Bella's eyes fluttered open to a woman's voice yelling, "Paul?"

"Shit!"

He didn't even look toward Bella as he sat up. She remained utterly still as she watched him slide out of bed, stalk toward his dresser for a pair of sleep pants, and tug a clean t-shirt from the closet. The hanger bounced as it swung and fell to the floor as he strode from the room while pulling on his shirt.

A second later, the cheerful female voice said, "Hi, Paul. I was starting to think you weren't home."

Although somewhat muffled, she heard Paul say, "Hi, Karrie. You really should have knocked. Now's not a great time, and Jamie's not here."

"Oh, I knocked." She giggled.

Is she flirting with him? Bella slowly sat up, scowling, and tugged the sheet to cover herself, unsure what else to do. All of her belongings were in the bathroom across the hall, and after screwing their brains out til the wee hours of the morning, she was sure she looked dreadful whether she was naked or not.

"I was in bed but awake, and no, you didn't," Paul said, sounding annoyed. "Like I said, Jamie's not here. Maybe you can come back later?"

"Oh, I don't need to see Jamie. Just one of our usual pop-ins."

"Jamie is the whole point of you coming here, Karrie. If he's not here, there's no point. And you know you can't just come in here without permission. That's not how this works."

There was a touch of irritation in her voice as Karrie asked, "Where is Jamie, anyway?"

"At his Aunt Emily's. He stayed the night there, which he has full consent from CPS to do."

Bella tensed as Karrie's tone turned condescending. "He's not becoming too much for you to handle?"

Who does this bitch think she is? Paul was fantastic with Jamie!

In the firm but calm tone Bella was becoming used to, Paul said, "My son is never too much for me."

Karrie sweetened her tone so fast that Bella rolled her eyes.

"How are you coming along with your application fees?"

"Still working on it," he said. Bella could hear the tension rising in his voice, though Karrie seemed oblivious.

"Well, now, Paul, raising children is expensive… You know you might not get financial help once he's no longer in foster care."

"Maybe," Paul argued. "And I'm aware. We've discussed this before. Just because I don't have forty grand in my back pocket doesn't mean I can't provide for my son."

Forty Thousand Dollars?! That was the money people paid to adopt an orphaned child who had been in their care longer than they'd been in the system? Something about that seemed ludicrous - especially when there was no way what little foster care provided remotely covered all of their expenses. Bella may not have children, but she had friends who did. She knew how expensive it was to raise a child.

"And your divorce?"

Bella's heart sank. Was having an estranged wife hindering the process for him? She sighed, saddened to have her assumptions that their divorce was best for everyone validated. It also made her feel guilty that his son had to stay somewhere else for them to have the night together. Had her mere presence displaced a child from his bed? It didn't feel right.

Karrie asked, "Well, do you mind if I look around? If you let me view the house, I'll be out of your hair."

"I do mind. Jamie isn't here, and I have a sleeping guest. You're more than welcome to come back later this afternoon." Bella heard the front door swing open and assumed he was attempting to usher her out the door.

"Ah. I see," Karrie said, irritation returning to her tone. "I really can't just travel around willy-nilly on the state's dime, you know?"

"Then you should do what we agreed upon two years ago and call first."

"That's not how it works, Paul."

"For new foster parents. He's been here his entire life, Karrie. What is the real reason you're here?"

"I'm just doing my job," she snapped.

" No. You're not. I told you I'm not interested. Stop pushing. Goodbye, Karrie."

Bella couldn't help the pang of jealousy that followed his words and scoffed at her irrationality. He's not yours, she reminded herself, simultaneously hating every word.

Bella heard the door shut and stood to peek out the window, hoping she could see the woman heading toward her car. Bella watched the pretty brunette as she hesitated beside her vehicle, turned toward the house, and huffed.

"Keep walking, twat."

Bella smirked as Karrie climbed into her car before slamming the door. A chuckle behind her made Bella spin around to face him.

His expression slowly changed from amused to wanting as he walked toward her. "Sorry if that woke you."

"It's no big deal." Blushing, she crossed her arms over her bare chest. He chuckled again as he pulled her arms apart to look down at her naked breasts and clucked his tongue.

"You know? I didn't spend nearly enough time on those last night."

Bella giggled as he pulled her into his arms, wrapping them around her. Bella hugged him back, burying her face against his chest as she inhaled deeply, breathing him in. Even dressed, he smelled like sweat and sex. As irrational as it was, she still hoped the bitch had noticed it.

Despite that, she still felt guilty about being a hindrance to him and Jamie. "I'm sorry if my being here caused you more trouble."

He pressed his lips to her temple and shook his head. "You didn't."

"Paul…" She tried not to smile at the sound of his name on her lips. After chanting it half the night, she felt almost reluctant to stop. "I could help you with the adoption process. If you want, anyway."

Paul pulled away somewhat as he asked, "How?"

"The fees. The divorce. I don't know… whatever you need. I just want you to be happy."

He cupped her face and leaned down to kiss her. It quickly silenced her guilty mind as she sunk into him, forgetting about how she should get dressed and ready to leave, that her presence when Jamie got home was likely the last thing any of them needed. Bella clutched onto her husband's shoulders as he dropped his hands to her waist and lifted her. She wrapped her bare legs around him as he turned and strode back to his bed.


Bella stood in the bathroom dressing after taking another shower, putting on the spare change of clothes she'd brought 'just in case' the day before. Her navy blue bra went well with the semi-transparent sleeveless blouse in the same shade. The wispy ruffle traversing the front of the shirt and the row of buttons beneath it camouflaged her cleavage. She paired it with a short pair of blue jean shorts, unlike anything she'd worn in years. Bella still wasn't sure what had possessed her to buy them, but they went surprisingly well with the shirt and silver sandals.

Paul leaned in the open doorway to check on her and smirked as he caught her trying to braid her hair.

"Here." He chuckled, stepped behind her, and took her hairbrush from her hand. Soon, he had her blonde hair plaited down the center in an elaborate fishtail braid and tied off.

"Thanks," she said, meeting his eyes in the reflection of the bathroom mirror. "Where'd you learn to do that? I haven't seen a braid in this style in years."

On a childhood Leah Clearwater, in fact…

"My grandmother. Arthritis in her hands made it too hard to do it herself, so she taught me with a baby doll that used to be my mom's," he explained as Bella gathered her belongings back into her bag.

She grinned at him, loving the open honesty that had come with his maturity. The boy she once knew would never have admitted to that.

"When will Leah get here?"

Bella glanced at her cell phone on the bathroom counter. "In the next few minutes."

He surprised her by asking, "What are your plans for the week?"

She hesitated. "Are you asking for a reason?"

It seemed foolhardy to hope for more time together before she left when they would only be divorcing. She was already dreading walking out the door and didn't want to hope for more than the last sixteen hours.

Frowning at her suspiciously, he stepped behind her again and slid his hands around her waist. "Just curious?"

"Well, my High School reunion is tomorrow night. I'll be at Charlie's Sunday, probably most of the day if he's forgiven me by then."

"He will." Paul bent to kiss the crown of her head. Bella closed her eyes as she leaned into his chest, wishing she could stay precisely where she was.

"So what comes next?"

She grumbled, "I imagine I'll be arguing on the phone half the morning on Monday."

"Why is that?"

"My manager is a dick." She snorted. "He didn't want to extend my leave."

"Oh." Paul lowered his gaze to the floor as he frowned. Just as he opened his mouth to say something else, the sound of someone entering the house interrupted him.

"Daddy!"

Well, shit. Bella definitely wasn't escaping before Jamie saw her now. She wondered what he was going to say about her being there. Paul smirked at her in their reflection and hurried out to greet his son.

Bella tossed her cell into her bag, tucked her dress on top of it, and stepped out of the bathroom in time to see Sam hovering at the front door. His eyes bugged out as he spotted her, then glanced toward where Paul stood, holding Jamie. Bella and Sam tried not to smile as he wagged his eyebrows at her. Heat rushed to her cheeks, making him bark out a loud laugh. She shook her head at him in embarrassment.

Jamie followed Sam's gaze and immediately wiggled out of Paul's arms. He hit the ground running and sped across the living room to her. Bella set her bag down to lift Jamie, and his little arms wound around her neck. She tried to ignore it as Sam turned his questioning gaze back on Paul, who merely shrugged.

"Hi, Bella," Jamie said happily. "When you get here?" He looked down at her bag and frowned over the neatly folded dress. "Thass from yesserday." He glared up into her face, and Bella cringed.

If looks could kill, kid… Damn.

He demanded, "You stay the night?"

Bella glanced toward Paul, unsure of what he wanted his son to know.

Paul chuckled. "Yeah, Buddy. She stayed here. We needed to have a grown-up talk."

Sam muttered, "And that took all night, I bet…"

"Sam…" Bella warned, and he cackled as he waved goodbye.

"See you later, Jamie," he said as he stepped outside. Before shutting the door, he added, "Bells, come out to the house before you go to Florida if you can. I know Emily would love some more time with you."

"Yeah, I'll try," Bella said, nodding. "Oh, wait.." She reached into her bag for the unopened bottle of Merlot and walked over to hand it to Sam. "Give that to Emily. She seemed to enjoy it. Maybe it'll help with number four."

Sam's entire face lit up as he took the bottle. "Same stuff as yesterday?"

"It's my favorite," Bella said, nodding.

"She'll probably just drink it and get mopey about missing Bella," Paul teased Sam.

"Yeah, but then I can make her feel better with one of those all-night grownup talks."

Paul flat-out laughed as Bella damn near sputtered in Jamie's face.

As Sam walked away from them, Bella said, "Samuel Uley, you better keep that handsome mouth shut."

Sam turned to wink at her, grinning as he opened the driver's door of his truck.

Jamie asked, "Can I go to Aunt Emmy's with you?"

"Uh…" She hesitated, again looking at Paul. He smiled and shrugged, clearly of no help whatsoever.

"If I have time to see your Aunt Emily before I fly back to Florida, and IF your dad says it's okay on that day, and IF your Aunt Emily is okay with the extra company… then… yes. I would love to take you with me. You want to play with the twins, I bet."

Jamie nodded emphatically and hugged her tight. "Thass my bess friend."

Bella asked, "Who? Which one?"

"Both!" Jamie leaned back, grinning, nearly tossing himself out of Bella's arms. Paul was behind him in a flash, keeping them both from tumbling over.

"Be careful, buddy. Bella's not as strong as your Dad. She's like Emily, okay?"

Jamie frowned as he looked down at Bella's form, then searched her face. "Dad… Bella is not like Aunt Emmy. Aunt Emmy has pretty red scars and bigger…" Jamie looked up at his father and patted his chest, sending Paul into hysterical laughter as he carefully set Jamie on his feet.

"Like father, like son," Bella teased.

Through his laughter, Paul said, "Jamie, you better go feed Bob."

Jamie's eyes widened in alarm as he spun and ran down the hallway.

As Paul reached for her waist to pull her closer, Bella asked, "Bob?"

"His fish. First pet, and all that. It's a trial run before we try a dog or cat." Paul leaned down and kissed her. It was a sweet peck of a kiss, but the sentiment behind it was evident.

Bella hummed as she thought about it. "Maybe try something in between, like a hamster?"

"A hamster?"

She laughed. "Yeah. You can put it in one of those little plastic balls and let it roll around the house. Put little tubes together for it to crawl around in. I bet Jamie would love it."

"Hmmm. I'll consider it." He grinned as he leaned down to kiss her again.

Just as their lips met, Jamie awkwardly whispered, "Daaaad."

Bella and Paul pulled apart as someone cleared their throat from the front doorway. All three looked up at a smirking Leah as she drummed her nails on the frame.

"Really, you two? There's a child present."

Bella looked down at Jamie as he held an 8x10 canvas out to her, and she squatted beside him. Simultaneously, Paul focused on Leah and asked, "Doesn't anyone knock anymore?"

Leah laughed. "The door is wide open, Jackass."

Bella, however, was busy gaping at the painting Jamie handed her. It was a portrait of herself, as she had looked ten years ago, in precise, minute detail down to her top lip being slightly fuller than her bottom lip and the distinct shape of her (Charlie's) nose.

"See?" Jamie reached up to touch Bella's now-blonde hair. "He choosed the wrong color."

"Shit," Paul muttered as he realized what Bella was holding. But she remained frozen, tempted to trace her fingertips over the raised, long-dry lines of oil paint. It was remarkable.

He painted this from memory? Bella wore a shirt in the painting that she'd only worn once, the same night she'd punched Jacob for kissing her. Renee had sent it just two weeks earlier. Alice hated it on sight, and it soon disappeared.

Paul wasn't with us that day. "You painted this from a pack memory, didn't you?"

He gave her a single nod before pushing his hair back in aggravation. He reminded her of a top chef contestant, nervously watching her appraise his work while waiting for feedback and simultaneously hoping it was good.

Bella rubbed his forearm reassuringly as she said, "It's incredible. And the wolves on your truck? You're an amazing artist."

He relaxed somewhat as he took a deep breath, and she shakily handed him the canvas. Despite hoping to soothe him, every nerve ending in her body screamed at her that it was time to leave before she made things worse. Already, Bella felt as attached to Jamie as he seemed to be to her, and every little thing she learned about the man Paul had become made her love him more.

Bella pulled Jamie into her arms and hugged him. "I gotta go, buddy. Leah is here to pick me up."

"You takin' me to Aunt Emmy's, right?"

"We'll see, buddy. Remember what I said?"

Jamie grumbled, "Yeah, yeah. If. Dad says IF, too."

Bella laughed as Paul said, "Hey!"

She stood carefully, suddenly nervous to embrace Paul again. He left her no chance to overthink it as he pulled her into his arms and hugged her tight. Bella hugged him back just as hard and reluctantly pulled away. She lifted her bag and slung the straps over her shoulder.

"Bye, guys."

"See ya."

Bella followed Leah out the door without looking back.