Chapter 41:

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight

A/N: Sorry I'm taking so freaking long to update, but life, you know?

As soon as we were in sight of the three other figures leaning against Sam's truck, I had broken free of Paul and Jacob's holds to dash at them. Seth broke away from the group to meet me halfway with a dopey grin on his face and spread his arms wide. "Bella!"

I threw mine in the air. "Seth!"

The boy ducked down and threw me over his shoulder. I yelped before I began laughing as he started to spin around shouting, "Girly-whirly!"

I hung off his back limply while he kept spinning for a few good seconds, and then slowly stopped and lifted me from his shoulder. He set me on my feet and held onto me while I tried to gain my balance again. It was hard since the world was spinning continuously.

I barely got any control over myself before I had Emily grinning at me. "Hey, honey!" she called, throwing her arms around me in a tight hug.

I gladly leant against her for support while the world slowly began to stop spinning. "Hey, Emily."

I gave the woman a squeeze and then released her. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail and allowed you to see the scar plainly on her face. Half of her mouth was still turned into a permanent frown, but it didn't lessen her smile any. She had grown more confident in herself over time to stop covering the scar and wear it up, and I loved seeing her hair up. She was—in my opinion—very flattered in her face with it back.

I grinned at her. "It's so good to see you again."

She pulled me into another hug with a hum. "Mm…It's good to see you too, girl. I've missed having the one human there that isn't either imprinted on or, you know, tribe related."

I giggled and pulled away to kiss her cheek while Sam's form moved forward. He smiled down at me when I looked up at him. "Sam," I grinned. I threw my arms around his abdomen and his arms easily folded around me.

"Bells," he murmured. He gave me a gentle squeeze and then pulled away to smile down at me happily. He reached up and ruffled my hair. "How's my sister doing, huh?"

I snorted and ducked from his hand. I glared at him while fixing my hair. "Great until you messed up my hair," I retorted.

He grinned. "Should I do it again?" He reached forward to do it again, but I ducked and slapped his hand away repeatedly with both of my own with a sharp "NO".

He sniggered with the Pack until his eyes landed on the vampires behind me. The large man wrapped his arm around Emily and walked towards them with me at his other side. He stopped in front of Tanya who was regarding him lightly. He smiled and held out his hand. "I'm Sam Uley and this is my imprint Emily Young. I'm guessing you're Tanya?"

The blonde nodded and took his hand. "Yes," she said, a little surprised by his guess. "I am, and these are my sisters Kate and Irina along with Alice Cullen and Rosalie Hale."

Sam and Emily both turned their attention to the two women and stared at them for a moment. I had a feeling they were remembering their faces for later use, but I didn't know what. However, besides how intense their gazes were, they nodded to them in greeting.

He turned back to Tanya and smirked. "So…" he drawled, "…it's nice to meet the little she-devil of heart stealing after hearing Bella talk about you."

She beamed, and tension visibly left her shoulders. "And it's nice to meet the giant dog in Bella's life." He grinned and the Pack present sniggered while Tanya moved to hold my hand. "We've heard a lot about you."

He nodded. "And we've heard about you." He smirked. "Especially after your first date when Bella was practically dying of a heart attack from that smooch you gave her."

The Pack sniggered and I growled, slapping my hand into his ribs only to grab my hand. Why did they have to have bodies that were practically filled with concrete? It was such an inconvenience for me when I wanted to smack the hell out of them.

Kate grinned and turned to me with a wicked smirk. "Oh," she drawled, "so that's what you did after the date, Bella? I never did get to hear your take on it…"

I frowned. "And you never will with that attitude," I retorted. I hit Sam again—a little softer this time—in the ribs. "And I am going to kill you if you ever say something like that again."

Paul smirked. "So we shouldn't mention the time you—"

As soon as he started talking I reached down, slipped my shoe off, and promptly chucked it at his face. Paul, of course, caught it with his fast reflexes a good distance away, but stopped talking nonetheless with a smirk.

He tossed my shoe back to me. "Message received and understood, ma'am," he confirmed.

I huffed and slipped my shoe back on. "Good," I said. "Now, let's go get some food or something. I haven't eaten for a while."

The Pack's eyes widened and they threw up their arms. "FOOD!"

"So…time to meet the rest of the fam?" Seth asked. At least, that was what he tried to ask, but the food stuffed in his mouth made it come out as, "Sophie messy buns firm".

I rolled my eyes and reached across the table to smack him upside the chin. He grunted while I scolded, "Swallow then speak, Seth. Use manners."

He rolled his eyes, but did as I said and swallowed his food before he wiped his mouth. "I said, is it time to meet the rest of the family?" he repeated himself. "You know the rest of the new vampire branch and all?" He took another bite of his burger.

I shrugged, moving closer into Tanya's side in the large corner booth at Maria's with her arm around my shoulders. "I don't know. That's all up to Tanya and the others." I took another bite of my sandwich and chewed it slowly.

The woman snorted. "Of course they can meet everyone else," Tanya said. She pulled me towards her with a kiss to the top of my head. "And you are included in that decision, you know."

I shrugged. "Well, yeah, but I was just being polite," I said. I took another bite of my sandwich and swallowed.

Tanya rolled her eyes. "How many times do I have to tell you? You are a part of our coven, and that means you're included in on the decisions it makes automatically."

"Whipped!" Kate coughed into her hand.

Tanya glared at her sister. "Don't act like you aren't sibling-whipped, Kate. We both know you'd be saying the exact same thing," she snipped.

Irina smirked. "Ouch," she sniggered. "Do you want some ice for that one, Kate?"

The pale blonde growled. "Shut it."

Irina smirked and I smiled. Shifting against Tanya again in the booth, and looked around. "So, does that mean everyone will be playing Get to Know the Pack today?" I questioned. I took another bite of my food.

Rosalie snorted in the middle of the booth and crossed her arms with a shake of her head. "No offense, Bella," she said, "but I don't think that's a good idea."

I raised a brow for elaboration.

She shrugged. "Think about it. Five shifters and one imprint all in the same house with twelve vampires and one human mate? I don't think that's going to go down very well."

Jake nodded across the table. "Barbie's got a point—"

"Barbie?"

"—you can't really put sworn enemies in the same room together and not expect some kind of shots to be fired." He glanced at the two Cullens present. "And we don't really have a good past with them anyway."

Rosalie huffed. "Speak for yourself, mutt."

He narrowed his eyes at her warningly. "Leech," he sneered.

Before either could throw insults again, I interrupted, "Before you two get into a name calling war like two children…" Kate smirked with Seth. Jacob and Rosalie both shot me a small half-hearted glare. "…how about we decide when you guys will actually meet, hmm?"

"Good idea," Sam agreed. He looked at Tanya. "If that's alright with you, of course?"

She nodded with a smile. "It's fine," she assured. "How about you come tomorrow at noon? That way you have time to spend with Bella and catch up before you can meet the rest of our family and Cullens officially."

He looked at his Pack for a moment and then at me with a smile. "That would work," he agreed. "I think we'd all enjoy having some time alone with Bella anyway after not seeing her for a few months, right?" The present members made sounds of agreement and he nodded to Tanya. "Noon tomorrow will do fine."

Tanya smiled happily. "Wonderful," she said. "I'm glad we have that worked out."

"Not to be rude," Kate said. The attention of the booth turned to her when she glanced towards the five plates per person arrangement. "But should we make you an entire feast or something?"

Seth's eyes lit up. "That would be awe—oomph!" Leah cut him off with a sharp elbow to the ribs.

She shook her head. "No," she said, "we'll eat before we arrive." She glared at her brother. "Right, Seth?"

He grumbled incoherently, rubbing his ribs, but nodded. "Right, Leah…" He grumbled under his breath, but none caught it from how low his voice became in volume.

She nodded in approval. "Thought so."

He rolled his eyes and stopped rubbing his ribs. Instead, he grabbed his fork and began eating what remained of his food with a small pout on his lips that was just too adorable.

I snorted loudly and grabbed my water. I took a drink of it when I felt something like snot slither out of my nose. I pulled the glass away and my eyes widened when I saw the red mixed in with the water just before Alice gasped and thrust her napkin forward hurriedly when the blood began to flow. I grabbed my nose, catching some drops in my hand.

Tanya, in panic, snatched the napkin and put it under my nose to catch the blood. Her panicked actions did little good and I shoved her hand away, taking the napkin in my own to put it under my nose and clog it when Paul jumped out of the booth—gaining the rest of the occupants' attention.

"Shit!" Jacob hissed. He moved out of the booth to crouch next to me on the ground. He pulled Tanya's arm off of me. "Don't hold her back. She needs to be sitting up." As he said it, he moved me into an upright position while leaning me forward slightly.

Leah swung her head to the petrified vampires when the blood from my nose spread through the napkin and I let out a gagging-like sound. "Don't breathe!" she hissed lowly. Rosalie and Alice quickly took her advice and stilled their breathing while the Denali sisters moved closer worriedly.

"Shit, shit, shit," Tanya growled under her breath. She desperately moved to grab another napkin when Sylvia ran over with Steve and Paul.

She was wrapping ice in a washcloth and grabbed Jacob's shoulder. "Move outta my way, boy," she ordered. Jacob smartly sidestepped and Sylvia hurriedly said, "Alright, Bella, trade me."

I held out my free, blood covered hand and took the rag from her. Quickly, I jerked the bloody napkin away and replaced it with the rag while pinching the bridge of my nose. Only a few more drops fell freely down my face during the transition and onto my hand.

Sylvia took the napkin out of my hand to let me use both hands. She stood back up. "I don't want ya'll leaving here until it stops, Bella," she said sternly. "If it doesn't stop in thirty minutes, I'm calling Dr. Ford."

I only gave a small stopped-up gurgle sound.

Sylvia stepped away from me—allowing Jacob back in to crouch again—and turned to the rest of the restaurant that was watching us intently. She raised her chin. "Alright," she called, "you all've seen a nosebleed like this before. Go back to your meals."

The restaurant did as she said, though a few continued to watch a second longer with sympathetic gazes. Most of them had either been involved in, or had had a nosebleed like this or worse. It wasn't a fun thing to experience or a joyful one.

Sylvia turned back to the booth and looked from me with the rag and ice clutched to my nose to the petrified vampires and worried shifters. "You have this?" she asked.

Sam nodded, getting out of the booth. "Yes," he said, "we know how to handle her nosebleeds." He stood next to Jacob in front of her. "We'll call you if we need anything."

She nodded, glancing at me worriedly before she turned and walked back towards the kitchen with the bloody napkin still in her hand. I took in another gasping like breath through my mouth when Tanya hesitantly began to rub my back soothingly.

"Has…" Kate swallowed. "…Has this happened before?" I couldn't see them, but I could feel her eyes penetrating my skull. I distantly wondered what color her eyes were, but I guessed they were alright; otherwise the wolves would be hauling one of us out of the restaurant.

"Yes," Emily sighed. "Once before when she was smacked by a ball. It's not as scary the second time when you know how to handle it."

I took in another breath when I felt the ice begin to slowly numb my nose through the rag. I hated having the first nosebleed I ever had like this. And this sucked just as much as it had the first time. I took in another breath through my mouth, careful not to disrupt the blood.

I swallowed and murmured, "You guys okay?"

Tanya shifted next to me—my guess to look at the others—and then rubbed my back again. "It's alright, Bella," she said lowly. "Alice and Rosalie began to hold their breath soon enough they didn't smell anything. Kate and Irina, along with myself, all have good control after a thousand years of being alive. We're okay."

I nodded glad the vampires weren't in pain from my bleeding and closed my eyes to wait out the bleeding. Tanya pressed a soft kiss on my shoulder and Sam set his warm hand on my arm. "We got you, Bells. It'll be fine."

I took in another breath. "If I could, I'd give you a thumbs-up right now."

He chuckled. "Just hold onto that rag, okay?"

I nodded and we fell into silence. The loudest thing in our area was maybe my breathing or the occasional murmuring between the group, but besides that, no other sound was really made.

After nearly fifteen minutes of the nosebleed and the tense silence, I carefully pulled the rag away to check if it had stopped. I let out a small breath of relief with the rest of the group when we saw the blood was no longer leaking from my nose.

"It's stopped," I announced to them.

"Thank god," Irina sighed. She peered at me and bit her lip. "Let's get you cleaned up and then we'll leave, okay?"

I nodded, glancing at my hands to find them both decently stained with drying blood and damp blood from what had leaked closest to my nose. Jacob sidestepped to let me out of the booth. "Here…" He grabbed my forearm and pulled me up with Tanya supporting me from behind.

When I was standing and balanced, he released me and took the rag from my hand. Tanya moved out of the booth from behind me and wrapped an arm around my waist protectively. "I'll help Bella clean up in the bathroom. We'll be back in a moment." She left no room for argument—even though there was none; all of them knew not to argue with a vampire being protective of their mate—when she moved us in the direction of the bathroom.

I leaned against Tanya, letting her support my weight while being careful not to get any of my blood on her clothes. The last thing she needed was to have my blood on her and carry the scent with her back home to a houseful of vampires.

I took in a small breath when I felt eyes shift in our direction curiously at our movement, and bit my lip lightly. Tanya, sensing my shift in mood, held me tighter reassuringly and quickened our pace just a notch to get us into the bathroom quicker.

I swallowed when we reached the door and she opened it, moving us in and closed the door behind us. Tanya moved us to the two sinks near the two stalls of the bathroom. I looked at our reflections in the mirror. My upper lip, some of my lower lip, and chin were covered in blood; both dry and damp. My eyes were dull and my skin seemed paler than usual.

Tanya—despite her insisting perfection from vampirism—appeared to be disheveled from the whole ordeal. Her gold eyes were heavy with concern, shock, protectiveness and some fear. She glanced at me in the mirror, and when she saw me looking, she stared at me.

I looked away, ashamed of my appearance. At least, I tried to look away, but was stopped by her hand grabbed my chin lightly and pulling my gaze back to the mirror. She stared at me intensely. "Don't be ashamed, Bella. You have nothing to be ashamed of."

I blinked, staring back at her silently. We stood silently for several moments with my bloody reflection staring at her intense one before she finally released my chin, and turned me around to face her. Tanya kept her eyes focused on mine while her hands found my hips and effortlessly lifted me onto the counter.

Pulling her hands away, she moved to the side and grabbed several paper towels from the dispenser. She set most of them on the counter next to me while keeping one in her hand. She turned on the faucet to my left, dipped the towel under to wet it before she held my chin again and faced me. I watched her; just letting her wipe away the blood on my skin silently.

Her eyes stayed focused on her work, not looking up at me while she moved with purpose to get the blood off my face. Her eyes stayed their solid gold and didn't darken even a shade while she worked. It was most likely because of the mating bond between us—as she had said before with the scent of my blood. Perhaps my blood held no appeal to her in a way that didn't involve marking.

It took her only a few minutes to clear my face of all the blood and dry it with the few towels that remained on the counter before she tossed them. I moved off the counter and turned to the faucet she had left on. I pushed my hands under the water and began to wash the blood from my skin, using soap to get the scent off as well.

Tanya came up behind me as I finished, holding more paper towels for me to use. I turned off the faucet when my hands were clean and took the paper towels without turning around. I kept my head down to stare at my hands as I dried them.

When I was finished I turned around to find Tanya standing just a few inches away from me. Her hands gently grabbed my forearms. "Hey," she murmured, "you have nothing to worry about." She brushed a strand of hair from my face. "You're okay, and that's all that matters. We're just going home now."

I shook my head suddenly tired, oh, so tired. I wrapped my arms around her waist to pull her into me and buried my face in her neck. Tanya wrapped her arms around me without hesitation, pulling me closely into her body. I took in a deep breath of her beautiful scent. "I love you, Tanya," I murmured. "What'd I do without you?"

She shook her head. "Oh, moja láska, I ask myself the same thing every day of my life," she replied. Pulling away, she kissed my forehead. "You mean everything to me, Isabella. I could never imagine my life without you. What it was like before you came into it…I can hardly remember. The only thing I do is loneliness. I cannot imagine what it would be like now when I have met you, held you and had you in my arms, if it would come to me losing you. I would not live."

I closed my eyes and then lifted my lids to stare into her eyes. They were filled with actual agony in the thought of not having me in her life. The sight pained me—it gave me as much agony as it did her. I raised my hand from her waist to cup her cheek.

"I can't imagine my life without you, either," I admitted softly. I leant up and felt her lips on mine in only a second. Our kiss was gentle, soft and loving. It was filled with the words we did not need to say to the other out loud, and it was perfect for that moment.

Tanya was the one to pull away and she smiled down at me. With a small jerk of her head, she took my waist again. "Let's go home."