Tripping

Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to SM.

A/N-the challenge was to write a story where Bella suffers from amnesia. This scenario has been done to death but I did promise a certain reader. Well here goes….

Prologue

Bella observed the spider as it crawled along its web. She watched in fascination as the spider delicately wrapped the fly it had captured into a silken bundle before storing it away to eat later. The spider had been in the hospital as long as she had. Bella felt like they were old friends. Each day its web got bigger and more elaborate as the spider spun the gossamer thin strands from one wall cavity to another. When another person entered her private room the spider would scurry off and hide in whatever crevice it could find. But when it was just the two of them it would become more confident and reappear to wait for its next victim. The door to her room opened and Bella sighed as she saw the spider beat a retreat.

"Baby girl." Renee wandered in smiling sheepishly. She had a coffee in one hand and a bag of chips in the other. "Are you hungry?"

Bella looked at the woman listlessly. If it wasn't for the fact that they shared the same brown hair and pale skin she wouldn't believe that they were related, let alone mother and daughter. She felt no affinity for this stranger at all. There hadn't been a flutter of recognition since she had awakened in this strange, sterile environment.

Renee perched on the edge of the bed and passed the coffee to Bella. "I asked them to make it just the way you like it, baby."

"Thank you." Bella said stiffly as she took the Styrofoam cup from Renee. She wrapped her cold fingers around the warm coffee that she had no intention of drinking. Renee offered her a chip but Bella shook her head.

"You have to eat." Renee sighed sadly as she gazed at Bella in concern. "Don't you remember anything? Anything at all."

Before Bella could answer the door opened again. A man slipped inside. This was Charlie, her father. Bella relaxed. She felt an affinity to this man, even though he was as much a stranger to her as this woman proclaiming to be her mother. At least he felt vaguely familiar. He certainly didn't bombard her with questions like Renee and the doctors. He was a peaceable man and seemed content to let her find her own groove. Bella had already learned that Renee and Charlie were long divorced. She could see why, they were as different as chalk and cheese.

"Alright, kiddo." Charlie pulled up a chair and sat beside the bed. He nodded at his ex-wife curtly before returning his attention to his only child. "I brought you this." He passed her a plastic container.

Bella looked at it curiously before snapping the lid off. A small smile lit up her face briefly as she looked at the contents. Inside was a huge bar of chocolate. "Thank you." She said, pleased.

Renee tutted disapprovingly. "You can't keep feeding her chocolate, Charlie. She is not five."

Charlie's gaze flicked to the bag of chips. "She's always loved chocolate. If it makes her feel good where's the harm."

"They will make her fat." Renee retorted. "And before you comment those chips are low fat."

Bella ignored their petty argument. She was getting used to tuning them out. She sucked on the chocolate, letting the sweet taste dissolve on her tongue. Charlie was right it did make her feel good.

"Bella, baby." Renee caught Bella's hand and lowered it before she could eat anymore of the chocolate. She leaned forward and smiled gently. "Do you feel up to more visitors? The doctors said it would do you good. It might even jog your memory."

"He is not coming in here." Charlie interjected sternly. "Have you forgotten that he is the reason our daughter is in this position?" He scowled at Renee angrily.

"It was an accident. Have you forgotten that it is his father who is the head of the team treating Bella? Without his financial assistance our daughter would be on a packed ward with no chance of being treated by the top specialists in the state who deal with this type of amnesia. Your insurance wouldn't have covered it." Renee snapped accusingly.

"I would and I will find the money. I was not the one who accepted Carlisle Cullen's charity. You overrode me and signed the declaration forms handing over Bella's care to him." Charlie said bitingly.

"I have custody of Bella." Renee reminded him. "That gives me the right to make all decisions regarding her care."

"I am her father." Charlie raged. "Bella has been living with me for the past few months while you tour around from state to state following your new fancy man."

"Phil is my husband not a fancy man. This is your jealousy talking."

"Please, shut up. Just shut up." Bella had her hands over her ears as she tried to stem the flow of their anger. Their verbal sparring was stirring up unwanted memories. She instinctively knew this must have been a regular occurrence before they split.

"Oh, baby." Renee cried as she hastily reached out to her daughter. She embraced Bella while giving Charlie a vicious glance over her shoulder.

Charlie scowled again as he sat back and drummed his fingers on the arms of the chair. Renee was getting on his last nerve. He wanted her out of Forks and away from his daughter. She was a bad influence. Just like that Cullen boy Bella had been dating just before the accident. His brown eyes darkened as he thought about Edward. He had always had an uneasy feeling about him right from the beginning. He wished he had given in to his intuition and warned him away from seeing his daughter. Now look where it had all ended.

The door opened for a third time. An extremely handsome man dressed in a white coat and with a stethoscope draped around his neck gracefully entered the room. With his blonde hair and good looks he seemed like a movie star and not a doctor. Bella wiped her eyes as Renee sat back with a relieved smile. "Doctor Cullen, it's good to see you."

"And you Mrs, Dwyer." Carlisle greeted her smoothly as he floated across the room. Bella wondered if the doctor had wheels attached to his shoes he seemed to glide across the floor so effortlessly without making any noise. "Hello, Chief Swan." He nodded at Charlie before last of all greeting Bella. "Good afternoon, Bella. How are you feeling today?" He grabbed her chart from the end of the bed and flicked through it.

"The same as every day." Bella replied listlessly. "When can I get out of here?"

"Now let us not be too hasty." Carlisle smiled benevolently. "You had quite a blow to your head. Though your other injuries have healed nicely the psychological trauma needs to be treated just as seriously. I have arranged for your first counselling session to take place today."

"I don't want counselling. I want to go home." Bella felt her desperation budding in her chest. She hated the hospital. She hated being prodded and poked at. She was sick of the tests and all the endless questions.

"Baby, don't be so rude." Renee chided her.

"Shut up, Renee." Charlie spat. "If Bells wants to come home then she can. I'll take her today if that's what she wants."

"Yes, it's what I want." Bella agreed eagerly as she latched on to this offer.

"Baby, it's not a good idea." Renee protested. "Moving back in with Charlie could hinder your recovery. Just give it a few more weeks and perhaps I can arrange for a transfer to Flo…"

"No. I want to go home now." Bella looked toward Charlie pleadingly. He was the only one who seemed to understand.

"Bella, it's not a good idea." Carlisle cautioned. "A move now could undo all your progress."

"What progress?" Bella cried. Her fingers sank into her thick hair as she tried to keep calm. "I still don't remember anything and I've been in here for over eight weeks. I hate it. I can't breathe. You can't keep me here against my will."

"This is not a prison." Carlisle interjected smoothly. "You are feeling overtired and it is making you anxious. Amnesia can be stressful, everything seems overwhelming and frightening. Remember I did suggest you start having other visitors. My son for one is eager to see you. He misses you very much."

"He is not coming in here. I won't allow it." Charlie snarled as he stood up and confronted Doctor Cullen. "This is all down to him."

Carlisle's handsome face turned sorrowful. "I was there, Chief Swan. It was an accident. Bella tripped and fell through the glass pane. It was unfortunate but there was nothing my son or I could have done to prevent it. I understand you are protective of your daughter but I really think seeing Edward again will help her recovery. They are very much in love."

"Then why did she run off to get away from him then." Charlie jabbed a finger at Carlisle's chest. "I've had enough of this bullshit. Bella's physical injuries have healed. There is no reason for her to stay here any longer. I am taking her home and there is nothing you can do legally to stop me."

"Yes, there is. I'll get an intervention." Renee interrupted him. Her eyes sparked with anger. "I have custody remember."

Charlie faced down his ex-wife. "Do what you like, Renee? You always do. But fighting me on this will cost you money and you don't have any. So go to hell." He waved her away as he strode over to Bella and leaned toward her. "Do you want to come home, kiddo?"

"Yes." Bella whispered gratefully as tears welled in her eyes.

"Then consider it done." Charlie smiled suddenly making his eyes crinkle at the corners.

Bella wandered around the bedroom touching this and that as she tried to familiarise herself with everything. So far she recognised nothing. She smoothed down the purple bedspread and she frowned. Something was stirring in her head. It was so vague. She tried to capture it but as always it eluded her. She hit the bed angrily with balled fists before perching on the edge. Her gaze wandered around the room taking in the cream walls, the oak wardrobe and small desk beside it which held her laptop and a small work lamp. She noticed a cork board covering a third of one wall. There were a few photographs attached to it. She wandered over to it and studied the pictures. Most of them were of her and Renee. Her mother had told her they used to live in Phoenix. There were a couple of pictures of her and Charlie posing awkwardly together. Bella touched each picture gingerly. Even though she was smiling in some of them she could see it was a fake smile. She looked awkward and anxious.

She sighed as she turned away from the photographs without looking at the rest. Her eyes landed on an old wooden rocking chair which was placed right under the window. She stared at it in horrified fascination. Another memory was stirring. It wasn't a pleasant one. Bella got an uneasy feeling as she continued to stare at the rocker. It was making her uncomfortable. In fact it was giving her the creeps. She kept expecting it to move all on its own. There was no way she could live with that in her room if she was going to get any sleep. Bella hurriedly left the room to find Charlie. She wanted him to get rid of it as soon as possible.

Bella was in the kitchen. She was looking intently at the stove when Charlie came to check on her. He approached her cautiously. "Are you okay?" He asked.

"I know it sounds weird but I've been all over this house and the stove is the one thing I really recognise." Bella admitted, embarrassed.

Charlie smiled at her flushed cheeks and relaxed. "You love cooking, Bells. You used to tell me you found it relaxing. You spent a lot of time at this stove experimenting."

"Oh." Bella felt a bit better after hearing this revelation. She ran her fingers over the stove like she had with the things in her room in an attempt to familiarise herself with it. Automatically she switched it on before testing the burners. "Yes, it's coming back to me a little bit. I can see myself standing here."

"That's good." Charlie said encouragingly.

"Yeah." Bella glanced at him briefly in acknowledgement.

Charlie cleared his throat as he rocked on his heels. "Um…I know it's your first night home and all, but there's something I want to run past you. If you feel uncomfortable you can say no."

"Go on." Bella said warily. Surely he wouldn't pressure her.

"Well there is one thing I did agree with Doctor Cullen about and that is you seeing other people. Maybe it's too soon for some of your friends but what about mine. You've heard me mention Billy Black before." Charlie continued carefully.

"Yes, he's one of your childhood best friends." Bella strained her memory as she tried to picture Billy.

"Well it's kinda like tradition that we watch the first Mariner's game of the season together. I was wondering if it would be okay if he came over tonight with his son." Charlie finished in a rush. "You'll like Jacob. You always used to anyway. He's a good kid."

Jacob was a kid. Bella pondered this for a moment. She could probably handle a child. She shrugged. Charlie had fought her corner at the hospital. She owed him a few hours of relaxation with his friend. "Okay." She agreed, shrugging. "It would help if I could remember what Billy and his son looked like though."

"Um…I have a photo somewhere." Charlie said vaguely as he began to rummage through one of the kitchen drawers. A few moments later he came across an old wrinkled photograph of Billy and Jacob taken on one of their fishing expedition's years ago. This was a time before Billy was forced into a wheelchair because of his worsening diabetes and Jacob was still an innocent child of four before becoming his father's full time carer. "Here you go, Bells. This is Jake and Billy."

Bella took the photograph from Charlie. She studied it critically and was pleased to see that Billy's son was indeed a child. He was a sweet little thing standing there proudly with his fishing rod and wellington boots. He had the biggest smile. His black hair was long and fell to his shoulders. With that cute face he would certainly be a heartbreaker one day. Bella passed the picture back to Charlie. "Go ahead and invite them over. In fact I'll even cook."

Charlie smiled in relief as he pinned the photograph to the fridge with a metal magnet. Bella was already improving now she had come home. He was convinced that any day now her memory would return.

Bella cooked up a storm. She acted on instinct as she moved around the kitchen like she owned it. She tried to think about what four year old boys liked to eat but came up blank. She asked Charlie and he said that Jacob had a bottomless pit for a stomach and would eat the clothes off your back if he was hungry enough. Bella thought this was a very odd thing to say about a four year old boy, but she refrained from commenting. What did she know? Hell, she didn't remember anything until waking up in that damn hospital eight weeks ago. After searching through the cupboards and the freezer, which seemed to be full of nothing but fish, she decided to make a fish pie. She chopped up some vegetables and roasted potatoes to go with it.

"Bells, you didn't have to do all this." Charlie eyes were moist when he came into the kitchen again lured by the tantalising smells.

"I don't mind. It helps. You're right it was relaxing." Bella smiled tiredly before frowning. She bit her bottom lip. "I didn't have anything I could use for dessert. I would like to have given Jacob something sweet to eat. What do four year olds like as treats these days?" She asked innocently.

"Four?" Charlie echoed her. "Bells, Jake isn't…"

A knock at the door interrupted Charlie before he had a chance to explain. "Aren't you gonna get that?" Bella questioned in confusion when Charlie stayed rooted in place.

"Yes, of course." Charlie scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "But Bells…"

There was another knock. Bella sighed. "I'll get it." She said in exasperation as she slipped by Charlie and headed to the door. She took a deep breath and plastered on a smile, ready to greet Billy Black and his little boy. She opened the door. "He…." Her greetings died on her lips as she was stared at the tall man/boy in front of her. If it wasn't for the same sunny smile lighting up his handsome face she wouldn't have recognised him as the boy from the photograph.

This Jacob wasn't four years old he was…..Bella wasn't sure if he was sixteen or twenty six. He was so darn tall. She stretched her neck as she drank him in. His black hair was cropped close to his head. He had beautiful tan skin; his high cheekbones were made more pronounced by his blinding smile. His eyes twinkled merrily from under his thick lashes as he looked down at her. "You're looking good, Bells." He said in deep husky tones.

Before Bella could react she was suddenly scooped up into his powerful arms. He swung her around, laughing, before gently depositing her back on her feet.

A/N-thanks for reading!