Hiding

Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to SM.

A/N-the prompt word was 'Nessie.' Ugh….could that be any more difficult. Here is what my frazzled mind came up with. It may not be what you think.

Set two years after Breaking Dawn AU.

Billy opened the door to find a stranger standing on his doorstep. The stranger was dressed casually in a pair of jeans and a white shirt, unbuttoned at the neck. You wouldn't have picked him out in a crowd full of people. His hair was receding at the temples and his blue eyes were pale and unremarkable.

"Sorry to disturb you at this early hour." The man apologised politely. "But are you Billy Black?"

"Who wants to know?" Billy asked sharply. He was half inclined to shut the door in the man's face, but he resisted the temptation.

"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Patrick Mercer. I'm a private investigator." The man handed Billy a card with his details emblazoned in bold black lettering. "I've been hired to look into the disappearance of Isabella Marie Cullen. I understand you and your family were acquainted with her in the past."

Billy's lips thinned as he scrutinised the PI carefully. "Who hired you, because it damn well wasn't her father? He would have mentioned it."

The man cleared his throat awkwardly. "No….it was her husband Edward Cullen."

Billy felt the hairs rise up on the back of his neck. Patrick Mercer was human. That was obvious. He would have to be to get onto the reservation undetected. Edward Cullen wouldn't be able to get into La Push himself so he had used the PI to do his digging around for him. "We can't help you." Billy said eventually. "None of us have seen or heard from Bella since she married Cullen two years ago. You're wasting your time here."

Patrick held up his hands in supplication. He had come across this reaction before in the past. People were always suspicious at first. "I'm not here to cause trouble, far from it. I'm only interested in what you can tell me about Isabella. I've got the generic facts from her husband, but he's too close to the situation. I want to get a sense of who Isabella was as a person, to help me get a feel of where she might go if she was in some kind of distress or trouble. From what her husband has told me she used to be very close to your son. They were best friends, weren't they?"

"My son is married now. He's happy. When Bella upped and left it was a difficult time for him. I don't want you dredging up old memories best left in the past." Billy growled.

Patrick leaned forward, shifting his body subtly so that he could block the door if Billy tried to shut it in his face. "I don't want to upset anyone I assure you. But surely you want Isabella to be found. I mean you are friends with her father, Chief Swan. For his sake wouldn't you want to help?"

"Don't pretend you are doing this for him. You work for Edward Cullen. That tells me all I nee…"

"Billy, is everything alright?" A soft feminine voice interrupted them.

Intrigued Patrick peered into the dark interior of the house. He noticed Billy tense which only piqued his interest even more. He saw a flash of red, and then slowly a petite young woman with long, flowing auburn hair came into view. She was carrying a washing basket against her hip. Her skin was pale, which only made the red in her hair appear more vibrant. Patrick couldn't stop staring at this young beauty as her eyes, which were the colour of emeralds, widened in surprise. This had to be Jacob's Black's wife.

"You must be the new bride. Please allow me to congratulate you, Mrs Black." Patrick held out his hand toward her. She didn't take it but immediately shied away and melted back into the shadows.

"It's alright, Ness." Billy said gently before facing Patrick again. "It's time you left. Don't come here again."

Patrick tried one last time. "Please, Mrs Black." He called out to her desperately, hoping that she would be on his side and persuade Billy and her husband to talk to him. He was entranced and wanted to find out more about her. She and Jacob Black were very young to be married. He had only just turned eighteen and she didn't seem much older than that herself. It was all the more perplexing because from the information that he had gathered Jacob Black had been romantically attracted to his client's wife. Was this a rebound relationship? Where on earth had he met someone like her?

"I told you to leave." Billy snapped as he tried to close the door on Patrick.

"Please, I meant no offence." Patrick tried one last time. "This is purely a fact finding mission. I would really appreciate your help." He saw the young girl hovering uncertainly in the background. "You have such an unusual name. Is it a nickname or short for Vanessa, maybe?"

"I said get out." Billy rolled his wheelchair forward and forced Patrick to stumble back onto the front porch. "We have nothing to say about Bella. Don't come here again." Billy slammed the front door closed in his face.

"He knows." Nessie said in despair as she abandoned the washing basket and sank onto the old couch. "If Edward finds me…."

"He won't." Billy assured her.

"But the PI…"

"Knows nothing." Billy stated firmly.

Nessie pulled her thick auburn hair away from her face, revealing the brown roots underneath. She wound the silky strands into a loose bun at the back of her head. She felt her eyes moisten with tears and tried to blink them away. It made her contact lenses sting. "The way he was looking at me, Billy."

"He wasn't looking at you because he recognised you. I guess it's for other reasons."

"Other reasons?" Nessie was confused.

"The red hair suits you and with those green eyes of yours." Billy chuckled.

"Oh…" Nessie blushed at his subtle compliment.

"Jake will be home soon. You don't need to worry. If the PI comes sniffing around again he'll chase him off." Billy patted her hand. "It's going to be alright. We all knew something like this could happen."

"I guess so." Nessie smiled falteringly. "You're too good to me, Billy. I can never repay you and Jake enough for what you've done for me."

"Don't think anything of it." Billy smiled kindly as he patted her hand again.

Nessie felt Jacob's arms slip around her waist and his chest pressed against her back. She leaned into his muscular body and smiled. Jacob kissed the nape of her neck lightly before resting his chin on her shoulder. "Don't worry we chased him off."

"You knew about the PI." Nessie stopped stirring the sauce in the pan and tensed.

"He's been asking questions all around town." Jacob said easily as he kissed the shell of her ear. His hands were warm on her belly. Nessie felt the hard knot in her stomach loosen. "Then dad called and told me that he actually came around to the house."

"Edward sent him." Nessie's expression was troubled as she lifted the pan off the burner and put it to one side. "I'm worried that he's guessed."

"He doesn't know anything." Jacob sounded so confident that Nessie relaxed further. She twisted around in his arms so she could look up at his handsome face. . He made her feel so safe, so loved. His gaze was so soft, so tender as he looked back at her. A lump lodged in her throat. "It's okay, honey. I don't want you to feel stressed."

"I'm more worried about you. This is a big risk you're taking." Nessie swallowed thickly. "All of you have put your lives on the line for me before. I can't ask…"

"Hush." Jacob cradled her face in his hands and leaned down to kiss her. "We're not risking anything. You're my wife and I love you. It's as simple as that."

Jacob had a way of easing her mind and assuaging her guilt. She stepped back into the circle of his arms and anchored her body to his securely. He was her safe port in the storm. He wouldn't let anything happen to her. She closed her eyes and let herself believe it.

The dishes had been cleared away. Dinner was over. Nessie was in the bath. She lay in the warm water, a towel wrapped around her auburn hair. She felt more relaxed now. Billy had retired for the night and Jacob had left to join his brothers on patrol. The house was quiet, peaceful. Nessie allowed her mind to drift as tiredness crept up on her. She had been so fearful earlier when the PI had turned up on the doorstep asking questions about Isabella Cullen. When Patrick Mercer had looked at her she was sure that he had discovered the truth. But she knew she was being paranoid. Jacob and Billy were right. The PI was just clutching at straws. As far as he was concerned she was Jacob's wife, no more, no less. Nessie closed her eyes in relief as she sank lower in the water and closed her eyes.

When she opened them again the water was cold. Nessie shivered, quickly rising and stepping out of the bath. She hadn't meant to fall asleep. Her anxiety had exhausted her. She hastily dried her body with a fluffy towel before wrapping it in a simple bathrobe. Unwinding the towel from her head she let her damp hair fall around her shoulders. Lifting them up carefully she inspected the roots in the small bathroom mirror. There was no sign of the brown among the red. The dye had done its work. Nessie stared at her reflection in the mirror, especially her eyes. They sparkled brown in the weak light shining from the single bulb hanging in the bathroom. It was weird seeing a hint of who she used to be. She had become accustomed to the green. Reaching for the coloured contacts Nessie quickly slipped them back into her eyes.

That was better. She was transformed again. The vibrant green of her eyes was accentuated by her auburn hair. She liked this version of herself. "I am Vanessa Black." She said aloud to herself. It had taken her a while to get used to her new name and respond to it. Unsure what alias to pick she had left it to chance. It was Billy who had come up with Vanessa. It belonged to one of his distant cousins. Claire Young was the one responsible for shortening it to Nessie. The little girl had stumbled over her pronunciation, and somehow the nickname had stuck. Nessie smirked; it was ironic that her new moniker was linked to a monster. But maybe it was apt. She was hiding out in plain sight from monsters after all. Switching off the light Nessie left the bathroom and went to wait up for her husband to come home.

A/N-thanks for reading! How far in did you guess it was Bella? LOL ;)