Peter wanted to take Bella back to the hospital but she insisted that she was feeling alright and just wanted to go home. Tired but alright. Peter didn't argue. Instead, he just smiled slightly at her.
The two of them stood up from the ground. Bella was starting to feel a little weak from the event. Peter looked down at her and told Bella to jump on his back.
"Why?" Bella looked at Peter with a confused look
"Haven't you heard of a piggy back ride?" Peter smiled
"I think I can walk." Bella said, letting go of Peter's arm only to find her balance wobbling.
"You were saying?"
Bella sighed as Peter backed up to let her jump on his back. She placed her hands on his shoulder and without even jumping, he lifted her onto his back.
"Are you alright?" Peter asked her.
"Yeah." Bella whispered back
Bella held on to Peter as tightly as she could as everyone started heading back. Stiles gave the McCall pack a head up that they found Bella and that Peter was taking her home. Bella just held on to Peter quietly as they journeyed back towards the entrance of the reserve.
Along the way, Bella closed her eyes and went into a deep sleep while being carried by Peter. Whatever happened to her truly took a toll. Peter could hear her slow heartbeats and quiet breathing. Peter looked over his shoulder to check on her, only to see her resting her head on his shoulder.
Back at the hospital parking lot, Derek guided Peter towards his car. He was taking his cousin and uncle home. Peter carefully places an exhausted Bella in the backseat of the car and slides in to sit beside her, her head now resting on his leg. Within minutes, Derek got them to Peter's apartment. Peter carefully scooped Bella out of the car and carried her inside the apartment complex, with Derek following behind.
Once inside, Peter carried Bella to her room and laid her down on the bed. He sat down next to her. Derek watched Peter, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, hand constantly caressing her hair. The fingers that were caressing her hair trembled lightly. It was like Peter had to stand over his daughter to make sure she was alright. He was relieved that she was here, at home, safe and sound.
Peter looked down at the young girl sleeping in her bed. He cared for Bella so much, so much that it hurt. Peter pushed the hair off Bella's forehead, slightly smiling when she mumbled something and turned, bending her legs to form a little cocoon.
So precious. Bella was the most precious thing to him. Peter's hand descended from Bella's hair to her face, caressing her cheek slightly so as to not wake her up. Peter then leaned and gave the young girl a small kiss on her forehead and whispered "I love you." Peter just looks down at Bella, sleeping peacefully. His hand slid down from her hair to caress her cheek.
With one last smile, he silently made his way from the room and shut the door. He returned to the living area to see Derek present.
Derek sighed "What are you going to do?"
"What do you mean?"
"Her eyes. That means one or two things."
Peter glared at Derek, "Do we really need to talk about this now? The last thing I want to discuss right now is why my daughter's eyes are gold now."
Derek sent him a dirty look which caused Peter to smirk.
"Even if it means she might lose her power? There's more to this than we know"
Peter got up and took a step towards his nephew. "Oh, really? Then why don't you enlighten me?"
Derek stared at Peter. "Bella was shot!
"Tell me something I don't know" Peter glared at Derek
"Her eyes are now gold, and you aren't even the slightest interested in finding out why?"
"Of course I am!" Peter shouted "That's not a priority right now. When she shows signs of something like losing her power, you will have my undivided attention. But in the meantime, just let her rest."
It was very hard to describe the amount of worry Peter was feeling. There was still so much to figure out. Peter set his hearing in the bedroom, listening to Bella's soothing breaths. The sounds of her breathing were soothing and reassuring. It's how Peter knew she was okay.
Needless to say, Peter didn't sleep that night. After Derek left, there was no question that something changed within his daughter. She was a unique case.
After sunrise, however, his concern began to grow when he didn't hear any signs of movement. Peter continued to check on her every few minutes and found Bella still sleeping peacefully. She had been asleep for nine hours. Perhaps she was just so exhausted from all that had happened the night before.
After a while, Bella moaned as she began to wake up. It was nearly noon. Suddenly, the events of the night came to the forefront of her mind and she shot up. Immediately she had to lay back down because of the dizziness. Although, she almost died. She remembered that. The pain was nothing she had felt before. It was like her very own blood was on fire.
She looked down and saw that she was still in her hospital gown. She turned and sat on the edge of her bed, still feeling weak. Bella found that she couldn't get herself off the bed. Why couldn't she move? Why was she sore? Shouldn't she have healed by now?
And when she finally tried to get up, her head was spinning and her legs gave out and lost her footing. She shut her eyes and braced herself for a hard hit but she didn't. Strong arms caught her and held her close. Bella began to shake, feeling scared.
"I've got you. It's okay. You're okay."
Bella opened her eyes and looked up to see her father. Relieved, she buried her face in his shirt.
"What were you even doing?" Peter said in stern voice as he hugged her tightly
"I'm fine. I'm sorry. I just wanted to get up. I got dizzy."
Peter scooped her up off the ground and placed her on the bed. Bella slouched as she tried to sit up straight while Peter knelt down in front of her.
"What hurts?" Peter asked with concern
"Everything."
Peter gently places his hand on top of hers "This will help."
Black was running through Peter's veins and Bella felt a rush of relief as the pain dissipated. Once finished, Peter came and sat beside her and wrapped an arm around her.
"You okay?" He gently asked
Bella sighed "Still a little out of it."
Peter sighed. He hated seeing her in pain. "Well, I guess that's to be expected, I suppose."
Bella leaned in closely towards Peter with her head on his shoulder as he hugged her tightly. Peter had a look of guilt on his face. "Bells, I'm so sorry that you got hurt."
"It wasn't your fault, dad." Bella looked up at Peter
"Yes, it was." He said in almost a whisper with sadness in his eyes. "I left you in the apartment alone when Gerard and his army were hunting us. I should have known better. I should have been there to protect you"
He said the last sentence with so much hurt that Bella could feel it. Peter took his arm around her and he looked down at his lap, rubbing his hands together in an attempt to comfort himself.
Bella let out a soft sigh. "Dad, please don't blame yourself. This wasn't your fault."
"It's my job to protect you! I should have been with you." At first when he spoke, it was as if he was angry but as he finished, all Bella could hear in his voice was sadness.
"Dad, don't do this to yourself. We both know that if it weren't for you teaching me how to fight, I probably wouldn't even be here right now."
"But I should have been." Peter said once more "You're my little girl. I should have been there and I wasn't. I failed you again."
"If anything, it was my fault to begin with, remember?" she told him and Peter looked at her with a confused look. "I managed to convince you to see Malia after she called you, remember? I chose to stay back."
Peter sighed as he started to remember that. "Same thing."
"Whatever." Bella smirked.
Peter slightly chucked "You want to eat something?"
Bella thought for a moment "Yeah. But first, I really need a shower."
"You sure you're up to it?"
"I think I can handle taking a shower."
"Okay." Peter said awkwardly "You go do that. I'll make you something."
Bella was able to stand and make her way to the bathroom without falling down. She slowly undressed and stepped under the hot water. After she got out of the shower and dried herself up, she found herself staring into the mirror. There were bags under her eyes. Bella could tell how exhausted she was. She closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened her eyes, she was met with incredibly bright golden rings in her eyes.
"Woah!" Bella screamed as she fell back against the wall.
Peter, without hesitation, darted into the bathroom, thinking she was in danger. Thankfully, Bella was fully clothed when he ran in.
"What is it? What's wrong?" Peter asked worriedly as he knelt down beside her.
When Bella looked up, her eyes were glowing a gold color
"My eyes! What's wrong with my eyes?" she cried
Peter took her into his arms and hugged her tightly "It's okay, honey. Everything is fine. You're going to be fine."
"Why are they gold?!" Bella cried "I'm not a beta now, am I?! I don't even have an Alpha! I should be an omega!"
"I don't know." Peter says to her, gently rubbing her back "I promise you, I will find out."