Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

Intensity

By Mama4Dukes

Chapter 24:

Paul’s POV

We’ve been back home for six weeks now. Charlie and Sue had gone on their vacation, and had a fabulous time. They still raved about their holiday with each phone call. Billy was finally behind the wheel of his new minivan, and according to Jacob, he was tearing through the entire Olympic Peninsula with his grandkids in tow, now that he was mobile once again. Speaking of Jacob, he said that Angela has been keeping an extremely low profile now that word of her child abuse has spread through Forks. Apparently, Collin’s imprint Linda, angered by what she’d heard, confronted Angela in front of Reverend Weber’s church after Sunday services in front of all of the parishioners. She left after slapping Angela across the face, and asking her how it felt to be slapped the way she had slapped Sarah.

The interviews at the various reservations had gone well. I had enough workers to carry the company through all of the projects and now I was busy playing catch up at work. Bella, too, was ridiculously busy. I hadn’t had dinner with her once this week; we’d see each other in the morning before work and one or both of us would return home late at night, way after dinner. Something had to give because I missed her like crazy.

Currently, I was cooped up in the boardroom with Crispy, Tom, and Embry having a working lunch. We were busy creating teams out of our new hires.

“Yes, Tom?”

“I think we need to put Joe Cameron on my team and move Sammy and Jared off. If I’m not overstepping my boundaries, my opinion is that you can promote those two to foremen. I would assign Brady as the right-hand man to Jared and have Manny with Sammy. In the meantime, I’ll take Brian, Chris, and Jason who are coming in from the reservation with only carpentry experience. It would be best if I trained them.”

“Sorry, no can do.”

“Why not, Paul? I’m the best man for the job.”

“I know; that’s why you’ve been promoted to Construction Team Coordinator. I will take your advice on promoting Jared and Sam. I think it best that we don’t place Joe Cameron with Jared because they might kill each other. They’re family and they see each other all the time at home. It would be like putting your son-in-law Brady on your team. I’m going to let Sam handle training him and a few other new hires. He has experience with training new recruits. Brady will be on Jared’s team along with Manny. Those two work well together.”

Crispy pulled up Sam’s resume. “I don’t see anything on Sam’s resume about training new employees nor on Jared’s neither.”

“He used to be the alpha when the reservation was being threatened by vampires and Jared was his beta,” Tom whispered. “Believe me when I say that those two know how to lead and train.”

“They’ll do.” Crispy nodded his head.

“How are you on the electrical front, Em?”

“I’m all set. We had three quarters of our team set before leaving, and the rest I was able to hire during our trip-mostly from Alaska. I have no idea why, but Alaska has an overabundance of electricians looking for work.”

“Good, good. What about housing? Does Rita have the leads all set, Crispy?”

“Yes, the list was completed this afternoon. We’ve got more than enough offers. Most of these guys are willing to go five to a two-bedroom apartment in order to keep the rent costs down. As long as the company is willing to provide security deposits, all of the landlords on the list are willing to work with us.”

“How are they planning on doing five to a two-bedroom?”

“I think two in each bedroom plus one in the living room on a sleeper sofa.”

“That’s not a code violation?”

“Nope.”

“Alright, I’ll leave it in your hands then. Health insurance?”

“The ones from the reservations have tribal healthcare so we’ll be saving a ton of money there.” Crispy sighed. “Paul, we’re good. It’s Friday afternoon, trust me when I say we’re ahead of the game. I think we can all take a break and relax this weekend.”

“I’d like that, my grandson is playing basketball this weekend, and I’d like to see the game,” Tom agreed.

“You’re right, we’ve been going non-stop for the last six weeks. Alright, meeting is adjourned. See you all on Monday.”

“Are you serious? It’s only 12:30.”

“I am. I’ve hardly seen Bella since we’ve returned. I miss her, and you guys should all spend some time with your families. I’m sorry it’s been so busy here.” I turned to Tom. “I just need you to go to HR and fill out a few forms which have to do with your promotion. You get additional benefits and a raise with your position.”

“Paul, are you sure? You don’t have to…”

“I think you’ve proven yourself to be an effective leader and coordinator, Tom. This job will be perfect for you.”

“Thanks, Paul.”

“Don’t mention it.”

I watched as everyone left the boardroom. I headed to my office to call in the new promotions to human resources so they could handle the paperwork; then I decided to go and check out the progress on some of the sites.

On the way to the worksite, my cell phone buzzed with a phone call. “This is Paul Lahote.”

“Mr. Lahote, my name is Lorraine Smyth, I’m the nurse at Arcadia High School. You are the primary emergency contact listed for Samuel Uley, Jr. after his parents.”

“Yes?” I questioned, completely worried now because a call from the school nurse is never good. “Is Sammy okay?”

“We were unable to reach his parents and were wondering if you were available to pick him up. There was an incident at school.”

“Of course, I’ll be right there.”

I turned the truck around and floored it to the high school. I rushed inside, identified myself to the school secretary, and was led to the nurse’s office where Sammy was nursing a black eye.

I knelt down to his level and took a look at him. “What happened?” He didn’t say anything and turned his head away from me. “Sammy? What happened?”

“Mr. Lahote? If you can come to my office, I can apprise you of the situation,” the principal said, peeking into the room.

“I’ll be right back, buddy,” I assured Sammy before following the principal to his office and sitting down in the chair across from him.

“Kids can be cruel, Mr. Lahote-especially teenagers.”

“Yes, I’m aware of that.”

“Sammy hasn’t had as easy a time as Ryan Cameron in adjusting to high school.”

“I was not aware of that.”

“I know you’ve attended most of the wrestling matches faithfully.”

“I have.” Will this guy ever get to the point?

“As you’re aware, Ryan is the star of the wrestling team, while Sammy is not performing as well.”

“You mean he’s not performing well at all.”

“Well, yes, I was trying to be diplomatic about the situation.”

“Please, just be frank with me,” I told him, hoping he’d just get to the point.

“Alright, Sammy has been getting teased and bullied for his lack of athletic prowess. He lost his cool during lunch and slugged one of the football players; unfortunately, he hit Sammy back, resulting in the black eye and a possible fractured hand.”

“The poor kid. Where was Ryan?”

“Fortunately, he had a different lunch period as Sammy because we have no doubt Ryan would have defended him.” The principal paused for a minute as if trying to figure out a way to say the next part. He took a deep breath before saying, “Mr. Lahote, I honestly believe Sammy needs to withdraw from the wrestling program and find a different pursuit. If you could convey the information to his parents, I’d appreciate it. I won’t be punishing Sammy because he was antagonized; the other student will, in fact, be serving out detention.”

“Thank you, Mr. Trainor.”

“Not a problem. I believe he needs to be seen by his doctor.”

“Bella is his health care provider. I’ll drive him straight to her office.”

“Then he’ll be in excellent hands.”

I shook Mr. Trainor’s hand, returned to the nurse’s office, and put my arm around Sammy, who looked glum. As soon as he got into my truck, he started bawling.

“Hey, buddy, Mr. Trainor told me what happened.”

“I don’t want to go back to school, Uncle Paul! It’s embarrassing, Mom is always hovering over me and the kids all think I’m a mama’s boy.”

“Being loved by your mom is not necessarily a bad thing.”

“Yeah, but she embarrasses me. She treats me like I’m four years old and hugs me all the time. She shouts, ‘I love you, Sammy Bear!’ when she drops me off in the morning. I wish she were more like Aunty Kim. She doesn’t embarrass Ryan.” He took a deep breath before continuing, “And then there’s Ryan. He’s popular, he’s athletic, and he can defend himself. I can’t do any of that stuff.”

“Sammy, forget about Ryan. Let’s focus on you. What do you like to do?”

“I can draw and I can sing-not exactly boy stuff, huh? But I’m not gay.”

“I never said you were, and even if you were-I wouldn’t hold it against you.”

“Uncle Paul, why am I so pathetic?”

“I’d hardly say you’re pathetic. I’d say the kid who teased you because you’re not a jock is pathetic. He’s not open-minded enough.”

“I hate wrestling, Uncle Paul. I only did it to prove myself to my dad because… because… well, Dad is a tough guy. Dad played football in high school and got straight A’s. Dad…”

“We’re not here to talk about your dad. That’s your father, not you. You are a different, Samuel Joshua Uley.”

“Yeah, I’m the wimp version.”

“Cut it out. You’re far from being a wimp. It took courage to give wrestling a try, and you were brave to defend yourself against the bully.” I parked the vehicle at Bella’s office. “Come on, chin up. Let’s go and show Aunty Bella your hand.”

We walked into the office. Sammy still had tears streaming down his face. As soon as the receptionist noticed me, she called Bella, who took us to an open room.

“We’re on skeleton crew today because all of our medical assistants are at a training session. The good news is we’re done with appointments for the day. Now, what do we have here?” She took a look at Sammy’s swollen eye. “Maybe it’s good that your mom isn’t here. She’d probably make a big deal out of a little scratch, huh?” Bella asked him.

How the heck she knew how to deal with the kid, I had no idea.

“Yeah, I also dinged my hand.”

“Let me see.” She examined his hand, which was swollen and hanging limp. “I’d say you did a bit more than just dinged it up. We’re going to have to take a little trip to the hospital for x-rays. I think you have a boxer’s break. You wait here while I make the arrangements.”

“Okay.”

A boxer’s break? I made a mental note to teach the kid how to punch. He probably fights like Crispy. He’s another one who needs lessons in self-defense and he’s my goddamned beta. The guy didn’t even know how to form a proper fist. I swear the Coyote pack had it so easy compared to the wolf pack. Jeff and Barry were the only two who knew how to fight-Jeff because he was a jock and wrestled, and Barry because he had to learn how to fight at the police academy.

Bella motioned me out to the hallway. “What happened?”

“He was bullied, got fed up, punched a kid, and got punched back.”

“How come you’re bringing him in, Paul?”

“I’m the emergency contact. I suspect they couldn’t get through to Sam because he’s at a worksite and couldn’t hear his phone. Some of the noise drowns out the sound of the phone ringing even with wolf hearing. I have Lorna trying to reach Sam now.”

“And Emily is at a training session, which is a good thing because she would have blown this out of proportion.”

“Right.”

“Okay, let’s get him to the hospital for x-rays.”

“Don’t you have to work?”

“Nope, I told you I’m done for the day. We knew about this training session so we’re on an on-call basis only. This would be a call for me.”

“Bella, Mrs. Cameron is on line one,” the receptionist interrupted.

“Okay, Beth.” She turned to me. “Hang on.”

“Kim? What happened? Alright, I’ll meet you at the emergency department at Good Samaritan, okay?” She paused to listen. “Okay. See you there. I’ll probably get there before you do.”

“It appears Ryan heard about what happened to his best friend and retaliated. He’s being transported to the hospital by ambulance as a precaution.”

“Yeah, I heard Kim loud and clear. I’m glad we don’t have kids yet.”

“Me too,” Bella admitted. “Let me go and tell Dr. Blanchard I’m heading out.”

By the time we arrived at the hospital twenty minutes later, Sam and Jared were waiting for us.

“Paul, thanks for grabbing him. What happened?”

Bella took Sammy ahead with her. I hung back and explained the situation to Sam who sighed. “God, damn it! I told Emily about her overprotectiveness. She smothers him.”

“ Fuck you!”

“ Fuck you, too!” we heard Ryan and another boy arguing in the emergency department followed by scuffling.

“ Ryan, no!” we heard Kim yelling. “You sit down this instant!” Jared, Sam, and I rushed in there and pulled Ryan back.

“Sit down! You heard your mother, boy!” Jared ordered. “Now!”

The other boy’s father was yelling at his son to sit down as well.

“I want these two separated!” Dr. Kele, Barry’s mother, commanded.

It was at that moment that Sammy walked by with Bella.

“Ooh, baby Sammy Bear is crying. Boo-hoo,” the bully taunted.

Then the unthinkable happened. The boy’s father slapped him across the face using full force, knocking him off of the gurney. The boy instantly cowered with tears streaming down his face.

“How dare you? How dare you hit this boy?” Dr. Kele shouted, standing protectively in front of the boy. “Security!”

“You’re a real asshole!” Ryan added, standing up and staring into the father’s face-never flinching. Jared clamped a hand over his son’s mouth to shut him up.

The father raised his hand to hit Ryan. Jared moved in front of his own son, the other boy, and Dr. Kele. “Don’t even think about laying a finger on my boy, yours, or any other kid again! Is that understood?” I’d never seen Jared looking so fierce. I understood why Sam picked him to be beta when he was alpha-he understood right from wrong.

Security showed up a few minutes later and escorted the father out. I heard Dr. Kele asking her staff to call the police and social services.

Sam, Jared, and I were standing there stunned. I recalled how many times I’d been hit by my dad as a boy and sympathized with the bully. There was no excuse for his bullying, but I knew the reason behind his rage and aggression: he was an abused child.

“I’d better find Sammy,” Sam stated.

“Bella took him to get x-rayed. Go through the double doors, down the corridor and take a left. You’ll see the signs.” Sam nodded and took off. “Let’s take a look at that eye,” Dr. Kele told the other boy. “Your name is Patrick?”

“Yes,” he replied. “Is my Dad okay? He doesn’t mean to hit me. It’s just that… It’s just that sometimes he drinks too much and I’m… I’m a pain in the ass.”

“No, Patrick. You might be a bit of a pain in the ass, but no more than the usual boy. It doesn’t give your father the right to hit you. You say he drinks. Does he do it often?”

“A lot.”

“I see. Well, maybe we can get him some help.”

“That would be good, but we don’t have money. He lost his job and my mom… My mom walked out on us.”

“We’ll work it all out. I promise. You’re safe now.”

I took a good look at Patrick and realized how frightened he looked. The kid had no one, nothing-only his alcoholic father and no mother to speak of because she had selfishly walked out on him. Really, he only had himself to rely on-just like I once only had myself to rely on, too.

And then, an hour or so later, I saw a glimmer of hope. His worried grandparents rushed into the emergency room to pick him up. Hopefully he would get the care he needs. Grandparents were a heck of a lot more than I had, and I turned out okay… and so would he.

---

“Dad, Mom… I feel bad for hitting Patrick,” Ryan said.

“Well, you should. You had no business hitting him.”

“He was mean to Sammy.”

“And Sammy tried to defend himself and got hurt in the process. It wasn’t your fight, Ryan. You weren’t there. You just randomly attacked the boy. You’re lucky the principal is only letting you off with a detention,” Kim informed him.

“I’m sorry.”

Jared shook his head and looked up towards the heavens. “You know something, I understand you want to defend Sammy because he’s your best friend, but you need to let him fight his own battles.”

“He gets picked on a lot.”

“That’s something we can all deal with together,” I told him. “We’ll find something for him to do that he’s good at.”

“He’s good at drawing titties.”

“Something of the non-pornographic variety.”

“No, I’m serious. He can draw all kinds of titties in a cartoon kind of way.”

Jared, Kim, and I all looked at each other not knowing quite how to respond to that.

“Does he draw breasts often?” Kim squeaked out, clearly uncomfortable with the topic, but trying hard to be an approachable mother.

“Oh, yeah. He has a whole notebook and everything. He writes stories to go along with them. He can also draw puss…” Jared clamped his hand over his son’s mouth.

“Paul, do you think Sam and Emily are aware of their son’s fascination with drawing cartoon porn and writing stories to accompany them?” a bewildered Kim whispered in my ear after she got over her shock.

“Think, Kim-this is Em we’re talking about.”

“Ooh… right…” She pursed her lips and let out a whistle.

Bella walked into Ryan’s room about an hour later. “Sammy’s fine. He’s got a boxer’s break. I put a splint on it, and Sam took him home. How about you, Ryan? Have you been looked at yet?”

“No, they took Patrick first.”

“Right, Dr. Kele probably had an emergency.” Bella started examining him. “So you bumped your head?”

“I sort of got it smashed up against a concrete wall.”

“Where? Here?” Bella felt the back of his head.

“Right around there and I got kicked in the stomach until I wrestled him to the ground.”

“Ryan, what am I going to do with you?” She shined a penlight, checked out his injury, and examined his pupils.

“Come to the Valentine’s Day Dance at school with me?” he asked hopefully.

We all chuckled at the boy.

Bella gave him a full exam and turned to Jared and Kim. “I think he’s fine. It’s going to be up to Jill, though. This is her department. I’m just here for moral support.”

Dr. Kele arrived a minute later and gave the same diagnosis as Bella. “No wrestling practice or gym today or tomorrow.”

“That’s okay, I have detention anyway,” Ryan chirped. “Besides, we don’t have a meet until Tuesday, I think.”

“You remind me of Barry when he was a teenager. Oh, the hell that boy put me through. Take him home, he’ll be fine. If he develops swelling, dizziness, or a severe headache-you know where to find Bella, Randy, or me.” Jill turned to us. “What on earth are you two doing here? You two need to go home and unwind. You’re overworking yourselves, both of you.”

“Right, we’re gonna take off. Stay out of trouble, Ryan.”

“I’ll try, but I really can’t promise anything.”

“That has to be the most honest answer a kid has ever given,” Bella commented.

I drove her back to the office so she could pick up her car and we drove home separately. After arriving at home, Bella and I simply went upstairs and collapsed in our bed for a nap. We were, quite simply, exhausted.

Of course, whoever the god of rest and relaxation was didn’t seem to want to grant us with either because Quil showed up at seven pm with his younger son Chris, who had a massive splinter stuck in his hand.

“How did this happen?”

“We were braiding leather key chains in Cub Scouts for the leatherwork badge.”

“I’m sorry, Quil, I don’t understand. If you were braiding leather, how did Chris get a massive splinter in his hand?”

“Right, he was running outside with the other boys while we dads were braiding leather.”

“I see, and you couldn’t get the splinter out yourself?”

“Watch this.” Quil turned to his boy. “Hey, Chris, can Daddy see your boo-boo?”

Chris’s eyes widened to the size of saucers, then suddenly he started bawling at the top of his lungs. He flopped onto his stomach, hid his hand underneath him, and started begging, “I want Mama!”

“Mama can’t come to you right now, honey. She’s at the Brownies with Crystal.”

“Mama! Mama! Mama!”

God, that’s a loud kid.

“Chris, let Daddy see your splinter. I’m just going to gently pull it out for you.”

“Mama!”

How the hell was my wife sleeping through this noise?

The doorbell rang again. This time it was Randy stopping by with some of Mina’s pie.

“Just the man we need to see, Chris has a splinter,” Quil told him.

“Well, did you pull it out?”

“He won’t let me near his hand.”

Randy stooped down so he was eye level with the boy. “Chris, can Uncle Randy see your hand?”

“I want Mama! I want Mama!”

Randy stood up and approached Chris who started running for his life.

“Jesus, Quil, why the hell is he so afraid of getting a splinter removed?”

“I don’t know. Rachel just knows how to keep him calm.”

“Chris! Come here now!”

“No!”

He was running in fear and cowering while the three of us chased after him like a bunch of fools. He was throwing the mother of all temper tantrums. Oh, God! He’s so loud. Ugh. And then he started screeching at the top of his lungs about how his booboo hurt and how he wanted his mommy. That finally woke my wife up. She sat on the staircase and observed the situation before calmly stating, “Chris, sweetie, would you like some chocolate ice cream?”

“Uh-huh.” He nodded his head and wiped his snot off on his arm. Gross; yet another reason why I don’t want kids; they’re so messy. We’re going to have to disinfect the entire damned house again!

“Let’s go to the kitchen and get some. Come on, just you and me.”

She picked him up and placed him on the bar stool at the kitchen island, and then she served him ice cream. While he was happily concentrating on licking the cone, she took a pair of tweezers out and pulled the splinter out. The kid didn’t even flinch.

“You see, this is why I need Bella working for me,” Randy stated, observing the situation. “She’s just got the magic touch.”

“Hey, Bella?” Quil called.

“Yes?”

“Thank you and… um… you wouldn’t have anything to eat, would you?”

I was about to protest when Randy added that he was hungry, too.

“Hold on, isn’t Mina home? You just brought some pie over,” I reminded him.

“She’s catering a party. She left me the pie, told me to bring it over here, and have Bella feed me.”

Bella chuckled when she heard that. “I know, she told me she was sending you here for dinner. I’ve got beef stew ready to go in the Crock Pot.”

When the hell did she find time to do that? God, she’s so damned organized.

“Thank God, I thought I was going to have PB and J for dinner.”

“Well, come on and sit down. It’s time for dinner.”

“Chris, we get a treat tonight. We get Aunty Bella’s beef stew for dinner.”

“Hurray! No soggy chicken salad!”

“Yep, buddy, no soggy chicken salad.”

We ate dinner and talked before settling down to watch some TV. Brady stopped in with some beer at around nine, stating that Missy was driving him insane with her to-do list.

“I get home from work and she’s standing there with the baby on her hip and a damned screwdriver in her hand. She actually made me install the new bathroom cabinet.”

“What happened to the old one?”

“Oh, the kids played with it and ripped the door off the hinges one too many times.”

“I’ve had that happen more than once,” Quil noted. Little Chris was curled up on the chair sleeping. “He looks like an angel when he’s sleeping. Damn it, it always melts my heart. I should get going and put him to bed. Thanks for getting the splinter out and for dinner, Bella. I owe you one.”

“I should get going, too. Mina should be home by now.” He turned to Bella. “Delicious beef stew. I don’t mind if I stop in every now and then.”

“Randy, you stop in at least twice a week.”

“I can’t help it if I live down the road from you. Just so you know, I was in this neighborhood before you guys.”

“Thanks for letting me unwind here,” Brady said, kissing Bella on the cheek.

We saw the guys out and watched them drive away. I loved them, they were like my brothers, and I usually didn’t mind them stopping by without notice. In fact, I enjoyed that about them. Today, though-today, I’d had a long day and I was coming off of a long week. On top of that, the whole fiasco with Sammy unnerved me. Sure, he’s not my son, but he’s Sam’s son, and Sam has stuck with me through thick and thin. His family was one of those who made sure I was okay. What I needed was to get away. A break. A respite. A little interlude.

“Bella?”

“Yes?”

“Do you have any patients who are about to go into labor this weekend?”

“Not at all. Why?”

“Pack your bag. We’re going to a hotel before anyone else stops by. I want to sleep.”

“Isn’t that being a bit frivolous with money?”

“Bella, we’re fucking millionaires! No, billionaires! Billionaires should be allowed to sleep every once in a blue moon. We’ve earned it, don’t you think?”

“I know. I just wanted to see your reaction. I know the perfect place to go to.”

“Hey, I trust you. You know the state so well that you’re like a walking map of Arizona.”

“I’ll pack while you make some coffee for the road.”

“Yes, honey.”

Within twenty minutes we were out of the house and on our way to rest and relaxation. Frankly, I didn’t care where we were headed. I just wanted to have one weekend of peace away from my damned pack.