Make My Heart Feel Safe

As the pack waits outside of Eleanor’s hospital room, they lament at the image of her, reflections of her body seeming lifeless and unresponsive came to them. Bella sat next to Emily, who held her hand tightly. Emily gently pats her hand in ease telling her she’ll be alright, but even she is at difficulty. Bella glances at Jacob, who leaned on the wall across from her, the look of repentance and sorrow written on his face.

“Jake,” Bella whispers. Jacob looks at her, a blank stare plastered on. “Is there something you need to tell me?”
“Yeah,” He says, a little uneasy. He looked around; the pack was focusing on him, waiting for him to answer. “But not here, not now.”

Bella nodded, but didn’t understand why he couldn’t tell her now, but she didn’t want to push it. She leaned into Emily’s shoulder searching for sympathy; she relaxed a little more as Emily rubbed her arm trying to sooth her. Sam stood next to Emily, leaning on the wall with the same stare, but this time he was looking towards Jacob, trying to read his blank face. The rest of the pack was sitting on the floor, patiently waiting for Eleanor’s results. Even Leah, had the look of fret and worry in her eyes. Though they felt the remorse for her, Seth looked the worst. He held his head in his hands, faintly gripping his hair. He sighed deeply as he started to lean his head against the wall next to Jacob. As he looked up to the ceiling, his eyes were red and moist; he looked like he had been crying. Bella had noticed and she had to wonder, why?

Everyone stood up suddenly as Eleanor’s hospital room door opened, and out came the pale, cold skinned doctor Carlisle Cullen, father to Bella’s fiancé Edward Cullen.

“Is she alright?” Bella said panicking.
“Yes, I assure you Bella, Eleanor is going to be fine.” Carlisle said, kindness filling his voice. They all sighed with relief at the news.
“W-Well, can you tell us what’s wrong with her?” Seth spoke, still a little worried.
“I would rather not say anything until her mother has arrived.”
“You called her mom?” Leah said slight concern in her voice.
“Yes, we informed her just as we got the results, she shouldn’t be too far.”
“Leah,” Seth said to her. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing Seth, stay out of it.”

They all turned a woman’s voice calling from the hallway. Bella’s expression changed as she saw Eleanor’s mother jogging down the hallway. When Jacob and Leah saw Eleanor’s mother, they quickly turned away from her, not making eye contact. Shana locked eyes with Bella and ran up to her; they clutched each other in a tight hug. When they released each other, Bella was almost to tears. Shana saw Carlisle and her eyes went big, a look of relief on her face.

“Carlisle,” She said.
“Shana,” Carlisle spoke, with comfort in his voice. He grabbed her hand lightly and shook it gently. “It’s good to see you again.”
“Wait,” Bella said. “You two know each other?”
“Shana here, used to work for me in the hospital back when Eleanor and her family lived here.”
“S-She never told me she lived here.”
“Weren’t you two ‘catching up’ earlier today?” Shana asked.
“Yeah, she told me everything, about her rough childhood, everything! But she didn’t tell me she used to live here in Forks.”
“Well we did, and I’ve known Carlisle for years.”
“So, do you know about…her secret?”
“I knew one day she would have to tell you. That she’s a shape shifter? Please Bella, that’s no secret, especially not to Carlisle.”
“You know about it too Carlisle?”
“I have known Eleanor and her family since she was a little girl. I was even there when Masson was born.” Carlisle said. The pack held questionable looks, they didn’t know who Masson was at first, but it was clear to them now that he was a relative to Eleanor, but they didn’t get the whole story.

“So, do they know that you….”
“Well, Shana and her husband know, but I’m not sure that Eleanor knows about that yet.”

He looked at Shana with a raised eyebrow; she laughed at this and smiled.

“I told Eleanor and Masson about Carlisle and his family once we arrived in Hobart. Oh, you should have seen the look on their faces Carlisle; they looked so thrilled when I told them about you. And when we came back, I came here to get my job back, and when I saw Carlisle we caught up and talked, he even told me that his youngest son was marrying an Isabella Swan.”

Bella blushed a little as Carlisle smiled at her. Shana finally asked him if she could see her daughter. When he approved, she was immediately through the door, the pack following slowly after. Once she was in the room, Eleanor was already awake, still dressed in the clothes she had worn before, sitting upright in bed, and once their eyes locked with each other, Eleanor held out her arms as Shana hurried over to her, pulling her into a hug. Bella and Emily smiled at the sight, a mother and daughter holding each other lovingly. It reminded Bella of her and her mother, and she wished that she could just hold her once again.

“Thank god you’re alright,” Shana said as they released each other; she held Eleanor’s face in her hands looking at her. “I called your father; he’s on the road right now. He’ll be here sometime tomorrow in the afternoon, okay baby?”

Eleanor nodded in her hands, a few tears silently falling from her face. Eleanor looked over her mother’s shoulder, and her eyes went wide with surprise. Though she knew the pack and Bella were standing there, all she saw was Seth. He looked relieved when he saw her, knowing she was okay. She wanted to cry, so undeniably happy that Seth was standing there, supporting her. And then, she saw Leah and Jacob. Once their eyes locked with hers, Eleanor’s jaw clenched at the sight of them.

Shana looked behind her, wondering what her frail daughter was looking at. And once she saw Jacob and Leah, her expression matched that of her daughters.

“What are you two doing here?” Shana hissed, getting up from the bed and facing them, and slowly walking over to them. Though she saw Jacob, she was more focused on Leah. “What did you do to my daughter? What, pouring fish heads and guts on her, and beating her up almost everyday in middle school wasn’t enough for you!?
“N-No, Mrs. Princeton,” Bella spoke, though Shana didn’t break her daze from Leah. “Please, they didn’t do anything, it just happened on its own.”
“Well, even so, you have no business being here. And you…” She quickly turned her attention to Jacob, who for the first time in a while felt small compared to how Shana was speaking to them. “You’re just a sick little dog.”
“Please, mom!” Eleanor exclaimed. Shana turned around to face her daughter. Eleanor softened her hard look but she could tell it was still there. Jacob and Leah winced at the coldness in Eleanor’s voice. “They’re not worth it.”

Shana nodded and walked over to her, sitting next to her on the bed. She wrapped an arm around her shoulder and looked at Bella.

“What exactly happened before the accident?”
“Well,” Bella started hesitantly. “Eleanor was telling me about her tribe, the Chichewa people, I think. So when she told me, I wanted her to meet my uh, my friends.”
“The people behind you?”
“Yeah…”
“I know you boys. You’re the Quiluete boys from La Push aren’t you?” All the boys looked at each other and at her incredulously; how had she known?

“How did you-,” Sam started.
“Our family has known about the Quiluete legends since Eleanor was born, even Eleanor knew about your tribe since she was a child. And Eleanor’s father, my husband, was best friends with Jacob Black’s father. Hell, we even knew your father Bella.”

Jacob’s eyes grew wide. He hadn’t known that his father Billy Black had been close with Eleanor’s father Aeden Princeton. Surely if he had known, he wouldn’t have done what he did all those years ago.

“Ella you didn’t tell me you knew my father,” Bella said, sounding hurt.
“I didn’t even know that!” Eleanor said, looking at her mother with a raised eyebrow.
“He met you when you were just a baby dear.” Shana laughed. “You’re father used to work with Charlie, in the police force. Remember, he used to be Chief of Police as well.”
“W-Wait!” Bella exclaimed. “You’re father is Aedan Princeton? Charlie used to talk about Aedan all the time, saying he was the perfect partner to work with.”
“Well, with all of that being said, Carlisle, can you explain what exactly is wrong with my daughter?”
“Well, let me ask this,” Carlisle said, looking at Eleanor. “Has this happened before?”
“Yes,” She said hesitantly. She didn’t see the whole pack stiffen at the answer. “About seven months ago I believe, it started happening, but that amount of blood never came out.”
“Are you aware that, you happen to be missing some parts of your organs Eleanor?”

The whole room, besides her mother, went wide eyed as she nodded a Yes. Emily and Bella gasped at the news, they were almost to tears. Seth started to shake with fear and anger, he clenched his jaw. He couldn’t stand the thought of her dying on him. Not when he knew there was a connection between them.

“Is she gonna die?” Seth asked, worry in his voice.
“No Seth, far from it. Eleanor with live, but the vomiting of blood wont cease. The amount of blood will vary from time to time, but it will still happen.
“I thought people couldn’t live without vital organs.” Bella said.
“Yes, vital organs. The pieces of organs that Eleanor is missing aren’t crucial. A part of her bladder, pieces of her Intestines, even a chunk of her stomach.”
“That’s why she wasn’t eating that much at lunch.”
“That’s right. She’s able to eat, but not at the rate you guys are used to.”
“So is she able to leave?” Shana asked.
“Yes, you all can leave when Eleanor is ready. And Shana, I’ll see you next Monday morning.”

And with that he left. Shana looked at the boys, they still stood tall and proud, with a look of relief on their faces. Shana stood up and walked over to the boys, staring Sam down, with her arms over her chest.

“So, now that that’s over, what the hell were you guys doing with my daughter?”
“Well, Mrs. Princeton,” Stared Sam. “Bella just brought her over to introduce us to her, when Eleanor told Bella about her gift; I guess Bella thought she could have some company. My name is Sam, and this is my fiancé Emily.”
“You must be the Alpha.”
“How did you know?” Asked Paul.
“You have the same look my daughter has. Even now, while she’s away from her pack, she still has that look of a protector.”

Eleanor smiled a little at her mother as she crossed her legs on the bed. She glanced over to Seth as Sam introduced the rest of the pack to her mother. As their eyes locked, they couldn’t help but smile at each other. For once in her life he made her feel shy and she did the same for him. She had never felt this way towards a boy, sure she had a couple of boyfriends in the past, but they were never like Seth. Hesitantly, Eleanor averted her eyes away, focusing on her mother.

‘You don’t even know the guy, how do I know he won’t break my heart like Jacob did.’ She thought to herself. It was true; she didn’t know him, but oh how she wanted to. At first she didn’t recognize this pull she had towards him, but now she remembers the signs that her parents had told her. She saw no one else but Seth, and she wanted nothing more than to protect him from anything. She wanted him to hold her like how he did before, even if he was just catching her from falling on her face. She never thought it would happen to her, not after what Jacob had done, but it did, and she has seen it happen before her eyes. Seth had the same look on his face, like the one her old pack member had when he first laid eyes on his soul mate. They had connected.

“Now you,” Shana said, now facing Paul. “You’ve been giving my daughter that stare since we’ve entered this room. Is there a problem?”

Eleanor couldn’t help but crack a little smile as her mother stood up to Paul, but what made her smile more is the look that Paul had. He looked angry but defeated and frustrated. Paul shook his head and mutter ‘there’s no problem,’ and he exited the room. Jared, Quil and Embry followed after a goodbye to Eleanor and Shana. Eleanor slowly got up as Shana was now looking at Seth.
“And, this is Seth Clearwater,” Said Sam.

‘This is Leah’s brother?’ She thought to herself as she walked over to her mother’s side, softly grabbing her hand. She looked at Seth with disbelief, as he looked at her with eyes of empathy towards her. ‘Great, he’s probably a spitting image of Leah.’

“And I’m guessing you already know of Leah and Jacob.”

Eleanor looked at her mother, she had on that death glare she had use before. She squeezed her mother’s hand tightly, whispering her “It’s not worth it.” Jacob’s stare hardened as he heard this, his eyes squinting just a little. Eleanor could see him shake with anger, somehow, Leah’s had a softer tone, almost a look of…pity?

“Let’s go baby,” Shana said. “We don’t need these wet dogs clouding over us.”

Eleanor gave them one last glare, and walked out with her mother, but not before she whispered a soft goodbye to Bella and she returned it sadly. She didn’t see Jacob tremble even more, didn’t see Leah’s shocked expression, and she didn’t hear Seth stifle a laugh. She walked with her mother out into the cold air, but before she got into the car, someone called out her name. Eleanor saw Bella run out of the hospital calling her name. Eleanor caught Bella in the air in a hug; she heard her sniffling in her ear.

“Bella, are you crying?” Eleanor asked as she put Bella down.
“Y-yeah, I just..’ Bella stuttered, wiping away falling tears. “It really scared me. You know, y-you looked so….lifeless an-and.”
“Bella calm down!” Eleanor wrapped her in a hug before whispering in her ear, “I’m not going anywhere, I promise.”

She left with her mother before making sure Bella was at ease once again. As she car drove away, she got one last look at Seth, he almost looked like he was about to cry as well. As the car got farther and farther away from them, she felt a sort of tore inside of her, but not from the sickness, more in her heart.

“So,” Shana started. “That Seth Clearwater was pretty cute right?”
“Mom!” Eleanor exclaimed, blushing a bright red. Though you couldn’t really tell on account of her skin color.
“What!? I’m just pointing out the obvious. And besides, he had the same look your father had when we met.”
“Yeah, but didn’t you hear? He’s Leah’s brother, he’s probably just like her.”
”Oh, we don’t know that for sure baby, the way he looked at you? I wouldn’t be surprised if he….you know.”

Eleanor hated the word “imprint,” she hoped it didn’t happen to her. Her mind wouldn’t let it happen, though everyday couples would pass her by and by, she envied them, even when one of her pack members had imprinted as well. Though every time she caught herself feeling a sort of jealousy towards them, she would always replace them with pity and hate. She always told herself ‘they’re only fooling themselves; they’re only get their hearts broken.’ She believed that. Though she believed in useless once nighters and one time only flings, her belief in love was thrown out the window.