Bella Hale: An American Werewolf in London-A Teen Wolf Fanfiction

CHAPTER 8: Just Like Old Times

Today was the day. She had been dreading it for days now. The anniversary of the fire.Bella wasn't sure if she was ready to go on with this day all alone for the first time.

Bella had gotten better over the years but she still found this day particularly hard. Before the fire, she had a huge family. Now there's so few Hales left. Herself, Peter, Derek, Eli, Malia, and Cora are all that remain.

Bella remembers when Peter had taught her control and she was practically glued to his hip. To her that isn't something that you can forget. The bond that they shared, that they still share, is not one that can break completely. But Peter wasn't there to help her. She was alone.

But even after all that, Bella had not seen her father for six months. That protective instinct for her family kicked in and she started to worry. Sunset wasn't for another hour but the light was starting to fade as Bella stood on the beach and started to walk towards the forest area nearby. The full moon was tonight.

A few miles down the road, Peter and Derek were driving towards new territory. Derek had gotten all the information they needed from Lydia and Jackson. The rest was on them. Derek didn't drive all the way up as neither one of them didn't want to scare Bella away if she was here so Derek parked and they began walking up to the front door.

Peter and Derek took a whiff of the area. They caught Bella's scent. It was strong and fresh. It didn't take much to push open the front door. With a loud creak it opened, revealing a messy living area. Peter eases it open and begins making his way around the side to the backyard overlooking the beach. Part of them wanted to look around but they had more pressing matters to attend to. Peter could tell that Bella wasn't inside. Her scent was coming from the outside.

"Do you see her?" Peter asked Derek as they looked around.

Derek silently shook his head as they continued to track her

"The kid sure picked a good place here." Derek observed

"Eh, it's not too bad." What was Peter saying? The area was so peaceful. It's no wonder his daughter chose to stay here. No noise. No neighbors. The sound of the waves crashing was soothing.

Derek eventually picked up a scent and declared that Bella was up near the forest ahead.

In the forest, Bella stood in front of a large oak with a massive trunk and strong branches. Her anger built up and images from the fire projected in her head as she began to punch the life out of the tree.

Peter snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the sound of something hitting something. He and Derek come round the corner and Peter's heart breaks. Bella is standing in front of the tree and is pounding her fist into the trunk. Her hands are covered in blood and tears are streaming down her face. If she weren't so emotional, she may actually notice Peter and Derek's presence but she is completely oblivious. The two men find themselves in utter shock. Neither one of them could remember the last time they saw her like this. So emotional, angry and in tears. It had to have been years.

Bella sobs as she punches the tree. She pauses and leans against the trunk, her forehead pressed against the bark. Bella chokes out before she resumes sobbing. She pushes herself off the tree and raises her bloody fist again.

But just as she is about to throw another punch, Peter is there grabbing her wrist, with Derek behind him. Startled by the surprising presence, Bella reacted by grabbing the arm that grabbed her and pushed the individual against the tree as hard as she could and growled at them, shifting in the process.

Bella finally sees Peter as he stands there in front of her. She looks at him in shock. "....Dad?"

Peter just looks at her. It was the first time he had seen her face in months. Bella was questioning whether or not he was actually standing there in front of her or not. There was no way he could've found her, on today of all days.

"I see you didn't forget your training." he said sarcastically.

Bella gasped. She relaxes and loosens her grip a bit. With a sob, she falls forward into Peter's chest and he catches her. She fists his jacket like her life depends on it. Peter eases them down against the tree so Bella is curled next to him. His arm is wrapped tightly around her waist while his other hand holds her head against him. Sobs wracked her body as they sat there. Peter's chin rests on the top of Bella's head as he tells her he loves her.

"You must hate me so much right now!" Bella cried

"Shhhh, I don't Bells. It's not your fault! I love you so much. I could never hate you, sweetheart." Peter replies as he rubs Bella's back soothingly. "I missed you so much."

As the sobs die down, Bella just lies shivering in her father's arms. He then remembers her hands and gently grabs one. They aren't healing but given that Bella hasn't really been focusing on her hands, it makes sense. Peter eases his chin off her head and looks down at her. To Pewter, she looked so young again as she glanced up at Peter.

"You don't hate me for leaving?" she asks almost silently.

"I could never hate you." Peter answered, knowing full well that he was angry over it.

Bella is now shivering not because of the sobs but because of the cold. The air was brisk now.

"Let's go home okay?" Peter asks.

"I'm not going back to Beacon Hills." Bella said as she clambered to her feet. Peter slides out of his jacket and eases it over his daughter's shoulders.

"I was referring to your place." Peter tells her

Bella nods as she glances at her hands as she says, "I'm not healing" in a shaky voice.

"I know. It's okay" Peter says as he places an arm around her.

Bella looked up at saw Derek standing before them, looking concerned

"Derek, you're here too?" Bella asked

"Of course I am." Derek said "Where else would I be?"

The three of them walk to the cottage slowly and Bella is nearly wiped out from exhaustion.

They make it to the cottage and Peter helps Bella inside and he guides her over to the couch. Bella sits down absently with Peter besides her and Derek brings over a damp towel to clean off her hands. Peter grabs one gently and as he brings the towel onto the cuts. Bella draws back her hand and hisses, "That hurts".

"I know but you aren't healing yet" Peter says as he gently grabs her hand again. Peter tries to be gentle and finally the gashes are clean. Peter is glad to see they are starting to heal as Bella becomes more tired.

"How did you find me?" Bella asked in a tired tone.

"That's a story for later. You need to rest." Peter says as he brings Bella to her feet. A moan is all Peter gets as an answer as Bella rests her head against Peter's chest. Seeing as Peter doesn't have many options, he elects to just carry his daughter to bed before she falls asleep standing up.

"Let's go" Peter says as he lifts Bella in bridal style. Bella wraps her arms around Peter's neck and sighs contently as Peter makes his way up the staircase.

Once in what is believed to be her room, Peter draws back the covers and eases his daughter down onto the pillows. She just snuggles down into the covers as Peter tuck her in.

Just like old times, Peter thought as he pushed the hair back on her forehead.

Peter glanced down at his little girl sleeping and never left the room. Today wasn't so bad after all. Not only had he dreaded the thought of the fire but he found Bella after several months. Tomorrow, he will get answers. For now, she needed to rest.