Rosalie laid on her bed. She was trying to read Gone with the Wind. She had always found Scarlett to be a painfully problematic heroine, but the book had always been one of her favorites. The book had been released three years after she turned and was the first book she was able to read in her new life. Rosalie had identified with parts of Scarlett. She had seen herself in the image of the beautiful heroine and her foolish ways. Rosalie had been like pre-war Scarlett: She had been beautiful, foolish, and looking for nothing but love. She wasn't in love before she died, she was in love with the idea of love. At eighteen Rosalie had known nothing of true love, and neither had sixteen-year-old Scarlett. Scarlett O'Hara had remained strong and pushed her way through everything, and Rosalie learned she would as well. After all, "Burdens are for shoulders strong enough to carry them."
Rosalie hated to admit it, but the book had also shown her how foolish she had been in her treatment of black people. Rosalie hadn't been racist, not on purpose, but she had been nursing racist tendencies instilled in her by her family. Her nanny had been black. Her family had a maid, and she had been black. Rosalie had adjusted to a world where darker people worked in servant positions. When the civil rights movement began Rosalie had happily joined in. She had worked with a fervor that had surprised her family. Only Edward knew she was attempting to work off the pang of guilt that had pervaded her since she read Gone with the Wind the first time. From the treatment of Mammy to the 'house blacks' versus the 'field blacks' Rosalie had tried to work off that guilt. It had been a different time, she told herself. The first time Edward tried to reassure her about that fact she punched him in the throat hard enough to cause cracks in his skin that spidered down to his chest. He left her alone after that. She did take solace in his words though.
Today, however, Rosalie couldn't focus on her favorite novel. She sighed and set the book down open across her chest. Rose had barely made it into Chapter 2. Scarlett was mourning her love of the great Ashley Wilkes, a 'man who used his leisure time for thinking, not doing.' Rosalie remembered when she had loved a man. He had been a monster. She hadn't loved someone before that, and she certainly hadn't loved anyone since that. She kept everyone at arm's length except for her family. When Carlisle had 'saved' Rosalie he had hoped she would be a companion for Edward. Rosalie had found the idea of an eternity with Edward oppressive and depressing. When she had rescued Emmett, Rosalie had hoped he would be her mate. Emmett was sweet. He was impossibly kind. He was strong and could protect her from any threat. Rosalie didn't need protecting, but it was comforting to know that someone could if she wanted them to. The spark just hadn't been there though. He was too pure for her. He was too happy. He hadn't found his mate yet, so sometimes they separated from the family and masqueraded as a married couple.
In Forks students occasionally assumed that Emmett was her boyfriend, and that didn't bother Rosalie. She was tired of being stared at by horny teenage boys. They were disgusting. She had seen enough accidental boners to know that letting teenage males fear Emmett was the shield she needed. She knew that people thought she was a bitch. She let them. She was tired of people looking only at her chest. She was tired of wolf whistles as she walked down the street. It was exhausting to go out in public and know that people were imagining her naked. She couldn't remember the last time a human had looked at her and seen her as a person, not as an object.
Rosalie thought about that and realized it wasn't true. Recently a human – well mostly human- had looked at her and seen her. It seemed that Bella Swan was seeing Rosalie. Rosalie couldn't remember Bella ever looking her in the eyes before last week. Now Bella was a completely different person. She was relaxed. She was at ease. Bella was confident and seemed to want to spend time with Rosalie. She was apparently comfortable enough to go wolf and attack Rosalie. Her scent, which everyone else said was unpleasant, was relaxing to Rosalie. She thought about Bella's ultimatum – a jeep or a date - and wondered which she would choose. It would be so easy to just buy the wolf a Jeep and tell her to go away. But, Rosalie thought to herself, it could also be kind of exciting to hang out with someone outside her family.
Rosalie sat up, wondering if she would go to Seattle alone or with Alice. Her bedroom door flew open, and Alice jumped in. "I would love to go to Seattle with you!" Rosalie clenched her teeth together. "I saw it when you thought it! It's not my fault! Let's go!" Alice hopped onto one leg like a ballerina. She spun in a pirouette and hopped out of the doorway. Rosalie sighed and followed her exuberant sister. They took Rosalie's BMW, hitting 150 mph before they were even out of Forks.
Bella had just gotten into her house when her cell phone rang. She dropped her backpack and shook off her coat. The pouring rain was really putting a damper on her day. Bella fished her phone out of her pocket. "Hello?"
"Bella, it's Deputy Mark."
"Hey Mark, what's up?"
"I have to tell you something, and I need you not to freak out."
"Mark, what's wrong?"
"It's Charlie." Bella leaned against the wall heavily. "He's missing. All my officers are out looking for him, but I thought it was time to call you."
"What happened?" Bella's voice was a harsh whisper.
"We got a call of a kid missing North of the 110. She walked off her family's property. She's five, so we knew she hadn't gone far. Well, we sent out a few officers. We found the girl, but we haven't found Charlie. He's not answering his walkie, and the dogs can't find him in the rain. We're going back out, but I just thought you should know."
Bella's face went numb. She started shaking. "How long has he been missing?"
"It's been about three hours. We're not worried yet Bells, we'll find him."
"Thank you-thanks for telling me." Bella hung up her phone and went outside, locking the door behind her. The sky was dark, and she could feel the pressure from a storm that wasn't going to let up in the next few hours. The oppressive darkness was not going to let up before true night fell. Bella prepared to call the Cullen's. She needed help. She was halfway to calling Alice when she realized that North of the 110 would put Charlie in the Quileutes land, or at least too close for the wolves' comfort. Bella hit the back button and called Sam. She needed her pack. Bella tied extra clothes to her leg and set off. They needed to find Charlie.<
Where did they last see him? Sam asked from miles away. Bella played back the phone call for the pack. Okay, we're going to fan out. Leah's going to join you. We'll conduct a large sweep From La Push to Forks. We'll run parallel to each other. I doubt he got that far, but we'll search up to Ozette Lake if we have to.
Bella's desperation sunk into the other wolves. They quickly began the search. Bella, it's okay. We'll find him. He's family. Jacob reassured her.
The police dogs lost him, Bella stressed.
Their noses aren't as strong as ours. We'll find him. Sam thought out strategy. We'll keep within two miles of the road. The chances of Charlie crossing the Sol Duc River is unlikely if he was looking for a lost five-year-old.
The wolves covered miles and miles of land. From La Push Road to the Sol Duc River, they searched every inch. Bella and Leah hit where 110 disappears into Forks. They swept North again, finding where the river headed North. We've got his scent! Leah shouted.
The relief flowed through Bella. They ran towards the river. They could smell Charlie, but suddenly his scent disappeared into the swollen river. Shit, she moaned.
Leah, Sam ordered, Search the other side of the river. Bella, stay on the Southern side. Do a thorough sweep. Follow the river as far as you can until you find him. Leah gave a nonverbal confirmation before she leaped the full width of the river.
The rest of the pack was speeding to the girls, ready to spread out. A boot was on Leah's side of the river. She sniffed it. It was Charlie's. He's definitely gone down the river.
The girls had traveled a mile down the river when they found Charlie. A tree was down across the river, stopping small branches from going any farther downstream. Charlie was clinging to it. He looked exhausted and in pain. Small twigs continued to float into the branch. Some of them hit Charlie. He looked battered and half-drowned. Bella barked. It was a hard, excited sound. Charlie whipped his head around and almost lost his grip. "Are you fucking kidding me?" Charlie murmured. "I'm losing it. Fucking wolves. Huge fucking wolves." Leah was on the other side, and Charlie was closest to her.
What do we do?
Grab him!
He's scared, Bella! Go shift!
Bella ducked into the woods and quickly pulled on the wet clothes she'd had tied to her leg. She ran back to the river. "Dad! Dad, it's me!"
Charlie looked at Bella. He was terrified. "Bells? Bella! Get out of here! There are huge wolves in the woods!" His energy was clearly fading. His attempt at shouting was weak.
"Dad, don't panic." He turned around and saw that Leah had gotten closer. "Charlie!" He looked back at Bella, eyes wide in the gloom of the wet woods. "It's Leah. It's Leah Clearwater. She's gonna grab you and help you get to shore."
"It's...it's Leah..." His voice got weak.
"Now, Leah!" Bella shouted. Just as Charlie started to lose his grip Leah leaned forward and grabbed the back of Charlie's sheriff jacket. Bella heard the leather tear a bit. It held, and Leah walked across the precariously placed log to set Charlie on the bank by Bella. He laid flat on the ground. Bella patted him down, shoulders, chest, legs. His left leg, the one missing a shoe, was broken. It looked to be a closed break.
"Bella, I don't understand. How did this happen?" He shook his head, exhausted. "Where did that other wolf go? Is it a friend too?" He looked at her, a very mortal fear in his eyes.
"It's me, dad. I'm the other wolf."
Charlie's eyes went wide, and the pain finally seemed to get to him. He collapsed back. "I don't...I don't understand...but you showed up right in time. Thank you." He reached out for Bella's hand. "How far are we from Forks?"
Bella looked around. Leah sat down calmly. "About two miles. How are we going to get you back to town? I can't exactly carry you all the way to town, people would find that odd." Bella looked at Leah. "What do we do?" Bella couldn't hear Leah's thoughts, so she was on her own. "Can the boys get my truck and meet us off the 101? We're about half a mile away." Leah gave a short bark. "They're already doing that, aren't they?" Leah nodded. "Okay. Dad, help will be here soon."
"Bella, you've got some explaining to do. Maybe later though. I'm so tired." He went limp. Bella could still hear his heart beating, so she knew he was just exhausted.
Bella looked down at Charlie, hoping she wouldn't jolt him awake. She gently lifted him off the ground. She could easily carry him, even with how heavy his waterlogged clothing was. Leah led the way to the road. They stayed out of sight as they began hearing cars pass by over the sound of the thundering rain. Eventually, a familiar roar came upon them. The truck idled 100 yards from them. "Bella? Leah?" Jacob's voice called out into the night.
"Thank god." Bella hurried to the truck as Leah took off into the woods. Jacob opened the bed of the truck. Bella jumped in with Charlie. She sat in the bed and pillowed his head on her leg. She tried to lean over him to keep the rain off his face. Jacob slammed the truck bed. "Hurry Jacob!"
They were less than five minutes from the hospital. Jacob sped to the Emergency room entrance. He ran in to get help. Two nurses came out with a gurney. Carlisle was close behind them. Jacob melted into the forest while everyone surrounded the truck. "Bella," Carlisle asked, "What happened?"
"Charlie got hurt in the woods. We found him."
"Who is we?" The nurse asked. "It's only you here."
"I found him." Bella amended. "He broke his leg. Help him."
"I will," Carlisle assured her. He started listening to Charlie's chest with the stethoscope Bella knew he didn't need. "Chief Swan has what appears to be a combined tibia/fibula fracture. He's hypothermic. Let's get some fluids in him and get him warmed up." Carlisle turned to Bella, who followed them inside. "What happened to him?"
"He got sucked into the river. I found him holding onto a log in the water."
"Lucky you were there." Carlisle directed the nurses again. "We need an x-ray of that leg. I also want a head CT, just in case."
"Right away, doctor."
Carlisle paused. "Are you okay?"
Bella nodded; her eyes teared up. "I'm...I'm alright."
"You did good, Bella. You did well." Carlisle patted Bella's arm before he rushed off in the direction that Charlie was wheeled in.
Bella waited alone in the waiting room. Officers continued to come in and out, satisfied. They congratulated her, they talked to nurses, and they left once they were reassured. Carlisle came out to reassure Bella after the x-ray. They set Charlie's leg and ran him to the CT machine. There was a short wait for it, and Charlie hadn't woken up yet. At some point, Bella had gone outside to move her truck out of the Ambulance drop-off zone. Mostly, she waited. The automatic door whooshed open.
"Bella!" Alice's musical voice called her name.
"Alice." Bella breathed in relief. Alice ran to her and Bella hugged the girl tightly, relaxing into the grasp of her short friend. "What are you doing here? Did Carlisle call you?"
"He decided to. He hasn't called yet." She winked. "We got here as soon as we could."
"We?" Bella looked past Alice to where Rosalie was walking in. "Rosalie." Bella pulled Rosalie into a tight hug. Rose stiffened, surprised by the contact. Bella ignored that and stepped back. "Thank you two so much for coming. Charlie's gonna be okay."
"What happened?" Rosalie asked as she cleared her throat.
"He was looking for a lost girl in the woods. He must have fallen into the river and got swept away. We went out and looked for him." Bella breathed out hard. "I was so scared."
"It's okay. You guys found him. You saved him. He's so grateful." Alice squeezed Bella's arm.
"I hope so," Bella said. "He knows about the pack. That was the only way we could find him."
Rosalie stepped up. "I'm sure he's thankful anyways. Charlie loves you. You're his daughter."
Alice looked between Rosalie and Bella. "I'm gonna go find Carlisle." She turned on her heel and walked down the hallway.
"Thank you for saying that."
"You're welcome."
"Charlie's gonna be okay."
"I know."
"You don't have to stay here."
"I know."
Bella looked at Rosalie and smiled. "This doesn't count as our date."
Rosalie huffed. "Why do you assume we're going on a date?"
"I don't see a Jeep." Rosalie's bright gold eyes flashed mischievously as she looked towards the automatic doors. "Rosalie..."
"Yes?"
"You didn't."
"I'm sorry, I can't determine what you're referring to with your choppy half-sentences."
"You did not get me a jeep."
Rosalie tossed her hair. "I just happened to be in Seattle this afternoon and I saw something I thought you would like."
"Rosalie..."
Rose turned towards the door and indicated Bella should follow her. Parked to the left of the entrance, glistening in the rain, was a giant red Jeep Rubicon with a black hardtop roof. The tires were huge. Rosalie looked at the Jeep, then Bella's surprised face, and smiled. "It's a manual, so I hope you can drive that." Bella snorted. "It's got a 3.6 engine, six-speed transmission, trailer tow, trail rated kit, Uconnect NAV, hinge-gate reinforcement, the reinforced steel bumper, and the upgraded audio system."
"I have no idea what half of the things you just said mean."
"It's in your name. Keyless entry." Rosalie reached out to hand Bella the key fob.
Bella didn't reach out for it. "You would rather drop 50 k on a Jeep than go on a date with me?"
"Well you see, I don't like ultimatums," Rosalie drawled as she reached for Bella's hand to put the keys in it. "So, I thought 'both.' Both is good." Bella smiled. "And anyway, you needed a new vehicle."