Impasse
Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to SM.
A Meeting of Opposites
As Bella stepped inside the house hand in hand with Jacob, she came across Charlie walking to the kitchen with several large pizza boxes stacked in his hands.
"Hey, kids." He grinned sheepishly. "I had planned on making some proper food for the party, Bells, but I had a slight accident. So, I ordered some pizza's instead."
The suspiciously sharp smell of charred sausages gave away exactly what had happened.
"Sure. Thanks, Dad."
Charlie's grin turned to one of relief. "That's the spirit, kiddo. Happy birthday, Bells."
"Thanks, Dad." Bella said again, trying to hide her amused smile. She let go of Jacob's hand and moved forward to press an awkward kiss on her father's cheek.
Charlie gawked at her in surprise, not used to overtly affectionate displays from his daughter, he actually blushed. "Ho hum." He mumbled, clearing his throat several times. "I better get these plated. Everyone else is in the living room waiting for you."
"Come on, honey." Jacob encouraged Bella, tugging on her hand gently.
Bella blinked a couple of times in an effort to contain her emotions. She was feeling a little overwhelmed, which was ridiculous when you thought about it. It was just a little party. No big deal. Still, this was her first birthday with Charlie, well the first birthday since her mom, Renee, had remarried and gone to live in Florida, so perhaps she shouldn't be so hard on herself for feeling a little overemotional about the whole thing.
Charlie's head popped out of the kitchen again as she finally made a move toward the living room. "Oh – just as a forewarning – the Mariners are playing the Sox tonight." He explained. "You don't mind if us old men have it on in the background while we celebrate. Blame Billy and Harry – they're like temperamental toddlers when they can't get their fix."
Both Bella and Jacob burst out laughing, much to Charlie's chagrin. He watched them in befuddlement, clearly confused as to what he had said that they found so amusing.
"Oh, Dad, don't ever change." Bella declared breathlessly.
"Um, right." Charlie muttered. He scooped up the camera he had bought her on Renee's suggestion (because she would need pictures to fill her scrapbook), and tossed it to her. Of course she fumbled the catch, but luckily Jacob nimbly caught it before it hit the floor. "Well caught, son." He complimented Jacob.
"Thanks, Charlie." Jacob smiled, earning himself an exasperated glare from Bella. This time she was the one tugging on his hand as she edged toward the living room.
Bella's chocolate brown eyes misted up at the chorus of happy birthday's which greeted her as soon as she made her grand entrance on Jacob's arm.
The living room was filled with several warm bodies – those of her father's closest friends, more like family really, which were now her friends, too. Harry was parked in Charlie's recliner, his eyes dancing as he sang the birthday song completely out of tune. His wife, Sue, stood beside him with one hand resting on his shoulder, singing lustily along with her husband, her dark eyes shining. Seth sat at his father's feet, looking rather shy and awkward as he sang along with his parents. Leah stood on her mother's right, looking for all the world as if she had been dragged to this unwanted event against her will. She mumbled the words, while doing her best not to roll her eyes. Sam had one arm slung casually over her shoulders. He didn't join in with the singing, just grinned over at Bella and Jacob.
There was one person missing – Quil. Bella glanced to the side at Jacob. He just shrugged, indicating he would fill her in later.
Finally, the celebratory song came to an end, leaving Bella with genuine tears of pleasure in her eyes. "Thanks, guys." She whispered.
"Now for the cake!" Sue declared, stepping forward, nudging her reluctant daughter in the side with her elbow at the same time.
"Alright, alright." Leah grumbled. "Give me a minute. Sam, some help, please."
Sam let his arm drop from Leah's shoulders as he bent down to help her lift the cake off the small table which had been hidden behind them. Bella couldn't believe her eyes when she saw it. It was a chocolate wolf cake. The center was rich and sweet, the coating was double cream mixed with melted chocolate. The outer body of the wolf had been iced to directly match the russet toned hue of Jacob's wolf; it had chocolate buttons for eyes. The nose was a Malteser with a honeycomb center.
"Oh my!" Bella gushed, gasping, and holding her hand over her mouth in delight. "This is…I can't find the words to describe how marvelous this all is."
Jacob was bursting with happiness at Bella's obvious delight. He had spent two days slaving away in the Clearwater's kitchen with Leah to make the perfect birthday cake for Bella. The first few attempts had led to disaster, the most difficult part was trying to find the exact shade of icing they needed to coat the wolf's fur. Working with Leah wasn't easy. She was rude, often irritable, the two of them constantly bickering with each other. Jacob had almost given up, begging Sue Clearwater to intervene and take her daughter's place.
"I can't stand being in her company another minute." He complained. "She was so obviously forced into doing this."
Sue had laughed, her dark eyes dancing with repressed mirth. "I was supposed to be the one baking the cake, but Lee insisted. My daughter might do her best to disguise how much she really cares, but she does. She has grown very fond of Bella and is immensely protective of her, even if she pretends otherwise. Just be patient with her, Jacob. It will all come good in the end, I promise you."
And, of course, the older woman was proved right. On their fourth attempt, Jacob and Leah finally baked the perfect cake.
Charlie waltzed into the living room carrying the first of the plated pizzas with him. His face broke into a broad smile when he saw his daughter's reaction at the cake reveal. At first, he had thought it a bit odd that Jacob and Leah had baked the cake in the shape of a wolf, but he was so glad that they had taken the responsibility of choosing the confection off him that he didn't comment.
However, Bella seemed enamored with the unusual choice. Maybe she liked canines and never told him. Maybe he should get one of those retired police dogs that needed rehoming. He had always wanted to, but wasn't sure how Bella would feel about it. Perhaps it was time to have that conversation.
"Happy eighteenth, kiddo." He said loudly, dumping one of the plates on Harry's lap, the other on Billy's.
As Harry raised the pizza slice to his opened mouth, he earned himself a sharp cuff on the back of the head from his wife. "What?" He asked in confusion, looking up at her irritated face.
"Just wait a minute before stuffing your face. Bella hasn't blown her candles out yet." Sue hissed.
"Bit old for that, isn't she?" Harry said grouchily as he reluctantly put the pizza slice back on his plate. He noticed Billy laughing at him out of the corner of his eye and glared at him.
Jacob had just finished lighting the candles during this little exchange. He grabbed Bella's hand and pulled her to stand beside him. Her pale face was flushed with happiness, her chocolate brown eyes filling once again with tears.
"Thanks everyone." She said again, leaning forward to blow the candles out.
"Hey, you're supposed to make a wish first." Jacob reminded her.
"Oh, yeah, I forgot." Bella giggled. Still holding tightly to Jacob's hand, she closed her eyes, the words of her wish already forming in her mind: Please make the Cullens go away from Forks forever and leave me in peace.
And with that hopeful wish staying in the forefront of her mind, she opened her eyes again and blew out the candles.
While everyone clapped in delight as the flame on the last candle sputtered out, Bella turned and whispered to Jacob. "Quil will be sorry he missed this."
Jacob's smile faded and his expression turned serious. "I needed to have at least one of us out on patrol. We were going to rotate, but Quil insisted he would be fine on his own for a while. He wants to prove that I can trust him." He whispered back.
"That's good, isn't it?"
Jacob sighed, tightening his hold on Bella's hand. "I certainly hope so." He replied dubiously. "I really do."
A numb, dead feeling was spreading through Quil's right arm – the same arm that the redheaded witch had sunk her poisoned fangs into after she had cleverly ambushed him. The shock of the poisonous venom hitting his veins had made him shift back into his human form. He now lay naked at the redhead's feet, his body jerking, and his pupils completely blown as the venom began to take effect.
Even though he had promised Jacob that he would be paying attention, he had let his mind wander, thinking about Amalee, the senior at the tribal school he had developed a crush on. She was supposedly dating Paul Lahote, but Quil was sure he had captured her eye. He often caught her throwing him admiring glances when they passed each other in the halls. He had held back from openly flirting with her, deciding to play the long game instead of jumping in with both feet as usual.
His inattention had cost him dearly. Vampire venom was lethally toxic to a phased wolf. They could heal from most things, but not this. If they got bitten, they died.
The redheaded vampire cocked her head as she stared down at him, watching with intense interest as his body continued to spasm, his face contorting openly in pain. He had been such an easy kill; it had surprised her. She had thought he might have put up at least some kind of fight. If the others were as easily defeated at this one, it would mean she would have free reign of the area.
Suddenly the redhead heard a twig crack to her right. She swung around, realizing she had left herself wide open to attack. She had been as foolish as the dying wolf boy at her feet, leaving herself vulnerable. Killing him so easily had made her briefly think she was invincible.
Out of the tree cover a tall figure emerged. The redhead fell into a low crouch, hissing through her teeth as she got ready to defend herself.
"There is no need to fear. I will not hurt you."
The redhead straightened up again. She recognized that voice as well as the face of its owner. It was forever burned in her memory, as well as that of his companions and their human pet.
"You remember me?" The voice asked cautiously.
"Yes." Her answer came out in a low hiss.
The figure walked closer; hands out held in front of him in a sign of parley. The redhead watched his face carefully. His hair gleamed gold from the weak light filtering through the canopy of branches overhead. She could feel the faint stirrings of unease in the pit of her stomach, concerned that the other members of his coven were somewhere nearby, ready to take her down. Despite this worry, she remained determined to show no fear in front of him.
"I meant what I said. I won't hurt you. I just want to tend to the poor boy on the ground. Will you leave and let me do that without any type of reprisal?"
The redhead was struck by the apologetic way he spoke to her and by the way he wanted to help the stricken creature writhing on the ground.
"Why would you want to help one of his kind?" She remarked, her curiosity piqued.
"I believe all life is precious." He replied calmly.
"Not all!" The redhead reminded him, her curiosity driven away by the force of her returning anger. "Your coven killed my mate!"
The blonde figure's face was awash with sadness. "Your mate's death was unfortunate. But he meant my family harm – his actions gave us little choice."
"Not good enough!" The redhead snarled.
"Its not your fault." The blonde figure continued, his tone now matching his facial expressions. "And I don't expect you to understand. However, we have little time to debate this. I only have a short window of time to save this boy's life. Will you allow me to do so without interference?"
"Who are you?" The redhead exclaimed in disbelief. She was genuinely confused by the blonde figure's actions.
"I am Carlisle Cullen – but you knew that already. I expect you meant something quite different by your question. I would love to fill you in properly one day, if only you can see past your hatred and revulsion."
The redhead's crimson eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
The blonde figure – now revealed as Carlisle – chuckled darkly as he knelt beside Quil and began to examine him carefully.
His relaxed calm amazed the redhead. It was in such stark contrast to the usual reaction she received when crossing paths with another of their kind. It made her pause as she watched him work with quick, practiced movements to draw out the poisonous venom from the deep bite she had inflicted on the wolf boy's arm with his own fangs. It was all over in minutes.
"How can you do that?" She demanded. "I have never…." She trailed off, shaking her head in wonder.
"Years and years of practice." Carlisle confirmed with a weary smile. "I barely notice the scent."
"Or the foul taste?"
"Maybe." He shrugged his shoulders, but his face remained steady. "It will take a while for the boy to recover, so I suggest you vacate the area before his brothers find him. It will not go down well for you if they find you here. I will stay with him."
The redhead took heed of his warning. She had already lingered too long. Before she fled, she turned to stare at Carlisle's bowed head. He had his eyes closed, almost as if he was praying.
"We will meet again." The redhead said aloud.
"I have no doubt." Carlisle murmured, bowing his head lower in defeat, knowing that one day his softheartedness and compassion would be the end of him.
A/N-thanks for reading!