Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

The Rabbit Meets The Magic Stick

By Mama4Dukes

Chapter 26:

And the story continues…

“Ooh, honey, there’s the Hoh Rainforest. I can’t wait to go hiking there,” Renee chortled excitedly as they drove on the 101 towards Forks.

“Neither can I,” Charlie replied. “We can go kayaking down the Hoh River, too. I wonder if Newton’s still does rentals?”

“It’s going to be so much fun living here!”

Bella arched an eyebrow at Renee. “Mom, Forks is really small. You like big cities.”

“Isabella, it doesn’t matter how big or small the town is. It’s what you make of it. There are lots of exciting things to do here. Besides, living with Daddy and you is an adventure. Just to keep the two of you in line is a full time job in and of itself.”

“Hey, Bells and I aren’t that bad!” Charlie protested.

“Charlie, it was just yesterday that we were practically thrown out of the EMP museum because you didn’t want to leave the Live Band Karaoke stage and give the other children a chance to try it out. And just before that, Bella took off from the Seattle University college tour without telling us because she had seen a cool store on the walk up from the Sheraton. Do you know what it was like to have a missing daughter on a college tour, Isabella Marie Swan? You made a poor impression on the administration. All the other kids managed to stay with their parents except for you.”

“Well, she’s not going there anyway, Renee. That place is a madhouse.”

“Oh, I know. Why do you think I was so worried when I realized Bella wasn’t with us? I thought she had been kidnapped.”

“You can definitely cross Seattle off from your list of potential towns to go to college in, young lady.”

“Uh, sure,” Bella replied and stared at her parents with an odd expression. Since when did they have such a vested interest in her education?

Between the Port Angeles Starbucks and Forks, Bella had deduced that her parents had never gotten divorced, her dad drove a brand-new, full sized, Lexus SUV, and they were moving back to Forks, Washington from Phoenix, Arizona, where they had lived since she was born. Oh, yeah, and her parents were really lovey-dovey with each other. She had never seen her father so attentive and her mother so caring. That was it. That’s all she knew about her new life, meaning she was just as confused as earlier. She did like the nifty new iPhone and iPad she found in her tote bag, though. She tried them both out. Her password and email were the same as before-so was her cell phone number. She also liked all the makeup in the pouch she carried, but since when did she start carrying makeup around with her? She only wore makeup on special occasions. She had never been so vain.

Suddenly, she had a thought. She scrolled through her contacts in her iPhone to find Jake, but he wasn’t in there. She knew Paul wouldn’t be in there because she didn’t meet him until 1987. God! That sounded so weird. So much for her brilliant idea. Nick and Sophia were still among her contacts so she quickly deleted their numbers because they weren’t worth keeping as friends.

“Well, here we are, Bells. Home sweet home. What do you think?” her father asked.

The house looked the same to her except for a new paint job and better landscaping, but who was she to say anything? She couldn’t possibly tell them that she knew this house inside and out. For God’s sake, it was just a week ago that she had dusted the entire house from top to bottom, mopped all the floors, and wiped the countertops because if she hadn’t done it all, her father sure as hell wouldn’t have gotten to it.

“Come on, Bells. You haven’t seen the house since we bought it. We thought it was a good size. It’s going to need some TLC, but it’s in a great, safe location and it has really good bones. The previous owners just replaced the roof and the siding last year. We had new hardwood floors put in, the painting done, and the kitchen gutted and updated over the summer. We also had new windows put in. They were original from when the house was built so they needed to be replaced. In fact, the window in your room didn’t even lock.”

“It’s good that you had the windows put in. I wouldn’t want any creepy weirdos sneaking into my bedroom at night to watch me sleep,” Bella replied, thinking of Edward.

“Honestly, Bella, if someone was sneaking into your room at night to watch you sleep, that person would be a sociopath and would need to be put behind bars,” her mother pointed out.

“Very true.” Bella nodded her head agreeing with her mother. Edward really was a sociopath.

“Now, what do you think of the house?”

Before, Bella could respond, a familiar voice said, “If you don’t like it, you can always live with Grandpa and me.”

“Grandma!” Bella ran excitedly into Helen’s open arms. She hugged her tightly. “I love you so much.”

Her grandmother had tears in her eyes as she stroked her cheek. “And I love you.” And then she whispered. “You’re still grounded for leaving that dance without saying anything.” She grinned at Bella’s wide eyes.

“Oh, pumpkin, it’s good to see you,” her grandfather said, giving her a bear hug, and then in her ear whispered, “Thank you for saving your grandmother’s life.”

“Well, Renee, our job is done. No more raising Bella. My parents are apparently going to take over from here. We won’t even have to pay for college.”

“Oh, Charlie, stop joking! You’ll make our baby feel unwanted,” Renee said, kissing Bella on the cheek, then hugging Helen and Geoff. “Thank you for overseeing the renovations.”

“It wasn’t a problem. We’re just glad to have you home.” Helen ran her fingers through Renee’s hair. “You need a haircut.”

“Yes, I know. I waited so you could do it.”

“I’ll do it for you this weekend, honey. I’ll even spruce up that horrible hair color for you. That shade of red is much too bright for your skin tone. Be honest, did you use that Nice ‘n Easy again?”

Her mother grimaced. “No, I used the hair color that they had at the dollar store.”

“Oh my God! Mom!” Bella cried. “Why? You probably stripped your hair of all its keratin!”

“The color looked nice on the box and I wanted to see if it worked. You know how I love trying all of the dollar store stuff. Besides, I didn’t have time to go to the salon with all the packing we were doing.”

“Oh, Renee! What am I going to do with you?” Helen said. “We’ll get you all fixed up. We can’t have you walking around Forks looking like a cheap hooker.”

Renee started laughing and said to her mother-in-law, “I’ve always loved your brutal honesty. Thank you, Mom.”

“Shall we go inside?” Charlie suggested.

“There’s no better time than now, Dad,” Bella agreed.

When he opened the door, a large group of people who were gathered inside the house suddenly yelled, “Surprise!”

Her father laughed jovially and greeted all of his high school friends who had come together to welcome him back to town.

There was the Black Family-the complete Black Family with a living Sarah and a walking Billy. Rachel and Rebecca had moved away and had their own careers so they weren’t there, but Jacob was. He went immediately to Bella, gave her a big hug, and wouldn’t leave her side. Truth be told, he looked as confused as Bella was.

There was the Clearwater Family-consisting of Harry, Sue, and Seth. Apparently, Leah was living in South Carolina with her husband who happened to be Sam Uley.

Speaking of the Uley family, Josh Uley, his wife Allison, and Sam’s little sister Brittany were at the party. Did Sam even have a little sister? Bella made a mental note to ask Jacob later. Josh Uley was completely buff, in shape, and sober. His company was the one that had done all the renovations to the house.

Next, there was the Newton Family. Bella scratched her head as she met Mr. Mark Newton, his wife Tiffany-whom she recognized as the former Tiffany Call-and their sons Michael and Embry. What happened to Karen Newton?

“Oh, hi, I’m Mike. I’m a junior at Forks High School. Your grandma told me you’re going to be in my grade. I can show you around the school,” he offered nicely. “I’ve lived in Forks all my life.”

Bella was going to have to get used to Mike Newton not having blonde hair anymore. He now had dark hair, a tan, and some distinctly Native American features.

“Damn, you’re hot!” a young, scrawny kid exclaimed, staring at her boobs.

“Hey, leave her alone, brat!” Mike chastised. “Mom! Embry is embarrassing me in front of my new friend! Why the heck did we have to bring him along?”

“Embry, honestly, you need to learn to speak to ladies respectfully!” Tiffany scolded. “I’m so sorry about my younger son. He’s a hormonal thirteen year old, still going through puberty.”

“Mom! Don’t talk about my puberty in front of girls-especially pretty, high school girls!” Embry’s speech veered off into a high pitch as his voice cracked in the middle of the sentence.

“Embry, that’s enough! Listen to your mother and be respectful,” Mr. Newton chastised.

“Aw, Tiff, don’t worry about it. I remember being a disrespectful teen myself,” Charlie replied.

“Renee, I’d love it if you’d come over for some coffee one evening so we can get acquainted,” Tiffany offered kindly.

“I would enjoy that,” her mother replied. The pair exchanged cellphone numbers.

“What the heck happened to Embry?” Bella whispered to herself.

Jake had apparently heard her and breathed a sigh of relief. “Is it really you, Bells?”

She nodded her head vigorously.

“Oh, thank God. I thought I was alone here.” He gave her hand a squeeze and she smiled at him.

“You know it’s good to see that Jake and Bella still get along great. Remember when they made mud pies together and tried to serve them to us for lunch? Bella even decorated hers with flowers,” Billy reminisced fondly. “Look at you, so grown up and pretty now. I’m going to have to protect you from all the boys, aren’t I?”

“We both will, Dad,” Jacob agreed.

“Billy, stop it. You’re making Bella blush,” Sarah said, hugging Bella. “Honey, you’re looking a little tired. I’ll make you an echinacea and ginger infusion later to boost up your immune system.”

Bella scratched her head, perplexed. An echinacea and ginger infusion? What happened to Aunt Sarah’s brownies?

“I’d prefer your brownies, Aunty Sarah,” Bella mentioned.

“Oh, you remember my carob and flax seed brownies. Of course I’ll bake some for you, sweetheart.”

Carob and flaxseed? That didn’t sound brownie-like at all!

“Well, hello, Charlie. Look how handsome you look, and your wife-my goodness, she is gorgeous.” The former Linda Collins gave her father a hug. “Have you met my husband yet? This is Greg Mallory.”

Jacob’s jaw dropped open. “Bells, is that… is that…?”

“It is,” Bella whispered, giggling.

“Oh my God. She’s a mom!”

“Well, what the heck did you expect? She was our age in 1987.”

Jake’s attention turned to the pretty blonde girl standing with Linda. Bella recognized her as Lauren Mallory.

“Hi, I’m Lauren,” she greeted cheerfully. “You must be Bella. Your grandma said you’re going to be a cheerleader at Forks High. Welcome to the team!”

“Thank you.”

“Tryouts are going to be right after school on Wednesday in the gym, but I’m sure you’ll make it. Your grandma is always talking about going to your cheerleading competitions.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” Bella replied, making a mental note to go over some of her cheerleading moves because she was rusty-very rusty.

“Great!” Lauren turned to Jacob and shyly greeted, “Hello, Jake. You sure grew taller over the summer.”

“I… I… Yeah, I… uh… you’re beautiful.”

Bella watched the pair. Jacob was riveted to the floor and staring directly into Lauren’s eyes. He seemed transfixed by her. It occurred to her then that Jacob must have imprinted on Lauren. It made her miss Paul even more. She didn’t see him anywhere, which meant he probably didn’t survive. She wanted to cry.

Her grandmother pulled her away from Jake and Lauren and brought her to another family. “Oh, my sweet niece,” Aunt Molly whispered as she took Bella into her arms. “You were so brave.”

Old Quil also wrapped his arms around Bella. “I’m glad to see that my little smart aleck is doing okay.” He kissed her on the cheek and hugged her tight.

A man she didn’t recognize, about the same age as her father, greeted her. “Come and give your Uncle Quil a hug, Bells!”

She realized that this was Quil the Fourth, alive and well, and hugged him.

“Oh, Bella, it’s so good to see you again,” a woman said with a big smile on her face. “I made some of your favorite peanut butter blossoms for you. I have them in the car so no one else will eat them.” She had no idea who she was, but she assumed it was Quil the Fourth’s wife.

“Go on. Go hug your Aunty J,” Quil the Fourth encouraged.

The woman known as Aunty J, hugged her and said, “I have a big shopping trip to Seattle planned for us. You know how I love spoiling my favorite niece!”

“I’ll be looking forward to it.” Who the heck was this woman?

“Hey, Cuz,” Quil the Fifth greeted with a hug. She, at least, recognized him, even though he looked slightly different. Maybe it was the hair? Or the eyes? “What’s up?”

“Nothing much. I… uh… just got here.”

“Obviously.”

Just then Tyler Crowley approached her. “Oh, hey, I’m Tyler. You’re Bella Swan.”

“She is. Now, stay the hell away from my cousin, Crowley.”

“Quil, he was just introducing himself to me.”

“Yeah, that’s what I was doing. What’s your problem, man?”

“Alright, you’ve introduced yourself. Now get out of here.”

“Quil, that’s rude!”

Charlie walked over and tapped Quil on the head. “Are you playing overprotective cousin again, you knucklehead?”

“Hey, Uncle Charlie.” He hugged her father. “Someone has to protect her.”

“You know, you’re going to have to let Bella make her own friends.”

“Well, why the heck did she have to turn out to be so pretty? I’m going to be fending guys off from her left and right. Even worse, what’s she going to do next year when I’m away at college?”

Her father laughed and ruffled Quil’s hair.

A few minutes later, the doorbell chimed and Charlie walked away from the group to answer it.

“Heeeeyyyy!” Charlie roared energetically. “Get in here, buddy. I haven’t seen you since we graduated from college. We kept missing each other on our visits home.”

“I’m telling you, if it weren’t for Facebook, we would have lost touch with each other forever.”

“Well, come over here and meet my wife and little girl. You know everyone else.” Bella saw her mother walking over to the new arrivals. She decided to follow suit and head in that direction. “Renee, this is my buddy Adam Lahote and his family.”

Bella’s mother hugged Adam. “So nice to finally meet you. You have been a topic of conversation at our dinner table for years.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Renee. This is my wife Gloria and son Paul.”

“Oh, what grade are you in Paul?”

“He’s going to be a junior,” Gloria replied before Paul could answer.

Bella had finally made her way over to greet the new arrivals. Her breath hitched when she saw that it was Paul. She stared at him starry eyed and smiled.

The moment he looked into her eyes, the earth shattered around him and he felt the spirits urging him to go to her and never, ever leave her side. He felt like an invisible bond had secured her to him permanently. This was imprinting-simple, pure, and true-and he had never been happier in all his life.

Her father turned her around to face the Lahotes. “This is our daughter Bella. Kiddo, these are my friends Adam and Gloria Lahote. I’ve known them all my life. And this is their son, Paul. He’s going to be a junior at the high school like you.”

“Junior?” Bella turned to her father with a bewildered expression on her face. When she last left Forks for 1987, she had been almost done with her senior year of high school, but now she was a junior? She’d only been gone for a week, and it was during vacation so she hadn’t missed any school at all. Why did she have to repeat all of junior and senior year again?

Paul, too, was a bit befuddled because he had been a senior as well, but then he realized that if Bella was confused then she must be his Bella-the one who went back to the past with him. “So, you’re a junior, too,” he asked.

“Apparently,” she replied with a shrug of her shoulders.

“So, Bella, do you participate in any extracurricular activities?” Gloria asked.

“Oh, our Bella was a cheerleader at her high school in Phoenix. She has been in twelve national competitions. She also participated in drama and softball, and has a black belt in karate,” her mother replied proudly.

Twelve national competitions? She was a mediocre cheerleader at best. The rest of the facts were true-even the black belt in karate. Her father had insisted she take it if he were going to pay for ballet lessons because he thought it was more important that she learned to defend herself. It was only after she had moved to Forks that she became a depressed recluse.

“Fabulous!” Gloria stated. “I’m going to be the new art teacher at the high school and also the cheerleading coach.”

“That’s awesome, Mrs. Lahote.”

“I look forward to seeing you at tryouts on Wednesday.”

Bella’s eyes widened in horror at hearing that. She was still trying to figure out how and when she had participated in twelve national cheerleading competitions. She was going to have to watch You Tube videos between now and Wednesday so that she could work on her cheerleading skills.

“So, why did you decide to move back to Forks, Mr. Swan?” Paul asked.

“It’s Dr. Swan, son,” Adam informed him. “Charlie is going be working at the hospital with me. He’s the new Director of Orthopedic Surgery. Since I’m the Director of Emergency Medicine, we’ll be consulting with each other often.”

“You’re a doctor?” Paul asked, surprised. He was so used to thinking of Charlie as Police Chief Swan of Forks. He also had no idea that his father was a doctor. Clearly, Bella was confused, too, because she was staring at both fathers with a perplexed expression on her face.

Charlie started laughing. “I sure am, son. Ask your dad why I became an orthopedic surgeon?”

Paul turned to his father. “Why?”

“Quil wanted to become a doctor and Charlie and I had nothing better to do so we decided to go to med school, too; however in Dr. Swan’s case, he already knew how to sew from making costumes in high school and college so he figured that he might as well put that skill to good use.”

“Yep, there was an exchange student when we were in high school who suggested that boys shouldn’t be ashamed of sewing because surgeons sew. Until I met her, I was kind of shy about admitting that my elective was home economics. Of course, now, we use mostly staples instead of stitches.”

“There were exchange students at the high school?” Paul asked. “What country were they from?”

“They weren’t from a foreign country. They were from some reservation in Arizona. I forget the name. Anyway, the program didn’t last long. They were called back home after only a week in Forks for some strange reason involving tribal politics.” Paul’s father explained. “They were really nice kids, though.”

“They were nice,” Charlie agreed. “I remember being upset because I had choreographed a dance routine to Greased Lightning with one of the kids and he was already gone by the time we got to school on Monday.”

“Yeah, we had to ask Mark Newton to be our fourth. Never again, he was the most uncoordinated dancer in the history of dancers.”

“Hey, I heard that!” Mr. Newton yelled jovially from somewhere in the room.

They all had a good laugh together. Bella even hugged her father. She was proud of the fact that he had sewn all his costumes by himself in high school, and she couldn’t believe that he took her casual suggestion to become a surgeon to heart.

“Which hospital were you at before Forks, Adam?” Charlie asked.

“I was at Seattle General. What about you?”

“Phoenix Medical.”

“I bet that one was busy.”

“Not as busy as Seattle, I imagine.”

“We’ll have to compare notes. I’m looking forward to hearing more about it in the coming days.”

“Hey, uh, Daddy?” Bella nudged her father’s shoulder to get his attention. “Would it be okay if Paul and I went to get some ice cream?”

“Sure.” He pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and handed her a twenty. “It’s on me.”

“Thanks, Dad, and can I have the keys to the SUV?”

“No.”

“No? Why not?”

“Uh, because that SUV is ten days old and you drive like crap, that’s why. You’re the reason why our insurance rates went up this summer. You can walk. It’s not too far.”

“That is so unreasonable, Daddy!” She narrowed her eyes at him. “And it’s like five miles from here to Sully’s!”

“What are you talking about? Adam and I used to walk everywhere when we were kids.”

“Nah-uh, you owned a brand new Jeep. Grandma and Grandpa told me,” she informed him smugly, using her knowledge from her foray into the past.

“She’s got you there, Charlie,” Adam laughed and slapped his friend on the shoulder. “Anyway, Paul has got a car. He can drive.”

“I can?” Paul questioned. He owned a car? But he didn’t even have his license-or did he in his new world? Bella elbowed him, and flashed her eyes at him to go with it. “Yeah, I can. We’ll just walk over to our house and we’ll take my car.” He quickly took Bella’s hand and led her out of the house.

“I’ve got a feeling about those two,” he heard his father saying as he left the house.

---

Immediately next door to Bella’s house was an enormous, newly constructed home on land, which at one point had three houses on it.

“I know, I know. I was just as surprised as you are now,” Paul said as he saw Bella was staring open-mouthed at the house.He unlocked the front door and held it open for his girl before entering. Paul turned her to face him, cupped her face with his hands, and asked, “It’s really you, right, Bella?”

“Yes, it’s me. I went back to the past and vanquished evil vampires with you.”

“Oh, thank God. You have no idea what it’s been like since I woke up.” He kissed her on the lips. “We all got separated, and then I woke up in the morning and my life has been flipped upside down. I don’t even live in La Push anymore. Apparently, I just moved back here in June. My father is a doctor and my mother is a teacher, and by the looks of it-they’re loaded. Oh, yeah, and I just imprinted on you a few minutes ago, and that was the most minor of the changes which have occurred in my life today.”

“You imprinted on me?” she asked.

“Yeah, I just told you I did.”

“Well, shouldn’t we celebrate or something?”

“Bella, it was kind of obvious you were my imprint after I marked you, don’t you think?”

“I guess so.” She didn’t seem so confident.

“You guess so?” Paul picked her up, carried her to his room, and placed her gently on his bed. He was going to prove to her that he imprinted on her-not that he needed to, he just felt like it because he realized that he had the whole house to himself and an opportunity like this might not present itself again soon. The new version of his parents seemed like they were really going to parent.

---

A while later, the couple were cuddling in bed naked, and discussing some of the changes in their lives, when the door to Paul’s room abruptly swung open.

“Oh my God! What were you two… Gene! Gene!” Glenda Lahote called frantically.

“Oh, shit!” Paul immediately covered Bella and himself up with his Spiderman comforter.

“What in the world? Are you trying to give your grandmother a heart attack?” Gene Lahote stared at them nonplussed. “I hope to God that you imprinted on her, young man!”

“Of course I did! Why would you think otherwise?”

“Gee, I don’t know. Maybe it’s because you’re sneaking around having sex with your girlfriend instead of socializing at the party, that’s why! Now, put some clothes on and meet us at Molly’s house-both of you. Hurry before your parents come home.”

“Uh, okay. We’ll be right there.”

The couple quickly got dressed and hunted for Paul’s car keys, which they found attached to his key ring with his house keys. They searched through his desk drawer for his wallet, which hopefully contained his driver’s license. They found it and an iPhone in there, which he thought was pretty cool because he’d never owned a cell phone before this. He’d have to ask Bella to teach him how to use it.

“Wow! Do you realize that you own a brand new Audi?” Bella looked at the two other cars in the driveway: a Range Rover and a Mercedes. Paul’s family would probably rival the Cullens in terms of money.

“There’s only one problem, Bella,” Paul stated as he sat down in the car and got behind the wheel.

“What is it?”

“I’ve only driven twice, and that was only this week when my grandfather tried to teach me after I told him I didn’t have a license.”

“Excuse me?”

“I don’t know how to drive. My dad never taught me. Well, I mean, the drunk version of my dad never taught me.”

“Holy crap! That can be a dead giveaway,” Bella pointed out. “Alrighty, switch seats with me. Oh, and check your wallet to see what else you have, other than your license.”

Paul did as she asked. “I see my license, my tribal membership card, gym membership, oh and I have some sort of a credit card.” He passed it to Bella.

“That would be a debit card. See? The name of the bank is written across the top. We’re going to have to look into all of that and try to figure out your password for everything.” Bella took the wheel of the car. “I’m going to drive until we get to the Three Rivers Restaurant. Once we get there, I want you to try to drive the rest of the way, okay? You have to learn to be confident with your driving by the time school starts on Tuesday. In fact, we’ll enlist Jake to help, too. He’s a really good driver.” Bella pulled out of the garage, hit the remote to close the garage door, and headed towards La Push.

“Have you seen Jake?” Paul asked, because he hadn’t seen his buddy since the twister they were in dissected into two.

“Oh, yeah.” She grinned at him. “He ran into Linda Collins. I couldn’t place her then, but it turns out she’s Lauren Mallory’s mother.”

“You’re screwing with me, right?”

“Nope.”

“And?”

“And I think he might have imprinted on Lauren Mallory.”

Paul started guffawing in his seat. “Talk about awkward! Last night, while we were phased together, I read in his mind that he lost his virginity to Linda, during the school dance, underneath the bleachers of the high school.”

Bella’s eyes widened, stunned by this new information, before she started giggling. “I don’t think I’m ever going to be able to look at Mrs. Mallory with a straight face again.” Then she had a thought. “I wonder what she does? She owned and operated my grandmother’s salon in Forks before we left. And she was divorced, but now she’s still married.”

In no time at all, she pulled into the lot of the Three Rivers Restaurant. They switched places. “Okay, you know where everything is, right?”

“No. I can’t find the shifter thing. It’s not next to the steering wheel.”

“You mean the gear shift,” Bella corrected. It’s right here, in the center, by the seats.”

“Oh, God.”

“Don’t freak out. It works exactly the same way. It’s just in a different location.”

“Okay, here it goes,” he said doubtfully. He put the car into drive, took a right on the road, and continued to La Push.