Chapter 23:

Disclaimer: I own nothing

I woke up at 6:00 a.m. sharp by my alarm to the smell of bacon, eggs and toast wafting up the staircase to my room. I smiled as I reached over and turned off my alarm, forcing myself to sit up with a groan. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes as the sunlight peaked into the room from my window, causing my eyes to adjust from the darkness.

I looked around for a moment, gathering myself before I pushed myself out from under the covers. I stretched from side to side, allowing my muscles to wake up before I trudged to the bathroom to start my morning routine before I went downstairs.

It took a little over ten minutes for me to walk downstairs in a pair of comfy light blue skinny jeans with the bottoms rolled up once, a loose white sweater that went into a V-neck I could move for my port and off-white converse. And, of course, my shoulder bag.

I walked into the kitchen to find Charlie just finishing the bacon he put on my plate. He looked up at me and smiled. "Morning, Bells."

"Morning, Dad," I replied, walking over to kiss him on the cheek before I sat down in front of the plate. I adjusted myself and smiled. "This looks really good."

He chuckled. "Everything I make looks good now that I can cook," he pointed out. He set the rest of the bacon on another plate next to mine before he set it on the cool side of the stove. "But you still flatter me."

"Of course," I replied. I grabbed the fork on the napkin next to my plate and started with the eggs. "Otherwise I would be failing at my duty of being your daughter."

"That you would," he agreed.

I stuffed another load of eggs into my mouth and wordlessly swallowed. Charlie sat down next to me with his cup of coffee as I reached forward to grab the V8 in front of me.

"What time exactly are they gonna be here again?" he asked, taking sip from his cup of joe.

I took a quick drink from my V8 and shrugged. "Around six-thirty. That will give us time to get to the chemo room and to get checked in for the appointment."

He nodded. "Good plan," he said.

I nodded as I set the drink down and started to eat my toast. "I thought so," I said. I chewed the toast and then swallowed. "I hoped it would also give them enough time to wind down after we get there. You know, getting adjusted to the atmosphere and everything before it's just crowds of people filing in."

He nodded. "That'd be a good thing to do," he agreed. "Besides, you'll get to have your own time in the room for a while, and being the first inside is always fun."

I nodded in agreement. "I always thought so, too," I said with a grin. "Not to mention you get to chat it up with the nurses, ladies' man."

Charlie blushed lightly, but still smiled. "Well, I can't help it if I'm so damn good looking. I may not have Frank's skill with 'em, but I can reel them in when I wish," he claimed, puffing out his chest.

I nodded. "Uh-huh," I said, hitting his stomach. His chest immediately fell. "Sadly Sue got you first, otherwise women would be gathering around."

His face went beet red and he busied himself with eating as I smirked. Ha, I knew that'd get him. We fell into a comfortable silence after that, just eating peacefully with the clanking of silverware on plates filling the air. Charlie read the newspaper and I watched the clock, counting the minutes to see how long I had left.

Right as I was in the middle of putting my plate away, did I hear the car pull up. Charlie and I looked at each other and then at the clock.

6:30 right on the dot.

Charlie rolled his eyes, and went back to drinking his coffee as I smiled. If there was one thing you could count on, that was vampires on time. I quickly dashed upstairs to brush my teeth while he got up to answer the door.

I quickly turned on the water and poured (too much) toothpaste onto the brush before I shoved it into my mouth. Downstairs, I could hear the Denalis come in. "Hello, Charlie. It's nice to see you again," Eleazer greeted.

"You too, Eleazer. Come on in; Bella should be down in a minute," he replied. I heard the vampires step inside before the door closed as I continued my quick cleaning of my mouth.

"So, Bella tells me you asked if you needed to bring a guitar," Charlie said to Kate.

I heard a few soft chuckles downstairs as I imagined Kate shrugging. "Yeah, but I didn't know if we were supposed to sing campfire songs or something. I thought it would be a good idea to ask."

"Not to mention you were watching SpongeBob," Tanya added.

I snorted, causing me to almost swallow toothpaste which resulted in me choking and then spitting out the toothpaste loudly into the sink. It had to sound like I was a dying mule.

"You good up there, Bells?" Charlie called up the stairs.

I nodded. "I'm good!" I called back. I brought water from the faucet to my mouth and began to rinse both it and my toothbrush out. I spat the water out and dried my mouth off as I heard the conversation once again pick up downstairs.

I put the toothbrush back into the cup, turned off the water and the light to the bathroom, and walked out. With possibly too energetic steps I came down the stairs to be in front of the Denalis and Charlie.

Kate smirked. "It sounded like a dying moose."

I was close. I scoffed and hit Kate in the arm, though it hurt me more than her. "Shut up. I was choking on the toothpaste, thanks for asking," I said sarcastically.

The blonde smirked. "I aim to please."

I hummed and Tanya automatically came to my side. Her hand slipped into mine, allowing my fingers to lace with hers. "We better get going so you don't get in late," she said.

I nodded "in agreement" and Charlie smiled, giving me a knowing wink. There was no chance in hell we were going to be late for this thing and we both knew it—even if the Denalis had to run a few stop lights.

Charlie wrapped his arms around me. "I'll see you after your treatment, alright?" he asked.

I nodded, giving him a one-armed hug with Tanya holding my other hand. "Alright," I said. "I'll call you if I need to be rescued or anything."

The Denalis huffed and Charlie grinned as he opened to door to let everyone out. "I'm sure you'll be fine…but I'll keep my phone on me—just in case."

"Okay, seriously," Irina huffed. "Why do you two keep throwing jokes around about us driving this into the ditch? We aren't that bad."

I chuckled and placed my hand on her shoulder. I used it to give me a boost in kissing her cheek. "It's fun," I claimed. I pulled on Tanya's hand to lead us out of the house while Irina grumbled incoherent insults behind me.

Tanya and I walked out of the house first with Carmen and Eleazer close behind with Irina and Kate in the rear. Charlie moved to be in the doorway to watch us get into the car—well, SUV. Carmen and Eleazer climbed into the front as Tanya held the door open for me, giving me a small, expectant smile.

I smiled in return and slipped into the car. I went to the back row immediately, knowing it would be easier for Kate and Irina to climb in that way. Tanya followed close behind, seating herself comfortably next to me before Irina and Kate followed.

I grabbed the seatbelt and brought it around my body just as the door closed. I clicked it in place and Eleazer started to pull away from the house. After we began to move, I adjusted my arms to wrap them around Tanya's waist and hers went over my shoulders. I fell into her body and made myself a comfortable nest as I set my head on her shoulder.

While I burrowed myself closer to her, Kate turned her attention to me. "So," she said, "do you have your education lesson planned for us today in music?"

I grinned and snorted, waving my hand dismissively. "Of course I do, Kate," I said. I reached into my bag and pulled out my iPod. I handed it to her.

She took the auxiliary cord and plugged it in. "Any recommendations?" she asked as she unlocked it and began to thumb through the songs quicker than I could process.

I shook my head and a yawn worked its way through my body. I snuggled closer into Tanya who was more than happy to accommodate for me. "No, I'm good." I waved my hand dismissively. "You just look around and see if your taste has improved."

Kate shrugged and continued to look through the music while Carmen turned to look back at me. "You should get some more rest if you need it, Bella," she said.

I shook my head again, this time making eye-contact with Carmen. "I'll fall asleep if I need to, but I'll be alright. I'll be sitting in a chair for most of the day with about five drip bags draining into my body."

Eleazer looked at my reflection in the rearview mirror. "Is that how many you take?" he asked.

I nodded. "There are drugs I take before and after the chemo—those take about thirty minutes to an hour. All together it's about three hours and the actual chemo is two hours."

"Wow," Irina said. "I didn't know it was that…set-up, I guess."

I nodded in agreement—it surprised us the first time too. "It's tiring, but nothing compared to some of the things people have to take." I pursed my lips as the statement continued in my head. I could be one of those people soon if my treatment doesn't work.

"Is there seriously a band named The Naked and Famous?"

I glanced up to Kate whom was staring at the group's songs I had on my iPod. "Yes, Kate, and please don't make a corny joke about it. It's too early."

"So how long do we need to wait before they take you back?" Carmen asked as we sat in the front of the chemo area. We had checked in five minutes ago, saying I was ready and here for my appointment. It was almost three minutes till seven and I understood why the vampires were getting antsy.

I shrugged. "Probably just a few more minutes," I said. "They just have to make sure they are ready for me."

She nodded in understanding and the door open. We turned our heads to find a familiar face—well, to me—walk in. Audrey looked up from her phone to see me and smiled brightly. "Hey, Bella," she greeted happily, and stopped in front of me. "Are you in for your next treatment?"

I nodded. "Yep," I said. I jerked my head. "I brought a new group with me this time. I thought Charlie would like to have a break from the morning appointments."

She chuckled. "So you dragged others into it," she said, giving me a wink before she looked at the Denalis. "I hope she didn't force you down here with her silver tongue."

Tanya smiled with a shake of her head, resting her hand on mine. "No," she said, "we volunteered."

Audrey nodded and gave a kind smile. "Ah, I see," she said. She glanced towards the room before back at me as she set her hand on my shoulder. "I better go check-in with the others, Bella, but I'll see you later to make sure you get set up."

I nodded and gave her thumbs-up. "I'll look forward to it," I said. Audrey smiled and gave my shoulder a small squeeze before she released it. She nodded to the Denalis politely before she turned and disappeared around the corner towards the back.

Kate turned to me with an arched brow. "Is she the usual nurse for you or something?" she asked.

I nodded. "I've had her twice before, otherwise she's just been around and I've spoken to her here and there during my treatments." I smiled. "She's one of Frank's many girlfriends."

"Oh."

I nodded, chuckling a little. "We girls stick together to help keep the heartbreak from being so terrible," I said, placing my hand over my heart in feigning pain.

Eleazer slipped his arm over Carmen's shoulder. "I'll definitely have to keep Carmen close then so she doesn't get sucked into his trap," he said with a faint smile.

Irina snorted. "I don't think you'll have much of a problem," she said.

"You can never be too cautious when it involves Frank and his charms," I said, giving Eleazer a small wink.

He chuckled lightly when Cynthia—the nurse at the desk—suddenly said, "You can go back now, Bella."

I looked up at the desk with the vampires. Kate nodded and stood. "Thank you," she said. Tanya pulled me to my feet and her arm wrapped around my waist securely.

I gave the nurse a small nod and smile before I walked around the corner. When walked into the room, the Denalis looked around, seeming to take in the whole atmosphere of the place. The chairs that had curtains pushed back on either side, able to be pulled forward for privacy by the occupant in the recliner. The pure…openness of the room that didn't make any one feel closed in. It was probably not what they expected.

I moved straight towards my usual spot with the Denalis in tow. I motioned around. "Go ahead and get some chairs for you guys," I said. "They won't mind."

I detached myself from Tanya's arm as we reached the chair, taking her hand instead as I sat down in the recliner. She opted to sitting in the wooden chair in the corner—the closest she could get to me. Carmen and Eleazer took the two remaining chairs nearby—one already there—while Irina and Kate took two more chairs from nearby areas with multiple.

While they settled themselves in, Irina asked, "How many people are usually here from your past experience?"

I shrugged, thinking back as I ran my thumb across the back of Tanya's hand. "I'm not sure, really; maybe twenty or so. It depends on the patients coming in and what company comes with them," I said.

"Do you talk to the others?" Carmen asked.

I shrugged. "Depends, I suppose. There are a few people we talk to at times, but besides Frank and a few members of the staff no one else, really," I explained.

"Which is why I keep telling her to be more social," Audrey suddenly said as she walked forward. In her hand were a syringe, alcohol wipes and bandages. She set them on the table. "But of course she doesn't listen to me."

I rolled my eyes at the nurse. "If I listened to you, Audrey, I'd be a second Frank running around loose."

She chuckled. "Lord knows we don't need that," she said.

The Denalis gave small smiles and Irina moved to be out of the way. She watched as Audrey tore open the package, taking out the wipe as I moved my neckline over with my free hand to expose my port. I didn't fail to notice the Denalis shifting their gazes to my shoulder.

This was the first time they were able to see my port as my port and not just a lump under my shirt. The lump in my skin was clearly visible to them now as Audrey moved to swipe the port. Tanya's eyes caught my attention, however, whenever I saw her gaze drift.

I followed her eyes with mine and almost blushed when I realized my cleavage was also exposed. Tanya, having the closest seat to me, also had the best angle to see more of it, and she seemed to notice it as well when she began to stare, her jaw ticking and her eyes darkened.

I squeezed her hand, making her eyes jerk back up. I raised a brow at her slightly, silently inquiring if she was going to catch flies. She merely smirked, seductively running her thumb over the back of my hand.

I bit my bottom lip when Audrey suddenly set the wipe against my skin, cleaning. I gratefully looked away from her to the nurse as she brought the wipe away and placed the syringe tube needle in my skin to draw blood from the port. "Cross your fingers that it doesn't start getting dodgy on us," she said.

I—very sarcastically—crossed my fore finger and middle finger together as Kate did the same. "Why are we doing this?" she asked.

"The port," Audrey began explaining. "Sometimes these things can be a little overly decisive on whether they want to let fluid just in, or if they will allow fluid out as well. Bella's has been pretty good, but it can always change over time."

She lifted the syringe and pulled on the end. After a moment or two, the blood came through and I feigned relief. "Phew, I thought I would have to get my bloody arm poked again," I said.

"We wouldn't want that now would we?" she asked, rolling her eyes as she drew the blood from the port. She glanced at Tanya's hand in mine and smiled. "So, it seems that Frank has been spreading some news around lately."

Irina smirked behind Audrey and I felt my shoulders physically sag. Frank, I thought to myself, I will murder you the next time I see you. I swear…

"Was it about these two? Because if so, I can verify them completely," Kate grinned wickedly, winking at Tanya and me as the blonde glared at her two sisters.

Audrey chuckled. "It certainly was," she said. She looked at us. "However, the words he used were, '…the blonde is hot for Bella, and Bella is hot for her, but she doesn't know it yet.'"

"I will murder him."

"For telling the truth?" Irina asked as she arched a brow.

"For telling at all."

Tanya rolled her eyes at me and squeezed my hand—as if that would keep me from killing him…Okay, it kind of could, but that wasn't what mattered. "Oh be quiet, Bella. You know you won't hurt a hair on Frank's head," she said. A small smirk drew across her lips. "Besides, you know he was telling the truth."

The group around me sniggered.

"I will murder you all."

"You must have a pretty good hand if you think you can afford what's in the pot now, Bella," Eleazer said. His gold eyes were focused intently on me over the tops of his cards. His face was set as rigid as stone as he stared me down.

It was interesting to see the mostly kept together man have a more competitive and childlike side in poker. Apparently, poker was his weakness as he was the King of Poker in the Denali house. He even beat Kate hundreds of times.

And it was his idea to play it here, as well.

Said pot contained twenty bucks, a pack of gum, a Hello Kitty bracelet Irina randomly pulled from her purse, a coupon for a kiss from Kate and several IOUs for backrubs, foot massages and whatever else.

I stared back at him, keeping my face completely blank. "Well, seeing as how you have more valuable things in the pot than me, I'm not really concerned with losing anything horrifically valuable that I can't win back."

"You could be losing twenty bucks with that 'special' kiss from Kate."

"I've already had one from her."

He hummed. "So," he said, "shall we add into the pile or just show our cards now?"

I snorted and set my cards face down, not breaking eye-contact with him. I reached into my bag and pulled out my iPod. I set it on the table confidently. "My life's worth of songs and music. Perhaps you could learn a thing or two from it."

Kate and Irina "oohed" as I picked up my cards. "This shit just got real," Irina smirked.

Eleazer scowled, but set his cards down and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a wad of cash and slapped it down on the table. "Over two hundred dollars in cash; you can buy better insults with it."

"Whoa," a familiar voice said. Eleazer and I didn't remove our eyes from each other as the other four women turned their heads to Frank while he walked up with a raised brow. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall. "What's going on here?"

"Intense poker game between Bella and Eleazer," Kate explained. "The tension has shot up tenfold in the past few seconds."

"Ah…Is that Bella's iPod?"

"Yep."

"Oh, this shit is real."

Eleazer smirked. "You heard him, Bella," he said. "This shit is real. Are you sure you want to keep going or are you gonna fold? I wouldn't think any less of you if you did."

I forced a mock laugh, setting my hand on my chest. "Oh, Eleazer, learn to take your own advice."

"Bite me."

"Fuck you."

"You would."

"Excuse me, but I'm a circle."

Kate snorted.

He narrowed his eyes on me dangerously. I merely arched a brow in reply, not breaking eye contact with him. The silence that went between the group was tense—in a good way—and filled with suspense. The four women plus Frank were leaning forward with anticipation.

Then, after about ten seconds of the tense silence, Eleazer asked, "You gonna put in or just stare at me?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

He snorted and then smirked. "I think I'll just go ahead and put you out of your misery, Bella. You deserve that." He set his cards out on the table to show a nice Full House on the table. The Denalis and Frank made sounds of sympathy for me.

I sighed, letting my shoulders sag. "I have to say, Eleazer," I said lowly, "you did pull a good one."

"That I did," he agreed.

"It's…kind of sad that I have to give you a Straight Flush down." I slapped my cards on the table.

His jaw immediately dropped and Frank burst into laughter with Carmen. I reached forward and pulled the items in the pile towards me. Irina and Kate were grinning as Tanya did her best to hold in her laughter.

I placed my iPod back in my bag while Eleazer opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of the water. Kate—careful of the wires and port—clapped my shoulder. "Damn, Bella. No one has ever been able to beat Eleazer at poker."

I smirked. "He's never played me."

"Obviously."

I looked back at the gawking man as I made a show of pulling the money both he and Tanya set on the table off and placing it in my wallet. He was just blinking as Frank clapped his shoulder. "Don't worry, man. You can probably win that back…eventually."

Carmen chuckled. "He'll need to in order to have his pride back."

The man didn't speak with his jaw still going up and down as I stuffed the gum, bracelet, coupon for Kate's kiss and the IOU's into my purse.

I looked up at Frank as I zipped my bag shut. "So, you were spreading some rumors, huh?" I asked, crossing my arms. I leaned back in the chair and raised my brow at him.

Frank smiled and held up his hands in surrender. "Hey, I wasn't spreading rumors. I was merely talking to a few nurses about what I predicted," he claimed.

"He's another Alice," Kate mumbled under her breath.

I blinked in her direction and Irina grinned. "Well," she said, "in this case, Frank, you were correct in how this was going to fold out." She jerked her head towards us. "And Tanya has been hot for her since they met, just so you know."

Frank smirked as Tanya growled lowly. I reached over and took her hand in mine to keep her from murdering her sister. He turned to me with a wicked wink. "I told you I was right, Bella." He tapped his temple. "You have to learn when to listen to Frank, because most of the time, Frank Simmons is right."

"Stop referring to yourself in third person."

"Frank doesn't want to."

"Frank."

"Bella."

I rolled my eyes and he smirked at me even more. He looked at the Denalis. "So," he said, "I'm guessing that you are taking on your duty as the family in-law by bringing Bella up here, eh?"

Carmen chuckled. "You could say that," she agreed. "Though we did just want to be involved and make things easier on them for scheduling."

"I'm sure Charlie appreciates it," he said. He looked to Tanya. "And seeing how she does not have bullet holes in her from a protective father, I'm going to guess he does."

Tanya smiled. "I'm keeping my fingers crossed."

"You should, girl. I'll keep mine crossed for you too." He held up his hands and crossed his fingers. He lowered them with a small grin. "Hopefully that will be enough luck for you."

"I'm praying."

He smiled when Audrey called for him up at the front. He jerked his head towards the beckoning woman and sighed. "Afraid I have to leave you folks. The Nurse summons."

"I'm sure we'll see you soon, Frank," I said with a smile.

He gave a shrug. "I can't make my other girlfriends here jealous by spending more time with you, though, Bella. That would just make me be a horrible boyfriend."

"We can't have that."

"Of course not." He gave a small salute, turned on his heel and walked off towards Audrey as he dramatically puffed up his chest and straightened his shoulders, getting a large laugh from her.

"I don't know if I have said this," Irina said, "but Frank is awesome."

I smiled. "He really is."

My machine went off, causing the group to jump slightly at the sudden beep. It was loud and obnoxious, making the vampires flinch slightly from the beep as another nurse quickly walked over and turned it off.

"Only three and a half hours left," I sighed.

The Denalis groaned.