42. Blood Training

JacobPOV

Uh, guys. I think it would be best if we leave now. Jasper's not too happy with us at the moment.

We all got up quickly and started sprinting back to the house.

Oh, that was priceless! Embry laughed. Did you see his face? Who knew vampires could jump so high?

Man, Jared sighed, if only we had brought Alice's video camera! It's time somebody catches her doing something funny and embarrassing.

And how are we supposed to carry the camera, much less operate it? Embry huffed. It requires hands, you dufus.

Well, you could have come in human form. Jared explained.

But then I wouldn't have been able to communicate with you. Embry said reasonably.

Whatever, losers. I just want to get back to Emily and see how she's doing. Leah growled.

Yeah, you guys needed to stretch your limbs a bit and get a feel for the wolf, but we do need to check on her. You know Sam will kill all of us if anything happens to her.

What? You think something's going to happen to her? Leah yelled.

Stop panicking, Leah. I don't think anything is going to happen, but I'd feel better about being there just the same. I don't want Sam thinking we just abandoned her there in the vampires' lair.

As we got closer to the house, I started mentally calling Edward. He flew toward us with Bella on his back, enjoying the ride.

"You rang?" he drawled.

How's Emily? I asked mentally. He ran alongside me back toward the house.

"She's fine. The surgery is over, and everything looks good. She came out from under the anesthesia and was lucid, but is asleep now, resting peacefully. Personally, I think she looks better now, even though the wounds are fresh, than she did with those horrible scars."

I felt the relief and joy flood the minds of my pack. Thanks, Edward. We're going to go and see her for ourselves now. Oh, and you might want to avoid antagonizing Jasper today. He's not feeling very pleasant at the moment. Please warn us if you hear him coming. Please, old buddy, old pal?

"Warn you if I hear Jasper coming? Why should I side with you over Jasper, pup?"

Because we surprised Alice! Leah laughed, picturing the entire encounter.

Edward almost tripped at the sight. Luckily, we had just broken through to the back yard, so he put Bella down and promptly collapsed with laughter. He was lucky. He got to see the whole thing from four different angles. No doubt he'd get another two points of view once Jasper and Alice made it back to the house.

EPOV

I was rolling on the ground laughing hysterically, while the love of my life watched me, a bemused expression on her face. After a few minutes, she started to get impatient. Then she started to get angry. I desperately tried to stop laughing, but I hadn't seen anything like that little stunt in all the decades I've known Jasper and Alice.

"Edward Anthony Masen Cullen! Either you let me in on the joke right now or I'm leaving!" she shouted, stomping her foot in frustration. Did she really just stomp her foot? Really? I let loose a fresh gale of laughter. She huffed and started to stomp away. I grabbed her hand. Something about the sight of her walking away from me sobered me up immediately.

"Bella, love, I'm sorry," I wheedled, on my knees. I gave her my crooked grin and watched her get dazzled again. "I'll tell you all about it."

She sat in my lap, and I described the scene the werewolves had shone me as to how Alice got a little taste of her own medicine, a little surprise of her very own. She clapped her hand over her mouth, and her entire torso started shaking like she was going to phase into a wolf herself, but I knew she was just trying to hold in the laughter so she could hear the entire story. Once I finished, she fell out of my lap and rolled around on the lawn in her own laughing fit. This, of course, triggered me to relapse. Carlisle and Esme came out on the deck to watch us being silly together. He put his arm around her, and she leaned into him, as they both wore indulgent smiles.

After a while, we both calmed down, and I helped her to her feet. "It's time for you to get home and cook dinner for your father, Bella."

She nodded reluctantly. "Will you stay and help me in the kitchen? I promise not to make you taste anything."

Oh, joy. The things I went through for this darling girl. I'm sure she has no idea of the sacrifices I make on her behalf.

"Of course, love. I'll be happy to help you cook dinner for Charlie," I responded sweetly, dreading the horrible smells I would be forced to endure. I would do just about anything to spend more time in her company. She grinned widely, seemingly oblivious to my internal struggles. I am happy to have been the one to put that smile on her face though.

"Bella!" Carlisle called to her. "I'd like to speak with you before you go, if you have a minute."

"I always have time for you, Carlisle," she replied warmly, making her way over to him.

"Bella, you spoke before about giving us a blood sample to help with training. I'd like to go ahead and get that, if you are amenable."

She nodded, though her cheeks were noticeably paler. My poor darling positively hated needles. She followed Carlisle inside and upstairs to his study. He settled her in a comfortable chair and told her to watch the ceiling while he prepared. A few seconds later, he advised her to hold her breath. He had the sample drawn in seconds. Before she even had time to worry about what he was going to do, he was already done.

"Thank you, Bella. That was very brave of you. Personally, I admire your courage."

She stared at him in disbelief.

"Are you finished already?" she wondered. He nodded, chuckling slightly. "Boy, I could really get used to having a vampire doctor. Don't worry, Dad, I'm going to contact my insurance provider and have you listed as my primary care physician. Well, at least as long as your name is on the designated provider list for the HMO." He started laughing and gave her a quick kiss on her forehead.

"That's okay, dear Bella. For you, it's 'on the house'."

She grinned at him and joked, "Wow, just think of all the money I'll save on medical bills. It's unbelievable how much it costs for a single emergency room visit. I knew there was some reason I put up with this crazy family."

"As I said before, my dear, you fit right in with the rest of us," Carlisle teased.

"I guess I was simply born to be a Cullen," she quipped. Carlisle ruffled her hair playfully.

"You won't get any complaints from me," he responded, more seriously. "I'm very thankful you've joined us." Then he grinned again. "Even if you have inflicted me with half a dozen teenage werewolves."

"You know you love us, Papa Fang!" Jacob yelled from the living room. Carlisle winced.

"Papa Fang? I know you can do better than that, Jacob," he complained.

"Papa Leech?"

"Jacob," Carlisle groaned.

"Okay, we'll just stick with Pops for now then. Unless you'd prefer 'old man'," Jacob suggested.

"Nah, he's British, right? Shouldn't it be 'old chap'," Embry corrected.

"Tallyho, old chap, don't get your knickers in a twist," Quil offered in a terrible English accent. Carlisle rolled his eyes, shaking his head sadly.

"You'll forgive me someday," Bella insisted with a wink. Carlisle smirked and escorted her out of the study.

"Good night, Bella. I'm going to hide out in here for a while, until it gets quieter downstairs. I prefer to let sleeping dogs lie. They're so much cuter when they're sleeping."

"Well, you should love the slumber party tomorrow night then, Pops," Rosalie taunted from inside her room. With a groan, Carlisle ducked back into his study and shut the door.

Bella cheerily wished everyone good night, and I escorted her out to the Vanquish. On the way to her house, we enjoyed a companionable silence until we were close to her street.

"I just love it when a plan comes together," she sighed happily. I smiled at her.

"Proud of yourself, are you?"

"Yes, actually I am. Things are so much better for us now than they were in Meyer's Twilight. Part of me can't help but fear something is going to mess things up, that there's no way things could be that easy for us. The other part tells me we've worked hard to get where we are now, and an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Can you imagine how Charlie would feel about you if the very first night he meets you, on our very first official date, I run away to Phoenix and end up in the hospital? It's no wonder he was always so suspicious of you in Meyer's books. When I think about what the other me said to him that night, it just makes me sick to my stomach. I can't let James get the upper hand this time around."

"Don't worry," I growled. "I have no intention of allowing him anywhere near you."

"Well, Edward, fate's a funny thing. I think it might be better to affect a compromise rather than trying to avoid it completely."

I stared at her like she had truly lost her mind. Did she really think I was going to let her anywhere in the same state as those sadistic nomads? She can just go visit her mom while they're here in Washington. I let it go for now though. I didn't want to fight with her. She is so incredibly stubborn. We went inside her house and strolled straight into the kitchen. Bella put me to work slicing and dicing vegetables for her homemade spaghetti sauce. I had to hold my breath to avoid gagging when she began frying the hamburger meat. Cooking meat is one of the worst smells to a vampire. Perhaps it reminds us of how easily we could become dust in the wind. Well, maybe not easily, but certainly under the right circumstances anyway. I stirred the spaghetti noodles, while she kept track of her simmering sauce and worked on making garlic bread.

"How do I know when they're ready?" I asked. She giggled.

"Well, you could bite into one of the noodles and check the texture with your teeth…"

"Or?"

She giggled again. "Or you could throw the noodle at the wall. If it sticks, then they're ready."

"Seriously?" I looked into her eyes to see if she was pulling my leg.

She grinned. "Seriously! Try it."

I dipped my fingers into the boiling water and grabbed a long noodle. I held it up in front of my face and watched wiggle. I looked at Bella out of the corner of my eye and saw her watching me intently. I gently threw the noodle at the wall, being sure to use only human strength. Lo and behold, it actually stuck to the wall. I grinned at Bella, proud of myself for some reason. I turned off the burner and poured the noodles into a strainer. I thought about telling the rest of the family about this amazing property of spaghetti noodles when my phone began to buzz.

"Hello, Alice. What's up?"

"Don't do it, Edward. The consequences to Esme's kitchen are irrevocable if you do."

"What? Why?" How harmful could limp noodles be?

"One word. Emmett."

"Say no more." I sighed and hung up the phone. So much for sharing my newfound knowledge of noodles. I got a mental picture of Emmett and Jacob in a spaghetti war inside Esme's kitchen. There would be noodles everywhere: ceiling, cabinets, windows, floor, etc. If only the dogs would just clean it up afterwards, like good dogs do, it might be okay. No doubt licking spilled food off the floor is beneath them though. Oh, well. Maybe we can teach them to play ball instead.

Before long, Charlie arrived home. He hung up his jacket and gun belt before strolling casually into the kitchen. He was always concerned that he might be 'interrupting something' when he would find me over here alone with Bella, mainly because if anything was going on between us, he didn't want to know about it. He still liked to think of her as his little girl and would never be comfortable thinking about her being sexually active. Charlie did a double take when he saw the domestic scene in the kitchen. Surprisingly enough, it actually struck him harder than walking in to find her kissing me would have.

I was busy setting the table and bringing the food over, while Bella was simmering the sauce. He watched us for a few minutes, noticing the graceful way our bodies moved around one another. He noticed some of the wordless communication we share and felt like we behaved more like an old married couple than a new teen relationship. There was a comfort level we shared that made it seem as if we had been working together for years. It was this, more than anything, that made him realize his precious daughter wasn't a little girl anymore, that she was a beautiful, caring young woman, with so much love to share.

He cleared his throat gruffly. "Smells great, Bells."

She looked up and smiled at him. "Thanks, Dad, but I can't take all the credit this time. Edward has been a great help. Dinner will be ready in three minutes, so I hope you're hungry."

"Starving," he mumbled, watching her. She smiled lovingly up into my eyes.

"We make a great team," she murmured softly. I offered up her favorite crooked smile in response, pouring my love into my gaze. "Yes, we do."

Poor Charlie was getting overwhelmed. Visions of wedding dresses were floating through his head as he remembered falling in love with Renée at seventeen. I decided go easy on him, and wanted to escape a dinner invitation, so I made my excuses.

"Unfortunately, I've got to head home now. Esme wants us to have a family dinner tonight, so I simply can't stay."

Bella stifled a snort and escorted me to the door. I gave her a gentle kiss and whispered my promise to come back to her later. I savored her stunning smile, then slipped out the door to head home.

As soon as I arrived back at my house, Carlisle requested my presence in the kitchen. Jasper and Carlisle were both waiting in there for me. He was blocking his thoughts, so I had to wait for him to begin.

"I've been thinking long and hard about the blood training, and I think I have hit upon a fast and effective method. We're going to test it out tonight," Carlisle announced with a speculative look. Jasper and I exchanged a glance and both shrugged.

"Bring it on, Pops," Jasper snickered.

"Hey, that's Dr. Pops to you," I teased, trying to contain my mirth.

Carlisle glared at both of us, though we could see his mouth twitching with the effort not to smile. "Careful, boys, or your mom and I will be sure to hug and kiss you in front of all your friends at school and call you cute little baby nicknames, like Snugglepuss and Cuddlekins."

Snugglepuss and Cuddlekins? I was desperately hoping nobody else was home or we would never live it down. Imagining the amount of damage Emmett could do with those two names was enough to strike sheer horror deep in my soul. I looked over at Jasper and could tell he felt the same way. We looked at Carlisle with desperation.

"We'll be good, Dad," I promised, my gaze pleading. Jasper vigorously nodded in agreement.

Carlisle chuckled. "Ah, the joys of parenthood."

Only sadistic masochists become parents by choice. Jasper grumbled in his thoughts.

He may be on to something there. I know I sure wouldn't have the patience to be a father to this brood. There's a reason some species eat their young. I'd have turned us all into ashes long before now if Iwere in Carlisle's shoes. That's just one of the reasons he's my hero and role model.

"Hold your breath," Carlisle commanded. We both immediately complied. Carlisle set two small plastic sample dishes in front of me and two in front of Jasper. Each dish had several drops of blood in it. "I want you to follow your instincts please. When I give the command, you will inhale deeply and smell the blood. I want you to pick up whichever dish your gut instincts ask for and drink the blood in the dish. Do not try to think about it or resist it. Just do what your natural predator wants you to do."

Jasper and I both looked at him with raised eyebrows. Carlisle was actually recommending we drink human blood? Bella's blood? Was he possessed?

"Okay, you may breathe now."

I had to exhale before I could inhale, so I used the air to ask, "Who are you, and what have you done with our Carlisle?" He merely smirked at me, so I shrugged and inhaled deeply. Bella's delicious scent hit me like a freight train, burning my throat with a fire as strong as the one that burns during the change. I could instantly tell that the dish on the right held Bella's blood and the dish on the left held the blood of a deer. My inner monster had no difficulty immediately choosing Bella's blood. I grabbed it, fast as lightening and promptly brought it to my tongue, before Carlisle could change his mind.

I licked up the precious drops and for the first nanosecond it was everything I hoped for, but by the second nanosecond, my tongue was in full scale rebellion. I wrinkled my nose in disgust and began spitting out whatever I could. I started wiping my tongue with my shirtsleeve, desperately trying to get the horrible bitter taste out of my mouth. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Jasper doing the same thing. I quickly grabbed the other dish, hoping for the best. The bland deer blood tasted heavenly compared to the crap I had just inflicted upon myself. I realized Jasper was mirroring my actions at the same time.

Carlisle nodded impassively at both of us and collected the dishes. He placed them in the sink and gave us each two new dishes. I inhaled deeply again. This time Bella's blood was on the left and the deer blood was on the right. The smell of the blood triggered the flames in my throat. I grabbed Bella's blood again, but not as quickly as before. I brought it up to my tongue, but tasted it more cautiously this time. Once again, my tongue was assaulted by that horrible bitter flavor, and I gagged. I quickly used the deer blood to resuscitate my tongue.

Carlisle nodded again, placing the used containers in the sink. He gave us each two new dishes. The smell caused my throat to burn, but nowhere near as badly as before. The monster within picked up Bella's blood and brought it to my mouth. I inhaled the aroma, enjoying the glorious scent, but I could not bring myself to taste it. My mind, tongue, and stomach all rebelled at the thought of being subjected to the bitterness again. I put it back on the counter and chose the deer blood instead, quickly licking it up like a cat with a bowl of cream.

Carlisle's eyes had started to sparkle. He placed two more dishes in front of us. This time, I enjoyed the aroma of my love's blood, but felt no desire at all to bring it anywhere near my mouth. My throat did not burn any more than usual, and I made quick work of the deer blood. I looked over to see that Jasper had done the same thing. We smiled at each other. Carlisle placed the dishes into the sink, rinsing out the ones that contained Bella's blood.

"Well done, sons!" Carlisle exclaimed excitedly. "I decided to use behavioral management therapy, treating your situation as similar to Pavlov's dogs. The reason Bella's blood tasted so horrible is because I added something to it, something odorless so it wouldn't change the way the blood smelled. I found Odorless Garlic Concentrated Tablets online. I crushed them into a fine powder and mixed the powder with the blood. They sold Odorless Fish Oil too, but I really couldn't resist the irony of using the garlic for our purposes." He seemed extremely pleased with himself. He reached behind himself and picked up a syringe full of blood.

"One more test," he muttered. "This is Bella's blood. I have not added anything to it. It will not taste bitter. It will taste sweeter than you can imagine. Hold out your hand. Jasper and I both followed his instructions. He squirted a small pool of blood into both our hands. I looked down at the blood in my hand. I lifted it up to my nose and inhaled the fragrant bouquet, waiting for the resultant burn. To my surprise, my throat did not burn any more than usual, and my mouth did not flood with venom. This was Bella's blood—the sweetest blood in the world for me. It wasn't contaminated like the other samples had been. I remembered how wonderful it was when I drank from her in the car after the accident. I wanted to taste it, but I couldn't get my tongue to cooperate. My tongue had absolutely no desire to engage the blood in my hand. My taste buds were running scared. My memory from the accident was now tainted with the bitter flavor. I brought my hand slightly closer to my mouth. My stomach clenched down as if I were nauseous, and I gagged slightly. My nose was telling me this blood was the best ever, but my tongue was screaming that it wasn't food. I could not bring myself to taste it. I didn't want it after all. I grabbed a paper towel and used it to clean off my hand. I looked over to Jasper and saw him wiping the blood off his hand as well. Jasper looked like he really couldn't believe what he was doing, even as he was doing it.

Carlisle looked as if he was ready to burst from pride and excitement. He took the bloody paper towels from us and beamed brightly. "It worked! You resisted! Both of you. I am so proud of both of you! I doubt it will really be this easy, but you've both made huge strides tonight."

I saw Jasper swelling with positive emotion. He looked like he felt ten feet tall from Carlisle's praise. I realized that Jasper rarely got credit for all the good things he did for the family. Instead, the family only reacted to the negative. I resolved to change my own way of thinking. I wanted to try to focus on the positive instead of only reacting to the negative. I smiled to myself. It was time for me to see how this little experiment worked in real life. Would I really find it easier to control my bloodlust around Bella? Only one way to find out.

"Thank you, Carlisle," I enthused. "I really appreciate all you've done for me. Now I'm going to see if it makes it easier for me to be with Bella. I'll be sure to give you a report in the morning." Carlisle and Jasper both chuckled indulgently.

"Certainly, son. Enjoy your time with your mate."

I didn't wait for further goodbyes. I was off and running as soon as I was out the door. Running to my light, my life, my love.

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