazy-to me especially-that this family felt more like home than the one that had helped me through the depression. The feeling of belonging was so strong with the Pack, I could've sworn it would never be replaced, but here I was with the Denalis.

I felt like it fit.

How was that possible?

I looked down at Tanya's hands resting on my hips. Her chin was set on my shoulder contently, having me lean against her front for full support as she watched her sisters over my shoulder. Why did it feel so good to be in her arms? Why did it feel so…natural?

I shook my head slightly to clear it. The clearance didn't last long as Tanya leant forward, brushing her lips against the shell of my ear. "Is something wrong?" she breathed.

I shook my head, taking in a breath to hide the shiver that wanted to go up my spine. I smiled, angling my head towards hers slightly. "Just a thought is all," I replied.

She nodded and pulled me a little tighter against her as she went back to watching her sisters. I could feel her bury her head just a little further into my neck that it had been earlier. The position was more intimate than it had been moments before and I…I liked it.

I liked it a lot.

Shit, I'm so screwed, I thought to myself.

Just as Irina began to call out in triumph for butchering Kate in the game, did everyone in the room hear the car door slam shut. Carmen, of course, had dismissed herself early to greet whoever was at the door as soon as she heard them come up the drive, and opened the door.

When she spoke, I stiffened. "Charlie."

"Is Bella here?" he asked. Instead of his voice being hard and cold like I had expected to be, it was sadder, heavier. It held the thick emotion I recognized as regret when he knew he did something wrong.

He was awkward-to put it simply-and that was the last thing I expected right now.

Carmen must have nodded or something, because the door closed and the two of them appeared from the hall. Charlie's eyes immediately zeroed in on Tanya and me. He frowned for just a second at our position before he blinked, reminding himself of the motto currently going through his head.

"I apologize for coming here like this, but I needed to speak with you, and a few people down at the station gave me your address," he explained politely, which surprised me to no end. I thought he was going to give a big speech in being here.

The Denalis-also surprised by the apology-nodded. I moved myself off of Tanya's lap-who didn't seem to like that very much-as she began to speak, "It's understandable."

He nodded, rubbing his palms together nervously before he looked at me. "Did you…?" He cocked his head to the side, conveying the silent message.

I nodded awkwardly. "I told them about the cancer, Dad," I said. I deliberately just said cancer, giving him the idea that I hadn't told him about the Cullens and it needed to stay that way.

He nodded. "I see." He ran his hand through his hair and sighed. "You see, I came here to apologize to you. All of you." He looked around the room. "My actions were not the best to take, and I was acting on a personal bias that I shouldn't have been."

Whoa…?

Eleazer nodded. "Bella explained that there was an incident with a relationship she had two years ago," he said calmly. "We understand how you would not appreciate us latching onto her as a friend just as they did."

Charlie nodded, relaxing a little now that the flow of the apology was going. "Yes, that is true. I don't think I really need to say what it is like when you see your daughter get her heart broken days after getting told she could become terminal."

Tanya-who once again reacted to the mention of terminal cancer-took my hand on the couch. Her fingers twined with mine as she listened to Charlie, intently focusing on both my touch and his words. It was almost a mesmerizing thing for me to see.

"But," he continued, "I have thought about everything carefully and I realize I made the wrong assumption about you. I would like to apologize for both that and my actions towards you over the past two weeks."

The Denalis looked at each other, making sure they were all on the same page before Tanya smiled. "We understand, Charlie," she assured, "and I can promise you that what Bella went through won't happen again."

He raised his brow at her there, but didn't comment on it as he nodded and turned to me. "I'd also like to apologize to you, Bella. You're right. I have been trying to control what you do and control the inevitable. I'm sorry."

I couldn't stop my smile as I nodded, letting go of Tanya's hand to walk up to him. I embraced him tightly. "It's fine, Dad. You were just being annoying to me is all," I said, making the last sentence teasing for him to chuckle.

"That's my job. I'm your old man."

I smiled as we held each other for a few seconds longer before we pulled apart. He kissed my temple and I smiled.

Kate, however, decided it was an appropriate time to get the attention on her as she cleared her throat. Charlie and I turned our eyes to look at the pale blonde as she stood up from the ground, the controller loosely dangling in her hands. "My sister and I would also like to apologize to you, Charlie," she said.

Irina nodded in agreement as she stood, moving next to Kate. "We were disrespectful to you when we, well, kidnapped Bella," Irina said, looking at me. I nodded slightly with a small smile, indicating she was going on the right track. "We apologize for offending you and…well, kidnapping your daughter along with everything else, I suppose."

He nodded. "I don't really blame you, honestly. I was acting like an ass and it takes an ass move to make an ass move."

I couldn't help it as I snorted. The fact that my dad-the guy who was screaming at the Denalis and ranting about them for the past two weeks-was calling himself an ass and popping a joke in front of them was hilarious to me.

Kate grinned a little. "Well, do you want to join us asses in a game of Mario Cart?"