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

CHAPTER 19: More Time

Peter was still very weak and in pain from what had occurred and needed more time to heal. He was still without the use of his legs so Derek helped carry his uncle to the car he and Anna took. Anna offered to drive Bella's car back to her place for her. She also said that she will call Ethan and Jackson to tell them what went down.

Before Derek placed Peter in the backseat, Bella jumped in on the other side so she could sit in the back with her father. As Peter couldn't sit up straight, Derek had to lay him down in the backseat, with Peter's head resting on his daughter's leg. Bella didn't mind. She just held on to Peter and held his hand so that she could take his pain.

"Easy." Peter warned in a whispered tone.

"You always took my pain." Bella told him "Now it's my turn to take yours."

"Doesn't mean that you have to return the favor." Peter sighed weakly

Bella shook her head and slightly laughed, "Just shut up, old man."

Peter groans "I hate it when you call me that."

"I know." Bella smirked

Peter let out a weak smile before his eyes drifted. Derek got into the car and began driving away.

"Derek, he's out cold." Bella said with concern

"It'll be fine. He just needs to heal." Derek told her. "Let's just get him back to your place so he can rest."

Bella nods as she looks down at her father resting on her legs. She kicked herself. Peter was going to sacrifice his life so that she could live. Bella knew that she wouldn't forgive herself if she allowed Peter to die like that. He shouldn't have had to do that. Was Peter really going to give up?

Bella let go of Peter's hand as she couldn't tolerate his pain anymore. She sighed in relief as she let go, knowing that she wouldn't have to share his pain anymore. But Bella was certain that she would have to do it again later. She rested her head on the headrest and let her mind wander until they reached her cottage.

Peter was still unconscious when they arrived so Derek had to carry him in. Bella insisted that Peter should lay in her bed. She walked behind Derek as he carried his uncle up the stairs into Bella's bedroom and laid him down. At that moment, Bella didn't care about the dirt and the blood that was transferred onto her bedding from Peter's clothing. What mattered is that he was still alive.

Peter felt like he was floating in water. The emptiness around him that had once been dark was becoming a soothing blue. He felt like he was going to float upward out of a pool. He thought he caught voices but they drifted in and out. The longer he drifted, the brighter it got.  The brighter it got, the more he could feel his limbs. And then, just like emerging from water, he took a deep breath and opened his eyes wide. The first thing he saw was a dimly lit ceiling.

Then someone leaned over him and he felt relieved. It was his daughter and she looked equally pleased.

"Took you long enough to wake up."

"My apologies, kiddo. I was just a bit tired due to all the excitement I went through." Peter said, though his remark was sarcastic, it held no real bite. Peter suddenly remembered how the whole situation started and asked worriedly "Are you alright?"

"I've been better."

"The banshee?"

"Gone."

Peter sighed in relief. "How long was I out?"

"About a day." Bella said "I got you the best care there is."

"What kind of care is that?" Peter asked in astonishment "Surely you didn't have Mr. Deaton come all this way just for me?"

Bella shook her head and presented a sly smile.

"Pup?" Peter asked in confusion.

"You don't need an emissary to help you. I took care of everything." Bella told him "You don't have to worry about finding help if you need it when I can take care of things."

Peter made direct eye contact with Bella and it took looking directly into her eyes for all the pieces to fall into place. Bella really knew how to look after herself. She was able to take care of him when he needed it. He quickly replaced his scowl with a small smile as he reached out and grabs Bella's hand and rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb.

"I know I don't say this often, sweetheart." Peter says "But thank you. Thank you for coming after me and dragging me out of there. Out of all the chaos, you still risked your life to save mine when you should have left me behind."

Bella held back the tears "Dad, I was never going to leave you behind. No matter what happened between us, no matter the situation, I wasn't going to leave you to die. I know you'd do the same for me. You've saved me countless times. Now, it was my turn to save you."

Peter smiled  "I'm so proud of you."

Bella slightly nods "Yeah."

Peter could feel the hesitation but he didn't want to fight over it. He just wanted to take in the moment. He was alive. Bella was alive. The banshee was gone. They were safe and that's all that mattered.

Bella left Peter to allow him to continue resting. Peter did not want to rest. When Bella left the room, he got up and observed the dirty clothes he was wearing and figured that it would be good to clean up. He noticed his bag on the floor and went over to grab clean clothes before going into the bathroom to shower. After cleaning up, Peter went downstairs and was greeted by his nephew.

"Good to see you in one piece." Derek smirked

"Nice to know that you care, nephew." Peter fired back as he looked around the room. He could sense Bella not being inside her own house.

Peter proceeded to walk out to the front porch and looked down the way to see Bella down by the water, skipping rocks. He leaned pressed against the railing of the porch and observed from a distance.

"Are you going to go at it again?" Derek asked, coming up behind his uncle.

"Go at what?"

"I think you know what I mean."

Peter sighed "She was right. She was right all along."

"You're admitting that you are wrong?" Derek smirked

Peter growled "After all that's happened these past few days, I saw things that I didn't think I was ready to see."

"And what's that?" Derek questioned

"Seeing how much my baby girl has grown up." Peter said, trying not to sound emotional. "She doesn't need me anymore."

"Peter, will you get a hold of yourself? Bella will always need you. She's your daughter and she loves you. And I know how much you love her.  It's just that things have changed now. Time has changed."

"That's all I wanted Derek." Peter said "More time."

"Both of you have your entire lives to have time. Why are you speaking as if you're dying?"

"Because you never know when today is going to be your last day, Derek." Peter stated "It almost ended that way yesterday. I just wish I could go back and relive it all. Watching her grow up, watching her grow during those six years after the fire, redo the time I missed. When I came back, Bella was nearly thirteen. She was a teenager. I was there for the first six years of her life. I missed six years and now I only had five years with her after I came back. We've been through hell and back. One minute, she's there, wrapped around my finger as Daddy's little girl  and the next...she's halfway around the world. She just grew up way too fast. It pains me to have to go through this, Derek"

Derek stood there in silence. He never expected to hear his uncle say something like that. Derek holds on and treasures every moment that he currently has with Eli. He doesn't want to miss a single thing. In a sense, he knows what Peter is feeling.  "So, you're just going to let her stay here like she wanted?"

"There's just one problem though, Derek."

"What's that?"

"It's how much I'm going to miss her." Peter said sadly