Chapter 38
Heaven Is Waiting
September 17th
Fay sat by the boarder line, watching the small stream run past her. The chilly night air tossed her hair back and forth. She had been waiting there for hours. Fay knew that was the closest point to the Cullen's house and where the pack would return from. At least she hoped they would return. After her phone call with Jacob, she went looking for any of the pack, but they were already over the boarder. She was too weak to follow them, she knew that. The waiting was killing her though. Quite literally she was freezing to death out in the cold night. Her body still felt numb under layers of coats and long pants. There was no way she was moving though.
She couldn't believe her eyes when she first saw movement in the trees. She thought her eyes and lack of sleep were playing tricks on her as the darkness in front of her began to move. She let out a relieved breath as Sam's black wolf emerged from the darkness. She counted each wolf as they crossed the boarder line. Jared, Quil, Embry, Leah, Seth and a very pissed off looking Paul. They were all there excluding Jacob. Even Leah and Seth were there which Fay wasn't suspecting. Paul's wolf circled her once before disappearing into the trees and reappearing in his human form.
"What the hell are you doing out here Fay, you're meant to be at Emily's," he growled. He could hear her teeth chattering and her pale skin scared the hell out of him.
"What happened?" She whispered through her chattering teeth.
"You're freezing," Paul said, kneeling next to her.
"I don't care," she hissed. Paul ignored her protest, picking her up bridal style and jogging towards her house. Her skin prickled as his warmth radiated around her. It felt like pins and needles pricking her skin. It was uncomfortable but she knew there was no escaping Paul's grasp.
The pack sat around her living room, all looking exhausted and defeated. Paul sat down putting Fay on his lap and holing her close. He refused to let go of her until she stopped shivering.
"Please someone tell me what happened," Fay asked. She looked to her brother, but Sam's eyes stayed locked on the floor.
"They're gone," Leah said, looking across the room at Fay.
"Who's gone?" Fay asked.
"The Cullen's and that creature. Jacob helped them escape." Leah hissed.
"What happened to Jacob?" Fay asked, unable to help herself. Leah opened her mouth to speak but Paul cut her off.
"He distracted us while they got Bella and that thing away. Then while we chased after their cold trail Jacob made his escape. They were working together." She couldn't believe he would actually turn his back on his pack; she couldn't believe a lot of things Jacob had done.
"They are gone, this is a good thing," Sam announced.
"What happens now?" Quil asked, looking across the room at Sam.
"We try and go back to our normal lives," Sam says looking around at his pack. His family. "Or as close to that as we can." Fay knew there was a lot more to the story then what the pack was telling her, but no one looked willing to talk about it yet.
September 20th
It was late morning by the time Fay managed to get out of bed. She had laid there for hours tossing and turning. She couldn't remember what true sleep felt like. She stood, stretching her aching limbs. She walked past the window and jolted in her steps. A police cruiser sat in front of the house. She sighed, defeated. She wasn't sure what awaited her downstairs but not much could go wrong in her life anymore. Fay slowly made her way downstairs. She walked to the glass doors surprised to just find Charlie Swan sitting on her front steps. She opened the door stepping out into the crisp morning air.
"Am I under arrest?" Fay asked.
"No, I just don't know where to go," Charlie said, glancing over his shoulder at Fay.
"Okay. What made you come here?" Fay asked sitting down on the porch crossed legged.
"I got a phone call this morning, Carlisle Cullen telling me Bella died last night. She had been sick since the wedding. They couldn't tell me what was wrong with her, said I wasn't allowed to see her. After what I saw here though I don't know what to believe any more. I thought you maybe able to tell me the truth?" Charlie looked like the shell of a man. Broken into peaces.
"She's not dead Charlie, but she's not human anymore either." Fay said honestly.
"I can't work out what is going on. How the hell am I meant to tell her mother?" Charlie asked.
"There is no right way to tell her Charlie." Fay didn't like Bella, but she also couldn't help but feel sad for the man sat in front of her and the mother somewhere out there who was about to find out she would never see her daughter again.
"Carlisle said she would have to be cremated. He would send me her ashes," Charlie said, his face crushed in confusion. "Am I meant to just have a jar of dust sitting over my fireplace while my daughter is out there somewhere?"
"She's not herself any more Charlie, it's safer for her to stay away," Fay said.
"Then what the hell is she?" Charlie yelled hitting his hands down on the floorboards.
"Even if I could tell you, you wouldn't believe me. But she is out there Charlie. I'm sure if she could have stayed in contact she would have, but if she knows it's not safe for you, she will stay away." Charlie tossed a yellow folder at Fay's legs. "What's this?"
"I got rid of your missing person case. I recommend you file to have your name changed then you can have a normal life, no questions asked." Fay was shocked by Charlie's words. His offer was something she had never thought possible.
"You didn't have to do that," Fay said picking up the folder and flicking through the pages.
"I did. It's my fault you stayed in that home, I didn't listen to you when you tried to report your father. Do you know why I took his word over yours?" Charlie asked, looking back at Fay. Fay shook her head. "The day before you came to my desk and showed me the bruises on your arms, I had a call from Bella. She told me she didn't want to come to Forks again for summer break. She stopped using Dad and just referred to me as Charlie. I'm not sure why she changed her mind, why she wouldn't call me dad anymore. The next day you come in and show me those marks, you tell me your dad made them and you needed help. You still called him dad; I couldn't believe if he had really done that you would still call him that. My own daughter wouldn't call me that and I had never hurt her in any way. I still filed the correct paperwork, did the house inspection and everything that was required. It all checked out. Your father was sober, claimed you got the marks from some male friends. He said you two had had a fight and you were acting out."
"Everyone always believed him. It took you two days to do that home visit. Word got back to him that I had been at the station. I have no idea how, but he had friends there. He was so angry but couldn't hit me. He made other threats though. Held one of his hunting rifles on me while I cleaned that whole shit hole of a house. He said I had to clean up my mess, or he would shoot me. Sam had moved out a few days before I went to see you. He had stopped me from doing it up until then. Dad said if I made him kill me, he would also kill Sam and then at least all his ungrateful kids would be gone." Her father's words range in her ears as clear as the day he said them.
"You still call him dad," Charlie comments, a gleam of tears in his eyes.
"It's not a good word Charlie, not when I say it about him. It was beaten into my mind from a young age, if I didn't call him that their would-be consequences. You did nothing wrong with Bella Charlie, as far as I'm concerned, your father of the fucking year. What happened to her was her own making. Nothing you could do would ever change that," Fay says solemnly.
"His death, we could never work out what happened. The body was shredded, the teeth marks were bigger then a bares but the shape was all wrong for a bear. It was… it was more like a dog. A really big one." Charlie gave her a knowing look but only saw confusion on Fay's face as his words sunk in.
"I didn't know that," Fay said honestly. At the time her father's body had been found there was only one wolf in the pack. If what Charlie said was true, her brother was the one that killed their father. How he kept that from the pack she had no idea.
"I believe you. I'm not going to look into it. No one was sorry to find his body after the news of what he did came out. His death seems like a blessing." Charlie said standing up.
"Thank you."
"I'm going to go start making arrangements for Bella's… funeral." Charlie growled the word, hating the taste of it in his mouth.
"If you ever need to escape Charlie, you're welcome to come here. It's good to get away from the world when you have a lot on your mind," Fay offered.
"Thank you, Fay. I might take you up on that offer." Fay watched Charlie drive off before she went back inside. She went to the bathroom to pee and by the time she was done a brisk nock on the front door drew her attention. Fay guess Charlie had forgotten to say something, but she was pleasantly surprised to find Sue waiting for her outside. She was smiling warmly and held the handles of a large handbag in one hand.
"Hi Sue," Fay said opening the door. She couldn't believe she had multiple visitors in the same day.
"Hi Fay, I hope I'm not bothering you," she smiled.
"Not at all, what's up?" Fay asked. She had only seen Sue a few times, usually with the council. She couldn't remember ever having a one-on-one conversation with the woman. Though through her shared thoughts with Leah and Seth she did feel like she knew her already.
"I was asked to come check on you and the baby. If you're okay with that?" Sue said. "Everyone is worried Fay. They just want to know that you and the baby are okay."
"Okay," Fay said. She knew there was no point fighting her on this and she too was worried if the baby was okay. Her body seem to reject everything she offered it, and she hoped the baby wasn't suffering from that.
"Would you prefer here or in bed? I just need you laying flat, then I will take some measurements and have a feel of your stomach," Sue explained.
"Here is fine," Fay said laying down on the couch. Sue knelt down next to her, opening the large bag Fay could see it was actually some kind of medial kit.
"Roll your shirt up dear," Sue instructed, and Fay did as told. "You've already got a bigger bump them Emily. I saw her at the clinic yesterday, we did an ultrasound and she's around two months along. Any idea how far along you might be?" Sue asked, measuring Fay's small bump. She hadn't taken much notice of it; she guessed her stomach looked a little softer and rounder.
"A month at most," Fay said. She had been crossing the days off on the calendar, it would likely be a May baby and she liked the sound of that. Next spring would look a whole lot different to her last one.
"Well then someone is going to be a big baby. Paul said you're having trouble keeping anything down," Sue said.
"You spoke with Paul?" Fay asked, surprised.
"He came into the clinic this morning asking for me to come see you, he's really worried Fay." Sue explained. Sue had never seen Paul so upset, but he was a mess as he explained what Fay was going through and having no idea how he could help her.
"Yeah, everything just comes straight back up," Fay said. She had wondered where Paul had run off to this morning. She felt bad for worrying him.
"I brought some medication that should help with that. Also, some vitamins to help you and the baby. I told Paul to go buy some crackers, something dry and plain, should be easier to keep down." Sue explained.
"Thank you," Fay said politely.
"Now we don't have an ultrasound machine, but I can still check for a healthy heartbeat." Sue put her stethoscope in her ears and then pressed it to Fay's stomach. She moved it around, stopping for a moment, then moved it some more. Sue's face dropped.
"What's wrong?" Fay could see the worry plastered across Sue's face.
"Fay honey ummm, I don't know how to say this," Sue sat back, taking her stethoscope off.
"You can't find it?" Fay asked sitting up.
"No, I found it, but there's more then one heartbeat in there," Sue explained slowly, not sure how Fay would react to the news.
"Twins?" Fay choked on the word.
"I can't be sure without an ultrasound but yes, I believe so. That would help explain some of your extreme symptoms," Sue smiled.
"Well Paul's going to be the one throwing up when I tell him this news," Fay laughed, a wave of relief flooding over her. She hadn't realised how worried she had been.
"Make sure he's sitting down." Sue advised.
Something in Fay felt the need to live even through the darkest times. There had to be a reason for it all… To make her life worth something and with the spirits as her witness, she promised to be the best mother to these baby's. To not let her dark side win like her mothers had, to not blame her children for her own mistakes like her father had. She would make sure the next generation of wolves were ready for the cold ones return. Because she was sure they would return.
Author Notes***
I've had the ending for this story written for year, since the first idea came to mind. It had been tweaked over the years but always stayed the same. Now it has been moved to my Bloopers page for this story and I have a whole new idea in mind. I will probably live to regret it but I want to see what is going to happen. I may still post the old ending as a stand alone chapter so people who don't like my new idea can finish the story once and for all. And considering how long I've worked over that idea I would like people to be able to still read it.
Good news is there is probably another dozen chapters to come from the new idea, still up in the air with some parts of it but I'm interested in seeing how it goes.
