A/n: I do not own anything related to the Twilight franchise.

"I'm fine Edward, really. It's just a cold." Bella gripped the cell phone tight in her hand as she fought her overwhelming urge to cough. The itch in the back of her throat when she'd answered Edward's call had by now intensified into a burning rawness that set her heavy chest to quivering. If she gave in though, there was no way Edward would stay at school, he'd been there to hover over her in literally a split second. There was no way she'd be able to relax with him there, she was already hyper aware of how clumsy and dull she was in comparison to him and his family when she wasn't sick. "I'm having a rest at home today, that's all." She grimaced as she felt the snot from her streaming nose start to run down her top lip, reaching surreptitiously for a tissue to dab it away but not daring to blow with Edward still on the line.

"But alone Bella?" Edward protested, "No, that isn't taking proper care. Your father may be willing to leave you to suffer while he goes to work, but…"

"I told Charlie to go to work!" Bella cut him off, her temper unexpectedly flaring as guilt set in. The hurt expression in her dad's eyes when she'd insisted he head into the station instead of taking the day off for her like he'd offered was still vivid in her mind's eye. "There was another person reported missing yesterday so I knew he needed to go in…and I'm fine." Nausea stirred in her gut as she thought of the spate of missing persons' cases Charlie was handling lately, of all of those people who'd 'disappeared' into Volterra's tombs…

Edward collected himself for a moment then said smoothly, "Of course, your father is in a very noble profession." He sighed softly, "I am just concerned for you my love, as are my whole family. Alice and I can easily come to your house to care for you if indeed Charlie will not return for hours…"

"You're both at school." Bella reminded him tiredly, "And really Edward, I'm happy here just taking it easy." Guilt again began to eat at her, should she really be refusing Edward's company after Italy? After making her choice? After pining for him for so long? But she did have a bad cold, and a quiet day under her duvet on the couch in front of the TV, on a diet of soothingly mind numbing reality and daytime shows, was all she wanted. Edward and Alice were above and beyond all that of course. They wouldn't understand. "I need you to take notes for me Edward, since I'm missing a day." She suggested, glad to have thought of the excuse. Edward was always pressing his class notes on her anyway. His painstaking detail in old-fashioned, elegant script put her spiky scrawl to shame and he wanted her to have the best.

Edward's voice instantly brightened, "Of course my love." He agreed solicitously, "But that means I will have to attend all our classes today and won't see you until this evening." He sighed again, longer and deeper. "Carlisle will come with me. You need to be seen by a doctor since your immune system may well be compromised…"

"Charlie is going to be home early." Bella interrupted him. She hated to use her dad as an excuse, especially since he'd been worried enough to suggest Sue Clearwater come round to check her over, but as far as she was concerned either nurse or vampire doctor was overkill for a common cold. She wasn't about to offer that opinion to Edward though, she could tell he was about to overwhelm her with well-intentioned argument, so she put him off before he could start. "If I'm not feeling any better by the end of the week, Carlisle can check up on me as much as you want."

"Do you promise me, Isabella love?"

Bella winced internally at his use of her full name. She felt it didn't fit her at all, too long, frilly and elegant for someone like her, but Edward insisted it was perfect. She supposed he came from a different, more formal, era. "I promise." Her voice was really croaky now.

"Good." Edward murmured silkily, satisfied. "I'll be in your room tonight to see for myself that you're better."

"Thanks Edward." Bella acquiesced quickly, "Bye." She cut off his more flowery goodbyes, her thumb firm on the 'end call' button as she was wracked with the coughing fit she'd bottled up for his peace of mind. When it had finally subsided, she curled up back under the duvet with a box of tissues in one hand and the remote control in the other. As she blew her nose repeatedly, she settled on the morning repeat of the Dancing with the Stars episode from the night before.

The VT of the first couple training for the samba was just starting when there was a knock at the door. Bella stiffened, ready to turn it off at once. Had Edward ignored her and turned up here anyway? A second knock. No, Edward would've just rushed in if he was that determined. "Come…" Her voice petered out and she took a quick swig of the lemon flavoured cold remedy she'd made up in her favourite mug. She gagged immediately. What had been steaming and soothing when she'd first picked up the phone was now freezing and sourly medicinal.

"Bella?!" The door crashed open and suddenly Jacob Black was in her living room, his handsome face tight with anxiety, dark eyes wide. He'd collided with the corner table in his rush and Bella's grandmother's lamp, probably older than Charlie, wobbled dangerously. Bella felt her chilled body warm up considerably when Jake flashed a boyishly embarrassed smile as he tried to steady the lamp with his massive hands…or paws. God, he was the proverbial wolf in a china shop!

"Jake…" Bella started, but the laugh that thought brought bubbling to the surface both killed the bewilderment in her tone and sparked off another violent coughing fit. Before she knew it, Jake was beside her on the couch, slamming his hand forcefully into her back and telling her to 'breathe, Bella, breathe'. "What the hell Jake?" Bella rasped out as the fit finally eased, no thanks to his caring assault.

Jacob only then seemed to realise that he'd misread the situation, a self-conscious blush dusting his glowing tanned skin as his hand began instead to move in gentle circles over her back. Damn, it felt good. The supernatural heat he radiated was soaked in by her aching muscles like a desert drinks up rain. "Sorry Bells." He murmured apologetically. "It really sounded like you were choking out there, then you started coughing…"

Bella shifted away from him slightly, shrugging her shoulders, but his hand would not be dislodged, settling on the small of her back. "Well, I wasn't." She replied shortly, "But thanks, I guess."

Jacob eyed her warily, he could sense her withdrawing from him already. Weren't they past that now, since they were talking again? He'd come to see that she was okay, and here she was giving him the same passive-aggressive crap as usual. "Sure Bells." He muttered. His hand dropped away from her, curling into the slightest of fists on his knee.

Bella frowned at him, drawing the duvet around herself again in an effort to create some sort of barrier between them. As was always the case now, he was conspicuously underdressed, wearing only a pair of tattered cut off that clung low to his him, allowing her eyes to do uninterrupted panes over the entirety of his glorious torso. Just being in his proximity made her hot, but he was so used to his heightened temperature there was little more than a few beads of sweat on him. He was barefoot, but unscathed by the rough ground between Forks and La Push. She thought of her own foot, still tender where she badly stubbed her toe the day before. She couldn't even make her way around her own home, let alone be trusted to run wild. "What are you doing here Jacob?"

"You're sick." Jacob stated simply, his gaze warm with concern. "I thought you might want some company."

"I don't." Bella answered hurriedly, "I've already told Edward I'm fine on my own Jake…" She began heatedly.

"You are." Jacob cut her off, looking at her meaningfully. "I know you can look after yourself Bells. Jeez you try to look after everyone else…" He trailed off, then shrugged. "You don't have to prove a point to me, is all I'm saying. A leech is no company at all anyway. Does he even really know what it's like to feel like crap?" Probably not. Jacob thought darkly, not after the injuries Bella had sustained and the leech still dragged her to prom, or the mental torture she'd put herself through after his abandonment only for him to expect her to come running to save his sparkly, flammable ass.

"He was human once Jake, as alive and as young as we are now." Bella reminded him thickly, then said, "He's at school, which is where you should be Jake…"

"We're on extra patrolling schedules. I was up all last night into this morning."

"What?" Bella asked, her anxiety spiking. "Sam's still being hard on you for talking to me again isn't he? That's not fair Jake, you have to go to school…"

"Sam didn't have much choice." Jacob answered sharply, "There are vamps in the area again."

Bela paled, "Charlie's missing person cases. Did you find…"

"No." Jacob assured her quickly, though his face was dark, "Not last night anyway."

Bella exhaled, feeling almost dizzy with relief. "Thank God." She whispered, meeting his gaze. There was pain, and dread, in those soulful orbs. "But you should still go to school when you can Jake, if only to give yourself a break from all this…"

Jake chuckled humourlessly, "Are you seriously saying that school can be a de-stress Bella? The weirdest thing about the damn Cullens is that they chose to go to high school over and over again."

"Yeah." Bella agreed unthinkingly, the memory of the wall of graduation caps up the mansion's stairwell coming to mind. It wasn't that she didn't like the idea of school, she liked to learn new things, but… With all of the moving around she'd done with Renee, she'd always ended up a bit of a loner, outside of the cliques. Finding her way around the social minefields hardly seemed worth it when she always knew she'd be uprooted again within months. The Cullens were her constant when she did go to school, immune to the teenage silliness she found difficult to cope with. Jacob though, he'd always been in the res school. She knew he and the pack were falling behind though. Jared had just dropped out, with Paul eager to follow suit. She saw that Jake looked surprised at her admission and automatically defended the Cullens' actions. "They have to fit in, not raise any suspicion. They all look like teenagers after all…"

Jake snorted, "They look as much like teenagers as I do."

Bella put a comforting hand on his muscular arm. All the pack did look fully developed, athletic adults. Even little Seth looked older than she did now. "I know it's not easy Jake…"

"Do you Bella?" Jacob asked bluntly, then rapidly backed down, almost shrinking away from her. "Look, I'm here because I want to relax with you, okay?" There was a desperate gleam in his eyes.

"Okay." Bella agreed, smiling to herself as he took part of her duvet for himself and sprawled out like the couch potato of a teenage boy he still was underneath all that wolf fur. "How'd you know I was sick anyway?" She smirked teasingly, trying to get the atmosphere to loosen up. "Did your wolfy senses tingle?"

Jacob laughed. If only she knew exactly how she made him tingle… Even that know-it-all smirk of hers was turning him on. "I overheard Charlie on the phone to Dad last night." He admitted, giving her a long look. "Charlie's still worried about you, you know, after…"

"I know." Bella murmured sadly, but set her shoulders stubbornly, "But he doesn't have to be."

Jacob begged to differ, but he knew Bella well enough, and had enough fights with her over it, to know to drop it now if he really wanted a peaceable, normal, afternoon with her. So instead of calling her out, he looked askance at the TV. It was like 'The Attack of the Sequined Twirling Monster' or something. "What the hell are you watching?"

Bella's chin jutted defiantly, "Dancing with the Stars." She pronounced, "And we're going to keep watching it wolf-boy, or you can go home to your own couch and TV."

"Nope, sorry, you're stuck with me Swan-girl." Jacob answered with a grin, "I'm not moving whatever you watch."

"Well then, you may as well pay attention, you might learn something." Bella told him, "Like how to show a little grace on the floor." Unbidden, the image of his wolf loping gracefully through the woods was vivid in her mind's eye.

Jacob chuckled, "There's only one girl I ever want to dance with, and when I do, it won't matter how we dance."

Bella lowered her head, her hair falling over her face like a veil as she wrapped her arms around her middle. "Jake…"

Jacob was instantly riled by that submissive posture of hers. Every single damn time he came over here she fanned his hope again, he'd see her fire, only for her to deliberately stifle herself like the leech wanted and stamp ruthlessly down on the ashes of that hope. He snatched up the remote and screwed up the volume, even as his sensitive ears protested. "Let's just watch Bella. Forget what I said."

"Okay." Bella said in a small voice, sinking back into the couch.

The atmosphere remained silent and frosty until finally Jake laughed at comedic antics of one of the worst contests. Bella gladly, if hoarsely, joined him. Soon they were both relaxed again, watching, the gap between them on the couch steadily shrinking as Bella sought Jacob's warmth and he let her despite himself. If anything, in Bella's eyes, Jake was watching the female dancers a little too avidly. Just as she'd settled herself leaning on his shoulder, one of the most gorgeous professional women came onto the stage in a cha-cha outfit that left very little to the imagination and a low, rumbling sound of satisfaction left Jacob's chest. What, did his wolf pop out with his libido now too?! She sharply pulled away from him, glaring in hot disapproval. "Ass!" she spat at him.

"What now?" Jake demanded in frustration, his heart twisting in his chest as she sprang abruptly away from him in apparent disgust. "What have I done Bella?"

"Nothing." Bella muttered, still peevish even as she gradually realised his gaze was fixed totally on her and not drifting back to the gyrating girls.

Jacob saw her eyes drift to the TV and a knowing smile curved his lips, which were annoyingly luscious to Bella in that moment. "Jealous Bells?"

"Don't you love yourself?" Bella responded sarcastically even as her pale cheeks reddened. She grabbed the remote, "I'm turning it over…"

Jacob lightly held her wrist, but his wolf strength came through the gentle touch. "No." He countered firmly, "Come on Bells, it's TV! Don't lie and say all those open-shirted guys don't do it for you…"

"Well, yeah, but I don't…" Bella hesitated as she realised she'd hardly been paying attention to that at all. How could she, when Jacob's incomparable body was beside her? Distracting her gaze, taunting her…

"Bella, don't, okay?" Jake freed her from her dilemma with a soft laugh. "You don't need to worry. You're so much more beautiful than anyone on there. You're my Bells."

Bella felt a lump rise in her throat as she saw the sincerity shining through Jake's smouldering gaze. She looked down at herself in disbelief. In tatty pyjamas covered in flecks of tissue. Her hair unwashed or even brushed. Her nose as red as Rudolph's. "I look like shit Jake!" she choked out, "You and Edward, you're deluding yourselves thinking I'm anything special!" Even the Volturi, just because she was somehow immune to their evil powers, insisted she be changed for them…

Jacob gripped her shaking shoulders hard. "You are special Bella. Not because of the way you look, though you're beautiful, but because of who you are." He sighed as she shook her head vigorously, "Why can't you just believe me about that Bella? You believed me about turning into a vampire-hunting wolf and back, for God's sake!" He hugged her tight to him as her eyes welled up looking at him. "You accepted me immediately, even before all this supernatural shit hit the fan and I was just a kid from the res. Why don't you see that I accept you just the same?" His voice was thick and pleading, so young.

"I don't know…" Bella croaked out as she coughed between sobs. "Why am I stuck like this Jake, what's wrong with me?"

"Nothing. Just…" Jacob trailed off and just held her as she sagged in his arms. They sat coiled up like that for several minutes before Jacob cleared his throat awkwardly and turned back to the TV. The dancing show had finished. "You like cookery shows, right?" he asked quietly. He felt her nod against his chest before he pulled away slightly and laid her down on the couch, drawing the duvet over her petite and shivering frame. "Just relax Bells honey. Rest." He found The Food Network on the TV and sat back as Bella zoned out.

The foods the TV chefs were cooking up made Jacob acutely aware of his hunger, but he soon noticed that Bella had fallen asleep, and if food was what it took to lull her, not only was she a woman after his own heart, but he'd tolerate a rumbling stomach to avoid waking her. However, he quickly noticed that Bella's sleep was uneasy. A deep frown creased her brows and her mouth was in a fearful grimace. As diverting as Chef Giada tried to be with her elaborate pasta sauces, his eyes kept going back to Bella, his ears pricked to catch any change in her laboured, chesty breathing.

"Ugh…Ugh…" Bella moaned suddenly after a long period of quiet. "No…" She began to thrash around, "No! We can't leave them there…"

"Bella? Leave who there?" Jake questioned worriedly, leaning over her and holding her quaking body steady to prevent her toppling off the couch. "Bella? Bells honey, wake up…"

"No!" Bella cried out, her face twisted with fear even while not fully roused, "Jake, run!"

"Bella!" Jake was shouting now as his own fright took over. What the hell was she dreaming about? "Wake up!"

Bella finally jerked awake, eyes glazed with tears and huge in her ghostly white face as she stared up at Jake cradling her. She was coated in sweat and panting. "Jake?" she whispered tearfully, lifting a quivering hand to touch his cheek. She gasped in relief as she realised he was indeed real. "You're alright…"

"Yeah." Jacob breathed, now cupping her damp cheek in his own warm hand. "But you're not." He swallowed hard, "That nightmare Bella, what was that?"

"Jane…Jane and Aro…they had you…" Bella whimpered, "I…I couldn't save you…"

"I'm safe right here with you." Jacob assured her gently, even as he frowned, "Who the hell are Jane and Aro?"

Bella shuddered violently, "Monsters." She pressed her lips tightly together. She'd said far too much. Why did she always have to be so weak?

Jacob could read between the lines and stood up abruptly. "Italy." He ground out. His tone made the name of that beautiful country sound like a curse.

"Jacob, I'm sorry…" Bella choked out, reaching for him desperately, "Don't go…"

"There's nothing for you to be sorry for." Jacob said thickly, but turned his face away from her. He heard Bella gasp and his face softened compassionately, hurt though he was that she so obviously genuinely believed he'd just leave her like this. "I'm just going to go to the kitchen, get us something to eat, okay?" He jerked an arm loosely back towards the television, "Watching all this has made me hungry."

Bella nodded mutely and let him flee for the kitchen. She could see how close she'd pushed him to phasing. He was regaining control of himself, just like she had to. She was surprised to see that when he returned, he was in fact carrying a plate stacked high with messily made sandwiches and a steaming mug. "You really want to eat?"

"Yeah." Jacob replied, pressing the hot mug gently into her hands as he tore at the first sandwich. Bella could see that he'd taken big gouges out of the slices as he tried to butter them, and scarp of cheese were already falling out onto the carpet. He hadn't learned much from The Food Network.

Bella took a sip of the drink he'd thoughtfully made from the medicine sachets she'd left out earlier. "This tastes a bit better than when I made it." She commented, her surprise evident.

"I added some sugar. Can't do that with Dad, but you can so…"

"Yeah." Bella agreed, taking a long, fortifying gulp. "Jacob…"

Jacob held up one hand to stop her as he polished off another sandwich and pushed one on her. Then he gazed at her steadily. "Tell me everything Bella."

All of her earlier resolutions, her promises to Edward and the family, faded away for Bella as she looked into that beloved face, asking, no, pleading, for her trust. Painfully, slowly, but unstintingly, she told him.

"Bella?" Charlie called slowly through the house as he entered and closed the door behind him. There was no answer. Hopefully, she was in her room, sleeping. She needed it. So did he, for different reasons. It had been a long, distressing, but ultimately fruitless day. Not only had there been no fresh leans on the missing people, but now another college age kid had disappeared and he'd had to talk to the distraught parents. He wouldn't burden Bella with that though, not today and not ever. She needed peace of mind, that much was obvious. But she hadn't had it since Cullen had come back into her life. Charlie's mind had not been easy since Edward Cullen had come into their lives in the first place. He now regularly wished that he'd heeded Billy's warnings and avoided the family from the get go…

He heard the TV on in the living room and gladly headed through. "Hey kiddo, I'm sorry I'm back late but I managed to get tomorrow off, so…" He stopped as he took in the sight that greeted him in the living room. Bells wrapped around Jacob Black on his couch. Both of them sound asleep. Bella's head was rooted to his chest (Didn't that boy own one shirt that fit him by now, growth spurt or no growth spurt?) and Jake's face was buried in her hair. Charlie supposed he should've been outraged, but Bella was sick, and Jacob was so big now that there was no way they'd have room to run through too many bases on his small couch. That, and Bella looked happy for the first time since she'd arrived in Forks.

Maybe he wouldn't have to put up with Edward Cullen for too much longer after all.

A/n: Please review!