The ride to Jake's was quiet. He had both windows down so he could smell and hear everything and his knuckles were white with tension until they crossed over onto the reservation.

They pulled up to his house and he carried in her bag. "Paul's in the woods behind the house, I'll have him stay with you and Rachel while I talk to Sam."

Inside the door Jake could hear Rachel in the shower and Paul coming through the back door. Bella sat on the sofa and Jake kissed her head as he went to the back door to meet Paul.

"Hey, we have a situation. There was a vampire at Bella's earlier tod-"

"No shit! Was it her? The red-head?"

Jake said something under his breath that Bella couldn't hear.

"Oh. Shit." Whatever Jake said wasn't what Paul wanted to hear.

"I've gotta find Sam and let him know. Is he on patrols?"

"Yeah, he's out with Quil. You want me to stay here?"

Jake nodded and clapped Paul's shoulder as he walked past him through the back door. "Thanks, man."

Paul came through the dining room and into the living room. He had a notebook and some kind of fabric roll in his hand. He sat opposite Bella in a chair. "Hey, how's it goin'?"

"Well, it would be better if Jake weren't treating me like a child. I think he knows who it was."

Paul coughed. Of course he wasn't going to say anything.

"So, what's that?" Bella nodded to the notebook in his hands.

"Oh, this is Rachel's. She left it on the beach today."

"Oh, I don't know where she is..." Bella turned to look down the hallway for her.

"She just finished a shower. I'm sure she'll be out in a minute. I'm just gonna go drop these on her bed."

Paul stood and headed to the hallway.

Just as he reached the bathroom door it opened and Rachel ran straight into him in only a towel. "Oof!"

Paul caught her by the shoulders to stop her from falling down. "Easy there." He looked down at her towel and even Bella shifted uncomfortably on the sofa as the temperature in the house seemed to go up a couple degrees.

"You left your notebook, I was just going to put it in your room." Paul motioned down the hall with his empty hand.

"You went all the way back for that? You didn't have to do that. I'm sure it would have been there in the morning."

"I didn't want it to get wet or ruined."

"Of course. Well, that was really sweet of you." She stood on her tiptoes to give him a kiss.

After a minute, Paul pulled away and cleared his throat. "Bella's on the sofa."

"She is? Hi Bella!" Rachel called down the hallway.

Bella turned and waved awkwardly.

They continued on to Rachel's room and talked quietly while Bella picked at her jeans. Finally she got up to get a soda from the fridge. She opened it and stood in front of the back door watching for Jake.

It wasn't long before he came through the door. He gave her a quick kiss and she followed him to the living room. "Well, you're here for at least the night. Sam's staying on patrol all night just in case and Jared and Paul will double up first thing in the morning. You'll be safe." He sat on the sofa and pulled her onto his lap.

"I feel safe here."

He smiled wide at her, "I'm glad. There's no place on earth you're safer."

As they kissed again, Paul came through to the kitchen. "See you guys tomorrow." He called back to them from the back door.

"Paul, wait. Sam wants you and Jared to relieve him first thing in the morning. Make sure you get plenty of rest. Patrols may be kind of tough until this situation is resolved."

"Alright." He stepped out and closed the door behind him.

Bella yawned at the mention of rest. "I'm ready for bed. It's been a long day."

Jake pulled one side of his mouth tight. "About that... you'll have to be in with Rachel tonight."

"What? We always sleep together. I don't know if I can sleep without you!"

"Well, you'll have to try, there's no way Dad would be down with you in my room. Imprint or not, he's still old fashioned. Rebecca's bed is still there, so you'll be more comfortable there than crammed in my twin with me."

She sighed in frustration. "If I have to, I'll try. I'm not promising not to sneak into your room in the middle of the night, though."

He grinned at her and rubbed his nose against hers, "I appreciate you trying."

He stood and let her slide off his lap. Grabbing her bag, he led the way to Rachel's room. He knocked once. "Rach?"

"Come in!"

He pushed the door open and entered her room. She was curled up on her bed working on a drawing. He moved straight to Rebecca's bed and dropped Bella's bag on it. "Bella has to stay here tonight. She'll have to sleep in Rebecca's bed."

Rachel paused the motion of her hand, but didn't look up from her notebook. "Of course, she's welcome here any time." She added one more thing and then put her pencil and notebook away in her nightstand. Sitting up on the bed, she smiled at Bella who still stood in the doorway, a timid look on her face. She motioned Bella in.

"Thanks, Rachel. I'm sorry to impose."

"Are you kidding? It'll be so nice to have someone in Rebecca's bed again. I shared a room with her every day of my life until she moved to Hawaii. It gets lonely in here."

"If you're sure."

"Sure? I'd love it! Come on in! I still keep fresh sheets on her bed, you know, just in case. If you're not warm enough we have extra blankets here," she motioned to a trunk at the foot of her bed, "and extra pillows, too."

"I'd like to have a shower before bed if that's OK. We were at the beach all day."

"Oh! Sure, that's fine! Jake get her some fresh towels." Rachel sprang up from her bed and opened her closet door. On the inside hung a pale green satin robe. She pulled it off and offered it to Bella. "Here, you can borrow my robe."

Bella looked at the robe as if it were an alien. She slowly reached out her hand and gingerly took it from Rachel. "Thank you."

Rachel laughed at her, "It's a robe, not a baby, Bella. It wont break. Don't you wear a robe?"

"Uh, I'm not much for this kind of girly stuff." She wrinkled her nose.

Rachel laughed again, "Well, give it a try, you might like it! Us imprints have to hold onto what we can. I can't wear anything in my hair or any perfume anymore. None of the pack can stand it and they're here all the time, so I'm out of luck."

"OK." Bella went to the bed to get her bag.

"You wont need that, Bella. That's what the robe is for."

"Oh, I should wear it naked?"

Rachel laughed again, "Of course! I promise, you'll like it."

Jake popped his head in the door, "Water's hot, Sweets. You ready?"

"Um, yeah I think so." She gave one last glance to her bag, then held the robe up to Jake. "I guess I have all I need." She hesitantly walked out of the room and followed Jake down the hallway to the bathroom. Jake led the way in and stood by the sink, crossing his arms over his chest. Bella laughed, "Yeah right."

"What?" He seemed genuinely confused.

Bella laughed again, "Well, there are no vampires in here, so I think I'll be safe without you." She nodded her head toward the door.

"Ah, alright. It was worth a try." He kissed her on his way out and she closed the door behind him.

Bella looked around the tiny bathroom. She had used it many times, but it seemed different now. It must be Rachel's touch. She slipped out of her clothes and into the steaming shower. Thankfully, Rachel had some products on the little shelf. Bella had showered here once before Rachel was home and she could not figure out how Billy's hair was so long and beautiful when the shower only had a bar of Ivory soap and a bottle of plain VO5 shampoo.

She took her time in the shower. When the heat started to fade she turned the water off and stepped out. She dried off with the towel Jake had left on the sink for her. Then she stood looking at Rachel's robe. It was very pretty. She'd seen robes like it in stores and wondered how they would feel. She just couldn't justify the purchase. She reached up and gingerly removed it from the hook. It was thin and light. She felt awkward putting it on right against her skin, but once it was tied around her she understood. It was cool and soft and silky. It felt luxurious against her skin. The feeling was actually a little arousing.

She cautiously opened the door and peered down the hallway. Before venturing out she looked down at her body. The robe felt good, but she felt like she must look very out of place in it. Rachel was tall and curvy and beautiful, she was short and scrawny and awkward. She tip-toed down the hall, her dirty clothes a wad under her arm. When she reached Jake's room the door swung open wide and he looked her over. He arched his brows, "Hi." He reached out and ran one finger down the neckline of the robe, pulling it slightly open.

"Hey!" Bella pulled away. "Behave yourself."

At that Jake growled and grabbed her around the waist pulling her into his room. He closed the door with one foot and held her against it. Pressing himself into her, he had one hand under her ass and with the other he opened her robe. Sliding one hand in to cup her breast, he nudged her chin to the side with his nose and began nibbling at her neck.

"Mmmmm, Jake. Wait! Jake! You have to stop."

He rolled her nipple between his fingers and let his lips brush her neck as he said, "Why?"

"Oohh, because we're in your dad's house and Rachel is waiting on me." She pushed at him and wiggled against him trying to get free.

He sighed deeply and let his hand drop from her breast. "Alright." He let her stand and adjust the robe back around herself before he pulled the door open.

"I'm going to sleep, so we should say goodnight here." She stood on her tiptoes to give him another kiss.

He placed a hand on either side of her face and kissed her deeply. Finally, he pulled away, "Goodnight, Sweets."

"Goodnight." She bent to retrieve her dropped clothes from the hallway and, with one last look at Jake, went on to Rachel's room.